《My Dreamy Old Husband》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 ¡°Mr. Edwards, your daughter is tan and thin. She even had an abortion in high school, and the whole school knew about it! It caused such amotion that parents signed a petition to get her expelled from the school! With her terrible track record¡­ Tsk, I can¡¯t go above 50,000!¡± ¡°Those are fake information! It¡¯s just rumors! Master Levine, please have a look at the affidavit! She just turned 18 years old, and so she¡¯s definitely worth 200,000!¡± ¡°60,000!¡± ¡°At least 80,000!¡± ¡°Fine. 80,000, if you insist. I¡¯ll transfer the amount to you via Venmo.¡± With that, Sophia Edwards¡¯ biological father, Joe Edwards, sold her to Daniel Levine for 80,000. Despite never meeting her biological father from birth, Daniel reckoned that Joe¡¯s business was on the verge of bankruptcy because Sophia had a challenging birth chart that overpowered the Edwards Family¡¯s fate. It so happened that Daniel knew an old bachelor who could most probably ovee her bad luck, and so Daniel decided to be the matchmaker. Daniel looked like a young gentleman, but among the high society of Bayside City, he had an outstanding status and prestige. In fact, he was known as Bayside City¡¯s Grandmaster of Metaphysics. Therefore, no one would question him even if he were to make an absurd im. Sophia was holding onto an old suitcase, and she had on some old, shabby dress while standing in a corner with her head bowed. The expression on her tanned and thin face appeared as if she was in a daze. Herckluster eyes seemed empty; they reflected destion in them. She held tightly onto an affidavit, which proved her virginity, but she was just an empty and numb vessel at that moment. It took me so much hard work to procure a seat in Riverdale High School by taking the exam. Not only would I not have to pay for my living expenses and amodation, I could have received a full schrship. If I managed to procure a seat in the country¡¯s best university, Bayside University, I would completely change my fate. However, an unfounded rumor of my pregnancy and abortion cost me everything, including my education, my future, and my rtionship¡­ Joe left in a hurry without even sparing Sophia a backward nce. He treated her like the gue, wanting to distance himself as far away from her as possible to prevent her from causing further damage toward his assets. After he left, Sophia kept her head bowed as she carried an old bag while dragging her suitcase to follow Daniel out of the caf¨¦¡¯s ss doors. Just when she was so poor that she could hardly feed herself and was living on the streets, her father arrived like an angel descending from the heavens. He took her to the hospital for an examination and an affidavit. After that, he sent her to a hotel to wash up and have a change of clothes before sending her to Daniel. She hadn¡¯t had anything to eat for the whole day, and so her stomach started growling in hunger. It was an afternoon in the end of September, and the sun was shining brightly. Sophia stood under the scorching sun with her head bowed, and her skin was extremely tanned from the blistering sun. Daniel, in his smart suit and leather shoes, formed a stark contrastpared to Sophia¡¯s appearance. He opened up a finicky ck umbre to shade himself while making a phone call. ¡°Hello? Old man, are you still on the way? I have your missus with me. I am giving you another ten minutes before sending your missus to another family if you can¡¯t make it in time.¡± Sophia, who had not spoken a word thus far, pricked up her ears when she heard that. Is he on the phone with my future husband? I heard that my husband has a tough birth chart, and so he caused the deaths of his family members. Anyone who gets involved with him would end up with bad fortune. It so happens that hepliments me, since I caused the death of my mother right after giving birth to me; I caused the death of my grandma when I was 10 years old, and I even caused my biological father to almost go bankrupt when I¡¯m 18 years old despite never meeting him. Our union would result in us hurting each other, bringing harmony to society. Sophia tried imagining her future husband¡¯s appearance while feeling helpless. I suppose he is already balding, and has a t nose and a pair ofrge protruding ears. He might even have the signature beer belly. Judging by his tone, he seems much older; my guess is 40 years old. Well, that¡¯s too young; I think he is at least 50 years old. After chatting for a short while, Daniel hung up on the phone call. Finally, he seemed to have recalled that Sophia was a living human being, and the first sentence he finally spoke to her was, ¡°Although your husband is slightly older, he is blessed with good looks. Furthermore, he¡¯s a virgin.¡± He paused. ¡°Bear in mind to be obedientter. Take the initiative and address him as ¡®hubby¡¯.¡± Sophia¡¯srge but hollow eyes locked onto Daniel innocently. She had a bad feeling about this. My hubby might not merely have a beer belly. There¡¯s the possibility that he is disabled and sexually impotent¡­ I¡¯d be fine as long as I am fed, but it¡¯s best if I get to continue attending school. It doesn¡¯t matter if he has a beer belly; in fact, it would be even better if he is impotent. Nevertheless, it¡¯d be horrible if he turned out to be a psychopath due to his impotence! Sophia was drenched in sweat due to the heat, but that thought sent a chill down her spine, and so she shuddered involuntarily. Right after she trembled at the thought, a sleek and shiny Maybach came speeding toward them at 200 miles per hour. Then, it came to a screeching halt at the parking lot right in front of them. Daniel took a step forward while holding onto the umbre. Sophia guessed that it must be her future hubby¡¯s car, and so she held her chin up while approaching the car to have a look. The sunlight felt like a golden halo descending from the sky while brightening up the world. The ck Maybach had dark, tinted windows. She tried bncing on tiptoes, but she just couldn¡¯t see the person in the car. The driver¡¯s car door opened first, and a long and strong leg stretched out of the car. A pair of ck and polished leather shoes stepped on the ground steadily, and a man d in a suit got out of the car. Sophia looked up along the long legs, and she saw a man in his early thirties. He had light-bronze skin and prominent facial features. There seemed to be a vague scar across his left eyebrow, but it entuated his masculine appearance. Is this my¡­ slightly older hubby? From where I stand, he simply looks amazing, handsome, and cool! She couldn¡¯t help but feel terrified upon looking at her hubby, who was almost perfect. He doesn¡¯t have a beer belly, nor is he balding. In that case, there must be some particr reason for him not to be married; for example, he might be a psychopath, and an extremely abnormal one at that! The more handsome he is, the crazier he probably is! Sophia was so terrified that her knees buckled underneath her. She felt like she had to be more obedient and proactive so as to not suffer in her hubby¡¯s home. Hence, she plucked up her courage and took a couple of steps forward while taking the initiative to break the silence. ¡°Hub¡ª¡± Before she couldplete her greeting, her ¡®hubby¡¯ turned around coldly while opening the Maybach¡¯s back passenger door respectfully. A leg, which was even longer and slender than her ¡®hubby¡¯s¡¯, stepped out of the car in a pantsuit. A man in a white shirt got out of the car. The thin material of the shirt couldn¡¯t hide his perfectly- proportioned and sculpted body. He stood there, as though weing the breeze, and he had a model-like figure. His short hair seemed messy, but it was very stylish. He had several strands of stray hair on his forehead, which reflected the sunlight slightly. His handsome and prominent features appeared especially handsome, and even his sunsses couldn¡¯t conceal his good looks. His back was against the sunlight, and so he appeared almost like a deity with a halo. Sophia was so in awe that she forgot to greet him; instead, she merely stared at the man unblinkingly. The man took his sunsses off gradually, and his deep-set eyes stared into Sophia¡¯s. The man¡¯s eyes scanned Sophia thoroughly while giving her several once-overs. He seemed slightly disgusted the first time he looked her up and down because he frowned slightly. When he nced at her the second time, he looked as if he was trying to convince himself while suppressing his disgust forcefully. After that, he finally rxed his scowl when he checked her out for the third time, and a trace of fondness shed across his eyes. He strode toward Sophia, and he brought about a gust of chilly wind. His gaze was fixed on her, but his hand shot out suddenly to snatch Daniel¡¯s ck umbre. The man held the umbre over Sophia¡¯s head to shade her from the sun, and she felt cool under the shade. The man nced coldly at Daniel, and he finally broke the silence. ¡°You are exposing my missus under the hot sun!¡±N?velDrama.Org content. Chapter 2 Chapter 2 His voice was cold and mysterious, yet elegant and melodious. He sounded inexplicably tantalizing, and Sophia was soon reveling in his voice. On the other side, the man in the suit, whom she initially thought was her hubby, was standing at the side respectfully now. Does that mean that this man standing in front of me, who looks even better than a model in television shows, is actually my hubby? So he isn¡¯t bald, nor does he have a beer belly and a t nose? Besides, he doesn¡¯t even haverge, floppy ears. Sophia looked at the man in front of her in disbelief while nking at Daniel in a panic. Daniel was under the scorching sun now since he just had his umbre snatched away. Nevertheless, he wiped his sweat away calmly while nodding at her. ¡°Mm-hmm, this is your hubby. Quick, address him as your hubby.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was still staring at the man in fear. She thought that, in the best-case scenario, her hubby wouldn¡¯t be handicapped or too old; she never expected him to be so perfect. He was so perfect that she felt like she was in a dream. Sophia was tongue-tied, and she just couldn¡¯t utter that simple word to greet him. Her hubby, who looked like a prince, did not force her either; instead, he continued shading her with the umbre while chatting with Daniel. Sophia did not pay attention to what they were chatting about because she only had one thought in her mind¡ªSomething isn¡¯t right! Something is utterly wrong! Why would such a perfect man not have a wife and is still a virgin? He must have some sort of hidden disease; maybe he is impotent and psychotic. In fact, he¡¯s most probably a super crazy psychopath! Sophia was so scared that she started trembling uncontrobly. She heard Daniel speaking, ¡°This is your fate; I so happened to have her in hand, whereas you needed a woman as well. She has a simple background; she is the illegitimate daughter of a small business owner.¡± Her prince-like hubby was still observing her when he nodded. ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± It¡¯s much better to marry such a non-threatening woman. At least she wouldn¡¯t end up like the previous one, who almost died for no reason. She might be tanned and thin, but her facial features are prominent. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll look good after some good maintenance and makeover. Daniel was extremely pleased with himself. ¡°Her horoscopeplements yours, and that is one in a million. I¡¯m confident she¡¯ll emerge as a beauty after you take good care of her. Purchasing her for 10 million was definitely a steal!¡± Sophia stared at him while looking dumbfounded. The two men chatted some more, and soon, Sophia followed her hubby into the Maybach nervously and left the ce. At that moment, her mind was nk because she had yet to recover from the initial shock of her 10 million worth and the fact that her hubby was just like a prince. She stole a nce at him in the car, just to make sure that he wasn¡¯t the balding man with arge t nose she had imagined. Her hubby was seated beside her, and he spoke to Daniel through the car window, ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner at night after work.¡± The car started, but it did not speed off. The partition panel between the driver¡¯s and back passenger seat ascended slowly. The car windows were tinted, and so the two of them were left with a private and isted space. The prince-like hubby, who seemed especially respectable earlier, started making a move on Sophia once he settled in the car. His long, prominent, fair hand extended unexpectedly toward her cor. Joe had sent Sophia for a shower in the hotel beforeing over, and so she had her best clothes on. The pink knee-length dress made her tanned skin appear even darker. The size did not fit her, and so it was loose around her waist. She spent 30 to purchase the used dress from her schoolmate, and it was a designer¡¯s brand! He ripped off her pink dress in disgust and exposed her white undergarment, which was so worn it had specks of lint. He stared at it in revulsion. ¡°What nonsense are you wearing?!¡± Sophia curled up underneath him, and her shoulders were trembling uncontrobly. Her skin was fair as snow, but her face was tanned since she had been living on the streets. She was in shock and scared simultaneously because she was afraid that the man was a psychopath. rm bells were ringing in her mind, and so she shoved against his body that was pinning her down. ¡°When are we getting our marriage certificate? I brought along my household registry and ID card¡­¡± She felt insecure, and so she figured she¡¯d feel better after procuring a marriage certificate. Her ¡®prince¡¯ did not answer her; instead, he spoke directly to the man in a ck suit who was driving the car, ¡°Hale, head to the Civil Affairs Bureau.¡± The car changed its direction and sped toward the Civil Affairs Bureau. The car ride was bumpy, but he continued his attack on Sophia by groping all over her body. He caressed her tanned and petite face. There were dark shadows underneath her eyes, and her hair was as messy as a bird¡¯s nest. Her skin was slightly sallow and malnourished, but her facial features were delicate and pretty. She hadrge eyes with double eyelids, a tiny pair of lips, and a pretty nose. Sophia¡¯s eyshes were thick and curly. Her heart-shaped face was set upon a body with fair and smooth skin; in fact, she was a natural beauty. However, she looks like a shriveled chick right now! I don¡¯t believe in horoscopes, but it wouldn¡¯t raise suspicions to have a girl without any background by my side. Besides, it¡¯s quite fun. The car soon came to a halt in front of the Civil Affairs Bureau. Sophia adjusted her clothes while following her hubby from behind. She checked to make sure that it was the Civil Affairs Bureau before going in. She held onto her ID card and household registry carefully. Her mother came to the city twenty years ago to work for two years. Then, she returned to her vige looking fabulous, and rumors had it that she became a mistress of a coal business owner in the city. Furthermore, her mother gave birth to her out of wedlock, and she passed away on the operation table. Sophia¡¯s uncle raised her until she was 15 before chasing her out of the house. Hence, her household registry was based on the address of her grandfather¡¯s house. On the household registry, both her grandfather and grandmother had passed away, and so she was the only one left. Her hubby appeared to be someone important. Hale had already evacuated the ce before they entered the Civil Affairs Bureau. There were only staff members left in the bureau¡¯s main hall, and they were ready to serve them enthusiastically. They filled in the forms, took a photograph, and procured their marriage certificate. She obtained the marriage certificate in one go. Upon receiving the red certificate booklet, Sophia stole a nce at her hubby¡¯s name¡ªMichael Fletcher. Michael Fletcher, 31 years old. He isn¡¯t that old; in fact, he¡¯s only 13 years older than I am, and I think it¡¯s eptable. Sophia got married without a wedding ceremony or anyone¡¯s blessings, and she didn¡¯t have any friends and family around her. She held onto the red marriage certificate booklet fresh from the oven while scanning it several times. It was her name and photograph, indeed. Her hubby stood tall and elegant beside her, and he looked exceptionally handsome. Sophia felt as if she might have had a fake marriage, and so she pinched her thigh hard. Ouch, that¡¯s slightly painful. Michael stated, ¡°I have to keep this private for now because it¡¯s not convenient for me to be married in my job.¡± Sophia nodded. It¡¯s good enough as long as I don¡¯t starve, and it¡¯s best if I can continue attending school. I don¡¯t wish for anything else. The two of them got back into the car, and there was a fresh box of condoms avable in the car. Michael started making a move on Sophia once the car doors were closed. She never expected her first time to happen in a car. Besides, there was another person at the driver¡¯s side, and so she was stiff with tension. It¡¯s true that Michael Fletcher is a psychotic pervert! Michael was dressed like a gentleman. He had had two former girlfriends in the past¡ªone of them lost her memory, whereas the other almost died in a car crash, and so he wasbelled as a wife-jinxer. Furthermore, his identity as a public figure meant that everything he did would be scrutinized under a magnifying ss. When his dog lost all its fur due to a skin disease, the media stubbornly imed that he jinxed his dog¡­ I¡¯m not particrly interested in sex and women, but it would be a waste not to bed the woman I¡¯ve legally married. I can¡¯t very well let this little girl live like a widow. He slipped on the protection and held onto her slender ankle while speaking to her in a serious tone, ¡°Chica, you should be mentally prepared because I¡¯m not very experienced.¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t sure how the term ¡®chica¡¯ came about, but she was extremely nervous, and so her mind was nk. Just when they were at the most critical moment, Daniel called. ¡°Hello? Old man, I¡¯m closing my shop now. Where are we having dinner? Is Harrying?¡± Michael, who was interrupted, cursed angrily, ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of doing something important! Get lost!¡± Daniel burst outughing. ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you at our old spot!¡± After hanging up, Michael pulled his pants up and settled back onto his seat while looking calm and collected. Sophia¡¯s stomach growled in hunger, and her body was soft and limp. I¡¯m not even sure how long she has been starving. I can¡¯t just go on; I¡¯d have to feed her well first. After all, she can¡¯t escape from sleeping with me. The car drove into High Street, and they walked into a high-end gourmet chain restaurant. In the restaurant¡¯s private room, Sophia was gobbling food non-stop, whereas Daniel and Michael were chatting intimately. Daniel patted Michael¡¯s shoulder whilementing, ¡°You old bachelor, I¡¯ve finally married you off! I¡¯d like to describe you with a phrase. Hmm¡­ how about ¡®getting married as an old fart¡¯? Hahaha¡­¡± Michael ignored Daniel¡¯s teasing; instead, he continued puffing on his cigarette while caressing Sophia¡¯s messy and chopped-up hair. He looked tenderly at her. Suddenly, there was a phone call for him, and Michael was greeted with a stern, male voice, ¡°Old man, there are some issues in Europe¡­¡± Michael looked gloomy after hanging up on the call. Daniel stopped smiling yfully as well. ¡°What happened?¡± Michael answered him in a grave tone, ¡°Some issues cropped up in Europe. I need to rush over straight away. Hale, get my private ne ready.¡± Hale turned around to head out of the room to prepare the ne by making a phone call. However, he made a double take immediately to ask, ¡°What about madam?¡± Sophia felt nervous instantly. I should be starting my senior year soon. I wouldn¡¯t even know when I might return if I¡¯m all the way in Europe. I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t make it to the orientation for Bayside University if so! Michael thought that it was a pity as well. I haven¡¯t gotten a taste of this little girl. It¡¯s a pity to just leave now. However, I would be preupied even if I were to bring her along to Europe. Besides, it¡¯s dangerous there. ¡°How long does it take to get to the airport now?¡± Michael felt that it wasn¡¯t toote if he made use of whatever time he had left. After checking the route, Hale answered seriously, ¡°Traffic is smooth throughout the highway to the airport. It¡¯ll take 20 minutes at most from here to the airport.¡± After reporting to Michael, Hale added, ¡°Is 20 minutes enough for you¡­?¡± Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Is 20 minutes enough¡­ enough¡­ enough¡­? Sophia blushed as the words lingered by her ears. Michael thought about it seriously. ¡°20 minutes is too short.¡± In the end, he still decided to deal with the matter first. They were married after all, and they could wait, but the incident in Europe couldn¡¯t wait any longer. After he exhorted Daniel and Hale on some matters, he rubbed Sophia¡¯s messy hair and left in a hurry, leaving her, who was holding a bowl dumbfoundedly, behind. Hale sent Sophia to the top vi neighborhood of the Bayside City, The Imperial, after sending Michael away. The Imperial was located in the city center, and the price of properties there was high. The Imperial was the best neighborhood around, and it only had ten vis. Each vi came with a huge garden, parking spaces, and even water fountains. The market value of those vis were hundreds of millions, and the owner of the neighborhood had an extraordinary background. Sophia was astonished as she stood before the huge and gorgeous vi, which looked just like a European castle. ¡°The vis here were built by the boss¡¯pany, and he kept two for himself. This is Vi No. 8, and if you don¡¯t like it, you can stay in Vi No. 1, which is a courtyard house. It is opposite an ancient pce, where you can visit whenever you are free,¡± exined Hale. ¡°This is the boss¡¯ credit card, which is unlimited. This is another card, which has around 7 to 8 million in it. You shall spend all of it before he returns.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t know how else to react other than being dumbfounded. She could tell that her life would bepletely different from now on¡­ A yearter. It was September, mid-autumn, and it was Bayside University¡¯s Freshman orientation day. Bayside University was the top university in Cethos, and it had nurtured countless elites across different industries in the world. Students who were enrolled into Bayside University were all intelligent, had top results, and were top students from each city across Cethos. Getting into Bayside University was Sophia¡¯s goal, and her life would change as long as she got into that university. That was the only way she could turn her life around. However, she was expelled from school, and no school was willing to take her on herst highschool year despite the fact that she had excellent results and could get into Bayside University as long as someone provided her food and a bed in an 8-person dormitory¡­ The entrance of Bayside University was crowded on the first day, with luxurious carsing in and out, causing a traffic jam. Shuttle buses were also traveling slowly from the entrance to different schools. Suddenly, a Yamaha motorbike drove past the shuttle buses. The girl on the bike lowered her body and grabbed the handles firmly, just like an agile leopard. Her dark, curly hair fell on her waist, and she was wearing a crop top, showing her slender waist. Her abs were tempting, and her tight, leather trousers made her look thin, tall, and extremely wild. People in the shuttle bus looked toward the girl riding the motorbike. Bayside University was the top university of Cethos. It was a serious and dignified ce. The sudden appearance of a wild girl became a wow factor, and everyone started asking about the background of that student. The motorbike then stopped at the parking booth outside the university¡¯s hall. The girl came down from the motorbike, and she revealed her gorgeous, fair face. Sophia locked her motorbike, took her sunsses off, and walked toward the hall as she spun the keychain in her hand. All freshmen had to attend the freshmen orientation in the hall. Too much happened in the past year, and she seemed to have changedpletely. She was now cool, confident, and was no longer that nerd who did nothing other than studying. She also got into Bayside University, as she wished. It¡¯s finally time to meet some acquaintances. I wonder how those people who framed me are doing now. I¡¯m actually quite eager to find out¡­ No one would have the courage to miss Bayside University¡¯s Freshman Orientation Day. The hall was soon fully seated. Thousands of students were enrolled, and they all came from across the country. Some of them were students from middle-ss families, while some were well-dressed individuals from rich families. Other than top students, Bayside University also admitted a batch of noble students. Their results might not be as good as the others, but they could be enrolled as long as their family paid a school maintenance fee of six to seven digits. Sophia simply found a seat and sat down. She was attracting attention with her revealing crop top and her gorgeous face with light makeup on. She heard amotion soon after she sat down. ¡°Richard is here!¡± ¡°The one from the Harper Family, who¡¯s got a high score of 736 in the exam? Isn¡¯t he in Year 2? Why is he attending the freshmen orientation?¡± ¡°Gosh, Richard is hot!¡± A handsome man, who was in a ck suit, walked into the hall slowly like Prince Charming with everyone¡¯s attention on him. He was the eldest son of the Harper Family, the real estate tycoon in South Bayside City. The full marks for the college entrance exam was 750, and Richard got 715. He was born rich, had outstanding abilities, and was handsome. Hence, he was immediately popr in the university. He was also Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend. But it was a long time ago¡­ Sophia looked up at that man who was in the middle of the attention, and she smiled viciously. Richard was walking over gentlemanly, enjoying people¡¯s attention. He was calm and cool, almost perfect. Suddenly, he felt a familiar gaze among the crowd, but when he looked around, that gaze disappeared. He thought he saw Sophia. Sophia, his ex-girlfriend. They had a promise to get into Bayside University together and get engaged after they graduate, but he never expected her to betray him, get together with another man, and even get pregnant¡­ Richard looked down and removed Sophia from his mind. A girl that sacrificed her body in order to climb the socialdder didn¡¯t deserve his love! ¡°Richard, you are here!¡± A melodious voice rang. A girl, who was in a knee-length skirt, ran toward him like a joyful fairy jumping into Prince Charming¡¯s embrace. All the other girls gasped out of jealousy. Richard¡¯s eyes were filled with gentleness when he looked at the fairy-like girl. The girl was as pure as a fairy. She was born with a silver spoon and knew nothing about evil. She was kind, innocent, and was completely different from girls like Sophia, who would sacrifice their body to achieve their goals. Only girls like this suit me! The girl was the precious daughter of the family who owned Huffs Technology, X Huff¡ªshe was a perfect match for Richard Harper, and they were getting engaged soon. Another girl, who looked ssy, held Richard¡¯s other arm happily as she spoke coquettishly, ¡°Richard, you shan¡¯t forget your sister after getting a girlfriend, you know!¡± Richard looked at his sister, Ka Harper, affectionately. ¡°My two princesses invited me, so of course I woulde!¡± Thebination of such handsome and gorgeous individuals attracted everyone¡¯s attention. They sat down under others¡¯ jealous gaze. The boys were jealous of Richard¡¯s background and ability. He was only in Year 2, yet he was already an important member in his family business. Meanwhile, the girls were jealous of the two girls standing next to Richard for having such a perfect boyfriend and brother, and they wished they could take their ce. The freshman orientation soon started. The chairman started speaking, and everyone started dozing off, but no one dared to leave. In fact, the vice chancellor was sitting in the first row.Content ? N?velDrama.Org. X and Ka started whispering. They talked about jewelry and fashion. Just then, X sighed pretentiously and asked, ¡°Richard, do you think Sophia got into Bayside University too? Will we still see her? She is good at studying, and it should be easy for her to get into Bayside University.¡± Richard looked disgusted. Before he could speak, Ka scoffed, ¡°Her pregnancy scandal was huge, and no school was willing to take her in after she was expelled. Would that poor girl be able to pay for the tuition fee anyway?¡± The Harpers had always disliked Sophia and didn¡¯t want Richard to be with such girls. There were too many girls like her, who wanted to marry rich. Ka despised her, and her words were filled with disgust. ¡°Ka, don¡¯t say that. Sophia must have had her reasons! It might not be what we thought it was,¡± X said enthusiastically. Richard shook his head and rubbed X¡¯s nose lovingly. ¡°You are always this kind!¡± ¡°Richard¡­¡± X blushed like a shy deer. She looked pure and innocent, and it was what Richard liked the most about her. Just then, they heard a clear voice from the speaker. ¡°Let¡¯s wee our student representative, Sophia Edwards, from the School of Business Management and Economics.¡± A tall, confident girl walked on stage and stood before the thousands of freshmen. Her revealing crop top made her stand out among the group of nerds and rich youngdies. It felt as if she was glowing when the spotlight hit her. Chapter 4 Chapter 4 There were quite a lot of Sophia¡¯s old ssmates sitting in the hall, and they were all surprised to see her. Isn¡¯t this Sophia, who was expelled from school because of her bad reputation after getting pregnant? Sophia didn¡¯t seem to have registered their shocked faces and just started giving her speech. ¡°Good morning, I¡¯m Sophia Edwards, first year student of Business Management and Economics Major¡­¡± Ka¡¯s eyes widened. The Sophia from her memory was dark and ugly, yet the girl on stage was tall, fair, and was wearing the newest design of the limited-edition diamond-studded crop top that was recently showcased at Paris¡¯ Fashion Week. Her skin was as smooth as silk, and she looked stunning with just light makeup on. ¡°How did she get into Bayside University?¡± Ka gnashed her teeth. Sophia was an orphan, and their highschool nurtured her to be a prospective student of Bayside University. They gave her full schrship and even provided her free food and amodation. She had nowhere to go after being expelled and had a bad reputation. Ka thought no school wanted her, not to mention Bayside University. Ka couldn¡¯t believe it. She took the list of the freshers out and found Sophia¡¯s introduction. ¡®Sophia Edwards, female, 19, graduated from South Bayside High School, scored 725 marks in her college entrance exam, and is currently studying in Bayside University¡¯s School of Economics and Business Administration¡¯s Economics Major.¡¯ South Bayside High School, the best highschool in Bayside city! Richard was stunned when he saw that tall, beautiful figure. His eyes lit up, and he couldn¡¯t react for a while. Is that really Sophia? Why does she look so different from what I remembered? X panicked a little when she saw his expression. She quickly held Richard¡¯s arm and said coquettishly, ¡°Sophia had other boyfriends when she was dating Richard. Her other boyfriends might have sponsored her.¡± X¡¯s words sounded innocent, but it was poking Richard¡¯s heart, reminding him that Sophia was the one who betrayed him first! She was a dirty woman! Richard¡¯s gaze turned cold. X sighed in relief. She was afraid that he still had feelings for Sophia. ¡°Richard, don¡¯t be mad. Sophia was young and was fooled. Now that she got into Bayside University, we can hang out together again,¡± sheforted Richard hypocritically. Richard was disgusted by her words. He wasn¡¯t as innocent as X and couldn¡¯t forget about it. Betrayal was betrayal, after all! Sophia was still speaking on stage as a student representative. She was calm, confident, and spoke clearly; she looked like a top student. The vice chancellor kept nodding and pping. However, being a popr girl in high school, everyone in Riverdale High School knew her. Her appearance was a great shock to her previous schoolmates, and everyone was gossiping about her. Soon, the scandal about Sophia¡¯s highschool pregnancy was spread among the freshmen. ¡°What? Sophia was expelled from high school because she got pregnant? And she didn¡¯t even know who the dad was?¡± ¡°I knew she was messed up from the way she looks and dresses, but I didn¡¯t expect this. Tsk-tsk.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ask for her priceter. She is my cup of tea!¡± ¡°I have the video of her being expelled. She was even begging the principal shamelessly to take her before the gate. Tsk-tsk.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Small groups of gossiping soon turned into a huge scale of discussion. Bayside University was always strict about student¡¯s private life. Students would either be deducted marks or expelled if they were found to be messing around, so it was rare for Bayside University to have such scandals. Now that one came up, it instantly caught everyone¡¯s attention. By the time Sophia was done speaking, the gossips were already louder than the ppings. It caught the vice chancellor¡¯s attention. The vice chancellor was the person with the highest authority attending today, and he had the power to speak. He red at those who were gossiping and scolded, ¡°What¡¯s so interesting? Why don¡¯t you go on stage and share with us?¡± The vice chancellor had a strong background and was strict. The gossip stopped after he spoke, but some fearless students kept on gossiping. Ka, who hated Sophia, stood up and shouted loudly on purpose, ¡°Vice chancellor, I would like to make a report. Sophia¡¯s private life is extremely messed up. She dated several men at the same time back in high school, got pregnant, and even aborted the baby. It brought shame on the high school, and she was expelled in the end after parents and students insisted. How can people like her attend Bayside University? It¡¯s a great humiliation for our university, and I refuse to have her as my schoolmate!¡± Meanwhile, Richard, Sophia¡¯s ex, made noments. The hall was quiet, and Ka¡¯s voice was clearly heard by people around her. Those who couldn¡¯t hear her soon heard it from people around too. ¡°Is that true?¡± the vice chancellor frowned and asked doubtingly. Ka nodded her head continuously. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask any student from Riverdale High School. Everyone knew about it. If you still don¡¯t believe it, you can try searching the keywords ¡®Sophia Edwards from Riverdale High School¡¯ online. There were multiple news reports about it.¡± Someone searched and soon found lots of information, such as ¡®The nerd was actually a slut! Student got pregnant and didn¡¯t know who the father was¡¯, and more. Many media reported about it, and it caused a wave. They could find millions of results online. There were even clear photos and videos of Sophia¡ªnone of them cared to blur out her face. The girl in the video was kneeling before the school gate, and her luggage was thrown on the floor. She kept begging the principal, kowtowing again and again until her forehead was bleeding. ¡°I¡¯m not! I¡¯m not pregnant, and I don¡¯t have a promiscuous lifestyle! You have to trust me! Please, don¡¯t chase me away. I can guarantee you that I can get into Bayside University, and I can offer free tuition lessons to other students. I can also work part time to pay the tuition fee. I can do anything. Please don¡¯t expel me! I can give up anything. I just want you to keep my student profile and allow me to take the college entrance exam! Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡± A group of parents, who were dressed up, stood before the gate and was a great contrastpared to the girl. They kept scolding the poor girl, ¡°I don¡¯t want my son to be schoolmates with a girl like her! You have to expel her, or I¡¯ll transfer my son to another school!¡± ¡°You have to expel her. She is a vixen. What if she seduce my son?¡± The girl in the video was as pitiful as a stray dog. Her dirty face was covered with blood and tears, but the current Sophia before their eyes waspletely different. She was so confident that she was glowing. The students kept pointing at her as they gossiped. Ka raised her voice. ¡°Vice chancellor, did you see that? Sophia is just a slut. If you let her stay in this university, Bayside University¡¯s name will be ruined by her!¡± The vice chancellor looked at Sophia seriously. His expression was solemn. Bayside University was once involved in a scandal. A female student gave up on herself and chose to serve men in a nightclub. She even used her identity as a Bayside University¡¯s student to increase her price, and it had caused a great blow to the university¡¯s reputation. The chancellor was so mad that he almost exploded. If the rumors were true, Sophia could be the next person that would sell her body with a high price while using her identity as a Bayside University student. Everyone¡¯s gaze turned to Sophia instantly. Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Sophia had a calm and indifferent expression after her speech. She stood on the stage, d in a crop top, but she didn¡¯t seem frivolous as one would expect. On the contrary, she looked free and unrestrained, which made her stand out among the many students present. She wasn¡¯t about to step down, nor was she affected by the rumors. Sophia merely observed the crowd below the stage whispering among each other. Her lips curled up into a slight smile, as if she was waiting for some drama to unfold. Content ? N?velDrama.Org. She allowed everyone to continue with their discussion, giving them all the time they needed to gossip. The voices in the auditorium were getting louder, and they sounded even more distasteful now. In the end, the vice chancellor mmed the table andmanded angrily, ¡°Silence!¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s booming voice reverberated around the hall. Finally, the racket in the auditorium died down. The vice chancellor regarded Sophia with a stern expression, and he demanded in a grave tone, ¡°Sophia Edwards, what do you have to say for yourself?¡± Sophia nodded toward the vice chancellor and tapped against the microphone to check on the sound system before answering him, ¡°That girl is my previous ssmate from high school, indeed. However, I disagree with her statement regarding my pregnancy and promiscuous life. It¡¯s true I had a boyfriend in high school, but we have never tasted the forbidden fruit. I did not get pregnant, nor did I have a promiscuous lifestyle.¡± Ka had always hated Sophia. The Harper Family was a well-known family, and so they could never allow amoner, such as Sophia, to join the noble Harper Family. I couldn¡¯t face anyone within the socialitework when Sophia was with Richard. There were people constantly mocking me, and so I had been thinking of ways to ruin their rtionship. I was this close to celebrating their breakup with fireworks. I definitely have to add insult to injury right now. Ka deliberately announced loudly, ¡°Mr. Vice Chancellor, she has no grounds to argue about this matter. The entire school is aware of her promiscuous life. It¡¯s not guaranteed that she wouldn¡¯t bring her horrible habits from high school to Bayside University. Therefore, I suggest expelling her!¡± Right after Ka¡¯s speech, Sophia¡¯s voice boomed through the amplifiers, drowning Ka¡¯s voice immediately, ¡°Oh? Did you witness my promiscuous lifestyle in person since you sound so sure about it? Or did you see me getting pregnant and having an abortion?¡± Ka shook her head while retorting shrilly, ¡°All your schoolmates knew about your scandal, and they saw it! There is no use denying it!¡± Sophia was still smiling faintly when she spoke in a calm tone, ¡°Miss, please don¡¯t change the subject. I¡¯m merely asking if you saw, with your own eyes, that I got pregnant, got an abortion, and led a promiscuous lifestyle with several men.¡± Ka was rendered speechless when she heard that. How would I know when Sophia was sinning? ¡°I did not witness it myself, but¡ª¡± ¡°Are you saying that you are using me without concrete proof?¡± Sophia cut her off decisively while staring at her with a pair ofrge bright eyes that no longer looked dull like before. Her eyes were like dazzling lights, which illuminated every gaze thrown at her, as she scanned the students sitting in the auditorium with an intense look. Then, Sophia asked deliberately, ¡°What about the rest of you? All the students who were caught up in an intense discussion earlier, where did you learn about my pregnancy and promiscuous lifestyle? Did you see it in person? Or did you see it on your Instagram stories?¡± The crowd, who was in a heated discussion below the stage just a while ago, exchanged nces among themselves. Nobody spoke because they truly had no idea about the truth. They learned about the gossip via Instagram Stories and Twitter. Later on, the rumors got out of hand and spread like wildfire in the school. After learning about the news, many parents joined efforts by requesting the high school to expel Sophia to prevent her from being a bad influence to their children. The principal had no choice but to get rid of Sophia due to the pressure, but she refused to leave. Security dragged her out while humiliating her in the process. After that, she cried and kicked up a fuss at the school entrance. She even kneeled in front of the entrance, begging the principal to allow her to attend school. Therefore, the whole school knew about this matter. However, they merely witnessed the principal chasing Sophia out of school, and they saw her crying and causing amotion at the school entrance. No one witnessed her having a promiscuous life. On the contrary, every morning, they saw her memorizing English glossaries on the field. Sophia was also always thest one to leave the school¡¯s study room every day. Once the crowd quietened down, she smiled faintly. ¡°Since everybody here does not have concrete proof, you shouldn¡¯t use others easily. The consequences of spreading rumors and ndering are severe!¡± Ka stared at Sophia, whom she felt was twisting the truth on stage. How dare she deny the truth after sinning! Therefore, Ka scolded in anger, ¡°Sophia, do you think that you can twist the truth just because you are in a new school where nobody knows about your background? Dr. yton, from the high school hospital, was the one who diagnosed your pregnancy at the time!¡± The crowd erupted in shock. It turns out the school doctor diagnosed her! In that case, there¡¯s no denying the truth anymore! Sophia remained calm upon facing such a firm, irond usation. Instead, she smiled faintly while shaking her head sincerely at Ka before she addressed the vice chancellor and all the teachers, ¡°I can swear in front of everyone here with a clear conscience that I was never pregnant in high school, nor did I lead a promiscuous life. I am taking legal action regarding this matter. I am filing a civilwsuit against Dr. yton from Riverdale High School for defamation. Not only am I requesting for Dr. yton to restore my reputation, he is also topensate me with a huge sum for damages in this civil lawsuit.¡± Ka was at a loss for words due to shock. Her lips parted as she tried to say something, but she was stumped upon listening to Sophia. ¡°I hope my dear schoolmates present will refrain from discussing this matter. I will not hesitate to take legal action against those who contribute to these rumors, that will no doubt inflict further damage to myself!¡± Everybody exchanged nces with each other. She¡¯s taking this to court? ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± The color drained from Ka¡¯s face. In the end, she spat, ¡°I¡¯d like to see how you¡¯d win thewsuit!¡± Does Sophia, the hobo, have the money to hire awyer? She is already beyond lucky to have gotten through the entrance exams for Bayside University. Is she even able to turn the tables? Ka sat down withoutmenting further temporarily. However, Sophia, who was still standing at the rostrum, spoke righteously suddenly, ¡°As a member of the Bayside University, I know my actions and words represent the Bayside University. Therefore, I will maintain a clean reputation without ruining my alma mater¡¯s prestige. I will hire the best defense attorney as mywyer to fight thiswsuit well. I will not allow others to take advantage of this opportunity to discredit our university by blowing this rumor out of proportion.¡± The vice chancellor, who had a grave look earlier, seemed slightly more rxed now. His face was still void of emotions, but he nodded very slightly, as if satisfied with Sophia¡¯s promise. Her confidence represents what a Bayside University student should be like! The students were still whispering at each other in the auditorium. Among the hushed discussions, Richard looked especially upset. This girl seems different from before¡­ There is no doubt she hasmitted many humiliating things, but why is my feelings for her somehow lighted up and resurrected, burning deep down in my heart? He did not notice the dark gleam in X¡¯s eyes while she sat silently beside him. I¡¯ve put in so much effort to finally snatch Richard away from that b*tch, Sophia. In fact, we are already nning to get married. I can¡¯t allow her sudden appearance to affect our rtionship! Is she trying to turn the tables? Dream on! Chapter 6 Chapter 6 In the end, after her speech, Sophia returned to her seat under the crowd¡¯s scrutiny. Among therge group of goody-two-shoes university students, Sophia stood out with her pretty face and bold clothes. Her affairs spread like wildfire throughout the university after what happened just now. The freshman orientation ended soon, and everyone got up to leave the auditorium. Sophia took her time and walked out of the auditorium when there were less people. Nothing happened when sses started over the first few days in the university. Nevertheless, there were the freshman orientation, freshmen meeting, hostel distribution and the works. My priority right now is to win thewsuit to prove my innocence. Otherwise, Bayside University might expel me over this distasteful incident. It was impossible for Sophia not to know who had set her up. Dr. yton was the one who ruined my reputation. As long as I follow the clues and continue investigating him, I should be able to uncover interesting things, Sophia thought to herself while walking out of the auditorium. She walked along the boulevard to the parking booth to look for her motorbike. The freshman orientation had almost ended by then, and so students were leaving one after another. Most sophomores and juniors had yet to return to the university, and so there weren¡¯t many people on the boulevard. There were the asional students along the route, but those were rare. Suddenly, Sophia came to aplete halt in her steps because there was a couple in front of her entangled in a make out session. She thought the back view seemed rather familiar. Isn¡¯t that Richard and X? The guy had a clean white shirt on, whereas the girl was wearing a crisp, white sundress. They looked like a prince and princess who had just walked out of a fairytale. In fact, they looked like a match made in heaven. This scene looks familiar. A year ago, I had the worst fight with Richard in our rtionship over something simr to this scene. That day, I walked out of the high school library and witnessed a handsome couple making out passionately in the grove. I felt my world crumbling around me at that moment, and there was a ringing sound in my ears. I felt as if someone was stabbing my heart repeatedly. I always knew that X had a crush on Richard. I just didn¡¯t expect them to end up together. I was stupid enough to expose them on the spot. Richard and X kept apologizing to me profusely. I lost it and pped X so hard that she got a nosebleed. In the end, Richard spat, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so unreasonable.¡± Then, he left with a weeping X. From then on, Richard and I couldn¡¯t return to the way things were before, and we started a cold war. I just entered senior year in high school, and schoolwork was getting even more demanding. I felt increasingly pressured with the cold war I had with Richard; coupled with the sudden change in weather, I came down with a cold. Hence, I was forced to get some medication from the high school hospital. Unexpectedly, Dr. yton diagnosed me as two-months pregnant after giving me a once-over when I was merely having a cold. Furthermore, there were many students in the hospital that day. Rumors of my pregnancy spread because I was a well-known figure, who often represented the student body, and had received many awards along the way. I was well aware of whether or not I was pregnant. I¡¯d been together with Richard since sophomore year in high school. We did nothing apart from holding hands, and I¡¯d never had other boyfriends before him. I begged the principal on bent knees not to expel me. I kneeled in front of Richard to beg him to trust me, but in return, he stared at me with nothing but disgust. Today, the familiar scene reyed in front of her once again. However, unlike the past, Sophia no longer felt any heartache. On the contrary, she felt the irony of the situation, as if the entire situation was taunting her. The couple in front of her finally stopped making out, and they separated shortly. X clung onto Richard¡¯s arm affectionately while smiling sweetly at him in a docile manner. Her gaze was tender and loving while she stared at the man in front of her. Sophia could see X¡¯s tender expression from her position. X could see her too, but Richard couldn¡¯t. Triumph shed through X¡¯s eyes when she saw Sophia. It was the exact same look she had a year ago. Nevertheless, Sophia¡¯s face maintained a nk expression; she just put on her pair of sunsses and earphones calmly. She switched on her music and brushed shoulders with the two of them casually with a spring in her step. X felt slightly puzzled. Didn¡¯t she see us? She couldn¡¯t possibly look like that if she saw us. Previously, when Sophia was expelled, she went to the Harper Family continuously for several days to beg Richard for help. At that time, she acted like a lowly dog. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s overwhelmed deep down in her heart when she ran into the love of her life again! Hence, X deliberately called out for Sophia, who walked past them. ¡°Sophia? Is that you, Sophia? What a coincidence!¡± Richard snapped back to his senses, as if he had woken up from a dream. Something gleamed in his eyes, and he seemed as if he was about to say something. However, Sophia acted as though she did not see them, and she walked past them lightly and swiftly. X wouldn¡¯t let it go, and so she chased after Sophia to tap her on her shoulder before greeting her with a friendly smile, ¡°Sophia, Sophia!¡± Sophia finally stopped walking to turn around to look at the couple. She took her sunsses off, revealing herrge and dark eyes. She looked up at themzily. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± X clung onto Richard, like a winner shower off her spoils of war. ¡°Sophia, who would have thought we¡¯d meet again in university! We are schoolmates again! Why don¡¯t Richard and I take you out for Japanese today? Our treat! We can go to the restaurant you¡¯ve always been reluctant to splurge on!¡± Having Japanese food was just like any other meal for the couple, but for Sophia, it was once even more luxurious than a Christmas feast. Sophia wore her earphones back on coldly. ¡°I¡¯m not free.¡± She turned around to continue walking forward. X wouldn¡¯t give up, and she chased after her. ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t the school expel you previously? How did you end up in South Bayside High School? Did your new boyfriend send you there?¡± New boyfriend! Richard, who was nearby, clenched his fists tightly reflexively when he heard that term. True enough, she has another man. If it weren¡¯t for the help of another man, how could she have possibly entered Bayside University? It seems like someone else has been keeping her on the side all along, whereas she has been lying to me all this while! She has been toying with my feelings all along! Naturally, Sophia knew what stunt X was trying to pull. She seeded in snatching Richard away. What is the point of dragging me into the drama now? Therefore, Sophie continued walking forward while ignoring X. X was about to say something to Sophia, but Richard dragged her back viciously while reprimanding her, ¡°What is there to chat about with someone like her? Is it not humiliating enough for you?!¡± X¡¯s adorable face scrunched up sadly. She held onto Richard¡¯s hand innocently while swaying slightly to soothe him. ¡°I have always had a good rtionship with Sophia. Previously, I was the one who snatched you away from her, and I¡¯ve always felt bad about it. Now that we are in the same university, it¡¯ll be so awkward whenever we bump into each other. I¡¯m just trying to resolve the misunderstanding between Sophia and me as soon as possible¡­¡± Richard regarded the adorable girl in front of him, and he was once again impressed by her kindness. He couldn¡¯t help himself and kissed her rosy cheek while speaking to her in a serious tone, ¡°I have no feelings for Sophia at all. You are the only one in my heart, and you¡¯re the only person I love.¡± N?velDrama.Org content. X blushed, and she threw herself into Richard¡¯s arms. She punched his chest yfully with her small fists. ¡°Richard, you¡¯re making me blush¡­¡± Out of Richard¡¯s sight, a trace of twisted triumph gleamed in those adorable and pretty eyes. Even though she managed to enter the same university, Sophia can never snatch Richard away from me! Previously, I ruined her reputation, and so I can very well achieve the same thing in this university! Her time in Bayside University is limited! At the same time, Sophia, who was already sitting on her Yamaha bike while fastening her helmet, sneezed. She had an odd feeling, as if someone was talking about her behind her back. I said that I¡¯m filing awsuit, and so I will go to court. I¡¯m not sure what Michael¡¯s job is. The strange thing is that, despite hisrge family business and handsome face, I just couldn¡¯t find anything online about him. There are countless ¡®Michael Fletchers¡¯ online, but none of them matches his description. Apart from my marriage certificate, I just can¡¯t seem to find a trace of him elsewhere. However, I know that Michael is extremely influential and powerful. In fact, he has the ability not to y by the rules. Previously, I begged the principal on bent knees to not expel me, but he rejected me. On the other hand, Michael secured my education path and household registration within less than a day. He even got me into Bayside City¡¯s best high school, South Bayside High School, without a hitch. Michael¡¯s right-hand man, Hale, already investigated everything on behalf of Sophia. It was true that Dr. yton framed her. A school doctor like Dr. yton wouldn¡¯t find trouble with a poor student for no reason. The only exnation was that he was paid to do that. At that time, Dr. yton had indeed received an unounted deposit of 200,000 in his bank ount. On the second day of the semester, Dr. yton of Riverdale High School received a subpoena from the court. He had long forgotten about what happened six months ago. In fact, Sophia, who was chased out of the school in utter humiliation, was thest thing on his mind. Hence, he was in shock when he received the court subpoena. He panicked and broke into cold sweat. Previously, when I received the money, she promised that there wouldn¡¯t be any problems for me. There haven¡¯t been any issues over a year. Why am I receiving a court subpoena now all of a sudden?! The person suing me is none other than the poor student from before, Sophia Edwards! Dr. yton made a phone call in a hurry. After dialing the number, a female voice greeted him soon enough from the other end of the line. Dr. yton started scolding her over the phone, ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise me that there wouldn¡¯t be any issues? I¡¯ve received a court subpoena now! So what should I do now?!¡± The person on the other end of the line sounded like a young girl. She started sobbing softly, as if she was extremely heartbroken. ¡°Dr. yton, I¡¯m so sorry. I was immature at the time, and I was just pulling a prank. I didn¡¯t expect things to get out of hand, nor did I expect Sophia to be expelled. I least expected you to end up with awsuit; I honestly wasn¡¯t expecting this!¡± In reality, Dr. yton had no idea who she was. Previously, before Sophia dropped by the school hospital for a check-up, he received a phone call that instructed him to diagnose her as pregnant. He was promised 200,000 uponpletion of the task. In fact, he received 100,000 on the spot in his bank ount and another 100,000 after hepleted the task. Therefore, Dr. yton issued Sophia a pregnancy diagnosis report that destroyed her reputation in school. After that, he received 100,000 as promised. Seeing as the girl on the other end of the line sounded young, he figured she was most probably a lawless rich kid. Dr. yton wanted nothing more than to shift the me, and so he advised her softly, ¡°You are still young, and so it¡¯s natural to make mistakes. Everyone deserves a second chance as long as they are capable of change. They won¡¯t do anything to you since you were still a minor at that time.¡± The girl sobbed over the phone before replying to him in a determined tone, ¡°Dr. yton, don¡¯t worry. Once you¡¯re in court, you just have to state that Ka Harper, who was in high school senior year Alpha ss at the time, instructed you to do that. Exin that you had nothing to do with the incident and just me everything on me, Ka Harper!¡± Dr. yton let out a sigh of relief, and hemitted the name to memory. After hanging up on the call, he immediately showed up at court. He was extremely cooperative with the investigation. Ka Harper did everything! I had nothing to do with it! Chapter 7 Chapter 7 The news of Sophia taking legal action became a huge issue. The past incident almost ruined her future. Furthermore, she was a student at Bayside University, and so her reputation was extremely important. If she refused to go to court over this matter, it would directly affect her reputation at Bayside University. In fact, it would affect her enrollment in the university. After the university understood the situation and its impact, Sophia was specifically given several days off to attend to thiswsuit. At Harper¡¯s mansion. X and Ka were seated in the living room while chatting about a new movie. ¡°Sigh, Ka, recently, there¡¯s a newly premiered movie, which is particrly popr, called ¡®Overlord¡¯. There are two male protagonists in the movie. The male lead, Taylor Murray, is so handsome! His role as an actor in the movie makes him seem so feminine, but it¡¯s not annoying at all! Ethan Winston, who is the other male lead, is exceptionally handsome too!¡± Xmented enthusiastically with a magazine in hand. Ka saw Taylor¡¯s photograph across the front page under the headlines. Taylor Murray was currently the megastar in the entertainment industry because he had just received several awards recently. In fact, he secured the Best Actor Awards both locally and internationally, and so Ka was intrigued. ¡°The Harper Family invested a total of 200 million in the filming of the movie ¡®Overlord¡¯. It has only premiered in theater for fifteen days, but the movie is already a huge box office hit. It¡¯s grossing at 1.8 billion now, and I¡¯m sure the movie will emerge as the number one box office hit of the year!¡± X shook Ka excitedly. ¡°In that case, let¡¯s catch the movie together!¡± Just when they were chatting, Richard came walking down the spiral staircase slowly. He asked with a smile while observing them chatting eagerly, ¡°What are you two chatting about?¡± X clung onto his arm yfully. ¡°Richard, let¡¯s catch a movie. I want to watch ¡®Overlord¡¯!¡± ¡°Sure, of course. Let¡¯s catch the movie together.¡± A maid entered suddenly. ¡°Young Master, there¡¯s a guest.¡± A man, who was wearing a stern expression, stood behind the maid. He had a pair of gold-rimmed sses on, and he was wearing a smart, formal suit. Upon seeing him, Richard appeared extremely respectful. He weed the man politely. ¡°Ah, I see you¡¯re here, Mr. Fields! Please, have a seat!¡± The man was a rather big deal. He was a bigshotwyer, Calvin Fields. He had never lost awsuit in his career. Hence, Mr. Fields was extremely popr among the rich and famous, and it was difficult to hire him even if money wasn¡¯t a problem! I wonder why this bigshotwyer is paying us a visit in Harper¡¯s mansion. One usually wouldn¡¯t get to see him without an appointment. Furthermore, I heard that his schedule is booked until next year. Mr. Fields adjusted his gold wire-rimmed sses, but he did not take a seat. Instead, he took out several documents from his briefcase. ¡°I¡¯m here today to see Ka Harper, also known as Miss Harper. She was involved in spreading rumors and ndering my client. It has caused tremendous repercussions toward my client¡¯s reputation. My client has entrusted me to handle thiswsuit. May I know who Ka Harper is?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ka stood up abruptly from the couch. ¡°What do you mean that I spread rumors and ndered your client?! What is going on?¡± Richard and X exchanged confused looks, and Richard asked Mr. Fields hastily, ¡°How could Ka possibly get involved in awsuit?¡± Mr. Fields nced at Richard coldly while handing Ka several documents. ¡°Miss Harper,st year, on 15th September, you paid off Dr. yton from Riverdale High School with 200,000 to frame my client, Miss Edwards, by iming that she was pregnant. It severely damaged her reputation while resulting in irreversible harm for the society. Currently, my client has filed a civilwsuit against you and Dr. yton. These are the relevant documents for your perusal.¡± Ka stared at the documents in Mr. Fields¡¯ hand in disbelief. She epted them and flipped through the documents in a hurry. It was a case report about Ka allegedly spreading rumors about Sophia. Richard scanned through the documents as well, and he saw the key points. ¡®Ka Harper allegedly paid 200,000 to Dr. yton from Riverdale High School to forge Miss Edwards¡¯ pregnancy report. This has severely impacted Miss Edwards¡¯ life and education. Currently, Miss Edwards has filed a civilwsuit against Miss Harper, requesting Miss Harper for a public apology, and for her to restore Miss Edwards¡¯ reputation through a publication in the newspaper. In addition to that, Miss Harper has been requested to pay 5 million to Miss Harper for civil damages¡­¡¯ Furthermore, there was a confession from Dr. yton with an attached phone number. Dr. yton confirmed that he made the deal through this phone number, and the very same number was associated with the Venmo ount that transferred 200,000 to Dr. yton while requesting him to forge a fake medical report. This phone number and Venmo ount both belonged to Ka. After reading through the information, Ka shook her head in disbelief. She threw the documents onto the floor. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! I¡¯ve never done any of those things! Someone framed me! Someone obviously framed me!¡± Mr. Fields picked up the documents from the floor while maintaining a nk expression. ¡°You will receive a court subpoena soon. You may state your stand in court. I am merely responsible for rying the message.¡± He kept the documents back in his briefcase, and he was still wearing a cold expression when he turned around to leave. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Richard knew Mr. Fields and had dealt with him in the past, he wouldn¡¯t have believed that the person standing in front of him was indeed Calvin Fields. Richard blocked Mr. Fields while asking him dubiously, ¡°Is your client truly Sophia Edwards?¡± Mr. Fields nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± He took his briefcase and left without another word. Richard stared at the empty entrance uncertainly for a very long time after Mr. Fields left. Mr. Fields is a bigshot in his profession. It would be impossible formoners to hire him. How could Sophia have possibly had the money to hire him for herwsuit? Ka was a youngdy from a wealthy family, who had never experienced hardship. She would never admit to a crime she did notmit, nor would she allow herself to take the me for no reason. She was so angry that her eyes gleamed menacingly. I didn¡¯t expect that Sophia had it in her to do such a thing! She grabbed onto Richard. ¡°Richard, look what¡¯s happening now! This is all thanks to that b*tch, Sophia Edwards! It has been such a long time; don¡¯t you see her for who she truly is?! How dare she frame me! I¡¯ve never done such a thing before, nor do I know Dr. yton, whoever that is! How dare shemit such a shameless crime for money!¡± I know Ka¡¯s character. She has always been stubborn and unreasonable ever since she was a child, but she would nevermit such a heinous crime because it¡¯s not her style at all. Is Sophia putting the me on Ka in order to restore her reputation? Or is she doing this for money? 5 million is not a small sum, after all! In the past, the Harper Family was against it when Richard dated Sophia. However, since he was still young and immature, no one stopped him. However, Ka and Sophia always bumped into each other in school, and they didn¡¯t have a good rtionship with each other. Ka had been unkind and hard toward Sophia during that time. From N?velDrama.Org. Therefore, nobody would find it suspicious if Sophia were to me everything on Ka. X¡¯s face was flushed red with anger. She consoled Ka while cursing, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Sophia to be so evil. How dare she use such a heinous method in order to restore her reputation! I¡¯ve truly misjudged her. Richard, you have toe up with something. You can¡¯t just let Sophia frame Ka!¡± A series ofplex emotions shed across Richard¡¯s face. Too many things don¡¯t seem to fit in this matter. Shouldn¡¯t Sophia start by taking it out on me if she wants revenge? Where did she get the money to hire thewyer? What happened to her after she was expelled? Richard was still unconvinced that the obedient, timid Sophia would do such a thing. He turned around before stating, ¡°I¡¯ll make a phone call to rify something.¡± He took out his phone and dialed a number, which had not been saved on his phone, from memory. He had deleted this phone number when he erased Sophia from his life. Previously, after receiving the SIM card, Sophia excitedly installed the SIM card in the free Nokia phone that came with the card. The first number she dialed was Richard¡¯s. She only had several numbers saved in that phone, and Richard¡¯s was one of them. However, the phone number was already not in use when he tried calling. A cruel gleam shed in X¡¯s eyes when she saw Richard bearing hope for Sophia. However, she merely urged him in a panic, ¡°Richard, she is obviously trying to frame Ka! You had better find a lawyer for Ka immediately!¡± Chapter 8 Chapter 8 After Sophia was chased out from her school, her phone crashed to the ground and broke. Since then, she never had the opportunity to buy a phone, and she had never used the number ever since. He found some mutual ssmates of his and Sophia¡¯s, but none of them had her number. After all, she had very few high school friends to begin with. Since she left Riverdale High School, no one knew what she had been up to and where she went. If she hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared in front of everyone a yearter, no one would have remembered her. After Richard put down his phone, he remained silent while X tugged on him anxiously. ¡°Richard, stop calling her. She won¡¯t pick up! She is determined to let Ka be her scapegoat. I¡¯ve never expected that she would be so malicious! After having a promiscuous life that led to her getting pregnant, she even nned to nder Ka to prove her innocence. We can¡¯t let her get her way, Richard!¡± Ka chimed in anxiously, ¡°Richard, are you still infatuated with that b*tch? She is now ndering me, yet you are still stubbornly doing nothing? Do you even regard me as your sister?¡± Richard finally put down all his excuses for defending her as there were no other possibilities. The only exnation to this was that Sophia really wanted to use Ka as her scapegoat. After all, she had finally entered Bayside University, so she needed her reputation to be recovered as soon as possible. Otherwise, she could be expelled. Since she had gone through great lengths to enrol into Bayside University, she would not leave easily. Richard¡¯s face darkened as he contacted anotherwyer to make preparations for the uing lawsuit. It was not an abrupt decision when Sophia mentioned that she was going to sue them. In fact, she must have nned it out a long time ago since the moment she received the letter of eptance from Bayside University. The court session started after the new academic semester had begun. The intiff, the defendant, the attorneys, the witnesses, the jury, and the judge had arrived, with rows of students from Bayside University in the audience. Sophia even invited the principal and the alumni from her high school. In addition to that, some parents also joined the court session, so the seats were packed with people. As this case involved the Harper Family, many of their family members were here as well. As the intiffs, Richard, Ka, and their mother, Mrs. Harper, had to be present as well. On the defendant¡¯s side, Dr. yton, the doctor of Riverdale High School, was standing fearfully as he looked at the inquisitive nces of the crowd. He had no idea where to ce his gaze, knowing that he could not get away from his offences no matter how everything would turn out today. Initially, he also wanted to hire an attorney to defend himself, but as soon as thewyers heard that they would be going against Calvin Fields, they immediately gave up. Although Mr. Fields was young, he was an invincible presence in the legal field. Sitting in the seats of the defendant was Sophia, who was finally not wearing an ostentatious crop top that showed off her slender waist and belly button. The fitting shirt that she wore had perfectly depicted her voluptuous figure, with her fair skinplementing her prominent facial features, making her look healthy and pretty. When she was broke, she had been through many hardships, and she looked skinny and tanned. Finally, she had the ability to doll herself up after she had be rich. After she changed from her worn-out school uniform into a set of branded clothes, her assertive side immediately showed itself. She looked like she hadpletely changed into a different person. After experiencing a hellish journey that was almost like a rebirth, her body and soul had gone through tremendous change. She was no longer the old Sophia anymore. She had an indifferent look as she sat still in the intiff¡¯s seat, making one unable to make out her emotions. Looking at her from afar, Richard felt that his heart seemed to be gently tugged by a string. Mrs. Harper had never imagined that they would be involved in such awsuit, and that her own daughter, Ka, would be the one being sued. She immediately cursed in front of Richard, ¡°I knew this little b*tch was up to no good! She seduced my son because she wants our family fortune!¡± Such a lowly woman must be in it for our money to be involved with my son! There¡¯s no chance of her getting a penny no matter how she wants to blow this matter out of proportion! The attorney that the Harper Family hired was also quite well-known in the industry. He was looking forward to crossing paths with Mr. Fields, and he promised the Harper Family that he would definitely win thiswsuit. The Harper Family looked forward to the result of thewsuit. Not only had they nned to win, they also wanted to sue Sophia for ndering them. When the court session began, the intiff and their attorney presented their respective cases first. Sophia merely rxed in her seat while Mr. Fields did all the talking. He presented each piece of evidence clearly. When Sophia was found by her father, Joe, in Duckburgs, he even sent her to a hospital to verify that she was still a virgin. Apart from that, he also asked her to show her future husband the affidavit at that time. At this moment, this affidavit hade in handy for them.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Apart from that, Sophia had also done a full body-checkup that proved that she was never pregnant, so she had never had a abortion. Apart from that, she was still a virgin. Both the affidavits had been verified to be real. After a slight pause, Mr. Fields continued, ¡°Dr. yton has also admitted that my client only suffered a slight cold at that moment. However, he illegally imed that she was pregnant, inflicting a great negative impact to my client¡¯s life and studies. This almost caused a tragedy that was unable to be saved.¡± Mr. Fields went on in a cold voice without any interest on his face. After all, thewsuits that he was usually involved in were worth more than billions. Hence, he waspletely uninterested in such awsuit that only involved 5 million. It was aplete overkill to hire him for this¡ªit was a waste of talent. However, his client was from such a prominent background that she could cut the queue and ignore everything else. Dr. yton also pleaded guilty and proved that this was the truth, eliciting a shocked murmur from the crowd. So Dr. yton actually gave a fake diagnosis! Because of his fake affidavit, Sophia wasbelled the pregnant girl in school. After some time, there were rumors on social media websites about her dating several guys simultaneously and that she had multiple abortions. This had inflicted a huge damage to Riverdale High School,pelling many parents to write to the school to expel Sophia. Initially, the principal was very reluctant to let her go as she was the top of her year most of the time. However, after some time, he finally buckled under the huge pressure of the rumors and the parents, who were rich and powerful. After all, he was also forced to make such a decision. Sitting in the audience seat, the principal sighed multiple times. He knew very well that Sophia¡¯s future must have been ruined as soon as she left the school. However, he was relieved to hear that she had managed to enter Bayside University, and she even had the ability to hire an attorney for herself. The court session continued with Ka¡¯swyer pointing out several pieces of evidence to prove that she did not frame Sophia. However, every evidence pointed to Ka¡ªthe phone number and the Venmo ount belonged to her. Even Dr. yton was sure that Ka was the culprit. Even though he had never seen her, he could recognize her voice. The person who bribed Dr. yton to frame Sophia was none other than Ka! The ims from the defendant¡¯s attorney were denied by Mr. Fields relentlessly. Finally, the court had come to a decision¡ªit was confirmed that Ka had ndered Sophia. Ka had to publicly apologize to Sophia and reinstate her reputation in the newspaper. Apart from that, she had to pay Sophia 5 million aspensation. When the result was confirmed, everyone in the Harper Family was shocked to find that they had lost to a young woman with no background! Chapter 9 Chapter 9 After the court session ended, the Harper Family refused to apologize, and it was clear that they were not satisfied with the results. They even stated on the spot that they would appeal the court decision. Although the court case was notpletely won, from the speeches just now, it was clear that Mr. Field¡¯s expertise was unrivaled. Even if they were to file an appeal, he would probably crush the opponent as well. With this win, Sophia¡¯s reputation had mostly been restored. After all, Dr. yton had apologized to her publicly during the court session and posted his apology in the newspaper so that Sophia would not be wronged anymore. However, the Harpers could not ept such a result, and they mentioned that they would not give up in fighting the court case. It was exactly what Sophia had predicted¡ªthey would not give in easily. Aftering out from the courtroom, Sophia was surrounded by many people; one of them was the principal of her old high school. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯ve let you down¡­¡± Sophia merely smiled without saying much. ¡°Since everything already happened, there¡¯s nothing much we can say now. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have finished my junior year peacefully.¡± After her entrance exam, Sophia was epted by Riverdale High School as the student who got the best results in her school. Back then, she lived with her uncle, who did not allow her to study and wanted her to work instead. The principal of the school visited her personally to fetch her to school and provided her free amodation and food, with all school fees waived. She even got a schrship. When this matter gained publicity, a group of parents with power and fame, including the Harpers, went to the principal¡¯s office to protest. It was out of desperation that he expelled Sophia. ¡°You are always wee to visit us.¡± He patted Sophia¡¯s shoulders. Mr. Fields also left in his car. To him, this court case was so boring that he almost fell asleep in the middle of it. Sophia went to the parking lot and found her Yamaha bike. After she put on her helmet, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. After turning around, she saw Richard, who was in a suit, Mrs. Harper, Ka, and X standing behind her. Mrs. Harper immediately swore once she saw Sophia, ¡°You little b*tch, weren¡¯t you aiming for our money from the beginning when you were dating Richard? Let me make it clear to you¡ªdon¡¯t even dream of taking a single cent!¡± Sophia snorted coldly. Back then, the Harpers were the ones who protested the most vehemently as they blocked the entrance of the school to request for them to expel Sophia. X consoled Mrs. Harper in a hypocritical way, ¡°Mrs. Harper, calm down. It¡¯s not worth it to be angry over people like her.¡± Looking at Sophia, Ka was so furious that her facial features were contorted. She almost wanted to rush forward and p her. ¡°You b*tch! Do you think it¡¯s that easy to take money from us? Just you wait ¡ªthis court case will definitely continue!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that easy for anyone to take a cent from us Harpers!¡± Mrs. Harper also chimed in viciously. With that, she walked away with Ka and X angrily. Richard, however, did not leave with them. Instead, he appraised the Yamaha bike that Sophia was sitting on. She used to be a delivery girl for the fast food restaurant outside their high school, and she would ride away on a bike, delivering the orders. She got tanned and skinny from the job, and her dream was to earn enough to buy herself a Yamaha bike. He wanted to buy her one as a gift, but she never wanted to receive anything from him, even if it was something she had always wanted. With a sarcastic look on his face, he seemed to be half-smiling as hemented, ¡°Seems like your new boyfriend is treating you well.¡± Wasn¡¯t she a person who lived strictly by the principles she held? Wasn¡¯t she an arrogant person who refused to receive anything from me, apart from my love? Now, she¡¯s fallen to the fate of an ordinary woman, epting gifts from men. She¡¯s indeed a b*tch! Of course, Sophia knew what he meant. In the past, she stood by her principles¡ªshe didn¡¯t want anything apart from a man¡¯s love; now, she had learned to be more thick-skinned and realistic. Since men had already given her gifts, she might as well utilize them and create value from them. She sat on the seat and ced her foot on the pedal. The shape of her slender legs looked attractive in jeans. ¡°Indeed, he treats me well. He bought me a garage of Yamahas, so I can ride a new one each day.¡± Richard balled his fists tightly as he growled, ¡°Sophia, Ka has no grudges with you. Why did you collude with Dr. yton to frame her? Don¡¯t you think that you are nasty enough?¡± The evidence given by Mr. Field was perfect¡ªthe affidavit of Sophia¡¯s virginity, her medical history that confirmed that she had never been pregnant, Ka¡¯s phone number, and her phone call history were all urate. Everything that was needed wasplete. However, Richard knew that all of that evidence was fake. During the alleged time that Ka called Dr. yton and asked him to make a fake medical report, Richard was studying with her at home because he had a fight with Sophia. Ka had been beside him all the time, so she would never have had the opportunity to call Dr. yton. Him and the maids at home, along with X, who was also revising at his house, could testify to that. However, their testimony could hold no power in court, so they could only watch Sophia showing the fake evidence to frame Ka. He grabbed Sophia¡¯s wrists agitatedly. ¡°What do you want? After you have dealt with Ka, are you going to do the same with X and eventually me? Sophia, I¡¯ve been so wrong about you. You are a ¡ª¡± Without waiting for him to finish his sentence, Sophia had already started the engine. The Yamaha bike charged forward, so she didn¡¯t hear the remainder of Richard¡¯s sentence. He seemed to have a share in her tragedy. Back then, if he was willing to trust her slightly, even just a bit, she would not have ended up in that way. It was not that he did not believe it; he subconsciously did not want to believe her. He knew that it was impossible for him and Sophia to be together. He could not find other reasons to reject X, who was of equal footing with him in terms of family wealth and status. On top of that, she had been in love with him for many years. If Sophia was sleeping around and got knocked up by other men, he was able to convince himself. Amidst the traffic, the Yamaha bike rode in a straight line, like a horse charging forward. In her bluetooth speaker, Hale spoke, ¡°The Harper Family has already begun to use their connections. They even contacted Calvin Fields secretly, trying to attract him with a sum of eight figures.¡± Sophia watched countless cars speed past her through her goggles. However, she could still hear Hale¡¯s voice clearly and scoffed coldly. ¡°They¡¯re pretty quick.¡± The Harpers did not care about money; they cared about their reputation. If the public knew that they had used such a despicable method to deal with a poor student, their reputation would be damaged for a while. For the elites, they cared most about their reputation. N?velDrama.Org content. Hale continued, ¡°The phone call was not made by Ka indeed. Someone replicated her number and used a voice changer to call Dr. yton, and the transactions were all fake. The person behind all this was skilled inputers.¡± ¡°Yeah? So you are telling me that you didn¡¯t find out anything again?¡± Sophia snorted as she made a sharp turn, her bike slightly skidding on the road. Hale, who was on the other end of the phone, silently cursed by just moving his lips. She is just a young girl. If my boss hadn¡¯t asked me to protect her, I would have shredded her into pieces. However, Hale replied, ¡°The perpetrator was very secretive, but our people are even more skilled. We have already found out that the IP address points to Huffs Technology.¡± Sophia snorted coldly as this was well within her expectations. Huffs Technology. Isn¡¯t that X Huff¡¯s family business? Back when Hale found the evidence that pointed to Ka, Sophia did not believe him at all. After all, she knew Ka¡¯s character. She was mean, but she was an open book. All her malicious thoughts were shown on her face as she always tried to suppress people who dared to challenge with her mean face. She was not the type of person to frame others behind their backs. If she hated someone, she would take action against them directly. After Hale did a thorough search, he had indeed found some traces and realized that behind everything, there was a skilled professional inputing who duplicated Ka¡¯s phone number and faked the transaction history. Everything seemed to have been done meticulously and perfectly, but nothing could escape Hale¡¯s eyes as he was more skilled in this expertise. Seems like I had every reason to lose back then, Sophia thought. In the face of such a scheming person, I had no chances of winning, seeing that I had no background, and all I knew was to study. She uttered again, ¡°Now that the Harpers believe that I forged the evidence to frame Ka, they won¡¯t give up so easily. I seemed to have offended Riverdale¡¯s most powerful family.¡± Hale was speechless upon hearing that. d that you are aware of that! However, he replied confidently, ¡°They are only real estate dealers. They are considered nothing to me.¡± Although Sophia was not sure with Hale and Michael¡¯s background, she was sure that Michael was beyond powerful, and that the Harper Family posed no threat to him. It was because of that that Sophia dared to do whatever she liked. Upon hearing Hale¡¯s words, she was relieved. However, his next sentence made her vignce go up. ¡°Boss is going to return to this country soon.¡± Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Sophia was secretly shocked to hear that. Michael ising back? It seemed to finally hit her that she had a husband. Only half a day after their marriage, he had disappeared without a trace. If it weren¡¯t for his big mansion and his picture in the master bedroom, Sophia would have forgotten that she had gotten married. He had not been around for almost a year, so she could hardly remember his looks. She merely remembered that he was quite good-looking, and that his figure was quite good. Just as Sophia was about to speak to Hale, she saw two Land Rovers following her furtively through her rearview mirror. In fact, there weren¡¯t just two of them. A minimum of four cars were following behind her at equal speed. Something¡¯s fishy! Sophia immediately told Hale, ¡°Hale, I¡¯m at Derenham Road right now, and there are a few cars following behind me furtively. One of the car tes is xxxxxx. Can you help me find out who they are?¡± Hale realized that something was up. ¡°Don¡¯t hang up. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± He immediately checked the car te that Sophia told him just now. In no time, he found out that it was a car te that was not used anymore. It¡¯s a fake te! Hale finally realized the magnitude of this realization. Before the court case is settled, the Harpers are nning to start attacking us first? When he spoke to Sophia again, he did not hear any reply. Instead, he could only hear the wind blowing and Sophia¡¯s pants. Hale immediately drove from Vi No. 8 at The Imperial, but the maid, Maria, asked, ¡°Hale, where are you going? The boss is on his way back.¡± Hale stepped on the elerator after replying, ¡°Madam is in a pickle. I¡¯ll exin to him after he¡¯s back.¡± At this moment, Sophia was being sandwiched between the four cars. As there was heavy traffic just now, they did not have any chances of attacking her. Now that the number of vehicles on the road had lessened, they striked immediately. First, they started with one of the cars speeding up and blocking her way in front. Then, two remaining cars were at her nks, with another car behind her, blocking all escape routes. The two cars at her nks slowly inched close to her. As soon as one of them slightly steered their steering wheel, both her and her Yamaha bike would be crushed immediately. However, right before the cars could get into their formation, there was an opening between the car on her left and the one in front of her. Taking advantage of that, Sophia immediately sped up and escaped the besiege. With the speed of 100 miles per hour, the entire bike had reached its speed limit. One of the advantages of a bike was that it was nimble. Once she had escaped, it would be difficult to trap her again. Sophia then drove into the heavy traffic in front of her, sneaking into empty spaces between cars, like an eel. However, the people in the four cars were dangerous people who had taken a hefty amount of money for this mission. All of them had killed at least ten people in their lives. Undeterred by their failure, they immediately took off to chase her amidst the heavy traffic. Along the way, there were loud bangs of collision and curses by the other drivers. Sophia eyed her rearview mirror from time to time. The four cars behind her were still chasing after her, as if their lives depended on it. It seemed that they would not stop unless she was dead. Vrooom! The Yamaha bike roared as it sped forward like a gust of wind, continuing to travel between cars. She saw that in front of her was a Lincoln Limousine with the car te, XXX88888. The people who were in the car were definitely rich or powerful. It was obvious that they weren¡¯t easy to deal with. Looking at the four Range Rovers behind her, an idea bubbled up in Sophia¡¯s mind as she followed closely behind the limousine. The Lincoln Limousine¡¯s well-polished body clearly reflected her looks right now like a mirror. Her long, wavy hair was flowing behind her. The formal shirt that she was wearing was now tied in a knot around her waist, revealing her slender waist. Sheid her body close to her bike as she focused on the road ahead, looking like a crouching leopard who was about to pounce. She closely followed the Lincoln Limousine for a long stretch of road, so the people in the car had noticed her through the windows. ¡°Look, there¡¯s a hot girl outside!¡± There were three men in the limousine, who were drinking and chatting. One of them, who had blond hair, wore a gangster-like leather jacket with studs in his ears. He put down his wine ss and rolled down the windows enthusiastically while he kept his eyes on Sophia, who was not far from the window. The woman wearing sunsses resembled a leopard that was waiting to pounce. He whistled at her eagerly. ¡°Phew-it!¡± Sophia heard the frivolous whistle amidst the rumbling engines, so she red at him. However, her sunsses hid her cold re. The blond man seemed to have gotten more excited as he whistled again and again, but Sophia did not look at him anymore. Through the rearview mirror, she saw that the four Range Rovers were not far from her. As she was sticking close to the Lincoln Limousine, they seemed to be wary of it, so they did not dare to rush forward. Another head popped out from the limousine as Michael Fletcher looked outside. ¡°Where¡¯s the hot girl? Let me have a look too!¡± However, a huge hand pped on his cheeks. ¡°Go away, you married old man! Leave my hot girl alone!¡± The blond man pped Michael away and continued to eye Sophia interestedly. He almost stuck his head out of the window to greet her. A hand that was bigger than his reached out to press forcefully on the blondie¡¯s handsome face, which was so good looking that the rest would feel frustrated. It was as if he wanted to press the blond man into the cushion behind him. ¡°I still want to take a look!¡± Michael reached out his head to have a look, but unfortunately, he only saw the back of her head, which exuded a wild vibe. Sophia suddenly sped up and drove in front of the Lincoln Limousine. The blondie was ted to see this. ¡°She wants us to stop! Gary, stop the car now!¡± After ncing at the rearview mirror, the driver, Gary, felt that something was wrong. Indeed, with a shake, one of the Range Rovers bumped hard into the Lincoln Limousine. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. The three men in the car stumbled after receiving the impact. Michael steadied himself and realized that something was wrong. Then, he spoke to the exasperated Gary, who replied, ¡°We seemed to have been implicated.¡± The Yamaha bike was receiving attacks from the Range Rover, but it was avoiding the blows nimbly. As she was close to them, the Lincoln Limousine could not be exempted from the blows. The girl on the Yamaha bike seemed to have realized that the people in the Lincoln Limousine were powerful, so the Range Rovers did not dare to offend them. Hence, she dared to get close to the limousine. Michael¡¯s interest was suddenly ignited. ¡°Knock into them!¡± This car was specially strengthened. Forget a few average Range Rovers; it could even fight against an army tank. Gary steered as soon as he stepped on the elerator. The limousine knocked into a Range Rover in front of them. Just with a bump, they had made themselves clear on their stand. The effect was instantaneous as the Range Rover dived into the railings on the side of the road, unable to catch up to them again. Michael jumped to the co-driver seat and buckled his seatbelt. The Yamaha bike was still in front of them, being nked by two cars, while the third Range Rover had ns to overtake the Lincoln Limousine to block the Yamaha bike from escaping. When the Range Rover almost drove past the limousine, Michael ordered decisively, ¡°Run into them!¡± With a loud bang, the Lincoln Limousine knocked mercilessly into the Range Rover, making one of its tyres burst. The Range Rover lost control and crashed into a streetlight nearby. ¡°Good one!¡± The blond guy pped excitedly. ¡°Gary, get lost. Let me save the damsel in distress!¡± Michael pped his b*tchy face and took part in steering to knock into the rest. Daniel Levine, who had not spoken a word until now, turned pale as he quickly fumbled around to buckle his seatbelt. ¡°You guys are crazy!¡± The blond man, however, was beyond excited. ¡°This is exhrating! Do it again! Thest time I had this much fun was when I was shooting a racing scene in South Africa. But even then, I was filming¡ªit¡¯s nowhere as exciting as now!¡± Michael¡¯s interest in the girl on the Yamaha bike in front of them was growing. He wanted to have a glimpse of her when she turned around. Even though he was already married, he could still join in the fun as a bystander. Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Sophia had guessed it correctly¡ªthe people in the Lincoln Limousine were big shots whom one could not afford to offend. Her attempt to divert the attacks to them were sessful. The people in the limousine started retaliating. There were two more Range Rovers yet to be taken down. They were both on Sophia¡¯s nks and were about to turn their steering wheels to crash into her, who was in between them. At such a critical moment, Sophia immediately slowed down as the tyres screeched on the road. Both the Range Rovers knocked into each other in a loud bang. The collision sent sparks flying around. However, they soon separated and slowed down in an attempt to surround Sophia again. She quickly slowed down to be at the same pace as the Lincoln Limousine. The blondie stretched his head through the open window to greet Sophia. ¡°Hey, hottie!¡± She nced at him through the corner of her eyes and deliberately lifted one hand off the handle and sent him a flying kiss, making him fall for her even more. No one will care who this blond guy is after tonight, and my car te is fake anyway, so he can¡¯t find out who I am. Undaunted, Sophia had no idea that her legal husband was also in the car. Sitting in the co-driver¡¯s seat, Michael was so angry that his facial features were contorted. I¡¯m the one who is putting in the effort to save her. Why is the idiot sitting behind receiving her kiss? Feeling dissatisfied, he also prepared to stick his head out of the window to get a flying kiss from her. Although he was already married, he felt righteous to get what others got too. At this moment, the two Range Rovers caught up to them. As the Yamaha bike and the Lincoln Limousine were driving together, the attackers thought that they were close to Sophia, so the limousine had be their target as well. Bang! The Range Rover had overestimated itself as it knocked into the Lincoln Limousine. The limousine vibrated, and Michael had a stern look in his face. He held the steering wheel personally and crashed into the Range Rover on his left. Bang! Bang! After a few collisions that produced some sparks, Daniel was trembling in fright in the limousine. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, my good sir, I was wrong. I admit that I was wrong¡ªI only spent 80,000 to buy your wife. Please stop the car¡ªI¡¯m about to throw up!¡± The blond man was as excited as before. ¡°Yes! Go ahead and knock them over!¡± The limousine attacked again, knocking the Range Rover into a flowerbed nearby. Daniel finally retched and threw up in the car. After that, he looked slightly green as he covered his eyes. ¡°Why on earth did I meet both of you?¡± There was only one Range Rover left. Sophia looked in front of her while ncing at her sides asionally as her dangerous situation was getting better. The Lincoln Limousine was on her left, with the blond man sticking his head out. To her right was the Range Rover, with a fierce man sitting in the backseat. He even had a knife with him. He swung the knife forward, almost shing Sophia. She looked in her rearview mirror and nced at both the vehicles next to her. Suddenly, she decreased her speed and disappeared between them. ¡°Where is she?¡± The man in the Range Rover had a golden ne around his next with tattoos on his arms. He looked behind and saw the traffic easing up. Sophia was already around a hundred meters behind them. She turned around and drove into a green belt area, directly sneaking into the opposite traffic like an eel. Then, she disappeared in no time. The blond man pulled his head back into the limousine and pped his thigh. ¡°Damn, I didn¡¯t expect that I would meet such a hot girl once I returned to this country. Michael, forget the fact that you are already married, you should keep in mind that Iid my eyes on her first. Don¡¯t you think ofpeting with me!¡± Michael was unhappy to hear that. In fact, he didn¡¯t care about the hot girl. He was annoyed by the fact that he was the one who had put in the effort, yet Harry, the blondie, was the one who received the flying kiss. Seeing that the Range Rover was still driving on the road not far away, Michael pulled the steering wheels angrily and knocked into it until it overturned. Even though the opponent¡¯s car had already overturned, there was not much damage on the Lincoln Limousine. Full of scratches on its body, it drove past the Range Rover quickly. Michael, who was sitting in the co-driver¡¯s seat, thought the woman just now looked rather familiar, but he couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly where he had seen her before, so he asked Daniel, ¡°Does the girl just now look familiar to you?¡± Daniel, whose face had turned green, was still having serious bouts of motion sickness. ¡°Familiar, your ass! Stop the car and let me out now!¡± Harry chimed in, ¡°She¡¯s my girl! Of course you¡¯ll feel that she looks familiar!¡± Michael trusted his instinct. He was sure that he knew her, but he couldn¡¯t recall at that moment. ¡°Gary, remember her number te and look it up after we¡¯re back.¡± Gary passed the instructions to Hale and asked him to look it up. Hale was on the way to look for Sophia when he received Gary¡¯s call. Upon knowing that Michael wanted to look up the number te, he asked incredulously, ¡°Are you sure this is the license te?¡± Gary replied confidently, ¡°It¡¯s a Yamaha bike driven by a woman wearing a crop top. She was quite good-looking. I suppose Mr. Winston has eyes for her.¡± Hale¡¯s lips twitched as he thought, Isn¡¯t that Sophia¡¯s number te? I was the one who put it up for her! I wonder why Michael suddenly wanted to look up the Yamaha bike. And how did Sophia get marked by Harry Winston, that horny man? At this moment, Sophia called him, so Hale hung up the call with Gary and picked up her call. Sophia hadpletely shaken off the four Range Rovers, and the Lincoln Limousine didn¡¯t chase after her. After finally finding a safe spot to stop, she called Hale. As soon as the call was connected, she spoke eagerly, ¡°Hale, look up a car te for me¡ªXXX88888.¡± Hale was speechless upon hearing this. So both of them ran into each other already? Why are they looking into each other¡¯s backgrounds at the same time? ¡°What happened?¡± Hale asked in a serious tone. Sophia recounted the incidents that had just happened. After listening to that, Hale¡¯s expression became even more solemn. The victim that Sophia had simply found to block the attacks for her was actually Michael. Right after he hadnded at the airport, he ran into her immediately. There were billions of people in Cethos, yet both of them, who had just gotten married without knowing each other, were able to meet under such circumstances. This was definitely their fate, not pure coincidence. Upon hearing silence from the other end, Sophia¡¯s heart sank. She asked him timidly after a pause, ¡°Who were the people in the Lincoln Limousine? Are they very powerful?¡± Hale sighed. ¡°They definitely are not ordinary people.¡± Of course he is not ordinary¡ªhe is my boss! After hearing the seriousness in Hale¡¯s voice, a chill ran down Sophia¡¯s spine. If there was one thing that Bayside City was notcking in, it was the wealthy and powerful. Sophia had not expected that she would get into trouble after simply finding a scapegoat on the streets, so she lamented her bad luck. If Michael knew that she had offended someone he could not afford to offend, he would definitely chase her away. She didn¡¯t want to go back to Ducksburg to search for food in the trash again. Hence, she plucked up her courage and asked Hale, ¡°What should I do now? Are they someone even your Boss can¡¯t even afford to offend?¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Hale decided not to scare her any further. ¡°I have no idea, but Boss is going to be back soon. Why don¡¯t you ask him yourself? If you manage to appease him and make him happy, perhaps he would settle this for you.¡± Hearing Hale¡¯s tone, she figured it might be difficult for Michael to settle this. Michael Fletcher, the man who disappeared for an entire year half a day after marrying me. Is he really back now? In the past year, they did not keep in touch with each other. She did not even know any of his contact numbers, and she had never heard him calling back home to ask about her. Now that he suddenly came back, Sophia was taken aback. Thinking of Michael, Sophia¡¯s muscles tensed as a chill ran down her spine. She had a feeling that she would be eaten alive tonight. No, I¡¯m probably going to lose my virginity tonight. Forget it. Since I¡¯ve already gotten into trouble, and Hale can¡¯t settle this, I have no other choice but to beg for Michael to help me. When Sophia returned home on the bike, Maria was waiting for her obediently at the entrance. After she parked the bike near the garden, Maria walked to her to take her bag and reminded her, ¡°Madam, Boss is back.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Sophia took a deep breath and opened the door. She had always been staying in Vi No. 8, but she would sometimes take a holiday in Vi No. 1, which was right next door. It was decorated in the styles of Western pces. Next to the French windows were ruffle-edgedce curtains, and there wasn¡¯t a speck of dust to be found on the thick carpet on the floor. All the furniture was made of Sapele wood. The entire vi looked like a ce the royals would live in, with a spiral staircase connecting to the second floor in the main hall. There was no one in the living room, but someone was moving on the second floor. It must be Michael. Maria pointed upstairs, telling Sophia that Michael was there. Sophia couldn¡¯t do anything else except meeting him. While she was making her way upstairs, she thought about the phrases and words she would useter. After all, she had gotten into trouble, and she needed his help. The time to test their love had arrived. But they had only known each other for half a day. It seemed that they were not true lovers. She walked to the master bedroom that she usually slept in. Before she could knock, the door opened by itself. Light leaked from the room, but it was blocked by a tall figure. Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Michael opened the door and leaned on the door frame as he appraised the woman in front of him with interest. She seemed like apletely different person from who she was during the day. The knot on her waist had disappeared as she wore her shirt obediently, hiding her slender waist. Meanwhile, the thigh- hugging jeans outlined her leg beautifully. After she took off her sunsses, her ck, wavy hairnded on her shoulders casually. At this moment, she lowered her head obediently, not daring to speak. It was apletely different sight from the astounding impression she had made during the day where she resembled a wild cat. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Michael¡¯s voice was melodious as usual. Apart from that, he even deliberately leaned closer to her and breathed on her face, making her blush. She hadpletely given up as no matter what she did, she would have to sleep with him anyway. It was better to just give herself to him obediently. Sophia nodded and spoke in a small voice, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± Michael continued to appraise her with interest. He noticed a great deal of difference in herpared to how she looked before. A year ago, she was like a sun-dried chick. However, she had finally developed a good figure, looking like an energetic wild cat. And now, this wild cat had held her paws back as she stood in front of him obediently. She was almost at the verge of letting him stroke her belly. He deliberately teased her, ¡°Chica, why are you lowering your head? Have you done something wrong?¡± Sophia smiled sheepishly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Her smile was extremely forced. Michael pinched her waist and was surprised to find that she had well-trained abs. After taking advantage of her, he stood aside to let her in. ¡°Come in first.¡± He had just taken a shower, and he only had a towel wrapped around his waist. His strong figure was like the perfect marble sculptures one would see in museums¡ªit was simply perfect. There were some water beads glistening on his chest, making him look alluring. Once she entered the room, Sophia noticed that the bedroom had undergone aplete makeover. The nket that she usually slept on had be a flowery nket that was bright red, and the hue of the entire room was changed to a creepy crimson. On the wall, the word ¡®congrattions¡¯ were printed out in quite a big font and painted in red. Apart from that, an intoxicating fragrance emitted from a lit candle, seemingly creating a pinkish fog in the room. On the bed, the flowery nket was decorated with rose petals, and two bottles of red wine were standing on top of a small table next to the bed. This scene was blood-curdling. While observing this creepy room, Sophia averted her gaze to the shelves on top of the bed. She was dumbfounded to find an unopened box of condoms sitting there. Did he order these in bulks? An entire box of condoms! How many times do we have to have sex to finish using them? Michael deliberately sprawled his long figure horizontally on the bed and took a sip of the wine as he patted the box of condoms while wearing a mysterious smile. ¡°Quick, take a shower now. Remember to clean yourself properly so that I can have a better taste of youter.¡± Sophia¡¯s vision turned ck as she almost passed out. She supported herself into the bathroom while feeling shocked. She took a shower slowly while thinking about how she should phrase the trouble she got herself into this afternoon. After all, she would have to tell him as this probably couldn¡¯t be settled without his help. She took a full hour to take a shower, and Michael did not ask her to be quicker as he knew that she could not escape this time around. Finally, she dried her hair slowly and walked out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. Her neck was as fair as a swan¡¯s as it shimmered when she walked into the room. Michael had already switched the lights off and lit two candles. The atmosphere was romantic yet creepy at the same time. Michael had alreadyid out the colorful boxes of condoms on the bed in an organized manner. He waved at her. ¡°Come here, chica. Which color do you like?¡± With a grim look on her face, Sophia simply chose a color. Having no other options, shey on the bed, looking enticing like a delicious dumpling. Michael rubbed his hands enthusiastically as he arranged the condoms into a straight line on bed. He was actually quite eager to sleep with her, but he thought that since this was the first night they spent together after they got married, it was better to be ceremonial. Hence, he pretended to be decent as he poured two sses of wine. ¡°Come, chica. Let¡¯s drink this wine with our arms crossed.¡± Sophia obliged and did that with him. Once the delicious wine slipped down her throat, a blush was quickly formed on her cheeks. After taking a sip of the wine, Michael held it in his mouth and kissed Sophia¡¯s lips as he slowly passed the wine into her mouth. After this, everytime she recalled her first kiss, Sophia would always remember the richness of the 1982 Lafite wine. After the kiss, Sophia blushed and plucked up enough courage to tell him about the incident that happened today. Unexpectedly, after Michael finished listening to it, he merely smiled mysteriously. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal after all. Call me ¡®hubby¡¯, and I¡¯ll immediately settle it for you.¡± Delighted to hear that, Sophia was abnormally obedient. ¡°Hubby!¡± ¡°Once more?¡± ¡°Hubby!¡± Michael kissed her in a drunken fashion and pushed her to the bed. Right when the highlight of the day was about to happen, unexpectedly¡­ ¡°Boss, er¡­ Mr. Winston and Master Levine are here. When are you meeting them?¡± Maria announced anxiously outside the door. At this moment, Michael was putting on a condom, and he pulled a long face. ¡°Ask them to wait for a while!¡± Maria ran downstairs right after hearing that. However, in no time, she ran back upstairs with heavy footsteps. Right now, the pair of newly-weds in the room were at their most important juncture. Michael was teasing her as he was about to enter, and Sophia was prepared to shed some blood as she held his shoulders nervously. ¡°Boss, Mr. Winston said that it¡¯s urgent! Very urgent! If you don¡¯t go downstairs right now, they are coming up!¡± Maria knocked on the door relentlessly. ¡°Damn it!¡± Michael cursed and looked at Sophia in front of him. A few rose petals even fell on her fair figure, making her look extremely alluring. He suppressed his desire and put on a robe before going downstairs. Laying on the bed, Sophia resembled a dead fish on the cutting board, looking like she had epted her fate to be devoured by him. Wrapping herself in the nket, she rolled on the bed and saw the shocking box of condoms. I have to move to the university dorm. I can¡¯t stay here anymore. Once Michael is back, my parts would definitely be worn out by him quickly. After rolling on the bed for a while, Maria ran upstairs again, with her heavy footsteps announcing her arrival. ¡°Madam, Boss asked you to meet the guests downstairs.¡± Sophia got up reluctantly and went to the wardrobe to choose her outfit. Most of her summer outfits were crop tops; she had no idea why she liked that style. However, when she opened her wardrobe today, all of her crop tops were gone. Everything was changed to proper one-piece dresses. ¡°Where have all my clothes gone?¡± Maria replied weakly, ¡°Right after he came back, Boss said that such outfits don¡¯t suit a girl, so they are now used as kitchen cloth. The clothes in the wardrobe are new dresses that he bought you.¡± Sophia rolled her eyes, knowing that her carefree days hade to an end. However, she still consoled herself. No matter what, this is better than living in Ducksburg! She simply chose a proper dress and put it on. Actually, she didn¡¯t like dresses because she couldn¡¯t walk inrge strides when wearing them. At this moment, there were three people in the living room¡ªMichael Fletcher, Daniel Levine, and Harry Winston. The blondie, Harry,ughed out loud in an exaggerated manner. ¡°Hahaha! This is the first time in history that you¡¯ve broken the curse of causing the demise of the women you love, Michael! Let me have a look at the amazing prehistoric dragoness who is able to tame you. Mind you, you are even capable of making a female dog go bald for being near you!¡± Michael lit a cigarette and blew puffs of smoke with a cold, murderous intent in his eyes. Their so-called urgent matters are just to see my chica, whom I missed so much? Michael nced at Harry jubntly. ¡°I¡¯ll show her to youter. Don¡¯t get too jealous of me.¡± Harry scoffed. ¡°Hmph! I have no interest in your girl. I just want to know who the hot girl from yesterday is! She is wild and beautiful enough. I like women like her!¡± Daniel still looked slightly ill at this moment as he had not recovered from his motion sickness. ¡°Come on. She probably doesn¡¯t even fancy you!¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Harry was unhappy upon hearing that. ¡°How so? She even blew a flying kiss to me! A flying kiss, you know! Did you get any kisses from her?¡± Upon hearing the mention of flying kisses, the veins on Michael¡¯s forehead throbbed as he instructed Hale, who was next to him, ¡°Order another box of condoms just in case.¡± Hale nodded and silently prayed for Sophia¡¯s fateter¡­ Chapter 13 Chapter 13 Sophia, who had just walked out of her door, heard his words immediately. She was so shocked that her vision cked out for a moment as she almost tripped and rolled down the stairs. Fortunately, her psyche was strong enough to stabilize her weak body, so she walked down the stairs slowly. With each step, her heart seemed to jolt once. Michael is a psychopath after all! How long would a box of condomsst? If he bulk orders a few boxes more, my body would bepletely drained by him. After Sophia walked down the stairs, her beige-colored sandals gently stepped on the ground, revealing her fair feet. She wore the dress Michael had bought for her¡ªa graceful and elegant satin dress that was a limited-edition. In fact, Michael did not simply choose the dresses for her¡ªeverything was well-calcted, so it fitted her waist very well, making her look slender. The dress with ruffle edges ended just underneath her fair knees, revealing a section of her smooth calves. With the contrast of the white dress, she looked even more exquisite and as fair as snow. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. In fact, her skin was already quite fair. After taking good care of herself for a year, her skin looked as wless as a cooked egg. Indeed, her appearance had attracted the three men in the living room. Undeniably, they were all stunned by her. Based on their prestigious position in the city, they were already used to beautiful women in various business scenes, so they had a high eye for women. However, after seeing Sophia appearing in such an attire, they were still blown away by her beauty. Daniel thought his eyes were ying tricks on him. A year ago, when he first brought Sophia here, she was so thin that her face looked gaunt, and she was very tanned and malnourished. In just a year, she seemed to havepletely changed into a different person. Harry¡¯s jaws also dropped. ¡°This is your chica back home?¡± But they said she looked haggard, malnourished, and underweight! In fact, she doesn¡¯t look like a chick at all! Looking at the stunning Sophia, Michael was beaming with pride. He patted his thigh as he said, ¡°Chica,e sit here.¡± Harry ruffled his blond hair with an incredulous look on his face. ¡°She looks so different from the picture in your marriage certificate! How many stic surgeries has she had?¡± Obviously, he did not recognize Sophia as she lookedpletely different from her outfit in the day. At that moment, she was fearless and brave, like a nimble leopard. However, in front of Michael, the domineering tiger, a leopard would seem like a kitten no matter how fierce it was. Even though Harry and Daniel did not recognize Sophia, she recognized them. Harry¡¯s blond hair, especially, left a deep impression in her. Just in the afternoon, she even blew a kiss at him. She seemed to vaguely remember seeing Daniel, who was next to Harry, in the Lincoln Limousine. There were four people in the car back then¡ªtheir driver, Daniel, Harry, and another man. She tried to remember what the man looked like, and the more she recalled, the more she felt that man resembled Michael¡­ Sophia¡¯s eyes met Michael¡¯s, who was half-smiling as he looked at her. A sudden realization hit her as her mind turned nk. Then, goosebumps appeared on her arm. I actually sent a flying kiss to another man in front of my husband! It seems like Harry doesn¡¯t know about this yet, but Michael already knows everything. No wonder the atmosphere is so creepy tonight. That was the reason! Sophia was so shocked that her legs felt weak. Oh, no. The tiger is going to eat me alive tonight! Seeing that she was still standing still without moving, Michael patted his thighs again, this time with a slightly more serious tone. ¡°Come here.¡± Sophia trembled and walked to him, feeling resigned. Her body fell into Michael¡¯s arms stiffly as she pretended to be shy. In fact, she was actually scared to look at Daniel and Harry for fear that they would recognize her. The atmosphere would be awkward if that were to happen. Michael looked at his ¡®chica¡¯ in satisfaction and ced his arms around her waist as he spoke in a gentler tone, ¡°This blond man is Harry. He is a f*ckboy, so you¡¯d better avoid him in the future.¡± Sophia¡¯s heart jolted upon hearing that. Just a second ago, Michael was quite cold to her, yet a second later, he suddenly became so gentle. His unpredictable mood swings proved to Sophia that he was definitely a crazy psychopath. He¡¯s a 31-year-old man who is still a virgin, even though he has good looks and lots of money. There are no other exnations apart from him being a psycho! Sophia buried her head in Michael¡¯s embrace and nodded obediently like a kitten. ¡°Okay.¡± Harry was still indignant. ¡°Your chica is too soft and gentle. I don¡¯t like girls like her. I just like my hot girl ¡ªthe girl we met at Derenham Road during the day. She¡¯s mine, and none of you can take her away from me!¡± Upon hearing the words ¡®hot girl¡¯ and ¡®Derenham Road¡¯, Sophia trembled again. She knew she had gotten herself into trouble, but she wasn¡¯t aware that the trouble was so huge. She had flirted with her psychopathic husband¡¯s best friend! She still had not recovered from the great shock of this realization. Sophia had long heard of Harry and Daniel¡¯s names¡ªthey were important people to Michael, and they had helped him out a lot. Their importance to him definitely surpassed Sophia, whom Michael had only spent half a day with. There was a proverb which said women were like clothes one could easily dispose of, while friends were like limbs one could never abandon¡ªshe flirted with his best friend; she was sure he would throw her away. Sophia¡¯s entire body was trembling right now as she didn¡¯t dare to look at any of them. Hugging his wife, Michael looked at Harry as if he was looking at an idiot. Your hot girl has already slept in my bed! Surprise! Seeing Sophia¡¯s shocked look, Michael wanted to teach her a good lesson this time so she would not simply flirt with any men from now onward. Hence, he deliberately told Harry loudly, ¡°You fiend! She might already have a husband. She was probably just ying around with you by sending you a kiss. Stop your wild imaginations!¡± Yes, that¡¯s right! Sophia nodded. She just wanted to y around with him, and she definitely didn¡¯t have other intentions. I¡¯m an obedient and dutiful wife! Dear husband, you should have a big heart to forgive me! However, Harry did not get Michael¡¯s hidden intentions at all and continued to scoff loudly, ¡°Hmph! There aren¡¯t any women whom I can¡¯ty my hands on. Even if she¡¯s married¡ªeven if she has kids¡ªI can even be their stepfather!¡± Sophia hugged her husband tightly to prove her loyalty to him. I have no intentions to cheat on Michael! Although he is a psycho, since he sorted out my high school education and sessfully enrolled me in Bayside University, I swear that I will never cheat on him! I was really joking with Harry! Hugging Sophia, who was sitting on hisp, Michael snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph! Maybe her husband is more powerful than you.¡± Harry replied confidently, ¡°In the entire Bayside City, apart from you, no one else deserves my respect!¡± A chill ran down Sophia¡¯s heart. A morose look slightly clouded Michael¡¯s face as he looked at Harry with an enigmatic sneer. ¡°What if that man is me?¡± Perhaps they were too close to each other, so they could crack such jokes often. Without a second thought, Harryughed out loud. ¡°If that¡¯s really the case, any woman whonds in your hands is doomed. I¡¯ll have to save the damsel in distress! Hahaha!¡± Sophia was shocked to hear that again. It seems that my husband isn¡¯t simply a psychopath! Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Harry, Daniel, and Michael had been best of friends for a long time. They were so close that they wouldn¡¯t think twice when they spoke to each other. Right after spurting nonsense, Harry suddenly realized that Michael was married, and even though his wife was very young, it was a formal marriage. Hence, he quickly exined, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, please don¡¯t be mistaken. Michael is sometimes slightly psycho, but in general, he is a decent man.¡± Sophia was so surprised that she was about to burst into tears. She was now absolutely sure that Michael was a psychopath. He is absolutely a super crazy psychopath! Whoever stays with him is extremely unlucky! Michael felt that this was enough to give Sophia a proper scare, and she wouldn¡¯t simply flirt with other guys anymore. He felt she had finally seen his powerful side, so he stroked her silky hair and chased the rest out of the house. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I have some business to attend to. Those of you who are not involved, get lost. Go, go, go!¡± Daniel knew that Michael, the old virgin, was about to finally get lucky, so he got up and held his office bag. ¡°I¡¯m leaving so that I won¡¯t interrupt your ¡®business¡¯.¡± Harry, however, didn¡¯t want to leave. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. You are finally waving goodbye to your virginity after so long. We should celebrate such a historical moment. I¡¯ve even prepared fireworks¡ª¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Michael put Sophia down and chased them away personally. In fact, he was just sending them off. Before Harry was chased out of the house, he managed to say loudly, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, you have to hang in there tonight! Don¡¯t be like the previous two of them¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Michael had a special background. It seemed like someone didn¡¯t want him to be even more powerful by marrying someone of equal background¡ªboth of his ex-fianc¨¦es had met unfortunate idents. One identally sustained an injury to her head and lost her memories after she woke up and forgot Michael. The other was involved in an ident right after getting engaged to him, and she almost lost her life. Because of these incidents, there were rumors that Michael was cursed with ill fate, and that whoever married him would suffer bad luck. Since then, he was notorious for being a wife-jinxer, so he only married when he was 31. Harry had never believed in such superstitious rumors, so it became a joke among the three of them. Whenever Michael spoke to a woman, Harry would be waiting to see how long it would take for the bad luck tond on her. Even if she was not unlucky, Harry would deliberately do something to them to fortify the rumor. It had be a joke for them, just like how K-pop groups would disband ording to the 7-year jinx. Without this joke, Harry felt his life would have lost a great deal of fun. When he was joking about this, he had forgotten that Sophia had no idea how they would usually joke around. She only heard a few keywords¡ª¡®hang in there¡¯, and ¡®the previous two¡¯. Michael has yed around with two women until they almost died. Perhaps even more! Maybe ¡®two¡¯ is a rough value. Perhaps ¡®two¡¯ doesn¡¯t just mean two, but a dozen women! Sophia sat on the couch with a dead look on her face as a chill ran down her spine. She seemed to feel an eerie cloud of darkness engulfing this well-decorated vi. Perhaps they were ghosts of the women who felt aggrieved. Oh, no. My good days havee to an end! Sophia¡¯s spections run wild as she imagined a thousand ways she would die, each more devastating than the other. She was quite poor, so she did not know how the rich entertained themselves, and she had no idea about the psycho stuff that the elite circle would do in Bayside City. However, she knew that the richer one was, the more psychotic they would be, because ordinary stimtions couldn¡¯t fulfil their needs anymore. I haven¡¯t taken revenge on the jerk; I still haven¡¯t finished spending the 80 million in my bank card, and I just got into Bayside University. I don¡¯t want to die yet! Michael quickly sent Daniel and Harry away and returned to the living room to find Sophia still sitting on the couch. The wine just now had taken its effect as she looked quite cute with her flushed cheeks. She was still in a daze, looking like she was still repenting her mistakes. After Michael knew that the woman who sent the flying kiss to Harry was his wife, he was furious. However, ording to Hale¡¯s report, Sophia was usually obedient, and she had never cheated on him. For the past year, she had been studying hard. On top of that, she worked out and learned etiquettes, makeup, and boxing. Nevertheless, that was an important incident. Since his wife was so beautiful, she would attract many men, so he had to do everything to avoid being cheated on. First, he had to teach Sophia a good lesson to show her that he was furious with how she simply sent a flying kiss to other men. Hence, Michael retracted his smile and pulled a long face deliberately. ¡°Why are you still sitting here? Quickly go upstairs to wait for me!¡± With a dead look on her face, Sophia dragged her feet upstairs. Walking behind her, Michael suddenly remembered that it was a day fit for a celebration, so he would like to have his favorite dish, grilled eels. In the past year that he had been abroad, he couldn¡¯t taste the vor of the food even though the raw materials were shipped from Cethos and made by proper Cethos chefs. It still tasted slightly off to him. No matter what, food back at Cethos was the best, especially his favorite¡ªgrilled eels. Every time he returned from countries abroad, he would eat some exotic animals to satisfy his cravings, but eels would have to be kept in a tank for a few days first prior to cooking. Although the butler, Mr. Peter Morgan, was very familiar with Michael¡¯s habits, Michael still asked him, ¡°Peter, have you bought the eels?¡± Mr. Morgan replied brightly, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ve already prepared them a few days in advance, knowing that you love them. They are in the pond, and they have grown to be very long and thick!¡± Michael nodded in satisfaction, but he was still worried; he had to see them with his own eyes. ¡°Let me have a look and choose the thickest ones¡­¡± Sophia, who was still on the spiral staircase, heard the keywords¡ª¡®eels¡¯, ¡®thick¡¯, ¡®long¡¯. She almost couldn¡¯t catch her breath and fainted. She knew that Michael was a psycho, but she didn¡¯t think that it would be until this extent. He even wants to use eels! The rich guys in the elite circle in Bayside City actually practice such sick ways of love-making! If he uses that on me, I would die! Michael was probably off choosing the eels, so he took quite a while. While waiting, Sophiay on the bed covered in rose petals, looking as if her soul had left her body. Suddenly, she felt that everything in this room had morphed into some sort of sex toy. The candles that haven¡¯t finished burning, the candle holder¡­ They can all be toys. The wine ss looks like it can be a sex toy too¡­ Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. The tables, the chairs, the photo frames, the feather duster¡­ She suddenly realized that this wedding room of theirs was a torture arena Michael had prepared for her. After living a good life for a year, everything had finallye to an end. Sophia closed her eyes resentfully as she fervently hoped that there were no psychos in heaven. Finally, Michael returned with a fish tank with two eels in it. The eels were tender, thick, and long¡ªjust the way he liked them. To him, the best food in the entire world was eels. If he could not eat eels, there would be no meaning to life anymore. Michael loved to keep eels around, as if they were goldfish. After taking care of them for a few days until he had taken a liking to them, he would eat them, and the taste would be so exquisite that he would feel as if he had died and gone to heaven¡­ Sophia, who was on the bed, heard Michael¡¯s approaching footsteps. She seemed like a criminal who was about to be beheaded as she heard the footsteps of her executioner. Her heart tightened, but she didn¡¯t even have the courage to open her eyes. Nevertheless, she still opened them and immediately saw Michael and two of his eels, which were quite thick and long indeed. Sophia jolted and felt a warm fluid gushing out between her thighs, wetting her dress immediately. I¡¯m so nervous that I¡¯ve lost control of my dder¡­ Sophia thought that she was so frightened that she wetted herself. She was at the verge of tears as she thought, I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m going to die in this manner. However, Michael, who had a sharp nose, immediately smelled something weird. He quickly held Sophia¡¯s dress up and saw a huge patch of blood underneath her. Chapter 15 Chapter 15 Her blood dyed the sheets that were already red, leaving a stain mark of dark red color. ¡°Why are you bleeding so much?¡± Michael was beyond shocked. He put down his fish tank and flipped Sophia¡¯s dress before removing herce panties. However, blood was still gushing out of her. Sophia also raised her head to look at him. She knew that she was lying on a puddle of blood. Apart from that, warm fluid continued to gush out of her body uncontrobly. She had no idea what was going on right now as well. Is it possible that the gears of my fate have started moving? Is the wife-jinxer, Michael Fletcher, using his power to jinx me to death? Michael¡¯s eyes also turned round as he widened them. However, his face suddenly darkened and turned morose. Without another word, he brought Sophia downstairs in his arms and asked Hale to prepare the car to go to the hospital. Hale also had no idea what was going on, but he immediately got the car ready. Then, he saw Michael hugging a pale Sophia as they got into the car hastily, leaving a familiar smell of blood behind them. Hale was very sensitive to the smell of blood. As soon he detected that, he frowned as he looked at Sophia¡¯s pale face and silently wished her luck. Tsk, it¡¯s only been a while, yet she is already bleeding. I didn¡¯t expect Michael to really be a psycho! A trail of bright-red blood was left from the floor of the master bedroom, spiral staircase, all the way to the hall. Mr. Morgan and a few other maids were also looking at Sophia pitifully. s, God¡¯s will can¡¯t be defied. Michael should just stay single for his entire life! Meanwhile, Sophia was suffering from an even greater shock; she thought she had suffered a chronic disease, and that she was about to die. Michael¡ªthis psycho¡ªhas such a strong lifeforce. It¡¯s just the first day, yet I¡¯m already jinxed. It appears that my life force is not as strong as his. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t live a long and happy life anymore. For the past year, she had been trying hard to live a good life and use the resources Michael left her to strengthen her skills. Apart from studying to get through the university entrance exam, she continued to improve herself by learning about stocks and real estate so she would be more well-equipped. Apart from that, she even went to the gym everyday, and she learned boxing and etiquettes. She had been giving her all to live a splendid life. However, her efforts were all defeated by the first night they spent together. Goodbye, my lovely life! Goodbye, Bayside University! Sophia just wanted to die silently as she hoped that there were no psychos in heaven, and that she would be born into an ordinary family in her next life. The ck Cayenne sped past the roads in Bayside City like a spirit at night. In the car, Michael hugged Sophia without saying anything. Maria also joined them to take care of Sophia and managed to stop her bleeding with a towel between her legs. Maria¡¯s eyes were red as she had already gotten close to Sophia after spending time with her for a year. After all, Sophia was easy to get along with. However, she did not expect that Michael would jinx her to death on the first night he was back. In between sobs, Maria held her handkerchief to her face. ¡°Madam, please don¡¯t die!¡± Lying in Michael¡¯s arms, Sophia was waiting for her death, but she didn¡¯t feel iting after a long time. Instead, she felt as if her insides were grinding together, as if there was a hand mixing her internal organs together. After she groaned slightly, another wave of blood gushed out. Just let me die¡­ Everything will be better then¡­ With such thought in her mind, Sophia slowly closed her eyes while Michael¡¯s heavy, flustered breathings and Maria¡¯s sobs lingered by her ears.N?velDrama.Org content. Hale was behind the wheels as he skilfully overtook other cars and took shortcuts on the road. His hands that were maneuvering the steering wheel were damp with sweat while he constantly looked in the rearview mirror at Sophia, who was in Michael¡¯s arms. He had never felt that the hospital was so far away. They quickly arrived at the nearest hospital. Sophia had already fainted, so Maria and Gary carried her into the hospital, leaving the towel behind in the backseat of the car. The striking red color made Michael¡¯s expression even more sullen. He didn¡¯t follow them to the hospital. Instead, he smoked in the car, cigarette after cigarette. He asked Hale to stay behind, so both of them were in the ck car. On top of that, he did not allow him to switch the lights on. The atmosphere was so tense that Hale thought Michael was about to make an important announcement. Hale thought, Is he going to me Sophia¡¯s death on me? How is this my fault? He had no idea whether 30 or 40 minutes had passed, when Michael finally stubbed his cigarette out and looked at Hale morosely as he said coldly, ¡°Hale, I¡¯ve treated you well, haven¡¯t I?¡± Hale was shocked upon hearing this familiar line in a familiar atmosphere. Why do I feel like I¡¯m in big trouble? He recalled the past thirty years of his life. When he was six, he was chosen among a group of orphans to be the disciple of a skilled master because of his strong build. When he was 15, he joined Michael¡¯s bodyguard team as thetter¡¯s 8th bodyguard. Over the years, he had been living precariously, building Michael¡¯s business empire with him while facing dangerous situations. He had always been the first to help him and take the me for him. Apart from that, he also served him well and followed every order. He had always been the one to take the initiative in everything. Although Michael was quite psychotic at times, he treated people who worked for him very well. They had nevercked anything, be it money, properties, or women. In a millisecond, Hale had recapped the past thirty years of his life, all the way back to the big bang and the origin of life. In the end, he replied in a low voice, ¡°You¡¯ve indeed treated me very well for the past decade, sir.¡± Michael lit up another cigarette again, and the smoke spread around the entire car. After another long ten minutes, when Hale almost broke out in sweat, Michael finally asked solemnly, ¡°You are the father of chica¡¯s unborn baby, right?¡± Hale looked at him in shock. What the hell? Michael was feeling heavy and morose. After a pause, he said, ¡°You¡¯ve already been working for me for more than a decade now. It¡¯s time for you to start your own family. Although I like chica very much, since you guys have reached this point, I can only give her to you even though I¡¯d hate to make this decision¡­¡± At this moment, pain seemed to be leaking out of Michael¡¯s soul. I should have known that this would happen. Sophia and Hale were always together, and he has reached the appropriate age to marry. It would only be a matter of time until they fall in love with each other. But I didn¡¯t expect that I would cause Sophia to suffer a miscarriage right after I came back. Michael trusted Hale¡¯s character. After all, he had been working for him for more than a decade, and he had never stepped out of line even once. Now that he had done this, it proved that this was true love. In the years Hale had spent with him, they lived under constant possibility of being attacked, but Hale had never fallen in love with anyone even though there was no shortage of women around them¡ªit was clear that Hale wanted to be with Sophia since he had knocked her up this time. However, right on the first night of his return, Sophia had already suffered a miscarriage. Seems like I¡¯m really a wife-jinxer. If Sophia stays by my side, she would die anyway. It¡¯s better if I give her to Hale. Hale seemed to have guessed Michael¡¯s thoughts. Dumbfounded, he quickly tried to exin, ¡°Boss, I¡¯m innocent¡ª¡± Michael interrupted, ¡°You don¡¯t have to say anything else. I¡¯ll divorce her tomorrow. If the child survives, she can go ahead and give birth to it. If not, I¡¯ll give you a sum of money, and you can live a good life with her¡­¡± At this moment, Gary and Maria returned with a sleepy Sophia. Michael was shocked to see that. ¡°You guys are back so soon?¡± Didn¡¯t she faint just now after losing too much blood due to her miscarriage? How can she walk now? Maria smiled, looking as if she had escaped an ordeal. ¡°Boss, it turns out that Madam¡¯s period has started earlier because she suffered too much shock. She will be better after drinking some warm water.¡± Michael paused before asking, ¡°Didn¡¯t she faint just now?¡± Maria replied, ¡°Madam was too tired, so she fell asleep.¡± Both Michael and Hale were rendered speechless upon hearing that. Chapter 16 Chapter 16 ¡°Sophia is suffering from an acute menstrual disorder due to excessive mental stress, which has caused her endocrine to be imbnced. This is the reason behind her sudden menstruation and the huge volume,¡± the doctor said. In short, Michael gave her such a fright that her menstruation came earlier! After listening to the doctor¡¯s exnation, the corners of Michael¡¯s lips twitched. On the other hand, Hale was so embarrassed that he wanted to stick his head under the ground. It¡¯s really tiring to have a drama king as a boss. Due to this embarrassment, the return journey home became more awkward as no one in the car spoke during the whole trip. Hale focused on driving the car and Gary was dozing off on the passenger seat while Maria was also sleepy. Michael was too embarrassed to face Hale, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. In the meantime, Sophia leaned her head against the back cushion, thinking about her path forward. I¡¯m having my period tonight, so I¡¯ve probably escaped him this time, but I¡¯m afraid that this pervert won¡¯t let me off the hook even during my period. The consummation of our marriage is inevitable, but I¡¯m not prepared for that at all and I don¡¯t want to die either. I¡¯ve tried so hard to keep myself alive, so how can I die like this? However, I¡¯ve gotten my marriage certificate with him and I¡¯ve even spent his money, so I¡¯ll feel bad for not sleeping with him, but I don¡¯t intend to die! There¡¯s only one n¡ªI¡¯ll drag this for as long as I can! We¡¯ll see what happens if that doesn¡¯t work! It was alreadyte into the night when they arrived at Vi No. 8 at The Imperial, so everyone went to sleep. Hale hurriedly parked the car and left The Imperial as he needed a night to calm himself down. Meanwhile, Sophia returned to her room and drank a bowl of hot brown sugar water that Maria served before taking some medicine. After washing herself, she changed her clothes and wore an oversized tampon before going to bed. Michael was already waiting for her on the bed and he even kept that box of scary tools. I won¡¯t be using these tonight anyway, so it¡¯s better to put them all away to prevent me from bing upset just by looking at them. It waste at night and the two of them merelyy on the bed in silence. Sophia didn¡¯t know what to say to her hubby whom she was with for only a day and Michael was in the same situation too. Today had been a weirdly tiresome day for Sophia. First, she had been prepared to appear in court, which led to a thrilling and exciting experience. Then, she was frightened for a whole night before being admitted into the hospital. Right now, her mind was a complete mess as she slowly lowered her eyelids. Suddenly, a huge hand grabbed her waist, which frightened her so much that her drowsiness faded away ¡ªfollowed by a deep voice from behind her. ¡°Chica!¡± She answered instinctively, ¡°Yes!¡± Michael remained quiet for a second before replying, ¡°Come and chat with me.¡± She was rendered speechless. ¡°Alright.¡± Then, another long silence followed¡­ Sophia was starting to get goosebumps as her whole body froze and she didn¡¯t dare to sleep. This atmosphere is so terrifying! Didn¡¯t he want to chat with me? Why isn¡¯t he talking? She thought about her words carefully beforeing up with a safe opening. ¡°Hubby, what is your zodiac sign?¡± This is such a pointless topic. I guess he won¡¯t be interested to talk about it. However, after a mere five seconds, he answered, ¡°I¡¯m a Scorpio.¡± He actually answered her. After a moment of silence, Sophia braced herself again to ask a second question. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 32,¡± Michael replied. Then, another awkward silence came. This atmosphere is too scary. She felt her soul being drained out of her body, but she still boldly asked him, ¡°What do you like to eat?¡± ¡°Game meat,¡± he answered. ¡°What color do you like?¡± ¡°Army green.¡± ¡°What work do you do?¡± ¡°I work as an extra in crews.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Just like that, both of them had a ¡°chat¡± for the whole night until Sophia could no longer take it and ended the awkward conversation. She thought that she could escape Michael due to her menses, but she never expected him to interpret it in a different way. He thought to himself, Sophia is still young and doesn¡¯t know me well, so she must have felt pressured to have sex after just meeting me. We won¡¯t be doing anything tonight anyway, so maybe I can try to have a chat with her and improve our rtionship. However, this conversation isn¡¯t going as well as I thought because my chica is still defensive toward me. Why is this so? I¡¯m obviously trying really hard to be more amiable. Sophia had a nightmare in the middle of the night¡ªshe dreamed that Michael turned into an eel and chased her around fiercely. When she woke up on the second day, her stomach was in an immense pain that she couldn¡¯t breathe and her face looked exhausted with two dark circles under her eyes. Her appearance made her look unnaturally old. When she woke up from bed, Michael was already running in the gym next door. With half-closed eyes, she went into the bathroom to wash herself before sitting in front of the dressing table and used her dusting powder to hide the dark circles around her eyes. I can¡¯t allow Michael to see my haggard appearance. Otherwise, he will be disgusted and kick me out afterward. However, her heart also wished that he would really kick her out of the house so that she would have her freedom, but she wasn¡¯t strong enough to be on her own yet. She had a dispute with the Harpers and would be destroyed by them in no time without Michael¡¯s protection. Under all of her pain and struggles, she still cautiously applied her makeup. My priority is to hold onto Michael, so I must be pretty at all times! In the past year, she showed an extreme love toward things that she once despised, such as stocks, real estate, and makeup. She had a closet and makeup room all to herself and it did not matter whether she liked it or not. Mr. Morgan would stock up the room every month with new boxes of makeup. If it was a new shade of makeup that an international brand wasunching, she would receive the entire collection the next day. If it was clothes that were worn by the models from Paris Fashion Week the day before, she would also receive a set of it the next day. At that moment, Michael had already exited the gym and went into the bathroom while being topless. After three minutes of being under the hot water, he came out while rubbing his wet hair with a towel, but Sophia still wasn¡¯t done with her makeup. While she was still applying eyeshadow, he swung his wet hair aside and was still topless when he walked toward the messy bed. Without uttering a single word, he leaned over to grab the quilt on all corners before giving it a shake to ensure that the nket was spread evenly. After he smoothened the nket, he folded and corrected its position a couple of times before it was folded into a dimensional cube shape in the end. Once that was done, he tidied the bed. The bed had no wrinkles afterward¡ªand it was so tidy that even a fly would slip on it. Michael exited the door with satisfaction before he turned his head. ¡°Chica, I¡¯ll give you ten minutes to come down and have your breakfast. I¡¯ll send you to school afterward.¡± Sophia quickly nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± As soon as she was done with her makeup, she chose a skirt from the closet to change into, but the room was gigantic for her. She usually never went into the room because she had always asked Maria to keep the clothes that she usually wore in the master bedroom¡¯s wardrobe. Now that Michael was back, she no longer had the same type of freedom as before, so she wore ady¡¯s skirt properly. There isn¡¯t really any freedom in this! Before she exited the room, she nced at the tidy bed. Why does Michael fold the nket like a soldier? Could it be that he was a soldier before? In the past year, she had done her research on the high society of Bayside City. The city was filled with the rich and powerful, but among these groups, there were four great families that dominated them¡ªthe Edwards, the Winstons, the Fletchers, and the Mitchells. Among them, the Fletchers were the number one military family in Bayside City as they had produced countless military officers and many generals. Is Michael one of the Fletchers then? But I¡¯ve never heard Hale mentioning it before. Chapter 17 Chapter 17 Sophia had done a lot of research on these four great families and Hale had also previously made it clear to her to stay away from people with these four family names to avoid any unnecessary troubles. The Four Great Families were incredible as they had their own strengths¡ªthe Edwards had the riches of the world, the Winstons had immense power, the Fletchers were the number one military family, and the Mitchells were well-connected with people around the world. All of them were the top elites of Bayside City. Sophia¡¯s stingy father, Joe, was also a member of the Edwards Family, which was one of the Four Great Families. However, he was a b*stard and that resulted in him being distant from the Edwards Family of Bayside City. He had long been excluded from the main forces of the Edwards Family with no chance for him to have any connections with them. He might have been an outcast b*stard, but he was still a member of that prestigious family in Bayside City. Having Edwards as his family name made everything different for him. Sophia graduated from South Bayside High School and was now continuing her studies at Bayside University. However, she did not have the chance to meet anyone from the Four Great Families because they were of an even higher society¡ªeven though all of her ssmates were from wealthy families. The Four Great Families were already out of reach for the normal rich people of the city, which meant that one needed an insane amount of luck to meet someone from that society. Michael has an insane amount of wealth and power. Could he really be someone from the Fletcher Family? She couldn¡¯t wrap her mind around the world of the rich. During breakfast, she pretended to be shy as she lowered her head to eat silently. She disguised herself as ady by chewing slowly and softly drank her congee. However, the man sitting on the other side was able to finish his meal in just five minutes. As soon as he was finished with his meal, he immediately stood up and ordered her. ¡°Chica, I¡¯m giving you five minutes to quickly finish your meal. I¡¯ll wait for you in the car.¡± With that, he turned and left. Sophia waited until he was out of the door before she returned to her animalistic side and shoved two buns into her mouth before gobbling up everything. She even scolded him while eating. Pervert! After eating two buns and having two mouthfuls of porridge, she hurriedly grabbed her bag and walked out the door in her 8cm high heels. The sudden change from canvas shoes to high heels caused her to feel awkward when she wore them. She wore a white skirt that covered her knees, making her look like a lonely white lotus in this chaotic world while the shiny diamond ne weighed on her neck. Even though she didn¡¯t like any of these essories, Michael liked it. When she wobbled her way to the car, he was already waiting for her on the passenger seat. As soon as he saw her, he furrowed his brows and nced at his wristwatch before reaching out for her snowy white thigh with his five fingers. ¡°It has been 8 minutes, so you are 3 minuteste, but considering that you are new here, I won¡¯t punish you. There won¡¯t be a next time.¡± Sophia was furious with him. I can¡¯t even wear my lipstick within 5 minutes. However, Michael was the one calling the shots, so she could only follow his instructions. Immediately, she forced herself to be timid and answered in a sweet voice. ¡°Hubby, I fell down earlier. I promise there won¡¯t be a next time.¡± Then, she lowered her head and showed an aggrieved expression. ¡°I¡¯m also having my period and my stomach is killing me. You don¡¯t care for me at all, hubby.¡± I need to pretend to be fragile so that I can protect myself. Men are usually quite protective toward weaker girls. He will definitely feel sorry for torturing me after seeing me this way. After listening to her words, he also had a gloomy face as she looked at him innocently with her attractive eyes. A minute of weird silenceter, he pped his palm on her thigh. ¡°Why are you talking like this? You¡¯re so disgusting! Speak properly!¡± Sophia pretended to be furious at Michael¡¯s ignorance, so she pursed her lips and remained silent. Finally, he withdrew his hand before releasing the clutch to start the car and drive in the direction of Bayside University. As he drove, he thought, I need to teach this chica a lesson; otherwise, she is going to go over my head. Even though she is acting like a gentle person on the outside, no one knows what she is thinking in her mind. He continued to think to himself, I took time out of my busy schedule to send her to school personally, so the little rtionship between us must have improved somehow. ording to this progress, our consummation is not far away. Just as he was feeling good about himself, he would never know the number of times Sophia called him a pervert in her heart along the way. Soon after, the car was approaching Bayside University, so she quickly said, ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s stop the car here. You can just drop me here!¡± The people in school loved to gossip because rich people were usually sensitive toward other people¡¯s materialistic possessions. If someone changed the car that they drove to school, news about it would immediately spread through the whole school like wildfire. Then, the other students would specte the person¡¯s wealth ording to the price and quality of the car, so that they could determine whether there was value in making friends with the said person. Even the shade of your best friend¡¯s lipstick would be enough to judge herpany¡¯s recent financial status in an instant. Sophia thought, Michael¡¯s car, if I¡¯m not mistaken, is thetest Bugatti Veyron Convertible and there¡¯s only 10 of it in the world. The only people in Bayside City who can afford to drive such an expensive car are either from the Four Great Families or a president of apany. If I alight from a car like this, my identity will be exposed and I might even expose Michael¡¯s identity too. Then, I¡¯ll be on the front page of the news for everybody to criticize. Michael listened to her and stopped the car, but he didn¡¯t realize that his car would draw a lot of attention. If I actually drive into Bayside University in this car, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll bring lots of unnecessary trouble to this chica. Just as she was about to alight from the car, he grabbed her arms with a lustful face. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to kiss me goodbye?¡± She pretended to be timid and pped away his hand. ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re so bad!¡± Just like that, she quickly ran off in her 8cm high heels the moment she got down from the car, as if she was being chased after by some demons¡­ Michael¡¯s lips twitched as he mumbled, ¡°Am I that scary?¡± After she was gone, he made a few phone calls. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡°What? A press conference for a new movie? Isn¡¯t that movie no longer being released in cinemas? What new movie is this?¡± There was a moment of silence. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve been in many movies, so I¡¯ve forgotten about it. Postpone it for an hour. Since they want to say that I¡¯m being a diva, I¡¯ll show them what a diva looks like.¡± ¡°Hale, remember to pick up Chica from Bayside University at 6PM.¡± ¡°Gemma, keep an eye on her.¡± After running away from Michael¡¯s line of vision. Sophia breathed a huge sigh of relief. His aura is so terrifying! Therefore, she hid in a corner near the university gate and chewed on a piece of gum to calm herself down. Bayside University was one of the scenic areas in Bayside City because the rich children of the city came here for their studies. Most of these people weren¡¯t married, so lots of people hoped to fall in love with one of them at the university gate. Therefore, many people would gather at the gates of Bayside University because they wanted to marry into a wealthy family. However, Sophia thought these people were only fantasizing because she had never seen a wealthy student exiting the gates and all of them traveled in luxurious cars without entering the campus by foot. Besides, the school had a strict ess control, so outsiders werepletely forbidden from entering the university. Even so, the gates of Bayside University were still as lively as ever. Sophia spat out her gum and hid in a public toilet. When she reappeared, her appearance had completely changed. Her white long skirt became an extremely short summer pants that showed off her fair thighs and her pair of high heels were swapped with a pair of ck sneakers. She tied herdy-like curly hair into a bun and hid it under a baseball cap. Then, she chewed some gum and listened to music while strolling into school. However, what she didn¡¯t know was that the process of her chewing the gum and changing her clothes became a high definition live broadcast that was connected directly to Michael¡¯s phone. When he saw her fair, long legs, he let out a vague sigh. ¡°Tsk!¡± Chapter 18 Chapter 18 As soon as Michael was gone, Sophia needed to restrain herself. Fortunately, she had another identity¡ª a student of Bayside University. Bayside University was the top university in Cethos and they emphasized on nurturing students, so they wouldn¡¯t simply allow their students to skip sses like other universities. The university also had a very strict credit system and school rules, so any vition of those rules would lead to a deduction in credit. It didn¡¯t matter who you were because those who looked down on the school, had disciplinary problems, or even earned bad grades would be expelled from the school immediately. No matter how rich and powerful the people were, once they were expelled from the university, there was noing back. Sophia felt more secure with her identity as a student of Bayside University. Michael can¡¯t force me to drop out of school and go home to be with him. If he really tortures me to death, he will be responsible for everything when the school investigates about it. Every student in the university was carefully chosen, especially civilians like us who were admitted solely based on our academics. Therefore, everyone in the university is a high-achieving schr. Daytime was Sophia¡¯s free time and she could decide the number of hours she wanted to stay in school. Therefore, she signed up with a few clubs at once and she even chose three elective courses that were carried out during the evening. She also filled up her schedule with personal training courses in the gym. Seeing her schedule that was filled with sses and gym courses from 7AM to 9PM, she felt that she could finally stay at school in the open for the whole day without returning home. I can even directly apply to stay in school through Michael. After all, it takes half an hour to reach here from home, and Bayside City is globally renowned for its traffic, so sometimes, we may not even reach home within an hour. Let¡¯s just see how long I can drag this. Sophia was content with herself¡ªeven though her Yamaha bike was confiscated, she still could shuttle around the school ground on her skateboard. She felt like a happy little bird and Michael was an old, wrinkly woman who always tried to keep her in a bird cage. Holding onto the ss schedule that she had just filled, she made her way toward her next ss but seemed to feel that someone was watching her from the back. When she turned her head, there wasn¡¯t anything strange behind her. From the moment she entered school today, she felt goosebumps all over her body, as if a pair of eyes secretly watched her every move. Could it be someone from the Harper Family? But they won¡¯t dare toy their hands on me on the university campus. Maybe it¡¯s because that pervert is back, so I¡¯m starting to hallucinate due to stress. Sophia thought about it in that way, so it didn¡¯t concern her. However, right at that moment, her fully-packed schedule fell into Michael¡¯s line of vision. He stopped at the right moment and erged her timetable to see the elective courses she chose. Food nutrition, social etiquette and English as well as sex and health education¡­ She even signed up for three clubs¡ªculinary culture club, drama club and the night marathon club. Her timetable is fully- stacked. Elective courses start in the evenings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and her club activities are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Night marathons were scheduled for every weekend. Her whole day is almost filled with sses and she even enrolled in a personal training course at the gym. Is she nning not toe back and see me even during the weekends? ¡°Tsk!¡± He eximed once again. Am I that terrifying? What makes her so disgusted of me? He chewed on a piece of gum, revealing a profound smile on his lips. Gary, who drove the car, saw his sweet smile in the rearview mirror and instantly knew that he might be up to something no good. Sophia had a busy day at school today. When she left the university¡¯s gate, it was already 6.30PM. However, her elective courses hadn¡¯t started yet because it was the beginning of an academic year, so she didn¡¯t have any other sses to attend in the evening. Therefore, she nned to change her clothes and have a meal before ying games in a cybercafe until 10PM when it was time to return home. Just as she had everything nned out for the night, she received a phone call from Hale. ¡°Madam, Boss has asked me to pick you up. He has already booked a table tonight at the Pearl Couples Restaurant.¡± After she ended the call, she wandered out in low spirits, but she didn¡¯t notice that someone followed her closely from behind. When she came to a corner and prepared to look for a washroom to change her clothes, someone suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders. N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°Sophia.¡± The gentle and warm voice of a man was heard from behind. She stopped in her steps and turned to see Richard standing behind her. As the eldest son of the real estate tycoon in Riverdale, the Harper Family, he was the same as other students in Bayside University. He was born with a silver spoon, so his soul had traces of nobility and elegance. He used to be the love of her life and she was also aware of the gap between them, but she did not believe in fate. She had worked hard to be the woman that was worthy to be by his side. However, the cold reality had given her a ruthless p on her face¡ªa medical report and an expulsion letter almost ruined her life, but the man she loved the most merely sat there watching with another girl in his arms! Richard had been learning how to run his family¡¯s business since high school, so he was now already capable of supporting half of the Harper Family¡¯s enterprise. However, at school, he was merely a student. He wore a snowy white shirt, resembling a prince in every young girl¡¯s dream. He was full of warmth and vitality without any contamination from society. However, Sophia was already indifferent toward him since she wouldn¡¯t look at him. ¡°If you have something to say, say it quickly. Please don¡¯t talk about thewsuit.¡± Richard smiled bitterly. Sophia is now like a hedgehog that raises her quills upright whenever Ie close to her. She is so defensive and vignt toward me while no longer being the same innocent Sophia as before. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just here to see you. I heard that you¡¯ve signed up for loads of elective courses. Actually, you don¡¯t need to work so hard because it will be easy for you to earn those credits with your academic results.¡± His voice was still as gentle as before, like a whisper to a lover¡¯s ear. However, Sophia was emotionless after hearing him. ¡°So, what does that have to do with you?¡± Richard was rendered speechless, but in the end, he lowered hisshes to illustrate his mncholy and grief. ¡°I know you still hate me, but you can¡¯t take your anger out on Ka. You know clearly that she wouldn¡¯t do something like this¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t hate you. I¡¯m just taking back what was once mine.¡± She interrupted him impatiently. Richard¡¯s face was full of sadness as he looked at the girl in front of him. She waspletely different from the person he remembered in his mind. Not only was her appearance different, her heart was also different. ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡± Sophia was being stubborn. ¡°I¡¯ve installed braces.¡± He was rendered speechless again. He loosened his tight fists as he finally revealed the reason why he came to her. ¡°Can¡¯t you just direct everything toward me? Ka and X are innocent. I¡¯m the one who wronged you. Don¡¯t project your hatred for me on others!¡± He took two steps forward and grabbed her shoulders while his emotions boiled up. ¡°Tell me now, what should I do to make you withdraw thewsuit?¡± Sophiaid out her conditions. ¡°Ask your sister to apologize publicly and I need 5 million as compensation.¡± Looks like he couldn¡¯t find a way out with Mr. Fields, so he came to me to find a breakthrough. Richard rejected her conditions immediately. ¡°Sophia, you know clearly that we are a prestigious family of Bayside City, so it¡¯s impossible for us to apologize for this sort of thing. If you withdraw thewsuit, I will give you ten million and you can even return to me. Can¡¯t we just treat this as a mere misunderstanding? I don¡¯t care about your past and I¡¯ll treat you well for the rest of your life. I know that you can¡¯t have kids after your abortion, but we can adopt lots of kids together in the future. You know that I¡¯ve always loved you.¡± I can¡¯t have kids because of my abortion? Is this thetest story that X made up? Sophia was emotionless inside and she even wanted toughugh at herself for falling in love with a scumbag like him. She lifted her chin and slowly wore her sunsses, showing her cold elegance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m already married to an old, ugly, and perverted man who has the whole city in his hands. If you love me, you can always speak with that old man. If you are able to return home alive, I¡¯ll truly respect you as a man.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± On the way to the Couples Restaurant, the person who was referred to as the old, ugly, and perverted man who had the whole city in his hands eximed while watching a live broadcast on his phone. Chapter 19 Chapter 19 As soon as Michael was gone, Sophia needed to restrain herself. Fortunately, she had another identity¡ª a student of Bayside University. Bayside University was the top university in Cethos and they emphasized on nurturing students, so they wouldn¡¯t simply allow their students to skip sses like other universities. The university also had a very strict credit system and school rules, so any vition of those rules would lead to a deduction in credit. It didn¡¯t matter who you were because those who looked down on the school, had disciplinary problems, or even earned bad grades would be expelled from the school immediately. No matter how rich and powerful the people were, once they were expelled from the university, there was noing back. Sophia felt more secure with her identity as a student of Bayside University. Michael can¡¯t force me to drop out of school and go home to be with him. If he really tortures me to death, he will be responsible for everything when the school investigates about it. Every student in the university was carefully chosen, especially civilians like us who were admitted solely based on our academics. Therefore, everyone in the university is a high-achieving schr. Daytime was Sophia¡¯s free time and she could decide the number of hours she wanted to stay in school. Therefore, she signed up with a few clubs at once and she even chose three elective courses that were carried out during the evening. She also filled up her schedule with personal training courses in the gym. Seeing her schedule that was filled with sses and gym courses from 7AM to 9PM, she felt that she could finally stay at school in the open for the whole day without returning home. I can even directly apply to stay in school through Michael. After all, it takes half an hour to reach here from home, and Bayside City is globally renowned for its traffic, so sometimes, we may not even reach home within an hour. Let¡¯s just see how long I can drag this. Sophia was content with herself¡ªeven though her Yamaha bike was confiscated, she still could shuttle around the school ground on her skateboard. She felt like a happy little bird and Michael was an old, wrinkly woman who always tried to keep her in a bird cage. Holding onto the ss schedule that she had just filled, she made her way toward her next ss but seemed to feel that someone was watching her from the back. When she turned her head, there wasn¡¯t anything strange behind her. From the moment she entered school today, she felt goosebumps all over her body, as if a pair of eyes secretly watched her every move. Could it be someone from the Harper Family? But they won¡¯t dare toy their hands on me on the university campus. Maybe it¡¯s because that pervert is back, so I¡¯m starting to hallucinate due to stress. Sophia thought about it in that way, so it didn¡¯t concern her. However, right at that moment, her fully-packed schedule fell into Michael¡¯s line of vision. He stopped at the right moment and erged her timetable to see the elective courses she chose. Food nutrition, social etiquette and English as well as sex and health education¡­ She even signed up for three clubs¡ªculinary culture club, drama club and the night marathon club. Her timetable is fully- stacked. Elective courses start in the evenings every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and her club activities are held every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Night marathons were scheduled for every weekend. Her whole day is almost filled with sses and she even enrolled in a personal training course at the gym. Is she nning not toe back and see me even during the weekends? ¡°Tsk!¡± He eximed once again. Am I that terrifying? What makes her so disgusted of me? He chewed on a piece of gum, revealing a profound smile on his lips. Gary, who drove the car, saw his sweet smile in the rearview mirror and instantly knew that he might be up to something no good. Sophia had a busy day at school today. When she left the university¡¯s gate, it was already 6.30PM. However, her elective courses hadn¡¯t started yet because it was the beginning of an academic year, so she didn¡¯t have any other sses to attend in the evening. Therefore, she nned to change her clothes and have a meal before ying games in a cybercafe until 10PM when it was time to return home. Just as she had everything nned out for the night, she received a phone call from Hale. ¡°Madam, Boss has asked me to pick you up. He has already booked a table tonight at the Pearl Couples Restaurant.¡± After she ended the call, she wandered out in low spirits, but she didn¡¯t notice that someone followed her closely from behind. When she came to a corner and prepared to look for a washroom to change her clothes, someone suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders. ¡°Sophia.¡± The gentle and warm voice of a man was heard from behind. She stopped in her steps and turned to see Richard standing behind her. As the eldest son of the real estate tycoon in Riverdale, the Harper Family, he was the same as other students in Bayside University. He was born with a silver spoon, so his soul had traces of nobility and elegance. He used to be the love of her life and she was also aware of the gap between them, but she did not believe in fate. She had worked hard to be the woman that was worthy to be by his side. However, the cold reality had given her a ruthless p on her face¡ªa medical report and an expulsion letter almost ruined her life, but the man she loved the most merely sat there watching with another girl in his arms! Richard had been learning how to run his family¡¯s business since high school, so he was now already capable of supporting half of the Harper Family¡¯s enterprise. However, at school, he was merely a student. He wore a snowy white shirt, resembling a prince in every young girl¡¯s dream. He was full of warmth and vitality without any contamination from society. However, Sophia was already indifferent toward him since she wouldn¡¯t look at him. ¡°If you have something to say, say it quickly. Please don¡¯t talk about thewsuit.¡± Richard smiled bitterly. Sophia is now like a hedgehog that raises her quills upright whenever Ie close to her. She is so defensive and vignt toward me while no longer being the same innocent Sophia as before. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just here to see you. I heard that you¡¯ve signed up for loads of elective courses. Actually, you don¡¯t need to work so hard because it will be easy for you to earn those credits with your academic results.¡± His voice was still as gentle as before, like a whisper to a lover¡¯s ear. However, Sophia was emotionless after hearing him. ¡°So, what does that have to do with you?¡± Richard was rendered speechless, but in the end, he lowered hisshes to illustrate his mncholy and grief. ¡°I know you still hate me, but you can¡¯t take your anger out on Ka. You know clearly that she wouldn¡¯t do something like this¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t hate you. I¡¯m just taking back what was once mine.¡± She interrupted him impatiently. Richard¡¯s face was full of sadness as he looked at the girl in front of him. She waspletely different from the person he remembered in his mind. Not only was her appearance different, her heart was also different. ¡°You¡¯ve changed.¡± Sophia was being stubborn. ¡°I¡¯ve installed braces.¡± He was rendered speechless again. He loosened his tight fists as he finally revealed the reason why he came to her. ¡°Can¡¯t you just direct everything toward me? Ka and X are innocent. I¡¯m the one who wronged you. Don¡¯t project your hatred for me on others!¡± He took two steps forward and grabbed her shoulders while his emotions boiled up. ¡°Tell me now, what should I do to make you withdraw thewsuit?¡± Sophiaid out her conditions. ¡°Ask your sister to apologize publicly and I need 5 million as compensation.¡± Looks like he couldn¡¯t find a way out with Mr. Fields, so he came to me to find a breakthrough. Richard rejected her conditions immediately. ¡°Sophia, you know clearly that we are a prestigious family of Bayside City, so it¡¯s impossible for us to apologize for this sort of thing. If you withdraw thewsuit, I will give you ten million and you can even return to me. Can¡¯t we just treat this as a mere misunderstanding? I don¡¯t care about your past and I¡¯ll treat you well for the rest of your life. I know that you can¡¯t have kids after your abortion, but we can adopt lots of kids together in the future. You know that I¡¯ve always loved you.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. I can¡¯t have kids because of my abortion? Is this thetest story that X made up? Sophia was emotionless inside and she even wanted toughugh at herself for falling in love with a scumbag like him. She lifted her chin and slowly wore her sunsses, showing her cold elegance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m already married to an old, ugly, and perverted man who has the whole city in his hands. If you love me, you can always speak with that old man. If you are able to return home alive, I¡¯ll truly respect you as a man.¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± On the way to the Couples Restaurant, the person who was referred to as the old, ugly, and perverted man who had the whole city in his hands eximed while watching a live broadcast on his phone. Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Hale followed her into the car without uttering a word. Then, he started the car and made a beautiful drift before driving away. I can¡¯t believe Michael is still relieved to keep Sophia by his side afterst night¡¯s embarrassment. Shouldn¡¯t he be afraid of¡­ However, Hale didn¡¯t fancy a loli like Sophia. Only a pervert like Michael will love a young schoolgirl like her. On the other hand, I prefer women with big breasts and rump. I¡¯ll just leave the loli to that lolicon, Michael! Meanwhile, Sophia pulled down the partition so that she could change her clothes and wear some makeup. When they arrived at the Pearl Couples Restaurant, she had already changed from a bright and wild young girl to a tall high-ssdy. When Hale saw her after opening the car door, he opened his mouth, as if he wanted to remind her to be more careful in school as Michael already had his eyes and ears all over Bayside University. However, he shoved his words down his throat in the end. She can only hope for the best! It¡¯s her fault if she ends up dead! However, Michael is still interested in her, so she will still be alive for the moment. As soon as Sophia entered the restaurant, a highly trained waiter escorted her to her seat. Michael booked a couple¡¯s room with red pearl curtains hanging down that jingled whenever the door is opened. Pink candles were lit up in the room, making the whole space feel secretive and romantic as it was filled with a shadow of charming light. The aroma of food was mixed with the fragrance of roses¡ª and the mixture of smells could instantly calm anyone down. The man wore a chic ck suit thatplimented his dark-patterned tie, radiating his capabilities and maturity. Under the enchanting pink light, his dashing dimensional face was almostparable to God. However, from her point of view, the more handsome he looked, the more dangerous he was. She wouldn¡¯t dare to forget the eels he reared in the tank at home. She forced herself to lift her spirits up and put down her bag elegantly. For the past year, she had learned yoga and etiquettes that made her movements more elegant. She was no longer that ugly duckling she used to be. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m here. Sorry that I¡¯mte. There was traffic on the way here,¡± she spoke in a voice that was as sweet as honey. Michael revealed a seducing yet gentle smile, as if he knew long ago that she would be stuck in traffic. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time.¡± Then, she sat down and they were separated by a small table. At first, they engaged in small talk, talking about her life in school and the interesting stories about her ssmates. asionally, Michael¡¯s deep chuckle and Sophia¡¯s sweetughter could be heard, but the atmosphere was so peaceful that it seemed as though it was staged. As she continued to talk to him while eating her food, she thought about how she was going to inform him of her request. Sophia was half-full after the meal, so she wiped her mouth and applied her masculine Dior lipstick. She pressed her fiery lips while looking through her mirror before rolling her eyes. Just as she was about to tactfully bring up that she wanted to stay in school, Michael unexpectedly took the initiative and spoke first. ¡°Dear, do you have a lot of ssestely in school?¡± She quickly nodded her head and pretended to moan, ¡°Bayside University is totally different from other universities. Almost everyday is filled with sses. I have sses from 7AM to 9PM and I even have to go to the gym after ss. The school has also made itpulsory for us to sign up for clubs and elective courses to gain more credits. Hubby, I¡¯m tired of running back and forth every day.¡± Michael revealed a smile and said to her while cutting a piece of steak elegantly, ¡°I¡¯ve also graduated from Bayside University, so naturally, I can understand your struggles.¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t much surprised that he graduated from Bayside University, but she realized that she knew nothing about her husband. I need to check him out in the alumni list someday in the library. Then, she took the chance to bring up her request. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m so tired from running back and forth. Why don¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I ask Toby to send you there by ne from tomorrow onward? His flying skills are insanely good!¡± He looked as though he knew everything while his eyes showed traces of mischievousness. Sophia was left dumbfounded. Michael was a millionaire with a personal helipad on top of the Vi No. 8 they lived in. Not only did he have a huge piece of real estate on the outskirts of the city, he even owned a private manor and a private airport. She quickly pretended to be timid as she rejected his offer. ¡°How is that appropriate? I want to remain low profile. I don¡¯t want other students to see me flying in and out of school on a ne everyday! Why don¡¯t I live in school so that I don¡¯t have to go back and forth everyday?¡± Let¡¯s see how he is going to deal with this! Seeing that he was still silent, she quickly followed up on her words. ¡°The school has assigned a dorm to me. Even though it¡¯s not as good as home, I feel like it suits me. It¡¯s also much more convenient for me to study if I live in school¡­¡± Michael seemed to be hesitant as his eyes darkened. In the meantime, Sophia pretended to taste a ss of wine while ncing at him nervously, not knowing that he was watching her too. From N?velDrama.Org. A whileter, he finally nodded his head. ¡°Alright.¡± She was delighted. After I move into the hostel, I will have at least five days of freedom. Michael is such a busy man, so he may be gone for days, months or even years. By then, he will probably forget about me and I¡¯ll finally have my freedom! Even though she enjoyed the resources and privileges he gave, she still shamelessly hoped that she wouldn¡¯t need to sleep with him. Who knows whether he will suddenly bring out an eel when I¡¯m sleeping¡­ However, she didn¡¯t expect that what Michael was about to say would kill her thoughts like a bucket of cold water being sshed at her. ¡°I¡¯ll move to a ce near school to apany you!¡± He remained a gentleman as he used a white napkin to wipe his mouth elegantly before saying those words in an affectionate way. Sophia almost choked on her wine after hearing him, so she quickly rejected the suggestion. ¡°How is that appropriate? I will be staying in the girls¡¯ dorm and they forbid boys froming over. If the school finds out about this, they will deduct my credits.¡± Michael took a sip of the red wine with elegance and charm. Every movement of his revealed a natural elegance that was rooted deep in his genes. He put down the ss and answered, ¡°I own a few real estate near Bayside University.¡± She was immediately stunned, never once expecting him to make such a move. The neighboring locations near Bayside University weren¡¯t the best in the city, so the genuine dignitaries of the city generally wouldn¡¯t choose to live there. I can¡¯t believe that Michael would buy a house near the university. He smiled. ¡°What is it? Are you too happy to hear that I¡¯m moving there to apany you? There is a large piece of real estate directly opposite the university¡¯s gate, which belongs to me. I can move there to live with you¡­¡± Sophia¡¯s lips twitched in an almost invisible arc, but deep in her heart, she was actually devastated. Michael is a super millionaire. No ordinary millionaire is capable of living in a vi near the city¡¯s pce! Michael took a sip of red wine, but he didn¡¯t seem to notice that she was unhappy about his decision. ¡°There are lots of good houses near the university and I own all of them. You can choose to live wherever you want!¡± Sophia had nothing to say, so he continued with his words. ¡°I remember that I have a house next to Bayside University. It¡¯s technically a wall away from the girls¡¯ dormitory. Why don¡¯t we move there?¡± She was shocked and rendered speechless by the millionaire at the same time. Chapter 21 Chapter 21 If he really moves to live near the school, that means that we¡¯ll be going out of the house together. Someone will definitely see us sooner orter! I don¡¯t want other people to know that I¡¯m a married woman! I¡¯m just a 19-year-old girl! I¡¯m still a kid! Michael watched the expressions on Sophia¡¯s tiny face changing from shock to disappointment before turning into frustration and a fake smile¡ªall within a few seconds. However, she was still a young woman and he had learned how to read micro-expressions, so she would be unable to hide her thoughts in front of him. She was obviously a wild kitty, but could only pretend to be an obedient cat when facing a tiger like him. It¡¯s clear that she wants to w at me with those little paws, but she can only meow at me to pet her. This is such a great feeling! He felt that his life was getting more interesting. Therefore, he merely sat there casually, waiting for her to ¡®make a move¡¯. Sophia waspletely dumbfounded and suddenly realized that Michael¡¯s mind was as deep as the ocean, rendering her unable to clearly see what he thought or hid in his mind. At that moment, she felt that she should return to Duckburgs and scavenge the bins for food. However, at this point, she couldn¡¯t return even if she wanted to. What can I do? I¡¯ll just continue to act! She pretended to be timid. ¡°Hubby, how can you do this? If you move to the school with me, it will affect us badly. Didn¡¯t we agree to keep our marriage a secret?¡± Michael nodded his head. ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask Toby to fly you to school every day.¡± Sophia quickly refuted him. ¡°That¡¯s too high profile for me. I don¡¯t want everyone to criticize me.¡± There were many rich people in Bayside University, but there weren¡¯t many capable ofing to school every day in a ne. Not to mention, the university had a strict control over such mode of transportation. For any ordinary rich person, even if they could afford a ne, they would not be able to apply for permission tond, especially on the university grounds. Only the truly rich and powerful could receive such permission to fly in the area. Therefore, every time anyone used a helicopter to enter the school grounds, the person must be the richest among the rich and he would be fawned by everyone in school. She didn¡¯t want to be that high profile for the time being so that no one would discover that she married a pervert. Seeing that she had nothing else to say, he knew that his wild kitty was running out of moves. It¡¯s my turn now! He waved his hand toward her. ¡°Chica,e and sit over here!¡± He patted his thigh, gesturing for her toe to him. Sophia sat down reluctantly and her face was all wrinkled up, but Michael couldn¡¯t see it. When she sat down on hisp, she pretended to be obedient as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Michael also grabbed her waist with one hand while the other was fondling her. He even pouted his lips in an exaggerated way to kiss her. Immediately, Sophia moved her head backward in shock while blocking his mouth instinctively with her hand. ¡°Hubby, I still have my lipstick on¡­¡± Then, he withdrew his mouth and wiped her lips personally with a napkin. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll wipe it off for you.¡± He quickly wiped off the lipstick she had worn on her lips. After that, he pouted his lips intentionally to kiss her and even closed his eyes in an intoxicating manner. From N?velDrama.Org. When she saw his lips approaching, she felt terrified as though he just ate something horrible. Who knows if this pervert will pull out an eel after kissing me? What should I do? He is going to kiss me! She screamed in anxiousness. ¡°Ah!¡± Then, she held onto her stomach as if she was in pain. Michael asked quickly, ¡°What is it?¡± Sophia¡¯s face was flushed. ¡°Hubby, my flow today is a lot, so I need to go to the washroom first.¡± He actually allowed her to head off to the washroom. Soon after, she ran off like a gust of wind. As soon as she was gone, Michael took out his phone and connected it directly to the surveince in the couple¡¯s room. Then, he saw her wrinkled face that he didn¡¯t see earlier and the helplessness on her face the moment she was about to be kissed. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. This is too adorable!¡± Sophia was just 19 years old, so her face was still soft and tender, which made her expressions earlier look cute. Michael suddenly burst intoughter as he felt that things were getting more interesting. He looked at Sophia¡¯s expression repeatedly because it became cuter each time he watched it. At that moment, Sophia almost banged her head on the wall when she hid in the washroom. These days, I will prefer to spend my life scavenging through bins in Duckburgs. It¡¯s better to be hungry than to live with the fear of being dominated by an eel. Ugh! I miss those days when Michael wasn¡¯t here. She then slowly changed her tampon. How I wish that my menses will happen on a daily basis. After exiting the toilet, she wore some makeup in front of the mirror while thinking about ways to deal with her hubby. It took her half an hour to wear her makeup, so the busy Michael used hisptop to handle some of his business matters. When she came out, she held onto the white carved chair while looking ufortable. ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s head home now. My stomach is killing me!¡± she spoke in a weak voice. Tsk! She was still lively in school earlier today and now, she¡¯s turned into a sick person right in front of me. What should I do? I can¡¯t do anything if she uses her menses as an excuse. Fine, she wins this time. Let¡¯s see what other moves she has up her sleeves after her menses! Michael walked up to her and carried her. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll carry you.¡± When he carried her, he even gave her a soft peck on her forehead¡ªa quick contact without any movements afterward. It was just a sweet kiss that had nothing to do with lust. At that moment, Sophia felt a weird thump in her heart, but it instantly reverted to its normal beat. After experiencing a heartbreaking betrayal, she had lost all her desire toward men and love¡ªlet alone Michael, who was an uncontroble and unpredictable man. As she rested in his arms, she felt a bit tired, so she closed her eyes to rest for a while but eventually fell asleep in the end. She was really exhausted. The schoolwork at Bayside University was much more arduous than she imagined, evenparable to her final year in high school. Today, she ran to a lot of clubs to sign up and had to deal with Michael at the same time, which made it tiresome for her. Her eyelids were abnormally heavier than before and it wasn¡¯t long before she was in a deep sleep. Michael carried her straight from the VIP passage to the carpark where Hale and Gary waited for them. In the car, Sophia was sleeping soundly, but her hands were still covering her chest in a subconsciously defensive state. After cing her down on the car seat, Michael leaned his elbow on the back of the car seat to condescendingly admire his wild kitty¡¯s sweet sleeping posture. He had been watching her for the whole day. If she wasn¡¯t in her ssroom, she would be in the library. The remainder of her time was spent running around to various clubs without giving herself any time to rest. No wonder she is tired. He thought he saw a flicker in her eyes earlier, but it disappeared soon after. She seemed to be moved by me, but her heart instantly sealed after that. Her heart is now sealed because it was hurt before and it doesn¡¯t seem like it will open up for me easily¡­ Chapter 22 Chapter 22 If Michael dared to have Sophia by his side, he must have investigated her background, including the part where her future was almost ruined after someone framed her and her textbook-like scumbag of an ex-boyfriend. However, it intrigued him even more. If I can convince her to lower her guard and ept me with her scarred heart, what an aplishment that will be! I will protect her forever and use my gentle hand to touch her heart so that it won¡¯t be scarred again. Sophia remained asleep during the return journey home. When Michael threw her on the bed, she opened her eyes slightly and saw the two big eels Michael reared in the fish tank. She was so scared that she sat up immediately. He knew that she was tired, so he decided not to torture her any longer. ¡°I have something else to do tonight. Remember to change your tampon before returning to sleep.¡± He grabbed some stuff and went out the door, but he was gone for a few days afterward. She did not know what crimes hemitted as long as she was satisfied with her freedom. The schoolwork at Bayside University had drained her¡ªit was as busy as her final year in high school. She was so busy that she barely had time to rest during the day. She left home early and returnedte everyday, so she really wanted to search for a house near campus, but was also afraid that Michael would insist on living with her. That will be embarrassing. News about me being a married woman will definitely be exposed sooner orter. On the other side, the Harper Family was in utter despair. Ka¡¯swsuit became a problem for them because the attorney representing the intiff was Mr. Fields. The first verdict had already been given¡ªKa was ordered to apologize to Sophia and pay a compensation of 5 million to her for mental damages. 5 million was nothing for the Harper Family, but how could Ka, the precious daughter of the Harper Family, admit to the public that she had framed a poor student like Sophia, seeing that they had to protect their reputation? However, the opponent wasing at them in full force because they had the best attorney in Bayside City to defend them¡ªCalvin Fields! Mr. Fields was a notorious attorney and the so-called elite attorney that the Harpers engaged was no match for him. He lost after only two rounds, causing him to withdraw without collecting the agency fees. Now, they were unable to engage an attorney who was willing to take on this case because when all of the attorneys heard that their opposing counsel was Mr. Fields, they rejected the case immediately. By the looks of it, they could only ask Ka to apologize to Sophia and pay thepensation. Ever since the first judgment had been handed down, Kacked the courage to go to school for the past few days, so she stayed at home and smashed things in her rage. ¡°I¡¯ve said it. I didn¡¯t do it! I didn¡¯t frame that b*tch. She was the one who framed me!¡± In Harper¡¯s Mansion, Ka was angrily smashing everything that she could get her hands on. Even the female helper who came to clean up the mess was terrified by Ka¡¯s hideous and angry face, so she stood aside motionlessly and allowed thetter to continue smashing things. Mrs. Harper advised her daughter. ¡°Ka, you need to calm down. It¡¯s just an apology¡­¡± ¡°No way. I will not apologize to that b*tch!¡± Ka¡¯s eyes were reddened like an angry, grotesque beast with messy hair. If she actually admitted to her wrongdoings, she foresaw spending the rest of her days in school being despised by everyone. However, Mrs. Harper still tried her best at persuasion. ¡°Ka, you need to listen to me. It¡¯s almost your 19th birthday. Why don¡¯t I n an unprecedented birthday party for you? You can celebrate your birthday in a glorious fashion so that those haters will shut up!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to! I don¡¯t want to!¡± Ka screamed before she continued to smash anything that she saw. Then, Richard and X also came to persuade her. After his genuine confession, the ¡®considerate¡¯ X still chose to be together with him. Even though she knew in her heart that Sophia was still in his heart, she was still willing to be with him¡ªeven though that meant being the mistress. Therefore, how could Richard abandon such a ¡®kind¡¯ girl like X? Just like that, both of them reconciled and as the future daughter-inw of the Harper Family, X had already won over Mrs. Harper¡¯s heart. X risked being injured by a vase to persuade Ka. ¡°Ka, you need to listen to me. Do you really think that Sophia has the power to hurt the Harpers? She is merely a pawn used by someone. The real person who is going against us is the mastermind behind her!¡± Richard and Mrs. Harper thought about it for a while, but they just couldn¡¯t understand why they would get themselves entangled in thiswsuit. Why does Sophia have the capability and fund to file awsuit toward us? Finally, they figured it out. Sophia alone could never hire someone like Mr. Fields, so there must be someone backing her financially. The Harper Family had a huge enterprise that provoked many enemies. Some people were jealous of their family fortune and tried to stab them from the back. Apart from that, the Harper Group was preparing to be listed on the stock exchange. Therefore, if Ka actually admitted tomitting such a scandal, it might directly affect the public listing of the Harper Group. When that thought came to mind, everything else made sense. In the face of the Harper Family¡¯s overall interest, Ka¡¯s personal reputation didn¡¯t seem to be that important. Thus, Mrs. Harper tried to persuade her again. ¡°When this matter is over, we will hold your birthday party as a fundraising dinner and use your name to make a 5 million donation to charity. Then, you can pretend to apologize so that everything will be over. They won¡¯t have anything to hold against us after that.¡± However, Ka still refused to do so as red sparks flew out of her eyes together with huge teardrops. ¡°I know that the priority of the family is our interest, but I really can¡¯t bring myself to apologize to that b*tch. I just can¡¯t!¡± She hugged Mrs. Harper and cried. On the sidelines, Richard was observing them and clenched his fists before loosening them. Sophia, you hate me, so you want to take revenge on me, but do you really think you can do that? No, you are merely a pawn! A pathetic pawn!This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. However, in Richard¡¯s mind, he still could not forget Sophia¡¯s gorgeous looks. She captivated him like a poison, making him long to have her one more time. In the end, Kapromised and withdrew her appeal. She then published a public apology to Sophia in the newspapers and gave her the 5 millionpensation. After she admitted to framing Sophia¡¯s pregnancy and almost ruining her future, the entire Bayside University went into an uproar. The rich elites valued their reputation the most. Therefore, this incident seemed like a huge p to the Harpers and anyone rted to them would not dare to show their faces in Bayside University. In addition, the topic of campus bullying was bing popr and due to the Harper Family¡¯s special identity, they had provoked a section of the public that hated the wealthy and immediately was under heavy scrutiny. However, it was only short-lived because the Harper Family immediately went into action with their public reactions. Firstly, they employed someone to post on the inte to stir up some conversation, focusing on Ka¡¯s underage status at that time. Ka was quite a talented girl who received elite education from a young age and always had good grades, apart from receiving lots of awards in many international pianopetitions. During her summer vacation, she even visited third-world countries and Africa to do volunteer work. With that information, they abruptly painted her as an innocent and lovely top student who learned a huge lesson as a result of her youthful ignorance and a friendly joke that went wrong. The head of Harper Group¡ªKa¡¯s parents¡ªheld a press conference to publicly apologize, saying that it was their fault for not providing their daughter with the proper education. As a result, they were willing to donate another 5 million to charity as a way to atone for their daughter¡¯s sins. As for the university, the board did not inflict any punishment on her due to her underage status at that time, so they only gave her a credit deduction. However, if she studied hard for the rest of the semester, she would still be able to earn that credit sooner orter. All the chaos ended just like that, but it also seemed that it was the beginning of something else¡­ Chapter 23 Chapter 23 During the Harper Family¡¯s utmost attempt on their public rtions, they also didn¡¯t forget to conduct a private investigation on Sophia. They wanted to know the person who stood behind Sophia to go against them. However, after investigating for a while, nothing was found because her cell phone waspletely encrypted and there was no way to hack into it. Her academic files were also encrypted and the Harper Family did not have the authority to directly check a student¡¯s file in Bayside University. They even sent someone to follow her multiple times, but she was able to throw them off swiftly each time. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. They had even sent someone to look into Sophia¡¯s life after she left Riverdale High School. For a while, she was always under the supervision of the Harper Family because they didn¡¯t want to give her any chance of aeback. The Harpers were a strong force in Riverdale, so they notified the stores near Riverdale High School not to provide Sophia with any opportunities for survival. They only gave her two options¡ªleave Riverdale or die. In the end, she left Riverdale, but once she left, the Harper Family was unable to track her down. No one knew where she went or how she suddenly showed up in South Bayside High School. Therefore, they started their investigation again from South Bayside High School, but it still led to a dead end. They only discovered that she was a transfer student who was suddenly transferred there from nowhere. She seemed to disappear and show up at ces from time to time, so no one knew where she went after leaving Riverdale. Thus, no one knew who the mastermind behind her was. The Harper Family was busy with listing their shares on the stock market, so they temporarily ced the matter on the backburner, but they wouldn¡¯t let it go with ease. At least in Ka¡¯s mind, the matter had already be a permanent thorn in her heart, causing her continuous distress if she didn¡¯t remove it. After we list all of our shares on the market, the Harper Family¡¯s influence will be stronger. At that time, the mastermind behind Sophia will not dare to help her and I¡¯ll finally have the chance to give her a piece of my mind! ¡­ Sophia was really frightened by Michael to the point where she fell ill this time around. Her menstruation had continued for ten days, but in the end, it finally left her. However, it was hard for her to ovee the trauma inside her, especially when she saw the two eels in the fish tank. She discovered that Michael had a habit¡ªkeeping eels in his bedroom. Not only was the sight of two eels swimming in a tank hideous, she was tired of staring at them everyday. Everyday, Maria would diligently change the water and feed the eels. After rearing them for a few days, she would cook them in the kitchen before recing them with new eels. She would repeat this cycle every time. That was Michael¡¯s little hobby. He liked to eat eels as well as keeping them at ces where he could see them. He would stare at the eels for a few days before turning them into a delicious dish. If I observe the eels long enough to the point where there¡¯s affection, it would be more delicious and emotional for me when I eat them. However, in Sophia¡¯s eyes, she felt that the two eels definitely had other functions, even though in his eyes, it was merely for him to eat. He seemed to be very busy with his job. He was usually outside during the day and would rush home at night. Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t return home for a few days. In the meantime, Sophia¡¯s menstruation was over, so she couldn¡¯t use it as an excuse any more. She was in immediate danger because Michael would want to have sex with her anytime, which made her so anxious that she began to talk about living in school repeatedly. Then, she heard that in early October, when the weather was slightly cold, the school would send all its freshmen to a military training base dedicated to Bayside University for a month to have closed military training. If it¡¯s closed, this means I can hide from Michael for another month. However, there were still a few days before the military training and Michael could return home anytime during this period. Therefore, she decided toe home aste as possible every day by filling up her timetable. She had various elective courses along with three clubs to attend and she even signed up for a fitness course¡ªit was held twice a week¡ªthat she was particrly excited about. Today was a weekend and Michael wasn¡¯t at home. Sophia ate her breakfast in a hurry before she rode away on her Yamaha bike that he finally returned to her. She went straight to the most famous gym in Bayside City¡ªAudistin. Many wealthy people in Bayside City were keen on fitness and Audistin was their favourite ce to go to. Audistin¡¯s fitness card was especially hard to obtain and it was even harder to make an appointment with their personal trainer. However, Audistin deserved to earn the reputation as the best gym in Bayside City since the gym had famous personal trainers as well as being a huge franchise brand with bars and health clubs under theirpany. On the outskirts of the city, they even had specialized shooting ranges, hunting grounds, horse courses, and golf courses¡ªthe kind of ces where celebrities and the rich would usually go to. Sophia was a tinum member here and even had her own personal trainer. She had been consistently training here for a year and the effects were really good. She only managed to make a three hour appointment solely due to Michael¡¯s dashing face. It was already considered good for most people to schedule an appointment for an hour because the personal trainers here charged a fee of ten thousand every hour. She was prepared to spend her whole day in the gym because she didn¡¯t want to face Michael and his three eels when she returned. I¡¯ll try not to head home as much as possible. When she arrived at the gym, it had just opened for the day and there weren¡¯t many people inside. Most of them were students who came to work part-time cleaning the barbells. As the gym was not far from Bayside University, many students came to work here. Other ordinary stores wouldn¡¯t dare to ept a Bayside University student as a part-timer¡ªunless it was a high-end ce like Audistin. In addition, Audistin also provided free opportunities for students of Bayside University working here to exercise, so that resulted in more studentsing here for a job. When Sophia arrived, she happened to see her ssmate, Juliette Sanders, rubbing some barbells. Juliette was an ordinary citizen from a middle ss background. She also came here to work and maintain her fitness. She always thought that Sophia was a fellow part-timer, seeing that thetter was an ordinary citizen like herself. Sophia didn¡¯t want to stand out, so she pretended to work here and even exined to Juliette that they had different working hours. ¡°Juliette! You¡¯re early today!¡± ¡°Sophia, so are you. After I¡¯m done cleaning the yoga room, I can finally exercise.¡± After they greeted each other briefly, Sophia went into the changing room to change her clothes. By the time she changed clothes and exited the room, there were already lots of people in the gym. It was arduous to secure an appointment for a private lesson here. If a person camete, there would be no refund and another member would automatically fill in the empty slot. Audistin also had a strong backing, so no one dared to create a fuss here. That was why the ce was crowded so early in the morning. Sophia wore a short fitness suit that perfectly outlined her beautiful curves and wless ab crack, which made her look fit and attractive. She changed her clothes and jogged on the treadmill for half an hour. After rxing, she wiped her sweat while chatting with Juliette, who was still wiping the barbells. Juliette was a high-achieving schr with excellent grades, so she was also a top student like Sophia, which was why both of them hadmon topics to talk about. Just as they were happily chatting with each other, two uninvited guests entered the gym. Ka, who had an appointment for a yoga ss, immediately saw Sophia after entering the gym. Both her eyes immediately reddened as she couldn¡¯t wait to tear off Sophia¡¯s hypocritical face! Chapter 24 Chapter 24 My family lost tens of millions for no reason because of Sophia¡¯s false usations and we even became aughing stalk among the wealthy elites. Even though Ka knew that Sophia definitely wasn¡¯t capable of going against her family alone and there was someone pulling the strings, she still wanted to tear the latter¡¯s face off immediately after seeing her. She instinctively walked toward her, but she did not expect to be halted by a pair of hands on her arms. ¡°Ka, don¡¯t¡­¡± X stopped her in time. ¡°We are in Audistin. We can¡¯t cause any trouble here.¡± The elites paid attention to their health and fitness, so the gym almost became an important social venue for them. All of Audistin¡¯s customers came from the rich and powerful families of Bayside City. Hence, if anything happened here, it would spread throughout the society the next day. However, this was a critical time for Ka, seeing that thewsuit had now been concluded and the Harper Family had also apologized to Sophia. They even started to prepare for the promised charity during her birthday party, so if she troubled Sophia at that moment, someone might cause the situation to be worsened. We all know that Audistin has a powerful backing. Whoever dares to create a fuss here is very likely to be kicked out instantly in an embarrassing way. Audistin had a few legal shooting ranges and hunting grounds that were rare in Cethos, which illustrated the power they had. There was once when a son of an officer had caused trouble in Audistin by violently whacking a personal trainer because of his wealthy background. However, in the end, the man was beaten to a pulp by a few muscr trainers to a point where his face was swollen and he was even tossed out of the gym in an embarrassing fashion. From that moment on, his family was excluded from Audistin forever. ording to the rumors, the man refused to ept the fact and wanted to rely on his father¡¯s power to take revenge on Audistin, but before he could make a move, his father was quickly taken out. Since then, no one even dared toy their hands on Audistin. Ka knew that she couldn¡¯t cause anothermotion, but she just couldn¡¯t suppress the anger inside her, so her whole body started to tremble. Suddenly, she heard X¡¯s gloating cry. ¡°Apparently Sophia works here!¡± After hearing her words, Ka instantly understood. Sophia works here! Our family just paid her 5 million inpensation, so she shouldn¡¯t be desperate to look for a job here, but here she is! The only exnation for this is that she didn¡¯t get any of the money. By the looks of it, it has to do with the mastermind behind her because she is just a pawn used by someone to attack us. Now that the false usation of her pregnancy has passed and my family has settled the matter, she became useless to that mastermind. It¡¯s possible that she didn¡¯t even get paid for what she did! At that moment, she really felt happy in her heart as a sense of superiority of a wealthy elite suddenly grew. Then, she purposely walked straight to the front of Sophia in the fitness hall. Since she is a part- time student here, I have many ways to embarrass her. Meanwhile, Sophia was still chatting with Juliette as they had a discussion about yesterday¡¯s economic law ss, exchanging ideas on ¡®consumer¡¯s rights¡¯ to ¡®the significance of taxation¡¯. However, just when they had a stimting conversation, Ka and X showed up in front of them. ¡°A peasant will always be a peasant. Even if you¡¯ve enrolled in Bayside University, you still can¡¯t avoid serving others!¡± Ka scorned her immediately. Sophia could probably guess that Ka misunderstood something, so she shrugged her shoulders and refused to neither deny nor admit to it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with earning some money by myself?¡± Ka sneered. ¡°What is it? Have you used up that 5 million we gave you so quickly? Or is it that you didn¡¯t get a penny out of it?¡± Sophia nodded her head sincerely. ¡°You really know a lot. I¡¯ve actually used it all up.¡± That 5 million wasn¡¯t even enough for Mr. Fields¡¯s retainer fee, but Michael had a huge enterprise, so he didn¡¯t care much about her 5 million and Mr. Fields never asked her about the fee. Naturally, the 5 million became her own money, which she used to buy a few houses outside the suburbs of West Valley. She also spent a lot of money to purchase some stores in that area. ording to the information provided by Hale, Michael had a contract with a subway line that included an exit near the area. A huge shopping mall and arge office building would be built around the ce along with a dock. Therefore, that remote area would soon be the second biggest economic center in Bayside City. Before she could finish using the tens of millions Michael gave her in the beginning, he gave her another ten millions to spend. Now, she was loaded with money and when she looked at the bnce on her bank card, she even thought that she was living with an Iranian rial, which suffered from a severe currency depreciation to the point where you needed to buy beans with a bag of money. Ka chuckled as she ruthlessly exposed the truth. ¡°Don¡¯t be too pleased with yourself. You are just a disposable pawn that ourpetitor is using! Now, you have no value of use and once everything is over, it will be easy for us to kill you.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t want to talk nonsense with her because her personal training course would be starting soon After wiping her sweat with a towel, she drank a mouthful of water before walking toward the private training room. How dare she ignore me! Ka was furious as a cold light shone from her eyes. She immediately removed the lid on the bottle of juice that she held in her hand before pouring it on the floor, causing water stains to appear. Sophia turned her head and looked at her actions in confusion. That juice seems to cost more than 30 a bottle! She is really a rich girl. I can only bring myself to drink a bottle of cheap mineral water. Ka¡¯s actions sessfully drew everyone¡¯s attention. She smiled happily and threw away the empty bottle in her hand before ring at Sophia condescendingly. ¡°What are you looking at? Hurry up and wipe it clean. Servitress!¡± She emphasized on the word ¡®servitress¡¯. Who does she think she is? She is just a nobody who wants to marry into a rich family like us, but failed to do so. Even if she managed to get herself into Bayside University, she is still a low life who can only be a subservient dog in front of me! Correction! She isn¡¯t even worthy to be my dog! In Ka¡¯s eyes, Sophia was merely a low life who didn¡¯t even deserve her acknowledgement. Due to Sophia¡¯s ¡®false usation¡¯, Ka couldn¡¯t even show her face in public, so she really wanted to kill her. When she lowers herself to wipe the juice under my feet, I¡¯ll give her a hard kick on the head. However, Sophia turned and ignored her. Seeing her turning away disdainfully, Ka was furious as she yelled in a shrill voice, ¡°Is this how an Audistin attendant treats a premium member?¡± Sophia continued to walk without turning her head while Juliette¡¯s face paled as she was shocked about the situation. She happened to be in charge of this area, so she immediately kneeled with arge towel to wipe off the juice on the floor. However, Ka used her diamond high heels to kick Juliette¡¯s towel away before ring at Sophia¡¯s back with her crimson eyes. An unrestrained high-pitched scream was heard afterward. ¡°Sophia Edwards, do you hear me? I want you to wipe it clean!¡± Her scream reverberated through the halls of Audistin, causing the once noisy fitness halls to be silent immediately. Then, everyone turned their attention toward Ka and Sophia. Theirwsuit had caused a huge uproar among the high society, so everyone now surrounded them as if they were watching a drama. Under the eyes of the crowd, Sophia still walked away in a leisure manner without turning her head. Back then, she was always cautious toward Young Lady Harper because of Richard, but now, she finally stood up for herself and replied in a firm tone, ¡°I won¡¯t wipe it!¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 25 Chapter 25 As if she seemed to have grasped something, Kaughed angrily and deliberately made a loud commotion. ¡°Is this how the employees of Audistin treat their premium members? Look at this filthy floor! Where¡¯s your manager? Ask him toe out now!¡± Her actions now made her look like a shrew who cursed on the streets with one hand on her hip, which made it extremely annoying. X, who was earnestly persuading Ka not to make a fuss earlier, hid herself among the crowd while watching thetter embarrass Sophia. Since Sophia Edwards no longer has any value now, she has to reduce herself to work at Audistin. I bet she must have endured a rough time to even search for this part-time job! I¡¯m really looking forward to the scene where Ka Huff, this shrew, drives her out from Audistin! This incident had ced the Audistin¡¯s manager in a difficult situation. The Audistin had plenty of premium members like the Harper Family, but there were only a handful of tinum members like Sophia Edwards. Therefore, he would definitely lose his job as a manager if the screw pissed off their tinum member! The manager of Audistin wasn¡¯t any ordinary man either. The ck suit he wore made him look smart andpetent as well as handsome. A few gym instructors automatically stood behind him upon his arrival, making an imposing appearance. The gym instructors were usually personal trainers. However, if there was anyone causing amotion at the scene, they would immediately turn into fighters. When the manager and a few muscr men with an average height of 1.8 meters appeared, they naturally gave off a strong presence, causing a young girl like Ka Harper to be startled when they surrounded her. Nevertheless, she immediately returned to the condescending attitude she had earlier. I¡¯m in fact a premium member! ¡°Are you the manager?¡± She appraised the manager from top to bottom. The manager replied, ¡°Yes.¡± She arrogantly stated, ¡°You must have seen what had happened earlier. I want to lodge aint about that part-timer. I¡¯m a premium member of Audistin and have also booked a session with two silver- rated personal trainers, but your part-timer looks down on me. I¡¯m sure you know what to do now!¡± Sophia, who was initially prepared to leave, turned and blended with the crowd to watch the scene. The manager was clear as to who Ka referred to. Even though she was a premium member who took courses from two silver-rated personal trainers and usually spent more than tens of thousands with them per week, Sophia was an even more important client! As a shrewd person, the manager nned to please both parties when he saw that Sophia did not want to pursue the matter even further¡ªhe would first deal with Ka before apologizing to Sophia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that our services haven¡¯t been good enough. We will immediately clean up the water stains on the floor. However, Miss Edwards is also our member. She is not our part-timer.¡± Ka was in disbelief. ¡°She¡¯s a member as well?¡± Audistin¡¯s members were all respectable people. As this ce was also considered a venue for the upper-ss society to socialize with one another, each member¡¯s background had to be verified before they were allowed ess. Sophia Edwards probably registered as a member when she still had her value. Now that she¡¯s no longer part of the rich and powerful, what can she do with her member card? Relying on the fact that she was a premium member, she dered in a condescending tone, ¡°I don¡¯t like her and I don¡¯t wish to continue seeing this person. If she still appears here after this, I¡¯ll nevere to Audistin again. Even my family and friends won¡¯te here as well. You guys better take care of it!¡± This is the power that wealthy people possess. We can order a store manager around just because we are rich! Sophia Edwards must have shamelessly stayed in Audistin because she is using her appearance to get a rich man. All the members of Audistin are wealthy and powerful with extraordinary backgrounds. Therefore, even if she were to blindly pick any one of them, she will still get a tall, wealthy and handsome man. She wants to marry into a wealthy family and join the upper-ss society, huh? In her dreams! I will make sure that she won¡¯t seed! This is the power of their wealthy people, they are so big that they can deceive shops! The manager felt even more conflicted. Young Lady Harper¡¯s words carry weight, so if she decides not to come again after this, there¡¯s a possibility that a bunch of rich clients would also stoping to Audistin. Then again, Sophia Edwards is a tinum member! He hesitantly asked, ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t be coming again after today?¡± Ka was cold and superior. ¡°If this person is still here, I won¡¯te again after this. My friends, my family and my school mates won¡¯te here again as well. As the management personnel of Audistin, you should know who is the quality client¡ªa lowlymoner who came to secure a rich man or me, the Young Lady Harper!¡± She even emphasized, ¡°Audistin is the best gym in Bayside City and not a ce for someone to fish for a rich man. If you want to get yourself a wealthy man, you should go to the bar next door. There are plenty of old men who fancy women like you over there!¡± While she was speaking, she stared at Sophia, who was among the crowd, with detestation. After listening to Ka¡¯s deration, the crowd turned to look at Sophia. Among the crowd, she looked at the crowd in bewilderment with her arms folded across her chest¡ªas if she had no idea that Ka was talking about her. Sophia was wearing sportswear with a crop top that revealed her wless six-pack. The muscles on her abdomen were impable, arousing the envy of men and jealousy of women. It was obvious that it would be impossible for someone to attain such a perfect figure without investing sweat and time into it. If she was really here to get herself a rich man, he would definitelye to her on his own ord. Ka thought that she was about to seed in driving Sophia away. Feeling delighted, she pressed on maliciously. ¡°I¡¯m giving you three minutes now. You shall decide on whether to have her to leave or for me to go!¡± If I really leave now, the entire Harper Family and the wealthy families close to us will nevere here again, which would result in an immediate loss of a great number of clients. Audistin certainly won¡¯t be so foolish not to know who needs to leave. Looking at Ka¡¯s triumphant expression, Sophia scoffed without saying anything while awaiting the uing show. She didn¡¯t forget to look for X Huff¡¯s figure and as expected, thetter was found watching the scene with the crowd. This scene is undoubtedly familiar! When Sophia was dating Richard Harper, Ka often sought trouble with her¡ªjust like what she did today. To her, Sophia was unmatched to her unrivaled brother, so she had resented her without a reason. Sophia thought that in Ka¡¯s eyes, she must have been worse than a piece of s*it. In the past, when Ka found fault with Sophia, X would pretend to persuade them to make peace, but she stayed on one side and became an instigator. Some of the issues that happened between Ka and Sophia were all instigated by X. When the issue intensified to the point where it rmed Richard, X would be a little cutie who was hurt for attempting to bridge the divide between Ka and Sophia, but ended up offending them both. X tried her hardest to mislead him into believing that Sophia was the one who deliberately provoked Ka. X was expectedly hiding in the crowd right now, feeling delighted that Sophia was in trouble. Sophia felt that there was more to watch, so she continued to do so with her arms folded across her chest. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. The manager seemed to have made a decision between Sophia Edwards and Ka Harper. As it was indeed a difficult decision to make, he asked Ka again. ¡°Are you sure that you won¡¯t being here again if Miss Edwards refuses to leave? Even your friends and rtives won¡¯t being here as well?¡± Ka adamantly nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s impossible for me to train in the same gym as this b*tch! I find that everything she has touched is filthy!¡± Upon hearing her words and seeing that he could not turn things around, he finally made up his mind. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll do as you wish!¡± She felt proud and ted, as if she had managed to regain a little of her lost pride. However, this was merely the beginning. I, Ka Harper, will not only ensure that Sophia Edwards can¡¯t continue to stay in this gym. I will also make sure that she won¡¯t be able to continue her studies in Bayside University! She¡¯s merely a lowlymoner. How could she even think that she can steadily marry into a wealthy family by studying in Bayside University? In her dreams! Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Ka even intended to fish her phone out to record the scene where Sophia was kicked out of the door. Not only would she treasure the video in her phone, she would even upload it online for everyone to see what would be of this delusional b*tch! However, to her surprise, the manager said something that interrupted all of her fantasies. ¡°Then, Miss Harper, please follow me there to cancel your premium membership. I¡¯ll refund your private safety deposit box and lessons with the private trainers as well.¡± There were only three types of memberships that Audistin offered to the public¡ªgeneral membership, exclusive memberships, and premium memberships. As a matter of fact, there were two additional types of membership above those three, which were the gold membership and the tinum membership. Gold members generally consisted of high-ranking officials and incredibly wealthy people¡ªpeople who could shake Bayside City by stomping on the ground with their feet. However, tinum members consisted of those who were even more powerful and influential and Audistin even provided them with special services that were unavable for other members to enjoy. There were only a handful of people who had the tinum membership card as it was something that money and power couldn¡¯t purchase. It was only given to those with extraordinary identities. For example, the young wife who had a sh marriage with their boss behind the scenes¡­ Although the manager was merely an ordinary manager in Audistin, he knew that the gym was not as simple as it tooked. However, in his current position, he did not know much. For instance, he didn¡¯t know about the boss¡¯s identity; all he knew was that the person was an extremely powerful and influential person. However, it¡¯s enough for me to understand that Sophia is the wife of the boss behind Audistin. Although the Harper Family is strong, they arepletely insignificant as compared to our boss. Ka thought that she was hearing things, so she asked in disbelief, ¡°What did you just say?¡± The manager repeated clearly, ¡°As the employees of Audistin, we don¡¯t wee people whoe here to seek trouble. Miss Harper, pleasee with me to cancel your membership. If you have friends or rtives who are members of Audistin, please cancel their memberships as well.¡± He wore a professional smile. ¡°During the canction, please cancel your course with our private trainers.¡± Ka was dumbfounded. ¡°Are you insane? I¡¯m Audistin¡¯s premium member and have spent more than one million here! The Harpers has spent more than 10 million in Audistin collectively, but you actually ask me to cancel my membership for that b*tch?!¡± The manager maintained his professional smile. ¡°Please mind your words. Miss Edwards is our member, so you shouldn¡¯t refer her as a b*tch. Audistin only wees civilized members.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Ka Harper had never expected the manager of a tiny gym to treat her like that. If this were to happen in the ancient times, he¡¯s merely a runner! However, I¡¯m a premium member! The employees here would usually bow obediently to me! ¡°Is this how Audistin operates their business? Refusing a wealthy client like me, but protecting this b*tch?¡± The manager was extremely polite as he patiently repeated the same statement that he made earlier. ¡°Audistin only wees civilized members; we will not wee those who continue to make personal criticisms. Miss Harper, please mind your words.¡± It was already half past ten, so there were more people in Audistin. These members were all from wealthy backgrounds and some of them even knew Ka personally. Just like that, they watched her humiliate herself. Only a foolish or silly person like her will have the guts to stir up trouble in Audistin! This Young Lady Harper is just as arrogant as she is rumored to be and she isn¡¯t even concerned about the identity of the owner behind Audistin! This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Although most people didn¡¯t know who owned Audistin, they were vaguely aware of the existence of this legendary person in Bayside City. He had no name and nobody knew who he was or could even prove his existence, but he was the one controlling various properties like real estate and the new energy development in Bayside City. He also had a status which was almost on par with the Four Great Families. Legend had it that Audistin was the territory of this unnamed person, so no one dared to cause any trouble in this ce. In the face of the growing crowd of onlookers, Ka felt humiliated and growled at the gym manager after casting a fierce re at Sophia. ¡°I¡¯m leaving! Congrattions for your eventual loss of arge number of premium members!¡± With that, she haughtily went to cancel her membership. X attempted to stop her, but thetter was now pissed that it would be difficult to do anything. Ka might be foolish, but X wasn¡¯t. She would bending herself in deep trouble if she was really cklisted by Audistin since the members of the upper-ss society in Bayside City mostly carried out business negotiations in ces that were under the Audistin group. They had the best gym, golf course, horse riding club, shooting range, health club, hunting ground and other ces with clients that consisted of almost all the wealthy people of Bayside City. If one were to be ck-listed by Audistin, this person would never be able to enter any one of the properties owned by Audistin ever again! Therefore, it would be a terrifying matter to be rejected by the social circle that centered on Audistin. All of her friends and besties loved to visit the Audistin gym to practice yoga, aerobics and dance; their fathers and brothers would socialize and have business talks in Audistin¡¯s golf courses and horse-riding clubs. Audistin had be an important ce for the rich to socialize and it was also a ce for one to be in touch with other members of the upper-ss society. If she were to be banned from entering Audistin, it would also mean that she would inadvertently lose plenty ofmon topics and chances to socialize with the rich and wealthy. Therefore, she pretended to not know Ka. Ka Harper can cancel her membership, but I can¡¯t. I¡¯ll wait until she cancels her membership before I appear again. Unexpectedly, the sharp-eyed Sophia spotted X with a mere look and intentionally reminded loudly, ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you just arrogantly dere that your friends and rtives won¡¯te to Audistin again?¡± As she spoke, she deliberately pointed at X, who was currently standing in the crowd with the intention to distance herself from Ka. Ka was so full of herself when she pulled X from the crowd to cancel her membership. She even stated fiercely, ¡°I definitely won¡¯t stay in the same ce as this filthy woman! All my friends and rtives won¡¯t evere to this ce again! Never!¡± Just like that, X was tugged by Ka, who wore a resentful expression, to cancel her membership while Sophia waved at them with a smile on her face. X was extremely disgruntled. I¡¯m actually being kicked out from Audistin just like that! If I can¡¯te to Audistin, I would inadvertently lose plenty of opportunities! It¡¯s all because of this idiot¡ªKa Harper! If Ka could use a gun, well, she would be able to shoot her target, Sophia Edwards, urately. If she couldn¡¯t use a gun well, she would just shoot herself in her foot! After seeing Ka and X leaving, the crowd dispersed after the show ended. Regarding the incident where Ka was kicked out from Audistin, everyone¡¯s statement was it resulted from her causing a scene there. She even arrogantly dered that she would not set foot in Audistin ever again. Nevertheless, everyone seemed not to know that there were two higher memberships above Audistin¡¯s premium membership, which was the gold membership and tinum membership, let alone the fact that Sophia was a gold member. After she managed to rid herself of Ka and X, she went to search for her personal trainer with an uplifted spirit. The personal trainer, whom she had booked some courses with, was one of the few gold- rated personal trainers in Audistin¡ªGwen. Gwen was a multi-talented person who had been training Sophia for the past year. She had been teaching her aerobics and yoga. However, these activities were just an addition to the main reason why thetter hade to Audistin to learn¡ªit was because the former taught the world¡¯s top MMAbat skill! Combat courses and the shooting courses, which used real guns in the shooting range located at the outskirts, were the courses that Sophia loved the most! Chapter 27 Chapter 27 Audistin was the favorite ce for the upper-ss society in Bayside City due to the excellent services provided there. Sophia loved this ce and Michael was the Boss behind the ce. As one of the few tinum members, she was able to pre-book all of the services here for free. In fact, she was able to enjoy all of the services provided with the best quality, which were offered in all the clubs under the Audistin group free of charge. Tsk, there are so many benefits to being the Boss¡¯s woman, but it would be better if he is less perverted! She went to the private room to look for Gwen, who was one of the gold-rated trainers here. Gwen was one of the most highly valued fitness trainers in Bayside City. Under her training, all of her students were able to attain six-packs and a slim waist. Therefore, her fees were extremely expensive and it was difficult to book a session with her. Apart from that, there were still a bunch of celebrities who would use all their resources to scramble to book a course with her. Standing at 1.75 meters, she was a woman with an enviable figure and a perfect body-to-fat ratio at 20%. She had an hourss figure with six-packs and her figure waspletely proportioned ording to the golden ratio. She had cold yet stunning facial features, which made her seem like she was constantly aloof. Sophia walked into the private room with light footsteps when Gwen was quietly practicing yoga inside. She silently sneaked behind Gwen before throwing a punch at her back with speed, strength and uracy. However, the punch unexpectedly didn¡¯tnd on her. Gwen made a move at the speed of lighting. Her palm pressed on Sophia¡¯s seemingly rapid fist and instead pinned her down on the floor in a counter attack move. ¡°Ouch! Master, have mercy on me!¡± Sophia¡¯s face was pressed on the floor while she cried in pain. My arm is about to break soon! Outsiders only knew that Gwen was a yoga and fitness trainer. However, that was not exactly true. She actually specialized in women¡¯sbat skill and proficient in Judo, Muay Thai, Karate and many other martial arts. As the Boss¡¯s wife, Sophia knew way more about her than other people. For instance, before Gwen became a fitness trainer, she was a retired special agent for the country with excellent fighting skills. An ordinary person definitely would not be able to reserve abat skill course with her unless that person was a tinum member like Sophia. A smile seemed to appear on Gwen¡¯s lips before she immediately returned to her usual cold expression. ¡°You cane at me again. Let me see how bad you are after taking a break for these few days!¡± Sophia rose to her full height and continued to make her moves without patting off the dust on her. Although she horribly lost to Gwen every time, the continuous beating process actually caused her combat skills to improve tremendously. The two people started to fight in the private room, but Sophia was being chased and beaten for half of the right and only managed to gain a shred of chance tounch a counter attack recently. Nevertheless, whenpared to Gwen, whose skill was immeasurable, Sophia was as weak as a chicken. Whenever Sophia booked a private ss with Gwen, Hale woulde to watch. As he had just arrived, he now sat straight at one side with a cup in his hand while pointing and instructing Gwen, ¡°Gwen, she¡¯s the Boss¡¯s woman. Just use simple moves on her.¡± As if she did not hear a word he said, Gwen¡¯s move on Sophia was still harsh, seeing that it was a personal request from thetter since she had intended to be stronger soonest possible. So, not only did Sophia need to arm her mind and purse, arming her body was inevitable as well. Hale would always watch their training for two reasons¡ªone was to prevent Sophia from being bashed to death by Gwen and the other was because he found the fight between them damn interesting! Ever since he was ordered to protect Sophia, he hadpletely bid farewell to his glorious days of the past¡ªwhere he had to dance on a razor¡¯s edge¡ªand enjoyed an early retirement by spending his entire day with a cup of tea, a newspaper, and the game ¡®Mobile Legends¡¯ downloaded on his phone. From N?velDrama.Org. His days were so calm and peaceful that he became bored with it, so he enjoyed watching the fights between the women, especially when they both had hourss figures that he fancied. At the same time, there were three men working out in one of the VIP private gyms in Audistin. Harry still had his daring golden hair that gleamed under the lights. He was training his muscles and his biceps were in a perfect condition, so he was practically drenched in sweat. Afterpleting a set, he took a selfie at the mirror and posted it on Twitter before he continued to work out. While training his muscles, he uttered, ¡°Three men working out in a gym together. They must be gays.¡± ¡°You have just recently married, so I didn¡¯t expect you to actually work out together with us, the two bachelors. If I were you, I would be embracing my lovely wife in bed, making love to her over and over again.¡± Michael was doing push-ups with one arm. His half-naked body was sexy as boiling sweat beads fell one after another on the floor. His body was tense as a result of his movement, showing a wless streamline and his well-defined muscles were overflowing with masculinity. He remained quiet while the phone, which was ced on the floor, was ying the footage taken by the security camera in the private room where Sophia was in. It turns out that my wild kitty is here to polish her ws! Although he was a little reluctant to let her experience this, he still felt that a wild kitty should behave like one. He preferred a woman who was a little feisty as it would be more challenging to conquer her. Daniel, who had probablypleted his set of workout, was reading the newspaper while drinking tea. There wererge, bolded words on the headline of the newspaper that read, ¡®Two emperors unite! The union of the Golden Bell Awards for Best Actor, Ethan Winston, and the Golden Horse Awards for Best Actor, Taylor Murray, was held in the Nethends with an apparent registration of marriage. The Winston couple is no longer the imagination of the fans!¡¯ Taylor Murray was Michael Fletcher¡¯s stage name while Ethan Winston was Harry Winston¡¯s. Daniel put down the newspaper before raising his eyes and asked, ¡°The both of you went to register for marriage in the Nethends?¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± Harry, who was training his biceps, replied. ¡°Ugh!¡± Michael, who was earnestly peering at his wife, replied as well. Afterpleting a set, he rose to his full height and wiped his sweat with a towel while looking at himself in the mirror. Hmm, I have a muscr figure, nice crotch, perfect *ss, prominent chest muscles, slim waist and strong arms. If I were a woman, I would definitely can¡¯t wait to sleep with me, but why doesn¡¯t Sophia like me? He flexed his biceps and six packs in front of the mirror. I¡¯m just too perfect! Quietly cing the towel over his shoulder, he pushed the door open and went out. Harry asked, ¡°Old man, where are you going? Didn¡¯t we agree to go to the hunting ground to hunt for some wild animalster?¡± Michael had walked far away. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for my wife to make love to her.¡± Harry replied, ¡°Tsk, choosing a girl over his buddy!¡± After he finished training his muscles, he took a towel to wipe his sweat and scrolled on his Twitter timeline. The selfie that he took in front of the mirror earlier rapidly made headlines as it was being admired by arge number of fans. He put down his phone and took Daniel¡¯s newspaper to read. ¡°Let me see what is stated in this thing.¡± Harry and Michael had been working in the entertainment industry for over ten years now. As people who were excluded from the upper-ss society, the entertainment industry was certainly a good ce for them. In the past ten years, they had acted in quite a number of films. They had be famous together and even won the best actor awards together. They were once the golden partners and now, the couple who was loved by everyone. From being ¡®brothers¡¯ in the past to the ¡®Winston¡¯s couple¡¯ now¡ªwhere both names were given by their fans¡ªtheir fans were getting wilder. For unknown reasons, a photo that was taken when they went to the Nethends for business half a year ago had made the headlines. As the Nethends was a special country where gay couples could get married, their trip there was naturally given another meaning. After reading the news, Harry was furious, ¡°F*ck! What the heck is this? Can¡¯t this bunch of fans and media do something more proper? I¡¯m straight! I¡¯m a heterosexual man!¡± Upon hearing that, Daniel, who was calmly drinking tea, put down his tea cup and said, ¡°Be open- minded. At least you are on the top. You are on the top and fancied by everyone!¡± Chapter 28 Chapter 28 That¡¯s right. I, Harry Winston, am always on the top! The Inte had be more advanced over the years and even a little brat could learn how to surf the inte. Therefore, the Inte was flooded with gay novels with Ethan and Taylor as the main characters. In those stories, Harry Winston had always been the top! Judging by this, the fans were all rather cute¡ªat least they were not blind as they could tell which position was more suitable for them. N?velDrama.Org content. Whenever he was dissatisfied with Michael, Harry would search online for a couple of erotic gay novels with heavy sexual abuse elements and Ethan on the top while Taylor was at the bottom. After reading those novels, his dissatisfaction toward Michael would seem to disappear almost instantly and he even felt sorry for him¡­ To their fans, Ethan Winston was on the top and fancied by everyone. For an inexplicable reason, any male actors who had coborated with him would be shipped with him. They would bebelled as a weak bottom, crossdressing bottom, elderly bottom, perverted bottom. Even if he touched a dog, there would be more than a dozen short stories about sex between a human and a beast. Therefore, his harem consisted of more than thousands of people! Even Daniel, who was photographed in the same photo as Harry once by the media, appeared as a character in dozens of the erotic gay stories created by thetter¡¯s fans. Harry alone was able to uphold half of the entire gaymunity among the celebrities. Daniel put his teacup down before suddenly asking, ¡°Did you manage to look for Miss Feisty? Have you had any news yet?¡± At the mention of his Miss Feisty, Harry¡¯s eyes darkened when he recalled the day he caught a fleeting glimpse of her flying kiss through the window¡­ ¡°There¡¯s still no news yet. Her identity seems to have been intentionally removed by someone. After that day, someone manipted all of the security cameras located nearby that area.¡± There is actually such a powerful force in Bayside City! I was being careless, but this has stimted mypetitiveness. I must investigate Miss Feisty¡¯s identity. Daniel shook his head. ¡°Stop searching if you can¡¯t look for her. Hey, how about I, Master Levine, make a prediction for you? I¡¯m sure that Miss Feisty would have nowhere to hide. Since we have ¡®cooperated¡¯ in dozens of gay novels, I will give you a discount and collect only 5 million from you.¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± Meanwhile, when Michael found Sophia, herbat skills ss had just finished and the ss in session was her yoga ss. Although she was once again heavily beaten up by Gwen, her condition was still better than before. When she first joined Gwen¡¯s ss, she would receive ck-and-blue marks from the beatings every day. Gwen always had the nerve of steel; she would still beat Sophia even if she was their Boss¡¯s woman. If this continues on, I will be as good as Gwen in no time toe! Just when Sophia was practicing with all seriousness, Michael, who resembled a human wall, suddenly pushed open the door and entered the room, which frightened her. She was practicing yoga on her stomach on the yoga mat. Faking a shy expression, she rose to her full height in a fluster. ¡°Hubby, why are you here?¡± However, her thoughts were, F*ck, why is this perverted old man here? Michael leaned on the door with a passionate expression while his eyes looked intensely at her. ¡°I¡¯m here to see you.¡± Sophia was grumbling in her heart and pretended to be delighted while running toward him, saying words that were pretentious. ¡°You didn¡¯t return homest night. I really missed you!¡± Holding her little hand in hisrge sweaty palm, he took the opportunity to take her into his embrace. ¡°I was busy with my work!¡± Sophia¡¯s body was tense as she was working out earlier and the lines of her muscles were prominent. Unable to hold himself back, he stroked at her enticing six-packs and even couldn¡¯t resist the urge to continue trailing downward¡­ Immediately, her body froze. She swiftly held onto hisrge palm, but his hand continued to touch her. Hale suddenly felt that his whole body was shining so brightly that he could light up the entire Milky Way and even the whole universe while he cringed at the couple. Seizing his opportunity, he invited Gwen. ¡°Gwen, I¡¯m free today. Let¡¯s have a drink at the bar next door. What do you think?¡± Gwen also thought that there was a chance Sophia wouldn¡¯t have the time to continue with her training now that Michael was here, so she agreed to his invitation. ¡°Sure.¡± Hale felt pleased to have secured a date with his goddess and also helped Michael to get his girl. He rapidly left without forgetting to close the door behind him. Hence, only Michael and Sophia were left in the private room. He not only came in person; even his perverted hands had arrived as well. Before he went close to her, his pair of perverted hands firstnded on her, clinging onto her slim waist and refusing to remove it. The muscles on her waist were tight and warm and her waistline was perfect. Herplexion was smooth and it felt good to touch her. Hisrge palm lingered on her six packs, stroking it in all directions. She intended to p on this pair of perverted hands to get them off her, but it belonged to someone with a strong background. So, she only pretended to be shy and quietly tugged the pair of hands off her. ¡°Hubby¡­ Don¡¯t do this. This is the gym and there are security cameras.¡± Michael was pressing himself on her, finding that two sweaty people being glued to each other was a special kind of fun too. He was always so full of vigor and since the sports equipment in the gym could no longer satisfy him, he could only vent all of his enthusiasm on this little beauty in his arms. He couldn¡¯t wait to make her his here and now. ¡°This is the territory of your husband¡ªme. What are you afraid of¡­ I¡¯ve switched off the security cameras before I entered.¡± He then drew himself even closer toward her intimately and his lips easily caught her pink, tender lips. He felt that she was still unfamiliar with him, so he was afraid that he might traumatize her if he were to forcefully do things, which would make it harder for them to get along with each other in the future. Therefore, he thought to sacrifice his young and handsome body, which would cause her to surrender to him if she failed to hold herself back. He even intentionally grabbed her little hand and ced it on his muscr chest, letting her experience what a man felt like. He attempted to portray his wild, strong, and vehement side as a male to make her bow to him. Therefore, he was giving it his all to show his wild side. Under his vehement kisses, she felt that she nearly lost her breath and her little tongue was almost injured. His coarse tongue kept stirring in her mouth, which was painful and disgusting¡­ After kissing for a while, Michael suddenly thought of a new way, so he supported Sophia beforeying her on the yoga mat. ¡°Come, let¡¯s work out together.¡± She was reluctant to do so, but she still forced herself to respond to him. ¡°Sure, hubby!¡± He leaned over her, entuating his eight packs and chest muscles. His lines were well-defined and evocative, radiating his wild beauty as a male creature at all times.\ Raising her eyes, she saw hisrge, muscr chest muscle, causing her to be dumbfounded. His chest is huge! Judging by its look, it¡¯s evenrger than my cup size! Michael may be a pervert, but he has an extremely sexy figure! Michael pressed himself on her with a particrly dangerous posture, cing her small hands on both sides of her head. Sophia was shocked. ¡°Hubby, didn¡¯t you say that we are going to work out?¡± He smiled and pecked on her tiny mouth. ¡°Am I not working out now?¡± While he was speaking, he did a push up. When his body pushed downward, he would be in a position where he was right above her¡ªand he could kiss her pink, tender lips by lowering his head¡­ Chapter 29 Chapter 29 That¡¯s right. I, Harry Winston, am always on the top! The Inte had be more advanced over the years and even a little brat could learn how to surf the inte. Therefore, the Inte was flooded with gay novels with Ethan and Taylor as the main characters. In those stories, Harry Winston had always been the top! Judging by this, the fans were all rather cute¡ªat least they were not blind as they could tell which position was more suitable for them. Whenever he was dissatisfied with Michael, Harry would search online for a couple of erotic gay novels with heavy sexual abuse elements and Ethan on the top while Taylor was at the bottom. After reading those novels, his dissatisfaction toward Michael would seem to disappear almost instantly and he even felt sorry for him¡­ To their fans, Ethan Winston was on the top and fancied by everyone. For an inexplicable reason, any male actors who had coborated with him would be shipped with him. They would bebelled as a weak bottom, crossdressing bottom, elderly bottom, perverted bottom. Even if he touched a dog, there would be more than a dozen short stories about sex between a human and a beast. Therefore, his harem consisted of more than thousands of people! Even Daniel, who was photographed in the same photo as Harry once by the media, appeared as a character in dozens of the erotic gay stories created by thetter¡¯s fans. Harry alone was able to uphold half of the entire gaymunity among the celebrities. Daniel put his teacup down before suddenly asking, ¡°Did you manage to look for Miss Feisty? Have you had any news yet?¡± At the mention of his Miss Feisty, Harry¡¯s eyes darkened when he recalled the day he caught a fleeting glimpse of her flying kiss through the window¡­ ¡°There¡¯s still no news yet. Her identity seems to have been intentionally removed by someone. After that day, someone manipted all of the security cameras located nearby that area.¡± There is actually such a powerful force in Bayside City! I was being careless, but this has stimted mypetitiveness. I must investigate Miss Feisty¡¯s identity. Daniel shook his head. ¡°Stop searching if you can¡¯t look for her. Hey, how about I, Master Levine, make a prediction for you? I¡¯m sure that Miss Feisty would have nowhere to hide. Since we have ¡®cooperated¡¯ in dozens of gay novels, I will give you a discount and collect only 5 million from you.¡± ¡°Ugh!¡± Meanwhile, when Michael found Sophia, herbat skills ss had just finished and the ss in session was her yoga ss. Although she was once again heavily beaten up by Gwen, her condition was still better than before. When she first joined Gwen¡¯s ss, she would receive ck-and-blue marks from the beatings every day. Gwen always had the nerve of steel; she would still beat Sophia even if she was their Boss¡¯s woman. If this continues on, I will be as good as Gwen in no time toe! Just when Sophia was practicing with all seriousness, Michael, who resembled a human wall, suddenly pushed open the door and entered the room, which frightened her. She was practicing yoga on her stomach on the yoga mat. Faking a shy expression, she rose to her full height in a fluster. ¡°Hubby, why are you here?¡± However, her thoughts were, F*ck, why is this perverted old man here? Michael leaned on the door with a passionate expression while his eyes looked intensely at her. ¡°I¡¯m here to see you.¡± Sophia was grumbling in her heart and pretended to be delighted while running toward him, saying words that were pretentious. ¡°You didn¡¯t return homest night. I really missed you!¡± Holding her little hand in hisrge sweaty palm, he took the opportunity to take her into his embrace. ¡°I was busy with my work!¡± Sophia¡¯s body was tense as she was working out earlier and the lines of her muscles were prominent. Unable to hold himself back, he stroked at her enticing six-packs and even couldn¡¯t resist the urge to continue trailing downward¡­ Immediately, her body froze. She swiftly held onto hisrge palm, but his hand continued to touch her. Hale suddenly felt that his whole body was shining so brightly that he could light up the entire Milky Way and even the whole universe while he cringed at the couple. Seizing his opportunity, he invited Gwen. ¡°Gwen, I¡¯m free today. Let¡¯s have a drink at the bar next door. What do you think?¡± Gwen also thought that there was a chance Sophia wouldn¡¯t have the time to continue with her training now that Michael was here, so she agreed to his invitation. ¡°Sure.¡± Hale felt pleased to have secured a date with his goddess and also helped Michael to get his girl. He rapidly left without forgetting to close the door behind him. Hence, only Michael and Sophia were left in the private room. He not only came in person; even his perverted hands had arrived as well. Before he went close to her, his pair of perverted hands firstnded on her, clinging onto her slim waist and refusing to remove it. The muscles on her waist were tight and warm and her waistline was perfect. Herplexion was smooth and it felt good to touch her. Hisrge palm lingered on her six packs, stroking it in all directions. She intended to p on this pair of perverted hands to get them off her, but it belonged to someone with a strong background. So, she only pretended to be shy and quietly tugged the pair of hands off her. ¡°Hubby¡­ Don¡¯t do this. This is the gym and there are security cameras.¡± Michael was pressing himself on her, finding that two sweaty people being glued to each other was a special kind of fun too. He was always so full of vigor and since the sports equipment in the gym could no longer satisfy him, he could only vent all of his enthusiasm on this little beauty in his arms. He couldn¡¯t wait to make her his here and now. ¡°This is the territory of your husband¡ªme. What are you afraid of¡­ I¡¯ve switched off the security cameras before I entered.¡± He then drew himself even closer toward her intimately and his lips easily caught her pink, tender lips. He felt that she was still unfamiliar with him, so he was afraid that he might traumatize her if he were to forcefully do things, which would make it harder for them to get along with each other in the future. Therefore, he thought to sacrifice his young and handsome body, which would cause her to surrender to him if she failed to hold herself back. He even intentionally grabbed her little hand and ced it on his muscr chest, letting her experience what a man felt like. He attempted to portray his wild, strong, and vehement side as a male to make her bow to him. Therefore, he was giving it his all to show his wild side. N?velDrama.Org content. Under his vehement kisses, she felt that she nearly lost her breath and her little tongue was almost injured. His coarse tongue kept stirring in her mouth, which was painful and disgusting¡­ After kissing for a while, Michael suddenly thought of a new way, so he supported Sophia beforeying her on the yoga mat. ¡°Come, let¡¯s work out together.¡± She was reluctant to do so, but she still forced herself to respond to him. ¡°Sure, hubby!¡± He leaned over her, entuating his eight packs and chest muscles. His lines were well-defined and evocative, radiating his wild beauty as a male creature at all times.\ Raising her eyes, she saw hisrge, muscr chest muscle, causing her to be dumbfounded. His chest is huge! Judging by its look, it¡¯s evenrger than my cup size! Michael may be a pervert, but he has an extremely sexy figure! Michael pressed himself on her with a particrly dangerous posture, cing her small hands on both sides of her head. Sophia was shocked. ¡°Hubby, didn¡¯t you say that we are going to work out?¡± He smiled and pecked on her tiny mouth. ¡°Am I not working out now?¡± While he was speaking, he did a push up. When his body pushed downward, he would be in a position where he was right above her¡ªand he could kiss her pink, tender lips by lowering his head¡­ Chapter 30 Chapter 30 It was after the Harper Familymunicated with each other that they realized almost all of their memberships were cancelled. All of them had received notifications about the cancetion of their memberships and statements of refunds within the same hour earlier in the morning. What¡¯s going on? Could it be said that the opponents of the Harper Family have started to take action after their previous n failed? Then again, who would have the ability to directly control Audistin? Not to mention, Audistin is not a force one could easily mess with. If the folks behind Audistin wanted to ruin the Harper Family, we would really be wiped out. Moreover, we have never interfered with their business before this, so this incident shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with them! The Audistin even makes more than a million from us every year! From N?velDrama.Org. At first, they unanimously thought that their opponents had started to take action¡ªnever once suspecting that the incident was due to another reason. They even discussed strategies on dealing with their opponents. It was only when X ¡®inadvertently¡¯ told them about the incident that happened in Audistin that they learned of the truth. Before they even had the time to reprimand Ka, they rushed to Audistin¡¯s gym with the intention to get their membership cards reactivated. Sophia managed to arrive on time for the exciting show. Richard was neatly dressed in an exquisite and fitting tuxedo, looking polite and elegant. The beautiful necktie in front of his chest further entuated his good looks. Although he was merely a sophomore of the Bayside University, an outstanding individual like him had already started to teach himself a doctoral course in management. In addition, he also yed an important role in the management of the Harper group. Therefore, it was only natural for him to represent his family to negotiate with Audistin. Once they lost the qualification to enter Audistin, the Harper Family would also lose many things as a result of the gap formed between them and the rich people of Bayside City. Hence, he needed to get back the membership of Audistin for his family. He even brought the reluctant Ka along with him¡ªand next to her were X and Mrs. Harper. When Ka returned home, she didn¡¯t tell anyone about what had happened. However, much to her surprise, the ¡®kind¡¯ and innocent X inadvertently spilled the beans about it. Upon realizing the seriousness of the situation, Richard instantly brought Ka to Audistin to apologize to them. The person who served them was the manager who had cancelled their membership earlier. When Richard saw the manager, he greeted him with warmth. ¡°Wesley, long time no see.¡± Coincidentally, he knew the manager, who was also a graduate from the Bayside University a few years earlier than them. He was amoner and worked in Audistin¡¯s entertainment managementpany after graduating with an excellent result. Before he came, Richard had done his research¡ªalthough his intention was to be closer to the manager, he was sure that Mr. Wesley knew him as well. As someone who became Audistin¡¯s gym manager, Mr. Wesley must have had his own capabilities. Since he knew almost all the young masters, youngdies, and madams in the circle of rich people, he was well aware of the situation and conditions of all the families and what to say on different asions. ¡°It¡¯s you, Richard. Long time no see. Long time no see!¡± They were currently in the crowded hall and surrounded by plenty of people. As their situation was quite embarrassing, Richard tactfully asked, ¡°Wesley, why don¡¯t we look for a quiet ce and have a drink together to slowly talk things out¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Wesley directly rejected him. ¡°I¡¯m not free today. Let¡¯s do it next time. You can just say it upfront if you have something to tell me.¡± Richard was embarrassed by his blunt rejection. Feeling clueless about his recent bad luck, he could only force himself to exin the reason why he came. ¡°Something unpleasant happened between you and my sister today. I believe you know that my sister has been pampered since she was little. She¡¯s still young, so her actions may be inappropriate. For my sake, could you¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s about that incident¡­¡± Enlightened about his sudden appearance, Mr. Wesley interrupted him. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to help you, but your sister really went overboard this time. I believe that you know about the rules in Audistin as well. Regardless of their background, whoeveres to Audistin to look for trouble would be punished.¡± Richard immediately forced a smile. ¡°Wesley, it was merely something blurted out by a kid out of anger, so there¡¯s no need to take it seriously. How about we just let this pass for my sake? We, the Harper Family, will make a lump sum payment of one million as the membership fee.¡± Membership fees of one million was considered a ratherrge amount! However, Mr. Wesley tly rejected this proposal. ¡°This is not my decision to make. You know this as well¡­ The Audistin usually prioritizes our client¡¯s request. Since it was your sister who requested to cancel her membership, we had no choice but to do so ordingly.¡± Richard increased the amount. ¡°Five million!¡± Even if the Harper Family were to spend at Audistin, it would take us ages to use up the five million in membership fees which we will pay in one lump sum now. Audistin would definitely give in now. Nevertheless, Mr. Wesley rejected his offer again in a heartbeat. ¡°Richard, you know about Audistin¡¯s membership policy as well. Once you have cancelled your membership, you can never regain it. Besides, we have a limited number of membership quota. When your sister requested to cancel the Harper Family¡¯s membership, we have since epted other membership applications. Now, all the vacant spots for memberships have been filled. You are forcing me to do the impossible by asking to regain your membership!¡± Richard Harper gave another offer in a deep voice. ¡°Ten million.¡± This was the first time in the history of Audistin that someone offered to pay ten million at one go. Although the Harper family was wealthy, their money did not fall from the sky. On top of that, the Harpers had lost a lot of money because of Ka¡¯s recent matter. It pained them to spend the ten million. Nheless, saving their reputation and regaining the membership for Audistin was obviously more important. Mr. Wesley still shook his head. ¡°This is really not a matter about money. Your sister has breached our rules at Audistin and I¡¯m an insignificant gym member, so it¡¯s not in my power to make this decision!¡± Richard seemed unperturbed, but his eyes revealed a hint of fluster. Mrs. Harper stepped forward in an attempt of persuasion. ¡°Mr. Wesley, please just let it pass. After all, we, the Harpers, have been a customer of Audistin for many years now. We have spent at least more than ten million here. This¡ª¡± Mr. Wesley continued to shake his head. ¡°Although I really wish that I can help all of you to regain your memberships, there¡¯s really nothing I can do!¡± Although Richard strongly believed that there was nothing money couldn¡¯t resolve, Mr. Wesley¡¯s words had made it clear that ordinary methods would not work in this situation. I need to figure out another way! Ka, who had remained silent all these while, unexpectedly made a sudden cantankerous remark. ¡°I think you guys are merely being snobbish!¡± Mr. Wesley is merely amoner who graduated from Bayside University. Although he is a graduate, he is still an insignificant gym manager. How dare he offend important clients like us? Considering the amount of money that the Harper Family has spent in Audistin for the past few years, we are important clients here! This low-ranked manager is merely making a fuss using his position! Ka wore her arrogant attitude as the Young Lady Harper. ¡°You are just a low-ranked manager. How dare you cancel our memberships? Ask your boss toe and speak to us!¡± When the surrounding onlookers heard her words, they inadvertently stuck their thumbs out to praise her for her courage¡ªas all of them knew that this wasn¡¯t an ordinary gym! Chapter 31 Chapter 31 Not to mention the boss! It was known to everyone that the owner behind Audistin was extremely mysterious. Even the truly powerful and influential individuals couldn¡¯t meet their boss, let alone the Harper Family. Richard was so furious that he nearly gave Ka a tight p. With a low voice, he fiercely admonished her, ¡°Have you not humiliated yourself enough? Shut up!¡± Ka was stunned as she had never thought that her brother, who had always pampered her, would actually say such a thing to her. Instantly, she stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Richard, how dare you scold me!¡± His face was cold and dark when he continued scolding her, ¡°This incident today was all because of you!¡± As he was the confirmed sessor of the Harper Family, the whole family poured all their resources to prepare him and cultivate his skills, so they neglected Ka¡¯s education, which unexpectedly led to her current unruly and capricious nature. He knew that it was only a matter of time before she would give him trouble, but it was out of his expectation that she would cause such a major problem. Due to the fact that this was the first time Ka was scolded by her brother, who had always pampered her, she felt aggrieved and disgruntled. All of a sudden, she spotted Sophia, who was watching the commotion among the crowd, and instantly, she was overwhelmed by rage. Yes, everything that had happened today was all under Sophia¡¯s instruction! That b*tch must have had some shady affair with the gym manager. This must be the reason they worked together to pull this on me. ¡°It was her. It was all because of her!¡± Ka suddenly pointed at Sophia, who was among the crowd. Sophia was dumbfounded. I¡¯m only here to watch themotion. What does this have to do with me? Ka pointed at Sophia and then at Mr. Wesley before wildly using, ¡°Everything that¡¯s happened today was all because of this woman. She must have made some shady deals with this manager, which was why he went all out to do that to us!¡± This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Sophia shrugged her shoulders with an innocent expression. ¡°I¡¯m just here to work out and stumbled upon thismotion. So now it¡¯s my fault?¡± Richard was busy resolving the matter about the membership, so he hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to notice Sophia among the crowd. It had been a few days since hest saw her. Though they went to the same university, he hardly ever bumped into her. After not seeing her for a few days, Sophia seemed to have be even more beautiful than before, especially when she was currently wearing a sportswear with a crop top, which thoroughly revealed her slim waist. Her attractive abs were incredibly eye-catching, and by just quietly standing among the crowd, she made an iparably stunning view. ¡°Sophia¡­¡± His lips moved, and his heart seemed to have floated toward her. When X, who was at one side, saw this scene, viciousness shed across her eyes. She then tugged Richard resentfully. ¡°Richard¡­¡± Only then did he return to his senses. For a second just now, he felt that it was as if his soul had been taken away by her. What¡¯s going on? Upon seeing that Richard still hadn¡¯t moved on from Sophia, Ka was enraged, so she intentionally caused a ruckus by pointing at Sophia and cursing loudly, ¡°It was that vixen! After seducing my brother, she came to this gym to hook up with other people. It was her who deliberately caused trouble by conspiring with the manager to frame us today! Is this how Audistin serves their customers? How dare a manager randomly use their customer! I want to see your boss! Ask your boss toe out here now!¡± Her high-pitched voice could be heard all over the gym. Not only the people in the lobby, but plenty of people came out from the private workout rooms to watch the ruckus. Ever since the rich kid from the other time was driven away, it had been quite a while since anyone had made a scene in Audistin! Sophia, who was being pointed at by Ka, wore an innocent expression. ¡°I really came here just to work out. What does the canction of your membership have to do with me?¡± Mrs. Harper, who had always disliked Sophia, strongly believed that her daughter was not such an untactful person who would do such an idiotic act. It turns out that Sophia is here. This b*tch must have done something that instigated my daughter to do such a foolish act! Therefore, the woman joined in the war of words. She pointed at Sophia and started rebuking, ¡°It turns out that it was you who pulled this on us, you vixen! Here I was, wondering why our family was having such bad luck. It turned out that it was all because of you!¡± Sophia, who was dragged into the situation though being totally innocent, gave up on exining herself; she just looked at them scolding her in silence, as if she was looking at two monkeys. Thinking that she was in the right, Mrs. Harper barked at her louder, ¡°You vixen, you must have conspired with this manager to pull this nasty trick on us! Don¡¯t even think that you are going to seed with this. We are going to meet your boss and tell him about those dirty moves you have made!¡± Richard, however, kept quiet at that moment. He also thought that Ka certainly wouldn¡¯t make trouble at Audistin for no reason. It turns out that it was Sophia who was stirring up the trouble! Is she still mad at our family because of me? I don¡¯t know when she has started to be like a hedgehog that would prick anyone she meets. If she¡¯s willing to put down all her quills and be gentle and adorable like how she used to be, we might even be able to get back to how we were before¡­ Still, he kept his mouth shut. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to me her, but he couldn¡¯t stop his mother cing the me on her as well. Mrs. Harper and Ka were certain that Sophia colluded with the gym manager to frame them. Maybe Sophia managed to hook up with Mr. Wesley. Otherwise, if it weren¡¯t for this manager, how would she have been able to enter Audistin with her identity? They were determined to intensify the situation so that they could deal with the owner of the gym directly. A manager who makes a fuss using his position is just a nobodypared to his boss, and his boss will definitely side with us since we are such high-status customers. By then, we won¡¯t let Sophia and Mr. Wesley off easily! While the Harper Family was making a ruckus in the hall, scolding Sophia and the manager, Michael was comfortably sitting on the couch in a VIP gym room, watching the scene via the security cameras in the hall. He saw his young wife being reprimanded by the mother and daughter of the Harper Family. If it weren¡¯t for the employees who were pulling them back, they were probably even going toy their hands on her! Meanwhile, Richard, her ex-boyfriend, was standing at one side, keeping quiet. Looking at this scene, Michael could roughly imagine how tough her life must have been. It must have been disappointing for her to have such an ex-boyfriend! At the same time, Daniel was reading the newspaper while Harry was searching online for gay novels which had him and Michael as the main characters. ¡°Your little wife is now being scolded. Aren¡¯t you going to step in?¡± Daniel put down the newspaper and asked. Michael took a sip of tea calmly. ¡°My wife is not someone who could be bullied easily by anybody.¡± In the hall, the mother and daughter of the Harper Family were still making amotion. Mr. Wesley was initially the one who was scolded, but now that the pair of mother and daughter of the Harper Family turned their attention at Sophia, he became an onlooker who was watching the show with pleasure. Tsk, they are now aiming at the boss¡¯ wife! Sophia felt utterly annoyed when all she could hear was the noisy yapping of the mother and daughter of the Harper Family. Meanwhile, Richard, that spineless fool, was ying dumb at one side, just as she expected. She suddenly remembered about the incident when she first visited the Harper residence to meet Mrs. Harper. At that time, she was wearing clothes that were bought by Richard. She looked dark and skinny, and with the branded clothes on her, she looked like a monkey in a dress, looking funny and ridiculous. She was extremely cautious with her every move for fear that she would break the Harper¡¯s rules and displease them. Little did she know that her existence was the thing that displeased the Harper Family the most. She could still remember that after Richard reached home, he asked her to get along well with his mother. Right after that, he left her behind¡ªdespite her feeling anxious¡ªand entered the study to deal with hispany issues. She sat on the couch in the living room of the Harper residence anxiously. Opposite her was Mrs. Harper and Ka, who disliked her a lot, and sitting next to her was X, who looked like an angel in her white dress. At that time, she was alone, without anyone to help her. She faced Mrs. Harper¡¯s criticism and Ka¡¯s cold sarcasm alone, but she just kept her head down and spoke carefully. Now, unable to continue to withstand their scolding, she announced loudly, ¡°I¡¯m going to say this again. I didn¡¯t make any trouble. The canction of your memberships had nothing to do with me at all!¡± Mrs. Harper gritted her teeth with a dark expression. She thought that Sophia was still the feeble young lady who went to their house two years ago like a lowly dog. ¡°It was you. It must have been you! You must have conspired with your lover to do this! Don¡¯t think that you can do as you please after winning the court case! I¡¯m telling you this now¡ªno matter what you do, don¡¯t even think that my son will cast a nce at you, and don¡¯t you dare think that you can marry into the Harper Family!¡± Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Sophia shrugged her shoulders helplessly. ¡°Since you are not going to believe anything I say, let¡¯s just watch the security camera recordings.¡± The onlookers were boisterous. ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s watch the security recordings! It will be clear who was the one making trouble here!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s watch the security recordings!¡± It had been many years since someone caused a scene in Audistin. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to bump into one, so they needed to get to the bottom of this! Upon hearing his boss¡¯ wife¡¯s words, Mr. Wesley immediately instructed the employees to retrieve the security recordings. ¡°y the security recordings that were taken in the hall.¡± Generally, there would be a screen in the lobby of the gym, where the videos of Victoria¡¯s Secret fashion show would be constantly ying to encourage their members to lose weight. Currently, on the few 50- inch sma televisions in the lobby, the videos of the Victoria¡¯s Secret fashion shows were temporarily reced by the security recordings of the lobby two hours ago so that everyone in the lobby could watch them clearly. Mrs. Harper still thought that she was in the right as she coldly snorted. ¡°You vixen, your true colors will soon be revealed!¡± The recordings started, and Sophia appeared on the screen. She jogged, did warm up, did some stretching using the equipment, and talked to a part-timer. Everything seemed perfectly normal. Later, Ka and X appeared. They then had a disagreement with Sophia, and Ka poured the juice on the floor, so both of them naturally had a quarrel. Their quarrel was clearly recorded by the security cameras. ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t you hear me? I want you to clean the floor!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not cleaning it!¡± ¡°My apologies. Our service was not good enough. We will immediately clean up the water marks on the floor. However, Miss Edwards over here is also our member; she is not our part-timer.¡± ¡°If she still appears here after this, I¡¯ll nevere to Audistin ever again; even my friends and family won¡¯te here as well. You guys had better watch out.¡± At this point, everything was clear. As expected, it was Ka who was seeking trouble by intentionally making things difficult for another member. After she was advised to not continue doing so, she even threatened the gym manager and stated that she would cancel the memberships of the entire Harper Family. That¡¯s impressive. There really is someone foolish enough to threaten Audistin by stating that they would cancel the memberships of their entire family. It wasmon for wealthy customers to oppress a store, but it was usually the other way round for Audistin. After the recordings ended, Mr. Wesley switched off the security recordings. There was a dead silence in the lobby. It was obvious that the few people from the Harper Family were pulling a long face. Richard had never expected that this incident would turn out this way. Ka had always been arrogant at home, but it was unexpected that she could be so immature and unthoughtful to have the courage to mess with Audistin. Nevertheless, though the solid proof was right in front of her eyes, Ka was still unembarrassed; she even shamelessly reprimanded Sophia before the crowd, ¡°I merely spilled a bottle of juice by ident. It was obvious that it was this woman who was seeking trouble. I don¡¯t care. It was all this woman¡¯s fault!¡± Mrs. Harper jeered as well, ¡°This b*tch must have had some evil intentions. It¡¯s impossible that Ka is such an unreasonable person. It¡¯s unknown where this woman came from, so she must be here to get herself a rich man. We, the Harpers, have been customers of Audistin for many years, and all our family members have premium memberships. If you are really going to give up on important customers like us for this b*tch, it would be a great loss for Audistin!¡± Richard agreed to his mother¡¯s words as well. The reason that this incident had happened was obviously because of Sophia, who was venting her anger on them due to the past incident. Anyway, an apology would suffice for the little mistake that Ka did. For the sake of their business, Audistin should know that Sophia¡¯s background was iparable to a wealthy family like the Harpers, so they should know whom to side with. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. However, Mr. Wesley seemed to not have any sense of business as he made it obvious that he was siding with Sophia. He continued to wear a calm expression and smile while saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The cancetion of your memberships was under your request. Once they are cancelled, we really can¡¯t help you to regain your memberships.¡± Hearing that, Mrs. Harper blew up on the spot. She pointed at Mr. Wesley and scolded, ¡°You really know nothing about business. Ask your boss toe out. We want to see your boss!¡± This Mr. Wesley definitely has a rtionship with Sophia; of course he would help her! Mr. Wesley smiled. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Mrs. Harper. Our boss is not around.¡± It was a tactful exnation by saying that his boss was not around. To be frank, the Harper Family was not qualified to even meet their boss. In fact, even Mr. Wesley himself was not qualified to meet the boss of Audistin. All he knew was that the boss of Audistin was a mysterious person, and nobody knew his real identity. Mrs. Harper sneered, ¡°Your boss is not around? I think you, an insignificant manager, are trying to hide this matter from your boss and fool us. Who gave an insignificant manager like you the authority to reject an important customer? We are talking about a business worth over 10 million! Do you have any say in this?¡± Richard chimed in friendly as well, ¡°Wesley, this is not something you can decide by yourself. It¡¯s better that you ask your boss toe out.¡± Just when Mr. Wesley was about to say something, a person appeared from behind the crowd, who was watching themotion. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The person who came dressed up in a way which formed a stark contrast with the charming men and women in the lobby. He was wearing a bespoke fitting tunic suit, which was emanating an aura of the olden days. The suit entuated the sense of chic and maturity with his 6-foot slender figure. ¡°Master Levine!¡± Upon seeing Daniel, Mrs. Harper and Richard¡¯s spiteful expression instantly changed¡ª they now looked intrigued. Daniel¡¯s reputation among the circle of wealthy people in the Bayside City was well-known to everyone. They would all invite him for ribbon-cutting ceremonies and to check out their feng shui when they had any new property for sale, opening of shopping malls, ormencement of constructions. The rich people were obsessed with metaphysics. As the Bayside City¡¯s Metaphysics Grandmaster, his existence was God-like to the rich and wealthy! Daniel was also one of the shareholders of Audistin. Rumors had it that he owned quite arge portion of Audistin¡¯s shares, so he could be found in the Audistin¡¯s teahouse, which was right next to the gym, all year round. They didn¡¯t expect that Daniel would appear instead of the owner. Mrs. Harper instantly became respectful in front of Daniel. She greeted him in an overly polite and humble manner, ¡°Master Levine, how are you doing? We happened to have gotten hold of a new piece ofnd. All the applications have been approved, and we¡¯re just waiting for themencement of construction next year. I wonder when you will be free to check out the feng shui¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m fully booked.¡± He waved his hand and adamantly rejected her request. Mrs. Harper¡¯s smile was frozen on her face. Her lips parted, but she didn¡¯t know how to continue the conversation. Daniel asked Mr. Wesley directly, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Mr. Wesley briefly exined the whole situation. Mrs. Harper and Ka seemed to think that it would be a good idea to make aint at him since he had a greater authority than the manager. Therefore, Mrs. Harper startedining, ¡°Master Levine, I heard that you are a shareholder of Audistin. You need to handle this incident. This b*tch and the manager teamed up to bully the members, and he even took the liberty to cancel all the memberships of the Harper Family!¡± Ka jeered as well while pretending to be pitiful, ¡°There must be something fishy with this manager. Perhaps he is a spy of apetitor with the intention to ruin Audistin¡¯s reputation!¡± Daniel didn¡¯t say anything at first; he seemed to have sunk into deep thoughts for a moment. Everyone looked at him. As Audistin¡¯s boss didn¡¯t show up, Daniel was apparently the person-in-charge here. He thought for about a minute, and the lobby fell into pin-drop silent for a minute too. In the end, he looked at Sophia and asked, ¡°Do you think that this was caused by the Harper Family making trouble, or Mr. Wesley making a rash decision and breaking the rules?¡± He is actually asking the opinion of that youngdy? The Harper Family had never thought that Daniel would actually ask the opinion of a youngdy about a matter that involved 10 million. Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Just when Sophia was about to say something, Richard subconsciously called out quietly, ¡°Sophia¡­¡± He looked at her intently. ¡°You know how important the membership of Audistin is to me, right?¡± he asked seriously. She definitely will be taking this advantage to take her revenge on me for dating X! Nevertheless, Sophia must still be deeply in love with me, and going against the Harper Family was merely an attempt to attract my attention. Since she knew the importance of Audistin to the Harper Family, she certainly wouldn¡¯t be so cruel. Under the impression that Sophia was still in love with her brother, Ka threatened her viciously, ¡°Just say it. Just tell the truth. Don¡¯t you dare spew any nonsense; otherwise, my brother could tell with just a nce! Mrs. Harper cast a threatening nce at her, warning her with her eyes that if she talked nonsense, she would make sure that her son wouldn¡¯t see her again. X, on the other hand, bit on her lower lips and uttered pitifully, ¡°Sophia, it was all my fault. Don¡¯t make things even more difficult for Richard and Mrs. Harper on this matter.¡± Sophia looked at everyone, including the Harper Family and X¡¯s expressions, before turning to Daniel and adamantly said, ¡°It was the Harper Family who caused trouble here in the first ce, and it was also the Harper Family who requested to cancel their membership. Wesley did nothing wrong. Master Levine, you mustn¡¯t fire Wesley because of this incident.¡± Mr. Wesley was nearly moved to tears. Thedy boss is such a kind person! The Harper Family didn¡¯t expect that Sophia would tell a barefaced lie. Mrs. Harpershed out on the spot. ¡°You b*tch! What the heck are you talking about? Shut up!¡± She then turned to Daniel. ¡°Master Levine, this person is holding a grudge against the Harper Family, so you shouldn¡¯t believe anything she says!¡± Richard anxiously chimed in as well, ¡°Miss Edwards here is my ex-girlfriend. We broke up for certain reasons, so she¡¯s holding a grudge against me. You shouldn¡¯t believe anything she says!¡± Daniel nodded, as if he believed in what the Harper Family had just said, before turning to Sophia and asked, ¡°Since you are one of the people involved in this incident, how do you think we should handle this?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just go ording to Audistin¡¯s rules¡ªdrive away those who seek trouble here!¡± As she was speaking, her eyes were cold and expressionless. Daniel nodded and instructed Mr. Wesley, ¡°Just have someone to drive away those who seek trouble here.¡± Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. The Harper Family was dumbfounded, suspecting that they were hearing things. Drive us away? Audistin really could bear to drive important customers like us away? After he received Daniel¡¯s instructions, Mr. Wesley led seven or eight buff men and surrounded the Harper Family. In a friendly tone, he uttered, ¡°This way, please.¡± He did a respectful gesture to invite them to leave. Upon seeing the few buff men surrounding them and also the intense eyes of the onlookers who were watching themotion, Richard knew that they would only further humiliate themselves if they stayed there, so in the end, he dragged his family members and X away. Mrs. Harper was reluctant to leave. ¡°Why are we leaving? It¡¯s the b*tch who is supposed to leave!¡± With a gloomy face, Richard dragged her out. The Harper Family left with their tails between their legs. Not only they had failed to regain their memberships, they even lost face. It was beyond embarrassing. After the Harper Family had left, themotion finally ended, and everyone dispersed in groups of two or three. Upon seeing that everyone had left, Daniel took two steps forward and spoke to Sophia, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher¡­¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Sophia arrogantly let out a cold snort, turned away, and left. She had no intention of talking to him. It was probably because she still hadn¡¯t let the incident about her value pass. Michael spent 10 million on her, and Daniel earned 9.2 million, but he refused to give her a share of the cake. The more she thought about it, the more unbearable she felt! Seeing that she kept ignoring him, Daniel returned to his recreational teahouse. Harry had intended to spend his whole day here, and Michael was still running on the treadmill though he was sweating profusely. While he was running, he kept watching the security recordings at the lobby of the gym until Sophia¡¯s figure disappeared hurriedly at the door. This little wife of mine is avoiding me, as if I¡¯m a terrifying beast, without any consideration about my pride! Could it be that she subconsciously thinks that I¡¯m a scumbag like her ex-boyfriend? Michael was baffled. Daniel seemed to have noticed his puzzlement. As he was reading the newspaper, he advised him in a patronizing tone, ¡°Listen to me¡ªdon¡¯t rush it. You need to coax your wife slowly and patiently. After she¡¯s familiarized herself with you, you can easily do what you want with her. How about I give you a suggestion?¡± Michael didn¡¯t reply to him. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a secret weapon in your hands?¡± Daniel asked mysteriously. A secret weapon? Before Michael could get hold of his meaning, Harry managed to figure it out. ¡°Haha! You have such a powerful weapon. If you use it, I¡¯m sure that your wife will give in to you!¡± After thinking for a moment, he suddenly smiled knowingly. After Sophia found out that Michael was in the gym, it was only natural for her tock the courage to continue sticking around. She took a stroll around outside, had a meal, did some shopping in the shopping mall, yed some games, and slowly went home when it was dark outside. Luckily, Michael wasn¡¯t home, and Maria told her that he wouldn¡¯t being home tonight; he had gone to his son¡¯s ce. ¡°Boss has a son?¡± When Sophia, thewful wife, found out that her husband had an illegitimate son, she actually felt a little d! Maria nodded. ¡°Yes. He¡¯s five now! I just saw him two years ago!¡± This is such excellent news! It¡¯s impossible for a sessful person like Michael to only have me as his woman! He must have a bunch of mistresses outside. His mistresses and a whole group of illegitimate sons could probably even form a long line! Maybe he will just forget about me in a day or two! Upon having such thoughts, she suddenly found that life was full of surprises! That night, she slept soundly and had a dream about Michael bringing home a bunch of mistresses and kids. Right in front of them, he coldly threw a check worth 200 million at her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get a divorce, and this 200 million will be yours!¡± She immediately stepped forward and grabbed the check while grinning. ¡°Hubby, that¡¯s too much. 100 million is enough. 100 million¡­¡± After that, with the money in hand, she continued her studies, opened apany, became a domineering president, and had a young kept man. From that point onward, her life only got better¡­ ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Sophia chuckled in joy. Perhaps the dream was too sweet; she was so reluctant to let go of it that she slept in. Only when Maria came to call her, she woke up with a start. She looked at the clock and found out that it was now 10.00AM. ording to her schedule, she was supposed to attend horse-riding ss in the morning. She changed her clothes hurriedly. ¡°Maria, why didn¡¯t you wake me up?¡± Maria felt innocent. ¡°Madam, Boss who asked me not to do so.¡± ¡°Michael? He¡¯s back?¡± Feeling astonished, she subconsciously looked at the two big eels in the aquarium¡ªthey were still alive and kicking. She could feel a chill run down her spine. It¡¯s over. The beast¡¯s back! Maria nodded. ¡°Yeah. He came back with Little Master at daybreak. He said that you were tired, so he asked me not to wake you up. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve asked Hale to give a call to the people at the horse-riding club.¡± Michael actually brought his illegitimate son back here? Chapter 34 Chapter 34 Wait, he maybe didn¡¯t only bring his illegitimate son; he might have brought a ¡®sister¡¯ back as well. Is he nning to introduce me to his other ¡®sisters¡¯? Or perhaps it¡¯s a mistress bringing her child to show off in front of me? No, that¡¯s not right. If we go by the order, I¡¯m the mistress in their rtionship. But that¡¯s not right as well¡ªI¡¯m the one who has signed the marriage certificate with Michael. The marriage certificate, which was personally signed by me, is now kept in the bedside table. I¡¯m sure of it. Sophia rubbed her head, without any idea of what Michael had in mind. Since he has a bunch of mistresses and kids, why did he spend 10 million to buy me? When she was brushing her teeth and washing her face, a lot of things went through her mind. She was thinking what kind of an expression she should have when she met Michael and the ¡®sister¡¯ter. Should I ept the reality and give in to the situation? Or should I not ept the reality and make a scene by crying my eyes out? Should I humble myself and be his mistress? Or should I show her my marriage certificate to dere my identity as hiswful wife? I really wish that he would just throw a 200-million check at me and ask me to get lost¡­ After washing her face and changing into her clothes, she walked down the stairs elegantly. Regardless of the situation, I need to save my face. I can¡¯t lose face in front of Michael¡¯s other woman! I¡¯m his lawfully wedded wife! If I¡¯m still here, the others could only be his mistresses! As she walked down the spiral staircase, she cast a nce at the living room. Michael, his son, and also the so-called ¡®sister¡¯ were not there. Instead, she saw that Mr. Morgan was giving instructions to some people who were going in and out, moving some boxes around. There were quite a number of strangers in the house. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Mr. Morgan?¡± When Mr. Morgan, who was instructing some men to move the boxes, heard Sophia¡¯s question, he answered respectfully, ¡°Little Master is moving in to live with you.¡± Tsk! Michael has brought his illegitimate son and mistress home! That¡¯s just great! If the ¡®sister¡¯ is around, she would definitely try her best to grab his attention so that she could be thewful wife instead! I don¡¯t need to be afraid of the eels anymore. Feeling overjoyed, she skipped carefreely to the garden to look for him. In the garden, the grass was green, and there were exotic nts and flowers blooming amidst the beautifully-maintained groves. Water was flowing in the man-made stream, which surrounded the garden, and there were fishes swimming freely in the crystal-clear water. Michael was sitting on the deck chair in the garden, and in front of him stood a little boy, who was wearing a Doraemon-printed top, ying a remote-controlled race car. N?velDrama.Org content. He was probably 4 or 5 years old, just like how Maria had described. He looked exactly the same as Michael¡ªhe had a face with well-defined features and extraordinary temperament. It was obvious that he was his biological son. She looked everywhere but failed to locate the ¡®sister¡¯. Shouldn¡¯t she be sitting on Michael¡¯sp now, provoking me by acting like a happy family of three? Michael immediately spotted Sophia, who was peeking furtively at them, and he waved at her. ¡°Come here, chica. Come and take a look at our son!¡± Our son, my foot¡­ When she was walking over to him awkwardly, the little boy happened to turn around and face her. His delicate little face looked chubby and tender, which resembled a plump, juicy fruit. It was obvious from his looks that he was a lovely child! Tsk, the mother of this little boy has such good genes. It¡¯s only a matter of time before she reces me as the legitimate wife. Sophia and the little boy met face-to-face, and after three seconds of silence while they stared at each other, he dropped the remote control in his hands and dashed toward her with his arms spread. He hugged her leg, and a sweet smile appeared on his adorable little face while his little mouth parted. ¡°Mommy!¡± She was rendered speechless. Why is the situation different from what I¡¯ve imagined? Feeling baffled, she didn¡¯t reply to him for a while. The little boy pouted. ¡°Mommy, don¡¯t you like me?¡± ¡°I-I-I¡­¡± she stuttered. Michael bent over and stroked the little boy¡¯s head while saying to her, ¡°This is my son, Nathan Fletcher. You are his mother from now on.¡± Eh? Is he announcing to me that I¡¯ll be his onlywfully-wedded wife? This situation is just like in the novels where the children of the mistresses would be raised under the name of thewful wife. Why do I feel touched somehow? The little boy¡¯s adorable face had a slightly-disgruntled expression. ¡°Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!¡± Sophia forced herself to reply to him, ¡°Hey, my dear son!¡± I¡¯m only 19 years old, but I¡¯m now a mother? Michael caressed the little boy¡¯s little face, which was as smooth as silk, and dered, ¡°From now on, he is moving in to stay with us. You guys need to get along well with each other.¡± He¡¯s even going to move over here? Feeling totally lost about the world of the rich, she had no choice but to agree. ¡°Sure!¡± The little boy tugged at a corner of her skirt and swayed left and right. ¡°Mommy, can you take me to my room to look around?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing that the little boy was so cute, she held his little hand and went inside the vi. Along the way, the two of them, one was tall while the other was short, seemed to get along really well. ¡°Mommy, will you sing for me?¡± ¡°Of course. I love singing the most!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Mommy, you are the best! I want to listen to ¡®Mothers Are the Best in the World¡¯!¡± Looking at the tall and short figure holding each other¡¯s hand while leaving, Michael smiled contently. As expected, women can¡¯t resist children. I bet that with Nathan here, our rtionship will improve a little faster. Besides, Nathan lost his parents since he was little, and putting him under Sophia¡¯s care will give him aplete family. Perhaps she will fall in love with the kid and lead to the increase in her sense of belongingness in the family. She may even like me even more after this as I¡¯m the child¡¯s dad. It¡¯s decided, then! I knew that if I used my secret weapon, I wouldn¡¯t fail! Meanwhile, Sophia was taking Nathan to the second floor. Mr. Morgan had prepared his room on the second floor. The room was spacious, with a separate yroom and study. The entire balcony on the second floor belonged to him, and Michael even had a few nannies ready for him. This showed how much he loved his son. Sophia loved children as well, especially when he was such an adorable-looking child. Holding his delicate, little hands, she took him around to see his room. His room was decorated childishly with Doraemon-printed curtains, with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck printed on his bedsheets and nket. There was even a mini rocking horse, a mini car, and so on. ¡°Nate, look here. This will be your little bed. You will be sleeping here from now on.¡± She pointed at the colorful bed. ¡°If you are not used to all this, I cane over to sleep together with you.¡± She tried her best to sound more childish; she even hugged arge teddy bear excitedly. ¡°Nate, look, there¡¯s a teddy bear here. You¡¯ll have a teddy bear and me to sleep with you, so you don¡¯t need to worry about having nightmares. We will protect you!¡± However, when she lowered her head, the adorable, innocent little boy just now had put on a cold, impassive face¡ªthough he still looked cute. ¡°Woman, I¡¯m not a 4-year-old kid. Don¡¯t talk to me using such a childish tone,¡± the little boy uttered in a freezing tone. The 5-year-old little figure raised his head to look at her, emanating a strong aura which didn¡¯t match his age. Chapter 35 Chapter 35 ¡°Eh?¡± Sophia let out a cry of surprise. Why is this little boypletely different from how he was just now? The little boy¡¯s childish voice and his cold, gloomy face formed a stark contrast that made him look even more adorable. ¡°Listen here. I don¡¯t have the intention to move here, but your husband insisted on having me move here. He asked me to make you happy by acting as your son.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± She was dumbfounded. Although she had no idea what was going on, she found that the little boy¡¯s face seemed to look even cuter than before. I really wish that I could poke this chubby little face. The little boy put on a stern expression. ¡°Woman, how about we make a deal?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± For a moment, she thought that she was looking at a future domineering president from twenty years in the future. For an inexplicable reason, she nodded. ¡°What kind of deal?¡± His expression was serious. ¡°I¡¯ll continue to act like a cute little boy in front of that old guy while you pretend to be happy. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± she asked. He nodded, and his eyes were earnest. ¡°Yeah.¡± Sophia seemed a little lost. ¡°Erm¡­¡± From N?velDrama.Org. The little boy pointed at the door. ¡°Get out. Don¡¯t enter my room without my permission.¡± She walked toward the door, and then he went to close the door. ¡°Also, my name is Nathan Fletcher. N-A-T-H-A-N. Don¡¯t call me Nate,¡± he warned. ¡°I¡ª¡± Before she managed to say anything, the door was mmed in her face with a loud thud. The corner of her lips twitched as she felt utterly speechless. The old one is a psycho, and the little one is worse. Everyone in this family is crazy. Nevertheless, I rather face this unusual little one; at least I don¡¯t need to make love with eels. At night, Michael had the maids make a dish from the two eels that he had reared for a few days. He asked them to get another tworger eels right after that. While the family of three was having dinner in the dining room, Sophia tried her best to act like a loving wife and mother by cing some food on Nathan¡¯s te. ¡°Nate, here, have some meat. You will grow taller and stronger after eating this.¡± The little boy looked sweet, which was totally different from the cold expression that he had earlier. With his head lowered, he seemed to be focused on eating. ¡°Thank you, mommy. I must grow taller and stronger.¡± Looking at them getting along well with each other, Michael felt pleased and content. Women really can¡¯t resist adorable children. After she bes a qualified mother, she certainly will learn to be a qualified wife. Sophia¡¯s schedule for the day waspletely messed up due to Nathan¡¯s appearance as she was forced to keep himpany. He was indeed Michael¡¯s son¡ªhe had extraordinary acting skills and an extremely umon character. He seemed like a sweet little boy in front of Michael, but he became icy cold when he wasn¡¯t facing him. When he turned to Michael, he transformed back to the cute little boy again. His transformation was instant and wless. Nathan was exhausted after acting for the whole day. After having dinner, he went upstairs sleepily. Seeing this, Sophia¡¯s eyes darted everywhere, and she hurriedly finished her meal before saying to Michael, ¡°This is the first time Nate came to our house, so he must be feeling out of ce. I¡¯ll sleep with him tonight.¡± Michael immediately agreed, ¡°Sure, you guys should spend some time together. I¡¯ve been raising Nate in another ce, so he must be feeling ufortable at a new ce. You should spend more time with him. He¡¯s a poor child who grew up without a mother. From now on, you will be his mother.¡± Only half a day had passed, but Michael was already used to his nickname¡ªNate. Sophia instantly nodded. After having her meal and brushing her teeth, she hurried to the little boy¡¯s room for fear that Michael would catch her. Luckily, the little boy didn¡¯t lock his door, so she was able to enter his room. ¡°Erm¡­ Nate, your father asked me to sleep with you tonight.¡± She put on a loving, motherly smile. As expected, the little boy didn¡¯t even look at her in the eye; he was ying with a miniputer with a serious expression on his adorable, chubby face. Everything in his room was customized ording to his height. Currently, the little boy, who was wearing a frog hoodie pajama, was sitting in front of his tiny desk on a tiny stool using a tinyputer. The contrast was unusually cute. ¡°He¡¯s not my father, and don¡¯t ever think that you can sleep with me,¡± he coldly stated. The back of his head was facing her, which showed his utter displease toward her. Sophia¡¯s expression showed her slight reluctance as well. Who would want to sleep with a little brat? Having said that, since I need to make a choice between this little boy with an umon character and his psychotic father, of course I¡¯m choosing this little psycho! She put on an expression which made her seem as if she was caught in the middle. ¡°Didn¡¯t we make a deal? You act as a cute little boy, and I pretend to be happy. If you don¡¯t allow me to sleep with you, your father will surely suspect that you dislike me.¡± The little boy kept quiet. The atmosphere in the room was unusually heavy to the point where Sophia, who was hugging a pillow in her arms, felt a pressureing from him. After a while, he finally said something. ¡°You sleep there.¡± He pointed at the tiny couch at the side. With her pillow in her arms, she immediately walked to the couch. The couch was quite spacious for her to lie on after putting down the backrest. She quickly made the couch andfortablyy on it. I hardly have the chance to sleep sofortably and at ease! It would be great if I get to sleep on the couch here every day! However, it seems kind of impossible, so I still need to think of a way to move to the university dormitory. She theny down and yed with her phone to check out her friends¡¯ IG stories. She only followed a handful of people on Instagram, for instance Michael, Hale, Gwen, Maria, and a few mates she knew from her university. She had cut ties with almost all her friends that she had before she went to the university. In their eyes, she had disappeared all of a sudden and then reappeared again. When she was scrolling through her Instagram, she first spotted Michael¡¯s post. It was a photo taken when they were having their dinner¡ªa group photo of their ¡®family of three¡¯. Nathan had a sweet expression and she was smiling stunningly, while Michael had his arm around the two of them. The caption was, ¡®The first gathering of our family of three¡¯. Sophia tapped on the ¡®like¡¯ button on the post and added an extremely fakement¡ª¡®The three of us must be happy together! Love you, Hubby.¡¯ After posting thement that nearly made her sick, she quickly scrolled downward for fear that she would see Michael¡¯s perverted face again. She then saw that Hale posted a photo of him riding a horse, looking handsome and charming. The caption was, ¡®A half-day escape from my hectic life by recing my boss, who rante.¡¯ F*ck! That¡¯s my horse! My ss! My burgundy little horsie! Now, the horse is contaminated by Hale! Sophia wailed inwardly. She reared a horse in the horse-riding club and would go to the club to ride on it every week. She had missed her horse-riding ss because of Nathan¡¯s appearance today. Unexpectedly, Hale reced her and attended the ss. Hugging her phone, Sophia felt bad for the horse. After scrolling through the phone for a moment, she noticed a follower¡¯s request. When she tapped it open, she saw an incredibly familiar profile picture and also a message that stated, ¡®Sophia, I wish to talk to you.¡¯ Her Instagram ount was registered using her new number, so it would be easy for one to search for her ount if they knew her phone number. On top of that, her phone number was printed in the school¡¯s alumni album, and every ss had a copy. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Richard to get her number. Without even a moment of consideration, she rejected the request. Ex-boyfriends are sh*t, and there¡¯s nothing to talk about to a piece of sh*t. After scrolling her phone for a while, she was prepared to sleep. She saw Nathan still typing on his mini computer, and the screen was full of ck wordings. As she didn¡¯t understand what he was doing, she casually asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Nathan, whose attention was focused on the screen, coldly replied, ¡°Mining for Bitcoin.¡± Chapter 36 Chapter 36 ¡°Are you sure that you are mining for Bitcoin, not ying whac-a-mole?¡± Sophia asked. Nathan didn¡¯t reply and continued to focus on his task. Therefore, she rose to her full height, ran toward him, and stood behind him to peek at what he was doing. Bitcoin was a cryptocurrency that was currently circted globally. It had a high value, and the method to obtain it was special as well¡ªit required a specializedputation method as well as a tremendous amount of manpower and money. It was difficult to obtain Bitcoin, but the question was, how difficult exactly? Anyways, it was an extremely onerous task; most little brats wouldn¡¯t even know what a bitcoin was. She stared at Nathan, wondering what he was doing exactly. However, after staring for some time, all she could see was his chubby little hands dancing across the keyboard, making some ttering sound. The words on the screen changed very rapidly, and the figures kept changing. She wouldn¡¯t have any idea of what was happening even if her gaze had burned a hole through the screen. The little boy finally rested his hands for a moment. He turned around and looked at Sophia, who was staring wide-eyed at the screen, with a disdainful look. ¡°Can you understand what you are looking at?¡± In fact, she couldn¡¯t understand it at all. After all, she was a liberal arts student. Her mouth parted. Just as she was about to say something, someone knocked on the door, and Michael¡¯s voice was heard from outside. ¡°Sophia, Nate, are you guys asleep?¡± Sophia was shocked. Nathan had already calmly switched off hisputer and jumped onto the ground from his chair. ¡°Your husband is checking on us. Pretend to be asleep now.¡± He pointed at the bed. Before she managed to think further, she cleared the couch, carried her pillow, and got on the bed. She covered herself with Nathan¡¯s nket, which had frogs prints, and pretended to sleep with her back facing the door. Nathan went to open the door. When the door was opened, Michael¡¯s 6¡¯2 figure was leaning against the door frame. He seemed to have just taken a shower as his hair was damp. With a cool-toned sleepwear on him, he looked like a sleepwear mannequin disyed behind windows in the shops¡ªhe looked immacte. From afar, he saw the bed at the other side of the room. Under the spread-out frog-print nket was a little bump¡ªSophia was sleeping soundly underneath. The wind chimes tinkled softly under the gentle breeze, making the small room a little cozier. Michael looked content as his expression was warm and gentle. The little boy remained in the position of opening the door, where he had one hand on the door knob, as if he was going to close the door at any time. He raised his head and coldly looked at Michael. ¡°Have you seen enough? I¡¯m closing the door.¡± With a resigned expression, Michael squatted down to Nathan¡¯s height before extending his hand to touch his nose. ¡°Nate, call me ¡®daddy¡¯.¡± Nathan rolled his eyes at him and muttered, ¡°My name is not Nate, and you are not my father.¡± Michael put on a stern face. ¡°Says who? I¡¯m your father.¡± ¡°Stop pretending. I know that you are my uncle.¡± Michael ran out of means. This little boy was just exactly like his parents¡ªhe had the same dark expression. Looking at him, Michael felt as if he could see the cold face of his sister, who had passed away when she was still young. ¡°We had a deal. Your mother has just arrived, so you need to act like a sweet little boy to make her happy.¡± He stroked Nathan¡¯s head helplessly. Nathan coldly replied, ¡°Your wife is not my mommy too.¡± This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Michael was rendered speechless. He had no choice but to raise his stakes. ¡°Have you forgotten about our agreement? If you act sweetly and make your mommy happy, I¡¯ll buy you a Bitcoin miner. If she is not happy, I¡¯m not going to update your miner, and you won¡¯t be able to use it without the updates.¡± Bitcoin mining required a strong hardware, which wasmonly known as a ¡®miner¡¯, to support the operation. It was aputing device with advanced hardware that wore out extremely quickly. Although he had no idea why this little guy was so interested with this kind of cryptocurrency, as his uncle and also his father, he would surely try his best to satisfy his needs. He could also make use of the opportunity to have him act sweetly. Ever since Nathan¡¯s parents, who were also Michael¡¯s only sister and brother-inw, both passed away, Michael and Nathan only had each other. Nathan had a mature expression on his face¡ªan expression that he shouldn¡¯t have at his age¡ªfor a few seconds before closing the door with a loud thud. He merely closed the door; he didn¡¯t directly reject his request, which probably was a sign that they had reached a consensus. After Nathan had shut the door and returned to his bed, he looked at Sophia, who was lying on his bed, with a cold expression. ¡°Your husband has left. Get down now,¡± he ordered without emotions. Hugging her pillow, Sophia got off the bed while mumbling to herself inwardly, This little boy is so rude. Isn¡¯t my husband also his father? After she got off the bed, she put down the backrest of the couch and made a simple bed out of it before comfortably lying on it. Nathan sat back in front of hisputer again without saying anything. He switched on theputer, and his fingers started to dance across the keyboard, looking as if he was really mining for Bitcoins. Sophia hugged Nathan¡¯s frog-print pillow while watching him using theputer. The side view of him working seriously made him look like a mini version of Michael. He¡¯s serious and smart; I¡¯m sure that he will be a legend after he grows up! She stared at him for quite some time, but there weren¡¯t any changes in Nathan¡¯s movement¡ªhe kept repeating the same action of typing on the keyboard. The soft tter of the keyboard disturbed her, causing her to be unable to sleep, so she could only stare at him wide-eyed. When it was almost 10.00PM, she finally voiced out, ¡°Nate, it¡¯ste. Sleep earlier.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± he replied. Sophia paused before she pressed on, ¡°You are too noisy. I can¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Nathan replied again. ¡°What time are you going to sleep?¡± she asked. ¡°Shut up.¡± Sophia cocked her head to one side while looking at him. The more I look at him, the cuter I find him to be. He is way cuter than his father. He grew up without a mother? So Michael¡¯s idea was to bring him back and have me take care of him? I¡¯m just 19 years old, but I need to be a mother of a 5-year-old kid? He can actually bear to do that to me? Finally, when it was almost 11.00PM, Michael¡¯s voice was heard from outside the door. ¡°I¡¯m going to cut your power supply. If you keep ying with yourputer, you are going to disturb your mother¡¯s sleep.¡± Upon hearing his words, the little boy instantly saved all his data. With his slippers still on his feet, he swiftly got on his bed, and after a moment, the sound of an even breathing could be heard. The next day, Sophia woke up early. As a qualified ¡®mother¡¯, she needed to personally take Nathan to school. As she happened to have no ss in the morning, she figured she wouldn¡¯t bete for ss even after taking Nathan to the kindergarten. As an excellent actor, Nathan immediately put on a wless act as a cute little boy when he was together with Michael and Sophia. He waved his little hand at Michael to say his goodbyes. ¡°Daddy, goodbye!¡± Michael waved at him from the second floor. ¡°Goodbye, Nate.¡± When he got in the car, the cute little boy was gone and was instantly reced with a serious one. He even read in the car. Sophia leaned over to him, and she was at a loss for words when she saw that the book title was ¡®The Brief History of Time¡¯. Nathan initially stayed at a different ce, so Michael had arranged quite a number of skillful people to protect him. Therefore, Sophia didn¡¯t know any of the people who were sending Nathan to the kindergarten. When she noticed the car was driving toward the direction of her university that she would go every day, she felt curious and couldn¡¯t help herself but to ask one of Nathan¡¯s bodyguards, ¡°Which kindergarten is Nate studying at?¡± The bodyguard, who was wearing a ck suit and dark sunsses, replied to her with a cold expression, ¡°Bayside University.¡± Sophia was speechless. When they were near Bayside University, the little boy unhesitatingly instructed, ¡°Stop the car.¡± The car came to aplete halt, and Nathan carried his bag and got out from the car. ¡°Why aren¡¯t we driving there?¡± she curiously asked the bodyguard. The bodyguard replied, ¡°It¡¯s now peak hour for parking, so the entrance of Bayside University is now fully parked with cars. ording to Little Master¡¯s calction, it would take 10 minutes for the car to enter the university with the current speed. However, if we stop the car here and walk across the street, he would only need 5 minutes to reach the university.¡± Sophia was dumbstruck. Looking at the row of luxurious vehicles that were crowding at the entrance of Bayside University during the morning rush hour, as if they were participating in a car exhibition, she felt a sudden chill that ran down her spine, which caused her to have a sudden impulse¡ªshe wished she weren¡¯t his mother. After they got out from the car, Sophia attempted to hold Nathan¡¯s little hand, but he firmly pped away her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t like women touching my body.¡± Hearing that, she was rendered speechless again. Chapter 37 Chapter 37 The training of being a domineering chairman indeed began when one was young. Nathan brought a bodyguard with him to school, and Sophia was following behind them. She wanted to see the school Nathan was attending. Since when is there a kindergarten in Bayside University? Nathan carried a small backpack as he walked around Bayside University familiarly, and he finally arrived before the School of Computer Science after walking for around half an hour. He then walked right into the building. ¡°Little Master is the only freshman of Bayside University¡¯s School of Computer Science for this year,¡± the bodyguard informed Sophia out of kindness as he saw her being so curious. Sophia kept quiet. She sneaked into a toilet, got changed, and removed her makeup after sending Nathan to his ssroom. She then stepped on her new hoverboard and went to her own ssroom chicly. Military training was approaching, and the university was starting to hand out uniforms. It was a full set of clothes, including socks, shoes, and hats. She walked back home with her set of uniform in the evening as she thought about telling Michael about her n to move into the school dorms. Nathan had fewer sses than Sophia, and so he came home earlier. When Sophia got home, Nathan was ying games with Michael in the living room. It was one of the simplest, most original fighting games. Michael¡¯s huge hands and Nathan¡¯s little chubby hands were holding the controllers, which were connected to the 100-inch television. The game characters were fighting intensely, and one of them was clearly losing. The atmosphere was different before Sophia came back. ¡°F*ck! You rascal! I¡¯m your uncle; can¡¯t you be kind to me? N?velDrama.Org content. ¡°I have no sympathy toward the weak.¡± ¡°Damn you rascal! I¡¯ll KO you until you call me dad!¡± ¡°Scoff.¡± It was different when Sophia got home. ¡°Daddy, you are great!¡± ¡°Hehe, good boy.¡± ¡°Daddy, you are the best!¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Sophia saw Nathan and Michael putting on their act of being a pair of loving father and son again. She was disgusted. Psychopaths. They are all psychopaths. She had dressed up before she got home. She was wearing a dress while holding her limited-edition LV bag as she walked through the door in her 3-inch high heels. Nathan leaped into her arms when she was taking off her shoes. ¡°Mommy, wee home.¡± Sophia took advantage of the situation and rubbed his face. ¡°Thank you. Have you been a good boy?¡± ¡°I have been good.¡± Nathan nodded. Michael was relieved to see them getting along. Nathan was mean to him, but it was enough if he was nice to Sophia. After all, children were the greatest weapons against women. ¡°Wee home, honey.¡± Michael walked forward, grabbed Sophia¡¯s hands, and tried to kiss her. His actions were dramatic. Although Sophia was unwilling and looked despised, she didn¡¯t have a choice but to move forward and give him a peck on his lips. That feeling was¡­ indescribable. Sophia looked disgusted, but she had to pretend to be happy. She finally picked up her courage and told Michael about moving into the university¡¯s dormitory during dinner time. ¡°Hubby, our university¡¯s military training is starting soon. I¡¯m thinking of moving into the university¡¯s dormitory to prepare for the training¡­¡± To her surprise, Michael agreed swiftly. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow for work and won¡¯t be around for the next few months anyway. No one will be home, and you might as well move into the university¡¯s dormitory and try to make some friends.¡± Sophia¡¯s world was filled with brightness and hope at that instant. Although she was overjoyed, she still had to pretend to be sad. ¡°Hubby, you are leaving again? When will you be back, then? I will miss you.¡± Michael hugged her and kissed her cheeks. ¡°I wille back and visit you often.¡± ¡°Hubby¡­ sob¡­¡± Nathan, who was eating by the side, couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He jumped down from his chair, walked to Sophia, and looked up at her adorably. ¡°Mommy! Mommy! I¡¯m tired. Can you bring me upstairs and tug me in?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sophia agreed immediately. Michael was leaving on the next day, and she would be free again after she survived tonight. ¡°Hubby, Nate hasn¡¯t gotten used to our new home, and so he hasn¡¯t slept well and kept kicking away his nket. I shall apany him tonight,¡± she said. Michael smiled like a charming prince as he looked at Sophia affectionately. ¡°Thank you. Please take care of Nate when I¡¯m not around. You two must get along.¡± Sophia was a little startled. She thought she saw apletely different Michael than what she expected. She brought Nathan upstairs. ¡°Your husband is a psychopath,¡± Nathanined the moment he got into the room and closed the door. He couldn¡¯t even bear with Sophia¡¯s poor acting skills. She clearly disliked Michael, yet she pretended to be happy. Her acting skills were too poor! She might fool a three-year-old kid, but it was a little difficult to hide it from him. He was five years old after all. Michael was a micro-facial expressions expert, a master of acting, and the youngest national level performance artist of Cethos. He could tell what Sophia was thinking just by a twitch of her brow. Yet he yed along with her poor acting skills. How disgusting and crazy! Why did my mom have a brother like this? Sophia nodded sincerely when she heard Nathan¡¯s conclusion. ¡°Your dad really is a psychopath.¡± Michael¡¯s creepiness had reached the level where his own son couldn¡¯t bear with him too. Although they had different understandings, their conclusion was the same. At night, Sophia started lying on the sofa and looked at the stocks and housing markets. The stocks she invested in were performing well, and the properties and shops were generating ie too. Once themercial center, Asco International, was introduced and the subway was built, the values of the shops she owned would increase in ten- or hundred-folds! She had to work hard to earn money to make sure that she could make her own living. That way, if Michael got tired of her, she could still survive. Sophia was hiding in Nathan¡¯s room. Michael went back to his own room and watched the surveince video Hale sent him. He didn¡¯t have time during the day, so he could only watch it when he was free. In the video, Sophia immediately got changed from the dress and high heels she wore from home as usual. She removed her lipsticks, foundation, and eyeshadow, and changed into a different outfit that made her look wild. She then stepped on her hoverboard and moved around like a bird freed from its cage. ¡°Hmm. Interesting.¡± Michael took a sip of the red wine as he enjoyed watching the video. Sophia was wearing a white crop top that revealed her belly button and a pair of jeans. She looked fresh and natural, which was much better than the timid little kitten she looked like at home. Chapter 38 Chapter 38 He then checked on Nathan¡¯s performance in school today. Hale was originally there to protect Nathan, but now he had to keep an eye on Sophia too. Nathan was the only student in the Junior ss of Bayside University¡¯s School of Computer Science. There was only him in the ss, and the university had arranged a tutor specially for him. Nevertheless, he would usually attend sses with other freshmen. Nathan was listening attentively and sitting properly in the ssroom. He was even sitting in the first row, raising his hand and answering questions enthusiastically. However, a red light shone from his watch a few minutester. He took hisptop out quietly, and his little chubby hands started typing quickly on the keyboard. Suddenly, the screen cked out, and the surveince video disappeared¡­ ¡®Boss, Little Master is too smart. He hacked into my surveince system.¡¯ Hale sent Michael a message. ¡°Heh, that rascal is good!¡± Michael eximed. Hale and Mr. Morgan were packing Michael¡¯s luggage for the shooting. They packed hisptop, clothes, skincare products, and other necessities. A film coboration between Cethos and Hollywood had appointed Michael as the male lead. He wouldn¡¯t be around for the next few months, and Sophia would be free for a few months again. On hisst night, Michael let Sophia apany Nathan instead of him. ording to Hale¡¯s logic, Michael should have sex with Sophia and get her pregnant as soon as possible. She would definitely stay by his side once she was pregnant. However, he couldn¡¯t understand his boss¡¯ thoughts, or he would have been the boss. Michael continued watching the surveince video. This time, he was watching the surveince video in Nathan¡¯s room. There were videos and audios from all angles. Sophia was lying on the sofa while ying on her phone. She saw an entertainment news article rmended to her on an app. She usually wasn¡¯t concerned about entertainment news, but the woman on the cover of the entertainment news article looked a little like Michael. Hence, she clicked into it for some reason. The title of the news was, ¡®The lead actor of the ssicic ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ has been confirmed to be Cethos actor, Taylor Murray (with leaked cast photos!)¡¯. Sophia was never interested in entertainment news and didn¡¯t know any celebrities, so she had no impression of Taylor Murray. Taylor seemed like a woman from the photo, but ¡®she¡¯ looked like Michael. She looked up ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. It seemed to be a recreation of a ssicic. The male lead was an ill-lucked physicist, who was framed and became a drag stripper. He made a living mainly through striptease. He then got superpowers, took revenge, and joined a superpower group, ¡®Justice League¡¯. Theic had been published for over seventy years and was well-known globally. They had a huge amount of fans. Huge investments were put into the movie production, and famous celebrities were cast as well. The minor characters were also yed by famous actors, and it was expected to be a hit in the box office. Besides, the performance of the male lead was quite shocking. He transformed from a sessful and gentlemanly physicist to a drag queen that had to make a living through stripping, but he then evolved into a tough superhuman after getting superpowers. The three stages he went through werepletely different, and it would be a great challenge for his acting skills. It was said that many auditioned, but only Taylor made it. So Taylor Murray is a woman? Everyone had high hopes for Taylor when they saw the picture. ¡®Wow, Doctor Invincible is indeed our dear Taylor!¡¯ ¡®For obvious reasons, I¡¯m confident that Taylor can y this character well, hehe!¡¯ ¡®The world has finally realised Taylor¡¯s beauty. I don¡¯t care. Taylor is my wifey!¡¯ Taylor Murray is a woman? But the news said the actor was a male! Sophia observed the photo for a while. The actor is clearly a woman from his looks and his figure! How is he a man? And he even looks a little like Michael¡­ Could it be Michael¡¯s sister? Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. But that doesn¡¯t make sense. Michael is rich. Why would his sister be an actress? Sophia was just curious and looked at it for a while, but she wasn¡¯t concerned about it. She put her phone down after scrolling for a while and tossed and turned on the sofa. She couldn¡¯t sleep. She was excited! The tiger won¡¯t be around for a while, and I will be free again! I¡¯ll be able to wear whatever I like! She couldn¡¯t sleep even after some time, so she subconsciously turned around to look at Nathan, who was still typing on hisptop quietly. He seemed to be mining Bitcoin. Sophia was intrigued. She took a stool and sat next to Nathan, watching him mine Bitcoin. ¡°Nathan, will you teach me how to mine Bitcoin?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Wow, you look intelligent! You are just six years old; how do you know all these? Can you teach me?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°Nathan, don¡¯t be so cold. Talk to me.¡± ¡°Disgusting.¡± ¡°Nathan¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± After disturbing Nathan for a while, Sophiay back down on her sofa. It was only 8.00PM, and she couldn¡¯t sleep. She didn¡¯t have any other ces to go either. She would be caught by Michael once she left Nathan¡¯s room, and she couldn¡¯t imagine the consequences. She took herptop out, sat before Nathan¡¯s study desk designed for children, and yed video games. She had always liked to y video games, but she didn¡¯t have the time and money in the past. She didn¡¯t even have her ownptop, and she could only use Richard¡¯sptop. Now that she had the time, money, and her ownptop, she would y games whenever she had time. The game she was ying was called ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. It was a 3D game with a Chinese martial arts background. The game setting was in a martial art world, where there were different ns and careers. yers could level up through killing monsters and creating new ns. The image quality of the game was high, and the operation was smooth. It was a popr game. Sophia logged into her ount, ¡®Sirius233¡¯. Her profession in the game was a high-ss swordsman, and she had the title of ¡®The handsomest and wealthiest of all¡¯. She was also the n leader of the Highvale Swords n. She logged in sessfully, and a young, handsome man appeared. Sophia had spent lots of game coins in order to get this character and her customized looks. She created this characterpletely ording to her preferences. The character wore a long robe, had long hair reaching her waist, and was extremely handsome with her sharp brows and gorgeous eyes. There were even halos when she appeared. It was extremely cool. When Sirius233, with the title ¡®The Handsomest and Wealthiest¡¯, appeared in the game, the system notified the entire server¡ª¡®The Handsomest and Wealthiest Sirius233 appeared at Bayside Vige No. 23. Go find him now if you want to meet him!¡¯ A group of yers instantly rushed to Vige No. 23. ¡®Master!¡¯ ¡®n Leader!¡¯ ¡®Hubby!¡¯ ¡®Daddy!¡¯ Sirius233 was known for her generosity, top equipment, and smooth operation. She was popr in the game. She not only had arge group of friends, but also twenty over wives and over two dozen kids. Chapter 39 Chapter 39 The training of being a domineering chairman indeed began when one was young. Nathan brought a bodyguard with him to school, and Sophia was following behind them. She wanted to see the school Nathan was attending. Since when is there a kindergarten in Bayside University? Nathan carried a small backpack as he walked around Bayside University familiarly, and he finally arrived before the School of Computer Science after walking for around half an hour. He then walked right into the building. ¡°Little Master is the only freshman of Bayside University¡¯s School of Computer Science for this year,¡± the bodyguard informed Sophia out of kindness as he saw her being so curious. Sophia kept quiet. She sneaked into a toilet, got changed, and removed her makeup after sending Nathan to his ssroom. She then stepped on her new hoverboard and went to her own ssroom chicly. Military training was approaching, and the university was starting to hand out uniforms. It was a full set of clothes, including socks, shoes, and hats. She walked back home with her set of uniform in the evening as she thought about telling Michael about her n to move into the school dorms. Nathan had fewer sses than Sophia, and so he came home earlier. When Sophia got home, Nathan was ying games with Michael in the living room. It was one of the simplest, most original fighting games. Michael¡¯s huge hands and Nathan¡¯s little chubby hands were holding the controllers, which were connected to the 100-inch television. The game characters were fighting intensely, and one of them was clearly losing. The atmosphere was different before Sophia came back. ¡°F*ck! You rascal! I¡¯m your uncle; can¡¯t you be kind to me?¡± ¡°I have no sympathy toward the weak.¡± ¡°Damn you rascal! I¡¯ll KO you until you call me dad!¡± ¡°Scoff.¡± It was different when Sophia got home. ¡°Daddy, you are great!¡± ¡°Hehe, good boy.¡± ¡°Daddy, you are the best!¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Sophia saw Nathan and Michael putting on their act of being a pair of loving father and son again. She was disgusted. Psychopaths. They are all psychopaths. She had dressed up before she got home. She was wearing a dress while holding her limited-edition LV bag as she walked through the door in her 3-inch high heels. Nathan leaped into her arms when she was taking off her shoes. ¡°Mommy, wee home.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Sophia took advantage of the situation and rubbed his face. ¡°Thank you. Have you been a good boy?¡± ¡°I have been good.¡± Nathan nodded. Michael was relieved to see them getting along. Nathan was mean to him, but it was enough if he was nice to Sophia. After all, children were the greatest weapons against women. ¡°Wee home, honey.¡± Michael walked forward, grabbed Sophia¡¯s hands, and tried to kiss her. His actions were dramatic. Although Sophia was unwilling and looked despised, she didn¡¯t have a choice but to move forward and give him a peck on his lips. That feeling was¡­ indescribable. Sophia looked disgusted, but she had to pretend to be happy. She finally picked up her courage and told Michael about moving into the university¡¯s dormitory during dinner time. ¡°Hubby, our university¡¯s military training is starting soon. I¡¯m thinking of moving into the university¡¯s dormitory to prepare for the training¡­¡± To her surprise, Michael agreed swiftly. ¡°Sure. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow for work and won¡¯t be around for the next few months anyway. No one will be home, and you might as well move into the university¡¯s dormitory and try to make some friends.¡± Sophia¡¯s world was filled with brightness and hope at that instant. Although she was overjoyed, she still had to pretend to be sad. ¡°Hubby, you are leaving again? When will you be back, then? I will miss you.¡± Michael hugged her and kissed her cheeks. ¡°I wille back and visit you often.¡± ¡°Hubby¡­ sob¡­¡± Nathan, who was eating by the side, couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He jumped down from his chair, walked to Sophia, and looked up at her adorably. ¡°Mommy! Mommy! I¡¯m tired. Can you bring me upstairs and tug me in?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sophia agreed immediately. Michael was leaving on the next day, and she would be free again after she survived tonight. ¡°Hubby, Nate hasn¡¯t gotten used to our new home, and so he hasn¡¯t slept well and kept kicking away his nket. I shall apany him tonight,¡± she said. Michael smiled like a charming prince as he looked at Sophia affectionately. ¡°Thank you. Please take care of Nate when I¡¯m not around. You two must get along.¡± Sophia was a little startled. She thought she saw apletely different Michael than what she expected. She brought Nathan upstairs. ¡°Your husband is a psychopath,¡± Nathanined the moment he got into the room and closed the door. He couldn¡¯t even bear with Sophia¡¯s poor acting skills. She clearly disliked Michael, yet she pretended to be happy. Her acting skills were too poor! She might fool a three-year-old kid, but it was a little difficult to hide it from him. He was five years old after all. Michael was a micro-facial expressions expert, a master of acting, and the youngest national level performance artist of Cethos. He could tell what Sophia was thinking just by a twitch of her brow. Yet he yed along with her poor acting skills. How disgusting and crazy! Why did my mom have a brother like this? Sophia nodded sincerely when she heard Nathan¡¯s conclusion. ¡°Your dad really is a psychopath.¡± Michael¡¯s creepiness had reached the level where his own son couldn¡¯t bear with him too. Although they had different understandings, their conclusion was the same. At night, Sophia started lying on the sofa and looked at the stocks and housing markets. The stocks she invested in were performing well, and the properties and shops were generating ie too. Once themercial center, Asco International, was introduced and the subway was built, the values of the shops she owned would increase in ten- or hundred-folds! She had to work hard to earn money to make sure that she could make her own living. That way, if Michael got tired of her, she could still survive. Sophia was hiding in Nathan¡¯s room. Michael went back to his own room and watched the surveince video Hale sent him. He didn¡¯t have time during the day, so he could only watch it when he was free. In the video, Sophia immediately got changed from the dress and high heels she wore from home as usual. She removed her lipsticks, foundation, and eyeshadow, and changed into a different outfit that made her look wild. She then stepped on her hoverboard and moved around like a bird freed from its cage. ¡°Hmm. Interesting.¡± Michael took a sip of the red wine as he enjoyed watching the video. Sophia was wearing a white crop top that revealed her belly button and a pair of jeans. She looked fresh and natural, which was much better than the timid little kitten she looked like at home. Chapter 40 Chapter 40 Sirius233, who was surrounded by lots of yers, was overjoyed. After greeting her friends and disciples, she then led her wives and childrens to kill monsters in instance zones. Sophia had always picked the most difficult characters to battle with, as she could earn the most and get the best equipment. Besides, the operation was smooth. Sirius233 would be the only one fighting all the monsters in the instance zones everytime the group entered. The group of wives and children just had to cheer for her. ¡°Hubby, you are great! You have to notice me tonight!¡± ¡°Daddy, you are great!¡± ¡°Come on, daddy!¡± Sophia was focusing on killing the monsters, and the keyboard specially made for gaming was making noises as she hit on it. Her fingers were fast, and the game character was agile. Every attack she made on the monsters was tutorial-worthy, and her smooth operations kept Sirius233 on the list of the top ten yers. However, this was only a game ount she had created a year ago. Nathan had been standing behind Sophia for some time, and he was shocked to see her smooth operations. His eyes widened and he seemed to be amazed. Sophia was fighting with a Boss-level monster. The Boss¡¯ attack was strong and agile. Any skillful yers would lose half their blood if they were hit once. Besides, it had a high blood level, and no one had the courage to go against it by themself; even a group of yers with full blood would lose. Sirius233 was holding the Dragon ying Saber, which was shining in golden light as it yed the monster. Her series of attacks was continuous and perfect. The monster was taking multiple hits and couldn¡¯t even release its toughest attack. Sirius233¡¯s attack was the top in the server, and her continuous attacks were brilliant. She could use several techniques continuously. After a few attacks, the huge monster fell, and Sirius233 still had half its blood left. The monster copsed, and a legendary sword appeared. She took the sword and led her wives and kids out from the instance zone. They went back into town. The system announced in red words on the server¡ª¡®The n leader of Highvale Swords n, Sirius233, beat the epic Spider King and won the Legendary Red Dragon Sword!¡¯ All yers were surprised. They rushed toward Sirius233 and surrounded her. Sophia received many private messages from yers trying to know her. There were way too many, and Sophia couldn¡¯t read them all. ¡°Dear wives and children, I¡¯ll take a cigarette break ande back online in a while.¡± Sophia left after saying that. She left the game and was nning toe back after a facial mask session. However, she saw Nathan, who was standing quietly behind her, and she jumped in surprise. ¡°Nate, since when have you been standing there? Why didn¡¯t you speak? You scared me!¡± Nathan looked at her coldly, and his little eyes moved around. He seemed to have something to say, and his cool face was tense. Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t say it out, and he just ran away with his face tensed. Sophia looked at him and sighed. ¡°Psycho,¡± she whispered quietly. She then went to Nathan¡¯s little kitchen and opened his refrigerator. There were many children¡¯s milk there. She put on her facial mask, took a bottle of milk, and went back to Nathan¡¯s desk. She then continued ying her game. More and more people were surrounding her, and her wives and children were asking for her Instagram and Facebook IDs. She rejected all of them. Revealing her Instagram and Facebook IDs would be equivalent as exposing her in real life, and she couldn¡¯t let that happen. Keeping it fictitious was perfect. No one in the game knew how she looked, and she never participated in any offlinepetition organized by the server for the top yers. She just wanted to stay cool and be a handsome, wealthy man in the game. Sirius233 was famous for being a yboy. She had many wives and kept flirting around in the game. Although people had been criticizing it, there were still lots of female yers who woulde to her. After ying the monster, Sirius233 figured that it was time for her to get lucky again, so Sophia said goodbye to her children and wives and changed her mode to privacy mode. The system wouldn¡¯t announce her coordinates whenever she was in privacy mode, and her fans wouldn¡¯te after her. She walked into a rare location alone. It was a quiet ce, and she just walked around randomly in the town. Suddenly, a swordsman, who was still a child, followed by her side quietly. He followed her wherever she went. He kept following her, but he didn¡¯t speak a word. He just kept sending her a grouping request, wanting to y monsters with her. The gamer¡¯s ID was NateHiro. Sophia was curious and clicked into his information. His level was low, and his equipment seemed to be fine, but his PK statistics was a disaster. He had lost 80 out of 100 games. NateHiro? Sophia instinctively turned around to look at Nathan. He had stopped mining Bitcoin and was ying a game. It was the game she was ying, Swordsman Game. He was using an ID called ¡®NateHiro¡¯ and was running around Sirius233, who looked very cool. Fine. It¡¯s this brat. He should just tell me if he wants me to help him. Why does he have to be so cool? Sophia added NateHiro as a friend and immediately requested to be his father in the game. But he didn¡¯t respond after some time. ¡®Son, call me dad, and I will y monsters with you and help you level up!¡¯ Sophia typed. Nathan didn¡¯t speak, but his game ID, NateHiro, replied. ¡®I¡¯ll tell your husband if you don¡¯t help me!¡¯ Sophia was speechless. In the end, NateHiro still became Sirius233¡¯s 28th son. It was fortunate that Sirius233 was on privacy mode, or the entire server would have gotten the news. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. They continued strolling around in the game, and Sophia brought Nathan into instance zones to y monsters and level up. The game had a Beauty and Hero system. When some yers were in danger in instance zones and couldn¡¯tplete their tasks, they could send out SOS on the town¡¯s noticeboard outside the instance zones. Heroes outside the zones could voluntarily go in and save those yers when they received the news. They were ying monsters in the town when Sirius233 saw that a female yer sent a SOS message. ¡®Heroes, please help me. I¡¯m willing to use my body to repay you.¡¯ Sophia looked at that person¡¯s avatar. Wow! Most characters wore a lot and covered themselves, but this character wore a revealing robe that was exposing her fair legs. However, her face looked innocent, and thebination made her look even more slutty. The gamer¡¯s ID was¡ªCall Me Taylor. She suited Sophia¡¯s preferences. She immediately epted the Beauty and Hero task and sessfully appeared in the instance zone. She brought Nathan along to y the monsters. Nathan followed when she entered the instance zone as they were paired up. A woman was being chased by a huge monster in the instance zone. Call Me Taylor¡¯s blood level was low, and she was running around. Suddenly, there was a holy light, and a handsome young man came from the sky. He was in long robes, which were moving without wind. He automatically had a strong aura. The young hero was tall as she was holding a legendary sword. Wearing a blood-red tabard, she was ridiculously handsome. She came with the title ¡®The Most Handsome and Wealthiest¡¯. The moment she appeared, her strong aura filled the entire world. The monster, which was extremely arrogant just now, seemed to have sensed danger and started shaking. Sophia felt that Call Me Taylor must be so impressed by her. Chapter 41 Chapter 41 He did it on purpose! ¡°Nate, let me take over!¡± Without saying anything, Nathan stood up and pulled out the chair for Sophia to sit. Sophia sat down, put her hands on the keyboard and immediately used the specially designed equipment for battle mode that she just gave him to enter into the PK mode. She didn¡¯t care who her opponent was and swiftly attacked the person, which caused an immediate change in situation. The opponent, who was scolding Nathan earlier, immediately went quiet and probably didn¡¯t even have the time to type since he was badly beaten by NateHiro. He yelled in pain as he was being defeated by Nathan¡¯s sword. Sophia started to type after the battle. ¡®You have two paths now¡ªone, you be Sirius¡¯s grandson or two, you die!¡¯ At that moment, she nced at his ount, which seemed familiar. ¡®No. 1 Beast of the Server¡¯. Sophia recalled that this Beast was popr in the game and he once founded the first n in the game. He had hundreds of disciples, more than ten wives and was on the PvP and Wealth list, which made him outstanding. She was still a newbie to the game at that time and knew nothing. All she knew was to y monsters, level up, and gain experiences. She also knew nothing about getting wives, forming ns or spending money to obtain equipment. I saw him staggering on the streets while being surrounded by his disciples and hugging different girls on both arms, which made quite a scene as they were all drunk. Sophia, who was only aware of how to y monsters and level up, was amazed, not knowing that she could y the game like that! From then onward, she transformed from an actual decent yer to a wealthy one. She continued to spend money to purchase equipment and build her n in addition to showing off like him. As a result, she was able to sessfully transform herself to be the most handsome and wealthiest in the game! Three months ago, her n was built and she started to have many daughters-inw before bing a great force, but could not avoid having conflicts with the Beast¡¯s n. There was bad blood between them, which would result in some conflicts as she grew her n. It soon reached breaking point where they couldn¡¯t tolerate each other. The first thing she did after the college entrance exam was to login to the game and lead her fellow members and wives to ughter the Beast¡¯s n. The n had been annihted to the point where they had to restart or leave the game. She and the Beast even battled each other at the Rocky Pinnacle where Sirius233 defeated him so badly that he ran off. Sirius snatched the Beast¡¯s wife and made her his twentieth wife. Sophia thought the Beast would be so embarrassed that he would never return to the game or at least use a different ount¡ªyet he actually returned with the same username! He still used the same ID, but his equipment was better and he even built a new n. No wonder he hated Sirius¡¯s son with a vengeance! However, Sophia thought she did the right thing. Reality was cruel and one should never return if they were scared. Besides, Sirius was the one who fell for that girl first and even confessed to her in public. He nned to marry her and make her his twentieth wife after his college entrance exams. Who would have expected that she would be the No. 1 Beast of the Server¡¯s eighth wife when I returned to the game after staying away for a month? That Beast even showed off on the server that he had married the girl whom Sirius233 loved and even sent an invitation for battle. However, as Sophia was preparing for her exams, she missed the invitation, which led to the other side thinking that she was afraid. They mocked Sirius and his tribe for the entire month, leading to a mutual hatred since then¡ªthat was the reason why she ughtered his n. Since you dare to touch the woman I like, you shall be prepared for the consequences! NateHiro had defeated the No. 1 Beast of the Server and wrote, ¡®Wait for it, I¡¯ll be your grandpa sooner or later! Even if I can¡¯t be your grandpa, I will also be your stepfather!¡¯ Upon writing that, he then went offline and probably unplugged his cable to leave the game. In reality, Sophia sneered. ¡°Hah, he is still that little scumbag!¡± N?velDrama.Org content. The No. 1 Beast of the Server was also a millionaire and spent a lot in the game. After Sophia had ughtered him, he spent more money to build another n. Building ns were expensive and required hundreds of thousands to develop, but she didn¡¯t care because she would still destroy his n once again! While typing her response, Sophia caressed Nathan¡¯s wimpy face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, darling. Just watch how I intend to take revenge for you!¡± Afterforting him, she turned to herptop. The bridal chamber was not over yet¡ªSirius233 and Call Me Taylor were still enjoying their first night together. Sirius233: ¡®Darling, I have something urgent and have to leave. I¡¯ll pay you back on another day.¡¯ Call Me Taylor: ¡®Hubby, what happened?¡¯ Sirius233: ¡®Sigh, it¡¯s inevitable because my enemies areing and I have to deal with it.¡¯ Call Me Taylor: ¡®Be careful, hubby. I will be waiting for you.¡¯ Sirius233: ¡®I will definitely make it up to you for our nuptial night.¡¯ Sirius233, who was supposed to be in the bridal chamber, suddenly made an announcement in the game. ¡®No. 1 Beast of the Server, listen up. NateHiro is my son! If you dare touch him, I will destroy your entire n!¡¯ At the same time, she sent an invitation to the No. 1 Beast of the Server to have a battle at the Rocky Pinnacle once again. She would lead her fellow members and destroy his n if he refused to ept. If he epted and lost the battle, she would also annihte his entire n! The invitation for battle contained traces of arrogance. Nathan stood silently behind Sophia and watched her summoning her n memberste at night to strategize. His eyes brightened with a hint of surprise and admiration. Sophia took a look at the time after nning her strategies¡ªit was already midnight. She was about to switch off herptop when Michael knocked at the door. ¡°Nate, are you disturbing your mum by ying games? I¡¯m going to switch off the inte connection. Go to sleep!¡± Nathan immediately wore his flip-flops and ran toward the bed. Sophia also switched off herptop and went to bed. Michael disconnected the connection like he said he would and the room immediately became quiet. Nathan slept in his bed as his eyes turned to peek at Sophia, who was lying on the couch. His eyes flickered, as if something was changing. Sophia woke up earlier on the next day to pack her belongings and moved to the university¡¯s amodation happily. The amodation that Bayside University prepared for her wasfortable as most of their students were wealthy. Interstate students would usually purchase properties outside the university whereas civilian students would stay in the dormitory. The dorm that Sophia was allocated to was a studio. She had her own bathroom, balcony and even a kitchen¡ªeverything was in perfect condition. She prepared her bedding and daily necessities before Hale carried it to the trunk. Nathan¡¯s bodyguard had also brought the boy¡¯s luggage to the car as well. ¡°What is going on?¡± Sophia was confused before noticing Michael and Nathan walking out with their hands held together. Michael answered, ¡°Nate is going with you.¡± Nathan spoke sweetly, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m going to stay with you and I¡¯m also following you to the military training too!¡± Her mouth twitched. Fine, taking care of a kid is much better than serving Michael and his eel! Chapter 42 Chapter 42 After Sophia and Nate moved to the university, Michael packed and left too. They were filming an international co-production film and needed to travel to several countries, which would be exhausting since they needed to visit seven to eight countries in total. However, first thing¡¯s first, he needed to attend the opening ceremony in Moscov. With that being said, it was also an opportunity for him to secretly check on the businesses in those countries. Sophia moved to the school with Nate in tow. However, there was a problem. Nate was a boy, so he could only move to the boys¡¯ dorm. Although Michael had sent someone to take care of him, he still seemed unhappy as his face was stern and tense. ¡°I want to live here too,¡± Nate spoke in amanding tone as he stood in her room. Sophia was busy unpacking her things and took a moment to pinch his face. ¡°Nate, this is the girls¡¯ dormitory. You have to move to the boys¡¯ dormitory. Don¡¯t worry, I will pick you up everyday.¡± Nate¡¯s face became even more tense. ¡°I¡¯ll tell your husband if you don¡¯t let me stay here. I¡¯ll tell him that you are not taking care of me!¡± Sophia was making the bed as she answered, ¡°Talk to the person in charge of the university then. You can stay if they are okay with it.¡± Nate had his ways¡ªhe soon obtained the stay permit from the dormitory administrator and officially moved to Sophia¡¯s room. ¡°How did you acquire the permit?¡± Nate sat on the little sofa and acted mature. ¡°I said that you are my nanny.¡± N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Sophia was beyond words. Nate had just moved to live with Sophia. Michael had sent other people to take care of Nate and Sophia while staying in the two empty rooms nearby. On the first day of their stay, Nate and Sophia had a quarrel on who should sleep on the couch and on the bed. Sophia answered, ¡°This is my room, so you should be the one sleeping on the sofa.¡± Nate argued. ¡°I want to sleep on the bed.¡± ¡°The bed is mine.¡± ¡°Should I tell your hubby¡­¡± Since Michael wasn¡¯t around, Sophia was no longer afraid and sat on the bed as she pinched Nate¡¯s face, looking at him from the top. ¡°Tell him then. Your dad¡¯s not around¡­ somewhat, anyway.¡± Nate looked at her angrily, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Sophiay down immediately after covering her head. As the new nket was extremelyfortable and smelled fresh, she rolled around withfort while Nate had shrunk on the couch, giving her the back of his head in unhappiness. She felt that she had gone overboard. How can I allow such a cute little boy to sleep on the couch? Besides, that is Michael¡¯s son. I can¡¯t bear the responsibility if anything happens! Shey on the bed and called him on purpose. ¡°Nate,e and sleep with me. You don¡¯t have to sleep on the sofa.¡± Nate didn¡¯t say anything¡ªhe didn¡¯t even make a sound and seemed to be mad at her. She remained silent and got up to switch on herptop before starting the game and logging into the ount of Sirius233. She then started to make noises as she yed the game, leading her wives into instance zones and yed monsters. Nate did not know when he sneaked up behind her before turning his head and ran to the children¡¯s used desk that he moved in after watching her y two rounds. NateHiro was soon online and requested to join Sirius233¡¯s team. Sophia resisted from breaking out inughter and silently approved his request to join before bringing him around to y monsters. She had sent the invitation to battle to the No. 1 Beast of the Server yesterday, but he hadn¡¯t responded to it. She was unsure whether he was afraid or had other reasons, but she decided to let it slide for that moment while she led Nate to y monsters, level up, and battle against other yers. ¡°Nate, attack left! Attack left! That monster¡¯s weak spot is on the left!¡± Sophia kept yelling while ying the game. ¡°Sigh, didn¡¯t I tell you not to be so close? This yer¡¯s close range PK technique is well-known in the area. Aren¡¯t you being suicidal by rushing up?¡± ¡°Nate, pick up your equipment! Someone else might snatch it if you wait!¡± Nate remained quiet, but he wouldn¡¯t go right if Sophia asked him to go left. They continued untilte into the night before Sophia finally switched off herptop and went to bed. Nate returned to his little couch in silence, slid under that little frog nket and turned the back of his lonely head toward her. ¡°Nate,e up here and sleep next to me,¡± she said again. He didn¡¯t answer. She rolled around and felt her bed sinking on one side just as she was about to fall asleep. His tiny little body had climbed up the bed and was moving toward her. A half-asleep Sophia smiled at Nate¡¯s actions. This little rascal is cute. Sophia woke up early the next morning and ran away in a hurry after getting ready. Since Michael wasn¡¯t around, she wasn¡¯t forced to wear dresses, heels and make up. The only thing she needed was a bit of CC cream. Nate brushed his teeth and got himself ready with the nanny¡¯s help. When he looked back, Sophia was already gone. His dark pupils seemed to have lost its light instantly. Upon realizing this, the nanny comforted him. ¡°Madam has an early ss, so she left first.¡± He did not know why he was unhappy for the entire day¡ªhe felt bored in ss and didn¡¯t answer questions with enthusiasm. Military training was around the corner and the entire cohort of freshmen were whining. Bayside University was very strict in their way of managing their students. They had high but rare standards¡ªtheir military training wasn¡¯t in the university, but in the barracks. The country¡¯s military department even sent them a battalion of official troops to conduct their military training. No one cared who you were in the barracks¡ªyou had to undergo the same training! Students could take either sick leave or other types of leave if they wanted to, but would have to make it up alone in the barracks for a month once they were back! Most students were reluctant about military training, but Sophia was looking forward to it. The drama club held a freshmen meet-and-greet session at the students activities center. She hurried over to greet them before rushing out. However, just as she wore her helmet and was about to leave on her motorbike, she bumped into a few unexpected guests. Well, they couldn¡¯t be counted as unexpected guests since it was a small world that they bumped into each other. Ka and X showed up together¡ªone wore a red dress, looking noble and mysterious, while the other was wearing an off-shoulder shirt and a ck skirt, looking mischievous and sexy. Richard was also there, seeing that he always followed them. There were a group of freshmen¡ªall exquisitely dressed¡ªin tow too. They all wore branded clothes such as Chnel and Gi, making them look rich and luxurious. Ka¡¯s eyes radiated a cold, sharp gaze when she saw Sophia before she stepped forward to block her. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Sophia? What are you doing here?¡± She deliberately looked at Sophia from head to toe. Sophia was wearing a white shirtplimented with a pair of jeans and a helmet while carrying a backpack, lookingpletely different to the group of girls who were exquisitely dressed. How could she allow herself to look shabby? She seemed to realize something andughed. ¡°Are you doing part-time delivery?¡± Sophia was riding on the Yamaha motorbike that she finally got back after exercising a lot of effort. There was a box at the back where she usually stored her books and documents, making her look like a delivery worker. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not delivering food,¡± she answered. Ka pretended to look up and saw that Sophia was exiting the drama club¡¯s activity room. ¡°So you joined the drama club!¡± she remarked sarcastically. Her tone was filled with a strong sense of arrogance and nobility. These student societies were considered as a form of entertainment for the ordinary students as their wealthy peers rarely joined any of these. They had their own societies and clubs, whichmoners couldn¡¯t afford to join. It was all about exquisite cars, expensive watches and jewelries. Ka and X were both enrolled in the arts school and were majors in performing arts. They weren¡¯t interested in any clubs or societies and merely made use of their familial connections to enterrge productions as supporting actors while waiting for their time to be lead actors. Those wealthy students looked like they heard a big joke when they saw amoner joining the drama club and chuckled before mocking Richard. ¡°Senior, this is your ex-girlfriend?¡± Chapter 43 Chapter 43 Richard felt ashamed of Sophia and hurriedly took two steps forward before threatening her in a low voice, ¡°X hosted a cocktail party on the 6th floor of the student activity center¡¯s meeting room. Only respectable students are invited, so please get lost.¡± So, this is the ce where the cocktail party will be held and I¡¯m being an eyesore? Sophia felt innocent and nodded. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll leave then.¡± He was stunned, never expecting such a quick response from her. He seemed to have seen traces of the lovely Sophia even though she was now covered with thorns. Once those thorns have been removed, she was definitely still the same sweet littlemb. Sophia didn¡¯t know that Richard¡¯s thoughts had changed a lot. She was already intending to leave since she was not interested in the cocktail party and had to rush to the dorm to take care of Nate. However, it seemed as if the other party was not going to spare Sophia. X appeared and suddenly blocked Sophia¡¯s Yamaha motorbike in a dexterous manner to cheekily invite her. ¡°Sophia, I will be hosting a cocktail party today. Since you are here, why don¡¯t you join us?¡± N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Everyone overheard the conversation and secretlyughed while waiting for Sophia¡¯s reply. Those in attendance were in formal, so if she joined the party with her pair of jeans, wouldn¡¯t that make her the joke of the night? Ka couldn¡¯t help butugh when she heard X¡¯s invitation. ¡°Will someone staying in the university amodation know anything about a cocktail party?¡± Everyone sighed. She is staying in the university¡¯s amodation. How poor must she be! She can¡¯t even afford a house outside the university. How pathetic! Sophia shrugged her shoulder as she spoke, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m a little busy. Maybe next time.¡± She then rode onto her Yamaha and left without hesitation. Ka yelled at her back. ¡°It¡¯s my birthday party after the military training and you have toe. I will send you an invitation!¡± I must hold the greatest birthday party. Since I promised the media to organize a charity dinner, I have to do my best. I will invite celebrities and famous people over. I will send an invitation to Sophia and make that pathetic beggar embarrassed at the dinner party! Everyone knew the bad blood between Ka and Sophia. They were also aware that Sophia was merely a piece of pawn for the rich and now that she lost her value, she was being bullied by others. Now that the Harper Family had started to attack her, the person supporting Sophia wouldn¡¯t be able to take it for long. On the other side, Hale and another bodyguard in a ck suit wearing a pair of sunsses took Nathan. Michael even prepared a kitchen for his son in the university, so he could eat whatever he wanted. Nathan was moody for the entire day as he silently walked by the university¡¯s grove. A gust of wind suddenly blew before a Yamaha motorbike stopped by his side. Sophia, who was wearing a helmet, pushed her googles up and smiled at him. ¡°Hi, handsome. Shall we head out and grab some food?¡± Nate¡¯s eyes brightened before his tense face rxed a little. His eyes were filled with admiration when he saw her cool Yamaha motorbike. He looked amazed just like the first time he saw Sirius¡¯s domineering mount in the game. However, before he could speak, he was coldly interrupted by Hale. ¡°How can you allow Little Master to ride on the bike?¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Fine, we can¡¯t get barbecues then!¡± She then wore her goggles once again and sped off. The light in Nathan¡¯s eyes disappeared as he watched that Yamaha bike disappearing before his eyes. All that was left in his eyes were chills. Hale shuddered as he looked down and his Little Master¡¯s scary look. His cold gaze was filled with comints, grievances, sorrow and a child¡¯s tantrum. He broke out in cold sweat. I¡¯m doomed. My life will be over if Nate hates me! Therefore, he quickly called Sophia. Sophia soon returned and stopped before Nathan. Her long legs stepped on the ground steadily before she carried him up onto the bike and wore his helmet for him. Although he was still cold, his face was definitely less tense. He must have been happy since he didn¡¯t reject her. She ced him on the front, grabbed the handle, and spoke, ¡°Hold tight. I¡¯ll bring you out to have some fun!¡± She started the engine and sped away, leaving Hale and the bodyguard to follow them in a car behind them. Since she was bringing a kid with her, she slowed down. Her bike moved flexibly around the cars as the scenery flew by. The wind that blew on their faces smelled different too. Nathan¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment¡ªjust like the first time he saw Sophia ying monsters in the game. The world can actually be this interesting. They stopped at the food court outside the university campus. Every university had a ce like this¡ªand the Bayside University campus was almost bing a tourist area. The food street was crowded and served all kinds of food. The nobles and rich people would nevere to a ce like this as it was for tourists andmoners. Sophia stopped her bike outside, carried Nathan down and walked toward the food street as she held his hands. He didn¡¯t say anything, which indicated that he was happy. It happened to be after school hours and the food street was crowded with people walking up and down. That seemed to be the first time that he saw ces like these while hisrge eyes kept looking around curiously. Hale and the other bodyguard followed behind as they kept an eye on their surroundings, fearing that someone would suddenly jump out and kidnap their Little Master. Sophia brought Nathan around with familiarity and entered a hotpot restaurant. ¡°How many of you?¡± The waiter asked enthusiastically. ¡°Four.¡± She, Nathan, Hale and Nathan¡¯s bodyguard would make them a group of four. That bodyguard¡¯s eyes popped in displeasure. ¡°How can you allow our Little Master to eat such food?¡± All these are unhealthy and who knows what kind of oil they are using? Little Master was born with a silver spoon and only ate organic vegetables from our own farm since young. Sophia didn¡¯t care and started to order from the menu. ¡°Don¡¯t eat if you don¡¯t want to. Am I right, darling?¡± Nathan nodded and repeated her sentences indifferently. ¡°Don¡¯t eat if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Hale had already sat down, realizing that it was his first time eating with the Little Master. He looked at Nathan, noticing that thetter was sitting next to Sophia and ordering with her. The young child seemed to be curious and full of excitement¡ªsomething that he couldn¡¯t feign. What happened in the past two to three days? Nathan¡¯s personality had always been a little strange and aloof since young because he was an orphan. His only family member¡ªMichael¡ªwas always absent and couldn¡¯t take good care of him. He didn¡¯t like to speak or even socialize with strangers. Yet, he has changed so much after being with Sophia for several days. What happened? Sophia was ordering with Nathan, considering that it was his first time trying hotpot. His tense face seemed to have loosened up a little more, but it was difficult for him topletely rx after being cool for so long. The ¡®Mandarin Ducks¡¯ hot pot that they ordered was soon served. He looked at the red and white soup with curiosity before surveying the variety of ingredients with eyes full of scrutiny. She was a regr customer as she visited the restaurant several times a week. It was a ce where the commoners in her ss would usually gather. She prepared some food for him and ced it in his bowl. ¡°You are still a kid, so you have to eat less of the spicy food. Here you go, I saved you some with the clear soup.¡± Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Nathan¡¯s bodyguard was extremely unsatisfied. How can my Little Master eat this? However, Nate never comined¡ªin fact, he seemed to enjoy the food. After having the hot pot, he was full to the point where he could burst. Sophia held onto his tiny hand while walking out of the shop. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll have some fun at the night market. Hale, pay the bill.¡± Hale took out his wallet reluctantly while thinking to himself, Do I get to im this bill or am I paying it out of pocket? How can thedy boss be so stingy? After paying the bill, he asked for a receipt since he was hoping that he might get a reimbursement. The night market had only started, but it was already extremely lively with the street performers and vendors selling either clothes or phone cases. Some of them even had ring toss games in their stalls. It was extremely crowded, which made it difficult to move around. Sophia led Nathan to one of the vendors with the ring toss game. After having a look, they noticed the wide variety of toys arranged neatly on the ground. yers were allowed to take away these toys immediately as long as the bamboo hoopsnded on the toys. She paid 10 to buy eight hoops before asking him, ¡°Have you yed this game before?¡± He shook his head in honesty. ¡°Come, I¡¯ll show you how the game works.¡± She stood her ground and focused while holding onto a hoop. She scanned the area and soon settled on a target¡ªa ceramic piggy bank! It¡¯ll be great if I can take that home even if it¡¯s merely for decoration! She held onto the hoop and tossed it carefully. The hoop flew out and made an arch across the air, but unfortunately missed the target. She tried to toss another, but it had also missed. Sophia continuously tossed four hoops. The closest she had was when a hoop brushed the top of the piggy bank before bouncing off again. Nathan started to panic as well and his face scrunched up with worry. Nevertheless, she was not anxious at all as she handed the remaining four hoops to him instead. ¡°Here, Nate, why don¡¯t you toss the hoops? I want that piggy bank.¡± He had been waiting beside her, raring to go. Once he received the bamboo hoops from her, he copied Sophia¡¯s stance and tossed a hoop out carefully. The first hoop flew far away and identally hit one of the onlookers surrounding them. However, the person merely smiled without causing a scene since Nathan looked so adorable. Sophia encouraged him. ¡°Nate, you are doing great. In fact, you did so much better when I first threw my first hoop!¡± Hale addedl, ¡°That¡¯s right. Little Master, you¡¯re the best! Don¡¯t give up and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll hit the target the next time.¡± The second hoop went flying out before hitting the head of a taller toy and bouncing off again. Sophia continued to encourage Nathan. ¡°Just look at how awesome my son is! He¡¯s going for the kill!¡± The third hoop missed the target as well, which made him seem rather dejected. He pouted while staring up at her. She patted his head reassuringly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we have plenty of money. We¡¯ll get a hundred or even a thousand hoops, if need be. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get at least one hoop in!¡± Nathan nodded determinedly and stopped panicking. He tightened his grip around thest bamboo hoop with his tiny hand before tossing it aggressively toward the piggy bank Sophia had her eyes on. The hoop hit the piggy bank¡¯s head once before bouncing off under his watchful eyes. However, he didn¡¯t expect the hoop to settle immediately around a smaller stic frog! His eyes sparkled immediately whereas Sophia almost leaped in joy too. ¡°Nate, you are awesome! I love you to the moon and back!¡± He agreed that he was awesome too. Finally, his tiny face broke into a satisfied grin despite the fact that the little shabby-looking frog was most probably worth less than 1. On their way back, Nathan held onto the small frog while appearing pleased with himself. Thest time he looked so pleased was when he dug his first Bitcoin. ¡°Come, let¡¯s go. We have to return home now to check whether the Beast epted our challenge.¡± Sophia picked Nathan up onto her motorbike. After putting on their helmets, she sped off to return to campus. After taking a shower in the hostel, Sophia hurriedly switched on herptop and logged into the game. I gave him 48 hours to decide. If the Beast does not ept the invitation for battle within 48 hours, it would automatically be regarded as him forfeiting in fear. The Beast epted the battle invitation, as expected, after he logged in. In fact, he was online at that moment! ¡°Ha! Ha! Ha! Nate, quicklye here to see how I¡¯m about to torture this scumbag!¡± Coincidentally, the nanny was just finished with Nathan¡¯s shower and sent him to Sophia. He took a stool to sit beside Sophia while waiting in excitement to watch the battle. Soon, Sirius233 and the No. 1 Beast of the Server appeared simultaneously on Rocky Pinnacle. Furthermore, their final battle would officially start at 9PM. The final battle would determine both one¡¯s reputation and status! The No. 1 Beast of the Server wanted to save its long lost reputation whereas Sirius233 merely wanted to avenge her son. Sophia stared at the character of the Beast on the monitor and clicked on the equipment that he wore. It was fine when she wasn¡¯t aware of it, but she was taken aback when she saw what he had. Within a day, the Beast¡¯s weapons had increased by several levels. In fact, he was using certain equipment that she did not recognize, but it all had incredible attributes. She only recognized the sword he carried. Several days ago, she saw the sword on a well-known trading website for game items. Someone had bought the sword by bidding 2,330,000 in real money and not in game currency! N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Almost everyone on the server gathered around to watch their battle. Some yers had already recognized the insanely-priced sword from the beginning, causing amotion among the crowd. ¡®Oh, my God! That sword is blinding me with its awesomeness!¡¯ ¡®Oh, my God! That¡¯s a weapon that costs more than 2,000,000! Is Sirius confident in winning this?¡¯ Sophia was no longer calm as she started to type rapidly on her keyboard. ¡®Dude, it¡¯s merely a game. Do you have to be so serious about this? That sword is worth more than 2,000,000! Wouldn¡¯t it make more sense to purchase a house that will appreciate in value?¡¯ Her opponent did not reply to her. Once it was time for the final battle, he lifted his sword and charged at her. I thought I have already spent a lot on my equipment since I spent more than 100,000 on my weapon. However, I didn¡¯t expect him to spend more than 2,000,000 to procure that weapon, which happens to be the only one avable on the entire server! How could a weapon, which costs 100,000, possibly defeat the enemy¡¯s sword that costs 2,000,000?! She immediately felt the pressure when their swords shed, rendering her unable to perform most of her usual skills and even her techniques were no longer as smooth as before! However, Nate is watching beside me. I can¡¯t surrender out of fear! Sophia was anxious and her palms were covered in a film of sweat! The yer, who won two out of the three rounds in the final battle, would be the victor. In the first round, Sirius was beaten to a pulp and practically hung up without a chance to defend herself. Sophia also gave up directly resisting. My equipment can¡¯t evenpete with my opponent¡¯s one. She minimized the first round of battle while logging into a game equipment trading website to purchase a discontinued sword that was worth 2,000,000. By the time she paid for the sword and took it back to the game, the first round of battle had ended. Both parties were preparing for the second round of battle. At that moment, the surrounding audience realized in shock that Sirius, who had been beaten to a pulp in the first round, was now brandishing a dazzling weapon! That dazzling sword had simr attributes to the Beast¡¯s weapon. However, it was obvious that she had a better flow while fighting with the sword. She turned the tide in the blink of an eye and started to beat the Beast relentlessly! Sirius won the second round of the battle. In the third round, she was victorious too. ¡°Argh!¡± the beast howled in agony while beingpletely defeated. He had lost to Sirius233 once again. ¡°Damn it!¡± It was noon in Moscov with the sun spilling brightly into the gym. Harry was engrossed with his game in the corner of the room and now stared in disbelief at hisptop screen. I can¡¯t believe I lost! I¡¯ve even lost twice now! I actually lost in full view of the public! He switched off hisptop while standing up abruptly. Then, he walked toward Michael who was working out. ¡°Old man, lend me your Godly character in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. I need to torture someone.¡± Several students in Bayside University had developed the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ when they were still studying in the university. After the game waspleted, Michael took a fancy to the game and invested his money without thinking twice. Currently, the game took up thergest share in the market and it was still popr even after many years. Hence, he possessed the one and only Godly character in this game! Michael rejected Harry immediately. ¡°I forgot the password for my main character. I only have a new female character right now.¡± ¡°Pfft!¡± Chapter 45 Chapter 45 Harry red at Michael in disbelief, as though he had heard him wrongly. Hence, he asked again, ¡°Did you say that you forgot the password for your ount? In that case, you should look for it right away!¡± Michael was focused on training his muscles, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered with Harry. ¡°What¡¯s the point of getting my password back? No one in the server can defeat me. It¡¯s cold and isted when you¡¯re at the top. Masters are all lonely, do you understand that?¡± There were times when Harry had the urge to strangle Michael¡ªthis was one of those moments. Once upon a time ago, when his peers developed his game but were unable to find an investor, Michael had the wisdom to invest arge sum of money into it. That was how the game came about and it had achieved so much to achieve its current glory. He was the game¡¯s first yer, which was why he possessed the one and only Godly character on the entire server! What was a Godly character? The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was a virtual world with a martial arts world as its backdrop. The design and style of the game depicted the world of martial arts coupled with a ssh of fantasy. However, his character had ascended as an immortal within the entire game, being the only swordsman to be at that status from a mortal. If he attacks, that would be¡­ However, how can he im that he has forgotten his main character¡¯s password now. ¡°I¡¯ll use it if you don¡¯t! You are an investor. Isn¡¯t it a breeze for you to get your password back?¡± Michael stepped off the fitness equipment while wiping his sweat off with a hand towel. At that moment, his whole body was drenched in sweat while exuding the rugged masculinity of a man. ¡°It¡¯s pointless. It¡¯s more fun to y with a new character and starting from the very beginning.¡± Harry quit the game with familiar ease when he arrived at its login page. He entered Michael¡¯s ount details while pushing theptop toward him. ¡°Quick, quick. You aren¡¯t ying the character anyway! Let me have a go at it!¡± Michael smiled while closing Harry¡¯sptop. ¡°The opening ceremony is this afternoon. We should tidy up and get ready for it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to the opening ceremony. Just log in for me right now!¡± Michael was already dressed and ready to leave. ¡°I honestly forgot my password. You should go ahead and guess it if you want!¡± Harry was boiling in anger. In actual fact, he was mentally breaking down because his character, which he had trained for such a long time, was once again defeated for the second time, but Michael refused to help him at all. ¡°I was just beaten by a newbie. Do you have the heart to see me being abused?¡± Harry felt that his tone was so soft that he sounded like a damsel in distress. Seeing that we are such close guy friends, who have worked together in more than ten movies and featuring in all sorts of intimate articles, Michael should help me at all costs. Nevertheless, he seemed unmoved by Harry¡¯s misfortunes. He merely wiped his sweat away while taking a gulp of soda. Then, he left without ncing backward after tossing the towel. ¡°Younded yourself into that situation, so you should suck it up even if you¡¯re in tears.¡± ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± Harry gritted his teeth in frustration. He didn¡¯t have the courage to log into his ount anymore. I¡¯d be humiliated if I were to log into my ount. He was left with no choice but to put his laptop aside and return to work. At that moment, it was already 11PM at Bayside University, but Sophia and Nathan were ying the game in full swing. In the game, Sirius233 seeded in defeating the No. 1 Beast of the Server, but the Beast was different from before. Thest time, he disconnected and left the game even before the final battle ended when he was unable to save himself from a desperate situation. However, this time around, he only quit the game after the final battle ended. The Beast did not utter a single word from the beginning to the end. The members of his guild were embarrassed as well, so they quietly went offline¡ªone after another. Many members even left the guild immediately. The reason why the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was so popr among yers for the past ten years was due to its strong server. One, there were rarely any issues with dropped connections or bugs on the server. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Furthermore, it also had intricate designs with awesome game functionalities. The game was always being improved and each time, the upgraded version would always turn out better than thest. As its server was extremely powerful, not only could it concurrently meet the needs of millions of yers, but it would improve the gaming experience as the interactive exchanges between yers were designed realistically with ingenious associated concepts. In the game, yers could level up by not only killing monsters, but also making use of the unprecedented system for heroes to rescue a damsel in distress. Furthermore, guild members were able to fight each other as well. Previously, Sirius233 had led her guild members to ughter the Beast¡¯s n. In reality, she activated ughter Mode in the game by locking the target sect, which enabled her to ughter them within a fixed period. The ughter Mode meant that the opponent¡¯s guild members would be attacked until they lost their Experience Points and finally died. After that, they would respawn as a new character who would have to start from scratch without any equipment. If one wished to avoid that fate, they would have no choice but to quit the guild. That was the reason why the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was so popr. The game replicated the interaction between people in real life to the greatest extent within the game. For instance, it illustrated the ugly truth of society because it wasmon to experience hardship and challenges in real life. Not only did yers have to fight off monsters, but they had to resist against ambushes from other yers too. A character, who might be a well-respected master swordsman a moment ago, might be attacked and killed in the next second. What attracted the yers were not the game itself, but rather, they were there for the brutal reflection of the ruthlessness in real life and society within the game. The sense of reality of the game exuded a unique charm to it¡ªranking the first among online games through the past ten years as well as being the most profitable online game in Cethos to date. Its sess was not limited to only Cethos because the game had made up a significant share in the global market. The Beast was used to getting what he wanted in the game, so he enjoyedmitting cruel acts. Therefore, the audience had pped and cheered for Sirius233 when she defeated him. It was the same this time around¡ªmany guilds sent congrattory messages while celebrating the victory. In reality, Sophia basked in the celebratory greetings sent by heroes from all walks of life and became giddy with her victory, but she didn¡¯t forget to pat Nathan on his shoulders and even gave him advice. ¡°Look, this is how society works. People might fawn over you with admiration right now, but they might abandon you in the wilderness before you even know it. The most important thing is to be ruthless!¡± Nathan nodded, but he did not look like he fully understood the situation. She added, ¡°Alright, we should sleep earlier today. I¡¯ll take you to defeat the Beast¡¯s guild in two days¡¯ time. I¡¯ll force him into marriage as a concubine! I dare him to bully my son in the future!¡± There was a recentunch of an umon system within the game. In the past, only male and female characters were allowed to get married, but characters of the same gender were now allowed to marry each other! It was the first game to achieve a society with equal rights. At the same time, the new game upgrade came with another perverted system¡ªif two yers, who were always at odds, had to battle each other, the victor had a chance to activate a Forced Dual Cultivation Mode against the loser if he emerged as the winner several times. The yer, who initiated the Forced Dual Cultivation Mode, would be able to capture the other party¡¯s Experience Points by force and im it as their own. Theunching of this new system had caused an uproar within the game society, where yers nicknamed this function affectionately as ¡®R*pe¡¯. Sophia had never tried out these two new functions. Hence, she figured that this would be the best time to do so on the Beast, considering that the Forced Dual Cultivation Mode was not gender-specific. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Sirius233 was arranging a series of ughter missions in the game whereas in reality, she cackled cruelly. Nathan was also in her guild as the son of the Chief. He was seated together with the rest of Sirius¡¯s sons while listening to her instructions. Nathan¡¯s eyes were wide open in real life while listening to Sophia, as if this opened a whole new world to him. It turns out that it¡¯s possible to y a game with such a twist. Chapter 46 Chapter 46 Sophia chuckled while ying the game together with Nate and hadn¡¯t noticed that it was already midnight when Hale phoned her. ¡°Madam, Boss has instructed that the lights would be switched off if you two don¡¯t go to bed by 12AM. Beep¡ª¡± The lights immediately went off in the room with the Inte being disconnected as well. She was suddenly plunged into darkness while she was in the midst of setting up the tasks in the game. Nathan, who was staring at theptop screen, was shocked by the sudden darkness and threw himself into her arms on instinct. ¡°Mom¡­¡± She hugged him tightly. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here! Don¡¯t worry, Hale merely switched the electricity off and disconnected the inte. It¡¯ste, let¡¯s go to bed earlier.¡± Nathan was excited about ying the game with her for such a long time that his mind was exhausted. He fell asleep soon after hitting the sack. Sophia slipped out of bed once he was asleep and went to the washroom to call Hale. ¡°Hale, ask Audistin to inform the Harper Family that their membership will be restored if they are willing to pay more.¡± Hale was always efficient and speedy inpleting any given tasks. Hence, he immediately informed Audistin. The next day, Richard visited Audistin again. They really couldn¡¯t wait any longer because the consequences of offending Audistin was unimaginable. Only a few days had passed, but the Harper Family was already theughing stock of the upper-ss society. It felt as if the entire family had been excluded from the society¡¯s social circle. Every family member of the Harper Family felt the impact and repercussions of this incident. That was especially true after X¡¯s cocktail partyst night. A group of wealthy kids had made an appointment to hang out at Audistin and everyone went ahead with the n, but those from the Harpers were left out. Looking at the rest of the group leaving without inviting them, the Harpers didn¡¯t dare to make a sound because the whole situation was beyond embarrassing. Hence, Richard brought along a gift to meet Mr. Wesley in Audistin. Unlike the past where he would avoid meeting Richard, Mr. Wesley immediately agreed to meet him. In Audistin¡¯s caf¨¦, there were two cups of freshly ground Americano on the coffee table. The coffee was steaming hot¡ªthe direction of its vapors was disturbed by the conversation between the two men. ¡°50,000,000?!¡± Richard stared in disbelief at Mr. Wesley. I just want to get the Harper Family¡¯s membership back. Why is it so expensive now? 50,000,000 is an enormous amount of investment for us! He looked upset. ¡°Wesley, isn¡¯t 50,000,000¡­ too expensive?¡± Mr. Wesley shook his head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not. It is not expensive at all. It¡¯s not costly, seeing that 50,000,000 represents the dignity of both Audistin and the Harper Family.¡± It¡¯s true! It¡¯s not expensive at all! Ka Harper was the one who caused trouble at Audistin. She was the one who announced openly that she was relinquishing the Harper Family¡¯s membership in Audistin. Thest person who did thispletely vanished from Bayside City together with their family. Requesting 50,000,000 from the Harper Family proves that Audistin truly never intended to humiliate them in the first ce. However, Richard just couldn¡¯t figure it out. What is happening here? It feels as if someone is targeting the Harper Family in the dark. First, Ka received awsuit against her for some reason and now, she has been kicked out of Audistin. We have investigated this for a very long time, but we are unable to find out who did all this. Although Sophia was involved in both incidents, she obviously ys a minor role in the grand scheme of things. We just can¡¯t find out who is supporting her. The information gathered after our investigation shows that Sophia Edwards is amon student without any impressive background who enrolled in Bayside University with her outstanding exam results. He took a sip of coffee and took half an hour to mull over the proposal, during which he made several phone calls while Mr. Wesley waited for him to decide. In the end, Richard and the Harper Family agreed to re-purchase their Audistin memberships for 50,000,000. Out of that amount, half of it was most probably considered as their membership fee while the other half was a token donated to Audistin. He sipped his coffee nonstop. Wrinkles were deeply etched on his handsome face. I feel the pinch spending that 50,000,000. While cing the coffee cup down, he asked Mr. Wesley in a solemn tone. ¡°Wesley, please be honest with me. Has the Harper Family offended someone in the high ces? If we have done somethingThis is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. wrong, we, the Harpers, are willing to personally apologize.¡± Mr. Wesley smiled soothingly. ¡°Please don¡¯t think too much. It¡¯s best for you to head home and educate your younger sister. The consequences this time are not that bad, so both parties are able to resolve this peacefully. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be only 50,000,000 if this were to happen again in the future.¡± Richard forced a smile. ¡°Thank you, Wesley.¡± Is that so? Why do I have the nagging feeling that someone is causing trouble for the Harper Family? In fact, this person must be someone extremely powerful. I¡¯m confident that he or she has the ability to destroy the entire Harper Family. However, they are not making any proper move against us. Each time something happens, it¡¯s always something minor, but enough to leave a negative impact against us. Wesley stood up to leave whilementing to himself, Well, this serves the Harper Family right! Of all the people they chose to offend, they decided to offend thedy boss! The Harper Family swiftly transferred 50,000,000 to Audistin¡¯s ount and even sent an attendant to have the Harper Family¡¯s VIP member cards delivered to their home. The amount sat in Audistin¡¯s bank ount for a while, but 20,000,000 was soon transferred to Sophia¡¯s ount. Sophia was attending sses in university when she received the notification regarding the bank transfer. She wore a baseball cap that was paired with denim suspenders, which wasn¡¯t any different from the rest of her peers who strolled on campus grounds. She was in the midst of packing her things after ss while wearing her earphones to call Hale. ¡°I have received the money and I have transferred 1,000,000 to you. Take it, but you don¡¯t have to thank me. Go ahead and enjoy yourself with a girl. Just stop switching my electricity off and disconnecting my Inte connection.¡± She barked into the phone before unceremoniously hanging up. On the other side, Hale pursed his lips together after she hung up on him. ¡°Go ahead and enjoy yourself with a girl¡­¡± he mumbled while mimicking Sophia¡¯s tone. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s up to me? It¡¯s all of your hubby¡¯s doing!¡± I¡¯d rather live a bloody and messy life than to protect Sophia, the filthy and violent young girl. Nevertheless, with the 1,000,000 in his pocket, he was in a much better mood now and immediately phoned Michael to report the situation. ¡°Boss, Madam ckmailed the Harper Family into paying 50,000,000. Audistin received 30,000,000 and she took the other 200,000,000.¡± Michael answered him from the other end of the line in an exhausted tone, ¡°Okay, got it.¡± Hale choked on his words. He wanted to report on Sophia¡¯s motives in ckmailing the Harper Family. However, Michael didn¡¯t seem to care at all! Based on how much Sophia hates the Harper Family, she wouldn¡¯t have let them off the hook so easily. She would have kept them out of Audistin forever. Nevertheless, she suddenly changed her mind. The only feasible exnation is that she spent 2,000,000 to purchase a game equipment. Then, she felt that she might be broke, which is why she ckmailed the Harper Family for such arge sum of money! However, Michael didn¡¯t seem to be interested in Sophia¡¯s motives because he hung up without further comments. Hale pursed his lips once again in disgust after the end of the phone call. Both husband and wife are the same. Well, I have to say that my Boss is tooid back. He doesn¡¯t even care when his wife has recently and openly pocketed some money for her personal savings. Isn¡¯t he afraid that Sophia might grow up one day and leave him? In any case, I am worrying over nothing. In all honesty, Michael was remotely monitoring Sophia¡¯sptop and phone, so he could watch everything that went on herptop and phone. For instance, he was now looking through her search history on her personalptop¡¯s browser. ¡°What can I do when my hubby is a pervert?¡± After reading it aloud, he was rendered speechless. Chapter 47 Chapter 47 What is this nonsense? Suddenly, Michael had an extremely bad feeling, so he switched on the surveince video in his room. He breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the two Asian swamp eels swimming healthily in their fish tank, but he couldn¡¯t rx and hurried to phone Mr. Morgan. Michael asked him to move both of his precious Asian swamp eels overnight. Furthermore, he instructed that Sophia was not allowed to be anywhere near the eels, no matter what the reason was. Once he had arranged that, he put his phone down while observing his muscles in the gym¡¯s mirror. Since he was an actor, he was demanding toward his figure and obsessed with maintaining a perfect appearance at all times. At the current moment, he was half-naked as he only wore a pair of shorts, exposing his eight-packs and V-cut abs. The more he stared at his reflection, the more he felt that he was wless. Forget about others; even I want to do something naughty with myself. But Sophia is so short-sighted. She¡¯d rather look at the Asian swamp eels than to pay attention to me. Why is that? How can I possibly understand a young girl¡¯s thinking? Every three years will create a generation gap. There¡¯s a thirteen year age difference between Sophia and me, which is an equivalent to three to four generation gaps. I honestly can¡¯t understand her thinking. Michael faced the mirror while striking a bodybuilder¡¯s pose. Then, he used his phone and took several photographs to send to Sophia. The next day, when Sophia woke up from bed, she noticed that she had received a photo that was sent over via WeChat from her contact named ¡®Pervert¡¯. The man in the photograph posed suggestively in front of the mirror with his chest and nipples exposed ¡ªeverything in the picture screamed the aesthetics of a pervert. He is so perverted! Sophia shivered involuntarily while rubbing the goosebumps all over her body and replied. ¡®Oh, dear, you are so handsome. Kisses for you.¡¯ It was after she sent her reply she put her phone down to brush her teeth and freshen up. Nathan followed suit by brushing his teeth and washing his face. After they packed their bags, Sophia and Nathan arrived together on campus and parted ways¡ªhe was a Computer Science major while she proceeded to the School of Economics and Business Administration. Without the pervert, Sophia, who was now on campus, was like a cheerful little bird. She had casual overalls paired with a baseball cap and moved around swiftly on her skateboard¡ªin fact, she was considered an anomaly within the university because the average students wouldn¡¯t have had the courage to stand out like she did. They were afraid of attracting attention to themselves that might result in a beating. On the other hand, noble youngdies wouldn¡¯t be bold enough to be so casual. They could only take tiny, graceful steps in their high heels while wearing flowy dresses. She had arrived at the ssroom before her ss started. However, it appeared as though there was a hugemotion¡ªmany people had gathered around¡ªin front of the entrance. In fact, there were many wealthy-looking students with their dazzling appearance. Is something going on there? Sophia squeezed through the crowd aggressively. Suddenly, someone cried out, ¡°Sophia Edwards is here!¡± The crowd made way for her, and they observed her with a gleeful expression when she came squeezing through the crowd. Sophia walked along the path created by the crowd, who had divided themselves into two columns, and saw Ka standing at the ssroom entrance. It appeared as though Ka had been waiting for her. Today, Ka wore an off-shoulder white dress that entuated her tall and willowy figure, which made her bejeweled as always. A string of diamond ne had beenid around her neck and it dazzled brightly¡ªthe diamonds were like the finishing touches that embellished her elegance. Her appearance was a huge contrast to Sophia, who wore a pair of canvas shoes and a baseball cap. Ka acted in a condescending manner when she handed Sophia a bright red invitation card that faced upward. She wore a serious expression although her tone wasced with superiority and ridicule. ¡°Sophia, it will be my 19th birthday soon. My birthday party will be held after the military training, so you have to attend the party.¡± Sophia seemed oblivious to the hidden meaning of her remark and ignorantly epted the invitation while looking clueless, responding, ¡°Well, of course.¡± Ka couldn¡¯t help but smirk while observing her unsuspecting expression. A trace of ruthlessness then shed across Ka¡¯s eyes. ¡°I have sent out many invitations to students in our year and faculty for this party.¡± News of Kamitting a heinous crime of framing amoner¡¯s pregnancy while ruining thetter¡¯s reputation almost affected the Harpers¡¯pany listing. Although the Harper Family hired a publicist to clean up the mess, remnants of the news remained. Hence, the Harpers had no choice but to leave a good impression by organizing a charity dinner party in conjunction with her birthday. The charity dinner party this time was extraordinary as the Harper Family had gone all out to ensure that the party was a sess. They invited the media as well as the rich and famous from Bayside City, making it a very high-end party. Ka had flown all the way to France to hire the world¡¯s top fashion designer to custom-make an exclusive evening gown that was sewn with diamonds for this dinner party and spent almost 1,000,000. I can¡¯t wait to see Sophia in her shabby clothes attending my high-end charity birthday dinner party. It will be extremely humiliating for her! Most of the wealthy kids and children from the upper-ss within the university have received the invitation. I want Sophia to be utterly humiliated in front of our peers. It will also be best if she¡¯s so humiliated that she can no longer stand to be in Bayside University! Seeing that Sophia had epted the invitation without thinking twice, the crowd surrounding them was gleeful about this. Furthermore, she looked like she was oblivious to the potential danger awaiting her. The rich students observed this situation with gleeful anticipation whereas the civilian students were frightened. Hence, they kept a distance from Sophia because they were afraid of being picked on by the wealthier students for their association with her. Sophia tossed the invitation into her bag before walking into the ssroom. The bell soon rang and the students dispersed. The minute she entered the ssroom, she took out her textbook while flipping open her notebook and started to meticulously prepare for the new course. However, the three rows of seats around her were left vacant. It was only natural that the rich kids wouldn¡¯t sit together with the civilian students. On the other side, the civilian students wanted nothing more than to stay far away to avoid getting into trouble. Some of them were even secretly judging her. Everyone felt that Sophia hadnded herself in deep trouble, but she waspletely unfazed and continued to attend sses as usual while meticulously taking notes. She left immediately with her bags for her next ss after the bell rang. Her phone vibrated while she was on the way to her next ss. She took her phone out to check who it was and saw that it was a new text message from Juliette. ¡®Sophia, you need to be careful. When I was working at Audistin, I heard them say that they¡¯re instructing people to beat you.¡¯ Sophia pouted, but she didn¡¯t seem to care. Nevertheless, she replied to Julliette since thetter was kind enough to warn her. ¡®Thank you! I¡¯ll be careful.¡¯ She received a reply swiftly. ¡®You have to be extra careful. Don¡¯t walk alone.¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Okay.¡¯ Juliette: ¡®It¡¯s for the best that you do not attend the party. I heard that you need to wear an exquisite evening gown for the banquet. It¡¯s extremely pricey and a random one would easily set you back by tens of thousands.¡¯ Sophia: ¡®I¡¯m aware of it. Thank you for your concern. I¡¯ll figure a way out.¡¯ Juliette was aware that an evening gown would be a must when a person is attending such a high-end charity dinner banquet, which was one of themon events for the rich and powerful. An attire like that could easily cost more than the price of a house in a small county. As amoner student, Sophia couldn¡¯t possibly afford it. Juliette thought to herself, Sophia will definitely be theughing stock at the event if she turns up without an appropriate evening dress. Not to mention, the etiquette and rules at the charity dinner party¡­ I¡¯m sure those aren¡¯t things that a commoner student will be familiar with. In short, I¡¯m sure that the Harpers will make things difficult for Sophia. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Nevertheless, Sophia seemed oblivious to the danger despite Juliette¡¯s warning. She continued to do things her own way while going around on her skateboard before a group of students suddenly blocked her way in the toilet. There would always be a bunch of bad apples, no matter how elite a school was¡ª and Bayside University was no different. Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Sophia was using the washroom when she heard several girls shouting viciously all of a sudden. ¡°Get out right now! Get lost!¡± Several female students who squatted in the cubicles were all chased out, making the entire washroom dead silent after a while. Someone seemed to be guarding the washroom outside because no one had entered for a very long time. Sophia was squatting in her cubicle and saw a pair of feet with brightly painted red toenails in high heels through the gap below the cubicle door. Bang, bang, bang! Someone had banged against the door. A girl then mmed the door outside and screamed, ¡°Sophia Edwards,e out here! I know that you are inside!¡± Sophia caught a whiff of the cigarette smoke and saw wisps of smoke at the door. When she opened the door, she saw a few scantily dressed girls with heavy makeup waiting for her in front of the cubicle. She regarded them warily as her eyes darted around, as though she was afraid. ¡°What is it?¡± One of the girls in front, who had heavy makeup on and dressed like a killer, answered her rudely as a cigarette dangled between her lips. ¡°What is it?! Haha, we¡¯re here to beat you up!¡± Sophia seemed confused. ¡°Why do you want to beat me up? I have never offended you girls.¡± Several girls in this gang were indeed students in Bayside University. They were supposed to be in their penultimate year now, but they all had to repeat their freshman year. Rumors had it that the girl leading the group, Miss Goth, was from a family of the underworld. Hence, she was always arrogant and unruly on campus¡ªeven the rich and noble students would not cross her. She was almost like an uncontroble mad dog. Anyone who got into trouble with the group was considered unfortunate. The university was like a miniature society¡ªin fact, Bayside University was not merely a normal university, but rather a miniature reflection of Bayside City¡¯s Vanity Fair as well. The rich and powerful were involved in all sorts of shameful deeds¡ªand it was also the same on campus. Miss Goth¡¯s family was one of the most powerful families in the underworld of Bayside City. She was also one of the most powerful and influential figures in Bayside University, taking payments from people to eliminate their problems. For example, at that moment, she was eliminating the problem in hand¡ªSophia. Miss Goth couldn¡¯t help but pity Sophia since thetter seemed oblivious to her precarious situation. Hence, she patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder whilementing, ¡°You don¡¯t have to panic because we have decided not to beat you. However, someone paid us to mess up your face and take a few nude photos of you.¡± Those girls stared at Sophia hungrily while surrounding her. They started to roll up their sleeves, as if they were about to make a move against her. Now that she was faced with these aggressive and fierce girls, Sophia merely scoffed. ¡°Are you sure you girls want to attack me in the university? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll expose you? You will all get a demerit for your actions and be expelled!¡± Miss Goth chuckled in response to that and her colorfully-dyed hair looked like a nest of lollipops. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± She held the cigarette butt between her fingers and abruptly poked at Sophia¡¯s face. Sophia¡¯s pretty little face would be ruined if it came into contact with the hot cigarette butt! Miss Goth was extremely fast¡ªshe had just made a move and her hand was already in front of Sophia¡¯s face. The hot cigarette was mere inches away from Sophia. As expected, a sizzling sound of the cigarette butt was heard when it came into contact with someone¡¯s flesh. The smell of charred meat immediately permeated everyone¡¯s noses and they heard someone howling in pain in that instant. ¡°Aaaah!¡± However, it wasn¡¯t Sophia who screamed; it was a bad girl standing next to her instead. That female student wore a low-cut blouse that exposed her deep cleavage. The cigarette buttnded in between her cleavage by chance and it was so painful that she screamed at the top of her lungs! There was an instant angry red mark on her cleavage. Earlier, when the butt of Miss Goth¡¯s cigarette was about to poke Sophia¡¯s face, thetter had reached out to block it, so the cigarette was moved sideways and poked the girl next to her instead. Miss Goth hissed. ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± Before she couldplete her sentence, arge fist came whizzing toward her face. The fist smashed squarely into Miss Goth¡¯s face and everything went ck for her. Bang! Miss Goth¡¯s back banged into the washroom door. Sophia did not give her the chance to respond and picked up her skateboard instead before smashing it against her head. There was another loud bang as the skateboard had directly hit Miss Goth¡¯s head. Sophia¡¯s attacks were decisive and urate¡ªshe left no opportunity for her opponent to fight back and was sshed with blood on the spot. The rest of the girls were dumbfounded when they saw blood. Throughout their years in the university, they hadmitted all sorts of petty crimes including marking other students with cigarette butts, forcefully taking nude pictures, and bullying other female students in general. However, this was their first time seeing blood and froze in shock as they were so scared that they couldn¡¯t move a muscle. ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± Miss Goth¡¯s vision was turning ck and she felt a warm liquid trickling down her face. After that, she saw Sophia standing in front of her holding a skateboard with a murderous expression. Sophia¡¯s eyes were bloodshot with blood sttered across her face and hair. She looked terrible¡ªin fact, she had the most ferocious appearance at that moment. Seeing that Miss Goth was still able to move, Sophia raised her skateboard without hesitation before smashing it against her again. It was so forceful that Miss Goth copsed into her own pool of blood. Who am I, Sophia Edwards? Am I a goody two shoes? Hah! I have outstanding academic results, but I do not have any family support or background to fall back on. Hence, jealous female students have always trapped me in the washroom since I was in junior high! Ripping my clothes off and taking nude photos are just part of my everyday life! The washroom was eerily silent for the longest time. Finally, one of the female students snapped back to her senses from the initial fear and pointed at Sophia while reprimanding her. ¡°How dare you do this! Do you know who she is? Do you know who her father is?¡± Sophia turned her blood-sttered face to re at the girl who spoke with her bloodshot eyes. The female student was so shocked that she stepped backward. Her gaze is terrifying! However, Sophia didn¡¯t give her the chance to retreat. Instead, she stepped forward and pushed the female student. Her opponent might have been a fellow female student, but Sophia never cared about their gender. It could have been a dog, a male or even a female, for all she cared. Sophia had hit the girl with such force that she flew backward and her head smashed against the cubicle door before she was knocked out. I¡¯ll have to aim to kill since I¡¯ve started to attack. I must make sure that my enemy won¡¯t have the courage to offend me again! Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. After witnessing Sophia¡¯s cruelty, those girls immediately surrounded her since they outnumbered. At that moment, Sophia¡¯s hair was in a mess and her baseball cap was missing. The skateboard was in her left hand whereas her fringe had covered half of her eyes. She was slowly scanning the female students as her lips curled into a cruel smile. Without waiting for them to make the first move, she raised her skateboard and smashed it against their leader¡¯s head. She was an orphan, so she had been relying on others since she was a child. Her uncle and aunt had treated her poorly as they thought that she was a waste of resources. They either scolded or beat her. In fact, her older cousin brothers would gang up with other boys in the vige to bully her at times. Sophia had been fighting with other children since she was a little girl, so she knew that it was useless to beg for mercy orpromise if someone else was determined to bully you. Therefore, the only way of resolution was to fight back until she defeated her enemies! She was the king of the children in the vige. Her older cousin brothers from her uncle¡¯s familycked the courage to expose her to their family despite being beaten to a pulp. In fact, several boys in the vige would flee in fear when they saw her. Therefore, with guidance from Gwen, a retired agent, Sophia, who held her skateboard, was able to fight back with vigor. The group of girls were unable to defeat Sophia because they¡¯d be beaten up either way¡ªwhether they fought back or not. After about 10 minutes of being beaten up, their clothes were in disarray and two of them had already fainted with the rest of them wailing like banshees in the washroom. Hale, who was hiding not too far from the school entrance at a corner and ying ¡®Mobile Legends¡¯, suddenly received a phone call from Sophia. ¡°Hale,e over to clean up.¡± Chapter 49 Chapter 49 When Hale rushed to the female washroom that Sophia referred to, the war had already ended by then. Several female students were sprawled across the floor with messy clothes as they cried their eyes out. It seemed that they were injured¡ªtwo of them were bleeding whereas one of them had several cigarette burn marks across her face. There was blood all over the washroom floor with the stter on the bathroom door having already dried up. Sophia¡¯s hair was in a mess and she was holding onto her skateboard that was smeared with blood. She still wore a murderous expression, but pointed calmly at the blood on the floor when she saw him. ¡°Get someone to scrub the floor. I¡¯ll be inappropriate if someone sees this. Also, get these people out of here.¡± Hale frowned immediately. I¡¯ve seen girls fight in the past, but I¡¯ve never seen them fight violently. She was clearly beating them to death! In Bayside University, the female washrooms were out of bounds to men in general. Furthermore, Hale was an outsider, but he had his ways. If need be, he would be able toe and go freely even if it was a female bathhouse, let alone a female washroom in the university Sophia made her way out of the washroom while Hale was scrubbing the floor and checked her reflection in the mirror that was located outside. Then, she calmly washed her face andbed her hair. She wiped her face with a wet tissue before reapplying some lipstick and returned to check on Hale, who was squatting on the floor to lift the girls up one after another to scan their faces with his phone. Nowadays, even the underworld had ess to high technological facilities. Hale¡¯s phone had a built-in software for facial recognition. Therefore, he immediately received information about the girls¡¯ identities after scanning their faces. Hale yanked Miss Goth¡¯s hair while scanning her face and his phone immediately revealed her identity. ¡®Ruth Bolton, 21 years old, the daughter of the Chief of The Anarchists.¡¯ He frowned deeply and he had a serious expression. This seems rather troublesome. Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she saw his expression. Am I in deep trouble? ¡°How powerful are¡­ The Anarchists?¡± she asked fearfully. He answered her in a serious manner, ¡°They are very powerful. In fact, their influence in Bayside City is second to none. This girl is the daughter of the Chief of The Anarchists and the only child, no less.¡± Hale continued with a stern face. ¡°Sigh, this is rather troublesome. However, thankfully, the Boss is acquainted with the Chief of The Anarchists¡¯ sister-inw¡¯s godfather¡¯s son¡¯s sworn brother. It should be fine if he pulls some strings there.¡± Sophia had a sinking feeling. I didn¡¯t expect things to be so troublesome. It looks like Michael will have to go all out to get things settled. I vented my frustrations by beating the girls up, but it will be exhausting for Michael to clean up my mess. I¡¯m starting to regret my decisions. I should have just escaped. Seeing that her face was scrunched up with worry, he consoled her hastily, ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal. It depends on whether the Boss is willing to get involved or not. He can make things disappear if he wants to.¡± He was hinting to her. You should quickly head home to your hubby and be coquettish with him. She nodded and walked away with her head bowed, thinking about what to say to Michaelter on the phone. After Michael left, she had not phoned him. My first phone call to him now is to ask him to clean up my mess, sigh¡­ After Sophia left, Hale ordered someckeys to scrub the washroom floor clean and carry the girls away. One of theckeys asked, ¡°Mr. Hale, how do we deal with these bad girls?¡± Hale snapped, ¡°How else do we deal with them? Phone The Anarchists to get them back! Should I personally phone 911 for help?!¡± Theckey was most probably a newbie because he continuously mumbled while scrubbing the floor, ¡°Mr. Hale, are The Anarchists very powerful? Is it true that even the Boss¡¯s hands are tied?¡± Hale spat angrily. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have any basic knowledge when you joined the gang? The Anarchists are nothingpared to Mr. Winston! Let alone, the Boss!¡± Theckey was even more confused since he started work not too long ago. Hence, he had not seen the legendary Boss and Mr. Winston. Theckey was holding the broom and he asked dumbly, ¡°In that case, when Madam asked earlier, why did you¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Hale had been working tirelessly to create chances like that for Michael. The Anarchists is just one of the lackeyspared to Michael! They are just a bunch ofwless people! Here, they are calling themselves the underworld¡­ Forget about drawing blood after beating his daughter up; even if she were to die on the spot, The Anarchists would be the one losing money even. On the other hand, Sophia was on pins and needles after listening to Hale¡¯s ims. She was afraid that The Anarchists would find fault with her. She had learned about the underworld of Bayside City. The situation wasplicated since it was an entanglement of different forces and theplexity made it impossible to sort through them. The head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld was called Mr. Winston. No one knew who he was and they did not have a photograph of him either. However, everybody knew that he had his people everywhere to spy for him and he was the uncrowned king of the Bayside City¡¯s underworld. In fact, he was well-connected with thew enforcement too. The Anarchists seem very powerful too! It looks like I¡¯vended myself in trouble again! Upon arriving at a decision, she phoned Michael in a hurry. At that moment, it was alreadyte at night on the other side of the globe. Michael had justpleted filming a night scene when he received a phone call from Sophia. ¡°Hello, chica.¡± This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Sophia stiffened when she was greeted by his husky and alluring tone over the phone. She controlled her tone while replying to him in a girlish manner, ¡°Hubby, how are you abroad? Are you busy with work?¡± He couldn¡¯t help but break into a mysterious grin. However, he remained calm in his response. ¡°It¡¯s not too bad. I¡¯m not busy with work at all, but I¡¯ve missed you.¡± Sophia felt goosebumps all over her body. However, I have no choice but to y along with this pervert. ¡°Hubby, I miss you too. When are youing home?¡± Michael replied, ¡°It might take as long as a year or so or as few as three to five days.¡± She would have preferred it if he did not return for the rest of her life. Nevertheless, she had to pretend that she cared. ¡°It is such a long time. What should I do since I miss you?¡± He pondered before answering her tantly, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll book the earliest flight possible and return home. What do you think?¡± She was shocked and replied hastily. ¡°However, I¡¯m joining the barracks for military training soon. I can¡¯t see you even if you¡¯re back.¡± Michael sounded disappointed, but he was clear headed throughout the conversation. Just a simple sigh or breath from her was enough to reveal her innermost thoughts to him. I must have frightened her to death earlier! Hemented without revealing his true thoughts, ¡°Well, that¡¯s a shame. I¡¯ll definitelye home to see you after your military training.¡± There was a pause for several seconds before Sophia finally summoned the courage to reiterate what happened today with continuous sobs, ¡°Hubby, someone bullied me, sob¡­ sob¡­¡± Michael sounded anxious when he replied to her, as if he was panicking. ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia cried when she borated, ¡°This morning, the daughter of the Chief of The Anarchists bullied me. They trapped me in the washroom and wanted to burn my face with cigarette butts. They even ripped my clothes to take nude photos of me. Fortunately, I was quick; otherwise, I won¡¯t get to see you again¡­¡± Michael was furious. ¡°How dare The Anarchists do such a thing! Sophia, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll get someone to get rid of them now!¡± ¡°Hubby, you are the best¡­¡± It seems Michael is more powerful than The Anarchists. Well, at least he sounds as if he¡¯s more powerful than them. Sophia fawned over his capabilities for the longest time over the phone call to show her gratitude before finally hanging up. After hanging up on the call, she returned to attend her sses while feeling like the burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Reality had proved that Michael was indeed much more powerful. After attending two sses, she learned that the group of girls¡ªthe ones who trapped her in the washroom that morning¡ªproved to be a bad influence by being involved in violent gang fights. Some of them were admitted into the hospital due to concussions suffered during the fight. The university would most probably expel the girls immediately since they had past criminal records. Sophia Edwards¡¯s name was not even mentioned once throughout the incident. Chapter 50 Chapter 50 On the other hand, Michael returned to the hotel when he had finished filming the night scenes. After he showered, hey on the bed and yed around with his phone. Gemma had already sent the video that was recorded in the girls¡¯ washroom at Bayside University to him. In the video, Sophia was rather hardcore¡ªshe had a good control on her skateboard and fought beautifully. The few delinquent girls were beaten up so badly by her that they howled in pain on the ground. She had pulled their hair and tore their clothes apart. Apparently, it was not enough to beat them up since she even tore their clothes. Gemma thoughtfully censored some of the scenes with a nket emoji that was trending in Cethos. ¡°Hmph, she¡¯s pretty good.¡± Today, Michael saw his young wife, whom he had bought with 10 million, in a new light. The more he looked at her, the more interesting she was to him. Then, he reyed the video. Hale did well in assisting him at that time. Thinking that shended herself in trouble, Sophia called to chat with Michael, which was a rare urrence, and even filmed a cute, short video for him. In the video, she looked at him with wide eyes and included beauty effects that added cat ears on her head. Then, she imitated a cat¡¯s meow and even did some hand gestures to show her love. Michael was satisfied with Hale¡¯s attempt this time. Based on what Hale had achieved this year, he would be given a mansion in Cethos as his year-end bonus. With a loud bang, Harry suddenly barged into Michael¡¯s room, holding hisptop. ¡°Bro, I¡¯m being attacked by someone!¡± He was logged into the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. In the game, the No. 1 Beast of the Server was being publicly attacked by another yer in front of everyone. He had no chance of retaliation since he was harshly defeated and wailed in the process. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in that at all. Get lost.¡± Michael turned with a bunch of scripts around him as he continued to admire his wife¡¯s beauty. She¡¯s getting more attractive each day! Harry showed hisptop in front of Michael anxiously. ¡°Bro, if you don¡¯t help me, my family will be torn apart by him! I bet this guy is using some tricks!¡± Michael nced at his notebookzily and saw a familiar character¡ªNateHiro. NateHiro had a huge knife in his hands as he mercilessly whacked No. 1 Beast of the Server, giving the latter no chance of escaping. He was extremely skilled in fighting¡ªwith each attacking one after another without any pause. His attacks were so closely timed that Harry could not even hold up to him. An excited look shed through Michael¡¯s eyes before he sat up and took theptop over without a word. Then, he ced it on the desk that was provided by the hotel. After cing his hands on the keyboard, he slid into an attack position before moving the mouse to start the second round. Michael had actually invested in this game for its development. Without him, the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ would not have existed, so he was actually the Father of Swordsman. Not only was he the first to reach the Godly character, but he had also developed invincible skills. Once Michael started to attack, everyone would have to address him as ¡®daddy¡¯! Especially when both parties had simr equipment, once Michael started to take over, NateHiro was immediately at the receiving end of his attacks. Earlier, the No. 1 Beast of the Server was severely beaten high up in the skies. At that moment, it was NateHiro, who was the person being whacked in the air. On top of that, this was an important battle to them because they had taken a bet to call the winner ¡®daddy¡¯. It was agreed that a winner would be announced when either one of them won two out of three rounds. In the first round, Beast had lost, but he suddenly retaliated in the second round as if the yer behind the character was a different person. NateHiro was attacked until he was high up in the sky. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. The audience thought that Beast would definitely lose, but he sessfully retaliated, much to their surprise. Did Beast use some hacks? The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ had a brilliant system in detecting hacks¡ªif anyone used them, they would immediately be banned. Did Beast suddenly have a new bag of tricks up his sleeves? When Michael decided to help him, Harry waspletely relieved with his tense nerves calming down. Earlier, he thought that he had to really call his opponent ¡®daddy¡¯. After handing the battlefield to Michael, he drank coffee and ate fruits to calm his tense nerves. Then, he was about to return to witness the battle. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of Michael¡¯s phone that seemed to be ying something. After ncing at it, he saw Sophia pretending to meow like a cat in a video. ¡°Hmph, men can really be different when they are in a rtionship. I can¡¯t believe that he is ying such a childish game.¡± Harry tried to adjust the speed of the video, but he identally clicked on thest video. It was apletely different video¡ªSophia, who tried to be cute in the first video, suddenly turned into a different person as she was hitting another girl¡¯s head with her skateboard. With a loud bang, blood was sttered everywhere¡ªsome evennded on Sophia¡¯s cute face. With that, a murderous look filed her eyes, but it did not stop her. She instead mmed the skateboard on the girl again until the girl with smokey makeup was bleeding profusely, making it a violent and savage scene. ¡°Hiss¡­¡± As he watched the video, Harry took a few steps back and thought, Women are indeed unpredictable. Just a second ago, she was trying to act like a kitten and now, she has already started to beat someone up! Sophia took a round at hitting them with her skateboard, even though she fought alone against seven to eight delinquent girls¡ªeach of different hair colors. He could not tell how violent the video would be. He heard shrill screams each time the skateboardnded on them. Suddenly, the entire world seemed to be in a shade of dark red. This is simply too violent and bloody! She¡¯s merely a girl; why is she fighting like that? As her husband, not only is Michael not bothered by it, but he¡¯s even enjoying this video? What the hell! On top of that, the censors are so immoral! Even though heined in his heart, Harry looked like he enjoyed the video with excitement. In the video, Sophia was still holding her skateboard. Suddenly, she turned and jumped to deliver another blow to one of the girls who tried a sneaky move to attack her. In that second when she turned, Sophia¡¯s hair flew behind her with the cap she wore obscuring her eyes. However, her smile was still visible. In that moment, Harry¡¯s heart seemed to have immediately broken as a veil was gradually lifted from his eyes. The world suddenly became much clearer to him. It¡¯s her! She¡¯s the beautiful girl I¡¯ve been looking for more than a month now, but I can¡¯t get any information about her! No wonder I can¡¯t find her¡ªshe¡¯s actually Sophia! Only Michael has the power to wipe away all her information. Also, in that moment, he was shocked beyond belief. He rewound the video to look at it a few more times. I can¡¯t be wrong. This is her¡ªthe beautiful girl who stood out at Debenham Road the other day! The girl whom I¡¯ve fallen in love with at first sight is actually Sophia, my bro¡¯s wife! Amidst the shock he felt, he looked at Michael, who was fighting for him. Michael had alreadypleted three rounds of battle. NateHiro had lost twice, so he lost the battle but was still held down by the Beast. No. 1 Beast of the Server: ¡®Son, call me daddy!¡¯ NateHiro went offline without saying anything. Now that he felt happy, Michael threw theptop to Harry and took his phone back. ¡°It¡¯s all done! Get lost now!¡± Then, he continued toy among his pile of scripts, watching his wife¡¯s cute video along with her fighting video. The differences that the two sides of Sophia had seemed cute to him, making him feel like he had married two different wives at once. On top of that, she seamlessly switched between those two modes. Harry did not have a happy expression as he quietly brought hisptop out of the room. After he walked out and mmed the door in the process, Michael thoughtfully looked at the direction where he left. My little chica is so cute that many men have their eyes on her! Chapter 51 Chapter 51 In Bayside University, Sophia had lunch with Nathan after finishing her lectures in the morning. He only had two lectures, so he was ying alone for the rest of his spare time. When Sophia found him at the library, he didn¡¯t seem to look happy. He was pouting and his entire face was puffed up. She poked his puffy face and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling? Tell me who bullied you.¡± Nathan did not reply to her and turned to walk away. Apart from that, he even skipped lunch. It was quite apparent that something had made him upset. After Sophia asked Gary, he replied helplessly, ¡°He was defeated in the game and ran away by going offline. Now, he does not even dare to log into the game.¡± She thought, Ah, so he was bullied in the game. In the afternoon, Sophia only had two lectures, so she skipped them immediately after the lecturer took her attendance. She went to Audistin and logged into the game after theputer was switched on. After hearing from other people in her n, she quickly got wind of what exactly happened. It turned out that Nathan had picked a fight with Beast and suffered a thorough defeat as a result. Then, he escaped by switching off theputer. At that moment, everyone in Beast¡¯s n sneered at NateHiro and his dad, Sirius233, who happened to be Sophia. ¡°Insolence!¡± No wonder Nate is so upset today. He did not speak to anyone and even skipped his meals. It turns out that he thought he had disappointed me and did not dare to look at me. A furious Sophia immediately issued a final invitation to battle the Beast. ¡®At 9 PM Cethos time tonight, everyone in my n has to gather and kill everyone in the No. 1 Beast of the Server¡¯s n. We will fight to the death!¡¯ After this piece of news was released, everyone on the game server was excited to watch a good show. Everyone had seen the previous battle where the Beast seemed to have changed into apletely different person. They had no idea what other supplements he took that increased his fighting abilities to the point where hepletely defeated Sirius¡¯s son. It would be a good show tonight. Hence, many people set a reminder to watch the drama. As Sophia was about to undergo army training soon, all of her electronic devices would be confiscated. At that time, she probably couldn¡¯t y anymore, so her n to exterminate Beast¡¯s n could no longer be dyed. At half past eight that night, Nathan brought hisptop to sit next to her after he finished brushing his teeth. Sophia would give everything she had on that night. After switching to her mechanical keyboard and her best equipment, she led her wives and her n to the Beast¡¯s base. The number of people involved had made the scene look grand and magnificent. A group of audience members had followed her from behind. As Sirius233 was the most popr character on the server, everyone watched her actions closely. Her decision to exterminate Beast¡¯s n even attracted the pro yers of the game, which made it look grander than the New Years. Since the servers could not support such a huge load of traffic, the gamingpany had instructed more employees to work overtime so that they could keep an eye on the game. Apart from that, there were many game administrators who would maintain the order. Throughout the history of the entire game, Sirius was probably the only one who had ever received such a treatment. On the other side of the globe, dawn had not even arrived. Since the sun had yet to rise, it was dark outside the window. Sleeping on the bed that was surrounded by scripts, Michael was looking exasperatedly at Harry, who relentlessly hugged his thighs. ¡°Daddy, please save me! I can¡¯t make it without you! Please save me, Daddy! Will you let your son die this way? Daddy! Daddy!¡± Harry was not going to relinquish his hold on Michael¡¯s thighs. ¡°I¡¯m going to die soon! Daddy, please have mercy and save me!¡± ¡°It¡¯s merely a game. Why do you have to¡­¡± Michael was still groggy as he ruffled his messy hair. His handsome features looked like a montage at that point. Harry was about to burst into tears. ¡°Even though it¡¯s merely a game, I have my reputation!¡± Michael rubbed his hair and kicked him away. ¡°Release my leg first.¡± Harry did so obediently. While washing his face, Michael said, ¡°You are already in your thirties. Can you be more mature?¡± Harry was immensely grateful to him. ¡°Thank you so much, Daddy!¡± Michael quickly logged onto the game using his main ount and entered the dual ount mode. Then, he registered for a side ount. Even though this game did not allow the dual ount login, he was a god-tier yer and enjoyed this privilege. After he logged into his main ount, the page had blocked his login for his side ount. When Harry asked him about it, he replied with a cigarette in his mouth, ¡°The smaller ount is merely used to receive gifts from the system when I¡¯m online.¡± Under the testimony of many yers, Sirius blocked the entrance of the Beast¡¯s n with his army of people. On the Beast¡¯s side, many people also stood up. In total, there were hundreds of them. Both of them immediately entered the group fight mode that only allowed hundreds of people to fight at once. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was the only gamepany with such powerful servers to manage this. The leaders of both ns stood on each side, leading the entire team. One of them was strong and powerful while the other was extremely arrogant. Their grudge toward each other had stemmed deeply as they stood at the intersection of fate to begin the battle of their lives. Meanwhile, the audience members immensely enjoyed the battle. Sirius233 wrote, ¡®Beast, cut the crap and let¡¯s settle this once and for all today! Either one of us will have to die here!¡¯ The No. 1 Beast of the Server was as arrogant as usual. ¡®Hahaha! Sirius, you are just a young, naive boy. Let me show you what true skills look like today!¡¯ After that, the Beast showed off his new nickname that he had just given himself. The yers of this game could set their own nickname. After making payments, they could give themselves special nicknames to sound cooler in the game, like ¡®DragonForce¡¯ or ¡®MightyTiger¡¯. However, his nickname had shocked everyone¡ªSon of Scary Phoenix! Scary Phoenix! Upon seeing this name, everyone in the audience was excited. ording to the legends, Scary Phoenix was the first yer of the game and was also rumored to be one of the founders as well. Hence, he had the only godly character that had been trained all the way from the bottom. When everyone was still fighting in the game, Scary Phoenix had already be a god and flew away. It had been a few years since he showed up in the game, so not everyone knew about his existence. However, his name left a huge impact on older gamers. Many people in Sirius¡¯s n were also asking about Scary Phoenix¡¯s identity and even Nathan typed a question mark into his chat bubble. Sophia knew about the character, so she was dumbfounded. No way! What is the background of the Beast? How did he find Scary Phoenix? And he ims that he is Scary Phoenix¡¯s son? Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s true! N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. After the initial shock had worn off, someone immediately contradicted. ¡®Hmph! If the Beast is really the Son of Scary Phoenix, he wouldn¡¯t be so terribly defeated by Sirius thest time!¡¯ ¡®He is merely scaring people off with this nickname. Give me a moment. I¡¯ll immediately change my nickname to ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯s daddy¡¯!¡¯ In real life, Nathan looked at the Beast¡¯s nickname before ncing at Sophia, who was focused on the game. Then, he moved his mouse with his tiny hands and made a nickname for himself as well¡ªSon of Sirius. With that, everyone would know that he was Sirius¡¯s son. Sophia did not seem to notice this tiny change. She was appraising the Beast¡¯s equipment carefully, but she did not observe any changes. Son of Scary Phoenix? How could that be possible? Scary Phoenix hasn¡¯t even shown up in the game for years. If the Beast is really his son, when I killed his entire family in thest round, why didn¡¯t his father stop this? Sirius233: ¡®I don¡¯t believe that you are the Son of Scary Phoenix. If you are, then I¡¯m his husband!¡¯ Following that, the game screen suddenly began to move eerily like waves of water. Then, a character materialized in front of everyone. The character wore a golden robe, holding a golden battleship in his hands. His shimmering golden wings were slightly spread out as he appeared in such a high profile manner that had never happened before. Once he appeared, his shiny radiance shocked everyone. Even Sophia, who was in front of the computer screen, almost felt blinded by the light he radiated. After the glow faded, when she inched closer to the screen, she saw a character that materialized out of thin air between Sirius and the Beast¡ª Scary Phoenix! Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Scary Phoenix? It¡¯s him! So, Scary Phoenix is a real yer¡ªnot just a myth that has been spread among us! He is the first yer of ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ with his ount being the first one to be upgraded to god-tier yer, surpassing everyone in this game! He is the genuine Lord! Sophia clicked on his ¡®additional information¡¯ column with trembling hands and discovered that for the last 10 years since the creation of his ount, he had never lost in any battle. On top of that, all his skills and equipment were invincible! At that moment, her mind turned nk. Oh God, I hope he doesn¡¯t see thement I made earlier! However, she didn¡¯t have to worry as herment had been reced by others that came flooding in¡ª the entirement panel was shocked to see it. ¡®Oh God, I¡¯ve seen the actual God!¡¯ ¡®Lord, do you need to have a son?¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s take a picture!¡¯ With someone powerful behind him, Beast was delighted and arrogant as he stood behind Scary Phoenix and whined. ¡®Daddy, Sirius233 has bullied me! Take him down!¡¯ Sophia was dumbfounded upon seeing this. Is Beast really the son of Scary Phoenix, the most skilled yer in this game? Thements section suddenly froze as everyone seemed to wait for Scary Phoenix¡¯s response, but only saw his one-word answer. ¡®Okay.¡¯ Even though it was only a word, it had carried a lot of weight that shocked the entire server. Beast is actually the Son of Scary Phoenix! In that case, Sirius233 will be¡­ Everyone looked at Sirius233 in horror. He¡¯s doomed. He killed Scary Phoenix¡¯s son and his entire n. Apart from that, he even had the guts to im that he was Scary Phoenix¡¯s husband! I think he¡¯s in trouble. From now onward, I¡¯m afraid Sirius233 will disappear. Sophia was so scared that her fingers started to tremble. Oh, God, I¡¯m in trouble again! This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. However, the difference was that no one would stand up for her anymore. No matter how influential Michael was, there were ces that he did not have control over¡ªlike the virtual world in online games. She was so frightened that she did not dare to speak. At that same moment, she received continuous notifications that everyone in her n was leaving. Her wives, children, and disciples also sent notifications to dissolve their rtionship in the game. Now that Sirius233 had offended Scary Phoenix, the most powerful character in the game, she would be the enemy of the entire game. Hence, in an instant, her massive group of supporters were all gone¡ªthey either left the n and dissolved their rtionship with her or found excuses to go offline. Her title of being ¡®The Most Handsome and Wealthiest¡¯ in the game had immediately disintegrated. Sophia thought, This is the reality of the world! How materialistic! The virtual world is even more materialistic than the actual world! Even though she was so furious that she gritted her teeth in anger, she could not do anything about it. She thought about going offline and running away, but when she turned, she saw two people behind her ¡ªher loyal new son, NateHiro, and a wife whom she had just acquired, Call Me Taylor. Anyone associated with her in the game had either left or went offline. Only those two people were online and stayed with her. Sophia looked at Nate, who was also gazing at her in the silence with a look of support. The incident had started with Beast, who had first attacked Nate. It was because of it that Sirius decided to join the fight as Nate¡¯s parent in the game. Now that Beast¡¯s dad had made his appearance, if Sirius decided to leave at that juncture, how could Nate continue to y the game? Call Me Taylor ran to Sirius and tearfully hugged him. ¡®Dear, let¡¯s concede defeat and leave. I¡¯m afraid that you are not on par with him. Look at the guy¡ªhe looks so terrifying and his equipment is so powerful!¡¯ Sophia was beyond touched when she heard that¡ªonly both of them stood by her at that moment. It was only during hard times that she could tell who was loyal to her. Sirius233 consoled: ¡®Taylor, don¡¯t worry about me. I already have everything that I want. Thank you for staying by my side. Even if I lose to Scary Phoenix today, I don¡¯t regret anything because I still have you.¡¯ Call Me Taylor replied, ¡®Hubby¡­ *sobs*¡¯ Sirius bade farewell to Call Me Taylor and NateHiro before approaching Scary Phoenix and Beast without even turning back. His departing figure that tookrge strides resembled a warrior who was about to embark on a suicidal mission. Looking at Sirius¡¯s figure, Nate felt that Sophia looked incredibly manly¡ªif he was the one who faced such a situation, he would have already switched off hisptop and ran off. Sirius233 replied: ¡®Scary Phoenix, I¡¯m the one who defeated your son. If you wish to attack now, please do as you see fit. If you¡¯re my opponent, I¡¯ll be satisfied even if I lose. However, I have no regrets in attacking your son!¡± Beast chimed in: ¡®Oh, this guy is pretty arrogant, isn¡¯t he? Daddy, punch him!¡¯ NateHiro said: ¡®All the best, daddy!¡¯ Call Me Taylor wrote: ¡®Hubby, you are amazing!¡¯ A lot of people in the crowd replied: ¡®Oh, my, Sirius is pretty tough! He dares to speak to Scary Phoenix in this way. He is a true man!¡¯ After a series ofments, everything came to a crashing halt as the crowd looked at Scary Phoenix, who was at the center of attention. They were curious as to how he would resolve this incident. If he had really attacked Sirius, his prestigious status would fall a few levels because their equipment and attributes were not at the same level as each other. He was a Lord, who ignored the game¡¯s established rules and was not subjected to any restrictions in the system. In front of him, no matter how strong Sirius was, he was merely a normal person. It was simply impossible for an ordinary person to challenge a Lord in the game. Shocking Phoenix slowly expressed his thoughts in front of everyone. ¡®You guys have to settle your grudges among yourselves. I¡¯m here just to watch the fight.¡¯ ¡°What?¡± In the hotel room, Harry red at Michael incredulously with wide eyes. ¡°I even called you ¡®daddy¡¯ yet you¡¯re telling me that you are here just to watch the fight?¡± Michael attentively looked at theputer screen with his main ount being left aside. Instead, he was using his side ount to run around in the game. ¡°You¡¯re asking me to fight with a newbie? If you don¡¯t want your reputation, that¡¯s fine, but I still want mine!¡± What he additionally mentioned made Harry dumbfounded. ¡°With me around, he does not dare to y any tricks. Both of you can have a fair fight.¡± Harry almost threw hisptop away. ¡°You¡ª¡± In the game, after Scary Phoenix said his piece, this immediately made everyone excited. Being a Lord is different after all! He ispletely on a different level than ordinary people! This is the most correct way to settle this¡ªletting them have a fair fight! Outside the virtual world, Sophia was also impressed by the Lord¡¯s realm. With a sudden reverence for him rising in her heart, she typed. ¡®Thank you, Lord.¡¯ Scary Phoenix slowly retreated without moving. He merely walked around sometimes or typed ¡®1¡¯ in the comments section to inform others that he was still paying attention to the battle. Beast was shocked as he did not expect that his father would retreat easily. On the other hand, Sirius233 had already charged toward him with a huge knife in her hand. What can I do? I can only continue fighting! However, Harry knew that he was no match for Sirius because thetter was too skilled. I¡¯m afraid no one on this server can match his skills. As Siriusunched his attack with a big knife, Harry disconnected from the Inte and cowardly switched off hisptop. Hence, in the game, the No. 1 Beast of the Server suddenly went offline and disappeared. ¡®Haha, Scary Phoenix, your son ran off when the fight was about to begin. You are going to be the laughing stock of the entire server! Haha! Haha!¡¯ In the end, Harry made that decision¡ªone that would barely defeat his opponent and harm his own reputation¡ªand made Michael, who decided not to help him, disgusted. Harry then returned to his room with hisptop to continue sleeping. Sure enough, everyone booed and criticized him in the game. ¡®So, this is Scary Phoenix¡¯s son? Haha, it¡¯s too hrious! What good did Scary Phoenix see in him? Why did he adopt this person as his son?¡¯ ¡®Beast¡¯s skills in running away at the most crucial moment is unrivaled by anyone!¡¯ ¡®I cannot believe that he dares to escape from such a huge event. Hats off to him!¡¯ ¡®God, Scary Phoenix must be furious. It¡¯s been so long since hest came online yet he has been fooled by his idotic son. This is terrifying! I think I better make a move now. If the Lord suddenly loses his temper, none of us here can escape!¡¯ However, Scary Phoenix stayed still without even walking. Perhaps he was angered by his stupid son¡¯s actions. After all, he was a respected and renowned Lord in the game, but his son fled an important fight! My reputation is gone now! Chapter 53 Chapter 53 He was the most skilled yer throughout the entire server and was the first ount to achieve the level of a Godly character. How could he have such a stubborn son? Sophia immediately brought her wife and son to sneak away. If Scary Phoenix returned to his senses and flew into a rage before killing all of the bystanders, it would be interesting to watch. What she did not expect was to see the publicment that he tagged her in when she was about to leave the game. ¡®Sirius233, I heard that you want to be my husband?¡¯ Oh, no! Sophia and all the bystanders were petrified upon hearing that. She thought, No way! There are so many people here yet he dares to crack a dirty joke in public. Be his husband, or father, or grandfather? Why did he see myment? Those present in the game fell eerily silent while the bystanders who were eagerly leaving the server returned. Oh my, are we witnessing something incredible here? A system message had popped up under everyone¡¯s attention: Sirius233 had gone offline. ¡®Tsk!¡¯ There were irritated murmurs in thements section, but everything seemed to be within their expectations¡ªSirius233 had damaged Scary Phoenix¡¯s reputation by scaring his son off. Of course Scary Phoenix would hold a grudge against Sirius233. Sirius233 is in trouble now. She probably will not dare to appear online anymore. After all, she has offended the first Godly character in this game! After Sophia logged out of the game, she stomped her foot in annoyance. Damn it, I can¡¯t y this game anymore. I am targeted by the most powerful yer in the server who has a god-tier ount. Indeed, one will have to pay for their sins once they have dirtied their hands. As she had invested millions in this game, she felt incredibly resentful if she left just like that or trained another ount from scratch. Nathan was still in the game, so Sophia quickly walked over to switch off hisptop. ¡°Darling, why are you still in the game? Quickly log out now!¡± However, as soon as she looked closer at the screen, she was immediately shocked as his game interface was frozen, as if someone had controlled hisptop remotely. Nate could not do anything, including logging out of the game. Scary Phoenix suddenly proposed to Sirius233 to marry him as his wife in the game. There was no mistake about this¡ªhe wanted Sirius233 to be his wife. For the first time in the history of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, a gay marriage had taken ce. Scary Phoenix wanted to marry Sirius233¡ªknown as the most handsome, richest, and tallest man who fooled around with many women¡ªas his wife. A group of fujoshis rushed out. ¡®This is so romantic! A god-tier level character as the dominant lover and a yboy as the receiving partner? Oh my God!¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t help it anymore. My imagination is running wild. Argh! The scene is too beautiful for me to imagine!¡¯ ¡®Oh my God! Quickly agree to his proposal!¡¯ ¡®Sirius, you better appear now. If you don¡¯t, I¡¯m willing to take your ce. Please marry me, Lord!¡¯ Sophia¡¯s jaw dropped as she looked at Scary Phoenix holding Nathan¡¯s character hostage. She immediately turned off the Inte and logged out of the game before logging in again. However, she was notified by the system that the ount in question could no longer be logged in. How did this happen? Is the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ going haywire? Is the system hacked? Scary Phoenix has kidnapped my son! She quickly logged into her side ount and rushed to the ce where Scary Phoenix stood. Then, she saw that Nathan was still in Scary Phoenix¡¯s arms when he announced. ¡®Sirius233, your son, NateHiro, is in my hands. The day you marry me will be the day I shall return him to you.¡¯ Sophia was shocked beyond belief when she saw that. What is this? Threatening me using my son? How can Scary Phoenix think that he can control me this way? Although others might have thought that NateHiro was merely her virtual son and not her biological son, he actually was her son in reality! Out of all the sons that I have in the game, why did he kidnap the most special one? Nathan, who was suddenly implicated without doing anything, tearfully looked at Sophia with his face puffed up again. Upon seeing this, she quickly consoled him. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, darling. I¡¯ll definitely get your ount back!¡± Using her side ount, she began to change the direction of the topic. ¡®Tsk! Scary Phoenix, are you crazy? NateHiro is obviously his side ount. It¡¯s merely Sirius233¡¯s fake son, not his biological son. How is it possible that Sirius233 would marry Scary Phoenix for the sake of a fake son?¡¯ The rest also agreed. After all, Sirius233 was a famous character in the game and probably a rich, handsome man in real life. If he was being humiliated by marrying another man, he would probably be disgusted that he might puke on the food that he ate yesterday night. On top of it, would he really marry a yer of the same gender for the sake of a fake son in the game? Hence, the crowd offered other solutions. ¡®Lord Scary Phoenix, just throw in the towel. This ount is merely a side ount that Sirius233 has acknowledged for only a few days. He will not agree to your proposal because of this son!¡¯ ¡®Lord, why don¡¯t you marry me instead? I¡¯m Sirius¡¯s third wife. Back then, when Sirius wanted to marry me, he kneeled in front of the Temple of Love for half a month. If you marry me, it would be more humiliating to him!¡¯ ¡®Or you can marry me as well! I¡¯m Sirius¡¯s 8th wife. Back then, everyone knew how he courted me too!¡¯ N?velDrama.Org content. ¡®Me! Me! Me! I am also Sirius¡¯s son. Why don¡¯t you kidnap me instead? Please!¡¯ However, Scary Phoenix was not influenced by any of them and sent another message. ¡®Sirius, my patience is limited.¡¯ With that, he went offline with Nathan. Sophia immediately tried to log into Nathan¡¯s ount, but to no avail. The ount had beenpletely locked and its password seemed to have changed as well. As she caressed his hair, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to log in tomorrow. It¡¯ll be alright.¡± However, that was not the case. On the second day, when Sophia opened her eyes, she woke up and immediately switched on herptop to try logging into his ount again. However, the system still showed an error message¡ªhis ount had been frozen without any reason. When she asked Hale to call the gamingpany to ask about it, he replied, ¡°They said that this is the latest kidnapping functionality that they have introduced in the game, so Nate¡¯s ount has been legitimately frozen. They can¡¯t activate it for you without any reason given.¡± ¡°What? There¡¯s such a function?¡± Sophia was dumbfounded upon hearing that and prepared to resolve the matter with money. ¡°Call them again and inform them that I¡¯ll top up 100,000 coins in the game. Then, ask them to activate the ount for me.¡± Hale shrugged and shook his head. ¡°This is the rules of the game. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is a game that strongly follows their principles. ording to the rules, your son has been kidnapped due to your ipetence. You can only take him back in the game.¡± Thud! Upon hearing that, Nathan, who was next to them, dropped his little frog to the ground and almost burst into tears as a result. Sophia¡¯s heart hardened. ¡°Can you investigate the true identity of Scary Phoenix in the game? I¡¯ll deal with him in real life and see if he dares to hold my son hostage any longer.¡± Hale continued to shake his head. ¡°As I said earlier, ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ strongly sticks to their principles. They will never reveal the yers¡¯ information.¡± It made sense, seeing that she had offended numerous people in the game, who would like to kill her in the game and in reality. However, ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ refused to leak her personal information to anyone. Otherwise, she would have received many death threats by now! Even so, this probably would not have affected her as she had used Hale¡¯s details when she registered her ount. Not having other ways to resolve the matter at hand, she questioned herself, Do I really have to marry Scary Phoenix? I am a man in the game! A man! The Most Handsome and Wealthiest in the game! If I really marry Scary Phoenix, how will I continue ying? However, as soon as Sophia lowered her head, she saw Nathan, who was profusely crying. Then, her heart softened immediately. She made up her mind and immediately logged into her main ount, but she remained invisible online. Without another word, she immediately transferred 100,000 coins in the game to Scary Phoenix. ¡®Lord, please take this small amount of money to buy some drinks. Hope it¡¯ll appease you. Can you please release my son first? I¡¯m sure we can talk everything out.¡¯ However, not only did Scary Phoenix reject it, but he transferred a million coins to her in return. ¡®Marry me or be banned from this game forever. You only have these two choices now.¡¯ F*ck! ¡°So what if you¡¯re rich!¡± Sophia logged out of the game with anger. However, when she lowered her head, she saw Nathan¡¯s sad face and immediately felt conflicted as she could not resist his cute face! Chapter 54 Chapter 54 But what could she do now? Nathan¡¯s ount was frozen directly, plus her opponent¡¯s skills were really too overwhelming! The yer enjoyed a godlike status; he was the one and only true god in the game¡¯smunity! Furthermore, he was able to hold her son¡¯s ount hostage at his whim with tant disregard for all rules! Besides, she suddenly remembered something that sent chills down her spine as she reflected upon it. Rumor had it that the yer seemed to be one of the Swordsman Game¡¯s developers and thus an employee of the development studio behind the game. In other words, he might have found out her real- life identity. On second thought, however, she thought she had no reason to be afraid; the particrs she filled in during ount registration were Hale¡¯s. If the yer really wanted to make trouble, he would pick on Hale instead. Nevertheless, Nathan¡¯s ount was still in the yer¡¯s hands. Now that everyone in the game knew that Scary Phoenix was forcing Sirius into marrying him by taking hostage of thetter¡¯s son, she was left with two choices¡ªshe must either marry Scary Phoenix and be a bottom for him, or boost a new ount for Nate. Scary Phoenix would no longer be able to catch Nate once thetter yed under a different username. This was at least better than her marrying Scary Phoenix and bing a bottom for him. Having made up her mind, Sophia bought Nate lots of toys and presented all of them to him. She exined, ¡°I¡¯ll be going for military training provided by the university, Son. Cell phones andptops will be confiscated in the military training camp, so I can no longer eat, sleep, and y online games with you.¡± Nathan puffed his cheeks out with a mixed expression of sadness and displeasure. Then, Sophia added, ¡°You see, I offended Scary Phoenix for your sake. Besides, I don¡¯t have time to retrieve your ount since I¡¯ll have military training soon. Why don¡¯t you study hard and stop ying games for the time being?¡± Seeing that Nathan¡¯s face fell at her words, Sophia suggested, ¡°How about this? You can y using a new ount. If you don¡¯t like using a new ount, you can y using my ount. The gears in my inventory are all yours.¡± Nathan turned away and left in exasperation, leaving Sophia alone. Sophia sighed as she watched the boy storming off. She thought to herself, What else can I do? I¡¯m in despair as well! But Nate is just a kid, so he¡¯ll surely calm down in a while; he¡¯ll cool off after I soothe him tonight. I¡¯ll be going for military training tomorrow, so Nate won¡¯t, in any case, be angry with me at this time. Takingfort from the thought, Sophia packed up her stuff as she readied herself to go for military training with her university on the next day. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth, Harry, who had done filming his part at the set of a film in North America, quickly made use of the short break to log in to the game. His online character, the ¡®No. 1 Beast of the Server¡¯, was getting whatever he wanted in the game right now. Everything was different ever since Scary Phoenix took him as his son, for countless skilled yers came to him every day to acknowledge him as their father or big brother. Sirius233¡¯s gang, which had thrived for a time, disbanded altogether. Sirius¡¯s son had fallen into Scary Phoenix¡¯s hands, whereas Sirius himself had been offline until now. He had finally gotten rid of this sworn enemy! Beast had never felt as pleased as he was right now. He logged in to the game expressly to check on thetest progress. Sirius233 was still offline, and everyone in his sect had left except for a son and a wife. Not only had he lost all his apprentices, but his only son was also still in Scary Phoenix¡¯s hands. Beast arrogantly took all Sirius¡¯s wives, children, and followers over as his, so they had now be his people. At this moment in the game, Beast was cuddling Sirius¡¯s ex-wives and ex-children while enjoying the admiration of Sirius¡¯s ex-apprentices. Just then, one of his concubines said in an affectedly sweet voice, ¡°If Sirius really bes Scary Phoenix¡¯s wife, won¡¯t he be your¡­¡± Beast was suddenly aware of this problem as well. Scary Phoenix was his father, so if Scary Phoenix married Sirius, wouldn¡¯t Sirius be his¡­ second Dad? However, he had thought it through immediately afterward, so he said, ¡°My dad did that just to humiliate him! Who does he think he is? How could he really be my dad¡¯s spouse?¡± Scary Phoenix was a Prince Charming revered by every yer in the game, so much so that many people came to this server specifically to sneak a nce at him! Countless yers wanted to pair up with him, yet he had always remained single. Therefore, how could he possibly fancy Sirius, who was a male and a douchebag? Harry believed he knew Michael¡¯s sexual orientation quite well. Michael had a thing for sassy young girls; if he was really gay, he would have turned Harry gay a long time ago, and Sophia wouldn¡¯t even have a ce in his love life. As his younger sister came into his mind, Harry sighed subconsciously and stared off into space for a while. Suddenly, he saw one of his followers in the game rushing in frantically, saying, ¡°Chief, Sirius has ughtered his way to our hill!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Beast was shocked, and everyone at the scene also looked at each other in surprise. The follower reported, ¡°Sirius has killed many members of our gang!¡± ¡°This is outrageous! I shall go out and meet him!¡± said Beast. Beast then dashed out of the hall at the head of everyone else, including his followers, wives, and children. Once they were outside, they indeed saw the battle cries at the foot of the hill and a red-robed war god who killed his way toward them with a sword. Wearing an epic limited-edition Dragon-Riding Armor, the war god was wielding his great sword that cost two million, which was of Fire attribute and came with a 200% increase in critical hit rate. Furthermore, he even summoned the strongest shikigami in the game, surrounding himself with seven or eight spirits that killed everyone in sight until the foot of the hill was covered with blood. Not only were the people killed, but so were the saddle horses, cats, dogs, and even the mascots Harry kept at the entrance! Sirius233 had gone insane! If a yer was killed in the game, they woulde back to life as a new character with their level squished down to level one. Also, all their possessions would be taken away by the yer who killed them. Sirius wasing at them in full fury. Not only did he equip himself with top-level gear, but he also carried a lot of mass-killing weapons with him, ughtering a good number of people with each attack. These weapons were all forbidden in Swordsman Game, for their effects were simply too overwhelming. If a yer overused these weapons, there was a certain probability that they would receive divine retribution, go back to square one, and start all over again! But now, Sirius had these forbidden weapons all over himself! The onlooking crowd was astonished. ¡°Oh my God, isn¡¯t that the Artillery of Italy that came out only recently at thest event? There¡¯s only a handful of it across all servers, and it kills everyone in the field every time it shows up!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Pear Blossom Storm Needles? That¡¯s a forbidden item that can kill a lot of people with proper usage!¡± ¡°I saw the Forbidden Puppet! Sirius even has puppets, and he has so many of them!¡± ¡°These are all rare disposable weapons. Is Sirius burning his bridges by showing everything he has?¡± Regardless of what they said, Sirius didn¡¯t utter a word. Wielding his sword, he led his puppets and shikigamis up the hill and¡ªjust as everyone was discussing¡ªkilled many of Beast¡¯s followers, strewing the hilltop with corpses until the ce was flowing with blood. System notifications popped up every few seconds to inform that one or more yers were knocked out, and the screen was blood-red all over. Sirius had really gone berserk! This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Such was the scene Beast witnessed as soon as he came out. Seeing his followers lying dead all over the ce, he flew into a rage as he roared, ¡°Sirius, are you crazy?!¡± Instead of answering him, Sirius burst through the crowd like a maniac and thrusted his sword at Beast! His imposing manner frightened Beast so much that thetter took a few steps back. However, Sirius didn¡¯t give Beast any chance to escape. With the momentum of a raging thunderstorm, he came charging at Beast at breakneck speed, appearing in front of thetter in a sh! Beast was now certain that Sirius had really gone crazy. He also looked even more terrifying than when he stormed up the hill to kill off Beast¡¯s entire sectst time! Terrified, Beast went into hiding and had his followers, wives, and children help him ward off Sirius for a while. Meanwhile, Harry dashed into the filming set while carrying hisptop, shouting, ¡°Help me, Daddy! Sirius hase to kill off my entire sect!¡± Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Unfortunately, Michael happened to be filming a very important action scene, which required him to do some wire stunts. He was still visibly in good shape despite being covered with dust and dirt. However, the few other actors who acted alongside him kept making mistakes, leading to them having filmed over ten takes of the same scene. As a result, the filming didn¡¯t go smoothly, making him a little impatient. Therefore, Harry could only leave in silence while carrying hisptop. If he went up to Michael right now, thetter would probably knock him out on the spot. He returned his attention to the game, only to discover that Sirius had almost annihted his entire sect; even over a hundred yers were unable to stop Sirius. He threw out all the gears in his inventory to arm his men. Furthermore, a continuous stream of yers logged on and came to his rescue after learning about what happened. Even so, the system notifications still kept popping up, saying that more and more yers were killed. Sirius¡¯s Health Points never seemed to drop; despite having ughtered hundreds of yers, he had hardly lost any Health Points, looking like a killing machine that would never wear itself down. He carried loads of precious pills with him and ate them like they were just candies, though it was excruciatingly hard for other yers to get even one of these. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. These pills¡¯ effects were immediately apparent after he swallowed them down in handfuls. His Vitality kept increasing, his Combat Effectiveness kept going up, and his attributes went off the charts. He also consumed lots of supplies in the game; even though he could y over ten yers with each major blow, he also lost half of his Strength in the process. However, he quickly took pills after that to make up for the loss. He was literally burning up money by taking pills like that. These pills cost at least a few hundred each, yet he ate them by the handful! Beast was frightened to death at the sight of the scene. This is the power of the rich! he thought to himself. At the end of the battle, everyone else in Beast¡¯s sect had either died or fled with their tails between their legs, leaving him the only person left in the sect. Without wasting his breath, Sirius carried his great sword on his shoulder and charged toward Beast straight away. Then, with a single sh, he shed Beast¡¯s Health Points by one-tenth as thetter was fleeing, causing thetter¡¯s Health Points to go down rapidly. Beast threatened as he fled, ¡°F*ck! I¡¯m going to call my Dad over if you hit me again!¡± However, Sirius simply responded to him by attacking him with one move after another, sending him flying until he couldn¡¯t fight back at all. Beast was beaten up so ferociously that he didn¡¯t even have time to type. He desperately pressed the keyboard buttons to try to fight back, but he couldn¡¯t stand a chance against Sirius since thetter¡¯s skills were simply too brutal. Moreover, he found that his skills and attributes were suppressed in Sirius¡¯s presence. He didn¡¯t know whether he had the wrong impression or was terrified by the beating he was taking, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling that something was weird. Plug-in! Sirius233 is cheating using a plug-in! No wonder he¡¯s unusually fearsome today! Unfortunately, Sirius didn¡¯t give Beast time to talk. With a single swing of his sword, he shed Beast on the spot to the point that thetter had only a wee bit of Health Points left. Beast said in exasperation, ¡°How could you cheat in the game using a plug-in?¡± Sirius didn¡¯t answer him though. As his stony-faced avatar¡¯s hair danced in the wind, his face was concealed by some strands of hair, revealing only a pair of eyes that shed a menacing scarlet color. Then, he put his sword back in its sheath and made a more savage move. With that, another system notification popped up on Harry¡¯s screen that read, ¡®Sirius233 has unterally launched the Forced Dual Cultivation Mode against No. 1 Beast of the Server!¡¯ Beep! ¡®The Forced Dual Cultivation Mode is starting up!¡¯ Beep! ¡®All your gear and Experience Points have been taken away by your opponent!¡¯ Beep! ¡®You have died from exhaustion! Please go back to the Novice Vige and start all over again!¡¯ Harry was stupefied off-screen along with the other spectating yers in the game¡­ Another two hours had passed when Michael finally finished filming his part for this day. When he came over in his costume, he saw Harry looking at the screen with an ashen face. ¡°I heard that you were looking for me?¡± asked Michael as he sat down. As the makeup artist seized the wee bit of time to fix his makeup, he looked at Harry¡¯sptop screen, which was still disying the game¡¯s interface. However, Harry¡¯s online character had reincarnated from a widely-admired bigwig to a nameless character in the Novice Vige. He had lost all his Experience Points, gears, and weapons. Not only did Sirius wipe out his whole sect, but he also ughtered him so thoroughly that he was forced to reincarnate as a Level 1 yer. More infuriatingly, Sirius even raped and killed him in public! He died a deeply humiliating death, for his cause of death was too indescribable! Michael was unmoved deep down inside when he learned about what had happened; on the contrary, he even wanted tough. He said, ¡°It¡¯s good that your character has died. Go and concentrate on your acting.¡± It would soon be Harry¡¯s turn to film his part, so he went to film his scenes in deep dejection. Seizing the short break, Michael quickly turned on his cell phone and watched the surveince video to check on Sophia. To his surprise, he found that Sophia had not logged on to the game; she had been packing her bags and sorting the learning materials required in the military training just now. With a flicker in his eyes, Michael switched to another surveince video, which showed a little kid standing in front of theputer desk. After logging into Sirius233¡¯s ount with ease, he equipped Sirius¡¯s character with all the best gear and weapons in the inventory, including a batch of disposable gears that Sirius begrudged using. After that, he installed a plug-in and barged into Beast¡¯s sect in the game. The plug-in was very powerful. Not only was it undetectable by the game¡¯s operating system, it also automatically captured and emted the way Sirius233¡¯s character was navigated in the past, so that the character barged in and began ughtering inrge numbers without Nathan having to navigate it himself. Nathan spent most of the time navigating the plug-in to dodge the Swordsman Game¡¯s plug-in detection system so that it wouldn¡¯t discover the plug-in and suspend Sirius233¡¯s ount. Furthermore, he even made time to hack into Michael¡¯s surveince equipment¡­ Michael was rendered speechless by what Nathan had done. On the other hand, Sophia hadn¡¯t had the faintest idea of the bloodshed that was happening in the game at that moment; she fell asleep after having finished packing her bags. Nathan didn¡¯te home from school until it waste at night. Even after he came home, he still refused to speak to Sophia, and his cheeks still puffed up in anger. Sophia caressed his face before they went to sleep, saying, ¡°Alright, be good and stop being angry. I¡¯ll y with you again after Ie back from my military training.¡± He¡¯ll probably put this episode out of his mind after a month, she thought to herself. Of course, that was just wishful thinking on her part. The next day, all the freshmen at the university set out for the military training camp to start their military training. Looking especially smart and energetic dressed in her military outfit, belt, and army cap, Sophia got ready to leave home early in the morning. To her surprise, Nathan caught up with her soon after she got dressed. Also carrying an olive-drab knapsack on his back, he dressed in a tailor-made army uniform, with half of his small stic frog¡¯s head poking out of his pocket. Amazed, Sophia said, ¡°So you have an army uniform too, Nate? It¡¯s alright to have fun wearing an army uniform, but you should hurry and change your clothes to go to school.¡± Nathan haughtily turned his face away and replied, ¡°Shut up.¡± Gary said, ¡°Nate is also a freshman at the university, so theoretically speaking, he has to go for military training too.¡± ¡°Nate is going for military training as well?¡± Sophia was shocked. ¡°That can¡¯t be! How could Nate have military training at such a young age?¡± Gary replied with a smile, ¡°He¡¯s merely going to be a looker-on. All he has to do is find a ce to sit down and eat watermelon while you guys undergo your training.¡± Sophia was rendered speechless by his answer. Gary then continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Madam; I have found somebody to protect Little Master.¡± Sophia was upset, for she still had to look after Nathan while having her military training. Sophia and Nathan got down at the block near the campus entrance as before and entered the campus on foot. On this day, the campus was packed with people in military uniform, including students and the army officers who came to pick them up. There were even tens of olive-drab buses parked in serried ranks in every corner of the campus, creating a magnificent sight. Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Sophia could tell at first nce that Bayside University was dead serious. The stony-faced drill instructors marched in step as they lined up in teams. One could tell at first nce that they were no ordinary soldiers, for they were identically tough and muscr in build, and their identically expressionless faces carried a seemingly replicated air of intimidation and sternness. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Contrary to the military training in high schools, which usually had ordinary two-year conscripts or military school students as their drill instructors, Bayside University¡¯s drill instructors were all special forces. Bayside University¡¯s military training was notorious for its upromising strictness, for many students of the university failed their military training every year. If a freshman failed the military training, he or she would lose a lot of credit and end up having to redouble efforts over the next four years to make up for it. Intimidated by the oppressive atmosphere in the military training, the freshmen trembled with fear, whereas the sophomores threw them gloating looks as they passed by. Even though a year had passed since their military training, the sophomores still had a terrified look in their eyes when they saw the campus being covered in olive-drab, for the scene conjured up their fear of being dominated by the color. All freshmen of the university must go for military training except for students of Junior ss. However, Nathan volunteered to attend the military training. Since the campus was inplete chaos, Sophia kept the little Nathan by her side lest he wandered off. Gary had told Michael¡¯s men in the military training camp beforehand about Nathan, so they would pay him special attention. The military power of Bayside City was in the hands of the Fletcher Family, which was also the family who was in direct charge of this military training. Sophia had long been suspecting that Michael was rted to the Fletcher Family, so she believed she didn¡¯t have to worry much about Nathan, who would be on his home turf by joining the military training camp. As Sophia led Nathan in search of their troop, they saw Richard and the few others. X, who was wearing an army uniform that failed to conceal the diamond watch on her wrist and the partly visible diamond ne on her chest, seemed extremely reluctant to part with Richard as she threw herself into his arms while sobbing. Ka stood aside with her hands full of bags as if she wanted to go camping in the woods. Contrary to Sophia¡¯s expectations, Ka was also dressed in army uniform. The university would send some lecturers and sophomore students to chaperone the freshmen at every military training. These lecturers and sophomore students were responsible for dealing with the unforeseen circumstances involving students of their own faculties, such as buying drinks after the end of training sessions and sending copsed girls to the infirmary. Richard saw Sophia at a nce as thetter walked past them with Nathan. He called in a friendly voice, ¡°Sophia!¡± Sophia paused in her tracks and asked in reply, ¡°Is there something, Richard?¡± Richard¡¯s eyes brightened at the sight of Sophia in army uniform. ¡°The military training is harsh. Did you bring enough things with you? I have a lot of medications for heatstroke here¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, but I have no need for that,¡± replied Sophia before leaving with Nathan. Richard had a wistful look in his eyes as he stared at her back. After Sophia and Nathan had walked away, Nathan, who had been silent, suddenly said, ¡°He¡¯s disgusting¡­¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s quite disgusting.¡± All the freshmen assembled in the several ying fields of the campus. After they lined up ording to their sses, they were divided into groups. The number of students in most of Bayside University¡¯s sses was limited to forty. Each ss was a company, and over tenpanies constituted a battalion, whereas several battalions formed a regiment. The students undergoing military training were divided into several regiments headed by their respective companymanders, battalionmanders, and regimentalmanders, whereas the regimental commanders were subordinate to themanding general. It was said that themanding general held the military rank of Senior Colonel, and he was a Fletcher, as in the Fletchers of Bayside City¡¯s Four Great Families. Sophia learned these from Hale in advance so that she wouldn¡¯t cause trouble during her military training. Sophia took Nathan with her as she stood in line with her ssmates. The entire field was upied by her faculty, which had a few hundred students of several different majors. When the time came for the speeches, the faculty¡¯s leaders lectured the students to mobilize them and exin some must-knows about the military training. After the speeches ended, the leaders began assigning the drill instructors to the groups. Everyone watched in both fear and awe as a full team of drill instructors entered the field. Countless students craned their necks to peek at them with their eyes full of fear and wonder. Those selected as the students¡¯ drill instructors at Bayside University¡¯s military training were all military elites. Not only were they taller than the average person, but they were also burly, and all of them appeared smart and attractive. As expected, most of the good-looking and masculine men had devoted themselves to the country. Sophia¡¯s ss was designated as Company 49 of the Second Battalion of the Third Regiment, and the drill instructor assigned to them had the surname Ford. Having a standard height of 180 centimeters, he had chiseled features and a flinty, grave expression. He wasn¡¯t old, but the look in his eyes was as fierce as wolves and tigers. One could tell at first nce that he wasn¡¯t an ordinary two-year conscript, for he had an unusually loud voice and tremendous inner strength. Students in Sophia¡¯s ss were mostlydies; out of 41 people in the ss, only four were male, including Nathan. Company Commander Ford looked unusually tall and robust as he stood in front of a group ofdies, and he held the military rank of Second Lieutenant. Sophia had done her homework before she came, so she knew that the military training had stringent scoring criteria. Since she always sought after good scores, she would, of course, strive for good scores without ever letting her guard down. Therefore, she stood at attention in the standard military posture from the very beginning. Commander Ford¡¯s eyes were filled with nothing but disdain as his frosty gaze swept over thepany of 41 people. Some of these students didn¡¯t wear their uniforms properly; some wore their belts loose, and some didn¡¯t straighten up while standing. Furthermore, a few students even had makeup and wore high-heeled sandals without having their army caps on. Finally, he saw ady who stood decently and was dressed up to standard, but she had a kid with her! Commander Ford couldn¡¯t care less about the fact that these students were a bunch of delicatedies. He scolded right away, ¡°Just take a look at yourselves. What the heck are you all wearing? The one who has a piece of sh*t on her head¡ªfall out!¡± Everyone exchanged nces with each other before turning to look at the onlydy among them who didn¡¯t wear an army cap. She couldn¡¯t wear her army cap at all since she wore her hair in a bun. Thedy seemed to have powerful backing, for she didn¡¯t give a d*mn about the Second Lieutenant. She stepped out of the ranks and said haughtily, ¡°That¡¯s not a piece of sh*t, but a bun on my head!¡± Commander Ford neither looked at nor responded to her; instead, he called out several other people. ¡°Those who wear makeup¡ªfall out! Those who wear heels¡ªfall out! Those who changed their belts to Anima¡ªfall out! The one who has a kid with her¡ªfall out!¡± The fewdies moved out of line at Commander Ford¡¯smand, including Sophia, who sighed in resignation as she stepped forward with Nathan. As soon as she stepped forward, a young man wearing a spotless white shirt and a pair of sports shoes immediately emerged from the side. Wearing a pair of sses on his refined and handsome face, he hurriedly said, ¡°This kid is a new student of the Junior ss, and his sister is in the ss, so he came with her. You don¡¯t have to pay attention to him, Commander Ford.¡± Commander Ford¡¯s eyes flickered as he seemed to have remembered something. Then, he pointed at Sophia and Nathan, saying, ¡°Fall in, both of you.¡± Sophia promptly got back in line with Nathan as she couldn¡¯t help casting her eyes upon the man who spoke up just now. The man seemed to be less than 30 years old, and he looked unreasonably good-looking with his sharp and artistic facial features, including the pair of thin lips and a pair of attractive eyes. His skin was as creamy-white as milk, and his casuallybed hair hung loosely above the tip of his brows. The female students¡¯ eyes sparkled with infatuation when they saw himing out. The man was Quinton rk, a lecturer in intermediate-level financial ounting who could have sold his breathtakingly handsome face for a living but instead chose to teach at university. For this reason, not only did nobody ever skip his sses, but so many students attended his sses that no ssroom could seat so many of them. The students had to save seats in advance whenever they attended his ss, for they would have to stand in ss if they werete. Chapter 57 Chapter 57 Quinton greeted the crowd as he said, ¡°I¡¯m the lecturer in charge of looking after our faculty¡¯s students this time, and I¡¯ll join you in the army. Everyone, please do your best in your training, obey your instructors¡¯mands, and tell me in time if something happens.¡± Thedies were ted, and one of them asked, ¡°Does that mean we¡¯re going to see you every day, Mr. rk?¡± ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m so happy!¡± said another. However, before thedies could get carried away with their infatuation, they were interrupted by Commander Ford, who snapped, ¡°Silence!¡± Everyone at the scene fell silent at once. ncing frostily at everyone, Commander Ford said, ¡°From now on, you¡¯re my soldiers, and I¡¯m your superior. Tell me, what is a soldier¡¯s bound duty?¡± Intimidated by theirpanymander¡¯s imposing manner, the group ofdies didn¡¯t dare to speak. Sophia was the only person who answered in a sonorous voice, ¡°To obey orders, Sir!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªto obey orders!¡± said Commander Ford as he nced in exasperation at the fewdies who stepped out of the ranks. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m ordering you to put down the sh*t on your head, put on your army caps, take off your heels, and remove your makeup! Put your Chanel, Dior, and Herm¨¨s away; these things aren¡¯t needed in military camps!¡± Some of thedies tremblingly did as they were told and got back in line after that. However, thedies with powerful backing rebelled. Ady who had exquisite makeup and wore a pair of heels noticed that Quinton was still over there, and she sneaked nces around her for a moment. Then, she suddenly cried out, ¡°Ah!¡± After that, she copsed in a graceful fashion.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. ¡°Someone fainted from a heatstroke!¡± cried the students. ¡°Hurry and send her to the infirmary!¡± said a shocked Quinton, who quickly dashed forward and bent down under the envious eye of thedies. However, as he was about to carry the seemingly unconscious lady to the infirmary, Commander Ford suddenly snapped, ¡°Step back!¡± Quinton didn¡¯t know why Commander Ford said so, but now that the military training had started, it was inappropriate for him to step in. Therefore, he could only step aside. Commander Ford then called two big and burly soldiers over. He ordered coldly, ¡°Drag her away.¡± With that, the two soldiers pulled thedy¡¯s feet, dragging her away as if they were dragging a dead dog. Thedy wasn¡¯t unconscious, of course; she faked a ckout to bluff herself out of the training and have Quinton carry her in his arms while she was at it. However, little did she expect Commander Ford to have her dragged away like a dead dog! ¡°Aaaaah! Get your hands off me!¡± screamed thedy in an ear-piercing voice as she was dragged away in a deeply embarrassing manner until her hair was in a mess. In an instant, she became theughing stock of the entire field. The air suddenly became tense; all that remained was thedy¡¯s hysterical screams ringing in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Do you know who my Dad and Grandpa are? My Grandpa is¡­¡± Commander Ford ordered, ¡°Pull her heels out while you¡¯re at it!¡± The two soldiers obediently stripped thedy of her heels at Commander Ford¡¯smand. Then, they continued dragging her away, ignoring not only her struggles and screeches but also the raised eyebrows of the entire regiment, battalion, andpany. Everyone got quite a scare, for thedy who had been dragged away just now seemed to have strong backing; even Commander Ford¡¯s military rank of Second Lieutenant would pale inparison with her family background. Thedy with a bun, who had stepped out of the ranks together with the otherdies, flushed angrily as she pointed her finger at Commander Ford in disbelief. ¡°How dare you! You¡¯re merely a Second Lieutenant, whereas her maternal grandfather is Major General Leicester! Who gave you the nerve and authority to touch her?¡± Sophia shook her head as well. So she¡¯s Major General Leicester¡¯s granddaughter. It seems that this Second Lieutenant is finished, she thought to herself. However, when she sneaked a nce at Quinton, she found that he seemed content with being an onlooker despite the kindliness that filled his eyes. Moreover, the faculty leaders seemed to be ustomed to such an incident; they also noticed what was happening here, but no one came to diffuse the situation. Suddenly, a voice answered from the side, ¡°I did.¡± A figure dressed in a well-ironed olive-drab military uniform approached them from a distance. Looking enigmatic and mysterious, the man exuded an air of boundless menace and authority with his youthful and distant-looking yet elegant face. He took every step with firmness and solidity as if he wanted to leave deep footprints in the grass, and the military insignia on his shoulders indicated his identity¡ªhe was a Senior Colonel! The Senior Colonel stood still while looking coldly at the farce before his eyes. Despite his expressionless face, he had a murderous look in his eyes. Upon seeing the man, the girl with ¡®the piece of sh*t on her head¡¯ who had been speaking harshly just a moment ago suddenly turned as white as a sheet. She held her tongue in fright, and her widened almond-shaped eyes were filled with immense fear. Seizing the opportunity, Sophia stood on tiptoe to take a peek at the man. Since there was only one Senior Colonel among the military trainingmanders, he must have been the Chief Commander of this military training! He was a Senior Colonel, whereas the maternal grandfather of thedy just now held the higher military rank of Major General. However, it was apparent that this Senior Colonel was even more powerful than the Major General. He was Joel Fletcher, a member of the Fletcher Family! The Fletcher Family was the number one military family not only in Bayside City but also throughout Cethos. One should never mess with a Fletcher if he or she came across one in the army! As the youngest Senior Colonel in Cethos, Joel Fletcher, the son of the head of the Fletcher Family of Bayside City, was only a step away from bing a Major General. Only an event like Bayside University¡¯s military training was major enough to be graced with the presence of such an important character like him. Even the fiercest and most unreasonable lot of the prestigious families didn¡¯t dare to make a sound in his presence. Therefore, Major General Leicester¡¯s granddaughter¡ªwho had been screaming like a tortured hen just now¡ªheld her tongue as well. Joel Fletcher looked frostily at everyone before withdrawing his gaze. Then, he gave Commander Ford a slight nod of approval and left. For some reason, Sophia had a feeling that Joel Fletcher had just taken a nce in her direction. Was Michael actually rted to the Fletcher Family of Bayside City? Also, did Joel know her in person? She had dug for information about the Fletcher Family before, but there was pathetically little information about them on the Inte. All she could find were names, and there weren¡¯t even photos of them avable. ording to the information Hale had obtained, there really wasn¡¯t a person named Michael in the Fletcher Family, and nor was Nathan¡¯s name listed among the Fletchers. Thedy with a bun trembled all over with fright. Commander Ford stared coldly at the several defiant ladies from rich families as he said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you two choices right now: either get out of my troops or do as I say!¡± Expulsion from the troops would mean that they failed toplete their military training. Not only would their academic results over the next four years at university be affected directly, but they might even be unable to obtain their degrees. Thedy with a bun nced at Major General Leicester¡¯s granddaughter, who was being dragged away. Then, with great reluctance, she untied her bun while shedding tears of grievance. Commander Ford didn¡¯t take pity on her at all though. He ordered, ¡°Get back in line in a minute!¡± Thedy wore her untied hair in a ponytail with a pout before putting on her military training cap and getting back in the line. Soon after that, thedy who had been dragged away was released back into the ranks while sobbing. With that, the bunch of richdies was finally silenced; they did as they should since they didn¡¯t dare to stir up troubles again. The students numbered off before they were repositioned ording to their heights. Since Sophia was taller among thedies, she was positioned at the head of the row. Nathan, on the other hand, was positioned at the end. Commander Ford pointed at Sophia, saying, ¡°You¡ªthe one who brought a kid with you¡ªfall out. You¡¯ll be the pacesetter from now, and you¡¯ll be in charge of gathering the troops on time for training every day.¡± ¡°Yes, Commander!¡± Sophia was very pleased; little did she expect that she would be the pacesetter on the first day of her training. After the troops were put in order, everyone lined up and boarded the bus one after another to head to the military camp. Nathan kept dozing off as he sat next to Sophia, who kept her eyes open to stare at the scenery outside the bus window since she actually looked forward to the military training. The buses passed through Bayside City¡¯s main street in a grandeur akin to the procession of a royal princess making an inspection tour as somebody even cleared the way for them. After about three hours, they finally reached the suburbs. Sophia, who was feeling sleepy, was startled as soon as she opened her eyes. Is there still such a deste ce in the suburbs of Bayside City? All she could see outside the bus window was a continuous stretch of barren mountains and untamed rivers. Not a sign of human habitation was in sight, and there weren¡¯t any modern things avable other than the asphalt road under their feet. The students on the bus were stunned. They felt as if they were trafficked deep into the mountains, for it wasn¡¯t quite possible for them to sneak out of this ce! Chapter 58 Chapter 58 The buses rode deep into the mountains for about another hour before they finally saw signs of human presence. A majestic olive-drab gate that stood concealed among the mountains opened before their eyes, revealing rows after rows of simple yet neatly arranged barracks inside. This ce was where they would spend a month. As Sophia looked at the surrounding mountains and rivers, she suddenly recognized this ce. This ce was Audistin¡¯s hunting ground! This hunting ground was the only actual hunting ground in Bayside City, and many beasts were raised inside for the hunting pleasure of the scions of noble families. In other words, there were lots of wild animals nearby. Quinton was the lecturer in charge of apanying the students on their military training. He had probably chaperoned the students many times, for he knew a lot about the military training camp. He kindly reminded everyone, ¡°The military training camp is just next to the hunting ground, so please be careful and don¡¯t wander around. Some students were bitten to death by tigers a few years ago when they sneaked out by climbing over the wall.¡± Sh*t, this is going to be serious! thought Sophia to herself. She had thought of climbing over the wall at midnight to wander nearby, but who would dare to sneak out under such circumstances? Luckily, the military camp was situated next to Audistin¡¯s ground, which was her home turf. Sophia led Nathan into the military training camp in the best of spirits. Everything seemed very new to her, including the spacious training ground, the rows of barracks, and the olive-drab color that came and went around them. However, Nathan seemed to be unhappy; perhaps it was because he had not gotten enough sleep on the bus, for he kept pouting his lips. Sophia soon found her barracks, which amodated twenty people. Inside the barracks were bunk beds and two rows of desks with a desk for each person. On each desk was a tooth mug with toothpaste inside, whereas below each desk was a thermos bottle. Instead of being air-conditioned, the barracks had only a fewrge fans. Thedies were stillining about the barracks¡¯ poor living conditions. Even the civilian students, who mostly came from well-to-do middle-ss families, had never borne such hardships, let alone children of wealthy families. Nathan should have been staying in a male dormitory, but for some reason, he was assigned to the same barracks as Sophia¡¯s; he took the bunk above hers. As Sophia put her stuff in their proper ces, she muttered to herself, ¡°Does Michael really have no qualms about putting his son in here?¡± After putting her stuff in ce, Sophia went out to have a look. There were many barracks here, for every barracks could amodate twenty people, and there were at least four thousand new students in this batch. Therefore, the barracks covered an extensive area. They had half a day to rest, recuperate, and get used to the ce. Wearing a pair of slippers, Sophia took Nathan for a leisurely stroll around the military training camp. However, she didn¡¯t expect the military shoes she ced under her desk in the barracks to have a few nails put into them after she left. Nathan seemed to be very familiar with the military training camp as he guided Sophia around the ce with ease and introduced every ce they came to. ¡°That¡¯s the infirmary. Your husband¡¯s men are inside, so you can have them do me a favor by writing a sick note for you to skip military training.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose your way. This ce is big, so follow me closely.¡± They strolled around for a while before arriving at the back door of the military training camp. This military training camp was heavily guarded and strongly fortified, so it was almost impossible to climb over the wall. Besides, this ce was easily guarded but difficult to attack; people could only get in and out through the front gate and the back door. One must swipe his or her ID card in order to enter or leave the military training camp. Nathan took a card off his neck and swiped it. N?velDrama.Org content. With that, the wicket gate opened with a beeping sound, and Nathan went out through the gate calmly while still holding Sophia¡¯s hand. The group of special forces guarding the gate with live ammunition stayed perfectly still as though they didn¡¯t know that a kid was swiping his card to leave the camp. After they exited the camp, a Second Lieutenant came riding a military tricycle and took them for a ride. The tricycle rode on the deserted road for about more than ten minutes before it arrived at a stretch of opennd, which seemed to be arge vegetable farm equipped with polytunnels. Is this the military training camp¡¯s vegetable farm? Sophia thought to herself. The military camp was too far away from residential areas since it was situated in a barren mountain. Therefore, it was only natural that the troops cleared out a plot ofnd to nt some vegetable crops for daily consumption. As she had expected, there were soldiers growing vegetables on the farm while dressed in olive-drab. Nathan brought Sophia into one of the polytunnels without saying a word. Sophia was puzzled as to why he did so, but on second thought, she realized it wouldn¡¯t be possible for her to be kidnapped and sold by a little brat. Therefore, she entered the polytunnel after him. As she entered the polytunnel, she was suddenly overwhelmed by the sight of countless big watermelons before her eyes. As it turned out, this ce was used to grow watermelons. The ground inside the polytunnel was covered in sandy soil, and heatmps were used to resemble the environment best-suited for growing watermelons. As a result, the watermelons here were especially huge in size. As it turned out, they were here to pick watermelons. Nathan entered the watermelon field and looked around before picking a small watermelon that he could carry just fine. Sophia picked a few big watermelons as well. She was quite an expert at picking watermelons, for her maternal grandfather¡¯s family used to grow watermelons in their hometown vige. After they finished picking watermelons, somebody helped them load the watermelons into the car and even drove them back to the military training camp. Sophia was now even more certain that Nathan was rted to the Fletcher Family of Bayside City. The car drove straight into the military training camp when it arrived and dropped them off at the camp¡¯s cookhouse. After the cooks cut all the watermelons into halves, Sophia and Nathan ate one half of a watermelon each, whereas the remaining watermelons were wrapped in cling film and stored in the refrigerator. Sophia, who had been thirsty, felt refreshed all over after eating the watermelon. She wiped her mouth and asked Nathan, ¡°Tell me, kid, how did you know there¡¯s a vegetable farm over there? Also, who gave you that card?¡± Sophia had thought that the card was an amulet since Nathan wore it around his neck all the time; little did she expect that it was actually a card. Nathan nibbled at his watermelon as he replied coldly, ¡°Shut up and eat your watermelon.¡± Since he didn¡¯t answer her question, Sophia didn¡¯t ask him again. After finishing off her watermelon, she committed this ce to memory lest she couldn¡¯t find it when they came to eat watermelons next time. Nathan finished off his watermelon and wiped his hands. After that, he said, ¡°Be careful; someone put nails in your shoes.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sophia asked, ¡°How did you know that?¡± ¡°Somebody told me about that, of course!¡± answered Nathan. Someone actually put nails in her shoes? It seemed that those people would never stop until she was dead! If she unknowingly stepped on the nails, she would be unable to undergo her military training. Not only would she lose her credits for military training, but she might also end up being crippled! Sophia felt refreshed all over after eating her watermelon. Suddenly, an idea came into her mind, and she said, ¡°I have a n.¡± She rushed to the infirmary with Nathan after leaving the cookhouse. On their way to the infirmary, she saw a military vehicle passing by in front of them. She immediately moved back to make way for the vehicle; to her surprise, however, the vehicle stopped in front of them. The military vehicle¡¯s door opened, and a pair of polished military boots came into her sight. Then, the wearer of the boots also walked straight up to them. Sophia looked at the man who shone with a ring olive-drab brilliance. He was Joel Fletcher, the eldest son of the Fletcher Family of Bayside City. It could be said that he was the wealthiest of the wealthy and the most powerful among the princelings in Bayside City. Moreover, his whole body exuded an intimidating aura, causing Sophia to have difficulty breathing in his overwhelming presence. As Joel walked straight up to them, Nathan suddenly hid behind Sophia; he seemed to be very afraid of Joel. However, Joel suddenly crouched down to be on a simr level with Nathan. In contrast to the stern look he adopted during the admonitory speeches just now, he had a smile on his face as he extended his hand to Nathan at this moment. He asked, ¡°Do you still remember your uncle, Nathan? I¡¯m your mother¡¯s brother. I even cuddled you before!¡± Sophia was startled by his words. Uncle? So is Joel Nathan¡¯s uncle? Doesn¡¯t that mean Nathan¡¯s mother is a Fletcher? Isn¡¯t Michael his Dad? Chapter 59 Chapter 59 Sophia was perplexed, but Nathan seemed to be scared of this man, for he kept hiding behind her without speaking. Joel stretched out his hand to pat Nathan¡¯s head, asking, ¡°I heard that you went picking some watermelons in the vegetable farm just now?¡± Nathan didn¡¯t answer Joel though, for he seemed to be truly terrified of thetter. Despite his commanding presence at home, he looked like a dog with its tail between its legs in front of Joel on this day. Joel was indeed very intimidating, for alldies in the military training camp probably admired and feared him at the same time. They wanted to get noticed by the person who was both the Fletcher Family¡¯s eldest son and the youngest Senior Colonel of Cethos; at the same time, however, they were afraid of the suffocating and intimidating aura that emanated from him. Only those who had steeled themselves in actual battlefields would have such an imposing manner. Sophia quickly shielded Nathan with her body as she eased the tension in the air by saying, ¡°Hello, General. This kid is a little shy, and he doesn¡¯t like to speak.¡± Joel stopped embarrassing Nathan further; he slowly rose to his feet, standing before her and looking like an immeasurably high mountain with his height of 190 centimeters. Then, as a probing look flickered in his eyes, Sophia felt like she was treading on thin ice. She was so frightened that her back was covered in sweat. Joel looked her up and down with a stern face before he suddenly broke into a smile. ¡°You must be Sophia, right? I¡¯m Michael¡¯s cousin, Joel.¡± Oh my god, so Michael really is a direct descendant of the Fletcher Family! I never expected him to come from such an influential background as he seems so inconspicuous and unassuming. Besides, why would Joel know my name? Why is Nate so terrified of him? Since Michael is a Fletcher, why couldn¡¯t his name be found among the Fletchers? Things are soplicated in an influential family! Sophia thought to herself. Having decided to speak less, she answered reverently, ¡°I¡¯m Sophia Edwards, General.¡± Joel nodded as he said in a rxed tone, ¡°I never expected Michael to marry earlier than I do. It¡¯s too bad that he didn¡¯t tell me about his wedding, or I would have given you two a great present.¡± Sophiained in her mind, There wasn¡¯t a f*cking wedding at all, for we merely registered for marriage! N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. She answered simple-mindedly, ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to tell you next time!¡± Joel was dumbstruck for a moment before heughed. ¡°You two should go back quickly, for the military training will start officially in an hour. We¡¯re a family, so let me know if you have any difficulties.¡± Sophia replied with a nod, ¡°Thank you, General.¡± With that, Joel got back into the military vehicle and left, whereas Sophia headed off in the infirmary¡¯s direction with Nathan. As she was on her way, she recalled and pondered over the conversation she had with Joel just now. It¡¯s so miraculous that the cool and distantmanding general spoke to me in such a mild manner, she thought to herself. ¡°Hmph!¡± Nathan, who had clung to her thigh while huddling up in fright a while ago, was aloof again as usual. He warned Sophia with a snort, ¡°Joel is not an easy person to deal with. Stay away from him in the future, but if you meet him by chance, just y the fool like what you did just now.¡± ¡°Huh? Did I look like a fool just now?¡± ¡°Yeah, you looked so silly that I can¡¯t even bring myself to look at you.¡± ¡°You looked even sillier than I did!¡± The two of them argued with each other without a pause as they headed for the infirmary¡­ Sophia went back to her dorm in her slippers and sat down before changing into her military shoes. As soon as she set her feet on the ground, she screamed, ¡°Aaah!¡± Startled, thedies in the barracks looked in her direction, only to see her lying on the floor and clinging to her foot as she screamed. Her olive-drab socks were stained red with blood, and the shoes she had just worn had a few nails and broken bits of ss in them. Not only that, but the shoes were also soaked in blood all over! Everyone turned pale with fright at the sight of the scene. Who would have been so cruel as to put such vicious things in her shoes? She might have her leg crippled from such severe bleeding! Thedies discussed it among themselves as they carried her to the infirmary, whereas Nathan followed closely behind them all the way. As she was carried away, her blood-stained shoes were left in their ce. Thedies discussed the incident with each other, but no one knew who the person that did this to Sophia was. Since everyone had either been discussing the military training or catching up on sleep in their beds just now, no one actually noticed what had happened. The incident soon startled Commander Ford, who came over and checked out the scene of the incident before going to the infirmary to check on Sophia. Sophia¡¯s entire foot was bandaged with gauze. Shey on the infirmary bed with a look of agony, whereas Nathan sat silently at her bedside. The medical officer said that the injury in her foot was too severe. Even though her bones weren¡¯t affected by the injury, she would likely be unable to undergo training as normal. If she couldn¡¯t join the training, she would get zero credit for military training, which would widen the gap between her and everybody else. If she wanted to graduate from university smoothly, she had to redouble her efforts. Furthermore, she would have to win national awards every year to make up for her zero credit for military training. Commander Ford¡¯s face was as ck as thunder, for he didn¡¯t expect such an incident to happen within the ranks of hispany on the first day of military training. Just as he was getting all distressed, Sophia struggled out of her sickbed with her face as pale as a sheet. She pleaded, ¡°Please let me carry on with the training, Commander. I can do it!¡± Commander Ford immediately refused her insistence, saying, ¡°No. Your injury is too severe, so you can¡¯t go on with the training!¡± The medical officer chimed in, ¡°It¡¯s only a flesh wound, so she can carry on with her training. It¡¯s just that she¡¯ll be in agony.¡± Sophia immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of pain! Commander, please let me carry on with the training!¡± With that, she slowly stood up as Juliette Sanders helped her by the arm. As she set her foot on the ground, she hissed in pain with her face looking deathly pale, yet she gritted her teeth and managed to hang in there. After she managed to keep her feet, she gave Commander Ford a weak, pale smile as she said, ¡°Look! Didn¡¯t I manage to stand up?¡± Commander Ford looked at her face¡ªwhich was covered in beads of sweat because of the pain¡ªbefore shifting his gaze to her bleeding foot. In the end, however, he agreed to let her carry on with the training. He knew how important the credits for military training were to a student. If she couldn¡¯t get credits for military training, she would most likely be unable to graduate. As the number one university of Cethos, Bayside University imposed harsh requirements on its students. Batches of students couldn¡¯t graduate from the university every year as they failed to obtain enough credits. I¡¯ll let her carry on with the training as long as she can endure the pain! Commander Ford thought to himself. With that, Sophia hobbled out of the infirmary. Not only did she attend the military training¡¯s opening ceremony on time in the afternoon, but she also stood more upright than everyone else. Commander Ford keptplimenting her since she had risen very much in his opinion. The next day after they arrived at the military training camp, the training officially started under the scorching hot sun. The military training went on in the morning as usual despite the temperature approaching 35 degrees Celsius. The group of delicatedies sweated profusely as even the best sunscreen couldn¡¯t prevent the sun from making their skins go sallow. Manydies fainted on the first day of training. All the fainteddies received the same treatment in the military training camp¡ªthey got dragged away and must rejoin their units immediately after regaining consciousness. The studentsined incessantly in the face of such harsh military training. However, all they could do wasin, for they didn¡¯t dare to stand up to Commander Ford at all. If he told them to head east, no one would dare to head west. As the training was in full swing at the training field, the lecturers and sophomore students in charge of chaperoning the freshmen stayed out of the sun in a shady spot at a side. The actual role of these lecturers and sophomore students was to prepare iced drinking water along with other things that served to relieve the summer heat. Moreover, they had to act promptly upon noticing someone suffering from heatstroke lest he or she was dragged away by the officers of the military training camp in an utterly embarrassing manner. After all, these students had a sense of shame; it would be bad if they had psychological scars after being dragged away so embarrassingly. Since it was officially the first day of their military training, all the students learned were the most basic drillmands, such as standing at attention, standing at ease, and crouching down. It took only a morning before the students began feeling indescribably miserable. The case was especially true when they stood at attention, which required them to stand for nearly an hour with their bodies tensed up all over. Under the hot weather and high temperature, manydies fainted as they stood. Furthermore, Commander Ford was behind them, literally kicking those who didn¡¯t stand up to standard out of the ranks. However, no one dared to speak up against him. As they were standing at attention under the sun, Nathan ate iced watermelon at a shady spot at a side. At this very moment, Sophia finally realized what a cruel thing it was when Gary said lightly back then that Nathan would be eating watermelon at one side while they had military training. Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Nathan somehow found a floor mat as he came over and sat on it, holding a slice of watermelon in each hand. Next to him was half a watermelon wrapped in a stic wrap that Sophia had selected herself on the previous day. The watermelon looked fresh and sweet, and she could imagine it being as cold as a smoothie, melting right in her mouth when she bit into it; just the mere imagination of it had Sophia almost drooling as she looked at him. Apany was doingps and when they passed by Nathan, everyone looked over as the drill instructor waved his belt and said, ¡°Look at you. You look as if you¡¯re as hungry as a bear!¡± Although Sophia¡¯s leg was injured, she performed really well. She was a quick learner and excelled in every formation, so halfway through the training, Commander Ford gave her a break. Sophia ran toward Nathan speedily and she snatched over a piece of watermelon before she started eating like a horse. All eyes on the training field were on her and her watermelon, and the watermelon had never looked so appealing and delicious. It was ten thirty in the morning and the students who had trained all morning finally got a twenty minutes break. All of them flocked to the huge umbre that was set up by their respective seniors and teachers to hide from the sun, and drank water. Company 45 to Company 50 belonged to the Second Battalion, and the students from the Second Battalion were all from the School of Economics and Business Administration, which was led by Quinton rk. The troop ran toward Quinton for water, as he had prepared arge container of ice water in advance. In that moment, every single one of them¡ªregardless of whether they came from rich or poor families¡ª downed the water; they never realized that a small bottle of water could taste so nice. Everyone was resting under the shade, drinking water and fanning themselves. After quenching their thirst, they looked at Sophia and Nathan eagerly who was eating the watermelon; they really wanted the watermelon themselves, but they were afraid to ask because they were shy, and they felt their rtionship with Sophia wasn¡¯t that close. The look of the two eating watermelons attracted a lot of attention. Finally, someone built up the courage to ask Sophia for a piece of watermelon. Richard was in his military uniform just like everyone else as he walked over slowly. He majored in financial management, and he was the leader of the School of Financial Management. However, he was always in the School of Cinematography because Ka and X were from there. At that moment, Richard brought along X and Ka to ask Sophia if they could have some watermelon. ¡°Sophia, can you share some of your watermelon with us?¡± Richard sounded sincere, but the words seemed to carry a hint of arrogance, as if he was doing Sophia a charity. Not only had he trained with everyone for the entire morning, but he also had to look after the two ¡®princesses¡¯. Hence, the expression on his handsome face was reced with sullenness, and the edges of his sharp jawline were covered with ayer of sweat droplets. He felt extremely ufortable at the moment. He was too embarrassed to ask, but he really wanted to have a piece of the watermelon. Sophia would definitely be willing to share it with him. At that moment, everyone was watching them from the side, guessing if Sophia would give him a piece of her watermelon. After all, they thought Sophia loved Richard deeply. Someone probably spread the rumor intentionally, so the love triangle between Sophia, Richard and X had be everyone¡¯s gossip in school. The most widely circted version of the story was no more than something along the lines of the commoner Cindere who fell in love with the noble Prince, but they were forced to be separated because of her status. Although the Prince had already found his Princess, his love toward Cindere remained. However, Cindere, who was abandoned, began to take revenge angrily, and she had thought of everything to get her sweet vengeance on the Prince. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t let go of her love toward the Prince, so she constantly wanted to draw his attention. This was the perfect timing for Cindere to impress the Prince! Would Cindere grab the chance? Nathan thought Sophia would agree, so he grabbed hold of his watermelon tightly, as he was determined to not let Sophia give it to the others. Sophia elegantly revealed a smile in front of everyone, and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is not my watermelon. You may ask the handsome boy here. It¡¯s all his.¡± Richard felt the kindness in Sophia¡¯s smile and his heart softened. He knew she was his girl; no matter how far he went, she would always wait for him and she wouldn¡¯t let him suffer. X felt greatly irritated when she looked at the way Richard spoke to Sophia, but she wanted to eat the watermelon more than anything. Sophia is so much in love with Richard, so she will definitely share a piece of watermelon with us. A piece of watermelon doesn¡¯t mean anything! Ka thought the same too. Although she thought asking a piece of watermelon from Sophia was very embarrassing, she was extremely thirsty at that moment. She no longer wanted any ice water; she just wanted to eat the watermelon. Richard was already bending over and asking Nathan sincerely, ¡°Hi, I wanted to¡­¡± ¡°What do you want? Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Nathan ¡®protected¡¯ the watermelon in his arms cautiously and rejected him with a re. Richard cracked a smile, licking his chapped lips and feeling impatient, but he remained elegant and polite on the outside. Somehow, the boy was able to get hold of the watermelon. Their personal belongings were all confiscated when they entered the barracks, and it was even more impossible to send something in. It was probably because this boy was the youngest student in that year to join the military, so the barracks gave him special care. The piece of watermelon in his hands had be the centre of attention, and in order to get a piece of it, Richard had to pretend to smile. ¡°Boy, I have many fun things to y with. Why don¡¯t we trade?¡± He presented a watch, which was a Vacheron Constantin limited edition men¡¯s watch that was worth a house in a third-tier city. ¡°Look, with this watch, I can trade a lot of watermelons. How about I use it to trade with yours?¡± The others thought this kid would definitely agree if he could recognize the goods. This kid probably came from an ordinary family. Bayside University asionally would take in geniuses to join the Junior ss. If this kid was a member of the aristocracy, his name would be known among the aristocrats by now, but Richard had never heard of him, so he was probably only a genius kid with an ordinary background, and he would definitely trade for his watch. However, Nathan nced at the watch and he was unaffected as he gave a sharp and decisive reply. ¡°Not trading.¡±This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. In order to express his determination for not trading his watermelon, he tore off the stic wrap from the last piece of watermelon and took a giant bite. His face was all covered in watermelon juice. Sophiaughed as she helped him to wipe off the watermelon juice from his face. ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much. You will get diarrhea.¡± Richard¡¯s facial muscles twitched as he smiled awkwardly, then he walked back dejectedly. Although he still walked like a gentleman as usual, there was obvious embarrassment written on his face. Ka, who was not far away, was so annoyed that she almost stomped her feet. ¡°That d*mn little kid! He couldn¡¯t even recognize Vacheron Constantin! Which vige did hee from?!¡± X red at Sophia and left. I actually let Richard and Sophia talk to each other over a piece of watermelon?! What a massive joke! Thosemoners who don¡¯t even know chalk from cheese! Richard was forced to give in and he was extremely humiliated as he walked away from everyone¡¯s gaze with a sullen face. Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard someone screaming excitedly from behind when he had only taken a few steps. ¡°Students from the Second Battalion, Sophia from Company 49 is giving everyone free watermelon!¡± Chapter 61 Chapter 61 In an instant, there was an uproar in the training field; all eyes were focused on the Second Battalion. The battalionmander from the Second Battalion, along with severalpanymanders and boys, came in with boxes of watermelon. In those boxes were huge ice cubes, and buried in the ice cubes were huge watermelons that seemed to be still emanating the coldness of when they were recently taken out of the fridge. Every student thought they were seeing things, as someone could actually bring watermelon in here! Anyone who brought extra bottles of sunscreen all had their bottles confiscated, but how did Sophia¡¯s watermelone in? Could it be that she had an extraordinary background? Severalpanymanders got hands on and helped with cutting the watermelon. The watermelon skin was thin, and the flesh was thick and bright red in color. They could tell it would taste good at first nce. Sophia called everyone over. ¡°Come everyone,e and eat the watermelon. Everyone in the Second Battalion gets a share!¡± After a moment of shock, students from the Second Battalion, regardless of their background, cheered in excitement and ran to grab their share of watermelon. When Richard looked at Sophia from a distance, who was surrounded and worshipped by the students, his expression turned sour as he turned around and walked away sullenly without speaking a word. The entire training field was in an uproar. Those who didn¡¯t get a watermelon were staring at those in the Second Battalion as they munched away, envy and desire oozing from their gaze. They only had their luck to me for not being in the Second Battalion. There were also some people who were not from the Second Battalion, but had some sort of rtionship with Sophia; they had put down their ego and went forward to ask if they could have some watermelon. ¡°Miss Edwards, do you remember me? In our first year in Riverdale High School, we were sitting next to each other for two years!¡± ¡°Hey hey over here! I¡¯m from South Bayside Highschool. We have been at school together for a year, and I had even borrowed an eraser from you!¡± When faced with those who used their rtionship in exchange for the watermelon, Sophia weed everyone as if she was already veryfortable doing this. ¡°Oh? Wayne, long time no see. You are in Bayside University too? Come have some watermelon! Say no more. Come have some watermelon!¡± The Second Battalion was in full swing as the officers and the students were having fun together; even the battalionmander, who was solemn, had surprisingly smiled a little, distributing the watermelon to the students and themanders from other troops. When they were eating happily, the Commanding General, Joel Fletcher showed up. The man seemed to have emerged from the ice, as wherever he went, there was a sense of suffocation, instantly dissipating all the excitement that was happening, and it made the students who were munching their watermelon to quiet down. They hid their watermelon behind them, and the appearance of Joel ignited the fear in them that was shown through their eyes. Other than their fear toward Joel himself, they were also fearful of the power of his family, which was one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City¡ªthe Fletcher Family. Nathan hid behind Sophia without saying a word. Joel nced around the training field and started speaking. Everyone thought he was going to scold someone, but they didn¡¯t expect him to say, ¡°Finish it in ten minutes and resume training!¡± With that, he went and asked for a piece of watermelon himself. There was a moment of silence in the field, but another wave of uproar came through. ¡°Yes, Commanding General!¡± So it turned out that the Commanding General was also here for the watermelon. His presence was so scary that they thought they were losing the chance to eat the watermelons. When Joel walked away, someone boldly asked the battalionmander, ¡°Commander, where did Sophia¡¯s watermelone from?¡± This was exactly what everyone wanted to ask, as by the looks of it, Sophia didn¡¯t appear to be an ordinary student. Maybe she was hiding it; otherwise, how could she be able to humiliate the Harper Family? Bayside University was always filled with people of hidden backgrounds. The students wanted to ask and decide properly on whether they should get close to Sophia or to stay away from her. The battalionmander didn¡¯t know where the watermelons came from either. Someone sent it to the Second Battalion from the main barrack tent. It was definitely breaking the rules, for normally, it was impossible for them to have a watermelon, but somehow, this was approved by their superiors. The battalionmander nced at Sophia and Nathan who were surrounded by the students, and wondered what kind of background they came from, especially the kid, whom the Commanding General had given orders to take special care of him. The Commanding General didn¡¯t mention the identity of the two of them, but the battalionmander could guess that the kid was most probably from some influential family¡­N?velDrama.Org content. A real magnate would normally keep a low-profile; they wouldn¡¯t want to expose their identity. The battalionmander certainly wouldn¡¯t reveal things he shouldn¡¯t say, so he replied casually, ¡°Sophia¡¯s family has a watermelon farm nearby.¡± The news quickly spread across the Second Battalion and the entire training ground. Everyone was in awe of the level of power Sophia had as she was able to bring in those watermelons, and her background must have been extremely powerful. However, when the news broke out, everyone understood suddenly; so it turned out that she was simply from a family that farmed watermelons! There were indeed many vegetable farmers in the mountains near the barracks, and they sold vegetables to the barracks. It could be that Sophia¡¯s family had a good rtionship with the personnel in the barracks, so they took advantage of it and sent in the watermelons. It was merely a small gesture, but it was able to make Sophia¡¯s status in Bayside University skyrocket suddenly. After the small episode, everyone continued to train. Sophia¡¯s position in thepany rose significantly as expected. On top of that, she was being extra diligent in her training even though she was injured, and thepanymander was giving her special care. Hence, she was dismissed a while after and proceeded with eating her watermelon at the side. In the afternoon, everyone was training, but Sophia had to go to the infirmary to rece her wound dressing, so she took a half day off. The injury on her leg was fake. Michael Fletcher¡¯s people in the infirmary gave her a bag of blood sma and faked a false impression of her being injured by nails, then they gave her a fake certificate to prove her injury. She was quick-witted to leave a good impression of herself in front of the drill instructors. Nathan didn¡¯t go to the training as well. He took Sophia and they walked around in the barracks, and they found theputer room. There wereputers in the barracks, but they were for the soldiers who served there. On normal days, they were not used, for they were only for the soldiers to use on their off days. At the moment, there was no one in theputer room, for not everyone was allowed to go in. But of course, none of the rules work for Nathan. Nathan swaggered into theputer room and started ying on one of theputers. Sophia sighed in silence, thinking the kid was indeed impressive. The Four Great Families in Bayside City was undeniably different, for even though he was a kid this young, he was already able to outsmart the adults, so one could only imagine much smarter he would get when he grew up. It was no wonder that Joel was able to be Cethos¡¯s youngest Senior Colonel. When Nathan grew up, he might even outdo Joel. Nathan sat down at a corner and switched on theputer, then he said coldly, ¡°No peeking.¡± Sophia had no intention to see what he was ying. She found herself aputer and switched it on, ready to y some games, but she was afraid the specifications of theputers weren¡¯t enough to keep up, and the game was in a total mess, since her son was being held hostage by Scary Phoenix, so she didn¡¯t feel quite dignified to log in; it was not a good time to join the game now either. Thus, she browsed through the stock market, the housing market and bitcoin status, then she logged on to her Facebook ount. However, she didn¡¯t expect that the moment she logged in to Messenger, a person named ¡®Pervert¡¯ sent over a video call invitation. Sophia was startled. Motherf*cker, why is this Pervert online?! And he was ready to catch me? Luckily, theputers in the barracks had no microphones nor web cameras, so she clicked ¡®ept¡¯, and immediately, that handsome face of Michael appeared on the screen. Huh? He¡¯s only wearing underwear as he runs around naked? How much more perverted can this guy get?! Chapter 62 Chapter 62 Sophia looked disgusted, but she still pretended to act in a talk way as she typed, ¡®Oh hey, Hubby! You¡¯re here too!¡¯ Pervert then replied, ¡®Mmm, yes. Wifey, are you getting used to being in the barracks?¡¯ ¡®Yes, pretty much. The drill instructors here are all very friendly. And we get to eat watermelons!¡¯ ¡®What about our son?¡¯ ¡®He is asleep!¡¯ Sophia was disgusted by her own words. It seemed like it was getting dark over at Michael¡¯s side. ¡®Hubby, where are you?¡¯ ¡®Moscov.¡¯ That¡¯s so far away! Sophia suddenly felt extremely safe. After chatting for awhile, she quickly typed, ¡®Hubby, I need to go for training now. Bye!¡¯ With that, she immediately turned off the video and Messenger. She breathed a sigh of relief when the handsome perverted face of Michael disappeared from the screen. Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Michael turned off theputer and watched the surveince from his phone. On the screen was the barracks¡¯puter room. Nathan, who was ¡®sleeping¡¯ and Sophia, who was ¡®going for her training¡¯ were ying on theputer. She¡¯s so adorable even when she¡¯s lying! While he was watching the surveince, Harry rushed over frantically with aputer. Although it was a seven-star hotel, the door was useless to Harry; he coulde and go as he wished, since it was his hotel and he was the boss, so he had the final say. ¡°Daddy, Sirius is back! And he wants to challenge you! Quick! Torture him!¡± Michael looked at Harry¡¯s game screen, and the arrogant Sirius really did appear again. Two days ago, he killed the ¡®No. 1 Beast of the Server¡¯, and now he was directly looking for trouble with Scary Phoenix, for he had invited the entire server to fight with Scary Phoenix. Michael didn¡¯t n to fight him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. He is using a plug-in.¡± Harry was extremely unhappy. ¡°Motherf*cker, who the hell is this Sirius? He used a plug-in, but there¡¯s no use even if I report him. It says there was no evidence of him using a plug-in.¡± Then, he continued, ¡°Isn¡¯t this your game? Someone used a plug-in in your game and you¡¯re not going to do anything?¡± Michael replied, ¡°We were unable to track any traces of the plug-in in our system. This person is an expert.¡± Harry was excited as he said, ¡°In that case, quickly track his identity through his IP address!¡± Michael refused again by saying, ¡°A game is a game, and the reality is the reality. I don¡¯t want to interfere. Furthermore, he is so powerful, so do you think he would let me track his IP address?¡± Harry murmured something and he didn¡¯t speak again as he closed the game silently, lest Sirius returned to attack him again. After turning off theputer, Harry got down to business. ¡°So you¡¯re okay with Nathan going to the barracks? But that is Joel¡¯s territory¡ª¡± Michael chuckled lightly. There was an inexplicable cunningness and confidence on his face, as if he was always on the cusp of victory. ¡°It is exactly because it is his territory that he wouldn¡¯t dare to do anything. It is a critical moment now, so if something happens to Nathan on his territory, he will have to take responsibility.¡± Harry thought it made sense; the Fletcher Family was incredibly rich and powerful, but the Fletchers had one rule, which was that they wouldn¡¯t involve the children! Old Master Fletcher was definitely not an easy one to deal with. The fact that Nathan entered the camp meant that he would be Joel¡¯s responsibility. If he was not taken good care of, the Fletcher Family would definitely put the me on him. So, he wouldn¡¯t dare to hurt the child. In other words, the most dangerous ce was the safest ce. On the other end, in the barracks deep in the woods, Sophia had been surfing the Inte for a while, and when she saw that Nathan had finished ying his game on theputer and was about to leave, she immediately followed. ¡°Good boy, wait for me!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± The two went back to the training ground and noticed a sense of lifelessness; everyone looked dead as if it was the end of the world. She asked Quinton, ¡°Why is everyone looking so down?¡± Quinton knitted his eyebrows. ¡°Themander announced the dinner rules in the barracks earlier.¡± Sophia was confused. She already had an idea of what the food was like in the barracks, and it was terrible; it was worse than the food in highschool cafeteria, and everything was made in a huge pot. The meat in the afternoon was so little that it was pitiful. As she looked at the students¡¯ grim expressions, she wondered, Is the cafeteria serving sh*t for dinner tonight? Quinton said, ¡°Dinner is to be held at Cafeteria No. 2. To get to Cafeteria No. 2 from the barracks, you need to climb over two hills. The distance is about three kilometres and every student must arrive within the time limit. The first third who arrives will get a high-end buffet dinner; the second third will get a normal meal, and thest third will only get two steamed buns. And he said that this will be the rule in the future as well.¡± What the hell? Sophia waspletely shocked as she didn¡¯t expect the military training to be this insane. The school has so many kids from wealthy families. Do the camp administrators want to offend every aristocrat in Bayside City? However, from another perspective, this military training was managed by the Fletcher Family, and the eldest son, Joel, was personally responsible to manage it, so nobody would be brave enough to disobey him. Even so, this is indeed too insane! ¡°The boys and girls should be divided though,¡± said Sophia. Boys had better stamina than the girls, and they could run faster. If there was no separation between the boys and girls, the girls would probably all starve. Quinton shrugged. ¡°There will be no such thing.¡± His reaction was quiet calm, which meant the previous years were probably the same. It was no wonder the sophomore year and third year students were all gloating when they saw them hopping on the bus to the barracks. They¡¯re not going to even seperate the boys and girls? In that case, most of the girls in the camp will definitely starve. The training difficulty is intense, and if they were to starve, all of these delicate wealthy ladies would definitely starve to death! Quinton added, ¡°There were already a few of them who came to apply for a withdrawal from the military training.¡± Withdrawing from the military training would cost a whole lot of credits, and they even risked not getting a graduation diploma. But even if those wealthy kids did not study in Bayside University, they would have other paths to venture into. However, dropping out from Bayside University would definitely be an embarrassing thing, unless the case was that they were forced to a point where they couldn¡¯t take it anymore. But fortunately, Sophia was considered a ¡®patient¡¯ and Nathan was a boy scout, so they didn¡¯t need to go through that. They were allowed to go directly to Cafeteria No. 2 and enjoy the watermelon as they waited for the rest to arrive and fight for the food. Sophia felt excited suddenly, as she couldn¡¯t imagine the kids who usually looked elegant and posh to fight for food as if they were starving dogs. What an amazing sight it would probably turn out to be! If the person who put the nails in her shoes knew that not only did she not quit the military training, she was even exempted from the process, that person would definitely be furious and envious! N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. However, in the next instant, she immediately had a wicked thought. She took the initiative to tell Commander Ford, ¡°Commander, I want to rejoin the team and train with everyone!¡± Everyone looked at hering back to the training as if she was dumb, and they were annoyed and envious at the same time. Isn¡¯t it good to just lie down and have food delivered to her? Why must shee and fight for food with us? We don¡¯t have enough already! Commander Ford rejected her request directly. ¡°Sophia, the fact that you continued to train while having the injuries was already good enough. I will not assign you any high intensity training these two days!¡± Sophia was determined. ¡°No! Commander, my injuries were my own fault. I can¡¯t use this reason to escape from my training!¡± With that, she ¡®limped¡¯ her way back to her seat and insisted to train. Commander Ford didn¡¯t say a word, but his eyes were filled withmendation. Chapter 63 Chapter 63 They practiced the formation in the afternoon till it was twenty past five, then everyone gathered and lined up, standing as straight as possible while Commander Ford nced at his watch. ¡°I have already told you the rules. At half past five, you will start thest training of the day, and Cafeteria No. 2 opens at six o¡¯clock sharp. Remember, the rice and meat are for the wolves, and as for dogs, they will only get to eat dirt!¡± All drill instructors,manders, and seniors were evacuated, and Nathan was led away as well. The remaining students stood still and neatly in the green field, and under the surveince of numerous surveince cameras, nobody dared to move. In front of the training ground, there was a clock tower that showed the standard time of Bayside City. Everyone was counting down, breathing heavily and ready to charge. Sophia looked at the time and counted down in silence. Three, two, one¡ª When it was precisely half past five, the thousands of students headed toward Cafeteria No. 2. Clearly, the boys were ahead, especially those who were from the School of Athletics, for they went fast and furious. It only took a minute when a group of girls who were all graceful and delicate were left behind, and one after another, they started crying. Some of them lost control and they started to cry like babies. Sophia¡¯s body was well-built, blending among the boys as she ran quickly. She ate a lot at lunch, so she was all energized. Furthermore, she worked out everyday, so the distance was nothing to her. The students rushed out of the training ground and ran ording to the road signs. Suddenly, there was a hill in front of them that was covered in a dense primary forest. Everyone was dumbfounded as they thought it was only an ordinary hill, but they didn¡¯t expect it to be a forest! So it turned out that three kilometres was not the actual running distance, but the discement between the two points! ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Also, there were two of the same hills like this ahead, and they needed to climb those two hills. So in total, that definitely exceeded three kilometres already. A tempting smell wafted from afar, and it seemed to be the smell of sauteed green pepper pork shreds. Everyone immediately judged the direction of Cafeteria No. 2 based on where the smell came from, and a group of students rushed up the hill hurriedly. The vegetation in the forest was not exactly that dense, and there was a clear path ahead while the altitude was not particrly high. The snakes and bugs were probably removed already, which made the running fairly easy. It was not dangerous at all, but it required a lot of physical exertion. Sophia and a group of men took the lead, and they were brimming with energy as they ran. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a sea of cadets in olive-drab and felt a sense of aplishment. Not far away, an asphalt road stretched into the mountains that meandered away from the hignds; a long line of cars were slowly moving on the road. Themanders and drill instructors were all in the cars, while Nathan sat next to Quinton and Commander Ford, drinking his soda. Joel, the Commanding General, was looking through his binocrs to check the situation. Sophia felt slightly guilty when she saw Commander Ford as he might notice she was pretending to be injured immediately if she were to run that so fast. Her main goal was to highlight her determination to train despite her injuries so she would get a high score. The result was not important, and it was the journey that mattered. After all, she had someone to cover for her, so she needn¡¯t worry about starving herself. Therefore, she lowered her speed, and in a blink of an eye, she was swarmed over by the army of cadets and fell behind the group as she kept running at a constant speed. A group of girls were crying while they ran. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure. Richard was pulling Ka with his left hand and X with his right while running up hill. It looked exceptionally difficult, and halfway through the run, X staggered and fell. ¡°X!¡± Richard and Ka were forced to stop and help her. Ka looked at the everyone who ran past them. As they paused for a moment, they were already falling behind by a lot, and X was whining and refusing to walk, almost stomping her feet in anger. Sophia was running behind Ka, and subconsciously, she kicked her on the back. ¡°F*ck you!¡± The din of the tumultuous footsteps had drowned her voice. Ka rolled down the hill, and she was covered in mud when she got up, looking like a poor tabby kitten. ¡°Ahh!¡± She let out an earth-shattering scream, and when she nced back, she could only see a sea of army green, and the culprit was long gone. After entering the camp, Ka had been constantly feeling wound up. She had been spoiled all her life, and she had never suffered such grievances. The final shred of endurance in her finally snapped, and she burst into tears on the spot. ¡°I don¡¯t want to train in the military anymore! I want to quit! I want to quit school!¡± She sat there, crying and kicking like a baby, but her cries did not receive any sympathy in exchange. Along the way, there were too many girls who sat down and started crying. Richard picked up Ka. He knew the consequences of losing the military credit score, so he demanded angrily, ¡°What are you saying? Come on!¡± He held on to them both and kept on running. He used to train in the military, and he knew the rules. As long as they continued to run, they would get to eat; only those who gave up would be given steamed buns. Military training was not as scary as it seemed. After kicking Ka, Sophia was extremely happy as she ran merrilly, but she tripped over something and fell down. ¡°F*ck!¡± Sophia got and was about to continue running, but suddenly she realized that Commander Ford seemed to have noticed her, so she pretended to be wounded. She held her leg and acted as if she was ¡®struggling¡¯ for a while, appearing to be in pain. There were too many people who fell down, so no one would actually be bothered with her. Everyone was hungry, and there was only a little food. They couldn¡¯t even take care of themselves, let alone someone else. Sophia rolled around and she was preparing to get up when suddenly, a tall boy and a short girl came over and picked her up in each hand. The short girl was panting. ¡°Girl, what are you doing? Hurry up and fight for the food!¡± The tall boy looked exceptionally delicate. His lips were cherry red and his teeth were white, while his skin was fair and smooth. Furthermore, he stood at an impressive height of at least 180 centimetres. ¡°Stop being in a daze. Come on!¡± Sophia was almost dragged along by the two. Sophia said, ¡°Guys¡­ I can still run. I can still run! Let go of me!¡± The three of them ran up the hill while panting heavily and in a blink of an eye, they arrived at the peak of the hill, then they started running downward. There was a ten-metre wide river in front of them, and there were two bridges, one each on the left and right hand side, but there was quite a distance. If they went through the bridge, it would add another one kilometre to the journey. Sophia started cursing. ¡°F*ck!¡± Some looked at the deep emerald-green river as they stepped back and took a detour to cross the bridge over the river; some dived directly into the river and swam across. The drill instructors were patrolling along the river, just in case if anyone was drowning, so someone would be able to save them. Sophia exchanged a look with the girl. They then both asked simultaneously, ¡°Can you swim?¡± After they asked the question, there was a three second pause. The two of them who were covered in dirt jumped into the river, leaving the boy alone by the shore as he shouted and jumped. ¡°How could you do this? I am not going to jump! The water is so dirty. Hey! Wait for me¡ª¡± In the end, he still had to jump into the river and swam as fast as he could. He soon caught up with the two girls in front of him. Although he was a sissy, he was still a man at the end of the day. When they trained in the afternoon, they were only wearing an army-green T-shirt that was very thin. So, there was no burden at all as they swam. As the three of them swam really quickly, they reached the opposite bank of the river in less than a minute. They took a breather by the river and prepared to hike the next hill. The river water had washed their faces, and the short girl recognized Sophia on the spot. ¡°You are the Watermelon Queen, Sophia!¡± Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Watermelon Queen? Sophia did not know she had such a nickname, but she simply nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± The shorter girl tilted her head and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m Sarah West from the second ss of the Marketing Department.¡± The boy introduced himself in a feminine tone. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m from the first ss of the ssical Literature Department. I¡¯m Sean Mitchell.¡± The moment Sophia heard Sean¡¯sst name, she shivered all over. The Mitchell Family was one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City, so anyone would stand up straight out of respect when they heard the other person¡¯s surname was Mitchell in Bayside University. However, the boy standing in front of them did not seem like he was a Mitchell. The influence that the Mitchell Family had over the political world was overwhelming. The Mitchells were supposed to be arrogant and elegant people, not a feminine guy like him. After the trio had finished introducing themselves, they gasped for air for a few moments before continuing their hike. Sarah looked like she had great stamina. She was still chatting away while climbing the mountain. ¡°Let me tell you something. When I was five, my father borrowed some money to open a small factory. He had nobody to help him transport the goods and no money to hire any workers. Hence, our whole family went to help him out, including my mother, my sister and my brother. I was already carrying loads as heavy as 25 kilograms by myself when I was ten. Now, my father has be rich and he has factories all over the country. I don¡¯t need to work anymore either. Luckily, my father let me work when I was young. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have made it until now!¡± So she¡¯s a daughter of a rich family. There were rich kids like Sarah in Bayside University, where most of them paid for the school building fund. They were a tier higher than the ordinary students, but they still could not assimte themselves into the truly wealthy circle; they belonged in an intermediate zone. ¡°My father has spent so much money, hiring dozens of home tutors who held a cane in their hands, forcing me to study hard so that I can be admitted into Bayside University. They did all these to make sure I can have a brighter future and enable my family to be an actual noble family sooner! Don¡¯t worry, we are friends from now on. I will look after you guys from now on!¡± Sarah was a talkative person who wasn¡¯t particrly reserved in her speech. She was born to a father who had built a wealthy family out of nothing, so she naturally wouldn¡¯t be a person that was easy to deal with, considering the environment she grew up in. Sean had yet to utter a word, but Sarah had spoken his mind. ¡°Sean is like me too. Since you can¡¯t y with those rich kids, let¡¯s y together from now on!¡± So it turns out that he¡¯s also one. They seem to have their own circle. Wait what? He¡¯s blushing? That¡¯s creepy! The trio went on with their chattering, and they finally seeded in reaching the cafeteria in time to get their dinner. The cafeteria was extremely spacious and was separated into a few sections of different sses. The first section was a high-end buffet. There were traditional dishes, delicatessen food, Western menus, pastries, desserts, fruits and seafood; anyone who was there could eat to their hearts¡¯ content. The middle ss section would supply typical lunch sets. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. It contained the necessary meats and vegetables; it wasn¡¯t quite filling, but it was enough to fulfill the training requirements. The lower ss section only served two steamed buns or a bowl of soup noodles. The difference in ss of the three sections could very well bepared to the difference between heaven, earth and hell. The cafeteria was located in a circr building, and each section upied a third of the building, with a tempered ss door separating each section. Those who were nibbling on the steamed buns could clearly see those who were having buffets next door. While those people could enjoy themselves with the high quality food, they could only nibble on their miserable steamed buns. This was outright mental abusement! Sophia and her friends had arrivedte, so they could only have the middle-tier lunch sets. Their eyes were on the verge of popping out as they stared at the people in the adjacent room enjoying their high- end buffet. Everyone was busy eating their fill, and the sounds of utensils nging were mixed with the sounds of wailing as a group of girls started to cry as they bit on their steamed buns. At this moment, Sarah finally kept quiet. After finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth and began chattering away again. ¡°The cafeteria¡¯s portion is quite reasonable. Those who were in front were normally boys or those who had good stamina. Those people have a bigger appetite, so they need to have a bigger portion. Those who run in the middle only have decent stamina and thus, a moderate appetite. Hence, the cafeteria provided them with a smaller portion. It¡¯s normally the weaker girls who runst. This group of people have the smallest appetite, so two steamed buns should be enough for them.¡± Sophia, who was still eating, agreed with her. The meat is for the wolves! Sean was a boy, but he had quite the delicate look. He sounded na?ve and adorable when he spoke, ¡°The military camp won¡¯t starve us to death.¡± Sarah and Sophia nodded, agreeing to what he said. Nevertheless, this was only the first day, but the officers had already been doing this to them; they didn¡¯t dare to imagine what else they would do in the coming month. Sarah seemed to be very well-informed as she said, ¡°30% of the students in Bayside University fail yearly and have to retake the course. Most of them lost their marks in the training camp.¡± While she was talking, Nathan appeared quietly. He was holding a te of delicatessen food and prawns out from the buffet hall. After cing it in front of Sophia, he simply stared at her silently, telling her without words that those were for her. Sophia then smilingly pinched his face. ¡°Hello there, my son.¡± The other two hands were swifter than his, hugging Nathan while pinching him here and there. ¡°Wow! What an adorable kid!¡± This was Sean. His face, which was even better-looking than a girl¡¯s, looked ted. ¡°Quick, my turn to hug him!¡± Sarah was already queuing behind him. Nathan brutally pped their hands away and with an expressionless face, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and take a rest first. We still have housekeeping training tonight. Don¡¯t bete.¡± Nathan then left in arrogant strides. Looking at his silhouette, Sophia still thought that he was rather cute. Sarah then seized the opportunity to ask Sophia, ¡°This is your son?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°A son whom I met in a game!¡± Sarah then came to her senses. So this is the reason. Sophia is a new student as well, so she shouldn¡¯t be more than twenty. And there I was, wondering howe she has a son this big. The trio then dly split the food which Nathan had brought for them amongst themselves. While eating her watermelon, Sarah suddenly felt the urge to take Sophia under her wing. ¡°From now on, call me if your family¡¯s watermelons don¡¯t sell well. I will buy all of them.¡± Sophia felt awkward. Her family didn¡¯t sell watermelons, nor was she the Watermelon Queen. Who was the one who spread this false rumor? Nevertheless, this was good anyway. She could just assume the identity of the daughter of a watermelon farmer who had worked hard to pay for her studies and enrolled into Bayside University as a normal student. After finishing her food, Sean took out a small mirror from his bag, looking at himself in the mirror with his pinky lifted. In a feminine tone, he sighed and said, ¡°My skin is tanned.¡± He then quickly took out a spray bottle from his bag and sprayed some sunscreen on his face before massaging it, even though he had just climbed out from the water not long ago, so his body was still drenched. The corners of Sophia¡¯s lips were twitching as she silently distanced herself from him. There were really all kinds of people in Bayside University. After finishing their meals, the trio parted ways and gave their respective phone numbers to each other so that they could stay in contact. Then, they returned to their camps and to their own rooms. After returning to her dorm, Sophia changed her clothes and blew dry her hair before taking her nket and rug to the training ground. The training at night was not that heavy, but it was rather important too, for it was housekeeping training. They would learn how to fold their nkets and tidy up their daily essentials in this so-called housekeeping training. The most important part of the training was the nket folding. Sophia rubbed her hands together as nket folding was her strong suit. Chapter 65 Chapter 65 Commander Ford opened up a rug before cing the nket on it, showing the crowd how to stack the nkets. ¡°After cing the nket evenly, pick a spot one third away from the edge of the nket and fold it three times. The corners of the nket must be folded properly. After that, fold it this way, this way, andstly, this way¡­¡± Everyone watched in awe as Commander Ford folded the nket into a neat square in the blink of an eye. They were all impressed when they saw that there was not even a single crease on the folded nket. Commander Ford asked, ¡°Are you guys clear with it now? You may start folding it if you have remembered the steps.¡± The students looked stunned, for most of them couldn¡¯t follow at all. However, they couldn¡¯t stand there and do nothing, so they could only try folding the nkets themselves. Commander Ford then walked around to inspect how the students were doing while scolding them at the same time. ¡°What is this? A pile of crap?¡± ¡°Did you not eat anything earlier? Why are you trembling while folding a nket?¡± ¡°You,e over here! I asked you to fold a nket, but what are you doing? Such a crybaby. Stop crying!¡± Finally, he came across a student whom he was rather pleased with. He then praised her in front of everyone. ¡°Everyone,e over and have a look. This nket that Sophia had folded has passed the test.¡± Everyone turned to Sophia. The nket in front of her was a standard square with its edges well-defined; even the nket which Nathan had folded looked decent. Sophia then replied bashfully, ¡°Since I couldn¡¯t catch up with the earlier training because my leg is injured, I can only work harder on the housekeeping training.¡± After Michael got back home, the house was handled in a military style. She was not allowed toze in bed and she had to finish her breakfast within ten minutes; even her nket had to fold into a square, military-style. Thus, this was the result of Michael¡¯s training. She was a step closer to getting full marks in military training. Feeling very pleased with her, Commander Ford showered her with praises. He had been the officer for a few terms now, but this was his first time seeing such a diligent and motivated student. Everyone then learned from Sophia, who did not hold anything back and taught everyone the techniques of folding the nket. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Sophia¡¯s status in the ss had steadily risen. After the housekeeping training, everyone returned to their barracks. They had ended a tough day of training, and it was finally time for them to rest. The moment they returned to their dorms, the girls embraced each other and started bawling their eyes out. They wanted to withdraw from the military training, but they did not have the courage to do so. The thought of having to wake up at 7:30 the next morning to start training on time and to get their housekeeping checked devastated the girls. This was only their first day, and they still had twenty-nine more days to go. After washing her face, Sophia sympathized with the group of girls who were crying when she entered the barracks, even though one of them had probably ced a nail in her shoe before. She advised everyone, ¡°Stop crying, everyone. You have to think positively. The General is the eldest son of the Fletcher Family. He¡¯s a rich bachelor. If one of you can get his attention, that¡¯ll be amazing!¡± Any woman from prominent families in Bayside City would want to marry into one of the Four Great Families, but even though they were famous in the city, the chances of them meeting a member of the Four Great Families were disproportionately small. Now that this opportunity of seeing Joel Fletcher daily had presented itself, it was something that many could only wish for. Catching the attention of Joel was the only motivation that made the girls continue with their military training. If they could perform well and attract Joel¡¯s attention, that would be great. Sophia then added, ¡°All our facial masks and makeup have been confiscated. If you guys continue crying, your eyes will be swollen tomorrow. Then, the General wont eveny his eyes on you guys.¡± Her words seemed to be quite persuasive, for the barracks instantly turned quiet. Sophia then carried an iced watermelon over. ¡°Go to sleep when you¡¯ve finished eating.¡± Everyone cheered before snatching their portions of the watermelon. Their moods had improved greatly. The barracks were packed with beds and even the fan was barely working, let alone the refrigerator and air conditioner. Hence, it was a huge deal that they could get some watermelon to eat. Sophia¡¯s watermelon had be a hard currency in training camp. With the absence of a refrigerator and air conditioner, her iced watermelon was like an oasis. Everyone started cottoning up to her just so that they could get themselves a piece of iced watermelon. Military life was simple yet robotic in nature. The lights would be switched on at seven in the morning daily and they were given half an hour to freshen up and have their breakfast. After starting their run for one kilometer at 7:30 sharp, their training for the day would thenmence at eight. Their lunch was okay, while those who wanted to have a heartier dinner would have to run faster. Every electronic device had been confiscated in the military camp. The only leisure activity after a day¡¯s training was sleep. The most interesting thing that would happen was if they had a bedtime chat before bed. They would talk about their dream men, gossip about who was good-looking in a certainpany, and who was the most muscr. The difference in everyone¡¯s status seemed to be getting less obvious, for they were now all equals in hardship. Unknowingly, they had forged a military friendship among themselves. Sophia had be the co-leader of Company 49, second to Commander Ford; even Nathan was basking in her limelight. If this persisted, she felt like getting full marks in her military training would not be a dream anymore. During the second afternoon of the military training, Sophia used the excuse that she needed to get her bandage changed so that she could sneak into theputer room to use theputers with Nathan again. She took a look at the stocks, checked the futures and housing market, but in the end, she logged on to her Messenger ount and looked for Michael on her own ord. Michael, who was in front of theputer screen, had juste back from ate filming session. The moment he returned to the hotel, he immediately noticed that Sophia had taken the initiative toe and look for him, which was a first. Chica asked, ¡®Are you there, Honey?¡¯ Micheael¡¯s reply came. ¡®My dear chica, you finally talked to your hubby first!¡¯ Eww. Sophia was so annoyed that she wanted to turn off the screen. She then cut to the chase. ¡®Honey, I¡¯m secretly surfing the Inte, so my time is limited. I want to ask you something. What should I do to get full marks in military training?¡¯ Sophia had asked this question before. Ever since Bayside University had started the military training system, only a handful of people managed to obtain full marks. Furthermore, most of them were the Fletchers. If she could obtain full marks in military training, she would get significantly more credit hours as well. Then, it would be easy for her to get a schrship. She thought to herself that since she was already here and had put in so much effort, she needed to obtain full marks so that she wouldn¡¯t let herself down. Michael, who was sitting in front of theputer, rubbed his chin while looking at Sophia¡¯s question, his eyebrows raised. He did not expect Sophia to have such ambition, for it was almost impossible to get full marks in military training. He replied, ¡®The full marks for military training is 100, but you already pass the test if you get 60. Chica, don¡¯t be greedy. It isn¡¯t easy to get marks in military training. It¡¯s already good enough if you can pass it.¡¯ Sophia quickly answered, ¡®I¡¯m just curious. Honey, quick, tell me. Tell me!¡¯ Michael must be thinking that Sophia was acting coquettishly as she typed out those words. It was a pity that he could not hear her voice. He then replied, ¡®There are too many rules and I¡¯m toozy to type them out. Look for the personnel in charge of theputer room and ask for an earphone. I will say them out for you.¡¯ Sophia swiftly looked for the personnel and asked for an earphone. After plugging it in, her audio was connected and they began chatting. Michael went straight to the point when the call was connected. He immediately started exining the rules of training camp. ¡°Bayside University¡¯s training camp is very strict. It may seem like they let you have your freedom, but the instructors whom they have assigned to you guys are from the special forces. Every one of them has been specially chosen. There are less than forty people in onepany, so the instructor can clearly see everyone¡¯s actions. The training grounds and every corner of the ce have been installed with surveince cameras. Besides, there are more than 100 people watching your every move in the surveince room.¡± Sophia was drenched in cold sweat after listening to him. It turned out that there were so many secrets in training camp. Would that mean that she had been exposed for pretending to be injured? Chapter 66 Chapter 66 Michael¡¯s voice suddenly turned serious. ¡°Bayside University¡¯s students are specially selected from hundreds of thousands of candidates in Cethos yearly. Training camp will allow the instructors to see a person¡¯s qualities. Bayside University wants to ensure that their graduates are true elites, so naturally, they have to eliminate a certain group of people.¡± He then dove into his point. ¡°The marks allocation for training camp is very strict. There are marks for teamwork, individual achievement, housekeeping, discipline, formation, and there are even marks to be given for normal days and during weekends. Your marks can be deducted from anywhere. Only a handful of people can obtain full marks. If a person performs excellently in every aspect, the other students will naturally be jealous of him. The day before training camp ends, there will be another session whereby all the training mates will score each other anonymously. In this session, those who usually perform too excellently will lose some marks. Thus, the handful of people who scored full marks are mostly the Fletchers, because everyone knows that the Fletchers have people inside the military. They could check who was the person who gave them low marks.¡± D*mn, this is simply insane! If they did not perform well, they would not score full marks. If they performed too well, the other students would deduct their marks out of jealousy. Thus, only the Fletchers had the ability to get full marks. Since someone had even ced a nail in Sophia¡¯s shoes, that person would surely give her a bad score. Hence, only a person with an astonishing family background and superb personal qualities could score full marks. Sophia then suddenly asked, ¡°Honey, then how much did you score in your military training back then?¡± Michael graduated from Bayside University too, so he surely had been through military training as well. Michael let out a sigh. ¡°95.5. I was too good-looking and I performed too well, so I ended up stealing the spotlight. My teammates were too ipetent, and in the final session, I was even given a bad score by a few losers.¡± Sophia nearly asked Michael why he didn¡¯t use the connections the Fletcher family had to find out who the culprits were. However, Michael seemed to be keeping his connection with the Fletcher Family a secret, so she decided against asking him that question. She would settle with her knowledge of him being a Fletcher. She then continued pursuing the topic. ¡°What about the teamwork marks and individual marks? What should I do to score in these sections?¡± ¡°Housekeeping includes the arrangement of your barracks, rinsing cup, shoes and personal belongings. It¡¯ll also take into ount the tidiness of your attire, coat, belt and hair. Three best students will be selected yearly and three groups with outstanding performances will receive special prizes.¡± Michael seemed like he was very familiar with the rules of training camp. He could exin almost every point and even let her in on some of the tips which the instructors had kept from them. Sophia listened attentively, and even borrowed a small notebook to jot them down. With that, the couple talked for the entire afternoon. They talked until five o¡¯clock and it was about time for her to return to herpany topete for dinner. Sophia suddenly remembered that Michael was still overseas, so there was surely some time difference. She asked timidly, ¡°What time is it at your ce?¡± Michael replied, ¡°It¡¯s already 2 o¡¯clock in the morning.¡±N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. It¡¯s already two o¡¯clock in the morning! He was giving up on his sleep to chat with her. Sophia was shocked. ¡°Honey, then you better go and rest first. I have topete for dinner soon. If I¡¯m late, I can only have steamed buns for dinner. I¡¯ll hang up first.¡± Michael answered, ¡°Steamed buns are not bad. During my batch, the slow ones could only go through the rest of the night with an empty stomach.¡± Sophia swiftly shut down theputer. She suddenly realized that her face was getting hot and a weird thought popped up in her head. Michael is actually not as cheeky as I had imagined. She then rushed back to rejoin her group with Nathan. Commander Ford did not say anything about her absence. He said that he understood Sophia¡¯s situation, but Sophia felt like he had noted her name down in his small notebook. Aftering back, Sophia rejoined the training. It was already 5:30 and all of the instructors had left; even Commander Ford had brought Nathan to the car. Then, the clock at the training ground began counting down for them to race for dinner. Sophia had kept Michael¡¯s words in mind. There were tricks to thispetition for dinner as well. It might look like a test for individual behavior among the students, for everyone would get to eat whatever they managed to obtain, but in actuality, it was a test of teamwork. Those who ran thest would have less food. Although they wouldn¡¯t starve to death, their energy would surely be insufficient and consequently, it would affect the performance of their overall training. It would then directly affect the entire team¡¯s marks. As the countdown entered the final stage, Sophia finally voiced out, ¡°Everyone, listen to me. I have something to say!¡± Everyone turned their gaze toward her, wanting to hear what she had to say. ¡°I heard from a senior that teamwork marks are important too. Those who run thest can only eat two steamed buns and they will be at a great disadvantage as they don¡¯t have enough energy. Thus, it will affect the entirepany¡¯s marks. This could cause the whole team to fail.¡± The few girls who were at the end of the race did not have the stamina to catch up with the others. They were on the verge of tears as they did not want to be thest ones too, but they really did not have the stamina. Since they ran rather slowly, their portion of food was smaller and they had less food to eat. Hence, they ran even slower. Sophia then offered her idea. ¡°I have an idea. Let¡¯s not run on our ownter. Instead, we¡¯ll run as a single company. As we run together, let¡¯s help each other out. I¡¯m not wishing that everyone can get the buffet, but at the very least, we can¡¯t let the students who run thest starve.¡± Everyone exchanged nces; they seemed doubtful of Sophia¡¯s words, but then, they heard her speak again. ¡°Let¡¯s conduct an experiment today. If we do it well, I¡¯ll give everyone watermelons. Come, let¡¯s hold hands first.¡± Although nobody knew what Sophia was up to, they immediately listened to her orders and joined hands when they heard they could have watermelonster on. Sophia instructed, ¡°When it¡¯s timeter on, we¡¯ll start running in a group. Don¡¯t spread out.¡± Less than a few secondster, it was time. When the clock struck 5:30, the thousands of students began the race to head to the cafeteria. Company 49 was the onlypany that was still in a group, holding onto each other¡¯s hands. Forming into a line, they charged forward with all their might. The slower ones were then dragged along by the faster ones, just barely catching up to the group. When they reached the base of the first hill, a few people had left the group. After doing a headcount, there were only roughly 30 people left; all the boys had gone ahead. ¡°Everyone, listen to me. From now on, we mustn¡¯t let go of our hands again! Those who let go of their hands will not have their portion of watermelons tonight.¡± There were many delicate girls in Company 49. Almost half of them could only run fast enough to eat the two steamed buns, but that would be the worst-case scenario. After hearing Sophia say that they could have an extra meal after dinner, they immediately held their hands together. Seeing that everyone had held each other¡¯s hands, she ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s start hiking!¡± Everyone dashed toward the hill with their hands tightly held together. If someone slipped or fell behind, the person beside could immediately pull the person up. Although they were slightly slower, at least nobody was left behind. Soon, they arrived at the riverside. At this moment, the group started having different opinions; a group of them wanted to cross the bridge, while the other wanted to swim across the river. Sophia was the big boss in thepany, so she decisively ordered, ¡°We¡¯ll swim. We can save a lot of time!¡± A girl said shakily, ¡°I don¡¯t want to. I don¡¯t know how to swim!¡± Sophia took a look at the group. ¡°Those who can swim, step forward.¡± A group of girls stepped forward. More than half of them knew how to swim, so Sophia said, ¡°Let¡¯s give each other a hand. Those who don¡¯t know how to swim, please pair up with a student who knows how to swim. Let¡¯s help each other out.¡± Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Everyone nodded before leaping into the river. A student who knew how to swim led another student who did not know how to swim across the river. Soon, when they reached the opposite shore, Sophia took note of the headcount and made sure that everyone was there. She had been dragging Juliette¡ªwho did not know how to swim¡ªalongside her, and she ended up swallowing several mouthfuls of water by ident, so she choked while said, ¡°See? Everyone has made it. Let¡¯s find some time tonight to get everyone to learn how to swim!¡± Almost everyone had swallowed mouthfuls of water by ident, but fortunately, they still managed to reach the shore safely. Then, they grabbed each other¡¯s hands and dashed toward the second hill with persistence. At this moment, Michael was looking at the surveince. On the screen, Sophia and thirty other girls were holding onto each other¡¯s hands as they charged up the hill. He put on a rare smile. ¡°Chica is rather smart.¡± Like what Sophia had said, there were surveince cameras everywhere in the training camp, even in the forests. While the situation in the forest was being broadcasted in the surveince room, countless eyes were observing the group of girls who were holding hands among the dispersed students. Sitting in the military vehicle, Joel was speeding forward. He was observing the situation here though his binocrs and soon, he caught sight of Sophia and the group of girls. His gaze was fixed on them for quite some time. This group of thirty girls made it to Cafeteria No. 2 in the end and fortunately, they still managed to grab their dinner. Although they were a step slower and didn¡¯t manage to take any meat, they still had a meal that was filling. At least they didn¡¯t have to resort to eating steamed buns. A few of the girls who had been nibbling the steamed buns for the whole night were on the verge of tears. These thirty people did not go their own ways after that. They sat together and had their dinner. Sophia then encouraged everyone by saying loudly, ¡°See, isn¡¯t this easy? If it weren¡¯t because of the few students who did not know how to swim and cost us some time, we may even have the chance to have some meat!¡± A few of those girls who did not know how to swim were so embarrassed that they wished they could dig a hole for themselves to hide in, but then, Sophia added, ¡°After we finish our dinner, let¡¯s go and have a swim together. We need to seize this opportunity to teach those who don¡¯t know how to swim. That way, we can have meat sooner!¡± The girls answered in unison, ¡°Alright!¡± After gobbling down their meal, they returned to their original path and passed by the river again. After everyone had jumped into the river, those who knew how to swim started teaching those who didn¡¯t know how to swim. Although it was impossible to learn how to swim in one day, at least they could move forward now. That night, Sophia gave everyone iced watermelon as promised. The atmosphere in the barracks was great that night. Everyone wasughing and talking, chatting about their training during the day while eating their watermelon. Sophia was eating her watermelon while taking out her notebook to exin to everyone where the marks were deducted in housekeeping. Everyone listened to her in a very serious manner. After finishing their watermelons, the initial bedtime chat turned into a housekeeping drill; everyone wanted to score in housekeeping. Sophia wanted to get high marks, or even full marks, but it wasn¡¯t going to cut it if she relied only on her own efforts. Before the lights were out, she sneaked to the hill to take a look at the condition of the path. Standing at the top, she gazed at the foot of the hill. The two hills were not especially steep, but they had been overgrown by grass. Thus, it was quite slippery. During the past couple of days, people had slipped when they stepped here and rolled down the hill. They then withdrew from military training due to their injuries. Hence, nobody would descend the hill from the grass field. As Sophia stood on top of the hill and gazed downward, she paced up and down before rushing back to her barracks before lights out. The next day, she joined everyone for training like usual. Commander Ford seemed to be unaware of what she had donest night. However, Sophia knew that Commander Ford had surely seen what had happened and already had a preliminary score for her. That afternoon, Sophia disappeared for a while again, using changing her bandage as an excuse. A few momentster, she asked for Quinton and a few of the seniors. Sophia then brought Quinton and the seniors to the military camp. After taking a few turns here and there, they arrived at a corner that had been piled with nks. Quinton was puzzled. ¡°You want us to help you carry all these?¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yes. Don¡¯t ask why, Sir. I have some use for it. Don¡¯t worry. These are not going to be used. I¡¯ve asked for permission for them.¡± There were a lot of simr nks like this in the camp. They must have been thrown away after being used for target practice and so on. Although he was clueless as to what Sophia wanted to use them for, he still helped to move those nks since they are of use to her. These nks were not especially heavy since they were thin and rtively narrow. However, Sophia wanted more than thirty pieces of them, so it still required some manpower. The few of them then brought the nks back and piled them up. After that, Sophia returned to her group for training. The moment there was a gap for rest, she gathered the wholepany, as if they were plotting on something which should not be heard by Commander Ford. Soon, it was 5:30 again. This time, the students from Company 49 were not running. After gathering together, each of them grabbed a piece of nk and used the belt that was used in military training to fasten the nk behind their backs. Then, they started marching forward, hand in hand, like what they had done on the previous day. Everyone looked at Company 49 like they were looking at a monster. There were thirty-five people altogether in thepany. When they ran toward the foot of the hill this time, nobody was left behind anymore; all of them stuck together. Carrying the nks on their back, they climbed the hill. When they reached the peak of the hill, Sophia ced her nk down first. Looking at the grass field that extended to the foot of the hill, everyone started swallowing their saliva. For the past two days, so many people had slipped and rolled down when they stepped on the grass field, so they did not even dare to walk on this path. ¡°Everyone, look at my demonstration. I¡¯ve tried this a few times and it¡¯s extremely easy. It won¡¯t be dangerous!¡± After sitting on the nk, Sophia spread her legs outward, and with a slight push, she slid down the hill while sitting on the nk, reaching the foot of the hill in no time. She then waved at everyone from the bottom of the hill and urged everyone, ¡°Come, it¡¯s fun!¡± Everyone exchanged nces. In the end, a few of the boys sat on their nks first before sliding downward. The rest of the girls then followed suit and sat on their nks, sliding to the foot of the hill. They had indeed saved a lot of time. When they arrived at the riverside, Sophia ordered again, ¡°Remember to bring along your nks. You mustn¡¯t lose them!¡± Everyone ced their nks on the water and like what they did on the previous day, they crossed the river in pairs. The moment they reached the opposite shore, they pulled each other¡¯s hands as they climbed the second hill without uttering a word. They then slid down the hill again before dashing toward the cafeteria to redeem their high-end buffet. Furthermore, none of the thirty-five people were left behind. Everyone from Company 49 gathered together as they feasted on the meat while chatting away merrily. The food in training camp could neverpare with the food their housekeepers would normally prepare, but when they stuffed these food into their mouths now, the food tasted divine. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Meanwhile, Michael was keeping a close eye on Sophia¡¯s military results from overseas. Naturally, he had the means to obtain the rted data. The performance of any students in military camp could be reflected on the data. For example, the race for dinner was an important section. When the students enrolled into camp, they had been given a card; they had to scan the cards when they imed their meals. The moment they scanned the card, the rted data would be transferred to the database. Everything would present itself, including how long it took them to reach the cafeteria from the training ground and what type of meal they had for dinner. The race for dinner wasn¡¯t a test of stamina; it was a test of persistence and teamwork. Toward the end, those who ate meat would surely score higher than those who ate steamed buns. ¡°Wow, my chica is getting more and more amazing!¡± Michael let out a sigh when he saw the data. The data showed that besides a fewpanies from the School of Athletics, everyone from Company 49 managed to have the high-end buffet. Their teamwork on this day was ranked number one. Everyone from Company 49 was still drenched when they finished their meals. Luckily, the weather on this day wasn¡¯t considered too cold, so everyone could still bear with it. After finishing their meals, they carried their nks and went to practice swimming again. They were putting in effort so that they could have meat again. Since it was the first time Company 49 managed to get themselves the buffet, they were willing to strive even further so that they could continue eating meat. Michael wasn¡¯t the only one observing them, for Joel had been doing the same thing. Chapter 68 Chapter 68 The fact that Sophia had managed to lead Company 49 to a meal with meat in it quickly spread across the entire barrack. Most of thepanies started following in their footsteps as they grouped together and took action. They started using skateboards to buy themselves time and started swimming¡ªjust like what Sophia had done. In order tond themselves a meaty meal, they had to strive for it. These noble children did not think that they would have to get themselves covered in mud just to have some meat in their meals. All the drill instructors seemed to have ignored the students¡¯ behavior. No one knew if they were being supportive or against their actions as they had not made anyments about it. Nevertheless, they did not stop them. Thus, Sophia assumed that they had agreed to it. Without a doubt, she had a spy by her side who easily went undercover inside the enemies¡¯ base. Whenever she was unclear about the instructor¡¯s orders, she would let her spy go undercover. Since Nathan was a legend who had his own ways ofing and going around the barracks, Sophia used him like a plug-in cheat as he could easily acquire insider news in a brief amount of time. ¡°Themanders from the otherpanies will certainly admire Commander Ford for having a batch of intellectual students. Unlike the others, they are all self-righteous idiots!¡± After Nathan had gone out to acquire more inside news, he came back and announced this in front of the 30 other girls who were in the dorm. The crowd was stunned. They did not expect the othermanders to have such good remarks for them. Everyone was exhrated before they gave Nathan hugs one after another. It was great having Nathan! Nheless, they werepletely unaware of Nathan¡¯s background. Most of them thought that none of themanders had noticed him when they were chattering because Nathan was just a little boy. Much to their surprise, Nathan was a really intelligent boy whenever he came back with all the secret information. While most of the girls were still going on in excitement, Nathan dropped another piece of groundbreaking news. ¡°Themanding general has been paying close attention to Company 49. He¡¯s said that your performance is outstanding, but he¡¯s worried that it wouldn¡¯t persist for long.¡± ¡°Oh my God. Even themanding general is following us closely!¡± the girls eximed in utter disbelief. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. ¡°Are you telling the truth, Nate? Even the eldest Young Master of the Fletcher Family is paying close attention to us?¡± ¡°I feel very blessed. Even themanding general has been looking at me the whole day!¡± Nathan nodded with a straight face. ¡°Themanding general even mentioned that the barracks would select the three bestpanies each year where everyone would receive a prize. This time, if the 49th Company is awarded with the award, he will have dinner together with all the students from thepany.¡± Dinner together! Immediately, everyone started cheering joyfully. It would definitely be a great blessing if they could have dinner together with themanding general! The bunch of girls were on cloud nine. At that moment, they were charged with boundless motivation. Nathan looked at most of the girls who were very excited, and he thought to himself in his mind, They sure are easy to fool! Nathan was not excited at all. In fact, he wanted tough at them. Just then, Sophia called for everyone. ¡°Alright, guys. That¡¯s enough cheering about. Among the several hundreds ofpanies, only threepanies will be awarded the prize; it won¡¯t necessarily be us. If we really want to have dinner together with themanding general, we shall all do our best! The internal affairs should be checked thoroughly. Since we had several points deducted from us a few days ago, we shouldn¡¯t make any more mistakes. Therefore, we ought to unite and we will be stronger together as one! If we don¡¯t work hard enough, how are we supposed to defeat the otherpanies and win the chance of having dinner together with the commanding general?¡± Joel did pay more attention toward the 49th Company. Nheless, the remaining words were just nonsense that Sophia had told Nathan to say. However, the effects of the bluff proved to be extraordinary; those words had amped up the girls¡¯ motivation. That night, they learned how to fold their quilts voluntarily. Soon enough, they¡¯d be able to fold up their quilts into perfect cubes in order to score the highest for internal affairs. They wanted themanding general to notice them! Sophia twitched her lips after seeing the enthusiasm of those girls. Joel is indeed famous among the girls ¡ªhe¡¯s simply more sought-after than meat. Was it because he was the youngest Senior Colonel across the entire Cethos; his identity as the Young Master of the Fletcher Family; or the fact that he was exceptionally tall and handsome? What was so great about him? Sophia¡¯s husband¡ªthe pervert¡ªhad a vi situated just outside the Forbidden City; he had a height of 1.9 meters; and the amount of money he had wasparable to the number of fleas on a beggar. If they were put side to side, Michael still looked better than Joel. Well, at least he was her husband. Moreover, Sophia did not like Joel that much for some unknown reason. To her, he seemed to be insidious and dark. True enough, there was an insider among the 49th Company. News about themanding general awarding the bestpany with a dinner had spread across the entire barrack not long after Nathan¡¯s bluff! Moreover, some had even added to that saying¡ªwhoever scored the top three highest points would stand the chance to have dinner with Joel, male or female regardless! Sophia waspletely clueless. In just one day, everyone was aware of the nonsense that she had made up. Whether it was the girls or the boys, they were all extremely excited all of a sudden. Almost none of the girls in the barracks disliked Joel; they had nearly gone mad just by thinking about the chance of dining with him. Unfortunately, they were not able to pull a few strings. Now that they all had an opportunity before them, they wanted to fight for it. As for the boys, they would first have dinner with Joel before cozying up to him in order to expand their socialwork. After all, Joel Fletcher might even be gay! Joel was over 30 years old, but he was still an unmarried man; he had never opened up about dating somebody as well. Even though he had his fair share of love affairs, he never once admitted to any one of them either. Perhaps he was really gay! This piece of gossip initially floated between the students; well-informed students kept it a secret, but it quickly became an open secret to the publicter on. In the end, an insensitive student had asked apanymander about it. Thepanymander had then reported it to the battalionmanders, and it was reported to the regimentalmanders before it reached Joel¡¯s ears. Soon enough, the regimentalmanders passed back down the news to its descendingmanders, and the respectivemanders finally responded to countless students who had been long waiting for the news. ¡°Themanding general said that only the best team can have dinner with him. The best individual among the entire barrack can dine with him alone, and even add him as a friend on Instagram.¡± Apart from having dinner with him, they could even add him on Instagram?! The entire training field was covered in cheers. On the other hand, Sophia was dumbfounded. She had only wanted to help those damsels in distress, but how did it actuallye true?! What if she was the one who scored full marks? Would she have to have dinner alone with Joel? That wouldn¡¯t be great at all! He was Michael¡¯s brother! It all seemed too weird. The students started working harder than they used to just because of what Joel had said. There were less indolent students, and the 49th Company became even more diligent than they used to be as well. Nheless, students did not necessarily score high marks for their diligence. Most of the students were hardworking, but they did not have impressive scores¡ªthat was because there were hidden demerit points in military training whichpanymanders deliberately hid from the students. Once a student entered the barracks to join military training, they ought to act like a real soldier. Whoever failed to do so would get their marks deducted. Sophia had been taking advantage of the opportunity she had while redressing her wound to sneak into theputer room. She had video calls with Michael in order to know more about the hidden demerit points in military training. ¡°Chica, remember to wake up at seven o¡¯clock sharp in the morning. You have to clock in at the cafeteria before seven thirty to get your breakfast. Whoever doesn¡¯t get their breakfast on time will get their points deducted for sleeping in. You must take your nap in the afternoon. If you¡¯re found wandering around during nap time, you¡¯ll get your points deducted every time the commanders see you. Also, you have to obey all the rules and regtions in the barracks¡ªdon¡¯t question me why. All of you are soldiers now, so it¡¯s your duty to obey all the orders. Even if thepanymanders have ordered you to eat sh*t, you have to finish it up before you even ask why.¡± Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Sophia listened to Michael¡¯s every word; she woke everyone up at six forty every morning. Two days ago, there were a number of girls who had skipped breakfast just to have a few more minutes¡¯ of sleep. Otherwise, they would find someone else to im their meals, but little did they know that there was a deduction in points for their behaviors. Under Sophia¡¯s lead, everyone got up on time at six forty in the morning. They then tidied up the dormitory before washing up and getting ready. At ten past seven, they would have already gotten their food at the cafeteria. At the same time, they had sent Nathan to break into the drill instructor¡¯s office and get thetest news. Without fail, Nathan continued to bring usible news back each time. ¡°Thepanymanders said that we are just this close to having dinner with themanding general if we continue to persist.¡± ¡°Perseverance is the most important virtue. It wouldn¡¯t mean much if we only put on a good show right now.¡± ¡°Themanding general said that the 49th Company has umted a high score for the entire team. It would be even greater if we can keep it up.¡± Sophia was probably the only one who knew whether the information from Nathan was truthful or not. However, it was motivational to everyone in the room. As long as Sophia asked them to make a move, they would not even dare to stop; the girls stayed energized every time they were reminded about the commanding general. The otherpanies were heavily influenced by the 49th Company as well and had starteding up with ideas to carry out their daily training. If the 49th Company coulde up with the idea of sliding downhill with a board, the otherpanies would probably have their own n as well. One of the students from another battalion had voluntarily carried a hoe all the way up the hill by the cafeteria during midnight. The student had dug out a wider pathway in order to save them more time. ¡°In military training, there will always be a deduction of points whenever there¡¯s poor performance. The same goes to having outstanding performances where it encourages the team¡¯s training performance, merit marks would be added. There are a lot of bonuses in the main barrack. Hand me a pen and I¡¯ll exin them to you one by one.¡± Sophia quickly grabbed her notebook to jot down as she had always been strict on herself; she was only afraid of messing up at some point. Thus, it would be great to have those bonuses. Recently, she had been thinking about how to score the highest points without causing any inconvenience to anyone. Nheless, trouble hade knocking on her door. On the ninth day of military training, Sophia had just finished dinner. She hastily went back to her room, not forgetting to bring Nathan along with her. Everyone was tanned after entering the barracks for nine days. However, Nathan remained fair-skinned as he used to be. Nathan would usually doze off at the side while the others carried out their training. Otherwise, he would be ying games in theputer room. Sometimes, Sophia would not even know where Nathan had gone¡ªmost of the time, he would¡¯ve gone off to see the watermelons. He always had an unlimited supply of iced watermelon and could alwayse and go in the barracks as he pleased. There would always be dozens of eyes on him at ces where Sophia could noty her sight on him, as he was the Little Master of the Fletcher Family, making him more precious than anyone else on the training grounds. Thus, his safety was not for Sophia to worry about. The atmosphere in the room was quite unusual today. Sophia encountered countless strangers the moment she entered the room. Commander Ford and another drill instructor, whom she did not know, were present as well. There were also some people who she was familiar with, including Ka and X. Richard, who was inseparable with them, was also at the scene. Upon seeing those people, Sophia knew that she had run into trouble. Ka¡¯s eyes were red from weeping while X held onto her. Richard gave Sophia a confused look when he saw her walking in, and the other students who were in the room were all pointing fingers at her at this moment. Before Sophia could even utter a word, X stood up outrageously. ¡°Sophia, I know that you hate me. Make it between us two and not anyone else. Why did you bully Ka?¡± Sophia had not even said a word yet, but X was already rolling up her sleeves and looking as though she was about to get into a fight with Sophia. Richard quickly held X in his arms and said, ¡°Calm down, X. It¡¯s worthless to fight over something like this.¡± He then pleaded Sophia in an impatient manner. ¡°Sophia, juste at me. I¡¯m the one who has upset you¡ªit¡¯s all my fault. Just leave Ka alone!¡± It seemed more like a threating from a superior rather than begging. Ka¡¯s eyes reddened as she sobbed, ¡°Richard, you¡¯re still unable to forget about her. What¡¯s so good about her anyway? She doesn¡¯t deserve you at all! You¡¯ve never said any embarrassing remarks to her even though she has been trying to make me look bad!¡± Richard felt extremely helpless as he dared not look at X, let alone at Sophia. As his voice deepened, he turned to Ka and said, ¡°Stop talking nonsense, Ka. This matter has note to an end yet!¡± Ka felt wronged and was filled with hatred. She then stared at Sophia with her reddened eyes, as if she was anxious to swallow her up. It was all because of this b*tch¡¯s fault! How dare she even think of getting married into the Harper Family with that disgusting look of hers? Was it not her intention to attract Ka¡¯s brother after everything she¡¯s done? Ka deliberately did not want it to happen for her. As long as she was alive, she would not let Sophia marry into her family. Sophia still had not said a single word after standing there for a few minutes. She was just enjoying the show that was being put on by them. She only spoke up after the three of them were done with their drama and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Commander Ford then said, ¡°Someone saw Nate going into the girls¡¯ room of the 23rd Company. Afterward, Ka from the 23rd Company lost her ne worth one million.¡± Meanwhile, Commander Ford subconsciously nced toward Nathan as the little boy put on a stern look while holding on to Sophia¡¯s arms. He just stood there beside her as he raised his head and looked at all of them. He had a poker face that was definitely not an expression a six-year-old kid should have. Were they suspecting Nathan of stealing Ka¡¯s ne? Were the drilling instructor and the few students from the 23rd Company here and ready to search the room to look for the ne? Ka then spoke in a loud voice. ¡°My ne is worth one million, and it was a gift from my uncle from my mother¡¯s side on my 18th birthday. It¡¯s one of a kind, designed by the well-known jewelry designer, David!¡± Afterward, most of the students from the 49th Company had returned. They eximed one after another after hearing that Ka¡¯s ne was worth a million. ¡°She¡¯s indeed the daughter of a real estate agent!¡± ¡°A ne worth one million? She really is wealthy!¡± Sophia let out a snort before she asked, ¡°What does it have to do with Nate when you¡¯ve lost your own ne?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always ced the ne under my pillow. When I returned to my room today, I noticed that someone had touched my pillow. Some students told me that there was a child ying on my bed,¡± yelled Ka in an arrogant manner. She clearly pointed toward Nathan. ¡°I have my reasons to believe that he is the thief who has stolen my ne!¡± At the same time, a few female students from the 23rd Company stood up to point at Nathan as well. ¡°We were all doing ourundry in theundry room just now, and no one was in the room for quite some time. However, we did see him entering our room.¡± ¡°It¡¯s him¡ªhe¡¯s the only child in the entire barrack. There¡¯s no way we would have mistaken him. It was him who had entered our room.¡± ¡°He would always wander around outside our room when he isn¡¯t at training. We¡¯ve seen it a couple of times now.¡± Sophia lowered down her head to look at Nathan. Meanwhile, it was as if Nathan had put on an impatient look on his face. Sophia thought that it was overly outrageous for Ka to frame Nathan for stealing the ne. Why would Nathan want to steal her ne? He was not a girl after all! The few girls who had pointed Nathan out were clearly ordinary civilians; they must have been told to do so. Sophia sheltered Nathan behind her back before she let out a casual smile. ¡°So, you firmly believe that Nathan is the one who has stolen your ne, am I right?¡±67 Ka then snorted. ¡°Just let us search the room. Then, we¡¯ll be able to find out whether he is the one who has stolen it.¡± Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Sophia knew that they must have set things up beforeing over to cause trouble. Sophia then stood up straight before she spoke up in a strong-willed manner. ¡°Since you believe that Nate is the one who has stolen your ne, go on and search the room then! A straight foot has no fear of a crooked shoe. I believe Nate would never steal your ne!¡± Ka grinned as if her wicked n had prevailed; she had been waiting for her to say so. Since Sophia had addressed the matter, Ka immediately gave orders to the crowd on the scene. ¡°Everyone, listen up. Since Sophia has said it, then I shall feel free to do so!¡± Even though it was against the rules to search the personal belongings of others, the ne Ka had lost was worth over one million. Thus, they were able to make an exception this time; even Commander Ford and the other drilling instructor had agreed to it. Ka quickly walked over to grab Nathan¡¯s belongings. He had only brought a few things when he entered the barracks; the only things he had with him was a little backpack which had two sets of apparels in it. He did not bring a lot of toys except for a little frog plushie that he had won at the funfair. Ka was being ignorant as she shook everything out of Nathan¡¯s backpack. However, she did not find her ne. She then searched all over his bed, but her ne that was said to be worth one million was still nowhere to be seen. Ka then said, ¡°He must¡¯ve hidden it on him!¡± She sure was courageous when she immediately took a step forward to search all over Nathan¡¯s body. She directly reached her hands into Nathan¡¯s pockets that were situated by the sides of his pants. Nathan had a sullen look on his face, and he was feeling immensely displeased. Nheless, he allowed her to search him. After searching for quite some time, Ka was only able to find a little frog. Ka ragingly tossed the little frog away as it made a squeaking sound when it hit the floor. ¡°I don¡¯t believe it. My ne must be here somewhere!¡± Sophia put on a smirk before she said, ¡°You¡¯ve thought too much. Nate is just a child¡ªa mere boy. He doesn¡¯t like things that sparkle, so why would he ever take your ne?¡± Meanwhile, Sophia bent over to pick up Nathan¡¯s little frog toy. She then patted off the dust before returning it to him. Nathan seemed really unhappy about it when he held his little frog toy in his hands. X, who was silent at first, came out of nowhere to stop Ka. ¡°Sophia is right. Maybe we¡¯ve really mistaken him for stealing your ne. Why would a child steal it anyway? He doesn¡¯t even know what a ne is.¡± X seemed to have reminded Ka of something with her words. Ka instantly shifted her gaze toward Sophia and said, ¡°A child doesn¡¯t know how to steal, but what about an adult who knows all about the goods?¡± Sophia looked at Ka while keeping her cool. She was fearless as she said, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯ve instructed Nate to steal your ne? I¡¯m sorry¡ªno matter how poor I am, I will never yearn for anything that doesn¡¯t belong to me!¡± It was as if Ka was absolutely sure that Sophia was the thief who had stolen her ne. She then said confidently, ¡°You never know for sure. What if someone had really overestimated themselves and yearned for something that they didn¡¯t deserve?¡± Sophia had nothing on her conscience as she took a step aside to reveal her bed. ¡°Since you think that I¡¯ve stolen your ne, I¡¯ll let you search my bed!¡± Ka really did start searching around her bed. Sophia added a sentence deliberately. ¡°I shall warn you beforehand¡ªif you¡¯re unable to find your ne here, you must give Nate and I an exnation!¡± She seemed really confident and was pretty sure that she did not have any of Ka¡¯s belongings with her. Ka snorted before she turned around and began searching through Sophia¡¯s belongings. At a corner where no one was able to notice her, Ka had a mysterious grin on her face. She then grabbed Sophia¡¯s backpack and gave it a shake, shaking out all of the contents in her bag. There were not many things inside of it, for Sophia only had two sets of apparels and ab that she normally used. Everything was scattered all over the ce. All of a sudden, a glistening light showed up in sight. A diamond ne dropped out from one of Sophia¡¯s shirts, and everyone in the room immediately caught sight of it. Most of the girls eximed, ¡°It really is here!¡± ¡°This means that Nate has really stolen it!¡± ¡°How would Nate know anything about stealing? It must¡¯ve been Sophia¡­¡± Ka let out a sly grin while the girls silently gossiped at one side. She grabbed the ne in her hand to show everyone in the room before cing it in front of Sophia and the two instructors. ¡°My ne was indeed in Sophia¡¯s backpack! How dare you say that you did not instruct Nate to steal it!¡± Sophia was caught red-handed, but she remained calm. With easy grace and pride, she stood up straight with a poker face; she was not in any distress and did not feel any sense of guilt at all even though she was caught red-handed. ¡°I don¡¯t know why the ne is here. I¡¯ve never taken your ne, and have never instructed anyone to do so as well!¡± She then looked at Nathan and said, ¡°I believe that Nate will never take your ne as well. This is a nder, an outright nder!¡± Ka deliberately swayed her ne that was worth one million right in front of Sophia. ¡°You¡¯ve been caught red-handed, yet you¡¯re saying that this is nder? Are you trying to say that my ne grew its own legs and made its way into your backpack?¡± Sophia looked away in a proud manner. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I did not take any of your belongings, so Nate and I will not plead guilty!¡± She then held Nathan in her arms, looking as though she was worried that Ka and the others would bully him instead. Ka stopped talking nonsense with Sophia as she brought her ne over to the drilling instructor of the 23rd Company. Ka, who had been fierce-looking moments ago, instantly put on a puppy face. She immediately turned into an edelweiss before she started whining and was nearly in tears. ¡°Instructor, look at her. She is still denying it although she stole my ne!¡± The drilling instructor of the 23rd Company looked sullen, and he did not show much emotion on his face. Ka initially thought that he was going to serve her justice, but little did she expect her instructor to say coldly, ¡°Since you¡¯ve found your ne, let us leave. We still have training tonight.¡± N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. The instructor turned around and left as soon as he finished his sentence. Ka was left looking at the instructor in utter disbelief. That¡¯s all? She had stolen a ne worth a million! It was sufficient to file a case for an investigation to take ce; not only that, Sophia could even end up in jail! Besides, this was military training, and Bayside University was known to be unprecedentedly strict. Sophia should be driven out of here no matter what! Everything was over when the instructor simply said, ¡°There¡¯s training tonight!¡± She did not want to let Sophia get away with it. Ka furiously stomped on the ground and said, ¡°She hasmitted a theft in the barracks. Why are you just letting her be?¡± The instructor suddenly halted in his tracks before he turned around. It was as if an iceberg had suddenly exploded in his eyes as he stared at Ka with a terrifying look. ¡°Should we dy the training sessions of bothpanies just because of your matter?¡± The look he had on his face was the cold look of a true soldier that had gone through life and death on the battlefield; he immediately quelled all the girls on the scene. The drilling instructor of the 23rd Company swept a nce at everyone coldly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, everyone. Whoever iste for tonight¡¯s training will have to run 3000 meters as your punishment. Don¡¯t expect to have a goodnight¡¯s sleep if you¡¯re unable to finish running!¡± Most of the students from the 23rd Company scurried off in fear after hearing the instructor¡¯s words. Soon, the drilling instructor of the 23rd Company left. Sophia quickly spoke to Commander Ford. ¡°Commander Ford, I did not steal any of her belongings. If it really was me, I will be more than willing to ept my punishment. This matter is between Ka and I¡ªit has nothing to do with Nate. No matter what happens, please don¡¯t involve Nate in it.¡± Commander Ford gave Sophia a confused look before he repeated what the drill instructor of the 23rd Company had said. ¡°Training starts at seven o¡¯clock sharp tonight. Anyone who iste will run a drill of 3000 meters with an addition of 200 sit-ups. Don¡¯t expect to sleep until the drill ispleted.¡± All the girls in the room spread out after being terrified by his words. Commander Ford left the room as well. Displeased, Ka was reluctant to leave the room. She really could not figure it out. Why was Sophia not punished although she was already caught red-handed?! Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Richard patted Ka¡¯s shoulder, asking her to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Ka stared at Sophia fiercely before she yelled, ¡°Just wait for it¡ªthis isn¡¯t over yet!¡± With that, Ka dashed out of the room hastily while Richard and X left along with her. Just as they reached the door, Richard suddenly turned around. He looked dearly at Sophia, who was busy tidying up her belongings. In a sincere voice, he said to her, ¡°Sophia, it isn¡¯t necessary for you to do such a thing. You should know that we¡¯re to the point of no return.¡± As soon as he finished his sentence, Richard left while holding X¡¯s hand in his. Sophia had been busy tidying her stuff that had been scattered all over the ce; she did not even take a nce at him. It was only until Richard had left when she finally cussed in silence. ¡°Are you crazy?¡± On the other hand, Nathan did not utter a single word. Nheless, he was clearly upset with the dull- looking expression he had put on. Sophia gently touched his head as sheforted him. ¡°Everything¡¯s alright now; I¡¯m sure that they will be punished!¡± Michael once told her that there were cameras everywhere in the barracks, including the female¡¯s dorms; there would be a female instructor monitoring the situations at any given time. Therefore, they knew best about everything that happened in the barracks. Despite that, they never spread a single word about it since it was ssified as a military training secret; the Fletchers were probably the only ones who knew about it. For instance, the instructors were clearly aware of who had ced nails into Sophia¡¯s shoes, as well as who had hidden the ne in Sophia¡¯s backpack. However, everyone would not agree to installing surveince cameras in the women¡¯s dormitories. Regarding the matter of Sophia stealing the ne, everyone seemed to have guessed what had actually taken ce. It was absolutely impossible for Nathan to steal Ka¡¯s ne, Sophia probably would not do so as well. After all, she was in control of the most important resource at the barracks¡ªiced watermelon. Even if the otherpanies were willing to offer her luxury watches and diamonds in exchange for her watermelon, she would not ept their offers. Thus, she would definitely not steal her ne! Thinking about the grudges between Sophia and the Harpers, it was not that hard to figure out what had actually happened. Everyone was taking their own guesses, but none of them dared to point it out in public. Nheless, Ka was hoping to make an issue out of this matter in order to drive Sophia out of the barracks; she would definitely not give up easily. During their training drills at night, she had asked the drill instructor of the 23rd Company to punish Sophia regarding the ne incident again. As expected, the instructor refused to do so. Kapletely ignored Richard¡¯s dissuasion as she went over thepanymander and brought up the matter directly to the battalionmanders. The battalionmander pretended to investigate the matter and responded to Ka¡¯s request. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it after the military training!¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Ka nearly went mad. She became unreasonable and went straight to the regimentalmanders! She had been causing trouble since that night until the next day; Ka had even skipped training that morning. She continued to annoy the regimentalmander in hopes that he would punish Sophia. Nheless the regimentalmander¡¯s answer was the same¡ªhe had asked her to wait until the military training ended. As a result, Ka was not able to achieve what she had wanted. Additionally, she was punished by the instructor and had toplete a 3000-meter running drill together with 200 sit-ups because she had been absent from training. ¡°She¡¯s the one who stole my ne, so why is everyone taking sides with her?¡± Themanders were passing the buck for the matter Ka had brought up to them. She was even punished for it, which put a chip on her shoulder as she started to make a scene during training. Sophia had been caught red-handed for stealing her ne, but why wasn¡¯t anyone punishing her? On the contrary, she ended up being the one getting punished instead! The morning session of military training was taking ce at that moment. Everyone underwent training obediently except for Ka, who kept yelling and crying at the instructor. ¡°I¡¯m not convinced! She was the one who had stolen the ne, so why have you punished me?¡± The drill instructor of the 23rd Company remained expressionless as he said, ¡°It is the duty of a soldier to obey orders. You¡¯ve only got two choices¡ªit is either you follow as I say or leave!¡± Ka felt wronged and started weeping tearfully. She immediately turned into a shrew right on the spot. ¡°I won¡¯t run! It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Richard immediately urged her right after seeing Ka¡¯s erratic behavior. ¡°Calm down, Ka. Just follow the instructor¡¯s orders and don¡¯t fight back!¡± He was someone who had gone through military training. Therefore, he knew the dark side of military training; he had taken the initiative to lead this team just to supervise Ka. Richard knew without doubt that she had an extremely stubborn personality, and no one could stop her once she was strong-willed about doing something. Ka was not willing to ept the oue. In order to set this all up, she had missedst night¡¯s dinner and starved the entire night. She had to find someone to ce the ne in Sophia¡¯s backpack, and even had to bribe a couple of students to be witnesses. She was initially confident that she would be able to drive Sophia out, but what had gone wrong? Sophia was just an ordinary civilian; she did not have any background either. Why was everyone protecting her? She didn¡¯t even manage to get rid of her after having put nails in her shoes. She was a tough one to knock down indeed! Richard kept on persuading her before he had finally gotten Ka to start running her 3000-meter drill. Everyone was training while they watched over Ka as she ran around the synthetic-rubber sports track in circles. The weather was scorching hot because the sun was hanging in mid-air, and she started to totter as if she was on the verge of copsing. Contrarily, the 49th Company was under the shade. They were taking a break as they enjoyed the iced watermelons Sophia had offered them. At the same time, they watched as Ka passed by right in front of them. Quite a number of them were pointing fingers at her before they started mocking at her. Ka felt like she was running naked, and both her eyes reddened in an instant¡ªespecially when she had embarrassed herself in front of Sophia, who was just sitting there while enjoying her watermelon. Sophia, I promise to ruin your reputation one day! Ka ruthlessly cursed Sophia in mind. Sophia was eating her watermelon as she watched Kaplete her rounds on the track expressionlessly. No one knew what she was pondering about. All she wanted was to get a high score in military training. Don¡¯t me her if you get in her way of achieving her goals! Since Ka was a young mistress, shecked physical strength. All of a sudden, she dropped to the ground while running. Richard then hastily picked her up before sending her to the infirmary. In the infirmary, Ka had woken up to find herself on the receiving end of an intravenous drip. Sheid down still and did not bother to budge an inch the whole day. She only wanted to go home and did not want to stay back at the barracks for a second longer. However, if she left the barracks, she would lose a huge amount of credit. Nheless, whenever she shut her eyes, she would see Sophia mocking her with a piece of watermelon in her hands. She was anxious to shred thetter into pieces! At noon, X came over to take care of Ka during lunchtime. She happened to see her best friend, Ka, weeping in tears as she hugged her. ¡°What went wrong? She was the one who stole my ne, but why is everyone ming me instead?¡± X did not know what the problem was as well. Although Ka was not very smart, a n as such was quite foolproof. The parents of the students who had pointed Nathan out as the thief all worked under thepany of the Harpers and the Huffs, which meant that those students would definitely obey Ka¡¯s orders. Moreover, no one else was there when the incident had taken ce; their usation of Sophia instructing Nathan to steal was definite. Why had her ns not seeded? It must¡¯ve been because of Ka¡¯s poor acting skills; the instructor must have seen her through. In that case, she deserved to be punished! Xforted Ka and said, ¡°Ka, you have to stay strong. If you aren¡¯t able to persist, you¡¯ll embarrass yourself in front of everybody!¡± Ka sobbed twice, and her tears trickled down unwillingly. She became extremely upset whenever she recalled the smirk on Sophia¡¯s face. She had to get rid of her from the barracks at all costs! Chapter 72 Chapter 72 No matter what, Ka could not give up. She still had to train in the barracks and receive a high score as well; she even wanted to see Sophia get driven out from the barracks! Ka decided to stay strong after she had made up her mind; she certainly did not want to make a fool out of herself in front of Sophia again. Ka held herself as she sat up straight before she followed X back to their dormitory and got ready for that night¡¯s training. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. However, she didn¡¯t think that she would run into a crowd of people when she arrived at her room. Commander Ford from the 49th Company, Sophia, the only child in the barracks¡ªNathan, and the girls from the 23rd Company were all present. Apart from these people, thepanymander of the 23rd Company and Richard were also at the scene. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ka caught sight of Sophia as soon as she entered the room, and she gritted her teeth instantly. Commander Ford was expressionless as he said, ¡°My student, Nate, suspects that someone from the 23rd Company has stolen his watermelon. He requests to search the 23rd Company¡¯s dorm.¡± Commander Ford must have been holding back hisughter when he said that. The edges of his lips could not help but twitch slightly as themander nced at Nathan, who was in deep hatred. Nathan stood beside Commander Ford. He had an expressionless face while he stared coldly at the students from the 23rd Company. Ka was standing among the crowd when she mocked silently. ¡°Did someone from the 23rd Company steal his watermelons? What a joke! As if we¡¯ve never eaten watermelons before!¡± X and Ka stayed in the same dorm. Their eyes twitched as soon as they saw Nathan entering their dorm, and it felt as though something bad was going to happen. Sure enough, after getting permission from bothmanders, Nathan easily made his way toward one of the beds. Then, he crouched down and crawled under the bed before retrieving a huge iced watermelon. All the girls in the entire dorm were startled. Someone had really stolen his watermelon! Moreover, wasn¡¯t it Ka¡¯s bed?! Nathan walked away with a cold-shoulder after he had found his watermelon. Silence reigned through the entire dorm, and Ka seemed to have finally realized what was going on. She had been punished for no particr reason, so she would¡¯ve been at the track or in the infirmary the entire day. How could she possibly have stolen Nathan¡¯s watermelon? She was being ndered! An out-and-out nder! Ka immediately yelled, ¡°I didn¡¯t do it! I did not steal his watermelon! They must have framed me!¡± Unfortunately, no one was willing to listen to her exnation. Thepanymander of the 23rd Company had even looked at her with disappointment and said, ¡°You¡¯ve disappointed me! You¡¯d even steal a watermelon!¡± After he finished speaking, both of thepanymanders left the room indifferently, and Sophia went along with them as well. Even Richard was looking at Ka with disappointment. That night, the incident of Ka stealing a watermelon had spread throughout the entire training ground. Not only was she despised by the crowd, she even received a moderate punishment for it. Although her punishment was not heavy, it would be a challenge for Ka to even pass her military training. How could a young mistress from the Harper Family steal a watermelon?! No one believed it when the news first broke out. On the second day, everyone finally believed it when they saw the notice on the bulletin board at the training ground, informing students about the decision to punish Ka from 23rd Company because of her watermelon theft. After the incident, everyone took turns guessing what had happened to the Harpers; it was as though someone had been framing them on purpose. Previously, Ka had been punished even though her ne had been stolen. Just a dayter, she was once again punished for stealing a watermelon. Her reasons for getting punished were extremely embarrassing! ¡°I want to see themanding general! I refuse toply with this! I want to see themanding general!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t steal anything! It was that bitch who framed me! I won¡¯t ept it! I will never give up! I want to see themanding general!¡± Early the next morning, everyone watched as Ka yelled wildly on the training ground. Nheless, it was not that easy for someone to see themanding general. Everyone ignored herpletely before two drill instructors put her into confinement for 24 hours. Ka had really gotten herself into huge trouble this time. Not only was she being punished for her previous mistakes, she was put into confinement after making a huge ruckus at the training ground. Now, it seemed like she couldn¡¯t even score 60 points. As she watched Ka suffer from her consequences, Sophia did not feel strange about it at all. As for Ka, she probably did not think that her every action was being recorded by the surveince cameras. Even if she was not punished now, her military training grades would reflect her behavior. In the end, she would not be able to pass as well. The reason why she had been punished was not because of Nathan¡¯s stolen watermelon¡ªit was because she had framed Nathan for stealing her ne. You get what you deserve for having offended the Fletchers in the barracks! Richard did not expect Ka to get into so much trouble even though he had personally supervised her. To one¡¯s surprise, Ka still ended up getting confined! During his ss, someone had gotten confined after getting into a fight as well. Once they were punished or put in confinement, all their previous efforts were in vain; even if the person had scored full marks for his or her assessment afterward, it did not mean that they were able to pass. Richard was very worried; he clearly knew the consequences for not passing military training. Ka needed to work especially hard for theing three to four years and had to rank top of her ss every year. Moreover, she also had to achieve the national schrship in order to make up for the points she had lost during military training. Otherwise, she would have to repeat a year or start afresh in the next military training. Richard pleaded with thepanymanders, the battalionmanders and the regimental commander for mercy. Nheless, they did not even want to hear what he had to say. His means ofmunication had been confiscated when he entered the barracks. Therefore, Richard was unable to contact his family members to pull a few strings, and could only rely on the connections he had inside the barracks. There were a lot of students at Bayside University who were born into noble military families, and they had exceptional influence in the barracks. Unfortunately, all these connections were useless here; Bayside University was known for having the strictest military training. Moreover, Joel himself was personally responsible for overseeing them this year. Who was Joel? He was the eldest young master of the Fletcher Family, and the youngest senior colonel of the entire Cethos! He could make the whole Bayside City shiver in fear just by stomping his feet, let alone this tiny barrack. The Fletcher Family was far from Richard¡¯s reach; wealthy families like his could only be thrown under the shade of the Four Great Families. After running about for the entire day, his efforts had resulted in nothing. The application of punishment was issued by thepanymanders; the battalionmanders were then in charge of submitting the application to the regimentalmanders to check before it was reviewed and signed by the commanding general. Hence, it was nearly impossible for Joel to take back his words as he was firm with his decisions. That night, Richard went over to the confinement room and delivered some food to Ka. When he saw his sister, she was drenched in tears. There was only a chair and a dirty toilet in the room; there was a skylight situated high above as the room was filled with an unusual scent. It was suffocating being in the room since one could not hear anything. As a man, Richard felt immensely ufortable staying in here, let alone Ka¡ªa young mistress who had never been through any hardships. Richard handed over Ka¡¯s dinner through a customized window. Ka started wailing through the little window on the metal door as though she had finally met her savior. ¡°Help me, Richard. I¡¯m going crazy. I don¡¯t want to stay here! It¡¯s scary here! Quick, get me out of here!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t steal anything, Richard. You¡¯ve got to trust me¡ªit was Sophia! That b*tch framed me!¡± Richard was upset when he saw Ka getting punished. He quicklyforted her, ¡°It¡¯s alright. These 24 hours will end soon, and I believe in you!¡± Ka was crying and cursing at the same time. She was nearly at the verge of copsing. ¡°It¡¯s all because of her! She has always wanted to get me into trouble! It¡¯s all her fault!¡± Chapter 73 Chapter 73 Richard watched as his own sister got tortured in such a way, loosening his fists that were tightly clenched just moments ago. He did not expect Sophia to do something as cruel as this; she had stolen her ne and even ndered Ka for stealing Nathan¡¯s watermelon! All of a sudden, a thought popped into Ka¡¯s mind. She rubbed off the tears on her cheeks before she held onto Richard¡¯s hand tightly through the little window on the door. ¡°Richard, I know that b*tch still has feelings for you. Why don¡¯t you look for her and get her to plead the companymanders for mercy? If she admits that she ndered me, they will let me out. That would make up for my grades as well!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Richard seemed hesitant. He wanted her to recede from theints, but would she agree to it though? Noticing her brother¡¯s hesitant look on his face, Ka hastily held onto his hands. ¡°Richard, she¡¯s doing all of this just to attract your attention¡ªshe¡¯s even thinking about getting married to the Harpers. You only have to pretend to get back together with her. Eventually, she will listen to everything you say! She will listen to your orders!¡± Getting back together with Sophia¡­ Richard hesitated for a bit. Even though he was dying to get back together with Sophia, he was currently in a rtionship with X and could not simply betray his girlfriend like that. Ka did not care about X at all; she held onto Richard tightly as though she was holding on to her final hope. ¡°You¡¯d just have to pretend to promise her and get along with Sophia for some time; once the military training is over, you can dump her. X is a kind and sensible person, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll give you her full support!¡± Richard kept quiet for one minute before he finally agreed to it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± Ka turned her tears of sadness into tears of joy, looking as though she had finally found hope. Didn¡¯t Sophia cause so many troubles just to get her brother to change his mind about her? As long as Richard was willing to return to her side, she would be as humble as a dog and give Ka the chance to do whatever she wanted! Ka believed that Sophia would soon admit everything she had done. By then, themanders would release her as well. Half of the girls were absent in their dorm rooms, for they would usually gather around in their own social circles right after washing up. Sophia was getting ready to sleep after she had washed her face and rinsed her mouth. At that moment, someone informed her from outside that a person was waiting for her at the main entrance of the dorm. When she made her way out, she noticed Richard standing under one of the streetmps situated just outside their dorm. He was handsome and well-dressed in his military uniform, looking just like a schr who had joined the army. His gentle-looking eyebrows reflected his unchanged gentleness and affection from Sophia¡¯s memories. ¡°Sophia, can we go for a walk together?¡± Richard put on a pleasant smile as he sincerely invited Sophia out. He waspletely prepared to get rejected, but little did he think that Sophia would ept his invitation. ¡°Alright, give me a minute. Let me go back and have my shoes changed.¡± Sophia, who was wearing slippers, quickly ran back to her dorm room. Richard was slightly startled as he stared at her from the back; it seemed like he had caught sight of her anticipation. It looked like she had probably guessed his reason foring over today, so she must be really happy about it, right? She was no longer the kind and simple Sophia she used to be. Now, she had be scheming and cynical. In order to get back together with Richard, she had even done things to hurt Ka¡­ Nheless, why did he feel his heart throbbing the moment he saw her? It was especially her hearty smile; Sophia¡¯s smile looked just the same as he pictured in his mind. She was the girl who stood under the shades of the tree with a simple and pleasant smile. The reason why she had done everything she did was just to get back together with him. What a stubborn girl she was! Then, what about X? While Sophia was getting changed, Richard pondered about it as he stared at the streetmp. Soon, Sophia returned not long after. She had changed into a pair of shoes, and there was a little doll in her arms. Nathan seemed to be upset about it, and he stared coldly at Richard. Beforeing to the barracks, Michael had urged him to be aware of whoever got close to Sophia. If anyone were to make a move, Michael had even instructed Nathan to take matters into his own hands. Although Nathan felt like Michael¡ªthe man who Sophia was married to¡ªwas a violent man, the unusual person standing in front of his eyes looked even worse than Michael! This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Richard did not expect Sophia to bring the kid along; he was slightly astonished by it. On the other hand, Sophia was very happy as she held on to Nathan¡¯s hand. ¡°Good boy. We¡¯re going outside for a breath of fresh air¡ªlet¡¯s look at the beautiful scenery and feed the mosquitoes.¡± Nathan did not say a word, but his right hand held onto Sophia while his left hand grabbed onto the little frog toy that Sophia had won for him at a funfair. He pinched it and the frog made a squeaking noise which was harsh on the ears. The three of them walked out from the dorm area. The barrack was huge, and a bunch of students would come out to take a breath of fresh air at night. Apart from that, they would y basketball on the training grounds while couples would be spending time alone under the shades of the trees. Hence, there was not anything special about the two of them walking together. The scenery in the barrack was not that bad; there was a man-made pond, and the three of them were circling round it. Nathan had purposely stood between Sophia and Richard. Richard organized his speech before he started speaking to Sophia in a cool and bright manner, ¡°This ce looks just like our high school¡ªit had the same man-made pond as well. I remember that we would always learn new vocabries by heart every morning near the pond back then; I would stand on one side while you stood on the other. We wouldn¡¯t disturb each other, but I could always see you whenever I raised my head¡­¡± Sophia had indulged herself in their past memories as well. ¡°You¡¯re right. All of it seems like it was just yesterday,¡± she said. Unfortunately, it was all in the past now. She no longer had feelings for Richard as she stood beside him at that moment. In fact, she wanted tough upon thinking about it. The atmosphere was filled with affection when Nathan immediately squeezed his little frog upon realizing it. A huge squeaking sound broke through the subtle atmosphere, ruining the moment for Richard. Richard stood by the pond and looked at the clear reflection of the full moon on the surface of it. He suddenly realized that it was mid-autumn day, and the round moon in the sky made him think back to the mid-autumn day two years ago. He then subconsciously put on a smile and asked, ¡°Do you remember what happened two years ago? I brought you to the Snow Garden on my bicycle to have some mooncakes. The taste of it was¡­¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Nathan squeezed his little frog toy once. Richard, who had been interrupted, continued saying, ¡°I liked the sweet ones but you preferred¡­¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± Nathan squeezed his little frog toy discontentedly once again. He raised his head to look at Richard, who was about to say something again. He quickly squeezed his frog toy consecutively. ¡°Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!¡± Sophia touched Nathan on his head and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Nate?¡± Nathan put on a straight face. ¡°I want to eat a popsicle.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Okay. Lucky for you, I still have a few bucks in my pocket. Let¡¯s go have some popsicles!¡± As soon as she finished her sentence, Sophia immediately left along with Nathan. Richard quickly caught up to them. ¡°Sophia, I¡­¡± Sophia politely interrupted her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, senior. I¡¯m going to get Nate some popsicles. You can take a walk around here yourself!¡± With that, Sophia ignored whatever expression Richard had on his face before she brought Nathan to the military service center. After buying two popsicles, Sophia and Nathan each had a popsicle dangling from their mouths as they continued to walk around the ce. Sophia found a stone stool and took a seat when the both of them arrived at a quiet corner. After they were done with the popsicles, Sophia touched Nathan on the head and said, ¡°Oh Nate, why are you so cute? Come here, let me kiss you.¡± Nathan refused to let her kiss him. He turned away to avoid Sophia¡¯s affectionate attack, but Sophia insisted on lifting him up for a kiss. The both of them were messing around when a deep voice was suddenly hearding from the dark. ¡°Chica!¡± Chapter 74 Chapter 74 The sound was as loud as thunder, making Sophia jump reflexively. She had almost lost her soul! It was Michael¡¯s voice! That pervert was the only person in the world who would give her such an erotic name! Sophia looked around in fright. There were quite a lot of people nearby, but none of them seemed to be calling her. Furthermore, it was impossible for Michael to show up here since he was supposed to be working on the other side of the globe at the moment. She sat down and tapped her head. ¡°I must be too tired; I¡¯m starting to hallucinate.¡± However, Nathan seemed to have noticed something and stared at a small alley nearby. The yellow, dim light cast a shadow in the alley, and a man dressed in an army uniform emerged slowly from it. His figure was stretched in the light; since the brim of his cap had blocked away the light, it was hard to see his face clearly. Nheless, one could tell that he had handsome facial features. Under thebination of the moonlight and the streetlight, his high nose bridge cast a long shadow and created a silhouette out of a fantasy world. It seemed like he came from another world and had broken through different dimensions, looking mysterious yet cold at the same time. Even without looking at his face, one could tell that this person was definitely the best of the best! Sophia hid behind the bushes and peaked at him, wanting to know who this man was. Judging from his attire, he was wearing the same uniform as the students; a drill instructor wouldn¡¯t wear that. Unless, was there such an exquisite man among the students? There were several thousand new students this year. Sophia didn¡¯t know every single one of them, but with a casual nce across the training field, there were not many who could present that vibe. Just by looking at the way he walked, he had an aura that was different from the other students. If there was really anyone who dressed up that way, Sophia would have noticed it at first nce. The man walked toward her direction, and the sound of his steady footsteps seemed to suggest that he was extraordinary. Stopping not far away from Sophia, his face was hidden in the shadows as his cap was blocking the moonlight and the streetlight. Sophia stretched her neck to look at him; she noticed there was a mysterious and a seductive smile on the man¡¯s lips, and the pair of eyes hidden in the dark were projecting light rays directly on her. The man paused for two seconds and continued to walk forward with a clear goal, which was toward Sophia¡¯s direction. Sophia, who was hiding behind the bushes, didn¡¯t move. She stayed where she was in hopes of finding out who that man was. He¡¯s close! He¡¯s close! In the blink of an eye, the man was already less than a few meters away from her. His huge body blocked the light from the streetmp that was nearby, forming a shadow on Sophia¡¯s face. She was stunned as she raised her head and saw his face that was slowly appearing under the moonlight. The impassive expression on his face added a hint of solemnness and his eyes gleamed like an obsidian before he looked at her with a smile. ¡°Hubby!¡± Sophia was dumbstruck as she swallowed the words ¡®pervert¡¯ just in time. It¡¯s really Michael! He¡¯s actually here at the camp! Sophia thought that she had mistaken him for someone else. She rubbed her eyes, but Michael was still there, looking exactly like the man on her marriage certificate. She pushed Nathan¡¯s shoulder lightly and stared at Michael in disbelief. ¡°Son, I think I¡¯m looking at your dad! Am I hallucinating?¡± Nathan raised his head and looked at the man who had travelled through night and day. He pouted his lips and didn¡¯t seem to be surprised at all; thinking his surname was Fletcher as well, there was nothing unusual about his father showing up in the barracks at all. In order to avoid seeing their affectionter on, Nathan turned around and ran off. Suddenly, there was only Michael and Sophia left. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael was smiling as he took two steps forward and hugged Sophia. He gave her a kiss on the lips so strong that he almost bit her. Then, he asked, ¡°Are you surprised? Was it unexpected?¡± Sophia was finally certain that he was Michael. Since his appearance waspletely out of her expectations, she was startled more than she was surprised. She forced a smile. ¡°S-Surprised.¡± What is he doing here at the camp? Wait a minute¡ªhow did he manage to get in? This old guy, shouldn¡¯t he be working abroad right now?! Sophia had a lot of questions, but Michael did not give her the chance to speak. Suddenly, he picked her up and carried her into the pavilion, insisting on kissing her. Sophia was almost breathless when he kissed her vigorously, so she could only pretend to be shy and resisted him stubbornly. ¡°Hubby, don¡¯t¡­¡± Michael had only been away from her for a short time, but he seemed to have missed her more than he thought he would. Although he could see her through the surveince cameras everyday and watched her every single move, it was still only a surveince video at the end of the day; the more he watched it, the harder it was for him to control his strong urge of wanting to see her. It seemed weird; it was as if she was slowly bing a part of his body. If he did not see her for a day, he would feel ufortable. He frantically wanted to feel her breath; he wanted to touch her warm body; and he wanted to listen to her talk, even if it was only several notes of her voice. Michael hugged Sophia¡¯s small and soft body. The unique scent of the youngdy wafted into his nose like a drug, seducing him to the point where he couldn¡¯t control himself. His huge palm glided across the curve of her body, and his warm breathnded on her; he really wanted to f*ck her right away. Although this was a military camp, it still wouldn¡¯t get in his way. However, he knew that Sophia wasn¡¯t ready at that moment, so he had to wait until the day his ¡®chica¡¯ was ready to ept him. Sophia continued to get kissed until she was in a daze, yet Michael had no intention of letting her go. He started to touch Sophia all over her body; she was hot and flushed as he pinned her down on hisp. The two were tightly ensped with one another, and it was as if her whole world was surrounded by his strong aura to the point where even her breathing was derived. ¡°Hubby¡­¡± All of her words and breath were once again stripped away by Michael. Michael buried his head between her neck. As he slowly unzipped her military uniform, he nted a hot kiss on her snow-white chest; it was as if he wanted his scent to stay on this appealing young body forever and drive those who had inappropriate desires away from her. He wanted to use this method to prove his ownership over Sophia aggressively. As the couple hid in the pavilion and continued to show their affection for one another, a figure dressed in a military uniform stood by the shade of the trees, feeling exasperated. X looked at the two people in the pavilion coldly, and her anger had already burnt through her sanity and dignity. In the past, Richard and X would go out for a 30-minute walk every night after military training, getting into a lovers¡¯ prattle before going back. However, when she went to look for Richard today, she was told that he had already left the room. She felt extremely uneasy, so she went to the 49th Company and asked about his whereabouts. As it turned out, Richard had indeed gone to look for Sophia, and they even came out for a tryst behind her back! What a hungry douchebag and b*tch! Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Despite being a distance away from them, the poor lighting, and the fact that she couldn¡¯t hear what the two were saying, X knew that they were Sophia and Richard! Indeed, how could Sophia possibly let Richard go that easily?! After everything she¡¯s done, she¡¯s managed to attract Richard¡¯s attention! In order to save Ka, it seemed like Richard had indeed gone to make peace with Sophia. They¡¯re back together now, so what am I? Am I the third wheel? mes of fury burned in X¡¯s eyes. Ever since she was a young girl, she had always gotten everything she wanted¡ªincluding men! Richard was the man she had her eyes on, so no one could even dream about taking him away! Sophia, do you think you can use this method to snatch my Richard away?! Impossible! I was able to snatch him away back then, so I¡¯ll be able to do it again now! X threw away the pulpy Wisteria flower that was crushed in her hand. With that, she turned around and disappeared into the dark quietly. At the pavilion, Sophia was finally released out of Michael¡¯s embrace. Her chest was flushed but slightly cold at the same time. While she was still in Michael¡¯s arms, her body stiffened as she leaned on his shoulder and panted slightly. ¡°Hubby, this is the military camp. How did you manage to get in?¡± Michael held her hand and caressed it gently, feeling that it was rougher than he imagined it to be. For the sake of getting a high score, she had indeed suffered quite a bit. He kissed her face indiscriminately and whispered in her ear. ¡°I jumped over the wall.¡± Sophia chuckled and didn¡¯t ask again. He is one of the Fletchers, so how else would he be able to get in? He¡¯d just have to swipe his card and walk in! Michael patted her shoulder and was surprisingly gentle when he said, ¡°Don¡¯t put too much pressure on yourself. Your grades are very good now, and as long as you don¡¯t make any huge mistakes, getting a high score shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Sophia nodded. She didn¡¯t ask how Michael found out about her scores in the military. The wind was gentle and it was cloudless tonight. The moon was shining bright in the clear night sky, as if it was casting a faintyer of silver frosts on the ground. However, Sophia was not happy at all when she gazed at the beautiful night sky. Tomorrow is going to be another hot day! Sophia leaned on Michael¡¯s shoulder and looked weakly at the calm and clear sky. Suddenly, she felt that his shoulder was rather firm, and she could rest on it for a moment. Sophia was no longer the naive, youngdy that she used to be. She had gone through everything her peers wouldn¡¯t have expected, so she was already at peace with herself. She had once fallen deeply in love with Richard, but in the end, he pushed her away without any sorrow. If she regarded Michael as the person whom she could rely on for the rest of her life, who would be able to make sure that he wouldn¡¯t push her away in the future too? Relying on myself is the right way! After an entire day of training, Sophia was feeling tired already as she was overwhelmed with sleepiness. Her eyelids were drooping, and everything Michael said to her became blurry; she was so tired that all of her senses were shut down. Michael wanted to talk to Sophia and catch up with her. However, before he could even get two sentences out, she started to yawn already. He watched as she was nodding off. Her whole body was leaning in his arms, sleeping soundly like a kitten. Michael held her up straight so she could lean on his shoulder. He let her sleep quietly and looked at her as she slept. She looked really calm and as beautiful as a painting, but he still liked the noisy Sophia more. He looked at her, and the light in his eyes seemed to fade away gradually¡­ Sophia almost forgot how she had made her way to the room. When she woke up the next day, Michael was already gone. She had been sleeping on the infirmary bed for the whole night in an air-conditioned room. Strangely enough, it didn¡¯t seem like Michael had touched her. Was it because she was in military camp, so it was hard for him to do whatever he wanted? Juliette had brought her breakfast as she asked in a concerned tone, ¡°How¡¯s your fever, Sophia? Nate said you had a high fever all of a suddenst night, so you¡¯ve been receiving an intravenous infusion in the infirmary. I was so worried about you.¡± A high fever and an intravenous infusion? She touched her head. Clearly, there was no fever nor any pain. Did she have a high feverst night to the point of hallucinating Michael? She nced toward the bedside and noticed there was a stic bag of her favourite snacks. The convenient store in the barracks only sold some daily necessities; and other than some popsicles, there was nothing else. It was obvious that the snacks weren¡¯t from the barracks. When she opened the stic bag, she saw a handwritten note that said, ¡®There is more in the fridge. Nate will show you where it is.¡¯ The writing was bold and sturdy, looking as if they were standing straight like a soldier. Sophia looked at the note and after a three-second pause, she realized that it had been written by Michael. Her lips curled up in a smile. However, she immediately restrained herself. Juliette seemed to have discovered something huge as she smiled wickedly. ¡°This is from your boyfriend!¡± She sounded confident. Sophia looked at the bag of snacks and felt nothing but warmth. My boyfriend? ¡°I guess so!¡± That¡¯s my husband! Juliette looked envious. ¡°It must be nice having a boyfriend who would stay with you all night and not return to the dormitory. He even got you snacks! It is almost impossible to find any snacks here in the barracks!¡± No wonder there were rumors about Richard not returning to the dormitoryst night. Turns out he was here with Sophia the entire time! Sophia shared some of her snacks with Juliette as she reminded her, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anybody about this; they might get upset about it.¡± Everybody else wasn¡¯t able to enjoy the snacks as she ate it alone. If anybody else found out about it, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be happy about it; they might tell her off, which would even result in a fall out should themander start an investigation. Therefore, it would be best if only the two of them knew about it. Juliette nodded and promised, ¡°I swear I won¡¯t tell.¡± After all, X is still Richard¡¯s girlfriend in public. The fact that Sophia secretly got back together with Richard and had even spent the whole night together means that she is the mistress¡­ This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Therefore, it¡¯d be better if fewer people knew about the matter. The two reached a ¡®consensus¡¯ and happily shared the snacks. Sophia returned to the dormitory and simply washed up as she prepared herself for a new day of training. Yesterday, she fell asleep in Michael¡¯s arms in a daze; Michael had probably carried her directly to the infirmary so she could sleep there. If he was to carry her back to the dormitory, it would be too obvious. Fortunately, Nathan came back to report in time and the infirmary gave her a medical certificate. This way, her scores would not be deducted for not returning to the dormitory at night. While she washed up, Juliette sneaked to a remote corner in the barracks. There was someone waiting for her already. Juliette was fearful when she saw the person. She lowered her head and reported timidly, ¡°I¡¯ve asked her earlier. She admitted herself that she had indeed been with Zane, and they stayed at the infirmary the whole night. Zane even got her a lot of snacks that are not allowed in the camp.¡± Chapter 76 Chapter 76 Before Juliette could even finish her sentence, she felt a chill go down her spine as she experienced goosebumps. X had a frosty look on her face. She clenched her fists as hard as possible, and she didn¡¯t even realize that her nails were already piercing through her flesh. The scene of Sophia and Richard kissing each other at the pavilionst night kept reying in her mind; she really wanted to sh Sophia into pieces every time she thought about thetter lying in Richard¡¯s arms and calling him ¡®hubby.¡¯ After a while, she turned around and looked at Juliette impassively. Juliette was afraid to look up into her hawk-like eyes. From an outsider¡¯s point of view, who would have thought that someone as adorable as Young Lady Harper was actually a woman with a wicked heart. ¡°Are you sure that¡¯s what she said?¡± X looked at Juliette coldly, looking as though she was about to kick Juliette if she said anything wrongly. Juliette nodded immediately. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure of it¡ªshe said it herself. She even gave me a pocket-full of snacks so I wouldn¡¯t tell anyone about this.¡± She was sweating all over her back as she finished her sentence. X did not reply. The atmosphere became unusually dead and after about a minute, she finally said coldly, ¡°Ha! It seems like the nails were not enough to teach her a lessonst time. You should head to your training first; don¡¯t give her any trouble just so you don¡¯t let the cat out of the bag. Meet me here after training at ten o¡¯clock tonight.¡± Juliette felt a sense of relief as she turned around and left. She didn¡¯t want to be X¡¯s aplice, but her mother suffered from several heart attacks and required surgery. On the other hand, her father was working in Huff Technology; they were relying on the company¡¯s sponsorship to fund her mother¡¯s surgery. If she offended X in any way, her whole family would be ruined. Richard had stayed out all night thinking of ways to get Ka out. Since Sophia refused to help, Ka couldn¡¯t clear off her allegations. In other words, his sister would definitely fail military training because of it and have a hard time graduating. He kept thinking about it and came up with countless solutions, but all of his ideas were soon discarded by himself immediately. The Fletchers! The Fletchers! If only he had a widerwork of connections and knew someone from the Fletcher Family, the situation could be resolved. Unfortunately, he could only admire their presence from afar. Since he was too engrossed with his own thoughts, he missed the time when the lights went off in the dormitory. Once the lights were off, the doors would be closed. He didn¡¯t make it in time to return to the dormitory, but Richard did not have to worry about getting his scores deducted because he was the student leader. Instead, he went to the infirmary and reported his ¡®sickness¡¯ in order to get a bed and slept through the night. However, he did not expect to see X crying as she came to get treated when he was about to leave the infirmary the next morning. He felt bad when he looked at the way she cried and immediately went tofort her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, X?¡± When X saw Richarding out of the infirmary, her eyes dimmed for a split second, but it was quickly reced with her pitiful tears. She showed him the wound on her hand and said aggrievedly, ¡°I identally injured myself this morning.¡± Richard apanied X as she got her wound treated before sending her off to the training ground. X was so aggrieved that she kept holding onto his hand, unwilling to let go of him. The two were acting lovey-dovey as they went to the field. When it came to the couple¡¯s mushy behavior, everyone was already ustomed to it. The marriage between the Harper Family and the Huff Family was bound to happen, and they had already released the news of their engagement to the public; it would probably be held after Ka¡¯s birthday dinner party. There were many well-informed people in the camp. Last night, some students saw Richard going into the dormitory to look for Sophia before they went out together. Richard and Sophia were both gone all night, and someone else saw a man dressed in his army uniform carrying Sophia into the infirmary; the man in his army uniform was a hundred percent Richard. Because the two of them were old lovers, rumors about Sophia and Richard getting back together and spending the entire night in the infirmary started to spread. It turned out that everything Sophia did was all because of Richard. Since it was almost training time, Sophia held Nathan¡¯s little hands and deliberately hopped their way into the field. She had initially wanted Nathan to learn a bit of childishness from her, but she didn¡¯t expect Nathan to remain impassive the whole journey¡ªhe even looked at her as if she was a crazy person. A woman in love would always be crazy; with the help of some snacks, she had be even crazier! If it were up to Nathan, he would need at least twice the amount! As she skipped along, Sophia asked, ¡°Darling, why are you not as lively and cute as other kids your age?¡± Nathan rolled his eyes. ¡°I am not a three year old anymore.¡± Sophia seemed to look different from yesterday. She was in a very good mood, and she felt that her body was as light as a bird¡ªshe could probably almost fly. It must¡¯ve been the snacks Michael had given to her. The thought of having so many snacks that she could eat in secret made her extremely happy, so she hopped into the training field unknowingly. The atmosphere in the training field seemed to be different today, and everyone looked toward her direction as if nothing had happened. Sophia looked extremely unusual today; it was obvious from her look of her face, which beamed and blushed madly. Upon closer inspection, there was a faint hickey on her neck and a tooth mark at the corner of her lips that was less obvious. One could tell at first nce that she had definitely been kissed aggressivelyst night. She was even skipping around when she walked¡ªthese were all typical signs when someone crazy in love got back with her ex-boyfriend. Although everyone had heard about the rumor, they chose not to believe it. After all, Sophia¡¯s rtionship with the Harper Family had be incredibly awkward. But now, it seemed like Sophia was indeed a devious woman who would go out of her way for love. Sophia seemed to have not noticed the unusual atmosphere as she greeted everyone like usual and started to prepare for training. Several full-length mirrors were ced at the side of the field so the students could check their outfits anytime. After all, tidiness and cleanliness of their uniforms were included in the scope of the assessment. This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Sophia looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted her cap and belt. She pulled down the brim of the cap slightly, blocking half her eyes and leaving her high-bridge nose out as it reflected in the mirror. She suddenly realized that she looked quite ¡®handsome¡¯ in her military uniform. She didn¡¯t know why, but the moment she thought of ¡®handsomeness¡¯, the first person who appeared in her mind was actually Michael. Dressed in his military uniformst night, he stood under the moonlight and was covered in ayer of silver frost. That look was incredibly handsome! Sophia blushed as she thought about Michael. While holding her face in front of the mirror, she smiled inexplicably. As Nathan watched her actions from the side, he rolled his eyes again. He thought he was about to get a sister very soon. Several nosy girls kept staring at Sophia, and when they noticed her smiling at the mirror inexplicably, they knew that what happened between Richard and her must be true. As they surrounded Nathan, they asked him teasingly, ¡°Good boy, Nate. Is your mom in love?¡± They were always under the impression that Sophia had taken money from Nathan¡¯s family to take care of him, so she was considered his nanny. Furthermore, they always yedputer games together. Sophia was Nathan¡¯s father in the game, so whenever they brought up the question to Sophia, she would say she was Nathan¡¯s ¡®father.¡¯ Nathan told them the truth and said, ¡°A woman in love has an IQ equivalent to a crazy person.¡± Even Nathan had admitted to it. In that case, it must be real! Sophia and Richard were really back together! Chapter 77 Chapter 77 By the time Sophia came back to her senses, she suddenly noticed a faint hickey on her neck, and her face went red in an instant. That old pervert! Why did he give me such a massive hickey? Does he want someone to see it?! However, Madison didn¡¯t have makeup foundation with her at the moment, so she was unable to cover the hickey up and had no choice but to walk around with it in clear sight. It¡¯s probably better this way¡ªat the very least, everyone will know that I have a hickey too. The next time Richard and X act lovey-dovey in front of me, I can show them my hickey to fight back! The atmosphere on the training ground was awkward. Everyone was busy gossiping about Richard and Sophia, but when they looked up all of a sudden, they saw Richard and X walking toward them hand- in-hand. Everyone wore an army green military uniform that consisted of a green shirt, green pants, green shoes and a green hat. However, the hat on X seemed particrly green at that moment. They¡¯re here! Everyone perked up all of a sudden as countless eyes nced toward that direction. X noticed Sophia looking at the mirror on the training ground, so she deliberately pulled Richard over to the mirror. ¡°I want to check my clothing in the mirror, Richard.¡± The two proceeded to walk hand-in-hand toward the mirror beside Sophia, standing really close to the latter on purpose. X greeted Sophia as usual and chirped, ¡°Good morning, Sophia!¡± ¡°Morning.¡± Sophia replied concisely, seeming as though she had not realized that the couple was standing next to her. Sophia continued to look into the mirror, and her eyes widened when she realized that there was a faint bite mark at the corner of her lips. That¡¯s such a deep bite! Is he a dog?! X noticed Sophia squeezing the hickey on her neck and the bite mark on her lips in the mirror; she was obviously showing it off in front of her! When she thought about everything that had happened in the pavilion and the infirmaryst night, she was so angry that her eyes were burning with rage. However, she was afraid to show it in front of Richard. She knew that if she were to cause any trouble now, it would be a matter of time before she ended up like Sophia¡ªit would only break her rtionship with Richard. I am not Sophia, and I am not that dumb to expose everything. I want Sophia to beat a hasty retreat; I will show her that I am the woman Richard cares about the most. Sophia is nothing but Richard¡¯s mistress, his paramour, and an underground lover. I am the one who will be engaged to Richard soon! In the future, I¡¯ll even get married to him! She purposely fell into Richard¡¯s arms and coughed weakly. Richard immediately asked, ¡°Are you okay, X?¡± X felt aggrieved as she disyed an innocent look on her delicate face. ¡°It¡¯s all because of you¡ªI couldn¡¯t find you all night yesterday, so I shouted until I lost my voice.¡± Richard¡¯s eyes dimmed, and he subconsciously nced toward Sophia. He would always go out for a walk with X every night, but he didn¡¯t tell her that he went to look for Sophia yesterday, let alone the fact that he wanted to get back with her secretly¡­ He replied guiltily, ¡°I won¡¯t do it again.¡± X was very pleased and overjoyed. She showed it off to Sophia silently, looking as though she wanted to let thetter know that what happenedst night was simply a one-sided romance, and Richard didn¡¯t care about her at all! This disgusting couple is going to act all lovey-dovey in front of me again! Sophia thought to herself. She was not interested in their affection at all, and she was definitely uninterested in Richard. She only wanted to give the couple her blessings and hoped that they would stay away from her! Not wanting to feel overwhelmed with their public disy of affection, Sophia deliberately pulled down the zipper on her uniform slightly. Since the cor was covering her neck, it prevented her from showing off the hickey that would suggest she had a sex life too. Who would¡¯ve known that by pping her cor and revealing a little bit of skin, Sophia realized from the mirror that her chest was covered in hickeys under her uniform! N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. All of a sudden, she remembered what had happenedst night. She thought about the hands that unzipped her aggressively, as well as the hot lips that steamed her soft skin; it was as if he had attempted to imprint his exclusive signature on her body with the heat from his own, wanting to let everyone know that this woman belonged to him! She covered her chest in surprise and immediately zipped up her shirt before running away in embarrassment. How embarrassing! From X¡¯s perspective, it was a whole other story. That woman has so many hickeys! How dare she show it off in front of me! X was so angry that she would¡¯ve chased after Sophia and shredded her into pieces on the spot, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t; it¡¯d be stupid to do that. As a smart woman, she must learn how to endure it! She would endure, endure, and endure! Hence, she swallowed the gushing me that was rising from her throat! The brief ¡®exchange of fire¡¯ ended with Sophia revealing her hickeys and running away from them, showing off her victory. Although there were only two to three moves, the group of people watching the scene felt that it was way more interesting than any other TV show. Sophia seemed to have won this round. However, what could she do about that? She was only the paramour and the mistress. The person in Richard¡¯s arms was X, and the Harper Family would certainly not allow amoner like Sophia to be their daughter-inw. Richard waspletely unaware of Sophia¡¯s abnormality, and he didn¡¯t notice the hickeys on her snowwhite chest. His gaze was fixated on X, looking as though he wanted to redeem himself from the guilt he felt for herst night. Undoubtedly, everything in the camp spreaded like wildfire. By noon, the fact that Sophia¡¯s chest was full of hickeys had be the headline in the barracks during lunchtime¡ªseveral drill instructors had even caught wind about it. Nheless, they would usually turn a blind eye to the students¡¯ private affairs. Unless it went overboard, they weren¡¯t bothered by it too much and did not intervene. Sophia waspletely in the dark about what was going on, and she didn¡¯t know that the incidentst night had been twisted to that point. It was not only until lunchtime did she hear something about the rumor. ¡°Sophia!¡± Sophia was having lunch when she heard someone calling her name. She turned her head around and realized that it was Sarah and Mitchell, whom she had just met the other day. The two sat down beside her. Mitchell greeted Sophia mboyantly and said, ¡°Hey, girl! You¡¯ve be the talk of the town today! I¡¯m so jealous of you since you¡¯re always the hot topic. You make the headlines so easily!¡± Sophia did not admire guys like Mitchell, so she buried her unpleasantness and asked, ¡°What headline? Why do I not know this?¡± Was it because of the hickey on her neck and the bite mark on her lips? There were so many new students this year who would go out to the woods at night to make out; she was not the only one with hickeys, so why was she the only one who made the headlines?! While having her lunch, Sarah asked in a puzzled manner, ¡°Richard and Young Mistress Huff are getting engaged soon. Why did you choose to get back together with him now? If you get back together now, you¡¯ll be the mi¡­¡± The word ¡®mistress¡¯ was immediately swallowed back down before it was uttered. Sophia was puzzled. ¡°Since when have I gotten back together with Richard? Why am I not aware about this?¡± Was it because she had gone out with him for a whilest night? She felt that she no longer had any feelings for Richard, so going for a walk with him was nothing¡ªshe would¡¯ve kept it a secret if she was really guilty. However, Sophia did n on bringing Nathan out for a walkst night and get him a popsicle along the way. Chapter 78 Chapter 78 Since when have I reconciled with Richard? Although it¡¯s possible for me to jump back into a previous rtionship, I¡¯m also clear that there¡¯s no use crying over spilled milk¡ªI feel disgusted just by thinking about our past rtionship. Sean winked and held the bowl with his thumb and middle finger, feigning grace. ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend anymore; the entire barrack already knows that you and Richard stayed over at the infirmaryst night. Not only do we know that the two of you have spent a night together, somebody even spotted him bringing you to the infirmary!¡± This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org. Hmm? Was Richard at the infirmaryst night too? Sophia had no idea about this because she had been sound asleep at that time. Moreover, the barracks¡¯ infirmary was not just a single room; it was an independent building. The infirmary was almost equivalent to a hospital as the building had five floors with dozens of wards. Last night, Sophia had even stayed at the finest single ward which came with air-conditioning. However, she really had no idea about the rumors between her and Richard. Michael must¡¯ve been the one who brought me to the infirmary. Heck, Michael and Richard don¡¯t even resemble each other¡ªone of them is aplete gentleman who I can¡¯t even bring myself to bully, whereas the other one is just a useless piece of trash. Whoever mistook them for one another should get their eyes checked. Sophia tried to exin herself and said, ¡°Nothing happened between me and him. Last night, I was admitted to the infirmary because I was sick. I can prove this with my medical leave certificate.¡± However, Sarah simply arched her brow; her eyes longed for more gossip. ¡°Stop making up more excuses. Everyone knows that Zane brought you to the infirmaryst night. If it wasn¡¯t him, who else would it be?¡± Sophia was unwilling to back down. ¡°I can¡¯t remember who it was. Last night, I did not have a clear head because I got sick all of a sudden. It must¡¯ve been a good Samaritan who took me to the infirmary, and my son followed me all the way. Am I right, Nate?¡± Nathan nodded with a long face. He had asked for Sophia to be put in a first-ss wardst night; he was nning to stay there overnight because it came with air-conditioning, a television, and aputer. However, Michael shut the door and locked him out of the room in the end. He then apanied Sophia Edwards the entire night and only left early the next morning. He¡¯s forgotten about me after getting himself a wife. Nathan was extremely unhappy because of this. Sarah tilted her head andughed. ¡°Stop pretending¡ªI can even see your hickeys from here. Can you exin to me where you got them from?¡± Sophia covered the hickeys on her chest calmly and said, ¡°It¡¯s just your illusion.¡± Sean was shaking withughter as he covered his mouth with his hands. With that, Sophia gave up exining the situation to them because she knew that there was no use. Just as Sarah was about to say something else, she saw Richard and X approaching them. The couple looked as though they were heading to their table. With their trays of food, they intentionally sat at the table next to Sophia. Not only were they sitting together intimately, but X evenughed shyly as she yed with Richard. Her actions and blushed face made her look like a well-protected fairy, and she emanated a blissful aura that only a woman in a rtionship would have. She greeted Sophia, ¡°What a coincidence, Sophia!¡± Sophia nodded drily and said with zero emotion, ¡°Mm, what a coincidence.¡± Richard also learned about the rumors in the barracks, but he didn¡¯t know why it had escted into the current situation. Although he did look for Sophiast night, thetter had rejected him even before he could mention a reconciliation. How did the rumors spread out then? Sophia must be the one behind this! What exactly does she mean by this? Is she trying to get everyone¡¯s pity? Nheless, one thing¡¯s for sure¡ªshe¡¯s still trying to gain my attention. He realized that he could no longer understand Sophia¡¯s mind. Is this what people call ¡®love well, whip well¡¯? In his mind, Richard let his imagination run wild and portrayed himself as the male lead of a soap opera. Even though he had exined it to X multiple times, he knew that this was definitely still a thorn in her heart despite telling him that she believed his words. Hence, he tried his best to cooperate with her in order to clear her suspicions. The couple was now talking and eating in such an intimate and exaggerated way, making it obvious that they were putting on a show in front of Sophia. Sophia finally understood why X had been grabbing at every opportunity to disy her affection with Richard in front of her today. She must have heard about my ¡®reconciliation¡¯ with Richard and thinks that I¡¯m the third party now. She¡¯s now showing off her status as his girlfriend in front of me¡ªthe ¡®third party¡¯! Hence, Sophia rolled her eyes and regarded the couple as animals in a rutting season. How many times do I need to exin that I have no feelings for Richard anymore? Even though Michael is a pervert, he¡¯s much better than Richard. As she lowered her head, Sophia gobbled her meal up and told everyone, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Everyone left after finishing their meals, leaving the unting couple behind. Watching as Sophia ¡®scurried off¡¯ out of the corner of her eyes, there was a glint ofcency in X¡¯s eyes. Hmph, she¡¯s nothing but an embarrassing third party! However, Sophia was not even bothered by X¡¯s opinion about her. Rather, she was more concerned with the philosophy behind life in the barracks; there were so many rules to learn here. For instance, they could only get their food after scanning their IDs. After finishing up their meals, they had to scan their IDs once more before leaving the canteen. As a result, their time spent in the canteen would be clearly recorded too. Although exceeding their ten-minute dining time would not cause many issues, these records were eventually reflected in their final assessment. ording to the rules, they only had ten minutes to eat and another ten minutes to shower; students had to scan their IDs before showering with hot water as well, and the time used toplete these activities were thenpiled into statistics. Since procrastination was a big taboo in the barracks, those who did things swiftly usually got better grades. X and Richard had been disying their affection for each other in public the entire day, and everyone regarded Sophia as an absurd joke now. Of course, Sophia did not tell them who the real joke was. The weather was as clear asst night the next day; the sun was scorching, the sky was cloudless, and the temperature rose to over 39 degrees. Everyone was getting ufortable under the hot weather. During their morning training, Commander Ford allowed Sophia to rest early because she had been admitted into the hospital due to a ¡®sudden high fever¡¯ before fully recovering from her ¡®previous sickness¡¯. Moreover, her performance during today¡¯s training was ster. Hence, Sophia watched as everyone else continued their training while resting in the shady area. When it was break time, everyone gathered under the shady area below the trees. Meanwhile, X chose to sit beside the 49th Company despite being a member of the 23rd Company. Undoubtedly, Richard followed suit and sat with her. ¡°I want to drink some water, Richard!¡± X grumbled flirtatiously as she fidgeted on the ground. Richard looked at her affectionately and said, ¡°Here, let me feed you some.¡± Regardless of everyone¡¯s presence, he started feeding her water with his mouth passionately. As they watched the show, the crowd knew who X and Richard¡¯s target was. Meanwhile, Sophia frowned after looking at the disgusting scene. F*ck. Why can¡¯t they get themselves a room? Not everyone enjoys watching people consume each other¡¯s saliva! As her expression seemed to be the clear evidence of her jealousy and envy, everyone became even more excited and were curious about the ending of this fight between the girlfriend and the third party. Chapter 79 Chapter 79 At that moment, Nathan¡ªwho was nowhere to be seen in the morning¡ªreturned with a few male students behind him. They were helping him to carry a few boxes over. As they opened the boxes before Sophia, she realized that there were popsicles and snacks such as jellies, popsicles, and iced watermelons inside. Holding a popsicle in one hand and an ice-cream in the other, Sophia said in a loud voice, ¡°Come over, everyone! Get yourself a popsicle after such a tough round of training.¡± This made all the second battalion¡¯s troops cheer with joy before they rushed to queue up for the popsicles. Meanwhile, the drill instructors did not stop them from doing so too. Although they were in the midst of training, they were unable to stop them from having a popsicle at break time as long as they had means to bring them in. It was obvious that there was an influential person among this batch of students since stuff like popsicles and watermelons could even be found. On the other hand, those troops who needed to fight for a bottle of iced water looked at them enviously. Although popsicles were sold at themissary, they couldn¡¯t get their hands on it every single time because the demand for popsicles exceeded their supply. Since their drinking water was supplied by Bayside University, they only had mineral water; all they could do was to chill it. However, it was sometimes a wild wish for them to chill it because they were not allowed to use the barracks¡¯ fridge either. Under such circumstances, how were the second battalion able to eat popsicles?! Greatly envious of them, everyone asked the battalionmander about it. As the battalionmander did not dare to expose the existence of the influential person behind all of it, he could only fool them by saying, ¡°The second battalion has been performing well recently, so themanding general gave them a reward.¡± As soon as everyone heard that Joel was behind this, they stopped pursuing it any further. Indeed, the second battalion had been doing great because their internal affairs were handled nicely, nobody was absent from training, and they even finished their meals swiftly¡ªthese were what the other troops could not achieve. Everyone from the second battalion was now sitting with Sophia. They were all eating iced watermelon, popsicles, and ice creams together as they watched Richard and X disying their affection with a bottle of water¡ªthat bottle of cheap mineral water was not even chilled! After going on for a while, X scurried away because she could no longer stand the sight of Sophia eating popsicles while she could only drink mineral water. After the second battalion finished the popsicles and watermelon given by ¡®Joel¡¯, they became energetic once more and were determined to get good results in order to thank theirmanding general! Except for the battalionmander, little did everyone know that those popsicles had been brought inside by Nathan himself. The battalionmander did not dare to investigate Nathan¡¯s identity, so he could only help the boy to keep a low profile. In the afternoon, Sophia returned to the troops despite her ¡®illness¡¯ and gave a ster performance. As a result, Commander Ford could not stop praising her. During their afternoon break, Sophia finally saw Ka as she showed up in the training field. After 24 hours of lockdown, she should be out by now. Ka must have been crying miserably because her eyes were all swollen. Moreover, she was behaving herself as she had not said a word aftering back. However, Sophia was even more wary of her. Was it possible for her to admit defeat so easily? She must be plotting something against me. After having lunch that day, Juliette returned to the dormitory by herself and sneakily closed the door after checking to see that nobody was around. Then, she took out a box from the wallet under her military attire. It was amon essories box used by the girls, but there were a few dead insects inside of it. They were called rove beetles, and they had a potent toxin inside their bodies. When people came into contact with them, they could not just hit them with their hands. This was because the rove beetles¡¯ toxins would cause dermatitis and eventually leave permanent scars on the body. If these insects were on one¡¯s face¡­ Juliette gulped and took a deep breath. Then, she covered her fingers with tissues and took the rove beetles out carefully, putting them on Sophia¡¯s towel which she had left on the hanger. Juliette even used the head of a toothbrush to push them further into the towel, leaving several marks with disgusting colors behind. When Sophia rushed back to the dormitory, the first thing she would do was to wipe the sweat off her face with a towel. By then¡­ Although Juliette had no wish to harm people, her father¡¯s future and her mother¡¯s surgery expenses were now controlled by X. If she did not do this, she would be the unfortunate one instead. As soon as Juliette hung the towel back to its original ce, somebody knocked on the door. Feeling guilty, she shuddered and quickly threw the tissues in her hands away before walking over to open the door. Much to her surprise, Sophia stood outside with a faint smile on her face. ¡°You¡¯re back, Sophia¡­¡± With a smile stered on her face, Juliette greeted Sophia awkwardly, not daring to look into thetter¡¯s eyes. After a brief conversation, she pretended to tidy her stuff up. Sophia entered the room and asked curiously, ¡°It¡¯s not even night yet. Why did you lock the door?¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Juliette made up an excuse and said casually, ¡°I was changing my clothes!¡± However, she couldn¡¯t stop herself from looking at Sophia out of the corner of her eyes. As expected, the first thing Sophia did aftering back was to wipe her face with the towel. As Sophia walked toward the hanger for her towel, Juliette felt her heart almost jumping out of her throat. As she watched Sophia taking the towel, Juliette opened her mouth and nearly shouted out loud. However, her body stiffened instantly and she did not dare to speak a single word. If I don¡¯t aplish this task, I won¡¯t be able to exin it to X. Meanwhile, she tried to console herself and said, People don¡¯t really feel anything when they firste into contact with these insects¡¯ toxins. It¡¯ll be toote by the time she discovers it, and no one will know who the culprit is. However, Sophia did not wipe her face after taking the towel. Instead, she just stood there and suddenly turned her gaze to Juliette before she said with a smile, ¡°Why are you looking at me?!¡± Hurriedly, Juliette averted her gaze and said, ¡°Nothing, nothing¡­¡± In the end, her flustered appearance had betrayed her. Sophia calmly fetched a basin of water and slowly rubbed some soap in it. After making a basin of soap water, she soaked the towel in it and said, ¡°The barracks still use soaps that have been produced years ago. When you make soap water out of them, it is the best tool to saturate strong acid, am I right¡­¡± A shudder ran through Juliette Sanders¡¯s body. How did she know?! The alkaline in the soap could saturate the toxin of the rove beetles. This must be a coincidence. How can she possibly find out?! Much to her horror, Sophia continued to wash her towel while saying nonchntly, ¡°The nails in my shoes, the diamond ne in my bag, and the rove beetles in my towel are all your doings.¡± She was not asking a question, but was stating a fact as though she already knew this long ago. Juliette did not admit to it and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about now.¡± Sophia poured the water away and left the towel aside. Then, she took up another towel and washed her face slowly before she said, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to argue with me because you¡¯re aware of your doings. In the future, just let me know whenever you receive their orders. Don¡¯t be doubtful of me; what I have in mind is definitely more ruthless than theirs.¡± Juliette did not say anything and bit her lip instead. Meanwhile, Sophia went for a shower with her towel and basin. As she watched her leaving figure, Juliette became lost in her thoughts; an inner conflict stirred in her mind. The Sanders Family had been an influential family too, but its wealth and status declined as time went by. Soon enough, they disappeared from Bayside City¡¯s upper social ss in the end. Otherwise, she would not have been threatened by X at all. Chapter 80 Chapter 80 However, Juliette was not a fool too. Since Sophia immediately found out that she was the culprit and even knew about the nails and the diamond ne, her previous confrontations with the Harper Family popped into Juliette¡¯s mind. Although Sophia seemed like an absurd joke at Bayside University, she had actually won every single time if one looked closely into it. Moreover, she had never been bullied sinceing to the barracks and had even managed to get Richard back. Her words might be true¡ªshe¡¯s even more ruthless than Ka and X. The kid named Nathan seems to have a powerful backing too. ¡®Fletcher¡¯ is most certainly a terrifyingst name¡­ Since the barracks had surveince cameras everywhere, Sophia knew about Juliette¡¯s wrongdoings a long time ago. After all, nobody was able to hide their actions from the cameras, and Sophie was merely holding herself back from getting revenge. Now that they were in military training, her main objective was to get a high score and had no wish to waste her time with those people. Nheless, this did not mean that she could tolerate their bullying time after time. It seems like the Harper Family is loaded with money; five hundred million is still insufficient for them to remember their lessons. Juliette went to look for Ka after failing her task. ¡°How did it go? Have you done it? Is that b*tch disfigured now?¡± Ka asked expectantly while holding Juliette firmly. Juliette lowered her head and said softly, ¡°I did it, but the insects were on her body instead of her face. So, we can¡¯t really see it¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Ka eximed and pushed Juliette to the ground, giving her a few hard kicks. Juliette remained silent and did not dare to fight back. ¡°You¡¯re a piece of trash! Why can¡¯t you even settle such a minor issue?¡± Ka was boiling with anger. She was not going to give up until Sophia was disfigured. After she calmed herself down, she stopped venting her anger on Juliette because she was still useful to her. It¡¯s better to keep her first since Sophia still thinks of her as her best friend, Ka thought to herself. She then said, ¡°You may go back now. I¡¯ll look for you next time.¡± Juliette scurried away. Not daring to offend both the Harper and the Huff Family, Juliette could not stop her tears from falling on her way back. Nheless, Sophia looks more threatening than them¡­ In the blink of an eye, it was already the twelfth day of their training. Sophia was more or less clear about every rule in the barracks, so she was even stricter on herself and grabbed every opportunity to gain extra points. Additionally, she had high expectations for herpany as she could not let her team points fall behind too. Based on Nathan¡¯s information about the internal situation, herpany seemed to remain in the first ce and their points far exceeded the otherpanies; Nathan had been reporting every drill instructor¡¯s conversation he¡¯d eavesdropped on to Sophia. Nathan was undoubtedly her best helper! When everyone returned to the dormitory after a day of training, they were either sleeping, talking, or visiting other people¡¯s rooms. At this moment, Nathan had just finished taking a shower at the male bathConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . and was all wet. Since Sophia was not back from the showers, he took a towel and wiped his hair by himself. All of a sudden, a girl beside the windows screamed, ¡°Ah! A snake!¡± A ck figure made its way in from the windows. A long ck-tail snake slithered in and moved around the dormitory uponing inside, which frightened all the girls in the dormitory and Nathan as well. Although he behaved as though a young man, he was still afraid of the snake and started crying upon seeing it, not daring to move an inch. Everyone in the room freaked out, and they rushed outside while screaming and crying. Soon, Nathan was the only one left in the room and the ck-tail snake slithered toward him. ¡°Nate!¡± All of a sudden, Sophia appeared and screamed when she saw that snake. Nathan turned his head around and saw Sophia. With her hair still wet, she came into the room with a basin and ran toward him. She threw the basin at the snake with a thud, crushing the reptile who was going for Nathan. ¡°Mommy!¡± Terrified for his life, Nathan ran toward Sophia and held onto her leg. Sophia was startled. Apart from using his charm in front of Michael, this was Nathan¡¯s first time calling her mommy voluntarily. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Darling. Mommy¡¯s here, so you don¡¯t have to cry anymore.¡± Sophia quickly hugged Nathan and consoled him. That creature scared her too, and she had no idea where she got the courage to protect Nathan by crushing it with the basin. Nathan seemed to have beenpletely freaked out by it. He continued to howl even after Sophia had been consoling him for a long time. Soon enough, the management of the dormitory learned about the news and sent someone over to bring the snake away. When the girls who had escaped earlier came back and saw a pool of blood with the snake¡¯s head on the floor, they were so scared that they went to sleep in other rooms. Naturally, Nathan was brought away too. When Sophia saw Nathan being brought away and his howls could no longer be heard, she felt worried and guilty. Since Nathan was from the Fletcher Family and was also Michael¡¯s son, it was unlikely that Michael would let her take care of Nathan in the future after what happened today. Although they had only stayed together for a few days, Sophia seemed to be very fond of her ¡®darling¡¯. Feeling distressed, Sophia was unable to fall asleep the entire night. Not only was she sad and felt that she was responsible for this, but she was also scared that she could no longer meet Nathan anymore. A lot of dormitories had been spotting snakes recently, but it was quite amon phenomenon since the barracks was located in a mountainous area. The next day during training, Sophia did not see Nathan anywhere. I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be at training anymore¡­ Upon thinking about this, she was in low spirits and felt distracted the entire morning. The pest controlpany came over and sprayed pesticides everywhere that day, filling the barracks with an unpleasant smell. At night, Juliette sneakily told Sophia that the snake had actually been released by Ka. As Juliette was too timid to touch the snake, Ka found another guy to release it in the 49th Company¡¯s dormitory. Ha. It really is Ka! On the fifteenth day of their training, Nathan was still nowhere to be seen. Sophia felt that her life was boring without Nathan¡¯spanion. When the training ended at night, Ka walked around the barracks and found a secluded ce to meet a tall, strong guy. Two days ago, she found a guy and got him to release the snake through the windows of the 49th Company¡¯s dormitory. However, she did not dare to meet up with that guy until now since their trick had escted and gained themanders¡¯ attention. After being ced in confinement and receiving punishment, it was impossible for her to pass military training now. Hence, she decided to act recklessly and nned to do something more straightforward after the release of the snake failed. ¡°Go and find several men to break that b*tch¡¯s legs when she¡¯s alone! Then, strip all her clothes off and bring her to the crowd at the training field!¡± Ka ordered ferociously. The guy in front of her was probably from the sports department as he looked fit and strong. He seemed to be in a dilemma after hearing her orders. ¡°Isn¡¯t this¡­ a bit too obvious? We¡¯re in military training now. If the drill instructors know about this¡­¡± She wanted him to strip Sophia¡¯s clothes off now. If he really did this, themanders would probably not let them off. By then, was he not the perfect scapegoat? ¡°Do you still want to bail your father out?!¡± Ka scolded mercilessly, ¡°If the Harpers don¡¯t help you this time, your father will never be free from prison!¡± Chapter 81 Chapter 81 The guy fell silent immediately. The rich always had endless ways to force others to work for them. Money was indeed powerful! After a moment of silence, he said in a low voice, ¡°Let me think of a way¡­¡± Ka could no longer endure Sophia¡¯s existence. No matter what, she really itched to see her die at this moment! The guy left shortly after, but Ka stood at the same ce for a while. As she thought about how the naked Sophia would be criticized at the training field tomorrow, she could not help but get excited! After all, it would be unlikely for her to graduate sessfully as she had lost all her military training points. Hence, she nned on furthering her studies overseas as soon as training ended, but she would not let Sophia off easily before that. Since Sophia had framed her up, she decided to press her luck by making Sophia lose her reputation and not graduate! Does she still want to study at Bayside University and marry into the Harper Family? No way. No matter what she does, rags can never be riches! Throughout the entire time, Ka thought about multiple ways to let Sophia die at the barracks¡ªall she needed was to carry her ns out. Little did she know that her head would suddenly be covered by a shirt, causing her vision ck out. This made her scream, ¡°Ah! Who is this?¡± However, the only response she got was endless punches whichnded on her head and body mercilessly. ¡°Ahh!¡± Ka screamed out of her lungs, but she was unable to defend herself because her hands had been tied. After a round of punches and kicks, her leg was suddenly hit by a hard and thick object. The unbearable pain made her pass out in an instant¡­ ¡°What happened to me?¡± Ka tried to sit up. However, she felt a sharp pain the moment she moved her body. When she took a look at herself, she realized that her leg was suspended and she could hardly move. Someone had broken her leg! The pain on her leg made her howl on the bed miserably. Richard quickly asked her, ¡°Ka, do you still remember what happenedst night? Who beat you?!¡± Last night, someone heard a scream at the garden and went to check it out. The unconscious Ka was the only one left on the spot and she was immediately sent to the infirmary. After the doctor¡¯s examination, they realized that her leg had been broken by someone else. Ka kept shaking her head and was crying so hard that she could barely speak. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know who it is!¡± Last night, her attacker was relentless and acted at lightning speed. Ka¡¯s head was covered as soon as the attacker showed up, and only her vulnerable parts were beaten. As everything happened in the blink of an eye, how could she know who the attacker was? All of a sudden, Ka seemed to think of something as she said with gritted teeth, ¡°It must be her! It must be her! Sophia! She was the one who beat me!¡± After realizing that she was the one who had released the snake, Sophia must have taken the opportunity to beat her when she was alone. As she cried, Ka held onto the 23rd Company Commander and shouted, ¡°It must be Sophia because she has been wanting to hurt me! It must be her!¡± Feeling helpless, thepanymander could only ask Sophia toe here in order to resolve the conflict. Sophia arrived soon. When she entered the ward, she immediately saw Ka lying on the bed. It seemed like it was Ka¡¯s first time being beaten up, and she looked miserable while crying tearfully. However, she struggled to get off the bed ferociously upon seeing Sophia walking in; she looked as though she wanted to pounce on Sophia and eat her alive. ¡°It¡¯s you! You were the one who broke my leg!¡± Ka shouted so loudly that her voice became hoarse, and her eyes turned red due to fury. Sophia shrugged and said confusedly, ¡°What did you say? What have I done this time?¡± Commander Ford and anothermander, Quinton, came as well. After the 23rd Company Commander briefed them about the situation, Sophia denied at once. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. After training ended yesterday, I went to apply medicine in the infirmary, so I didn¡¯t have any time to do this.¡± The nurse in the infirmary came to testify on behalf of Sophia too. She said that Sophia had beening in daily after her chest was injured by the rove beetles¡¯ toxins. Lately, several students have gotten themselves injured by the rove beetles¡¯ toxins. Although they did not feel anything at first, it was toote by the time they sensed something wrong because their skin was probably inmed. Since it was rather inappropriate to let Sophia show the wounds on her chest to everyone, she was allowed to leave after proving her innocence. Ka felt unfair as she howled on the bed, ¡°It¡¯s her! It must¡¯ve been her! She¡¯s the only one who has reason to do so! It must be her!¡± Richard felt that Ka was overreacting, so he quickly coaxed her by saying, ¡°Ka, don¡¯t use anyone if you don¡¯t have any evidence.¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Ka cried tearfully. ¡°How can you still take her side?! She was the one who beat mest night! I am sure that she¡¯s definitely the one! I haven¡¯t offended anybody else!¡± Sophia had almost left the ward, but upon hearing that, she could not hold back and said, ¡°It¡¯s true that we have some misunderstandings between each other, but that is no reason for me to break your leg. Miss, I¡¯m not you¡ªI¡¯m not such a petty person!¡± Ka was exasperated. Although it was clearly Sophia¡¯s doings, everyone still took her side. Hence, Ka panicked upon seeing her leave and blurted out, ¡°It¡¯s her! She took revenge on me after knowing that I was the one who released the snake into her dormitory!¡± Her words enlightened bothpanymanders in the ward. ¡°So, it was you who released the snake at the 49th Company.¡± At this moment, Ka finally realized that she had said something wrong and hurriedly shut up. Unfortunately, it was toote because she had beenpletely disqualified to join the military training. If there were a precedence, she would be on a bus back to Bayside University now. Meanwhile, Richard was also exasperated at this younger sister of his. How dare she release snakes into peoples¡¯ dormitories?! He felt that he could hardly understand her mind now. Due to Ka¡¯s confession about her release of the snake, the culprit behind her broken leg seemed to have been forgotten; even thepanymanders were unwilling to investigate despite knowing who the culprit might be. The attacker was a cunning person because she had avoided all surveince cameras, knowing the location of every surveince camera like the back of her hand. Hence, nothing useful could be found from the footage that night. In the end, this matter just passed quietly as Ka had given up on this and themanders had also ordered not to investigate the matter any further. In the barracks¡¯manding general office, Joel was in his military uniform as he sat straight up, holding aptop that was showing the barracks¡¯ surveince footage. From the footage, it could be clearly seen that a man was sneakily putting a snake into the 49th Company¡¯s female dormitory. As the screen toggled, Nathan could be seen crying out of fear. ¡°Nate!¡± ¡°Mommy!¡± The wet Sophia dashed in and threw the basin in her hands. With a thud, the aluminum basin hit the floor and killed the snake on the spot. Then, theptop showed footage of Ka being beaten that night. From the surveince cameras nearby, a student who either turned her back to cameras or pulled her military cap low were repeatedly captured. Every time, she took the advantage of the crowds and passed by the cameras in a rush. Hence, she could hardly be noticed if one did not pay much attention to her. She clearly knew her destination and had the intention of doing something by walking in such a hurry. Joel paused the footage and continued to erge the woman¡¯s figure who had her head lowered and face covered until she filled the whole screen¡­ ¡°Ha. She¡¯s interesting.¡± Chapter 82 Chapter 82 After Ka had been beaten up, she continued to stay in the infirmary and did not need to attend the military training. However, this also indicated that she had failed the training and could only drop out if she were unable to be the top student and obtain the national schrship in the next four years. Of course, the rich could choose to further their studies at a better university abroad, but the fact that she was a Bayside University dropout in Cethos would probably decrease her chances of getting epted by an overseas university. Without Ka¡¯s schemes, Sophia¡¯s life in the barracks returned to its normal peace. Besides, she was still the 49th Company¡¯s backbone, and everyone would listen to her orders whenever themander was not around. However, she felt that her life had be boring without the 24/7panion of a moody child. Fortunately, she would still be able to meet him on campus once military training ended. On the seventeenth day of the training, a huge piece of news spread across the barracks; the crew of the sci-fi movie ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ had decided to film at the Audistin hunting ground beside their military base. Hence, this year¡¯s freshmen got themselves a steal because the leaders allowed them to conduct their target practice at Audistin. Not only that, there was going to be a meet-and-greet session for students to meet with the main actors. The male lead and the second male lead of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ were locals, and they were even alumni of Bayside University¡ªwhich meant that Taylor and Ethan were their seniors! ¡°What?! Taylor ising?¡± ¡°Oh my God, is this true?! I¡¯m going to meet my hubby in person!¡± ¡°Am I about to finally meet Taylor?¡± ¡°Ethan ising too?! Oh gosh, I¡¯m so happy now!¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . At night, the girls at the 49th Company¡¯s female dormitory discussed this news, and they were jumping with excitement. However, Sophia was the only one who seemed disinterested. Aren¡¯t they just a bunch of actors? Do we really need to be so excited? Since all of them are loaded with money, can¡¯t they just meet with any actor they desire?! From what she heard, Taylor was a senior actor who had debuted more than 10 years ago. Despite being a domestically and internationally famous movie star, he had been keeping a low profile and did not make appearances on any entertainment shows, advertisements, ormercial performances. In short, he was a really famous actor. Since Sophia was not a fan of movies, she had no idea what Taylor looked like. She only remembered the film where the person weirdly resembled Michael. After turning around, she went to sleep¡­ The Audistin hunting ground was Bayside City¡¯srgest upscale club franchise, and it was the only one that had a real-life hunting ground in the capital. Moreover, the hunting ground had a breathtaking scenery which preserved the virgin forest as it was, attracting many production crews to film there. Even though the crew was in a mountainous area now, it did not stop Harry from ying his video games. Luckily, the hotel in Audistin was well equipped and had a great Inte connection. At that moment, Harry waspletely immersed in gaming in his hotel room. Since it was the start of a new school term, Sirius233 had been offline for a long time. Although Harry¡¯s No.1 Beast of the Server had been downgraded to a smurf, his wealth allowed him to upgrade this ount by buying experience and gear without hesitation. Hence, in just a few days, the No.1 Beast of the Server once again became a threatening opponent and had everything under his control. Unfortunately, his happy days ended abruptly because Sirius233 was online again! Sirius233 targeted Beast¡¯s new faction all of a sudden, and the bloody history between them was repeating itself. At this moment, Beast¡¯s faction was being ughtered and its followers either died or went offline. The No.1 Beast of the Server who had been arrogant was now defeated and ruined once again. Sirius233 seemed to be in a bad mood because he killed everyone he met in the game. Over thest two days, he had killed more than ten factions and even managed to kill half of the channel¡¯s yers within an hour! It was finally the Beast¡¯s turn now! At this moment, Sirius233¡¯s attacks were merciless and ruthless. Wherever he passed by was ruined and destroyed, making the game look as though it had met its doom. Not only had the paradise turned into ruins, but Sirius233 was even cheating now. Although the Beast was never his match in the first ce, he could not even escape by turning off his laptop because his ount had been targeted by the cheating Sirius. Hence, he carried hisptop miserably and went to look for Michael, who was in the next room. ¡°Father! Daddy! Help! This freak named Sirius is attacking me again!¡± As he read the script for tomorrow¡¯s scene, Michael nced at the gamezily and said, ¡°Just let him kill you. He¡¯s in a bad mood.¡± Upon seeing that he was going to be defeated, Harry tried to defend himself hurriedly. Unfortunately, he was not a match with the cheating Sirius! ¡°Ahh, I¡¯m dying! Daddy, you can¡¯t leave me to die! I¡¯m calling you Daddy now!¡± ¡°His bad mood is none of my business. I¡¯m in a bad mood too!¡± Michael ignored him. In the game, the Beast was caught by Sirius soon. Besides, Sirius seemed to really be in a bad mood because he was deliberately venting his anger on him. At this moment, he was using a weak knife to attack the Beast, so the Beast would not die in a short time. This was torturous! Michael continued to read his script calmly as though he could not see Harry¡¯s current state in the game. Meanwhile, Harry was making weird sounds while trying hard to defend himself in the game. He was deliberately disturbing Michael from reading the script as he did not help him with the game. ¡°Ah! Ah! Oh! Mm! Gentler, it¡¯s painful!¡± ¡°Ahh! I¡¯m dying! I¡¯m dying!¡± ¡°I¡¯m bleeding, I¡¯m bleeding! Ah! Ahh! No, no!¡± ¡°Stop! Stop it!¡± Although the hotel had a great soundproofing system, the slightly opened windows and Harry¡¯s loud voice made everyone hear Harry¡¯s moansing from Michael¡¯s room. This made them think about the erotic stories about the duo on the Inte, and everyone was grinning profoundly at the same time¡­ After half an hour of ¡®moaning¡¯, Harry was finally defeated in the game and he scurried away with his laptop. After Harry was out of Michael¡¯s sight, he rubbed his temples and called a number tiredly. ¡°Son, call me Daddy and I¡¯ll let Gary bring you back.¡± The next day, Sophia woke up early and went for training as usual. When the morning training ended and everyone was about to leave, she suddenly caught sight of an adorable girl with dimples walking toward them while holding a boy¡¯s hand. Sophia was surprised and ted. ¡°Nate!¡± Nathan, who was in his military uniform and holding a small backpack, seemed to be quite worn out by his journey. He finally had a faint smile on his face when he saw Sophia, but he immediately regained his usual, seriousposure. Meanwhile, the girl with dimples was adorable and looked lively whenever she smiled. She then brought Nathan to the 49th Company. Commander Ford introduced them to everyone, ¡°She¡¯s a freshman from the 34th Company, and she¡¯ll be joining our training in the future.¡± The girl greeted everyone, ¡°Hello! You guys can call me Gem!¡± When they were dismissed, Sophia quickly went to hug Nathan. Squeak. The toy frog in his pocket even made a sound because she was hugging him tightly. ¡°Where have you been these few days? Why has your Dad allowed you toe back? How are you? Are you okay?¡± Sophia asked anxiously after hugging him. Nathan turned his face away and said sinctly, ¡°He said that pesticides were sprayed in the barracks and only let me return when the odor went away.¡± However, Sophia knew that Michael had brought Nathan away because of the ident. Nathan continued to stay with Sophia while Gem also moved into the 49th Company¡¯s dormitory. Since almost all of the girls in the 49th Company came from the same ss, their curiosity was piqued after seeing the sudden appearance of an outsider. Hence, they started beating about the bush and asked her a few questions. In response, Gem answered everything fluently. Nobody doubted her background anymore, but Sophia knew that Gem was probably someone Michael sent over to take care of Nathan. Gem, Gem. Can she be the Gemma whom everyone has been talking about? Chapter 83 Chapter 83 She heard that Michael had ten great experts around him, and each of them had their own extraordinary ability. Sophia had only met Hale and Gary before, but Hale always mentioned Gemma. He said that Gemma was a psychopath, but he wouldn¡¯t say in what way she behaved that made her seem like one. However, Gemma seemed like a cute Lolita girl to her¡ªthere wasn¡¯t anything psychotic about her at all! Since she was on Michael¡¯s side and couldn¡¯t possibly hurt Nathan, Sophia was relieved and allowed her to live here with them. Ever since Gemma arrived, the average fighting strength of Company 49 had increased exponentially. She was the fastest runner, had the biggest appetite, and could eat a lot. Besides, she was smart and pretty good at socializing. Gemma appeared very professional and charming, and her presence made Sophia feel threatened. She was worried that Gemma might rece her as the leader of Company 49. With that being said, everyone in Company 49 was very happy when Nathan came back. Evidently, Nathan was the ¡®plug-in¡¯ of Company 49! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. As soon as Nathan came back, he went into the drill instructor¡¯s camp immediately to find out about what they thought of Company 49. When he came back, he told everyone about the conversations between the drill instructors. ording to them, Company 49 had not been performing welltely; the team was not as fierce and strong as they used to be before this. Upon hearing that, everyone in Company 49 became motivated immediately. After all, they were the company that was supposed to have dinner with the General! With Nathan around, Sophia felt that military training had finally be interesting and fun again, just like how it used to be. However, their little spy Nathan had definitely attracted too much attention to theirpany. When they trained every day, Nathan would run around the training base and eavesdrop on conversations between the drill instructors. Then, he would report everything back to Sophia; this was why Company 49 had been achieving exceptionally high scores and performing well. ording to the rumors floating around, there were lots of hidden and unsuspecting details in the military training where drill instructors would secretly deduct points if their cadets vited the rules. Naturally, the drill instructors did not inform the cadets about these details and were very secretive about it. What were the hidden rules? No one knew. Since the drill instructors never mentioned anything about this at all, Nathan was the one who went around and eavesdropped to find out about these hidden rules before reporting them to the people in Company 49. Being aware of such rules, thepany managed to avoid getting their points deducted secretly and obtained high scores while training. In other words, Nathan was like a golden goose. Manypanies thought about luring Nathan into their company in order to help them achieve better scores. Someone had investigated Nathan¡¯s background too. Based on the information gathered, Nathan was the grandson of a university professor from a third-tier city. Since he was extremely intelligent with a high IQ, an exception was made for him and Nathan was epted into the Junior ss of Bayside University through some connections. Since he wasn¡¯t from a prominent family, many people began thinking about ways to trick him¡­ On the eighteenth day of military training, Company Commander Ford made an exciting announcement ¡ªthe cadets were going to have a training session at the shooting center tomorrow. It was an actual shooting training involving real guns and bullets. Naturally, the shooting center was the one in Audistin. However, everyone wasn¡¯t particrly enthusiastic about this piece of news. After all, there were lots of wealthy students in the university; most of them were already Audistin premium members who often visited the shooting range in Audistin. What really excited everyone was the fact that they could visit the set of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ during training tomorrow! Most importantly, they were going to see Taylor and Ethan in person! The two award-winning actors had ventured into the filming industry for over ten years now. They remained very popr in the entertainment industry for a long time and had worked together in many films before. During the recent Cultural Revolution, the duo transitioned from golden partners to bing a golden couple; it was rumored that both of them got married in the Nethends. However, it wasn¡¯t sure whether the rumor was real or not. The two award-winning actors were seldom involved in tabloid scandals. Besides, they kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public events. There weren¡¯t too many real photos of them on the inte; most of their photos were film posters and photographs officially published by their agency. Even for wealthy people, it was extremely difficult to see them in person. Therefore, why wouldn¡¯t the students be happy and excited now that the two award-winning actors were just filming next door? Sophia wasn¡¯t interested in seeing the award-winning actors. However, she was very interested in the shooting training. She had made the necessary preparations for it and was ready to show off her impressive shooting skills. Since everyone in Company 49 received the news that they were about to meet the two handsome actors tomorrow, they trained very hard and with much enthusiasm that day. They were afraid that the companymanders would not allow them to visit the filming set and meet the actors due to their poor performance. Even during recess, there were lots of students who took the initiative to practice their formation exercise at the training field. Since Sophia was the student who performed the best in formation practice, she tried her best and spent her leisure time teaching everyone the formation practice. While she was busy teaching, she took a nce and identally noticed Nathan being surrounded by quite a number of boys and girls. Nathan was the most well-liked member in theirpany, so he was constantly surrounded by girls. However, Sophia seemed to have noticed X and Richard among the crowd this time. Hence, she went over immediately to see what was going on. She pushed her way through the crowd and heard the following exchange of conversation. ¡°Nate, my cousin is a member of the Edwards Family. If the Edwards take you in as their godson, you¡¯ll be part of the Edwards Family too. Then, you can live in a big house every day; you can even buy lots of delicious snacks and lots of friends will y with you too!¡± X stood in front of Nathan and persuaded him. A blonde-haired girl stood right across Nathan. Girls were not allowed to let their hair down at military camp, but the girl was bold enough to break the rule. She let her blonde hair down without tying it up, which appeared eye-catching like a gorgeous but fake flower. She was Faye Edwards, a member of the Edwards Family; they were one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City. As a member of the family, Faye had the exclusive right to let her hair down. Thus, her striking blonde hair became the noble representation of her unusual status, which was superior to others. Although everyone felt jealous of her, no one dared to protest. After all, she was an Edwards. Nathan appeared sullen. He kept quiet and enjoyed his watermelon quietly with an impassive expression on his face. Noticing how unresponsive he was, X continued to persuade him. ¡°Nate, Faye is a very nice girl. She¡¯ll keep youpany and y with you every day in the future.¡± Faye looked proudly downward at the fair and chubby little guy. Realizing that he hadn¡¯t replied after a long while, she became impatient and frustrated. A subtle look of unhappiness crossed her face. She had exquisite features, which were beautifully and carefully crafted by the scalpels of a stic surgery hospital. X, who noticed Faye¡¯s displeasure, persuaded her immediately in a polite manner. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, Faye. He¡¯s just a child who doesn¡¯t know anything. We just need to be patient and persuade him, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°That better be the case.¡± Faye became really impatient. If Nathan wasn¡¯t the only child in the camp, she wouldn¡¯t have paid any attention to him at all. She heard that the kid could eavesdrop on conversations between the drill instructors easily and found out about several hidden details where their points could be deducted and added, which was why Company 49 always scored high marks. That was the only reason why she thought about luring him to herpany. If she managed to trick Nathan and brought him over to theirpany, their marks would definitely increase as well. However, she was reluctant to share such a useful pawn with everyone; she just wanted to have him all to herself. She only wanted Nathan to increase her score in hopes that Joel would notice her! Unfortunately, the kid was so ignorant that hepletely ignored her offer. X was eager to fawn over Faye. Hence, she continued to persuade Nathan again immediately. ¡°Nate, Faye is a great person from a prominent family. If she bes your god sister, your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother and even your whole family will prosper in the future!¡± Richard helped X to persuade Nathan too. He said, ¡°Yeah, Nate! Listen to us. Come over here and just call her Faye. From now on, she will y with you!¡± Richard was desperate to trick Nathan away too. Since Ka had already gotten a zero for her military credit score, there were probably some other ways to save their situation which he didn¡¯t know about. Since the drill instructors wouldn¡¯t tell them about it, perhaps the unusually smart kid could spy among the drill instructors and obtain some useful information. Everyone could clearly see Nathan¡¯s unusual capability; he always ran around and eavesdropped on the drill instructors¡¯ conversations while everyone was training. All thepany and regimentalmanders liked him very much, and one of the regimentalmanders even held him high above the air frequently! Chapter 84 Chapter 84 However, Nathan seemed uninterested with their offers. He just sat there, eating his watermelon while looking at them impassively. He didn¡¯t even say anything. The surrounding Company 49 students looked on; even though they were angry, they did not dare to say anything since Faye was an Edwards after all. Should they mess with the Edwards, they¡¯d suffer serious consequences. Hence, there was nothing they could do except to watch Nathan being snatched away from them. Right at that moment, Sophia pushed her way through the crowd and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Nathan remained silent. Gemma, who had been enjoying her popsicle quietly beside Nathan, chuckled and exined, ¡°Sophia, Faye wants Nate to be her god brother; she¡¯s nning on bringing him over to theirpany.¡± Everyone stared at Sophia. They were hoping that she could make Nathan stay with them, but they knew it wasn¡¯t very possible. ¡°Faye, this is Sophia. She is very close to Nate, and Nate will listen to everything she says!¡± X pointed her finger at Sophia immediately as she whispered to Faye in her ear. A gloating look shed through her eyes. Faye was X¡¯s cousin; they were very close to each other. Before they came, X had reminded Faye to mess with Sophia whether she decided to hand over Nathan or not. She had actually hoped that Sophia would act proud like how she behaved before this; it would be great if Sophia managed to offend Faye. In that case, she would definitely not be able to survive at Bayside University anymore. Faye didn¡¯t look very friendly indeed; she studied Sophia from head to toe for a while. There was a look of disdain hidden in her arrogant eyes, and it seemed like she was looking at an insignificant bug. ¡°So,ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . you¡¯re Sophia?¡± Sophia nodded in a dignified manner. ¡°Yes.¡± Before Faye could say another word, Richard grabbed Sophia immediately and reminded her in a low voice. ¡°Sophia, now is not the best time to fool around. She is Faye, the wealthy daughter of the prominent Edwards Family. If she wants Nate, you should just agree to it and hand him over to her!¡± Still, Richard didn¡¯t want Sophia to offend the Edwards. If she did, then Sophia would definitely not be able to stay in Bayside University anymore. X was so furious that she almost fainted when she noticed how Richard still cared for Sophia during a time like this. Not willing to lose face, she pretended to act kind and advised Sophia too. ¡°Yeah, Richard is right. My cousin is an Edwards; she likes Nate very much and is ready to take him back to the Edwards Family. If Nate agrees, then he¡¯ll be a part of the Edwards Family¡­¡± At the same time, she didn¡¯t forget to hold Richard¡¯s hand as she said that. She sounded like Richard¡¯s kind and considerate wife who was giving advice to his mean and inconsiderate mistress. ¡°Hmph!¡± Sophia really couldn¡¯t bring herself to watch such an awful and disgusting show the duo put on. She protested bluntly, ¡°Sorry, but Nate is my darling. I won¡¯t give him away.¡± Nathan quietly swept away Richard¡¯s hand that was holding onto Sophia¡¯s arm before he grabbed her delicate hand and red at Richard alertly. Sophia was his father¡¯s woman, and he was determined not to allow anyone to have their eyes on her. X was ecstatic when she saw Sophia rejecting Faye¡¯s offer in a rude and harsh manner. Carry on, carry on! Just keep on acting arrogant! It¡¯s even better if you offend Faye! She couldn¡¯t wait for Sophia and Faye to fight against each other. X really hoped that Sophia would offend Edwards for good, and she would no longer be able to stay in Bayside University or Bayside City for that matter. She pretended to persuade Sophia again. ¡°Sophia, my cousin is¡­¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not giving him away,¡± Sophia rejected coldly. However, a gentle and cheerful expression crossed her face when she turned to face Nathan. She pinched Nathan¡¯s delicate cheek gently and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I promise I won¡¯t give you away to anyone.¡± He was Michael¡¯s only son and Joel¡¯s nephew; if she gave him away to someone else, she would certainly be skinned alive! Besides, Nathan was so cute. She wanted to keep him for herself and couldn¡¯t possibly give him away to someone else. Nathan nodded coldly with an unemotional expression on his face. However, he felt slightly content deep within his heart. Then, he continued to enjoy his popsicle; he just liked to see Sophia fighting with others over him. It proved that he was far more important to Sophiapared to Michael! Everyone was impressed by Sophia¡¯s courage and agreed with her decision secretly. However, they noticed the grim look on Miss Faye¡¯s face at the same time. Faye stared at Sophia in disbelief. ¡°What did you say?¡± Sophia replied to her seriously word by word. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not giving my son away to anyone.¡± ¡°How dare you reject me?¡± Faye was already very frustrated when she had failed to persuade Nathan toe and join her team. Now, Sophia rejected her offer in front of everyone! She lost her temper as a menacing aura emitted from her body, which frightened the surrounding students as they took two steps backward quietly at once. The fight has started! Sophia and the wealthy daughter of the Edwards Family have started fighting! The ecstatic X took several steps backward. She immediately stopped Richard and pulled him away when she noticed that he was about to put in a good word for Sophia. She reminded him in a low voice, ¡°Richard, don¡¯t you see that my cousin is very angry now? Don¡¯t go¡­¡± Looking at the furious Faye, Richard had no choice but to step back. He felt very sorry for Sophia. The students slowly moved away from the duo, and a huge space appeared around Sophia and Faye. Seemingly not worried about Sophia at all, Gemma took Nathan to one side. She continued to enjoy her popsicle while watching the drama unfold at the same time. Faye snickered coldly while folding her arms across her chest. She looked so proud that a sense of intense superiority emitted from all over her body. A triumphant smile flickered in her eyes; she looked like a high-ranking officer who had gone undercover to check on his neighborhood. On the other hand, the Sophia in front of her was a low-ranking, ignorant and corrupt officer. She held her head high up in the air arrogantly and asked, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± Sophia answered honestly, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Faye chuckled. She then red at Sophia with her bulging eyes and put on a weak, intimidating look on her face. ¡°I¡¯m Faye from the Edwards Family!¡± Sophia looked puzzled. She even asked, ¡°So what if you¡¯re an Edwards?¡± The surrounding spectators held their breaths for Sophia. Even if Sophia was just an ordinary student, she should have learned about the basic social hierarchy in Bayside City first! Oh no, she¡¯s finished! She¡¯s doomed! She doesn¡¯t even know what it means to be an Edwards and what the family represents in Bayside City! Faye was so furious with Sophia¡¯s arrogance and ignorance that she chuckled drily. ¡°I¡¯m an Edwards, one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City!¡± It was as if Sophia had finally realized why Faye was so proud of her family name. ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal if you¡¯re an Edwards! Nathan is a Fletcher¡ªhe has the same surname as General Joel!¡± Everyone was almost bewildered by Sophia¡¯s incredibly amusing response! It was just a coincidence for Nathan to have the same family name as Joel. However, Faye was indeed part of the Edwards Family who were known as one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City. One simply couldn¡¯tpare Nathan to Faye at all! Faye goggled at Sophia as her jaw dropped. She¡¯s probably never seen a bigger idiot than Sophia before! How did a girl as dumb as her get epted into Bayside University? She insulted viciously, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t know about the Edwards. You just need to know that I have the final say in Bayside University as well as in this camp!¡± Sophia snickered instead. ¡°If you¡¯re so capable, why did you join the military training?¡± Faye couldn¡¯t refute Sophia. The military training may seem very strict, but if one really had the power and influence, they could simply skip this module. Clearly, people who joined the military training were those without powerful connections. Students who were really powerful and influential didn¡¯t have to join the military training and go through these hardships at all; even if their family wanted them to join, they wouldn¡¯t be arranged to train in the same toon as the ordinary students. Sophia continued, ¡°If you¡¯re so incredible, why don¡¯t you just ask the drill instructors to give you a perfect score immediately? It would be great if you could just receive a perfect score while enjoying some watermelon at home in your air-conditioned room!¡± Everyone started to gossip among themselves upon hearing Sophia¡¯s words. That¡¯s right¡ªif Faye was really that powerful, wouldn¡¯t she be able to get a perfect score anyhow? Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Faye didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. Sophia questioned again, ¡°If you¡¯re so great, why don¡¯t you ask thepanymander to kick me out of here immediately? Why do you still need to babble so much here?¡± Faye red at Sophia, but she was unable to refute thetter. ¡°I¡­¡± Right at that crucial moment, Company Commander Ford arrived. He shouted loudly, ¡°What the heck are you people gathered around there for? Have you gathered around to eat sh*t together? Everyone, get back into your teams now! All of you have ten seconds to do so¡ªthose who arete will have to do 20 push-ups!¡± Students who were gathered around here moments ago dismissed themselves immediately. Faye escaped in a haste too, whereas Sophia regrouped and carried on with her training. After the incident with Faye, everyone looked at Sophia differently. She is such a courageous warrior; she is actually bold enough to openly argue with an Edwards! However, what will happen after she argues with an Edwards? She¡¯s probably doomed¡ªshe might have even dragged the entirepany along with her! However, Sophia wasn¡¯t bothered by that; she wasn¡¯t scared of Faye at all. While Faye was indeed a member of the Edwards Family in Bayside City, the Edwards were an extremelyrge family. Besides the main branch, the family had branched into countless side branches. For example, Faye was just one of the descendants from a side branch in the Edwards Family. In fact, Faye¡¯s father was just an illegitimate son. Even though he was an Edwards, he was barely rted to the main branch of the Edwards Family in Bayside City. Moreover, Faye¡¯s father was Joe. He was a seriously obese man who used to be so poor back then that he sold his illegitimate daughter to an old man as a wife for only 80,000. Sophia was that illegitimate daughter. In other words, Faye and Sophia were half-sisters who shared the same father! Back then, Joe¡¯s wife was pregnant when he slept with a young nanny in their household. Then, they had Sophia. Joe was just an illegitimate son from a side branch of the Edwards Family; even if Joe was from the main branch of the Edwards Family, Sophia wasn¡¯t afraid of him too, not to mention that he was just an illegitimate son from a side branch of the family. What she had said earlier was true; Nathan and Joel were from the exact same family, and they were the only Fletcher Family in Bayside City. Ever since that incident, everyone seemed to be afraid of Sophia. They were worried that she would drag them along with her to her doom after offending the Edwards. After training ended at noon, Sophia called Nathan over and reminded him about something. Nathan was upset after listening to Sophia and looked at her angrily. Almost immediately, Sophia pleaded with him nicely. ¡°Okay, Nate¡ªbe good and listen to me. Please, I beg of you. I¡¯ll take you out and we¡¯ll y and have fun every day when my military training is over, okay?¡± Suddenly, Nathan remembered Sophia¡¯s gaming ount. Because of his plug-in, her character had massacred the entire game server and destroyed countless guilds. It became the highest number of kills ever recorded in the game. He had managed to kill seven to eight guilds within a single day, and almost half of the online yers in the entire game server were killed by him. The gaming system was so overloaded by his kills that it became unresponsive from time to time. Now, the gaming management personnel were searching high and low for him just to kill his character, which scared Nathan a little. Since he felt sorry for that, he nodded and agreed with Sophia. Everyone was slightly unfocused during their afternoon training; the enthusiasm and motivation everyone had previously vanished into thin air. It was all because of Sophia, who had offended the Edwards! Sooner orter, Company 49 would be doomed! They might not even receive any scores to pass their military training! It was useless no matter how good they performed! Company Commander Ford noticed their peculiarity too; they were still very motivated and passionate about their training a few days ago. What happened to them today? ¡°Look at all of you! You people look like a bunch of wimps who¡¯ve lost their fighting spirit! Did you guys not have lunch at noon? Stand up straight, all of you!¡± As a result, all of them were punished by Commander Ford. They had to stand in a military posture for half an hour, and many girls started to cry during the punishment. It¡¯s over. Everything¡¯s over! Their dream to have lunch with the General was crushed. Not only that, they couldn¡¯t even get their military credit score, and all the hard work they spent on training over thest two weeks had gone to waste! Everyone stood there quietly without moving an inch, and their sobs could be heard. Sophia pursed her lips tightly. She remained silent and stood there seriously. Suddenly, everyone heard an icy male voice which pierced through the zing sun and fell on their ears instantly. ¡°What happened to Company 49?¡± Everyone was startled as they raised their heads and saw Joel standing right in front of them; they weren¡¯t sure when he had arrived. The cold and aloof aura emitting from him traveled thousands of miles away and froze everything in its way, making everyone nervous as their breaths became rapid. The General is here! Furthermore, Joel was holding a little boy¡¯s hand. The little boy was dded in a military uniform, and Nathan was the only child in the military camp. The General is holding Nate¡¯s hand! He¡¯s actually holding Nate¡¯s hand! Everyone stared at Nathan, feeling extremely jealous and envious of him¡ªhow they wished they were the little boy instead. Commander Ford stood still and gave Joel a salute when he saw himing. Joel frowned and asked Commander Ford, ¡°What¡¯s going on with Company 49 today? Why do they look so depressed?¡± Commander Ford reported, ¡°Sir, it¡¯s my responsibility that mypany isn¡¯t in good shape today!¡± Joel snorted coldly. Then, he walked away while holding Nathan¡¯s hand. He was cold and distant with everyone else, but when he talked to Nathan, the icy expression on his face disappeared as it was reced by a warm and gentle expression. He said in a low and gentle voice, ¡°What would you like to eat, Nate? I¡¯ll send someone out to bring them in for you.¡± Of course, everyone else couldn¡¯t hear their conversation¡ªthey just saw the huge difference between Joel¡¯s treatment toward them versus Nathan.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . They were surprised that Joel was so cold when he talked to them, yet he was so gentle when he talked to Nathan. Joel has such a loving side to him and can be so gentle with kids! The General actually likes Nathan so much! Nathan had always disliked Joel before this, but for some unknown reason, he actually took the initiative to stay beside Joel today. Hence, Joel held his hand as they walked around the camp all day. They watched as everyone trained at the training field. Then, he took Nathan to have lunch at the cafeteria which was exclusive to high-ranking officers only. At times, he would even disy his affection for Nathan by holding him high up in the air. Nathan only came back in the evening, bringing back presents of different sizes for everyone. Joel had even sent a regimentalmander to escort him back to the barracks. Everyone in the barracks of Company 49 became very excited when Nathan arrived. They surrounded him and asked him about his day excitedly. ¡°Hey Nate, why did you spend the whole day with the General today?¡± ¡°What¡¯s this? Who bought this for you? Was it the General who bought you this?¡± ¡°Oh my, Nate. You are so lucky! You actually had lunch with the General!¡± Nathan continued to put on a cold and impassive expression on his face while being bombarded with questions from his teammates. He replied to them with a short and simple answer, ¡°Yeah, the General bought all of it. He asked me to give these snacks to all of you.¡± The General actually bought these snacks for us! Moreover, is he giving it to us for free?! As the girls screamed in surprise, they stared at Nathan in disbelief and asked, ¡°Did the General mention about us?¡± Nathan put on a sour face and exined, ¡°The General said that Company 49 didn¡¯t perform very well today. He told me to bring something back in order to cheer everyone up and motivate you guys.¡± The girls screamed in excitement as they fought among themselves over the snacks brought back by Nathan. Although they were just some ordinary snacks, the girls thought they were just as delicious as those expensive cuisines as they munched on the snacks happily! Company 49 finally became happy again after being depressed for the whole day. Suddenly, they realized that even though Sophia offended Faye, they still had Nathan in Company 49! Judging from Nathan¡¯s poprity, even the General liked him very much. Moreover, all thepany commanders were keeping a close eye on Company 49, so even if Faye wanted to get back at Sophia, she couldn¡¯t possibly do it in the camp too! In other words, they still had a chance to have dinner with the General! Everyone regained their energy and confidence after enjoying their snacks. They went to bed really early. Tomorrow, they were ready to undergo their training seriously like they used to do so. After everyone had finished their snacks, Sophia went to hug Nathan. She kissed him lovingly at the same time and said, ¡°My adorable son, you are such a nice boy!¡± Nathan continued to put on a sullen face; he felt really humiliated today. He had actually taken the initiative to fawn over Joel! If he hadn¡¯t identally turned Sophia¡¯s Sirius233 into a homicidal maniac whom all the yers wanted to kill, he wouldn¡¯t have cast his pride aside and looked for Joel. He didn¡¯t like Joel at all! Still, it was extremely useful for Nathan to give up his pride and ¡®sacrifice¡¯ himself. Soon, news about Joel holding Nathan¡¯s hand and walking around the training field went around the entire camp. Soon, Faye heard about the news too. Chapter 87 Chapter 87 Faye seemed very powerful, but in truth, she was just putting on an act using the Edwards¡¯ family name. To be honest, their family wasn¡¯t even qualified enough to participate in the grand Edwards Family meeting at all. Nheless, her family name was rather useful to dupe unsuspecting outsiders who were oblivious about the exact situation in their family. At the very least, she could use her family name to boss people around and do whatever she pleased in the camp. She had really rounded up several students in an attempt to mess with Company 49. For example, she was going to order those students to climb over their windows and mess up their dormitory so that they wouldn¡¯t get any points for cleanliness; she was even thinking about getting several people to beat up students from Company 49. However, before she could do so, Nathan had ¡®sacrificed¡¯ himself and saved them. Those people who had been gathered by Faye to get back at Sophia came to protest with her. ¡°Miss Faye, the General favors Nate more than anyone else in the camp now; if wey a finger on him, I¡¯m afraid the General will take¡­¡± ¡°It seems like Nate is not an ordinary kid, so how about we just forget about it?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. If the General finds out about this, we¡¯ll suffer serious consequences from it! Why don¡¯t we teach her a lesson right after the military training is over?¡± Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Faye blew her top at once. She didn¡¯t expect that an ordinary peasant would dare to climb on top and sh*t on her. ¡°All of you are worthless losers! A bunch of useless losers!¡± Faye scolded and chased everyone away, almost exploding with anger. However, there was nothing she could do about it. She didn¡¯t expect the little boy to be so capable; he had managed to get Joel to hold his hand and walk him around. Not only that, Joel seemed to like him very much! Since she couldn¡¯t get back at Sophia in the camp, she would wait until the military training was over. Then, she would definitely teach Sophia a lesson! Since Nathan had ¡®sacrificed¡¯ himself, everyone in Company 49 became motivated once more; all of them were eager to get a high score in their military training. Michael watched as everything happened through the CCTV. He sighed, ¡°My wife is very capable indeed!¡± Usually, he had to threaten Nathan so that his son would do something for him; Sophia actually had the ability to persuade Nathan and made him fawn over Joel willingly. She was very capable indeed! Just then, Harry walked over to Michael cheekily with aptop in his hands. ¡°Hey Dad, check this out. There¡¯s a petition going around in the gaming world, asking everyone to unite and kill Sirius!¡± Michael took a nce at the gaming page on Harry¡¯sptop. Recently, Sirius233 had been killing almost everyone he came into contact with in the gaming world. Not only did he kill quite a number of people, he had also massacred about seven to eight guilds which aroused discontentment and anger among people in the gaming world. As a result, several people organized a grand meeting and called upon brave leaders to unite and kill Sirius233¡ªthey had even ced a bounty on Sirius¡¯ head. All of them pooled some money together and bought a powerful ultimate weapon as a reward for the person that killed Sirius. The campaign was quite grand and very much supported! Harry pointed at the screen andmented, ¡°Look, that Fletcher kid is here too. It seems like he¡¯s very enthusiastic about the campaign!¡± Michaely back down on the bed. As he read his script, he said inly, ¡°Make an announcement for me in the gaming world. Anyone who dares toy a finger on Sirius will have to deal with me.¡± Harry was very surprised. ¡°Why? Is Sirius someone incredible that I don¡¯t know about?¡± Michael flipped the script over and replied, ¡°That¡¯s Sophia.¡± Harry was speechless. Great. Apart from Michael, no one will be able to kill Sirius¡ªthat demonic viin ¡ªin the video game. Everyone hoped that the day of the shooting training would arrive faster. Soon enough, that day had come. All of them eximed in excitement during the middle of training, and they were all very excited early in the morning. At eight o¡¯clock in the morning, everyone organized themselves into groups and departed after they finished their morning exercise routine. They had been grouped ording to their respectivepanies and departed for the shooting center at Audistin in cars. On the way to their destination, there was nothing but rural areas throughout the journey. After traveling for more than an hour in those cars, they finally arrived at the shooting center in Audistin. Then, the students marched into Audistin in an orderly manner. Although it was a shooting training, they regarded the trip as a holiday. Audistin was closed to the public and opened exclusively for the students today. Still, it was impossible for several thousand people to fit in the shooting center at one go. Hence, the students had to queue up and take turns if they wanted to shoot some targets. Therefore, everyone decided to split up. The First and Second Regiments took turns to shoot in the morning, whereas the Third and Fourth Regiments would shoot in the afternoon. As they waited for their turns, they could stroll around in Audistin and visit the filming set of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. At noon, they would have lunch at the restaurant in Audistin. In the evening, there would be a meet-and- greet with the movie cast. It was Sophia¡¯s turn to shoot in the morning. However, she wasn¡¯t very keen on shooting immobile targets; she preferred to go to the hunting ground next door to hunt for living targets. In her opinion, shooting living targets would be much more practical and effective to test a person¡¯s shooting skills. Besides, she wasn¡¯t very interested in the meet-and-greet with the superstars either; she would rather find a ce to y her video game. After waiting in line for a long time, it still wasn¡¯t her turn to shoot yet. Hence, Sophia gave up immediately. ¡°Darling, let¡¯s find a ce withputers and y video games!¡± As she said that, she dragged Nathan along to a cybercaf¨¦ in Audistin. Nathan¡¯s expression changed abruptly upon hearing that she wanted to y video games. He grabbed her immediately and said. ¡°I want to shoot targets!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, okay. Let¡¯s go and shoot some targets.¡± Nathan dragged Sophia to the shooting center. After queueing up for their turns the entire morning, they only had time to shoot for about twenty minutes. At noon, Sophia and Nathan had lunch at Audistin¡¯s restaurant. After that, Sophia walked toward the cybercaf¨¦ again. Nathan grabbed onto the bottom of her trousers immediately and said, ¡°I want to visit the filming set!¡± Sophia had no choice but to apany him to the filming set of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. Automatically, Gemma tagged along with them too. While they were on their way to the filming set, they bumped into two familiar figures¡ªSarah and Sean. Sarahined to Sophia the moment she saw her. ¡°It¡¯s a trap! They¡¯ve tricked us!¡± Sophia was confused. ¡°What happened?¡± Sarah asked, ¡°Do you know why they wanted us toe here today?¡± Feeling puzzled, Sophia asked, ¡°Why?¡± Sarah was very furious. ¡°That production crew is a cheating bunch! They lied to us because they wanted us to be extras in their film. I went there this morning, but I didn¡¯t see Taylor or Ethan around either! They simply asked us to lie down and pretend that we were dead in our military uniforms! Screw them!¡± Sophia expressed her surprise. ¡°They can do that?¡± However, it didn¡¯t seem to decrease everyone¡¯s enthusiasm and desire to see Taylor and Ethan. Those who went there and became extras in the morning went over again in the afternoon; they heard that Taylor and Ethan would be at the filming set in the afternoon. Sophia decided not to go the moment she heard that the filming crew was luring them in as extras. She grabbed Nathan immediately and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s a trap. We¡¯ll just go and y some video games!¡± Nathan simply pouted his lips without saying anything, so Sophia gave in to his wish. ¡°Okay, okay, we¡¯ll go and visit the filming set.¡± In the end, she still took Nathan to the filming set. Although Sarah kept saying that she didn¡¯t want to go anymore, she still tagged along with them. On the contrary, Sean was very excited instead. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to meet my handsome idol soon!¡± Sean was on cloud nine. He danced excitedly as his waist swayed from left to right. Sarah teased him yfully. ¡°You can stop dreaming now, Sean. Taylor and Ethan are a couple, and they¡¯ve already gotten married!¡± Sean pouted his lips, looking like he was incredibly upset. ¡°I don¡¯t care! I just want to see my handsome idol! It doesn¡¯t matter if I have to be an extra!¡± The group of five people soon arrived at the filming set. Since the set had been cordoned off, they could only watch from the outside. It seemed like they were filming some exciting scenes inside which required lots of extras; they would take a group of students into the set from time to time. The students were very excited as they fought against each other to be the extras. Standing outside of the cordoned area, Sophia began losing her enthusiasm after being squeezed around in the crowd. She pulled Nathan aside and said, ¡°Okay, we¡¯ve seen the set. Let¡¯s go back and y video games!¡± Nathan pouted his lips and was extremely unhappy with Sophia¡¯s suggestion. Right at that moment, several staff from the filming set came out to pick more extras. Nathan then pushed his way through the crowd swiftly, so Sophia pushed her way through the crowd immediately and followed him closely too. Unfortunately, by the time they made their way through the crowd, the staff had already finished picking their extras, leaving a bunch of disappointed yearning students outside. The students were hoping that they needed more people immediately and would ask them to go in next. Sophia grabbed Nathan once again. ¡°Okay, okay, it¡¯s time to go now. They¡¯ve finished picking the people they need. We don¡¯t stand a chance anymore.¡± However, Nathan refused to leave. He stood there, seemingly very eager to get into the filming set. Sophia had no choice but to wait with him. Chapter 88 Chapter 88 All of a sudden, she heard a ¡®ck¡¯ from the director. The two actors ended their fight scene in the air and were lowered to the ground from their wires. They seem to be pleased after going over the filmed footage, and shed an ¡®OK¡¯ sign at the director. N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. It seemed like they were about to wrap things up. After all, they still had to attend Bayside University¡¯s meet-and-greet tonight. Soon, the two actors left the set, and Hale hastily said to Sophia, ¡°Come.¡± While Sophia had no idea where they were going, there was nothing else left to watch now that those two master actors had left; all Sophia could do was follow him. Hale then brought Sophia along as he tailed the two actors. The moment those two actors exited the studio, they were immediately surrounded by the crowd. Uncontrolled shrieks came from the students outside. It was unfortunate that their electronics had been confiscated, for they would have whipped their phones out to snap countless pictures. Taylor and Ethan¡¯s fame was unprecedented. Had they been any other regr actor, the crowd wouldn¡¯t have been as mad for them. Taylor and Ethan were well-protected by the bodyguards as they entered what was presumably a resting area. When the door closed, all of the students were shut outside, unable to get in. Hale brought Sophia and Nathan into the two actors¡¯ resting lounge through another side door. Sophia asked in curiosity, ¡°Hale, where are you taking me? I¡¯m not a fangirl of the actors.¡± Was he taking her to get the actors¡¯ autographs? However, she truly felt nothing for these two actors! Hale didn¡¯t answer her. Instead, he simply pushed the door open and said in a hushed voice, ¡°You¡¯ll know once you¡¯re inside.¡± As he opened the door, Sophia brought Nathan into the lounge. This was indeed the resting lounge for Taylor and Ethan. The two of them were currently taking their makeup off in front of their mirrors. Several assistant makeup artists and other crew busied themselves by helping the actors to take their costumes off or remove their makeup. With Sophia and Nathan¡¯s sudden appearance, everyone stopped what they were doing and eyed the duo. Awkwardness filled Sophia¡¯s face. She took Nathan and was prepared to leave when a voice suddenly rang out from behind her. ¡°Where are you going, Chica?¡± That voice reverberated in that tiny room. Why does that tone and timbre resemble Michael¡¯s voice?! Sophia jumped in surprise and turned her head back to take a look. The two actors were still in the process of taking off their makeup, and there was no sign of Michael. She must be going insane! She had been tormented so much to the point where her nerves were frayed ¡ªshe even hallucinated Michael¡¯s voice! Sophia smacked her head; she must have been too exhausted from military training to be hallucinating from time to time. She was about to leave, but someone grabbed her shoulder as soon as she turned her head around. ¡°Where are you going, Chica?¡± Sophia immediately caught sight of Michael¡¯s face when she looked back. However, he was still dressed in his costume for ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. Meanwhile, Ethan had just finished taking his makeup off. He then removed his wig to reveal a head of obnoxiously blond hair. Wait, isn¡¯t that Michael¡¯s best friend, Harry? Sophia was dumbfounded. ¡°Y-You guys¡­¡± ¡®Taylor¡¯ had only just finished taking his makeup off, but there were still traces of cleansing oil left on his face as he stood in front of her. Despite that, she could still vaguely make out Michael¡¯s face. Michael nodded with a hint of amusement on his dashing face. ¡°You didn¡¯t realize it was me despite watching us film for the entire afternoon?¡± Sophia gulped. She truly hadn¡¯t realized it at all! Doctor Invincible was a superhero who was very much in touch with his feminine side; he was the kind of person who had ady-like touch to his movements even when he was saving the world, so Sophia thought that Doctor Invincible was yed by a woman. She never thought that the pervert, Michael, would be the one ying Doctor Invincible! He was actually a renowned actor! Furthermore, that blond friend of his who one could tell was involved with the underworld at first nce? He was also a renowned actor too! To top it off, it seemed like they had gotten married in the Nethends as well. Sophia¡¯s mind worked a mile a second, and she did her best to quickly regain herposure. She smiled cheekily as she replied, ¡°How is that possible? I can definitely recognize my own husband.¡± Michael took the towel that an assistant had offered him to wipe his face. All of a sudden, he pulled Sophia over and kissed her without any warning; he even went as far as nibbling on her lip. Sophia widened her eyes in shock. Isn¡¯t Michael a renowned actor? Isn¡¯t he a celebrity? Isn¡¯t he gay? Why is he being so flippant and nonchnt about it? Is he not afraid that news of his marriage would be spread throughout the masses tomorrow? She could tell that everyone was stunned from her peripheral vision. However, they immediately pretended to busy themselves with their own tasks as if nothing ever happened. It looked like they had been trained well. On the other hand, Michael seemed to be delighted after kissing her. He hugged her and said, ¡°Wait for me. Let¡¯s eat together.¡± He then headed to the dressing room and changed his clothes. Sophia found a seat, her face still one of confusion. She was still unable to shake off the shock from discovering that her husband was an internationally renowned actor. Didn¡¯t he say that he was an errand boy for film crews? How was he a famous actor? That exined why she thought the cast photo of Taylor greatly resembled Michael. She suddenly felt as though her entire body was burning up, and Sophia raised her head to see Harry looking at her with a complicated gaze. Harry quickly retracted his gaze when their eyes met. At this moment, Sophia felt small; she had a feeling that there was a deeper meaning behind Harry¡¯s gaze. She hastily questioned her conscience and recalled the two short meetings she had experienced with Harry. She had sent a flying kiss toward Harry¡¯s way the first time they met; he probably hadn¡¯t recognized her then. Their second meeting was during the night Michael returned. Harry hade to their home for a while before he was chased out. Sophia suddenly came to a realization when she factored in the news of their marriage in the Nethends¡ªHarry¡¯splicated look earlier was because he, as a legitimately wedded man, was looking at an unwanted meddler! Everyone knew that their nation didn¡¯t allow marriages between people of the same sex, and there were rumors about Michael and Harry getting hitched abroad. Yet, Michael hastily grabbed someone to marry in order to cover up the truth that he was gay. In other words, Sophia was a homowife. That was why Michael had been unusually furious when he found out that Sophia sent Harry a flying kiss. Was it because he thought that Sophia was nning to snag his beloved? Was that the reason why Harry looked at her with that gaze? Sophia felt her a chill running up her spine after going over her thoughts, but she still felt relieved. Harry wasn¡¯t a pervert; he was just a closeted gay man. Now that she had suddenly gotten a better understanding of him, she felt that he wasn¡¯t much of a pervert anymore. Soon, Michael and Harry finished removing their makeup and had changed out of their costumes. Michael grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Come, let¡¯s eat.¡± Sophia followed them without a word. Michael, Harry, Sophia, and Nathan stepped into Audistin together. The restaurant was currently filled with students, so they couldn¡¯t eat out in the open. They entered a quieter booth and ordered their entrees as well as a few side dishes. Their meal was unbelievably awkward, and Sophia didn¡¯t even dare to speak; she kept her head lowered as she ate. From time to time, she would nce at Michael before switching over to Harry. Her gaze would also asionally flit over to Nathan. Michael was naturally beside himself with joy now that he got to see the little boy after such a long time. He ignored Nathan¡¯s protests and pulled him over. Since he hadn¡¯t seen Nathan in ages, Michael thought that Nathan had gotten chubbier. It must be because of Sophia¡¯s efforts, he thought to himself. Although Nathan had a sulky look on his face now, he was clearly way cuter than before. It was all thanks to Sophia¡ªthat had to be it. Chapter 89 Chapter 89 It could be said that all children needed a family. No matter how many babysitters or tutors they had, they would never be able to rece the children¡¯s parents. Ever since Nathan¡¯s parents passed away, Michael took up the responsibility of being his mother and father apart from his actor duties. In addition to that, he still had many other things to handle, so he didn¡¯t have much time to take care of Nathan. It was great that Sophia hade into their lives, and Nathan seemed to get along with her very well. Nathan scowled, havingpletely forgotten about putting on his adorable charm in front of Sophia despite promising Michael earlier. Michael teased him and said, ¡°Nathan, call for Daddy!¡± Nathan turned his head away. ¡°Hmph!¡± Harry had grown up together with Michael, so he had also known Michael¡¯s older sister, Celine Fletcher, since he was a child. Celine and Michael were twins, and Celine was born ten minutes before Michael. Harry had watched as Celine fell in love and got married; he was even there when Nathan was born. Not only that, he watched as Nathan became an orphan and Michael took the boy in. Harry teased Nathan as well. ¡°Come on, son¡ªcall me Stepdad.¡± Along with Michael, they were the Power Trio; Nathan was their child! Sophia didn¡¯t know about the Power Trio. Her mind fell into the gutter again as she watched this unusual family of three. She gave a heartfelt sigh as she watched Harry and Michael behaving so ¡®lovingly¡¯ with each other. A prince may also fall in love with another prince instead of a princess. On the other hand, Harry hadpletely given up on Sophia; he knew that they were just not meant to be. Michael had gotten to her first, and he couldn¡¯t behave badly toward his friend¡¯s wife! Their meal went by awkwardly. Everyone still had their own qualms, and Sophia felt like a third wheel. Coincidentally, Harry felt like he was being the third wheel as well. Nathan was feeling ufortable since he didn¡¯t want to sit with Michael. Instead, he leaned in closer to Sophia. Michael was probably the only one who was eating happily here. After their meal, they got up to leave. Sophia took Nathan¡¯s hand and headed to theirpany, not forgetting that there was still the meet-and-greet with the film crewter tonight. That was the event that the students were looking forward to the most¡ªthe cast of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ would be meeting everyone. After being background actors the whole day and not seeing even a strand of the actors¡¯ hair, the girls were eager for tonight¡¯s meet-and-greet. Sophia hastily slipped away to a cyber cafe during the small window of time between dinner and the meet-and-greet. Having booked aputer, she immediately searched for news about ¡®Taylor¡¯ without even booting up her game. She had never kept tabs on celebrities before; all she knew was Taylor¡¯s name, but she hadn¡¯t watched any of his movies. Moreover, Taylor was a person who kept on the downlow. He never went on any talk shows, nor did he take part in any advertisements. Sophia actually had no idea what Taylor looked like. She had searched for Michael¡¯s name a million times before, but she had never found anything useful. Who would have thought that face of his would be so famous online? Oh, what a blunder she had made! She proceeded to google some basic information about him. ¡®A skilled actor, as well as the first actor from his country to win an Oscar. He is known for his performances and his masterful micro-expressions.¡¯ ¡®His acting skills are so realistic that it is unreal.¡¯ ¡®The number one sexiest man on the sexiest man list.¡¯ ¡®As an alumni of Bayside University¡¯s acting program, he has been in the industry for ten years.¡¯ Sophia was dumbstruck. When Joe found her in Duckburgs, Sophia had been informed that she would be married to an old bachelor. She thought she would be fortunate to marry a man who was younger than forty with a healthy body and a rtively nice face, but she had never expected her husband to be a famous actor. She reflected on her childhood; her mother died during childbirth, and her grandfather died when she was three. At the age of ten, her grandmother passed away. She then lived with her uncle¡¯s family, but she was kicked out when the house wasn¡¯t selected for marypensation. At sixteen, she got together with that scumbag called Richard, and she was kicked out of school in a disgraceful manner when she was eighteen. It was a conga line of tragedy after tragedy. Was those eighteen years of misery actually leading up to this one fortuitous moment where she met with this wealthy man named Michael? It was unfortunate that the one Michael loved was Harry. She was a pitiful excuse acting as a homowife. She checked the time. It was still early; the meet-and-greet would only begin at seven, so she opened a few analysis articles on Michael¡¯s movies. Taylor had debuted ten years ago, and his star-making role was in a movie that was filmed eight years ago called ¡®The Castrato¡¯. It was a movie about a male opera singer¡¯s tragic life. That movie caused a huge stir across the world, and it had apparently made close to ten billion dors through the box office, keeping in mind that it was seven or eight years ago. Taylor had also been nominated for an Oscar due to that film, and he became the first and youngest actor from his hometown to win one. The other Oscar-winning actor was Ethan, also known as Harry. N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. In ¡®The Castrato¡¯, Taylor¡¯s character was sold into an operapany when he was child. At the tender age of eighteen, he became the most famed star of the city. When he was on stage, no one could tell whether he was a man or a woman; his beauty was so great that even the female singers were intimidated. After several failed rtionships, Taylor¡¯s character lived his twilight years in misery, and in the end, he committed suicide in his costume. Taylor had portrayed an eighteen year-old singer¡¯s glorious years to the end of his life. With his meticulous skills, it felt like he was breathing his role; there was not a w to his acting. Had this movie not remained as popr as it was and had been dissected and analyzed to death, Sophia wouldn¡¯t have thought that the younger version of the character and the older version was yed by the same person. The eighteen year-old protagonist was so baby-faced, and the costumes he wore for the opera were borate and majestic, bringing out the softness of his grace. He was elegant, and his voice was beautiful. Off the stage, he was a young, bookish man with an extraordinary beauty. Even in current times, this movie would be listed at the top when it came to movies which broke gender norms; it was a ssic that couldn¡¯t be surpassed. Hence, Taylor¡¯s fans affectionately called him ¡®Miss Taylor¡¯. Sophia¡¯s impression of Michael¡ªthat of a perverted tyrant¡ªsuddenly crashed and burned. She yed some clips from ¡®The Castrato¡¯ and watched as Michael from eight years ago portrayed a young fresh-faced singer, his voice pitched high as he sang in his opera costume. Her jaw was ck, and she could tell immediately by his posture and voice that he was no ordinary singer. Nathan was watching her so that she wouldn¡¯t hop into her video game. She said to him, ¡°Your dad must have been using a body double.¡± Nathan didn¡¯t say a word. She scanned through the articles, and it turned out that Michael had not used a body double in this clip. The clip where the protagonist was singing on stage in ¡®The Castrato¡¯ was the highlight of the movie. Back then, it had caused waves around the world. Not only was everyone in awe of Michael¡¯s acting skills, they were also dumbstruck by his singing voice¡ªhis singing skills stood out in the realm of film music. Sophia rewatched that clip several times, her eyes widening as she scrutinized the video each time. At last, she was certain that it was Michael. ¡°Is that really your dad?¡± Sophia asked Nathan in disbelief. Nathan nodded and said confidently, ¡°Yep.¡± Her impression of him as a domineering tyrant crashed again. Sophia scratched her head, not daring to believe it. To her, Michael was the kind of pervert who would bulk buy condoms just for a moment in the bedroom. There was no way that he could be this internationally acimed, popr actor that she was reading about online! She trawled through the information on Taylor avable online. He was only fifteen years old when he made his actual debut as the leader of a boyband. His voice hadn¡¯t dropped yet, and he sang age- appropriate pop songs¡ªthe kind that was popr during that era. There were also dance numbers that showed their age. Even now, Taylor looked quite youthful in those clips. After a few years of radio silence, he suddenly made aeback by stepping foot into the acting world. From then on, there was no more turning back. He acted for ten years and was repeatedly hailed as a skillful actor. When she summed all those years out, he had made his debut in the entertainment industry seventeen years ago. Sophia watched those old music videos of Michael singing and dancing over ten years ago. She sighed to herself, Time is a cruel mistress, for that youthful boy has be a perverted old man now. Chapter 90 Chapter 90 After getting the bombshell dropped on her, Sophia frantically searched for Taylor¡¯s information on the inte. Taylor was an extremely mysterious man, and no one knew about his family background. It was rumored that his mother was Elizabeth Murray, the popr award-winning actress about thirty to forty years ago. Elizabeth used to be a Broadway singer too before she became a film actress. In fact, she had been a porn actress when she first ventured into the filming industry. Later on, she repackaged herself, changed her image and starred in many costume dramas, bing a popr movie icon during that era. However, she retired from the film industry all of a sudden and no one heard about her ever again. Many yearster, Taylor appeared. Every aspect of him resembled Elizabeth so much that her movie fans and Broadway fans felt like they had seen him somewhere before. Nheless, they were merely spections which hadn¡¯t been personally confirmed by Taylor before. He was seldom involved in any tabloid scandals; the only rumors about him were about his sexuality and his partner, Ethan. They had been film partners for ten years, and they were rumored to have gotten married in the Nethends. Then, Sophia¡¯s online searches revealed lots of gay, pornographic novels featuring Taylor and Ethan as well as Taylor and Daniel as gay couples in those stories. Sophia was very shocked from every piece of bombastic information she received today; she needed time to take in all of that information. Taylor was actually her husband! She had no idea about Taylor or Ethan¡¯s existence before this. She had been living in her maternal grandfather¡¯s house since she was little, and their household was rather poor. She¡¯d even have to depend on her uncles¡¯ mood to see if she could have a decent meal every day. Hence, it was just impossible for her to watch television in the house at all. Besides, Sophia was an extremely hardworking girl who studied very hard since she was young. She would read whenever she had time instead of watching television and idolizing any movie stars. Sometimes, her uncle and aunt would be generous enough to allow her to watch television, but the only dramas she was allowed to watch were some lousy local TV shows which aired at eight o¡¯clock every day. All the movies which Michael starred in were international blockbuster movies that premiered inrge cinemas, so it was only natural for her to not know who Taylor was. She found herself in a daze all day long until the meet-and-greet in the evening; Sophia realized that she would be spacing out asionally from time to time. The meet-and-greet was going to be held on the field of the hunting ground in Audistin. Eachpany gathered around in a semicircle surrounding the center stage. While the staff members were still adjusting the light and sound system, everyone had alreadye to book a spot on the field. Everybody was very excited today. It was the first time they had been so enthusiastic during their military training. Sophia sat with the 49th Company with a nk expression on her face. She was still in a daze; she couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the video where Michael had worn a suit and sang in a Broadway musical show she watched just now. He is so handsome! How can a man look so handsome? So, how can a man like him possibly like women? Company Commander Ford walked around thepany. Looking at the longing expressions on his students¡¯ faces, he teased unforgivingly, ¡°Look at all of you¡ªwith that silly look on your faces, you guys look even happier when you see a man than seeing a meat dish!¡± The students burst outughing following his hrious remark; the atmosphere was unusually lively and merry. Just as Sophia was still in a daze, she heard screams from the girls beside her all of a sudden. As several thousand girls screamed at the same time, it sounded loud and deafening as it echoed through the air. The meet-and-greet had begun, and the casts of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ arrived soon enough. ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was an international blockbuster with a massive budget. Both the main and supporting casts were experienced superstars, but most of the people who were sitting below the stage were millionaires of Bayside City. To them, these superstars were nothing more than just ythings; as long as they were willing to pay, they could see any superstar they wanted anytime. However, both Taylor and Ethan were an exception; they had been in the entertainment business for more than ten years, and were extremely popr in the industry. Hence, it was impossible to see them no matter how much those millionaires were willing to pay. Clearly, the best things couldn¡¯t be obtained easily. Thus, those wealthy students were just as fanatic as the ordinary students when it came to idolizing these two superstars. Sophia stretched her neck and looked at the cast members, watching as Michael and Harry strode elegantly toward them. Michael looked cool and mysterious while dressed in a well-tailored ck suit. As his lips curved into a warm and faint smile, there was a glimmer of a smile in his eyes too. Standing at 185 centimeters tall, he was a walking clothes hanger which looked perfect in any fashion style. cing his hands leisurely in his pockets, he looked casual yet charming. He possessed a natural, award-winning-actor temperament which was put on disy the moment he entered. Following closely behind him was Harry, who had also worn a ck suit; his blonde hair appeared striking against his outfit. Although they wore simr ck-colored suits, Michael looked mysterious, courteous, pristine and gentlemanly. On the other hand, Harry appeared haughty, autocratic, arrogant and sly. His fans usually described him as the domineering partner! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Even though there was another beautiful, blonde foreign lead actress with blue eyes following them, everyone seemed to have ignored herpletely. Screams could be heard echoing throughout the ce. ¡°Miss Taylor, Miss Taylor, I love you!¡± ¡°Mr. Ethan! Mr. Ethan!¡± ¡°Ethan and Taylor are the best couple ever!¡± The fans were so excited and the atmosphere was so merry that even Sophia couldn¡¯t bring herself to sit still anymore. She stared at the duo as they walked out one by one,pletely stunned. She was so mesmerized that one couldn¡¯t find anything else except awe and amazement in her eyes. Holy smoke! They are so handsome! As far as she remembered, she had only seen Michael in a proper suit once¡ªthat was when she met him for the first time. When they were at home, he simply ran around the house with his pajamas or a pair of loose boxer shorts. However, it was obvious that Michael had carefully dressed up for the event today. With his hair styled wlessly using some hairspray, he looked clean and fresh from head to toe in his outstanding attire. Michael even had some slight beautification done on his face, which appeared utterly charming and handsome. Sophia swallowed nervously as she stared at Michael quietly. She sat hidden within the crowd, surrounded by the enthusiastic fans. Besides, the lighting around that area wasn¡¯t very good and everyone dressed simrly in military uniforms. Since she was certain that Michael couldn¡¯t see her or notice the silly look on her face as she stared at him, Sophia was bold enough to keep her eyes glued to him. Michael and Harry waved at the crowd and greeted everyone. The fans couldn¡¯t stop screaming, and their screams only stopped after they went up the stage. The fans widened their eyes as they held their breaths to hear their idols¡¯ voices. ¡°Hello! To all my juniors from Bayside University, how are you? I¡¯m Taylor.¡± Everyone heard Michael¡¯s voice through the microphone. His voice still sounded deep and sexy even though there was ayer of mechanical alteration to it. ¡°Ah!¡± A group of fans screamed again. After the screams had subsided, Harry took the microphone from Michael. He smiled yfully at the crowd and waved to greet them while he said, ¡°Hi, students from Bayside University, how are you?¡± Once again, screams could be heard piercing through the night sky. Michael and Harry were more mysteriouspared to other actors; they were very low-profile in the entertainment industry too. They seldom showed up at public events most of the time, and they did not film anymercials either ¡ªeven the wealthy students below the stage couldn¡¯t see them very often. Most of them watched their movies while growing up, but it was their first time meeting them in person. The situation at the fan meeting seemed borderline crazy. The drill instructors patrolled around the surroundings to prevent any tragicmotion or stampedes from happening in case the students went out of control. The meet-and-greet was divided into several sessions. First, the main cast shared their acting experience with the students, which was followed by an interactive session where the students could ask the cast members anything. There was even the possibility of having a lucky draw and giveaway as well. The host went up the stage and several guests remained seated. Soon enough, everyone kept quiet and the ce became silent. The host was none other than X herself. Although she studied performance, she was good at broadcasting and emceeing. The host had been selected among the students in Bayside University for this meet-and-greet. Due to X¡¯s rtionship with Richard, she had been sessfully selected as the host. X still wore her military training uniform, but she had exquisite makeup on her face; her features were as gorgeous as a fairy¡¯s. The way she carried herself on the stage was excellent, but she still looked inexperienced apart from being nervous. After all, it was her first time seeing Taylor and Ethan too. X felt extremely pleased with herself. She managed to obtain the opportunity to host the meeting with much difficulty, and she didn¡¯t expect that she would be on the same stage as her idols either. She nced below the stage involuntarily and caught sight of Richard¡¯s smiley face. She smiled back at him. Almost immediately, she searched for Sophia¡¯s face among the crowd. As expected, she saw the jealous look in Sophia¡¯s eyes among the crowd. She felt even more pleased with that and began to host today¡¯s meet-and-greet in a calm and orderly manner. Sophia was jealous indeed. X is so close to my husband! Chapter 91 Chapter 91 On second thought, she was already married to their idol. The thought lightened up Sophia¡¯s mood a bit. X was very good at her speech and had managed to host the meet-and-greet in a harmonious and perfect manner. Michael shared his experience of being in the acting business for ten years with much passion and enthusiasm, even encouraging the students to study hard in their respective professions too. He then said, ¡°First of all, I would like to thank my good partner, Ethan, for taking care of me all these years.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± A group of fujoshis below the stage screamed in excitement. The atmosphere hit its climax once again. For safety purposes, the military camp had sent their regr troops to maintain the order of the meet- and-greet. The soldiers surrounded the stage below, forming a human barricade to prevent the students from storming up the stage due to their overexcitement. Sophia stretched her head and looked at the duo on the stage; the spotlight was focused on them, and they were at the center of attention as everyone kept their eyes on the actors and looked at them in admiration. They shone so brightly that it was somewhat blinding to her eyes; she was mesmerized by them. Soon, the interactive session began where the students below the stage could ask the award-winning actors several questions. They raised their hands frantically, and several lucky students were picked consecutively. After the microphones were passed to them, the lucky students asked their questions. In return, Michael and Harry answered their questions skillfully. However, the final question was a bit awkward. One of the fujoshis asked excitedly in public, ¡°We heard that you guys registered for marriage in the Nethends. Is this true?¡± There was a sudden change in the atmosphere and everyone felt awkward for the two award-winning actors. After all, it was just the fans¡¯ wild imagination to consider them as a couple. On a surface level, the award-winning actors had always been good friends and partners. Sophia held her breath too as she guessed what Michael would answer. Will he confess immediately, or will he just shrug it off quickly without providing any detail on the matter? He¡¯s not going to tell the world about my existence, is he? Didn¡¯t he marry me just to conceal the fact that he¡¯s gay? Perhaps he will tell the world about me for real. Sophia was ready to be revealed to the world. As Michael held the microphone in his hand and smiled, he looked gentlemanly and pleasant with the expression on his face. His deep sexy voice echoed throughout the whole ce as he said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t tell you the details about this.¡± Is he confessing to it? Screams of excitement from a group of fujoshis could be heard from below the stage. A huge amount of gay pornographic novels featuring Taylor and Ethan as the couple was about to be published very soon. The couple had actually gotten married for real, and many of their fans melted upon seeing their affection for each other. Sophia, who was standing among the crowd, suddenly felt a little disappointed. Most good-looking men were scumbags. Those good-looking men who were not scumbags were either married or homosexual. Sigh! She let out a long sigh and nced at Nathan in her arms. Suddenly, she felt sorry for him. She had never met Nathan¡¯s mother before; perhaps his mother was just a surrogate mother. Both of them were equally pitiful. Unlike that perverted moron named Michael, he already had a handsome guy as his partner. Yet, he still liked to touch her all the time. She wondered why Harry didn¡¯t control him. Michael pretended to be a gentleman on the stage; he thought that he must have looked really handsome with his appearance today, and was certain that his young wife must really be mesmerized by his looks and would definitely agree to sleep with him tonight. Soon, the interactive session was over. The students were happy since they got to ask many questions, and the atmosphere was quite merry indeed. Joel arrived as well, and he went up on stage and sat together with the main cast. As usual, Joel wore his solemn and intimidating military uniform, which showed off his cold and mysterious temperament. His style waspletely different from Taylor¡¯s gentlemanly, courteous temperament and Ethan¡¯s cool, haughty demeanor. The presence of the three idols with different personalities caused a huge stir among the crowd below the stage as they kept screaming over and over again. It was almost impossible to control the crowd. Next, it was the most exciting moment of all time¡ªthe lucky draw and giveaway session! Harry held an album in his hand, and his striking blonde hair shone brightly under the spotlight. He nced across the crowd below the stage and announced, ¡°This is an album I worked on with Taylor a few years ago. It has both our personal signatures on it. I¡¯ll give it to the girl with the loudest and most pleasant scream!¡± Within seconds, deafening screams were heard echoing through the air, and Sophia covered Nathan¡¯s ears immediately. As the students screamed frantically, their screams echoed through the quiet woods. The sleeping tigers and lions in the woods of the hunting grounds were startled when they heard these deafening midnight screams. So, they howled along with the screams too. In the end, Harry picked a male student who went up the stage and took the present. After being on the stage, the boy couldn¡¯t control himself and gave Harry a bear hug. It caused another stir among the students who screamed in excitement. Then, it was Michael¡¯s turn. He took out an iPad calmly; it was thetest iPad model from Apple. It didn¡¯t matter what brand the iPad was; almost everyone present owned a dozen iPads themselves. However, it was different since the iPad belonged to Taylor. Michael exined, ¡°This is my personal iPad. I saved all the movies I¡¯ve starred in thest ten years and some unpublished bloopers¡­¡± ¡°Ah! Give it to me! Give it to me!¡± The girls really looked like a scary bunch of fanatic demons when they became overexcited. The drill instructors were freaked out by it as they hurried over to maintain the order of the meet-and-greet, dragging disobedient students back to their groups. Sophia was petrified by the students¡¯ frantic behavior. She didn¡¯t expect that Michael¡¯s poprity would be so incredible to the point that it was scary. She actually felt stressed out being Michael¡¯s young bride in a sh marriage! If his fans found out that she was married to Michael, they would definitely kill her! Excitement continued on the stage. Holding the iPad in his hand, Michael looked very courteous. ¡°Let me see both of your hands; I¡¯ll pick one of you randomly toe up on stage to get this iPad.¡± The students threw their arms up in the air frantically. N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Right at that moment, Nathan¡ªwho had been in Sophia¡¯s arms¡ªescaped suddenly and dashed out into the crowd. He forced his way through the human barricade formed by the Special Forces with his little body. He was the first one to dash up the stage, and the athletic Nathan ran forward and snatched the iPad from Michael¡¯s hand. Sophia, Michael and the fans were surprised and speechless with his antics. The fans were so furious that they thumped their chests and stomped their feet. How could they let a kid snatch the iPad away? Nevertheless, Nathan was just a kid after all. They couldn¡¯t fight with a kid, could they? Therefore, they had no choice but to watch someone else snatch the iPad which belonged to them away in disappointment. Michael grabbed onto Nathan as he was about to escape with the iPad, surrounding the little guy together with Harry. You little rascal! You can run pretty fast, huh? Are you thinking about running away once you¡¯ve gotten the iPad? In your dreams! The vignt Michael caught him instantly and asked with a gentle expression, ¡°Hey there, little guy. What¡¯s your name? Are you here alone? Who are you here with?¡± Failing to escape, Nathan switched on his acting mode. Putting on a cute and adorable face, he said into the microphone sweetly, ¡°I¡¯m Nathan. I came with my Mommy!¡± ying along with him, Michael asked, ¡°Where is your Mommy? Ask her toe up here and let me see her.¡± Since Nathan was the only child in the camp, his mother naturally caught the attention of everyone else. Even though everyone knew that Sophia wasn¡¯t Nathan¡¯s real mother and was just his father in his video games, they heard that she was the nanny hired by his family. Right at that moment, everyone still had their gazes on Sophia. She was shocked at first, but after that, she actually felt a bit excited despite being in a daze. Nathan knew that Michael wouldn¡¯t let him take the iPad away so easily, so he waved at Sophia sweetly on purpose. ¡°Mommy, hurry ande up here!¡± Sophia covered her face. As everyone looked at her with envy and jealousy, she went up the stage. On the stage, Michael held Nathan in his arms. He teased the little guy on purpose and said, ¡°Come on, Nate, you have to say something to make me happy. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you take the iPad away!¡± Nathan put on a sour face when no one could see him. Grabbing the iPad tightly, a hesitant look shed through his face. In the end, he decided to put aside his pride. He took the microphone and called out to Michael obediently. ¡°Daddy!¡± Chapter 92 Chapter 92 It caused a stir among the crowd. Can he do that? Did he just call Taylor ¡®Daddy¡¯? Michael seemed extremely pleased. He caressed Nathan¡¯s head and said, ¡°Good boy.¡± Harry, who couldn¡¯t stand being ignored, asked, ¡°What about me?¡± With his back facing the audience, Nathan pouted his lips and addressed Harry reluctantly. ¡°God Daddy.¡± The fans screamed again. Nate is a really smart kid! The two award-winning actors were overjoyed after hearing Nathan call them ¡®Daddy¡¯. They took turns to caress his head. Even Joel, who had been quiet since the beginning, smiled too. He caressed Nathan¡¯s tiny head too. Nathan was indeed an outrageous existence in the camp¡ªeverybody liked him! Even Sophia had the chance to be so close to the award-winning actors because of Nathan. Atst, Sophia got on the stage stiffly with an awkward expression on her face. Nathan escaped from Michael¡¯s arms immediately the moment he saw hering and ran into Sophia¡¯s arms. Michael took the opportunity to ask Nathan and said, ¡°Nate, can you tell Daddy where¡¯s Mommy?¡± Nathan pointed at Sophia. ¡°Mommy¡¯s here!¡± Sophia was so embarrassed that her face turned red. What a strange family¡­ The fans screamed again. They were so excited that their noses almost bled after Nathan called Michael and Sophia ¡®Daddy¡¯ and ¡®Mommy¡¯. They wanted to be Nathan¡¯s mother so badly at that moment. Michael asked Nathan again. ¡°Is Mommy pretty?¡± Nathan nodded and said, ¡°Yes!¡± Michael caressed his head. ¡°Okay then, be a good boy and take Mommy down the stage.¡± Feeling relieved as if he just survived a death penalty, Nathan grabbed Sophia and ran away. Covering her face again, Sophia went back to her original ce as everyone looked at her in envy and jealousy. What the hell is wrong with Michael? Why did he call me up there? Was it just to make Nate call them his ¡®Daddy¡¯ and ¡®Mommy¡¯? She had a feeling that she would definitely be torn into pieces by the fans of the Winston couple tomorrow. The fans meeting ended in a happy and harmonious atmosphere. Nathan became instantly popr as he won Michael¡¯s iPad sessfully. He held onto the device dearly like it was a precious treasure. After the meet-and-greet was over, the filming crew left and the students were dismissed in an orderly manner, leaving in their military camp buses. Since X was the host, she went down the stage along with the guests. She then took the opportunity to step forward and ask for Michael¡¯s autograph. ¡°Uh, Mr. Murray¡ªmay I have your autograph?¡± Michael took several big steps ahead and left, seeming as though he had not heard her at all. He didn¡¯t even turn around. Putting her pride aside, X called him twice again. However, she was ignored over and over again. She couldn¡¯t do anything but stomp her feet in disappointment and left. Taylor and Ethan were extremely arrogant, and they couldn¡¯t even be bothered to meet the wealthy investors. Therefore, it was difficult even if it was X who wanted to see him. She barely had the chance to get close to the two mysterious and low-profile award-winning actors, but to her surprise, she couldn¡¯t even get his autograph. Just then, Richard came to escort her back. Noticing the resentful and disappointed look on her face, he comforted her and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. My uncle is a movie director, so you¡¯ll definitely get a chance in the future.¡± Everyone left in their respective buses. However, two buses had broken down. As a result, two companies would have to stay overnight here at Audistin. Among two of the buses which had broken down, one of them belonged to Company 23. The bus had broken down due to a mechanical problem in the vehicle itself. The other bus belonged to Company 49, but it seemed like someone had pierced the tire and no spares could be found. Therefore, they had no choice but to repair it now. In the end, both Company 49 and Company 23 were forced to stay overnight at Audistin. Luckily, there were enough rooms here for everyone. However, Sophia felt like the buses had broken down at such an odd timing! Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this! She had to stay one night at Audistin. If she was correct, Michael would be spending the night here as well. Feeling fearful, she took Nathan to the hotel room. Theirpanymander was the one responsible for putting them in their respective rooms. Two students shared a room, and Sophie had been put together with Gemma. Sophia became alert when she discovered that she would be sharing a room with Gemma. Just as she expected, when she opened the room door with her keycard, Gemma was nowhere to be found. Instead, she caught sight of Michael. He had just finished showering and smelled great, and he was waiting for her on the bed¡­ Sophia finally realized now that it wasn¡¯t a coincidence for the meet-and-greet to be held here and for the bus to break down at a time like this! She wasn¡¯t going to keep her virginity tonight! She thought of leaving the room immediately, and pretended that she had walked into the wrong room. However, Michael already saw her. In fact, he was waiting for her to fall into his trap. How could he possibly let her go so easily? ¡°My chica, you¡¯re finally here. Come on,e inside.¡± Michael got down from the bed. As he stood barefooted, his tall and muscr figure was dded in thin pajamas. Sophia could vaguely see his tantalizing inner chest line through the loosely-buttoned cor, and his thin pajamas couldn¡¯t conceal his overpowering masculine scent emitted from his body. Sophia reluctantly entered the room, holding onto Nathan¡¯s tiny hand tightly. Nathan was her only ¡®shield¡¯ tonight. Michael walked over toward her and mmed the door shut. He then embraced Sophia and kissed her loudly at the same time. Sophia pretended to be embarrassed and freed herself from Michael¡¯s embrace. She then said shyly, ¡°Hubby, Nate is still around.¡± Michael attached his lips onto hers tightly, seeming as though he wanted to suck her in through his mouth. He even cornered and pressed her against the wall before kissing her passionately on her skin with his warm lips. While taking advantage of a gap in between kisses, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. He doesn¡¯t understand either.¡± Nathan simply watched the couple kissing each other passionately just like that. However, he realized the couple was disying an inappropriate amount of affection in front of him. Sophia struggled to free herself. As she looked at Nathan who was staring at them with hisrge and bulging eyes, she protested shyly, ¡°We can¡¯t mislead our son!¡± Atst, Michael released Sophia reluctantly. He opened the door and got Hale to take Nathan away. Nathan took a nce at Sophia and Michael. Sophia winked at him desperately. Oh please, darling, don¡¯t go! Michael looked at him with a gentle and loving expression on his face. ¡°My dear boy, Daddy and Mommy are going to work hard tonight to give you a younger sister, so don¡¯te and interrupt us, okay?¡± A younger sister! Suddenly, Nathan hoped he would have a younger sister. With that, he left with Hale. The door mmed shut with a loud bang, and Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat too. Michael stretched out his naughty hands toward her again. Petrified, Sophia took a step backward. Michael, the perverted bisexual freak! You¡¯re already married to Harry in the Nethends. You can¡¯t just dump him like that! She protested, ¡°Hubby, let¡¯s not do it; we don¡¯t have condoms here. It¡¯s very dangerous!¡± Michael smiled slyly. ¡°That¡¯s great¡ªwe can have a bunch of kids then.¡± Sophia put on a sad face as she tried toe up with some excuses to stay away from Michael. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m rather smelly from all the sweating. Why don¡¯t I take a bath first?¡± She nned to drag it on for as long as she could. Michael actuallyplied and gave in to her wish. He patted her on her bum and said, ¡°Go then!¡± Sophia hurried into the bathroom quickly. However, she felt speechless as soon as she was in the bathroom instantly. The room was a romantic honeymoon suite! The ss wall of the bathroom was transparent! It was transparent! The wall waspletely transparent without anything to cover it up! Besides the transparent wall, the bathroom was even equipped with strange-looking neon lights! The bathroom light switched onpletely with a tap and shone in a pinkish hue. Hot water flowed out of the tap automatically and the room was immediately covered in thick mist. Under the pinkish lighting, the atmosphere in the bathroom became erotic immediately¡­ This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael wore his pajamas with his shirt unbuttoned halfway, revealing his attractive vicle and abdominal muscles. Biting a red rose across his lips, hey down on the bed, ready to watch Sophia¡¯s live strip show. Sophia was speechless. What should I do? Chapter 93 Chapter 93 Sophia stood stiffly in the bathroom as she removed her shoes slowly. She really wanted to take a bath since it was like rushing to war whenever they took showers in the camp¡ªthey only had three minutes to shower and five minutes to wash their hair. Moreover, their hot water was supplied in a limited amount; she had never felt truly clean ever since joining the military camp twenty days ago. Now, there was a shower and a fully-automated bathtub in the hotel, making Sophia drool upon catching sight of these facilities. However, how could she possibly rx, remove all her clothes, take a bath, and scrub her back when a pair of lustful eyes kept leering at her outside the ss? Michael even put on various seductive postures. He took the rose off his lips before plucking the petals off one by one and threw them all over the bed. Sophia almost cried seeing him like that. She removed her shirt in slow motion, but when she was about to remove her undershirt, the doorbell rang rapidly. Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Michael frowned as an impatient, vicious look shed through his eyes. Who the hell is here to interrupt us? Harry? Impossible! He¡¯s not that ignorant. Perhaps it¡¯s Nate? Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Michael got dressed and went to open the door moodily. When he opened the door, he saw a man and a woman standing outside the door wearing simr military uniforms. The man was tall and handsome whereas the girl was energetic and cute, looking like a fairy. ¡°How are you, Mr. Murray? My name is Richard Harper. I¡¯m a student of Bayside University,¡± the man greeted Michael politely. Richard? Stuck in the bathroom, Sophia listened to their conversation attentively. Michael put on his award-winning-actor temperament and a professional smile on his face. He asked courteously, ¡°Is there anything I can help you with?¡± Isn¡¯t he my current wife¡¯s f*cking ex-boyfriend? So this is what he looks like. He¡¯s really ugly! Richard held X¡¯s delicate hand, and thetter was very excited. He exined to Michael in an utterly polite manner as he said, ¡°My girlfriend is a fan of yours; she practically grew up watching your movies. Mr. Murray, I was wondering if we could take a photo with you and ask for your autograph? My girlfriend has been waiting for this opportunity for years now.¡± As he finished, he stared at Michael nervously in fear that thetter would reject him. Taylor had never taken photos with anyone or given his autograph before. He had always been very low- profile, mysterious and arrogant. Those wealthy investors hardly ever saw him¡ªnot even once. Even if X was the wealthy daughter of the Huff Family who had the opportunity to join the celebrities¡¯ inner circle, she wasn¡¯t fortunate enough to see Taylor. She had put a lot of effort into finding out Taylor¡¯s hotel room number today. Hence, she came over at night and asked for his autograph. She initially thought that Taylor would reject their request, but much to her surprise, his lips curved into a warm smile as he answered, ¡°Of course you can. Come in, and we¡¯ll take the photo inside.¡± What the heck? Is he inviting them in? The bathroom ispletely transparent! Besides, if theye in, my identity will be exposed! Sophia looked around the bathroom for something to cover herself up. Just then, Michael pressed a button and the bathroom¡¯s transparent ss wall became opaque immediately; one could only see a vague figure moving around inside. Michael invited Richard and X into his room. As soon as they were inside the room, they realized that his room looked very peculiar. The air was filled with the fragrance of essential oil, and the pink room had a romantic feeling to it. Rose petals were scattered on therge, round twin bed. Instantly, one could tell that there was another person in the room besides Michael. X was a bit surprised. As a girl, she could immediately sense that there was a girl in the room. As expected, she saw a petite, dark figure moving around in the bathroom. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Was that Taylor¡¯s woman? He was seldom involved in scandals ever since he ventured into the acting business for over ten years. There was a rumor going around the upper ss society that he had thought of marrying the wealthy daughter of the Edwards Family to be their live-in son-inw before. However, he had failed to do so. Since then, there hasn¡¯t been any news on his personal life anymore. Is that woman¡­ someone unrted to the entertainment industry? A young model? A supporting actress from the movie? X was startled by her own spections. Surprisingly, Michael was very honest. ¡°That¡¯s my wife.¡± Richard and X were very shocked by that. It turned out that the award-winning actor was married! The woman must have saved the entire Milky Way in herst lifetime to be so fortunate to marry the award- winning actor! Taylor got off to a good start since he had graduated from Bayside University. All the movies he acted in were international blockbuster films, and he was one of the few actors in Cethos who had won two Oscars awards; he was also the youngest First ss Actor in the country. He was a national idol. With his current assets, he could marry a wealthy daughter from one of the Four Great Families in Bayside City. As such, X wondered who his wife was. Is she a popr diva? Or a girl from a noble family? Staring at the blurry figure in the bathroom, X felt nothing but envy and jealousy. In the bathroom, Sophia listened closely to the situation outside. She heard snapping noises as the three of them took some photos and the couple asked for autographs. After snapping several photos, X took out her cap excitedly and said, ¡°Mr. Murray, please sign here. Do give me a special autograph!¡± Michaelplied and even gave her a special autograph. After interacting with the actor for quite some time, X and Richard left together. Before they left, Michael reminded them, ¡°Regarding my marriage, I hope that both of you can keep it a secret.¡± X nodded quickly and said, ¡°Of course we will!¡± After all, Taylor was no ordinary actor. She heard that he was a 5% shareholder of Asco International, the top corporation in Bayside City; his wealth and influence was extraordinary. If she let the cat out of the bag, he would definitely destroy the Huff Family within minutes with his abilities. She even ttered him and said, ¡°Mr. Murray, the girl who married you must be someone who is just as outstanding as you!¡± Michael nodded. Of course, his little woman must be someone special and different from the others! As for Richard, he had taken some photos with Michael excitedly just now, for he admired the guy very much too. Unlike X, who idolized Michael for his looks, he admired Michael from a man¡¯s perspective. For someone without any family background like Michael, he only took around ten years to be an international superstar; he started out as an unpopr lead vocalist of a teen band when he first got into the entertainment industry in his teens, and had even failed to marry into a wealthy family. This was enough to make Richard admire Michael for the rest of his life! After seeing X and Richard off, Michael looked at himself in the mirror. I look really handsome! Even Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend looks at me with his ¡®lustful¡¯ eyes. Why can¡¯t Sophia look at me with just a slightest bit of silly admiration look on her face? He pressed the button and the bathroom ss wall became transparent again. Sophia, who was still a blurry figure moments ago, became clear immediately. Instead of seeing her naked body like he had anticipated, he just saw Sophia lying in the bathtub; the tub was filled with bubbles with only her head protruding outside, and he couldn¡¯t see anything down below her head. Sophia was enjoying her bubble bath happily, feeling as though she was in heaven. Looking at the bathtub filled with bubbles, Michael didn¡¯tin even if he didn¡¯t see his young bride¡¯s beautiful naked body. After all, it was impossible for Sophia to run away again today. Sophia spent over half an hour enjoying her bath and felt reallyfortable after soaking in it; her skin had almost turned white after the long bath. She wanted to go out, but there was a sly and lustful guy waiting for her outside. If she went out now, she would get screwed immediately. Michael half-leaned on the bed while reading his script. When he wasn¡¯t looking, Sophia got out of the bathtub immediately and changed into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before going out of the bathroom. She had used up all the methods she could think of and knew that she could no longer drag it on anymore. Fine, I¡¯ll just getid then. It¡¯s not like I have anything to lose anyway! Realizing that she hade out of the bathroom, Michael put down his script. He stretched out his arms, waiting for her to throw herself into his embrace. Just as Sophia snuggled into his arms, someone knocked on the door again before he could even kiss her. Chapter 94 Chapter 94 Michael was furious at this point and barked, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He opened the door to see Hale and Nathan standing there, and the former looked apologetic as he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sir. But the Young Master insisted on sleeping with you.¡± As soon as Hale said that, Nathan quickly ducked under Michael¡¯s arms and ran straight toward the bed. Kicking off his slippers, he jumped onto the bed and hid himself under the nket. When he was taking a shower just now, he realized that he wouldn¡¯t be the only child in the family anymore if Michael and Sophia were to have a baby girl. By then, Sophia would be too busy taking care of the baby and wouldn¡¯t y with him anymore. How boring his life would be! Upon seeing Nathan, Sophia¡¯s face lit up as if she had been thrown a lifeline, and she asked, ¡°What happened, Nate? Are you afraid of sleeping alone?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Nathan answered, a gloomy look on his face. At the same time, Michael closed the door with a gloomy face as well. He stalked over to see both Sophia and Nathan had made themselvesfortable on the king-sized bed. The red nket was tucked up to their chins, and they stared at him with sparkling eyes. With a motherly smile in ce, Sophia said, ¡°Dear, Nate said that he was scared to sleep alone.¡± Hearing her words, the child quickly nodded in agreement. Michael merely stared at them in silence. After a while, he adjusted his clothes and switched off the lights, only leaving a nightmp on. All the while, Nathan stared at Michael with wide eyes, as if he was afraid that Michael would really stuff a baby sister into Sophia¡¯s belly. If his mother were to get pregnant, she would be too weak to do anything, let alone y with him. On the other hand, Michael couldn¡¯t fall asleep and stared at the ceiling for a long while. He nced at Nathan, only to find the child¡¯s ck eyes staring back at him warily. Annoyed, Michael red back before looking at Sophia. Exhausted from her military training, she had fallen into a deep slumber after taking afortable shower, and was sleeping like a log. Michael averted his gaze, and it wasn¡¯t long before Nathan had fallen asleep as well. The child looked extremely adorable with his chubby face and long eyshes fanning his cheekbones. He was such an angel! Turning over, Michael fell into a deep thought as he stared at Nathan¡¯s sleeping face. He had once lost everything dear to him; if it wasn¡¯t for the newly born Nathan, he might not have gotten through that dark period in his life. There was nothing in this world that couldpare with Nathan. On the other hand, Sophia was already in her dreand. Sleeping soundly, she habitually held onto Nathan out of fear that he would roll off the bed. She clutched him tightly, ensuring he was sleeping on the innermost part of the bed. As he stared at the mother and son duo, Michael¡¯s lips lifted into a gentle smile. He leaned forward to kiss Nathan on the forehead before kissing Sophia¡¯s cheek. When Sophia woke up the next morning, she saw that Nathan had already gotten up as well. Shocked, she quickly looked down and was relieved to see that her clothes were still in ce. It seemed that Michael didn¡¯t do anything to her yesterday. Speaking of which, he had left early since he was the protagonist of his current movie. If he waste, he would be dragging the entire production¡¯s progress. So, he had to arrive two hours early to get his hair and makeup done. In the meantime, Sophia took Nathan for breakfast, and they got on the Company 49 bus and returned to the barracks. After settling down, she went about and started her busy day. Perhaps everyone was too excited when they saw the idols yesterday, so they didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood during the morning training. Even the energetic Nathan looked spiritless and had fallen asleep while munching on a slice of watermelon. Once the morning training was over, everyone gathered under the shade, whereupon a wave of girls surrounded Nathan. ¡°Oh, Nathan, can you give me the iPad that Mr. Prince gave to you yesterday? I¡¯ll buy you a new one!¡± ¡°Nathan, I have something more interesting over here!¡± ¡°Natie, if you give the iPad to me, I¡¯ll give you ten back!¡± Although everyone had seen the idols from afar yesterday, they seemed cold and distant, so no one dared to ask for their signatures. However, there were two lucky people who had received gifts from the actors¡ªone boy got Ethan¡¯s signed album, but traded it away for a luxurious bungalow in the capital, while the other gift was Nathan¡¯s iPad. However, Nathan only looked at the girls with a long face, obviously rejecting their proposals. Even so, the girls continued to pester him, but to no avail. In fact, Nathan had nothing to give since the iPad was with Sophia. She had never seen Michael¡¯s acting, and wanted to catch up with his movies.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Just then, there was a suddenmotion on the training field, and everyone quickly went in the direction of Company No. 23. After inquiring, it turned out that X had gotten Taylor¡¯s autograph, and she even got him to sign on her cap and take a photo together! This made the other girls really mad¡ªhow did X manage to get an autograph when no one else did? Green with envy, the girlsined, ¡°Who does X think she is? How could she take a photo with my idol?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I was chased away by the bodyguards when I wanted to take a photo yesterday!¡± ¡°All of you are so ignorant. The Harper Family invested ten million in the production of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. I heard that X got the signature through her connections with Richard Harper!¡± ¡°This is so frustrating! If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll have my daddy invest fifty million in the production, so that I can take a photo with my idol too!¡± As everyone was talking, the atmosphere suddenly became awkward, and they turned to look at Sophia. After all, she was Richard Harper¡¯s ¡°mistress¡±. It looked like Richard treated his real girlfriend very well; not only did he manage to let her take a photo with her idol, she even got a special autograph on her cap. Apparently, it was also due to the Harpers that X was able to be the emcee! Unlike the mistress who, as expected, received nothing. Indeed, the girlfriend¡¯s position was much higher than that of the mistress. However, Sophia was focused on watching the movie, and wasn¡¯t aware that people thought of her as a mistress. In fact, the iPad that Michael gave had a really big memory storage. Not only was it filled with movies and MVs since his debut, the videos were all in HD! To be honest, Michael was truly a great actor. He had participated in over twenty productions and each movie was a blockbuster; from posing as an adorable child to a solemn middle-aged man, his acting was wless. How could someone so powerful exist in this world? Sophia felt that she was about to fall in love with him. On the other hand, X had be the envy of many girls in the barracks, and she wore the cap with Taylor¡¯s signature with pride. But it wasn¡¯t enough, and she wanted to show it off to Sophia as well. X knew that Richard had put in a lot of effort to help her to be the emcee, as well as getting Taylor¡¯s room number for her. As expected, her dear Richard would do anything for her! As for Sophia, he probably had forgotten about her existence. This went to show that X had not only received a special autograph from her idol, but also Richard¡¯s special love for her! Chapter 95 Chapter 95 Nathan didn¡¯t seem to be interested in trading his iPad for anything, no matter how much the others offered him. He wasn¡¯t even using it himself and had given it to Sophia, as if he had purposely snatched the prize for her. On the other hand, Sophia was too engrossed in Michael¡¯s movies that she kept watching whenever she had time to spare, even during her lunch breaks. Looking at his mother¡¯s infatuated expression, Nathan sighed and shook his head, thinking that his mother waspletely hopeless. As if she sensed Nathan¡¯s feelings, Sophia sheepishly stopped the movie and ced the iPad in her bag before she started to eat her lunch. At this very moment, X and Richard arrived at the cafeteria. ¡°Let¡¯s sit over there, Richard!¡± X suggested coquettishly as she observed Richard¡¯s expression, pointing at the empty seat beside Sophia. In fact, she was aware of Richard¡¯s affair with Sophia, but she had never brought up the topic. A smart woman would not reveal her feelings, and X would never let the slightest hint of upset show on her face. She only observed them in silence. Furthermore, as a way to express her generosity and consideration, she would even give Richard the chance to approach Sophia. As a smart woman, she would never bring up his secret affair to his face, as that would only put him off. As expected, in the face of her generosity, a sh of guilt appeared on Richard¡¯s face and he said nervously, ¡°Let¡¯s find somewhere else to sit¡­¡± Knowing that her n had worked, X decided to act even more generously and kindly; sooner rather thanter, Richard would definitely return to her side. She deliberately sat beside Sophia and said, ¡°No, I want to sit here! Look, Sophia is here too!¡± Turning around, she greeted Sophia happily, as if thetter was her good friend. ¡°Hi Sophia, what a coincidence!¡± Busy with her lunch, Sophia only waved at X. ¡°Hi.¡± Once Richard sat down as well, X purposely put the signed cap in front of Sophia and said in a nasally voice, ¡°Look, Sophia! This is a special autograph signed by Taylor! Isn¡¯t it cool?¡± Sophia raised her head and nced at the cap, feeling a little curious at Michael¡¯s signature. True to X¡¯s words, it was indeed a special autograph that read, ¡®To: X, wishing you great sess and a happy life.¡¯ Although the signature is pretty, the words are way too tacky! Averting her gaze, Sophia tried to hide her distaste in her eyes. After all, she knew X was here to show off. Then, Sophia responded in a cold voice, ¡°Yeah, cool.¡± X continued to show off, and said, ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Richard, I wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to be a supporting actor, not to mention getting Taylor¡¯s signature! In fact, he looked even more handsome in person!¡± Listening to her, Sophia merely mumbled and nodded. Knowing that Sophia was definitely jealous of her, X retrieved her cap and hugged it tightly. ¡°Richard brought me to Audistin yesterday, and after asking around, we finally got Taylor¡¯s room number! I heard that you were at Audistin yesterday too. What a pity, I could¡¯ve brought you along to look for Taylor if I knew about this earlier! After my military training, I¡¯ll be acting as a supporting character in ¡®Doctor Invisible¡¯. It¡¯s just a small character, but I¡¯ll still get to see Taylor and even work with him!¡± Sophia kept on eating as she listened to X¡¯s boastful words. X was too engrossed in her own world, as she continued to brag about yesterday¡¯s incident. ¡°Taylor was extremely handsome, and he was very nice too! Those rumors that painted him as a cold and uncaring man are all untrue!¡± Sophia only mumbled in reply, ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± Suddenly, X held onto Richard¡¯s arm and said proudly, ¡°It must be because of Richard that Taylor was so nice to us!¡± Hearing this, Richard only smiled awkwardly. Some things were better left unsaid. It was true that he had put in a lot of effort to let X be the host of the fan meeting yesterday. However, Taylor was a big star, and he had no way to inquire about the actor¡¯s room number. Furthermore, the Harpers were not exactly weed in Audistin, so he couldn¡¯t even ask about it. It was only when he overheard the conversation between the staff that he finally found out Taylor¡¯s room number. N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. Of course, he could never confess to such a thing, as X still believed that it was the Harpers¡¯ power that made her dreame true. Needless to say, he was extremely nervous when he heard how she boasted about it to Sophia. Ignorant of his anxiousness, X deliberately tugged on Sophia¡¯s arm and continued to boast, ¡°Sophia, I promise we¡¯ll bring you along the next time we go to meet Taylor. Right, Richard?¡± With that, she turned around to look at Richard. Although his expression was still awkward and unnatural, Richard nodded in agreement. ¡°Of course.¡± In all honesty, X had expected Richard to be nervous since he was cheating on her. However, she would never point out his ws, and would wait for him to realize her charms and return to her on his own. It was her mother who used this exact same method to secure her ce as the legal wife of Mr. Huff, and her mother¡¯s advice had never been wrong. However, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to be affected by X¡¯s words and only focused on her meal, ncing at the wall clock from time to time. On the other hand, X was eating elegantly and kept flirting with Richard, while Nathan drank a packet of juice as he watched the three adults in confusion. There were a lot of people in the cafeteria, and everyone was watching the drama gleefully. Sophia seemed very pitifulpared to the radiant X, her expression lonely and full of a mistress¡¯ helplessness. X suddenly thought of something and blurted, ¡°Oh! Sophia, I haven¡¯t added your new number on Messenger after you¡¯ve stopped using the old one. It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t bring my phone along, or I could¡¯ve shown you the photo that I took with Taylor. How about you give me your number first?¡± Deep down, X didn¡¯t believe that Sophia would actually add her number. If she did, she would only be agonized when she saw X¡¯s posts on the lovey-dovey moments between X and Richard. Unexpectedly, Sophia agreed. ¡°Sure. Richard has my number; you can ask him for it.¡± In reality, Richard did have Sophia¡¯s new Messenger number. He had shamelessly gotten her number before, but was promptly ignored the moment he added her. However, Sophia¡¯s words had a different meaning to X. Is Sophia actually bragging about her close rtionship with Richard by saying they added each other on Messenger? Hmph, what a b*tch! But X only responded, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll add your number after the training.¡± After this, the three fell into silence once more. Sophia turned to look at the clock on the wall and suddenly put down her chopsticks. She looked at Nathan and asked, ¡°Darling, have you finished your meal?¡± The minute Nathan nodded, Sophia picked him up and ran out of the cafeteria; she didn¡¯t even have the time to say goodbye to the couple sitting beside her. There was an unspoken rule in the camp¡ªthere would be a penalty if a trainee exceeded a certain time limit during lunch. Hence her rush as she held onto Nathan¡¯s hand and zoomed out of the cafeteria. However, to those present, it looked like ¡°the mistress¡± Sophia was running away after her confrontation with X. Just like that, the rumor made the rounds in the camp, and by night, it had be something along the lines of X berating Sophia, who then ran out in tears, while Richard only watched in silence. From this incident, it was obvious that X was tougher than Sophia. She was confronting the mistress with the most typical method! Chapter 96 Chapter 96 After Sophia had her hands on Michael¡¯s iPad, she couldn¡¯t keep her hands off it, and had been enjoying his movies all day long. How was it even possible that such a good-looking man existed? In all his movies, Taylor could act in any type of role naturally, without any ws. It was as if he was born to be an actor. And now, Sophia realized that she knew too little about her husband, whom she sh married. She knew almost nothing about him, let alone his background. It was only recently that she found out about his job. After the meeting with the crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, it was all everyone in camp could talk about for the next few days. As such, Sophia took the opportunity to listen in to some gossip. No one knew about Michael¡¯s background, for his personal information had been protected from the public with extra precautions, including his real name, not to mention his father¡¯s identity. But rumor had it that his mother was a famous celebrity around 30 to 40 years ago, who went by the name of Elizabeth Murray. She used to perform operas, but hadter switched to singing and acting. It was when the television was first invented, and Elizabeth who had both beauty and talent, became well known to the public. She wasn¡¯t only the queen of TV drama ratings, but was also the box office champion. She dabbled in operas, films, dramas, and even the music industry, all of which were so remarkable that they even became famous overseas. Once a beloved national treasure, she influenced the entire world and became the top Asian celebrity. If it were today, she would¡¯ve been a global star, receiving awards from Oscars non-stop. Despite that, Elizabeth had a dark past. It was believed that she used to act in adult films during her early years, and waster discovered after she rose to fame. As a result, she suffered from severe depression and tried to take her own life several times. Later, Elizabeth left the entertainment industry without a trace. Since then, there had been no news of her. No one knew where she had gone. Some said that she was married and retired while others said that she was banned from the industry because her involvement in adult films had a negative impact. There were also some who believed that she hadmitted suicide. No one knew exactly where Elizabeth was, and her fans had missed her so much. Even after decades of pop stars dominating the industry, people hadn¡¯t forgotten about her. After all, the woman represented an era! After almost 30 years of her disappearance, Taylor Murray turned up. Elizabeth¡¯s fans saw shadows of Elizabeth in him¡ªhis facial features, temperament, and even his singing and figure. Although Taylor had never talked about his personal life, people had regarded him as Elizabeth¡¯s descendant. For that reason, there were a lot of middle-aged and elderly among Taylor¡¯s fans. He had an extremely strong fan base among the general public, from little kids to teenage girls, and even square-dancing older men¡ªthe age range was huge. This humongous fan base had allowed him to sit firmly on the throne as the number 1 movie star in the country. He sometimes starred in dramas from big productionpanies, and all of his movies were box- office hits, alongside his dramas. There were many who were rich among the freshmen, and they usually had more insider information than others. It wasn¡¯t long before Sophia found out some juicy information that wasn¡¯t a well-known fact ¡ªyears ago, Taylor had attempted to marry into wealth, but ultimately failed in doing so. There was even such a thing? As everyone was busy discussing, Sophia listened in secretly, her ears like an antenna catching signals. She was extremely interested in gossip about her husband. Michael had been the topic of conversation at most of the recent slumber talks in the camp. Everyone would talk about his movies, outfits and even his face for the whole night. Sophia thought that these girls were unbelievable, and was trying to figure out why they wouldn¡¯t just sleep when they had the time. Yet, what was even scarier was that she had been enjoying listening to all the talk! ¡°I¡¯ll tell you guys, but you can¡¯t tell anyone about it!¡± warned the girl who told the story, acting all mysterious and enigmatic. Upon hearing that, everyone nodded and listened carefully. The girl started to narrate, ¡°This is what Faye told me. You guys know that she¡¯s one of the Edwards, right? She said that Miss Taylor has gotten engaged twice!¡± The girls were all surprised. So the man wasn¡¯t heartless! He was engaged and might¡¯ve even been married for years! Many hearts were broken at that moment. Sophia was a little dumbfounded as she didn¡¯t know that Michael had this marriage history. But hey, the guy was an outstanding man. His admirers, both women and men, could probably line up all the way from Bayside University¡¯s main gate right up to the camp¡¯s gate. Aren¡¯t I one of them? She continued to listen in, wanting to know more about her husband¡¯s exes. The girl who was spilling the tea had a mysterious look on her face. ¡°Miss Taylor¡¯s first fianc¨¦e was very influential in the society. From what I heard, she¡¯s a literary soldier from the Central Military Commission Political Department Song and Dance Troupe. She was also in the literary and artistic circle, and her rank isn¡¯t a low one!¡± Wow, that¡¯s so cool! Sophia was shocked. Working in the literary and artistic circle was a whole other level from the entertainment industry, and could be considered as a real artist. And if she had a high ranking as well, that would make her amazing! Michael had to be equally incredible to be engaged to such a stunning woman! Only someone with a simr family background could do that! Come to think of it, he was one of the Fletchers. This in and on itself was already magnificent. Just then, the girl continued, ¡°It¡¯s a pity no one could find out anything about the woman, but she was very famous. Rumor has it that the woman met with an ident and fell seriously ill, which caused the marriage to eventually fall through.¡± Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Everyone let out a deep sigh. But at the same time, they were happy that their idol was still single. As the girl told the story, those from the upper and lower bunk had popped their heads out, eagerly wanting to know more about Taylor¡¯s story. Even Nathan listened in attentively, wanting to know what everyone thought about his uncle. ¡°Miss Taylor¡¯s second fianc¨¦e is even more unbelievable!¡± The girl held her chin up proudly as if she was the one being mentioned. ¡°The second fianc¨¦e was one of the Edwards, and was a direct descendant of the family. Apparently, they were engaged, but on the day before the wedding, the fianc¨¦e almost died in an ident. That was why Miss Taylor¡¯s marriage n fell through again.¡± Everyone felt sorry, but rejoiced at the same time. They couldn¡¯t help but be reminded about Taylor¡¯s curse of being a wife-jinxer. Thinking about the sudden idents of his fianc¨¦es that blew off the marriage n, they doubted all of these were just a coincidence. As Sophia had recalled the gossip she heard in the camp from the past few days, she noticed that everything that had happened to Michael was odd. They said that when he debuted in his first movie, he had an intimate scene with his co-star. When the movie was released, it became a box office hit, and they had went on to receive lots of awards. But not long after that, the actress took her own life due to depression. Till today, it was unconfirmed whether she hadmitted suicide or it was a homicide. Taylor had been in the industry for more than 10 years and didn¡¯t have a lot of scandals, but there were a few with some female celebrities. One of them was when a reporter got him on camera going to a hotel with a female celebrity, discussing their script in the middle of the night. Not long after, the female celebrity broke her leg in a car ident. There were others who had been embroiled in a scandal with him, but oddly, most of them were either involved in some kind of blood-shedding disaster, or they lost their fame, or were even banned and vanished from the public eyes. Chapter 97 Chapter 97 Word was that there was a wealthy girl who had set her sights on him. She even bought out the whole cinema for his movie, and had purposely gone to all the ces that he had been to. Unfortunately, before she could even seed, her family went bankrupt, both of her parentsmitted suicide and she disappeared. There were many simr examples, but one thing was clear¡ªall the women who came close to Taylor would not have a good ending! As everyone recalled this curse, they were frustrated yet happy at the same time¡ªif I can¡¯t have him, no one else can! Sophia remembered when Joe sold her off to Michael, the middleman Daniel Levine said something along the lines that Michael was born to jinx his wife. If those who were weak went close to him, there would be no return. Even a female dog could go bald! It was said that in the past, when Joe¡¯s business almost went bankrupt, he brought his children¡¯s horoscopes¡ªincluding Sophia¡¯s¡ªalong with the Energy Map of his house, and went looking for metaphysics masters. Unfortunately, none of them could tell him the reason. But when Daniel took a look at Sophia¡¯s horoscope, he was sure that it was her horoscope that went wrong. After selling Sophia off, Joe¡¯spany really took a turn for the better! This made him even more convinced that Sophia was his curse. These days, he didn¡¯t even ask about Sophia¡¯s wellbeing. He had completely forgotten about her existence, and even wished for her to vanish from the world. The slumber talk endedte at night. Sophia tossed and turned, not able to fall asleep. She couldn¡¯t for the life of her understand why she married Michael. Was it really because of my horoscope? Do people still believe in stuff like this? I really don¡¯t care if Daniel lied to others, but why would he lie to one of his own? She couldn¡¯te up with a valid reason, and so she had to make one up. She told herself that Michael Fletcher was a sicko, a one-in-a-thousand kind of psycho! The things that were going through his head was surely not something an ordinary person woulde up with! ¡­ The training went on as usual the following day. With the final assessment approaching, everyone was working hard on the formation practice, wanting to get good results during the military parade. This time, Sophia didn¡¯t try to get out of it with an illness. She practiced with the team earnestly, and had even volunteered to help out other students who still couldn¡¯t do well. It was during their lunch break that Sophia asked Nathan out of the blue, ¡°Tell me, why did your daddy choose me to be your mommy?¡± Before Nathan could say anything, she whispered to herself, ¡°It must be because I¡¯m pretty!¡± She¡¯d always thought that she looked pretty good, not to mention the plus point of having a lucky face. Back in the day, Richard¡¯s grades weren¡¯t the best. Sophia, who was only in her junior year, had to tutor him, a senior. She even made him a record of his past mistakes. Before his exams, she was more nervous than him, supervising him throughout the night to make sure he memorized all of the questions. Without her, Richard certainly wouldn¡¯t have been able to score such high marks. When Nathan heard her muttering to herself, he rolled his eyes. He would never tell that he was the one who¡¯d picked Sophia! Michael had never thought about getting married, but he couldn¡¯t stand Daniel¡¯s nagging, so he pacified him by choosing a mother for Nathan. Daniel had found him 20 to 30 single girls, all withpatible horoscopes, and most of them from an ordinary family. He even sent people to investigate their backgrounds to ensure that they had no problems before choosing the ten most suitable candidates for Michael. Daniel wanted someone with a good horoscope, a nice personality and a good appearance. It would be great for her to have a not-too-low IQ as well. When he showed Michael the girls¡¯ photos, Michael didn¡¯t even nce at them. He simply showed them to Nathan, asking him to choose himself a mother. Nathan had chosen the frumpiest-looking one of the lot. He would never forget the moment he saw Sophia¡¯s photo. Her face was bare, and her hair was tied up in a ponytail, her forehead full of baby hair. The circles underneath her eyes were dark, something she umted after long nights of studying. Daniel had even specifically listed down the characteristics of each girl. It was written that Sophia was a star pupil with good grades, and was one of the best students in Bayside University. Little did they know that when Nathan was making his decision, he simply thought that it would be great to have someone who could help him with his homework. Besides, a frumpy girl would disgust Michael, who had been trying to be his dad the whole time! For the bidding, Michael had given him a total of 10 million. Daniel had made up excuses like him being strong enough to survive all hardships, to ensure that he could keep the price down. This had earned him a good deal, and he only spent 80 thousand to buy Sophia, and kept all the change for himself. All this while, Sophia had her head up in the clouds. She stopped abruptly when she noticed that Nathan didn¡¯t even care to entertain her, and so she continued with her lunch. After lunch, Sophia asked again, ¡°Is it true that your dad jinxed his wife?¡± Nathan rolled his eyes again. ¡°Do you really believe it?¡± Sophia frowned but said nothing. Does this mean that Michael Fletcher didn¡¯t jinx his wife? Scratching her head, Sophia became more determined that her appearance was the reason why Michael had chosen her to be his wife. Nathan was mature and smart for his age, and he knew certain things. He was sure that Michael didn¡¯t jinx his wife. That 40-ish depressed co-star who had taken her own life was trying to take advantage of the young Michael when they filmed the movie together. She had even told Michael directly about wanting to be his sugar mummy, threatening to end his career and ban him from the industry if he refused her offer. N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. But strangely, it was the actress who was banned, and all of her endorsement contracts were terminated. She knew she had offended some big shot, but she didn¡¯t know who it was. In the end, she was so terrified that she went into depression, and had killed herself by jumping off a building. The other women who had been in a scandal with Michael were also after his fame. They had contacted reporters on purpose to take misleading photos, trying to spread and hype up the situation. They clung onto Michael¡¯s poprity, but turned around and used him. All of them deserved to be banned after all those things they did to Michael! As for the wealthy girl who went bankrupt, Michael was extremely annoyed by her actions, so he did a background check on her family business. Heter found out that thepany had been manipting their ounts to avoid paying taxes, so he had reported it. Furthermore, what happened to that actress was all Harry¡¯s doing. He was trying to frame Michael into the wife-jinxer character as a joke. Regarding Michael¡¯s two fianc¨¦es, Nathan had no idea about them since that was a long time ago. Michael had never mentioned them, not even for the sake of showing off to Daniel and Harry. But overall, Nathan thought that he had done a good job in picking out his mom because she could y games with him. While Nathan was looking satisfied, Sophia was in deep thought. No matter what Michael¡¯s motive was, it wouldn¡¯t change the fact that he was a sicko and her life would still be tough in the future. The training in the afternoon was brutal as usual, but everyone seemed to have gotten used to the intense training mode. They were even enjoying themselves, and had been anticipating the final military parade, hoping to get a high score and have a meal with Joel. Throughout their afternoon break, the Siamese twins X and Richard had been appearing in front of Sophia on purpose. X bragged about her signed cap and her charming boyfriend, but Sophia continued to watch movies the whole time, murmuring a response at whatever X said. There had been a rumor spreading around the camp that Sophia and Richard had made up, but X didn¡¯t confront Richard. She knew that if she asked, she would lose the first strike and would be no different from Sophia. Although Richard had exined it to her personally, the fact remained that on that night, Sophia was indeed carried by a man into the infirmary, her body covered in hickeys. Besides Richard, who else would Sophia allow to give her love bites? Chapter 98 Chapter 98 X knew that they had gotten back together secretly, but she wouldn¡¯t expose Richard¡¯s lies, much less quarrel with him like a crazy b*tch. She had to act better than before, so that Sophia had no way toe between them. Richard could only belong to her. It was night, and their training was over. After Sophia cleaned herself up, with her hair still soaking wet, she went out for a walk in her slippers, letting her hair dry naturally. Nathan followed behind her wordessly, and Sophia started to speak. ¡°Son, say Mom.¡± Nathan answered in response, ¡°Foolish.¡± ¡°Son, how could you say that to me? You¡¯re going to regret it when I don¡¯t y games with you anymore.¡± Nathan stopped talking. When Sophia was out for training during the afternoon, he had sneaked into the game, and found out that her ount had already be the greatest Monster in the Swordsman Game. This was the first time in ten years that this had happened in the game. The whole server had been hunting Sirius233 for years. Feeling guilty, Nathan had been trying his best to behave for the past two days. At this moment, Sophia found a pavilion and sat down in it. Turning on the iPad, she continued to watch Michael¡¯s movie. Nathan also leaned over and joined. After all, it was his uncle. Even though on the outside it seemed like Nathan hated him, he still loved him deep down. Shortly after, X made her way over, still in her uniform. Her eyes seemed to shine in the night and her delicate facial features were unusually fine. Like a mischievous kid, she ran over when she saw Sophia, looking quite happy. ¡°Sophia, whatcha doin¡¯?¡± However, Sophia didn¡¯t look up. ¡°Watching a movie.¡± The conversation stopped there after her sentence. But X seemed to be in a chatty mood, and she kept on talking to Sophia, telling thetter about the dream she had of Michaelst night as well as her engagement with Richard and also them wanting to study abroad. Sophia, on the other hand, only responded to her cursorily. All of a sudden, X called out, ¡°Sophia, look! There¡¯s a mosquito on my face! I¡¯m so scared! Get it off of me! Quick!¡± Sophia looked up and saw a small ck dot on X¡¯s cheeky little face. The lighting in the shed was really bad, and Sophia couldn¡¯t see clearly. It looked like a mosquito, so she raised her hand and pped it. p! A pnded right on X¡¯s face. Immediately, the atmosphere changed. As though she had been wronged, X stood up all of a sudden, hands covering her face with an unbelievable expression. Her voice trembled as she spoke, ¡°H-How dare you hit me? Sophia, you¡ª¡± Raising her head, Sophia looked at her in speechless amazement. Holding onto her face, X cried in distress. In the blink of an eye, her cries attracted the students nearby and they¡¯d surrounded the pavilion, pointing and gossiping about them. ¡°How could you p me? Don¡¯t you know that I¡¯ve actually been trying to befriend you this whole time?!¡± X covered half of her face, tears rolling down her cheeks. There were a lot of students who were walking nearby. In fact, a while ago, they had seen X going into the pavilion where Sophia was in, and because both of them were famous figures, everyone had been paying attention to what was happening. Although they couldn¡¯t hear them speak, some did see Sophia pping X; the sound was rather loud, after all. In the blink of an eye, everyone whispered excitedly. ¡°Oh my God, a live scene of the lover confronting the girlfriend! How thrilling!¡± ¡°Tsk, that smack was definitely on point!¡± ¡°I wonder why she hates her so much. X¡¯s face is all red!¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Mixed with all the voices, X¡¯s cries attracted more and more spectators, who surrounded and judged them. Sophia¡¯s expression turned cold, and she knew that no one would believe her if she said that she was only helping X to kill the mosquito. Nathan was wearing the same expression; he didn¡¯t know what to say. He merely squeezed the little frog in his pocket, trying to express his loss of words. ¡°Ribbit.¡± Finally, Richard had made it to the scene. He cut through the crowd in a hurry and shouted anxiously, ¡°X!¡± ¡°Richard!¡± Covering her face, X ran toward him. As soon as he appeared, he hugged X and looked at her. Her eyes were puffy, and coupled with the red p mark on her delicate face made her look even more pitiful. X sobbed and leaned into Richard¡¯s embrace. ¡°Richard, she hit me!¡± Looking at the p mark, Richard frowned and looked at Sophia with using eyes. She¡¯s still as impulsive as ever! Richard recalled that one time where there had been a misunderstanding between them, Sophia kept on insisting that he was in a rtionship with X. Out of anger, she had pped X in the face, and X cried innocently too. That was the first time he had thought that Sophia was unreasonable, and it was also the very first time he felt a strong desire to protect X. A yearter, he did not expect Sophia to still be so unreasonable. But right now, his responsibility was to protect X. Without hesitating, Richard shoved X behind him and scolded, ¡°Sophia Edwards, what are you doing? Why are you always messing with X? If you¡¯ve got a problem,e to me! Just leave her be!¡± In addition to that, X sniffled. ¡°Richard,¡± she pleaded. Seeing that, Sophia rolled her eyes. Go on, continue with the acting. All of a sudden, it urred to her that X was an acting major, and this was literally her profession! Suddenly, out of nowhere, Faye had appeared, just in time for the drama. Standing close, she mocked, ¡°Wow, that p was hard! Don¡¯t you feel ashamed? How dare you, a measly lover, hit others?¡± Everyone was looking at Sophia with contempt and disappointment. She¡¯s just a lover. Wasn¡¯t she trying to get herself into trouble messing with the girlfriend? After all, X had Huffs Technology backing her, but Sophia had nothing. She was just an ordinary girl without a penny to her name. Even Richard knew who he should choose. Looking at the situation, it seemed like Richard had to make his choice by today. Choosing one would mean that he would have to give up on the other onepletely. Looking at the circumstance, Richard would obviously choose the pitiful-looking X. With just one of X¡¯s acts, Richard and Sophia were immediately standing on opposite sides. X had kicked the lover out from her rtionship with Richard effortlessly! What a bad*ss! This could be written into the guidebook of how to treat lovers! Everyone was so excited that they even wanted to broadcast the event live on their phone, but unfortunately for them, all of their phones were confiscated. Her expression not changing, Sophia said calmly, ¡°I didn¡¯t hit her.¡± Richard was originally out on a walk with X, but he had been caught up when he went to get them some drinks. He had seen X walk in Sophia¡¯s direction, and saw Sophia pping X with his own eyes. Vision going red, he reproached, ¡°Why are you still trying to deny it? I saw you hitting her with my own eyes! How could you be so evil?¡± Still giving the same answer, Sophia repeated, ¡°I didn¡¯t hit her.¡± X tugged at Richard and suggested, ¡°We should go now, Richard. It won¡¯t look good on her if we continue with this. Let¡¯s go.¡± Richard was impressed by X¡¯s kindness; his girlfriend was always so caring. Even now, she was still trying to help Sophia! And because of that, Richard refused to leave. ¡°If you don¡¯t apologize to X, don¡¯t you even think about leaving here today!¡± Chapter 99 Chapter 99 Sophia stood there with an unreadable expression, her arms crossed. She thenughed lightly, ¡°You¡¯re saying that I pped X? How? Where¡¯s the mark? What proof do you have?¡± Still sobbing, X stepped out from behind Richard. Pointing at the p mark on her face, she cried, ¡°Just admit that you pped me!¡± That was merely a gentle p. Sophia could easily do the same thing on her thigh and it would also take a while for it to fade. With her tears running down her cheeks, X rushed and grabbed at Sophia. ¡°I deserve this. I was the one who came between the both of you. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you hating me. If hitting me makes you feel better, do it! Just please stop going after the Harpers and Richard!¡± The situation seemed familiar. Sophia remembered that when their affair was exposed, X was also ying the victim card. Back then, Sophia was so mad that she couldn¡¯t help herself from pping X. However, times had changed, and she was no longer the same old Sophia. Nothing was stopping her from hitting X when she had asked her to do so willingly. Raising her palm, Sophia struck her. This time, she wasn¡¯t using the same force she¡¯d used to kill the mosquito. Instead, it was an extremely hard and open-palmed blow. Sophia used everything she¡¯d learned from Gwen, making sure to smack X until she bled. Whoosh! A loud, piercing noise came along with that one p. Everyone stood still, shocked for a whole second. In that second itself, Sophia pped X again with the other palm. Only now were the p marks well bnced. X was feeling dizzy after the two ps, and she tasted blood in her mouth and nose. Covering both of her cheeks, she looked at Sophia unbelievably. Bewildered, she staggered backward, falling into Richard¡¯s arms. This time, she wasn¡¯t pretending. She genuinely felt weak, as if the p had given her a concussion. After a brief silence, Richard broke into a shout, ¡°Sophia Edwards!¡± X¡¯s expression was nk. She didn¡¯t react, not until she tasted the blood flowing from her mouth and bleeding through her nose. Then, she wailed, burying her face into Richard¡¯s chest. Richard¡¯s eyes glowed with twin zes as he held X, and he looked like he wanted to skin Sophia alive. Gritting his teeth in anger, he pointed at Sophia. ¡°Sophia Edwards, I never knew that you were this sort of person!¡± Much to his bewilderment, Sophia answered confidently, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Doesn¡¯t she deserve the p? How about you tell me. When did we break up? And when did you and X get together? If you¡¯re bold enough to cheat on me, shouldn¡¯t you let your ex-girlfriend get some revenge from your lover here?¡± Feeling guilty, Richard looked at her, not knowing how to reply. Before breaking up with Sophia, he¡¯d been flirting with X. After the pregnancy scare, X had been staying by his side and supporting him. Naturally, they got together, way before he and Sophia went their separate ways. Richard clenched his fists, looking enraged. ¡°It was all my fault. If you¡¯re still ming me, just let it all out on me! This is on me!¡± Sophia shook her head. ¡°I wanted to hit you too, but I knew you would retaliate.¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . This hit a chord, and Richard said, ¡°Come on then. Hit me! Punch me! I¡¯m the one who wronged you! Even if you beat me to death, I won¡¯t fight back!¡± ¡°You asked for it!¡± Sophia snapped. With that, she marched forward, pulling X out of his arms. Everyone thought that Sophia was going to throw herself into Richard¡¯s arms and French kiss him, but they were all caught off guard when she suddenly kicked him in the stomach! The atmosphere changed in a sh¡ªa school drama had suddenly turned into an action movie! Everyone stood looking at them in shock. Sophia striked out with her foot, kicking Richard down, and he rolled twice beforeing to a stop. Before he could respond, he was met with Sophia¡¯s simultaneous punches and kicks. Under her leadership, Company 49 had managed to feast on high-end buffets everyday. Her physical strength was shocking; even though she was only wearing a pair of slippers, her force was no joke. Richard was screaming the whole while; the most brilliant student in the university was losing his pride in front of everyone. But of course, he couldn¡¯t just stay down and do nothing. He curled up his fist, ready to fight back. Immediately, Sophia widened her eyes and warned, ¡°What happened to saying that this is what you owe me, and wanting me to hit you as I wished? Are you trying to go against your own words in front of everyone?¡± Richard grunted, but didn¡¯t say anything in the end. If he fought back, he would be going back on his words. While he was still in a state of confusion, Sophia removed her slippers and mmed his bruised face with it. The sound resonated in the air, and those surrounding them wanted to help, but were frightened away by Sophia¡¯s threatening expression. ¡°Are you guys trying to poke your nose into our business?¡± The bystanders held back, and could only watch as Sophia punched Richard vigorously. True to his word, he did not fight back. X, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. She crawled over, wanting to help him, but Sophia turned around immediately and pped her. ¡°Stay out of this!¡± The students almost cheered at that. They had just realized that Sophia was the one who was being cheated. As it turned out, it was X who was the lover! Sophia is really something; she even dared to punch a man! The pping sound from skin on skin and slippers wereing non-stop. Apanied by X¡¯s high- pitched scream and Richard¡¯s muffled grunts, the camp was unusually energetic tonight. The hitting continued until the drill instructors had toe over and stop Sophia. At that point, Richard was bruised all over, and X¡¯s face was covered with p marks. The couple¡¯s faces were so swollen that they were beyond recognition. As a result, all of them were brought to the general¡¯s office, and Joel would be questioning them personally. Even themanders andpanymanders were demanded to be present. Meanwhile in the general¡¯s office, the lot of them stood neatly in two rows. The first row consisted of both of the parties involved and their respectivemanders and drill instructors, while the second row was made up of the innocent bystanders led by Faye. Sophia, who was standing in the first row, stood upright in standard military posture and looked straight ahead. She was confident, and did not feel an ounce of guilt even after beating someone up. Standing right beside her were X and Richard. Earlier on, X had been sent to the infirmary for examination. Other than having one of her teeth loosened from the fight, she was fine. But her cheeks were still swollen like a balloon, even after being treated by medication. Meanwhile, Richard had a bruised face, and it was covered with marks from Sophia¡¯s slippers, looking even more pitiful. The atmosphere was so oppressing that one could even hear a pin drop. While everyone was on edge waiting for Joel¡¯s punishment, Nathan was the only one sitting to one side, his legs swinging in excitement. As usual, Joel was looking wless in his neatly pressed uniform, reviewing some documents with his head held low, as if no one was in the room. It seemed like this whole group of people were being punished to stand at attention. Chapter 100 Chapter 100 They stood like that for half an hour. The whole time, the office was deathly quiet. Even a crying X dared not make a sound. There was a storm brewing in the office, and right in the center of the storm was Joel Fletcher. It was calm before the storm, and the atmosphere made everyone breathless. The air conditioning had not been turned on, and everyone was sweating. However, no one dared to breathe too hard, much less wipe their sweat. Seeing that it was already ten thirty, Joel finally flung the file in his hand, and itnded on the table with a smack. Everyone jerked to attention, their body strung tight with tension. Joel stood up with a predatory gaze, and something shifted in the air. It was as if there was an invisible energy wave, and it made everyone stand up straighter subconsciously. Joel marched up to the group, boots thudding on the floor with force. Everyone felt the vibrations down to their bones, and some were even shaking in fear. ¡°What the h*ll happened?¡± Joel looked distant and untouchable, and his voice was unbearably cold. ¡°The one who got beaten up speaks first,¡± he said in a cold voice, pointing at Richard. Richard stepped forward and pointed at Sophia. ¡°She started it; she hit my girlfriend first, and when I went to stop her, she beat me up!¡± Richard had had enough of Sophia being unreasonable. She had done so many repugnant things in order to get everyone¡¯s attention, and he wanted her to be expelled immediately from the barracks. Joel did not respond, but looked at X and asked, ¡°What about you?¡± Tears running down her face, X said, ¡°She hit me first, and when Richard tried to save me, she even hit Richard.¡± Joel remained quiet, pacing in front of three for two wholeps. The brim of his military cap cast a shadow which covered his whole face, but they could still see a pair of piercing eyes staring at them. Looking at Sophia, Joel finally asked, ¡°Did you hit them?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. It was me who hit them.¡± In a strong voice, Sophia replied in ordance with the rules of the barracks. Joel¡¯s face was expressionless, but his voice carried a hint of anger. ¡°Reason?¡± Sophia looked at him straight in the eye and said, ¡°This is our private matter. These two were feeling guilty, and begged me to hit them.¡± Everything went still for a few seconds. It was Quinton rk who broke the silence byughing out loud. The rest couldn¡¯t bring themselves tough, as the general was staring at them like a tiger would its prey. Richard was the first to protest. ¡°General, this is not what happened. How can someone be so stupid as to let others beat them up? It was Sophia who started it! If you don¡¯t believe me, you can ask everyone present. They saw clearly what Sophia had done!¡± The others nodded in agreement. Between amoner and a rich student, they were naturally biased in favor of thetter. They just wanted the interrogation to end and see the guilty party punished, so that they could quickly head back for a rest. That being said, they despised Richard for pushing the me upon someone else, when it was indeed him who offered to let Sophia hit him. Faye added in her two cents and said, ¡°Yes, General, it was Sophia that started it by hitting X and Richard! The beatings were so violent and scary that our hearts are still pumping up till now.¡± Faye thought that Joel would take the opportunity to check her out, but he only spared her a brief nce. Then, his eyes surveyed those in front of him, only to return to stare at the three involved. He looked at the bruised Richard andposed Sophia before asking coldly, ¡°You, a man, were hit by a girl?¡± Richard choked and did not know how to answer. He was 180 cm, while Sophia was only 160 cm. In comparison, he looked tall and big, while Sophia was petite and small. It seemed unbelievable that she could beat him up. Toward the end of the beating, he started to panic and wanted to fight back, but found that he simply couldn¡¯t go against Sophia¡¯s brute force! Back in high school, she was a part-time courier in the girls dormitory, carrying two buckets of water up seven or eight floors, and was still able to walk fast! A brawl in the barracks was a serious offense, and it could result in being expelled from the military training course. At that moment, X couldn¡¯t stop herself from adding, ¡°Richard and Sophia have a past, and he wanted to go soft on her, but she ruthlessly hit him!¡± Joel looked at the three of them and asked, ¡°What past?¡± Richard opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by Joel¡¯s re. ¡°Shut up. Let her speak.¡± He was referring to Sophia. Richard closed his mouth, but if Sophia dared to talk nonsense, he would certainly refute. ¡°Yes general. Richard used to be my boyfriend, but he cheated on me and hooked up with X Huff. These two felt guilty, so they voluntarily let me beat them up, to let their conscience feel a little better,¡± Sophia answered with a straight face. ¡°Pfft!¡± Quinton sputtered and startedughing again. Richard immediately retorted, ¡°We do have a past, but X and I have never asked her to hit us!¡± X also vowed, ¡°How could we be stupid enough to voluntarily let others hit us? Sophia has always held a grudge against us, trying to cause us trouble all the time. This time, she even beat us up! People like her staying in the barracks will surely cause lots of trouble!¡± There was no mobile phone in the barracks, so there was no video or audio evidence. The students present already knew deep down which side they were going to stand on. Sophia will not get away with beating people up! Joel looked at Richard and X doubtfully. ¡°Is this true?¡± Richard nodded and answered, ¡°I swear by my personality; what I said is true!¡± X also nodded in agreement. ¡°I vouch for it personally; it was really Sophia who started it!¡± We did not fight back because we wanted to discuss it calmly, but she started to hit us even harder!¡± All of a sudden, a voice boomed from a corner. ¡°It was all my fault. If you¡¯re still ming me, just let it all out on me! This is on me!¡± ¡°Come on then. Hit me! Punch me! I¡¯m the one who wronged you! Even if you beat me to death, I won¡¯t fight back!¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Isn¡¯t that Richard¡¯s voice? Everyone looked at that corner and saw Nathan holding an iPad, ying a video with the audio turned up loud enough for everyone to hear. He swiped to another video, and this time it was X¡¯s voice which rang out. ¡°I deserve this. I was the one who came between the both of you. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you hating me. If hitting me makes you feel better, do it! Just please stop going after the Harpers and Richard!¡± Chapter 101 Chapter 101 The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. The students who had agreed with the version of events earlier now bowed their heads, not daring to meet Joel¡¯s eyes that were gradually growing colder by the minute. The two who swore were also embarrassed, their face full of awkwardness and chagrin. In the end, everyone forgot about Nathan, who had the only electronic device in the barracks. That iPad could not only store Taylor Murray¡¯s movies, but could also record videos! Joel took the iPad from Nathan and reyed the video that Nathan recorded. The video managed to capture the peak of the confrontation, from when X asked to be hit, all the way to Richard¡¯s simr request. It recorded the whole thing; the campus drama that escted into a martial arts action movie. The iPad¡¯s night shooting function was crystal clear with image stabilization, and the audio recorded was also very realistic. Hence, X and Richard¡¯s voices filled the whole office. ¡°I deserve this. I was the one who came between the both of you. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you hating me. If hitting me makes you feel better, do it! Just please stop going after the Harpers and Richard!¡± ¡°Come on then. Hit me! Punch me! I¡¯m the one who wronged you! Even if you beat me to death, I won¡¯t fight back!¡± Joel watched from the beginning to the end, not a hint of expression on his face. However, when he saw Sophia rush forward like a small leopard to hit them, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. As the video was ying, the atmosphere became even more colder, and the air filled with embarrassment. Even the onlookers wanted to dig a hole and bury their heads in the ground, much less those three who had the spotlight on them. Of course, Sophia was not afraid. It feels really cool to hit someone! This pair of lovebirds provoked her so many times, and even gave themselves up on a silver tter for her to hit. One would have to be out of their minds to not take the couple up on their offer! F*ck getting a perfect score! She now only wanted to pass. And to think that those who scored full marks would get to have a meal with Joel personally; how embarrassing! Joel saw the whole video, from the beginning to the end, then returned the iPad to Nathan wordlessly. He ruffled the boy¡¯s hair, then stared at the others coldly. Once again, the atmosphere in the room was freezing cold, and no one dared to even breathe. Richard opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Joel. ¡°Today, all the participants, albeit those who hit, or were hit, onlookers, as well as drill instructors andmanders, are to run for three kilometers!¡± ¡°Sophia Edwards, Richard Harper, X Huff¡ª the three of you, solitary confinement for twelve hours after the run! Dismissed.¡± The crowd could not believe their ears. Even onlookers had to be punished? It¡¯s alright that the onlookers have to be punished, but the drill instructors andmanders were innocent; why should they be punished too? On what grounds? However, no one dared to ask why. Once Joel stared them down, no one dared to open their mouths. Running is better than the three that are to be confined. If they were to be put in confinement, they would certainly not be able to pass. Along with the three whomitted the crime, adding in approximately 30 onlookers as well as their respective drill instructors andmanders, there were altogether around 40 or 50 people. Commander Ford shouted amand, ¡°Attention! Turn left, run!¡± A few drill instructors took the lead and started to run, followed closely by Sophia. Themanders and student onlookers followed, then X and Richard, with a reluctant Faye bringing up the rear. Faye decided to pull a fast one and pretend to be dizzy. With a cry, she leaned against the wall. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m on my period and my stomach hurts. I can¡¯t exercise strenuously, general. Can I sit this one out?¡± Joel said with a straight face, ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll deduct 20 military training points.¡± 20 points! Faye calcted how many points she needed to pass. If 20 points were deducted, she would be doomed! The only thing she could do now was to run along with everyone. Three kilometers was a breeze for the drill instructors, and theypleted it in the blink of an eye. After finishing their run, they went on to keep an eye on the students who had yet to finish theirps. Those who finished quickly mumbled angrily all the way back to their rooms. Today, not only did Richard cause a scene, but he also implicated all of us! Sophia had almost finished running, and Nathan greeted her with popsicles. She bit into one and went to the confinement room to report. Meanwhile, a poor, bruised Richard was limping and had to wait for X to catch up the whole time. Everyone had finished running, but the two of them barelypleted half. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. X, whose face was as swollen as a pig, cried the whole while. As she was halfway through her run, she fell to the ground, whining and crying. Richard tried to pull her up, but failed. How did this happen? Everything was well nned; Sophia was the one who Richard would hate, and also the one to lose face and be driven out of the barracks! Sophia was the one who hit me; why do I have to be punished? What went wrong? What is it with Sophia Edwards? X was all kinds of wound up! Richard felt rather bad too, and he was holding back the anger in his heart. He was beaten to pulp, but had to drag a half-disabled X along. She was like a burden, and for the first time he felt irritated by her. Understanding dawned on him. X wasn¡¯t being kind; she was stupid this whole time! Sophia obviously hated her, but X repeatedly went out of her way to provoke Sophia. No matter how he advised her, X did not listen. Now look at what happened! If it wasn¡¯t for X serving herself up to Sophia on a silver tter today, how would all of these happen? Others finished their three kilometers and went back to rest, but Richard and X had run for less than a kilometer. The drill instructor of Company 23 stared at them as they ran, a look of impatience on his face. The instructor was extremely fed up by this couple who were always causing trouble. The student onlookers who finished running their three kilometers alsoined angrily, and continued toin about X after they were done with Sophia. She was the one who took the initiative to walk toward Sophia; isn¡¯t it obvious that she was waiting to be hit? If she had stayed quiet, things wouldn¡¯t have gotten out of hand! F*cking retard, getting us punished just because she wanted to act all lovey-dovey in front of Sophia! Look at how good Sophia is, always giving us popsicles. Lovers normally do not go looking for trouble; only X would want to provoke someone time after time! After Sophia finished running, she went to the confinement room to report. The drill instructor led her to the legendary confinement room and opened the door. What greeted her was not the rumored stench and dampness. On the contrary, the room was clean andfortable, with a hint of lemon in the air. The double bed had been made, and was covered in cartoon frog sheets. Nathan was already sleeping soundly on it. The tablet which was gifted by Michael was on the bedside table. There was also a separate toilet and washroom next door. Not to mention air conditioning, a refrigerator and a washing machine, which even came with automatic drying! This was not solitary confinement at all; it was a nice change from her current situation! Chapter 102 Chapter 102 Sophia was hungry from all the running, so she found some snacks to munch on. She then brushed her teeth and took a bath before heading off to bed. Just before sleeping, she put Nathan and her clothes into the washing machine for a wash and dry. The room she was in was not like a confinement room at all, but more like a clean bed and breakfast. Everything would just be perfect if there was WiFi. Sophia tossed and turned on the bed. The sheets were brand new, and they seemed to have been newly washed, with a hint of lemon mixed with sunshine. She turned over and looked at Nathan who was fast asleep beside her. He had been with her all day and was worn out; it was time to rest. Today¡¯s good treatment was all because of this little angel here! Sophia was tired after the day she had, and she fell asleep as soon as she turned over. Little did she know that she would be famous overnight, sessfully bing one of the most famous freshmen from Bayside University. During the night, her heroic deeds spread like wildfire in the barracks, and there was not a soul who did not know of her. For Sophia, she finished her run and was greeted by hot water, air conditioning, and a cute little boy with snacks who waited for her. Meanwhile, the other couple did not have it as easy. X cried while running, and fell down from time to time. She kneeled on the ground, not wanting to get up. The others spent half an hour to run three kilometers, but she ran for more than two hours, all the while being dragged by Richard. After running, X felt exhausted. The minute she reached the finishing line, she copsed on the spot. This time, she was not putting on a farce, but was really weak with exhaustion! Richard was also starting to get impatient. The military training had nothing to do with him, and he only came to the barracks just for Ka and X. These two were really daft, always depending on him and not able to do anything properly by themselves. They couldn¡¯t grab their meals in time and were constantly dragging him down. It was all because of these two that he had to go hungry. Ka was his own sister, so no matter how stupid she was, he had to endure. But X was not his sister, and he vented his anger on her, especially after running three kilometers. Not only was he beaten up badly by Sophia, he also had to drag X along now. He had used up all his energy after the run, and X just had to copse and cry on the ground, refusing to get up. As such, he was forced to pull her up. He really wanted to leave X there, but she was Young Mistress Huff after all. He eventually limped to the confinement center with X in tow, an impatient expression on his face the whole time. At that moment, he suddenly remembered Sophia¡¯s goodness. Sophia never seemed to bother him so much. She did everything by herself, and was always self-reliant. No matter where they were, she always took care of him, and he had almost nothing to do as the boyfriend. Although he did not admit it out loud, deep down he always felt that Sophia was not feminine. X, in comparison, was very feminine. She would ask him to buy drinks for them, thereafter pouting her lips as sheined she couldn¡¯t open the bottle cap. No matter where they were, he always took care of her, and he finally got to experience a boyfriend¡¯s sense of responsibility. But now, he found the responsibility so overwhelming that he couldn¡¯t breathe! Company 23¡¯smander trailed behind them leisurely and urged from time to time, ¡°Move it, move it! Even if you don¡¯t want to rest, I still want to sleep!¡± Richard stayed quiet as he dragged X along, much like one would a dead dog. He recalled seeing Sophia finishing her three kilometers, wiping off her sweat and leaving quickly. She is always so strong, so determined; never letting me worry. When he was a senior, she used to apany him, staying up all night to study together. X, on the other hand, was just like his daughter¡ªna?ve to the point of stupidity, and was always laughed at by others. She was so weak that he had to always break her disposable chopsticks apart for her! X cried herself hoarse as Richard helped her to the confinement room. Her face was swollen like a pig, with snot, tears and saliva rolling down her face; her body stunk of sweat and medicine. Their confinement room was not as good as Sophia¡¯s. It was a small room, barely three meters wide. There was a musty smell in the air, and a single bed inside which looked to be covered in dust. It was obvious that the nkets hadn¡¯t been washed in a long time. Arge light bulb shed overhead, seeming like the electricity could trip any time. Besides the single bed, there was nothing else in the room. Richard and X¡¯s confinement room was separate. He ced her on the bed, and was about to turn around and leave. It was bad enough for one person to be in the confinement room, let alone two. They would surely go crazy. ¡°Richard, don¡¯t go!¡± Just as he put X down, she started to whine like a child. ¡°Okay, okay. I won¡¯t leave,¡± Richard said helplessly. He had no choice but to stay with her in this confinement room. Thepanymander took a look at them and mmed the door hard, and the world went quiet at once. There was really no sound in the confinement room; there were no vents or windows, and the only thing that connected them to the outside world was a small window on the door. It was like a sealed box, and the both of them were trapped inside, feeling like their souls had been tied down too. This small space started to drive Richard crazy, and his nose was filled with strange smells. From the musty air he breathed to X¡¯s sweat, the smell was everywhere, and he couldn¡¯t escape from it. Such a cramped space was enough to make people crazy, and the longer he stayed in it, the more he felt that he was suffocating. He was like a fish out of water, and X¡¯s cries were starting to grate on his nerves. ¡°Richard, I¡¯m so sad. I was so good to her; why did she hit me, and why did she hit you too? Did we really do something wrong?¡± X fell into Richard¡¯s arms crying, feeling wronged and angry, yet happy at the same time. Sophia made Richard lose his face. There is definitely nothing that can happen between them now. Richard can finally be mine, and mine alone! Sophia Edwards would never beat me! However, she did not expect Richard to answer in a cold voice, ¡°Miss X Huff, are you really stupid or are you pretending? You know very well that she hates you, so why would you mess with her? I¡¯ve warned you many times, yet why did you still insist on serving yourself up to be hit by her? Where¡¯s your brain?¡± Richard, who had been holding back all night, finally exploded. X¡¯s face was swollen like a pig, and she still continued to cry all over his clothes. Coupled with the confined space and smell around him, he was about to go crazy! He finally couldn¡¯t help but say what he wanted to say! X looked at him in disbelief. Is this the Richard who has always been a gentleman to me? Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Chapter 103 Chapter 103 She stared at him with wide eyes, feeling wronged. ¡°Are you scolding me, Richard? How dare you scold me? She was the one who hit me first!¡± With her swollen face, no matter how beautifully she wept, Richard could not drum up the slightest pity. Snorting, he said, ¡°Please use your brain to think; if you had not offered yourself to her, she would not have hit you! I hope that you remember today¡¯s incident, because I don¡¯t want the same thing to happen again!¡± X stared at Richard, tears rolling down her face. It was the first time in her life that she was quarreling with him. ¡°If you did not have an affair with her, I would not have sought her out!¡± Here we go again! Livid, Richard retorted, ¡°I¡¯m saying it for thest time: I didn¡¯t have an affair with her, let alone get back together! Spending the night together in the infirmary was nonsense! Don¡¯t always twist my words into something else!¡± ¡°You have, you have!¡± X was almost screaming, and her body was trembling. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that you added her on Messenger. You have always been in contact with her! I have already turned a blind eye to all that; what else do you want me to do? Can you tolerate your woman having some other man in her heart?¡± Richard snorted coldly. ¡°I can¡¯t help it if you want to think in this way.¡± X fell weakly onto the bed and cried in despair, ¡°Why are you still lying to me? How am Icking? I¡¯ve been trying so hard, yet why do you still think of her?¡± Richard did not even spare her a nce and muttered, ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable.¡± Then, he got up and knocked on the door. Speaking to the officer on duty, he requested a change of rooms. He couldn¡¯t wait to get out of there, and get out of the barracks right away! Later on, Richard went to another confinement room, where there was one less person to crowd him. He suddenly felt that the air was much fresher; even the musty smell was more tolerable. In the confinement room, Richard mulled things over. X¡¯s pure and adorable image had been completely destroyed in his eyes. Turned out that she was also an unreasonable woman. Making aparison, he suddenly realized that Sophia was leagues better. Though she asionally quarreled with him, she was very rational, and not unreasonable in the slightest. But he also knew that he had wronged Sophia. X and him had also been unreasonable at one point in time. Looking back, Sophia was not unreasonable; she was only trying to win him back. But at that time, Richard was indeed tired of Sophia. He wanted to break up, but couldn¡¯t find a good reason, not until the whole pregnancy situation came about. Richard couldn¡¯t help but rejoice as he finally found a reason to break up with her. Although he was very tired, Richard couldn¡¯t sleep at all. The confinement room made it difficult for him to fall asleep, and his thoughts kept going back to Sophia. In the other room, X was on the bed sobbing sadly and desperately. She had lost this roundpletely! Sophia really had some skills, being able to turn the tables and break us up! Ugh! In her dreams! Since X managed to bag Richard, she would hold on to him no matter what! Sophia, on the other hand, was fast asleep. It had been so long since she slept so soundly and comfortably. In fact, she slept like a log. In the middle of the night, she rolled over, and her hand seemed to touch a hot nket. Sophia thought she was dreaming, and reached out to touch the warm nket casually. It felt very comfortable, and she buried herself into said nket. The nket was soft and hard, yet slippery at the same time. She ran her hands over it and noticed that not only was it slippery, it was also hot to the touch! Also, why are there two grapes on the nket? Sophia pulled at the grapes hard, and suddenly found herself itching for a bite. She wanted a taste of the grapes, so she moved her mouth forward and licked them twice. She tasted something sweet on her tongue so she continued to lick, then gently bit down. Instantly, the grapes ¡®hissed¡¯ in pain. Hey, since when did grapes start to speak? But Sophia was too deep in her sleep, her eyelids shut tight. She touched the grapes once more, then leaned into the nket and continued to sleepfortably¡­ The nket was really toofortable, and Sophia clutched at it tightly, almost like she feared it might run away.N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content. It turned out to be a good night¡¯s sleep indeed. Early the next morning, Nathan heard a soft noise. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sat up, hazily seeing a man getting out of bed. The man¡¯s back was to Nathan as he pulled on his pants and buckled his belt. The sound of the belt being buckled was very soft, as if the man was afraid to wake those who were still sleeping on the bed. Nathan looked up at the tall man, his chubby little face cold yet curious. As the man dressed himself, he turned back and ruffled Nathan¡¯s hair and whispered, ¡°Good boy, don¡¯t disturb your mother.¡± Nathan nodded, eyes still blurry with sleep. He thought he saw a bright red imprint on the man¡¯s chest, but he scratched his little head and went back to bed. No wonder the bed got crowded all of a suddenst night¡­ The man got dressed and looked at a sleeping Sophia before turning and leaving, a swagger in his step. Later on, Sophia woke up to find light streaming through the small window. Looking at the wall clock, she saw that it was nine o¡¯clock. I am alreadyte for training! But then, she suddenly remembered that she was still in solitary confinement, and had to be locked up for twelve hours. She did some calction, and concluded that she would be locked up until noon¡ªjust in time for lunch. Hence, she went back to sleep, ready to catch up on her slumber. Closing her eyes, she remembered the sweet grapes fromst night and licked her lips before falling back asleep. Unfortunately, there were no sweet grapes in the dream this time. At half past twelve in the afternoon, the three who had been locked up for twelve hours were finally released. Everyone had just finished their lunch, and they rushed over to watch them leave the prison. Three figures appeared in front of their curious gazes. X¡¯s face was dull, and she looked haggard beyond words. The swollenness of her face had gone down a little due to the medicine, but it still looked deformed. When she came out, she pulled her military cap as low as it would go, trying to cover her blueish ck face. Richard was not much better than X. His face was not as swollen as before, but there were still dark circles under his eyes. Coupled with him not sleeping wellst night, his whole being looked haggard. Compared to the two haggard people, Sophia¡¯splexion was rosy, and she looked just like a fairy, dressed clean and neat. From her military cap down to her shoes, nothing was out of ce. She looked energetic, and her face seemed to glow. Unbeknownst to her, she had be famous overnight, and everyone looked at her with awe and fear in their eyes. Simultaneously, Joel stood outside the center and looked at them coldly. The three lined up in front of him smartly; even Nathan tried to make himself stand straight. Without any expression, Joel looked at the three of them and said, ¡°Let this be thest time. Train well and perform well; the final exam is in a few days.¡± Sophia felt that when Joel said that, he was staring straight at her, almost like he was talking to her directly. Chapter 104 Chapter 104 ¡°Yes, general!¡± she answered as loud as she could, while the other two answered quite weakly. The three of them were then released. Sophia was ready to go to lunch with Nathan when she suddenly heard Richard calling out her name, ¡°Sophia¡­¡± Sophia stopped and looked back at him while stering a polite smile on her face, as if she had forgotten what happenedst night. ¡°Richard, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Her amicable behavior waspletely different from yesterday night when she had beaten them up. The onlookers were shocked. What just happened? Richard himself couldn¡¯t believe his eyes when he saw Sophia¡¯s beatific smile. He had never seen her smile like that before. Feeling embarrassed, he smiled back and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for what happened, and I hope you won¡¯t take it to heart. We¡­ are still friends, after all.¡± Sophia smiled and reassured calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve forgotten it a long while ago.¡± The Harpers had paid 55 million, and Richard was also beaten by Sophia herself. On that note, she had temporarily forgiven him. Besides, Sophia really didn¡¯t hate Richard anymore. Because of him, she now understood the dangers of the world, and knew what yboys were like. Sophia took Nathan¡¯s hand and left, leaving Richard rooted to the spot as he watched her leave. Sophia wasn¡¯t aware of Richard watching her, but it had caught X¡¯s attention. X was looking miserable with her messy hair, her face swollen and eyes puffy. She looked unbelievably lonely. Everyone was gloating behind their backs. It must be because of Taylor Murray¡¯s wife-jinx that all the women who approached him would be unlucky. X asked him for an autograph, and even took a photo with him. It¡¯s not surprising that she has bad luck now! She deserved it! X¡¯s stomach twisted into knots when she saw Richard and Sophia talking to each other. Sophia, you¡¯d better watch out! As X realized that Richard was about to leave, she immediately chased after him and called out, ¡°Richard!¡± However, Richard didn¡¯t seem to have heard her, and he walked into the crowd, hisrge steps taking him far away from her. It was night time when X received news that Richard and Ka had applied to leave the barracks. Ka¡¯s performance had taken a setback and her legs were injured, and she knew there was no way she could get a passing mark. Thus, she thought it was better to leave early. As for Richard, his patience had reached its limit and he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. Bayside University¡¯s military training had always been the strictest and most rigorous. Although he was only a student leader, Richard was able to enjoy having someone apany him throughout the training. He now realized that it was very difficult for ordinary people to stay here for so long and suffer so much. Richard left the barracks quickly, not even stopping to say goodbye to X, and the two started the silent treatment. Watching the brother and sister of the Harper family leaving the barracks, X¡¯s eyes welled with tears. I managed to get Richard, but what went wrong? X concluded that it must be because of Sophia. If it wasn¡¯t for that b*tch, Richard would be all mine! X trembled and burst into tears, her eyes spewing fire. Sophia Edwards, just you wait! After the fiasco, Sophia had be famous, and she had to bear the consequences. The only perk from winning the battle was that she was allowed to sleep in a luxurious single room for the night. In the afternoon, Commander Ford came to thepany and called her out in front of the entire company, ¡°Sophia Edwards, attention!¡± Sophia stepped out of formation and looked at Commander Ford cluelessly. Commander Ford congratted Sophia without any expression on his face, ¡°First of all, I must congratte you for finishing off your ex-boyfriend and his partner.¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes widened, not knowing what he was getting at. Commander Ford continued, ¡°You have be the best inbat in your company¡­¡± Everyone around sniggered. The other members of thepany were shocked by her powerfulbat skills as they saw Sophia beat up the yboy. Commander Ford continued, ¡°Company 49 is no longer good enough for you. The chief has given his approval, and you will join the Superb Company in a few days¡¯ time!¡± The wholepany suddenly went intoplete silence after listening to the announcement. Superb Company! The legendary Superb Company! It was said that every year, a group of top-notch students was selected to join the Superb Company, whose training was several times better than that of a regrpany. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. The general military training only consisted of formation practice and stacking quilts, and the biggest physical exertion was to grab a meal during lunch. Superb Company was real military training! The mysterious Superb Company was led by the general, Joel Fletcher, himself and only he knew about what the training was about. No doubt it would be much tougher than their ordinary military training. Upon hearing that Sophia was going to join the Superb Company, everyone felt envious yet scared at the same time. They looked at her withplex expressions on their faces. What they envied was that Joel Fletcher personally conducted the training, and almost all of the Fletchers were in the Superb Company. It would be great to be able to interact with the Fletchers day in and day out. How lucky would one be if the Fletchers were to fall in love with them and get married! Even if it weren¡¯t the Fletchers, the Superb Company had many of whom were military descendants! However, the Superb Company was not only able to elevate one¡¯s name, it also had daunting tasks in store. Everyone was envious and afraid while they watched Sophia being whisked away. As people watched her leave, they were also overjoyed. Sophia¡¯sbat effectiveness was already strong, not to mention having Nathan as an added advantage. Sooner orter, she was going to dominate the entire training field. It was good that she was gone. As for Sophia, she was beyond anxious, for she felt that something bad was about to happen; she could feel butterflies in her stomach. Nathan did not follow along, and she felt zero sense of security. A lieutenant was sent to lead Sophia to the Superb Company, while the otherpanies on the training field looked at her with envy and hatred, and of course, someone just had toe out and make a scene. ¡°Why is she the only one who is qualified to join the Superb Company? I want to go too!¡± Faye came out of nowhere. Not caring that she was in the middle of formation practice, she suddenly broke formation to chase after Sophia. Faye caught up with them and insisted on going to the Superb Company together. The lieutenant who led Sophia didn¡¯t even look at Faye. He agreed to her request readily and took both of them to the Superb Company. Faye was very proud of herself and puffed out her chest. While walking, she tied her hair up properly, wanting to appear in front of the Fletcher family in the most perfect state. Maybe she would catch the eye of a Fletcher! Other students also wanted to be like Faye, but they didn¡¯t have the courage because they were part of the Edwards. The three of them then left the training field and jogged all the way to another training field. From far away, they heard a sonorous chant behind the iron gates, ¡°One, two, one; one, two, one; one, two, three, four; one, two, three, four!¡± It was a mixture of men and women¡¯s voices, and they were chanting confidently. They were obviously tough! Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Sophia was so terrified that she held her breath. She wanted to see what was behind the door, but the lieutenant stood perfectly still and looked at both of them coldly. ¡°The two of you are about to enter intensive training. Although you only have a few days left, your course load will not be reduced. You must be prepared for it.¡± Both of them nodded in understanding. Faye was beyond eager to see what the Fletchers really looked like. They have always kept a low profile in school, and were rarely seen out and about. The richer the family, the more low-key they were. Plus, the Fletcher Family usually attended professional military academies and Bayside University. Even though they attended military training, they usually don¡¯t be a part of the military afterpleting their training. Faye was getting so impatient that she squealed, ¡°What nonsense, open the door quickly! I want to join the Superb Company!¡± As for Sophia, she only nodded her head and said seriously, ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± Joel Fletcher personally oversaw the Superb Company, and their training methods were different from others. Those who sessfully graduated from thispany passed their training with flying colors. The lieutenant looked at them without a hint of expression. ¡°From now on, you will receive more rigorous training. In addition to basic formation and physical training, there will also be gun training and tactical combat.¡± Sophie felt like she had struck gold! Getting personal training from Joel was so much betterpared to Gwen! Faye was also over the moon. In tacticalbat, it was inevitable that men and women both came into close contact. She could then make use of her cuteness to get away with the training. All she needed to do was pretend to be dizzy, and get up only after the young army men gave her a hug! She made up a million scenarios in line with the romance novel ¡°The Overbearing Soldier Fell for Me¡±. However, the lieutenant¡¯s next sentence shattered all her illusions. ¡°Both of you can fight now, and the one who wins will get to enter.¡± ¡°What?¡± Faye eximed. Sophia only nodded as understanding dawned. She knew that Superb Company did not take weaklings. Clenching her fist, she lunged toward Faye. On the other side of the training ground, after everyone learned that Sophia was selected for the Superb Company, they all felt envious and jealous of her. But they didn¡¯t envy her for long, as the Superb Company was not something that everyone could endure. They had heard stories that those who were selected for the Superb Company had returned crying with bruised faces less than a dayter. This time, they wondered what would happen to the two people who were selected. During their training at night, news spread like wildfire in the training ground¡ªFaye was beaten to within an inch of her life, and was sent out of the barracks to be treated! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. The news came from the front that Faye was seriously injured this time. Someone saw Faye being loaded onto a barrack bus, and they could hear her screaming from far away. She looked so miserable. A visual inspection revealed that she had injured her muscles and bones. It was said that she wouldn¡¯tst long, and was even on oxygen! As for Sophia¡­ No one knew what happened to Sophia. After all, the military camp was ratherrge, and the ce where these students trained and lived were only a small part of it. There is a whole area they were prohibited from entering, and it was there that Sophia was undergoing her training. On the day that she went over, all her things in the dormitory were removed, and shepletely disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight. No one knew whether she was sent out of the barracks, or if she entered the Superb Company. X was continuously inquiring, but couldn¡¯t find out any news on Sophia, and everything in her dormitory was removed. After some thought, she happily came to the conclusion that Sophia must have been expelled from military training! Sophia must have hit Faye! She had beaten Richard and me before. Now it¡¯s finally Faye¡¯s turn! The Edwards would surely get to the bottom of it! Although Faye is just a youngdy from the Edward Family, she is still part of that family. And it was rumored that Faye was almost beaten to death. The Edward family would definitely pursue the matter! It¡¯s over for Sophia, and she must have been dealt with by the Edward family! Expulsion from military training is just the beginning; the next step is to get rid of her! X felt a perverse satisfaction within her. Sophia had dealt with Faye, whom she had always despised. It was killing two birds with one stone! She had always hated Faye to her very core. Since Faye was a child, she had always thought of herself as highborn and as one of the Edwards. However, she was only a descendant of the side branch. When they were about to go bankrupt a year ago, it was Huffs Technology who had to step in and help out. From now on, Sophia will finally disappear from the world! Retribution is so sweet! The rumor was also confirmed by many that Sophia beat Richard and X one day prior to the incident, and then beat Faye up the next day. There was zero tolerance for fights in the barracks, and Sophia would definitely be dealt with. Some people said that Sophia got a zero on her military training results, and others even saw her being sent out of the barracks! Rewind to half an hour before Faye was beaten. Before Sophia could even get past the door of Superb Company, they had let her fight it out with Faye, and only the winner would get to enter. Now that it was an order from above, she would definitely do her best. ¡°Sophia, if you dare to hit me, you will never be able to get into Bayside University in future!¡± Faye began to threaten her. She was really afraid of Sophia¡¯s fist, but she knew that Sophia would never hit her! Truth be told, if it was anyone else from the Edward family that threatened Sophia, she dared not cause any trouble. But she was not afraid of the daughter of the fata*s Joe Edwards, who was poor enough to sell her daughter at a bargain! Sophia was certainly not afraid! Therefore, she punched Faye in the face. She thought that her punch had been light, but there was suddenly the sound of bone cracking, and then Faye was shouting. Faye fell to the ground, her hands covering her face while she wailed, blood sttered everywhere. ¡°Murderer! Murderer! Sophia is a murderer!¡± Sophia was shocked when she saw so much blood, and hurried over to check it out. The lieutenant who brought her over also frowned, and said, ¡°Go to the barracks to pack your things, ande back here one hourter to report. Leave the rest to me.¡± Sophia looked at Faye who was rolling on the ground, and mulled it over for a while. This was military training, and she was not the one who initiated the fight. If Faye was really hit badly, it was not Sophia¡¯s responsibility. With that thought in mind, she turned around and left. When she returned an hourter carrying her own bedroll, Faye was long gone. There was a pool of blood on the ground, and the lieutenant stood waiting for her right smack in the middle. Sophia was shaken when she saw the blood. She remembered that her punch wasn¡¯t that hard, so why did Faye bleed so much? Recalling the blood on Faye¡¯s face just now, she asked herself if it was all fake. Although she really did hit Faye, it was no cause for death. She asked the lieutenant weakly, ¡°How is that student now?¡± The lieutenant nced at her, weighed down with bags, and said, ¡°The barracks cannot treat her, so she was sent away to be treated.¡± Can¡¯t be treated? Chapter 106 Chapter 106 Sophia¡¯s mouth fell open. She had been to the barracks¡¯ infirmary, and it was well equipped to even conduct minor operations. If the infirmary couldn¡¯t handle it, then it must be a serious injury. Stunned, she asked, ¡°That serious?¡± The lieutenant nodded. ¡°Well, your punch managed to dislocate her nose that had undergone stic surgery. We really aren¡¯t equipped for this, so we had to send her to a specialized stic surgery hospital. If we dy any longer, her face will be disfigured.¡± Sophie was speechless. It turned out that Faye¡¯s entire face had undergone stic surgery, and it was filled with hyaluronic acid and prosthesis. Unfortunately for Faye, Sophia¡¯s punch had dislocated the prosthesis in the nose. The barrack¡¯s infirmary could handle most basic medical issues, but they had no expertise in cosmetic repair, so they could only send Faye out of the barracks. This incident would be regarded as a mistake by the barracks, and Faye would bepensated with at least eighty points. Even after understanding what had taken ce, Sophia still had lingering fears. The lieutenant continued, ¡°I will take you to the new barracks. After you have unpacked your things, you will train ording to your usual schedule. Your training location is now on the special training field behind me.¡± Sophia then followed him to the new barracks. There was a row of bungalows, with one room per person. Her room was a standard single room and could notpare to Bayside University¡¯s student dormitory, but it was much better than therge barracks she used to live in. At least she now had a room to herself, with an en-suite bathroom, air- conditioning and a TV. After Sophia settled down, she immediately went to the Third Canteen to eat; those in the Superb Company had their meals here. There were many canteens in the military camp, and the Third Canteen is the legendary high-level canteen, for it was where the officers in the army ate. The atmosphere here was different from the student canteen¡ªvery quiet with no one talking. What they ate was a real battle meal, and they usually finished within a few minutes. There were not many people in the canteen, and Sophia immediately spotted her cute little boy. The seat beside Nathan was empty, and a meal was already set, with a big special-made chicken drumstick dripping with oil. It was obvious that the meal was prepared for her. Sophia ran toward it happily and ruffled Nathan¡¯s head while saying, ¡°Such a good boy, preparing a meal for me!¡± Famished, she sat down and started eating immediately. She ate half of the chicken thigh in one bite! She then sighed and said, ¡°The food in this canteen is much better than the food in other canteens!¡± Sophia gobbled it up, but after a few bites, she realized that something was odd. Nathan was looking at her weirdly, and those around her were staring at her in horror. Sophia continued to eat, absorbing everyone¡¯s reactions the whole time. Why do they look like I have grown two heads? She rolled her eyes twice. Suddenly, she felt the hairs on her nape standing, thereupon a cold voice came from behind her, ¡°Edwards!¡± It¡¯s Joel Fletcher! Sophia jumped in fear, and immediately stood up and gave a military salute. Joel looked at her nkly and nodded. He had put his food down and went to get some soup. Little did he know that someone would finish his meal by the time he returned. Sophia looked at the soup in Joel¡¯s hand and then at the meal she was eating, as well as a man¡¯s mobile phone that was ced next to that meal. She then looked at Nathan, who had a ¡°you¡¯re so embarrassing¡ªI don¡¯t know you¡± look on his face. It was only then that she realized she was eating Joel¡¯s food. Feeling like she had been struck by lightning, she stood there not knowing what to do. The special-made chicken thigh piece was still in her mouth, and it was too big to swallow without chewing. Half her cheek was bulging and she lookedical, to say the least. What should I do now? I can¡¯t spit it back out for him, can I? As her mind whirled with these questions, Sophia decided to y dumb. So, with her cheek bulging, she looked at Joel with a piercing gaze. The both of them just stood there looking at each other, and the atmosphere was filled with awkwardness. Joel didn¡¯t call Sophia out, and she, too, pretended that she didn¡¯t know that it was his food. One was standing upright, and another was holding the soup bowl, while everyone around them was frozen. The silencested for more than ten seconds, and it was Joel who broke the silence in the end. He looked at the chicken thigh that had been gnawed by Sophia, and said in a serious tone that held a trace of helplessness, ¡°Let¡¯s eat.¡± Sophia then answered quickly, ¡°Yes, general.¡± She sat down and continued to eat calmly, finishing the chicken thigh in a few bites. After putting down his soup, Joel went to get another meal. The students seated at this table were all from Superb Company. Sophia managed to take the General¡¯s food, and became famous before she even started training! As such, everyone looked at her, holding back smiles. Joel soon got a meal and sat in front of Sophia. She pretended to ignore him and continued to eat, her face bent low. After finishing her meal, she wiped her mouth and left hurriedly, for fear of being punished by Joel. Nathan followed closely behind. After she was long gone, Joel was still staring at the lunch tray opposite him. He had been the general for quite some time, and it was so long since someone had taken his lunch that he was unused to it. The young man sitting next to Joel suddenly stopped eating and burst outughing. He clutched his stomach and hit the table whileughing, ¡°Uncle Joel, your special-made chicken thigh¡ª¡± Joel stared at the young man angrily, and thetter shut up immediately, but couldn¡¯t resist smiling. It was probably because his special-made chicken thigh was eaten by someone else which made Joel unhappy, so he left after taking only a few bites. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. As soon as Joel left, the young man couldn¡¯t help butugh, which caused those around him tough as well. After they had their fill, they began to ask, ¡°Stan, who is the neer?¡± The young man responded to the question with a dignified look, ¡°Uncle Joel said that she is a student from an ordinarypany with good grades.¡± He only knew that the neer was called Sophia Edwards, and was one of the best in ordinary training, hence her reassignment to the Superb Company. Because of that, she had sessfully attracted his attention. There were still a few days left in military training, and he would be able to have a good time. Sophia fled back to her new dormitory and was vexed as soon as the door closed. Oh my goodness! I¡¯ve managed to snatch the general¡¯s chicken thigh on my first day here, and I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s now mad at me! Nathan carried his bag and ced it on Sophia¡¯s bed. Sitting on the bed, he regarded Sophia in disgust. How can she be so good in gaming yet so stupid in real life? She can¡¯t be my mother! Even so, Nathan still expressed concern about her embarrassment today. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a meal; he won¡¯t mind.¡± Sophia patted her face helplessly, feeling beyond embarrassed. What¡¯s done is done! There¡¯s nothing I can do! With that, she freshened up and headed to the training field for the evening practice. On the way to the training field, Nathan reminded her, ¡°Those from Superb Company have pretty strong backgrounds, so do be careful.¡± Sophie nodded and said, ¡°Yes, I will restrain myself from punching anyone freely.¡± Because of her punch, she was assigned to Superb Company. Is this a punishment or a promotion? Nathan rolled his eyes and said, ¡°You have to make sure to eat until you¡¯re full. Only then will you have the strength to fight.¡± Otherwise, Sophia would be beaten badly. Chapter 107 Chapter 107 ¡°Darling, what did you say?¡± Sophia asked immediately. Nathan didn¡¯t answer as he ran faster ahead of her. Sophia waspletely lost. Did he want me to fight? Reaching the training field, Sophia saw many people assembled there. At one nce, there were approximately 20 to 30 people; most of them were men with an average height more than 1.85 meters. Standing next to them, she was like a little duck. Nathan tagged along just so that he could keep an eye on her and save her from being bullied. He whispered in her ear, ¡°Most of the new recruits here are from the few prestigious families, and some are students with outstanding performances. Be smart.¡± Sophia nodded upon realizing the aura of this group of people was quite different. The men were taller and bigger, while the girls were fitter. Her entrance attracted their attention, and a group of people watched her. A young man approached her and greeted, ¡°Greetings, neer! I¡¯m d that you joined us.¡± Sophia looked at the young man; he was dark and tall, sporting a buzz cut. He was of mixed race, and had a rugged look to his handsome features. He towered over her by a head, and he was looking down at her, hand outstretched. ¡°Sophia Edwards, School of Economics and Business Administration, Faculty of Law.¡± The young man replied, ¡°Stanley Fletcher, School of Computer Science, Game Design Department.¡± Sophia was shocked upon hearing that. Seeing that the two of them were about to shake hands, Nathan suddenly came between them and pped Stanley¡¯s hand away before ordering angrily, ¡°Don¡¯t touch her!¡± Sophia¡¯s hand was outstretched, and she awkwardly let it fall. Stanley, on the other hand, seemed to know Nathan very well. He squatted down to pet Nathan¡¯s face and said, ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Nate!¡± Nathan knocked his hand away angrily and tried to break free, but it was toote. A dozen sturdy men surrounded Nathan; everyone was very familiar with him. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s been years; look at how you¡¯ve grown!¡± ¡°Come here, let me give you a hug!¡± ¡°I carried you when you were younger, and you even peed on my leg!¡±ughed another. Nathan was so popr among these people that everyone carried him around and yed with him for most of the day. It was only after the seven o¡¯clock bell that they began to disperse and get ready for their night training. Superb Company was personally trained by Joel Fletcher, who emerged with a dark expression on his face, making everyone stand at attention, backs ramrod straight. Sophia stood at the very back, trying to stand properly, while Nathan sat ying at the side, looking over from time to time, as though afraid that Sophia would be bullied. Joel came in and looked at those standing in front of him. They were all elites that have been chosen to join as this year¡¯s freshmen. The children of the Fletcher family were natural-born soldiers, and the rest were students who performed outstandingly in their military training, with scores above 90 points. These were the students that made up the Superb Company. Not to mention, the military training must be hard enough to match the prestige of their trainingpany. Joel Fletcher then began, ¡°You all are the best among ordinary students, but to me, you are nothing more than rubbish! If you want to prove to me otherwise, then show me what you¡¯re made of! Turn left, as per the old rules, two kilometers!¡± But we¡¯ve barely just begun! Sophia was shocked, but the team had started to run, and she could only grit her teeth and keep up. Fortunately for her, she had been training on her own, but even then, she was barely able to keep up for the two kilometers. She brought up the rear, barely keeping up with the rest while she gritted her teeth and ran for two kilometres. After she was done, she was panting non-stop, but tried her best to stand still. The team stood neatly, and Joel looked at them all one by one. The entire team was standing in a straight line, and everyone looked exactly the same, their posture professional. The general¡¯s aura was in a whole other league. Everytime Joel opened his mouth, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but tremble slightly. ¡°Let¡¯s start tonight¡¯s training with tacticalbat!¡± A lieutenant came over and stood beside Joel, and the both of them demonstrated amonly used fighting technique. Although it was in slow motion, their strength could be seen in their movements. Joel yed the attacker, while the lieutenant was the defender. They danced back and forth, and within the blink of an eye, they finished the whole set of actions. There was a loud thud, and the lieutenant was thrown to the ground by Joel. The lieutenant¡¯s body hit the ground hard, and it looked like it hurt badly. Sophia was excited. This seems to be much more fun than practicing standing at attention all day long! She couldn¡¯t wait to give a try. Little did she know that the more exciting parts were yet toe. Joel looked at everyone and frowned. ¡°Demonstrationpleted. Rows one and three should turn back. The person standing opposite you is your opponent. Practice! If you constantly get beaten up, it shows that you¡¯re not good enough.¡± Sophia turned around, only toe face to face with the 1.86 meter tall Stanley. She looked at him, feeling nervous. On the other hand, Stanley smirked and asked, ¡°Are you happy?¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. The first round started. Wham! Sophia hadn¡¯t even managed a single move, and Stanley was already pressing her onto the ground. Before she could move, Stanley¡¯s sharp uppercut trapped both of her hands, and he mmed into her shoulders, pinning her to the ground. Her hands were pulled behind her, and she couldn¡¯t even move. He¡¯s good! Sophia had studied for a year and knew a little aboutbat skills. She could tell he was an expert! Tears rolled down her cheeks as Stanley pinned her in ce painfully. ¡°Little one, this is a warzone, though¡­ it¡¯s not toote for you to back out just yet.¡± However, Sophia refused to admit defeat. Raising her head, she looked around and saw that everyone was an expert of sorts. They moved with lightning speed and had great reflexes. Even the girls didn¡¯t fall behind. This was the definition of the true aristocratic elite¡ªwhen the mind was being fed, all parts of the body must also be able to keep up. Gritting her teeth, Sophie called out, ¡°Again!¡± Stanley loosened his grip and Sophia stood up, her whole body feeling unbearably sore. Fortunately, she was under the instruction of Gwen for a year. Otherwise, she really would not be able to stand Stanley¡¯s move. Seeing her stand up, Stanley pped his hands and praised, ¡°Not bad, little one. I like your determination.¡± Sophia swiped the grass clippings from her face and bent forward into a fighting stance. ¡°Again!¡± she roared. She did not believe that he could manage to beat her again and again. On to the second round. Wham! Stanley threw Sophie to the ground once again. He held her down and said, ¡°Call me master, and I¡¯ll go easy on you.¡± Sophie gritted her teeth and retorted, ¡°Call me ¡®Mommy, and I might be able to consider it.¡± During the third round, Sophia managed to hold her ground for about five seconds before she was thrown to the ground. Stanley held her hands behind her back andughed. ¡°Come now, call me Master.¡± ¡°In your dreams!¡± Sophia snapped back at him. As the fourth roundmenced, Nathan was so anxious that his mother would be beaten to death! Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Chapter 108 Chapter 108 Sophia was constantly getting knocked down, and Joel couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He went over to pat Stanley on the shoulder and said, ¡°Come on, she¡¯s a girl.¡± Stanley grinned and replied, ¡°I have been merciful, but she¡¯s soft.¡± The first day of tacticalbat training ended with Sophie being hit countless times. After practicing tacticalbat, they did formation practice for an hour. The Superb Company¡¯s formation practice was different from the usualpanies. Just for raising their feet, they practiced for half an hour. Joel pulled a line stained with white powder under everyone¡¯s feet. Whoever got powder on their pants would have to do 300 push-ups. On the first day, Sophia did not get the hang of it, and she had to do 300 push-ups. After everyone went back to bathe and rest, Joel stood there, personally supervising Sophia until she completed her 300 push-ups. One was supervising while the other was doing the push-ups, and Nathan sat to one side, eyes wide while he stared at them. The streetmps bathed everything in a warm light. Joel walked around and paced on one side, all the while watching the girl on the ground, doing push-ups determinedly. Without a hint of expression, he said, ¡°If it¡¯s too hard, you can still apply to return to an ordinary company.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t say a word as shepleted the 300 push-ups. Although she took several breaks throughout, she still managed toplete the whole set. She dragged her tired body back to her room. Just as she opened her door, the door next to her swung open. Stanley had changed into his pajamas and was brushing his teeth. He had be a soldier right after finishing his college entrance exam. After serving for two years, he decided to continue his studies. Thus, this kind of military training was a piece of cake for him. He looked at Sophia, whose body seemed to be hollowed out, and said with a smile, ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired, little one? If you are, apply to return to your regrpany as soon as possible!¡± Sophia looked at him with a half-lidded gaze, not saying a word. She opened her room door and went in dejectedly. When she saw her bed, her whole body felt weak and she wanted to fall onto the bed, but the grass clippings and mud on her body prevented her from doing so. She bathed quickly andy down on the bed without even bothering to wash her hair, feeling extremely tired. Nathan had also followed her back, and he was tired as well. He took a shower andy down on the bed next to her. Sophiay there, her mind filled with Joel and Stanley¡¯s words. She was tired, but her brain could not slow down. Apply to return to my original company? How is that possible? The Superb Company¡¯s training is actually not that strict. None of the students are from a military academy. Besides Stanley, everyone else are non-professionals. If they can do it, I can do it too! Sophia made up her mind to not be defeated. She took the iPad out, and found out that there was WiFi in the room. Connecting, she logged onto her Messenger. She didn¡¯t have many friends on Messenger, so there wasn¡¯t much to catch up on, even though she hadn¡¯t logged on for more than 20 days. The news records of her ssmate group had been cut off after she entered the military camp. She then opened IG Stories and saw Hale sharing his career as a bodyguard, riding her horse, driving her car and even training under her fitness trainer! To her surprise, her Messenger was flooded with plenty of friend requests. Some of the few included, ¡®Little sister, it¡¯s me, Gemma.¡¯ Daniel Levine¡¯s message said, ¡®Mrs. Fletcher, add me.¡¯ These were the few that she recognized. After looking through, she began to change their names one by one to Sundae Cone, Gem Gem, Daniel and Richard. Someone named Beast messaged her too, thereafter she replied, ¡®And you are?¡¯ ¡®Harry Winston,¡¯ came the reply. Harry Winston? Isn¡¯t he Michael¡¯s friend who is gay? Why did he add me? Came to check on his lover? Sophie changed his name in her phone, and ended the conversation there. At that moment, several message bubbles popped up. The first was Sundae Cone, ¡®Call me Master.¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡®Go away.¡¯ Next up was Richard, ¡®Sophia, did you get your phone back? Where are you? Are you still in the barracks?¡¯ Sophia didn¡¯t reply, and he continued, ¡®When I went back to the barracks to sort out some things today, I heard that you had beaten Faye up. She has now been sent abroad for treatment, and I heard that it was bad. How are you now?¡¯ Sophia didn¡¯t answer, but Richard sent another message after a while. ¡®Have you also been expelled from military training?¡¯ Irritated, Sophia answered, ¡®Yes.¡¯ There was no reply from the other end this time. She then turned off the iPad and went back to sleep. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. In her sleep, she heard someone tapping gently on her window. She thought it was her imagination, but when she focused on the sound carefully, there was indeed someone hitting her window. She lived on the ground floor, and it wasn¡¯t strange for someone to knock on her window. But who was knocking on her window in the middle of the night? Was it Sundae Cone who lived next door? Rubbing her tired eyes, she stood up and went to the window, seeing a tall man in military uniform. The brim of his cap was pulled low, and the moonlight casted shadows on handsome features. It was none other than Michael. Feeling shocked, Sophia was wide awake in an instant. Where did Michaele from? Isn¡¯t he still on set? Michael hooked a finger at her and said, ¡°Put on some clothes ande out.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°But the doors are closed, I can¡¯t get out.¡± Why would he want me toe out? I hope he¡¯s not turned into some beast, wanting to roll around in rice fields or trudge through the forest! Micahel said casually, ¡°Come through the window.¡± And so, Sophia went back into her room to change, then climbed out the window and followed Michael. He was dressed in a military uniform, and he led Sophia through thenes, avoiding all cameras and night patrols. They reached an open space lit by streetmps with rtively t ground. It was usually deserted throughout the day, much less at night. Sophia was confused, wondering what Micahel had in mind. At this moment, he stopped in his strides, making Sophia who was walking behind him raise her head and look at him. Michael turned his head and lowered his eyes to look at her, kissing her cheek. He kissed her softly, but that was all. He then began talking, ¡°The Superb Company is a group of ordinary students with slightly better qualities. If you were really going to join the army, you would not be training here. Rx.¡± He patted Sophie on the shoulder andforted her, ¡°That yboy Stanley has only learned to spar for a few years, but after two years in the military, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore so he came back. It¡¯s rtively easy to beat him. Come, I will teach you how to knock him down.¡± Sophie looked at him nkly. Did Michael reallye from his set next door just tofort her? Come to think of it, how did he know that she was beaten by Stanley? Had hee here specifically just to teach her how to knock Stanley down? Her psycho husband was indeed a psycho. Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Michael patted her waist and said sternly, ¡°I have to rush back to the crew to shoot the night scene. There is not much time. Let me show you the tactics that you have learned today.¡± He then held onto Sophie and slowly demonstrated the techniques to her. He gave amentary on every action of his and said, ¡°Stanley has a well known weakness¡ªhis lower hip is unstable. Aim there.¡± He pointed out every move to Sophia carefully, personally giving a run down on the techniques. Sophia watched him, equal parts attentive. She wrote everything down in a notebook, for fear of forgetting something. Michael didn¡¯t have much time, and he left after giving her some tips. Before leaving, he said to her, ¡°It¡¯s easier to get high scores in the Superb Company. When I was a drill instructor in Superb Company, the overall score was 90. You just have to train well. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. I will send you some videos once I get back; you can have a look.¡± He also cheered her up by saying, ¡°Those already in the Superb Company only joined earlier. In reality, they are not much better than you. I have faith in you; you can do it.¡± At that moment, Sophia really admired Michael! He trained in the Superb Company, and was also a drill instructor there? What did Michael experience in those years? Sophia blushed, feeling butterflies in her stomach. It had been a long time since she felt that way. Before Michael left, he took out a box of choctes wrapped in silk flowers. Looking at the gift, Sophia was surprised, having no inkling as to why Michael would want to give her a gift. She looked up at him, confusion written all over her face. Michael bent down to hug her, his breath hot over her cheeks. He whispered in her ears, ¡°Happy birthday, chica.¡± Birthday? Only then did she remember that it was her birthday. It had been ages since someone wished her happy birthday. If she remembered correctly, only her grandparents would wish her. She remembered her grandmother¡¯s wrinkled face, her skin looking like an old tree trunk, as she showered much love on her. Every year, her grandmother would boil two eggs on her birthday. As her uncle was not filial, her grandparents had hard lives, living on the eldery subsidies. A young Sophia greatly appreciated the two eggs as her birthday gift. At that time, she was lucky that the school had provided freepulsory education and a lunch subsidy. Otherwise, she would not have been able toplete her studies. Her childhood dream was to study hard, get into Bayside University, and be filial to her grandparents. Little did she know that things would take such a different turn. After her grandmother¡¯s death, this was the first time she received a birthday gift. She felt a mixture of emotions, and her eyes welled up. She held the box of choctes close, but didn¡¯t know what to say. Michael gently stroked her messy hair and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯ste. Go back and have some rest. Tomorrow¡¯s task will be rather difficult.¡± Sophia nodded and remained silent. She knew that if she spoke, she would choke up¡­ It was eight o¡¯clock the next morning, and everyone gathered at the training field. A lieutenant carried a box of camouge paint, then grabbed people at random before smearing it on their faces. Sophia¡¯s uniform has also been upgraded to thebat uniform, and she was painted with camouge. The morning task was a cross-country run, whereas the afternoon task was firearms training, with tacticalbat training and formation practice at night. When Sophia listened to Joel¡¯s announcement on the day¡¯s training, she felt hopeless. Yet, there was a me burning deep down. She was determined toplete all of this! The Superb Company¡¯s training was no joke. They were dropped off early in the morning, and were left at the foot of a hill. At Joel¡¯smand, thepany of 20 to 30 rushed into the hill, following the established route. Sophia also followed everyone and mimicked their actions. Although she brought up the rear again, she wasn¡¯t left behind. Stanley deliberately slowed down and kept pace with her as he teased her while running, ¡°Oh, little one, if you can¡¯t take it just go back!¡± Sophia was already panting hard, and she had no energy to reply. Gritting her teeth, she kept on track with the team. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t get a reaction out of her, Stanley ran to the front. The cross-country run was for them to run from one hill to another, and there were various obstacles in between. They had to crawl under a steel mesh and the like, all the while carrying a load. They also had to carry a gun weighing more than ten kilograms, but it was without bullets. Sophia was feeling so tired that she panted heavily, with all those things weighing her down. Truth be told, she wanted to give up multiple times, but she managed to grit her teeth and continue. She finally reached the rendezvous point in the afternoon, and sat down to munch on some rations, leaning on a tree. She initially nned to start her return journey at one o¡¯clock, but she was so tired that she fell asleep mid-lunch. Later, she woke up to Stanley pping her on the face. ¡°Wake up, Sophia, let¡¯s go!¡± Sophia woke up to find that everyone had left. Stanley squatted down to look at her, his face full of disgust. ¡°Sophia, are you sure you can handle it? I think you should go back to where you belong as soon as possible.¡± Sophia looked at the rations in her hand, only to find it full of ants. Shocked, she sat up abruptly and replied, ¡°Who said I can¡¯t?¡± She stood up, packed her things and started to run. Stanley followed, a slight smile on his face. But when she reached the foot of the hill to the rendezvous point, the bus that was supposed to take them back was already gone. The ce where the cross-country run took ce was a little far away from the military camp, and they took a bus here. If she had returned within the specific period of time, she would have got on the bus, as the bus did not wait for anyone. Sophia felt like crying. She couldn¡¯t make it in time for the bus and thus would have to walk for at least an hour to return to the barracks. By the time she returned to camp, she would definitely not be able to make it in time for the afternoon training. She didn¡¯t want to be sent back to her originalpany just after two days of joining; how embarrassing it would look! But what other choice do I have? I can only walk back. Hence, Sophia carried the heavy gun, and walked back along the road. Fortunately, it was a direct road leading to the barracks, so no matter what, she would not get lost. Sophia looked pale, while Stanley was jumping around and seemed to be in good spirits. He could have caught the bus as he arrived on time, but he intentionally waited for Sophia. This time, his reason for beingte was to look after the new student, so that his uncle would have no reason to me him. After all, he was being a friendly ssmate. The slower Sophia walked, the better. That way, half of the day would be gone, and he wouldn¡¯t have to attend the afternoon training. Sophia, on the other hand, took quick steps as she wanted to return to the barracks quickly. The road was not deserted, as it was the main road leading to Audistin¡¯s shooting range and hunting grounds. From time to time, luxury cars would pass by. How nice would it be if she could catch a ride! The weather in October was still a bit humid, and the sun burned bright in the sky. Sophia¡¯s skin was sun-burnt and her face was sweating. She wiped her sweat away, only to smudge the camouge face paint, making her look like a street cat. There were a lot of cars on the road, but none of them were willing to give them a lift. After all, most of the cars on the road were luxury cars, and they were reluctant to give the two dirty soldiers a ride. Sophia stopped a few cars but was rejected. To top it off, she was really hungry, and she was about to burst into tears. As for Stanley, he was much happier inparison, picking wild chrysanthemums and wild fruits along the way, as if he was on a holiday. After twenty minutes of walking, they still couldn¡¯t get a lift, and the barracks were still very far away. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but break down in tears. All of a sudden, there was a roar of an engine, and a ck sports car drove toward her. Stopping in front of Sophia, it reversed quickly, and faced in the direction of the barracks. Chapter 111 Chapter 111 Because Michael had various and numerous people on his Messenger, he had them divided into different categories. He had a category each for the Fletchers, for his entertainment circle, for acquaintances, for his gay friends, and for private matters. The Fletchers would never see the posts he made while his entertainment circle only ever saw the asional photos he uploaded of his filming location. These days, his gay friends and family members were seeing photos of his young bride whom he had hastily gotten married to. It was obvious that Stanley was put in the Fletchers category because he still did not know that Michael had a young bride. Otherwise, he would not have had the courage to approach his woman. Michael tapped on the screen and replied, ¡®Eat sh*t!¡¯ Sophia had a peculiar way of saving people¡¯s names on her phone. For people whom she was close with, she gave them cute names¡ªGemma was Gem Gem and Hale was Hales. The young housekeeper at the Fletcher¡¯s called Maria was Pretty Maria. In contrast, for people whom she was not close with, she used their full names. For example, Richard Harper or Harry Winston. Michael searched for his name on her Messenger to see what name she gave him. He searched for ¡®Husband¡¯ but nothing came up. Neither was there anything for ¡®Darling¡¯ or ¡®My Dear¡¯. He went straight to her close friends¡¯ list, only to find himself listed as ¡®Pervert¡¯. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. At least ¡®Pervert¡¯ is better than nothing! Sundae Cone sent another message, ¡®Come. Let¡¯s go to the film crew next door and watch them film! Michael replied once again, ¡®Go to h*ll.¡¯ Then, he saw Richard Harper desperately sending messages to her, ¡®Sophia, why is your phone turned off?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not hoping for anything else. I just want to talk to you.¡¯ Followed by several over-a-minute-long voice messages. With his big hand, Michael deleted every one of the messages. After that, he went into her photo album. They were all photos of Nathan; Nathan sleeping, Nathan eating, Nathan biting into a popsicle. All of which she took over a dozen of; even when he rolled his eyes, she captured it. She clearly loved his son more than him. Michael looked for a bit then took off his coat andy down. Upon seeing that, Nathan quickly climbed over and sandwiched his small body between the both of them. He had his back toward Sophia while he faced Michael with a stern expression. He must be secretly thinking of putting a baby sister in Sophia¡¯s tummy! The both of them had a staringpetition. After a while, Nathan fell asleep first. Once he was sound asleep, Michael immediately tossed him aside and took Sophia into his arms, and fell asleep. She was soft and had a nice smell, making herfortable to hug to sleep. As he hugged her, she was already fast asleep and could not open her eyes at all. In her dream, she thought she was hugging a doll and her arms reached out to wrap around his waist. Sophia was dead-asleep. A couple of days ago, she dreamt of a meat nket with two grapes. She dreamt of that meat nket again tonight but it had two sweet cherries on top of it now. The sweetness overflowed; she could almost taste it. The next day in the film crew, Michael got his makeup done without his shirt on. The scene today required him to expose his upper body so they had to cover him up well. The makeup artist carefully applied makeup on his youthful body that was perfectly sculptured like the statue of David. At a nce, bite marks were seen on the left and right sides of his chest. When he got his makeup done the day before yesterday, there was only one bite mark on his left side. But now, there were additional ones. During those two days, Michael did not return to his hotel room at night and was said to have worked with Ethan Winston on his script. The makeup artists, stylists, and staff on the film crew were all flushed in the face. ¡­ After a day of getting used to things, Sophia, who was on her third day with the Superb Company, had already grasped the skill and intensity of the Superb Company¡¯s training. During the morning trail run, she ran at a very quick pace and was always at the front, leaving all the other girls behind her. When she was little, she enjoyed running all over the ce in her vige. Her grandparents had several acres of wheat and corn, but because they were not fit enough to bring in the harvest, she was always running up and down the hills by herself with the harvest. After they passed away, she was adopted into her uncle¡¯s family where she did all sorts of strenuous work. When she started school, she spent her time after school sending buckets of water to every floor. But the burdensome task was nothing to her when she could make five cents for every bucket. Even though she was running at the front today, Stanley was still able to run alongside her and tease her, ¡°Oh my, Sophia. Did you eat beef today? Look at how fast you¡¯re running!¡± She did not respond to him and kept up with her outstanding performance for the rest of the day. For no reason at all, Stanley woulde and bother her. ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s your rtionship with Nate? Are you the nanny his family hired? Or bodyguard?¡± ¡°How can they hire someone as weak as you to be a bodyguard? Has Uncle been short on money recently? How did they end up with a newbie like you bing their bodyguard?¡± ¡°Are you bodyguards entitled to the five types of insurance and the housing fund?¡± Regarding his questions, she kept refusing to answer them. The Superb Company¡¯s training was dull and strenuous, but Sophia was slowly getting used to it. If Stanley did not hover around her like a fly, she would have been morefortable. Stanley was very headstrong indeed. Even during the tacticalbat training, he looked like he was in a normal ssroom setting and found time to have small talk with her. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯ve been a soldier before. Is it worthwhile for you toe back here and train with us students?¡± She knocked him down in a sh then sneered at him as she wiped off her sweat. Laying on the ground, he huffed, ¡°Sigh. What does this make me? My uncle was so great!¡± He stood up and wiped off his sweat. ¡°My uncle was only 19 when he became the military training instructor for the freshmen at Bayside University! Who knew he would be discharged after that?¡± While he was talking, he started another match with Sophia. ¡°Can you guess what happened after that?¡± Her ears perked up. The uncle he¡¯s talking about is Michael, isn¡¯t it? He seized the chance when she was not paying attention to knock her to the ground. Pressing down on her back, he said, ¡°My uncle took the national exam again after he was discharged and entered Bayside University as the top student of his year. Then, he became a freshman at Bayside University and started his military training!¡± Stanleyughed. She was speechless. ¡°You Fletchers sure know how to fool around.¡± He kept her pressed down. ¡°Call me Big Brother Stanley.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± ¡­ In a blink of an eye, the military training wasing to an end. Soon, it was going to be the brutal end- of-term field training exercise. Sophia remembered that in high school, the instructor had brought the group of freshmen on a five to six- hour hike for their field training exercise. At Bayside University, they also had to go on a hike for their field training exercise but without the instructor. The students were given a day to go over the whole forest. They set out during the day and those who did not make it back by dark would fail. A regr student¡¯s field training exercise was very easy. It was a straight and even road ahead that was not too dangerous. Moreover, other units often came to the barracks to train. All the trails had been previously traversed on and there were even people living in the mountains who set up viges and vendors along the way. The only difficulty was that the journey was too long and those who moved slowly had no choice but to receive a zero because they could not catch up. However, the Superb Company¡¯s training was more brutal. The trails in their field training exercise had never been tested out for any dangers before and it was an old virgin forest. There were no signs of people living there but there were a lot of snakes and potentially some wild animals. Chapter 112 Chapter 112 The Superb Company organized themselves into groups. When they were done, one person would drive their group to a different starting point. Everyone was given minimal ammunition and dry provisions. They were also given apass and an army knife. They departed at eight in the morning and had to assemble at eight at night at the designated location. Those who did not make it back in time would not receive an immediate zero, but they would receive a very low mark. The students were free to get into their own groups. Because there was some danger in the journey, everyone tried to stick together. Several groups asked Sophia to join them, but she refused. As long as she had a gun and a knife, she was not worried. Moreover, because these were children of senior military officers, they were guaranteed backup. Everyone had to wear a wristband that monitored their physical condition. If something unusual was happening to their bodies, their wristbands would automatically release their coordinates and the people on standby would fly their helicopters out and arrive at the scene within a few minutes. Not to mention, the wild animals at the field training exercise were intentionally released from the hunting grounds. They were raised since they were young so they were not as wild. At most, they were just used to scare people off. Each one of them also had a serial number programmed in the wristband; if they got close to the students, the wristbands would automatically make a report. All that information was revealed by Michael. Michael seemed to possess unnatural powers. The barracks was like his back garden where he came and went as he pleased, and his whereabouts were always a mystery. He was not a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Stanley shamelessly wanted to be in the same group as Sophia. Even though he did not join the army, the blood of a soldier from the long line of soldiers in his family was still in him. Those types of training were not difficult for him, but he wanted to tag along and bother Sophia. The day before the field training exercise, everything was handed out to them. Sophia took a shower then started to pack her things for the following day. She had all the products she needed for her hair, some dry provisions, water, band-aids, disinfectant spray, fast-acting calming pills, mosquito repent, a gun, a few bullets, a knife, apass, and the wristband. All of which she stuffed into her backpack. After she was done with everything, shey back down on the bed and turned on her iPad. She logged into Messenger and saw a new friend request: Joel Fletcher. Joel! Sophia was shocked. She immediately epted the request and he promptly sent her a message after. ¡®Do well in the field training exercise tomorrow.¡¯ Themanding general is looking out for me! Without any dy, she replied, ¡®Yes, General.¡¯ Then, she turned the iPad off and went to bed. The next day, at seven in the morning, the troops assembled. The General gave a simple speech and they began mobilizing. The members of the Superb Company separated into clusters and went into different cars. Sophia and Stanley were in the same group. Once they got in the car, Stanley the chatterbox opened his big mouth and it became impossible to close it again. ¡°Sophia, are you really a bodyguard? Uncle Michael made your information seem pretty solid. I can¡¯t even find where your roots are!¡± ¡°What is your name? Is Sophia your code name? What¡¯s your real name? Is it Sophia or Sophie?¡± ¡°How much is my uncle paying you? Do you get amission?¡± ¡°How long have you been working as a bodyguard?¡± ¡°How did you think of bing a bodyguard?¡± ¡°Do you bodyguards get employee benefits?¡± Since they got in the car until they got off and even when they entered the hill, Sundae Cone never stopped talking even though Sophia did not say a word to him. The two of them were thrown into the virgin forest. Sophia took out herpass to get her bearings right then looked at the map to find her location. Suddenly, Stanley asked, ¡°Hey, Sophia. Don¡¯t you think Nate¡¯s uncle is super brutal? When they¡¯re at home, he starts flinging cups and hitting people over every little thing!¡± Nate¡¯s uncle? s, she could not help herself anymore and asked, ¡°Who is Nate¡¯s uncle?¡± Stanley was bewildered. ¡°It¡¯s my Uncle Michael. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t even know your own employer?¡± She was taken aback. ¡°Isn¡¯t Michael Nate¡¯s dad?¡± He shook his head. ¡°Nate¡¯s parents died while carrying out an anti-terrorism mission. He has been with his uncle ever since he was little.¡± Is that so? Her eyes widened. Nate is only five this year and he lost both his parents¡­ She suddenly missed Nate. How was he going to y by himself in the barracks while she was away for a day? Was there anyone to keep himpany? Stanley noticed that Sophia had gone quiet. He tapped her shoulder and said, ¡°Let¡¯s be the first ones to arrive!¡± She did not say anything and focused on walking to conserve energy. As she walked, she looked down at the wristband on her arm. It indicated that there were several wild animals ahead, but before they bumped into the wild animals, the wristband would send an early warning. It also showed her vitals and if anything unusual urred, a helicopter woulde to her rescue. Stanley was still just as talkative. ¡°Sophia, how did you think of bing a bodyguard? Your skills are hopeless. You¡¯re definitely a nanny!¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing you¡¯re a poor university student my uncle is sponsoring!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t little kids especially hard to look after?¡± Suddenly, Stanley, who was walking ahead, seemed to have discovered something frightening. He was frozen in ce and his eyes were opened wide in fear. There¡¯s a situation! Sophia instinctively reached for her gun, but when she caught up to him, she did not expect to see a tall man walk out of the forest ahead. He was wearing the samebat uniform as them with camouge paint on his face; he was also carrying the same equipment. The appearance of that man left Stanley dumbstruck and his tongue became tied. He stammered for a long while, ¡°U-Uncle¡­¡± Sophia jumped in surprise when she saw that person. It¡¯s Michael! Michael had a straight face¡ªa kind of dignified look that she had never seen before. He swept a nce at her and then looked at a dumbstruck Stanley. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± As if she had just woken up from a dream, Sophia quickly followed after him while her heart was in a riot. Holy sh*t, Tay Tay appeared mysteriously again. What does it mean that he showed up here suddenly? Is he worried about me? After all, he did buy me for ten million so he would be worried about his ten million. What if I get taken away by a tiger inside the forest? That must be it. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Feeling overjoyed, she followed behind Michael. With him around, she did not feel like the trail ahead was even the least bit dangerous anymore. There was also another person who felt this way¡ªStanley. Holy sh*t. The uncle I always thought of as a monster really just jumped out of there! Joel is a monster so Michael is a monster among monsters! Unfortunately, Michael got too much of a shock back then. s, he became an actor, because he had lost his parents, his sister, and his brother-inw. Their whole family was sacrificed. It was too much for him to bear so he decided to change his profession. Many of the elders in his family opposed it but they were unable to stop him. Otherwise, he would be the youngest general in the country. Even if he became an actor now, it would not hinder his greatness. He was born to be a God of War. Even if he became an actor, he would be a fighting machine among the actors. Stanley both adored and feared Michael, and his respect for him stretched further than the Yellow River. When Michael showed up, Stanley¡¯s first reaction was, Uncle Michael came to walk this long journey with me! He still loves me! ¡°Ah! Uncle Michael! I love you to death!¡± Stanley suddenly hugged him from the back and was moved to tears. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you down!¡± However, Michael thought, I just came to see my young wife. Chapter 113 Chapter 113 Michael did not want to further exin Stanley¡¯s own illusions and feel-good feelings. Besides, it was not a suitable time to expose too much of Sophia¡¯s true identity. Otherwise, Stanley would tell the entire Fletcher Family about this. The Fletchers? ¡°Hmph!¡± Michael puffed out in disdain. Meanwhile, Sophia was so happy that she almost threw herself into Michael¡¯s thigh. Oh, Tay Tay descended from the heavens to save me again. Nathan had been her minor cheat code for life, while Tay Tay was the major cheat code for everything in her life! He was totally invincible! Michael was her idol! However, someone moved quicker than her and hugged Michael¡¯s thigh in just a few steps. Stanley, who was usually a rascal, suddenly burst with joy like a young girl and hugged tightly onto his thigh. ¡°Oh, uncle, you¡¯re so good! You are literally my Lord. Mwah, mwah!¡± He continued hugging Michael¡¯s thick thigh and kissing his knee. Michael then kicked him away in disdain. ¡°Stop talking nonsense. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re short of time.¡± Stanley followed Michael with his face all red. He was usually rebellious, but today he was obedient as if he was somebody¡¯s wife. Meanwhile, Sophia was stunned in her position. Looking at the two leaving, she frowned. As a witty person, she thought their rtionship was not as simple as she had imagined. Thinking about the rumors of Michael being gay, she even saw his shining eyes on Stanley. Once she connected the dots, her brain started making up a lot of stories. Even though the two of them were uncle and nephew, they only had around 10 years of an age difference. One was awe-inspiring while the other was easy-going. An uncle and a young man were most likely to create stories in between. The three of them started moving forward while Michael remained silent as he explored the road ahead. In order to help his wife score higher marks and make her happy, Michael suffered a lot. He would often drive from the movie set in the middle of the night to teach her in person. He even applied for leave so that he could apany her to the end of the journey. When Sophia saw Michael¡¯s own appearance just now, her eyes started to tear up. With all this, Michael felt that all his hard work was worth it. Sophia would also be willing to sleep with him after this military training had ended. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. At the thought of this, Michael was filled with excitement. Meanwhile, Stanley was still very talkative and did not stop from the beginning to the end. ¡°Uncle, why did youe? Aren¡¯t you going to film today? Did youe here especially for me? Ah¡­ I love you so much!¡± Michael remained silent as he quietly took out two packets of snacks from his bag. He gave one to his wife and another packet to Stanley, finally blocking his mouth. While Sophia stepped onto Michael¡¯s footprints as she ate the snacks, she stared wide-eyed at the both of them and dared not to speak. It looks like the rtionship between this uncle and his nephew is a unique one¡­ Would Michael be the top, and Stanley be the bottom? Or would he be a gorgeous perverted top, and Stanley a cheerful bottom? By the looks of it, Michael should be the top! But what about Harry? How many gay friends does Michael have? One was Harry, and the other was Stanley. I¡¯m sure that Michael¡¯s rtionship with Daniel must be a confusing one. s, all the handsome men have be gay! The entertainment industry is such a mess! Sophia¡¯s heart was full of twists and turns. For a moment, she had thought too much. This was so tempting for her gossipy heart, yet she felt an expected disappointment. Even though she was the legal wife of Michael, it seemed that she could not catch up with his gay friends. Sophia was not his true love anyway. Perhaps, he might have liked her because of her youth and beauty for now, but once he got tired of her, he might just kick her away. After all, he had so many gay friends that were young and handsome and Sophia only got to know of three of his friends. She was unsure of how many more there were that she did not know of. The entertainment industry is such a mess! Sophia eximed. Stanley seemed to not know the situation between these two. He kept eating his snacks and made known his presence with Michael. When Stanley was young, he grew up to Michael¡¯s blinding brilliance. As the most outstanding descendant of the Fletchers, Michael was the worst nightmare for people of his age. He was so outstanding that no one could match him; even Joel himself was no match for him. If Michael had not chosen to pursue the arts and did not choose to leave the army, he would have been more powerful than Joel. In the hearts of Stanley and the Fletcher brothers, Michael was ranked number one while Joel was ranked number two. In the future, they would not be able to find another person who was as convincing as them. While Stanley was eating the snacks, he suddenly thought of an important question, so he turned around and looked at Sophia. ¡°Taylor Murray is my uncle. He doesn¡¯t like others to discuss his personal affairs. If you dare to tell others, I will strip you off and hang you at the school gate!¡± Sophia was startled by his words and simply nodded. However, Stanley immediately reflected on his words and noticed that she was a nanny sent by Michael to take care of Nathan. It was obvious that she knew of his identity, so he threatened her from another perspective, ¡°My uncle may look polite to you, but that¡¯s because he is a gentleman. He¡¯s polite to everyone. However, don¡¯t you dare fall in love with him!¡± Sophia just nodded sincerely. She could guarantee that she would not fall in love with this gay pervert! Besides, Michael did not like women! Her legal status as his wife was bought back to take care of his child and also to serve as a shield! Michael raised his eyebrows but did not say anything. He needed to seize the time to move forward, and only said in a frosty tone, ¡°Keep quiet and walk.¡± Immediately, Stanley stopped talking. With Michael by their side, Sophia no longer felt the burden and stress over her. All they had to do was follow him. There were too many secrets hidden in this man. She looked at him as if she was looking toward the sun. A warm ray of sunshine seemed to be emitting from him. Even though Stanley walked in the middle, Sophia could still feel his warmth embracing her, which motivated her and gave her a sense of security. Sophia looked at the tall figure in front of her and her eyes radiated a peculiar light that shocked even herself. It was peaceful and quiet along the way and Sophia would often pay attention to her wristband. She took note of the locations of several other wild animals and noticed that the animals were far away from them. At noon, everyone stopped to rest. They found a ce to sit down and started eating some dry food. Sophia had brought some cookies and water. Although it tasted really bad, she had no other options besides these. Michael took out a lot of food from his bag and ced it in front of Sophia. He had constantly thought about his wife and was afraid that she would not be able to eat well in the mountains. Hence, he brought a bag full of delectables over for them. The moment Sophia saw the delicious food, she was over the moon and hurriedly chose a few of her favorites to eat. Stanley was overjoyed and hugged tightly onto Michael¡¯s thigh and kissed him again. ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re so good to me. You even brought me so many delectables. I love you to death! Mwah, mwah!¡± Michael gently poked his head away, yet his gaze turned toward his wife. His wife was undoubtedly the best. Even when she ate, she looked so adorable! Chapter 114 Chapter 114 The three of them quickly finished their breakfast and put away the trash. Sophia then drank some water and sat for a while more before they moved forward. Initially, Michael sat beside her and wanted to cuddle his wife, but did not do so because there was a third wheeler among them. Stanley did not seem to realize that he was being the third wheel, and was still admiring Michael¡¯s arm. Stanley¡¯s impression of his uncle was that he was strong and powerful, yet cold and quiet. However, he had not expected that his uncle would take the initiative to help him through his final assessment today. He felt extremely happy and could boast about this situation among the Fletchers for years toe! ¡°Come on, Uncle Michael. Let¡¯s take a selfie!¡± Stanley fished out a camera from his bag. He pulled Michael over for a selfie and even made cute poses at the camera, causing Michael to be disgusted by his actions. However, he still looked over to the camera with a cold face. Stanley had a megapixel camera that shot high-quality photos. Even when he opened the selfie mode, the images shown were still clear. Michael nced at the camera lens. However, a sudden cold light shed in his eyes and he abruptly pushed away the two by his side. He swiftly stood up, turned around, pulled out his gun, took out the firing-pin safety lock, and fired a shot. All of this was done in a series of actions without stopping. Bang¡­ A gunshot echoed through the mountains, alerting all the students who were being assessed and examiners who were monitoring them. Someone had opened fire! A frightening atmosphere echoed through the mountains, causing the students to subconsciously hold onto their guns tightly. At the scene of the shooting, the two of them were leftpletely stunned after being pushed away suddenly. Michael¡¯s actions were too fast. From pulling out his gun to firing a shot, all of this happened in an instant, and it was so fast that Sophia only saw the shadows. A moment ago, just as Michael pushed the other two away, a huge tiger pounced from the forest behind them. Although his movements were quick, the tiger was quicker. At the moment when he pulled the trigger, the tiger had already opened up itsrge mouth and was about to attack him. He seemed to have aimed his gun at the tiger¡¯s head and fired a shot that was as quick as lightning, sting a perfect hole through its head! If he were even just a second slower, the three of them might have been torn into pieces by the tiger¡­ The tiger wailed and let out a final cry. Michael¡¯s gunshot had immediately put a hole through the tiger¡¯s head. However, the tiger¡¯s enormous body still pounced on him and instantly pressed onto his body. Stanley and Sophia were both stunned by this. Both of them screamed in terror before they hurried over to push away the tiger¡¯s body with all their might to save Michael. Michael¡¯s head was covered with the tiger¡¯s blood. He stood up and wiped away the blood on his face, and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m fine. After some rest, we can continue forward.¡± He poured some mineral water over his head and simply cleaned it, but his body was still covered in blood. Sophia still had a stunned look on her face, and her entire body trembled in fear. What happened just now was so fast that her entire brain was left nk. Before she managed to react, the entire incident was over. Michael walked over to see the dead tiger. It was impossible for the tiger to be alive after being shot through the head. However, when it pressed down onto Michael, its sharp ws managed to leave a scratch on his neck. Although the cut was not very deep, Michael still cleaned his wound and sprayed some disinfectant onto it to prevent an infection. No doubt the tiger was released by Audistin. Although the tigers from Audistin¡¯s hunting ground were raised by humans and werergely for people of high status to hunt, it was a fierce beast after all. They would still eat people if they were extremely hungry. Moreover, tigers were naturally agile and would be dangerous to them even if they had guns. It would be fine if they had a huge number of people in the group, but it would be a huge problem if there were only a few of them in the group. That was why Michael hurried over to prevent Sophia from facing any idents. The tiger approached silently with no warning. Sophia¡¯s wristband did not show any warning signals too. It seemed that the tiger had identally lost its tracking device. If it was not because Stanley¡¯s selfie identally captured the tiger¡¯s image, one of them might be dead. Meanwhile, Stanley had recovered from the incident just now. In the next second, he stered his face tightly to Michael¡¯s thigh and said, ¡°Uncle Michael, you¡¯ve saved my life. I¡¯m so touched by you. I love you to death, Uncle Michael. Mwah, mwah¡ª¡± Feeling annoyed, Michael shook his leg and instructed, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Michael¡¯s words were like imperial edicts to Stanley. If he instructed him to go, Stanley would swiftly follow his order and follow closely behind him; his face was filled with adoration. Sophia, who was following behind, started having perverted thoughts. She felt like the two of them shone brightly when they were together. Sigh¡­ She continued to follow them while sighing. Looking at Stanley¡¯s infatuated face, she knew that Michael was not only able to capture the hearts of youngdies, but he was also able to capture young men¡¯s hearts! She was not sure of how many ignorant boys this old-timer had harmed, and was suddenly worried for all the men that were by Michael¡¯s side. All of a sudden, Sophia thought of Hale. She was shocked to the core. Was Mr. Hale targeted by Michael too? Oh my god! No wonder they always look awkward when they¡¯re together. Turns out Hale had already be part of Tay Tay¡¯s male harem. However, Michael did possess the ability to have men and women go crazy for him. He is better than everyone when he needs to be masculine and when he needs to be feminine, no one can tell that he¡¯s a straight man. Some gossip sites even created a list of men that gays all around the world want to sleep with the most, and Michael always tops the list. Michael¡¯s poprity is over the charts. From young men and women to the elderly, he can capture all of their hearts. If this goes on, it would be one hell of a mess! Sophia muttered to herself as she walked behind them. After the dangerous incident they had gone through at noon, Michael had be more serious and quiet and was alert at all times. After walking for some time, they heard the sound of a helicopter in midair. When they lifted their heads, someone had alreadye to airlift the dead tiger away. Michael lifted his head to see the helicopter that was leaving; his eyes were filled with vignce. He then lowered his head and looked toward his wife. Sophia lowered her head as she walked. Her mouth made little movements like she was muttering about something. He then nced at her, and the more he looked at her, the more adorable she was. This adorabledy should be guarded by him! The three of them moved forward and there was a ditch in front of them. Michael managed to cross over the ditch easily. Stanley followed closely behind and managed to cross it easily too with his long legs. However, Sophia¡¯s legs were not as long as theirs, and she needed to gather some speed before she could cross the ditch. On the opposite side of the ditch, Michael teased, ¡°Come on. Come on over, Sophia.¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia took a few steps backward, and with the help from her run, she managed to jump over and was immediately held by Michael. She felt as though she had fallen into a soft embrace. Her little face turned red instantly, and she dared not look at his handsome face that could easily turn a straight man into a gay man. The scene of a tall and handsome man holding a petite girl was as harmonious as it could be. Michael ced Sophia steadily on the ground after catching her. It seemed that both of them did not feel any sense of embarrassment and awkwardness at all. After being ced down, Sophia hurriedly followed after him with her head still lowered. The camouge paint on her face had helped cover her flustered face. Looking at the both of them, Stanley¡¯s eyes lit up again. ¡°Uncle Michael is such a wonderful person and treats his nanny so well! Where can I find such a good uncle?¡± Chapter 115 Chapter 115 He almost went up and hugged his thighs again. The path was no longer as dangerous as long as they followed Michael. He had strong survival skills and walked on rugged paths like it was leveled ground. asionally, when they saw some wild fruits, he would know which was safe to consume. Michael walked fast and Stanley followed him closely behind; he was afraid that if he strayed further from Michael, he would not be able to tap upon the Lord¡¯s light. Sophia also followed their footsteps closely, but the further they walked, the slower she became. Soon, the distance between Sophia and the other two increased. Michael walked in front as he used his de to clear the path and some thistles and thorns in front of them. When he did not hear Sophia¡¯s footsteps, he turned around and saw that she was already far behind. She continued to lower her small face as she walked; her face was full of sweat. Even the camouge could not hide her pale white face. It seemed that she was suffering and frowning, and was not as lively as she was this morning. Stanley had also noticed that something was wrong with Sophia and hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Sophia?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Sophia replied. However, her current condition was betrayed by the weakness in her voice. She was clearly unwell. She ced a hand on her stomach, bent her waist, and lowered her head as she stubbornly moved forward. It seemed that Michael had noticed something and worriedly asked, ¡°Are you having premenstrual cramps?¡± Sophia¡¯s face was pale with a tint of blush. In the end, she nodded her head. It was not just normal pain; her stomach ached severely. Thest time Michael came home, Sophia was shocked to the extent of having an irregr menstrual cycle thatsted for ten days. Besides, she had been undergoing intense training for the past few days. She was unsure if this was the cause of her dyed menstruation, thus, little did she expect that her period woulde right after they departed. She must have been traumatized after being scared by the tiger this afternoon. This had caused a severe stomach ache. Moreover, she had drunk tons of cold water in the afternoon which had worsened her stomach ache. Michael had studied micro-expressions before. In order to y a female role with severe menstrual cramps, he even went to the hospital to experience a simted severe menstrual cramp. That was why he understood that feeling. His wife must be suffering right now. He had counted the days and he knew that these two days of field training should be the start of her period. He only came over just so he could prevent any idents from happening. Stanley saw how Michael had seen through the source of Sophia¡¯s pain, and permanently got down on his knees to worship him. Oh, Uncle Michael, you are just too wonderful. You even remembered your nanny¡¯s period! Where can we find such a considerate boss! Eh, but something seems wrong? Nheless, Uncle Michael is the perfect man. Not only is he the God of War, but he¡¯s also a woman¡¯s treasure. He seems to have mastered all the affairs of a woman. Michael wiped away Sophia¡¯s sweat. He then took off his bag and threw it at Stanley. Next, he squatted down with his back facing Sophia. ¡°Get on.¡± However, Sophia was too embarrassed and said, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea¡­¡± Did Michael mean to carry her and walk? There was still half of their journey left. How exhausting it would be for him if she did get on his back! It was already exhausting for one to finish the entire mountain trail alone. It would be even more difficult to walk if he carried another person on his back. Besides, she was only having a stomach ache¡ªit was not like she could not walk. Sounding a little impatient, Michael repeated again, ¡°Get on.¡± Soon, Sophia hesitantly got onto his back. Feeling extremely embarrassed, she held onto his neck and buried her face as she was afraid of looking at others. While Michael carried Sophia on his back, her weight and the weight of her backpack were all buckled onto his body. In an instant, he felt a heavier burden on him. Stanley was stunned. It turned out that his cold-looking uncle was such a warm-hearted man and was so kind to his female employee! How was it possible to have such a perfect man on this earth? Stanley felt that his heart was about to melt onto Michael¡¯s body. Michael stared coldly at him. ¡°Stan, explore the path ahead.¡± As if he had gotten a huge grace from the heavens, he hurriedly nodded his head. ¡°Okay, okay.¡± With that, Stanley carried two backpacks and explored the path in front while Michael carried Sophia and followed behind. Although Sophia felt that she was not very heavy¡ªonly around 45 kilograms¡ªit was still tiring to carry a woman of such weight up the mountain. Shey on his back and soon started hearing his breath gradually bing heavier. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . She felt embarrassed and spluttered, ¡°I think it¡¯s better if you put me down. I can walk on my own too.¡± ¡°No. You are in a vulnerable state right now. You have to take good care of yourself,¡± Michael replied. Sophia kept quiet. The intensity of her stomach ache gradually grew. She leaned on his back; her stomach stuck to his warm back and felt his breathing. Soon, she was not in so much pain anymore. Michael then whispered in her ear, ¡°Is your period heavy?¡± Sophia¡¯s face blushed to the tip of her ears. How was she supposed to reply to a man who had asked a question like this? Nheless, she could only reply sheepishly, ¡°It¡¯s heavy.¡± Her voice was as weak as the hums of a mosquito, but Michael managed to catch on to her words. ¡°Let me know if your period has flowed sideways. I¡¯ve brought overnight pads for you.¡± Sophia was speechless. It was indeed true that Michael¡¯s bag was filled with overnight pads for her. Her period volume was exceptionally heavy. Although Sophia had prepared some day pads beforehand, it was still not enough for her. She would have toe down in a while; or else, Michael¡¯s clothes would be stained if her blood leaked from the sides. Soon after, Michael took out an overnight pad from his backpack. Sophia shyly took the pad from him and quietly went to the back of the forest to change while he kept a lookout for her. Stanley then dashed over and asked curiously, ¡°Uncle Michael, what was the thing you gave to Sophia just now?¡± Michael¡¯s face was enigmatic as he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t ask too much.¡± Stanley then asked again, ¡°Where did you hire her from? Is she married? Is she in a rtionship? How old is she?¡± Michael ignored his questions. However, Stanley continued to ask, ¡°What is her real name? Is Sophia Edwards her real name?¡± Michael was chewing a de of grass in his mouth. Then, he reached out and lightly pped Stanley¡¯s handsome face and said, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it. She¡¯s already married.¡± Stanley froze slightly. He felt a sense of loss in his heart. His first love had already ended even before it began. After a while, Sophia had finished changing her pad and returned; her face was still red. Not only did Michael prepare an overnight pad, but he also prepared diaper-like pads for her. With such sizes, Sophia did not have to worry about leakage no matter how heavy her period flow was. As soon as she returned, she noticed Michael opening up a thermos and taking out a folded cup. He then poured out the hot water into the cup and blew it before handing it over to Sophia, saying gently, ¡°You should drink more hot water.¡± Sophia then lowered her head and drank a few mouthfuls of it. After going through a difficult time just now, her stomach had felt a little better. Soon after she drank the hot water, her stomach felt warm and her cramps were slowly fading away. After she had finished drinking the hot water, Michael took the bottle from her and asked, ¡°Does your stomach feel better now?¡± Sophia nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± Once again, he squatted down and said, ¡°Come on; I¡¯ll carry you.¡± However, Sophia quickly replied, ¡°I can walk now.¡± With the same attitude as the previous time, Michael instructed, ¡°Come on up. I¡¯m not going to repeat myself.¡± Sophia had no choice but to obey his words and climb onto his back. Michael then continued carrying her on his back as they moved forward. Stanley, who was carrying both backpacks, stared at them; his heart was filled with envy and jealousy. Why does Uncle Michael treat her so well, but treat me so badly even though I¡¯m his blood-rted nephew! Chapter 116 Chapter 116 He barely even smiles at me! Am I not his biological nephew?! Although Stanley felt unhappy about it, he had already been reduced to nothing more than a servant, serving tea and snacks. One moment, Michael asked him to serve some tea, and the next, he was asked to grab some snacks. It felt like there was a Dokodemo door hidden inside Michael¡¯s backpack¡ªone could find almost anything in it whether it was snacks, drinks, or band-aids. Thus, Stanley curiously dug through the things inside Michael¡¯s backpack. He wanted to see what else was hiding in there. Then, he identally stumbled across several super long overnight menstrual pads¡­ Suddenly, his world turned upside down. Why does Uncle Michael have this in his backpack? Don¡¯t tell me; is Uncle Michael actually a woman?! He recalled the old rumors that used to swirl about when Taylor first became famous for being a male actor ying female roles. Due to his professional portrayal and refined voice, he caused many heated debates within the industry. Many suspected that he was a female in disguise as no man had ever been able to perform a female role that realistically. Don¡¯t tell me; is Uncle Michael truly a woman after all? Feeling as if he had learned an earth-shattering secret, he didn¡¯t even dare to say anything anymore. Instead, he kept sneaking nces at Michael. How could my God of War possibly be a woman? That¡¯spletely preposterous. There must be some other reason for it. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Stanley¡¯s head, Menstrual pads can be used to absorb sweat! Wow! Uncle Michael is absolutely brilliant! Oh, how I want to hug his thigh tightly again! Michael carried Sophia on his back and walked for the entire day. The agreed time to rendezvous was 8 PM. However, with Michael guiding them, they arrived in the vicinity around 7 PM. He did not bring them all the way to the meeting point. Instead, he put Sophia down nearby and said, ¡°There¡¯s about 500 meters more to the meeting point. You guys will have to head there on your own; I won¡¯t be going with you.¡± If people knew about his presence here, they would be considered cheating and their marks would be deducted. Thus, Michael packed his backpack and headed into the deserted jungle. Seeing that, Sophia immediately chased after him, asking, ¡°Where are you going?¡± The virgin forest was filled with wild beasts. If he simply entered the jungle without any guards with him, what would happen if he got lost inside it? It was barren hills and turbulent waters as far as the eye could see. What if something happened to him? She couldn¡¯t help worrying tremendously. He naturally felt happy upon seeing his wife worrying over him. Even so, he said, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. In another 500 meters, Gary wille and pick me up. So, don¡¯t worry.¡± After all, how could he possibly be so unprepared? Michael wanted to talk to Sophia a little longer, but Stanley, who constantly yed the third wheel, suddenly rushed over and hugged his thigh. ¡°Aw¡­ Uncle Michael, I don¡¯t want you to leave¡­ Mwah, mwah¡ª¡± Michael felt speechless and decided to remain silent. In the end, Michael left alone, walking into the jungle by himself. Sophia watched as his figure gradually disappeared into the jungle. Her eyes were filled with reluctance to part with him, feeling as if she would never see him again after parting ways here. Before she knew it, Michael had gradually slipped into her heart. Although he was a pervert, she couldn¡¯t help missing him. A few minutes after he left, she heard the sound of a helicopter. Then, an army-green helicopter soared into the sky and flew off. Michael could be vaguely seen waving at them from the helicopter. Stanley studied the lovesick look in Sophia¡¯s eyes, then he wondered, Has Sophia fallen in love with my God of War-like uncle? That must never happen! She is a married woman! Besides, the idol-like aura around my uncle is far too dazzling! Moreover, he is cursed¡ªwhoever falls in love with him will be met with misfortune! Therefore, he warned her very seriously, ¡°Sophia, are you in love with my uncle? Let me tell you this; you must never fall in love with my uncle. He will never love you back; you can¡¯t get into a rtionship with him!¡± She lowered her eyes, then weakly replied, ¡°Of course, I know that. I don¡¯t need you to tell me that!¡± She knew that Michael wouldn¡¯t fall in love with her either. After all, he and Harry were mutually in love. At best, she was his beard¡ªthe wife of a gay man¡ªand his shield. To put it bluntly, she was a toy. Once he lost interest in her, she might be kicked out immediately. Besides, Michael was an actor. All the warm gentleness and kindness he showed her was fake. Moreover, his pretense was seamless¡ªthere was not a crack in his armor to be seen. However, being a pervert was in his nature. Studying her sad expression, he felt his mood dipping as well. He knew his uncle was ady killer; even a marrieddy like Sophia waspletely defenseless against his masculine charm. Thus, he hurriedly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it. My uncle is very cold and distant, but he is a gentleman. The reason why he was so nice to you is that you are a girl. He is just as kind toward other women! So, you must not think too much of it! Besides, he came here to protect me. Do you know? Uncle Michael loves me the most! He can¡¯t bear to see me suffering. He didn¡¯te here because of you. So, don¡¯t get arrogant and misunderstand the situation!¡± Just as kind toward other women? Sophia felt as if her heart was being sliced to pieces by a knife. Then, she lowered her head and gloomily said, ¡°I got it. You don¡¯t need to tell me that.¡± Stanley patted her shoulder solemnly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen many other youngdies like you. Don¡¯t take it too hard. Also, don¡¯t desire something that will never be yours.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything else. Downing the rest of the drinks Michael had left behind, she gathered all her energy and walked forward. Michael, who was on the helicopter, happily recalled the reluctant look in Sophia¡¯s eyes as she watched him leaving just now and felt extremely pleased with himself. He was certain that his performance today was very good. My wife¡¯s favorability toward me must have gone up by several hundred points by now. Perhaps she might be willing to sleep with me when we get back home! Unfortunately, if he knew that the favorability he had gained with difficulty after working hard all day long had been destroyed by a few choice words from Stanley, he would surely spit up blood. Without a doubt, Sophia and Stanley were the first to arrive. In contrast, Joel had been waiting for them at the camp he set up on the mountain for the entire day. Thus, when he saw the two who were covered from head to toe in grime, he coldly said, ¡°You did well. Go ahead and take a rest. When the time is up, we¡¯ll leave immediately.¡± Then, Stanley excitedly went off to check his score. Naturally, he would never reveal that he had cheated along the way. On the other hand, Sophia found a ce to sit, drank something warm, and ate something. Her entire mind was filled with the scene of how Michael looked as he was leaving just now. It had not been long since he had left, but she suddenly missed him very badly¡ªeven though she knew she shouldn¡¯t be thinking about him. When 8 PM rolled around, almost three-quarters of the students had arrived. Joel meticulously recorded down the time of arrival for every student. Then, he gathered all of those who had made it on time, shuffled them onto a ne, and sent them back to the barracks. Naturally, there were people sent to pick up the rest of those that had yet to arrive, and all the wild beasts that had been released had to be caught and retrieved. At 8.10 PM, they set off from the top of the hill promptly. By 9 PM, they had returned to the campsite. Joel gave a brief speech, then dismissed them and allowed them to go back to rest. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. After the military parade tomorrow, their military training would bepletely over, and all of them would be leaving the camp the day after tomorrow. Chapter 117 Chapter 117 Everyone felt a little reluctant to leave the ce where they had lived for a month. After washing up that night, they went door to door to exchange contact details on Messenger. Sophia returned to her room at the barracks, showered, washed her hair, and put on her XXL overnight menstrual pad. Then, she prepared to go to sleep. When Michael left, he had left the XXL overnight menstrual pads with her. Besides, those diaper-like XXL menstrual pads were reallyfortable to use. Nathan was still ying video games, and the game was making various ping, ping noises. Suddenly, Stanley knocked on the door from the outside. ¡°Sophia,e out! Tomorrow, we of the Superb Company are going to perform some demonstrations on tacticalbat! The two of us are partners! Come on out! Let¡¯s practice!¡± Sophia answered from behind the door, ¡°I¡¯m not going; I¡¯m having period cramps.¡± Even so, he continued to knock on the door with all his might. ¡°Sophia, open the door! I need to talk to you! I believe you have fallen in love with my uncle! I¡¯m telling you; you must not fall for my uncle! Nothing good wille to you if you fall in love with him! In the past, there have been many women that tried to woo my uncle. However, they all became disabled for some reason! So, you need to be careful! Sophia, open the door! Come out and let¡¯s talk! You really must not fall in love with someone like my uncle! Nothing wille to fruition!¡± Then, shezily lounged about on her bed like a b*tch suffering from menstruation, refusing to even move an inch. In the end, Nathan went to open the door. As soon as the door opened, Stanley was met with Nathan¡¯s angry puffed-up expression. F*cking retard, what is he saying? Why can¡¯t my mommy love my daddy? If my mommy doesn¡¯t fall in love with my daddy, then is she supposed to fall in love with you? This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Nathan red at Stanley fiercely, using his eyes to convey everything he wanted to say to him. Then, he mmed the door heavily in his face. ¡°Hey, Nate¡ª¡± Stanley¡¯s handsome and tanned face appeared at the door for no more than several seconds before the door was fiercely mmed shut in his face. Bam! He was locked outside. Then, he touched his nose and left silently. Afterward, Sophia rolled over and picked up her iPad. She watched Michael¡¯s movies for a while, then opened up her Messenger. Immediately, she saw that Richard had bombarded her with messages. ¡®Sophia, where are you? I miss you.¡¯ ¡®Can we talk?¡± ¡®Sophia, I really want to see you now. I miss you; I miss you so badly. I realized that choosing X may have been the biggest mistake I¡¯ve ever made.¡¯ ¡®If possible, can we start over?¡¯ F*cking retard! Did youe looking for me after fighting with X? Do you think I¡¯m your back-burner girl? No way in hell! With Michael¡¯s good looks as the standard, anybody below that standard is in ugly! Moreover, your disy picture is your actual face! The more I look at it, the uglier it gets! Hideous b*stard! Sophia decided to ignore Richard. Then, she saw Stanley starting to act up again. He vigorously bombarded her with a whole bunch of GIFs. ¡®Sophia!¡¯ ¡®Sophie!¡¯ ¡®Fifi!¡¯ ¡®My uncle mentioned that you were married. Why did you get married so young? How old are you? Do you have a kid? How old is your kid? Is your kid old enough to buy soy sauce by himself yet? But, you don¡¯t look that old! Why were you so narrow-minded?¡¯ ¡®To be honest, falling in love with my uncle is a road with no return. Right now, you¡¯re the only one I can save.¡¯ However, she decided to ignore his messages. Then, she continued watching her movie with her earphones on. Thus, she failed to notice someone knocking on the window again. Knowing who was here, Nathan reluctantly opened the window. The tall and broad man standing outside the window was still wearing a military uniform. Then, he swung himself in through the window and patted Nathan¡¯s small head, saying ¡°Good boy.¡± Michael had showered and changed his clothes at where the crew were. He had removed the camouge from his face and came to look for Sophia after making himself clean and fragrant. Sophia was watching one of Michael¡¯s movies; it was a crime thriller. In this movie, Michael was ying the role of a perverted serial killer. He had a gentlemanly appearance but had a perverted nature. Using his gentlemanly looks, he deceived many unmarried females into dating him. In the end, they were all murdered by him. Moreover, his methods were to rape and kill them, then dismember the bodies and cremate them¡ªall in one go. The perverted serial killer handled and executed every part of his crimes perfectly, leaving the police at a loss of who the perpetrator was no matter how much they investigated. The main character murdered continuously, fishing for his next victim after killing thest one. Moreover, he could charm three or four girls at the same time and kill them one after the other. Despitemitting numerous crimes over many years, he remained atrge. The mood of the movie was too heavy, and the entire color scheme was unbelievably dark. Besides, the atmosphere of the movie was rendered superbly. Michael¡¯s acting skills were impressive; he could seamlessly switch between being a gentleman and a perverted serial killer. When he yed the gentleman, it felt like all the sunshine in the world was shining on him. However, when he became the perverted serial killer, he was like a demon who came from hell. The character truly embodied the saying: ¡®Hell is empty because the devils walked among men¡¯. When the movie was released back then, it was a big hit at the worldwide box office and created a new record for the small niche of crime thrillers. The movie received so many prizes that they were tired of receiving them. Turning on the realistic surround sound effects on her earphones, Sophia waspletely immersed in the movie. She trembled as she watched the movie, and a wave of cold air enveloped her. The final scene of the movie revealed the main character in his neat ck tuxedo and ck hat, standing in a dark, quiet street. He had his gentlemanly smile on his face as he slowly handed a delicate rose to his next victim. Then, his lips curled with a small smile, and his eyes seemed to sparkle like the stars in the sky. That smile was simply devastatingly and impably handsome¡ªit could charm whatever female creature in the world. However, he had already shown this smile three times during the movie. Each time it appeared, it would captivate a female, adding another innocent soul to his death count. Whenever that charming smile appeared on his face, it indicated that a new victim was about to fall into his trap. The camera focused on Michael¡¯s face, and that captivating smile was disyed right in front of Sophia. It felt as if he was staring straight at her, piercing through her body and seeing right into the depths of her soul. Like a beautiful poppy flower gradually blooming, his smile was beautiful¡ªa kind of beauty that was drenched in blood. The realistic and wless acting seeped straight into one¡¯s heart, making Sophia feel as if she was going to be his next victim. Thus, she was so scared that cold sweat flowed down her back and she trembled uncontrobly. The movie stopped right at Michael¡¯s smile¡ªit was perfect, yet veiled with murderous intentions. Then, it ended with the perverted serial killer remaining atrge, roaming the dark streets of the city and recklessly reaping the lives of many youngdies. Even now, the mysterious disappearances continued to ur. Moreover, their bodies could never be found. Thus, the city fell into panic and chaos as a rush of police sirens pierced the night. This movie was adapted from a real story. Moreover, the real perverted serial killer was still roaming free, although he had been missing for decades now. After finishing the movie, Sophia put down her tablet, took off her earphones, and rolled over. As soon as she rolled over, she came face to face with Michael, who was silently sitting behind her. Moreover, he shed that serial killer¡¯s gentlemanly smile at her. For a moment, it felt like the ssic movie was ying once more¡ªthe dark and gloomy skies; the heavy mood in the air; the blood-stained rose¡­ She froze in shock for several seconds, then suddenly let out an earth-shattering scream, ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± F*ck; it¡¯s the perverted serial killer! Chapter 118 Chapter 118 Michael was speechless to the max. He had been hiding behind Sophia for a long while, watching her watch the movie. However, he didn¡¯t expect her to be so frightened. Well, what can I do? My acting skills are superb! He had been in the acting industry for many years. Throughout his career, he had portrayed countless ssic roles. He once yed the role of a domestically abusive man. From then on, his stage photos were used in all awareness programs advocating against domestic violence. On another asion, he once acted as an effeminate man. After that, his face was stered across any news reports involving effeminate men. In particr, the perverted serial killer he portrayed had terrified thousands of children around the world. Nowadays, whenever various news articles reported on incidents involving perverted serial killers, they would always use his stills as the apanying pictures. It took Sophia two seconds to return to her senses. Then, she realized that this man was Michael himself and not the perverted serial killer he had acted as. Thus, she anxiously patted her chest. ¡°Hubby, w-why are you here?¡± If it wasn¡¯t for the menstrual pads I was using, I would have peed myself! He had portrayed the perverted serial killer so vividly that she was no longer able to forget it. Even now, her eyes were filled with fear as she gazed at him¡ªterrified that he was going to dismember her. Michael didn¡¯t say anything and dove straight in for a long, dreamy kiss! Nathan stood beside the bed, expressionlessly watching the two people kissing passionately on the bed. Then, he squeezed the little frog in his hands hard, and it made an earth-shattering croaking sound. He wanted to indicate his presence to them and remind them that there was a child here. Control yourselves! Control yourselves! Meanwhile, Stanley, who was next door, came running after being surprised by Sophia¡¯s scream from before. He hammered at her door with all his might. ¡°Sophia, why did you scream?¡± Sophia was trying her best to rescue her tongue from Michael¡¯s mouth; she really had no time to respond to Stanley. Then, he began hammering against her door with increasing urgency. Thus, she could only loudly reply, ¡°I saw a cockroach!'' After hearing her reply, he made a nonmittal grunt in reply. Recalling the conversation they had just now, he reminded her before leaving, ¡°You must not fall in love with my uncle! You must not!¡± His reminder nearly scared her to death. That idiotic Stan; just what weird stuff is he saying?! What if Michael heard it? I won¡¯t live to see another day! Michael must have heard it too. He asked, ¡°What did Stan say just now?¡± Thus, Sophia replied truthfully, ¡°He said that your idol aura is too strong. He doesn¡¯t want me to fall in love with you because it will end badly for me if I did.¡± He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head. ¡°Then, do you like me?¡± His flirting skills were too amazing and she was securely caught in his aura. Then, she urgently turned her face away, her entire face blushing furiously. ¡°Of course, I do.¡± Do I like him? She vaguely had an answer in her mind. Still, no matter what she wanted to say to him, her answer could only be yes! This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Looking at her blushing face, he knew that his efforts today were not in vain. He leaned his face in and gently kissed her charming and provocative red lips. She was no longer as nervous as she was before. Besides, she was on her period today. So, she didn¡¯t need to worry about him trying to make a move. To be honest, his kissing skills were terrible! Although he was the first person she had ever kissed, she vaguely knew that kissing shouldn¡¯t feel like this. How is this a kiss? He is simply using his tongue to twist my tongue about wildly! It¡¯s making my tongue feel like I¡¯m eating sugarcane¡ªit hurts! Many rumors swirled around iming that Michael rarely shot kissing scenes. Even if he did have a kissing or sex scene, it was done by a stand-in or a reserved actor. It was rumored that he never acted in any intimate scenes. The one and only sex scene he had acted in was with that female actress who jumped off a building out of depression. Rumor had it that he was inflicted with a strange curse. Any female actress who was in intimate scenes with him would either die, be crippled, or get cklisted and silenced. Due to the so-called curse of his, he was enveloped in anotheryer of mystery that other actors did not have. Thus, he became more fascinating, attracting countless fans from across the world. Others relied on scandals to increase their exposure and attract fans. On the other hand, Michael relied on his wife-jinxing curse to attract fans. Moreover, his fans knew that they could never be with their Lord, and took perverse pleasure in knowing that no one else would be able to have him either. Nathan expressionlessly stared at the two people hugging each other on the bed like a pair of mas. Then, he fiercely squeezed the little frog in his hands again. Croak! However, the two of them did not react to the sound and continued to be immersed in their own little world. Michael seemed to have entered a trance-like state of ecstasy. Sophia was kissed so hard that she found it hard to breathe, and her mind went nk. Then, she gradually sank into a brand-new state of mind. By then, she had lost all ability to think and could only instinctively match his movements to cater to him. Nathan became angry, consecutively squeezing his little frog in protest. Croak! Croak! Croak! Even so, the two lumps of mas on the bed did not react. Consequently, he became so furious that he spun around and continued ying his video game. Additionally, he turned up the volume of his game until it was very loud. Still, he couldn¡¯t disturb those two. He yed his game for a while, then turned back to look at them¡ªthey were still kissing. Then, he continued ying his game for a while. When he turned back to look at them again, they were still stuck firmly to each other, seemingly without any intention of separating. In the end, he was so angry that he climbed onto the bed, widened his eyes asrge as he could, and stared at them. However, Michael simply took the time to push his face away. After a while, he huffilyy down on the bed. Then, he stared at the two people kissing passionately in front of him, silently protesting against their actions. This is too much! There¡¯s a child here! By the time they finished kissing, Nathan had fallen asleep. Sophiay on her back, panting heavily. Her mind was still nked out as if she had yet to extricate herself from the state she was in just now. When she came back to her senses, she realized that her face was blushing furiously. What is this feeling¡­ Is this the feeling of love? She seemed to be experiencing it for the first time. In the past, she remembered having a simr hazy and dazed feeling when she was with Richard. However, before she couldprehend what she was feeling, she had been viciously abandoned. Rolling over, she shyly turned her back toward Michael. Then, she buried her face in the nkets, hiding her blush. How embarrassing! I can¡¯t believe I became aroused after being kissed by a huge pervert! I must not! What Stanley said is right! I must not fall in love with Michael! It doesn¡¯t matter who I fall in love with, but it cannot be him! That night, Sophia had a nightmare¡ªshe dreamt of Michael. All the ssical roles he portrayed before in films appeared before her, one after the other. At first, it was an effeminate man. Then, it was a pervert followed by a gentleman. Later, he became a fiendish demon. In the next moment, he turned into an Asian swamp eel that had transformed into a spirit. Several different variations of Michael came chasing after her, forcing her to flee all over the world. In the end, the entire world was covered in eels. Then, she, who was fleeing in a panic, stepped on a gigantic Asian swamp eel and lost her bnce, tumbling to the ground¡­ ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Sophia snapped awake in fear and sat up abruptly. Then, she noticed that she was covered in sweat. Subconsciously feeling at the spot beside her, she realized that the warmth was gone and nobody was there¡ªMichael had already left. She drooped her head, feeling a sense of mncholy in her heart¡­ However, her despairsted no more than five seconds when she heard a loud bang. Then, Michael walked out of the bathroom dressed in military uniform. He was already dressed and was fiddling with his military hat in front of the mirror. With that figure of his, dressed in a military uniform and standing at attention, he was stunningly handsome! Chapter 119 Chapter 119 Sophia had been binging on Michael¡¯s movies over the past two days. During that time, she heard the rumor iming that he had acted in the roles of an effeminate man, a transexual dancer, a pervert, a viin, and even a moronic and domineering campus beau with Eighth-Grader Syndrome. However, he never took on any roles that were military-themed. Therefore, she was probably one of the few people who had seen him in a military uniform. After binge-watching his movies, she finally got what was so attractive about him. Thus, she nearly drooled when she saw how fit and stunning he was in his military uniform. Then, she suddenly realized something¡ªit¡¯s already daytime! It¡¯s broad daylight! But, he¡¯s still here with me! It¡¯s over! Tomorrow, the entertainment news will be stered with the headlines: ¡®Academy Award for Best Actor Winner, Taylor Murray, Slept Over at a University Student¡¯s Room, Dispelling Wife-Jinxer Rumor!¡¯ Then, I, Sophia Edwards, will drown in the drool of his fans! Just thinking about it is scary! Then, Michael carried Nate, who was still deeply asleep and headed out the door. ¡°Today is the grand military training parade. The Superb Company will be having a special tactical performance. Do your best; I¡¯ll be watching you from below.¡± On the other hand, she remained in a daze until the door closed behind him. He¡¯s going to be here today? That face of his is so ostentatious! No matter where he goes, he exudes the aura of an idol! Even if his nostrils were covered in greasepaint, it still wouldn¡¯t be able to cover up the aura he exudes! If he¡¯s here, won¡¯t it cause a riot? Sophia nced at the time and saw that it was still early. Even so, she had to get up earlier to prepare. She also nned to get Stanley from next door to help her practice in a while. In the end, she didn¡¯t need to look for him. While she was dressing, Stanley was already knocking on her door. ¡°Hey, Sophia! Wake up! Let¡¯s practice a little before the military parade!¡± Thus, she hurriedly straightened her clothes, smeared some greasepaint on her face, and ran out. Upon opening the door, she eximed, ¡°Oh my God! That scared me!¡± Stanley stood outside the door with greasepaint exaggeratedly covering his entire face¡ªso much so that even his mother wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize him. There were three or four streaks of greasepaint painted on both his cheeks and a coarsely-drawn ¡®King¡¯ written across his forehead. She was utterly speechless at his disy. ¡°Stanley, what the hell did you paint on your face?¡± He didn¡¯t want to do this either. ¡°You know; most of the members in the Superb Company are from the Four Great Families. You see; we are pretty affluent. So, we want to keep a low profile. We usually maintain a very, very low profile in school. If we are too ostentatious when revealing our faces today, the school might get into trouble next time.¡± That¡¯s right; if the people in the school learned about Stanley¡¯s identity, they would fawn over him until he was floating in the sky! No, he couldn¡¯t fly even if he wanted to! He would have too many bootlickers hanging on to his legs! He wouldn¡¯t be able to lift off from the ground! She considered it briefly, then turned around and exaggeratedly smeared more greasepaint across her face¡ªso much so that even her mother wouldn¡¯t recognize her. It¡¯s okay; it¡¯s enough as long as my husband and my son can recognize me. Then, they found a ce to practice and got into the groove. When they saw that it was almost time, they headed over to the training field where the military parade was held. Along the way, they saw many students. Sophia had not seen any other students outside of the Superb Company in a long while. Thus, she couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of camaraderie when she suddenly saw so many other students. Today, the students were very enthusiastic. It was probably their happiest day since entering the camp¡ª even happier than when the crew went to watch ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯! After all, there were too many reasons to rejoice that it was hard not to be happy! Firstly, it was finally the day of the grand military parade. Once the military parade was over, it meant that the devilish military training was over. By tomorrow, they could get on the bus and leave this ce! Finally, they no longer needed to sleep on bunk beds, eat military meals, and squeeze in time to shower! Secondly, after the military parade, the best team would be able to eat dinner with Joel Fletcher! Thirdly, the Superb Company was going to appear! The mysterious Superb Company had never trained together with the ordinarypanies. It was said that most of the members hailed from the Four Great Families! If one could have a wonderful and earth-shattering romance with a member of the Four Great Families, then they could even elevate the status of their entire family! Andstly, Taylor Murray wasing! ¡°Will Miss Taylor reallye and watch our military parade?¡± The girls were so happy they practically jogged toward the training field. ¡°How can that be fake? Didn¡¯t you notice that even the setup of the barracks is different today? They mobilized a lot of the special forces to maintain order!¡± ¡°Our instructor also told us to behave ourselves today. The Lord is our senior, and he made a special trip to attend the ceremony as the guest of honor!¡± When Stanley heard the news, he took off his hat in disbelief. Then, he rakishly ran his hand through his buzz cut. ¡°Be good; Uncle Michael ising!¡± Then, Sophia came to a sudden realization¡ªno wonder Michael swaggered out of her house this morning! He came here to attend the military training as a guest of honor! In other words, he will be watching my performance from the rostrum? D*mn; that¡¯s exciting! She felt a powerful shudder running down her body. I must perform well in front of Tay Tay! I¡¯m going to show him that the 10,000,000 he spent on me was well worth it! Stanley was very excited too. He enthusiastically bounced about on the spot. ¡°Uncle Michael ising to watch my military parade! Woot! I must perform well!¡± When they arrived at the training field, they saw that the setup today was different from before. There was a row of tables arranged on the rostrum, and the cards on the tables were marked with the positions of the leaders attending the ceremony. Joel, as the chief of the military training, sat in the middle. Beside him was a seat for the guest of honor. As everyone knew who it might be, they were extremely exhrated! Today, the atmosphere was unusually heated! After the Superb Company had assembled, they sat down in their special seats. Most of the students failed to notice this corner as their attention was drawn toward the guest of honor¡¯s seat. The joint military performance today consisted of two parts¡ªthe joint performance and the military parade. First up was the military parade in the morning. Then, the relevant leaders would give out scores to the companies. The results for the best team award and the best individual performance award would beThis content is ? N?velDrama.Org. announced during the joint performance in the afternoon. The schedule for the entire day was rather packed¡ªthe military parade was held in the morning while the joint performance took ce in the afternoon, and after that, there was a bonfire party at night. At 9 AM, the military parade officially began. The entire army, consisting of more than a hundred companies, got into formation on the training field and stood at attention. They had undergone rigorous training for an entire month. Although they couldn¡¯tpare to actual soldiers, they already exuded a militaristic demeanor. Moreover, the prize for the best team award and the best individual performance award was far too alluring. Therefore, everyone was putting 100% of their efforts into it as they stood in rows, looking very uniform and neat. From afar, they looked like tiny squares of green. The military training uniforms for students were different from the military uniforms of the instructors. On the other hand, the Superb Company wore the same military uniforms as the instructors. Therefore, everyone assumed that the Superb Company werest-minute reinforcements dispatched to maintain order here. That being the case, no one paid them any notice. Amidst the spectacr disy of music, the hosts came on stage. The hosts were the top students chosen from those majoring in media andmunications. The moment they stepped on stage, the hosts¡ªone male and one female¡ªexuded an amazing charisma. ¡°With this, the military parade ceremony for new students at Bayside University this year has officially begun! First, let us invite our leaders and our guest of honor to enter and take their seats!¡± The hosts were very professional, but their voices trembled a little with excitement. They had managed to restrain themselves rather well. Below the rostrum, the students werepletely unable to control themselves as, one after the other, they gazed in the direction where the guests of honor were entering. Then, amidst the military anthem resonating in the air, a bunch of special forces with real guns and live ammunition escorted several people onto the rostrum to take their seats. Chapter 120 Chapter 120 The first to appear was Joel. When Joel appeared, he brought with him the idol-like aura within the military. A bunch of girls started feeling excited. However, it wasn¡¯t to the point of losing their rationality. They could sneak nces at themanding general every day after all. Therefore, there was some commotion throughout the army, but it was not on arge-scale. Following behind him was a tall and slender man dressed in military uniform. His perfect body proportions highlighted his long legs; his upright posture in a military uniform exuded its own aura while his military hat perched neatly on his head. The military hat covered what was once a head of unruly blond hair. Its rebellious and wayward nature had faded away, adding a trace of passion and mystery to the middle-aged military man. That man lifted the brim of his hat slightly and a handsome face was revealed to everyone. Suddenly, the entire army became as agitated as a prairie during mating season¡ªit was punctuated by heavy panting and moaning¡­ No, screaming. ¡°Ahh! Ahh! Lord Winston!¡± ¡°Lord Winston came too!¡± ¡°Ethan! Ethan! Ahh! Ahh!¡± Taylor mainly yed in all sorts of specialized roles that required strong acting skills, including effeminate men, transexual dancers, perverted serial killers, and demons. On the other hand, Harry was born with naturally thick and aggressive eyebrows as well asrge eyes. Therefore, he mainly acted in tough-guy action movies. asionally, he also appeared in military- themed movies, portraying a lot of the ssic military men roles. Just then, he appeared in a military uniform, causing an unknown number of waves to ripple across the army. It was as if he was a walking aphrodisiac. All he needed to do was simply stand there; he didn¡¯t even need to take off his clothes but that was enough to cause all the girls in the vicinity to overflow with lust. As soon as he appeared on the scene, the entire situation went out of control. Many of his fans fainted on the spot and had to be carried out for rescue. ¡°Lord Winston! Lord Winston! Lord Winston!¡± Stanley screamed out Harry¡¯s stage name along with a bunch of young girls, acting like a crazy female fan. Sitting next to him, Sophia stuck her fingers in her ears, thinking, If this is enough to make you all so excited, once my hubby enters the stage, won¡¯t you be screaming out your lungs? Sure enough, the chaotic situation that was in full swing just a moment ago suddenly fell silent in the next moment. Then, they watched as another man dressed in military uniform walked out after Ethan. This man in military uniform waspletely different from Ethan, who was a genuine, tough-guy type of military man. Although he was dressed in the same military uniform, he was wearing gentle-looking gold- rimmed spectacles. His handsome nose and lips formed a perfect undting arc; the brim of his hat covered his deep eyes, and a small gentle smile could be vaguely seen at the corners of his mouth. He slowly made his way toward the guest of honor¡¯s seat. Everyone could only see his side profile. However, just his side profile was enough to charm the entire crowd¡ªthe crowd was so mesmerized by his beauty that they fell into temporary silence. Even Sophia was dazed by him. She knew that Michael had something called an aura around him. Everyone had an aura¡ªit came from a person¡¯s soul. Moreover, it was something that could not be concealed. As the saying goes: ¡®one¡¯s outward appearance was a manifestation of who one was on the inside¡¯. A person¡¯s aura waspletely decided by their soul and their personality. It would leak out unconsciously and reveal itself to the eyes of others. More importantly, it could not be hidden. The hot-blooded military uniform and the elegant gold-rimmed spectacles were two different styles. However, they came together perfectly when worn on Michael¡¯s body. Sophia¡¯s mouth was agape. Staring at Michael standing on the stage with his gold-rimmed spectacles, looking unbelievably gentle, she could only think of one thing¡ªhe¡¯s the ck sheep of the artistic circles! He is so handsome that it¡¯s sickening! The strange silence continued for a few more seconds until he sat down in the guest of honor¡¯s seat. Then, earth-shattering screams and cries erupted suddenly from both near and far. ¡°Miss Taylor! Miss Taylor!¡± ¡°Lord, I love you!¡± ¡°Ahh! Ahh!¡± ¡°Uncle Michael, I love you! I will love you forever! Ahh! Ahh! My heart!¡± Stanley hugged his chest and yelled out energetically. When Ethan appeared just now, the Superb Company had managed to exercise their restraint. However, when Taylor appeared, they could no longer retrain themselves, screaming shrilly along with all the other fans. The shrill screamssted for quite a long while¡ªit was almost overwhelming. Michael had brought Nathan along with him. When Nathan heard the screams that sounded almost like howling wolves, his tiny brows furrowed, and he tugged at Michael¡¯s clothes. Consequently, Michael waved his hand at everybody, then made a shushing gesture. Immediately, the screams disappeared in an orderly manner. In just a short while, it fell back intoplete silence. Sophia waspletely dumbfounded. Is this the power of idols? Due to the arrival of the two idols, the atmosphere was fully brought to life. Thus, the military parade had officially begun. Before the military parade could begin, Joel had to give a speech. While he was speaking, Company 1 to Company 10 stood by the sides and began to prepare for their formation. They geared themselves up and prepared themselves to showcase a good performance in front of Joel and the idols. Every one of them was burning with morale and eager to strive for first ce. Joel started out encouraging everyone, then thanking them for their cooperation throughout the past month. Lastly, he said, ¡°Every year, we prepare a grand surprise as the prize for the best team award and the best individual performance award in the military training. This year, for our grand surprise, I will be having dinner with those who were named the best team and the best individual performance!¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± a bunch of students screamed out. After that, the military parade was supposed to start. However, for some reason, whether the hosts were too excited and added a dose ofst-minute drama or the script was originally written as so, one of the hosts turned toward the two idols sitting in the guest of honor seats and excitedly said, ¡°I wonder if the two idol seniors have anything to say to this batch of juniors this year?¡± Thus, Michael went first and took the microphone. Then, the entire area fell silent¡ªit was so silent one could hear a pin drop. Following that, Michael put on his actor face, smiling like a refined rascal as he pushed his serious gold-rimmed spectacles up his nose slightly. Then, he said, ¡°Since the General has already presented himself as part of the prize, I cannot fall behind either. I will also join the winner of the best individual performance award in the military training for dinner.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. A sudden gasp rang out through the crowd¡ªthe students were both surprised and exhrated. What did they just hear? Not only did the winner of the best individual performance award in the military training get to eat dinner with themanding general, but they would also get to eat dinner with the Lord as well? ¡°Ahh! Ahh!¡± the students screamed until they nearly went mute. Watching the exultant students, Joel maintained his expression of seriousness from just now. However, there was a trace of constraint in the depths of his eyes. The hosts could barely remain calm as they handed the microphone over to Ethan. Then, Ethan joined in and followed up on the fun, using his cynical voice to say, ¡°Winner of the best individual performance award, don¡¯t forget to invite me when you¡¯re out for dinner with Taylor!¡± He sounded flirty when he spoke and he instantly captured the hearts of the girls in the field with his actions. As the idols were putting in an extra effort for them, the students felt the pressure on their shoulders increasing. After all, everyone thought of themselves as the best performing individual. Sophia rolled her eyes. Ethan truly is a protective and possessive man! To think he wants to monitor Michael having a meal with another person alone! Then, why didn¡¯t hee and stop us when Michael appeared in my roomst night and intertwined his tongue with mine?! Finally, the military parade officially began! Chapter 121 Chapter 121 The military parade of the military training in the university generally consisted of some fixedmands, for instance, half step forward march, forward march, attention, at ease, left turn, right turn, rest, squat and rise, salute, and dismissed. Eachpany used a few minutes to present what they had learned over the past month. As there were more than one hundredpanies in total, half a day had passed after reviewing all of them one by one, including their visual signal performances and military aerobics performances. In the afternoon, the Best Individual, Best Company, Best Performance, Most Inspirational Company, Best Discipline, Best Instructor, and many more awards would finally be awarded to the deserving individuals and teams. The students seem enthusiastic and excited while watching the performances, but Michael may find this incredibly boring. Why did he insist oning? Is he here to watch my performance? When the thought popped into her mind, she immediately brushed it off. He must be here to watch Stanley¡¯s performance and just catch mine incidentally. Nevertheless, I was still bought by him with 10 million, and my name is now registered in the household registry together with his and Nathan¡¯s name, so he will still cast me a few nces when I¡¯m performing. Therefore, I need to make sure that I perform well. Soon, Company 1 appeared while shouting their slogan in unison under the lead of their instructor. The host began to use her sweet voice to introduce Company 1 to everyone. ¡°The firstpany that we have here is Company 1, which consists of 33 people in total. Thispanyprises 33 students who are majoring in dancing from the Dance Academy. Their slogan is¡­¡± The appearance of Company 1 attracted the gaze of Joel and the two other dazzling idols. As most of the members of Company 1 were girls, the presence of the three men made them feel excited and made their hearts flutter. Out of anxiousness, one of the girls identally made a wrong turn when they were supposed to turn to the left, causing theirpany to be instantly booed by the audience. There was also a girl who felt so excited that she passed out on the spot. The instructor of Company 1 was rendered speechless upon seeing them making mistakes in front of their idols despite their well performance during their usual training. As he had no intention to strive for the Best Instructor award, he instructed thepany in a cursory manner and ran off. After the girls of Company 1 left the area where the military parade was held, they instantly cried their eyes out. The tragic failure of Company 1 caused the followingpanies to feel the pressure. After all, they were stared at by their idols, so it would only be natural for them to feel nervous. Hence, the members of the followingpanies kept making mistakes due to the intense anxiousness. Upon seeing that, Sophia was at a loss for words. Aren¡¯t they just three men? Why are they so worked up over that? They were seated on the main stage and were being stared at by thousands of people below the stage. Therefore, as the honored guest of the military parade, though Ethan felt extremely bored, he couldn¡¯t y with his phone in front of the crowd; he could only y with Nathan. Halfway through the military parade, everyone discovered that Nathan was the real winner in life! He dozed off in Taylor¡¯s arms for a moment, and then he yed with a frog plushie in Ethan¡¯s arms. He then hopped into Joel¡¯s arms to y with the pen that Joel used to give scores to thepanies. Nathan truly chose the right identity to reincarnate into. Everyone wished that they could rece him instead. However, Nathan seemed to be clueless about everyone¡¯s envy and jealousy; he even pulled a long face. If it weren¡¯t for Mommy, I wouldn¡¯t havee! Sophia knew that the military parade performance of the Superb Company was set to be the final performance. There was still some time before their turn, so they weren¡¯t as nervous as the other companies. Besides, she was not anxious at all as her results were good enough, so she wasn¡¯t worried that this military parade would affect her overall results. The Best Individual award during the military training? Have a meal with the three gorgeous men¡ª General, Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston? One of them is the General with a powerful aura, and the other is my psycho husband, while thest one is the buddy of my psycho husband. If the four of us were to have a meal together¡­ I would rather die. Though she was spacing out, she kept looking in Michael¡¯s direction. She turned away after a few nces for fear that he would notice that she was peeking at him. However, her inner voice was yelling, I want to get first ce! I want to have a meal with my idol! Tay Tay can only have a meal with me! When the thought of her husband having a meal with other men or women crossed her mind, she felt displeased. No, I won¡¯t even allow anyone to have a meal with him, men or women. However, there was nothing more she could do as she only had an insignificant ce among his harem. She was lost in her reverie until she heard the host making an announcement in a sweet voice¡ª¡°Let¡¯s have Company 49 next!¡± Company 49! As she had been part of thispany for more than half a month, she was rather concerned about them, so she immediately stuck out her head to check them out. The host continued to introduce them. ¡°As the starpany of our military training this round, Company 49 has had excellent results. Their loud and clear slogan and sturdy strides reveal their enthusiasm and ambitious spirits! ¡®Unity and cooperation¡¯ is the magic weapon of Company 49. Do your best, Company 49!¡± When Company 49 showed up, their vibes were totally different from otherpanies¡ªtheir slogans were loud and clear, and their formation, which used to be their weakness, seemed particrly outstanding today. Nobody made any mistake, and their military parade was performed wlessly throughout their performance. When Company 49pleted their parade, everyone noticed a grin on Commander Ford¡¯s face. The performance of Company 49 was beyond outstanding today! Sophia was d for them as well! After the performance of Company 49, no otherpany managed to grab Sophia¡¯s attention. Feeling a little bored, she sat upright, just like the other students, but from time to time, her eyes nced toward Michael. She could hear a voice in her head shouting, Tay Tay, look at me! Look at me! Look at me now! However, Michael seemed to have no idea where Sophia was sitting. Without even casting a nce at her, his gaze was focused on the site where the parade was held, while he asionally discussed with Joel about something. There was a professional team awarding marks to each performance. When eachpany left the site, their marks would be recorded into the military training credit system. Afterbining the whole team¡¯s usual performance and individual performance, each team could immediately get the overall score for their team. Without realizing, it was already noon. It was now November, and the weather wasn¡¯t hot; it was in fact a little windy and cooling. However, everyone on the site was burning with so much passion that they couldn¡¯t feel the cold. Suddenly, Stanley gently kicked at Sophia, who was in a daze. ¡°Sophia, why are you spacing out? It¡¯s time to leave now to show off what we have!¡± Superb Company emerged in full force. The military training this round apparently had 139panies. After the 139paniespleted their performances, everyone thought that the military parade had ended and nned toe back after lunch for the cultural performance by allpanies. However, to their surprise, the host wore an enigmatic smile and announced, ¡°It seems like everyone is prepared to leave. Please hold your horses. As always, we have saved the best forst. Next, let¡¯s wee ourstpany to perform their military parade. This is no ordinarypany, so everyone, prepare to scream¡­¡± The students seemed to have guessed which was thestpany as they stared wide-eyed at the entrance of the site. The resounding voice of the host was then heard. ¡°Next, let¡¯s wee our strongest company on earth¡ªSuperb Company!¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 122 Chapter 122 Once Superb Company emerged, high-pitched shrieks were heard from the crowd. Amidst the shrieks, a company which was as fierce as a tiger appeared before everyone while shouting their slogan in unison. ¡°One, two, one. One, two, one. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!¡± Superb Company appeared in military uniforms that were different from everyone else¡¯s, making an imposing appearance while astonishing all the audience upon their emergence. Superb Company was not arrogant nor rash. They carried themselves in a calm and collected manner, as if they were unfazed by the shrieks of the audiences. Even Stanley, who was normally frivolous, put on an unusually serious behavior. After all, two of his uncles were sitting on the stage. Sophia wore a stern expression as well, looking extremely serious. Superb Company was indeed different from otherpanies¡ªeven their forward march looked extraordinary. After all, this was apany personally trained by Michael himself. From their formation to their postures, it was obvious that their skills greatly surpassed the otherpanies¡¯, causing the crowd to intermittently scream for them in amazement. Taylor even took some photos with his phone! Everyone tried hard to look at the faces of the members of the Four Great Families so that they would know who to get along with in the university if they aimed to build connections with the members of higher social statuses. However, all the faces of the students from Superb Company were covered with thickyers of oil paint, as if their faces were pixted, causing the audience to feel anxious as they were unable to recognize their faces. X was also eagerly observing Superb Company while subconsciously looking for Sophia¡¯s figure among them. However, there wasn¡¯t anyone who looked like her in Superb Company, so she thought that she was overthinking it. Sophia beat Faye up to the point that she needed to be sent out of the barrack overnight for emergency treatment. Therefore, it should be difficult for her to even participate in the military training, let alone enter Superb Company! X was actually in the midst of frustration as she had lost the chance to be the host of the military training. On top of that, during their military parade earlier, they had an idiot in theirpany who failed to contain her excitement and marched toward the stage when they were marching. The woman was then pinned down and dragged away by the army of the special forces on the spot, which caused their company to be affected as well, making them aughing stock. Therefore, their overall score for their group would surely be low. Theirpany instructor¡¯s expression had been gloomy since their performance ended, for judging from their current situation, it would be impossible to have a meal with the General now! If the group score was too low, their individual score wouldn¡¯t be high as well. Hence, everyone from their company could just forget about having a meal with their idols. After the military parade ended, everyone in thepany cried. The military parade of Superb Company continued on. They had an extra performance, which was the militarybat skills demonstration. This was merely a performance without any practicalbat value. However, they put on a stunning show. When amand was given, Superb Company spread out, and the first and third line turned backward. Sophia turned backward and saw Stanley, who was extremely excited as he quietly eximed, ¡°He¡¯s looking in this direction! My uncles are looking in this direction! Ah! I¡¯m so excited now. Sophia, you need to perform wellter. Whether or not I¡¯m able to have a meal with them depends on you!¡± Unfortunately, Sophia¡¯s back was facing the stage, so she couldn¡¯t see Michael, and she had no idea whether he was looking at her. Of course Michael was looking at his young wife! Otherwise, why would he be here?! My little wife looks stunning! And the way she looks when she¡¯s marching is just so adorable! Even if it¡¯s the back of her head that is facing me now, that too looks iparably cute! She¡¯s really my most adorable cutie-pie in the whole universe! At the sound of the whistle, the members of Superb Company got into pairs. Each pair took their position and made a loud, energetic roar. ¡°Ha!¡± Whenever the whistle was blown, they had to make a set of movements, and there were a total of eight sets of movements which consisted of ordinarybat skills. However, they had to throw their partners on the ground, and thetter would have to fall on the ground for real without any fake movements. Sophia and Stanley threw each other on the ground four times. As they had been practicing these sets of movements every day, their movements were consistent, uniformed, and powerful. They had been practicing the same movements for so many times that they were so sick of them. Therefore, the movements came to them naturally, and they performed them without the slightest anxiousness. However, the other students were awestruck by their movements. Every set of movements induced their wild screaming and cheering. They are the members of the Four Great Families which consists of the Fletcher Family and the others! They are truly handsome and stunning! After performing the eight sets of movements, thepany members returned to their initial formation and left in uniform steps, ending the military parade today. They had also perfectly marked the end for the military training ceremony that had been going on for the past few days. Superb Company¡¯s formation was not broken even after they had left the site and jogged away. Due to the fact that the members of Superb Company had extraordinary identities, they would be surrounded by students if they stayed behind. Therefore, they left in advance. After watching the military parade by Superb Company, Michael and Ethan left the ce under the escorts of the special forces, while Joel stayed behind in the military training ground as he needed to wrap up the event. After Superb Company and the idols had left, the training ground seemed empty, and the scene was filled with sobs. Firstly, they were sobbing because their idols had left, and the second reason was that Superb Company was too impressive, which made all otherpanies on the scene feel ashamed of their own performances. The Best Company award this year would certainly belong to Superb Company, and the rest of us can just forget about it! The host saved everyone¡¯s dejected spirit with a brilliant line. ¡°Are you guys staggered after watching the performance by Superb Company? I¡¯m going to tell everyone some good news¡­¡± Good news? What kind of good news could there be now? Everyone waited for the news attentively. The host¡¯s eyes darted around before she excitedly announced, ¡°The General just said that he is sick of eating together with Superb Company as he has been eating with them too many times. Therefore, Superb Company is not joining the group scoring this time around!¡± Hearing that, everyone rejoiced, and their confidence was suddenly boosted. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. On the other hand, when Superb Company left, Stanley was like a happy little bird, chattering noisily along the way, ¡°Arghhh! Sophia, I think that my performance earlier was just too handsome! It was just perfect! My uncles¡¯ gazes werepletely fixed on me. The Best Individual award must be mine! I¡¯m going to have a meal together with my uncles!¡± Sophia rolled her eyes at him and rebuked mercilessly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you always eating together with your uncles? Why are you so excited for this?¡± ¡°You are really clueless, aren¡¯t you? Having a meal together with them on normal days is nothing special. But this time, the meal we are going to have with them won¡¯t be just an ordinary meal; it is a special honor! Do you understand?¡± Stanley exined. Sophia mumbled, ¡°Aren¡¯t those the same¡­ I think that my performance just now was not bad as well. Maybe I can get the Best Individual award and incidentally have a meal together with your uncles.¡± Stanleyid out her dark history, objecting her statement. ¡°What? Haha, you? The person who dragged down your teammate¡¯s progress during trail running and had a fight in the barrack, causing a person to have a severe nosebleed to the point that she had to be sent to the hospital overnight for emergency treatment? You should consider yourself lucky to be able to even pass! Stop dreaming!¡± Sophia, who had taken a blow due to his words, felt mad and stopped talking. She thought to herself, Not only am I able to dine with your uncle, I can even kiss him and sleep with him; I¡¯m going to make love to him in the future too! But can you? Can you? Can you? Well, you can¡¯t! She was roaring inwardly. After Michael had left the site, he immediately posted the high-definition photo of Sophia that he took when she was marching in the military parade on his IG with the caption¡ª¡®My cutie-pie.¡¯ After a while, he received a bunch of heartless mockery. Harrymented, ¡®Pedophiles like you will be condemned by God!¡¯ Danielmented, ¡®I have a dozen cutie-pies of this kind here. Boss, how many do you want? I can give you a 20% discount.¡¯ Halemented, ¡®Nice photo.¡¯ Gemmamented, ¡®I agree with Hale.¡¯ Chapter 123 Chapter 123 Superb Company headed to the Third Canteen to have their lunch. They would be taking a rest after that as they had a cultural performance by allpanies and a prize-giving ceremonyter in the afternoon. The exciting moment was finally arriving. When they entered the canteen, the meals of Superb Company had been set out. To their surprise, besides Joel, Harry and Michael were also at their table. Superb Company didn¡¯t need topete with otherpanies because there wasn¡¯t a need for that¡ª having a meal with their idols was expected of them. The members of the Winston Family stuck with Harry, while the members of the Fletcher Family, such as Stanley, would certainly be sitting around Michael. At that moment, Sophia suddenly realized that Harry¡¯s surname was Winston¡ªthe Winston Family of the Four Great Families. They are all big shots! The members of the Four Great Family had an advantageous starting point when they entered the entertainment industry! Stanley was so close to Michael that he had almost glued himself onto him. ¡°Uncle Michael, did I perform well just now?¡± Michael nodded, maintaining a stern yet amiable smile. ¡°Yes.¡± Hearing that, Stanley was overjoyed. He caught the hand of his other uncle¡ªJoel. ¡°Uncle Joel, can I get full marks? Can I have dinner with you guys? Can I? Uncle Joel, it must be me!¡± Joel focused on his meals and didn¡¯t say anything. Nathan, on the other hand, held Sophia¡¯s hand with one hand while his other hand dragged a stool and forcefully pushed it in between Stanley and Michael before cing it there. He squeezed Stanley out of there and pushed Sophia onto his chair. He then sat on herp while ring at Stanley with cold eyes. His cold gaze sent shivers down Stanley¡¯s spine, so thetter ran off with his hand on his chest. His eyes are exactly the same as Celine¡¯s! This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Celine Fletcher was Michael¡¯s twin sister. She was cold and elegant¡ªshe was the most beautiful woman in the army, and she had achieved excellent results when she was still young. Though she was Michael¡¯s twin sister, they werepletely different. Back then, Celine¡¯s aura, which was as cold as ice, would instantly kill anyone with just a re! As the King of Soldiers who had won the martial art tournament in the military, Celine¡¯s husband had surprisingbat power. It was only natural for the most outstanding King of Soldiers and the most beautifuldy in the army to get together, and they were so madly in love back then. After that, they had Nathan, a little guy who had inherited the strengths of both his parents¡ªhe had his father¡¯s ability as the King of Soldier and his mother¡¯s cold and elegant temperament. Therefore, he was a rather intimidating boy; in fact, he was more intimidating than his parents were. He was so intimidating even though he was not even 6 years old yet, which made people wonder what would be of him after he grew up! Stanley fled to the other side of Michael,cking the courage to get close to Nathan. He kept having the feeling that he would be beaten by this 6-year-old boy at any moment. While Sophia was eating, her eyes repetitively flicked across the few people. Joel seemed unhappy, and he seemed to have an indescribable rtionship with Michael; Harry was looking at the two of them with a tentative smile on his face, as if he had seen through it all, but he remained silent; Michael was eating with his head lowered while intermittently talking with Stanley; Stanley was like a butterfly that flew around the ce¡ªhended on Harry¡¯s shoulder for a moment before he sat beside Michael the next moment, and then beside Joel, while constantly giggling and chuckling wherever he went. ¡°Oh! My idol! Uncle Michael, I love you the most! Oh, Uncle Joel, you are my idol too! Don¡¯t feel jealous!¡± Even Nathan¡¯s gaze was terrifyingly cold. As an outsider, Sophia felt on edge. What exactly happened between these four people? This should be a pleasant meal, but why am I feeling tension in the air? Could it be that something happened between these four people in the past? Oh, no. My imagination is starting to run wild! The atmosphere was extremely uncanny. She felt a coldness on her neck, as if there was a 40-meter- long sword pointing at her, and it wouldnd on her neck and cut off her head at any time. Not only her, but other students of Superb Company felt the atmosphere as well. One after another, they ate faster and faster before running off after they were done eating. Sophia finished her meal in a swift movement and ran off as well. Right after Sophia had left, Michael stood up and held Nathan¡¯s hand, preparing to leave. He even turned around and beckoned at Stanley with his pinky. ¡°Come, Stan, I have something to talk to you about.¡± Feeling surprised and ted, Stanley pointed at himself in disbelief. ¡°Uncle Michael? Are you calling me? Oh, my! I¡¯m living the dream! Uncle Michael is finally asking for my presence!¡± Without even finishing his meal, he obediently tagged along behind him. After Michael had left, Harry left as well, and Joel was the only one left at the table that was so lively just a moment ago. Joel rose to his full height, and it seemed like he was about to leave. ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± he suddenly uttered, but nobody could tell who he was talking to. However, Michael, who had already reached the door, suddenly paused in his tracks. Upon hearing that his footsteps came to a sudden halt, the corner of Joel¡¯s mouth curled up into a faint smile. ¡°I take her for brain scans every month. The ident that happened five years ago has caused permanent damage to her brain, so she still can¡¯t remember you.¡± The dead silence seemed to stretch on for a while. When Stanley realized that he seemed to have entered some forbidden ground, his eyes opened wide at once, and he instantly shut his mouth. She¡¯s Michael¡¯s forbidden ground! He felt that the atmosphere now was too depressing, as if there was a pair ofrge hands wrapped around his neck, and he could be easily strangled to death. The silence was finally broken by Michael¡¯s voice. ¡°Five years has passed, and I¡¯m married now, yet you guys haven¡¯t taken any action. Deal with this issue as soon as possible; don¡¯t let her wait for too long.¡± With that, he left with calm and steady steps. Joel snickered as he knew that Michael couldn¡¯t let go of that woman. The calmness he had now was merely an act. When Michael and the others left the canteen, Stanley was still in shock. What did I just hear? Michael has gotten married! Married! My uncle is actually a married man! When did that happen? Why hadn¡¯t I heard any news about this? Does he even think of me as his family? Why didn¡¯t he inform us about such an important thing? Nathan¡¯s the same as well. Sob¡­ He cried bitterly inwardly. Just when he was about to ask Michael about it, thetter suddenly pointed at a tiny corner mysteriously. ¡°Stan, let¡¯s have a talk over there.¡± Hearing that, the dejected Stanley immediately brightened up and answered thankfully, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯ming over now!¡± He then meekly followed Michael and Nathan to the quiet little corner. When they were at the corner where only three of them were present, Stanley asked him expectantly, ¡°Uncle Michael, you have something important to tell me, haven¡¯t you?¡± Michael, who was only a little taller than Stanley, looked down at him from his height, and an evil smile appeared on his face while his gaze was cold. The atmosphere was clearly bing more dangerous. However, Stanley was still fearlessly admiring his looks. ¡°Ah, Uncle Michael, your current expression is super duper breathtaking!¡± At that moment, a cold voice was abruptly heard. ¡°Daddy, hit him.¡± Before Stanley could make sense of the situation, arge fist was thrown toward his face¡­ Chapter 124 Chapter 124 10 minutester, Harry finally saw Michael walking out from the tiny corner. With a hand in his pocket in a carefree manner, Michael used his other hand to flick the dust on his shoulder. He strolled out from the corner with Nathan following behind. Thetter seemed delighted as his expression wasn¡¯t as tense as earlier. Thest one to appear was Stanley, who was weeping while he limped out of the corner. He had probably been beaten, but it wasn¡¯t obvious due to the thick paint on his face. Harry seemed to have sensed what had happened, but he still deliberately asked, ¡°Hey, Stan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Stanley wiped away his tears. ¡°I fell, I fell.¡± As he was wiping away his tears, the paint on his face was smeared, which caused his face to look ridiculous, like a cat that had just rolled in dirt. He felt depressed for having gotten a beating from Michael without any reason. The hitsnded on my body, but I felt the pain in my heart! I love him so much, but why was he so harsh toward me? There isn¡¯t any grudge between us, so why did he do that? He waspletely baffled by his action. Michael had been nning to beat Stanley up for a few days because of his rough behavior and intention toward his young wife. Michael¡¯s initial schedule was to only attend the military parade in the morning and skip the cultural performance by the students in the afternoon. As he had seen plenty of grand shows, this performance would certainly be boring to him. However, he still stayed behind. Since I don¡¯t have any shooting to be done on the film set today, it¡¯s better for me to stay here to look at my little wife. When Sophia returned to her dormitory, she took a nap without washing off the paint on her face. If I don¡¯t wash off the paint, Michael probably wouldn¡¯t want to kiss me. As expected, he didn¡¯t kiss her, but he fondled her body with his hands when she was pretending to be asleep. My butt is going to be twisted out of shape if he continues kneading it! He¡¯s such a pervert! Her body trembled under his touch, but she continued to pretend to be asleep. The cultural performance began on time at 3.00PM in the afternoon. Sophia woke up at 2.30PM. She didn¡¯t even wash her face, since the paint on her face created a mosaic effect. She arrived at the venue alone and saw that most of the students had arrived, and their gazes intermittentlynded on Superb Company. Stanley limped toward her with a swollen face, giving her a fright. ¡°Stan, what happened to you?¡± Stanley sobbed. ¡°I had a fall!¡± But it is obvious that the injury wasn¡¯t sustained from a fall! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia¡¯s imagination started running wild again. Could it be that something happened after I left in the afternoon that caused Stanley to be beaten up? Could it be that the romantic rtionship between the four people has been exposed, and Michael¡¯s harem is now fighting one another? Oh, my. This is exciting! The scene must have been magnificent! It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t witness it! Michael is a psychopath! Poor Stanley; he¡¯s still young, but he fell in love with a scumbag like Michael! Ah, he is such a perverted man! Not only his cousins, he eveny his hands on his nephew! His nephew and cousins¡­ Sophia couldn¡¯t help but worry for Nathan. That kid is still so young. What if he¡¯s influenced by Michael and takes the same path after he grows up? What should I do then? After all, Michael is a man that would eveny his hands on his nephew! He probably had some indescribable intention when he decided to adopt Nathan! Soon, the cultural performance began. Michael appeared while holding Nathan¡¯s hand, and they sat on the stage together. Nathan pulled a long face, and he seemed unhappy. Looking at Nathan in Michael¡¯s arms, whereby one of them had a warm expression while the other had a cold expression, Sophia involuntarily imagined a story titled ¡®A Cold Man Raising a Young Boy¡¯. Arghhh! That is horrendous! Michael is a real psychopath! He wouldn¡¯t even spare a little boy! Only now did she understand why Michael liked to harass her in front of Nathan. It turned out that it was his intention to influence Nathan so that thetter would imitate his actions. And it seemed like Nathan was indeed influenced by Michael because he was hostile toward her. Whenever he saw Michael sleeping together with her, he woulde in between them. Sophia used to think that the smart Nathan was just protecting her. However, now that she thought about it again, she realized that Nathan was on guard against her, and at the same time, warning Michael to not fool around! Arghhh! My whole world has been turned upside down! The world is falling apart! She trembled rigorously. She felt a sudden cold air brush by her, and she was so scared that she could only hug herself tightly. Peeking at Stanley beside her, she eximed inwardly, The world of the upper ss society is so messed up! It¡¯s the smart choice to stay away from you guys! Sophia¡¯s slightly good impression of him due to his stunning looks was now instantly ruined. As expected, nothing woulde free in life. When I¡¯m suddenly married to a wealthy, influential, and incredibly-handsome husband, how could I expect him to be normal? In a split second, Sophia¡¯s mind had gone beyond the universe, broke through the limits of time and space, and arrived at a ce where no one could control her imagination from growing limitlessly. The cultural performance which consisted of the performances by students began. The students of Bayside University mostly came from wealthy backgrounds. With such backgrounds, it would only be natural for them to have cultivated a few talents or skills. Those that had the opportunities to perform on stage were certainly carefully selected. Their performances were rted to their military training, such as street dance modified from military aerobics, rap, stage y and short sketch. There were even some amazing students whoposed songs and sent them out of the barracks to Bayside City; they searched day and night for orchestras, singers and studios to record the songs so that they were able to get the finished product the next day. Due to the presence of their idols and the General, the students racked their brains and showcased everything they had got. Therefore, the performances were certainly extremely exciting and outstanding, receiving the cheers of the audiences. X was among the students watching the students performing on stage before the General and idols. The jealousy that burned inside her almost twisted her face. She was also good in singing, dancing and ying the piano, but all her performance proposals that were sent to thepanymander were rejected with the reason that there were too many simr performances. She couldn¡¯t think of any performances which were out of the ordinary, so she couldn¡¯t grab the opportunity to perform on stage. On top of that, without Richard around, she couldn¡¯t get anyone to make an exception for her. Just like that, she missed the opportunity to perform before the idols and the General! Superb Company didn¡¯t take part in the performance. Nevertheless, for the sake of their image, they still sat up straight although they were probably sleepy, radiating apletely different vibe than the other companies. They had no chance for any awards, and the performances weren¡¯t exactly interesting to them. Therefore, it was actually difficult for them to stay awake. Stanley kept moaning in pain. Sophia was in a daze, and Nathan was living his best life as always as he took turns to leap into the arms of the few men; he was enviable by everyone at the scene. After two performances, the announcement of the different award winners of the military training began, and the prizes were starting to be given out. Hearing that, everyone was wide awake. The awards that were first given out were the constion prizes, Best Performance award, Best Discipline award, and so on. Everyone was not concerned about those awards as they were only concerned about the Best Company award and the Best Individual award. Chapter 125 Chapter 125 The third and second ce for the Best Company award were announced one after another. The winners were Company 25 and 80. These twopanies had outstanding results. Company 25 voluntarily took a hoe and built a path from the training ground to the canteen, while Company 80 rescued a snub-nosed monkey that was seriously injured and nearly died. The Forestry Department even specially sent them a thank-you gift. It was finally the time for the announcement of the first ce for the Best Company award. The host looked lively at everyone¡¯s expectant gazes before speaking in a sweet voice, ¡°Thepany that won the first ce for the Best Company award is really a worthy winner of this award. They are united, caring, and helpful to one another. They didn¡¯t strive for individual excellence; they strived for zero failures. During the military training, they have done many remarkable deeds. They are the¡­¡± Everyone held their breath, and even Sophia stared wide-eyed at the stage, waiting for the host to announce the winner of the Best Company award. The host paused for a few seconds, which felt like a few centuries to everyone. Finally, the host¡¯s lips parted, and the name of thepany that everyone was expecting was announced. ¡°Company 49!¡± The audience burst into an uproar. Everyone from Company 49 was shocked and delighted, and tears of joy streamed down their cheeks. They nearly hugged one another and cried. The host started to introduce the remarkable deeds of Company 49. ¡°Company 49 pioneered the united- style military training. When they were in field training exercise, they traveled in a team, and everyone arrived at the finishing line on time. There were two students who unfortunately got hurt during the training, but not only did they not abandon their teammates, they even took turns to carry the two injured teammates on their back, and the whole team arrived at the finishing line together. Congrattions, Company 49!¡± Commander Ford went up the stage in delight and received two awards¡ªthe Best Company and Best Instructor awards. He then added, ¡°Company 49 is not the bestpany I have ever trained, but they are the most unitedpany I have ever had under me!¡± Joel nodded in agreement as well. Military training could easily reveal one¡¯s true colors. Most people were selfish, and they were only concerned about their own scores, ignoring the conditions of others. Company 49 was a team that was totally different from the others. By being united, their team managed to attain a high score although the team mostly consisted of members who initially couldn¡¯t get a high score. In fact, none of them failed the military training, and the average score for each member was above 75. During the field training exercise, there were plenty of teams that managed to obtain a high average score. However, other than Company 49, none of thepanies were able to ensure that all their members arrived at the destination on time. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. When they were in the mountains, the members of otherpanies were mostly scattered, and only Company 49 kept all their members together throughout the journey. They even saved a few injured and abandoned students from otherpanies. Just like a rolling snowball, more and more students gathered together, and in the end, there were over 10panies that traveled together. Everyone helped one another, and together, they looked mighty. The instructors were astonished as they had never seen such a scene. Company 49 had truly demonstrated what it meant to be united and also the saying that went, ¡®in unity, there is strength¡¯! Upon recalling what they had been through in the past month, the members from Company 49 had tears rolling down their cheeks. It used to be impossible for many of them to even pass military training. If it weren¡¯t for Sophia¡­ Unfortunately, she probably had been expelled by Bayside University, and they might not have the opportunity to even meet her again. Everyone felt sorry for Sophia when they thought about her. There was a session whereby a representative from the Best Company went on stage for a speech, and Juliete was the representative for Company 49. When she got on stage, she spoke, ¡°Ourpany actually started off with extremely poor results, but now, we were able to achieve such wonderful results. First of all, we would like to thank Commander Carter, all battalionmanders, and allmanding generals for your concerns and guidance. Secondly, we would like to thank Miss Sophia Edwards!¡± At the mention of Sophia, everyone began whispering to one another as she was famous in the university! It¡¯s such a pity¡­ Upon hearing Sophia¡¯s name, Stanley couldn¡¯t resist the urge to nudge her with his elbow. ¡°Sophia, she¡¯s talking about you!¡± Of course, Sophia heard her. Company 49 was able to get such great results, which showed that my effort in all those days has finally paid off! Juliette looked at all the students present from the stage and emotionally uttered, ¡°Company 49 is mostly made up of girls, so we don¡¯t have any advantage in terms of physical stamina. We had practically zero chances of winning against otherpanies, let alone against students from Sports University. But luckily, we had Miss Sophia Edwards. Though she was injured, she trained harder and more seriously than all of us. She was the most serious student in ourpany, and she was also the one who had the best performance. She even voluntarily sacrificed her rest time to provide personal training to the weaker students from our company. It was her who told us that Company 49 is a team, and we cannot leave anyone behind. No matter how tough things go, we cannot give up on any of the students. We didn¡¯t hope for a high individual score; we only hoped for everyone to pass! Although she is no longer part of Company 49, but to us, she¡¯ll always be the soul of Company 49!¡± The audiences broke into a rapturous apuse. Sophia, who was sitting among the members of Superb Company, blushed. Erm¡­ I was just showing off when I continued with my training even though I was injured. I dragged the whole team to train just because I was worried that the low results of those weaker students in the team would affect my overallpany score and cost me my high score. All in all, I¡¯m really not that noble; I merely knew about some hidden rules¡­ However, when she heard Juliette¡¯spliments, she still felt warm and sweet. After the Best Company award was given out, everyone felt dispirited and depressed. Their final hope was the Best Individual award. However, everyone had a vague feeling that they had no chance in getting that award. The Best Individual award would certainly belong to a person who was all-rounded in terms of morality, intelligence, physical strength, and beauty. The person must have outstanding results and made special contributions in order to win this award. The person must be from Sports University or Superb Company. The top 3 winners of the Best Individual award were finally announced. The third- and second-ce winners would get a custom-made medal. The first-ce winner would get the opportunity to have dinner together with the General, Taylor Murray, and Ethan Winston. The prize for the first-ce winner certainly aroused the eagerness of many! It would be a great honor to be able to have dinner with the three idols! After having the meal, the winner would certainly be well-known all over the world! During the gaps between each cultural performance, the host would go on stage to introduce the next performance, and at the same time, she would announce one of the winners of the award. The third-ce winner was a boy from Sports University. His results were unbelievable, with almost perfect scores in all categories. However, in the peer rating session where the students were required to rate for one another, some of the students gave him bad reviews due to their jealousy of his usual excellent performance, causing him to be unable to get full marks. The second-ce winner was a boy from the Faculty of Architecture and Construction, who had led everyone to build a road during their rest time. He had also been given bad reviews by other students. Human nature was always unpredictable. Although everyone usually seemed friendly and caring for one another, some of them would reveal their true colors during anonymous rating sessions. As for the first-ce winner¡­ Chapter 126 Chapter 126 ¡°Do you guys want to know who is the first-ce winner?¡± The host intentionally winked at everyone. Everyone answered in unison, ¡°Yes!¡± However, the host unexpectedly yfully stuck out her tongue. ¡°Too bad. I¡¯m going to disappoint everyone because even I don¡¯t know who is the first-ce winner!¡± Everyone looked at one another in puzzlement. Could it be that the first-ce winner hasn¡¯t been selected? The host uttered, ¡°The champion of the military training this year is the only student with a perfect score!¡± Perfect score! This person must be amazing! The host continued on, ¡°The winner of the Best Individual award this year attained full marks for all categories, and this person didn¡¯t get any bad reviews from the peer rating session. The instructor gave this student full marks as well, and this student also has a high reputation among the students!¡± The students were excited. Who has the capability to get a perfect score during the peer rating session? All the students present were clear that it would be impossible to get full marks for this session. People who were jealous of others would always exist. Therefore, those who had excellence results or great performance would tend to get one or two bad reviews in the peer rating session. Anonymous rating was the mirror that reflected the true nature of humans! Therefore, who on earth managed to get a perfect score? Could it be that the person was a member from the Fletcher Family? Sophia, from Superb Company, was also in a daze as she tried to guess this person¡¯s identity. Is it me? On second thought, it¡¯s impossible. I fought and beat up another student in the barracks, and I was even confined. I¡¯ve made all possible mistakes, so I would be lucky if Michael can get 60 marks for me. Everyone was waiting for the host to announce the name, but she merely shook her head. ¡°This student is also hated by many. The General said that the first-ce winner of the Best Individual award this year will be kept a secret. We won¡¯t publiclypliment this person, but the General will contact this person in private.¡± The audience broke into an uproar as they burned in curiosity about that person¡¯s identity. Nevertheless, the host announced straight up that the cultural performance had ended. Joel, Ethan, Taylor, and the others left under the escort of the special forces, followed by Superb Company. Lastly, everyone else left in order. Sophia left with herpany as well. They were having a bonfire party at night, which would make a perfect yet romantic ending for their military training. As the winner of the Best Company award this year, Company 49 got the opportunity to have dinner with the General. This dinner was totally different from the usual dinners. A dinner in general would usually involve a man and a woman in a high-end restaurant, apanied by romantic candlelight and elegant piano music, with waiters in suits gracefully serving and cing their dishes gently on the table, while fragrance circted in the air. On the contrary, the dinner they meant here was that all members of Company 49 would have a chance to eat in the Third Canteen at the same table as Joel¡ªit was just a hasty meal in the canteen. Although it was just a hasty meal in the canteen together with Joel, it was still a great blessing! Two of them even cried out of excitement while eating. In the end, Company 49 had a group photo together with Joel. The photo was printed, and a copy was distributed to everyone. After the cultural performance had ended, Sophia dragged her exhausted body out for a meal before returning to her dormitory. It seemed that Superb Company was not involved in the bonfire party tonight, so she started to pack up her stuff to prepare to go home. After packing, she stood at the balcony and pushed out the window of the balcony before she quietly looked at the green barrack. After all, this was a ce she had stayed in for a month, and she might not have the opportunity toe back here. I¡¯m a little reluctant to leave¡­ At the neighboring balcony, Stanley was holding his phone, mumbling to himself while pacing back and forth, ¡°It must be me, it must be me. Uncle, hurry up and contact me! I¡¯m a well-behaved young man who saved other students from dangerous situations. Sophia can be my witness! God, Saint Mary and the angels, please bless me! Almighty Buddha, Amitabha, Amen!¡± Sophia only desired to lie down on the bed like a corpse. Michael had taken Nathan away just now; he had probably sent him back to school. She took out her phone and noticed that their ss¡¯ chat group was active. It might have been because everyone had gotten their phone back, so they started to post in the ss chat group. ¡®Arghhh! The General is so handsome! He¡¯s such a warm guy!¡¯ ¡®Hey, the person who texted before me, you looked hideous when you were crying just now!¡¯ ¡®I love the General the most!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a pity that my phone was not with me just now. Otherwise, I would have definitely asked if I could take a photo together with the General!¡¯ ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . ¡®It¡¯s such a pity!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s really such a pity!¡¯ The ss group had never been so harmonious yet active before this; her ssmates used to be cold to one another. The non-local and local students wouldn¡¯t mingle together, while the students from normal backgrounds and the rich kids hated each other. This might have been the purpose of the military training. Suddenly, someone kicked off the topic about Sophia. ¡®Where is Sophia? Does anybody know where she is right now?¡¯ Everybody instantly changed their topic of discussion. ¡®Yeah, where¡¯s Sophia? Those who have wide connections can ask around. If she really has been expelled, let¡¯s see if we can think of any ways to help her.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. After all, she tried her best to help us. Without her, we wouldn¡¯t have won the Best Company award, let alone have dinner together with the General.¡¯ ¡®Molly, hurry up and ask your grandfather, General Lawson.¡¯ Once their phones were back, they regained all their connections. When they didn¡¯t have their phones, they could only spread unconfirmed rumors around. But now that they had gotten back their phones, they could find out anything with just a phone call. Molly made a call and immediately returned to reply in the group, ¡®Everyone, don¡¯t worry. I found out from my grandfather¡¯s connections that nothing happened to Sophia! She is still enrolled in our university! She wasn¡¯t expelled, and she managed to pass the military training too!¡¯ ¡®Ah! That¡¯s great!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s a relief. Oh, it¡¯s gettingte. Let¡¯s hurry up and pack up and then go to the bonfire party tonight. Commander Ford once said that if ourpany managed to get the Best Company award, he would perform a h dance!¡¯ ¡®H dance!¡¯ Sophia suddenly had dozens of friend requests, where most of them were from her ssmates. She epted all their requests. All of a sudden, she saw a profile picture that shook her¡ªit was Joel! Joel: ¡®Congrattions. You are the first-ce winner of the Best Individual award this year. I¡¯lle and pick you up in front of your dormitory at 9.00PM tonight.¡¯ Sophia was dumbfounded. What? First ce? Me?! I fought during the military training, but I actually got first ce? Is there something wrong with the scoring system? Sophia tentatively asked, ¡®General, have you been mistaken? I was locked in confinement, so how could I have gotten a high score?¡¯ Joel directly forwarded her scores in the scoring system of the military training, which contained all the points that were added and deducted for each category. Five points were deducted from fighting and being locked in confinement. However, her positive personal influence to others, which included persisting to train while sustaining injuries, caring for other students, helping one another, and promoting good culture had generated an incredibly positive effect on the other students, causing all the students from herpany to give her a good rating. Afterbining all the items and some addition and subtraction of scores, she got full marks. The most important point was that she got a perfect score for the peer rating session. Chapter 127 Chapter 127 She was most probably extremely helpful when others needed it; in fact, at thest critical moment, there were rumors going on that she had been ¡®expelled¡¯. Hence, when it was time for peer evaluation, everyone subconsciously spoke highly of her while leaving a favorable review. I feel so guilty. Did I obtain my perfect score too easily? However, Joel informed me about this, and so it shouldn¡¯t have been a mistake. Did I really get first ce?! I¡¯m so excited! Sophia was so ted that she leaped around in joy in her room. However, she noticed a huge problem soon enough. The person who won first ce gets to have a meal with Joel! Oh, damn it! I was just saying today that I have to keep a safe distance from theirplicated and chaotic socialwork. How did I end up getting dragged into it again? The rich¡¯s socialwork is so complicated. It¡¯s better to stay far away from it for the sake of my life. Sophia replied meekly, ¡®I¡¯m not feeling well tonight. Can I not show up?¡¯ Joel replied to her, ¡®No.¡¯ Fine, it seems there¡¯s no room for discussion! I¡¯m innocent, though! I never wanted to be associated with their socialwork at all! I¡¯ll end up offending next door¡¯s Stanley and provoking Michael if I were to have a meal with Joel. It will cause a terrible domino¡¯s effect. Arghhh! I just want to be one of the audience observing this from the sidelines! Nevertheless, even if the prospect of my future is filled with cruelty and ruthlessness, I must charge forward! Sophia put down her skating board while adjusting her clothing. She was prepared to wait for Joel to pick her up. However, she had barely waited for a few minutes when she heard Stanley knocking against the door while wailing loudly, ¡°Sophia, you heartless thing,e out right now! I was kind enough to help you, but you won the first ce out of nowhere! You snatched away my uncle and my idol! You had bettere out now! Let¡¯s fight now! If you have the audacity to rob me of the first ce, why don¡¯t youe out right now? Open the door, Sophia!¡± Sophia was shocked to her core. Stanley caught wind of the news in such a short time. He sounds as if he is ready to strangle me to death! Their socialwork is soplicated. I haven¡¯t even had the meal, and Stanley is already causing a ruckus. He will most probably murder me if I have that meal with Joel! Sophia paced her room in a panic while trying toe up with a solution. Oh, my goodness. Oh, my God. I¡¯m in deep trouble. I¡¯m now in too deep, and I¡¯ll most probably drown sooner orter! At 9.00PM, Joel came in person to pick Sophia up. When Stanley learned that Joel had arrived, he came zooming out to cling onto Joel¡¯s leg. ¡°Uncle, why is it not me? I did so well!!¡± Joel smacked his face away. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Stanley was still howling when Joel snapped at him coldly, ¡°Do you want to get beaten up the second time?¡± Stanley immediately returned to his room with his tail between his legs while looking sorry for himself. Joel finally knocked against her door. ¡°Miss Edwards.¡± Sophia opened the door tentatively while scanning the surroundings. She asked suspiciously after confirming that Stanley wasn¡¯t around, ¡°Has Stanley left?¡± Joel nodded. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s left.¡± He was quite helpless when dealing with Stanley because thetter had always acted clingy. He clung onto Joel since he was a baby, and it went on into adulthood. He is so disgusting! Served him right to be beaten up! Sophia followed Joel and left apprehensively after confirming that Stanley had left. Along the way, she covered her face intermittently since she was afraid that people might recognize her. She asked worriedly, ¡°General, where are we having our meal?¡± ¡°The small cafeteria,¡± Joel answered her. She followed him and got into a military vehicle. After a half-an-hour drive within the campsite, they finally got out of the car to walk into a building. There was a restaurant inside that was unfamiliar to Sophia. It looked more like a restaurant than a cafeteria. The lighting and ambience were perfect. The gorgeous lighting was brilliant, and there was soft music ying slowly in the background. Joel walked in and found a ce to sit down. Sophia took her seat worriedly too. She observed the surroundings. The restaurant wasn¡¯t huge, and the decorations were splendid, but there weren¡¯t many people around. Sophia only saw a server when she entered the ce. In fact, they were the only customers there. This must be a high-end restaurant for military officers. Right now, we are the only two customers here. The server was wearing a military uniform too. The server handed them their menus, but Joel didn¡¯t even pay attention to it. He merely passed the menu to Sophia. ¡°Order whatever you want; it¡¯s my treat tonight.¡± Sophia kept her head bowed while her eyes darted to observe her surroundings. Finally, she nced at the menu. It¡¯s simr to civilian restaurants. There are western snacks and oriental dishes too. She ordered distractedly, ¡°A macaroni and a grilled steak.¡± Joel ordered as well. ¡°A sirloin steak.¡± The server took the menus away, leaving the two of them in therge and empty restaurant. The atmosphere felt rather awkward. Sophia kept her head down while staring unblinkingly at her fingernails. Joel was in his usual military attire. He took off his military uniform outerwear, revealing a green shirt and dark green necktie underneath. After that, he took his cap off and tugged against his necktie while staring intently at Sophia, as if he was intrigued. Why did Michael choose this young woman? However, she seems quite interesting now that I¡¯m taking a closer look. Silence hung between the two of them for some time. Joel finally took the initiative to break the silence. ¡°How long have you been together with Michael?¡± Sophia answered truthfully, ¡°Over a year.¡± Joel continued, ¡°I see that he treats you differently!¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Sophia shed him a silly grin. ¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Simultaneously, rm bells went off in her head. What did Joel mean by that? Why do I sense jealousy from him?! In fact, his tone reminds me of a legal wife warning a mistress to scare her off! The rich and wealthy have such aplex social circle! Don¡¯t do this to me! I¡¯m innocent! I have never thought ofpeting with Joel over a man! Sophia added hastily, ¡°Michael is always filming elsewhere. It¡¯s normal for him to not return home for days in a stretch or even half a month at times. I barely see him. I don¡¯t spend as much time with him as Harry does.¡± What I mean is that I¡¯m innocent! I¡¯ve barely seen Michael more than a couple of times since we got married! If you want to vent your frustrations, you should do that to Harry! They are joined at the hip during filming! He is the one who took Michael away, not me! A dull gleam shed across Joel¡¯s eyes when he heard that. Then, he fell into a silent pause, as if he was deep in thought. Is she trying to say that Michael has neglected her, and that she is feeling empty and lonely? Is this her subtle way of hinting me?! Sophia sighed in relief when she noticed Joel¡¯s thoughtful expression. Beat Harry up if you need to vent! I am the innocent one here! Joel continued with his questions. In fact, his second question was about Nathan. ¡°You seem to have a good rtionship with Nate.¡± Sophia was feeling nervous, and all sorts of thoughts started shing through her mind. Why is he asking about Nate? Could he be collecting information from me regarding Michael¡¯s n for his little boy? Is he doing that to get ready to go against his potential enemy in the future, Nate? My poor Nate! After weighing her options, Sophia answered him, ¡°Nate is still young now. Besides, he is still a child, and so he needs a mother. Michael has most probably married me in the hopes of providing Nate aplete family. He wants him to have a happy childhood.¡± What she meant was, Nate is still a child! Can you animals not drag him into this?! I am innocent too! I¡¯m just a nanny Michael brought home to look after the child! Joel paused while appearing deep in thought once again. Does Michael merely treat Sophia as a nanny? However, he seems to care about her a lot. In fact, he would always creep into the campsite secretly to meet up with her. She doesn¡¯t look like a nanny to me. Could this be another hint too? Chapter 128 Chapter 128 After chatting for a while, the back of Sophia¡¯s shirt was soaked with sweat. I can¡¯t go on hanging out with these important people. I¡¯ll end up dying from shock sooner orter! After a short pause, Joel continued, ¡°Michael has left the Fletcher Family for many years. He has never attended any of the family gatherings. What has he been busy withtely?¡± Ideas shed through Sophia¡¯s mind swiftly at this critical moment. She tried carefully analyzing what he was implying because she didn¡¯t want to miss any detail. Firstly, that was a query¡ª¡®What has that bastard Michael been busy withtely? Why hasn¡¯t he returned to the Fletchers to visit me? I¡¯ll destroy you if you don¡¯t answer me in detail!¡¯ Besides, it is a form of intimidation too¡ª¡®If you are able to answer me in detail, it means that you, the mistress, are showing off your rtionship with Michael! I¡¯ll destroy you anyway!¡¯ In conclusion, Joel is trying to destroy me! I can¡¯t help it since I¡¯m the wife of the man he loves! Sophia answered wittily, ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure, because I¡¯m usually looking after the child at home. I honestly have no idea what Michael does when he¡¯s not at home.¡± I am truly a responsible and dutiful nanny! Michael married me just to make sure Nate has aplete family! He honestly does not love me at all. You should destroy Harry if you need to vent your frustrations! Out of Michael¡¯s harem, Harry is the favored concubine. I am merely the legal wife for show without real power! Joel kept quiet once again. Michael¡¯s actions so far is proof that this girl means the world to him. He is unexpectedly very caring toward her. However, why does it sound as if Sophia doesn¡¯t think so? Am I mistaken? Could it be possible that Sophia isn¡¯t in love with Michael, and he is merely ttering himself? I am always interested in whatever Michael is interested in, and that includes military ranking, status and women. What I care about is how to take over Michael¡¯s possessions! He can¡¯t possibly me me for making a move to snatch this girl away from him if he truly cares about this young girl. Michael has himself to me, since he is such an outstanding man. I¡¯m always treated as second best within our generation in the Fletcher Family thanks to him. Being second best only means that I am the biggest loser! More often than not, men hadpletely different perspectives and outlook than women. At that moment, Sophia was screaming in her heart, Saint Mary, save me; Jesus, protect me; May God have mercy on me; angels, guard over me; Almighty Buddha, Amitabha, Amen! I truly have no interests in participating with these bigshots¡¯ love-hate rtionship! Please set me free and let me go! Michael only fancies men; he doesn¡¯t fancy women! Please don¡¯t take it out on me! Nevertheless, Sophia was unaware that soldiers were currently heavily guarding the outside of the restaurant. Michael was wearing a tuxedo, which made him look like a gentleman, paired with a stunning bowtie. He brought a bottle of red wine with him, and he looked especially like a gentleman showing up for a date. Harry and Nathan, who was wearing a dinner jacket, were nking him. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. The three of them were all dressed up brilliantly, as if they were going on a television show. However, when they arrived in front of the building, where Sophia and Joel were enjoying their meal, the three of them were blocked outside. ¡°Only those within the building are allowed to leave; no one is allowed to enter. General¡¯s orders.¡± Suddenly, several ck muzzles were pointed at the three of them. However, they didn¡¯t seem scared at all; in fact, even Nathan was unfazed. Michael rip apart his bowtie casually while asking the soldier, ¡°Hasn¡¯t it been agreed that I¡¯m having dinner tonight with the person from the military training who won the Best Individual award? Do you regret it now? You should know that I charge an exorbitant fee for showing up.¡± The soldier rejected him firmly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but no one is allowed to enter right now.¡± Nevertheless, they wouldn¡¯t dare make a move on Michael because he was the direct descendent of the Fletchers. Furthermore, he was from a long line of fallen heroes, and so the soldiers wouldn¡¯t possibly have the courage to attack him! Nathan did not say anything; instead, he took out a slingshot from his pocket and pulled the stic band taut. After that, a stone flew out and hit the restaurant¡¯s ss window. In the restaurant, Sophia had been sitting on pins and needles while anxiously hoping that something¡ª such as a sudden foreign troop invasion, where Joel would be summoned off into battle within the first three minutes¡ªmight happen to ease the awkward atmosphere. Suddenly, she heard a loud sound, and the ss window smashed into pieces on the ground. Sophia was so shocked that she ced her fork down and stood up abruptly. ¡°Enemy spotted!¡± Joel ced the fork down without rushing, and he stood up before walking to the window. His expression soured when he observed the situation downstairs through the window. ¡°What is it?¡± Sophia approached the window carefully. She was astounded when she saw the situation downstairs through the window. Downstairs, an entire troop of fully-equipped special forces surrounded three figures¡ªMichael, Harry, and Nathan. ¡°Nate!¡± Sophia cried in surprise. Oh, my God! Men are truly typical. When women disagree with each other, we get into verbal squabbles, whereas men get into fights! What earth-shattering conflict could have possibly happened between Michael and Joel?! Why would they hurt each other while dragging innocent bystanders along with them since they are in love?! I know that something huge must have happened between Michael and Joel. The two of them love each other, but they are trying to hurt each other. It is clear that they are in love, but they keep hurting one another. It would have been fine if they were merely hurting themselves, but they are actually hurting those around them. There are already countless heart-wrenching story endings going through my mind! But what on earth is going on right now?! Joel is having a meal with me, and he has been asking about Michael by beating around the bush. Michael is here to stop us after catching wind about our dinner. However, Joel sent arge troop of soldiers to stop them from entering the building! What is happening? This is too much to process. If it were up to me, I¡¯d choose death. Upon seeing Sophia¡¯s head peeking out from the broken window, Nathan immediately called for her pitifully, ¡°Mommy!¡± He even reached out his arms for a hug. Sophia felt her heart thudding against her chest. Nate has only addressed me as ¡®mommy¡¯ a handful of times. Thest time was when he was stunned to silence by the snake. He must be scared witless right now. Hence, she asked Joel hastily, ¡°What is happening? Why are you keeping them outside?!¡± Joel¡¯s expression changed drastically. Finally, he chuckled before answering her, ¡°No reason.¡± Joel signaled the soldiers downstairs, and the troop retreated swiftly in a disciplined manner. Nathan immediately dashed up the restaurant¡¯s second floor with loud, audible steps. Michael adjusted his handsome ck bowtie before slowly walking into the restaurant like a gentleman. Harry followed him closely from behind too. Suddenly, a figure came running toward them from afar. ¡°Arghhh! Uncle Joel, wait for me! I want to have dinner with you guys.¡± Stanley was wearing a snowy-white shirt, and he looked especially dashing with his crew cut. It was rare for him to dress up. The server was sweeping ss pieces from the ground when a small figure pushed the door open and dashed in. When Nathan saw Sophia after he rushed through the entrance, he threw himself into her arms excitedly. ¡°Mommy!¡± Sophia knew that Nathan must have been shaken after themotion earlier, and so she held him tightly in an embrace. ¡°Baby, I¡¯m here!¡± Those adults should keep their fighting and killing to themselves. Why on earth did they drag Nate into it? Nate is young! They are a bunch of beasts and psychos! They should go to hell! Chapter 129 Chapter 129 Sophia was criticizing them in her heart. On the other side, Nathan was clinging onto her, as if afraid that he might lose her. Earlier, Michael told him that if Joel seduced Sophia, Nathan wouldn¡¯t have a mother anymore! She was holding onto Nathan tightly as well while eximing in her trembling heart, Nate, I will protect you! I won¡¯t let the Devily a finger on you! Suddenly, she heard the sound of leather shoes tapping against the ground in rapid session. The door to the main entrance of the restaurant opened again before three men walked into the restaurant¡ª one after another. As soon as they entered, the whole restaurant felt dazzling and brilliant as if they exuded an unusual aura. Michael walked into the restaurant and saw the meticulously prepared but half-eaten candlelight dinner. However, he did not stop walking and made his way to the table like a gentleman instead. ¡°It seems like I¡¯m not thatte. Server, I¡¯d like to have the menu, please.¡± Sophia was delighted to see her savior and walked toward Michael with excitement. Sob, sob, sob¡­ Save me! Joel almost took advantage of me earlier! Now that the real master is here, you all should air your grievances and resolve it among yourselves. Joel looked exceptionally upset and it seemed that his carefully disguised facade was on the verge of crumbling. In the end, he sucked it up while forcing the corners of his lips to curl upward into a stiff smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you guys to show up tonight.¡± What is going on? Didn¡¯t I issue amand for them to be barred from the building?! How did they manage to enter the ground floor of the restaurant? Harry was just behind Michael. Having grown up together with Michael, he had experienced firsthand the gratitude and grudges between Joel and Michael. Once upon a time ago, when Michael hit rock bottom and was left with almost nothing, Joel had been cruel enough to snatch thest precious thing that the former had. Once an outstanding genius in all aspects was to show up in a family, the said person would be their peers¡¯ worst nightmare¡ªthis was especially true for the second best. Michael was the genius whereas Joel was the second best! It was no longer a nightmare, but rather an unshakeable hatred for them both. Hence, Joel wanted nothing more than to snatch everything that belonged to Michael. He was discontented after Michael had been transferred to the army with literary pursuits before finally leaving the military and would neverpete with him again. Harry found his seat and sat down while casually tugging his necktie in front of his chest. ¡°Didn¡¯t we agree to have a meal with the student who received the first ce for military training this year? Joel, why did you sneak here alone?¡± Stanley approached them to join in the fun as well. ¡°That¡¯s right; Uncle Joel, you¡¯re not being honest. You didn¡¯t even inform me! Hmph, you too, Sophia! Please don¡¯t be delusional to think that you are able to snatch my idol just because you received the first ce this year!¡± The atmosphere is intense and the battle is about to start! Oh, my, this is exciting! They have already started to diss each other! Sophia chuckled politely while taking Nathan to stay farther away from those group of people. The atmosphere was extremely awkward¡ªMichael took Sophia¡¯s seat from earlier whereas Joel took the seat across him. As they exchanged nces at each other, it felt as if sparks flew with a murderous aura surrounding them. Even Sophia, who was at a distance, could still sense the bone-chilling aura from them and wanted nothing more than to immediately leave! Nathan was leaning against her chest while grabbing onto the corners of her clothes, as if he was stopping her from leaving. Hence, she had no choice but to sit down and observe the eminent fight between the great gods. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Michael nced at the barely-touched dinner beforementing, ¡°Let¡¯s switch to arger table; at least one that will fit five people. The more, the merrier, after all. There are so many of us here and it will be embarrassing if there aren¡¯t enough seats.¡± Joel answered with a smirk, ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s switch to arger table.¡± Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. He is so overbearing. That¡¯s the unmistakable aggressiveness of a mogul! Is Michael reminding Joel not to be engulfed with jealousy over a couple of men and women? Is heparing having dinner together to his harem where it is better to have arger crowd? Does it mean that Joel is not the only one at the ¡®table¡¯, considering that Harry and Stanley are also present? Is Michael warning Joel to ept his ways as a husband while demanding that thetter ept his promiscuous nature and harem? She could almost imagine what had happened between them in the past. First, they were childhood friends who grew up together and geniuses tend to cherish each other. Hence, it was inevitable for them to have other feelings apart from family affection and friendship. However, Michael is a yboy, so he has been sleeping around. In fact, he has more than one man on the side. After learning the truth, Joel broke up with him. However, he just couldn¡¯t forget Michael because the more deeply in love you are with a person, the deeper your hate would be for them. Therefore, the two of them have embarked on a journey of love and destruction for more than a decade, which is why Joel does not have a girlfriend until now whereas Michael has a harem of numerous men and women. Yup, that must be it! Michael, the pervert, has gone overboard and he must have deeply hurt Joel. How can he say something as casual as ¡®the more, the merrier¡¯? It¡¯s already tricky to maneuver a rtionship when there¡¯s two people in it and here he is, demanding to have more people involved? Sophia¡¯s heart suddenly went out for Joel. Just when the two of them were giving tit for tat, Harry added, ¡°That¡¯s right. We, the people of Cethos, prefer an environment of the more, the merrier. What¡¯s the fun of two people having a meal?¡± She interpreted hisment as such, Who says that there can only be two people in a rtionship? Our traditional Cethos culture states that a man can have multiple spouses. Didn¡¯t they live a fulfilling life as well? Joel, you¡¯re the only one making a scene here! All those years ago, Michael must have been seduced by Harry, which is why he betrayed Joel. Michael tried to have the best of both worlds, but Joel refused topromise and that is why he went to the dark side! Stanley seemed discontented to stay silent, so he added, ¡°Alright, fine. It¡¯s just a meal and we are here to have fun. Come, I¡¯ll help out!¡± He found arger table in enthusiasm while helping to shift Sophia and Joel¡¯s cutleries to therger table before calling for her. ¡°Sophia,e, it¡¯s dinnertime!¡± Sophia looked shaken, but she held onto Nathan tightly while making her way to the table. Oh, damn it! It seems like Stanley has epted the default of ¡®the more, the merrier¡¯. He has been happily included as a member of Michael¡¯s harem and he seems delighted about it! She regarded Stanley¡¯s silly expression before a bold thought suddenly struck her. Stanley is infatuated with Michael. Could Michael have groomed him since he was a child? Upon considering this possibility, she started to break into cold sweat in horror. Ten years ago, Stanley was a 10-year-old boy whereas Michael would have been in his twenties. He must have started his habit of having his boytoys then. I can¡¯t believe he made a move on a younger rtive in his own family¡ªone who was only 10 years old at that time! That pervert! If he¡¯s arrested, he would be jailed for three years at least and might even receive the death sentence in the worst-case scenario! Michael no longer fancied Stanley once he grew up, so he adopted Nathan, whose parents have passed away, to maintain his perverted methods of grooming little boys. Pervert! He¡¯s a disgusting pervert! The richer they are, the more perverted they are! He should receive the death penalty to confiscate the tool used in the crime! After mulling things over, Sophia was so scared that she started to tremble uncontrobly. Cold sweat trickled down her back, and she held onto Nathan tightly reflexively. Nate is still a child and he is as pure as a piece of white paper. I can¡¯t allow a beast, such as Michael, to ruin him! I¡¯ll sacrifice myself if need be! The new table was a round table and the six of them sat around it. Nathan sat on her left whereas Michael sat on her right hand side, followed by Stanley and Harry. Everyone at the table was a big shot, so Sophia only had the courage to keep her head bowed while she had her dinner. While she had buried her face in her te as she gobbled down her meal, countless thoughts shed through her mind. Her dangerously busybody nature was eager for some action. I know that it has nothing to do with me, but I just can¡¯t help but wonder. Between Michael and Joel, who is the one on top and the one at the bottom? Chapter 130 Chapter 130 Judging by their powers, Joel should be the one on top because Michael always ys the more feminine character in movies. His image is an effeminate one and it¡¯s almost unshakable. He looks like the one at the bottom, no matter how you look at it. Besides, there is always fanfiction going around the Inte, describing Michael to be the one at the bottom. However, based on their aura, it¡¯s undeniable that Michael has a stronger aura. In fact, he is able to willingly radiate his aura. When he does so at full force, even Joel has no choice but to surrender. Maybe Michael is the one on top after all! After my analysis, it seems that the both of them might be on top. It might be a result of them not wanting to bow down to others. Could it be possible that they fell out over this reason and turned against each other? Ah, the rich and powerful folks have such aplex social circle! Sophia let her imaginations run amok; the more she thought about it, the more she felt afraid. Their food was served, so everyone started to eat. Who would be in the mood to eat under this kind of atmosphere? I¡¯m truly afraid that they will end up fighting with each other in the middle of the meal. It¡¯s fine if they are really fighting with their fists, but what if they start to brandish their wands in front of me? However, it was odd because everyone seemed to have their heads bowed while eating. In fact, it seemed as if that was the end of the discussion. Stanley was the only one dumb enough to ask, ¡°Uncle Joel, why did you give the first ce to Sophia, and not to me? I¡¯ll be jealous, you know.¡± ¡°Sophia, why are you sitting beside Uncle Joel? It makes me jealous! Here, Harry, have a drumstick.¡± ¡°Whoa, Nate! What¡¯s up with your stare? Are you jealous of me?¡± Sophia¡¯s imagination started to run wild again. Within Michael¡¯s harem, I am the Queen, so it¡¯s only natural that I¡¯ll get all the heat. Michael doesn¡¯t fancy me, but he needs a Queen to hold the fort; otherwise, the civil and military ministers might rebel against him. Harry is the gentle and gracious consort. After the ranking of consort, there are cuter and adorable rankings, such as Beauty, Virtuous Lady and Lady. Stanley is no doubt the cheerful and lively one. On the other hand, there is the presence of a general-like figure, who is in love with the Emperor, but holds a grudge against him due to his betrayal. He has a love-hate rtionship with the Emperor¡ªand that person is Joel! Aaaah¡ªthe Queen chooses death! Harry was not interested in the drumstick that Stanley offered. His eyes darted between Joel and Michael with an unreadable expression instead. In the end, he looked at Sophia. Since they were children, Joel has always loved to snatch everything that belongs to Michael. He even seems to have his eyes set on Sophia. This time, I have to guard her on Michael¡¯s behalf, no matter what it takes. Nevertheless, what¡¯s going to happen if Sophia wants to follow with Joel¡¯s wishes on her own ord? She is merely 20 years old¡ªthe age where she¡¯d easily be seduced. What will happen if Joel seeds in seducing her? Every year, Joel manages to somehow entice new students in the military training. It feels like seducing her is merely a walk in the park for him. Michael would most probably go on a killing spree if he can¡¯t keep Sophia to himself this time. I¡¯m still slightly worried about Sophia. After all, she is a wild youngdy. She actually blew a flying kiss to another man in front of her husband. Michael most probably wants nothing more than to murder Joel now! However, unbeknownst to anyone, Sophia was earnestly praying, Please don¡¯t brandish your wands in front of me! Please, don¡¯t. I am still a child¡ªan innocent and simple child at that! The dinner ended amidst Sophia¡¯s trembling body and the big shots shooting visual daggers at each other. Nevertheless, neither did they end up in a fight nor smack the table in anger or brandish their wands. On the contrary, everyone returned home after the meal. It was almost 11PM when they all made a move to leave¡ªSophia saw Gemma and Hale waiting outside once she exited the restaurant. Both of them were carrying Sophia and Nathan¡¯s suitcases. Michael left with Sophia and they held each of Nathan¡¯s tiny hands, making them look like a Michael led them into the vehicle that would be leaving the camp before turning to speak to Joel. ¡°Joel, thank you for looking after Nate and Sophia during this period. The military training has ended, so it¡¯s time for them to return home.¡± Joel shed an insincere smile. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Michael brought his missus, son, gay friends and two bodyguards to leave the barracks. On the other side, Stanley was also eager to leave with them, but he departed with his tail between his legs upon noticing Joel¡¯s re on him. Sophia, who was inside the car and on her way to leave camp, was still shaken, feeling as if she was on the verge of being murdered several times earlier. Ah, I feel as if I¡¯ve been reborn. Although Harry is in the car, the ¡®kind and benevolent¡¯ ¡®Consort Winston¡¯ is much better than Joel, the animalistic General. She stared at the direction in which the car was being driven to and it seemed as if they were on their way to Audistin. It¡¯s always slower to drive at night. I suppose it would take at least half an hour. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Nathan slept once he entered the car. He leaned against her and was soon fast asleep. After enduring such an eventful and stressful day, she felt utterly exhausted and found a random spot to rest her head before quickly falling asleep. She was able to grab any chance that she had to catch forty winks whenever she wanted after training for a few days in the Superb Company. However, the moment she closed her eyes, a hand gently supported her head as it guided her toward a shoulder. She opened her eyes while looking alert and saw Michael gazing at her tenderly. Sophia looked utterly shocked, so she did not dare to say a word. He caressed her hair softly while wrapping an arm around her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Go ahead and sleep. I¡¯ll wake you up when we arrive. No one will leave you behind.¡± She somehow felt relieved after hearing him say that and closed her eyes again soon after. When she was in Superb Company for a cross-country race, Sophia had fallen asleep while having a rest in the middle of a mountain hike, but her teammates did not wake her up when they left. Therefore, she was left all alone in the wilderness when sheter woke up. From then on, she¡¯d immediately wake up upon hearing noises, bing tense and alert. Michael gazed at Sophia¡¯s sweet expression when she was sound asleep and his eyes were filled with tenderness. He lowered his head to kiss her petite face that was slightly tanned from the sun. The military training hadsted for a month, so it meant that she suffered for the entire duration. She appeared to be thinner and malnourished; even her tiny face seemed tanned and sunburned with her skin looking dehydrated as well. On the other hand, Harry felt as if his body was glowing again. He was able to tell that Michael was truly in love with the youngdy. I have truly arrivedte this time. Since she is Michael¡¯s wife, I will help to protect her. Joel seems to have his eyes set on Sophia. He has plenty of opportunities if he wants to make a move in the future. Hence, I¡¯ll have to keep a close eye on Sophia. However, I can¡¯t stop them at all if she wants to be with him. Michael is finally putting himself out there again. I can¡¯t possibly allow someone else to destroy that! The car arrived at Audistin, but it seemed that either Sophia pretended to continue being asleep or that she was extremelyfortable leaning against Michael. Nevertheless, she did not wake up from her sleep and he carried her into the room instead. Once she got into bed, she turned to her side and fell asleep straight away. He knew that she was bushed and did not disturb her. He started to work, but tried to do so quietly, as if afraid that the sound of flipping the script might wake her up. She woke up at the crack of dawn the next day and removed her military outfit once she was out of bed. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the chance to wear this in the future. Despite that, I¡¯d like to treasure it and keep it safely. Sophia had her breakfast in Audistin that morning and started to get ready to return to Bayside City. Michael, on the other hand, woke up earlier in the morning to apply his makeup before heading off to work. He was so busy the whole day that he didn¡¯t have the time to send her off to the airport. Coincidentally, it was the weekend when she returned home, so she slept at home for most of the day in comfort and didn¡¯t wake up until it was time for dinner. After having her dinner, she prepared to log into the game to check things out. Nathan started to panic beside her. Chapter 131 Chapter 131 Nathan immediately came skipping out, but he pulled a long face. ¡°My dad¡¯s movie is premiering soon. Come and watch the movie with me!¡± We naturally have to catch Tay Tay¡¯s movie! Sophia used her phone to check the movie tickets online, but replied to Nathan with regret, ¡°Nope, only the pre-sale tickets are avable now. There¡¯s about another week or so before it¡¯s finally premiering!¡± He was adamant. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. It¡¯s today, for sure. Hale mentioned that it¡¯ll be screening in the movie theaters today!¡± Hence, she checked a few more movie theaters, but there were no tickets avable. Maybe there are live screenings? Sophia had no choice but to head out with Nathan and visited several theaters to inquire about it, but there were no avable tickets. Since Michael¡¯s new movie hadn¡¯t premiered yet, she could only select an animated one and apany Nathan to watch it. After that, they loitered at the mall before heading to the streets for a game of bamboo hoops that cost more than 100. It was alreadyte at night by the time they arrived home. Early next morning, she thought of ying the game again, but he suddenly appeared while gazing at her in disdain. ¡°Just look at you. You are so sunburned that you look like a piece of charcoal. You are such an eyesore!¡± Sophia had a look of herself, realizing with a start that she was indeed tanner than before. She was afraid that Nathan would dislike her appearance, so she made a phone call to a beauty salon to make reservations for a whitening package. He tagged along for the appointment and kept an eye while shepleted her whitening package. Then, he urged her to have a foot bath and full body massage. It was already in the afternoon when they left the beauty salon, so she started to look for an Inte caf¨¦ to y games. He wore a sour expression,menting, ¡°There are only instant noodles in the Inte caf¨¦. I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m not going there.¡± Sophia had no choice but to abandon her ns since he did not like it. Well, let¡¯s go home to y games then. After all, ourptops and the Inte at home are much more powerful and faster than the one offered in the Inte caf¨¦. However, once they arrived home, Nathan looked upset when she sat in front of herptop. ¡°I knew you would want to y games. You don¡¯t care about me at all! Someone stole my ount, but you wouldn¡¯t even get it back for me!¡± From then on, she did not bring up the topic of ying games again. In the current era where there was fastwork connection, news spread like wildfire on the Inte, no matter what it was. Bayside University had their own student forum with many active users on the tform. Hence, the forum would start to buzz once rumors were started on campus. There were many sections in the forum¡ªwith the most popr ones being the gossip segment, novel exchange, fantasy beauty football, etc. Besides, there were also sections for wealthy students, such as the section for car talks. Nevertheless, the most active section was the gossip segment. Once themencing students hadpleted their military training for that year and had their cellphones returned to them, they started to spam the gossip segment. Several main posts on the first page erupted in poprity in a very short period. The traffic andments rocketed upward.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. ¡®Shocking news! This year, Young Master Fletcher has actually presented himself as a reward for the winner of the Best Company Award!¡¯ ¡®A biography of a girl from Company 49: I had dinner with Michael Fletcher.¡¯ ¡®Does anyone know where Sophia Edwards is?¡¯ ¡®Conjectures about the identity of the winner of the Best Individual Award for this year¡¯s military training.¡¯ ¡®Friends who failed the military training,e here and join me.¡¯ ¡®Requesting for the handsome Superb Company¡¯s contact details.¡¯ Sophia read the forum posts at home. The Bayside University¡¯s forum was a private forum, which meant that the university students had to log in with their student IDs. Therefore, the users on the forum were no doubt Bayside University students. There were many gossips during the military camp for the current year¡¯smencing students. Having that dinner with Joel has stirred up such amotion. Besides, those dramas like the legal wife putting the mistress in their ce and yboys being involved during military training¡ªhence the forum has especially been active for the past two days. Sophia clicked on ¡®The overbearing young master fell for me¡¯ to check it out. It was a homosexual novel portraying Taylor Murray and Joel Fletcher, where the evil Emperor was the best actor on top with the passionate special force soldiers at the bottom. Oh, my God! This is so exciting! Although it¡¯s quite a stretch from the truth, which I¡¯m aware of. From everybody¡¯s point of view, Taylor and Joel were a Best Actor and a military figure respectively. Hence, the two of them had not been previously associated with each other. In fact everyone assumed that it was their first encounter. Even though it may have been such, everyone¡¯s imaginations were already running wild with all sorts of possibilities. Simultaneously, Richard was also browsing the forum and mainly reading the post on ¡®Does anyone know where Sophia Edwards is?¡¯. The post had discussed what happened that night. After that, it was revealed that Sophia was the one who whacked Faye beforepletely disappearing. No one knew where she went or saw her when they left the barracks. She was the only missing one in the vehicle for Company 49. However, those from Company 49 imed that she did not disappear and was not expelled either. However, everybody assumed that it was the end of Sophia because it would not have ended well for her, considering that she beat up someone from the Edwards Family. He read all of thements in the forum. Most people analyzed andmented that Bayside University had most probably already expelled Sophia. In fact, they seemed confident with their ims. He had also sent a message to Sophia on Messenger to rify about that point, considering that she did not answer his phone calls. Furthermore, she did not reply to the questions posted on her social tforms, such as Skype and Twitter as well as on the forum. There was nothing on Sophia¡¯s IG Stories as well. Richard was sure that Sophia must have received zero marks for the military training and expelled in the middle of the training. She might still be attending school at Bayside University, but she has already offended the Edwards Family. Hence, she probably won¡¯t survive long at university too. The Edwards Family merely have to say the word and Sophia would forever disappear from Bayside University. In fact, they could instantly make her vanish from the face of the Earth. He browsed through the news in the forum; the more he read about Sophia, the more worried he became. However, he was helpless. Why on earth did Sophia offend the Edwards Family? She even whacked Miss Faye so badly that she suffered a nosebleed and had to be sent out of the military camp for treatment. I wonder how Faye is now; maybe she didn¡¯t survive the beating. After reading the gossip, Richard closed his Inte browser and opened some work documents. He had left for half a month, so there was a pile of documents that he needed to peruse. Suddenly, a pair of fair and small hands pushed open the study¡¯s door. Then, a pair of fine, diamond- encrusted stilettos walked lightly across the dark red carpet to enter the study. He had a whiff of the light lemon fragrance, so he looked up from hisptop and saw a girl wearing a white dress, standing by the entrance. The girl¡¯s fair and wless skin radiated under the illumination of the study¡¯s lights. Her intricate and near-perfect facial features gave her an almost elf-like appearance. ¡°Richard¡­¡± X walked into the study in tiny steps and herrge eyes somehow sparkled. Richard stared at her with wide eyes, seemingly in awe. His eyes werepletely glued to her slender figure and it was reflected deep in his heart. In fact, he felt that his brain was deprived of oxygen since he had lost his ability to think. ¡°X.¡± He stood up abruptly and walked to X, as if doing so on auto-pilot. X bit her lower lip and tears started to pour from her eyes while sounding aggrieved. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want me anymore, Richard.¡± Looking at how pure and perfect she was, he forgot about Sophia in the blink of an eye. He wrapped his arm around her waist gently while quietly reassuring X, ¡°How could that happen? I am your boyfriend.¡± ¡°Richard! Hehe!¡± She threw her arms around Richard in happiness and wept for joy. ¡­ On the other hand, Nathan was monitoring Sophia while she was online because he was worried that she might start ying that game again. However, he fell asleep while he was keeping an eye on her. Sophia gently ced him on the bed before returning to herptop. She was engrossed in the homosexual novel that portrayed Taylor Murray and Joel Fletcher. Once she had finished reading it, she started to look for other novels in the novel exchange segment. Michael and Harry seem to be a natural pairing for homosexual fantasies. They had merely showed up during the cast and crew meet-and-greet and the joint performance, but there are already homosexual fanfictions about them in less than a day. In fact, there are several literature pieces on them. There are different pairings like Joel and Harry, Harry and Taylor as well as Taylor and Joel. There are also polygamy storylines too. I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s one portraying Taylor and Nathan; that¡¯s like grooming a little boy. ¡°Damn it, get out of here!¡± Chapter 132 Chapter 132 After Sophia read the content, she was so furious that she mmed the table and rose to her full height. Nate is such a young child! It¡¯s already enough that he is ruined by Michael, but these fujoshis still included him in their wild imaginations! I can¡¯t tolerate this anymore! Then, she quickly contacted Hale. ¡°Ask someone to delete the post in Bayside University¡¯s forum with the ID1315455. Damn it! What the hell was that?¡± After calling him, Sophia kept refreshing the forum page while waiting for the ¡®Taylor Murray x Nathan Fletcher¡¯ post to disappear. Hale had no interest in reading any homosexual fanfictions. Since it was rare for her to order him to do something, he took a nce at it after finishing the mission, curious at the thing that caused so much hate in Harry and Michael. With that, Hale opened a new wormhole that he never knew existed¡­ In the fanfictions, a few of his bosses were engaged in different actions. To him, it was something he had never seen before, so it was rather interesting to be reading about it. The more he read them, the more interested he was¡ªuntil he saw a fanfiction titled ¡®Taylor Murray x Bodyguard¡¯. Some pictures were also attached to that piece. The pictures were taken a while ago by fans when Hale held an umbre for Michael. Back then, Michael¡¯s character was a mafia boss, so he was dressed in a fierce attire with a cigarette in his mouth as props. On the other hand, Hale was dressed in all ck while holding up the umbre for him. At that instant when they were photographed, Michael was saying something to him with a frown, looking unhappy. Hale lowered his head, looking as if he had done something wrong and was aggrieved. That picture spread like wildfire on Taylor Murray¡¯s fan page, bing the basis of dozens of fanfictions¡­ This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Finally, he had personally experienced the terror of being one of the characters in the fanfiction. Sophia stayed in front of theptop and continuously refreshed the page, finally breathing a sigh of relief when the post about Nathan had disappeared. She turned to look at him¡ªhe was sound asleep in his nket with a frog printed on it Seeing his chubby and pinkish cheeks, he was undeniably cute, no matter from which angle she looked from. Oh, how can someone simply be so cute? I just want to cuddle him and pinch him on his cheeks. After looking at his sleeping face for a long time, she decided to protect him as his mom. Even if she had to sacrifice herself, she also wanted to protect him from being ruined by Michael, that Beast. After her firm resolution, she continued to monitor her stocks¡ªher goal was to earn as much money as she could until she was financially stable to protect Nathan. Suddenly, her iPad chimed as she received countless friend requests on Messenger. After clicking to open all of them, a handful of friend requests sent by Sophia¡¯s ssmates flooded her page¡ªincluding the ones from Sean and Sarah, whom she had encountered at the army training. She epted their requests happily. Apart from them, one of the requests had surprised her. It was from X, whose profile picture was an intimate selfie of her and Richard. Her alias was ¡®XxRichard¡¯, as if she couldn¡¯t wait to tell the entire world that she was now dating Richard. Sophia simply epted the request with her real name as her alias. However, as soon as she epted it, X flooded her inbox with many messages. ¡®Sophia, it was because of my immaturity in the past that I¡¯ve done many wrong things to you. I¡¯m sorry and I hope you will ept my apology.¡¯ After ncing at it, Sophia did not bother to reply and ced her iPad aside. Then, she continued to look at the stock market and housing prices. The few stocks that she had invested in gained returns and construction was about to be started on the piece ofnd that Michael had invested in. Its Feng Shui was appraised by Daniel, who imed that it will bring good luck upon them. On top of that, the location was very strategic and she would definitely profit from it once the construction had beenpleted. Sophia looked at the stocks happily while eyeing her iPad from time to time and noticed that X had sent her many weird messages. ¡®Sophia, Richard and I are about to be engaged. How are you recently? Let¡¯s hang out soon. He wants to see you.¡¯ On X¡¯s profile page, she even posted many pictures of her and Richard, as if she wanted to intentionally show off her rtionship to a certain someone. How disgusting. Sophia ignored her, but her iPad kept vibrating from the silly GIFs that Stanley sent her. ¡®Sophia; dear Sophie, where are you? Let¡¯s hang out together! I¡¯ll bring you to speed down the road! Come on, let¡¯s have fun!¡¯ She ignored him, so he stopped after sending a few more messages. Suddenly, she received a text message notifying her that a huge amount of money with multiple zeros had been deposited into her bank ount. Michael had concurrently messaged her. ¡®Chica, keep the pocket money that I just gave you and take care of our son.¡¯ Holding the phone, she bowed three times in the direction of the filming crew. Michael is as generous as usual! Apart from giving her a limitless credit card, he would also give her money that was worth six to seven digits on a monthly basis without any excuses. How good would it be if he is not a psychopath! Based on the money that he¡¯s given me, I¡¯ll have to force myself to slightly love him. Sophia counted the money that she had in her ount at the current moment. She usually wouldn¡¯t spend a lot and stayed in Michael¡¯s house, where he handled all of her expenditure on food. All the clothes and cosmetics that she needed, she would obtain them from the butler in bulk. Even when she yed her games, she would ask Hale to buy more credits for her and im it from Michael. All of the money that Michael gave to her was used to invest in stocks and real estate. The money that she had with her at the moment was worth tens of millions. However,pared to him, she was nothing at all. Sophia still did not know exactly how much Michael was worth. At that moment, she was only aware that he was the secret person in charge of Asco International, a Fortune 500pany, and one of the biggest customers of Audistin. He was also the anonymous name that all the millionaires in Bayside City feared. Apart from that, officially speaking, he was the stakeholder of many corporations as well as an Academy Award-winning Best Actor, whose pay was worth a staggering amount of money. He was even knighted by the Queen of the United Kingdom and listed on the list of top 20 richest celebrities. Aaaah! His power is so immense that it¡¯s unreasonable! It will still take such a long time to be able to be on par with him, let alone to protect Nate! With that, Sophia was trapped in a dilemma sullenly¡­ The freshmen of Bayside University had returned to campus. Every year, when the school reopened for another academic semester, everyone would be excited, turning the entire campus into a very lively ce. Bayside University buzzed with activity at such an early time in the morning. There was a hive of activity in Economics I of the School of Economics and Business Administration since the morning. After enduring a month¡¯s worth of training, everyone in the ss had unknowingly and slowly built up a friendship with each other. On top of that, they even had a meal with Taylor Murray and even took a picture with them as a result of theirpany, Company 49, being awarded with the Best Company Award. Hence, everyone was beyond excited. The ss representative had printed out the group photograph and sent it to everyone, making them even more excited and causing them to discuss this loudly in the entire ssroom. After sending the photographs to everyone, there was still one left. Looking at the remaining picture that no one collected, the ss representative felt rather disappointed. It belonged to Sophia. Although she was not in the picture, he still took the initiative to edit her into it. If it hadn¡¯t been for her, Company 49 would not have been nominated as the Best Company. Yet, she did not have the chance to receive the glory with the rest of them. In the final session where studentsmented on each other¡¯s performance, since everyone knew that Sophia was expelled from the training, all of them gave her the highest score. Surprisingly, none of them had given her any negativement. Chapter 133 Chapter 133 Apart from the Fletchers, she was probably the first student who did not receive any negative reviews. The ss representative sighed. Upon hearing that, the excited discussion earlier ceased and everyone suddenly became silent as they remembered Sophia. It was almost time for the lecture to start, but she was nowhere to be seen. What¡¯s wrong? Has she been expelled? The ssroom, which was loud earlier, suddenly became deadly silent. Suddenly, a voice rang. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why isn¡¯t there any sound?¡± Turning to the source of the sound, everyone saw Sophia standing by the door. After a few days of not seeing her, she seemed to be even prettier¡ªshe wore a white off-shoulder chiffon top and a pair of jeans that entuated the beautiful outline of her thighs. Her small, exquisite face looked confused and she had a pair of sunsses on her head while carrying a small ck backpack as she looked at everyone with wide eyes. Everyone rushed to her. ¡°Sophia! You¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Gosh, Sophia, this isn¡¯t a dream, is it? You¡¯re indeed here!¡± ¡°Where have you been for the past few days?¡± Upon facing everyone¡¯s questions, she did not reply to them and merely said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t been expelled. I¡¯ll be studying with you in the future!¡± As everyone surrounded Sophia, they began to chat with each other happily. The cohort seemed to have experienced a unity that never existed before. When everyone gathered, there seemed to be no difference between an average student and an elite student. At least they were one in that moment. ¡°Here, Sophia, this is for you.¡± The ss representative passed thest copy of Company 49¡¯s group photograph with Michael to Sophia. Looking at the image of her being edited into the picture, a warm feeling flowed through her heart. News of her return spread like wildfire around the campus and everyone came to their lecture hall to take a peek at her before a live video soon appeared on the university¡¯s forum. Everyone knew that Sophia had received a military credit score of 0. Even though they would never be able to know the military credit score, they were aware that it would not be long until she was expelled due to her actions of offending the Edwards Family. Some of Faye¡¯s ssmates had mentioned that she was not recovering well. Of course, she would not reveal the fact that Faye was undergoing a rhinosty to fix her crooked nose as a result of being punched. The surgery was rather difficult and on top of that, it was not done in Cethos, so she had to fly abroad for the procedure. That piece of news had been exaggerated to the point where it sounded like Faye was on the brink of death and could die at any moment. However, regardless of that, the Edwards Family would never let Sophia off the hook. In a nutshell, Sophia hadnded herself in big trouble. Sooner orter, she would be expelled and the public was merely waiting for the time to arrive. X also never expected that Sophia would still show up on campus and deliberately called Faye to report this and test her reaction. On the other side of the phone, Faye was heartbroken, yelling, ¡°Sophia Edwards! I will never forgive her! Never! I want her to disappear from this world, sooner orter!¡± X had no idea what had exactly happened between them, but judging from Faye¡¯s tone, she could not wait to devour Sophia alive. No matter what, Sophia can¡¯t escape this time! Everyone had been saying that Sophia would not be able to be in Bayside University for a long time. However, as the main character of the rumors, nothing seemed to have affected her. She continued to attend lectures on a daily basis and ride away on her Yamaha bike once sses were over. Michael¡¯s filming at Audistin had already concluded, but he went to different locations to film other scenes. Since he wouldn¡¯t be returning home for some time, she lived like she was a free bird. After returning to campus for a few days, her tanned skin was as fair as snow again, making her stand out from the crowd. On every asion that she appeared, there were guys who looked in her direction. However, no one dared to date her since she had many troublesome issues. Whoever became involved with her would be dragged into the mess as well. Sophia was a loner in university as well. asionally, she would be seen hanging out with Nathan, but apart from him, she was never close with other guys. As for her ex-boyfriend, Richard, everyone had noticed his actions¡ªbut in a different way. She was constantly alone whereas X and him were always together. They would arrive on campus together and head home together. No matter what ss they had enrolled in, they clung together like a pair of Siamese twins. As Ka had broken her leg, she had been recuperating at the hospital, so the promised charity birthday party organized by the Harper Family was postponed. A few days before her birthday, he went to Sophia¡¯s lecture hall everyday to wait for her with X apanying him. The weather in November had gradually turned cold. Wearing a white sleeveless top made from rabbit fur, X held onto Richard¡¯s arm as she spoke. Even though he had now been waiting for Sophia for a few days, she was nowhere to be seen. Hence, he became impatient and annoyed, but X said in a kindhearted yet naive tone, ¡°Richard, let¡¯s wait for a while more. The incidents that ured between the three of us were rather unhappy, so we need to straighten things out with her. Otherwise, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life. Since we¡¯re getting engaged soon, without Sophia¡¯s forgiveness, I really can¡¯t be engaged to you.¡± Richard touched her nose lightly with his insides bing as soft as a marshmallow. ¡°You are always so kind,¡± he said lovingly. Moved by her, he couldn¡¯t help himself but to hug her. Then, he said gently while caressing her long, soft hair, ¡°It¡¯s my greatest pleasure to meet a kind girl like you.¡± ¡°Richard, you are the best present that God has given me.¡± When the crowd heard X¡¯s words, they thought, How disgusting! Suddenly, a beautiful figure passed them by and he quickly took a few steps forward. ¡°Sophia!¡± Sophia had been revising for an entire afternoon, so she looked exhausted with her bare face. She looked at them as if they were strangers and simply asked, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± X started to speak first. ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s our fault¡ªmine and Richard¡¯s¡ªfor everything that happened during the military training. I¡¯m sorry for causing you to be grounded and expelled¡­¡± Sophia was very busy at that time. As she slung her backpack over her shoulders, she wore her helmet for the bike. ¡°Alright, I understand. I don¡¯t me you guys. I¡¯m quite busy now, so I have to leave soon.¡± Richard walked forward and grabbed her arms. ¡°Sophia, can you give us more time? We need to clear some things with you.¡± He could no longer tolerate her little ns. During the military training, she seemed to have created some rumors of them reconciling, making X distrust him. For example, Sophia¡¯s hickeys that night. After knowing that he was in the medical bay, she had also deliberately stayed there for a night to intentionally create rumors to make X sad. He knew that Sophia¡¯s action was intentional and the reason why she did it was to reconcile with him. He knew that she still wanted to be with him, but he was unable to stomach her tricks. She would run away everytime he and X wanted to talk it out. To him, she was trying to create opportunities to hurt X and destroy their rtionship. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Chapter 134 Chapter 134 Richard decided not to let Sophia escape anymore; hence, he grabbed her arms and spoke to her in a serious tone, ¡°Sophia, I have decided to marry X and she¡¯s the only person whom I will marry. We have decided to be engaged. Let bygones be bygones, shall we? I hope you can have a happy life and find the perfect one for you.¡± She had no idea why the both of them suddenly looked at her and said those baffling words. While lowering her head to look for her keys, she nodded carelessly. ¡°Okay.¡± Richard knew that she was merely brushing them off and still scheming to destroy their rtionship. He held her arms tightly as his tone became more serious. ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s impossible for us to reconcile. Both X and I are about to get engaged, so we hope you can give us your sincere blessings.¡± Sophia had finally found her keys, but he was still tightly grabbing onto her. She kept her patience and expressed herself in a clear but serious tone, ¡°I hope you have a happy engagement as well as a long and happy life together. I also understand that our rtionship is in the past now. For everything that happened in the past, just let it slide. After all, we were all so young and immature. It would have been normal for us to hurt each other back then.¡± Her words had left him stunned. Her reply is so straightforward! It doesn¡¯t resemble her at all! She must be trying to brush it off while having some ns in her mind! Grabbing her arms, he looked at her solemnly. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m not messing around with you. I hope you can leave the past and start a new life. It¡¯s impossible for us to be together anymore.¡± X also added, ¡°Yes, Sophia. There¡¯s no point in pestering Richard. There are so many talented guys here at Bayside University. You can totally find yourself another man.¡± Sophia, who had been blocked by them, looked at the sky in speechlessness. How can I make them believe that I¡¯m not interested in Richard and being his wife anymore? Do I really have to beat them up again? She tried to break free from Richard¡¯s grip, but he still held onto her tightly. ¡°Sophia, I want you to swear that you won¡¯t pester us anymore. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you go.¡± As it was after her lecture, many people were looking at the three of them. She realized that apart from punching him, there was no other evidence to show him that she was already over him. Hence, she quietly raised her fist. Suddenly, a mboyant country metal music boomed in the distance while getting closer to them. Then, a punk-styled ck motorcycle stopped right next to Sophia, making her annoyed with the heavy beats sting in her ears. A man sat on the motorcycle, wearing a set of punk attire in ck with long pants and ck boots. His entire body was full of studs, revealing a ck belt with many piercings with his leather jacket unzipped. The man removed his ck helmet to reveal a sharp face. Thinking that he was handsome, he touched his shaved head and turned. A piercing in his left ear shone, matching his look with the punk motorcycle and the beat of the country metal music. He looked like a non-mainstream young man, who had just returned from the construction site after moving bricks. He was rather annoying when he spoke. ¡°Yo, Sophia! What are you doing here?¡± While speaking, he turned off the loud, sting music. Sophia stoically looked at Stanley. Taking advantage of Richard¡¯s surprise at Stanley¡¯s arrival, she quickly removed her arm from his grip and coldly replied, ¡°Nothing. Just speaking with my ex here.¡± This fe was in normal attire in the army. I can¡¯t believe that he looks like this in university. If his uncle sees the way he looks right now, he will definitely break his leg! Even though he¡¯s no longer in the military, he is still part of the Fletcher Family and his parents are professors in Bayside University. On top of that, he is a senior engineer who has retired from the military with an older brother who¡¯s already a lieutenant in the army. No matter what, this fellow should not look like he is someone from the countryside holding a blue cor job! After all, hees from a top military family that¡¯s almost as wealthy as a country, the Fletcher Family. On top of that, he¡¯s also Joel¡¯s biological younger cousin and the direct heir of the Fletcher Family! I know that the people from the Fletchers family are quite ¡®low-profile¡¯, but I didn¡¯t expect it¡¯s too this extent! His arrival had shocked everyone there, considering that Bayside University was a solemn and prestigious ce. For good or for bad, his arrival immediately made him stand out from the crowd as he was a punk guy with a shaved head. However, he was definitely good-looking enough to attract all the girls near him. Looking at Stanley, Richard became immediately vignt, especially after hearing him saying ¡®Sophia¡¯. Subconsciously, he asked in the tone of her boyfriend, ¡°Who is this?¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. ¡°Her current boyfriend!¡± Stanley hugged Sophia¡¯s shoulders as he replied loudly. Sophia rolled her eyes and forced herself to admit to it. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my current boyfriend.¡± Now that I have a boyfriend, is it enough to prove that I no longer have wild fantasies of Richard? However, Richard still appraised Stanley from head to toe. This punk, non-mainstream guy obviously did note from a decent background in Richard¡¯s opinion. Hence, it made him feel terrible. Although he was about to be engaged with X, he subconsciously felt disappointed and angry when he heard that Sophia had another boyfriend. How can this punk guy be good enough for Sophia? Only someone with my talents and looks will suit her! Is Sophia giving up on herself? Did she decide to torture herself after she couldn¡¯t be with me? However, X felt that a b*tch like Sophia suited a punk guy like Stanley, so she congratted them. ¡°I see. Seems like you guys had already started dating during the military training. Congrats and I send you all my blessings.¡± However, she could not hide her contempt and disgust in her eyes. Sophia nodded. ¡°Thanks. Our rtionship is going well. I shall head off first.¡± She rode on her motorcycle and sped off after starting the engine. Stanley chased after her with his punk-looking motorcycle. Amid the ring beats, he yelled anxiously, ¡°Hey, Sophia! Why are you so ruthless? Wait for me!¡± Both the motorcycles sped away. Looking at the disappearing figures of the pair of them, Richard did not feel too good, but he couldn¡¯t describe his feelings right now. Even though he wanted Sophia to give up on him, he felt that an important piece of him was missing when she had finally moved on. Sophia did not have any lectures in the afternoon, she nned to head to the gym before returning home. However, Stanley chased after her and they were unknowingly out of the Bayside University campus at that moment. ¡°Hey, Sophia! Where are you going? Come, I¡¯ll bring you to have some fun!¡± A traffic light was in front of them, so she stopped to wait for the red light while replying in disgust, ¡°I won¡¯t go.¡± However, he did not give up. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Nate says that you¡¯re also ying the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯! I¡¯m going to y the game too! Do you know that it¡¯s going to be the first anniversary of the game? There¡¯s an anniversary event that¡¯s going to happen soon and it onlysts for 12 hours. It starts from noon to midnight and you will gain twice the experience. On top of that, there will be a greater chance to obtain legendary items, and there are many other activities going on, like fights between ns. Let¡¯s go and y together! Come on!¡± Chapter 136 Chapter 136 Sophia was moved by his invite. It had been a long time since she had yed the game and Nathan was still in his lectures, so she did not have to take care of him. Why don¡¯t I y a few rounds? However, Nathan¡¯s ount was still in Scary Phoenix¡¯s hands and everyone else in Sophia¡¯s n had all been frightened away, leaving only one wife behind. She wondered how her wife was doing in the game. She must have married someone else. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go!¡± Her interest was piqued, so she followed Stanley to the cyber cafe. When they switched on theputers in the cyber cafe, he asked, ¡°Hey, Sophia, which server area are you in? Come to the Bayside server, I¡¯ll show you around.¡± While showing her identity card to the administrator for thetter to switch on theputer for her, she said, ¡°It¡¯s a secret. Let¡¯s y alone.¡± What a coincidence! This guy is also from the Bayside server? F*ck, I might have even beaten him in the game before. I must not let him know that I¡¯m also on the Bayside server. Whenever she went to the cyber cafe to y, she always booked a private room. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was an exceptionally popr game¡ª7 out of the 10 people there were ying it at that moment. Since they were all in Bayside City, they would y on the same server. So, it was very probable that she would meet some of her enemies in real life. After they entered the room, there were only twoputers opposite to each other, so they each used one. When they sat down and wore their earphones, Stanley spoke as he started the game, ¡°Sophia, why don¡¯t you y it alone first? Once I¡¯ve sorted out my n, I¡¯ll bring you to kill monsters.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Sophia pouted without saying anything. I¡¯m The Most Handsome and Wealthiest in the entire server. Do I even need your help? After wearing the earphones, Stanley entered the game¡ªhis vibe immediately changed from a punk, young guy to an elder in the game. The moment he logged on, the system immediately announced, ¡®Snow Fox, n Master of the Mountain n had logged on¡¯. His avatar in the game was a swordsman who wore a jacket made of white fox fur and all his weapons had attributes of ice. One of his attacks, ¡®Centurial Freeze¡¯, had killed the n master of an enemy n within seconds. Seeing that it was a yearly event of the Swordsman Game, it was a huge festival in the game. On top of that, the events were bing more organized each time. For the current year, the game servers were busy as many inactive yers reappeared once again. The number of people logging onto the Swordsman Game¡¯s serves had reached a new high. Once Snow Fox appeared, he immediately attracted everyone¡¯s attention. On the particr server, there were too many popr characters¨Capart from Scary Phoenix, who previously pretended to be dead, No. 1 Beast of the Server, and Sirius233, there were also honest people like Snow Fox. Scary Phoenix was a legendary character whereas Sirius and the Beast were tyrants in the game. On the other hand, Snow Fox was a genuine honest character in the game, who was well-respected by others because of his integrity and skills. He was decent and powerful, killing many of the evil ns. During the anniversary event, there was a new event to exterminate all the evil characters and they had to choose a powerful character to be the n master of the game. Of course, the first character that appeared in everyone¡¯s mind was Snow Fox. However, rumors swirled that he had joined the army and disappeared for almost two years before recently reappearing. Today, many yers had taken the opportunity to gather at the Hall of Honor of the Mountain n to discuss the extermination of evil in the game during the anniversary event. Truth be told, Snow Fox did not want to be involved in it. While in the Hall of Honor, he addressed everyone present. ¡®I think I better not be involved in Sirius¡¯s killing. As of now, Scary Phoenix is still looking for him. Since he has set his sights on Sirius, it doesn¡¯t seem appropriate for us to attack him.¡¯ Scary Phoenix had already proposed to Sirius, obviously nning to insult him. If Snow Fox were to suddenly attack Sirius, it would mean that he was interrupting Scary Phoenix¡¯s ns. On top of that, Scary Phoenix¡¯s actual identity was that of Snow Fox¡¯s uncle. He¡¯s my god-like uncle! I must be suicidal to snatch my dear uncle¡¯s prey. Everyone else advised him. ¡®Snow Fox, you can¡¯t look at it this way. No matter what, Scary Phoenix is already at a god-tier level, so he is not among us anymore. He won¡¯t care about the livelihood of the people here. It¡¯s been a month since west saw him.¡¯ ¡®So what if he¡¯s here? Isn¡¯t Sirius233 still running around killing innocent people? We don¡¯t see him keeping a rein on Sirius, do we?¡¯ ¡®If we wait for Scary Phoenix to take action, it¡¯ll be better for us to take this into our own hands. Snow Fox, the future of the entire server depends on you.¡¯ Just when Snow Fox gave it a thought and agreed to their words, the system notification appeared. ¡®Sirius233, the Monster, had appeared. His location is at server 12, Stressfree Vige. Immediately rush over there!¡¯ Everyone in the game was excited upon hearing that. Snow Fox then immediately led a group of yers to the said location of server 12, Stressfree Vige in determination to kill the evil monster and return justice to the server. A group of skilled yers was behind Snow Fox. In reality, Stanley looked at the screen disy of the game with full concentration as he guided his character to enter Stressfree Vige. With the sound on his earphones turned to full volume, he paid no attention to the outside world. From now onward, he was Snow Fox! On the other hand, when Sophia logged onto the game, she saw that her title had been changed from ¡®The Most Handsome and Wealthiest¡¯ to¡­ ¡®The Monster¡¯. What the hell is going on? After looking at her friends list, she realized that many of her friends had disappeared¡ªeither they had died or unfriended her. In her family list, only Call Me Taylor and NateHiro remained. Everyone fled as soon as they saw Sirius233 strolling in Stressfree Vige. ¡®God! Sirius, the Monster, has appeared! Help us!¡¯ ¡®Where is Scary Phoenix? Where is he? Please rush and kill this monster!¡¯ Sirius was confused at this. It¡¯s been only a month since Ist went online. What¡¯s going on? Call Me Taylor took the initiative to send her a message on the chat. ¡®Sobs; Hubby, you are finally online! I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡¯ Call Me Taylor seemed to be doing worse than the time when they first met. All her equipment was gone and she had suffered multiple defeats. It even looked like she had been beaten up by many people. Sirius¡¯s insides boiled with anger as his desire to protect his wife increased, so he quickly asked. ¡®My dear wife, what happened to you?¡¯ Call Me Taylor pitifully answered, ¡®During the time when you weren¡¯t here, everyone says that you are the evil monster. When they were unable to look for you, they bullied me. I¡¯m so sad!¡± Sirius was angered upon hearing this. ¡®How dare they! Who the hell dares to treat my woman like this!¡¯ Call Me Taylor exined. ¡®Hubby, ever since you raped and killed No.1 Beast on the Server and annihted dozens of ns on the game, the system gifted you with the title of ¡®the Monster¡¯. Everyone else is having a meeting to discuss how to deal with you.¡¯ Sirius immediately asked. ¡®Hang on. Raped and killed the Beast? Annihted dozens of ns?¡¯ Even though she was aware that her behavior was odd at times and she had an ostentatious and free personality, she had never killed those who were innocent. Since when did that happen? I know nothing about it! Call Me Taylor replied. ¡®Yes, didn¡¯t you know about it? On the 18th ofst month, you killed the Beast. On the 24th, you exterminated the Sky n and the Leaf n. On the 30th, you exterminated¡­¡¯ In reality, Sophia was dumbfounded upon hearing that. During that period, I was in military training! I never even went online! Is my ount hacked? Chapter 137 Chapter 137 That¡¯s impossible! My ount is one of the most secure ones out there. Without the correct password, no one can log into it and I¡¯ve never given anyone else the ess to my ount! ¡­ Wait a minute! I¡¯ve only given my password to one person! No wonder Nate doesn¡¯t allow me to log onto the game immediately after I returned. So, this is what he has done! She was speechless upon thinking about that. On the exterior, Nathan might be an angel, but deep down in his heart, he was an evil monster capable of doing something as hardcore as raping and killing the Beast. She seemed to have realized what went on from Call Me Taylor. In the span of a few days, Sirius had not only exterminated a few ns for no apparent reason, but he had also used hacks in the game. Even the system game manager was hunting him down. F*ck, this is going to be interesting. Inside the game, everyone was beyond agitated as all of them wanted to kill Sirius, rushing toward his spot in that moment. Apart from that, it seemed that they even appointed a n master of the game to deal with him. In reality, Sophia quickly typed on the keyboard to inform the people who had Sirius surrounded. ¡®Guys, calm down. I don¡¯t know anything.¡¯ Everyone else simultaneously answered. ¡®Go to hell, you monster! The n master is on his way here!¡¯ All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Sirius233 was too ostentatious and skilled in the game, which had annoyed many people. Since she was on a downfall, everyone else could not wait to pull her down and attack her before killing her altogether and regaining peace in the game. Apart from that, they could also divide her assets and equipment¡ªof course, thetter was the most important. Looking at her equipment, Sirius was on the verge of crying. All of her coins in the game had been squandered and nothing was left. Even the sword that she bought for 2 million waspletely unusable as it was badly damaged. Nate, what the hell have you done with my ount? While mumbling to herself, Sophia scraped the remaining weapons that she could use from the inventory before sending it to a professional weapon refiner, NPC, for repairs. While standing outside the store and waiting for the weapons to be repaired, there were many yers next to her, looking as if they wanted to kill her to avenge the rage of other yers. Once they saw that Sirius¡¯s equipment was badly damaged and that the sword worth 2 million was still being repaired, a n surfaced in their minds. One of the swordsmen attacked her from behind without saying anything. Sirius quickly took out an ordinary sword to defend herself. Although she did not have any powerful weapons to protect herself while all of his other equipment were being refined, she was not somebody who could be easily bullied. When their swords touched each other, she managed to keep up with the attack using her smooth tactics, but the opponent¡¯s equipment was much better than hers. It felt as if she was fighting with her bare hands at that point. Seeing that Sirius was on the losing side, a couple more swordsmen emerged from the crowd and surrounded him. With the arrival of another few well-equipped yers, Sirius was in a precarious situation. Sophia looked at the screen attentively. After looking at the progress bar indicating the repairs of her equipment, she knew that everyone there would lose to her if she held on until her weapons were completely repaired. However, at that moment, she waspletely not a match for the few skilled yers. Even though her fighting techniques might allow her to hold on for a while longer, it would only be a matter of time before she was killed if she could not get her hands on the equipment. While facing the siege of the skilled yers, she kept eyeing at the progress bar indicating the repairs of her equipment. 50%, 60%¡­ As Sirius¡¯s equipment in the game was one of the most advanced weapons, it took longer to repair. Seeing the tiny progress that it was making, Sophia was beyond anxious at that point. After being attacked by few of them, half of her Health Points were already gone. If she indeed died in that manner, the entire ount would be for nothing. Of course, she could go offline and choose a time when no one would be online to replenish her Health Points, but she would not be Sirius if she did that! The surrounding crowd couldn¡¯t wait for Sirius233 to be dead and leave her equipment behind, so they shouted in a chorus, ¡®Kill him! Kill him! Kill this monster!¡¯ At such a dangerous time, a beautiful figure suddenlynded from the skies and stood between Sirius and the other swordsmen. Then, she said in a soft voice, ¡®How dare you!¡¯ A swordswoman dressed in white descended from the skies with a sword in her hand. With just a wave, a strong, silver lightning that emerged from the sword crossed the entire screen, immediately killing one of the swordsmen who intended to kill Sirius earlier. Without another word being said, she pushed Sirius behind her back as a mode of protection and used her sword to release a powerful aura, shocking the crowd who wanted to take advantage of the situation. ¡®With me here, don¡¯t you dare take advantage!¡¯ It was at that moment that Sirius was finally able to clearly see the face of the swordswoman¡ªshe was his only wife at that point, Call Me Taylor. In that instant, Sirius was filled with gratitude. ¡®Taylor¡­¡¯ Call Me Taylor was determined. ¡®Hubby, I believe that you are not that kind of person. Don¡¯t worry, I will protect you.¡¯ With her back facing him, she pointed her sword at the entire world. After a month of not seeing her, her level and techniques had already improved a lot. She started to have the aura of a skilled yer. After Call Me Taylor appeared, she spoke with a murderous tone. ¡®If anyone of you wants to touch Sirius, you have to get over my dead body first!¡¯ Moved by her actions, a wave of guilt flooded Sirius as that particr wife was one of thetest to follow him. Even though she had not enjoyed the times when he was wealthier, she still stuck by him throughout the entire period. At such crucial junctures, she even took the initiative to protect him. Sirius looked at the progress of his weapon¡¯s refinement. It was already 70%pleted. The appearance of Call Me Taylor had scared those who schemed on Sirius¡¯s death away. They were aware that even though Taylor was not as skilled, she was Sirius¡¯s wife, so she had received many legendary equipment to her. Her sword earlier would cost a bomb¡ªwith merely a wave, she had directly killed a skilled yer. If only I could get that sword¡­ One of the leaders spoke first, ¡®There¡¯s no need to care about morale when facing a monster like him. Let¡¯s kill him together!¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s go and kill the monster!¡¯ A huge crowd of skilled yers charged like monsoon, surrounding both Taylor and Sirius. Holding the sword that Sirius had given her, Taylor charged to the crowd, casting a shield on Sirius to protect him. Even though she had legendary equipment, she was still on her own. As she faced a bunch of fierce attackers, she could not hold on for much longer. Sirius eyed the progress of his weapon again and said anxiously, ¡®Taylor, just leave! You don¡¯t have to care about me! If worstes to worst, I¡¯ll just head offline!¡¯ Taylor did not reply to him. Instead, she pulled out her sword and continuously unleashed special attacks. The glow from her attacks surrounded her as if it was a dream, blurring her facial features¡­ He eyed the progress of his weapon again. It¡¯s already 89%pleted! It¡¯s going to be ready soon! She never expected that someone was willing to sacrifice herself to protect her. On top of that, it was a female ount, which caused a surge of special feelings to flow through her. However, she suddenly heard a scream. Sirius turned and saw someone stabbing Taylor from the back, forcefully stopping her attack. The colorful glow of her attack disappeared as her Health Points continued to decrease¡ªfrom 10% to 3% in an instant. The attacker did not stop there and continued to stab her again. With another scream, Taylor¡¯s Health Points plummeted to 0. Her body floated mid-air as she slowly disappeared along the colorful glow¡­ Sirius looked at everything that had just happened in front of him incredulously. Call Me Taylor is actually dead! She was killed in front of me! Chapter 138 Chapter 138 In reality, Stanley was screaming while looking at theputer screen, ¡°Manager, please add more credit forputer no. 23 and send me another bottle of Coke.¡± This Sirius character doesn¡¯t look like someone who is easy to deal with. I need to give this a further thought and n this battle thoroughly. Sophia also took the chance to speak, ¡°By the way, please add 10-dor credits toputer no. 24.¡± Stanley controlled his game character to walk toward the Battle Arena, but he somehow felt ufortable using theputer today, especially the keyboard, so he quickly typed in the words, ¡®Please wait for a while. I need to change myputer. I¡¯ll be back after a few minutes.¡¯ Sirius233 replied to him, ¡®Fine.¡¯ Then, Stanley exited the game and said to Sophia, ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m going to battle someone soon, so I¡¯m switching to the gaming area. You don¡¯t need to inform me if you want to leave. I will fight till the end tonight.¡± Sophia was looking at theputer screen absent-mindedly. ¡°Alright.¡± After he was gone, Sophia stared at theputer screen as she tried to find that familiar ID among the spectating crowd. Inside the game, if one character died, it would regenerate into a new character after ten minutes. Call Me Taylor should have regenerated by now¡­ Will she be back? Meanwhile, Stanley hurriedly switched to the gaming area. Theputers in the gaming area were specially designed for gaming. The keyboards used were specialized ck-switch keyboards, and the disy was smoother, which made it even more suitable for gaming. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. The gaming area was only used for gaming. 8 out of the 10 people ying there were ying the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, and 6 of them were connected to the Bayside Server, which showed how small the world was. When Stanley hurriedly logged into the game, the person beside him recognized him immediately. ¡°Oh, my God! It¡¯s Snow Fox! It really is Snow Fox! My God! It¡¯s Snow Fox. Everyone,e check this out!¡± The inte cafe was located right at the gates of Bayside University, and it had the best equipment, so lots of students from the university would choose to y their games here. Coincidentally, today was the day the Esports Club of Bayside University came here in a group to y games, but they didn¡¯t expect to bepletely destroyed by Sirius in one move while spectating usingbat mode. After seeing Snow Fox now, they immediately circled around to watch with excitement. ¡°It really is Snow Fox! Wow! It turns out that the legend is just a young man! Looks like he is a student of Bayside University. He is even a top student!¡± ¡°Oh, my God! Isn¡¯t that Stanley? He is a freshman in the game design department of the School of Computer Science!¡± ¡°Good luck, Stanley. Kill that monster, Sirius!¡± The moment everyone heard that Snow Fox was in the inte cafe, all the people who were ying ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ immediately circled around Stanley to watch. In an instant, the whole inte cafe was buzzing. However, in another room, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to notice everything happening around her because she was wearing her headphones with maximum volume. When Snow Fox was switching hisputer, she was looking around for Call Me Taylor. Suddenly, she saw a familiar ID sending a friend request to her. Call Me Taylor: ¡®Hubby, I¡¯ve regenerated!¡± Sirius was excited as she exited the empty Battle Arena and walked toward the crowd. When the monster, Sirius, arrived, the onlooking crowd was so scared that they cleared out a path for her automatically. On the other end of the path stood a new character with no gears, weapons or experience. She was a female monk with the ID¡ªCall Me Taylor. Sirius: ¡®Taylor!¡¯ Call Me Taylor: ¡®Hubby.¡¯ Without hesitation, Sirius added her to her friend list, and at the same time, she realized that Taylor had sent a request to her, asking to be her wife. However, Sirius was hesitant. ¡®Taylor, everyone now calls me a monster. Are you still willing to be with a man like me?¡¯ Taylor looked at her affectionately as she was crazy about her. ¡°Hubby, I believe that that isn¡¯t the real you. No matter what you be, I will never leave you.¡± ¡®Taylor¡­¡¯ ¡®Hubby¡­¡¯ The surrounding crowd irked. ¡®Urgh! Now is not the time to be lovey-dovey. Fight!¡¯ Siris was moved in her heart, and suddenly, she said to the crowd of onlookers and Snow Fox, who just came online, hurriedly, ¡®Everyone, please wait for a minute. I need to propose to my beloved wife, Taylor, again!¡¯ In reality, a group of people was ridiculing her. ¡°What the hell? Who is this Sirius?¡± ¡°This is so disgusting. This is not the time for romantic matters!¡± ¡°How can he torture us singletons like that? Snow Fox, we need justice!¡± Stanley was rendered speechless by that group of people, but he actually wanted to see who Sirius was by tracing thework cable. Under the scrutiny of the crowd, Sirius and Call Me Taylor officially became a couple, and they began their marriage ceremony in front of the other swordsmen. In this wedding, there were no wedding gown, grand ceremony, blessings, or even a wedding hall. Only the criticisms and scorns of the crowd could be heard. However, a group of female yers felt that they would die without any regret if they got to marry a man like Sirius. As soon as the marriage was done, Sirius vowed in the name of God, ¡°I, Sirius233, swear to be together with Call Me Taylor for the rest of my life. If I ever break my oath for her, let me be struck by lightning!¡± Call Me Taylor seemed to be very happy as she kept on typing emojis. After it was done, Sirius233 flew onto the Battle Arena with full energy and life points. She then said to Snow Fox face to face, ¡®Let¡¯s do this! Today, either you die or I die!¡¯ Without saying anything else, the two master yers started their battle. In the room, Sophia brought out her fastest speed with her hands while focusing her full attention on the computer screen. The series of moves on the screen corrted with the crackling sound of the keyboard. At the same time, Snow Fox was also very skilled himself. Stanley¡¯s godlike skills drew the admiration of the other onlookers. ¡°He really is a godly character. He is so awesome!¡± ¡°Come on, Snow Fox!¡± ¡°Oh, my! Look at these incredible skills. I¡¯m already on my knees!¡± ¡°Wow! Sirius¡¯ skills are also amazing! Come on, Snow Fox!¡± In the midst of chaos, the two godly characters were evenly matched. After half an hour, the first round ended, and Sirius won by a small margin! In the inte cafe, a group of people was massaging Stanley and serving him drinks while some girls even became his personal cheerleading squad. Everyone in the cafe who yed the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was now watching this epic fight that represented the peak level of the yers of the game. The moment the boss of the inte cafe knew that Snow Fox was present in his store, he immediately projected his computer screen on the huge screen in the cafe lobby. He initially nned to have apetition between the yers, but now, they got to watch the match between Snow Fox and Sirius! The second round started, and it was still difficult to distinguish who the victor was. Both Sirius and Snow Fox were highly skilled, so the audience kept on cheering excitedly. Even though Sirius was a f*ckboy and a monster, her skills were truly amazing. In the second round, Snow Fox won by a small margin. It was a draw! Both of them settled with a truce for the moment. Sophia chewed a gum to calm herself down. This was the first time she ever fought in a match like this, so it was natural for her to feel nervous. There was onest match left, and Stanley was unavoidably nervous because lots of people were watching the match online and offline. He hurriedly drank a mouthful of Sprite and prepared himself for the third match. Chapter 139 Chapter 139 More and more people came to watch after hearing news about their battle. No.1 Beast of the Server also showed up arrogantly along with a bunch of his wives and children. During this period, he had expanded his harem by taking all of Sirius¡¯ wives and children, so he came here to brag about it to her face. ¡®Haha, you finally got what you deserve, Sirius! I¡¯m so d to watch you getting destroyed today!¡¯ Sirius nced at him before disdainfully typing, ¡®Loser.¡¯ No.1 Beast of the Server: ¡®My nephew, I want you to hit him so hard that he has to call you ¡®daddy¡¯!¡¯ Snow Fox suddenly changed his tone. ¡®Yes, my idol!¡¯ In an instance, the cold and righteous hero became a fanboy! Snow Fox is actually No.1 Beast of the Server¡¯s nephew? They seem to have a great rtionship! Beast¡¯s reputation was as bad as Sirius233¡¯s because both of them were notorious yboys. However, no one expected him to have a good rtionship with Snow Fox! Naturally, Stanley knew the identity of the person behind No.1 Beast of the Server¡ªHarry! He was his second idol aside from his Uncle Michael. In the third round, it was time to decide who was the winner. At first, both of them started with a fierce duel as they used their most powerful and skills wlessly. Therefore, they were still evenly matched, but both of them suffered some damage. Halfway through the battle, their life points were simr. None of them was willing to quit, so they continued fighting, and their moves were almost like an amazing tutorial. Just when the winner was about to emerge, a ray of light shone from the sky. A strong ray of light hit right on the two of them, and they were blown away by its powerful force. They were forced to deactivate their combat mode. Everyone was shocked. Who is it that is capable of deactivating other people¡¯sbat mode? Is it the game¡¯s administrator? After this battle, there will be one master yer who will be forced out of the game no matter the result. The two of them must have thrown a lot of money into the game, so the officials might not want to see either of them quitting. Therefore, this must be an act from the admins. However, surprisingly, a figure descended from the sky and shone a bright divine light at the crowd. A glowing ID shed at the eyes of others¡ªScary Phoenix! ¡°It¡¯s Scary Phoenix!¡± ¡°I¡¯m already on my knees!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Scary Phoenix! It really is him!¡± Stanley was equally shocked. Uncle Michael has risen from the dead! Sophia seemed utterly frightened to see Scary Phoenix! Oh, sh*t. Has he always been here, waiting for a chance to pounce? The moment Scary Phoenix showed up, Snow Fox and No.1 Beast of the Server immediately rushed toward him and kneeled down. ¡®Daddy!¡¯ ¡®Uncle!¡¯ The people in the inte cafe were also shocked. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this battle would draw the attention of Scary Phoenix!¡± ¡°If I ever get the chance to see Scary Phoenix¡¯s moves, I would have fulfilled my life purpose!¡± ¡°Scary Phoenix, kill Sirius!¡± ¡°Scary Phoenix is here. It¡¯s game over for Sirius.¡± Scary Phoenix didn¡¯t seem to notice the two of them kneeling in front of him. Instead, he looked at Sirius in the Battle Arena andid out his demands straight away. ¡°I will give you three choices. First, fight me and be my b*tch if you lose. Second, you can choose to be my b*tch right away. Third, leave the game and nevere back.¡± Oh, damn. Scary Phoenix is so assertive. His first demand is to ask Sirius to be his b*tch. That is so domineering! However, Sophia felt aggrieved inside. My son is still in his hands. Should I be his b*tch? I would rather die. I¡¯m a famous character in the game, so I have my own reputation to defend! He wants me to fight with him? That¡¯s impossible. How can a mortal fight a god? Should I quit the game forever? Damn it. That¡¯s even more impossible! I¡¯ve already spent millions in the game. It would be a big loss for me if I were to simply leave! These three choices are impossible! In the game, almost five minutes of silenceter, Sirius suddenly attacked Scary Phoenix without any warning. All of a sudden, both of them went intobat mode. The crowd was red up again. ¡°Oh sh*t. Is this really happening? Sirius is actually challenging Scary Phoenix!¡± ¡°Holy sh*t!¡± ¡°Oh, my God. This is the first in history!¡± Meanwhile, Stanley seemed to have hearts popping out of his eyes as he watched the screen. He finally got the chance to see his beloved Uncle Michael in action! He remembered that thest time Scary Phoenix fought someone was a few years ago. Michael was one of the first yers who yed the game when it was firstunched. At that time, he conquered the game by defeating every yer, but sadly, he remained hidden for the past few years. On the Battle Arena, the two opposing sides were exuding a murderous aura. Scary Phoenix removed his armor on his own ord and grabbed a blunt de. By doing so, he had the same attributes as Sirius. Sirius also noticed that her attributes andbat effectiveness were almost the same as Scary Phoenix¡¯s. Now, the only thing different between them was their skills. If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s still a chance for me to beat him. Sirius nced at Call Me Taylor and noticed her expecting gaze among the crowd before swinging her sword ruthlessly toward Scary Phoenix. Her skills were very powerful, and she used all kinds of superbbo moves, but the first move was deflected relentlessly by Scary Phoenix. Sirius was forced back a long way by Scary Phoenix¡¯s sword as she looked at him in disbelief. How is this possible? How could there be such a powerful yer in this world? Could he be cheating? Sirius was unconvinced, so she attacked him again. This time, Scary Phoenix didn¡¯t force her back like thest time. Instead, he shed his sword at her after sending her flying away. In an instant, Sirius¡¯ blood sshed everywhere. Everyone in the inte cafe cheered, ¡°Kill him! Kill him!¡± Even Stanley was rallying everybody to cheer. ¡°Kill Sirius! Kill! Kill! Kill!¡± In the meantime, Sophia finally realized that even though her attributes were simr to his, her skills would never reach his level. If this continues, I will be humiliated by him before I even try to attack. What should I do? Should I really lower myself and be his b*tch? What will happen to my reputation? After she made up her mind, she wrote, ¡®I¡¯m sorry. There¡¯s an earthquake in my inte cafe. I need to run for my life.¡¯ She exited the game and turned off theputer in one go! She wiped off the cold sweat off her face and let out a huge sigh. Damn it. I don¡¯t care if that was embarrassing. Besides, I¡¯m already a monster in the game, so I have nothing to lose. However, it feels so cool to just unplug the cable and run away! She logged off theputer and left without saying goodbye to Stanley. In the inte cafe, everyone sneered when they saw Sirius running away. Most of them left afterward, but a few of them stayed to suck up to Stanley. In the game, Snow Fox quickly caught up to Scary Phoenix and called him affectionately, ¡®Uncle Michael!¡¯ Scary Phoenix: ¡®Hello.¡¯ Then, he went offline. The worked-up Stanley felt like he was facing a brick wall. However, since that brick wall was his dear Uncle Michael, he still felt great about it. Who cares if he is cold toward me? What¡¯s important is that I got him to notice me! When he noticed that more and more people were gathering around him, he also exited the game and went to find Sophia, but she was long gone. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Sophia went back home as quickly as possible. When she got back, she realized that Nathan was already home, and he was now mining some Bitcoin. She brought out a stern face and ced her bag on the bed before pretending to be mad while asking him, ¡°Darling, do you have anything to say to me?¡± Nathan answered her with a cold yet adorable face, ¡°No.¡± Chapter 140 Chapter 140 Nathan probably knew that Sophia was aware of the trouble he had caused, but he still put on an arrogant face saying that he was just a kid, so she couldn¡¯t me him. She then carried him up angrily. ¡°What happened to my character, huh? Why am I now a monster? Why did I r*pe and kill Beast in front of everyone, huh? I only gave you my ount. Shouldn¡¯t you exin yourself?¡± Nathan turned his cold face away. ¡°What are you talking about? I have no idea.¡± Sophia stared at him because she didn¡¯t know what else to do. I can¡¯t bear to hit or scold him! What else can I do besides staring at him? She put him down as he looked at her with displeasure. ¡°Didn¡¯t you promise that you¡¯ll get me back my character as soon as youe back from military training?¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. Not only won¡¯t he admit to what he has done, he is even trying to me me for something else. ¡°Hmph, your character is gone. He is now in the hands of Scary Phoenix. You go look for him yourself!¡± Sophia imitated his demeanor and turned her face away coldly. Nathan looked at her angrily before pointing to the door emotionlessly. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± She picked up her bag and walked out. Just as she got out, Nathan mmed the door shut. He really is a heartless little boy. After that, Sophia went back to the master bedroom she and Michael shared. Shey down on the bed and rolled aroundfortably. Without Michael¡¯s presence, even the toilet had the fragrance of freedom. A whileter, she stood up and made a phone call to Hale. ¡°Hale, I need you to call the gamingpany tomorrow and report to them that my ount was hacked. I promise that I won¡¯t kill any other innocent people, so tell their game manager to stoping after me. Also, do you have any technical ways to bring back Nate¡¯s character? Money isn¡¯t a problem. If you really can¡¯t do it, try hiring two hackers to hack the game.¡± Nathan was utterly mad at Sophia, so she ignored him as well. The next day, she got out of the house early in the morning after waking up. Without waiting for Nathan, she went to school alone and refused toe home for the whole day. She even had lunch without him, and she also had her dinner outside before returning home. The moment she got back, she hid herself in her room and read some books without even talking to him. It was the same on the third and fourth day, so Nathan¡¯s small face grew gloomier every day. During the fifth day, he finally couldn¡¯t stand it, so he woke up early and blocked Sophia, who was about to ride away, at the gates. His tiny face was gloomy as he said to her coldly, ¡°I¡¯m fine with being angry for a few days, but I¡¯d soon be traumatized if this goes on. I¡¯m still a little kid. How could you argue with a little kid?¡± Sophia¡¯s face, which had been tensed for the past few days, finally softened. She squatted down and hugged him while pinching his tender face. ¡°Oh, dear. My darling, you are so adorable! Muacks! I love you so much!¡± He truly will be an imposing president in the future. Even the way he called a truce is so dominant! The two of them finally called it a truce for the moment. He is just too cute to ignore! But his character is still in Scary Phoenix¡¯s hands. That is a big problem! Hale made a phone call to the gamingpany. In thepany¡¯s response, they promised to stop the game managers froming after her, but they really couldn¡¯t bring back her son¡¯s character because it was against the rules. Hale also contacted a few hackers, but it was pointless. The opposition¡¯s rank was so strong that even the hackers couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Should I just give up on Nate¡¯s character and forget about it? Sophiaforted Nathan by touching his tender face. ¡°Darling, I¡¯ll just help you train a new character, alright? We¡¯ll just give up on the old one.¡± He looked at her angrily and bitterly, but in the end, he finally agreed. He also tried to attack the opposition, but it didn¡¯t seem to work at all because the opposition¡¯s rank was too strong. Even he himself wasn¡¯t able to find a way, so he could only train a new character. Therefore, Sirius233 reappeared in the game with a new son¡ªNateKato. There was a new announcement in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, saying that Sirius¡¯ ount was hacked, so she apologized to the mass amount of innocent yers who were killed. The Sirius who appeared again wasn¡¯t as arrogant as before, and she became a great man. Everyday, she would bring Call Me Taylor and NateKato around to fight monsters and upgrade their attributes. She stopped inviting trouble to herself and flirting with other girls; she had left the arena to live a happy life of retirement. Snow Fox also stopped bothering her because she had been so well-behavedtely, but No.1 Beast of the Server was still unconvinced. Beast really hated Sirius. He r*ped and killed me in public. Does he really think he can push away all his responsibilities just by saying that his ount was hacked? Dream on! At the moment in Xoskha, the filming crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ had moved the shooting to this country. The whole crew stayed in a hotel where they shot the movie during the day and yedputer games during the night. Harry suddenly dashed into Michael¡¯s room with hisptop. ¡°Dad, Sirius is online again. I want you to kick his a*s!¡± The moment he entered the room, he immediately saw Michael wearing a green one-piece pajama that was covered with spots. There was even a weird green hoodie on his head. Is this a f*cking¡­ frog? Harry felt that he opened the door wrongly, so he closed it and opened it again. When he looked into Michael¡¯s room, there was still a massive 6-feet-tall frog sitting inside. The frog turned its head around and nced at Harry. When Harry saw Michael¡¯s face on the frog body, he was shocked. ¡°What the hell are you wearing?¡± Michael took a sip of coffee and answered him calmly, ¡°A parent-child outfit.¡± Harry scratched his head as he seemed to remember seeing a picture of Sophia and Nathan in parent- child outfits that she posted in her IG Stories today. In the picture, Sophia was also wearing a frog-like pajama. He sighed inside. When a man bes a father, he will evolve from a human to another creature¡ªfor example, a frog! He put down hisptop and noticed that Michael was training his new character, who was a female. When he saw it, he made a strange shriek. ¡°Old man, you really are training a female character. Sh*t. You do have weird taste!¡± Michael remained silent as he opened two windows for the game so that he could log into both his new and main character. He erged the window for the main character to cover his new character. After that, Scary Phoenix dazzlingly appeared in the game. At the moment in the game, Sirius was fighting some monsters along with Call Me Taylor and NateKato. Nathan once said that Sirius¡¯ character design wasn¡¯t good-looking at all, so the good father, Sirius, immediately changed her looks to a dashing swordsman with a pair of extravagant bunny ears on her head. Call Me Taylor also made herself a bunny one-piece suit with a pair of bunny ears. Nathan also wore a pair of bunny ears on his head so that the whole family was wearing the same parent-child outfits. Whether in the game or in real life, Nathan had always put on a cold face. This outfit is so embarrassing, but if Sophia likes it, I¡¯m fine with it. After a brief moment of embarrassment, he suddenly felt that he looked quite good in the outfit. In reality, it was already the middle of December. The weather was getting a bit cold, so when Nathan yed the game at night, he wore a small one-piece frog pajama along with a hoodie that resembled the head of a frog. When he put it on, he looked exactly like an adorable tiny frog. ¡°Ah, my sweet Nate, you really are adorable!¡± Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Sophia hugged him and rubbed his face excitedly. He pushed her face away. ¡°Calm down. I¡¯m still a kid.¡± For some reason, Sophia also got herself a one-piece frog suit. After putting on the hoodie, she curled up in front of theputer. Her tiny face was exceptionally bright and pure when the white light of the computer screen shone on her. The two frogs, one big and one small, were focused on ying the game. Unexpectedly, just when they were about to exit the game, they immediately saw the system making an announcement to the whole game¡ªScary Phoenix, the immortal, was online! Chapter 141 Chapter 141 A figure descended from the sky wrapped in a divine light. When Sophia saw the name of the character appearing in front of her eyes, she hurriedly urged Nathan, ¡°You need to run away now. This psycho is back again!¡± Nathan quickly unplugged hiswork cable, but it was toote. The moment Scary Phoenix appeared, he caught NateKato, causing Nathan to lose control over his character, and his operating window was instantly locked. He could only watch as his character in the game was snatched away by Scary Phoenix. Now, in his hands, he had two of Sirius¡¯ sons¡ªNateHiro and NateKato. No.1 Beast of the Server was following closely behind him like a loyal dog while heughed. ¡®Haha, Sirius, just give up and be my dad¡¯s b*tch!¡¯ Scary Phoenix remained quiet as he snatched NateKato and stood in front of Sirius and Call Me Taylor, as if he was waiting for her reply. Meanwhile, Nathan was about to cry while he looked at Sophia pitifully. In reality, she was furious. ¡°Scary Phoenix, you *sshole!¡± In the game, Sirius was also furious, so she privately messaged him. ¡®Sir, I beg you. Can you please let me go? Just name your price! Why are you using my son as a publicity stunt? All of us are famous characters in this game, so why do you need to be so cruel?¡¯ Scary Phoenix replied to her coldly, ¡®Then marry me.¡¯ They were having a falling out anyway, so Sophia cursed him straight away. ¡®F*ck you! I would rather die than be insulted. You want me to marry you? In your dreams! Who do you think you are? Taylor Murray? Please don¡¯t tell me that you are a bisexual. If you really are Taylor Murray, I might consider it. Let me tell you this¡ªI have lots of money, so I can probably locate you at any time. By then, I will send a few strong men over to r*pe you, believe it or not!¡¯ After a long while, Scary Phoenix finally replied to her, ¡®Oh.¡¯ ¡°Oh? What kind of a response is that?¡± Sophia cursed whileforting the sobbing Nathan with a soft voice. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯ll help you train a new character.¡± After that, she said her goodbyes to Call Me Taylor before going offline. In less than two days, Sirius had a new son called LittleNate. However, before they got to design his outfit, Scary Phoenix suddenly showed up less than two days later and snatched LittleNate away. Sirius was left staring nkly at the air. After two days, she had another son called CutieNate. This time, he was snatched away by Scary Phoenix as soon as he came out. Therefore, Sophia told Hale to make aint to the gamingpany. After he made the call, the company replied to her, ¡®This is a normal interaction between yers, so there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. We can¡¯t even contact Scary Phoenix!¡¯ Even if they could contact him, they still wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything because the gamingpany of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ belonged to Asco International, and Scary Phoenix was the man who owned Asco International. Of course, Hale wouldn¡¯t say it out, so he silently registered a new character in the game and watched Sophia being bullied by Scary Phoenix everyday online and offline. When Sophia got Hale¡¯s reply, she felt that she was a useless mother who couldn¡¯t even protect her own son. I can¡¯t y this game any longer! At a critical moment, Hale reminded her, ¡°The gamingpany said that this is a normal interaction between yers. Since Scary Phoenix kidnapped your son, why don¡¯t you kidnap his?¡± He¡¯s right! Hale¡¯s words sparked an idea in her head. Therefore, the next day, No.1 Beast of the Server was kidnapped by Sirius233 the moment he went online. She also heard that Snow Fox had a rtionship with Scary Phoenix because he was his apprentice, so she also decided to kidnap him as well. Snow Fox¡¯s skills were a bit too powerful to handle, so Sirius hired some mercenaries to ensure her sess. Some people had been using the game to make a living. For example, they would open a workshop to help train their clients¡¯ character or help them aplish some difficult missions in the game. Some even acted as a substitute for yers with low skills during battles. These people were called mercenaries in the game. With money, there wasn¡¯t anything the mercenaries wouldn¡¯t do. Therefore, Sirius spent a lot of money on a dozen mercenaries to kidnap Snow Fox. However, the kidnapping of Snow Fox caused an uproar because Stanley¡¯s Esports Club was hosting an offline meeting that day. A few gaming nerds booked an inte cafe to host a party that gathered the yers of the game. Stanley even put on a show for everyone by challenging the most powerful monster in the game by himself, but before theputer screen was projected on the big screen in the cafe, Snow Fox was kidnapped by someone. The whole club was stirred up as they quickly logged into the game to save him, but sadly, it was too late. Just like that, Stanley watched while his character was taken away by Sirius. In the game, Sirius233 was wearing armor with a pair of bunny ears on her head. Her whole outfit made her look like a mutant bunny that was running away with Snow Fox in his hands. Stanley copsed on the spot; he ran hurriedly into the washroom to make a phone call to Michael. ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯ve been kidnapped by Sirius. Come and save me quickly!¡± When Stanley got back inside, he said to them, ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve asked Scary Phoenix to come and save me. He is my uncle in the game!¡± So the rumors are true. Scary Phoenix really has a rtionship with Snow Fox. All of a sudden, the news spread across the game. ¡®Scary Phoenix is actually Snow Fox¡¯s uncle! He will definitelye out and save Snow Fox! This is going to be interesting!¡¯ When Sirius got hold of the news, she was delighted. Looks like Scary Phoenix and Snow Fox have a good rtionship offline. I even suspect that Beast is Scary Phoenix¡¯s son; otherwise, why would a godly character like him ept such a stupid and embarrassing son? Maybe Beast is just a kindergartener! In reality, Sophiaughed loudly while wearing her frog costume. She hugged Nathan in her arms and promised him confidently, ¡°Wait and see how I¡¯ll get you your character back!¡± Meanwhile, Nathan¡¯s eyes sparkled as he anticipated what was toe. At the hotel in Xoskha, it was still early in the morning, but Michael was woken up by a phone call from Stanley. He then declined the call and went back to sleep. He rolled his body while wearing a pair of gloves that came with the frog pajama set. Hey face-down on the bed and awkwardly pulled his nket over to cover his head. Suddenly, Harry rushed into his room hurriedly and removed the nket before grabbing the massive six-feet frog inside. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve been kidnapped. Hurry up and save me! Stop sleeping!¡± Regardless of Michael¡¯s willingness, Harry picked him up and ced him right in front of hisptop. After that, Harry switched on theptop and took off Michael¡¯s gloves and hoodie before cing his hands on the keyboard. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Michaelzily entered his password while his eyes were barely open. Meanwhile, Harry was very anxious. ¡°Ah! Dad, you need to hurry up. Your son will be killed soon!¡± Chapter 142 Chapter 142 Inside an inte cafe in Cethos, everyone was gathering in the center of the cafe to look at the big screen while waiting for Scary Phoenix to save Snow Fox. In the game, Sirius kidnapped No.1 Beast of the Server and Snow Fox. She even hung the two of them on the gates of the Rocky Pinnacle as she sat under there with her 2-million sword. She then tantly announced, ¡®Scary Phoenix, if you don¡¯t show up before 9PM, I will kill your son and nephew!¡¯ The moment everyone was waiting for was finally here. Also, the meeting was during the peak hour of the game, so there were lots of people gathering below the Rocky Pinnacle, waiting for Scary Phoenix to show up. Scary Phoenix really crossed the line this time. Why does he keep on taking away Sirius¡¯ son? After abducting his son four to five times in a row, even a monk would be furious about it. I wonder how Scary Phoenix is going to deal with this. Under the scrutiny of the public, Scary Phoenix showed up and stood on top of the Rocky Pinnacle silently while looking down at the crowd below, just like a God. Correction! He himself was the only God in the game. He¡¯s here, he¡¯s here! The master is here! Whether it was the two who were kidnapped, or Sirius standing aside, or the onlooking crowds, all of them gazed at Scary Phoenix above. Snow Fox: ¡®Uncle! Save me.¡¯ No.1 Beast of the Server: ¡®Haha, Sirius, my dad is here. You just wait for him to beat you up!¡¯ Sirius pointed her sword straight at Scary Phoenix above and bellowed, ¡®Today, I¡¯ve kidnapped two of your people. I will return them to you if you agree to my two conditions. First, give me back my son! Second, withdraw your disgusting marriage proposal and put your son on a leash. From now on, we¡¯ll keep out of each other¡¯s affairs. Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill your son and nephew, ending your line of session!¡¯ The first person in history who dared to threaten Scary Phoenix was born! The whole server fell intoplete silence as everyone unanimously looked toward Scary Phoenix, waiting for his response. At the moment, whether it was Stanley in the inte cafe, or Sophia in Vi No.8, The Imperial, or Harry in Michael¡¯s president suite in Xoskha¡ªeveryone was waiting for Scary Phoenix to speak. Only a ck warrior in the corner seemed to have seen through everything while remaining silent. Hale was operating his new character as he squeezed into the crowd of onlookers. He wanted to see how Sirius would dieter on. The server was silent while everyone waited for Scary Phoenix to speak. Ever since he showed up, he remained motionless and quiet. Is he made dumb by the asion? A minute of silenceter, he finally spoke, ¡®Oh.¡¯ There was nothing after that. Sirius was shocked inside. Is the rtionship between Scary Phoenix, Beast, and Snow Fox not as good as expected? She then repeated, ¡®Scary Phoenix, if you don¡¯t make a decision soon, I will kill your son first!¡¯ In reality, Harry pulled Michael¡¯s frog hoodie. ¡°Dad, hit him now!¡± Therefore, Michaelzily moved his fingers on the keyboard and started operating his character. Harry thought that he was preparing to make his move, so he was a bit excited inside. However, Scary Phoenix only made a move before retreating. The system showed: ¡®The yer, Sirius233, has been kidnapped by Scary Phoenix.¡¯ The server fell into dead silence as everyone remained speechless. Meanwhile, Hale was looking at hisputer screen with his mouth gaping because he didn¡¯t know what to say. Boss is always ruthless and urate with his moves! After Scary Phoenix took Sirius233, he announced to the whole server, ¡®Sirius, I will only give you two choices. Marry me, or leave the game forever.¡¯ Hale was still in a daze while he looked at his screen. All of a sudden, he received a phone call from Sophia. On the other end, she roared hysterically, ¡°Find Scary Phoenix¡¯s true identity within three days. I want to kill him.¡± Hale felt distressed. Even if I located him, she doesn¡¯t have the capabilities to kill him! He quicklyforted her, ¡°Madam, calm down.¡± Sophia roared again, ¡°I can¡¯t calm down. Now, I really want to r*pe him!¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Hale felt a thump in his heart. This is great. This is great! I¡¯m pretty sure that Scary Phoenix will enjoy this very much! After hanging up the phone, Sophia started walking around the room furiously. She couldn¡¯t believe there was such a function where one could hijack her game character straight away. Now, she was still logged into the game, and she could also speak, but other than that, all of the other functions were locked. If I go offline, I will never be able to log into this ount again! It was so hard to get my character to this stage that I can simply sell it for a few million! But it¡¯s taken away just like that by someone else! She really wanted to smash something as she walked around in her frog pajama, frustrated. Meanwhile, Nathan was looking at her helplessly, but he was still sensible enough to console her, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s just start over with a new character.¡± Sophia grabbed her hair. ¡°You don¡¯t get it. This is about my reputation. My reputation!¡± Not only did Scary Phoenix kidnap all my son¡¯s characters, he even hijacked my own character. My reputation is nowpletely destroyed! If I take it on the chin, I am not a man! No! In reality, I¡¯m a woman, but in the game, I¡¯m a man! And he still want me to be his b*tch! He¡¯s a psychopath! After kidnapping Sirius233, Scary Phoenix released Snow Fox and No.1 Beast of the Server. When Michael was done saving them, he exited the game. In reality, he shut off the game and drove Harry away. Then, he put on his frog hoodie and frog gloves before lying back on his bed. He stretched his fingers out of his gloves and turned on his phone. He had a look at his phone wallpaper, which he downloaded from Sophia¡¯s IG Stories yesterday. In the picture, Sophia and Nathan were wearing parent-child one-piece pajamas. The mother frog lifted the baby frog high with her hands while her eyes were filled with love. The tiny face of the baby frog was also full of smiles. Michael had never seen that smile on Nathan¡¯s face before. When Nathan was just a baby, both his parents passed away, so he became an orphan before he could talk. Even though Michael provided him with a great materialistic life and specifically gathered many kids to grow up with him, he stillcked a lot of happiness that he could only get from his parents. Coincidentally, Michael needed a wife, and Nathan needed a mother, so he found Sophia. By the looks of it now, I¡¯ve made the right choice. After putting down his phone, the daddy frog started to sleep. In an inte cafe near Bayside University, the Esports Club of Bayside University cheered as they congratted Stanley. Immediately, someone asked him, ¡°Stan, who is Scary Phoenix? He¡¯s amazing!¡± However, Stanley didn¡¯t answer the question. My uncle is such a brilliant man. He can simply excel in any field! If everyone finds out that Scary Phoenix is Michael, A.K.A. Taylor Murray, I think he himself will be fine with it. In reality, he is an open man, and in the game, he is a righteous hero, but I can¡¯t risk revealing Beast¡¯s identity! If everyone finds out about Scary Phoenix, they will also know about Harry too. In that case, everyone will immediately know that the sc*mbag in the game, Beast, is actually Harry, A.K.A. Ethan Winston, the winner of the Best Actor. His reputation would be ruined. Chapter 143 Chapter 143 Due to Sophia¡¯s game character being hijacked by Scary Phoenix, she felt gloomy for the next couple of days. She heard that Hale went to the gamingpany himself and met thepany¡¯s boss. He even mmed his hand on the boss¡¯ desk, demanding a response, but the boss said that there was nothing he could do because this was just a normal interaction between yers. Theirpany wouldn¡¯t interfere with any matters in the game unless cheating was involved. When she got the news, she waspletely dumbfounded. What else can I do now? I can only train a new character. Therefore, she could only train a new character along with Nathan. In a blink of an eye, it was already December, and the weather became colder day by day. It had been almost a semester since Sophia became a student of Bayside University. Ever since Stanley showed up that day, Richard and X had stopped bothering her. Michael was still abroad shooting his movie, so Sophia felt as free as a bird. If only Stanley would stop pestering me every day. The School of Economics and Business Administration was not far away from the School of Computer Science, and Sophia needed to be there every day to pick up Nathan, so it was hard to not run into Stanley frequently¡ªespecially with his dazzling round head and swaggering beatboxing. It was impossible to not bump into him. It was almost winter, so Sophia put on some winter clothes. It was an adorable parent-child outfit that consisted of a milky-white coral fleece jacket and a big hoodie in the shape of a bunny¡¯s head. The two drooping bunny ears on the hoodie were extremely cute. On the other hand, Nathan also wore a tiny coral fleece jacket with a milky-white bunny hoodie. His expression was cold as he felt hugely embarrassed, but he didn¡¯t say anything. In Sophia¡¯s eyes, his silence meant that he liked it very much. The weather was cold, and they couldn¡¯t ride the motorbike like they used to, so Hale came to school every day to send them back home. Everyday, she would pick Nathan up on time before returning home together. Today, the moment she picked up Nathan, the burst of an exaggerated beatboxing was heard. Stanley flew over in his motorbike and saw them, so he stopped beside them and pushed up the goggles on his helmet. He greeted them affectionately, ¡°Sophie, you¡¯re babysitting, huh?¡± He always assumed that Sophia was Nathan¡¯s babysitter, and she didn¡¯t tell him the truth to prevent him from being jealous if he found out she was the wife of his beloved Uncle Michael. She answered, ¡°Yes. Now is my working hour, so I need to babysit him.¡± Then, Stanley enthusiastically took out a few movie tickets from his bag. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s watch a movie together. Uncle Michael¡¯s new movie is now released, and I got us the best seats!¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Sophia had a look at the tickets. They were indeed tickets to Michael and Harry¡¯s new movie that premiered in the early hours of the morning. The movie was called ¡®High School Romance¡¯, and it was about passionate highschoolers. Michael and Harry yed two opposing school hunks, and the story was about them going after each other for the beloved campus belle. This is the first time Tay Tay yed a naive brain-dead school hunk! She was already excited when she saw the movie poster, so she initially nned to bring Nathan to the cinema today. However, she pretended to be indifferent about it. ¡°Fine. Since you¡¯ve already bought the tickets, I¡¯ll just reluctantly watch it.¡± With a cold face, Nathan climbed onto Stanley¡¯s motorbike along with Sophia. Then, she helped Nathan put on the safety helmet. ¡°Sit tight!¡± After that, Stanley happily drove the motorbike away. However, in the corner, Hale watched coldly while the three of them drove away on the motorbike. He furrowed his brows as he smelled something fishy. That Stanley kid is quite good-looking, and he isn¡¯t the conventional type of handsome fair-skinned guy. His bushy brows, vigorous aura, and gaudy round head must have charmed a lot of girls. Back when he was in the army, he was also a top sniper. I¡¯ve heard rumors from Bayside University that he is the popr hunk of the School of Computer Science. In short, both of them are of the same age; they frequently meet together, and they both look dashing. The whole university is filled with love hormones; what if something happens between them? Now, they are even going on a movie date. He called Michael hurriedly to report this major trouble. Then, a calm voice was heard on the other end. ¡°I see.¡± After hanging up the phone, Michael, who had just gotten off the ne, continued to watch the video sent by Hale, and it just so happened to show the scene where Stanley drove off with Sophia and Nathan. He could clearly see the ticket held in Stanley¡¯s hand. He paused the video and erged the image to get a clearer look of the information on the ticket. Paragon Cinema in the University Shopping Mall? ¡®High School Romance¡¯, which starts at 7PM in Hall 8? Haha¡­ Usually, when a movie was about to be released, the main cast would travel around the country to promote it or attend talk shows to advertise the movie. They could even get a divorce, break up with someone, or even stir up some controversies in their own family to increase the movie¡¯s exposure so that the box office was ensured. However, Michael had a huge reputation, so he didn¡¯t need to do all these. Now, he should have been with the filming crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, but because of his high efficiency, most of his scenes were filmed in one take, so there was ample shooting time. Hence, the film crew gave him a holiday. Initially, he came back hurriedly to give his wife a surprise, but unexpectedly, she went to watch a movie with another man! Suddenly, Gary, who was sitting in front of Michael in the limousine, heard his voice. ¡°Contact the people of Paragon Cinema and tell them that I¡¯ll be visiting the University Shopping Mall tonight.¡± Paragon Cinema was the most high-end cinema near Bayside University, so many students woulde here to watch movies, especially movies with Michael in it. Most people who missed the afternoon show rushed over here to catch the 7PM show. After lectures ended, this was the perfect time toe over to catch a movie, so there were a lot of familiar faces here. When everyone saw Sophia together with Stanley, they revealed an understanding smile. It seems the two of them are really a couple. They came early, and the hall wasn¡¯t open yet, so Sophia pulled Nathan over to win a doll from the w machine. Stanley was following them closely from behind with a box of popcorn and Coke in his hands. The chances of running into an acquaintance at the cinema was high. When Sophia was ying with the w machine, Richard and X arrived. X held the movie ticket happily. ¡°Richard, in the future, if the movie I¡¯m in is released, I will book a whole cinema just for you to watch!¡± Richard lowered his head lovingly to look at the innocent fairy-like girl. ¡°That¡¯ll be happening soon. I¡¯ve already rmended you to a filming crew. They¡¯ll give you a supporting actress role first so that there won¡¯t be much pressure on you; the main actor is Taylor Murray!¡± ¡°Richard, I love you so much!¡± She cleverly gave him a kiss on his cheek. The two of them held their hands as they entered the cinema. They also bought tickets for the 7PM movie, ¡®High School Romance¡¯. The moment they entered the cinema, they immediately saw the w machine next to the waiting area and the ¡®family of three¡¯ beside it. Chapter 144 Chapter 144 Stanley was operating the w machine while Sophia was very nervous beside him. ¡°Stan, hold on¡­ hold on. Take a deep breath!¡± Nathan was still indifferent just now, but at the moment, he also pressed his tiny face against the w machine nervously as he widened his eyes to look inside while Stanley operated the machine. Their nervousness also affected Stanley, causing him to be anxious too, but luckily, he still managed to grab a pink bunny in the end with his trembling hands. ¡°Hehe, I was a top sniper back in my days. My vision is perfect, so this is just a piece of cake!¡± Sophia happily epted the bunny, and Stanley was filled with a sense of aplishment, although it took them more than 50 to finally get one. The moment Richard came in, he immediately saw Sophia with her non-mainstream punk boyfriend. His eyes were full of contempt as he red at the current boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend with the gaze of an ex-lover. Stanley was still dressed in his usual non-mainstream way with his round earrings and skull ne dangling around his neck. His hairstyle, outfit, and the way he talked revealed his obvious non- mainstream punk style. Richard shook his head sarcastically after looking at him thoroughly from top to bottom. The difference between me and this man is enormous. He subconsciously wanted to show himself in front of Sophia and Stanley so that she could see how dashing he was. Also, he wanted to prove his talents and nobility in front of a non-mainstream person like Stanley. Even though he constantly told Sophia to forget about him and start over, he still subconsciously wanted to appear in front of her whenever he saw her so that she would forever have a special ce for him in her heart¡ªa ce where she would unswervingly want to get back together with him again at any time. However, with X beside him, he couldn¡¯t reveal this urge of his. That was why he was surprised when X pulled him over to Sophia the moment she saw her. ¡°Richard, it¡¯s Sophia and her new boyfriend. Let¡¯s go over to greet them!¡± After that, she pulled him to Sophia on purpose. She wasn¡¯t satisfied with just driving Sophia away because she wanted to let her know clearly that she could only be with a second-rated non-mainstream boyfriend while she got to be with Richard. ¡°Sophia! What a coincidence to run into you here!¡± As soon as Sophia turned her head around, she could see the dashing Richard and adorable X standing behind her. The two of them really were a match made in heaven. Then, she nodded calmly. ¡°Hello.¡± After that, she picked up the doll and held Nathan¡¯s hand as she was prepared to leave. However, the other party wasn¡¯t keen on letting them go, so Richard blocked Stanley¡¯s path and extended his hand to him in a friendly way. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Richard.¡± Stanley also knew about the love-hate rtionship between Sophia and Richard, so he shook his hand. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Stanley. I specialize in game development.¡± Richard¡¯s eyes were filled with mockery, but on the surface, he seemed very friendly. ¡°So you develop games. It is quite a promising career. And¡ªdare I ask¡ªis your family¡¯s enterprise also in the same field?¡± Sophiaughed when she heard his question. Is heparing himself to Stanley? Did hee here to make fun of his ex-girlfriend¡¯s current boyfriend? In fact, Stanley got into Bayside University because of his academic achievements, and his family didn¡¯t donate a penny to the university. Therefore, he was clever enough to understand the meaning behind his words. In this outfit, I sure don¡¯t look like someone who has an enterprise at all, so he is obviously making fun of me! Tsk, Sophie¡¯s ex-boyfriend is so f*cking despicable! However, he remainedposed as he answered, ¡°My parents are teachers, and my brother is in the army. My family isn¡¯t involved in game development, so that makes me the peculiar one.¡± Meanwhile, Sophia pressed her lips instinctively to cover the smile at the corner of her lips. His parents are teachers? They are the first-ss lecturers of Bayside University! His brother is in the army? He is now an officer in the army! Why do the Fletchers always like to fool others? Naturally, Richard understood his words as his parents being substitute teachers in a small town and his brother serving a two-year conscript. He clearly knew that Stanley was just an ordinary citizen, but he still chose to ask him purposely. When he got the answer he wanted, heughed condescendingly. ¡°I genuinely thought that you were studying architecture. My family is the Harper Family, and we specialize in real estate. I was thinking of offering you an internship if you were an architect. This is my name card.¡± Sophia was still pressing her lips to prevent herughter froming out. She also felt that Stanley really looked like someone who worked at a construction site. In the meantime, Stanley chuckled as he received his name card. At first nce, he saw the title on the card¡ªRichard Harper, Vice President of Harper Real Estates. That exins his damned smugness. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Then, he waved the name card and smiled. ¡°If I can¡¯t make it in the future, I¡¯ll go over to your ce and move bricks. Remember to let me be the construction supervisor then!¡± After showing off their superiority, X was still reluctant to let Sophia off the hook, so she said to her purposely, ¡°Sophia, have you been looking for a part-time jobtely? Through Richard¡¯s connections, I¡¯m now a supporting actress of a film. The studio is not far away from the university, so if you are looking for a part-time job, I can introduce you to a role as a maid. But if you don¡¯t like being a maid, you can also be my assistant. I¡¯m about to enter the entertainment industry, so I need an assistant beside me.¡± Sophia replied to her, ¡°Haha, thank you, but I¡¯m now working as a nanny, so I¡¯m not looking for a part- time job.¡± X lowered her head and nced at Nathan, who was holding Sophia¡¯s hand, before revealing a sorry face. ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± The movie was about to begin, so Sophia went over to get her ticket checked. Stanley followed her closely from behind while carrying Nathan on his back. The ¡®family of three¡¯ looked very harmonious together. At the moment, Stanley wasughing his heart out. ¡°Hahaha. Sophie, is that your ex-boyfriend? Hahahaha¡­ hahaha¡­¡± He even tried to mimic Richard¡¯s tone just now. ¡°This is my name card. You can come over to mypany if you want to move some bricks. Hahahaha!¡± Sophia¡¯s face darkened. ¡°We¡¯ve all fallen in love with a sc*mbag when we were young.¡± This is so damn embarrassing. How dare he show off his superiority as my ex-boyfriend in front of someone from the Fletcher Family! Even I am embarrassed. After they had their tickets checked, Stanley brought Nathan to the toilet as they tried to enter the hall a minute before the movie started. It was a movie starring Taylor Murray, and it was recently released, so the hall was almost fully packed. The lights in the hall were turned off, and it was pitch ck, so Sophia turned on her shlight to find their seats carefully. Stanley got them the best seats, which were seats 6, 7 and 8. ¡°Stan, you sit on seat 8. I¡¯ll sit on seat 6, and Nate will sit on seat 7.¡± ¡°Why should I sit on seat 8? The 8th seat on row 4 sounds weird.¡± ¡°Just sit where I tell you to sit.¡± ¡°What has Nate been eating? He¡¯s just 5 years old, but he¡¯s already 4 feet tall. Luckily, I¡¯m smart enough to buy us three tickets; otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to enter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been eating rice!¡± The three of them bickered as they sat down. Surprisingly, the moment Sophia sat down on seat 6, a voice rang beside her. ¡°Sophia, what a coincidence,¡± Richard, who was sitting on seat 5, said to her coldly. ¡°Heh.¡± She twitched the corners of her lips. Chapter 145 Chapter 145 I should have taken seat 8. Sophia put on her 3D sses and started watching the movie. Without warning, Richard started talking to her. ¡°Sophia, the Harpers also invest in inte games. If your boyfriend can¡¯t find a job in the future, you can ask him toe to me. I¡¯ll arrange a job for him.¡± She kept on eating her popcorn while nodding. ¡°Alright.¡± When X saw her, she assumed that she purposely sat beside Richard. What a b*tch! She is still obsessed with my fianc¨¦! Therefore, she lovingly held Richard¡¯s hand and spoke to her generously, ¡°The Huffs are also investing in inte games. You can alsoe to Huffs Technology!¡± Sophia continued chewing her popcorn. ¡°Alright.¡± In her heart, she was only thinking about Tay Tay¡¯s unearthly handsomeness. At the beginning of the movie, after the prologue, the two male leads finally appeared. In the opening scene, the two male leads fought each other. After the fight, the two of them stood on opposite sides while the camera gave each of them a dashing close-up. The male lead that Michael was ying wore a snowy-white shirt, and his handsome face was so tender that water seemed to be oozing out of it. In the fight just now, the other party tore open his shirt, so he was missing two buttons on his chest. The moment his shirt was torn open, one could faintly see the muscles of his body. His seductive air wasn¡¯t something that the shirt could hold back as the man¡¯s forbidden aura suddenly filled the whole screen along with his righteous yet menacing smile¡­ There were screams everywhere in the hall! ¡°Ah! Miss Taylor!¡± ¡°I love you, my hubby!¡± This is incredible. Only two buttons are missing, but he is now even sexier than being naked. Sophia felt a rush of blood bursting out of her nose. Where there was Michael, there must be Harry around. In the movie, Harry yed the other male lead. During the close-up, he was meticulously dressed, and his thick brows brought out the righteousness around him. The moment he wiped his sweat gently, it ignited the whole atmosphere in the hall. ¡°Lord Winston, I love you!¡± ¡°Lord Winston, my hubby!¡± Sophia was also affected by the atmosphere as she started to scream like everyone in her heart. Beside her, Stanley was even more excited. Ah! Uncle Michael is so handsome! His handsomeness is out of this world! In the movie, the male leads were clearly two young boys between age 17 and 18, but the actors ying them had abined age of 60. Nevertheless, there wasn¡¯t any unpleasant feeling to it because age was nothing in front of acting skills and charisma. Michael and Harry¡¯s brilliant acting skills were able to portray the unrestrained passion and naivety of youth. The script was also great, so everyone had a st watching the movie. Sophia was so intrigued from start to finish that she didn¡¯t notice a few times that Richard was speaking to her. The movie currently had a box office of more than 200 million since its release today, and nighttime was its prime time, so it wouldn¡¯t be a surprise if the movie¡¯s box office exceeded 300 million easily on the day it premiered. After the movie ended, everyone was still enthusiastically discussing it. At the start, the two male leads were fighting each other for a girl, but at the end, the girl transferred to another school, so the two of them ended their high school story with happy memories. Although the female lead¡¯s acting skills were good, she was stillpletely overshadowed by the two male leads, so her presence wasn¡¯t felt that strongly throughout the whole movie. When the female lead showed up, there wasn¡¯t any reaction from everyone, but when the two male leads showed up together, it caused an uproar. Everyone started chanting one after another, ¡°Kiss him!¡± Even though they weren¡¯t homosexuals, their presence together is the epitome of gay! They were born to be together! After the movie ended, Sophia stood up, wanting more as she prepared to carry Nathan, but Richard halted her. ¡°Sophia, can I treat you and Stanley to a meal? I know a¡ª¡± His words were cut off by the sudden appearance of a staff. ¡°Everyone, please return to your seat and bear with us. Today is the 8th anniversary of the opening of the Paragon Cinema branch in the University Shopping Mall, so we are here to give you all a special gift!¡± Usually, they were supposed to turn on the lights and bring in the cleaningdy when the movie ended, but now, lots of staff suddenly appeared to guard the entrance. This is a huge entourage! They were in the giant-screen hall where fan meetings were usually held, so there was a stage below the screen. At the moment, the staff used a line to separate the first row from the stage. ¡°What is happening?¡± Everyone was looking at each other, but since it was a surprise, everyone waited. All of them quickly returned to their seats and whispered silently. What is the surprise? Are they giving everyone a sack of rice? Meanwhile, Richard took the chance to continue his words. ¡°Sophia, I know a really good Japanese restaurant. Why don¡¯t we try it tonight? You can bring along your boyfriend and Nate.¡± Unfortunately, Sophia didn¡¯t answer him for a long time because she was thinking about something seriously. Why is my whole body trembling? Why is my heart beating so fast? Why is my sixth sense telling me there is danger? All of the lights were turned off, and only the stage below could be seen. Then, there were security guards and staff running around like ants. She lifted her head and looked toward the stage. In the darkness, she could see the staff running around, as if something big was happening. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Everyone stretched their necks to see as they were filled with anticipation. They wouldn¡¯t need such a big entourage for a sack of rice, right? Are they giving away posters too? They wouldn¡¯t need such a big entourage for a poster too, so they must be giving out an extra bottle of laundry detergent! A few minutester, a sweet sound was suddenly heard through the microphone. ¡°Behold! We wee the two starring actors of ¡®High School Romance¡¯!¡± The crowd was in an uproar. Looks like it is a celebrity meet-and-greet! But they probably could only invite the female lead and a few actors ying insignificant supporting roles, or maybe the director and screenwriter. Although everyone was surprised, they didn¡¯t hold much expectation. Ethan and Taylor won¡¯t being. They could have just given us posters. Suddenly, the lights were turned on! All of the spotlights were lit up brightly at the same time, causing the dark theater to be as bright as day. This sudden change shocked everyone, but no one uttered a word, so the big hall fell into a few seconds of silence. When the lights were turned on, three more people appeared under the big screen. One of them was the host, who was holding a microphone. One of the other two wore a dashing suit in a mysterious ck color, as if it was encapsting a whole dose of aphrodisiac. His powerful charisma couldn¡¯t be concealed as it oozed from his suit and instantly ignited the audience. The other wore a more casual outfit. He only wore an ordinary-looking white coral fleece jacket that usually wouldn¡¯t be worn by men, but along with his face, he captivated everybody. After a few seconds of silence, a burst of screams erupted in the hall. ¡°Ethan!¡± ¡°T-Taylor. My Miss Taylor! Ah!¡± ¡°Help. I must be insane! I¡¯m now looking at my idol!¡± When Sophia saw the two idols, she felt a thump in her temple. This exins the anxiety I was feeling just now. It turns out that Tay Tay is here. It¡¯s over for me. I have my ex-boyfriend on my left and my current ¡®lover¡¯ on my right. Tay Tay is going to kill me! Chapter 146 Chapter 146 Nobody expected the two idols toe here, so the whole theater was filled with screams of surprise, and it wouldn¡¯t stop. The screams went on for a while before the host ced the microphone in Ethan¡¯s hand. Suddenly, the audience became quiet as they silently waited for their idol to speak. Ethan¡¯s gaze swept across the audience before a sexy voice came out of the microphone. ¡°Are you surprised? Are you excited?¡± The fans cheered, ¡°Ah! Ah! My idol! I¡¯m surprised! I¡¯m excited!¡± When it was Michael¡¯s turn to speak, he received the microphone and waved his hand at the audience in a gentlemanly fashion. ¡°Hello, everybody. I¡¯m Taylor.¡± In an instant, he was overwhelmed by the screams of the audience. This was a 3D movie, so Stanley bought the best seats. Sophia was now sitting in the middle, but she tried really hard to lower her presence so that Michael wouldn¡¯t see her. While sitting on his seat, Nathan suddenly felt that his whole body was picked up by Sophia. He saw her scurrying around like a wild animal while she secretly switched seats with him. She ced him on her original seat as she sat beside him. Nathan rolled his eyes. What¡¯s the use of this? She can only me her bad luck for being caught watching a movie with her ex- boyfriend! It¡¯s obvious that daddy is here to catch her red-handed! She¡¯s in big trouble unless she chooses not to return home tonight! The sudden appearance of the two idols stirred up the atmosphere in the hall, causing Stanley to cheer frantically. X was also excited by it as she finally got to see her idol again. Even Nathan was a little excited by what just happened, leaving Sophia the only one made anxious by their appearance. It¡¯s over for me. I only brought Nate here to watch a movie. I definitely didn¡¯t have any other intentions! All of this was just an ident. All of this was just a coincidence! The meet-and-greet with the two idols onlysted ten minutes, which only allowed them to share their feelings toward making the movie and pick two lucky fans toe on stage to receive a small gift. The audience even got a chance to ask their idol quick questions. During the questioning session, a lucky fan was selected toe on stage. She looked at Ethan excitedly and asked, ¡°Excuse me. You two rarely participate in offline meetings with fans like this, so why did youe to Paragon Cinema today?¡± Ethan gave a witty answer. ¡°I¡¯m also curious. Ask Taylor.¡± Michael received the microphone and replied in a gentlemanly way, ¡°There is no reason. I suddenly wanted toe here.¡± Even though both idols gave vague answers, everyone was still very enthusiastic, so the screams kept on going. Just like that, the fan meeting was over, so the two of them went out through the VIP channel. Lots of fans in the hall wanted to follow them, but they were immediately blocked by the bodyguards. Richard took X¡¯s hand and chased after them, but they were blocked by the bodyguards. Then, he took out his name card and showed it to them. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m the Vice President of Harper Real Estates, Richard Harper. My family invested in this movie, so I want to bring my girlfriend to take a photo with the two stars.¡± X was hopping around excitedly as she grabbed his hand tightly. She really hoped to get another picture taken with her idol. However, the bodyguard looked at the two of them coldly before rejecting them like how he rejected the others. ¡°No.¡± Even the host could recognize Richard because his family also had shares in this cinema chain. He held a tinum card, which allowed him to watch any movies for free, but the bodyguards belonged to the two stars, so the host was powerless to do anything. Yet, he still insisted in speaking to the bodyguard, ¡°Mr. Harper here is an investor of the movie. Why don¡¯t you¡ª¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. The bodyguard still gave a cold reply. ¡°No one is allowed to enter.¡± Richard wanted to say something before two people from the back squeezed their way forward. Stanley ced Nathan on his shoulders and pointed at him. ¡°Sir, look here. This is Taylor and Ethan¡¯s son!¡± Sophia, who followed him from behind, was rendered speechless. Taylor and Ethan¡¯s son. Why does it sound so weird? When Richard turned his head around and saw the family of three, he let out a slight chuckle. My family is an investor of the movie ¡®High School Romance¡¯, yet we don¡¯t even have the chance to meet Taylor. How can a little brat like Nate be able to meet him just because they met each other during military training? X was alsoughing at their thick skin. ¡°Sophia, do you really think Nate is Miss Taylor¡¯s son? They were just doing an improv. They have already long forgotten who he is.¡± Unexpectedly, the cold-faced bodyguard who blocked Richard actually stood aside without question when he saw Nathan. ¡°Come in.¡± With Nathan in his hands, Stanley chased after Michael excitedly through the VIP channel while Sophia followed him. X could only stand and watch as they disappeared in the VIP channel. Meanwhile, Stanley chased after Michael to the carpark. As Michael and Harry came here on a whim, no one knew about their appearance. If everyone found outter on, they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the ce. Stanley was very happy to see Michael, and he even tried to give him a big hug. ¡°Oh, Uncle Michael, I missed you so much. Why did you suddenly appear at the cinema? You came here because of me, right? Gosh, I love you so much. Muacks!¡± Michael was disgusted as he pushed him away, so he went to bother Ethan instead. ¡°Idol, you came here because of me, right?¡± When Stanley was bothering Ethan, Michael strode toward his little wife. At first, he wanted to give her a long-awaited kiss, but there wasn¡¯t much time left, so it couldn¡¯t take too long. At the end, he only gave her a soft peck on the cheek before carrying Nathan. ¡°Get in the car now; otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to leaveter on.¡± Afterward, Sophia quickly got into Michael¡¯s limousine. News about Michael and Harry¡¯s sudden appearance had probably spread throughout the entire university, and presumably, many fangirls were already on their way to see them. If they didn¡¯t leave now, they would be trapped in the cinema. Stanley also got into the car happily. The inside of the limousine was spacious, and the seats were opposite each other. At the moment, Michael and Sophia sat together with Nathan in the middle. All of a sudden, Sophia realized that Michael was also wearing a white coral fleece jacket. I can¡¯t believe an adult man like him is wearing a coral fleece jacket, and it even looks quite good on him. Sure enough, the look of the outfit depends on how dashing the wearer¡¯s face is. The three of them wore white fleece jackets, which looked like a parent-child outfit set. How did Michael know we were wearing white parent-child outfits today? He saw us? No. Now is not the time to worry about the parent-child outfits. Michael definitely wants to kill me now after seeing me sitting next to Richard at the cinema. Help! I¡¯m scared! Meanwhile, Harry started sleeping the moment he got into the car. The family of three on the opposite side is too dazzling for a singleton like me to see. It¡¯s better to just close my eyes. Stanley was twisting his body around happily as he sat beside Harry. Then, he began to realize that the family of three was wearing parent-child outfits, so he eximed, ¡°Wow! Uncle Michael, you are such a loving father! Nate is such a happy child! I also want to wear parent-child outfits with you!¡± Sophia sighed in her heart. Stan is really an idiot. How did an idiot like him survive in Michael¡¯s harem? Chapter 147 Chapter 147 Michael ignored Stanley and carried Nathan up to have a look at him. The white coral fleece jacket that Nathan wore today was cute and fluffy, so it was veryfortable to the touch. There was even a big hoodie drooping at the back, which had the same color as Michael¡¯s white jacket. When he knew that they had ordered parent-child outfits to be made, he also signed up and ordered three for each set. Then, his outfits were specially airlifted to the film set for him. ¡°My son, call me Daddy!¡± he teased Nathan. However, Nathan¡¯s face revealed his refusal as he kicked his little legs and squirmed back into Sophia¡¯s arms. Michael didn¡¯t me him, so he lovingly caressed his tiny head. In the past, he was busy with his work, so he wasn¡¯t able to bring up Nathan himself. That was why he was brought up by nannies, causing him to have a weird personality since a young age. Now, it was finally better because he at least learned how to use his puppy eyes, even though his face was cold most of the time. The car drove all the way to The Imperial. Harry left immediately when he got out of the car because he, too, lived at The Imperial in Vi No.4. However, Stanley stubbornly wanted to go to Michael¡¯s house, so he followed the family of three into Vi No.8 since he wanted to see who Michael¡¯s wife was. Meanwhile, Nathan had been keeping a close eye on Michael ever since they got home, as if he was pervert; he was afraid that he might approach Sophia. Michael had been away from home for a long while, and when he finally got home, the butler already prepared arge meal for him after receiving news about his return. He even ughtered the two eels in Michael¡¯s fish tank to make dishes. The moment Stanley entered the house, he started flipping through all the cupboards and drawers, like a detective who would never let a person or clue slip away from his eyes. Then, he asked Michael, ¡°Uncle Michael, where is my aunt? Tell her toe out for me to see. Don¡¯t worry. I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± Michael looked exhausted. He was already tired when hended in Cethos, but after knowing that Sophia and Stanley went to watch a movie together, he decided at thest minute to pop up at Paragon Cinema. While climbing up the stairs, he said to Stanley, ¡°She is so far yet so near. Leave my house after you¡¯re done eating. I won¡¯t see you off.¡± After watching Michael go upstairs, Stanley immediately grabbed Nathan and asked mysteriously, ¡°Nate, where is your mom? Nathan¡¯s face was cold. ¡°Mind your own business.¡± Stanley still wouldn¡¯t give up, so he asked Sophia instead, ¡°Sophia, have you seen my aunt? Is my aunt pretty? Does she have a good rtionship with my uncle? What kind of a person is my aunt? How old is she? What is her job? Do you have a picture of her?¡± Sophia felt distressed. Should I just tell him that I¡¯m his aunt? I can¡¯t! What if he gets jealous about it? Therefore, she gave him a vague answer. ¡°I¡¯m just a nanny. It¡¯s not appropriate for me to talk about it!¡± Seeing that she refused to tell him, he went to ask Maria instead. The adorable Maria tilted her head and deliberately kept him asking. ¡°Young Master Stan, you can try to guess. If your guess is right, I¡¯ll tell you where madam is!¡± He was rendered speechless, so he turned his attention toward the butler, Mr. Morgan. Mr. Morgan knew that Michael wanted to keep it a secret, so he answered him purposely, ¡°I also don¡¯t know about it. Boss keeps his marriage hidden, so even we aren¡¯t sure about it!¡± Since all of them were unwilling to say, Stanley tried to find the truth himself by sneaking into Michael¡¯s room so that he could flip through his drawers. There really are traces of a woman in Michael¡¯s room. The love nket is folded neatly, and there are two boxes of condoms in the closet. The marriage sign on the wall hasn¡¯t been removed, and there is a woman¡¯s closet. In the master bedroom, there is also a woman¡¯s dressing table, but I just can¡¯t find a clue about my aunt, not even a picture of her! When Michael got out of the bathroom, Stanley grabbed his hand to have a look. ¡°Uncle Michael, where is your wedding ring? Where is it?¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. All of a sudden, Michael realized something. I¡¯m already married. Even if we ignore the wedding banquet, I still owe her a wedding ring. No wonder chica is unwilling to sleep with me. But there are a lot of inconveniences thate with my identity. Even if we get ourselves wedding rings, I won¡¯t be able to wear it because the media will notice and dig into it at any time. By then, they will find out about Sophia. However, a wedding ring is still essential¡­ He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as he stared at his hand. In the meantime, Sophia held Nathan¡¯s hand as they prepared to take a bath before dinner, but unexpectedly, when they got up the stairs, they immediately saw Michael and Stanley holding hands together by the door¡­ Ahh! It burns my eyes! She hurriedly carried Nathan away and covered his eyes to prevent him from being corrupted. Michael was now back, so it was time for her to be worried again. He will definitely teach me a lesson for what I¡¯ve just done. What excuse should I use tonight to reject him? He decided to marry her so that she could bear his child, so a night full of passion was inevitable, but she still wasn¡¯t ready. She felt especially scared when she saw Maria putting two more eels in the fish tank. I can¡¯t sleep with a psychopath like him. What should I do? What should I do? She kept on feeling anxious. Even though Nate is a good excuse, I can¡¯t expect him to cooperate with me every time, and I can¡¯t use him forever as a shield! Forget it. I¡¯ll cross the bridge when Ie to it. Stanley is here tonight, so I should be safe! The butler had arranged a scrumptious dinner for tonight. When dinner was served, Sophia had already given Nathan a bath, so she held his tiny hand while they walked to the dining room. Both of them had changed into their pajamas. Nathan¡¯s pajama was the green frog suit. A few days ago when he wore it, he felt a little embarrassed, but now, he wanted to wear it everyday, for after a quick period of embarrassment, he actually felt that it looked quite good. He and Sophia wore the same outfit, and the two frogs, one big and one small, walked down the stairs. In the dining room, Stanley searched for a whole day, but he just couldn¡¯t find traces of his aunt. Feeling famished, he too sat and waited for the food to be served. When he saw Sophia and Nathaning in, he held his belly andughed, ¡°Hahahaha! Sophia, what are you wearing? Are you two frogs?¡± Of course, he immediately received two disdainful nces. While Sophia¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t threaten him at all, he was exceptionally scared of Nathan¡¯s gaze. His eyes look exactly like his parents¡¯. He has his mother¡¯s dominance, his father¡¯s grimace, and his uncle¡¯s fierceness all in one. He will definitely be a hard warrior when he grows up. Sophia gave him a cold stare before cing Nathan on a chair. Nathan looked really adorable in his frog pajama. To prevent wind from getting in, he could tighten his hoodie. After tightening the hoodie around his head, his tender face was the only thing left exposed on his body. He looked so cute! Therefore, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but pinch his tiny cheek. ¡°You are so cute. Muacks!¡± Nathan also seemed to be a little proud of himself. When he first got the frog jammies, he felt that he looked stupid in it, but after a while, he realized he looked surprisingly good in it. Stanley pulled Sophia¡¯s hoodie and saw that there was a pair ofrge frog eyes on it, which made her look ridiculous. As he nced at her outfit, he suddenly felt a little sore in the nose. It isn¡¯t easy to make a living. It¡¯s so hard to be a nanny. She is even forced to follow her little master and wear this ridiculous outfit. If it were me, I would rather die than wear that outfit. I pity her so much! Chapter 148 Chapter 148 However, Sophia is still lucky to be Nate¡¯s nanny. She¡¯s definitely luckier than other families because at least she is allowed to have dinner with her employers. Then, Stanley took out his phone to take pictures of her. ¡°Hehe. Sophia, you look very stupid, but most geniuses wear that kind of outfit! Come. Let me take a picture of your work clothes.¡± Click! Click! It was toote for Sophia to cover her face with her hands. After he was done taking pictures of her, he finally put down his phone. Suddenly, he remembered something, so he told her, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you epted an invitation to the Harper Family¡¯s charity banquet. Tsk, for a nanny, you¡¯re really causing a lot of trouble! You definitely can¡¯t afford an evening dress! Why don¡¯t I go with you as your fake boyfriend? I promise that my appearance will capture everyone¡¯s attention. I can even rent an evening dress for you. What do you think?¡± Sophia instantly remembered the Harper Family¡¯s charity banquet. It¡¯s happening soon. The Harpers are just trying to embarrass me. They think that I¡¯m a poor student who can¡¯t afford an evening dress, so I would be humiliated. If Stanley can attend the banquet with me, it will definitely make me look better. Even though he looks stupid on the outside, he is quite a reliable person on the inside, and he isn¡¯t some ordinary person¡ªnobody in the Fletcher Family is. Maybe this will work¡­ ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Michael¡¯s voice was suddenly heard from the other side. As Sophia turned around to look toward the dining room door, she saw Michael standing right beside the door in his frog pajama. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Everyone was speechless. His frog pajama was the same as Sophia and Nathan¡¯s. It was grassy green and tailor-made, and it fit him perfectly. The outfit was also afy green frog pajama with a big hoodie. The outfit was made with the same cloth and design. It looks cute on Nate, but why does it look dashing when Michael put it on? When the loosened emerald-green pajama was ced on a model¡¯s body like his, it brought out a different kind of casual handsomeness. Along with the frog hoodie, it made him look unusually gentle yet dominant. It all truly depends on the looks¡­ Stanley was already dumbfounded. When he got back to his senses, he scratched his head and murmured, ¡°Looks like I also need to get myself the same outfit to try it out. It looks so good.¡± Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s eyes were wide open while she stared at Michael, who was approaching her in the same frog pajama as hers. A massive frog? Under the frog pajama, the psychopath doesn¡¯t look crazy at all. Instead, he looked a bit more approachable. This must be my illusion. After that, the three frogs started eating with the human. Nathan would asionally nce at Michael because he probably had never seen him in such a style before. Back then, Michael was always indifferent toward him, and whenever he was busy with work, he would ignore him by leaving him in a mansion outside the city equipped with a bunch of bodyguards and personal tutors. He even purposely arranged for a bunch of kids to y with him regardless of his preference. The longest period this happened was when he ignored him for half a year, but as soon as he went to visit him, he mistook the butler¡¯s son for him. When he kissed and hugged the butler¡¯s son while lifting him up, Nathan stood aside quietly and watched. From that moment, he started hating him. However, the moment he saw that Michael was wearing the same silly clothes as him, he felt a bit¡­ happy. Michael also seemed to notice that Nathan¡¯s cold face had softened, so he ced his huge palm on his frog head and lowered his head to look at him. ¡°Darling, call me daddy.¡± Then, Nathan turned his face away and ignored him. Nathan was actually an independant and obedient boy, so he never needed anyone to feed him before. However, ever since Sophia came, he had begun to deteriorate. Not only did he need Sophia when taking a bath or washing his face, but he also needed her care on other daily routines, such as eating and putting on shoes. At the moment, he was standing and lifting his head while waiting for Sophia to feed him with his mouth wide open. She grabbed a small frog spoon and fed him patiently. While doing so, she said to him, ¡°Good boy. You need to eat more so that you can be tall and strong.¡± Nathan remained quiet, but if he had a tail, it would definitely be wagging right now. Meanwhile, Michael was pleased to see the harmonious rtionship between the two of them. During this period, he had witnessed Nathan¡¯s change. He was his uncle and his daddy, so he definitely hoped that Nathan could have a happy childhood, just like any other lively kid. If he had a sibling to apany him, that would be even more perfect. At this point, he couldn¡¯t help but touch Sophia¡¯s head. The frog hoodie that she was wearing was fluffy, and it was reallyfortable to the touch. Sophia lowered her head as her whole body tensed up, but him touching her head was better than him touching other parts of her body. Slowly, she also feltfortable being massaged on the head by him. Michael lowered his eyes and cast Sophia, who was sitting next to him, a gentle nce. My young wife is really adorable and cute. Her red tiny face is plump, and her fair skin has traces of red, but it is thoroughly clean. Her big ck eyes look so energetic, and the feel of her head is sofortable that I can¡¯t stop touching it! However, under the eyes of Stanley, this romantic scene was interpreted in a different way. Uncle Michael is such a kind person. He even treats a nanny so well. Wow! He is simply the most gentle man in the world! Suddenly, Sophia felt an extra palm touching her head, so she lifted her head and looked toward Stanley angrily. He was now touching her frog head happily. No wonder Uncle Michael looks so invested and happy. This feel is amazing! He couldn¡¯t help but continue touching her, but after a few seconds, his hand was ruthlessly pped away by Michael. Michael gave him a disdainful nce and growled coldly, ¡°Finish your food now and get out.¡± Stanley quickly withdrew his hand. What is he angry about? Can¡¯t I touch his nanny¡¯s head? When they were eating, Stanley kept on bothering Michael. ¡°Uncle Michael, can I spend the night here? Uncle Michael, can I sleep with you tonight? Uncle Michael, I haven¡¯t slept with you in a long while!¡± Sophia, who was done feeding Nathan, tried to restrain her homosexual thoughts politely after hearing his words. If I were a novelist, I could write a dozen erotic novels with just these few sentences! The scene was too gay for her, so she felt that her presence was a bit redundant. After a few bites, she suddenly lost her appetite, and her head drooped as shezily poked the leftover dishes with her chopstick. When Michael saw herck of interest, he caressed her head and spoke to her gently, ¡°You can bring Nate to bed if you¡¯re full. You must be tired.¡± Initially, he was prepared to question her today, but seeing how cute her outfit looked, he decided to save that conversation for another day. Sophia nodded her head and went upstairs with Nathan. At first, she thought that he was about to question her, but he didn¡¯t seem to me her at all! When that psycho spoke just now, his tone and eyes were so gentle that it made my heart flutter! She held Nathan¡¯s tiny hand with her left hand while she tried to feel her heartbeat with her right hand. She couldn¡¯t control herself! I must not be moved by that psycho! Chapter 149 Chapter 149 After Sophia took Nathan away, Stanley immediately sat on her seat and asked Michael anxiously, ¡°Uncle Michael, is Sophia really married? But she doesn¡¯t look like she is married at all! Who is her husband? Is he as handsome as I am? Uncle Michael, please tell me. Who is her husband? I really want to meet him!¡± Michael was now eating a crispy chicken bone, and his hard bite made a bone-crushing sound. As soon as he was done, he put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin before he asked coldly, ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± Stanley giggled. ¡°No reason. I¡¯m just curious.¡± Michael went upstairs after he finished his meal, but Stanley was still pestering him. ¡°Uncle Michael, please tell me. Who is Sophia¡¯s husband? Is it Gary? Is it Hale? Argh! Uncle Michael! I beg you. Please tell me!¡± Michael was very secretive regarding the information of his employees. Even if Sophia was just a ¡®nanny¡¯, Stanley still couldn¡¯t find out about her background. He could only find out that she graduated from South Bayside High School and was now studying in Bayside University, but he just wasn¡¯t able to find out who her husband was. He stubbornly requested to stay in Vi No.8 for the night, so the butler arranged a guest room for him to sleep in. As soon as he was done with his bath, he went to bother Michael again. After he knocked on the door furiously, Michael¡¯s cold and emotionless face was now in front of his enthusiastic face. ¡°Uncle Michael, can you please give me your autograph? Hurry up and sign on my waist!¡± Michael, who was ready to go to bed, was annoyed when he saw him, but he still took the pen to sign on his waist. Stanley opened his pajama and enjoyed the heavenly feeling of his uncle signing his waist. His face revealed his happiness. Meanwhile, Sophia heard their voices, so she opened the door of Nathan¡¯s room and stuck her head out to have a peek. Immediately, she saw Michael standing at the door while Stanley took off his clothes in front of him. ¡°Oh, sh*t!¡± They¡¯ve already started at the door. How horny are they? Then, she quickly shut the door and even locked it twice. Michael is having fun with Stanley tonight, so I¡¯m safe for the time being. After shey down on the sofa, she couldn¡¯t help but imagine things. Michael is so perverted, like a poppy flower. On the surface, it is bright and pretty, but in truth, it is still toxic. If I be addicted to him, I will definitely end in peril! She closed her eyes and rolled around on the sofa. She could only think about Michael¡¯s gentle gaze just now and howfortable it was when he rubbed her head. Ah! I must stop! I feel like I¡¯m going to be addicted to him sooner orter! To prevent herself from imagining things, she turned on herptop and logged into the game. Both her and Nathan¡¯s character were hijacked by Scary Phoenix, and now, they couldn¡¯t y with it, so she trained a new character in a low-key manner. She decided to start over, but this time, she didn¡¯t dare to be as high-profile as before. In reality, both she and Nathan wore parent-child outfits, and in the game, their characters also wore simr clothings. Their outfit looked so simr to each other that it was obvious they were a pair of father and son. ¡°Darling, let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll help you fight the monsters to upgrade ourselves!¡± Sophia caressed the tiny frog head of Nathan, who was next to her, as she spoke gently. Although he remained silent, he still felt happy inside. In the game, their gears were average, and they didn¡¯t join any guilds because they wanted toy low. They started from Novice Vige and yed the game slowly by beating the monsters one at a time. Nathan stopped using plug-ins, and Sophia also stopped throwing money into the game blindly. On the other side, Stanley¡¯s waist was almost filled with Michael¡¯s signature, so he pulled his pants down and revealed his bottom. Then, he perked it up toward Michael. ¡°Come on, Uncle Michael. Please sign my bottom too.¡± Michael, who was holding the pen, finally lost it. He poked the pen right on Stanley¡¯s back before lifting his leg to give his bottom a ruthless kick. Stanley slipped along the marble floor because of the kick and hit the wall before stopping. ¡°Piss off!¡± Bang! Michael shut the door furiously. Stanley knew that his uncle was angry, so he stood up gloomily without uttering a word. Then, he held his sore bottom as he walked back to his room. After closing the door, Michael went back to his room and opened the surveince video to have a look in Nathan¡¯s room. At first, he installed a dozen surveince cameras in Nathan¡¯s room, but Nathan found and hacked them all in the end. Recently, he took the opportunity to install a new one in his room. Even though the camera angle wasn¡¯t perfect, he could still see the mother and son having fun with the game. The two frogs, one big and one small, leaned against each other closely. After defeating a monster, Sophia would give him a kiss as an award, which made the atmosphere very warm and lovely. In the meantime, Michael also turned on hisptop and logged into the game.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Sophia and Nathan just finished a round, so they were now walking around in the game. Suddenly, they saw a character on the other end of the street with a familiar ID¡ªCall Me Taylor. When they first met her, she was still a new character, but now, the skills and wealth she umted had gradually turned her into a famous heroine. There were many people courting her, especially after Sirius was taken away by Scary Phoenix, which forcefully ended her marriage with Sirius. Call Me Taylor was still wearing her bunny outfit, and it was the same parent-child outfit that Sirius and NateKato wore before. Now that her husband and son were gone, she still refused to change her outfit. Sophia was still hesitant on whether to tell her who she was because ever since she changed to her new character, she cut off her previous rtions with everyone. If I tell her who I am, will she expose me to everyone? After all, all of these are done virtually, so no one knows who is the one behind the screen! But Taylor once sacrificed herself for me¡­ Just when Sophia was a bit hesitant, Nathan eagerly went toward Call Me Taylor, whoter came to reconnect with Sophia. ¡®Hubby, is it really you?¡¯ Now that Sophia had trained a new character, her character was a spiritual cultivator with distinct facial features. She was no longer the arrogant and ruthless Sirius233 that she was before. Since Nathan liked Call Me Taylor very much, Sophia could only expose her identity. ¡®Yes, my dear. It¡¯s me.¡¯ Call Me Taylor was so happy that she couldn¡¯t wait to establish a married rtionship with Sophia¡¯s new character, and she even took Nathan in as her son. The family of three was back together again. Now, Call Me Taylor¡¯s rank was much higher than Sophia¡¯s. Back then, it was always Sophia who helped them defeat monsters, but this time, their roles were switched. The family of three slowly upgraded their levels¡­ The next day, Sophia woke up early to help prepare Nathan for school. When they were having breakfast, she saw Stanley limping down the stairs with one hand pressed against the wall and the other holding his waist. She was shocked to see him this way. ¡°Stan, what happened to you?¡± Stanley didn¡¯t dare to say that his uncle kicked him, so he muttered, ¡°I fell.¡± He fell? Sophia didn¡¯t believe him. That pervert was quite rough, huh? Stanley can¡¯t even walk properly because of him! During breakfast, Sophia didn¡¯t dare to utter a word as her eyeballs darted between Michael and Stanley. There was a weird atmosphere around the table. Chapter 150 Chapter 150 After they were done with breakfast, Sophia and Nathan went to school. Stanley also limped into the car with them while holding his waist. Meanwhile, Michael was wearing the frog pajama as he stood at the door to see them off. He hugged Sophia and reached out both his arms to Nathan. ¡°Come here, darling. Let me hug you.¡± Nathan didn¡¯t want to hug him, so he turned his face away in disgust, but he still reached out to hug him reluctantly. Stanley also wanted a hug, but he was pushed away by Michael in disgust. ¡°Go away.¡± Therefore, he became furious. ¡°Why can Sophia get a hug, but I can¡¯t? I want a hug too!¡± This is so unfair. Even a nanny has the privilege to hug my idol, but not his own nephew?! He didn¡¯t care whether Michael wanted to hug him; he just rushed forward and gave him a big hug! After they hugged, Michael watched as Sophia and Nathan got in the car. When they were gone, he lowered his head and nced at his fingers. Oh, yeah. Stanley reminded me that I¡¯m married, but I still don¡¯t have a wedding ring! At night, Sophia and Nathan returned home while Stanley followed them again stubbornly. He had always been clingy, but back then, Michael was constantly not in Bayside City; he was very secretive with his whereabouts, so Stanley didn¡¯t know when he was home. Now, all he had to do was just ask Nathan. However, halfway on the road, Hale suddenly took a turn after receiving a call. Then, he opened the car door and threw the pestering Stanley out. ¡°What are you doing? I won¡¯t leave! I won¡¯t leave! I want to see my Uncle Michael!¡± Hale ignored him and drove away after leaving him behind. Sophia asked Hale curiously, ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± He remained silent as he drove her all the way to a nearby jewelry shop. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. Ido was a global chain jewelry brand which specialized in expensive essories, and the brand was very famous among the rich and famous. When Sophia got there, she was invited into Ido¡¯s VIP reception room. The moment she entered, she saw that Michael was already waiting for her inside. As she entered the reception room, she noticed that the room was cleared, and there was a row of bodyguards dressed in ck standing there. The atmosphere was serious. ¡°Chica,e here.¡± Michael waved his hand at her. She went over and sat next to him. He was now choosing a ring, so the ss table in front of him was filled with dozens of rings. The ss table in front of her reflected the bright lights, and itnded on his distinct face. Even the tip of his nose was full of tenderness under the lighting. He held her hand and gently kissed her face before trying each of the rings in front of him on her finger. ¡°Chica, which one do you like?¡± Sophia sneakily nced at the decoration of the store and the ringsid out in front of her. She did a little research on jewelry before, so she knew that the series of wedding rings in front of her were all designed by an international jewelry designer. Every person could only ever purchase one with their ID card, and it was a specially-created jewelry series by Ido. Is Michael choosing a wedding ring? And why is he choosing a series of rings that he can only have one for the rest of his life? Isn¡¯t he afraid that buying this ring may cause an uproar among his harem consisting of Stanley, Harry, Daniel, Joel, Hale, and the rest? Maybe he knows the jewelry designer, so he can simply buy a dozen of them. Just as she was drifting away, Michael¡¯s deep voice rang in her ears again. ¡°Chica, which one do you like? Just tell me, hmm?¡± He tried a ring on her finger, but he didn¡¯t seem too pleased with it, so he took it off and switched to another one. He had a nice voice that prated her ears and heart. Sophia was so close to him that she could even feel the heat of his breath on her earlobe when he spoke. Suddenly, her bones softened as her heart was starting to beat uncontrobly again. She seemed to notice that Michael was weaving an invisible trap of tenderness that wasing after her fiercely. It surrounded her tightly from all sides, giving her no chance of resisting. In the blink of an eye, her heart could be captured. No! I really don¡¯t want to live without dignity by bing part of his harem! From then on, I would need to fight with a bunch of extremely-capable men for his love. Isn¡¯t that simr to the extreme storylines in pce dramas? I would be beaten up in no time! Stanley alone is enough to destroy me. All of a sudden, her thoughts were running wild again. Meanwhile, Michael kept on looking at her as he tried to guess her thoughts through her expressions. She looks hesitant. Could it be that she doesn¡¯t like the wedding rings? He was a master in micro-expression, and he could see a person¡¯s thoughts through their expression, but it was still impossible for him to guess the wild thoughts running around in Sophia¡¯s mind right now. If he could guess it, he would definitely vomit blood in anger. Finally, Sophia spoke with an aggrieved face, ¡°Hubby, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea. You are a celebrity. If anyone finds out that you are married, it will affect your career. Didn¡¯t you say that you want to keep our marriage a secret? Also, I¡¯m still a student, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate if others find out.¡± So this is what¡¯s on her mind. Michael understood her thoughts and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We can choose not to wear it, but we still need a wedding ring. You can pick one you like.¡± Therefore, Sophia picked a wedding ring that seemed rtively low-key. After the decision was made, Michael made the payment using his ID card, as if it was nothing to him. Sophia also took out her ID card for the staff to register her. This was a special wedding ring series, so the staff asked them seriously, ¡°Have you two considered it carefully? Every person can only own one ring from this series in their life. Once you buy this, you can¡¯t buy another one in the future.¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure.¡± Seeing how serious he was, Sophia was also forced to take it seriously. ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± After that, the staff expertly registered the two of them. All of the staff in the store were very professional. Even when an Academy Award for Best Actor winner, Taylor Murray, came to the store to buy a wedding ring, they didn¡¯t seem to be surprised about it because all of them were experienced in their line of work. When they were done choosing the wedding ring, the staff issued an invoice to them and exined, ¡°Pleasee back and pick up your rings in two weeks¡¯ time. We will send your order back to France so that the designer can customize the ring for you two.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Michael kept the invoice. Sophia had a nce at the invoice, and she was almost shocked to death by the number of zeroes on the receipt. Oh, my God. That is so expensive. It¡¯s even more expensive than my 2-million sword! After they were done, Michael held Sophia¡¯s dainty hand and left. There were a few times where Nathan wanted to squeeze between the two of them, but he was quietly pushed away by Michael. Sophia wore a pair of white fluffy gloves that revealed her fingertips. When Michael held her hand, he was also holding her fluffy gloves. The two of them left by using the VIP elevator. In the elevator, it was so silent that only their breathing and heartbeats could be heard. Michael¡¯s presence seemed to suffocate her. She held on to her breath while holding Nathan¡¯s tiny hand tightly so that she wouldn¡¯t be that nervous. She felt that tonight was inevitable, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to resist at all. Why don¡¯t I just let him take my virginity? Chapter 151 Chapter 151 Suddenly, Sophia became a little excited¡­ Nathan lifted his head and looked at her flushed face as he felt curious. The family of three then reached the car park. After helping Sophia and Nathan into the car, Michael kissed her face and said, ¡°Take good care of Nate.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. He closed the door afterward, but he didn¡¯t enter the car. Sophia held her breath as she quickly lowered the car window and asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t youing with us?¡± He shook his head. ¡°No. I have a ne to catch tonight. I need to get back to the film set. You stay at home and take good care of our son.¡± As the car drove away, she gazed at Michael from afar through the lowered car window. Suddenly, she had an urge to jump out of the car and follow him. What a shame. I¡¯m already mentally-prepared¡­ After they were gone, Michael went into another car that had tinted windows. There were already several people in the car, including Harry, Daniel, and a man with a creepy mask dressed in ck. When he got into the car, he patted the shoulder of the masked man. ¡°Nate is fine.¡± The masked man had a pair of eyes withoutshes, and he closed them, revealing the scars on his eyelids. The part of his face under the mask waspletely damaged. Then, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Michael before nodding his head. ¡°Thank you.¡± The car drove away¡­ After Michael was gone, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to be as enthusiastic as before. Instead, she couldn¡¯t help but miss him at all times. Sometimes, his figure would mysteriously pop up in her mind. She finished watching all of Michael¡¯s movies using her iPad, and she even watched them repeatedly. Everytime she watched a movie with Michael in it, she would always think to herself, Oh, my God. This is my husband! Oh, my God. My husband is so handsome! Even Nathan noticed that ever since Michael left, Sophia was often in a daze, and she wouldn¡¯t answer him when he called her. Whenever this happened, he would shake his head and sigh. Oh, women! There are a few things that a woman shouldn¡¯t touch, such as drugs, cosmetic products, jewelries, cats, and Michael. Once she bes addicted to any of these, it will lead to bankruptcy if she is lucky; if she is not, it will drive her insane. Looking at Sophia¡¯s actions, Nathan felt that he was about to have a little sister sooner orter, so he started taking notice of girl toys. He even hid some candies and clothes that girls liked in his little closet as wee gifts for his sister. However, a few dayster, he was furious as he threw away all the candies and clothes that he had hidden for his sister. This is too much! Recently, Sophia hadn¡¯t been ying games with him because she spent all her time on video calls with Michael. Every night when she came home, she would turn on herptop and start a video chat with Michael. At night when everyone was sleeping, she even snuck inside her nket to call him secretly. Whenever they weren¡¯t calling, they would have a long chat through Messenger. This is too much! She is starting to ignore me! Since the first day Michael left, she had been acting this way. The next day, it was still the same. On the third day, nothing changed. On the fourth day, she immediately went back to her room after getting home to have a naked video chat with Michael,pletely forgetting Nathan. When he stood behind her angrily, he could see through the video that Michael seemed to be in a hotel room in only his underwear as he walked around the room shirtless. Sophia¡¯s face was burning while she chatted with him. Daddy has crossed the line! He actually sacrificed his body topete for attention with me! At the moment, Sophia waspletely addicted to a poison called ¡®Michael¡¯. It took a long time for her to notice Nathan¡¯s troubled face, so she quicklyforted him, ¡°Darling, what¡¯s wrong? Who bullied you?¡± Nathan crossed his arms as he looked at Michael¡¯s annoying face on the screen. Michael even said to him on purpose, ¡°Darling, call me daddy!¡± He became so angry that he turned away and left, but before that, he reminded her, ¡°There is a double experience point event today in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯!¡± She knew that he was furious, so she quickly revealed a cute face to Michael and said to him, ¡°Hubby, I need to end the call now. Nate wants me to y games with him!¡± Michael gave her a gentleman¡¯s smile. ¡°Go, chica.¡± As soon as she ended the video call, she cupped her tiny, blushed face. Wow! That¡¯s Tay Tay¡ªthe dream guy of billions of girls around the world! She felt that she hadpletely fallen into his trap. In the meantime, Nathan waited in the room next door for half a minute, but Sophia didn¡¯t appear, so he came over again angrily. ¡°Why aren¡¯t youing? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!¡± Therefore, she hurriedly grabbed herptop and went into his room before logging into the game with him. There was another event today in the game that offered yers double experience points, so the game was packed. Call Me Taylor brought Sophia and Nathan to defeat some monsters as the family of three lived happily together. They even bought a house and owned two pets in the game, and their decorations were dope. Everyday, they fought monsters and upgraded themselves, living the perfect life. The family of three made new parent-child outfits in the game again, and Call Me Taylor also changed her former flirtatious outfit to a more domestic one. In the game, Nathan also called Call Me Taylor ¡®mommy¡¯ for the first time. On the other side of the, in a hotel, Harry barged into Michael¡¯s room with aptop. ¡°Dad! Dad! I can¡¯t believe that little brat, Stanley, actually hit me! I want you to hit him back! Look at that little brat. He thinks he owns the world now. I¡¯ve heard that he has be the president of his school¡¯s Esports Club, and he is now rallying everyone in his club to cause mischief!¡± When he rushed to the front of Michael¡¯sptop, he could see him ying the game while wearing his green frog pajamas. However, he was training his new female character. As Harry looked closer, he saw that Michael had found himself a good-looking husband in the game with his new character. He was now typing a few adorable emojis on the keyboard to flirt with the other male character. He kept on calling the male character in the game ¡®hubby¡¯, and it was so perfectly faked that Harry almost pped him in the face just by looking at it. ¡°Old man, can you not be this disgusting? You are ying a female character, and you even found a husband! Eh, you even have a son! Is he calling you ¡®mommy¡¯? Don¡¯t you know how to spell the word ¡®shame¡¯? Oh, my God! Old man, are you actually a pervert inside? Is this body actually holding a woman inside? Ew, what a pervert. Stay away from me! Stay away from me!¡± Harry became even more dramatic as he mored for a long time before approaching him. He saw that Michael, who was a big man, was using a female character to flirt with another man in the game. Michael gave him his excuse. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m exploring my character? I¡¯m shooting a scene as a transgender dancer in two days. I¡¯m now ying as a girl in the game to try it out.¡± Even though it was a perfect excuse, Harry still felt that he was a pervert. Then, he pulled over a chair and sat next to Michael as he watched him act as a woman for the rest of the day. The Michael in the game was very flirtatious. Even though he had put on a more domestic outfit, it still didn¡¯t change who he was¡ªevery word he typed was filled with a thick sense of flirtiness! Chapter 152 Chapter 152 In reality, Michael won the Best Actor Award, so it was no surprise that he was the best actor in the game. His portrayal of a woman as a man was wless. If his husband and son in the game found out that their wife and mommy was a man, it would be so traumatic to them! Finally, he was done ying a woman as he said his goodbyes to his husband and son. As soon as he went offline, he immediately logged into the game again with his main character. Instantly, he became the radiant God¡ªScary Phoenix. The filming crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ traveled around the world. The whole series required them to film in 7 to 8 eight countries, so Michael resumed to his usual style of not going back home for a month or two. In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed, and Michael wasn¡¯t around. Therefore, Sophia went to the jewelry store herself to pick up the wedding ring they ordered. It would usually take at least a month for the jewelry store to have a pair of rings ready, but probably because of Michael¡¯s reputation, it only took two weeks to get them done. While waiting in the VIP reception room, she received the rings, and she couldn¡¯t help but take a peek at them. Inside the box, there were two identical rings lying next to each other silently, and they were made ording to his and her finger size. The two rings were iid with two pink diamonds, forming a heart shape that was split into two halves. They sat there quietly, glowing like pink stars. The staff exined to her, ¡°Miss Edwards, these are your wedding rings with Mr. Fletcher. The diamond on top is a rare pink diamond that was extracted from the world¡¯s biggest pink diamond, ¡®My Lost Heart¡¯. After 160 hours and 98 levels of polishing, this is the top grade among the wedding rings, and it is customized especially for you. This is the only pair in the world, which symbolizes the unique rtionship between the both of you. Congrattions on your marriage.¡± When Sophia saw the diamond ring, her face was full of shock as she quickly tried it on her hand. The tiny diamond ring seemed to be designed ording to her finger, so it was a perfect match for her. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. She also had a look at Michael¡¯s ring. It was also made of tinum and was iid with a pink diamond. The design was smooth and oozed a sense of handsomeness. If Michael wears it, he will definitely look stunning! She then held the diamond ring and imagined Michael wearing it. The jewelry store also gave them two tinum nes as a gift. They knew that Michael was the Academy Award for Best Actor, Taylor Murray, so it wasn¡¯t convenient for him to travel around wearing a wedding ring. That was why they gave them nes so that they could wear the ring around their necks, but Sophia rejected their gift. Then, she took out a dark punk ne that she bought from a roadside stall. It was almost the same kind of ne that Stanley usually wore around his neck, and it had a skull pendant hanging from it. She removed the skull and reced it with the diamond ring. However, the staff seemed a bit confused. Even though the tinum nes they gave them were free, they still weren¡¯t some second-rated product as it was specially made just for this pair of wedding rings. Sophia exined to the staff after seeing her confusion, ¡°I want toy low.¡± The diamond was too expensive since its price consisted of so many zeroes. If it were to be snatched away by someone else, Sophia would drown in her tears, so she purposely used the ne she bought from a roadside stall to hang the ring. Therefore, even if a thief saw the ring, he would only assume that it was bought from a stall. She then wore the diamond ring around her neck, which added weight to her neck. After looking at the mirror several times, she hid the ring under her cor and left with a satisfied look. The staff saw her off enthusiastically while quietly giving her a thorough look. Today, she came here riding her motorbike, so she wore a very cheap cotton shirt. Her tiny face was red due to the cold wind that blew on her, and she was even holding a motorbike helmet. I can¡¯t believe an insignificant little girl like her is the wife of Taylor Murray. Of course, the staff was just curious. As the top saleswoman of the most prestigious jewelry shop in Bayside City, she specialized in serving some top clients, which included celebrities. Usually, hidden marriages of celebrities weren¡¯t big news, but they still took good care of their client¡¯s privacy and prevented them from getting exposed. However, Sophia didn¡¯t know that Richard and X hade here to check on some wedding rings along with Mrs. Harper. They nned to hold their engagement banquet after Ka¡¯s birthday party. The marriage between the Harper and Huff Family was a huge deal. Even though it was just an engagement ceremony, they also had to make it grand and morous. But the most important thing of all was the engagement rings. The first thing they thought of when it came to choosing engagement rings was Ido. It was a globally- renowned jewelry brand, and the wedding rings they made were the best in the world. However, they only had one branch in Bayside City, so most of the elites in the city came here to order their rings. Now, X hadpletely be a member of the Harper Family, and Mrs. Harper was very satisfied with her. Richard held her hand, feeling extremely proud, and everyone praised them as a match made in heaven. Only ady of a wealthy family, like X, was able to match the aristocratic identity of Richard. They parked their car in Ido¡¯s VIP car park. Most of Ido¡¯s clients were elites, so the car park was filled with luxurious cars. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, X saw a Yamaha bike parked in a parking lot. It was the only motorbike in the entire car park, so it definitely drew some attention. X could recognize from first nce that it belonged to Sophia. What is she doing at Ido? Did shee here to deliver take outs? Wipe the windows? Clean the toilets? She covered her mouth and chuckled as she came into the hall of Ido along with Richard and Mrs. Harper. The decoration of Ido¡¯s hall was bright and dazzling. Most of the people here were the elites of Bayside City, so when they came in the hall, many of the guests came to greet them along with the saleswoman, who came to wee them enthusiastically. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Young Master Harper. You alsoe here to choose a ring?¡± ¡°Are you two really engaged? Congrattions!¡± ¡°Mrs. Harper, you really are a lucky mother. Your daughter-inw is such a brilliant woman. Congrattions!¡± Mrs. Harper was pleased hearing everyone¡¯s praise. The more she looked at X, the more satisfied she felt. My daughter-inw should be someone from a wealthy family. Not all peasants can enter the Harper Family! Meanwhile, X held on to Richard¡¯s arm as she nodded politely to greet some acquaintances. She was maintaining the posture of ady from an elite family, but her eyes were looking for Sophia. Sure enough, she immediately saw a personing down the stairs while carrying a motorbike helmet. The saleswoman was sending her away enthusiastically. After she sent her to the hall, she turned around to serve other clients. She didn¡¯t need to serve the people on the first floor because she usually served big clients like Michael. Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around, Sophia¡¯s path was blocked by X. X spoke with the utmost surprise, ¡°Hey, Sophia. You are here too? What a coincidence!¡± When Sophia saw the trio, she had a sense that something bad was about to happen. It was toote for her to pretend not to know them, so she could only greet them politely one by one. ¡°Hello, X. Hello, Richard. Hello, Mrs. Harper.¡± As soon as Richard saw her, he felt a small thump in his heart as his pupils flickered slightly, but he immediately got back to his senses and nodded a little. There were many elites around them, so he didn¡¯t want others to know about his rtionship with Sophia. On the other hand, Mrs. Harper looked at her thoroughly with her squinted eyes before letting out a grunt. Today, Sophia¡¯s outfit really made her look a lot like a delivery girl¡ªa cheap cotton shirt, a pair of leggings, a pair of thick canvas shoes, and a rascal-looking ne around her neck. She was iparable to the angel-like X next to Richard. This ce is not for her. She must have showed up here today because she caught wind about our arrival in advance, so she came here to run into my son. A b*tch will always be a b*tch! Chapter 153 Chapter 153 Mrs. Harper¡¯s attitude was rude as she spoke to Sophia harshly, ¡°Let me tell you this. No matter how calctive you are, you won¡¯t get my son¡¯s attention. As long as I¡¯m here, you will never enter the Harper Family!¡± Sophia and the saleswoman behind her were dumbfounded. After giving Sophia a thorough look, Mrs. Harper¡¯s words became even more harsh. ¡°Chance encounter is such an overused move. It will have no effect on my son, so I advise you to just give up. No matter how hard you try, you don¡¯t deserve to be with my son. Why don¡¯t you take a look at the difference between yourself and the Harper Family?¡± The saleswoman was someone who had seen everything, but now, she didn¡¯t know what to say. They look like the Harper Family from Riverdale who specializes in real estates. Taylor Murray is in a totally different league than the Harper Family, so why would they assume that Taylor¡¯s woman would lower herself to join them? Richard felt bad after seeing Sophia being rendered speechless. He knew that she came here just to meet him, and she didn¡¯t expect to encounter Mrs. Harper, so he felt sorry for her when his mother insulted her in public. He quickly spoke, ¡°Mom, stop it.¡± X also chipped in at the right time, ¡°Mom, maybe she came here to deliver some takeouts!¡± When Mrs. Harper saw X¡¯s innocent face, she shook her head lovingly. ¡°You are always this naive. Our Harper Family loves an innocent little girl like you. As for those maniptive peasants, we won¡¯t even bat an eye on them.¡± As she said her words, she nced sideways to re at Sophia. However, Sophia wasn¡¯t angry with them. ¡°Have a look around. I¡¯ll leave now.¡± ¡°Eh, Sophia, don¡¯t go yet!¡± X grabbed her. ¡°Since you are here, let¡¯s check out some rings together. Richard and I are about to be engaged, so we came here today to pick out our engagement rings! You have good taste; why don¡¯t you tag along?¡± After that, she dragged Sophia into the hall without asking if she wanted to follow her. In her heart, Sophia had thousands of reasons why she didn¡¯t want to tag along, but she couldn¡¯t just give her a p like what she did in the camp. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. There are so many people watching. I don¡¯t want to cause a scene here. Moreover, the people in the store know that I¡¯m Tay Tay¡¯s new young wife. If I p someone in public, it would severely damage his image! Seeing how excited X was, Mrs. Harper didn¡¯t stop her from dragging Sophia along. I can use this opportunity to teach this b*tch a lesson so that she knows her ce! Richard knew that Sophia was about to be humiliated, but he was helpless about it, so he followed silently from behind. She could only me herself for havinge here. On the other hand, the saleswoman couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening. I can¡¯t seem to understand what their rtionship is. Mrs. Harper seems to hate Sophia, but X seems to have a great rtionship with her. Since she couldn¡¯t make sense of it, she could only deal with the situation one step at a time. As a senior saleswoman, it was her job to take care of this situation herself. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Harper. I¡¯m the senior saleswoman of Ido, Jasmine. What kind of ring are you looking for?¡± The moment Mrs. Harper heard that she was the senior saleswoman of Ido, she felt very proud of herself. Ido was thergest jewelry industry in the world, so their salespeople were divided into several ranks ording to their clients. Big clients like us definitely deserve the most high-end salesperson in the store. Then, X grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand enthusiastically and went into the store. Ido wasn¡¯t a store anyone could enter. The customers inside were extremely rich, and they were all well- dressed. The wedding ring series were Ido¡¯s most sessful products. The couples who came here to choose their wedding rings treated this as the most important moment in their lives, so they were all definitely well-dressed. Even though not everyone was covered in essories, at least they wouldn¡¯t dress up casually like Sophia, who looked as if she came here to deliver takeouts. The pair of canvas shoes that she wore stood out strangely among the sea of high heels and leather shoes. She was like a little wild cat who broke into a world she didn¡¯t belong in. X purposely brought her to the more expensive section of the jewelry store while happily introducing her to everything. She knew that a poor student like her would never get the chance to even touch these jewelries, so she used some fancy words on purpose during the introduction. Sophia also pretended that she didn¡¯t know anything by agreeing to everything she said. When X saw a ring series, she eximed, ¡°Sophia, look at that. That is Ido¡¯s X Series wedding rings. They came from the hands of the international jewelry designer, Ivy Seker. They are global limited editions. Now, most of the elites in Bayside City own this series of rings. Every ring is customly made, so no two rings are the same. Whoa. They even used thetestser-cutting technology. Not every rich person can own this!¡± Sophia was uninterested as she took a look at the X Series wedding rings that X was so excited about. Two weeks ago, Ido gave Michael their best series of wedding rings to choose from. I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t seem to have seen this series in the list. When X saw another series of wedding rings, she eximed through the ss cab, ¡°This is the Y Series wedding rings. It¡¯s very popr globally. These are the wedding rings that my parents have! A pair of it costs at least a few million!¡± Sophia replied to her, ¡°Yeah.¡± Mrs. Harper took the chance to say to X proudly, ¡°X, my dear, if you like it, you can choose this one.¡± While speaking, she deliberately squinted her eyes at Sophia. This peasant must have never seen such a fancy ring! She even pointed to another ring and said, ¡°This one looks nice. It costs a few million, but don¡¯t worry. Our family can afford it. If you like it, you can even buy a few more of it.¡± Her words were filled with the superiority of a rich person. X pretended to be an innocent little girl as she spoke adorably, ¡°Wow. This looks so pretty. I want both this and that. Saleswoman, hurry up and take these two out for me to see.¡± The saleswoman nced at the Harper Family because she didn¡¯t know what they were trying to do. They seem to be quite close with Sophia, but why is their tone so weird? It sounds as though they are bragging about something! Although she didn¡¯t know what they were bragging about, she knew that the ring around Sophia¡¯s neck was one of the most expensive rings they had ever sold in the store. The saleswoman quickly took out the two rings from the ss cab. One of them was a white diamond ring, and the other was a pink diamond ring. She thought that it was Sophia who wanted to try it, so she brought them to her. X then purposely grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and moved it closer to the rings. ¡°Sophia, have a try. You can see how pretty these two rings are!¡± On the sidelines, Mrs. Harper spoke harshly, ¡°Let her try it. Besides, she won¡¯t be able to afford such an expensive ring in her lifetime. Let her cherish this one time.¡± It was obvious that the two of them were humiliating Sophia. They knew that she could never afford such an expensive ring, so they purposely asked her to try them out. Not only was X showing off her love with Richard, she was also trying to embarrass her. Richard knew about their motives, but he chose not to stop them. Serves Sophia right foring into the lion¡¯s den herself. Nobody told her toe meet me here! Even though she said that she had forgotten about me, I¡¯m sure she still misses me. Today is the right moment to teach her a lesson so that she will know the difference between family status! Chapter 154 Chapter 154 When the saleswoman heard the conversation between Mrs. Harper and X, she finally realized that they were trying to humiliate Sophia. All of a sudden, she could feel her nerves tingling as she was afraid that Sophia would cause a scene if she was enraged. She knew that Taylor Murray was not only an internationally renowned Academy Award for Best Actor winner, but he also had a close connection with the Fletcher Family in Bayside City. That was why most people were scared of offending him. Why does a small Harper Family have the courage to insult Michael¡¯s wife? However, she wasn¡¯t able to rify it on the spot. If she identally revealed Taylor¡¯s hidden marriage, she would have no way to gain a foothold in this industry ever again. She opened her mouth to try and stop the Harpers¡¯ silly actions, but Sophia didn¡¯t seem to be angry about it. Instead, she simply tried the ring on her finger before taking it off right after. She then gave it to X and said, ¡°This one is nice.¡± Yesterday, when Michael and her were trying out the rings, she seemed to remember wearing this ring before, but it was taken off by Michael immediately. Michael hated the ring for not beingpelling enough. These are the favorites of big bosses and upstarts. After that, X chose two rings for her and Richard to try. The rings seemed to be tailor-made for the two of them as they looked gaudy and bright. When the two of them stood together topare the rings, X pulled Sophia purposely and chirped, ¡°Sophia, look at this. Do you think this suits us for our engagement?¡± Sophia¡¯s face was calm and emotionless. It was as though she was looking at two dogs mating in front of her, and they did it purposely for her to watch. When she tried to turn her head away and leave, the dogs would bark and threaten to bite her if she dared to leave. Therefore, she was forced to stand and watch. She nodded. ¡°Yes. It suits you.¡± ¡°Madam Harper, you are so lucky. Your son is a brilliant man, and your daughter-inw is very pretty too!¡± ¡°What a perfect match!¡± Mrs. Harper was so pleased with herself that she began gloating. ¡°Of course they are. Only a good girl like X deserves the hands of my Richard.¡± At the moment, X¡¯s face was flushed as she buried herself inside Richard¡¯s arms. The affectionate interaction between them was echoed by the happiness on their face. Just like that, Sophia looked at them as though they were two dogs mating. Not only did they prevent her from leaving, their owner also looked around for other people to praise how majestic their mating posture was. Therefore, Sophia picked up her bag and uttered, ¡°Since you are done choosing, I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Seeing the ¡®lonely¡¯ and ¡®fleeing¡¯ Sophia, X didn¡¯t want to let her go just yet, so she took out her phone and gave it to her. ¡°Sophia, can you help take a picture of me and Richard?¡± Sophia received her phone and took a picture of both of them. After she was done, she prepared to return the phone, but X stomped her foot and whined, ¡°Sophia, help us take a few more.¡± Sophia resisted the anger inside of her byforting herself, They are just two dogs¡­ They are just two dogs. Not only are they forcing me to watch them mate, but they are also asking me to take pictures of them. Therefore, she reluctantly took a few more pictures. In the shots, the two of them were very affectionate as they kissed, hugged, pouted and stared at each other. After a few pictures, Sophia returned the phone to X and prepared to leave, but X still wouldn¡¯t let her go. She knew that Sophia was now crying her heart out inside! ¡°Sophia, I feel that you have good taste. Please continue helping me choose a ring!¡± X dragged her inside deliberately. Sophia really wanted to hit her right now, but suddenly, her eyes rolled around andnded on a popr counter on the side. She pointed at a series of rings and said, ¡°Look at that. That looks nice!¡± Richard furrowed his brows when he saw the series of rings she was pointing at. The saleswoman immediately followed her direction and exined, ¡°Miss Edwards, you really have good taste. This is Ido¡¯s famous ¡®The One¡¯ series. Everyone can only buy one with their ID card for the rest of their life! It symbolizes eternal love between couples!¡± Richard¡¯s face darkened when he heard about ¡®The One¡¯ series. If I buy this ring, I won¡¯t be able to buy another one for the rest of my life! It was always hard to predict the marriages of the elites, because to them, marriage served as a way to benefit both parties. Once the interest changed, the marriage would not sustain for too long. Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org. If I buy this ring, how embarrassing will it be when we really have a divorce in the future¡­ This time, it was Sophia¡¯s turn to be enthusiastic, so she dragged X over to try on the rings. ¡°Come. Let¡¯s try some rings from ¡®The One¡¯ series.¡± Meanwhile, Mrs. Harper shot Richard a nce, telling him that X must not buy that ring. She was now very satisfied with X, but who could predict what would happen in the future? Not to mention they were just getting engaged; even if they got married afterward, the future was still hard to predict. The Harper Family is now growing steadily, and my son is such a brilliant man. What if, in the future, somedy from the Four Great Family grows fond of him? However, the saleswoman was already disying the series of rings to them enthusiastically. Sophia picked a ring excitedly for X to try. ¡°This looks nice. It really is pretty. It¡¯s even prettier than thest one!¡± X was moved when she saw that series of rings. There isn¡¯t a woman in this world who doesn¡¯t want a perfect love! However, she knew that Richard would never buy it for her because the marriages of the elites were too unpredictable! She sneered inside, Is this a way for Sophia to hit back on me? She is making fun of how fragile our love is. Does she really think that Richard won¡¯t buy a ring from ¡®The One¡¯ series for me? I must have it! When Richard came, X acted adorably and shook his arm. ¡°Richard, can you buy one for me? I really want one!¡± Sure enough, he hesitated. He really wanted to give her a special ring for the rest of her life, but if he actually bought it, news about it would spread out the next day since many people were now watching them. If anything happens to our marriage in the future, it will really be embarrassing. Therefore, he could only try to find an excuse. ¡°I don¡¯t think the rings from ¡®The One¡¯ series are that pretty. It doesn¡¯t look as nice as its reputation suggested. Why don¡¯t we check out that Y Series just now?¡± Mrs. Harper also quickly followed up his words. ¡°¡®The One¡¯ series doesn¡¯t look that expensive at all. It can¡¯t represent your identity as the daughter-inw of the Harper Family. Don¡¯t worry. We have the money, so let¡¯s look around and see what else they have.¡± X felt gloomy inside because the Harpers had already indirectly rejected her request. Sophia knew that this would happen, so she suddenly eximed, ¡°You¡¯re right. The Harper Family is the richest family in Riverdale. Since you are the richest family in Riverdale, the wedding ring must be the largest and most expensive one! Why don¡¯t you try out that one? That looks big!¡± She pointed right at the middle of Ido¡¯s hall. There was a showcase made of tempered ss, which couldn¡¯t be prated even by high-caliber machine guns. Inside the showcase, there were lots of infrared rays that heavily protected the world¡¯s most unique ring. The saleswoman quickly introduced them to the ring passionately, ¡°That ring is the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido¡ªthe ¡®Eternal Love¡¯!¡± Chapter 155 Chapter 155 The saleswoman was very proud as she looked at the ring. That was the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido¡ªthe ¡®Eternal Love¡¯! A legend of the jewelry world! The ring was grinded from a huge rare high-quality red diamond, and the whole process took a year to finish. The whole ring was made of pure diamond with no other elements added. The ring was 150 carats, and all the materials were extracted from the heart of the diamond, which was the best part. The grinding process of the ring required an extremely high level of technique, especially when making the circr part of the ring, which required thetest grinding technique. More than a dozen top grinding masters worked non-stop for a whole year for it to be made into this dazzling jewelry. The saleswoman spoke, ¡°This is the first ring in the world that is truly a diamond ring. It is the only ring in the world that used up to 150 carats of precious red diamond.¡± Sophia patted the ss cab in front of her and spoke boldly, ¡°That¡¯s big enough for the Harper Family. Someonee and take it out for Miss Huff to try!¡± Richard and Mrs. Harper¡¯s expressions changed drastically. The saleswoman also revealed a distressed look. ¡°That ring is the only one in the world, so it¡¯s very valuable. Do you really want to try it¡­¡± She actually meant, Can you even afford it? That ring costs 70 million! If it were Michael, we might take it out for him to try, but the wealth of the Harper Family¡­ Sophia continued to pretend not knowing anything about jewelry as she uttered boldly, ¡°What kind of an expression is that? Do you really think that the Harper Family can¡¯t afford it? What kind of a shop is this? How can you look down on them? Just do what I told you to do!¡±All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. The saleswoman felt aggrieved inside because she finally noticed that Sophia was trying to humiliate the Harper Family on purpose, so she could only ask someone to take it out. X waved her hand hurriedly. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. I don¡¯t like it!¡± Everyone who came in the store could see the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido, so everyone knew about its price. It had been sitting there for a few decades already, and there were only a few people who had tried it before. Thest time someone tried it was two weeks ago, and thest person before that dated back a year. The people who had the confidence to try the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido were described as the elites among the elites! X didn¡¯t have the confidence to try it! Sophia didn¡¯t seem to understand the reason she rejected trying it out. In their eyes, she was a poor student who knew nothing, so it was logical for her to not know the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido. To her, it was just a big ring. ¡°A diamond ring for the rich should be as big as possible. That ring will suit you very well! Try it! Try it!¡± When someone requested to try the ring, the whole Ido seemed as though they were facing an attack from enemies while they started preparing to take out their Imperial Diamond Ring for X to try. Richard could not keep quiet any longer, so he spoke quickly, ¡°No need for that!¡± If we shamelessly try that ring, we will actually look shameless! But the store was in chaos, so no one could hear him. In an instant, the store was noisy, and everyone came over to see which billionaire was here to try the ring. After the infrared rays were turned off, the armed security guard carefully opened theyer of tempered ss. A soft anti-skid carpet wasid down on the marble floor as the saleswoman took out the Imperial Diamond Ring before carefully sending it to X. The staff were in high alert. There were more than a dozen armed security guards forming a human shield while the explosion-proof door at the entrance was lowered. The whole operation of Ido was shut down for the time being so that X could try the ring. The ring was Ido¡¯s Imperial Diamond Ring, and it cost 70 million USD, so there couldn¡¯t be any idents! Even though diamonds were the hardest material, they were still brittle. If it fell to the ground, gravity would shatter the diamond into millions of pieces right away. Everyone in Ido, from the salespeople to the security guards, were holding their breath. Even the saleswoman had sweat rolling down her forehead. Then, she looked at X and said to her seriously, ¡°Miss Huff, this ring is worth 70 million. Please be careful when you try it. Come here and wash your hands first.¡± After all, this was the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido. In order to prevent any malicious intent, nobody could get a few meters near the ring when someone was trying it, so the fully-armed security guards formed a human shield to separate the ring from everyone else. These security guards were actually retired special forces who had gun licenses, so the firearms in their hands were real. The atmosphere was extraordinary! Everyone watched from afar as X prepared to try on the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido. At the moment, the Harpers became the center of attention. Both Mrs. Harper and Richard¡¯s expressions darkened, but they had no choice other than to smile. X bit her lower lip while looking at the ring ced in front of her, which was dazzling like a bright star. 70 million! Now that everyone is watching and the ring has been taken out, I have no choice but to try it! She could only brace herself and reach out to try it. When she wore it, the people beside started whispering among themselves. ¡°Where did the Harpers get their confidence to try that ring?¡± ¡°That ring is worth 70 million, and they can¡¯t even afford it, so why try it? What are they thinking?¡± ¡°Maybe they are trying to impress others.¡± As soon as X heard the ugly whispers from the crowd, her hands trembled when trying on the ring. She lowered her head as she felt humiliated, and hershes drooped to cover the hatred in her eyes. It¡¯s all Sophia¡¯s fault! She¡¯s doing this on purpose to humiliate me! She revealed a hateful smile and said to Sophia, ¡°Sophia,e and have a try yourself. It¡¯s not easy for you to enter a high-end ce like Ido once in your life. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t have the chance toe here again!¡± Sophia smiled as she stood aside far away from the 70 million. She replied, ¡°Even though I want it very much, I¡¯m broke. I can¡¯t afford this ring, so I¡¯ll pass!¡± She was right to openly admit that she was a poor student and she couldn¡¯t afford the ring! However, the Harpers didn¡¯t dare to do so because they were Riverdale¡¯s most powerful family. Could they simply admit that they weren¡¯t able to afford a little ring? No, they couldn¡¯t! It was even impossible for them to buy it because the ring cost 70 million USD. If the price was converted into Cethos¡¯ currency, the number would be much higher than 70 million. X looked toward Richard pitifully. His face revealed his anger as he put all the me on her again. If she didn¡¯t actively provoke Sophia, she wouldn¡¯t have been humiliated by her this badly! She can only me herself for this predicament! Then, he spoke in a deep voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think this price suits you. Why don¡¯t we just leave it?¡± X nodded her head. The saleswoman still maintained her professional smile. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to try it, I¡¯ll just put it back!¡± She carefully ced the ring back in the box. Under the protection of a dozen armed guards, the Eternal Love was put back inside the tempered ss. After severalyers of tempered ss were locked, multiple infrared rays appeared to keep the ring under strict security. The saleswoman was definitely mocking them in her heart, If you can¡¯t afford it, don¡¯t try it! Broke fes! Chapter 156 Chapter 156 After the bodyguards who were well-loaded with guns retreated, Ido opened their store again. The customers who had been blocked outside walked into the store while discussing among themselves heatedly. The news of someone trying out the Imperial Diamond Ring, the most valuable jewelry of the store, was quickly spread around and discussed behind their backs. In Ido¡¯s car park, just when Sophia mounted her motorbike, Mrs. Harper rushed over to her angrily and insulted her right to her face. ¡°You b*tch! You just can¡¯t leave the Harpers alone, can you? Go ahead and unt yourself! No matter how hard you try to present yourself, don¡¯t you dare wish that I will let you marry into the Harpers!¡± Behind her, Richard had a dark expression on his face, looking obviously unhappy. Finally, X entered her view with her head lowered as she wiped the tears off her face resentfully. It was beyond obvious that she just had a fight with Richard. She was just utterly humiliated; of course she wouldn¡¯t feel happy about that. After Sophia put on her helmet, she pushed the visor of the helmet back and asked in confusion, ¡°What did I do? Didn¡¯t you guys ask me to tag along to pick a ring for you? You rich fes are weird indeed. I was kind enough to provide useful suggestions for your ring, yet you said that I can¡¯t leave you alone. Weirdos!¡± With that, she mmed her foot down on the elerator and sped away on her motorbike. Mrs. Harper was incredibly upset and annoyed. She didn¡¯t expect that they would fail to pick a wedding ring sessfully today. Apart from that, they were also insulted. The Harper Family¡¯s dignity and reputation is ruined! After she med Sophia, she also vented her anger at X. This dumb woman! She obviously knew that Sophia is a lowlymoner who can¡¯t even differentiate between diamonds and jades, yet she dragged her along to give opinions. If she hadn¡¯t done so, we wouldn¡¯t have been humiliated to this extent! However, when they insulted Sophia just now, Mrs. Harper was quite delighted indeed. ¡°Stop crying! Let¡¯s go!¡± Mrs. Harper got into the car angrily, and X followed suit sadly. Although she was sobbing on the surface, she was actually ring up within. It was my mistake this time! I can¡¯t believe that Sophia has destroyed my entire reputation! She is not the old Sophia anymore! After Sophia took the wedding ring back home, she put Michael¡¯s ring carefully in the safe while she put hers around her neck. No one would have thought that the Royal tinum Ring, which value was second to the Imperial Diamond Ring, was hung around such a rugged ball chain ne around her neck. She took the ring down and wore it on her hands while turning her hand around to look at it from different angles. It¡¯s simply stunning! In fact, on that day they chose the rings, she obviously had her eye on the Imperial Diamond Ring, but it cost 70 million USD. She didn¡¯t even have an idea how much it would cost after converting to their local currency. Although it was too ostentatious to bring that big chunk of rock outside, it was worth a lot of money. If Michael and I have a huge fight and file for a divorce in the future, I can take the ring and rent it out to museums. With that as ie, I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about my livelihood anymore. However, when she was about to make her decision, she still wavered. Even though the Imperial Diamond Ring was the best, it was lonely¡ªit was not suited to be a wedding ring as it was the only ring in the world. There were no other rings that could match it. In the end, Sophia gave up on the idea and chose the ring that she could only have for the rest of the life¡ªThe One. She was delighted wearing her ring, and she even looked at it in the mirror from various angles. After Nathan reached home after school, he came to let Sophia know that it was time for lunch. Seeing that she was ying around with the ring, he was furious. ¡°Hmph!¡± After hearing his dissatisfied snort, she immediately went over to hug him. ¡°Nate, you are turning 6 soon. What gift do you want from me?¡± Nathan turned around angrily and said, ¡°Nothing.¡± However, he was already thinking about the present that he wanted. What about asking her to top up my game ount? This is a great idea! Stanley lingered around Vi No.8 like a ghost. Right after he entered the mansion, he looked high and low for his uncle. ¡°Where¡¯s my uncle? Where is he? Where did he go?¡± The butler was exasperated upon hearing that, so he told Stanley, who was searching in the closet with his buttocks high up in the air, ¡°Mr. Stanley, no matter what, your uncle can¡¯t possibly be hiding in the closet!¡± ¡°Heh, you are right.¡± Stanley scratched his head with an ugly smile on his face. After seeing Sophia, he quickly asked, ¡°Sophia, when will my uncle be back?¡± Sophia looked at him without any expression on her face. ¡°Your uncle is filming in Xoskha. He¡¯s not here now.¡± Stanley rushed to her with a huge smile on his face as he grabbed hold of her. ¡°Sophia, dear Sophia, since we are so close, why don¡¯t you tell me more about my uncle¡¯s wife?¡± Sophia was immediately vignt upon hearing that. If he finds out that I¡¯m Michael¡¯s wife, he will definitely kill me. She pretended to be mysterious. ¡°It¡¯s a top secret.¡± ¡°Come on, tell me, Sophia! I promise not to tell anyone about it!¡± However, Sophia remained silent. Then, Stanley switched his target to Nathan. ¡°Nate, tell me who your mom is! Tell me now! If you do so, I¡¯ll send you the god-tier equipment on the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, and I¡¯ll bring you along to level up everyday.¡± Nathan snorted disdainfully. ¡°I don¡¯t need that.¡± Stanley is a huge bber! If I tell him today, everyone¡ªincluding the pets¡ªin the Fletcher Family will know about it tomorrow! After Stanley pestered him for a long time without much sess, he left after having dinner with them. Right after Stanley left, Hale returned with a ck stic bag full of chips, candy, and some snacks. He ced the big bag right in front of her and said, ¡°Here you go. Boss asked me to buy these for you.¡± Sophia looked at the bag of snacks in wonder before rummaging through it. After looking through it, she found an ordinary-looking little box. After she opened it, a bright sparkle shone through the entire room immediately as the rays cast on Sophia¡¯s entire face, almost blinding her eyes. She stared at the huge diamond ring in the grey box as the ruby-red sparkle reflected off her face. ¡°I-I-Isn¡¯t this the Imperial Diamond Ring from Ido?¡± This entire piece of diamond was perfectly sculptured with an elegant finish without any defects. The entire diamond exuded an imperial vibe. Of course it would, as it was sculpted by dozens of top-tier masters for an entire year! Sophia had just seen it in the morning, so it was difficult for her not to recognize it. However, she didn¡¯t expect that the Imperial Diamond Ring was ced among a bunch of snacks that was brought back by Hale. Sophia asked him gingerly, ¡°Did you rob Ido?¡± Hale replied solemnly, ¡°After hearing that you wanted the Imperial Diamond Ring, Boss asked me to buy it.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Buy it? Sophia almost bit her tongue identally. This is something worth 70 million! In USD! Only a fool would spend 70 million USD on a ring! It¡¯s better to spend this money to buy an entire apartment as investment! She looked as if she had seen a ghost. ¡°When have I ever said that I wanted it?¡± Hale was confused upon hearing that. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that?¡± He took out his phone to y a video, which was one of the surveince tapes at the hall of Ido. The security guards formed a human wall around the store, blocking everyone outside. Only X, Richard, Mrs. Harper, and Sophia stood within it. X had a stony look on her face as she pushed the Imperial Diamond Ring to Sophia, who shook her head and said, ¡°Even though I want it very much, I¡¯m broke. I can¡¯t afford this ring, so I¡¯ll pass!¡± Hale reyed this several times. ¡°Even though I want it very much, I¡¯m broke. I can¡¯t afford this ring.¡± ¡°Even though I want it very much.¡± ¡°I want it very much.¡± ¡°I want it.¡± ¡°Very much.¡± ¡°Much.¡± Sophia was speechless upon hearing that. Chapter 157 Chapter 157 Obviously, this was just a pretentiousment she made. Sophia knew very well the value of the Imperial Diamond Ring. Even though the Harper Family could afford it, they wouldn¡¯t splurge on such an item. Sophia just wanted to humiliate X at that moment. I didn¡¯t really want to buy it! Alright, I wanted it, but the thought of buying it has never crossed my mind! Sophia was so shocked that she looked as if she was struck by lightning. After a pause, she asked, ¡°So, when Boss saw this surveince tape, he bought it for me thinking that I like it, but I can¡¯t afford it?¡± Hale nodded honestly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± Sophia was speechless upon hearing that. Rich people are so wilful. Hale even gave her a little lecture on this. ¡°Boss said that money is not an issue for him. If you have anything that you can¡¯t afford, you can just talk to him, or just buy it and im the bill under his name.¡± The corner of Sophia¡¯s lips twitched when she heard that. Now that he had bought the Imperial Diamond Ring, it was impossible to return it. On top of that, it would be a waste to just leave it there. Although Sophia liked it, it was impossible to wear it out regrly. It was better to use it to earn more money. Hence, she told Hale, ¡°Find a museum for me tomorrow and rent this out to them. Ask them to bank in the rent to my ount, and I¡¯ll give you 10% of it as your bonus.¡± Hale looked at her without any expression on his face. The next day, he started to check out different museums. This ring was made from one of thergest rubies on earth, and it was a whole diamond, so it was a rare item. It was not a problem to rent it out to any museums to exhibit it. The story of X¡¯s arrogant attempt to try on the Imperial Diamond Ring had spread around the elite circle of Bayside University in no time. Sophia even heard about it from her ssmates during a lecture. ¡°I heard that X tried on the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido, the Eternal Love. Hah! I can¡¯t believe she has no limits when ites to showing off!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t she know her worth? Huffs Technology is just mediocre in Riverdale. Even though the Harper Family were listed and brought some benefits to Huffs Technology, her worth remains the same!¡± During the military training, the story of Sophia retaliating against her ex and his current girlfriend had spread like wildfire. Everyone was sick of the couple who kept unting their love in public. On top of that, every time they tried to unt in front of Sophia, she would retaliate and leave them no mercy. Even so, they were willing to do the same thing over and over again in front of her, as if they wanted to be humiliated by her, including that instance. During the gap between lectures, everyone was discussing this matter excitedly. After the military training, everyone had gotten closer to each other, so a few ssmates went to Sophia to ask her about this. ¡°I heard that the expressions of the Harpers changed immediately, and Mrs. Harper even told X off!¡± ¡°Sophia, did you know about the value of the Imperial Diamond Ring before this and deliberately did this to humiliate X?¡± While revising the lectures, Sophia heard someone talking to her and took off her headphones with a nk look on her face. ¡°What Imperial Diamond Ring? I have no idea about that. I was just sending food delivery in that area, and they deliberately dragged me over to look at engagement rings, so I helped them out kindheartedly. Unexpectedly, they scolded me even though I helped them to pick out a suitable one.¡± Everyone covered their mouth, trying not tough. This time around, Sophia had identally humiliated X. Hence, someone exined to Sophia about the backstory of this ring kindly. Since Ido had gotten the Imperial Diamond Ring, they ced it in their main hall as the crown jewel, and no one dared to buy it. However, there were many who had tried it on. The people who tried it on came from impressive backgrounds. The Young Lady of the Winston Family, the fianc¨¦e of the Fletcher Family, the daughter of the president, some princesses abroad¡­ In a nutshell, each and every one who tried it had powerful backgrounds. Hence, everyone wondered how X had the audacity to try the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido. Upon hearing their exnation, Sophia nodded, as if it was the first time she heard of this. Everyone was chattering away happily until someone changed the topic. ¡°Sophia, where¡¯s your boyfriend?¡± Right after that question was asked, everyone was immediately interested. ¡°Your boyfriend is so handsome! Can you ask if he has any siblings? If so, remember to introduce them to me!¡± ¡°He¡¯s Stanley Fletcher from the School of Computer Science! Gosh, he¡¯s really good-looking! I heard that after he retired from the military, he came back to university. Not only does he have a pair of long legs and good looks, he also obtained 99 marks for his military training! Sophia, where did you find him? Give me a hint¡ªI also want someone like that!¡± Sophia was speechless after hearing that, but she would not admit that Stanley was her boyfriend. However, having a boyfriend was better than being single, lest Richard would think that she was staying single for him. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. While everyone was discussing Sophia¡¯s boyfriend excitedly, Stanley appeared. ¡°Sophie, let¡¯s go out to have fun! The Winter Solstice event of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is here again! You can get double the experience you gain during that period, and the probability of encountering god-tier weapons is also much higher!¡± Wearing a shirt that was quite mboyant with alphabets printed on top, Stanley stood at the door of Sophia¡¯s lecture hall. Sophia cowered in a corner as she replied, ¡°No, thanks. I have to take this lecture. The lecturer is taking our attendance.¡± Suddenly, everyone fell silent at the same time. They covered their mouths while chuckling furtively as they pushed Sophia out. ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t worry about that and just go! The next lecture will be given by Professor rk, so there¡¯ll be many people here. Don¡¯t worry about it¡ªI will ask someone to take attendance for you!¡± ¡°Go, go! We will help you with the attendance!¡± Seeing that she had been staying at the same spot for a while, Stanley directly walked into the lecture hall himself. The number of male students in their cohort was quite few to begin with, and most of them were quite feminine. Once Stanley walked in, his 1.8-meter figure immediately made him stand out from the rest while he looked at them from his impressive height. Apart from that, his shiny shaved head also stood out immediately. ¡°You are a genius! There¡¯s nothing to be worried about by just missing a lecture. Come on!¡± Stanley took Sophia¡¯s bag and walked away, forcing her to chase after him. ¡°Stanley, I¡¯m warning you¡ªstoping to my sses! If your uncle finds out about this, he would break your leg!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of! He dotes on me the most!¡± Then, both of them walked away while bickering with each other. Right after they left, a little head poked into the lecture hall and looked inside curiously, as if he was looking for someone. Seeing the fair, pinkish face, all the girls in the hall surrounded him immediately and caressed his hair and face. ¡°Nate, are you looking for your mommy? She¡¯s out to the cyber cafe!¡± ¡°Yeah, she went out with her boyfriend, Stanley!¡± ¡°Hey, Nate, your mom needs to have a dating life! You can¡¯t be so clingy forever!¡± As soon as he heard that Sophia went to yputer games without bringing him along¡ªand more importantly, she went with Stanley¡ªhis face puffed up in annoyance as he left unhappily. He did not go home, nor did he go to look for Sophia. Instead, he merely went back to theputer room of the School of Computer Science. Theputers in the School of Computer Science of Bayside University were quite advanced. The hardwares was top-notch, and the inte speed was quite fast as well. Once Nathan entered the room, he switched on theputer and stuck his pen drive with plug-ins into the ports. After that, he activated the plug-in and logged on to the game without any errors. Gary, who was standing behind him, knew that he must be up to something after seeing his angry look. Thest time he got this angry was when he encountered a snake in the military camp. Worried about him, Michael forcefully brought him back to Bayside City. For the few days he was stuck at home, Nathan logged on to Sophia¡¯s ount and killed people mercilessly in the game. Is he going to kill everyone again? Why is this kid so violent? Chapter 158 Chapter 158 On the other hand, Sophia and Stanley raced out of the university campus in their bikes next to each other to the cyber cafe to y some games. Once they reached the cyber cafe, everyone from the Egame Club of Bayside University was already here. As there was a special event on the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ today, everyone had already logged on to the game, preparing to form a team to attack one of the dungeons. Right after Stanley arrived, everyone greeted him. ¡°Stan¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Stan, is this¡­ your girlfriend?¡± Stanley patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and introduced her to everyone. ¡°Guys, you can just call her Sophia.¡± Everyone understood him and exchanged meaningful looks with each other. Sophia did not make any unnecessary small talks with them. Instead, she found aputer and logged on to the game. The entire gaming area in the cyber cafe was booked by them so that everyone would have fun ying the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. Stanley deliberately popped over and looked at Sophia¡¯s ount to check out her character. Luckily, Sophia merely logged on to her side ount. Though it was a side ount, it had leveled up a lot for the past few days, and she had slowly umted all the necessary equipment so that she would not be too weak among the Egame Club. Initially, Stanley thought Sophia was just ying the game for fun; he did not expect that she was a pretty good-looking swordsman in the game with decent equipment and high experience level. He deliberately took a bench and sat next to her. ¡°Come on, Sophia. Attack a monster to show me your skills.¡± Sophia was proud of herself. ¡°No problem!¡± I was the Handsomest and Wealthiest in the entire server! Even though it was in the past! There had never been a girl member in the Egame Club, so everyone was curious when a girl, who seemed to know how to y online games, joined them. Hence, they surrounded her and said, ¡°Sophia, show us your attacks!¡± ¡°We want to have a look at your level!¡± After putting on her headphones, Sophia found the most powerful monster of her level and started attacking solo. ¡°Sophie, this monster is quite powerful. Don¡¯t kill yourself trying to show off!¡± Stanley teased her. Without another word, Sophia barged into the monster¡¯s area and started maneuvering her character to attack the monster. Her fingers were like a machine that hit on the mechanical keyboard continuously. Once she started attacking, her attacks were impressive, and she managed to connect them seamlessly. It was obvious that she was a skilled yer. A sudden silence fell in the gaming area until someone said impressively, ¡°Damn, Sophia. You are amazing!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe that such a pretty girl is so powerful in the game!¡± ¡°Take me as your disciple, Sophia!¡± Even Stanley¡¯s expression changed from being mildly interested to being serious. Gosh, I never expected that Sophia is so skilled! After Sophia finished that round, everyone was impressed by her, and they pped simultaneously. ¡°Sophia, you are so powerful! Come join our club!¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a single girl in our club! If only you can join us!¡± Seeing that Sophia was so skilled in the game, Stanley¡¯s interest was piqued. He came to theputer next to her and logged on to his ount in the game. While looking at the screen, he spoke, ¡°Sophie, don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll look for you and add you as a friend.¡± After killing the monster, Sophia stood outside the dungeon to take a breather while drinking Coke as she waited for Stanley to add her. Suddenly, a familiar character walked to her¡ªSnow Fox. F*ck! Isn¡¯t this the Snow Fox I¡¯ve once kidnapped? Luckily I¡¯m just using my side ount. He shouldn¡¯t be able to recognize me. However, Snow Fox walked right to her and spoke, ¡®Sophia, add me.¡¯ ¡°Pfft. Cough!¡± Shocked, Sophia looked at Stanley, who was sitting right next to her, as if she had seen a ghost. Then, she eyed his ount. Stanley Fletcher is Snow Fox!!! Seeing Sophia¡¯s shocked and fearful expression, Stanley was proud of himself. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯m one of the most famous characters in the game, did you? I¡¯m the top yer of the entire server, and the n master of the game. Once, I even had an even match with Sirius the Monster!¡± Sophia was silent upon hearing that. ¡°You know Sirius233, right? That is the No.1 most savage monster of the Bayside server! He raped and killed countless innocents. He had done so much harm to mankind in the game. Back then, in order to eliminate the evil, I fought Sirius alone. The fight was a magnificent one!¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Sophia continued to remain silent. Looking at Sophia¡¯s shocked expression, everyone startedmending Stanley, ¡°Stan is the most powerful character in our club!¡± ¡°The battle between Stan and Sirius233 the Monster was incredible! You must have seen that too, Sophia!¡± ¡°I wonder where Sirius the Monster is right now. Last time around, he killed everyone in our club. If I find out who he is in real life, we will definitely ask Stan to rape him before killing him!¡± Sophiaughed weakly. ¡°Hahahah¡­ hah¡­¡± Luckily, I logged on to my side ount! If I had used my main ount, I would have been dead by now! Remember to keep a low profile¡­ Remember to keep a low profile¡­ Stanley must never know that I¡¯m Sirius233. Well, I have to admit that when Call Me Taylor died, I did kill many people uncontrobly. However, raping and killing innocents is something that I took the me for in the ce of someone else. The bunch of gaming nerds started attacking monsters together once they entered the game. Everyone in the Egame Club was in the same n, with Stanley being the n master. Although the n was rtively new, there were many powerful characters within. With the addition of Sophia, theirbat power had increased to another level. Since Stanley wanted to have a duel with Sophia, she epted his invite while the rest just watched them. When their battle was getting more interesting, someone beside them suddenly eximed, ¡°Help! Sirius233 the Monster has appeared!¡± Sophia was shocked to hear that. Didn¡¯t my ount get hijacked by Scary Phoenix? I can¡¯t log on to that at all! Did Scary Phoenix use my ount to join the game? What the f*ck is going on? Someone beside them was yelling, ¡°Stan,e here! Sirius is on a killing spree again!¡± Stanley immediately became serious. ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± What¡¯s wrong with Uncle Michael? Why did he release Sirius? After he rushed to where the action was, he reminded everyone, ¡°Switch on bystander mode immediately. Don¡¯t join the fight recklessly.¡± Sophia also walked to Sirius233 anxiously. She was curious to see the person maneuvering Sirius behind the screen. After they rushed to the spot, they first saw many corpses on the ground. Sure enough, Sirius was on a killing mode again, and he killed everyone he saw. Once he got online, he already killed dozens of yers. No one had any idea what drug Sirius had was on. He looked like the reincarnation of the Underworld God, with fumes of ck smoke trailing from his head and red eyes, killing anyone he met immediately. Even if one had switched the bystander mode on, he would also kill them. The number of yers who died in the game were so overwhelming that the game wasggy. Staying silent, a chill ran down Sophia¡¯s spine. In reality, there was a flurry of movements as Stanley designed some tactics to surround Sirius quietly so that they could destroy him this time around. Many shrieks could be heard from the game as the system notification kept notifying everyone that certain yers were killed by Sirius. Looking at Sirius in the game, Sophia noticed that he was using the exact same killing tactics as her. If she weren¡¯t the real Sirius, she would not have suspected that this Sirius was controlled by someone else. What the holy f*ck is going on? Has my ount been hacked? Suddenly, someone else eximed, ¡°Gosh, Scary Phoenix is here!¡± Chapter 159 Chapter 159 Scary Phoenix appeared in the game with rays of light around him. Seeing the corpses lying on the ground, he resurrected all the innocent yers that had been killed by Sirius without saying another word and without triggering any attacks. He was the only God in the game, so he was the only person who could revive all of them. Everyone cheered upon seeing that. After Scary Phoenix revived everyone there, he still did not speak. Instead, he merely stood there without moving. Meanwhile, Sirius had also stopped killing people and stood there quietly. Both of the great characters looked at each other wordlessly. One rediated light while the other radiated darkness; one was a God that brought light and hope, and the other was a monster who had just returned from hell. Everyone was whispering among themselves, ¡°What are they doing?¡± ¡°Are they chatting with each other privately?¡± Sophia was also guessing the content of their chat. Why do I have a bad feeling about this? Why are my muscles trembling? Thest time she had such feelings was the time she was caught by Michael when she was watching a movie with Stanley in the cinema. Oh, no! Suddenly, goosebumps appeared on Sophia¡¯s body when she saw the system notification in the game. ¡®Sirius233 and Scary Phoenix have sessfully married each other with deep love for each other. A grand wedding will be held at Temple of Love shortly. All heroes, you are wee to join the celebration.¡¯ Meanwhile, Scary Phoenix released Sirius and a few sons of his. Everyone else cheered, ¡®Bravo! Bravo!¡¯ However, Sophia was wailing internally. Noooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a few seconds of silence in the cyber cafe, someone suddenly broke the silence with a loud exim. ¡°F*ck! This is too shocking! I can¡¯t believe that Sirius has be Scary Phoenix¡¯s b*tch!¡¯ ¡°Damn, I want to join the celebration!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Shocked, Stanley was confused by the world of adults. However, this is the first time his uncle was marrying someone in the game, so he had to have a look no matter what. Everyone, including both the bridegrooms, rushed to the wedding venue. Scary Phoenix promised to hold a grand wedding for Sirius, and every bystander would have to send them gifts. All of a sudden, everyone was rushing to the Temple of Love. Beast also appeared. ¡®Hahahhahaha! Sirius, you became my dad¡¯s b*tch after all! Hahahahah!¡¯ Scary Phoenix ordered, ¡®Call him stepdaddy.¡± Beast dutifully replied, ¡°Stepdaddy, nice to meet you. Hahahahahah!¡± Sirius, however, remained silent. In reality, Sophia suddenly quit the game and left after taking her bag. ¡°Stanley, I¡¯m picking Nate off school.¡± Still in shock, Stanley stared at the monitor with a nk look. He did not even realize that Sophia had left. Right after Sophia exited the cyber cafe, she immediately called Gary. ¡°Gary, where¡¯s Nate?¡± Still with Nathan in theputer room of the university, Gary nced at Nathan, who was about to get married in the game. ¡°Little Master said that you are not allowed to know.¡± Sophia was so furious that she felt like punching the walls. Damn it. I knew the little monster was behind all of this! Apart from Nate, I can¡¯t think of anyone who is such a psychopath! Where is he now? Sophia called the house number, but he was not there. Then, she called his university homeroom teacher, but he was not in university as well. Even after calling Hale, he did not know Nathan¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°Arrrggghh!¡± Sophia howled to the sky, clueless of how she had offended that little monster. She rushed back into the cyber cafe and saw the entire Egame Club watching Sirius and Scary Phoenix¡¯s wedding in the game. Both of the men bowed to the skies and their ancestors before bowing to each other. Apart from that, there were even flower carriages that roamed around the game, and red packets were given to everyone. Outside the game, Sophia almost broke into tears, feeling that she was the one who had just been shown around to the public in a flower carriage. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Once the dust settled, it had be a fact that Sirius was married to Scary Phoenix, and the couple was the first gay couple in the game. Everyone on the server was stunned to hear that. Even the system gave a notification. ¡®Congrattions to Scary Phoenix for marrying such a handsomed.¡¯ After the wedding, Scary Phoenix said to Sirius, ¡®My dear wife.¡¯ Sirius233 replied, ¡®Dear hubby.¡¯ A dead silence fell in the cyber cafe as everyone looked as though they suffered from constipation. Stanley even rubbed on the goosebumps on his arms. Does Uncle Michael really like men? I know what being gay is all about, but why did he choose Sirius? Meanwhile, Sophia felt like banging her head into the walls. Scary Phoenix bought the most luxurious room in the entire game, then they went into the room to consummate. After a busy day of dealing with Sirius and Scary Phoenix¡¯s wedding, it was already evening when Nathan returned home. Right after he reached home, he was caught by Sophia immediately. ¡°Nathan Fletcher, where have you been?¡± Sophia asked with a dark look on her face. Nathan was indignant. ¡°You still have the guts to ask me? You didn¡¯t ask me to join you when you went to the cyber cafe with Stanley! I¡¯m furious!¡± Sophia grabbed his shoulders and howled. ¡°So you got Sirius to marry Scary Phoenix in the game?¡± Nathan straightened his back as he spoke indignantly, ¡°Yes, I did! What can you do about that?¡± Sophia red at him wordlessly. What can I do apart from forgiving him? Even though Sophia was furious at Nathan, she could do nothing to him because he was too adorable. For the next few days, Sophia was quite restless in university, and she could not pay attention during the lectures. On top of that, she didn¡¯t dare to log into the game. After a few days, during a lecture, she overheard her ssmates¡¯ conversation and listened attentively. ¡°Have you guys heard that the Imperial Diamond Ring¡ªthe one that cost 70 million USD¡ªhas been bought by someone?¡± ¡°No way! Who¡¯s that rich?¡± ¡°No idea! Ido has always been very protective of their customers¡¯ information!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the Harper Family! That might be possible, you know. A few days ago, X tried on Eternal Love, and she was mocked by everyone. Perhaps the Harper Family forcefully bought it to regain their reputation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible. A few days ago, I heard that the Harpers and the Huffs got into a feud because of the ring. However, it seems that the dispute is already settled now.¡± ¡°X even told everyone happily that Richard is going to give her a huge surprise on Ka¡¯s birthday party. Apart from the ring, what else could it be?¡± Sophia suddenly realized that it was already Thursday. Ka¡¯s charity birthday party would start on Saturday, but she had not prepared anything. Shoot! I was so shocked by everything that happened in the game for the past few days that I forgot entirely about the birthday party! After her lectures had ended, Sophia rushed home immediately and went to her closet to check if she had any decent evening gowns. She had so many clothes that she was not sure if she had any evening gowns¡­ It was soon Saturday, and the charity dinner party that the Harper Family promised the public to hold was finally happening. Ka¡¯s incident had finally blown over. With thepletion of the charity dinner party, the Harper Family had finally redeemed themselves with the public and regained their poprity. Hence, they put together a grand charity dinner party. Apart from the pioneers of the business field, they also invited many celebrities and powerful media representatives. They also booked a six-star hotel. The venue was well decorated with fancy lighting and was attended by well-dressed prominent people. Even though it was alreadyte autumn, the atmosphere within the venue was warm and bustling. Today was the most important day for Ka and the Harper Family. They could not afford any unnned idents to happen! Chapter 160 Chapter 160 Stanley never imagined that he would receive an invitation from the Harper Family. On top of that, the formal invitation card was stamped in gold. Once he saw the invitation card, he knew that the Harper Family wanted to humiliate him because they thought he was Sophia¡¯s boyfriend. On top of that, they knew him as the punk young man who worked in construction. The reason for them sending out the invitation letter was merely to insult both him and Sophia. After all, they would need to wear tuxedos and evening gowns to the asion. Based on his ¡®job¡¯ as a construction worker, they thought that there was no way he could afford a tuxedo. In a mansion that was located in a huge courtyard of a military base in Bayside City, Stanley looked at himself in the mirror while shaving as he muttered to himself, ¡°Tsk! How dare they try to humiliate me and Sophia! They have no idea who they¡¯re dealing with!¡± Usually, he would not dress himself up, but he looked good after he did so. He took off the punk leather jacket that he usually wore and put on a fitting formal suit that was made of top-quality material. On top of that, he even wore a bow tie. After he petted his cat and dog, he went out. Moreover, he didn¡¯t ride his usual motorbike. Instead, he prepared a ck Cayenne. He stirred up a smallmotion in their army base after everyone saw that he dressed himself up to go out. ¡°Oooh, Stan, are you going for a date?¡± ¡°Stan, are you dating someone now?¡± Joel was here to discuss some matters with Stanley¡¯s brother. When he saw a well-dressed Stanley getting in the car, he asked, ¡°Going for a date, Stan?¡± Stanley caressed his induction-cut head gracefully while saying, ¡°Sophia¡¯s jerk of an ex-boyfriend organized some huge-scale banquet and invited her to humiliate her. I¡¯m just going there to back her up. By the way, Uncle Joel, do I look handsome today? Is it going to be a huge blow to them if I pretend to be Sophia¡¯s fianc¨¦?¡± Joel seemed like he wanted to say something, but he decided against that right when the words were about toe out from his mouth. Instead, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Michael? Isn¡¯t he back yet?¡± Stanley shook his head. ¡°Uncle Michael is still filming abroad. I saw a few pictures from the filming set that he posted yesterday.¡± Even if he were back, he probably wouldn¡¯t back Sophia up! After all, she is just Nate¡¯s nanny! A wild idea suddenly popped up in Stanley¡¯s mind. He grabbed Joel¡¯s arm as he said, ¡°Uncle Joel, let¡¯s go there together to support Sophia!¡± It would definitely be a huge blow to him if Joel is there! This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Expectedly, Joel released his grip coldly. ¡°Sounds boring.¡± Stanley shrugged and drove his car to fetch Sophia at The Imperial. ¡°Sophia, let¡¯s go!¡± he stopped the car at the front door and yelled up the stairs. Upon hearing that, Sophia quickly opened the door to walk outside. She had already dolled herself up with beautiful makeup on her face, and her hair was tied up into an elegant bun. However, she wore a big red jacket that wrapped her from head to toe, making her look like a swollen, giant penguin. ¡°Hmph! Look at your ugly attire!¡± While speaking, Stanley got out of the car to open the door for her. Sophia entered the car clumsily, like an overweight penguin. Nathan also wore a small tuxedo with a neat bow tie around his neck. His hair wasbed backward sleekly; it glimmered under the light. After he got into the car with Sophia, they drove away from the mansion. After they left in the car, Hale called a number without any expression on his face. ¡°Boss, madam has left for the banquet held by the Harper Family with Stanley. Yeah. Yes¡­ the location is at Seanne Hotel.¡± Meanwhile, after Michael hadpleted his work, he suddenly instructed his deputy officer, ¡°Find out the location of the charity dinner banquet held by the Harper Real Estates in Bayside City today¡­¡± On the way to the dinner banquet, Sophia looked at the car that Stanley was driving curiously. Sure, it¡¯s fancy, but¡­ ¡°Stanley, can you take off the advertisement on the windscreen?¡± On the windscreen in front of the co-driver seat of the shiny Cayenne was a ringly-visible A4 paper with the words, ¡®Luxury car for rent. Price starting from 3,000 per day. Phone number: xxxx¡¯. Stanley replied while driving, ¡°Do you think I wanted that? The car rentalpany did not allow me to tear it off! Every other car in my family is military-based. Do you want me to drive a tanker while wearing a tuxedo? It sounds stupid if you think about it! Apart from that, I¡¯m toozy to borrow a car from others, so I just rented it from the car rentalpany! Also, stop looking at it condescendingly! I spent 5,000 renting this car! 5,000! Do you know how many packs of instant noodles that I had to endure to save up that much? That¡¯s all the money I¡¯ve scrimped and saved! I wanted to borrow a car from Uncle Michael, but his cars are either limited-edition or specially built. It¡¯s too much to drive them to the banquet held by the Harper Family. They don¡¯t deserve his car at all!¡± Sophia rolled her eyes at him. Since it¡¯s just a banquet held by the Harper Family, it¡¯s enough to just drop by and have a look. Renting a car that¡¯s worth 5,000 a day fits their status. ¡°Stop talking about me. Look at you! What were you thinking, dressed up like a ball for a banquet?¡± ¡°Do you think I wanted that? The weather is so cold! Do you want me to reveal my skin?¡± In the backseat of the car, Nathan sat up straight as he listened to their bickering. He felt that it was highly probable that he would be insulted by others if he stayed with these two idiots. But since dad is not here, I¡¯ll protect mom! At this moment, Ka¡¯s charity birthday banquet had already begun. The entire hotel had been booked by the Harper Family, and there were many luxury cars stopping by at the entrance as the prestigious guests gracefully walked on the soft red carpet one by one before entering the hotel. The employees working for the parking service were walking around busily, while arge number of reporters flocked together at the entrance, snapping countless pictures of the guests. The atmosphere was quite busy indeed. As the organizer, the Harper Family reached the hotel long ago, and they stood at the entrance to wee the guests. Mrs. Harper wore an elegant and fancy traditional outfit, looking youthful; it seemed that her daily skincare routine had paid off. She looked like Richard¡¯s elder sister when she stood next to him. Meanwhile, Ka, who had not appeared in public for a while, also showed up. She could only start walking now since her leg was broken in the military base. Wearing a pink evening gown with exquisite makeup on her face, she exuded youthfulness and bubblyness while she smiled at everyone she saw. She was quite friendly as she tried to keep up with the public rtions tactics of the Harper Family. After the banquet, the media will release a few articles that will put us in a good light. With my kind smile, the Harper Family will escape from the scandals. While entertaining the guests personally, Ka kept staring at the door, wanting to see when Sophia would arrive. I¡¯m definitely going to show Sophia what I¡¯m capable of today! I¡¯m going to take revenge for all the past humiliations I¡¯ve suffered! Another car stopped at the entrance¡ªthe CEO of Huffs Technology had brought his daughter, X, here. She had been wanting tounch her career in the entertainment industry, so it was a good opportunity to show up tonight. The Harper Family deliberately invited many people from the entertainment industry¡ªfamous directors, well-reputed script writers, and a few notable celebrities, so that X and Ka could brush shoulders with them. After X got out of the car, she walked gracefully on the red carpet as she posed willingly for the reporters to take good photographs. Even the drafts for the articles were already finished; they only needed pictures toplete it. ¡°Richard!¡± Right after she saw Richard, she pounced on him like a bird. Looking at X, who had dressed up exquisitely today, Richard was moved. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a special surprise for you today!¡± he said in a low voice. X blushed in happiness. She knew that Richard had already bought the Imperial Diamond Ring, which was going to be the surprise tonight. However, she pretended to be unaware of it. At this moment, a Cayenne arrived at the entrance of the hotel. A paper with the words, ¡®Luxury car for rent. Price starting from 3,000 per day¡¯, was stuck to the window of the car. Chapter 161 Chapter 161 When the reporters saw the car, they thought that it belonged to some big shots, so they were prepared to take some photos. However, upon seeing the paper attached on the window, their paces came to a halt. Who on earth is this? ¡®Luxury car for rent. Price starting from 3,000 per day¡¯? The Harper Family certainly wouldn¡¯t give their invitation cards to ordinary people. Therefore, the people who are present here are all nobilities or elites. Could it be that there is some poor guy who came in here by mistake? Richard looked at the car, puzzled and shocked. He had verified all the invitation cards of the Harper Family before they were given out, so he was certain that the receivers were not ordinary people. Unless it was those two people¡­ As expected, after the car stopped, Stanley was seen getting out from the car. Stanley was indeed handsomely dressed today. He was 1.85 meters tall, had a model-like figure, tanned complexion, as well as a spirit and vibe that seemed different from other people after having gone through military training. Together with his chiseled, good-looking facial features and a suit, he looked good on camera even in his military buzz cut. With a quick nce, people would think that Robert Pattinson was here. His looks were on par with the two male models that walked on the red carpet before him. His outfit looked extraordinary, and it seemed to be from an international brand, L/K. However, together with the dazzling sign that stated ¡®Luxury car for rent. Price starting from 3,000 per day¡¯, his temperament instantly gave people an impression that they were high-quality replicas. When the media spotted a male guest that looked pleasant to the eyes, they started to take lots of photos of him. However, most people eagerly took photos because they noticed that this person wore high-quality fakes to attend the banquet organized by the Harper Family. They were curious, and they found this scene embarrassing for him, so they took a lot of photos. When Richard saw that Sophia¡¯s new boyfriend came dressing in high-quality replicas with a rented vehicle, he found it understandable. Their identity and spending power could only allow them to go this far. After attending the banquet today, Stanley would probably have spent his entire one-month earning from working at the construction site, and Sophia would have at least used up 6-months¡¯ worth of earnings from making deliveries. X was extremely delighted as well and tugged on Richard excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s Sophia and Stanley! Let¡¯s go and wee them!¡± Richard smiled. He tidied his bespoke suit, which was worth 100,000, and took X, whose outfit was worth a few million, to meet Stanley, who was wearing ¡®high-quality replicas¡¯. Ka, who was unwilling to be outdone, tagged along as well. After Stanley got out from the car, he immediately turned to the back seat to open the car door, and the reporters got closer to them. The first person that was seen getting out from the car was a little boy with a gloomy expression. Seeing that he was so cute, everyone reluctantly took a couple of photos of him. The next person was the one they had to pay attention to. As the reporters had been informed by the Harper Family in advance about the things they had to take note of, they could instantly tell who might be in the car. Therefore, they took out their lenses, preparing to take as many photos as they could. A person¡ªno, a ball, a big red ball, came out from the passenger seat of the Cayenne. It wasn¡¯t cold at all inside the car because the heater was switched on. However, when the car door was opened, the cool air outside entered the car, causing Sophia to instantly shiver, and her body subconsciously curled into a ball. She rolled out of the car like a ball. Stanley held his hand out to her like a gentleman, and Sophia took his hand. Hence, Stanley, who was dressed in ¡®high-quality replicas¡¯, held Sophia, who was wrapped up like a ball, and together, they walked toward the red carpet under the cameras of the bunch of reporters. The reporters were rendered speechless. Everyone else came in formal suits, but the two of them actually came in ¡®high-quality replicas¡¯ and a down jacket. And even the down jacket might have been a high-quality replica as well. Stanley tossed his car keys to the valet while adjuring, ¡°Be careful. Make sure you don¡¯t scratch the car. I spent 5,000 to rent this car for a day.¡± The valet sneered and drove the car away. Sophia, who wore a down jacket, and Stanley, who wore ¡®high-quality replicas¡¯, walked on the red carpet. The shes of camerasnded on them one after another like lightning, while Sophia was clumsily holding Nathan¡¯s hand. They were greeted by the three people from the front¡ªthe Harper siblings and X. Richard wore a formal suit, and standing on his left was Ka, who was wearing a pink evening gown. The floor-length skirt was embedded with jewels and pearls, and every detail was made extremely luxuriously; even her tiny hair pin was exquisitely designed. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. X wore a white evening gown, looking like a fairy that descended on earth, dazzling and stunning. When the three of them walked toward Sophia, her red down jacket seemed to reflect the brilliant re they emanated. Richard shook Sophia¡¯s hand in front of all the reporters. He even humbly uttered, ¡°Thank you for attending our banquet today.¡± When he was speaking, he tried hard to hold in hisughter for fear that he wouldugh out loud in public. It was because Stanley and Sophia really looked ridiculous today! Stanley and Sophia looked friendly as well. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± Though Sophia was wearing thick clothing on her, her shoes were thin. She curled up under the freezing temperature. She slid her hands into the down jacket, and her face was hidden under the cor; she looked extremely ridiculous. Under the freezing coldness, is demeanor and looks more important than staying warm? ¡°Hurry up and go in. I¡¯m freezing here!¡± Sophia urged Stanley from behind. Holding two invitation cards in his hands politely, Stanley chatted with Richard enthusiastically while walking into the hotel. Before Sophia even entered through the door, the news that she had shown up at the banquet in a down jacket had spread around the banquet hall. The students of Bayside University, who were close to the Harper and Huff Family, specially waited for her at the door to watch her humiliating herself. Some of them even broadcasted live on their university forum about Stanley wearing ¡®high-quality replicas¡¯ and Sophia wearing a down jacket. It was really embarrassing! The guests present even started to discuss among themselves right in front of them. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen anybody attending a banquet in a down jacket. They are so pitiful. They must have never been to such asions before this! The clothes are so old-fashioned; she must have bought it online during the 12 December sale!¡± ¡°Stanley seems to be wearing clothes from L/K. That¡¯s actually an international brand, and the goods are expensive. But in my opinion, those are high-quality fakes!¡± ¡°Haha, the person-in-charge of L/K for our country is here today too. I¡¯m looking forward to his reaction when he sees the high-quality replicas!¡± Upon hearing everyone¡¯s discussion, Sophia clumsily poked Stanley with her finger. ¡°Look, you are humiliating yourself by wearing high-quality replicas!¡± Stanley refuted, ¡°You are the same as well, wearing a down jacket on this asion. You don¡¯t feel embarrassed, but I¡¯m ashamed for you! You are so ugly, looking just like a penguin, and the ugliest one, no less!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to wear a down jacket too, but the weather is too cold! At least I¡¯m not wearing high-quality fakes! You are as ugly as sh*t, and the smelliest one, no less!¡± ¡°Do you think that I wished to do so? I¡¯ve spent all my money to rent the car. If I bought new suits, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to even afford to eat instant noodles for this semester! I even spent lots of money for this hairdo!¡± ¡°You are practically bald, so you look the same no matter what you do with your hair!¡± ¡°I used to have a crew cut, but today, I have an induction cut! There¡¯s arge difference between the two!¡± The two of them argued with each other,pletely unfazed by the fact that the Harper siblings and X were beside them. Richard stifled a snicker, while Ka and X were covering their mouths and chuckling after trying hard to hold in theirughter but failed. Nathan¡¯s little face had a dark expression. This is so embarrassing! Ka headed into the hotel first. When Stanley and Sophia were ¡®flirting¡¯ with each other, she quietly said something to the waiter who was collecting the invitation cards. When they finally arrived at the entrance, Stanley produced the invitation card and took Nathan into the hotel. However, when it was Sophia¡¯s turn, the waiter nced at her in her down jacket. Wearing a professional smile, he uttered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss. You are not appropriately dressed, so you can¡¯t enter the banquet.¡± Therefore, Sophia was stopped outside. Chapter 162 Chapter 162 Stanley chortled heartlessly. ¡°Hahaha¡­ You insisted on wearing the down jacket, so you are now being stopped outside. Serves you right!¡± Mockeries were heard from the crowd. Richard smiled sarcastically and said, ¡°I think this is as far as you can go. You don¡¯t need to attend the banquet. You need to dress in formal attire to attend the banquet. I understand your situation, so I won¡¯t force you¡­¡± As they had arrived at the main entrance of the hotel, the warm air from inside blew toward her face, causing her face to flush red, and her body started to feel hot under the thick jacket. However, her looks gave everyone the impression that she was feeling so embarrassed that her face was flushed! Stanley carried Nathan in his arms and headed inside. Although he was wearing high-quality fakes, those were still formal attire, so he was granted entry. ¡°Sophie, you can continue to dilly-dally. I¡¯m not waiting for you! I¡¯ll bring Nate inside to have some food first!¡± Sophia looked at Stanley disappearing behind the door with her reddened face. X uttered to her while pretending to be caring, ¡°I have an evening gown that I¡¯ve worn before this. How about I lend it to you?¡± Ka scoffed, ¡°X, she can¡¯t fit into your dress! Her measurements and status don¡¯t match yours! Besides, an evening gown shouldn¡¯t be worn twice!¡± X replied in a flirtatious manner, ¡°I was going to get rid of the evening gown anyway, so it¡¯s better to give it to Sophia! I think it would fit her!¡± A sneer by X was replied with a scoff by Ka, and together, they demeaned Sophia over and over again. Sophia kept quiet for a few seconds before asking the waiter, who was covering his mouth while laughing, ¡°What kind of attire is considered appropriate?¡± Everyone broke intoughter. It turned out that she came without any knowledge, so it was no wonder that she would humiliate herself. The waiter could barely suppress his giggle as he probably hadn¡¯t seen such an embarrassing scene. ¡°At the very least, you can¡¯t enter wearing a down jacket.¡± Half of Sophia¡¯s face was hidden under the cor of her down jacket, which made her look like a walking jacket. And to make things worse, the jacket was gaudy and bright red, and the hoodie was over her head, barely revealing her pair of eyes. She thought about it seriously. ¡°If I take off my down jacket, can I go in, then?¡± The waiter was stunned as he didn¡¯t know how to reply. Nevertheless, Sophia refused to allow him to have the time to phrase his words. She immediately took off the hoodie over her head, exposing her elegantly coiled hair-do where every single strand of hair was set in ce. Her ck hair bun was coiled and twisted, forming a stylish and beautiful arc. Her hair was embellished with white pearl hair pin, which made her look delicate, graceful and gentle. Zip! She then gently pulled down the zipper of her down jacket, and the piercing sound of the friction between metals was heard by everyone. She bent down while pulling the zipper from the top to the bottom, slowly opening her jacket. The jacket was slowly pulled apart starting from her shoulders. A row of pearls was revealed from the parted down jacket. Richard, who was standing behind Sophia, seemed to have mes ignited in his eyes, and his gaze was completely focused on her. The gaudy, bright-red down jacket was gradually pulled apart, revealing a fair, tender neck that resembled a swan¡¯s, her sharp jawline, and also her red lips, which contained a hint of a snicker. As the down jacket slid down, her bare scaps were perfectly shown in front of everyone. She looked like a cocoon slowly splitting apart, and the beautiful butterfly gently spread its gorgeous wings, preparing to soar to the sky at any time. Half of her back was then revealed. Her fair, jade-likeplexion was wless; her lines were soft and captivating, resembling Venus¡¯ figure, and not a single imperfection could be found. The down jacket waspletely taken off, and everyone was finally able to see her attire underneath. It was an ivory backless sleeveless evening gown. Ivory color best enhanced the skin tone, causing her complexion on her chest and back to look extremely fair. A diamond ne hung on top of her fair chest, gleaming like stars. The ivory evening gown was so long that the hem reached the floor. The custom-made gown perfectly entuated her sexy hourss figure. There was a pin-drop silence at the scene. Richard, who was behind her, could only see her back, but his eyes brightened up at the sight of her astonishing looks. Sophia blinked her dark eyes, and she handed her down jacket to the waiter. ¡°My apologies. It was too cold outside, so I had toe in my down jacket. Can I enter now?¡± On her right hand, a ring was shining with dazzling red glimmer. The waiter was awestruck by her appearance and stuttered, ¡°Y-Yes, of course!¡± Then, he eagerly helped her to store her down jacket. Carefully stepping on her diamond heels, she paced inside in a poised manner. As she was slowly walking on the red carpet, the hem of the ivory evening gown dragged along the path. It was not until she had taken a few steps that the crowd came to their senses. X and Ka looked at the dazzling Sophia in disbelief. A hint of viciousness shed across X¡¯s eyes, but she just scoffed. She then caught up to Sophia and pretended to tug her hand in astonishment. ¡°Wow, Sophia, are you wearing the ¡®Eternal Love¡¯ from Ido? Where did you get the replica? It looks real!¡± X¡¯s words reminded everyone who had fallen in a daze due to her beauty. It¡¯s impossible that Sophia could afford such a stunning evening gown. It must be a fake! How much has she spent on it? 1,000? Or 2,000? And also the ring on her finger¡ªit looks like a replica of the Imperial Diamond Ring from Ido. It looks real, but it¡¯s still a replica nheless. The real ¡®Eternal Love¡¯ has been bought by the Harper Family, and it will be given to X as a surprise gift today! By wearing a high- quality fake of the ¡®Eternal Love¡¯ today, isn¡¯t she only going to humiliate herself? After a brief moment of astonishment, everyone returned to the scornful attitude they had earlier. Ugly words kept popping out of their mouth while their eyes kept turning toward Sophia. Although they were fake, the ¡®replicas¡¯ brought out her temperament, and they didn¡¯t look fake at all. This caused everyone to wonder where she got them from! Upon hearing X¡¯s pretentious awe-struckments, Sophia lowered her head to look at the ring on her finger. The crimson diamond resembled a poppy, radiating an enticing gleam. Her fiery, red lips slightly quirked up as she replied, ¡°I have no idea too. It was a gift from someone.¡± No matter how she answered, everyone would think that they were fake. X hugged her arm pretentiously before deliberately cing her diamond ring, which was worth a million, next to her ¡®replica¡¯, as if she wasparing them. ¡°You like the ¡®Eternal Love¡¯? I love it as well!¡± However, her diamond ring that was worth a million was vaguely unmatched to the high-quality replica¡ª the color of the replica actually overpowered a real diamond ring, and the replica seemed more elegant! Not only was the ring inferior to the replica; even Sophia¡¯s ivory gown seemed to outshine her snow- white gown. A nosy student at the scene secretly took a photo of the two of them in an attempt to post it to the forum of Bayside University. However, even after she took several photos of them, Sophia seemed immacte in the photos, shining bright and fair like a princess. Her pearl-white skin and ivory gownplemented each other. It was a perfect look. Ivory gowns could easily brighten one¡¯s skin tone. However, only those with a fairplexion would have the courage to wear it; those without a fairplexion would only embarrass themselves if they put it on. Now, X was eagerly gluing herself onto Sophia, and the ivory gown made her look darker by a few tones. She looked tragicpared to Sophia when she stood next to her. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Chapter 163 Chapter 163 She looked dashing, with the grace of a queen. Her exquisite facial features radiated an extraordinary temperament, and her eyes were sincere, causing her to look like a righteous person. The crimson ring on her finger looked natural on her; in fact, it gave the observers a visual impact of roses blooming amidst white snow. On the contrary, the other one had her nasty thoughts written on her face. Her eyes were cloudy and filled with malicious intentions. Her temperament, face, and her attire were unmatched to Sophia¡¯s; even the genuine diamond ring on her hand looked inferior to the high-quality replica. This¡­ must have been due to the angle and camera filter! However, no matter how she took the photos, Sophia was still the obvious winner. X¡¯s initial intention was to mortify Sophia, but if she were to post the photo, she herself would be humiliated instead. Therefore, she had no choice but to delete the photo. Nevertheless, there were other students who kept posting the photos in the forum of Bayside University. Looking at Sophia¡¯s stunning scap and herplexion that was wless, fair and mesmerizing, Richard¡¯s feet involuntarily followed behind her. The few people then entered the banquet hall. The hall was already merry and lively when they entered, and Sophia¡¯s appearance astonished everyone. She calmly walked in and epted everyone¡¯s surprised gazes. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Upon entering the hall, X uttered, ¡°Sophia, I can¡¯t stay with you. Richard introduced me to a few directors and film producers, so I need to be there.¡± After saying that, she dragged Richard away. His mind seemed to be filled with Sophia, but he couldn¡¯t show it on his face. Meanwhile, Ka walked away gracefully as well. Stanley was eating when Sophia found him. The banquet of the Harper Family certainly wouldn¡¯t be short of food and beverages, and they were all top-notch cuisines. However, most of the guests were concerned with their own images, so they only had a taste of the food; this guy, however, gobbled up his meal. Sophia took a te to get some cakes. While doing so, she reprimanded, ¡°Don¡¯t act like a hungry ghost. It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± Stanley, who was busy eating, said between bites, ¡°I spent 5,000 for this banquet. 5,000! It would be a waste if I don¡¯t eat more! Am I right, Nate?¡± Nathan was eating pudding, and he didn¡¯t say anything, but hisrge, watery eyes were fixed on Sophia, filled with astonishment. Stanley noticed that her ¡®battle robe¡¯ was different today. He freed one of his hands and pped on her bare, pretty back, forming a red mark. ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold for wearing so little? You should put on your down jacket again!¡± The banquet hall was as warm as summer, and the gowns of thedies were gorgeous yet short. Sophia didn¡¯t reply to him; she focused on her food instead. Everyone else was chatting with one another and building connections, and only the three of them were focused on eating. As the star of the banquet today, Ka was like a princess, being surrounded by many. Ever since the incident, her poprity and exposure had increased. After clearing her name, she would be a hot topic when she entered the entertainment industry. The girl who acted as a minor character¡ªonly her face was revealed and she had no lines¡ªin ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ a while ago met a few directors at the banquet today. She had been internally selected to y the role of the supporting actress of a major film. X and her werefortably having conversations with the group of directors, producers, and famous actors, while the three of them¡ªSophia, Stanley and Nathan¡ªwere left alone in a corner. Ka nced at the three people, who were eating heartily. Don¡¯t you think that you can wear fakes to attend our Harper Family banquet and leave after having a meal! Sophia disliked wearing an evening gown because it wrapped around her body tightly. She couldn¡¯t even breathe, and she had to suck in her tummy all the time. She dared not eat much for fear that her tummy would bulge, and it would look ugly. Luckily, she had a slim waist, so she could at least eat a little. After eating, she attentively eavesdropped on the conversation among a few wealthy businessmen about the property and stock market. As the banquet tonight was open to the public, there were plenty of reporters at the scene. Suddenly, a few people who looked like reporters walked toward Sophia. They took multiple photos of her and started to ask some harsh questions. ¡°Miss Edwards, can you tell us whether the clothes you are wearing are fakes?¡± ¡°Wearing fakes is very disrespectful toward the original product. Can you tell us about your opinions on this?¡± ¡°Is the ring on your finger a high-quality replica of the Imperial Diamond Ring of Ido¡ªthe ¡®Eternal Love¡¯?¡± ¡°Can you tell us why you wore high-quality replicas to attend the banquet by the Harper Family? Could it be that you are still holding a grudge against Miss Ka Harper for framing you, so you used this disrespectful behavior of wearing high-quality fakes to show your dissatisfaction toward the Harper Family?¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, are you unsatisfied with thepensation given by the Harper Family and are hoping to get more?¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, stop focusing on eating only. Please say something!¡± Sophia elegantly finished her pudding, and her perfect makeup was still impable. She replied, ¡°No comment.¡± The reporters gathered closer around her, throwing her sharper questions, one after another. ¡°Miss Edwards, as far as I know, the original version of the gown that you are wearing now seems to be one of the evening gowns that L/K released this autumn. Every single gown is extremely pricey, and they¡¯ve applied for intellectual property protection. Miss Edwards, are you aware that by wearing a replica, you have vited the intellectual property rights of L/K, so they have the rights to sue you at any moment?¡± ¡°Is your boyfriend also wearing a high-quality fake from L/K?¡± ¡°The person-in-charge of L/K for our country is attending the banquet tonight as well. Miss Edwards, are you prepared to deal with awsuit from L/K?¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, Miss Edwards! Please answer my questions! Stop ying with your phone!¡± As Sophia¡¯s boyfriend, it was natural that Stanley was dragged into the situation as well. However, he seemed calm; he leisurely tidied the tie around his neck before answering on behalf of Sophia, ¡°Dear reporters, on what basis did you assume that we are wearing replicas? Since you think that L/K will sue us, let¡¯s just wait for them to send us a subpoena. We would like to continue eating, so it¡¯s inconvenient for us to ept your interview.¡± The group of reporters attempted to continue asking, but they put aside the thought for now because it wouldn¡¯t be toote to ask those questions after the arrival of the person-in-charge of L/K since they were sure the couple were wearing replicas. After the reporters backed off, Stanley consoled Sophia, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I know L/K¡¯s person-in-charge. With me here today, they certainly won¡¯t be able to deride you.¡± Sophia hummed in response. Stanley carried Nathan to the side and nudged himself to her front. ¡°Am I handsome today?¡± he asked yfully. Sophia replied, ¡°Yeah.¡± Hearing that, Stanley felt content. He then took some puddings for her. ¡°Come. I know you like this. Have some more.¡± Sophia lowered her head and continued eating without bothering to reply to him. Stanley stared at her unblinkingly. She looks gorgeous today. However, ns could never keep up with the changes in life. When the reporters were eagerly waiting for the arrival of the person-in-charge of L/K to uncover the truth about Sophia¡¯s attire, an extraordinary big shot arrived unexpectedly. Chapter 164 Chapter 164 Mr. Harper, who was entertaining the guests, suddenly received a call from a security guard stationed outside. ¡°Boss, someone from the military is here. He doesn¡¯t have an invitation card, but he seems to have a rather high position in the military, and he made an imposing appearance. Should we let him in?¡± Mr. Harper was puzzled. ¡°Someone from the military? But we didn¡¯t send out any invitation cards to people with military backgrounds. What¡¯s his name?¡± The security guard replied, ¡°He said that his name is Joel Fletcher.¡± Joel Fletcher?! Richard, who overheard the name, was shocked. He immediately put down the champagne in his hand and dashed out to greet him. After a while, Richard was seen humbly and respectfully attending to an incredibly good-looking man in military uniform. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Joel¡¯s presence stirred up a ratherrgemotion at the scene, especially among the students of Bayside University. ¡°Oh, my! I-It¡¯s the General!¡± ¡°Is this a sign that the Harper Family is doing exceptionally well? They actually managed to invite the General to attend this event!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Joel? Is he someone powerful?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the first legitimate sessor of the Fletcher Family, and he¡¯s also the youngest Senior Colonel in our country. If nothing unexpected happens, he¡¯s going to be the youngest Major General very soon!¡± ¡°Why would Joele to this ce? Could it be that he has some kind of rtionship with the Harper Family?¡± The unexpected appearance of Young Master Fletcher instantly raised the quality and level of the Harpers¡¯ banquet sky-high. Joel instantaneously became the center of attention of the banquet upon appearing. Everyone wished to build a connection with him. Though Richard had no idea why Joel was here, his presence today was a great honor to the Harper Family. Moreover, due to the restriction of their identities, the Fletcher Family would usually keep a low profile, so they seldom attended this kind of banquet. So why did Joel appear today? The imaginations of the reporters were starting to run wild. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Young Master Fletcher. I¡¯m really ttered that you came to my daughter¡¯s birthday banquet. I really am.¡± Mr. Harper was beaming when he led her beautifully dressed daughter out. ¡°Ka, say hello to Young Master Fletcher.¡± Ka¡¯s face reddened. Her heart raced, and shecked the courage to even nce at Joel. With her head bowed, she intermittently peeked at him as she squeezed her gown and shyly greeted, ¡°Hello, General.¡± Joel¡¯s the dream guy of all the girls in my grade, and everyone wishes that he would take another nce at them! When we were in military training, Joel was the only thing we talked about during ourte-night chats, and it¡¯s totally out of my expectation that he would attend my birthday banquet! Joel coldly nodded, and his expression was impassive. ¡°I happened to pass by, so I came in to take a look.¡± Joel, in his military uniform, had an air born of menacing battlefields; it was totally ipatible with this luxurious banquet, which was filled with gorgeous, rich men and women. However, he was still undoubtedly the most dazzling man in the entire hall. As he came uninvited, he bought a little gift from a nearby jewelry shop to make himself seem less impolite. And now was a suitable time for him to take out and hand the gift to Ka. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Ka was overjoyed to the point that she almost cried. She shyly took the little present from him and thanked him while biting on her lips. ¡°Thank you, Young Master Fletcher.¡± Ka actually received a birthday present from Joel! At that moment, everyone at the scene was stunned yet jealous of her, causing Mr. and Mrs. Harper to beam proudly. Upon seeing the bashful Ka and Joel in his military outfit, imagination about a romantic story between a soldier and a beautiful girl instantly popped up in the reporters¡¯ minds. They used their cameras and enthusiastically took photos of them together with the intention to write a long story about them after they went back. Joel must fancy Ka, which could exin the reason he¡¯s here. This is Ka¡¯s birthday banquet, and he even gave her a present in front of everyone, so this must be the truth. Harper Family¡¯spany was listed on the market smoothly, and they even managed to get the support of the Fletcher Family. The Harpers were going to be more sessful! Richard was secretly pleased with his sister when he saw that she actually had this kind of achievement. Mrs. Harper had even decided on the names of Ka and Joel¡¯s children. The media and the members of the upper-ss gathered closely around Joel in no time. Sophia and Stanley, who were surrounded by the reporters earlier, were suddenly left alone. They stood outside of the crowd without anyone else around them. Stanley, who had butter all over his mouth, was shocked, ¡°Oh, my. Why is my uncle here?¡± Didn¡¯t he refuse toe today? With my uncle here, the Harper Family definitely won¡¯t be able to humiliate Sophia today! Stanley thought to himself in pleasure. Upon seeing Joel, Sophia felt that every single muscle in her body was shaking. Oh, no. Why is Joel here? Why am I having such an uneasy feeling? I can sense that something bad is about to happen! She had the feeling that today wouldn¡¯t be a peaceful day, so it would be better for her to go back earlier. After all, she had had enough of showing off today. She immediately took a few bites of the pudding, wiped her mouth, and hastily fixed her lipstick. She attempted to quietly slip off when everyone was surrounding Joel. When Stanley saw her running away, he grabbed Nathan and chased after her. ¡°Sophia, where are you going? Wait for me! Are you trying to escape? You can¡¯t do this. I¡¯ve spent all my fortune¡ª5,000 in total ¡ªto apany you here to show off! You can¡¯t leave now!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered by his 5,000 because that guy was actually very rich. Without taking the Fletcher Family into consideration, Stanley entered the gaming industry since high school, and he was also part of the national gaming team. He was known as the Robert Pattinson of the E-game industry, and he could earn a few million cash prizes every time he won a national e-gamepetition. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to be poor! While Joel was surrounded by many people, his eyes flicked across the hall as he silently searched for something. Finally, he found a dash of fair ivory color among the remarkable men and women around him. It was like the white moonlight that shined on the earth, brightening up his vision. Subconsciously, he wanted to chase after it. At that moment, Sophia was heading toward the exit. Stanley wiped his mouth before carrying Nathan and chased after her. Unexpectedly, when they reached the door, a wave of reporters popped out from nowhere and surrounded them with their ¡®weapons¡¯. ¡°Miss Edwards, where are you going? The person-in-charge of L/K of our country is arriving at any moment. Are you nning to escape?¡± Sophia cursed inwardly, but she looked emotionless. ¡°Noment.¡± The littlemotion here seemed to not have an effect on the conversations among the members of the upper-ss over there. Nobody had noticed them for now. The reporters surrounded her eagerly. ¡°Miss Edwards, since you are nning to leave now, is it a deration of your guilt?¡± ¡°How do you view yourself for your act of wearing high-quality fakes? Did you know that they were replicas before you wore them?¡± To stop Sophia from leaving, one of the reporters even deliberately stepped on the hem of her gown. As she was wearing a sleeveless tube top gown, she dared not move when her skirt was stepped on for fear that her gown would slip down if she did. Before she could say anything, Stanley was enraged, and he grabbed the reporter who was stepping on her skirt. ¡°What are you doing? Put your dirty feet away! Is that something you can afford to step on?¡± They would actually stoop to stepping on a girl¡¯s skirt, so it was obvious that the reporters had received money from the Harper Family. Since the Harper Family prefers to y dirty, I won¡¯t be nice to them as well! Come and fight me! I have Joel supporting me. I¡¯m not afraid of them! Seeing that Stanley¡¯s fist was almost thrown at the reporter¡¯s face, Sophia suddenly patted on his shoulder and shook her head at him. ¡°Stay calm.¡± Stanley retracted his arm in displeasure. Green veins popped up on his face out of extreme rage. He pointed at Sophia¡¯s skirt, which was firmly stepped on, and growled, ¡°Get your filthy foot off her!¡± The reporter, who was dressed in a suit, didn¡¯t even cast him a look. He was full of himself as he knew that Stanley wouldn¡¯t dare to look for trouble. I¡¯m a reporter. If he has the courage to hit me, I¡¯ll publish it in the news tomorrow and make sure that his reputation is ruined! Chapter 165 Chapter 165 The reporter kept pestering Sophia. ¡°Miss Edwards, you haven¡¯t answered my question! Are you leaving in a rush because you are feeling guilty? Are youcking the courage to face the situation? If L/K were to send you a subpoena, have you thought of how you¡¯d respond to it?¡± The cameraman brought the lens closer to Sophia, causing the camera to almost touch her face. It was impossible that nobody hadn¡¯t noticed what was going on at the corner. In fact, Ka had noticed it long ago. When Sophia was humiliated but couldn¡¯t leave as her skirt was being stepped on by someone, Ka was talking to Joel on the other side¡ªit formed a stark contrast between a wild chick and a real youngdy of a wealthy family. However, the show with Joel as the main character was way more interesting than the show on the other side. Therefore, nobody wanted to go over there. Sophia remained silent for a while. The reporter¡¯s foot was firmly ced on a corner of her skirt, and he went so far as to intentionally rub his shoes on it, instantly making a ck stain on the long ivory skirt. He even crushed one of the jewels on the spot. Sophia remained motionless. If she moved, her sleeveless gown might really slip down there and then. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. When the reporter continued to press on, she finally coldly asked, ¡°Which publisher are you from?¡± Feeling impatient, the reporter switched to his other foot to step on her skirt as he growled, ¡°Miss Edwards, don¡¯t change the topic. Please answer my question first!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t reply. She suddenly noticed that other reporters were hyped up. ¡°The person-in-charge of L/K for Cethos, Kenny ir, is here!¡± Hearing that, a few reporters immediately left. However, there was still a foot quietly stepping on Sophia¡¯s skirt persistently. And at that moment, Joel finally saw the nasty leather shoe on the corner of her skirt, and a cold gleam shed across his eyes. Kenny ir was not only a well-known designer; he was also the person-in-charge of L/K for Cethos despite his young age. Therefore, it was only natural for him to radiate the vibes of a sessful person. Upon entering the hotel, he was instantly surrounded by reporters. ¡°Kenny, are you here today because you were invited to attend Miss Ka Harper¡¯s birthday banquet?¡± ¡°Kenny, will you continue to use the previous style for the new products released by L/Kdies¡¯ series this winter? ¡°Kenny, what do you think about high-quality fakes?¡± ¡°Fakes?¡± Upon hearing the word, a strong sense of disgust was aroused in him. ¡°I think that fakes are a form of disrespect to intellectual properties. Those who wear or make replicas are losers and thrash!¡± A reporter was excited, as if he was a child who would get rewarded for blowing the whistle. ¡°Kenny, there¡¯s a person wearing the replica of an evening gown, which was just released this autumn by L/K, here at Harper Family¡¯s banquet today!¡± Hearing that, Kenny¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Which design?¡± ¡°The ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯!¡± ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ was an evening gown which was specially designed by L/K for Cethosian ladies with fairplexions. The entire gown was pure white in color, looking just like the bright moon reflected in the mirror-like water in an ancient well. It was extremely pricey, and there were only five sets avable for sale! The five pieces of gowns were all purely handmade, and Kenny was personally involved in the design and production of the dresses. And there was actually someone who had the nerve to wear the replica of the ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ right in front of him? Kenny was enraged, as if his own daughter had been kidnapped, but the kidnapper deliberately ced her before him to rub it in his face. He quickened his pace toward the banquet hall, while the reporters, who had been bribed, eagerly led the way. ¡°Who¡¯s wearing a replica?¡± Kenny growled the moment he stepped foot in the hall. ¡°It¡¯s her! It¡¯s her! That¡¯s the person!¡± The reporter pointed at Sophia. When Kenny looked in the direction of Sophia in fury, he saw a seemingly-youngdy wearing an ivory evening gown. She seemed to be donning the most stunning and breath-taking gleam of moonlight on her. She profoundly defined what it meant by ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯. Her beauty was staggering! But it¡¯s a fake! No matter how gorgeous it looks, it¡¯s still a fake! Under the reporters¡¯ expectant gazes, Kenny strode angrily toward Sophia in a fast pace. However, when he got closer to her, he realized that something was wrong. Why does this replica look so genuine? As the designer of this gown, he was personally involved in the making of some of the detailed aspects. The intricate embroideries on the gown were meticulously embroidered by him, but even he himself couldn¡¯t see any difference between this replica and the genuine gown¡ªthe cutting, vibes, and even the material was 100% simr. I spent 6 months making this gown, and it has just been released a couple of months ago, but now, it has been replicated? On top of that, it has been replicated in such a perfect manner? All of a sudden, his footsteps came to a halt, as if he saw a staggering sight. Next to the girl, who was wearing the ¡®replica¡¯, stood a man in a ck suit. His buzz cut was eye- catching, and he was looking at him with a fierce expression. Isn¡¯t he my ¡®father¡¯ from the game¡ªStanley? Kenny also yed the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, and he came to know a ¡®father¡¯, who had a rather intimidating background, in the game. Through this ¡®father¡¯, Kenny expanded his business, causing L/K¡¯s sales in their country to gradually increase. Theirpany managed to defeat their opponents, and he was promoted and had a sry increment. One of the reporters winked at him from one side. ¡°Kenny, that man over there is wearing a replica of L/K¡¯s suit too!¡± His words made the corner of Kenny¡¯s lips twitch. That¡¯s my ¡®father¡¯! What¡¯s with the eyesight of these reporters? Is my ¡®father¡¯ someone who would wear a replica? Suddenly, Kenny seemed to have noticed something unbearable. Without any consideration of the consequences, he dashed forward. The reporters thought that he was going to give Sophia a piece of his mind, so they frantically took photos, perfectly capturing his every slight movements with the cameras. Kenny charged toward Sophia and reached out his hand fiercely, but his target wasn¡¯t Sophia; it was the reporter who was stepping on Sophia¡¯s skirt instead. With a roar, he gave the reporter a hard push. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Kenny¡¯s push caused the reporter to stagger a few steps back, and the camera in his hand smashed to the ground and broke. The reporter looked at him nkly, without any idea on what was going on. Kenny¡¯s eyes reddened. What did I just see? Someone actually stepped on my ¡®daughter¡¯ with his feet! With both knees on the floor, he picked up the corner of the ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ that had been stepped on, and his expression reflected his agonizing pain. ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯! L/K¡¯s best work this autumn! Every single piece was fully handmade! It took dozens of gold-rated tailors 6 months to produce a single piece! This was L/K¡¯s most ssic and limited-edition product! But it was actually being stepped under someone¡¯s shoes! Cradling the piece of clothing, his hands were trembling, and his eyes were reddened! The grief and pain was overwhelming! When Stanley, who initially intended to me him for beingte toe to their rescue, saw him in such a depressing state, he felt so sorry for him that he gave up on the thought of rebuking him. As a designer who was passionate in clothing, ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ was a product of Kenny¡¯s hard work. It was him who had the idea first, then after designing and finalizing the draft, he participated in the making of a number of details. Therefore, every single piece was stained with his blood, sweat and tears. Stanley immediately consoled him, ¡°Good boy. Don¡¯t cry, Ken! I love you, son!¡± Kenny wailed loudly. Upon seeing the gown that he cherished so much being ruined by someone, he was engulfed by sadness. He couldn¡¯t help but cry out loud, sessfully attracting the attention of others. Sophia was rendered speechless by the turn of events. What happened to the n where we were going to shame them? Why did I find myself in a more embarrassing situation? Chapter 166 Chapter 166 She turned her head around and felt speechless when she saw the young man hugging the corner of her skirt while sobbing. However, looking at the dirty footprint on her beautiful dress, she too found it quite a pity as she felt that something nice had been tainted. The reporter who trampled on the skirt was baffled; he just sat on the floor with a puzzled look. What is going on? Where am I? Who am I? Why is Kenny crying while hugging a replica? Could it be that this replica is actually something valuable? Joel strode toward them at once. The Harper Family naturally followed behind him, together with the large crowd of people. Kenny suddenly wiped away his tears and grabbed the reporter who had just trampled the skirt. While gripping the corner of his shirt, he roared, ¡°Do you know how hard it is to make this gown? Do you know how hard it is to embroider on mulberry silk, which is extremely thin, by hand? There are 108 jewels in total, and you need to string them up andbine them together with the gown. Do you know how many times L/K failed and ruined the material before we managed to even produce one piece? There are only 5 gowns in the whole world, and we are proud of every single piece of them! We have invested lots of blood, sweat and tears into them, so every single piece is my treasure! From where did you get the courage to step on my treasure with your feet?¡± The reporter was made dumbfounded by his bawl. His expression transitioned from being puzzled to pale, and then his whole face turned crimson. ¡°I-I¡ª¡± he stuttered. Stanley immediately tried his best to separate Kenny away from the reporter while consoling him, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Ken, stop crying!¡± With his teeth gritted, Kenny pointed at the reporter while barely holding back his urge to charge at him and break his legs. ¡°Which publisher are you from? Let me tell you something. You are in deep trouble! You¡¯ve dug your own grave! L/K won¡¯t let you off easily!¡± The crowd gathered around them and slowly understood what had happened. It was no wonder that Kenny was so furious¡ªhis product had been stepped by someone. Anyone would have gone mad if they saw this. On top of that, this ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ was fully handmade, which made it extremely precious! However, the gown on Sophia was clearly a high-quality replica! When Richard found out about the incident, he quickly came over to retrieve the situation. ¡°Mr. ir, stay calm. This is just a high-quality replica!¡± Unexpectedly, Kenny snapped at him, ¡°High-quality replica? Are you saying that the daughter that I personally gave out was a replica?¡± Richard reminded him kindly, ¡°Based on thisdy¡¯s worth, she certainly can¡¯t afford to purchase ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯.¡± When ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ was newly released by L/K, Ka and X both had their eyes on this piece of gown, but they didn¡¯t manage to secure one. All avable stocks had been booked by others as there were only 5 sets in the whole world. The Harper Family had intended to raise their price to purchase two of them, but the price they had offered were outmatched by the others, so they had no choice but to give up on them. Therefore, he was sure Sophia definitely couldn¡¯t afford to have one. Nevertheless, upon hearing Richard¡¯s ¡®kind¡¯ words, Kenny sneered. He pointed at the gown on her and enunciated, ¡°This is not a high-quality fake. This is the limited-edition evening gown that L/K has just released during the autumn this year. There are only 5 sets in the whole world. I know how each piece looks like; I know them well, just like how I know my daughter. Do you think that I wouldn¡¯t know if it was a fake?¡± Richard looked at Sophia, baffled. Thetter was impassive, looking like a goddess under the glimmer of moonlight. So the gown on her is actually not a fake? This is a limited-edition gown. It¡¯s impossible that she was able to purchase such an expensive gown that even the Harper Family couldn¡¯t get a hold of! Could it be that she rented the gown? For 5,000 per day? Kenny had gonepletely mad as he continued to grab the reporter. ¡°Stepping on my gown is like stepping on my daughter! I¡¯m going to beat you to death!¡± The two of them were at the verge of a fistfight, and Stanley couldn¡¯t separate them. There were also a few famous designers from L/K who came. Upon seeing their product being trampled, they charged toward the reporters to fight with them, and a few security guards instantly rushed forward to help. The scene was chaotic. Looking at the chaos, Sophia picked up the corner of her skirt to take a look at it regretfully before sighing. When Ka, who was standing next to Joel, saw the chaotic scene, she pretended to be afraid and cuddled up to him flirtatiously. ¡°Joel, I¡¯m scared¡ª¡± However, there was no one next to her as Joel had already strode toward the center of the chaos. He nced at the two people, who were in the middle of a fight, and then at the bunch of reporters and bodyguards in a mess, before quietly ordering his deputy officer. A brief momentter, a group of armed soldiers charged in, and in the blink of an eye, the chaotic situation was put under control. The group of soldiers dashed in and out like a gust of wind, dragging out the bunch of reporters along with them. The whole world was now finally quiet. Kenny was still hugging Stanley while crying his eyes out. ¡°My daughter! My Moonlight!¡± Stanley felt very embarrassed, but he still stroked his head. ¡°Ken, calm down. Calm down!¡± When Young Master Fletcher took action, there would be nothing he couldn¡¯t deal with! Ka looked at him in delight, and her heart was racing. Joel must be in love with me, so he took action to stop the chaos! After all, today is my birthday banquet! Upon having such thoughts, she lifted a corner of her skirt and ran toward him joyfully. ¡°Joel!¡± However, Ka was disappointed again. Joel took two steps forward and walked up to Sophia while observing her looks today in a serious manner. During the messy situation just now, she didn¡¯t seem anxious. She looked different from the dirty and messy appearance she had when she was in military training. Currently, she looked noble and elegant, just like a white swan slowly spreading its wings and showing off its beauty under the moonlight. She seemed to be emitting gold light with an enchanting beauty that would make people fall in a daze. Sophia stared at him in puzzlement. Why did hee to me? Is he going to say something to me? What¡¯s he going to say? The lives of the upper-ss society are so messed-up, so I need to protect myself! She broke the silence. ¡°Hello, General!¡± Joel hummed in response. He cast a nce at Stanley, who was consoling his ¡®son¡¯, and asked, ¡°Is your gown still intact?¡± His voice was unbelievingly gentle, which was totally different from the serious expression he had on earlier.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Ka¡¯s hasty but excited footstep came to a sudden halt, and she stared at the scene in disbelief. How dare a wild chick like Sophia talk to Joel? Feeling disgruntled, she dashed toward them and hugged Joel¡¯s arm, pretending that she was close to him. ¡°Joel!¡± Before Joel said anything, Stanley was pissed off. He pushed aside his ¡®son¡¯, who was crying bitterly, and walked up to her angrily. ¡°Hey! Watch where you are cing your hand! Move!¡± Stanley pushed Ka away and stood next to Joel. He then smiled and put on a stern expression. ¡°Hello, General.¡± Joel didn¡¯t even cast him a look as his eyes were focused on Sophia. He found therge, dark footprint on her impable dress an eyesore, and there was even a crushed jewel. He asked, ¡°Do you need me to get someone to fix your dress?¡± Sophia resoundingly replied to him, ¡°General, thank you for your concern. The gown is all good. It¡¯ll be alright after I wash it when I get home and get L/K to rece it with a jewel of the same kind!¡± Joel nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± He then caressed Nathan, who had been quietly standing next to Sophia and staring wide-eyed at him. The Harper Family and all the guests looked at one another in puzzlement. What¡¯s the rtionship between Sophia and Joel? Why did Joel speak so gently to her? Wasn¡¯t he here for Ka? But why is it that he didn¡¯t talk to Ka, but he talked to Sophia instead? The scene fell into a fleeting silence. Everyone stared at Joel and Sophia while intermittently ncing at one another. Joel stroked Nathan¡¯s little head before he spoke to Sophia, ¡°You are the only student with a perfect score in Bayside University this year. I¡¯ve promised to have dinner together with you. Does what happened today considered as keeping my promise?¡± Chapter 167 Chapter 167 A tiny person screamed in Sophia¡¯s heart, Arghhh! Don¡¯te near me! Didn¡¯t we just have dinner together? Why is he still here? Upon recalling the face-off during the meal, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but feel as if she had walked out of the ordeal barely alive. If I have to go through another simr meal, I would rather die! She answered elegantly without missing a beat, ¡°General, thank you for keeping this promise in mind. I managed to obtain a perfect score in military training all thanks to your guidance and encouragement, General!¡± Suddenly, two pieces of earth-shattering news got out! Sophia was the only person who received a perfect score during Bayside University¡¯s military training? Wasn¡¯t she expelled? If she was the only one with a perfect score, it means she got first ce. The person who receives the Best Individual award in the military training gets to have a meal with the General, Joel. Does it mean that Joel is here for Sophia ¡ªthe person who received the Best Individual award? Does it mean that he isn¡¯t here for Ka? The man wearing his military attire and the girl who was illuminated by the moonlight, looked like an exceptionally handsome couple. No one dared toe forward to bother them. Joel held back his strong aura before speaking to her gently, ¡°I received news today that you were here. Hence, I rushed over. I hope I¡¯m not toote.¡± Sophia¡¯s heart raced anxiously, and she had this uneasy feeling that something horrible was about to happen. Nevertheless, she nodded. ¡°No, you¡¯re not. The banquet hasn¡¯t even started!¡± Joel¡¯s taut lips rxed slightly. ¡°Well, that¡¯s great. Can I share a dance with you at the ball after the banquet?¡± The tiny person in Sophia¡¯s heart waved her hand frantically. No, I don¡¯t want to! Stay as far away as possible from me! She could only reject him. ¡°I¡¯m not good at dancing.¡± Seeing that his uncle had arrived, as well as noticing that the situation was under control, Stanley rushed over while tugging against Nathan¡¯s hand. ¡°Someone stepped on Sophie¡¯s dress, and it looks extremely ugly now. Forget about attending the banquet; why don¡¯t we go somewhere else for food?¡± Uncle Joel is extremely posh, and so the Harpers would reap the benefits the longer he stays here in their banquet. Since we have sufficiently humiliated them, it¡¯s best to keep his merits and fame to ourselves and leave as soon as possible. We wouldn¡¯t want the Harpers to take advantage of Uncle Joel. Joel nodded in agreement. I don¡¯t like this sort of messy banquet at all. I wouldn¡¯t have shown up here if I hadn¡¯t learned that Sophia was here. Sophia walked toward the entrance after she said her piece. No one dared to stop her now. Who would have the audacity to stop her with the presence of Joel and rows of soldiers to make way for her? Meanwhile, Ka¡¯s heart sank when she witnessed that. It turns out Joel isn¡¯t here for me. No, even though he didn¡¯t show up for my sake, since Joel has seen me, he must be interested in my breathtaking good looks! He wouldn¡¯t have decided to leave if it weren¡¯t for Sophia! Sophia is truly a b*tch! How dare she seduce my Joel! She has a death wish! Besides, who on earth is Stanley? Who does he think he is to shove me away?! This is my birthday banquet. Everyone should pay attention to me, and that includes Joel! She then walked to Joel¡¯s side quietly before deliberately saying, ¡°Joel, if you think it¡¯s too noisy here, I can take you to somewhere quiet!¡± However, Joel acted as if he did not hear her at all; instead, he spoke gently to Sophia, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sophia had Stanley and Joel nking her, whereas Nathan clung onto her dress from behind. After that, the three Fletchers escorted her out. ¡°Joel, wait for me! Wait for me!¡± Ka chased after Joel in a hurry; unfortunately, he acted as if he didn¡¯t see her. Who on earth is Ka? Ka chased after Joel closely from behind, but he didn¡¯t even spare her a nce. As the leading character for tonight¡¯s event, Ka was the center of attention. Hence, she stopped chasing after Joel after taking a couple of steps. She wanted to chase after him, but she didn¡¯t have the courage because he obviously only had eyes for Sophia. Ka figured it was apparent that he wasn¡¯t bothered by her, and so she didn¡¯t want to further embarrass herself by throwing herself at him. However, Ka felt extremely unsatisfied while staring at the direction where Sophia and Joel left. She stomped her feet in frustration, and she could feel the anger boiling in her chest. The fury in her chest felt as if it was about to burst forth anytime as tears brimmed in her eyes. How did this happen?! This is all Sophia¡¯s fault! No wonder she showed up for this despite the challenges. It turns out it¡¯s because she learned that Joel ising, and that was why she dressed up ostentatiously to seduce him! Joel came here for me, but Sophia, that vixen, snatched him away! That must be it! That¡¯s the only exnation! The Harpers seemed to have realized that Joel was preparing to leave, and so they came forward to stop him. ¡°Young Master Fletcher, you¡¯re leaving so soon?¡± Joel nodded in response. ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Mr. Harper immediately fawned over him by suggesting, ¡°Well, the banquet has yet to officially start. There¡¯s a ballter. Why don¡¯t you have a seat first?¡± Joel frowned while shaking his head. ¡°No need.¡± Then, he left hastily. The main point was that Sophia left in a hurry, as if she was chased by a ghost. Hence, he had no choice but to run after her. The banquet tonight gave him an odd feeling, as if something huge was about to happen, and so he wanted to leave as soon as possible too. The Harper Family wanted him to hang around. Therefore, they kept advising him against leaving while chasing after him by buttering him up and hitting the elevator button for him. Suddenly, the hotel head of security suddenly spoke to Mr. Harper, ¡°Mr. Harper, there¡¯s a situation outside that requires your immediate attention.¡± ¡°What happened outside?¡± Mr. Harper asked hastily, and he was shocked when he heard that. Sophia, who was arriving at the entrance, felt her mind go nk when heard that there was a situation outside. The uneasy feeling overwhelmed her once again. I have a feeling I wouldn¡¯t get to leave today! True enough, the next thing she knew, Mr. Harper appeared exhrated after the head of security whispered something by his ear. Then, he grabbed onto Joel. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, you have to hang around for a while longer. I need to excuse myself because a VIP ising soon.¡± Then, Mr. Harper ran down the stairs to wee the VIP. Richard and Ka stared at their father while looking puzzled because they weren¡¯t sure what was happening. In any case, Sophia started panicking. She had a feeling that she had to escape right now. My life is at stake if I don¡¯t escape right now! Hence, she picked up her pace automatically. She was nning to take the chance to escape unnoticed while the Harpers were distracted as they weed the VIP. However, the Harper Family¡¯s banquet hall was located on the third floor, and so everybody came up via the elevator. Currently, all the elevators were operating, thus Sophia had no choice but to wait anxiously for the elevator. Simultaneously, Joel¡¯s deputy officer suddenly whispered something in his ear. The news made Joel scowl even deeper than before. Sophia had an especially bad feeling about tonight when she saw Joel¡¯s expression! I need to leave! I need to leave right now! Meanwhile, Stanley seemed oblivious to the changes of his surroundings. He was still pestering Joel by asking him, ¡°Uncle Joel, what is it?¡± Joel was about to say something when the elevator doors opened suddenly. Arge group of bodyguards in ck came rushing out of the elevator, forming two neat lines at the waiting hall of the elevator on the third floor. They waited respectfully on either side of the middle elevator with stern expressions etched on their faces. Suddenly, there was amotion again in the banquet hall. There were spections about which important figure the Harpers managed to invite this time. Joel Fletcher has arrived earlier. Who could it possibly be this time? Sophia felt goosebumps all over her body. There was only one thing on her mind¡ªI¡¯m doomed! Chapter 168 Chapter 168 Amidst the hushed discussion in the crowd, the most revered number 3 elevator in the middle finally opened its doors. Mr. Harper was standing in the elevator respectfully with a slight bow while two men in suits and leather shoes stood beside him. Both men wore identical ck suits, but they were radiating completely different vibes. One of them stood valiant while looking very handsome. A pair of gold-wire rimmed sses settled on his straight nose, making him look especially gentle with the faint smile ying across his lips. In fact, he was emanating a type of exceptional charm. On the other side, the other man looked arrogant with his eye-catching blonde hair. Hisrge eyes and bushy eyebrows made him look aggressive. As soon as they showed up, the entire banquet hall seemed to sparkle brilliantly with the fame of the celebrities silencing the room for several minutes. After moments of dead silence, someone screamed at the top of their lungs, ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Taylor Murray!!¡± ¡°Ethan Winston is here too!¡± ¡°Oh my God! The Harpers¡¯ banquet is such a huge deal! I can¡¯t believe they managed to invite Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston! They are awesome!¡± Michael and Harry walked side-by-side. They wore the same clothes, but withpletely different styles and charms. A smile or a twinkle in their eyes were enough to send the women present into a frenzy. Mr. Harper felt himself glowing with pride while basking in the fame and brilliance of the two extremely famous celebrities. These two aren¡¯t merely any actors¡ªthey are Academy Award winners for Best Actor. They have been in the film industry for over a decade now and everyone all around Cethos are aware of who they are. Furthermore, they are good with finance. I heard that one of them owns arge share of Asco International and is therefore well known in the financial world! Our ancestors are definitely kind to the Harpers today. Apart from Joel, they even sent over two Academy Award-winning Best Actors! Ka was delighted as well. Due to her broken leg, she was unable to attend the meet and greet session for ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. As a result, she was extremely jealous and full of hate when she saw X boasting about the photographs she took during the event. Yet, she never expected that the two Best Actors would attend her birthday party. Oh, my God! I feel like I might faint from the exhration! She subconsciously nced at her usual close friends and noticed that they were also fascinated by Ethan and Taylor, as if bewitched. It was especially true for X, who looked as if she was about to drool from the corner of her mouth. Ka couldn¡¯t help but feel proud and pleased with herself since their appearance had obviously reflected well on her. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. X was extremely irritated when she saw how pleased Ka was, so she thought to herself, When Richard shows the Eternal Love off, you¡¯ll definitely be green with envy. The Harper siblings and X weed the Best Actors in a friendly manner while enthusiastically greeting them. Both Best Actors wore ck suits, which automatically made them look cold and arrogant. Hence, the Harpers could already feel their unmistakable presence from a distance and felt goosebumps all over their body reflexively. Joel merely smirked when he saw Michael and Harry turning up all of a sudden. On the other hand, Sophia was scared witless, so the first thing she thought of was, I need to run for my life! I¡¯ll end up dead if I don¡¯t escape now! She turned to run away, but Stanley, who was oblivious to the circumstances, grabbed onto her dress. ¡°Sophie, why are you running away? Look, my uncle is here. I¡¯m sure he is here to support you! Ah, how could such a gentle and kind person exist in this world? He wouldn¡¯t even allow others to bully his subordinate¡ªthe nanny!¡± She felt anxious and started to panic when she saw how intoxicated he was. Nevertheless, she was helpless, considering that she couldn¡¯t move as Stanley clung onto her dress. His actions were as bad as the reporter earlier. The Harpers eagerly invited Michael and Harry into the banquet hall. Michael suddenly looked as if he noticed something because he was striding toward a corner. Joel was standing in that corner. Michael then greeted him with a friendly and warm smile¡ªhis appearance screamed ¡®polished scoundrel¡¯. ¡°Joel, it¡¯s been such a long time.¡± Joel nodded indifferently. The two had previously appeared together during the cast and crew meet-and-greet in the barracks, so it wasn¡¯t odd for them to be acquainted with each other. However, what was odd was Michael walking past Joel after greeting thetter to make his way to someone else. Who is Taylor looking for? The man walked straight to Sophia, who was hiding in the corner, and stopped in front of her. Standing tall at six-feet-one, he stared at her¡ªshe was barely tall enough to reach his neck¡ªat a corner in a blind spot with love and tenderness in his eyes. Sophia looked up and met his gaze with a stiff expression while smiling awkwardly at him. Everybody was puzzled when they saw that. How is Sophia associated with Taylor? Michael kept his head bowed while speaking in a deep and alluring voice, ¡°How do you like the Eternal Love ring?¡± Sophia instinctively nced at the Ido¡¯s Imperial Diamond Ring that she wore with a sudden warmth radiating along her finger. She had already signed a lease with Bayside City Museum, so she would deliver the ring to them in two days¡¯ time and only brought it out to the event today for the fun of it. Initially, she nned on keeping a low profile without showing its brilliance to the public, but she never expected him to casually expose her with what he said. She then stole a nce at the crowd surrounding her¡ªmany of her university mates stared at her in shock. They definitely did not expect me to wear an original L/K while wearing the authentic Eternal Love! It¡¯s the Ultimate Ring in the world¡ªpriced at 70 million! X was especially dumbfounded when she heard what Taylor said before her mind went nk. Is Sophia wearing an authentic Eternal Love? I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s the authentic ring! Didn¡¯t Richard say that he had already purchased the Eternal Love ring for me? How could it possibly be with Sophia? The news of Richard purchasing the Eternal Love for X as a surprise gift had merely been a rumor circting among university students. The small social circle was currently in a frenzy upon learning this piece of update. ¡°Mary, didn¡¯t you mention that the Harper Family was the one that bought the Eternal Love? How did it end up on Sophia¡¯s finger?¡± ¡°Oh, I heard that from Helen. Helen! You gave me a full ount of how the Harpers had purchased the Eternal Love! You have to prove that now!¡± ¡°I have no idea. I heard someone had bought the Eternal Love, so I assumed that it was the Harpers. I deliberately asked X about it and she did not deny it either.¡± ¡°It seems like she has ttered herself. Well, I suppose we were excited for no apparent reason!¡± Everybody had started a heated discussion about this issue whereas X, who was now the topic of discussion, started to tremble slightly. She felt exposed, as if the crowd had ripped her clothes apart to openly stare at her and that everyone was trampling over her self-esteem from inside out. She subconsciously dug her nails into the flesh of her palm and her bloodshot eyes stared at Sophia, as if they might spit fire. How dare that b*tch wear such an expensive ring! Who gave her the courage to do so? Sophia seemed to be shining brilliantly at that moment. Everyone finally understood why her imitation outfit seemed more superior than X¡¯s authentic outfit. It turns out Sophia¡¯s outfit is the real deal! Those students, who were gleefully posting on Bayside University¡¯s forum a moment ago, were utterly humiliated and started to delete their posts in haste. Chapter 169 Chapter 169 Sophia felt extremely embarrassed. I only wanted to show up as a silent yet high quality counterfeit. However, the fact that I am wearing a ring worth 70,000,000 has been exposed. Does it mean that all the future cards in my hand have now been revealed? After weighing her options, she answered wittily, ¡°Thank you, my Lord, for responding to my invitation today. The evening gown and ring that you have lent me are of the right sizes. After tonight¡¯s banquet, I will return them to you once I have sent them for dry-cleaning. As for the gem that was maliciously crushed by someone, I¡¯ll also find a way to return it to you.¡± Everybody realized with a start after hearing her say those words. It turns out that Taylor was the one who lent Sophia¡¯s outfit to her tonight. No wonder everything looks so expensive! She even achieved first ce in the army training, so not only did she earn the chance to dine with Joel, but she even had the chance to have a meal with both Taylor and Ethan! Does that mean that all three idols are only here at the Harper Family¡¯s banquet for Sophia¡¯s sake? Did she deliberately schedule her meal with the three idols today to humiliate the Harpers? That¡¯s truly humiliating and she even did it publicly. Furthermore, the masses were eager to learn more about how she was able to invite those three idols, considering that it was almost impossible to invite them and for them to show up simultaneously under normal circumstances. Hence, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for the crowd to meet all three of them. Although her dress and ring are borrowed, they are all from our idol! Ah, I must have done something right in my past life if my idol lends me a dress and a ring! Upon facing Sophia¡¯s quick-witted reply, Michael did not expose her lies and instead replied to her tenderly, ¡°I was nning to rent it to the museum. The rent would have been at least 1,000,000 per year.¡± She blushed deeply because she did not expect him to catch her secretly pocketing money. Nevertheless, he seemed unfazed by such a small sum of money, so she acknowledged by maintaining her silence and kept her head bowed without furtherments. After that, he reached out to her like a gentleman. ¡°Let¡¯s enter together.¡± She hooked an arm around his to hold onto him, looking especially embarrassed under the scrutiny of countless women¡¯s jealous and resentful gazes. ¡°Sure, I just arrived not too long ago.¡± She was clearly caught when she was trying to escape. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Michael held onto Sophia as they marched down the red carpet and made their way into the Harper Family¡¯s banquet hall. Somehow, they looked as if they were shining brightly, especially when they were enveloped by the radiant glow of being everyone¡¯s idol. That made them shine bright like a diamond. Initially, Joel had nned to leave with Sophia, but now that he bumped into Michael, there was no way to leave. I should be the one standing beside Sophia right now, but I certainly did not expect Harry to cross the line and usurp my position. With that, she had her left arm on the graceful and elegant Taylor while her right arm held onto the aggressive Ethan. Joel and Stanley guarded her closely while she held onto an adorable little boy. It was a star-studded group, which made it look like everyone doted on Sophia. Both genders were jealous and resentful upon witnessing this¡ªand they wanted nothing more than to be in her shoes. How is she able to be so happy? Forget that her new boyfriend looks more handsome than Richard and she even gets to have a meal with those three idols! Today, the Harper Family¡¯s banquet had received lots of attention due to the presence of the three idols. However, the crowd could only observe from afar¡ªdespite the three idols present among them. The banquet would officially start at 8PM, which was to allow everyone to have free time and chat with each other. Several people sat on arge couch in the banquet hall at the moment. Sophia was seated in the middle, shining radiantly like a beautiful moon. Her breathtaking facial features were illuminated by the moonlight, no doubt making her the most dazzling women among the female guests. However, her whole body was tense at the moment. She sat with her back straightened and her hands were on her knees while she maintained a dignified and demure expression. Currently, Michael and Harry were seated on her right. In fact, Michael even had Nathan in his arms. On the other hand, Joel and Stanley were seated on her left side on the couch. The six of them shared a couch, so there was a group of aggressive-looking soldiers standing on the left side whereas a group of burly-looking bodyguards in ck stood on the right side. Both groups of people viciously eyed each other, as if they were ready to fight each other at any moment. A ghost of a smile yed across Michael¡¯s lips whereas Harry¡¯s expression was almost unreadable. Joel¡¯s smile did not reach his eyes, but Stanley was grinning broadly. Nathan was not smiling as always while Sophia had an awkward smile that was stered across her face. The atmosphere was tense and the smell of gunpowder overpowered the aroma of the alcohol wafting from the banquet hall, making her feel that her back was drenched with sweat. If I have a choice, I will choose death. How did it end up like this? I merely wanted to attend the Harper Family¡¯s banquet to humiliate them. How did it be so out of control? Joel is always busy with work and he should have been preupied with his troops. How could he possibly have the time to swing by? Shouldn¡¯t Michael and Harry be filming abroad? How did they show up out of the blue? I should have checked the almanac before leaving the house. She sat between Joel and Michael, but the two men shot daggers at each other. ¡°Joel, I heard that you¡¯ve recently been transferred and promoted. I assume that you must be extremely busy with work. How did you make the time to attend the banquet?¡± Michael asked while staring at Joel with a faint smile across his face. Joel had a straight posture¡ªlike a typical military personnel. ¡°Michael, haven¡¯t you heard of ¡®stealing a moment of leisure from a hectic schedule¡¯? We are both doing the same thing after all.¡± Sophia did not dare toment or make a sound as she observed these two Lords going for each other¡¯s throats. Stanley was enjoying a te of cake and his lips were smeared with cream. Hemented vaguely, ¡°Here, Uncle Joel, have some cake.¡± Joel rejected him. ¡°No, thank you.¡± Harry remained silent; instead, he held onto his godson, Nathan, while feeding him cake. Nathan stared at Joel while munching his cake, afraid that thetter would snatch his mother from him. The group on the couch had fascinated the crowd, but no one dared to approach them due to the tense atmosphere even though they were ready to move. Ka observed Sophia, who was surrounded by a group of idols, from afar with such frustration that she stomped her feet. This is clearly my birthday party and the idols are obviously here for my sake. What gives Sophia the right to snatch my idols?! She tried to approach them and ignored the vicious and aggressive res from either side. She walked to the group seated on the couch in her stilettos with a charming smile and shed her pearly whites when she spoke to the idols in a sweet voice. ¡°Joel, Taylor, Lord Winston, would you all like to have a ss of cocktail?¡± However, no one answered her. Michael and Joel were ring at each other and they couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer her whereas Harry was busy looking after Nathan. On the other hand, Sophia was distracted while nning a way to escape. Hence, Stanley was the only one eager to have a taste of the cocktail and smacked the couch enthusiastically. ¡°Come over here. Serve more, I¡¯d like to have some.¡± Ka walked away in embarrassment after peeking at her idols, who could not even be bothered to spare a nce at her. When she turned, she noticed that several youngdies from wealthy families were mocking her withughter. It is clear that the idols aren¡¯t interested in her, but she¡¯s throwing herself at them. She is so embarrassing! Soon, the banquet started with the well-trained servers zig-zagging through the VIPs to serve cocktails. She came with three sses of cocktails and ced it on top of the coffee table in front of the couch, bracing herself while trying to search for amon topic to chat with her idols. ¡°The entire Harper Family is knowledgeable about wine. We have stored more than 50,000,000 bottles of red wine in our wine cer located in Freistan. The cocktails today are prepared with the red wine from the Harpers¡¯ own collection. Talking about the Harper Family¡¯s red wine¡­¡± ¡°I want this!¡± Stanley suddenly jumped up and took the ss of cocktail before running away,pletely ignoring the fact that Ka was in the middle of her introduction. Her expression instantly soured. Chapter 170 Chapter 170 Ka had only brought three sses of cocktails, so it was obvious whom she brought it over for. Therefore, it was clear that she was not prepared to spare even a ss for Sophia or Stanley. Stanley took a huge gulp after snatching a ss, looking as if he enjoyed it immensely. He then took another ss. ¡°Here, Sophie. This looks like it¡¯s the best. You should have this.¡± Sophia epted the ss of cocktail with a forced smile while holding onto the ss. ¡°Haha¡­ Haha.¡± Cold sweat trickled down her bare back. He mumbled to himself, ¡°General is from the military, so he doesn¡¯t drink whereas Uncle Michael can¡¯t drink as he needs to sing. Nathan is too young, so he¡¯s out. Since Winston is an idol, it would be embarrassing if he goes on a drunken rage after having one drink of liquor too many. I should keep this ss for my son! No, that¡¯s not right. My son can get his own drinks! Therefore, this belongs to me!¡± He picked up thest ss of cocktail before deliberately taking a sip and intentionally clinking sses with Sophia. ¡°Come on, Sophie. Cheers! Let¡¯s celebrate our sess in crashing the party.¡± Sophia stole a careful nce at the two men, who were still staring daggers at each other, before clinking sses with him with a terrified expression. Ka¡¯s beautiful face turned gloomy and upset with her eyes looking as if she was ready to devour Stanley whole. He is a mereborer for physical work! He shouldn¡¯t show up at such an event and be an eyesore! However, now that she was in front of her idols, she couldn¡¯t reprimand him like how she usually did. Nevertheless, sheined in a sweet and girly tone, ¡°These cocktails are for my idols. Why did you finish them? Why are you acting in such a horrendous way? You aren¡¯t even aware ofmon courtesy; you¡ª¡± Stanleypletely ignored her since he was busy downing his cocktail. The three idols kept quiet while maintaining a strange force around them. In fact, they were oblivious to the outside world. Sophia could barely keep herself afloat, so shecked the strength to reprimand Ka even if she wanted to. After sheined, Ka noticed that her idols were not interested in her at all. Therefore, she was extremely angry and resentful. Coupled with the way the surrounding crowd mocked her withughter, she felt humiliated and horrible¡ªas if she had been attacked by needles. She had no choice but to leave with an empty serving tray. Someone took her ce once she left. ¡°Taylor! I didn¡¯t expect to see you here!¡± An expensively dressed youngdy greeted, seemingly delighted to meet Michael and Harry. A trace of tant disgust shed across Michael¡¯s eyes when he saw her. Thanks to her family connections, she would always receive information not privy to the public, such as Michael¡¯s flight schedule, hotel room number, and so on. She had the activities and schedule on her fingertips, so she would always show up at events where he was to pester him. Apart from the constant harassment, she would even take pictures and record videos before boasting about them on the fanswork. Somehow, she was able to gain ess to his phone number and deliberately sent him nude photos. After doing that, she would even brag about it to other fans. The most disgusting thing was when she discovered Michael¡¯s room number in advance at the hotel where he was filming. She snuck into the room and stripped naked before lying on the bed. Fortunately, it was Hale who entered the hotel room and the image of seeing her naked in bed was forever burned in his eyes. The incident remained forever in his mind, rendering him pale whenever that incident was mentioned even though it had already been many years. Miss Stalker Fan even spread the word that her father was in charge of Cultural Affairs and his approval was needed if Taylor¡¯s films were to be premiered in Cethos. Hence, she imed that they had a close friendship. She also imed that she was in a rtionship with Taylor, so she was known as ¡®Stalker Fan¡¯ within the fanswork¡ªthe kind of person which fans and celebrities alike hated the most. Although Michael never outwardly expressed his resentment, he had a deep dislike for Miss Stalker Fan from the bottom in his heart. She pointed at Sophia whilemanding her, ¡°You, over there! Get lost. I want to sit here.¡± Sophia wanted nothing more than to leave and give her position to Miss Stalker Fan. However, she knew that the fan had evil intentions toward her husband, so she could not help but feel that she should not surrender her seat as his significant other in the household registry. Hence, she smiled while cocking a brow at Miss Stalker Fan. ¡°Excuse me, but I was the one who invited Taylor, so I¡¯m not giving up my seat!¡± Miss Stalker Fan became furious, lowering her voice while hissing at her, ¡°Who do you think you are? Do you think you have the right to sit beside my idol?¡± Sophia was about to scream at her, but someone jumped the gun. ¡°Well, do you have the right to do so?¡± Sophia nced at Joel, who was seated next to her. His tone was cold,ced with murderous intent when he spoke, ¡°Get lost!¡± Stalker Fan¡¯s eyes reddened with tears and she looked aggrieved. She knew who the person sitting in front of her was and well aware that her father¡¯s position as a department department was nothing ¡°Get lost!¡± he repeated. Stalker Fan nced at Michael, who seemed unfazed, before stomping her feet and leaving while looking extremely sorry for herself. After scolding and chasing her away, Joel spoke to him, ¡°She¡¯s merely an ungrateful wretched thing. I know you don¡¯t have the courage to burn bridges with her, so if she dares to cause problems for you in the future, let me know and I¡¯ll sort it out for you.¡± Michael did not answer him but merely responded with a smile. Sophia reyed what Joel said before thinking, Whoa, that¡¯s a full st of masculine charms! It looks like Joel is the one who¡¯s on top! However, from Michael¡¯s perspective, Joel was teasing him for not having the power to defend himself against a woman! Therefore, a trace of darkness started to spread in his eyes. Ka returned in a disastrous defeat. As the host tonight, the Harpers had lurked around for the longest time possible since they yearned to approach the group of big shots. However, the big shots radiated the sort of aura that indicated they weren¡¯t in a weing mood, so the Harpers knew that nothing good woulde out if they forced their way forward. Needless to say, Joel had the military ranking of Senior Colonel and he was well on his way to bing the youngest Major General in Cethos whereas Ethan and Taylor weren¡¯t ordinary celebrities¡ªboth being Academy Award winners for Best Actor and they were Best Actors with a national treasure ranking. Apart from being in showbiz, they had an exceptional status in the financial world as well. The Harpers wouldn¡¯t have been able to invite people of their stature to their family banquet under normal circumstances. Now that the big shots took the initiative to show up, the Harper Family was determined to force a good rtionship with them. After loitering for a while, Richard made the first move and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Never in his wildest dreams did he expect Sophia to invite those three idols to Ka¡¯s banquet. It would be such an honor if news spreads that the Harpers managed to invite such important figures for the banquet. Sophia must have done this on purpose! I can¡¯t believe she sacrificed her chance to have a private dinner with these idols to create such a rare opportunity for me. I must thank her properly! Nevertheless, I know I can no longer give her what she wants because I¡¯m no longer the innocent boy in senior high. In the past, I could have given up everything for the sake of love and even do whatever I wanted while ignoring my family¡¯s objections. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Numerous thoughts shed through Richard¡¯s mind in such a short time. Sophia has given a lot of thought into this matter for me. I can¡¯t give her a proper status, but other than that, I can give everything else to her. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you, Richard.¡± X held onto his arm hastily while making her way to the dazzling idols. Chapter 171 Chapter 171 On the other side, Richard¡¯s gaze was fixed on Sophia, seeing that she was beautiful as a goddess of the moonlight who sipped slowly from a blue cocktail ss. Her slender fingers were fair and tender whereas each fingernail was exquisitely decorated¡ªwith the red Eternal Love ring dazzling brightly on her finger. Her mncholic expression seemed to be glowing in a strange light and he was absorbing every trace of it. It made his heart beat faster against his chest, as if he had found the sort of reckless love he once experienced when he was younger. At that moment, Richard seemed to clearly recognize something in himself. I am mainly with X due to the benefit of having both our families unite and coborate with each other. The love I harbor for her is nowhere near that of Sophia! He looked as if he had made a decision! My father has many women on the side and even hired them as his capable assistants in thepany, helping him to develop his career while mother has always turned a blind eye toward them. Why can¡¯t I have Sophia on the side just like how my father handles things? As long as I don¡¯t have any illegitimate sons, it wouldn¡¯t jeopardize X¡¯s status. Isn¡¯t that the best of both worlds? Sophia felt as though she was sitting on pins and needles, wanting nothing more than to hide in a crack on the ground. Hence, she took this opportunity to calm herself by drinking alcohol. After she finished her cocktail, she took out her cell phone from the purse that she had with her and pretended to use it. She scrolled through the browser on her phone as her eyes distractedly scanned the pages and stumbled upon Bayside University¡¯s forum by ident, seeing several posts pinned on the homepage. Those posts all discussed tonight¡¯s banquet. ¡®Sophia received the first ce in the current year¡¯s military camp for new students!¡¯ ¡®Candid shot. Sophia Edwards vs. X Huff in the same shot. The ex, Sophia, wins!¡¯ ¡®Ah, I am here at the scene. I am fifty meters away from my idol!¡¯ ¡®Sophia¡¯s new boyfriend is quite handsome. He doesn¡¯t look inferior at all,pared to the idols in the same shot!¡¯ ¡®The Overbearing Soldier Fell for Me, Taylor Murray x Joel Fletcher. Chapter two thousand has been updated today.¡¯ She clicked into the fanfiction ¡®The Overbearing Soldier Fell for Me¡¯ as she wanted to see what had been added to the homosexual fanfiction today. Michael took a sip of water, turning to nce at his petite wife, who was focused on her phone and blushing for no apparent reason. She is so adorable! I want nothing more than to kiss her, hold her and lift her up! However, his expression fell when he nced at the content she was reading. Sophia was oblivious to her surroundings. After reading the erotic novel on the forum, she checked her Messenger and observed that the app was active before suddenly noticing that he had sent a photograph to her. When she checked the time stamp, it indicated that the picture was sent a moment ago. Hence, out of curiosity, she clicked on the file to open the image. After it had been loaded, a crude and erotic image came into sight! I can¡¯t believe Michael sent me an erotic image!! No, this is not merely an erotic image. On the contrary, it is a sexually explicit picture! It was an uncensored HD quality GIF from a European and American action movie. The characters were engaged in an intense entanglement with no doubt that it would have been extremely loud if there was audio! She was shocked, ncing at Michael in disbelief. He was chatting about something irrelevant with Joel. In fact, Michael was shrouded in the light of an idol with an unmistakable elegance etched across his face. His action or a mere nce from him was sufficient to drive all the women around him mad and even make a straight man be gay. No, no, someone must have hacked into his ount. Yup, that¡¯s the only exnation. My Lord would never do such a wretched thing! Sophia typed in the chat box: ¡®Someone hacked into your ount¡¯. She suddenly stiffened after sending the text. Her head shot up from looking down at her phone and she immediately sat upright with a horrified expression. She was so terrified that she almost dropped her phone. There was a hand suddenly touching her bum, carelessly groping her bottom. However, everybody seemed oblivious to the fact that the owner of the hand appeared as calm as a millpond¡ªhe was sipping water from the cup in his other hand. Stanley noticed the terrified expression across Sophia¡¯s face, so he asked, ¡°Sophie, are you alright?¡± She forced a smile. ¡°I-I¡¯m fine. Haha, haha¡­¡± The hand suddenly pinched her bottom¡ªit was so painful that her body shook as a result. Her soul curled up in her frail body to quiver in fear. Michael was hinting, You will end up like the erotic GIF! Sophia felt like weeping, but there were no tears to cry. Why am I always the one getting hurt?! He was as quick as lightning when he retrieved his hand while she bowed down to pick up her phone. She felt a burning sensation against her bottom and her body felt hot, as if it was on fire. Her mind was filled with the action of the erotic GIF she had received earlier. This is such a terrible feeling. I feel like crying. It was in that moment when Richard and X walked over. He broke the silence humbly, ¡°It is the Harper Family¡¯s honor that you are all able to attend our charity banquet. Here, I¡¯ll like to propose a toast to everyone.¡± Although the three idols did not show up at the event for the Harper Family¡¯s sake, they were forced to respond anyway since the host had toasted them. Richard and X naturally took the opportunity to sit down beside them and worked hard by chatting with the big shots. ¡°Taylor, X is the second female lead in your next movie. She is a freshman in the Department of Performing Arts in Bayside University and this will be her first film. She will have a lot to learn from you by then.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Michael responded with a warm smile, as expected from an idol. ¡°Of course, sure.¡± He was never short of contracts to sign. At the current moment, he was still filming ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ with the contract being until the year after next. After filming ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, his next film would be an action movie about military affairs¡ªa story about conflicts between a retired special forces soldier and a foreign mercenary. [T/N: Tranted as year after next, as opposed to the year of monkey] Naturally, Michael was not ying the role of a soldier. Harry would be ying the male protagonist¡ªa soldier from the special forces¡ªwhile Michael would y the antagonist, a vicious leader of a foreign mercenary. This male-dominated movie mainly revolved around a patriotic theme, so the main female protagonist only had around 10 minutes of screen time, let alone the second female protagonist. It was rumored that the film was aiming to be the number one in Cethos¡¯ box office. The main cast consists of experienced great actors while the minor and unimportant roles were given to certain well-connected individuals to gain more investments. After the incident where fans arrived at the theaterst time, Sophia snuck into Michael¡¯s fanswork. There were many extraordinarily powerful and resource people within thework¡ªin fact, they were able to track the whereabouts of their idols clearly. They even knew the venue and timing of his film location. They would also be informed of the project and could even find out the flight number of the ne that he boarded. All in all, they were even more reliable than Hale. She had been secretly following his schedule and everything associated with him because she understood that the only way to be victorious was to understand herself and her enemy well. While ying the role of the mercenary, he would concurrently guest star in another urban drama as a yboy. He was also scheduled to guest star in a few other films at the same time and she was aware about all of them. Unfortunately, there were times when ns could never keep up with changes in reality. Michael¡¯s skills ofing and leaving like a shadow had exceeded the expectations of even the most resourceful person within the fanswork. X wanted to take the opportunity to shake hands with both Michael and Harry and tell them, I¡¯m still a newbie. When the timees, I will still need help from the both of you, seniors. Unfortunately, just when she was about to reach out, Joel broke the silence and disrupted the atmosphere that was gradually rxing. ¡°Taylor, I heard that your mother is Elizabeth Murray?¡± Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense again. Her hand hung awkwardly mid-air, staying there motionlessly for about two seconds. Then, she hastily withdrew her hand while maintaining her smile, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. The two of them had been amiably chatting earlier, but now he spoke in a different tone, as if he was directing that piece of information to outsiders. Currently, the outsiders here were naturally Richard and X. Besides, Joel had deliberately increased his voice, so those who were nearby heard them. Elizabeth Murray was an icon of an era¡ªshe was the first diva from Cethos to make a name for herself internationally, but she was also the first generation of p*rn star there. Everyone had spected that she was Taylor Murray¡¯s mother, but no one had the guts to ask him directly in person. Who would want to admit that their mother was a p*rn star in p*rnographic films? Chapter 172 Chapter 172 After Joel asked that question, everyone¡¯s expression immediately changed. Richard, as the organizer, also felt quite awkward. Of course everyone knew that the topic was off-limits for Taylor. Stanley also had not expected that Joel would suddenly bring the topic up, so he quickly hinted at the latter with his expression. This has been Michael¡¯s taboo all the while. Don¡¯t you know who his mother is, Joel? Back then, Michael¡¯s father, William Fletcher, had ignored his family¡¯s objections and left in order to marry Elizabeth. It was only until the birth of Michael and Celine that Old Master Fletcher softened his stance and allowed the siblings to return to the family. However, he never admitted Elizabeth as part of the family. In order to ensure that his wife would be recognized by the Fletcher Family, William decided to take on the most dangerous mission but died as a result. Upon hearing the news of his death, Elizabeth was unable to take the blow and asked Old Master Fletcher to take care of the young Michael and Celine. After that, she killed herself to die together with William. The topics around Michael¡¯s parents and sister were also a taboo for him! However, Joel didn¡¯t seem to notice Stanley¡¯s attempts. Instead, he smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m Elizabeth¡¯s fan and have been watching her performance for a long time. It was only out of curiosity that I asked you that question. If you don¡¯t feel like replying to me, forget it.¡± Everyone wiped off the cold sweat that broke out on their foreheads. Oh, I see. A bout of anxiousness swept over Sophia as she looked at Michael. However, he merely took a sip of water and answered in a clear voice after putting down the ss, ¡°Thank you for liking my mother¡¯s performance.¡± Silence fell upon them again. So, Taylor is admitting the fact that he is Elizabeth¡¯s son? It¡¯s true after all! Since his debut, people had been specting about his identity for decades and he finally gave a definite answer. Elizabeth was someone with an existence of poprity and scandal. When Michael admitted that he was her son, he knew that he had to ept the dark parts of her life as well as her halo of poprity. Sophia looked at him in worry as she could even tell that Joel was finding fault with him. It¡¯s one thing for them topete with each other, but why did Joel involve Michael¡¯s mother? Joel had never thought of letting Michael off the hook, so he said with a half-smirk, ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that Elizabeth has already retired for decades. I¡¯ve been listening to her songs since I was young, but I¡¯ve never heard her sing in real life. Since you are her son, you must have inherited her good techniques. Why don¡¯t you sing for me?¡± He¡¯s asking Michael to perform for him? Although Michael knows how to sing in operas, how is it possible for him to perform here? Sophia thought, Even if Michael wants to perform, only the concert halls in Vienna is a suitable venue. It¡¯s a waste for him to perform here at the Harper Family¡¯s banquet! It¡¯s even insulting! Sure enough, Michael hesitated and went silent. Upon seeing this, Joel smiled. ¡°Seems like it¡¯s not convenient for you.¡± However, Michael suddenly asked, ¡°Which part would you like to listen to?¡± Joel¡¯s eyes shed as he replied, ¡°The tenor part from Don Giovanni.¡± Michael stood up. ¡°Since you would like to hear it, Joel, I shall sing a part for you.¡± This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. She looked at him in shock. Is he really singing? He walked to the center of the banquet hall and announced in a clear voice, ¡°Joel and I were able to hit it off when we met, so I dedicate this part of Don Giovanni to him. Hope you guys will enjoy it.¡± Taylor Murray is going to sing Don Giovanni? Taylor¡¯s first debut was a movie that was rted to opera. In fact, all the performances in the movie were actually performed by him without the use of any substitutes or voice overs. However, no one had seen him performing in real life. He is actually going to perform an opera in front of us? The Harper Family had not only invited guests from the entertainment business, fashion industry, and the business circle, but the opera singers as well. At that moment, a few of them walked forward to hear the voice of Elizabeth Murray¡¯s son, who had been widely promoted by the public. They wondered how much talent he had inherited from his mother. As the organizer, the Harper Family was very proud of themselves while Richard immediately cleared the stage. Numerous hands stretched out. Some were filming videos while others live-streamed. At such a digital era of high-end technology, Taylor¡¯s performance spread around the Inte almost instantly. Under numerous eyes and cameras, Michael began to sing. After he adjusted his posture and turned his eyes to slip into the posture of an opera performance, he started singing Mozart¡¯s Don Giovanni in Italian. ¡°Notte e giorno faticar, per chi nu sa gradir; piova e vento sopportar, mangiar male e mal dormir! Voglio far il gentiluomo, e non voglio pi¨´ servir, no, no, no, no, no, no, non voglio pi¨´ servir!¡± Everyone in the hall remained silent as they heard his soft yet powerful voice fill the entire venue and transport itself into their ears. He¡¯s singing Leporello¡¯s part! One would know the quality of the performer almost immediately after he opened his mouth. After he finished his performance, a few seniors in the opera circle pped. ¡°Bravo!¡± Sophia felt that today¡¯s events had started off on a wrong note¡ªa pervert had pinched her bottom and he was now singing in a female voice while moving his fingers like a snake. But Michael is so good at singing! Subconsciously, she joined the crowd to p. Before the apuse died down, a strong voice suddenly rang. ¡°Questa furia disperata, mi vuol far precipitar! Sconsigliata! Taci, e trema! Questa furia disperata!¡± Harry has actually appeared! It was not too long ago that Harry had coborated with Michael for a film, ¡®The King¡¯ and the former¡¯s character was the king himself. Everyone initially thought that his performance in the movie was a voiceover by someone else, but it was actually sung by him in person! Both of the Kings are going to revolt against the heavens! Michael¡¯s face was resentful, but he said softly, ¡°Che tumulto!¡± With an expression full of love and pity on Ethan¡¯s face, he sang, ¡°Taci, e trema al mio furore!¡± With one acting as Leporello and the other as Don Giovanni, they had performed the most epic part of Mozart¡¯s Don Giovanni. On top of that, it was sung live without any post-production and there were no voice-overs or stunt actors to assist them. It was quite obvious that Ethan¡¯s performance was of an amateur level and Taylor was a professional who had been doing opera for years. Their performance received bouts of apuse from time to time. After they finished the part, Michael and Harry bowed to the audience. A few seniors in the opera rushed to Michael and surrounded him. ¡°Young man, it¡¯s such a pity that you¡¯re not pursuing this professionally! We need talents like you in opera!¡± ¡°You are indeed Elizabeth¡¯s son! Back then, I had coborated with your mom on Don Giovanni as well. Even though it¡¯s been so long, I feel like I can see her when I look at you!¡± Thements in the livestream were exploding. ¡®OMG, Taylor is the best!¡¯ ¡®He is so professional¡ªespecially his posture and his body! I love you forever, Taylor! I also want to learn how to sing opera!¡± ¡®Lord Winston is also amazing! Even though he has no experience in opera, he learned this song for an entire year! I can¡¯t believe that he became so good after merely a year. OMG!¡¯ Sophia looked at Michael, who was surrounded by a few experienced seniors in the opera field. He had a dazed look on his face, as if he had not returned to his senses from the song. Not only can he fight well, but he can also sing. Is there anything in this world that Michael can¡¯t do? Throb! Throb! Throb! Damn it! My heart can¡¯t stop throbbing now! Chapter 173 Chapter 173 Stanley poked Sophia, who was dumbfounded. ¡°Hehe! You must be stunned! I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t expect my uncle to be talented, eh? Let me tell you this¡ªmy uncle¡¯s stage name was given by his mother. Believe it or not, he also used to be in the special forces! He was even the winner in the fightingpetition organized by the army! How amazing is that! But after that, he switched to the army with literary pursuits and retired after that. s, for someone who is as talented as Uncle Michael, he will shine no matter which field he is in!¡± Sophia was even more dumbfounded upon hearing that. Winner in the army? Army with literary pursuits? Idol of the entire nation? A psychopath who sends dirty jokes to me? Which one of them is my husband? What the hell has Michael experienced in the past? While looking at the man whom everyone idolized as he shone brightly in the spotlight, it was the first time that she felt the distance between them had been stretched beyond dimensions. He was a mirage that one could see but could never hold and a reflection of the moon in the water that one could not obtain. Even though her name was next to his on the same marriage certificate, the distance between them could not be shortened and would only grow wider apart instead. The performance of Don Giovanni had pushed the atmosphere of the banquet to the climax, making the Harper Family even more arrogant. A look of joy shed on Michael¡¯s face as he looked at Joel and asked from afar, ¡°Joel, how was the performance today?¡± Joel smiled coldly at him while rising to his full height. ¡°I¡¯m quite busy with the military, so I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± With that, he quickly walked out of the banquet with a few deputy officers behind him. Richard quickly escorted him. ¡°General, why are you leaving so early? The banquet is only about to begin. Why don¡¯t you stay for a while longer?¡± Even though he was trying to ask Joel to stay longer, his actions did not prove as such, so he quickly helped to press on the elevator button. Joel did not have a friendly facial expression while he kept quiet, not speaking a word to Richard from the beginning to the end. His absence did not have an impact on the atmosphere of the banquet. A group of experienced opera singers gathered around Michael to have a discussion about singing, not allowing others to join the conversation. Just like that, Ka watched Joel, whom she yearned for, leave right in front of her eyes whereas the other two men were within sight but beyond reach. On the other hand, Sophia was speaking to Stanley. He was trying to console his son. ¡°Ken, you don¡¯t have to cry. Your daughter is alright. We will fix her tonight. Come, have some wine!¡± Looking at his ¡®daughter¡¯, Kenny was still teary-eyed and wiped his tears while he drank. When the banquet began, the guests took their seats ordingly. Sophia and Stanley sat next to each other. Michael and Harry had not been invited in the first ce, so they were cordially invited by the experienced opera singers to their table. Initially, the Harper Family had ced Sophia and the people from the media together so that they could humiliate her. However, those people were kicked out by Joel and his men, so theycked the courage to enter the hall again. They knew that if they did so, Kenny would not let them off the hook. Hence, their table was quite empty. It was able to amodate eight people, but there were only Sophia, Stanley, Nathan, and a magazine reporter sitting there. The reporter had been bribed by the Harper Family to dig any news possible from Sophia so that they could make a big deal out of it. By hook or by crook, he would have to write something so that he could report to the Harper Family with what he ploughed. He could not write anything about Sophia¡¯s attire as everything she wore was genuine and her essories were of the limited edition. Since he could not find anything negative to write from there, he could only start digging for weak points on Stanley. ¡°Miss Sophia, is the man next to you your new boyfriend?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± After all, my legal husband is sitting right at the next table. He asked Stanley, ¡°Sir, how long have you been dating Miss Sophia?¡± Stay said in one go, ¡°I¡¯m a freshman in Bayside University and I met Miss Sophia Edwards at the military training. As her ex-boyfriend is an *sshole who humiliated her during the training, her being helpless has sessfully ignited my protective instinct to protect her. So, we have started to date ever since!¡± Both Sophia and Nathan rolled their eyes at the same time. The reporter would not obviously write that down. Instead, he asked, ¡°Miss Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend is the managing director of the Harper Real Estates and the new star of the business field. In your opinion, what advantages do you have that couldpete with the Young Master of the Harper Group?¡± After taking a sip of the wine, Stanley frowned. The wine was worse than the French Cheval-nc that Michael stored in his cer. ¡°My advantages¡­ I¡¯m young and handsome with a height of 1.85m. My body fat is 15% and I have eight packs. Apart from that, I¡¯m the most handsome guy in the School of Computer Science!¡± The reporter was speechless upon hearing that. Stanley added, ¡°Richard Harper, on the other hand, is a jerk. Not only is he less handsome and shorter than me, but he concurrently dates two girls. He cheated on his girlfriend and humiliated his ex with his current one. With thatparison, I¡¯m way better than him!¡± After a short pause, the reporter cleared his throat. ¡°Um, sir, I¡¯m talking about your financial advantages.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Stanley scratched his head and grinned. ¡°Financially? I¡¯m not that rich. I¡¯m just an average university student. Both my parents are teachers, my brother is in the military, and I usually y online games to earn some side ie.¡± That was exactly what the reporter wanted¡ªand he had already nned a draft in his mind. Thetest title of the magazine title would be ¡®Shocking News! The ex-girlfriend of the Young Master of Harper Group is now in love with a good-for-nothing otaku!¡¯. No matter what, he would have to paint Sophia in the worst angle possible. He would have to describe Sophia as a woman who dated Richard to be his wife and get all the wealth from his family. However, things didn¡¯t turn out well for her as she was ndered and in the end, she could only settle with a punk, non-mainstream guy who only knew how to y online games. The more cruel he wrote about her, the more money he would receive from the Harper Family. After he received the source material that he wanted, the reporter stopped harassing them. When the banquet started, the dishes were continuously served and the organizers had started their performance. Ka kicked off the event by tearfully apologizing in public, promising that she would never make the same mistakes again and auctioned some of her jewelry for charity. Of course, everyone forgave her graciously. Then, her parents also apologized, saying that they did not do a good job of educating their daughter. They also promised that they would strictly discipline her from now onward as well as setting up an education fund in Ka¡¯s name to provide schrships for others. From the start of the banquet until the end, the Harper Family was in the spotlight, so Sophia was not mentioned at all. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that the Harper Family had almostpletely destroyed Sophia¡¯s reputation. Looking at the few family members of the Harper Family, Sophia¡¯s smile grew wider¡­ Finally, Richard appeared and announced lovingly, ¡°Today, I have a huge surprise for my fianc¨¦e, X.¡± Everyone turned to look at her as they were curious about the surprise. Before that, they thought that the Harper Family had bought the Eternal Love for X. However, it was impossible since Sophia was wearing it today. If it was not Eternal Love, then it must be something around the same level. X looked at him expectantly. Richard walked to her while earnestly confessing his feelings to her, making her tear up in the process. Everything went smoothly as if they had already rehearsed it. After a pause, Richard announced with passion ¡°Today, I¡¯m going to give X a huge present.¡± With that, the screen behind him brightened before pictures of children with cute smiles were shown as they stood in front of a school named ¡®X¡¯s School of Hope¡¯. X was dumbfounded when she heard that. WTF?! School of Hope?! Chapter 174 Chapter 174 ¡°I¡¯ve built ten Schools of Hope under X¡¯s name so that more schooling opportunities are provided to the children living in the mountains. They don¡¯t have to pay a single cent for rent or food. I hope X will like this present from me!¡± Thunderous apuse exploded right there and even Sophia had joined in. Even though the Harper Family¡¯s main reason for doing charity was to increase their poprity, they still had done it anyway. However, X did not like it at all. What she wanted was Eternal Love, not some poor Schools of Hope! Nevertheless, her impable acting skills hadpletely masked her true feelings. She was so moved that she sobbed while saying something that was entirely untrue. ¡°Richard, I love this present so much!¡± They couldn¡¯t help themselves but tightly hug each other. Another thunderous apuse boomed. Sophia had also fervently pped her hands, but the stunning red glimmer shining from the Eternal Love on her finger almost reddened X¡¯s eyes as well. With that, the charity banquet organized by the Harper Family came to an end and they did not try to bully Sophia anymore. Perhaps it was because she had ¡®deliberately¡¯ brought some powerful figures with her, which brought enough pride to the Harpers, so they were surprisingly satisfied with Sophia¡¯s performance. When the banquet began, Richard, who had just given a moving speech, went to take a short rest. In the rest area, Mrs. Harper patted his shoulder and said in satisfaction, ¡°I can¡¯t believe that woman has this capability! I definitely have underestimated her! Son, it¡¯s normal for a man to be in love with several women at once. Many of them have a woman at home who¡¯s dutiful and a few capable ones outside. Did you think I didn¡¯t know about the few witches in your dad¡¯spany? Since they can help him with his business and never threaten our positions, I¡¯m toozy to deal with them. Sophia, on the other hand, is quite capable and might be able to assist you in your career in the future. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll talk some sense into X for you, so go ahead and be with her! Just don¡¯t make a big deal out of it. However, I only have one condition for that¡ªX must be the one who gives birth to your heir. If Sophia really wants to be with you, you have to ask her to perform a tubectomy. This is my only request!¡± Upon hearing that, he was beyond delighted. ¡°Thanks, mom!¡± Standing outside the door, X had heard everything. Her face, which became even more beautiful with makeup, became extremely distorted because of her anger within. Have a woman at home who¡¯s dutiful and a few capable ones outside? Hah, do you think you can enter the Harper Family because of this, Sophia? It¡¯s impossible! Halfway through the banquet, Ka went to the lounge to take a rest, but she saw X crying alone in the room until her makeup was soiled. Hence, Ka quickly asked for the reason. In between her tears, X told her about the conversation that Richard and Mrs. Harper had today, which she overheard. After hearing that, Ka became so angry that her entire body trembled. ¡°That b*tch has some good tactics indeed! Don¡¯t worry, I will never let her marry into the Harper Family! I will ruin her reputation tonight!¡± Upon seeing Ka¡¯s facial features distorting due to hatred, X was relieved. If Sophia wants to marry into the Harper Family, she will have to bypass me and Ka first! Halfway through the banquet, Sophia seemed to have drank too much alcohol, so she went to the bathroom. Her face was flushed red and she felt dizzy when she exited with the cocktail that she drank now taking its effect on her. As she touched up on her makeup earlier, a sudden fragrance wafted into her nose, weakening her limbs as she slowly fainted while holding the sink. Oh no! She realized that something was wrong. However, her consciousness slowly sank as the world spun around her. She could not muster an ounce of strength within her. Suddenly, she felt a stabbing pain in her neck. A cool liquid was then immediately injected into her and it seemed to flow through her entire body, prating every blood vessel instantly. In no time, she felt that her body was boiling. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. She did not lose her consciousness. On the contrary, she was even more alert, but she felt as if she was floating in the air and even hallucinated that she was already in heaven. Three bulky men who looked like waiters quickly carried Sophia into the guest room on the second floor and closed the door. The room number was 402. The three of them harshly threw her on the bed. At that moment, her eyes were wide open, butcked focus. While she was in a state of daze, they surrounded her and started to remove her clothes disrespectfully. Unbeknownst to them, someone had opened the door and walked into the room, standing behind the three men in silence. As the lights were dim, his face could not be clearly seen, but his eyes were zing with fury¡­ Ten minutester, Ka led a group of youngdies from rich families to the fourth floor that was full of guest rooms¡ªa few of them were upied by guests who were resting. ¡°Ka, where is the present that your uncle gave you? Quickly show to us!¡± While walking to room 402, she said, ¡°I left it in the guest room. I¡¯ll show it to you immediately! It¡¯s an extremely rare gift!¡± She winked mysteriously. X seemed to know what Ka¡¯s intentions were and matched her rhetoric as she said excitedly, ¡°I promise you guys won¡¯t be disappointed by it! As we are organizing a charity banquet tonight, it¡¯s quite inconvenient to bring out stuff that¡¯s too ostentatious. So you only get a chance of looking at this. Remember to take out your phones to take some nice pictures!¡± Ka unted her present like it was some extraordinary, unique item and dragged everyone to look at it. Even though the rest wanted to stay in the hall to admire their idols, they followed her out of courtesy. At that moment, all of them took out their phones to prepare to take pictures. After Ka and X exchanged a vindictive look, the former took out a room card and swiped it at the door of room 402. It beeped. The electronic door lock was opened, but they could not open the door¡ªsomeone had locked it from the inside. Hmph? Ka was confused by it and looked at the number of the door again¡ªit was the right room and she had even arranged a huge scene inside. ording to her ns, the door should not have been locked. Immediately after she swiped the room card, the door should have opened and everyone would see the drama unfolding within. She even ordered the people involved that they were not allowed to lock the door from the inside. After a few unsessful attempts, the few youngdies whom she had dragged were not quite happy. ¡°Did you get the wrong room?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t open it. Let¡¯s head back to look at the idols!¡± Upon seeing that everyone was about to leave, Ka definitely would not let them leave. After all, she had already prepared the spectacle, which would be nothing without an audience. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t be so impatient. Just give me some time. I promise you guys won¡¯t regret it after seeing the gift!¡± Hence, everyone patiently waited while she continued to knock on the door. Soon, it was opened by a man in a suit who looked at them impatiently. ¡°What?¡± Ka looked in the room and specifically looked at the bed, but it was empty. Why is this happening? Without waiting for her reaction, the man fiercely shut the door. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Bang! Just like that, Ka and the group of girls were locked outside. Upon seeing that, she quicklyforted the group, who were bing impatient. ¡°I must have gotten the wrong ce. It¡¯s my fault.¡± Suddenly, a shrill scream came next door. ¡°Aaaah!¡± Chapter 175 Chapter 175 Even though the rooms were soundproof, everyone still heard the shrill scream. ¡°Who¡¯s screaming?¡± ¡°Seems like it¡¯sing from room 403!¡± X and Ka were immediately excited right after hearing that. So, they changed the venue at thest minute! Damn it, what a bunch of unreliable fellows! X pretended to be fearful after hearing that. ¡°Oh no, what¡¯s going on there? I seem to hear someone screaming!¡± ¡°It sounds like something horrible is going on. What the hell just happened? Call room service immediately!¡± ¡°Hello, room service, please open room 403 immediately!¡± For tonight¡¯s event, the Harper Family had made reservations for the entire hotel, so all the guests who stayed there were invited by the Harpers. Of course, the employees did not dare to dy any further after hearing the Young Lady of the Harper Family issuing her orders. Hence, someone came in that moment to open the door. Once the door was opened, everyone flooded into the room. What they saw left them dumbfounded¡ª three men and one woman were intimately entangled with each other on the bed, doing indescribable actions that even a porn director could not have imagined. After seeing that so many people had barged in, the woman cried loudly for help, ¡°Help me!" Someone in the crowd had pointed with trembling hands at the woman in shock. ¡°Oh God, isn¡¯t the woman Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter?¡± ¡°Ask someone toe here immediately!¡± ¡°Help! Someone help us! The daughter of Director Jenkins has been raped!¡± Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter? When Ka and X saw the face of the woman who was pinned under the three men, both of them stood rooted to the ground as if they had been electrocuted. How is it the daughter of Director Jenkins? Shouldn¡¯t Sophia be the victim here? Ka had spent her entire savings to hire a few gangsters topletely destroy Sophia¡¯s reputation. Their n was to inject her with arge amount of hallucinogenic drugs and drag her into the room. When Ka and X opened the door, they should have been greeted by the image of Sophia being mauled by the three men. Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter had tried to shake them off with all her might, but it was futile. The three bulky men seemed to be under the influence of some drugs and pressed her down forcefully. After she managed to escape for a short while they dragged her back to continue with their actions. All the people who entered the room were unmarried youngdies¡ªsome of them were so shocked that they ran out while others were stunned to the point where they stood rooted to the ground. No one took any action to save Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter. It was only when the hotel security caught wind of the incident that a few burly guards rushed into the room to grab the three bulky men. The loud yell of ¡®The daughter of Director Jenkins has been raped¡¯ had sessfully attracted a group of audience. In fact, Director Jenkins was not closely associated with the Harper Family at all. It was because Mr. Harper had invited him multiple times that he finally decided to attend the banquet. However, he never expected to suddenly receive the news that his daughter had been repeated halfway through the banquet. After rushing into the room, he saw his daughter lying naked on the bed that was dyed red with her blood. As it was too much shock for him to handle, he immediately fainted on the spot. When Richard heard about the news, he also rushed over in anxiousness. A chill immediately shot down his spine while his temples throbbed. The banquet has been going on so well! How could this happen? On top of that, the victim is Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter! Even though Director Jenkins was merely in charge of the Cultural Affairs, he was still a director of the government department and had a status that was much higher than the Harper Family. After Mrs. Harper¡¯s knees buckled, she sat on the ground helplessly. We¡¯re doomed! We¡¯re doomed! Our banquet is over now! In no time, sirens reverberated throughout the entire hotel. Hale opened the curtains of room 402 and noticed the police cars with their sirens sounding loudly downstairs. He quietly knocked on the bathroom door of room 402. ¡°Boss, the police are here and I¡¯veThis text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. already talked to them. The helicopter has also been arranged.¡± In the bathroom, Michael¡¯s face was pale, but his eyes were red as he looked at Sophia, whoy in the bathtub. As shey in the water, her clothes had been removed. Even though her face was pale, her entire body was flushed red. She wrapped her arms around her chest with her eyes wide open, but they were unable to focus. A young woman squatted next to Sophia to assess her condition. After she saw the needle in Sophia¡¯s neck, she reported coldly, ¡°Boss, madam has been injected withrge doses of hallucinogenic drugs. We must deal with this immediately!¡± He took a towel to wrap Sophia¡¯s body without speaking another word. The police quickly arrived and blocked the entire crime scene. Apart from that, they also evacuated the crowd. Because of Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston¡¯s special identities, the police even cleared the way for them to avoid a stampede from happening. Both of them left in a helicopter from the helipad at the top of the building. The helicopternded on The Imperial Vi No.8 directly. A team of personal medical professionals were already there and they immediately injected tranquilizers into Sophia. The hallucinogenic drugs had made her emotions unstable¡ªshe kept crying and trembling. Since it was the winter season, she had been in the warm water for a long time. Even so, she was not cold at all. On the contrary, her body was abnormally hot as she curled up in bed, speaking nonsense. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Michael asked the doctor with reddened eyes. ¡°Madam has been injected with huge doses of hallucinogenic drugs, so she¡¯s now having hallucinations. She¡¯spletely under the effect of the hallucinogens, but she will be better once the tranquilizer has taken effect.¡± As Michael looked at Sophia, he med herself and felt very sorry for her. He never expected that such an incident would happen with him right beside her. If things could happen again, he would never have allowed her to join him for the banquet. If Nathan, who had been hiding in a corner, didn¡¯t notice and asked for help, Michael would have never known that she was in trouble. He was wrong and terribly wrong at that¡ªhe thought that the Harper Family had loved their pride so much that they would not attempt tomit any evil deeds at the banquet that they organized to redeem themselves. However, he forgot that they were a bunch of idiots! He should not have used a normal person¡¯s judgment to predict their behavior. Upon seeing Sophia this way, Nathan was anxious. His face was all wrinkled up and he seemed to have cried. Michael caressed Nathan¡¯s head andforted him. Your mom is alright. She¡¯ll be fine once she has taken a rest. Go and get some rest, son. I¡¯ll look after her.¡± Nathan did not trust Michael, so he pouted and continued to stay there. Michael promised him again, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t take this opportunity to insert a little sister in your mommy¡¯s stomach.¡± Only with his pledge did Nathan leave. When he walked out of the room and closed the door, Michael carefully dried Sophia¡¯s hair with a hairdryer. After she had been injected with huge doses of hallucinogens that could induce hallucinations and make her forget her identity, he noticed that, like a helpless ostrich, she curled up into a ball when she suffered the aftermath of the drugs. Even at that moment, she maintained the same posture, looking like she had been deserted by the entire world and did not feel safe at all as she wept. ¡°Chica, chica!¡± He softly called her nickname, but she still remained the same and crossed her arms at her chest as she trembled. Even though she was semi-conscious, her tears continued to flow. She was already in a state ofa, so maybe she had been reminded of some terrible memories. He softly hugged her in his arms, singing a luby while waiting for the tranquilizer to take effect. Chapter 176 Chapter 176 He lowered his head to look at Sophia¡¯s face contorted in pain and it made his heart ache. I wonder how much my chica has suffered in the past. Sophia waspletely engulfed by the excruciating pain of her memories in that moment. First, I am witnessing the death of my grandparents, who loved me. Next, the vige chief is taking me to my uncle¡¯s house because I need somewhere to stay and depend on others like a lowly dog. Not too long after, I am looking at my harsh uncle and aunt. There is a chipped bowl with some stale porridge in it. There are flies hovering above the dishes in front of me. I grit my teeth and eat it, but at least I have my dreams. As long as I am allowed to study, I will be able to change my fate. I witness the scene where I am being chased out of Riverdale High School again and Richard¡¯s mother is leading arge group of parents to protest in school. The principal is sighing helplessly when I¡¯m on my knees, begging them. I just want toplete my senior year and take the college entrance exam in peace. Nevertheless, I am expelled from the school in the end. I want to secretly return to school once the incident has blown over. However, I did not expect that they weren¡¯t prepared to allow me to return at all. They had bribed the school¡¯s security guard to hit me as a deterrence to prevent me from ever returning. I find the Harper Family, hoping that Richard will at least help me. However, he has his arm around X and they both look like a match made in heaven. He is staring at me with a nk expression and his eyes are void of pity and guilt. ¡°Break her leg!¡± a shrill girl¡¯s voice screamed and I felt a sharp pain against my leg. The Harpers threw me out of their house, but I stubbornly forced myself to stand up from the ground. I turn around to stare at the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Then, I left with a limp while feeling utterly hopeless¡­ I have nowhere to go and I can¡¯t find a school that is willing to take me in. I can¡¯t enroll into any high school despite showing my report card¡ªa guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to enter Bayside University. I visit all the high schools in Riverdale including the worst one. They are willing to spend more than 100,000 just for the sake of saving a repeat student¡¯s reputation and that person can barely pass the exam, but they just aren¡¯t willing to provide a seat for me¡ªa student who is capable of securing a spot in Bayside University. I can¡¯t get into a school or look for a job. When I left the school, the principal secretly gave me a sum of money to help me to leave as far as possible. That was to allow me to leave Bayside City and enroll into a school in another province. However, someone snatched the money from me, not long after I left the school gates. My dreams, my future, and everything associated with it came crashing down in that second. There is a downpour that night; I can¡¯t bring myself to stay in a hotel and instead seek shelter under the bridge. Suddenly, a group of disturbed youths suddenly showed up and robbed me before even trying to r*pe me. I start to limp away in panic and run along the river to seek help where there are more people. The group of disturbed youths are following behind me nonchntly while ring at me with hunger. They look like they might catch up to me at any minute now and I¡¯ll be eternally doomed by then. There is no one by the riverbank in the middle of the night. No one is there to hear my cry for help. My phone is already broken, so no one wille to save me. I run in despair with all the energy that I have. My future is an unknown darkness where I am trying to survive alone in the darkness without any knowledge on what will happen to me in the next moment. I merely want to stay alive! Why can¡¯t I even realize such a small dream? Those evil people cackled loudly nearby and are almost grabbing me. In despair, I jump into the rapid currents of the river, even though I can¡¯t swim. The river washes away my petite frame instantly and my body disappears in the blink of an eye. I am struggling in the water as the stinky river water rushes into my mouth and nostrils. I feel death approaching me step-by-step with its presence gradually engulfing me. I do not want to die; I want to live! I struggle in the river, and I finally grab onto an abandoned child¡¯s float. I grab onto it stubbornly without letting go. After several miles of being caught in the river¡¯s current, the river finally washes me up onto the ind in the middle of the river and I am stranded there. The river water is icy-cold at night. After barely escaping the grasp of death, I¡¯m now trembling as I crawl onto the deserted ind and lie on the cold riverbank. The hard and rough stones on top of the sand underneath me scratches my skin. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. I do not feel pain or hate at that moment¡ªonly cold and hopelessness. I am choking on water and coughing continuously and it feels like I might be coughing up some blood. The air feels thin and I feel the onset of a fever. I hug my shoulders and curl up against a boulder to protect myself from the wind. I¡¯m so cold that I can¡¯t stop trembling. I¡¯m not even sure when someone will appear on this deserted ind. I wonder when someone will realize that I am at the brink of death. Just when I feel that I¡¯m close to death, I hear a sweet luby from the horizon. It sounds simr to the one that grandmother sang to me when I was a child. I hold onto my arms tightly and curl up like a fetus, feeling that my consciousness is slipping away¡­ Michael noticed that Sophia was coughing aggressively as her breathing became more rapid while her face was flushed red. Therefore, he immediately started to pat her back to soothe her. The sedative was finally working¡ªSophia regained her steady breathing while her flushed cheeks returned to their usual pink hue. She rxed her limbs before she drifted into a peaceful sleep. He covered her with a nket before leaning across the side of her pillow and regarding her peaceful sleeping face. The longer he looked at her, the more he found her adorable. However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of heartache while staring at her endearing face. He bent down to kiss her pink cheek and fell asleep while staring at her delicate sleeping face. The next day, he woke up right on time at 7AM. After he woke up, he spotted that Sophia, who was lying in bed beside him, had her eyes wide open. However, her eyes were empty, as if she wasn¡¯t fully awake. Those hallucinogenic drugs would usually impact the brain. Not to mention, she had also been injected withrge doses of sedative, so she would be quiet and unable to concentrate for the next few days. Michael was already informed about this, so knew that it was an expected response. He got out of bed before checking her forehead. Her temperature is back to normal, but she just can¡¯t seem to focus. She¡¯s still zoning out. ¡°What would you like for breakfast?¡± He kissed her lips tenderly before asking her. Sophia¡¯s mind waspletely nk, as if she was still in a daze from what had happened yesterday and today. She mulled his question over for ages, looking as if she couldn¡¯t understand what he meant or provide an answer for him. Hence, she remained motionless. He scowled before getting up to wear some clothes. His personal doctor dropped by not too long after that to examine Sophia, exining, ¡°Boss, madam¡¯s brain was traumatized, so she¡¯ll need a few more days to recover. However, you don¡¯t have to worry because this is merely a short term effect. It will not cause any permanent damage to her brain.¡± However, Michael still wore a dark expression. The entire medical team moved into The Imperial Vi No. 8, focusing on nothing apart from examining and treating her. They had to inject her withrge doses of drugs for recovery, almost on a daily basis. On the second day after her rescue, she was almost unconscious for the entire day and slept for a majority of the time. She would zone out when she woke up. If someone had called her, it would take a very long time before she realized that someone was addressing her. However, her situation improved with her spirit recovering steadily. She was also starting to speak again. Nathan took leave to return home to keep herpany on a daily basis. Sophia gradually regained the ability of some basic responses, but she still barely spoke. It would take her ages to respond even when Michael was calling out for her. She had an extreme overdose¡ªif she hadn¡¯t been sent to the hospital in time and if it weren¡¯t for Michael¡¯s powerful personal medical team, she would have spent the rest of her life as a vegetable. Sophia was making a slow recovery, but the Harpers were like dying embers. Chapter 177 Chapter 177 Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter had attended the Harper Family¡¯s banquet, but was raped by three brawny men. Naturally, he med the Harpers. On the other side, the police had investigated the three brawny men, which led them to Ka. Hence, she was suddenly involved in a serious crime where she was a suspect in a rape case and also suspected of harboring drugs. Furthermore, she already had a criminal record, so the situation looked bad for her. Since she was charged with several criminal charges, she was immediately sent to the police station to assist in the investigation. Although she vehemently denied that she hired the three brawny men, there was concrete proof of her doing so¡ªshe was the mastermind behind the vition of Director Jenkins¡¯s daughter. Richard was panicking since he was in a desperate situation. On one hand, he tried to console Director Jenkins while attempting to bribe the Harper Family elders to mediate this matter while on the other hand, he was trying his best to get Ka out of the mess. He changed the age on her ID card by a few months, so that she would be less than 18 years old. Then, he found a personal doctor to diagnose her as suffering from a mental disorder. Once she had two medical certificates to prove that she was a minor suffering from a mental disorder, things would be easier for her. After that, he hired a team of expensivewyers and continued to pull strings through unconventional methods, doing everything possible to get her out of the mess. Whenever Richard thought about his younger sister, who always acted like a retard, he could imagine gouging her heart out! She had already previously caused a ruckus when she tried to harm Sophia. The Harpers had spent a fortune on ghostwriters on the Inte and public rtions to clean the mess¡ªall to create a positive image of her. After that banquet, we even built an elementary school in her name. Whenever she¡¯s free, we¡¯ll ask her to walk the mountainous areas to take some photographs and bring them back to write some articles. Once her articles are published, she can start from a clean te. Her future is bright and the Harpers has gained poprity along the way. I just can¡¯t understand why she chose tomit such a horrendous thing at such a critical time. Is she stupid? Does she have sh*t for brains?! Once something happens, people will post about it online. Hence, we didn¡¯t even dare to publish an article to exin her innocence. The Harper Family has recently started afresh, but we now are covered in filth again. In fact, the Harpers¡¯ real estate industry has just been listed on the stock market and its shares are already being affected. Even if we exploit the legal loophole and get her to pretend that she is a minor who has a mental disorder, we will never be able to recover from the resulting image, not to mention being involved in the entertainment industry. If it¡¯s possible, I truly want to give up on Ka! However, I only have her as my younger sister and mother has decided to bail Ka out, no matter what it takes to do so. ¡°Son, try to look for that girl with thest name of Edwards. She must be having a good rtionship with Joel since she was able to invite him previously. Get her to exploit her rtionship with him!¡± Mrs. Harper grabbed onto Richard when she said that, as if she was struck by the sudden thought. Richard looked embarrassed when he heard that. Earlier, the banquet was in a mess after that incident. I wasn¡¯t bothered with Sophia and I haven¡¯t been in contact with her ever since. How could she possibly be in a rtionship with Joel? She received first ce in the military training, so he did her a favor by attending the Harper Family¡¯s banquet! ¡°Mom, what can she possibly do? She does not have any rtionship with Joel. She does not have any family background to rely on, so she can¡¯t help in this at all¡­¡± Mrs. Harper smacked Richard¡¯s head in frustration and viciously reprimanded him, ¡°She looks like a vixen! She merely needs to sleep with Joel and suggest some things in bed when she¡¯s with him. Will Joel reject her? Wouldn¡¯t your sister be released if he helps?¡± Sophia and Joel?! I¡¯ve never thought of that. Mrs. Harper reprimanded him again. ¡°Silly boy, didn¡¯t you notice how Joel stared at her that day? If Joel is in love with her, you should get her to serve him well. In that case, we would be well-connected with the Fletchers in the future!¡¯ Get Sophia to offer herself to Joel?! Richard struggled internally when he considered that option. If Sophia offers herself to Joel, our Harper Family will be able to reap the benefits of being acquainted to Joel through her in the future. However, how should I get Sophia to willingly offer herself to him? He smoked and hesitated for the whole day, looking haggard by the end of the day. After the incident with Ka, my initial ns have been disrupted. Initially, I was nning to confess to Sophia after the banquet to mend the rift between us. From then onward, she will be my woman on the side and assist me with my career. I will make it up to her with all my life. On the other hand, X will be my legal wife who will deliver my heirs. I can¡¯t abandon either one of them, so I will not mistreat them. However, at this point in time, I need Sophia to approach Joel and be closer to the Fletchers! After he had made a decision, he dialed Sophia¡¯s phone number¡­ In that instant, a few days had passed since the incident. Sophia¡¯s spirits had significantly recovered even though she was mostly sleeping and zoning out throughout the day. Michael should have been filming his movie abroad, but since his beloved wife had met with an ident, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave. He had to make sure that Sophia was fully recovered before he left, so he made a selfless decision¡ªhe moved the entire film studio, which was initially based in Moscov, to Cethos. He worked like a typical officer worker from 9AM to 5PM every day. He would leave home for his filming obligations and head straight home after work. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. It was already mid-winter and the first snowfall had started, effectively covering the ground with a silvery- whiteyer of snow. A ck SUV was parked in front of the entrance to Vi No. 8. Michael exited the vehicle and his leather shoes stepped on the ground while making two deep footsteps against the snow- covered ground. The moment he opened the car door, he felt a gust of chilly wind against his face. He stood in the midst of the chilly wind and stared at the warm lights glowing from his house, feeling that his mood immediately lightened. I am finally experiencing the joys ofing home to a wife and a child. This is such a simple and good life. Upon walking through the main entrance, Maria took his snow-covered coat. She shook the snow off before hanging it on the rack while updating him about Sophia¡¯s condition for the day, ¡°Boss, Madam is doing much better today and she seems to be speaking more. Today, Young Master Stan dropped by to keep herpany for the whole afternoon and she even started to y games!¡± True enough, Michael saw a pair of punk-styled sports shoes at the entrance. However, he would not be calctive over such a small matter¡ªif Sophia was able to y games, it meant that she was recovering well. He walked to the sickroom. He had specifically prepared a sickroom for her recovery, which was equipped with all kinds of equipment to help her recover faster. He had also been keeping herpany by sleeping in the sickroom with her. Before he could even enter the sickroom, he already heard Stanley¡¯s loud voice from afar. ¡°Sophia, I already told you to wear thicker clothes. Why did you wear a bareback dress to act cool? See, now you¡¯re under the weather! I wish you were a penguin that day!¡± ¡°Hey, you seem to be really ill! Your operation and reaction are both slow. It¡¯s best that you continue to recuperate. Why do you even bother to y games?¡± ¡°Just look at you¡ªyou are so sick that you can¡¯t even defeat a monster! You used to be aggressive and only took three minutes to defeat a monster, but now, you need thirty minutes to do so! You even died twice in the process!¡± ¡°Forget it, you should stand aside. I will help you to defeat the monster! You should have more walnut milk to nourish your brain!¡± Sophia could no longer endure Stanley¡¯s taunts and mocks, so she roared, ¡°Shut up!¡± Her mind had been fuzzy and blurry for the past few days. Although she had been feeling slightly more alert for thest couple of days, her brain was still in a mushy state and she always felt sleepy. Chapter 178 Chapter 178 Sophia applied for sick leave and was absent from university for half a month, but Stanley was not aware of what transpired that day. He thought that she was under the weather as a result of being scantily d. Hence, he had been frequently visiting her and brought along delicious food. When they yed a round of games today, the way she operated her character was not up to her usual standards in the past. Hence, he kept taunting her. Nathan did notment; instead, he followed her closely behind in the game, making a mov whenever she was in danger. When Michael entered the room, he saw the three of them sitting in a row with threeptops switched on ¡ªSophia and Nathan wore their frog pajamas whereas Stanley was in his usual punk leather jacket that made him look like a rascal. He had even brought lots of fruits and nutritious supplements. The carton of walnut milk was already opened and the three of them were drinking it as they yed the game. Sophia¡¯s character died again after yet another round, so she sipped the walnut milk in frustration. She couldn¡¯t focus recently and her skills at ying games were no longer as perfect as before. Her mind seemed nk while her handscked coordination with her brain. Stanley finished drinking a box of walnut milk. ¡°Another round!¡± A cold voice suddenly reverberated through the room. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. She needs to rest!¡± The three of them, who were in the middle of the game, simultaneously turned at the source of the voice and noticed Michael, who had somehow returned home without them realizing. He was leaning against the doorframe and giving Stanley a cold stare. Seeing this, Stanley choked on his milk, stammering, ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re back!¡± Michael regarded him indifferently. ¡°Get lost.¡± Stanley immediately packed his bag while answering with a smile, ¡°Hehe, I am leaving now. I¡¯ll leave now.¡± He thought that his uncle was mad at him because he was ying games with a patient. Hence, he did not have the courage to refute Michael. On the contrary, he swiftly packed his things and left. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. After he left, Michael¡¯s cold expression significantly rxed as he made his way toward Sophia. She looked much better today than she was yesterday. In fact, she had rosy cheeks. He stepped forward to give her a long and lingering kiss. Nathan regarded the two of them¡ªwho were glued to each other like mas while being engaged in a French kiss¡ªand was rendered speechless. Therefore, he turned and continued to y the game on his laptop. While Nathan was yingputer games, the two people behind him gradually entered into a blissful state. They kissed at theputer table before shifting to the coffee table. Then, they shifted from the coffee table to the treadmill before finally ending up in bed. For the past two days, Sophia¡¯s mind had been slightly slow. Now that Michael had assertively kissed her, her mindpletely went nk and she just couldn¡¯t think as she reflexively responded to his kiss. Eventually, Sophia became tired from the kiss, so shey on the bed while gasping for air. Her cheeks were blushing and flushing red since she was shy. He gently leaned on top of her while kissing her chin softly, as if wanting more. What would I be able to give to have her here right now? However, she isn¡¯t feeling well now, so my n of bedding her has to be dyed once again. Suddenly, Nathan, who was ying games, coldly reminded them, ¡°There¡¯s a phone call!¡± The two people on the bed finally separated. Sophia took the phone, but she frowned deeply when she saw the disy name across her phone. On the other hand, Michael chuckled when he saw that name and answered the phone while putting it on loudspeaker. Then, he ced it on the side of the pillow and bent down to continue carefully loving his petite wife. Richard¡¯s worried voice broke the silence from the other end of the line. ¡°Hello, Sophia. How are you?¡± Sophia, who was busy kissing Michael, took the chance to answer him, ¡°I¡¯m not dead.¡± Richard asked her hastily, ¡°W-What happened to you? Are you ill? I heard that you have been absent from university for quite a few days now?¡± When he heard the squelching noise of lips together with the tapping sound of the keyboard, he thought that she was sucking on a lollipop while yingputer games. In reality, Nathan had deliberately increased the game volume with his tapping sounds against the keyboard drowning their kissing noises. She grabbed the chance to answer Richard, ¡°I¡¯m busy. What is it?¡± She had barely finished her sentence when Michael literally took her breath away again with a deep kiss. He grabbed her hand and pinned it beside the pillow before kissing her passionately on her lips and down along her jawline. He opened the cor of her frog pajamas to ce a love bite, branding her with his scent and taste into her blood and soul. Richard, who was on the other end of the line, started his heartfelt confession. ¡°Sophia, thank you very much about the other day. You¡¯ve brought honor to the Harper Family. I did not expect you to be able to invite Joel Fletcher and Taylor Murray. My mom is very satisfied with what you did and she is less prejudiced against you now. Sophia, if you are willing, I will like to use the rest of my life to make it up to you. Will you forgive me? You know that in reality, you are the only one in my heart. I am only with X because I have no other choice. The Huffs are very powerful and X¡¯s mother is from the Edwards Family. I have to ept her love for me. In all honesty, I have no feelings for her at all. You are the one whom I¡¯ve been in love with since the beginning. However, I have to marry her. As a descendant of an aristocratic family, I have no say in my marriage since it has to be arranged with the right family. I can¡¯t possibly reject the Huff Family and my parents will never let me reject them. Nevertheless, my mom has already agreed for us to be together. I will go along with the engagement between the Harpers and the Huffs by getting married to X. However, you and I can be together. We can be together as long as we do not have children. No, we can have a daughter in the future. After you graduate, I will immediately arrange for you to join the Harper Group as an executive. Sophia, are you listening to me?¡± Sophia was rendered weak and helpless by Michael¡¯s kisses. Her arms were clinging softly onto his shoulders whereas her fingers had dug deep into his skin. Michael¡¯s scorching breath was puffing against her and she was lost in the moment. She did not even hear what Richard said, but she answered, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Nathan was focused on ying games because Michael had already promised him that he wouldn¡¯t force himself onto Sophia by taking advantage of her being ill. Nathan would ept it as long as Michael kept his promise. Michael had been listening to Richard speaking all along. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was an extremely aplished actor with an exceptional professionalism, he would have burst outughing. Where did he get his confidence from? Did he truly assume that my, Michael Fletcher¡¯s woman, would be yearning for him? Therefore, he stopped kissing Sophia¡¯s lips to listen to Richard¡¯s boasting. The two of them took a break in the middle of their kissing andy in bed while listening to Richard¡¯s heartfelt confessions. Sophia was falling asleep as she listened to his monologue that went on for five minutes. As she was slow in her reaction and having low spirits recently, the exhaustion was hitting her especially hard today since she had also yed games the whole afternoon. She could barely keep her eyes open, so she mumbled in acknowledgement when he called her, ¡°Okay.¡± After five minutes, he paused for a while before finally voicing out the purpose for the phone call. ¡°Sophia, the Harpers are in deep trouble this time. Are you close with Joel Fletcher? Can you help me to contact him? For the sake of our future, Sophia, will you be able to¡­ sacrifice yourself by seducing Joel? As long as he helps us this time, the Harper Family will be indebted to you! My mom will be fond of you in the future! This means that you will share the same status as X. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t ever despise you because you will forever be my most beloved woman!¡± Chapter 179 Chapter 179 It was such a pity that Sophia was unable to stay awake to listen to Richard¡¯s rambling and was fast asleep soon after. However, Michael was still listening to him over the phone. Richard did not receive a response from her, but he was also aware that he ced her in a difficult situation. My girl is deeply in love with me, so how could she possibly get in bed with another man? ¡°Sophia, you should take a few days and mull over this. I¡¯m not in a rush. You should rest well and I¡¯ll drop by to visit you in a couple of days¡¯ time when I¡¯ve settled some loose ends.¡± He hung up on the call after saying that. Michael observed his petite wife, who was fast asleep, after the phone call ended. He gently kissed her small face while staring at her phone out of curiosity. There seems to be some changes in the way that Sophia behavestely. For example, the wallpaper on her phone used to be her selfie with Nate in the past, but there has been a recent change suddenly. Nate¡¯s photo will show up on odd-numbered days whereas my portraits will show up on even-numbered days. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. She even registered my number under the name of ¡®Idol¡¯. Nathan knew that he had to stop ying games since Sophia was asleep, so he switched off the game and regarded Michael in silence. Michael changed into his frog pajamas after his shower and summoned Nathan to the study, asking, ¡°Did Mommy say anything to you today?¡± Nathan answered with honesty, ¡°Mommy mentioned today that the Harper Family is horrible. She wants to take revenge on them sooner orter!¡± Michael¡¯s eyes gleamed upon hearing that and mulled over the meaning of that sentence. After a short pause, he patted Nathan¡¯s head whilementing, ¡°Nate, it¡¯s gettingte. Go ahead and sleep.¡± Nathan went ahead to sleep whereas Michael stayed in the study to continue processing what he had said. Since this incident has happened, I certainly will like to destroy everything that the Harper Family has. However, reality will never work like novels. Crushing an entire family doesn¡¯t happen overnight. Although the Harpers aren¡¯t on par as the rest of the powerful families like the Fletchers, the Mitchells, the Winstons, and the Edwards, they are still considered a well-respected family. It will definitely take more effort to crush them. Furthermore, if I¡¯m too obvious with my actions, they might notice something suspicious and find out with certain clues. Besides, Sophia would rather¡­ take revenge in person. After pondering for a long time, he summoned Hale into the study¡­ ¡­ Richard felt guilty after his phone call to Sophia. How can I possibly ask Sophia to offer herself to Joel? However, if she doesn¡¯t offer herself, this matter will not be easily resolved. It¡¯s all for the Harper Family¡¯s sake and our future happiness. Sophia will understand where I¡¯ming from! Once he was able to justify his actions, his guilt miraculously diminished. The Huff Family had done a lot for the Harpers throughout the difficult period. X even sought help from her uncle, Joe Edwards, and went everywhere to mediate, hoping that the matter could be resolved in a satisfactory manner. She had apanied Richard throughout the ordeal and he reaped the efforts that she and the Huffs exercised while waiting for Sophia¡¯s reply. Sophia never replied to him, but after a few days, the Harper Family had received an exciting piece of news¡ªDirector Jenkins was willing to resolve the matter under the table. Although they were of the same race, he only had a daughter whom he loved deeply. Director Jenkins often made use of his power and influence to force Taylor to meet his daughter, knowing how much she fancied him. His daughter was truly an oddball, considering that everyone in their social circle knew that she fancied Taylor Murray. There were even rumors iming that Taylor¡¯s portraits were printed on her underwear. Now that his daughter had experienced such an ordeal, Director Jenkins announced that he would do everything within his power to ruin Ka¡¯s reputation. However, he suddenly came today, asking to bury the hatchet. As long as he was the one who suggested settling things under the table, the subsequent procedures would be a breeze. There was nothing on earth that money couldn¡¯t solve. However, he was asking for a lot¡ªhe wanted 50 million and the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Although 50 million was quite arge sum for the Harper Family, they were ready to fork out that money ¡ªas long as it was in exchange for Ka¡¯s freedom. However, they were unwilling to surrender the Harper¡¯s Mansion. The Harper¡¯s Mansion was most probably considered the best amodation in Riverdale and the best asset that the Harper Family possessed. Two hundred years ago, the Harpers were already a well- respected family in Bayside City and started constructing the Harper¡¯s Mansion at that time. Not only did they hire a famous architect, but even the construction materials were sourced internationally. After several generations of continual improvements and expansion, the mansion stood proud in its current appearance. Besides, it was located at the best spot in Riverdale with its luxury and extravagance comparable to Buckingham Pce. The Harper Family was involved in the real estate business and since the mansion was for their own use, they went all out with its splendid and luxurious construction where every detail waspleted to perfection. Hence, the market price for the Harper Mansion exceeded 100 million. It was no longer as simple as a house because it represented the roots of the Harper Family and the pride of the Harpers. To a certain extent, the Harper¡¯s Mansion could even be considered as a cultural relic. Director Jenkins was adamant with his decision. He gave them three days to evacuate the mansion; otherwise, he would sue until Ka was imprisoned! Even if she had been diagnosed with a mental illness, she would never be able to escape! The Harper Family was in a dilemma. Nevertheless, it was obvious that saving Ka was more important! In the end, Mr. and Mrs. Harper bit the bullet and agreed. The Harpers were lucky in the sense that they had an abundance of real estate, so they did not have any difficulties searching for a ce to move into. In fact, they shifted everything from the mansion overnight. Once news of the Harpers moving out spread to the public, the entire Harper Family had also caught wind of it too. Richard¡¯s family was not the only family living in the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Some of his uncles and grandfather had also lived there. Hence, the Harpers had a massive fight over it, arguing that they should divide the family and its assets. Old Master Harper had been angered by his immature and useless granddaughter that he had to be sent to the hospital. While they were busy shifting houses, Richard reassured thepany shareholders. He had to hire some public rtions to delete certain negative posts and suppress the news of Ka instigating others to drug and harm other people. The public knew that something big had happened during her banquet. News had spread sporadically about it, but the public rtions hired by the Harpers swiftly solved that issue. Money, money, money! Everything depended on money! He felt that no matter how much the real estate market increased in value, and no matter how many real estate properties the Harper Family had, she would spend all of their money sooner orter! A gloomy haze shrouded over the entire Harper Family¡ªtheir internal turmoil had caused thepany¡¯s stock market to drop. They had splurged on the charity banquet to gain favor with the public, but after it had been ruined, even the favorable impression was gone. He could only try to keep things contained for damage control, hoping that the foolish things she did would not spread to the public! Three days had passed since their argument. A group of mysterious-looking people arrived to take over the Harper¡¯s Mansion¡ªas the Harper Family was veryrge, they had a lot of belongings. They had lived in the mansion for two hundred years, so they had put down their roots in that ce. Hence, there were a lot of items that had not been shifted, despite the Harpers hiring a lot of people to help them out. The group of men in ck barged into the Harper¡¯s Mansion and started to chase everyone out of the property. He was in the midst of packing thest of his documents in the study when they barged in and threw him out together with his documents without further exnation. ¡°Get lost. Everyone, get lost right now. If you don¡¯t, I will sue you for trespassing on private property!¡± The men in ck were acting like brutes, chasing everyone out in the blink of an eye. ording to the terms of the contract, Director Jenkins had expected to move into a fully furnished amodation. Therefore, the Harpers were not allowed to take anyrge furniture with them. Upon witnessing the Harper¡¯s Mansion being upied by others, Richard¡¯s eyes were filled with dejection and anger, but he mostly felt helpless. What is happening this year? Why is the Harper Family experiencing such things on repeat? Is this truly our unlucky year? Before entering the car, he shot onest, longing look at the ce where he lived since he was a child. I will return here one fine day! Chapter 180 Chapter 180 The Harper Family wanted to move from Riverdale to Bayside City Center because that was the best location in the entire Bayside City. Their new house was in the wealthy suburb of Bayside City and close to the ancient Imperial Pce. The best real estate in Bayside City was The Imperial, which was developed by Asco International. The Harper Family had developed a copycat real estate near The Imperial, which was called The Luxurious 16. No, from their point of view, it could not be considered as an imitation as they had merely used The Imperial¡¯s name for reference. The Imperial only had ten houses and the information of the owners were strictly confidential. Hence, nobody knew who the owners of those ten houses were. Many individuals had dreamed of owning one of the houses in The Imperial, but those were merely dreams since they just couldn¡¯t afford to purchase it. Everybody would do everything possible to search for a copycat version of The Imperial once the real deal was out of stock, which was when The Luxurious 16, developed by the Harper Family, arrived. It was a vi residential area, specifically developed for the wealthiest people in Bayside City with a total of sixteen properties and each property had a market value that exceeded 100 million. Although it could not bepared to the original version, it was still extremely popr. Therefore, all of the properties were snapped up the moment they were offered for sale. After all, the Harpers had been in the real estate industry for decades, so they were stillpetitive in the property market. On the way to their new home, Mrs. Harper, who was sitting beside Richard, started to scold in a loud voice, ¡°That b*tch is utterly useless. We told her to take the chance and advise Joel when they¡¯re in bed. Just look at what she¡¯s done now. We lost the Harpers¡¯ ancestral home thanks to her! Pfft, she¡¯s merely a loose woman! She will never be able to be a part of the Harper Family!¡± She was obviously referring to Sophia. Director Jenkins had imed a day ago that he was ready to perish with the Harpers, even iming that he would destroy them even if the emperor was on their side. However, he changed his mind the next day and exined that as long as the Harpers handed over their real estate with some money, he would be willing to settle the matter under the table. It was obvious that someone tried to mediate between both parties. From the way things looked, it seemed that Sophia had done something after all and it appeared that bedding Joel meant that she had his ear. Nevertheless, Mrs. Harper was unsatisfied. In fact, she was furious beyond reason and acted as if the Harpers lost their house due to Sophia¡¯s ipetence. Richard was already feeling down and gloomy, so he couldn¡¯t no longer endure Mrs. Harper¡¯s comints. ¡°Mom, can you please drop it? Sophia did everything she could. She has tried her best!¡± Mrs. Harper refuted him straight away. ¡°We lost our ancestral home, but here you are taking the b*tch¡¯s side? If she had been more reliable, we wouldn¡¯t have lost our ancestral home!¡± ¡°If she had worked harder, your younger sister would have been released by now! Do you truly believe that rascal Jenkins would not listen to what Joelmands him to do? Bah! She¡¯s nothing but a loose woman! You will not contact her again in the future!¡± Richard was rendered speechless by his mother¡¯s words, knowing in his heart that if Sophia had given it her all, nobody in Bayside City would refuse to release Ka once Joel gave his order. Who has the courage to go against Young Master Fletcher¡¯smand? Right now, Sophia and Joel¡­ The sessive blows made him look haggard, as if he was wasting away. He supported the weight of his head on his hand and stared out of the window at the passing scenery in a daze. Sophia, why didn¡¯t you do your best? If you had done better or worked harder, we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation now. Suddenly, Mrs. Harper looked as if something struck her mind and she broke the silence, ¡°No, you still need to control that girl!¡± Her eyes dazzled when she grabbed Richard¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Your sister¡¯s affairs were resolved quickly this time, so it proves that the girl has a certain influence on Joel.¡± ¡°You need to get her to continue staying by Joel¡¯s side and have his ear. You have to think about Ka and create more opportunities for her! Even if she can¡¯t marry Joel, you need to find a way to get her married to one of the Fletchers. I heard that Joel has a younger brother and a nephew. You need to tell your girl toe up with a n to make sure that your sister gets in touch with the Fletcher Family! Once your sister seals the deal with the Fletchers, you can toss away that loose woman! You are not a recycling center, so why would you want to take a woman who was with Joel?¡± Mrs. Harper wouldn¡¯t stop nagging, which eventually annoyed Richard. ¡°I¡¯ll see about that¡­¡± She took out apact mirror to fix her makeup, saying, ¡°Once your sister¡¯s affairs have been settled, I have to see Master Levine for some fortune-telling and to have a change of luck.¡± ¡°I believe you know X¡¯s uncle, who is that damn fatty Joe Edwards. Last year, the Edwards Family landed into trouble and were in debt for billions. Their stock market almost copsed. After he sought guidance from Master Levine, everything seems to be suddenly improving for him this year! He consecutively destroyed severalpetitors in this year itself. Even the grand Edwards Family meeting specifically sent him an invite.¡± Sophia had been recuperating at home for a period of time and would not leave the house every day. Instead, she slept, yed games and read books at home. It was already snowing outside, but she was used to being pampered at home. Hence, she seemed to have entered into hibernation mode. It was clear that her body had made a full recovery, but she was unwilling to leave the house. She had walked around the house in pajamas on a daily basis while looking unkempt with her head of messy hair. Michael had already left the house for his filming obligations and would not be home for a few days. I shall wear casual clothes since my idol isn¡¯t around. Whenever he was home, she would apply her mask more diligently than having her meals. However, now that he was not at home, she wasn¡¯t even bothered to wash her hair. Seeing that it was going to be the end of the school semester, Stanley often visited Sophia every two to three days to help her with Further Mathematics. ¡°Hey, Sophie, what is your identity? You said that you are a nanny, but now that you are ill, my uncle has specifically hired a personal doctor for you!¡± He started to pester her about her identity after he gave her some remedial teaching. No nanny would receive such good treatment! Sophia gathered her textbooks whilementing, ¡°I¡¯m your aunt. Do you believe that?¡± Stanley acted as if he had heard the joke of the century and doubled over withughter. ¡°Did you say that you are my aunt? Hahaha, hahaha, you are my aunt¡­¡± He mocked her tantly, ¡°Do you truly believe you have what it takes to be my aunt? Sophie, you seem to be unclear of your status! It would be more believable if you had imed that you are my uncle¡¯s illegitimate daughter!¡± Sophia did not expect him to believe her, so she chased him away gloomily. ¡°I am your uncle¡¯s illegitimate daughter. Are you happy now? Leave, leave, leave! Leave right now! Don¡¯t even dream of having dinner here!¡± ¡°Bah! I¡¯m not interested in having dinner here. The kitchen is full of eels and everything has a stench to it!¡± Stanley left immediately after picking up his bag, but suddenly saw the servant opening the main doors¡ª Michael was back after being away for several days. He was recently abroad to film for several days and was finally home today for the weekend. He bumped into Stanley once he walked into the house. Stanley patted Michael¡¯s shoulder when he saw him. ¡°Uncle, let me tell you the funniest joke!¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Michael removed his coat while shaking off the snow, responding, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Initially, Stanley wanted to suppress hisughter, but couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Pfft, Sophie imed that she is my aunt. Haha, haha, why is she soical?¡± Michael was still wearing a nk expression. ¡°Okay.¡± That¡¯s right. She is your aunt! Stanley was doubled over withughter. ¡°I think she must be your illegitimate daughter!¡± Chapter 181 Chapter 181 Michael¡¯s expression darkened, but he maintained a poker face when he chased Stanley out of the house. ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. You should get going now!¡± The Imperial wasn¡¯t too far away from the militarypound, and so Stanley would be able to get home by taking a bus. Michael checked his reflection in the mirror when he walked into the house while mumbling to himself, ¡°Illegitimate daughter, my foot¡­¡± The character Michael was ying had fallen into a desperate situation in the show, so he deliberately left the stubble along his jaw without shaving it off just to make himself look haggard. Therefore, in comparison, he could tell the vast contrast when he returned home to see his young and delicate ¡®child bride¡¯, who looked as pretty as a flower¡­ Upon entering the house, he saw Sophia studying in silence, but she was frowning deeply. She was scribbling across the paper, as though calcting something, whereas Nathan was sitting beside her while doing his homework in a serious manner. She had a pair of earphones on, and herptop was turned on too. She was ying the lecture from the Further Mathematics ss. Lately, there had been a rise in live broadcast. Even Bayside University lecturers would do some live broadcast to give lectures when they had the time. Sophia had been watching these live broadcasts and online tutorials at home for the past few days to make up for the lessons she missed. Seeing as Sophia was studying so seriously, Michael didn¡¯t want to bother her. Suddenly, the phone Sophia left by the bed rang, but she didn¡¯t hear it. Nathan heard the ringtone, and so he turned around to check. Coincidentally, he saw Michael sneaking in to take Sophia¡¯s phone away. Nevertheless, Nathan remained silent, and he continued with his homework, as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. Michael took the phone away to answer it outside of the room. He nced at the caller ID on the screen. Richard Harper. Why is this fellow calling again? After answering the phone call, Michael kept quiet while waiting for Richard to speak. Richard did not say anything because he was too ashamed to speak to Sophia. They were in a stalemate for more than ten seconds, but Richard broke the silence in the end. ¡°Sophia, thank you for helping with this issue. It looks like there¡¯s hope for my sister. Director Jenkins has also agreed to work with us. However, we have to pay a huge price. He wants the Harpers¡¯ ancestral home. Sophia, you know how important the Harpers¡¯ ancestral home is for us. Mother almost fainted after learning that we are losing our ancestral home. Therefore, Sophia, if you can, please get the ancestral home back for me, can you? I am sure you can. As long as you put in more effort when you¡¯re with Joel. As long as he says the word, anything is possible. But you shouldn¡¯t worry and don¡¯t feel pressured because I don¡¯t mind such things. No matter what happens, you are still the purest girl in my heart. Once my sister¡¯s affairs are in order and we get our ancestral home back, I¡¯ll take you to meet my mother officially. Although she is unhappy that you didn¡¯t manage to preserve the Harpers¡¯ ancestral home, she will have nothing to say as long as you are able to get us the ancestral home back. Sophia, if it bothers you, you can undergo hymen repair surgery in the future.¡± Michael listened to Richard¡¯s entire monologue. He even left the phone on speaker mode when he was having dinner. Michael paid close attention throughout the phone call, and so everyone heard Richard¡¯s affectionate but despicable confession to Sophia. During dinnertime, Sophia felt utterly embarrassed. She kept her head bowed while she had her meal as she listened to Richard¡¯s pretentious monologue from the other end of the phone call. Richard imed that he wouldn¡¯t despise Sophia for sleeping with Joel, butter, he exined that he would be more than happy to send her to the most high-end center for the best hymen repair surgery. The next thing she knew, he was iming that he looked forward to their perfect future while suddenly remarking how cruel reality was. Hence, he requested Sophia to work harder in order to have Joel¡¯s ear by getting in bed with him. Richard spoke for an entire twenty minutes before hanging up on the phone call. After dinner, Michael returned to the room. Then, he typed and printed out some of the ssic phrases Richard mentioned over the phone call. He made a mini drama script out of it, and he acted it out with Sophia while searching for his inspiration to act like a yboy. Coincidentally, he had epted a role as a guest star in a movie to y the character of the female protagonist¡¯s yboy ex-boyfriend. Sophia sat still and acted as his prop. Michael got into character while arranging his expression. His eyes were darting around, and he seemed distracted. In fact, he looked especially guilty, but his eyebrows were slightly raised, which gave him an air of superiority. Despite his guilty conscience, Michael made it seem as if he felt he was innocent. He forced a trace of heartfelt affection across his face, but he just couldn¡¯t hide the greed and hypocrisy overflowing from his soul. ¡°Oh, Sophia!¡± he repeated Richard¡¯s lines. He ced a hand on Sophia¡¯s shoulder while gazing into her eyes affectionately, and the depth of his feelings looked more like he was doing charity¡ªhe looked as if he was facing a stray dog. It was obvious that he did not like it, but he went against his wishes by throwing the stray dog a bone. ¡°Sophia, thank you for helping with this issue.¡±N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Sophia regarded Michael while blinking a few times. She continued observing his performance. Michael is undeniably one of Cethos¡¯ best actors. He matches the image I had in my mind of Richard when I heard him over the phone earlier. He looks so engrossed, and he is presenting Richard¡¯s despicable side of a true scum. Michael continued with his lines, as if he was possessed by a yboy. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s hope for my sister. Director Jenkins has also agreed to work with us¡­ You have to understand that your sacrifice now is for our future. Sophia, I will not detest you for your actions. You can undergo a hymen repair surgery in the future. Although we can¡¯t have a marriage certificate, we can go abroad. I can organize a grand wedding for you at a ce where nobody knows us, and I will make you the most beautiful bride on earth.¡± During Richard¡¯s phone call earlier, Sophia held back herughter throughout the ordeal. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t endure it now, and she finally burst outughing. ¡°Pfft¡­¡± It was not that she wanted tough, but Michael looked too cute. He was wearing the frog pajama, which was vibrantly green. He even imitated Nathan by putting on his hoodie while expressing the hypocritical and insincere affection. The contrast made him look absolutely adorable. Nevertheless, Michael was still acting out the role of a yboy, and he felt as if he had found the feeling of it. His expression remained unmoved despite Sophia¡¯s countless bursts ofughter. Sophia kept giggling. Suddenly, Michael wrapped his arms around her abruptly, and he sealed his lips against hers. He drowned herughter with a deep kiss, and she was caught off guard. She felt her head spinning with the kiss. After catching her breath, she finally caught up to Michael¡¯s pace and rhythm. What should I do? I can feel myself falling for him¡­ Nathan nced at the two of them kissing, and he turned his back to them in silence to continue with his homework. After a few days, Sophia started preparing to return to the university for the final exams. The weather was getting colder, and it had started snowing. The snow made the world appear exceptionally loveable. Sophia sat by the floor-to-ceiling ss window while staring at the snowy scenery outside. It was already mid-winter and chilly outside, but the room was still warm and toasty, like spring. It was as if they were two different worlds. In the past, Sophia was scared of snowing because winter was too cold. There were no heaters in the university hostel, and so students who had the choice would return home for winter. Hence, she would be the only one left in the hostel while she trembled in cold. After breakfast, the snow stopped, and the ground was already covered with a thickyer of snow. The family of three left the house to enjoy the snow. Michael didn¡¯t have to film today, whereas Sophia felt better too. With winter and snow, they were just in time to enjoy the scenery. ¡°Dear, where are we going to enjoy the snow?¡± Sophia asked curiously while looking out of the window. Michael shed her a mysterious smile, and the car sped off in the direction of Riverdale. Chapter 182 Chapter 182 Entering the ce where she once lived, Sophia fell deep into her thoughts. I was born in the suburbs of Riverdale. Later on, I was epted into Riverdale High School. I had lived in Riverdale for eighteen years, but after Joe took me away, I¡¯d never returned here. I have too many things buried here¡­ Without realizing, the car came to a stop. The car door opened, and Nathan was the first to jump out of the car. His anti-skid lined boots made small footprints all over the snow-covered ground. Once he got out of the car, he immediately saw a grand house, and so his eyes popped wide open in surprise. Sophia got out of the car behind Michael. He held her pink gloved-hand in hisrge warm palm. With her small hand in his, he took a couple of steps forward. Simrly, Sophia immediately saw the grand house in front of her. She scanned her surroundings, and she realized that she was standing near a bus station. The bus station was named after thisrge mansion¡ªHarper¡¯s Mansion. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the Harpers¡¯ house?¡± The Harper¡¯s Mansion was extremely recognizable because it had an elegant and ssic Cethosian garden. It preserved its style from two hundred years ago. Although the mansion had been constantly renovated and had expanded over the years, its architecture style had never changed. The main architecture structure of the building maintained its appearance from when it was built, and so it could be considered as a cultural relic. Why is he taking me here to the Harper¡¯s Mansion for no good reason? Upon seeing the Harper¡¯s Mansion, Sophia recalled some bad memories. Once upon a time, when I was out of options and came to the Harpers for help, Richard refused to see me. I couldn¡¯t even enter the mansion. They beat me up before tossing me out. At that time, if Richard had been willing to trust me, even a little, my life might have changed. However, if Richard had been willing to help me at that time, I might not have been able to meet Michael. Maybe the first half of my life was painful and full of suffering because I was gathering my luck to meet Michael. Michael stood behind her, and he suddenly patted her shoulder. ¡°The Harpers sold the Harper¡¯s Mansion to get Ka out of jail. It belongs to you now.¡± Sophia stared at him in utter shock. They actually sold the Harper¡¯s Mansion? But this isn¡¯t any ordinary mansion! It¡¯s almost like a folk garden or even a cultural relic. It has exceptional research value, and this has always been the pride of the Harper Family! They put this above their lives, so how could they possibly sell it off so easily? But if Michael said it, the credibility is 100%. After all, he is the person who bought Ido¡¯s Imperial Diamond Ring casually. Does that mean that the Harper¡¯s Mansion belongs to me now? All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Michael held onto her small hand while speaking to her, ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look inside. The snow scenery inside is wonderful.¡± They walked into the courtyard of the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Sophia was still in a daze, and she just couldn¡¯t digest the reality. The majority of Harper¡¯s Mansion was constructed based on ssical styles¡ªwhitewashed walls topped with grey roof tiles and red fences. The Harper Family had been in the construction business for generations. Their ancestors were Cethosian merchants, and so their amodation preserved a strong influence of the ancient style. There were miniature hills and streams in the garden, apanied with countless trees and flowers that made up the garden architecture. There were pavilions, terraces, open halls, miniature bridges, and streams too. There were seven to eight courtyards in total, and each had its unique poetic charm. Michael led Sophia through several archways and parlors. They enjoyed the scenery inside while strolling in the mansion. Although it was already winter, the scenery looked even better here. The snow was dazzling white, and it gave off an inexplicable feel against the white walls and grey roof tiles. Sophia was already feeling much calmer revisiting the Harper¡¯s Mansion. I recall my first timeing here. Richard brought me over, and I was like a rabbit caught in the headlights while simultaneously feeling out of ce. I kept making mistakes, and everybody mocked me andughed at me. It was also during that time that I realized the gap between Richard and me. In school, he was a straight-A student, and so was I. We wore the same uniforms, and we had the same textbooks. The only difference we had were our scores. However, outside school, he was the eldest son of Riverdale¡¯s well known Harper Family, whereas I was a nobody. The Harper¡¯s Mansion had everything in it; even Michael clucked his tongue as he was impressed by the architecture. The Harpers are skillful in construction. I wonder how many generations put in effort for this garden. Well, I¡¯ve decided to forgive the Harpers for 10 minutes for the sake of this garden. The family of three strolled around the ce as though they were having fun in a park. Nathan found this fascinating. He had been living in an old castle abroad since he was a child, but the castle had a European style. Therefore, this was this first time looking at a building with such an antique design. Furthermore, it was different from the ancient Imperial Pce nearby their house, and so he couldn¡¯t help but wander around the mansion. Hale and Gary followed them from behind. Hale was holding an SLR camera to take photos for them. After wandering around a few gardens, they already took more than a hundred pictures. Sophia was holding onto her SLR camera as well. She realized that she was talented in taking photos because each shot seemed even better than the one before. In the end, they arrived at the building the Harpers used to stay in. It was a restored Western building. However, it didn¡¯t feel out of ce when put together with the other buildings within the mansion. On the contrary, it gave off a unique style. The Harper Family had shifted away in a rush. The garden was now filled with Michael¡¯s subordinates, who were busy cleaning and checking the inventory. Sophia stood at the best viewpoint within the Harper¡¯s Mansion, where one could observe the entire mansion by opening the windows. This was once Ka¡¯s room. From that angle, the Harper¡¯s Mansion had apletely different look. In fact, it seemed like a piece of jade that people just wouldn¡¯t forget after taking a nce. Why did Michael buy such arge ce? Doesn¡¯t he have enough houses? He has a Vi No.1 and Vi No.8 in The Imperial. Aren¡¯t those enough for him? ¡°Dear, why did you buy this ce?¡± Michael was feeling warm from all the walking, and so he took off his scarf. ¡°No specific purpose. It just looks nice,¡± he answered. Sophia was rendered speechless. However, it is undeniable that the gardens are exceptionally beautiful¡­ Then, Michael added, ¡°This is your mansion now. You can do whatever you want with it.¡± Such an aggressive billionaire! The price of this mansion must be higher than Ido¡¯s Imperial Diamond Ring. The important thing is that with such arge mansion and space, it has immeasurable value for collection and research. It¡¯s a good idea to keep it while its value grows. ¡°Rent it out! 1 million per year!¡± Sophia decided abruptly. Michael lovingly caressed her head, which was covered with a furry cap. He responded to her, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll get a tenant for you.¡± Michael¡¯s social circle consisted of the rich and powerful. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t an uphill task to contact someone who could afford to rent the ce. Sophia was blushing slightly, and she seemed slightly embarrassed. I have been married to Michael for such a long time, but I haven¡¯t slept with him. He has given me a house and a ring. I¡¯ll have a guilty conscience if I continue to refrain from sleeping with him. I think it¡¯s best to sleep with him as soon as possible even though he likes to have rtions with men¡­ She thought of Joel, Harry, and Daniel. She thought of therge group of gay friends Michael had queueing up in front of her, and her eyes became dull again. I suddenly feel so cheap. I can¡¯t believe I can ept a man like that! Chapter 183 Chapter 183 Michael is a good man, but how do I judge if he is truly a good person or if he is just acting? He is one of the best actors in the country, after all. He can easily act and pretend to suit his needs. However, isn¡¯t Michael doing exceedingly well for faking his love? I merely mentioned in passing that I liked the Eternal Love, but he was attentive enough to pick up on that. Then, he purchased the Eternal Love for me. I¡¯m sure that he bought the Harper¡¯s Mansion not simply because of how beautiful it looks. He bought it for me. He knew about the hurt the Harper Family has inflicted upon me, and he wanted to vent my frustration on my behalf while helping me grow my personal savings¡­ Sophia had always been wary, and she constantly reminded herself not to fall for Michael. Otherwise, she might repeat the same mistake. However, it wouldn¡¯t be called a heart if one could guard it forever. How I wish that time could freeze now forever. I¡¯d like to be in this moment with such a unique atmosphere forever. That would be more than enough for me. It would be enough¡­ After visiting the Harper¡¯s Mansion, the family of three left for the next destination, Audistin. Audistin was a chain brand¡ªits Health Club was still the most popr because Daniel was in it. People spread word about Daniel and his abilities, making him seem almost God-like. He was rumored to be the only disciple of the Master of Reverie Temple. Some people even went so far as to refer to him as a reincarnation of a celestial being. In reality, he was just a swindler who was defrauding the rich and famous. After the family of three entered from the back entrance into Audistin, Sophia went to the bathroom, whereas Michael brought Nathan to meet Daniel. After using the washroom, Sophia took a walk in the club¡¯s main hall. This Health Club¡¯s businesses were slightly moreplex. They offered services such as acupuncture, aromatherapy spa, facial and body sculpting, chiropractic, essential oil back massage, Tarot card reading, fortune telling via examining bone structure, fortune telling via analyzing names, physiognomy and divination, marriage analysis, geomancy, and even the art of fertility. The main hall paid homage to the God of Wealth, Goddess of Mercy for child-bearing, Jesus, and the Lucky Cat. Rich people emphasized more on preserving health nowadays. This was especially true during winter because it was the best period to detox. Hence, there was an exceptionallyrge crowd in the club. Many people made appointments with Daniel for fortune telling, and so there was already a long queue. However, the crowd had no choice but to wait for a while when they learned that Daniel was carrying out physiognomy for Taylor Murray. Sophia entered Daniel¡¯s lounge. Once she opened the door, she saw the mahjong table alreadyid out, and four people sat at the table¡ªMichael, Stanley, Harry, and Daniel. On the other side, Nathan was engrossed in ying games on theptop. ¡°Two Stones!¡± ¡°Score, haha!¡± ¡°Pay up, pay up!¡± The queue outside is getting longer, and here they are, ying mahjong! Stanley had a cigarette between his lips, and he beckoned to Sophia. ¡°Come, Sophie. Let¡¯s y mahjong!¡± Sophia caught a whiff of tobo smoke before she could get any closer. She scowled and grabbed Nathan before walking out of the lounge. Daniel was picking a mahjong tile when he spoke, ¡°Sophie, go ahead and have fun! Everything is free-of- charge.¡± Michael was also busy picking a mahjong tile. ¡°Chica, your body has just recovered. Have a back massage or something. I will be waiting for you here.¡± Stanley burst outughing. ¡°Haha, Uncle Michael, why are you addressing Sophie with such a suggestive nickname?!¡± Harrymented, ¡°Kids should smoke less!¡± Sophia blushed deeply, and she took Nathan away. Michael was having fun with a table full of his gay friends, and so it would be inappropriate for her to stay. Hence, she had no choice but to leave. Sophia had an Audistin card, and so she ordered for a massage. Meanwhile, Nathan kept close to her; he tagged along wherever she went with hisptop. After the massage, Sophia felt utterly rxed. She checked the time, and she noted that it would be time for a meal soon after a footbath session, and she could then grab something to eat. However, she saw someone she was least expecting in the main hall. The Harpers were here. Mr. and Mrs. Harper, Richard, and X. Ka was there too. Ka was suspected of hiring hoodlums to r*pe Director Jenkins¡¯ daughter in the hotel. However, due to insufficient proof, coupled with the fact that she was a minor with mental illness, her capable team of lawyers managed to get her released. After the series of incidents, Ka appeared especially haggard. Initially, her birthday banquet was almost close to perfect. Her three idols showed up, and many people were jealous of her since she seemed to have snagged Joel. Nevertheless, everything was ruined at thest critical moment. I have always felt that it wasn¡¯t my fault. In fact, it was Sophia¡¯s fault. If it weren¡¯t for her, I would have still been the honorable princess, and I would have most probably ended up with Joel. But what about now? My reputation is ruined, and I almost lost my innocence. Although the Harpers tried savaging my reputation through public rtions, this incident will forever haunt me like a stain. This was all thanks to Sophia. She is the source of all my unhappiness! She is the perpetrator. Nevertheless, she even got into bed with Joel somehow, and she even dared to try to join the Harper Family! Who does she think she is? Hence, when Sophia showed up in Audistin all of a sudden, Ka almost couldn¡¯t hold back her urge to charge forward to kill her! The entire Harper Family wasn¡¯t surprised when they saw Sophia because Richard mentioned to her over the phone that they would be meeting Daniel Levine for fortune telling. He was actually hinting her to meet him here. True enough, she is here for another chance encounter! However, Sophia was truly oblivious to the fact that the Harpers would show up here today. Michael was the one who answered Richard¡¯s call, and he even jotted down notes and wrote a y from the phone conversation. Michael had been using it every day to figure out how to y the role of a yboy at home. Although Sophia did recall hearing those lines, she was mainly focused on Michael¡¯s handsome face. Therefore, she did not know that the Harpers would be here today. Mrs. Harper snorted in disdain when she saw Sophia. Contempt shed across her eyes. How dare she have the audacity to grab my son¡¯s attention when she didn¡¯t evenplete the task at hand! It¡¯s her honor to get a glimpse of my breathtakingly handsome son! ¡°Sophia!¡± Richard, who was sitting on a chair in the rest area, stood up abruptly while looking delighted. He was about to approach Sophia when X reminded him just in time, ¡°Richard, take note of your status.¡± X and Richard had a discussion beforeing over. Richard officially voiced out to X, exining that he wanted to ept Sophia because she managed to get Ka out of prison. Besides, Sophia managed to bed Joel, and so she would be able to benefit the Harpers. X almost lost her mind to anger, but she agreed anyway. She acted as if she understood the importance of the cause while epting the fact that she was about to share a husband with Sophia. Richard was extremely moved that X was so considerate and kind. He even promised her that he would love her more than he did Sophia. In fact, he would take Sophia to tie her tubes while promising X that Sophia would never affect her position as his legal wife. How could X possibly ept sharing her husband? She wanted nothing more than to murder Sophia!All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. She imed that she would stop pestering Richard, but now, she has basically announced to the world that she¡¯speting with me for Richard¡¯s attention and the position in his heart! If I trust her, I might not even know what hit me after she snatched my husband away right under my nose. As a woman, I have a sixth sense by nature. Since I was able to snatch Richard away from Sophia previously, it means that someone else may snatch him away from me too. I will never let that happen! Chapter 184 Chapter 184 However, she could not show her anger because she needed to pretend that she was an understanding wife, who understood therger scheme of things so that Richard would not find her annoying. I have to find a way to push Sophia away from Richard. However, at the current moment, she has made such a huge contribution to the Harper Family. Therefore, I can¡¯t be obvious with my motives. ¡°Richard, this is Audistin, which means that Joel¡¯s acquaintances or subordinates might be here. If you casually approach Sophia, what will happen if he finds out?¡± Richard stopped dead in his tracks. Upon recalling the fact that his woman slept with another man for his sake, he couldn¡¯t help but me himself while being riddled with guilt. However, whenever he reminded himself that she did this for their future, it instantly eased up his guilt. X was extremely resentful when she noticed how eager he was to chat with Sophia. Nevertheless, she pretended to be understanding and gracious. ¡°Richard, why don¡¯t I help to look out for the two of you?¡± His eyes sparkled when he heard that and shot her a grateful look. ¡°X, you are the best!¡± They both casually walked toward Sophia. As Sophia was just done with her footbath and back massage with essential oil, she was about to take Nathan to meet Michael. They should be done with their game of mahjong, I hope. However, she had barely taken a few steps when she suddenly heard a voice from behind her. ¡°Sophia!¡± She frowned deeply. What is wrong with Richard? Why is he throwing himself at me? Why is he doing that while iming that I¡¯m the one trying to get closer to the Harper Family? In order to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, she feigned that she did not hear him and never bothered to acknowledge him. Instead, she led Nathan into a room and closed the door, effectively closing the door in Richard¡¯s face. Richard knocked on the door a few times. He noticed that the door was locked and a thought struck him. Sophia now belongs to Joel exclusively, so no one else can have her. That¡¯s the reason why she can¡¯t be in contact with me. He left with regrets. Sophia became the owner of the Harper¡¯s Mansion today, so she was in a rather good mood and decided to forgive the Harpers for 12 hours. Little did she know that behind her back, the dramatic Harpers had already written her as the protagonist in their imaginary life-and-death epic drama. Michael was still ying mahjong while the clients waiting outside were bing impatient. Daniel had a cigarette between his lips when he yed mahjong, wearing an annoyed expression when his assistant entered to urge him several times. Finally, he unwillingly left his lounge to work. Sophia was obviously the recement since there were only three yers. Unfortunately, she stared at the mahjong tile on the table with a dazed expression, seemingly not to have learned such a high-end game. She fumbled for the longest time, but she was still clueless. Stanley even mocked her. ¡°Sophie, you usually look intelligent, but why are you stupid at such important times like this? You can¡¯t even y mahjong!¡± Michael picked up a tile while quietly stubbing the cigarette between Stanley¡¯s lips. ¡°Kids shouldn¡¯t smoke!¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Sophia, who was sitting across Michael, was staring at her mahjong tiles intently. Her pink and adorable face looked extremely cute, especially with her current expression. I want to pinch her cheeks badly! Suppressing his urge to pinch her, hemented, ¡°Chica, if you can¡¯t y the game, you will be yed. Why don¡¯t you observe Daniel when he helps the Harpers with their fortune telling?!¡± Is Daniel predicting the Harper Family¡¯s fortune for them? That¡¯s great! Sophia put down her mahjong tiles and walked out to Daniel¡¯s ¡®office¡¯, pretending to be someone who served tea and brought a few cups of floral tea. Daniel¡¯s office was filled with a pleasant scent that reminded her of a refreshing breeze¡ªthe decorations were simple with a few famous calligraphy and paintings on the wall while the incense, which was lit, on the ck table somehow made people rxed. He wore a mandarin jacket, which seemed dated, and had a string of prayer beads in his left hand while a cross hung on his chest. The table in the middle was for the Daoist Three Pure Ones whereas the one on the right was to worship the God of Wealth and the Lucky Cat was hanging on the left wall. The room was a mix-and-match; neither was it Oriental nor was it Western. It was obvious that he was a swindler, but people just seemed to believe him. While wearing an unreadable expression on his face, he pretended to examine the Harper Family¡¯s horoscope as the Harpers waited anxiously at the side. Sophia entered Daniel¡¯s office with the tea, cing a cup of it in front of everyone in an orderly manner. Richard¡¯s knotted brows rxed upon seeing her entering the room and his eyes twinkled with a smile. Mrs. Harper also saw Sophia, but the former merely cocked a brow and it was impossible to tell whether she was delighted or angry. No wonder we were able to quickly secure an appointment when we were trying to schedule for one with Daniel. Considering that there are many people trying to reserve an appointment slot with Daniel, it¡¯s almost impossible to see him in person if we had scheduled it within these few days. However, when we tried to book an appointment two days ago, Daniel informed us toe today. It looks like Sophia is working here as a server and has pulled some strings for us. On one hand, Mrs. Harper felt that it was only natural for Sophia to serve the Harpers. On the other hand, she figured that since Sophia had slept with Joel, she could be entangled with Daniel too. A loose woman like Sophia will never join the Harper Family. Well, unless she is able to connect Ka with the Fletchers. If she is able to marry into the Fletcher Family, I might consider giving Sophia a chance. Sophia stood at the side in silence after serving tea while observing how Daniel was able to fool the entire Harper Family. After going through the entire Harper Family¡¯s horoscope, he nced at Ka¡¯s horoscope again before frowning deeply and pretended while gesturing with his fingers. He counted with his fingers for almost thirty minutes and the Harper Family remained silent throughout the entire time. This is a familiar situation. When Joe brought Sophia to see Daniel years ago, he gestured and counted with his fingertips for a few minutes. In the end, Daniel predicted that Sophia would bring death to the entire Edwards Family. After what seemed like eternity, he finally broke the silence while shaking his head. ¡°Out of the five elements, your daughtercks gold, which exins why she has been ¡®absorbing gold¡¯. The older she gets, the more she will absorb. Gold represents fortune and wealth. Therefore, Mr. Harper, you have been recently short of ¡®gold¡¯ because your daughter has absorbed all of it.¡± The Harper Family looked horrified when they heard that, looking as if everything had finally made sense. It is true that Ka has been spending a lot of the Harper Family¡¯s moneytely. She made a mess in school and even caused trouble in Audistin. The Harpers have spent almost nine figures to sort out her affairs. We have spent arge sum for her charity banquet, but she did not appreciate that. On the contrary, we even lost the Harper¡¯s Mansion¡ªand that in itself is an astronomical figure! Master Levine sees through everything as a bystander. His exnation is like a wake-up call! He is a true master! Ka stared at her palms as the color rapidly drained from her face. It turns out that my lifecks gold, which is why the Harpers are going through so much hardship! How is this possible? This is all Sophia¡¯s evil scheme! She was blinded by anger and mmed the table before abruptly standing up to point at Sophia, who was standing beside Daniel, screaming, ¡°It is indeed all because of you, you b*tch! You must be having an affair with this quack and told him to speak ill of me, didn¡¯t you? You, b*tch! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Richard immediately pushed her down onto the chair while viciously threatening her, ¡°Do you still think you haven¡¯t caused enough trouble?¡± Mr. Harper immediately apologized to Daniel in a hurry, ¡°I am so sorry, Master Levine. My daughter is immature, so, please don¡¯t take it to heart. Do continue; please continue, hehe¡ª¡± Daniel had a frosty expression with his handsome face being upset. ¡°Mr. Harper, if you think that my fortune telling is inurate, you are free to leave.¡± The Harpers immediately panicked when they realized that Daniel was fuming. We can¡¯t afford to offend Daniel Levine! Chapter 185 Chapter 185 Mr Harper immediately apologized when he saw that Daniel was angry, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know about the great Master Levine? My daughter is young and has been frightened, so her mental state isn¡¯t steady lately. Please don¡¯t take her words to heart!¡± Daniel¡¯s mood became a little better. On the sidelines, Sophia sneakilyughed. Half of Ka¡¯s words are right. Daniel is really just a quack, but how did she arrive at the conclusion that I¡¯m having an affair with him? When Ka saw that Sophia wasughing sneakily with a proud face, a raging anger suddenly burst out of her¡ªshe wanted to rush over and kill her! He further exined, ¡°Your daughtercks the element of metal, so it¡¯s impossible to change her fate. Now, I have three methods for you to consider.¡± The entire Harper Family quickly raised their ears to listen. He continued speaking, ¡°The first method is to abandon your daughter. You must sever all ties with her and let her destroy herself. From now on, you must not interfere with anything that involves her.¡± Everyone in the Harper Family looked at each other. Abandon the daughter? How is this possible? Ka¡¯s face suddenly paled out of the fear that her parents would believe the quack and throw her out of the family. Upon seeing the way the Harpers reacted, Daniel knew that it wasn¡¯t a viable method, so he smiled and rmended a second option. ¡°Mr. Harper, your daughter is destined to eat away at your wealth. If you don¡¯t marry your daughter off and let her ruin another family, you will continue to lose your wealth in the end!¡± Everyone in the Harper Family was even more frustrated. How can we marry her off when her reputation is terribletely? Even though we¡¯ve covered all the scandals up, rumors about her mental illness have still leaked out. Who will be willing to marry an insane person? Mr. Harper was getting anxious as he hurriedly urged Daniel. ¡°Master Levine, don¡¯t keep us waiting anymore. Please tell us if there is another way!¡± Danial pretended to meditate for a long time before responding, ¡°Naturally, there is a third method!¡± He then pulled out a world map and exined, ¡°The world consists of five continents. Corresponding with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth, Asia is earth, Europe is fire, Africa is metal, America is wood, and Oceania is water. Among them, Africa is metal. Therefore, you need to send your daughter to Africa for a year or two so that theck of metal in her life force can be naturally mended.¡± Once that was said, Sophia and everyone in the Harper Family was shocked. The five continents that correspond with metal, wood, water, fire and earth¡­ Who invented this theory?! She was left in awe as she had a deeper understanding of Daniel¡¯s ability to spew nonsense. Will anyone believe in this kind of nonsense? There are really people who believe in it! Mr. Harper patted his thigh and fiercely shook Daniel¡¯s hand. ¡°Master Levine, you are really our savior. We initially nned to send Ka to Africa for a few months! I can¡¯t believe our thoughts are the same as yours!¡± They wanted to project a good image for Ka¡ªand the best way would be through charity, a donation to the School of Hope, volunteer as a teacher in the underdeveloped mountain areas, or head to Africa as a volunteer. They had already signed Ka up for a volunteer project in Africa. The living conditions there were very difficult, so they nned to send her over for a few months to suffer. After her return, they would send a draft of her speech for a few days to public rtions to clear her image. At that moment, she was exasperated to the point where she wanted to cry. She initially threatened her family with suicide when they wanted to send her over to Africa. Just when she was about to change their mind, Daniel¡¯s words today only made her travel to Africa inevitable, whether she liked it or not. The Harpers grabbed Daniel¡¯s hand and thanked him while paying him millions of ¡®introduction fee¡¯. When he was about to leave, Ka¡¯s eyes revealed that she couldn¡¯t wait to kill him and Sophia. This must be part of Sophia¡¯s scheme! She nned all of this with Daniel! The moment they left the Harper Family, Daniel had a look at the message that was sent to his cellphone. The millions that the Harpers paid him had already been transferred into his bank ount, so he put his phone away contentedly while calling Sophia, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher¡ª¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± She grunted because she couldn¡¯t get the issue about her reputation out of her chest. As soon as she exited the room, she found Michael. He was already done with his game of mahjong and now waited for her in the lounge with Nathan. When Michael saw hering out, he said to her with consideration, ¡°You¡¯re done?¡± She nodded her head as she felt good watching Daniel mess around with the Harpers. Not only did they lose their beloved house, but they were also sending their daughter to Africa as a volunteer. She took the initiative to approach him and ask, ¡°Hubby, what are we having tonight?¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Michael naturally grabbed her shoulders. ¡°What do you want to eat?¡± Sophia thought about it. ¡°I want to eat hot pot! Lamb with hot pot is the best thing to have during winter!¡± He smiled and kissed her cheek. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Michael held Nathan with one hand and Sophia with the other as they walked out. After that, he called Hale to make a reservation at the restaurant. Even though Nathan was stoic, it was obvious that he was happy as he gently hopped around when he walked. After all, he was merely a kid, so it was hard for him to conceal his happiness on his face, no matter how cold he usually looked. The family of three drove to the restaurant to eat. On the way there, she excitedly thought about what she wanted to do with the Harper¡¯s Mansion in the future. Michael already had his phone with him, so he sent the pictures that they took today to his Messenger. Therefore, his gay friends were able to see his daily interaction with his wife again. Back then, he would send pictures of his son from time to time, but now, he keeps shing pictures of his wife for no reason. He has finally be insane. When Sophia took a look at her Messenger, she saw that he had posted a bunch of pictures of the three of them in the Harper¡¯s Mansion, as if they were strolling around the park. She quietly gave it a like. The family of three were having a good time, but on the other side, the same cannot be said of the Harper Family. They had already moved into the copycat real estate that they developed¡ªThe Luxurious 16¡ªbut the new house was not as good as the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Back then, Ka had the best room in the entire mansion and she even had a little traditional wooden building all to herself, but she had nothing at that moment. The best room in the house had been given to Richard and X as their matrimonial room. Moreover, her family was still trying to send her to Africa. Ka had smashed all the antiques and vases in the house, leaving Mr. Harper with no choice but give his beloved daughter a p. Finally, she stopped. She felt that she had lost everything the moment her father pped her. It¡¯s all because of Sophia! If it isn¡¯t for her, I will not have fallen to this point! Sophia Edwards! Richard¡¯s recent family affairs gave him a headache. Once he was done with a pile of work, he thought about Sophia, so he quickly gave her a call. It was only in that moment that he knew how to appreciate her. When he reflected on the days that they were together, she always seemed strong and independent. She always took care of him and he did not need to worry about anything else whenever he was with her because she would never cause trouble for him. If only Ka and X were as thoughtful as her. Sophia had thrown her phone aside and took a bath after returning home. Therefore, his phone call was answered by Michael again. As soon as the call was connected, Richard¡¯s emotional voice came through. ¡°Sophia, thank you so much for today. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet Master Levine so soon¡­ My parents are very satisfied with you, but my sister is in trouble now. What my mother meant was that if you can manipte your connection with Joel to help Ka or any bachelorette in the Harper Family to hook up with the Fletchers¡­ In that case, my family¡¯s position will be strengthened and your position in the family will also be even higher. Maybe my mother can even allow you to bear my son. In the future, our son will be able to inherit a part of the Harper Family¡¯s fortune.¡± Michael was rendered speechless as he listened to Richard¡¯s words. Chapter 186 Chapter 186 Michael resisted fromughing as he stoically hung up on the phone. Nathan wore a pair of frog pajamas while ying games in his room. After logging into his ¡®NateHiro¡¯ character, he went around to defeat monsters. Michael had also changed into his frog pajamas as he leaned on the door frame, looking at him. ¡°Darling, are you ying games?¡± Nathan ignored him. Then, Michael returned to his room and grabbed hisptop before cing it next to Nathan¡¯sptop. ¡°I really want to y games with you. What game are you ying? Can you teach me how to y it?¡± Nathan thought about it for a while before answering him, ¡°I¡¯m ying the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯.¡± Michael smiled. ¡°Oh gosh, I¡¯ve already installed it on myptop, but I can¡¯t figure out how to y it. Can you teach me how to log into the game?¡± Nathan nced at him before cing his fingers on hisptop keyboard and began to register thetter¡¯s details in the game. After Sophia was done with her bath, she saw that the father and son were already ying games. Nathan was impressively helping Michael¡¯s character in the game. It was obvious to her that Michael was still a novice at the game¡ªhe was so new that his character had to die a few times while he fought the little monsters in Novice Vige. Even though Nathan looked impatient with him, thetter was still his father, so he suppressed his frustrations and helped him through a few rounds. ¡°Darling, hubby, are you ying games too? Wait for me. I also want to join!¡± She quickly logged into her new character before locating Michael and Nathan¡¯s location in the game; the family of three were now a team to fight monsters. She still dare not log into her main character because Sirius233 was still Scary Phoenix¡¯s b*tch. Michael didn¡¯t seem to have yed a game before, which exined his clumsiness. He took ages to kill a monster and his skill level was close to zero. She continued to help him to fight monsters while sighing in her heart, It looks like my idol is notpletely perfect. There will always be something that he isn¡¯t good at, like ying games. The family of three were in the midst of ying games together when Hale entered to look for Michael. The moment Hale opened the door, he saw three frogs huddled together and ying games. When he saw Sophia being proud of herself for helping a novice like Michael defeat monsters, he felt that it was impossible for her to ever escape Michael¡¯s grasp. The phrase ¡®being yed into someone¡¯s hands¡¯ can probably be used to describe Sophia and Michael¡­ Other families spend their time together ying house whereas this family bonds by ying games. Michael yed for a while before following Hale to talk about business. ¡°Boss, ording to reliable sources, Phantom Wolf has already entered Cethos, and he is now nning to cause trouble.¡± Hale¡¯s expression was serious even though he was facing a massive frog. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Michael silently removed the hood and read his report with a dark face. Phantom Wolf was the codename for the leader of an international terrorist organization. The ZF Organization had no name with members around the world, causing lots of terrorist attacks. Many world leaders were frustrated because of them, so lots of countries formed an alliance to catch those international criminals, but there hadn¡¯t been a sessful way to capture their leader. The organization had existed for almost a century with a horrifying background and Phantom Wolf was their leader¡¯s codename. Every decade or so, Phantom Wolf would appear in Cethos. Although he was driven out of the country each time he showed up, he seemed to have a special connection with thend. Thest time he came was two years ago when Michaelid a trap to capture him. Even though he was severely injured, he still managed to escape in the end. He had discovered Phantom Wolf¡¯s whereabouts not too long ago and deployed a lot of men to capture the man, but he still managed to escape the carefully nned trap. No one even knew what Phantom Wolf looked like. Michael¡¯s men only managed to catch a photo of Phantom Wolf¡¯s back¡ªthe man was treacherous and cunning, so it was the only picture they had after a long period of investigation. He looked at Phantom Wolf in the picture. Phantom Wolf was a man who wore a baseball, but only his back was seen. Even though his face was obscured, every inch of his body was oozing a dangerous aura. ¡°Phantom Wolf¡­¡± Michael called his name out as a sense of hatred filled him. My sister and my brother- inw died in his hands! When he was done with his business, he returned to the room and saw that Sophia and Nathan were asleep after they finished ying their game. The sight of two frogs¡ªone big and one small¡ªleaning against each other was exceptionally sweet. Michael tilted his head to admire their sleeping position and gently closed the door a whileter. The moment he closed the door, Sophia immediately opened her eyes and thought about a particr serious question while staring at her fingers. Why don¡¯t I choose a perfect day to sleep with Michael? It feels so exciting and embarrassing that I¡¯m about to sleep with my idol. All she could think about was the dirty pictures that he sent her, making her so excited that she couldn¡¯t sleep. However, whenever she thought about his gay friends, she felt defeated again. I must not like Michael because he is simply oxic! Not only is he the dream of 2 billion girls in the world, but I have rivals in the form of 2 billion young men! Why do I have to face many rivals just to like this man? Not only are girls my rivals, but boys as well! The next day, she woke up earlier and went to school with Nathan. After a snowfall, it had turned Bayside University into an exceptionally beautiful campus, as if it was coated with silver and snow. The janitor had already cleared out the snow to make a path. Sophia sent Nathan to the School of Computer Science and met Stanley on the way there. As the weather was cold as ofte, he did not dare to ride his motorbike; therefore, he drove here in a second- hand car that he bought from a car dealership. He then parked his car in the campus¡¯s parking lot among the other luxurious cars. ¡°Sophia! You finally decided toe to ss!¡± He instantly touched her fluffy knitted hat. Before she could even respond, Nathan answered, ¡°Get your hands off her!¡± Stanley also rubbed his tiny head before dragging him to his ssroom. ¡°Sophia, you can head off now. I¡¯ll help to take care Nathan for you.¡± Upon seeing them leaving, she walked toward her ssroom. On the way there, she felt that everyone looked at her with a strange expression. What is it again? Sophia was confused. She never thought that Ka would dare to get her involved in what happened at the Harper Family¡¯s banquet thest time. If Ka didn¡¯t, Sophia intended to slowly kill her, but if she did, thetter could immediately end her. I merely asked for a normal leave from the university. Do they have to look at me like that? Then, a familiar face was walking in front of her. ¡°Meow!¡± Sarah was a new friend whom Sophia met during military training. After she returned from school, they would both asionally catch a meal together. Both their names started with an ¡®S¡¯, so they felt closer to each other. She was one of Sophia¡¯s few friends and even gave a nickname to thetter. ¡°Sofie!¡± Sarah called out upon seeing Sophia and greeted her happily. ¡°Are you feeling better? You look even prettier after being gone for a month.¡± Sarah was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but her family had built their wealth from scratch, so she did not have the arrogance of an elite, which made it easier for her to talk to anyone. After exchanging greetings, they grabbed each other¡¯s shoulders and walked toward their ss. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t attend that banquet because I didn¡¯t receive any invitation. You¡¯re so brilliant, considering you actually talked to all three idols at the same time. You even wore your idol¡¯s dress and ring. You¡¯re so awesome!¡± Sophia asked curiously, ¡°Why do I feel that everybody is looking at me with a strange expression?¡± Sarah sighed. ¡°Lately, I don¡¯t know which brain-dead magazinepany has decided to spew nonsense again. Here, look at this.¡± She had bought a magazine from a newsstand on her way to campus. On the magazine cover was a picture of Stanley devouring a te of pudding with ferocity. It seemed to be taken at the Harper Family¡¯s banquet. The title of the magazine read, ¡®The Dream to Marry Into A Rich Family Gone. Ex-Girlfriend of the Young Master of Harper Group Obsessed With a Loser Gamer!¡¯ Sophia was rendered speechless. Chapter 187 Chapter 187 Sophia flipped open the magazine and found the article that discredited her. All of the pictures published in the article were ugly photos of Stanley eating. They described him as a local boy who was from a vige in the city and an idiot who knew nothing but ying games. The magazine evenpared him to Richard¡¯s picture. Richard¡¯s clear picture was perfectly edited and whereas Stanley¡¯s picture was taken from the side. The magazine never even edited his photo, so his pimples were very obvious. When both pictures were beingpared with each other, the difference was abundantly clear. As she read through the article, she suddenly felt a little sorry for herself. ¡®Girl from a vige in the city dreams of being a rich person, but she failed to hook up with the Young Master of the Harper Group, shattering her dreams. Therefore, she could only settle for a poor and yokel gamer who only knows how to y games. Even the car and outfit she wore to a banquet were all rented.¡¯ ¡®Even though she was able to wear her idol¡¯s dress, she still needed to return it afterward. She was still a peasant once she removed the skirt. The agony of a shattered rich dream! In the end, her ex- boyfriend was with the perfect girl from a family of the same status as him while she was left with her full-time job. When she returned home, she could only eat instant noodles with the gamer, who has a face full of e. The two of them even had to share a cooked radish together.¡¯ When Sophia had finished reading the article, she was in a bad mood as she couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for her ¡®devastating loss¡¯. Sarahforted her, ¡°This magazine is intentionally discrediting you after being bribed by the Harpers. It has gone off the shelves of every newsstand on campus. Don¡¯t be sad since it¡¯s all nonsense. At least your Stan is still a handsome man!¡± As they walked forward, they saw a boy walking toward them in a coquettish manner while swaying his waist¡ªit was obviously Sean. He wore a red winter suit with a white hat that only revealed his tiny face, making him look like a pretty girl. The three of them walked together while discussing the earlier article in the magazine. When Sean saw Stanley¡¯s ¡®beautiful photos¡¯ in the magazine, the corners of his lips seemed to twitch, but he said nothing in the end. On the other hand, Sarah couldn¡¯t stopining about the magazine. ¡°Bah! What kind of a sh*tty magazine is this? What nonsense are they writing about? Look at how they describe you in this article! The girls in our ss are now saying things behind your back, such as how you have failed to hook up with a rich family or how a peasant like you is trying to work up the socialdder. They are just jealous! Let me tell you a secret¡ªlots of boys in our ss know that I have a good rtionship with you, so they have secretly asked me for your contact number!¡± The three of them chatted their way to ss. Once ss was finished, Sophia snuck to the library to read some books. However, on the way there, she ran into people who seemed to point their finger at her while some of them even spoke loudly, as if they wanted her to hear what they said. ¡°That is Sophia. Oh dear, she failed to marry into a rich family. That¡¯s such a pity for her!¡± ¡°If I am her, I won¡¯t even dare to show my face in Bayside University. It¡¯s too embarrassing!¡± ¡°You are right and she even found herself such a sh*tty boyfriend. She must have felt jealous in her heart, seeing how morous her ex-boyfriend is now.¡± However, she walked past them as though she couldn¡¯t hear what they said. She could not be bothered on what others thought of her because she was focused on her exam preparations. She heard that after Michael left the army to pursue his studies in Bayside University at that time, he received yearly schrships. I need to emte my idol! A few days after she returned to school, it was time for exams. Bayside University was rather efficient in marking their papers as the turnover rate was fast¡ªon the evening of the exam itself, students would be able to check their results for a specific course through the school¡¯s website. All the students sat for two exams for professional courses on the first day. On that night itself, the ss monitor announced the results for the two exams via their Messenger group. The moment the results were released, the Messenger group became lively. ¡®Sophia is so brilliant. She has missed a month of ss yet she still managed to obtain good results. For both courses, she received 98 out of 100 each!¡¯ ¡®She is so brilliant! It looks like we have no chance for the schrship!¡¯ When Juliette saw the messages in the group, she hesitated for a while before sending Sophia¡¯s results to Ka in the end. Ka violently smashed herptop as soon as she saw Sophia¡¯s results. She lived a miserable life this semester since Sophia had ruined both her life and studies. Therefore, she lacked the mood to study, causing her to fail both exams today. Moreover, everyone else in her family did not do well in the exams¡ªeven X didn¡¯t receive a satisfactory result for today¡¯s two exams as she had barely passed and the scores for her specialized subjects were even worse. Richard had been busy with thepany affairs, so he missed a lot of sses, causing his results to barely hover above the passing grade. Ka had received zero credits for her military trailing and now failed two important courses, so she was practically never going to graduate from school. How could she be in a good mood? How can a b*tch like her obtain good grades? Never mind first ce in ss! Why should she deserve these high grades? I had purposely asked the magazine to release this article at the end of the semester and intentionally asked every newsstand in school to sell this magazine, so that I can let everyone in school know how miserable and shameless Sophia is! I want everyone to know that she is just a delusional b*tch! I want everyone to despise and look down on her. I want everyone to mock her on her face so that she won¡¯t be able to sleep at night while secretly crying. That way, she won¡¯t be able to attend sses during the day! I want her to lose her focus on her studies so that she will get zero marks for her final exams without even passing one subject. I want her to be out of Bayside University in shame! However, this b*tch¡¯s skin isn¡¯t as thin as I expected. I can¡¯t believe she can still remain unperturbed and obtain good grades even when everyone is mocking her on her face! Coupled with her discontent toward the new house, she began to smash everything out of anger again. ¡°Urgh, you are all against me! I hate you! I hate you all!¡± After smashing everything for half a day, she held her knees and curled up in a corner while silently crying. No one came to care for her now that almost everyone in the family had abandoned her, making her feel as if the whole world had given up on her. It¡¯s all because of Sophia! Ka cried for a while before suddenly rising to her full height and wiped her tears before sending Juliette a voice message. After she sent it, she let out a menacingugh. If I¡¯m going to fail, let¡¯s all fail together! Since it was merely the first semester, there weren¡¯t many subjects that needed revision. Therefore, Sophia only needed to sit for 6 exams, which took her 3 days to settle. It was time for thest exam on the afternoon of the third day¡ªthe most important degree course. If she were to fail this subject, it would directly affect her credits and by then, it was possible that she wouldn¡¯t be able to receive her degree certificate four yearster. Therefore, everyone tried their best to focus and work hard to achieve the highest grades possible. Sophia had also taken the exam very seriously, so she arrived at the examination room earlier. After she revised for a while, she took the opportunity to head to the restroom before the start of exams. Juliette saw that Sophia had left a stack of draft papers on her seat. Seeing that no one was paying attention to her, she blocked the surveince camera on the wall with her body and secretly flipped open the draft papers before tearing a corner from a page. She ced it inside her clothes and pretended that nothing had happened. The exam soon started. As soon as the teachers revealed the questions, only the rustling sound of pens being scribbled on paper was heard in the examination room. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Sophia was focused on answering the questions as she did her calctions on her draft paper and could have filled up an entire piece in merely a few minutes. Quinton rk was the invigtor and meticulously checked on everyone¡¯s situation as he walked past the many candidates. asionally, he would peer at everyone¡¯s answers. Only half of the time had passed and she was already done with all of the questions. However, as she was still unable to hand in her answers, she flipped through her paper and checked the answers for every question. He peeked at her paper from behind, seemingly satisfied as he nodded his head. However, when he nced at Juliette, who was sitting behind her, he noticed that she hadn¡¯t answered the questions even though half of the time had passed. There was even a big question at the end, which she left nk. He felt that her behavior was a little strange, so he paid more attention to her. After a few nces, Professor rk finally noticed that there was something weird with her actions. Then, he quickly went over and saw the corner of a crumpled draft paper pressed under her elbow. She took a look at the contents on the draft paper before starting to write rapidly! ¡°Juliette, what are you doing?¡± Chapter 188 Chapter 188 Professor rk roared. Juliette was so scared that she started to tremble and quickly hid the note, which was in her elbow, behind her back immediately. She looked up at Professor rk with a pale face and answered as her eyes darted around, ¡°N-Nothing¡­¡± The students, who were busy answering the exam questions, raised their heads and looked at Juliette and Professor rk. He was furious as he repeated his words. ¡°I saw everything. What is in your hand? Take it out!¡± Professor rk was usually very gentle, so it was the first time that the students saw him in such fury. What does Juliette have in her hand? Everybody looked at the hand which was behind her back. Juliette continued to shake her head. ¡°Nothing. There is honestly nothing.¡± Her entire body trembled in fear when she answered. She gritted her teeth while tears rolled down her cheeks. Sophia turned to nce at them, but she seemed indifferent. Then, she returned to her questions. Professor rk suddenly charged at Juliette and grabbed a piece of paper from her hand¡ªit was the corner of a piece of rough paper. Scrawled across the piece of paper were the answers to a few major questions, multiple-choice questions, and objective questions. She¡¯s cheating! He stared at the piece of paper in disbelief and crushed it on the spot while questioning her, ¡°Juliette Sanders, do you know that this is considered cheating? Who gave you this piece of paper?¡± Everybody realized with a start, I can¡¯t believe someone is cheating! Isn¡¯t she aware of the consequences of cheating in Bayside University? She will receive zero marks for all her subjects! She would also be suspended for one semester and repeat the year! Even if she receives her graduation certificate four yearster, she won¡¯t receive the degree certificate! More importantly, she wouldn¡¯t be allowed to sit for the postgraduate entrance exam! Everybody wanted to know which two unlucky b*stards had the guts to cheat in Bayside University¡¯s final exam. Juliette shook her head as tears continued to stream uncontrobly. However, she stuck to her story. ¡°I wrote this and I didn¡¯t cheat!¡± Professor rkpared the handwriting on the slip of paper to the notes in Juliette¡¯s notebook. Who will deliberately tear a corner off a piece of draft paper for the answer before copying it slowly onto the exam paper? Besides, the handwriting is different! Juliette¡¯s handwriting was elegant and cursive whereas the one on the answer sheet was narrow and beautiful. He flipped through Juliette¡¯s notebook, but he couldn¡¯t find one with a torn corner. Someone had obviously passed her the slip of paper! ¡°I am asking you for thest time. Who handed you this piece of paper?¡± Juliette lowered her head in silence for a while as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Suddenly, she pointed at Sophia, who was sitting in front of her, and answered softly, ¡°I-It¡¯s¡­ Sophia!¡± There was an uproar and everybody looked at Sophia, who was seated in front of her. Professor rk marched toward Sophia. Then, he picked up her notebook to check¡ªtrue enough, her handwriting was narrow and beautiful. Furthermore, there was a missing corner in one of her notebook pages. He ttened the piece of paper, which was cramped with answers, against the torn page in Sophia¡¯s notebook. Uponparing them, they matched like a jigsaw puzzle. This is from Sophia¡¯s notebook! Sophia was still engrossed in checking her form when she was used of something that she did not do. Therefore, she turned to nce at Juliette while maintaining a nk expression. Juliette lowered her head since she did not have the courage to meet Sophia¡¯s gaze. Professor rk regarded Juliette before ncing at Sophia, quivering with fury. ¡°You two,e to my office now!¡± Sophia did not utter a word as she stood up while cing her draft paper, which showed her working, and test paper separately on the table, ording to the requirements of handing in the examination paper. After that she packed her admission ID, ID card, and everything else before walking out. Juliette followed her closely from behind. Professor rk furiously collected their exam papers. Then, he called for an inspection teacher to enter and invigte the exam before entering his office with a stern face. Sophia and Juliette did not speak to each other in the office. One of them was guilty and kept her head bowed whereas the other had an open expression, as if she had nothing to hide. Professor rk red at both of them with gleaming eyes once he entered his office. He mmed his palm on his office desk while thundering, ¡°You two better give me an exnation. What is going on? Don¡¯t you both usually perform quite well? What made you do such a thing?¡± Juliette burst into tears and exined while shaking uncontrobly, ¡°It¡¯s my entire fault. I did not study well. Miss Edwards is kind enough to help me. Since it is my fault, please punish me if you have to!¡± Nevertheless, once someone was caught cheating, it did not matter who was actually cheating because the person who aided them would have their grades nullified for that semester and also wouldn¡¯t receive their degree certificate. Sophia answered openly and truthfully, ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. I did not pass the exam answers to anyone. My conscience is clear.¡± She seemed rxed with her hands in the pockets of her down jacket, looking as if she wouldn¡¯t ept defeat until the end. Professor rk red at them and he lost his patience. ¡°You two, wait for me here. I will head to the surveince room now to check on the surveince tape. I¡¯ll see how you n to get out of this!¡± Juliette lowered her head as her gaze followed him. She knew that it was useless even if he checked the surveince tape because she had prepared beforehand by practicing Sophia¡¯s narrow and beautiful handwriting and tearing a piece of her draft paper. The surveince camera was behind them in the exam venue. As Juliette sat behind Sophia, it would not be able to capture all of her movements. As long as she was adamant with her answers while maintaining reticence, Sophia would not be able to escape from being charged with assisting to cheat. Professor rk left his office and the door closed with a loud bang, leaving them as the only ones in the office. After a long pause, Sophia finally broke the silence. ¡°Spill, what happened? There are no surveince cameras in the office.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Juliette remained silent; she did not have the courage to answer Sophia. Seeing this, Sophia threatened her, ¡°Why don¡¯t I expose the incident of you cing a nail in my shoe during our military training?¡± There was a loud thud before Juliette kneeled down in front of Sophia and kowtowed twice at her. ¡°Sophia, I know that I have wronged you. I will drop out of Bayside University! I am sorry. I am so sorry!¡± She regarded Juliette, who was kneeling on the ground, but there was no pity in her gaze. ¡°What is it this time? Is your mom sick again?¡± Juliette remained silent for a long time before speaking again, ¡°Previously, my mom had her surgery after receiving a sum of money from the Harpers and it was sessful. However, someone from their unit had framed my dad for an embezzlement case. My dad will be released as long as the Harpers say the word¡­¡± ¡°Haha.¡± Sophia burst outughing. ¡°Are you saying that the Harper Family came looking for you again to frame me?¡± Juliette did not dare to answer, but continued to kowtow to Sophia. ¡°Sophia, I am sorry to have wronged you. You have such good results, so I am sure you will be able to graduate. I am so sorry. I am truly sorry!¡± After a pause, Sophia suddenly took her phone out of her pocket. She pressed a button before Juliette¡¯s voice rang from her phone. ¡°However, someone from their unit had framed my dad for an embezzlement case. My dad will be released as long as the Harpers say the word.¡± Juliette stared in disbelief at the phone in her hand. No wonder she has kept her hands in her pockets all this while. It turns out that she has been recording our conversation with her phone. Sophia stared at her with a nk expression. ¡°Stop pretending. I have recorded everything.¡± After the initial shock, Juliette was emboldened and smiled sadly. ¡°That is right, Sophia. The Harper Family has threatened me. However, didn¡¯t we agree that you¡¯ll give me the answers since I didn¡¯t study well? You willingly did this. No matter what happens, you can¡¯t escape from being charged with assisting to cheat during an exam. Sophia, I have wronged you. I shouldn¡¯t have allowed you to pass me those answers. I have dragged you into receiving this punishment. I am sorry. I am so sorry.¡± Chapter 189 Chapter 189 Ever since the incident in the military training, although Sophia was still close to Juliette on the surface since they always discussed problems that they faced in lectures and went to the library to revise together, she knew that if thetter had plotted against her the first time, she could do it again for the second time¡ªand maybe even the third time. Hence, she was not afraid at all when she saw Juliette¡¯s determined expression in using her. In the worst case scenario, she could return home and please her idol husband. Then, she could change her results anytime she liked. However, the door was suddenly opened at that moment. Professor rk, who was supposed to head to the surveince office to take the surveince tapes, stood there and looked at Juliette in disappointment. ¡°Juliette, you¡¯ve disappointed me!¡± Sophia was not surprised to see Professor rk¡¯s sudden appearance. Even though he said that he was about to head to the surveince room, there were no footsteps once he walked out, so it was rather obvious that he was eavesdropping at the door. Juliette was too nervous to notice it, but she had been paying close attention all along. Professor rk¡¯s appearance had immensely shocked Juliette. She immediately broke into tears after quickly assessing the situation. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, sir. I¡¯ve disappointed you! I shouldn¡¯t have asked Sophia to pass the answers to me. It¡¯s all my fault! I¡¯ve dragged her down, but if you want to punish someone, just punish me! This has nothing to do with her! She is just being extremely kind. Her results are very good, so please don¡¯t punish her!¡± Although she kept insisting that Professor rk should punish her alone, she was using Sophia with every word of hers. If the charges were confirmed, Sophia would also be unable to escape from the inevitable oue of failing to obtain her degree. Not only was she unable to obtain her degree, but the charge would be added to her personal profile and forever be a smear in her life. No other universities would dare to allow her to enroll and she would no longer have any chances of obtaining a degree. In fact, her personal profile would be referred to by educational institutions all around the world, so it would be arduous for her to enter the universities abroad as well. Upon looking at Juliette¡¯s behavior before and after he returned, Professor rk¡¯s anger was suddenly appeased. Leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms in front of his chest, he smiled instead. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do as you wish. Since your usual performance is ster, Miss Edwards, you¡¯ll only be lightly punished and your case will not be made public. I¡¯ll merely give Miss Edwards some counselling sessions. Her grades will remain the same and won¡¯t be entered into the system. As for you, Miss Sanders, all your results will be null and void and you¡¯ll have to retake all the modules. Apart from that, your attempt to cheat in the exam will be filed in your personal profile and you won¡¯t be able to get your degree in the end. What do you think?¡± Juliette raised her head and looked at him in shock. She probably did not expect that he would be openly biased. ¡°Sir, you¡ª¡± ¡°Thank you, sir!¡± Sophia jubntly responded. ¡°Juliette, thank you for pleading on my behalf as well! If there are no other matters, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± However, Juliette couldn¡¯t agree to the oue¡ªshe suddenly ran to Sophia and pulled her back, not allowing her to leave. ¡°Professor, you can¡¯t be that biased. She has to be punished for this as well!¡± At that point, she could no longer be bothered to keep up with the appearance. If she did notplete the task that Ka gave to her, not only would her future be ruined, but her entire family would be destroyed as well. Hence, no matter what, she had to drag Sophia down with her. Sophia was exasperated when she saw Juliette grabbing her hands and said coldly, ¡°Let me go!¡± However, she refused toply and grabbed Sophia even tighter instead. ¡°Professor rk, if you insist on helping Sophia, I¡¯ll make a big fuss out of this so that everyone knows that you are siding her.¡± Professor rk was speechless upon hearing that, but Sophia suddenly said with a cold tone, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we look for a professional authority to confirm the handwritings? It¡¯s impossible for two people to have the exact same handwriting!¡± Juliette froze upon hearing that. Sophia pushed her aside coldly. ¡°If it¡¯s not enough to identify the handwritings, we can also check for the fingerprints on the paper. If I¡¯ve indeed written on it, my fingerprints will definitely be on it. If not, it shows that you are merely ndering me!¡± She had been intelligent from the beginning up until the current moment¡ªshe did not touch the paper, so it would only contain Juliette and Professor rk¡¯s fingerprints. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Juliette turned paler. However, Sophia took a few steps forward and looked at her threateningly. ¡°How¡¯s that? Is the fuss big enough for you now?¡± Juliette no longer had any words to say and hopelessly sat on the ground while bursting into tears. Sophia didn¡¯t even nce at her and picked up her bag before saying ¡®thank you¡¯ to Professor rk and quickly leaving. Since she had alreadypleted all of her questions, she regarded it as handing in her papers earlier. As soon as she left, Juliette suddenly crawled to hug Professor rk¡¯s thighs as she kneeled on the ground. ¡°Professor rk, please don¡¯t punish me! I¡¯m also being forced to do it! All the questions were done by me. I didn¡¯t cheat in the exam! Please help me, sir!¡± Upon hearing that, Professor rk¡¯s stance softened and he sighed. On the other hand, Ka had also finished herst paper and did not hand it in until thest possible moment. She hadn¡¯t evenpleted the final question, which consisted of half of the marks, so her results would be disastrous in the end. It could be said that she no longer had any chance of graduating. However, as soon as she remembered that Sophia would fail in her results or that she might even be expelled by the university due to cheating in exams, she immediately cheered up. After she submitted her paper, there weren¡¯t many people left on the first floor. Then, she entered the restroom alone. As soon as she entered, Gemma had suddenly appeared from nowhere and ced a board in front of the bathroom, which read, ¡®In Maintenance. Please do not enter¡¯. The lights immediately dimmed as soon as Ka entered the bathroom. The skies had darkened rather early since it was winter. On top of that, they were on the first floor, so the lighting wasn¡¯t quite good and made the bathroom quite dark. She could barely make her way around the area. ¡°Ugh!¡± Ka yelled as she opened one of the cubicle doors. However, as soon as she opened it, a foot stepped on her back. Thud! She was kicked into the cubicle before her face was immediately buried in the toilet bowl. ¡°Aaaaah¡ª¡± Her shrill scream was interrupted as a cloth was forcefully stuffed into her mouth. A reeking smell immediately entered her mouth. Before she could take the cloth out of her mouth, she immediately received a rain of punches and kicks. Suddenly, a leg stepped on her joints and forcefully broke her leg. The cloth had muted her screams. She was in so much pain that she rolled around on the ground and cried, but the punches that fell on her never seemed to stop. Using the weak, natural light that shone from outside, she finally saw the culprit who attacked her. Her eyes immediately widened. Sophia! It¡¯s her! At that moment, Ka finally confirmed that the person who broke her leg in the military training was, without a doubt, Sophia. It was the second time. Just when her injuries had finally recovered, her leg was broken for the second time. ¡°Sob, sob.¡± With wide and round eyes, she struggled like a dying dog. However, in such a small space, she had no power to rebel as she was no match for Sophia. Sophia¡¯s cold voice sounded in her ears. ¡°How about this, Miss Harper? How do you feel about someone breaking your leg?¡± ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± Ka iled around as her hands tried to grab her surroundings. Gemma suddenly knocked on the door¡ªit was a sign of someone else approaching the restroom. Sophia retreated quickly, but before she left, she stepped on Ka¡¯s leg once more. The pain immediately caused Ka to yell out in anguish. When she crawled out of the cubicle and removed the cloth in her mouth that was used to wipe the toilet bowl, the lights in the washroom had been restored, but Sophia was nowhere to be seen. The windows of the restroom were also wide open. Hugging her leg that had been broken, Ka wriggled like a dog on the floor and screamed louder than someone who was being tortured. Chapter 190 Chapter 190 Someone finally heard Ka¡¯s agonizing screams and took her to the hospital. The poor thing had her legs broken again¡ªher face was swollen and her front teeth were broken due to the beating. On the other side, Sophia dly carried her bag and went to pick Nathan up. She saw Quinton rk when she was on the way there, so she casually greeted him. ¡°Professor rk, you seemed to be done with invigting the examination.¡± Quinton replied, ¡°Yeah, I need to work overtime to mark the exam papers. I¡¯ll try to finalize the results by tonight.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Professor rk.¡± She meekly bowed to him before walking away briskly. His eyes were unfathomable as he looked at her back view disappearing in the distance. I was told earlier that Ka¡¯s legs were broken by someone¡­ After the exam, she was in a great mood and went home happily. Michael will probably be at home tonight. Maybe I shall sleep with him tonight! Today is still a safe day for me! She had made up her mind to sleep with him tonight! This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. However, the moment she opened the front door, she saw Michael heading upstairs while grabbing two eels in his hands. He wore an apron, looking as if he was about to cook something in the kitchen and the two eels in his hands looked hideous. She was frightened at the sight and her face instantly paled. Upon seeing that she had returned, he was delighted. He put the two eels into the aquarium and uttered, ¡°Chica, you are back. Come and have a look! I¡¯ve caught another two eels; they are thick and long!¡± With his gloves on, he looked at his eels in pleasure. Sophia hadpleted her exams today, so he decided to kill two eels as a celebration. As the eels in the aquarium have been all caught and ughtered, he personally went to the pond, where the eels were reared in, and caught two of the thickest eels to rece the ones that had been killed. However, he never expected that it would give her the fright of her life. ¡°How are your exams?¡± he asked as he removed his apron and gloves. Due to the fright, she remained quiet for a moment before she answered, ¡°It¡¯s good. It¡¯s really great.¡± I suddenly don¡¯t wish to sleep with Michael. He¡¯s a psycho! Who knows if he will take out some psychotic toy halfway through the lovemaking? I¡¯ve decided to dy this for a little longer. I¡¯m still young¡ªjust a kid ¡ªand lovemaking is still too early for me. I¡¯ll wait for another three or five years. I hope that I¡¯m able to dy it until then. While Sophia lived in fear of the eels, the situation in the Harper Family was as gloomy as usual. The sophomores also had their final examinations today. Right after Richard exited the exam hall, he was informed that his sister had been beaten up and her legs were broken before dashing to the hospital in worry. Ka¡¯s injuries sustained from the second beating were even worse than thest time¡ªnot only her legs were broken, but her teeth were shattered and even her face was swollen from the beating. Upon seeing him, she became hysterical. ¡°Richard, it was Sophia who beat me! It was her! She was also the person who broke my legs in the barrack! It was her! It was her!¡± He was unconvinced. ¡°It¡¯s impossible that it was Sophia who did all this. She even specially invited the three idols to your banquet to introduce them to you! It¡¯s obvious that she treats you well!¡± She scoffed, knowing that he wouldn¡¯t believe her. ¡°Richard, it was really her. You need to trust me. She found out about it! She discovered that I was the person who hired someone to break her legs twice!¡± ¡°It was you who did it?¡± Richard recalled about the incidents that happened years ago. Before he had dated Sophia, her legs had already been broken once. She was still a freshman in high school when her legs were broken by someone for no reason. At that time, she had no money to treat the injuries and dying treatment would cause permanent disability. It was him who paid for her medical bills and searched for the best orthopedic student. He even helped her to return to school as quickly as possible so as not to affect her studies. Sophia and Richard were in a rtionship after that incident. He repeated his question in disbelief. ¡°Ka, don¡¯t lie to me. Was it really you who did that?¡± Ka didn¡¯t feel that she had done anything wrong and, instead, regretted the action that incidentally led Sophia to be together with him. ¡°I initially attempted her to warn her not to be delusional and dream about dating you. Unexpectedly, the incident where her legs were broken brought you two together.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± He was at a loss for adjectives to describe his sister. How could she do such a thing? Nevertheless, since plenty of her dark secrets had been revealed, she did not mind revealing two more. ¡°The second time was when she came to my ce to seek help after being expelled from school. I thought that she was disgusting, so I had someone break her legs and throw her out like trash. I even hired two gangsters to rape her, but she unexpectedly managed to escape. She even managed to get someone to treat her legs.¡± So much has actually happened without my knowledge! Daniel is right¡ªthis sister of mine is simply here to make my life a living hell! Richard peered at his sister with an expression that he never had before. ¡°Let¡¯s do the math¡ªI broke her legs twice, but she broke my legs once in the barrack and this is the second time. She¡¯s seeking revenge! Do you believe me now? My legs were broken by that b*tch!¡± Ka had a scowl on her face with protruding green veins as she coldly looked at Richard. Richard couldn¡¯t believe that the unreasonabledy in front of him was actually his sister. How many evil deeds has she done? ¡°You¡ª¡± He pointed at her with trembling fingers and finally lost his temper. ¡°What exactly do you want? You are really making the lives of the Harper Family difficult! Have you counted how many times our Harper Family has helped to clean up the mess you made and deal with the consequences of the problems you have caused? Master Levine was right¡ªyou only bring misfortune to the Harper Family. You¡¯re a jinx!¡± With that, Richard dashed out of the room in rage. X, who remained silent at one side, chased after him in worry and consoled, ¡°Richard, don¡¯t be mad. Ka is stubborn, so that¡¯s just how she speaks. Everything will be alright once she is more mature.¡± He sat on a bench in the hospital, feeling exhausted as he rubbed the middle of his brows and looked at her apanying him. Feeling a littleforted, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and uttered, ¡°Thank you, X. If only Ka has half of your thoughtfulness, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many issues to deal with.¡± She leaned in his embrace happily, hoping that the moment wouldst forever. However, since Sophia had returned, X knew that he would be snatched from her if she didn¡¯t strive harder for him. I must stay strong and hold my ground! ¡°Richard, the misunderstandings that Sophia and Ka have are getting deeper. Now that she has broken Ka¡¯s legs, I¡¯m afraid Mrs. Harper won¡¯t be able to tolerate her if she finds out about this.¡± The mention of the incident gave him a headache. Why will Sophia suddenly take action on Ka? My mother just had a slight change in her impression of Sophia, so if she¡¯s willing to try harder, she¡¯d be able to make my family like her even more! ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He let out a sigh and gave Sophia a call. I need to ask her myself what exactly happened. X leaned in his arms and eavesdropped on his call to Sophia. The call was connected and Sophia¡¯s voice was heard. ¡°Hello, Zane. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Upon hearing Sophia¡¯s nonchnt voice, X gritted her teeth in anger inwardly, wishing that she could fly to the other side of the call through the telephone signal and strangle that b*tch to death. Richard gulped before he asked, ¡°Sophia, Ka was beaten up today. She said that it was you¡ª¡± ¡°What? Your sister is beaten up? Oh my, how could this have happened? This is scary¡­ I¡¯m sorry. The food is here. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± A beep was then heard. Chapter 191 Chapter 191 The call was cut. Richard stood there stiffly with the phone for ages, despite no other sounding from it, before finally putting it down. ¡°Perhaps it really isn¡¯t Sophia who did it. She had just done a great deed for the Harpers. If she really wanted to do something to Ka, she wouldn¡¯t have helped out there,¡± X said none too sincerely. At that train of thought, Richard nodded in agreement. Ka¡¯s preconceptions of Sophia were already rooted deep into her. It wasn¡¯t her first time lying about her. There was a high chance that things were actually like that this time. What if she had broken her own leg? Even when she caught a cold at home, Ka still had to insist that Sophia put a curse on her. Besides, the police hade over to investigate earlier. They had checked the CCTVs nearby, and there was no proof that it was Sophia¡¯s doing. ¡°Richard, rx. I¡¯ll smooth things over with your mother. I won¡¯t let her have the wrong idea about Sophia.¡± Seeing how responsible X was, Richard kissed her forehead with his emotions running high. ¡°X, your presence in my life is truly the best gift that the heavens have blessed me with.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. At number 8, The Imperial, Sophia hung up her call with Richard. A te of braised eel with the most appetizing aroma was already ced before her. Everyone was leaping for the chance to try the dish; after all, a man that had the hearts of millions of girls in his hands had cooked his signature dish for her for the first time. The moment the dish hit the table, Sophia immediately reached out to take a piece. He was indeed an expert on eel! Even the eel dish he made was extraordinarily delicious! At this moment, Michael Fletcher carried Nathan¡ªwho was still in the middle of eating¡ªout of the dining room and closed the door. When he came back, he brought a bottle of red wine with him. He then lit some candles. Nathan immediately became mutinous from being locked out of the room. When he sat down again, Michael gracefully spread his napkin. ¡°What¡¯s your schedule for the next few days like now that you¡¯ve finished your exams?¡± ¡°The campus winter basketball tournament will be held these few days. I¡¯m a member of the university¡¯s women¡¯s basketball team, even if I¡¯m just a substitute. There¡¯s still a good chance that I¡¯ll need to step up to the field.¡± Sophia¡¯s words were unclear as she ate. She had signed up for numerous clubs and societies in order to avoid Michael back then; in fact, she had forgotten exactly how many she had put her name down for. At any rate, the basketball club hade knocking on her door to get her to y. Michael nodded. ¡°I see. It¡¯s better to work on all different aspects of yourself. Girls should exercise more too. You¡¯ll only be able to be stronger if you do a bit of exercise or dabble in some sports.¡± Sophia nodded fervently. Michael took a sip of wine and then wiped his mouth. ¡°Do you want me to root for you during the tournament?¡± Sophia hastily pped her hands. ¡°No, no need for that. Hubby, you¡¯re even busier with work. There¡¯s a good chance I won¡¯t be needed on the court anyway!¡± If Michael came to the tournament to cheer her on personally, her identity would most likely be blown in a sh. It would be better to keep things low-key. Due to her exams the past few days, Sophia hadn¡¯t been eating or sleeping well. On this day, however, she was freed from her torment and was able to eat such delicious food. It was even her first time eating an Adonis¡¯s cooking. This was most likely the only time she would get to do it in her lifetime. She loved the dish so much that she was close to licking the te clean. Michael, on the other hand, ate at a slower pace with graceful bites. As he ate, he openly studied his dainty wife sitting across him. She was soft and adorable, making everyone feel like they couldn¡¯t help but shower her with affection, but she looked so tiny. She really looked rather child-like. A thought suddenly struck him. ¡°Who phoned you just now?¡± he asked. Sophia took a bite of the pork ribs that Michael had marinated with his signature sauce before answering. ¡°I broke my ex¡¯s sister¡¯s leg, and he called me to ask if I was the one who did it. Of course I answered that I didn¡¯t do it!¡± Michaelughed. What a frank girl! Ka¡¯s parents had caught wind of Ka¡¯s broken leg in the end, but X¡¯s silver tongue worked its magic to sway them. It was so effective that Mrs. Harper believed that Ka was lying about Sophia. And now, none of the Harpers believed Ka¡¯s words. Ever since Madam Harper arranged a few medical workers toe care for her daughter, she hadn¡¯t visited her once. Ka was so mad that she went on a hunger strike, but even though she had stopped eating, none of the Harpers came to see her. One, the Harpers had a huge wreck to handle, and secondly, the Harpers had been gradually losing their trust in Ka. They wanted to teach her a lesson so that she wouldn¡¯t ever dare to brazenly do as she wanted while beingvished with the Harpers¡¯ adoration. X was the only one who still came to see Ka every day. ¡°Ka, I know that you¡¯re upset now that no one believes you, but I do. Still, that wretched Sophia is really impressive for having tricked both Richard and your parents into turning their backs on you. I spoke up for you yesterday, but Richard snapped at me. They were even talking about letting that little shrew into thepany as an intern¡­¡± X wiped her tears as she spoke. Ka had been on her hunger strike for a day already, neither eating nor drinking. Having heard X¡¯s words, her eyes reddened out of sheer hatred. She couldn¡¯t contain her tears as she gritted her teeth. ¡°As long as I¡¯m still here, that wretch had better not think about taking a step into the Harper Family!¡± X covertly watched Ka¡¯s expression as she continued to wipe her tears. ¡°What else can we do now? The entire family¡¯s dancing in her palm from her lies now. No matter what we say, no one¡¯s going to listen,¡± she said with fake concern. Ka gave a cold chuckle. ¡°I can¡¯t move due to my broken leg, but when I can finally leave this ce, I will kill that b*tch!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± X seemed to have been shocked by this. She quickly advised Ka against it. ¡°Ka, don¡¯t do something stupid. Listen to me and rest well so that you can recover. When you¡¯re better, let¡¯s expose that wretch¡¯s true face together!¡± Ka still stood her ground. ¡°Don¡¯t talk me out of this. I must find the most efficient assassin to slice that b*tch up into a million pieces!¡± Hire an assassin? Shock and doubt alternated in X¡¯s eyes, as though two thoughts were battling with them. She hastily continued to advise Ka, ¡°Ka, please don¡¯t do such a stupid thing. That¡¯s against thew!¡± Now that things hade to this, Ka didn¡¯t care whether she was breaking thew or not. All she wanted was for Sophia Edwards to die, and she was willing to pay any price for that. Ka really couldn¡¯t take it anymore, irritated from having listened to X trying to talk her out of her ns for ages. She pushed the mini folding table over. ¡°Get out of my sight!¡± X seemed to have been deeply aggrieved by that as she got up to leave, but she quickly returned and closed the door. She was silent for a while, as though she had been mustering her courage, before she spoke up. ¡°Ka, since I cannot talk you out of this, then the only thing I can do is to help you!¡± Then, she fished out a name card from her bag. Printed on it was the name Lone Wolf Media Co. Ltd, and its general manager¡¯s contact details. There was a QR code on the back of the card. She handed the card to Ka and said in a hushed tone, ¡°This is the name card for someone who¡¯s part of an international terrorist group. They also take money for hits on people. They¡¯re even willing to kill political guests and royalty, and they¡¯ve never failed their missions. Have you heard of the Phantom Wolf?¡± Ka¡¯s eyes lit up in an instant, and X continued to say, ¡°If you really want to kill Sophia, look for them. As long as they¡¯re the ones doing it, they definitely won¡¯t fail.¡± She paused, hesitating. ¡°But Ka, you¡¯ve got to think things over carefully. Everyone in that organization is a seasoned, bloodthirsty killer. Their boss, the Phantom Wolf, is on the wanted lists of several dozen countries. If you decide to hire them, their fees will be exorbitant!¡± At once, Ka let out the most cold-blooded, harshugh. ¡°Even if what they want is my life, I will give it to them!¡± X left shortly after she finished giving her advice to Ka. When she reached the hospital¡¯s entrance, she found Richard waiting for her. ¡°Richard, I talked with Ka for what seems like forever, and she¡¯s finally agreed to eat!¡± X zoomed toward Richard like a pure and innocent little pixie. ¡°X, thank you!¡± Meanwhile, Ka scarfed down arge quantity of food in her room to bring her energy levels up. Once she was done, she logged into her Messenger ount and scanned the QR code on the back of the calling card. Chapter 192 Chapter 192 Bayside University¡¯s winter basketball tournament was about to begin. It was merely one of the many sports under Bayside University¡¯s sports festival during the winter. It was held after final exams every year, and it would go on for a few days. All the students were free to join. Sophia represented the School of Economics and Business Administration in the women¡¯s basketball lineup, but since she was just a substitute yer, it was unknown if she would even need to make an appearance at the court. Hardly anyone watched women¡¯s basketball. After all, the guys looked hotter ying basketball. With the cold and snow outside, the indoor basketball court was warm like a spring day. Sophia changed into her sports attire in the changing rooms and coiled her hair close to her head. She looked as though she was a capable yer. The other yers on the team had their boyfriends to whisk them here and there and to help carry their bags and such; only Sophia was alone. She watched as everyone had their boyfriends escort them while she was the only one left out. Her heart felt hollow. She wondered what Michael was currently doing. He probably was filming something. He had been busy recently with filming Doctor Invincible on top of some cameo appearance in another show. He would need to be away for a few days. Marrying him meant that she was fated to never have a campus romance. The tournament hadn¡¯t started yet when the audience began to trickle into the stands. In the dested stadium, the yers¡¯ family members far outnumbered the actual audience numbers. Sophia sat alone in a corner, fiddling with her phone. She refreshed her social media feeds again and again before finally catching sight of thetest status that Michael posted. He even uploaded a selfie with it too. It was a picture of him during the filming of Doctor Invincible. He was dressed in a raggedy costume, with scraggly facial hair. After they were done with his special effects makeup, he looked like a middle-aged man who was down on his luck. If he were out by the streets, no one would have been able to recognize him as a dreamboat who was desired by millions of girls. When Richard entered the stadium, he immediately caught sight of Sophia in the small crowd. While everyone had brought their family with them, she was alone. He quirked an eyebrow in joy. ¡°Sophia.¡± Sophia looked up to see that Richard hade with X. They were even holding hands. Her brows knitted together. Why was this pair of clowns here? X¡¯s heart was filled with a sense of aplishment when she saw Sophia¡¯s frown. She tightened her grip on Richard¡¯s hand. ¡°Sophia, we¡¯re here to cheer you on!¡± Sophia snorted. Rather than rooting for her, they were here just to rub their affection for each other in her face. ¡°Right, thanks,¡± she replied. She didn¡¯t want to say another word to them so that she wouldn¡¯t end up causing unnecessary misunderstandings. After all, the Harper Family were a bunch of skilled actors. Richard raised a well-groomed eyebrow. He pumped his fist in Sophia¡¯s direction before going off to find a seat with X. Once they found their seats, they sat down and began to get their hands all over each other, as though they were deliberately ying it up for others to see. X was absolutely pleased. Regardless of how staunchly Sophia stood her ground, Sophia was still just an unwanted, meddling third wheel who wouldn¡¯t be able to face the light of day. Now that things had come to this, Sophia had to be absolutely gutted, yet unable to express it outwardly. Sophia bent over and re-tightened her shoces. She could be sent to the court at any moment. All of a sudden, she saw a line of people march out with a gigantic, ostentatious light-up board. There were two words zing at a blinding brightness on it: Sophia Edwards. Sophia wasn¡¯t sure what to say. Stanley Fletcher had brought the guys in her ss as well as the e-sports club to bring that light-up board. Each of them had a little g, and they made their entry with all the discipline and poise that they had gained from all the marching they did during their military training. As they marched, they yelled. ¡°Sophia, you can do it!¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. ¡°Sophia will win!¡± ¡°Sophia, Sophia, cut right through! Sophia, Sophia, you¡¯re the best!¡± Nathan walked at the rear of the line, waving a little g with a whistle in his mouth. Each time he took a step, he would blow on it. Hale and Gary followed behind him, the two of them carting a brilliant red banner with the words ¡®Sophia, You Can Do It!¡¯ printed on it. Everyone in the stadium froze. Sophia facepalmed. How she wished she could change her name. Stanley and the Sophia support squad sat down in the stands. The squad had around twenty to thirty people. When they were marching earlier, they seemed like a huge crowd due to the emptiness of the venue. Stanley led the squad by roaring valiantly at the top of his lungs. ¡°Sophia, do your best!¡± The rest of the squad followed his lead. ¡°Do your best! Do your best!¡± Hale had a mask on; only his eyes could be seen. He didn¡¯t have the guts to face others like this. After a brief moment of silence, everyone began to smile in realization. While they had been pointing out Sophia¡¯s solitary presence, they now suddenly remembered that she had a boyfriend. Molly Lawson was one of the main yers on the School of Economics¡¯ women¡¯s basketball team. She approached Sophia. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re up next in a bit!¡± Molly¡¯s grandfather was a general, and her father was a famed national basketball yer. She may not be a professional athlete, but the natural skill she possessed was terrifying. With her on the court, their school would have an extremely high chance of seizing victory. Sophia was taken by surprise. ¡°I thought I¡¯m a substitute?¡± ¡°One of the sophomores couldn¡¯t make it at thest minute, and the other substitute caught a cold today. She¡¯s not in the best shape,¡± Molly answered. ¡°Besides¡­ your boyfriend and Nate are watching in the stands. If you don¡¯t y, you¡¯ll be wasting their support for you!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t dare to turn her head and look at Stanley and the rest of the support squad. She simply steeled herself and agreed to get on the court. With a blow of the whistle, the match started. They were up against the School of Foreign Languages. Their women¡¯s basketball team was strong, primarily because of their foreign students. They had two tall ones, both of them being close to 180 cm. It was evident that they had the physical advantage, but the School of Economics wasn¡¯t to be underestimated. Just Molly alone was already enough to level the ying field, and the others were also strong yers in their own rights. Sophia hade out on top during her military training, and the others weren¡¯t ordinary athletes either. Molly got the ball the moment the match started. She was immediately blocked off by the two foreign students. ¡°Sophia!¡± She passed the ball to Sophia, who caught the ball nimbly and surely before darting out like a rabbit to dribble. With a perfectly executed three-step travel, she shot the ball. ¡°ho!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Sophia¡¯s support squad was instantly whipped into a frenzy and they leaped up to whoop loudly, their whistles and cheers reverberating throughout the stadium. Richard¡¯s line of sight was obstructed by the wave of people who had suddenly stood up in front of him; the back of Stanley¡¯s head had taken the ce of Sophia¡¯s figure from Richard¡¯s point of view. ¡°You there in front, sit down!¡± he protested. Stanley was cheering enthusiastically. He hadn¡¯t heard Richard¡¯sints at all. Despite calling out to him a few more times, Richard¡¯s words were futile. Anger surged up within him. In a few steps, he was in front of Stanley. ¡°Hey you, you¡¯re blocking my view!¡± Stanley gave him a once-over. ¡°I¡¯m blocking your view? Sorry about that. You should change seats yourself!¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Richard was furious, but he didn¡¯t want to get into a lengthy debate with Stanley. Who did he think he was? He was just a fat gamer, a loser, a country bumpkin from a third-rate town! Sophia was merely using him as a front by being together with Stanley. The one she loved was him, Richard Harper! Richard changed his seat, but in an instant, Stanley brought the support squad to squeeze themselves in front of him. They even raised the light-up board high, deliberating obstructing his view. Richard knew that Stanley was doing this on purpose. He was pursuing her, but Sophia only thought of him as a front. What use was this little petty action? Chapter 193 Chapter 193 Regardless of how loudly he screamed for her, it wasn¡¯t any more use than if he had just sat down and kept quiet. Sophia wouldn¡¯t even look his way once anyway. Sophia indeed wouldn¡¯t give Stanley an extra look. It¡¯s just way too embarrassing! Just what was that cheer? Stanley waved his g like a madman while yelling, ¡°Sophia, Sophia, cut right through! Sophia, Sophia, you¡¯re the best!¡± Sophia gave Stanley a baleful re as she went after the ball. Just that re alone made Richard¡¯s mind fill in many of the nks. As expected, all Stanley could draw to himself was Sophia¡¯s ire no matter how hard he worked, for Sophia only loved Richard! Richard and X then left. The match continued. Sophia performed extremely well on the court. She had been on the main team of her high school¡¯s women¡¯s basketball team. Right now, her skills were just as polished as ever as she dribbled and dunked with practiced ease. Her jumps were extraordinary, and even her three-pointers were executed easily. The School of Economics¡¯ points skyrocketed under these circumstances. This match was more or less in the bag, so Sophia rxed greatly. She sneaked a nce at the stands from time to time. The cold and distant Nathan was also waving his g madly to root for her. Her friends Sarah and Sean had alsoe. While the support squad that Stanley had formed was a little cringey, they were still here to cheer for her. She would have to treat everyone to a round of barbeque once the match was over. A heated gaze inside the stadiumnded on her. She swept her eyes over the stands and noticed a chubby, middle-aged man sitting in a corner. He had a dirty cap on his head and a grey scarf around his neck, beard white and face fleshy. He looked so average. Mixed in with the rest of the crowd, no one would notice him. Sophia thought the man¡¯s appearance familiar, but she couldn¡¯t figure out where she had seen him before. She retracted her gaze and returned to y seriously. The match ended with a blow of the whistle and the points were tallied up. The School of Economics won by 30:11. Sophia¡¯s support squad surged up to her, encircling her and handing her towels and water. Sophia wiped her sweat with a towel and chugged some water before patting Nathan on the head. She then looked up to look at where the middle-aged man had been sitting before, but his seat was empty now. The man had left. All she could see was a departing figure. That man¡¯s figure and gaze were oh so familiar. All of a sudden, a thought struck Sophia hard and she whipped her phone out to look for the selfie that Michael had posted earlier¡ªwasn¡¯t his get-up exactly the same as that middle-aged man¡¯s outfit? All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. That was Michael Fletcher! Sophia stood there stiffly with her phone in hand as though she had been struck by lightning. She thought back on that middle-aged man¡¯s rotund face. There was a whole world of difference between that fleshy face and Michael¡¯s gorgeous one. That man truly had no qualms about throwing off his lordly image. ¡°Sophia,e on. Let¡¯s all go out for some food,¡± Stanley suggested due to their victory. Sophia thought about it for a bit before declining. ¡°Sorry, no thanks. It¡¯s getting dark. I should be going home for dinner.¡± Stanley stopped her. ¡°Hey, Sophia, I¡¯ll be on the field the day after tomorrow at 3 p.m. The match between the School of Computer Science and the School of Financial Management. Remember to swing by!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± Everyone went back home. After changing out of her clothes, Sophia and Nathan charged for the university gates to the old parking spot. Just as expected, she saw a car parked in a small alley. Gary and Hale were already there waiting for her. ¡°Missus, Little Master, please get in.¡± Sophia caught sight of the middle-aged man from earlier when she opened the door. He was sitting inside the car. Nathan was clearly frightened by this and he looked at Sophia in confusion. Did a thief get inside the car? Sophia brought Nathan into the vehicle. The middle-aged man began to take off his makeup when the car started. He plucked his cap off, and when he put a hand to his face, it was clear that it was synthetic wax for makeup use. It was all over his hand once he swiped at his face. When he was done, a handsome face was revealed to Sophia¡¯s eyes. It truly was Michael. Nathan was dumbstruck, fear all over his face. Michael patted the boy¡¯s head and smiled. ¡°What? Don¡¯t you recognize your dad?¡± Even Sophia couldn¡¯t recognize him, never mind Nathan. Who would have thought that Michael would have been able to distance himself this greatly from his usual princely image? She really hadn¡¯t thought that Michael would show up on campus. Did he rush over from his film shoot to watch her match? Even if he did, it would take time for him to get to campus from the film site. Sophia¡¯s mind began to pull itself in different directions. Dinner was already on the dining table when they returned. Michael stepped into the dining room after he hadpletely removed his makeup. He was still as jaw-droppingly handsome as ever. When Michael finished his makeup removal, Nathan was the only one sitting quietly at the dining table, waiting for dinner to start. Sophia¡¯s entire body was covered in ayer of smelly sweat from all her exercise earlier; she was still in the middle of blow-drying her hair after her shower. Nathan was gaming on her phone. He raised his head to look in Michael¡¯s direction, that earlier fear during their trip home still in his eyes. He most likely still hadn¡¯t recovered from Michael¡¯s earlier get-up. Michael lowered his head to look at Nathan, who was dressed in a frog onesie. With his hood up, only his face was exposed to the air, a little face that was seemingly carved from marble with a pair of big eyes decorating it. Michael thought the boy an angel, and he couldn¡¯t stop himself from ruffling Nathan¡¯s hair. ¡°Son, were you a good boy today?¡± Nathan snorted and ignored him, continuing to y his game with his head lowered. All of a sudden, Sophia¡¯s phone rang. It was a phone call from someone marked as ¡®Ex¡¯. Michael seated himself after picking it up. As he waited for Sophia toe to the dining room, he pricked up his ears to listen to what this piece of work had to say. ¡°Sophia, I heard that your school¡¯s women¡¯s basketball team won their match. Congrattions, you did very well today. What was Stanley¡¯s deal? I know that he¡¯s always clinging to you. If you find it inconvenient to get rid of him, then allow me to do so. I certainly will not let him get in the way of our feelings for each other. That¡¯s right, Sophia. My school will be up against the School of Computer Science at 3 p.m. the day after tomorrow in Basketball Court 3. I¡¯m one of the yers on our school¡¯s main basketball team. I¡¯ll be on the court then. You have toe see me. How I miss those days from years past. Those days when we¡¯d y basketball, go jogging, and circle theke on campus while memorizing terms and phrases for sses. I¡¯d even send you to the library on the back of my bicycle to¡­¡± Richard went on for a while before he eventually said, ¡°Sophia, I miss you.¡± Michael did not say a word throughout the one-sided conversation while the phone was on speaker mode. Before he could finish listening to the other man¡¯s rambling, the phone automatically switched itself off from itsck of battery. Sophia soon came down. Both father and son had already changed into their pajamas, which were a matching set of frog onesies¡ªarge one and a small one. Sophia, however, wore a rabbit onesie that was pink, with a pair of ears stitched onto the hoodie. After plugging in Sophia¡¯s phone to recharge, Nathan bolted upstairs with pattering steps. He soon came downstairs again, having changed into a pink rabbit onesie that matched Sophia¡¯s. He sat next to her and tilted his head to look at her, as though he was seeking her approval. ¡°Good boy!¡± Sophia patted his head. Nathan basked in the touch, but he didn¡¯t forget to shoot a condescending look at Michael in his bright green clothes. ¡°Heh.¡± Michael gave a cold chuckle. You sneaky kid, my methods for stealing Sophia¡¯s affections will definitely scare the wits out of you! Chapter 194 Chapter 194 The family of three began their dinner. As they ate, Michael couldn¡¯t resist asking her about the match earlier. ¡°You liked basketball in high school?¡± Sophia scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°I was point guard on the girls¡¯ basketball team then.¡± The girls¡¯ basketball team at Riverdale High School had never been strong during her time there. They would always get trounced in inter-schoolpetitions. It wasn¡¯t until Sophia joined the team that they began to seem less pathetic. At the very least, they weren¡¯t the bottom of the barrel anymore. Michael didn¡¯t ask her who she yed with back then. Who hadn¡¯t identally fed a delusional person in their youth? Who could guarantee that they hadn¡¯t fallen for a jerk or two when they were younger? Michael sneakily nced at his tiny wife eating heartily before smiling mysteriously. Two dayster, the basketball match between the School of Computer Science and the School of Financial Management was officially held. Compared to the women¡¯s basketball match that no one cared about, the audience numbers here were clearly greater. Although the match would start at three in the afternoon, the audience had filled all the seats by two. To top it off, it was the final round of the men¡¯s basketball tournament in the winter sports festival on this day. The teams that would be stepping to the courtter were the strongest out of over ten elimination matches. These were the strongest teams other than the School of Athletics anyway. Other than students from both schools, scores of fangirls filled the stands. The School of Financial Management¡¯s team had Richard Harper. With his status as a top student and the scion of the Harper Family, he was truly a man out of fantasy. Despite being engaged, that didn¡¯t dampen his fangirls¡¯ passionate support toward him. His fans were a wall that took up around a quarter of the stands. The School of Financial Management was filled with lots of good-looking and rich guys, so they had especially many female fans.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. At any rate, the School of Computer Science had a paltry number of fans; true indeed, the rich would go for luxury while the losers would go forputers. The School of Financial Management had scores of hot guys, while the School of Computer Science was filled with gamer geeks and losers. The number of girls in their school wasn¡¯t enough to even form a bare-bones cheerleading team. Fortunately for them, they had Stanley Fletcher in their ranks and was able to draw some fangirls over. They modified the light-up board that they had used for Sophia a few days ago by swapping the name out, and it was now a board for Stanley. Thepetitors did their warm-ups on the court prior to the start of the match. These attractive basketball yers shuttled back and forth across the court, their youthfulness shining through the spray of their sweat. Just these warm-up exercises alone was enough to make one¡¯s blood heat up, especially when Richard Harper on the School of Financial Management¡¯s main basketball team. He was immediately showered with enthusiastic cheers from the fangirls. Richard found X in the stands with a casual scan of the crowd. X wasn¡¯t screaming madly or cheering like the rest of the fangirls. She simply sat there sweetly, but she was even prettier than anyone else. Richard sent a flying kiss to X and she shyly epted it. The crowd of girls were jealous and mutinous, but there was nothing they could do about it. Richard¡¯s gaze continued to rove over the crowd. However, he couldn¡¯t find Sophia. Had she been dyed by something? Meanwhile, Sophia had been about to take Nathan home to sit by the heater and eat ice cream when Stanley stopped them by the ssroom door. ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re going to watch my match today? How could you go back on your word?¡± Sophia took Nathan¡¯s hand and side-stepped Stanley in his athletic wear. ¡°I¡¯m not going to watch you duke it out with a piece of crap.¡± Anger surged up in Stanley, and he grabbed Nathan before making a break for it with the boy in his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll make youe to the match!¡± Sophia was forced to chase after him in fury. Stanley only returned Nathan once she had entered the basketball stadium. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave. If you do, I¡¯ll get my uncle to fire you!¡± he threatened. Sophia looked for seats while she carried Nathan, but the stands were filled, and she had no idea where all these people came from. ¡°Sophia, here! Over here!¡± The members of the e-sports club waved at Sophia. As Stanley¡¯s loyal fans, they hade way earlier to the stands to snag the best seats. Sophia took Nathan¡¯s hand in hers and sat down. These were indeed the best seats. Richard spotted Sophia in an instant. Knowing that she hade to cheer for him, he smiled at her knowingly. Sophia had only casually looked at the court when she caught sight of Richard making eyes at her. She was so disgusted that she wanted to leave, but Nathan seemed to be very interested in this; he was watching seriously while draped over the bars by the front of their seats. The match was about to start. The two teams were about to face each other. Both Stanley and Richard stood across each other as yers on the main teams, with the mid-court line separating them. Stanley spun the ball in his hand as he eyed Richard across him. This guy reeked through his wealth. Stanley truly had no idea how Sophia fell for him back then. Richard also absolutely couldn¡¯t stand the sight of Stanley. He sized the other man up with a condescending gaze. Noting the sportswear and shoes that were from some third-rate manufacturer that he wore and the air that a fat nerd would have oozing from him, Richard wondered how did such a loser have the courage to cling to Sophia? Richard finally dered, ¡°If I win today, you will leave her.¡± He said that with absolute seriousness as he looked at Stanley. Stanley acted as though he had heard the joke of the century. ¡°Fine, but if I win, you will not show yourself in front of her again.¡± The verbal duel between Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend was clearly drawing attention. They locked eyes the moment they finished their speeches. With their showdown done, they looked at Sophia in the stands at the same time for some reason. Sophia met their gazes as well as the surrounding audience¡¯s gazes. For a moment, she was ufortable. No words came to her, and the atmosphere was a little tense. Sophia was suddenly worried for Stanley. She wasn¡¯t sure whether this gamer nerd knew his way around a basketball, but she knew about Richard¡¯s basketball skills. After all, they had yed together for two years starting from her first year in high school. The match began atst. With a blow of his whistle, the referee tossed the ball. The School of Financial Management immediately gained control of the ball the moment the ball left the referee¡¯s hands. A few long passester, the ball was in Richard¡¯s hands. He did a three-step, his strong and tall figure charging up to the basket and shooting the ball with a clean shot. The whistle blew again, signalling that the School of Financial Management had gained two points. Apuse resounded throughout the stadium. Richard high-fived his teammates in delight and raised an eyebrow at Stanley on purpose. He was extremely pleased. The match continued. Stanley immediately snatched the ball after the ball was tossed a second time. A few long passester, he did a beautiful clean shot that scored three points. The School of Computer Science now had three points to their name. Stanley gave Richard the finger. The audience cheered. Nathan also blew on his whistle with all that he could give. Sophia wasn¡¯t worked up at all, for she didn¡¯t know that she was the main object of these two men¡¯s spat. She had no idea where her ¡®current¡¯ boyfriend¡¯s immense hatred for her ex came from. Did he hold a huge grudge because the Harpers had thrown money at magazines on purpose and had him portrayed as a loser whose only skill was ying video games? She had to admit that the match was absolutely a treat to watch. Never mind those two yers who were currently duking it out like their life was depending on it; the two basketball teams represented the cream of the crop of Bayside University¡¯s non-career sports teams. Their members had been carefully selected. The match was intense, with the lead in points flip-flopping; neither team would give up. The entire stadium was filled to the brim. The stands were filled, and even the seats at the back as well as the corridors were filled with people. They had alle to witness the duel between Bayside University¡¯s top two basketball teams. Sophia¡¯s heart kept racing. She just had the feeling that something big was about to happen. Thest time her heart had pounded like this was when Michael descended and caught that groper at the cinema. Chapter 195 Chapter 195 The announcer was very professional as he rattled off hismentary. ¡°Number 5 of the School of Financial Management, Richard Harper, has taken the ball. Oh, it¡¯s in! A perfect dunk with a three-step! Number 5¡¯s jumping skills are jaw-dropping! The School of Computer Science is now behind by two points. We can see that they¡¯ve begun upping the ante. Look at Number 7 now. Number 7, Stanley Fletcher has gotten the ball and shot a five-pointer! And the ball¡¯s in! The School of Computer Science has taken the lead by a point for now!¡± Thementator got even more excited. ¡°Number 5 has possession of the ball. Number 7 is dogging him relentlessly. Oh, he nearly got it. The ball is still with Number 5. Keep it up, number 5! And Number 5 got rudely cut off by Number 7 while he¡¯s about to dunk. That¡¯s truly tragic!¡± Sophia watched the tense tug-of-war between both teams, her heart slowly lightening as she did. Who would have thought that Stanley really had it in him? He was going toe-to-toe with Richard! The half-time break began with a blow of the referee¡¯s whistle. Both teams retreated from the court. The score was currently 23:20, with the School of Computer Science behind by three points. However, they would soon be able to make up for itter after the break. Stanley had only just stepped off the court when Nathan came zooming down to him with some water. The boy¡¯s usual aloofness was nowhere to be seen. Right now, he was rather warm and receptive. ¡°Hey, Nate!¡± Stanley¡¯s hands were dirty, so he didn¡¯t move to pat the boy. He simply took the bottle from Nathan and took a few sips before calling over his teammates to discuss strategy. All of a sudden, one of the yers came hobbling over. ¡°Captain, sorry about this, but my leg¡¯s injured. I¡¯ll need to go to the infirmary.¡± Stanley eyed the yer¡¯s red and throbbing ankle. ¡°Go ahead.¡± The yer hobbled off with someone helping him. Stanley¡¯s bag suddenly vibrated in his bag, indicating he had been Venmo-ed a huge sum of money. Now that they were down a yer, Stanley needed to hurry up and find a recement. When he checked, however, he found out that none of the three substitutes were there for some reason. After some asking around, Stanley found out that the substitute yers had left earlier due to emergencies. One of them had stated that his girlfriend was throwing another fit, while another said that his father was in an ident. Thest one had a sudden case of appendicitis and was currently undergoing surgery in hospital. Seeing how his own team only had four yers, Stanley hastily phoned everywhere looking for recements. ¡°Hi, where are you, Sandy? What? You¡¯re back in your hometown and are currently lying on your bed?¡± He tried his luck with another person. ¡°Rooster, where you at? Wait, what? Why are you at a motel during the day? And in some rural area too?¡± ¡°Hey, Mitch¡­¡± He still wasn¡¯t able to find anyone after a round of phone calls. If they hadn¡¯t returned to their hometowns, they were out having fun during their vacation. Stanley had no other choice left. He had to go to the audience stands and just grab someone. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to y with just the four of them. ¡°Stanley, what¡¯s up?¡± Sophia asked when she realized that something was off. Stanley exined the situation briefly as he went hunting for potential yers. Sophia reflexively nced at Richard to see that he was resting off to the side, slender fingers wrapped around his phone as he shed a smile that screamed that victory was in his hands. Something seemed to click for her. Right then, Stanley¡¯s phone rang. He pulled it out to see that it was a name that he never expected to see. He epted the call and left with a frown on his face. Meanwhile, Richard put down his phone after he had transferred the money. Now that Stanley¡¯s team had too few yers, Richard was going to watch just how they would be able to continue. The School of Computer Science wascking in everything except for their abundance in losers, especially those who lacked money. The School of Financial Management, on the other hand, still wouldn¡¯t becking in hot guys and money even if everything else was taken away. Richard took a sip of water and looked at X in the stands before flicking his gaze over to Sophia, who was currently looking in the entrance¡¯s direction. Oh no. Her heart was racing again. She just had the feeling that something was about to happen! The match was about to resume when Stanley quickly returned. He seemed to have found recements, for trailing behind him were two men d in down jackets. Stanley was grinning as he called those two in. Sophia looked at the men before him in curiosity. She couldn¡¯t help but be dumbstruck when she caught a good look at their faces. Wait, isn¡¯t that Michael and his gay friend, Harry Winston? she thought. Why were they here? Where did they get the guts toe sauntering to this ce? Weren¡¯t they megastars? Weren¡¯t they celebrities? Weren¡¯t they supposed to have an entourage of bodyguards wherever they go? Weren¡¯t they worried about the number of people here? What if the fans couldn¡¯t control themselves from charging down and exposing them? Still, those two megastars were just that gutsy. Not only had they sauntered in, they even hurried over to the changing rooms to change into the School of Computer Science¡¯s basketball uniforms. Michael was Number 8 while Harry was Number 6. With Stanley being number 7, they formed a perfect trio. Michael lookedpletely like a university student now that he was dressed in the sports uniform. He exuded a sunny and approachable aura, like a boy next door. There was no trace to be found of the majestic and blinding handsomeness that he had when the spotlights were trained on him. His bare face was bared to the world with no other adornments. There was even some scruff on his chin, as though it was the effect of makeup. With his unclean face, dirty sports uniform and theck of spotlights around, he appeared to be simply a normal university student. To top it off, his hair was currently a bright unnatural color. He looked absolutely the part of a young man who didn¡¯t conform to mainstream trends. Harry was also dressed in a sports uniform, dirt all over his face. From the looks of things, these two megastars intended to step up to the court and y. Sophia¡¯s heart had hammered itself all the way up to her throat. Suddenly, she heard people begin to talk. ¡°Hey look. Don¡¯t those two look kinda like Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston?¡± ¡°Yeah, they look eerily alike!¡± ¡°But it seems that their auras can¡¯tpare to the actual Taylor¡¯s. Look how dirty his face looks. How would Taylor actually go around looking like that?¡± Sophia hurriedly added herself to the discussion. ¡°How can that guy be my bias? He just looks like him, that¡¯s all. Both Taylor and Ethan are abroad filming anyway! I even saw him post on Twitter this morning that he was in Moscov having dinner.¡± Everyone was drawn in and believed her words. How could those two megastars possibly be here? It had to be some really strong lookalikes! They should hurry up and snap some pics to show off to all their social media followers! Countless phones were whipped out as everyone aimed them at these two megastar ¡®lookalikes¡¯. The two megastars swaggered onto the court just like that. They were actors, and Oscar-winning ones to boot. They were the best when it came to acting and putting on a front. If they just stood a particr way and brushed on a little makeup, no one would suspect their true identities. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Richard was threatened by the sudden appearance of the School of Computer Science¡¯s recements. His instincts told him that these two recements weren¡¯t ordinary people. There was a high chance that they had been poached from the School of Athletics. It wasn¡¯t surprising to look for yers outside of their own schools. Some of the yers on the School of Financial Management¡¯s team were from the School of Athletics. Just where did those from the School of Computer Science find their extra yers though? And why did they resemble two certain celebrities so much¡­ The match resumed with the whistle. The battle in the second half was way more intense than it was in the first half. Both teams pulled out all the stops, entering a fierce battle right from the start. Sophia kept a hand on her thumping heart in the stands. She was so worked up that she nearly jumped from her seat like everyone else. A star would never show all his cards. This was the true showdown between her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend! No, it was more precise to say that it was a showdown between her ex and her husband! Chapter 196 Chapter 196 Now that the School of Computer Science had another two yers, they seemed very imposing when both teams took to the court. Thementator could barely keep up with the changing situations on the court. ¡°And the neer to the School of Computer Science¡¯s team, Number 8, has gone straight for the ball right from the get-go. He passed it to Number 7. Number 7 has passed it to Number 6. Number 6 has passed it back to Number 8 now. Number 8¡¯s going straight for a m dunk, and what a beautiful one it is!¡± A minute hadn¡¯t even gone by when Michael took the lead in offense and executed a perfect m dunk and shocked the entire stadium; even thementator was startled by this. ¡°Looks like the School of Computer Science has been hiding their true colors all this while! They had been saving such strong yers until thest moment!¡± The match continued. Thementator was about to give himself a crick in the jaw. ¡°We can now see that both teams are at a tie now. The financial management students have started an aggressive offense. Number 5 has snatched the ball. Whoa, Number 8 has the ball now. Number 8 passed it to Number 6. Number 6 is now going to shoot¡ªand it¡¯s in! The School of Computer Science has gotten another two points!¡± ¡°Number 5 has once again gained the ball. The ball is now with Number 8 and he¡¯s passing it to Number 7. Number 7 has passed it to Number 8. A three-pointer now¡ªand it¡¯s in! It¡¯s in! It¡¯s actually in! What kind of monster is number 8?¡± ¡°Everyone, we can now see that there¡¯s a growing gap in points. The School of Financial Management is now behind by eleven, no, thirteen points. Number 8 has gained another point!¡± ¡°There are only five minutes left till it¡¯s the end. We can now see that the financial management students are behind by over a dozen points!¡± Sophia watched ck-jawed at each beautiful three-point shoot, dunk and so on. Her eyes were filled with a light that they never had before. She never thought that he would also be so skilled at basketball on top of being a good actor. Was there anything else in this world that Michael Fletcher couldn¡¯t do? Sophia¡¯s heart was racing in her chest again. She covered her chest with a hand but realized she had no way of calming it. The moment the mysterious Number 8 took to the court, he instantly drew everyone¡¯s attention with his uncanny resemnce to Taylor Murray. The crowd would burst into cheers each time he scored. Even Richard¡¯s legion of fangirls had started batting for him. Another wave of cheers sounded as Number 8 dunked with ferocity and scored another 2 points. Nathan apuded madly while he blew on his whistle. Sophia seemed to be dazed as she followed in the pping, her eyes glued to Number 8¡¯s figure. All of a sudden, Number 8 turned his head back and nced at Sophia. Crackling waves of energy seemingly shot out of his eyes. Sophia took it all in with her own widened ones. The moment they locked eyes, that intense energy seemingly traveled to her heart, and it began to beat even faster as though it had just gotten a shot of adrenaline to it. Her breathing had begun to quicken. The influx of blood had made her entire face and even her ears redden. She felt as though her eyes were about to be literal hearts. All she could see was a figure with boundless energy, and all her heart could amodate was him. Richard suddenly rushed up to block Michael, his hands scrabbling at him. Richard reached out to grab at Michael¡¯s clothes and yanked his top up to reveal a wless eight-pack. He hadn¡¯t even managed to snatch the ball from Michael. Instantly, the screams of fangirls flooded the stadium. Michael, meanwhile, had already dribbled the ball over to the three-point field goal and executed yet another wless three-pointer. Ah, her beautiful man was simply so hot! She couldn¡¯t hold herself back at all! Sophia felt as though she was about to have a nosebleed. While Sophia was still in her infatuated haze, the match ended. The points were tallied up after the whistle had been blown. In the end, with a score of 42:27, the School of Computer Science was crowned the champion of Bayside University¡¯s men¡¯s basketball tournament. Stanley had no reservations as he showed Richard the finger. Richard was so angry that his face turned purple. Without another word, he silently headed to the changing rooms to get out of his uniform. Stanley joyously trotted off to receive the prize while Michael and Harry went straight for the changing rooms. The audience was still excitedly talking about the match after they left the stands. Sophia and Nathan waited outside the changing rooms for ages before they saw Harry exit. Sophia was still extra awkward with Harry, but he was still Michael¡¯s good friend, so it wouldn¡¯t do for her to avoid greeting him after they had met. Thus, she smiled dumbly at him. It could be considered her greeting to him. Harry left first. It took another long while before Michael emerged from the changing room. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. He had had a wig on during the basketball match earlier, but he had now taken the wig off to reveal his actual hair. Sophia had no idea when he had shaved his head. He was dressed in a coat that was simr to Stanley¡¯s, while a pair of clean, white sneakers were on his feet. He was so clean and spotless that every pore was seemingly glowing, just like a boy next door. He probably resembled the handsome boy that every girl had a soft spot for back in their student days. ¡°Hubby.¡± Sophia shyly trotted over and looked up at him. Michael touched his closely cropped hair. ¡°I shaved my head for the shoot. Does it look good on me?¡± he asked. Sophia pressed her lips together and nodded. A handsome man would look good regardless of anything. He looked good while walking down the red carpet dressed in a tuxedo, and he also looked good while dressed in standard university student garb. At any rate, he was handsome! Michael gazed at Sophia¡¯s blushing little face and couldn¡¯t resist from kissing her, sealing his lips against hers. They had only been apart for half a day, but he felt as if they had been separated for days on end. He pushed her toward the wall as he kissed her, and the two of them began a passionate and intense dance of tongues. Sophia felt that she was close to being unable to breathe. All of her consciousness and ability to feel had been sucked away by Michael. She couldn¡¯tst long at all with Michael in front of her; just a few rounds in, and she had already thrown in the towel and begged for mercy. Her husband was just irresistible. She couldn¡¯t stop herself at all! He managed to ensnare the hearts of millions of girls so easily, never mind Sophia¡¯s own heart. Nathan clutched the cleaned basketball while staring nkly at the two adults currently nibbling on each others¡¯ lips by the wall. The rest of the team had gone to pick up the prize. Only a few students from the School of Financial Management were still in the changing room or showering. However, there were still yers filing out of the changing room, and they could immediately see the kissing couple. Since Michael¡¯s back was turned toward them, all they could see was a hulking figure with a cropped haircut. Michael and Stanley were uncle and nephew. They naturally would bear some familial resemnce. When paired with a simr haircut and general aura, everyone immediately thought that they were seeing Stanley smooching in the corner with Sophia as though there was no one around. They instinctively decided against disturbing the pair. Richard and X soon made their appearances. X was still soothing Richard, who looked glum. ¡°Okay now, Richard. It was just a basketball match. It¡¯s nothing to get upset over. It¡¯s going to be the new year soon. Cheer up a bit!¡± Richard¡¯s heart warmed as he gazed at the girl who had been at his side all this while. X had always been with him, in contrast to Sophia. It didn¡¯t matter now that Sophia wasn¡¯t with him anymore. She had been pping along with everyone whenever the School of Computer Science scored a point earlier. Richard¡¯s eyes exuded anger at that thought, but then he caught sight of an unforgettable pair kissing each other when he turned around. Isn¡¯t that Sophia? And the man with the cropped hair is unmistakably Stanley! Fury crashed over Richard in an instant and he charged over like a spurned man. Chapter 197 Chapter 197 Curse it all! Even I had never gotten to kiss Sophia. How dare this loser touch my girl! Richard thought. Much to his surprise, X stopped him in the middle of his charge. ¡°Richard, don¡¯t! Don¡¯t do it! Sophia is now dating Stanley. It¡¯s not the time for us to tear her apart!¡± Richard did his best to mp down on the rage boiling inside. He felt as though his life was crumbling apart. He never expected his own woman would kiss another man in front of him! He felt absolutely betrayed in that instant. X eyed the furious Richard and Sophia, who had been ¡®caught in the act¡¯. Schadenfreude danced in her eyes. Sophia, let¡¯s just see how you¡¯re going to seduce Richard in the future! Sophia¡¯s heart jumped in surprise when she caught sight of Richard ring mutinously at her as she was kissing Michael passionately. Oh, that look in his eyes! While she didn¡¯t mind it, she had no interest in acting out a kiss in front of her ex-boyfriend. Besides, she was kissing Michael; it was better for this to be done at home behind closed doors. She pushed Michael lightly. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m hungry. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Michael pecked her on her lips lovingly. ¡°Sure.¡± That moment he lowered his head was practically a moment when he oozed pure handsomeness with nothing else; such perfectly defined lines with an extraordinary beauty and mysteriousness! Sophia¡¯s face burned. She then took Nathan¡¯s hand and headed outside with Michael. Richard followed them in displeasure. He watched on helplessly as Sophia and that loser ¡®Stanley¡¯ smiled and chatted before leaving right from his sight. ¡®Stanley¡¯ even had an arm wrapped around Sophia¡¯s shoulders. The two of them were no different from any couple on campus. The only thing that differed was the little third wheel walking next to them. Richard¡¯s face turned purple from anger as he watched this ¡®family of three¡¯. The sense of betrayal he felt grew even more. X was revelling in all of this. She pulled on Richard¡¯s arm and consoled him. ¡°Richard, don¡¯t be mad. Let¡¯s all get along now. It¡¯s lucky that you found out about her tendency to shift targets in time. It would have been a disaster if she had gotten into the Harper Family otherwise!¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Richard chuckled coldly and retracted his bone-chilling gaze. ¡°I won¡¯t tear her to pieces for now. Once we¡¯ve made some inroads into the Fletchers¡­¡± He would kick her ruthlessly to the side by then! Sophia and Michael got into their car and returned home. She couldn¡¯t resist pulling out her phone to see if her ex had sent some weird message to her again, for example, ¡®Sophia, I never thought that you¡¯re that kind of person.¡¯ Or maybe it could be something like, ¡®You¡¯ve betrayed our love for each other!¡¯ N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Unfortunately, there was nothing. On the contrary, Richard had sent this instead. ¡®Sophia, I had miscalcted during today¡¯s match. I hadn¡¯t expected Stanley to be able to find some substitutes from outside his school. I won¡¯t let you down next time.¡¯ Huh? He actually isn¡¯t interrogating me or ripping into me? Sophia had a vague idea of Richard¡¯s scheming. They were probably waiting for her, ¡®Joel¡¯s mistress¡¯, to whisper in Joel¡¯s ear and figure out a way to marry Ka Harper into the Fletchers. When that happened, the Harpers and the Fletchers would be united. The Harpers would probably be sharpening their knives to ughter the goose then. It wasn¡¯t like Richard hadn¡¯t done anything like that before. In the past, she had stayed up overnight helping him with the homework that he hadn¡¯t gotten right. She had then sacrificed her rest to help tutor him, but he ended up hooking up with X the moment he got into university. She knew exactly what her ex had in mind when he sent that! She tossed her phone to the side and began to focus on Michael¡¯s dashing good looks. Sometimes, the difference between people was even greater than the difference between a person and a piece of crap. When they returned, Sophia hastily logged into the Bayside University forums. Just as she thought, others had posted pictures from the basketball match earlier. Michael had been the subject in all of the shots. There were a good number of high quality shots on the forums, which Sophia hastily saved. Tch, just how did Michael maintain his good looks all these years? He was already in his thirties, yet that skin of his was exactly the same as a youngd in histe teens. It was so dewy that one could practically squeeze the moisture right out of it! If only she could be like him when she got to her thirties; that would be great! Sophia put on her sses and drooled all over her husband¡¯s otherworldly looks through herputer screen. Michael deliberately walked in front of her, d in just a pair of boxers. She then immediately switched off herputer and pretended to study seriously. Her eyes followed that sturdy body for a long while until the bathroom door interrupted her line of sight. It was only then that she retracted her gaze, but her mind kept conjuring up weird thoughts, such as musings about what her future child with Michael would be named, and which kindergarten would the kid go to. But at the thought that Michael had many gay friends, she felt that her existence was quite insignificant. She was a little deted. She was just a regr person. She wasn¡¯t exactly rich, and it wasn¡¯t like her face was absurdly beautiful or anything. There were many moredies who were prettier and wealthier than she was, and Michael had been showbiz for years. The number of gorgeous women he had met had to outnumber all the meals she had eaten throughout her life. He was the crush of millions of girls worldwide, and the number of beautiful women throwing themselves at Michael could probably form a line that wrapped around the world several times over. What advantage did Sophia have toe up on top of all these millions of girls? Perhaps Michael had married her for some other reason. At any rate, he hadn¡¯t done it because he loved her. She continued to be all wrapped up in her head. One moment she would be thinking of which kindergarten that their child would be sent to, and the next moment she would be wondering the type of men that Michael liked. All of this was done as she browsed the threads on the forums of course. Many people were asking about Michael¡¯s origins. Hmph, if even I can¡¯t get my hands on him, you guys can forget about it! Sophia kept pasting the same reply on the posts. ¡®This is my boyfriend. We¡¯ve been in a steady rtionship for five years. We¡¯ll be marrying once I graduate.¡¯ Meanwhile, Michael was bathing with Nathan in the bathroom. There were three bathtubs in there, with each person getting their own tub. Nathan¡¯s tub was green, with two little toy frogs floating in the water in it. Michael luxuriated in the bathwater; taking a bath after a basketball match was a great feeling. As he soaked in the bath, he said, ¡°Son, you¡¯re already five. Once it¡¯s the new year, you¡¯ll be six. If you round that up, you¡¯ll be ten thising year. Ten years old is already old enough to be a man. Don¡¯t sleep with my wife from now on.¡± ¡°Find me a wife then. I¡¯ll let you sleep with my wife,¡± Nathan said dully in his bath. Michaelughed. ¡°Son, you¡¯ll have to sleep by yourself next year. Mom will be sleeping with me.¡± Nathan didn¡¯t speak up again. His dad must be thinking of taking the opportunity to shove a little sister into Sophia¡¯s belly. If Sophia really gave birth to a little sister, then he wouldn¡¯t be the only baby of the family anymore. Nathan was a little saddened by the thought. Sophia went to campus again the next day. Her school still had one more basketball match to go. It had stopped snowing atst. The sun was finally out too. However, snow was still piled by the sides of the road. Sophia stepped into campus with her pink coat, a pink Santa hat perched on her head as well. When paired with her pink cheeks, she looked strikingly beautiful. Nathan was also dressed in a pink coat with a pink hat on his side. He looked like a girl in his outfit. His face was freezing, and he didn¡¯t know why Sophia thought that he would like this eye-watering pink; he was clearly a boy! Still, he put up with it for the time being since Sophia liked the outfit. He¡¯d embarrass himself with her for now. He was a little kid at any rate; the others wouldn¡¯t make fun of a little kid. Chapter 198 Chapter 198 When Sophia reached the campus, she saw Sarah and Sean walking toward her. Almost every day, the duo came to the campus together because they seemed to be neighbors. ¡°Sofie,e and take a look at thetest magazine! There¡¯s a surprise inside!¡± Sarah brought Sophia to the campus¡¯s most crowded newspaper stand. There, the magazines that defamed Stanley had been removed and were reced by a new edition of esports magazines. Coincidentally, Stanley was on the covers too. This time, the magazines were full of Stanley¡¯s well-groomed photos instead of candid shots. As usual, Stanley was in his punk style. He looked attractive in the professionally shot and slightly edited photos. When Sophia read the magazine while walking, she found that the whole magazine was talking about esports and Stanley¡¯s interview even took up a lot of pages. Oh dear. This guy is actually so capable, Sophia thought. Not only was he the worthiest esports yer in Cethos, but he was also very famous in the international esports industry. Previously, he even led a team of Cethonian online gamers and defeated every foreign team in an international esports tournament, winning themselves the first ce. The British prince has asked for his guidance; the Swedish princess has tried courting him; the President has brought him on a state visit because he¡¯s the most outstanding teen in Cethos¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve never thought that Stan is so talented!¡± Sarah eximed. Meanwhile, Sophia also seemed to be impressed by Stanley because she had been regarding him as a nerd. It seemed like all the Fletchers were indeed extraordinary. They walked to the basketball court while chatting. After reaching the ce and changing her clothes, Sophia began warming up and focused on the competitionter. The match was between the School of Economics and Business Administration and the School of Financial Management. Since the School of Financial Management was full of rich, good-looking people, they had more fans in comparison to the School of Economics and Business Administration. Richard was here too. When he reached the court, he walked to Sophia while smiling politely. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m here to support you.¡± He thought he was treating Sophia generously and kindly since he purposely didn¡¯t bring X along with him. In response, Sophia smiled, but she was cut short from her speech because somebody suddenly put his hand on her shoulder, and a deep voice could be heard behind her. ¡°Thank you!¡± Stanley showed up and held Sophia¡¯s shoulder as he said mockingly, ¡°Sophia has enough cheerleaders for today, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll need her ex. You¡¯re an eyesore.¡± His words made Sophia roll her eyes because she had no idea why Stanley kept treating her ex meanly. For her, she had always chosen to ignore the Harpers to prevent them from having the idea that she wanted to rely on them. In contrast to Richard, who was alone, there were a lot of men standing behind Stanley now. Aside from Nathan, Gary, and Hale, there were also a few men whom Sophia did not recognize, and even a few Caucasians. ¡°Sophia,e here! Let me introduce them to you.¡± Deliberately, Stanley started introducing his friends before Richard. ¡°Here¡¯s my eldest disciple, Kevin. He¡¯s the youngest prince of the British monarchy and the eighth in line to the throne.¡± Then, he turned to another guy. ¡°This is my second disciple, Wilhelm. He¡¯s from the Swedish royal family.¡± Pointing to yet another guy, he said, ¡°He¡¯s my friend, Shiloh, and he¡¯s the heir of thergest tribe in Africa.¡± As the humiliated Stanley was provoked, he asked his friends toe here to put Richard to shame. Bayside University was nevercking international students because a lot of politicians and sessful entrepreneurs sent their children here. Although Richard had thought about gaining their support, he had no ways to approach them. Little did he know that Stanley could casually ask so many of them out. It was also out of his expectation that Stanley was really famous by being an esports yer. Esports did not only make him be famous worldwide and the worthiest gamer in Cethos, it also gave him the opportunity to know a lot of royalty and politicians. Nheless, he was still a gamer no matter how arrogant he was! Richard was quiet and his expression darkened. Meanwhile, Stanley was ring at him disdainfully. This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org. Even though Nathan was in the gang, the average of their height was still around 180 cm. Hence, if they really went into a fight with Richard, they would undoubtedly be the winner because Richard was only by himself. Sophia was the one who broke the tension. ¡°Okay. Just go and find yourselves seats.¡± Richard turned around and left with a foul expression. Then, Stanley was finally willing to bring his friends to look for seats. During the match between the School of Computer Science and the School of Financial Management last time, they would have lost due to Richard¡¯s tricks if Michael had note to their rescue. Hence, Stanley brought his gang of friends over on this day to prevent the School of Economics and Business Administration from being fooled as well. Aside from giving Sophia support, they were also here to stop those from the School of Financial Management from ying dirty tricks. As giving out money had been the mostmon trick used by those from the School of Financial Management, the female basketball team had indeed used this trick on the School of Economics and Business Management before the match. One day before the match, Sophia received an anonymous text message about giving her 100 thousand if she would quit the match. She justughed it off. On this day, the yers from the School of Economics and Business Administration were in their best state and they were gaining points effortlessly. As their points kept going up, people from the School of Financial Management became anxious and kept sending out messages to them, offering them more money than before. However, Stanley, who was in the spectators¡¯ seat, suddenly shouted, ¡°To the beautifuldies in the School of Economics and Business Administration¡¯s basketball team, let¡¯s go for a meal once you all win! Just order anything you want because my friend will pay for the bill!¡± At once, every girl around became excited, especially the girls from the School of Economics and Business Administration¡¯s basketball team. They did not care about what they would be eating; the key issue here was who they would be having dinner with. As long as they could have dinner with their prince, money would not be an issue for them. Hence, no matter how hard the School of Financial Management tried now, no people would ept their offer anymore. The winner of the match was obvious now. As Sophia¡¯s opponents were too weak, she was running around and putting in goals without putting in much effort. She even wanted to yawn because her opponents simply couldn¡¯tpare to her skills without the support of money they were given. Hence, she just let her other team members show off their skills, as a few princes were looking at them now. When she looked at the spectatorszily, she suddenly found a man in a ck down coat sitting in a corner. With a huge scarf around his neck, he was looking at Sophia smilingly. Although he was wearing a ck cap and had put his hair down to cover half of his face, Sophia still recognized him at a nce¡ªMichael was here! Hence, Sophia suddenly becamepetitive once again. She ran in front of her team and started snatching the ball and putting in goals. In the end, she even managed to make two consecutive three- pointers. The match ended after the blow of a whistle. The School of Financial Management was totally defeated, making them go to the restroom in distress. Nathan happily brought a bottle of water to Sophia after she had left the court. When Sophia was drinking the water, she kept sneaking nces at Michael¡¯s direction and realized that he had disappeared. Did he leave? At once, Sophia became sad, and she even found the mineral water that she was drinking bitter. Chapter 199 Chapter 199 ¡°Sophia!¡± Stanley suddenly called her. At this moment, he and his friends had already changed into sports attire and Stanley had a basketball in his hand. ¡°We¡¯re going to another ce for a round of matches. Are youing?¡± As Sophia was still disappointed about Michael¡¯s early departure, she was upset and was going to decline. However, little did she expect that a voice would suddenly ring behind her. ¡°Of course. She¡¯s going.¡± In an instant, Sophia found that her world had be lively again. Hence, when she turned her head and looked at the man who had showed up, her eyes were literally sparkling. She did not know when Michael went and changed into sports attire. He looked just like a student in the Bayside University in his recently done buzz cut. It was hard to ept that this lively and handsome guy was actually a 32-year-old man. Stanley rubbed his own head that was in a buzz cut as well, then he looked at Michael¡¯s as he mumbled, ¡°Hmm, don¡¯t we have the same hairstyle? Why does he look more handsome than me?¡± Since Sophia¡¯s idol was going, she would certainly go too! Happily, she followed them to a rather deserted basketball court and started ying. Although the court was full of young, energetic Bayside University students, the 32-year-old Michael did not stand out among them at all. While they were ying, Sophia peeked at Michael and could not help but exim in her mind, How can his skin be so wless? He looks so young and he doesn¡¯t look his age at all! His performance also doesn¡¯t make him look like a man in his thirties, let alone his skin condition. No wonder he was chosen to act as a handsome high school student in the movie. The role suits him perfectly! Ah! My idol! Meanwhile, Gary and Hale quietly stood aside and watched them y. Nathan was sitting and waiting for them too. During the interval, Sophia took a rest to drink some water. In the meantime, she did not forget to keep her eyes on her idol who was scoring goals too. The more I look at him, the more handsome I find him to be! ¡°Hey! Sophia!¡± Stanley, who had left the court for some water, patted on Sophia¡¯s shoulders forcefully. Then, he said with a disdainful look, ¡°Is this your first time meeting men? You look so obsessed that you¡¯re almost drooling! Don¡¯t you feel embarrassed?¡± Hurriedly, Sophia regained her calmposure. Did I show my admiration so obviously just now? Somebody please tell me that I didn¡¯t! If I really had shown it, wouldn¡¯t Tay Tay have seen it too? It¡¯s so embarrassing! When Stanley finished drinking water and took out his phone to check the time, he saw an unknown number calling him. Turning around, he picked up the call. ¡°Hello? May I know who this is?¡± On the other end of the phone, the man¡¯s voice echoed as though he was in some enclosed space. ¡°I¡¯m Richard.¡± Stanleyughed. ¡°What¡¯s up, Harps?¡± Richard only said after snorting, ¡°Stanley, I know that you¡¯re in a rtionship with Sophia now. However, I really pity you. Do you even know your girlfriend¡¯s true colors?¡± This piqued Stanley¡¯s interests and he asked, ¡°Oh? I don¡¯t know. Can you tell me about it?¡± Being merciless, Richard exposed Sophia¡¯s most embarrassing side without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you don¡¯t know about this, but I¡¯m the only man in Sophia¡¯s heart because she¡¯s even willing to get into Joel¡¯s bed for me! How can you still ept such a woman?¡± After a few seconds of silence, Stanley justughed out loud. ¡°Harps, I¡¯m dying ofughter now. Hahahahaha!¡± On the other end of the phone, Richard shook his head and felt amused. Stanley is really just a foolish man who only knows gaming. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°During the charity banquet at the Harpers, did you know why Joel showed up? He was only there because Sophia had asked him to! Then, why did you think that Joel would listen to her? It¡¯s because they¡¯re having an affair now!¡± Stanley was highly amused at Michael¡¯s delusion now, and he could not suppress hisughter. ¡°Hahaha! Continue, please.¡± Richard continued saying, ¡°Even though she¡¯s Joel¡¯s mistress now, she still only thinks of me. The only reason she¡¯s with Joel is because of me. I¡¯ve promised to offer her a position in the Harper Group once I¡¯ve gained enough power! What can you offer her then? You¡¯re iparable to me! Do you understand?!¡± Richard was literally yelling now. Sophia could only belong to him! Whenever he thought about her kissing Stanley, he could not hold back his fury; it was as though his precious treasure had been stolen. That precious treasure of his was Sophia. Although he could leave her hanging when he was bored and only talked to her whenever he remembered her, he could not bear seeing other people casting their eyes on her! She only belonged to him! Most importantly, he felt humiliated upon seeing other people cherishing his girlfriend whom he had abandoned. He felt as though his pride and dignity were trampled. Meanwhile, Stanley was seemingly frightened by Richard¡¯s words because he had been being silent on the other end of the phone. When Richard thought that Stanley was convinced, Stanley began howling in laughter. ¡°Hahahaha! Are you trying to kill me with jokes so that you can get my game ount?¡± This made Richard feel helpless. Since he had revealed Sophia¡¯s ugliest side, he had nothing else to tell Richard anymore. Hence, he reminded Stanley for thest time, ¡°Simr to Joel, you¡¯re also just a tool to Sophia. I¡¯m the only man in her heart.¡± This time, Stanley finally stoppedughing and asked seriously after taking a deep breath, ¡°I¡¯m just a nerd who only knows gaming. May I know which part of me that you think she can use, Mr. Harper?¡± This made Richard be lost for words. In the end, he made up a perfect excuse. ¡°Sophia is a girl who doesn¡¯t like showing her weak side to people. That¡¯s why she¡¯s shy from letting people know that I¡¯m the only man in her heart. No matter what, you¡¯re just her tool and you can¡¯t stop us from getting together!¡± While holding back hisughter, Stanley continued asking, ¡°Since Sophia has already slept with Joel, what advantages do you think you have inparison to Joel? What is it that makes Sophia remain loyal to you?¡± Again, Richard was lost for words because he had thought about this question too. As Joel was going to be the youngest general in Cethos, what would happen if Sophia really chose Joel over him in the end? Not willing to admit defeat, Richard roared, ¡°She only loves me!¡± All of a sudden, someone¡¯s faint voice could be heard from the other end of the phone. ¡°Where are you, Richard? I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!¡± Richard hurriedly ended the call. After being hung up, Stanley finally understood why Sophia did not want to speak another word with this ex of hers¡ªit was because she would die ofughter! Sophia only has Richard in her heart? What nonsense! She¡¯s totally charmed by Uncle Michael now! After keeping his phone away, Stanley suddenly thought of Michael¡¯s words. He said that Sophia is married, right? How is this possible? He must be lying to me. How could she possibly be married at such a young age? The reason he has told me this must be that he doesn¡¯t wish to see me flirting with his son¡¯s nanny. Chapter 200 Chapter 200 After resting for a while, Sophia continued ying basketball with Michael energetically. When Michael did a perfect m dunk, everyone in the court gasped and pped. Sophia was looking at Michael enviously because she wished to do a m dunk too. Unfortunately, she was too short, and her hands could not even reach the hoop. Suddenly, Michael walked to her as though he had read her mind. ¡°Do you wish to do a m dunk too?¡± Sophia widened her eyes and nodded. Then, Michael passed her the basketball and walked forward, bending down to hold her up while holding her legs. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. At once, Sophia felt herself leaving the ground and she could see the hoop right before her. However, when she lowered her gaze and saw Michael holding her, she blushed. All the while keeping a hold on her, Michael said, ¡°Go on.¡± With a thumping heart, Sophia turned scarlet and did her ¡®m dunk¡¯. When the basketball hit the ground, Michael put Sophia down too. Although Sophia was standing on the ground now, her mind was still aplete nk because her idol had been too charming. She could not think of anything else other than him now. When Michael picked up the basketball and saw Nathan looking at him eagerly, he waved at him. In response, Nathan ran over and took the basketball without a word. Then, Michael held him up and let him do a m dunk happily. When Stanley looked at the happy trio, he suddenly had mixed feelings. Can it be that Sophia is Uncle Michael¡¯s wife? In the next instant, he dismissed this thought. How possibly would my wise Uncle Michael marry the silly Sophia? Tsk, tsk. Look at that girl. She¡¯s almost drooling! After ying a round of basketball, the group of people took their respective showers and changed back into their clothes, preparing to leave. Stanley said, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m going to y games now. Bye!¡± Then, he brought all hisckeys with him to y games whereas Sophia followed Michael home. Michael somehow got a bicycle and stopped it before Sophia. ¡°Hop on, chica.¡± Looking at the bicycle, Sophia felt shy despite wanting to hop on. Nevertheless, how could she let her idol give her a ride in such cold weather? Michael stopped the bicycle and smiled at her with his head tilted. ¡°Just hop on. It¡¯ll take you 30 minutes if you choose to walk out of the campus.¡± With her head lowered, Sophia blushed and sat on the bicycle¡¯s backseat quietly. Then, Michael put his feet on the pedals and held the handlebar with his hands that were in a pair of warm gloves now. Turning his head, he told his young bride who was on the backseat, ¡°Hold me tightly.¡± Shyly, Sophia put her arms around his waist. Oh gosh! I¡¯m holding my idol¡¯s waist now! He¡¯s so strong and muscr. I can even feel his abs under his down coat! They traveled across Bayside University on the bike. Sitting on a side, Sophia was leaning her head on Michael¡¯s back to shield herself from the strong, cold wind. While listening to Michael¡¯s even breathing, she really wished that time could stop at this moment. asionally, there were other couples overtaking them on their bicycles, disying their affection publicly too. Ring¡­ Michael rang the bicycle bell. When the students on the road heard the sound, they made way for the bicycle, smiling when they saw the nice-looking couple. At that moment, Sophia felt as if flowers were blossoming everywhere and the warm, spring breeze was surrounding her. However, she seemed to have forgotten something. Sophia only recalled what she had forgotten when Michael rode the bicycle to the campus entrance. ¡°Oh no! We¡¯ve forgotten Nate!¡± Michael finally seemed to have remembered his son too. Hence, he hurriedly rode back and met Nathan and Gary halfway. With a darkened expression, Nathan just ignored the couple and walked away. This time, they really angered Nathan because he just shut himself in his own room upon reaching home. No matter how the couple coaxed him, he did not want toe out. Standing at Nathan¡¯s room door, Sophia was anxious. ¡°What should we do? Nate seems to be very furious.¡± However, Michael did not take this to heart and just smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll return to his usual self tomorrow. Just let him be alone now.¡± On the inside however, he was thinking, It¡¯s good that he¡¯s angry, because he won¡¯t interrupt me anymore! Michael took out the box of condoms that he had long prepared from the storeroom. He nned to use themter this night. Happily, he brought the condoms back to the bedroom while thinking about the busy night that they would haveter. Upon opening the bedroom, he saw Sophia, who was just out from a bath, lying on the bed. When Sophia peeked from the covers and saw the box of condoms, she felt her scalp tingling and she pulled the covers up again. At first, Michael thought that Sophia was being shy, but little did he know that a boy would suddenly pop his head out from the covers! With a pair of widened eyes, Nathan stared at Michael, who returned the stare. The both of them remained that way for some time. Michael was irritated. Didn¡¯t he just shut himself in the room? Why is he here now?! As both of them did not speak a word after a while, Sophia hurriedly broke the tension by saying, ¡°Hubby, Nate only wants to sleep with us because he says that it¡¯s too cold to sleep alone.¡± What nonsense! He¡¯s just here to mess around! Feeling helpless, Michael could only put that box of condoms back to its original ce. When he returned, Nathan and Sophia had already fallen asleep. Shaking his head, he walked toward them. After looking at them closely, he found both of them really adorable. Never mind. I won¡¯t me him for the sake of his cuteness. Although the wonderful winter break had started, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to be nning to take a break. Every day, she would either be preparing for her next semester¡¯s courses, or she would be going to the gym, or ying games; all of her time was upied. Michael was also busy filming his part in the crew so that he could go home before New Year¡¯s Eve. Meanwhile, the Fletchers brought Nathan home with them. As Old Master Fletcher was really fond of Nathan, they would bring Nathan home for a few days every winter break. This gave Sophia more free time because she did not need to take care of Nathan. Hence, she went to y games in the cybercafe every day after studying. Recently, she had been logging in with her alternate ount and she had not logged into her main ount for a long time. Ever since Nathan logged into her main ountst time and messed everything up, she felt embarrassed to y with that ount. This was because everyone in the same server wasughing at Sirius bing Scary Phoenix¡¯s ¡®wife¡¯. Just when she was going to y with her alternate ount, her ¡®wife¡¯, Call Me Taylor, told her happily, ¡®Hubby, now that the Esports World Championship is approaching, a lot of skilled yers in our server have formed teams to join. Are you participating too?¡¯ The Esports World Championship? Sophia seemed to have heard of this championship before. Basically, it was an annual carnival for the worldwide nerds and it had been held for decades. Every year, more than a dozen of the famous online games could be found in thepetition, including the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. Most importantly, it was the only Cethonian game that could be found in thepetition. Unfortunately, a foreign team won first ce in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯st year and the Cethonian team only got second ce. Hence, to erase this humiliation, highly-skilled Cethonian gamers had been recruited since the competition started this year. Despite Sophia being not interested in this, Call Me Taylor kept prompting her to join. ¡®Just join it, Hubby! Hurry up and sign up! I¡¯d like to see my hubby be famous in the Aseanos region and the world!¡¯ Chapter 201 Chapter 201 ¡®Their grand prize is very attractive! Major teams have been recruiting members these days and all highly-skilled gamers have joined. So, how can you miss this?¡¯ Sophia became tempted. Won¡¯t it be great to join? There¡¯s only one chance every year! Thus, she logged into her main ount and went to the major teams¡¯ selective trials. Since the Esports World Championship was approaching, all major teams were now recruiting skilled gamers and each team would have eight members. There would be rounds of matches during the world championship. Firstly, gamers from the same server wouldpete against each other in order to be one of the top teams. Then, gamers from all servers in Cethos would have a match to pick out the best team, and the winning team would join the Aseanos region elimination match. Lastly, the best team would have the last round of matches with gamers from other countries. In the Bayside server, every major team had held tournaments to recruit skilled gamers so that they could join the preliminary round. For some famous teams, there were even dozens of interested gamers lining up to join. Hence, qualification trials were held to choose the best gamers. At this moment, Sirius and Call Me Taylor were watching a few teams¡¯ qualification trials. Undoubtedly, the most crowded arenas were the famous teams¡¯ qualifications trials, for instance, Snow Fox¡¯s team. Rumors had it that Snow Fox was in the armyst year, so he missed the previous Esports World Championship. Hence, he participated this year and there were already six people in his team. All of them were listed on the server¡¯s PvP ranking and they were famous gamers in real life too. Hence, they had a high chance winning and the remaining two ces were deadly attractive to the other gamers. Call Me Taylor dragged Sirius233 along to watch one of the trials. ¡®Look at how fun this is, Hubby! Go and have a try too! You definitely have the qualifications to join Snow Fox¡¯s team.¡¯ Sophia became hesitant. It¡¯s Stanley¡¯s team¡­ If she were joining the team, she would need to meet them in real life during the matches. Once Stanley knew that she was Sirius, he would know all her doings in the game. What if he told Michael about this? ¡®Nah, it¡¯s okay. I wish to keep a low profile.¡¯ Sophia declined after considering for a while. Although she really wished to join the championship and was excited upon thinking about ying with other skilled gamers, she still thought that keeping her identity a secret was more important. Call Me Taylor seemed to feel upset. ¡®Hubby, can you just listen to me for one time? I¡¯d really like to see you joining the championship, Hubby!¡± At the same time, Sophia thought that she would appear awesome once she managed to join Snow Fox¡¯s team. Other than that psycho, Scary Phoenix, she believed that she could defeat all the other gamers! After a while, Sophia finally said, ¡®Okay.¡¯ She agreed in the end, signing up for the Snow Fox¡¯s team qualification trial. Meanwhile, Stanley was busy with the Esports World Championship. As his aim was obviously to be the world champion, the gamers that he was looking for were outstanding and highly-skilled ones. After several days of choosing, he managed to find six gamers and he stillcked two. He could hardly find any suitable gamer anymore! As there were more than 100 yers signing up for his team, he felt dizzy by just looking at their biographies one by one. Firstly, he would reject those gamers with bad PvP rankings and bad equipment. If he found some gamers interesting, he would ask them to battle with his team members. Once the gamers could win two of his team members, they could join the team. Although Harry had been wanting to join Stanley¡¯s team, his skills were bad, and he had even been eliminated by others several times. Hence, how could Stanley ept him even though he was Harry¡¯s fan? If his uncle were joining instead, he would probably ept him. However, he could not meet Michael anywhere recently. Since Michael had been ignoring his calls and messages, he certainly would not participate in such a boring esports championship as well. Although Sophia had been ying well, her new ount was not really suitable for joining the Esports World Championship. Stanley was bing desperate because the remaining skilled gamers had been recruited by other teams. Even though he was only left with two empty spots, he still could not find any suitable gamers after so many days. All of a sudden, he was surprised to find an ID among the participants. Sirius233 actually signed up! Isn¡¯t this rascal Uncle Michael¡¯s bottom? How dare he still sign up? Where has he found the courage to do so? Since participants needed to show up during the championship, Sirius would undoubtedly attract the attention of all the people who he had offended to the arena once he appeared! Nevertheless, regardless of his bad reputation and misdoings, Sirius was really a skilled gamer with good equipment. Previously, Sirius and Stanley¡¯s match had ended in a draw because Scary Phoenix had stopped them in the end. Otherwise, Stanley was not sure whether he could defeat Sirius or not. Currently, it seemed to be a good choice to add Sirius to his team. Stanley clicked the ept button and Sirius233 appeared on his team¡¯s arena. The name of Stanley¡¯s team was Dragon Fox. This was because Snow Fox was the leader, whereas the co-leader¡¯s ID was Dragon Belle Warrior. Although it was a female ount, she was rather aggressive. Stanley then sent Dragon Belle Warrior to fight against Sirius233. The audience was agitated. ¡®Wow! Sirius showed up!¡¯ ¡®How dare this jerk show up again?¡¯ ¡®Isn¡¯t he scared that his master, Scary Phoenix, would teach him a lesson if he lost?¡¯ ¡®Haha, his dom top¡¯s gonna screw him hard.¡¯ Sitting before the screen, Sophia felt offended. F*ck it! Sirius¡¯s ¡®dom top¡¯, Scary Phoenix, had been offline for over a month. Since he was well known for appearing suddenly after prolonged absences, he probably would not show up during this period of time too. Among the mocking audiences, Call Me Taylor was sending hearts to Sirius. For the sake of Taylor, Sophia needed to win this match! It was a heated match between Sirius and Dragon Belle Warrior. Although Dragon Belle Warrior seemed to be a weak female character, she was a formidable opponent and was putting Sirius at a disadvantage. However, Sirius did not get flustered and started fighting back soon. After a while of fighting, both of them had gained advantages over the other from time to time, but no one emerged as the winner even after ten minutes had gone by. Snow Fox showed up and stopped the duo. ¡°Okay, you all can stop fighting.¡± The duo kept their weapons and left the arena. Snow Fox then added Sirius to a private chat room. ¡®From today onward, you¡¯ll be my team member. So, let bygones be bygones.¡¯ Sirius replied, ¡®During the championship, I won¡¯t show up physically. I will only y remotely.¡¯ Snow Fox also knew that Sirius would be beaten to death upon showing up in real life. Hence, he replied, ¡®No problem.¡¯ Then, the system showed that Sirius had officially joined Dragon Fox. The audience became more hyped up than before. ¡®What the hell? This rascal really joined the team! Although I¡¯m not really interested in this championship in the first ce, I must go there in person now to meet that rascal!¡¯ ¡®Sirius just eliminated my team a few days ago. Just wait for it, Sirius! I¡¯ll definitely go to the championship and break your legs!¡¯ However, Sophia felt nothing upon reading the insults and negativements. Anyway, I¡¯m not going to appear at the venue. Juste here to where I am and beat me up if you have the capability! All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Chapter 202 Chapter 202 However, she spotted a particrly evilment from the public chat room. ¡®Disgusting gay people. Just go home and let your top f*ck you! Don¡¯t embarrass yourself here!¡¯ F*ck! As expected, thisment infuriated a lot of people. Sophia took out Sirius¡¯ sword and dashed forward without hesitation, but someone was still faster than her. At this moment, Sophia could only see a sword shing before her, then the evilment¡¯s owner was lying in a pool of blood. When Sophia sheathed Sirius¡¯ sword, she was shocked to find that the man who suddenly showed up and had a shining golden aura around him was actually Scary Phoenix! Why did the Lord show up suddenly? Scary Phoenix killed a yer without hesitation upon showing up. Then, he slowly kept his sword and remained unmoving. The audiences who had been making sarcastic remarks were quiet now. At this moment, they were thinking about whether they had made any rudements earlier. ¡®Hubby! Hubby!¡¯ Call Me Taylor went to Sirius excitedly. ¡®You¡¯re awesome, Hubby!¡¯ Sophia did not dare to speak a word as she felt weird with her ¡®wife¡¯ and ¡®husband¡¯ standing at each of her sides. After a moment of silence, Dragon Fox sent an announcement to all servers. ¡®Scary Phoenix has joined Dragon Fox.¡¯ This news astounded the whole server and even the wholemunity of the game. Now that Scary Phoenix had joined Dragon Fox, who could possibly defeat them? No one could even hope to win now! Sophia was shocked. When she was about to log out, Snow Fox informed her, ¡®From tomorrow onward, be online everyday at 7 p.m. You aren¡¯t allowed to bete unless you inform me in advance! Give me your contact number as soon as possible so that we can contact you through phone if there¡¯s any emergency.¡¯ After replying ¡®okay¡¯, Sophia hurriedly scrammed. She was scared to join the championship after seeing Scary Phoenix joining. However, she had no reason to quit now! This championship could be called the Olympics of the esports world! It was the world¡¯srgest esports tournament! On the next day, Sophia went to get herself a new phone and a new number. Then, she gave Snow Fox her new contact number. After a while, Stanley called and said fiercely, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are in real life. Now that you¡¯re a member of Dragon Fox, I¡¯ve got countless ways to kill you if you dare to run away!¡± Sophia regretted joining this championship, but she had no way to leave now. If she really ran away, Stanley would definitely not let her off. Since this guy has said about killing me, he must have the capability to do so. Even though he probably doesn¡¯t mean this literally, it¡¯ll still be awkward once he knows my real identity! Not daring to speak, she waited until Stanley hung up on her. Among the eight team members, four of them were professional esports yers and were online 24/7. Meanwhile, Sirius, Scary Phoenix and both team leaders were part time yers. Hence, they could only show up daily after 7 p.m. Every day, Sophia logged into the game on time to train herself and communicate with the other team members,ing out with strategies and providing assistance. Hence, showing up at 7 p.m. and resting at 11 p.m. had been her routine for a long while. During that period of time, she would either be in the gym or prepare for her courses for the next semester in daytime. At night, she would either go home or go to the cybercafe to y games. Luckily, Scary Phoenix did not frequently show up as his skills did not need further training anymore. However, he would still appear sometimes to provide guidance. In contrast, Beast always showed up and called Sirius ¡®Daddy¡¯ whenever he met Sophia¡¯s character. This made everyone feel rather awkward. As The Imperial did not have any cybercafe nearby, Sophia could only get to the cybercafe across two streets on her motorbike. She felt morefortable to y games in a cybercafe. Recently, she heard that The Luxurious 16¡ªa real estate that was an imitation of The Imperial¡ªalready had people moving in. It was a new residential area built by the Harper Real Estates and was quite near to The Imperial. Despite being just a copycat real estate and not as valuable as the properties in The Imperial, a lot of wealthy families still bought properties there to be neighbors with those in The Imperial. This was because residents in The Imperial were notmon people! Whenever Sophia went out to y games, she needed to pass by the entrance to The Luxurious 16, so she would peek inside curiously. She was wondering who would stay here. When she passed by The Luxurious 16 on this day, she peeked inside again after being stopped by the traffic lights. Little did she know that she would run into someone whom she disliked. ¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t this Sophia?¡± A BMW stopped before Sophia at this moment. When its window was rolled down, Sophia could see Richard in the driver seat, whereas X was in the passenger seat. X deliberately rolled down the window to talk to her. Meanwhile, Richard seemed to be in a bad mood and he did not say anything. X seemed very interested in talking with Sophia. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you gone home, Sophia? It¡¯s the winter break now! Are you working part time as a delivery man now?¡± Sophia simply ignored her as she waited for the signal to change. Seeing this, X said on purpose, ¡°Which restaurant are you working for? Richard has just moved into The Luxurious 16 and is staying in the best vi there, Vi No.8 now. We¡¯ll definitely order food from you in the future.¡± Sophia despised X in her heart. So, the Harpers are staying in this copycat estate themselves to bask in the reflected glory of those of The Imperial huh? Where did they even find the courage to be so proud of themselves? Hmph! The moment the traffic lights turned green, Sophia rode her motorbike away, while Richard drove into the garage of Vi No.8. After the car was parked, Richard and X got out of the car and Ka also got out from the backseat expressionlessly. Ka was limping on her crutches before them and she refused Richard¡¯s offer for help. ¡°Richard, just go and do your stuff. I¡¯ll look after Ka.¡± X stuck her tongue out and helped Ka to her new room. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Recently, Ka had more mood swings than before and she would smash things frequently. The kind X was the only one who could speak to her now. When X closed Ka¡¯s new room door, she heard Ka saying coldly, ¡°X, can you lend me 5 million?¡± X was startled and immediately asked, ¡°Why do you need so much money?¡± Ka sneered and said, ¡°I¡¯ve contacted Phantom Wolf and his price for killing a person is 30 million. I still can¡¯t get enough money after withdrawing all of my money and selling all my jewelries. 5 million is all I need now.¡± X was startled to find that Ka didn¡¯t care about the consequences anymore. Hence, she was influenced as well, and she nodded. ¡°Sure. I can lend you 5 million.¡± It was the New Year in the blink of an eye, and New Year shopping had been done as well. Michael also returned before New Year¡¯s Eve and fetched Nathan from the Fletchers too. During the afternoon of New Year¡¯s Eve, Sophia and Nathan were asked not to enter the living room. When Sophia took a nce downstairs, she saw people being busy in the kitchen and the living room, and she could also smell incense burning. In the living room, Michael had prepared a feast and respectfully put three ck and white photos on the table. Then, he poured three cups of wine and kneeled down before each of the photos. The whole atmosphere was tense and serious. Sophia could not hold back her curiosity, so she whispered to Nathan, ¡°What¡¯s your daddy doing now?¡± Nathan had a serious expression too. ¡°He¡¯s worshipping the ancestors.¡± Chapter 203 Chapter 203 Sophia craned her neck and saw three photos showing two women and one man respectively. The man looked bright, gant, and heroic in military uniform. One of the twodies was also dressed in military uniform, whereas the other was gorgeously dressed. That woman happened to be Elizabeth, who was Michael¡¯s mother and the only person Sophia could identify out of the three. Sophia still knew nothing about Michael¡¯s family background; she only knew that he was Nathan¡¯s uncle and that Elizabeth was his mother, but she didn¡¯t know who his father was. Michael probably had a sister who gave birth to Nathan, but Sophia didn¡¯t know who she was as well. Hale had once told her that she mustn¡¯t ask about Michael and Nathan¡¯s family background; it was an absolute taboo in this house. Therefore, Sophia had always refrained from asking questions regarding this subject. If her guess was right, the three photos disyed on the table right now must be Michael¡¯s parents and his sister. Hale had disclosed a little bit of Michael¡¯s personal information to her¡ªMichael¡¯s name was given by his father, whereas ¡®Taylor¡¯ was the name his mother had originally given him. Sophia thought that Michael¡¯s father must have loved his wife very, very deeply. After all, not every man was willing to let his spouse name their son after her maiden name. Marrying a p*rnstar must have been very difficult at that time¡ªlet alone for a military family like the Fletchers¡­ Michael spent the entire afternoon drinking like a fish in the living room all by himself. The family of three had their reunion dinner that evening before watching the snow from the enclosed balcony suspended from the rooftop. Fireworks were on disy in the night sky, celebrating the countdown to the new year in Bayside City that night. Sophia had her binocrs ready to watch the fireworks while watching the New Year Dinner G on TV to relieve her boredom. Watching the New Year Dinner G on TV was boring, but it had¡ªlike the reunion dinner¡ªbe a yearly tradition. The Dinner G¡¯s program this year was still as uninteresting as always; if her Lord hadn¡¯t been sitting by her side, Sophia would have fallen asleep a long time ago. It was still hours before the countdown when Michael suddenly stood up and put on his clothes. He left home and said, ¡°I¡¯m going out to take care of something, but I¡¯ll be back before the countdown.¡± Shortly after that, Sophia heard the sound of a car starting uping from downstairs; Michael had left in his SUV. What could he have possibly nned during the New Year? Is he going to meet his lover? Sophia thought to herself. Yeah, now that he has so many lovers, he may not evene back tonight. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Nathan is still in this house, he probably wouldn¡¯t evene home¡ªlet alone celebrate the New Year with me. As she thought about it, Sophia felt as though all the fireworks in Bayside City had faded into insignificance. All the wonderful things in this world paled inparison to the moment Michael looked back at her with a smile. However, she knew that she would never be the only person he smiled at. Now that her Lord was gone, Sophia could no longer keep her spirits up. Feeling drowsy, she sank into therge, round sofa on the balcony while Nathan quietly dug up his Bitcoins at one side. Suddenly, a voice brimming with passion came out of nowhere as it said, ¡°Now, Taylor and Ethan will bring us a song named ¡®Dilemma¡¯!¡± ¡°Where is he? Where is he?¡± asked Sophia. Waking up with a start, she looked to her left and right but did not see Michael at all. As it turned out, the voice wasing from the television. Moving closer to the TV screen, she was surprised to see Michael¡ªwho had been talking to her just an hour ago¡ªappearing at the New Year Dinner G at that very moment. Not only that, he was also singing on stage with Ethan while dressed in stylish clothes! As the music began, his heavenly singing voice flowed out of the ultra-thin TV. ¡°Having written his name on my left hand and the word ¡®Love¡¯ on my right, I sp my hands together as a vague sorrow overwhelms me. How is my decision going to hurt¡­¡± Sophia had to rub her eyes twice before convincing herself that the person singing on stage was undoubtedly Michael. Not only was Michael good at opera singing and acting in movies, he was also a first-ss singer. He was familiar with different styles of singing such as ssical and popr singing. Moreover, he sang in a unique and deep voice; not only was it rich and attractive, it was also very intoxicating to the ears! Sophia and Nathan moved even closer to the TV to take a closer look at Michael, who looked devastatingly handsome on the high-definition screen. She muttered to herself, ¡°The New Year Dinner G is actually pre-recorded. Hmph! He¡¯s been lying to me for so many years!¡± Another hour had passed before Michael came home atst. The clock struck half-past eleven when he came back; Sophia and Nathan were snuggled together in a nket, watching TV as they waited for him toe back for the countdown. ¡°You¡¯re back, hubby,¡± said a pleasantly surprised Sophia upon seeing his return. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back,¡± responded Michael as he took off his overcoat before walking by stark-naked in front of Sophia without the slightest care about his image as a celebrity. After a while, he came out dressed in a pair of Pikachu-themed family pajamas that matched the one Nathan wore. Having changed into his pajamas, he came over and wrapped his arms around Sophia and Nathan. He then said, ¡°I just sang a song at the New Year Dinner G, but it dragged on for a little while. I won¡¯t be attending it next year.¡± Sophia was totally speechless. It is the New Year Dinner G that you¡¯re talking about! Should you talk about it so nonchntly? Alright, I guess the New Year Dinner G isn¡¯t pre-recorded at all. The family of three continued to stay up while watching the fireworks. Atst, the emcees could be heard counting down to the New Year on TV as they announced excitedly, ¡°Five¡ªfour¡ªthree¡ªtwo¡ªone¡ªHappy New Year!¡± When the countdown ended, numerous dazzling fireworks suddenly shot up to the previously quiet night sky, illuminating the entire Bayside City. Sophia stared up at the spectacr fireworks disy. Bursts of lights in different colors exploded in her eyes, reflecting the fireworks¡¯ brightness from time to time. This was the first time Sophia had ever seen such a beautiful disy of fireworks; it was as though showers of neon were pouring over the earth, filling the entire winter with awe. Sophia leaned her head against the shoulder of the man beside her, who then ced hisrge hand on her shoulder. The atmosphere between them was pleasant, sweet, and romantic as they cuddled together while watching the fireworks. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. The fireworks kept going off one after another. It was a tradition for the people of Cethos to stay upte that night, so the fireworks disy would probably go on until dawn. Staring at the fireworks, Sophia felt like she had never been as happy as she was right now. She sincerely wished that this moment could stop forever so that the person she cherished the most would always stay by her side. ncing at the fireworks, she made her New Year¡¯s wish before looking up to see Michael next to her. He seemed to have no idea that Sophia was peeping at him as he stared intently at the fireworks. Sophia could see Michael¡¯s perfectly-outlined jaw and loosely-closed thin lips from her angle; he seemed to exist for the sole purpose of seducing people. Despite wearing an awkward Pikachu-themed pajama piece, he still gave off the scent of a spring prairie, arousing libido¡ªnay, passion¡ªin everyone around him. Staring at his tender and attractive lips, Sophia suddenly had a bold idea. She wanted to kiss her Lord on the lips, but how could she kiss him as she pleased? What if her Lord got angry after she kissed him? Chapter 204 Chapter 204 Staring wide-eyed at Michael, Sophia subconsciously licked her lips as she imagined two versions of herself fighting with each other in her head. One of the two versions punched the other hard in the chest like a ferocious tiger before throwing itself on top of thetter. ¡®Just kiss him! He is your hubby¡ªit¡¯s not illegal to kiss your own husband!¡¯ However, before its words could fade, the other version of herself sprang to its feet with a kip-up and pinned it down, beating the hell out of its counterpart while cautioning her, ¡®No, you must not kiss him! We¡¯re talking about Michael, the Prince Charming of countless young men anddies; you¡¯ll be in trouble if you kiss him! Sophia, you must hang in there and not let yourself be tempted by his handsome looks and attractive body! Charming handsomeness makes women fall hard, and your Lord is still a pervert no matter how handsome he is! Have you forgotten about the tworge and long Asian swamp eels in his bedroom¡¯s fish tank?¡¯ Nheless, the first version of herself popped up again and urged, ¡®Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him! How often does the opportunity to enjoy a night of lovinge around in your life? Now that your Lord is right in front of you, why not take this opportunity and kiss him? It¡¯s now or never!¡¯ Sophia¡¯s rational self soon gained the upper hand once again. It said, ¡®No, you can¡¯t kiss him; you have to think about the consequences of you kissing him! You¡¯ll be done for if you do so¡ªjust think about the two cases of condoms! Even though women can¡¯t be infertile from having too much sex, it¡¯s still exhausting to do the business for tens of times in session!¡¯ Her two selves were locked in an intense fight, but neither of them gained the upper hand. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Sophia downed a ss of wine all of a sudden, pretending to make her rational self drunk so that her seduced self could emerge. Having drunk a ss of wine, she felt a powerful surge of courage that instantly filled her with energy. Then, she quietly kissed Michael when he wasn¡¯t noticing. Since she was too nervous, she didn¡¯t manage to kiss his lips. Her lips, which were still moistened with red wine, merely touched the corner of his lips lightly. Startled by the sudden icy kiss, Michael subconsciously responded with a ¡®Hmm?¡¯ before lowering his head to look at his pretty, young wife next to him. He saw a sheepish-looking Sophia, who hung her head and avoided his gaze; her face as red as a carrot, and her eyes were wandering. ¡°Tsk!¡± Michael clicked his tongue in admiration. His pretty, young wife had finally learned to take liberties with him! Since they were going to stay up that night, it would be boring to spend the entire night watching fireworks. Why not engage in some other forms of activity instead? Sophia was still hanging her head with butterflies in her stomach when she suddenly felt her body being lifted from the sofa. Michael carried her in his arms as he walked toward his bedroom. He then said to Nathan, ¡°Stay up by yourself, darling. Your Mom and I are going to make a younger sister for you.¡± Nate looked speechless, whereas Sophia¡¯s face turned scarlet as she buried her head in Michael¡¯s shoulder with embarrassment. Do you have to be so explicit? she thought to herself. Once they were inside the bedroom, Michael turned off the lights, locked the door, and drew the curtains. While the fireworks were still going off one after another outside the window, he had also readied himself to get this New Year off to a good start. With two Pikachu-themed one-piece pajamas thrown aside in a clutter, their bodies intertwined with one another in bed before a pair of slender arms wrapped themselves around Michael¡¯s waist. Michael ran his hand along Sophia¡¯s naked body before grabbing her ankle. Her fair and tender feet were as delicate as a piece of porcin, making him unable to tear himself away from them. Not being able to restrain himself, he caressed her foot several times again before feeling a rough spot on her soft and smooth skin. Then, he saw something like a red birthmark on Sophia¡¯s ankle. Just then, Hale set off arge firework in the garden. The firework went off over the roof with a loud pop, producing lights that prated through the thick curtains which illuminated the ¡®birthmark¡¯ in an instant. The blurry image of a wolf¡¯s head came into Michael¡¯s sight, jolting him out of his passions at once. That wolf¡¯s head seemed very familiar! Michael suddenly got out of bed and switched on the lights. Then, he raised Sophia¡¯s ankle to examine the ¡®birthmark¡¯ carefully. He couldn¡¯t have been mistaken about it; the ¡®birthmark¡¯ looked like a wolf¡¯s head. Michael always knew that Sophia had a birthmark on the inner side of her ankle, but now that he had taken a closer look at the ¡®birthmark,¡¯ he realized that it seemed to be more of a burn mark instead. Moreover, the burn mark didn¡¯t seem to have been caused by an ident; instead, it was deliberately made into the shape of a wolf¡¯s head. However, the wolf¡¯s head had be a little blurry since the scar was fading. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, hubby?¡± asked Sophia. Embarrassed, she tried to withdraw her foot, but she couldn¡¯t do so because Michael had grabbed onto it in a vice-like grip. Michael¡¯s face suddenly turned serious. He then asked, ¡°When did you get this scar?¡± Looking at the scar, Sophia suddenly recalled that particr night; her rosy face turned deathly pale at once. She said, ¡°I got it before Joe found me.¡± Michael had never looked so serious before. He suddenly tightened his grip on her ankle and asked, ¡°Who left this scar on you?¡± Sophia shook her head. ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. I lost consciousness back then; when I woke up the next morning, the person was already gone.¡± Michael continued asking, ¡°When and where did it happen?¡± Afraid that he might have misunderstood something, Sophia hastily rephrased her words as she poured out the whole story. ¡°It happened around March two years ago when Ka had several hooligans attempt to bully and humiliate me. They broke my leg at the time, so I was forced to jump into the river to flee for my life. After being swept away by the river, I was washed ashore on a small ind in the middle of the river. The person washed ashore too, and I begged him to save my life since I had drowned and broken my leg at the time. He put my broken leg back in ce, but I passed out because it was too painful. When I woke up in the hospital the next day, the person was gone; not only was my leg back in ce, but someone had also paid the medical bills for me¡­¡± Having finished her exnation, she buried her face under her nket, revealing only a pair of eyes that rolled about as she peered at Michael. As the look in his brooding eyes changed, she immediately asked, ¡°I thought the scar was made by the rocks on the ind, so I didn¡¯t care much about it. What¡¯s wrong¡­¡± Michael kept looking at her silently for what seemed like an eternity. In the end, his sharp gaze softened; he ruffled her hair and said, ¡°Nothing. Just go to bed early.¡± He took out his cell phone to take a photo of the scar. After that, he put on his clothes and left in a hurry. What¡¯s wrong? Sophia thought puzzledly. She got dressed and got out of bed. When she opened the curtains, she saw Hale and Gary¡ªwho had been setting off fireworks downstairs a while ago¡ªentering the vi with grave expressions on their faces. Michael had entered his study, and a constant stream of people then went in and out of his room; all of them looked straight-faced as though they were facing a formidable enemy. She sat back on her bed and recalled that nightmarish night. Drifting along with the river current, she washed up on a small ind. Trembling all over as shey face down on the dirty beach, Sophia coughed as hard as she could in an attempt to cough up the sand and smelly river water that she felt had filled her lungs. With an excruciating pain in her broken leg, she struggled desperately in the mud like a wretched dog as shey between life and death. Just then, a man washed up on the beach as well, though it was visible that he looked much better than her. After being washed ashore, he coughed twice and sat on a rock while tearing his clothes into pieces to bandage his wounds. The sky was covered with dark clouds that night, and the moon was nowhere to be seen. Since it was dark on the ind, she couldn¡¯t see his face clearly. Chapter 205 Chapter 205 Sensing someone¡¯s presence over there, Sophia tremblingly stretched out her hand toward him and pleaded, ¡°Save me, please!¡± However, the person seemed to be unconcerned about her life or death situation. Tearing his clothes into pieces with his teeth, he seemed to let out a few mocking chuckles as he bandaged his wounds. ¡°I¡¯ll save you if you can crawl up to me,¡± he muttered. Using all the strength she could muster, Sophia wormed her way through the mud and crawled toward the man with all her might. As her body ached all over, she suffered intense pain every time she moved. Then, as the pain prated deep into her soul, her breathing became increasingly shallow before she gradually lost her consciousness. Even so, she crawled toward the man with indomitable perseverance. I must not die! I must take revenge! I must make those who hurt me pay the price! she thought to herself. After treating his wounds, the man lowered his head and watched as she crawled little by little toward him. He then said with a sneer, ¡°What¡¯s the point of you struggling to stay alive after living such a miserable life? It would be better to just die!¡± ¡°I will not die!¡± uttered Sophia with a pause after each word. ¡°Even if I¡¯m a dog, I¡¯ll live longer than the other dogs!¡± All she wanted was to gain a foothold in this world through her own hard work; Sophia had never hurt nor damaged the interests of anyone, so why should she deserve to die? Sophia¡¯s fingers sank deep into the mud, leaving deep trails in the mud as she crawled. Since they treated her like a dog, she would live like one and outlive all of them! Having heard her answer, the manughed. He seemed young, and his eyes were attractive and charming. Having crawled to his feet, Sophia clutched his ankle tightly, sinking her fingernails into his flesh. He hissed in pain and said, ¡°You¡¯re really a dog. Not only do you live a wretched life, but you¡¯ll also live a long life.¡± Sophia kept grabbing his ankle with all her might without saying a word. Having run out of strength to resist, the man let her w at his ankle until it bled. Then, without moving his ankle, he moved around to her feet and tapped her leg. ¡°Did you get your leg broken by somebody else?¡± he asked. Sophia clenched her teeth to keep her pain from showing. The man said, ¡°Hang in there¡ªit¡¯ll be painful.¡± A pair ofrge and powerful hands rested on her broken leg as he finished his sentence. The next instant, a loud and clear crack could be heard from her broken bone. As the sound traveled all the way to her brain, the intense pain and feeling of suffocation flooded her consciousness, causing her to pass out instantly. Sophia was already in the hospital by the time she had regained consciousness. Not only had her broken leg been forcibly put back in ce, the person had even paid her medical bills. However, she also had a badly mangled wound on her ankle at the same time. She used to think that she received the wound on the beach, but it seemed like the man was the actual culprit behind it. Furthermore, the scar¡¯s position seemed to have perfectly matched the spot on his ankle where she had scratched him. Did that man do it on purpose? Meanwhile, Gary, Hale, Gemma, and the rest of the experts gathered around Michael back in his study. He then showed them the photo of Sophia¡¯s ankle on his cell phone. The mangled scar looked like a dog ¡ªno, it looked more like a wolf with its rugged appearance. Gemma quickly scanned the photo and searched it up on her database. Getting hundreds of matching results soon after that, she immediately concluded, ¡°Boss, Madam¡¯s scar wasn¡¯t formed by nature. It was carved using a blunt weapon, and matching search results show that it is the Phantom Wolf¡¯s symbol.¡± With a serious look on her face, she projected her search results onto arge screen. Michael knitted his brows as he looked at Gemma¡¯s findings; the Phantom Wolf was a mysterious organization, but some of its members had been shot dead byw enforcers in different countries. More importantly, all of them had a wolf¡¯s head tattooed on their wrists. The organization had a cruel practice of carving its symbol of death into its victims¡¯ faces after killing them. However, since its members couldn¡¯t afford to slowly carve a wolf¡¯s head into their victims¡¯ skins, they probably used some sort of portable tattoo machine to do so in a short time. Such a method was more brutal since it achieved the objective of forming the pattern by tearing off a part of the victim¡¯s skin. The wolf¡¯s head was carved into the victim¡¯s skin like a stamp. After that, the carved skin was torn off, leaving behind a scar in the shape of a wolf¡¯s head. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. 100%The scar on Sophia¡¯s ankle had be less visible because it had healed over the years. She had also undergone some treatment to reduce its appearance. However, data restoration left no doubt that the scar was indeed the Phantom Wolf¡¯s symbol of death, for it was carved into the skin like a stamp. Up until now, the Phantom Wolf¡¯s symbol of death had appeared only on the bodies of dead people. The symbol indicated that the dead person was murdered by the organization¡¯s members, and the organization could use this symbol as proof to demand final payments from its employers. Therefore, why would the Phantom Wolf¡¯s symbol of death appear on Sophia¡¯s body? Michael felt a chill running down his spine. He asked, ¡°Tell me the exact date and location of the mission whereby we ambushed the Phantom Wolf two years ago.¡± Hale, who had participated in the mission himself back then, still remembered it vividly. He answered, ¡°As far as I can remember, the mission was conducted on the 15th of March at Riverdale. The weather was cloudy back then, and those who joined the mission were Abel, ke, Gemma, Jack, and I. Since the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was crafty and suspicious, we had nned the mission for a long time. We could have caught him at one fell swoop, but we didn¡¯t expect that he would flee by jumping into the river.¡± Michael pondered for a moment. He was certain that the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader must have been wounded that night, which was why he had fled by jumping into the river. In other words, the person whom Sophia met after washing up on the ind must have been none other than the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. There was little information on the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, but ording to Michael¡¯s investigations, this man was extremely dangerous. Not only was he the world¡¯s most high-priced mercenary in the ck market, he was also ranked top three in the list of the world¡¯s most formidable assassins. Being an extremely terrifying killer, not only was he an expert on firearms and cold weapons, he also had quite a detailed understanding of human anatomy. He possessed one unique skill; he could silently snap his enemy¡¯s spine in two, thus killing the person without anyone noticing at all. Setting a broken bone was a piece of cake to such an expert, but why would he leave his symbol of death on Sophia¡¯s ankle? After some serious consideration, Michael decided to call Sophia over and asked her in detail about what had happened. Even though the matter was strictly between men and was none of her business, she had the right to be in the know since she had the Phantom Wolf¡¯s symbol of death on her body. After a while, Sophia came in wearing her Pikachu-themed pajamas. On the contrary, everyone else in the study looked formal and serious as they were dressed in standardized ck suits. She sat down on the study¡¯s sofa, her eyes rolling about as she clutched her clothes nervously. Then, Michael sat down next to her. Afraid that he would frighten Sophia, he said in a low and soft voice, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, chica¡ªjust tell me what happened that night.¡± With that, Sophia repeated from start to finish what had gone down that night. ¡°When I woke up, I was lying in a hospital named Lovely in Riverdale. The person had paid my medical bills and left before I woke up.¡± Gemma immediately started hacking into the database of Riverdale¡¯s Lovely Hospital. In the blink of an eye, she found the hospital¡¯s surveince footage over the past two years. Then, she quickly found the hospital¡¯s surveince footage on the 15th of March two years ago and projected it onto therge screen. Everyone turned to look at therge screen and watched the surveince footage on that day. It was during a night shift, and a drenched man entered the hospital carrying a drencheddy in his arms before registering for emergency treatment. The man was highly vignt as he had his back toward the surveince cameras all the time. However, thedy¡¯s looks were clearly visible in the footage; she was none other than Sophia herself! Chapter 206 Chapter 206 After Sophia was rushed into the emergency room, the drenched man walked into the corridor and made a call using the payphone with his back toward the surveince camera. Gemma immediately looked into the payphone¡¯s call log based on the time of the phone call. After that, she managed to confirm the phone number he had dialed and its location. Shortly after making that phone call, somebody came to pick the man up. The man entered Sophia¡¯s ward and stayed inside for a few minutes. After that, he left the hospital without evering back. The man had his back toward the surveince camera the whole time. Sophia, who also stared round-eyed at the screen, recognized the man from behind. She couldn¡¯t be mistaken about it¡ªthe man was none other than the person who had saved her life! Why would Michael investigate this incident all of a sudden? The room was momentarily silent except for the sound of Gemma tapping her fingers on the keyboard as she searched for more information. Michael frowned as he asked Sophia again, ¡°Do you still remember how the man looked like?¡± Sophia shook her head. ¡°It was too dark that day, and there were no lights on the ind; I really couldn¡¯t see his face. I heard from a nurse in the hospital afterward that the man was strikingly handsome.¡± When she regained consciousness back then, the nurse who had looked after her said, ¡°Huh? Was the guy from yesterday your boyfriend? He is both very handsome and very tall! Not only does he have long legs and look handsome, he also has a pair of attractive eyes!¡± However, she was too embarrassed to repeat what the nurse had said back then. Michael asked after that, ¡°Did he say something weird to you? Has he ever looked for you over these years?¡± Sophia shook her head again. ¡°He left before I regained consciousness,¡± she exined. After that, however, she produced a stack of neatly-folded receipts from her Pikachu-themed pajamas¡¯ pocket and added, ¡°These are the bills that he signed back then.¡± She had been keeping these receipts over the years in case she met the man again. After all, the man had saved her life. Gemma immediately took the bills from her and saw the name ¡®Dn Lee¡¯ written on them in an illegible and distorted manner. She quickly found the person who had signed this name byparing the handwriting. Soon after that, therge screen showed the photo of a person whose face looked as vicious as a demon as he held up a bleeding human head. Gemma introduced, ¡°He is Quill Lee, one of the top assassins working under the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. He had been wanted in eight countries, but he was killed in a joint counter-terrorism operation conducted by Interpol. The phone number just now should have belonged to him, but it is already out of service.¡± After another round of searching, Gemma continued, ¡°Two doctors and three nurses were on duty in Lovely Hospital¡¯s duty room on thete night of 15th of March. All the five people have died from different kinds of idents within a year, which includes drowning, road idents, and fires.¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened in an instant. The guy who had paid her bills was a terrorist, and all five doctors and nurses who had saved her life back then were dead? What on earth had happened? Everyone else gasped in horror as well. Their next step was to find out who had been on duty in the hospital¡¯s duty room back then. Since the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was strikingly handsome, he must have made quite an impression on these people; they might¡¯ve had a breakthrough in their investigations. However, little did they expect the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader to have murdered all the five people! What a cruel man he was! Michael walked up and patted Gemma on the shoulder before saying, ¡°Please work hard tonight and look through all the surveince footage near the scenes where the five people were killed to search for possible clues.¡± Gemma nodded as she began her work without anyints or regrets. Then, Michael led a dazed and confused Sophia out of his study by holding her hand. They went back to the bedroom, but the previously romantic atmosphere had disappeared without a trace; the sight of the shackle-like scar on Sophia¡¯s ankle gave him a headache. Why on earth would the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader leave his symbol of death on her ankle? Feeling uneasy, Sophia asked him, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, hubby?¡± Michael let out a sigh before he sat down and exined the whole story to Sophia. After listening to his exnation, Sophia felt as though her world had been turned upside down. The scar on her ankle was actually left by the leader of a terrorist organization, and the Good Samaritan who had set her broken bone back then was actually a ruthless killer who could snap a person¡¯s spine in two with his bare hands! He wouldn¡¯t have left this mark on her ankle for no reason¡ªhe might track her down using this mark someday! Suddenly, a strange conversation came into her mind, and she remembered having heard the conversation back when she was lying in aatose state in Lovely Hospital. The Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was talking to the person named Quill at the side of her bed. ¡°Why did you save her life, Chief?¡± ¡°I want to keep a pet dog.¡± ¡°But the situation is tense right now; you¡¯ll arouse suspicions if you bring a person along with you.¡± ¡°There is no need to hurry yet; I¡¯lle for her in the future.¡± She thought that the conversation was merely a dream. However, now that she thought about it, the conversation might have actually happened in real life. Seeing that Sophia¡¯s face went increasingly pale, Michael immediatelyforted her and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± He then added, ¡°I have told Hale to make a reservation forser scar removal. We¡¯ll have your scar removed within the next two days.¡± Sophia clutched onto Michael¡¯s clothes the whole time since she was too afraid to speak. Suddenly, she felt a chill running down her spine; it was as if a pair of hands were behind her back and could snap her spine into two anytime. Michael spent the entire night soothing her, saying, ¡°It¡¯s alright; it¡¯s over now. The Phantom Wolf hasn¡¯t popped up over the past two years, so he had probably put this incident out of his mind.¡± He spent a long time soothing Sophia¡¯s nerves before she rxed a little at longst. The instant she rxed, tiredness overcame her and she fell asleep soon after that. Although she was asleep, Michael couldn¡¯t sleep at all. He could nearly squash a fly to death with the deep furrows in his brow when it urred to him that his wife had been made a target by the perverted Phantom Wolf. He crept out of the bedroom only to bump into Gary. Gary was hesitant at first, but he mustered up his courage and suggested, ¡°Boss, actually¡­ the Phantom Wolf wouldn¡¯t leave this mark for no reason¡­ so why don¡¯t we¡­¡± ¡°No,¡± Michael refused him tly. He understood what Gary meant by that. If the Phantom Wolf saw this mark, he might reveal himself on his own initiative. By then, they could just stand by and wait for¡­ However, Michael would never risk putting Sophia in danger. He ordered, ¡°Have theser scar removal done tomorrow. Also, tell Gemma to delete all potentially troublesome photos of Madam from all over the Inte, including the university¡¯s alumni group website and official message board.¡± While taking part in the women¡¯s basketballpetition earlier, Sophia had worn a pair of short sweatpants that revealed the scar on her ankle; many people had taken photos and videos of her and uploaded them to their faculty¡¯s message board. These photos and videos must be deleted. Sh*t! Why didn¡¯t I realize that earlier? Michael thought to himself. With that, Gary left in silence. Hale suddenly felt that a heavier responsibility had been ced on his shoulders. When Michael previously told him to keep watch on Sophia, he had so much time on his hands that hezed around all day. However, after learning that the Phantom Wolf had his eyes on Sophia, he immediately reverted back to his old self¡ªthe self who had spent his days shedding blood while associating with people from different ranks of the society back then. 8Daniel and Harry¡ªwho lived in the same neighborhood as Michael and Sophia¡ªsoon learned of what had happened as well. They came to Vi No. 8 to discuss the countermeasures with Michael as well. The night passed under enormous tension. The next day, Sophia was sent to the cosmetic hospital as soon as she got out of bed. It wasn¡¯t until the scar removal surgery was done that she sighed with relief when she saw that the mark on her ankle had disappeared. At the same time, photos of her on the Inte had beenpletely wiped out. The Phantom Wolf would never be able to find her. The Phantom Wolf was a very handsome man, whereas she looked especially ugly with her dark- skinned and unstylish appearance back then after being beaten ck and blue. How was the Phantom Wolf going to track her down? I¡¯m broke, unattractive, and too in to be kept as a pet dog. Yeah, that must be the case; that must be the case, Sophia thought to herself. Chapter 207 Chapter 207 After a day of self-hypnosis, Sophia finally convinced herself to continue living a life of ease and leisure. Stanley paid a New Year¡¯s call to them early in the morning of the third day of the New Year. Festively dressed in a red hat and a red scarf, he searched all over the ce for Michael¡ªwho would stay home over these two days¡ªas soon as he stepped through the door. After extending New Year greetings to Michael as per their family¡¯s custom, he stood up and demanded a present from Michael. ¡°Where is my New Year¡¯s present, uncle?¡± he asked. Atst, Michael wasn¡¯t d in Pikachu-themed or frog-patterned pajamas that day. However, he was dressed in a pair of pink coral fleece pajamas, which was an unbearable sight to behold even with his striking good looks. It was a mystery as to who had chosen such a horrible-looking colorbination for him. Upon hearing Stanley¡¯s words, he took out a big, bright red packet out of his coral pajamas. Stanley promptly took the packet from him before bowing and scraping with delight, ¡°Thank you, Uncle! Thank you! Hehe, hehe!¡± However, he still seemed unsatisfied after getting the red packet. He kept on pestering Michael and asked, ¡°Is that all, Uncle? Is there anything else?¡± Michael answered, ¡°There¡¯s nothing else.¡± Having finished his sentence, he turned around and went upstairs to his study expressionlessly. Stanley went after him and bbered on and on along the way as he said, ¡°Please give it to me, Uncle. Can¡¯t you give me that as a present? You¡¯re the best person in the world, Uncle. I¡¯m begging you, please!¡± It was early in the morning, and Sophia had just helped Nathan to wash up, brush his teeth, and leave home when she saw Stanley following Michael into the study like a wagging little tail. Jeez, he¡¯s here so early in the morning! He really clings to Michael a lot, she thought to herself. This New Year was quite stressful for Michael. After all, no man could celebrate the New Year happily when his wife was targeted by a pervert. However, Stanley seemed to have no idea about his unhappiness right now. He pestered Michael like a pet dog and said, ¡°Uncle, please give your god-tier weapon¡ªthe Hundred-Mile Streamers¡ªto me! Since you don¡¯t y the game anymore, why don¡¯t you give it to me as a present? Just give it to me, please!¡± He then added, ¡°If you¡¯re not willing to give it to me as a present, can¡¯t you lend it to me for a few days? I¡¯ll give it back to you once this time¡¯s Esports World Championship is over, alright? Uncle, uncle! Please say something!¡± The Hundred-Mile Streamers was a god-tier weapon Michael made in the game using materials he had bought himself. Despite being forged many years ago, this weapon had never been revealed to the public; this was probably because Michael had never encountered any equally-matched opponent that required him to use this weapon. After all, he was the most formidable yer across all of the game¡¯s servers, so it no longer mattered whether he used the Hundred-Mile Streamers or not. A couple of days ago, Harry had borrowed the Hundred-Mile Streamers from him with the purpose of showing off. Having spotted the weapon, Stanley kept messaging Michael via Messenger since then; he wanted to persuade Michael to give it to him, but Michael wouldn¡¯t budge at all. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ll be entering thepetition very soon. With our team¡¯s invincibility, we can definitely make our way out of Cethos¡ªperhaps even Asia. By then, we will bepeting against teams from all over the world, so we¡¯ll be at a great disadvantage without a powerful weapon!¡± said Stanley. Then, he continued, ¡°You have no idea how savage the teams from other countries are. We¡¯ll be at a great disadvantage without a powerful weapon!¡± Without saying a word, Michael switched on hisputer and checked the current progress of the Esports World Championship¡¯s ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ division. Selective trials had begun in other countries, resulting in fiercepetition among the teams. On the other hand, Cethos was to host this year¡¯s championship, so its progress was a little slower. Furthermore, everyone in Cethos was busy celebrating the New Year right now, so selective trials in this country would only begin after the New Year celebrations had ended. The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was one of the earliest online games that emerged in Cethos. Not only had it been on sale for ten years, it was also the first online game to make its way out of Cethos and create a huge impact worldwide. At the moment, the game produced an annual ie of more than one billion with several billion yers worldwide. However, the game was only a small part of Michael¡¯s properties; he merely invested in online games as a hobby. Stanley piped up behind him in an unnecessarily exaggerated manner, ¡°Wow, Uncle! Look at how powerful this team is! This yer is said to the first overseas yer of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, and he is super formidable! Uncle, you¡¯re probably the only person in the world who can be a match for him!¡± Then, he continued, ¡°Their vice-captain is super formidable too! What should we do, Uncle? You can only fight against one yer at a time, and I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t beat the vice-captain if I were to fight against him. Just look at how powerful his weapon is! Things will be different if I have the Hundred-Mile Streamers, though¡­¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. In the end, he still wanted to have the Hundred-Mile Streamers for himself. Michael shut down theputer and said bluntly, ¡°I have given it to somebody else.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Stanley¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. ¡°Who have you given it to?¡± Michael didn¡¯t have many friends in the game mainly because he was too formidable; no ordinary person was qualified enough to be friends with him. He couldn¡¯t have given the Hundred-Mile Streamers to Beast¡ªit would be a sheer waste of resources if that brat got his hands on the weapon! However, Michael wouldn¡¯t spill who he had given the weapon to. Stanley could only leave in a sulk as he said, ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t forget toe online at 7 p.m. sharp today. The selection trials begin on the eighth day of the New Year, and one game will be held each day!¡± Having seen Stanley off, Michael left the study to see Nathan standing at the door. Also dressed in bright red pajamas, he had his hood up with a pair of fox ears on it. These pajamas were called something like ¡®Foxy.¡¯ The father and son stared into each other¡¯s eyes for over one minute without saying a word as they skipped talking to each other altogether. Instead, they beganmunicating with each other via telepathy. Nathan stared at him intently without moving his round eyes at all. In the end, Michael was the first to lose the battle. He took a red packet out of his pocket and put it in front of Nate before saying, ¡°Come, call me Daddy.¡± Naturally, Nathan did not want to call Michael ¡®Daddy¡¯¡ªhe simply took the red packet and ran away. Michael shook his head in resignation. He thought to himself, This brat is so aloof even when demanding a New Year¡¯s present! Going back to his room, Nathan opened the red packet and took the glistening red banknotes out of it before counting them one by one. He wasn¡¯t short of money to spend, but New Year presents seemed to carry a different meaning from the ordinary ones. He wouldn¡¯t bat an eyelid even if Michael transferred a million into his bank ount. On the contrary, if Michael gave him a thousand as a New Year present, he would feel very pleased as he held on to it dearly. Sophia had no idea about New Year presents until she saw Nathan counting the cash. Seeing the stacks of cash in Nate¡¯s hand, she was consumed with envy. She had little memory of receiving New Year presents. Many rtives would drop in on her family every year to extend New Year greetings during the New Year celebrations, but they had always seemed to deliberately ignore her when it was time to give New Year presents to the children. Giving New Year presents took a lot of learning; people would only be willing to give New Year presents when they could expect to get something in return. Nobody in her family could give New Year presents to children from other families in return when someone from these families gave her a New Year present. Nobody would have gone along with this, so nobody was willing to give her a New Year present as well. The only New Year present she had memory of receiving was given to her by her grandmother many years ago. Even though it was a worn red packet with only five bucks in used banknotes, she was overjoyed upon receiving it. Five bucks was an enormous sum of money to her back then. Her grandmother had no ie, so she often took her to town to collect recyble garbage and drinking bottles in exchange for money. She must have collected tons of drinking bottles to umte that five bucks! Sophia lived a miserable life back then, staying on the city¡¯s outskirts while relying on her grandparents for survival. Since her two uncles never cared about them, they farmed crops when times were busy and collected garbage in exchange for money when they were free. Five bucks was a huge sum of money that she had never dared to imagine. She almost felt like she had the whole world in her hands when she opened up the red packet and saw five bucks inside. Unfortunately, she could no longer receive New Year presents. ording to her hometown¡¯s custom, one could no longer receive New Year presents upon his or her marriage. Now that she was a married woman, she probably wouldn¡¯t see something like a New Year present until her next life. Moreover, she didn¡¯t have anyone who could give her a New Year present¡­ Chapter 208 Chapter 208 Sophia ate her lunch in low spirits that afternoon. Furthermore, the wound left on her ankle by theser scar removal had been aching a little, which was apanied by some redness and swelling. Having no appetite, she stopped eating after having only two mouthfuls of food. She then said sullenly, ¡°I¡¯m full already.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Since this morning, Michael had noticed that his pretty, young wife seemed quite unhappy. Was it because of the matter about the Phantom Wolf? No, his instincts told him that it wasn¡¯t the case. He turned to look at Nathan, who looked at him in return. Staring at each other in silence, the father and son seemed to bemunicating via telepathy once again. Sophia went back to Nathan¡¯s room after having her lunch. She had been staying in Nathan¡¯s room these days, so she had moved herputer and mechanical keyboard over there. She turned on herputer sullenly and stared at the game¡¯s interface. Suddenly, she recalled something and went downstairs to the storeroom located in the basement. The entire basement was filled with all kinds of misceneous items. There were many things in the storeroom, including Michael¡¯s two cases of condoms, a great pile of cosmetics that Sophia had bought earlier, and toy cars that Nathan no longer yed with. Sophia searched the storeroom for a while and found the suitcase she had brought with her when she first came. The suitcase was worn, and it couldn¡¯t be locked with a passcode. Her grandmother had brought it back home while collecting recyble garbage back then. It was old but solid, and it worked well. This small suitcase had apanied her for many years. Sophia had brought it with her when she attended junior high and high school; when she was expelled from Riverdale High School in the end, she also took it with her. She had lived in Duckburgs with this suitcase, and she brought it with her when she came to live with Michael. She opened the suitcase to see several pieces of clothing lying quietly inside. These were the clothes she had brought with her back then; she had worn them for several years, and many of them were gifts from her ssmates. Lying quietly among these clothes was a set of neatly-folded Riverdale High School¡¯s uniform. Inside the ziplock bag was a pair of used sneakers which she had worn for three years. They were old and worn out, but they were impably clean. This old leather suitcase had been dumped here ever since she came to live with Michael. She never used its contents again, for her past seemed to have been buried along with this well-worn suitcase; the suitcase¡¯s disuse represented her farewell to her former self. Sophia then found an old wallet in the leather suitcase. The wallet was kept in a stic bag, and she opened it to see a small stack of banknotes inside. These banknotes were old and tattered since they had been used several years ago; such a version of banknotes was probably impossible to find nowadays. She sat on an old sofa while counting the stack of banknotes earnestly. The stack contained over ten banknotes in denominations of one cent, five cents, ten cents, twenty cents, one buck, and two bucks. They totaled five bucks no matter how she counted them. She could still remember the prices back then¡ªa drink bottle could be exchanged for five cents, whereas a ring-pull can could be exchanged for ten. She had no idea how much garbage her grandmother had collected just to save these five bucks; her grandmother had saved the money little by little just to make her happy during the New Year celebrations. Since they were too impoverished back then, most of the banknotes they hade into contact with back then were of one cent, two cents, ten cents, twenty cents, one buck, and two bucks. Now that Sophia saw these banknotes once again, each of them looked so familiar to her. She had been keeping these five bucks like they were a rare treasure; it was the first time she had ever received such a huge sum of money in her life, and she kept them since she had no idea how to spend them. When she attended high school afterward, she had boarded at school with her tuition fees fully waived and was given an allowance, so she had no reason to spend these five bucks. She probably couldn¡¯t use them anymore right now. Sophia reminisced about the old times while counting the banknotes again and again. Each time she counted the banknotes, an inexplicable feeling of contentment surged up within her. She felt as though she was still her former self¡ªthe self whom she thought had gotten the whole world in her hands back then. Sophia counted the banknotes for more than half an hour before leaving the storeroom in satisfaction. After that, she went back to her room to y online games. The next day, Sophia got out of bed and pushed the bedroom door open to see Michael standing outside. He seemed to have just gotten out of bed as well, for his hair was still a little unkempt. Dressed in pink Foxy pajamas with his hood on, he pressed his lips together with his hands behind his back as if trying hard to suppress a smile. Then, he looked down at her and said, ¡°Happy New Year, my chica.¡± Sophia was puzzled. It was already the fourth day of the New Year, so wasn¡¯t it a little toote to say ¡®Happy New Year¡¯ to her right now? Much to her surprise, the instant Michael finished his sentence, he pulled his hand from behind his back to show a bulging red packet in it. He said, ¡°Come¡ªthis is your New Year present from your hubby!¡± Sophia was overjoyed. Was she getting a New Year¡¯s present as well? Weren¡¯t New Year presents given to members of the younger generation by their elders? Why would Michael give her a New Year present? However, it would be a shame if she turned down the red packet gifted by her Lord. She took the red packet from him and said happily, ¡°Thank you, my Lord!¡± The instant she said the words out loud, she was overwhelmed with regret¡ªhow could she reveal her inner fangirl? She immediately corrected herself, saying, ¡°Thank you, hubby!¡± Michael gave her a secretive smile before turning around to enter his bedroom. Feeling content, he proceeded to brush his teeth. On the other hand, Sophia was left confused; she couldn¡¯t figure out why Michael had suddenly given her a red packet on the fourth day of the New Year. She went downstairs to have breakfast with the heavy red packet in her pocket, and she didn¡¯t open it until she had finished eating her meal. Much to her surprise, she opened the red packet not to find glistening red banknotes of a hundred bucks as she had expected, but a stack of old banknotes in small denominations instead. Not only were there banknotes of one cent, two cents, ten cents, and twenty cents, there were coins too! No wonder the red packet was bulging¡ªthe values of the banknotes inside never exceeded two bucks! At once, Sophia was pleasantly surprised as a kid who had gotten his New Year present for the first time. She counted the money in her New Year present with satisfaction, and the money totaled exactly a hundred bucks no matter how she counted them. Arge sum of a hundred bucks! At that instant, she felt as though she had gotten the whole world in her hands once again. When she counted the money for the second time, she felt like she had in her hands not only the whole world but the entire sr system. When she counted the money for the third time, she felt like she had be the master of the entire Gctic System! Nathan, who was standing aside as he looked on, simply couldn¡¯t understand why Sophia was so excited upon seeing a pile of worn and tattered banknotes. These banknotes were old versions that had been obsolete before his birth, and they were no longer in cirction nowadays. Hale suddenly came home carrying a pocketful of old banknotes and coinsst night. These old versions of banknotes were no longer circting in the market, and the banks had stopped issuing them. Even the currency collectors were unwilling to collect them since they had little collection value. Michael had ordered Hale to either gather enough old banknotes and coins by that night or apologize by killing himself. Nobody knew how Hale had managed to gather so many old banknotes and coins within such a short amount of time. Last night, Nathan secretly saw Michael counting the money alone in his study. He searched the old banknotes Hale had collected for small changes, gathering them one by one until he managed to gather enough money for a red packet after midnight. These banknotes and coins filled Nathan with disgust. To him, they were both unusable and dirty, so he couldn¡¯t understand why Sophia was so happy when she saw them. However, this dirty stack of old banknotes would look adorable if it was Sophia who liked them. Sigh, I can never understand what is going on in the adults¡¯ minds, Nathan thought to himself. Chapter 209 Chapter 209 Satisfied, Michael watched through the surveince camera as Sophia counted the money in a way that looked very adorable. His pretty, young wife seemed very greedy for money. Even on the rare asion where they went outdoors to have some fun, she wouldn¡¯t y anything other than ring toss. Not only that, she even did everything she possibly could to rent out the ring he had bought for her in exchange for money. However, he knew that her greed for money stemmed from her feelings of insecurity. Behind her avaricious facade, she was actually a little girl who was very easy to please¡­ Sophia had wanted to take a stroll in her holiday estate after having breakfast. She wanted to watch the snow and the plum blossoms or even ask Michael to dinner or movies with perfectposure. Since it was the New Year celebrations, they did not have much to do; Michael was at home as well. Still, it seemed a little too embarrassing for her to ask her Lord out for a date. However, as soon as she finished her breakfast, the cell phone she had prepared expressly for the championship rang before she could even change out of her pajamas. When the cell phone rang, Sophia knew that Stanley must be the one calling to get her online and y games. Just as she expected, she heard Stanley¡¯s exasperated voice as soon as she answered the phone. ¡°Where the hell have you been, Sirius? Time to get online and y games! The selection trials will begin in a few days; do you want our team to be excluded from the selection trials?¡± She curled her lips and hung up the phone. Then, she went upstairs into Nate¡¯s room to y some games with a fruit tter in hand. Nathan knew that she would bepeting in the esports championship these days. Not only did he stop bothering her, he even let her use his study so that she could concentrate on ying games. Having upgraded herputer, keyboard, and even the inte speed expressly for the championship, Sophia quickly immersed herself in the online game at home. Soon after she had logged into the game, Michael entered the study and reached behind her. He asked curiously, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re going topete in an online gamingpetition, my chica?¡± Afraid that he might have misunderstood something, Sophia immediately answered, ¡°Yeah, I joined the strongest team on our server. The selection trials will begin in two days. Once we pass the selection trials, I¡¯ll be able to enter the Esports World Championship¡¯s finals. By then, I¡¯ll be winning glory for our home country!¡± Still afraid that Michael might think she was fiddling around, she began boasting, ¡°The Esports World Championship is equivalent to the Olympics of the esports arena, and teams from every country in the world are going topete in it. Since it is a global championship, I¡¯ll be awarded credits if I can enter the finals.¡± Michael frowned slightly. It¡¯s a good idea to award credits to thosepeting in the esportspetition! he thought to himself. As the idea shed across his mind, he hurried out of the room upon thinking that it was a good idea. When he came back a whileter, Sophia was already absorbed in the game. It was one thing to y alone at other times, but it was quite another to y together as a team of eight right now. She also had to understand her teammates¡¯ strengths and weaknesses and learn to work as a team. Atst, their team was quite presentable after working together all this time. All eight team members were present on this day. Not only were Stanley and Dragon Belle Warrior present, Scary Phoenix was online too. However, he merely stood aside and watched them y as if he was solely here to monitor their practice. Their team had Clubhouse, which was a voice chat software, turned on during their practice so that Stanley could give orders directly by speaking in the chat room. Sophia was also in the chat room, but she kept quiet the entire time and was too scared to even install a microphone. Michael came over and lifted Sophia up while she was still ying. With him on the chair, he let her sit on hisp before resting his chin on her shoulder. As he watched her y, he pointed at Sirius233¡¯s avatar¡ªwho was running around on the screen¡ªand asked in very unprofessional terms, ¡°Are you this little guy with a bare belly, chica?¡± Sophia was distracted from ying as she felt light-headed while sitting on her Lord¡¯sp. Seeing Sirius233¡¯s avatar baring his abs in the game, she immediately answered, ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah. I¡¯m the little guy who has bared his belly.¡± At the end of the day, he¡¯s still much older than me; it¡¯s only natural that he doesn¡¯t understand the way the younger generation thinks, she thought to herself. At this very moment, Sophia suddenly felt that the difference in Michael¡¯s and her own age had created a generation gap between them. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. However, Scary Phoenix¡¯s presence made her feel a little guilty; she feared that Michael might find out about her having a ¡®master¡¯ in the game. What did this mean? Was she cuckolding Michael online? Fortunately, Michael knew nothing about it. He even pointed at the few other avatars that were running around in the game interface and asked cluelessly, ¡°What is this little guy doing? Why are there flowers blooming all around him?¡± Sophia exined patiently, ¡°This little guy is a monk in the game. A monk will have golden lotuses blooming all around him as a special effect when he unleashes a major blow.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡± Michael responded with a prolonged pronunciation of each word. Atst, he pointed at Scary Phoenix¡¯s avatar and asked, ¡°Why does this little guy stay still all the time, and why is his body glowing all over?¡± Sophia nced at Scary Phoenix, who stood in silence the whole time while looking as dignified as a Buddha¡ªeven his body glowed all over. Luckily, this guy had been quiet all the time. She answered, ¡°This guy is the most formidable yer in the game, so his body glows all over; he¡¯s here to monitor our practice.¡± Sophia could no longer concentrate on the game as her Lord breathed into her ear while she sat on his lap. As a result, Sirius began ying carelessly and had great difficulty maintaining his performance in the game. It didn¡¯t take long before Stanley¡¯s furious voice could be heard barking in the Clubhouse chat room, ¡°Are you menstruating, Sirius? Take this seriously or get lost as soon as possible if you don¡¯t want topete in the championship! Don¡¯t be a f*cking dog in the manger!¡± Michael was startled upon hearing Stanley¡¯s voice. He asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Stan¡¯s voice?¡± Sophia immediately said, ¡°This little guy named Snow Fox is Stan. He¡¯s ying this game too; I beat him up in the game before, but he doesn¡¯t know that it was me. Don¡¯t ever tell him about that, hubby!¡± Michael responded with a nod, ¡°Okay, I promise you not to tell him.¡± Perhaps because he was bored, Michael left after watching Sophia y for a short while; she then continued ying the game with her utmost attention. The next day, Sophia spent the entire morning having fun outdoors with Michael and Nathan. Michael would be going overseas on the eighth day of the New Year to act in a film, and this was the first time she found it a little hard to part with him. However, her Lord had to go out to work, or else he wouldn¡¯t be able to feed his whole family. After having lunch at home, Sophia spent some time reading and taking a nap. After that, she logged into the game and gathered with her team to practice. Everyone in the team was also present this time, including Scary Phoenix. Seeing Scary Phoenix¡¯s presence, Stanley immediately asked in private, ¡°Are you my uncle or my idol?¡± Scary Phoenix¡¯s celebrity status prevented him from going online every day. However, since he was one of the team members, his frequent absence from the game would surely arouse misgivings from other team members, which would lower the team¡¯s morale. Therefore, Stanley often cheered up the team by asking Harry to log into Scary Phoenix¡¯s ount and stand aside while he watched everyone. The Scary Phoenix who had appeared in the game in the past few days was actually Harry. This time, Scary Phoenix spoke. He said, ¡°I¡¯m your uncle.¡± Stanley was ted, but he immediately said pitifully, ¡°Uncle, can¡¯t you lend me the Hundred-Mile Streamers for a few days? I¡¯ll promise to give it back to you after I finish using it.¡± However, Scary Phoenix still gave him the same answer and replied, ¡°I¡¯ve given it to someone else already.¡± Chapter 210 Chapter 210 Stanley was enraged. ¡°You¡¯re lying! If you¡¯ve really given it to someone else, that person would be itching to carry it with him 24/7 just to show off! I have never seen anyone using the Hundred-Mile Streamers over the past few days!¡± Nheless Scary Phoenix did not answer him. Everyone in the team continued their practice as usual, but Scary Phoenix no longer stood aside and monitored everyone as he had done in the past few days. This time, he took to the field and fought against everyone else in person. Because of that, the team yed with unusually great spirit on this day, for Scary Phoenix still outssed them by several orders of magnitude even without his gear. With Scary Phoenix being a member of their team, they could get into the finals with little to no pressure. After several rounds of gamey today, Scary Phoenix suddenly asked the team, ¡®Are any of you currently attending university in Bayside City?¡¯ Everyone else was dumbfounded. Then, he continued, ¡®The Esports World Championship has teamed up with Bayside City¡¯s University Alliance. Contestants who are currently attending university in Bayside City will be awarded credits if their teams manage to make it to the top eight globally. The teams who win first, second, and third ce will be awarded five, three, and two credits respectively, whereas teams that finish fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth will be awarded one credit.¡¯ Everyone else was stunned. Could they be awarded credits just by ying games? On second thought, the Esports World Championship was equivalent to the Olympics of the esports arena. Since it was a world-ss championship, it shouldn¡¯t be surprising for those who excelled in the championship to be awarded credits. Some members of the team spoke up on the spot. Snow Fox said, ¡®Belle Warrior and I are students of Bayside University. Who else is attending university in Bayside City? Tell me your name so that I can put it on record for credit-awarding purposes.¡¯ Out of eight team members, four were professional video game yers who were no longer attending university. Scary Phoenix couldn¡¯t possibly be a student himself since he had started ying online games ten years ago, whereas Dragon Belle Warrior and Snow Fox were both students. Therefore, everyone turned to look at Sirius immediately, who had been silent the entire time. Sirius233 then said sheepishly, ¡®I¡¯m a student of Bayside University too.¡¯ As a straight-A student, it was only natural for Sophia to strive after credits. She would work hard for it even if she got only one credit in the end. At Bayside University¡ªa ce filled with high achievers¡ªone could never know how many people they could leave behind by receiving one extra credit! Snow Fox said fiercely in the game, ¡®Little did I expect you scumbag to be one of my schoolmates, Sirius.¡¯ ¡®Hehe,¡¯ Sirius233 responded. As the game continued, Sophia took two bites of fruit and continued ying intensely. Since she could be awarded credits, she had to work even harder and strive to get into the top three to receive at least two credits. She could leave God-knew-how-many people behind her by receiving the two extra credits! Just as she was fighting hard for the credits, she suddenly saw a package being sent to her in-game by Scary Phoenix. When she clicked on the package, bright lights suddenly filled the screen followed by a system notification that read, ¡®You have obtained the Hundred-Mile Streamers, a first-ss godly weapon!¡¯ The Hundred-Mile Streamers! Sophia gaped at the screen; she was so surprised that the piece of watermelon in her hand fell to the ground. Isn¡¯t that the Hundred-Mile Streamers, the No. 1 weapon of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ that is said to be forged by Scary Phoenix himself? The sword was forged by Scary Phoenix himself many years ago, but he had never used it again after using it for the first time. He was still the No. 1 yer of the game whether he used the Hundred-Mile Streamers or not, so the sword had been kept in storage and had not appeared for many years. The sword had filled yers across all the game¡¯s servers with awe when Beast borrowed it to show off some days ago. The most expensive gear in online games ever known in the world had been sold for nearly ten million, but this record would probably be broken very soon if the Hundred-Mile Streamers was to be sold. Countless ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ yers wanted to buy this godly weapon from Scary Phoenix, but he had never sold or given it to anyone. However, judging from the current situation, it seemed that he was giving this weapon to her! Sophia could hardly tear herself away from the weapon as she stared at it. Now that she had gotten the weapon, being awarded five credits would be a piece of cake! However, after the feelings of pleasant surprise had subsided, it immediately urred to her that this weapon wasn¡¯t hers; Scary Phoenix had no reason for giving her such first-ss gear since he was neither a rtive nor a friend of hers. Therefore, she texted Scary Phoenix back, ¡®Did you send it to the wrong person, Lord? Isn¡¯t this weapon intended for your son? I¡¯ll return it to you right now.¡¯ She immediately returned it to him after that. However, Scary Phoenix sent the godly weapon back to her after a short while and added, ¡®Give it back to me after the championship ends.¡¯ Lord is lending this weapon to me expressly for the championship! Sophia thought to herself. Tempted by the five credits, she really couldn¡¯t bring herself to return the weapon. Therefore, she epted it and replied, ¡®Thank you, Lord.¡¯ Scary Phoenix replied some timeter and said, ¡®Call me Master.¡¯ Sophia was disgusted. She was using a male character in-game, and Scary Phoenix was probably a man too. Being flirted by a man many years her senior in such a queer manner filled her with disgust, but she replied unhesitatingly for the sake of the godly weapon, ¡®Thank you, Master.¡¯ After sending this message to Scary Phoenix, she had a feeling that she had made Michael even more like a cuckold. Nheless, it was merely a game; none of this was happening in real life. Nobody knew each other outside the gaming world. She would always love Tay Tay and no one else! Therefore, she equipped herself with her Master¡¯s Hundred-Mile Streamers with peace of mind while telling herself that she was merely sharing the godly weapon with her Master. She would win glory for her home country if her team won the championship. Sophia threw aside her sense of shame as the idea came into her mind and conviction grew within her. After all, she would return the weapon to him after the championship ended. Stanley practiced tactical coordination with his teammates while finding time to bombard Scary Phoenix with a stream of messages. He wrote, ¡®Just give it to me, Uncle. I promise you that I won¡¯t damage it.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. You¡¯re not using it anyway, so why don¡¯t you let me use it for a few days? I promise I¡¯ll give it back to you after the championship.¡¯ He then continued, ¡®I¡¯ll use it for just a little while, okay? Just a little while. I¡¯ll just have a look at it; I promise I won¡¯t equip myself with it.¡¯ However, Scary Phoenix was toozy to reply to his messages. Determined to get his hands on the Hundred-Mile Streamers, Stanley rested for a while and was about to bombard Scary Phoenix with another round of messages when he suddenly saw dazzling, bright lights on his screen. As it turned out, Sirius233 suddenly brought a dazzling new weapon with him in the game, and when Stanley looked at it, he realized that the weapon was the godly Hundred-Mile Streamers that he had been dreaming about! No, no, no! How could my uncle give the Hundred-Mile Streamers to Sirius, that jerk? That must be a coincidence! he thought to himself. But now that such a godly weapon was unleashed, the resulting effect waspletely different. Sirius nearly overpowered everyone else in the server with it, filling every yer in the server with shock as they couldn¡¯t help but ask what godly weapon it was. That is the Hundred-Mile Streamers! Stanley broke down as he questioned Scary Phoenix, ¡®Uncle, did you give your Hundred-Mile Streamers to Sirius?¡¯ Scary Phoenix replied, ¡®Yeah.¡¯ Snow Fox suddenly went offline, whereas Stanley rushed to Vi No. 8 of The Imperial as quickly as possible. As soon as he barged into the vi, he hugged Michael¡¯s thigh as thetter was brushing his teeth and asked, ¡°How could you do this, Uncle? How could you give the Hundred-Mile Streamers to Sirius? Am I really your biological son?¡± Michael responded, ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Stanley began throwing a tantrum as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m not leaving if you don¡¯t give the Hundred- Mile Streamers to me!¡± Sophia, who was happily gaming in the study, had no idea that Stanley was here again. She used the godly weapon with great pleasure. Now that I have this godly weapon, the entire world is in my hands! Credits, here Ie! she thought to herself. Chapter 211 Chapter 211 Word soon got around that Sirius was now in possession of a godly weapon from Scary Phoenix. Countless yers in the game came and asked Sophia to sell it to them, but she turned them down coldly. Beast popped up as well. He kept sending her private messages which read, ¡®F*ck, Daddy. You just got a stroke of luck¡ªmy dad simply gave his Hundred-Mile Streamers to you!¡¯ Sirius233 replied haughtily, ¡®Yeah, he lent it to me for a few days so that I can y with it.¡¯ Sirius¡¯s rtionship with Beast had improved a little these days, and they often yed together. Switching the conversation to another subject, Beast texted ingratiatingly, ¡®Daddy, why don¡¯t you lend the Hundred-Mile Streamers to me for a few days so that I can y with it as well?¡¯ Sirius233 replied, ¡®Don¡¯t even think about it!¡¯ Beast texted back, ¡®You¡¯re my Daddy¡ªeven my dad has said so. How could you do this to me?!¡¯ Sirius replied, ¡®This weapon is my master¡¯s!¡¯ Sophia had wanted to key in the word ¡®hubby,¡¯ but the damn character input software automatically changed it to ¡®master¡¯ due to its predictive text feature. She quickly corrected herself, ¡®It¡¯s a typo¡ªI didn¡¯t mean to write ¡°master.¡± It¡¯s ¡°Master!¡±¡¯ In the end, the message was sent with the word ¡®master¡¯ still being used. Beast replied, ¡®You¡¯re so disgusting. I know that he¡¯s your master, so you don¡¯t have to repeat that to me so many times. If you don¡¯t want to lend the weapon to me, just forget that I even asked!¡¯ Sirius was silent this time. Meanwhile, Michael managed to get Stanley to leave after pleading with him in every way he could. It wasn¡¯t until he logged into the game and gave Stanley another godly weapon that was second only to the Hundred-Mile Streamers that thetter¡¯s anger was finally appeased. Stanley thought his uncle did so out of his care for him. Much to his dismay, he logged into the game to discover that everyone in the team had received a godly weapon from Scary Phoenix as well. Their team was probably considered first-ss in Cethos, but it was unknown how well they would fare on the international level. Cethos¡¯s esports teams could not bepared with overseas ones since the country started rtivelyte on esports in the first ce. Therefore, they had to strengthen themselves as quickly as possible to increase their likelihood of winning the championship. The four professional yers who joined the team wanted to win the championship to achieve a higher status in the field, whereas Snow Fox and the other two students wanted to win the championship to receive the five extra credits. As for Scary Phoenix, however¡­ nobody knew why he joined the team. Michael stealthily opened the door to Nathan¡¯s study and watched through the cracks as Sophia yed the game with pleasure. The sight of her happiness filled him with immense gratification. Michael left home on the seventh day of the New Year to act in a film overseas. Sophia felt lost after he left, but she had no time to dwell on her sense of loss since the first round of selection trials wasing soon. Therefore, she began training herself night and day. How embarrassing it would be if her team couldn¡¯t even enter the selection trials! Luckily, her team¡¯s members were all expert yers, so they passed the selection trials with their eyes closed and got themselves qualified to enter the championship without a hitch. The new semester then started in the blink of an eye. Since Sophia had many courses in the second semester of her first year at university, she was as busy as a bee; whenever she had free time after her sses, Sophia either headed to a nearby Inte cafe or went home straight away to turn on her computer and y the online game. Her team got through the preliminaries across all servers and entered the quarterfinals, the semifinals, then the finals until they finally made their way into the Cethosian division of the championship. After fighting their way up again, they narrowly won first ce in that division to be one of the three teams representing their home country. They wouldpete against a few well-known teams from other countries in the Aseanos region since only the top three teams would be qualified to enter the global finals. After winning the Cethosian finals of the championship, everyone in the team could finally get some rest. Sophia also had her hands full these days since she had to take care of both her studies and her gaming endeavors; she even felt that she had lost quite some weight. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Going through all of this just for some extra credit! Sophia thought to herself. Everyone else in the team had also worked hard for many days. After winning the Cethosian finals of the championship, Snow Fox¡ªwho was Stanley in real life¡ªproposed having an offline gathering, but Sophia refused him without hesitation. Stanley even made a call to Sirius233¡¯s cell phone and said, ¡°Hey, why the hell are you so scared of showing your face? Everyone in our team can be trusted, so your identity won¡¯t be leaked. It¡¯s just a gathering¡ªwe¡¯re not going to devour you!¡± Sophia had installed a voice-changing application on the cell phone so that her voice sounded like a male¡¯s. She answered, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want toe, but I would like to keep my reality and the gaming world separate from each other.¡± Stanley stopped pressing her further. Had Michael not forbidden him from doing so, he would have found Sirius¡¯s personal information and dropped in on him a long time ago. However, he could only hang up and call up everyone else in the team for the offline gathering. There were eight people in the team, but since Scary Phoenix and Sirius would certainly note to the gathering, only six of them would be present. After hanging up the phone, Sophia packed up her stuff and left the library as she wanted to pick Nathan up at the School of Computer Science. Besides having to learn some knowledge about other subjects, she had also begun reading academic books for her second year at university; she had been so busy these days that she had no time to y with Nathan at all. Now that the championship hade to an end for the time being, she had to go outdoors and y with Nathan no matter what. A movie that Tay Tay had starred in would be premiering soon, so she could take the opportunity to watch it with Nathan! However, when she arrived at the School of Computer Science, she learned that Gary had picked Nathan up a long time ago. She turned back and walked alone while kicking the pebbles when she suddenly realized that Michael hadn¡¯t been home in nearly two months; he hadn¡¯te home ever since he left during the New Year. Even though they video called each other every single day, she couldn¡¯t help feeling like something was missing since he wasn¡¯t by her side. Not only that, she felt even more ufortable upon seeing couples after couples walk past her hand-in-hand. She also wanted to walk hand-in-hand with Michael on campus grounds and enjoy other people¡¯s envious nces. She had sneaked into Michael¡¯s fan group in Bayside City. ording to the information that spread out from the fan group, the filming of ¡®Doctor Invincible,¡¯ which had been in production for almost half a year, was nearing its end. Members of the fan group were nning to meet Michael at the airport when he came back. Not only that, his fans were also going to book out an entire cinema to watch Tay Tay¡¯s new movie when it premiered. The new semester also came with all kinds of activities andpetitions, including a debate contest and a cash-countingpetition. Sophia was still pondering over whichpetition she would like to take part in; as a straight-A student, she would never miss any opportunity of earning extra credits. As she was deep in thought by herself, she didn¡¯t notice that a person was heading her way. The person stopped her in delight and said, ¡°What a coincidence meeting you here, Sophia!¡± Sophia looked up to see Richard¡¯s smiling face. She wanted to pretend that she didn¡¯t know him, but she couldn¡¯t do so since he knew her in person. Therefore, she put on a smile that was both polite and distant, asking, ¡°Is there anything, Zane?¡± Richard stared at thedy before him; he hadn¡¯t seen her for nearly two months, and she seemed to have be prettier since. He wished that he could have her to himself, but he couldn¡¯t put the scene of her necking with Stanley in the stadium and the thing she had done with Joel in bed out of his mind. He balled his fists in his sleeves before taking an invitation card out of his pocket. ¡°This is the invitation card for me and X¡¯s engagement banquet. Please be sure toe,¡± he said. Sophia frowned as the sight of the invitation card put her on the spot. If she didn¡¯t ept the invitation, the Harper Family might think that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to attend the banquet because she still had feelings for Richard; nobody knew what they were going to say behind her back. However, epting the invitation would make her feel sick to the stomach. Furthermore, she already had apprehensions about attending all banquets hosted by the Harpers after the previous incident. Who knew what sort of wicked idea they woulde up with to harm her at the banquet? Richard couldn¡¯t bear the sight of her hesitation deep down inside; he knew that it was very cruel of him to invite Sophia to this banquet. Nobody would be willing to see their loved one getting engaged to another woman, especially in front of her eyes. Not only that, he even gave this invitation card himself! Chapter 212 Chapter 212 ¡°Listen to me, Sophia¡ªKa just came back from Africa. I hope you cane to our engagement banquet this time; there are lots of misunderstandings between you and Ka. Perhaps both of you can take this opportunity to resolve your misunderstandings so that all of us can be family once more,¡± he said. Family¡­ A look of disgust crossed Sophia¡¯s face, looking as though she had feces in her mouth. Did Ka really go to Africa? She¡¯ll definitely bully me if I go to the Harper Family¡¯s engagement banquet! Just as Sophia was about to reject the invitation, someone took the invitation card from Richard all of a sudden. Stanley had appeared behind Sophia at one point in time, and he even held her shoulders with one of his arms. Looking like a boyfriend who was protecting his girlfriend, he epted the invitation card on her behalf. ¡°Alright, no problem. We¡¯ll definitely be there!¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. They were near the School of Computer Science, it wasn¡¯t a surprise to see Stanley here. He had noticed Richard¡ªthat scumbag¡ªpestering Sophia from afar. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to figure out that he was bothering her, so he walked closer toward them. As expected, Richard was indeed bothering Sophia. It was the Harper Family¡¯s charity banquetst time, and now, it was his engagement banquet with X. Hmph! How dare he bully my dear Sophia again! Pretending that he didn¡¯t notice the grim look which appeared on Richard¡¯s face, Stanley said very seriously, ¡°This time, I¡¯ll definitely go to your party in a car with a rental fee of 10,000 per day.¡± Richard¡¯s face fell even more; he simply turned around and left after bidding Sophia goodbye. After he walked away, Stanley threw the invitation card into a garbage bin at the side. Pretending like nothing had happened, he said to Sophia, ¡°Come on, Sophie! Follow me and let¡¯s get something great to eat!¡± Sophia strode forward. ¡°I¡¯m not going,¡± she said curtly. Stanley caught up with her. ¡°Today¡¯s the offline gathering of our esports team, so lots of gaming experts will be attending! You know about the Esports World Championship, right? It¡¯s the most incredible competition of all time! Our Dragon Fox Team is the champion of Cethos, which will represent the country to participate in the internationalpetition soon! Basically, the greatest gaming experts in Cethos are in our team! Come on, I¡¯ve already made reservations. Those two scumbags will not being to the gathering, but I¡¯ve already paid for the reservations. If we don¡¯t go, my money will be wasted. Please,e on,e with me!¡± Today¡­ seemed to be the day of the offline gathering for the esports team. Although Sophia had rejected their invitation without any hesitation, perhaps she could go and have a look. After all, they didn¡¯t know who she was either; she could even take the opportunity to meet her other teammates. Besides, she wouldn¡¯t feel awkward since her old, aggressive husband wouldn¡¯t being to the gathering anyway. Therefore, Sophia reluctantly agreed to go with Stanley. ¡°I¡¯m hungry too, so I think I¡¯ll just go with you then!¡± With that, the duo left the campus together. They took the subway to the ce where the offline gathering of the esports team was being held. Since all members in the gaming team were highly-paid professional yers, the venue for the offline gathering must definitely be a grand ce. They had even reserved a huge suite for the gathering! When they reached the ce, they noticed that the rest of the team members had arrived. There were six of them in total. Including Sophia, who didn¡¯t reveal her identity, there were seven of them. As she expected, Scary Phoenix was not there. All members of the esports team were prominent figures indeed. Among the six members, four of them were professional gaming experts often featured in various gaming magazines. Sophia actually knew all of them¡ªshe even saw Sean in the team! ¡°What brings you here, Sean?¡± Sophia goggled at his face in shock, which was even prettier than a girl¡¯s. Sean looked like a 180-centimeter tall girl. A shy expression crossed his smooth, supple face as he scratched his head and grinned. Stanley introduced, ¡°Sean might be a little girly in real life, but he¡¯s really awesome in the game. Do you know the Dragon Belle Warrior character in our esports team? That¡¯s him!¡± Sophia felt that her entire perspective on life was alteredpletely. The Dragon Belle Warrior was so incredibly fierce in the game; it was actually Sean! Just as she expected, there was not a single girl in the team. All of them were young boys and middle- aged uncles. They were surprised when they saw Sophia as they asked, ¡°She is¡­¡± Sirius? Scary Phoenix? She doesn¡¯t look like Scary Phoenix at all. However, Sirius is a notorious jerk; how could he possibly be a beautiful girl like her? Stanley introduced Sophia to the team members. ¡°She¡¯s my friend. She¡¯s a gamer too, so I brought her here to have a look.¡± ¡°Oh, your friend¡­¡± Aprehensive smile crossed everyone¡¯s face. Everyone sat down, while Sophia was still in shock about the revtion of Sean being the Dragon Belle Warrior in the game. She watched as Stanley pulled out two pictures from his backpack and ced them at the side. ¡°I brought these two here as well,¡± he uttered. The two pictures were the character images of Sirius and Scary Phoenix in the game; Stanley had taken the liberty to print and frame their pictures for the gathering. He ced the two pictures on the positions he prepared for both Sirius and Scary Phoenix. The pictures were also monochrome. Sophia was speechless upon seeing his actions. Naturally, a team of gamers mostly talked about gaming when they gathered. Sophia listened to them too even though the two pictures ced beside her looked somewhat weird. After the gathering, everyone went back to their homes respectively. Stanley insisted on sending Sophia home, so they passed through Time Square in the middle of the city and took the subway home. Time Square was one of the most bustling and luxuriousmercial areas in Bayside City. It was most crowded at that time with many people strolling around the square. Variousmercials were yed onrge screens located at the most eye-catching spots in Time Square; celebrities who could be featured on these screens had to be A-list actors or actresses and top international brands in Cethos. When Sophia passed by the square, she heard a familiar voice all of a sudden. She raised her head and saw the huge screen ying the trailer of Michael¡¯s new movie. This time, Michael was acting in a period drama; he yed the main role of a young master of a wealthy family eighty years ago, looking very handsome and charming in the movie. His unique elegant charm was unparalleled. As his ever so handsome image appeared on therge screen over and over again coupled with his husky, pleasant voice, people walking on the square couldn¡¯t help but stop and look at him on the screen. Sophia raised her head and looked at the handsome man; she was mesmerized by his charm too. How can my idol look so handsome? Stanley raised his head and looked at Michael too. From time to time, he turned and took a nce at the dreamy look in Sophia¡¯s eyes, who was standing beside him. Yet another girl who¡¯s been bewitched by my uncle. He couldn¡¯t stop himself from advising her, ¡°Sophie, you have to stop thinking about my uncle. There¡¯s no way my uncle would like you!¡± However, it seemed as though Sophia wasn¡¯t listening to him at all. Stanley then continued, ¡°You should look closer around you¡ªmaybe you¡¯ll find a surprise around you somewhere!¡± Stanley was rather confident with his looks. After all, he came from the same family as Michael. They looked somewhat alike, and he was the most attractive guy in the School of Computer Science! Unfortunately, Sophia was so mesmerized by his uncle¡¯s charm that she didn¡¯t even notice him at all! As if trying to say something again, Stanley was about to open his mouth when he noticed an object moving from the corner of his eyes suddenly; he had caught a glimpse of a blinding, cold light. Upon looking closer, it was actually a de! The icy de was about to stab into Sophia¡¯s neck, who was raising her head and looking at Michael! Without any hesitation, Stanley kicked Sophia in her back; it sent her flying faraway outward. Thus, the de missed its target. Sophia, who was still oblivious of what was happening, turned around and saw the athletic Stanley lunging at a person. She was an unattractive girl, and she had already rolled over and got up after being pressed down on the floor by Stanley in just a few seconds. A ray of icy light shed through her hand and next moment, a small inch-long de appeared from out of nowhere in her hand. The de then extended to a few inches long in silence within seconds. It shone with ayer of dark tint on its surface as it stabbed directly into Stanley¡¯s heart quickly! A-An assassin? Chapter 213 Chapter 213 That was the first thing Sophia could think about; she was a well-trained assassin too! Stanley was not an ordinary person either, for the Fletchers were not easy targets. Just as the de was about to stab into his heart, he stretched out his foot and hooked the bag which he had been carrying on his back to the front, stopping the de just in time. The two picture frames in his bag had saved his life. ¡°Quick, run!¡± As he struggled underneath the assassin, Stanley shouted at Sophia loudly at the same time. However, as soon as he finished shouting, the body of the female assassin convulsed; the de in her hand fell to the floor, and her eyes rolled back as she fell down beside Stanley. He saw Sophia standing behind the assassin with a taser in her hand. He thought she would be so petrified that she would be disorientated, but to his surprise, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to be afraid at all. Her eyes were icy cold as she kept her taser away. She took two steps forward and dragged Stanley from the floor. ¡°Get up quickly.¡± Stanley was still in shock; he didn¡¯t expect Sophia to be so bold even though she was just a nanny. But then again, the nannies from his uncle¡¯s household were very different from other nannies. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed by a huge sense of danger. Almost immediately, he noticed a red spot on Sophia¡¯s forehead. Snipers were still around! Within 0.1 seconds, he hurled his bag into the air. Stanley, who was stillying on the floor, stretched out his leg and tripped her deliberately. Being caught off bnce, Sophia staggered forward unsteadily and fell onto Stanley. Bang! Following a loud bang, the bag that was hurled into the air burst open with a gunshot. A bullet, which was supposed to hit Sophia¡¯s brain, deviated slightly upward away from its original path because of the sudden appearance of the bag. Moreover, Sophia had been tripped and coincidently fell forward. The bullet narrowly missed its target and barely brushed past her brain. A person standing not far away behind Sophia became the unlucky person as he got shot instantly! The shot was fired from a gun which had been modified with a silencer, making itpletely silent when the bullet was fired. However, the unlucky person who got shot in the thighy down on the floor and wailed in pain. ¡°There¡¯s a murderer on the loose!¡± he screamed. The whole square was in a total chaos following the scream! The square was very crowded with people walking around in the first ce; now that something had happened, people panicked and a stampede ensued at the square! Stanley got Sophia on her feet and they started to run. Sophia didn¡¯t expect that there were snipers hiding in the dark too! Then, is their target¡­ Stanley? Stanley was a Fletcher indeed. He had served in the army before, so he knew the snipers were still hiding in the dark. Besides, there was probably more than one sniper around. He dragged Sophia along, carefully blending into the crowd as they ran. The ground was full of things falling off from people on the run in panic, which included scarves, hats and so on. The swift and observant Stanley picked up two hats from the floor quickly¡ªone for Sophia and another one for himself. The snipers were watching them closely from above. Now that everyone was running around in panic, the only thing the snipers could differentiate them from other people were their heads. Sophia put on the hat and removed her down jacket. The jacket was bright red in color, and it was too striking. ¡°Get inside the shop!¡± Stanley took Sophia and dashed into a caf¨¦ beside the square. Since they didn¡¯t know how many snipers were hiding in the dark, they would be the snipers¡¯ target soon if they were exposed outside in the square for too long. There were many people who had dashed into the building along with them. All of a sudden, the whole square became a chaotic mess. Entering the caf¨¦, Sophia turned around and took a nce at the female assassin whom she had electrocuted just now. She was still lying on the floor of the square, covered in footprints from head to toe. Needless to say, she had been stepped on countless times by people scampering around in the square. One couldn¡¯t be sure whether she was still alive! Once they were in the shop, Stanley spoke to Sophia and said, ¡°Give me your phone!¡± His cell phone was inside his backpack which had been shot earlier. Sophia unlocked her cell phone and passed it to him. Stanley quickly dialed a number and his call was answered soon. ¡°Bro, we¡¯re at Time Square; there are no less than 5 enemies here, and they have snipers. The ce is in total chaos, so please send help right away.¡± Sophia felt a bit more secure after Stanley had made the call. Nheless, they were unsure when the armed forces would arrive at the ce. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Time Square was one of the most crowded and bustling squares in Bayside City. Although it wasn¡¯t a special holiday today, there were still lots of people at the square. After the sudden ident just now, almost no one was at the square now. Several people, who had been injured due to stampedes, wailed in pain as theyy on the ground across the square. Quite a number of people were hiding in the caf¨¦ too. As Sophia hid behind the door, she asked Stanley quietly, ¡°Aren¡¯t there supposed to be armed police officers patrolling a crowded ce like this?¡± Stanley had served in the army before; he grabbed Sophia and they hid in the spot where the snipers couldn¡¯t see them. He exined in a low voice, ¡°Today is not a holiday, so they don¡¯t have armed police officers around. At most, they just have two patrolling police officers who are no match for those assassins. Time Square is a ce which is easier to defend rather than to attack. I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be dead long before the armed forces even arrive. Clearly, they had everything nned out perfectly from the ce to the time, and they are waiting exclusively for me!¡± Besides, one would only hire such arge group of elite assassins to assassinate the Fletchers. Sophia was so terrified that she broke out in a cold sweat. She lowered her head and called Hale. To her surprise, the moment her call was answered, thergest screen in Time Square was shot by the assassins. Suddenly, there was a ckout in the entire area. Time Square, which had been brightly lit moments ago, plunged into darkness within a split second. Just as Hale had answered her call, someone patted Sophia on her shoulder suddenly. ¡°Miss Edwards!¡± Sophia was startled. She turned around and looked behind. It was actually Quinton, their Financial ounting professor. She was very surprised as she asked, ¡°Professor rk, what brings you here?¡± Evidently, Quinton was out on a date today. He dressed up and looked very handsome indeed; he even wore a little cravat around his neck. However, he didn¡¯t expect that he would run into something like that today¡ªhis white shirt even got wrinkled in the chaos. However, just as they greeted each other, a ray of redser light shone through the ss window of the caf¨¦ and focused exactly on her head. Stanley lunged toward Sophia immediately and pressed her firmly against the floor. Once again, a bullet brushed past her scalp quietly and hit a chair in the caf¨¦. The shot sent the chair flying into the air, which frightened people in the caf¨¦ as they ran away to hide elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯m the one they¡¯re after. You should stay away from me lest you get hurt,¡± said Stanley as he pushed Sophia away toward Quinton. Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she heard this. It seemed like the assassins weren¡¯t targeting Stanley¡ªit was her who they were after! However, she couldn¡¯t think of anyone she had offended before¡­ No! The Harpers! If the Harpers could hire some assassins to assassinate her once, they could do it again! Damn those Harpers! If I survive this time, I¡¯ll definitely make your entire family go bankrupt! As Sophia cursed to herself quietly, she crawled around in panic using both her arms and legs, running for her life. All the shops around the square had closed. Lights were switched off and doors were shut tight. Just now, lots of people had run and hid in the shops; screams and cries were everywhere. Sophia didn¡¯t know when Hale and Stanley¡¯s brother woulde and save them. Suddenly, heavy footsteps came closer and closer. Those footsteps sounded heavy but quick. The person had a very clear target, which was the caf¨¦! The footsteps became heavier with each step the person took, and it seemed like those footsteps were stepping on the hearts of everyone in the caf¨¦. Someone¡¯sing! The footsteps sound like they belong to an assassin! Sophia rummaged through her bag immediately. After the incident where she was almost killed by Phantom Wolf, she put a bunch of self-defense equipment in her bag like tasers and pepper spray; needless to say, her bag was bulging with everything inside of it. Stanley pulled out a taser from Sophia¡¯s bag, hid behind the door and waited for the person toe. As soon as he came, he would knock him out with the taser immediately. Chapter 214 Chapter 214 He was getting closer and closer! The assassin¡¯s footsteps grew nearer by the minute. Everyone in the caf¨¦ held their breaths and saw a figure stopping in front of the ss window of the caf¨¦. The figure advanced toward the door step by step before pausing for a second at the doorway as a hand opened the caf¨¦ door. The creak of the door sounded deafening in the nowpletely silent caf¨¦. As everyone looked on in terror, the door was opened and an extremely tall figure stood at the doorway. The square was in total darkness without the slightest bit of light in it¡ªnot even the lights from the stars and moon shone into the building. Thus, all everyone could see was a dark yet menacing figure. Stanley lunged at the figure stealthily and electrocuted the dark figure with the taser in his hand immediately. The body of the dark figure convulsed for a moment, but much to everyone¡¯s surprise, he didn¡¯t copse at all. The sturdy tower-like figure of the assassin remained standing tall and firm on the ground; Stanley¡¯s over 180-centimeter tall figure appeared really smallpared to his height. With a loud thump, Stanley was hurled fiercely onto the ground by the dark figure. He let out a groan and fainted on the spot. The assassin advanced toward the crowd hiding in the caf¨¦, and everyone there backed away in fear. Even a strong man like Stanley was knocked out by the assassin with just a single strike, so they didn¡¯t have the confidence to put up a fight against the man. Sophia kept moving toward the back as far as she could. Suddenly, a palm pressed against her back and forcibly shoved her out toward the assassin. ¡°She¡¯s the one you want to kill!¡± Sophia rolled over to the front of the assassin like a defenseless little chick. She was right under the feet of the dark figure. She raised her head and saw the dim lighting from an emergency light as it shone on the man¡¯s heavily scarred face, which looked like a hideous demon. The over 200-centimeter tall man had dry and unruly yellow hair; his bulging well-toned muscles all over his body were fully covered in scars. She actually recognized the man¡ªit was Quill! He was an assassin from the Phantom Wolf, who was supposed to be dead in one of the International Joint Counter Terrorism Operations a year ago. He actually showed up here and even wanted to kill her! The first thing that came to Sophia¡¯s mind was that the Phantom Wolf had found her! Just within that one second when she was still in shock, a de chopped downward at her brain from above. If it hit her head precisely, she would be cut in half on the spot instantly. Right at that crucial moment, a chair swung from above and struck Quill¡¯s head fiercely from behind. Following a loud bang, the chair, which seemed very sturdy, shattered into pieces immediately. Quill¡¯s well-built, tower-like figure remained standing firm and tall on the ground; he grimaced and looked very furious. Upon turning around, he saw a miserable young man standing behind him. ¡°Professor rk!¡± Sophia shouted in surprise. That man was actually Quinton. She didn¡¯t know where the usually weak Quinton got the courage to actually ambush Quill. The guy was a ruthless assassin, who wouldn¡¯t even blink when he killed a person! The moment he turned around, Quinton took a wine bottle and crashed it on his head fiercely. However, Quill didn¡¯t budge at all; it was as if his body was made of steel, making him invincible. He grabbed hold of Quinton¡ªwho ambushed him from behind¡ªand held him in the air instead. Without much effort, he hurled Quinton away and thetter fell onto the floor heavily. Before Quinton hit the floor, he crashed into the wall harshly, forming a dent in it. Finally, he smashed against the floor and slumped next to Stanley. After Quill hurled Quinton away, he felt a menacing aura behind him. A petite figure bumped into his waist suddenly and a sharp weapon stabbed into his waist harshly. Sophia held a de that was several inches long in her hand. It seemed to be the weapon previously used by the female assassin just now, and Sophia had picked up the de on the way in here. With the sharp de in her hand, she shoved the de in and out over and over again every time she blinked; it looked as though she was cutting a watermelon, stabbing Quill on his body multiple times. However, there wasn¡¯t a slightest bit of blood on the surface of the de at all; she stabbed him one more time with all her might. She felt like she was stabbing on some kind of metal piece. From the opening on his clothes which were torn apart by the stabs, she saw some kind of bullet-proof vest underneath his clothing. Supposedly, the vest could even act as an electricity instor. No wonder the taser was useless against him! Oh no! There was no time for her to escape anymore even if she wanted to. Quill knocked her de off with one of his hands and effortlessly mped Sophia¡¯s neck with his other. Obviously, Quill was very angry. His eyes turned red as it burned with fury; the scars on his face seemed to be more frightening than before. Sophia kept thumping his arm with both of her hands with all her might but to no avail¡ªhis arm didn¡¯t budge at all. Assassins in real life didn¡¯t babble much like those featured in the movies. He never uttered any nonsense since the beginning and didn¡¯t waste any second of his time. He just wanted to get rid of Sophia as fast as he possibly could. Sophia knew that there was only one way to stay alive now¡­ ¡°D-Dn¡­ Lee!¡± Hearing the disconnected stutter from the girl, who almost had her neck broken by his own hands, Quill loosened his grip around her neck for a moment. Sophia was delighted as she shouted out the name with all her might. ¡°Dn Lee!¡± Quill was startled; he was originally a Cethosian, and Quill Lee was just his code name. His real name was Dn Lee! Few people knew about his real name, so how did the girl know about it? He noticed the young girl as she held out a trembling hand in front of him. She opened up her palm weakly and revealed an old, yellowish bill. He looked closely at it and realized that it was a bill from Riverdale¡¯s Lovely Hospital dated on the 15th of March from three years ago. Three years ago on the 15th of March at Riverdale¡¯s Lovely Hospital! As though remembering something, Quill bulged his eyes suddenly and stared at the young girl in front of him in surprise. After staring at her in shock and puzzlement for a while, he finally recognized her. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± The missing ¡®dog¡¯ which the Phantom Wolf had been looking for but couldn¡¯t find all these years! Unexpectedly, as he finished, a quick and acrobatic figure sneaked into the caf¨¦ from outside the door. It clung onto Quill¡¯s tall body like a smart and nimble monkey. Quill let out a groan as soon as both of them had brief contact with each other; his whole body trembled uncontrobly as he loosened his grip around Sophia¡¯s neckpletely. Sophia, whose eyes almost rolled back, was finally saved. Without the iron grip mping around her neck, she could inhale lots of fresh air through her mouth and nose. Sophia felt as though she was alive again. She took several deep breaths and breathed as much as she could while raising her head and ncing at Quill. Quill reached behind and firmly grabbed the figure which held onto his neck, yanking it off him before tossing it on the ground fiercely. The figure was hurled away as itnded on the ground, but it rolled over twice and swiftly stabilized itself. The petite figure raised her head and looked at Quill. A smile crossed her delicate yet mischievous face. She stuck out her tongue and pulled a face as she squealed, ¡°Haha!¡± At the same time, Quill goggled at her in disbelief with his bulging eyes as he kneeled down; his huge tower-like body fell face downward on the floor. He fell right in front of Sophia and blood sttered everywhere over the floor. The old yellowish bill was soaked in his blood. It was Sophia¡¯s first time having a near-death experience like this; she was so petrified that her mind went nk for a moment. After snapping out of her shock for a while, she finally remembered to keep her bill. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Chapter 215 Chapter 215 Sophia had always kept the bill; she was worried that she might not have any sort of token with her when she met the person who had saved her previously. Nheless, she did not change her old habit even after knowing that the person was the Phantom Wolf. Thanks to this habit, she was saved. She could still feel the pain on her neck now. Sophia was almost certain that she was going to die just now! Sophia nced at the figure who had stormed into the caf¨¦ and killed Quill just now. It was Gemma! She was indeed a psychopath for killing Quill with just a single strike! Gemma strode toward her with a cheerful grin on her face. A chixed smile crossed her delicate face with two dimples on her cheeks. She evenined, ¡°Who asked you not to wait for me?¡± Gemma had been going undercover in Bayside University the entire time. Both of them had initially promised to go home together after school, but in order to join the offline gathering of the esports team, Sophia sneaked out of the campus quietly along with Stanley. Luckily, Gemma had followed them secretly after she found out about this, tailing behind them from a distance. During the gathering, she hid outside of the restaurant and yed with her cell phone; she even followed them in secret when they walked through the square just now. However, she lost them in the crowd at the square, and had only managed to locate them after searching for quite some time. Moments ago, she had been hiding in the dark, and observing the number of assassins around the ce; she was waiting for the right moment to strike at the same time. It was difficult to deal with a powerful opponent like the Phantom Wolf¡ªit would be hard to take him down if one couldn¡¯t kill him with a single strike! One might even lose his life! However, Gemma came just in time! At the same time, lights outside were switched on suddenly; the electric circuit was finally fixed. Once again, the entire Time Square was brightly lit. Several helicopters arrived at the building; steady and heavy clomps of military boots were soon heard. Counter terrorism police officers and military troops had arrived. Everyone in the caf¨¦ felt greatly relieved. Stanley regained his consciousness too; he shook his head and could finally remember what had happened after a long while. To his surprise, he saw Lee¡¯s grotesque appearance as he turned around. He was so frightened by the horrifying look that he took a step behind immediately. Gemma helped Sophia to her feet; thetter had been hit rather badly. Her hair became disheveled and she could barely stand with her trembling legs, which went limp as a result of being frightened out of her wits because of the unexpected incident. It was impossible for her to not be frightened after encountering such an incident for the first time. The counter terrorism police officers stormed into the caf¨¦ and surrounded the whole ce. After evacuating the crowd from the caf¨¦, the area where Quill died was cordoned off and an ambnce came to carry the injured away; the unconscious Quinton was carried away too. Although Gemma was reluctant to make any contact with Joel¡¯s men, she had to send Sophia to the hospital with their ambnce since the entire Time Square was locked down now; private vehicles from several neighborhoods around were not allowed to be near the square, and people who came to offer their assistance ended up being blocked outside. Everything was finally under control; Joel marched toward the spot where Quill had died. He wasn¡¯t supposed to meddle with this matter in the first ce, but he heard that Stanley was here and thought that the assassins were targeting the Fletchers. So, he rushed here and had a look around. Quill? Didn¡¯t he die in a Joint Counter Terrorism Operation one year ago? Why is he here in Cethos? Why would he attack the Fletchers? We¡¯ve been very low-profile and keeping our personal information confidential. Thus, very few people know about Stanley¡¯s identity. Why did he be the target of the Phantom Wolf? The Phantom Wolf holds a huge grudge against the Fletchers. Is it some kind of a signal for the Phantom Wolf to attack the Fletchers all of a sudden? Joel walked out of the caf¨¦ after inspecting Quill¡¯s body. Unfortunately, the other assassins had managed to escape in the end. Besides Quill, another female assassin had failed to escape; she died more horriblypared to Quill upon being stampeded on. This time, two assassins from the Phantom Wolf had died. This was considered a huge victory for Sophia and the others because the Phantom Wolf never missed before in their previous assassinations. Joel walked toward the ambnce and saw that Stanley was being carried into the ambnce in a stretcher. He wasn¡¯t seriously injured and only suffered from a broken leg; he just needed to rest for a period of time in order to recover. Stanley¡¯s brother got into the ambnce with him. Sophia wasn¡¯t gravely injured too; there were a few scratch marks around her neck. Due to the vicious attack of the man, the skin around her neck had been scratched. Her neck would¡¯ve been snapped if Gemma came a littleter than she did. Besides the bruises around the corner of her mouth and scratch marks around her neck, there were no other injuries on the rest of her body. Quintony down on a stretcher. He finally regained some of his consciousness but his head was bandaged to stop the bleeding. He opened his eyes and took a nce at Sophia weakly. He only managed to utter a few words after gazing at her for quite some time. ¡°Are you alright, Miss Edwards?¡± Sophia nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m fine.¡± When she was in danger just now, someone had pushed her out to the side of the assassin¡¯s feet whereas others had sacrificed their lives to save her; she remembered all of them clearly. Quinton smiled weakly and closed his eyes in relief. Sophia got into the ambnce and followed Quinton quickly to the hospital. After all, he was injured because he had tried to save her. She had to follow and check him out since they hadn¡¯t contacted his family yet. All the injured civilians were sent to a nearby military hospital for emergency treatment. Luckily, the incident didn¡¯t cause too many casualties among the people this time; two people who died in the incident were the assassins. One of them was killed by Gemma with a single strike, while another one was stampeded alive by the people scampering around in panic after she was electrocuted by Sophia with a taser. Sophia was admitted to the hospital for a night. In the middle of the night, Quinton¡¯s family rushed to the hospital as soon as they received the news. His parents were so happy and d that they broke out in tears of joy when they saw that their son was alright. Finally, Sophia could leave the hospital in relief. Soon, the police officers took her to the station to make a statement. The next morning, Sophia went to the VIP ward to visit Stanley. He was absolutely fine besides having his leg broken. He could even y video games in his ward. Stanley grabbed Sophia as soon as he saw hering. ¡°Sophie, count how many times I¡¯ve saved you last night!¡± Without waiting for Sophia to say anything, he started counting them himself. ¡°Once at the square, another one in the caf¨¦¡­ anyway, I¡¯ve saved you way too many times. Without me, you would¡¯ve died there for surest night even if you¡¯re a cat with nine lives! I am your savior. What do you think you should do to thank me?¡± Sophia was wearing a patient uniform too. She pondered seriously for a while. Finally, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money if you want money. I can¡¯t give you my life either even if you want it!¡± Stanley¡¯s reaction was rather exaggerated. ¡°I almost died saving your life! I don¡¯t care¡ªyou have to offer yourself to me aspensation!¡± Sophia took out arge, freshly roasted Orleans chicken thigh from her bag and tossed it in front of him. ¡°Here, have a taste of the chicken!¡± Stanley looked as if he was going to say something again. However, hurried footsteps were heard all of a sudden as it stopped at the doorway of the ward. A clear deep voice was heard from behind her. ¡°Chica!¡± Sophia, who was sitting with her back facing the door, was startled. After being in shock for a short while, a surprised look of disbelief appeared on her face. She turned around and nced at the door. Just as she expected, she saw Michael. He looked as though he had rushed here in a hurry, and he was now standing at the doorway of the ward. Before she could say anything, a small chubby figure came dashing toward her quickly. The fast movement of the small figure brought a gust of wind with him as he dashed toward her. Nathan threw himself into Sophia¡¯s arms immediately and clenched tightly onto her clothes, afraid that she would disappear once again. ¡°Nate!¡± Sophia embraced the little boy. While embracing Nathan, she raised her head and looked at Michael instead. He looked like he had rushed here in a haste. Michale looked really tired with all the dirt on his disheveled face,ing from somece far away. Isn¡¯t he supposed to be away from the country now? Why is he back all of a sudden? It would have taken him at least ten hours to fly back from overseas, right? Did he fly back immediately after hearing about last night¡¯s incident?N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Chapter 216 Chapter 216 Warmth poured into Sophia¡¯s heart in an instant. All of a sudden, her heart raced at an unusual speed. There were many others with Michael¡ªHale and Gemma were there, as well as Joel and Stanley¡¯s older brother, Caleb Fletcher. Stanley, who had been heckling Sophia to get somepensation from thetter, turned incredibly meek and docile when he saw his two uncles looking at him. He looked like he was on the brink of death. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°Hey there, Uncle Michael and Uncle Joel; I would¡¯ve been dead if you guys hade anyter! I was this close to never seeing you again!¡± Michael¡¯s heart only fell back into ce from his throat once he saw that his dainty little wife was alright. Although he desperately wanted to give her a nice, long kiss, there were too many people around; it wouldn¡¯t be a good ce to kiss her. He had brought a bag of fruits as he walked in and ced it by Stanley¡¯s bedside. When he passed by Sophia, he stretched out a big hand to stroke her hair as aforting gesture after her scare. Sophia looked absolutely pitiful, but her terrified little heart seemingly mended itself in an instant when Michael stroked her hair. Stanley was moved to the verge of tears when Michael ced the bag of fruits next to his bed. He grabbed onto Michael¡¯s hand and said, ¡°I want a pat on the head too, Uncle!¡± Gemma had already exinedst night¡¯s situation to Michael in detail, so he already knew all about Stanley¡¯s heroic deed. He hadn¡¯t expected this kid to be so trustworthy when push came to shove. Giving a warm smile to Stanley as a sign of gratitude, the smile was as warm as a kind deity¡¯s; Michael even obliged and patted Stanley¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯ve always been a good boy in my eyes, Sundae Cone. You¡¯re the pride of the Fletcher Family!¡± Michaelplimented as he patted the younger man¡¯s head. Stanley was so moved that tears nearly escaped his eyes when he saw that the aloof uncle of his¡ª whom he had worshipped since young¡ªrevealed an appreciative smile. All his life, he had seen Michael and Joel as goals for him to work toward. Just like his uncles, Stanley worked hard to carve a ce for himself without relying on his family. However, he truly had no intention of joining the army. After two years of mandatory service, he gave up the chance of being promoted to an officer so that he could go to university and continue his love for esports. His family hadn¡¯t understood his decision and felt like he was an irresponsible person; there was even a point in time when tensions ran high between the family because of their arguments. The only ones who truly supported him were probably Michael and Joel. Even Stanley¡¯s own brother by blood thought of him as someone who wasn¡¯t upholding his duty even though Stanley had already gotten into the national esports team. Stanley had also been the champion of several world esports championships, and was already the most valuable esports yer in the nation. He had fought for all of his achievements by himself, never once asking for the smallest scrap of help from the Fletchers. Yet, the Fletchers still refused to support or understand him! ¡°Why aren¡¯t youplimenting me, Caleb? I was so brave back there!¡± Stanley couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking his brother, Caleb, after receiving that delightfully gratifying pat on the head. Stanley and Caleb were blood brothers. Born from the same parents, it was no surprise that they looked like they were from the same mold. They both had sharp and defined facial features, cropped hair, and bronzed skin tones. Caleb always believed that his younger brother was irresponsible for pursuing gaming, but Stanley had sessfully made a name for himself through gaming in the past few years. Moreover, his act of bravery last night didn¡¯t seem like him at all. He finally put down all his prejudices and opened his mouth to praise his younger brother, ¡°You did well there, Sundae Cone. You¡¯ve always been a source of pride to me.¡± Stanley grinned before turning to look at Joel with pitiful eyes, waiting for the other man¡¯s praise. Joel was exasperated as he forced himself to give Stanley apliment. ¡°I¡¯ll apply a certificate of bravery for you, Sundae Cone.¡± Although Michael was a Fletcher, it had been years since hest returned to the family. Joel, Caleb, and Michael were born to different generations in the family tree, but they were still close in age and had grown up together; thest time they had gathered like this was over ten years ago. Who would have thought that they would reunite and gather again today because of Stanley¡¯s injuries? Inevitably, all of them took the opportunity to catch up with each other. They had to take the opportunity to chat with each other. Meanwhile, Stanley would asionally pipe up from his bed. Sophia sat to the side with Nate in her arms, a slight look of dejection on her face. She had no right to speak up while the Fletchers were talking among themselves. She seemed to understand it now; Michael hadn¡¯t rushed back because of her, but because of Stanley instead. In truth, she already had a vague understanding how much she meant to Michael; she would never be able to match up to Stanley Fletcher. After the Fletchers chatted for half the day, Michael got up to excuse himself. How interesting could it be to talk with a bunch of men? All he wanted was to go home and console his little wife. Sophia followed him when he left, silently tailing Michael from behind as she got into the car. As soon as the door was shut, the car left the ce. Joel stood by the window of the ward and watched as the car left the hospital. He then turned around to see Stanley sitting up in bed with his arms wrapped around his brother¡¯s body, rubbing his face madly into the man¡¯s belly. It seemed as though Stanley had something he couldn¡¯t say; his face was already rubbed raw, yet he continued doing it while he said, ¡°I¡¯d feel embarrassed telling that to Uncle Michael, Caleb. Please help me with this! Please!¡± Caleb fell silent for a moment before he answered, ¡°Okay.¡± He then walked out of the ward with his cell phone. Meanwhile, Michael was currently holding his wife in his arms and consoling her in his car. ¡°It¡¯s okay, chica. Everything¡¯s fine now!¡± Fortunately, she had all her limbs intact and was still in one piece. Michael had initially wanted to give her a long kiss, but decided against it when he saw the bruised corner of her lips. He then kissed her on the uninjured corner of her lips most tenderly. ¡°It¡¯s certain that the Phantom Wolf didn¡¯te knocking because he knew about what had happened three years ago,¡± he said in a low voice. The Phantom Wolf had no intention of killing Sophia back then; the reason why he left that mark was so he could recognize Sophie once things had smoothed over. Years ago, the Phantom Wolf attempted to enter the country only to be faced with strong retaliation from several anonymous people. He then became a dog with no master as he escaped to the winds; he certainly hadn¡¯t the energy to look for Sophia at that time. There was no reason for him toe back now and kill her. It was most likely that they weren¡¯t aware about the history between Sophia and the Phantom Wolf; this time, the Phantom Wolf hade to kill her in exchange for money. The only ones in Bayside City who had celebrated the new year with Sophia and dearly wished for her to be dead were the Harpers. While the Harpers may be shameless, they didn¡¯t have the courage to make contact with someone like the Phantom Wolf, who was a terrorist that was wanted by dozens of nations. As soon as news of this got out, the Harper Family and its centuries¡¯ worth of history would be completely wiped out from Bayside City¡¯s consciousness. Obviously, they couldn¡¯t brave such a huge risk. Still, there was no one else other than them. The Harpers may not try this, but that didn¡¯t mean some brainless idiot the Harpers were harboring wouldn¡¯t. ¡°Gary, look into the Harpers¡¯ recent finances¡ªespecially that halfwit woman¡¯s.¡± Gary acknowledged the order and immediately ced a call to carry it out. The hiring fee for the Phantom Wolf was eye-wateringly expensive; if he really had been hired as an assassin by one of the Harpers, there would be a noticeable shift in their finances. Not only that, a trail would definitely be left behind with such a huge amount of money flowing out. Chapter 217 Chapter 217 Sophia leaned on Michael¡¯s shoulder as her eyes fluttered open and shut. Soon, she fell asleep. She was still shaken up after yesterday¡¯s incident. She hadn¡¯t dared to sleep for the entire night, and Sophia had to give her testimony while taking care of Quinton at the same time; she only left once his family had arrived. In the morning, she went to visit Stanley. There was no way for her to sleep with her entire body aching all over. Sophia¡¯s heart was still tightly wound up after experiencing her first bloodshed. Still, an inexplicable sense of safety cocooned her when she leaned on Michael¡¯s shoulder. A wave of exhaustion then crashed over her, and she fell asleep shortly after leaning against him. Michael¡¯s head was a jumble of emotions as he watched her sleep soundly. While she managed to save her life by brandishing her true identity, there were so many people in the cafe yesterday; there was no guarantee that there weren¡¯t any Phantom Wolf associates among them at that time. If the Phantom Wolf knew about her existence¡­ Ugh, what a headache! What happened to not getting attached after buying her? Despite it all, Sophia was still his woman regardless of all the trouble! Since he had already bought her, he had to take responsibility for her until the end! Now that the Phantom Wolf hadnded in the country, it would be a matter of time before Michael crossed paths with thetter once again¡ªit didn¡¯t matter whether Sophia was in the picture at all. Michael wasn¡¯t sure why he cared so much about Sophia; he had lived for so long, yet no other woman had been able to worm herself into his heart like she did. That little wife of his had somehow ended up wriggling into his heart by ident. He pulled Sophia closer and eyed Nathan, who was nodding off at the side. Michael had been keeping Sophia¡¯s brush with danger from Nathan, but he couldn¡¯t hide why Sophia did note back home that night; Nathan even threw a tantrum the entire night when Gary wouldn¡¯t let him go out to look for Sophia. He had only been allowed to see Sophia at the hospital once things had calmed down and Michael came home to take him along. Nathan sure was a heartless boy¡ªMichael had never seen him this worked up over his own father¡¯s life! All of a sudden, Michael¡¯s phone rang. He had received plenty of phone calls since the incident, but this one was from Caleb. Hadn¡¯t they just met up? Was there something else? N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. He picked up the call. Since Caleb was part of the military, he never beat around the bush when it was time to talk. He went straight to the point and said, ¡°Uncle Michael, Stanley has his eyes on the pretty babysitter of yours. You¡¯ve seen it as well; he nearly lost his lifest night in order to protect her. Think about it¡ªperhaps it is time for him to officially pursue her¡­¡± Michael¡¯s expression turned stormy in an instant. Stanley waited nervously in his ward. With his brother being the one speaking on his behalf, ¡®borrowing¡¯ Sophia should be something with a high chance of sess. Stanley was looking forward to it, but much to his surprise, Caleb delivered a piece of news that was beyond disappointing. ¡°Uncle Michael shot it down. He said that if you want to gamble your life away, he¡¯ll personallye and take that worthless life of yours himself.¡± ¡°Geez¡­¡± Stanley sighed deeply. He had already anticipated Michael¡¯s refusal. Still, he wasn¡¯t dejected by this. ¡°One day, Uncle Michael will allow me to court Sophia!¡± The attack at Time Square was quickly reported in the news, but many authorities were deliberately obfuscating details. If the masses were to know that the culprits behind the Time Square attack were part of an international terrorist group filled with malevolence, there was a high chance that public disorder would happen. They had already revealed whatever they could and hid as much information as possible. This wasn¡¯t the first time the Phantom Wolf had struck the nation, which was why major authorities were immediately thrown into high alert; political, military, and underground organizations kept a close eye on this matter. The incident ended with the culprits dying on-site amidst the major breach in public security. Nheless, Bayside City continued to chug along as usual. It didn¡¯t change just because of that incident; Time Square was soon reopened for business, and foot traffic was still as heavy as before. It had been a few days since Ka returned to the Harper Residence aftering back from Africa. There was no way she could continue studying at Bayside University, so the Harpers were prepared to send her to an art school abroad. She would debut in an overseas industry and film a few movies before coming back to her home country in another few years. By then, she would have amassed a good amount of poprity abroad, and her countrymen would have forgotten all about what she had done. She would be able to make aeback with a clean te. Her time in Africa had been the darkest period of her life. The poor living conditions, the neverending stream of snakes and insects, and the myriad of diseases seemed like a living hell for her. Even though she was a volunteer, it was all just for show. She would go to a vige and pose for a few minutes every day, but even just posing was unbearable for her. It was an endless nightmare for her; Ka was stuck in a bad dream during the day, but even when night came, she frequently startled awake from her nightmares. She had thought about ending her life countless times, but she wasn¡¯t able to go through with it at the thought of the person responsible for her pain still living perfectly fine out there. She must live well and return to get her vengeance! After forking out over thirty million, she waited eagerly for the Phantom Wolf to send a picture of Sophia¡¯s corpse. The Phantom Wolf had never failed in any of his assassinations! However, she didn¡¯t receive proof of Sophia¡¯s death after waiting a few days. On the contrary, the Phantom Wolf sent her a refund notice; the thirty million was returned to her without missing a single penny! What was going on? She hastily phoned the point of contact, but the number was already disconnected. What happened? All of a sudden, a ruckus came from downstairs. The door to the Harper Residence had been kicked in with a loud bang, and a group of people dressed in ck came charging in. The Harpers¡¯ security force couldn¡¯t contain them as they ran into the Harper Residence. Mr. and Mrs. Harper weren¡¯t at home, but Richard Harper was in. He instantly paled when he caught sight of the people in ck rushing in, but he immediately spoke up sternly and asked, ¡°Who are you people?¡± The intruders simply ignored him as they ran up to the second floor in a neat line and sessfully located Ka¡¯s room. They kicked open her door like a hurricane and pulled Ka out from under her covers before pressing her onto the carpet. With the handcuffs secured around her wrists, they took her away. Her phone was put into an evidence bag and carefully sealed. Meanwhile, Richard was unable to stop the stream of people downstairs; he had only exchanged a few words with them when he saw theming down with a handcuffed Ka. ¡°Who are you? Why are you taking me? I¡¯m going to sue you for trespassing on personal property!¡± Ka screamed like a pig to ughter while still dressed in her pajamas. However, this group of chilly people were unfazed by her words. They escorted the kicking Ka downstairs and out the door before hauling her into their vehicle. Once the door was shut, their work was seemingly done. They left as quickly as they came, for their car was ready to leave after they had revved the engine up. Richard came dashing over to stop the car as he asked panickedly, ¡°Who are you? Why are you taking my sister?¡± Screaming, Ka¡¯s pitiful cries came from the car. ¡°Help me, Richard!¡± She finally knew what fear was as she screamed and cried inside the car, but the car was already moving once the door was shut. Although Richard stood in the car¡¯s path, the driver didn¡¯t seem to care at all; it looked as though he would just run Richard over if he didn¡¯t step out of the way. Frightened by this, Richard backed away immediately. Panic washed over him as he watched the car drive into the distance. By then, the rest of the people in ck had finished searching Ka¡¯s room. They then left in an orderly manner as well. Richard was frantic from seeing his own sister being captured by others. He grabbed a man who seemed to be the leader of them all and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care who you are, but I want you to release my sister. Do you know who I am? I am¡­¡± Chapter 218 Chapter 218 ¡°Mr. Harper, I am themissioner of the National Security Bureau. Here is proof of my identity,¡± the leader cut him off frostily as he pulled out multiple documents under his arms. ¡°Here is a search warrant for the Harper Residence and an arrest warrant. Your sister has been tied to a terrorist attack, endangering our national security. We will be taking her away. Please bring yourwyer along if you have any questions, Mr. Harper.¡± With that, the group of people filed out. Richard watched as the line of cars disappeared from his sight; it took forever for him to snap out of it. How could this be? Richard knew how his sister¡¯s mind worked, so how could she possibly endanger national security?! X, who had been silent all this time while standing next to him, knew exactly why. It seemed that Ka¡¯s hiring of the Phantom Wolf had been exposed. She hadn¡¯t thought that the wretched Sophia would be this blessed; even the Phantom Wolf was unable to kill her off! Sophia lolled around at home for two days after her attack before returning to her daily studies at Bayside University. After the attack, Michael began drowning himself in work; he was out of the country not even two dayster. Men were always inundated with a never-ending stream of things to do. Nheless, Michael couldn¡¯t bear to be separated from his dainty wife. He was beyond uneasy leaving Sophia at home; apart from the Phantom Wolf, Stanley also had his eyes on her. Evidently, there were many things that he had to personally see to it. All major authorities were keeping an eye on Phantom Wolf after such an attack. Hence, they were sure to not show themselves again¡ªnot until things had calmed down at least. Sophia would be safe during this time. Meanwhile, dozens of people with different builds and backgrounds gathered in a nondescript farmyard on the outskirts of Bayside City. One might think that this was just a normal farm, but they had no idea it was actually Phantom Wolf¡¯s base. After causing waves in other countries all this while, they finally decided to touchdown here atst. Much to their surprise, their first hit in this nation ended with the loss of two assassins. Phantom Wolf was filled with unflinching killers who did not blink an eye as they ughtered their mark. In fact, fresh blood intensified their lust for killing. The members were currently talking about how they should execute arger scale attack that would spread Phantom Wolf¡¯s name across the nation and make the citizens talk about them in a different light! The farmyard was a hub of activity when silence fell upon it all of a sudden; the killers who had been talking so loudly and animatedly before this shut their mouths. They lowered their heads, looking as though they weremon peasants paying their respects to their king. The leader of Phantom Wolf¡ªits namesake¡ªhad arrived! The Phantom Wolf was a name that stimted fear in over half of the world¡¯s nations. He had already caused countless tragedies in the US and Europe that shook the world. No one knew where he came from and what his motives were; his only goal was to kill without any logic and reason behind it. It was a name that had so much blood behind it¡ªa name that was filled with violence and the stench of killing. The Phantom Wolf himself strode in. With each step he took, it was as though his subordinates could see death itself walking beside him. His name symbolized death; he was the killer among killers and the leader of them all. His appearance made many of the assassins present shiver in fear. The Phantom Wolf had never shown his true face to anyone; even when he made an appearance before his own subordinates like today, he would wear a stiff mask made of actual human skin to obscure his actual appearance. The Phantom Wolf walked in and sat on a ratty, old couch. He looked at the crowd like he was a king, and the voice changer he had transformed his voice into one that was rough yet boomingly deep as he said, ¡°Who was the one who took the request for Time Square?¡± A curvaceous woman d in a mini dress stepped out of the crowd of assassins. Her brightly colored red lips parted as she slowly announced herself and said, ¡°It was me.¡± She was one of the Phantom Wolf¡¯s women, which also meant that she was one of the very few people who had seen his actual face. She held an extremely important position within the organization, and she was also the one who had personally arranged the hit on Sophia when she took the request. The Phantom Wolf eyed the woman, his cold eyes devoid of any visible emotion. The woman made her way over to the Phantom Wolf, her hips swaying as she did so. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Alright, this was my mistake. I won¡¯t ept this kind of request in the future,¡± she said in a sultry tone. ¡°We¡¯ll just write off Quill and Lacey¡¯s deaths this time. I¡¯ll admit that I wasn¡¯t thorough enough when gathering information for the kill; I didn¡¯t expect that girl to have quite the background. Next time¡­¡± Before she could even finish her sentence, the woman fell over all of a sudden; a small dagger had pierced her forehead at some point. As she fell to the floor, blood sprayed everywhere. The assassins stepped back in fear. That was the Phantom Wolf¡¯s doing without a doubt, but no one had seen how he had killed her, nor did they know where the dagger hade from; his speed was simply beyond anyone¡¯s knowledge. Only the Phantom Wolf would be able to follow up on his words and kill a woman that he had been in a rtionship with for years. However, the silence that enveloped the ce was an unnatural one; no one dared to say so much as a word for the dead woman. That woman had simply toppled over in front of everyone¡¯s eyes just like that. The Phantom Wolf surveyed the ce quietly before he spoke in a soft voice, ¡°A mistake is no different from your life. You only have a single chance.¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. With that, he got up and exited the farmyard, leaving his subordinates with onest word. ¡°Do not make a stir for the time being, and do not go knocking on that girl¡¯s door.¡± No one dared to disobey the Phantom Wolf at all. As for the woman who had just been killed, no one spared her the smallest bit of pity; she acted like the organization¡¯s boss when she was still alive. When she first took on Ka¡¯s request, no one had dared to voice out their opinion despite their reservations. The world¡¯s number one assassin organization killing a university student? Even the Phantom Wolf members would think it was disgraceful. Needless to say, Phantom Wolf wanted to cause a wave in this nation; the bigger the ssh, the better. epting Ka Harper¡¯s request was against Phantom Wolf¡¯s code of ethics, yet that woman was eager to spread the organization¡¯s name across the country. Not only did she ept the request, she even chose the hit to be done at Time Square. Carrying out an assasination in such a busy ce would stir up the news, announcing to the world that Phantom Wolf had arrived here! Unexpectedly, the request had been a flop. Not only had they failed to spread their name, Phantom Wolf also lost two of their top assassins. It was no wonder that the Phantom Wolf himself was furious! On the other hand, Sophia began sses again. Gemma transferred into her ss as a student, beginning her duties as a full-time bodyguard. Sophia only got to know about the Harpers when she returned to campus. Ka had been arrested by the police for some crime that no one knew, and it was said to be a serious one. Even when the Harpers tried to bail her out, they weren¡¯t able to do so. Naturally, Sophia knew exactly why Ka had been arrested; she smiled at the thought of it. Quinton had also called in sick and was absent from ss. One afternoon, the ss representative approached Sophia and said, ¡°Sophia, Mr. rk is ill. We¡¯re going to visit him tomorrow. Are youing?¡± The incident at Time Square was covered up; in order to protect the victims from being hunted down again, their identities had been kept under close wraps. Everyone thought that Mr. rk was merely on sick leave, and all the girls from Sophia¡¯s school had been going to his home to pay him a visit. Quinton taught many sses, so everyone agreed to take turns visiting him. If all the students squeezed themselves in his home at the same time, Quinton¡¯s house would implode from the number of people there. Sophia knew that Quinton wasn¡¯t sick; he had actually been injured when he fought with the terrorists to save her life. As such, she should visit him. Chapter 219 Chapter 219 There were far too many people who wanted to see Quinton, so Sophia¡¯s ss still had to line up when they visited him. The ss representatives had all settled on a timetable, and Sophia¡¯s ss would have to wait until tomorrow to visit Quinton. Since it happened to be a Saturday, they needn¡¯t attend ss. Everyone agreed to meet Quinton in the afternoon. Sophia felt that she couldn¡¯t visit him without bringing a gift at the very least. When she got home, she took a look at the pantry and found that they had pretty much everything in there. In particr, they had a ton of eel along with a lot of exotic meats. Michael had a particr pte and was fond of unusual meats; frogs, eel, and the likes were all his favorites. Sophia was traumatized by her time in the kitchen, so she usually did not dare to step into it. Today, she made a sudden foray into the kitchen but didn¡¯t find anything that she wanted, so she got the butler to call up the farm outside of the city to send two free-range chickens over. Michael had his own farm out of the city with a huge variety of crops nted there. There were plenty of fish ponds and pig pens, and he even had many other types of livestock living there. The butler ced the order, and two free-range chickens were delivered the next day. The chickens were then penned up in the kitchen. When Saturday came around, Sophia stepped into the kitchen after breakfast. At longst, she had stepped into the kitchen! Michael would always be informed of every single thing while he was abroad, even the most mundane matters like Sophia getting her period. Maria would have to immediately report it all. Michael opened the CCTV feed in his house while abroad. Just as Maria had reported, he saw Sophia entering the kitchen as she began to prep the chickens by boiling some water before she ughtered them solemnly. She then got around to plucking them and washing the poultry. Was she going to cook them? Who was she cooking for? Why did she suddenly think of cooking some chicken today? Michael never saw her enter the kitchen while they were home; yet, here she was today! Feeling immensely threatened by this thousands of miles away, Michael phoned Nathan in a haste. ¡°Your mom is cooking something for another kid!¡± Nathan, who was in the midst of gaming, felt immensely threatened by this piece of information. Rushing into the kitchen to check on Sophia, he saw that she had already cleaned the chickens after ughtering them, tossing the meat into a y pot along with a bunch of other ingredients. She set it to a high boil before turning it down to a low simmer. Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to make instant noodles on a regr day; why was she stewing chicken now? Nathan frowned. He thought that things weren¡¯t as simple as it seemed on the surface, so he would have to continue observing the situation. Sophia sat off to the side and read as she watched the stove. After reading for a while, she picked up her tablet and logged into Skype. Taylor¡¯s fan group had been very active today; fans in the group hade crawling out of the woodworks to discuss something intensely. After scrolling through, she realized that they had been talking about Taylor¡¯s birthday. The administrator typed, ¡®It¡¯s going to be Taylor¡¯s birthday in a few more days. Shouldn¡¯t we celebrate it?¡¯ Another one of the moderators posted, ¡®Let¡¯s not get ahead of ourselves when ites to celebrities; we should only give as much as we¡¯re able to. Whatever you give is a mark of sincerity, and the most important thing here is the feelings you put into it.¡¯ The fan group began discussing among themselves. Wealthier fans wanted to give Taylor jewelry, clothing, shoes, and even a month¡¯s worth of advertisements at public transport spaces; fans who weren¡¯t as well-off wanted to give him handmade crafts instead. Was it going to be Michael¡¯s birthday soon? It seemed like there were a few more days to go. Should I get him a present too? Nheless, Sophia didn¡¯t know what to get him. Even if she did, she didn¡¯t know whether he would like it anyway! Sophia never spoke up in the fan group ever since she joined, but she would actively leap at any fan activity. She contributed marily most of the time, such as the time she donated some money to help change the small wings on the fan t-shirts to bigger ones. At that moment, she immediately looked up recent movie screenings in the cinemas. Michael¡¯s films were still in theaters, so she booked out ten venues and posted the receipts in the group. ¡®I don¡¯t have much to give, so I booked out ten showings. I¡¯ve handed the tickets over to the moderators; please ask them if you want a ticket.¡¯ The fans in the group were whipped into a frenzy, their heads spinning from the gesture. This wasn¡¯t an official fanclub¡ªit was just a group set up by fans. The moderators were hardcore Taylor fans who had been following him for years now; they were all willing and eager to organize events for him without getting paid. Even though it was highly likely that Taylor didn¡¯t even know they existed, they still did everything for him withoutining at all. Sophia felt incredibly pleased after sending those tickets to the moderators. While she knew that she and the fans were doing this, Michael would never see their efforts. The other fans who didn¡¯t have money to spare had no choice but to get him something else. ¡®I made a watercolor painting for Taylor. It¡¯s a scene from one of his movies!¡¯ ¡®I made a fan video!¡¯ ¡®I sang something for Taylor!¡¯ All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Sophia watched as everyone showed off the gifts they had prepared for Taylor. She sat there nkly for a while before rushing upstairs, taking out a fountain pen and a stack of writing paper. Then, she spread the items on the table and whipped out a bottle of blue ink that smelled of sandalwood. After some deep thought, she put her pen to the paper. As someone who took her studies seriously, Sophia¡¯s penmanship was great. Elegant cursive letters looped themselves neatly on the paper in a straight line; as neat as her writing was, it could be mistaken for a machine printed letter. The pen made soft scratching noises as it zipped across the paper. Soon, she filled out an entire page. As she wrote, Sophia mulled things over with a hand to her cheek. She looked at the purple wisteria creeping up outside the window and suddenly giggled to herself. Her face flushed a gentle pink as she continued to write with a smile on her lips. Nathan sneakily stood behind her as he watched her write, and an ominous sense of foreboding welled up within him. He immediately caught sight of one of the neatly written lines which wrote, ¡®You are a light in my life.¡¯ Nathan bolted out of the room in fear and quickly typed up a message to Michael. ¡®Mom¡¯s writing a love letter!¡¯ Michael stared nkly at the message, dumbfounded. His chica was writing a love letter! Who was it for? Joel? Stanley? Could it even be Richard? How could he possibly let this slide?! He quickly phoned Hale and Gemma to keep a close eye on her! Michael really wanted to see which twerp Sophia was writing and cooking for! If he found out who it was, he would absolutely castrate that guy! Sophia read through her letter sentence by sentence after she was done with it. ¡®You are a light in my life. Not only have you chased away the darkness hovering over my days, you¡¯ve thinned out the fleeting fear and anxiety that I had. Warmth blooms through the light that you exude. It has seeped into me, your tenderness circting throughout my body with my blood. It spreads throughout me from my limbs to my essence. Your invisible hands caress me¡ªmy being, my flesh.¡¯ The more she looked at it, the more embarrassed she became. Sophia couldn¡¯t bring herself to read it anymore, blushing wildly as she put away three pages full of writing. She stacked them into arge envelope and sealed it carefully. Once she wrote down the receiver¡¯s name, address and postcode, she wrapped it up with a fewyers of newspaper and put it into her backpack. Soon, the chicken soup was ready. Sophia called Nathan for lunch only to realize that the boy had a dirty look on his face. Of course, she was already used to Nathan¡¯s unpredictable yet baleful expressions. Fortunately, Sophia had called Nathan to have some soup once it was done cooking; it showed that she still thought of him. The sense of danger Nathan had as her stepson instantly dissipated, but Nathan still had a sense of foreboding for Michael; he would have to watch out for that sense of danger on behalf of Michael for now. After having two nice bowls of soup, Sophia poured the rest of the chicken soup into two tall thermal containers and kept them in her bag before heading out. Nathan promptly chased after her and asked, ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Nate, be good and y by yourself at home. Mom¡¯s going to visit Mr. rk now.¡± Oh, she was going to visit Mr. rk because of what had happened! She wasn¡¯t actually cooking for another kid! Still, Nathan¡¯s sense of danger did not fully subside. ¡°What were you writing just now?¡± Sophia batted her eyes and said meaningfully, ¡°That¡¯s Mom¡¯s little secret!¡± Chapter 220 Chapter 220 What kind of little secret was it that couldn¡¯t see the light of day? Were there any other little secrets that he wasn¡¯t allowed to know?! Nathan followed her hastily and said, ¡°I want toe along as well!¡± In truth, Nathan just wanted to see who Sophia was going to show that ¡®little secret¡¯ to! Ever since the Phantom Wolf incident, Sophia had be far more alert. Today, she deliberately got Hale to drive her over while Gemma tagged along. Hale heaved the heavy containers of soup into the car. Sophia and Nathan were seated in the back while Gemma sat in the passenger seat. Hale watched Sophia¡¯s bag closely; he was going to see who that love letter was for, and who she was giving the chicken soup to. ¡°Hale, please stop by the post office for a bit.¡± Hale stopped outside of the post office. Sophia got out of the car and bought some stamps before pasting them onto the envelope and mailing it. Nathan watched and silently memorized the address on the envelope. It was an address in their city, but she hadn¡¯t put down her own address as the sender. Once she mailed the letter off, Sophia blissfully trotted back to the car and continued her journey. She kept looking out of the window throughout the drive, her thoughts constantly on the love letter from earlier. She wondered if Michael would end up seeing it. However, she knew that he wouldn¡¯t get to read that letter; it would probably be headed straight for the bin instead. Sophia had prepared for the letter to not be read, so she did not leave any identifying personal details in it. The letter was posted directly to the administrator of the fan group she was in. The administrator would pack up all the gifts the fans had sent in and hand them over to Imperial Entertainment, which was Taylor¡¯s managingpany; whether he would actually see it depended on his luck right now. Even though she knew it wasn¡¯t possible for him to read it, Sophia still felt that she hadn¡¯t written the letter for nothing. She had at least written it, and it even took up three sheets of paper for a total of three full pages. She was so lost in the romantess of her love letter that she didn¡¯t notice the alert looks everyone else in the car was giving her. Defcon! Major alert! Code red! When Michael got to know about this from across the ocean, he was working by the beach. He was so panicked by it that he nearly leaped into the water and swam straight home. ¡°Find out who that person is for me; not only that, castrate him immediately!¡± Sophia and Nathan finally arrived at the gate of the residential area Quinton lived in. Sophia¡¯s ssmates were already waiting there, and all of them had bags of various sizes in their hands filled with everything from supplements to fruits. Sophiaughed and chatted with everyone as she entered the residential area with her chicken soup in hand. ¡°Hey, Sophia! You¡¯ve made some soup too. I brought some borscht.¡± ¡°I made vegetable soup instead.¡± Just her ss alone had about four to five students who decided to bring soup¡ªand fancier soup at that. There was borscht, beef and wine soup, and vegetable soup. Sophia¡¯s chicken soup seemed very in inparison to other offerings. Quinton was a highly intelligent academic who returned after his studies abroad. He had a doctorate from a famous university overseas, and he was also the second son of Bayside City¡¯s esteemed rk Family. Hence, it was no surprise that he lived in a fancy residential district. While his home wasn¡¯t as extravagant as The Imperial, it was a three-storey house with a garage, a spacious basement, and a garden. It was fortunate that his home was as spacious as it was, or else he wouldn¡¯t be able to fit all the gifts inside. Another ss hade by earlier this morning, and the housekeeper already ced the gifts neatly in the living room. The living room was filled with so many letters, flowers, supplements, and other presents that it was close to being overrun. Sophia followed her ssmates in and ced her soup to the side; the table was already stacked with containers of soup, and there had to be at least a dozen containers. They then filed into Quinton¡¯s room. Apart from being a handsome man, Quinton also had a pleasant personality to match. He had only been teaching at Bayside University for less than two years, but his poprity was extraordinary. Quinton hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, his face still as sickly pale as before; those beautiful eyes of his were lethargic as he continued to recuperate in bed. Everyone knew that he had to rest, so they left after only staying for a while. When they left, Nathan eyed Sophia¡¯s container of soup pitifully. Lost among all the other containers, her grey thermal container looked absolutely nondescript. Quinton would never be able to finish all that soup even if he ran a bath with it. Wouldn¡¯t it be a waste for Sophia to leave that soup here?! Nathan was really displeased, still thinking about the chicken soup even after they had long left Quinton¡¯s house. Throughout the journey, he remained unhappy. Quinton¡¯s home was filled with another wave of presents now that Sophia and her ssmates had left. Quinton got up from his bed, his frail body d in a in set of white pajamas. He made his way to the table filled with containers of soup, reaching out a pale hand to grab a grey container. The delicious aroma of chicken soup greeted him when he twisted the lid open, and Quinton¡¯s pale face perked up in an instant at the smell of it. Meanwhile, Nathan maintained a mutinous expression since leaving Quinton¡¯s home. He was still thinking about that chicken soup. Sophia returned to the car after visiting Quinton. ¡°Where do you want to go next, Miss Edwards?¡± asked Hale. Before Sophia could answer, her phone rang in her bag. She took a look at the caller ID and realized that it was Stanley. His weak voice drifted out of the speakers as soon as she answered the call. ¡°Oh, you and your frozen heart, Sophia. I nearly lost my life protecting you out there¡­ and now, I¡¯m left with just a little life in me. You still won¡¯t see me even when I¡¯m at death¡¯s door,¡± he said. Sophia was unamused. He had only hurt his leg; who was he putting on this act for?! ¡°Fine, I¡¯ming over. Are you still in the hospital?¡± Stanley was beyond ted, but his tone was still as weak as a whisper. ¡°I¡¯m home already. Come to the militarypound, and I¡¯ll get someone to pick you up.¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t willing to do so, but Stanley did injure his leg because of her. She had no choice but to answer, ¡°I just visited Mr. rk; I¡¯ll be over in a bit.¡± After hanging up the call, Sophia instructed Hale, ¡°Drive us to Stanley¡¯s home at the militarypound.¡± Hale began driving in that direction. Sophia had only just hung up on Stanley when her second phone rang. This phone was reserved for contacting her n members, but Stanley was the only one who knew that number. As expected, the caller ID shing on the screen was Snow Fox. She had barely picked up the call when Stanley¡¯s voice burst through the receiver brightly. It was a contrast to his limp and lethargic tone earlier as he said, ¡°Sirius! Where have you been all this time? The semi-finals in Asia areing up soon! Hurry up and get yourself online!¡± Wasn¡¯t he about to die? Didn¡¯t he say that he barely had any life left in him? Sophia was unamused as she said, ¡°My son is sick, so I¡¯m on the way to see him now; I¡¯lle online once I¡¯ve visited him.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. ¡°Aren¡¯t you still in school? Why do you have a son?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my in-game son.¡± Stanley¡¯s tone immediately took a turn and became one that was a little cajoling. ¡°Sirius, I¡¯ve treated you well all this time, yeah?¡± Sophia felt that his tone was weird. ¡°Out with it, Captain.¡± Stanley hemmed and hawed for a while before he spoke up again, ¡°Here¡¯s the thing¡­ Recently, I¡¯ve been pursuing this girl. She¡¯s a gamer too; when shees onler, you¡¯re going to pretend to be a jerk by flirting and bullying her. Then, I¡¯ll swoop in like a hero and¡­ You get the idea.¡± Sophia was even more unamused now. ¡°Boring.¡± With that, Sophia hung up the call balefully. On the other end of the phone, Stanley was gaming with a cigarette stuck between his lips, supposedly on death¡¯s door. His leg was still in a ster cast, but that didn¡¯t affect his ability to game. He continued to tap away madly at his keyboard. Sean was there to game with Stanley today. He blinked his glistening eyes and asked, ¡°Is Sirius going to do it, Sundae Cone?¡± Stanley took a drag of his cigarette, a look of mournfulness in his face. ¡°Just as I thought, that loser is not going to do it. However, where am I supposed to look for someone who¡¯s just as much of a loser as he is?¡± If he wanted someone to go along with his n of being the hero swooping in to save the damsel in distress, he had to find a loser. It would be best if he could find someone who was notorious for being a jack*ss in-game¡ªa yer who made a name by griefing boys and being awful to girls¡ªso that he could serve as a contrast. That way, Stanley could be seen as a paragon of virtue. Sean grinned after he scrolled through his buddy list. ¡°Hah, your lord is online now!¡± Stanley took a nce and realized that Beast hade online after being absent for a few days. When it came to the Bayside server, no one could beat Beast in terms of being a douch*bag! Stanley promptly dialed Harry¡¯s number. Chapter 221 Chapter 221 Sophia was chauffeured over to the mysterious Fletcher Residence. The Fletcher Family was huge; even though the family had split into several branch families, Stanley¡¯s branch was one of the most important ones. In reality, Sophia was feeling rather excited. There was a good chance that she would get toy eyes on many notable people at Bayside City¡¯s militarypound such as Old Master Fletcher, who was Fletcher¡¯s patriarch. Old Master Fletcher was one of the nation¡¯s founding fathers, and his name was known across the nation. He had many children throughout his life as well. Back in the nation¡¯s early days, the country had lost many of its poption to war; when the nation called for families to procreate, the man sired four sons and three daughters. All of his children were courageous and adept on the battlefield. Rumors imed that they were important and renowned people in the military, but their identities were kept a secret. Old Master Fletcher was one of those people that even children knew. Over a hundred shows and movies were made about his life, so Sophia had already gotten used to the Old Master Fletcher that was portrayed on screen. It would be great if she could see the actual person in the flesh! She just didn¡¯t know whether he was still healthy enough for visits. Sophia had studied all about Old Master Fletcher¡¯s deeds every day in history ss back in high school. He had a major hand in shaping the country as it was today, and he was also one of the ten generals in the nation. He was a loyal and heroic man, and his achievements were part of the nation¡¯s high school history sybus. They were only allowed to enter the militarypound if they had a permit, so Stanley sent someone beforehand to receive them. The car entered thepound, driving for a while more before reaching Stanley¡¯s home. The Fletcher Residence was located in a special area of thepound; the entire family lived here, having their own swathe of homes. Stanley¡¯s own house was a bungalow, and they proceeded to park their car in Stanley¡¯s garage. Sophia took Nathan¡¯s hand in her own and entered the Fletcher Residence with a thermal container in another hand. Stanley¡¯s house wasn¡¯t luxurious in an extravagant manner; it still maintained a style that was in vogue a few decades ago. The house oozed a homey feeling that also felt like it was from years past, and photo frames hung on the yellowing walls. There were pictures of the Fletchers as well as a family portrait. Sophia gazed at the family portrait, but she couldn¡¯t spot Michael anywhere. However, both Joel and Stanley were in the picture. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. When she entered Stanley¡¯s room, Sophia saw him lying half-dead on the bed. Stanley groaned weakly when he saw Sophia stepping in. Hale and Gemma stood at the door while Sophia and Nathan nted themselves by Stanley¡¯s bedside to talk to him. Stanley was hurt as he said, ¡°I went to your house every day while you were sick and brought food for you. I even gamed with you and tutored you in math. But now that I¡¯m injured, you didn¡¯t evene to visit me once. Look¡ªeven Nate is ring at me! I¡¯m the patient here!¡± As Stanley¡¯s childhood friend, Sean was here too; they had been friends since they were still in diapers. Sean hade over to see Stanley since he didn¡¯t have anything else to do, and he covered his mouth to hide his chuckle when he heard that. Sophia grumpily opened the container and poured Stanley a bowl of chicken soup before handing it to him. ¡°Here, I made some chicken soup. Eat it while it¡¯s still warm.¡± Stanley was beyond touched as he said, ¡°So you do have a heart, Sophia.¡± He picked up the bowl and began to blissfully down its contents. The chicken soup was absolutely delicious; all that simmering brought out the full vor of the free-range chickens, and Sophia had added plenty of other nourishing ingredients as well. The soup was vorful and the bits of chicken in it were tender. Stanley soon finished off the entire bowl of soup. Nathan couldn¡¯t help but lick his lips as he watched Stanley inhale the soup. When the older man finished it, Nathan peered inside the container to find that there was nothing left; even the scraps had been picked clean by Stanley, not leaving the slightest bit for Nathan. Nate¡¯s expression fell immediately. Meanwhile, Stanley didn¡¯t let Sophia leave even after he had finished the soup. He tugged on her hand pitifully and said, ¡°I¡¯m in so much pain, Sophia. My leg hurts; won¡¯t you massage it for me?¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t happy about it as she grumbled, ¡°You were a soldier, Stanley. What¡¯s this bit of pain? Besides, your leg is fractured. What can I do about it?¡± She wanted to pull her hand back without making a scene, but Stanley had a vice-like grip on it. Stanley continued to put on a frail and weak front as he begged, ¡°Game with me, Sophia.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Fine,¡± she replied. The housekeeper brought twoptops in, cing one of them on Stanley¡¯s bed and the other in front of Sophia. Sophia logged into her alternate ount and yed with Stanley, entering a dungeon together before wailing on some random monster. Stanley felt like death in real life, but he was filled with extreme vigour inside the game. Meanwhile, Sophia pretended to be weak and let him have his way. Nathan puffed up in anger as he watched the pair gaming happily together. He side-stepped them and dashed out with pattering feet to find a deserted spot so that he could call Michael. Nathan immediately went straight to the point when the call connected and said, ¡°She¡¯s gaming with Stanley, and she looks like she¡¯s having a lot of fun. What now?¡± Michael mulled things over on his end before he spoke, ¡°It¡¯s time to let that stupid dog know the true strength of a little kid!¡± Sophia and Stanley emerged from the dungeon after they had defeated the monster. Then, they headed into town to recover their SP and take a break while they were at it. ¡°Come on, Sophia¡ªlet¡¯s explore the market. We¡¯ll get to see what kind of fun stuff we can dig up,¡± Stanley cajoled. Sophia followed him without a word. They had only just explored for a few minutes when a blond man dressed in gaudy gear descended out of nowhere. ¡°Hey! You look so pretty, mdy. Why don¡¯t you join me for some fun, eh?¡± Sophia took a look at the blond¡¯s ID; the name No. 1 Beast of the Server seemed rather familiar to her. Not only that, her alternative ount¡¯s ID clearly belonged to a man no matter how one looked at it. How did the guy know that she was actually a girl?! However, she suddenly recalled Stanley¡¯s idea of getting Sirius to act as a bad guy. It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what kind of scheme this idiotic Stanley was trying to pull! Stanley looked fearful as he said, ¡°Oh man¡ªthat guy is notorious for his bad reputation in-game, Sophia. He¡¯s also a pervert who¡¯s been giving everyone trouble. Step back and let me teach him a lesson.¡± Sophia glowered at him as she repeated a mantra in her own head. Restraint, restraint! He¡¯s injured! Injured! I¡¯ll let you pretend to be a hero just this once since you¡¯re a patient! Sophia didn¡¯t say anything; she simply let Beast and Stanley take the stage. Soon, the two of them began their performance. ¡°Hey, Beast¡ªhow dare you tease a pure-hearted girl in broad daylight! Watch and see how the Snow Fox is going to put you in your ce today!¡± ¡°Come at me! Do you think I¡¯m scared of you?¡± The pair began to fight in front of Sophia. Stanley tapped into his esports skills for the battle; he was willing to duel his own idol just so that he could show off in front of Sophia. They battled until Beast flew through the air and made a quick escape. ¡°Just you wait!¡± Beast seethed. Stanley¡¯s character in-game posed mightily as he panted, ¡°Don¡¯t let me catch you in-game ever again, Beast. I¡¯ll beat you to a pulp each time I see you, and I mean it when I say I will!¡± With his moment of preening over, Stanley thought that he must have been very cool during his speech; Sophia must be falling all over him. Sophia yed along and pped. ¡°Wow! You¡¯re so awesome, Sundae Cone!¡± she wooed. Chapter 222 Chapter 222 Stanley puffed up with pride. ¡°Yeah, and he didn¡¯t even stop to take a look at who I was; I¡¯m Snow Fox, a n master. From now on, I¡¯ll protect you whenever you¡¯re in-game. No one will dare to pick on you anymore!¡± Sophia excused herself and went to the washroom to calm herself down. She felt really exhausted after ying along with Stanley¡¯s act. There was a washroom right next to Stanley¡¯s room, and Sophia stayed in there for a long while. By the time she emerged, she saw that the door to Stanley¡¯s study was open. She was rather curious about Stanley¡¯s study; from what she had heard from him, his study had over a dozen mechanical and capacitor keyboards. Each of these keyboards had their own story of origin, and they were like mystical items in the esports world; the most valuable keyboards in the world were with him. Feeling incredibly curious, Sophia slipped in toy her eyes on these keyboards that supposedly had storied pasts. However, she hadn¡¯t expected to see Nathan sitting on the carpet and fiddling with a keyboard the moment she stepped in. He had taken Stanley¡¯s keyboards¡ªkeyboards that were as precious as his own life to him¡ªand was plucking the keycaps off one by one with the soup spoon Stanley had used earlier. Nathan had even poured some water from the fish bowl onto the keyboards. The shelves with a myriad of priceless figurines had also been wrecked by Nathan. Action figures were scattered across the floor; if they weren¡¯t missing an arm, then they were missing a leg. ¡°Nate, what are you doing?!¡± Sophia jumped in fright and rushed over, but it was already toote; Nathan had more or less wrecked the figurines and keyboards beyond repair. Nathan continued to pour water over the mechanical keyboards. He lifted his head and revealed a dark look on his face. ¡°I¡¯m ying!¡± he sneered. What? This was going overboard, wasn¡¯t it? These were all part of Stanley¡¯s beloved and precious collection. Without a doubt, he was going to charge at Nathan and ughter the boy as soon as he found out! Before the Fletchers noticed anything amiss, Sophia hastily shut the door and shoved all the broken figurines and keyboards into a cupboard. Once she had cleaned the crime scene as best as she could, she grabbed Nathan from the ground and ran. ¡°Come on, run! We won¡¯t be able to leave once Stanley finds out!¡± Sophia ran for it with Nathan¡¯s hand in hers. She got Hale to bid Stanley goodbye on behalf of them before they were back out in the militarypound. The moment they were in the car, Sophia ordered Hale to floor it at maximum speed, for she was deeply afraid of being captured and skinned alive by Stanley. It had only been a short while since they left when Stanley called Sophia. ¡°Sophia! I¡¯m giving you half an hour to bring Nate over so that he can turn himself in, or else I¡¯m going to your house with a knife in my hand!¡± Sophia felt her head spin. She braced herself and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a bunch of mini figures of people and keyboards. I¡¯ll just spend time with you to make up for it!¡± Stanley was close to tears. He waspletely in hysterics as he screamed, ¡°How are you going to pay it back?! Those are all limited edition figurines! I hunted down master artisans to make those keyboards! They can¡¯t be bought no matter how much money you have! Tell me, how are you going to pay it all back?!¡± Sophia maintained her brazenness and replied, ¡°He¡¯s still a kid. Why are you holding this over a kid¡¯s head?!¡± Stanley was apoplectic as he screeched into the phone with all that he had, ¡°A kid? He¡¯s not a young kid anymore! He¡¯s already in university. His grades are even higher than mine, do you know that? He¡¯s wrecked all my babies on my shelves, and he even killed the goldfish I¡¯ve raised for the past eight years! Pay it back! Pay it all back!¡± Sophia nced at Nathan, who waspletely unrepentant as he sat next to her. With no other choice, she pretended that her cell reception was awful. ¡°Huh? What did you say, Sundae Cone? I can¡¯t hear you, so I¡¯m going to hang up now! Bye!¡± Sophia switched off her phone immediately after hanging up. With that done, she promptly disciplined Nathan. ¡°My dear boy, you can¡¯t do this in the future, got it? You do know that you aren¡¯t supposed to touch others¡¯ belongings without their permission when you go to their homes, don¡¯t you?¡± In a rare show of docility, Nathan nodded and said, ¡°I won¡¯t do it anymore.¡± Still, Sophia could tell that there was no sincerity in that promise at all. Nathan¡¯s destructive spree had struck several nerves in Stanley. Sophia didn¡¯t dare to switch her cell phone on for a couple of days, fearing that Stanley would lose control ande knocking on her door to stab them. They were fortunate that he had a broken leg, so he probably wouldn¡¯te looking for them for the time being. At the same time, Stanley didn¡¯t dare to continue pestering Sophia; his heart was practically crushed with all his babies wrecked into the state they were currently in. He had sent the figurines and keyboards back to the original manufacturers within the day, hoping that he would still be able to salvage a few of them. As he rescued his babies, Stanley logged into the game again and saw that Harry was online. While the damsel in distress n hadn¡¯t worked out that day, Stanley still had to thank Harry. ¡°Thank you so much, my lord!¡± Harry was curious; he thought all Stanley had in his head were games. It didn¡¯t ur to Harry that Stanley would actually think about hitting on girls, so he couldn¡¯t stop himself from asking thetter, ¡°Who¡¯s the girl you¡¯re chasing after? Where is she from?¡± Stanley was extremely embarrassed. ¡°If I tell you, you can¡¯t tell Uncle Michael.¡± Harry was even more curious now as he replied, ¡°Okay.¡± Then, Stanley finally told him. ¡°It¡¯s the babysitter Uncle Michael hired¡ªSophia.¡± Harry truly had no words for that. ¡°You absolutely can¡¯t tell Uncle Michael; he¡¯d break my leg!¡± ¡°Hehe, he would certainly break your leg!¡± Harry snickered. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Two days went by and the danger passed. Stanley hadn¡¯te stirring trouble for her, so Sophia switched her phone on atst. She still went to ss on time every day. Stanley had hurt his leg, so he was absent from ss. On the other hand, Quinton was back to teaching his sses after having recovered from his injuries. The Phantom Wolf incident seemed to be over just like that. Michael had gotten wind of Phantom¡¯s Wolf retreat from the nation, and they wouldn¡¯te running back here for the time being; even the leader of the organization himself did not make another appearance again. As for the love letter that Sophia had written, Hale had been constantly on the search for it. He found out that a local woman had received the letter. Once she got it, she mailed the letter to another address¡ª that address was actually the address of Michael¡¯s managingpany, Imperial Entertainment! Hale reported this back to Michael. Having figured out something, Michael was filled with delight. He ordered Hale to find that letter by any means possible and mail it to his workce as soon as he could. Hale was run ragged by this task; he found out that the woman Sophia had mailed the letter to was a hardcore fan of Michael¡¯s, and she had formed a fan group dedicated to him. That superfan knew one of the assistants at Imperial Entertainment, and she would regrly mail gifts from the fans to thepany and get the assistant to hand them to Michael. However, those gifts usually did not reach Michael. Thepany received far too many gifts every day, and the fans sent anything ranging from food, love letters, postcards, and so on. The presents were piled as high as mountains; Michael¡¯s home would never be able to amodate all these gifts no matter howrge it was. Even though the fans clearly knew that the items would never reach Michael, they still sent gifts his way mulishly. Hale went to thepany and looked for the manager who was in charge of receiving all the gifts. The manager brought him to the room where they stored all fanmail, and Hale was ck-jawed when he caught sight of the mountain of gifts. The staff had already divided up food gifts among themselves, while expensive gifts were stored in another room to be donated. The remaining gifts like love letters, postcards and such took up their own storeroom¡ªan entire storeroom at that! An entire storeroom of love letters! Hale felt his vision go dark after he eyed the colorful love letters piled in the room. How was he supposed to find a letter with no sender¡¯s name on it among all of these? ording to the information that Nathan had provided, the paper was pink and the letter was written in cursive. The opening line was supposed to be, ¡®You are the light in my life.¡¯ Hale was in agony as he painstakingly sifted through mountains of love letters to look for the one that Sophia had written. Gosh, woman, why did you write that love letter?! Why did you have to send it anonymously?! Wouldn¡¯t it have been more gratifying to give it to him in person? You even sent it to his managingpany on purpose! It seemed that Sophia never wished for Michael to read that love letter, but now that Michael found out about its existence, he had to read it. Atst, Hale thought of a genius n. Chapter 223 Chapter 223 Hale hauled the entire pile of presents that the fan group administrator had mailed to Michael¡¯spany back to the house. Maria helped him to move the gifts into Michael¡¯s study, but there were so many that they overflowed into the living room and gym. And so, the living room and gym were now filled with love letters of various sizes and colors, all of them addressed to Michael. Sophia jumped in shock when she came home from ss to see an entire house filled with love letters. ¡°What are these?¡± Hale had a nk expression on his face as he carried another box of love letters in. ¡°These are from Michael¡¯s managingpany; they are gifts that the fans have been sending the boss.¡± Gifts from Michael¡¯s fans? Sophia pricked her ears up at that. No way! What a coincidence! Michael never brought any of the fans¡¯ presents home, so why did he send all of these gifts over the moment she wrote him a love letter? It had to be a coincidence! Sophia pretended to keep her cool. When no one was around, she took the opportunity to slip into the study and scour the colorful pile of love letters to look for her own. Being the one wrote it, she would be able to recognize it! She soon found the letter that she had written among the pile of letters. She opened the envelope and cringed so hard that she couldn¡¯t even fully describe how hard she was cringing when she looked at the cheesy words written on the letter. Why did she write such a stupid thing back then? She had to hide it quickly! Fortunately, Michael had not seen it yet! Sophia hid the pink love letter in Nathan¡¯s closet, nning to dispose of it fully at a more appropriate time. It seemed a bit of a pity to just toss it, but Sophia would feel antsy leaving the letter out; perhaps she should just hide it for a while. Unbeknownst to her, the little spy in the house quickly spirited the letter away into Hale¡¯s hands. Hale looked disgusted as he held the letter that had taken such herculean efforts to locate before quickly sending for someone to send the letter to Michael. Sophia had no idea about this as the letter made its way across the ocean; she was simply opening the presents that the fans had given Michael. These were all tokens of appreciation from the fans to their idol; even if their idol had no time to go through them all, she would take his ce and open them up as his wife. The gifts had already been sorted when they were first sent to thepany, so the more pricey gifts and the edible ones were already set aside. ording to official rules, the pricey items would be auctioned off and the proceeds would go to charity. The rest would be stored in storerooms that were set aside for the remaining presents; Sophia had no idea why Hale had brought so many gifts back today. She patiently opened each gift; most of them were handicrafts, artworks, postcards, letters and so on. She opened each and every one of them, and all gifts had the creator¡¯s name on it. Sophia then ced the presents onto the disy shelves. Michael was fond of simple styles, so the house didn¡¯t have a lot of decorations hung up, making it look rather empty. These little trinkets would be perfectly suited to liven up the ce. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. There were way too many gifts; even after going through them the entire night, Sophia had only opened half of them. She sat on the couch in the study, opening gifts until she drifted off to sleep. Michael sneaked a look at the CCTV footage from his home during a film break. He caught sight of Sophia lying fast asleep on the couch with a pile of unopened presents next to her. Sometimes he thought that his little dainty wife was so dumb that it was adorable. Sophia did not have ss the next morning, so she continued to open more presents after breakfast. Once she was done with them, she began to open the love letters¡ªshe ended up skipping her afternoon sses to focus on the letters. At night, she suddenly asked Hale, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be breaking any rules if I printed some of Michael¡¯s unreleased photos and sent it to his fans, would I?¡± Hale nodded and replied, ¡°Do as you like.¡± Michael was the actual boss behind the scenes of Imperial Entertainment; the managers had no say over whatever he did. Sophia rxed at that and scoured the house for some photos of Michael; she bulk printed a few hundred copies and stacked them up. She mimicked Michael¡¯s autograph and signed each of the photos, autographing several hundred photos in one go. Just like that, she spent the whole night signing the photos. Meanwhile, away in a different country, Michael had already received the anonymous letter that had survived a trip across the ocean. The letter was written in cursive, but the way the letters looped across the paper was simply adorable. The corners of Michael¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but curl up as he read the letter, especially when he saw this one particr line. ¡®You are a light in my life.¡¯ If he hadn¡¯t read this with his own eyes, he really wouldn¡¯t have been able to imagine that the aloof and finicky wife of his would be capable of writing something so cheesy. All the same, he was heartened by this. After he read the love letter, Michael was on cloud nine. He thought things over before looking for a pen and paper, taking advantage of the current film break to carefully craft out a reply. His handwriting was like lines of soldiers, all straight and orderly. Poise seeped through the paper, making his handwriting very recognizable. He carefully printed each character in his reply. ¡®I am a light that hase from the cosmos light years away; I departed far in the past, braving thousands of years of changes in seasons, crossing time that spanned several millennia; Just so that I can give you a moment of warmth and light.¡¯ Meanwhile, Harry had just finished filming his scene and sauntered over with a frown; the makeup artist immediately started reapplying his makeup when she saw this. When Harry caught sight of Michael, he hesitated and wondered whether he should tell Michael that Stanley had asked him to pretend to be a bad guy and hit on Sophia. Upon rumination though, he decided not to do so; if Michael suddenly went berserk, Harry would also be dragged into his madness. Harry took a sip of water and noticed that Michael was writing something seriously. He squeezed himself over and looked curiously. ¡°What are you writing? Let me see¡­¡± Michael furrowed his brows and used a hand to obscure the extremely cheesy words he was writing. ¡°Don¡¯t look¡ªI¡¯m writing a love letter,¡± he answered. Harry had no words for that. All Michael cared about when he was younger was violence, but now that he was a grown man, he was taking a page out of some youngster¡¯s book and writing a love letter to express his feelings. Age regression! Of course, he kept that exmation in his head. Once Sophia had finished signing the hundreds of photographs, she handed them over to Hale. ¡°Here, send them back to the managingpany and get them to send these photos to the fans.¡± Hale eyed the basketful of photos but didn¡¯t say a word. He silently delivered the photos to thepany and let the staff mail them off to the fans. The boss¡¯s wife sure has nothing better to do! Hale mentally chided. Once she had gone through all of the fans¡¯ presents, Sophia realized that she had busied herself throughout an entire Saturday, even skipping a day¡¯s worth of sses. She had originally nned to go to the gym, but she would have to put it off for now. Ever since her run-in with Phantom Wolf, Sophia had thrown herself even deeper into martial arts training. Michael may have assigned bodyguards to her, but they couldn¡¯t possibly protect her for the rest of her life. If she were to get into danger again in the future, she would have to save herself. She intended to go to the gym and look for Gwen, but much to her surprise, Stanley called her again without so much as a by your leave. ¡°Ahem, Sophia¡ªwhy won¡¯t you see me? I¡¯m in so much pain that I feel like I¡¯m going to die. Ugh¡­¡± Sophia was speechless. Was the energetic and spirited guy who just gamed with her a few days ago a ghost? Chapter 224 Chapter 224 Much to her surprise, Stanley didn¡¯t bring up the incident with the figurines and the keyboards. Sophia was actually feeling a little embarrassed now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that Nate broke your stuffst time. Why don¡¯t I get his father to pay you back with some money?¡± Stanley didn¡¯t seem to care about that. ¡°Nah, it¡¯s just some figurines and keyboards anyway; I sent them back to the manufacturers for repair and they sent the stuff back as good as new. Just rx ande over; I locked the door this time,¡± he said. Stanley had gotten injured while saving her after all. If he hadn¡¯t been there, she might have died; yet, Nathan destroyed his precious collection. Sophia had no choice but to ept his request and said, ¡°Just rest well. I¡¯lle see you tomorrow.¡± ¡°I want duck soup with carrots. And the duck¡¯s got to be free-range!¡± Stanley didn¡¯t forget to ce an order for tomorrow¡¯s meal. The next morning, Sophia woke up early to make a pot of soup before bringing it over to Stanley¡¯s ce. Nathan gorged himself during lunch, eating more than he normally would during mealtime. He naively thought that the more he ate, the less Stanley would have. Once lunch was over, he warily watched as Sophia transferred the duck soup to a thermal container. It seemed like she was about to head to Stanley¡¯s ce. He hastily called Michael to report the current battle situation. Michael frowned as he listened to the call. ¡°You have to hang in there, son. I¡¯ll be back in a few more days,¡± he said heavily. ¡°The enemy is staging a strong offense, and the battle depends on you with my absence. Rest assured, I will shred him to pieces when Ie backter!¡± Nathan nodded in certainty and responded, ¡°Right.¡± Sophia belonged to him and Michael; they definitely couldn¡¯t let Stanley have her! Both father and son¡ªwho usually had close to zero interactions with each other¡ªstood together on the same battlefront for the first time in order to protect thepleteness of their three-member family. Moreover, Nathan didn¡¯t want to be raised in a single-parent household. Michael continued, ¡°Remember, you¡¯re a mischievous kid¡ªmischievous kids are unafraid of anything! When you¡¯re at Stanley¡¯s home, act as you see fit!¡± Nathan nodded again. ¡°Yes!¡± His eyes were filled with determination after he hung up the call. Mischievous kids are unafraid of anything! The pair once again headed to the militarypound in their car and stepped into Stanley¡¯s home. The moment they entered, they saw Stanley lying weakly on his bed with a leg suspended in the air. Sean was here to visit him again. Stanley grabbed Sophia¡¯s little hand, looking pitiful as he did so. ¡°Sophia, so you still have enough goodness in yourself for you to visit me.¡± Sophia¡¯s expression contorted as she attempted to pull her hand back. ¡°Knock it off, Sundae Cone. I¡¯m already married; it¡¯s not good for you to behave like this.¡± ¡°No!¡± Stanley¡¯s grip tightened even more. ¡°You¡¯re lying to me, right? I¡¯m not going to believe that you¡¯re really married! Even if you are, I won¡¯t give up. There are no immovable objects in this world, only irresistible forces!¡± Nathan was angered to no end by this and he left without a sound. He stalked over to Stanley¡¯s study, but Stanley had learned his lesson this time; with the exception of the washroom, all the other doors were locked. Even the oil paintings on the walls, the vases on the tables, and other knick knacks were all stored away. The entire house had been kid-proofed. Hmph! Nevertheless, mischievous kids were not afraid of anything! Nathan searched the ce for a weakness he could exploit. Atst, he caught sight of Stanley¡¯s pet cat and dog. Sophia finally managed to extract her hand from Stanley¡¯s grip and began to spoon feed him the soup she made. Stanley was moved to bits as he eximed, ¡°You¡¯re too kind, Sophia!¡± The corners of Sophia¡¯s lips twitched; she looked extremely reluctant. All of a sudden, an earth-shattering howl boomed from outside of the room¡ªchaos had ensued outside. The housekeeper hastily scurried out and reported back quickly. ¡°The cat¡¯s whiskers have all been cut off! Someone had also hit the dog!¡± Stanley nearly jumped out of his bed in shock. ¡°What?¡± Sophia hastily put down the container and exited the room to see Nathan currently locked in battle with Stanley¡¯s husky. The dog was howling from the strikes, and a cat with a head nearly plucked bald hid up on a shelf. It was shedding season, so fur was flying everywhere; Nathan¡¯s entire body was covered with cat and dog fur. ¡°Nate, what are you doing?!¡± Sophia zoomed over to grab Nathan. He looked at her innocently and said, ¡°I got bored, so I yed with the dog.¡± Sophia checked on the husky as it howled in pain; it seemed like it had broken its leg. Nathan still had a clump of cat fur tightly clenched in his hand. Stanley hobbled out of his room with Sean¡¯s help. When he took in his poor, howling husky and his partially bald cat, he was so heartbroken that he nearly cried. ¡°My Sunset! My Judge!¡± He leaped over and embraced his mutted pets. He nearly cried when he saw that Sunset¡¯s head was nearly bald from having the fur yanked out. He had always treated his pets like they were his own sons; he couldn¡¯t even bear to pluck a single hair off them, yet Nathan had yanked his cat¡¯s fur until the cat was bald¡ªhe even broke his dog¡¯s leg! This was killing him inside! ¡°Get over here, Nathan. I promise I won¡¯t beat you to death!¡± Stanley¡¯s emotions were running high now. How he wished he could lunge at Nathan and give the kid a sound pummeling. ¡°Get over here! Now!¡± Nathan hid himself behind Sophia with an expression of fear on his face. Sophia felt another headache coming on when she saw that Nathan had gotten into trouble again. All the same, she couldn¡¯t admit it outright even when Nathan was clearly in the wrong. ¡°You can¡¯tpletely me this on Nate¡ªhe¡¯s just a little baby who simply wants to y with the animals!¡± she stated eloquently. ¡°Who would have thought that your pets are so fussy? Children still don¡¯t know how the world works, and they haven¡¯t learned how to control their strength yet! You can¡¯t fully me him! Why didn¡¯t you put your pets safely away? Your dog¡¯s so huge too; what if he had bitten Nate?¡± Nathan nodded. He was still a little baby, so Stanley couldn¡¯t be so savage toward him! This was against the rules! Stanley was about to explode. ¡°Come over here, Nathan. I will get revenge for my dog! I want to see just who¡¯s the fussy one here¡ªyou, or my pets!¡± Sophia was angered now. ¡°If you dare toy a hand on my son, I¡¯ll make sure you pay for it twice over!¡± Seeing how Sophia shielded the boy, Stanley felt as though he had taken a huge blow. He stared at Sophia dumbly, and after over ten seconds of silence, he finally let out a roar. ¡°Get out! Out! I don¡¯t want to see you two anymore!¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll leave!¡± She snatched the clump of cat fur that Nathan had yanked out earlier from his hands and half-heartedly ttened it on the cat¡¯s head. After ncing at the whimpering husky, she picked up her soup container and son before storming out. Nathan followed Sophia with a look of victorious delight on his face, even turning around to pull a face at Stanley. Stanley held his pets. He wanted to cry, but no tears woulde out. His dog¡¯s leg was broken and his cat was bald from having its fur yanked out. Now, he even angered Sophia enough for her to leave! You¡¯re a vicious kid, Nate! Sophia escaped the militarypound with Nate in her arms. As they sat in the car, she couldn¡¯t resist disciplining the boy. ¡°You got into trouble again, you know that? What did I sayst time? When you go to someone¡¯s home, you¡¯re not allowed to touch their things without permission, understand? No one likes naughty kids, you know!¡± Nathan didn¡¯t make a sound, but he suddenly whipped his head up after listening to her scolding for a bit and looked at her with teary eyes; it looked as though he had been wrongfully used. Seeing how pitiful Nathan looked, Sophia couldn¡¯t stand to continue being angry with him. She patted his head and said, ¡°Alright now, kiddo. Don¡¯t be sad; I won¡¯t continue to scold you.¡± Chapter 225 Chapter 225 Sophia couldn¡¯t figure out what had made Nathan suddenly behave like a spoiled brat. After wrecking Stanley¡¯s mechanical keyboard and figurinesst time, he stripped Stanley¡¯s pet cat bald this time. With that, he had gotten into trouble twice in a row, which didn¡¯t seem like a good sign at all; Nathan came from an incredibly distinguished background in the first ce. Now that he had begun misbehaving recklessly at such a young age, who knew what he would do when he grew up? As Nathan¡¯s stepmother, Sophia felt hugely responsible for what he had done. How could she be worthy of the trust that Nathan¡¯s dad had put in her if Nathan grew up into a spoiled brat because of her overindulgence? The night after they went home, Sophia video-called Michael while applying her facial mask when she told him about the two troubles Nathan had gotten himself into. Nathan was eavesdropping outside the door when he heard Sophia worriedly talking about the two incidents. Atst, she concluded, ¡°What Nathan has done this time is terribly wrong, and he is showing tendencies of growing up into a spoiled brat. We can¡¯t let him go on like this!¡± Michael pondered seriously for a moment on the other end before he said in a grave tone, ¡°You¡¯re right¡ª kids shouldn¡¯t misbehave like this. How can he make trouble as he pleases while being a guest at somebody¡¯s home? Not only that, he also spoiled something so valuable! We can¡¯t let him go on like that.¡± He then continued, ¡°Now that he¡¯s broken the husky¡¯s leg this time, he might start hitting other people in the future! Just beat the hell out of him; he¡¯ll stop making trouble next time once he learns his lesson.¡± Nathan, who had just celebrated his sixth birthday, experienced the pain of being betrayed by his closest kin for the first time. Everything is just part of his trick! he thought to himself. After some discussion with Michael, Sophia decided that she couldn¡¯t leave this incident like that. She would make Nathan apologize to Stanley and give him some money aspensation. After all, both Nathan and Stanley were Fletchers, so things would be awkward between them if this incident remained unresolved. Nathan was seething as Sophia marched him off to Stanley¡¯s ce to get him to apologize to Stanley. Stanley was delighted for a moment when he learned that Sophia wasing, but when he heard that Nathan wasing as well, he immediately hid his pet cat and dog away out of fright. His pet dog ended up breaking its leg after being chased by Nathan; it had to have its leg suspended in traction like him. Even his pet cat had been stripped bald because of the boy! Still, Stanley decided to forgive Nathan for Sophia¡¯s sake, but he would never let Nathan hurt his darling little pets again. After hanging up on Sophia, he said to his nanny, ¡°Auntie, please bring me my walking stick. I want to go for a walk outside with Judge.¡± Judge was the name of his crippled pet dog. It got its name from ¡®the de of Judgment,¡¯ a godly weapon in the Swordsman Game. Sean visited him every day and yed online games with him whenever he had no sses to attend. Sean and Stanley were the same age, and they had graduated from the same high school. Stanley joined the army right after his college entrance exam, whereas Sean went overseas to recuperate from a severe bout of illness. When Stanley left the army and came back to pursue his studies two yearster, Sean had also recovered from his illness and just returned from overseas. The two of them then ended up attending the same university and ying online games together. Supporting himself with his stick, Stanley eagerly pped some hair gel on his head despite not needing it with his current haircut. He then asked, ¡°Do you think I look handsome today, Sean?¡± Sean nced at him and smiled before answering, ¡°You¡¯re very handsome already.¡± Only then did Stanley feel relieved. He left home with the aid of his stick while Sean put his crippled pet dog in a stroller and wheeled it outside. Meanwhile, Sophia had entered the militarypound with Nathan. As they headed to Stanley¡¯s ce, she urged Nathan, ¡°Darling, just listen to me and say sorry to Stanter. Got it?¡± Nathan nodded with his head hung low. He had been down in the dumps ever since he realized that he had been tricked by Michael. He had been so preupied with helping Michael that he failed to notice he had turned from a well-behaved kid to a spoiled brat in Sophia¡¯s eyes. Stanley was clever this time; not only did he forbid Nathan from entering his house, he also changed their meeting ce to the militarypound¡¯s leisure garden so that Nathan-the-spoiled-brat would have no way of scourging him again. Having entered the militarypound, Sophia headed toward the GPS location Stanley had sent her and found Stanley, his pet dog, and Sean. The militarypound was built many years ago, and it had retained its original appearance despite being refurbished repeatedly over the years. Its spacious courtyard was filled with lush greenery. The trees in the garden were nted many years ago, and they gave off an intriguing air of history after being well-tended over the years. The militarypound looked even more stately with its long history as ity bathed in thest rays of the setting sun. The militarypound was especially boisterous in the evening since aged men and women could be seen doing square dancing or exercising everywhere. Stanley was ying a game of chess with a group of old men when Sophia found him. After a fierce battle, he was driven into a corner by his ferocious opponent, causing him to flush and scratch his head with anxiety. Sean, who stood at one side, was wheeling a stroller, inside of which was Stanley¡¯s crippled husky as it fell asleep while wearing a disposable diaper. Sitting across from Stanley was a grey-haired old man with a grey beard. Even though he was old, he was young in spirit; his eyes gleamed with astuteness and a heroic vigor. A group of old men were standing behind the grey-haired old man as they chanted, ¡°Check his king! Check his king!¡± Suffering under tremendous stress, Stanley moved a chess piece apprehensively. With that, the eyes of the old man sitting opposite him brightened, and he shouted with an animated expression, ¡°Checkmate!¡± He lost again! Stanley tossed the chess piece in his hand away and said, ¡°I¡¯m not going to y chess with you anymore; it¡¯s meaningless since you¡¯ve captured all my chess pieces every single time. I¡¯m going to walk my dog!¡± The old man opposite him grabbed him immediately and said, ¡°Come,e,e¡ªlet us y another game of chess. I¡¯ll let you make one extra move at the beginning of this game.¡± However, Stanley didn¡¯t budge. He could never be a match for the old man even if thetter let him make ten extra moves at the beginning of the game! However, since the old man had forcibly dragged him back to his seat, he could only sit down and y another game of chess with the former. After the old man let him make one extra move at the beginning of the game, he kept on pondering over the positions of chess pieces on the chessboard with a grave expression, determined to win back a game. This group of old men had abined age of over a thousand, whereas he and Sean had only a combined age of a little over forty, so how could he be a match for them? He thought to himself, This group of old men is bullying me on purpose. I¡¯ve been checkmated so many times, and every time I was checkmated, he would let me make an extra move at the beginning of the next game and checkmate me again! It¡¯s so awful of him to bully a handicapped person! All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. He was desperate for an excuse to flee the scene as quickly as possible, but it seemed that this group of old men wouldn¡¯t let him off easily. They might look old on the outside, but they had been renowned figures in the military back in the day. Sophia came just as he was ying the game. Overjoyed upon seeing her, he tossed the chess piece in his hand away. ¡°My friend is here, so I have to leave!¡± he eximed. The old man opposite him grabbed him, saying, ¡°No¡ªyou¡¯re not going to leave until you finish this round of chess!¡± The old man was nearly a hundred years old, but he clutched at Stanley with such an incredible strength that thetter nearly cried in pain. Stanley said, ¡°Let go of me! I¡¯ll finish this game of chess with you!¡± Sophia came over with Nathan when she saw Sean beckoning to her. She then caught sight of Stanley, who was looking at the chessboard with distress written all over his face as he was surrounded by a group of old men. He had been stumped by the same move countless times. No matter what move he made to counter it, the old man would always seed in capturing all his chess pieces; it must be what the old man wanted all along! Moving closer to take a look, Sophia saw Stanley¡¯s chess pieces under threat from all quarters, and any bad move would result in him losing the whole game. The game was so intriguing that she unconsciously lost herself in it, and she began observing the positions of the chess pieces rtive to each other. Having decided to give up, Stanley randomly picked an unupied square and moved one of his chess pieces to the position. Much to his surprise, while the chess piece was still wobbling, a fair hand appeared out of nowhere and moved it to a position he had never thought of. In an instant, Stanley was saved from losing the game! Chapter 226 Chapter 226 Stanley was delighted, but the face of the old man across from him turned grave¡ªso did the faces of the group of old men surrounding them. Everyone at the scene fell silent at once. After pondering for several minutes, the grey-haired old man moved one of his chess pieces to make a move. Soon after that, a hand appeared behind Stanley and moved Stanley¡¯s bishop two squares diagonally. Only then did the old man notice the youngdy standing behind Stanley. She seemed pretty young, but she looked wise and prescient. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. She yed chess using apletely different approach from Stanley¡¯s. While Stanley yed by constantly retreating, she kept closing in on her opponent at all costs, knowing very well that a good offense was the best defense. Such a chess-ying method caught the old man off guard, and it was now his turn to have his chess pieces under threat. Stanley quickly moved over to make room for Sophia to sit down. He then said warmly, ¡°Come, Sophia. You can y it yourself.¡± Sophia had been so wrapped up in the game; she didn¡¯t realize that she had made a chess move on Stanley¡¯s behalf without asking for Stanley and the old man¡¯s permission. She felt a little embarrassed, but seeing that the old man didn¡¯t object to Stanley¡¯s words, she sat down and yed against the old man with rapt attention. Chess was one of her specialties as well; back when she was in high school, she had enjoyed free tuition, free board and lodging, and not to mention monthly allowances and annual schrships. The only thing that enabled her to attend the best high school in Riverdale despite her poverty was her academic excellence. Her high school was packed with outstanding talents, so she had to perform better than anyone else in order to keep staying at school and study for free. Besides earning top scores on every subject and staying among the top ten of the ss in every exam, she also forced herself to develop extracurricr skills. Since her high school¡¯s women¡¯s basketball team kept losing every year, she forced herself to learn basketball so that her school team wouldn¡¯t suffer from an embarrassing defeat. Also, since her high school¡¯s chess team kept losing to other high school teams every year, she made an effort to learn chess so that she could win prizes for the school annually. That way, she could be awarded with schrships as well. Feeling threatened was reason enough for her to learn everything with great speed! Sophia and the old man were silent as they engaged in an intense fight by capturing each other¡¯s chess pieces repeatedly. It had started to get ufortably hot in thete spring, and Sophia¡¯s snow-white forehead was covered with a thin sheen of sweat. On the contrary, the old man across from her was drenched in sweat. Half an hourter, the sky had grown visibly dark, and Sophia gained a steady upper hand on the chessboard, pushing her opponent to the verge of defeat. Having changed sides long ago, the group of old men now stood behind Sophia along with Stanley as they chanted, ¡°Check his king! Check his king!¡± Now it was the grey-haired old man¡¯s turn to be under tremendous stress; any bad move would make him lose the entire game. Then, with another chess move, Sophia said with a victorious smile, ¡°Thank you for ying with me, old man. Checkmate!¡± The old man tossed the chess piece in his hand away in frustration. He argued, ¡°No, the move I yed just now isn¡¯t valid! I was too careless just now. Let¡¯s start from there once again!¡± However, Sophia wasn¡¯t offended; she retracted her previous moves and resumed the game. This time, the old man managed to make another five moves before Sophia seeded in capturing all his chess pieces once again. Unwilling to concede defeat, the old man said, ¡°Let¡¯s start again!¡± They retracted their moves and resumed the game once again. This time, Sophia dealt the old man another crushing defeat before thetter could even make five moves. Atst, the old man tossed his chess piece away and said, ¡°I¡¯m not ying anymore!¡± With that, he turned around and left in a huff. Now it was Stanley¡¯s turn to be smug. He yelled at the old man from a distance away, ¡°You lost the game, old man! Did you hear me? You lost the game!¡± The old man merely responded with an angry snort. Stanley grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and squeezed it as hard as he could. He then said, ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re basically my savior! This old man has been scourging me for over ten years; he kept forcing me to y chess with him despite knowing that I¡¯m terrible at it! You did a great job just now! If he ever asks me to y chess with him in the future, I¡¯ll let you y in my ce!¡± Sophia could only respond with a helpless expression. The group of old men had gone their separate ways to enjoy their pleasant nightlife. The military compound didn¡¯t seem any different from other ces since there were also a group of old men and women doing square dancing and exercises. Sensible as he was, Sean took his leave first, leaving Stanley, Sophia, and Nathan to themselves. Sophia first had Nathan apologize to Stanley and his pet dog. Walking up to Stanley, Nathan bowed his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Stan. I won¡¯t fiddle around with your things anymore.¡± Then, he apologized to Stanley¡¯s pet dog. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ªI won¡¯t hit you anymore.¡± The dog merely responded with a woof. Stanley turned up his nose, saying, ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll forgive you this time since you seem so sincere, but you must not make the same mistake more than three times. If you do it again, I¡¯ll send you to Uncle Joel¡¯s ce and let you undergo training with them!¡± After Nathan had apologized, Stanley took a walk in the militarypound with Sophia¡¯s aid, whereas Nathan wheeled the stroller and the pet dog inside. Sophia was silent the whole time, whereas Stanley babbled on and on like a chatterbox. He said, ¡°Sophia, it never urred to me that you¡¯re so good at chess. It just so happens that our university will be having a chess tournament. Are you going to join it? Also, I¡¯ll bepeting in the Aseanos finals of the Esports World Championship. Please make sure to watch me y!¡± After listening to his bragging for a long time, Sophia and Nathan left together. No sooner had she left, the grey-bearded old man from just now sprang up out of nowhere. Leading a group of old men to surround Stanley instantly, he began by asking in an interrogative tone, ¡°Who is the girl that came with Nate just now? What is your rtionship with her? How far has the rtionship between you two progressed? Have you two held hands and kissed each other? When will you two register for marriage? When will I have a great-great-grandson?¡± His bombardment of questions made Stanley¡¯s head swim. Feeling a little shy, Stanley scratched his head as he said, ¡°Why are you so anxious, Great-Grandpa? There¡¯s nothing between us yet.¡± The old man who had just been badly defeated by Sophia was none other than Mark Fletcher, the Old Master of the Fletcher Family. Not only was he Michael¡¯s grandfather and Stanley¡¯s great-grandfather, he was also well-known in Cethos as the God of War and one of the country¡¯s founding fathers! Old Master Fletcher had retired many years ago. As he was pushing 100, he was now concerned about the marriages of Michael, his youngest grandson, and Stanley, his eldest great-grandson. Michael was over 30 years old already, yet he showed no signs of finding a bride. Old Master Fletcher¡¯s face nearly contorted with rage when rumors had it that he had registered for marriage with that Winston brat. Because of that, he began worrying about Stanley¡¯s marriage when Stanley was still attending university. He said, ¡°You aren¡¯t young anymore¡ªyou¡¯re 20 already, which is almost the same age as Mike! Where is the girl from? What kind of background does shee from? Just court her with confidence as long as shees from a decent background. You don¡¯t have to care about the difference between your families¡¯ statuses; I¡¯ll talk to your parents about it.¡± Stanley was ted. He said, ¡°Really? You¡¯re so kind to me, Great-Grandpa!¡± He then continued, ¡°She is Sophia Edwards, an orphan and a student of Bayside University who is now working as Nate¡¯s babysitter at Uncle Michael¡¯s home. She¡¯s attending university with Nate every day. Great-Grandpa, it seems that Uncle Michael doesn¡¯t want Sophia and I to be together, so please talk to him, okay?¡± Old Master Fletcher beat his chest and promised, ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡ªjust leave this matter to me.¡± Then, he patted Stanley on the shoulder and added earnestly, ¡°Stan, my greatest wish in this life is for the Fletcher Family to have five generations living under the same roof. I¡¯ll be entrusting you with this arduous task.¡± Stanley nodded with determination as he said, ¡°I promise toplete this task!¡± He thought to himself, It¡¯s great! Now that Great-Grandpa is going to take action, nothing is going to be a problem! Michael didn¡¯t speak much with other members of his family, but Old Master Fletcher, his grandfather, was an exception. Out of everyone else in the family, Michael listened only to him. Having gotten a guarantee from Old Master Fletcher, Stanley went home happily and started preparing the gift he wanted to give Sophia to dere his love for her. Chapter 227 Chapter 227 When Stanley¡¯s excitement subsided, Old Master Fletcher suddenly asked in a peculiar tone, ¡°Stan, are you sure that the girl¡¯s surname is Edwards instead of something like Mitchell¡­¡± For some reason, Old Master Fletcher couldn¡¯t help feeling that thedy just now reminded him of a much younger former friend of his. However, Stanley answered with conviction, ¡°Her surname is Edwards; it¡¯s E-D-W-A-R-D-S. I¡¯m very sure about that.¡± With that, Old Master Fletcher fell silent. Nathan mulled it over along the way home before deciding not to risk giving Sophia a scare by telling her that the old man just now was actually his great-grandfather. Meanwhile, the wrap-up party of the movie ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ took ce overseas as scheduled. Thanks to the actors and actresses¡¯ dedicated performances, the filming wrapped half a month ahead of schedule, and the film crew threw a ceremonious wrap-up party. The film¡¯s two leading actors were surrounded by everyone as they looked especially dazzling at the party. Doctor Invincible¡¯s production crew could be regarded as the best in the world, and its cast was also the most outstanding globally. Everyone in the film crew had gone all-out for the film, which was expected to be one of the world¡¯s 50 highest-grossing films. The film was scheduled to be shown next year. By then, its two leading actors would enjoy another unprecedented rise in their statuses in the world¡¯s film history. Michael uninterestedly handled people from all sides in a perfunctory manner, but his mind had flown across the oceans back to his cozy little home and his warm child bride. Suddenly, his cell phone registered an iing call; he looked at the screen and was surprised to find that the call was from the Fletcher Family¡¯s home phone. He rarely answered any calls from members of the Fletcher Family except Stanley and this home phone. As he answered the phone, his stern expression involuntarily softened, and he greeted reverently in a low voice, ¡°Grandpa.¡± His father, Theo, had severed ties with the Fletcher Family back then for Elizabeth, his mother. After Theo was killed in action, Elizabeth brought the young Michael and his sister back to the Fletcher Family to see Old Master Fletcher. The Fletchers didn¡¯t intend to acknowledge him and his sister at first, yet Old Master Fletcher brushed aside all objections and took them in. Training them to be his sessors, he personally brought them up and taught them everything he had learned in his life. However, it didn¡¯t ur to him that his fondness for Michael and his elder sister made them an object of criticism from other family members of the same generation¡­ Old Master Fletcher first asked Michael about thetter¡¯s recent work as usual. Even though he hadn¡¯t met Michael for many years, he watched every movie Michael had starred in. ¡°Have you finished filming ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯? I¡¯m looking forward to watching it! The army headquarters have coborated with the Ministry of Culturetely to produce a documentary filmmemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Cethos. The film will have an all-star cast of more than two hundred celebrities, and I heard that you¡¯ll be offered the role of me. Have you gotten any news about it? I think it¡¯s a pretty good idea to cast you in the role of me. Not only do you look exactly the same as I did back then, but you¡¯re more handsome than I was! That settles it, so don¡¯t go back on your word! Watching anyone other than you y the part of me would be an eyesore. Just look at the movies shown in the past; what the hell were they doing? The way they acted made me look hideous! I was a handsome guy back then!¡± Michael chatted with Old Master Fletcher for a while before thetter changed the subject and started asking about his marriage. ¡°I heard from Stan that you have gotten married?¡± As expected, Stanley couldn¡¯t keep any secret with his big mouth. Michael answered with a nod, ¡°That¡¯s right, Grandpa.¡± Old Master Fletcher was exasperated. ¡°Sigh, I have no idea what has happened between young people like you two, but I¡¯m not going to meddle in the affairs between you and that Winston kid. Having Nate is good enough anyway, though I still hope that you have a son of your own.¡± Michael was speechless for a moment on the other end of the phone. He wondered how Old Master Fletcher learned about his marriage to Harry; did his Grandpa surf the Inte to read those awful entertainment news reports as well? Luckily, Old Master Fletcher didn¡¯t seem to have learned of Sophia¡¯s existence yet, or he would certainly harass her! However, what Michael worried about eventually came true, for Old Master Fletcher asked next, ¡°I heard from Stan that you hired a girl named Sophia Edwards?¡± Michael was dumbfounded. He thought he had been doing a good job at keeping his marriage to Sophia a secret, for nobody knew about it except Joel. However, Joel wouldn¡¯t have talked about it since the announcement of Michael¡¯s marriage would be detrimental to his position in the Fletcher Family. Old Master Fletcher then continued, ¡°I like that little girl, so I¡¯ll be making the decision this time by betrothing her to Stan!¡± Old Master Fletcher must have done a little digging and found Sophia¡¯s outstanding character a nice counterbnce to Stanley¡¯s self-conceited personality. Not only that, he had even thought up a name for his great-great-grandson! ¡°Hehe,¡± responded Michael. He thought to himself, F*ck you, Stanley. You dimwit¡ªhow dare you think of stealing my wife! The rankling hatred within me will never fade away unless I teach you a lesson! However, Michael couldn¡¯t make Sophia¡¯s identity public yet, or else his grandfather would pester her to an annoying degree. Therefore, he could only say, ¡°Grandpa, Sophia does work under me, but she should have the right to make choices for herself. Why not let the young people deal with the matters between them on their own?¡± Old Master Fletcher replied with a nod, ¡°Alright, alright.¡± When Old Master Fletcher hung up the phone, he was very pleased; he had even decided which kindergarten his great-great-grandson would attend in the future. He was now pondering over what he should wear to attend his great-great-grandson¡¯s kindergarten graduation ceremony. The next day, Sophia had finished her sses and picked Nathan up. She was about to go home for dinner when Stanley unexpectedly called her in a panic. He said, ¡°Hurry up ande over, Sophia¡ªI¡¯m going to lose! That bunch of old men is bullying me again; hurry up and save me!¡± The familiar chant of ¡®Checkmate him! Checkmate him!¡¯ could be heard in the background. Sophia was speechless. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be there in a minute,¡± she replied. She then left the university campus and took a taxi to the militarypound. The militarypound was especially boisterous in the afternoon as the group of old men and women began exercising outside. Sophia found the ce where Stanley fell under siege, and his opponent was still the grey-bearded old manst time. The old man noticed Sophia the instant she showed up, and he immediately fixed his sharp gaze on her. Sophia knew that this old man must have an extraordinary background ever since she had yed chess with himst time. After all, no ordinary old man could live out his life in retirement in this military compound. He probably bullied Stanley this time because he felt that he had lost face after being defeated badly by Sophia the day before, which was why he had expressly told Stanley to call her over. As soon as Sophia came, she took over the mess Stanley had left behind and yed chess with the grey-bearded old man with great patience. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Nathan was scrambled for by everyone the instant he came. After being hugged by several old men taking turns, he sat on the grey-bearded old man¡¯sp and curiously watched Sophia as she yed chess. ying against this old man was quite an easy job to Sophia. She wasn¡¯t a top-notch chess yer, but her chess skills could be considered superior to the group of old men living in the militarypound. It took only a while for her to defeat the old man three times as she yed her moves and moved her chess pieces half-heartedly. Unwilling to admit defeat, the old man said, ¡°Let¡¯s start all over again. I won¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t defeat you!¡± Old Master Fletcher had never met his match in the militarypound, which might¡¯ve been because everyone had gone easy on him for the sake of his old age. However, Sophia never cared about her opponent¡¯s age when she yed chess. She still rendered the old man totally unable to fight back with her savage chess moves. After being defeated seven times in a row, the old man finally tossed away his chess piece and stopped ying. Sophia was hungry, so she went home for dinner while holding Nathan¡¯s hand. Seizing the opportunity, Stanley offered to send her home despite having a limp. Even Nathan could tell that Old Master Fletcher was creating an opportunity for Stanley on purpose! Chapter 228 Chapter 228 From then on, however, the old man started to have Stanley call Sophia over to the militarypound to y chess almost every day. Every time they finished ying chess at the militarypound, he would then tell Sophia to have dinner at Stanley¡¯s ce. Nathan was pissed off; every time Sophia went to the militarypound, he would tag along and follow her around to prevent Stanley-the-dumb*ss from making use of every bit of opportunity to have Sophia on his own. He thought to himself, Well, my Dad ising back soon, and Sophia won¡¯t have time to y outside by then. She will fall head over heels for him once hees home! Sophia had be aplete fangirl for Taylor by now, but she was too shy to reveal this side of her in front of Hale. Since she found it too embarrassing to brazenly ask about Michael¡¯s whereabouts, she could only find out discreetly from his fan group. Some fans in the group were able to find out the whereabouts of some celebrities. High-definition snapshots of Michael at an overseas celebration dinner, for instance, were quickly uploaded to the fan group after they were taken. Furthermore, the fan group¡¯s admin had connections in the talent agency and would disclose some trivial pieces of news from time to time. Over the past few days, something happened in the fan group which delighted everyone. Many of the group¡¯s members had actually received letters from Taylor! This was the first time they had ever received letters from him; even though everyone knew that their Prince Charming couldn¡¯t have written these letters himself, getting these letters was at least some sort of encouragement, so the fan group was buzzing with excitement. Sophia also went by the alias Sirius in the fan group. Suddenly, someone asked her, ¡®Have you received a letter from Taylor, Sirius? Most of us in the fan group have received it as well as his autographed photos! Since you¡¯ve made so many cinema bookings for his films, you must have received a special letter from him as well, right?¡¯ Sophia felt extremely embarrassed; she couldn¡¯t have received one of these letters because she had written them herself. She replied, ¡®Yeah, I received one too.¡¯ Many fans in the group had been boiling over with excitement for several days because of the letters. Suddenly, another big piece of news came out. ¡®Thetest news is here! Taylor has finished filming ¡°Doctor Invincible¡±, so he ising back to Cethos and will arrive at Bayside International Airport tomorrow afternoon! Let¡¯s meet him at the airport!¡¯ ¡®Lord Winston ising back with him, so why don¡¯t we team up with Lord Winston¡¯s fans to meet Taylor at the airport together?¡¯ The fans were filled with excitement as they said, ¡®That¡¯s right! Even though Taylor doesn¡¯t need such a pompous disy of grandeur, we should meet him at the airport!¡¯ ¡®We have no intention ofparing ourselves with other celebrities¡¯ fan bases, but some celebrities with huge followings always have tons of fans meeting them whenever they show up at the airport¡ªjust look at how impressive it is! We should show our devotion to our idol too.¡¯ ¡®Taylor is way more popr than those celebrities, but look at how smug their fans are!¡¯ Sophia had been following news updates from the fan group as well, so she learned about this as soon as the word was out. Michael ising back to Cethos! Why didn¡¯t Hale tell me that beforehand? I¡¯d really rather trust the fan group than trust him! she thought to herself. Sophia had been indifferent to the world of show business in the past, but ever since she became a fangirl because of Michael, she started following what was going on in the entertainment industry. A new generation of celebrities had risen to prominence in Cethostely, and each of them imed to have billions of fans worldwide. Since they each had a particrly crazy number of overzealously devoted fans, they turned up their noses at veteran actors like Michael and Harry. These celebrities¡¯ fans were also ready to drawparisons between Michael and their idols at the drop of a hat. They hadpared all kinds of funny statistics about Michael and their idols, such as the number of fans meeting them at the airport, how many followers they had on Twitter, how much they were paid for appearing inmercials, the number of high-end products they were endorsing, and how great their influence on their fans was. Taylor usually kept a low profile, and he never appeared in variety shows or did product endorsements. Moreover, Taylor¡¯s fans were rtively more rational, resulting in a wrong impression that Taylor had fewer fans than the celebrities with huge fan bases. Unlike some overzealous fans in many fanmunities, Taylor¡¯s fans were not going to start a sh*tstorm on social media over the disparagingments made about their idol by the fans of some of his fellow juniors. However, what should be done must be done. Therefore, everyone in the fan group decided to go to the airport to meet Taylor in person. However, the reality was that the fans who had gone to meet Taylor at the airport would never be able to see him in person. Taylor always left the airport through specialized passageways, so his fans never had the chance to catch a glimpse of him. As such a situation went on for many years, the fans meeting him at the airport eventually dwindled in numbers until they disappeared altogether. However, it was different this time round. Even though Taylor¡¯s fans knew that they wouldn¡¯t get to see their idol in person, they were determined to go to the airport to meet him¡ªthis was a battle between different fanmunities. The fan group¡¯s admin even made a special effort to message Sophia in private. She said, ¡°Pleasee tomorrow, Sirius. You paid the money for our fan group¡¯smunity shirts and even spent so much on cinema bookings for Taylor¡¯s films, yet you never once showed up during our group¡¯s activities. You have toe this time! Taylor¡¯s flight will arrive at around 1 p.m., so why don¡¯t we have lunch together after meeting him at the airport?!¡± Sophia was a little hesitant, but she agreed to the admin¡¯s request in the end. Unlike other celebrities who had to treat their fans to meals, the aloof Michael never treated his fans to anything; he never had to y up to his fans since his capabilities always spoke for himself. Even though this group of fans had been adoring him for many years, he nevery his eyes upon them. As her Lord¡¯s wife, Sophia felt she should do something since it wouldn¡¯t be long before she slept with their idol. After going home from university, she began making preparations to meet Michael at the airport the next day. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. The fan group had exclusively-designed clothing made for them to show their support for Taylor. It was a white hoodie with a pair of angel¡¯s wings at the back and a pair of horns on the hood. The fans had clubbed together to have the hoodies custom-made, but Sophia paid for the bulk of it. She put the hoodie on and looked at herself in the mirror several times. The more she looked in the mirror, the more dumb she felt dressed in this hoodie. She thought to herself, Am I going to wear this thing while meeting Michael at the airport tomorrow? Won¡¯t I lose my standing in the family if he sees me dressed like this? On second note, she thought to herself, No, that won¡¯t happen. We definitely won¡¯t meet Michael in person tomorrow, so nobody will know about it as long as I say nothing! With that, she put the fandom hoodie in her bag and prepared herself to meet Michael at the airport. The next day, Sophia attended the morning lecturers and skipped the afternoon ones. When she reached the airport, it was already 12.30 p.m., and those from the fan group were already present. Since their fan group wasn¡¯trge, the fans who were able toe merely amounted to about 50. They changed into the customized fandom hoodie in the airport¡¯s restrooms and came out looking like little angels. Sophia felt deeply ufortable about her appearance, but most of her feelings of embarrassment subsided when she saw everyone dressed like her. Everyone even wore the same pink makeup, so Sophia hurriedly applied some pink makeup on her face. Gemma and Hale hade with her, but she told them to wait for her in the parking lot; she didn¡¯t want them to see the way she looked right now since it would be too embarrassing! There were only 50 fans who came to the airport. They were all young people, and most of them were teenage students. The majority of them weredies, but there were fanboys too. Michael had fans across all ages, but those who were middle-aged certainly would note to meet him at the airport. Hence, the active ones were those who were much younger. Harry¡¯s fans, who were also present, were wearing fandom hoodies simr to theirs. Since their idols were close buddies, the two fanmunities were on friendly terms with each other¡ªthey even decided to coborate this time round. After getting fully dressed, the crowd headed to Bayside International Airport¡¯s departure lobby. However, they soon discovered that the lobby was packed with huge crowds of people who hade to meet their idols. It was only then did Sophia learn that the Academy Awards ceremony had just concluded in Freistan. Lots of Cethosian celebrities had attended the ceremony, and many of them happened to be taking the flight back to Cethos on the same day. In other words, the airport was predestined to be a battlefield for the fanmunities! Chapter 229 Chapter 229 It was every celebrity¡¯s dream to get an invitation letter to the Academy Awards ceremony. After all, being qualified to walk on the red carpet at the Academy Awards ceremony was symbolic of one¡¯s status and standing in the entertainment industry. Endorsements for high-end products and the red carpets of prestigious awards ceremonies were battlefields for the celebrities to unt their standings in the entertainment industry! Therefore, Cethosian celebrities would do whatever they could to get an invitation letter to the Academy Awards ceremony in order to show off¡ªeven if it meant throwing money around to get invited as sponsors. Taylor and Harry had chosen the perfect timing for their return to Cethos, for the Cethosian celebrities who had attended the Academy Awards ceremony happened to being back around the same time. Because of that, Bayside International Airport became a battlefield for fans of different celebrities over these few days. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Before anyone had realized, viewerships and box offices had ceased to be significant benchmarks of a celebrity¡¯s public influence. Instead, a celebrity¡¯s poprity hade to be defined by how many likes and retweets he or she received, how frequently his or her name was searched on the Inte, and the number of fansing to meet him or her at the airport. As a result, some celebrities pretended to be popr by paying hired supporters to boost their online poprity; they even hired temporary actors to pose as fans who were there to meet them at the airport. Before entering the departure lobby, the admins of Taylor and Harry¡¯s fan groups¡ªwho were leading the crowd¡ªwarned everyone, ¡°There is no need to care about what others do. Just focus on what we¡¯re doing, and don¡¯te into conflict with fans of other celebrities. Many fans are hired on a part-time basis at 100 per day.¡± As they entered the departure lobby, Sophia felt as though she had opened the door to a world she had never seen before. The departure lobby was already filled with huge crowds of people; fans of different celebrities were packed like sardines, and some celebrities even had up to thousands of fansing to meet them at the airport! For the celebrities, this was a matter of face. Therefore, they had to spend a fortune to hire people to pose as their fans even if they didn¡¯t have so many followers in reality! Compared to the swarm of fans who came to meet their idols at the airport in the thousands, the mere 100 fans who came for Taylor and Harry were quite a sorry sight! There was barely any space for them in the lobby, so the two fan groups huddled together in a corner. Huddling in the corner, Sophia curiously watched how fans of other celebrities reacted upon meeting their idols at the airport. Just then, a celebrity emerged from the exit while being surrounded by seven or eight bodyguards. A large crowd of fans frenziedly rushed toward them at once, hemming them in and screaming hysterically; some of the fans even passed out as they were screaming. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but frown at the sight of the scene. Was this the so-called fandom subculture? These people weren¡¯t fans, but essentially a bunch of hungry ghosts who leaped at the sight of a glossy roasted duck as if they couldn¡¯t wait to devour it in one bite! The celebrity would have been stripped naked if it weren¡¯t for the bodyguards! Was Tay Tay treated like that every day? For some reason, Sophia couldn¡¯t help feeling sorry for the celebrities. The fan group¡¯s admins said to everyone, ¡°Don¡¯t behave like themter. When Taylor and Lord Winston come out, just spread the banner open and stand at both sides so that Taylor and Lord Winston can walk in the middle. Also, keep those fat and ugly attention-seekers out; keep them away from our idol!¡± Unfortunately, the flight Michael was on board had been dyed. He was supposed to arrive at 1 p.m., but he had not arrived even at 5 p.m. Fans of other celebrities had slowly left one after another, yet they were still waiting. To make matters worse, an idol named Nichs Yates seemed to be on the same flight as Michael, and his army of 500 fans had also been waiting at the departure lobby the whole time. Nichs was a celebrity who had only be famousst year. Presently at the height of his poprity, he starred in many TV dramas, and his expressionless face appeared on whichever TV channel one switched to nowadays; even those who didn¡¯t watch TV dramas would see him inmercials and advertisements. His acting skills were next to none since he looked just like himself no matter which character he yed. However, he was blessed with handsome looks typical of the heroes of romance novels, and the PR team behind him was incredible at attracting new fans. As a result, he was now acknowledged as a celebrity among the A-plus list. Not only that, his fans were also the most ferocious of them all. They had dissed all of their idol¡¯s rivals in the entertainment industry, including Taylor and Harry. In particr, it was because Nichs had often beenpared to Michael. Nichs had starred in two films, but theirbined box office sales failed to exceed 500,000,000. On the contrary, every film Michael starred in grossed at least 500,000,000 at the box office, including niche art-house films. Sophia had no idea what was there to bepared between the two celebrities, but Nichs¡¯s fans had been showing a tendency to pick fights with Michaeltely; that was because Nichs¡¯s team had seriously overestimated their abilities by acquiring the film rights to a particr novel that had been made into a film several years ago with Taylor ying the male lead. Furthermore, Nichs¡¯s fans often shamelessly chanted the slogan ¡®We can¡¯t live without Nicky.¡¯ Because of that, Nichs¡¯s fans and Michael¡¯s had been at odds with each other all the time, and Nichs¡¯s team continued to have the media write disparaging articles to vilify Michael. However, Michael wasn¡¯t involved in any scandals, nor did he have a stain on his reputation. Therefore, they could only find ws in Elizabeth, his mother. Besides that, they disparaged him for his so-called lack of poprity, though the truth was that he always maintained a low profile. Since Michael never appeared inmercials, they mocked him for never receiving any offers to appear in one. Also, they imed that he never appeared on variety shows because he was never invited to appear on them due to hisck of prominence in the entertainment industry. Michael took acting primarily as a sideline since it was one of his hobbies. He never cared about the vilifying rumors surrounding him, but his indifference only served to inte these people¡¯s arrogance. Nichs¡¯s fans were very overbearing; they took up more and more space, shoving Taylor and Harry¡¯s fans into a corner. They also dropped litter everywhere, and the space they upied was littered with trash. On the contrary, the space Sophia and the others had upied was impably clean, for the used instant noodle cups were all packed up and thrown into the garbage can. It was only natural for two fanmunities that were at odds with each other to get into a squabble when they were side by side with each other in real life. One of Nichs¡¯s fans approached Sophia and maliciously struck up a conversation with her. ¡°Our Nicky has juste back from the Academy Awards ceremony, and there are so many beautiful photos of him walking on the red carpet. Why wasn¡¯t Taylor and Lord Winston at the awards ceremony?¡± she asked. Sophia nced at the fangirl as if thetter was an idiot without answering her question. Our Taylor isn¡¯t interested in attending the Academy Awards ceremony. Is there any problem with that? she thought to herself. However, the fan was going to find ws in whatever she said, so she chose to bite her tongue instead. Seeing that she didn¡¯t respond, the fangirl started getting impatient. She said, ¡°Say something! I was asking you a question!¡± However, Sophia responded by lowering her head and fiddling with her cell phone instead of talking to the fangirl, infuriating thetter even further. She said, ¡°Why are you so rude? I¡¯m talking to you! Are Taylor and Harry¡¯s fans so ill-mannered?¡± Several other fangirls of Nichs came over as if premeditated before they each started speaking sarcastically in support of the first fangirl. One of them said, ¡°Their idol is a megastar who outssed most of the celebrities in show business. His fans are as aloof as their idol, so they must have disdained talking to us.¡± ¡°That recent film actually did so well at the box office despite being such absolute trash. Nobody is going to be deceived, though! God knows how much of its box office sales were faked!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to get an answer to your question. How could a male celebrity who¡¯s past his prime receive invitation letters? They certainly aren¡¯t going to talk about something so embarrassing!¡± ¡°Allow me to tell a joke¡ªthey are merely a bunch of fat and ugly attention-seekers praising two queers to the skies! Haha! Those two queers nevery eyes on them, yet this bunch of bumptious, fat, and ugly attention seekers show them excessive passion.¡± Chapter 230 Chapter 230 Harry and Taylor¡¯s fans were already ustomed to their sarcastic and offensive remarks, so they fiddled with their cell phones instead of paying them any attention. Taylor¡¯s films had grossed 5,000,000,000 in total at the box officest year, whereas thebined box office of Nichs¡¯s two films could scarcely reach one-tenth of it, so they didn¡¯t have to argue with Nichs¡¯s fans at all. An idol who overestimated himself after a short time of poprity like Nichs would only stay popr for another few years at most before slowly bing over-the-hill. God knew how many such idols had foolishly attempted to provoke Taylor over the years, so Taylor¡¯s fans were already ustomed to it. Sophia had been notified by the group admins beforehand, so she didn¡¯t give Nichs¡¯s fans any response to avoid attracting negative publicity for her Lord. No matter what Nichs¡¯s fans said, she simply wouldn¡¯t respond. Sophia dressed a little young for her age on this day, and she looked even more girlish with the angel wings and the pair of horns on her hoodie. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. It seemed that the fangirls across from her had attempted to pick a fight with her because of her particrly girlish and youthful appearance, which gave them the wrong impression that she must be quick-tempered and easy to bully. However, little did they know that Sophia would pay zero attention to them. Nichs¡¯s fans continued to demean Taylor and Harry sarcastically. However, Taylor and Harry¡¯s fans seemed to be unconcerned, for none of them answered back. Sophia ridiculed Nichs¡¯s fans in her mind while listening to their taunts. An invitation letter to the Academy Awards ceremony? Excuse me, my Lord is both the first Cethosian to win an Academy Award for Best Actor and a lifetime member of the Academy Awards¡¯ reviewmittee! He isn¡¯t offered to appear inmercials, variety shows and reality shows? Sorry, but Tay Tay is never short of money. A male celebrity who¡¯s past his prime? F*ck that! Tay Tay can single-handedly beat 100 sissy idols like that idol of yours! Verbal attacks could no longer produce any effect on Harry and Taylor¡¯s fans, but Nichs¡¯s fans wouldn¡¯t leave it at that. Their idol had done everything possible to get an invitation letter to the Academy Awards ceremony, but he only managed to sit in thest row at the ceremony and cadge a red-carpet walk while he was at it. Not only that, he was nearly chased away by the security personnel! Still, his presence at the Academy Awards ceremony could indeed maintain his poprity for some time. However, they needed to generate more news coverage, and the story of Taylor¡¯s fans bullying Nichs¡¯s fans would be a good idea! They would orchestrate the incident and have Nichs make a tearful appearance after that. He would tearfully apologize to Taylor on his fans¡¯ behalf and took all the me upon himself, passing himself off as a naive and innocent young celebrity who was isted from the rest of the entertainment industry. Everyone would subconsciously sympathize with the weak, and with some smear campaign, the entire incident would immediately be misrepresented as a case of bullying done by a senior in the entertainment industry against his fellow junior. Not only could they ride on Taylor¡¯s poprity, but they could also put him down by doing so. Nichs was managed by Glory Entertainment, which was coincidentally funded by the Harper Family. Sophia was hungry again since she had only eaten a cup of instant noodles. Had she known the flight would be dyed, she would have waited for Michael at home instead. She sat on the floor and was about to fall asleep when she suddenly felt a cool sensation on her head; as it turned out, one of Nichs¡¯s fangirls took her cap away. The fangirl put Sophia¡¯s cap on her own head to which the othersmented on her appearance, ¡°Why did you put on such a stupid hat? Hurry up and give it back!¡± ¡°Yeah, or you won¡¯t have a chance to escape when the fangirl blows her top!¡± ¡°This cap looks so stupid! The fans of a has-been are just different. Look at their taste in clothing!¡± Sophia lost her temper at once. She stood up and snatched her cap back, but the other party immediately started pushing and shoving her. ¡°What are you doing? All we did was borrow your cap for a while. Why are you getting physical?¡± ¡°What gives an over-the-hill male celebrity the gall to be so smug?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s so great of over-the-hill gay celebrities! Is everyone in your fanmunity homo? Yuck, that¡¯s so disgusting!¡± Not only did Nichs¡¯s fans snatch Sophia¡¯s cap, they also pulled at her wings. However, Sophia wasn¡¯t someone to be messed with either. With a forceful push, she shoved the fangirls who were pulling at her wings out of the way. Unfortunately, that push was enough to spark trouble. Nichs¡¯s fangirls immediately flopped onto the floor and screamed, ¡°Aaah! Someone is hitting people!¡± Other fangirls immediately gathered around Sophia. Michael¡¯s fans also stood up and attempted to move closer to look at what was happening, but the group admins immediately dissuaded them from doing so. Nichs¡¯s fangirls wanted them to lose control, so they must not get flustered right now! The two fan group¡¯s admins moved toward the crowd and, together with Sophia, were immediately surrounded by the army of 500 fans who red at them with hostile looks on their faces. The fangirl who had just fallen over after being shoved by Sophia was now crying her eyes out as if she had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Nichs¡¯s other fangirls grabbed Sophia and said with feigned indignation, ¡°We have been tolerating you guys for a very long time. Your idol bullied ours at every turn and offended half the entertainment industry¡ªeven his fans are so arrogant!¡± ¡°You guys have injured our people! See you at the police station!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll see you at the police station!¡± Amid the chaos, somebody scratched Sophia¡¯s arms many times, instantly resulting in a few scratches made by fingernails. Sophia would have fought back right away in the past, but if she did that right now, she would¡¯ve given Nichs¡¯s fangirls a handle against herself. That was also Harry and Taylor¡¯s fan groups¡¯ admins¡¯ biggest worries. They immediately came over and advised everyone, ¡°Calm down, everyone¡ªcalm down. Let us solve the problem amicably.¡± However, it was pretty obvious that Nichs¡¯s fangirls had no intention of solving things amicably; they were dead set on bullying Harry and Taylor¡¯s fans. Sophia was furious. Never had she thought that the fight between fanmunities could get so dirty! Nichs¡¯s fangirls had begun recording videos of the altercation, making them look as though they were even more justified if Sophia fought back. In a moment of desperation, she copied them and began putting on a pitiful look by squeezing out two drops of tears. Who doesn¡¯t know how to act? she thought to herself. VIPMeanwhile, the ne that had been dyed for several hours touched down and was now taxiing on the runway. In the VIP cabin, Michael switched on his cell phone, whereas Harry woke up from sleep, took off his blindfold, and yawned with sleepy eyes as he got ready to get off the ne. Many Cethosian celebrities who had attended the Academy Awards ceremony were on this flight as well. Luckily, Michael and Harry were seated in a separate cabin, or those seated in the first-ss cabin would obviously pester them to death. Whenever they showed up together, they would be bombarded with endless requests to have group photos taken. Because of that, they preferred the quiet environment of a separate cabin. It just so happened that Michael¡¯s private jet had been sent away for maintenance. Otherwise, their return trip wouldn¡¯t have been dyed for so many hours. My warm, soft, and adorable wife should have left her university by now, Michael thought to himself in anticipation. Gary, who had been apanying him on the trip, came over and reported, ¡°The passage has been cleared. Our car is parked in the parking lot, and its surroundings have been cleared of other people.¡± Michael nodded. Then, Gary added, ¡°Also, Hale called just now to inform that Madam has sneaked into the fan group who hase to meet you at the airport.¡± Michael was dumbstruck for a moment before he chuckled in resignation. His chica was really too adorable. He would obviously be at home, yet she sneaked into the fan group and spied on him furtively. Not only that, she didn¡¯t even dare to hand her love letter to him face-to-face! He instructed, ¡°Just let her be; she¡¯ll go home by herselfter when she doesn¡¯t see me. Tell Hale to keep a watchful eye on her and see if the Phantom Wolf¡¯s men are around.¡± However, Gary sounded a little hesitant. He continued, ¡°Hale said that Madam had shed with a petty idol¡¯s fans, who overwhelmed Madam with their numbers and even beat the tears out of her.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Chapter 231 Chapter 231 Suddenly, an announcement was broadcasted throughout the departure lobby. ¡°Flight XX from Turkovsky International Airport of Moscov to Bayside International Airport of Cethos has arrived. May those who are here to pick up the flight¡¯s passengers get ready.¡± Nichs¡¯s fangirls got excited at once. ¡°Nicky is here!¡± ¡°Hurry up,dies!¡± With that, they retreated like a falling tide, leaving behind pieces of trash that littered the floor. Only then did Taylor and Harry¡¯s fanse up and surrounded the aggrieved trio. They took turns to comfort the trio and said, ¡°Never mind¡ªwe¡¯re not going to demean ourselves by arguing with the likes of those idiots!¡± ¡°Just look at how these fat and ugly attention-seekers behave. What an ugly sight it is to see!¡± ¡°It¡¯s time to leave. Taylor and Lord Winston won¡¯t be here anyway, and we have at least achieved our purpose bying here. Let¡¯s go¡ªwe have been starving all day, so let¡¯s have dinner together!¡± Everyone knew that the two Prince Charmings would never show up, so they packed up their stuff and left. When they left, the space they had upied was as clean as when they had arrived hours ago. On the contrary, the space that Nichs¡¯s fangirls had upied looked just like a garbage dump. If the situation was reversed, Nichs¡¯s fangirls would have taken some snapshots and publicized this matter as widely as they could. However, Taylor, Harry and their talent agency Imperial Entertainment disdained to do so. After all, such behavior would only bring disgrace upon themselves. Knowing that their idols wouldn¡¯t be here, the fans were very disappointed, especially now that several members of their own had been bullied by the fans of their idols¡¯mon rival. Nevertheless, they comforted themselves and said, ¡°Our Lord Winston is a winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor, and he has his eye on the entire world!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. These idols are no match for Taylor and Lord Winston in terms of their standing in the entertainment industry!¡± Sophia was a little disappointed too. Not only that, she had ruined her makeup just now by squeezing out two drops of tears while trying to even the score. She turned around to look at the army of 500 fangirls who were surrounding Nichs. Some of them had been slow, so they could only stare at him from the edge of the crowd while shedding tears of excitement. They wanted to get closer to their idol, but thetter would nevery eyes on them with the hundreds of people blocking his view. Then, as she fell into a trance-like state, she thought she saw Michael being the one surrounded by the hundreds of people instead. Standing outside the human barricade formed by hundreds of fangirls, she couldn¡¯t catch a clear glimpse of him, and he was unable to see her too. It was painfully clear to her that this was the gap between her and Michael; she was merely somebody Michael had bought and brought home to look after Nathan. Even though they lived under the same roof and had their names listed together on their marriage certificate and household registry, they were still worlds apart from each other. She fixed her makeup as she walked, her head drooping, her cap snatched away, and her wings broken. The few scratches on her arms made her look all the more pitiful. Dragging one-half of her wings, she walked out together with the two fan groups who would be having dinner together since they were both exhausted this evening. As she hung her head, she inadvertently exposed the wedding ring she was wearing around her neck. A fangirl next to her spotted it at a nce and asked curiously, ¡°What a beautiful ring you have, Sirius! Is that a gift to you from your boyfriend?¡± Sophia nced at her wedding ring. Michael and I chose it together, she thought to herself while answering proudly, ¡°My husband bought this for me.¡± Upon hearing her words, everyone gathered around to look at her wedding ring with looks of amazement on their faces. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡± ¡°You look pretty young, yet you¡¯re married!¡± ¡°Is your husband supportive of you being a fangirl?¡± Is he supportive of me being a fangirl? Sophia asked herself before answering quickly, ¡°My husband doesn¡¯t even know that I¡¯m a fangirl.¡± Yeah, she didn¡¯t even dare to let Tay Tay know that she was a fan of him, for she found herself too unworthy of his attention. As soon as this subject was brought up, everyone began discussing among each other. ¡°My husband also likes Taylor very much¡ªin fact, everyone in my family likes him!¡± ¡°My goal is to get admitted to Bayside University and be one of Taylor¡¯s schoolmates. My parents are supportive of me being a fangirl!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not fangirling¡ªwe¡¯re just chasing after our true love!¡± The crowd talked andughed as they left the departure lobby. Suddenly, a fangirl caught up to them from behind and panted, ¡°Come back, everyone! Taylor and Lord Winston are here¡ªthey¡¯re at Exit No. 3!¡± The fans were silent for a moment; they were probably thrown into a momentary daze by the totally unexpected stroke of good luck. Would their idols actually show up at the departure lobby? No, they must be dreaming! Having realized what was happening, the two group admins immediately started giving instructions. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what we have agreed upon earlier! Take out our banner and light-up boards!¡± Everyone was stupefied since this was actually the first time they were meeting their idols in person at the airport. Flustered, they took out the stuff they had prepared and headed toward Exit No. 3 in a very orderly manner. Then, they stood outside the exit in two lines, creating a path while keeping out the excited onlookers who sprang up from nowhere. There were many reporters at the airport as well; upon hearing that Taylor and Harry were about to show up at the departure lobby, they immediately rushed over to take some photographs. Compared to Nichs, these two were the real megastars! Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. However, these two megastars rarely appeared in public, and many entertainment reporters had never seeded in taking pictures of them despite having joined the industry for several years. Because of that, the fact that these two megastars had also arrived at the airport was temporarily forgotten. This was the first time these two megastars had showed up publicly at the airport! The onlookers and reporters crowded around the exit like crazy, raising thousands of cell phones up in the air as they waited to capture this historic moment. There were also fans of other celebrities in the departure lobby. However, upon hearing that the two megastars were about to show up, they defected at once and ran to Exit No. 3 to look on. The army of 500 fangirls that Nichs was proud of instantly lost more than half of its members when they learned that Taylor and Harry were about to show up. The head of the fangirls yelled furiously, ¡°Come back, you b*stards! Do you guys still want your money?¡± However, nobody could hear her grumbles. The poprity and impact of real megastars were disyed vividly at this very moment! There were at least 2,000 onlookers at the scene¡ªunlike the two fan groups just now which merely consisted of less than 100 fans. Even security guards and airport police were deployed specifically to open up a special passage. Looking utterly confused, Sophia was still in a daze; she was only here thanks to the fangirls who had pushed her forward just now. Standing among the crowd of fans at this moment, she spread the banner open as the fangirls and fanboys formed two human barricades by standing on two sides of the path. Other onlookers and fans were kept out by the airport police and security guards. Miraculously, they didn¡¯t get chased away. Not only that, but the airport security guards even formed a stronger human barricade outside theirs! If they didn¡¯t do so, the 100 weak and delicate fangirls and fanboys would have been separated by other fierce fans long ago. Everyone in the two fan groups was close to tears; they would be the first to see their idols in person when they showed upter. After idolizing Harry and Taylor for so many years, they were going to meet the two of them in person at longst! Some of the crowd¡¯s emotions must have gotten into Sophia, for a kind of excitement that she had never felt before welled up within her despite the fact that she and Michael could have video calls and phone conversations every day. What was going on here? Sophia also had no idea. All the other celebrities had paled into insignificance before the two megastars even showed up. Amid the fans¡¯ passionate screams, the reporters¡¯ clicking of their cameras, and the airport security guards¡¯ barking voices, the two Prince Charmings finally showed up at Exit No. 3. Michael and Harry showed up under the escort of tens of bodyguards. They were dressed identically in ck suits and sunsses, though one of them was ck-haired while the other dyed his hair blonde. They waved to everyone the moment they showed up. In an instant, the atmosphere in the departure lobby was even more livelier than when any other had celebrity showed up. Sophia was stupefied. She thought to herself, They¡¯re really here¡­ Should I hide? Chapter 232 Chapter 232 It would be bad if Tay Tay saw her looking like this! Unfortunately, she could find nowhere to hide right now. Falsely believing that Michael wouldn¡¯t see her, she quickly concealed her face using the banner, revealing only a pair of bright eyes to peep at him. Stepping toward the crowd, Michael had a megastar¡¯s distinctive quality and charisma that no ordinary actor could match; one could sense his inborn nobility and charm even from several feet away. Wherever he went, he sent tremors through everyone¡¯s body like a gust of strong wind that ripped into their faces. As his figure kept erging in Sophia¡¯s pupils, his tall build and handsome looks were infinitely magnified until they captured her heart and soulpletely; it was as if all she could see was him. Suddenly, she was caught off guard by arge warm hand that rested on her head and even ruffled her hair gently, and her mind went nk at once. It wasn¡¯t until Michael had walked off into the distance that she finally came back to her senses. Michael had patted her head just now! She could still feel the soft and warm touch of his hand on the top of her head, but Michael was already a long distance away. The huge crowd of fans went after him and watched as their Prince Charming got into the car and rode off into the distance. After their idols had left, everyone in the two fan groups gathered together as they described what had happened just now with unparalleled excitement. ¡°Did you see that? Lord Winston patted my head just now!¡± ¡°Oh my gosh, Taylor just walked by in front of me! I was so excited; this is the first time I¡¯ve seen him in person!¡± Coming to her senses, Sophia scratched her head and listened to their conversation. She then realized that although many of the fans had gotten a pat on the head from Harry, she was the only person whom Michael had done that to. That was certainly because everyone else was wearing a cap while I didn¡¯t. He wouldn¡¯t have spotted me among so many people, thought Sophia as sheforted herself. The fans were considered to have their wishes fulfilled on this day since they had met their idols in person atst. After their idols had left, they discussed where to go for dinner. Meanwhile, Sophia just wanted to go home. She had barely taken a few steps when her cell phone vibrated as it received a text message from a contact named ¡®Lord.¡¯ The message read, ¡®Come back after having dinner with the fans.¡¯ Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Sophia¡¯s face blushed even more. He had spotted me¡­ She replied, ¡®Alright, hubby!¡¯ Then, she put down her cell phone, her feelingsplicated as blood rushed to her cheeks. Oh no, my fangirling has been discovered! How embarrassing will it be when I get home? It was already 10 p.m. when she finished having dinner and singing karaoke with the fan groups¡¯ members. Everyone was so overwhelmed with excitement on this day that they even had a few drinks. Likewise, Sophia¡¯s face kept flushing from having one ss of wine. When she came out, the sky was pitch-ck, and it was raining. Not only did she have a drink outside, but she also had fun until such a late hour. Michael would definitely be mad about this! Sophia stood at the karaoke lounge¡¯s entrance, her head drooping. Hale and Gemma, who hade with her, went somece else and couldn¡¯t be reached at that moment. Having enjoyed themselves on this day, everyone said goodbye to each other and went home one after another. Some of them went home by taxi, whereas several others had family members to pick them up. Some people had nobody to pick them up nor could they hail a taxi, so all they could do was to wait. Sophia stood on the street while waiting for Hale to pick her up. Since she had too much fun today, she ate only a little for dinner and was hungry again right now. Starving and freezing at the same time, she looked quite pitiful. She massaged her belly as both the snatched cap and the head pat her Lord had given her on this day still lingered in her mind. Suddenly, she received a phone call. At first, she thought that the call was from Hale, but the caller turned out to be someone she didn¡¯t quite expect. After a moment of pleasant surprise, she quickly answered the phone and said, ¡°Hello, hubby?¡± The low-pitched voiceing from the other end of the line was both charming and attractive. It said, ¡°I¡¯ming to pick you up; my car¡¯s license te number is B788X.¡± Panicked, Sophia hurriedly said, ¡°Hubby¡­¡± However, he had hung up before she could say anything else. At the same time, a seemingly ordinary Volkswagen pulled over at the karaoke lounge¡¯s entrance, and its license te number was B788X. The car stopped in the rain, and the man in the driver¡¯s seat was wearing a ck windbreaker, making him look as if he had blended into the darkness. Sophia could only see half of his stony face from her angle. Michael had actuallye to pick her up! Wouldn¡¯t it concern him that he would be unable to leave if his fans spotted him? Sophia hurriedly said goodbye to everyone else and opened the umbre as she got into the passenger seat. The car started moving as soon as she got into it. Michael didn¡¯t speak as he concentrated on driving, whereas Sophia didn¡¯t dare to speak as she sat in the passenger seat. She had no idea whether Michael¡¯s response to her being a fangirl was one of displeasure or approval. She wasn¡¯t a fangirl of anyone else, though¡­ Sophia was a little scared, for she feared that Michael might be angry. However, it was Michael who allowed her to have dinner with those from the fan groups in the first ce. Other idols would treat their fans to meals, but Michael, who was so aloof, did absolutely nothing. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing for her to treat them to a meal on his behalf, wasn¡¯t it? The restaurant where they ate dinner on this day was rtively expensive. Sophia had wanted to treat everyone to the dinner, but the group of fangirls and fanboys insisted on splitting the bill despite not having a lot of money. Therefore, she could only gang up with the waiter secretly and im the dinner to be half of its actual price while covering the other half of the price herself. Sophia fell asleep as she sat in the car. When the car parked into the garage, she woke up and rubbed her sleepy eyes; seeing that they had reached their home, she opened the car door and headed inside. Having locked the car, Michael grabbed Sophia¡¯s arm and saw the few visible scratches on it. Even though the injury wasn¡¯t serious, it must have been painful to be scratched with sharp fingernails. Sophia had always been good at holding grudges, for she would square ounts with those who wronged her in every detail. She even remembered the two instances where Ka had her leg broken and hit Ka exactly where Ka had hit her. It really wasn¡¯t her style to refrain from fighting back after being surrounded and bullied by a group of overzealous fans on this day. Hale merely watched from the distance when the incident happened since it wasn¡¯t appropriate for him to meddle in such situations. Michael had thought that Sophia would fight back, but to his surprise, she pretended to be meek the whole time without ever fighting back. She was aware at the time that she was representing not just herself but also Taylor¡¯s fans. Once she fought back, Nichs¡¯s fans would put all the me on Taylor. Ruffling her disheveled hair, Michael stared at her exhausted face and held back whatever he had wanted to say. ¡°Eat something and go to bed early after going home,¡± he said. Sophia yawned as she went home hand in hand with Michael. Miraculously, both of them didn¡¯t mention what had happened on this day. Once they were back at home, Michael entered his study to take care of his own business. As soon as he entered his study, he discovered that the room was stuffed with all kinds of little things made by his fans, including an oil painting as exquisite as a distinguished artist¡¯s masterpiece and an unsightly y sculpture. They looked both adorable and awkward, and so did Sophia on this day. He had spotted her among the crowd the instant he walked out of Exit No. 3. Not only did she have pink makeup, she was also dressed in pink with a pair of pink-colored wings. The way she looked at the time was simply indescribable. Gemma had even sneaked a few high-definition full-face photographs of her, which Michael had saved in secret and would look at when he had nothing to do. Sophia didn¡¯t want to trouble anyone, so she decided to have the chicken soup that she had made the day before for supper. However, when she opened the fridge, she discovered that the soup bowl had been washed clean. Nobody would have touched her chicken soup other than Nathan, but Nathan wouldn¡¯t have finished the soup so fast no matter how big his appetite was! Seeing that Sophia was searching through the fridge, Maria said, ¡°Oh, Madam, Boss drank up the soup when he came back today.¡± Chapter 233 Chapter 233 Maria had no idea why her boss knew there was a bowl of soup in the fridge; not only did he ask for the soup as soon as he came home, he didn¡¯t eat the eels as well. Sophia blushed with embarrassment, for she didn¡¯t expect Michael to drink up the chicken soup that she had made very carelessly. After all, her cooking wasn¡¯t as good as an experienced chef¡¯s. God knew what Michael would say about it! However, the fact that her Lord had actually eaten the food she made filled Sophia with some satisfaction. After eating something that she had found in the kitchen, she washed herself up and went to sleep. Nathan was already asleep when she reached home. Unlike Sophia, he was in no mood to be a fanboy. Sophia slept in the main bedroom that night, and the thought that she was about to sleep together with her Lord made her feel a little excited. She kept rolling in bed as her mind was preupied with the way Michael looked when he showed up at the airport on this day, especially his cold ck suit and cool sunsses. He looked enigmatic in his ck suit, and every corner of his face was so sharp and mysterious. He was really very handsome! However, he wouldn¡¯t be hers no matter how handsome he was, for she was too insignificantpared to the thousands of beauties in his harem! Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Sophia wanted to give her body and soul to him, yet she feared that she woulde to regret the decision. Why did she have to fall in love with Michael of all people? Not only did she have love rivals worldwide, but most of them were males! Sophia felt that she would definitelye to regret it, but on second thought, it would be a waste not to sleep with her Lord now that he had given her the opportunity¡­ Since she was exhausted during the day, it took only a while of indecision before she began feeling sleepy. Suddenly, the door opened, and Nathan sneaked inside and wormed his way under her nket. Despite being half asleep, Sophia subconsciously reached out her arms and hugged him before saying, ¡°Dear son, you¡¯re six years old already; you can¡¯t sleep together with me anymore.¡± Nathan burrowed himself into her arms and said, ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± When Michael finished taking care of his stuff and went back to his bedroom, he didn¡¯t see his pretty young wife waiting for him as expected, for Sophia had fallen asleep a long time ago. After all, it was time for her to take some rest after having worn herself out. Not only had she attended lectures in the morning, she also spent the entire afternoon waiting at the airport before having dinner and singing karaoke with a bunch of people that night. He red fiercely at Nathan¡ªwho was sharing a pillow with Sophia¡ªwith a look of displeasure. ¡°How many times have I said it already? Don¡¯t sleep with my wife!¡± Nathan clutched at Sophia¡¯s arm and refuted, ¡°So what? I want to sleep with your wife!¡± Then, he added with the back of his head facing Michael, ¡°I¡¯m a spoiled brat! A spoiled brat is fearless, so I¡¯m going to sleep with your wife just as I¡¯ve said.¡± Michael shook his head and smiled. What a bad temper this little brat had! He walked up and patted Nathan¡¯s head before saying softly, ¡°Alright, darling. It¡¯s Daddy¡¯s fault, okay?¡± Nathan answered in a muffled voice, ¡°No, it¡¯s not okay.¡± Michael ignored him. The fact that he was still talking to Michael meant that he wasn¡¯t mad at all, for he would have cold-shouldered Michael for about half a month if he was really mad. 9Fangirling was truly physically draining, for Sophia slept very soundly; it was already 9 a.m. by the time she woke up the next day. Shey on her bed and was dazed for a while before she suddenly turned to look at the rm clock at one side. To her horror, she found that this day was Friday, and she had lectures that morning! ¡°Holy sh*t, I¡¯m going to bete!¡± Sophia immediately got out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. After washing her face and brushing her teeth in a hurry, she applied some CC cream on her face before rushing downstairs. iPadMichael was eating breakfast in the dining room while watching the news on his iPad. Nathan, who was sitting next to him, was drinking some milk. Carrying her bag on her back, Sophia dashed into the dining room and picked up a piece of bread before dashing out while saying, ¡°I¡¯mte! We¡¯rete, Nate¡ª hurry up and let¡¯s go!¡± She dashed to the door and opened it to see that it was drizzling outside. As a gust of chilly air got into the house, she immediately had Maria find an umbre for her. Maria then ran up to her while holding an umbre, saying, ¡°Oh, Madam¡ªwhere are you going in such a hurry?¡± Sophia opened the umbre with the piece of bread in her mouth. She said, ¡°I¡¯m going to university; I¡¯ll bete for sses!¡± Maria tilted her head to one side and said, ¡°But today is Ancestors¡¯ Day, so all schools and universities in the country are closed for three days. Boss and Little Master are going to visit the cemetery!¡± Sophia was startled for a moment before it suddenly urred to her that it was Ancestors¡¯ Day, a day that came with a three-day public holiday. Having finished his breakfast just in time, Michael got himself fully dressed and walked to the door. ¡°Since you¡¯re ready, why don¡¯t we visit the cemetery together?¡± he asked. Sophia simply responded, ¡°Huh?¡± Following that, three cars set out from The Imperial. As the cold and ck cars burst through the silk-like curtains of rain, Sophia looked at the scenery outside through the car window. The old saying was indeed true that it would always drizzle thick and fast on Ancestors¡¯ Day. Too many people were paying homage at their ancestral graveyards on Ancestors¡¯ Day. Moreover, the road was slippery due to the rain, so they were stuck in a traffic jam after leaving the highway; it was already noon when they were finally out of town. The cars drove into the suburbs before heading toward the public cemetery. Michael was silent throughout the journey as he sat with his eyes closed the whole time, and the atmosphere was unusually heavy. The atmosphere would, of course, be heavy since they were going to visit the cemetery. Naturally, Michael would go to the Memorial Garden to visit the graves of his ancestors. The Fletcher Family had many members who died as martyrs, so there was a cemetery in the Memorial Garden where only the Fletchers¡¯ graves stood. The Memorial Garden would usually be crowded at this time since many memorial ceremonies would be held there for the martyrs. After they got out of the car, Michael led Sophia and Nathan through a special passage into the cemetery that belonged exclusively to the Fletchers. Once they were inside, Sophia immediately saw rows after rows of neatly arranged gravestones. As the scene of destion filled her eyes, feelings of sorrow surged up within her. Those buried here were all members of the Fletcher Family. Only a few members of the family could die a natural death since most of the Fletchers died a hero¡¯s death. Old Master Fletcher had led seven to eight male members of his extended family to join the revolutionaries back then. However, all of them had died on the battlefield one after another, leaving Old Master Fletcher as the only survivor, so he adopted their descendants. Every grave here had a deeply tragic and soul-stirring story behind them. Normally, nobody would have been allowed to enter this ce, but all the Fletchers would be here on every Ancestors¡¯ Day to give offerings to their ancestors. It was obvious that they had finished giving offerings to their ancestors and already left, for every grave had fruits and flowers ced in front of them. While everyone else was waiting outside the Memorial Garden at this moment, Michael led Sophia and Nathan into the Fletcher Family¡¯s cemetery. Therge cemetery was very quiet; the three of them were the only living creatures. Rain poured on the umbre, producing depressing sounds that made everything seem so heavy. Michael walked at the front while holding a ck umbre. His ck windbreaker was full of traces left by the rain, but he didn¡¯t seem to care about it as his ck sunsses concealed all his emotions. He walked amid the graves without saying a word before stopping in front of one of them. Then, hiding the gravestone from view with his umbre, he bent down andid down a bunch of pure white flowers in front of it. Even though these graves would always be well looked after, one could still tell that they had quite a bit of history. The gravestone that Michael had stopped in front of to pay his respects was carved with stories about the tomb owner¡¯s heroic deeds. The grave belonged to Theo Fletcher, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major General. Having sacrificed himself 28 years ago during a battle to secure the country¡¯s borders, he was the highest-ranking military officer among those killed during the battle. The gravestone had a photo of the tomb owner on it. The photo was of a strikingly handsome man dressed in military uniform, and he looked very much like Michael. He must be Michael¡¯s father, Sophia thought to herself. After visiting Theo¡¯s grave, Michael took another bunch of flowers from Sophia andid it down in front of the grave next to Theo¡¯s. The grave was a joint burial ground belonging to Celine Fletcher and Justin Mitchell. Chapter 234 Chapter 234 Pasted on the gravestone was a photo of two people. They were a married couple, and the wife was obviously Michael¡¯s sister, Celine; she looked a lot like Michael in the photo. Despite being a military queen who was both beautiful and mysterious, she actually had a cheerful and handsome smile. Standing next to her was a man dressed in military uniform, and he was unusually good-looking as well. No words could describe how well-matched and harmonious they looked. A brief ount of their lives was carved onto the gravestone. They were killed about six years ago during a counterterrorism operation when the terrorists detonated a bomb that killed tens of elite soldiers. Both Celine and Justin died on the spot, but Celine¡¯s remains couldn¡¯t be gathered, so a cenotaph was erected for her instead. They must be Nate¡¯s parents¡­ Sophia thought to herself. Sophia couldn¡¯t stop herself from clutching Nathan¡¯s hand, and the little boy stood expressionlessly under the umbre. Nheless, his round eyes had a look of sorrow that shouldn¡¯t have belonged to people of his age. Six years ago, Nate was only a few months¡¯ old at most, Sophia thought to herself. She looked everywhere but couldn¡¯t find Elizabeth¡¯s grave. This is the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral graveyard, yet Elizabeth isn¡¯t buried here¡­ As the rain slowly stopped, Sophia crouched down andid down some offerings in front of the two graves. Then, she and Nathan bowed to the graves one by one to pay their respects as per the Cethosian custom. Michael didn¡¯t stop them as he gave them his silent approval; the Fletchers usually gave military salutes to the graves of their deceased rtives. However, seeing how serious Sophia looked as she bowed to the graves of his father, sister, and brother-inw, he decided not to interrupt them. Michael stood steadily for a while in front of the graves of his father, sister, and brother-inw before he finally moved. He said with a heavy heart, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The sunless sky looked gloomy even in the afternoon. Unable to tell the emotions concealed behind Michael¡¯s big sunsses, Sophia silently got into the car after him and left the Memorial Garden. The family of three ate something in the car, but none of them spoke up. After they finished eating, the cars stopped near another public cemetery. Cemeteries near Bayside City were also divided ording to their prices. The rich could, of course, afford a more auspicious cemetery plot; some of them would even spend a fortune on an entire piece of land to use it as their ancestral graveyards. It was already afternoon, yet there were still lots of people visiting their families¡¯ graves at the cemetery. Even though the car had stopped, Michael didn¡¯t step out of it. Instead, he sat in the car and wound down the car window slightly before looking through the narrow crack at a tomb that stood at a distance away. The tomb was quite special; not only did it cover an area of more than ten square meters, it was also designed as a stage with the lissome and graceful statue of a female opera singer standing at its center. That was Elizabeth¡¯s tomb. Passing away 20 years ago, she had a simple funeral that had scarcely any visitors. Had Michael not admitted earlier that Elizabeth was his mother, not many people would have learned about her death. After all, 30 years had passed since she had reached the height of her poprity, so many people no longer knew about her nowadays. However, many people in the opera circle knew that she had passed away, and many of her fans used to lay flowers in front of her tomb on New Year¡¯s Day and other festivals. Looking at his mother¡¯s tomb from afar, Michael sat in the car just like that while being as silent and still as a stone sculpture. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. He then said to Nathan all of a sudden, ¡°Darling, could you go for a walk outside with your Mommy? I¡¯d like to be alone for a while.¡± Nathan didn¡¯t say a word as he got out of the car with Sophia. After they left, Michael took off his sunsses, revealing a pair of reddened eyes that were brimming with tears¡­ Sophia took a bunch of flowers with her when she got out of the car. Holding her umbre, she stepped toward Elizabeth¡¯s tomb and stood in front of her statue before looking up at the diva who had been popr throughout the entire Cethos and Asia 30 years ago. What an ill-fated beauty she is¡­ she thought to herself. When sheid down her flowers in front of Elizabeth¡¯s grave, she noticed that Elizabeth¡¯s tomb was already covered with lots of flowers. After putting down her flowers, Sophia held Nathan¡¯s hand and carefully led him up the stairs. When they reached the main road, they saw a small shop nearby and headed there since Nathan seemed hungry. There were quite a lot of people who came to visit the cemetery on this day, so they inadvertently bumped into somebody they knew. ¡°Sophia!¡± Hearing a pleasantly surprised voice calling her from behind, Sophia looked back and saw Richard, who seemed to be visiting the cemetery as well. Dressed in a ck suit, he looked very haggard while holding a bunch of flowers. ¡°Are you here to visit the cemetery as well?¡± he asked, puzzled. The cemetery plots here were priced at an average of 100,000 per square meter, so how could Sophia have a rtive buried here? Then, a sarcastic voice spoke from one side as it said, ¡°She¡¯s probably here to stage another meeting by chance.¡± The voice belonged to Mrs. Harper, who sat in a car parked at the roadside parking lot. She opened the car window a crack, revealing a well-maintained face that wore a resentful expression as she said, ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know that the Harper Family¡¯s ancestral graveyard is here?¡± Unlike her, Richard was pleasantly surprised upon hearing her words. He said, ¡°You¡¯re here to meet me, Sophia.¡± Sophia had no idea how to answer, though the coldly elegant ck windbreaker she was wearing masked her awkwardness with a veil of mystery. She frowned in displeasure, for Richard would keep clinging to her no matter what answer she gave him. Then, recalling that it would take only about 20 minutes to walk here from the Memorial Garden, she thought up a safe answer and said, ¡°I¡¯m here to visit the Fletcher Family¡¯s cemetery.¡± As expected, Richard¡¯s face went ghastly pale at the mention of the Fletcher Family. What a filthy b*tch, Mrs. Harper cursed inwardly as her expression changed slightly. Still, she had to admit that she was consumed with jealousy. What a good thing it was to be young, for even such a b*tch got epted by the Fletcher Family! However, her eyes were filled with smugness immediately afterward. So what if this b*tch got epted by the Fletchers? She still doesn¡¯t have the nerve to disobey my son; if my son tells her to head East, she won¡¯t dare to head West. Sophia sessfully froze Richard on the spot with a single sentence. No ordinary people could visit the Fletcher Family¡¯s cemetery at the Memorial Garden, for only the family¡¯s descendants could get in there. Was Joel the one who brought Sophia here? Yeah, that was entirely possible! Joel actually brought Sophia along to visit his family¡¯s cemetery, which meant that she had be more and more important to him! Wouldn¡¯t this mean that her words now carried more weight than before? It should be known that the Harpers were forbidden to bring women with them while visiting their family¡¯s ancestral graveyard. Even Mrs. Harper could only sit in the car and watch as the family¡¯s male descendants visited their ancestral graveyard, for women were strictly forbidden to get inside. And yet, Joel had actually brought Sophia with him while visiting his family¡¯s ancestral graveyard! Joel must love her very much¡ªhe was even willing to break the rules set by his ancestors by having a woman visit his family¡¯s cemetery with him! ted by the unexpected stroke of good luck, Richard grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and said in desperation, ¡°Sophia, I know that you¡¯re no longer who you used to be. Since Joel is willing to have you visit his family¡¯s cemetery with him, you must have a ce in his heart, and he will surely listen to whatever you say.¡± He nced at his surroundings before saying in a low voice, ¡°Ka made a little mistake and was caught by the Harper Family¡¯s enemies. She¡¯s in custody right now, but she¡¯ll be released at once if Joel can say something.¡± Sophia nced at him with incredulity. Did this idiot actually think that what Ka had done was merely something trivial? Only a dumb*ss like Ka would have hired the Phantom Wolf tounch a terrorist attack. Sophia was really amazed by how insensitive Ka was, for Phantom Wolf was an organization against humanity that shocked the entire world whenever it did something. Now that Ka had brought such huge trouble upon herself, even Joel wouldn¡¯t be able to speak for her. The Phantom Wolf¡¯s organization had existed for tens of years; not only did it have its eye on Cethos all the while, it had also made multiple attempts to create disturbances in the nation. Nobody knew how many Cethosian soldiers¡¯ lives had been sacrificed before the Cethosian army managed to fight Phantom Wolf off over and over again, not to mention the number of Fletchers who had died at Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands over the years¡ªit was simply uncountable. Many of the recent graves in the Fletcher Family¡¯s cemetery at Memorial Garden were the indirect result of Phantom Wolf¡¯s actions, including the grave of Michael¡¯s sister and brother-inw¡­ The Fletcher Family would even be considered kind enough for not finishing off the Harper Family over what Ka had done. Seeing that Sophia remained silent for a long time, Richard grew desperate. Pointing at arge cemetery plot at one side, he said, ¡°Do you see it, Sophia? This is the Harper Family¡¯s cemetery, and ten generations of my ancestors have beenid to rest here.¡± Sophia was puzzled. The fact that ten generations of Richard¡¯s ancestors were buried there was none of her business! Then, Richard hardened his heart and promised, ¡°If you help me this time, I promise you that you will be buried in the Harper Family¡¯s ancestral graveyard when you die!¡± Chapter 235 Chapter 235 Upon listening to his words, Sophia waspletely stunned. Even Nathan was looking at Richard in disbelief. Sophia sneered secretly; being buried in the Harper Family¡¯s ancestral grave after death? What a gift! Sophia felt like she should kneel down and thank the Lord! Sophia thought that she shouldn¡¯t be talking to Richard at all; to her, it was an insult. She turned around and said before she left, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have to hurry over.¡± With that, Sophia and Nathan walked away. However, Richard didn¡¯t want to let her go at all. At the moment, it had be impossible to help Ka out. They had thought of everything, going through every connection andwork they had. Yet, they still couldn¡¯t find a way. Richard thought about going to Sophia, but he was worried that she had already helped put in a good word for him several times in front of Joel. If she revealed it too much, she would fall out of Joel¡¯s favor and lose her value. Joel had actually taken Sophia to the Fletcher Family¡¯s grave; by the looks of it, she hadn¡¯t fallen out of his favor! Richard grabbed Sophia¡¯s arm tightly and begged, ¡°Sophia, you are Ka¡¯s only hope now. As long as you put in a word for Ka in front of Joel, she would definitely be rescued.¡± Trying to calm her anger, Sophia said politely, ¡°I am really sorry for Ka, but there¡¯s really nothing I can do!¡± Richard pleaded bitterly, almost kneeling down in front of her. ¡°I know that, Sophia. However, Ka is my only sister. Do you know how important she is to me? You are still ming me, right? You are angry that I got engaged with X, aren¡¯t you? That was because I had no other choice¡ªjust like you and Joel, I¡¯m sure you are unwilling too, right? I know you¡¯ll definitely understand me. I swear, you are the only person in my heart. X and I are only forced to be together.¡± Sophia clenched her fists harder in silence and sneered suddenly. ¡°I came with Joel. Aren¡¯t you afraid he will be mad if he sees you like this?¡± When Joel was mentioned, Richard was indeed worried, but he was certain Sophia was only trying to avoid him. Hence, he was not afraid at all. ¡°Sophia, I know you have slept with Joel, but I am still the one you love¡­¡± ¡°Ahem!¡± Suddenly, a snort was heard from behind Sophia. It was only then did Richard notice a man dressed in a full ck and formal suite standing on the wet asphalt road not far behind Sophia. In that moment, Richard¡¯s expression was as if he had seen a ghost! He was in utter panic and scared for his life! Sophia was startled as well. It can¡¯t be¡ªthat voice¡­ It sounds like Joels¡¯s¡­ It can¡¯t be, it can¡¯t be, it can¡¯t be¡­ The Fletchers had already finished tomb sweeping in the morning; that was why Michael deliberately chose toe in the afternoon to avoid them. It can¡¯t be¡­ It can¡¯t be¡­ Sophia turned around cautiously and saw two men in ck suits standing not far behind her. The ck attire made one of them look exceptionally young and eye-catching. With his crew cut hair that was slightly dampened from the rain, even when he was dressed in a formal suit, a sense of punk style emanated from him. Meanwhile, the other one looked extremely cold. His tall, built body was covered in a ck suit. The suit was tailored perfectly and the curves alleviated his dominance; every seam seemed to shout mystery, just like his expressionless face. Stanley! Joel! Sophia¡¯s heart dropped to the ground! When did they arrive? What did they hear? Hole¡ªis there a hole where I can hide my head?! ¡°G-General¡­¡± Sophia was so startled that she stuttered and couldn¡¯t utter a word. It was over; the secret between Richard and Sophia was exposed. No man would want to be a cuckold! Joel looked at Richard coldly and didn¡¯t speak, but the eyes were enough to scare him to death. Surprisingly, Stanley looked stern today. Dressed in a formal suit and pretending to look smart, he seemed to look more serious than usual. He spoke before Joel.Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hello, Sophia. You are so brave, huh? You¡¯ve slept with my uncle but you¡¯re still unafraid to hook up with your ex-boyfriend!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t speak, but her face was as red as a plum. Richard was suddenly speechless and puzzled. Stanley is actually Joel¡¯s nephew? Stanley Fletcher, Joel Fletcher¡­ He is actually one of the Fletchers! Richard waspletely shocked that his mind went nk for a moment. However, his first reaction was to protect himself. If he identally offended Joel, the Harper Family would be in danger! An idea came to mind as Richard suddenly said fiercely to Sophia, ¡°Sophia, I know you still love me, but I am engaged, so it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t see each other! Don¡¯t try to look for me anymore! I will not see you again!¡± With that, Richard nodded and bowed toward Joel. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, General. Miss Edwards and I used to be in a rtionship, but I am now engaged. I don¡¯t know why I met her here today; we were only catching up and nothing more.¡± In that case, it was all Sophia. She was the one who seduced him! Sophia, whose face was red earlier, had miraculously regained her normal skin colour as she sneered. ¡°Richard, you have no business here, so please leave.¡± Richard bowed to Joel respectfully. ¡°General, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I came with my mother to sweep the tomb.¡± Somehow, Joel was about to say something when suddenly, a sexy voice was heard. ¡°Wait for me, Joel!¡± Behind Joel came a woman dressed in a ck cloak with sunsses, walking across the road slowly. She was wearing a ck beret that covered more than half of her beautiful face, but still, her thin and perfect features were seen clearly along with her butterfly-shaped lips. The woman walked over with a smile. Then, she held onto Joel¡¯s arm naturally and nced toward Sophia and Richard in doubt as she asked confusingly, ¡°Joel, they are¡­¡± Sophia looked at the woman who was holding onto Joel¡¯s arm; he did not seem to refuse her either. Then, she knew that the woman was Joel¡¯s wife. It turned out that Joel was already married. The Fletchers were really low-key; they wouldn¡¯t put up a fanfare even if there was a marriage. Richard guessed the identity of the woman and said respectfully, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We are students from Bayside University. We only came to say a few words as we were happy to see the General.¡± Richard was betting that Joel wouldn¡¯t look for trouble; after all, Sophia was his mistress. Even more so, he was a soldier and would look bad if it was exposed. His actual wife was standing here, so he definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything else. As expected, Joel did not say anything else as he exined to the woman, ¡°I bumped into these students from Bayside University and was catching up with them.¡± Since Sophia and Nathan were here, could that mean Michael was here too? Elizabeth¡¯s tomb was nearby! However, there was a hidden darkness in Joel¡¯s eyes. Chapter 236 Chapter 236 The woman smiled. She looked exceptionally beautiful as she said gently, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re students from Bayside University¡ªnice to meet you! I am Irene Weber, and I graduated from Bayside University too! In that case, we are all alumni!¡± Sophia greeted her politely. ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Weber. My name is Sophia.¡± Irene Weber? The name sounded familiar. Irene Weber! Richard recognized her immediately. Irene was a famous military singer; she had be a huge figure in Cethos at such a young age. Every year, she would be invited to the Spring Festival G; she would be invited whenever the President hosted private concerts for international guests as well. Not only that, Irene appeared in most thematic dramas on Cethos Central Television, and she was also an honorary professor at Bayside Military Art School. It was rumored that Irene came from an extraordinary background. However, Richard didn¡¯t expect that she was actually Joel¡¯s woman. Only such a woman is worthy of the General! he thought to himself. Richard immediately nodded and bowed as he said, ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Weber. I am Richard, Harper Group¡¯s Deputy Director.¡± In a friendly manner, Irene smiled and replied freely, ¡°Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.¡± Richard knew that he shouldn¡¯t stay there any longer. He then said, ¡°I have some things to do. Goodbye, General. Goodbye, Miss Weber.¡± Joel nodded, but his eyes remained cold. Immediately turning around, Richard got into the car and left. It was after he had driven for a distance did Richard realize that his back was covered in cold sweat. It was such a close call earlier. If Joel found out about Sophia and I, not only would Sophia be dead, I will be affected as well. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Joel was already with Irene, and they were a perfect match at that. One was from the Fletchers, and one was a celebrity in Bayside City; one was the youngest General in Cethos, and one was a military singer with a military ranking. Regardless of their background, appearance, and age, they matched perfectly well. How could Sophiapete with someone as fine as Irene? The only thing Irene couldn¡¯t beat Sophia was her age, but that was not even worth mentioning. Irene would find out about Sophia sooner orter, and she would definitely think of a way to get rid of her. By then, Joel would definitely not want Sophia anymore. She was nothing but an orphan who had no background. Without Joel, she would definitelye crying to him and beg for his forgiveness by then! As they watched Richard¡¯s car drive away, Stanley could no longer hold himself back and burst out laughing, ¡°Hahahaha! Sophia, he wanted to bury you in his ancestral tomb! Are you scared?¡± Sophia was speechless. All of a sudden, her face turned red. Did they hear this too? Didn¡¯t it mean that they heard the rest of the conversation clearly?! Immediately, Sophia rified and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, General. He was annoying me; I initially wanted to use your name to scare him, but I didn¡¯t expect him to start talking nonsense¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Joel patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder tofort her. ¡°It¡¯s just a name; if it¡¯s useful, you¡¯re wee to use it anytime.¡± Sophia¡¯s face turned red again. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. At that moment, Joel caught sight of Nathan, who had been hiding behind Sophia the entire time. His expression rxed as he squatted down and waved toward Nathan. ¡°Nate,e to your Uncle!¡± Nathan didn¡¯t want to go over. He hid behind Sophia, unwilling to speak. Irene looked at Nathan curiously and asked, ¡°Who¡¯s kid is this? He¡¯s so adorable!¡± Isn¡¯t Irene Joel¡¯s wife? Why doesn¡¯t she know Nate? Sophia was confused. She nced toward Joel and Irene steadily and noticed that their expressions were slightly awkward; it seemed like they had stepped into a prohibited topic. Stanleyughed suddenly and said in a silly manner, ¡°Irene, Uncle Joel, let¡¯s go now. There will be traffic on our way back to the city!¡± The three of them left happily, although Irene said to Stanley unsatisfactorily, ¡°How rude¡ªI am your aunt!¡± ¡°Hehe, calling you Irene sounds better¡ªisn¡¯t that so, Uncle?¡± They were going toward the direction Sophia had juste from, so Sophia held Nathan¡¯s hand and followed behind. Nathan was really unhappy as he kept pulling Sophia, wanting to keep a distance and stay away from the three of them. Irene held on to Joel intimately and even leaned her head on his shoulder; she looked as if she was a little woman, and the two looked extremely in love. In that moment, Sophia only remembered Irene¡¯s identity. It was her! The one who always sings the military songs! She belongs in the literature and art industry¡ªa true artiste! Sophia was suddenly in awe. She can be found on Bayside University¡¯s alumni record! As Stanley¡¯s leg hadn¡¯t recovered fully, the umbre he was holding became his crutch. With the umbre in hand, he limped along but fell behind and walked along with Sophia eventually. Stanley ced a hand on Sophia¡¯s shoulder to support himself as he looked at the perfect couple in front and eximed earnestly. ¡°Tsk, tsk¡ªwhat a perfect match. When will we be able to be like them?!¡± Sophia replied, ¡°In our next life!¡± However, Stanley didn¡¯t seem to have noticed Sophia¡¯s sarcasm; he even pointed toward the hilltop of Memorial Garden and said, ¡°The Fletcher¡¯s ancestral graves are there. Do you want to be buried there?¡± Sophia looked toward the direction of Fletcher¡¯s ancestral cemetery in Memorial Garden where she had just visited not long ago. I¡¯m not sure if I can make it in¡­ Forget it¡ªit¡¯s not even up to me! Sophia helped Stanley as they walked slowly. Suddenly, Stanley seemed to think of something important. ¡°Oh no! Since Elizabeth¡¯s grave is here and you are here, that means Uncle Michael is here too! Sh*t, they¡¯re definitely going to bump into each other!¡± Sophia was puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Irene and Joel can¡¯t see Michael? Sophia wondered. Stanley hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°I will tell you, but you can¡¯t let anyone else know.¡± Sophia nodded and pricked up her ears to listen. ¡°Irene was Uncle Michael¡¯s first love; they grew up together. Back then, Uncle Michael and Irene were even engaged!¡± Michael¡¯s first love?! Engaged?! Sophia¡¯s mind went nk. It was as if her jealousy had created a wave in the sea and a tsunami swept across. Taylor seemed to have been engaged twice before; one of his fiancees seemed to have a military ranking, but the engagement was cancelled in the end. With a hand on her heart, Sophia tried to remind herself repeatedly that the engagement was cancelled. Since Irene was Sophia¡¯s first love rival, she was naturally slightly nervous; moreover, Irene seemed to have a good background. Stanley continued, ¡°Everyone had high hopes for them back then, but unfortunately, Irene had an ident soon after they got engaged!¡± ¡°What happened to her?¡± Sophia asked immediately. Stanley answered regretfully, ¡°Many years ago, when Irene was still with Uncle Michael, she somehow fell down from the stairs and was severely wounded. After she was sent to the hospital for an examination, it turned out that she had a brain injury and there was a blood clot. When she woke up, she had forgotten everything about Uncle Michael and hadn¡¯t remembered anything until today. Shortly before the ident, Nathan¡¯s parents had just gone into an ident as well; some said that Uncle Michael was destined to be the curse, so he took the initiative to cancel the engagement.¡± Chapter 237 Chapter 237 Sophia tried to analyze the situation from Stanley¡¯s words; Irene hadn¡¯t been able to remember Michael and got together with Joel. Irene couldn¡¯t remember Michael, but he could remember her! If Michael saw Joel and Irene together in a while, he would be so sad! Bing worried all of a sudden, Sophia quickened her pace forward; both Stanley and Nathan were anxious about their uncle and father as well. The three of them walked quickly and soon spotted Michael¡¯s car. However, Michael had already gotten out of the car; he was also wearing sses with a wide frame and a ck top hat that almost covered half of his face. Meanwhile, Irene and Joel were standing directly in front of him. They were holding hands, whereas Michael stood there alone. Sophia immediately quickened her pace and walked to his side, listening in to their conversation. Holding onto Joel, Irene looked at Michael and said with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you are Joel¡¯s younger brother, Mr. Taylor. I really didn¡¯t think of it! My apologies!¡± Michael¡¯s wide-framed sses were blocking his expression. His voice sounded indifferent as he said, ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± The atmosphere was harmonious, and nothing was off. However, Sophia was stunned. In that moment, Michael must¡¯ve felt really ufortable. Nothing was more cruel than saying ¡®nice to meet you¡¯ to someone he once loved¡ªor might even still love. Michael must be heartbroken now, but he pretended to be okay so he could save hisst bit of dignity. The entanglement between Michael, Joel, and Irene must be deeper than Sophia could ever imagine, and it was impossible for her to see through nor intervene. Sophia didn¡¯t know anything about Michael¡¯s past, and she had no idea what happened to him. In fact, she was always an outsider to him because he had never seemed to open his heart to her. But now, Sophia wanted to help him! She didn¡¯t want him to face it alone! Hence, she squeezed Nathan¡¯s little hand and whispered, ¡°Go to your father.¡± No longer being uncooperative, Nathan smiled sweetly and ran over like a butterfly, throwing himself into Michael¡¯s arms as he yelled loudly, ¡°Daddy!¡± Michael embraced Nathan¡ªwho hade running all of a sudden¡ªand noticed Sophia at a nce. Irene knitted her brows and asked Michael, ¡°Is he your son?¡± Looking at Nathan, Michael nodded and replied, ¡°Yes, he¡¯s my son.¡± Standing next to Michael, Sophia suddenly felt a warm embrace around her cold hand. Michael took her hand and openly said to the two of them, ¡°The Madam.¡± Michael didn¡¯t brush off the introduction by simply saying ¡®this is my wife¡¯. Instead, he introduced Sophia formally as ¡®The Madam.¡± At that moment, Sophia¡¯s mind went nk as she didn¡¯t know what to reply. Stanley¡¯s jaw dropped in shock as well, but he immediately understood the situation. Michael had no courage to face Irene, so he simply asked a random woman to pretend to be his woman! Stanley sighed to himself, Poor Uncle Michael! Irene was stunned for a moment, but she immediately came around and said with a smile, ¡°We have met earlier. She¡¯s very beautiful!¡± Still holding Sophia¡¯s hand, Michael lowered his head and looked at the girl beside him gently. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s very beautiful.¡± Sophia lowered her head as she was feeling shy. After the short conversation, the Fletchers left and Sophia got in the car. As the car moved, the family of three didn¡¯t speak at all; the atmosphere became dull. The sun came out at noon, but it started raining again in the afternoon. As the fine raindrops hit the window, Sophia looked out and gazed at the gloomy mountains and rivers; her eyelids had be droopy as well. Suddenly, a bumpy ride woke Sophia up. She opened her eyes and looked out of the window, realizing that there was nothing but deserted woods around them. What¡¯s going on? ording to the speed of the car, we should be back in the city and in the inner ring by now; why are we in the middle of some deserted woods? It was a bumpy journey as well. The roads changed from main roads into smaller ones, and they seemed to have not been repaired for a long time as it was full of holes, making it extremely bumpy. The rain stopped. Sophia opened the window and noticed that the car was moving toward the vige. Although it was getting further off the city, it was bing more familiar as well. This is t-the suburbs of Riverdale! Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. My hometown! ¡°Hubby, did we take the wrong way?¡± Sophia asked Michael immediately. Michael smiled in return and replied, ¡°No, we didn¡¯t. We¡¯re here to sweep your family¡¯s tomb.¡± While talking, the car stopped right outside the vige where Sophia used to live. Upon getting out of the car, Sophia couldn¡¯t believe everything that happened in the past. After so many years, she had actually returned to this ce! The vige had been demolished during the year of Sophia¡¯s high school entrance exam, but her uncle and aunt were not removed from the ce. Hence, they shifted the entire me onto her. She had just finished her exams at that time; not only did she receive first ce in her year, she was also epted into Riverdale High School. However, her uncle and aunt wanted her to get married in exchange for betrothal money. Furthermore, the man was a bachelor in his forties. Sophia was unwilling to give her life away to a bachelor in his forties, so she called the headmaster of Riverdale High School for help. The headmaster came to the vige to reason with her aunt, but after a big fight, Sophia waspletely chased out of the house. Since then, Sophia had never returned and didn¡¯t have the chance to sweep the tomb. Sophia didn¡¯t expect that Michael would actually remember this incident. Sophia had her mother¡¯s surname, but when she was born, her mother died. Later on, her maternal grandparents passed away too. Along with her mother, they were buried at the hilltop right outside of this vige. The car stopped at the bottom of the mountain, and the group walked up the mountain to look for the graves. After the spring rain, the mountain was bleak and the wind soughed. There was no one about the remote area; the vige was a kilometer away, and it seemed pretty deserted. Several graves were hidden among the cluttered weeds. The group of people went up the mountain. As the mountain was rugged, they changed into the rain boots they had prepared in advance and walked unsteadily up the mountain. Soon, Sophia found her grandparents¡¯ and her mother¡¯s graves. On top of her grandparents¡¯ grave, there were some traces indicating someone had cleaned the tomb together with the remnants of joss sticks and paper money, but they were all soaked in rain. On the other hand, no one had visited Sophia¡¯s mother¡¯s grave for a long time. ording to Sophia¡¯s family tradition, girls were not allowed to sweep the tomb, so it was always her uncles who came. Since they believed that Sophia¡¯s mother had died disgracefully, she was unworthy to be brought up after her death; they simply set up a gravestone for her and that was it. During the New Year celebrations, they didn¡¯t even pay their respects to her with the joss sticks and paper money. Michael took off his windbreaker. Only wearing a T-shirt, he picked up the equipment they brought and began clearing the weeds. After working the whole day, they finally cleaned out the graves. Two of the graves were next to each other; one was Sophia¡¯s grandparents¡¯ and the other one which looked older and damaged was her mother¡¯s. Under the sun and rain, the words on the gravestone had already blurred. After clearing out the graves, Sophia and Michael began arranging the joss sticks and paper money before paying their respects to the deceased. After burning the paper money, Michael took out a mat and was about to kowtow. Sophia stopped him immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ ¡° How can I possibly let him kneel down? The floor is so dirty! Chapter 238 Chapter 238 Michael looked at Sophia in doubt. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I saw you kneeling earlier today. Don¡¯t people from the vige kneel down when they pay respects to the dead?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t speak again; people in the vige had to kneel, but the Fletchers didn¡¯t seem to have the habit of doing that! With that, Michael didn¡¯t say another word as he kowtowed in front of the graves. Nathan immediately imitated him and did the same. The son-inw had already kneeled, so how could the daughter be exempted? Hence, Sophia proceeded to kneel down and kowtow. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. After they were done paying their respects, they put out the fire and went down the mountain. They got into the car and went back to the city. As the car moved slowly, Sophia learned against the door and looked out of the window, staring at the mountain and the cleared graves that were getting further and further away. She felt empty inside. Suddenly, Sophia felt a huge palm resting on her shoulder as Michael whispered to her, ¡°Stop looking. I wille back with you every year in the future, okay?¡± Looking at Michael, Sophia suddenly realized that he was even more handsome than before. Sophia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s very nice of you, hubby.¡± Sophia buried her face in Michael¡¯s shirt, and she could smell the grass from the mountain and the damped spring breeze. You¡¯re the best. How great would it be to call you mine forever! Two drops of tears rolled down, quietly seeping into Michael¡¯s shirt that was already dampened by the rain. Sophia knew that Michael wouldn¡¯t fall in love with her; he was nice to her because he was nice to everyone! Sophia also knew that the way she showed up determined the way she would be loved. Back then, she was sent to Michael by Daniel as if she was a pet. Michael had spent ten million to purchase her as a pet, so it had determined the way he would love her¡ªlike the love an owner had for a pet. She would be loved like a cat or a dog, but not a human. Clearly, Sophia knew about it all. She didn¡¯t dare to ask for his true love, but why? Why was he always so nice to her¡­ If Sophia really fell deeply in love with him one day but he no longer spoiled her, what was she going to do? Sophia had been bullied and betrayed before, so she wouldn¡¯t allow herself to fall for it the second time. Michael didn¡¯t seem to understand her true pain. He thought that Sophia simply missed her deceased family as he hugged and coaxed her. ¡°Alright, now¡ªno more crying.¡± He knew his little woman had been betrayed; to Sophia, a romantic rtionship was like a poisonous cake, tempting yet lethal. Therefore, she cautiously stayed away and kept a distance from him. Michael didn¡¯t want to force her. Instead, he would walk into her heart bit by bit. Sophia was a person, not a cat or a dog. When Michael bought her, he was ready to take full responsibility! It was already dark by the time they returned home. As soon as they got back, Michael went straight into his study and busied himself with his work. Nathan was extremely tired after walking around all day, so he rolled into bed directly and fell asleep. As for Sophia, sheid on the bed after taking a shower. A heavy day finally passed. Nothing could be heavier than visiting the cemetery. Sophia opened Messenger and noticed there were a lot of new messages. As Stanley had reced his profile picture with a photo of his husky, it stood out among the others. Stanley had sent a message to her which read, ¡®How¡¯s my Uncle? Is he alright?¡¯ Knowing what Stanley was asking about, Sophia thought that Michael had definitely felt ufortable when he saw his brother with his first love. ¡®He hasn¡¯te out from the study since we got home.¡¯ On the other hand, Stanley was ying his video games while sending Sophia an audio message. ¡®My Uncle seemed unhappy today. Don¡¯t disturb him¡ªlet him chill for a bit, and he¡¯ll be fine.¡¯ Stanley then added, ¡®Since he used you as an excuse today, don¡¯t think too much about it.¡¯ Sophia did not respond. Meanwhile, Stanley sent over another audio message. ¡®Hey, Sophia? Say something. Do you want to get into our family or not?¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡®That¡¯s none of your business.¡¯ Stanley responded, ¡®I know you have a crush on my uncle, but there¡¯s someone in his heart already¡ª don¡¯t think about my uncle anymore. On the bright side, you have me!¡¯ ¡®Ugh, I pass,¡¯ Sophia replied coldly. ¡®Come on, get on the game with me! It¡¯s been such a long day tomb sweeping. I feel gloomy. Let¡¯s y a game and rx a little!¡¯ Sophia did not reply, but her new character appeared in the game momentster, killing monsters vigorously. Harry was stirring up trouble in the game, but Stanley appeared with a beautiful young warrior. At first nce, Harry could tell it was Sophia because Stanley had once asked him to pretend to be the bad guy and seduce her. In reality, Stanley had wanted to introduce the true identity of Beast and Scary Phoenix, but she seemed to have gotten hooked in the game already. If she knew Michael was such a powerful character in the game as well, she would definitely get addicted. Moreover, Stanley had asked Beast to pretend to be the bad guy and seduce her, so he couldn¡¯t speak to him up until now. Sophia kept trailing off and falling into a daze. After two rounds, she started to wander away. Staring nkly at the game, she couldn¡¯t stop herself from going onto the Inte and searching for Irene¡¯s information. Irene was a legendary military queen, and she had a rank of a major specializing in military entertainment. She could be best described as a true artist since she had great singing and acting skills. Furthermore, her ys were all period dramas and thematic movies. Simr to Michael, she was a national treasured artist. She was often invited as guest performer and a dignitary to meet with international guests. Moreover, Irene was incredibly beautiful. With a pair of eyes that could speak, she had a free and easy personality like the women in the military and an outstanding temperament. Michael and Irene were literally a perfect match! Compared to Irene, Sophia realized she was only an ugly duckling. She didn¡¯t have anything that was better than her¡­. Sophia was looking at Irene¡¯s picture in a daze, and she didn¡¯t realize that someone was ambushing her in the game. Suddenly, a swordsman shed her from behind and a painful scream was heard from the game, which then shifted Sophia¡¯s attention back to the interface. How dare you attack me under broad daylight?! Sophia was about to return the attack with her sword! However, someone else was faster than her. A swordsman rushed out suddenly and killed the attacker. The attacker screamed and died. Sophia looked at the ID of the person who saved her. It wrote, ¡®No. 1 Beast of the Server.¡¯ Why did this person appear suddenly? Sophia messaged the person in private, ¡®Thanks.¡¯ Beast replied, ¡®I came to apologize for what happened two days ago.¡¯ After listening to Stanley¡¯s spew of nonsense two days ago, Beast went to trouble Sophia; when he found out about her identity, he felt guilty and wanted to apologize immediately so that she wouldn¡¯t hate him. Sophia replied, ¡®It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve forgotten about it already.¡¯ After a short conversation, the two didn¡¯t have anything else to say and remained silent. Sophia controlled her character as it wandered around; Stanley requested her to join him for a fight, but she was uninterested. Then, Sophia walked around aimlessly. Across the colorful world in the game, Sophia walked through the snow mountain grasnd and through thekes and viges. The world in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was beautifully designed; any background frame from it could be used as a wallpaper. Sophia stood by theke and gazed upon the blue waters silently. There were very few people nearby, but when Sophia turned around, she noticed that Beast was standing behind her; she had walked such a long way and he had actually followed. Chapter 239 Chapter 239 The two stood in silence. Sophia was ying with her keyboard boredly as she made her character in the game walk around in circles by theke. All the while, she was thinking about Irene, whom she had met earlier that day. Irene¡­ is literally like a magical bird in the sky. She is a magical bird, and I am only a wild chicken. To Michael, I am receable. I am probably someone he could get rid of anytime! Beast continued to stand by Sophia¡¯s side in silence as well. asionally, he would move a little to prove that he was still there. Beast finally asked, ¡®Unhappy?¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡®Yeah.¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s the matter?¡¯ Sophia poured herself a ss of milk. After finishing it off, she typed, ¡°I¡¯ve been tomb sweeping all day. I feel down.¡¯ After a few seconds, Beast replied, ¡®When you think about the fact that it¡¯s a holiday today, you won¡¯t feel down anymore.¡¯ Off screen, Sophiaughed out loud. If Beast knew that I was Sirius, who had killed him before, we¡¯ll see if he is still happy. Sophia replied, ¡®I went tomb sweeping with my husband today and met his first love; tell me if that wasn¡¯t heavy.¡¯ Harry rested his hand on the keyboard and watched as the beautiful young warrior typed out sentence by sentence. ¡®He¡¯s locked himself in the study ever since we came home.¡¯ ¡®His first love was really beautiful.¡¯ Harry had a rough idea of what had happened; no wonder Sophia wandered around for over an hour in the game. First love? Was Sophia talking about Irene? Back then, Irene and Michael were already engaged, and everything was progressing well. If everything had gone smoothly, Nathan would¡¯ve had a sibling of his age already. But ever since that ident¡­ Over these years, Michael never brought up Irene, but Harry knew it didn¡¯t mean that he had forgotten about her. If he still couldn¡¯t let go of her, why did he even bother bringing a young bride home? Suddenly, Harry felt sorry for her and replied, ¡®As a man, he would always remember his first love, but you are the only one in his heart.¡¯ Sophia shook her head. All of a sudden, she didn¡¯t feel like drinking milk anymore, so she took some red wine from the cer and poured herself a ss. It was a very fine wine, but when she drank it, it tasted extremely bitter. Wine is so bitter. Why do people still like to drink it? As the strong wine entered her throat, Sophia could feel a zing fire burning from her lips to her stomach as it prated into her heart. In an instant, she felt a pain in her heart; after the heat was gone, she became numb, unable to feel the pain anymore. Perhaps this was the advantage of having fine wine! After drinking the wine, Sophia¡¯s face became red all of a sudden. Taking advantage of the effect of alcohol, Sophia blurted out everything she¡¯d been suppressing to Beast as if he was a dumpster. ¡®Tell me, do men have a true heart?¡¯ Before Beast could reply, Sophia started talking to herself. ¡®How would men have a true heart?¡¯ When the wife of Sophia¡¯s father, Joe, was pregnant, he hooked up with the nanny who was hired to take care of the pregnant wife, getting her pregnant in the process. Joe didn¡¯t even care about the child that his nanny was carrying, which was his own flesh and blood. What a ¡®nice speech¡¯ Richard had back then when he said, ¡°I vow to love you forever, and I will never leave you unless the world falls apart.¡± In the end, he got together with the Huffs! Love? Hmph! Harry saw the words Sophia had sent to him. ¡®There is obviously someone else in his heart, but why is so nice to me? Is he not afraid that I might fall in love with him one day?¡¯ After thinking for a long time, Harry didn¡¯t know what to reply. When he finally figured out his lines, Sophia had already gone offline¡­ Sophia switched off theputer and gulped another mouthful of wine. Following the scorching heat was a burst of coldness and numbness, but shortly after the numbness, the heart wrenching feeling would strike again. Sophia curled up at one corner, drinking wine ss after another as she was trying to numb herself so she wouldn¡¯t feel the pain. She understood that Michael had simply bought her to take care of Nathan; all this while, there was someone else in his heart. Sophia was well aware that she shouldn¡¯t crave for anything, but why did she fall in love with someone she shouldn¡¯t uncontrobly? It was too painful to love Michael; he was too shiny, and he had too many people in his heart. In such a crowded space, Sophia couldn¡¯t fit in. The drunk Sophia felt her world being turned upside down. Suddenly, she had the urge and courage to talk to Michael. She wanted to leave him before she fell too deeply in love; she wanted to leave him for good! N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. However, Sophia was so drunk that she didn¡¯t have any energy. As she wobbled to the door but was unable to open it, she slouched on the floor by the door and watched the whole world spin around. Suddenly, she rushed toward her cupboard and found the love letter she had written for Michael a few days ago. As Sophia opened the love letter, she realized the letter she wrote for Michael had somehow changed in colour; the handwriting was different, and even the colour of the ink had changed. The first sentence on the love letter read, ¡®I am a light.¡¯ ¡®Haha. Love? What the f*ck!¡¯ Sophiaughed bitterly. She tore apart the letter fiercely and took two mouthfuls of wine before finding a comfortable ce to sleep. At that moment, Harry was in Vi No. 4. Although he rarely went back there, he hade back and stayed there only because he went tomb sweeping today. Sophia was already Michael¡¯s woman. But¡­ Just when he was hesitating with his phone in his hand, there was an iing call from Michael all of a sudden. After the call was connected, Michael sounded unusually down as he said, ¡°Harry, can you make a trip here?¡± Harry was stunned. Is this about Sophia? Regardless of what happened, he had to head over to take a look. Immediately, Harry rushed to Vi No. 8. Upon entering the study, he saw Michael and his group of subordinates; it seemed like they had met some troubles. Michael knitted his brows and said, ¡°Chica is in trouble.¡± He handed a postcard to Harry. On the front of the postcard was Michael¡¯spany¡¯s address beautifully written with a ball pen, and the recipient was Taylor. At the back of the postcard¡­ was Sophia¡¯s photo! It was a photo of her training in the military. Sophia squatted in the shade and tied up her shoces, revealing a red mark on her ankle¡ªa faint mark of a wolf¡¯s head. At the back of the postcard, there was a sentence beautifully written with a ball pen in a foreign language, ¡®My precious!¡¯ My precious! My precious! My babe! When Harry saw the words, he felt numb in his head. It was a famous movie line from the movie ¡®Lord Of The Rings.¡¯ In the movie, there was a powerful magic ring; the magic ring was so strong that it could mess with people¡¯s minds. When one obtained the magic ring, they would be a monster under the influence of its powers, demonstrating a crazy and fanatical desire to possess the ring. Furthermore, they often held the ring and said ¡®My precious¡¯ in an extremely obsessive tone. Chapter 240 Chapter 240 Upon recalling that obsessed tone, Harry had goosebumps. It was definitely impossible to search for the sender of the postcard, but they could basically conclude that it was sent by Phantom Wolf. The postcard delivered a dangerous message. Phantom Wolf had already found out the person who was on Salvador Ind was Sophia, and he would wait for an opportunity to kidnap her! Michael bumped into his ex-girlfriend when he went to pay his respects at the grave, which made him irritated and he was already feeling really down about it. He didn¡¯t expect that the moment he got home, he would be receiving even heavier news. In fact, when he thought that there might be someone hiding around a corner, spying on his wife, his scalp crawled. Michael was not afraid if it was a snatch and run; he was more worried that Sophia was marked. Harry stayed back and discussed with Michael until it was midnight. The underground world of Bayside City was Harry¡¯s territory, so if Phantom Wolf showed up, he would get informed immediately. At midnight, Harry was leaving, but before he left, he nced toward Sophia¡¯s room. It was already two o¡¯clock in the morning when Michael finished working. After a quick wash up, he entered the room. Upon opening the door, the smell of alcohol wafted up his nose. When he turned on the light, he noticed that Sophia was hugging an empty wine bottle and sleeping in the cupboard. She even tore apart the love letter he wrote for her. What¡¯s with this situation? Michael walked over to Sophia and stroked her little face. She was sleeping soundly and her eyes were tightly shut. He counted the empty bottles. There were three of them, and they were all very strong and fine red wine. We were only visiting the graves. She wouldn¡¯t have needed to drink so much, right? Michael carried Sophia and put her on the bed. After tucking her into the nket, he threw away the bottles and cleaned up the shredded love letter. Even if you¡¯re drunk, you shouldn¡¯t tear the love letter! Michael had actually spent all day writing it, word by word. He had written in every romantic word he knew! The next day, Sophia woke up to a hangover in the afternoon. Her head was still dizzy, but she noticed that the room had been cleaned up. She sat on the bed and thought for a long time before she could finally recall everythingst night, and she seemed to have torn up the love letter Michael wrote to her. She opened the cupboard and searched for where she hid the letter, but it was gone. The love letter was gone, and she felt slightly empty; that letter was actually handwritten by Michael after all. Sophia went downstairs and saw Michael and Nathan chatting in the living room. When Michael saw Sophiaing down, he immediately greeted her. ¡°Chica,e over here.¡± Sophia went over in a daze and she noticed that Nathan seemed to be angry. Michael grabbed Sophia and said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell Nate? Isn¡¯t five hundred enough?¡± Then, he turned to Nathan and said to him, ¡°I haven¡¯tined and you want a raise? Don¡¯t even think about it! Hmph!¡± Michael¡¯s tone was arrogant. Nathan held the five hundred in his hand and pouted unhappily. In the end, Michael patted his head and said, ¡°Son, five hundred a month is sufficient already. When I was your age, I didn¡¯t even have five hundred!¡± Nathan didn¡¯t speak because he was still mad. He held the five hundred bills in hand and looked extremely unsatisfied. Although he didn¡¯t usually spend a lot, why did he only get five hundred? It was barely a fraction of what Sophia was getting! Since Michael brought up the topic, Sophia suddenly remembered it was time to get her allowance again, so she turned to stare at Michael. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Michael took out his cell phone and said generously, ¡°Chica, I shall give you an extra million of allowance this month.¡± Sophia bowed. ¡°Thank you, Hubby!¡± Michael habitually transferred the money to Sophia. After a short while, Sophia received a huge sum of money. Nathan was even more unhappy as he pouted. Michael exined, ¡°You mom is an avid fangirl of a celebrity, and that requires a lot of money, so Daddy is giving Mommy more allowance. You don¡¯t even follow a celebrity, so why would you need so much allowance?¡± This excuse was¡­ wless. Nathan, who was still a naive child, had no way to argue against it, but the problem was that the celebrity Sophia was following was obviously Michael himself. Sophia was extremely embarrassed as she didn¡¯t expect Michael to send her ¡®Fangirling Funds¡¯. Oh, my idol, why are you so nice to me? The happiest thing in the whole world is probably using my idol¡¯s money and spending it on my idol. It was probably because Sophia received money from her idol, so all of a sudden, she came out of her own misery, and she felt that her life was once again beautiful. It seemed like the only thing that could solve depression was to get rich instantly. In the afternoon, Michael went out to handle something and Sophia was ying video games at home. Her team was already Aseanos¡¯ champion. In the finals, they had topete with famous teams from all over the world, and that would be a tough battle. Sophia, who was focused on ying her video game, didn¡¯t remember that she had lost the first love letter in her life. Then, Sophia and her team battled all afternoon. It was only until dinner time that they stopped and continued with their own activities. In the game, Snow Fox said, ¡®Brothers, it¡¯s a holiday, so please take a good rest. I am going out for a date with my girlfriend.¡¯ Everyone was dismissed. Sophia just exited the game when she received a text message from Stanley that read, ¡®Sophia,e y at the militarypound!¡¯ Sophia didn¡¯t want to go, so she ignored him. After a while, there was a call from an unknown number. When she answered the call, she heard an old but energetic voice. ¡°Hello, is it Sophia? I am the old man in the militarypound who used to y chess with you!¡± It was actually the old man? Sophia went to y chess with him several times, and she would defeat him every time. ¡°Hello, Sir! How are you?¡± The old man said, ¡°Aye, it¡¯s been several days since you came to y chess with me! I kinda miss you. Come here after dinner today! I will wait for you, alright? It¡¯s decided. I will ask Stan to go pick you up!¡± Beep¡­ The call was cut-off. During dinner, Stanley was walking the dog at The Imperial, and he was limping as he walked. Since Stanley had limped all the way there to pick her up, Sophia could only agree to go with him. Fortunately, the militarypound was not too far away from the house. It was only about two to three bus stops away. Sophia treated it as a walk after dinner and took Nathan with her to the militarypound to y chess with the old man in the evening. Perhaps it was because a strong opponent showed up, for the old man¡¯s chess skills had improved a lot. The two were on par, and the gamested for almost two hours. However, the old man¡¯s skills were actually that of an amateur. Everytime he was about to lose, his face would flush in anger. Sophia was worried that he wouldn¡¯t be able to ept the reality of his loss, so to prevent him from fainting and foaming at the mouth out of anger, she purposely took it easy on him. She didn¡¯t force him to the edge all at once, which was why the game dragged on. Michael returned home, only to realize that Sophia had gone to the militarypound, and he immediately knew that it was the old man¡¯s idea. He must have wanted to have a grandchild so much. However, Michael was not worried. That brat, Stanley, was still a little too amateurish if he was thinking of stealing Sophia from Michael; he had full confidence that he would be able to secure a woman¡¯s heart. The one thing that Michael was worried about though was that she might bump into some bad people if she went to the militarypound¡­ Chapter 241 Chapter 241 The sky had turned dark as Sophia was ying chess at the militarypound. It was already nine o¡¯clock when the old man was finally convinced. He let Sophia go and agreed for another game on the next day. After the game, the old man instructed Stanley, ¡°Stan, it¡¯s dark now. Quickly, send them home!¡± Stanley was happy to take the order. The three walked out of the militarypound, with Stanley limping all the way. Stanley was actively trying to get close to Sophia and thought of various topics to talk about. ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s your decision? Are you getting into our family¡¯s ancestral grave or not?¡± ¡°Are youing to see me at mypetition or not?¡± ¡°I am going to Deutsche to look for the world¡¯s best keyboard manufacturer to customize two keyboards. Do you want one? I can find the best designer to design one for you!¡± Sophia maintained her usual cold attitude and replied curtly, ¡°No, thanks. I don¡¯t feel like going, and I don¡¯t need it.¡± As they walked to thepound gate, they saw a car stopped at the door. Joel and Irene were getting out of the car. They seemed to have juste home from a date, and they were dressed formally. The man was really handsome and the woman was really beautiful; they were a perfect match. Irene was holding a bouquet of roses whichplemented her delicate features. However, Joel had a straight face as usual. His expression was constantly frosty regardless of his emotions, happy or sad. Upon seeing Joel and Irene, Stanley greeted them affectionately. ¡°Hey! Uncle, Irene! I thought you went dating? Why are you home so soon?¡± Irene covered her mouth and smiled. Her delicate skin was extremely smooth and wless, while the healthy glow on herplexion only added to her beauty. ¡°We¡¯re an old couple now. What do you mean dating? We only went out for a meal and came back afterward.¡± Joel did not speak as he walked forward. Sophia greeted them. ¡°Good evening, General, Mrs. Fletcher!¡± Joel nodded at Sophia. Irene tilted her head and smiled. ¡°Mrs. Fletcher? You are the wife of Joel¡¯s brother, so you should just call me Irene.¡± Sophia listened to her and said, ¡°Good evening, Irene.¡± After a short greeting, the two parties left in different directions. Irene held on to Joel, who looked solemn all the way, as if he was unhappy. The two walked along the militarypound under the dim yellow lights that were dotted with the shadows of the leaves, feeling the humid and slightly cold air. Irene walked with Joel happily with her hand on his arm. Suddenly, she brought up a topic. ¡°Joel, we¡¯ve been together for almost six years now. When are we getting married?¡± Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Six years ago, many things had happened, like Michael¡¯s sister, Celine¡¯s death, and Irene losing her memory of Michael after her ident, then getting together with Joel. Six years went by in the blink of an eye. Time flew by indeed. Joel, Michael and Irene were all about the same age, so they went to the same sses since young. Irene looked as if she was only in her twenties, all fresh and young, but she was actually already in her thirties. She was even a few months older than Joel. During the six years they were together, Joel had never brought up the word marriage. Irene was getting anxious. She thought it was about time they should get married. Again, Joel avoided the topic as usual. ¡°Grandpa¡¯s hundred-year-old birthday ising soon, and I have to think about what present I should get him.¡± Irene¡¯s eyes were filled with disappointment, but her expression remained normal as she shifted the topic naturally. ¡°Grandpa is a hundred years old already? It¡¯s been a long time since the Fletchers have such a lively celebration. Every one of the Fletchers must being back then!¡± Sophia left the militarypound and walked home. Along the way, Stanley mentioned Irene. ¡°Irene¡¯s grandfather was my grandfather¡¯s bodyguard. Her parents passed away when she was really young, so she was an orphan. It was my grandfather who adopted her and she grew up together with all the children of the Fletcher Family. Irene and Uncle Michael were childhood sweethearts, and they were together from the very beginning. Grandpa was very supportive of them being together, but after Irene¡¯s ident, she had forgotten about Uncle Michael. Uncle Joel and Irene had been together for many years then, but they never got married. I bet Uncle Joel must be very sorry for Uncle Michael. After all¡­¡± Stanley couldn¡¯t continue. Then again, who was to me for the ident back then? No one would have known about it. The fact that Irene couldn¡¯t remember Michael was putting her in pain as well. During that period, it was Joel who constantly took care of her, so the two naturally got together. Sophia remained silent. She¡¯s Michael¡¯s childhood sweetheart¡­ The destion on Sophia¡¯s face was undisguisable; even Stanley, who was insensitive, could tell that. So, he said regretfully, ¡°Sophia, I know you have a crush on my uncle. Who doesn¡¯t? Even I have a crush on him! But you must be realistic. Will my uncle, the great Lord worshipped by everyone, love someone like you? Irene is still in my uncle¡¯s heart. You see; he is already married, but why didn¡¯t he introduce the wife to the family? It¡¯s probably because he couldn¡¯t face Irene.¡± Sophia felt even more distressed. So, was the reason why he hadn¡¯t introduced her to the Fletchers because there was someone he loved in the family? Stanley restrained from attacking her any further, but he continued to persuade her. ¡°You must look further into the future. If you pursue my uncle, you will have a billion rivals, but if you pursue me, I promise I will get rid of all the rivals for you in advance! Alright, stop looking as if you¡¯re at someone¡¯s deathbed. You look worse than when we went to the grave.¡± Stanley apanied Sophia to the gate of the neighborhood and went home himself. Sophia held Nathan¡¯s hand and walked into the neighborhood. When she reached the small pavilion at the roadside, she sat down and said to Nathan, ¡°Son, you go home by yourself first. Let me be alone for a while here.¡± Nathan left, and Sophia was alone. She sat by the roadside and stared nkly at nothing. Her mind was full of Irene¡¯s images and the words Stanley had just said. Was that the reason they broke up? So Michael still has Irene in his heart? When she thought about it, she realized that she was a world¡¯s differencepared to Irene. Irene was so beautiful, and the way she smiled was so good-looking. Her smile was so pure and clean that it was impossible to tell that she was actually the same age as Michael. As Sophia sat there alone, letting her thoughts run wild, a voice that sounded curious was suddenly heard above her. ¡°Sophia?¡± She looked up and saw Quinton, who was in his sports attire. His white sport shoes were squeaky clean, and sweat covered his fair skin; he seemed to be in the middle of jogging. ¡°Professor rk, why are you here?¡± Quinton trotted over as he wiped off his sweat with a towel and said breathlessly, ¡°I recently moved here and I jog every night. What about you? Do you live here too?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I am Nathan¡¯s personal tutor, so I live in his house.¡± Having understood the situation, Quinton sat down beside her and drank some water. He looked at Sophia¡¯s sad face and smiled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What made you unhappy? Let me guess¡ªit¡¯s a break up?¡± His smile was very cheerful, one that injected some warmth within Sophia herself. Is this considered a break up? If an unrequited love can be broken, then it¡¯s probably true. Thus, Sophia nodded honestly. Chapter 242 Chapter 242 Quinton shook his head and tried to advise her. ¡°No wonder you have been avoiding my sses.¡± Sophia looked down in embarrassment. She had been busy fangirling and training for the esports tournament, so it was unavoidable for her to miss the sses, especially Quinton¡¯s sses. She had missed more than half of the sses because it was easy to get someone to rece her. Quinton never had ack of students in his sses; it was always overcrowded. He patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°I¡¯ve seen many young girls with your case. If there¡¯s anything bothering you, you can tell me. I¡¯ll see if I can help.¡± Sophia sighed and hesitated as she asked, ¡°Professor, will men always think about their first love?¡± Quinton thought for a moment, and he exined his thoughts in a professional and experienced manner. ¡°From a woman¡¯s perspective, their first love might not always be the best experience, and their ex-boyfriends are mostly disgusting, but from a man¡¯s perspective, that might not be the case. To them, their first love would always have a ce in their heart. Generally speaking, those are beautiful memories, so it would be hard for most men to forget.¡± Sophia was even more saddened. ¡°Is that so?¡± Furthermore, Irene had only lost her memory. What if, like in the movies, Irene would one day suddenly remember Michael? Michael would probably not hesitate to get back with her. Quinton patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Life is like a meal, and a rtionship is one of the side dishes. With this dish, your meal will taste really good, but it is impossible to eat only the side dish to get full, so in the end, the main dish is the thing that is going to fill your stomach. That main dish is your career. A romantic rtionship is not the only thing in your life. Without that, you still have many other wonderful things. You can go shopping, watch movies, travel and explore the whole world. Then, when youe back, you¡¯ll have realized having a romantic rtionship might not be as important as you imagined. Putting aside your phone and the games that you y, there are many other wonderful things in life as long as you open your eyes. If it really doesn¡¯t work, then go travel and look around. You¡¯d then realize your whole life is different.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The two then exchanged their contacts on Messenger. After separating, they went home. Along the way back, Sophia realized she had no time to worry over her rtionship as she still had a lot to do. Firstly, she had to win the Esports World Championship and score that five credits, which would allow her to make a big step forward in her school¡¯s ranking, so she would be one step closer to getting the national schrship. Bayside University was full of smart schrs, so in order to stand out and graduate sessfully, Sophia had to work harder. After graduating from Bayside University, she wanted to pursue her Masters and Doctorate degrees. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. While studying, training the body was a must too, so Sophia could not miss Gwen¡¯s sses. Even if she had no money, she couldn¡¯t always rely on Michael to give her allowances, so she had to invest in real estate and stocks. When she stopped to think of it, Sophia felt for every minute she spent feeling hurt over Michael, she was actually wasting sixty seconds of her precious time, so she decided to go home and memorize one hundred foreignnguage words. Since she had already passed the intermediate level courses, the advanced courses awaited her next. However, she never expected that she would see Nathan and Michael rushing toward her when she turned the corner. ¡°Chica, where have you been?¡± Michael walked over anxiously. Seeing that Sophia was all safe, he was relieved. Earlier, when Nathan ran home and dragged him over without saying a word, Michael thought something had happened to Sophia. Sophia smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I was only tired, so I wanted to take a rest.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Michael was suspicious, but he couldn¡¯t tell if there was anything wrong from the looks of Sophia¡¯s face, even though Nathan had mentioned that she was very sad. But Sophia clearly doesn¡¯t not look sad at all. Could it be that she met someone that made her unhappy at the militarypound¡­ Michael¡¯s eyes darkened at that thought. Following that, the family of three went back home, whereupon Sophia seemed to be no different from before. After dinner, she went to the study and finished her homework. After that, she yed the video game for a while. During the game, Sophia was heard calling Gwen that she was going to the gym on the next day. Nothing seemed to be different, but Michael couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something was off, so he asked Nathan, and as expected, she bumped into Irene. While Sophia was still battling on her game, Nathan, who just showered, sneaked into the master bedroom¡¯s bed and put his green frog pillow in between two red duck pillows. He even dragged his frog- print nket onto the bed as hey down covered nicely, purposely sleeping in the middle of the bed. After Michael finished showering, he came into the room while wiping his hair with a towel, then he noticed Nathan at first nce. With a tut, Michael removed bills worth five hundred from his pocket and told Nathan, ¡°Come on, son. Here¡¯s five hundred. Go sleep in your own room.¡± Nathan ignored him. He didn¡¯t want the money, for he was deeply hurt by Michael, so he wanted to retaliate against him no matter the cost he would have to shoulder. He wanted to make sure that no new sister would appear in their family within this one year. There was nothing else Michael could do, so he let Nathan be. After he dried his hair, he went on one side of the bed, reading with the night light on. Nathan did not speak, and soon, he was asleep. When he turned over, he lifted his nket a little. Michael put down his book and tucked Nathan in nicely. He couldn¡¯t help but stroke Nathan¡¯s little nose. All these years, because Michael had to consolidate his career, he had to travel a lot. He raised Nathan in a manor and gave him the best living conditions, but the boy had not been particrly close with Michael. Michael tried really hard to be a good father, but things didn¡¯t seem to turn out the way he expected¡­ He didn¡¯t want Nathan to walk down the same path as he did. At a young age, Michael¡¯s parents passed away and he was adopted by Old Master Fletcher. He grew up along with other children of the Fletcher Family and learnt things together. At seven years old, he already started to train with the team, and he imposed military standards upon himself. Old Master Fletcher really adored him and his sister. His favorite son was Michael¡¯s father, Theo, and Old Master Fletcher intended to raise them into bing the next generation of Theo. However, Michael and his sister were orphans, and their mother¡¯s identity was disdained by the Fletchers. On top of that, Old Master Fletcher¡¯s adoration for them and their excellence in everything they did made them a thorn in the eyes of other children of the same age. Whenever Old Master Fletcher was not around, the children would boycott the siblings and leave them out of everything; they would even bully the two from time to time. Michael was very sensitive to these types of situations from a young age. He knew why those people would do that to him and his sister, but because Old Master Fletcher was getting older, he didn¡¯t want to add on to his grandfather¡¯s burden by letting him know about it, so they had been suffering in silence. The children in the Fletcher Family normally went straight to military school or became a soldier. Back then, Michael was in the military since he was young. In the military school, the siblings¡¯ performance was really good, so the rest of course, got pretty jealous. The more outstanding they were, the worse they were treated. With those old memories in his mind, the look in Michael¡¯s eyes suddenly turned frosty. Chapter 243 Chapter 243 Michael chose to retreat in the face of the bullying he encountered and gave up the opportunity for a promotion. Despite Old Master Fletcher¡¯s strong objection, he became a soldier who specialized in entertainment and gave the opportunity to her sister. Celine was a woman, and the Fletchers usually looked down on women. They thought women were incapable of doing something great, so Michael was the only one they feared. For the sake of his sister, Michael gave up gradually and in the end, he gave up his military ranking and left the Fletcher Family. He began to work in the performing arts, which was one of the lowliest jobs in the eyes of the Fletchers, and he became a joke to them. Michael had given all of his opportunities to his sister, and Celine indeed did not let him down. She was continuously promoted and unsurprisingly, she would be the Fletcher Family¡¯s most outstanding leader among her generation. She was even the woman with the highest military rank in the family. Celine¡¯s husband, Justin Mitchell, had gained Old Master Fletcher¡¯s recognition. When Nathan was born, Old Master Fletcher personally came to give Nathan his name. Celine¡¯s achievements were beyond the reach of anyone from the Fletchers of her age. Unfortunately, Michael lost everything overnight. Celine and her husband, Justin were dead, while the woman he loved the most became someone else¡¯s girlfriend. Michael was frustrated and hopeless, but when he was handed a newborn baby to him, he immediately forced himself to suppress his tears. Looking at the face that resembled Celine¡¯s appearance, Michael suddenly realized he didn¡¯t lose everything, for he still had Nathan. When Old Master Fletcher found out his granddaughter and grandson-inw were dead, he fainted and was sent to the hospital with his life in danger. Afterward, he wanted to adopt Nathan, but was encountered with Michael¡¯s strong objection. Without any hesitation to break the rtionship between them, Michael forcibly took Nathan away from the Fletchers. He wanted to take him under his wing to prevent anyone from the Fletcher and Mitchell Family from hurting him. He wouldn¡¯t allow Nathan to be the second Michael. All these years, Michael didn¡¯t marry, nor did he date anyone; there had been no women around him for a long time, all for the sake of Nathan. He was afraid that Nathan would be bullied when he wasn¡¯t paying attention; the kid was still young and naive after all. Michael feared that Nathan would be just like when he was young, choosing to keep everything to himself, so he would not allow that to happen! On the other side, at the militarypound, Stanley sneaked to themissary and got himself a pack of cigarettes, then he hid in the bushes to smoke. If he was seen by his brother or parents, he would be dead. The teachings in the Fletcher Family were really strict; they were allowed no smoking, no drinking, no romantic rtionships, and they had to keep a low profile when going out so that no scandal would happen upon any of their family members. So, Stanley had to do it covertly when he wanted to smoke. After he was done, he bumped into Irene on his way back. ¡°Irene, why are you here?¡± Stanley asked curiously. Immediately, Irene could smell the smoke as she knitted her brows and said, ¡°Stanley, are you smoking again?¡± Stanley giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t tell my brother. He will kill me.¡± But when Stanley saw Irene kept on frowning, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Irene, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Irene forced a smile. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I am fine.¡± The more she said she was fine, the more Stanley knew there was something going on with her. He asked again, but Irene wouldn¡¯t tell. Instead, she asked in return, ¡°Stan, I heard you are pursuing a girl recently? Her name is Sophia? Isn¡¯t she your uncle¡¯s wife already?¡± Stanley was ruthless and reckless. On top of that, he had a big mouth; he would dare to say anything. ¡°What? She is not Uncle Michael¡¯s wife. Uncle Michael will nevery an eye on such a young girl. She is a university student who has a poor background and my uncle is supporting her financially. She is also an orphan and an alumni as well. Because she has no one to rely on, my uncle asked her to take care of Nathan and stay with him.¡± These were all information Stanley got from Hale, who knew Stanley would definitely spread rumors, so he came out with a perfect excuse to tell him. Stanley added, ¡°Everyone said my uncle is married, but he didn¡¯t want to reveal it. In truth, he hasn¡¯t even gotten married!¡± Upon hearing the exnation, Irene¡¯s expression remained neutral as she said, ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Along the way home, Irene was deep in her thoughts. Six years had passed, and Joel, who used to pursue her fiercely in the beginning was giving her less attention now. Until now, he had no ns to get married to her. However, Michael was no longer the despised actor the Fletchers were embarrassed of six years ago. Currently, Michael¡¯s status was that of a national treasure. There were only two people who received the Academy Award for Best Actor in Cethos. He was even able to make it to the list of the world¡¯s most influential artists. The voices of the opposition within the family were getting lesser and more people were beginning to suggest disclosing Michael¡¯s identity¡­ At Bayside University, Sophia was getting very busy. She signed up for manypetitions at one go, such as the debatepetition, chess tournament, and even financial literacypetition. There were many different skills under the category of financial literacy, and Sophia had selected the cash-countingpetition. Cash-counting was one of the key skills to be mastered in the financial profession, and it was also an importantpetition in the university. Sophia was very intrigued by thispetition and bought a bundle of practice notes to practice at home. These practice notes were specially used for practicing, for texture and color were simr to real cash. Sophia was obsessed with practicing. asionally, when she had some free time, she would y video games. Therefore, she didn¡¯t have the time to y with Nathan, which made him moody. Although Michael happened to be free and stayed at home all day, Nathan didn¡¯t like to y with Michael. Nathan looked at Sophia, who was practicing cash-counting in the study, then he dashed downstairs to the living room and looked for Michael, who was watching the television. Soon, Michael would be going into his filming set again, so he spent these few days at home, putting on face masks while watching the television. While he was filming abroad, he had gotten tanned, and since he was about to film a movie about city life, he had to get his original skin color back quickly. While Michael had a face mask on, Nathan dashed to him to report to him, ¡°Mommy is counting fake cash in the study.¡± Michael removed the face mask patiently and said, ¡°Don¡¯t disturb your mom. She is practicing.¡± All these while, Michael was paying attention to Sophia. He purposely emptied a study room for her so she could study there. He would know immediately if there was a new award certificate in the room. He also knew about thepetition she participated in recently, for example, the cash-countingpetition. He had been silently paying attention to her. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Michael and Nathan were watching the television together when Michael suddenly thought of something and made a phone call to Hale. Meanwhile, Sophia was still practicing. She had to take it seriously, for the practice would be equivalent to counting real money. The one who counted the fastest and most urately would be the champion. Money-counting sounded like an easy task, but if she took it to the professional level, it would be different than normal cash-counting. The School of Business Administration even had a ss specialized in cash-counting. Sophia had learned about seven to eight types of cash-counting skills, as she thought she would try harder to earn another certificate. When Michael came in, Sophia was in the middle of counting her stack of ¡®fake money¡¯. Carrying a box, Michael ced it in front of Sophia and opened it. There were stacks of real cash in it. Michael said, ¡°What¡¯s the good in counting fake money? Count the real money.¡± Sophia looked at the stacks of real cash, then she nced at Michael, speechless. She simply failed to comprehend the world of the rich. Chapter 244 Chapter 244 A momentter, the sound of cash-counting was heard in the study. Counting real money was indeed different than counting the fake ones; not only did the texture felt better, but most importantly, it was enjoyable. Michael wandered around the study and looked around. There weren¡¯t many things in Sophia¡¯s study¡ªa desk, a bookshelf, and a bed. Sometimes, she would sleep in the study if she got too tired after studying. Books were arranged on the bookshelf. Every page of the books was filled with written notes and sticky notes. On the notes were some vocabries, her short-term goals, financial forms and so on. There was also a small nt on the bookshelf, and beside the nt was a photo frame that contained a photo of Sophia and Michael. Michael picked it up and looked at the two smiling people in the photo, then he smiled. Sophia noticed that Michael was looking at their photo. Quietly moving her butt, she quickly took the cell phone on the desk and shoved it in her pocket. It was because her phone¡¯s wallpaper was Michael¡¯s photo. It would be so embarrassing if he saw it. After Michael was done exploring her bookshelf, he shifted his attention to theputer on the desk. Sophia was shocked because herputer¡¯s background wallpaper was Michael¡¯s photo as well! Theputer¡¯s specifications were too good and Sophia didn¡¯t have a password, so within three seconds, the background wallpaper was disyed on the screen. It was a high-resolution picture of Michael in his swim wear. The picture was taken when Michael was filming by the beach back then. He was half naked, showcasing his strong and well-defined muscles, looking extremely energetic. It was as if his pheromones were emanating from the screen itself. Immediately, Sophia sprang up and blocked the screen with her butt and stood in between theputer and Michael. Michael already knew he was the person in the wallpaper. He never filmed in scenes that involved full nudity. Baring his torso was close to the maximum that he could tolerate, so the one with swim wear was probably his limit. Michael pretended to not see clearly and purposely asked, ¡°The person on yourputer wallpaper looks familiar.¡± Sophia blushed violently. ¡°It¡¯s a video game wallpaper!¡± She took the opportunity to close the screen and attempted to initiate another topic. ¡°Erm¡­ The voting for the celebrity ranking of ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ has begun. Hubby, don¡¯t you need to canvass for votes?¡± The ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ celebrity ranking was initiated by several most influential mediapanies in Cethos. The ranking had been around for over ten years, and it was also considered as the ranking for the best celebrities in Cethos. The top ten would represent the best of Cethos¡¯s entertainment industry. So, celebrities from different agencies would try their best to make it to the list. A few years ago, Michael and Harry were always the ones dominating the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯, but with the advancements of the Inte, there was a rise of interest toward young male and female talents, so the ranking had been upied by those popstars thatcked true acting skills. For someone with good acting skills like Michael, who didn¡¯t rely on canvassing, his ranking had already dropped to number four or five. It had been stable for several years, but it seemed as though his fame was diminishing. Michael lowered his head and looked at Sophia, whose face had be extremely red and her eyes were darting around. He then said on purpose, ¡°Oh, the ranking? I have been dominating it for many years, so it¡¯s fine. I have to give the youngsters some opportunities.¡± At the same time, he looked toward herputer intentionally. ¡°I see the wallpaper on yourputer doesn¡¯t seem like a screenshot from a game at all. It looks like a man without any clothes on.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°No, no. It really is a wallpaper from the game!¡± She tried desperately to switch the topic. ¡°Your ranking has dropped so much that you¡¯re almost being pushed out of the top ten. On the list of ¡®Best Male Actors¡¯, you¡¯re constantly being surpassed by Nichs Yates. His public rtions team was spreading news everywhere of you bullying the juniors with your identity as a senior member of the industry, and that you¡¯re allowing your fans to bully their fans.¡± When Sophia brought up the topic, she felt disgusted. Nichs¡¯s fans actually took advantage of the incident at the airport and made it into an article. Just as expected, the video at the airport was revealed. It was a clip of Sophia being bullied by more than a hundred of Nichs¡¯s aggressive fans. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. The sound of the video was removed. After it was hyped, there was a heated discussion on the Inte as expected. A crowd of onlookers who had no clue of the truth started discussing aggressively, and all of them were saying that Taylor¡¯s fans were being bullied by Nichs¡¯s fans. Then, Nichs held a special press conference to apologize for the incident and he even cried pitifully. Nichs apologized on behalf of his fans to Taylor and his fans, looking extremely pitiful as if he was being forced to do so. At the same time, Nichs began spreading rumors online, saying that there was another side to the incident, and it was Taylor¡¯s fans who started the bullying, whereas Nichs¡¯s fans took action only because they could not bear it anymore. The video was cut out intentionally to create a false impression of arge number of people bullying a smaller number of people, and this person with an ulterior motive who had done this was definitely an outdated male star who was unhappy to let the younger generation to surpass him. Compared to Taylor, Nichs was still new, so naturally, he was quick to apologize first, even if his fans were aggrieved. He had to apologize for the sake of his fans because Taylor was an Academy Award Best Actor, and he was also the tycoon of the entertainment industry, so Nichs couldn¡¯t afford to offend him! Regarding this matter, Michael¡¯spany did not release anything, and Michael himself did not respond to this too. His Twitter was managed by someone from thepany, and they usually posted some of his on set photos about once every two weeks. The earnings from Michael¡¯s acting was far less than his investments in real estate and his investments in mobile games. Last year alone, the profit from mobile games and real estates were several tens of billions, whereas he only received around several billion for producing one movie a year. Therefore, Michael had always been pretty aloof in the entertainment industry because he was only casually participating in it, even though the ticket sales for each of his movies were ridiculously high. The fact that he didn¡¯t respond to the incident created a false impression of him to the public, and a group of fans who came out of nowhere began insulting Taylor, calling him a movie tyrant of poor character and a senior in the industry who was holding grudges against new talents. Major entertainment bloggers began to expose dirty materials of the outdated male star, Taylor. Since Taylor never responded to these news, they be more daring and unscrupulous. usations such as bullying the new talents, being a kept man of a rich woman, having a messy private life, and being involved in gay rtionships were abound. He was also used of not wanting to attend events or any reality shows and advertisements all because of his poor character, which made him end up offending half of the entertainment industry. Furthermore, he was also rumored to be boycotted because he had messed around with the daughter of a high-ranking officer. Sophia mentioned everything indignantly, and from her angry look, she really wanted to hit those netizens. However, the main subject, Michael, smiled faintly instead. ¡°Don¡¯t bother about them. We just have to work hard and improve everyday.¡± He stopped teasing her, then he stroked her head and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Focus on practicing your cash-counting and rest earlier.¡± Michael instructed Maria to bring Sophia a ss of chocte milk. Then, he went out and Sophia was left alone so she could focus on her practice. Sophia practiced alone, and she only stopped when her hands were getting cramps. She kept the money in her bag and got ready for bed. Before going to bed, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but take out her phone to check what those nasty people were doing again. As soon as Sophia clicked into the group, she noticed that there was an explosive discussion on this day, and the fans who were usually quiet were all voicing their opinions. ¡®This has gone too far! Taylor has always been keeping a low profile when he is filming. What do you people mean that he offended someone? What boycott? What do you mean him having a messy private life?! Bullsh*t!¡¯ ¡®And this cheap excuse of an actress called Bethany, how dare you throw insults against Taylor after having gotten some fame for yourself because of him?!¡¯ Chapter 245 Chapter 245 As expected, a new situation had arisen on this day. A new actress who had recently risen to poprity, Bethany Nicole, suddenly eximed about life on Twitter, saying that many years ago, when she entered the industry, she was filming with a senior member she admired. It was supposed to be something very exciting, but she didn¡¯t expect that during a kissing scene, the person maliciously tongue kissed her and touched her butt. The person was a senior member and she was only a neer, so she was afraid to speak up. Now, she was finally brave enough to say it, but she didn¡¯t name the person. The moment it was posted, it was retweeted over a hundred thousand times. Because Bethany was very popr at the moment, and she was one of the top celebrities, this matter received a lot of attention and created a heated discussion. The spearhead was directed toward the ¡®movie tyrant¡¯¡ªTaylor! Someone dug out the movie that Bethany and Taylor filmed together years ago. The photos on set were posted and on top of that, the false testimony from the crew members were added, and it became solid evidence. Bethany did not reply to theizens¡¯ spections, and she let them imagine as they liked, which was equivalent to a silent approval from her. A group of Bethany¡¯s fans went to Michael¡¯s Twitter ount and started scolding him. Sophia really wanted to scold someone by now. Bethany was promoting her new movie, so she was probably doing this because she desperately wanted to boost her poprity. Tay Tay had never filmed any kissing scenes or bed scenes; even if there was a need, it was all done by substitutes or by filming from a suggestive angle, so where did Bethany find the courage to use Tay Tay for molesting her? For someone whose whole body was injected with Botox, who had no acting skills and could only live by the television sector, was she even worthy enough for Taylor to molest her? She was just a poor excuse of an actress with a total ticket sales for her movies that weren¡¯t even higher than that of Nichs! Theizens had gone mad, but Michael¡¯spany and himself didn¡¯t seem to have given any reaction to it; even his good friend Harry, did not say anything and feigned ignorance together. Obviously, Michael couldn¡¯t be bothered about these rumors as he was the unknown boss behind the scenes of Bayside City, the man in charge of Asco International. He got involved in acting only because he needed to prove to the outsiders that he had a legitimate job, and was not a jobless person. As for the rumors, hepletely ignored them disdainfully. Michael was like the king of all beasts; he didn¡¯t need to reach his paws personally to catch the ignorant nice jumping around before him. These were all promotional tactics from the otherpanies, so after the waves of outburst had died down, things would be fine. Michael always had a guaranteed amount of ticket sales, as he was the apple of the eyes of most people in Cethos, and a role model for most in that industry. He had built a strong foundation for himself for more than ten years, and those with celebrities who only had the looks but without the skills had been reced many times. Although Michael was not anxious, Sophia was. Furthermore, it was around the voting period for the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯, and Michael¡¯s ranking had been dropping. Soon, his name would be pushed out of the top ten, so she was getting really anxious! This year¡¯s ranking was particrly intense, as the top ten were all neers with huge followings. Although thebined box office of all the top ten was not even a fifth of Michael¡¯s box office, they had a huge fan following and the rankings were changing every day. Harry and Michael were pushed out of the top ten. There were two important rankings¡ªthe ¡®Most Popr Male Artist¡¯ and the ¡®Most Popr Artist¡¯. Both were consistently dominated by Harry and Michael, and their fans were extremely harmonious. The two idols took turns each year to receive the title, but this year, they were being pushed out of the top ten! How could these people do this? Michael¡¯s fans were all sensible, but the rivals were attacking aggressively this time by ndering him to the extreme. Michael did not respond and his agency ignored it as well, so the rivals grew even more aggressive, and they didn¡¯t bother to save Michael hisst bit of dignity at all. However, Michael didn¡¯t seem to be anxious, as he stayed at home everyday, putting on his facial mask, and spent all his free time in the study doing something that Sophia didn¡¯t even know. The rumors on the Inte did not bother him at all, even though his fans almost went into a fight for him. It was really exasperating for the onlookers to watch Michael acting in a leisurely manner. The top ten artists were all from the Glory Entertainment Agency, and thepany did not have many skilled artists. Most of them were young and pretty-looking neers with no talents¡ªtheir acting was atrocious. They frequently acquainted themselves with the already popr stars and started new gossip. As the gossiping was usually hyped, something insignificant would often end up making the headlines. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Thepany¡¯s biggest shareholder was the Harper Real Estates, and it was heard that Richard took over the task of managing Glory Entertainment early this year, which was why he rarely went to ss. In the entertainment industry, the rivals always plotted against each other; it was normal to hear backstabbing stories. For the many movies Michael starred in all these years, the moment his movies were released, they would always dominate the box office, and people would get envious over the resources he received. International and local blockbuster film agencies were all looking to work with him. People were jealous of him in the industry. Normally, it was hard to tell, but now that an agency had begun the sabotaging, the rest quickly joined, and the moment the incident between Nichs Yates and Bethany Nicole came out, many artists who appeared out of nowhere were also starting to sabotage Michael. These people were indeed way beyond despicable! Soon, Michael would be heading to the set to film an urban romantic drama. He had two days to film his cameo appearance. The director was his good friend, and he agreed with it many years ago, so he couldn¡¯t backpedal. The female lead in the drama was Bethany. After this set, there would be another movie set. Michael would be the rival of the male lead, while Bethany would be the second lead female actress, so he had to see her inevitably. At the moment, the fans were moring to change the cast, wanting to drive Michael out of the entertainment industry so that Nichs could rece him, but Michael remained unresponsive. Although Sophia knew well that no matter how these fans mored on the Inte, they were incapable of threatening Michael¡¯s ce in the industry. Sophia saw ament in the fanpage that read, ¡®On what rights do you stand to nder the idol that I hold dear the most?¡¯ Thatment resonated with her; Michael was her idol whom she could barely look at for fear of blinding herself with his brilliance, so on what grounds they were allowed to scold him?! There was no use of her being anxious at home, as Michael didn¡¯t care at all. He had already begun packing his things for joining the set. Michael felt that the incident was not even as important as Sophia¡¯s cash-countingpetition. He enjoyed watching the way she practiced joyfully, for she looked really adorable. On the day of thepetition, Sophia was looking at her phone along the way to school, checking on Twitter and the rest of the forums to see if those people came up with anything else to nder Michael. It had only been a short while that she was off the Inte, but there were already an onught of new nders, such as him being involved in prostitution, getting caught going to night clubs, and even refusing to return borrowed money. What the f*ck?! Tay Tay hiring prostitutes? He is the top male idol, so why would he still need to hire prostitutes? These people probablycked imagination due to their poverty. Do they seriously think that anyone would have to pay to have sex? Tay Tay could have gotten any woman he wanted anytime! Furthermore, what¡¯s wrong with going to nightclubs? The nightclubs in Bayside City were all owned by Tay Tay, so asionally, he would go to check on his own business. How was that not allowed?! Also, Tay Tay refusing to return a debt of ten million? And they even made it like it was true? Who is this person involved that they¡¯re talking about? As far as Sophia knew, Michael had invested in every movie he produced, and he did not take any remuneration. He was only paid for the box office dividend. Without including his other ies, he earned about eight to nine figures in a year from his box office dividend alone. The allowance she received from Michael every month was more than ten million! Were people who spread these rumors mentally handicapped? And more importantly, there were actually people who believed it! Chapter 246 Chapter 246 Some of the fans from the rivals were inferring that Taylor hade to a point where he couldn¡¯t even afford ten million. She didn¡¯t know where they found it, but they managed to find the photos taken on the set when he was filming ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ where he seemed extremely depressed with messy hair, dirty clothes, and his slightly protruding belly. The photo was used in the article to make a fuss, saying that after offending most of the entertainment industry, the former middle-aged superstar had be devastated with no roles to y. And you¡¯re telling me that people actually believed all these? she thought. That was the sad truth however, because as soon as the materials came out, Taylor¡¯s ranking had dropped to the twentieth ce. Harry was almost the same. He was barely hanging at the tenth ce, and he might fall out any time. This just went to show how terrifying online ndering could be for Michael¡¯s ranking to drop so much overnight. These people wanted to be famous, so they tried to sabotage Taylor¡¯s poprity. As Michael¡¯s fan, Sophia was getting so anxious as she scrolled around the discussion section on Twitter. She really wanted to tell everyone that she was Taylor¡¯s wife and Tay Tay had been living a very good life. She was so anxious that she was seething with anger. On the other hand, Michael was leisurely looking at the mirror, adjusting his hair. The university¡¯s professional skillspetitions would be held on this day. Many parents would be attending and as Sophia¡¯s husband, Michael felt he was obliged to attend as her only ¡®parent¡¯. Bayside University always had a tradition of wearing school uniforms. Recently, the uniforms were distributed. Michael had donned Bayside University¡¯s uniform, and with his inch long hair, a ck satchel and white sport shoes, he looked just like any ordinary student. When Michael yed Doctor Invincible, he waspletely unburdened with the need of maintaining his good looks. He was fine with shaving his head, ¡®disfiguring¡¯ his face, and gaining weight, because the role¡¯s image during his depressed days was a fat middle-age man. In order to ensure a realistic effect where his belly was hanging over the belt, not only did he get a tan, he ate a bunch of junk food to grow his belly. However, after the filming was done, he quickly lost weight and his eight-pack abs were visible again. He even became fairer, and his chiselled facial features werepletely different from the fat middle-aged men whose features were miserable-looking in the film. This was the quality of a true actor. In reality, Michael was very handsome, but in the movies, he was able to portray the image of any role. If he was requested to be a depressed middle-aged man, he could be that very being. Meanwhile, there were also other so-called ¡®popr artists¡¯ who couldn¡¯t get into character. Thus, this was the difference between a true actor and a so-called popr artist. However, Michael normally kept a really low-profile. He usually didn¡¯t reveal his private life online. asionally, he would post a photo on set without him in it, causing people to think he had really offended the bigshots in the industry. This was the reason why his image as an male idol had started to decline, and many fans had stopped supporting him all of a sudden. While reading about the fans¡¯ rivalry on the Inte with her phone, Sophia peeked at Michael, who was sitting beside her. Each time Sophia peeked at him, she would exim silently, Ah, my Tay Tay is so handsome! How in the world could anyone be so handsome?! He is so handsome and charming, so why would anyone want to nder him?! Even if he was a pervert, he doesn¡¯t deserve to be ndered. After all, he is so handsome! Michael wore a ck wig. Some of his original hair was poking out and the colors appeared as embellishments for his look. It made him look really young, and he even seemed to be younger than Stanley. After he was satisfied with his looks, he turned on his phone and started taking selfies. Upon seeing that, Sophia leaned over quietly and sneaked herself into the frame. In a while, more than a dozen photos were taken. Meanwhile, Nathan, who had been sitting quietly in front of them, couldn¡¯t bear to watch. What an eyesore! There¡¯s a kid here, mind you guys! he thought. As the car arrived at Bayside University, Sophia put away her phone and got out of the car along with Michael. Somehow, he found a bicycle and waved to Sophia. ¡°Chica, get on.¡± Sophia hopped on the back of the bicycle elegantly, then Michael rode away, blending into a group of young couples cycling in the campus; he didn¡¯t look out of ce at all. Meanwhile, Nathan was left behind, looking like a resentful child, and he was escorted by Gary to the School of Computer Science. Sophia was sitting on the bicycle, while Michael cycled through the school¡¯s boulevard. The trees were green and new branches were growing; even the breeze smelled nice. Wherever Sophia¡¯s idol was, the air would be nice and sweet! Thepetition on this day was about a variety of professional skills, such as cash-counting, abacus arithmetics, identifying counterfeit money and so on. Sophia could only participate in one of them, which was the cash-countingpetition. Thepetition was held in an amphitheater, and over ten tables were arranged on the stage for the competition. At the moment, the hall that could amodate over a hundred people was already full. Parents, students, and people from other departments were there to watch thepetition. Sophia and Michael walked in hand in hand. Initially, she was worried that someone would recognize her idol and cause amotion, but upon entering the hall, she realized she had been thinking too much. Michael had a pair of big sunsses on, so he did not seem to have caused anymotion, and no one recognized him at all. Who would have expected that the tanned, depressed, outdated and middle-aged actor, Taylor would actually be wearing a school uniform and sitting in Bayside University¡¯s lecture hall? All these years, Michael had maintained his looks, so he didn¡¯t look old. On this day, he was full of youth and vigor, looking no different from other students. This was a school-wide event, so Sophia bumped into many of her ssmates upon entering the hall. Seeing Sophia and a boy entering hand in hand, everyone acted as if they had discovered a big news, and they began to gather round her. ¡°Sophia! Who is this?¡± A group of girls was extremely curious. Michael was wearing sunsses and a school uniform. On his neck was a pendant that was simr to Sophia¡¯s. The two looked like a perfect match, and they were obviously a young couple. Michael introduced himself freely. ¡°Nice to meet you. My name is Michael. I am Sophia¡¯s boyfriend.¡± The girls didn¡¯t even doubt him. Everyone in ss knew Stanley was pursuing Sophia, but they didn¡¯t expect Sophia to have a boyfriend already. Everyone was very curious about Sophia¡¯s ¡®family member¡¯. ¡°Wow, you look like Taylor Murray!¡± ¡°What major are you studying?¡± ¡°Why are you wearing sunsses?¡± Michael answered the questions skillfully, ¡°I am from the School of Cinematography, and I am colorblind.¡± Sophia was incredibly worried that Michael would be recognized, but throughout the process, he was actually hiding it very well and he managed to answer all the questions perfectly. Before thepetition began, everyone was chatting together. Many of Sophia¡¯s ssmates were Taylor¡¯s fans, and they had been paying attention to his newstely. The focus of the conversations had turned toward the huge scale of nder materials that were circting on the Inte recently. A student eximed, ¡°I don¡¯t know who Taylor offended, but it seems like everyone is taking advantage of his downfall. Today, I saw someone saying that he is refusing to return the money he borrowed. I heard there will be more insightsing in.¡± ¡°Really, I didn¡¯t expect that he is actually that kind of person. He even molested female actresses. We might know him on the outside, but not on the inside! What a disgusting scumbag he is!¡± ¡°The male idol of the past has eventually met his downfall.¡± ¡°Beauty fades, I guess¡­ On the other hand, I think Nichs Yates is pretty handsome. He has the looks of Taylor Murray when he was young!¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Chapter 247 Chapter 247 Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat as she sneaked a nce at Michael at the side. She thought he would be very furious or at least show that he was slightly bothered by that, but he acted as though he didn¡¯t hear it at all. He even held his cell phone and looked at himself on the screen, as if his cell phone was a mirror. He tidied up his hair and smoothed out the wrinkles on his shirt. She told him hurriedly, ¡°There¡¯s nothing interesting to talk about on this subject. There is so much news on the Inte with unknown credibility. Who knows that maybe someone tried to defame him behind his back on purpose? Let¡¯s talk about thepetition instead. Are you guys ready for it?¡± However, everyone seemed uninterested about thepetition. They just couldn¡¯t stop once they started gossiping. ¡°Eh? Sophia, this is your idol we¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Something happened to your idol. You should at least say something about it!¡± ¡°Everyone knows you¡¯re a fan of Taylor. You were still giving out movie tickets in ssst time when Taylor¡¯s movie was up in the cinemas. This time, so many dark secrets about your idol have been exposed on the Inte and you don¡¯t have anything to say about it?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the biggest dream in your whole life is to getid by Taylor?¡± Sophia goggled at them in shock with her jaw hanging, as though someone had exposed her evil deeds. She blushed with embarrassment as her eyes darted around. Her face became redder when she sneaked a peek at Michael beside her and noticed that he was chuckling in a low voice. She stammered, ¡°U-Uh¡­ It was just a joke. I was just joking around¡­¡± This is embarrassing! This is REALLY embarrassing! Suddenly, everyone realized her real boyfriend was still sitting at the side. They stopped talking simultaneously. However, Michael seemed like he didn¡¯t mind at all. He put down his cell phone and said with a smile, ¡°You guys, please continue. Don¡¯t mind me. I know she likes Taylor. That¡¯s why I purposely went overseas to have a stic surgery and make myself look like Taylor.¡± He removed his sses and purposely blinked at everyone. ¡°The doctor said you absolutely can¡¯t see any incision on my face at all. Now, I look more than 98% alike with Taylor.¡± All the girls were utterly shocked. No wonder he looks like Taylor! It turns out that he had stic surgery! That¡¯s true love indeed to actually have a stic surgery to turn himself into his girlfriend¡¯s idol! The girls believed each and every single nonsense that Michael told thempletely. Thus, they began to gossip openly without considering much about Sophia¡¯s feelings. ¡°Your girlfriend likes Taylor very much! I just saw she has Taylor¡¯s stickers all over her book two days ago!¡± ¡°She put a photo of Taylor in a pair of swimming trunks as the wallpaper on her cell phone screen!¡± ¡°She even has a bookmark with Taylor¡¯s picture on it!¡± Sophia became very embarrassed and uneasy, as if she was sitting on a chair full of prickly needles. She felt so nervous that her entire body froze and she sat there stiffly with her face lowered, not daring to speak a word. The Sophia within her arched her head heavenward and screamed desperately, Ah! Stop talking about that! It¡¯s really embarrassing! Finally, thepetition began. Sophia grabbed her bag and dashed up the stage, not daring to look at Michael. ¡°I¡¯m off to thepetition!¡± Although she walked away, she still paid attention to the conversation that followed. A girl asked, ¡°Your girlfriend is such a huge fan of her idol and admires him so much. Will that give you any pressure?¡± Michael pondered about it for a while. Sitting by the window, the sun shone brightly on him and his brand new uniform, enveloping him in a golden hue. His eyes were filled with tenderness and love as he seemingly fixed his eyes on Sophia wherever she went. ¡°As long as she likes it.¡± The words he said were full of love and adoration. Michael publicly showed his affection for Sophia in front of all the girls, making all of them feel envious of Sophia for having a boyfriend who loved her so much. Sophia lowered her head too, feeling so embarrassed that she had goosebumps. Still, she was slightly touched when she heard the words Michael said. The cash-countingpetition was just a small contest within the school. The winner would not be rewarded with credit points but with just a certificate. Contestants were even required to bring their own practice notes to thepetition. Since thepetition was about to begin soon, the contest judge professors and the host had taken their stations. It was said that the host was from the School of Cinematography. Everyone was a little surprised when the host entered thepetition venue. ¡°Hello, everyone. I¡¯m your host for today¡¯s cash-countingpetition.¡± A pleasant voice was heard echoing through the ce. Sophia, who was filling up the contestant¡¯s form, was startled. She raised her head and saw a couple entering the ce hand in hand. The girl wore a pure white dress, looking like a butterfly that was about to spread its wings and fly. The guy wore a high-ss well-tailored casual outfit, which made him look exceptionally handsome; both of them looked perfect together. The couple was actually X and Richard. Richard hadn¡¯t been to ss for such a long time now. What is the meaning of this? Why did he suddenly show up at thepetition today? Michael, who was mingling among the girls and finding out his young bride¡¯s daily habits in the university, frowned as he automatically turned to look at Sophia. He noticed that Sophia was seemingly unaffected by his presence. She still lowered her head and continued with her writing. With the cking sounds of her high heels, X strode across to the center of the stage with the ever so bright and cheerful smile on her exquisitely beautiful face. She began hosting thepetition. As for Richard, he found a seat down the stage and sat down properly. Coincidentally, he sat beside Michael with just an aisle in between them. All of a sudden, the atmosphere became awkward. Just then, a girl from the same ss as Sophia reminded Michael in a low voice, ¡°The guy sitting next to you is Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend!¡± Michael just replied with a ¡®yeah¡¯ without any other reactions. However, Richard seemed to have heard something and he turned to look at Michael. I saw this guy at the basketball matchst time. He looks a lot like Taylor Murray! Why is he here? It seems he looks even more like Taylor up close. In fact, he looks like the Taylor from ten years ago. The Harper Group yed a part in the revtion of a series of dark secrets revolving around Taylor, which went viral on the Inte recently. The Harper Group was thergest shareholder of Glory Entertainment Company. Almost all the management executives in Glory Entertainment were people from Harper Group. Richard had begun to officially take over the business of Harper Group too, starting from Glory Entertainment. Taylor¡¯s resources were so abundant that it made everyone feel angry and jealous about him. Glory Entertainment orchestrated the revtion of the series of dark secrets of Taylor this time as an attempt to bring him down once and for all. They tried to snatch all the resources from himpletely and to poprize several young new actors from Glory Entertainment. They attempted to take this opportunity to produce a third Oscar-winning best actor. Before the revtion of the series of dark secrets, Harper Group had received some news beforehand that someone intended to mess with Taylor. It was rumored that the person was a Fletcher¡­ Richard guessed it was Joel. After all, he could feel the unusual interaction between Joel and Taylor at Ka¡¯s birthday party. He knew Taylor had messed with someone he shouldn¡¯t mess with. So, it was the perfect time to pull him down now. Coincidentally, someone from the entertainment industry wanted to work with Glory Entertainment and crush Taylor, the always so popr superstar who had been at the top of the movie rankings for such a long time. Therefore, Richard decided to let Glory Entertainment be the first to take the opportunity to initiate the revtion of the series of dark secrets. Thus, he naturally couldn¡¯t help but n something in his mind now that he saw a guy who looked like Taylor. Taylor¡¯s reputation was ruined beyond repair. Following the revtion of his dark secrets, several investors for his new movie had begun to boycott Taylor, including the investor of Harper Real Estates, who kept pressing the production crew to boycott Taylor. It was just a matter of time before they re-cast Taylor. Besides, he was old and didn¡¯t look as attractive as he used to be anymore. With the change in his appearance and his reputation ruined, it was very difficult for him to return to the entertainment business anymore. Richard thought, If Glory Entertainment is to poprize a new generation of idols who looked like Taylor now, then this guy¡­ Now, Glory Entertainment had begun to purposely select new artists who looked like Taylor and started training them. However, they hadn¡¯te across anyone who looked so much like Taylor before! The man in front of him seemed like a student of Bayside University. He looked rather attractive and resembled Taylor very much. Richard wondered whether he had signed any contracts to be an artist with any entertainment agency¡­ Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Chapter 248 Chapter 248 X strode toward Sophia deliberately. She said in a sweet voice, ¡°Sophia, what a coincidence! You¡¯re here for thepetition too?¡± Sophia turned around with her head lowered. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Good luck then. Richard and I will be watching you from below the stage.¡± X walked away elegantly. Thepetition began. X used her sweet and pleasant voice to host thepetition. ¡°I hereby announce that the cash-countingpetition begins now! Contestants, please take your ce and get ready with your props!¡± Over a few dozen people participated in the cash-countingpetition. Since the stage could only fit in more than ten people at a time, thepetition had to be divided into several batches. The preliminary and intermediary rounds were to be conducted in the morning, while the final round was in the afternoon. All the contestants took out their practice notes and ced them stack by stack on the table before getting ready to start thepetition. Sophia opened her backpack and was about to take out her practice notes too, but the moment she opened her bag, she froze in shock. She didn¡¯t take out the practice notes and simply sat there dumbstruck for a long while. Noticing Sophia¡¯s peculiar behavior, X asked her in a ¡®concerned¡¯ manner. ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s the matter? Thepetition is about to begin. Hurry and take out your practice notes, or else you¡¯ll be disqualified.¡± Sophia kept staring into her own backpack for a long time. Finally, she decided to reach inside her bag, then she took out several stacks of notes and ced them on the table. The moment she took out those notes, the whole ce became silent. After a few seconds, waves of snickering could be hearding from the audience, for the other contestants had taken out fake practice notes, while Sophia had taken out stacks of real banknotes! The stacks of real cash were very eye-catching among the rest of the stacks of practice notes. Sophia felt so embarrassed that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to show her face in front of the audience. Because of the incident with Michael¡¯s defamation, she had been out of sorts for the whole day. She started reading news when she woke up in the morning, so she mistakenly took the real cash stacks, which she used for training at home. She had ced them in her bag and ended up bringing them here. She remained calm and unflustered by the situation while waiting for thepetition to begin quietly. This caught a group of supervising professors by surprise too. They had never seen someone actually use real banknotes as props to participate in thepetition before! However, there were no rules that prohibited the usage of real cash, so after a round of discussion, the professors eventually decided that Sophia wasn¡¯t going against the rules and thepetition was to be continued as normal. X was dazed too before she let out a snicker. Thepetition then officially began. In the cash-countingpetition, the contestantspeted against each other in terms of their cash-counting techniques, speed and skill. Whoever could count the fastest, had the most precise count and looked the best when they counted would get the highest score in thepetition. Sophia turned her embarrassment into motivation to do her best in thepetition. She counted the cash as fast as lightning. All the judge professors nodded at her simultaneously too, impressed by her skill andposure. After the first round was over, Sophia kept her money properly, then she lowered her head and dashed down the stage quickly, feeling really embarrassed. She automatically ran toward Michael and sat down beside him with her head still hanging. I embarrassed myself again in front of my idol! What an idiot I am! Michael patted her on the shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. Everything¡¯s okay now. You did really well.¡± Sophia hid her face in Michael¡¯s arms, feeling too embarrassed to see anyone. Richard, who was not far from them, noticed their intimate interaction. Almost immediately, he could guess their rtionship. That¡¯s Sophia¡¯s new boyfriend? He was overwhelmed with fury all of a sudden. She¡¯s so promiscuous and shameless! She just dated Joel and Stanley before this! And now, she has another new boyfriend?! It seems Joel had dumped Sophia! Sophia kept hiding her face in Michael¡¯s arms, being too ashamed to see anyone. She finally moved a little and slightly showed her face after thepetition was over. The result was out and Sophia had gotten the first ce in the preliminary round of thepetition. So, she wouldpete with the contestants from other groups in the afternoon for the following intermediary round and the finals. It was time for lunch when the preliminary round ended. Michael took the initiative to suggest a ce for lunch. ¡°Let¡¯s have lunch in the school cafeteria. I haven¡¯te back to Bayside University and have lunch here ever since I graduated.¡± Sophia nodded quietly. When both of them stood up and were about to leave, a voice was suddenly heard from behind them. ¡°Sophia, who¡¯s this? Why don¡¯t you introduce him to us?¡± Sophia, who was holding Michael¡¯s hand, turned around and saw Richard and X. X beamed and looked delighted, while Richard just let out a cold snort, looking rather disdainful. To him, Sophia was worthless anymore since she was just a useless pawn abandoned by Joel. Yet, for some reason, there was a fire of fury raging within him when he saw her holding hands with another man. Sophia, who didn¡¯t want to talk to them, yanked Michael quietly and signaled him to leave, but to her surprise, Richard actually stood in front of them and blocked their way. ¡°Sophia, this is your new boyfriend?¡± Before Sophia could say anything, Michael introduced himself first. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Sophia¡¯s current boyfriend.¡± Or husband, rather. He then added, ¡°We met before in a basketball matchst time.¡± Richard snorted with a rather grim expression on his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a name card. ¡°Hi, my name is Richard Harper. This is my name card.¡± A gold-ted business card was passed into Michael¡¯s hand. Michael took a nce at the card and pretended to be surprised by it. He acted like he was honored to meet Richard. ¡°You¡¯re the Young Master of Harper Group? It¡¯s really an honor to meet you.¡± Michael removed his sunsses, revealing his well-maintained, beautiful and young-looking face. Richard couldn¡¯t help but praise him when he saw his face clearly. ¡°You look like Taylor Murray very much.¡± He looks exactly like Taylor Murray! A faint smile crossed Michael¡¯s face. ¡°I had a slight alteration.¡± Richard understood his meaning. It turns out he had stic surgery. No wonder he looks like Taylor so much. Richard studied Michael¡¯s face carefully and he actually couldn¡¯t find the slightest w on it. There wasn¡¯t any trace on his face at all that suggested he had undergone a stic surgery before. This made Richard feel even more determined to sign Michael as an artist under hispany. He suggested frankly, ¡°You have quite the potential to be a superstar. Would you like to get into the entertainment business and be an artist?¡± Michael touched his chin and nodded. ¡°Well, actually, I¡¯m kind of interested in bing an artist.¡± Richard smiled. ¡°Well then, perhaps we should have lunch together and discuss the contract in detail. The Harper Group is one of thergest shareholders of Glory Entertainment. So, I¡¯m managing some of the business in Glory Entertainment. If you agree to sign an agreement with us, we¡¯ll train you and get you to debut as soon as possible. I¡¯m sure you know that Glory Entertainment is currently thergest celebrity-training agency in Cethos, right?¡± Michael seemed like he was looking forward to it very much. ¡°Alright then.¡± Both of them left happily. Sophia waspletely speechless at the back. Her expression darkened, and she didn¡¯t know what to say. She noticed for the first time that Michael was a drama king who could put on such a convincing act. While X wrapped her arms around Richard¡¯s arm to leave, she turned around and spoke to Sophia, who remained standing on the spot motionlessly. ¡°Sophia, why are you standing there? Noting?¡± Sophia followed them reluctantly. X took great pleasure in seeing how pathetic Sophia was now. In the end, Sophia couldn¡¯t win against her. Without Joel¡¯s care, even if she found herself a handsome new boyfriend, he was about to work for theirpany, the Harper Group. That¡¯s really ironic! Richard had treated them to lunch on this day. He was so generous that he invited Sophia and Michael to have lunch in the most expensive Western restaurant in Bayside University. Michael walked while pushing his shabby old bike along with him. Beside him, Sophia looked unhappy in her uniform dress. On the way, Michael chatted ¡®happily¡¯ with Richard. They got along so ¡®well¡¯ with each other, as if they should have met each other and became ¡®friends¡¯ earlier. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Richardmented, ¡°You have such an outstanding appearance. It¡¯ll truly be a waste if you leave your talent undiscovered like that. If you agree to sign a contract with us, Glory Entertainment, and be our artist, I promise that I¡¯ll make you popr and you shall be the second Taylor Murray.¡± Michael replied, ¡°Yeah. I heard that Taylor¡¯s reputation ispletely ruined now. The market desperately needs someone like me to rece him. Not only do I want to rece him, I want to surpass him as well!¡± Richard praised, ¡°You¡¯re very ambitious. I like that!¡± Chapter 249 Chapter 249 Sophia did not utter a word anymore because she really did not know what else to say. After hearing what Richard was saying, X purposely asked, ¡°Sophia, your boyfriend is going to make his debut. Why do you look so upset?¡± Sophia merely chuckled. X added, ¡°Richard has recently assumed control of Glory Entertainment. Even when your boyfriend bes an artist under Harper Group next time, Richard will surely treat him well.¡± Sophia chuckled again. The four of them then walked past the basketball court. Stanley was ying basketball on the court when he nced over and saw Michael in a uniform, walking alongside Richard. He thought he was hallucinating. By the time he finished rubbing his eyes and took another nce, all he saw was the back of their figures. However, he was certain that he saw someone who resembled Michael so much and he was wearing a Bayside University uniform. D*mn! Who was that guy? How dare he disguise as my uncle? Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Glory Entertainment Group had recently brought up a group of male artists who looked like Taylor Murray. Their cosmetic surgeries were done based on Taylor¡¯s looks; from their appearance to their styles, everything about them was changed to resemble that of Taylor. Each of them also imed that they wanted to surpass Taylor. Nobody expected that there were students in Bayside University who would dare to do stic surgery to look like Michael! If this happened two years ago while he was still in the army, he would have sniped that group of imposters! He only had one uncle in this world. He was irreceable! The four of them sat down in the Western restaurant. As the dishes were served one after another, Richard persuaded Michael by telling him, ¡°Michael, you have a nice name. You look so simr to Taylor, and if you want to make your debut, it won¡¯t do if you used the same artist name as him. It would be the best if your artist name is simr to Taylor. Since he is Taylor, then you should go with Tyler. Your artist name will be Tyler Murray, then. How does that sound?¡± Michael pretended to ponder for a moment and even voiced out his own suggestion. ¡°Sure, sure. The name Tyler is more suitable for an action movie star who is making his debut. Not only will I be able to gain quick fame with my simr name to Taylor Murray, I¡¯ll probably be able to gain reputation by associating myself with other action movie stars. Coincidentally, I¡¯ve learned to fight since I was little, and I¡¯ve won multiple championships. I will have no problem doing any action or fighting scenes.¡± Richard was ted. ¡°Glory is now short of artists like you.¡± Perfect! This is too perfect! I have struck gold! Richard had just taken over Glory Entertainment. This was his stepping-stone. It was an opportunity for him to disy his capabilities. If he could nurture an artist who was more capable than Taylor, his capabilities would finally obtain everyone¡¯s recognition! Not only did Michael, who was in front of him, looked like Taylor, he even learnt to fight before. Taylor¡¯s work had always been more on the end of normal acting, and had never acted as a tough guy before. On the other hand, Tyler could make his debut as a tough guy. Besides using his looks to attract Taylor¡¯s fans, he could walk a path that was totally different from Taylor¡¯s. After enjoying his bout of joy, Richard shifted his gaze from Michael toward Sophia, who was sitting at the side. He suddenly had a brazen idea. Sophia had kept quiet during the entire conversation, having her meal in silence. After they were finished with dinner, Michael and Richard had almost agreed on the terms; the only thing left to do was signing the contract. Then, they went their separate ways with joy. Before parting ways, X purposely added, ¡°It will be our engagement dinner next month. You guys must come. And Tyler, it¡¯s best if you show up too. I¡¯ve invited many media and renowned directors. You can seize this opportunity to create some advantages for yourself before making your debut. You can also get to know some big-time directors and seniors.¡± Michael immediately agreed. ¡°For sure.¡± They then parted ways, and Sophia was still silent. Michael then held onto her hands as they left the canteen. They were getting ready to go back to join the match that afternoon. Michael was still the one riding the bicycle, slowly pedaling on the boulevard with Sophia at the back. Sophia, who had been quiet all along, suddenly asked, ¡°Hubby, are you really going to sign a contract with Richard?¡± Michael put on a mysterious smile. ¡°I¡¯m toying with him. I¡¯m seeking revenge for you.¡± Sophia still couldn¡¯t figure out what he wanted to do, so she just gave up on the thought. It could only be a mischievous n anyway, and she had never doubted the extent of the mischievousness of her male idol. However, they didn¡¯t expect that the moment the bicycle entered the boulevard, a few burly boys who were wearing sports attire would block their path. Furrowing his brows, Michael stopped cycling. More than a dozen boys surrounded them in all directions in an instant. Stanley stepped out from the crowd. His eyes were filled with rage as he marched up to them. Grabbing a hold of Sophia, he started yelling at her, ¡°Sophia! I know you secretly like Taylor, but you don¡¯t have to be this stupid and find yourself an imposter. See for yourself. He had stic surgery. No matter how he makes himself look like Taylor Murray, he¡¯s still not him!¡± The news of Sophia having found a boyfriend who had stic surgery to look like Taylor was heard by Stanley soon. Infuriated, Stanley brought his men to stop them. He viciously yanked at Sophia behind him while looking at Michael, who was still sitting on the bicycle. With a look of hostility, he swept a nce at Michael from head to toe. ¡°You have quite some guts. How dare you make yourself look like Taylor? You don¡¯t deserve to have this look!¡± This guy had stic surgery to look like his uncle and even enchanted Sophia with his looks¡ªhe was simply courting death! Putting on a vague smile, Michael simply adjusted his uniform tie. The way he moved was so mesmerizingly handsome. Stanley shouted, ¡°You even dare to imitate my idol¡¯s actions?!¡± Silently parking his bicycle, Michael looked at Stanley and chuckled. ¡°Are you looking for a fight?¡± Stanley rolled up his sleeves and told his men, ¡°Don¡¯t let Sophia leave. I¡¯m going to teach this imposter some manners today!¡± The group of boys swiftly blocked Sophia outside. Dumbfounded, Sophia begged, ¡°Stanley, don¡¯t¡ª¡± Unfortunately, it was toote. The two of them started fighting without any hesitation. They started exchanging punches on this path. Stanley had learnt martial arts before and he was in the army for two years. Hence, his fighting skills were naturally quite decent too. Although Michael did not act as a tough guy, he was a strong guy in reality, so the two of them had quite the battle. As the fight grew intense, the group of boys started cheering on them. ¡°Beat him, Stanley! Beat him!¡± Sophia¡¯s soft voice was drowned in their cheer. ¡°Stanley, that¡¯s your uncle¡ª¡± Stanley was greeted by a punch, causing him to stumble a few steps back. Holding onto his face, he looked at Michael with disbelief. ¡°Wow, you can really fight.¡± Michael waved his fists, his face exuding confidence. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve trained before. Do you want to be hit again?¡± Stanley did not want to surrender, so he charged forward. Unexpectedly, his attack was countered and he was greeted by another punch. ¡°Again!¡± Stanley dashed forward once again, using his signature moves, but unfortunately, his moves were countered and he was punched by Michael again. Stanley was on the verge of tears. This imposter was really strong! Chapter 250 Chapter 250 The group of boys looked at their opponent who seemed quite skilled. Stanley had been beaten up so badly that his nose was bleeding. They then grabbed a hold of Stanley. ¡°Stanley, you¡¯re hurt. Let¡¯s go to the hospital to do a checkup!¡± The group did not care whether Stanley minded it or not. They then forcefully dragged him along as they fled from the scene. Stanley then swayed his fist around in fury toward Michael. ¡°Just you wait. This doesn¡¯t end here!¡± Michael then waved at him. ¡°If you dare approach mydy again, I¡¯ll beat you up every time I see you!¡± He initially wanted to let things go since he had once rescued Sophia, but this brat was starting to get outrageous. He had to teach him a lesson. Otherwise, the hatred in him would not dissipate. After beating up Stanley, Michael¡¯s mood was elevated. He then continued taking Sophia to the competition. As Stanley¡¯s aunty, Sophia still sympathized with him when she saw him being beaten up so badly. However, she was still delighted at the thought of Michael saying that she was ¡®hisdy¡¯. Thepetition continued that afternoon. Sophia¡¯s stacks of genuine banknotes had finally been reced with practice notes. She even managed to obtain the certificate as the champion. Nathan also finished school, so the family of three returned home. Before entering the house, Maria reported, ¡°You¡¯re home, Boss. Something serious happened! Young Master Stanley was beaten up and he¡¯s crying in the living room now!¡± The moment Sophia opened the door, she immediately heard Stanley¡¯s wailinging from the living room. ¡°Why isn¡¯t my uncle home yet? I was beaten up and I feel so miserable now!¡± She then heard Sean¡¯s voice. ¡°Alright, alright. Stop crying. It¡¯s not that painful anyway.¡± Maria loudly reminded him, ¡°Young Master Stanley, Boss is home!¡± Stanley swiftly crawled over when he heard that. Hugging onto Michael¡¯s thigh, he burst into tears. ¡°Uncle, I was beaten up and that person even had stic surgery to look just like you! You have to seek justice for me. I¡¯m so miserable! Sophia is even dating that imposter! Are you going to intervene in this or not?¡± Stanley was beaten up so badly that his eyes were swollen that they seemed narrowed. As his eyes were also covered in tears, he could not see Michael¡¯s expression clearly. He could only hear the cold voiceing from above him. ¡°Let go. Do you want to be beaten up again?¡± Stanley then raised his head and saw Michael, who was wearing his school uniform. He thought he was seeing things, so he blinked, squeezing the tears out of his eyes. Upon a closer look, it seemed like something dawned over him. His eyes widened as he was at a loss for words. ¡°U-Uncle, you¡­¡± Michael bent down before patting him on his shoulders. ¡°Stan, stop thinking about flirting. If you have the time, go and practice your martial arts skills.¡± Stanley then came to his senses. That person did not undergo any stic surgery. That was Michael himself! He then started crying again. ¡°Uncle, why did you hit me? Am I still your nephew?¡± Showing no empathy, Michael kicked him aside. ¡°No.¡± Stanley started wailing even louder. Looking at Sophia, he grumbled, ¡°You clearly knew this was my uncle. Why didn¡¯t you stop me?¡± Sophia said helplessly, ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop you!¡± Michael then saw Sean when he entered the house. So, he asked curiously, ¡°You¡¯re Sean from the Mitchell Family?¡± Sean modestly replied, ¡°Hello, Mr. Michael. I am Sean Mitchell.¡± Michael threw a curious gaze at him. He had the impression that there was a ¡®girl¡¯ named Sean who yed with Stanley since young. They were even ssmates from kindergarten to high school. Everyone thought that she was Stanley¡¯s girlfriend until one day, the ¡®girl¡¯ shaved her head and went to university as a boy. In the end, Sean carried Stanley away who was still crying while walking. Stanley said, ¡°How did things turn out this way, Sean? Why did my uncle hit me? I¡¯m not willing to admit defeat!¡± Sean was Stanley¡¯s childhoodpanion. He had heard him mentioning Sophia¡¯s name many times in a day. Stanley didn¡¯t seem to notice anything but on this day, Sean was alert and seemed to have discovered something. Michael and Sophia were holding hands when they came home. He couldn¡¯t bear to provoke Stanley further, so he said, ¡°You were the one whoshed out first today. You can¡¯t me your uncle!¡± Stanley was still sobbing. After sending Stanley and Sean off, Michael went back to his room to change his clothes and take a shower while Sophia was sitting in the living room, taking in the shocking incidents that had happened earlier. She could barely begin toprehend the events; it had been way too thrilling! Nevertheless, she still had to ept things as they were now. Her male idol apanied to school and even tantly admitted that he was her boyfriend. She even met her ex-boyfriend who was not aware of his own capabilities and signed her husband into hispany. She would not believe it herself if she told others about this chain of events. After entering the study, she ced the stack of cash back into the safe before pasting the certificate on the wall. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. A smallpetition¡¯s certificate like this would not add on to her credit points, but it would be of use at the end of the semester during her application for the schrship. Looking at the wall which was filled with certificates, she felt pleased. After keeping the certificate, the phone rang. Richard was calling. Why is he calling? Feeling curious, she still answered the call. Richard started talking from the other end of the call. ¡°Sophia?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Sophia. She was switching on herputer while preparing to y the online battle arena game. After being silent for a moment, Richard asked, ¡°Sophia, what is actually going on with Tyler? Aren¡¯t you with Joel?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°There is nothing going on between Joel and I.¡± Herputer was switched on. While she was starting the game, she took a look at the news. Only half a day had gone by and Taylor¡¯s scandals had grown so much. It was said that there would be more dark secrets revealed on the next day and indeed, there was a wave of new nders on him. News about him was trending everywhere on Twitter. Hashtags like ¡®#TaylorMurray_cklisted¡¯, ¡®#TaylorMurray_Pregnancy¡¯, ¡®#TaylorMurray_Exposed¡¯, ¡®#TaylorMurray_Molest¡¯, ¡®#Boycott_TaylorMurray¡¯, ¡®#WarDragon_CastChange¡¯, ¡®#EthanWinston¡¯s_Silence¡¯, and ¡®#WarDragon_NichsYates¡¯ were abound on the social media tform. D*mn! What are all these? All these hashtags led to threads of usations of Taylor about him getting a high official¡¯s daughter pregnant, him getting exposed for molesting female artists and offending almost half of the entertainment industry. War Dragon was an action movie which Michael would soon join, but the investors were now putting so much pressure on him by requesting a change in the cast? They wanted to change Michael¡¯s role to Ethan? Furthermore, wasn¡¯t ¡®Asco International¡¯ this film¡¯s biggest investor? Wasn¡¯t that Michael himself? But now they wanted to change the cast? Dream on! These nderers really need to watch their manners! Sophia logged on to her alternate ount in the forum, bulletin board, Twitter and so on. Then, she started replying to the nderers, defending her idol. She then heard Richard¡¯s voice. ¡°Are you listening, Sophia?¡± Sophia ced her phone on her shoulder before typing on the keyboard. ¡°Yes, I am. Continue.¡± Richard said, ¡°I¡¯m ready to sign Tyler. His conditions are quite good. I also watched a video on his martial arts performance which he sent me today. He is a rather promising candidate. If I¡¯m willing to build him up, he¡¯ll be the next Taylor Murray. He might even surpass Taylor.¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Richard chuckled. ¡°You know this, Sophia. As long as I¡¯m willing to do something, there is nothing that I cannot aplish. I would like to talk to you alone regarding your boyfriend¡¯s secret identity. Don¡¯t turn me down. You know the consequences if you turn me down.¡± A few moments after Richard hung up the phone, Sophia received a text from him that told her to meet him at a hotel at 6 in the evening on the next day. He even gave her a room number. He was using Tyler¡¯s future as a movie star to sleep with her! Chapter 251 Chapter 251 ¡°Nonsense.¡± Sophia tossed her phone aside, ignoring the text, but a few momentster, she knitted her brows and grabbed her phone again. Staring at the text, she spaced out. A short whileter, her eyes flickered. The next day, Sophia still went for ss as usual. She left her house early in the morning and started her sses whichsted the entire day. When she finished ss at night, she did not go and pick up Nathan. Instead, she left the school by herself and went to a hotel using a cab. Richard had been very busy at thepany, so he seldom went to sses. After taking over Glory Entertainment, his first n was to nder Taylor. After ndering Taylor, his next n was to build up his own artists. After getting Taylor out of the picture, he had to think of a way to snatch some of Asco International¡¯s resources for his own artists. Putting aside Nichs and Bethany who were already so famous, he still wanted to build a group of capable artists who could rece Taylor and Ethan. Then, the next step would be toe up with a way to trap Ethan. The ¡®Tyler¡¯ from that day was not bad. He was ready to build him up. With a little training, he could make his debut, so Richard had high expectations of him. At the same time, he could get Sophia for himself. After leaving hispany that afternoon, he told X that he wanted to meet with a few Inte marketers to discuss the next step of their n, but in actual fact, he had secretlye to the hotel. The room he reserved had a passcode which he had given to Sophia. There was ady¡¯s handbag in the room when he went inside. A peculiar perfume could be scented in the room. A pair of high heels were in the room, and there was also ady¡¯s undergarments and blouse lying on the floor. Richard immediately recognized that those were Sophia¡¯s clothes. A woman¡¯s voice came from the bathroom. She seemed to be taking a shower while happily humming a song. He knew it was Sophia in an instant. Richard was over the moon. Indeed, Sophia still belonged to him. He knocked on the bathroom door, but the door was locked from the inside. Knocking on the door a few more times, he asked, ¡°Are you in there, Sophia?¡± The sound of water flowing in the bathroom stopped. Then, he heard Sophia¡¯s voice. ¡°Yes, Richard. I am taking a shower. Please wait for a moment.¡± It¡¯s Sophia indeed! Richard then ced the condom which he had prepared on the bedside table. Taking off his clothes, he lay down in bed. He then listened to the sound of water flowing in the bathroom while imagining Sophia¡¯s perfect body at this moment. Although he was going to have her soon, he still couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she had slept with so many men. Joel, Stanley, Tyler¡­ God knows how many other men had she slept with elsewhere? The sound of water flowing in the bathroom stopped. Sophia¡¯s voice was then heard. ¡°I¡¯ming out, Richard. Can you switch off the lights? I¡¯m shy!¡± Richard let out a cold chuckle. This woman who had slept with so many men is shy? To Sophia, Richard was despicable, but at the same time, she probably felt dissatisfied if she did not get her hands on him! So, he switched off the lights and closed the curtains. It was dark outside too. Thus, the room was pitch- ck and he could not see a thing. A fully-naked woman then pushed the bathroom door open before walking out with her bare feet. Looking at that wonderful, bare body, his eyes glistened with lust. He pounced on the woman who willingly presented herself to him onto the bed, dominating her with no mercy. Indeed, he had conquered her, facing no resistance at all! Richard suddenly felt some rage from within him. He then gave the woman beneath him a hard p. ¡°B*tch, tell me. How many men have you actually slept with? Three? Or four?¡± The woman who was underneath him was in pain. Clenching her teeth, she did not make a sound, except for some intermittent panting. The woman under him was extremely skilled. Her skills were not inferior to Richard¡¯s at all. Richard was not a virgin since ages ago. Besides X, he also had other sex partners. Especially after taking over Glory Entertainment Company, he had been with women everywhere. Being young, handsome and influential, he was popr in those artists¡¯ eyes. Countless women were begging to crawl onto his bed¡­ Even if he did not have that thought, those women would stille up with different ways to force him. So, he just went along with it. The two of them then began the act¡­ ¡°You¡¯re indeed a slut! If you want your boyfriend to have a better future, then pleasure me! How bright of a future will your boyfriend have depends on your skills in bed, b*tch!¡± As the couple tried out all kinds of positions and toys, the bed was making creaking noises¡­ Then, there was suddenly a loud bang. The door was opened before dozens of reporters swarmed in in an instant. After switching on the lights in the room, it was instantly as bright as day. Before Richard coulde to his senses, dozens of DSLR cameras were stuffed right in his face. Then, he could hear the continuous camera shutters sound, capturing images of the couple who were sticking their bodies against each other at the moment. Richard was still young, yet he had experienced this situation before. After his mind went nk for a moment, he quickly came back to his senses. He then used the nket to cover his body and used his hands to cover his face so that photos of him would not be taken. ¡°Which news outlet are you guys from? Who gave you the permission toe in? Get out, now!¡± The reporters¡¯ camera lenses were in his face. ¡°Mr. Harper, you are going to be engaged to X next month. Now that you¡¯re having an affair, may I ask if it¡¯s going to affect the engagement between you two?¡± ¡°Is the person you¡¯re sleeping with an artist from Glory Entertainment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rumored that after you took over Glory Entertainment, you¡¯ve slept with all of the female artists in the company. May I know if this is true?¡± ¡°Get out! Get out!¡± Richard iled his hands, chasing those reporters away. The reporters then directed their microphones toward the woman beside him. ¡°Miss, may I know if you¡¯re an artist under Glory Entertainment?¡± The woman poked her head out of the nket, putting on a pitiful look. In a shaky voice, she replied, ¡°I am an artist under Glory Entertainment. I¡¯m Nicole Walker.¡± It was an unfamiliar voice and name. At that moment, Richard was dumbfounded. He then looked at the woman beside him with disbelief. She looked so simr to Sophia and they had the same hairstyle; even their disposition was so simr, but the fact remained that she wasn¡¯t Sophia. The voice he heard just now was clearly¡­ Nicole purposely exposed half of her shoulder which was covered with hickeys. Then, the reporters frantically took photos of it. Nicole pitifully exined herself, ¡°President Harper said that if I don¡¯t obey him, he¡¯ll cklist me. I was forced to sleep with him. I was helpless¡­¡± She started bawling her eyes out while putting on a discontented look. ¡°Richard?¡± An infuriated voice of a woman came from the crowd. X furiously made her way through the crowd before giving Nicole a p. ¡°You slut! How dare you seduce my fianc¨¦?¡± Nicole hid behind Richard, but she was still trying her best to reveal her elegant face. Then, like a helpless chick, she started wailing. X, who had lost her rationality, had rushed over the instant she heard this news. However, she did not expect that she would be witnessing such a scene. This was what he meant when he said he was discussing work?N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. X charged toward Nicole before giving her a beating. Nicole was crying her eyes out, and did not dare to fight back as X beat up her bare body. The scene of the naked girl iling around while getting beaten up was brutal, and the group of reporters swiftly took photos of the scene. While the reporters¡¯ attention had been diverted, Richard quickly put on his clothes and came out of the nket before restraining X, who had lost control of herself. Of course, by now, Richard knew that he had been set up. Very well, Sophia! The reporters, X¡ªthey are all part of her trap! Chapter 252 Chapter 252 After putting on his clothes, he quickly restrained X. Security also came in at the right time, keeping the scene under control. Nicole was still crying as she had a towel wrapped around her, still leaving her bare shoulders exposed. Her slender legs happened to be exposed as well. Her delicate face was filled with helplessness and terror as the media frantically continued taking pictures of her. X, who had been cheated on, was crying and yelling away. After shoving Richard¡¯s hands away, she ran out of the room. Richard looked at Nicole before shifting his gaze back to X who was running out of the room. In the end, he decided to go after X. The security guards then started chasing the reporters away before mming the door shut. Touching her face which had been scratched all over by X, she let out a gasp out of pain. Nheless, she looked extremely pleased. She only yed walk-on parts. Besides having good looks, she had a solid foundation in acting and dancing, but because she did not have any prominent background, she could only y walk-on parts even though she had signed with Glory Entertainment for a quite a number of years. Her juniors were starting to get famous one by one, while she could only y walk-on parts who carried drinks. All she felt was discontentment and fury at her unfair destiny. Since she was born in an orphanage, she did not have anyone to back her up. The managers looked down on her for not having any resources. Meanwhile, those who had supporters behind them could instantly star in blockbuster films after making their debuts. Besides ying in scenes where they had to show their face, they would use their stunt doubles for all the other scenes. Life was unfair to her. She wasn¡¯t afraid that she couldn¡¯t see her future. She was afraid that if she continued dying a few more years, she would not be able to be famous even if she wanted to. After this incident, she would surely be famous! The room was finally silent since she was the only person left in there. After wiping her face, she found her clothes and put them on. The reporters had been chased away while Richard was running after X. The bathroom door then opened, and out came a young girl who was wearing a cap and school uniform. Then, she tossed a stack of cash toward Nicole. ¡°Take it. Your sister¡¯s surgery cost and 80% of the donation to the orphanage has been credited to your ount. When you¡¯ve settled the rest of the matter, I will transfer the bnce payment to you.¡± Holding the money, Nicole lifted her head to look at that girl whom she noticed was wearing a punk- styled pendant. The glistening ring that was on the pendant glittered¡­ Too many incidents had urred that night. This was the good thing about the existence of the Inte. In the past, if there were any entertainment news, readers would have to wait for the editors to finish writing their articles and the publishers to publish it before they could read about it in magazines. With the Inte, a news article could be written within a few minutes before it was posted out. The news would then gain attraction within a night and the whole city would know about the news within a day. The next day, the first thing Sophia did when she got out of bed was to read the news. The nders surrounding Taylor had vanished, but the news that had reced them was even more exciting. News with keywords such as ¡®Young Master of the Harper Group, Richard¡¯, ¡®Nicole Walker¡¯, ¡®Daughter of the Huff Family Catches Adultery in the Act¡¯, and ¡®Busted¡¯ were all over the ce. Richard and Nicole¡¯s passionate video was circting on all video tforms. The part where X appeared and caught them in the act, especially the part where Nicole was beaten up while naked was even more popr. The clip was trending on the Inte. By the time the cyber police started diffusing the situation, the high-definition videos had already circted everywhere. It was impossible to stop it. This time round, Glory Entertainment Group and Richard had be famous. Nicole was even more famous now; countless pitiful photos of her circted the Inte, each of those photos perfectly clear, taking the Inte by storm. The media had always been interested in matters like this. They did a thorough research regarding Nicole and posted out all of the films which she had starred in. They then realized that her acting was actually quite good, but it was just that she had been ying walk-on parts. It was such a waste of talent. Her background and history were also disclosed. She was sent to an orphanage along with her younger sister when they were little, but because she was not willing to separate from her sister who was physically unwell, and no families were willing to adopt her sister who was ill, they never managed to find a family to adopt them. So, she stayed in the orphanage until she was 15 when she was somehow selected by Glory Entertainment Company to be an intern. She made her debut when she was seventeen. It had been a decade since then, but she still yed walk-on parts and support cast only. She had good looks and good acting skills, but she just couldn¡¯t be famous. It was really a waste of talent. Richard, who was the protagonist in this scandalous act, was also thoroughly researched. Any information regarding him was disclosed. Sophia then went to school like usual. When she arrived at school, she noticed that everyone was gathered around, watching the video fromst night. ¡°Sophia, your ex-boyfriend was caught cheating. Quick,e and take a look. It¡¯s in Ultra HD!¡± Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Quick, quick. If you don¡¯t watch it now, it¡¯s going to disappear soon!¡± ¡°So, this woman is Nicole Walker! I know she acted in many supporting roles, but I didn¡¯t know her real name. Tsk, tsk. Such a pity. She has such good looks and acting skills.¡± Richard and X did not show up for ss. If it wasn¡¯t because Bayside University had a movement control, the couple¡¯s ss would have been surrounded by reporters. That afternoon, Sophia received a call from Richard. The moment the call was connected, Richard started yelling manically before she could say a word. ¡°You b*tch! You think you can ruin my reputation just by hiring an unknown actress? Don¡¯t worry! I won¡¯t let you have your way, including that boyfriend of yours. I will make your lives miserable! Just you wait!¡± The call was then hung up. Unfazed, Sophia put down her phone. Of course, she was the one behind the incidentst night. Nevertheless, she could not have aplished such a major achievement alone. She was only the mastermind. If she bribed an artist from Glory Entertainment, a group of reporters and the employees in that hotel, this task was basically done; she could easily find people to get the dirty job done. Meanwhile, Hale was standing respectfully at the side. After seeing Sophia hanging up the phone, he heard her saying coldly, ¡°Who asked you to set my idol up?¡± Of course, Michael had known that Sophia was up to something. When he found out that Sophia had created such a hugemotion because of him, he was extremely delighted. After all, she did all these for him. The incident was still trending that afternoon. The Harper Family swiftly used their public rtions to delete the posts and hired spammers to bring the attention away from the matter. That afternoon, Richard and X held a joint press conference. Since he needed to address so many reporters in the conference, Richard was dressed quite smartly. With a sincere look, he said, ¡°I apologize for the incidentst night. My fianc¨¦e and I had initially reserved a hotel room, but I didn¡¯t expect the hotel to disclose the information of my reservation. Nicole was hiding in the bathroom, pretending to be my fianc¨¦e. The room was too dark at that time, and she purposely put on a perfume which X often used, so I didn¡¯t notice anything. Not only did she pretend to be my fianc¨¦e, she even contacted the media to swarm the hotel beforehand. That was why there was such a dramast night. Everything had been nned by that woman. She wanted to gain the public¡¯s support and boost her poprity! She¡¯s utterly shameless!¡± X added in a huff, ¡°Richard and I booked a hotel to celebrate our anniversary, but the woman got news of this and hid in the hotel¡¯s bathroom. I arrived at the hotelte because I had to finish up something in school. I didn¡¯t expect the woman to take advantage of that. I don¡¯t me Richard. I only me that woman. Glory Entertainment will permanently cklist morally degenerate women like her! Furthermore, we found out that this woman has been long involved in casting couch. She¡¯s even involved in modelling and has undergone abortion multiple times. She has done plenty of unspeakable deals. It¡¯s just absolutely disgusting.¡± At the same time, the negative chatter on the Inte regarding Richard and Glory Entertainment had been suppressed by the public rtions team. The media even dug up all of Nicole¡¯s scandals, prostitution, modeling, abortion, ckmailing and couch casting. Within a day, they had turned her into a scheming b*tch who slept with other people¡¯s husbands. Chapter 253 Chapter 253 As long as Nicole wasbelled as a slut, everything that she did was wrong. With thisparison, the couple¡¯s rtionship became even more stable. ¡°Haha.¡± Looking at her phone, Sophia chuckled. She then looked for the day¡¯s news. Probably because the public¡¯s attention had been diverted to the cheating incident, the incident regarding Richard ckmailing Michael had been temporarily halted. Thus, the scandals regarding Taylor on the Inte slowly subsided. The rankings of a few celebrities from Glory Entertainment dropped because of Richard¡¯s incident. Taylor¡¯s ranking then gradually rose, inching closer to the top ten. After taking a look at the news, Sophia dialed a number and said, ¡°Choose a suitable time to make a statement on the day after tomorrow.¡± On the third day after Richard held the press conference,izens were still talking about the incident. All of Nicole¡¯s videos had been diffused and she was quickly cklisted. All of her contracts were cancelled and her films were taken down. She was cklisted by the entire industry. Slowly, the incident got lesser attention. In this digital age, news came rather swiftly, but they disappeared quite fast too. Richard was starting to clean his reputation, and he was now on the verge of sess, but unexpectedly, Nicole suddenly broadcasted her suicide live on a huge live broadcasting station at this moment! Standing at the rooftop of a popr convention center in Bayside City, she was broadcasting everything live. She was bawling her eyes out, crying so badly that her veins protruded and her face reddened. Tears and snot were flowing out, but she did not care about her image at all. Her body kept shaking uncontrobly as she sobbingly said, ¡°I really can¡¯t hang in there anymore¡­ I was forced to sleep with them. If I don¡¯t sleep with them¡­ I won¡¯t be able to clear my debt that I owe thepany. I have no choice¡­ They want me dead¡­ If I have a choice, I wouldn¡¯t have chosen to sign with Glory Entertainment. It is like hell here¡­ I was ordered around by them like an animal, enved by them¡­ I have to keep socializing, casting couch¡­ Sleeping with investors¡­ Sleeping with those from the media¡­ But in the end, it¡¯s the other artists in thepany that get the benefits¡­ Hahaha, I¡¯m such a fool¡­¡± Looking into the camera, she alternated between sobs andughter. Her speech was barely coherent, while her saliva, tears and snot dripped to the ground as she wept. It was a saddening scene. This live broadcast caused a hugemotion on the Inte, garnering more than a million viewers. Theizens who were badmouthing Nicole on the previous day had a change in opinion too. All of them came to persuade her against suicide by sending her messages to her live session. ¡®Don¡¯t do this. You¡¯re so pretty and you have such good acting skills. Your future is bright. Don¡¯t end your life!¡¯ ¡®Oh my! There are still so many untold stories. Thisdy doesn¡¯t have anyone to support her. That¡¯s why I was wondering how she managed to cause such a major incident.¡¯ ¡®There is surely a mastermind behind this incident. I have a friend working in Glory. He told me that Richard only came to Glory a few months, yet he had slept with all of the female artists in theirpany. This matter is simple. It¡¯s Richard who went behind his wife¡¯s back. Now that his affair has been exposed, he¡¯s pushing all the me to thisdy!¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s such a thing. They want these artists who y walk-on parts to sleep with other people in exchange for resources! Oh my! This is so evil!¡¯ Richard immediately called his contacts when he saw the live broadcast. ¡°Contact that broadcast station. Ask them to stop Nicole¡¯s broadcast at this instant! If they refuse, ask them their price. I want to buy their company as soon as possible!¡± The Harper Family purchased the broadcast station in the shortest time possible, instantly stopping Nicole¡¯s broadcast. The broadcast online stopped, but the matters that were offline were not settled yet. Nicole had chosen a busy ce to jump off the building. Within a few moments, it was already crowded below; even the fire and rescue department were alerted. Under the watchful eyes of tens and thousands of people, Nicole jumped off the building out of despair. Luckily, the fire and rescue department arrived in time. They had ced an air mattress a second before she jumped off the building. mming into the air mattress, she only sustained minor injuries. Then, she was sent to the hospital. Everyone owned a camera phone nowadays, so Nicole¡¯s suicide attempt out of hopelessness easily circted on the Inte, swiftly making the headlines once again. Everything she had said before she jumped off the building seemed like she was so hopeless that she had lost her rationality. Though her speech was incoherent, she exposed a major inside news. All of the important information was revealed too. Nicole owed Glory Entertainment a lot of money. So, she was forced to sleep with other men. Glory Entertainment asked their artists who were less famous to sleep with other people in exchange for resources to make their artists be famous. Also, the Harper Family swiftly acquired the broadcast station which Nicole was broadcasting on before quickly cutting off her broadcast. These three points alone were enough to start a debate among theizens. No matter how influential the Harper Family was, his powers had limitations too. No matter how powerful their public rtions team was, there were still matters which they could not touch. Nicole¡¯s suicide attempt had be a hot topic of discussion in Bayside City and the even in the whole of Cethos. Meanwhile, Sophia was still thinking about Michael¡¯s ranking on the celebrities¡¯ list. He¡¯s nearing the top ten! Hang in there, my idol! In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed since Nicole¡¯s suicide attempt. The Harper Family tried their best to suppress the attention by quickly creating an article about Taylor who had slept with other male artists before and was trying to sweep this matter under the rug. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. However, this incident wasn¡¯t new anymore. Everyone had been reading about Taylor¡¯s scandals for the past two weeks. He was even on the front page and they were sick of reading about him. No matter how mind-blowing the information was, it was hard to avert the public¡¯s attention. On the contrary, Nicole¡¯s suicide attempt was newer. Taylor¡¯s scandals could not gain the attention needed. Thus, Richard couldn¡¯t clean his name anymore. Meanwhile, Nicole and Sophia were having coffee in a caf¨¦ in Bayside City. Sophia poured some sugar into her coffee before using a spoon to stir it. After putting the spoon down, she asked Nicole, ¡°Where are you going to go after this?¡± Ten days ago, Nicole had broadcasted herself jumping off a building. Although she fell onto an air mattress, she still sustained some minor injuries. So, her head was bound with gauze. She could only drink in water to prevent her injuries from leaving a scar behind. After drinking a ss of cold water, she put down the ss and stared at the empty ss. Putting on a smile, she said, ¡°The money you gave me is enough for me to pay for thepany¡¯s training fee. I had been a trainee in Glory when I was fifteen. I made my debut when I was seventeen. But until now, I have only yed walk-on parts. If it wasn¡¯t for your money, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to pay for thepany¡¯s training fee for the rest of my life. Besides acting, I¡¯m not good at anything else. Now, my contract with Glory has also expired and I¡¯ve provoked them, so I can¡¯t stay in this country any longer.¡± Sophia took a sip of her coffee as she looked at this 27-year-old woman. Although she was young, she had been through so much, and she had been to the gates of death. Without the spotlight from the cameras, she looked weak and fragile. Nheless, she had a sense of persistence in her which was supporting her, enabling her to stand up firm and strong. Sophia had noticed Nicole a long time ago when she was watching Michael¡¯s film. There were quite a number of films which Nicole was in, acting as a supporting cast. All her scenes were short, showing her face for only a second or two. Nevertheless, she left a deep impression on people¡¯s minds, although nobody knew her name and her name was not even in the list of actors. She even acted as a supporting cast in many romantic films. When Sophia was little, she would often see her in almost every channel on television at her uncle¡¯s house. Out of curiosity, Sophia searched for her information on the Inte. She wasn¡¯t even on Wikipedia. Although there was only a handful of information about her, Sophia still knew quite a lot about her after gathering all the information. After receiving Richard¡¯s text that day, Sophia had nned a blockbuster. She was the writer and director of this blockbuster. She wanted to look for a woman who had great acting skills, could easily be bribed and was willing to make sacrifices to be the main actress. The first person that came to her mind was Nicole. She then asked Hale to quickly investigate this person. That was when she discovered more interesting information. She was born in an orphanage and had a sick sister. She would send money over to the orphanage monthly, and she even owed Glory Entertainment a huge debt. She was even secretly selling her body to make a living, but she saved up the money which she earned for the sake of her sister and the orphanage which had already turned into a dpidated building. She met all the requirements¡ªgreat acting skills, easily bribed, willing to make sacrifices. Sophia initially wanted to simply fool around and mess with her disgusting ex-boyfriend. She could avert everyone¡¯s attention at the same time too. Then, she could seize the opportunity to clear Michael¡¯s name, for this was her honor as a true fan of his. However, she did not expect Nicole¡¯s broadcast of her jumping off the building to have caused a bigger impact than she had imagined. Chapter 254 Chapter 254 Nicole worked together with her to put up a show since she was shut out from Glory Entertainment. Nheless, she had cleared the debt that she owed Glory Entertainment and had sessfully left Glory Entertainment due to the expiry of her contract. ¡°I no longer stand a chance here. I can only head overseas. Fortunately, I¡¯ve received invitations from a few managementpanies from overseas now. They¡¯ve invited me over to shoot some sort of¡­ literary films,¡± she said. Sophia knew what she wanted to film¡ªpornography. Nicole forced out a smile. ¡°What else can I do other than to take part in a film? Even though my sister¡¯s medical bills have been assured, the orphanage still needs me to fund them. The previous director had passed away and most of the volunteers had left. Now that I¡¯m the new director, there are dozens of children waiting to be fed. Moreover, there were two neersst month. By only relying on the charity funds, it was barely enough to support them. If I¡¯m unemployed or if I stop shooting films, all of them will have to starve¡­ It¡¯s good for me to film overseas where the people can ept it better over there. In fact, no one knows me there, and I can earn quick money.¡± After a short conversation, Sophia left. Nicole stared at the empty coffee mug and spaced out. Until now, she still could not figure out Sophia¡¯s background. The air ticket was already in her bag, and she was ready to head overseas to film pornography. Even though it was not something to be proud of, it had a better pay thanks to the vigorous media hype. No matter what kind of films she would film, it would be better than her dark days in Glory Entertainment, where she would need to sleep with men every day. Nicole heaved a sigh before standing up. Her phone in her handbag then suddenly rang at this moment. It was a call from an unknown number. She had received calls from a lot of unknown numbers recently as many foreign directors had contacted her and most of them were to invite her to film pornography. As before, she had epted the call. She had not decided whichpany to devote herself to, so she would work for whicheverpany that offered her better pay. The speaker over the call didn¡¯t sound foreign this time, and she heard the caller saying, ¡°Is this Nicole Walker? I¡¯m Gabriel Reid from Imperial Entertainment managementpany. I heard that the contract between you and Glory Entertainment has ended. Are you interested ining over to Imperial Entertainment?¡± At that moment, Nicole was in utter disbelief. Imperial Entertainment was the top entertainmentpany in the entire entertainment industry in Cethos! Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Unlike Glory Entertainment, Imperial Entertainment was not as high-profiled as them. They kept it low- key. They did not have a lot of talents, but every single one of them were highly talented. Imperial Entertainment even brought up the two best actors in Cethos who had received the Academy Award as best actors. Imperial Entertainment had a high threshold of entering thepany and they would not ept any ordinary celebrities. Unlike Imperial Entertainment, Glory Entertainment would bring in young stars with high poprity who had little to none acting skills. In contrast, Imperial Entertainment would turn their nose up at them. Am I hearing it right? Imperial Entertainment had actually taken the initiative to invite me over? ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Nicole Walker. I¡¯ve haven¡¯t signed any contracts yet!¡± Sophia was feeling down as she walked out from the caf¨¦. What had happened to Nicole had made her feel depressed. If luck was not on her side for her to meet Michael, her current situation would not differ much from Nicole¡¯s. She would be down and out and feeling hopeless. Hale parked the car outside of the entrance while he waited for Sophia. He immediately opened up the car door the moment he saw Sophiaing. She could see Michael sitting inside the car while he worked with some documents on hisptop. ¡°Is everything settled?¡± Michael closed hisptop when he saw Sophiaing in. Sophia nodded when she entered the car. ¡°Everything¡¯s well taken care of,¡± she then said. Michael had known about all the troubles she had caused these few days, but he had never given her any reactions. He did not ask about it as well. He was fine with it as long as she was happy. Michael pinched her cheek lovingly before he leaned in to give her a soft kiss. Silly chica. Due to the incident that had happened to Nicole, Glory Entertainment¡¯s act in ruining Taylor¡¯s reputation was forced to stop. The shock caused to the public due to Nicole¡¯s livestreamed suicide was way more immensepared to the dug-up dirt spread across the Inte. Nicole had continuously shown up on the news headline for quite some time. About the few matters that were being mentioned when Nicole livestreaming her suicide, the public had shown major curiosity. Nheless, Nicole had never made an appearance to make things clear. The public started to visualize the scene in their own heads by using their imagination after being unable to get a clear exnation from Nicole. Within a short while, dug-up dirt on Glory Entertainment had spread all over the Inte. Some people had broken the news mentioning that Glory Entertainment had constantly let their celebrities sleep with different people in exchange for funds to support their A-list actors. Some had even said that the female celebrities under Glory Entertainment would have stand-ins even though it was mentioned by thepany that no stuntmen were recruited. Moreover, Nicole was the stand-in herself. She did not only have to take up minor roles, but she also had to be a substitute for fight scenes and also a voice actor. Most actors from Glory Entertainment would have their entire body reced by the stand-in actors other than their face. The others had even said that Richard had slept with nearly every female celebrity in Glory Entertainment. Before the incident had happened, he had asked Nicole to enter his office alone to discuss something. In short, various sorts of news had spread throughout the public. Glory Entertainment was currently trying their best to cover up all the rumors. The rumors on Taylor had finallye to an end, but there was simply no news from Imperial Entertainment; they simply refused to respond. They even needed Taylor¡¯s fans to repair his reputation. After a few days from the day the incident had happened, the silent Imperial Entertainment had suddenly held a press conference. They had announced that Nicole had officially signed a contract with them and they would be responsible for everything regarding her show. The public¡¯s opinion was all over the ce and various conspiracy theories started to get spread around. They were all suspecting whether it was Imperial Entertainment¡¯s n all along, with ruining Glory Entertainment¡¯s reputation as their goal. After Imperial Entertainment had held the press conference, they remained silent once more. They did not take any actions no matter how the outside world made their guesses and stated their remarks. Another two days had passed. The first military action movie in Cethos, ¡®War Dragon¡¯, which was highly anticipated, had started their promotions. They started releasing posters of the actors who had taken part in the film. This movie was produced by an extraordinary crew and it was a big production where vast investments had been put in, garnering tons of attention. After the previous disturbance had ended, a huge crowd of fans had requested to rece Taylor as the male leading role in the movie, but the official production team of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had not made any responses until now. Everyone paid close attention to the cast posters and they wanted to see whether Taylor had been reced. However, little did they expect to see the first poster being the photos of Nicole Walker, who was acting as the female leading antagonist! It was rumored that the role was supposed to be yed by a female celebrity under Glory Entertainment, but why had it suddenly be Nicole¡¯s role? Although it was the role of an antagonist, the scenes of the character were important. How could they let an actor who had only yed minor roles take up this task? No one could understand what had happened, for the movie crew and Imperial Entertainment had remained silent once again. Regarding the issue of Imperial Entertainment signing Nicole as an artist, Sophia was astounded. She thought that Imperial Entertainment would no longer recruit new celebrities. To her, Imperial Entertainment was apany that was about to go into bankruptcy; even Michael did not care about it. When he was ndered by theizens, Imperial Entertainment did not even make a single rification. As for now, they had actually signed a contract with Nicole and had listed her as one of cast for the uing movie. Nheless, Sophia was inexplicably excited. She had nned all this drama with the intention to mess with Richard and rescue her idol who was being ndered by theizens along the way. After the crisis, Taylor¡¯s rumors had started to fade away itself. As long as it was given some time, the truth behind those unfounded rumors would be exposed. This was all done for the sake of her idol! Chapter 255 Chapter 255 Nicole worked together with her to put up a show since she was shut out from Glory Entertainment. Nheless, she had cleared the debt that she owed Glory Entertainment and had sessfully left Glory Entertainment due to the expiry of her contract. ¡°I no longer stand a chance here. I can only head overseas. Fortunately, I¡¯ve received invitations from a few managementpanies from overseas now. They¡¯ve invited me over to shoot some sort of¡­ literary films,¡± she said. Sophia knew what she wanted to film¡ªpornography. Nicole forced out a smile. ¡°What else can I do other than to take part in a film? Even though my sister¡¯s medical bills have been assured, the orphanage still needs me to fund them. The previous director had passed away and most of the volunteers had left. Now that I¡¯m the new director, there are dozens of children waiting to be fed. Moreover, there were two neersst month. By only relying on the charity funds, it was barely enough to support them. If I¡¯m unemployed or if I stop shooting films, all of them will have to starve¡­ It¡¯s good for me to film overseas where the people can ept it better over there. In fact, no one knows me there, and I can earn quick money.¡± After a short conversation, Sophia left. Nicole stared at the empty coffee mug and spaced out. Until now, she still could not figure out Sophia¡¯s background. The air ticket was already in her bag, and she was ready to head overseas to film pornography. Even though it was not something to be proud of, it had a better pay thanks to the vigorous media hype. No matter what kind of films she would film, it would be better than her dark days in Glory Entertainment, where she would need to sleep with men every day. Nicole heaved a sigh before standing up. Her phone in her handbag then suddenly rang at this moment. It was a call from an unknown number. She had received calls from a lot of unknown numbers recently as many foreign directors had contacted her and most of them were to invite her to film pornography. As before, she had epted the call. She had not decided whichpany to devote herself to, so she would work for whicheverpany that offered her better pay. The speaker over the call didn¡¯t sound foreign this time, and she heard the caller saying, ¡°Is this Nicole Walker? I¡¯m Gabriel Reid from Imperial Entertainment managementpany. I heard that the contract between you and Glory Entertainment has ended. Are you interested ining over to Imperial Entertainment?¡± At that moment, Nicole was in utter disbelief. Imperial Entertainment was the top entertainmentpany in the entire entertainment industry in Cethos! Unlike Glory Entertainment, Imperial Entertainment was not as high-profiled as them. They kept it low- key. They did not have a lot of talents, but every single one of them were highly talented. Imperial Entertainment even brought up the two best actors in Cethos who had received the Academy Award as best actors. Imperial Entertainment had a high threshold of entering thepany and they would not ept any ordinary celebrities. Unlike Imperial Entertainment, Glory Entertainment would bring in young stars with high poprity who had little to none acting skills. In contrast, Imperial Entertainment would turn their nose up at them. Am I hearing it right? Imperial Entertainment had actually taken the initiative to invite me over? ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Nicole Walker. I¡¯ve haven¡¯t signed any contracts yet!¡± Sophia was feeling down as she walked out from the caf¨¦. What had happened to Nicole had made her feel depressed. If luck was not on her side for her to meet Michael, her current situation would not differ much from Nicole¡¯s. She would be down and out and feeling hopeless. Hale parked the car outside of the entrance while he waited for Sophia. He immediately opened up the car door the moment he saw Sophiaing. She could see Michael sitting inside the car while he worked with some documents on hisptop. ¡°Is everything settled?¡± Michael closed hisptop when he saw Sophiaing in. Sophia nodded when she entered the car. ¡°Everything¡¯s well taken care of,¡± she then said. Michael had known about all the troubles she had caused these few days, but he had never given her any reactions. He did not ask about it as well. He was fine with it as long as she was happy. Michael pinched her cheek lovingly before he leaned in to give her a soft kiss. Silly chica. Due to the incident that had happened to Nicole, Glory Entertainment¡¯s act in ruining Taylor¡¯s reputation was forced to stop. The shock caused to the public due to Nicole¡¯s livestreamed suicide was way more immensepared to the dug-up dirt spread across the Inte. Nicole had continuously shown up on the news headline for quite some time. About the few matters that were being mentioned when Nicole livestreaming her suicide, the public had shown major curiosity. Nheless, Nicole had never made an appearance to make things clear. The public started to visualize the scene in their own heads by using their imagination after being unable to get a clear exnation from Nicole. Within a short while, dug-up dirt on Glory Entertainment had spread all over the Inte. Some people had broken the news mentioning that Glory Entertainment had constantly let their celebrities sleep with different people in exchange for funds to support their A-list actors. Some had even said that the female celebrities under Glory Entertainment would have stand-ins even though it was mentioned by thepany that no stuntmen were recruited. Moreover, Nicole was the stand-in herself. She did not only have to take up minor roles, but she also had to be a substitute for fight scenes and also a voice actor. Most actors from Glory Entertainment would have their entire body reced by the stand-in actors other than their face. The others had even said that Richard had slept with nearly every female celebrity in Glory Entertainment. Before the incident had happened, he had asked Nicole to enter his office alone to discuss something. In short, various sorts of news had spread throughout the public. Glory Entertainment was currently trying their best to cover up all the rumors. The rumors on Taylor had finallye to an end, but there was simply no news from Imperial Entertainment; they simply refused to respond. They even needed Taylor¡¯s fans to repair his reputation. After a few days from the day the incident had happened, the silent Imperial Entertainment had suddenly held a press conference. They had announced that Nicole had officially signed a contract with them and they would be responsible for everything regarding her show. The public¡¯s opinion was all over the ce and various conspiracy theories started to get spread around. They were all suspecting whether it was Imperial Entertainment¡¯s n all along, with ruining Glory Entertainment¡¯s reputation as their goal. After Imperial Entertainment had held the press conference, they remained silent once more. They did not take any actions no matter how the outside world made their guesses and stated their remarks. Another two days had passed. The first military action movie in Cethos, ¡®War Dragon¡¯, which was highly anticipated, had started their promotions. They started releasing posters of the actors who had taken part in the film. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. This movie was produced by an extraordinary crew and it was a big production where vast investments had been put in, garnering tons of attention. After the previous disturbance had ended, a huge crowd of fans had requested to rece Taylor as the male leading role in the movie, but the official production team of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had not made any responses until now. Everyone paid close attention to the cast posters and they wanted to see whether Taylor had been reced. However, little did they expect to see the first poster being the photos of Nicole Walker, who was acting as the female leading antagonist! It was rumored that the role was supposed to be yed by a female celebrity under Glory Entertainment, but why had it suddenly be Nicole¡¯s role? Although it was the role of an antagonist, the scenes of the character were important. How could they let an actor who had only yed minor roles take up this task? No one could understand what had happened, for the movie crew and Imperial Entertainment had remained silent once again. Regarding the issue of Imperial Entertainment signing Nicole as an artist, Sophia was astounded. She thought that Imperial Entertainment would no longer recruit new celebrities. To her, Imperial Entertainment was apany that was about to go into bankruptcy; even Michael did not care about it. When he was ndered by theizens, Imperial Entertainment did not even make a single rification. As for now, they had actually signed a contract with Nicole and had listed her as one of cast for the uing movie. Nheless, Sophia was inexplicably excited. She had nned all this drama with the intention to mess with Richard and rescue her idol who was being ndered by theizens along the way. After the crisis, Taylor¡¯s rumors had started to fade away itself. As long as it was given some time, the truth behind those unfounded rumors would be exposed. This was all done for the sake of her idol! Chapter 256 Chapter 256 On the celebrity leaderboard, Taylor¡¯s name started to rise and had steadily made it into top ten. Although most celebrities on the top ten list were from Glory Entertainment, Taylor would just need a little more time to make it. Stanley rang Sophia up while she was looking at the leaderboard on her mobile phone. It seemed like he had not learnt his lesson yet from getting beaten upst time. ¡°Sophia, it was because of you I got beaten up by my uncle. I¡¯m in a bad mood right now. Come out now and have a coffee with me.¡± Sophia rejected him immediately after hearing what Stanley had said through the phone. ¡°I¡¯m not into it.¡± Stanley flew into rage. ¡°You have toe over. Otherwise, I¡¯ll wait for you until you show up at your house entrance!¡± ¡°Your uncle¡¯s here.¡± Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. ¡°Then I shall stay at the entrance of your ssroom!¡± Sophia was gaming at the moment as she practiced the strategies for the Esports World Championship this summer holiday. After hearing what Stanley had said, Sophia grabbed her phone properly before she replied in a serious manner, ¡°Stan, all the stuff you¡¯re doing are all in vain. I really am married now and I love my husband a lot.¡± Stanley did not believe her. ¡°Bah! Don¡¯t try to lie to me. I know you¡¯re just in a one-sided love with my uncle. I¡¯m telling you this¡ªthere¡¯s no future in that. It¡¯s impossible for you to be together with my uncle. You¡¯d be better off getting together with me.¡± This time, it was Stanley who was teaching Sophia a lesson. ¡°My uncle likes men. He and Harry are a pair made in heaven. Just put that in your pipe and smoke it! Moreover, my uncle is married now. Stop thinking about him and just think about me instead!¡± Sophia was speechless. ¡°Quicklye over. Sean and I are at the caf¨¦ by the ring road highway. If you don¡¯t show upter, I¡¯ll go disturb you at your house. Hmph!¡± Stanley seemed like he was very angry. After the call was hung up, Stanley had sent over his location to Sophia. He was sitting in the caf¨¦ with a cup of hot coffee ced in front of him. On his opposite side, there was a blondedy sitting down. The girl had long blonde hair which was about waist-length. Her facial features were delicate, which were enhanced by her elegant makeup, and her blue pupils were as clear as the ocean. Thedy was wearing a pair of high heels, while her slender legs were revealed under herced skirt. The color of her skin could be seen through her light grey panty-hose, making the men in the surroundings constantly turn their heads around to have a peek. Nheless, whenever they saw Stanley, who was sitting in front of her, looking unfriendly, no one seemed to dare to hit on her. The gorgeousdy said, ¡°What did Sophia say?¡± Although she was pretty-looking, her voice was rather rough. Stanley hung his head as he looked at his phone. He did not even look up when he said, ¡°She¡¯lle overter.¡± Thedy pursed her vermillion lips while she was propping her chin up with one hand while twirling her blonde hair with the other. ¡°Stan, how¡¯s my look today?¡± she asked. Stanley continued to lower his head when he answered, ¡°You look good.¡± He then continued, ¡°Once Sophia arrivester in a while, we¡¯ll go ording to n. My happiness for the rest of my life depends on you now.¡± Thedy seemed dejected; even her blue eyes seemed to have darkened a notch. ¡°Alright.¡± After a short while, Sophia had indeed shown up. She felt she ought to make things clear with Stanley, but little did she expect to see a gorgeous-lookingdy with blonde hair, sitting right by his side. Sophia felt curious about her, so she walked over. Stanley wrapped his arm around thedy¡¯s shoulders when he told Sophia, ¡°Sophia,e here. Let me introduce you to my friend, Shirley.¡± Sophia had gotten even more curious at this point. Geez, Stanley would actually have a female friend that¡®s this gorgeous? That sure came as a surprise. Shirley then reached out her slender pale hand toward Sophia. ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Shirley.¡± Sophia shook hands with her. ¡°Nice to meet you too. I¡¯m Sophia.¡± Sophia took a seat before she ordered a cup of hot coffee. She kept sneaking nces at Shirley, for the latter seemed somewhat familiar. Right when Shirley had gone to the washroom to touch up her makeup, Stanley immediately leaned toward Sophia and asked her deliberately, ¡°Sophia, isn¡¯t Shirley beautiful?¡± Sophia nodded. Shirley was truly beautiful! Stanley then said with his nose in the air, ¡°She has been pursuing me for years now. What do you think? Feeling threatened now?¡± Sophia became speechless once again. ¡°Why would I feel threatened?¡± Sounding exasperated, Stanley said, ¡°A brilliant and eligible bachelor like me would have girlsing after me. They would be lining up from the barrackpound to the graves of the Fletchers in the suburbs. Don¡¯t miss the chance as I could leave with any one of them at any time. This is yourst chance.¡± Sophia was rather speechless. ¡°Thanks for the advice. However, I really am married, and life with my husband is great.¡± Stanley then tried to intimidate Sophia. ¡°Sophia, do you believe that I¡¯ll start dating Shirley right away?¡± Sophia had only nodded. ¡°Yes. I wish you two happiness.¡± Stanley was on the verge of madness at Sophia¡¯s words. Shirley happened to return at that moment, so he quickly made up an excuse to leave the ce. ¡°I¡¯m going to the washroom to take a leak. Both of you should chat. Just don¡¯t fight over me.¡± He slipped away and there were only Sophia and Shirley left at the table. The both of them were quiet until Sophia helplessly spoke up before Shirley could say anything. ¡°Stop acting, Sean.¡± Shirley covered her mouth andughed while she blinked her wide eyes. ¡°How did you even recognize me when I¡¯m dressed up like this?¡± Although he was wearing contact lenses and a wig, had his Adam¡¯s apple covered up with a scarf and had spoken with a perfectly disguised voice, Sophia was still able to recognize him due to his ridiculously beautiful face. Sean was already good-looking as a man, and he would undoubtedly look even better dressed up as a woman. ¡°Stanley made me dressed up as a girl so that you¡¯ll feel threatened. However, I know that you aren¡¯t going to feel this way because you don¡¯t have any feelings for him at all,¡± Sean confessed. Sophia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I really appreciate that time when he rescued me at the Time Square, and I cherish him as a friend. However, I¡¯ve only treated him as an ordinary friend, and I¡¯m married as well.¡± Sean supported his chin on his hand, showing the grudging expression of a girl. ¡°Nevertheless, once Stan firmly believes in something, it¡¯s nearly impossible to change how he thinks about it.¡± Sophia felt worried about the same matter as well. However, she only had feelings for her male idol, Michael. The both of them kept silent for a while before Sophia abruptly nced at Sean. He really looked as gorgeous as a movie star when he dressed up like a girl. Sitting by ¡®her¡¯ side made Sophia feel simr to when she was sitting by Michael¡¯s side¡ªeverything felt surreal. It was as though she was filming for a movie. Sophia suddenly asked, ¡°Sean, you have feelings for Stanley, am I right?¡± Stanley, who was an insensitive and silly man, would never figure it out. However, Sophia was able to see through it right away. She initially thought Sean was in a rtionship with Sarah, but apparently the both of them were just really good friends. Whenever Stanley yed a game, Sean would join in. When Stanley was injured, Sean was the one who had visited him every day. Anyhow, Sean would always be at Stanley¡¯s house whenever Sophia visited Stanley in the militarypound. The both of them had even grown up together. They attended the same kindergarten, primary school and high school, until the both of them hadpleted the college entrance examination. Right after that, Stanley had served in the army while Sean had gone overseas. Two yearster, Stanley went back to his studies after he had left the army. Sean hade back from overseas as well. All these beautiful coincidences could only have happened when someone had been taking deliberate actions. As a fujoshi herself, her instincts were often very urate. Sean¡¯s cheeks were blushing red, but he did not refute at all. Instead, he had nodded honestly. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve liked him since I was little.¡± Sophia felt sorry for Sean as he had been putting in efforts, which had all gone unnoticed by Stanley. He had even asked Sean to dress up as a girl to meet with Sophia. Stanley, what an idiot you are! Chapter 257 Chapter 257 Sean gently sipped on his cup of coffee. His delicate manicures had crystals on them, which were glittering. ¡°I¡¯ve always liked being a girl since I was at a young age, but my family wouldn¡¯t let me. My father passed away when I was little and my mother has remarried. I never had a lot of friends back then, and only Stan was willing to y with me. He never disliked me. I initially wanted to confess to Stan right after we¡¯vepleted the college entrance examination, but I didn¡¯t expect Stan to actually go serve in the army. My family has sent me overseas for psychotherapy, and that¡¯s when I went abroad.¡± Sean must have been in despair at that moment¡­ Sophia patted Sean on the shoulder. ¡°As a matter of fact, Stan likes men as well. It¡¯s just that he has been charmed by his uncle recently. Wait until he sees the best in you, then he¡¯ll surely ept you.¡± Sean stared at Sophia, looking stunned. ¡°Are you saying that Stan likes men as well?¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yup. I can assure you that he¡¯s in love with his uncle, Michael.¡± Sean could not hold back hisughter. ¡°Sophia, stop joking around. I¡¯m sure Stan is heterosexual and he only worships his uncle. Stop taking it wrongly.¡± ¡°Err¡­¡± Stanley is actually heterosexual? Is he not a little boy who was brought up by Michael? I had even seen them at home¡­ Hmm, wait, have I mistaken them as gays because of my own prejudiced thoughts? Sean was even more sensitive than girls. He had probably guessed the thought Sophia had in mind now, and he could no longer hold in hisughter. ¡°Sophia, you really did misunderstand him. Although he has never been in a romantic rtionship before, he has always liked girls since he was young.¡± With that being said, Sophia felt like there was a need for herself to redefine the rtionship between Michael and his bunch of homosexual friends. Could it be possible that my Tay Tay doesn¡¯t like men?? ¡°I¡¯m sure Mr. Michael likes men, but as for Stanley, he¡¯s definitely straight.¡± It was Sophia¡¯s turn to feel upset now. Alright then. So my Tay Tay does like men. I can match up to him in every single way, all except my gender. What a miserable thing! Now, it seemed like both Sophia and Sean were in a simr position; they were both leading a miserable life! Sean kept silent for a short while before he said, ¡°I¡¯ve grown up with Stan, and I have never seen him so deeply in love with someone. Sophia, you¡¯re the first one. If it¡¯s possible, I think you can¡­¡± Sophia refused right away. ¡°I¡¯m emotionally unavable.¡± This topic had ended right at that point. Sean and Sophia had remained silent right until Stanley returned. After the three of them had finished dinner, they had gone back to their respective houses. Before they bid each other goodbye, Stanley had reminded Sophia once again. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯ve met Shirley earlier, and you really should feel threatened now. A man like me really is heavily sought-after!¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± Sophia then got into the car before Hale stepped on the gas pedal and drove off the scene. As he watched Sophia gradually vanishing from his sight, Stanley was slightly disappointed. Nheless, his disappointment did not remain for long. He then held a cigarette between his lips and looped an arm around Sean¡¯s shoulders as they headed toward the cybercafe. ¡°Let¡¯s go y some games. When the day I be the international championes, she will definitely be deeply in love with me.¡± Sophia would always return at night. The castle-like mansion was all lit up and warm light was seeping through the windows. Silhouettes of people could be seen passing by the corridors, and it seemed pretty lively in there. Sophia pushed open the door to find two gilded invitation envelopes on the table ced in the living room. When she opened it, it was an invitation to Richard and Ka¡¯s engagement party. She held the gilded invitation in her hands and kept silent. After Richard had taken over Glory Entertainment, he had slept with nearly all the female celebrities. Moreover, Nicole¡¯s issue had made a tremendous row. How could his engagement with X not be affected by it? It was going to take ce as scheduled, and they seemed to have purposely made it even grander. Marriage of the wealthy families, huh? But how did he send these invitations here anyway? Surely Richard didn¡¯te here personally, right? She brought the two invitations over to Michael, who said, ¡°This? It¡¯s the engagement invitations from the Harpers and the Huffs. They¡¯ve sent me an invitation as well. Moreover, Richard has purposely called me up to take it from him.¡± Sophia was shocked. ¡°Are you going to attend the event?¡± Michael smiled as he looked at her. ¡°I¡¯ve epted their invitation, so for sure I¡¯ll attend the event. I¡¯m their new talent who they¡¯re going to train this year, so how can I not attend?¡± Sophia stared at Michael and had gone speechless. She had just embarrassed Richard greatly, so he must have hated her. He had to be up to no good this time when he wanted her to attend their engagement ceremony. Michael and Richard did not hold grudges against each other. Instead, it was Sophia who held grudges against the Harpers. Did Michael want to stand up for himself this time? Since Michael had decided to go, how could she not follow along? Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. It was the Harpers¡¯ engagement banquet during the weekend. Michael had started preparing after he had finished his lunch. It seemed like he was really nning to head over to the event. Sophia had started preparing her clothing as well. She would just dress up casually since it was her ex- boyfriend¡¯s engagement. However, she was torn between which shirt to wear. If she had dressed up too casually, her ex-boyfriend would have achieved his purpose. They had only wanted to embarrass her. Nevertheless, if she had dressed up perfectly, it would seem like she was showing respect to them at their event. Standing in the closet, Sophia was troubled as she looked at all the clothes she had. All her clothes seemed to be overly extravagant for the event. She still was not able to decide on the suitable clothes to wear after choosing for a very long while. She then sat in the closet while scrolling about on her phone. After a while, she checked on the celebrity leaderboard again. A few days had passed, and the fans had devoted themselves to voting, but Michael¡¯s fans still were not as mad aspared to those popr celebrities. Michael could only barely hang on to the end of the top ten list. Most of the top few celebrities were all from Glory Entertainment. How is this possible? Nheless, fans could only vote once a day with one registered phone number. If they were caught voting through illegitimate methods, their votes would be canceled. Sophia heaved a sigh after staring at it for a while. Even though inconsequential leaderboards like this would not affect Michael¡¯s status in the entertainment industry, she still felt disappointed and mad seeing her male idol being pushed out of the rankings by those young boys. The main point though, was that Michael did not even seem to care about it at all! Sophia, who was looking at her phone in the closet, suddenly heard noisesing from next door. Michael¡¯s closet was just next door, and it was as extensive as a whole storeroom, considering his status as a celebrity. Tons of men¡¯s clothing, shoes and watches were piled up in his locker room. There were even a number of items of big brands that had yet to appear on the market. To a celebrity, clothing was one of the most important things to them. The clothes they wore didn¡¯t only have to be branded, but they also had to be of the newest arrival of the brand in order to prove their strong fashion resources, as well as to prove their status within the entertainment industry. Even though Michael had owned a ton of clothing, he did not seem to wear much of them. He would wear his costumes at the filming studios, and when he was at home, he would wear onesies that had cartoon figures printed on them just like Nate¡¯s, while he would just go straightmando when he was in the bedroom. The two closets were separated, but there was a door in between them for them to walk over. Sophia silently poked her head into Michael¡¯s closet to find him trying on shirts in front of the mirror. He seemed very patient as he changed from one outfit to another. After trying on an outfit, he would take off all of them before he put on another set of outfit. When Sophia was peeking at him, Michael was trying on a blue suit. Although it was an attractive blue color, he seemed to be exuding a sense of maturity when he had put that on, which was something that felt unfamiliar to Sophia. He felt dissatisfied when he looked at the reflection of himself dressed in the blue suit in the mirror. However, he had unexpectedly caught sight of a pair of lecherous eyes gazing at him behind his back. Chapter 258 Chapter 258 Talking about Sean, Michael expressed his regrets. ¡°His father died at a young age and his mother remarried to another man. Since he was a boy, the Mitchells did not allow his mother to bring him away with her. Hence, he was forced to part ways with his mother. I guess that was when he started having a grudge.¡± Sophia also let out a sigh. The couple then went down the stairs as they headed into the hotel. Meanwhile, Nathan, who had been left behind at home, was holding onto aptop as he walked to Vi Number 4 across the road in his pajamas. Harry lived there, and he was ying video games at home at this moment. He still had some business to attend toter, but he was free at the moment. So, he decided to y a few rounds of games in the meantime. With an upset look, Nathan keyed in the passcode before entering the house. When Harry saw him, he curiously asked, ¡°Why are you here, Nate?¡± Ever since Michael got married, he would return home to look after his wife and kid when he had some spare time, neglecting his bunch of good friends. Nathan pouted. ¡°Do you know how to y ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯?¡± Feeling confused, Harry replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Nathan then switched on hisptop in Harry¡¯s living room before starting the video game with a furious expression. ¡°Come and y the game with me.¡± Harry was baffled. He then went upstairs to take his ownptop while making his guesses. Nathan¡¯s parents must have gone out for a date, leaving him alone at home. He must be angry at being left alone. Nevertheless, this little kid knows how to y games? And the Swordsman Game to boot? Could he be one of those legendary ¡®elementary student yers¡¯? He was rather curious too, and he wanted to see for himself just how brilliant was this ¡®elementary student yer¡¯. The two of them then started ying the video game in the living room. Sitting across each other, they were surrounded by junk food. After they had logged into the game, the duo put on their earphones. ¡°Nate, I¡¯ll wait for you at the entrance of Stressfree Vige on the Bayside server. Do you know the way?¡± Putting on an expressionless face, Nathan answered, ¡°Yes.¡± Nathan headed to the entrance of Stressfree Vige. The moment he arrived there, he stumbled across a character whom he despised¡ªNo. 1 Beast of the Server. This character had been stirring up trouble in the game and had even bullied him, but his ¡®father¡¯, Sirius, told him that thepetition wasing up, so he couldn¡¯t fight the Beast for the time being. Thus, Nathan had been holding back against this scum. On this day, Beast was here to mock him again. ¡®Hey, isn¡¯t this NateHiro? Where¡¯s Daddy? Why isn¡¯t Daddy here?¡¯ NateHiro remained silent as he waited for his godfather toe and y the game with him. Beast then purposely walked up to him. ¡®Hey, you have quite an attitude, don¡¯t you? Come, call me your brother! We¡¯re considered a family!¡¯ His in-game father was Scary Phoenix, while NateHiro¡¯s in-game father was Sirius. Their fathers were married, so they were really considered as a family, or rather, a reconstituted family. NateHiro suddenly pounced toward him without uttering a word and started giving Beast a beating. Beast was forced to fight back too, but NateHiro seemed to be more powerful than him as it took him a lot of energy to fight back. While they were fighting, Harry said to Nathan who was sitting across him. ¡°Son, I met a rival. Don¡¯te over first for the time being. Go to Rocky Pinnacle and wait for me there. I¡¯ll be there in a second.¡± If his godson found out that he was being beaten up so badly by his rival, he would be so embarrassed! Without making a sound, Nathan beat Beast up swiftly until he was barely alive; this kid really seemed to be angry for being left alone at home. After a bout of fighting, Beast, who was clearly not NateHiro¡¯s match, left in a dejected manner. ¡®Just you wait. I¡¯ll ask my father to look for your father and seek revenge.¡¯ Beast then fled to Rocky Pinnacle, but he must not let Nathan know that he had been beaten up. Otherwise, it would be so embarrassing for him as his godfather. However, when he arrived at Rocky Pinnacle, Nathan was nowhere in sight. Instead, he saw NateHiro standing below Rocky Pinnacle, giving Beast a huge fright. Why won¡¯t this guy just go away? There were many people, so luckily, NateHiro did not see him. Keeping a low profile, Beast passed by the area as Harry told Nathan in real life, ¡°Son, let¡¯s meet at the smallke beside Rocky Pinnacle.¡± Nathan was still silent, but he was heading toward the smallke. When Beast reached the edge of theke, he caught sight of NateHiro who was standing beside theke again. D*mn it! He really won¡¯t go away! Harry asked Nathan, ¡°What¡¯s your ID, Nate? I don¡¯t see you. I¡¯ll go and look for you!¡± Still remaining expressionless, Nathan looked at the frustrated Harry as he slowly replied, ¡°NateHiro.¡± Harry abruptly lifted his head, looking as if he had seen a ghost. The two of them exchanged nces and there was a heavy silence for a few seconds. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Why have I never realized that NateHiro is actually Nathan? This young kid knew how to y video games as well? Are all the elementary student yers this remarkable now? He even found himself a father in the game? Wait, his father?? Could his father in the game possibly be¡­ As he thought about all the possibilities, Harry¡¯s lips twitched. Nathan finally knew that Harry was Beast too. The smart boy was immediately reminded of Harry¡¯s in- game father who was mighty and domineering. Although he was reluctant to admit it, Scary Phoenix was indeed powerful, and he had even secretly wished that Scary Phoenix was his own in-game father, but without Sophia knowing it, of course. Scary Phoenix, Taylor, Call Me Taylor¡­ All those alternate names! The world of the adults is so complicated! The engagement banquet on this night was so lively. Guests were arriving consecutively at the entrance, and famous celebrities also continuously showed up. A red carpet had also been specially prepared. There was even a signature wall where arriving guests had to leave a signature after walking the red carpet. Sophia even seemed to have caught sight of those who had openly ndered Taylor recently, for example, Bethany and Nichs. A film which the both of them had coborated in was premiering on television stations, so the duo was now the nation¡¯s favorite couple. The moment the couple made their appearance, countless fans shouted at the top of their lungs. The media also quickly took photos of them. The two main stars of the engagement banquet were standing at the entrance, weing their guests. The two of them wore quite a matching attire, making them quite worthy of the praises that the others had been showering them. Stanley and Sean also showed up at the red carpet. Richard still doubted his eyes when he saw Stanley. He thought that Stanley wouldn¡¯te, but unexpectedly, he came and even brought a beautiful, blondedy with him; it wasn¡¯t Sophia. Richard was more certain this time that Sophia and Stanley had really broken up. She did not have protection from the Fletchers anymore. Also, Stanley didn¡¯t waste any time looking for a new girlfriend. Richard still did not believe it when he first heard that Stanley often brought a girl to cybercafes to y video games, but as he looked at Sean now, he finally believed it. Haha! Sophia, you¡¯re nothing without the protection from the Fletchers now. Richard was eager to see the look on Sophia¡¯s face when she begged him to love her one more time. Stanley and Sean then walked past the red carpet. The media didn¡¯t know who they were, but the guests who had been invited to the engagement banquet by the Harpers were surely not any ordinary people. Thus, they started frantically taking photos of them. Stanley put on a smug smile as he stood on the red carpet for a few seconds. He purposely posed for the cameras while Sean held his hand, posing with him as well. The two of them then went to the signature wall and wrote down their names. When Richard saw Sean writing his own family name, he was immediately filled with respect. Mitchell. He¡¯s from the Mitchell Family! Since she¡¯s together with Stanley, she¡¯s surely not just an ordinary member of the Mitchell Family. Indeed, Sophia had been brutally ditched. This Mitchell must now be Stanley¡¯s official girlfriend. Chapter 259 Chapter 259 After exchanging several nces with X, he went up and greeted her passionately, ¡°Wee, wee. What an honor this is to have the two of you here at our engagement dinner!¡± Looking at Richard as he nodded and bowed, Stanley simply smiled without saying anything else. He then let the servers lead them into the engagement banquet. Afraid that nobody knew about it, Richard purposely informed the media that the Young Master of the Fletcher Family and Young Lady of the Mitchell Family hade to his engagement dinner. In an instant, all the guests got wind of this; seeing that family members of the Fletcher and Mitchell families were here, the Harpers were surely distinguished figures. The Fletchers and Mitchells tended to keep a low profile, so nobody knew who those two people were. They went up to Richard in an attempt to ask him, but he dodged their questions as well. All of a sudden, Richard saw a couple making their way over on the red carpet from afar. It was Sophia and ¡®Tyler¡¯. Michael dressed in a in suit, so there was nothing striking about his clothes. However, he had stumbled across two or three people who were wearing the same outfit as him. Sophia was wearing a modest, medium-end dress. It was from a previous autumn collection, making it seem outdated. Although it looked pretty, it was considered old-fashioned in the eyes of fashionistas. When the media saw Michael, they exchanged nces and were dumbfounded. Wasn¡¯t this Taylor? Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. However, it seemed impossible. When the Harpers made the announcement, they did not mention that they had invited Taylor; he was an artist under Imperial Entertainment, which was Glory Entertainment¡¯s rival. Why was he here at the Harpers¡¯ engagement dinner? Furthermore, Taylor was a person who kept a low profile, seldom appearing in public. Why would he show up here of all ces? Many people had never met Taylor in real life. Michael seemed so tender, and he waspletely different from the perverted, girly and murderous roles that he yed in films. They were surely not the same person. Regardless of who he was, the media wanted to take photos of him before anything else. Michael calmly stood on the red carpet for a few seconds as he waited for everyone to take photos of him. As she smiled faintly, Sophia stood beside him and got their pictures taken together. After their photos were taken, Michael and Sophia held hands as they made their way toward the signature wall to write down their names. Sophia signed her own name while Michael signed the name which Richard had given to him. Hence, there was another name on the signature wall¡ªTyler. The media frantically took photos of that name. He wasn¡¯t actually Taylor, but Tyler? Was this Anna and Ana? Was Glory preparing to debut a newbie who looked like Taylor? Regardless, Tyler¡¯s emergence had caused a hugemotion. The media were feeling uneasy as all of them wanted to know about Tyler¡¯s background. The Harpers wanted this kind of reaction; the moment the right time came, they were going to promote Tyler to the fullest. Then, Richard and X walked up to greet them. As she held Sophia¡¯s hands hospitably, X said, ¡°I¡¯m so d that you could make it to our engagement dinner, Sophia.¡± She seemed so na?ve and innocent when she was talking, yet she felt so pleased with herself on the inside. She knew that Sophia and Nicole would work hand-in-hand to create a blockbuster and ruin her engagement with Richard. Nevertheless, she did not think that her engagement would be fazed by it. Instead, their rtionship became even more stable. Her rtionship with Richardsted for so long, while Sophia would forever only be a pest around Richard. When Richard saw Sophia, a hint of evil shed through his eyes; he was infuriated. He had almost fallen into her trap. She was no longer satisfied being his mistress; she had even wanted to coborate with an outsider to ruin his engagement with X. A woman like her was really scary. She had resorted to all kinds of measures just to be the Young Madam of the Harper Family! Did she seriously think that she could disturb his engagement with X by coborating with Nicole and causing a bit of trouble? Dream on! She was really a pathetic and na?ve woman! Nheless, she had managed to rmend a talent like Tyler to him. Hence, he decided to temporarily forgive her for the past incidents. Michael and Richard then greeted each other in a friendly manner while Sophia kept quiet. She knew that Richard and X had always felt good about themselves. By simply telling them something, they would start to overthink things. After briefly greeting each other, Sophia and Michael entered the engagement hall while holding hands. The hall was already crowded; the venue had been separated into different areas ording to the guests¡¯ territory. Stanley and Sean sat with a group of noble women, and it was apparent that the Harpers had treated the both of them as their distinguished guests. Stanley pretended to not know who Michael and Sophia were, but his eyes were always ncing in their direction. There was going to be a good show today! Stanley was getting excited. Meanwhile, Michael and Sophia were sitting together with Glory¡¯s artists. Glory had nurtured many stars over the years. Although they were all idol-like artists, their fame did not last long. Nevertheless, they were a topic of discussion. They had a huge influence over the youths, but they were only famous in Cethos; nobody knew who they were outside of Cethos. Glory¡¯s next step was to cultivate international megastars like Taylor and Ethan. Those who managed to get an invitation were Glory¡¯s popr actors like Nichs and Bethany. Eight people were seated at the same table. Besides Michael and Sophia, the others were Glory¡¯s artists. All of them chatted among themselves at that moment,pletely ignoring Michael and Sophia. Being sidelined, the two of them must¡¯ve felt awkward. However, Sophia didn¡¯t think so. As long as her idol was with her, she felt like every day was her wedding day. Michael¡¯s appearance had posed a great threat to the artists. All of them had be famous within the past two years. Apart from Bethany who had worked with Taylor a few years ago, the rest of them had never met him in real life before¡ªeven Bethany did not recognize him at that moment. They had heard that Richard was getting ready to wee two hardcore martial arts stars. One of them was a ¡®Tyler¡¯ who looked very simr to Taylor. Hence, they assumed the guy in front of them was ¡®Tyler¡¯. Nobody expected the old man whom the media described as depressed to show up here in an arrogant manner while keeping his identity a mystery¡ªno one even recognized him at all. Even those who were curious did not dare to greet him; Tyler just seemed to be a different person than Taylor. However, they were certain that Tyler was going to be their biggest rival. He was also Richard¡¯s favorite, and there were only so many resources in which Glory could acquire. If another person came topete for it, the resources each celebrity would get would certainly lessen. They were celebrities; even though they were envious of him, they would not show it in their expressions. They continued chatting joyfully, ignoring the two of them. They formed their own circle, showing the newbie some dominance. Sophia was bored, so she rested her chin on her hands and started imagining things. If only the stars at this table knew that Taylor was sitting in front of them¡­ Chapter 260 Chapter 260 While the couple was seated at that table, they had been neglected during the whole event; the atmosphere around that table was extremely awkward. Feeling quite bored, Sophia took a nce to see if the dinner had started. She then stood up to grab something to eat. Michael¡¯s gaze followed her. She was wearing a blouse that covered her knees, but her cute calves were exposed. They were tender, fair, and incredibly adorable. After doingser scar treatment on her ankle, the mark hadpletely healed. Since there weren¡¯t any scars in sight, Sophia dared to reveal her ankle too. When Sophia went to grab some food to eat, Stanley came to join her too. He hung his head low as he took a drumstick, pretending not to recognize her. He made some noises to attract her attention. ¡°Psst¡­¡± ¡°What sort of exciting programs have you nned with my uncle for tonight? Quick, tell me please!¡± Sophia tasted the mousse and said, ¡°Go and eat your chicken!¡± They surely had their own ns. Stanley then cheerfully walked away with the drumstick in his hand. He took his seat and waited for Sophia¡¯s program toe on scene. Carrying a te which had two small pieces of cake on it, Sophia went back to her seat. However, she had only walked halfway back when she suddenly smelled a powerful scent of perfume. Needless to say, her path was being blocked. A group of girls who were wearing vibrant outfits came out of nowhere. The leader of the group looked slightly familiar, but Sophia could not recall where she had met her before. The girl was staring at her; her beautiful face was concealing a great sense of evil. Raising the corners of her lips, she asked, ¡°Don¡¯t you recognize me? S-o-p-h-i-a?¡± Hearing that voice and taking another nce at her facial features, Sophia suddenly came to her senses. ¡°How have you been, Faye?¡¯ Faye had broken her nose during military camp after being punched by Sophia; she was then forced to go overseas in an effort to undergo stic surgery. At the same time, she created a whole new look for herself. Faye lifted her face in arrogance; her face was indeed elegant. Compared to her previous appearance, her current face looked so much better. Mesmerized by her own good looks, she put on an unnatural smile. The excessive stic surgeries had ruined the nerves on her face, and Faye could not make any natural expressions anymore. Looking at her unnatural face filled with evil and her heart that was cold, all Sophia wanted to do was to avoid her. Just as she was about to dodge her, Faye suddenly reached out a hand and stopped her. Unexpectedly, Faye did not cause any trouble to her. Instead, she was admiring her dress with a surprised look on her face. ¡°Your dress is so beautiful. Where did you buy it from? What brand is it?¡± The group of girls whom Faye led were also rather curious. Theymented about her skirt and even tugged at her skirt to feel it. This was only an ordinary dress that cost a few hundred which could easily be found in-stores. It was surely not something that would spark so much interest in this group of girls. Sophia suddenly became alert as she said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to see. It¡¯s an ordinary skirt which cost a few hundred. You can see this in retail stores everywhere; there are plenty of them on the Inte as well.¡± She then took the opportunity to leave the scene. But the moment she stepped away, she felt a cold sensation on her buttocks. Sophia reached behind to touch her dress, but she instantly felt the safety pants which she was wearing inside. Her skirt had been cut open from behind! She had no idea who was the one who had cut her skirt from the edge all the way to her waist. Her skirt waspletely open, revealing her curvy buttocks. Looking at her in a condescending manner, Faye¡¯s eyes were filled with satisfaction. She then ced her lips beside her ears and said, ¡°This is your ex-boyfriend¡¯s engagement dinner. If you walk in like this, you¡¯ll instantly attract more attention than the bride!¡± Not only did the Harper Family¡¯s engagement have famous celebrities, the media was also present. They couldn¡¯t wait to turn the engagement party into a huge party. Of course, the media was looking everywhere for any incidents to make the headlines. Sophia was currently in the middle of the group of girls. The guests outside were still unaware of this incident, but as soon as this group of girls dispersed, everyone would catch a glimpse of the embarrassing state she was in. It was apparent that this had been nned beforehand as there were already reporters who were holding their cameras, ready for any sort of action. Sophia did not utter a word. She just stared at Faye, unfazed. A contemptuous smile finally emerged on Faye¡¯s unnatural face, looking incredibly cunning. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. The girls who had Sophia surrounded were waiting for Faye¡¯s orders. The moment they dispersed, she would be brought to shame. Streaking would be such a huge news; she would really be theughing stock of Bayside University after this! Mockery and ridicule were everywhere. To a girl, it was uneptable! This was only Faye¡¯s disy of dominance after making her return. There were going to be more interesting events happening next! ¡°How dare you fight me? Who do you think you are? Let me tell you this; I am back. You will have no ce in Bayside University¡ªnot even in this city anymore!¡± It was a pity that Faye did not see the expressions on Sophia¡¯s face she had been anticipating. There was no sign of fear, horror, or helplessness on the girl¡¯s face, and she waspletely expressionless. Sophia finally replied in a calm manner, ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± The moment she finished talking, Sophia pressed the cakes which she had been carrying against Faye¡¯s chest. She wanted to give those cakes to Michael; thickyers of icing formed a colorful flower, but at this moment, all of that was smashed against Faye¡¯s chest. She was wearing a tailor-made dress that was cream in color, revealing her snow-whiteplexion on the chest. Her cleavage was subtle, but after being smeared by the icing, her entire chest was now an array of colors. Staring at her own chest, Faye was dumbfounded. A pair of cold hands then extended toward her bosom before violently tearing her dress apart! The crisp sound of the dress being torn could be heard. Faye¡¯s dress had been brutally torn apart by Sophia. She was extremely powerful; the thin dress could not withstand her strength at all as she ripped it apart. After the dress had been ripped apart from the chest all the way down to her breasts, Sophia stopped! At this moment, Sophia¡¯s breasts were exposed as her dress was torn apart. Since it was a strapless dress, the entire piece of clothing slid down after being violently ripped apart. In an instant, Faye was naked in front of everyone. She was only wearing nipple patches and underwear; she did not even have any safety pants on. Then, Sophia violently ripped her nipple patches away too! Faye¡¯s shriek broke the silence in the hall. Everyone shifted their gaze toward her and all they saw was a naked girl standing among the crowd. This was huge news! Reacting to the scene, the media and guests looked toward her. The group of girls obviously did not expect Sophia to do such a thing! She had ripped Faye¡¯s dress apart in front of the crowd. Before they could react to the situation, the crowd had swarmed over, drowning them in an instant. Sophia then made use of the crowd to sneak away. It was in to see that Faye¡¯s voluminous 36D breasts¡ªwhich were made from hyaluronic acid¡ªwere the main attraction. Everyone¡¯s gaze was fixed on her breasts, no longer paying attention to Sophia¡¯s buttocks. She then walked toward Michael. He happened to be walking in her direction too, clearly unaware of what had transpired. Sophia covered her buttocks, trying her best not to embarrass herself. Suddenly, a coat fell from the sky. The long coat draped over her, covering her dress which had been cut open. She turned around and saw an unexpected face. ¡°Professor rk?¡± Quinton was here too. Quinton had a look of worry on his face. ¡°Are you alright, Miss Sophia?¡± Chapter 261 Chapter 261 Sophia was stunned as she faced a sudden concern; she did not expect Quinton to receive the invitation as well. However, the rks were a noble family in Bayside City, and Quinton himself was also a very prestigious teacher at the university. It made sense for him to receive the invitation, right? Sophia tightened the clothes around her before she smiled at Quinton and said, ¡°Thank you, teacher; I¡¯m fine.¡± Quinton had been lingering at the edge moments ago, so he did not clearly see what had happened. Nheless, he knew something was wrong when he saw Sophiaing out while covering her backside. Meanwhile, the farce over at the other end had carried on. Faye went around pulling other girls¡¯ clothes to cover her body; after grabbing their clothes, the scene had turned into a mess. A huge crowd of people swarmed in to watch and the situation was absolutely terrible. In the end, it was the host family who came forward and asked the hotel waiters to give the girls some clothes. After covering themselves up, the girls went back to their hotel room one by one while weeping in tears. Finally, the scene was under control. Sophia stood outside the crowd, watching as Faye and the group of girls entered their hotel rooms. She knew that X would never let her take part in this event peacefully; thetter had known that Faye wasing in the first ce. Moreover, Faye wouldn¡¯t have let her off after she had knocked the girl¡¯s nose crooked with her fist. Recycling her old tricks, X continued to use others who were fierce as her gunmen to get back at Sophia. As for herself, she would remain as pure as a white lotus. Quinton also looked at the group of girls who were in tears as they vanished in sight. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Faye? When did shee back?¡± Quinton asked. A brief interlude could not affect that day¡¯s engagement ceremony. It had be a ce for celebrities to socialize, and the ce was very lively with everyoneing and leaving. All of a sudden, a huge palmnded on Sophia¡¯s shoulder. She turned around and saw Michael¡¯s face immediately. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He had been sitting at the table just now, but he seemed to have an idea of what was going on. Nevertheless, he knew that Sophia did not get the short end of the stick just by looking at her. Sophia shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she assured him. She then said to Quinton, ¡°I¡¯ll return the clothes to youter, Professor rk. Thank you very much.¡± Quinton looked at Michael as he stood next to her, and Michael looked right at him. ¡°Professor rk, this is my boyfriend, Michael.¡± ¡°Hubby, this is my professional course teacher, Professor rk.¡± The two of them briefly shook hands. ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± they said. After exchanging simple greetings with each other, Sophia went to the washroom to take off Quinton¡¯s clothes. After a short while, Michael came in as well. He took a silk scarf to wrap it over her backside, and the color of the silk scarf matched the skirt perfectly. Michael squatted down to wrap the silk scarf around her backside and then went around the front before he tied a knot to fix it in ce. The scarf seemed to have covered her backside like a skirt perfectly, and Michael even let Sophia put on his jacket on the outside. ¡°This is much better. Let¡¯s keep it this way for the time being; Maria will bring over some clothes in a while.¡± Sophia nodded. When she was wearing Quinton¡¯s clothes just now, she felt nothing but gratitude. However, when she was wearing the Lord¡¯s clothes, she felt warmth throughout her entire body. The Lord was the best! When the both of them had returned to the venue, the engagement ceremony was about to begin. Sophia took out her phone to find countless text messages from Stanley. ¡®What happened, Sophia?¡¯ ¡®Did someone hit you just now?¡¯ ¡®Why didn¡¯t you call me? I really wanted to see it go down.¡¯ ¡®Were you the one who beat Faye up?¡¯ Sophia was toozy to reply to his texts. At this moment, the artists around the table and various media outlets and celebrities all grouped together. They were all talking andughing with endlessmon topics. Around that table, only two of them were left out. Michael whipped out his phone and took a selfie, the beauty camera making him look like an eighteen- year-old teenager. He also deliberately wore a silver wig on purpose, making him look even more youthful. Learning it from Sophia, Michael used a punk chain and tied a ring to it before wearing the chain around his neck. As soon as he took out his cell phone, Sophia calmly moved her face over and secretly got into the frame. After a while, the both of them had begun taking selfies joyfully. At that moment, Harry had just gotten dressed and was about to leave Vi No. 4. The news he had learned about today was really shocking. It was no wonder that the old fe had started cheating in games all of a sudden at the beginning of this year after not ying any games in the past few years. He had even participated in an international esportspetition. No wonder he was moved and had married a bottom. No wonder he had started ying a female ount and used it to marry a virtual husband. What an old and cunning man! Before leaving the vi, Harry nced at his phone and saw Michael¡¯s update on his IG Stories. He had posted a couple of selfies, looking extremely young and tender in the photos. He was wearing a very youthful suit and had worn a silver wig which took ten years off his appearance; he looked just like a 17 or 18-year-old holding a gorgeousdy in his arms. He had even pouted his lips, folded his arms, and stared in a lovely manner. ¡°Damn it! That¡¯s disgusting!¡± Sophia was toggling through her phone when she saw that the photos Michael had uploaded on his IG Stories moments ago and had already gotten several replies. Daniel replied, ¡®Stop the abuse.¡¯ Harry replied, ¡®What a pervert!¡¯ On the other hand, Sophia joyfully saved the group of photos taken together into her phone. At this moment in the hotel room, Faye came out from the washroom with a gloomy face. X immediately greeted her after seeing here out. ¡°How are you, Faye? Are you okay?¡± Sophia had ruined her reputation just now. If the hotel attendants had note quick enough, she would¡¯ve run around in public stark-naked. She put on a new outfit before she rushed out angrily. X immediately stood up and stopped her. ¡°What are you going to do, Faye?¡± Faye sneered as she said, ¡°I¡¯m about to kill that b*tch!¡± X clearly knew who she was referring to. Faye was set to attend her engagement ceremony, and that was why X had tried every way to get Sophia here¡ªit was for Faye to deal with her. However, it was her engagement ceremony after all; she could not mess it up herself. ¡°Faye, listen to me. This is my engagement banquet, and you can¡¯t just trouble her like this; it wouldn¡¯t end well if you cause trouble in such a way.¡± Faye raised her eyebrows slightly and was very upset. She just wanted revenge regardless of whoever¡¯s engagement banquet it was. The Edwards weren¡¯t what they were before; they now looked down upon the Huffs. Even if their family got married to the Harpers, it would still remain the same. X said a few words beside her ears and Faye raised her brows all of a sudden. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do that then!¡± After the two of them hade up with a n, they split up ordingly. The engagement ceremony was about to begin. Faye had brought a ss of wine to Sophia all of a sudden. She seemed warm-hearted as she handed over the ss of wine to Sophia. ¡°Today is X¡¯s big day since it¡¯s her engagement ceremony. The both of us have held grudges for quite some time now ever since the beginning. Why don¡¯t I treat you to a ss of wine, and we¡¯ll leave everything in the past?¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. A ss of wine was then handed over to Sophia. The red wine swiveled in the tall ss as the blood-red luster glistened. It was coquettish and charming as though it had dark magic mixed in it. Chapter 262 Chapter 262 Sophia looked at the red liquid before she stared straight at Faye, seeming as though she was looking at an idiot. Was Faye really an idiot? The both of them had just gotten into a catfight, yet here she was offering Sophia a drink? How could she not expect Sophia to smell something fishy in it? Was Faye in an unclear state of mind after having too many doses of anesthetic on her face? Sophia smiled in irony as she asked, ¡°Why should I drink it?¡± Faye raised the ss of wine and said with confidence, ¡°Do you think you have any other choice?¡± Faye leaned toward the side of Sophia¡¯s ears before she started whispering to her. Although she seemed generous, her words were full of threat. ¡°If you don¡¯t drink it, you¡¯ll no longer gain a foothold in Bayside University!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to be a top student? Don¡¯t you still want to apply for a schrship?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t drink this ss of wine, not only will I make you fail your schrship application, I¡¯ll even make you score zero points for your end-of-semester examinations!¡± Did Faye actually threaten Sophia with her schrship? Sophia would never believe that Faye could act so brazenly at Bayside University. She smiled and asked, ¡°What if I insist on not drinking it?¡± Faye¡¯s lips were blood-red as she said, ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Sophia pursed her lips and smiled. Then, she abruptly reached out to grab the ss of wine and gobbled it down her throat right away. Faye put on a satisfied smile when she saw that the red liquid hadpletely vanished through her mouth. With a gaze, she gave X a hint. Everything was going ording to n! Sophia ced the ss back onto the tray that Faye was holding onto; her wless makeup did not leave any stains on the ss. She then looked at the other ss of wine on the tray and said, ¡°You haven¡¯t drank yours yet, senior.¡± Since Sophia had drank hers, Faye would naturally drink the other ss of wine contentedly. She was all smiles after she had taken the ss of wine. Her V-shaped face flushed red out of extraordinary excitement. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll help you say hi to your ssmates and get them to vote for you,¡± she responded. Every year¡¯s schrship applications would require the applicants¡¯ ssmates to cast their votes. Even though the votes did not have a heavy weightage, it still held a significant proportion. After Sophia had finished the wine, Michael¡ªwho was standing beside her¡ªpatted her on the shoulder. ¡°Are you alright? Can you still hold on?¡± Michael asked. Sophia looked at him before she shook her head indifferently and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s okay.¡± It was only then did Faye notice Michael. X just told her that Sophia had gotten herself a boyfriend who looked exactly like Taylor, but she did not believe it. After Michael had showed up, Faye was astonished as her eyes nearly popped out of its sockets. They did look incredibly simr! However, Taylor was already in his thirties this year; the handsome, young man in front of her looked like he was only in his twenties! How could Sophia, this loose woman, get herself such a gorgeous-looking young man? She did not deserve him at all! Only Faye deserved such charming men! Faye¡¯s face was flushing red as she breathed out the aromatic scent of wine and acted like she could not hold much liquor. She then leaned against Michael¡¯s shoulder right away; she had an aromatic scent on her paired with a flirty gaze as she looked at Michael and said, ¡°Handsome young man, you look so gorgeous. Do you mind giving me your number?¡± said Faye in a whiny manner. Michael smiled before he hid behind Sophia¡¯s back, looking as though he was afraid. How dare you flirt with my Prince Charming? Sophia immediately stood in front of Faye and blocked her bare gaze. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it¡ªhe¡¯s mine.¡± Faye looked confident as she continued to flirt with Michael. She then tidied up her clothing before she left while swaying her body deliberately. Before she left, Faye had even left them with several words. ¡°Nothing in this world is absolute! It all depends on your capabilities and whether you can hold on to what¡¯s yours!¡± she preached. X had already taken Richard away from Sophia; what made her think that Faye was unable to snatch her current boyfriend away? What was his name again? Tyler? What a good name! He¡¯ll be mine in no time! All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia put on a poker face as she watched them gradually vanish in sight. Would she be able to hold on to Michael? The answer was absolute; she had never gotten him in the first ce, so there was nothing for her to lose. X stared dead at Sophia after seeing that Faye¡¯s n had prevailed. There must be something in that ss of wine! Sophia would soon have some sort of uncanny behavior after drinking that. By then, a great show was about to go on! Meanwhile, the most auspicious time hade and the engagement ceremony had begun. The couple about to get married were dressed delicately as they showed up in everyone¡¯s sight; the engagement ceremony had begun ording to its procedures. The host of the ceremony was the hottest television host of a variety show. With witty words, the host had driven the atmosphere of the entire event to its peak. The newly-wed couple walked in hand-in-hand under the affectionate gazes of the crowd. The ring exchange ceremony was about to begin anytime soon. Richard reached his hand into his chest pocket; at the same time, the media had taken out their cameras to take pictures of the moment. The 18-carat engagement ring that was rumored to have cost the Harpers over tens of millions was about to show up in sight! Under the crowd¡¯s envious gazes, Richard had taken out the 18-carat diamond ring which was the size of a pigeon egg. The ring was dazzling and glistening, and the luster that was reflected by the diamond seemed to have shone on the faces of everyone present. Even X herself was staring at the ring in utter disbelief. Little did she expect the Harpers to actually snap up this diamond ring! At once, her eyes were filled with tears of excitement. ¡°Let me put on this ring for you, X!¡± Richard was being immensely affectionate. Amidst countless sounds of camera shutters, Richard gently put the pigeon-egg-sized diamond ring on X. The atmosphere of the engagement ceremony had reached its climax as the host drove the crowd¡ªwho were all stunned by the pigeon-egg-sized diamond ring¡ªto give rounds of apuse. It was tremendous. All of a sudden, a roar could be hearding from the security standing at the door; it was then followed by the sound of a horse neighing. A silhouette of a girl had gotten through several security guards and quickly dashed toward Richard. She then fiercely pushed X away before she anxiously grabbed hold of Richard. ¡°Richard, you said that you¡¯d be responsible for me! Why didn¡¯t you keep your words?¡± The appearance of the girl had instantly caused an uproar throughout the crowd. Who was this girl? Why was Richard responsible for her? Camera shes constantly brightened up the girl¡¯s appearance, and the color had drained from her poor little face. She firmly held onto Richard and yelled, ¡°I already have your child, Richard. You said you¡¯d be responsible for me!¡± The moment Richard caught sight of the girl, it seemed like he had been struck by lightning. He then eximed in a low voice, ¡°E-E¡­¡± He looked at her tummy and realized that it was protruding slightly. Richard¡¯s face immediately turned sullen-looking. However, Richard could not let everyone know that he had recognized her in front of the Harpers and celebrities of Bayside City. His expression changed before he started shouting at the security guards. ¡°Guards! Guards! Get rid of this peasant!¡± The security guards then dragged the girl away, wanting to remove her from the scene. The girl yelled in a hoarse voice that sounded like a pig being ughtered; it was with great strength and impetus. Richard immediately helped X up, who had been pushed away moments ago. He then tried to prove his innocence as he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know this woman.¡± X doubted what he had said. Nheless, it was their engagement ceremony that day, and X could not allow any mistakes to happen. She calmed herself down and chose to stand on Richard¡¯s side as she started scolding the girl, ¡°Where did this peasante from? Drag her out! How can Richard possibly get to know a woman like you?¡± As X said that, she subconsciously stared at Sophia. Sophia was just standing far away from the crowd as she put a satisfied smile on her face. What was more, her gaze was filled with triumph as if her n had seeded. It really was her n! This peasant had obviously wanted to get married to the Harpers, but she still pretended to be indifferent. Was she trying to stop this engagement ceremony with such little tricks? No way! Chapter 263 Chapter 263 More than a dozen security guards had swarmed into the scene, vigorously dragging the girl away as they left. Along with the girl who hade rushing in, there were several men and women dressed up in a rustic way. There was an old woman, a middle-aged woman and a middle-aged man. The old woman and the middle-aged woman were full of arrogance. ¡°The Young Master of the Harper Family has made my granddaughter pregnant, but he doesn¡¯t want to admit it at all. You¡¯re such a brat¡ª trying to run away from your responsibilities after getting my granddaughter pregnant, huh? No way!¡± Richard then yelled in a rage, ¡°I don¡¯t know you at all!¡± The old woman sneered coldly. ¡°Oh, you¡¯d yell intimately on bed for pleasure, but now you can¡¯t recognize her at all? My granddaughter¡¯s name is E Spencer, and she¡¯s the top scarlet woman at Paradise Club. Since the beginning of this year, you¡¯ve been going to Paradise Club and sleeping with her every weekend. Don¡¯t even try to deny it, for a lot of people have witnessed it!¡± Paradise Club! Richard and X¡¯s faces immediately turned stormy after hearing that term. It was a well-known business club under the Audistin Group which offered inexplicable services! A few of the male guests at the scene had already recognized the poor girl. Was she not E, the top streetwalker at the Paradise Club? Did Richard really sleep with her and even got her pregnant? ¡°Shut up!¡± Richard became very annoyed, making his entire face flush red. A number of security guards were already dragging the old woman and the other two intruders out from the scene, and the old woman screamed like a pig which was being ughtered. ¡°You¡¯ve made my granddaughter pregnant, so you must marry her now! I won¡¯t leave today unless you marry my granddaughter!¡± The colors on the faces of the Harpers and the Huffs had turned sullen. With something like this happening, it would not look good whether or not Richard had really slept with that streetwalker. They wanted that family to vanish from the engagement ceremony right away! At that critical moment, the old woman acted with an imposing manner as she yed her master card, which was to take off her pants! The three of them had taken off their pants as soon as they said it. Within a short while, they were all half-naked and had started rolling on the floor. This scene had even frightened the security guards, who were heavily trained. Even the guests had started running around the ce in order to escape. The old woman who had freed herself immediately stood up on her feet. She then showed an arrogant expression on her face before putting on a smug smile. She then swayed her shriveled hands as she rushed toward Richard like a gust of wind and grabbed him before she hit him. ¡°Tell me¡ªwill you marry my granddaughter?!¡± The other woman had swiftly gotten through the crowd as well and dashed forward to beat Richard up. Two shriveled bodies were surrounding Richard as they dragged him around. Richard had never witnessed such a scene in his entire life and had forgotten how to resist. He would retract his hands in fright when he touched their shriveled hands every time he wanted to fight back. At this point, the old woman had grabbed hold of him before she gave Richard two ps on the face. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not that easy for you to get away with it after sleeping with one of the women from the Spencers!¡± The old woman was exhrated; she had previously heard that the Harpers were a wealthy family. Nheless, she did not expect them to be this rich. With such a grandeur scene, she would soon have to rely on her great-grandson to enjoy her blessings in life! E saw the opportunity as she rushed forward to hug Richard¡¯s thigh. ¡°Richard, you said you¡¯d marry me and be responsible for me! Your child and I are still waiting for you!¡± X wanted to save Richard, but she did not expect a bald-headed old man to dash forward, stopping right in front of her. He then shrugged his old waist before a shriveled ugly thing showed up dangling in between his crotch. X was so terrified that her face had turned pale and instantly retreated. Whoever came forward to rescue Richard, the old man would sway his shriveled ugly thing at them. Needless to say, he had sessfully chased away a crowd of people. Richard waspletely surrounded by the family. ¡°Richard, you have to be responsible for me and your child!¡± ¡°This b*stard, I order you to marry my granddaughter today! Otherwise, we¡¯ll see about that!¡± ¡°My daughter has had a miserable life. How did she run into this goddamn man?¡± The Harpers and the Huffs were both stunned. The guests were all petrified and dared not utter a word. Silence reigned throughout the entire banquet; only the sound of the media¡¯s camera shutters repeatedly sounded while they captured the scene. What was happening¡­ Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Among the crowd, only Sophia wasughing heartlessly. She had burst intoughter, holding her tummy while smashing onto the table as she stood outside the crowd. ¡°Hahahaha¡­¡± In the silence, everyone had heard a series ofughter. The guests who did not know what expressions to put on moments ago seemed to have been tickled on their funny bone. Suppressedughter then filled the entire scene. Richard was going crazy. He stared at Sophia, the one person who wasughing the loudest in the crowd. He gritted his teeth and yelled, ¡°Guards! Guards! Where did they all go?¡± The security guards then came back to their senses as if they had woken up from a dream. All of them rushed in to drag the Spencer Family away, but little did they expect the old woman to have another trick up her sleeves. She immediately forced out a pile of dump in public before she rubbed it all over Richard. Whoever came forward would have gotten covered in a load of sh*t! Although the bunch of security guards were covered in sh*t, they endured the stench while dragging the Spencers away and out from the scene. E was also punched and kicked while being dragged out. After a series of screamsing from E, her white skirt was dyed red all of a sudden; even the carpet which E was being dragged on was drenched in red blood. The security guards were stunned and had let her go. Richard¡¯s face turned even more sullen when he caught sight of the blood. ¡°Drag her out!¡± Richard ordered fiercely. The security had no choice but to drag E out, who just had a miscarriage. The world had finally quietened down, but the carpets were left with stains of blood and indescribable liquid on it. A stench mixed with the scent of blood wafted among the crowd, allowing all the guests to get a whiff of it. It was supposed to be an engagement party, but the banquet could no longer be carried on after such an ordeal. Someone had immediatelye forward to clean the carpet and freshened the air up, using the shortest time to cover up the stench. The Harpers and the Huffs were all dumbfounded after what had happened. Only Richard¡¯s father had come back to senses; he then pushed Richard, who waspletely frightened up. Richard finally realized that he was stinking and immediately went back to his hotel room to get changed. Before he left, he subconsciously looked toward Sophia to find her clinking sses with Michael while smiling happily. It was her! It must¡¯ve been her! Under Richard¡¯s mother¡¯s instruction, the host managed to smooth things over. ¡°What a thrilling moment. Fortunately, the engagement ceremony will not be affected by this. Let¡¯s watch a short movie; don¡¯t go away as there¡¯s a surprise at the end of the film!¡± The light in the grand hall had dimmed within an instant before the big screen was turned on. The short movie starred the couple, and it was deliberately produced for today¡¯s engagement ceremony. X was a performing arts student, and Richard had quite the visuals. Together with the help from a professional team, the results of the film were very impressive. The short movie told the story of them getting to know each other and falling in love. The short movie was based on their real-life story, and they had even used their real names; the couple even borrowed one of the ssrooms from Riverdale Highschool for the film. They had nailed everything down, including their uniforms and textbooks from back in the day. The gist of the story was how the male and female protagonist had known each other since they were little. Ever since bing ymates, the female protagonist secretly had feelings for the man. However, she was about to confess to him when the male protagonist was already in a rtionship with a conniving little bitch. The conniving girl would pretend to be pitiful and acted to be the female protagonist¡¯s best friend in front of the male protagonist. However, she would start to sow discord among the protagonists behind their backs. As the conniving girl had yed them off one against another, the male protagonist started distancing himself from the female protagonist. Nevertheless, the conniving girl remained a conniving girl; she then hooked up with some other boy behind the back of the male protagonist, to which he found out about it in the end. The love-lost male protagonist was very depressed. Just then, the female protagonist showed up at the right time to care for him andforted him. The two of them naturally fell in love with each other and got together¡­ As Sophia finished watching the short movie from under the stage, she let out a smug smile. The choice selection for the cast of the conniving girl was perfectly chosen. The talent looked just like Sophia, and her name in the film was tantly called ¡®Soph¡¯. Chapter 264 Chapter 264 The ten minutes while the short film was being yed was the right time for the host families to regain their reputation. The hotel cleaners also had more time to clean up the mess. In the hotel room, Richard could still smell his entire body stinking although he had changed. In front of the Harpers and the Huffs, he knelt down to X. ¡°My dear, you must believe me; I really have nothing to do with that woman named E.¡± X was weeping in tears and did not believe him. The faces of the Huffs seemed sullen as well. X¡¯s uncle, Joe, stepped up to resolve the matter. ¡°You say you have nothing to do with that girl named E, but what about the child?¡± Joe looked incredibly stern. Richard was terrified of Joe as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve been to the Paradise Club, but it was only for business purposes. I promise that I¡¯d never do anything to hurt X; if you don¡¯t believe me, I can swear to God. If I¡¯ve ever touched any other women, I will be struck by lightning!¡± ¡°X, just believe me once, alright? Can¡¯t you see? All of these had been nned, and their purpose is to undermine the rtionship between us! Their intention is to mess up our engagement ceremony!¡± X was shedding tears of sadness, but her mind was immediately filled with hatred. Good job, Sophia. I did not expect you to pull off such a jerk-move! Do you want to spoil this engagement ceremony? Don¡¯t even think about it! X choked twice before she helped Richard onto his feet and said, ¡°I believe you, Richard. There are people who don¡¯t want us to be together, and we must not let their n prevail!¡± Richard was so moved that he hugged X tightly. He knew that X would always stay so kind! Damn you, E. Who the hell let her in here?! It must¡¯ve been Sophia! That wh*re really wanted to get rid of him after not being able to with him! The two of them hadpromised with each other. As for the two families, they were too embarrassed to turn their faces against one another as well. Joe hade out to redress the situation as well. ¡°It¡¯s alright, it¡¯s all over now. Don¡¯t ruin today¡¯s mood just because of this. Today is your big day!¡± Who knew that right after those words hade from Joe, there was another uproar at the engagement banquet? A mixture of indescribable moaning sounds could be heard. The sound seemed to being from the stereo! Didn¡¯t they just y the short movie moments ago? The two families immediately dashed out to the scene and they were once again dumbfounded. On the stage of the engagement banquet, the high-definition big screen that was used to y the short film just now was currently ying a series of age restricted videos which were indescribable. It seemed just like pornography shots in a hotel room, and the clips were constantly switching; it had gotten more exciting from frame to frame. There were popr celebrities in the film and also the top streetwalkers from clubs included in the short clips¡ªeven E from just now had shown up. The man in the video clips was none other than Richard. The audio was tremendously loud, filling the entire engagement banquet with their moaning sounds. Richard stood still right at the spot; it was as if he had really been struck by lightning when he saw the indescribable scene being yed on the screen. He seemed like he had been electrocuted as he momentarily lost contact with his brains. All he heard in his ears were buzzing sounds. What was that? When did they secretly film this?! How could it be?! He had obviously done a perfect job without leaving any videos as evidence. How did the videos show up here? Who was the one secretly filming them? Who was the one who had yed it on the screen? There was an uproar among the guests as they remained stunned once again. What was all these¡­ Who had the Harpers offended? This was such a ruthless way of dealing with it! Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. ying these sort of videos on someone else¡¯s engagement ceremony, if it was not video clips of fornicating other¡¯s wives or daughters, it would be clips of killing an entire family! When X saw the face of the man in the tapes, her whole world had copsed before her¡ªshe had even narrowly passed out. Fortunately, X¡¯s mother was there to help her up. ¡°Shut it off, security!¡± Richard¡¯s father roared as the veins on his old face started to fill with blood. They had purposely chosen this hotel because they had high requirements for the hotel¡¯s facilities when it came to ying the short film. The facilities of the hotel were absolutely professional, and they even had a special control room. When the security guards rushed to the control room, they realized that the control room had been locked from the inside. There were no windows in the control room. Even if one wanted to barge in through the main entrance, it would take half a day. ¡°Cut the power source! Cut the power source!¡± Richard¡¯s father yelled. Richard himself waspletely dumbfounded. His father¡¯s roar, X¡¯s crying and the guests¡¯ exmations had filled his ears. His mind nked out, making him lose the ability to think. The security dashed to the circuit control room, cutting off the electricity supply for the entire hotel. Much to their horror, the control room was powered independently and the inappropriate video continued to y on. They could only carry on banging onto the door. When the door was finally opened and the video finally ended, all the good stuff of the short movie had been yed. The person in charge of ying the film had been knocked out. Soon after, the power supply in the grand hall was restored. The grand hall had turned bright again. The host of the event then bit the bullet as he showed up. ¡°There was a problem with the equipment just now. Everyone, please remain calm. Our newly-wedded couples will soone out to propose a toast to everyone.¡± That was the end of the farce. The hall was currently filled with whispers. Although everyone had evaded the host initially, they had added him into their discussions after seeing the others discussing them. Looking at the host families who were walking in and out as they hustled, everyone¡¯s gaze inevitably carried a subtle touch. Stanley and Sean who were in the crowd, were dumbfounded. It was their first time experiencing such a sinister scenario. ¡°Oh God, how ruthless!¡± Stanley murmured in a low voice. It was the first time he had seen something so exciting; he had nearly lost it. He knew that there would be a good show when he was with his uncle. Nheless, he did not expect it to be this exciting! They should have considered that there might be children watching! At this moment, Sophia and Michael were sitting on a sofa in the corner. They had witnessed the whole process and had snuggled up to watch pornography thatsted for a few minutes. Sophi admitted that the first part of the show had been directed by her. She had sent someone to follow Richard and got to know the existence of E. E was only 19 years old this year, but she had been doing sex trades ever since she was 14 years old. She was a really experienced prostitute. Richard had run into such an experienced prostitute the first time he had entered the nightclub; he had gone all in for his first time doing a sex trade. E was aware of his background and had deliberately be pregnant with his child. She did not even dare to think about marrying the Harpers. She knew that the Harpers were a wealthy family and wanted to ckmail them so that she could be Richard¡¯s long-term mistress, never having to worry about her own life if she was able to give birth to his son. Nheless, someone had paid her to cause trouble today. Someone had purposely notified E¡¯s family as well. A ¡°kindhearted¡± person had told them that E had gotten pregnant with a tycoon¡¯s child, but the tycoon did not want to be responsible for it. The person had even told E¡¯s family that the tycoon was about to marry somebody else. The entire Spencer Family was originally full of a bunch of scoundrels; their daughter had been sent to a nightclub to do sex trades when she was only 14. They were all shameless people; once they knew there was a chance for them to ckmail for money, they were already on it. That was how the first part of the show had yed out. Nheless, she was not the person behind the second part of the show. The second part of the show was obviously moreborious. It was not easy to get those video materials! Michael hugged his slender wife in his arms and felt that his wife was interesting the more he looked at her. She looked lovely but was callous and cruel; she was a person full of tricks. Moreover, she had an extraordinarily profound insightpared to other women. She clearly understood that the person who had caused her tragic past was neither Ka nor X¡ªit was actually Richard! If he had been slightly tougher, would Ka have bullied her? If his mind had been more firmer, would he have even let X take the opportunity? Sophia admired Michael as well. She was still worried that what she had done was overly reckless and would affect her position in his heart; little did she expect him to be more ruthless than she was. He was aplete psychopath! Chapter 265 Chapter 265 The lights came back on and the show just ended; everyone went back to where they were earlier. Sophia also walked out from Michael¡¯s arms and returned to where she was moments before as the banquet continued. The engagement ceremony was only halfway through, yet all the guests were waiting to see how the Harpers would carry on this engagement ceremony. At this moment, X was at the verge of copsing. The man who kneeled down and swore to her just now, had actually slept with so many other women¡­ Meanwhile, Richard kneeled before X once again and kept on exining, ¡°You have to trust me, X ¡ªall of these are just part of their n! That man in those video clips isn¡¯t me! Someone wants to frame me; I¡¯ve always been by your side recently, don¡¯t you know that? Those videos are fake. They are all fake, X! Don¡¯t be fooled¡ªI¡¯d never do anything to hurt you! Technology is very advanced nowadays, and everything can be fake. You have to believe me! Ka has already been put into prison by her. What should I do if you leave me? X¡­¡± Everything hade to this point and their engagement was no longer just a matter between them both. In fact, it was a matter between the two families. If they had chosen not to carry on with the ceremony, the reputation of both families would be ruined. X had no choice in whether to trust him or not. She had to believe in Richard¡ªthe engagement ceremony must go on! She smiled as she wiped off the tears from her eyes, and looked at Richard like a pure and innocent child. ¡°I believe you, Richard! There are people who want to stop us from being together! We must not let their n prevail!¡± ¡°X¡­¡± Richard was full of fluke. He swore that he would never hook up with any of those women again and never do anything to disappoint X in the future, for she was someone who had trusted him. His little angel trusted him so much. What a lucky man he was! A man¡¯s promise, however¡­ The engagement banquet then continued right when everyone had thought that the Harpers and the Huffs had been torn apart. Unexpectedly, it was only a while before the two main characters of today¡¯s engagement ceremony showed up while being well-dressed. Richard even took over the microphone outrageously to exin the situation onstage. ¡°Something has just happened that¡¯s made me very angry! It has been ascertained that it was the Harpers¡¯ rival who had nned this incident. They had nned the disturbance caused by the ruffians and the video incident moments ago; the ruffians were actors recruited by them and the videos were also faked. I, Richard Harper, have never done anything to hurt my fianc¨¦e¡ªeveryone can certainly be a witness to that.¡± Many female celebrities of Glory Entertainment had shown ridicule on their faces. Some of male guests, who were Richard¡¯s business partners, were full of subtle appearances as well. At this moment, X took over the microphone and maintained a polite smile as she said, ¡°I believe in my fianc¨¦, and this is the man who will stay by my side for the rest of my life¡ªI¡¯ve always trusted him 100%. All the incidents that happened earlier were directed against both our families. Both our families will thoroughly investigate this matter!¡± ¡°Come on, let¡¯s raise our sses!¡± The host families raised their sses while being apanied by the guests at the scene. The atmosphere had finally been smoothed over. Soon enough, the performances had begun. Brilliant artists took the stage and the atmosphere began to gradually rise to its peak along with the singing and dancing. The newly-wedded couple proceeded to raise a toast to their guests by going around each table. Soon, they arrived at Sophia¡¯s table, whereupon X and Richard held their wine sses toward her. X was a performing arts student. Therefore, she had hid her emotions well and made herself appear normal. On the other hand, Richard had a hideous and stiffened smile; the muscles on his face even started twitching slightly, showing his inner fury. Smiling elegantly, X said, ¡°A lot has happened throughout my engagement ceremony with Richard. Nheless, these are just small matters; the more some people don¡¯t want to see us together, the more I want to be with him.¡± Sophia pretended like she did not know X was referring to her. ¡°You¡¯re right. It isn¡¯t easy for the both of you to be together,¡± she said. X and Richard both toasted Sophia a ss of wine. X had deliberately revealed her pigeon-egg- sized diamond ring; the bright lights in the venue reflected on it and shone into Sophia¡¯s eyes. X sneered inwardly but smiled calmly in front of her. ¡°This is for you, Sophia. Thank you for apanying Richard through his hardest days. With your immense help those days, Richard was able to enter Bayside University sessfully.¡± What she had actually meant was, ¡®Thank you for your effort in helping him get admitted to Bayside University before getting dumped by him willingly!¡¯ She knew that Sophia must be mad with jealousy at this moment! Sophia then raised her ss with a calm expression on her face. She did not look at the pigeon-egg- sized diamond ring and maintained the polite smile on her face. ¡°Happy taking over!¡± said Sophia. The edges of X¡¯s lips twitched slightly, but she soon recoveredposure. Richard¡¯s face was sullen, but it seemed like he was ashamed as well. If Sophia was really involved in these incidents, she might have more tricks up her sleeves¡­ The three of them¡ªwho each had their own hidden intentions¡ªdrunk their sses of wine. After putting down the wine ss, X calmly held her own hand. She then said to Richard in a whiny manner, ¡°Richard, this ring is too hefty.¡± Richard¡¯s face twisted malevolently as he forced out a hideous look. ¡°This is the most unique ring in the world; it fits just right on you since you¡¯re the most unique person as well.¡± X put on a shy face and said, ¡°Ugh, you¡¯re such a cheeseball, Richard!¡± As she whined, she kept waving the ring she had in her hand. Nheless, no matter how she swayed it, the ring would still be perfectly presented in front of everyone¡¯s sight. Female guests from near and far could not cover up their looks filled with envy and hatred; it couldn¡¯t be disguised! On the other hand, Richard felt extremely proud, for this engagement ring symbolized the reputation of the Harpers! As for X, she naturally felt even prouder. The Harpers had spent avish fortune to purchase this ring; it was enough to show that they valued this marriage. Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. Meanwhile, some peasants who had tried to mess everything up could only stare as everything had taken its ce¡­ She wanted to see how long Sophia could persist! She¡¯s obviously extremely sorrowful and envious. However, she has no choice but to show a look of indifference. It must be suffocating for her! X thought to herself. Unexpectedly, Sophia parted her lips slightly andmented, ¡°Not bad. This ring does scream ¡®mistress¡¯; I think it suits you well!¡± X¡¯s entire body trembled for a bit, and bursts of sparks were shooting out from her eyes. No, she¡¯s just putting on an act! The wedding ring on X¡¯s hand had be her greatest motivation and support. She vigorously showed her ring off and said, ¡°This ring was designed and custom-made by a well-known designer. It¡¯ll suit any outfit and it¡¯s worth over fifty million!¡± A white, glistening light sparkled before everyone¡¯s eyes. All of a sudden, an even more dazzling red light blinded the crowd, instantly overshadowing the faint white light. It turned out that Sophia had reached out her hand to draw her hair together; the glistening light just so happened toe from her finger. No one noticed when she had put on the diamond ring in her hand. The blood-red supreme gemstone exuded a mysterious luster. It was the same color as her lipstick, and the two looked dazzling as they complemented each other. Compared to the supreme diamond ring, X¡¯s engagement ring was suddenly inferior to it. Meanwhile, someone else had recognized the ring and eximed, ¡°It¡¯s the representative piece of the collection from Ido, ¡®the Eternal Love¡¯!¡± Chapter 266 Chapter 266 ¡°Oh, my. Wasn¡¯t that ring already bought by Taylor?¡± ¡°Taylor rented it to Bayside City Museum. I went there to look at it two days ago!¡± ¡°Why is it here?¡± The crowd was only enviously looking at X¡¯s ring earlier, but now, they werepletely obsessed! The mysterious crimson jewel resembled a bleeding rose. It was way too enticing! Rumors had it that it was worth 7 billion! X and Richard¡¯s expression changed upon hearing this. Sophia tidied her hair, as if she had just heard the crowd¡¯s discussion, and said, ¡°Yes. This is Taylor¡¯s ring. I specially borrowed it from him.¡± There were two rings¡ªone resembled a pure lily, while the other resembled a noble, cold, yet stunning rose. The ¡®Eternal Heart¡¯ radiated a queen-like vibe, looking just like a queen in an alluring red dress, thoroughly showing off her beauty. Inparison with that, X¡¯s pigeon-egg-shaped diamond ring looked insignificant. Shocked by the turn of events, X retracted her arms stiffly and continued to force a smile as she uttered to Richard, ¡°Richard, there are still plenty of tables. Let¡¯s go to another table.¡± The two of them then left with their tails between their legs. Sophia watched on as they left and sneered. She then turned around just to see that Michael was peering her enthusiastically, and it made her blush. She stuck out her tongue, and an adorable expression was back on her face. In fact, Michael stayed quiet just now because he was giving her a chance for a solo performance. It was extremely exciting, which made him nearly apud for her! Sophia had an air of a queen just now! After toasting, the performance on stage was incredibly exciting, while Sophia and Michael were ying around with each other. Meanwhile, Faye¡¯s eyes were burning from afar; her gaze was focused on the ring on Sophia¡¯s finger. The ¡®Eternal Heart¡¯¡¯! That b*tch doesn¡¯t deserve that ring! I have to find a way to get hold of it! Joe was also looking at the girl not far away from him. The more he looked at her, the more familiar he found her to be. I think I might have seen her somewhere¡­ Halfway through the banquet, Faye kept staring at Sophia, who kept herposure without any strange behavior! What¡¯s going on? Is the wine earlier not taking any effect? I have a grand show waiting for her to be the main character! After having some wine, Sophia got up to go to the washroom. However, to her surprise, when she got out from the washroom, there was nobody around other than Richard, who was coldly staring at her. Immediately, he dashed up to her. ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s the purpose for doing this? It¡¯s impossible for us to be together! Don¡¯t dream of bing Mrs. Harper. To me, you are no match to X at all! You are a b*tch! I feel disgusted at the sight of you!¡± Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Sophia coldly peered at him before smiling. ¡°I have no idea what you are talking about.¡± Richard gripped on her shoulder, furious. ¡°How dare you say that you don¡¯t know about this? The thing with E and also the messed-up videos earlier. Aren¡¯t all those your doings?¡± Sophia frowned and pped his hand away. ¡°Mr. Harper, I¡¯m afraid that you have been mistaken. If I had the ability toe up with such a magnificent n, I wouldn¡¯t have been driven to a corner by the Harper Family back then.¡± Hearing that, Richard was momentarily stunned. He stared at her face, and his gaze seemed to burn a hole in her. She had dressed up today, looking stunning. Though it was merely an ordinary outfit, she still looked outstanding in it. After a while, he put on a deranged smile. ¡°Your reason for doing all this is to have sex with me, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ll fulfill your wish now!¡± He then pounced onto her, but he was unexpectedly greeted by her p. p! Half of his face instantly went numb. Cocking her head to one side, she looked at him. ¡°Please. If everyone finds out that you, the Young Master of the Harper Family, raped a female guest in the washroom, I wonder what kind of an expression your fianc¨¦e would have.¡± Half of Richard¡¯s face had be swollen. He red at her with his crimson eyes, and after a while, he viciously snarled, ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away with it!¡± With that, he dashed out in fury. Sophia then touched up her lipsticks and returned to the engagement banquet. When she got back to her seat, Michael was gone. It was said that he was called away by Richard. Why did Richard call him away? All in all, nothing bad is going to happen to him. If something were to happen, it would only be Richard who would get into trouble. After all, Tay Tay is as strong and powerful as a giant! Sophia sat on her spot and yed with her phone. Faye stared at her for some time, but she failed to notice any strange reaction from her. How could this be possible? Could it be that the drug is ineffective? It¡¯s impossible. The drug was given to me by X. How could it go wrong? But why is she not having any reaction? Under Faye¡¯s instruction, a girl walked toward Sophia. ¡°Sophia, you seemed to not be feeling well. Do you need me to help you to go to the room to take a rest?¡± the girl tentatively asked. Sophia, who had rosy cheeks, raised her head and looked at the girl who had malicious intention. She seemed to be a student from Bayside University. Sophia smiled. ¡°How can you tell that I¡¯m not feeling well?¡± The girl¡¯s face paled. Her eyes darted around before she spoke, ¡°Oh, looks like I¡¯m mistaken. I¡¯m having a slight headache.¡± She then gently patted on her face, which looked exhausted. ¡°Sophia, can you apany me to sit for a while in the room? I¡¯m feeling a little dizzy. Maybe I¡¯ve had too much wine.¡± Sophia raised her eyes from her phone and scoffed, ¡°Who are you?¡± The girl was rendered speechless, but she forced herself to reply, ¡°I¡¯m your course mate from the other ss. Have you forgotten about me? There are plenty of students from our faculty here, and they are having fun in the room. You should join them too.¡± However, Sophia lowered her head and continued ying her phone, pretending to not hear her. As such, the girl stood there awkwardly, ncing at Faye, then back at Sophia. Just when she was about to leave, Sophia suddenly raised her head and smiled. ¡°Where¡¯s that? I shall go and take a look.¡± The girl was surprised and answered, ¡°In the hotel room. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll lead you there.¡± She then led Sophia toward a room on the second floor. Upon seeing that her n had seeded, Faye followed behind them in delight. ¡°It¡¯s just right there. The incident that happened earlier gave a lot of students a fright, so they are resting in the room now!¡± The girl led Sophia to the guest room. When they arrived at the room, the girl opened the door to the room. However, she didn¡¯t enter the room; she forcefully pushed Sophia into the room instead. ¡°Here it is. Everyone¡¯s waiting for you inside!¡± The girl sounded excited. Sophia remained silent, as if she didn¡¯t realize anything strange, and she walked into the room. The girl reached out her hand to Sophia¡¯s back in exhration, preparing to give her a hard push before quickly closing and locking the door. Nevertheless, to her surprise, Sophia, who already had one foot inside the room, rapidly turned around. With a calm yet urate and strong movement, she snatched the hotel room card from the girl¡¯s hand and kicked her into the room. She then threw something into the room. When the thingnded on the floor, it exploded and exuded a scent that would make one¡¯s heart race, rapidly arousing the natural instinct and desire of humans. It was a strong aphrodisiac, also known as the gas-type philtre! Before the scent spread, Sophia instantly closed the door and locked it. Chapter 267 Chapter 267 The sound of someone intensely pounding on the door was heard. ¡°Open the door. Let me out! Let me out!¡± Sophia nced at the door before coldly turning around and left. If I¡¯m not mistaken, there are a few muscr gigolos personally chosen by Faye for me in the room. The girl¡¯s phone was dropped on the floor. Sophia kicked the phone away; it fell down the stairs and broke. After that, she shed an ¡®okay¡¯ gesture in the air. A buzzing sound of a mosquito was then heard in front. However, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary mosquito; it was Gemma¡¯s mini spy camera robot. Advanced technology is the best. With it, I can clearly see all their dirty tricks. I¡¯ve ordered someone to swap the wine earlier. She then left through the back door, feeling content. In the hall, X was drinking with Faye and a few girls from the nobility. Just now, they saw Sophia following the girl to the hotel room. If everything went well, the show on the other side should have begun, and the girl should be guarding the door now, waiting for them toe and watch the show. At the same time, in one of the hotel rooms, Richard, who was wearing a surly expression, ced a contract before Michael. Michael immediately enthusiastically reached out to pick out the document. However, before he managed to do so, Richard suddenly mmed his hand on the document. When Richard saw the greed on ¡®Tyler¡¯s¡¯ face, he let out a vicious snigger. ¡°This is a contract between you and Glory Entertainment. If you sign this, you will be an artist working under Glory Entertainment. Glory Entertainment has one of the best resources in the industry, so it¡¯s just a matter of time before we make you the second Taylor Murray.¡± Michael faked a surprised expression that revealed his greed. ¡°Thank you, President Harper!¡± ¡°But I have my conditions!¡± Richard let out a sinisterugh. Michael seemed adamant. ¡°President Harper, please tell me whatever conditions you have!¡± Upon seeing the greed in ¡®Tyler¡¯s¡¯ eyes, Richard sneered. As expected, the moment he heard that he can be a celebrity, he¡¯s willing to give up on anything. Richard knocked on the table while briefly exining, ¡°You don¡¯t need to doubt Glory Entertainment¡¯s ability in creating a celebrity. There are only people that we refuse to make famous, but no people we can¡¯t make famous. As long as I have the intention, I can make sure that you will be able to surpass Taylor and be the third actor in Cethos to win the Oscars Best Actor Award.¡± Hearing that, Michael¡¯s eyes brightened up, and he nodded. ¡°I have never doubted the ability of Glory Entertainment. President Harper, if you agree to take me in, I¡¯ll give it my all to be a celebrity and be the third winner of the Oscars Best Actor Award in Cethos as soon as possible.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Richard paused with a long ending tone, and on his spiteful face was a smile with a hint of superiority. ¡°We have over hundreds of celebrities under Glory Entertainment, and we can make anyone famous, so why should we choose you?¡± Michael frowned. After a while, he had a sudden realization. ¡°President Harper, I understand!¡± He then flushed red, revealing a trace of shyness. ¡°To be honest¡­ President Harper, I am bisexual¡­ I like handsome, talented young men like you the most, President Harper.¡± Richard understood what he meant in a second and felt disgusted. ¡°I like women!¡± He had always been clear about his own sex preference. Michael had a shy expression. ¡°I can act as a woman. After the lights are switched off, you won¡¯t be able to see, anyway¡­¡± Richard hit the table hard and stopped beating around the bush with this athletic but simple-minded national martial arts champion. ¡°I¡¯m being frank with you now. I want your girlfriend, Sophia Edwards. If you want to be a celebrity, just send your girlfriend to my bed!¡± Michael seemed troubled, but Richard refused to give him more time to consider and knocked on the contract. ¡°I¡¯m giving you one minute to think about it. Sign this after you have made up your mind!¡± Time went by, and Michael stared unblinkingly at the agreement. His expression revealed his struggle, pain, hesitation, and confusion. He seemed to have made up his mind, but the next instant, he regretted it, and a new round of hesitation and confusion began. Within a short amount of time, dozens of expressions shed across his face. Even Richard could see his struggle; he could tell that ¡®Tyler¡¯ was hesitating. Sophia¡¯s insignificantpared to his future. Sophia, my dear Sophia, you have thought of all possible oues, but I bet that you¡¯ve never thought that you would appear on my bed in such a mortifying manner! A long, long time seemed to have passed, but in fact, only 30 seconds had gone by. Not even a minute had passed when a person suddenly barged into the room. He whispered in Richard¡¯s ear and made thetter¡¯s expression tremendously change. ¡°For real?¡± After saying that, he hastily rushed out. After he had left, Michael got up and left as well. While he was leaving, he made a call. ¡°Are you ready on your end? Okay. Good. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Richard hastily arrived at the hall of the engagement banquet just to find that most of the guests and reporters had left, and the remaining guests were leaving as well. ¡°Mr. Harper, I have something I need to deal with. I shall take my leave first.¡± ¡°President Huff, I have something to do in mypany. I need to leave now. Let me treat you to a meal on some other day.¡± X and Faye were celebrating their victory when they unexpectedly saw that the guests were leaving one after another. Upon seeing Richard, X immediately walked up to him. ¡°Richard, what¡¯s going on?¡± Richard was clueless as well. The two families looked at each other in puzzlement and quickly ordered someone to find out what was going on. The engagement banquet hadn¡¯t ended, but most of the guests had left¡ªthis was such an embarrassing scene! Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. X¡¯s expression was dark throughout the banquet. Who¡¯s the person who keeps ruining my engagement banquet? Is it Sophia? No. She has been pushed to her doom by me, so it¡¯s impossible for her to stir up any trouble anymore. Soon, Joe got the news. ¡°Ethan Winston, the Best Actor, is holding a charity auction banquet at the neighboring hotel! All the gains from the auction will be donated to Hope Educational Charity! It¡¯s said that many politicians and wealthy people are attending the event! You can enter as long as you donate some money to the programs under the Hope Educational Charity, so many people went over there.¡± When the Harper and Huff Family heard the news, they looked at each other nkly. Ethan Winston is holding a charity auction dinner? Why aren¡¯t we aware of this? Ethan is usually low- profile, just like Taylor Murray, and he seldom attends any public events. Why did he suddenly organize a charity auction banquet? And on top of that, why did he choose to hold it today? At the neighboring hotel, no less? Could it be that he did it on purpose? No. It would be impossible for someone as high-status as Ethan to do something like this! Ethan has no reason to do this to us too. Only those who hold a deep grudge against us would do something like this¡ªorganizing an auction in the hotel next to our engagement banquet and attract all our guests there! Could it be that this is just a coincidence? Though it was Richard and X¡¯s engagement banquet, not only more than half of all their guests had left, the remaining guests were even discussing the charity auction banquet next door. Those who stayed behind were the business partners or rtives of the Harper and Huff Families. They couldn¡¯t leave, so they had no choice but to remain seated. ¡°What? Taylor Murray¡¯sing? And also a few internationally-renowned directors? And there are 5 or 6 Oscar-winning actors and actresses?¡± Therefore, most of Glory Entertainment¡¯s celebrities and business partners from the entertainment industry secretly left. ¡°The Fletchers, Winstons, Edwards, and Mitchells are all going? And also a few princes from foreign countries?¡± With that, most of X¡¯s best friends left. Even Faye couldn¡¯t resist the urge and sneaked out. When Joe heard that the Edwards Family wereing, he instantly took his leave. The most important thing now is to build a strong connection with the Edwards Family! Regardless of the industry¡ªfinance, fashion, or entertainment¡ªthe event next door was obviously more high-ss than the engagement banquet over here. In a short time, more than half of the guests had left the initially lively and merry engagement banquet, and the few people who remained seated at the few tables were considering leaving as well. Chapter 268 Chapter 268 Mr. Huff and Mr. Harper looked at each other nkly. Finally, thetter said, ¡°Dear inws, it looks like we¡¯ve chosen a wrong date, so let¡¯s not force it. We can go next door to take a look.¡± Mr. Huff nodded. The two of them put down their sses, changed their clothes, and went next door. Upon seeing the engagement banquet that was instantaneously deserted, Richard let out a resigned sign before packing his stuff and preparing to go next door. Richard and the parents of the two families went next door. When the guests saw that the host had left, the remaining guests all left as well. Everyone who could leave had all left, and the initially merry engagement banquet was left with only a few hotel janitors to clean up the mess. X initially thought that she was living her dream. In her dream, she was experiencing the most important day of her life; she was envied by all as she held the arm of the man she loved, wearing a 18-carat diamond ring on her finger, and made a lifetime vow under everyone¡¯s blessings and envy. However, now that she was awakened from her dreams, the cold and harsh reality gave her a p on her face. No! She stood up at once, a glimmer of light still remaining in her eyes. The Sophia, whom I resent the most, has gotten what she deserves! Haha! She went upstairs to the room on the second floor. Upon reaching the front of the room, she could vaguely hear the moaning of a man and woman. A twisted sense of pleasure overfilled her eyes. Sophia, you are now no match to me! She had Faye drug Sophia¡¯s wine. After Sophia drank the wine, she would feel ufortable. She then had Richard call Tyler away and had another two girls to lead Sophia to the hotel room, where she would be greeted by a few gigolos, whom she had personally chosen for her. She initially nned to get everyone to watch the show, but the guests had all left unexpectedly. However, this wouldn¡¯t affect her n at all because the video of the show would be emailed to herter. And tomorrow, the video of Sophia having sex with a few men would be circted throughout the Inte! Sophia had been pushed to her doom! Currently, Sophia was leaving the hall of the hotel, waiting for Michael to pick her up. After a while, she saw Michael¡¯s SUV driving toward her. Michael¡¯s SUV wasparable to an RV. Though it was small, it had all the facilities required. It was equipped with a bed, a toilet, even a shower, and also a movable closet and a dressing table. The SUV, along with two other cars, stopped in front of her. Hale, Gemma, and a bunch of people she didn¡¯t know got out of the car. Michael suddenly walked out from the hotel behind her. While he was walking, he threw away the wig he had been wearing earlier, revealing his induction cut. He walked up behind Sophia, pressed on her shoulder, and pushed her toward the SUV. ¡°I have no time to exin. Get in the car.¡± Sophia was pushed into the car, baffled. A few people followed behind them into the car, and Hale gave her a gown. ¡°You guys have only one task today, which is to give all you have to make my woman beautiful. She must be the most stunning person in the entire hall! If she is not beautiful, you¡¯ll have to redo and keep trying.¡± The charity auction banquet next door hadn¡¯t begun, but the guests had started entering the hall. The charity banquet today was held by Ethan, and this was also his first time organizing such a grand banquet. The aim of tonight¡¯s banquet was to raise funds for the left-behind children from poverty-stricken mountainous areas and out-of-school children. Ethan was going to auction off some of his personal items. Only those truly from the nobility would receive the invitation card of the banquet. But interestingly, all the guests who had attended the Harper Family¡¯s engagement banquet next door could enter the hall using the engagement¡¯s invitation card and a donation of a few ten thousand. Therefore, Ethan received all the guests from the Harper Family engagement banquet next door. Even the star of the engagement banquet¡ªRichard and X¡ªabandoned their engagement banquet and came over. They managed to enter the venue by donating 300,000 as a married couple. Richard¡¯s expression was dark, filled with solemn and anger, as if he was here to seek trouble. What else can I do? Go back to continue my engagement banquet without any guests? Or go in to question Ethan the reason he ruined my engagement banquet? Before he actually entered the hall, he knew that he didn¡¯t have the right to question Ethan¡ªthere were plenty of distinguished guests, whom he didn¡¯t manage to invite, here at this charity banquet. After they entered the charity banquet, as they expected, the ce was incredibly lively, and most of Harper Family¡¯s guests were here. This was the ce that truly portrayed the disparities and ranks of the upper-society ss.Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Ethan, who was decently dressed, stood among the crowd while speaking to someone from the elite society with a ss in his hand. His daring golden hair was shining brightly. As the star of the day, all the guests were here for him, and he was undoubtedly the most dazzling person in the hall. With Ethan in the center, he was surrounded by the nobilities, such as the members of the Four Great Families, politicians, foreign royal families, and many more. This was the top-grade social circle. The second-grade social circle was formed by the bunch of guests that came from the Harper Family¡¯s banquet. In their eyes, the top-grade social circle was an existence they could only look up to. Knowing their own ces, they dared not approach them, for doing so would only embarrass themselves. More and more distinguished guests stepped on the red carpet and entered through the door. Those that attended the banquet were truly from the upper-ss society, which was obviously a few grades higher than the Harper Family¡¯s banquet. The group of reporters kept pressing on the shutter as they seldom had the chance to meet so many big shots at one time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them. ¡°The winner of the Oscars Best Actor Award, Ro, is here!¡± ¡°Beth, the winner of the Oscars Best Director Award with a box office of more than ten billion, is here!¡± Distinguished guests arrived one after another. The celebrities of Glory Entertainment, who were not known by anyone outside of their country, revealed an expression that was filled with envy and jealousy. Those were some top-notch resources unattainable by both them and Glory Entertainment! The group of celebrities under Glory Entertainment eagerly attempted to greet them, but they were completely ignored. Instead, the guests walked toward Ethan directly. ¡°Prince of Moscov is here?¡± ¡°The son of the wealthiest man in the world is here!¡± ¡°The President of Xoskha has arrived!¡± Looking at the dazzling figures appearing one after another, Harper was dumbfounded. He¡¯s really able to invite all the powerful and influential people from the whole world! Poverty has restricted my imagination. He had never thought that those high-ranking presidents and princes would actually attend this kind of banquet. Ethan¡¯s connections were really unbelievably strong! Suddenly, amotion urred within the crowd. ¡°Irene Weber is here! Irene Weber is here!¡± An iparably-gorgeous woman appeared on the red carpet, wearing a sky-blue haute couture gown, and she stirred up amotion among the reporters. Richard was again staggered. Even Irene Weber, a top-notch celebrity who was eligible to attend the state banquet, was invited to the event. Ethan Winston¡¯s influence had actually reached such an astonishing stage! After Irene Weber had arrived, Joel Fletcher arrived as well. He was here on business today¡ªdonating in the name of the military force. Therefore, he wore military wear, which made him stand out among the crowd. Besides, as there were many politicians from other countries attending the banquet tonight, he was also in charge of the security of the ce. However, due to the reason that his rtionship with Irene hadn¡¯t been announced, they didn¡¯te together. Joe and Faye relied on their rtionship with the Edwards Family and managed to join the top-grade social circle, while X and Richard relied on their rtionship with Joe and managed to squeeze themselves into the top-grade social circle as well. Although they were ignored by most people here, it was already a great sess to them by just being able to be part of the social circle. Richard attempted to get closer to the few internationally-renowned directors to promote the celebrities of hispany, but he was ignored. However, he refused to give up on this chance. He kept using his unskilled foreignnguage skills to chat with the directors awkwardly. He even attempted to use a generous amount of money to persuade the directors to ept the celebrities under hispany into their crew. Nevertheless, it was out of his expectations that the directors rejected him bluntly! Chapter 269 Chapter 269 The directors didn¡¯tck investment at all. They were the guarantee of box office, so the investors of their movies would be confirmed to make a profit. Their only requirement of the actors was their acting skills. Therefore, upon hearing that the actors rmended by Richard were a bunch of unpopr actors with box office of less than 500 million, they waved their hands to decline his offer. Before the charity banquet officially began, all parties had started with their ¡®performances¡¯. Stanley and Sean, who were sitting at a corner, had some food and beverages while taking care of Nathan. They even called Joel over to them. Stanley gleefully shared the incident that happened next door earlier. ¡°Uncle Joel, you didn¡¯t watch the ¡®show¡¯ next door just now. But oh, my! It was exciting! Hahaha! You¡¯ve missed an interesting show!¡± Joel kept quiet with an impassive expression. Nathan, who was in exquisite suit, sat in a corner with an indifferent expression as well. Just now, his perception about life and value had been turned upside down. He was still a child, so he needed more time to digest it. Suddenly, there was anothermotion among the reporters. ¡°Taylor Murray is here!¡± Taylor would definitely appear at wherever Ethan made an appearance. Taylor was usually low-profile, but he kept making the headlines recently due to all sorts of scandals, such as being out on the streets, molesting new actors, and bullying his juniors. These news were eye-catching, causing his image as an idol to almost copse. However, hispany and him were like corpses, totally unfazed by the incidents. It was a rare asion for him to appear here today, and the people involved in the few scandals were all here today as well. If I get to interview the star of the hot news directly¡­ The bunch of reporters eagerly waited for their chance to get the major news. Under everyone¡¯s attention, Michael finally appeared. He was in his usual white shirt and ck suit, looking immacte. The ck-and-white monotone formed his whole world, entuating his cold temperament and good-looking features. The buzz cut, which the public had never seen on him, brought his dashing looks to another level. He appeared in front of the media and public with this demeanor and looks that were unprecedented to him. Daniel Levine appeared together with him. The appearance of Taylor stirred an uproar! Everyone was watching the news recently because Taylor¡¯s scandals had reached a point where he became the center of the public¡¯s attention. His daily updates wereparable to those clich¨¦ dramas. Wasn¡¯t he out on the street without any jobs or movies to film? Wasn¡¯t he driven out of the industry because he raped the daughter of an official? Didn¡¯t he offend half of the entertainment industry? How about his beer belly? And the wrinkles and age spots? But this person before everyone is so dazzling that he is blinding, looking totally iparable with the shabby person the gossips said he was! The two people walked on the red carpet. They hurried into the hall without pausing. Countless cameras and mics were shoved toward them but were stopped at both sides by the security guards and bodyguards. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, what are your thoughts about the incident where you bullied a junior, Gracie?¡± ¡°Taylor, what are your thoughts about Bethany being harassed?¡± ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, what are your opinions about the recent rumors about you? Mr. Murray, Mr. Murray¡­¡± He was like a wind that brushed past the reporters; he didn¡¯t bother to answer those inappropriate questions. His appearance itself was the best answer to them. Michael walked up to Ethan and patted his shoulder, and the group of powerful and famous people around thetter surrounded them and warmly greeted them. What did it take to be an idol? Only now did everyone know that an idol would be someone like Taylor Murray! He, who had ¡®offended the officials¡¯, was currently carefreely chatting with a bunch of important politicians, and the arrogant princesses became his fangirls in front of him, queuing up for a chance to take a photo together with him. He, who had ¡®offended half of the entertainment industry and was driven out of the industry¡¯, was surrounded by the most well-known directors in the world. As a ¡®washed-up middle-aged male actor¡¯, he became the center of attention the moment he made an appearance. Only now did everyone know how ridiculous and immature the widely-spread and seemingly-real scandals were. It turned out that he didn¡¯t reply to the press because he didn¡¯t bother to. When Richard saw the dazzling Taylor among the crowd, an unfathomable viciousness lurked deep within his eyes. Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. I believe that as long as I give myself some time, I¡¯m definitely able to make another celebrity so famous that he can even surpass Taylor! At the corner, Nathan looked around the hall, as if he was waiting for someone; Stanley was doing the same. ¡°Nate, your nanny isn¡¯t here yet!¡± Nathan looked around over and over again, and his eyes nced at the door anxiously. He almost became a rock from eagerly waiting for his mother. Stanley took out his phone and gave Sophia a call. ¡°Hello, Sophia, where are you? Why aren¡¯t you here yet? Could it be that you are still next door?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I¡¯m with your ¡®son¡¯.¡± Hearing that, Nathan blew up. She¡¯s actually together with someone else¡¯s son! I feel so aggrieved and helpless¡­ Mommy doesn¡¯t want me anymore! She wants someone else¡¯s son! All of a sudden, the sound of the reporters wildly pressing on the shutters of their cameras was heard. There seemed to be a big shot arriving at the hall. Everyone looked in the direction of the door and found a handsome man and a beautifuldy there. Stepping on the red carpet, they strolled into the hall, and they even intentionally stopped for a few seconds at the door. The sound of hitting the shutters was heard, and the shes from the camera keptnding on the two of them. The man was L/K¡¯s person-in-charge for Cethos¡ªKenny ir. He wore a fitting suit, looking pleased as he held the arm of the girl next to him. He seemed to be full of pride. The girl beside him instantly became the center of attention of the entire hall. She was wearing an elegant white gown that seemed a little pinkish. The long hem of her skirt dragged along the floor, and the skirt was dotted with some floral pattern. The garment, which was light and thin, wrapped around the girl¡¯s exquisite body, entuating her slim waist. The light tulle resembled ayer of hazy mist, revealing the long, slender curvature of her legs when she was walking. The girl had delicate makeup on, whichplemented her floral-patterned gown, and it made her look as stunning as a bouquet. Her ck hair was worn in an exquisite bun and embellished with two elegant, stary hair pins. She looked like a flower fairy. She had a tall figure with an outstanding beauty. She was holding a handbag in her hand and wearing a ring embedded with a red jewel. Any person who knew about jewelry could tell the origin of the ring with just a nce. It was the legendary Royal tinum Ring¡ªthe ¡®Eternal Heart¡¯. Everyone looked at the girl as she managed to grab everyone¡¯s attention the moment she made an appearance. Kenny ir proudly introduced, ¡°Everyone, this is the L/K limited-edition gown that will be released during thising spring¡ª¡®Greenery¡¯! There is only one piece in the whole world. Hahaha¡­¡± Only one piece! Everyone looked at the girl while burning in envy and jealousy, and at the same time, admiring her beauty. Richard stared at the girl who captured everyone¡¯s attention as well, so astonished by her looks that he couldn¡¯te to his senses. Isn¡¯t that Sophia? Before he could figure out how she became L/K¡¯s model, all his thoughts were absorbed by her beauty. She was absolutely breathtaking today! Her beauty was enchanting, and he really felt that his soul was taken away from him by her. Simrly, when Faye and Xy their eyes on Sophia, they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Why is she here? Upon seeing Richard¡¯s gaze, which was full of his obsession toward Sophia, X gripped on her gown so tightly with one hand that she pulled out the jewels on it. I can¡¯t believe that this wild chick could actually be L/K¡¯s model. And she even dressed up so flirtatiously! Does she think that she would be able to snatch Richard away this way? In her dreams! Chapter 270 Chapter 270 The person who is engaged to Richard is me, X Huff! She held Richard¡¯s arm, as if she had be the top winner in life, as if Sophia had lost the light in her life when she lost Richard, and her toughness was merely a pretense. However, little did she know that the current Sophia didn¡¯t bother to notice their existence. Upon entering the door, Sophia located the tallest and most good-looking guest in the hall, and her delicate face slightly flushed red. My idol is always the most handsome! Kenny proudly unted his best work. This time, it was Kenny himself who brought Sophia in, so nobody suspected that it was a high-quality replica. After standing on the red carpet for a few seconds, slowly and elegantly, she trod into the hall. Everyone who was present was guessing her identity. Which family is thisdy from? Judging from her temperament and outfit, she must be from the nobility. She couldn¡¯t be a model because there isn¡¯t anyone like her in the modelling industry! When Faye saw Sophia, she knew that her ns had failed. She red at her resentfully while listening to the girls around her discussing her background. She pouted and begrudgingly muttered, ¡°Supermodel? A youngdy from a wealthy family? Her name is Sophia Edwards, a student from Bayside University. She¡¯s at most a frence model!¡± A frence model? The news was spread out in a short period of time. The new product of L/K is actually debuted by a frence model? A lot of supermodels present at the scene were displeased. As an international brand, there were countless models scrambling to work for L/K, but they actually used a frence model instead. When Kenny heard the news, he was pissed off. A frence model? This flower fairy is the owner of ¡®Greenery¡¯! However, since she wished to keep a low profile, he couldn¡¯t tell everyone the truth. He had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and focus on showing off his new product. Faye exaggerated about Sophia in the crowd. ¡°She attended the same high school as my cousin, and everyone in the school knew that she had an abortion when she was studying. She then pretended to be pure and innocent after she managed to enter Bayside University!¡± When Joe saw Sophia from one side, he was shocked, thinking that he might have seen wrongly. However, after listening to Faye¡¯s words, he realized that her name, school, and all the facts about her matched the person he had in mind. It turns out that she was actually his illegitimate daughter whom he had sold for 80,000¡ªSophia Edwards! Ever since he sold off this root of all his misfortune, his career began to flourish. Not only was his company listed with him as one of thergest shareholders, which caused him to be part of the nobility in Bayside City, he was even able to build connections with the Edwards Family and bring his business to a whole new level. Of course, he didn¡¯t tell anybody about this. Therefore, his family didn¡¯t know that he had an illegitimate daughter. Sophia knew that Faye was spreading rumors about her, but she didn¡¯t even bother to deal with it, since they were not from the same social circle. Suddenly, the crowd parted, and a little figure ran toward her with loud footsteps. The little guy charged into her arms and hugged her leg. ¡°Nate, you¡¯re here too!¡± Nathan held her hand and pulled her to a corner. Along the way, there were plenty of people who kept handing her their name cards in an attempt to get to know her. ¡°Youngdy, are you interested to shoot for an advertisement?¡± ¡°We are short of a female lead actress for our drama.¡± ¡°Miss, can I get to know you?¡± A lot of people wanted to know Sophia, but all of them backed off at Nathan¡¯s cold re. I¡¯ll re at anybody who looks at my mother! Nathan grabbed Sophia and seated her on a couch at the corner. Attentively, he got her some cakes and beverages, as if he was afraid that she would prefer someone else¡¯s son over him. I won¡¯t allow it even if it is Stanley¡¯s son! Stanley, who was again awestruck by Sophia, approached her and grinned. ¡°Fifi, you look gorgeous today!¡± Sophia took a sip of water. She dared not drink much because this gown showed her figure more visibly than the ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯, so even drinking a little water might affect her figure. However, she was really thirsty after she had gone through a tough time that felt like half a day together with Michael¡¯s styling team. She was dressed up mboyantly before being sent in here for Michael to admire. It was like a battle. I find myself really pretty today too. My idol must have looked at me just now! Sophia didn¡¯t bother to reply to Stanley, but thetter leaned closer to her and asked, ¡°Fifi, can we have dinner together tonight?¡± Stanley¡¯s yearning for her was so obvious on his face that Joel couldn¡¯t bear to continue looking at it, so he pushed away his perverted face. ¡°Behave yourself!¡± Only then did Stanley control his behaviors, but he kept leaning close to Sophia. At that moment, Sophia spoke to Joel, ¡°Hello, General.¡± Joel¡¯s cold expression slightly eased. ¡°Hmm. Have fun today.¡± He was wearing earphones as he had to givemands at any time. His aim today was not only to attend the banquet; he was in charge of the security of the venue as well. His pair of eyes resembled an eagle¡¯s, sharply scanning through the hall. There were plenty of police in in clothes and snipers hidden in the hall, prepared to take action at any time the moment something unusual happened. Nevertheless, his mind kept drifting to the dazzling girl at the side. He couldn¡¯t control it, nor he could stop it. Deep within his calm eyes, a hint of fiercepetitive desire of a wolf was spreading. Inparison to his calm and contained desire, Stanley¡¯s desire for her was obvious on his face. ¡°Fifi, are you free tonight? Nate is a big boy now, so he doesn¡¯t need a nanny. How about you take a rest from taking care of this child tonight and watch a movie with me? You actually walked on the red carpet together with my ¡®son¡¯, but you didn¡¯t walk with me. I¡¯m sad¡­ sob¡­¡± Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org. If it weren¡¯t for Joel watching them from the side and Nathan blocking him in the middle, he would have glued himself to Sophia. Sophia peeked at Sean, who was at one side, and noticed the helpless look on his face. She felt helpless as well. Stanley is so untactful and slow-witted! I only have my idol in my eyes and heart! As she now had a little free time, she quickly took out her phone. As expected, the inte was hyped up. In just a short time, the discussion on the inte had changed. Those who had eloquently talked about Taylor¡¯s scandals were badly reprimanded. Only now did everyone realize that all the scandals were ill- intentioned nder! Taylor¡¯s fans left thousands ofments on Bethany¡¯s Twitter, and all of thements were urging her to apologize. And just now, Bethany posted a photo of her and Taylor together. In the photo, Taylor was incredibly good-looking, causing Bethany to look like a maid beside him. The caption of the photo was, ¡®I had been shooting for a while, so I had no time to go online. When I checked my phone during the banquet tonight, I have never thought that I would find the rumors spreading around like wildfire online. Everyone has been mistaken¡ªthe person I was talking about was definitely not Mr. Taylor Murray! He is forever my idol, and I¡¯ll support him forever!¡¯ When this post was posted, the discussion online swerved in apletely different direction. Seeing that, Sophia sneered, F*ck off! Your vague post caused everyone to curse him so badly. Do you think that you can escape the me with just a simple denial that you weren¡¯t talking about him? What a great tactic! Taylor was normally indifferent, and he refused to take photos with anyone, but today, he actually agreed to take photos with a lot of celebrities of Glory Entertainment. The group of celebrities were extremely excited. They posted the photos on their Twitter, feeling more exhrated than their fans. All rumors and scandals were scotched. The effect was immediate. On the ranking of the Light of Cethos, Taylor and Ethan¡¯s votes shot up like a fountain. In just a brief moment, they escted from being the top 10 to the top 5, and judging from this speed, they would be able to be the champion tonight! Looking at the list, Sophia was pleased, and her pinkish little face was glowing, making her look adorable. Michael was standing at the center of the social circle of the rich and wealthy, but his gaze kept wandering toward a certain corner. As if he saw something, he smiled in pleasure. If it weren¡¯t because I noticed that Sophia was so worried about my scandals and the dropping ranking to the point where she couldn¡¯t eat or sleep, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to hold this troublesome charity banquet! Chapter 271 Chapter 271 Under the harmonious atmosphere, the charity banquet finally began, and the auction started. Ethan felt helpless and desperate for being forced by Michael to hold this charity auction dinner. But since he had organized it, he had to at least auction off a few items, even if it was done half- heartedly. The first item was his personal watch, which was custom-made by a manufacturer a few years ago. The moment the auction of this item began, everyonepeted to get it. Then, a few items were auctioned off one by one, for instance, a gaming keyboard that he no longer used, his outfit that he wore when he won the Oscars Best Actor Award, the cor of a dog that went bold due to Michael¡¯s jinx, and also the rm clock that he resented for waking him up every day. All the misceneous items were auctioned off, as if he was selling scrap. As long as it was something that he had used before¡ªeven if it was his underwear¡ªthere would be someone scrambling for it. The auction went smoothly. The moment an item was opened for auction, it would be purchased with high price by some rich guest almost instantly. Michael even wrote an impromptu piece of calligraphy to serve as an auction item today. This was the first time Michael showed his skills of writing calligraphy. When the sharp and well-defined calligraphy piece was exposed in front of the public, everyone was astonished. His calligraphy skills were unexpectedly great! In the end, the calligraphy was auctioned off with the price of 1 million. After the auction ended, the banquet began. Sophia held Nathan¡¯s little hand and randomly found a seat. The charity banquet tonight had managed to raise arge amount of funds, and all of it would be donated to programs under the Hope Educational Fund. The banquet finally began. Stanley shamelessly insisted on sitting next to Sophia and kept putting food onto her te. Joel couldn¡¯t bear to continue watching and again reminded him, ¡°Stanley, behave yourself!¡± He¡¯s like the reincarnation of a perverted ghost! Nathan red furiously at Stanley, attempting to stop him from getting closer to Sophia. Meanwhile, Faye was excitedly heading to the direction of X and Richard, as if she had just received great news. ¡°X, is it true that Sophia was born in the outskirts of Riverdale?¡± Puzzled, Richard answered, ¡°Yes. What¡¯s up?¡± Richard knew about Sophia¡¯s background. She was born to a family named Edwards in the outskirts of Riverdale. Her family were farmers, and she had lost her parents since young. She was destitute. But why would Faye ask this question now? Faye uttered delightfully, ¡°I just heard this from my father. Twenty years ago, when my mother was pregnant with me, a nanny at our house figured out a way to get pregnant with my father¡¯s child in an attempt to ckmail him, but she was then driven away by my mother. After the woman returned to her hometown, she passed away after giving birth to a daughter, and the daughter was Sophia Edwards!¡± Richard and X were stunned. They had never expected that Sophia was Joe¡¯s illegitimate daughter, which would make her Faye¡¯s sister. However, Faye then unexpectedly told them another piece of shocking news. ¡°After the wild chick was driven out of Riverdale High School, she found her way to my house. My father then had her marry an ugly, disabled old man! And Daniel Levine was the middle man!¡± This is really shocking news! Hearing that, X was overjoyed. No wonder she was nowhere to be found after she left Riverdale. It turns out that she went to look for her birth father, Joe. This exins why she has the money to attend Bayside University, and why she¡¯s so arrogant! It turns out that she¡¯s married to an old man! This is really karma! Richard fell into a deep silence after listening. X, on the other hand,ughed ¡®innocently¡¯. ¡°Hey, if that¡¯s the case, she¡¯d be my cousin. It turns out that we are family!¡± An extremely wicked idea suddenly popped into her mind. She then held Richard¡¯s arm. ¡°It turns out that Sophia¡¯s our rtive. This is really unexpected. How about we go and greet her now?¡± She couldn¡¯t wait for everyone to know that Sophia was married to an ugly old man! Halfway through the banquet, Sophia stopped eating after having two bites because she intended to have dinner together with her idol when they returned home after the banquet. When she was holding a mirror to touch up her makeup, a loud voice of a middle-aged man was suddenly heard from behind her. ¡°Sophia! My daughter! You are actually here. I¡¯ve been looking for you!¡± At that moment, Sophia¡¯s expression was freezing cold. She calmly put down the makeup mirror in her hand, but her body remained still. Stanley, who was eating, stood up in shock. ¡°What? My father-inw is here?¡± He turned around and saw a bald, fat middle-aged man standing behind Sophia. The flesh on the man squeezed his eyes into a fine line. Stanley¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief. ¡°You are Sophia¡¯s father?¡± What kind of gorgeous beauty did this fat b*stard marry to be able to have such a beautiful daughter? Joel turned toward the oversized man. This is Sophia¡¯s father? Joe rubbed his hand as he stood behind Sophia. He had never thought that the daughter he had sold would be so beautiful today! At that time, he was really driven into a corner. All the fortune tellers said that the energy of his house and the horoscopes of his children were not pleasant, so he had people to check them out, but they couldn¡¯t find any problem with them. In the end, he had the horoscopes of all his illegitimate children checked and finally found out that it was Sophia, this jinx, who ruined his birth chart! After he got rid of her, his entire careerpletely changed, which confirmed that Sophia was the jinx. However, he had never expected that the ugly, darkplexioned illegitimate daughter from two years ago would be so beautiful! Sophia finally stood up. She turned around and calmly looked at this fat man before a stiff word escaped her lips¡ª¡°Father.¡± It was ¡®father¡¯, not ¡®daddy¡¯. ¡®Daddy¡¯ was an endearment, but ¡®father¡¯ was merely a description of a rtionship. Joe was even more astonished when he looked at Sophia from a close distance. Rubbing his hands, he grinned so hard that his eyes squinted. ¡°You really look like your mother!¡± Sophia¡¯s mother was still vivid in Joe¡¯s memory. She was only 18 when she came to the Edwards residence to work as a nanny. She was stunning, looking just like a little fairy. It would be impossible forExclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. Joe to not have any intention toward her when such a beautiful nanny kept appearing before him. On top of that, his wife was pregnant at that time. He was sexually frustrated, so he kept coveting to have a taste of that young nanny. The ungrateful young nanny pretended to be chaste and refused to give in to me. But in the end, I still managed to make her moan under me. Unfortunately, Faye¡¯s mother found out about it after that, and she was driven away after an intense beating. Because of this, Joe couldn¡¯t forget about her for quite some time. And now, the Sophia before him looked exactly the same as her mother! Upon seeing that Sophia had admitted, Faye impatiently walked up to her and held her hands warmly. ¡°It turns out that you are really my sister! My daddy said that you are married. Where¡¯s your husband? Why didn¡¯t you bring him here?¡± She didn¡¯t wait for Sophia to reply. ¡°I know that your husband is an ugly and disabled old man, who is even older than my father; you must be embarrassed to take him out. But he¡¯s still the man you share a bed with after all! Where¡¯s your husband? Ask him toe out to let me have a look at him!¡± Stanley was dumbfounded. ¡°Sophia, you are actually married to an old man?¡± Faye adamantly nodded. ¡°I bet that you guys didn¡¯t know about it too. She got married two years ago when she was just 18; she got married to an old man!¡± Chapter 272 Chapter 272 In that instant, the way everyone looked at Sophia changed. ¡°It¡¯s so unexpected that such a beautiful young woman is actually married to an old and ugly man!¡± ¡°That man must be quite rich!¡± ¡°Hmph! Look at girls nowadays!¡± X went to Sophia intimately. ¡°Oh, so you are the daughter of Mr. Edwards. In that case, you are my younger cousin! At such an important asion, you should bring your husband here! Where is he? Introduce him to us, quick!¡± Joe didn¡¯t seem to understand what his daughter felt about it. He just wanted to see his son-inw, whom he had never met before. My son-inw must be very rich since he¡¯s able to make Sophia a model of L/K. On top of that, she also got to wear this limited-edition evening gown! I can¡¯t wait to meet him! Perhaps he¡¯ll even be helpful to my business! Back then, when Daniel introduced him to me, he already mentioned that that man was old and a wife- jinxer, but he was rich¡ªincredibly rich! After my beautiful illegitimate daughter married him, she must have been well-loved! Perhaps after he dies, he might even give half of his assets to her! Apart from myself, Sophia doesn¡¯t have any other rtives. So wouldn¡¯t this mean that all the money will belong to me? Joe¡¯s fantasies ran wilder the more he thought about this. Sophia merely watched their performance quietly. Stanley immediately asked her, ¡°Sophia, are they telling the truth? Did you really marry an old and ugly man for money?¡± Sophia did not avoid the topic at all and nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Everyone was shocked. It¡¯s true after all! Suddenly, Sophia felt someone hugging her legs tightly. Nathan looked at her with a pair of wide eyes. With just an order from her, he would call his dad here to refute all their criticisms. Sophia caressed Nathan¡¯s head and hid him behind her dress. Joe, this old, fat man, is not fit to have such a perfect son-inw like my idol husband! As soon as Joe saw Nathan, he eximed happily, ¡°Oh, my! So this is my son-inw¡¯s son, so that makes him my grandson! Come here, good boy! Let me have a look at you!¡± Seeing Nathan¡¯s good looks and the way he was immactely dressed, Joe guessed that this must be his son-inw¡¯s child. Oh, my son-inw must have had this son when he¡¯s rather old, so he must spoil this little guy. On top of that, Sophia is so close to him even though she is his step-mother! Tsk! Seems like Sophia can get more than half of his assets! When that old guy dies, all his assets will be given to this little guy. When the time arrives, he would be orphaned, and Sophia will be widowed. So all the money will go to me! Daniel said that this guy was a wife-jinxer, and he jinxed his entire family to death! Nathan looked at him angrily and refused to walk to him. At this moment, Faye eximed shrilly, ¡°Gosh! So you are not Nathan¡¯s nanny, but his stepmother!¡± Sophia hid Nathan behind her dress quietly and smiled to everyone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Because of my husband¡¯s identity, it¡¯s not convenient to introduce him to everyone.¡± Fayeughed mockingly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re family after all. We definitely won¡¯t be looking down on your husband because he¡¯s old and ugly. You can just ask him toe over!¡± Everyone was more confirmed that Sophia¡¯s husband was an old man. Just at this moment, Joe saw Danieling out of the washroom and called him happily, ¡°Daniel, you¡¯re just the person we¡¯re looking for!¡± Daniel walked over in confusion after being called out by Joe. Joe held his hand excitedly. ¡°Master Levine, you came just at the right time. Back then, you were the one who pulled the strings for my daughter¡¯s marriage, right? Tell me¡ªwho is my son-inw? Is he here today?¡± Daniel suddenly felt a murderous nce on himself. After turning around, he saw a fierce re from a pair of eyes hidden behind Sophia¡¯s dress. Scared, he quickly replied, ¡°Uhm¡­ about this¡­ haha, your son-inw is right here! If you ask him to appear in front of you, he might do so.¡± Delighted to hear that, Joe turned around to look at everyone at the banquet and yelled, ¡°My dear son-in- law, where are you? Show yourself to me!¡± Faye also added, ¡°Dear brother-inw,e out! We won¡¯tin that you are old and ugly. Just come out and meet us!¡± The said son-inw, who was hidden among the crowd, was tempted to show himself. As long as Sophia asked for him to show up, he would definitely appear immediately. However, after a long time, he didn¡¯t hear Sophia call him. Stanley also clenched his fists tightly. He was curious to see which old man had defiled his goddess. If he dares to appear, I¡¯ll definitely kill that old guy! Unfortunately, no one appeared after a long time. Sophia merely remained silent looking at the circus show in front of her, watching them yelling out loud. X told her excitedly, ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s wrong for you to behave as such. No matter how bad your husband might look, he is your husband after all, so he will need to meet your father. Why don¡¯t you guys meet today?¡± Sophia repeated, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I really can¡¯t tell you my husband¡¯s identity. I will never reveal him.¡± She had never thought of using Michael¡¯s identity for her own good. On top of that, he is too good for them! Joe strongly believed that his son-inw was a big deal. This girl must be nning to get all his assets alone! What an ungrateful daughter! If it weren¡¯t for me, could she have gotten such a nice husband? His assets are what I deserve! Angry, his face darkened. ¡°Sophia Edwards, you are my daughter. As your father, can¡¯t I see my son-in- law? Do you still have any respect for me?¡± Sophia smiled. The corner of her lips were slightly curved as she replied sharply, ¡°Let me ask you¡ªdon¡¯t you even know who my husband is? Do you still see me as your daughter?¡± Joe¡¯s small eyes actually widened as he red at her. ¡°I-Is this how you speak to your father?¡± Sophia walked closer to him as she raised her voice. ¡°Back then, when you sold me off to another man for 80,000, you made it clear that we were not to contact each other for the rest of our lives! Are you regretting your decision, hmm? Mr. Edwards?¡± Her clear voice had reached everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°What? Mr. Edwards sold his daughter off? For 80,000?¡± ¡°My God¡­¡± ¡°How poor was he to have sold his daughter for 80,000?¡± ¡°Damn, his daughter is so nice! He should have sold her to me! I¡¯d pay a million for her!¡± Joe¡¯s so-called son-inw, who was hidden among the crowd, frowned. Damn! 80,000? I thought the starting price was 50 million? It only got reduced to 10 million after a fierce negotiation! Since Nate liked her, I forked out 10 million for her even though it hurt my wallet! Joe¡¯s expression darkened after everyonemented on his action. After the story of how he sold his daughter off for 80,000 was revealed, his face blushed red as he defended himself vehemently, ¡°What do you mean by selling my daughter? That was just my dowry! My daughter¡¯s dowry has to be at leastExclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org. millions; what¡¯s wrong with getting 80,000 for my youngest daughter? Sophia, you ungrateful scum! No matter what, you can¡¯t deny that I¡¯m your father! It¡¯s an undeniable fact that my blood flows in you!¡± Sophia retaliated, ¡°But you already sold me off! Shall I ask Master Levine, the middle-man, to describe what happened back then?¡± As soon as he heard his name, Daniel jumped forward and exined loudly, ¡°Back then, Mr. Edwards was so poor that he asked me to introduce his daughter to one of my clients. Then, after I paid you the dowry of 80,000, we agreed not to contact ever again. You¡¯d better not break the rules, Mr. Edwards!¡± To paint it in nicer words, it was dowry, but to be blunt, it was Sophia¡¯s price tag! Chapter 273 Chapter 273 Joe didn¡¯t expect that Daniel would side Sophia, so he continued defending himself. ¡°What do you mean by selling my daughter? She¡¯s not somemodity to be sold! I remember that I asked you to introduce a suitable partner for my daughter to marry! You told me that you would find a good family for her; I didn¡¯t expect that you sold her off!¡± Wow! He is trying to nder me now! Even so, Daniel was not angry at him. ¡°Mr. Edwards, stop denying the fact that you sold your daughter off. Your son-inw is actually here. Tsk-tsk, by the way, his wealth is on par with a nation.¡± Joe¡¯s brows shot up when he heard that. My son-inw is as rich as a country! He did not have other rtives; he only had a son. On top of that, he doted on Sophia very much. In Joe¡¯s eyes, the fact that his son-inw¡¯s wealth was on par with a nation was like a bottomless treasure pit for him. Daniel deliberately pretended to be looking up to him, and he gave some goodments about Michael. ¡°Although he¡¯s old and ugly, your son-inw is really rich. Joe, you¡¯d better suck up to your daughter. Now, anything that she simply brings out from the house is enough for your lifetime expenditure. You¡¯d better not ruin your rtionship with her!¡± Joe became greedier upon hearing that and changed his attitude entirely. He quickly asked Daniel obsequiously, ¡°Who on earth is my son-inw? Master Levine, please enlighten me.¡± Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Daniel deliberately looked at the first floor of the venue, especially at the top-grade social circle. Joe was delighted beyond belief upon seeing that. My son-inw is someone with an impressive background! I bet he¡¯s either the CEO of argepany or the founder of the real estate business! Unfortunately, Daniel refused to let him know. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. When you sold your daughter, we signed a contract. One of the terms was to cut off tiespletely. Your daughter¡¯s personal wealth and life has nothing to do with you, and based on the contract, your question goes against the terms and conditions.¡± In the face of massive wealth, Joe did not care about the contract anymore. He merely wanted to know who his son-inw was. He put on a fake appearance as he said, ¡°Oh, Master Levine, there¡¯s something you don¡¯t know¡ªthis daughter of mine had always been moving around on her own. Two years ago, after I married her off, I regretted it very much. I regret the fact that I¡¯d not done a good job of being a father. Now that both of us have finally reunited, I will definitely be a good father to make up to her for all the sins I¡¯ve done in the past. Right now, I just want to know who my son-inw is. I want to ask him if he has been treating my daughter well all this while.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Right after he finished his sentence, Sophia snorted mockingly and said loudly, ¡°Father, if you want to know if I¡¯m doing well or not, you can directly ask me.¡± Joe looked stern,pletely treating Sophia as if she was a lost belonging that he had just found. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt when adults are talking.¡± He did not care at all if Sophia was doing well or not; all he cared about was how much his son-inw was worth, when he would die, and how much he, the father-inw, would get after that. It¡¯s fine if Sophia refuses to tell me, as long as Daniel spills the beans. Seeing that Daniel still refused to tell the truth, Joe yed the pity card. ¡°Master Levine, I only have two daughters in my entire life. My eldest daughter, Faye, is always by my side. My youngest daughter, Sophia, is also very important to me. I just want to know if my son-inw has been treating her well; that¡¯s all.¡± Daniel still refused to tell him the truth. If he really did so, the entire Edwards Family would definitely cling onto Michael. Hence, he replied arduously, ¡°Mr. Edwards, I am someone who goes by the rules strictly. I will never break any contract I¡¯ve made.¡± Joe replied earnestly, ¡°Come on! Is the contract more important than family? Isn¡¯t it just a contract? How much does the penalty cost? I¡¯ll pay it! Compared to my daughter¡¯s happiness, any amount of money is nothing! I¡¯m just worried that she¡¯d be bullied by her inws. The reason for meeting him today is just to tell him that I¡¯m still alive, in case he mistreats my daughter in the future, thinking that she¡¯s all alone by herself.¡± However, Daniel still refused to tell him and walked away. Joe could not stop him and continued asking Sophia, who would not reveal anything to him. They definitely don¡¯t let things go easily. An idea suddenly urred to X, who spoke gently to Nathan, ¡°Nate, is your dad here today? Grandpa wants to see him! Ask him toe here now!¡± Nathan revealed his eyes from behind Sophia¡¯s dress as he looked at the group of adults fearfully. Joe quickly inched his chubby cheeks close to him. ¡°My good grandson, where is your daddy? Can you show me to him?¡± Even though the adults refuse to tell me, this might not be the case with little kids. After taking a look at Joe, Nathan suddenly jumped out from behind Sophia and ran to the crowd quickly. He must be going to his daddy! Joe, Faye, and X followed behind him happily while Sophia looked at them indifferently. The change in events had reached a point where Stanley could no longerprehend. He grabbed Sophia¡¯s shoulders and shook her vigorously. ¡°Sophia! Tell me the truth! What the hell is going on? Who¡¯s your husband? Did your dad really sell you off for 80,000? Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier? Where¡¯s that old guy? I¡¯ll buy you back from him! If he doesn¡¯t agree to that, I¡¯ll kill him!¡± Sophia did not reply to Stanley. Instead, her gaze merely followed Nathan, who ran to the core circle of the group. Joe was so happy that he could barely cover his mouth. ¡°My dear son-inw, where are you? I¡¯m Sophia¡¯s dad! Come out! Let¡¯s have a chat!¡± Richard followed suit in delight. If Sophia¡¯s husband is really a bigshot, he might be of use to my career. Perhaps I can use this opportunity to squeeze into the upper-ss society and have connections with them. After all, I¡¯m Sophia¡¯s ex, whom she can¡¯t forget! Nathan rushed into the crowd. His eyes were darting around as he looked for his father while Joe looked at his demeanour expectantly. What would be the background of my son-inw? Is he a foreign prince? Or the boss of a financepany? No matter what, his background must be astonishing. Michael thought that Nathan was going to him, so he was mentally prepared to hug him. However, Nathan did not even look at him. He merely circled Michael before running away. After a while, Nathan finally found his ¡®father¡¯ and rushed over to hug his leg. Joe was actively nudging people away as he followed Nathan with a wide smile on his fat face. ¡°My good son-inw, here Ie!¡± The three people behind him were also looking forward to this. However, when they saw the face of the man, their excited footsteps stopped immediately. The man whom Nathan hugged was actually Joel! Nathan Fletcher¡­ Joel Fletcher¡­ Is it possible that¡­ Richard¡¯s face nched immediately, while Faye also looked incredulous. Did Sophia marry Joel? And Nathan¡¯s father is actually Joel? In that case, what the hell is going on between Joel and Irene? Uh¡­ Even though Joe did not know Joel, he could recognize Joel¡¯s title in the army based on his attire¡ªMajor General. He¡¯s a Major General, and a member of the Fletcher Family! Joe was dumbfounded to find that his son-inw was the third generation of the army family. Delirious, he walked forward with his thick-skinned face as he rubbed his hands together. ¡°My dear son- inw, I¡¯m¡ª¡± Chapter 274 Chapter 274 ¡°Mr. Edwards.¡± Joel caressed Nathan¡¯s head as he looked at Joe in front of him coldly. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m that ¡®dear son-inw¡¯ of yours who is old and ugly?¡± He looked at Joe sharply with the expression of a fierce tiger. Joe was taken aback by that. He was the third generation of the army family with the title of Major General. On top of that, he was also extremely good-looking. No matter from which angle Joe looked, he was not the ¡®dear son-inw¡¯ who was ugly, old, and a family-jinxer. I was actually fooled by this little rascal! After he bowed and apologized, he turned around to re at Nathan. ¡°You brat! You shouldn¡¯t simply point at a man and say he¡¯s your father!¡± However, Nathan suddenly fled from Joel and ran past the crowd again. Joe thought that Nathan was definitely looking for his own father after being threatened. Hence, Joe and his family followed his lead once more. This time around, Nathan hugged the thigh of a prince of a foreign country. He has blue eyes, and his hair is blond. No matter what, he doesn¡¯t look like the father of this brat at all! Joe cursed, ¡°F*ck you, brat! Are you fooling around with me? Show your dad to me immediately!¡± Nathan jumped after being yelled at. He then shuttled amid the crowd and hugged the leg of a foreign president this time. Joe stomped his feet on the ground. ¡°You rascal, I¡¯ll hit you right away!¡± Nathan ran past the crowd nimbly once more, but this time, he was indeed going to his father. Joe couldpletely tell that Nathan was just fooling around with him, so he chased after Nathan to catch him. After I catch him, his father will definitely have to appear. While cursing, Joe chased after him as he shoved people away. Then, he saw Nathan hugging Taylor Murray¡¯s thigh. On top of that, he even yelled, ¡°Daddy, there¡¯s a bad guy trying to catch me!¡± He simply hugged another person¡¯s thigh again! No matter what, Taylor Murray doesn¡¯t look like his dad at all! ¡°F*ck you, brat! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Right after Joe reached Nathan, he immediately rolled his sleeves up to catch him. Nathan was so scared that he hid behind his father. Just when Michael was about to speak, Sophia suddenly approached them from behind. ¡°Security! Security! Someone is fooling around here. Throw them out for me, please!¡± As it was an important asion, the security team was directly managed by the army. In no time, a few soldiers from the special forces surrounded Joe immediately. Meanwhile, Stanley also rushed to them whileining, ¡°How dare you make a scene here! Someone, shoot this old fe right away!¡± A few redser points appeared on Joe¡¯s body as the snipers took their ce in the dark. Joe was so shocked that his fat body trembled, while X and Richard were also taken aback as they didn¡¯t expect that there were snipers here. Richard quickly said, ¡°Calm down. No one is making a scene here. We were just trying to help them reconcile with their family!¡± All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Nathan pounced from Michael¡¯s back andnded in Sophia¡¯s embrace. She snorted coldly. ¡°It¡¯s a charity banquet, not an asion for your family matters.¡± Seeing Sophia speaking back to him fluently, Joe retaliated, ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m your father! Is this the way you speak to me?¡± However, Sophia did not look at him and spoke to Joel, who was next to her, ¡°General, please chase them out. If they continue to make a scene here, just shoot them.¡± Stanley continued to instigate the incident without knowing what was actually going on. ¡°Shoot them! Shoot them! Shoot all of them!¡± There were also many people from the Edwards Family who participated in this event. Joe was only able to enter the circle of Edwards Family after putting in a lot of effort, and some people from the family even knew him. At that moment, one of them walked to him and berated, ¡°Can¡¯t you tell what asion is this? This isn¡¯t a ce where you can make a scene! Get lost!¡± Facing the senior members of the Edwards Family, Joe immediately resigned and smiled awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s just a misunderstanding! Just a misunderstanding! Hahaha! I¡¯m just too happy seeing my daughter today!¡± Hmph! If my son-inw could stand up for me now, he might boost my position in the Edwards Family! Perhaps this senior member would even have to suck up to me! Under the besiege of a few soldiers from the special forces, Joe relented immediately. ¡°We¡¯re leaving right now! We¡¯re going soon!¡± With that, Joe and Faye were chasen away mercilessly. X tugged on Richard so that he would rify that they had nothing to do with the Edwards. He did this so that they could stay, but Stanley did not let them go. ¡°And the both of you! Get lost! Otherwise, I¡¯ll shoot you myself!¡± Richard and X also went away in disappointment. The world had finally quietened, and the banquet continued. Compared to the busy banquet, what happened just now was just a minor incident. Even though Joe was chasen out of the banquet, he was delighted. ¡°Haha! I can¡¯t believe that that girl has married into such a good family! I should¡¯ve asked for more than 80,000!¡± Both the father and daughter of the Edwards Family were delighted to find out about this, and they were determined to know Sophia¡¯s husband so that they could get all of his assets and wealth. On the other hand, Richard was silent as some ideas were forming in his mind. Sophia has been longing for me all this while. She must feel very resentful that she¡¯s married to an old man! Since that¡¯s the case, I might as well as take advantage of this! Of course, X also had her own thoughts. I must never allow Sophia to be able to turn over a new leaf! The most important matter right now is to find out who the hell Sophia has married! At the same moment, Sophia and Nathan were resting in the hotel room. She caressed his head gently and asked, ¡°Darling, were you shocked just now?¡± Nathan shook his head and held her hands tightly, looking as if he was afraid that Joe might bring her away. ¡°He suddenly asked, ¡°Will you go back with that man and break up with my daddy?¡± Sophia hugged Nathan tightly. ¡°Darling, what silly thoughts you¡¯re having. I¡¯ll always be your mom, and your home is my home too.¡± With that, Nathan was finally relieved. Suddenly, Stanley barged into the room with a loud bang. His left hand was in his pockets, but his right hand was holding a shotgun. ¡°Sophie, tell me where the old man is! There¡¯s 80,000 here, and a gun. He either has to take the money and let you go, or I will shoot him!¡± He then held Sophia like he was holding a chick as he walked out. ¡°Come on. Bring me to that old man!¡± Shocked, Sophia yelled shrilly, ¡°Stanley, are you nuts?¡± Stanley had gotten angry this time, and he snorted coldly. ¡°Nuts? No! I definitely can¡¯t allow you to marry an old man. No matter who he is, he will have to let you go today, or he dies!¡± Sean rushed into the room to hold Stanley back together with Sophia. Even though Stanley was a gamer, he was actually quite strong too. Both of them could hardly hold him back now. With one hand holding the shotgun, he grabbed Sophia with his other hand to look for the man. ¡°I don¡¯t f*cking bother with the money anymore. If the man doesn¡¯t let you go, I¡¯ll kill him immediately.¡± Struggling to get out of his grip, Sophia realized that she was no match to Stanley when he went berserk. ¡°Stanley, let go of me now! Whom I marry is none of your business!¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s my business! I f*cking fancy you; don¡¯t you know? Even if you don¡¯t marry me, I¡¯ll give my blessings if you marry someone I approve of, as long as you are happy. But you f*cking married an old man! How could I ever agree to this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my business who I marry! Let go!¡± Chapter 275 Chapter 275 ¡°Stan, calm down!¡± ¡°Nate, don¡¯te over! He¡¯s got a gun!¡± The four of them were fighting against each other in the corridor. Things were about to get out of control. If Stanley really lost control and rushed outside with the gun, there would be no turning back. Amidst the chaos, Sophia saw three people standing in the corridor ahead of them¡ªDaniel, Harry, and Michael. Seeing Daniel, Stanley left Sophia immediately and rushed to him with a gun in his hand. Even his eyes had turned red. ¡°Daniel, tell me who that old man is!¡± Daniel was shocked as he had never seen Stanley acting this way, so he decided to push the me onto someone else. ¡°Ask your Uncle Michael.¡± Stanley quickly looked at Michael. ¡°Uncle Michael, tell me where that old man is!¡± Michael did not immediately reply to him. Instead, he asked calmly, ¡°Stanley, what are you going to do after you know that?¡± C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Stanley was very agitated. ¡°I¡¯ll shoot him!¡± Michael snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t you have to pay the price for killing him?¡± Stanley clenched his fists tightly as he spoke through gritted teeth, ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with that now!¡± Sophia is actually defiled by an old man! I can¡¯t ept that! Michale patted his shoulders and said maturely, ¡°Young man, you have to think of the consequences when you decide to take an action. Learn from an old man like me.¡± Sophia also rushed to him. While struggling with Stanley just now, her clothes were disheveled, and her hair was in a mess after being grabbed by Stanley. The two flower hair clips were dangling beside her hair as exasperation and fear were shown on her petite, young face. Michael stretched his hand to hug her, and he kissed her cheeks. After caressing her hair, he asked gently, ¡°You must be scared just now. Why don¡¯t we go home soon?¡± After her idol husband caressed her head, the anger within Sophia immediately disintegrated as she replied lovingly, ¡°Stan is so fierce!¡± Hugging Sophia, Michael red at Stanley, who had be a statue at this point. When he turned back to Sophia, his expression immediately changed from being fierce to being gentle. ¡°I¡¯ll punch him for you later!¡± Immediately, everyone around felt that the couple was unting their love in front of them. Daniel patted Stanley, who had been petrified. ¡°Here you go. The old man you¡¯ve been looking for is right here. Shoot him. Go on!¡± Stanley was so shocked that the gun fell out from his hand. Sophia¡¯s husband, the old and ugly man who jinxed his entire family, is actually Michael!!! When has the bar to analyze a man be so high? Michaelforted his wife by patting on her shoulder. ¡°Go back to the room to change into some comfortable clothes, then let¡¯s go back home for dinner.¡± Sophia nodded. Before she walked away, she red at the middleman who earned the most between the difference in pricing. Damn it! Now everyone in Bayside City knows that I¡¯m only worth 80,000! After Sophia entered the room, the corridor became a battlefield for the men. Michael cracked his knuckles and walked to Stanley; the smile on his face grew wider as he got closer. ¡°I heard that you wanted to shoot me.¡± Stanley was so scared that he quickly shook his hands with a fearful look on his face while smiling awkwardly. ¡°Hahahahah! Uncle Michael, how would I dare to do so?¡± Meanwhile, he took a few steps backward quietly. Even if I drank the potion of courage, I wouldn¡¯t dare to shoot Uncle Michael ever! Goodness, Sophia actually married Uncle Michael! Damn it, Daniel! How dare he sell Sophia to Uncle Michael! 80,000! I¡¯m just a nobody, yet my expenditure for a month is more than 80,000! Why wasn¡¯t I offered such a good deal? Michael slowly walked to him. ¡°I thought you wanted to shoot me, an old man, just now. Go on, now!¡± Stanley was about to burst into tears. ¡°Uncle Michael, please forgive me! I won¡¯t dare to say anything like that! Not anymore!¡± If I had known that Sophia was Uncle Michael¡¯s wife, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to have any thoughts for her at all! Now I finally know why Uncle Michael often punched me for no reason. I guess he won¡¯t let me off today. ¡°Stan, I¡¯ve reminded you since a long time ago.¡± ¡°Oh, Uncle Michael! I won¡¯t dare to do that anymore! I will never have any thoughts for Aunt Sophia! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Seeing that he was about to get beaten up, Joel suddenly appeared. Looking as if he had found his savior, Stanley rushed to Joel immediately and hugged his thighs. ¡°Uncle Joel, save me! Uncle Michael is going to beat me up!¡± Joel helped Stanley up and pushed him aside. ¡°Go away.¡± Joel ran away hastily with his gun, and Sean chased after him. Looking at Michael, Joel still looked indifferent. ¡°Why do you take it so seriously with a kid?¡± Michael smiled. ¡°I have to stop a budding affair from the source.¡± Joel narrowed his eyes, but he still remained silent. Michael did not say another word after that. After Sophia finished changing, she walked out from the room wearing casual clothes and left with Michael while holding hands. Looking at Sophia, who had gone away with Michael hand in hand, Stanley burst into tears. My first love is over just like this. After returning home, Sophia was still in a daze for the better half of the day. This day has been too exciting. I merely wanted to make a scene at the engagement party to destroy their peaceful atmosphere. No matter what, I couldn¡¯t let my disgusting ex have a good life! However, it was totally out of my expectation that Michael would stoop even lower than I did. I can¡¯t believe that he actually organized a charity banquet right next door all of a sudden. What a psychopath indeed. No matter what, today was perfect. I felt like I was living in a dream, apart from Joe¡¯s appearance. Now that he knows I married an old man who dotes on me, he must be nning to do something to me. But I have nothing for them to take advantage of. The person they want is Michael. Is Tay Tay someone they are qualified to take advantage of? Don¡¯t those shameless people know where they actually stand? The atmosphere back home seemed to be different from usual. Nathan obediently slept alone in his room and took his green froggy nket and pillow from the huge mingo bed in the master room. He suddenly felt a sense of danger. Sophia¡¯s dad hase looking for her. What if she leaves us to go back to her dad? She can¡¯t do that! So I need to make sure she gives birth to a little sister for me so that she won¡¯t leave. In the master room, Sophia wore a sexy silk nightdress after she finished showering. Then, she waited for Michael on the bed. It¡¯s time to sleep with my idol husband. I¡¯m actually looking forward to it! What position should we tryter? Shey on the bed as she fantasized about it. However, after a long time, Michael did note into the bedroom. He seems to be busy. She was scrolling through her phone on the bed. In such a short time, the news of the banquet had already spread around the inte. The Harper Family¡¯s embarrassing engagement party, Taylor Murray¡¯s sudden appearance, Ethan Winston¡¯s auction, and Faye Edwards¡¯ embarrassing streaking video were all over the inte. Sophia even found her own picture on some news channel, where she stood in the crowd wearing the beautifully-designed dress, ¡®Greenery¡¯. She was definitely the most stunning person there, even surpassing most of the celebrities. On the celebrity list, Michael and Harry dominated each of the boards. They had finally returned to their past glory. The people who were spreading false rumors online had be the target for many insults online. Suddenly, Sophia saw that Nicole sent a message to her. Chapter 276 Chapter 276 ¡®I¡¯m already preparing to enter the team to carry out the final training. The orphans¡¯ home has already received your donation, and I know that you¡¯ve been helping me out all this while. Thanks for that.¡¯ Sophia smiled. She even took time to visit Nicole¡¯s orphans¡¯ home. Although it was quite old and worn, the atmosphere was warm. A dozen children were supported by Nicole out of her own pocket. Since Michael had his own fund, ¡®Taylor Murray Charity Fund¡¯, Sophia donated a sum of money to Nicole¡¯s orphans¡¯ home through that fund. With the donation she made to Nicole, it would be enough to last for a while. On top of that, she would transfer some money from her ount to the bank ount of the orphans¡¯ home. With Nicole taking the main female lead now, she would be getting payments from the films she acted in, so the orphans¡¯ home would not have much of an issue for now. Sophia replied, ¡®You don¡¯t have to thank me. Do well in filming, alright? I watched your films growing up. Cethos stillcks an Oscar-award winning actress. I have high hopes on you.¡¯ She had never watched Michael¡¯s films when she was young, but she watched every one of Nicole¡¯s films when she was growing up. Back then, when she saw Nicole on the television, she would get extremely envious of her while thinking to herself, How good would it be if I could be like Nicole in the movies? However, the reality waspletely different from her imagination¡­ Nicole replied with a love emoji. Sophia had never imagined that a kind deed she did just because she was bored had generated an enormous positive result yearster. The hands on the clock struck 12.00AM, but Michael was still not here. Lying on the bed, Sophia felt quite disappointed. At the moment, three big shots gathered in Michael¡¯s study. The atmosphere was quite serious. It was all because of a picture that was sent to Michael¡¯s anonymous email. The picture was taken during the banquet that night, and it perfectly encapsted Sophia¡¯s most beautiful moment. Wearing ¡®Greenery¡¯, she looked like an angel that had descended from the heavens, looking extremely ethereal. Her exquisite facial features were out of the world. Daniel thought regretfully, If I had known that she would be so pretty after she got a makeover, I would have asked for more money from Michael back then. Two words were typed on the corner of the picture¡ª¡®my precious¡¯. These words again! The origin of the picture was clear without a doubt. It¡¯s from Phantom Wolf! He just won¡¯t go away! This man was too sly¡ªhe had been hiding himself quite well over the past few days. They could not trace him at all, but judging from the current situation, he seemed to have attended the banquet this evening. The email was sent from an anonymous ount that Gemma failed to track. The picture was initially posted by the media, so they could not use the location of the photographer to track Phantom Wolf¡¯s location. Now, Sophia was also targeted by him, so Michael felt an unprecedented stress and anger. Phantom Wolf was the most powerful nemesis he had ever encountered in his life. Both his sister and brother-in- law were killed by him. And now, my woman is also being targeted by him. Is this the legendary karma? After everyone understood the situation, their first task was to track Phantom Wolf down and annihte him. However, it was easier said than done! The international CIA police officers had been tracking them down for decades, yet they still couldn¡¯tpletely annihte them. At this moment, Daniel broke the silence. ¡°Let¡¯s send Sophia abroad secretly. After the danger is over, we can bring her back.¡± However, Michael refused immediately. ¡°No, that won¡¯t work. We only have influence in Bayside City. It would be even more dangerous to send her abroad.¡± C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Harry also had an idea. ¡°Why don¡¯t we arrange for her to quit university and stay at home for a while? Home should be the safest ce.¡± It was the best option as of now. However, looking at Sophia, who was smiling brightly in the picture, Michael shook his head once more. ¡°She is not a caged pet of mine.¡± She is my woman. I can¡¯t possibly lock her up at home because of Phantom Wolf. On top of that, she definitely won¡¯t be happy with quitting university. After a discussion, the best way right now was to strengthen the security around her. Apart from Hale and Gemma, Michael also arranged for Ben and Toby to protect her. As soon as she went outside, she would be under their surveince. If there were any emergencies, they would report to Michael immediately. Sophia¡¯s routine was also very predictable. She would usually go to the university, the gym at Audistin, back home, the militarypound, and the shooting arena in the outskirts. She rarely went shopping, and she would only asionally go to the cinema. Hence, she was rtively easy to be monitored. Suddenly, the door of the study was opened, and a man dressed in ck walked inside. He wore a pressed suit, but his face was hard to look at. It seemed like his facial features had been hastily reformed after they werepletely broken by someone else. He did not look like a normal human at all. Michael held this man in high regard as soon as he saw him. ¡°Abel, you¡¯re back.¡± Abel was the most mysterious and most capable person around Michael. His techniques and skills were absolutely outstanding, and his background was very secretive. Apart from Michael, Daniel, and Harry, it was likely that no one else knew about his background. Abel put down his office bag before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve settled the incidents abroad, so I¡¯m back now.¡± He obviously knew what had happened. Looking at Sophia¡¯s picture, he thought the woman was breathtakingly beautiful. No wonder she is so important to Michael. He also knew about Sophia and Phantom Wolf. ¡°Phantom Wolf¡­¡± His rough voice was thick with hatred and pain, while his scarred face distorted with pain, as if he had recalled something terrible that he couldn¡¯t bear. After a long while, he spoke, ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Michael had to agree to it. The night had fallen deeper. After both Harry and Daniel went back, Abel put his luggage in the guest room and told Michael, ¡°I¡¯ll stay the night and leave tomorrow morning.¡± Michael patted his shoulder before saying his name, ¡°Justin, you should take a break. You can¡¯t hold on much longer like this.¡± Five years ago, in the mission that they were confident to seed, theypletely fell into the trap that the enemy had meticulously nned. Michael¡¯s sister, Celine Fletcher, and her husband, Justin Mitchell, died because of that. In the news, it was reported that both of them died in an explosion, and their bodies werepletely disintegrated. In the Memorial Garden, only their belongings were buried at their graves. However, the only person who didn¡¯t even have a corpse was just Celine, while Michael managed to save Justin. The explosion hadpletely ruined Justin¡¯s face, and it took three years for him to regain his health. Since then, only Abel existed in the world, while Justin, from the Mitchell Family, had disappeared. He lived anonymously for just one goal¡ªto get revenge! Justin did not reply to him, but he seemed to have remembered something, and his eyes softened immediately. ¡°Is Nate asleep?¡± Michael looked in the direction of Nathan¡¯s room. ¡°Go take a look at him.¡± At this moment, in Nathan¡¯s room, Sophia had already changed into the cartoon pyjamas. They resembled a huge frog hugging a tiny frog. Nathan seemed to be falling asleep, while Sophia was humming a luby in a low voice to put him to sleep. ¡°Sleep, my baby. Sleep on¡­¡± Nathan suddenly rubbed his eyes and asked Sophia, ¡°Mommy, would you leave us one day and never return anymore?¡± During the day, he was indifferent. But when it was just the two of them at night, he would reveal his cute self painstakingly. Sophia was enjoying the feeling of being his stepmother. She rubbed his head and said, ¡°Where can I go? I¡¯ll always be where you and your daddy are!¡± Even though Nathan was young, he was very mature. He seemed to have a feeling that someone was about to take his stepmother away from him. Chapter 277 Chapter 277 She added, ¡°Nate, you have to grow up quickly to protect me. That way, I won¡¯t be taken away by the bad guys.¡± Nathan yawned and slowly fell asleep. He seemed to be talking in his sleep. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ll protect you when I grow up.¡± Looking at Nathan¡¯s cute sleeping face, a stab of pain shot through Sophia. She also understood the feeling of not having parents since young. It was extremely lonely. However, she was immensely lucky to have grandparents who loved her, the headmaster, and Michael. From now on, I¡¯ll be Nate¡¯s mom. I¡¯ll definitely try my best to be a good mother! Justin opened a tiny slit with the door to look at them furtively. After he saw that both of them had fallen asleep while hugging in the room, he closed the door and left. Michael was also looking at the security footage from the camera of the room. It was only through this could he see Nathan¡¯s cute side. Usually, he was utterly cold and indifferent. Looking at the pair of mother and son, Michael felt a surge of happiness on top of the responsibility he had. When he saw Justining over, he eximed, ¡°Look at how alike they look!¡± Truth be told, Justin also felt that Sophia was quite simr to Nathan. The Mitchell Family was full of ambassadors, so they had produced many ambassadors and mixed-descent babies. Justin¡¯s mother was of Irish descent, so he had many features that resembled an Irish¡ªhis skin was fair, and his eyes socket were more sunken. Nathan also inherited that from him. However, after taking a closer look, one could see that Sophia also had some facial features that resembled a typical Irish woman as well. Her skin was fair, her nose pointy, and she seemed to have a tinge of blue in those hazel eyes of hers. Maybe it¡¯s just a coincidence. When Michael showed the pictures to Nathan for him to choose his mother, he picked Sophia immediately. Perhaps this is their destiny. At the militarypound at the break of dawn, Stanley bought a bottle of beer from the mini market and hid in the garden to drink with his dog. ¡°Here you go, Judge. Drink up!¡± He poured the bottle of beer into his ss and a bowl. While he took a sip, his dog also licked in the bowl. After taking a sip of the beer, Stanley cried while holding his cat in his arms. ¡°Sunset, why did she be my aunt? Sob¡­¡± ¡°Meow!¡± After the cat got drunk, it scratched him. The more Stanley thought about it, the more resentful he felt. He thought that he was the person who was best for Sophia. They were roughly the same age, and they had the same interests; even Old Master Fletcher liked her a lot. No matter from which perspective, both of them were the perfect match for each other. Stanley even had the perfect n. After he confirmed their romantic rtionship this semester, they would be engaged in the next semester. Then, they would get married in the semester after that. When they reached their third year, Sophia could get ready to be pregnant. After she gave birth to the baby, she would return to the university. Perhaps Stanley could even guide her in her studies. Then, when they graduated in the fourth year, Stanley would be a father already. Right after he graduated, he had ns to form apany and start a business of his own. If not, he would apply for a job at his uncle¡¯spany and worked while supporting his own Esports career. Then, he would ask his uncle to invest together to create a few more games like the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. Then, he would be able to buy houses, cars, raise kids, and provide for his family. However, everything is all gone right now. All gone! At this moment, Irene suddenly appeared with her phone¡¯s shlight switched on as she pointed at Stanley in the garden. ¡°Stan? What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen?¡± Stanley looked at Irene and burst into tears immediately. ¡°Miss Irene, I fell out of love! Sob!¡± Irene asked curiously, ¡°You broke up? With the girl named Sophia?¡± There were no secrets in the militarypound. Although Stanley had only brought Sophia here a few times, everyone in the military knew that he was ¡®dating¡¯. As Irene had to leave early during the banquet that night, she missed the part where Joe reunited with his daughter. Stanley nodded with tears in his eyes. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s with another man now.¡± He wanted to roar the name of the jerk out loud, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. I have to remain hopeful about this. Even though they are already married, they could get a divorce! If he told everyone about this now, the entire Fletcher Family would know that Sophia married Michael. If they divorced in the future and she were to marry Stanley, it would seem that he married his aunt. In that case, he would be beaten to death by Old Master Fletcher with his stick. Hence, Stanley decided to keep that a secret. Instead, he told Irene, ¡°Irene, I know you haven¡¯t forgotten about Uncle Michael, right? You should know that he has been waiting for you all these years!¡± Upon the mention of Michael, Irene¡¯s expression seemed to change as she sighed. ¡°Stan, you know very well that it¡¯s been six years. I still can¡¯t remember what happened back then, and I¡¯m very happy now. Joel has been treating me very well, and we are even getting married soon.¡± With that, Irene left. Even though Stanley was drunk, his mind was still clear. Back then, Michael and Irene were so intimate that they were about to get married. It¡¯s impossible for Uncle Michael to fall in love with someone else in just six years. Sophia is just a recement. How pitiful! The woman whom Uncle Michael loves is Miss Irene! So what if they are married! Their marriage won¡¯t prevent me from trying hard to make Sophia fall for me. I¡¯m the only person who can make Sophia happy! At least she doesn¡¯t have to be someone else¡¯s stepmother if she¡¯s with me! Nate¡ªthat brat¡ªis always so cold and indifferent. With Sophia as his stepmother, she will definitely be bullied! Uncle Michael is the idol of the entire country. He¡¯s the fantasy of billions of girls worldwide. I wonder how many women he has outside. Perhaps he has already cheated on Sophia lots of times! In conclusion, Sophia was bought by Michael to raise his kid. She¡¯s so pitiful, weak, and innocent. I have to save her! I have to save her from this hell! Having decided that, Stanley drank the remaining beer and threw the bottle away. Then, he brought his cat and dog back home. Even though my enemy is strong, I¡¯m not as weak as the legend goes! In the morning, when Sophia woke up, Justin had already left. Even though it was the weekend, Michael was nowhere to be seen. Men always have unlimited work. After finishing breakfast, she took out her phone to have a look. Subconsciously, she began to search for news rted to Taylor Murray. The news was already out today, and of course, they ttered her idol husband to the maximum. Yes, that¡¯s how it should be. My man is so excellent and talented. He should be praised everyday. But this is not good either. We can¡¯t be too ostentatious. We have to keep a low profile. It¡¯s best if the incident this time could end soon. However, there was a downside to this. The banquetst night was so outstanding that the incident at the Harper Family became less popr inparison. Not many had their attention on them. Her ultimate goal was to make the Harper Family notorious. After finishing breakfast, Nathan did some homework with Sophia. In the afternoon, both of them logged in to their games. Sophia used her side ount to log in. Once she went online, she met Stanley immediately. Snow Fox: ¡®Sophia, you¡¯ve hurt me, an innocent babe. I¡¯m now depressed because I fell out of love. I can¡¯t survive anymore. You have topensate me with money!¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Since you still have the mood to y this game, it shows that you are alive and kicking.¡¯ Snow Fox: ¡®I don¡¯t care. Give me money! If you don¡¯t give me 10 million game coins, I will never forgive you!¡¯ Sophia: ¡®F*ck you! I don¡¯t have any money!¡¯ The exchange rate between the game coins and money in real life was at a ratio of 100 to 1. 10 million of game coins would cost 100,000 in real life. She would never give such a huge amount of money. Snow Fox: ¡®Ask for it from your husband! He has the most game coins!¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡®He doesn¡¯t y games. Where would he get game coins? Get lost! I¡¯m bringing Nate to y this game!¡¯ Chapter 278 Chapter 278 The conversation ended. Stanley, who was facing theptop on the other side, stared at hisptop screen incredulously. What? Did she im that Michael doesn¡¯t know how to y games? That is the joke of the century! Michael is the best yer on earth when ites toputer games! All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Usually, the majority of people who y games are actually being yed by the game. Michael is the only person who is truly ying the game. Ten years ago, in an era where inte cafes were scarce, Michael invested in a few online games simultaneously. In fact, the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is just one of them. He earned a lot from the games he invested in. If my guess is right, the amount of annual dividends Michael earns from the gaming companies alone already amount to a substantial sum; it¡¯s more than his earnings from his acting career! One of the mobile phone games he invested in made more than 40 billion in operating revenue. Even the cleaner in the gamingpany received 20 months¡¯ worth of sry as their year-end bonus! His character in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, Scary Phoenix, owns over a billion in game currency! He was also Cethos¡¯ first-generation National Esports Champion, who entered the International Esports Tournament, and won! He was the one who taught me my gaming skills! I can¡¯t believe she is iming that he doesn¡¯t know how to y games! Sophie, my dear Sophie. You fool¡ªhow can you, with your simple mind, possibly defeat my uncle?! Whilementing, Stanley reprimanded Michael in his mind. Michael is such a yboy! He married a b*tch in the game! Maybe he has even met the person offline! They have most probably slept together! Poor Sophie. I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t even know how many times he¡¯s cheated on her! The enemy¡¯s Combat Effectiveness is too powerful. If I were to attack them directly, there is a 99% chance I¡¯d be beaten into a pulp. Therefore, I have to take a different approach in secret. The first thing I have to do is to drive a wedge between them. After ying the game for a while, Sophia logged into her main character to participate in a n war with the members of her n. The Global Finals is just around the corner. I have to be in the best state for that! Nathan did not disturb her as well; instead, he went to the garden alone to y. Since Nathan was enrolled straight into university, he did not have peers around his age to y with him. Therefore, Michael allowed the servants from Vi No. 8 to live-in with their children so that Nathan would always have kids his age to y with him. Sophia was seated by the window. She would look out to check on the children in between ying games. There were seven people in the n today, but Scary Phoenix was not around. Sophia yed the game while chatting with Sean using her new character. ¡®Stan is not in a good mood today; maybe the incident yesterday affected him badly.¡¯ Sophia already knew all about it, so she replied to him, ¡®You should go ahead and talk him out of it.¡¯ Sean: ¡®Mm-hmm.¡¯ Sophia, who was in the middle of ying the game, received a text through messenger from Stanley. Stanley sent her lots of pictures. There were many images, but Sophia merely went through them quickly. At a quick nce, there was a pair of tightly-swaddled adorable babies. In the second picture, the toddler seemed to be older, and they were about 2 to 3 years old. They were holding hands; in fact, they looked like a match made in heaven. Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and she picked her phone up to look at the picture closely. In the third photograph, the two children seemed to be attending elementary school. They each had a school bag, and they were wearing identical school uniforms while holding hands. The rest of the pictures all featured this guy and girl. They both grew up gradually, and their faces were maturing as well. In the end, Sophia stared at the boy, who was now all grown up and looked like Michael. He seemed to be about 17 to 18 years old; he appeared to be full of youth and vigor. Simrly, Irene, who was about his age, was standing just beside him. they looked suited while standing together. Stanley sent over a message. ¡®Sophie, let me remind you solemnly that Uncle Michael and Miss Irene grew up together. Miss Irene met with an ident six years ago, and she sustained brain injury. She forgot about Uncle Michael due to the hematoma in her brain. She will no doubt remember him one day. When the timees, he will be together with her, regardless of his circumstances! My uncle doesn¡¯t love you at all. He merely bought you to keep himself entertained! You should give up!¡¯ Those icy-cold words were like daggers piercing through Sophia¡¯s heart. Sophia stared at Michael¡¯s photo, where he was about 18 years old. He looked extremely handsome in the picture; in fact, he seemedpletely different from now. The 18-year-old Michael looked like a carefree youth, like a piece of nk paper. His smile was warm and charming. He doesn¡¯t look too different from my imagination. He was wearing a white shirt, and he had a hairstyle that was trendy during that era. Michael didn¡¯t have the unwavering steadiness he has now, but he looked youthful and almost ignorant of reality and society. If he was about 18 years old at the time, this picture must have been taken 15 years ago. What was I doing 15 years ago? I was just a 6-year-old child! At that time, I must have been wearing an old shirt, which grandma picked from the trash to alter into a smaller shirt for me. It must have been ugly and ill-fitting. I must have been following the adults by walking along the streets in search of water bottles and aluminum cans from the trash cans to exchange for money. Michael would have been 18 years old at the time, and he must have been getting ready to join the military service. We never would have imagined that we would end up under the same roof after 15 years. Stanley started regretting his actions after sending out the messages. I might be ruthless, but it¡¯s better to rip the Band-Aid off than to suffer longer in the future. Instead of waiting for Irene to regain her memory and suddenly recall who Michael is in the future, it¡¯s best to let Sophia know about the truth now and let her leave Michael as soon as possible. However, after a few minutes, Sophia replied to him unexpectedly, ¡®Are you the naked kid your uncle was holding onto in the 7th photo? You have such a huge birthmark on your bum!¡¯ Stanley was furious. ¡®Is this what you got from the pictures? Do you understand that my uncle might dump you at any time? He might be a good uncle, but it¡¯s undeniable that he is also a yboy! In fact, he is a seasoned yboy! Besides, he is already so old. He would be in his 50s by the time you are 30 years old!¡¯ Sophia did not reply to him. She picked up her phone to gaze at the 18-year-old Michael while spacing out. It¡¯s such a pity that we hadn¡¯t met at the time. If we had¡­ would I catch his attention? The next day, Sophia woke up early in the morning to head to university. The incident which happened during the charity banquet seemed to have spread across the whole university. Sophia¡¯s 80,000 worth got around fast. A group of ssmates gathered round to speak to her once she walked into the ssroom. ¡°Oh, my God, Sophia. I can¡¯t believe you are Faye Edwards¡¯ younger sister!¡± ¡°Is it true that your dad sold you off at a mere price of 80,000?!¡± ¡°Is your current husband extremely old?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t bother to hide the truth anymore since everybody had found out about it. Therefore, she answered, ¡°My husband is only around 10 years older than me, and he is not old nor ugly. We share a good rtionship. Nevertheless, I am unsure about the 80,000. My husband and I have a normal rtionship and marriage; in fact, I was already 18 years old when I got married.¡± There were no rules in the university stopping students from getting married because they were all adults here. Anyone above 18 years old was eligible to obtain a marriage certificate. In fact, most children from wealthy families would get married once they were of age, especially marriage unions between two families. Aren¡¯t Richard and X engaged too?! The crowd surrounded Sophia to talk to her, but a sharp and sarcastic voice rang loud from the ssroom entrance. ¡°My pitiful younger sister, you are still trying to salvage what little dignity you have left here despite marrying an old man!¡± Chapter 279 Chapter 279 Sophia knew it was Faye once she heard her voice. ck, ck, ck¡­ Faye¡¯s high heels clicked against the floor loudly while she made her way slowly to Sophia¡¯s front. She burst intoughter while crossing her arms. She spoke to Sophia pretentiously, ¡°Sophia, stop pretending. My father personally sent you off when you got married previously. How could he not know what his son-inw looks like? I know my brother-inw might be slightly older and uglier, but he is your man after all. He is the man you go to bed with, and he¡¯ll be the father of your children! Although he is slightly ugly and disabled, you are so pretty, so I am sure your children will turn out better than expected!¡± Sophia¡¯s ssmates were in shock because they could not understand the mentality of a pretty young girl marrying an old, ugly and disabled man. Was it truly for money?! Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer Faye, and so she put on her earphones. Then, she started revising her notes. It was rare for Faye to have a chance to tease Sophia, and so she couldn¡¯t possibly let the chance slide. Faye¡¯s remarks were bing harsher. ¡°Sophia, in all honesty, my dad was against your being with my brother-inw. He is so ugly and stingy; he was only willing to pay 80,000 as dowry. However, you just got here from the vige, Sophia, and you hadn¡¯t seen the real world; that was most probably why you were so adamant on marrying that old man. That was why dad had no choice but to go along with your wishes. Now that you are living so happily with that old man, I am extremely happy for you.¡± Her ssmates were stunned to silence when they heard that. I can¡¯t believe she married that old man willingly. How desperate was she? Faye added, ¡°I know that you had two abortions during senior high due to your immaturity. Therefore, your body is no longer suited for giving birth. You know that any respectable man would never marry you; that was the reason you chose your current husband. Sigh, it was our fault. You wouldn¡¯t have made so many foolish mistakes if we had taken you in earlier. My poor sister, you must have suffered beyond imagination over the years.¡± Sophia¡¯s ssmates started whispering at each other while shooting pointed looks at Sophia. Nevertheless, Sophia was the only one who pretended as if she did not hear anything. She read through her notebook seriously, while her earphones yed a song. It was an opera sung by Michael. It turned out that Michael had already shown exceptional talents in performing arts ever since he was in high school, and he even debuted with a band. Later, he joined the army for a few years once he turned 18 years old. After leaving the army, he started his studies. He had been acting in movies for the past few years, and so he rarely sang again. It was undeniable that Michael could sing very well. His voice was beautiful and sonorous, with a steady quality to it that made the song heartfelt. She was enthralled by Michael¡¯s voice when Faye yanked her earphones off suddenly. She screamed at Sophia angrily, ¡°Sophia Edwards, were you listening to me?¡± Sophia looked up in a daze. ¡°Was someone speaking?¡± I only saw a dog barking. Faye¡¯s expression contorted in fury; even her chin imnt was visible now. She knocked against the table while demanding, ¡°Dad requested me to inform you that there¡¯s an Edwards Family banquet tonight. You have to attend the banquet with your husband.¡± Sophie rejected her immediately. ¡°Excuse me, but I am not a true Edwards, nor is my husband¡¯s surname Edwards. Therefore, we will not be attending the Edwards Family banquet.¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Faye mmed on the table. She threatened Sophia, ¡°My dad is having this family banquet specifically for you and brother-inw, and so you have to attend! You are a member of the Edwards Family. Even if you are married, you are still my dad¡¯s daughter. You are not filial if you don¡¯t show up!¡± Joe deliberately organized a family banquet for Sophia and her husband. He was obviously not interested nor sincere in wanting to acknowledge Sophia as his daughter; instead, he merely wanted her assets. Hence, not only did he want to lure Sophia¡¯s husband out, he wanted to announce to the world that Sophia was his daughter. When my old son-inw drops dead, I can justify taking in both Sophia and his son. With that, I¡¯ll conveniently take over their inheritance too. After all, Daniel¡¯s client can¡¯t be poor! From what I¡¯ve learned from Daniel, my old son-inw is extremely wealthy. In fact, he is much wealthier than the Edwards. He is so wealthy that it¡¯s beyond imagination. Within a day, Joe used all his connections, but he just couldn¡¯t find out whom Sophia got married to. Her personal information was tightly sealed, and even people within the Civil Affairs Bureau couldn¡¯t find out anything. It is clear that my son-inw is rich and powerful! If I am able to lure him out and acknowledge him as my son-inw, I might be able to get the main Edwards Family to acknowledge my branch of the family. However, the main issue now is to lure my son- inw out! Sophia rejected decisively. ¡°We aren¡¯t free.¡± However, Faye was dead-set on pestering Sophia today. ¡°Sophia, let me tell you¡ªdad specially prepared a family banquet for you today. You and your husband have to show up. If you refuse to attend the banquet, I will report to the university about your non-filial actions that prove questionable conduct! You want the schrship, don¡¯t you? The conduct score ys an important role too!¡± Sophia opened a specialized course textbook and fished a photo out to hand it to Faye. ¡°Here, this is my husband. Feel free to go ahead and acknowledge him!¡± Faye epted the photo happily because she was expecting it to be Sophia¡¯s true husband. She did not expect it to be Taylor¡¯s portrait on the beach! In fact, it was a screenshot from a movie! ¡°You are making fun of me!¡± Faye threw away the photo vehemently. She mmed the table while warning Sophia, ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t assume that these are empty threats. For someone like you, who refuses to acknowledge their own father, I should truly get Bayside University to expel you!¡± Sophia kept Michael¡¯s photo carefully while exining, ¡°My husband is Taylor Murray. It¡¯s up to you whether you believe it or not!¡± I¡¯m finallying clean, but I think Faye doesn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Your husband is Taylor Murray?¡± Faye giggled uncontrobly. ¡°If your husband were Taylor Murray, I¡¯d even go so far to im that my fianc¨¦ is Ethan Winston!¡± Seeing that it was almost time for ss, Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to chat with Faye. Therefore, she stated firmly, ¡°Miss Edwards, I¡¯d like to remind you. Firstly, I have never had a father-daughter rtionship with your dad. You guys don¡¯t even know which family my household registry is associated with, so what gives you the right to im some sort of family connection with me? Secondly, I understand what¡¯s on your mind. Didn¡¯t you say that he wants to acknowledge me as his daughter?¡± Sophia folded her arms while she cackled mockingly. ¡°You didn¡¯t do it before, yet you¡¯re doing it now. Do you truly believe that I am oblivious to your motives? Don¡¯t worry. My husband is still young and healthy, whereas my son has a bright future. I am sure that they will both live longer lives than all of you. Are you trying to im your family connection with me so that you could take over my husband¡¯s inheritance when he dies? Nothing so easy exists in this world!¡± After being exposed, Faye¡¯s eyes darted around her ssmates, and she noticed the disdain and contempt gleaming in their eyes. Everyone realized the truth with a start. No wonder her father didn¡¯t care when he sold her for 80,000, but he is now trying to associate himself with her all of a sudden! It turns out that this is the reason behind it all! He let his daughter marry an old man, who had one foot in the grave, because he was waiting for the old man to kick the bucket just to snatch their inheritance. The Edwards Family is so cunning! Faye flushed red in anger. ¡°I don¡¯t care. You were born an Edwards, and you will die an Edwards. If you don¡¯t show up at the family banquet tonight, I will make sure you won¡¯t survive in Bayside University!¡± Sophia burst outughing. ¡°As the saying goes, a daughter who has gotten married is equivalent to water that has been sshed out, and thus it cannot be retrieved. I have never been on your Edwards Family¡¯s household registry. From a legal and moral point of view, I am not rted to the Edwards at all. Your life and death have nothing to do with me, and my assets have nothing to do with you!¡± ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± Sophia suggested casually, ¡°Why don¡¯t you sue me in court if you have the ability?¡± C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Chapter 280 Chapter 280 Ring! The bell rang, and the teacher entered the ssroom with some books and teaching materials. Faye had no choice but to retreat, whereas Sophia got to continue with ss. After ss, as the ss representative for the Economics Cohort, Sophia had to submit the ss¡¯ economics assignments to Quinton¡¯s office. After arriving at the office and handing in the assignments, she took the chance to ask Quinton some difficult questions she had regarding the subject. He cleared her doubt patiently as well. After they discussed the questions, Sophia started packing her things to leave. However, Quinton asked her suddenly, ¡°Sophia, do you need me to help you apply for legal aid? I know a few well-known people in the legal profession in Bayside City.¡± Sophia gazed at him in puzzlement. Why would I apply for legal aid out of the blue? Quinton hesitated before exining, ¡°I heard your father sold you off to an old and ugly man for 80,000¡­ This is not legal in the eyes of thew. If you are ready, I can get someone to help you with your divorce.¡± Ah, he¡¯s referring to this matter. Sophia had the urge to burst outughing. She answered him, ¡°Thank you, professor, but I have a good rtionship with my husband. He is not old, nor ugly. In fact, he is quite handsome!¡± Sophia blushed contentedly when she thought of Michael. The office door cracked open at that moment. A nimble and small head peeked through the crack, and his eyes darted around the room. He immediately caught sight of Sophia. When Sophia saw the small head peeking through the crack, she giggled whilementing, ¡°Besides, I have an adorable and handsome son! Just look at how happy I am!¡± Nathan dashed into the office straight away. He seemed to have heard some rumors in university today, and so he held onto Sophia¡¯s leg tightly, as if afraid that she might leave him anytime. Quinton did notment further upon witnessing this scene. Nathan took Sophia¡¯s hand on the way to the cafeteria for lunch. He did not loosen his grip along the way. Today, I heard my ssmates iming my dad was involved in the trading of women. It is against the law, and if someone lodged a police report, the policemen would arrest my dad, whereas my mom would be sent back to her original family. If that were to happen, I would immediately be an orphan! Michael specifically prepared a private canteen for them just so that they could take a nap in the hostel after their meal in the private canteen. However, Sophia still preferred to eat in the student cafeteria. I still have lots of money in my meal card! On their way to the cafeteria, Stanley came barging at them ferociously and unexpectedly while blocking their way. ¡°Sophie, did you read the messages I sent you yesterday?! My uncle is truly not a good husband. You will be chased out of the house sooner orter if you stay together with him! Besides, my uncle has been in love with someone else from the very beginning. You are just his mistress if you stay with him. Is this what you want?¡± Sophia acted as if she did not grasp what he meant. Instead, she walked around him while continuing moving forward. Nevertheless, Nathan understood him, and he red at Stanley viciously. He entered revenge mode in silence. Once I am grown, and Stanley bes old, I will beat him into a pulp! Stanley caught up to Sophia while borating, ¡°My uncle is a yboy; in fact, he is the biggest yboy on earth. I¡¯m telling you¡ªyou will regret it in the future if you stay together with him. It¡¯s best for you to leave him as soon as possible! Don¡¯t worry; if you are scared of my uncle, you can just tell me. I will help you get a divorce safely. If my uncle refuses to divorce you, I¡¯ll get Old Master Fletcher involved, and I¡¯ll expose Uncle Michael for being involved in trading women. I¡¯m sure Old Master Fletcher will teach him a lesson!¡± Sophia was still unmoved. Divorce? The thought crossed my mind once upon a time, butter on, I stopped thinking about it. Even if there¡¯s no love between Michael and me, I believe we can stay together with the support of other factors, for example money, and now, Nate. Nate is still so young; he cannot not have a mom! I have suffered through poverty, where I was starving and cold. Even if Michael doesn¡¯t love me, at least he is able to provide afortable life for me. He provides the materialistic foundation for me to pursue my dreams. What else can I possiblyin about? As long as Michael doesn¡¯t bring it up, I will never get a divorce. Stanley was so anxious that he pointed Sophia in the face while reprimanding her, ¡°Sophia, are you such a cheap person? You clearly know that my uncle loves another woman, but you are still willing to be with him blindly. What is the point of doing that? Can¡¯t you grow a backbone and stand up for yourself? It seems that I have misjudged you!¡± Stanley left in a hurry, whereas Sophia held Nathan¡¯s hand, and they both walked to the cafeteria in silence. Backbone? Haha, what is that? I lost my backbone when I was forced into a dead-end. I just want to live well. I am in love with Michael, and he is able to provide afortable life for me. These two factors are more than enough to make me happy. What else could I ask for? Should I expect him to love me? Why would I ask for it if I know that I would never receive it? Nathan noticed Sophia¡¯s upset expression, and so he tugged against her hand while asking, ¡°Are you nning to divorce dad?¡± Sophia burst outughing. ¡°What a silly thing to say. Why would I divorce your dad? Your dad is so handsome. Where would I find another husband who is as handsome as your dad?¡± Nathan mulled over her answer. That¡¯s true. My dad may be a psychopath, but his good looks and wealth are unparalleled. Sophia wouldn¡¯t be able to find a better husband even if she were to divorce him. In that case, I am relieved. Many people witnessed this interlude; Richard was one of them. It feels like I don¡¯t understand Sophia anymore. She seems quite close with Stanley Fletcher, but Stanley already has an official girlfriend, whereas Joel has Irene, and so Sophia seems to be the mistress. However, based on what just happened, Stanley and Sophia just broke up. Furthermore, there is Tyler. Is he a boy toy she keeps on the side? It is possible, since Joe sold her off to an ugly old man. It¡¯s reasonable for her to have a boy toy on the side to ease her emotional instability. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Richard dropped by the university to sort out some courses, and he wasn¡¯t expecting to witness a quarrel between Stanley and Sophia. He observed them from afar, and so he did not hear the actual conversation. However, he saw Stanley pointing at Sophia right in the face furiously, so he was positive they broke up. Now that Sophia has broken her ties with the Fletchers, it may very well be my chance now¡­ I would truly like to know who is the person supporting Sophia from behind. The signs indicate that the person is beyond rich. Joe merely supplied a sperm twenty years ago; twenty yearster, he sold Sophia off in a rush for money. There is no family connection nor affection between the two of them, so what gives him the right to take over that asset? If I were to take over thatrge amount of assets¡­ Unbeknownst to everybody, apart from Richard, Michael was also observing the scene. Gemma¡¯s pinhole robot was broadcasting the scene live for him. Upon listening to Stanley spouting nonsense, Michael wanted nothing more than to crawl into the screen and rip him apart! How did Stanley conclude that I am still hung up on Irene? What makes me seem like a yboy? Did he forget who gave him his pocket money? Did he forget who took him in all those years ago when he was penalized in the army for entering the inte caf¨¦ during his military training, and waster beat up and kicked out of the house by Old Master Fletcher? Was it Irene Weber? Heh. There are all sorts of factors and unknown threats outside, but I have Stanley trying to drive a wedge between us from within. Michael felt a suffocating pressure against his shoulders. After ss in the afternoon, it was time for Sophia to return home, whereas Nathan constantly kept close to her because he was afraid she might change her mind any second. They arrived at the entrance of the university when a Cayenne showed up suddenly. The next thing they knew, Joe got out of the car. He shed Sophia a scary grin when he saw her. ¡°My obedient daughter and grandson, I have waited for the both of you for a very long time. Let¡¯s go. Follow me home!¡± I¡¯m sure my son-inw will show up if his wife and son are in my hands! Chapter 281 Chapter 281 As long as my son-inw shows up, hisrge inheritance will be mine. Sophia shielded Nathan behind her while taking a few steps backward and cautiously regarded Joe. ¡°Head home? Which home are we going to?¡± Just then, a few people exited the car¡ªit turned out to be Faye with Richard and X, who came along to join the fun. Faye hugged her arms while observing the turn of events and gloated, ¡°Sophia, of course we are heading back to the Edwards residence. Quick, get into the car and leave with us. Dad prepared arge banquet for you tonight just to wee you home. Our friends and families are all present and we are all waiting for you.¡± Even so, Sophia was adamant with her decision and firmly rejected them. ¡°I am sorry, but I am not interested in the Edwards Family banquet.¡± However, Joe was not here to ask for her permission. Another two burly men exited the car from the other side to surround Sophia and Nathan¡ªthey looked like tworge mountains who could single- handedly pick up without any effort. Sophia kept retreating, but she didn¡¯t seem afraid. On the contrary, she had a calm expression. ¡°We are at a university. Are you nning to kidnap us at the entrance of the university?¡± The security guards of Bayside University were extremely alert¡ªtwo guards immediately charged forward when they saw something amiss at the university entrance, but Joe viciously chased them away. ¡°What are you looking at? We, the Edwards Family, are handling some internal family affairs. Who are you to get involved?¡± Since it was a family affair, the guards couldn¡¯t get involved, so they retreated in silence. The two burly men surrounded Sophia while gesturing ¡®after you¡¯ and earnestly red at her while opening the car door, leaving her with no choice but to reluctantly enter the car. She then repeated, ¡°Father, I respect you, which is why I¡¯m addressing you as my father. I thank you for finding me under the bridge and providing me with a secure position. However, you sold me years ago and that means I¡¯m no longer your daughter. I will not leave with you.¡± Richard, who had been observing the interaction from the sidelines, suddenly broke the silence. ¡°Sophia, you need to understand that you are Mr. Edwards¡¯ daughter, no matter what happens. You will always be the daughter of the Edwards Family as long as the blood of the Edwards Family runs in your veins. It is perfectly justifiable for you to acknowledge your ancestors and family, so you should stop resisting.¡± All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. X pretended to kindly advise her, ¡°Sophia, you shouldn¡¯t be so stubborn. You should return home with Mr. Edwards. Once you acknowledge your ancestry, you¡¯ll have a maiden family. It means that you will have the support of the Edwards Family. My brother-inw will treat you even better in the future.¡± ¡°You might not be aware of this, but the Edwards Family is a wealthy and honorablerge family. If you acknowledge your origins, you will be a part of the Edwards Family. No one will dare to look down on you in university from then on! You will be known as Young Lady Edwards in the future and it means that you will have a family to rely on.¡± Sophia coldly nced at the group while snorting in disdain. Family? How dare they say such shameless things in front of me! She caressed Nathan¡¯s head while addressing the Edwards Family, ¡°I am sorry, but I have a family. In fact, I am heading home right now. Get out of my way!¡± Upon seeing how stubborn she was, Joe could no longer wait and instructed the two bodyguards to make a move on her. However, the two burly men had barely taken a step forward when another two men in ck suits and inky sunsses suddenly dashed out of a car. With an average height of six feet three, they lowered their gazes at the two burly men before tackling them¡ªtaking one each. They overpowered the two burly men, who were about to capture Sophia, and pressed them onto the ground in less than a couple of moves. Crack! It was the sound of bones in their arms being broken. The two burly men on the ground howled in pain, but Hale did not pay any attention to them. He merely opened the car door of the low profile ck on one side for Sophia to enter with Nathan. He then closed the door and entered the front passenger seat while Gary drove the car. Joe regained his senses when he heard the car¡¯s engine roaring to life. He did not expect his son-inw to hire such capable bodyguards for her. Hence, he charged to the front of the car and aggressively banged against the car door while shouting fiercely, ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re an unfilial daughter! Get out of the car now!¡± The windows of the car were tinted ck, so he couldn¡¯t see what went on inside. Nevertheless, the car did not stop at all. It was being driven off without hesitation, which meant that he would have been run over if he hadn¡¯t moved aside. Therefore, he dodged to the side in shock when he heard the roaring sound of the engine. ¡°You brute! You unfilial daughter!¡± he screamed at the top of his lungs while chasing the car from behind. He stopped in his tracks and ced a hand on his potbelly while gasping for air. ¡°You are such an ungrateful child! It seems like you are nning to take over therge sum of assets for yourself! In your dreams!¡± He walked away while cursing under his breath. I will obviously not let this slide just like that. Gazing at the riches and wealth that were being dangled in front of him, how could he possibly surrender halfway? Upon arriving home, Sophia did not see Michael, so she went to Nathan¡¯s room to sleep. The two of them snuggled together while ying games. She logged into her main character to y the game with Nathan. Apart from Scary Phoenix, everyone else in the n was present. The Global Finals were getting closer and they were about to face an unprecedented strong enemy. Therefore, everybody was feeling slightly nervous, including the professionalpetitive yers. Besides, Stanley had been extremely hot- tempered for the past few days and scolded everyone in the Clubhouse. Scary Phoenix was absent, and since seven members were needed for a n war and with one member missing, Stanley roped in a substitute¡ªHarry, who had a strange feeling when he saw Sirius233 fiercely fighting in the game. After ying the game, Sophia noticed that it was already gettingte, so she logged out of the game to sleep. Stanley had sent her many voice messages on Messenger. ¡°Sophie, is my uncle home yet?¡± ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t promise you that he is with the film crew now. Uncle Michael epted a guest role where he and Miss Irene are a couple. They even have a kissing scene together! Hahaha, are you jealous? Divorce him! He must be rekindling an old me with Miss Irene if he is not home. He is cheating on you!¡± Stanley even sent a picture of the film crew¡ªin the photograph, Michael and Irene held hands while they happily chatted. Sophia was unsure if it was a drama still or a private candid shot after filming ended. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that his eyes were filled with tenderness. I suppose that is the type of gaze you have for someone whom you love. I¡¯ve never seen such a pure, hazy and deep look in his eyes. She did not reply to Stanley and instead switched off her phone before heading to sleep. Michael finally returned from the filming crew in the middle of the night. He had promised that he would show up as a guest star for one day¡ªacting as a yboy for a night scene. Hence, he filmed everything within a day. However, he did not expect to meet disgusting people on set. Luckily, I only have to guest star for a day. Upon returning home, the lights in the living room were still switched on. It was already in the middle of the night, but Nathan was sitting alone in the living room while angrily waiting for him; he looked prepared to interrogate Michael. Upon seeing him, Michael asked while changing into his slippers, ¡°Darling, it¡¯s already sote at night. Why aren¡¯t you sleeping yet?¡± ¡°Where were you tonight? Why did you return home sote? Did you have a rendezvous with your lover? Are you preparing to divorce my mom?¡± He was dumbfounded when he heard Nathan¡¯s series of questions. Isn¡¯t it normal for me to return home in the wee hours of the night after ate night filming schedule? Nathan was wearing slippers, which made pping noises on the floor when he ran to Michael. He held a phone and on the disy panel was a picture of Michael and Irene. Nathan coldly demanded, ¡°I do not like this woman. Stay away from her.¡± I can¡¯t pinpoint the reason why I dislike her, but I just do not like this woman. I only have two mothers¡ªone of them is buried in the Memorial Garden whereas the other is sleeping upstairs! Chapter 282 Chapter 282 Michael nced at the phone and came across the said picture. He then listened to the voice message that Stanley sent to Sophia while perusing through their previous chat history. Stanley is not holding back and doing everything that he can to drive a wedge between us! After listening to the voice messages, Michael sighed quietly. ¡°Silly fellow.¡± It has been such a long time since I pped him. Looks like he needs a beating. He crouched down to pat Nathan¡¯s head with reassurances. ¡°My obedient darling, I was filming earlier. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll never find a stepmother for you.¡± Nathan mulled over what he said before reaching out with his little finger. ¡°Pinky swear!¡± Michael burst out inughter. The young kid has learned about the pinky swear! I thought that he wouldn¡¯t know what a pinky swear is since he¡¯s such an arrogant kid! In the past, Nate used to be extremely cold and distant. He refused to y with his peers or with children toys. He did not look like a child at all. Initially, I wanted him to attend kindergarten because he has peers there and would have friends to y with. However, Nate was adamant on enrolling in university and evenmented that kids are too childish. Who will have expected him to behave like a child now? Michael promised Nathan with a pinky swear. ¡°Cross your heart and hope to die. The person who finds Nate a stepmother is an idiot!¡± Satisfied, he went upstairs to sleep after that. Michael then returned to his room in exhaustion, but Nathan took the initiative and suggested, ¡°You should carry your wife back to your room. From now on, I will sleep alone.¡± He had a toothbrush in his mouth when he entered Nathan¡¯s room to carry Sophia to his room. She was fast asleep, so she wasn¡¯t even aware that someone had taken her out. Michael continued to brush his teeth while staring at her as she was sound asleep. She is such a cutie! The longer I¡¯m with her, the more adorable she looks! She is the cutest in the universe! All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. It was already 2AM by the time he was done with his shower and he needed to wake up early the next morning. He had the urge to make a move on her, but he refrained from doing so. We still have plenty of time ahead of us. She is still young, so maybe I should wait till she¡¯s older. I am not having a Lolitaplex. Sophia seemed to have dreamed that Michael came home, but she didn¡¯t see him when she woke up the next day. He wasn¡¯t even beside her in bed, but Nathan had promised her repeatedly. ¡°Daddy returned homest night and definitely did not spend the night outdoors. He did not cheat on you!¡± He was extremely sincere when he said that, but he was afraid that she wouldn¡¯t believe him. ¡°You can check the surveince footage if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± She was done with brushing her teeth and after rinsing her mouth, she answered, ¡°Fine, I believe you.¡± Michael did return homest night, I suppose¡­ They had to attend sses today, so Hale drove them to the university. Sophia made sure that Gary led Nathan into the School of Computer Science¡¯s building before making her way to her ssroom. Stanley took the gap between two major sses to smoke in the washroom in secret. Ever since his goddess became a ¡®female judge¡¯, he had been trying his best to disrupt the harmony in Michael¡¯s family, causing his smoking addiction to worsen. Somehow, at some point, there were lesser people in the toilet. By the time he emerged from his hiding ce, there was no one else around. Hale and Gary, who both towered over him, nked Nathan as them three blocked the entrance to the restroom. Noticing that Stanley was poking his head out, Nathan instructed, ¡°Beat him!¡± Upon facing Hale and Gary, Stanley was quite frightened and stumbled backward. ¡°What are you two doing? Don¡¯te any closer. I am Uncle Michael¡¯s nephew! I¡¯m his biological nephew! I am the apple of my uncle¡¯s eye!¡± Nathan stared at him coldly. ¡°You should give up. My dad specifically asked me to beat you up today!¡± Without waiting for a response, the two men whacked Stanley¡­ Nevertheless, they were oblivious that Sophia was in an unexpected situation at the same time. Joe brought a few policemen to the entrance of her ssroom. ¡°Mr. Policeman, this is my daughter. Someone has kidnapped her and I¡¯ve finally found her, but she just wouldn¡¯t acknowledge me! That horrible man, who has kidnapped her, has been torturing her every day. This is most probably the reason why she doesn¡¯t have the courage to acknowledge me. You have to save my daughter from the pit of hell!¡± Sophia, who had been reading her notes, stood up while staring at him in confusion. Did he call the police? Faye stood beside him and also sobbed. ¡°Mr. Policeman, my sister must have been traumatized by the torture. She doesn¡¯t dare toe home with us. We have asked her who the man is, but she refuses to tell us. You have to save my sister!¡± Sophia was rendered speechless when she heard that. I can¡¯t believe they came up with such a bad idea to call the police. The police officer wore a serious expression while approaching her, as if he was ready to talk business. ¡°Student, Mr. Edwards has lodged a police report on a case of women trafficking at a police station under our district. You are involved in the case, so we hope that you will cooperate with our investigation by coming with us to the police station to take your statement.¡± She looked at the police before ncing at Joe, who was standing behind him, and smiled. ¡°Sure.¡± She picked up her bag and followed them. Before she left, she signaled at Gemma with a look, asking her to inform Hale and the others. She followed the police officer back to the police station. Joe happily followed them. Now that the police are involved, I¡¯d like to see if Sophia dares to keep her husband¡¯s identity a secret! When the timees, the police will summon my son-inw to the police station to confront him. By then, I will know who my son-inw is! When I see him, I will im that this is all a misunderstanding, and I will ask the police to withdraw the case. I can take the chance to invite my son-inw to the Edwards residence as a guest. I¡¯ll take the chance to find out more about him, just so that I¡¯d strike as soon as I can. Upon arriving at the police station¡¯s interrogation room, Sophia noticed that Daniel was present too. He greeted her when he saw her. ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, you are here too!¡± However, she ignored him. In front of the police, Joe was covered in tears and snot. ¡°Mr. Policeman, please save my daughter. Daniel has fooled her by selling her to someone as a wife. She is merely 21 years old this year! She is still studying! She can¡¯t possibly ruin her life for an old man!¡± She lost her patience, correcting him, ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Edwards, but I¡¯m 20 years old.¡± He corrected himself hastily, ¡°My daughter is merely 20 years old. We have been separated since she was a child and it took me a lot of effort to look for her. However, I did not expect Daniel to deceive her and take her away. I don¡¯t even know who she is married to now. In fact, she has been tortured on a daily basis.¡± Daniel calmly took out the contract from his pocket, which he and Joe signed; it was an agreement to sell thetter¡¯s daughter off. Daniel ced the document in front of the police while exining, ¡°Here, this is the agreement between Mr. Edwards and me. Mr. Edwards asked for a betrothal gift, which came up to 80,000, in exchange for his daughter. In return, I found a husband for his daughter.¡± Joe grabbed the contract and ripped it into pieces while reprimanding Daniel, ¡°Daniel, you are a shameless man! You knew that I had financial difficulties at that time, so you deceived me by making me sell my daughter off to you. This contract is not legit because I was forced to sign it. I have the right to cancel the contract.¡± He continued to earnestly speak to the police, ¡°Mr. Policeman, he is a human trafficker. He sold my daughter off, but I want her back! You have to help me!¡± Faye continued her facade. ¡°My poor sister, you must have suffered beyond imagination over the years. My sister¡ª¡± ¡°Mr. Policeman, you guys better arrest that old man!¡± Chapter 283 Chapter 283 Daniel was extremely impatient, so he softly knocked his knuckles on the table. ¡°Previously, Mr. Edwards took the initiative toe to me for the agreement. I am not a human trafficker!¡± Joe was adamant. ¡°You sold my daughter; you are a human trafficker! Mr. Policeman, quickly arrest him! He specializes in women trafficking!¡± The police officer looked at him before turning to nce at Daniel. In the end, he asked Sophia, ¡°Miss Sophia, what do you have to say?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Daniel Levine was the one who introduced me to my husband. We knew each other before getting married. There is no such thing as women trafficking. I have a good rtionship with my husband and we are happy together. He doesn¡¯t torture me at all. On the contrary, my husband is even paying for my university studies.¡± Joe immediately smacked the table and retorted, ¡°Mr. Policeman, look at that! The unknown man has tortured my daughter until she doesn¡¯t have the courage to speak the truth. My daughter has suffered over the years. In fact, she has never brought her husband home after getting married. My son-inw must have been torturing her! You should summon her husband and confront him if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± The police officer looked at Daniel before turning to Joe. Finally, he stared at Sophia and instructed her, ¡°Get your husband here to see if he checks out.¡± Sophia nced at Joe and turned to make a phone call. Once he noticed that she was making the phone call, he waited pleasantly for his son-inw. After the phone call, she waited for Hale to sort it out. Usually for such a small matter, Hale would be able to handle it and there won¡¯t be any need to involve Michael at all. Joe Edwards wants to know about Michael¡¯s identity, but I¡¯ll deny him that satisfaction! Besides, I¡¯m afraid that Joe will get entangled with Michael. In the interrogation room, the four of them sat at the table while minding their own business under the watchful eye of the surveince camera. Joe was busy making phone calls to prepare for the banquet tonight since he was happily estimating his son-inw¡¯s assets. He must at least have billions. Sophia was perusing her notes. I¡¯ll have to borrow a ssmate¡¯s notes since I¡¯m missing this ss. I¡¯ll have to revise the subject myself. Lastly, Daniel was turning two beads with his fingers. Half an hourter, a car was parked in front of the entrance of the police station. A few bodyguards in ck exited the car while guarding a man in the middle, who wore a ck coat. Then, everybody entered the police station¡¯s main hall. The man had a low profile ck coat that was paired with a hat that obscured most of his face. A ck mask covered the bottom half of his face. The entire police station behaved as if they were about to face a formidable enemy. Upon receiving the news, the Chief Police Officer rushed to the scene and evacuated the station while personally weing the man. The Chief Police Officer could not believe it when he received the news, so he felt that he was dreaming when he met the person in the flesh. Taylor Murray! He is the idol of the people! It just happened that the Chief was Taylor¡¯s fan and loved him to bits. Besides, I am one of the few people who knows Taylor¡¯s identity. He is Old Master Fletcher¡¯s grandson, part of the Fletcher Family, and the descendent of the fallen hero, Theo Fletcher. It doesn¡¯t matter which identity is being used because they all call for respect! ¡°Mr. Murray, are you here to lodge a police report?¡± Michael removed his mask while speaking in a serious tone to the Chief Police Officer, ¡°I heard that someone has lodged a report, iming that I¡¯m involved in women trafficking. I intentionally dropped by to check on things.¡± The Chief Police Officer was at a loss for words when he heard that. In the interrogation room, Sophia had concentrated andpleted two Further Mathematics questions. A police officer suddenly stood by the door of the interrogation room and loudly announced, ¡°Sophia Edwards, your husband is here to pick you up! You can leave now!¡± Sophia picked up her bag to leave when she heard that. ¡°Is my son-inw here?¡± Joe was delighted and started to chase after her because he wanted to see how his son-inw looked. However, the police officer stopped him after a couple of steps. ¡°Mr. Edwards, please take a seat. We have some questions for you.¡± ¡°Move away, I want to see my son-inw!¡± He shoved the police officer away. However, before he could reach the door, about three to four police officers barged into the room to hold him down. ¡°Mr. Edwards, please cooperate with our investigation!¡± The door closed with a loud bang after she walked out of the interrogation room. The walls of the interrogation room were made of frosted ss, so it was possible to decipher the outline of the figures outside, but it was impossible to see their faces. The police officers held him down on the table and through the ss wall, he saw someone walking¡ªit was nothing but a dark figure. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Sophia saw Michael standing beside the Chief Police Officer the moment she walked out of the interrogation room. Michael wore a mysterious-looking ck coat that was paired with a ck hat, radiating a frosty charm. She stood rooted to the spot because she did not expect that he would be alerted of such a small matter. He should be extremely busy these few days. ¡°Chica,e here.¡± Seeing that she remained motionless for a long time, he beckoned her with a wave of his hand. She increased her pace as she walked to him. He immediately wrapped her in his arms before kissing her forehead and softly asked, ¡°Were you scared?¡± She nodded in a daze. He answered, ¡°It¡¯s fine now. I¡¯ll take you for a feast to calm you down.¡± She nodded. Then, the two of them left while holding hands. Joe could not hear the conversation outside, but he could see Sophia wrapped in another man¡¯s arms while leaving the police station. Therefore, he immediately screamed, ¡°Son-inw, Son-inw! I am Sophia¡¯s father!¡± On the other side, Daniel folded his leg and mocked, ¡°Your son-inw will not hear you even if you scream until you lose your voice!¡± Joe instantly panicked, but the police wouldn¡¯t release him. Hence, he grabbed onto Daniel and asked, ¡°Mr. Levine, I¡¯m begging you. Please reveal my son-inw¡¯s identity. It¡¯s not something that needs to be kept secret.¡± Daniel chuckled in amusement. ¡°Mr. Edwards, this initially isn¡¯t something secretive, but we had an agreement beforehand. Therefore, I will not reveal who he is.¡± Seeing as he refused to speak, Faye approached him with herrge 36D bra size and pressed herself against Daniel¡¯s body. She whispered, ¡°Master Levine, we just want to meet my brother-inw to acknowledge him as a part of our family. We aren¡¯t interested in his assets at all.¡± He was unmoved, maintaining his position with his legs folded. ¡°I stay true to what I said. I will not reveal any information.¡± They were released not too long after, but Joe was reprimanded due to the fake police report. low How dare he im that Taylor Murray is so useless that he needs to buy a bride since he can¡¯t seem to marry one? With a wave of his hand, he can easily summon a harem asrge as a country. After leaving the police station, Daniel drove off in his car while Joe red in the direction that the former left. ¡°Damn you all! Do you think I can¡¯t personally find out if you refuse to tell me?¡± As long as Sophia stays in Bayside University, I will find out for sure! No matter what happens, I will have a portion of thatrge sum of inheritance! Due to the farce today where the police escorted Sophia away from the university, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to head back for sses. Therefore, she followed Michael for lunch while carrying her bag. While they were having their meal in the restaurant, she suddenly received a voice message from Stanley via Messenger. She pressed the button to listen to it in front of Michael. They both suddenly heard Stanley¡¯s cries from the other end of the line. ¡°Sophie, are you insane? Why did you let Nathan beat me up?¡± ¡°I am beaten to a pulp now! I was kind enough to reveal the true colors of that yboy of yours. Not only are you not grateful to me, but you had me beaten up so badly! You are done for the rest of your life! Let him cheat on you for the rest of your life! I¡¯m telling you, Uncle Michael was with Miss Irene for the entire night. They are about to reconcile soon and you will be chased out of the house. You better pray for yourself! Don¡¯t run to me in tears when the timees!¡± Chapter 284 Chapter 284 After listening to the audio recordings, there was only silence and awkwardness between the two of them at the dining table. It was then that Sophia finally knew that Stanley had been beaten up again. She kept her phone away and lowered her head without saying a word. She used her pair of chopsticks to poke at her empty te, but her ears were actually raised to hear what Michael had to say. He should have something to say for what happened yesterday. Even though she felt that he might not express his thoughts to her, she still looked forward to it in her heart. He remained silent without even letting out a grunt after she had waited for a long time. She sneakily nced at him and saw a pair of sparkling, gleeful eyes staring at her. The moment both their eyes met, she immediately retracted her sight. Just like that, he quietly stared at her without making a sound. He knew that she was waiting for his answer, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to ask him. He could guess her thoughts with a mere nce. He had been waiting for her to ask first, but she still remained quiet after a while. Michael sighed. Although my chica has been in my home for almost two years, she still treats me like an outsider. She never reveals her feelings to me. Is it because we never had any intimate contact hence she doesn¡¯t see me as her man? C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org He was merely waiting for her to be ready. In the end, he broke the silence. ¡°Chica, where do you want the wedding to be held?¡± Sophia thought she had wrongly heard, so she instinctively let out a sound of confusion. He continued to speak in seriousness, ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it for a long while. I feel that it is time to make our marriage known to the public. We can¡¯t drag our wedding much longer.¡± She felt as though she was in a dream. Is Michael wanting to make our marriage known to the public? Does that mean the Fletchers, Irene, the people in Bayside University, my ex-boyfriend, Joe and everyone else will soon know that I¡¯m married to Michael? Does that mean people will no longer mock me for marrying an old and ugly coal owner? Does that mean Richard and X will no longer have the courage to show their superior face in front of me? After a sweet and short-lived surprise, she still rejected his idea. ¡°Now is not the time yet¡­ I¡¯m thinking of waiting for a few more years.¡± She felt that she still wasn¡¯t strong enough. If he really announces it to the public, I will have to face something that I never thought I will be able to face. Not only will I have to deal with the Fletchers myself, but Joe will definitely n something against Michael. Then, there is also Phantom Wolf¡­ What if he approaches me someday? I¡¯m not ready to face these yet. I will have to wait at least until after my graduation when I have my own ability to get things done. Is he trying to exin himself for what happened yesterday? Sophia pressed her lips, trying to conceal a smile hanging on the corners of her lips. I can¡¯t embarrass myself too much in front of my idol. When the dishes were served, the two of them ate while disjointedly chatting with each other. Michael said to her, I¡¯m thinking of organizing two weddings¡ªone would be abroad and the other will be in the country. What do you think? If we have an outdoor wedding, Nate can be our flower boy, although I¡¯m worried that he might be too big to be our flower boy. I¡¯ve already started to prepare the wedding attire. If we want to have a traditional wedding gown and one for an outdoor wedding, we¡¯ll need to prepare two sets of it. How do you want your traditional gown to be? I¡¯ve already ordered a wedding gown from L/K. As for the traditional one, I definitely want it to be fully hand-embroidered. If what I¡¯ve calcted is correct, we will need about 1 to 2 years to prepare for it. We only get to marry once in our lifetime, so every detail needs to be perfect.¡± She continued to eat her meal while nodding. A simple wedding will be enough if I get to marry my idol. The wedding ceremony isn¡¯t important. What¡¯s important is the person I¡¯m marrying! A night of gloominess seemed to pass like that. She happily returned to school in the evening to continue with her sses. He was also busy with his work. Between sses, Sophia carried her bag as she tried to search for the ssroom for her next ss. However, Stanley had blocked her on the way. He approached her angrily with his bruised face. ¡°Sophia, look at what your son has done to me. Are you going to do something about it? Are you?¡± She was pushing her bike¡ªthe same one that Michael rodest time when he attended university. She continued to ride it because it felt good to be riding a bike that her idol rode before. While pushing the bike, she answered, ¡°I¡¯m not going to.¡± Stanley blocked her path. ¡°If you are not going to do something about it, I will tell Uncle Michael that you found yourself a partner in the game. You are having an affair and you are cuckolding him!¡± Sophia stopped her steps as she thought about Scary Phoenix, the ¡®husband¡¯ of her main character, Sirius¡­ I can¡¯t let Michael know that he has been ¡®cuckolded¡¯. She felt a little guilty. ¡°A game is a game and reality is reality. Besides, I¡¯m a man in the game and my partner is a wife. We never contact each other in real life except in the game. How does this count as cuckolding him?¡± He knew that the more she refuted, the more guilty she felt inside. He became more confident with himself as he grabbed her bike seat to prevent her from leaving. ¡°Just admit that you¡¯ve found yourself a partner in the game¡ªand you even married her! Let me tell you this. If you don¡¯t give me a million in game currency, I will tell my uncle about it!¡± Without uttering a word, Sophia walked away with the bike while staring at Stanley, who was sitting on the bike. After the two of them arrived in theputer room, he violently pushed her to find aputer so that she could log into her new character. Her main character had a bit of money, but her new character was really poor. When she opened her inventory to have a look, there were only a few hundred thousand in game currency. ¡°This is all I have. Take it if you want.¡± Stanley had a look at her gears. ¡°You have quite a nice gear. It can be sold for at least one million. Sell it!¡± ¡°No!¡± She immediately rejected him. ¡°My wife gave that to me and it is a rare one. I won¡¯t sell it!¡± He fiercely looked at her. ¡°If you don¡¯t sell it, I¡¯ll call my uncle!¡± In the end, she sold all of her gears in anger and made two million in game currency, which were all transferred to his ount. She was broke, but luckily, it was only her new character, so she simply allowed him to take all of it. Then, she showed her empty inventory and wallet in the game to him. ¡°Take a good look at it. There¡¯s nothing left. All my weapons, gears and money are gone. From now on, I won¡¯t y this game ever again, so don¡¯t ask me to y it with you.¡± Although Stanley felt saddened for Sophia, the rage inside him was reignited when he thought of how inattentive the stepmother was after her son had him beaten up. Such a useless thing. How can she feel so happy being a mistress? How am I not better than Michael? Michael is famous for being a scumbag who likes men. There isn¡¯t one innocent person in the entertainment industry! ¡°Sophia, you better behave yourselftely. If I ever catch you having an affair behind my uncle, I¡¯ll immediately report to him and ask him to divorce you!¡± However, the moment he walked out of the ssroom, he instantly made a phone call to Michael. ¡°Hello? Uncle Michael, I want to report something to you. Your wife is married to someone else in the game! She cuckolded you!¡± Chapter 285 Chapter 285 Surprisingly, Michael chuckled on the other side of the phone. ¡°Mind your own business.¡± Beep! The call then ended. Stanley thought that Michael didn¡¯t believe him, so he left while cursing. In theputer room, Sophia switched off theputer and had a look at the time. I¡¯m alreadyte for ss. The teacher never takes attendance for this elective course anyway. I think I¡¯ll just miss this one. How nice it is to go home and see my idol! The floor was almost empty since it was school time, so there were only a few people left in the computer room. After she exited theputer room, she went into the restroom while carrying her bag. She wanted to head to the toilet before going home. As she was in the School of Computer Science¡¯s building, there were very few girls. There was almost no one in the women¡¯s toilet and the lights inside were broken, but no one had repaired them, leaving them to continuously flicker. The moment she entered, there was no one inside, making it an eerily silent ce. The weather was dark and there was a tree outside the toilet window. She furrowed her brows while using her cellphone as a shlight. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. Once she was done, she came out of the cubicle to wash her hands. She saw that the door to the restroom was closed through the mirror as the lights flickered, intermittently revealing a slender figure in the corner. The person remained standing motionlessly in the corner, as if his body blended with the darkness. Sophia¡¯s whole body instantly froze as she looked at the man who suddenly appeared in the mirror. The man had a gloomy aura surrounding him, as if it came from hell. His profound eyes that were hidden in the dark radiated an extremely dangerous light. It was usually bad news if a man suddenly appeared in the women¡¯s toilet, so she instinctively pressed her wristwatch since it had a device that could signal an rm. As soon as she pressed it, Hale would immediately receive the signal and rush to her. However, just when she pressed the rm, the man suddenly spoke. ¡°There isn¡¯t any signal here. You won¡¯t be able to send out your rm.¡± He had a deep and husky voice. She was unable to tell his age through his voice¡ªonly his vicissitudes on life. She remained motionless as she continued to press her wristwatch many times. Then, she took her phone out with her other hand and sure enough, there was no signal at all. All of her electronic devices had malfunctioned as the man probably had a device on him that blocked all the signals. Just when she lowered her head to check on her phone, the man silently reached a meter behind her. She instinctively fished out the pepper spray from her bag and immediately turned to spray it at the man. However, the moment she did so, a hand rapidly grabbed hold of her wrist before she even had the chance to press on the pepper spray. The five fingers were as cold and hard as a machine and bursting with a strong force while his nails dug deep into her wrist. She felt as if her wrist would be crushed at any second. Under immense pain, the pepper spray in her hand fell, but it was caught by the man¡¯s other hand. ¡°Aaaah¡ª¡± She opened her mouth and tried to yell for help. Even though there weren¡¯t many people around, there would still be someone who could hear her scream. However, the moment she opened her mouth, a hand instantly covered it, shoving her screams back down her throat and turning it into a grunting sound. The man grabbed her from the back, covering her mouth with one hand to prevent her from screaming while the other hand began to open her cor. The ice cold hand gently tore off her shirt and revealed her snowy white shoulders. During the struggle, Sophia had used all of her strength as her nails sunk deep into his wrist. She then realized that he wore a special one-piece suit that covered his whole body from head to toe. There was also a rubbery material covering his fingers, which prevented him from leaving any fingerprints behind. Her fingers powerlessly scratched his suit, but they couldn¡¯t even leave a mark. The man behind her was like a cold machine with an infinite strength, save for a human¡¯s warmth. It reminded her of a bone-chilling and terrifying person¡ªPhantom Wolf! The moment the thought surfaced in her mind, her whole body froze and her eyes suddenly widened as they were filled with fear. He finally came! In that moment, a cold thing fell on her shoulder¡ªas if something tightened around her skin. After a crisp sound was heard, the scent of flesh was smelled. Phantom Wolf had another small item in his hand, which he used to clutch onto Sophia¡¯s shoulder for a few seconds. After he removed it, a wolf tattoo appeared on her shoulder. Then, a heart-wrenching pain started to spread through her body; it was so intense that the veins on her forehead bulged as cold sweat rolled down her head as she struggled to cope with his mp on her arm. The hand covering her mouth had an insanely huge strength that her teeth were almost crushed. The man looked at his exclusive mark on her shoulder with satisfaction¡ªher snowy white skin was covered with a thinyer of sweat due to the excruciating pain, so he buried his lips on her neck while greedily smelling the unique and seductive fragrance of her body. A warm tongue gently brushed her fair shoulder. When it went past the wolf tattoo that he imprinted on her earlier, the pain caused her entire body to shiver as she started to shed tears. The two rows of warm, wet tears fell on the man¡¯s arms. Her head was forced to lean against the man¡¯s chest, so his messy breathing and voice were clearly heard. ¡°Remember, you are Phantom Wolf¡¯s woman.¡± He is really Phantom Wolf. Suddenly, memories from that night resurfaced in Sophia¡¯s mind again. At that time, her nostrils were filled with the cold river water as she slowly lost her consciousness. She remembered the helplessness and desperation that she felt upon facing death along with the man who saved her. She stopped struggling, knowing that the man in front of her had the ability to break a person¡¯s spine with his bare hands. It¡¯s pointless to struggle. Besides, he will eventually find me. The man¡¯s thick fingers slid across her shoulder where a clear tattoo had been formed. When his fingers stroked the tattoo, the pain tore her heart apart and her body couldn¡¯t help but shiver while her back was covered with sweat. Her skin was fairer,pared to most other girls and her shoulder had been wless without any e or mole. Therefore, Phantom Wolf¡¯s sudden tattoo was even more conspicuous. Sophia¡¯s whole body froze while tears continued to pour due to the rain. It¡¯s so painful. When Phantom Wolf inked that print on my skin earlier, there was a thing that seemed to have quickly carved something on my flesh. Then, he used a high temperature to sterilize the wound, leaving a mark. Now that he had imprinted a mark, it had caused the pain to maximize, as if he tore off her skin alive. After that, Phantom Wolf¡¯s voice rang beside her ears again. ¡°Now is not the time. When the time is right, I wille to look for you. I want to bring you away from here forever.¡± ¡°No¡ª¡± Sophia¡¯s words had been blocked by his hand¡ªthe one covering her mouth to prevent her from making any sound. She could only look at the seductive yet dark wolf tattoo imprinted on her shoulder. The feeling of slowly dying that she returned when she climbed ashore after almost drowning two years ago returned. The desperation and powerlessness that she felt caused two helpless tears to fall from her eyes onto Phantom Wolf¡¯s gloves. He then greedily kissed the side of her face as his cold voice approached her ear. ¡°Don¡¯t think of escaping me. Two years ago, I saved you. From that moment on, you belong to me. Do you understand? Nobody including Michael can protect you.¡± Chapter 286 Chapter 286 At that moment, Sophia¡¯s whole body trembled. He actually knows Michael? Does that mean the Phantom Wolf knows everything about Michael, but thetter doesn¡¯t know a thing about him. ¡°Don¡¯t be surprised. I was the one who killed his sister and brother-inw. If I wanted to, I can simply take his life whenever I want. The Fletchers? Hehe, I love killing anyone who is part of the Fletcher Family!¡± The moment she heard Michael¡¯s name, she used all her strength to struggle but identally bumped her shoulder on the wall. Suddenly, a heart-wrenching pain rose. Both her hands that held onto Phantom Wolf¡¯s arm dropped weakly. She was reminded of the rows of new tombs in The Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral grave. Since Phantom Wolf has dared to say something like this, maybe there will be a new tomb appearing there any time. Don¡¯t hurt him¡­ When Phantom Wolf noticed that Sophia had given up on resisting him, he slowly released her mouth. Then, she felt a sweet sceneing out of her mouth, so she forcefully swallowed it. Meanwhile, he was violently grabbing her neck with one hand. She did not dare to move or speak because she knew that the man in front of her could break her neck with only a slight force. Her eyes widened as she looked at the man who had killed countless people. He wore a mask that covered his facial features¡ªand even his eyes couldn¡¯t be seen, so she was unable to determine his true identity from his appearance. Then, he slowly approached her and touched her charming red lips, as if he wanted to be intimate with her. He reached out into her cor with his other hand, unbuttoning the school uniform that she wore and exposing the shirt she had inside. He ced her on the washstand in the toilet. One of his hands had grabbed her neck while the other snuck under her skirt¡­ Sophia sobbed when she felt a warm lip gliding across her neck and corbone. She was forced to lift her head so that the tears, which would have streamed down her cheeks, would spill into her hair. She was reluctant to be owned by Phantom Wolf! Therefore, she fumbled around with her hands and found a ss vase with a daffodil in it before fiercely pushing it to the floor with a smash. The vase broke and made a huge sound. A curious voice was heard outside the restroom in less than a second. ¡°Is there anyone inside? What happened?¡± Sophia concurrently felt that the strength around her neck had suddenly gone. In the blink of an eye, Phantom Wolf had also disappeared. When she turned to look, the window of the toilet was left open for some time. He is very quick. After that, her whole body seemed to lose its soul as she copsed on the floor¡­ Michael had been busy for the whole day and it was already 11PM by the time he returned home. Tonight, there was still a dim light in the master bedroom. It looks like Sophia hasn¡¯t slept yet. The moment he returned home, he first went to Nathan¡¯s room to have a look¡ªhis son was ying a game alone without knowing that he was already back. Michael knocked on the door, saying, ¡°Darling, it¡¯ste. Go to bed early. You still have school tomorrow.¡± Nathan had faced him with the back of his head and replied, ¡°The two of you went out for lunch today without bringing me along. I¡¯m not happy with it, so don¡¯t talk with me tonight.¡± ¡°You little brat!¡± While Michael closed the door, he spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll give you some time to save the game. I¡¯ll switch off the Inte at 11PM.¡± When he returned to the master bedroom, Sophia seemed to be already asleep. After switching on the night light, he saw that the nket on the bed had a small bump. He then quietly walked into the restroom to wash himself before getting into bed. On the bed, he leaned closely against his wife. Surprisingly, when he touched her gentle waist, he realized that she was naked. Eh, she is sleeping naked! After that, Sophia¡¯s snake-like body suddenly squirmed into his arms. Under the dim night-light, he could see her blurry face poking out of the nket and her ck eyes were filled with moisture. ¡°Chica¡­¡± Even though she had only revealed a tiny face, it was still seductive in his eyes. He stared at her nkly, feeling that there was something different to herpared to her past self. His Adam¡¯s apple rolled while he looked at the woman in his arms. Then, he asked seriously, ¡°Are you ready for this?¡± Sophia remained silent as she reached out to switch off the lights. The room suddenly fell into darkness and her gentle body became entangled with his while her warm cherry lips actively pressed against his. He could feel that she was actually ready, so he quickly hugged her while gently removing the thin nket that blocked them. She thought that it would be horrifying, but she hadn¡¯t expected the feeling of being together with the man she loved the most was romantic and unrestrained. Initially, it hurt a little, but when it gradually improved, she really wanted to pause her life on that wonderful moment forever. I only want to be with him¡­ forever and ever. Bayside City was exceptionally quiet tonight¡ªfrom time to time, neon lights would fall on the windows and spill into the room. She was snuggling in Michael¡¯s arms as both her body and mind were satisfied. I¡¯ve finally slept with my idol. They had been married for almost two years. Two years ago, Joe had embarrassingly sent her to Michael, so she couldn¡¯t understand why thetter chose her. Maybe it is fate. I¡¯m now finally Michael¡¯s woman and will give my all to him. If I¡¯m forced to leave him one day, I won¡¯t regret it¡­ Michael was satisfied with what happened tonight. When he realized that the consummation was sessful, he thought whether he should hold a banquet the next day. It might have been a result of the deepmunication between body and soul, but Sophia became more open in front of him and no longer as restrained as before. She rolled over and ced a pillow in him, asking, ¡°Hubby, if Miss Weber misses you one day, will you¡ª¡± ¡°I will never.¡± He furrowed his brows as he felt absolutely disgusted to hear such a question in a wonderful atmosphere. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. He didn¡¯t directly answer her; instead, he asked her the same question. ¡°If Mr. Harper is willing to give everything up for you one day, will you go with him?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± She also felt disgusted and firmly rejected the idea. After responding, she finally realized that her tone was the same as his when he answered her question. Does that mean in Michael¡¯s eyes, his ex-girlfriend, Irene, is of the same status as my ex-boyfriend, Richard?¡± There was a little joy in Sophia¡¯s heart. However, when Michael suddenly grabbed Sophia¡¯s shoulder, he happened to touch the wolf tattoo on her body, causing her whole body to tighten and tremble when it felt the pain. He immediately noticed her small reaction. When they were together earlier, he felt that there was something wrong about her. Initially, he thought that it was due to her nerves, seeing that it was her first time as a woman, but what he felt was obviously different from the other parts of her skin. Therefore, his fingers tentatively touched that part of her skin again. As he touched it, she did not seem to have any reactions, but he still felt her body trembling, as if she was holding back on something. Then, he stood up and switched on the lights, making the room suddenly bright again. By the time the lights were already switched on, she was already hiding in the nket with only her head uncovered. When Michael removed Sophia¡¯s nket, she immediately retreated while tightly holding onto the nket. The more she avoided him, the more he felt that something was wrong, so he immediately reached out to remove the nket. ¡°What is it? Come, let me see.¡± She silently lowered her head, but her once red face had suddenly turned pale. After that, he reached out to remove the nket, exposing her snowy-white shoulder and a wolf tattoo. Maybe it was probably because he was too rough on her earlier as the skin on her shoulder was now red and swollen as he grabbed it. He felt as though he was struck by a bolt from the blue! Phantom Wolf finally came! Chapter 287 Chapter 287 The new tattoo seemed to contain a few traces of condensed blood. During their moment of intimacy, Michael¡¯s grasp had caused it to bleed and her whole shoulder even started to redden and swollen. Sophia curled up as she did not dare to look at him. She saw that he seemingly took a few steps back in horror. Suddenly, he turned and exited the door. With a bang, he mmed the door shut. She lifted her head and stared at the door that he mmed. All of a sudden, two rows of tears streamed down her face. Michael knows that Phantom Wolf is here. He must have thought that Phantom Wolf had slept with me. Maybe he will immediately abandon me because it will save him the trouble or use me as a bait to lure Phantom Wolf out¡­ Sophia thought of thousands of possibilities, but she did not dare to hope that he would protect her. Phantom Wolf probably thinks that I¡¯m fun to y with. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m Michael¡¯s woman, so he wants to snatch me from him for the fun of it. In Phantom Wolf¡¯s eyes, I¡¯m just a toy. She knew that if she fell into Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands, the oue would be worse than death. During the day in the restroom, the iron mp that was around her neck almost crushed her throat, causing it to ache even at that point. Sophiay weakly on the bed, thinking about what she should do in the future. Michael and Phantom Wolf have a deep hatred for each other. Hale told me that Michael and the Fletchers were unable to catch Phantom Wolf for many years. The man is cunning and treacherous, so it has been hard for them to lure him out. On the other hand, I seem like a useful bait that Michael might use to tempt Phantom Wolf to show up, but I¡¯ll be like a small boat in the middle of a storm once I¡¯m involved in their battle. I may fall and die at any time. I need to live! I must live! The door was opened with a bang as Michael returned. She had been quietly sitting on the bed while crying and lifted her head to see him rushing toward her. He sat on the side of the bed and ced a small box on it before opening the box, which contained some medicine to reduce inmmatory and swelling. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Without uttering a word, he applied the medicine on Sophia¡¯s body. It turned out that he merely went outside to grab some medicine. She probably did not notice it herself, but when the lights were switched on, Michael was almost scared to death when he saw her injury. In addition to the bleeding tattoo on her body, there were also a few terrifying w marks on her neck. He didn¡¯t know how powerful Phantom Wolf¡¯s pinch was to have caused those bruises and scratches on her neck. He had no doubt that if Phantom Wolf had added more strength, her neck could have easily been broken. He also chose not to ask her why she didn¡¯t tell him the truth, why she didn¡¯t escape or why she never yelled for help. He clearly knew Phantom Wolf¡ªif the man wanted to end her life, he could have done so without breaking a sweat. He had seen the deaths of other people whom Phantom Wolf had strangled. All of their necks were broken in half, leaving a horrifying image. Phantom Wolf had a good understanding about the vital points of a human¡¯s skeletal structure. Not only could he break a person¡¯s spine with his bare hands, but he also had a cruel habit of strangling people¡¯s necks while making them die a gradual death through endless fear and suffocation. My chica must have been terrified today. Sophia cried as her body continued to tremble. Her crystal-clear tears fell from her eyes, drop by drop, while Michael applied some medicine on her and gave her a napkin to wipe away the tears. He didn¡¯t dare to touch her wound, so he could only gently caress her head tofort her, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here. Phantom Wolf won¡¯t dare toe and get you again.¡± She sobbed for a moment before lifting her wet face to look at him. Then, she muttered, ¡°He came to school to look for me. He even said that he will be back.¡± Michael¡¯s face became even more sullen. I can¡¯t believe that he has already entered the school! He wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Everything¡¯s okay now. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here. The doctors will be here soon to check on you. Don¡¯t worry, you will be fine.¡± Phantom Wolf is a harsh person. Even if he didn¡¯t intend to take her life, it would have been hard for her not to get hurt if she resisted him. Maybe there¡¯s another injury on her that we can¡¯t see. Phantom Wolf definitely came to her for a reason. Other than the wounds, she might even be¡­ Sophia buried her face in his arms as her tears soiled his clothes. She really wished that the man who saved her that night two years ago was Michael or someone else. It could have been anyone else, but why was it Phantom Wolf? Soon enough, a team of private doctors arrived to conduct a full inspection of her body. Michael¡¯s face was stern when he listened to the doctor¡¯s report. ¡°Madam¡¯s neck cartge has been damaged and there are some bruises on her neck. The tattoo on her shoulder can¡¯t be in contact with water yet. On top of that, there are some scratch marks on her body and the bone in her little finger has also been fractured. Her teeth have suffered some impact with 7 of her permanent teeth being loosened. Lastly, her hymen was prated about¡­ an hour ago.¡± An hour ago was the time that Michael returned home. Fortunately, my chica is still mine. The doctor was wrapping Sophia¡¯s little finger with a bandage at that moment. Her fingers had felt weird today when she returned home¡ªshe couldn¡¯t straighten them and they felt a little painful, not expecting to sustain a fracture. After the doctor was done with the full examination, he prepared to take care of all the necessary treatment. Suddenly, Abel rushed in from outside. ¡°Has Phantom Wolf showed up?¡± The moment he showed up and saw Sophia sitting in the living room, he immediately squatted and lifted her neck to carefully check the scars on her neck. He even took out a camera to take pictures of it. Throughout the years, he had traveled all over the world, looking for traces of Phantom Wolf. He even taught himself forensic knowledge so that he could search for clues about Phantom Wolf on the bodies of those whom thetter had killed. As long Phantom Wolf had killed the person, there would always be some kind of clues on the dead body. She had already taken a bath when she returned home, so lots of precious evidence was gone, but he could still stumble upon something from those scratch marks. She was probably the first person who lived to tell the tale aftering into contact with Phantom Wolf. Therefore, there could be some clues on her that would help to crack the case. After the inspection was done, Abel sat in front of her with a notebook and a pen in his hands. He was focused on writing everything that she said¡ªincluding what she saw and what she noticed earlier. ¡°Chica, try your best to tell us everything that Phantom Wolf has said and done to you.¡± Sophia instinctively tightened her grip on Michael¡¯s hand as she felt scared, but she still managed to tell everything that she had experienced earlier in the day with them. ¡°This afternoon, at about 4PM, I only had one ss for the evening. Stanley had asked me to transfer some game currency to him, so he brought me to theputer room in the School of Computer Science. Afterward, I went into the women¡¯s toilet in the same building as theputer room. Then, he approached me.¡± After listening to her, Abel felt a little suspicious as he lifted his head. ¡°Are you sure you met him in school?¡± She nodded. He then furrowed his brows and analyzed the situation. ¡°During the past few years, Phantom Wolf has committed numerous terrorist attacks on a global scale that shocked the world. His locations are normally at random¡ªmarkets, squares, shopping malls, hospitals, and even government offices, but I realized that Phantom Wolf and his men have nevermitted any crimes in school. They neverid their hands on children.¡± Chapter 288 Chapter 288 It was the crucial point where Phantom Wolf actually broke his principle. Then, Sophia started to describe Phantom Wolf¡¯s appearance. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see his face and hair clearly because he was wearing a mask. He seems to be taller than Michael by a bit. He¡­¡± She shot a look at Michael, who was beside her, and lowered her head before continuing with her words. ¡°When he kissed me, I noticed that he had a sharp chin. His skin is fair and he has no facial hair. He also has thin lips.¡± At first, she thought that he would be angry, but he surprisingly lowered his head and gave her a kiss before murmuring, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Everything is in the past. Try to think carefully about the details. This is crucial for Abel to discover Phantom Wolf¡¯s true identity.¡± From the moment that Michael noticed that something was wrong, Sophia¡¯s body shook vehemently with her tiny face almost bingpletely pale. He thought, Before her, everyone who has met or came into contact with Phantom Wolf all ended up dead. She is the only one who survived the encounter, which is already considered courageous. If possible, I want her topletely forget that nightmare today, but she needs to share everything that happened today with us. She is our only clue. Abel was already jotting down the points that she gave in his notebook. He has a sharp chin. His skin is fair and he has no facial hairs. This proves that the current Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader is a young man. The evidence is basically in line with the rumored image of him being a handsome man. At that moment, Sophia had already been terrified to death, so she was unclear about the specific details and said everything that she could remember. She remained silent for a while before continuing with her words. ¡°I was scared, so I smashed a vase to draw other people¡¯s attention. In the end, he escaped through the window.¡± Abel took note of that and wrote it in his notebook before closing it while saying to Michael, ¡°She is still terrified. Bring her back to have a rest. I¡¯ll inform you if there¡¯s any news.¡± At that moment, the doctor was also done with examining Sophia, so Michael brought her to her room to have a rest. In the meantime, Abel, Hale, Gemma and the others began to investigate the situation. From the information that Sophia had provided them with, Phantom Wolf must have had a clear understanding of Bayside University¡¯sndscape. He also knew the students¡¯ courses well enough by observing her activities, which meant that he had infiltrated the university a long time ago. ¡°Gemma, I want you to check all of the surveince tapes near the School of Computer Science at around 4PM.¡± Gemma had already hacked into the Bayside University¡¯s surveince system and found all of the useful surveince video around that area, which included the video of Sophia meeting Stanely and him dragging her into the School of Computer Science¡¯sputer room. However, the surveince video couldn¡¯t capture her after she entered the toilet. Even Gemma¡¯s pinhole robot was unable to capture any footage of Sophia. It was an ident that he had captured the scene where Sophia fought in the toilet thest time. The device happened to fall off at that time when the signal in the entire School of Computer Science building was blocked by an unknown device, so he couldn¡¯t record any footage of what happened¡ªeven if he wanted to. Abel checked all the nearby surveince cameras, but he couldn¡¯t find anything valuable. It was obvious that the other party came prepared and destroyed the surveince for some key locations nearby. This man can not be underestimated. He never doubted Phantom Wolf¡¯s abilities. The title of Phantom Wolf had been passed down from generation to generation with neither one of them being an easy character to deal with; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have caused a headache for the Interpol for the past few decades. Abel was still searching through the surveince video, not wanting to allow any clues to slip away from his eyes. He was so excited that he couldn¡¯t sleep for the entire night because it was the first time that he came so close to Phantom Wolf in the past few years. Back then, the explosion had instantly incinerated Celine¡¯s body, but Justin survived. He was left with his last breath as he relied on his strong will to live. However, even though he had survived, he was a cripple. 90% of his body had been burned, which resulted in his face resembling a demon. He was also severely disabled, spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair. He knew that the Mitchell Family would never admit to the existence of a cripple like him. The Mitchell Family did not need a cripple, but they needed a fallen hero. Among those who agreed were Justin¡¯s biological parents. All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. They hoped that their son could have died in battle instead of holding onto thatst breath. They even announced his death when he was still alive and applied the title of fallen hero for him. Hehe, what a joke. If nothing else had happened at that time, Justin, who could have been saved, would be left to die by his own family. Fortunately, Michael showed up in time to save him. He used another severely burned corpse to rece Justin before sending him away in secret. He had no other reason to save Justin. Celine was already gone and he didn¡¯t hope that the man whom she loved would follow her to the grave. Besides, Nathan still needed a father. Michael initially nned to send Justin abroad in secret and help thetter heal from his injuries with Nathan beside him. Michael was prepared to take care of them for the rest of their lives. Even though Justin could no longer resemble a normal person, at least he was still alive and Nathan wouldn¡¯t be an orphan. However, he did not expect that Justin would experience a rapid transformation in a short span of two to three years. After enduring a series of unimaginable surgeries and rehabilitations, he was able to live like a normal person. During his rehabilitation, he even taught himself in various areas like forensic and investigation, swearing to avenging his beloved wife. At that moment, the Mitchell Family¡¯s proud son, Justin, was no longer around; he was only a fallen hero in their eyes. The national g covered his body, which was buried in the Memorial Garden as the son-in- law of the Fletcher Family. They honored him by giving him the highest of respect¡ªa fallen hero¡¯s funeral. Even Old Master Fletcher had personally showed up at his funeral as he died for the honor of the Mitchell Family! It waste at night yet Abel was still searching for evidence in the surveince videos. Michael had already given him the clothes that Sophia wore. Luckily, she didn¡¯t get the chance to wash them, so he would still be able to look for clues on the attire. He searched for further clues on her apparel, trying to find Phantom Wolf¡¯s fingerprints. Whenever he felt tired, he would take out his wallet and have a look at two photos inside. One of them was the picture Michael took with Nathan and Sophia when they were having their holiday in the Harper¡¯s Mansion. Nathan stood in the middle and smiled happily since he was the little baby whom everyone loved. When Justin and Celine had the ident, Nathan was only three months old, so he waspletely oblivious of what happened to his parents. Just like that, he became an orphan and hadn¡¯t known about Abel¡¯s existence. There was a woman who looked simr to Michael in the other picture and she was Justin¡¯s only love in his life. She was the only motivation keeping him alive. ¡°Celine, wait for me. After I¡¯ve avenged your death, I will go and look for you.¡± Abel put down the photo and sipped coffee to refresh himself so that he could continue his investigation. He carefully searched through Sophia¡¯s clothes with gloves and used a tweezer to delicately retrieve the hair on the attire for analysis. Phantom Wolf had touched those clothes¡ªeven if he never left any fingerprints or evidence about his identity, there would always be clues left behind. He didn¡¯t allow any details on the top and bottom of the dress slip from his eyes. Finally, he found something strange on the shoulder part¡ªthere was a white powder sitting on it. It¡¯s chalk powder! Chapter 289 Chapter 289 When Abel thought about Sophia¡¯s testimony on the intimate actions that Phantom Wolf did to her, the chalk powder must have spilled onto her clothes at that time. Who usually has chalk powder on their body? The answer is obvious. This means that Phantom Wolf didn¡¯t sneak into the school. Instead, he himself is a member of Bayside University. If he isn¡¯t a teacher, he is a student! During the past few years, Abel had formed a team consisting of people who had blood feuds with Phantom Wolf. Their only purpose of living was to capture Phantom Wolf and avenge themselves. The whole team was busy all night, but it was still rewarding in the end. The results revealed that Phantom Wolf was a teacher at Bayside University with a fair skin, a sharp chin and an exceptional appearance. At least everyone had something to work with. The next day, Sophia woke up on time at half past 6AM. She usually woke up at that hour to prepare for school since sses started at 8AM, but Michael wouldn¡¯t allow her to head to school for the time being after yesterday¡¯s incident. She was also scared that Phantom Wolf would suddenly show up again, so shecked the courage to go to school too. She remained motionless on the bed while he got out of bed to wash himself. Nathan silently opened the door while carrying his bag. He poked his head in and had a look around before Michael came out of the restroom with a toothbrush stuck in his mouth, whispering, ¡°Darling, you need to go to school by yourself today. Your mommy is sick, so she won¡¯t be going to ss today.¡± Then, Sophia heard Nathan¡¯s tottering steps as he rushed toward her and touched her forehead with his tiny hand. He then withdrew it to touch his own forehead. When Michael finished washing himself, he brought Nathan out of the room. ¡°Darling, your mommy won¡¯t be going to school for the next few days, so you need to head to school alone. You need to listen to¡­¡± As the voices of the father and son became further and further, Sophia sat up and gazed out of the window to see him sending Nathan into the car. She was still watching when the car drove far away. At some point, Michael was already back in the room and he hugged her waist from the back. ¡°You can rest at home for the next two days. After a couple more days, you¡¯ll be able to return to school. I¡¯ve already applied for leave on your behalf from school and have also contacted a teacher to make up for the lessons that you missed.¡± She nodded her head. After breakfast, Michael also went out the door. It was obvious that he had massively increased the security around the ce, turning the entire Vi No.8 into a steel wall. Moreover, the house was situated next to the ancient Imperial Pce, the house of the emperor, so it was the safest ce in Bayside City. Phantom Wolf definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to cause a stir at the ce. After having breakfast, Sophia read a book for a while and saw Maria entering her room to collect her dirty clothes. She suddenly thought of something, so she walked into the restroom¡­ The Imperial was much bigger than what it looked on the surface. Save for the castle-like houses above ground, there were also a few levels of underground basements. At that moment in the basement, Abel was searching for Phantom Wolf¡¯s whereabouts. She was the first person that he met who had a connection with Phantom Wolf. It was a huge breakthrough because once the powerful Phantom Wolf established a connection with someone, it was only a matter of time before he revealed himself. Abel began his investigation from that night three years ago when she fell into the water and was sent to Lovely Hospital. He didn¡¯t let any clue slip away from his eyes. Suddenly, she opened the door and entered. Back then, Sophia didn¡¯t have the permission to enter the basement. However, after the incident with Phantom Wolf, Michael allowed her to asionally enter to check on the progress, so it was her first time heading to the basement. The ce was full of people and various apparatus¡ªincluding an advanced hologram. Hale had mentioned before that there was a hidden tunnel in the basement that led directly to the outside world and even the ancient Imperial Pce. Michael was a genius and always acted faster than most people. Many years ago, when the real estate industry was in recession, he had bought numerous plots ofnd to invest in real estate. When he bought thend of the Imperial, he realized that there was awork of underground tunnels that was used by ancient emperors to escape from rebel armies and it was now used by him. When she came down, everyone in theboratory was shocked, but they immediately continued with their work. Abel, who had been busy for the whole night, came to her and respectfully asked, ¡°Madam, what is it?¡± She didn¡¯t know about his background, but Michael had a great trust in his men, especially the ones in his team of bodyguards. Abel is the top bodyguard in the team, so he must be someone brilliant. Sophia thought about it for a while and took a stic wrap that contained her underwear from her bag. Then, she handed it over to Abel and said with embarrassment, ¡°Yesterday, I was too scared, so I didn¡¯t exin everything clearly. I thought about it again for a whilest night. That man¡­ When he touched me, he seemed to have removed his gloves.¡± Abel¡¯s eyes brightened. Phantom Wolf had wanted to assault Sophia for pleasure, but he might have removed his gloves to touch her skin for a more intimate experience. If he had touched her, there is a possibility that he might have left fingerprints. Therefore, he took her set of underwear away to run a scan. Upon seeing a bunch of people studying the underwear that she wore, she could almost feel her heart copse. Since she had nothing to do at home, she frequently went down to check on Abel¡¯s progress. Three days after the incident, he gave her the good news¡ªthey had found Phantom Wolf¡¯s fingerprints! At that time, Sophia was terrified, so she returned home to have a bath. They definitely were unable to locate any fingerprints on her body after she washed it, but the clothes were not washed yet. Usually, it was hard to leave fingerprints on clothing, but coincidentally, that day, she was so scared that she started to sweat and cry. She had probably applied some foundation or makeup on her face, so when Phantom Wolf used his hands to touch her face, his fingers were stained by the cosmetic product and liquid. Therefore, he left his fingerprint on her clothes when he touched her. After so many years, no one in the world was ever able to get their hands on Phantom Wolf¡¯s fingerprints. That in itself was an unprecedented breakthrough. They even found a lip print on her underclothes. With the fingerprint, the lip print and a search range, everything became much easier. At the same time, Abel had gathered all of the suspicious teachers in Bayside University in an extremely short period of time.All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. In Bayside University, there were lots of students and teachers. They could not exclude the possibility that Phantom Wolf was a student, but they started to investigate the teachers first. The suspect was young, had fair skin, a sharp chin, and a striking appearance¡ªwith a narrow scope of search, they cross-checked the fingerprint with the remaining samples and quickly released the result. When Sophia had a look at the list of suspects that Abel concluded, she was shocked to discover that the first name on the list was Quinton rk. He is a teacher of Bayside University with a fair skin, sharp chin and a striking appearance. On top of that, he isn¡¯t young, so everything matches! However, I feel that this is impossible. Quinton is the heir to the famous rk Family, so how could he be Phantom Wolf? She held the list in daze and looked at it for a while. Suddenly, she asked Abel, ¡°If Phantom Wolf is really hiding in Bayside University, does that mean Nate is in danger?¡± Abel answered, ¡°Nate will be fine. Phantom Wolf is a cold-blooded killer, but he neverys his hands on minors.¡± Not only the current Phantom Wolf, but the past few people who took on Phantom Wolf¡¯s mantle never broke the rule. Besides, there were experts around Nathan who would protect him. When his name was mentioned, she finally remembered that he only had one ss in the evening. He should be returning home at any minute. Sure enough, it was a short whileter that Hale knocked on the door and said, ¡°Madam, Little Master is back and even brought along your professional course teacher home.¡± Chapter 290 Chapter 290 Sophia exited the basement and heard Stanley¡¯s voice from afar. ¡°Sophia, where the hell are you? Come out!¡± She saw him swaggering in the moment she showed up in the living room while Nathan happily held hands with a tall, dashing man when entering. The man wore a pair of gold-framed sses as he carried his briefcase and a few books in his hands¡ªit was Quinton rk! After entering the living room, Nathan put down his schoolbag and graciously served tea, but did not give his father the same treatment. As soon as Stanley entered, he said, ¡°Sophia, Nate couldn¡¯t bear to see you being ill for these three days, so he brought a professor here to help you make up for the sses you have missed!¡± When she saw Quinton, she suddenly shuddered. He could also be Phantom Wolf¡­ At 7.00PM, Michael returned home and was surprised to discover two unfamiliar pairs of shoes on the shoe rack as he entered. The people in the basement usually would not show up in the vi¡ªexcept for Abel¡ªsince they had their own underground tunnels to enter and exit. Is there a guest in the house? When Maria received his briefcase, she exined, ¡°It¡¯s almost time for the mid-term exams. Little Master brought his professional course teacher back for madam to make up for the lessons that she has missed.¡± Before he entered the living room, he had already heard the voice of someone teaching. ¡°DuPont analysis is one of the main points for the midterm examination. Make notes for it and ask me if you don¡¯t understand. As for statistics, chapters 1, 4 and 5 are the main ones that wille up in the exam. During this period, I will send the necessary academic files to your email. Furthermore, I¡¯m also teaching online ssestely, so I¡¯ll send you the videos for that too. As for taxationw, the exam will focus onmodity turnover tax, consumption tax and personal ie tax. These are all the forms and error-prone points. Try to find some time to memorize it and practice more questions. You should be fine by then. I can help you with your professional courses, but I can¡¯t help you with your Further Mathematics. I remember that I was always on the brink of failing that subject back then.¡± Quinton recently became an Inte sensation. Ever since the rise of live transmission, many professors had started to have online sses. He had a dashing face with an extensive knowledge, so he immediately became an online celebrity. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Sophia was focused on making notes without missing out on any important point. She hadn¡¯t attended sses for days, so she had massively fallen behind in her professional courses. Luckily, Quinton had a PhD in economics with a clear understanding of the courses that they learned in ss, so he was able to help her catch up with her studies after a few days. Nathan and Stanley had been ying games with each other in the meantime. Stanley then took the opportunity to join their conversation. ¡°Professor, you should focus on helping her with her professional courses. I can help her with her Further Mathematics. I¡¯m also great with English as I¡¯ve received really good grades for that subject!¡± He was brilliant in English, especially when he used it to scold others. That was because he often yed esports tournaments with foreign yers abroad. Since it was esports, scolding opponents upon defeat was inevitable, so in order to be able to scold them, he developed the ability to curse others in English. The moment Michael stepped into the living room, he immediately recognized the person and called his name. ¡°Quinton.¡± Quinton was also shocked when he saw Michael before standing up in excitement, calling him with a name that Sophia had never heard before. ¡°Companymander!¡± ¡°Companymander?¡± She was taken aback. Stanley, who was beside her, exined, ¡°You didn¡¯t know about this! My uncle was an army training drill instructor for the freshmen of Bayside University back then. Although he had only served there once, Professor rk just so happened to be his student.¡± Michael and Quinton seemed to have reunited after a long time. Quinton was so happy to see him that he shook Michael¡¯s hand in excitement. ¡°Actually, I already saw youst time at the Harper family¡¯s engagement banquet. I wanted to say hello, but it wasn¡¯t appropriate on that asion.¡± He was very excited and couldn¡¯t help but hug Michael like he was a fan of thetter. After Sophia¡¯s ss finished, she kept her items while eavesdropping on their conversation. ¡°It has been more than ten years. I can¡¯t believe you still remember me.¡± Michael couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional. He had an interesting life¡ªhe had inherited his mother¡¯s talent for acting, so performing arts had always been a talent and interest of his since young. At the age of 13, he formed his own youth band and gained quite a reputation at that time, but sadly, the Inte was under-developed in that area, so there wasn¡¯t much exposure on the television. Otherwise, he would be the TF of his generation. When he was 18 years old, he needed to make his first life decision¡ªbetween enrolling in a military school or a normal university. At that time, he chose to join the army, so he dissolved the band. At the age of 20, he received the task to teach military training to the freshmen of Bayside University and coincidentally, he was in charge of Quinton¡¯s ss. His ss had more than 20 people and most of them were girls. Once the military training was over, they never contacted each other ever since, but he still remembered the pretty boy in that ss after many years¡ªQuinton. Heter retired from the army and took the college entrance examination at the ¡®old age¡¯ of 23 before enrolling into the School of Cinematography in Bayside University, which officially started his acting career. Sadly, all of his students during the military training had graduated by then, so he didn¡¯t have the chance to meet them. Quinton was ecstatic. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you are actually the famous actor, Taylor Murray. A few of my ssmates often discussed how simr Taylor Murray looks to ourmander during university military training. Haha!¡± As Michael reminisced about the past, he sighed. ¡°At first, I called you guys sissies, so I sneaked all of you over the wall to run in the wild in the middle of the night so that you all could gain more courage. As soon as the military training was over, I was confined.¡± ¡°Haha, that sounds so awful¡­¡± Sophia was also rendered speechless. A drill instructor who sneaks his students over the wall in the middle of the night for them to gain their courage¡­ What apanymander! When the topic of military training was mentioned, they had endless topics to chat about. ¡°In the past few years, my ssmates back then constantly mentioned you. Sadly, when the military training was over, we just couldn¡¯t contact you.¡± Sophia nodded her head in agreement. Up until that point, she still hadn¡¯t known Commander Ford¡¯s full name at all. She only knew that hisst name was ¡®Ford¡¯ and there was no way to contact him. ¡°Companymander, do you still remember this? At that time, thepany next to us was from the School of Cinematography and there was this kid called Harry Winston, who was chasing after a girl in ourpany. He even confessed to her in public, but in the end, you beat him up in front of everyone. Haha, that¡¯s so funny. Harry is now actually Ethan Winston, right?¡± The moment Quinton mentioned Harry¡¯s name, he actually showed up in front of them. When Harry heard that Abel had made a breakthrough, he hurried over to check on it, but never expected to run into Quinton. The three of them sat down together to chat more. ¡°Harry, it really is you!¡± ¡°Oh, you are that sissy in thepany next to mine! Ten years has already passed and you still look like a sissy!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention the past!¡± Sophia enjoyed their conversation as she listened from the sidelines. During the military training back then, Harry was in the midst of wooing a girl in Quinton¡¯s ss, so the latter had rallied a few boys to beat him up. However, there weren¡¯t many boys studying finance and most of them were sissies, so they were all beaten to a pulp by the tall and imposing Harry. When the news had reached Michael¡¯s ears, he beat Harry up instead in front of everyone. The three of them had a joyful conversation and Michael even asked Quinton to stay for dinner. After dinner, Quinton spoke to Sophia before leaving, ¡°I live on the other side of the street. If you don¡¯t understand anything, feel free to contact me. Take care of yourself, Miss Edwards.¡± As soon as he was gone, Michael and Harry headed to the basement in the silence. Michael had already retrieved Quinton¡¯s fingerprints and lip prints. ¡°Do a cross-check.¡± Chapter 291 Chapter 291 Even though Michael knew that the possibility was unlikely, he didn¡¯t want to leave any stone unturned. Once theparison was done, Abel replied, ¡°It isn¡¯t him.¡± Michael let out a sigh of relief as he was hoping that Quinton wasn¡¯t Phantom Wolf. After all, Quinton was once his student. He and Harry then discussed the progress in the basement before using a secret passage to enter his study. When they exited his study, he entered Sophia¡¯s study room. She was in the midst of doing her assignments quietly. When she saw himing in, she asked nervously, ¡°Is Professor rk Phantom Wolf?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°The fingerprints and lip print don¡¯t match. His whereabouts have been transparent for the past few years, so he can¡¯t be Phantom Wolf.¡± From the given information, Quinton went abroad after graduating from Bayside University. He studied economics while he was abroad¡ªwith lots of information to support that im. After returning to the country, he became a lecturer in Bayside University with an untainted resume. Sophia was also relieved, so she continued to do her assignment. Sadly, she could no longer concentrate the moment Michael entered. How can I focus when my idol is lingering around me? She identally went from doing her assignment to doing the guy in bed. He was terrifyingly vigorous that she felt that she was being tortured to death, thinking, I feel that my parts will wear out sooner orter. After their first breakthrough, his demand became even greater¡ªhe needed toe at least once every night, making her feel that she was about to be the first girl to be worn out by intimate activities in history. Until the day when Phantom Wolf was found, Michael didn¡¯t feel safe for Sophia to return to school, so she had to stay at home and temporarily teach herself. Stanley wanted to visit her everyday to teach her English and Further Mathematics, but was left standing at the front door each time. After his visit became too frequent, Michael had asked someone to put up a sign at the entrance. ¡®Stanley and dogs are not allowed to enter.¡¯ Stanley, who was walking his dog, was denied ess to the house along with his pet. He shouted at the entrance, ¡°Sophia, has my uncle ced you under house arrest? Please reply to my Messenger! My dog is so cute. How can you forbid it from entering? You all are monsters! Michael, I will sue you for abusing my aunt! You are an abusive demon!¡± Ever since the incident, Sophia has stopped going to school. She applied for sick leave, but it¡¯s obvious that she isn¡¯t sick at all. Michael has definitely grounded her and she might have already been beaten up by him. Judging from his temper, he would simply hit her if she doesn¡¯t agree to what he says. Poor Sophia. It must have been hell for her! Stanley was bing anxious, so he quickly returned home with his dog to think of a n. The moment Michael returned home in the evening, he received a call from Old Master Fletcher. ¡°Mike, why don¡¯t you ask Sophie toe and y chess with me? Darn it, everyone sucks at ying chess here. I like ying it with her, so I¡¯ll ask Stan to pick her upter. I¡¯ve decided, so you can¡¯t object!¡± Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Michael felt resigned. I seldom return to the Fletcher Family nowadays and only return to visit Old Master Fletcher once a year. Since he likes Sophia, I¡¯ll just let her head over to have fun with him. The military compound is definitely safe for her. A short while after the call ended, Stanley came to pick Sophia up. Michael also purposely asked them to bring Nathan along. The weekend had almost arrived, so he wanted Nathan to apany the old man as well. The old man will eventually know of Sophia¡¯s presence sooner orter, so it¡¯s better for him to familiarize himself with her first. He didn¡¯t need the Fletcher Family¡¯s eptance of Sophia; he only wanted the old man¡¯s eptance. Before they left, she asked him curiously, ¡°Who is that old man?¡± He was helping Nathan to move the things that thetter needed into the car while answering her question, ¡°He is my grandpa.¡± He is actually Michael¡¯s grandfather! She was suddenly in awe as she still hadn¡¯t known who Michael¡¯s grandfather was, but if his father was a brilliant man, his grandfather must be even more aplished. She asked again, ¡°Your grandpa must be a famous person when he was young, right?¡± While closing the trunk of the car, Michael responded, ¡°Yes, he is famous. I¡¯ve signed up for a documentary film and will be ying him.¡± After much consideration, he decided to make the movie and y a younger Mark. There had been lots of movies portraying the old man, but he always wanted Michael to y him once. When the car started to move, Sophia thought about what Michael had told her. He wants to y his grandfather? This means that his grandfather is also a revolutionary hero! As his fan, she had heard rumors in the fanswork that Taylor was rumored to have epted a role in a documentary film. In the film, he was going to y the role of the founding general¡ªMark Fletcher. Wait a minute, Mark Fletcher?! Sophia was suddenly shocked. Mark Fletcher is actually Michael¡¯s grandfather? The Mark Fletcher who left a stunning record in history books? The Mark Fletcher who took up an entire page and three or four knowledge points in my modern history textbook? Oh my God, that means I have yed chess a few times with Mark Fletcher! She started to break out in cold sweat due to shock. However, ever since news that Taylor would portray Mark was revealed, manyizens came out to oppose the casting. They wrote that Taylor would tarnish the name of the revolutionary hero¡ªMark Fletcher. Now that Sophia knew about the piece of news, she felt extremely proud. Who else is better suited to y Mark Fletcher other than Michael? The car soon arrived at the militarypound. Unlike previous times, they did not stop at the garden and instead drove straight to the Fletcher Residence. While on the road, she ran into Stanley. The moment he saw the raw wound on her neck and the bruises on her face, he became furious. ¡°Look at yourself. That scumbag! He actuallyid his hands on you and you still chose to be with him! Leave him!¡± She definitely couldn¡¯t tell him that it was actually Phantom Wolf who injured her. As she touched her face, she felt that it was still a bit swollen as Phantom Wolf had pped her a few times. Therefore, she answered, ¡°It¡¯s because I fell down. Stop imagining things!¡± Even then, he still wouldn¡¯t believe her, secretly vowing in his heart, I must save her from this hell. For their current meeting, she was exceptionally nervous when meeting the old man. He is a founding general. How can I not be nervous?! The old man currently lived inside Vi No.1 with guards patrolling the area. As Sophia and Nathan walked in that direction, they could see from afar that Old Master Fletcher was already sitting in the courtyard, waiting for them with his chess board. When he saw theming, he patted his thigh happily. ¡°Oh, you all are finally here!¡± As soon as Sophia arrived, Old Master Fletcher immediately wanted to y chess with her. She did not dare to defeat him like before, so she carefully and silently lost on purpose. After one round, the old man saw what she did, so he knocked on his cane and bellowed, ¡°Little girl, don¡¯t think that I can¡¯t notice you losing on purpose! I won¡¯t allow it! I want you to y. y the game properly!¡± After his admonition, she quickly returned to her usual level and badly defeated the old man. Finally, he felt satisfied. While ying chess, the old man asked her, ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Mike has agreed to y me? Is that true? Has he signed the contract? Are there any set photos?¡± Chapter 292 Chapter 292 Old Master Fletcher didn¡¯t know about the marriage between Sophia and Michael because he still saw Sophia as Nathan¡¯s nanny, so he assumed that she knew a lot about Michael. Sophia was surprised that the old man cared a lot for Michael¡¯s work, and it just so happened that she was his fan. Therefore, she was able to answer his question truthfully as she knew everything about her idol¡¯s whereabouts. ¡°He hasn¡¯t signed the contract yet, but the filming crew is now negotiating with the agency. He himself has agreed to do it, and the procedure has already begun.¡± The old man was extremely happy. ¡°That is great. Tell him to hurry up and sign the contract. Remember to print a set photo for me after it is taken!¡± The two of them continued ying chess while Old Master Fletcher constantly asked about Michael¡¯s well-being. ¡°How was the charity banquet that he and that Winston kid held? I even purposely sent Josh there to help with the security! When will that ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ movie be released? Didn¡¯t he guest star in a movie recently? What movie was that? How¡¯s Nate¡¯s grades in school recently?¡± No matter what Old Master Fletcher asked, Sophia was able to answer everything smoothly. She even knew that Nathan had grown a centimeter tall! The old man grew excited talking to her. Even though he would usually send people to give him an update on Michael and Nathan¡¯s recent situation, the information he got in the end still wasn¡¯t as detailed as the ones given by Sophia. She even knew the exact grade of Nathan¡¯s examination and the name of the girls he talked to. It soon became dark as they chatted, so Old Master Fletcher went out to practice his Tai Chi. Sophia and Nathan went to the guest room; they nned to stay here for two days. At first, she thought that the experience would be stressful, but Old Master Fletcher was exceptionally friendly, so all her nervousness was gone bit by bit. After dinner, Sophia stayed in her room to y games. Suddenly, she received a surprising call. ¡°Sophia, why haven¡¯t you beening to school recently? The rumors say that the Edwards Family is bothering you. How are you? Do you need my help?¡± She was now busy ying her game, and she didn¡¯t expect Richard to call her. She didn¡¯t stop her hands; even though her fingers were fractured, it still didn¡¯t prevent her from ying games. She kept on ying with her thumb up as she replied to him impatiently, ¡°Make it quick.¡± Richard paused for a while before asking her concerningly, ¡°Sophia, are you really nning on dropping out of school?¡± She didn¡¯t know where he got that information from. ¡°I¡¯m just taking a sick leave at home.¡± He replied to her, ¡°Sophia, you can stop pretending to be strong. I know that the Edwards Family has been bothering you. Why don¡¯t I help you persuade Mr. Edwards? We are a family after all.¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Hmm.¡± God damn it! I can¡¯t believe that Stanley sold me out. I really want to just beat him up! Richard continued, ¡°By the way, Sophia, why can¡¯t I contact that boyfriend of yours recently? I¡¯ve already come up with a contract for him. Glory Entertainment is nowcking an actor like him. Tell him to find the time toe over and sign the contract. We are going to shoot a documentarytely, and ourpany is now contacting the production crew. We¡¯ve already confirmed two actors, and I want to give Tyler the role of Mark Fletcher. That role is reserved for Taylor Murray for the time being, but we¡¯ve already gained some momentum on the inte to force the investors to rece Taylor. As long as Tyler signs with us, we will give him the role of Mark Fletcher immediately. If he can y the role, his future will be limitless. But the people in Glory Entertainment prefer Nichs to y the role. Sophia, I get the say on¡ª¡± Beep! Sophia ended the call. This is disgusting. They actually want that sissy, Nichs, to y the role of Mark Fletcher? Don¡¯t they know that Mark Fletcher is a hero in Cethos? How can a sissy y that role perfectly? Do they really think they can just discredit my idol like this? She then exited the game and went to check a few famous forums. Sure enough, there was a wave of keyboard warriors discrediting Michael in an organized manner. This time, they were mainly targeting Michael for ying the role in the documentary film. The documentary film was taken very seriously, so all of the actors were requested to have a high level of awareness. Before they shot the film, the actors were required to go through specialized political training. They also required actors who were not involved in any major scandals or misdeeds. Before this, the keyboard warriors spread rumors about Michael being a pervert, a bully during shootings, and a person who owed a lot of people money, but in the end, all of them were proven wrong. Now, they had gotten a new idea to discredit him. ¡®Taylor yed a traitor before. How can we allow a traitor to y a revolutionary martyr? This is an insult to our hero! Other than that, Mark Fletcher joined the revolution at the age of 14, and he became a commander at the age of 19. The film is about Mark Fletcher¡¯s story when he was 18 years old. How can we allow a 30-year-old man to y an 18-year-old young man?¡¯ ¡®Taylor received a knighthood by the Queen of Europe, so he is definitely a foreigner. How can a foreigner y our revolutionary martyr in the film?¡¯ ¡®Taylor¡¯s mother has acted in p*rn before, so how can he y a revolutionary martyr?! Overall, I¡¯m opposed to Taylor ying the role of Mark Fletcher!¡¯ Sophia kept on reading the news while arguing with the people on the inte who were discrediting Michael. She pulled out her passion for ying games as she typed her words angrily with her fractured thumb up. ¡®F*ck you! How is Taylor unworthy to y a revolutionary martyr? What¡¯s wrong with being a 30-year-old man? If you have the same handsomeness as he does when you are 30 years old, you can y the role too! What¡¯s the problem with him having yed a traitor to the nation? Can¡¯t an actor who¡¯s yed a traitor act as a revolutionary martyr? My Tay Tay even acted as a woman before! You said he ising to an old age? My hubby is still young!¡¯ Nathan, who was beside her, was rendered speechless. A celebrity-obsessed woman is so crazy! The room they were sleeping in had a sense of age because the rooms in the Fletcher residence had a long history. Even though the house had been renovated many times, the sense of age was already ingrained in the walls and air of the house. Nathan had probablye here many times before, and he knew every inch of the room, so he opened a closet familiarly. Sophia quickly stopped him. ¡°Nate, don¡¯t simply touch anything. What do I usually teach you? When you enter someone¡¯s room, you are not allowed to touch their stuff unless you get their permission!¡± Ever since Nathan was scolded for breaking Stanley¡¯s leg, he had be more obedienttely. He rolled his eyes and refuted, ¡°This is the ce your husband used to live before he turned 18!¡± Eh? Michael lived here before? He lived in the Fletcher residence when he was young, so does that mean this was his room?All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. She became curious, so she opened the dusty closet. Inside the closet, the items were folded neatly and ced in differentpartments. All of it was boy¡¯s fashion, including clothes, shoes, hats and belts. He is my husband anyway, so it should be fine for me to take a look. I¡¯ll just put it back after I¡¯m done. She then happily went through everything in the closet. Inside the closet, there were clothes that Michael used to wear before, but the style dated back a few decades. He even had a collection of military uniforms, gun models, and tank models. It was obvious that he loved being a soldier very much. She could even find toys and musical instruments that he yed when he was a kid. There was also a poster of him in a band! She also found a lot of photo stickers. At that time, one could only get photo stickers from a photography studio, and people put them inside mini photo-frame keychains. The young Michael looked so tender, and his face was oozing with youthfulness. She fell in love with this photo, so she consciously put it in her pocket. Nathan caught her in the act and shouted, ¡°Look at what you¡¯re doing. You taught me not to touch other people¡¯s stuff, but you are now stealing one yourself!¡± Chapter 293 Chapter 293 Sophia quickly exined, ¡°You can take it if the other person gives you permission. Your father would definitely allow me to take it.¡± There were so many ything for her to take. Not only did she find Michael¡¯s photo sticker when he was young, she also found an old poster and a disc during his time in a band. There were many things here that she couldn¡¯t find on the inte. She could actually take whatever she wanted, including a box of underwear that Michael had worn before! At the end, she discovered a huge photo album, which included all of Michael¡¯s photos from when he was a baby to the time he left the Fletcher residence. She started flipping the album page-by-page carefully, as if she had just discovered some treasure. The first page was filled with pictures of Michael when he was a baby, but in the pictures, there was always a pair of babies that looked simr to each other. The only difference was that one of them had a penis and the other didn¡¯t. The boy must be Michael, and the girl must be his older sister, Celine. She sighed as she flipped the album. ¡°Nate, look at how handsome your dad is. If only you can be as handsome as him when you¡¯re grown.¡± She even took photos of the pictures with her phone so that she could look at it for fun after going back home. The pictures were arranged in chronological order. Therefore, she got to see the twins grow up slowly. Their identical faces were filled with happiness and innocence everyday as they lived a carefree life. As time passed, the siblings grew older and older. Suddenly, Celine had a dashing man beside her, and Michael had a pretty girl beside him too. At this point, Sophia started looking at the photos selectively, and she stopped taking pictures with her phone because it was all photos of her husband holding hands with his ex-girlfriend. This is burning my eyes. At the end, there were fewer and fewer pictures. Finally, the pictures stopped on the day of the twin¡¯s 18th birthday. There were many people in the group photo, including the twins, Justin, Irene, Joel, Stanley, Caleb, and many more¡­ There were no more photos after that. Sophia flipped through the entire album again, but after the group photo they took on their 18th birthday, there was no more. ¡°Nate, why isn¡¯t there any more? Where are the other photos?¡± Where are the photos of him in a seductive military uniform that I¡¯m looking forward to the most? Nathan exined to her, ¡°He joined the army when he was 18 years old. When he moved out, he took all the important photos away.¡± He moved out? He took away all the important photos? Does that mean these photos were deemed unnecessary by him? This means that there is a sequel to this album. I want to see it so badly! I¡¯ll be sure to look around for it when I go back home. They spent the whole weekend in the militarypound. The life of a retired veteran was boring and monotonous. After waking up at 6.00AM, Old Master Fletcher went out to practice his Tai Chi before coming back home to have breakfast; after breakfast, he went outside to have fun with his dogs, birds and grandson; after lunch, Old Master Fletcher would turn on television to watch the news for a while; after dinner, he would go out to y chess with a bunch of old men and practice his Tai Chi again before going back home to sleep. On Saturday, Sophia brought Nathan out to practice Tai Chi with Old Master Fletcher before dawn. She carried a bottle of wolfberry water with her as she enjoyed the life of early retirement. Stanley also came early and followed them while walking his dog. Sophia followed Old Master Fletcher and practiced Tai Chi with a bunch of other old men. After they were done, he pointed at a sandpit and said, ¡°Mike used to y with sand there.¡± A sandpit that my idol yed in! She quickly jumped into the sandpit and asked Nathan to take a photo of her with the sandpit. Then, they arrived under a big tree while Old Master Fletcher pointed at it. ¡°Mike used to climb this tree.¡± Sophia quickly took a photo with the tree also. He pointed again at a small pond. ¡°Mike used to touch fishes here.¡± Therefore, she quickly took a photo there too. After walking around, Old Master Fletcher abandoned Sophia. ¡°Sophie, I¡¯ll bring Nate to look around at another ce! Stan, she finally got the chance toe here, so why don¡¯t you apany her around? She can have lunch at your ce, but remember toe y chess with me in the evening.¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. After that, Old Master Fletcher left with Nathan contentedly while Stanley said to Sophia with a happy face, ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sophie. I¡¯ll bring you around to have a look.¡± Therefore, she reluctantly followed him. At first, she thought that he would actually bring her around so that she could at least take a good look at the ce her idol grew up in, but unexpectedly, Stanley¡¯s definition of walking around meant bringing her home to y games! After they were done with their game, she had lunch in Stanley¡¯s house. As soon as they finished their lunch, she went to find Nathan. In the evening, Old Master Fletcher finally didn¡¯t leave her with Stanley. Instead, he took out a huge photo album and told his old story about the revolution to her. He talked about long expeditions, armies joining forces, and the founding ceremony of the country. After he was done with his old stories about the revolution, he talked about the Fletchers. The album in his hand had pictures of everyone in the Fletcher Family, including himself. Even though he was almost a hundred years old and was wearing reading sses, he was still able to identify everyone in the picture with just a nce. ¡°This is Stan¡¯s older brother, Caleb. He is my tenth great-grandson, and he has achieved a second-ss merit. He has been a talented boy since a young age. In their generation, he is one of the top five!¡± He turned over another picture that had a fat baby inside. ¡°This is Cody. I gave him his name. He is my 18th great-grandson. This year, he is 3 years old, so he is still younger than Nate.¡± Sophia also looked at the pictures attentively. The Fletcher Family really is a big family! Old Master Fletcher really knows his grandchildren very well. I can even feel the indescribable pride in his words. Finally, he reached Michael¡¯s page. As he looked at Michael¡¯s photos, he said, ¡°This is Mike, my youngest grandson. He really is a brilliant boy!¡± When he mentioned him, he couldn¡¯t help but look more lively. ¡°Mike looks like me the most! Every part of him is exactly like me! But his personality is too strong. Back then, he suddenly wanted to quit the army, and I didn¡¯t allow it. After that, he vited numerous military discipline by beating up people and drinking alcohol. At the end, I could only discharge him. After he was discharged, he continued with his study and work. With a little inheritance he got from his parents, he was able to expand it a hundred times more in just ten years. With such a mind, it would have been great if he hadn¡¯t left the army!¡± The old man sighed as his eyes were filled with loneliness and regret that couldn¡¯t be concealed. Then, he turned over to another page. In this page, there was a picture of a married couple¡ªCeline and Justin. When Old Master Fletcher saw this page, he seemed to have aged significantly, but he still held his spirits high as he introduced them to Sophia, ¡°They are Nate¡¯s parents. Celine was Mike¡¯s sister, and she was only ten minutes older than him. The two of them looked exactly the same. Look at him. Mike often wore women¡¯s outfits in some scenes, and when he put them on, he¡¯s a spitting image of his sister. This is Justin, Celine¡¯s husband and Nate¡¯s father. I was the one who brought the two of them together. Back then, I asked Celine to go on a blind date, but she refused to, so she went there and beat Justin up. Tsk-tsk. Surprisingly, Justin was even more fierce than her, so both of them got together at the end. Haha¡­¡± The moment he mentioned Justin, he raised his head to nce at Sophia. Whenever he mentioned the blind date between Celine and Justin, he couldn¡¯t help but remember that person. Initially, that person should have gone on a blind date with Celine, but he also refused to, so Justin reced him. After living for a long time, he had probably developed a seventh sense at the age of a hundred. Through Sophia, Old Master Fletcher could always see the shadow of that person¡­ All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 294 Chapter 294 On the other side, Sophia nced subconsciously at Nathan, who was ying with the Fletchers children at the sandpit outside of the door. Her heart ached for him. In the end, Old Master Fletcher turned to the page with Stanley on it. He started the introduction with key points, ¡°This is Stan, and he is even more capable. He has a keen eyesight; he never missed when he used to shoot birds with a slingshot when he was still a child. He used to be a sniper in the military. In fact, he is able to lock onto a target within 3 seconds before killing the target in one shot! He has the best marksmanship amongst all my great-grandchildren. He is not only proficient in all kinds of firearms; he is even skilled at using the bow and arrow. Look at this picture; isn¡¯t he cool? Tsk-tsk. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that Stan has a perfect score in hitting his targets. It¡¯s a pity that he doesn¡¯t like being in the army. He left the military together with his uncle to join so-called Esports. He isn¡¯t interested in shooting a real gun in real life, but he enjoys shooting in a game. He ys ¡®Counter-Strike¡¯ and something called ¡®Crossfire¡¯. Isn¡¯t that shooting with a gun?! Recently, he even participated in an Esports World Championship. He established apany together with a few ssmates, iming that they are creating a sniper video game. Oh, my! I am too old to understand the younger generation¡¯s thinking. Anyway, my Stan is the best!¡± Sophia remained silent while listening to Old Man Fletcher praising Stanley. After he was done with the high praises, she turned the photo album to a page with Michael on it. ¡°Old Master Fletcher, tell me stories about Taylor.¡± Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Old Man Fletcher was even more talkative at the mention of Michael. He started going on about Michael in an eager manner, as if he was reiterating tales from the revolutionary period. On Sunday night, Hale came over to pick Sophia and Nathan up. Old Man Fletcher seemed reluctant to let them go. ¡°Sophie, drop by whenever you are free!¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± I will always drop by as long as Old Man Fletcher doesn¡¯t toss me to Stanley. While staring after Sophia and Nathan as they left, Old Man Fletcher mumbled to himself, ¡°Is it true that the girl isn¡¯t a Mitchell¡­.¡± Michael had not returned by the time they both arrived home. Sophia started going through the drawers once she arrived home. It¡¯s not in the bedroom, nor is it in the study. I¡¯m not sure where it is. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± Nathan stood behind her while staring at her sweating from the exertion of searching for an unknown object. Sophia answered him, ¡°Kids like you won¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Nathan snorted coldly. I understand more than anyone else. Sophia is looking for the tempting picture of my dad in military attire. I shall not tell her where it is! Michael arrived home at 9.00PM. By the time he got home, Sophia had already showered and tucked herself under the quilt while waiting for him to sleep with her. After making love, Michael noticed that Sophia seemed hesitant to tell him something. She looked as if she had something important to tell him, but she was too afraid to do so. ¡°Chica, what is it?¡± Sophia¡¯s head emerged from underneath the quilt while she stared at him earnestly. However, she immediately used the nket to cover her face once Michael asked her that. ¡°Nothing. Nothing is going on.¡± This is so embarrassing. I want to see him in military attire. However, how could I possibly voice my thoughts so openly? Michael chuckled while putting his pants on. He left the room, and when he returned after a while, he had something in his hands. Sophia peeked out of the nket, and she saw Michael entering the room with arge dictionary in his hands. ¡°Dear, what is that?¡± Michael sat on the bed before getting underneath the nket. He turned on the bedsidemp while exining, ¡°This is my personal photo album.¡± Personal photo album! It¡¯s the sequel to that photo album! Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up, and she sat up immediately. She scooted over to Michael to look at the photo album. The temptation of military attire! The temptation of military attire! Under Sophia¡¯s scrutiny, Michael flipped to the first page of the photo album. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, just so that she coulde nearer to have a closer look. Sophia¡¯s eyes looked as if they were about to glue onto the photo album. She flipped to the first page eagerly, but the first page was a picture of Michael and his sister. She looked through every photo. Nathan mentioned that Michael took away a portion of the photographs when he moved. Those pictures should all be here. This photo album has pictures that Michael treasures. For example, Irene and Joel aren¡¯t in here. Apart from therge group photo with them, they aren¡¯t in the rest of the pictures. There is even a picture of Theo Fletcher and Elizabeth Murray. The other photo album has these too. These must be Michael¡¯s most precious memories. There is a photograph with Michael and his family of four in this photo album. There is also a picture of a young Michael picking Stanley up. This most probably represents Michael¡¯s favorite memories in each stage of his life! Before he was 18 years old, his best memories were of his parents, Old Master Fletcher, Celine Fletcher, and a handful of childhood friends. The period after he¡¯s 18 years old is the time I am anticipating. These are all photos with Michael in military attire. He is alone in some pictures, but there are also some group photos with Celine and Justin. Michael looks extremely young and refreshing in the photos. His ruby red lips and dazzling white teeth, coupled with his handsome military attire and his sturdy, well-sculpted figure¡­ Michael exined each photo to Sophia. ¡°This is a picture of me when I was 20 years old. I was a freshman in Bayside University¡¯s military training, positioned as a drill instructor in Company 28. Look, this is Quinton rk, the professor in the course you are specializing. This is a picture of when I was the lieutenant in the Special Operations Squadron, whereas this is my older sister and Justin. In this picture, I was transferred to the military song and dance ensemble. This is when my sister was pregnant with Nate.¡± He flipped through the photo album, one page after another. In the end, they arrived at the page where Nathan was born. Michael was holding the bundle of joy tightly in his arms while grinning ear-to-ear. In the end, there was a group photo of the family of four. In the picture, Michael, his older sister, and Justin were exceptionally happy. Their brightest and most beautiful smiles were captured in that moment. Unfortunately, there were no longer group photos of them from then on. After that, there were only pictures of Nathan alone taken every 6 months. He has always been as cute as a button ever since he was a child! Ever since his sister passed away, Nathan became Michael¡¯s hopes and dreams, and it was especially obvious since the photo album was filled with his pictures. Michael¡¯s photo came up asionally; for example, when his movie hit more than a billion at the box office, or when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor award, or the first time he took the role of a female. When they came to one of the pages, Michael suddenly reached out to cover one of the pictures before Sophia had a glimpse. Then, he even took away the photo to hide it from her. ¡°What is that?¡± Sophia asked. Michael answered her, ¡°Um, it¡¯s a set photo from a movie. It was my first time in a horror film, and it¡¯s slightly scary; I¡¯m afraid of scaring you.¡± Sophia suddenly felt moved beyond words. My idol is so considerate! She continued flipping through the album. She sudden caught sight of herself; in fact, it was her two years ago. ¡°This was taken when I just arrived here! Oh, my God! Why is this picture here?¡± In the photo, Sophia looked dark and ugly while awkwardly entering Vi No. 8 in The Imperial. Hale was holding onto her worn suitcase, whereas she was looking up in shock while staring at the ce where she would be living for a long time. Her eyes shone with surprise, her hair as messy as a pigsty, and her clothes were out-fashioned, making her look like an ugly duckling. She felt extremely ashamed of herself, and so she flipped through the page hastily. However, there were lots of photos of her after the page. Her selfie, some group photos she took with Nathan, pictures of her and Michael, and also some photographs of her during her military training with her in military attire. There was also the first group photo she took upon entering Bayside University¡¯s main entrance and so on. There were also pictures of her with full make-up on while wearing ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯, and one where she was wearing ¡®Greenery¡¯ at the banquet. There was also a picture of her wearing cartoon pajamas while she was yingputer games, and a picture of her in school uniform while she was heading to ss. ¡°Oh, my God! When did these photos make it into this album?!¡± Chapter 295 Chapter 295 I wasn¡¯t aware of the existence of these pictures. I can¡¯t believe Michael saved them all, and it seems like these pictures are important to him. Michael¡¯s fingertips traced across these photographs lightly while lingering on Sophia¡¯s petite face. ¡°I prefer printed photographs because they are easy to store, and I can look at them whenever I want,¡± he exined. It had gottente at night. Michael waited until Sophia fell asleep before retrieving the photograph he hid just now to ce it in its original position. That photo was taken after he left the military to start his career in investing and entrepreneurship. He acted in films while investing in the inte industry. Michael was not short of money at all. Elizabeth was famous internationally, and she had a mind for business. Hence, she umted an astonishing amount of wealth and connections. She even had the chance to marry into a foreign royal family. However, she was in love with no one but Theo. Therefore, she came with an unparalleled sum of dowry and wealth when she got married to him. Before dying for love, she had nned ahead for both her children¡¯s future. She ced her and Theo¡¯s inheritance under Old Master Fletcher¡¯s care. After her death, her children inherited everything. Elizabeth also requested Old Master Fletcher to take good care of both her children; when the siblings were old enough, she wanted them to choose for themselves¡ªOld Master Fletcher could arrange for them to join the army, or they were also free to join the entertainment industry. If they were to choose to join the military route, everything would be smooth sailing with the Fletchers¡¯ background and support. On the other hand, if they were to choose the entertainment industry, it would have been easy too. Elizabeth had been involved in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years, and she had an abundance of reliableworks. In fact, she had countless people working for her globally. Even after her death, she could guarantee that her children would have a smooth career within the industry, and that they would never have to go astray as she did in the past. In the military, Michael had support from the Fletchers, whereas in the entertainment industry, Taylor Murray had the resources his mother left behind for him. Since I am thete Elizabeth¡¯s son, I have never had to worry or think about resources and movie contracts. Myte mother had endless close friends and fans. They are always more than willing to help me, her son. I don¡¯t even have to lift a finger to be the most popr celebrity in the industry. However, I am unwilling to just rely on my parents. Apart from filming, I have other ways of earning a living. I understand that money is power. As long as I have money, I¡¯ll be able to have my own mercenary group abroad. I¡¯ll be able to track down Phantom Wolf anywhere in the world, and I¡¯ll be able to protect myself and my loved ones too. All those years ago, I was very optimistic about the inte industry, and so I invested in many inte companies and online games. One of them was the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. That year, the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ wasn¡¯t that popr. However, as a yer of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, I participated in the Esports World Championship. Furthermore, I won the singles category¡¯s championship, and so I seeded inunching the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ abroad and to the whole world. I have always kept the photo of me winning the championship. Michael kept the picture into the photo album while flipping through the album again. He lingered at Sophia¡¯s breathtaking beauty for several moments before finally keeping the photo album again. These are all the best memories I have. Meanwhile, Joe was doing everything he could to find out the identity of Sophia¡¯s husband. However, despite using countless methods, he just couldn¡¯t find out any information. Furthermore, he went so far as to lodge a police report, and so he was running out of ideas by now. He thought of grabbing Sophia from the university to interrogate her in person, but she was on sick leave now. Hence, she had not been attending sses in university. Joe started panicking. That old man might kick the bucket anytime now. I have to make a move soon because time is money! ¡°Dad, dad! I found it!¡± Faye returned home in exhration. ¡°Dad, the b*tch filled in her address when she registered her information for the ss!¡± Joe was delighted, and he took the phone from Faye. It was some information Faye procured from a ssmate of Sophia¡¯s, and the ssmate gave her Sophia¡¯s personal information. Sophia was still attending sses in university, and so it was inevitable that she had to register her home address and associated information. I can¡¯t believe Sophia¡¯s home address is Bayside City, Maple Road 18, The Imperial, Vi No. 8. Joe was stunned to silence, and his eyes popped wide open in shock. The Imperial?! Am I mistaken?! The Imperial is a legend among wealthy people. I heard that one of the elders from the Edwards Family nned to buy a vi in The Imperial. However, he did not seed in purchasing one because the houses were priceless, and they were unavable in the market. Is it true that Sophia is living here? In that case, just how rich is my future son-inw? Joe might die of happiness, and he decided that he would drop by The Imperial to reconnect with his family the next morning! At The Imperial¡¯s Vi No. 8, Sophia had just had her breakfast before sending Nathan off to university. Then, she went to the basement to check on Abel¡¯s progress. Upon procuring Phantom Wolf¡¯s thumb print and lip prints, it should be easier to locate him. However, Abel shook his head. ¡°Afterparing all the lecturers in Bayside University which matches the criteria, none of them is him.¡± Sophia frowned deeply. ¡°Have you checked students, postgraduate students, and doctoral students?¡± It would be arger range. Abel answered, ¡°I am still investigating.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t dare leave the house as long as they couldn¡¯t locate Phantom Wolf. Who knows when the psychopath would show up out of the blue. I¡¯m getting bored to death at home, though. Suddenly, Maria reported, ¡°Madam, themunity security phoned, iming that someone is looking for your outside.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Sophia left the basement to return to the living hall. Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Maria replied to her, ¡°The security said that he is your father.¡± Sophia rejected straight away. ¡°Ask them to get lost.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Maria turned around to pick up the phone. She ryed Sophia¡¯s message honestly to the community security guard through the phone. ¡°My madam asked them to get lost.¡± After hanging up on the phone, themunity security guard repeated Maria¡¯s words to Joe and his entourage, who were waiting by the entrance. ¡°Madam from Vi No. 8 told me to ask you all to get lost.¡± Joe was furious when he heard that, and he shook in anger. ¡°What? She actually asked me to get lost? I am her father! Who would ask their father to get lost?! I don¡¯t care! I will enter today!¡± As the most high-endmunity in Bayside City, The Imperial had the best security measures avable. Therefore, the residential area was strongly secured, and it was impossible to trespass. Only those with a pass or those who had the permission of the owners within themunity had permission to enter. The security guard got angry when he heard that, and he brandished a taser. ¡°Where do you think this is?¡± Joe started screaming angrily at the entrance, ¡°I don¡¯t care! I will enter today! I would like to see what you can do about it!¡± The security guard at the entrance was extremely experienced. After all, they retired from special forces, and they took direct instructions from Michael. Since Madam asked them to get lost, we will not allow him to set foot into thepound. With a loud whoosh, eight burly security guards came charging out of the tiny guard booth and blocked the entrance automatically. Scared witless by the sudden change of events, Joe took a step backward. The leader of the security guard still held a taser. ¡°Mr. Edwards, this is not a ce for you to behave atrociously. My advice for you is to return home.¡± Joe was clearly fuming, but he abandoned his business, worth tens of thousands, toe here. Therefore, he just couldn¡¯t return home empty-handed. Joe left temporarily to return home. Coincidentally, he had recently bought a house from the Harper Family¡¯s copycat real estate area. He had just shifted into the house for a few days, and he was neighbors with the Harpers. A copycat real estate was just a copycat after all. In fact, there was a vast difference between the fake and the real deal. Joe had been daydreaming every day while staring at The Imperial across the road. I have been dreaming of moving in. If I get to live there, it¡¯d mean that I am one of the aristocrats! No, I will be the cr¨¨me de cr¨¨me of the aristocrats!! Chapter 296 Chapter 296 I didn¡¯t expect things toe so effortlessly! It wasn¡¯t a long journey, and so he walked back home. Coincidentally, he bumped into Richard, who lived in the same residentialmunity, leaving the house. ¡°Mr. Edwards, where did you go? You seem rather upset.¡± Initially, Joe wasn¡¯t nning to tell Richard about it. However, he heard that Sophia and Richard were once a couple, and she used to love him deeply. In fact, rumors had it that she was still in love with him. Maybe this fellow can help me! Joe answered Richard hastily, ¡°I heard that damn girl is living in The Imperial across the street. However, she just wouldn¡¯te out to meet me. I¡¯ll head over in the afternoon again, and you shoulde with me. She might take your past rtionship into consideration if you¡¯re around and let me in.¡± Richard was shocked to his core because he constructed The Imperial¡¯s copycat real estate, so he knew about the market value of The Imperial. I did not expect Sophia to live there! I knew that Sophia¡¯s husband is rich, but I wasn¡¯t expecting him to be so wealthy! The information of the owners in The Imperial is confidential. Even though I am living right next to them, I have no idea who the owners in The Imperial are. Luxurious cars drive in and out from themunity on a daily basis, but I¡¯ve seen Taylor, Ethan, and some state ministers¡¯ carsing in and out of the entrance. Although some of them were just entering themunity as guests, it¡¯s possible to deduce the owner¡¯s identity from their guests. To have an old man with one foot in the grave upying such a nice house is an utter shame. If I, Richard Harper, take over it¡­ Something gleamed in his eyes. Richard agreed straight away. ¡°Sure. I have known Sophia for many years, after all. She might honor me if I show up.¡± Joe felt relieved, and so he returned home happily. Then, he even phoned Faye, who was on campus. Joe was in charge of blocking the entrance, whereas Faye was tasked to find out more about Sophia in the university and grab Nathan. Since they were not able to get the adult, it was best to make a move on the child. They would start by luring Nathan to the Edwards residence just so that Sophia and her old husband would show up. Faye went to the School of Computer Science and arrived at Nathan¡¯s ss. Nathan was the only freshman in the School of Computer Science¡¯s Junior ss. Apart from having a different set of assessment criteria, he had been attending sses just like the rest of the students. In fact, he was in the same ss as Stanley. Nathan requested for the transfer voluntarily because there weren¡¯t female students in Stanley¡¯s ss. He didn¡¯t like girls in his ss because every time he attended his sses, the girls would kiss and hug him or even lift him high up. Faye arrived at their ss, and she was about to sneak into the ssroom to grab Nathan in between sses. At that moment, Stanley was in the middle of brainwashing Nathan. ¡°Nate, just look at how young your mom is. She is only a 20-year-old freshman, but she¡¯s already a stepmother at such a young age. Tell me¡ªis this healthy for her growth? At her age, she should be happily attending sses while traveling around the world or working a part-time job to experience life during term break. She shouldn¡¯t be looking after a child at home at such a young age. After her graduation, your dad will no doubt lock her at home to be a baby-making machine. Say, wouldn¡¯t that be destroying her dreams? She is a human, not a dog. She is entitled to her own dreams and future. Therefore, if you are truly fond of her, you should get her to divorce your dad.¡± Sean did not have sses that afternoon, and so Stanley got him toe over to help brainwash Nathan. Stanley sat on Nathan¡¯s left, whereas Sean was on Nathan¡¯s right, and he agreed with Stanley by exining, ¡°Nate, I know that you are fond of her. However, she is still young; just look at other girls her age, they are all doing things they like. They are either hanging around the mall, going on vacation, or are in a rtionship. On the other hand, just look at Sophia¡ªshe is always busy looking after you every day, and she has forgotten to care for herself. You and your mom are still children, and so you and your dad are not doing the right thing. You have taken her life away, you know? Nate, she is not your nanny, but you are hanging onto her every day to keep youpany. Recently, your dad has even resorted to locking her up at home while stopping her from attending sses. This is not right.¡± Nathan¡¯s cheeks were puffed in anger, and he was pouting while looking upset. He was mulling over the thought in a serious manner. Is it true that dad and I are holding mom back? Coincidentally, Faye arrived, and she swayed herrge 36D breasts while stopping in front of Nathan. ¡°Oh, my! You are such a cute boy! Go ahead and greet me as your Aunty! I am your mom¡¯s older sister!¡± she eximed happily. Faye was older than Sophia, indeed, but due to her bad results in the past, she repeated her senior year in high school. Somehow, she managed to scrape by and enroll in Bayside University. Nevertheless, she had to repeat a year due to insufficient GPA and credit hours; she failed her military training, and so she had to repeat the training again. That was the reason she ended up in the same year as Sophia. Nathan had a frosty expression while facing Faye, and he ignored her. Stanley knew about Faye. She was the one who broke her nose from Sophia¡¯s punch. ¡°Who are you? Get away from Nathan!¡± I might be resentful toward Nate, the naughty boy, but that does not mean that others have the right to bully him. Stanley mmed the table whilemanding immediately, ¡°Gary, toss this person out!¡± Gary moved immediately upon receiving the instruction, and he entered the ssroom to toss Faye out. Faye was thrown out of the ssroom in an embarrassing manner. She screamed and caused a ruckus at the ssroom entrance. It was such amotion that the security guard came over to chase her away. Faye returned home angrily, and she joined Joe and X by blocking the main entrance of The Imperial. They imed that they wouldn¡¯t leave until they met Sophia¡¯s husband. This time, the security gave them the same answer¡ª¡°Get lost!¡± Faye swayed herrge bosom while almost pressing it against the security guard. ¡°Hottie, please let us in. I haven¡¯t seen my younger sister for a very long time. I miss her.¡± However, the security guard was unmoved; instead, he swatted Faye¡¯s hand away from his shoulder. ¡°I am sorry, but without the owner¡¯s agreement, no one is allowed to enter.¡± Exclusive content from N?velDrama.Org. Richard exined hastily, ¡°Can you please pass the message on to her? Tell her I am her schoolmate, Richard Harper.¡± She will meet me once she hears my name! The security was adamant. ¡°I am sorry. Please leave.¡± Richard took out arge wad of cash from his bag while shoving it into the guard¡¯s hands. ¡°Please help us out. We have no ill intentions. Mr. Edwards here is truly the father of Vi No. 8¡¯s resident, Sophia. She had a misunderstanding with Mr. Edwards, but they are father and daughter after all¡­¡± The security guard pushed his money away. ¡°I am sorry, but you are not allowed to enter.¡± It was evening rush hour now, and so there was a constant stream of cars entering and leaving The Imperial. The cars had to sh a pass card in order to enter the residentialmunity. If the residents found it troublesome, they had the option to reveal their faces for a 3D facial scan to confirm their identity. A car stopped by the entrance, and the window lowered, revealing Daniel¡¯s face. There was an automatic scan which confirmed his identity and allowed him to pass. ¡°Master Levine!¡± Joe acted as if he saw his savior. He caught up to the car with hurried footsteps. ¡°Master Levine, do you live here? This is such a coincidence! My son-inw lives here too. It turns out you are neighbors! You are just in time to take me in for a visit!¡± Daniel guffawed loudly while cing a hand on his car window. ¡°Mr. Edwards, unless I¡¯m very much mistaken, we have burned bridges before this! Do you truly believe that I will let you in?¡± he asked. Joe¡¯s expression stiffened, and he was utterly humiliated. He chuckled in embarrassment, but before he could say anything, Daniel already drove away. Joe cursed under his breath when he saw the car speed away. No matter what happens, I have to find a way to enter today. I will knock on every car window that passes by. There is a good chance it might be someone I know! In fact, the person in the car might very well be my son-inw! Chapter 297 Chapter 297 After Daniel left, another car passed by not long after. It stopped for ID confirmation, and Joe dashed forward to knock against the car window. ¡°My dear son-inw, I am Joe Edwards! I am Sophia¡¯s father!¡± There are only a handful of residents in The Imperial. If he is my son-inw, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d recognize me if I shout aloud. If they aren¡¯t, I¡¯ll just apologize and move on. I might even learn about my son-inw¡¯s identity. The back passenger car window lowered, and the blonde man seated in the car took off his sunsses. He revealed the face that often showed up on the golden screens in the cinema. ¡°Do you think that I am your son-inw?¡± Ethan Winston! Joe suddenly answered respectfully while rubbing his hands together, ¡°It turns out it¡¯s you, Best Actor, Mr. Winston. It seems you live here too! It so happens my son-inw lives here, and he is living in Vi No. 8. Do you think you can¡ª¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Harry closed the window, and the car sped off, leaving them behind. Joe started scolding aloud once he left, ¡°Bah! You¡¯re looking down on others just because you have the title of Best Actor! When I shift into the neighborhood, I will make sure to teach you a lesson!¡± Soon, another car arrived, and Joe repeated the same thing by charging forward while hitting against the car window. ¡°Son-inw!¡± The window lowered, effectively revealing a familiar face, which often showed up on cinema screens. Therefore, Joe immediately recognized who it was. ¡°Well if it isn¡¯t Best Actor Award winner, Mr. Murray. My name is Joe Edwards, and I¡¯ve met you before. My son-inw lives in the housingmunity in Vi No. 8¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s out of the way.¡± Michael knew his motive, and so he closed the window coldly before leaving. I don¡¯t like him as long as chica doesn¡¯t! Joe started screaming profanities again once the car disappeared out of sight. Richard knew that things wouldn¡¯t work if this went on. He was convinced that they wouldn¡¯t enter the community after offending everyone within the neighborhood. Suddenly, he saw Stanley walking a husky from across the street. Stanley was walking the dog while making his way toward the main entrance. However, the security guard blocked his way once he arrived. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You are not allowed to enter too.¡± Stanley asked angrily, ¡°Who do you think you are to stop me from entering? I¡¯ve always entered easily previously!¡± The security guard took out a card. ¡°Today, Madam Edwards from Vi No. 8 specifically sent a card over. Here, have a look.¡± There was a phrase across the card. ¡®Joe Edwards, Stanley Fletcher, and the dog are not allowed entry.¡¯ However, she must have figured the dog was too adorable to be denied entry, and that it didn¡¯t deserve such treatment, because there was a sh across the word ¡®dog¡¯. On the other side, Joe and Richard were fuming, and Joe grabbed the guard by his cor. ¡°Why can¡¯t I enter? I¡¯m her father! Is it wrong for a father to visit his daughter?¡± Stanley was even more furious. He pointed at the general direction of the residentialmunity while screaming vehemently, ¡°You married such a young bride despite your old age. You are clearly robbing the cradle! Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?! I don¡¯t care; I insist on entering! I want to save Sophie! She hasn¡¯t been attending sses for the past few days! I can¡¯t let you lock her up for so many days!¡± He phoned Sophia. ¡°Sophie, let me in! If you don¡¯t let me in, I will inform your husband, telling him that you¡¯ve cheated on him!¡± After ending the phone call, Stanley waited at the main entrance while puffing heavily. On the other side, Joe and Richard were also waiting at the entrance in frustration. Stanley saw them both, but he ignored them deliberately. After a while, Sophia came out, wearing a white bunny pajamas. She snuck into the neighboring ancient Imperial Pce for fun during the day, but she received Stanley¡¯s phone call once she arrived home. Stanley lost his temper once he saw her. ¡°You had better open the gates for me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll inform your husband about your cheating on him!¡± ¡°Cheating, my foot!¡± Sophia got the guard to let him in reluctantly, and Stanley entered with the dog. I found out that my uncle is preparing a feast tonight at home! He will open a good bottle of wine from his cer once there¡¯s a delicious meal! Tsk-tsk, Michael¡¯s wine cer is filled with bottles of aged wine he inherited from Elizabeth! Even having a whiff of it is worth the trouble! I¡¯m also dropping by to check if he has been hitting Sophia again. She mentioned that she fell and injured herself thest time, but I don¡¯t truly believe that. Most men with a military background are involved in domestic violence, with me being an exception! Joe followed Stanley closely from behind while smiling happily to walk through the entrance. However, the guard blocked his way from entering themunity. Joe pointed at Sophia while reprimanding her, ¡°Sophia, you animal! I am your father! I will sue you in court for being an unfilial daughter if you refuse to let me enter your home today!¡± Sophia merely responded with a smirk before leaving. Joe was still cursing loudly, but Richard looked as if he had realized something important. Judging by Sophia¡¯s attitude toward Stanley, she seems afraid that her husband might find out she has a boy toy on the side. Richard suddenly came up with an idea. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. Michael had already arrived home at Vi No. 8. There was a delicious feast in his home today, and he even invited a group of his gay friends for dinner at home. Harry and Daniel were both present, whereas Stanley insisted on crashing the party. Stanley was utterly shameless, and so he would always show up no matter how many times he was beaten up. In fact, he reprimanded Michael once he entered the house, ¡°Uncle, I want to criticize you. You can¡¯t lock Sophia up at home. She needs to attend sses in university. It¡¯s the mid-term exams in a few days¡¯ time; if you continue locking her up at home, I will tell on you to Old Master Fletcher!¡± Before Michael could reply to him, Daniel entered the house while lighting a cigarette. However, Michael stubbed it immediately. ¡°No smoking in the house.¡± The dishes were served, and they sat at the table. It was not arge crowd; there was the Power Trio, Sophia, Nathan, and Stanley. No one understood the reason Michael suddenly invited everybody over for dinner, but they showed up anyway since it was a free meal. After all, they lived in the same residentialmunity. Besides, Michael always apanied his meals with a bottle of aged wine. The reason for tonight¡¯s feast was to celebrate Michael no longer being a virgin, and him having to fulfill his duty as a husband on a daily basis from now on. Naturally, one wouldn¡¯t say such things openly. Stanley was here specifically for the food and wine while checking in on Sophia. Nevertheless, the food and wine were his priority. Initially, everybody was anticipating a delicious feast. However, when dinner was served, they realized that there wasn¡¯t any meat; even Michael¡¯s favorite eel dish was missing. The highly-anticipated wine was missing too; instead, everybody had a bottle of peanut milk. The dishes on the table were all green in color. Stanley, who came all the way here just for the meat and wine, put his chopsticks down immediately. ¡°Uncle, this is not right of you. Since you invited us here for a meal, you should at least serve some wine to go with the dishes! I know that you have over 30 million worth of red wine in your cer; please don¡¯t take me for a fool.¡± The other two guests nodded in agreement. Who woulde over here for dinner if it weren¡¯t for the wine?! Besides, it¡¯s all vegetables! Michael served a bowl of ck rice congee for Sophia, who was sitting beside him, before stating, ¡°We aren¡¯t drinking wine tonight.¡± What? We¡¯re not drinking wine? The small group seated at the table clearly disagreed with this decision. It¡¯s fine to have a meal at home, but the wine is the main agenda. Once upon a time, Elizabeth loved her wine, and so she had a collection of wine from all over the world. Michael inherited her entire cer of wine collection. There are even bottles of 30-years aged wine among the collection! Those are true liquid gold! In fact, it would be an honor to have the chance to even have a sip of the wine. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s saying that we aren¡¯t having wine today! Stanley was the first to lose his temper. ¡°I don¡¯t care! I want wine! Maria, serve the wine!¡± Maria rushed over while her slippers pped against the floor. She looked at him apologetically. ¡°About that, Young Master Stan, Boss and Madam are preparing to conceive recently, and so they aren¡¯t having alcohol.¡± The single men at the table felt scandalized by the sudden public disy of affection. Sophia blushed in embarrassment too. It¡¯s not appropriate to announce such things so loudly! Chapter 298 Chapter 298 Harry had the biggest reaction. ¡°No wonder you¡¯ve stopped smoking and drinking alcoholtely. You¡¯ve even stopped consuming exotic animals! It¡¯s fine if you alone quit smoking and drinking¡ªwhy should we apany you by stopping too?!¡± Michael answered him, ¡°Because I say so. Don¡¯t eat if you don¡¯t like it.¡± He then picked up his chopsticks to have a mouthful of vegetables. He nced at Sophia beside him, who was blushing while keeping her head bowed. Her face is flushed red, and she looks so adorable. Then, he poured another ss of milk for her. ¡°Here, have some milk.¡± Sophia was too embarrassed to look at others, and so she drank her milk while keeping her head bowed. No wonder Michael has been going to bed and waking up early these days. He has been drinking wolfberry-infused water, and he even stopped smoking and drinking alcohol. Besides, he has been working out every day; it turns out he is preparing for our pregnancy. Eh! I am still a child, and I¡¯m not prepared for that! However, it seems like a good life experience to have a child with my idol. What should I name my baby in the future? The rest of the single men at the table started eating as well. Nevertheless, the table full of nutritious dishes suited for pregnancy preparation tasted like sour grapes. In the end, Michael¡¯s feast of celebrating him losing his virginity ended smoothly. After dinner, the Power Trio chatted in the living room. Michael eventually took out a bottle of red wine from his wine cer to serve his guests. There was a bottle of wine and a bottle of milk on the table. Two of the three wine sses with long stems had red wine, whereas the other one was filled with milk. The three of them clinked sses while watching a recent film sample. Michael was holding the wine ss while swirling the milk in the ss, presenting the elegance of drinking wine. Sophia was observing in secret while hiding in a dark spot. Ah, my idol is so handsome. He could even bring out such elegance while drinking milk, as if he were drinking a ss of red wine. She did not disturb the three men since they were deep in conversation. Hence, she stayed in her study while doing her assignment in silence. Stanley stole half a ss of Lafite and a 20-year-old Fiery Red from the wine cer. He even filled up half the empty mineral water bottle he had with him before hiding it in his dog poo bag to take it home. After stealing some alcohol, he snuck into Sophia¡¯s study to see that she was doing her assignment. He checked his breath to make sure that he wasn¡¯t reeking of alcohol, and then he approached her while asking, ¡°Are you really going to make a baby with my uncle?¡± Sophia was solving some questions together with Nathan, and she was flipping a page while answering him, ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Stanley started brainwashing her immediately. ¡°Giving birth is extremely painful. Besides, you will age ten years if you give birth to another naughty boy like Nathan!¡± ¡°Who are you calling a naughty boy?¡± Nathan was so angry that he threw his pen away. In all honesty, Sophia was not prepared to give birth to a child because she merely wanted to study. However, Michael seemed to be well prepared in that department. Stanley got closer to her. ¡°Let me tell you. My uncle is an actor. Do you understand what an actor does? He is the best at acting; don¡¯t you know that he¡¯s had you fooled and wrapped around his finger?¡± The incident with the game was an example. After mulling over what happened from the beginning to the end, Stanley broke into a cold sweat out of fear. I have always known that Sophia has a wife in the game, named ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯. I thought the name seemed familiar when I first saw it. Later, I realized with a start that it was Michael¡¯s female character in the game! Taylor Murray is ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯! He has been pretending to be a woman in the game all this while! He even lied to Sophia by iming that he doesn¡¯t know how to y games! He¡¯s really gotten her fooled! I can¡¯t endure it any longer, seeing as Sophia has been lied to for such a long time. I have decided to pluck up my courage to expose Michael¡¯s true colors. He won the singles category in the first Esports World Championship! He is also the secret owner of multiple gamingpanies! He is also ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ and ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯! Stanley grabbed Sophia tightly by her shoulders, and he broke the silence gravely. ¡°Sophie, you have to listen to me. My uncle is¡ª¡± Ring, ring¡­ Stanley¡¯s phone started ringing, and he noticed that it was a text message when he checked. Upon reading the text, Stanley was shocked to his core. ¡®Do you want to be permanently banned from the game?¡¯ The overbearing aura was almost suffocating. Suddenly, Stanley felt like someone was strangling his neck. He felt suffocated, and he was trembling from head to toe. He ran downstairs with his phone in his hand. ¡°I¡¯m going home.¡± Sophia thought that something had happened to his family. Hence, she turned around to continue with her assignment questions. Stanley dashed to the living hall and held onto the leg of the big boss who was seated on the couch. He cried his eyes out while looking pitiful. ¡°Uncle, I was wrong. I will never dare to repeat my mistakes again. I won¡¯t dare to have ideas about Aunt Sophia again. I know it¡¯s my fault! I¡¯m begging you not to ban me from the game, please!¡± For someone like him, who yed Esports, there was nothing more horrible and cruel than being banned from a game. It was equivalent to Doom¡¯s Day! I spent endless effort and countless money to build a character. Once it¡¯s banned, I¡¯d have nothing left. In reality, if a property has been dered worthless, it is possible to make good use of waste materials. However, once the assets within a game are sealed, the expenditure would be in vain, and there would be nothing left for the yer. It just so happened that Michael was the big boss in charge of the game behind the scenes, and so he could ban Stanley anytime effortlessly. Previously, Michael had been reprimanding Stanley on a small scale. However, the mention of banning his ount proved that he was truly angered now! Michael held the stem of the wine ss while swirling the milk elegantly. His legs were folded, and he broke the silence suddenly. ¡°Take your stupid dog with you and get lost.¡± Stanley took his stupid dog and left hastily. The game is more important! There is no doubt that the game is more important! Love and feelings can come after. After escaping from The Imperial, Stanley felt as though he had just escaped the jaws of death. In the past year, after getting married and bing a father, Michael has be much gentler than before. I almost forgot that he is actually even scarier than Joel. There were many night joggers nearby. Stanley held onto his dog¡¯s leash while making his way out of The Imperial, and he bumped into Quinton once he left the gates. Quinton was not in the same faculty as Stanley, but they were quite close since Stanley was always dropping by Sophia¡¯s ss. Furthermore, he and Nathan had been inviting Quinton to help Sophia with her studies. ¡°Hey, Professor rk! Are you out for a night jog?!¡± Quinton was wearing a full sports attire with a backpack. He jogged into The Imperial while answering him, ¡°Mm-hmm, I am here to send some revision materials for Sophia. The mid-term exams are just around the corner, and Sophia has been missing a lot of sses.¡± The guard let Quinton in without even asking any questions when they saw him. It was obvious that even the guards knew him. Stanley nced at the ¡®No entry for Joe Edwards, Stanley Fletcher, and the dog¡¯ card while ncing at Quinton, who had permission toe and go as he pleased. Stanley couldn¡¯t help but pout unhappily while sighing his discontentment. I can¡¯t evenpare to a lecturer nor a dog. Stanley walked away with the dog gloomily. However, he felt goosebumps all over his body after taking a few steps forward. As a retired military member, he was extremely alert to his surroundings, and so he knew that someone was observing him from the dark. Stanley scanned his surroundings, and with his keen senses, he found the source of the surveince. It was the ck Mazda across the road.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. It seems like Joe isn¡¯t giving up! I am suddenly curious about Joe¡¯s reaction if he finds out that his so-called old and ugly son-inw is in fact my uncle. Chapter 299 Chapter 299 Initially, I thought of spilling the beans, but now that I recalled the text he sent me, I¡¯d rather forget about it. It¡¯s not that simple to cause trouble because Michael might find out if I¡¯m not too careful. In the past, no matter how horrible I was, Michael would never threaten to ban my ount. However, now that he is threatening to ban my ount, I¡¯m sure that he will do it. Richard put down his binocrs after he saw Stanley leaving. He stared at the mysteriousmunity of The Imperial, and he fell deep into his thoughts. It seems like I was wrong before. Sophia is very close with Stanley, and that is due to his rtionship with Sophia¡¯s husband. She must have another man on the side, and that man is not Stanley, as we guessed, nor is it Joel. It must be¡ªTyler Murray! I have almost forgotten about this person¡¯s name, but I still remember the stage name I got him. No wonder I haven¡¯t been able to contact Tyler. It turns out he is just a boy toy Sophia has on the side. Since he is her boy toy, I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t want him to be popr. If he were to end up famous, people might expose him for being her kept man. Joe will never give up. When faced with such riches and wealth, he is willing to abandon his dignity to get what he wants. Putting everything aside, a property at The Imperial is enough for Joe to abandon his rationality to try and seize the real estate for himself. However, it¡¯s difficult for Joe to get his hands on the inheritance. Although he is Sophia¡¯s father, her household registry has never appeared in the Edwards Family. Therefore, the only way to prove their rtionship as father and daughter is via paternity testing, but that would require consent from both parties. Compared to Joe, I believe I have a higher chance of winning. I am Sophia¡¯s first love and boyfriend after all. I think I am entitled to the asset! I am willing to share half of the huge sum of inheritance with Sophia. What I want most is the property in The Imperial! However, I need to n meticulously how to procure the asset. It will never work by blocking their entrance, just like Joe. He has forgotten that Sophia is the key here! The next day after Michael¡¯s banquet, he returned to his film set, whereas Sophia started working on the questions Quinton sent in yesterday. It was her entertainment break afterpleting the questions, and so she turned on herptop immediately to check out the entertainment news. Recently, Glory Entertainment started cing Taylor in a bad light. After they were ruthlessly humiliated thest time for exposing the scandal revolving Taylor, they were once again creating ghost ounts to boycott him. It was mainly due to the documentary film. Being able to star in a documentary film was a symbol of a heavy hitter. The pay wasn¡¯t anything to shout about, but it was something outstanding to show for on an actor¡¯s resume. Every big shot within the industry dreamed about getting into the crew, even if it were a walk-on part thatsted for a few seconds. There were rumors on the inte iming that Taylor took on an important role as the character, Mark Fletcher. Therefore, a lot ofpanies had their eyes on him; they wanted nothing more for him to drop dead just so that their own celebrity could take the role. Glory Entertainment was doing the worst damage. Previously, they were against Taylor ying Mark Fletcher. The reason they resisted him for the role was because he had once yed roles as a traitor and a psychopath. Therefore, they imed that allowing him to act as a revolutionary martyr was a humiliation toward revolutionary martyrs as a whole. Today¡¯s news caused an uproar¡ª¡®Taylor Murray is married to a woman!¡¯ The ghost ount exposed that Taylor was a homosexual, but he had been married to a woman for years. He was a horrible scumbag that would have a fake marriage to have children! Upon reading that scandal, Sophia knew that Richard must have exposed this scandal. During her military training, Richard and X barged into the hotel room to get Michael¡¯s signature. At that time, he admitted that he was married. Once the news of Taylor being married surfaced, arge group of fans went against him. Besides, due to the influence of homosexual fanfiction and the recent homosexual culture, everyone assumed straight away that Michael was gay. In fact, they assumed that he was a gay man who got married with a woman because he wanted to trick her into having a child with him to continue his bloodline. Therefore, he was described as a scumbag who fooled a woman into marriage just for an heir! This was the true scandal that caused an uproar. Once that spread like wildfire on the inte, many feminist activists, who were active on the inte, started reprimanding Michael for his actions. Gays cheating their ways into marriage was a very sensitive topic. Now that Michael was entangled in such a scandal, it would be almost impossible to salvage his reputation unless he tried rifying his stance. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org True enough, Michael remained silent, and his managementpany yed dead again. The news of Taylor having a fake marriage resulted in a mass boycott. It made headlines for a long time. Feminist activists weren¡¯t the only ones to call him out for his actions; countless celebrities came forward to reprimand him as well. Even Harry, who was suspected to be a gay friend of Michael¡¯s, was dragged into the criticism. Sophia followed the news closely. After reading the news, she asked herself worriedly, Have I been fooled into a marriage? No, I have never felt as if I¡¯ve been fooled into a marriage. Although it¡¯s impossible to conclude Michael¡¯s sexual orientation with a single word, I will never let my idol be defamed because that is where I, his No. 1 fan, draw the line! I¡¯d like to see who are the ones rubbing salt into the wound. She started making notes in her mental notebook to take revenge in the future. Many fans quit the fan group Sophia joined previously. Once a male celebrity had been exposed to be married, they would usually suffer a drastic drop in female fans numbers. In fact, some female fans might not be able to ept the fact that their idol was married, and they might even take the extreme measure ofmitting suicide. Therefore, most male celebrities chose to keep their marriage a secret. Sophia was quite worried that some foolish fans might commit suicide over the news. True enough, within two days of the news stating Taylor was married, there was an online rumor iming that a fan of Taylor¡¯s couldn¡¯t ept that her idol was married, and so she would live-broadcasted her suicide attempt. The fan even said that if Taylor didn¡¯t show up to exin himself to his fans, she wouldmit suicide by burning charcoal while live-broadcasting it. Sophia saw his fan broadcasting their suicide live the moment she went online. She was so scared that she dashed into Michael¡¯s study with her phone in hand. ¡°Dear, look! A fan of yours is broadcasting her suicide live!¡± The female fan had started sealing her windows. If the doors and windows were sealed shut, she would die of carbon monoxide poisoning if she started burning charcoal in her room. She imed that she wanted to wait for Taylor¡¯s appearance. She even phoned Taylor¡¯s management studio. She imed that she was waiting for her idol¡¯s reply because she wanted an exnation. If she couldn¡¯t get an answer, she would die in front of everyone. When Michael had Sophia¡¯s phone in front of him, the live broadcast was showing the girl phoning his management studio. The phone kept ringing, but no one was answering. The fan was crying her eyes out, and there was a constant stream of livementsing in. ¡®Poor girl. You¡¯ve fallen for a scumbag for over ten years!¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray, you are a scumbag! Are you worthy of your fans? We love you so much! What gives you the right to get married?!¡¯ ¡®Young woman, you shouldn¡¯t do anything stupid! Taylor must be aware of such a huge thing. They are ignoring you on purpose. No one would bat an eysh even if you end up dead!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not worth it to throw your life away for someone like that!¡¯ Michael nced at the screenzily while responding, ¡°Oh.¡± Sophia stared at him in disbelief. ¡°Oh? What does ¡®oh¡¯ mean? There¡¯s a fanmitting suicide over you. Shouldn¡¯t you show up to reassure her? It¡¯s a human life after all!¡± Chapter 300 Chapter 300 Michael nced at the calendar on the wall. ¡°It¡¯s a weekend today, so the agency is closed. I¡¯ll ask them to make a statement on Monday.¡± Sophia¡¯s gaze almost burned a hole on his head. She had long seen through him. He was rich and a big yer; the reason he entered the entertainment industry was only because he enjoyed acting. Since he didn¡¯t rely on acting as his main source of ie, he didn¡¯t even bother to deal with all those scandals. He wasn¡¯t afraid to be shunned by everyone because no one could resist him. Besides, he wasn¡¯t concerned about the feelings of his fans at all. In fact, he was totally unfazed even though countless of his fans were devastated due to his scandals. However, as his die-hard fan, Sophia was so anxious that she jumped from her seat and ran off, phone in hand. ¡°Gemma, look into the IP address of this broadcast. Find out the IP address and report it to the nearest police station! Hale, bring some men to the scene to see if there¡¯s anything you can help out with!¡± Gemma found out the IP address in just a few seconds and reported it to the nearest police station. At that moment, the fan had already sealed off all the doors and windows, and she would lose her life in a few minutes. Seeing that Hale was about to drive to the scene, Sophia felt worried, so she tagged along. Upon arriving at the scene, they noticed that the police and ambnce had arrived, and the girl had been rescued. She was barely alive, so it was lucky that help arrived in time. Sophia then followed them to the hospital. After making sure that the girl was alright, she anonymously paid the hospital bills and hurried off. It waste at night when she finally arrived home, full of sweat. When she went online, she expectedly saw the inte flooded with curses directed toward Michael. He was unperturbed by both the rumors of marriage fraud and suicide broadcast by a fan. These two incidents were already enough to attract the public¡¯s hatred, but when they were coupled with some instigation by the online promoters to heat up the discussion, the inte became overwhelmed with reprimands directed toward Michael. The key point was that he seemed to be totally unaware about this. He went out shooting every day and returned home on time for dinner. He was living the life of an old retiree, going to bed and waking up early, and drinking wolfberry-infused water. The ¡®War Dragon¡¯ crew had started filming. Plenty of fans leftments on the film crew¡¯s official page to show their protest, and some fans even went to the film set to create trouble and disrupt the filming. Therefore, Michael was able to stay home happily. He was boycotted by his fans, so the filming crew asked him not to continue with shooting to avoid the limelight, which allowed him to stay home and have a couple of days off. Sophia was so mad that she nearly spat blood. My idol, please be more concerned about the situation! Even Nathan knew that his father was being badly reprimanded, so he went home furiously and comined to Sophia, ¡°Mommy, they said that my daddy is a gay man whomitted marriage fraud to get someone to bear his child.¡± Sophia was fuming with anger. ¡°Your daddy is not a person like that; your daddy is the most handsome idol in the world.¡± He pouted in displeasure. Although she knew who was pulling the strings behind them, she had no strength to fight back as she needed to prepare for examination. Therefore, it would be her time to perform after her exams were over! The mid-term examination of Bayside University was an extremely important exam. As Faye knew that Sophia would definitelye on this day, she had had someone to keep an eye on her in advance. After the exam, she stopped her at the main gate of the university. All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Sophia, you cannot leave. You must take me to go and see my brother-inw today!¡± Faye blocked her way and refused to let her leave. Sophia coldly went around her. Faye chased after her as she was unwilling to give up and maliciously threatened her, ¡°Let me tell you this¡ªif you refuse to tell me who your husband is today, I¡¯ll destroy your reputation so that you won¡¯t be able to continue to stay in Bayside University!¡± Sophia chuckled before getting in her car and left. Looking at Sophia¡¯s car driving away, Faye had a sinister smile on her face. She then took out her phone to give X a call. ¡°You can order your team to start posting.¡± At night, when Sophia arrived home, she dared not rx at all; she immediately started to do her revision to prepare for the examination tomorrow. The examsted for two days, and the mid-term exams carried a lot of weight of the overall assessment. Therefore, she must not do it half-heartedly. After she started revising for a while, she suddenly received a call from their ss monitor, Molly Lawson. ¡°Sophia, check out our university forum now. Something has happened!¡± What is it now? She put down her book, logged in to Bayside University¡¯s forum, and found a trending post on the first page of the forum. ¡®Shocking news¡ªSophia Edwards, a student from Economic Law, has a few kept men, who are students from Bayside University!¡¯ Upon seeing that, she was rendered speechless. Anyone who saw the title would know the whole story. Someone anonymously spread the news that she had a few kept men who were from the same university even though she was already married. A photo was attached in the post as evidence¡ªit was an intimate photo of Michael and her. The photo seemed to have been taken on the day the cash-countingpetition was held. The photo where Michael and her were hugging intimately was taken by someone without their knowledge. There was also another photo of when she was ying games in the cybercaf¨¦ together with Stanley. Since she was already married, the incident where she had a few kept men who were students from the same university seemed to have be a fact. As the top educational institute of Cethos, it was definitely an appalling news to have such a scandal coming from Bayside University. On top of that, the report was made by someone using her real name, which generated a lot of clicks for the forum post. There was another staggering information in the post¡ªSophia¡¯s kept man actually looked exactly the same as the famous Best Actor, Taylor Murray. Rumor had it that he had gone through stic surgery to have this look. Someone even suggested that Sophia was obsessed with Taylor, so she intentionally had a kept man, who was a student from the university, and had him go through stic surgery to have Taylor¡¯s looks! The post analyzed the situation and presented it in an organized and logical manner that was almost impable. It contained a lot of rming news, and every single sentence could arouse the gossipy nature of its reader, inducing a hot discussion in the university forum in just a short period of time. Sophia had been a fan of Taylor for over 6 months. After fighting with Taylor¡¯s haters for so long, she had gained a lot of experience. Therefore, with just a nce at how the post was written, she knew that this was the work of Glory Entertainment¡¯s professional team! Glory Entertainment¡¯s public rtion team and promoters¡¯ skills in defaming a person were one of the best in the industry. They were able to make their celebrities, whocked acting skills, into famous idols, so of course they were able to defame someone as famous as Taylor Murray to the point that he was hated by everyone. Therefore, it was a piece of cake for them to nder her. Looks like they really have high expectations on me by hiring an expensive team from Glory Entertainment to write this kind of post! Those people from Asco Entertainment are useless. We should rece them with the team from Glory Entertainment by offering them a high pay! Sophia had no intention at all to bother with this kind of nderous post. She just asked Gemma to hack the forum to delete the post. However, she had underestimated the degree a nderous post could circte in the inte era. The next day, when she went to university, everyone looked at her in a strange manner. Even during her examination, the invigtor, Professor rk, looked at her as if he had something to say. ¡°Professor rk, what¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked curiously. He shook his head. ¡°Take your exams first.¡± After the paper in the morning, she went to the School of Computer Science to pick Nathan up to have lunch together. When they were in the canteen, everyone¡¯s gazes on her were even weirder. What exactly is going on? Could it be that this is due to the nderous post yesterday? I¡¯ve asked Gemma to delete it. I¡¯ll just ignore it for now; the exam is more important. After the exam in the afternoon, the mid-term examination was over. Sophia thought that she had performed well as she had answered all the questions properly, so her score this time around should be excellent. Her goal was to be the top 3 in her entire course. It¡¯s only halfway through the semester, but I have participated in manypetitions, one after another. After I be the champion of the Esports World Championship, I¡¯ll be able to obtain another five marks, and I will be more capable topete for the national schrship, she thought to herself in pleasure. However, to her surprise, the moment the examination papers were all collected, Quinton suddenly said, ¡°Sophia, the vice chancellor asked for your presence in his office.¡± Chapter 301 Chapter 301 The vice chancellor? The fair and impartial old guy with an indifferent face? Sophia asked as she followed Quinton to the vice chancellor¡¯s office, ¡°Why does the vice chancellor want to see me?¡± Quinton shook his head helplessly. ¡°You should read the news.¡± They had to take their university shuttle bus because the journey to the vice chancellor¡¯s office was a little far. Sitting on the bus, she fished out her phone that she hadn¡¯t touched for the whole day to read the news. Only then did she find out that the matter had be worse. For some reason, the nderous postst night was spread all over the inte. It rapidly became a hot topic because there was a handsome teenager, who looked almost identical to Taylor Murray, involved in the incident. As the defamatory news about Taylor was so widespread now, this incident gained momentum as well. Hence, this had brought disrepute to Bayside University, and the inte was full of criticism and sarcasm toward the university. A bunch of weaker students who failed to enter the university had been eagerly waiting for scandals of Bayside University to feed their bitterness. Now that their wish had been fulfilled¡ªBayside University had a scandal¡ªthey enthusiastically reprimanded the university, like flies attracted to poop. Quinton was worried. ¡°The vice chancellor is concerned about the reputation of Bayside University. Also, Stanley¡¯s parents are senior professors in the university. They are now furiously waiting in the vice chancellor¡¯s office. Joe is there as well¡­ Do you need me to help you to exin to them that the situation is not how they thought?¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. She rejected him. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Thank you, Professor rk. Let me deal with this myself.¡± The shuttle bus stopped in front of the university¡¯s multipurpose building, where the office of the vice chancellor was located. Quinton followed her upstairs anxiously. Though Sophia was really the innocent one for this incident, words could cause harm, so he was a little worried for her. Meanwhile, in the Faculty of Film, Richard found X and failed to hold back the urge to admonish her. ¡°X, why did you do this kind of thing? Now that this happened, the news about Taylor can¡¯t be made public since the public¡¯s attention is now focused on Tyler.¡± He only learned today that X actually had the public rtion team of Glory Entertainment to intervene with Sophia¡¯s issue, and the defamatory post was publicized by hispany. Glory Entertainment¡¯s main task now was to defame Taylor Murray and snatch the main role of Mark Fletcher. The n was initially going smoothly, but now that the issue about Sophia having kept men, who were students from her university, had broken out, everyone¡¯s attention was attracted by ¡®Tyler¡¯, who was 99% simr to Taylor. Therefore, if the scandals about Taylor were to be publicized now, the effect of the spread of the news would be greatly reduced. The public rtion team and online promoters of Glory Entertainment were the most sessful in the entire industry. They had seeded in making the celebrities under Glory Entertainment be some of the most famous celebrities in the industry. However, the payment for their services was expensive, so Richard had to make sure that their every operation realized the greatest value. And now, all his ns had been ruined because everyone found out about the existence of Tyler, who bore an uncanny resemnce to Taylor. Richard¡¯s initial idea to turn him into Glory Entertainment¡¯s secret weapon had fallen through. In just one day, countless agencypanies were eager toe to Bayside University to sign an agreement with this 18-year-old-version of Taylor Murray. Besides, the intimate photos of Sophia and Tyler were taken without their knowledge. Those were his trump cards which he had prepared to keep until the most crucial moment to use it to threaten Sophia. But all those were unexpectedly publicized by X. She¡¯s ruined it! It¡¯s ruined! Everything is now ruined! X pouted aggrievedly. ¡°I have never thought that the situation would turn out this way. It was Faye who pleaded with me to do this. You know that we¡¯re such good friends¡­ I won¡¯t do this again¡­ Richard, please forgive me!¡± At this point, what else could Richard do now? Though he inwardly med X, he couldn¡¯t say it out loud. Since the situation hade to this point, there was nothing he could do to retrieve the situation. But he was not reconciled to ept the unexpected fact that something he had strived hard to get had been given to Joe for free. Now, Faye and Joe had made a big deal out of it. They were both sitting in the office of the vice chancellor, who would definitely ask Sophia to call her husband out to question him directly. Thus, Joe would achieve his goal! After some consideration, Richard uttered, ¡°I¡¯m going there to check it out.¡± He couldn¡¯t allow Joe to gain by himself; he was curious to know who Sophia¡¯s husband was as well. X yfully stuck out her tongue and followed him to the multipurpose building. She might look aggrieved on the surface when in fact, she was feeling pleased inwardly. Having gone through Richard¡¯s phone, she knew that he was still in contact with Sophia. It seems that Richard wants to use the fact that she has a boyfriend in the university to threaten her. Sophia seemed to have never replied to him on Messenger, but based on her sixth sense, she knew that Sophia was just ying hard to get. She pretended to be reserved so that she could get Richard¡¯s attention for a long time. After all, one would yearn for something they couldn¡¯t get. Sophia¡¯s a b*tch! Since she is married, she should loyally serve that old man. How dare she continue to flirt around! She shouldn¡¯t me me for being rough on her, then! Not only is her reputation ruined now, if her husband finds out about what she did in the university, he may very well dump her! Even if she won¡¯t be driven away from their home, her husband will be pestered by Joe and his family. I¡¯m clear what kind of scum Joe is! By then, Sophia will never have the chance to stand up again! Haha, it¡¯d be so exhrating! Meanwhile, a few parties gathered in the office of the vice chancellor. Firstly, there was the vice chancellor, whose expression glum as he sat behind his office desk while coldly waiting for Sophia to appear. A married couple was sitting on the couch. They seemed to be intellectuals as their outfits radiated bookish vibes, and both of them wore sses. They were Stanley¡¯s parents, who were furiously waiting for Sophia to appear. Stanley was sitting at one side, his eyes flicking from left to right. When he saw Joe and Faye, who were sitting on another couch, he let out an enigmatic smile. When Sophia entered the room, the first thing she saw was Stanley¡¯s parents, who looked like intellectuals, sitting next to Stanley. They must be Stanley¡¯s parents! She had met Stanley¡¯s grandfather, great-grandfather, and brother, but not his parents. Stanley said that his parents were obsessed with scientific research, so he could only meet them once every 2 weeks. Even when he was nearly killed by Phantom Wolf in Time Square, it was his brother who showed up, while his parents continued with their research overseas. Upon seeing Sophia entering the room, he winked at her while she red at him. F*ck! This stupid Stanley, who always craves to stir up more trouble! If you have the nerve, don¡¯t go home after the ss ends! When Stanley¡¯s father saw that his son was winking at her even at this moment, he hit the table in fury. ¡°Are you Sophia Edwards? Stay away from my son!¡± The moment Stanley¡¯s parents stepped out of theboratory and found out that their son had an intimate rtionship with a married woman, they were so enraged to the point they nearly fainted. The Fletcher Family has always been gentlefolks. So, as a Fletcher, how could he have an intimate rtionship with a married woman? This is a disgrace to the family! Chapter 302 Chapter 302 Stanley¡¯s mother was enraged as she said to the vice chancellor, ¡°As I have just said, this kind of student is not suitable to continue studying in this university. I suggest that you expel her!¡± With his mouth shut, Stanley hid behind his parents while looking at Sophia with a grin. He enjoyed watching her in trouble. Joe, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t concerned with whether Sophia would be expelled; all he cared was to find out who her husband was. Pretending to be sad, he eximed in a seemingly sorrowful manner, ¡°I¡¯m unworthy to be her father. She had been separated from me since young, and I found her only recently¡­ Sigh¡­ A child¡¯s mistake is the parents¡¯ fault, so it was all my fault¡­ all my fault¡­¡± Faye uttered in a surly manner, ¡°Heh, that¡¯s not necessarily the case. Perhaps it was Stanley who seduced my sister! This is something that we can¡¯t say for sure!¡± Though they were clueless about the background of Stanley¡¯s parents, they looked down on this pair of nerds with greasy, tousled hair. The reason they nned this show was just to flush out Sophia¡¯s husband! The previous incident at the police station failed to lure him out, but they were sure that the old man would show up this time! ¡°What did you just say?!¡± Stanley¡¯s father blew up on the spot while he hit the table hard and rose to his full height. Although they were intellectuals, deep within their bones, they still had the Fletchers¡¯ passion and stubbornness. He, in fact, resembled Old Master Fletcher when he was furious. Joe uttered, ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s cut to the chase. Vice chancellor, now that the matter has arisen, we have to figure out a way to solve this. Sophia, you should quickly ask your husband toe here. Everything will be resolved once he shows his face.¡± Joe was only concerned about his rich son-inw, so he had no intention at all to waste his time on other irrelevant matters. Since the police failed to force him to show up, I bet the university can do so. If he refuses to turn up, she will definitely be expelled by the university! If that old man refused to show up even under such circumstances, Joe would start to suspect whether Sophia was really married to a rich man. Stanley¡¯s mother was fuming. Raising her eyebrows in anger, she pointed at Sophia and reprimanded, ¡°My son is only 20 years old, and there are rumors of him being someone else¡¯s kept man, which would make him unable to find a girlfriend. This situation must be properly resolved. Otherwise, I won¡¯t let you off!¡± Sophia replied inwardly, Your son¡¯s inability to find a girlfriend has nothing to do with me; it¡¯s him who is destined to be single forever! She had been quiet since she entered the room. Neither humbly or arrogantly, she looked at the vice chancellor, who was also looking at her with a surly expression amidst the quarrel of the two families. From her expression, he failed to find any guilt nor remorse; all he could see was her frankness and fearlessness, which inadvertently reminded him of a simr expression she had when she was questioned about the rumors of her having gotten an abortion at the beginning of the semester. In the end, she was proven to be innocent. Could it be that there¡¯s a hidden truth behind all these? When the news broke out, he investigated the matter and discovered that it was really suspicious. For instance, there wasn¡¯t anybody who looked 99% simr to Taylor Murray in Bayside University. Besides, he was clear of Stanley¡¯s background. It would be the greatest joke of the year that a member of the Fletcher Family was a kept man. Nevertheless, he was certain that Sophia had something to do with this! The vice chancellor threw a newly-released newspaper, which smelled of fresh ink, in front of her. ¡°You¡¯d better give me an exnation!¡± In the newspaper, the three words, ¡®Bayside University Scandal¡¯, were very clear. When the news¡ªa student of the reputable, high-ss Bayside University became a kept man of another student from the same university¡ªbroke out, nobody could tell how many people would strike them when they were down, just like piranhas swarming toward blood. This top educational institution was defamed due to this news; theizens cursed and ndered them as they pleased. This was something that had never happened before to this educational institution, which was founded a century ago! Sophia¡¯s gaze turned away from the newspaper, and her clear eyesnded on the vice chancellor. ¡°Vice chancellor, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m married, but I¡¯ve never had any kept men who are students from this university. Though I have a couple of male friends, our rtionship stays within the moderate distance between ordinary friends. As for the rumors that are circting online, I will deal with them, and I will make sure that those rumors won¡¯t ruin our university¡¯s reputation.¡± ¡°Are you saying that you are going to solve this? How are you nning to do so?¡± Stanley¡¯s mother was so worked up that she got on her feet. ¡°It¡¯s impossible that my son is someone else¡¯s kept man! It¡¯s impossible for him to have a rtionship with a married woman! Since this gossip has broken out, how is he going to study in this university without being made fun of by others? How is he going to get a girlfriend?¡± Upon seeing that his son was going to be in a situation where he couldn¡¯t get any girlfriend, Stanley¡¯s father was so anxious that his eyes reddened. ¡°Yes, how is my son going to get a girlfriend after this? You need to give me a solution to this and clear my son¡¯s name!¡± Both of them had been hoping for Stanley, this silly boy, to find a girlfriend, who was blind and untactful enough to date him, in this university! Sophia enunciated, ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, I bet that your son won¡¯t be able to get a girlfriend even without this issue!¡± Joe suddenly piped up with an adamant attitude, ¡°My daughter won¡¯t be able to solve this issue, for she is still young. Let¡¯s call her husband out to have a discussion!¡± Faye chipped in, ¡°Vice chancellor, it¡¯s actually very simple to rify this matter¡ªjust get my brother-in- law to make a public statement!¡± Though someone spread the news about a student cheating in marriage and having kept men¡ª regardless of whether the news was real¡ªas long as Sophia¡¯s husband appeared and made a statement, they would at least be able to save a little of the reputation of Bayside University. After giving it some thought, the vice chancellor agreed. ¡°Alright. Sophia, call your husband toe to the university. Both of you should make a statement so that he can rify your situation to the public.¡± When the vice chancellor said that, Sophia seemed to have lost her chance to refuse. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Joe and Faye exchanged nces, and they nearly gave each other a high-five as celebration. I¡¯ve finally achieved my goal! The moment Sophia¡¯s husband appears, I¡¯ll immediately introduce myself to him as his father-inw. Immeasurable wealth and real estates from The Imperial, here Ie! With that thought in mind, he immediately chimed in, ¡°Yes, yes, yes! This is what we should do. She has had a tough life, and it wasn¡¯t easy for her to get a husband who loves her, so we shouldn¡¯t let this nderous rumors affect their rtionship!¡± Stanley¡¯s parents agreed as well. ¡°This is all we can do for now. You need to clear my son¡¯s name, and we will deal with the rest after this.¡± However, Sophia interrupted everyone, ¡°I don¡¯t think that this is a good idea! This is just burying our heads in the sand!¡± The vice chancellor frowned as he asked, ¡°Do you have any better ideas?¡± He himself was clear that asking her husband to make an appearance to the public was just a temporary measure. Sophia enunciated her analysis, ¡°Vice chancellor, it¡¯s obvious that this incident is a scheme to defame Bayside University, and I¡¯m merely their excuse. Even without me, they will make up other false information to defame our university. Therefore, our priority now is to make a police report to find out the person behind all the rumors!¡± The moment her words were said, Joe and Faye¡¯s expression changed. Joe immediately refuted, ¡°This isn¡¯t something so serious that we need to report to the police. We just need my son-inw to make a statement, and everything will be rified, then the rumors will naturally be scotched.¡± Casting a look at the nervous Joe, Sophia slowly exined, ¡°This can be both a serious and a trivial matter. If we take this as a small matter, this is just someone targeting me. However, if we take this as a serious matter, I suspect that there is someone behind this incident who has a purpose and n against Bayside University. As everyone knows, our university is the best in Cethos. I suspect that these people who schemed to defame our university are not aiming at only our university; they might be purposefully and systematically defaming the entire education system of Cethos to make our education system copse!¡± Her words staggered everyone. Bayside University was the top educational institute in Cethos, and it was known all over the world. If one of the universities of Cethos became disrepute, this would be internationally defaming the entire education system of Cethos. The room fell into a silence before Joe hit the table and rose to his full height. ¡°B*stard! This is just a trivial matter, so it¡¯s impossible that it has such a heavy consequence! You should quickly call your husband out here, and by then, all the rumors would be gone.¡± Chapter 303 Chapter 303 Faye felt even more guilty. If she really goes to the police, I will be exposed immediately. She hurriedly said, ¡°Sophia, stop putting it off anymore. Ask your husband toe here to discuss this quickly. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t dare to call your husband over because you¡¯re feeling guilty¡­¡± Sophia nced at Faye before saying, ¡°My husband is someone prominent, so of course he would appear in person. But this incident involves my reputation, as well as Bayside University¡¯s reputation. It¡¯s not just my personal matter anymore. When I was on the way here, I already reported to the police. The inte police are already beginning to search through the IP addresses. I believe we will find out the culprit who is ndering the university soon enough.¡± She¡¯s already reported to the police? Faye was so shocked that she lost herposure. Richard and X, who had been listening to their conversation outside, were also shocked. They¡¯ve really reported to the police? Richard¡¯s eyes gleamed. He was quite confident that Glory Entertainment¡¯s public rtions team had managed to hide their IP address so that no one could find them. Otherwise, they would have already been caught after writing vicious rumors for so many years. The most severe offence that they would receive was that the ounts spreading rumors would be banned. So Sophia is still unwilling to reveal her husband? Seems like she really wants to keep all his wealth and assets to herself! In the office, Joe was so angry that he stomped his feet on the ground as he pointed at Sophia and yelled at the top of his lungs uncontrobly, ¡°You unfilial daughter! Don¡¯t you know that it¡¯s wrong to air your dirtyundry? For this matter, it¡¯s best to settle it on our own behind closed doors. Why did you report to the police? Why?¡± Sophia smiled coldly as she looked at Joe, who was enraged. ¡°The entire Bayside City already knows about this family scandal. Shouldn¡¯t I report to the police?¡± Joe was quite angry at her, but he decided to let this pass resentful upon a second thought. ¡°Fine. You should.¡± No matter how everything turns out, my son-inw will definitely appear. Now that everyone knows his wife cheated on him, he will definitely have to face us as a man. If he decides to divorce Sophia, I will fight the divorcewsuit against him. No matter what, I will have to gain something from him. If he decides to defend Sophia, it would be even better; that would be more than asking him for a payment. Stanley¡¯s parents also felt that this matter was best if they reported to the police. No matter what, their son¡¯s innocence had to be proven. After thinking about it, the vice chancellor decided that everything should be tracked from its source. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give you a week, but you must settle this perfectly!¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Of course!¡± After the discussion was over, everyone in the office stood up to leave. Thinking that Sophia¡¯s husband would finally reveal himself this time around, Joe left with Faye happily. Since Sophia had to discuss some details with the vice chancellor, she stayed back in the office, while Stanley and his family also stayed back as well. Stanley felt that it would be best if he exined this matter clearly to his parents and the vice chancellor. Otherwise, Sophia would definitelyin to Michael, and once she did that, Stanley could not get away with it anymore. Once Joe and Faye walked out, they saw a little kid running in their direction. Joe immediately recognized that he was Sophia¡¯s stepson, so he said happily, ¡°Little guy, remember to ask your dad to pay me a visit soon!¡± Nathan ignored him. After shooting a nce at Joe, Faye, Richard, and X, who were leaving together, he pushed the door open and walked into the vice chancellor¡¯s office. ¡°Nate, why are you here?¡± Stanley¡¯s parents saw Nathan immediately. Even though he seldom went back to the Fletcher Family, he had enrolled in Bayside University after all, so Stanley¡¯s parents knew him. As soon as the vice chancellor saw Nathan, his stern expression immediately rxed. He waved and smiled as he said, ¡°Nate,e here! Come to your god-grandfather!¡± Nathan, however, pouted. ¡°I¡¯m not going there. My dad asked me to let you know that he¡¯s now parking in the parking lot, and he will be discussing some matters with youter.¡± ¡°Mike is here?¡± Upon hearing that, the vice chancellor was pleasantly surprised. It had been a while since Michaelst visited him, and during thest visit, it was because of Nathan¡¯s studies. ¡°Michael was one of the most sessful alumni of Bayside University. On top of that, he was an Oscar- winning actor, and the son of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was actually the vice chancellor¡¯s secret crush. On top of that, Michael donated 1.8 million to the university every year, so of course the vice chancellor liked Michael. Unexpectedly, Nathan turned around and held Sophia¡¯s hands as he lifted his head. ¡°Mommy, let¡¯s leave first. Daddy is going to discuss some matters with god-grandfather.¡± M-Mommy? ¡°Mommy? Nate, what did you call her?¡± Stanley¡¯s mother was surprised to hear that, and even the vice chancellor thought his ears were deceiving him. Nathan, who had always been indifferent, did not reply to them. Instead, he walked away holding Sophia¡¯s hands. The few people in the office were genuinely shocked. The vice chancellor and Stanley¡¯s parents exchanged awkward nces after hearing that. Isn¡¯t Nate¡¯s father Michael? Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. When has Sophia be Nate¡¯s mom? Doesn¡¯t that mean¡­ Suddenly, the vice chancellor grabbed the newspaper on the table and looked at it carefully. An intimate picture of Sophia and a ¡®fake¡¯ Taylor Murray was printed on the cover page, but that man looked exactly the same as Michael Fletcher in the vice chancellor¡¯s memories. I heard that he specifically did stic surgeries to look like that¡­ At this moment, someone knocked on the door. After he raised his head, he saw Michael, who was well- dressed in a suit, standing outside the door. He knocked on the door politely once more as he asked, ¡°May I enter?¡± The vice chancellor looked at him before ncing back at the picture. They look exactly the same! They are the same person! Everyone in the office hadn¡¯te to terms with this piece of breaking news, but Stanley was the first to return to his senses as he walked to Michael brightly. ¡°Hello, Uncle Michael!¡± Michael replied, ¡°Hey.¡± Then, he walked to the vice chancellor and sat down on the couch. ¡°My reasons foring here today is because of my wife, Sophia¡­¡± It was only now that the vice chancellor suddenly jolted awake. ¡°I see! I see!¡± Stanley¡¯s parents were still dumbfounded at this. They heard that Michael had gotten married, but they didn¡¯t know who his wife was. Hence, they totally did not expect that she was the young woman they met just now. After sitting in the vice chancellor¡¯s office for another ten minutes, the vice chancellor walked Michael back to the parking lot personally with wide smiles on his face. ¡°Mike, doe back more often in the future. It took a lot of effort to convince the close-minded folks to have the Esportspetition included under extra-curricr marks. You can¡¯t dy the speech you promised this time anymore!¡± Michael replied, ¡°Of course, of course. It just so happened that I¡¯m free recently. I¡¯ll fix a time with you soon.¡± The vice chancellor walked away happily. Leaning on the window of the car, Sophia felt quite guilty when she saw Michael walking to her. I¡¯ve troubled him with my menial tasks again. He helps me out each time I¡¯m in trouble to the point that I¡¯m embarrassed about it. Right after Michael entered the car, she said, ¡°Dear, you are already so busy. I can settle these matters on my own. Just let me settle it this time around.¡± Sitting next to her, Michael had a moment of silence before he suddenly smiled and caressed her hair. ¡°Alright. If you need help, juste to me anytime.¡± Sophia snuggled in his embrace and raised her head to look at the man in front of her with sparkles in her eyes. Suddenly, Stanley rushed to them and entered the car as soon as he opened the door. ¡°Uncle Michael! Wait for me! I have an important thing to discuss with you!¡± Chapter 304 Chapter 304 As soon as he saw Stanley, Michael¡¯s face immediately darkened. ¡°Get lost.¡± Stanley leaned closer with a wide smile on his face. ¡°Uncle Michael, I have something to discuss with you. I¡¯ve recently founded apany with my friends to develop a sniper game. Since you¡¯re wealthy, why don¡¯t you invest in us?¡± So, he¡¯s here for money. Michael responded, ¡°I don¡¯t have any money. Get lost!¡± Stanley quickly switched on hisptop and pushed it over to Michael. ¡°Just take a look at it, Uncle Michael! Just a nce! The user experience is outstanding!¡± N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. After ncing at Sophia, who was next to them, he deliberately said, ¡°Uncle Michael, you have never invested in online games. Let me tell you that they will earn you a ton of money!¡± I have invested in almost all of the most profitable online games in Cethos, so how could I not know about this? Michael gave him the side-eye, knowing that thetter was threatening him. But, if I don¡¯t invest in him, he¡¯s most probably going to reveal that I pretended to be a woman in the game. With that thought, he spoke arduously, ¡°Get out of the car and leave yourptop behind. Ask your parents to keep their mouths shut. Stanley respectfully bowed before heading out. ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m so poor that I almost can¡¯t afford to buy any food because of this game. Around 1.8 million would be enough. Don¡¯t worry, my parents are always busy in their office and won¡¯t simply talk nonsense!¡± As soon as Stanley exited the car, Michael threw theptop on Sophia. ¡°Chica, why don¡¯t you have a look? If you think it¡¯s fun, I¡¯ll invest in it.¡± Did he think that he was dismissing a beggar earlier? Right after they arrived home, she yed the game that Stanley had made¡ªa sniper game with smooth operations, making the experience fun. Without even being aware of it, she had already yed for 3 hours. Standing behind her, Michael asked, ¡°Is it fun?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s fun!¡± Hearing that, he turned and transferred 20 million to Stanley. It¡¯s quite nice to develop a game for my wife to y. It happened to be the weekend the next day. Sophia looked at the news the moment she woke up¡ª Michael was furiously being canceled by everyone online, but he didn¡¯t seem to care about it and was working out instead. The topic of Sophia paying a male university student to be her gigolo was still a heated one, but everyone shifted their focus to the man who was 99% simr to Taylor Murray. It seems like the Harpers won¡¯t give up until I die! Sophia sighed before getting out of bed and started to work on her own matters. Since the Harper Family is unforgiving, don¡¯t me me for being ruthless! Right after waking up, she received a call from Stanley. ¡°Sophia, why don¡¯t you join me to have a look at mypany?¡± She immediately refused him. ¡°I¡¯m not going. Michael doesn¡¯t like me speaking to you.¡± Stanley replied, ¡°Uncle Michael has transferred 20 million in your name to invest in mypany. Are you coming? You are one of the investors now!¡± What? He already gave 20 million? Isn¡¯t it too careless? The game yesterday was quite fun, but it¡¯ll be better if they can make it into 3D or virtual reality. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be joining you in a while.¡± After lunch, she went out with Nathan with Stanley already waiting for them at the door. It had been a long time shest left the house, thus it felt good to have a breather outside. Stanley brought Sophia and Nathan to an office that he rented outside the university campus. It had a simpleyout with few people. Most of his employees were still university students in their penultimate and final years as well as few seniors who had already graduated. Sophia hadn¡¯t expected to see Sean and Sarah again. ¡°Sean, Sarah, why are you guys here?¡± Sarah replied, ¡°Oh, Sean dragged me over and insisted that I should be their graphics designer!¡± Sean blushed and scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯m here to work for Stan, that¡¯s all.¡± Stanley pped his shoulders happily. ¡°Don¡¯t look down on Sean! He is going to take a double degree and learnnguages as well as game design. He is now my capable assistant.¡± Sophia shook her head upon hearing that. Stanley, you are a fool! When will you understand Sean? He doesn¡¯t like games or game design. He just likes you¡ªwho likes to y games! After a tour around the office, Stanley said while sending her back, ¡°Sophia, you know, developing games requires a lot of money. I¡¯ve thrown all of my assets into this and I even borrowed a lot of money from my brother. Sean and Sarah have also invested, but it¡¯s not enough. If you could give me some, it would be great!¡± She immediately rejected him. ¡°I don¡¯t have any money.¡± However, he did not believe her. ¡°Sell your ¡®Moonlight in an Ancient Well¡¯ and ¡®Greenery¡¯ dresses to a collector. You¡¯ll get a lot of money in return yet you have the cheek to say that you don¡¯t have any money. I don¡¯t care; either you invest some money or I¡¯ll tell Uncle Michael that you cheated on him!¡± After having a look at Stanley¡¯s office, Sophia was about to bring Nathan for a good meal. However, she received a call from Richard after taking a few steps from the office. ¡°Sophia, I know where you are. I¡¯ve already noticed you the moment you left the building. I¡¯m now in the cafe right across the street. Come here immediately. We need to have a chat.¡± She hung up on the call and thoughtfully looked at her phone before breaking into a sudden smile. In a cafe booth, she and Richard sat opposite each other while Nathan sat right next to her, vigntly observing him. Meanwhile, Gary, Hale, and Gemma sat at the table next to them while pretending to be customers. Sophia perused the contract with concentration¡ªit was drafted for ¡®Tyler Murray¡¯. Both Faye and X had tried their best to ruin her reputation, but they never expected that it would have brought sudden fame to ¡®Tyler Murray¡¯. It was a fact that Taylor Murray was a jerk who cheated in his marriage, whichpletely ruined his image. He was actually being canceled in real life by that point. No matter how many charity banquets he had organized, he was unable to change the public opinion¡ªit would be a matter of time before someone reced his role. Since Taylor Murray¡¯s career had failed, there could be a chance for a young actor who shared a simr resemnce to him to debut as the second Tyler Murray, if signed to Richard¡¯spany. Then, Taylor Murray¡¯s fans could alsopletely ept Tyler Murray. After pretending to peruse the contract, Sophia took a sip of the coffee and spoke to Richard with honesty, ¡°Richard, you are aware that Tyler is a gigolo whom I¡¯ve hired. After he became famous, I¡¯ve already received invitations from no less than five agencies to sign contracts with them. Without my approval, he will not sign with any one of them.¡± Richard smiled. ¡°Sophia, I want to apologize to you for the incident this time. As you know, X is too kind, and Faye had instigated her to do something stupid. I can¡¯t believe that she shared to the public about you and Tyler. She regretted her actions afterward and hopes that you can forgive her.¡± First, we have the kind X; the affectionate ex-boyfriend, Richard; and Michael, who is old and ugly¡ª these three are the biggest jokes in Bayside City! Upon seeing that Sophia was stoic, Richard quickly added, ¡°On behalf of X, I want to apologize to you. I hope you won¡¯t make a fuss out of this. I also hope that you can withdraw the police report.¡± She immediately offered a price without any pleasantries. ¡°If you want me to withdraw the police report, fine, but you have to give me something in exchange. Why don¡¯t you invest more money and effort to include Mark Fletcher¡¯s character in the documentary? After you¡¯ve done that, I¡¯ll ask Tyler to sign a contract with you immediately. Based on his good looks, he has to star in a blockbuster for his debut!¡± Chapter 305 Chapter 305 She even added, ¡°I¡¯m the one who found Tyler first. He has great potential and is very suitable to expand his career in the entertainment industry. If you aren¡¯t able to do that, I¡¯ll see who will be able to provide the best offer with the most resources. Then, he will sign a contract with them.¡± There was a tinge of threat in her tone, causing a look of anger to sh across Richard¡¯s eyes, but he eventuallypromised. He was the one who discovered Tyler Murray and the Glory Public Rtions Team made him popr. If Tyler had signed the contract with otherpanies, it was almost as if they were receiving a ready-made product without exercising much effort. Anyway, the Glory Public Rtions Team¡¯s goal had always been the same¡ªto sabotage Taylor Murray¡¯s chances of securing the role of Mark Fletcher. Richard thought, Why don¡¯t I first agree to lure Tyler over? All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. He immediately agreed. ¡°Sure, no problem. I will invest more money in public rtions to make the progress quicker. As long as we have money, we don¡¯t have to worry about hiring ghostwriters online. Now that Taylor Murray can no longer turn the tides, the documentary filming crew has moved on. Apart from that, the ghostwriters I hired have taken over the filming crew. ¡®War Dragon¡¯ has also halted filming. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, there will be news about the change of characters being reported on the news.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Alright, I still trust that you are capable of handling matters like this, Richard.¡± After they happily reached a ¡®consensus¡¯, they walked out of the cafe. Richard suddenly sighed. ¡°Sophia, do you still remember when we¡ª¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Sophia gave him a cold one-word answer and walked off in a haste after seeing Michael¡¯s car at the parking spot in front of the entrance. Michael¡¯s face was revealed after he rolled down the car window. He wore a white shirt that contrasted with his red lips and white teeth, making him look like a young, handsome and attractive man. Tyler Murray! Richard immediately recognized the man in the car. He wanted to bypass Sophia and directly sign a contract with Tyler, but he could not search for his whereabouts. Hence, he only watched helplessly as she opened the car door and kissed the man in the car intimately before they drove away. Richard resentfully watched the car disappear from his field of sight. Sophia, one day, you will have to kneel before me to beg me like how you used to! In the car, Michael was also ying the game that Stanley developed. He had to admit that the shooting game designed by a sniper was indeed different from the average ones¡ªit was more interesting and fun to y. It also seemed that Stanley had inherited the mutated genes from the Fletcher Family since his talents were in game design. The game that he developed had good prospects¡ªif he worked hard on it, he would be able to achieve huge sess. ¡°Eh, are you into games as well, hubby?¡± Sophia asked curiously. Michael replied, ¡°I don¡¯t really know; that¡¯s why I¡¯m having a go at it. It actually looks rather decent, though. I¡¯m nning to transfer another 10 million to Stanley for him to y around with.¡± Ten million¡­ to y around with¡­ During the mid-term exams, Sophia stayed at home to ¡®recover from her illness¡¯ while Abel still investigated the whereabouts of Phantom Wolf. For the current moment, she hadn¡¯t returned to university, but she sometimes visited Stanley¡¯s office to take a look at the ce. After Michael invested 30 million in thepany, she had personally invested 10 million into it. In addition to Stanley¡¯s personal wealth and a few other donations he received, thepany was able to start its business. As Sophia majored in finance andw, she had to deal with thepany¡¯s finance and legal matters on a part-time basis before they were able to engage an ountant. It just so happened that she had received her ountancy qualification. Since it was also her first time in starting a business, she followed Stanley around for a few days out of curiosity. In his office, Stanley bragged proudly. ¡°Let me tell you this¡ªyou know Scary Phoenix, right? The Scary Phoenix in the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is an incredible person!¡± Sophia was in the midst of drafting an employment contract for him when she heard him mentioning the name of her master in the game. ¡°I know about Scary Phoenix; he¡¯s the top yer in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. What¡¯s up with him?¡± He replied, ¡°You can¡¯t tell others what I¡¯m about to tell you. Scary Phoenix is the secret boss of the entire ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯.¡± F*ck! So, the secret boss of the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is actually Scary Phoenix! No wonder I can¡¯t defeat him in the game! Although Stanley had failed atpeting for the same woman with Michael, it had not defeated his will. After all, he was well aware that he was not up to his uncle¡¯s standard inpeting for the same woman. Even though Uncle Michael may be a jerk sometimes, his power is way beyond what a human being has! Speaking of Michael, Stanley¡¯s eyes were filled with admiration. ¡°Back then, the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was also founded by a few students from Bayside University¡ªand they asked Scary Phoenix to be their angel investor. After ying the game for an entire night, he decided to invest 20 million. 20 million, Sophia! The value of 20 million a decade ago is different from now! At that time, cyber cafes and locally developed online games weren¡¯t even popr. When Scary Phoenix immediately invested 20 million on a few immature students to develop an online game¡­ Tsk, everyone said that it would be a waste. However, a few years after that, their profit has increased at least a hundred times!¡± Upon hearing that, she suddenly felt an immense respect for Scary Phoenix, never expecting that her master would be such a visionary and firm person. Stanley added, ¡°Apart from ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, Scary Phoenix has also invested in many other online games. Right now, he has invested in almost all of the popr locally developed online games. Based on this ie itself, he could easily be on the country¡¯s millionaires list.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Sophia stapled the contract together. ¡°How did you know about this so clearly?¡± He was vindictive. ¡°Of course I¡¯m clear about all of this! He is the God of E-games and my idol! He has also seen my game and given me a lot of advice. A game that Scary Phoenix approves will definitely be popr!¡± She quickly caught the main point. ¡°Have you seen Scary Phoenix in person? How does he look?¡± He smiled mysteriously. ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± She was suddenly interested in her master. Just as she was about to ask further questions, he picked up a phone call. After he hung up, he announced to everyone, ¡°Buckle up, guys. Some rich investors are visiting us.¡± He ran outside in excitement. Two people had entered not too long after that and he brought them around thepany with an introduction. ¡°Although this is a newpany, we have slowly hired enough people¡ªall of whom are highly skilled and top students from Bayside University.¡± Sophia craned her neck to have a look, curious to see who the iing rich investors were. However, she never expected to see Daniel and Harry the moment she stretched her neck. Fine, they are indeed rich investors. After Stanley introduced the newly developed game and its most recent statistics, he behaved in a coquettish manner. ¡°Mr. Harry, please invest some money on me. Even a little bit is enough. Uncle Michael has already invested 30 million in this. No matter what, you have to invest at least 8 to 10 million! Mr. Daniel, give me some as well!¡± As they were wealthy investors, they could freely donate an amount of their choice. ¡°Since your uncle has already invested in this, I¡¯ll just finance 10 million.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that rich, but I¡¯ll give you 5 million first.¡± ¡°Thanks to the both of you!¡± After sending them out, Stanley led another two rich investors¡ªa male and a female. ¡°Uncle Joel, Uncle Michael has already given me 30 million. Why don¡¯t you invest some money too, Aunt Irene?¡± He had sessfully persuaded them to invest a few hundred millions on him once more. After Sophia finished with the paperwork in hispany, she went home and had dinner before watching the news. Manyizes were still viciously attacking Taylor Murray, who seemed to be hated by the entire nation at that point. After they were done with Taylor, they continued to attack his agency, scold Harry, and even the filming crew of ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Judging by how crazy thements are, many ghostwriters must have been hired. It has only been a few days and it has already arrived at this stage. Richard must have spent a lot of money on this. Campaigns for public rtions were costly¡ªsome even estimated that 30% of a celebrity¡¯s ie was used to pay for public rtions. However, if the Harper Family was able to have their own celebrities star as the lead actor of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ as well as secure Mark Fletcher¡¯s role from the documentary, it would still be profitable for them. However, if they don¡¯t¡­ Chapter 306 Chapter 306 Two dayster, Richard called Sophia. ¡°Mark Fletcher¡¯s character in the documentary has already been changed. There¡¯s a vacant position avable right now and the filming crew is starting to search for a recement. In two days¡¯ time, I¡¯ll be having a meal with the director. If Tyler Murray signs with me before that, I¡¯ll bring him along.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll discuss with Tyler.¡± After hanging up on the call, she smiled coldly while reading the news. Then, she called someone at the Imperial Management Studios. ¡°You guys can prepare to send a rification letter and thewyer¡¯s letter.¡± The Imperial Management Studios and Michael himself had given up on their pride by that point. Only Sophia, the diehard fan, worked hard while Imperial Studiozed around. It was by sheer luck that the studio managed to groom Harry and Michael into Oscar-award winning actors. Richard had already released the news that the actor portraying Mark Fletcher had been reced. He even created an online poll named ¡®The Best Actor for Mark Fletcher.¡¯ Once the poll was released, Nichs from Glory Entertainment had ranked the first. In addition, news of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ halting their filming was also released, hinting that Taylor had been reced. It made the public immensely happy and created an illusion that he had already been removed ¡ªto force the crew to really rece him with someone else. The filming crew of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ insisted that they would not change Taylor¡¯s character, even if they were threatened with the possibility of the investors withdrawing from the movie. Upon seeing that the public wanted Taylor to be reced, Richard wanted to see whether the crew would concede if the public continued to firmly object to the idea. Not only did they intended to remove Taylor Murray from the crew, but they also wanted the main female protagonist, Nicole, to be reced by the second female protagonist, Bethany. After Richard signed the contract with Tyler, he would immediately evaluate thetter. If Tyler was ready to make his debut, Richard would rmend him to be the male protagonist for the documentary. If not, Tyler would have to be trained for some time before making his debut. Richard had the perfect n up his sleeves. That day, Sophia took the initiative to head to the militarypound to y chess with Old Master Fletcher. However, halfway through their match, she deliberately heaved a long sigh. He asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, youngdy?¡± Sophia said, ¡°Michael was supposed to portray you, but I heard that the filming crew has reced him.¡± ¡°What?¡± The old man was shocked to hear that. After all, he had spent a lot of effort in convincing Michael to take his role in the film. Who is the bastard brave enough to change the character without telling me? Hence, she overheard the seeding conversation. ¡°Security, call the damn filming crew! F*ck them! What, misconducts?! Tell me what the f*ck he has done! My grandson won¡¯t do anything bad! Everyone¡¯s speaking about it online? Do you think you can believe them? I know my grandson very well and I know even better if he hasmitted any misdemeanours! If my grandson is not the person who portrays me, I won¡¯t allow you to shoot this film!¡± On the other hand, Richard was establishing contact with the director of the documentary film for the first time. Since he had finally secured this opportunity, he quickly handed the list of actors from Glory Entertainment to him. ¡°Please have a look at this. It¡¯s the first batch. In my opinion, these few actors matched Mark Fletcher¡¯s image and had simr works in the past.¡± Mark Fletcher was an important character in the documentary, so the director treated it with significance. Initially, Taylor would have been the perfect candidate, but could not retain the role due to his scandals. Hence, the crew had no choice but to choose another actor. It was serious business to film a documentary film. Hence, every character needed to be well chosen. Even if it was an unimportant character that only had a few seconds of screen time, a popr celebrity was selected. It could be seen from there that the castprised a strong lineup. Just as the director read through Richard¡¯s list of rmended actors, he received a phone call. After having a conversation that Richard had no idea of, the director was immediately shocked, asking, ¡°Why?¡± The other party continued to exin while the corner of the director¡¯s lips twitched in annoyance. After hanging up, the director remained silent for a long time, looking as though he was in a daze. Upon seeing that something was amiss, Richard quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The director replied, ¡°Nothing much. The higher-ups suddenly called to inform me that the actor portraying Mark Fletcher still remains the same¡ªTaylor Murray will be the lead.¡± ¡°What?¡± Richard was also shocked to hear that. Didn¡¯t he say that he is about to change the actor involved? Why is he turning back on his words? Hence, he quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? This is a documentary film! Can an actor with a bad track record star in it?¡± The director did not reply and merely waved. ¡°Stop asking me. This is my boss¡¯s instructions. I have to make a move now. See you.¡± After putting down the documents that Richardbined for him, he took his briefcase and left hastily. What his boss meant was that Mark Fletcher had personally appointed Taylor Murray to star in the film. When the director asked for the reason, his boss replied, ¡°That¡¯s his grandson!¡± Richard was immensely taken aback by the news. After all, he had nned the huge ¡®anti-Taylor¡¯ movement that the entire nation had participated in. At this point, they are telling me that they are not going to change the lead actor? On top of that, the nned movement had sparked discussions among many verified ounts and forums. He even hired ghostwriters and purchased the front page headlines. Those are money! All cold, hard cash! After working hard for half a month, everything is back to square one¡ªjust like this? After Richard returned to thepany, he quickly asked around. As he had strong contacts within the industry, he soon received his answer¡ªMark Fletcher had specially appointed Taylor Murray to portray him. ¡°That old guy is still alive?¡± He was incredulous upon hearing the news. The youngest of the Founding Generals would be over a hundred years old. Logically speaking, they were all probably dead. However, many of them were actually still alive; it was just that they stopped showing up at public events. Like Mark, the rest of the Founding Generals basically no longer ventured out of the militarypound¡ª apart from quietly watching the annual military parade. Sophia herself even thought that he had been dead for a long time. ¡°¡± ¡°This is something that Mark Fletcher has personally requested. He even said that Taylor Murray is the only actor who can y the role. Otherwise, we aren¡¯t even allowed to start filming!¡± the person on the other end of the phone replied. After hanging up on the phone, Richard dejectedly slumped in his chair at the office. So many calctionster and I missed the fact that Mark Fletcher is still alive! The money that I¡¯ve spent is all for nothing! It¡¯s okay. Even if I can¡¯t secure the role of the documentary film, I still have a chance on the male lead for ¡®War Dragon¡¯! However, the filming crew of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had unexpectedly announced that they would start to shoot scenes of the male protagonist, which was Taylor Murray himself, on that day itself. Everything seemed to have been perfectly arranged. Meanwhile, the Imperial Management Studio¡¯s official Twitter page had issued an announcement. In short, they had presented three concise points: Taylor Murray was already happily married and hoped that fans would not disturb his life. He was heterosexual, so it was untrue that he cheated on his marriage partner and used her as a surrogate mother. If there were more discussions about this, everything would be brought forward to court. The bunch of ounts that gossiped for the entire month have been recorded and thewyer, Calvin Fields, was already on the way to the office. Fake apologies are not needed, but a genuine compensation with cash was required. As soon as the statement from the Imperial Management Studio was issued, everyone in the Glory Public Rtions Team panicked and Richard was busy running around. Not only had he spent all the money for nothing, but many of his ounts would be suspended. The multiple gossip ounts that the entertainment industry owned were useful in promoting celebrities and it would be a nightmare if they were all frozen. The Imperial Management Studio meant business at that stage¡ªthey had gathered the number of ounts who bad-mouthed Taylor Murray and directly sued them forpensation. Otherwise, the ounts would be suspended. The fanbase of the gossip ounts from Glory Public Rtions Team was rather big¡ªeven if they did not promote their own celebrities, they would have earned a lot by cing advertisements for others and collecting advertisement fees. If they really had topensate, they had no idea what the amount would be, seeing that they had many ounts. If they didn¡¯t and all their ounts were frozen, it would be another great loss for them. At that moment, Richard suddenly received a phone call from the vice chancellor of the Bayside University. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. ¡°Richard Harper, I¡¯m giving you half an hour to immediatelye to my office now! I want to talk to you about the ndering posts!¡± Chapter 307 Chapter 307 It turned out that earlier in the day, Sophia had handed a bunch of documents to the vice chancellor, who eventually learned that the post ndering Bayside University was done by Richard¡¯spany. It had also been done by his team, who deliberately spread the rumor. Richard knew that everything had been exposed the moment he received a phone call from the vice chancellor. Even if he tried to exin that X was the one who posted it, there was no use to do so. He had to take the fall for everything. Everything is ruined! Everything that I¡¯ve done is ruined! N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. After hanging up the phone, hey on the couch in exhaustion and felt like he had aged by several years. Why is this happening? I¡¯ve already tried my best to do everything well, but why did it backfire in the end? After he messed up on many consecutive incidents, the Harper Family¡¯s opinion of him had grown more negatively. In the end, he would most likely be expelled from managing the Harper Family. On the other hand, Ka was still in prison. Because he had been busy with thepany-rted matters, he did not prepare for his mid-term exams, so he had failed three subjects out of four. While monitoring thepany affairs, he had no time to revise for his studies whatsoever. When he had some free time to do so, X would pester him to apany her instead. Richard did not have the time to evenin. He rushed to the university and was lectured by the vice chancellor without having the courage to retaliate. The vice chancellor had ordered him to quickly clear the university¡¯s name; otherwise, he would be expelled like his sister. Ka was too courageous¡ªshe even had the nerve to maintain contact with the people from an international terrorist group. When the vice chancellor heard that news, he was shocked beyond belief and immediately expelled her when she was imprisoned. The following day, there was a penalty notice listed on the bulletin board of Bayside University, criticizing Richard¡¯s behavior. His hair had almost turned gray overnight¡ªthe me from hispany and disappointment from his family caused his position as a privileged kid to fall rock bottom. To him, such a mild criticism no longer mattered. He saw many studies crowding in front of the bulletin board, criticizing him as they pointed at the notice. Standing behind him, X felt wronged for him as tears flowed down her cheeks. ¡°Richard, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have been impulsive and listened to Faye¡¯s advice. It¡¯s all my fault!¡± However, he did not want to speak to him anymore. Useless woman! Apart from crying and apologizing, what does she know? She only knows how to drag me down with her. If she¡¯s not the daughter of the Huff Family, I would have given a few nice kicks! Suddenly, a series ofughter entered his ears. ¡°Sophia, your ex is on the notice board. Come and have a look! Come on!¡± ¡°Oh my, look at this! Tsk, tsk, how embarrassing!¡± Since it was already May, it signaled the change of weather. Wearing a set of light clothes, Sophia had joined the crowd and nced at a picture of her ex-boyfriend on the bulletin board. During the current semester, Richard had failed three subjects¡ªall of which heavily contributed to his degree. At that point, it would be rather difficult for him to receive his graduation certificate as well as his degree certificate. It would be even more arduous for him to study for his postgraduate entrance exam in the future. With the penalty notice being issued, he was almost past the point of no return. Those brought massive impacts to him. In the event that he was unable to graduate from Bayside University, it meant that as the managing director of the Harper Group, he would be a high school graduate with any university degree. She wondered what he could do with his privileged position. But what could he do? After taking a sip of her bubble milk tea, her red lips curved slightly upward as she seemed to be in a good mood. ¡°But he wrote malicious rumors about you. Now, everyone is saying that you have paid for some of the guys in university to spend time with you!¡± Sarah said worriedly. After Sophia finished her bubble milk tea, she threw the cup into a trash bin in a curved trajectory. ¡°I¡¯ve already proven my innocence to the vice chancellor. As to how this will be rified to the public, it¡¯s no longer my business.¡± That¡¯s Richard¡¯s business. The students also pointed at the bulletin board as they gossiped around. ¡°Tsk, Richard Harper has decided to bully his ex until the end. I wonder what grudge he holds against her! In the beginning, he spread some rumor, saying that she had an abortion after falling pregnant. Now, he nders her by insisting that she paid some guys in the university to spend time with her. How disgusting!¡± ¡°Perhaps his ex broke into his mom¡¯s grave!¡± ¡°Haha! Haha! Perhaps it¡¯s because his ex has found another man, who is richer than him, so he can¡¯t get over it.¡± Unable to hold himself back any longer, Richard pushed the crowd aside before patting Sophia¡¯s shoulder, saying her name through gritted teeth. It was a name that he would never forget. ¡°Sophia Edwards!¡± She turned and looked at him with a pair of innocent eyes before she smiled. ¡°Yes, Richard? What¡¯s up?¡± He couldn¡¯t wait to tear her face into pieces. No longer caring about his reputation, he roared, ¡°Sophia, you¡¯ve personally promised me that you will not pursue the matter about the malicious posts! What the hell have you done?¡± Sophia tilted her head. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve promised you that. I didn¡¯t pursue the matter any further and even withdrew my report from the police station. I¡¯m not going to sue you as well!¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Richard was suddenly at a loss of words to deal with her feigned innocence. Yes, she has stopped pursuing the matter indeed! But this doesn¡¯t mean that the vice chancellor will let it slide! Looks like I¡¯m being pranked by her! After hearing his loud roar, the rest of the students immediately knew what went on. Not only did he create malicious rumors about her, leading to her calling the police, but he also threatened her not to pursue this matter. Tsk, tsk, this ex-boyfriend is really something! ¡°Haha! Haha!¡± He suddenlyughed like a madman before he looked at her with a cruel and deste look on his face. ¡°Sophia, I didn¡¯t expect you to be such an evil woman! I really regret being with you!¡± Looking at his eyes with dark circles around them, she had no idea on what to reply, so she merely shook her head and smiled. However, Stanley did not like that. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and deliberately told the surrounding students, ¡°This guy posted malicious rumors about Sophia, saying that she paid some gigolos to spend time with her. When she reports it to police, he immediately weakens his stance and threatens her in private to withdraw the case from the police station. Now, he even says that Sophia is an evil woman. You know what? You are right! Yes, everyone else in this world is evil and the Harper Family is the most innocent! You guys are the purest and the most innocent cutiepies around, but are being by the entire world. Fine, we are all wrong here. We should kneel before you and ask for your forgiveness!¡± When it came to quarreling with someone, he was a professional. He had even picked up the skill of insulting while arguing with them online. At the recent International E-sports Tournament, he had cursed all of the international yers. ¡°You¡ª¡± Richard almost fainted in anger, viciously ring at him and pointing at both Sophia and Stanley. ¡°You scums! Both of you are so intimate in broad daylight¡ª¡± Stanley rushed forward in two steps. ¡°Who are you calling scums? Let me tell you that Sophia is also now my investor! She is also my uncle¡¯s wife, which makes her my aunt! If you bully my aunt, it¡¯s equivalent to bullying me!¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. You¡¯re an obedient nephew. I¡¯ll ask your uncle to send you another 2 million worth of investments.¡± It was only in that moment that Richard finally understood that she had been tricking him. He quietly clenched his fists as he looked at her with a reddened face. Thinking that he was about to punch her, Stanley rolled his sleeves up and showed his biceps. ¡°What, are you going to whack her?¡± However, Richard merely roared at her again. ¡°Sophia, if you can¡¯t be with me, are you going to ruin me? No matter what, I don¡¯t love you anymore! Please give up! Just leave me alone!¡± Chapter 308 Chapter 308 There was a ten-second silence among the crowd. Amid the silence, Sophia snorted derisively. Then, she turned around and left without saying another word. The silence was broken by Stanley¡¯s loud guffaw, leading other students tough as they discussed among themselves. ¡°Hahahaha! This is the joke of the day!¡± ¡°Who do you think you are?¡± ¡°Ask yourself¡ªwhich part of you deserves her longing?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know how much your worth is?¡± ¡°She has married well¡ªher husband dotes on her, and she has an intelligent son. Richard, on the other hand, has tons of lovers elsewhere, and his sex tape is spread around. I wonder where his confidence came from that he thought she wanted to marry him!¡± ¡°Apart from that, X is so pitiful! Tsk-tsk! I wonder how many times she has been cheated on!¡± Stanley was also toozy to be bothered with exining. He followed after Sophia as he bent over laughing. Looking at the few people who left, Richard¡¯s clenched fist slowly loosened. Sophia, is it true that how much you loved me back then equals to how much you hate me now? The crowd slowly dispersed, but the drama just now was still lingering in their minds. Richard continued to look at the notice board. On the left side, there was a penalty report about him. If he could not settle this incident well, he would definitely be punished, and this meant that this case would be entered into his profile. With that, it would be impossible for him to further his postgraduate studies. Even if he applied for universities overseas, with his record of facing a penalty from the most prestigious university in Cethos, he had no chances of getting into a good university. However, on the right side of the notice board was some good news about the midterms¡ªnames of the top students were disyed there, and on the top of the School of Economics and Business Administration was Sophia¡¯s name. Theparison between Sophia and Richard¡¯s name being put next to each other was certainly very mocking! Looking at Richard, who was trembling all over, X hugged him. Feeling sorry for him, she said gently, ¡°Richard, don¡¯t worry. Everything will pass. You are still young, so it¡¯s normal to face some setbacks.¡± After Sophia married that old man, it¡¯s impossible for her to be together with Richard anymore. Is this why she wants to ruin his life? She can dream on! Don¡¯t think that after marrying a rich and powerful old man, she could do anything she wants! She is still a nobody! In fact, it wasn¡¯t easy for Richard to enter Bayside University. In order to keep his position at the university, he had to put in a lot of money to settle the scandal at Bayside University this time. Many people were already unhappy with Richard for taking over the business of the Harper Family at such a young age. After the series of scandals and mistakes he had made, his reputation in the Harper Family was steadily declining. In fact, there had been an emergency meeting in the family to strip Richard off all responsibilities he had been holding. After Richard was fired from the office by the stakeholders, he had to return to the university. Mr. Harper was also very disappointed in him, and he asked Richard to finish his studies first before getting involved in thepany any further. Apart from that, Richard also asked X to give him 10 million as thepensation fee for his losses. With that, the entire fiasco came to an end. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. During the weekend, Richard went to Bayside Prison to visit Ka. Ka had worked with the international terrorist group, Phantom Wolf, to n a terrorist attack. ording to rumors, they almost killed someone from the Fletcher Family. After the trial, she was sentenced to 10 years of prison, and the Harper Family did not even dare to counter-sue. By now, she had been behind bars for a few months. After a few months of not seeing her, Ka seemed to have changed into apletely different person. In the past, she was a spoiled youngdy of a rich family. Even the mineral drinks she took must be of high-quality, branded material. However, she had be a pale prisoner with messy hair and a lost look in her eyes. She hadpletely be different from the image of the usual youngdy Richard remembered. Upon seeing Richard¡¯s arrival, Ka cried her heart out. ¡°Richard, you have to save me! I¡¯ll die here!¡± Richard also felt extremely sorry for her, and he wanted to save her as well. She¡¯s only 19! It¡¯s the best time of her life, after all. How can she spend it in the prison? She has to serve a 10-year sentence! By the time shees out, she¡¯ll already be 30! ¡°Ka, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll try my best to save you!¡± However, even though he had thought of all the possible methods, he still could not figure out a way to do so. In order to save Ka, the Harper Family had already spent tens of millions! Ka¡¯s case was exposed by the Fletcher Family themselves. Phantom Wolf had killed countless members of the Fletcher Family, yet Ka still hooked up with them. She¡¯s really¡­ an idiot! After the short meeting, Richard left, leaving Ka walking back to her prison cell in disappointment. Looking at the small, cramped space, she recalled hervish lifestyle back then. Why has everything turned to this? Leaning against the wall, Ka silently cried. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. After the door opened, she saw an unfamiliar face. ¡°Are you Ka? Let me bring you out of here!¡± While Richard was visiting Ka in prison, Faye and X were having coffee together. X pretended to ask innocently, ¡°Have you found out who Sophia¡¯s husband is?¡± Faye replied grudgingly, ¡°That b*tch refuses to bring us to her home no matter what. I bet she wants to im all the money as hers. How ungrateful! Without the Edwards Family, she wouldn¡¯t even be here today!¡± X¡¯s mind spun quickly as she gave Faye some ideas. ¡°Are you a fool? Why do you have to take the initiative to look for her? You should find ways to lure her to your house!¡± Feeling defeated, Faye exined, ¡°I also thought of that. I was nning to kidnap her stepson back to our ce, but that bastard has many bodyguards surrounding him. There¡¯s no opportunity toy my hands on him!¡± After thinking about it, X suggested, ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be another person. Since Sophia¡¯s mom had stayed with the Edwards Family for a period of time, you can check whether there are still her belongings around. Then you can use that to lure her in!¡± Faye¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. She had not thought about this indeed. However, she soon lowered her head dejectedly again. ¡°It¡¯s been 20 years. How is it possible that her mom¡¯s belongings are still at my house?¡± X said grudgingly, ¡°Are you a fool? Let¡¯s not care about the authenticity of the belongings! Lure her in first! If her husband finds out about it, he will definitelye!¡± Faye suddenly understood everything. Sure enough, X has more ideas. After deciding on that, Faye went back to the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home. The Edwards Family had been living here for around three decades. Sophia¡¯s mother, Annabel, had stayed here for a while when she was pregnant with Sophia. Perhaps Faye could really find something there; even if she didn¡¯t, she would pretend that she did to lure Sophia over. Recently, after the Edwards Family moved to the copycat real estate built by the Harper Family, many of their belongings in the old mansion were moved over. They even left a few people behind to clear the remaining stuff, and there were a few old possessions in the warehouse that hadn¡¯t been organized, so she might find something there. X followed Faye to the Edwards residence. Right after they arrived, they immediately gathered the older servants who had served the Edwards Family for more than two decades. They might know something about Annabel. ¡°20 years ago, when my mom was pregnant with me, we had a temporary nanny called Annabel. Do any of you still remember her?¡± 20 years ago, Annabel only worked in the Edwards Family for around 3 to 4 months, so not many remembered her. However, an old servant raised her hand. ¡°I remember her! Annabel was from the same hometown as me, and I was the one who introduced her to work here. Back then, because she left hastily, she still had some stuff left behind at my ce! Faye¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. Chapter 309 Chapter 309 Sophia went back to university to attend the lectures recently, but the ces she could visit had decreased even further. She either studied at the university, stayed at home, or went to Stanley¡¯s company to have a look. After Stanley¡¯spany had acquired enough capital and workforce, they started working on starting it aggressively. As one of the investors, Sophia put quite a lot of effort in it. She walked around the company every day to check up on them. This day, right after Sophia had finished looking around and was prepared to go home, she received a message from X on Messenger. ¡®Sophia, Faye found some of your mom¡¯s stuff back home. When you are free, remember toe over to retrieve them. The address is xxxxx.¡¯ She even sent a few pictures over. One of them was a picture of a simple box with some clothes that had turned yellow. It was obvious that they were outdated, and the fashion was popr back then. Apart from that, there was a picture of a hardcover notebook that was popr decades ago. There were a few stickers of popr rock stars of that era on the cover of the notebook, and on the first page, a few words were written in pen with strong strokes¡ª¡®Anna¡¯s Notebook¡¯. There were also a few lines of poems on the first page: War The moon shone brightly at midnight, but the man who had gone to war had yet to return. If the generals of the city were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains. Sophia snorted as she did not feel like entertaining her. From the style of the notebook and the pages that had turned yellow, it seemed to be dated back 20 years. However, X and Faye seemed to have forgotten that Annabel¡¯s education level only reached primary level as she had quit school when she was in primary 5. During her teenage years, she was already sent into the city to work so that she could provide for her brothers to study. How could she have known ¡®If the generals of the city were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains¡¯? On top of that, the handwriting was graceful yet full of power. It was obvious that it was not written by Sophia¡¯s mother, who only studied until primary school level. However, thest picture sent by X caught her attention. It was an old photograph, but it was well-kept. The girl in the photograph was quite pretty. Even though she didn¡¯t have any makeup on, her small face was clean and clear. Her wide eyes seemed to be hiding something, making others unable to see through her. The girl seemed to be around 17 or 18, so she still had the naivety and innocence of a young girl, and she looked exactly like Sophia. On the back of the photograph that X sent, some words were written using a ball-point pen¡ª¡®Annabel, age 17, taken in July 199x¡¯. Annabel died when she was 19 due to amniotic fluid embolism. The time she died was around the same time Sophia was born. Back then, because of the limited resources, girls weren¡¯t regarded as important by the family, so there were no photographs of Annabel left behind. Sophia had only seen a few official photographs of her mother, and this was the first time she saw a colored photograph of Annabel. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. It was probably taken after she started working in the city, as it was a fashion shoot on the streets, to Sophia¡¯s surprise. In the photograph, Annabel wore a long dress that was in fashion back then. Walking on the streets of Bayside City, her pose revealed half of her slender legs. From the pictureposition and the color settings, it was a great photo even in the modern era. Her mother¡¯s attire was fashionable indeed. Is this my mom? After looking at the picture for a long time, Sophia ordered Hale, who was driving, ¡°Go to the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home.¡± After driving for around an hour, they finally reached there. When Sophia got out of the car, she saw an exquisite three-storey mansion in front of her that looked ancient. So this was where my mom used to stay¡­ Sophia did not have much feelings for Annabel as she had never experienced any love from her mother before. Hence, her impression of her mother onlyprised the derogatory, hateful insults her rtives and neighbors hurled at her. ¡°Your mom is a b*tch who did that sort of thing in the city!¡± ¡°How did the Johnson Family raise such a disgraceful daughter like your mom? She came back to our vige pregnant with a baby! On top of that, she didn¡¯t even know who the father was! Such a disgrace! She brought shame upon the family!¡± Back then, in the traditional vige, an 18-year-old unmarried pregnant girl who returned to the vige without knowing who the father was was regarded as a prostitute to the vigers. No matter what she had done, they would use her of prostitution. Since young, Sophia had been hearing insults such as how she was birthed by a b*tch, so she was already immune to that. ¡°Hey, Sophia, you¡¯re back! Wee! Doe in!¡± As soon as Joe, who was standing by the door, saw Sophia, he acted as if he was weing a cash cow. He rubbed his hands together, almost at the verge of drooling. Sophia only brought two bodyguards, one of whom was a woman. When the three of them stood by the door, Sophia spoke without any expression, ¡°Cut the crap. I¡¯m just here to take my mother¡¯s belongings. Where are they?¡± Joe smiled cheekily. ¡°Just in there. They¡¯re all in there.¡± After Sophia followed Joe into the mansion, she saw X and Faye in the living room. Faye cast her a warm smile. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re finally back. I¡¯ve already put together all your mom¡¯s belongings upstairs. Why don¡¯t you take it yourself?¡± Sophia followed the servant upstairs. The servant was rather old. When she saw Sophia, she was shocked. While leading Sophia up the stairs, she said, ¡°So alike. You guys are so alike. You look exactly like Annabel. Exactly like her¡­¡± Sophia smiled. ¡°Madam, did you know my mom?¡± The servant smiled so widely that the lines at the corner of her eyes were clumped together. ¡°I¡¯ve been working with the Edwards Family for decades now. I was the one who raised Mr. Joe personally. Your mom, Annabel, was my distant rtive back home, and I was the one who asked her toe work here back then.¡± Right after Sophia and her two bodyguards entered the room, a few strong men suddenly barged in and pulled the servant out before closing the door shut with a loud bang. Then, the sound of chains and locks were heard. Joe stood outside the door and said vindictively, ¡°Hahaha! My good daughter, stay for dinner tonight, and remember to ask your husband toe over too! He will have to meet his father-inw one day, no matter how ugly he looks.¡± Looking at the door that had been locked, Joe turned around and ordered the servants, ¡°Inform my son-inw back at The Imperial immediately!¡± Sophia ignored the locked door and looked around the room. Sure enough, there was an old suitcase ced on the table in the middle of the room. The suitcase was filled with many things indeed. With just a nce, Sophia saw the notebook and the photographs right away. She walked there and picked up the photograph. When she looked at it in person, she was even more shocked by the vivid colors of the woman in the photograph. This was her mother¡ªthe mother whom she had never met since she was born. Even though the people in her vige said that her mother was a prostitute, she had never believed that. When she was younger, her grandmother often held her as she cried. ¡°Anna was a good kid. She was not a prostitute; she had never done anything shameful, and she had never thought of being a mistress¡­¡± There was nothing much left in the suitcase¡ªonly a few clothes, a toothbrush, and ab. There was also the notebook and a small photo album. Sophia picked up the notebook and flipped to a page. Sure enough, a few words were written on the frontpage¡ª¡®Anna¡¯s Notebook¡¯. The poem, ¡®War¡¯, was written using a fountain pen. Sophia touched the handwriting that was clearly written on the paper with such power that it seeped through the paper. It looked neat, as if it was printed. No matter what, it didn¡¯t seem like Sophia¡¯s mother had actually written it. The photographs in the photo album, however, actually belonged to Annabel. There was ayer of gel on each of the photographs, so they were well-preserved. The photo album had around 30 photographs that showed Annabel alone. There was a picture showing Annabel standing on the streets in pretty clothes, and there was also a picture of her dressed up as a waitress weing guests at the hall of the restaurant. Each and every picture was filmed beautifully¡ªtheposition, angle, and colors were impable. It was obvious that the photographs were taken by a professional photographer with high-end equipment. There were dates on every photograph, ranging a year, when Annabel was around 17 to 18 years old. While Sophia was in a daze looking at the photos, Hale observed the structure of the room. The door was locked, and the windows were all sealed. It seemed that the Edwards Family nned to lock them in here to lure Michael out. After looking through everything in the suitcase, Sophia closed the suitcase and took it. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Gemma took out a silenced gun while opening the door. Unexpectedly, smoke traveled from behind the door through the slits. ¡°Fire! Fire!¡± someone screamed in a shrill voice. Chapter 310 Chapter 310 Fire? While Joe was happily waiting for his son-inw to visit, he suddenly saw billows of smoke rising from the second floor. Then, Faye and X ran outside anxiously from Faye¡¯s room. ¡°Dad, the second floor is on fire!¡± Joe nced at the second floor. A trail of fire traveled down the staircase. There was a lot of solid wood furniture at the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home, which had been around for around 30 years already. On top of that, the hot and humid weather quickened the spread of the fire. In no time, the fire had spread to the first floor down the staircase. Joe was so shocked that he jumped out of the couch. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go now!¡± Since most of their belongings were already moved out, there were only a few old magazines and furniture left¡ªnothing to be missed. In no time, Joe, Faye, X, and their servants had all run out of the mansion. They stood in the garden, looking helplessly at the smokeing out of the room. Suddenly, Joe pped his thighs. ¡°Oh, God. My youngest daughter is still inside!¡± They had locked Sophia and her two bodyguards in the room on the third floor! The door and windows were both tightly shut. How would they be able to escape? When everyone ran out of the mansion that was on fire just now, they hadpletely forgotten about the three people in the room. Everyone raised their head subconsciously to look at the third floor. Smoke had started escaping from the locked window. ¡°Save them!¡± Joe quickly pushed people to save the fire. She¡¯s my cash cow! If my son-inw arrives and sees a burnt corpse, there¡¯d be nothing we could do anymore! What if he res up and vents his anger at me? A few bodyguards quickly rushed to open the door. However, once they opened the door of the mansion, fire burst out from within with a whoosh. It burned the bodyguards until they retreated immediately. ¡°Mr. Edwards, the fire is too strong! We can¡¯t enter!¡± ¡°Call the fire brigade to put out the fire!¡± Joe was so scared that he almost peed his pants. Everyone anxiously tried to douse the fire with water from the garden. However, it was not enough. The fire quickly gobbled up the entire mansion. Just like that, the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home was destroyed. All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Standing far away, X was finally relieved after she saw fire breaking outpletely in the room with locked windows on the third floor. Sophia, you are not my match! While everyone in the Edwards Family were frantically trying to douse the fire, nobody noticed that the car Sophia arrived in had slowly driven away. Hale had a silenced gun with him, so the locks could not hold them in at all. Before they entered the mansion, Gemma¡¯s mini-drone had already finished examining the entire surroundings. Before the fire got out of control, they had already escaped from the backdoor used by the servants daily, which was connected to the garage. On the way, they even saved the servant, who had fainted. Firstly, they drove to the hospital as Sophia wanted to send the servant to the hospital. Before they left, the servant grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand. ¡°Your mom was a good person, just like you. I really regret bringing her to the Edwards Family¡­¡± After paying for her medical bills, Sophia went home. When they reached home, Michael had not returned yet. Recently, he went back to the filming crew to film some movies, so he would returnte every night. After Sophia finished her dinner, she sat in the study looking at her mother¡¯s photo album. She flipped through each photograph in the album again and again. Every photograph in the album was exquisite, like a modern photoshoot on the streets. Based on Annabel¡¯s financial situation back then, she shouldn¡¯t have had the money to hire a professional photographer with high-end equipment to take these photos. So who took these pictures? Sophia was suddenly curious about this. As there were some bugs in the album, Sophia took all the photographs out and wiped them one by one before putting them into a new album. Upon seeing that, Nathan asked curiously, ¡°Who is this person?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°This is your grandma.¡± After she was done with the album, she saw some lightning outside the window once she raised her head. The skies near here were clear, but it seemed cloudy in Riverdale. asionally, streaks of light could be seen in the clouds. After a while, thunder grumbled in a low voice from Riverdale¡¯s direction. Sophia called Hale after she saw that. ¡°Is there a thunderstorm in Riverdale tonight?¡± After hanging up the phone, Sophia continued to unpack her mother¡¯s belongings. Apart from the photographs and notebook, there wasn¡¯t really anything notable. Even so, she kept them away orderly. When I¡¯m free, I¡¯ll burn all of these in front of her grave. Finally, she saw the notebook. After she put the diary on her study, she looked at the poem on the first page. The fountain pen handwriting was quite nice indeed. It could almost be passed as calligraphy. Subconsciously, Sophia thought that it was written by a man, and she couldn¡¯t help reading out loud. ¡°If the generals of the city were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains.¡± Curious, she opened the first page and saw two lines of fountain pen writings on the paper that had turned yellow. ¡®Day X, Month X, 199X, Sunny. My first deary entry.¡¯ At this point, the writing style suddenly changed. The handwritings looked soft and wriggly, as if it was written by someone who had not written for a long time. Apart from that, there were spelling errors. It was completely different from the handwriting on the first page. Obviously, it was written by a different person. Was this really Annabel¡¯s diary? She was not a cultured person. Why did she suddenly keep a diary? The misspelled word, ¡®deary¡¯, was circled and crossed out by another person with a different handwriting. Then, the correct word, ¡®diary¡¯, was written next to it in a powerful handwriting, followed by a wriggly handwriting that repeated the corrected word ten times next to it. It looked like a primary student being punished for making a spelling mistake after being discovered by the teacher. Sophia looked further down the notebook attentively. The person who wrote the diary had limited education. There were many misspelled words, and the grammar was all over the ce. There were only a couple lines of diary entries everyday. On the second day, it was written in the notebook¡ª¡®Coop took some photografs of me today. I¡¯m so happy.¡¯ The handwriting was still wriggly, as if a primary student had written it. Sophia guessed that the writer meant to write ¡®photographs¡¯ instead. Sure enough, the powerful handwriting appeared and drew arge cross on the word, ¡®photografs¡¯. Then, ¡®photographs¡¯ was written in a huge font underneath it in a neat and tidy way. Sophia flipped back to the first page topare the handwritings. They were very simr, so it was probably written by the same person. Next to the gracefully handwritten ¡®photograph¡¯, the same word was written again in wriggly handwriting. Even though the handwriting was not very neat, every alphabet was written seriously. Sophia¡¯s interest was piqued. She looked through a few pages again¡ªthe person with the wriggly handwriting wrote a few more diary entries, but the content was quite simple. ¡®The business of the restaurant is very good today. I¡¯m so tried. But Coop came to eat here. I¡¯m happy.¡¯ ¡®Went to take some pictures with Coop at a gardin in South Bayside.¡¯ ¡®Coop said that I¡¯m the most biutiful woman on earth.¡¯ ¡®Coop got his second docterate.¡¯ Everytime she made a spelling mistake, the powerful handwriting would appear and cross it out. Apart from that, he even singled out the punctuation errors and wrote the corrected version. Then, the person with the wriggly handwriting could be seen correcting the mistakes ten times, and she even tried her best to imitate the powerful handwriting. Sophia seemed to understand that this was indeed her mother¡¯s notebook, and that she didn¡¯t have the habit of keeping a diary. This might be something Coop had asked her to do. After reading through a few pages, Sophia could vaguely guess what had happened. When Annabel was working as a waitress in a restaurant, Coop was probably one of the customers. They met and fell in love there, and the photographs of her were taken by Coop. Before she dated Joe, Annabel actually had another boyfriend! Chapter 311 Chapter 311 Coop¡¯s image was depicted on the papers. In an era of economic hardship, a person who knew photography, could afford to purchase an advanced and pricey camera, and would often visit the high- end restaurant where Annabel worked¡ªthose signs illustrated that he was wealthy. Judging from his nice handwriting, he didn¡¯t seem like the son of a nouveau riche, so he might have been born in a family of schrs. It was obvious that he was a patient and gentle man. From Annabel¡¯s diary, Sophia was able to tell that the former lived in happiness when she used simple words to describe every minute detail of her rtionship with him. Under his guidance, she had made fewer spelling errors while her handwriting became cleaner and sharper, bing more simr to his. Although her handwriting didn¡¯t seem as energetic as his, it gradually took the appearance of his handwriting. Therefore, it was obvious that she had been trying hard to improve. It piqued Sophia¡¯s curiosity about him. Coop¡­ That sounds like a middle-aged man. He was also a highly-intelligent middle-aged man who has two doctorate degrees. He was amazing! A rather wealthy and gentle middle-aged man should have been totally irresistible for Annabel at that time! She then turned to another page and the words written on it was ¡®Coop is 18 years old today!¡¯ 18 years old? He received two doctorate degrees at the age of 18? Who on earth is this Coop? She scratched her head in disbelief. Coop kept appearing in Annabel¡¯s diary; it was obvious that she was living a happy life with him. Unfortunately, Sophia had already known about the ending¡ªthose two were unable to be together in the end. She felt a sudden sorrow and continued to flip to the next page with a heavy heart. Sure enough, after a few pages, the diary stated, ¡®Coop¡¯s family came to look for me today. They said that I¡¯m unworthy to be with him because his future wife must be a youngdy from a good family. Coop, what should I do?¡¯ There were a few spelling errors in the sentence, but the handwriting that would patiently amend her mistakes never appeared again. There were quite a number of nk pages. Annabel might have been threatened by Coop¡¯s family and was separated from him for various reasons. Feeling devastated, she had lost the mood to pen her thoughts in her diary¡ªor perhaps it was because the person who urged her to do so never showed up again. Sophia then turned a few more pages. Annabel seemed to have collected herself and started her new life, which was also the beginning of her nightmare. ¡®It¡¯s rather nice to stay in the Edwards residence and they pay well too. My brother needs the money to study, so I have to work hard to pay for his school fees.¡¯ On the next page, Annabel¡¯s handwriting started to tremble. ¡®I was raped by Mr. Edwards today. Coop, what should I do? Coop, where are you? Can you quicklye and save me?¡¯ Probably because it was her mother¡¯s diary, Sophia was in grief and indignation. As expected, my mother was never willingly in a rtionship with Joe, that ugly and fat b*stard! She was actually raped! My mother had never been a slut who desired to be part of the rich and wealthy! N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. On the next page, Annabel wrote, ¡®I spoke to my father on the phone today. He doesn¡¯t allow me to head home because the wage here is exceptionally high. Coop, what should I do? Can youe to save me?¡¯ The handwriting at the end contained her usual crooked style¡ªthe twisted handwriting and utterly illogical sentences strongly indicated that she might have written those in a sorrowful and indignant yet helpless state. The truth of that incident years ago was finally revealed. Annabel left Coop because she was threatened by his family. To avoid them, she became a nanny in the Edwards residence where she was then raped by Joe! She was helpless and had no one to assist her. Coop had left her and Joe had even confined her. When she finally had the chance to call home to ask for help, not only did her family refuse to save her from the fire, but they even thought that she had received an opportunity to be rich by being a mistress to a wealthy businessman. Therefore, they asked her to continue to live at the Edwards residence! The fingers on the notebook trembled and her nails tore a yellowish paper in extreme anger. Sophia continued to flip to the next page. There was little content on the following pages¡ªonly Annabel¡¯s scribbles, which repeated the old poem over and over again. If the city generals were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains. In thest entry on the diary, the handwriting was messy, revealing the writer¡¯s copsing emotional state of the writer. ¡®My belly is bing bigger. I¡¯m really scared that madam would find out. Oh my God, what should I do? Coop, where are you? Coop, I really missed you.¡¯ The diary came to an end after that entry. It might have been because Annabel¡¯s pregnancy with Sophia started to show and was finally discovered by Joe¡¯swful wife. Thetter then drove Annabel out from the residence. Annabel was helplessly driven out of the Edwards residence with a big belly. She couldn¡¯t or dared not look for Coop, so she had to return home to Riverdale on her own. It wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine her life after she returned home. Rumors would have been spread like wildfire that an unmarried 18-year-old youngdy was pregnant without a man by her side. B*tch, whore, a loser¡­ Haha. Her family had nned to wait for her to deliver to the child and take the child to make a scene at the Edwards residence. However, the child had unexpectedly turned out to be a girl¡ªSophia Edwards. Her uncle then brought her as an infant to the Edwards residence to find fault before returning home with a gloomy expression, which might have suggested that his n had failed. When Sophia closed the diary, she suddenly realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks. She cried for her mother¡¯s tragic fate as well as for herself. Nobody knew how helpless and desperate Annabel was. Nobody understood the grief and indignation that she currently felt¡ªshe turned out to be a product of her mother and a rapist! She was a child unwanted by the world; a child born without parents! Her life had actually been given by a rapist. She was conceived in Annabel¡¯s despair and helplessness and delivered from her death. All of a sudden, Sophia had a delusional thought. My biological father might have been Coop! Unfortunately, when she perused the diary once more, she noticed that Annabel had left in around December and delivered to her in mid-October the next year. Therefore, it would be impossible for Coop to be her biological father! Sophia closed the notebook with a thud and kept it in the drawer. When Nathan saw her having a dark expression after she finished reading the diary, he did not dare to say anything. Michael returned homete, so she fell asleep alone. It was 12AM when he finally returned home. Hale had already informed him about what happened earlier in the day. Nathan, who was still awake, had waited for him to return home to report on today¡¯s incident as well. For instance, how she cried after reading the diary and did not speak for a long time. What exactly is written in the diary? Michael entered the room and found that Sophia was sound asleep. Without disturbing her, he brought a ss of milk into her study before retrieving the yellowish diary from the drawers. As he drank the milk, he flipped open the diary¡¯s cover page before a passage entered his sight. If the city generals were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains. The handwriting was frightening, resembling a troop of army marching in a line while radiating a sharp and vicious aura¡­ He flipped open the diary with a frown and read it with all his concentration. After reading it, he was able to guess the reason why Sophia was furious. e then read the whole diary again and stared at the handwriting in a daze. This handwriting and this qualification¡­ 20 years ago, an 18-year-old young man received two doctorate degrees and he¡¯s from a reputable family from Bayside City¡­ Any family with a child who manages to get two doctorate degrees at a young age of 18 would definitely announce it to the whole world¡­ Coop¡¯s identity would be revealed in a matter of time! Chapter 312 Chapter 312 In the basement, Abel had been working continuously for yet another 18 hours, but his bloodshot eyes still revealed his high spirits. At that moment, Michael suddenly went downstairs to the basement. The moment he appeared, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Any news about the Phantom Wolf?¡± Abel rubbed his temple in exhaustion. ¡°The lip prints and fingerprints that we lifted from Sophia matched the ones left by Phantom Wolf at the crime scene. We are 100% sure that the fingerprints belong to him, but we are unable to identify who he is. We can only wait for him to appear again.¡± Michael handed the diary to Abel. ¡°Subconsciously, he read the verse, ¡°If the city generals were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains.¡± This verse and this handwriting¡­ He tightly furrowed his brows in such a way that a bug could be squashed in between. ¡°Where did you get this from?¡± Michael replied, ¡°The handwriting must seem familiar to you. Scan it first to make sure that it is really his.¡± Abel quickly turned and started to scan the verse adopted from the poem ¡®War¡¯ on the notebook. Coop¡¯s handwriting was registered into their database. Abel then retrieved the information about the images and handwriting belonging to the Mitchell Family. In less than a minute, the system found the person in Mitchell Family whose handwriting matched the ones on the diary¡ªand the photo of a young man appeared on the disy screen. The man in the photo was a really young man, who looked like he was less than 30 years old. He was handsome with prominent mixed-race facial features. He had deep eyes, a sharp nose, and high cheekbones with a slight curl at the corner of his lips, which seemed like a king¡¯s dominant smile. Upon seeing that face, Michael was stunned and a name that made his body and soul tremble escaped his lips. ¡°Cooper Mitchell!¡± Cooper Mitchell was the genius from the Mitchell Family¡ªhe began his business empire when he was only 25 years old and became the youngest family head that the Mitchell Family ever had. However, he had passed away from an ident when he was 29 years old. He was unmarried and did not have any children in his lifetime. There weren¡¯t many people that Michael had admired throughout his life, but Cooper was one of them. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org If Michael was the nightmare for members of the Fletcher Family, who were of the same generation as him, then Cooper was Michael¡¯s nightmare as the legendary ¡®other people¡¯s child¡¯. In fact, he would be a terror within another nightmare! At 3 years old, he was able to recite three hundred poems and wrote impressive calligraphy when he was 5 years old. He recited 100 digits of Pi when he was 8 years old and spoke 7nguages by the time he was 11 years old. He even performed on stage with an international pianist when he was 13 and inherited his family business at the age of 15 before obtaining double doctorate degrees at 18¡­ He was the strongest ¡®other people¡¯s child¡¯ in history. Cooper was practically Michael¡¯s nightmare! No, not only him. The mere mention of Cooper¡¯s name was enough to send all the children from the Four Great Families of simr ages trembling in fear. When they were young, there was nothing scarier than to hear the phrase ¡®Cooper Mitchell is here to visit!¡¯ Whenever Cooper came to visit the Fletcher Family, the amount of homework that Michael and the children in the Fletcher Family had would increase by a few times. Therefore, they had always hated him! Every time they saw that he wasing to visit, they wished that they could just take him down. Unfortunately, he had been dead for more than ten years. Yet, at the current moment, Michael was suddenly relieved. I think I might have made love to Cooper¡¯s only daughter. What goes aroundes around. This is karma! After he pulled himself away from the reverie of his childhood nightmare, he put the photograph in his hand down and asked Abel, ¡°Is there any way to obtain Cooper¡¯s DNA?¡± Abel was puzzled. ¡°What are you nning to do?¡± Michael was stern and serious. ¡°I suspect that chica is Cooper¡¯s daughter.¡± Abel smiled. ¡°It¡¯s impossible. I know Cooper well. He never had any woman by his side and he had not been married. Besides, he¡¯s been dead for so many years.¡± Michael ced the notebook in front of him. ¡°This is my mother-inw¡¯s notebook. She had dated Cooper before, but they were forced to break up. I¡¯ve just checked the hospital records on chica¡¯s birth twenty years ago. She was actually born in September, but she has been celebrating her birthday in October. Her date of birth, which is recorded on her household registry and identity card is also in October. There¡¯s a one month gap there, which means that the Edwards Family had intentionally registered her date of birth a monthter. Therefore, I suspect that chica¡¯s mother had been pregnant before she went to the Edwards residence. The Johnson Family knew that Sophia isn¡¯t a part of the Edwards Family. As a result, they deliberately changed her date of birth to a monthter so that they could ckmail the Edwards Family!¡± Abel briefly read through the diary and the more he perused it, the gloomier his expression was. When he closed the notebook, he was frightened and a little baffled. ¡°Coop can¡¯t be Cooper Mitchell, right¡­¡± Judging by the person¡¯s handwriting and the fact that he had obtained two doctorate degrees when he was 18 years old, ¡®Coop¡¯ was definitely Cooper Mitchell. Abel would never have mistaken the handwriting because he was extremely familiar with Cooper¡¯s handwriting. Cooper Mitchell was the only son of the Mitchell Family¡¯s family head. The Mitchell Family¡¯s pride would never be able to tolerate any ¡®stain¡¯ on their ¡®other people¡¯s child¡¯. As such, they had taught him ording to the standards attached to a future family head, but he fell in love with a restaurant waitress. Therefore, the Mitchell Family had been unable to tolerate it. Hence, after the Mitchell Family had a word with Annabel in private, she rapidly left him and headed to the Edwards residence to work as a nanny. Unfortunately, she had been raped and made pregnant by Joe Edwards. From the diary, she seemed suicidal, but in the end, she still delivered the child. Although it wasn¡¯t written in her diary, she must have known that she was pregnant with Cooper¡¯s child. She intended to keep the child of her dearly beloved, but unexpectedly died from amniotic fluid embolism. Abel tried to recall the past. When Cooper was 17 or 18 years old, he was about 10 years old. As Cooper was the son of the family head, those in the Mitchell Family had showered him with extreme attention, which left a deep impression on Abel. He remembered that there was once when Cooper seemed to have disappeared from sight for a short period of time. The answer given by the family head was that Cooper was preparing for an important examination. That period of time coincided with the time when his rtionship with Anabel was discovered. Maybe at that time, he fiercely resisted the Mitchell Family and his parents, but failed in the end. Anyway, after that period of time, he seemed to have changed into a different person¡ªhe became more outstanding and behaved more like a sessor to the family head. At that time, Justin was rather close to him. When he was forced to go on a blind date with Celine Fletcher, he asked Justin to rece him, which resulted in his marriage to Celine. Cooper never had anyone by his side and it was impossible for him to fall in love with any woman. No one could have imagined that he actually had an affair when he was young and might even have a child as a result. After reading the diary, Abel hadpleted his analysis as well. However, he still couldn¡¯t understand Michael¡¯s intention. ¡°But Cooper has passed away for more than 10 years. What can you do even if you manage to find out the truth? Are you nning to drag her into the Mitchell Family¡¯s mess?¡± Cooper was the legitimate heir of the Mitchell Family and the only son of the family head. He had taken over the position when he was still young, which meant that he took charge of the family¡¯s power and controlled the business empire of the Mitchell Family. Therefore, there were numerous people who wanted him dead! Chapter 313 Chapter 313 After that, Cooper ¡®died¡¯, like how they had wished. He had no wife, no children, and no will after he died. It had caused his inheritance, which had a valueparable to a country¡¯s wealth, to be intestate. The inheritance became themon property of the entire Mitchell Family and it was used in the family¡¯s shared expenses. The main power of the Mitchell Family then fell into the hands of another lineage, which allowed them to have direct control of the wealth. However, only the Mitchell Family would know if there was something fishy in that series of incidents. It was also at that moment when Abel discovered the darkness of the Mitchell Family, so he chose a completely different path from his family and joined the military to avoid being involved in fights, which would lead to deaths whenever conflicts between his family members arose due to their respective benefits. If Sophia was really Cooper¡¯s only descendent, therge inheritance left behind by him would surely belong to her. It would be akin to taking something from right under their nose; the Mitchell Family would definitely swallow her alive! Michael smiled. ¡°I just want her to know that her father isn¡¯t a rapist.¡± Abel felt like he had witnessed Michael showing off his love life with his words. Something suddenly crossed Michael¡¯s mind, making himugh out loud. ¡°It was said that before Cooper was born, he had a few older brothers, but all of them had passed away. He was the only person who managed to survive until adulthood. His father was old when he had Cooper, which made his seniority in the Mitchell Family rather high. His seniority was, in fact, simr to that of your father¡¯s grandfather. If that¡¯s the case, it would give me a seniority of someone simr to your grandfather.¡± Abel was shocked and inwardly did the math. What the f*ck? That¡¯s actually true! That kind of embarrassing situation would usually happen in arge family¡ªtwo children, who were ymates, could be of a simr age, but one of them could have a seniority of the other¡¯s grandparent! Once the joke was over, he returned to their serious topic. ¡°This is going to be a little tough; it won¡¯t be easy to find Cooper¡¯s DNA. After all, he has been dead for over 10 years, so it¡¯d be impossible to search for his belongings.¡± ¡°What can we do then?¡± He cast a serious look at Michael before replying, ¡°I¡¯ll have to be disrespectful. I have to dig open your father-inw¡¯s grave and open his coffin to examine his remains.¡± Michael was rendered speechless. When Sophia awoke, she found her idol sleeping next to her naked, so she delightfully cuddled up in his arms. Sleeping with my idol is a blessing! He had been busy till midnight yesterday and went to bedte, so he was still not awake yet. She quietly admired his looks with her head raised. My idol is really good-looking. My idol is really handsome. I always wondered why I¡¯m so lucky to be Michael¡¯s woman. I was born into a family with a lowly background, which is so different to Michael¡¯s background. In fact, the gap between us is as far as heaven and earth. However, he¡¯s willing to ept me. Whenever I think of the fact that I have a father with an insatiable greed, I feel that my body¡¯s full of disgusting stench. Sometimes, I really can¡¯t ept the fact that I¡¯m actually the daughter of a rapist, Joe Edwards! If I have a choice, I would rather have ¡®Coop¡¯, the man whom Annabel had been deeply in love with, to be my father. However, the fact is that I¡¯m Joe¡¯s daughter. This is such a sick and disgusting bloodline! I would rather to be a b*stard whose father is unknown. While she was deep in her thoughts with her brows furrowed, Michael, who had been sleeping, suddenly turned and pressed himself on top of her. His hand trailed her waist and reached under the nket to remove the only piece of clothing she had on her. I¡¯ve made up my mind to take my revenge for all of Cooper¡¯s calligraphy that I had copied back then. I¡¯ll pay everything to his daughter¡ªan alphabet for a night! Using this method, I wouldn¡¯t be able to completely avenge myself even after sleeping with her for three lifetimes! Sophia had no idea why Michael was energetic that morning. Her legs were jellified to the point that she almost rolled down the stairs when she walked down the steps. The moment she appeared, Hale approached her and impassively reported, ¡°Madam, there was a strong thunderstorm in Riverdalest night. A lot of buildings were struck by lightning, causing a fire to break out. The news is now on the Inte.¡± She went down the stairs while yawning before sitting in the dining room. Maria had already prepared her breakfast. Since it was Saturday, Nathan, who did not have any sses, was ying in the garden with other kids. When he saw that Sophia was awake, he poked his head at the door to take a look before leaving the spot. She switched on her phone to search for the local news in Bayside City and managed to stumble upon two posts with the most clicks. ¡®A million-dor mansion was burned down, causing the owner to pass out on the spot.¡¯ ¡®A terrifying thunder had struck the roof of a 33-storey building, causing it to immediately catch fire with serious damage.¡¯ In the Huff Family, the moment X woke up, she was informed about the shocking news¡ªthe office building of Huffs Technology was struck by lightningst night and was engulfed in mes! All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. She initially thought that it was a joke, but when she turned on her phone, she saw the notification in the news application¡ª¡®A terrifying thunder had struck the roof of a 33-storey building, causing it to immediately catch fire with serious damage.¡¯ The photo attached in the news article was the office building of Huffs Technology. The whole building of Huffs Technology was burned down as the fire was toorge to contain. Luckily, it was a weekend night, so there weren¡¯t many people. Although no one was injured, the Huff Family had suffered a huge loss. The Huffs Technology¡¯s base and the building, which were once as bright as day, were lost overnight. When she finally arrived at the scene, the whole building was only left with its frame and some charred remains; everything else was gone. The investigation by the fire brigade revealed that as the building¡¯s lighting protection system had aged, the thunderstormst night had caused the lightning to strike the building, which then gave rise to the fire breaking out. As it happened in the middle of the night, there weren¡¯t many people in the building, so nobody knew what happened. By the time it was discovered, the whole building was in mes. X stared at the building¡¯s empty ck frames in disbelief and slumped to the ground. Many things had happened over the night. Richard was already busy cleaning his own mess when she constantly phoned him. He didn¡¯t bother to pick up her calls because he was beyond frustrated. He had no intention to meet her at all, so he had no idea about the incident that befell the Huff Family. Meanwhile, in The Imperial, Sophia watched the news and rewarded Hale and Gemma with a bonus. The matter was beautifully done. By pushing the me to God, nobody would know that she was the one who ordered someone to do it. She then ced her phone down to have her breakfast. Then, Stanley gave her a call. ¡°Sophia, why aren¡¯t you here with Nate? Didn¡¯t you say that you will bring him here to y? The old man has been anxiously waiting for the both of you.¡± She yawned before dressing up and bringing Nathan with her to the militarypound. At that time, the Old Master might either be practicing Tai Chi or ying chess with his peers, so she headed straight to the park to look for him. When she arrived, she expectedly saw a bunch of old men. A new old man had arrived today¡ªand he was in the midst of a chess game with Old Master Fletcher. The new old man hadpletely white hair and was bald on the top of his head. He looked skinny and feeble with a hunched back, looking seemingly older than Old Master Fletcher. He seemed weak and his hand trembled while holding the chess piece on top of speaking in an incoherent manner. ¡°Mason, you have lost!¡± The new old man panted as he spoke. Sitting opposite him was Mark Fletcher, who was old but strong with a resounding voice. Although he was old in age, he still maintained a general¡¯s demeanor as he patiently exined, ¡°I¡¯m Mark. Mason¡¯s my brother. He died decades ago and has long been gone!¡± The old man hummed with a long ¡®oh¡¯ before saying, ¡°Mark, my son ising shortly. I¡¯ll ask him to show you his calligraphy skills.¡± Old Master Fletcher snorted, ¡°Your son, Cooper, is also dead as well. He died decades ago. He has long been gone too!¡± The silly old man scratched his bald head, mumbling to himself, ¡°My son is dead. My son is dead¡­¡± After mumbling for some time, he seemed to have recalled the past and said sadly, ¡°My son has passed away. He¡¯s dead. He has been dead for over 10 years.¡± He zoned out for a moment before suddenly grinning at Old Master Fletcher, saying, ¡°Mason, let¡¯s y chess!¡± Chapter 314 Chapter 314 Old Master Fletcher smacked his thigh in anger. ¡°Argh, how many times do I have to repeat myself? I am Mark Fletcher. Mason Fletcher is my older brother and he has been dead for decades!¡± Sophia headed in that direction as she looked at Old Mater Fletcher ying chess with the silly old man. Old Master Fletcher had barely moved a chess piece for most of the day as he was busy boasting. Stanley was bringing his dog for a walk while using his phone whereas Sean was standing among a group of old men while waving at her. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re here!¡± She walked to Sean while asking, ¡°Who is that neer?¡± Sean answered helplessly, ¡°That is the oldest person from my grandfather¡¯s generation. He was deeply affected after the death of his only son. From then on, he has Alzheimer¡¯s disease and treats everyone he meets as his son.¡± He does seem like he has Alzheimer¡¯s disease. He exined, ¡°He has been treating me as his son the whole day, but you shouldn¡¯t correct him, though.¡± Sophia nced at the new old man while feeling helpless. The most saddening thing on Earth is definitely when a parent experiences the death of their children. While those two chatted, Mark and Old Master Mitchell had already yed a few rounds with each other. ¡°Whoa, Mason, why are your chess skills so lousy? You are worse than my son!¡± ¡°Argh, I am Mark Fletcher! Mason is my brother and he¡¯s dead!¡± ¡°Hey, Mark, my son¡¯s calligraphy is great. When he arrivester, I¡¯ll ask him to show you.¡± ¡°Your son is dead too!¡± ¡°Nonsense! Look, isn¡¯t my son here now?¡± Old Master Mitchell remarked while waving at Sean and stated lovingly, ¡°Son, quicklye over here and show your calligraphy to Uncle Commander.¡± Sean had no choice but to walk over to them with a helpless expression. However, Old Master Mitchell seemed not to notice and still waved his hand. ¡°Son, why aren¡¯t you moving? Quicklye over!¡± Sean answered, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m here.¡± Old Master Mitchell nced at him unhappily. ¡°You are not my son. You are my younger brother¡¯s grandson, Sean. My son is over there. I can see him!¡± He was pointing in the direction where Sophia and Stanley stood and beckoned at them. ¡°Son,e here quickly!¡± She nced at Stanley while nudging him. ¡°Son, he¡¯s calling you.¡± He looked disgruntled, but since he was the old man in Sean¡¯s family, he had no choice but to y along as Old Master Mitchell¡¯s son. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ming!¡± Old Master Mitchell was even more upset. ¡°Stanley Fletcher, I¡¯m calling for my son. Why are youing over?¡± Stanley was dumbfounded when he heard that. Old Master Mitchell continued to point at Sophia while smiling happily at her and beckoned her forward. ¡°Son,e over!¡± Huh? She nced at her dress to make sure that she was in a normal attire today. Why would Old Master Mitchell think that I am his son? Did his son enjoy cross-dressing? He seemed to have noticed something since he was also waving his hand at Sophia. ¡°Cooper, why aren¡¯t youing over?¡± Sophia looked at Old Master Fletcher before ncing at Sean. In the end, she gazed at Old Master Mitchell, who was staring at her in anticipation, and walked to him with a look of surprise. Upon arriving in front of him, he regarded her with a tender look. His cloudy eyes seemed not to have noticed that his ¡®son¡¯ was indeed a girl. The chess board had been pushed away and reced with a piece of paper and a pen on the table. A lot of characters had been written there¡ªit was probably the ones that Sean wrote earlier. Old Master Mitchell nced at her, asking, ¡°Son, why aren¡¯t you speaking?¡± She did not dare to utter a word because she was afraid that she might expose herself as a woman. She nced at Old Master Fletcher and Sean before staring hesitantly at Old Master Mitchell and greeted him tentatively, ¡°Daddy?¡± Nevertheless, Old Master Mitchell did not notice anything amiss. On the contrary, he answered with a chuckle, ¡°Hey!¡± She shook her head. Sigh, he is beyond saving! He can¡¯t even differentiate between a man and a woman He wanted her to write something. ¡°Come here; write something to show your Uncle Commander.¡± Sophia nced at Old Master Fletcher before looking at Old Master Mitchell. Then, she picked up the fountain pen to write something on the lower case calligraphy book. Old Master Mitchell made a request. ¡°Write an ancient poem.¡± Ancient poem¡­ She picked the pen up, writing a few neat rows of words with her narrow handwriting before cing the book in front of the two men once she was done. Old Master Mitchell looked at it with satisfaction before handing the book over to Old Master Fletcher. He gloated, ¡°Mason, quickly look at my son¡¯s handwriting! Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± ¡°I am Mark Fletcher! Mark Fletcher!¡± Old Master Fletcher insisted while epting the book with Sophia¡¯s handwriting. Four rows of poems came into view. ¡®The border of the Qin Dynasty remains the same as that of the Han Dynasty. All those generals and soldiers, who are defending the border thousands of miles away from their homes, are unable to return. If there are ferocious generals stationed in the frontier areas, no enemies would dare to climb over Mount Barren.¡¯ A trace ofplex emotions shed across Old Master Fletcher¡¯s expression when he read it and Sophia noticed that his eyebags had trembled all the time. She flinched involuntarily because she assumed that she had written it wrongly. Maybe Old Master Fletcher isn¡¯t fond of this particr poem? That may be the reason. This poem describes the war and it might have reminded him of his sad past. Therefore, she wrote another poem titled ¡®Thoughts of a Quiet Night¡¯ for him.N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. However, he was still staring at the poem, ¡®Beyond the Border¡¯. After staring at it, he regarded her with an odd gaze. She was more frightened, but Old Master Mitchell was extremely happy. He then pulled her hand while patiently advising her, ¡°Coop, you have to remember that Uncle Commander was the one who named you. ¡®If there are ferocious generals stationed in the frontier areas, no enemies would dare to climb over Mount Barren.¡¯ Cooper Mitchell is your name and you must never change it for the rest of your life. Do you understand?¡± It turns out that Old Master Mitchell¡¯s son is named Cooper Mitchell and Old Master Fletcher was the one who named him. He was named after this ancient poem. No wonder Old Master Fletcher has been staring fixedly at the poem. Sophia was still dumbfounded as she had been brainwashed by Annabel¡¯s diary for thest couple of days, recalling the poem each time she closed her eyes. Therefore, she automatically wrote that poem when Old Master Mitchell had requested for one. She quickly exined, ¡°Our university¡¯s elective course is teaching the history of the Tyron Dynasty. It so happened that I came across this poem, so I wrote it out!¡± Old Master Fletcher put down the pen and paper, but he was still wearing a grave expression. After writing the words, Old Master Mitchell asked her to y chess with Old Master Fletcher. ¡°Son, you should y chess with him. Uncle Commander enjoys ying chess with you.¡± Uncle Commander¡­ I am not worthy of it. That¡¯s Michael¡¯s grandfather! She forced herself to y chess with Old Master Fletcher. However, I¡¯m not sure how to y chess with Old Master Fletcher because I have no clue how Cooper ys. What if I expose myself? Old Master Fletchermented, ¡°Cooper, just y in the way that you are used to.¡± After saying that, he even hinted at her by blinking a few times. Sophia understood what he meant, so she followed the method from the past to y chess with Old Master Fletcher. She was familiar with his chess skills, but she couldn¡¯t appear too skillful, or defeat him in a go. What she did was to continuously lose on purpose. I have to take it easy while slowly killing Old Master Fletcher¡¯s chess pieces. However, I can¡¯t kill them off in one go. I have to y for a while before going for a ¡®checkmate¡¯. I should make him feel slightly nervous while experiencing the illusion of ¡®fighting for a long time before finally losing and epting a glorious defeat¡¯. While ying chess, her eyes darted left and right to check on her surroundings. One moment, she¡¯d be looking at Old Master Fletcher whereas in the next, she would be ncing at Stanley and Sean. Sometimes, she would also gaze at Old Master Mitchell. Somehow, he did not realize that his son was a woman; in fact, he even praised her, ¡°Son, you¡¯ve done very well. Your skills have not deteriorated at all! Keep up the good work!¡± Chapter 315 Chapter 315 After their current game of chess had ended, it was time for lunchtime. Old Masters Mitchell and Fletcher went ahead to have their lunch. Along the way, Sophia tried her best to behave as his son. After lunch, she hung around for a bit, but Sean reminded Old Master Mitchell, ¡°Grandpa, it¡¯s time to go home!¡± Old Master Mitchell answered, ¡°Sure, alright. Come, let¡¯s go. Son, let¡¯s go together!¡± He held her by her hand, which gave her a fright as she tried to hastily yank her hand back. Sean added hastily, ¡°Grandpa, Uncle Cooper is currently attending school at Bayside University. He needs to return to university soon!¡± Old Master Mitchell responded with a start. ¡°Oh, I just recalled that Coop is attending university now. Son, quickly head back so that you¡¯re notte!¡± He was seated on the wheelchair, so Sean pushed him away. Old Master Mitchell seemed to have realized Nathan in that moment and pped his hands in delight. ¡°Nate? Is that you, Nate? You are Justin¡¯s son! Nate,e here. Let me hug you!¡± Nathan looked reluctant, but he reluctantly went to Old Master Mitchell for a hug anyway. Sophia thought, He recognized Nate, so, why is he mistaking me for his son? I am at a loss. After Old Master Mitchell and Nathan greeted each other, the former pointed at Sophia while exining, ¡°This is my son, Cooper Mitchell. He is your Great-Grandpa. Quickly call him Great-Grandpa!¡± Nathan looked up at his mother and reluctantly greeted her, ¡°Great-Grandpa.¡± In her mind, she was doing mental calctions with regards to the seniority in the Mitchell Family. These two old masters are from the same generation. Nate is Old Master Fletcher¡¯s great-grandson, which makes him in the same generation as Old Master Mitchell. Why would Old Master Mitchell ask Nate to call his son, Cooper Mitchell, as his Great-Grandpa? Maybe the old man is trying to take advantage of Old Master Fletcher! Old Master Mitchellmented, ¡°Once upon a time, I wanted to introduce your Great-Grandpa to your mom. However, your useless Great-Grandpa asked your father, Justin Mitchell, to attend the blind date instead of him, which drove me mad! Initially, you two should have been father and son. Why don¡¯t you acknowledge your Great-Grandpa as your godfather?!¡± Nathan looked at him before ncing at his mother, greeting her, ¡°Godfather.¡± Suddenly, they returned to their original seniority! Sophia frowned because she couldn¡¯t understand their seniority. After sending off Old Master Mitchell, she also bid farewell to Old Master Fletcher and took Nathan home where she ended her extraordinary day. Once she left, he took her writing home topare it with the one across the wall at home. More than ten years ago, Cooper had dropped by before his ident to visit him. Cooper had been in the mood, so he wrote an impromptu poem titled ¡®Beyond the Border¡¯ with a fountain pen. Not long after that, he died in a car crash. He wasn¡¯t even 30 years old when he passed away. After Old Master Fletcher learned of the news, he was sad for a very long time. Uponparing those two sets of writing, hemented in confusion, ¡°Coop, are you back?¡± When she arrived home, she started to y the game and logged onto two characters¡ªher main character, Sirius, was battling in a PvP match with her n members. Scary Phoenix had showed up for once today. Now that she had a deeper understanding of her master, she admired him even more. Therefore, she kept training with him. She had also logged onto her new character as well and used it to chat with Sean. Sean replied after ying the game. ¡®Old Master Mitchell¡¯s name is Woody Mitchell. He is the older brother of my grandpa and the former family head of the Mitchells. His only heir was Cooper Mitchell, who had died in a car crash more than ten years ago. Old Master Mitchell has been reduced to his current state ever since Uncle Cooper passed away.¡¯ Sophia sighed in response. ¡°That¡¯s so pitiful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Uncle Cooper was a legend in the Mitchell Family. He received his double degree at the tender age of 18 years old and took on the role of family head at the age of 25. Unfortunately, he died in a car crash before he turned 30.¡± He received his double degree at the tender age of 18 years old¡­ This story is very familiar and it feels as if I¡¯ve seen it somewhere before. Just when she was deep in thought, Michael suddenly called her from behind ¡°Chica, what are you doing?¡± She lost her train of thoughts just when she felt that she was onto something. She turned and noticed that he was walking in naked¡ªapart from his underpants. She lowered her head in shyness, but secretly kept her eyes fixed on that meager bit of garment covering his body. ¡°I¡¯m yingputer games,¡± she answered. ¡°Oh.¡± Michael walked in while staring at the game that Sophia was ying. ¡°Go ahead and y. I¡¯m just here to have a look.¡± She hadn¡¯t been attending sses in the university recently and spent most of her time self-studying in her study instead. Thus, the room was always in a mess, no matter how much she tidied up the ce. Currently, she had twoptops switched on¡ªone was for the game whereas the one was ying a live broadcast. It seems that there is a teacher giving a lecture in the live broadcast, but the topic seems to be¡­ on game design? There was a notebook filled withpact notes in front of theptop. She seemed to be serious about taking the topic. On her bookshelf, there seemed to be many books on game design andputers. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t this Nate¡¯s specialized course book? Why is it here? Where is Nate? Did he run off to fool around in the middle of a lecture?¡± He thought that Nathan was the one attending the lecture. She shook her head. ¡°Stan was the one who gave me this. I¡¯m preparing for my third major, which is in game development. I am listening to the lecture while ying games. This lecturer on live broadcast is his specialized course lecturer. I had spent a lot of money to convince him to start his live broadcast.¡± She is listening to the lecture while ying games¡­ Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Sophia was afraid that he would not believe her, so she exined hastily, ¡°Stan mentioned that his company is understaffed and has asked me to learn game design. He¡¯d save a lot of money if he can hire less people¡­¡± Michael stared at her in disbelief. A third major? When did she take her second major? Does it mean that the Piano Grade 10 Certificate, specialized subjects in two minoritynguages, and other certificates that she has in the drawer are all genuine? Did she not buy them? I¡¯ve barely seen her y the piano. How could she possibly pass the Piano Grade 10 exams? However, it is reasonable if she is Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter. Damn it, Cooper. You can¡¯t let the living have a peaceful life even after your death! Nevertheless, he was happy for her. When I was a child, I used to live in a nightmare where I¡¯m constantly beingpared to someone else¡¯s child. Right now, I want the rest of the world to be intimidated by my wife being the best at everything she does. Upon noticing Michael holding onto the specialized course book on game development while looking unsettled, Sophia was slightly afraid since he remained silent for a long time. She thought that he was angry because the book had belonged to Stanley, after all. Previously, he had tried to pursue her, but it was undeniable that he had toned things down. She took the book back from Michael in silence before quietlymenting, ¡°Well, I won¡¯t take up game development¡­¡± He was not angry; instead, he patted her head while encouraging her lovingly, ¡°You should learn whatever you want. Let me know if you need money. Don¡¯t keep it a secret and sneak around when you are taking an exam.¡± She felt a sense of warmth spread across her chest and nodded in response. ¡°Okay.¡± She had only been enrolled in Bayside University for one years. Only two semesters had passed, but she had already procured a pile of certificates, for example, professional qualification certificates, grading certificates, and many others that were irrelevant to her specialized course. She was afraid that he might assume she¡¯d neglect her main course by being a Jill of all trades and a master of none. Therefore, she had lied by iming that she used money to buy those certificates and qualifications. After all, he is a man. He most probably doesn¡¯t like his wife to be a show off. He returned her specialized course book on game development to the bookshelf, asking, ¡°Have you met the Mitchells today?¡± Sophia nodded at him. ¡°Yes, I met a person who is Woody Mitchell and apparently, he is the older brother of Sean¡¯s grandfather. However, he is suffering from Alzheimer¡¯s disease, so he¡¯s treating me as if I¡¯m his son.¡± Michael knew about the incident a long while ago and even specifically reminded her, ¡°It¡¯s best not to be close with the Mitchells.¡± Chapter 316 Chapter 316 Sophia nodded while watching Michael leave the room and stared at his shapely bum. After he left and closed the door behind him, she continued to y her game while listening to the lecturer¡¯s live broadcast. Michael returned to his study to continue with his game and logged into his two characters as well. Both the main and new characters were active in the game. The main character was defeating his wife whereas she was attacking his new character. While that transpired, he was distracted as he was reading the script of the documentary film. Just when he was having fun attacking her character, he turned with a start and noticed that Nathan lurked in the silence behind him in an eerie manner, staring at hisptop screen. Michael was shocked, but he regained hisposure almost instantly. It seems like the boy knew about this long ago. However, what can he do despite knowing this? He calmly beckoned for Nathan. ¡°Darling,e here.¡± Nathan walked to him and stood beside him. He stared at the screen while Michael opened the back-end warehouse of Scary Phoenix¡¯s ount. The warehouse was filled with equipment andrge amounts of game currency¡ªassets that he had been umting over the years. Michael cut straight to the chase. ¡°Go ahead, tell me how much you want from me to keep your lips sealed.¡± Nathan¡¯s heart ached for his mother, who had high scores and low abilities, because she had been yed like a fool. Then, he went closer to the screen to point at Michael¡¯s warehouse. ¡°I want this, this, and this one¡­¡± My dad is the one lying to her after all. For the sake of money, I suppose I¡¯ll temporarily take Michael¡¯s side and I wouldn¡¯t expose him for now. Michael had been ckmailed by Nathan and lost one-third of his property, but he seemed unfazed. After he finished ying the game, he swung by Sophia¡¯s study. She had already logged out of the game and brushed her teeth. She was reading the specialized course book on game development in the study while solving questions in the book. She was working out on the form while spinning her pen. It had dropped on the floor while she was twirling it, so she bent down to look for it. However, just when she bent down to pick her pen up, someone smacked her upturned petite bum. Smack! Michael loudly smacked her bum. He flipped her nightdress up and pushed her underwear aside before smacking her bum again, leaving a pair of matching red marks across her bottom. He grabbed onto her small bum firmly when she was about to escape. Sophia seemed to know what he was trying to do and eximed, ¡°No! I want to do my homework!¡± She was blushing furiously. We are in the study. It¡¯ll be inappropriate if Maria sees us in such a compromising position when she serves milkter! He ced a box of condoms on the side while removing his underpants. He reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, continue with your work and I¡¯ll go ahead with mine.¡± While switching his phone on with one hand, he held her in another. He went to have a look at the basement earlier. Abel would be digging Cooper¡¯s graveyard tonight to steal his bone for a DNA test. Michael was watching Abel digging the graveyard live on his phone. All content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. More than ten years ago, when Cooper came to my home to boast, he most probably wouldn¡¯t have guessed that as the forgettable kid, I would bed his daughter while sending someone to dig up his grave after more than ten years down the line! She was forced to raise her bum while ying along with Michael in such an embarrassing act in the study. What do you mean by continuing with my work¡­ She was blushing when she remarked, ¡°In that case, you need to be gentler.¡± Michael whispered at her ear, ¡°I promise I¡¯ll be gentler.¡± Sophia¡¯s cheeks were flushed red. Her bum was upturned while shey over the table to continue reading her book. He stood behind her, watching Abel robbing Cooper¡¯s grave while bedding his daughter. They were both busy with their own tasks. Abel was extremely capable, but it was his first time robbing a grave. Not to mention, he was robbing his own old master¡¯s grave, so he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly nervous about it. He fumbled at the entrance for the longest time. Fortunately, it was in the middle of the night, so the tomb keeper of the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave had left. Therefore, Abel and the rest of the group were able to enter without any hindrance. Michael had a headset over his ear for him to contact Abel, who was on the frontline, at any time. Judging from Abel¡¯s video, Cooper¡¯s grave was extremely simple. There had been no apanying burial in the tomb whereas he wore a ck suit in his coffin. The body had been there for decades and it had already decayed, leaving only a pile of bones. ¡°Mission aplished,¡± Abel¡¯s voice spoke over the headset. ¡°I¡¯m taking away Cooper¡¯s entire coffin.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Michael answered as he was also done with his business too. He was in the midst of gathering paper towels to tidy up. Abel added, ¡°I am preparing for the second round and digging up my own grave while I¡¯m at it.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Michael responded as his breathing was erratic. In fact, he was gasping louder than Abel, who was breaking into a coffin. He asked, ¡°What are you doing? Why are you gasping for air?¡± Michael answered, ¡°I am working out.¡± After that, he switched off the live video broadcast while preparing for the second round. He kissed Sophia¡¯s cheek gently while asking her, ¡°How is it? How are your studiesing by?¡± Sophia was blushing while there were sweat beads on her forehead. Her face, which was shiny with sweat, seemed furious when she answered him angrily, ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± He deliberately disturbs me when I¡¯m in the middle of studying. Besides, he is doing it so enthusiastically! I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s actually asking how my studies are going. How else could it be? I didn¡¯t even manage to read anything with him knocking against me while making me dizzy! Michael lightly drew circles on Sophia¡¯s shoulders with his tongue while nting feathery kisses across her shoulders. She had a rose tattoo to cover the Phantom Wolf¡¯s mark. The tattoo almost looked like it was blossoming with charm while exuding an alluring fragrance. He whispered by her ear, ¡°Stop studying if you can¡¯t concentrate. Why don¡¯t we focus on my thing¡­¡± It waste at night when Abel arrived at the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral grave to dig his tomb. His wife and his clothes were buried underneath thebined tomb. As a result of the ident all those years ago, Celine¡¯s body had beenpletely destroyed and he himself was at the brink of death. He could have been saved initially, but his parents were waiting for him to die so that they could apply for the title of a fallen hero upon his death to bring glory to their ancestors. At that time, Justin, who had been hanging by a thread, stated hisst wish¡ªhe wanted to be buried with Celine and did not want to be in the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave! Coincidentally, Old Master Fletcher wouldn¡¯t allow his granddaughter to join another family¡¯s tomb, so theirbined tombnded in the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral grave. There was only one body in the coffin¡ªa substitute that Michael used for Justin. However, the objects in there had belonged to Justin himself. It had been so many years and he could finally retrieve his belongings. He carefully removed his wedding ring from the corpse. While Abel was on his way to Bayside City, Sophia was barely hanging in there. She was already exhausted from studying and working hard during the day and figured that she could sleep after making love in the study; never did she expect to fool around with him in the gym room and in the bathroom while wearing a school uniform. The next day, Hale had woken up early to prepare the car while getting ready to send her to university. However, when he did not see her out of bed by 8.00AM, he looked up to check the master bedroom¡¯s window on the second floor¡ªit had remained tightly shut. Boss seems to be casually consuming Viagrately, so I suppose thedy boss might as well forget about attending sses in the university. He happily drove the car away to hang out with her female fitness coach. During that period of time, Michael had been filming during the day. When he arrived home at night, he would defeat Sophia in the game. Once he was done, he would deliberately seduce her when it was time for her to revise. I¡¯d like to see whether Cooper¡¯s daughter is more capable or I am! Reality proves that I am much more awesome! Chapter 317 Chapter 317 Sophia had been waiting and looking forward to her menstruation. It finally arrived, so Michael took the chance to allow his manhood to have some rest. Finally, she returned to sses in the university as nned. She had basically taught herself through books from her course up until her sophomore year during her self-study period. Lately, she learned things associated with game development and design. Therefore, she would follow Stanley to his ss upon arriving on campus. She worked hard to try to catch up to their level. After noon, when the rest of them had headed off, she would stay back in the library. She studied liberal arts in senior high, but since Richard was in the science stream, she did some self-study to help him with some questions. She had already passed the C programming and other basic testsst term. Therefore, it was not especially difficult for her to learn aboutputers from its basics. Different groups of people arrived and departed the library¡¯s self-study room, but Sophia, who was seated in the corner, remained motionless. She wore a pair ofrge sses and had a notebook in front of her with a big pile of specialized course books beside her, making her look extremely serious while she studied. She had no idea when, but as someone ced a book opposite her, a voice suddenly broke the silence. ¡°Sophia.¡± She looked up from her pile of books with surprise when she saw Quinton¡¯s face. ¡°Professor, you¡¯re here too!¡± Quinton seemed even more astonished than she was. ¡°I heard that you sustained severe burns and you were sent abroad for treatment. Why are you here?¡± ¡°Huh? Severe burns?!¡± Sophia was confused, pushing her sses slightly upward. He sat across her and told her about the news he received. After the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home had caught fire, Joe mentioned that Sophia had been in the room and did not manage to escape. The counselor had called her home to check what happened, but someone had exined that she was recuperating at home and she needed some time before returning to the university. When Joe¡¯s story wasbined with the news announced by the counselor, it sounded as if she had sustained severe burns from the fire. Thus, news spread that Sophia was severely disabled from the fire and as a result, she was forced to discontinue her studies to recuperate at home. After listening to Professor rk¡¯s exnation, she was rendered speechless. When I was at home, I heard Maria mentioning that someone from the school had phoned thendline, asking why I wasn¡¯t attending sses in university. Due to the incident with Phantom Wolf, Michael had applied for a long sick leave on my behalf. That was why I told Maria to y along with the story about my sick leave. I never expected that things would take such an unexpected turn. I¡¯ve been back in the university for about four to five days now; it¡¯s just that I¡¯ve been attending sses at the School of Computer Science. How on earth did news about my severe burns and me requiring treatment abroade about? Sophia chuckled while exining, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Professor. I¡¯ve applied for my second major. I will be in the School of Computer Science during this time.¡± In reality, I¡¯m not sure how many majors I¡¯ve taken on. Quinton seemed relieved and apanied her for a while with his book before leaving alone. Although she was back in university, she had adopted a low profile. She arrived at school early in the morning to study in the library and she wouldn¡¯t leave untilte at night. That was because Bayside University had an abundance of book collection, especially in subjects and academic courses. Half a month had passed since the fire in Huffs Technology and X was finally back in university. The fire had caused a huge impact for Huffs Technology. Apart from the office building, the biggest loss was the facilities within. The Huff Family was involved in electronics, so the most important and valuable aspect they had were their equipment and facilities. All the facilities, production line, and paper materials were destroyed overnight. The warehouse was reduced to ashes, so all the semi-manufactured goods and finished products inside were ruined! There was no way for them to fulfill their order since they couldn¡¯t deliver the goods. Therefore, their clients all came forward to request for a refund. Huffs Technology was badly affected overnight. They were heavily in debt and their stock market crashed. Unable to take the blow, Mrs. Huff copsed and was admitted to the hospital. Huffs Technology was in deep trouble this time! After the ident, X hid at home since she didn¡¯t dare to head out. Now that the Huffs are in trouble, those people who used to be jealous of me might be gloating over my misfortune! To her dismay, when she was feeling the most helpless in her life, the love of her life hadn¡¯t even bothered to give her a phone call. It was only Mrs. Harper who phoned to check on her for a short while from the beginning to the end. However, before Mr. Huff could ask for a loan, she had already hung up on them. I know that Richard is busy because he has to handle the issues of the Harpers Family. Nevertheless, doesn¡¯t he have the time to make a phone call, no matter how busy he is? How could he possibly not have the time for a phone call if he has the time to post on stories on Instagram?C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org More than ten days had passed before X gained the courage to return to university. She didn¡¯t know how to face Richard because she was afraid of being rejected by him. However, she needed his help and the Huffs also needed the Harper Family¡¯s help. Judging by the current situation, it was all down to her efforts as to whether the Harper Family would be willing to lend the Huff Family a helping hand. She recalled withdrawing tens of millions from Huffs Technology to help Richard during an emergency. Therefore, it only made sense for him to return the favor when she was in need! She knew that he would be in the university today, so she had waited for a long time at a spot where she knew he would show up. Finally, he made an appearance. He was wearing the university¡¯s uniform, taking away the sense of maturity and experience he had from the business world. He looked just like any other university student. After handling the awful mess, he was temporarily relieved of his administrative powers in thepany. Therefore, he was back on campus to continue with studies. If he refused to improve his results and studies, he would end up as the first director in Harper Group¡¯s history to have an educational background in senior high. ¡°Richard!¡± She approached him timidly upon seeing him. He was shocked when he saw her. Feeling guilty within, he had the urge to escape. After the horrible incident at Huffs Technology, the Harper Group seemed to behave in a manner that suggested that they wanted to call off the marriage. However, if the Harpers were to do that immediately after the Huffs were in trouble, it would definitely tarnish the Harper Family¡¯s reputation. Nevertheless, Mrs. Harper had other ns in mind. She heard that Sophia was married to an extremely wealthy old man, so they nned to have Richard take over the old man¡¯s assets once thetter had kicked the bucket. He would dump Sophia once he had received the large inheritance. Initially, he was hesitant about the n. After all, Sophia had been ruthless and decisive in her decisions. However, Mrs. Harper reminded him as an experienced woman, ¡°That¡¯s because she loves you, which is why she¡¯s doing so many things to hurt you! If you give up everything here to return to her, she would naturally forget about the grudge she had against you. Women are all the same!¡± However, he heard that Sophia sustained some severe injuries, so she was sent abroad for treatment and her wounds might have ruined her beauty. Therefore, he was in a dilemma at that point. However, he did not know how to exin the situation to X. He felt even guiltier upon seeing her, but approached her anyway and spoke, ¡°X, are you back now? How is your family?¡± When she saw that the love of her life was still concerned about her, she felt so sorry for herself that tears started to stream down her cheeks. She then threw herself into his arms. ¡°Thank you, Richard! I am good.¡± He exined with regret, ¡°Please don¡¯t me my parents for their unwillingness to lend you money. We can hardly stay afloat.¡± Subsequently, Richard tried to give excuses. ¡°Previously, I had messed up Glory Entertainment, resulting in thepany losing arge sum of money. Thepany¡¯s Board of Directors, Board of Supervisors and shareholders had a lot to say about it. I¡¯ve been stripped of my administrative powers within thepany. Therefore, we don¡¯t even dare to use the money within thepany.¡± ¡°I know. I¡¯m aware of all of that¡­¡± X sobbed. The ident that befell Huffs Technology is merely a small bump along the journey. The hardship will pass soon enough. Richard and my wedding will go on as nned! All the obstacles in our way are gone now. The fire might not have killed Sophia, but it is severe enough to ruin her beauty. Hence, she can no longer dream ofing in between me and Richard! Upon recalling Sophia, X wiped her tears away while deliberately suggesting, ¡°I heard that Sophia has sustained severe burns. Let¡¯s visit her in the hospital!¡± I am sure Sophia looks as ugly as a scarecrow now. Once Richard sees her without her former good looks, I¡¯m sure she can¡¯t seduce him anymore! I want Richard to see her ruined face! Chapter 318 Chapter 318 Richard hesitated when his mother suggested that he should make use of this chance to visit Sophia because she might instantly be touched by his gesture when she was at her most vulnerable. Even so, he was held back by the worry that he might not be able to look her in the eye. Still, he relented in the end. ¡°Okay.¡± For the sake of her immense wealth, now was probably the best time for him to visit her. Hand in hand, he and X headed out of the campus. X leaned her head on his shoulder as the two took a stroll along the boulevard in the campus. Richard, no one is going to separate us ever again! she thought. To their surprise, they bumped into a bunch of students from the School of Computer Science. After taking a closer look at them, they saw a girl surrounded by around seven to eight guys. ¡°Aunt Sundae Cone, please feel free to ask us any questions. All of us are at your service!¡± ¡°Aunt Sundae Cone, why are you married at such a young age?¡± ¡°Stan, please don¡¯t worry because we¡¯ll try our best to train your aunt into a professional game designer!¡± The School of Computer Science was thrilled to wee the arrival of a new student, not to mention a beautiful girl at that. All of them started addressing her as ¡®Aunt Sundae Cone¡¯ because she was Stanley¡¯s aunt. Sophia was starting to look more and more like a programmer with a backpack, aptop in her hands and a pair ofrge spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose. X thought that her eyes were failing her. How could that girl be Sophia? Shouldn¡¯t she have suffered some serious burns in the fire? How could she possibly be in Bayside University right now? She must just be someone who looks like Sophia! However, it was hard for her to convince herself otherwise because she knew deep down that the girl was Sophia, albeit dressed differently. She seemed to be walking from the direction of the School of Computer Science. Rumor was that she had not been attending lecturestely; why was she here now? Richard, on the other hand, recognized Sophia with just one nce. Judging from how she dressed more tomboyish, it was obvious that Sophia hadpletely assimted into the bunch of nerds. Truth be told, therge spectacles she wore on her tiny face was actually quite charming. ¡°Sophia, a-are you alright?¡± Sophia was discussing with her peers about the lecture they just had when she spotted her ex. It was not a weing sight. However, seeing that he was in quite a bad state himself, she forced herself to put on a polite smile and answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m alright now.¡± Richard continued to look at her spectively. There seems to be no scar on her face but what about her body? He needed to be sure of that because he did want to see a body full of scars when he finally got her naked. As such, he pressed on, ¡°I heard that you got burned in the fire. Were you injured badly?¡± In a bookish manner, Sophia pushed her spectacles upward and replied, ¡°Thanks for your concern. I didn¡¯t get injured because I ran out the back door when the fire started.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. X started at her unflinchingly and bit her lower lip so hard that it started to bleed. Her face turned extremely pale and she started feeling cold as if there wasn¡¯t a trace of warmth left in her body. Never had she thought that Sophia would actually manage to flee the scene. Not only did she not perish in the fire, she wasn¡¯t even injured! Richard, who was still keen to know whether Sophia had been burnt, phrased his question as if he was genuinely worried about her, ¡°But, I heard that you¡¯ve been skipping lecturestely¡­¡± ¡°Oh, please!¡± Stanley¡¯s impatient voice cut Richard off. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business whether she attends lectures or not! Who do you think you are? Get your nose out of her affairs!¡± He beckoned Nathan over and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sophia pushed her spectacles up and left with Stanley, a wide grin on her face. They were about to make their way to the office to check out on things. Meanwhile, Richard watched them leave resentfully. Stanley Fletcher, it¡¯s too early for you to gloat! While he was staring contemtively in the direction where Sophia walked away, he did not notice that X¡¯s body was trembling with jealousy behind him. Nothing bad actually befell Sophia while the Edwards had lost a mansion worth several million and Huffs Technology had suffered a great crisis. How could she survive everything ande out unscathed when she was the one who deserved punishment the most? You shameless b*tch, how dare you appear in Bayside University and seduce my fianc¨¦? Sophia Edwards, do you think I¡¯ll let this go? Never! Sophia went back home after spending a short time at the office. By the time she reached home, Nathan was already there, courtesy of Gary. The moment she stepped inside the house, she saw Nathan ying a game where he was trying toplete a very challenging mission. To her surprise, Scary Phoenix was in the game too. Horrified, Sophie asked, ¡°Nate, how can you ask Scary Phoenix to lead you in the game? He¡¯s a very busy man who has a lot of work to do.¡± Hearing that, Nathan scoffed. ¡°Give me a minute; I¡¯ll take over from Scary Phoenixter.¡± Nathan only scoffed again. Not only did he demand Scary Phoenix to lead him in the game, he even constantly ckmailed him for coins in the game. If Scary Phoenix failed to satisfy his needs, he would tell everyone how Scary Phoenix crossdressed as a woman! Michael spent some time in the game to help his son kill some bosses. After Sophia took over, he logged out of the game and turned hisputer off before going to the basement. Abel had brought Cooper¡¯s coffin over to the basement, thereupon Michael had spent the past few days studying the body and he expected toe to some sort of a conclusion soon. As soon as he reached the basement, he immediately caught sight of his father-inw¡¯s dead body, which was a sight that still brought him psychological stress up until now. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here; I was just about to go looking for you.¡± Abel was carrying a huge stack of documents in his arms as he beckoned Michael over. He started cing the documents on the table one by one. ¡°The DNA I extracted from Cooper¡¯s body doesn¡¯t match with your wife¡¯s DNA at all.¡± They don¡¯t match? Michael was slightly shocked to hear that, considering that Sophia was really simr to Cooper in terms of her brilliant mind, talent and some other aspects. Otherwise, Woody wouldn¡¯t have been so sure that Sophia was his granddaughter the first time they met each other. Abel shed him a mysterious grin before continuing, ¡°The body as well as fingerprints werepletely ruined by the explosion. Judging from the DNA of the body, not only does this person have no rtion to your wife, he isn¡¯t even rted to Old Master Mitchell or anyone from the Mitchell Family or me. In other words, the body inside the coffin isn¡¯t Cooper at all!¡± Michael ran his fingers over his hair which was shaven into a buzz cut. With that piece of new information, he was able to have a better understanding of his father-inw whom he had admired since he was little. Indeed, Cooper did not let him down. For a man who was appointed to be the patriarch of the Mitchell Family at the age of twenty five, it went without saying that Cooper was a daring and far-sighted man. Everyone was surprised when an extremely talented man like him ended up dying a tragic death in the car ident. Now that more and more clues wereing to light, it seemed increasingly likely that there was something fishy with the car ident that happened years ago. Abel picked up another DNA report and concluded, ¡°We can be 100% sure that the body isn¡¯t Cooper but everything else inside the coffin is indeed his, from which I found traces of his DNA. I ran a test and the report shows that he is 99.99% your wife¡¯s biological father.¡± Everything turned out exactly as Michael had expected. What a shrewd and brilliant man his father-inw was! Michael took the DNA report and scrutinized it. Before this, Abel had sneaked into Woody¡¯s residence to take his blood sample so that he could run a DNA test with Sophia¡¯s DNA. Combining the DNA tests of Sophia and Cooper as well as Woody, it was 99.99% sure that Sophia was the descendant of the Mitchell Family. Chapter 319 Chapter 319 Abel found it amusing to know that Sophia was actually one of the Mitchell Family. No wonder he had always had this familiar feeling every time he saw her. That must have been the reason why Nathan thought she stood out from many others back then. Abel had also gathered some information and videos on Cooper¡¯s car ident. Back when Cooper was appointed as the patriarch of the family, an internal strife within the family started brewing. In the end, Cooper managed to subdue the conflict by adopting a hardball tactic. Still, many secretly held grudges against him. After all, the Mitchell Family was a prestigious family that had survived for more than a century. How could they have allowed a youngd in his twenties to be their patriarch? Although Cooper was way more talented andpetent than anyone else in the family and despite the multiple asions he had saved them, there were some who were still eager to get rid of him. That must have been the reason that brought about the family¡¯s downfall! Not long after that, Cooper died in a car crash. The car he traveled in was nearly ttened due to a collision with a construction vehicle, causing the car to explode. His body was in pieces and people only knew it was him ording to a DNA test. Many were saddened to hear of the demise of a talent of the Mitchell Family. Ever since Woody learnt about his death, he had be a shadow of his old self. It was only now that they found out the body inside the coffin was not Cooper. There were two possible exnations¡ªthe first was that he might already be dead but his body was taken away by somebody. The second was that he might still be alive and everything was just part of his runaway n. Abel and Michael thought the second scenario was more likely. After studying the information on Cooper¡¯s death thoroughly, Micheal learnt that Cooper had decided to leave all his wealth in the family¡¯s public fund and also to provide for his father¡¯s living expenses. It was puzzling that he did not take even a dime of his wealth which he had fought so hard for. When the car ident took ce, Woody was already over eighty years old. At that age, he was supposed to lead a carefree and rxed life but Cooper¡¯s car ident came as a huge blow to him. Because of that, the old man waster diagnosed with dementia and he had no choice but surrender his power in the family to others. What could have convinced Cooper to give up his immense wealth and leave his aging father behind? What made him be so cold-hearted? Where had he been over the past decades? Was he still alive? Did he know he had a daughter? Michael¡¯s head was filled with questions. Cooper was not the only one in the family that had pulled off something like this. Justin also became so disheartened with his family that he decided to stage a fake death. However, what made him different from Cooper was that he left without having to worry about anything¡ª his departure would not affect his family too much because he was not the only son. Also, Nathan had Michael to take care of him. As for Cooper, he was Woody¡¯s only son, so why did he do something so cruel? Would he still continue to hide even after knowing that his father had suffered from dementia because of him? After studying the materials, Abel sighed. ¡°After Cooper faked his death, he had severed all his ties with the Mitchell Familypletely and his n was airtight. He really needed to be extremely cruel and heartless to be able to pull off something like that. Did he not care about anything?¡± Although Justin had done the same thing, he was not without worries because he had left his son, Nathan, behind. There was no secret that couldn¡¯t be revealed. As the patriarch of the Mitchell Family, his fake death would be something very significant and its consequence would implicate many. How did he actually ensure his n to be so infallible that no one had ever found out there was something fishy with his death even after so many years? No one would ever find out his secret if it wasn¡¯t for his daughter, Sophia, and his helpful son-inw, Michael. ¡°I¡¯m sure a man like Cooper would remain an outstanding man even though he might have adopted a new identity.¡± Reading the materials in his hands, Michael spotted a photo of Cooper taken when he was twenty-eight. At that time, he was at the peak of his career and all the girls in Bayside City were crazy over him because of his good looks. However, he was widely known to be a man who abstained from pleasure. He did not have a long-term partner up until his death and was not involved in any scandal with any woman. At that time, Justin was quite close with Cooper. To Justin, Cooper was in a whole other league. Back then, Old Master Fletcher tried to fix his most beloved granddaughter, Celine Fletcher, up with Cooper and the two families thought they would make a perfect couple. But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Cooperter asked Justin for his help to sabotage their n by letting him attend the blind date with Celine on his behalf. Justin did the job well by showering the girl with insults and rude remarks as soon as he met her, resulting in him being beaten up. Although they got off to a bad start, the King of Soldierster got along well with the army belle ever since. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. The two soon fell head over heels for each other. When they told everyone about their rtionship, the Fletchers were pleased to see them dating, especially Old Master Fletcher, who admired Justin a great deal because he was the King of Soldiers. However, the Mitchell Family did not embrace their rtionship as positively. As Justin was neither a descendant from the main family nor the most talented member, logically speaking he was not supposed to get engaged with Celine. Many of the family were against their rtionship but Cooper exercised his rights as the patriarch of the family to subdue the opposing voices, approving their marriage. If it wasn¡¯t for him, Nathan wouldn¡¯t have existed. ¡°Oh Cooper¡­ Where are you now?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°Do research on all the big shots globally who managed to make a name for themselves in the recent ten years. I believe we¡¯ll be able to find some clues.¡± Abel was not too keen to blow Cooper¡¯s disguise, thinking that he must have been determined to sever all ties with his family by staging a fake ident back then. However, Michael was very eager to track him down because he was Sophia¡¯s father. Michael was not after Cooper¡¯s wealth nor his power. He understood that if Cooper knew he had a daughter and a son-inw, he would be even more burdened. However, he just wanted Sophia to know that she had a very talented and prominent father. After a lengthy deliberation, he decided not to reveal the truth to Sophia for the time being. He would only decide what to do when they found Cooper. Since the man had lived under such a perfect cover over the years, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to locate him. Having verified this piece of information with Abel, Michael then headed to Sophia¡¯s study, his excitement palpable. She was no longer ying games. At that moment, she was going over a book with herptop switched on, an online lecture ying on its screen. Michael decided not to disturb her. Instead, he opened the door to a slit so that he could peek in on her. That was Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter! He had actually slept with his daughter! He was so proud of himself. Soon, he would locate Cooper and give her a huge surprise. He wanted her to know that her father was the greatest man in the world. Meanwhile, Sophia was reading a pornographic book intently. She had always known that Sarah¡¯s passion was drawing and she worked as a concept designer at Stanley¡¯spany. However, she had no clue that Sarah drew illustrations for pornographic books too. Sarah had gathered all the drawings she had done for gay pornographic books and made it into a collection, which she then published and released to a small circle of people. The book was full of X- rated graphics of gay couples. Drawings of her favorite gay couples were depicted in the book as well as some other imaginary gay couples. She could turn anything into a drawing! If Michael found out about the book, Sophia was sure that he would teach Sarah a harsh lesson. Therefore, she only dared to read it secretly at home. In fact, she had secretly stashed some away too. The drawings were so lewd and exciting that she thought she was on the verge of getting a nosebleed. Chapter 320 Chapter 320 Huffs Technology was so badly undermined because of the loss incurred during the fire that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. It was only with the funds from their inws, the Edwards and Harpers, did they manage to barely scrape through. However, the Huff Family were now only a shadow of their old selves. Therefore, it was X¡¯s priority to marry Richard as soon as possible to ensure his family would continue providing them with financial assistance. As long as her family managed to pull through this time, everything else would turn out fine. She had a gut feeling who the culprit was for the predicament of Huffs Technology. Although she had no solid proof because the culprit¡¯s n had been airtight, she knew she couldn¡¯t be far off. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Right now, she had to take her revenge on Sophia but her family had no means to help her with that. She wouldn¡¯t pin any hope of getting help from the Harpers either, who weren¡¯t likely to help her deal with Sophia. They were still encouraging Richard to get back together with Sophia so that they could get their hands on the immense wealth she had. The Edwards Family was the only one who could possibly be of any help. She was sure that Joe Edwards, as greedy as he was, would crack his brain trying toe up with means to rob Sophia¡¯s wealth. By the time Sophia was left with nothing, she would no longer be able to vie with X for Richard. After making up her mind, she went to visit the Edwards. ¡°What? Not only is that b*tch still alive, she didn¡¯t even suffer any injuries?¡± Faye looked surprised to learn how Sophia had managed to make the narrow escape. ¡°She¡¯s really one hell of a lucky girl,¡± Faye remarked, her eyes lingering on X. Putting on a harmless and innocent look, X asked, ¡°Faye, Sophia is your sister. Shouldn¡¯t you be happy to know that she¡¯s still alive?¡± Faye snorted in response without saying anything. She had registered to take part in a campus beauty contest which was going to be held soon. To make sure she would shine during the contest, she hired several dancing teachers to give her somest-minute, intensive lessons. Massaging her thighs, Faye remarked in a crafty tone, ¡°Do you think I have no idea who would be the happiest if that b*tch was to die in that fire? X, do I look stupid to you?¡± On the fateful day the fire took ce, they tricked Sophia into visiting them. All they wanted was to keep her there as a bait to lure her husband over; they had no intention of getting her killed. The house catching fire all of a sudden was totally unnned. Panic-stricken, they managed to get out of the house but they forgot about Sophia¡¯s existence. After an investigation, it was revealed that someone had deliberately set the store room on fire with the intention to kill Sophia, who was stuck in one of the rooms on the third floor. Just two days after Sophia escaped the fire at Edwards Residence, the entire tower of Huffs Technology was devoured in a ze too. The two incidents couldn¡¯t be mere coincidence. Before this, Faye kept her mouth shut as X¡¯s family was the owner of Huffs Technology and had offered tremendous help to her family when theirpany was facing a huge crisis. However, things had been different now and the Edwards Family were no longer their old selves. Right now, they were a branch of the prestigious Edwards Family in Bayside City and they were blessed with a son-inw who was a tycoon. Meanwhile, Huffs Technology had suffered a fatal blow because of the fire. Therefore, Faye did not see the need to respect X, who was nothing without her family business. X held her head low, a sh of resentment in her eyes as Faye mocked her. This girl is such an ungrateful b*tch! Has she forgotten who funded her family when they were down? Pretending that she did not understand what Faye meant, X steered the conversation away by saying, ¡°Faye, I have a way to find out who Sophia¡¯s husband is.¡± Faye, who was still massaging her legs, asked in ackadaisical manner, ¡°Oh, tell me all about it then.¡± X walked over and said warmly, ¡°Since Sophia is your sister, we have to do something to show we¡¯re friendly if we want to get closer to her rich husband. Although she wasn¡¯t injured in the firest time, we should still do something to show that we care about her. Let¡¯s see¡­ Why don¡¯t you and Uncle Joe visit her with some gifts? I bet she won¡¯t reject such a kind gesture from the two of you¡­¡± Faye thought it was a rather good idea. Although X was a scheming girl, Faye had to admit that she was really smart. Thus, she started preparing for the visit right away. In the afternoon, Joe and Faye made their way to The Imperial with several bags of gifts. To no one¡¯s surprise, they were denied ess to the residential area by the security officer. ¡°I heard that my daughter has fallen sick and has been resting at home for the past few days. I¡¯m really worried about her; I just need to check on her condition. Please let us in!¡± The security officer refused them with a stoic expression, ¡°No.¡± Having no other choice, Joe decided to put down the bags of gifts in front of the security booth. ¡°I¡¯ve brought some gifts for my daughter and my grandson. Since I can¡¯t go in, can you bring the gifts to them?¡± The security officer nced at the bags on the floor and relented, ¡°You may leave them here.¡± Joe put down the bags and stormed off. Afterward, the security officer went through the contents inside the bags and found they consisted of some fruits, health supplements and toys. Thinking that nothing wrong could possibly arise from those things, he then brought them to Vi No. 8 where Maria took them in. She left the pile of gifts in the living room, knowing that Sophia would not be interested in them. Then, she walked away to take care of the housework, not noticing a little toy robot amidst the pile. The robot seemed to be searching for something with its eyes lit up and its head turning around in all directions. Meanwhile at the Edwards Residence, Joe was talking to X anxiously. ¡°Pay attention! I want to see what my son-inw looks like!¡± A video was ying on the screen of X¡¯sputer, showing the inside of Vi No. 8 in The Emperial. The footage was taken by cameras hidden inside the little toy robot. As X¡¯s family was in the business of producing high-end technology products, the little robot was their newest invention. Its main function was to take sneak shots and it was capable of camouging to avoid being discovered. X made the robot move around to scout the area because there was no one in the footage right now. With the three cameras inside, the robot was able to take in its surroundings in a panoramic view and any movement would immediately trigger its camouge mode. The little robot took a few steps out of the room in the direction of the living room. It wasn¡¯t long before a middle-aged man appeared in the footage. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Joe was so excited to see the man¡¯s face that he smacked the table hard. Both Faye and X were bbergasted because that man was the vice chancellor of Bayside University! Since the vice chancellor appeared at Sophia¡¯s ce at such an hour, did it mean he was her husband? At that time, they suddenly remembered that the vice chancellor was a man with thest name Fletcher. Everything that had happened to Stanley, Joel and Nathan so far seemed to make sense all at once. No wonder Nathan was made an exception to the university rules to be admitted into the university at such a young age! It was simply because he was the vice chancellor¡¯s son! All three of them were thrilled to learn the truth, especially so for Joe who smacked his thigh in tion. ¡°That old man is Sophie¡¯s husband! No wonder that little scumbag could get into a university at such a tender age! It¡¯s because his father is the vice chancellor of the university!¡± To their astonishment, the vice chancellor had actually paid to make Sophia his wife. If the fact became widespread among the students of the university, it would certainly bring great embarrassment to that old man. How exciting was that? ted, X started controlling the robot to snap more photos of the vice chancellor. Before long, Sophia appeared in the living room in a nightgown; her hands were held by the vice chancellor intimately. X¡¯s face was glowing with exhration when she was taking the photos. She knew that these photos could put Sophia into huge trouble! Chapter 321 Chapter 321 Right at that moment, the robot¡¯s rm went off and it alerted her that something was approaching fast. She immediately switched the robot to sleep mode and it looked just like a normal robot. Even if someone noticed it, they would only think that it was a toy robot that had identally fallen onto the floor. However, X paled in shock when she saw that thing approaching. Within seconds, the robot was brutally dragged, crashed and hit around while being bitten by something. Soon, the image disappeared and it was no longer connectable. It seemed like it was damaged. Thest scene that transmitted was a ferocious dog head. It seemed like the dog in Sophia¡¯s house noticed the robot. Actually, it turned out to be better since it helped X to destroy the evidence. Those pictures were sufficient! Meanwhile in Vi No.8 at The Imperial, Sophia, who wore a pink bunny loungewear, was sitting beside Michael. She kept her head low and didn¡¯t dare to make a sound. On the opposite sofa sat the vice chancellor of Bayside University, a serious expression on his face. ¡°¡ªIt¡¯s a big issue that Sophia took the examination for somebody else. She was recorded by the surveince camera and ording to the university regtions, she must be given a demerit!¡± Recently, some lecturers noticed that an academic underachiever, who had always struggled to pass had suddenly scored three full marks in a row and became the top of the ss. Therefore, the lecturer had to look into it. After investigating, they found something fishy. It turned out that the academic underachiever found someone to take the examination for him. It was the second year¡¯s Physics midterm examination but the one who took the examination was a first-year from economicw. Most importantly, she was the top of the ss! Further investigation revealed that it was Sophia. They were shocked that she took the examination for someone else! In the past hundred years since Bayside University was founded, this was the first time something like that happened. The course lecturer didn¡¯t know how to settle this matter. If he were to punish her, he would lose such a genius student, who took the second year¡¯s examination when she was just in her first year and was studying a different major! If they let her off, he would be viting the university¡¯s regtions. If the higher levels investigated it, he would be the one suffering the consequence. He didn¡¯t breathe a word to anyone and just secretly reported it to the vice chancellor. After hearing about that, the vice chancellor checked on those who had achieved an unbelievable high score recently, especially those underachievers that suddenly passed with flying colors. Upon checking, he realized that Sophia was involved in all those cases. Even more surprising, she worked part-time at the university by specifically taking examinations for the others! Therefore, the vice chancellor paid them a visit in person today. Hearing that she was getting a demerit, Sophia instantly tugged anxiously on Michael¡¯s matching pajamas. Michael held her hand andughed. ¡°It¡¯s a small matter. She just took examinations for the others. You can just turn a blind eye to that!¡± The vice chancellor hesitated. How could he turn a blind eye to that? Taking examinations for others was an extremely serious issue! However, the decision to give Sophia a disciplinary action had yet to be discussed. Michael went to sit beside the vice chancellor and patted his shoulder. ¡°My chica is such a high achiever in academics. Can you bear to give her a disciplinary action?¡± The vice chancellor almost pulled his hair out in frustration. Sophia was indeed a rare genius, who scored the highest from South Bayside Highschool during the university entrance examination. Other than losing marks in subjective questions, she almost scored full marks in objective questions. She hadpleted her grade examination during her first year and even passed twonguage grade examinations. She not only passed the grade examination for her major but also ¡®helpfully¡¯ passed a few examinations for others. Lately, she had been attending sses at the School of Computer Science. ording to the course lecturer, she was coping well. Thest student that had such great talent was Cooper Mitchell¡­ However, the vice chancellor refused to give in. ¡°Michael, you know it too. Although I¡¯m your uncle, I¡¯m also the vice chancellor of Bayside University. This is viting my principle¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll donate a multipurpose building,¡± Michael said absentmindedly. The vice chancellor¡¯s will started to waver. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. ¡°With an addition of five million in student grants.¡± Upon hearing that, the vice chancellor remained upright on the outside but his heart was roaring with excitement. Michael continued, ¡°Set a date and venue. I¡¯ll even give a talk.¡± ¡°Alright. You can leave the rest to me!¡± The vice chancellor was waiting for that; he quickly patted his chest and agreed. Truth be told, he wasn¡¯t nning to give Sophia a demerit since the start. He came here today just to ask Michael about the talk. Five years ago, Michael promised to give a talk at Bayside University but it wasn¡¯t fulfilled even till now! Only after the vice chancellor and Michael agreed on the time and venue for the talk did he leave gleefully. He not only fixed a time for the talk, he also gained a building! This was truly a rewarding trip. Michael sent the vice chancellor off. When he came back, he saw Sophia sitting obediently on the sofa in the living room, seemingly waiting for his criticism. Since she was so adorable, how could he bear to criticize her? Gently, he pinched her cheeks and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯m not going to criticize you today. Goplete your homework now. After that, clean up and wait for me in the room.¡± Blushing, Sophia bowed her head and dashed up the stairs. Watching as she rushed up the stairs, Michael looked satisfied. Gemma chose that moment to appear. ¡°Boss, I intercepted a signal just now and found a sneak shot robot. However, it is already destroyed by Young Master Stan¡¯s dog.¡± Michael raised his eyebrows. ¡°Did it take any photos?¡± Gemma replied, ¡°It captured a photo where the vice chancellor and madam held hands.¡± Michael touched his chin and smiled. ¡°Let it be for now. I want to see what they are up to.¡± Meanwhile, Stanley was still in Sophia¡¯s study. He had been here since this morning because he wanted to discuss some academic theories with Sophia. He already had his hands full studying while building a career. At the same time, he had to squeeze some time to tutor Sophia because he realized that she was indeed gifted in this respect. If he trained her now, she could work for him in the future. Nathan sat to one side, staring at Stanley while he tutored Sophia. At that moment, Stanley¡¯s huge Husky suddenly bumped open the door with its head, carrying a toy robot in his mouth. Nathan instantly spotted the toy in the dog¡¯s mouth and he grabbed at it, ying with it curiously. Stanley, who saw the toy, immediately recognized it upon closer inspection. ¡°Nate, where did you get that toy from? That is a sneak shot robot!¡± A sneak shot robot? Looking at the toy that Judge had bitten and damaged beyond recognition, Sophia was shocked. If she wasn¡¯t mistaken, that robot was sent in along with the pile of gifts from Joe. Did it secretly take any photos? Judging from the current condition of the robot, it was probably damaged. It couldn¡¯t take photos now, could it? Stanley brought some tools and dismantled the robot within seconds. Upon checking the chip and internal instation, he said, ¡°This model of sneak shot robot that is created by Huffs Technology can be turned into anything requested by the clients. It can be controlled remotely but it¡¯s weak in distinguishing objects. Besides, it has an obvious weakness. It can¡¯t withstand any knocks so Judge can crush it into pieces with a bite.¡± Judge replied with a bark. After dismantling that robot, Stanley connected its storage chips to theputer. He then found some photos including the vice chancellor and a photo that showed the vice chancellor holding hands with Sophia. Chapter 322 Chapter 322 After checking the photos, Sophia was relieved that it didn¡¯t capture any footage of Michael. As long as Michael wasn¡¯t in the photo, she had nothing to be afraid of. It waste at night when Stanley finally left with his dog whereas Sophia washed up and waited for Michael on the bed. Michael looked at the perfectly fair body that wasid in front of him like a delicacy on a white jade te. Gently, he got on top of her and pinned her to the bed. After pondering, he took out a condom from the drawer. He longed for a child and Nathan to have a sibling as well. However, Sophia was still young and she had yet to enjoy her life. Besides, she wasn¡¯t prepared to be a mother. Therefore, he postponed his n of having a child to two yearster¡­ Most importantly, she had a hard life when she was young and had always suffered from malnutrition. After she came here, she had been taking traditional medicine to nurse her health. Currently, her menstruation cycle was still irregr so it would be difficult to be pregnant. Even if she got pregnant, it would be difficult to bring the child to term. Therefore, it would be better to nurse her health before having a child. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. The next day was a weekend so Sophia didn¡¯t have sses. However, she still woke up early as usual. After having her breakfast, she went to the study to work on her own matters. Meanwhile, Hale brought a few of the sneak shot robots that he found yesterday to Michael. Night had descended and Michael didn¡¯t see Sophia and Nathane out for dinner. Even their lunch was sent upstairs by Maria. Curious, he opened the door to the study and peeked inside, only to see a floor full of parts while Sophia was welding something with an electric iron. The study was filled with a pungent rubber odor. Among the parts stood a tall robot. Noticing Michael, Sophia immediately waved her hand, beckoning him over to look at the new item that she made. ¡°Dear, look. I made a toy for Nate!¡± The new toy was a 1 meter tall robot and looked like it was made up of several small robots. He had no idea how she made it, allowing the new robot to be controlled by one remote control. It was extremely agile. Nathan was overjoyed as he controlled the robot to walk around the room. Michael crouched and looked carefully at the robot. This was not a simple work thatbined a few robots together. In fact, this robot had an extremely delicate andplicated internal structure. It required in-depth professional knowledge to be able to make it. He asked Sophia, ¡°You made this?¡± Sophia nodded happily. ¡°Yeah. I memorized it when Stanley dismantled it yesterday.¡± ¡°You memorized it by just watching it once?¡± Michael wasn¡¯t convinced. Scratching her head, Sophia said, ¡°I searched for some information on the inte and followed it.¡± Michael was at a loss for words. He could only stroke her head and praise her, ¡°You¡¯re awesome. Keep it up. In the future, you¡¯d be able to dismantle anything you like.¡± Yearster, he felt that he was totally crushed by Cooper¡¯s gene yet again. Never mind. This gene would be his in the future! In the past, Sophia¡¯s talents did not have the chance to be properly developed due to the restrictions of her environment. Now that the conditions were favorable, she could do anything she liked and all her talents were starting to surface. In the past, Cooper was a genius in electronic technology. Mitchell Hi-Tech Group was among the best in the country and upied arge market share in the world. During its heyday, more than half of the people in the world installed thepany¡¯s product in theirputer. Even to this day, the Mitchell Family could still stand firmly feeding on Cooper¡¯s wealth. Being the son-in- law of such an impressive father-inw was extremely stressful! After working on it for two days, Sophia finally assembled the robot. Using the directions that she got from the inte and the knowledge that she learned, she assembled a few robots into one. The final product stood at 1 meter tall. She then added Nathan¡¯s remote-controlled robot into it and upgraded the robot. Now, the robot could even carry out simple instructions through remote control. Nathan carried the 1-meter-tall robot and yed with it excitedly in the garden, controlling the robot with the remote control. The robot could even y in the sand with them, which was more intelligent than those robots in the past. Furthermore, surveince cameras were installed all over the robot, which allowed it to give simple responses ording to the surrounding situation. Michael still couldn¡¯t believe it. He repeatedly watched the surveince footage in Sophia¡¯s study. In the footage, she dismantled the robot that was created by Huffs Technology and worked on it using her tools as well as changing the circuit. She even told Hale to buy a few more of it and dismantled several robots before assembling them together. When she met with a question, she would call Stanley or ask Gemma. If she couldn¡¯t figure it out, she would look it up on the inte. In just two days, she managed to reinvent a robot. And now, Nathan couldn¡¯t stop ying with it. Scratching his head, Michael felt that he was looking at an upgraded Cooper. At this time, a group of children were ying with the robot in the garden. They wereughing and the one with the loudest giggle was Nathan. Even Michael had never seen himughing so happily in a long while. Right now, Nathan was so proud. Once he showed his toys, everyone was green with envy at him. They envied that he had a talented mother. Nathan himself was extremely proud that he had an impressive mother too! This mother was truly worth every penny! After ying with the robot for two days, Sophia had to return to university for sses. In the morning, she attended the sses for her major. In the afternoon, she attended sses at the School of Computer Science. When she arrived at the university today, she noticed people looking at her weirdly. Did something happen again? In the afternoon, when she went to the ss at School of Computer Science, someone came to enlighten her as soon as she stepped in the ss. ¡°Aunt Sundae Cone, look! Someone fabricated stories that you married the vice chancellor. There are even photos to prove it!¡± In general, game design and development students were mostly boys and they were not interested in gossip. However, everyone in the ss seemed excited today. Looks like this incident was causing quite a sensation. Sophia turned on her phone and logged onto Bayside University¡¯s forum. As soon as she logged in, she saw the top post, ¡®Unbelievable! The vice chancellor married a student!¡¯ This post was sent with a real name. The author of the post was a student who was expelled from Bayside University. Although he was expelled, Bayside University¡¯s student forum didn¡¯t update its information synchronously. Therefore, he could still log into the forum. This news was even more shocking than the news of a student providing for another student. After all, the vice chancellor marrying a female student was unheard of! There were photos in the post and it looked like it was taken in a living room . A girl in leisurewear was holding hands intimately with a man in his 50s. The photo wasn¡¯t blurred out so everyone could easily recognize that it was Sophia and the vice chancellor. ¡°This must be the photo that is secretly taken by the robot that day,¡± Stanley suddenly appeared from behind and analyzed it while furrowing his eyebrows. He had seen the photos in the robot¡¯s memory chip and they were indeed identical to photos in the post. It turned out that this was their objective. The vice chancellor married a female student? The person who secretly took the photo truly had great imagination. As soon as the post was published, it spread throughout the university like a wildfire. Even people who didn¡¯t check the forum knew about it. After all, it was the first time they ever heard a vice chancellor marrying a female student. Most importantly, the vice chancellor bought his wife. The vice chancellor had actually spent 80 thousand to buy a female student as his wife? Chapter 323 Chapter 323 Thements below the post were extremely offensive. ¡®No wonder she has great results. It turns out that she¡¯s the wife of the vice chancellor!¡¯ ¡®The girl in the post is Sophia Edwards, a first-year junior in School of Business Management and Law. Some time ago, I heard that she married an old man. It turns out that it¡¯s the vice chancellor. Now it makes sense!¡¯ ¡®Pfft. Our vice chancellor really is something.¡¯ ¡®I heard that this girl is always absent for sses. I don¡¯t believe that there¡¯s nothing going on since she ys truant frequently and still ranks among the top in examinations.¡¯ ¡®No wonder a five-year-old kid joined the junior ss this year. So that¡¯s the vice chancellor¡¯s son. It makes sense now!¡¯ Bayside University had the hardest entrance examination in all of Cethos. Those who sessfully entered the university worked extremely hard for years. Others even paid a hefty sum of university construction fees. Now that they found out someone could easily enter the university by marrying the vice chancellor, everyone was in an uproar. Some even sarcastically told Nathan off. Many of them only managed to enter the university and became a first-year junior at the age of over 20. How could someone enter Bayside University at such a young age? However, there had been too much false information on the forumtely so many students were skeptical too. ¡®It¡¯s not really convincing. They¡¯re just shaking hands. What does it prove? This is not the first time Sophia is framed. The person who secretly takes this photo harbors sinister intentions.¡¯ ¡®Richard Harper, who previously fabricated stories that she was bought off by a male ssmate, has been circted a notice.¡¯ ¡®A photo can tell a story which is fabricated. It¡¯s all the same method and plot. Normally, there will be a twist after a few days.¡¯ ¡®Even if they¡¯re really married, what does it have anything to do with us? After all, she really is a high achiever in academics. So what if they are an old husband and young wife?¡¯ Sophia briefly read through thements. Then, she put down her phone and continued reading her books. On the contrary, Stanley felt anxious. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to do anything about it?¡± While flipping through her notebook, Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a rumor. I¡¯m not affected by it at all. What can they do to me? I¡¯m very busy and I don¡¯t have the time for these things.¡± After experiencing life and death, she waspleted unaffected by these insignificant rumors. What could they do to her? It¡¯s not like they would eat her or break her leg. Would Bayside University expel her due to a rumor? All she needed to do now was study hard and piss off those haters that created trouble for her. Weren¡¯t they trying to make things difficult for her in Bayside University? Well then, she would show them the exact opposite! She suddenly understood Michael¡¯s attitude of remaining calm when he faced rumors that flooded the inte. Stanley was speechless. Why was she acting the same way as his uncle? The main party wasn¡¯t anxious but the surrounding people panicked for them. As their nephew, he was panicking like a cat on hot bricks. While Sophia concentrated on the ss and her studies, Stanley could no longer remain quiet. He started to discuss a solution with a few of his fellow ssmates. Due to the highly disproportionate numbers of girls and boys in School of Computer Science, it was termed as ¡®gay school¡¯. Girls had always been rare in the gay school so when Sophia came, everyone either intentionally or unintentionally paid attention to her. Although she didn¡¯t spend long hours here, her character as an academic overachiever had been deeply engraved in their hearts. No one believed that rumor. Everyone had been suppressing their anger, waiting to strike when the time is right. Yet, the vice chancellor was even more anxious than the gay school. Yesterday, Joe visited him for no reason and imed that he came to visit as family. He even called him his son-inw, saying that since he married Sophia, he was now his son-inw. The vice president felt so confused and chased Joe away in a huff. Unexpectedly, Joe went off his rocker and started to curse him in the office. He threatened that he must rmend Faye for admission to a graduate school since he bought his daughter with 80 thousand. Otherwise, he would expose this incident to the public! Boiling with rage, the vice president called security to drag Joe out. After someone told him to read the post in the forum only did he know what had happened. They thought that he married Sophia and that he was the old and ugly coal mine owner that bought Sophia with 80 thousand? They even thought he was Nathan¡¯s father? Sophia faked her high school results? And Nathan faked his university entrance qualification? The vice president almost exploded in anger! He had spent several decades at Bayside University since his bachelor¡¯s degree to doctorate, and stayed at the university to work as a lecturer. His wife was also a lecturer in Bayside University whereas his son was studying at the postgraduate department. Every lecturer in the university knew about that except the students because they wanted to keep a low profile. He was greatly misunderstood. Yesterday, the vice chancellor had just informed everyone that Sophia¡¯s husband would be donating a multipurpose building and a few million in student grants. Yet today, someone fabricated stories about them. The leader of the university attached great importance to this matter and immediately started to identify the person who spread the rumors by checking the IP address. To their dismay, they found that the culprit was someone who had been expelled years ago and they had no way to find him since he had gone overseas. The post in the forum was deleted but it couldn¡¯t stop the rumors from spreading like a virus. In this era ofworking, nothing could remain concealed. Right at that moment, Joe came to cause trouble again. Upon knowing that his son-inw was the vice chancellor of Bayside University, Joe was over the moon. The vice chancellor was someone prominent too; he was one of the Fletchers! All the information he had about his son-inw, such as old and ugly, crazily wealthy, from the Fletcher Family, wasn¡¯t married nor had a son, it all matched the vice president. Besides, he was also at Ethan¡¯s charity banquet that day and coupled with Sophia¡¯s attitude of concealing something, he was sure that the vice chancellor was his son-inw! Having the vice chancellor of Bayside University as his son-inw meant that his daughter, Faye, was guaranteed an admission to a graduate university no matter how poor her results were! The rumor had just spread two days ago and the Edwards hade to inquire about that. If he could establish a connection with the vice chancellor of Bayside University, he could decide the eligibility of all the younger generations in the Edwards Family to get into Bayside University! Getting into Bayside University was beyond difficult. Those with poor results couldn¡¯t get in no matter how much they offered to pay for the university construction fee. If he had this connection, his status in the Edwards Family would rise steadily! Joe couldn¡¯t wait to let everyone know that he was the father-inw of Bayside University¡¯s vice chancellor. After being chased out, he went to the university to throw his weight around again. This time, he sneaked in through the back door. Once he barged into the vice chancellor¡¯s office, he started to acknowledge his rtionship with the vice chancellor. The vice chancellor was enraged and almost got into a fight with him which caused him to be quickly escorted out by security. Once again, Joe was thrown out of the university. It was quite a distance from the vice chancellor¡¯s office to the nearest university entrance. Therefore, the students along the way heard Joe as he shouted in his loud voice, ¡°Fletcher, I¡¯m your father-inw. You will be punished by the gods sooner orter if you do this to me! Take a good look, everyone! A son-inw is hitting his father-inw! My daughter is really unfortunate to marry you. Sophia, my daughter! Where are you? Your husband is beating me to death! Do any of you know Sophia, who¡¯s in the first year? Call her over. I¡¯m her father and her husband is hitting me!¡± It was right when sses ended at noon. All the students along the way heard his shouts and thought of the post in the forum. Many that didn¡¯t believe the rumor at first finally believed it now. So it was true that Sophia was married to the vice chancellor! Everyone whispered excitedly as they watched Joe get carried away. X stood among the crowd, feeling content. Sophia, your scandal is finally exposed! Let¡¯s see whether you¡¯d still be able to stay at Bayside University! Weren¡¯t you dreaming of bing famous using Bayside University as a springboard? I¡¯ll have you know that a peasant will always be a peasant! Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Chapter 324 Chapter 324 The scandal of the vice chancellor marrying a female student would bring the reputation of Bayside University into disrepute if it was leaked to the public. By that time, it¡¯d be much easier for the university to expel Sophia once she incited the students to protest. When the vice chancellor was informed that Joe couldn¡¯t stop cursing, the former chased him out of anger. ¡°Shut up!¡± Joe was a rascal who wouldn¡¯t know what it meant to shut up, so he continued to shout, ¡°How dare you ask me to shut the f*ck up? I¡¯m your father-inw and my daughter, Sophia, is your wife! Why didn¡¯t you ask me to be silent when you slept with her?¡± Upon hearing those obscene words, the vice chancellor almost vomited blood before instructing the security guard, ¡°Carry him out!¡± The security guard then dragged Joe away. The matter caused a great sensation. Upon receiving the news, Bayside University¡¯s students had arrived in swarms and caused the road to be congested. Numerous phones were held out and even electric cars were blocked on the road. The issue grew like a snowball and not more than ten minutes later, the road waspletely packed with people. Richard saw the news on the IG Stories. When he rushed over, he had arrived in time to witness what was being unfolded. It turned out that Sophia had married the vice chancellor! She is truly impressive. No wonder she was able to sessfully enroll in Bayside University and even passed all the examinations even though she frequently skipped sses. It was all because the vice chancellor supported her! How disgusting! In order to enter the university, she was willing to marry an old man, who was over 50! ¡°¡± Joe resembled an animal being transported to the butcher, screaming shrilly, ¡°Fletcher, I¡¯ll sue you for abusing my daughter. I¡¯ll make my daughter divorce you! Just wait and I¡¯ll see you in court. I¡¯ll make you lose all your money!¡± The vice chancellor flushed with anger. Upon noticing that the students had swarmed in, he shouted, ¡°Fat b*stard, listen up. I didn¡¯t marry your daughter. I know who your son-inw is, but I won¡¯t tell you because you don¡¯t deserve to know his name!¡± ¡°Pfft, old man, let me tell you. Don¡¯t you ever think that you can abuse her as you wish since she¡¯s alone. She has a family too. Sophia is my daughter! Do you hear that? If you dare to abuse her, I¡¯ll take you down no matter what!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t! What¡¯s the matter? Are you ashamed now? Didn¡¯t you feel ashamed when you married my daughter? You are a filthy old man who only wants young women!¡± Both of them cursed at each other from a distance apart, and even the students enthusiastically joined the discussion. It had been a long time since Bayside University became lively! The crowded students suddenly separated from each other in that moment. It turned out that Sophia had arrived. She wasn¡¯t intending to poke her nose in the matter since there would be someone more anxious than her and would naturally settle it for her. However, she saw the video of Joe bbering on IG stories as well as the alumni group website. In the video, the vice chancellor, who was over 50, was being mocked and scolded, resulting in his face being flushed red. Not only that, but he lost his virtue in his old age and received criticisms for no reason. She decided toe over out of guilt.Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Once she arrived, she just happened to witness the drama between the two old men. The crowd parted and took the initiative to create a path for her. She walked through the crowd and was escorted by a group of seniors and juniors from the gay school behind her. Upon noticing her, Joe was overjoyed and shouted, ¡°My daughter, you¡¯re finally here. Please lecture your husband!¡± He pushed the two security guards aside and dashed toward Sophia. However, before he could, two seniors from the gay school walked out behind her and stopped him with two ps. Sophia nced at the students around them, who enjoyed watching themotion¡ªX, who watched smugly, was among them as well as Richard, who looked utterly disgusted. Faye was also there, but pretended that she was not part of the Edwards. She saw everyone with her own eyes. Then, she raised her hand while Gemma ced a loudspeaker on her palm. Upon lifting the loudspeaker and facing it at Joe, she enunciated each and every word. ¡°Joe, I¡¯m not your daughter!¡± Her voice was clearly transmitted into the ears of those who were present. Joe clenched his teeth and flew into rage. ¡°You unfilial daughter! How dare you deny our rtionship? Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡ª¡± Sophia detested the fact that half of her bloodline had belonged to Joe. Looking at his disgusting face, she recalled that the helpless Annabel was molested and raped by the ugly monster 20 years ago. How she wished that she could have pped him several times on Annabel¡¯s behalf. Although she knew that she should keep her family¡¯s dirtyundry private, she could no longer hold back since he was only interested in money and disregarded her reputation. Sophia said stoically, ¡°Joe, speaking from your conscience, do you deserve to be my father?¡± Joe stomped his feet in anger, causing his fat to jiggle. ¡°I¡¯m your father. Half of your life belongs to me, so I¡¯m your father, no matter what!¡± Clenching her teeth, she sneered. ¡°I came today just to exin three matters. I¡¯ve already exined the first point. Secondly, the vice chancellor is not my husband. My husband is someone else!¡± Everyone burst into an uproar and they weren¡¯t convinced. The vice chancellor was terrified. Initially, he didn¡¯t want to rm Sophia, afraid that Michael would be mad and go back on his word to donate a multipurpose building. However, it would be better if she could step in and exin the issues. Joe scolded, ¡°Stop pretending¡ª¡± ¡°Thirdly¡­¡± The voice from the loudspeaker interrupted his words. ncing at the students, who watched themotion with their widened eyes, she continued to speak, ¡°The vice chancellor has indeed visited my house a couple of days ago at night, but only to have a discussion with my husband about donating a building to the university.¡± Donate a building? The students simmered with excitement. Sophia¡¯s voice amplified from the loudspeaker. ¡°My husband has his own bursary and has provided a few million in student grants to Bayside University on a yearly basis. Other than that, he will donate a multipurpose building! That night, the vice chancellor and my husband were at home, discussing donating a building. However, someone with ill intentions sneakily took photos and spread rumors. I hope that all of you will stop guessing. The vice chancellor has been contributing to Bayside University throughout his entire life. He¡¯s not someone who can be ndered easily!¡± Wow! Donate a building! Donating a building to Bayside University was an impressive contribution. The donor must be the wealthiest of the wealthiest. Therefore, who is Sophia¡¯s husband exactly? Perhaps they would only know after the building waspleted. She continued to speak through the loudspeaker, ¡°In addition, my husband and I had married on our own volition. We¡¯re dating like amon couple. It¡¯s my personal matter and I hope that no one will kick a ruckus about it again! Besides, my husband is also an alumnus who graduated from Bayside University. He has always cared for his alma mater. Other than promising to donate a multipurpose building this time, he has anonymously donated a school building and even donated at least 50 million worth of teaching facilities! To the evil person behind the rumors, let me warn you that I won¡¯t let this slide easily this time!¡± While she said that, she deliberately red at Richard, who was standing among the crowd, and even aimed the loudspeaker at him. In an instant, everyone turned their gaze toward him. After all, he had a history for it¡ªthe previous rumor about Sophia hiring her male schoolmate was recently exposed in the limelight and a new rumor about her marrying the vice chancellor now had emerged instead. He obviously had a hand in it! Chapter 325 Chapter 325 Comparing her current husband, who donated building, money, and facilities, to her ex, Richard, who spread rumors and vilified her after he cheated on her, the former was obviously way better. After everyone gazed at Richard, he blushed in embarrassment and shouted angrily, ¡°I have nothing to do with what has happened this time. I didn¡¯t write that hate post!¡± He was indeed taking the fall for someone¡ªhe wasn¡¯t the culprit for the previous incident and had been totally wrongly used. However, he wouldn¡¯t take the me again! ¡°It has nothing to do with you?!¡± Suddenly, Sophia walked toward Richard with the loudspeaker in his direction and questioned him in an overbearing manner, ¡°Richard, may I ask how is the progress of resolving the previous incident where you instructed someone to vilify me on the forum by spreading rumors that I bought a male schoolmate? The trick of this incident seems exactly the same as the one you used in the past to spread rumors about me. I have every reason to think that you posted this too. What do you think, Richard?¡± Upon being stared at by the students, he felt extremely embarrassed. He was the eldest son of a notable family, which is the Harper Family, so pride was important to him. His face immediately became grave while he shouted, ¡°I honestly didn¡¯t do it this time, so I will not admit to it. If you think that I did it, please show me the evidence.¡± After that, he wanted to calmly walk away. Sophia gave a look at the male ssmates from the gay school before they instantly surrounded Richard. She decided to take the opportunity to settle ounts with him today. ¡°Fine. Since you im that you didn¡¯t do it this time, I trust that you¡¯re telling the truth. However, I still remember what you previously did. The Harpers have spread rumors about me many times and I clearly remember each of them. Let me tell you upfront today, Richard. I¡¯ve never met such a shameless man like you. Since we¡¯ve split up, please don¡¯t disturb my life anymore. You¡¯re the eldest son of the notable Harper Family¡ªan eminent and reputable family. Please act ording to your family background! I¡¯m married and my husband loves and trusts me. No matter how you vilify me, you won¡¯t harm me in any way. However, please don¡¯t involve Bayside University whenever you spread rumors about me!¡± It was true¡ªthe rumor that he spread about the scandal that she hired a male schoolmate had caused a sensation. It was not only circted in Bayside University, but also among the high-society, causing it to be emphasized and became a disgrace of Bayside University. Up until that moment, the university¡¯s reputation had not recovered. Those who didn¡¯t know the truth mocked that it had an unrighteous and hical study environment, so it didn¡¯t deserve to be the best university in Cethos. Now that a simr incident had urred again, everyone would hear the rumor that the vice chancellor had married a female student in a couple more days¡¯ time, tarnishing the reputation of Bayside University. The person who started the rumor was truly evil! Due to Richard¡¯s previous record, everyone unanimously believed that it was him, even though he had denied it. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. In that instant, everyone pointed and discussed about him. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that her husband, who donates building and money, is being ndered. What an hical act!¡± ¡°He¡¯s the one who cheated on her. Yet, he can¡¯t stand seeing his ex living a good life. He must be the culprit. There¡¯s no one who will do that except him!¡± ¡°He hasn¡¯t learned his lesson after being sued and fined for spreading rumors that she aborted her baby and is promiscuous. What a shameless man!¡± He wanted to leave since criticisms were being rained on him. However, right when he turned, he was scolded by Stanley, causing him to retreat. Stanley red at him. ¡°You¡¯re leaving? Not before you exin everything! Tell us, did you do it this time?¡± Richard immediately refuted, ¡°I didn¡¯t! It¡¯s not me. I didn¡¯t do it. I¡¯ve never done it and will never ever do it!¡± Stanley spoke loudly, ¡°Are you still denying it? Other than you, who will do such a thing? If you don¡¯t give us an exnation, I won¡¯t let you leave!¡± ncing around, Richard saw that Sophia was ring at him while the vice chancellor stared at him, waiting for his exnation. His ssmates were concurrently showering him with gazes full of contempt. He was a grown man with repute and notability. How would he be able to withstand those gazes? What about the main culprits? Joe was ransacking his mind to establish a connection with the vice chancellor while Faye hid in the crowd, enjoying Richard¡¯s misfortunes. There was also X¡­ Suddenly, Richard pointed at her. ¡°It¡¯s her. She did all of these!¡± She was also the culprit for the me that Richard previously received, but he wouldn¡¯t take the me for her again! He immediately revealed everything. ¡°X is the daughter of Huffs Technology¡¯s President. Huffs Technology produces many sneak shot robots, which was used to take all those photos onto the forum. Not only that, but she is also the one who instructed someone to post the rumor that Sophia hired a male ssmate. Since X is my fianc¨¦e, I took the me for her!¡± Looking at her, he finally found a reason to extricate himself out of the embarrassing situation. ¡°In addition, she also instigated my sister to spread rumors that Sophia is pregnant. She¡¯s behind all these. My sister has also been duped by her!¡± Simultaneously, everyone averted their gazes to X, who was among the crowd. Her mind buzzed at once while it wentpletely nk. In disbelief, she stared at him as he pushed all the me to her in public and thought that she misheard it. She was trembling as she walked out with tears instantly streaming down her cheeks. ¡°Richard, what did you say?¡± By that point, Richard had sufficient confidence. Huffs Technology¡¯s vitality was sapped and continuing the rtionship with her would only burden the Harper Family. Therefore, it was better for him to push all the me to her. Keeping a distance, he said to X without any guilt in his eyes, ¡°X, I¡¯ve always taken the me for you whenever you have made a mistake because you¡¯re my only love. However, I hope that you can grow up one day. You made an outrageous mistake this time. I¡¯m sorry, but I can no longer take the me for you. I know that you hate Sophia and want to take revenge on her. However, your actions have severely damaged the reputation of Bayside University!¡± She still had trouble believing what she had heard. With her face soiled in tears, she asked, ¡°Richard, what did you say? Can you repeat your words?¡± He had made up his mind in the blink of an eye. ¡°X, I¡¯ll ask my parents to pay a visit and discuss calling off the engagementter. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Everyone was in an uproar¡ªthey were shocked that X was the main culprit! It had been him taking the me for her all along? It seemed that Richard was still a responsible man. Xughed when she suddenly understood how it felt when everyone started to flee after an influential person fell from power. Since Huffs Technology was tied down in issues, not only could he defend his reputation by pushing all the me onto her, but he could also find a suitable reason to break off the engagement with the Huffs. What a wise step! After stumbling upon a solution to leave from the embarrassing situation, he couldn¡¯t wait to leave. However, Stanley blocked his way right after he turned. Sophia also stopped Richard with her loudspeaker. ¡°Richard, don¡¯t you think that you¡¯ll be out of trouble by pushing the me to others and leaving like that!¡± He pointed at X in annoyance. ¡°This woman is the one who did everything. Please deal with her. I have nothing to do with this at all!¡± Chapter 326 Chapter 326 Sophia sneered. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any inkling as to why she keeps targeting me even though there¡¯s no grudge with her? I¡¯m sorry, but since she¡¯s your fianc¨¦e, I¡¯ll hold you ountable for whatever she does. Just wait for it!¡± Although the saying went along the lines of never airing one¡¯s familyundry and having a row with the ex in public would be embarrassing, she didn¡¯t have the time and energy to beat around the bush with them. She hoped that she could settle it once and for all. She dfully put down the loudspeaker and decided to leave. X¡¯s petite body trembled¡ªshe couldn¡¯t believe that Richard would be so heartless. Looking around her surroundings, she noticed that Joe and Faye enjoyed watching her misfortune. She actually did those two incidents as a favor for Faye, but it would be in vain even if she tried to push the responsibility to others at that moment. Atst, X finally revealed her true colors after feigning to be an obedient girl for a long time. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the one. It¡¯s all my fault whereas you¡¯repletely innocent, Richard!¡± She now resembled a deranged woman, wailing and screaming incoherently, ¡°You¡¯re right; everything is my fault! Do you think that I¡¯m not aware that you secretly contacted that b*tch? Both of you secretly dated and kissed during the military training. You had s*x with her without shame in the infirmary. Did you think that I didn¡¯t know about that? Your mother even wants you to keep her as a lover out of my sight and wants her to be treated equally as me! Once you know that she married an old man, who¡¯s almost dead, all of you started to contrive a plot to seize her assets. I know all of your schemes!¡± Considering that she was ovee with grief and indignation, she pointed at Joe and Richard. ¡°Among the two of you, one ims to be her family and tries to go after that old man¡¯s wealth while Richard, you are coborating with Sophia to snatch all of her husband¡¯s properties! I know it all. Upon having his thoughts exposed, Richard shouted out of anger, ¡°Shut up!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never!¡± X wailed while yelling. ¡°Aren¡¯t you nning to reconcile with her and seize that old man¡¯s property by pushing all the me to me? It will never happen! I¡¯m going to expose all of your schemes today.¡± She had painstakingly schemed to be his girlfriend and was sessfully engaged with him. Just when she thought that she could marry into the Harper family and be a wealthy married woman, she was gotten rid of as soon as she outlived her usefulness. Turning her attention to Sophia and him by pointing at them, she raised her voice and told the students, ¡°This disgusting couple has plotted it from the beginning to kill her husband. Then, they will take possession of the properties for themselves. I¡¯ve heard all of it. This couple is ridiculously shameless!¡± N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. The students burst into an uproar as they were shocked to discover the despicable truth behind the incidents. Rumors had it that Sophia¡¯s husband was extremely wealthy and had already one foot in the grave. Besides, he had only one son, so upon his death, she would inherit his wealth. It turned out that she coborated with Richard and schemed to kill that old man before equally distributing the assets among themselves! What a clever plot! She initially had walked far ahead, but turned in anger and aimed the loudspeaker at him and X. ¡°Let me exin this for the onest time. My husband is indeed extremely wealthy, but he¡¯s not old. In fact, he¡¯s only in his 30s. He¡¯s also young, strong and handsome. We¡¯ll have our kids after I graduate. It¡¯s just your wishful thinking if you¡¯re scheming for my husband¡¯s property! Besides, my husband is far better than Richard in all aspects. I must be blind to have made up with a b*stard, who has been through several nasty rtionships! Richard, you should be more concerned about your sexual disease instead.¡± Sexual disease?! Everyone paled in shock and instantly moved a few meters away from Richard. At that moment, everyone suddenly recalled that he had plenty of s*x videos circting around, considering that he had engaged in intimate rtions with lots of prostitutes in nightclubs. In an instant, his face darkened while ring at Sophia with clenched teeth. On the other end, she had already put down the loudspeaker and left briskly. His sexual disease was merely a nonsense that she cooked up. Making rumors is indeed fun! Even though she was gone, the swarm of students were still staring at him and X. Joe, who was the one who first caused trouble, suddenly yelled in the tone of a dying pig screaming, ¡°Richard, you b*stard! How dare you scheme for my son-inw¡¯s property?!¡± B*stard, you were almost tricked by him! After all, Richard was Sophia¡¯s first love. If he coborated with her, Joe wouldn¡¯t get a penny of that old man¡¯s property! Richard shook his head and wanted to leave. However, the vice chancellor, who had been silent, startled everyone when he bellowed, ¡°Richard, X. I want both of you in my office now!¡± No wonder Joe had passionately questioned Sophia about her husband¡¯s whereabouts. It turned out that he plotted for such a disgusting n! Trying to kill Michael and seize his property?! Although Michael wasn¡¯t recognized by the Fletcher Family, he was still Joe¡¯s nephew. He was also undeniably the descendent of the Fletchers¡ªTheo Fletcher¡¯s son and Mark Fletcher¡¯s grandson! The Fletcher Family wasn¡¯t dead! With a gloomy face, Richard followed the vice chancellor. X followed them as well after wiping her tears. Although she was crying on the exterior, she was actually delighted in her heart. After a row like that, it would be impossible for him to shamelessly talk to Sophia again. If they had the guts to remain in touch, it would only prove that they were indeed a disgusting couple. Sophia, you can¡¯t have Richard anyway! It was only then that the students slowly dispersed. Meanwhile, the university¡¯s forum and all alumni group websites blew up with videos of the huge row earlier in the day. Therefore, everyone came up with a new topic, ¡®Who exactly is Sophia¡¯s husband?¡¯ Some said that he was an old man but Sophia mentioned that he was only in his 30s. Her husband could afford to donate buildings and it was said that it was more than one piece of it, which meant that he was someone influential and no longer young. There were many graduates from Bayside University who now lived a sessful life¡ªand many had anonymously donated buildings. Since it was done anonymously, it meant that no information could be found. The incident was therefore an outstanding case. After a few days, the university had announced the punishment toward Richard and X on the university¡¯s bulletin board and official website. ¡°A serious demerit?!¡± The students pointed at the bulletin board and discussed among themselves when they saw that those two had been punished with a serious demerit. ¡°Unbelievable! Isn¡¯t it a simple mistake of spreading rumors? Why are they punished with a serious demerit? If it¡¯s not removed before their graduation, won¡¯t it affect their entire life? They can¡¯t even graduate like that!¡± ¡°Getting a serious demerit is considered being lenient to them. The victim donates buildings to the university, but they try to scheme for his properties instead. They deserve it! I think that they should have been expelled!¡± ¡°Oh my God, look! Taylor ising to the university for a talk.¡± In addition to the usual good news and disciplinary notices, there were other kinds of event notices and posters on the bulletin board. ¡°What? Taylor ising for a talk? When? Let me see!¡± A brand new poster with Taylor¡¯s handsome face on it was posted on the bulletin board. The poster announced that he would be giving a talk for the students of Bayside University on the 18th of the current month in Bayside University¡¯s auditorium. ¡°Oh my God. Is it true that Taylor ising to give a talk? Oh my, I¡¯m registering for it!¡± ¡°Taylor is so impressive. He even donated one of the buildings in the university!¡± ¡°Huh, donate a building? Didn¡¯t Taylor donate a building to the university before? He also donated facilities to the university. Besides, he¡¯s also in his 30s. Could it be that¡­¡± Sophia was coincidentally looking at the disciplinary notice as well. A student beside her quickly asked, ¡°Sophia, who exactly is your husband?¡± While she chewed on a gum, she pouted her lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t you already guess it? Yes, my husband is Taylor.¡± Chapter 327 Chapter 327 Everyoneughed and didn¡¯t force her to spill the beans since she was unwilling to do so. As Sophia stared at Michael¡¯s handsome face on the huge poster, it was as though he really agreed to give a lecture at Bayside University¡ªand that would be his first time doing so on campus. How exciting! After she shifted her gaze from that particr poster, she saw ones detailing other events on the bulletin board and searched for ones which she could participate in. Maybe she could bring a few trophies home too. There were a number ofpetitions being held on campus. Dancingpetition? Forget it, I can¡¯t dance. Campus singingpetition? Not a chance. Miss Misty Pageant? Miss Misty Pageant was a contest to select the belle of the campus and had derived its name from the famouske within the campus grounds, Lake Misty¡ªand it was also a universityndmark. The campus belle contest¡­ I¡¯m too shy for this. Forget it! Furthermore, the deadline for registration had already passed and even the preliminaries were over. The finals would be held on the 19th of the current month. Concurrently, there was also another contest being held¡ªMr. Misty Pageant, also known as the campus hunk contest. Considered as significantpetitions, the most talented and beautiful representatives would be selected as the campus belle and hunk to appear on the brochures and website of the university. In addition, they would represent the campus for school visits abroad and such. At the back of the poster, there was a list containing the names of students who made it to the finals and she peered in curiosity. The campus belle contest was held once a year and it wasmon knowledge that thepetition was specially organized for the freshmen. Most of the finalists were freshmen with a few other girls from the sophomore and penultimate years. She saw a few familiar names on the list¡ªMolly from her ss, Faye, X and¡­ Sophia Edwards?! Why is my name on the list?¡± She gasped. Thinking that it was merely another person with exactly the same name, she realized in the end that it was really her because the ss and major matched hers! That is me on the list! Why am I unable to remember that I signed up for thepetition at all? Not to mention, I¡¯ve already passed the preliminaries?! In a state of confusion, she called the organizer on the poster to ask for rification. The organizer replied instead, ¡°Miss Edwards, you¡¯ve sessfully entered the finals. Please attend the finals and do you best! Good luck!¡± The phone call had only left her in a state of more confusion where she was left scratching her head, thinking that there had been an understanding. She would ask about it another day. After they left, many people came and noticed the poster for the campus belle contest. X had also turned up for school today. Not only that, but she even came together with Richard. It was beyond Sophia¡¯s imagination that just yesterday, the Huffs had received an unexpected payment. Therefore, they shook hands with the Harpers and made peace with them after sitting down for a discussion. Due to various considerations for the Harper Family, it was impossible for the Huffs to have aplete fallout with them at that moment. Despite the fact that they were struggling, the Harpers still had the Edwards to back them¡ªa connection that the Huffs wanted to use. Thus, the engagement between Richard and X could not be called off. After taking a few days to calm down and under the pressure from both sets of parents on top of their own interests, they had no other way but to reconcile. Even if they were divided at heart, they had to pretend that they were united outwardly and maintain the pretense¡ªor they would appear like a joke to the public. A few days had passed since the incident that day and as a result, the enthusiasm from the students had also diminished. The Harpers and Huffs both donated buildings and bursaries. After all, money was needed to build up and maintain a reputation. On the other hand, Richard hadpletely fallen out with Sophia, deleting each other from their respective Messenger now that he had reconciled with X. As for the incident where he ndered her and the vice chancellor, it ended with a statement that it had been a misunderstanding. ¡°Look, Richard! That woman entered this pageant as well!¡± X had finally dropped her innocent act and directly addressed Sophia as ¡®that woman¡¯. They had summarized it among themselves and discovered that Sophia was the one who sowed discord. The Harpers had also learned of her vile nature. From now onward, the two families¡ªthe Harpers and the Huffs¡ªwould be on the same stand and assist Joe in punishing the unfilial daughter who brought shame to the family. He sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t she merely humiliating herself by participating in this contest?¡± The campus belle contest requires a talent show. What kind of talent could that boring, old bookworm possibly have? He thought silently, knowing her all too well. What can she bring to the stage? Answering exam questions on the spot? ¡°I¡¯m also shortlisted, Richard,¡± X eximed innocently. ¡°Don¡¯t forget toe and watch me perform!¡± The campus belle contest was a good opportunity for her to reestablish her reputation, so there was no way she would allow the chance to slip past her. A short while after they flirted with each other, Faye came and saw the list of nominees as well. When she saw Sophia¡¯s name, a thought came into her mind. In such arge contest, the participant¡¯s friends and family would show up, based on previous years. Perhaps Sophia¡¯s husband would turn up! Joe had recently and secretly sent some people to be by her side to try and learn who her husband was ¡ªboth directly and indirectly. Who would have thought that the shameless woman actually said that her husband was Taylor? There was no way that she would believe that her husband was only thirty years old. On the contrary, he must have been a man who had been so ugly and old that she was ashamed to introduce¡ªand no one would announce something like this publicly. So, she would rather say that her husband was Taylor Murray. Once school had ended, she left with Nathan hand-in-hand while Hale was already waiting outside in the car. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. However, the moment she stepped out of the gates, she heard an elderly voice from behind her. ¡°Cooper, are you done with school?¡± The voice sounded familiar and she spun to see that it was Woody emerging from the security office. His hair was thoroughly white and he trembled, holding his walking stick in one hand while the security officer supported him on the other hand at the campus gates. ¡°Woo¡­ Dad, what are you doing here?¡± Sophia was surprised, but still decided to pretend as his son and called out to him. However, the security officer was a little upset and chided her, ¡°He¡¯s your father? He¡¯s been waiting for you here the whole day and didn¡¯t even know your phone number. When we tried to look for your ss through your name, nothing turned up. Take him and go now since he hasn¡¯t eaten anything the whole day. Don¡¯t let him wander around at this age!¡± While apologizing, she helped Woody from the security officer and left. Seeing her had made Woody so excited that he tightly clutched onto her arm and said, ¡°Cooper, I¡¯ve been waiting the whole day for you. How was school today? Are the sses tiring? You must be hungry. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going home for lunch!¡± With a wry face, she was at a loss for words and could only y along with him, saying, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m doing fine in school. Why¡­ did youe alone?¡± Who lets a person with dementia roam alone by himself? Also, how did he find his way to the university? Happiness was written all over Woody¡¯s wrinkled face as he said, ¡°Cooper, everyone said that you¡¯re dead, but I know you¡¯re not. You¡¯re even in school!¡± While nodding her head, she replied, ¡°Dad, why don¡¯t you take a seat with Nate and wait for me? We¡¯ll grab a bite after I make a call, okay?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± he agreed before sitting on a chair that she borrowed from the security officer. Woody was still able to recognize Nathan and stroked his head with hisrge, shriveled hand, asking, ¡°Nate, you¡¯re already six years old. Are you attending school together with Cooper?¡± After ncing at Sophia on the phone, Nathan replied, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m already in elementary school!¡± She had made a quick call to Sean with the intent of asking him to pick Woody up. However, since the security officer mentioned that the old man wouldn¡¯t eat or drink until his son had showed up, she thought that he must be famished and told Sean toe directly to the university cafeteria instead. Chapter 328 Chapter 328 After hanging up on the call, Sophia turned to Woody and asked, ¡°Dad, are you hungry? Do you want to grab a bite at the cafeteria? The meals prepared by the cafeteria of our university are delicious!¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go,¡± Woody replied with a trembling body. While she assisted him on the way to the nearest cafeteria, he was rather chatty and didn¡¯t stop talking. As he suffered from Alzheimer¡¯s disease, his consciousness and logic werepletely messed up and he never got to any point of his topic. He had gripped Nathan once and asked, ¡°Nate, are you studying the same major as Uncle Cooper? He has double doctorate degrees in economics andw. You should learn from him!¡± Then, he would turn and speak to her again. ¡°Son, I know you still hate me over what happened with the girl, but I had no other choice. How could I bear to see you heartbroken? However, besides being my son, you¡¯re the future family head for the Mitchell Family and you need to lead by example for the whole family!¡± ¡°Yes, of course,¡± she replied and nodded. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. So, Woody and Cooper are not on the best of terms. With a sigh, he said in a hushed voice, ¡°Let me tell you a secret. Back then, I know I told you that I killed that girl, but she¡¯s actually still alive!¡± Huh? Sophia pricked her ears and subconsciously asked, ¡°She didn¡¯t die?¡± Woody whispered, ¡°Back then, I found her and wanted her to leave your side. I know that you fancied her, so how could I bring myself to kill her, knowing that she¡¯s the girl whom you love? So, I paid her off and asked her to leave! Don¡¯t me me, Cooper. I¡¯m the family head, after all, and had to consider the interests of the family in everything that I do. I lied to you that she¡¯s dead because you¡¯re the pride of our family and no one in the family wants you to make a mistake! One day, I hope you can understand my difficulties, Cooper.¡± From his words, she could guess that Cooper was a person with a high status within the family and the future family head. Unfortunately, he fell in love with a girl below his status and was forced to break up with her by his family. Woody had found her and was able to make her leave. Then, he turned around and told Cooper that he had killed her. Once Cooper heard the news, he threw in the towel, which was how his hatred for his father started. Sigh¡­ That¡¯s the problem with big families! The family head of the prominent Mitchell Family in Bayside City is also helpless! She silently thought. Hang on, could Cooper and Coop be¡­ However, Sophia quickly shot down her bold idea¡ªit was impossible to have such coincidences. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ve never med you and now that I¡¯m an adult, I see how childish I was back then as well as your difficulties,¡± sheforted Woody. He appeared at ease, bobbing his head nonstop. ¡°Cooper, it¡¯s wonderful that you can understand my difficulties. Back then, I also wanted the girl to stay, but your wife must be someone who is of equal status. I told her that she could still stay by your side even if you¡¯re married, but she refused.¡± As Bayside University had a huge campus, there were eight or nine cafeterias within thepounds, so they were built as close as possible to the teaching facilities as well as the dorms. They arrived at the nearest cafeteria to them, which was in the vicinity of the School of Foreign Languages, School of Music and School of Film. Taking a look around, she didn¡¯t see anyone whom she knew as they were all in different schools as hers. It happened to be mealtime, which meant that there were more people in the cafeteria. After securing a table, she settled him down, asking, ¡°Dad, what would you like to eat? I¡¯ll go and get it.¡± Still thinking that he was staring at his own son, his face brightened with delight as he said kindly, ¡°Whatever is your favorite food will be mine as well.¡± She left and took a couple of steps before turning back to see that Woody was starting at her with a look of longingness. She took a couple more steps and turned again; there he was, still maintaining his vision on her. Every look he gave seemed to be thest time that he was looking at her. Sigh, it can¡¯t be helped since he¡¯s getting on in his years. The wealthiest school on campus was none other than the School of Arts. Thus, the cafeteria, which was basically part of it, came with better decor and food quality aspared to the one which she usually went to. The dishes looked better as well and she brought them over with Gemma after cing her order. However, just as they were making their return, they saw from afar that Woody was surrounded by a group of people who looked as though they knew him, but their attitude toward him was horrible. ¡°Old Master, what are you doing here in the university? Where¡¯s Madam Lewis? Why did she let you come out alone?¡± The girl, who was the group leader, looked very elegant, but seemed rather cold and upset as her brows were tightly knitted together. He smiled at her, grabbing her with his aged hand, ¡°Ah, you¡¯re Natasha. Are you in kindergarten now, Natasha?¡± Woody¡¯s grip on her arm had turned many heads before an impatient look shed across the face of a girl named Natasha. Violently jerking her head away, she ordered the people next to her. ¡°Take him home. This is embarrassing!¡± Two tall and well-built men roughly grabbed him on each side and wanted to drag him away with an annoyed and embarrassed look on their faces. Gary grabbed Nathan to the side as Woody struggled with the few youngsters, unwilling to leave. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I want to wait for Cooper. Where are you, Cooper?¡± Subconsciously, Sophia wanted to rush forward but Hale stopped her. ¡°Madam, that¡¯s Natasha, the daughter of the current family head for the Mitchell Family. This is their family issue and it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t get involved.¡± Upon heeding his words and remembering about Michael¡¯s warning not to be involved with the Mitchells, Sophia stopped in her tracks. It was their family affair and she had no right to interfere, so she watched in vain as he was roughly dragged away by a few men. Tears streamed down his face like a helpless child as he cried, ¡°Where are you taking me? I¡¯m not leaving; I want to wait for Cooper. He said we¡¯ll be eating together!¡± ¡°Cooper had been dead for more than a decade and won¡¯t appear anymore! Don¡¯t bring him up again!¡± Natasha chided loudly. Refusing to believe her, he argued, ¡°He was speaking with me earlier! You¡¯re lying to me! Cooper¡¯s not dead! He was still here earlier!¡± Wearing a cold look, she said impatiently, ¡°Take him away and send two more people to look after him from now onward, so he won¡¯t slip out and embarrass us!¡± Even Nathan had a tough time watching as a group of youngsters picked on an old man¡ªit was nothing to be proud of! Woody caught sight of Sophia, who was returning with the meals, and broke into tears of joy as he stared at her. He even breathed out a couple of snot bubbles. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯re back!¡± She hadpletely forgotten about Michael¡¯s warning and dropped the tes in her hand on a table and dashed forward. ¡°Are you guys even human? How can you do this to an elderly man? Do you even have any ethics?¡± Chapter 329 Chapter 329 Upon seeing that their madam had already made a move, Hale and Gary had no other choice but to immediately rush forward and take Woody from Natasha¡¯s men. When she saw Sophia suddenly dashing out, she recognized her and sneered. ¡°So, you¡¯re a freshman!¡± Sophia¡¯s fight with the Harpers would make it to the headlines of the university¡¯s tabloid every now and then, so it was only expected that Natasha would recognize her. Although Natasha knew about Sophia¡¯s incident, she didn¡¯t know about thetter¡¯s exact details or Nathan, so she brought up her family name. ¡°This is an affair of the Mitchells. An outsider like you has no right to interfere,¡± she said smugly. Even after knowing that she was one of the Mitchells, Sophia seemed unwavered by the former¡¯s family influence and instead said, ¡°I know the Old Master is from your family and I¡¯ve contacted his family to pick him up, so you don¡¯t have to do anything.¡± It just so happened that Sean arrived in a hurry with Stanley tagging along to help out after learning of the news. Sean was surprised to see Natasha, but he immediately rushed over with a smirk and said casually, ¡°So, it¡¯s Natasha! I¡¯ll bring the Old Master home and you can save yourself the trouble.¡± She looked from him to Sophia and Woody before finally turning to leave in a huff. It was only when she was gone that they sat down to continue with their meal. Woody sat next to Sophia the whole time andpletely regarded her as his son, muttering, ¡°You¡¯re finally back, Cooper.¡± With a piece of tissue from her pocket, she carefully wiped away the tears, snot and saliva from his face and answered him with patience, ¡°I merely went off to buy a meal, Dad. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll send you home in a while.¡± He continued to gaze at her; his cloudy eyes convinced that she was his son, Cooper, and repeated his words from earlier. ¡°You¡¯re finally back, Cooper.¡± Despite the fact that he was old and had dementia, she did not find him a bother and had specially bought him a bowl of congee, which was easy for his body to digest. She said, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m right here. I won¡¯t be going anywhere. Here, take a bite.¡± It was then that Woody finally ate, but he would lift his head to look at her after every mouthful, fearful that she would leave. She was seated next to him and started to eat while speaking with Sean. ¡°Who¡¯s that girl named Natasha earlier?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the daughter of the Mitchells¡¯ family head. Natasha Mitchell is her name,¡± Sean replied with a frown. Upon hearing the name, Stanley reacted in shock. ¡°She is Natasha Mitchell?!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, thinking that he already knew who Natasha was. With an annoyed and disgusted look, he exined, ¡°After I returned from my military service, my family wanted me to go on a blind date with her and even praised her to the skies, saying that she¡¯s a high achiever in the School of Foreign Languages. She was also known as the second Cooper Mitchell and even wanted to overtake him! Fortunately, I hid in an Inte cafe and missed the date. However, Iter received a beating from my father because of this.¡± After seeing her earlier today, he knew that he made the right choice by giving the blind date a miss. If she could have that sort of attitude toward an elderly, what sort of quality would she have? Sophia was still better than anyone else, but too bad his uncle had beaten him to it! Dumplings may be delicious, but it¡¯s not as tempting as the aunt! She ate with solemn eyes and her thoughts were unreadable. After he stole a nce at Nathan, who was eating in front of Woody, he whispered, ¡°Nate¡¯s father is from the Mitchell Family. Back then, the Mitchells wanted to adopt him after his parents were involved in an ident, but my uncle took him instead. Don¡¯t ever let the Mitchells learn about Nate¡¯s background.¡± While nodding her head, she suddenly asked, ¡°Who exactly is the Cooper whom you guys are speaking about? He sounds really awesome.¡± The mention of Cooper¡¯s name brought admiration into Stanley¡¯s eyes as he had a deep impression of the former. ¡°He was an awesome man; otherwise the Mitchells wouldn¡¯t have used him as aparison for others.¡± However, it was Sean, who knew about him best since they were from the same family background. ¡°Uncle Cooper is the pride of our family! At the age of 10, he enrolled into Bayside University and took over the family business at 13. While he was managing the business, he also went to school. The Mitchells in the past were constantly having internal conflicts, causing the business to be in danger. Uncle Cooper single-handedly turned the tides and returned the Mitchells to its former glory within a few years¡¯ time. In the meanwhile, he even earned himself two doctorate degrees.¡± ¡°He¡¯s that incredible?¡± Sophia gushed in surprise. He was a teenage president! Taking over such a big business at the age of thirteen makes him more than a child prodigy; it makes him a prodigy, through and through! He sounded envious when he spoke about Cooper and even though thetter was still young when he died, stories about him were shared within the family over the years. All the kids of the Mitchell Family strove to achieve what Cooper had done. However, his tone of voice changed before he continued with regret. ¡°It¡¯s such a shame that Uncle Cooper passed away in a car ident even before he hit 30. He was the Old Master¡¯s only child when thetter was close to 60, so he couldn¡¯t take the blow, which led to him bing how he is now.¡± Sophia sighed and continued to eat. ¡°Gods always love geniuses!¡± C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Woody continued to add more dishes into her bowl, saying, ¡°Cooper, you should eat more. You shouldn¡¯t exhaust yourself with the pressures of the business and school!¡± She replied with a forced smile, ¡±Yes, Dad. You should eat more as well.¡± Since the old man hadn¡¯t eaten anything for the entire day and coupled with the fact that he was overjoyed at the sight of his son, his appetite was especially good and he ate a lot. It was already dark by the time they finished eating. Despite that, Sean was there to send Woody home. However, Woody had insisted for Sophia toe along, which left her with no choice but to oblige. Hale drove a car with her and Woody inside toward the suburbs while Stanley followed behind with Nathan in another car. As the old man was tired, he fell asleep the moment he entered the car. Sean then searched Woody¡¯s pockets and realized that they were all empty; he didn¡¯t have a cellphone, wallet or even a public transport card. ¡°Ever since Uncle Cooper¡¯s ident, the Old Master had moved to the house by the beach for his retirement. How did he get to Bayside University alone without any money?¡± he pointed out while being puzzled. Sophia was taken aback when she saw the shabby soles on Woody¡¯s shoes. Did he walk all the way here? After amute of nearly 50 minutes by car, they finally arrived at the suburb where Woody lived. It was a 3-story vi by the beach surrounded by a fishing vige, which was serene and suitable for retirement. Sean had already made a call ahead of time, so by the time they arrived, the nanny and caretakers inside the house came out to greet them. Woody seemed refreshed after the car ride and walked briskly with his walking stick while eximing, ¡°Madam Lewis, Cooper is back. Hurry, bring out his favorite snacks and brew the top-grade Darjeeling tea that we have!¡± Since Madam Lewis was already used to Woody mistaking Sean as his son, she greeted them and replied, ¡°Alright!¡± For two generations, the father and son, Woody and Cooper, had exhausted themselves for the sake of the Mitchell Family, saving the family from crisis many times. However, since Cooper had already passed away and Woody suffered from dementia, the family¡¯s authority had fallen to another branch of the Mitchells¡ªwhere there were very few family members who remembered who the old man was, even though he had contributed greatly to the family. The people who came to visit were even lesser. Only a few old friends of his woulde over for a visit whereas the younger ones would shy away. As a result, Madam Lewis could remember the few youngsters who frequently visited by name, but Sean was the one who visited the most often while the others only came for show. He was the only sincere one who came over¡ªonce or twice a month¡ªto bring Woody out to meet his old friends. Chapter 330 Chapter 330 Everyone became sick with worry when Woody was lost earlier in the day. Later, Sean discovered that Woody had gone out to look for him alone after the former had made a call. However, Madam Lewis saw today that Woody held a youngdy¡¯s hand and addressed her as his son instead. ¡°Cooper, stay for the night since you¡¯re rarely home.¡± Sean interjected, ¡°Old Master, Uncle Cooper has an important meeting to attend to in the evening and has sses as well tomorrow. I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be free to stay overnight since he¡¯s really busy.¡± Although Woody¡¯s face was crestfallen, he still dragged Sophia into the house. ¡°Then, just have a seat for a while!¡± Upon entering the house, she scanned the interior of the living room and saw that the decor was dated but well-kept and cozy. It was obvious that he was in good hands. Many photographs stood on a table in the living room and all appeared to be of the same person. She thought, That¡¯s probably Cooper! It seemed that his mother was a foreigner, which made it obvious that he was a mixed race child from his features¡ªsave for his ebony ck hair, all his other facial features had resembled more of hers. Sophia picked up a picture and stared at it curiously. Cooper seemed to be rather young in the picture¡ª at around eighteen or neen years old¡ªwith a bright and innocent face. As he leaned against a door frame, he looked buoyantly into the camera with a ck rosary hanging on his chest. At that time when the photo was taken, he most probably had already obtained two doctorate degrees and was the person in charge of the Mitchell Family¡¯s businesses! There¡¯s no way to tell that at all! He¡¯s also pretty good-looking and can totally be a model! With that thought in mind, she picked up another picture in which he wore a ck suit with a ck top hot. On his nose bridge was a pair of gold-rimmed sses, making his eyes appear wise and deep. Some of his youth had already faded and he now looked a little more like a shrewd and experienced businessman. He looks exactly like a domineering president from a textbook! The photo frame was transparent, so the words written on the back of the photo could be easily read. ¡®Cooper, taken in the year 200x at age 25.¡¯ Huh? This handwriting looks very familiar. I think I¡¯ve seen it somewhere before¡­ Stanley picked up one of Cooper¡¯s pictures as well andpared it to Sophia¡¯s face, saying, ¡°Look at this; there are simrities at the nose bridge, the eyebrows, and the look in the eyes. No wonder the Old Master mistook you for his son!¡± Sophia had unwittingly knitted brows while being engrossed with the writing behind the picture. He eximed, ¡°Even the way that they knit their brows are simr.¡± Madam Lewis brought out some hot tea and snacks for everyone with enthusiasm. She took the opportunity to thank them when Woody went to search for something in his bedroom. ¡°Old Master is always pulling this ruse. Thank you very much for bringing him home today.¡± She was familiar with Sean and Stanley, considering that thetter was always around every time the former came to visit. Sophia and Nathan were the only ones whom she hadn¡¯t met before, so she asked in curiosity, ¡°May I ask who they are?¡± Sean answered, ¡°This is Nate from Justin¡¯s family and that¡¯s Sophia, his aunt. Nate¡¯s now living with his uncle.¡± At the mention of Justin¡¯s name, Madam Lewis immediately understood and didn¡¯t ask any more questions. They all sat down and enjoyed the snacks and tea until it was time for them to leave. Woody finally emerged from his room with a ck ne in his hand. ¡°Cooper, this is your amulet. Don¡¯t lose it and remember to wear it daily!¡± It was a ck amulet with the cross carved in obsidian¡ªan obvious sign that it was meant for a man. Cooper¡¯s name was carved at the back and it was the same rosary that he had worn in the first picture Sophia saw. As Woody gazed at the charm, he said to Sophia, ¡°Cooper, I got this amulet from a high priest before you were born. It will keep you safe and bless you in all your undertakings. Don¡¯t lose it again and wear it at all times, alright?¡± Feeling the cross with her fingers, she wanted to return it, but when she saw the look Sean gave her, she decided to ept it for the time being. In the blink of an eye, it was already 9.00PM and she was ready to return home. When she entered the car, she passed the rosary to him. ¡°Find a chance to return this to its ce.¡± He kept it away and secretly returned it when Woody wasn¡¯t in his room before leaving the ce. Unexpectedly, Sophia received a call from Sean the next afternoon. ¡°Sophia, Old Master is missing again. Call me as soon as possible if hees to look for you again!¡± The old master is missing again?! She anxiously called Hale and asked him to check at the security office where they found Woody yesterday. Sure enough, Hale had found him sitting at the security post, staring at the university doors while waiting for his son. No matter who came to persuade him, he wouldn¡¯t leave until his son came. While trying to contact Sean, she rushed to the gates and Woody broke into a smile when he saw her from afar. ¡°Cooper, how¡¯s school today?¡± ¡°Dad, why are you here again?¡± Sophia asked as she hurriedly supported his frail and trembling body. The beach is so far away. Why did hee here? The roads are very busy along the way. What would I do if an ident happens? With a grin, Woody fished out Cooper¡¯s amulet from yesterday, saying, ¡°Cooper, you left your amulet at home. You can forget everything else but not the amulet, alright?¡± Her heart sank when she realized that he had made the long trip, especially to send the amulet to her. Her eyes stung, as though tears were about to stream down, as she took the amulet from him and replied, ¡°Okay, Dad.¡± Soon, Sean arrived to pick him up. As Woody walked away, he still held onto her hand and nagged, ¡°Don¡¯t forget your amulet, Cooper! It will keep you safe and bless you in all your undertakings!¡± ¡°Yes, Dad. I won¡¯t forget it this time,¡± she answered with a nod. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org After Sean had Madam Lewis take Woody home, he wouldn¡¯t ept the rosary from Sophia, even though she tried to return it again. ¡°This rosary belonged to Cooper and he had never removed it, ever since he started to wear it as a young man. More than a decade ago, it was said that he took it off and forgot to bring it with him. Then, shortly after he left home, he met with an ident, leaving a mark on Old Master¡¯s heart as he kept thinking that Cooper only met with the ident because he forgot the rosary. So, you should keep it for now!¡± Feeling the rosary between his fingers, he continued, ¡°It¡¯s said that this rosary has a spiritual power and everything was going well for Cooper when he was wearing it. So, many people wanted to get their hands on it after his death! Still, Old Master wouldn¡¯t give it to anyone and someone actually sneakily swapped it a few years ago. The Old Master immediately realized it and demanded it from the doorstep of the thief with his walking stick in his hand! I¡¯ve been his ¡®son¡¯ for so many years, but he has never shown any intent on giving this rosary to me. The moment you appeared, he instantly gave it to you instead. This only illustrates that the rosary is fated to be yours, so, you should just keep it!¡± As she held the amulet in her palm, she could feel the warmth from her hand heating it up. She thought that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to keep it since it wasn¡¯t anything valuable. If she didn¡¯t Woody would walk dozens of miles yet again to give it to her¡ªand that would be bad! So, she figured that she would temporarily keep it. Cooper, you¡¯re the ultimate form of a score wrecker! Maybe this will bring me some of the prodigy¡¯s luck if I wear it. However, I don¡¯t think Michael will be very happy about this. Chapter 331 Chapter 331 After school, Sophia returned home with the rosary around her neck. The ck obsidian cross was hard to miss and easily recognizable with a mere nce. Michael had already warned her not to have any interaction with the Mitchells. Not only did she meet up with Woody, but she even brought Cooper¡¯s rosary home with her. The moment she opened the door when she arrived home, she saw Michael watching TV on the couch. Nathan dashed for his new toy as soon as he went to the door while she stood without moving, afraid to step in. Seeing that no one was in the living room, Nathan went out to y with the toys in his hands. With nobody else around, she faced her back to the living room with an anxious yet reddened face before poking her butt in. Since she had done something wrong and deserved to be punished, she should enter with her butt first. Actually, Michael had already known about the events that transpired for the past couple of days and he was strongly adamant of her not being involved with the Mitchells. Like a quagmire, it would be impossible to break free once contact, even a minute one, was made. Yesterday, she had offended the eldest daughter of the family head of the Mitchell Family, Natasha, whereas today, she kept Cooper¡¯s rosary, which all the descendants of the family had been aggressively eyeing for. He thought to himself sarcastically, How amazing she is! It was getting harder to suppress the fact that she was born with the Mitchells¡¯ genes. Setting aside the fact that Woody mistook her for his son with a mere nce, even his slow-witted grandfather, Mark, had called to confirm her background a couple of days ago. ¡°Are you sure that girl is from the Edwards Family, and not the Mitchells?¡± he had asked in a serious tone. Her involvement with the Mitchells were getting deeper¡ªwhether she knew it or not. Despite that, the frustrations he had inside for the entire day evaporated when he saw how she wriggled her butt through the door earlier. Standing up, he paced over and gave her butt a tight p. Smack! Sophia¡¯s face reddened, but she was afraid to withdraw her butt. Michael gave her a few more ps in session, with each one being louder than thest. Smack! Smack! ¡°Have you realized your mistake?¡± he asked sternly when she was silent and afraid to say something. She lowered her head and answered, ¡°Yes.¡± He pped her again, but stroked it afterward. ¡°What did you do wrong?¡± Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have been involved with the Mitchells,¡± she answered timidly. After giving Sophia another p, Michael asked, ¡°What else?¡± Retracting her head, she said, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have epted Cooper¡¯s amulet.¡± Then, she surrendered the rosary herself. Upon taking the rosary from her, he still felt her warmth radiating from it and it felt different as it was a little warmer than his own. With the amulet in hand, he headed into the living room with her following behind and standing at the side as her head drooped. Staring at the rosary in his hand, it looked exactly as how he remembered it to be. It was said that Woody had obtained it from a high priest and Cooper had worn it since childhood, never removing it even once. In every photo of Cooper, the rosary could be seen. It was all a terrified Michael had subconsciously stared at every time he was writing in front of Cooper. Over a long period of time, he was brainwashed by what he saw and the rosary became a nightmare from his childhood! Legend had it that it was a rock with spiritual powers. Therefore, everything was smooth sailing for Cooper since young because of the rock¡¯s blessings. Heter passed away because he had removed the rosary. The first time that he took it off was the time when he met with a car ident. The descendents of the Mitchell Family had vied aggressively over each other for it, but Woody regarded it as his life and wouldn¡¯t give it to anyone. However, he had easily passed it to Sophia. Of course, Michael didn¡¯t believe that the rock had any spiritual powers at all; it was merely an amulet. Back then, Cooper probably had already prepared himself topletely sever his ties with the Mitchells and even removed the rosary to return it to Woody. Maybe he didn¡¯t want to take anything away from the Mitchells. Based on the information that Hale had given Michael, Woody had privately sought out Annabel and offered a sum of money to leave his son in an attempt to force them apart when her rtionship with Cooper was exposed. At the same time, he lied to Cooper that he had her killed. As kind-hearted as Woody¡¯s solution to the problem was, it still created a wedge between father and son, turning them into strangers from then on. It was probably around that time when Cooper hatched a n to sever all ties with the Mitchells! For ten long years, he nned the future of the Mitchells and Woody before leaving with no loose ends and anything that belonged to the family behind. Michael held the rosary in his hand for a long time until it became warm, but for some unknown reason, it didn¡¯t feel like his own warmth on the rosary. Rather, it still felt like Sophia¡¯s warmth and he sighed. Maybe this rock really has spiritual powers and can recognize its owner! Sophia was still nervous¡ªshe had liked the rosary and wanted to wear it for a couple more days before returning it, but he would never permit that. Focusing on the rosary before looking at Michael, who was holding it, she observed that he would sigh for a moment before frowning in the next second. Suddenly, he patted his own thigh and called out to her, ¡°Come over here, chica.¡± She went over and sat on his thighs before he put the amulet on her. ¡°This rock has spiritual powers and it will bless you in your studies if you wear it.¡± It could have been her fate with the rosary. Although Woody¡¯s eyesight was failing him, he could somehow tell that Cooper¡¯s child had returned. With the rosary around her neck, Sophia was absolutely delighted as she admired it in her hands. Michael had almost blurted out the truth about her background a few times when he saw how happy she was, but he held back on his urge. At that point, he had much more to consider¡ªshe was Cooper¡¯s daughter, the one who inherited his insane genes and that made her as good as a sleeping dragon! It was only a matter of time before she would break through the skies and he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep her protected much longer. Sooner orter, the Mitchells would discover her identity! It was as though the blood flowing in her was gradually drawing her closer to the Mitchell Family¡¯s quagmire¡ªand unless she stayed at home for the rest of her life, there was no other way to prevent it. He growled internally, However, if she¡¯s sucked into their family conflicts¡­ That will be a massive headache! Michael had once made up his mind to bring the secret to his grave, but it was getting arduous to conceal Cooper¡¯s genes in Sophia and he had to be prepared for the day when she would be discovered. If only Cooper could be found now¡­ As he decided on what to do next, he reminded, ¡°Minimize your contact with the Mitchells, but Old Master can be an exception. He¡¯s getting on in his years and doesn¡¯t have any children, so you can go and visit him whenever you¡¯re free!¡± Sophia was overjoyed¡ªhe had outdone himself in being kind! He has really lived up to his name as an idol! No matter from which angle you look at him, he¡¯s perfect and shining with the brilliance of humanity 365 days of the year! After receiving the amulet, she wore the rosary.on a daily basis. Perhaps she could have been possessed by the prodigy¡¯s soul, but she felt that her brains were more active and she was able to learn things at a faster rate. Within a few days, she had discreetly passed a professional-grade minoritynguage exam and obtained a third-level certificate in Computer Science without a glitch. Her obsession with obtaining certificates was something that she couldn¡¯t control and she suddenly received a call from the university one day. ¡°Is this Miss Edwards? The finals for Miss Misty Pageant, which you had registered for, has been brought forward to the 18th. It will be held at the university¡¯s main auditorium at 2 in the afternoon. Please be prepared beforehand!¡± Chapter 332 Chapter 332 ¡°What?¡± Sophia, who had spent the entire day studying, was bewildered. ¡°I¡¯ve never participated in your contest, let alone be in the semi-finals!¡± Upon hearing that, the other person responded, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure on the specifics, but you definitely have signed up for the contest and even sailed past the semi-finals.¡± Sophia started to panic. ¡°The problem is I¡¯m not talented at all! I would have to perform, right? What am I going to present?¡± The voice in the phone suggested, ¡°ording to the details of your registration, you¡¯ve passed the 10th grade in piano. You can perform by ying the piano!¡± Even after hanging up on the call, she still had no idea who had signed her up for the campus belle contest. It seemed like someone wanted to make a fool out of her! She was just a ¡®nerd¡¯; what did she know about a performance? Acing a test in front of the audience?! Damn, the person wanted to make a fool out of her? They could dream on! Upon ncing at the calendar, she realized that it was already the 15th. How am I going to prepare for a show in 3 days¡¯ time? And ying a piano at that? She was sure that she would not be the only one who would y the piano and if she did not present something unique, she would not obtain a good score. At that moment, she suddenly realized that Michael would be giving a talk at Bayside University on the 18th. The venue of the campus belle contest finals seemed to be at the school auditorium on the same day too ¡ªif what was stated on the poster was urate. His talk shed with the contest! She immediately asked Michael, ¡°Hubby, are you giving a talk at the school on the 18th?¡± Upon hearing that, he replied while typing away on hisputer, ¡°Yeah, I am giving a talk on campus on the 18th. I¡¯ll also be one of the judges for the campus belle contest while I¡¯m there.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Sh*t! My idol¡¯s going to be a judge? Does this mean that there will be twenty to thirty girls frolicking in front of my idol? At once, Sophia felt sour¡ªas if envy started to spread in her heart. Just at that point, he sneakily questioned, ¡°I heard you joined the campus belle contest. Do you want me to give you a high score? As soon as she heard that, she blushed and hastily ran off. This is not good; my idol is judging the contest. I¡¯m going to embarrass myself in front of him! Other than ying the piano, she couldn¡¯t think of other skills that she could make a performance out of. That day, Sophia finally went to the piano that she had never touched after passing the final grade, wiped away the dust and yed for the entire night. Back then, she did not have a specific goal when she learned the piano¡ªshe merely tagged along whenever Richard went for piano lessons every weekend and secretly learned while asionally practicing at the school¡¯s piano room. Since she moved in with Michael, she would even y on the piano in his garage when she had nothing to do. Eventually, she hired a teacher and had piano lessons for a year before receiving her Piano Grade 10 Certificate. Since then, she hasn¡¯t yed the piano. Upon hearing the piano¡¯s beautiful melody, Michael was extremely pleased. In fact, he was the one who signed Sophia up for the campus belle contest. His talk had also been deliberately moved to the same day. Not only that, but he had volunteered to be the judge too. If he was being honest, he never intended to embarrass Sophia. He merely wanted his chica to be more active instead of spending all of her time revising. Even if she yed the piano, it was good enough for him. After all, Cooper was a great pianist! Yet, she thought it was her rivals who sabotaged her to make themselves look good. To avoid being humiliated, she would have to prepare for the contest and set aside her research for the time being. She wanted to steal the show¡ªand for her idol to look at only her instead of others! As such, Sophia spent the entire night practicing on the piano¡ªit was a Saturday the next day and the campus belle contest finals would be on the following Monday, leaving her with only the weekend to prepare for it. On Saturday morning, Stanley had brought his dog over to Michael¡¯s ce for a visit together with Sean. At the sight of Stanley, Michael immediately became upset. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked coldly. Stanley grinned. ¡°Hey Uncle, it¡¯s not that I wanted toe. It was Aunt Sophia who asked me toe over to help her out. Oh, I brought all of your old toys too.¡± He had Hale and Gary move everything into the house and ced it in Michael¡¯s spacious gym. The old toys that Stanley referred to were musical instruments that Michael used to y as a teenager¡ª drums, DJ mixer, electric guitar, and so on. Once he had joined the military, those items no longer became of use to him anymore, so it was left with the Fletchers. Did Sophia n to form a band with Stanley? Is she going to sing? Did my young wife have hidden talents that she has yet to reveal to me? An enthusiastic Michael peeked inside his gym room¡ªit was a perfect area for rehearsals as the room was spacious with a mirror too. He had only managed to sneak a nce before Sophia blocked his way with a flushed face. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m using your gym for two days, so you can¡¯t peek!¡± Michael tried to look past her into the room. ¡°Are you going to sing?¡± She mysteriously teased, ¡°This is my little secret; I can¡¯t reveal it yet!¡± Little secret? What little secret do you have that I can¡¯t know? What secret do you have that I don¡¯t already know? It did not matter what secret she kept from him¡ªhe was going to watch her perform onstage anyway, so he just had to wait for another two days! Michael had to refrain himself from spying on Sophia¡¯s rehearsals out of his eagerness for her performance. After all, he was the judge of the contest¡ªshe would have to perform for him sooner or later. Whenever the three of them were constantly in the gym room, rehearsing for the show, he would asionally hear music spilling from the room. However, he had no idea what they had nned since no one was allowed to enter. They had rehearsed all weekend and by the time Sunday night had arrived, Stanley was so drained that he dozed off on the floor of the gym room. At the same time, Sean was exhausted to the point that he leaned against Stanley to sleep. Even while Stanley was asleep, he reached over and cushioned Sean¡¯s head with his arm. The two teenagers fell asleep next to each other, showing their beautiful side profiles. One was brawny and full of masculinity whether the other was feminine to the point where his elegance could rival a woman¡¯s. It was a lovely sight that would make every fujoshi¡¯s dreame true! At that point, Sophia took out her phone and secretly took a photo of them before sending it to someone named ¡®Little Kitten¡¯ on Messenger. ¡°New erotic materials for you!¡± The weekend was soon over with Monday arriving again. The entire Bayside University was buzzing with excitement. Not only was the campus belle contest finals happening on that day, but Taylor Murray would also being to give a talk on campus too. For five years, it was rumored that he would be returning to Bayside University for a talk. Some students had waited from their freshman year up until their graduation for the rumored talk that never urred. They watched him growing from a Cethosian movie star to an international movie star¡ªand finally, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. He was finallying to Bayside University. The auditorium quickly became crowded and the backstage was upied by contestants who prepared to go onstage, making the atmosphere tense and exhrating. Not only would the champion be the campus belle and be on the homepage of the school¡¯s official website for the entire year, but she would also be in the school¡¯s promotional video. It would have been an honorable achievement! With the goal of stealing the show on her mind, Sophia arrived backstage early to prepare as well. Since Tay Tay wasing today, she would give it her best shot, no matter what. She wanted him to only have eyes for her¡ªshe could not allow another woman to steal her show! Chapter 333 Chapter 333 Both Stanley and Sean had arrived at that moment. While setting up the equipment, Stanley saw how nervous Sophia was and tried to calm her down. ¡°Stop worrying, we have a killer performance lined up. We¡¯re gonna win this! Come on, look at me. Let¡¯s take deep breaths. Breathe in, breathe out.¡± Sophia had never been such a nervous wreck until that very moment. At that moment, Sean chimed in. ¡°If you¡¯re feeling nervous, just hold your amulet. Your dad had it on him for 29 years and he aced every test. Just hold it and you¡¯ll feel better.¡± Upon hearing that, she reached out to touch her amulet and prayed. ¡°God bless me. Please watch over me.¡± With her newfound courage through the amulet, she started to calm down. While the other girls were already prepared, she took her time and went to get her outfit. ¡°Sophia, you really came!¡± The voice came from behind her. As soon as she turned, she saw Faye¡¯s unfamiliar face. It was not too long ago since Sophiast saw her, but she looked like she underwent puberty again. She no longer looked like the Faye Edwards that Sophia remembered¡ªthe girl looked as if she had bigger eyes with softer cheeks. Not only did her forehead look fuller, but her nose was sharper too! Faye and X had walked together as they approached Sophia with Richard following behind them. It was because of Sophia that X and Richard became theughing stock of Bayside University and as a result, disgust and hatred were clearly etched on their faces. To Sophia, they looked better with that expression on their faces. In fact, she preferred it over their condescending attitudes. ncing at the trio, X rolled her eyes. ¡°A performance is a requirement for the campus belle contest. I wonder what you have nned. Wait, let me guess¡­ Are you writing calligraphy?¡± Faye immediately added andughed, ¡°Perhaps she¡¯ll ace a test on stage, haha!¡± Before Sophia could respond, the overprotective Stanley strode over and stood before Richard. In addition to his bronze crew cut, he looked vicious with an angry scowl on his face, making a startled Richard backing away quickly. ¡°Hey! If you¡¯re gonna pick on my aunt, you¡¯ll have to go through me!¡± Richard knew he couldn¡¯t beat Stanley in a fight¡ªhe didn¡¯t even have the guts to do so. Therefore, he shed a cold smile. As a matter of fact, Richard had already done his research on Stanley Fletcher. While the Fletchers were a big family, some members were less favored and powerless. The Fletcher Family came from a military background for generations, making it a tradition for its members to attend a military academy. Therefore, by attending Bayside University, Stanley was a nobody among the Fletchers and only used his family name to get his way. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight you. I¡¯m just here to support my ex.¡± Richard fixed his tuxedo that was disheveled as a result of stepping back from Stanley earlier. Upon hearing that, Stanley was about to respond before Sophia interrupted from behind. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Stan. Be careful or you might catch an STD.¡± STD! Upon hearing that term, everyone at the scene was shocked. Richard clenched his fists while his face wore a ghastly expression; his re went past Stanley and met Sophia¡¯s smiling eyes. She was half-smiling and looked at Richard as if her sharp eyes could see through his soul. ¡°Enough with the nder, Sophia! Don¡¯t cross the line! Did you forget who paid your medical bills when you broke your leg in junior year?¡± An outraged X stood next to Richard. ¡°You are the reason why I¡¯m spiteful! You¡¯re well aware of what you did behind Richard¡¯s back when you were still together. Now that you have everything, you¡¯re shamelessly hurting him! Not only that, but you are spreading rumours about Richard having STD! Who do you think you are topete for the title of campus belle?¡± Sophia could care less about responding, so she continued to smile while looking at Richard, who stood behind X. He was too embarrassed to look at Sophia in the eyes as he flushed before dragging X away. ¡°Let¡¯s go, X. Speaking to them does nothing but stain my reputation.¡± Sophia let out a cold chuckle as she watched him flee. It turned out that Hale had already reported to her yesterday about Richard¡¯s medical records at a private hospital¡ªit was true that thetter suffered from STD! After the brief interruption, everyone returned to their business¡ªsome were doing their hair and makeup while the others rehearsed. For the campus belle contest, Faye performed a ssical dance solo while on the other hand, X sang while Richard yed the piano as her apaniment. To be honest, Richard¡¯s piano skills were outstanding¡ªhe would always practice in the piano room every weekend while Sophia secretly learned from him back in junior year. She was more determined in learning the instrument than him and it was during that period of time where she learned to y. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to show her skills. At that moment, the couple had begun their performance. The music sounded affectionate with a trace of blues, perfectly matching X¡¯s honey-coated voice. Theirbination made them a match made in heaven! Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. So much so, those students who called them dirty names a few days ago could not help but envy them both as they were such a good pair! The song that X had chosen was a difficult one. The Huffs had already nned for her to enter the entertainment circle, so since she was young, they had already spent a fortune for her one-on-one sses. For that reason alone, she was not bad at singing at all. Furthermore, Faye was excellent at dancing and with her sculpted face, she was the goddess of the university! Among the contestants, Faye and X stood out the most with their performances overshadowing most of the others. Other than the scores given by the judges, the online voting would y arge role in determining who the winner was. At that moment, it was crucial to have built good rtionships with their peers. X thought, I wonder how many good friends Sophia has. She sang triumphantly, thinking that she would win the contest and would often look over with pride at Sophia, who was mumbling to herself with her head hanging down. Huh, she must be jealous of me! All of a sudden, an unfamiliar person came to the backstage and shouted, which caused Richard to stop ying. ¡°You there, give up the piano. Natasha needs it to rehearse.¡± The tone of his voice was firm and indisputable. Richard was about to immerse himself in the music when he was rudely interrupted and angrily stood up. Just as he was about to erupt, he saw a group of people escorting a girl into the room. That girl had an unique face. Not only did she look ssy and had great charisma, but she also had an unparalleled aura. Wearing a tube top dress that was matched with a pair of stilettos, her impable appearance made her look wless. Standing at 5 feet 7, her curvy figure was alsoparable to a supermodel, making her noble and morous. It was none other than Natasha Mitchell¡ªfrom junior ss! Chapter 334 Chapter 334 Once Richard knew about Natasha¡¯s true identity, he was so frightened that he did not even squeak but made way for her after being awestruck. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Natasha. This way!¡± Upon hearing that, he and X hastily moved from their position to make space for Natasha. X was extremely unsatisfied, but she didn¡¯t dare to oppose because of who Natasha was. As the eldest daughter of the Mitchell family, Natasha was also the sessor of the Mitchell Group. Not only was she an outstanding student, but she received close to full marks in every exam as well. When she was only in her freshman year, she had already earned first ce in various international competitions and by the time she entered her second year, she hadpleted all the courses in her university degree through self-study and even began her postgraduate entrance exam. On top of that, she was also the campus belle in Bayside University. Whenever there were foreign guests visiting the campus, she would represent the university as the most distinguished student to apany them on their tour. When Sean noticed Natasha¡¯s arrival, he calmly obscured Sophia by standing right in front of her. He winked at Stanley and thetter immediately understood before proceeding to inform her about Natasha¡¯s arrival. ¡°Properly hide your amulet!¡± Members of the Mitchell Family had been fighting each other over the possession of the said amulet, but Old Master Mitchell did not have any intention of passing it to anyone. In the past, there was even someone who wanted to snatch it in broad daylight. Even though Woody Mitchell was old and no longer had any authority, he still had a band of good brothers, such as Old Master Fletcher. Due to Old Master Fletcher¡¯s power, they were unable to make a move on Old Master Mitchell. Even if Cooper Mitchell was already dead, he still had a handful of loyal followers that he trained in the Mitchell Family, who looked up to Old Master Fletcher. There was a time when Natasha¡¯s father had made an extremely close imitation of the amulet, plotting to rece the genuine one, but Old Master Mitchell saw through the ns. With his crutches, he walked up to the door of Natasha¡¯s father¡¯s house, forcing them to return the original amulet to its rightful owner. If Natasha ever noticed that the amulet was in Sophia¡¯s possession, a mayhem could break out at once. As soon as Sophia heard Stanley¡¯s words, she immediately stuffed the amulet in her cor before looking at Natasha and frowning at the same time. Upon noticing her arrival, the students in the area were awestruck and quickly flocked toward her to wee her. After all, she was Bayside University¡¯s most distinguished student and also the eldest daughter of the Mitchell Family. Who would not want to have a connection with her, albeit the slightest one? ¡°Wow, Miss Natasha, you look absolutely stunning today!¡± ¡°Miss Natasha, why are you here today?¡± Natasha was in her second year, but she was only seventeen years old. When she was fifteen, she had already enrolled in Bayside University, which was why everyone looked up to her. She looked toward the crowd with a lofty aura and nced over the female crowd consisting of all shapes and sizes. With a smirk, she snickered in her heart, What simple minds. Without warning, she announced, ¡°I have applied to be this year¡¯s campus belle.¡± The female crowd was shocked, especially those who thought they stood a chance at winning. Wasn¡¯t Natasha the previous winner ofst year¡¯s campus belle? Why is she evenpeting with the freshmen this year? She isn¡¯t even on the list of finalists either! However, Natasha ignored the crowd¡¯s bickering as she sat on the piano bench and started to practice on the piano. At once, elegant piano notes reverberated throughout the whole backstage¡ªthose who heard the notes immediately knew that whoever was ying the piano had a high degree of mastery. In fact, she had learned how to y the musical instrument when she was at a young age and even had her own piano concert when she turned ten. Under the tutge of a world-ss piano master, her degree of mastery surpassed the average person by a huge margin. At once, the female pianists who were preparing to perform on stage paled. After all,peting against she in terms of ying the piano was akin to having a death wish. When Sophia saw the crowd surrounding Natasha, there was a glint of sadness in her eyes. After all, a princess would likely be someone like Natasha, being showered with love and care at a young age without any worry at the same time. What a nice life to have! At that moment, Stanley suddenly patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and asked, ¡°Now that the genuine outstanding student is here, are you having cold feet now?¡± Sophia looked at the scene for a while and averted her gaze. ¡°Give me some more time and I will surpass her.¡± Natasha was indeed a genius from the Mitchell family. When she was ten years old, she held her own concert and studied in Bayside University by the time she turned fifteen. At the current moment, she was preparing for her postgraduate entrance exam. On other hand, Sophia was already twenty, but still in her freshman year. Despite the stark difference, Sophia did not think that she was that far off from Natasha. When she was eight years old, the vige held a survey on the school age of the vigers. It was only at that moment when they realized that she was not enrolled in school and allowed to study from then. Therefore, she could not bepared to Natasha whatsoever. Even after school hours, she had to return to her house to help with the farm work. Due to her poor background, there was no way for her to develop her skills. Despite all the odds, she still believed that she was notte and that she was still young, so everything was still possible! From now onward, there would not be any saying of ¡®if only she had Natasha¡¯s conditions, she would have done this and that¡¯. She swore that she would surpass Natasha, no matter what! At that moment, Gemma held Nathan in his hands and led him backstage. ¡°My son, let Mommy hug you!¡± Sophia sighed while extending her hand. His face was set in stone while he reluctantly allowed her to hug him. Nathan and Michael always came in a pack. If Nathan was here, then Michael was surely¡­ ¡°Aaaaah¡ª¡± Suddenly, there was amotion at the front stage. In that instant, Sophia¡¯s ears instantly perked up as she remembered that Michael¡¯s speech was arranged before the campus belle contest. She also acknowledged the fact that it was almost time for his speech after looking at the clock. The idol had arrived! She frantically followed everyone¡¯s footsteps to the front of the stage to observe the scene. Michael was not the only who arrived; his inseparable partner, Harry, was also here. The truth was that Harry wasn¡¯t interested in taking part, but Michael had convinced him that his future bride wanted to join the campus belle contest. In fact, it was her first time joining arge-scale competition. He was concerned about her being nervous, which would cause her to underperform and resulting in a lower score. Therefore, Michael was here to instill hope in her by having Harry added to the panel of judges. That was the story of how Harry, who was ying games at home, was dragged into the situation. Under the vice-chancellor¡¯s guidance, the duo entered the giant hall through the VIPne, which caused a hugemotion for the students who were present. The school hall with a seating space of six thousand people was now packed with people; those who arrivedte were unable to enter and could only watch the livestream from outside. Michael was looking absolutely stunning today as he leisurely walked down the path with his ck suit decorated with emerald green patterns. The emerald green pattern was also subtly radiating a luxurious aura while dazzling lights shone on him. In that instant, he was literally a God radiating light! The Michael at home would normally wear a tracksuit while the one who was outside would wear a formal attire. He was looking absolutely handsome! Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. In fact, Harry also wore the same suit as him, but the two of them gave off a whole different vibe. ¡°Aaaaah, my idol! Aaaaa, My husband!¡± Sophia and a group of girls screamed . The appearance of Michael and Harry caused the crowd to be insane and at once, various screaming sounds reverberated throughout the hall. They waved at the crowd, following the workers on duty to the VIP guest lounge to catch a breath. While the students offstage were blocked by security, those who were preparing for their performance backstage surrounded the VIP guest lounge instead. ¡°Let¡¯s go and watch them too,¡± Sophia said after noticing that everyone was gone and quickly headed in the direction of the lounge as well. Despite the huge response, everyone was merely observing from outside the door for the fear of disrupting their idol¡¯s rest time. ¡°Oh my God, my idol is so handsome!¡± ¡°A, my husbands are so handsome!¡± A bunch of girls drooled at the two idols from a distance as they took out their cellphones to secretly take their idol¡¯s photos. Sophia also followed suit. After all, Michael was exceptionally stunning today by donning a suit while wearing a pair of leather shoes. He was absolutely rocking the outfit, which made it a pity that he was topless while usually wearing a pair of pants at home. She happily decided to take a nap before he changed his clothes after returning home. While the two idols rested in the VIP guest lounge, the vice-chancellor was over the moon about the situation. It had never crossed his mind that when Michael arrived, Harry would tag along! On top of that, Harry also wanted to donate a gymnasium, which made it an absolutely amazing situation! Chapter 335 Chapter 335 Michael insisted in front of the vice-chancellor, ¡°I want you to rate my wife¡¯s performance with the maximum score possible. If she doesn¡¯t achieve first ce, I refuse to donate the building.¡± The vice-headmaster responded, ¡°No problem, I will make sure that your wife receives the maximum marks avable!¡± Michael turned towards Harry, stating, ¡°This applies to you too; give my wife the maximum marks avable.¡± ¡°Okay, fine,¡± Harry mumbled, rolling his eyes while ying with his cellphone. The campus belle contest consisted of three events with each one bearing a maximum score of ten marks. The final score would be abination of the total score from the panel of ten judges and the online votes. That was the reason why Michael thought deeply on how to secretly help Sophia to gain more votes. In order to be on the safe side, hemanded the vice-chancellor and Harry, ¡°Rate everyone else zero marks other than my wife.¡± That meant if the trio gave other participants zero marks, it wouldn¡¯te close to her score¡ªeven if the other judges gave a high score to the other participants. Harry sighed, ¡°You have the money, so you are the boss. Therefore, whatever you say must be seriously adhered to.¡± From a distance, the participants were busy taking photographs, observing that Michael was in a discussion about something, with absolutely no idea on what the topic was. Meanwhile, Richard¡¯s focus averted from him when he noticed that Sophia was also snapping photos with her cellphone. His focus waspletely on Taylor, who was opening his suitcase that contained the dress that she prepared for the show. The campus belle contest consisted of three events¡ªcatwalk, a speech, and a talent show with the first one requiring participants to present the best side of themselves. Hence, it was an important event for all of the participants. If only Sophia¡¯s dress can be destroyed¡­ Richard¡¯s eyes glinted as she walked past. While everyone cooed over the two idols, Natasha suddenly emerged from the crowd and instantly made a beeline toward Michael and Harry, who rested in the VIP guest lounge. ¡°How is she able to enter the VIP guest lounge just like that?¡± ¡°What does Natasha want to do with those guys?¡± The crowd looked at Natasha with envy as she headed toward the lounge, but they had no choice and allowed her to pass. After all, she was the most distinguished student in Bayside University and one of the daughters in the Mitchell Family. Who else would have the guts and confidence to strike a conversation with the two idols other than Natasha herself? On the other hand, Sophia was fuming when she saw Natasha headed towards Michael, ¡°Leave my husband alone!¡± as she bellowed in her thoughts. It was at that moment when she understood why Natasha, the previous year¡¯s campus belle, made her way to join the current year¡¯s campus belle contest. Presuming that her assumptions were right, the reason why Natasha joined thepetition was because Michael was the judge. Little b*tch, don¡¯t you dare be any closer to my husband! The vice-chancellor was thrilled when he saw Natasha entering the VIP guest lounge. After all, she was one of the most prestigious students that Bayside University has ever had and was also the previous winner of the campus belle contest. He immediately weed her with an overly excited tone, ¡°Why did you enter the VIP guest lounge, Natasha?¡± ¡°Vice-chancellor,¡± she began to start a conversation with a wholesome smile. Her smile had been honed by mimicking the famous models. While maintaining a model¡¯s perfect posture at all times, she continued with her words. ¡°I have also joined this year¡¯s campus belle contest.¡± He frowned upon hearing those words. If she joined thepetition, wouldn¡¯t that mean that she wanted to go head to head against Sophia? ¡°Weren¡¯t you the winner of the previous campus belle contest? Why are youpeting with this year¡¯s batch?¡± Natasha giggled, ¡°Who said that the previous year¡¯s campus belle can¡¯t join this year¡¯spetition?¡± The vice-chancellor was at a loss for words as he was stumped. Because of that, he would have felt a sense of guilt if he followed Michael¡¯s request to give a score of zero. Meanwhile, Natasha trained her gaze on Michael while she looked toward him and Harry. She extended her alluring hand toward Michael, saying, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr Fletcher. My name is Natasha and I am a sophomore from Bayside University.¡± To ensure that Michael acknowledged her, the vice-chancellor added, ¡°Michael, thedy here is the eldest daughter of the Mitchell Family and her father is Alex Mitchell.¡± Alex Mitchell was the current family head of the Mitchell family as well as the CEO of the Mitchell Group. Despite the introduction, Michael did not have much of a reaction. He smiled in his usual manner while shaking Natasha¡¯s hand, responding, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± At that moment, Natasha¡¯s eyes were filled with joy. ¡°How can she waltz in and shake my idol¡¯s hand just like that? Hmph!¡± ¡°As long as you have a wealthy and influential father, you are also able to shake hands with an idol.¡± Students who saw her shaking his hands with their own eyes had reacted in a shocking manner. As Sophia observed the entire situation, her eyes widened to the length of tes. That was outrageous! How could that woman shake my husband¡¯s hands in front of me?! That sl*t was doing that on purpose; there¡¯s no way she didn¡¯t know that Mr Fletcher was married! Upon seeing the situation, she was absolutely determined to defeat Natasha in the campus belle contest! After Natasha shook Michael¡¯s hands, she maintained a cool attitude of a model andter greeted Harry before calmly speaking, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I heard that you are very skilled in ying the piano. Would you please join me to perform a piano duet?¡± That was the reason why she joined thepetition. Natasha was a hundred percent sure that Michael would not refuse her invitation; given her background and irresistible looks, there was no way in the world that he would say no to her. Despite her expectations, he slightly frowned and apologized, ¡°I am very sorry. It¡¯s been several years since I¡¯ve touched a piano. I may have lost my touch with it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was only hoping that I would have been able to share the same stage with Mr. Fletcher, that¡¯s all,¡± she responded with a slightly contented look in his eyes. With that said, if Michael was not an idiot, he would have understood what she meant¡ªit was a chance to join a prestigious family like the Fletchers. Even so, she and most of the Fletcher Family had no idea of his true identity. In the eyes of outsiders, he was the son of a famous diva, Elizabeth Murray. Thus, everyone assumed that he eagerly tried to enter distinguished families like the Mitchell Family. The truth was that Michael harbored no ns of entering any esteemed and rich family. Why should I even try to do so when I¡¯m already part of one? He shrugged off the chance to marry into a prestigious family, giving it to Harry instead. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the onepeting today? My rusty piano skills would definitely affect your performance. My friend, Harry, will be the one ying instead. He is skilled in ying the musical instrument; he even achieved the tenth grade when he was eight! Please allow him to be my recement for the duet.¡± If Michael spoke another word to Natasha, he was afraid that it would make Sophia furious! He skillfully shifted the responsibility toward the innocent Harry, who was busy ying with his cellphone. After hearing those words, Harry raised his eyebrows and mouthed toward him, ¡°I swear¡­¡± Harry¡¯s face wore an irresistible smile when he turned toward Natasha, insisting, ¡°Mr. Fletcher is pulling your leg. I¡¯ve never achieved a tenth grade in piano when I was eight. I only achieved that achievement when I was nine.¡± Natasha, who was rejected, did not show any sign of dissatisfaction; in fact, she already had Michael under her watch. It was merely a matter of time before he would be hers, so the small rejection meant nothing to her. ¡°I am sorry for bothering you, Mr Winston.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Harry reassured while smiling, but when no one was watching, heter gave Michael the evil eye. Michael responded with an amused smile while having an unpredictable expression. As time went on, it was time for his speech. So, Michael went onstage and gave a speech, ording to his script. His script consisted of babbling nonsense onstage like a product salesman, causing a resonance among the crowd. Ever since the news of the idols being judges for the campus belle contest were spread, those who did not sign up for thepetition started to regret it with a vengeance. There was absolutely no chance for commoners to suddenly show up and join thepetition other than Natasha herself¡ªsince she had a direct connection with the higher-ups. N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. Chapter 336 Chapter 336 ording to the original n, Michael¡¯s speech would be 30 minutes long while the contestants prepared for their first round of thepetition backstage. They did their make-up and hair as they all wanted a chance to win the highest point in the first round and to show themselves off in front of their idol. Even with Natasha as the strongest opponent and no one bore any hopes for the winning title, there was still a spot for runner-up and third ce! As Sophia¡¯s entry number was number 12, it meant that she still had some time to spare. So, after she did her makeup, she took out the outfit that she prepared for thepetition and went to the changing room to wear it. With a mysteriously smug smile on his face, Richard watched her walk into the changing room with her clothes. As expected, she exited the room in less than a minute with a scowl. ¡°Why are you not dressed?¡± Stanley asked when he realized that she hadn¡¯t changed her clothes. She scowled again and kept silent. For thepetition, she had prepared two sets of outfit¡ªone was for the runway and speech while the other one was for the performanceter. When she shook the other outfit that she took from the case, she realized that both of the outfits had been messed with and there was no way to wear it, especially with holes all over the chest and rear end. It was still fine when Sophia brought it in earlier, so someone must have messed with it while everyone looked at the idols. Stanley was enraged when he looked at the now useless outfit. ¡°Who did this? Show yourself now or I¡¯ll shoot you in a minute!¡± As his roar boomed across the backstage, everyone shot weird nces at them and noticed the two torn outfits; surprised nces were shared but it wasn¡¯t long before those people quickly resumed with their own errands. With clothes that were badly torn up, there was no way that she could go onstage in it, let alone burrow from anyone. It looks like I can only wear my casual clothes for the runway! It¡¯ll be a miracle for me to obtain a high score! Sophia knew the people behind it and red usingly at X and Faye as they walked happily towards her. ¡°Oh dear, Sophia! What happened to your clothes? Why are they ruined? Would you like us to lend you a few outfits?¡± Faye questioned sarcastically. As Sophia stopped Stanley from making a scene, she gazed coldly at them and replied in a cool tone, ¡°It¡¯s nothing; it¡¯s just a small problem.¡± Suddenly, there was a mighty roar of cheers from the front of the stage as the host announced, ¡°Many thanks to our idol for the heartfelt speech and now let me announce that the ¡®Miss Misty Pageant¡¯ for 201X officially begins now!¡± The pageant has begun! The well dressed X and Faye walked off smugly to wait for their turns. X was dressed in a light pink gown that entuated her petite, adorable character while Faye was to perform a ssical dance for the talent showter, so she had prepared a morous traditional gown for the runway. ording to tradition, contestants for the Miss Misty Pageant needed to have a malepanion while they walked the runway. Faye¡¯s malepanion wore a matching traditional outfit like hers, making them look good together; X¡¯s runway partner would definitely be Richard and they were the definition of a golden couple. Sophia¡¯s runway partner was supposed to have been Stanley, who had already changed into his outfit, but it seemed like she would no longer be able to strode the runway together with him. Everyone gloated at her for her misery and only Molly, the ss representative, seemed to be concerned for her as she walked over. ¡°What are you going to do? Would you like me to lend you some clothes?¡± Molly¡¯s outfit for the show was valiant as her runway partner was her brother, a national basketball yer, and they were catching people¡¯s attention. Sophia was in deep thought and replied, ¡°ss representative, I have already thought of a way to resolve this, but could you please do me a favor and tell the host to push my turn to thest?¡± Molly left hurriedly to inform the host of the change in ns. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. While everybody waited backstage for their turn, the odds of Sophia making it on time seemed rather slim as she had not even changed her clothes. As everyone whispered amongst themselves while waiting to go onstage, a sudden bright light brightened the entire backstage as the dashing Harry Winston walked in. All the girls screamed uncontrobly, ¡°Oh my goodness, it¡¯s Harry!¡± ¡°Why is our idol backstage?¡± He seemed like he hadn¡¯t noticed everyone¡¯s astonished stare as well as Sophia in the corner, choosing to walk straight toward Natasha and offering his hand out like a gentleman. She acknowledged him with a small smile while still maintaining her posture as a well-known aristocrat before gently cing her hand in his. So, Harry was Natasha¡¯s runway partner! Suddenly, it was as if everyone else¡¯s malepanion paled inparison. She had already beaten everyone else in the first round! Even though she had the idol as her runway partner, she still felt a pang of disappointment. Harry was great as a runway partner, but she would have preferred to have Taylor Murray as her first choice, but she understood that when he rejected her request for a duet, he wouldn¡¯t apany her for the runway. Even with the rumors about Taylor being married couldn¡¯t stop her passionate feelings for him. She will ensure that his attention would solely be on her today. Shortly after the runway session had begun, Natasha was the first to go onstage and never cared about being the finale. Her only wish was to be the first one so that she could crush any hopes that other contestants had! When the music for the runway started, Harry and Natasha walked up the stage together. He nced at a corner and felt a little anxious. The host started to announce the contestants. ¡°Now, let¡¯s begin the runway session of Miss Misty Pageant¡­ Let¡¯s give a warm wee to all of our contestants!¡± ¡°Our number 1 contestant is Natasha from the School of Foreign Languages. Natasha wasst year¡¯s Miss Misty and herpanion for the runway is¡­ Oh my, it¡¯s Harry Winston!¡± Then, amotion started when Natasha walked with her hand in Harry¡¯s arm. She wore a pearl coloured fish scale-like long gown, looking regal and elegant like a princess, and could even hold her own while standing next to him. Harry dazzled everyone with his tall lean body that was wrapped in a tight fitting suit; it was as if he was a walking aphrodisiac and sighs of pleasure could be heard everywhere he walked. When they both stood onstage, they looked stunning and seemed like the perfect match made in heaven! Natasha looked over the crowd and nced at Michael, who was sitting at the panel of judges. She saw that he nodded at her direction with his eyes filled with praise and admiration. Her heart was filled with glee; it was then that she knew she had caught his eye and having his heart would be an easy task. The truth was that Michael had looked at Natasha with his eyes filled with admiration and praise and even pped his hands for her, but as soon as she had finished her round with Harry, he lowered his head and wrote a 0 on her scoresheet. He was even considerate enough to write a 0 next to Harry¡¯s name while ncing at the vice-chancellor, urging him to pen a 0 as well. Then, it was X and Richard¡¯s turn next and although they were the known golden couple, she was nervous due to Natasha¡¯s earlier performance, but still performed well. Michael had pped with the crowd and looked at the participants with the same praise and admiration look before giving them zeros. Faye was beautiful, zero. Molly wasn¡¯t bad, zero. Zero, all damn zeros! Chapter 337 Chapter 337 When all the contestants went offstage, they all felt really good about themselves. ¡°The idol looked at me earlier. Oh my, I saw him smile at me, so it means that I did really well!¡± ¡°I saw him draw a circle when he was writing down my score. The idol must have given me a full 10 points!¡± When Natasha heard about this, she scoffed, What a bunch of idiots! How could Michael grade them a full 10 points when they don¡¯t even know what kind of quality they are? She was confident about her own performance as she had most likely even outdone Cooper when he was alive. This year¡¯s Miss Misty would still be mine and the idol would naturally only belong to me as well! With my wless face, unsurpassed achievements and an respected background, there is no man in this world that I can¡¯t have! While Harry stood next to her, he looked over to Michael, who was sitting at the panel of judges and was tediously drawing circles all over the scoresheets. Then, he nced at her as she felt confident about herself. He sighed, Idiot. After that, they only needed to wait for thest contestant to be onstage before beginning the group runway sessions. The host had already started announcing, ¡°And for ourst Miss Misty contestant, Sophia from our School of Economics and Business Administration. Sophia is our top student in the school and she was epted by our School of Finance with flying colors. Not only has she been awarded with many academic awards, but she possesses a professional Englishnguage certificate and also a Piano Grade 10 Certificate¡­¡± After hearing the praises from the host, X and Richard smiled at each other, knowing that there was no way Sophia would be able to go onstage andplete the runway show without any outfits. Natasha felt a perk of interest towards Sophia after listening to the host¡¯s introduction. Even though she knew that Sophia was far from a threat, she was definitely one of the more outstanding contestants in this year¡¯s Miss Misty Pageant. Then, the stage lights flickered and shone towards the left entrance of the stage¡ªas a charming, young girl stood there readily for her turn. As the spotlight shone on the girl, everyone clearly saw the image of her. There were no gasps of astonishment or whispers¡ªinstead, it was dead silence across the audience as looks were shared with each other to the point where no one knew whether to cheer or boo at her in the end. Other contestants wore their best morous and beautiful outfits, eager to present their beauty through their choice of clothes, but thest contestant only wore a¡ªschool uniform! Hence, the first Miss Misty Pageant contestant to walk the runway in a school uniform was born! Furthermore, other contestants for the Miss Misty Pageant had handsome, charming young men as their runwaypanion, but the particr one chose a young boy as her runway partner! Even the judges were rendered dumbfounded and speechless. A giggle escaped from X as she tried hard not tough out loud. Sophia is really wearing the school uniform on the runway! As the music began to y, Sophia followed the rhythmic beats and slowly walked up the stage. Her valedictorian look was even more convincing with the Bayside University¡¯s summer uniform¡ªher left hand held a book while a sling bag was casually hanging on her shoulders. The uniform showed off her slim physique, making her look innocent yet suggestive at the same time whereas the ck and wine red colors stripes on her skirt matched with the ck knee-high pantyhose, which revealed enough flesh on her thighs and showcased her long, lean legs. Lastly, she finished the look with a pair of ck leather school shoes that made her look mysterious and elegant. The background story behind Bayside University¡¯s school uniform was that the inspiration came from a wine red rock from the Misty Lake, so the university had hired a well-known designer to design it before giving it to L/K to manufacture it. From its quality to a sense of fashion or even reputation, the uniform was no less than a branded version and perfectly captured the Bayside University¡¯s image. Then again, no one had ever seen a contestant in the pageant wearing the school uniform for the runway, let alone walking on it with such a young ¡®male partner¡¯. Sophia and Nathan slowly walked under everyone¡¯s curious stares¡ªit was as though Bayside University¡¯s hundred years of history was shown on her as she walked elegantly with the school uniform and her skirt swaying back and forth over her pearl white thighs; it was like she had the breeze moving around her. Her make-up was light and clean as she wore a ck frame sses with a stoic expression on her face. Yet, there seemed to be a glimmer of a confident and proud spark hiding deep inside her eyes, concurrently making her seem arrogant yet friendly and everything else seem just right. Suddenly, she reminded them of their stern teacher in high school who never returned to their home country! Nathan was walking next to Sophia in his custom-made ck school uniform with a look of indifference, making him seem older than he was. The two of them walked to the front of the T-stage and presented themselves to front of the crowd. It was then that the crowd was awakened before ps and cheers rained like thunder throughout the hall. Some of the seniors were even frantically pressing the CALL button and shes of glow sticks wereCopyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. everywhere. Michael was the first to p in the judges panel. Aha, I knew that my wife is still the cutest! Full marks all the way! Those who don¡¯t give her full marks would be a bunch of idiots! After that, the judges had started to write their score and he finally penned his long-awaited 10 marks and even did the same next to Harry¡¯s name. He nced over to check on the other judges¡ªthe vice- chancellor provided a 10, others gave a 9 and the lowest was a 8.8. Very well. Since you didn¡¯t give Sophia a full mark, I¡¯ll remember your faces. After Sophia¡¯s jaw-dropping performance, she stood in front of the T-stage for a few seconds before turning to leave the stage. She extended her hand to hold hands with Nathan as they left together. Earlier, he bore the look of a cold, domineering director, but suddenly after holding hands with his mother, he looked like an adorable young boy. ¡°Ahh! He¡¯s so cute!¡± ¡°Little Nate is just too adorable!¡± ¡°If only I had a son like that too!¡± All the girls started to lose theirposure over that unique duo. Even with Nathan¡¯s distant and arrogant looks, he was still an adorable boy, which worked in Sophia¡¯s favor, especially when they left the stage together holding hands because it illustrated a side of her maternal radiance. The judge who wrote 8.8 marks quietly reced his original score with a mark of 9.5. Her astonishing performance left the other contestants speechless as they would never have expected that their fancy, morous gown were not nearly as good as her school uniform. Even the efforts of choosing and selecting the best malepanion to walk the runway seemed like nothing when compared to Sophia trodding the runway with her own son! As X stared at Sophia and her son walking away while holding hands, a malevolent look shed through her face as a cruel n rose in her mind, ncing at Natasha. Chapter 338 Chapter 338 Before it was Sophia¡¯s turn toe onstage, Natasha was the best performer¡ªshe had the best dress, the most beautiful face and the most handsome partner. It was almost a hundred percent certainty that she would be in first ce. However, no one had expected Sophia to show up. It was impossible for her to win if one were to consider her outfit and partner, but she had somehow found herself a way¡ªshe seemed ambitious! But the title belonged to Natasha! When X saw that Sophia and Nathan left the stage while holding hands, she suddenly congratted, ¡°Sophia, what you did earlier was amazing! There is no doubt that the Miss Misty title will be yours!¡± Upon hearing that, Faye seemed to understand what X attempted to do and continued in a sour manner, ¡°Yeah! You¡¯ll definitely be this year¡¯s Miss Misty!¡± As soon as they spoke, the girls in the room were in discontent, especially Natasha, who had a rank of being first. First ce for someone like her? Did these idiots misunderstand the importance of Miss Misty? It represents the image of the Bayside University! It¡¯s not like anyone can simply acquire that title! Natasha was eyeing Sophia with a vicious look on her face. She was extremely confident in herself, knowing that the throne of the Miss Misty Pageant would definitely be hers, but Sophia¡¯s appearance had indeed raised her awareness and made her feel threatened. After the solo catwalk show, everyone went onstage for the final walk where everything ended with a group photo of the contestants. Natasha and Harry were definitely the best duo, which was enough to overshadow the other contestants. While holding onto his arm, she enjoyed the gazes from the boys and calmly epted the envious res from the girls at the same time. She knew that she had always stood out from the crowd as she was always the finest out of all! When the show almost came to an end, the audience suddenly screamed¡ªas it turned out, Sophia and Nathan had appeared again. Sophia had been holding Nathan as the both of them came onstage together. In order to cater to his figure, she had intentionally slowed down, taking a pause after taking two steps. Even though he was being held onto, he tried to keep up with his mother¡¯s pace. He was in a school uniform and carried a small backpack with a cold expression. The moment he showed up, every girl beamed at him. He was adorable! Even the judges in the panel smiled when they saw him. He was the youngest student in the history of Bayside University, entering at the age of five with good grades! His mother was also someone with exceptional grades while his father was a wealthy man who liked to donate to the construction of a school building. Who wouldn¡¯t like someone like him? He was a prince! Out of the group of people in gorgeous dresses and fine makeup, Sophia had stood out the most with her simple makeup and a kid in uniform beside her. Stanley had instructed the boys from the gay school to switch on their light sticks. The audience gleamed with light sticks that supported her! The students from the gay school¡ªfrom freshman to junior¡ªwere all in attendance to support her. At the current moment, some of the boys were screaming, ¡°Sophia Edwards! Sophia Edwards!¡± The atmosphere was being electrified. Humans were the easiest to be influenced under atmospheric circumstances like that. When the gay school started to scream in support for her, it had stimted the rest of the audience before they followed suit. ¡°Sophia Edwards! Sophia Edwards! Sophia Edwards!¡± With such a supportive call, the other contestants on the stage immediately felt ufortable, especially the once dazzling Natasha. Despite that, she was not agitated as she knew that she was extraordinary. No matter how loud the students had shouted, all that mattered was the scores given by the judges. Besides their scores, there was also a real-time voting via a designated app by students who were present and those who livestreamed the show. After the first round of catwalk ended, everyone retired backstage to prepare for the second round. The second round was public speaking. Natasha was still the first toe onstage. She was rxed and gave her speech that was titled, ¡®Always One Step Ahead¡¯. In the meantime, Harry had also returned to his seat in the panel of judges, noticing that Michael had retained the score for him while he was onstage with her. Without a doubt, everyone had been given a zero except for Sophia, but he discovered that Molly, whose score was originally a zero, had a score of 9. He heard from Gemma that Molly had requested one of her ssmates to urgently send a school uniform for Sophia, saving her from a lot of trouble. At the moment, the contestants who were backstage anxiously checked their ranking via the app. ording to the app, Sophia and Natasha¡¯s rankings had been shifting between the first and second ce,peting only with one another the whole time. Besides, their votes were much higher than the other contestants. When X looked at the votes, her hand, which had been grabbing her phone, turned pale. Although her eyes were drooping, they were infuriated and she suddenly let out augh. Sophia, why don¡¯t you continue to pretend? You¡¯re vexing Natasha! No matter how powerful your husband is, there¡¯s no way that he will be more influential than the Mitchells! Currently, Sophia was still in her uniform. She had asked Molly to find her the uniform or else she would have to walk the show in her daily casual outfit. Sophia was very distressed as she nced at her clothes, which had been destroyed. The one who tore her dress was wicked, seeing that there was no way for her to repair the dress. The outfit she had prepared for the catwalk and the performance were all torn into pieces. If Kenny learned that his works were destroyed, he would be saddened. Although the dress couldn¡¯t compete with the Greenery and the Moonlight in an Ancient Well, it was still one of the limited editions from L/K! Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. After a sigh, she gave Gemma a phone call. For the time being, Natasha had already begun with her speech. ¡°Since I was a young child, I had always known that one should never lose at the starting point. I set goals for myself and used my Uncle Cooper as the standard. When I was five, I was already active in internationalpetitions when others of the same age were still ying around in kindergarten. I had participated in the Beethoven International Young Artist Piano Competition and others. I had also competed with professional pianists¡­ At the age of eight, when the other kids were still learning multiplication and division, I started to study Further Mathematics and memorize the dictionary¡­ At the age of ten, I began preparations for my first cello concert¡­¡± The audience had given her rounds of apuse upon listening to her awesome life experience; even the cheers of astonishment came from the judges. On the app, her votes were steadily rising, instantly leaving Sophia behind with hundreds of votes in advance. Her resume was enough to defeat all the other contestants! What a young hero! As a way to end her speech, Natasha said in herst sentence, ¡°Even though I have worked very hard, I know that my efforts are not enough. My goal is to outshine Uncle Cooper and although this is a very ambitious goal for me to say, I believe that one day, I will achieve it. I¡¯m already seventeen and I¡¯m running out of time!¡± The audience had broken into thunderous apuse! Looking at the audience and the judges, she was very pleased, especially when she saw Taylor showing his admiration. The corner of her lips were slightly curved and she proudly left the stage. Without even needing to look at the app, she knew that her votes were the highest among all the others! Chapter 339 Chapter 339 The apuse hadsted for a long time after Natasha¡¯s speech had ended. After pping a few times, Michael quickly drew a zero in the column and checked the online votes on his phone. His wife¡¯s votes were doubtlessly a hundred votes behind, but he was not affected by the online voting whatsoever. In the history of Miss Misty Pageant, there was no app for the online votes¡ªit was a new thing that was launched for the current batch. The voting app had been specially made for the university students¡ªthey could use the tform to socialize, order takeout, shop, grab a cab, purchase movie tickets and it also included an arena for forums, watching dramas and novels, tournament consultations, checking academic grades and selecting courses and electives. When the app was firstunched, it immediately became popr on campus with almost all of the students and teachers having installed it and showing it off to other universities. Furthermore, the app had a function for live streaming and naturally, today¡¯s Miss Misty Pageant was being broadcasted live and exclusively viewable on the app. The app was undoubtedly made by students from the gay school. That¡¯s correct; those were from Stanley¡¯spany! Who worked in hispany? Sophia! One had to admit that Stanley was a genius. When he was a child, the other kids from the Fletcher Family were living an ordinary life¡ªthey attended school during the day as well as marching with the army in the morning and at night. Most of them had attended the military academy or were serving in the army by the age of eighteen, but he was one of the rare exceptions. He went clubbing and yed games on a daily basis. If his father or grandfather hadn¡¯t forced him, there was no way in the world that he would be out there to march with the others. The Fletchers had once thought that the kid was hopeless. When he was in high school, he became even worse. Aside from skipping ss and ying games in the inte caf¨¦, he had skipped ss in the name of internship when he was actually heading to the gamepany where Michael had invested in to yputer games. However, looking at how well he did, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t there to y games but to acquire some knowledge! The first app that Stanley¡¯spany had developed was rather decent. Michael had read the n and wanted to incorporate it into his games after the app was done. The app was only part of the n¡ªthey would continue to make a series of it and embody them into the development of online and mobile games. Most of the employees in Stanley¡¯spany were Bayside University graduates. Even their interns were the current university students. All of them had paid close attention to the data and if necessary, hehe¡­ They would be making sure that Sophia woulde first in thepetition! Suddenly, the employee received a call from Stanley. ¡°Get ready to publish a notification on the app; I¡¯ll forward the information in a moment¡­¡± After Natasha¡¯s speech, the students waiting behind her were all stressed out. Compared to her, the other contestants had been morecking¡ªno matter whether it was the stage presence, the ambience or thenguage used, they would not be able topete with her. She was professionally trained for public speaking and used to formal asions. Conversing with foreign dignitaries was effortless for her and environments like that was merely a piece of cake for her. On the app, her votes had been the highest! Sophia was behind by hundreds of votes and the third was Molly. The ranking had continued until the public speaking stage was almost over. Sophia was thest to go on stage. C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org Everyone had been having high hopes for the most eye-catching dark house of the night and were eager to listen to her content. Soon, it was her turn. Still in the school uniform, she strode toward the microphone and settled down. Standing still, she took a cold nce at the audience, patted the microphone and started her speech. ¡°The topic of my speech today is¡ªWhat¡¯s the Matter with Being Late?¡± What was the matter with beingte? Natasha had just finished her speech on ¡®Always One Step Ahead¡¯ and Sophia was here to say otherwise¡ªwas she going against her? Upon hearing the title, Natasha sneered at the backstage. It seems like she has overestimated herself! As she faced the audience, Sophia started her speech. ¡°How did you live your life when you were eight?¡± The app had a livement function for the broadcast and it was shown on the big screen at the scene. When she threw out a question, the livement section went excited. ¡®I was attending hobby sses when I was eight.¡¯ ¡®I was in third grade when I was eight.¡¯ ¡®I won in the International Junior Math Olympiad and I could recite the Three Hundred Tang Poems.¡¯ Sophia let out a chuckle when she saw the reaction from the big screen. With a casual tone, she continued, ¡°So, we have some people who won internationalpetitions at the age of eight, some have billions of fortunes under their name at the age of eight and some could recite poems at the age of eight. However, when I was eight, I was still collecting trash with my grandmother to earn a living. I have never been to school. At the age of eight, I couldn¡¯t even write my own name.¡± In response, the crowd was in chaos. Those who could afford to attend Bayside University were usually from a decent family. They might not be extremely wealthy but from a well-off family. They had grown up in the best environment and none of them had been in a situation like that. It seemed like the audience and the screen were frozen. Everyone¡¯s eyes widened, looking at the girl on the stage. No one could have imagined that an optimistic girl like her would have such a life experience! Proceeding with her speech, Sophia continued, ¡°I¡¯m an orphan, adopted by my grandma and grandpa. At the age of eight, I followed my grandma to collect waste in order to support our living. I couldn¡¯t afford to attend school; I¡¯m illiterate and uneducated. There was no one who could teach me how to read and I couldn¡¯t even recognize the numbers. At the age of eight, the schools near our vige started to check on the dropouts and when they learned about my situation, they exempted me from paying tuition fees so that I could be enrolled.¡± ¡°At the age of eight, I was in the first grade. I held a pencil for the first time, flipped a book for the first time and attended sses for the first time. My books, my bag, my stationery, even my school uniforms, were all donated to me by my ssmates. At the age of eight, I recognized the first phic alphabet in my life and finally knew how to write my name. Students of the same age have begun to learn and memorize ancient poems, but I couldn¡¯t even memorize the phic alphabet table. Students of the same age have begun to learn addition and subtraction, but I couldn¡¯t even write numbers. Even the teachers said that I was toote to start learning at eight.¡± ¡°But am Ite? No, I¡¯m not! So what if I waste? I was in first grade when I was eight but I had worked harder than anyone else. When they were ying, I was studying. When they were resting, I was still studying. I skipped grades in primary schools. When the others took six years toplete primary school, I took only four years. I graduated from primary school at the age of twelve and was formally enrolled in middle school. With my actions, I proved to the world that so what if I¡¯mte? People have been saying that one should start doing things as early as possible, but there are also people who are of the opinion that great talent matureste!¡± The audience burst into cheers and apuse at her speech. But Natasha was disgusted sitting in the backstage. A lowlife thinking that she has run the show! A horrible pheasant who picks rubbish is bragging about its might! How hrious! Sophia went on with her speech, ¡°At the age of twelve, I was admitted to the best middle school in our town. On the first day of my English ss, I realized that most of my ssmates were capable of communicating in English fluently or at least in some simple dailymunication. But look at me; I didn¡¯t even know a word, let alone the alphabet letter! My English teacher had also told me that it was toote for me to start learning English. Was Ite again? No, I never thought that I¡¯mte! For a total mark of 150 for the English test, the ss secured a 100 average score for the first academic month and I was at thest ce with a mark of 21. All the teachers had given up on me.¡± Chapter 340 Chapter 340 ¡°But I didn¡¯t give up. I have worked a hundred times harder than anyone else. In the second month, I caught up with the ss average. In the third month, I was already in the top ten of the ss. By the end of the first semester, I got a perfect score for my English! Since then, my English results have always been in the top ten for the whole grade! I have once again proven with my actions that I¡¯m notte!¡± There was another round of thunderous apuse and cheers. Compared with Natasha¡¯s innate advantage, Sophia was indeed the real genius! ¡°At the age of fifteen, I enrolled into Riverdale High School with results of being in first ce from my middle school. At school, I was exposed to chess for the first time. I wanted to learn, but I didn¡¯t have any knowledge about it. The hobby ss teacher told me that it was toote for me to start learning chess at fifteen. But I didn¡¯t give up and was the champion of the Bayside City¡¯s Youth Chess Competition a yearter.¡± ¡°At neen, I attended the first ever piano lesson in my life. My piano teacher told me that I was absolutelyte at neen if I wanted to start learning piano and it would be impossible for me to do well, but I refused to believe it. I ced a lot of effort into it and worked a hundred times harder than the others. One yearter, I received my Piano Grade 10 Certificate.¡± ¡°Before I enrolled in university, I had no knowledge about any minoritynguages. However, in my first year of university, I obtained two minoritynguages¡¯ certificates. Before this year, I was an art student. I had never once in my life been exposed to any knowledge onputers. This year, I decided to learnputer programming, game design and app design. Look at me now, I have participated in the development of the app that you are now using to vote.¡± ¡°Colonel Sanders worked hard at the age of 27 and founded Kentucky Fried Chicken, Samuel L. Jackson wrote ¡®Journey to the West¡¯ when he was 50, Steve Carell became a sessfuledian at the age of 42 and Betty White was only famous at the age of 51!¡± The audience almost went frantic with their apuse! Compared to Natasha¡¯s ¡®I¡¯m already seventeen and I¡¯m running out of time¡¯, it seemed like everyone preferred ¡®I¡¯m only twenty years old, so what if I waste?¡¯ After all, not everyone would have had the same reputation like Natasha when they were seventeen! The livement section exploded. ¡®I¡¯m twenty and I¡¯ve decided to start dancing!¡¯ ¡®This junior is inspiring! She has just reignited my dream to work harder! I¡¯m 21 and have decided not to waste my life anymore. I¡¯m going to start studying medicine!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m already in my third year but I hate my current major. From now onward, I¡¯ve decided to enrol in my second major!¡¯ ¡°Oh my God! This app was actually designed by a junior who has only been into programming for a few months? This is so amazing; I support you!¡± On the app, Sophia¡¯s votes spiked like a rocket. In a blink of an eye, Natasha was pushed down from her number one spot, but her fan base was very powerful. The moment they noticed that something went wrong, they immediately caught up. Both contestants chased one another wildly on the ranking board. Looking at the livement section on the screen, Natasha was still scoffing. It seems like lies like this can be very useful to deceive those underachieving students! Those who don¡¯t work hard all love this kind of thing the most! However, how will the judges be fooled? C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org While at the panel of judges, Michael did his best to p for his wife. When he was finished, he immediately gave his wife a perfect score and simultaneously ensured to vote for her on the app¡ªthe ount was being registered with the university¡¯s student number. Each user would be able to vote once every ten minutes until the event ended. He used his former student number to register and vote. The second round of public speaking came to an end. The scores given by the judges were all collected with the total being calcted for the contestants¡ªfrom the ones by the panel and the online votes. The marks from the first round, which was the catwalk, would also be concurrently announced. The host announced in a melodious voice, ¡°The first ce in the first round goes to No. 1, Natasha Mitchell with 9.88 points. The second ce goes to No.23, Sophia Edwards, 9.86 points and the third ce¡­¡± Upon hearing that, Natasha was acting as if it was what she deserved, but Michael, who was in the panel, frowned. How did it happen? I had painted so many zero for Natasha; how can my wife still be in second ce? He quickly took a nce at his phone and discovered that her online votes from the first round was so splendid that he had no idea when she umted a thousand more votes than the second ce. What happened? Michael immediately contacted the admin, Stanley. ording to Stanley, it seemed like it was Harry who fished for votes on her behalf on Twitter. Michael clicked into Harry¡¯s Twitter ount and saw that thetter had posted an advertisement for Stanley¡¯s app. The app was now not only being used by the university, but it became popr among the students around the campus. Stanley had visited most of the universities and signed contracts with them to link their administration system with the app. Anyone could simply register themselves on the app with their own student number. The Twitter post was originally only meant to promote Stanley¡¯s app, but Harry never expected that his fans would download and register themselves¡ªjust to vote for him! Even though Harry did not participate in the contest, he had graced the catwalk together with Natasha! There was no way that his fans would stop voting for her. So, he had identally drawn votes for her! He had more than 40 millions followers on Twitter! Even if only one million registered themselves, that in itself was already a terrifying number. Upon knowing the result, Michael almost wanted to choke him to his death on the spot! Not knowing what had recently happened, the innocent Harry stared at Michael with saucer eyes. The first round hade to an end but Harry¡¯s fans were still downloading and registering themselves like crazy. They went insane when they voted for No. 1 and as Michael was ring at him, Natasha¡¯s online votes were rising again. In a heartbeat, her votes were again two thousands ahead of Sophia! No matter how many students Bayside University had, they were no match for Harry¡¯s fans. No one can everpete with the numbers of followers he had on Twitter! No matter how many zeros Michael had given to Natasha, it was nowpletely useless! He had thought of so many ways but missed out on that part! Michael immediately logged into his ount¡ªthe one which he had not been using for years. He retweeted the advertisement that Stanley made to promote the app and left a message that read, ¡®Student No. 23¡¯s speech was moving for someone like me who was only admitted into university at the age of 23. If you can dream it, you can do it. What¡¯s the matter with beingte?¡¯ Once they saw that their idol had personally nominated for No. 23, his fans quickly downloaded the app, registered and started voting. Since he had humbled himself to personally solicit votes for Sophia, her online votes finally began to catch up and track Natasha¡¯s, as if they battled in the battleground. As both Taylor and Ethan¡¯s fans were involved, it seemed like the front was no longer the girls¡¯, but a battleground between the fans of the actors! Chapter 341 Chapter 341 Due to the fact that there were too many people downloading the app, Stanley¡¯spany was being overloaded with the fear that the system would crash. Compared to the employees, Sophia was way more stressed to have lost in the first round¡ªand it became overwhelming for her, but she encouraged herself and made a mental note to catch up in the subsequent rounds. She stopped checking her phone and concentrated on preparing for the third round. She must overtake Natasha in the third round! While everyone prepared for the third round, Gemma suddenly entered backstage along with some police officers. ¡°Who called the police?¡± The police officers asked as soon as they made their entrance. Sophia raised her hand, answering, ¡°It was me. Someone made incisions on my gown, which is worth one hundred thousand. It was a huge financial loss for me and I¡¯m requesting to inspect the CCTV footage.¡± The third round of the contest was about to begin¡ªby that point, most of the guests had left to catch some rest. The online audience was watching the live stream on the app whereas the physical audience voted via the app. The number of users had already reached its historical peak, but suddenly, there was an alert bearing the message, ¡®The first scandal of thepetition: the campus belle has maliciously destroyed another contestant¡¯s dress and police has arrived on the scene to investigate!¡± Upon clicking into the news, one could find the high resolution photos being attached¡ªthe first photo was a CCTV image. A well-dressed man and woman were sneaking in front of a lockbox. One was looking it out for the other and the other removed a dress from it. The second photo was the girl looking out for the other while he was cutting the dress. The third photo was the victim testifying and the police officers recording her testimony. The police officers, the victim and the culprits were confronting one another in the fourth photo. Finally, in the fifth photo, it seemed like the victim had decided to allow the culprits to finish the competition before they continued with the investigation. All of their faces had been exposed in the photos. It was clear from the beginning that Sophia was the victim and the culprits were Richard and X, who kept watch while he was the one who tore the dress. The realization that Sophia was walking the catwalk in school uniform came as a shock. None of them had expected an episode like that backstage! It was those shameless couple again! Weren¡¯t they ashamed for themselves to bepeting in the contest? In the midst of the hustle, the third round had begun¡ªa talent show, the most important and decisive part out of all four rounds. Once again, Natasha was the first to go onstage and had changed into a flowy fairy dress while preparing to y a piano with four hands. It would still be Harry performing with her. When the two appeared together, many were being captivated. He picked up the microphone, speaking, ¡°I haven¡¯t been ying the piano for more than ten years. Please bear with me if I make any mistake.¡± His fans would not have cared whether he yed the piano well or not. Even if he was merely spinning cotton, they would have still voted for him like crazy. He had only showed up for a few seconds and it caused her votes to soar. Amidst the screams and apuse, they began their performance. From a young age, Natasha had been taking piano lessons from internationally famous teachers and all thepetitions she had participated in were of the international standard. The piano she used to perform was the antique piano once belonged to Chopin. The sound was excellent and her skills were at the pinnacle, making her like a princess when she was ying the piano. The beautiful melody of the piano reverberated throughout the hall. Effortlessly, Natasha had tickled the ivories and interpreted the famous piece to another level. The result was astonishing. Her online votes steadily ranked in first ce. And finally, it was Harry¡¯s turn¡ªhe had received his Grade 10 certificate at the age of nine. Once he ced his fingers on the ivory white piano keys, he started with his own performance. A jumbled seesaw sound stretched out across the hall. The audience went silent at once as students were dumbfounded and everyone was watching Harry shuffling between the piano keys. Was he ying the piano? He was simply jabbing! Was that the level of someone who received his Grade 10 certificate at the age of nine? The disorganized sound of the piano not only messed up Harry¡¯s own part, but it had also turned Natasha¡¯s melodious piano sound into a rough and unmatched tune! The once high and mighty figure of Natasha shuddered. She looked toward Harry in an unbelievable gaze, but all she saw was him ying the piano with his head low in a solemn manner. His impressive side profile was enchanting as if he was a prince. But the sound of the pianoing from his fingertips¡­ Natasha had managed to get herself back on track, but was once again swayed away by Harry. It continuously happened and none of the tune was on point for the whole song. After the song ended, the audience was in dead silence. When she took a bow for the curtain call, she felt like she had taken a century to finish the song! Her show was all ruined! But still, she held her smile. She had managed to maintain an elegant and dignified expression. No one knew about the anger and embarrassment that were buried deep inside her. After Harry was done ying with the piano, he let out augh and apologized, ¡°Look at me! Didn¡¯t I tell you that I haven¡¯t been ying the piano for more than ten years now? I¡¯m really sorry for ruining your show.¡± The vexation inside Natasha immediately disappeared before she gently said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. The result doesn¡¯t matter as long as we have participated.¡± Unconsciously, she nced toward Michael, who was at the panel, but he still smiled with admiration. Natasha was secretly pleased¡ªit seemed like her idol was still impressed by her performance today. The first ce was still going to be hers! Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Little did she know that all that Michael did today was ce an appreciative grin for every participant but scoring all of them a zero. She was still the first when she left the stage, leaving Sophia behind with a bunch of votes. Just as Michael had thought, Harry¡¯s fans would still appreciate it even if he went onstage to spin cotton, not to mention him jabbing on the piano. Harry¡¯s reputation was definitely damaged today¡ªwhat happened was destined to apany him as a dark moment in his life. The next time, when fans talked about Ethan, there would also be a mention of today¡¯s chaotic episode ¡ªin addition to the Academy Award for Best Actor winner. All the more so because it was a live broadcast! As if it was a death penalty in front of the public. As Natasha¡¯s votes went higher, Harry felt like his face was blushing. Sophia, who was in the midst of preparing for the talent show backstage, had suddenly been notified that her turn had been pushed forward to No. 8, even though she was initially thest one to go onstage. Although she had no idea on what actually happened, she immediately prepared herself due to the change of circumstances. The following contestants appeared one after another behind Natasha¡ªFaye¡¯s ssical dance and Molly¡¯s freestyle basketball were one of the spectacr performances of the day. Even though their votes had increased, they still couldn¡¯t keep up with Natasha and Sophia, who were ranked at the top. After Molly¡¯s performance, the host announced the total votes for the previous round ofpetition and concurrently disclosed the marks given to the public speaking. ¡°Now,¡± she announced. ¡°The first ce of public speaking goes to¡ª¡± Pretending to be mysterious, the host took a nce around the audience. When the host was satisfied with the effect, she dered, ¡°No. 23 Sophia Edwards!¡± Sophia Edwards? Backstage, the moment Natasha heard the name, something in her heart shattered as she was taken aback for a few seconds. The garbage girl receives the first ce? I¡¯ve lost to someone else? How¡­ How is this possible? Since childhood, I have always been the number 1! In the meanwhile, the host had started to announce the ranking, ¡°The final score for first ce, No. 23 Sophia Edwards is 9.92. Second ce, No. 1 Natasha Mitchell¡¯s final score is 9.82 and third ce, Molly Lawson¡­¡± Natasha fell into a state of confusion; the confidence she had been building up was cracked¡ªshe actually finished in second ce! Chapter 342 Chapter 342 It was the first time that the imperious Natasha tasted anger and jealousy. She threw a brutal nce toward Sophia, who was preparing to get on stage. I¡¯ve just lost to a loser who was illiterate at the age of eight! How hrious! No way! Natasha was sure that it was impossible she had lost! She was absolutely sure that something must have gone wrong! The score must have been forged! Natasha was confident that the judges were amazed by her performance today. There must have been a problem with the voting system! Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Sophia was the one who designed the app; she could have manipted the whole voting system! Turns out that a loser is still a loser. The bullsh*t about great talent maturingte was just a lie she told herself! Natasha never would have thought that she would bepeting with someone like this on the same stage! It was an insult to herself. Wait! There is still another round! She still had the chance. There was no way she was going to lose to a loser who was still illiterate at eight! Soon, it was Sophia¡¯s turn, and the host reported, ¡°Due to some reasons, student No. 23 has been pushed forward to the eighth ce¡­¡± At the same time, Sophia was moving the props she would be using onto stage along with Stanley. Because the lights were dimmed, no one knew what was being brought on stage. The host then continued, ¡°You guys have seen performances like ssical dance, modern dance, freestyle basketball, and even magic. Now, the next contestant will be bringing us an unique performance. Let¡¯s wee contestant No. 23, Sophia Edwards. She¡¯ll be showing us a freestyle rap with the title ¡®Pi¡¯!¡± Rap? ¡®Pi¡¯? What Pi? The audience was looking at one another in confusion; none of them knew what kind of performance Sophia was putting on. Everyone in the backstage was also paying attention to Sophia¡¯s performance. Rap? Is it alright to perform such talent in this kind ofpetition? After all, not everyone was into clubbing. Besides, this was the prestigious Bayside University¡¯s Miss Misty Pageant. All of the programs prepared were requested to have good connotation so that they could impress the judges with an average age of 45. But obviously, the old people weren¡¯t into clubbing either. Before the performance had even started, some of the judges were already knitting their brows. Stanley had already ced the DJ turntable on stage; what was left now was for Sophia to get ready to start the show. At this moment, Michael, who was in the panel, suddenly grabbed the microphone. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the turntable I auctioned off a few years ago?¡± Everyone was surprised. This is the turntable used by Taylor? The one he auctioned off? Our idol had a turntable? Suddenly, the older fans of Taylor¡¯s remembered that years ago, their idol had formed a band and released an album as the leader of an idol group! Taylor often auctioned off the things he had used on charity auctions, and it was actually possible that this turntable once belonged to him! Stanley looked dumbfounded. This was the turntable he had been using during his teens. When he left the Fletchers, he did not bring it along with him. It was a coincidence that Sophia wanted to rap, and that was why he had got it back from the Fletchers. Although Stanley didn¡¯t know what trick Michael was trying to y, he knew that this actor was starting his performance again. Without waiting for everyone to react, Michael darted up onto the stage excitedly. Touching the turntable here and there, his face was full of excitement, as if he had recovered something from the past. ¡°This is really my turntable! There was a natural disaster a few years ago in the west, and I sold this turntable that had been with me for more than ten years to raise money for the children there! I didn¡¯t expect to still be able to see it after so many years!¡± With an embarrassing but polite smile, Stanley tried hard to go along with Michael¡¯s acting. ¡°Wow! So this is actually your turntable? We didn¡¯t know about it; I rented it from a little store!¡± Michael was thrilled. ¡°That¡¯s right. This is the turntable I used to y when I was in a band during my teens!¡± Stanley continued, ¡°Haha! What a coincidence¡­¡± But silently in his heart, Stanley was scolding, Nonsense! The fans were all cheering loudly. This was destiny! Even the livement section had started to go crazy again. ¡®Miss Taylor was a DJ when he was young? Oh, my god!¡¯ ¡®Yeah, did you guys only find out about it now? I still have the video of him ying the turntable!¡¯ ¡®Come on, Taylor. Show us something!¡¯ The livements on the big screen had worked up the atmosphere in the hall. Most of the students began to cheer,pletely ignoring the fact that it was Sophia¡¯s turn to perform. ¡°Senior, show us something!¡± ¡°y it! y it!¡± Instantly, Michael waved his hand. ¡°No way. I haven¡¯t touched this thing in ten years. If I were to do it now, I¡¯m going to embarrass myself, like how Harry did!¡± Upon hearing that, Harry thought to himself, Hah! So you know that that was embarrassing! It was your fault, okay? But the fans didn¡¯t care about it. ¡°y it! y it! Show us something!¡± At the request of the fans, Michael spoke reluctantly, ¡°Okay, fine. It¡¯s fate that I encountered this old belonging of mine today. Since this student will be performing a rap, I can make the beat for her.¡± The fans began to hurrah enthusiastically. Stanley switched his position with Michael while mumbling hisints. Heh, so he¡¯s going to take my job away, huh? Just take everything if you want! What¡¯s with the dramas? What a drama king! Before Stanley left the stage, Michael called out, ¡°Excuse me; can you please take off your clothes for me?¡± Twitching his lips, Stanley grumbled again as he took off the performance outfit. Both of them exchanged their clothes. ¡°Give me the ear stud and pendant too.¡± Stanley did as he was told and left the stage in Michael¡¯s suit and watch. I¡¯ll give you everything! Even your wife too! Just do everything by yourself! After changing into Stanley¡¯s outfit, Michael positioned himself. As the lights dimmed, he readied himself briskly and got into the performing state. The lights on the stage were turned off. The audience couldn¡¯t see what was going on on the stage, but they found themselves looking forward to what would being next. However, there were also people who were bothered by this situation. After all, the live broadcast earlier of someone who hadn¡¯t yed a piano for ten years had left them extremely ashamed. All the performances were being live-streamed on the inte. Within such a short time span, it had already made its way up to the headlines. On Twitter, the keywords, ¡®Harry jabbing the piano¡¯, was being searched and discussed for over a thousand times. If another person who hadn¡¯t yed the turntable made the beat for the next performer, this would be another public execution for the university. The news of Taylor going live to y the turntable had been updated on the inte, resulting in the number of downloads of the app rising unprecedentedly. Everyone was waiting patiently for Taylor¡¯s performance; even the contestants in the backstage were paying close attention. The idol, Ethan, had left the stage. Even though he messed around and ruined Natasha¡¯s performance, his fame had also secured Natasha the first ce. Now that the second idol wasing on stage to y the turntable for real, everyone was wondering whether this would be the next failed performance. Everyone seemed to be expecting Sophia¡¯s show to be wrecked. But with Taylor¡¯s poprity, she could stille in second. It might even be possible for her topete with Natasha for the first ce. After the equipment was set up and tuned, Michael was fully prepared, and he made an ¡®OK¡¯ gesture to the sound and light control room. All lights were turned on, and the spotlight fell on Sophia at once. It was Sophia¡¯s time to shine! Chapter 343 Chapter 343 Because this was the first time she was performing on stage, Sophia was trembling slightly, and her back was covered with sweat. This was an important asion, and there were thousands of people watching her now from the live broadcast. She took a nce at Michael, who blinked at her, telling her to rx. Though her idol was here with her, Sophia was still frightened. After all, there was Harry in front of them, who had just turned Natasha¡¯s supposed-to-be-spectacr performance into a primary-level student¡¯s performance. Forget it. I should be content that I could perform with Taylor. I just have to do my best! The spotlights hit the stage one after the other. It had first cast on Sophia, who was still in her school uniform. No one was surprised since they knew that her clothes had been sliced into pieces. The spotlight then fell onto Michael, who was in the DJ position. The moment the vision of the idol came into sight, the audience went crazy. Even the livement section exploded. Michael was wearing the punk rock leather jacket Stanley had taken off for him. It showed off the skull pendant dangling around Michael¡¯s corbone. His hair, which had been neatly styled, had suddenly turned into a crew cut. He also had an ear stud on one of his earlobes. Without the suit and the gold- framed sses, the once-gentleman had turned into an energetic punk-style youth. Taylor rarely appeared in front of the public. Though this year he had been more active¡ªsince he got married and might wanted to earn more money for a living¡ªmany photos of the live show had been uploaded onto the inte, and everyone was once again overawed by his beauty. He had always been the gentleman with a prince-like morous style. With the cropped punk rock leather jacket, a crew cut, a skull pendant, and the ear stud, he was totally rocking the non-mainstream dark style look, making one wonder whether this was still the gentleman from earlier. Even Sophia gulped. My idol¡¯s new look is extremely hot! She really wanted him to conquer her against the wall. It would be better if he were to spank her in the a*s too! But these dirty thoughts had been frightened out from her mind by the screaminging from the fans. ¡°Oh, my gosh! My idol! Taylor¡¯s new look is out of this world!¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna love him forever!¡± ¡°This look is definitely worth a 101 marks. The extra one mark is for Miss Taylor¡ªno, Mr. Taylor, to boast!¡± Grabbing the microphone, Michael said, ¡°I¡¯ve cut my hair short for a shoot. This is how I actually look like. Do you guys like it?¡± Together, the fans in the audience responded, ¡°We love it!¡± Before the performance even started, Sophia¡¯s points were rising and had outperformed Natasha¡¯s with tremendous speed. Within a short amount of time, Sophia was leading by a thousand votes. Backstage, Natasha¡¯s face turned pale as she checked the votes on her phone. However, she was still comforting herself, assuring herself that her performance was impable, and there was no way that Sophia would trump over her! It was useless for Sophia to rely on an idol¡¯s fame. What she needed was to impress the judges in the panel! Michael let go of the microphone and was ready to y the turntable. At this moment, the spotlight hit again, falling on the third person onstage. It was a woman, who was extremely captivating with a tall and graceful figure. The woman did a catwalk as she waved at the audience. Her blonde hair was like a sh of gold, entuating her powerful stage presence. Her long legs were slender,parable to the figure of a supermodel. Who is this? The audience was looking at each other confusingly. If there truly is such a beautiful girl on campus, she should be very famous. Look at those legs¡ªshe must be at least 180cm! Not to mention her pretty face! Nevertheless, no one in the room could tell who she was. Finally, someone in the livement section recognized her. ¡°Damn! Isn¡¯t that the freshman Sean Mitchell? He is a boy! A boy!¡± ¡°So cool! A drag queen?¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? That¡¯s a boy?¡± ¡°But look at the figure, the face, the vibe, and the super long legs! She¡¯s so cute! How can she be a f*cking boy?¡± N?velD(ram)a.?rg owns this content. The appearance of the drag queen, Sean, had astonished the audience in the room. He was a man, but he was even more morous and outstanding than the female contestants today; even the judges in the panel were in disbelief. Harry was also surprised by the drag queen. He looked way better than Michael in ady¡¯s outfit! The music started as Michael turned on the turntable. A very upbeat song was yed, and Sean began to dance along the music. Because Sean had been dancing since a very young age, his body was a lot softer than a girl¡¯s. But at the same time, he still retained the strength of a boy in his moves. The moment the dance began, the audience was in a dead silence. A man is now dancing in such an alluring manner! Is he trying to turn the guys here gay? Although Michael had not yed the turntable in more than ten years, he still had the skills. The mixes he made were very contagious; alongside the hot dance by the drag queen, the audience was already more worked up than what one would see in a nightclub¡ªSophia hadn¡¯t even started her performance yet! Everyone seemed to have forgotten that this was the stage of the Miss Misty Pageant, and the contestant, Sophia, had not yet started her performance. Michael had not rehearsed the performance with them, but he only needed to grasp on to the tempo. Following the tempo given by Stanley, heposed new music with his experienced technique. The professional aura surrounding him made him seem like an expert DJ. After the intro, Sophia saw Stanley¡¯s signal from the side of the stage and knew that she should start her performance now. Holding her breath, Sophia caught up with Michael¡¯s tempo and started her rap. ¡°Yo, yo! Today¡¯s atmosphere is very exciting; everyone has their own liking, and guess what? I¡¯m presenting a Pi for ya!¡± The atmosphere was very enlivened, but Sophia¡¯s rap was so unprofessional that the mood instantly fell. What¡¯s with those lyrics? Some of the judges were shaking their heads in disappointment and had started to evaluate Sophia¡¯s performance. This kind of performance shouldn¡¯t have been on such a formal asion, let alone such a bad one! Backstage, Natasha was scoffing, ¡°How disgraceful!¡± Even Sophia was looking at Michael nervously. But all Michael did was nod at her with reassurance. Hence, Sophia took a deep breath and continued with her trembling voice. Proceeding with the performance, she rapped, ¡°What is that pie? It¡¯s not an apple pie nor a strawberry pie, but Pi! Which Pi, you ask? That Pi is 3.1415926535 8979323846 264338327950288419716939937510¡­¡± At the same time, the big screen on the stage began to put on a quick y of a series of numbers. Those who learned Mathematics instantly recognized the meaning of the string of numbers. It was the legendary Pythagoras Theorem¡ª¦Ð! So the so-called ¡°Pi¡± was actually ¡°¦Ð¡±! Out of nervousness, Sophia decided to shut her eyes and continued with the rap, ¡°5820974944 5923078164 06286208998628034825 34211706798214808651¡­¡± She was reciting Pi in the form of a rap performance! Every student in the audience was stunned; even the judges lifted their sses upon realization. Natasha, who was watching from the backstage, strode two steps forward suddenly while looking at the girl who was reciting the Pi with her eyes closed in disbelief. She is actually¡­ reciting the Pi? Chapter 344 Chapter 344 ¡°3282306647 0938446095 5058223172 5359408128¡­¡­¡± ¡°3282306647093844609550582231725359408128¡­¡± Sophia screwed her eyes closed and recited the Pi. Her main focus was on the Pi, not the rap. Back when she first proposed to perform on stage, she initially wanted to y the piano. However, piano was not her forte, and she then had the idea of giving a recitation of the Pi. Knowing that it would be too boring to only spout numbers, Stanley had suggested for her to convert it into a rap performance since he had learned how to y a turntable from Michael when he was young. He could make use of the turntable which he still had at home. Though the DJ had been switched to Michael, and Sophia missed the beats a couple of times, he still tried his best to match her rhythm. When she missed the tempo asionally, Michael would quickly keep up with her, and even Sean would adjust his dance steps ordingly. This was definitely physicalbor! Before Sophia could even reach the 100th decimal ce, Michael was already drenched in sweat! ¡°4811174502 8410270193 8521105559 6446229489¡­¡­¡± ¡°4811174502841027019385211055596446229489¡­¡± Sophia went on with her recitation. Closing her eyes, she ignored what others would think of her and struggled to keep up with Michael¡¯s beat. During rehearsal, she was already finding it hard to catch up with Stanley¡¯s speed, and so they had to go the other way round for Stanley to keep up with her. But Michael was obviously on another level because he could adjust with Sophia¡¯s tempo, and the synchronization was perfect. ¡°Holy crap! This is the definitely best Miss Misty in history! So this is what it means to be smart!¡± ¡°She is so brilliant! Is she at the 300th decimal ce already? I bet she hasn¡¯t left out any one of the numbers!¡± ¡°My roommates have already taken out their notebook for reference; it¡¯s true that she hasn¡¯t left any of the numbers out!¡± ¡°5493038196 4428810975 6659334461 2847564823¡­¡­¡± ¡°5493038196442881097566593344612847564823¡­¡± The audience was going frantic with the idol ying the DJ turntable, a drag queen dancing sexily on stage, and the Pi recitation by an ace student! All of these were so stimting! There was no mistake made by Sophia even up to the 500th decimal ce; when the song reached the 600th decimal ce, Sophia choked a little. Nevertheless, Michael paused the rhythm for her before she proceeded with the recitation, and it was still perfect. From the 700th to 800th decimal ce¡­ This continued until the 1000th decimal ce before Sophia finally ended her performance. ¡°This is my Pi, and with this pie, I hope it makes you fly!¡± The performance was finally over. It had merely taken about four to five minutes, but Michael felt like he had had sex with Sophia for the whole night¡ªhe was drenched in sweat. He was especially tired mentally because he needed to make sure that he kept up with Sophia¡¯s tempo and, at the same time, make sure that she had not made any mistake. After the show, the three of them took a curtain call while the audience gave them a thundering apuse. All of the students were waving their hands, eximing, ¡°Pi! Pi! Pi!¡± Sophia was also covered in sweat. But when she saw the stimted audience and the excited live comment section, she let out a chuckle and took a bow before leaving the stage. In the meantime, Michael had also left to exchange outfits with Stanley. After putting on his wig and composing himself, he went back to the panel and immediately gave Sophia 10 points. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. 10 points was too little; it should be 100 points instead! The extra 90 points was for her to show off! She had just surprised him again! He never expected her to recite the Pi for this show! And she even got Sean to dance in woman clothing for the show! The visual and the connotation were all in ce! Taking a nce at the rest of the judges, he found that most of them had started to evaluate the performance. Those who had given marks earlier were also making some amendments. When Sophia left the stage, her legs felt like jelly. Because she had been forcing herself too much on stage, she felt as if she was walking on clouds; even her entire mind was nk. She was definitely built for talent shows! Fortunately, Sean was there to help her to the backstage. Nevertheless, even Sean was out of breath. Meanwhile, Stanley was holding a huge fan to cool them down. ¡°That was so marvellous! Sophia, you are so f*cking amazing! You too, Sean! Oh, no. Please don¡¯t move; you¡¯ve ruined your makeup! I¡¯ll wipe them for you!¡± After drawing a wet tissue from the packaging, Stanley helped Sean to remove his makeup. He was dripping all over, and his eye makeup was ruined. Even though it was waterproof makeup, part of them had still worn out. Google-eyed, Stanley removed the makeup at the corner of Sean¡¯s eye and asked with concern, ¡°Are you tired? I saw you were dancing in high heels! You must be exhausted!¡± Letting out augh, Sean¡¯s eyes were full of affection. ¡°I¡¯m not tired. Thanks a lot, Stan.¡± But Stanley was a careless man, so he failed to notice the tenderness in Sean¡¯s eyes and continued, ¡°Tonight I¡¯ll treat you to some barbeque!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia shook her head and thought, Stanley, you stupid boy; you¡¯re going to stay single forever if you keep acting like this! Sigh, my idol is way better than you! He always knows what I want whenever I lift my bottom up! Wiping off her sweat, Sophia took her phone out and snapped a photo of Stanley wiping Sean¡¯s face. She then sent it to the user, Little Kitten, on Messenger and said, ¡°Lil¡¯ Kitten, here¡¯s some new material for you!¡± Immediately, Little Kitten replied to her with a nosebleed emoticon. It seemed as if after Sophia¡¯s performance, every show that came upter appeared dull and boring. Sophia was standing firmly on the throne, leading the votes by thousands in front of Natasha, and her votes were still rising like nuts. Michael had deliberately adjusted Sophia¡¯s turn to the front to allow the audience some time to react. He wanted to make sure that the audience had the time to vote before thepetition ended, or he would have yed for nothing. At the backstage, Natasha was sitting in a corner, checking on the online voting. The expression on her face was extremely gloomy. Did I just lose? By thousands of votes? This is not fair! This is so unfair! Someone must have been manipting the online votes for Sophia secretly! My performance was wless! Miss Misty belongs to me! So what if Sophia just recited the Pi? This is a talent show, not an academic conference! Her performance was nothing! On the other side of the stage, it was finally X¡¯s turn to perform. But the moment she set her foot on the stage, the audience booed and hissed. The police officers were waiting under the stage. They would bring her back to the police station for further investigation as soon as she was finished with her performance. They merely destroyed a dress which cost 100,000; it was only a small amount for the Huffs and Harpers, and they could easily pay for the damages to settle the matter. But the point was that the victim didn¡¯t want to reconcile with them and had insisted on making the police report; even the police officers couldn¡¯t persuade her to give up. X was going to be brought to the police station, and her photo was being taken and uploaded onto the inte. In the st of hissing, X and Richard appeared and bowed to the audience. ¡°Get lost, you shameless couple!¡± ¡°Mister Officer, please take them away! They are disgusting!¡± ¡°It¡¯s such a humiliation for Bayside University to have students like them!¡± The scene was filled with swears. The judges in the panel also looked upset. Before X and Richard even started their show, half of the judges had already evaluated them. Miss Misty was going to represent Bayside University on its official website and promotional videos; she would also be representing Cethos as the outstanding student to apany the president when he made his visits abroad. If this girl were to win the Miss Misty Pageant, Bayside University would lose their prestige! Shutting her eyes, X didn¡¯t dare to lock eyes with anyone in the audience. Lines of tears falling from her eyes, ruining up her makeup. Meanwhile, Richard was seated on the piano bench. Though he had begun to y, it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t in a good mood. His hands were trembling, and he even made mistakes during the intro. It was only just now that Sophia had made a police report when she found out that her dress had been destroyed. She found the CCTV clips and testified that it was X and Richard who had ruined her dress, which was worth 100,000. 100,000! This was enough to sentence them ording to the criminalw! Millions were nothing in the eyes of the Harpers; it was just a matter ofpensation and reconciliation, but Sophia unexpectedly rejected the reconciliation! Why is she making everything such a big deal at this juncture? That b*tch! Chapter 345 Chapter 345 After the two intros, X began with her performance of the opera song, ¡®Carmen¡¯. But as soon as she sang, she saw the list of viciousments that were attacking the livement section. ¡®I heard that Richard has a venereal disease! Is it true? Maybe X contracted it too. A Miss Misty with a venereal disease¡ªhow startling!¡¯ ¡®Mister yboy, where can I get on the bus to Richard Harper-E Spencer¡¯s stop?¡¯ ¡®I have a fleet of buses to every station, except for that particr station!¡¯ ¡®I want to get on the bus too!¡¯ With a choking voice, X could no longer make any sound. The microphone spread her trembling sobs throughout the hall. Oh! How humiliating it is for me to still be standing on the stage now! Why is this happening to me? Richard had also taken a nce at thements. The rhythm flowing from his fingers stopped abruptly, and he stood up. After grabbing the microphone from X, Richard shouted into the microphone with a croaking voice, ¡°Sophia Edwards, is this what you wanted? What will you gain from ruining me like this? You evil woman, you will not die in peace!¡± The situation was out of control. In order to avoid any further difort, the vice chancellor immediately informed the police officers to take Richard and X away. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, the police officers dashed up on to the stage and brought both of them away. The audience was in a turmoil. X was looking desperate; even her figure was tremoring. She was the daughter of the Huffs and was now being taken away by the police during a live broadcast! On the other side, Richard was still grudging. Even though he was being held down by the police officers, he growled, ¡°Sophia Edwards, you b*itch! Come on out! Why are you always going against me?¡± Richard was infuriated. He had suddenly be so powerful that he shoved the two police officers away from him before darting like a mad dog toward Sophia, who was in the audience. The contestants who had ended their performance had special viewing seats at one side of the stage. When Richard suddenly rushed over, the girls on the side were shocked and scattered away. The moment he came up to Sophia, he gave her two vicious ps. Half of her face was swollen, but she did not resist. Sophia spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned, revealing her bloody teeth. ¡°What are you doing? You have got nothing to lose now, huh? With the p you just gave me, I can sue you to the gills!¡± In response, Richardughed maniacally. ¡°I won¡¯t let you go easily if you don¡¯t give me a way out today!¡± Raising his fist, Richard was about to drop the second punch, but Sophia had been calcting the best time to attack; she wanted to minimize her own injuries but also make sure that she would have a better im when she filed awsuit. What she had not expected was the figure that had appeared behind Richard in a sh. The shadow¡¯s palm dropped and grabbed onto Richard¡¯s wrist, squeezing it aggressively. ¡°Ahhh!¡± Richard¡¯s screams extended to the whole hall. This huge change happened without any warning. No one had imagined that something like this would happen at the Miss Misty Pageant, so everyone was so shocked that they had forgotten how to speak for a while. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. The figure had restrained Richard single-handedly. It reached out another hand and caught Richard¡¯s other hand like lightning. With a beautiful over-shoulder throw, Richard was smashed onto the ground with a m before a nice-looking ck leather shoe stretched out and kicked him on his waist. After sliding several meters along the t surface of the stage, Richard stopped right in front of the police officers. The police officers held down the dizzy Richard in an instant. He had made a serious offence by destroying a dress worth 100,000, assaulting police officers, and even hitting others in public! Raising his head, the flustered Richard looked at the figure and saw the star-studded man in a fitted suit, wearing gold-framed sses. Due to the fight just now, his suit was slightly messy. Shrugging his suit, the man turned around and walked away, leaving Richard with a striking back view. Heh, so it¡¯s Taylor, whose reputation has been ruined by me so many times but still manages to have so many fans supporting him! Clenching his teeth, Richard had once again found the strength to set himself free from the police officers. As he raised his fist, he sprinted toward Michael. The audience cried out. When his fist reached Michael¡¯s back, thetter suddenly turned around like a lightning bolt. He caught Richard¡¯s fist with his palm and clung on to his arm. Then, with a hasty reverse cut, he kicked Richard on the back of his knees, forcing him to kneel down on the spot. Richard was screaming so hard when Michael twisted him with all his might. This time, the police officers rushed over immediately. Ignoring Richard¡¯s dignity, the police officer handcuffed him right in front of thousands of people. Michael spun and took out a white handkerchief from his pocket. He moved to the side of the stage and wiped off the blood that was dripping from the corner of Sophia¡¯s mouth. There were lines of blood spewing out from her eyes and nostril. Sophia had a fragile nose, so she always bled easily when hit by external forces. Her blood was flowing down like tap water, so she had to raise her head up to hold back the bleeding. But as soon as she raised her head, her tears came down. And it was not because of the punch Richard had given her earlier, but because she had suddenly discovered how nice it was to have someone to protect her. Handing the handkerchief over to Sophia, Michael didn¡¯t say anything. He patted her on the shoulder and made his way back to the judges¡¯ panel. ¡°Sophia, are you alright?¡± At this moment, everyone had gotten their senses back. Immediately, a bunch of people surrounded her, and Stanley quickly helped her to the backstage to deal with the wound. Sophia had left a trace of blood on Michael¡¯s ck suit. Although he was rtively close to Sophia and had acted the fastest, he was still toote! The university¡¯s administration and the judges were not pleased with what had just happened. This was a live broadcast! If this was uploaded to the inte, Bayside University would be losing face! Even the audience had juste back to their senses from the shocking scene, but they couldn¡¯t get their mind off of the stunning kick Michael had given to Richard. The perfect over-shoulder throw and the sensational reverse cut were really impressive! He was a professional! A burst of cheers broke out at the scene. ¡°Taylor! Taylor!¡± But Taylor, who was in the panel, wasn¡¯t looking thrilled. He was worried about his wife. That punch on her face was like a strike on his heart. Damn it. I wasn¡¯t fast enough even though I rushed out the moment I saw Richard darting over. The transition just now wasn¡¯t mortifying at all; instead, it had triggered another climax when Michael did a perfect over-shoulder throw. In the past, Taylor¡¯s roles were mostly unique and stressed on his aura. Even if it was a sci-fi action movie, it was based on the special effects. Hence, this was the first time they saw Taylor fighting in real life. The atmosphere was too elevated. Harry got his hand on the microphone and saidzily, ¡°Taylor used to be a special forces soldier. If he had increased his strength earlier, I¡¯m afraid the student would have lost his life!¡± The fans were excited once again. Putting down the microphone, Harry patted Michael¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Your lil¡¯ chica is very strong. She¡¯ll be okay.¡± After the hustle, the performance of the next contestant continued. But at the same time, someone had just posted the full video of Richard slicing down the dress on Stanley¡¯s app. Miss Misty Pageant had disqualified X from thepetition. As to whether the both of them could still continue to study on campus, it would be left to the school administration to decide once thepetition was over. The video of Taylor beating up Richard had also been uploaded onto the inte, causing a huge uproar. The topic of ¡®Special Forces Soldier Taylor Murray¡¯ had overshadowed ¡®Harry jabbing the piano¡¯. Soon, thepetition came to an end, and it was time to announce the final result that everyone cared the most about. Chapter 346 Chapter 346 The host announced the names of the top three winners. ¡°The third runner up of the Miss Misty Pageant is No. 6, Molly Larson!¡± In an excited manner, Molly went up to the stage to ept her award. There was almost no doubt as to the names of the champion and the second runner up. Everyone was counting on getting the third ce, but since Molly got it, the others were not looking forward to the prizes anymore. However, Natasha was still listening to the host carefully. ¡°The second runner up for the Miss Misty Pageant is Natasha Mitchell!¡± Upon hearing that, Natasha¡¯s whole body quivered. The self-confidence she had always possessed had suddenly fallen to the ground and smashed into pieces. Her mind went nk for a moment. There was thunderous apuseing from the crowd. Now that the second runner up had been disclosed, there was no surprise as to who would be the champion tonight. ¡°The champion of the Miss Misty Pageant is Sophia Edwards! Pleasee on stage, Misses Misty. Our guests will be presenting the awards!¡± Molly and Sophia made their way up to the stage delightedly before standing in the middle of the stage and waving to the audience as a sign of appreciation. Natasha was thest one toe on stage. She put up an elegant smile, looking untarnished while the zing spotlight concealed the darkness within her eyes. The champion was standing in the center with the second and third runner up by her side. The guests were none other than the two idols and the chancellor of Bayside University. Naturally, it was Michael who presented the champion¡¯s trophy. Holding the hefty Miss Misty trophy, Michael moved toward Sophia and handed her the trophy with both hands. While doing so, he complimented gently, ¡°Congrattions.¡± When Sophia received the trophy from her idol, half of her face was still bulging. Not knowing whether it was because of the agony of the injury or the outrage of emotion, the moment Sophia raised her head, tears slid down from the corner of her eyes again, and she choked. ¡°Thank you, senior.¡± Michael felt his heart aching as he looked at Sophia¡¯s pitiful appearance. Letting out a chuckle, he stretched out his arms and said, ¡°Come on. Let me give you a hug.¡± In the midst of the screamsing from the fans, Sophia and Michael held onto each other for a while. Sophia was definitely the main attention of the audience right now. But Natasha, who had fallen into the background, was not pleased, and one could see it from her eyes. She clenched her delicate fingers in order to restrain herself while holding up her graceful smile nheless. After Michael¡¯s hug with Sophia, Harry was ced in an awkward position. When it was his turn to pass Natasha the trophy for the second runner up, he would have to hug her too. Or else, the hug Michael had just given would seem suspicious in the eyes of the public. Resisting the unwillingness in his heart, Harry gave Natasha a hug. The chancellor also did the same thing and hugged Molly. A deafening apuse came from the audience. The school administration was finally able to sigh in relief. This was definitely the most thrilling Miss Misty Pageant Bayside University had ever organized in its 300 years of history. The first thrilling event was the time when thepetition was first established. Back then, the imperialists¡¯ aircrafts were flying all over the venue, and they would be dropping bombs at any time. Risking the possibility of being bombed, the university carried on with the Miss Misty Pageant. However, the performances this time had really left everyone in awe¡ªthe rap performance by Sophia was absolutely an interesting one. Nevertheless, this was not the first time the university hade across such a sensational educational performance. Twenty years ago, during the Mister Misty Pageant, a student hadposed Pi into a symphony piece. He formed a huge orchestra team and performed for almost ten minutes. If it were not for the time requirement, he could have yed it for three days and three nights. That student was Cooper Mitchell. After the award ceremony, the guests retired themselves from the stage, for it was about time for the Misses Misty to give their eptance speech. The sequence followed the standing position, and so Molly was the one to go first. After Molly, Sophia¡ªwho was standing in the center¡ªwas next. The Sophia who was standing on stage today looked disheveled. Half of her face was swollen, and both of her nostrils were stuck with tissues to stop the flowing blood. But no one felt that she was not qualified enough to be the champion. After taking the microphone from Molly, Sophia began her speech in tears. ¡°I¡¯m very honored to be your Miss Misty this year. I would like to thank those who have helped me; you¡¯re the reason I¡¯m standing here. Thank you for your generous support! I would also like to thank those who had hurt me in the past. Because of you, I¡¯m now stronger than I have ever been! But the person I¡¯m most grateful for is my husband.¡± The students were in an uproar, eager to hear about Sophia¡¯s husband. She spoke, ¡°Three years ago, I was framed by someone and got expelled from highschool. I had nowhere to go and was a homeless girl living under a bridge. In the past, I used to think that although I had nothing, I could still study. I believed that if I equipped myself with knowledge, I could still change my destiny. But I never thought that my only chance to change my fate would be taken away from me! During my most desperate and agonizing time in life, I met my husband. He gave me a home as well as love and warmth that I had never experienced in my lifetime. He sent me to the best school and gave me the opportunity to attend school with no worries while realizing my dream. When I was ndered, humiliated and discredited, he gave me the greatest trust I¡¯ve ever known. I¡¯m thankful for the support and love he¡¯s given to me. He is the light of my life who¡¯s given me warmth and has illuminated my future. And because of that, I¡¯m no longer afraid and confused. Thank you, hubby.¡± A round of apuse came from the audience and judges. Michael, who was one of them, was also pping his hands with all his might. Wiping away her tears, Sophia proceeded, ¡°I believe each and every one of you are curious about who my husband is and are wondering whether it¡¯s true that he is an old and unattractive coal boss. Right now, I can tell you that my husband is a young and handsome man. He is also the kindest and best man I have ever met in my life! He is at the scene today, but I couldn¡¯t announce his identity because I don¡¯t think I deserve it!¡± She doesn¡¯t deserve him? Everyone was puzzled. The champion of Bayside University¡¯s Miss Misty Pageant, the most brilliant student in the whole campus, is not worthy? Is her husband that powerful? Upon hearing that, Michael knitted his brows. But he heard Sophia continue to say, ¡°My husband is a very outstanding person, so his partner should be someone as excellent as him. And that is why I¡¯ll look up to him for my whole life. I¡¯m trying to be someone as good as him, so that one day, I can be the woman who can stand beside him confidently! When the dayes, I will dere to the whole world that I am his woman¡ªthe woman that matches him the best in the whole world! Besides me, there can be no one who is as qualified as me standing beside him!¡± Once again, another round of apuse came from the crowd. Michael, who had been frowning in the panel, couldn¡¯t help but let out a chuckle. Seems like my little chica has so much in her pretty little head! But no matter what, I believe that the day is approaching! She was Sophia Edwards¡ªCooper¡¯s daughter and the best student. Her life goal shouldn¡¯t be limited to only bing Michael¡¯s woman. While Michael was pping, he suddenly had an idea. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Following Sophia¡¯s current development, he might be able to live on her sry about ten years from now! How great would that be? Everyone was in agreement with Sophia¡¯s eptance speech. Sophia then handed the microphone to Natasha, who was standing beside her. Squeezing the microphone in one hand while holding the trophy in the other, Natasha faced the audience and spoke, ¡°I¡¯m not convinced.¡± Chapter 347 Chapter 347 The thunderous apuse fell silent at once before everyone looked toward Natasha. She was holding her chin high, and in a straightforward manner, she said, ¡°As the former Miss Misty, I think my performance was wless. If there were no online voting session, I would¡¯ve been the champion!¡± The audience was in rumpus while the judges were ncing at each other in disbelief. No one had expected Natasha to make a scene at the veryst moment. Even the host was embarrassed, not knowing what to say at that moment. Looking at the audience and the judges, Natasha enunciated, ¡°I request to forfeit both Sophia and my online votes. I want another round of voting!¡± Instantly, the host turned to the judges in the panel, seeking help. Everything was about to lose control, and she just didn¡¯t know what to do. Suddenly, Sophia took the microphone from her and replied, ¡°As the Miss Misty of the year, I, too, think that my performance was impable. Even if there were no online voting, I would still be the champion!¡± Upon hearing that, Natasha sneered coldly. The Mitchells were very influential among Bayside University, and even Natasha was one of the best students in the university. The judges knew who they should be voting for; if there were no online voting session, which was manipted by Sophia, she was nothingpared to Natasha! After a brief discussion amongst the judges, the vice chancellor stood forward and agreed. ¡°Since Natasha Mitchell is not convinced, we¡¯ve decided to re-evaluate the score between the judges. Judges, please proceed with the re-score!¡± The re-scoring began. The potential champions each stood at one side of the stage, and the host set off to collect thetest marks. There were ten judges in total, and everytime they made an evaluation, they would remove the highest and lowest score before calcting the average to obtain the final mark of the contestant. The calction team had started a new round of calction, and in the meantime, the situation was awkward. Trying to impress the audience, Natasha suggested, ¡°Since there¡¯s still some time left, I¡¯ll perform a piece from Beethoven¡¯s Piano Sonata No. 17.¡± Regardless of everyone¡¯s reaction, Natasha marched toward the piano and took her seat before starting her performance. Beethoven¡¯s Piano Sonata No. 17 was a very difficult piano piece, so the audience was impressed by the performance by Natasha, who was only seventeen. Even the piano lecturers from the music faculty were astonished. A splendid piano melody echoed in the hall. Without Harry causing trouble, Natasha was in her best condition. If one knew how to y a piano, they would understand how aplished she was in this field. She believed that with her capability, the champion of Miss Misty Pageant would be her! On the other hand, Sophia had exited the stage. As she cleaned her blood, she flirted with her idol, who was sitting in the panel. Natasha, no matter how marvelous you are, I have someone behind the scene to help me! Natasha¡¯s skills were as good as a professional¡¯s; even an experienced pianist could notpete with her. After the song ended, the audience was amazed by the melody, and the hall waspletely silent. Looking at the reaction, Natasha was extremely satisfied with the sensation her performance had brought to the crowd. She was confident that her marks from the judges would surpass Sophia¡¯s! Locking her gaze on the shiny trophy that was being held by Sophia, Natasha¡¯s eyes were dazzling with confidence. The one who couldpete with her had not yet been born! Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Meanwhile, Sophia was holding onto the trophy as she was minimizing her swelling with a cold pack. She was afraid to look at Natasha as she yed. From Natasha¡¯s point of view, she figured that Sophia was trying to divert her attention from the embarrassment she felt because she knew she could never measure up to Natasha. After a while, the judges hade out with the new results. The host hurriedly took the result and went up the stage. Taking a nce at Sophia, who was treating her face with a cold pack, and Natasha, who was sitting on the piano bench, she announced the scores. ¡°After the judges reevaluated the scores, I now present to you the new champion of Miss Misty Pageant.¡± The tension in the hall had reached its peak. Thousands of eyes fell on Natasha, who had already straightened up her figure, ready to ept the glory that belonged to her. ¡°Sophia Edwards!¡± the host suddenly uttered. Natasha¡¯s back trembled as she looked toward the host in bewilderment. Yet the host was proceeding with her deration enthusiastically. ¡°The champion of the Miss Misty Pageant is still Sophia Edwards!¡± Again, Sophia went up the stage with her trophy, epting the apuse given to her by the audience. Natasha looked at the panel in shock, but she couldn¡¯t help noticing that they were avoiding her gaze. She stood up immediately and grabbed the microphone. In a stern voice, she protested, ¡°I¡¯m still not convinced with the result. I request to disclose the marks given by the judges and to listen to their opinions.¡± Natasha wanted to see who was the one who had given her a low score! She wanted to know where these people had found the courage to give Sophia higher scores than they did her! The judges looked at each other. Make public the scores? Instantly, some of the judges panicked. The scores were all given anonymously. If Natasha knew that they were the one who gave her a low mark, they would definitely be targeted. The Mitchells were very powerful in the university, and perhaps, they would no longer be able to gain a foothold in the university ever again. Everyone was so nervous, except for the three who had given her a zero. While Michael was flirting with his wife, he silently tugged at Harry, who was sitting next to him. Harry clicked his tongue and was forced to quit the mobile games he was ying on. Urgh, it seems like today I¡¯m destined to be the bad guy, and Michael will continue to act innocent! Harry sat up suddenly. With a microphone in his hand, he announced, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be the first to disclose my score. I gave Sophia a perfect ten score and a zero to Natasha.¡± Unable to believe what she had just heard, Natasha¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Harry continued, ¡°Natasha, you¡¯re indeed very outstanding, but from how I see it, something is missing from you. You are too arrogant, and you cannot ept failure. All I can see from your face is that you can¡¯t bear to lose thispetition!¡± Natasha was taken aback. Even the vice chancellor reported the score he gave. ¡°Natasha, I¡¯m really sorry. Though your resume is very good, and you¡¯ve always been the number one, I think it is necessary for you to experience failure for you to grow. And that was why I gave you a zero.¡± Finally, it was Michael¡¯s turn. Gently, he smiled and said, ¡°Sorry, Natasha, but I have also given you a zero. Both you and Sophia have something very conflicting with each other. She has experienced many failures, and everytime she fails, she finds the cause in herself. But you¡¯re different; you only find excuses from others.¡± Bewildered, Natasha took a few steps back. She had not expected Taylor to give her a zero too! Before losing control over the audience, the host quickly announced, ¡°The contest hase to an end. Honorable guests, you are all invited to make your way to the exit. Fellow students should leave the venue in an orderly manner under the lead of the staff.¡± The guests retired themselves, and then the lights on the stage went out. Students started to leave the hall, and none of them had noticed a crisp sounding from the darkness. It was Natasha, who had just smashed the trophy on the ground and left the scene with her blood boiling. As Michael was watching Natasha taking her leave, ruthlessness shed through his eyes. Seems like Natasha won¡¯t stop here! But if she ever dares to act rashly, I will also make a move! Everything Natasha owns as the little princess of the Mitchells belongs to Sophia, the daughter of Cooper Mitchell! Chapter 348 Chapter 348 Knowing that she had performed extremely well today, Sophia left backstage as soon as she finished packing up her belongings. Meanwhile, Stanley and Sean had gone out together to have some barbecue. Sophia met up with Michael outside of campus and immediately went straight to the hospital. The punches she got from Richard were painful, and she needed a full body checkup to make sure everything was okay. Fortunately, the results showed that she only had a minor open wound and several loose teeth. To make sure that they could win thewsuit, Sophia had requested her doctor to make some amendments to her appraisal, saying that she would have died from the punch. After that, they went to the police station to make a transcript and contacted Calvin to file her im. She was going to make sure that the Harpers would go bankrupt from thewsuit. On their way home, Sophia snuggled into Michael¡¯s arms; she wanted some kisses from her idol to cheer herself up. Michael clung onto her andforted, ¡°I guess you were frightened today. Do you want to get freaky and shake off your fright?¡± Clutching onto his waist, Sophia didn¡¯t dare to look up at him. She was still feeling embarrassed from the confession she had just made in public. Trying to camouge her lustful desire, she faked her voice in a cutesy manner and responded, ¡°Okay.¡± She wanted him to do it in formal wear! The moment Michael saw the way Sophia had been looking at him today, he instantly knew what she wanted. She wanted seduction in a suit! He decided to give her a one stop package in the car since Nathan had been sent home earlier; there was no one to disturb them now. Thoughtfully, Hale took the long way as he drove them home. On the next day of thepetition, the university had made a series of announcements on the bulletin board. While Sophia¡¯s gorgeous photo was ced at the top of the board, there was also an official notice to expel X and Richard as a disciplinary action. Both of them had packed their belongings and left the university in humiliation. Richard never thought that he would leave the university he had worked so hard for in such a degrading manner. How ironic! Once he left Bayside University, there was no ce for him in domestic universities. If he were to apply for an overseas university, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it into a good university either; the only way for him was to retake the college entrance exam. He was the heir of the Harper Group; who would believe that he was a university drop out! Since vehicles were not allowed to drive on the path from the university¡¯s gate to the academic buildings, X and Richard had to walk all the way to the gate. As they were walking out, they had no choice but to listen to the whispers from the passing students. ¡°It¡¯s the shameless couple! Have they really been expelled?¡± ¡°They attacked the police in public! Do you know how serious this can be? How can Bayside University possibly allow them to stay?¡± ¡°Tsk! What a shameless couple! I wonder how many nasty things they¡¯ve done behind-the-scenes? It¡¯d be better for the university to expel them. Otherwise, the school¡¯s reputation will be ruined by them one day!¡± ¡°We should stay away from them! They have venereal disease!¡± As X listened to the nastyments, she felt like she was stuck in a frozen cave. She couldn¡¯t believe that as the daughter of the Huff Family, she would be leaving Bayside University like this one day. Leaving Bayside University meant that she would not have any academic qualifications in the future. Moreover, the one who had made her like this was being crowned as this year¡¯s Miss Misty of Bayside University. That b*tch! How can a humble bloodline like her¡­ How could she¡­ Hatred had snapped the last bit of consciousness in her. As they made their way toward the gate, Richard took a final nce at the university. No matter how reluctant he was, this was a ce he would never be able toe back to! A voice came from behind suddenly when Richard was about to get into the car. ¡°Huff! Harper! You forgot to bring your files.¡± As soon as they spun around, they saw a bunch of people surrounding them mischievously. Many of them were holding their phones, looking as if they were about to capture something. Leading the way, Stanley had two stacks of documents in his hands. ¡°You forgot your files,¡± he said. With a stony expression on his face, Richard marched forward to grab it. But before he could take them from Stanley, Stanley loosened his grip and the hot summer breeze sted the documents into the air. Richard¡¯s outstretched hand paused in the air, and the veins on his displeased face burst. Somewhat taller than Richard, Stanley looked down on him and snapped, ¡°Stop looking at me and pick those things up! Do you still want your files?¡± After saying that, Stanley stepped onto the files as if it was an ident. Instantly, there was a big footprint on the ivory white paper. Richard looked at Stanley coldly, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Stanley was one of the young masters of the Fletchers, so Richard didn¡¯t have the courage to resist him. Bending his own arrogant figure, Richard picked up his documents. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hahaha!¡± There was a burst of gleefulughter. The spectators were pointing at Richard as they took out their phones to take photos of him. This disgraceful scene was immediately uploaded onto the app developed by Stanley. Everyone was finding this scene somewhat familiar; once, there had been a girl just like Richard. She knelt at the gate of the university, begging the university to keep her. She had used up every humble word one could find from this world, but they had failed to impress the parents. In the end, she was still driven away by them in a cruel manner. The girl turned around as she wiped her tears; carrying her shabby luggage, she left the ce which carried her hopes and dreams amidst the insult from the bystanders. Stanley¡¯s app had reached an unprecedented point of downloads and instation. Hence, thepany held a meeting to celebrate its sess. Stanley grabbed hold of Sophia¡¯s hand and shook it vigorously while saying, ¡°Sophia, we need you to go and mess around more in the future! The future of our app now depends on you!¡± There were too many hot topics that came out on the day of thepetition. Within a day, the number of app instations had broken the historical record and became the must-have app for the students at Bayside University. This was all thanks to Sophia! Indeed, if this was an ordinary campus bellepetition, there would not have been so many downloads. However, thanks to all the fuss created by Sophia, the fight with Natasha and her ex, as well as the topics created by the two idols, the downloads were impressive. Not only had Sophia sent X and Richard into the police station, she had also won the championship of the Miss Misty Pageant. At the same time, she also offended Natasha and got herself beaten up; even Harry had been publicly chastened in front of the crowd and on social media. Looking at it as a whole, Stanley seemed to be the final champion. He had sessfully put forward his app without spending much on promotion and endorsement costs. Luckily, Stanley was very watchful; he had gotten his hands on exclusive live broadcast rights. With the high resolution recorded clips of Michael ying the turntable and Harry messing up, fans of both idols were attracted to download the app just to watch these video clips. With that, thepany became very busy over the next few days. They were afraid that the app would crash suddenly due to the enormous numbers of pageviews. Everyone was particrly happy today; the seniors of thepany had alle together. Stanley, Sophia, Sean and Sarah all gathered in a food stall to have some barbecue together. Stanley was so happy to the point of getting drunk on two sses of wine, making his face flush incredibly red. He patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and teased, ¡°Sophia! It was a stroke of luck that you had slept with my uncle! I¡¯m pretty sure that you saved the universe in another lifetime!¡± Chapter 349 Chapter 349 ¡°Look at you¡ªyou have small boobs, thick legs, and a big pie face. Even Sean looks better than you in women¡¯s clothing! Why did my uncle even choose you? You are definitely not worthy of my uncle!¡± Feeling unwell, Sophia took a sip of the beer. She had been malnourished when she was younger, so Sophia had been taking medicine to regte her body for the past two years. She didn¡¯t dare to drink too much alcohol after her recovery. ¡°Take a look at yourself, Stanley¡ªhow can youpare yourself to your uncle? He is so handsome. He is richer than you, way more mature than you, and treats people better than you!¡± Sophie retorted. ¡°It is what it is; there¡¯s no changing the fact that I¡¯ve already slept with your uncle! I¡¯ve left my mark on your cherished uncle, and he is now mine! Please ept this!¡± added Sophia. Stanley gulped down another two sses of wine before he bellowed, ¡°Come on, Sophie¡ªlet me tell you something! I have never seen a woman like you before. Even if all the women in the world die and you are the only one left, I still wouldn¡¯t choose you at all!¡± Then, he put his arms around Sean¡¯s shoulders and said, ¡°Sean and I won¡¯t choose you even if our world falls apart! Hmph!¡± Meanwhile, Sean was blushing on the other side. Sophie shook her head and yelled, ¡°You fool! Mind your own business!¡± Stanley had drunk too much and started speaking nonsense to Sean. ¡°Hmph, let me tell you¡ªI¡¯m a good shooter. When mypany makes money, I will be an overbearing president just like my uncle. You might ignore me today, but you won¡¯t be able to reach my level in the future!¡± Sophie patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°No matter what, I¡¯d still be your aunt, Sundae Cone!¡± Sitting on the other side, Sarah was speechless and stunned while looking at the two men hugging each other. Sophia devoured twomb skewers and took out her cell phone to take a look at the app. At that moment, the app had boosted traffic on the Bayside University forum; the number of users on the app were extremelyrge. Moreover, the app was also avable to high schools and was slowly being integrated into the city¡¯s official app as well. Naturally, making such an app was not Stanley¡¯s ultimate goal. He wanted to create mobile games andrge-scaleputer-server online games. As she scrolled through the app, Sophia took a look at the forum for Bayside University. It was very lively, and all the students from the university had to register themselves with their student ID to enter this forum area. The forum was also divided into categories such as daily exchanges, study topics, and so on. Sophia clicked on the entertainment tab and saw a post on the homepage that read, ¡®Self-advanced Enclosure by Sarah¡¯. Sarah was someone popr on Bayside University¡¯s forum, and everyone believed that she was from the Academy of Fine Arts. She would regrly post her own drawings in the forum, specializing in male to male sketches. Any two males could be drawn into dirty, indescribable figures with her own two hands. Sophia realized that Sarah had posted a new picture, so she scrolled further down to have a look. The new picture depicted two beautiful teenagers; one of them had a buzz cut with a dark, grunge outfit while the other person was wearing a women¡¯s dress with beautiful, blond hair. Based on both of their Adam¡¯s apples, the pair seemed like boys. The nakedness of the two boys was beyond description. It attracted a group of rotten girls to howl wildly. Sophie looked at the picture and felt that she was about to have a nosebleed. All of a sudden, Stanley suddenly came over andughed as he saw the picture, ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this me and Sean? Hahahaha¡­¡± With that, he immediately snatched Sophie¡¯s phone and shared the picture with Sean as he giggled. ¡°Look at the both of us¡­ Why aren¡¯t we dressed yet!¡± ¡°Tsk tsk tsk, who drew this? They made me look quite dashing!¡± Sean looked at the unsightly yellow picture and his face turned red in anger. Sophie and Sarah, who had noticed this from the side, were afraid to speak. Stanley was probably drunk and hadn¡¯t realized what it exactly insinuated, but Sean wasn¡¯t drunk; he could immediately tell what it was. ¡°Give me back my phone.¡± Sophia tried to snatch her phone back, but Stanley didn¡¯t want to return it. Holding it up high, he made sure that Sophia wasn¡¯t tall enough to reach it. He thenughed, ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not going to return it. Hehehe¡­¡± Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind Sophia and snatched the phone away. A clear and sexy subwoofer came from behind as he said, ¡°You guys are drinking!¡± Sophie shrank in fright upon hearing that voice. When she turned around, she saw Michael. She hadn¡¯t realized that he was there at all. He was wearing casual sportswear and a peaked cap, keeping one hand in his pocket casually while the other hand held Sophia¡¯s phone. Sophie looked at the food stall she was sitting at, as well as the messy beer cans and skewers on the table. Afraid that Michael would get angry, she did not speak at all. He¡¯s such a ssy person; he¡¯s probably never eaten at such a roadside stall. He might even hate this kind of setting! When Stanley saw Michaeling, he probably felt the same fear as Sophie as he was drunk. He immediately pointed at Sophie and said, ¡°Uncle, it was my aunt who wanted to make her way here. I didn¡¯t bring her here. How could I possibly eat at this kind of roadside stall!? Right, aunt¡­¡± Sophie red at him fiercely. You silly dog, you were the one who insisted oning here! She quickly rified, ¡°Sundae Cone said that he wanted to get skewers, and he even poured me a drink. I have the Messenger records to prove it!¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Much to their surprise, Michael was not angry at all. Instead, he grabbed a stool, sat down, and ordered some food for himself, ¡°Boss, I¡¯d like eight meat skewers, two grilled fish, two charcoal-grilled eels, and five shrimps.¡± Sophie was stunned. Was her Lord here to have some skewers as well? Did her pristine and ssy Lord love having skewers too? Feeling as though she was in a dream, she took the opportunity toin about Stanley and said, ¡°Stanley is so stingy¡ªhe doesn¡¯t even want to order crayfish for us!¡± Micahel looked at Stanley and ordered loudly, ¡°Boss, give us one big pot of crayfish!¡± As he sat down, Stanley said with a smile, ¡°Uncle, all those dishes are aphrodisiac and strong. Can you eat that many?¡± Michael looked down at Sophie¡¯s phone and said, ¡°As long as your aunt can withstand it.¡± Sophie was stunned for two seconds before she understood the meaning behind Michael¡¯s words and blushed wildly. Stanley scratched his head and thought for a long time before he actually understood the meaning. His thick eyebrows were erect and his eyes stared straight at them, but there was nothing he could do. Michael lowered his head and looked at Sophia¡¯s cell phone. As soon as he unlocked it, he read through the entire post seriously and took in every single photo. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s eyes rounded with fright. Sarah was Henry¡¯s diehard fan. While she typically drew Henry only, she asionally included other idols as well, including Harry and Taylor! She quickly snatched her phone in a twinkle of an eye and changed the subject with a silly smile, ¡°I want to have some boubouche, Dear!¡± Michael did not say anything, nor did hement on the little dirty picture he saw; he simply ordered a serving of boubouche. Shortlyter, all their dishes were served. Sophia dug into the crayfish happily while Stanley and Michael talked to each other. ¡°Uncle, why do you have such good luck? You bought such a good aunt for 80,000!¡± He then added, ¡°My aunt can program, handle the finances, deal with the business-side of things, and even act as thepany spokesperson by dressing up. She¡¯s super talented! I want one as well!¡± Michael peeled two shrimps carefully, eating one himself before putting the other into Sophia¡¯s bowl. He then returned Stanley¡¯s words, ¡°Although I am an actor on the outside, Sundae Cone, I am actually a businessman. I bought your aunt at a low price, so if I were to sell her off, I¡¯d ask for a high price. If you like her, I can give you a family discount.¡± Stanley was exhrated, ¡°How much is it, Uncle? Can I pay you in installments?¡± Michael looked at him as he raised his eyebrows and smiled sullenly, ¡°You can have her in exchange for your life.¡± Chapter 350 Chapter 350 As soon as Michael uttered those words, Stanley did not dare to talk anymore and avoided him in a desperate manner. After polishing off their skewers, Sophia and Michael went home together while a drunken Stanley held onto Sean for support as they walked off. Meanwhile, the ever-so-silent Sarah followed Sean closely behind since her family lived next door to him. Their houses were just a stone¡¯s throw away, and Sophia seemed quite happy as she walked along the way. One wouldn¡¯t know if her good mood was due to thepany¡¯s performance or the fact that she just had some roadside skewers with her Lord. She didn¡¯t know that her Lord could also be so grounded and knew how to enjoy a good roadside skewer! Michael wore some casual sports attire with a baseball cap. The brim of the cap shaded his face, so no one could recognize him as the shadow concealed his facial features. The night under the neon lights of Bayside City was very subtle. Both of them walked in the faint halo of the street lights on the side of the road; their shadows entangled with each other as they went along, making it indistinguishable. City management personnel had gone off work by then and all the vendor stalls were out. With a nce, Sophia caught sight of a ring tossing booth in front of her. She wanted to have a go at it, but she restrained herself since her Lord was there. Although her Lord had apanied her for skewers, he would not necessarily associate himself with such lowly carnival games meant for the lower ss. Much to her surprise, Michael¡¯s footsteps stopped right in front of the stall. He then invited her in a low voice, ¡°Come on¡ªshould we y a game before going home?¡± Sophia nodded excitedly upon hearing that. Michael felt for his wallet, paid the fee and received 10 rings. As he held the rings in one hand, he asked Sophia, ¡°Which prize do you want?¡± Sophia nced at the tiny booth and pointed to a pink piggy bank in the shape of a cat, ¡°That pink cat!¡± Michael¡¯s eyes locked in on the cat and threw the ring in his hand lightly. The bamboo ring glided through the air, trapping the piggy bank which Sophia had chosen earlier. Both Sophia and the stall owner were shocked. Wow, he¡¯s so urate! All of a sudden, Sophia suddenly remembered that Michael was a retired special force! The stall owner took out the piggy bank dejectedly and gave it to Sophia. On the contrary, Sophia took it happily. Michael picked up another ring and asked, ¡°Which one do you want?¡± Since her Lord rarely did this kind of stuff, Sophia quickly replied before he could change his mind and said, ¡°I¡¯d like that cup!¡± Michael concentrated on the cup, and those sharp facial features of his came into Sophia¡¯s view; the sight of him was deeply imprinted in her heart¡­ With a flick of the wrist, Michael tossed the ring slightly once again and managed to secure it. Sophia was so happy that she took the cup from the stall owner and rubbed it excitedly. Much to the stall owner¡¯s horror, Michael used up all 10 rings and acquired five to six prizes from it. Michael deliberately missed thest two targets, or else he would have definitely gone home with 10 prizes that night. Sophia took the prizes home happily; the piggy bank, small ornaments, and delicate cups looked simply lovely. Michael held the piggy bank in one had and several other prizes in his pocket. Naturally, he had to free up a hand to hold Sophia¡¯s. As he hid under his baseball cap, he looked at her happy face; there was a smile of contentment on his as well. Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. He could feel that she was removing all her defenses and sensitivity little by little; Sophia was slowly opening up her heart to him¡­ It was the weekend the next day. Since Michael had eaten such aphrodisiac skewers, he had quite a bit of strength in him. The one who suffered was Sophia, and she did not get up until noon the next day. During lunch, she caught sight of Harry and Daniel arriving at the house. They seemed to be discussing something in the living room, so she went back into her study and did some revision after finishing up her meal. In just one night, Sophia obtained many cute little ornaments on her desk. The little gifts given by her Lord motivated her immensely. Michael was in the living room discussing something important with Harry and Daniel. Suddenly, he saw a dog¡¯s head as it smashed into the door and opened it. The dog¡¯s paw rubbed dust on the entrance carpet and swaggered into the room. ¡°Hey, you silly dog!¡± Catching sight of it as well, Harry reached out and gently caressed the dog¡¯s head. The dog was a Husky, and it belonged to Stanley. Stanley often brought his dog along when he visited, but as time passed, Stanley¡¯s visits became less frequent; nheless, the Husky knew how to make its way over. Aftering in and getting a rub from Harry, the Husky sneaked into the kitchen to find something to eat. After a good meal in the kitchen, it slipped upstairs and entered Sophia¡¯s study. ¡°You naughty puppy¡ªyou¡¯re here again!¡± eximed Sophia. When she saw the doging in, she opened her snack drawer and took out some treats for him. Sophia kept a drawer of snacks in her study since she liked to nibble on something while she studied. There was beef jerky, pork chop, as well as a little yellow book hidden in her collection. Michael asionally dropped by to watch over her as she studied; if he were to find out about this book, she would be doomed! However, he did not usually open her snack drawer, so she put the little yellow book in it with confidence. After feeding some beef jerky to the dog, she continued to watch her live lecture with headphones on. After eating some beef jerky, the Husky sneaked into the snack box and quietly left with the small yellow book in its mouth. Unfortunately, the book was caught by Harry. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re quite the silly dog, aren¡¯t you? You eat and drink for nothing, yet you take other people¡¯s belongings as well! Come on¡ªshow me what you¡¯ve got there!¡± Harry took the book from the puppy¡¯s mouth and turned over a page. It was horrifying, and it tainted his eyes so much that it hurt. He threw the book in front of Michael and asked, ¡°Your wife reads this kind of pornography. Are you even aware of it?¡± Michael watched the TV earnestly. Without moving his eyes, he answered, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°Tsk, why are these young girls¡¯ minds so impure?!¡± he shrieked. Michael replied indifferently, ¡°It is quite normal for girls in their teens and 20s to read stuff like this. She¡¯s usually under great pressure from studying, so it¡¯s not a bad thing to read something erotic once in a while to relieve the stress.¡± In fact, Michael had secretly looked into Sophia¡¯s snack drawer to survey the kind of snacks she usually ate. He was concerned if these snacks were beneficial to her production, development, nourishment and beauty. Naturally, he was already aware about her ¡®secret stash¡¯ too. ¡°Can this be considered a hobby?! Is this how someone relieves their pressure from studying?!¡± Harry patted the little yellow book and pointed to one of the indescribable little yellow pictures of Taylor and Joel. The first page was a drawing of Ethan and Taylor, followed by another picture of Ethan and Daniel. There were even sketches of Ethan and Joel, Ethan and Michael, Ethan and Sean, and even Ethan and a puppy! ¡°Is this what you call a hobby? Tell me this isn¡¯t a hobby at all! Did you read such materials to relieve your stress back when you were studying?!¡± Without opening his eyes, Michael frowned slightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t show it to me¡ªit¡¯ll only hurt my eyes.¡± ¡°So you do know that it taints the eyes!¡± yelled Harry. His eyes were about to go blind! Chapter 351 Chapter 351 What¡¯s with these young girlstely with all their idol-chasing and dirty drawings! When Harry left, he took Sophia¡¯s ¡°little hobby¡± along with him. The little yellow book was privately printed and not publicly issued. There wasn¡¯t any information about the publishing house, but it only had the artist¡¯s name on the cover page. ¡°I knew it¡ªit¡¯s you again!¡± Sarah was an up-anding artist on the Inte. Her illustrations were mostly graphic drawings of men, and she was known for her brutality and straightforwardness. Harry hated her with a passion since she always drew him. It was such an insult! As soon as he posted a selfie on Twitter, she would illustrate and publish the horrible picture of him scratching his head and showing his chest unless he caught her in the nick of time! How bad it would be if it spread out! Harry could easily track her down with his status, but it would definitely be an insult to him if people got to know that a young girl like Sarah created so much trouble for him. Hence, he followed Sarah¡¯s Twitter ount in secret. She had a total of 40 million followers, and he wanted to see if she still dared to draw such saucy pictures! Meanwhile, Sophia was studying in her room. As she chewed on some beef jerky, she watched her live lecture. She didn¡¯t know that she had lost one of her ¡°little hobbies¡± until Calvin came over in the evening and discussed suing Richard. With that, she immediately turned off the broadcast. Richard had pped her in front of everyone and also cut her high-end dress. In fact, he had to pay for her medical expenses which included the mental torture she went through, as well as the loss of her job. She didn¡¯t ask him to apologize to her, but demanded that hepensated her marily instead. It wasn¡¯t much ¡ªit was just 20 to 30 million. After drafting the legal formalities with Calvin, he finally left. It wasn¡¯t hard to make Richard pay until his entire family went bankrupt when Calvin was there.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. As soon as Sophia¡¯swyer letter was sent to Richard, she received an immediate call from Richard himself. Once she answered the call, she was met with a hysterical roar from the other side. ¡°What are you doing, Sophia? I will give you whatever you want. Can you please let me go? We really can¡¯t be together anymore, so please stop creating more nuisance!¡± As she put on a facial mask nonchntly, she replied, ¡°Let me make this clear, Zane¡ªyou¡¯re the one who has been causing trouble. In fact, I have been letting you go. It was you who cut my dress, and you hit me as well. Did I force you?¡± On the other side, Richard was speechless. He was silent for a while before he suddenly lowered his voice and threatened her, ¡°Just wait for me, you b*tch. Yourwyer¡¯s letter is not a deterrent to me. I will definitely leave you dead with no ce to bury you!¡± Sophie smiled and said, ¡°How are you going to kill me off?¡± ¡°You should be aware of the Harper Family¡¯s power. Killing you off is not a big deal. Just wait and see!¡± As she fiddled with her mask, Sophia said into the speaker, ¡°Zane, everyone here is civilized. Please don¡¯t say such things anymore as I am aw student myself. I canpletely regard whatever you said just now as a death threat to me.¡± Richard Harper sneered, ¡°Ask yourself, Sophia¡ªam I in any way sorry to you? Yes, I am with X. I know you hold a grudge, but you should see the facts in front of you clearly. It¡¯s impossible for us to be together!¡± Sophie wanted tough, but she didn¡¯t dare do so for fear that her mask would crack. ¡°Your sister broke my leg; your family ndered me for an abortion, miscarriage, infertility, and had me expelled from high school. I was ruinedpletely and lived on the streets. Your sister even got someone to rape me, yet you¡¯re here telling me that you¡¯re not sorry for anything?¡± Richard once again had nothing to say and finally responded viciously, ¡°Wait for me¡ªonce I have a word with the Harper Family, I will not let you see the sun tomorrow!¡± With that, he hung up the call. Sophie promptly sent the recorded conversation to Calvin. ¡°He has threatened to kill me. Can you help me with this? If he goes to jail, there¡¯s no need forpensation; if this does not warrant jail time, I want him to pay until he goes bankrupt!¡± No one knew how desperate and helpless she was when she was thrown away back then; now, it was a totally different story! Of course, Sophia kept her guard up; she knew that it was possible for the Harper Family to use some other means of retaliating. In fact, they would most likely hire several underworlds to block her path. Richard and Ka were born to the same mother, and the both of them obviously inherited the same mind from their mother. As they had expected, Sophia had been going in and out of school for the past few days when Hale informed her that someone was indeed following her. She then calmly said, ¡°Since they want to follow us, let¡¯s drive to a remote ce and keep the evidence.¡± Back at the Harper Family, Richard had been driven to a dead end. The video of him beating up people in public during the pageant had been posted on the Inte, and it was further sensationalized due to the handsome Taylor. The more popr Taylor was, the more Richard suffered! Naturally, the Harper Family was not in harmony. Due to Richard¡¯s affairs, the Harper Group had to pay a largepensation. Not only that, their management rights were revoked. If it hadn¡¯t been because of their marriage with the Huff Family, they would have been driven out of thepany¡¯s decision-making circle a long time ago. All of this was because of Sophia! Richard and Ka were indeed born to the same mother; despite the ongoing court case, the first thing they thought of was using underworld tactics to kill Sophia! Even if it meant using up thest bit of money on their hands, they had to humiliate Sophia no matter what! Richard caught wind that Sophia had been forced to the suburbs; she would soon be brought to him and let him be ravaged! Richard waited excitedly, already thinking about countless ways to make her ruin her knees and beg for mercy! It was exhrating, truly exhrating¡­ Meanwhile, he waited at a hotel near the suburbs. After waiting for an hour, he finally heard a knock at the door. ¡°SF Express! Open the door!¡± Here came the signal! In an instant, Richard opened the door excitedly. However, he came face-to-face with Sophia together with a bunch of cops behind her. Richard froze. ¡°It¡¯s him, Comrades!¡± Sophia testified angrily. The police rushed in and grabbed Richard, who hadn¡¯t evene back to his senses¡­ After this hup, thewsuit between Sophia and Richard ensued. The death threats and personal threats of buying unemployed people in the society were enough to teach Richard and the Harper Family a valuable lesson. Sophia did not want an apology¡ªshe just wanted them to rot in jail and pay the price! It didn¡¯t take long for the Harper Family to sell all equity in the Harper Group and eventually moved away from the property near Sophia¡¯s household. Michael had once asked Sophia why she wanted to report this matter and take it to court in the first ce. Sophia smiled and said nothing; she wanted to use thew and let the bad guys who hurt her get the retribution they deserved! Chapter 352 Chapter 352 After the Harper Family lost arge sum of money, itpletely ceased. Later on, Richard supposedly registered himself into a private business school for adults where the sses were full of major coal owners and the sort, while X Huff entered the entertainment circles. As such, Sophia felt that the world was at peace. It had been several days since the campus belle contest. One day, a phone call reached The Imperial. ¡°Boss, Boss, there¡¯s a phone call for you!¡± Maria suddenly knocked on the door. It was still early in the morning in the master bedroom, so the person under the covers on the bed was still pretty reluctant to get up. Since Michael had had a long week of filming before returning home, he still wanted to sleep some more, but Maria woke him up instead. Michael nced up with his sleepy eyes. Displeased, he asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± Who¡¯s this crazy person calling this early in the morning? Maria answered, ¡°Someone called Natasha Mitchell. She said she wants to thank you.¡± Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Michael replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know her. Just hang up.¡± He fell back onto the bed to go back to sleep, but the Sophia in his arms was wide awake now. Springing up like a rabbit, she said, ¡°I¡¯ll go answer it.¡± Why would Natasha be calling? And to look for him at that? I¡¯ll have to hear her out. During the campus belle contest, she sensed that Natasha had other intentions toward Michael. She really wanted to know what she was calling him for! Answering the phone, Sophia had barely said anything before Natasha recognized her. ¡°Sophia, I know it¡¯s you. I want to talk to Taylor, not you.¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Well, I¡¯m sorry, but Taylor¡¯s still sleeping.¡± Natasha¡¯s voice over the phone soundednguid, nothing at all like that of a 17-year-old girl. She chuckled. ¡°I heard that you¡¯re actually a poor college student being sponsored by Taylor, and you¡¯re staying in his house as the children¡¯s nanny?¡± She even found out about this. Impressive! Before Sophia said anything else, the voice on the other end of the line spoke again, ¡°So in reality, you didn¡¯t get married off to an old man, but instead got bought over by Taylor to be a nanny.¡± It was said that Taylor was married, but Natasha, even with all her means, wasn¡¯t able to find out who his wife was. Taylor¡¯s missus, whoever she was, must have an extraordinary background because none of the famous or popr actresses she knew were likely to have married him. Although Natasha did suspect that Taylor married Sophia, it was a hypothesis she ultimately rejected. How could she ever match up to Taylor? The best she could be was a nanny for him. After all, how could Taylor stand her peasant-like presence? Sophia didn¡¯t refute any of Natasha¡¯s guesses. ¡°Regardless of whatever you think, I still don¡¯t know why you¡¯re calling this early in the morning.¡± Natashaughed, her tone bing friendly. ¡°Well after the campus belle contest that day, I went back and thought about it. Mr. Murray was right; I¡¯m still much too young to actually lose. I appreciated his reminder, for it had helped me understand that failure is the mother of sess. It really inspired me, so I called to specially thank him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass the message on to him,¡± Sophia answered. Then, she suddenly added on another sentence. ¡°The boss and his wife haven¡¯t gotten to see each other for some time now, so it seems like they¡¯re still in bed.¡± Natasha had nothing to say to that. Somewhat anxiously, Sophia hung up and went back to sleep with her idol in the bed. If she really wanted to thank someone, shouldn¡¯t she have thanked Harry instead? Harry was publicly punished because of her, for the title ¡®Ethan Winston, the Wild Pianist¡¯ was still on the headlines! It was so obvious that Natasha was trying to make a pass at Michael. There were plenty of women that liked Michael, but this woman¡¯s power was clearly greater. Soon, the final exam of the first academic year arrived. Nothing extraordinary happened and Sophia easily achieved top grades within her major. Simultaneously, she even went the extra mile and sat for the School of Computer Science¡¯s final exam too. This field wasn¡¯t her major after all, so the studying took some effort and her grades weren¡¯t as good as Stanley¡¯s or Nathan¡¯s, but she was still in the top 10 of her ss, which was shocking enough. Now that exams were over, summer vacation was here! Sophia had already formted a n for the summer vacation preparations. She nned to finish the rest of the courses for her major during the summer vacation as the postgraduate entrance exam would ur during the new school year. Also, she had to studyputer science because she would also have a postgraduate entrance exam for that. The School of Business Management had their exams rtively early, finishing before the other majors were done. As soon as she finished her exams, she received a notification informing her of her participation in the shooting for the new school year¡¯s promotional video. Bayside University would release a new promo video every year, showcasing the university¡¯s culture and rich history, as well as its state-of-the-art facilities. Miss Misty Pageant and Mr. Misty Pageant would have to be there. As Sophia was crowned Miss Misty Pageant this time, she would be one of the leads in this year¡¯s promo video with some important scenes. Every year, the Bayside University¡¯s promo video would be shot and produced by students of the School of Cinematography, with the musicposed by students from the School of Music. The actors in the video would be Mr. and Miss Misty Pageant or other students from the School of Cinematography. The entire production crew was made up of students and the ultimate quality of it was also determined by the students. Before shootingmenced, everyone collectively watched the promo videos of past years to figure out what direction they wanted to go in. This year¡¯s director was a senior from the Directing major of the School of Cinematography. He selected a few scenes to show everyone. Sophia watched them very seriously, wanting to see how past Miss Misty Pageants acted in their roles in the promo video. The first scene shown was fromst year¡¯s promo video; Sophia had already seen it before. Bayside University had gone to South Bayside High School to filmst year. Last year¡¯s Miss Misty Pageants didn¡¯t seem very outstanding, aside from Natasha, who was the champion. She relied on her exceptional looks to attract the audience, overshadowing the others. Each promo video was only a few minutes long, so it didn¡¯t take too long to finish watching one. After watchingst year¡¯s video, they proceeded to watch more from previous years. Several more videos later, Sophia was now watching a promo video from about 20 years ago. The senior who was in charge of that promo video was now a popr director. The filming equipment used 20 years ago wasn¡¯t as advanced as it was now, yet the promo video seemed to have be a ssic that couldn¡¯t be surpassed. It looked like that talented senior had already been flourishing as a director since he was a student. In the clip, frames shed by rapidly, showing several well-known spots of the Bayside University campus. Piano music yed throughout the whole video, with the actual scene of the piano ying appearing many times. However, only a pair of fair hands could be seen. Slender and white, that pair of hands danced across the piano keys, producing elegant music. The face of the piano yer was never shown, but those fingers seemed to belong to a boy. For a man to have such hands, he must have been an extraordinary character, and no one knew who this graceful senior was. With this curiosity in mind, Sophia watched the rest of the promo video. The face of the man finally appeared in thest few seconds of it, smiling toward the camera. He had very beautiful mixed race facial features, and his smile was like a March spring breeze¡ªvery friendly and incredibly handsome. The man¡¯s face only appeared for about two seconds. It was merely just a sh frame, but he was easily the highlight of the entire promo video. After looking at that face, Sophia was in a daze. She seemed to be stunned and amazed by his temperament. When she came back to her senses, she thought that the senior looked familiar, like she had seen him somewhere before. That was until she heard Molly excitedly telling her, ¡°So did you see that senior that appeared in the promo video just now? That¡¯s Cooper Mitchell, Natasha¡¯s uncle! He¡¯s one of the best students in all of Bayside University¡¯s history!¡± Chapter 353 Chapter 353 So it was Cooper Mitchell! No wonder he looked so familiar! Apparently, the director and Cooper had worked together on the video. After its release, the entire student crew was amazed. They whispered amongst themselves, with the focus of their gossip being Cooper. ¡°Oh, so he¡¯s Cooper Mitchell! My god, he¡¯s so handsome!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s Natasha¡¯s uncle! He received his double Ph.D. from Bayside University at just 18 years old. God, how can there be such a talented person in this world?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so jealous! If only I could have such an amazing and handsome uncle!¡± Natasha heard everyone¡¯s whispers and her lips moved into a confident smile, but she was sneering secretly in her heart. What a bunch of peasants! What wishful thinking! However, being Cooper Mitchell¡¯s biological niece, she was naturally proud about it. Thus, she couldn¡¯t help but straighten her back and enjoy the looks of envy people threw at her. After watching the videos, everyone dispersed. Sophia and Gemma exited the School of Cinematography¡¯s building and decided to take a look at the Alumni Corridor. The Alumni Corridor was also one of Bayside University¡¯s well-known spots; it was where the best students of the university were disyed along the corridor. The long corridor was continuously expanding, with new ¡®Best¡¯ students being constantly added. To be disyed in the corridor, one had to be the top student of Bayside University. On average, a new student was added to the corridor every few years. From its establishment until the present, a total of over 60 students have been added to the Bayside University Alumni Corridor. Sophia had never visited the corridor before, and today was her first time. In the corridor, as she was walking, she stopped when she saw Michael¡¯s portrait. When Michael was studying in the university, he attended under the name ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯. So now, the name under the portrait was also ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯. With that one portrait of his handsome face in the corridor, instantly, the whole corridor became more star-studded. Bayside University had many other campuses and amongst them was the Bayside University of National Defense. It was a military academy and from its name alone, it seemed to have nothing inmon with Bayside University. However, they both operated under the same academic systems and were both under Bayside University management. Thus, alumni from the Bayside University of National Defense were also present in the corridor, including Joel Fletcher and Irene Weber. Finally, she came across Cooper Mitchell¡¯s portrait, which had his aplishments listed beneath it. He was 18 when he received a double Ph.D. from Bayside University in music and economics. He really was a rare talent. In the hundred years of Bayside University¡¯s history, he seemed to be the only one with such gifts. Other alumni often only got their portraits put up in the corridor upon graduating and making a difference and a name for themselves in the world. For example, Michael Fletcher only got his ce in the corridor after bing the first actor from Cethos to receive an Oscar. Even Joel only had his portrait recently hung, whereas Cooper was the first alumni to ever be featured in the corridor while still an actual student. Looking at the timing of it, he must have been 17 when he was given a ce in the Alumni Corridor as he looked 17 in the featured portrait. Cooper¡¯s childhood face carried a carefree smile but ording to his list of aplishments, he wasn¡¯t just a Bayside University Ph.D. graduate. At that point, he had also taken over the family business and was the junior president. Cooper Mitchell, seemed to Sophia like a tall mountain thaty in front of her. A tall mountain that she would not be able to surpass. No, he was everyone¡¯s tall mountain! Sophia raised her head to look at Cooper, trying to envision him experiencing the past 20 years. She tilted her head and looked at it for a long while before subconsciously holding onto the pendant thaty on her chest. Who knew when would she be able to be like Cooper and be featured in the corridor? Sophia followed along with the crew of the promo video, shooting for several days straight until it was done. After that, it didn¡¯t take long for everyone to get the sample of the promo video. She happily took the samples home to show Michael. After all, this was her debut role! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael yed the sample tape on the living room television. After watching it once, his eyebrows crinkled; he felt as though something wasn¡¯t right so he watched it again. What the hell kind of video is this?! The entire video was filmed very well¡ªits pacing was appropriate and the soundtrack to it was emotional. Everything was of high quality and the editing was excellent too. The only problem was Sophia. Whenever Sophia was featured in a scene, the entire film¡¯sposition and color grading changed completely. Her makeup didn¡¯t match the style of the video. While others had on light makeup that gave them an elegant and suitable temperament, Sophia had heavy makeup that did not match her clothes. Theposition, angle, and positioning of the camera were also huge issues. Amateurs, as a whole, wouldn¡¯t be able to tell what the problem was. They¡¯d only get one feeling¡ªshe was ugly! She had essentially been portrayed as Bayside University¡¯s number one flirtatious gold digger trying to fish for a man! Sophia might be a greenhorn who didn¡¯t know how to make movies but she had a husband at home who did this professionally. Two days ago when Sophia was at home researching and preparing for the promo video shoot, Michael had also nced at it. He noticed that it was the same situation asst year wherein the whole crew revolved around one person, deliberately filming them beautifully and making the others seem ugly. It was evident who that one person was. One only had to see who was the nicest to watch in the sample and who seemed to be problematic. Who knew that one could use a promotional video to create so many new avenues? He had really underestimated Natasha! Michael directly told Sophia, ¡°All of your scenes need to be reshot. Those close-up photos too; retake them!¡± Not only were the visuals in the video ugly, but the photos to be posted on the official website were shot particrly ugly too. There were major issues with theposition and the angles of them. They had tried to shoot the pictures from below but it was typically really difficult to get good pictures from that angle. When Sophia watched the samples, she did feel that something wasn¡¯t quite right, and now she finally saw what was wrong. She never thought Natasha would be so bitter as to deliberately make her seem ugly! And not only her, but everyone else was shot to seem ugly too! She frowned. ¡°But if we were to reshoot everything¡ªseeing that they could make me look ugly the first time¡ªthey¡¯d do it again the second time. After all, the senior director is one of Natasha¡¯s people.¡± Michael set down the remote control. ¡°Leave this to me. I¡¯m the professional.¡± With that, he took away the samples. The next day, he invited a team of professionals to reshoot Sophia¡¯s scenes. Michael personally supervised the entire production. Although Sophia only had a few scenes, he ensured that they were the most beautiful shots. And sure enough, it was professionally done. The new sample arrived within a few days and the new scenes had been perfectly edited into the original sample. Sophia now looked like a dynamite. All her angles and theposition of the frames were now first-ss, and her make-up was perfect. Everything achieved the original artistic concept. However, it was already toote. At that point, the original promo video had already been uploaded onto the university¡¯s official website. Michael nced at the website. In the promo video, Bayside University and Natasha looked beautiful. Everyone looked really energetic and portrayed the university well. Everyone except Sophia, who just looked ugly. Because of this, Sophia was a little discouraged. After the hectic past couple of days, with Michael sacrificing his own time to apany her and personally oversee the production on the two-day shoot, it was still toote. The promo video crew had done all this deliberately! The college entrance exams were over and it was time to release the results. These next two days would be when Bayside University¡¯s official website would gain thergest amount of traffic. Who wouldn¡¯t want to appear on the homepage looking stunning?! Things had already progressed until this point. Although it was a little regrettable, it ultimately was not a big deal. If Natasha liked being so smug about it, Sophia could only let her be! However, this matter wasn¡¯t a small issue to Michael. His wife¡¯s issues were never a small matter! If his wife was unhappy, then it¡¯d be a huge issue! If his wife was unhappy, then he¡¯d be unhappy! Chapter 354 Chapter 354 Michael called the vice-principal, ¡°I am going to change the promo on the homepage; please, check it in a while.¡± Without waiting for the vice president¡¯s response, he hung up the call and immediately told Gemma to hack the official website of Bayside University and put up the promotional video of Sophie on it. He also asked Gemma to change the background of the homepage. As long as there were people¡¯s faces, it was reced with Sophie¡¯s beautiful photos! After a while, the vice-principal called, ¡°Michael Fletcher, do not piss me off! What if the website crashes? The user traffic right now is very high. Do not create a mess!¡± ¡°Do you still want the building or not?¡± The Vice Principal hung up the call after a minute of silence. Sophie on the other side took the tablet and watched the video on the official website happily. Sophie had never imagined being able to take the entrance exam for Bayside University. Every time she secretly entered the official website of the Bayside University, she was jealous of the students in the photos that used to be posted on the official website. The Bayside University was her childhood dream! When she was in high school, she used to secretly download the promotional video of the university on her mobile phone and watch it frequently. This used to help her keep up her spirits. Who knew that one day she would be able to be on the official website of Bayside University; to be on the cover page of the website; to be the star of the promotional film. The promotional video also highlighted her champion status. This reduced the shine of Natasha Mitchell. The couple cuddled up on the sofa in the living room while watching a film. They were also sharing kisses. Seeing both of them being attracted to each other like two mas, little Nate went out to y with his toys, sighing helplessly. There are children here! However, Little Nate was used to his parents¡¯ public disys of affection as they were not ashamed of their behavior at all. Little Nate just tried to ignore it. Go kiss and make a little sister as soon as possible. I can¡¯t wait to hold a little sister in my arms. But he also heard that Sophie was unwell and it was very likely that he would not be able to hold a little sister within the next two years. Although it was a little regretful, Sophie¡¯s health was important as well. The sun outside today was a bit fierce and little Nate could only y in the living room. His other friends had gone back to their hometown to rx for the summer vacation. Little Nate yed with his robot alone and directed the robot to walk around in the living room. His parents were still in the midst of an intense make-out session. They were not perturbed. After the promotional video was put on the official website, it was also on Stanley¡¯s APP, which caused a very big sensation among prospective students and old students. Natasha and Sophie became well- known among the students of Bayside University. Natasha already had an image as she was the princess of the Mitchell family and her best friends were all upper-ssdies of Bayside City or royal princesses of Europe. They are proficient in various talents and have won many international awards. They are the best at the Bayside university. Her phrase ¡®I am 17 years old and time is running out¡¯ had be her golden phrase. On the other hand, Sophie was also a very eye-catching personality among that year¡¯s freshmen. She was beautiful and had a strong academic personality. Unlike Natasha, she had risen from a poor family and attracted much attention. After she separated from her ex-boyfriend, the whole school was full of turmoil. Her extraordinary song for the belle contest became a masterpiece that everyone started to imitate and it became an indelible ssic in the history of the Bayside University campus belle contest. Each of them had their own specialties and fanbase ording to their personality. Some people preferred Natasha¡¯s princess character and some people preferred Sophie¡¯smon character. Stanley¡¯s APP quicklyunched a poll, which allowed both their fans toe together, taking the opportunity to increase the number of users of the APP. ¡ª Natasha Mitchell of the Mitchell family¡¯s ancestral home of Bayside City mmed down the tablet in her hand after watching the new version of the promotional video on the website. D*mn, what good tactics! She managed to bribe the website owner to change the video! The new promo film was entirely based on Sophie Edwards as the protagonist and her part had been re- shot. It must have been guided by professionals. It feltpletely different from the previous one and Natasha¡¯s part had been deleted. Natasha had be a foil for others in the entire story. ¡° Haha!¡± Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Natasha gave a grin; her delicate face changed suddenly as she overturned things on the table in front of her. Bang, bang! The bottles and jars on the dressing table began to fall to the ground and the little maid at home was silent as she was afraid to approach Natasha. Natasha¡¯s unusually slender and beautiful hands that were used to ying the piano had green veins protruding from them as she firmly grasped the hem of her skirt. Half an hourter, she calmed down a bit, turned on the tablet again, and looked for the document that she had received about Sophie. In the document, a dirtily dressed little girl was standing next to the garbage dump, happily holding a can she found in the trash can while wearing a big smile on her face. It was a 7-year-old Sophie. This is the earliest picture of her that could be found so far. Natasha still couldn¡¯t believe that she was defeated by such a low-ss, poor girl! Next time, if fortune would take her side, she would definitely suppress Sophie until she crushed her self-esteem. ¡ª At the Imperial basement, Abel shook hands with Michael. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry; I still can¡¯t find your father-in- law.¡± When Abel searched for Phantom Wolf, he had already entered the information of all the big figures in various countries into his database, as those people may be Phantom Wolf or his associates, or even the next targets of Phantom Wolf. Even after investigating in the database for a long time, he still couldn¡¯t find the trace of Cooper Mitchell. Since he had been hiding for more than ten years, it was hard to track him. Michael flipped through Abel¡¯s database and the database could be described as a collection of endless financial and material resources. Michaelunched three satellites into outer space. The signals could cover the entire earth and the information obtained by the satellites could provide a panoramic view of the entire world. Cooper was meticulous in his work. Perhaps that was why, despite having all this, Cooper Mitchell still couldn¡¯t be traced. Michael clicked on a folder on the touch-screen and saw that there were many introductions of people in it. He opened them one by one, ¡°Who is this again?¡± Abel replied, ¡°I used to investigate and search based on Cooper Mitchell¡¯s age group and these people in this folder are people with suspicious age groups. They are mysterious. They don¡¯t easily show up and the information about them is also iplete. They are the focus of the next step in our investigation. ¡± Clicking on the folder, he found that the characters in it were not insignificant. ¡°This¡­¡± He saw a name that he struggled to pronounce. He was an Oscar actor. He had worked with Michael in two films. He was considered an old partner. He was an old, white man and he was gay. Back then, he had molested Michael once, which traumatized him for life. ¡°D*mn, why did you put in this pervert? How could this person be Cooper Mitchell!¡± Chapter 355 Chapter 355 Abel patiently exined, ¡°After Cooper Mitchell dered his death, he may have changed his name and even got a facelift. So, age, height, and skin color cannot be the only criteria. Here are some mysterious characters whose backgrounds cannot be determined. The actor Charles has a very mysterious background, so we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that he is Cooper Mitchell.¡± Michael clicked on another person¡¯s profile, ¡°Walman, from the Walman Group? This¡­ Although it is very mysterious, the background is very clear. He is a descendant of the Walman family in Northern Europe and is a white man. How could this be Cooper Mitchell?¡± Abel frowned and exined, ¡°He has a mysterious background; no photos can be found and his age information is nk. The Walman Group is one of the top ten electronic giants in the world. Cooper Mitchell was also in an electronicspany back then. The Walman Group also emerged within thest ten years. Therefore, I have every reason to suspect that he is Cooper Mitchell.¡± Ok. Michael noticed another. ¡°What? William? How could William be Cooper Mitchell! This person is the heir to the 78th order of the British Royal Family! He must be a Duke or a pianist.¡± Abel exined, ¡°This man can y the piano, he is proficient in eight foreignnguages, is a fan of Cethosian culture, and can write beautiful calligraphy. I have reason to suspect that he is the new identity of Cooper Mitchell after he faked his death.¡± Worked in electronics, wealthy, mysterious, able to y the piano, proficient in multiplenguages, and has a good understanding of Cethosian culture¡ªthese were all Abel¡¯s screening criteria. Till when do we have to investigate this?! During the summer vacations, although Sophie was still busy learning, her schedule was freer and she had to visit Stanley¡¯spany when she had time. On the weekend, Stanley and Sean came over with the dog and invited Sophie to visit Woody Mitchell outside the city. They also brought a barbecue grill and they went to the beach to have a barbecue for the weekend. Woody still lived in a seaside fishing vige outside the city. There were a group of retired old rich people nearby and there were many ces he could visit. Sophie had gotten herself a driver¡¯s license. So, today she was the one that drove. The seven-seater car had arge capacity and it wasn¡¯t cramped even with her child and her dog. Little Nate sat next to the puppy and imitated the way it stuck its head out of the window. When they arrived outside Woody¡¯s vi, it was already noon. There were several cars parked in front of Woody¡¯s vi and it seemed there were guests. A faint piano sound came from Woody¡¯s house. Sean looked at the car¡ªthere were three of four of them. There were bodyguards in the car chatting. Two bodyguards stood at the door of the vi. Listening to the piano sounding from the vi she could roughly guess the identity of the guest today. Sean suddenly warned everyone in the car, ¡°Don¡¯t get out of the car; I¡¯ll take a look first.¡± Stanley quickly pushed the dog¡¯s head down, closed the windows, and watched Sean walk into Woody¡¯s vi. Sophie looked at the car through the car window and frowned as she listened to the piano sounding from the house. Woody Mitchell¡¯s guest today is Natasha Mitchell? The bodyguard at the door knew Sean and let him in without any interrogation. As soon as Sean entered the door, he saw Madam Lewis in the living room weing him in a worried manner, ¡°You are here; Miss Natasha is also here!¡± Madam Lewis was very unhappy with these Mitchell family children who only came to the old man if they needed him. Usually, they never came. If they came, they must have had ulterior motives. However, the old man was suffering from dementia and was easily led by the nose. Today, Natasha Mitchell suddenly visited the house and Madam Lewis knew that she had ulterior motives! Sean shook her head toward Madam Lewis and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go see what¡¯s happening there.¡± He entered the room from which the piano sound came and saw Natasha sitting in front of the piano. She was ying a piano piece that wasposed by Cooper Mitchell when he was 17. It was called ¡®Salvador¡¯. That was the old man¡¯s favorite piano piece because it was his son¡¯s independentposition, so he sat and listened to it in amusement. Sean was even more worried that Natasha had a motive for being here. As her hand fell on thest syble and the beautiful piano sound ended, Natasha retreated from her musical trance, took a deep breath, and looked back at Woody with a smile, ¡°Grandpa, did I y well?¡± Woody pped his hands, ¡°It sounds so good; you y better than Cooper!¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Natasha walked up to Woody gracefully and shook the old man¡¯s arm coquettishly, ¡°Grandpa, why don¡¯t you give me Uncle Cooper¡¯s amulet. It¡¯s not like he needs it anymore!¡± Among the Mitchells, Natasha was the only one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Cooper¡¯s piano skills. She was also the most capable of ying the artistic conception of Cooper¡¯s ¡®Salvador¡¯. The piano piece just now made the old man happy. Natasha thought she was able to coax Woody to take out Cooper¡¯s amulet, but unexpectedly, Woody shook his head. ¡°The amulet has been taken away by Cooper! It belongs to him, so he took it away.¡± Natasha didn¡¯t believe that the amulet was given to Cooper. Cooper has been dead for so many years! It seems that the old man doesn¡¯t want to give it to me! Natasha had already sent someone to search the entire house, but she couldn¡¯t find the amulet and the caretaker, Madam Lewis, did not know where it was too. After grinding for a while, the old man still did not let Natasha get the amulet and she left empty-handed with a sullen face. ¡°Natasha, don¡¯t go; y another song!¡± It was a pity that Natasha had already left with a cold face; no matter how much the old man pleaded, she still wouldn¡¯t look back. Looking at Natasha¡¯s face, Sean pretended he did not notice it. Sean¡¯s side of the family was also a rtively important branch of the Mitchell family because of Cooper Mitchell. Back then, Cooper had once saved the Mitchell family¡¯s empire and he had been regarded as the hero of the family since then. Sean¡¯s father was dead, yet his grandfather and uncles all heldrge amounts of shares in the Mitchell Group. Thus, they had voting rights in thepany and the family. However, Natasha didn¡¯t want anything to do with Sean. Sean often came to Woody¡¯s vi, so Natasha was also suspicious about whether Sean took the amulet. She had also investigated it privately, but she still found nothing. She would never give up that amulet! Woody was very happy to see Sean. ¡°Wow, Sean, have you seen Cooper? Why hasn¡¯t he been back in so long!¡± Sean looked in the direction where Natasha left and after confirming that she had left, he replied, ¡°Uncle Cooper is downstairs parking the car; he will be up soon.¡± The old man was overjoyed and went downstairs with a cane. Sean supported him and saw his face glowing with an extremely happy smile. The old man seemed much more lively. He murmured, ¡°Cooper is home! Cooper is home!¡± Outside the vi, Sophie watched Natasha walking out of the vi and get into her car angrily. Several cars drove away quickly. After a while, Sean helped Woody walk out of the vi. ¡°Cooper, where are you?¡± Hearing Woody¡¯s voice, Sophie¡¯s heart melted. She opened the car door and walked out. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m back.¡± Woody greeted her happily and Sophie hurriedly went up to support him. The sun was dazzling outside, so she helped Woody into the room. Sean and Stanley removed the barbecue grill and ingredients from the car. Little Nate put on a hat and led the dog down. The air conditioner was turned on in the house and everyone instantly cooled down. Woody warmly greeted Sophie and immediately asked Madam Lewis to make some tea. The ce where Woody lived was a high-end resort; the nearby beaches were all private but they were all very clean and quiet. Woody¡¯s house was not far from the seaside. It was just a few minutes away and it was very suitable for barbecues. When the tide receded at night, they could also pick up seashells. Woody took Sophie into the piano room. ¡°Cooper, you haven¡¯t yed the piano for me in a long time!¡± Natasha probably yed the piano for the old man in this piano room just now. Sophie didn¡¯t like ying the piano very much, but she was still qualified and had no problems ying it. She sat on the piano bench and began to y the piano ording to the music sheet in front of her. The name of the song was ¡®Salvador¡¯. Author: Cooper Mitchell. Chapter 356 Chapter 356 She followed the sheet music and began to y. The wonderful and lively musical notes from the piano jumped around the vi, falling upon everyone¡¯s ears. Sean, Stanley, Hale and the others downstairs were busy preparing the barbeque grill and the ingredients. They heard the music too, but unfortunately, everyone didn¡¯t understand it, merely knowing that it was lovely to listen to, and that it was artistic. Sophia yed ording to the piano score, gradually getting into the atmosphere of the music. It was a very cheerful song that seemed like it was written by someone in love. The song was full of the feelings of love and the essence of springtime. Every note carried a strong sense of adoration and care. Upon finishing the song, she was in a pleasant mood. After ying the piece, she noticed that the old man was listening with gusto. So, she turned to the second page of the score and continued ying. Sophia yed the piano all afternoon and the old man was very happy to listen to it all. After ying the piano, Woody mysteriously led Sophia into arge room on the third floor. ¡°Cooper, look. I moved your room here. You¡¯ll stay here tonight!¡± The room was veryrge; the study and the bedroom werebined into a single space, decorated in the vintage British style. Half the space of the room was taken up by bookshelves that held arge collection of books, while the other half of the space would be Cooper¡¯s private living quarters. This room shouldn¡¯t have been here. After Cooper died, Old Master Fletcher had moved it over from the Mitchell ancestral home. He had also deliberately decorated it to be exactly the same as the original room. Everything in the room was arranged neatly; even the items on the desk were still very new, while the nts on the desk were all green and healthy. All the details were exactly the same, and someone came in everyday to clean the space. Woody probably couldn¡¯t ept the fact that Cooper had already died, so he thought that if he cleaned the room regrly, his son would be able to return. However, Cooper Mitchell had been dead for years¡­ Woody said, ¡°Son, you must be tired after ying the piano for so long. You have a rest now. I will call you when dinner¡¯s ready.¡± Woody left the room and Sophiay on the bed. The bedding was brand new. It seemed to have been washed and dried recently, for it still smelled like it had been sun-dried. After lying down for a while, she stood up and walked around. She looked through Cooper¡¯s books, then she opened the windows to look outside. One side of the floor-to-ceiling windows showed the endless sea not far away. As the wind blew, waves rolled on the surface, creating a calming sight. When one opened the windows on the other side, one could overlook the entire resort; the view was fantastic. Seeing Sophia emerge from the third-floor room, Stanley shouted from downstairs, ¡°Sophia, Sean and I are going to the nearby market to buy seafood!¡± Sophia watched them leave, but Hale, Gemma, and Gary¡¯s cars were still parked downstairs. At this time, Madam Lewis served Sophia some cold drinks. While cing the drinks on the table, she said, ¡°The things in this room belonged to Young Master Cooper. When Young Master Cooper passed away about ten years ago, Old Master Mitchell had his things moved over from the Mitchell ancestral home. These past years, aside from those of us that are tidying and cleaning, Old Master Mitchell has never allowed anyone to enter the room. You¡¯re the first one¡ª¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia, who was standing outside the windows, quickly turned to look at her and smiled as she nodded. ¡°Thank you, Madam Lewis.¡± Madam Lewis watched her looking back and was stunned. All those years ago, there was also once a teenager who had stood there outside the windows, turning back to her and thanking her. At that moment, time seemed to have ovepped, and the two figures separated by over ten years of time seemed to merge into one before Madam Lewis¡¯ eyes. It was no wonder Old Master Mitchell thought the girl before her was Cooper. Even Madam Lewis, who had brought up Cooper since he was little, also thought that the two people were somewhat inexpressibly simr¡­ Madam Lewis collected her own emotions and said, ¡°You have a good rest. I will call you for dinnerter.¡± As Madam Lewis went out, Nathan came in. He washed his feet in the bathroom next door, andy down on the bed. As Sophia looked at the sleeping Nathan, she increased the temperature of the air- conditioning and quickly covered him with a small quilt, afraid that he would catch a cold. She continued looking around Cooper¡¯s study, examining the gramophone, then the multiple calligraphy manuscripts that belonged to Cooper, ced on the bookshelf. Cooper¡¯s calligraphy was very beautiful; even the words within the calligraphy workbooks were written with vigor. For some time, she stared at the yellowed manuscripts in a daze¡­ Putting down the manuscript, she drew a book from the shelf to read. She turned a few pages and read until she felt a little tired, then she moved to lie on the bed for a little while. The sounds of churning waves resounded in her ears, sounding like a luby to her, and she soon fell asleep. In her dreams, Sophia suddenly heard the sound of a piano. It was the song she had yed just now, ¡®Salvador¡¯. She followed the piano sounds and found the person ying the piano. The figure of the man was hidden behind a fog, and only the silhouette of his figure could be seen. As she got closer and closer, she still couldn¡¯t see the man¡¯s face, but she could hear the cheerful sounds of the piano suddenly turning slow, bing filled with endless sadness. This song was supposed to be a cheerful piece of music, but it now sounded like a funeral song, sad and hopeless. She approached step by step and called out to the person within the fog. ¡°Cooper?¡± In the midst of the fog, she saw Cooper Mitchell. He looked just like the way he appeared in the school¡¯s promo video. While ying the piano emotionally with his eyes lowered, his eyebrows were furrowed with despair and sorrow¡­ Suddenly, a sound awakened Sophia. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up before noticing a man in a white shirt standing in front of Cooper¡¯s bookshelf. Feeling wary, she demanded, ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± The man looked back at her and said, ¡°Shhh. Keep your voice down.¡± A scarred face appeared before Sophia¡¯s eyes. Abel? She nced at the sleeping Nathan, gathered her clothes and walked over to him. Lowering her voice, she asked, ¡°Abel? Why are you here?¡± Abel was wearing a pair of white gloves and searching for something on the bookshelf. ¡°I¡¯m looking for Cooper¡¯s fingerprints.¡± Cooper had disappeared for over 10 years. Even though he could have changed anything, including his name, appearance, background and identity, there were two things he couldn¡¯t alter¡ªhis DNA and his fingerprints. Abel often sneaked into Cooper¡¯s room to look for his fingerprints, but he was always particrly careful, worried that he would raise suspicion. This time, with Sophia sleeping in Cooper¡¯s room, he had the perfect opportunity. Sophia was puzzled. ¡°Why do you want to find Cooper?¡± Abel searched the room while he told her, ¡°We suspect that Cooper isn¡¯t dead.¡± ¡°Cooper¡¯s not dead?!¡± Sophia was stunned. Abel continued, ¡°This matter is very important, so don¡¯t mention it to anyone. We are now looking for the relevant evidence, and Cooper¡¯s fingerprints would be very reliable ones.¡± Sophia was immersed in this major news. After a while, she said, ¡°If Cooper isn¡¯t dead, where is he now? Why are you looking for him?¡± She didn¡¯t know why, but she felt nervous. She knew that Abel directly obeyed Michael¡¯s orders, so if he was doing something, it meant that Michael wanted something done. Why would Michael suddenly look into Cooper¡¯s affairs? Could it be that Michael had been nning something, just like Natasha? Chapter 357 Chapter 357 If so, had Michael¡¯s sudden promise to allow her to have contact with Woody merely been a ruse to use her as a tool to achieve Michael¡¯s own goals? Her heart clenched; she didn¡¯t want to see Michael involve Woody in his idea¡­ Looking at Sophia¡¯s worried expression, Abel made her reassured by saying, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be so nervous. Boss just wants to find Cooper and ask him to verify something very important.¡± Is that so? Sophia was still suspicious, but she took a glove from Abel¡¯s toolbox to help. She remembered Cooper¡¯s manuscripts that she had just read, and there should be a fingerprint on it. So, she quickly took it out and turned a few pages. Sure enough, there was a faint fingerprint in the corner of the page. It must have been identally smudged there with his inky finger, but then carefully hidden away by Woody. Seeing the fingerprint, Abel¡¯s expression grew concerned and he carefully kept the manuscript away. He hade on this day as Nathan and Sophia¡¯s bodyguard, allowing him to safely and boldly conduct his search. Aside from the fingerprint, he had hoped to find other clues, so he continued to rummage through the bookshelf. Sophia was extremely worried, so she asked, ¡°Is Cooper really not dead? If he didn¡¯t die, then where is he now? What does Taylor want to ask him? Does it have anything to do with Old Master Mitchell?¡± As Abel continued his search, he replied, ¡°Cooper couldn¡¯t have died. Boss wants to ask him about certain matters, but it has nothing to do with Woody.¡± Sophia was still uneasy, afraid that Cooper had done something to have wronged Michael, so thetter was seeking revenge, and she was worried that it would affect Woody in the future. While carefully opening Cooper¡¯s book, Abel suddenly stopped and his gaze seemed to be fixed on something. Then, he turned around slowly toward the small figure not far behind him. Nathan had woken up for some time, standing in front of Cooper¡¯s desk, his hair messy from sleep. Raising his head, he looked at the ugly man in front of him, his eyes full of horror and curiosity. Abel was shocked. His gaze swept across Nathan¡¯s body, but after a second, he forced his eyes away from his own son. That was his son; his biological son who became orphaned at 3 months old. However, he didn¡¯t dare acknowledge him. He would rather never let him know the truth! Seeing Nathan suddenly pop up, Sophia was afraid that he would be frightened by Abel¡¯s appearance. Quickly blocking his line of sight, she said, ¡°Son, this man was sent by your daddy to look for some information. Let¡¯s not bother him. How about we go see if Stan has brought back a big crab?¡± Thus, Nathan was whisked away by Sophia. As he was leaving, he still looked at Abel curiously. It was as if he seemed to know this person from before¡­ Abel stared at the door after Sophia had left for a full minute before closing his eyes. He had obtained Cooper¡¯s fingerprints now, so the rest would be left to be long-term considerations. With Sophia around, it would be easier to get his hands on Cooper¡¯s things. Sophia took Nathan downstairs and saw that Stanley and Sean had returned, but they had also brought home an unexpected person. Sophie looked at Michael who was talking to Woody while sitting on the living room sofa, stunned. ¡°Hubby, why are you here¡ª¡± Isn¡¯t he supposed to be with the filming crew today? Michael saw Sophia, and before he could say anything, Woody spoke up first. ¡°Cooper,e here. This is Nate¡¯s mother, Celine.¡± Sophia was speechless. Well, if he could mistake a young damsel as his own forty-year-old son, then I suppose he could also mistake Michael to be his twin sister, Celine. After all, they look so alike. Michael yed along and pretended to be Celine. ¡°Old Master, I¡¯m already registered for marriage with your son!¡± Woody was stunned for a while before he could react. ¡°You and Justin got a divorce?¡± Michael frowned and answered, ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re divorced, and now Nate is under my custody.¡± Woody scratched his head and said, ¡°No wonder I¡¯ve been seeing Nate follow Cooper around¡­¡± He happily epted the fact that Cooper and Celine were married; he was so overjoyed that he even ate two extra bowls of rice at dinner. During dinner, Sophia deliberately didn¡¯t eat as much, wanting to leave room in her stomach for the seafood feast. After dinner, Old Master Mitchell went to bed early and everyone went to the beach for the barbeque. Harry and Daniel also joined in, as the resort was their property as well. Also, Michael even brought a few bottles of red wine from home. Everyone else was at the seaside barbeque eating and drinking, enjoying the blowing seabreeze, but Michael, Harry and Daniel seemed to be talking about something important at the side. It looked like a very serious scene, for Hale had even been put on guard to block people from joining them. Nathan led the dog and picked seashells along the beach, while Sophia was happily eating a big lobster. As everyone was busy drinking, she was busy eating all the seafood. Stanley was already drunk; he looked like a dead dog, lying on the beach chair as he babbled nonsensical words. Sean had also drank a lot of alcohol. Under the night sky, his facial features appeared softened, making him look like a girl with short hair. He looked at the dark sea horizon with sadness in his eyes. As the two of them continued to gobble down seafood, Sean suddenly said, ¡°Sophia, Cooper¡¯s amulet must be kept properly. You can¡¯t let anyone from the Mitchell Family see it. I¡¯ve been hearing rumors among the Mitchell Family that they¡¯ve found Cooper¡¯s private assets kept within foreign banks. They¡¯re thinking of ways to ess it, but they need the password and the token.¡± He nced at the amulet Sophia was wearing on her chest, his eyes worried. ¡°They suspect that the token needed is the amulet.¡± Sophia was in the middle of tackling her lobster as she mumbled, ¡°Isn¡¯t the Mitchell Family already very wealthy? They still care about this bit of money? How much is the fortune worth?¡± Sean replied, ¡°100 million Kuwaiti dinars.¡± Kuwaiti dinars? What the hell is that? Sophia scratched her head, trying to think about it for a long time, before her eyes suddenly widened. ¡°Kuwaiti dinars? And 100 million?! That¡¯s so much!¡± Kuwait was a rich oil country with the world¡¯s most precious currency¡ªthe Kuwaiti dinar. One Kuwaiti dinar was equivalent to about 23 Cethosian currency, so 100 million Kuwaiti dinars would be more than 2 billion worth of Cethosian currency! Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Sean shrugged. ¡°If it really is currency, even after ten years, it is still currency. However, if Cooper¡¯s deposit was gold ornd titles, after these past 10 years, the value of these could have appreciated significantly.¡± The value it was 10 years ago wouldn¡¯t be the same as the value it was now. When converted, it could easily be more than 2 billion Cethosian currency! Sophia ate a crab in shock. ¡°You Mitchells are really rich!¡± Sean corrected her and highlighted the focal point. ¡°It¡¯s Cooper who had money. The entire Mitchell family now is living off the wealth Cooper earned. Now that they know about this new pot of money and property, they¡¯ll be trying their best to get it.¡± Unfortunately, the bank required a token and a password to be present at the same time when withdrawing the money. As it was a password and token that was decided upon by Cooper, there was a high probability that the amulet was that exact token. As for the password, it might also have something to do with the amulet, so she asked, ¡°Can¡¯t they just make do with the password?¡± Sean shook his head with a mocking smile. ¡°The password is made up of a thousand random digits without any pattern. The withdrawing party is required to recite it all at once without pausing or reading off the information.¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. Chapter 358 Chapter 358 A thousand-digit password? Who the hell would know that?! Cooper Mitchell really was a genius! Wasn¡¯t he afraid of forgetting the password himself? Sophia took off the amulet and gave it back to Sean. ¡°You should take it back since it¡¯s worth 2 billion. I¡¯m terrified my neck will be chopped off!¡± Since Sean brought up this matter, he must be meaning to ask for the 2 billion. Sean took a look at the amulet and gave it back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s likely that the token is the amulet. That year, Natasha¡¯s father managed to swipe this piece of obsidian away. He scanned the whole thing over using X-ray. The amulet is merely a piece of obsidian; there¡¯s no password, no mystery, nothing.¡± Sean¡¯s eyes became a little sad. ¡°Furthermore, Cooper has done more than enough for the Mitchell Family, yet they still want to squeeze out thest bit of his value. I don¡¯t want the money to fall into the hands of the Mitchell Family. It has been so many years, so the Mitchell Family should learn to sustain themselves. Depending on Cooper¡¯s original inheritance isn¡¯t a long-term solution.¡± Then, he looked at Sophia solemnly. ¡°Please protect this amulet. You don¡¯t need to have any worries about it. The property shouldn¡¯t have anything to do with this amulet.¡± Sophia instantly felt the burden on her shoulders grow heavier. As she opened her mouth to tell Sean that Cooper was still alive, she suddenly remembered Abel¡¯s advice, so she gave up. In the end, the property was still Old Master Mitchell¡¯s. The property belonged to Woody and Cooper, so it would be best that she leave it for the time being and wait for Michael to dig up Cooper, who was supposedly still alive. Then, she could return the item to its original owner. This was obviously a Mitchell Family affair, yet she didn¡¯t know why she was so concerned about it, so she readily agreed to the n. Sean looked over at the Power Trio who were sitting in the distance, still discussing their matters, before reminding Sophia, ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone about this; not even Mr. Michael.¡± Sophia felt ced in an even more difficult position. She frowned, but she still agreed. Since this was a Mitchell Family affair, she¡¯d leave it until Cooper returned before bringing it up again. Tay Tay is already so wealthy, so he probably wouldn¡¯t be so intent on the 2 billion. Then, the two continued to eat the seafood. Unbeknown to them, among the Power Trio, there was someone who was proficient in lip-reading. ¡°A thousand-digit password!¡± Harry was surprised at first, but he quickly became excited. Patting Michael on the shoulder, he said in a high voice, ¡°Your brother-inw really was a weird one. A thousand-digit password? What if he himself had forgotten it?!¡± Michael took a sip of red wine and didn¡¯t speak as he watched Daniel spying on the conversation between Sean and Sophia. ording to the lip-reading, they had surmised the issue of the 2 billion. The Power Trio were dependent on each other. With the three people forming an entity and each of them functioning as a leg to support it, they were able to stand firmly. Furthermore, they each had their own unique skills. Harry had the most finesse, so he yed the role of the charismatic superior who was able to control their subordinates. Meanwhile, Michael controlled the overall situation. Lastly, Daniel¡¯s role was equivalent to that of a military strategist; he also collected information from various sources for the Power Trio, and he was the one proficient in lip-reading. When the conversation on the other side ended, Daniel concluded, ¡°It seems that Sean is not as simple as we thought. He knew that the money falling into Alex¡¯s hands wouldn¡¯t be ideal for him, so he nned to let Mrs. Fletcher temporarily keep the amulet. In fact, his ns were to borrow your powers to protect that property.¡± Sean probably didn¡¯t seek out Sophia specifically to safeguard the amulet, but it just happened to fall into her hands. Therefore, she became the safest ce for it, as she had Michael¡¯s protection. He boldly told her about the 2 billion issue so that Sophia would be more careful and attentive toward protecting the amulet. Surely, he had considered the idea of Sophia taking the fortune for herself, but then he must have decided that since she wasn¡¯t a Mitchell, it would¡¯ve been impossible for her to know the password. Sean probably wanted to use Michael¡¯s power to temporarily safeguard the property, but he missed out some important points¡ªSophia was actually Cooper Micthell¡¯s daughter, and Michael was very concerned about his father-inw. This 2 billion would be regarded as Michael¡¯s small gift to Sophia. After all, the property should have belonged to her in the first ce. Instead of letting the Mitchell Family squander it, it was better to let her have it! Sophia had just finished talking about the amulet with Sean when Michael walked over. He was wearing beach shorts. Walking barefooted to them, he sat down with Sophia in his arms. Smiling, he asked, ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Sophia felt her conscience being pricked, so she didn¡¯t dare answer Michael. However, with the 2 billion hanging on her body, she still felt rather sorry toward Michael if she didn¡¯t tell him about it. Thus, she ate a really big lobster to mask her guilt and said, ¡°Nothing. Nothing at all.¡± Sean smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Michael, Natasha asked for Uncle Cooper¡¯s amulet again today. You¡¯d better help Mrs. Fletcher take good care of it.¡± Michael subconsciously looked at the amulet hanging from Sophia¡¯s neck. Keeping his usual expression, he said, ¡°Naturally.¡± Sean supported the drunk Stanley and went back to rest first, while Sophia lowered her head and continued eating. After Mr. Morgan was done helping to clean the area that now resembled a battlefield, they started the second round of the barbeque. A lot of food was grilled, so Harry and Daniel also joined them. The crowd continued with the barbeque, chatting away about irrelevant things. After picking up a basket full of seashells, Nathan rushed toward them, looking excited as he expected praises and validation. Meanwhile, Sophia still kept her head down and continued eating the seafood, hiding her guilty conscience. The issue with the amulet and the 2 billion¡­ Should I tell him or not? She felt that she should be on Michael¡¯s side in this matter, but Sean had only told her about it because he believed in her to keep it a secret. If she spoke about this with Michael, she would be betraying Sean, but if she didn¡¯t tell Michael, she would then be betraying him instead. Thus, she continued eating her crabs while being tangled in thought, and without knowing it, her bingeing eventually turned into stress-eating. She kept on eating crabs for a long time before finally realizing that the mountain of crab meat within her bowl didn¡¯t seem to get any smaller. Thus, she nced at Michael, who was seated beside her, and noticed that he had a mountain of crab shells before him. He was using a small tool to remove the crab meat from its shells. Without taking a single bite himself, he had been cing the meat into Sophia¡¯s bowl instead. So caught up in her thoughts about the issue with the 2 billion, she didn¡¯t even notice that Michael had been deshelling crabs for her. When she saw another piece of crab meat being ced in her bowl, she looked skyward, a raging battle happening within her heart. A voice spoke inside her head. Oh, Michael is such a good man, so how can you side with an outsider instead of him! Sophia Edwards, you ingrate! But then, another voice retorted, But it was 2 billion! Sophia almost mentioned the 2 billion issue out loud. Michael earnestly deshelled the crabs for her, chatting around as he extracted the crab meat. When Nathan came back carrying a basket of seashells, he saw Michael using the small tool to extract crab flesh, so he walked over to him and opened his mouth wide, waiting to be fed the crab. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Michael would ignore him and ce the food into Sophia¡¯s bowl instead, even when her bowl was already filled with crab meat. Nathan¡¯s face darkened instantaneously. Meanwhile, Sophia really couldn¡¯t hold any more food in her, so she pushed the small bowl with its mountain of crab meat to Michael. ¡°Hubby, how about you eat these? I¡¯m already full.¡± Michael had guessed that she was probably stuffed from her stress-eating, but the look on her face as she binged while caught up in her conflicting thoughts was just too cute.Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Then, Michael took off his gloves and wiped his hands clean with tissue. Pushing the crab meat to Nathan, he said, ¡°Here, look at the crab I peeled for you. Aren¡¯t you touched?¡± Nathan rolled his eyes. Please, these are obviously Mommy¡¯s leftovers! Chapter 359 Chapter 359 After Sophia finished her meal, she brought a torchlight with her to pick up seashells. The night sky and the sea werepletely dark, and as she walked on the seashore barefooted, she felt really rxed. The breeze blew so strongly, her maxi dress flew like a fluttering butterfly. Michael watched the little girl running around in a distance and it warmed his heart. All of a sudden, Daniel asked, ¡°Is she really Cooper¡¯s daughter?¡± Michael continued to look at Sophia and didn¡¯t say anything in reply, as if he tacitly agreed. A look of awe instantly appeared in Daniel¡¯s gaze but he quickly started to look worried. If Cooper found out that his daughter was bought for 10 million and sold for 80,000, his reputation in Bayside City would completely be ruined. Harry clicked his tongue and frowned as he said, ¡°Old man, you have a big appetite. Knowing that she¡¯s Cooper¡¯s daughter, you still¡­ Aren¡¯t you afraid that your father-inw might resurrect from the dead and choke you to death?¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Harry used to admire Bear Grylls because after all, the guy had fought a bear before. However, at that moment, the person he admired the most was Michael. He couldn¡¯t believe that Michael would dare to sleep with Cooper¡¯s daughter. Isn¡¯t he afraid that Cooper would suddenly appear from nowhere and kill him? However, Michael was extremely calm. ¡°It¡¯s toote now. What can he do?¡± After hearing this, the other two were rendered speechless. These two were also from the generation when Cooper poisoned people¡¯s minds so they hated Cooper ever since they were young. He had tried to ruin his peers! The three of them fell into a moment of silence. If Michael continued his investigation and really found Cooper one day, the lives of the people in Bayside City would definitely change. The existing power would be redistributed and there might even be a change in politics. At that time, Bayside City was still under the rule of the Four Great Families. The Edwards family was the wealthiest family in the city, the Mitchell family¡¯s electronics business was on a global scale, the Fletcher family held military power, and the Winston family was powerful in military, politics and business. However, among the four, the Mitchell family was the weakest. Ever since Cooper passed away, the Mitchell family business had been gradually going downhill, because having a genius like Cooper in their family was already a miracle. Without Cooper, the Mitchell family¡¯s decline was inevitable. Furthermore, there were a few new families that were rising in power so the Mitchell family¡¯s position as one of the Four Great Families was in danger. Therefore, the Mitchell family urgently needed the two billion. In fact, they didn¡¯t just need two billion, but ten times more than that! During their moment of silence, the seafood on the grill crackled and Hale grilled the seafood conscientiously. Although he had no right to interrupt in the conversation of his boss, at that instant, he couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Boss, I think you should tell thedy boss about Cooper. After all, she¡¯s his daughter. With her help, it might be easier to find him.¡± The three of them immediately turned to look at Hale. Even though Hale was nervous, he continued, ¡°I noticed that thedy boss is acting more and more like her father. Maybe we can have a breakthrough from her.¡± Hale¡¯s words reminded Michael that their search for Cooper was like a chicken with its head cut off. They hadn¡¯t got a clue even after searching for so long. If they started their search from Sophia, they could probably find something, but Michael had his own concerns. The greater expectation, the greater the disappointment. If he let Sophia know that she might have an awesome father right now but found out that he was dead in the end, how would she feel? At that moment, Sophia had found many seashells, fish and small shrimps, and she was running back into the house happily to keep them in a safe ce. She had been living in Woody¡¯s house for the past two days. Although she was a little embarrassed, Woody was very weing and insisted on letting her stay so she had no choice but to stay. Unexpectedly, she saw Woody, who was wearing pajamas, sitting in the living room watching television as soon as she entered the house. ¡°Mr¡­ Dad, why haven¡¯t you gone to bed?¡± Sophia asked as she walked up to him and wiped her dirty hands clean. After Woody saw hering over, he mysteriously beckoned her over. ¡°Come here, Sophia. I have something to give you.¡± Seeing that there was nobody else around, Sophia tactfully refused him. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s gettingte. You should go to bed early. We¡¯ll watch television together tomorrow, okay?¡± Woody looked around vigntly before he said, ¡°Hush! I¡¯m only showing this to you. You must not let anyone else know about this.¡± Hearing this, Sophia felt like she was about to get in trouble. What if Woody gives me something more valuable than the amulet and the two billion? I can¡¯t take anything else! Woody grabbed her arm with one hand and crutches with the other. Then, he staggered as he walked up the stairs, as if he was about to show her something really valuable. Sophie was so afraid, she hurriedly sent a text message to Michael and asked him to save her. Later, Woody brought Sophia into the piano room that they entered that noon. Woody pointed at the piano that Sophia yed and said, ¡°Coop, this is your favorite piano that you¡¯ve yed on for over twenty years. ¡° At that moment, Michael finally rushed back. As soon as he entered the piano room, he saw Woody open the piano stool, where a lot of music scores were hidden. Woody then pushed aside the music scores and found a big, thick book that was covered in dust. Woody handed it to Sophia and said, ¡°Coop, this is your favorite book. You must not lose it, understand?¡± Sophia looked up at Michael, who was standing at the doorway. After she saw Michael nod in response, she bent over and took the heavy book from Woody. As she bent over, the amulet on her neck fell out and Woody hurriedly caught it. He could still feel Sophia¡¯s body temperature on it. He stared at the amulet and his expression lookedplicated. Then, he said to Sophia earnestly, ¡°Coop, this amuletes in a pair. You had a younger sister but she died at birth, and the other half belonged to her. No matter when, the amulet has to be paired together to be useful.¡± Sophia was confused but she nodded in reply. ¡°Yes, father.¡± It waste at night. After Sophia finished washing up, shey on the bed and flipped through the book that Woody gave her. She didn¡¯t know what the book was about because it was written innguages that she couldn¡¯t recognize and there wasn¡¯t even a single picture. She put the book aside and nced at Nathan, who was sleeping soundly next to her. Then, she rolled over and saw that Michael was scanning Cooper¡¯s bookshelves with a strange device, as if he was checking whether there was a secretpartment in the bookshelves. Sophia watched him and after giving it some thought, she asked, ¡°Hubby, why are you investigating Cooper Mitchell? Is he really still alive?¡± Abel already told Michael about the events in the afternoon so he wasn¡¯t surprised at Sophia¡¯s question and he replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether he¡¯s dead or alive right now. However, I¡¯m positive that he didn¡¯t die in the car ident more than ten years ago. He faked his death and escaped.¡± Sophia was in a daze and she suddenly remembered Woody¡¯s silver hair and hisplete loss of sanity. She had heard rumors that Woody became like this after he heard about Cooper¡¯s death. After all, Cooper is Woody¡¯s only son! What happened back then that Cooper had to fake his death and escape? He even abandoned his old father. Back when Cooper died, Woody was already in his seventies. Cooper was a son that he got at an old age. How could he be able to withstand such a huge blow? Chapter 360 Chapter 360 Sophia suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°Woody told me that Cooper fell in love with a girl back then, but he didn¡¯t agree to let them be together so he privately talked to the girl and asked her to leave. However, he told Cooper that he murdered the girl. Maybe Cooper faked his death because of this.¡± Michael¡¯s searching movements paused. That¡¯s it. Everything makes sense now. Woody found Annabel and asked her to leave. On the other hand, he told Cooper that Annabel was dead. Since then, Cooper resented the Mitchell family, and Annabel secretly left and gave birth to Sophia. This is fate! He continued to search around the bookshelves. When Woody moved over from the Mitchell family residence back then, he moved everything from Cooper¡¯s room and made sure that it was kept the same. Then, the Mitchell family had divided up all of his belongings; his private bank ounts, personal belongings and all of his fortune became someone else¡¯s possession. This room was also already searched by everyone multiple times including Abel, who came at night but didn¡¯t find anything. Even though Michael knew that he might find nothing, he still wanted to check it out himself. The bookshelves upied the whole wall so there may be something behind it. All of a sudden, Michael said, ¡°The reason I¡¯m looking for Cooper is because I have something very important that needs to be verified by him.¡± Then, he turned to look at Sophia, who was on the bed, and said, ¡°Cooper might secretlye back to visit Woody. If you find any of Cooper¡¯s traces, you must tell me.¡± Sophia nodded in reply. With that, Michael continued his search around the bookshelves. The bookshelves were huge and had over a thousand books on them. The Mitchell family had already looked book from book so they would have found something if it was hidden here. Meanwhile, Sophia was a dilemma. She was contemting whether she should tell Michael about the two billion. For one moment, she was thinking about the gentle look on Michael¡¯s face when he peeled crabs for her, but the next moment, she remembered Sean¡¯s trusting gaze. Urghh!! It¡¯s so hard to make a decision! After thinking about it for a while, she decided to tell Michael. After all, she was eating the food he prepared, living under his roof and using the allowance he gave her. I can¡¯t be ungrateful! Well, f*ck friendship! Maybe Tay Tay doesn¡¯t even care about this money at all! Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. With that, she mustered up the courage and told Michael everything that Sean told her today. Michael secretly wanted to burst intoughter. He had watched Sophia struggle to make a decision the whole night and thought that she would nevere to a decision! He replied, ¡°I have no interest in the Mitchell family¡¯s money at all. I¡¯m only interested in Cooper.¡± After that, he continued to look for clues of Cooper¡¯s whereabouts. However, after Sophia heard his reply, she waspletely dumbfounded. He¡¯s only interested in Cooper?! She had seen pictures of Cooper before and he was indeed extremely handsome. Furthermore, Michael¡¯s sister had almost gone on a blind date with Cooper, which meant that Michael and Cooper definitely knew each other. Micheal is not interested in the Mitchell family¡¯s money and is only interested in Cooper¡­ At that moment, Sophia suddenly thought about rumors that Michael was gay. The thought of this possibility made Sophia feel like her world had copsed and she stayed awake the whole night. Michael also searched all night but found nothing. The temperature of the following day was pretty high so the crew was given time off. Michael nned to stay at the beachside for two days before going back. That way, he could also stay in Cooper¡¯s room to find more clues. On the second day at the beach, everyone went to swim in the sea. Later, Michael and the others sat under the umbre and discussed Cooper. Daniel said, ¡°I contacted the people in Kuwaitst night and they have verified that Cooper indeed has 100 million in Kuwait. However, it¡¯s not in cash, but in property and gold with a total value of 100 million. That¡¯s the price that they were valued at more than ten years ago so it¡¯s not only worth 100 million now. In order to get those assets, you must have a token and a password. A few days ago, Alex appeared in Kuwait and he even brought the amulet. However, the token and the password were not a match because the token that Alex brought was a counterfeit. This means that Cooper¡¯s amulet is not the token.¡± Hearing this, Harry chuckled and said, ¡°How desperate is the Mitchell family? I can¡¯t believe that they¡¯re even looking into a dead man¡¯s assets. I think they¡¯re addicted to leeching off somebody else¡¯s money!¡± Michael shook his head and said nothing. That money was probably thest thing that Cooper left for the Mitchell family. After investigating Cooper for the past few days, he had found many hidden secrets about the Mitchell family, and Michael could understand why Cooper would abandon his father and leave. Cooper really did everything he could for the Mitchell family. He seems to have left in a hurry, but he in fact arranged everything. He left money for the family and even arranged people he trusted to protect Woody. At that moment, Sophia was sunbathingzily at the side and was thinking about the words she heard last night. Michael wouldn¡¯t look for Cooper without no reason. Is he really¡­ As soon as she thought of that, she felt extremely upset. Just then, Sean got out from the sea and went ashore for sunscreen, which was next to Sophia. Seeing that she was staring at the sea in a daze, he hurriedly asked, ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Thinking aboutst night, Sohpia asked, ¡°Sean, do you think your uncle likes men?¡± Before Sean could answer, Stanley came over and confidently said, ¡°Just give up. My uncle likes men and the person he likes is Mr. Harry. They are the nation¡¯s favorite couple. If they could get married in the country, you wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance at all!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Nathan, who was sleeping on the beach bed at the side, suddenly got out of the bed and ran away like a rabbit toward Michael¡¯s direction to tell him what he just heard. Seeing this, Stanley was so frightened, he hurriedly chased after him. ¡°Nathan Fletcher, you rascal! Come back here!¡± With that, the two ran toward Michael¡¯s direction. Unfortunately, Stanley was toote. As soon as Nathan rushed over, he hurriedly told Michael what Stanley said. After Michael found out that Stanley was spreading rumors again, he raised his fists and walked over. Sophia silently watched Stanley being chased and beaten by Michael, and she smiled. Meanwhile, Sean already finished putting on sunscreen. As he put down the bottle of sunscreen, he said, ¡°I don¡¯t know whether Uncle Michael is gay, but I know that he really cares about you.¡± In fact, Sean wasn¡¯t gay either. It was just that the person that he liked was coincidentally a man. Although he couldn¡¯t tell whether Michael was gay, it was obvious that Michael cared for Sophia. Sean had always been observant, and he could tell that Michael¡¯s affection for Sophia was very deep. It wasn¡¯t the kind of love between a master and a pet. Instead, it was the love of a husband for his wife. Stanley had once said that back when Michael was in the special forces, he was once assigned to an ind for field survival training. There wasn¡¯t any food on the ind and he barely survived after eating crab for more than ten days. From then on, Michael never ate crab again. Although he didn¡¯t even take a bite of crabst night, he peeled crabs for Sophia the whole night. Michael wasn¡¯t an ordinary man so there were thousands of women who admired him, but he only had feelings for Sophia. It¡¯s a miracle. However, isn¡¯t every rtionship in this world a miracle? That was also the reason why Sean gave the amulet to Sophia with confidence¡ªit was because Michael cared about her and would do everything he could to protect her, which meant that the amulet was temporarily safe. However, Sophia is still putting on a sad face. I wonder why¡­ Chapter 361 Chapter 361 After getting beaten up by Michael, Stanley came over to Sophia crying. ¡°Aunt, can¡¯t you watch after your husband? How could he beat people up without reason?! Look at how badly he hit me¡­¡± Sophia petted Stanley¡¯s dog as she ridiculed him. ¡°You deserve it!¡± All of a sudden, Stanley ran away again. It turned out that Michael wasing from behind him. Sophia looked up at Michael, who was gradually approaching. He was only wearing a pair of swimming trunks, showing his distinct V line and six packs. Under the sunlight by the beach, his skin was glowing a golden color, and Sophia thought he looked like a greasy roast chicken. She secretly swallowed and withdrew her hungry gaze. Then, Michael strode over and took a sip of juice that was next to Sophia, using the straw that she used. When Stanley saw this, he yelled, ¡°Ew! That¡¯s disgusting!¡± However, Michael ignored him and took a second sip. Then, he suddenly leaned close and kissed Sophia, feeding her the juice in his mouth. Everyone was speechless. Once you start dating, no matter how elegant a person is, they will do disgusting things. Everyone else quickly stayed away from them. After the two of them finished the ss of juice by feeding each other through kisses, theyy down on the beach mat to rest. After a while, everybody saw the two of them went into the water and swam around together. It was easy to tell that Michael was really happy. Joy was written all over his face, just like when he was twenty years old. Michael tickled Sophia under the water and Sophia burst intoughter. However, she was still holding onto Michael¡¯s neck, not letting go. She didn¡¯t really know how to swim but Michael was really good at swimming, so he carried her on his back and swam around. Everyone on the beach could hear Sophia¡¯s unrestrainedughter¡­ After ying for a whole day, Sophia felt happy but she was exhausted. She went back to Woody¡¯s house to wash up and went to bed early. Nathan was arranged to sleep somewhere else that night so Sophia bravelyy on the bed naked as she waited for Michael. Meanwhile, Michael was still studying Cooper¡¯s bookshelves tirelessly. As soon as he looked up, he saw a seducing figure and was overwhelmed, so he quickly stopped what he was doing and got into bed. With his body pressing on Sophia¡¯s, he bit her ear and whispered, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± While opening the book that Woody gave her, Sophia switched on the ultra-thinptop that she had brought and said, ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s another reason why Woody gave me this book. I uploaded a picture of the book online and just found out that this book is about calctors.¡± Calctors? Woody would never give Sophia the book for no reason. He probably took the book out because he has a gut feeling that Cooper¡¯s daughter has returned. At that moment, Michael remembered the calctor on Cooper¡¯s bookshelves a moment ago so he hurriedly took the calctor over. Cooper had used it years ago so it was pretty old. However, with people cleaning the ce frequently, it didn¡¯t umte dust. Sophia took over the calctor. Then, pointing at the index of the book, she said to Michael, ¡°Cooper made many notes on the index. Most of the markings are made with a red pen but he used a blue pen in this area. I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s something special about it. I turned to the page marked with a blue pen and found that it was a page introducing high-tech calctors.¡± Even though Sophia was learning twonguages, she didn¡¯t know whatnguage the book was written in. So, she took a picture, uploaded to the inte, and used the search engine¡¯s image recognition function to decipher it bit by bit. Meanwhile, Michael stood by and watched as Sophia typed away on the laptop¡¯s keyboard while marking the book with a pen. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. He frowned a little. Hale was right. We have been searching around the globe for Cooper like headless chickens and forgotten that Cooper¡¯s daughter and father are right next to us. Both of them are Cooper¡¯s only existing family in the world. Even if Sophia has never met Cooper, she is still his offspring after all. Sophia has his intelligence and she might be the closest person to Cooper in the world. Michael caressed her ass as he watched her search for clues. ¡°¡­ The book says that in 1994, a Europeanpany that produces safesunched a mini safe in the shape of a calctor, which can hide some small important things. However, after it was put on the market, the sales weren¡¯t good so they stopped producing it. They only managed to sell 50 of them and the production codes are listed here.¡± Sophia nced at Cooper¡¯s calctor that Michael brought over and looked at the back of it. Looking at the production code in arabic numerals, she said, ¡°This calctor that belongs to Cooper is a miniature safe.¡± Michael had toyed with it for a while just now and the battery was dead. ¡°I¡¯ll go look for tools to disassemble it.¡± Hearing this, Sophia frowned and said, ¡°That won¡¯t do. ording to the book, this miniature safe has a self-destructing device. Forcing it to open will trigger the self-destruction mechanism and whatever is inside will be destroyed.¡± ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Michael hurriedly asked Sophia. After Sophia finished reading the information online, she replied, ¡°You must open it by entering a specific form into the calctor. After that, it will bring you to the password input interface. Once you enter the correct password, the safe will open.¡± Michael looked around and picked up the air conditioner remote control. He then removed its batteries and installed it into the calctor. It turned on after a while but it was no different from a normal calctor. Then, Sophia said, ¡°Look, there are more than ten consecutive pages with Cooper¡¯s writings in this chapter. It seems as if he was using this book as a draft but only this form is circled with a red pen. I think this form is probably the form to start the password input interface.¡± As Sophia spoke, she entered the form that Cooper left into the calctor. After entering a lot of forms, only a number¡ª1000, popped out. Sophia frowned and said, ¡°The book says that the number that pops up after entering the form is the number of digits in the password.¡± A thousand-digit password¡­ It has the same number of digits as the password for the money in Kuwait. It might be the same password! Isn¡¯t Cooper afraid that he might forget a thousand-digit password? However, Michael looked at Sophia expectantly. Maybe she has a way. ¡°The book says that there are only five chances to insert the password correctly. Once you get it wrong five times, the safe will self-destruct. Let me try¡­¡± As she spoke, her hands were already pressing on the numbers on the keypad. Michael watched as she pressed the buttons. When she pressed a number, the number 1000 turned into 999. As she pressed more numbers, the amount on the calctor became smaller and smaller¡ªit turned out to be a countdown. When the password input interface showed the number 0, twenty minutes had passed. They had actually used 20 whole minutes to enter the password! When Sophia pressed on thest number and clicked the confirm button, the screen went ck. Then, with a click, a USB popped out from the side of the calctor. Chapter 362 Chapter 362 Michael stared at the USB that popped out of the calctor in disbelief. Isn¡¯t this a little too easy? How did Sophia guess the thousand-digit password that the Mitchell family couldn¡¯t get right even though they tried so hard? It¡¯s a thousand-digit password. If she pressed a wrong number, all efforts before would be lost. Why was she so sure that the numbers were all correct? Even though Michael had tons of questions, he decided to see what was in the USB first. The USB was very old and the design looked antique. If this USB was really left by Cooper, it would have been hidden for over ten years. More than ten years ago, Mitchell Hi-Tech Group invented the world¡¯s first generation of USB sh drives and even applied for a patent. Nowadays, any manufacturer in the world that produced USBs had to pay Mitchell Hi-Tech Group the patent fee. This USB was definitely the most advanced technology at that time. It was also developed by Cooper and his team. With one high-tech gadget, he made the Mitchell family rise to the top. Even now, the Mitchell family was still living off of that money. The USB in Michael¡¯s hand was probably one of the first generation USBs in the world but it could still function after being plugged into theptop. Theptop showed that the USB had 16 gigabytes of storage. When USBs were first produced, the largest storage space was only 100 megabytes. It was astonishing that Cooper had the foresight to make a 16 gigabytes USB more than a decade ago. There was a folder in the drive but it was encrypted. Sophia clicked on the folder. Then, Michael watched as her small hands typed speedily on the keyboard. Not long after, Sophia managed to decrypt the folder and could finally see the treasured information inside. Seeing this, Michael asked, ¡°How did you decrypt the folder?¡± Without turning her head, Sophia replied, ¡°Gemma taught me.¡± After hearing this, Michael was speechless. Gemma was indeed a genius inputers. When Michael adopted Gemma when she was very young, he had discovered her talent inputers so he provided the best materials and conditions to train her. However, how did she manage to teach Sophia to be an expert inputers under my watch? Sophia was wearing a pair of big sses as she looked at theptop screen intently. ¡°Fortunately, the encryption is an old technology that dates back to more than ten years ago. There is a code cracking program written by Gemma in myptop that barely managed to crack the encryption. If the encryption was a little more advanced than this, I¡¯m afraid only Gemma would be able to crack it.¡± Hearing this, Michael asked curiously, ¡°How did you know what the thousand-digit password was?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Cooper onceposed a piano piece using PI, which happened to have 1,000 notes. It can¡¯t be a coincidence.¡± The thousand-digit password turned out to be the number of PI! Sophia then ced theptop on the small table on the bed before she leaned against Michael¡¯s chest and clicked on the files in the folder. ¡°It looks like Cooper¡¯s work diary, which includes video recordings of some top-secret people he had met. Look, every video file has a date record.¡± Michael got up, put on his pants, and called Abel. This was the first time he felt excited ever since his search for Cooper started. He had a feeling that a shocking secret was about to be revealed! Soon, Sophiapressed the files together and sent them to Abel. Then, she curiously clicked open Cooper¡¯s files to see what was recorded in his top-secret video files. As soon as she saw what they were, she was dumbfounded. He met with the president of Moscov¡­ He also met with the leader of the world¡¯s biggest mafia¡­ And the leader of an extremist organization in the Middle East¡­ Sophia randomly clicked on a folder and it was filled with secret videos of Cooper meeting these people. Their conversation was about sensitive topics that would get someone killed. Sophia was stunned when she found out that Cooper had also participated in the behind-the-scenes nning of big events that shocked the world. What kind of business was Cooper in? All of a sudden, she spotted a name among the dozen work diary records that sent a chill down her spine: 200x/06/03 ¨C Meeting with the second generation Phantom Wolf. Phantom Wolf! Turns out that Cooper even contacted members of Phantom Wolf! No one in the world has a video of the Phantom Wolf. I didn¡¯t expect Cooper to have them here! Michael was so nervous and excited that his hands trembled as he impatiently clicked on the video. The video started ying and something appeared on the screen. The venue of the meeting was Cooper¡¯s study. Two people were sitting on both sides of the leather sofa in the center of the screen. A man with ck hair that was dressed in an elegant tuxedo sat casually on the sofa, swirling the ss of red wine in his hand. That man was Cooper. Looking at the time stamp, at that period, Cooper had already taken over the position of family head. He was no longer the joyful young man in the Bayside University promotional video. His unique brown eyes were glowing with an extraordinary brilliance and his sharp features made him look handsome and full of elegance. The person that was sitting on the opposite end of the sofa was probably the Phantom Wolf leader. Unfortunately, the camera wasn¡¯t ced at a good angle¡ªthe sunlight spilled in from the windows behind the man and they could only see a dark shadow. Behind the dark shadow stood another man, and he seemed young. Simrly, they couldn¡¯t see his face. All of a sudden, Michael felt the blood in his body rush to his brain. That man is the leader of Phantom Wolf! Phantom Wolf is a title passed down from one generation to the next. The person sitting on the chair is probably the second generation Phantom Wolf, and the current Phantom Wolf should be the third generation! The person that killed Celine six years ago is probably the third generation Phantom Wolf! The young man standing behind the second generation Phantom Wolf is probably who we¡¯re looking for! Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Michael squinted his eyes and carefully looked at the young man but unfortunately, he still couldn¡¯t see what he looked like! F*ck! The video was only a few minutes long. In it, Cooper and the Phantom Wolf were speaking in a very low volume. Sophia listened carefully and could only make out that the Phantom Wolf was asking Cooper for a favor. It seemed that he wanted to use Cooper¡¯s influence to achieve his goal but Cooper sonorously refused. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Phantom Wolf. Thisnd in Cethos belongs to me and I won¡¯t allow you to cause trouble in my territory.¡± Sophia heard this sentence clearly because when Cooper said this, his tone sounded determined and non-negotiable. In the end, the two of them didn¡¯t reach an agreement, so the Phantom Wolf led the young man and got up to leave. Cooper too stood up to send them off. All of a sudden, two figures rushed in from outside the door and chased around Cooper¡¯s legs happily. The two figures were a boy and a girl. Cooper stretched out his hand and easily hugged one and took the other¡¯s small hand. His sonorous voice suddenly became gentle, as if he was whispering something to them. After Sophia maximized the volume, she leaned her ear close to the speaker and heard a voice. ¡°¡­ Stan, Sean, I¡¯ll take you two out to y.¡± Hearing this, Sophia was speechless. Turns out that the pair of children was Stanley Fletcher and Sean Mitchell! They met the two generations of Phantom Wolf before! Because of Sophia¡¯s important discovery, Abel didn¡¯t sleep all night. He rushed over from Bayside City and watched the videos in Cooper¡¯s USB over and over again. Since the video was from over ten years ago, the second generation Phantom Wolf leader was already dead. The young man behind him was probably the third generation Phantom Wolf leader, the culprit that murdered Justin¡¯s beloved wife! Chapter 363 Chapter 363 Naturally, they couldn¡¯t tell Sean about the fact that they found Cooper¡¯s videos. At that moment, they could only pin their hopes on Stanley. Stanley, who was hungover, had a bewildered look on his face when he was brought to their ce and made to watch the video. After he finished watching it, Michael urgently asked, ¡°Do you remember what this man looked like?¡± Stanley looked half asleep when he replied, ¡°Uncle Michael, what is this video? Where did you get this video from?¡± Michael yed the video again and applied pressure on Stanley¡¯s shoulder. In a serious tone, he said, ¡°Stan, do you remember how Nate¡¯s parents died?¡± Hearing this, Stanley squeezed his fists and replied, ¡°They were killed by the Phantom Wolf!¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Over the years, many members of the Fletcher family had died at the hands of the Phantom Wolf, and the rows of new graves in the Memorial Garden was the eternal pain in the Fletcher family member¡¯s hearts! Michael pointed at the blur figure of the Phantom Wolf leader and said, ¡°This is a video of Cooper¡¯s secret meeting with the Phantom Wolf leader more than ten years ago. This man is the second generation Phantom Wolf leader. Back then, you and Sean ran into the room to y. Do you remember this?¡± Stanley rubbed his eyes and it was filled with blood vessels as he widened them and carefully watched the video again, trying his best to recall what happened that day. Without needing Michael to urge him, Stanley watched the video over and over. However, in the end, he said in frustration, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m sorry but I really can¡¯t remember.¡± Both Michael and Abel felt disappointed but it was understandable. After all, Stanley was really young back then. Even if he saw the Phantom Wolf leader, it was more than ten years ago, so it was normal not to remember. Then, Stanley suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯m sure Sean remembers what he looks like. I¡¯ll go and bring him over.¡± However, Michael stopped him. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Sean about it for the time being.¡± After that, Michael got up to leave. Finding the leader of Phantom Wolf and Cooper was their top priority. Sooner orter, he would need to find Sean to ask for clues but once he asked Sean, Cooper¡¯s videos would definitely be exposed. When that happens, he would need to exin the source of the videos to Sean and it might arouse suspicions from the Mitchell family. After all, this was connected to a huge asset of two billion. However, all of a sudden, Stanley grabbed Michael¡¯s hand and looked at him with a determined and pleading expression while saying, ¡°Uncle Michael, I know that you have never taken the Fletcher family seriously. Over the years, you have bore too heavy of a burden yourself. Tell me what really happened. I want to help you.¡± Michael looked at him and his eyes glistened. Stanley was one of the people he didn¡¯t hate in the Fletcher family. When Michael and Celine were young, they were ostracized by the other members of the Fletcher family but Stanley¡¯s brother, Caleb, often stood up for them. When Michael was a child, he liked to y computer games and the young Stanley would sit at the side and secretly learn from him. The two of them even often secretly yedputer games together. Even though their ages were more than ten years apart, they were close. Michael turned around and looked at the scenery outside the French window. He could see the horizon, and on the white sandy beach, two people were happily collecting seashells. Sophia¡¯s long, ck hair and the corners of her bright red beach dress danced wildly in the night breeze, and the two graceful figures entered Michael¡¯s gaze as he stood behind the French windows. Sophia, who was collecting seashells with Nathan, seemed to have felt Michael¡¯s gaze because she turned around and waved at him happily. Michael waved back at her as well. After a moment of silence, Michael decided to tell Stanley the truth. ¡°Stan, the Phantom Wolf has their eyes on your Aunt Sophia.¡± The Phantom Wolf is eyeing Aunt Sophia?! Stanley¡¯s eyes instantly widened in shock and he stared at the figure running along the beach in disbelief. Sophia is being targeted by the Phantom Wolf! Is it because they found out that she¡¯s Michael¡¯s wife? He felt a sudden shiver down his spine. Michael took out the old USB from his pocket and said, ¡°Your Aunt Sophia found this USB in Cooper¡¯s bedroom. Find an opportunity to reveal the video to Sean and ask him to recall the Phantom Wolf leader¡¯s identity and appearance. Let me know when it¡¯s done.¡± Stanley held the USB and suddenly felt touched. Michael is finally starting to trust me! After Sophia collected many seashells and caught some fishes, she happily returned to Woody¡¯s house. Woody was sitting on the shore, drinking his tea. However, most of the time, he was staring at the beach in a daze. ¡°Dad, look! Nate and I picked up a lot of shells.¡± Woody, who had a solemn expression a moment ago, immediately smiled when he saw Sophia. ¡°Coop, when you were young, my favorite thing to do was to bring you to the beach!¡± Hearing this, Sophia chimed in and said, ¡°Yes, my favorite thing to do is to swim in the ocean.¡± Woody looked at Sophia¡¯s face and suddenly burst into tears. Then, he grabbed Sophia¡¯s wrists tightly and sobbed as he said, ¡°Coop, I know that you hate me! I¡¯ll never forget the look in your eyes when you saw that girl¡¯s dead body. Coop, I¡¯m terribly sorry.¡± Sophia felt distressed. She patted Woody¡¯s back and said softly, ¡°Dad, don¡¯t say that. I understand your actions and I don¡¯t me you. I really don¡¯t.¡± Woody often mumbled about the things that happened back then, so Sohpia had heard about the story of Cooper and his lover more than a dozen times from him. At that time, the elders of the Mitchell family found out about Cooper¡¯s lover and wanted her topletely vanish from the earth. Woody couldn¡¯t force his son to leave her and he couldn¡¯t stop the elders from hurting the girl either, so he could only comprise and make a difficult decision. He had found her, asked her to go far away and faked her death. Doing so wouldn¡¯t just make Cooper give up, it would also quell the elders¡¯ anger and dissatisfaction. Cooper was still young at that time so he thought that he would forget about the matter in a short time. However, unexpectedly, Cooper valued her so much that he didn¡¯t forget her until the day he died. After comforting Woody for a while, he finally stopped crying and Sophia helped him into the house. As soon as she returned to her room, Stanley dragged her into a corner mysteriously. Then, with a distressed expression, he said, ¡°Aunt Sophia, what should I do? Uncle Michael asked me to show this USB to Sean. I don¡¯t know how to reveal it to him without raising any suspicion¡­¡± Stanley had been worried ever since he received this task from Michael. He had never lied to Sean even once so he really didn¡¯t know how to tell Sean about the USB. Sophia never thought that Michael would reveal this matter to Stanley. Using her identity as his aunt, Sophia poked his forehead old-fashionably and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t you be brave? Come, I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done!¡± She already betrayed Sean once so she wasn¡¯t afraid to betray him a second time, but she felt less burdened because she knew she was doing this to help Sean find Cooper. She ced the USB in the safe that looked like a calctor and yelled toward the door, ¡°Judge!¡± ¡°Woof?¡± Not long after, a dog¡¯s head poked out of the doorway. Chapter 364 Chapter 364 Everyone came to the trip to y, but Sean couldn¡¯t get his spirits up. Before Stanley, who probably had a hangover, woke up, he went to sit alone under the umbre and stared at the long stretch of beach and sea in a daze. Sean¡¯s father had died when he was very young so he couldn¡¯t remember what his father looked like. All he could recall was back then, before his mother left the Mitchell family and got remarried, she had held him in tears and said, ¡°Sean, if only you were born a girl! If you were a girl, I could¡¯ve taken you with me.¡± If he was a girl, he could have left the Mitchell family with his mother. However, he was a boy, and the Mitchell family would never let their bloodline leave the house. Furthermore, his mother didn¡¯t have a powerful family like Celine and he didn¡¯t have an uncle who would take him away at all costs, so he kept staying with the Mitchell family and was adopted by his uncle. When he was young, he remembered clearly but didn¡¯t understand what his mother¡¯s words meant. If you were a girl, I could¡¯ve taken you with me. Naively, he thought that as long as he put on a skirt, his mother would be able to take him away. Unexpectedly, he wore girl¡¯s clothes and waited until he was eighteen but his mother still never came back to take him away¡­ The salty sea breeze ruffled his hair and he took a sip of his juice. As he watched Nathan, who was ying on the beach, his eyes were full of envy. All of a sudden, he saw Sophia and Stanley chasing after Judge. ¡°You stupid dog! Stop right there!¡± Judge was holding something in his mouth. Perhaps he was frightened or excited, for he ran faster and faster. Seeing that Judge was running toward Sean, Sophia anxiously yelled, ¡°Catch that dog! Catch him!¡± With that, the few of them worked together and managed to catch Judge. Then, they pulled out the calctor that was full of saliva from its mouth. Seeing that the calctor was destroyed, Sophia apologetically said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault for not closing the door properly and giving this dog a chance to run into the room and create a mess. It even broke Cooper¡¯s calctor.¡± Meanwhile, Stanley lowered his head and patted his innocent dog that took the me. He didn¡¯t dare to look at Sean or the dog in the eye. Sean looked at the calctor distressed but he didn¡¯t me it on Sophia. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Uncle Cooper has been dead for so many years. These things have no meaning anymore. Besides, the Mitchell family comes to his study to search for things every year, and they secretly took a lot of things. It doesn¡¯t matter if there¡¯s one less calctor.¡± Sophia looked apologetic as she said, ¡°I will punish this naughty dog for you!¡± Hearing this, Stanley hurriedly held his darling pet dog and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to hit my son!¡± After he finished speaking, he pped Judge¡¯s butt and the dog ran away. Sophia and Stanley then chased after the dog. Meanwhile, Sean stared at the calctor and his sharp eyes noticed that this calctor was different from other calctors. He lightly pulled on it and easily disassembled the calctor. Then, he realized that this calctor was specially designed, and there was even a hidden compartment inside that had a USB! A flicker of hope instantly appeared in Sean¡¯s eyes. This calctor was found in Cooper¡¯s room so it definitely belongs to him. Maybe there are some clues that he left behind here! He quickly nced around and saw that Sophia and Stanley were still chasing after Judge. Seeing that there was no one else around, he hurriedly plugged the USB into theptop beside him. After plugging it in and waiting for it to scan, he realized the USB was filled with more than ten gigabytes of video recordings. Sean was extremely excited as he never thought that he would find files that Cooper secretly left behind. Later, he clicked on the first file and soon, Cooper appeared on the screen. ording to the time the video was recorded, Cooper was around 28 years old at that time, which was a year before his death and the third year he took over the position as family head. In the video, Cooper was utterly handsome. Being half a foreign descent, he had deep, dark eyes. At that time, he was at the peak of his career and appearance. Even though more than ten years had passed, this face was still profound to Sean. ¡°Uncle¡­¡± Sean couldn¡¯t help but mumble. This is probably Cooper¡¯s video diary. As Cooper¡¯s deep and scorching eyes stared into the camera, Sean could feel his strong demeanor even through the screen. ¡°I hate more than love the family that gave birth to me and raised me.¡± This was Cooper¡¯s first sentence. ¡°I will never forget the day her body gradually turned cold in my arms. Even though it was a cold corpse, I didn¡¯t manage to protect her and I had to watch as she was thrown into the incinerator. She turned into ashes and smoke in front of me and I couldn¡¯t even get a handful of her ashes. At that moment, all my love for this family vanished, and all that¡¯s left is hatred.¡± Sean was startled as he didn¡¯t know that Cooper had such a grudge with the Mitchell family. The video continued and Cooper was silent for more than a minute before he said, ¡°I was too naive back then. I thought I was strong enough to protect her, but in the end, she still died in front of me. It was my innocence and the Mitchell family¡¯s cold-heartedness that killed her. Since then, I¡¯ve been eager to leave the Mitchell family every waking moment. That day is not far away now¡­ Once I finish arranging my father and the Mitchell family¡¯s future, I willpletely disappear. In addition to my public assets, I left several fortunes for the Mitchell family. The biggest one is the 100 million that I left in Kuwait.¡± Hearing this, Sean¡¯s ears perked up and he subconsciously nced at Sophia and Stanley who were still chasing after the dog not far away. Unexpectedly, Cooper chuckled mockingly and said, ¡°This 100 million is not in cash. It¡¯s made up ofnd deeds of all the properties on a street in the wealthy district of the capital of Kuwait, as well as a batch of gold. I have an investmentpany in Kuwait that specializes in taking care of my investments. Even if I¡¯m gone one day, thepany will still continue to operate. If you want to get this fortune, you have to have my token and a password. The token is the amulet that my father gave me but this amuletes in a pair. The two tokens must appear together to take effect. The other half of the amulet has gone to another world with the person I love.¡± After Sean finished watching the video, he was silent for a while. It seems that the Mitchell family will never get this money because Cooper doesn¡¯t want them to get it. He already knew that the token had been destroyed but he still set it as the token to ess the fortune. The reason he did this is to let the Mitchell family look at the unobtainable fortune in desperation! Cooper, is this your way to retaliate against the Mitchell family after your death? However, the Mitchell family really is cruel. I can¡¯t believe they killed somebody and even burned her in front of Cooper! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sean watched the video several times more and suddenly noticed one of Cooper¡¯s sentences. Once I finish arranging my father and the Mitchell family¡¯s future, I willpletely disappear. He grew up listening to Cooper¡¯s deeds. Even now, the Mitchell family was still living under Cooper¡¯s brilliance. The business they had was founded by Cooper back then and before his death, he even signed a long-termrge order for the family. With this order, the family would have no worries for the next ten years. Upon closer inspection, all of this seems to have been pre-arranged¡­ A bold idea suddenly formed in Sean¡¯s mind. Cooper is not dead yet! Sean was extremely excited. After sending the video to his most trusted uncle, which was his grandfather, he continued to view the other videos in hopes of finding clues. If they could find Cooper, they didn¡¯t need gold or properties. After all, Cooper was the Mitchell family¡¯s greatest treasure! Chapter 365 Chapter 365 While searching, Sean found a name that caught him off guard: Phantom Wolf. When he saw this, he subconsciously looked at Stanley, who was ying with his dog in the distance. Then, he clicked on the video and frowned hard as he watched it. Although Sophia and Stanley looked like they were ying with the dog, they had been secretly paying attention to Sean, so they saw him find Cooper¡¯s USB and watched the video inside that was decoded by Sophia. Stanley was still trying to figure out how to pretend to have discovered the video and ask Sean to recall the Phantom Wolf¡¯s appearance when he suddenly saw Sean stand up and wave at him. ¡°Stan, Sophia, hurry over. I have something to show you¡­¡± Stanley was startled by this. Even though he knew what Sean wanted to show him, and even though he knew that Sean would definitely show it to him when he found out, he felt touched when it really happened¡­ Unfortunately, even after Stanley and Sean watched the video for a long time, they still couldn¡¯t recall what the person looked like. At that time, they were only five or six years old. Sean liked to run over to the militarypound to y with Stanley, and Stanley liked to go over to the Mitchell¡¯s to y with Sean. Cooper had many guests so they didn¡¯t really pay attention, and it was unlikely that they would remember a person they only saw once. With that, they found themselves at a dead end. Stanley watched the video once again and frowned in frustration. Seeing this, Sean apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Stan. I¡¯ll go and ask the others after I go back. Perhaps there might be someone who remembers him.¡± That was all they could do for the time being. This discovery changed everyone¡¯s vacation ns. After three days of ying by the beach, they all went home one after another. Sean wanted to head back to ask about the Phantom Wolf leader¡¯s whereabouts, and Michael was eager to return to Bayside City. He had watched Cooper¡¯s video about the 100 million that he hid and heard that he gave the other half of his amulet to his lover, who was also Sophia¡¯s mother, Annabel Johnson. Michael figured that he might find something among Annabel¡¯s relics. The driver drove them back home and Sophia was dozing all the way. When they reached the entrance of the residential area, the car stopped to allow the guards to scan their faces to confirm their identities. As soon as the windows were rolled down, the security captain at the entrance said to Michael, ¡°Boss, people from the Edwards family have been waiting at the door for Miss Edwards for the past two days.¡± Michael had his sunsses on and he said impatiently, ¡°Is it Joe Edwards again? Get them out of here.¡± Hearing this, the security captain seemed to be uneasy and he said, ¡°It¡¯s not Joe Edwards, but an old nanny. She said that she was a friend of Miss Edwards¡¯s mother back then and she has something to hand to Miss Edwards. She insisted on handing it to Miss Edwards herself and has been waiting for two days in a row. I suspect she¡¯ll being by again in a while.¡± Michael frowned and nced at Sophia, who was still dozing, before he said, ¡°If she drops by again today, call Miss Edwards and let her know.¡± With that, the car drove into the residential area. After they got home, Sophia yawned and slumped against Michael, as if there were no bones in her body, acting like a spoiled child. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m so tired that I can¡¯t walk anymore.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Michael immediately lifted her up and carried her in his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you in.¡± As Michael carried Sophia into the house, Nathan, who was behind them, got out of the car angrily. Hmph! He taught me to do my things myself! Now I know how to shower, brush my teeth, wash my face, and wear my shoes by myself, but she won¡¯t even walk on her own two feet! Then, Nathan pulled his suitcase into the house with an angry expression. After they entered the house, Michael went to work on his own affairs. He was really interested in Cooper¡¯s fortune; not only was he interested in his assets, but he was also curious about the token. If Cooper is still alive, he will definitely pay attention to the fortune¡¯s whereabouts. If somebody finds the token and takes out the fortune at this time, Cooper will definitely show up! Now the question is, what is the token? There wasn¡¯t anything among Annabel¡¯s relics that looked like something Cooper left behind. Meanwhile, after Sophia got home, she took a nap before she started to read bookszily in the afternoon. All of a sudden, Sophia received a call from the security booth at the entrance of the residential area. They said that there was someone waiting at the gate so she quickly rushed over. Then, she saw the old nanny of the Edwards family who was rescued from the fire at the Edwards family house previously. Sophia was vignt the moment she saw her. Why is she here at a time like this? Was she instructed by Joe? The old nanny was really happy to see Sophia. ¡°Sophia,e here. I have something for you!¡± Something for me? Sophia frowned. The old nanny took out a linen handkerchief from her arms and opened ityer byyer. Then, Sophia saw a stic file inside. After opening the stic file, there was a yellowed envelope. ¡°Anna gave this to me. She said she woulde to me to get it after she gets home but unexpectedly, she hadn¡¯t shown up once and I almost forgot about it. Fortunately, I went back to my hometown recently and found it.¡± Something that belonged to my mother? Sophia took the yellowed envelope with a frown. ¡®Citibank¡¯ was written on the front of the envelope and the date on the back showed that it was from before Sophia¡¯s birth. Inside the envelope was a business certificate from Citibank that showed that the user, Annabel, had rented a safe deposit box at Citibank twenty years ago. She would need a key to retrieve the item. Sure enough, there was a key in the envelope. Then, the old nanny said to her mysteriously, ¡°Anna told me that this thing is very important and that you must take it out. It has to be taken out.¡± Sophia thanked the old nanny and sent her off. Then, she went home and studied the lease contract of the safe. ording to the contract, if the renter of the safe dies, the heir must provide relevant documents before opening the safe. Michael also learned of this and was keenly aware of the extraordinary nature of this key. Cooper said that he had given the other half of the amulet to Annabel, but they couldn¡¯t find any trace of the amulet among Annabel¡¯s relics. It was possible that it was being kept in Annabel¡¯s safe. Later, Michael helped Sophia get Annabel¡¯s death certificate and documents proving her identity as Annabel¡¯s heir as quickly as possible. With the key and documents in hand, Sophia excitedly rushed to Citibank and asked to open the safe Annabel rented. Michael also apanied Sophia to the bank and because of his special status as best actor, Taylor Murray, Citibank specially sent a VIP receptionist to serve them. ¡°Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, please wait for a moment. We need some time to verify the documents.¡± The receptionist was well-trained. Even though the popr best actor, Taylor Murray, was sitting opposite her, she wasn¡¯t gaffed at all. Seeing the receptionist bring the documents for verification, Sophia was so excited that her hands that were on her knees were shaking slightly. She stood up excitedly and paced back and forth the spacious VIP hall, unable to suppress the excitement she felt. I wonder what mother left for me? Sophia was extremely excited but Michael was in a bad mood and he kept frowning. He had visited Citibank with the documents and key before, hoping to open Annabel¡¯s safe to see the contents in advance. Unfortunately, the bank had requested that the renter or her heir show up to open the safe, so Michael had no choice but to bring Sophia over. He wasn¡¯t greedy for what was in the safe, but he was worried that there was something in it that Sophia shouldn¡¯t find out¡­ Chapter 366 Chapter 366 Unfortunately, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to notice that Michael was worried. Amidst her endless expectations, the receptionist smiled as she walked out and said, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, your documents have been verified. Pleasee with us to open the safe.¡± Hearing this, Sophia eagerly went over to open the safe while Michael followed behind with heavy steps. With great excitement, Sophia opened the safe that had been sealed for twenty years with the key. As soon as the safe was opened, Sophia saw a small box that looked like it was made many years ago. She took out the box and realized it was pretty light. However, it seemed to have some weight as she held it in her hands, as if it was weighted with time. ¡°Let me.¡± Michael took over the box from her hands. Then, Sophia happily held onto Michael¡¯s big palm before they held hands and left. After they walked out of the bank, Sophia couldn¡¯t wait another minute and was eager to see what was inside Annabel¡¯s box. She and Michael entered a cafe nearby and sat at a rtively quiet table. Before the coffee was served, Sophia happily opened Annabel¡¯s box. After she opened the box, she saw there weren¡¯t many things kept in it. There was only an old passbook, a red jewelry box and a photo album. Sophia opened the passbook and saw that Annabel¡¯s name was written on it. The passbook was processed twenty years ago, and there was a full 500,000 in it! The value of 500,000 from twenty years ago was iparable with the value of 500,000 today. It was a huge fortune! When Sophia saw the figure, she was dumbfounded and even thought she had read it wrong. It¡¯s impossible for Annabel to have such arge sum of money. If she had this amount of money at the beginning, why would she be a nanny for the Edwards family? Can this be the bargaining chip Coop¡¯s family gave her to get her to leave him? It¡¯s possible. Meanwhile, Michael¡¯s attention was on the tacky red jewelry box, which he eagerly opened to find a ck obsidian Goddess amulet. He quickly turned to look at the amulet that belonged to Cooper that was on Sophia¡¯s chest. Traditionally, men wore a token of God while women wore a token of Goddess. This ck obsidian Goddess amulet was the other half of the amulet that Cooper mentioned. It was a pair of amulets that Woody obtained to protect his two children but his daughter died in childhood. The two amulets were then passed onto Cooper, and Cooper gave one of them to his daughter, Sophia and the other to his lover, Annabel. At that moment, the tokens and password they needed for Cooper¡¯s fortune in Kuwait wereplete and ready to be withdrawn. When Sophia saw the Goddess amulet, she quickly nced at the amulet on her chest and gasped, ¡°These two amulets look alike!¡± She epted her mother¡¯s relics as she should and now the Goddess amulet belonged to her too. The only thing left of Annabel¡¯s remains was the photo album. Sophia reached out to grab the photo album and realized that it was covered in dust, so she lightly wiped away theyer of dust with a tissue. All of a sudden, she noticed Michael¡¯s gaze was focused on the photo album, as if he was fascinated by it. ¡°Hubby, what¡¯s the matter?¡± she asked curiously as she flipped through the photo album. Michael kept his zed eyes glued to the photo album. He seemed to have guessed what was inside and his soul seemed to have been sucked out by a small photo album. ¡°Let¡¯s open the album and take a look.¡± Michael¡¯s voice sounded a little heavy. Even though he knew that Sophia would find out about the truth sooner orter, he wasn¡¯t sure whether it was right to let her know about it at such an early stage¡­ Sophia didn¡¯t know why Michael was so solemn. She already opened the photo album and when she saw the first photo, her body stiffened and she seemed to be frozen. Her hands that opened the photo album hung in the air. She seemed to have seen something that she couldn¡¯t believe and her eyes widened in shock. She pulled out that photo with trembling hands and eagerly turned it to the other side. The photo was protected with a stic shell so the marks by a ballpoint pen on the back was as new as ever even though twenty years had passed. There were a few lines of fine print on the back. ¡®Cooper Mitchell and Annabel Johnson. Photographed in the People¡¯s Park at Bayside City. May 199X.¡¯ In the photo, a man and a woman were holding hands and looking at each other. Happiness was written on both of their faces. Seeing this, Sophia started to panic. She flipped through the photo album roughly, which was full of photos of the young man alone and of Annabel and the young man together. The young man in the photo had an unusually handsome face and he looked like he was mixed-race. He had deep eyes and his pupils were in a special color. The slight smile at the corner of his mouth looked innocent and domineering at the same time. There was a God amulet hanging on his neck that looked exactly like the one Sophia was wearing at that instant. It was a face that Sophia had seen in the promotional video of Bayside University twenty years ago and in pictures around Woody¡¯s house. It was Cooper in his youth! Sophia¡¯s mind went nk and she quickly turned to look at Michael and said in panic, ¡°Hubby, Cooper¡­ Cooper is¡­¡± The thing that Michael was worried about had happened. He took the photo of Annabel and Cooper and sighed before he said to Sophia in a serious tone, ¡°Chica, you have the most powerful father in the world. I checked the records at the hospital that you were born. You were born in September.¡± ¡°I was born in September?¡± Sophia mumbled to herself as she stared at Cooper¡¯s photo. It took her a long time to figure it out. ¡°Coop is Cooper, my mother¡¯s boyfriend back then¡­ Cooper Mitchell is my father¡­¡± At that moment, she didn¡¯t know whether to feel happy or sad. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes and her sight turned blurry before tears streamed down her face and dripped onto Cooper and Annabel¡¯s bright smiles. Then, Sophia repeatedly muttered, ¡°My father is Cooper Mitchell¡­ I¡¯m not Joe Edwards¡¯s daughter¡­ I-I am Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter¡­ I¡­ I have a father now! I have a father!¡± So, the woman whom Cooper loved deeply, the woman that almost got killed by the Mitchell family but was secretly set free by Woody, is my mother, Annabel? Cooper hated the Mitchell family all his life because of my mother¡¯s death? Sophia looked at Michael and couldn¡¯t stop sobbing and crying. ¡°So I¡¯m not the offspring of a rapist, am I?¡± Michael wiped her tears away worriedly as he smiled and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re not. You are the fruit of your parents¡¯ love. Your mother loves you. She secretly hid 500,000 so that she could give it to you. Cooper still doesn¡¯t know about you yet. If he finds out about you, he¡¯ll definitely love you dearly.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024. Hearing this, Sophia couldn¡¯t hold back her emotions anymore. She buried her face into Michael¡¯s chest and wailed uncontrobly, as if she was letting go of the grievances she had suffered over the past twenty years. It turns out that I¡¯m not the daughter of a mistress. I¡¯m not the daughter of a rapist! After being ridiculed for twenty years, it turns out that I¡¯m Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter! I have a father now! Chapter 367 Chapter 367 I was supposed to be a little princess who is cherished and loved by my parents, but unfortunately, things didn¡¯t go as nned¡­ Michael lightly patted her trembling shoulders and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I found out you¡¯re Cooper¡¯s daughter when I saw my mother¡¯s notebook. However, I kept it from you because I was nning to give you a big surprise, the best father in the world¡­ We¡¯ll go to Kuwait to take the money out tomorrow. Once your father finds out that somebody took the money, he¡¯ll definitely show up.¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophiay in Michael¡¯s arms and nodded. As she held the amulet that Cooper gave Annabel in her hand, she suddenly felt like she was the happiest person in the world because not only did she have Michael, but she was also going to have the best dad in the world¡­ The next day, Michael arranged the flight to Kuwait. On the way there, Sophia was extremely excited and she asionally looked out the window. I¡¯m going to have a dad soon! Cooper, who I have always admired, turned out to be my father! Ever since I was young, I¡¯ve been a child with an unknown father and I¡¯ve never had a father or mother to take care of me. Nobody will understand my desire to meet my parents. At that moment, Sophia wanted to tell the whole world that she was the happiest person in the world because she had found her father who had been lost for twenty years! Along the way, Sophia kept asking questions. ¡°Do you think my father will like me? Do you think my father wille running as soon as he finds out that he has a daughter? What kind of person is my dad? Is he stern? Is he hard to talk to? Will he be strict with me? He got a double Phd at the age of 18. I¡¯m 20 years old this year but I don¡¯t even have a single degree. Will he be really disappointed in me? Hubby, have you spoken to him before? Will he agree to let us be together? You¡¯re only a few years younger than him. Will he dislike your age? I heard that your sister went on a blind date with him. Will it be awkward for us to be together?¡± Michael smiled and looked at her as he dotingly said, ¡°You can be rest assured. He is a very nice person and he¡¯ll love you very much.¡± He could tell how much Sophia was looking forward to meeting her father. If somebody told me that Theo isn¡¯t dead and is alive somewhere in this world, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯ll be as excited and fascinated as she is! However, deep down, his worry grew stronger. If he had guessed wrongly and Cooper really did die back then, or he had remarried and built a new family elsewhere¡­ He even left his demented father ruthlessly, let alone a daughter he has never met¡­ For people like Cooper, domineering business is his life goal. Family affection is probably something he won¡¯t care for. Or perhaps, his feelings for Annabel are not particrly deep¡­ The nended in Kuwait in time. Kuwait was an oil-rich country that could only be described as ¡®fabulously rich¡¯. The cabs that whizzed around the streets were all luxury cars and it was obvious the country was exceptionally wealthy. After they got off the ne, the people that Michael arranged beforehand came to pick them up. Later, they directly went to the biggest bank in Kuwait to ask for the fortune. All they needed were the tokens and the password to retrieve the fortune, and they didn¡¯t need to prove their identities. Michael showed them the pair of amulets and Sophia spent 20 to 30 minutes to recite the thousand-digit password. After reciting the password, they retrieved the fortune without any problems. It was a fortune of 100 million that was valued over 10 years ago! Kuwait¡¯s economy had been booming in the past few years and the housing prices had been rising. Furthermore, the properties that Cooper bought were in prime locations in the city center, let alone the price of gold now. The investment company that Cooper left in Kuwait had also been running. Michael brought his own men to search around Kuwait and it took them several days for them to count the property that Cooper had left here. After doing some calctions, they found out that the fortune that Cooper left was no longer only 100 million. Cooper was intelligent¡ªthe investments he made had the fastest appreciation rate and estates that he bought were the most value-preserving. Furthermore, Kuwait¡¯s currency exchange rate was rtively valuable. Combined with intion over the years and the operations of the investmentpany, he had made a dozen times more profit from his initial capital! After calcting for a few days, Michael transferred all the money and assets to Sophia. As for the real estates, they decided to not sell them for the time being, and Michael¡¯s people joined the management of the investmentpany. Sophia, who had worked hard but didn¡¯t manage to save much, suddenly became a billionaire. It was just like a dream. Sophia and Michael stayed in Kuwait for a week to wait for news about Cooper. Unfortunately, even though Michael purposely spread the news that he took out the 100 million through some channels, they never heard any news about Cooper. Cooper was confident that nobody could take away that fortune because the other half of the amulet had disappeared following Annabel¡¯s death. If the other half of the amulet showed up, it must be because Annabel had appeared. After waiting for a week, Michael really couldn¡¯t stay and wait any longer. The crew had urged for his return several times so they had no choice but to return. Before they left, Sophia seemed reluctant to part with this country, hoping that Cooper would knock on her door. Michael held her slightly cold small hand and saw the anxiety and disappointment in her eyes. Distressed, he said softly, ¡°Let¡¯s go back first. Once Cooper hears the news, he¡¯ll certainlye looking for you.¡± With that, Sophia reluctantly got on the private ne and followed Michael back home. After they returned to Cethos, Sophia kept waiting for Cooper¡¯s news. She asked Hale all the time and every day when Michael returned home, the first thing she asked was about Cooper. Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t find Cooper even after two weeks of their return to Cethos from Kuwait. The news that the fortunat was taken away was quickly spread through all sorts of channels. After all, there were several powerful forces eyeing the huge fortune. Many forces even secretly started investigating. Michael checked out these people one by one but he still couldn¡¯t find Cooper¡¯s whereabouts. Meanwhile, Abel¡¯s fingerprint scanning didn¡¯t have any progress either. It was as if Cooper had vanished from this world¡­ When they first returned from Kuwait, Sophia asked about Cooper over ten times a day but after a while, she gradually asked about him less. Until one day, when Michael returned home, Sophia didn¡¯t run to him excitedly to ask him about Cooper. With a bitter expression, Maria asked, ¡°Boss, Madam kept herself in her room today and didn¡¯t even eat lunch. I have no idea what happened to her.¡± Hearing this, Michael¡¯s heart sank and felt a deep regret. The thing that he worried about the most had happened. If only he was a little tougher back then and stopped her from seeing the items in Annabel¡¯s safe, she would only be a happy chica who made a fortune¡­ Michael gently pushed open the door of the master bedroom and saw a figure sitting in front of the French windows. Sophia was still in her pajamas, and she was curled into a ball with her knees to her chest. She was staring ahead nkly, as if she was abandoned by the whole world. She was holding one of Annabel¡¯s photos in her hand and on the back of the photo was a line of scribbles: Coop, where are you? How desperate could Annabel be when she wrote this sentence? It was exactly how Sophia was feeling at that moment as she too wanted to ask the same question. Cooper, where are you? Chapter 368 Chapter 368 Annabel had found out about her pregnancy at an early stage and she had the money Woody gave her, but she knew that if she took out that money, she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it safe. Instead, she might even put the child in her stomach in danger. Annabel had wanted to leave the Edwards family, but she couldn¡¯t. Even if she left the Edwards family and returned to her hometown in Riverdale, she would have to face another family that was greedy for money. In a family that believed that women should do everything to benefit the family, if she took out the 500,000, she knew that not a single penny of it would be spent on her and her child. There was even a possibility that the Johnson family would start ckmailing the Mitchell family. She must have loved the child in her belly and Cooper very much. Annabel was a good person and she¡¯ll definitely be a great mother¡­ Just a few days ago, Sophia thought that she was about to have the best father in the whole world, but reality dealt her with a heavy blow. In just a few days time, her dreams and hopes werepletely crushed. Cooper hasn¡¯t shown up yet. Perhaps, he has really been dead for over ten years. Or maybe, he knows that he has a daughter but he doesn¡¯t care and is not willing to meet me at all. Her high expectations had turned to endless disappointment and loss, and she felt as if she was a child that was abandoned by everyone. Reality had ruthlessly tore her heart apart. Sophia rested her head on her knees and looked down at the photo of Cooper and Annabel. Her tears rolled down her cheeks one by one and they quickly gathered into a small stream of tears. When she heard the noise behind her, she turned around and saw Michael standing not far from her. She looked up and in a hoarse voice like a pitiful puppy, she muttered, ¡°Hubby¡­¡± As she spoke, two streams of tears rolled down her face. She didn¡¯t dare to ask about Cooper because she had a hunch that he would never show up, let alone find out that he had a daughter in this world. Seeing this, Michael felt as if his heart was cut by a thousand knives. He quickly strode over and knelt next to her. As he wiped away her tears, he whispered, ¡°You still have me.¡± He held her pale face and kissed her, tasting her salty tears that were filled with bitterness. Sophia gritted her teeth to stop her crying. Then, she looked at Michael and suddenly leaned in to kiss his lips¡­ The next day, Sophia suddenly asked to see Woody so Michael asked Hale to take her to the beach. Sooner orter, the Mitchell family would find out that the money was taken. If Sean had brought the video back to the Mitchell family and told Alex about it, they might even investigate Annabel and find out about Sophia. Michael was already prepared for the worst. More than half a month had passed since Sophiast visited Woody. When she got out of the car, she saw Woody sitting alone under the palm tree next to his house, staring nkly at the distant sea with his hair messed up by the sea breeze. This man who had devoted his life to the Mitchell family was now in his dying years, and he was like a lone wolf that was abandoned because of old age. The moisture in the wind had soaked his hair and the wrinkles in the corners of his eyes hid the hard work he did over his lifetime as well as his anxiety. This time, Sophia¡¯s heart felt heavier than ever. As soon as she got out of the car and saw Woody, she couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears. She finally found the source of the inexplicable intimacy she felt toward Woody. It was because he was her grandfather! As if by telepathy, Woody suddenly turned around. When he saw Sophia, he was so delighted, a bright smile immediately appeared on his face. ¡°Coop, wee home!¡± Sophia hurriedly wiped away her tears and ran up to him. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m home!¡± Woody was ecstatic to hear this. He quickly walked over on his cane and held Sophia¡¯s arm as he looked at her with concern. ¡°Have you been busy with thepany¡¯s affairstely?¡± Sophia shook her head and replied, ¡°No, everything¡¯s fine.¡± However, as soon as she looked down, there were tears in her eyes. If Woody hadn¡¯t secretly set Annabel free back then, she wouldn¡¯t be standing here. ¡°Dad, let me sit with you.¡± With that, Sophia and Woody sat under the umbre by the beach. Later, Madam Lewis brought them some tea, and the two of them just sat there and enjoyed their tea. After finishing two cups of tea, Sophia had calmed down a lot. She already epted the fact that Cooper may not show up. I¡¯m sure that the reason Cooper hasn¡¯t shown up is because he¡¯s dead! And the people who killed him are the Mitchell family! Cooper and Woody had dedicated their lives to the Mitchell family for two generations. Woodyid the foundation for the Mitchell family¡¯s current glory and Cooper led the Mitchell family to the top, but all of them wanted to kill Cooper so that they could seed the position as family head and take away their wealth! Huh! The Mitchell family is downright ruthless! Whoever benefited the most after Cooper¡¯s death back then is definitely the killer. It is evident that the killer is Natasha¡¯s father, Alex, and his bloodline! Sooner orter, I will avenge Cooper! However, the Mitchell family was a huge and powerful family and she was alone. Sophia needed to n her revenge for the long run and she couldn¡¯t drag Michael into this matter. After all, this was her fight against the Mitchell family. At that moment, all she had was the fortune Cooper had left behind. Michael had already liquidated everything he could and transferred them to her ount. There were some potential real estate and properties that they hadn¡¯t liquidated yet and they were run by Michael, but he gave all the profits to Sophia. He had done enough so she couldn¡¯t involve Michael in her own fight. Sophia spent half a day at the beach and drank a few rounds of tea with Woody. Seeing that his son had returned home to visit him, Woody was joyful. He kept talking about the memories of Cooper¡¯s childhood in excitement, but all of a sudden, he sighed and said, ¡°Coop, the girl that you dated back then, Anna, was a nice girl. I really like her. If you can still find her, bring her home. You¡¯re strong enough now and there¡¯s no need for you to worry about the Mitchell family anymore.¡± Sophia smiled bitterly and replied, ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t have to worry about these matters anymore. I¡¯ll find Anna.¡± She wanted to tell Woody about her identity but she gave up after giving it some thought. Woody already had dementia. If he identally revealed about her existence to Alex, it would immediately put her in danger. Even though Woody had dementia, he still remembered some things so Sophia asked tentatively, ¡°Dad, how many members of the Mitchell family knew about Anna back then?¡± Woody thought about it for a while before he replied, ¡°Your rtionship with that girl is considered top secret in the Mitchell family. They would never allow anyone to find out about this so only a few elders knew.¡± Hearing this, Sophia quickly pulled out a notebook from her bag and said, ¡°Dad, try your best to recall those elders¡¯ names and write it down. I¡¯m prepared to bring Anna back but I have to be careful that these people don¡¯t find out.¡± Woody replied, ¡°Okay.¡±This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. It was only when the sky turned dark that Sophia left. After she left, she couldn¡¯t help but hug Woody and say, ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll be leaving now but I¡¯ll be back in a few days.¡± Woody replied, ¡°Okay, son. Even though work is important, you have to take care of yourself. Don¡¯t tire yourself too much!¡± With that, Sophia got in the car and Hale started the engines. From the rearview mirror, she saw Woody standing next to the garage, his gaze following Sophia¡¯s car until it was out of his sight. Seeing the aging figure gradually disappear, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but cry again. Chapter 369 Chapter 369 Sophia took out the notebook and saw the list made by Woody which consisted of the names of the people who knew about what had happened to her mother, Annabel. Knowing that the Mitchell Family would learn that the money had already been taken away sooner or later, she had to get thetest updates on the people in the list because they might have started investigating Annabel after watching Cooper¡¯s video. It was only a matter of time before they linked the matter to her and hence, she had to know their next move so that she could do some preparation in advance. Back at The Imperial, Sophia went to the basement with her notebook and started running some searches in the database created by Abel. She keyed in the names of the people included in Woody¡¯s list into the database in order to get more information about their identities. There were eight people in total on Woody¡¯s list and all of them were Elders at the time everything happened. As it had been twenty years since then, the youngest of them was already sixty years old and most of them had passed away. Two of them who had retired were suffering from dementia just like Woody. Afterpleting her search, she noticed that Abel was still trying to track down Cooper. He had listed around a hundred suspects in the database and he was now trying to inspect them one by one. Anyone who had some simrities with Cooper would make that list. Suddenly, she walked to the back and said to Abel, ¡°You should stop searching for Cooper because our priority now is to look for the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader.¡± Abel was puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to look for him since he¡¯s your father?¡± ¡°There are only two possiblities which can exin why he didn¡¯t reappear up until now: firstly, he really died in that ident and secondly, he is still alive but he really doesn¡¯t want to appear in public again. No matter which one of the two is the truth, I don¡¯t see the point in carrying on the search,¡± Sophia said. Right now, Sophia had already deemed Cooper as a dead man. However, Abel didn¡¯t share the same sentiment. Cooper was someone very important to him and he had to track him down because he knew there was no way he could have died. Also, Cooper was one of the very few people who had seen Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader in person before and he had even met him in two different phases. Therefore, Abel was of the opinion that as long as they managed to locate Cooper, they would be able to locate Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader too! That was the reason why he couldn¡¯t give up searching for Cooper! ¡°I¡¯m merely carrying out Boss¡¯s instruction and he wanted me to get to him regardless of whether he is alive or dead. Also, he¡¯s a very crucial clue that can lead us to Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader.¡± Abel then continued his investigation on the list of suspects. Meanwhile, his men were carrying out field investigations everywhere in the world and they had been constantly uploading all the information they managed to glean to the database. So, Abel¡¯s task was to analyze the plethora of information to see whether there was anything useful. Standing behind Abel, Sophia watched him as he analyzed the identity of a pianist named William ording to the information provided in the database. He was a pianist from a very influential background who was an enthusiast of calligraphy and was well-versed in Cethosian culture. Clues like these were important in deciding whether he was likely to be Cooper. A video of William performing at a piano concert was transferred to the database. Judging from the timestamp, the video was taken yesterday and it was clear enough for them to look at his most up-to- date condition.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Abel scrutinized the video, careful not to miss out any detail so that he could spot the simrities William might share with Cooper. William¡¯stest handwritings, contour and thumbprintter appeared in the database so that aparison could be then done between his information and Cooper¡¯s. At that juncture came Sophia¡¯s uninterested voice, ¡°This man isn¡¯t Cooper.¡± Abel turned round and queried, ¡°How can you be sure of that?¡± Staring at William in the video, Sophiamented, ¡°I observed how Cooper yed piano in videos very carefully before but the man in this video doesn¡¯t have the same vibe. So, he can¡¯t be Cooper.¡± Abel decided to eliminate William from the list of suspects since Sophia had said so. For the next few guys he analyzed, Sophia was able to give him the answer. ¡°This man can¡¯t be him because his eyes are very different from Cooper¡¯s and he doesn¡¯t exude his aura.¡± ¡°This is not him too because Cooper couldn¡¯t be a man like this.¡± In fact, Sophia was taken aback by how good her judgment was too. Back when she first learnt about Cooper, she had instinctively made him his role model and she had gathered his information and his performance videos in order to learn from him. She had never expected she would be so intrigued by him and never in her wildest dreams did she think that he could be her father. At the moment, she was forming her judgement purely based on her memory of how Cooper looked in those videos as well as on Woody¡¯s facial features. Despite his old age and his mental condition, he was still Cooper¡¯s father after all, so the two must share some simrities. It took her only half an hour to eliminate around thirty men from the list because she was able to dismiss some of them by just one nce. Suddenly, a photo caught her attention. In the very blurry photo was a young man who seemed to be in his thirties. He looked suave but the photo only revealed the side of his body in a suit but not his facial features. While all other men in the list had theirtest videos taken, the only information about the man was that photo. ording to the information provided in the database, his name was Fass Michel and he was the person who was managing the Michel Group behind the scenes and the family head of the Michel Family in Eastern Europe. Staring at the name for a long time, Sophia asked, ¡°Who¡¯s this guy? Why are you investigating him?¡± ¡°This man is the family head of a very ancient family in Eastern Europe. Although he doesn¡¯t fit in terms of his age and race, he¡¯s just too simr with Cooper in terms of his talent in doing business,¡± Abel answered. ¡°He was born in Eastern Europe and he has always been very mysterious. He started his business in North America and the information indicates that he¡¯s doing some mining business in Africa at the moment. Also, Michel Group is now one of the top ten electronic technologypanies in the world. As this man has never attended any public event, no one has ever captured his photo. It took one of our men quite some effort to snap this one but he was nearly caught by his bodyguards for doing that.¡± Sophia kept on staring at the man¡¯s name with a frown on her head for a long time, which puzzled Abel. After some time, Sophia exined, ¡°Focus your effort on studying this guy because I have a feeling that he is Cooper!¡± ¡°His first name, ¡®Fass¡¯ means barrel in German, which is very simr to ¡®Cooper¡¯ which has the meaning of barrel maker. Besides, his surname ¡®Michel¡¯ is the French spelling for Mitchell.¡± It was to everyone¡¯s utter surprise that the man¡¯s name actually carried a secret meaning. However, the man looked so young and he might only be in histe twenties. How could he be Cooper, who was a man in his forties? On top of that, he was the family head of the Michel Family in Eastern Europe, and he was born there. There was no way he could be Cooper! Perhaps, the man¡¯s name was just a mere coincidence. Also, the investigation on him would not be any less challenging than the one on Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. However, Abel decided to trust Sophia¡¯s judgment by making Fass Michel the target of their thorough investigation next round. In fact, they only needed to inform the man of the news that the money in Kuwait had been taken out to know whether he was Cooper. If he was Cooper, he would certainly make a move. After leaving the basement, Sophia first took a deep breath before returning to her room to read a book. At the moment, there was nothing she could do except trying her best to develop, enrich and strengthen herself. Later at night when Michael just came back home from the set, the doorbell rang. As soon as Maria opened the door, a little boy made a dash in and wrapped his arms around Michael¡¯s thigh. ¡°Uncle Michael, you can¡¯t sabotage me in this way! You didn¡¯t pick up any of my calls and I couldn¡¯t even find you on set! Do you still remember that the final round of the Esports World Championship will be held the day after tomorrow? Now that Sirius is nowhere to be found, I can¡¯t handle it on my own without you! Uncle Michael, you have to log on tonight and you have to be there the day after tomorrow or I¡¯ll kill myself in front of you! Sob, sob¡­¡± Chapter 370 Chapter 370 Staring at Stanley who was hugging his thigh with a teary face, Michael pped his forehead and eximed, ¡°I¡¯ve been too busy attending to your Aunt Sophia¡¯s matter that I totally forgot about your stuff.¡± Stanley wept miserably, ¡°Do you even remember that I¡¯m your nephew?! Bah¡­¡± ¡°Hubby, are you back?¡± As Sophia¡¯s voice came from the second floor, Michael immediately nudged Stanley away with his leg. ¡°Get away from me.¡± Stanley refused to leave him alone and tightened his grip on his thigh. ¡°If you don¡¯t join the tournament with me, I¡¯ll tell Aunt Sophia how you y as a female character in the game in order to flirt with guys! I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll divorce you!¡± At that moment, Sophia reached the living room and was confused to see Stanley crying while hugging Michael¡¯s thigh. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Stanley wailed, ¡°Aunt Sophia, the tournament will be held on the day after tomorrow but two out of eight yers of my team can¡¯t be reached at all! My team is going to be defeated! Boohoo¡­¡± The tournament! Sophia felt as if something just exploded in her head. She had totally forgotten about the Esports World Championship as she had been too busy tracking down her father over the past fortnight. Feeling a numbing sensation creeping over her scalp when she looked at Stanley¡¯s teary face, she quickly proposed, ¡°Stanley, you should stay for dinner tonight.¡± With that, she quickly turned around and went to the study. Watching her leave, Stanley still glued himself to Michael¡¯s thigh and he was dragged along with each step he took. ¡°You have to be there the day after tomorrow or I will kill myself here!¡± Michael gave him a kick and relented, ¡°Fine, I promise I¡¯ll be there.¡± Stanley was acting all melodramatic. ¡°Also, make sure your bottom is there too and I know you have his contact number! If anyone of you is to be absent the day after tomorrow, I¡¯ll hang myself to death at the entrance of the National Stadium! I¡¯ll also leave a suicide note saying that I was forced to my death by the two of you!¡± Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Impatiently, Michael tried to yank him away. ¡°Fine, fine. I¡¯ll be there, okay?¡± ¡°You have to make a pledge!¡± ¡°What sort of pledge do you want me to make?¡± ¡°If you are absent the day after tomorrow, your wife will get more and more hideous day by day!¡± What a vicious pledge was that. Reluctantly, Michael vowed, ¡°I, Michael Fletcher, hereby swear to God that if I¡¯m absent at the Esports World Championship, my wife will get more and more hideous day by day!¡± It was only then did Stanley let go of him and rose to his feet to wipe away the tears on his face. ¡°Uncle Michael, I should get going then. Please remember to go online at eight sharp tonight and we¡¯ll be having a training session tomorrow since you haven¡¯t yed for two weeks already.¡± After getting rid of Stanley, Michael shook his head in frustration. So annoying! Meanwhile, Sophia rushed back to her room in order to take out her phone used specifically for gaming. As she had left the phone at home and forgot about it, the battery was t. She found she had hundreds of messages once the battery of the phone was fully charged. ¡®Sirius, where the f*ck have you gone?! You¡¯d better get online now!¡¯ ¡®If you don¡¯t appear soon, I¡¯ll hang myself to death at the door of your house!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯d better wait for me at home because after the tournament, I¡¯ll shoot you with a gun!¡¯ Without further ado, she logged into her ount and found that she had received hundreds of messages from her teammates in the game just to curse her. At night, the team finally reunited because Scary Phoenix as well as Sirius233, who had both gone missing in action for a long time, finally made their appearances. Inside the game, Snow Fox nearly wanted every yer in the team to kneel down in front of Sirius. Snow Fox: ¡®Oh, my darling, my fairdy, could you please never do this to me ever again? We¡¯ll be ying the final round tomorrow! It¡¯s the final round of the Esports World Championship held between our team and the champion team from North America, and it¡¯ll be held at the National Stadium! Do you have any idea how grand it will be? The ticket cost five thousand each and all tickets have already been sold! While teams from other countries were all defeated, we¡¯re thest man standing and we¡¯re going to represent Cethos in the world of esports! If we screw up, we¡¯ll bring disgrace to our country! So, you have to be there tomorrow or I¡¯ll kill myself in front of you.¡¯ Sirius233 sent him a reply which sounded extremely guilty: ¡®So sorry about that. I¡¯ve been very busy lately as my son¡¯s pet dog just gave birth and I had to handle the delivery.¡¯ Snow Fox: ¡®I don¡¯t want to listen to any of your bullshit. Anyway, you have to stay online for the whole day tomorrow or I¡¯ll hang myself to death at the door of your house!¡¯ The team of eight finally appeared in full and they went on to train for the entire night. Michael stayed in his study for the night busy doing something unknown while Sophia continued ying the game in her study. She rested there at midnight and continued gaming in the morning; she was so absorbed for the entire morning that she had to ask Maria to send her lunch to her room. At first, she assumed the Esports World Championship was not a big deal, but to her amazement, the event was actually a very grand one. As Cethos was hosting the tournament, the venue of the final round was fixed at Bayside National Stadium. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was the first game created in Cethos which became popr worldwide, and it was also the first game from Cethos that was made a sports event in the Esports World Championship. Although this game had been included in the championship for years, the Cethos team had only been crowned the champion twice so far and they usually suffered severe drubbings in the hands of teams from other countries. It was especially embarrassing because the game was an invention of Cethos. This year, the Cethos team finally made it to the final round and they actually stood a high chance of winning because the team came with very impressivebat power. Thus, it became a sensational topic in the world of esports in the country, but the other reason was because this year, one of the yers of the Dragon Fox Team of Cethos was Scary Phoenix¡ªa legendary yer. Several years ago when the Swordsman Game was first included in the Esports World Championship, it was Scary Phoenix who led the Cethos team to victory. The event was already a hit even before it began and the tickets were resold at more than ten times the original price. The price of the best seats even reached twenty thousand per ticket but despite the exorbitant price, it was still hard to get a ticket. Worried that Michael would give her a surprise visit to inspect her work, Sophia decided to sneak off to a cybercafe just outside the residential area and she got a private room there to start gaming. It was only at night did she leave the cybercafe and went back home in darkness. As she had yed the game for most of the day as well as the previous night, obvious dark circles had formed under her eyes and they had be puffy. Her skin was so oily that even her bangs were stuck together. She found a pin to pin her bangs up but then her oily forehead as well as her untrimmed eyebrows were revealed. In other words, she looked unkempt and haggard. Since the Lord wouldn¡¯t get to see her in this state, she didn¡¯t mind. Feeling her stomach rumbling on her way back, she stopped by a kiosk at the entrance of the residential area and bought bread and a bottle of coke. Munching on the snacks, she started heading to her house. Unexpectedly, she bumped into Natasha who happened to be walking out of the residential area at that time. Natasha was a girl who looked as elegant as a princess at all times. At this hour, she was still wearing a princess-style short skirt which revealed her fair thighs matched with a pair of limited edition customized high heels. Inparison to her, Sophia, who was wearing a casual attire and a pair of slippers with one hand holding bread and another holding a bottle of coke, looked just like a middle-aged married woman. Natasha spotted her too and she purposefully strutted over, making crisp sounds with her high heels. However, the elegant and graceful footsteps of hers sounded annoying to Sophia. ¡°You¡¯re back! I¡¯ll be having my piano concert tomorrow and I just sent the invitation card to Michael. I wanted to give you one too but you weren¡¯t at home, so I asked Michael to pass it to you.¡± Obviously, she was harboring some secret agenda by sending things to a man in the middle of the night while dressing in such an alluring way. Chapter 371 Chapter 371 Although her face was oily, Sophia put on a refreshing smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to attend your piano concert because I have to take part in a world championship tomorrow.¡± Natasha sized her up skeptically from head to toe before letting out a snort because she was unconvinced that Sophia could be someone who had anything to do with a world championship. ¡°It¡¯s enough as long as Michael will be there.¡± When Natasha walked past her, she caught a sniff of the stench made up of instant noodles and cigarette smoke which could only be found in cybercafes. Frowning in disgust, she got into a car which was waiting for her at the front of the residential area and left. Sophia could still smell Natasha¡¯s rose-scented perfume and it lingered in the air long after she was gone. Along her way back, she realized she smelled very bad, which was inevitable because she had been ying the game drenched in sweat for the whole night because of the excitement. As she started scratching her disheveled hair, dandruff started falling off from her scalp. When she reached home, Maria was keeping away the cups on the coffee table in the living room. Judging from the looks of it, she had just entertained a visitor, who was none other than Natasha that she just met. Two invitation cards which gave off a pleasant-smelling scent were ced on the coffee table. She didn¡¯t even have to think to know who they were from. She was upset in an instant wondering whether Michael was interested to attend Natasha¡¯s piano concert. Judging from Natasha¡¯s tone, that seemed to be the case. As Maria was keeping away two tea cups and a tea set, she reckoned Michael and Natasha must have been chatting in the living room just now. There was even a strand of Natasha¡¯s hair on the sofa! They must have been edging closer and closer to each other and Natasha might have even sat on Michael¡¯sp just now! The more she thought about that, the angrier she became. At night, Sophia took a shower and trimmed her brows. Over the past fortnight since she came back from Kuwait, she had been spending most of her time waiting for information on Cooper and she had not been in the mood to take care of her own appearance. Because of that, she had turned into a messy middle- aged married woman without her realizing. After applying a mask on her face, she returned to the bedroom to find Michael already lying on the bed, looking all fresh and clean. As soon as he saw her, he patted on the empty space beside him and beckoned her over. ¡°Come, get into bed and let¡¯s make love.¡± Thinking about Natasha¡¯s smug look and the two tea cups and two bright red invitation cards she saw in the living room just now, she was furious. ¡°Not for me. I¡¯m too tired after gaming for one whole day and I have no energy for that.¡± Shey down on the bed and deliberately turned to the other side to show that she was mad. It seemed like Michael could not sense her anger at all as he extended his arm and wrapped it around her body before whispering gently next to her ears, ¡°I¡¯m going to attend Natasha¡¯s piano concert tomorrow. Do you want to join me?¡± I was right! Sophia was about to blow her top. Didn¡¯t he know that she was not on good terms with Natasha? Didn¡¯t he know that it was Natasha¡¯s father who caused her father¡¯s death? ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . She couldn¡¯t believe he still wanted to attend her piano concert despite that. In a furious tone, she snapped, ¡°I¡¯m not joining because I have to be at the stadium for the tournament at two thirty in the afternoon.¡± In fact, she still harbored a glimmer of expectation that Michael would go watch her game at the National Stadium when she said that. But to her dismay, Michael responded thoughtlessly, ¡°Really? Since the venue of Natasha¡¯s piano concert is just opposite the National Stadium and it¡¯s going to start forty minutes before your tournament, why don¡¯t you attend the concert first before you go to the stadium?¡± His answer drove Sophia up the wall. Despite knowing that the stadium was only opposite Natasha¡¯s piano concert venue, he would rather go and watch her concert than watching her game at the stadium! She really wondered which one out of them was his wife! Sophia was so pissed off that she didn¡¯t feel like continuing the conversation with him. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep because I need to be at my best at the tournament tomorrow!¡± Are you trying to seduce my Lord by inviting him to that piano concert of yours? Fine! You¡¯ll be reduced to nothing once I win the tournament tomorrow! Michael stretched his arm to turn off the nightmp. Some scented candles were lit in the room to release an extremely pleasant smell that could help them sleep more peacefully. As Sophia had spent the entire day as well as the previous night gaming, she soon sumbed to the overwhelming lethargy and fell asleep despite being angry. A clock affixed to the wall atop was constantly producing a soothing ticking sound. In the serene environment, Michael nted a kiss on Sophia¡¯s cheeks before he watched her tense body slowly be rxed until she fell asleep. In her sleep, she rolled over and wrapped her arm around him. On the following day, Sophia went to the study to start gaming as soon as she woke up while Michael was nowhere in sight. Everyone on the team was online to attend thest team training session. When it was around eleven in the morning, Snow Fox sent a message to everyone: ¡®Well, everyone should set off to the stadium right after having lunch. As the tournament is going to start at 2.30, I want to see all of you there at 2, especially for Sirius233 and Scary Phoenix. Both of you have to be there on time!¡± Scary Phoenix replied: ¡®Okay.¡¯ Sirius 233 replied: ¡®See you guys at the National Stadiumter.¡¯ Sophia then logged out of the game, left the study and washed her face before heading downstairs to have lunch. She saw Michael at the dining hall. As he was going to attend Natasha¡¯s piano concertter, he decided to have lunch at home with Sophia. During lunch, he even said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and watch the tournament at the stadium after the concert.¡± Stuffing all the rice from her bowl into her mouth in two swipes, Sophia responded to him icily, ¡°You don¡¯t have to be there.¡± Then, she put down the chopsticks and left. Micheal shook his head at her response and chuckled. She had changed; she was no longer the timid little girl who used to try very hard to please him. Now that she had be stronger, she started showing him her temper! After packing up her bag with the stuff she needed for the tournament, Sophia was ready to go. However, she stopped when she saw Michael trying out some outfits in the dressing room. ¡°Chica, my team of stylists is going to be here soon. Do you want them to fix your outfit too?¡± he asked. Team of stylists? Why did he want to look so good to attend Natasha¡¯s concert while he didn¡¯t even care about his appearance whenever he was with his wife?! Hmph! Sophia replied in a sharp tone, ¡°Sure. I want to dress up too.¡± Of course she needed to look good just in case there were going to be some handsome young men at the tournamentter. Regardless of whether she was going to win or lose the game, she had to look her best. She carefully selected a long dress for herself and behaved as though she was preparing for a red carpet walk. Anyhow, she would bring on her A game during the tournamentter on! She couldn¡¯t lose to Natasha in any event! She had to be the champion! The world champion! After dressing up, they left home together with Nathan, who sat in the middle of them both in the backseat. The little boy could sense something was not right with the atmosphere today because the couple, who were usually inseparable, didn¡¯t talk to each other at all during the journey. In the end, Michael was the one who broke the silence by buttering Sophia up, ¡°I think I should just skip Natasha¡¯s concert and head straight to the stadium to watch your game.¡± Sophia turned her face away from him and spoke like an elegant but aloof wealthydy who owned billions worth of assets. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You may go ahead to watch her concert because I can handle the tournament on my own.¡± Suppressing the urge tough, Michael asked her, ¡°Chica, are you angry with me?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Sophia replied. Yet, it was so obvious from her cross tone that her blood was boiling. It was only then did Nathan finally realize what the dispute was all about. Sophia then lifted Nathan and ced him on herp while she said, ¡°Nate, why don¡¯t youe and watch the tournament with me?¡± The aura she was exuding was too terrifying for Nathan to say no. Hence, he nodded and responded, ¡°Oh, okay.¡± The two sat close together and neither did they talk nor get near to Michael. The atmosphere inside the car was extremely disharmonious. Chapter 372 Chapter 372 Soon, their car reached the concert hall where Natasha¡¯s piano concert was held. It went without saying that Natasha would choose the most sophisticated and distinguished concert hall in Bayside City because those who were invited to her concert were all big shots. A red carpet had been laid out in front of the main entrance of the concert hall and there were some reporters standing by to take photos. When Natasha saw Michael¡¯s car, she happily walked over to wee him. Natasha was the center of attention today because she was the star of the event. The long pink dress she was wearing together with matching makeup brought out her elegance and sweetness. Her look was specially customized by a team of professional stylists to make sure she was the most stunning belle of the day. She stood there and saw Michael getting out of the car. Michael was wearing a maroon-colored shirt designed uniquely with a ck bow-tie. That outfit made him look like a knowledgeable and elegant man who was as profound and mysterious as a bottle of fine wine. At the same time, he exuded an exquisite and reserved aura that belonged to the aristocrats. Jovially, Natasha approached him and shed him a wide grin as she greeted him sweetly, ¡°Michael, you¡¯re here.¡± Just seconds after Michael got out of the car, a loud thump came from behind. The car door was violently banged shut the moment he alighted the car and it sped away next without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Michael turned round and chuckled at the car which was speeding away in anger. Inside the car, Sophia was furious. What a jerk and hopeless flirt he is! she cursed in her mind. Fine, just go and spend time with your little princess! I¡¯m not going back home tonight! At the moment, the country¡¯s gs were fluttering in the wind at the entrance of the National Stadium. As it was the first time in years that the Cethos team made it to the final round of the Esports World Championship, esports enthusiasts of the entire country were exhrated. The National Stadium, which had a capacity of one hundred thousand people, was filled to the brim with esports fans. The final round of the tournament was a battle between Dragon Fox Team from Cethos and King of Arthur Team from North America. The two teams with the most prominent skill in esports at the moment were going to vy for the championship at the stadium! The Dragon Fox Team was represented by red which was their lucky color, and the eight yers in the team would be wearing red. As for the King of Arthur Team, their lucky color was blue. The fans at the stadium were all wearing the respective color that represented the team they rooted for. Nearly all local fans wore red and nearly all fans from other countries wore blue. As red and blue were the main colors of the stadium for that day, a sea of blue and red was formed. Luxurious cars came and went at the entrance as the sixteen yers who were going to star in the final round made their appearances one after another. Four professional yers of the Dragon Fox Team arrived at the stadium first. Today would be the day which represented the pinnacle of their career because if they emerged as the winner, their worth would surely soar to an all-time high. Wearing the same red suits, they looked ambitious and determined to win. Stanley and Sean arrived in red suits too. When theirst two teammates were still nowhere in sight at two, the remaining six yers of the team went panic-stricken. ¡°Stanley, should you give them a call?¡± ¡°Are they going to stand us up again?!¡± A babble of voices started among the fans of the red team. While all the yers of the blue team were present, the red team was still short of two yers when it was just thirty minutes before the start of the tournament. Had the two yers chickened out at the eleventh hour? If that was the case, the red team was fated to suffer a crushing defeat to the blue team because they would be outnumbered. The fans, who had spent several thousand bucks on the ticket and had been looking forward to the event for at least half a year, did not feel like watching the team they supported concede to defeat by the other team. Under the scorchingly hot weather, Stanley was so anxious that his forehead was filled with beads of sweat. He took out his phone, gave a call to Scary Phoenix and started snarling as soon as the call was put through, ¡°You¡¯d better listen to me carefully: I¡¯ve prepared my suicide note as well as the rope which I am going to hang myself withter. If you are to be absent, my pet dog and I will hang ourselves at the stadium and I will write on the suicide note that I died because of you!¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . After ending the call, he called Sirius and did the same thing as soon as the call was connected. ¡°You rascal, where are you now? We have to register our attendance soon!¡± Then, a woman¡¯s icy voice came from the other end, ¡°I¡¯ve reached the main entrance of the stadium.¡± She was a woman! Before Stanley had the chance to ask her any questions, Sirius had already hung up on him. Staring at his phone, he looked bewildered because he had heard a woman¡¯s voice just now. Was Sirius a girl? Just as he was staring nkly at his phone, a rapturous cheer suddenly erupted among the red team fans who were standing by the entrance of the stadium. They started waving the red gs in their hands vigorously, forming waves with them. A car carrying a red g slowly pulled up at the entrance, signaling the arrival of yet another yer from the red team. The yers as well as the fans of the red team immediately huddled over as they were curious to see who was inside the car. Many of the red team fans had started following them since the qualifying round but they had never seen the remaining two yers, who were absent in all the previous rounds. As they only knew about the six yers who had appeared before, they were extremely curious to meet the remaining two yers. Could the one in the car be Sirius233 who was known for deploying ruthless tactics? Or, could he be the legendary yer, Scary Phoenix, who could easily defeat other yers with his overwhelming skill? Under everyone¡¯s anticipating gaze, the car pulled up before the red carpet that wasid out in front of the entrance. The car door was then opened from which a little boy wearing a red shirt hopped out. The fans were taken aback to see the little boy. After the little boy came a woman. Stepping onto the red carpet stably with a pair of bright red high heels, a woman in a red dress emerged. Under the eyes of the fans which were filled with surprise and admiration, the woman in red dress walked down the red carpet. The red dress wrapped nicely around her attractive figure and brought out her beautiful curves perfectly. Her lips matched the color of her dress and she had smokey eyes makeup to add a trace of icy and aloof charm to her look. The red diamond ring she was wearing elevated the whole look to another level as it gave her an extra domineering aura. As her whole attire was red, she must be one of the yers on the red team. But, which yer was she? The fans of the red team were all eyeing her confusedly. Unlike other people, Stanley walked over to wee her arrival joyously. ¡°Sophia, where¡¯s Uncle Michael?¡± If Sophia was here, that meant Michael was here too. His confidence would be boosted considerably with Michael around because hisbat power was almost the same as two yers. Hence, Stanley wouldn¡¯t be too concerned even if Sirius couldn¡¯t make it. To his dismay, Sophia ignored him and went straight to the logo backdrop at the middle of the red carpet with a nonchnt look. Noticing that there were fourteen signatures on it, she picked up the pen and scribbled her user ID in the game. The fans were shocked when they saw her messy signature of ¡®Sirius233¡¯ on the backdrop. Stanley froze in his tracks and stared at the signature incredulously. Somehow, he found it hard to rte the woman in red with the user ID. Without uttering a word, Sophia received the armband of the red team and tied it around her arm. Her username, ¡®Sirius233¡¯, was written on the armband in a very eye-catching manner. With the armband, she strutted along the red carpet with an impassive face toward the ce where the game would be held. Stanley scurried over and asked her disbelievingly, ¡°Sophia, are you Sirius?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your Dad in the game,¡± Sophia reminded him. ¡°Where¡¯s Uncle Michael?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Apart from Stanley, all of the fans also found it hard to believe that the woman in red was actually Sirius, who yed dirty in the game. Was she really Sirius the Monster, who was ruthless and wicked in the game? To everyone¡¯splete surprise, the yer was actually a woman! Chapter 373 Chapter 373 She was the first female ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ yer who made it to the Esports World Championship and on top of that, she was a real stunner too! Those geeky guys which made up most of the red team fans all cheered and growled lecherously at Sophia. Throughout the whole time Sophia was at the stadium right from her arrival until the registration for her attendance, she maintained a poker-face and didn¡¯t speak a word. Still unconvinced, Stanley questioned her again, ¡°Sophia, are you really Sirius233?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your Dad,¡± Sophia repeated once again. Stanley looked extremely puzzled. Was Sirius really his aunt whom he had harbored a secret crush on for a very long time? No one would believe a far-fetched tale like that! Wasn¡¯t Sirius the gay partner of Uncle Michael in the game? Wasn¡¯t he a guy? Wasn¡¯t he a scum? Why did he suddenly be his aunt? What was wrong with the world? Everyone was getting anxious because Scary Phoenix had yet to make his appearance even though the game was about to start. Although Stanley was equally worried just as everyone else, he knew Scary Phoenix would be here because he had promised so. Moreover, Sophia was already here. Therefore, he started reassuring the rest of the team, ¡°Guys, please don¡¯t worry because Scary Phoenix will be here soon. Now, let¡¯s offer some joss sticks to our Grandmaster for his blessing.¡± Did they actually have a Grandmaster although esports had only be popr in the recent years? Sophia strained her eyes, trying to see who could be their Grandmaster in esports. Stanley took out several bundles of joss sticks from his bag and distributed them to the team before cing a photo in ck and white in front of them. It was Cooper in the picture. Everyone on the red team went speechless. Stanley introduced Cooper to everyone, ¡°This man¡¯s name is Cooper Mitchell and he was the one who invented online gaming some twenty years ago. Hence, he¡¯s our Grandmaster in esports and we should pay our respect to him!¡± Everyone lighted their joss sticks and bowed at Cooper¡¯s picture. After that, Sophia clutched Cooper¡¯s amulet in her hands tightly in silence. This was thergestpetition she had ever participated in. Although she had taken part in global competitions in other countries before, she still had the jitters because none of them were as grand as this one. Keeping the amulet in her tight grasp, it seemed like she was hoping to channel some energy from the amulet that could keep her going until the end of the game. However, when she thought of how her husband was watching another woman¡¯s piano performance with admiration in his eyes or maybe even having a piano duet with her in the concert hall just opposite the stadium, she felt disheartened. Yet, she had no time to process her feelings at the moment. Michael was free to do anything he wanted and he may even decide not to go home tonight! She couldn¡¯t care less about that! The game was about to begin in no time as all the yers started logging into the game with their ounts. After logging into his ount, Stanley peeked at Sophia who was sitting next to him. The sight of how adeptly she keyed in the password for the ount ¡®Sirius233¡¯ still looked like a fantasy to him. How could Sophia be Sirius, who was a jerk? She didn¡¯t look the part at all! As for Sophia, she was stealing nces at Scary Phoenix¡¯s position next to her. Indeed, only a legendary yer like him had the guts to skip such a grand event like this. Didn¡¯t he worry that Stanley would really hang himself at the entrance of the stadium if their team ended up losing because of his absence? Before the game began, all the yers made their formal appearances in front of the audience. The host first introduced the yers of the blue team, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, let¡¯s put our hands together to wee the King of Arthur Team from North America!¡± Cheers and whistles erupted among the fans of the blue team with blue gs fluttering and flying around. The blue team consisted of globally renowned esports yers and they were the reigning champion. Last year, the Cethos team was defeated by them and ended up ranking second. This year, the blue team looked equally confident and they had their eyes on the champion trophy. Most of the blue team fans came all the way here from all around the world just to watch the electrifying battle between the two teams. The host began to introduce the background and the attributes of each yer in the team. ¡°The captain of the blue team is Bruce. His role is Swordsman and the weapon he uses is¡­¡± Each time a yer was introduced, it would send the stadium uproarious and the big screen would show the yer¡¯s most recent results as well as the avatar he was going to be using in the game. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . While the blue team fans were all psyched, the red team fans reacted to the introduction rather calmly. In order to show their support for the teams they rooted for, all the audience wore the lucky colors of the team they supported, forming a sea of red and blue in the stadium. At the same time, the seven yers of the red team were watching the information of their opponents shown on the big screen backstage. Solemnly, Stanley pointed at their opponents and gave them a briefing, ¡°yer No. 1 of the blue team is their captain whom I defeated in an individual game before. Since I know his strategies well, I can handle him. We¡¯ll go ording to our n for the rest.¡± Before the tournament, they had watched a lot of videos of both team and individual games of the blue team yers in order to gain some understanding on how their strategies worked. However, their opponents must have done the same thing to them as well. The weakest yers of the red team were supposedly Sophia¡¯s ¡®Sirius 233¡¯ and Sean¡¯s ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ because the two were amateur and the rest of them were professional. Seeing that the game was about to begin, one of the yers of the team started getting panicky because they still had only seven yers. ¡°Captain, why isn¡¯t Scary Phoenix here yet? Is he going to stand us up?¡± ¡°He just deems himself too important to appear too early. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll make it in time,¡± Stanley answered. Sophia was so curious to see who was her ¡®dom top¡¯ in the game and she was worried whether it would be awkward when they met each other in person. When they were merely gaming online, she was fine with addressing other yers by cheesy nicknames but things were different when they were going to do that in person. She bet ¡®Son of Scary Phoenix¡¯ was somewhere at the stadium too¡­ Atst, she decided to dismiss the concern because winning the game was her priority now. Since Michael, that scum, was allowed to have a date with Natasha, why couldn¡¯t she have some intimate interaction with her ¡®dom top¡¯ in real life? Hmph! Even if she ended up losing this game, she would still be rewarded with three points in credit, which was going to put her in front of many other people. Of course, it would be the best if she could get the champion trophy because that would give her five points in credit. After the introduction of the blue team was done, the yers went on to settle down in their seats to get ready for the game. The host¡¯s enthusiastic voice came, ¡°Now, let¡¯s wee the home team to the stage! The Dragon Fox Team is an outstanding team made up of prolific yers. First of all, let me introduce the captain of the red team, ¡®Snow Fox¡¯!¡± Stanley, who was wearing a traditional Cethos costume in red, headed to the stage. His punk style and metallic look matched with a buzz cut made all the girls crazy over him. The moment he emerged, a round of frenzied cheers erupted among the female fans all at once. ¡°Looking at ¡®Snow Fox¡¯ just makes us realize how important it is to work your hardest in your youth because ¡®Snow Fox¡¯ has been part of the national esports team ever since he was in high school. He was crowned as champion of many individual tournaments including ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, and he is the symbol of young talents in esports!¡± The rest of the yers waited in line to make their appearances. Still, Scary Phoenix was nowhere to be found. At the same time, the piano concert in the concert hall opposite the stadium was still ongoing. Cheerful and lively music resounded in the entire hall and rounds of ovation could be heard from time to time. As the only star of the event, Natasha won everyone¡¯s admiration with her scintiting performance. Every now and then, she would nce down at a seat where a very important figure sat. In fact, he was the reason why she held the piano concert. At the end of a piece, she stood up and bowed to the audience but when she nced at that seat again, she found that it was empty. At some point in time, the man who was very important to her had left without her realizing. Chapter 374 Chapter 374 Maybe he had just gone to the gents. However, that man never reappeared again. The atmosphere in Bayside National Stadium was reaching a climax at the moment. As Cethos was hosting the event, local fans outnumbered fans from other countries by making up two-third of the audience, and bright red gs were being waved everywhere in the stadium. After Stanley was introduced, the host went on to introduce Sean and the other four professional yers of the team. ¡°These four yers were part of the national team that won second cest year, and they are here today to seize the championship trophy. Let¡¯s wish them good luck!¡± ¡°¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ is the vice captain of the red team and he¡¯s also a much admired schr studying at Bayside University. ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ has been ying the game for many years as the partner of ¡®Snow Fox¡¯, and both of them are deemed the perfect team by many other professional yers of the game!¡± Cheers came from the audience to wee the two young and handsome guys. Finally, it was the part which everyone had been looking forward to the most. ¡°Now, let me proudly introduce thest two yers of the red team. First of all, let¡¯s wee the most dashing and charming yer in the game¡ª¡®Sirius233¡¯!¡± Sophia, who was standing offstage, said silently to herself, There¡¯s nothing I should be scared of since I own several billions! Holding her breath to focus her mind, she then exhaled deeply before striding onto stage confidently. Wearing an alluring red dress which wrapped around her tall and curvy figure perfectly, she emerged before the audience. When she waved at the audience, the red diamond ring on her finger gave out a dazzling bright red glowplementary to the sea of red in the stadium. To everyone¡¯s utter consternation, Sirius the Monster, the most dashing yer who dated with many female yers online, was actually a woman. Many fans from other states bought the ticket just to be here to beat Sirius233 up but to their surprise, the yer was actually a woman! Not only was she a woman, but she was a very beautiful one too! The stark contrast sent the excitement of the audience to an all-time high. ¡®Sirius233¡¯ was a yer in the game worshipped by many female fans. When Sophia emerged on the stage, all the fans took out banners and signs on which ¡®Sirius233¡¯ was written to show their support. The host remarked, ¡°I¡¯m really surprised to learn that the The Most Handsome and Wealthiest gamer is actually a woman!¡± Looking slightly embarrassed, Sophia looked up at the big screen which was showing her character in the game. Her character was a very powerful swordsman who was known for his ruthless tactics. Bloodbaths urred everywhere her character passed by as he was capable of killing other yers in seconds. The cruelty of her character was a far cry from what she looked like in real life. Perhaps it was because Scary Phoenix, the super big shot, had not arrived, the host was trying hard to buy time by passing the microphone to Sophia. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen such a beautiful female yer participating in the Esports World Championship before. Sirius233, why are you so interested in esports while it¡¯s something most other girls find boring?¡± This was Sophia¡¯s first time speaking at such a grand event and its scale was considerablyrger than those campus belle contests she took part in before. Having drawn in a deep breath, she shed the audience her most beautiful smile and answered the host¡¯s question, ¡°I major in game designing in university and I¡¯m going to be starting my second year soon. As I¡¯ve always loved yingputer games ever since I was little, it¡¯s only natural that I have passion for esports too.¡± At this, the audience cheered loudly. Then, the host seemed to have received a cue from the backstage staff as he soon ended the interview with Sophia and let her settle down in her seat to prepare for the game. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, including those who are watching the livestream now, please give me your full attention because the biggest surprise of the tournament this year ising! Now, let¡¯s wee ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯, thest member of the red team and the first ever yer of ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯!¡± A round of thunderous pping erupted in the stadium, joined by even the fans and yers of the blue team. Based on the avable information made public on ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯, he was the first yer who created an ount in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ and he was also the most powerful yer the game had ever seen. Many years ago, he led the Cethos team to clinch first ce in the Esports World Championship. After years of seclusion, he suddenly made aeback this year by attending the tournament with the combative power of his character reduced by 30%. It was easy to see how powerful he was! Sophia, who was preparing for the game, widened her eyes in the direction of the backstage because she was curious to see what her dom top in the game actually looked like. Under everyone¡¯s watchful gaze, a slender figure dressed in a maroon shirt emerged in the spotlight. In a natural and poised manner, the man walked up to the stage from the left side and strolled toward the middle. His shirt looked like a ze of me which was burning brightly in everyone¡¯s eyes, and the maroon shirt of his which looked elegant and mysterious happened to be the lucky color of the Cethos team! Everyone was petrified, especially Sophia, when they looked closer at the man¡¯s face. As soon as the man appeared, the big screen automatically showed his character in the game as well as his past results in esports. His user ID in the game was ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ and he was the yer who won first ce in the first individual tournament of the game. Even the host was stuck in a trance as he stared at Scary Phoenix. As a professional host, it was rare for him to lose hisposure like that. ¡°A-Aren¡¯t you Mr. Taylor Murray?¡± Scary Phoenix took over the microphone and replied with a smile, ¡°I¡¯d prefer you to address me by ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯.¡± The stadium went uproarious at once. The most powerful yer of ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was actually Taylor Murray, the popr artist who had won multiple Best Actor Awards?! Sophia was horrified to see her dom top in the game turning out to be her husband in real life. She pinched Stanley¡¯s thigh beside her hard and confronted him furiously in an undertone, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me that your uncle was Scary Phoenix?!¡± Stanley countered, ¡°You¡¯ve never told me you were Sirius too!¡± The two red at each other for three seconds. Finally, Stanley found the right timing to expose Michael¡¯s secret. ¡°Your wife of your character in the game, ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯, is Uncle Michael too!¡± Sophia opened her eyes so wide that it looked like her eyeballs would pop out any minute. Stanley sniggered, ¡°I told you you weren¡¯t a match for Uncle Michael a long time ago. Just admit it, Sophia¡ªyou were fooled by my uncle!¡± Sophia glowered at him as though she was trying to pierce through his head with her prating stare. So, her dom top as well as her wife in the game was the same person? Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Was Michael the wife of her character in the game with whom she always chatted flirtatiously? While his main ount was the most dignified and powerful character in the game, his ghost ount was ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯, which was a flirtatious and sweet female character? Soon, the introductions were done and the host announced that the tournament had officially begun. Michael walked down from the stage and high-fived the yers in his team. Several years back when Scary Phoenix was still actively participating in tournaments, he was still a third-tier actor who had not yet won any Best Actor Awards, so no videos could be found which recorded the tournaments he was involved in. Hence, nobody knew that Scary Phoenix was actually Taylor Murray. The whole team was greatly motivated because they felt extremely honored to be on the same team with a globally renowned figure like him. When Michael reached Sophia, she dazedly stretched out her hand and high-fived him with a look of utter disbelief. Thanks to the fine job of the professional stylists, he looked more dashing than ever and he was literally glowing at the moment. Shouldn¡¯t he be flirting with Natasha at the concert hall at the moment? Why was he suddenly here as Scary Phoenix? Didn¡¯t he say he wouldn¡¯t be here? Seriously? Men were so untrustworthy! Chapter 375 Chapter 375 Sophia¡¯s face flushed red and her heart was thumping fast. Sitting next to her, Scary Phoenix was logging into his ount. Sophia nced at him surreptitiously as he deftly entered his user ID and password, looking like the real deal. No way! She must be having a dream! But the truth was, she wasn¡¯t dreaming and Michael was really Scary Phoenix. Was there anything in the world he couldn¡¯t do? Sophia kept her eyes glued to him as though she was trying to see through his body and reach his soul. Michael, who seemed to be able to sense her gaze, cast a nce in her direction. She immediately averted her gaze back to the screen of herputer. When Michael stopped looking at her, she continued peeking at him immediately. Suddenly, she noticed that she received a private message from Scary Phoenix. Scary Phoenix: ¡®Be at your best in the gameter. If you can defeat the blue team, I¡¯ll reward you with costumes in bed tonight.¡¯ Sophia¡¯s face turned crimson in an instant when she saw the tantly dirty message. Out of instinct, she gave a scan to her surroundings and typed furiously: ¡®Delete the message right now or it will be spotted by the audienceter!¡¯ Scary Phoenix replied: ¡®Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t be able to read the message.¡¯ Sirius233: ¡®You shouldn¡¯t be sending inappropriate things now even though they won¡¯t be able to read it!¡¯ They were participating in a top-notch global championship held at Bayside National Stadium which was broadcasted live all over the world; she couldn¡¯t believe he was still in the mood to flirt with her at this hour! Lord, could you take this more seriously?! Michael finally stopped flirting with her and adopted hisbat status when the game started. As for Sophia, she first took a deep breath before she was ready to start the group battle. Several seconds before the game started, she sneaked a look at Michael again. From her angle, all she could see was his side-profile that looked stern and serious. Exuding a totally different aura now, it seemed like he had transformed from a hopeless flirt into a prolific swordsman just like his character in the game Before the game began, Sophia was still feeling somewhat jittery but now, she suddenly had a feeling that they would be able to defeat anyone as long as Michael was around. The game officially started. The battle started off intensely as all the yers first went around to look for their opponents ording to their strategy. As Sophia¡¯s character was rtively weaker in the team, her opponent was also the weaker yer in the opposing team. Joint attacks was the main strategy of the opposing team as Scary Phoenix was besieged by three yers at one time as soon as the game started. Meanwhile, the remaining five yers of the team were tasked with stopping the yers of the red team from going to Scary Phoenix¡¯s rescue. The blue team believed that once they managed to kill Scary Phoenix, his death would be a fatal blow to the red team! yers of the red team immediately tried to break their defence to help Scary Phoenix. The audiences, some wearing red and some wearing blue, were cheering and pping ecstatically because the game had started off in a very exciting manner. Harry and Daniel were watching the game that was projected on the big screen on the VIP tform. Harry sounded anxiety-ridden as he rambled on, ¡°Daddy, hang in there! Gosh, Sirius is about to be finished off by the blue team too! Stanley, you stupid dog! Why don¡¯t you go and help them out now?!¡± Contrary to Harry, Daniel appeared much more collected because he wasn¡¯t a gamer and he had no idea what he was talking about. He was of the opinion that Michael and Harry had been rude by leaving Natasha¡¯s piano concert to be here. ¡°How will Natasha feel when she realizes you guys left her piano concert halfway?¡± Harry and Michael, who had both received invitations from Natasha, were watching the piano concert at the concert hall opposite the stadium just now. However, they realized that Michael, who was the special guest of the concert, had actually left halfway through to y in the tournament at the stadium. No one knew what sort of a scene Natasha would make if she found out about his departure. Harry couldn¡¯t be bothered about Natasha¡¯s reaction because what concerned him the most at the moment was the fact that both his Daddies were struggling to fend off their opponents. Nathan was also watching the big screen nervously at his two Daddies who looked invincible and powerful in the game. In the meantime, the piano concert came to a perfect ending and Natasha received a standing ovation with numerous bouquets of flowers from the audience. Looking just like a princess who had all eyes on her, she held the flowers in one hand and the microphone in the other as she gave a sincere speech, ¡°Holding a piano concert like this has always been my dream and it finally came true today. Firstly, I¡¯d like to express my gratitude¡­¡± She nced at Taylor¡¯s seat but found it was still empty. In fact, Taylor had only watched her concert for several minutes before he left and never came back. He was the reason why she had the piano concert today. She had dressed up to the nines for the asion and performed the most beautiful songs in an attempt to move his soul. Yet, her grand piano concert turned out to be meaningless because it was missed by its most important audience. Amending her speech on the spot, Natasha said instead, ¡°I¡¯d like to express my gratitude to my teacher¡­¡± After the piano concert ended, Natasha went to take a rest backstage where she fished out her phone to make a call to Taylor. At the national stadium, a phone in Nathan¡¯s pocket suddenly rang with an unknown number shown on the screen. After he picked up, he heard a sweet and pleasant voice say, ¡°Taylor, where are you now? My piano concert has just ended. How about we have dinner together tonight?¡± Nathan answered her icily, ¡°My Dad will be having dinner with Mom at home tonight and he has no time for you. Get lost.¡± Click. He hung up on her. Natasha stared nkly at her phone. She couldn¡¯t believe what she just heard. Did he just ask her to get lost?! Was the boy Taylor¡¯s son? She was surprised to learn that Taylor actually had a son this big. No, it couldn¡¯t be the case. Taylor must have lost his phone and a random kid must have found it. He even had the guts to speak so rudely to her. She couldn¡¯t believe there existed someone in the world who dared to speak to her that way. Immediately, she dialed the number and it was picked up by that boy again. Trying hard to make herself sound friendly, she said, ¡°Hi darling, can you please ask your father to get this? Tell him I¡¯m Natasha.¡± Nathan nced at the screen where his two Daddies were working together to battle it out with their opponents in the game. ¡°My Dad is very busy now,¡± he answered. Click! He hung up on her again. On the other end of the phone call, Natasha was so pissed off by the little boy that her entire body was shaking. Immediately, she summoned her assistant over and seethed, ¡°Where have Taylor and Harry gone? Find out where they are now!¡± Her assistant knew the answer without the need to check. ¡°Taylor has gone to the National Stadium to participate in the Esports World Championship. It has gone viral all over the inte now and you may check the news articles written about him.¡± Natasha quickly checked her phone and found that news articles with the title ¡®Taylor Murray is the champion of the Esports World Championship¡¯ had mushroomed all over the inte. She clicked into one of those and found pictures of Taylor gaming in the stadium. She checked the timestamp and found that the tournament started at two thirty, which meant Taylor must have made his way to the stadium before that time. So, did he only stay at the concert hall for a few minutes just now? ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Scrolling the article, she spotted Sophia in one of the pictures too. Was she referring to the Esports World Championship when she told her she was going to take part in a globalpetitionst night? Was an online gamingpetition a legitimate globalpetition? In her perception, ying online games was only something done by poor people who had nothing better to do in their lives, and she couldn¡¯t understand why apetition was even held for something like that. She was even more puzzled when she saw Taylor taking part in such apetition. Abruptly, she stood bolt upright and thrusted her phone to the floor angrily. ¡°I¡¯m going there to see what it is all about!¡± As her piano concert had ended, the audience were leaving the concert hall. Those who were invited to the concert were all big shots who were either extremely wealthy or enjoyed respectable social statuses. On top of that, all of them were very aplished in the artistic world. The audience left in an orderly manner as luxurious cars came and went one by one at the entrance of the concert hall. Seeing this, Natasha was proud of herself because they had alle here to watch her performance. Then, she made her way to the National Stadium. Although the game had already started, there was still a throng of people lingering outside the stadium as many of those who didn¡¯t manage to get a ticket or couldn¡¯t afford one were watching the livestream of thepetition there. There were at least thousands of them outside the stadium, which was way more than the number of people who attended her concert. There was even a troop of security officers watching over the area to maintain order. Chapter 376 Chapter 376 Inside the stadium, the eighty thousand fixed seats as well as over ten thousand temporary seats were all taken. The security team was under enormous pressure because it would be dire if an ident were to happen inside the stadium which contained a total of over a hundred thousand people inside. Because the event was held at Bayside National Stadium, the securitypany took it very seriously by dispatching a troop of elite soldiers to maintain the safety and order of the ce. Old Master Fletcher was extremely worried about the safety of the stadium because both Stanley and Michael, who were dearest to him, were going to be there. Therefore, he had entrusted Joel with the task of overseeing the safety of the ce. Currently, Joel was focusing his full attention on examining the overall situation of the tournament. He was keeping an eye on both the condition inside and outside the stadium at all times so that in the event an emergency urred, he would be able to get into action at the fastest speed. In the meantime, he was watching the livestream of the game with his phone too. It was astonishing to him that more than one hundred thousand people were actually interested to watch a game yed by sixteen yers. In the game, Stanley seemed like he had transformed into a God of War as he moved around gracefully and smoothly in the battlefield; he was the king of the world inside that game! At the moment, Joel was slightly impressed by Stanley¡¯s achievement in esports. Suddenly, one of his staff reported that someone was making a scene at the ticket counter. The event so far had been quite peaceful as his men had done nothing much other than having arrested some scalpers who tried to resell the tickets at staggeringly high prices. Hence, themotion at the ticket counter immediately attracted Joel¡¯s attention and it prompted him to make his way there to check out the situation immediately. A group of people were surrounding the ticket counter and in the middle of the bunch stood a woman who was carrying a parasol. The staff behind the ticket counter was pointing at the card on which ¡®Sold Out¡¯ was written as he prattled on, ¡°All tickets were sold out long before this. The online tickets were also sold out as soon as they were avable for purchase and we only have a limited amount of tickets at the door. Everyone else came to line up for them at six in the morning and everything was sold out within half an hour after we opened at nine. There aren¡¯t any tickets left now!¡± Unconvinced, the bunch offered to buy three tickets for ten thousand. ¡°Give us three tickets. If it isn¡¯t enough, we can offer more.¡± As the weather was swelteringly hot, the staff was soaked with sweat as he continued to exin the situation, ¡°As much as I want to sell you the tickets, I can¡¯t because all the tickets are sold out!¡± The bunch pressed on, ¡°How about fifty thousand? Is that enough?¡± Although the offer was indeed mouthwatering to the staff, he really couldn¡¯t do anything because the stadium was already filled to the brim. He couldn¡¯t even let his close friends sneak into the stadium, let alone someone who was splurging the cash. ¡°As all the tickets are sold out, you can¡¯t buy it no matter how much money you are willing to pay for it.¡± Under the shade of the parasol, Natasha pointed the electrical fan at herself as she started sweating profusely because of the heat. The hotter the weather was, the harder it was for her to control her temper. She couldn¡¯t believe that such a cheapskate tournament actually had the audacity to put on airs by refusing to sell tickets to her. With a sullen face, she whispered something to her assistant to let her convey her message to the ticket staff. One of her bodyguards then threatened the staff menacingly, ¡°We¡¯ll stop this tournament from continuing if we aren¡¯t allowed in.¡± Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. The Mitchell Family definitely had the confidence and power to pull off something like that. The staff members standing around them burst outughing. ¡°What¡¯s going on inside is a top-notch global esportspetition. Who do you think you guys are? Are you here just to look for our trouble? Get lost or I¡¯ll summon the security officers here!¡± Natasha had never been snubbed in this way before. After patiently waiting for more than ten minutes in such hot weather, she was still denied ess in the end. Finally, she lost it and nonchntly instructed her people, ¡°Smash it.¡± Although the bodyguards were slightly hesitant when they heard her, they dared not defy the order of the princess in the Mitchell Family. Therefore, all of them made a dash forward and started smashing the ticket counter topel the staff into giving them the tickets. The staff immediately shouted, ¡°Help! Someone is causing trouble!¡± Soon, a troop of soldiers came and encircled the bunch of people. Natasha, who became even more fearless and confident at the sight of the soldiers, said in amandeering tone to them, ¡°Ask your captain toe here. I will only talk to him.¡± As her uncle was an officer in the army, she was unruffled. In her opinion, such a cheapskate tournament must be organized by some shadypany which must have outsourced the security of the stadium to a small securitypany. Soon, the head of the troop strode out of the stadium. He was a young man who gave off a confident and righteous air and much to Natasha¡¯s surprise, he was a Major General. Natasha assumed his ranking must be fake because it wasn¡¯t likely that someone as young as the man could attain the rank. Eyeing him with a skeptical frown, Natasha tried her best to make her voice sound level as she spoke to the young officer, ¡°Sir, I just need a few tickets to get into the stadium.¡± Joel answered her icily, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry but the tickets are all sold out.¡± Natasha was unyielding. ¡°My uncle is themander of the military district of Bayside. So, I hope you can give us the tickets.¡± Since she already pointed it out so clearly, she expected the Major General would have the gumption to do what she wanted but to her dismay, the young man didn¡¯t seem to understand what she was trying to imply. In an emotionless tone, he repeated, ¡°The tickets are all sold out and it would be the same even if your uncle was here.¡± Natasha, whose face was covered with a sheen of sweat, was taken aback by how thick that young man was. ¡°My name is Natasha Mitchell, my father is Alex Mitchell, the president of Mitchell Electronics Group and my brother is Justin Mitchell, who was one of the fallen heroes of the army. Why can¡¯t I enter the stadium?!¡± she yelled angrily. As soon as she mentioned Justin, a vein throbbed on Joel¡¯s initially unruffled face as he snarled at his subordinates beside him right away, ¡°Lock her up until the end of the tournament!¡± No one had the right to humiliate Justin this way because he had sacrificed his life in order to bring glory to his family. Shrieking and squealing all the way, Natasha and her entourage were locked up inside a room together with the scalpers. Not only was the room filthy and stinky, but it was also crammed with people. There was no way Natasha, who was a wealthy youngdy, could put up with such treatment. Along the journey to the room, she pointed at Joel and exploded, ¡°Which unit are you from? What¡¯s your troop number? Don¡¯t think you¡¯re free to do whatever you wish just because you¡¯ve got a high ranking in the army! You¡¯d better be careful because my uncle has a higher ranking than you!¡± Joel responded to her confrontation with a sneer. Then, he locked them up as troublemakers. Natasha called her uncle, who was a high-ranking officer in the army, right away. After listening to her comint that was made in between sobs, her uncle snapped, ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous! I can¡¯t believe something like that actually happened! Natasha, you just need to wait for a little while because I can get you out with just one phone call!¡± Natasha grumbled miserably, ¡°Also, you have to hold that head of the troop ountable because he¡¯s just too cocky! I suspect his ranking is fake because there¡¯s no way an officer with such a high ranking would be assigned to supervise a cheapskate tournament like that! Also, I¡¯m sure the organizer of this tournament must have skipped the proper procedure to apply for the permit and hence, it is an illegal assembly. Just force them to stop the tournament altogether!¡± Her uncle patted his chest confidently and promised, ¡°Don¡¯t worry because I¡¯ll tell everything to my superior!¡± Calmly, Natasha then waited for Joel toe and let her out but no one came even after the tournament had ended. After some time, she gave her prominent uncle another call but this time, he stammered, ¡°Natasha, you¡¯re being too insensible! That¡¯s not the ce for you to be acting wilfully! Perhaps you should take the chance to reflect on your own mistake!¡± He hung up on her directly and he refused to pick up any of her calls afterward. Natasha stared at her phone disbelievingly because she had no idea what could have gone wrong. How was it possible that her uncle was not able to get her out of this ce? As there was a television inside the room showing the live broadcast of the game, she was forced to watch it for two hours together with a bunch of scalpers. From the screen, she could see that the atmosphere inside the stadium, which was a sea of red and blue, was extremely vibrant and full of excitement. The woman in the alluring red dress as well as the man in the maroon-colored shirt stole the show because they were given a lot of screen time, some of which were even close-ups. In the game, the coboration between Scary Phoenix and Sirius233 was almost perfect. Moving around in the game like a pair of Gods of War, their opponents stood no chance of resisting their attack. They were good as partners because they had always been a couple in the game all the while. The game was so intense and thrilling that even the bunch of scalpers couldn¡¯t resist but p and cheer for them. Chapter 377 Chapter 377 Toward the end of the game, both teams were left with three yers and for the red team, they were Snow Fox, Scary Phoenix and Sirius233, who was incredible and had performed exceptionally well by using the move ¡®Turbo Tornado¡¯ to her advantage. The three yers had great rapport as they worked seamlessly together to defend round after round of attacks from the blue team and finish off their opponents one by one. Sirius233 was no doubt the most outstanding yer of the game today. She started off as the weakest yer of the team but surprisingly, she managed to fight her way to the very end and she seemed invincible despite only having a dangerously little amount left in her health points. In the end, Sirius ughtered the captain and also the strongest yer of the blue team with her sword. After squealing miserably, the character died and the entire blue team was wiped out while the red team still had three yers standing. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the champion of the Esports World Championship this year is¡ªthe Dragon Fox Team!¡± All eight yers of the team leapt to their feet in excitement as they waved at the audience to thank their support. Stanley was so thrilled that he jumped from the spot he stood and swept Sophia off her feet. ¡°Sophia, we won! We won! We¡¯re the world champions!¡± Sophia felt exhrated for the victory too. Winning the world championship would give her five points in credit hours! Amidst the excitement, Stanley suddenly felt a chill down his spine as though he was targeted by a predator. Trembling in fear, he immediately let Sophia down. As soon as Stanley loosened his hold on her, Sophia turned round to throw her arms around Michael excitedly. She nearly went on to give him a smooch just like how they usually did at home but fortunately, her mind was pulled back to reality by the thunderous pping and rapturous cheer from the audience. In the end, she only gave him a courteous hug. Her action revved up the audience at once because not everyone had the honor to hug Taylor Murray, the hottest movie star at the moment! After hugging Michael, Sophia immediately gave Sean a hug too to distract the audience¡¯s attention. Stanley was so ecstatic that he lunged forward to Michael and clung to him. ¡°Uncle Michael, I won! I won!¡± Michael caressed his head and urged, ¡°Be calm.¡± As he had won the championship once before, Michael looked moreposed at the moment but still, he was delighted. In the midst of cheers and apuse, the representative of the International e-Sports Federation presented the medals to the champion team. A gigantic trophy was then lifted up to the air by the eight yers of the team! The inside of the stadium which contained almost a hundred thousand spectators were immersed in a lively and heated atmosphere. Looking at the sea of red gs fluttering and waving vigorously in the audience, Sophia¡¯s heart was thumping fast with an excitement which was beyond words. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that she would one day be able to receive an award at Bayside National Stadium! Her eyes then moved away from the glittering trophy to the man standing next to her. This man was just like an angel that had fallen from his pedestal in the sky and came to brighten up every aspect in her life. He was so talented and strong in a way that was beyond her imagination because every time she thought she knew him well enough, he could immediately surprise her. He was her husband, her ¡®dom top¡¯ in the game! As the cameramen were constantly snapping photos of them, Sophia tried to tone down the admiration in her eyes and she tried to stop herself from constantly staring at him. When it was time for a team photo, they ced the trophy on the floor in the middle and the eight of them stood horizontally in a line. As the strongest yer of the team, Scary Phoenix was urged to stand in the middle just in front of the trophy on which he ced his slender fingers. Although he would be awarded prize money from winning the championship, which was actually an amount that he would be able to earn by working for only a few days, what really gave him the joy was winning it together with the yers in his team. While Michael stood in front of the trophy, Stanley the captain stood to his left and beside him was Sean the vice captain. Needless to say, Sophia stood next to Michael. At first, she nned to stand further away from him with the intention to avert suspicion but everyone was egging her on to stand beside him because her character was Scary Phoenix¡¯s ¡®bottom¡¯ in the game. Their characters were a famous couple in it. The tournament came to a sessful conclusion. As the news of Taylor¡¯s sudden appearance at the game soon spread around, the area outside the stadium was now crowded with not only esports enthusiasts, but also tons of Taylor¡¯s fans who hoped to get a glimpse of their idol. After the tournament ended, yers of both teams walked down the stage and went backstage. Some of the yers from the blue team who recognized Michael as Taylor Murray started approaching him to take pictures with him. Taylor was not only a popr figure in Cethos, but the entire world as well because he had acted in movies produced in both Cethos and in Europe. In fact, he was the first Cethos actor who was able to make a name in Europe. Earlier this year, he had just finished shooting the movie ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ which was a sci-fi blockbuster much-anticipated by both local and foreign fans. The movie was currently in the editing phase and it would be shown during the next New Year. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. However, Michael was besieged by a bunch of reporters who materialized out of nowhere as soon as he walked down from the stage. ¡°Mr. Murray, may I know when did you start ying online games?¡± ¡°Mr. Murray, I heard that Sirius233 and you are a couple in the game. Did the two of you meet each other before in real life?¡± ¡°Mr. Murray, can youment on the performance of your partner?¡± Usually, Michael would ignore the reporters because he couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer their pointless questions. But when he saw Sophia who was having an interview with a reporter together with Stanley from the corner of his eyes, he decided to answer the reporters. ¡°I started when I was just a kid and it has been over ten years since I started ying online games. In fact, I¡¯ve been participating in esports tournaments even before I debuted as an actor and ying games is my lifelong passion which I will never give up. I hope no one reads too much into my rtionship with Sirius233 because we shouldn¡¯t confuse what happens in the virtual world with those in reality. In fact, the two of us only y as a couple to aplish the missions in the game. As for Sirius233, I must say she is a very excellent esports yer who has great potential in the future.¡± With that, he ignored them and walked away under the escort of the security officers. While Sophia was doing interviews with the reporters together with the rest of the team, her eyes had been tracking Michael¡¯s slender andnky body until the moment he vanished out of her sight. The Esports World Championship came to an end and Taylor Murray¡¯s surprise appearance sessfully attracted everyone¡¯s attention. No one had expected that Taylor Murray, the winner of multiple Best Actor Awards, would also be a prominent esports yer. On top of that, he had started participating in esports tournaments even before he started his acting career. Once again, his poprity soared to an all-time high. The tournament which had been a global sensation for around half a year finally ended. The fact that the tournament was won by a young team made up of Asians who had an average age of only twenty five caused a great stir in the esports world, and the surprise appearance of Taylor Murray gave the event a perfect ending. After that, the crowd inside the stadium filed out in an orderly manner. It was only then did Natasha get released from the locked room. She was green with envy when she saw the sea of people wearing a mixture of red and blue outside the stadium. As she had been watching the livestream of the game just now, she spotted Sophia and Taylor together. She was not a gamer but she could see that they actually had even more fans than her. What was so special about that b*tch that made so many people love her? Why did she get to take part in the samepetition with her crush? She was not worthy of having all those! Taylor was supposed to date her, not that b*tch! Natasha then spotted Joel somewhere outside the stadium and she threatened him menacingly, ¡°You¡¯d better be careful because I¡¯ll remember you!¡± Chapter 378 Chapter 378 Joel merely snorted and ignored her. As Natasha walked away, she tried to figure out Joel¡¯s identity. There was nock of influential and powerful people in Bayside City, and it was hard to determine who was the richest as another richer man would always appear. As for the public figures here, Natasha knew quite a few of them. Although that man earlier was a General Officer, he didn¡¯t look particrly old. However, it wasn¡¯t amon urrence for her to bump into people from the military, so there were many whom she didn¡¯t know. Despite that, she knew that the youngest Major General in Bayside City was Joel from the Fletchers. Once, she almost went on a blind date with someone from the Fletchers, but he was never enlisted in the army and didn¡¯t have a decent character. Furthermore, he was evente, so she gave up and since then, she didn¡¯t have the chance to meet the youngest general in Cethos. The remarkable Joel Fletcher was also once in her list of future partners, but even before they could meet, all her attention was attracted by Taylor. With her family background and looks, she knew that it wouldn¡¯t be unattainable to be with him! After she had left in a huff, her assistant finally found out who was the person in charge of the security today and she hurriedly cried out, ¡°I found out who was in charge of security today! It was Joel Fletcher!¡± Joel Fletcher? Stopping in her tracks, Natasha snorted, ¡°Check again. There¡¯s no way it was Joel Fletcher! It¡¯s impossible that he would be dispatched for such amepetition!¡± What do you take Joel Fletcher for? It¡¯s impossible that he will be in such a ce and attend this competition! ¡°Did you find out who is the organizer? Tell them to stop this cheapskate tournament! From now on, they¡¯re not allowed to hold it anymore. Also, they have to apologize to me and void Sophia¡¯s results!¡± The whole time, her assistant was making calls. After a while, she reported to Natasha, ¡°Ms. Mitchell, I¡¯ve found out who the organizers are. The biggest organizers are the Nordic electronics giant, Michel Group, Asco International and the International E-sports Club Union. This¡­¡± Natasha¡¯s heart dropped when she heard that. Michel Group from Northern Europe and Asco International were amongst the top 500panies in the world. Besides being an international electronic giant, Michel Group was also the Mitchells¡¯ main client and partner who knew each other¡¯s strengths the best. As for Asco International, they also had global businesses involving real estate, energy,munications, electronics and more. Did these two big companies actually hold such ame contest? ¡°Impossible! There must be a mistake! Check it again!¡± she instructed. After thepetition, everyone went for a celebratory dinner. Except for Scary Phoenix, all seven of them were there and they left for home after the meal. Thereafter, Stanley brought Sophia and Sean to the next venue, which was the most important. ¡ª In a private karaoke room of Asco Entertainment City, Stanley held Michael and shook him violently while eximing, ¡°Uncle Michael, we¡¯re the champions! We¡¯re the champions!¡± Annoyed from being shaken so violently, Michael grumbled, ¡°Calm down, your aunt is almost falling off from your shaking.¡± Holding out his arm, he held it around Sophia who was seated on hisp. It was a happy day for Sophia today. After receiving approval from Michael, she couldn¡¯t help but have a couple of drinks and it made her feel a little light-headed and flushed. The shake from Stanley left her feeling even more dizzy. Releasing Michael from his grip, Stanley then turned to Nathan next to him. ¡°Nate, we¡¯re the champions!¡± With an irritated look on his face, Nathan pushed him away and said, ¡°That¡¯s enough, I got it. You¡¯ve already said it eight times.¡± Unwittingly, Sean reached out and stroked Nathan¡¯s head. Harry had also drank quite a bit and fought in a drunken stupor with Daniel over the microphone to sing. ¡°¡­as you sit in the boat, I walk by the shore¡­¡± ¡°¡­you carry the smell of her perfume¡­¡± ¡°Happy goat, pretty goat,zy goat¡­¡± A pair of big, round eyes hidden in the dark watched Harry fixedly and observed him secretly. After giving Sean a good shake, Stanley dashed over to hug Sarah who had also joined them today. As the most indispensable illustrator and veteran in thepany, she was also one of the shareholders. ¡°Little Kitten, we won! We won!¡± Upon hearing the name which was imprinted on his heart, Harry, who was in the midst of singing, turned to look at Stanley with a tensed up face and bloodshot eyes. ¡°L-Little Kitten?¡± he uttered, saying each syble separately and shocking Sarah. Very proudly, Stanley tugged at Sarah and introduced, ¡°Yeah, Little Kitten, the chief illustrator in our company! Although she¡¯s small in size, she has been a well known illustrator on the Inte ever since junior high, and her username is Little Kitten!¡± Harry stared in disbelief at this cute girl with big, round eyes like a cat¡¯s and then recalled the unsightly and indecent illustrations on the Inte. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Never in my wildest imagination did I think that the enemy would actually be lurking in Stanley¡¯s company! Holding up a beer bottle, he pointed it at Sarah and asked, ¡°You¡¯re the Little Kitten on the Inte?¡± Waving her hands anxiously, Sarah denied, ¡°No, what Little Kitten? I don¡¯t know who¡¯s that!¡± A drunk Stanley pushed Sarah to Harry unsympathetically and said, ¡°Uncle Harry, she is your die-hard fan. I¡¯ve seen her status update on Skype before saying that her biggest wish in this life is to spend a night with you! As the boss of thepany, I¡¯m giving you to her as an employee benefit!¡± With her face burning in embarrassment, Sarah retreated backward and cried, ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± Seeing that Sarah was put in a difficult situation, Sophia wanted to save her but a hand pulled her back and she fell into an embrace. As the warmth encapsted her, a pair of lips met hers and they became entangled. All of a sudden, she felt as though she had fallen into a cradle and her limbs turned to jelly. All her strength was sucked out of her body and her mind turned nk¡­ Nathan watched them and thought to himself in frustration, Why are they kissing again? All they ever do is kiss! From dinner until now, they¡¯ve kissed at least eight times and now they¡¯re continuing again after a break! They¡¯ve been kissing all night and it¡¯s still not enough? In the other corner of the room, it wasplete chaos as a drunken Harry, who was especially jealous of his enemy, chased Sarah around with a beer bottle in his hand. ¡°Hey you, get over here! I promise I won¡¯t kill you!¡± Already looking a little flushed from having some drinks, Sarah ran around the room in terror and then slipped her tiny frame under the table. Putting himself on all fours, Harry red at her furiously and shouted, ¡°Get out of there!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m noting out! You¡¯ll hit me!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t hit you, soe out now. We¡¯ll have a chat about your dirtyics.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± she cried. Since she refused to get out, Harry could only stare at her on all fours because the table was too small and she had slipped under there nimbly like a cat. In contrast, Harry was a muscr man with a six-foot tall build who couldn¡¯t get under the table, so hey on the ground and started poking her with a selfie stick. ¡°Come out or I¡¯ll stab you to death!¡± he shouted. Sarah¡¯s round eyes gleamed in the dark as she cried out, ¡°I won¡¯te out even if you stab me to death!¡± Chapter 379 Chapter 379 Even though Daniel wasn¡¯t familiar with Sarah, he was very familiar with her dirtyics and heughed in amusement, wondering why young girls nowadays had a penchant for such hardcore themes while Stanley smirked and pped. The only one who could save her now was Sean. The West Family was a new elite family in Bayside City and neighbors of the Mitchells, so Sean and Sarah had been good friends and he knew about her hobby for a long while now. He had long warned her about ying with fire, but he wasn¡¯t expecting her to receive her payback so soon. Holding Harry back, Sean said, ¡°Uncle Harry, don¡¯t make things difficult for a youngdy. She¡¯s still young and ignorant¡­¡± In fact, Harry felt bad about bullying a youngdy like this, so he kept away the selfie stick and warned her sternly, ¡°I¡¯ll get even with you if you make me a character in yourics again.¡± Then, he grabbed the microphone and continued singing in a drunken stupor. Thereafter, Sean sent Sarah home after saving her from underneath the table. Thinking that she would constraint her behavior a little after getting caught by Harry, Sean didn¡¯t think that she would return home that night and draw another high-resolution illustration of Harry and Daniel in an indescribable and indecent gay scene. They had fun and enjoyed themselves all the way till midnight and ordered a ride home. Since three of them lived in the same neighborhood, they shared a ride back together. Knowing that Stanley would definitely receive a beating from his father if he returned to the militarypoundpletely drunk, Michael decided to bring him back to his ce instead. When they reached home, Sophia was so exhausted that she went straight to bed after showering. Although Michael also had some to drink, he remained very sober and went to the basement to find Abel still at work investigating Fass Michel. Michael felt that there was no point in investigating him as hisContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org. personal details were very clear. Also, ording to the information provided by Abel himself, he was only thirty years old and he didn¡¯t look like Cooper in any way. But the men Abel sent out had finally captured a clearer picture of him from the front at the risk of their lives. Despite it being taken from afar, one could easily tell that this man had mixed-race facial features and blue eyes while Cooper had brown eyes. With a deep frown, Abel said, ¡°Investigating him is as tough as investigating Phantom Wolf, but your chica was sure that this man is Cooper. So, I investigated him ording to her wishes.¡± Maybe¡­ After all, Sophia is Cooper¡¯s daughter, so Michel could be Cooper. ¡°Perhaps this is how smart Cooper is; disguising himself as the impossible. Figure out a way to leak the information about the assets in Kuwait being taken to him. If he¡¯s really Cooper, he¡¯ll definitely make a move,¡± Michael instructed. This was also the same thought Abel had in mind until now. However, this required detailed nning because he might invite trouble upon himself if he wasn¡¯t Cooper, and it would be bad for Sophia if the Mitchells learned about this. Currently, Fass¡¯ status was akin to an emperor in Africa because he controlled more than half of the African economy. With countless mineral orefields, many high-techpanies in the world needed to buy the minerals from him. ¡°Do we have any business dealings with the Michels now?¡± Abel asked. After giving it a thought, Michael answered, ¡°I think so. It seems like we have some dealings with them in the electronics, minerals and firearms sector.¡± ¡°Give me a position. I want to meet him in person,¡± Abel requested. On the next morning, Sophia woke up, rolled over and her hands felt a familiar body. cing her head gently on Michael¡¯s arm, she watched his sleeping face in admiration. How can such a perfect man exist in this world? she gushed. When he suddenly appeared yesterday, it was as though a deity had descended from the skies, and for a moment, she was actually more afraid of losing him than thepetition. But all her worries and anxieties vanished the moment he appeared. Very silently, she felt for her phone and checked the news. What happened yesterday was already a trending topic on the Inte today. Now, everyone knew that her idol was also a proficient gamer and the game had more than a million downloads within one night. It was even said that nobody could log in to ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ as Taylor¡¯s die-hard fans had overwhelmed the server. There were even fans with amazing abilities who found pictures of Michael ying esports from more than a decade ago, and it turned out that he was already present at the first Esports World Championship. Back then, he hadn¡¯t joined the army and was still a carefree teenager¡­ Sophia sighed after reading the news. It stressed her out that her rival in love mushroomed to tens of millions overnight. A man such as Michael, who was glowing with immeasurable talents, was destined to be popr regardless where he went and the focus of everyone¡¯s attention. As his woman, Sophia felt a huge burden on her shoulders, and even though she was now a billionaire, it was still far from enough. I have to work harder in order to be a woman worthy of Michael! she thought with determination and snuggled into his arms as her hands wandered all over his body. Calcting the time, it had been more than forty-eight hours since theyst made love and she was now feeling a little lonely and empty. While she felt him all over, she waited patiently for him to wake up. Maybe it was because of the alcoholst night, Michael woke up at eight o¡¯clock instead of his usual timing at six, and he went to brush his teeth after getting out of bed. Watching him walk away in only his underwear, Sophia swallowed silently, but Michael was oblivious to his wife¡¯s needs. Thus, he did his morning routine of washing up and then applying skincare on his face to finish off. Even though he had always relied on his actual talents as a celebrity and not his looks, he still had to take care of it and not neglect it simply because he was a man. Just like him, Sophia had also gotten out of bed and pped on some skincare after washing up. When he was done, Michael walked around the room butt naked and she gawked at his body as he paced back and forth in front of her. Swallowing again, there were a couple of times when she wanted to say something but stopped herself because she was embarrassed. That curvy ass, washboard abs ending with a V-shaped at the lower abs, and that strong and powerful waist¡­ Grabbing a bottle of sunscreen for men¡¯s use, he began applying it on his torso and worked his way down. In between, he lifted his legs and raised his butt. It¡¯s t-too tempting! Sophia ogled at the live nude show in front of her, almost bleeding from her nose. ¡°Chica, apply some sunscreen on my back,¡± he asked, showing her his back after passing the bottle to her. Gulping, she then cautiously applied it on his back, thinking, What a perfect body of a man! I really want a bite of this! On the other hand, Michael seemed not to have noticed Sophia¡¯s eagerness and said casually, ¡°Chica, stay at home by yourself today. I¡¯m going out to see to some matters.¡± Sophia nodded, but her eyes were still fixed on his body, and her hand was trembling as she applied the sunscreen. Even though she was reluctant for it to end, his back was only that big and she soon finished applying the sunscreen. After he had picked out his outfit and was ready to dress up, she mustered up the courage and asked, ¡°Hubby, about what you said before thepetition yesterday, does it still count?¡± Chapter 380 Chapter 380 Michael spun his head around and asked in confusion, ¡°Did I say something before thepetition?¡± As her face burned a bright red, Sophia retreated back into the covers and her eyes looked everywhere except at him. ¡°Yesterday, you mentioned that there¡¯s a reward after thepetition¡­¡± she trailed off. She was so embarrassed that she hid herself in the covers, pouting her lips. It seemed like he had forgotten about it. ¡°Reward? What reward?¡± he asked, puzzled. Fidgeting under the covers, she mumbled, ¡°You know¡­¡± ¡°I actually don¡¯t. What is it?¡± he pressed on. ¡°The one which you mentioned yesterday¡­¡± she whispered. Almost about to blow his top, he said, ¡°Speak louder; I can¡¯t hear you.¡± Abashed, Sophis ducked into the covers and shouted from within, ¡°It¡¯s that¡­ costume¡­ reward!¡± With his intelligence, it¡¯s impossible for him not to understand what I¡¯m speaking about! He¡¯s doing this on purpose because he was unhappy that I didn¡¯t do it with him the night before, and he¡¯s now doing this to spite me! But we already agreed yesterday that there¡¯ll be a costume reward if we win thepetition! She waited for his reply for a long time, but there was no response for him. Her heart raced as she finally gathered enough courage to peek out from under the covers only to see a man in ancient Cethos clothing standing by the bed. In a golden warrior robe, he wore a purple and gold crown on his head and mid-calf boots on his feet while his hair reached his waist. In a split second, it seemed as though he had travelled through time and dimension and entered the two-dimensional gaming world. Sophia¡¯s eyes almost popped out from its sockets. Isn¡¯t this the exact same costume of his character from the game? Michael actually dressed up as him! With a face like Michael¡¯s, he could pull off anything. When he wore a suit, he looked like a bossy president of apany, and when he was dressed up in ancient clothing, he could y the part of a fairytaled. He looked exactly like his game character, Scary Phoenix. No matter if it was the appearance or aura, the resemnce rate was ny-nine percent. After fixing his head gear, he picked up the custom-made prop weapon, struck a pose and put on a straight face before gazing at Sophia and asked, ¡°How¡¯s this costume?¡± Trying her best not to drool as she spoke, she replied, ¡°I-It¡¯s passable.¡± ¡ª ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . It was already noon by the time Stanley, who was taken in by Michaelst night and slept in the guest room, woke up, and he rubbed his sleepy eyes. After he got out of bed, he had lunch at his ce and that was when he saw Sophia¡¯s blushing face, a typical look of a satisfied woman. ¡°Get out of here by yourself after lunch,¡± Michael said. While he ate, Stanley was browsing through the news on his phone, and he suddenly flew to Michael¡¯s side as though he had seen an rming piece of news. ¡°Uncle Michael, look at this! The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ is going to be filmed into a TV series of the same name. You¡¯re really popr on the Inte now and everyone is hoping that you¡¯ll y the male lead. Also, your die-hard fans seamlessly photoshopped your face onto the game character! This series will definitely be a ssic piece of work if you y the male lead.¡± Without even taking a look, Michael said, ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± In fact, Stanley already knew that an A-list movie star like Michael would never y a role in a TV series. However, Sophia seemed highly interested as she joined them and eximed, ¡°Let me take a look!¡± Some of Michael¡¯s fans had photoshopped his face onto the Scary Phoenix character in the game. The end result of the amalgamation lookedplete and perfect, and it looked very much like the Scary Phoenix she slept withst night. Coincidentally, TV series which originated from games were very popr recently, so ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ wanted to do the same while the trendsted. Because Michael participated in the Esports World Championship, his fans were urging him to y the male lead of the game in its TV series! Despite the slim chance, they were still requesting for it. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened with anticipation. If her Lord can y the leading character¡­ Seeing her face filled with yearning and anticipation while appearing blushed and tender, Michael ced his fork down and dered, ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind. If the script is good, fits my schedule and the team is great, I will give it a try.¡± Dumbfounded, Stanleymented, ¡°You don¡¯t have a firm stand at all, do you?¡± Next to him, Nathan ate in silence and sniggered, Well, he stands wherever Sophia wants him to. With the end of the Esports World Championship, Sophia sessfully obtained her five credit points while Michael returned to the intense filming of his movie. The movie he was filming now, ¡®War Dragon¡¯, was a big production, and he needed to go abroad to shoot some scenes. In the meantime, Sophia did some self-learning every day at home and would go to thepany asionally to check on its progress. That day after it was revealed that Sarah was actually Little Kitten, Sophia saw that she didn¡¯t stop uploading her dirtyics on her page on the Inte, as though she wasn¡¯t afraid of Harry at all. If Sophia were her, she would have hid herself in a corner like she never existed. Finally, she couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and texted Sarah: ¡®Little Kitten, why are you still making these drawings? Aren¡¯t you afraid of Harry?¡¯ Almost instantly, Sarah replied her text: ¡®Not at all. What can he do to me? Let¡¯s hangout tomorrow and I¡¯ll show you mytest sketches.¡¯ There are new sketches? Sophia mused and agreed. On the next day, she went out after having breakfast to meet Sarah in a coffee house downtown, where Sarah took out the sketchbook with her new dirty drawings from her bag. Her drawings had surpassed any human¡®s imagination with her favorite theme of pairing up Harry with irrelevant characters and coupling Stanley with Sean. Through Sarah¡¯s tainted eyes, there were no men she couldn¡¯t forcibly couple together. In the past, she loved drawing Taylor with Harry, but after she learned that Taylor was married to Sophia, her drawings of him lessened and she had now developed to be an expert at drawing Harry. Especially recently after joining Stanley¡¯spany where she could encounter Harry personally, drawing him had almost be her obsession. As long as love existed in her heart, she could even couple Stanley¡¯s husky with Harry. As Sophia looked through her illustrations and saw Harry in indecent acts, she was seized by anxiety because her drawings were now bolder and even included group sex. Oh my god¡­ Studies were too boring and she needed to look at some stimting images to relieve her stress, so the both of them browsed through the sketchbook while drinking coffee until it was noon. ncing at her watch, Sarah then said, ¡°I have a lunch date with my ssmates. I don¡¯t think you would like to join because you don¡¯t know any of them, so I¡¯m going by myself.¡± After bidding her goodbye, Sophia finished her coffee, kept the sketchbook into her backpack and left the coffee house happily. Later, she thought she would make a stop at the gym, but she usually went there to train martial arts with Gwen. Since it was just fitness, she could do it at home and what was more, her Lord would be home to instruct her. Recently, Michael had left for the studios in the suburbs for filming and only returned home once a week on weekends. Usually, there was only Sophia alone at home, so she felt a little lonely. Deciding that she would have lunch first, she had only taken a few steps away from the coffee house when a voice suddenly called out to her from behind, ¡°Sophia.¡± She turned around and saw a person she never imagined she would meet standing not far away from her. ¡°General?!¡± Chapter 381 Chapter 381 Standing not far off from her, Joel was dressed casually in a shirt, looking like he was out on a break. Even without his uniform, he still looked sharp like a sword which was ced in a scabbard and the military temperament he had was impossible to hide. Joel grinned, not expecting to run into her today. Unlike that day during thepetition when she wore an eye-catching red dress, she was now wearing a casual white-colored top with wide sleeves paired with jeans and canvas sneakers. On her delicate face, she had very light makeup on and overall, she looked very clean and refreshing. The sight of her made his heart skip. During the tournament, Sophia had seen Joel from afar and knew that he was the one in charge of security for that day. However, that day was too rushed, and she had left with the others to a party right after, so she didn¡¯t make it in time to greet him. Furthermore, the fact that Michael disliked him also made her a little wary about going over to say hi that day. But today, she paced over to him jauntily and asked, ¡°General, what are you doing here?¡± Without his military uniform, Joel maintained his usual smart aura, but his smile seemed more gentle as the edges of his lips curled upward slightly and he replied, ¡°I have a gathering with myrades in the afternoon.¡± Then, he recalled the day of thepetition and added, ¡°You did well that day!¡± Since he was in charge of security, he had to stay outside of the venue to take care of various situations and couldn¡¯t watch Sophia on the spot, but he had watched the livestream. The scene was unforgettable; ady in red calmly controlling a virtual character in golden armor to defeat the foreign team until they had to make a run for it. The atmosphere was so thrilling that even Joel, who was outside, could feel it simply by watching the broadcast. The world of the young is burning with life! he had thought. When he first met Sophia, she was a young girl who wasn¡¯t very striking. If he hadn¡¯t heard that she was bought by Michael, he probably wouldn¡¯t have taken a second look at her. Back then, he didn¡¯t understand why a person like Michael would need to resort to buying a woman, but looking at her now, it was probably because Michael was a better judge of a person than he was. Hearing the general¡¯spliment, Sophia was so embarrassed that she scratched her head and grinned. ¡°I just got lucky. It was mainly because Stanley is a capable leader. I was just an errand runner who could hit a few enemies.¡± She had just finished speaking when Joel smiled again. The genes of the Fletchers were indeed top of the ss. There was the elegant idol like Michael, the young punk like Stanley and also Joel, who was oozing with righteousness and military persona. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t smile, but when he did, he was very good-looking andpletely different from the way Michael smiled. ¡°How¡¯s thepany?¡± he asked. Sophia was not expecting him to ask about thepany, but it urred to her that Irene had also invested in it, so she hurriedly replied, ¡°Thepany is doing well and I¡¯m nning to drop byter to take a look. Everyone is working overtime recently and even Stanley has shifted his home to the office.¡± ¡°Yeah, do your best but don¡¯t give yourself too much pressure. You¡¯re still young, so you¡¯ll run into some failures before you can mature,¡± he said. Suddenly, his phone rang and he answered the caller, ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± After hanging up, he turned to Sophia and asked, ¡°It¡¯s Army Day today and we have a day off. Your drill instructor will also be at the gathering with myrades. Would you like to join?¡± My drill instructor? she repeated in her head. The mention of military training reminded her of Commander Ford. After the training, they never kept in contact, and that seemed like a rule in their military camp. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . When she heard that Joel would be having a gathering with Commander Ford, she was tempted to join, but the thought that Michael didn¡¯t like Joel held her back. If Michael had gone out with a woman she didn¡¯t like, she would definitely be unhappy about it as well. Still, she contemted it because the memories of her military training were etched into her mind and Commander Ford had taught her many things besides taking good care of herpany. When the training ended, everyone had cried and was reluctant to leave. That day, she even specially went to look for Commander Ford to bid farewell, but she couldn¡¯t find him. When training was finished and they had to leave the barracks, they were all crying like babies, but their instructors were not allowed to send them off lest it made everyone sad. It was destiny that she ran into him today, and she didn¡¯t know when would be the next time she would get such an opportunity. So she thought about it a little more and then said to Joel, ¡°Let me inform someone from home.¡± Knowing who she meant by that, Joel nodded. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± Sophia spun around and called Michael, whose face was currently covered in dust and mud while he ate boxed lunch with his crew. During the shooting for this movie, his face was barely ever untouched as there was always some makeup on¡ªeither blood or dust. Upon picking up Sophia¡¯s call, the first thing he did was to flirt with her, ¡°Chica, are you missing your hubby? Just clean your butt and wait for me. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow to shower you with love.¡± Sitting at the same table and eating boxed lunch with him, Harry rolled his eyes and cried silently, Can¡¯t you cut out such disgusting stuff when we¡¯re eating? Despite being married for a long time, Sophia still couldn¡¯t help but blush whenever Michael made a dirty remark. Very briefly, she told him about what happened today and finally said, ¡°So yeah, that¡¯s what happened and it¡¯s Army Day today, so I¡¯ll join them for a meal and then leave after that.¡± It was silent for a long time on the other side of the line. Although she knew that Michael wouldn¡¯t agree to it, she really wanted to meet Commander Ford as well as her battalion and regimentalmanders who had taken care of her during training. Despite knowing that he wouldn¡¯t let her go, she still wanted to fight for this opportunity. To her surprise, Michael merely chuckled lightly after a pause and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. Go ahead and join them.¡± In that moment, she was overwhelmed with delight and thanked him cheerfully, ¡°Thank you, hubby.¡± After hanging up the call, Michael stared at his phone for a split second before going over to the director and informed him, ¡°It¡¯s Army Day today so I¡¯m taking two day¡¯s off to join a gathering with myrades. I won¡¯t be here today and tomorrow.¡± Speechless, there was nothing the director could do because Michael was the celebrity and he called the shots. Meanwhile, Sophia left with Joel in a jubnt mood after putting her phone away. As Joel was the host today, the venue definitely wouldn¡¯t be too shabby. The gathering would be held at thergest leisure club in Bayside City, which was in Asco Entertainment City, and they had run into each other because that ce was nearby. Whenever she thought that she would be meeting hermanders whom she missed so dearly, a little surge of excitement would well up in her chest. She then gazed at Joel and asked nervously, ¡°Will I affect the mood if I join the gathering with yourrades?¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t. Don¡¯t worry, there are people bringing their families as well,¡± he assured. Relieved, Sophia happily followed him. As this was a wealthy area, it was filled with luxury stores and premium clubs. Asco Entertainment City, which they had just entered, belonged to the owner of Asco International, and the club was located on the fourth floor while the first three floors were branded stores. Tagging behind Joel, the both of them had only reached the second floor when they met an acquaintance unexpectedly. ¡°So the both of you really know each other!¡± Appearing before Sophia, a group of people were walking toward them. A young, beautiful girl was in the middle and she was surrounded by a few bodyguards dressed in ck. Isn¡¯t that Natasha Mitchell? Chapter 382 Chapter 382 The sight of Natasha reminded Sophia of her own father, Cooper. Back then, Cooper was killed because of Natasha¡¯s father, Alex Mitchell, and although there was no evidence, Alex became the head of the Mitchells after his death and even took away all his private properties. Despite the fact that the current generation shouldn¡¯t be involved with the feud of the previous generation, it seemed like the animosity between Sophia and Natasha had long been forged. Carrying a small, delicate shopping bag in her hand while her assistant was carrying six shopping bags in her hands, it looked like Natasha was just done with her shopping spree. She had three bodyguards with her, and she looked rather mature for a seventeen year-old in an exquisite haute couture dress and a pair of limited edition heels. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Sophia and Joel before she smiled cunningly and said, ¡°So that¡¯s how it is.¡± It¡¯s no wonder he had the guts to go against me. So he¡¯s Sophia¡¯s friend, she thought to herself as she recalled the day when she was locked up near the stadium for two hours. That had been the nightmare of her life and she had never been through such suffering nor endured such humiliation before in her life! Looking at Joel, Natasha asked with a smirk, ¡°Which battalion do you belong to and what¡¯s your designation?¡± Joel cast her a cold stare and it took him a while to realize who she was. ¡°Noment,¡± he answered coldly. It was only after thepetition that Sophia heard about how Joel and Natasha were now enemies. Under normal circumstances, even though thepetition that day was a rather big event, it was still not important enough that Joel would be needed to maintain order personally. If Sophia hadn¡¯t seen him at the scene with her own eyes, even she wouldn¡¯t believe it. It was probably Old Master Fletcher who had assigned him the task. It was only at an event like the charity banquet organized by Harry previously, where some of the attendees were foreign dignitaries and members of the royal family, could Joel be asked to handle security personally. Even then, it was not a prestigious enough event. Without a doubt, Natasha must have thought the same and didn¡¯t think that an important figure like him would appear, and so she went there to cause trouble. Looking at the situation now, she definitely didn¡¯t know who Joel was. Every year, he presided over the military training of Bayside University, and by right, the students should all know who he was. Unfortunately for Natasha, she had never joined the military training of the university. Natasha knew that Joel had a high rank in the military and also had Sophia¡¯s back. So today, she wanted to show Sophia how formidable she was, but not by directly picking a fight with her. Instead, she would make Joel her target. He was merely a Major General and there was nock of high ranking people in Bayside City! A General Officer was not worth mentioning at all! Today, she must let Sophia know that the backing whom she was so proud of was not worth the mention at all! Displeased with Joel¡¯s attitude, she spoke grimly, ¡°You should know that I¡¯m the Young Lady of the Mitchells and that my uncle has a rank in the military as well. By locking me up at the stadium that day, you¡¯ve already vited military rules. Just one word from my uncle and you¡¯ll be dismissed from the military.¡± Wow, can she brag! She wants to dismiss me from my military duties? Joel sniggered. Without even mentioning his own outstanding military achievements, his parents were both high-ranking military personnel, much more his grandfather, Mark. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . An evil idea suddenly came to Sophia¡¯s mind and she took a step forward, speaking sternly, ¡°Have you lost your mind, Natasha? This man is an instructor in our military training!¡± When Natasha heard that, she surveyed Joel from top to bottom and sneered to herself, Hmph! He¡¯s merely an instructor in the military camp. How could a Major General be an instructor? This is a joke and I must have judged him wrongly. There¡¯s no way he¡¯s a Major General, but a Second Lieutenant at most! ¡°So he¡¯s just an instructor, and here I thought he was some important figure,¡± she scoffed,pletely looking down on Joel. ¡°Natasha, it¡¯s Army Day today. Can you live with yourself if you speak to an instructor like that?¡± Sophia asked, fanning the mes. Having no regard for either of them, Natasha was determined to get Joel into trouble today. So she lifted her chin and instructed him haughtily, ¡°I want to know your designation.¡± Sure enough, Natasha¡¯s behavior which was deserving of a Darwin Award made the look on Joel¡¯s face turn more and more unpleasant. All the warmth from earlier was gone and his face had totally turned into a block of ice. With his aura as strong and powerful as a tornado, they were at a tipping point which caused them to not be able to breathe and feel suffocated. Obviously, Joel was mad and it delighted Sophia who gloated in silence, Now, fight! Joel¡¯s imposing manner had also frightened Natasha and she could feel goosebumps all over her body just by looking at his eyes which were carrying a murderous intent that she had never seen before. However, when it hit her that she had five people with her while he was only a man with such a low military rank, bravery surged through her. Decisively, she repeated her words from earlier crudely, ¡°You must tell me your battalion and designation, or else you¡¯re not leaving here today!¡± Although he didn¡¯t utter a single word, everyone could see that the look in Joel¡¯s eyes had turned icier. He¡¯s angry now! He¡¯s angry now! Sophia rejoiced silently, as though there was a little person in her heart jumping around in joy. Hurriedly, she grabbed Joel by the arm and said, ¡°Forget it, General. Let¡¯s have our lunch and not waste our time on such a snob.¡± Even though it seemed like she was trying to persuade him, she had hit Natasha¡¯s sore spot by calling her out like that. Even if he wanted to leave now, she wouldn¡¯t let them leave without doing anything to them! All her life, Natasha basked in all sorts ofpliments from everyone and no one had ever called her a snob before. Did she just call me a snob? she fumed. Losing all her patience, she ordered the bodyguards next to her, ¡°Get him and inform my uncle to take care of this.¡± Acting upon her words, her bodyguards surrounded Joel and Sophia took a couple of steps back, watching in anticipation. There was a good saying on the Inte that went, ¡®Don¡¯t go out drinking on Army Day. Don¡¯t get drunk if you¡¯re drinking, and don¡¯t cause any trouble if you¡¯re drunk, or you¡¯ll realize that the people at the table next to you are not only brutal, but also especially good in fights. That¡¯s because veterans are gathering everywhere.¡¯ As soon as three of her bodyguards had Joel surrounded, the news had spread and sounds of footsteps could be heard everywhere as some bulky men came over from every direction within seconds. Very neatly, they arranged themselves into a human barricade and Natasha and her bodyguards found themselves stuck in the middle. Not only did these men look aggressive, but they were also exceptionally disciplined; a group of men blocked Natasha¡¯s men while another group evacuated the onlookers in an orderly manner. With such a well-trained attitude, anyone could easily tell that they were all either active or retired soldiers. Stunned by the aggressive appearance of these men, Natasha forced herself to put up a calm face and said to Joel, ¡°Are you going to ask your men to beat me up in public? My uncle is¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Joel, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. As his voice travelled through the air, it felt as though ice had formed for thousands of miles. Unlike regr military students who joined military schools as recruits, Joel joined the army when he was eighteen and worked his way up from an ordinary conscript. For several years, he was in the international peacekeeping force and also participated in major evacuation operations which shocked the world. As a soldier who had seen real situations and who was made Major General at such a young age, he was a truly remarkable figure. It was actually a waste of his talents for him to go up against Natasha. Still, Sophia couldn¡¯t wait to see them in a fight right now! Regardless of what happened, Joel would be there to take care of it! Chapter 383 Chapter 383 Natasha had absolute confidence and she wasn¡¯t worried about the group of soldiers at all. After all, she was a descendent of the Mitchell family and the only daughter of Alex Mitchell! As she thought about this, she suddenly gained confidence and lifted her chin to look at Joel, who was much taller than her, and yelled, ¡°If you¡¯re brave enough, tell me your number and unit! I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t get away so easily!¡± Joel red at her, eyes scorching but a cold expression on his face. Upon hearing, Sophia hurriedly added oil to the fire. ¡°General, let¡¯s just leave. She¡¯s the daughter of Alex Mitchell, who is the director of Mitchell Group. Her father is also the head of the Mitchell family¡­¡± Joel snorted. ¡°General?¡± As soon as Natasha heard this, she felt even more confident and she coldly looked at Joel from head to toe. Joel was out for a party that day so he only wore casual clothes. At that moment, he didn¡¯t have his usual domineering aura. Instead, he looked like a neighbourly uncle with a gentle and low-key attitude, not looking like the youngest major general of Cethos one bit. ¡°What rank are you? How dare you call yourself a general?¡± However, Joel was toozy to bother with Natasha because it was pointless to quarrel with a person like her. He nced at his watch and realized the party was starting soon and as Joel was the host, it wouldn¡¯t look good if he were to bete. He turned to Sophia and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t say anything and merely followed silently behind Joel. It seems that Joel doesn¡¯t want to cause trouble. They are the Mitchells, after all. Since Joel didn¡¯t want to create trouble, Sophia didn¡¯t bother to make a scene either. Besides, she was getting hungry too. However, Joel only took two steps forward before he heard Natasha¡¯s dark voiceing from behind him. ¡°Did I say you could leave?¡± As soon as she finished speaking, one of her bodyguards quickly pressed Joel¡¯s shoulders. There was an African among Natasha¡¯s bodyguards who stood at slightly over two meters, which made him one head taller than Joel. The African bodyguard pressed his hand firmly on Joel¡¯s shoulder, not saying a word. The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Many soldiers watching seemed to want to attack but they didn¡¯t make a move. Instead, each of them stood idly by as they watched the drama unfold. Joel barked augh and suddenly fought back. He mped the bodyguard¡¯s hand that was on his shoulder and poked at his acupuncture point, hard. The African bodyguard instantly screamed in agony. Then, Joel turned around and kicked the bodyguard¡¯s hip in a swift motion. With that, the bodyguard fell to the ground with a loud thump. Seeing this, Natasha¡¯s other bodyguard jumped in to attack Joel. This bodyguard, on the other hand, was short and quick. He was really cunning and his attacks were fast as he focused on hitting Joel¡¯s lower body. However, Joel quickly fought back and with just a few moves, the other bodyguard fell to the ground. Joel pressed him onto the ground in a standard military movement before kicking him hard. Even at a nce, everyone could tell that he was trained. Natasha stared at the two bodyguards on the ground. She was so scared that her face turned pale and she staggered back a few steps. Looking at Joel in disbelief, she screamed in horror, ¡°You¡­ How dare you¡­ Do you know who I am? My uncle is¡­¡± Joel really didn¡¯t want to waste his time talking to her so he casually put his hands in his pockets and turned to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said softly to Sophia. At that, Sophia hurriedly followed behind him, not forgetting to turn around to nce at Natasha in triumph. Thinking that Natasha¡¯s father might be one of the murderers that killed her father, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but gloat. The group of bystanders disappeared in an instant,ing and going like the wind, leaving an outraged Nathasha and her two fallen bodyguards rooted to the spot. Natasha red fiercely in the direction that Sophia and Joel left and thought, Just you wait! Meanwhile, Sophia obediently followed Joel to the ce they were having the party. On the way, Joel suddenly turned around and said to her, ¡°The next time you want to teach someone a lesson, just be blunt.¡± Sophia immediately blushed. Joel had seen through her intentions in one nce and she was extremely embarrassed about it. Smiling awkwardly, she muttered, ¡°Thank you, general.¡± After a while, as if he had suddenly realized that he had said something insensitive, he added, ¡°I¡¯m not ming you.¡± Sophia nodded and replied, ¡°I know.¡± Joel looked at her, as if there was something else he wanted to say, but in the end he held back. If he really wanted to teach an ignorant person like Natasha a lesson, all he had to do was give a simple order¡­ They had reserved a really big VIP room and were greeted by the sight of many people, most of them men. There were some women too, but it was obvious that they were family members. Seeing this, Sophia felt awkward and quietly tugged on Joel¡¯s shirt. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there were other family members attending?¡± Joel didn¡¯t answer her question. Instead, he pointed to a corner and said, ¡°That¡¯s your drill instructor.¡± Sure enough, Sopia saw Commander Ford. He was dressed in casual clothes, looking quite charming. Seeing him, Sophia happily walked over to greet him. ¡°Oh my, isn¡¯t this Sophia who destroyed her ex-boyfriend¡¯s reputation?¡± Commander Ford recognized her in a heartbeat. Truth be told, a lot of people recognized her as soon as she showed up. She took a seat and chatted with the instructors about the affairs regarding her military training. Before the food was served, there were people arriving and soon, someone familiar appeared. ¡°Wow, Sophia. Why is it that I see you wherever I go?¡± Stanley said as soon as he entered the room. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Sophia asked as she looked at him strangely. Stanley found a seat and sat down. ¡°This is a veteran gathering. Why can¡¯t I be here? I¡¯m a real veteran!¡± Sophia thought about it for a moment. He¡¯s right. Even though he was only a soldier for two years before he left the army, he¡¯s still considered a veteran. There were many soldiers and veterans sitting around the table. Now that they were gathered together, they had endless topics to talk about. They drank alcohol, sang, chatted, and even arm wrestled. Food suddenly became the second most important thing. Sophia liked to attend parties that were filled with men because she could drink wine and eat without caring about women etiquette. Everyone drank wine from big bowls so Sophia was embarrassed to use a small ss. She grabbed a bowl of wine to drink but after only taking two sips, she felt her cheeks start to flush. Seeing this, Stanley hurriedly took away her bowl of wine and said, ¡°Stop drinking. If Uncle Michael finds out, he¡¯ll beat me up.¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia wiped her lips and said, ¡°You¡¯re the one who¡¯s going to get beaten up anyway. I¡¯m not afraid.¡± With that, she drank two more gulps of wine. She was not a regr drinker but the atmosphere that day was really lively and as everyone else was drinking, she felt a little out of ce if she didn¡¯t. Stanley watched as she drank half a bowl and said, ¡°Why did Uncle Michael let youe to this party? If I were him, I wouldn¡¯t allow you to go out for drinks.¡± He also found it unbelievable Michael even let Sophia out with Joel. After all, Joel and Michael were two family members who always fought each other whenever they met. Moreover, Joel had a record. A few years ago, when something happened to Michael, Joel immediately stepped in to get close with Sophia, even though they were not to me¡­ Is there something wrong with Uncle Michael? If I were him, I would definitely speed over here like a wild horse whose tail was on fire, galloping at 230 kilometers per hour¡­ As soon as he finished thinking about it, he saw Joel stand up with a ss of wine in his hand and said, ¡°Is everyone here?¡± Everyone answered in unison, ¡°Yes, we are.¡± As soon as they finished that sentence, the door of the VIP room was suddenly pushed open and a man in a suit and leather shoes with looks of an angel entered. His appearance instantly made the other men in the room look extra rough and uncouth. ¡°Sorry for beingte. There was a lot of traffic on the way¡­¡± Seeing the man who just entered, there were two loud sounds of people spurting wine. ¡°Pfft!¡± Chapter 384 Chapter 384 Stanley stared at Michael who just walked in, shock written all over his face. We sure are rted; we even have the same thoughts. The only difference is that I expected Michael to be a wild horse with its tail on fire but instead, he¡¯s like aunched rocket, rushing over from the production set in the blink of an eye. Sophia was holding and drinking wine from a bowl bigger than her face a moment ago. She looked up, never expected to see Michael who seemed to have traveled through a portal. Shocked, she spurted out a mouthful of wine and hurriedly covered her face with the big bowl. Sh*t! Why is Michael here? Shouldn¡¯t he be filming in a studio outside the city? As soon as Michael spoke, everyone in the room turned to look at him. Everyone knew who he was even though some of them didn¡¯t watch movies. That¡¯s Taylor Murray. I remember he came to visit during the military trainingst year, but why is an actor like him at a veteran party? Though Michael came uninvited, he didn¡¯t seem the least bit embarrassed. Instead, he walked in confidently and found a seat. Everyone looked at him before ncing at each other in confusion. Joel¡¯s expression was frozen for a moment but he quickly recovered and introduced Michael to everyone. ¡°This is my cousin. He used to serve in a special forces but now he has retired and is pursuing an acting career.¡± It suddenly dawned on everyone that they seemed to have heard rumors about Taylor working in the special forces before. Since Joel had personally said so, the rumors must be true. There were many fans of Taylor in the room so he was immediately surrounded as soon as he entered the room. As soon as Michael walked in, he immediately walked to Sophia¡¯s side. Seeing this, Stanley, who was sitting next to Sophia, hurriedly gave up his seat. Meanwhile, Sophia was still covering her face with the bowl. She had a small face and the bowl was really big so itpletely covered her face. Before Michael even had the chance to talk to her, the door was swung open again and a man with blond hair appeared. ¡°Oh, there you are!¡± Even Harry¡¯s here! Stanley instantly waved at Harry excitedly. ¡°Mr. Harry, why are you here?¡± Harry walked in leisurely with his hands in his pockets before he pointed at Michael and said, ¡°I¡¯m your uncle¡¯s family member.¡± Hearing this, Stanley frowned. Why does something sound off? Harry liked to copy others. When he was young, he liked to copy everything Michael did and wore clothes that were exactly like Michael¡¯s, which was why the both of them often got into fights. However, they stopped staying in contact with each other as they grew older. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Afterward, Michael met Harry when he became the instructor at the military training in Bayside University. This was why he immediately recognized the b*stard who copied everything he did when he was young at a nce. Later, Harry copied Michael even more diligently to the extent that the both of them were wearing the exact same outfit that day. Furthermore, after hearing Harry say ¡®I¡¯m your uncle¡¯s family member¡¯, their rtionship looked even more strange. But in fact, Harry was just toozy to think about what to wear. He thought Michael looked handsome in those clothes so he wore the exact same thing. Under everyone¡¯s strange stares, Harry sat down next to Stanley. The atmosphere became even more awkward. It was Joel who broke the silence. He raised his bowl of wine and said, ¡°It¡¯s not easy for all of us to gather together. Manyrades even specially came over from other states. Come, let¡¯s have a toast!¡± Dozens of bowls filled with hard liquor were raised. After all, true men only drank hard liquor. Sophia, who was covering her face with a bowl, suddenly felt her bowl being taken away. Drunk, she looked at Michael with a flushed face, not daring to speak. There was even slight fear in her gaze. Meanwhile, Michael didn¡¯t even look at her. Instead, he poured liquor into her bowl and made a toast together with everyone. Sophia looked up at him and watched as he gulped down a whole bowl of hard liquor in a few mouthfuls. After Michael finished drinking, he pulled out a row of Yakult from hisp and even tore open the packaging, inserting straws before he quietly pushed it in front of Sophia. She nced at him like an aggrieved but happy puppy before lowering her head to drink. It was when Stanley finished drinking a bowl of liquor that he saw the row of Yakult and reached over to grab it. ¡°This is great. Drinking some Yakult after hard liquor is good for the stomach.¡± However, as soon as he touched the Yakult, a palm appeared in front of him and pped his hand away. ¡°You¡¯re a grown man. You shouldn¡¯t be drinking Yakult on an asion like this.¡± Stanley nced at Michael as he quickly withdrew his hand, afraid to say a word. Later, the men chatted while the women ate quietly. After Sophia quietly finished drinking two bottles, she focused on eating. There were originally ten tables in the VIP room but they were joined together to form two long rows. Joel was originally sitting next to Sophia but Michael directly sat between them, effectively separating him from Sophia. Even though the two men were sitting next to each other, there was zero communication. Michael and Sophia were also surrounded by many people and Michael handed out several business cards. ¡°The film crew is in need of arge number of extrastely, preferably veterans. If any of you are interested, go to the address on my business card.¡± The atmosphere seemed happy and harmonious and the party went on from noon till night, as they drank a ton of wine and ate a lot of food. As for Sophia, she drank a whole row of Yakult and even secretly drank a few sips of wine. She kept burping during the second half of the party. After they were full from eating and drinking, everyone left one by one. As the host, Joel stayed until the end of the party. Michael didn¡¯t leave either. After Sophia finished eating a drumstick happily, she looked up and saw that almost everyone had left. Only a few people remained. Joel, Michael, and Harry were still there, and Stanley was still drinking happily. ¡°Come, Uncle Joel! Let¡¯s have a toast!¡± Stanley raised his bowl of wine and yelled. Joel pushed his face away. He, too, had drunk a lot of wine and even though he still had a sharp gaze, he looked slightly drunk. All of a sudden, Joel stood up and said to Michael, ¡°Mike, it¡¯s been a while since ourst friendlypetition.¡± Michael put down his bowl of wine and elegantly wiped his lips, a cynical smile on his face. There was a glint in his eyes as he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we have another friendlypetition then?¡± They unexpectedly met each other¡¯s gazes, and it was as if there was the sound of thunder and lightning in the sky. Michael quickly got up, pushed away his chair and walked to an empty space with Joel. Michael had already taken his jacket off but now, he even removed his shirt, revealing his muscr upper body. Then, he stood opposite Joel and with a smirk, he said, ¡°I¡¯m hoping that you can show some mercy. I haven¡¯t fought in a long time so my moves are quite rusty.¡± Joel looked at him nkly and replied, ¡°Of course I will; don¡¯t worry.¡± Sophia was lying on the table drinking Yakult when she suddenly heard sounds of a fight. Drunk, she slowly lifted her head and saw Joel and Michael fighting. Even though they said it was a friendlypetition, they fought fiercely. Moreover, they had some alcohol and with old and new grudges in their hearts, they fought so hard that their eyes turned red. Every punch theyunched was filled with energy. Sophia looked at them in horror and yelled, ¡°Stop it! Stop fighting!¡± Harry gulped down a bowl of wine and pressed Sophia¡¯s head back onto the table. ¡°Just drink your Yakult, silly.¡± There¡¯s nothing enjoyable in eating and drinking. But watching a fight, well, that¡¯s interesting! Meanwhile, Stanley was lying on the ground like a drunken shrimp. Although he saw them fighting, he didn¡¯t have the energy to stop the two men. Sophia tried to stand up multiple times to stop them but was pressed back to her seat by Harry every single time. Hence, she had no choice but to watch Michael and Joel fight each other in front of her. Chapter 385 Chapter 385 In terms of skills or punches, both men were almost on the same level. One of them was always the first in the family while the other always came second, and the psychological gap between them showed. Joel had always pushed himself to his limits and his achievements were impossible for his peers to attain. He had everything he wanted but he still felt he was still overwhelmed by Michael. He was unwilling to lose! As for Michael, he purely wanted to beat Joel up. It had nothing to do with Irene, Sophia, or what happened that day. He just didn¡¯t like him! With a whack, Michael was punched so hard that his nose started to bleed. Then, with a bash, Joel¡¯s eye was bruised. Sophia was so afraid that she quickly sobered up. Unfortunately, Harry held her down tightly and wouldn¡¯t allow her to interfere with their fight. All of a sudden, the door was pushed open and Irene walked in. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. When she saw the two men fighting in the VIP room, she screamed in horror. ¡°Oh my God, Joel! You¡­¡± Irene hurried over. At that exact moment, Michael pushed Joel to the ground and was about to punch him but when he saw Irene, his tightly curled fist loosened a little. In his moment of hesitation, Joel punched Michael before kicking him away. Immediately, Irene rushed over and helped Joel up, who was beaten up really badly. She was so distressed that she was about to break into tears. ¡°Joel, why did you do that¡­¡± Meanwhile, Sophia slipped under Harry¡¯s arm and escaped his grip. She helped Michael up and looked at his handsome features, face swollen and nose bleeding. ¡°We were having such a good time; why did you two have to end up fighting?¡± Joel got up to his feet and wiped away the blood under his nose. Even though he looked angry, he said to Michael, ¡°Mike, your martial art skills are as strong as back then. Thank you for going easy on me.¡± Michael wiped his bleeding nose and replied, ¡°Likewise.¡± With that, Irene propped Joel up and staggered as they left. Right before they left the room, Irene turned around and nced at Michael meaningfully. He lowered his head, looking at the bruises on his fists before limping forward to take a seat. Meanwhile, Sophia was so shocked she was about to cry. She simply couldn¡¯t understand how they suddenly got into a fight. Michael was beaten so badly that his eyes were swollen and there was a steady stream of blood flowing down from his nose to his chin. He quickly took his shirt and carelessly wiped the blood away. Seeing this, Sophia used a tissue, carefully wiping away the blood on his face. Meanwhile, she was also swiping away her tears and her voice was choked. Looking at a sobbing Sophia, Michael¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°I¡¯m fine. We often fought like this when we were younger.¡± Sophia sobbed as she yelled, ¡°What if something serious happened to you? What am I supposed to do?¡± She was angry yet afraid. After all, she watched Joel punch Michael over and over with her own eyes! He¡¯s not a machine¡ªhe¡¯s human! What if he breaks something? Seeing the tearful appearance of his chica, Michael finally realized that he had made a mistake. I am indeed drunk from all the hard liquor. I¡¯m already way past the age of fighting and fooling around but when I saw Joel, I couldn¡¯t help but feel the urge of beating him up. He wiped away Sophia¡¯s tears with his hand and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Chica. Stop crying. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Hearing this, Sophia sobbed twice before she called Hale and asked him to prepare their ride. Michael then put on his clothes and his sunsses to cover up his bruised eyes. With that, he walked out and got in the car. Meanwhile, Harry carried apletely drunk Stanley. When they left the room, they saw Joel and Irene, who just finished paying the bill. The two groups ignored each other and went their own ways. Leaving the restaurant, they went directly to the hospital. The doctors were already prepared when they arrived and gave Michael a full body examination. While waiting, Sophia paced back and forth anxiously as tears kept streaming down her face. It wasn¡¯t until the examination ended and the doctor came over with a thick report to tell her that Michael only had external injuries did she feel reassured. Michael, on the other hand, didn¡¯t think it was a big deal. He wasn¡¯t delicate and spoiled. Instead, he fought a lot. When he was young, he often fought with people of the same age in the militarypound. Later on when he was a soldier, he fought in the army, and after he retired from the army, he didn¡¯t stop fighting either. Whenever he acted in action movies, he never used stand-ins and personally fought with the professionals to ensure his body remained fit. To him, fighting with Joel was a piece of cake. They left the hospital after patching him up and stopping his nosebleed. On the way home, Sophia didn¡¯t say a single word to him. It was obvious that she was really mad. She kept the car window rolled down, letting the wind blow her face. The wind from outside the window was so strong it dried the tears at the corners of her eyes. As Sophia looked at the traffic outside the window, there seemed to be an unresolved worry in her gaze. In fact, she caught sight of the hesitation and doubt in Michael¡¯s eyes when Irene entered the room earlier. She saw it all. However, she also knew that Michael couldn¡¯t forget about Irene. The reason he fought with Joel was not because what happened that day, let alone herself. Instead, it was because of Irene. The more she thought about this the more she wanted to cry, but the wind made her eyes feel so dry that she couldn¡¯t. Meanwhile, Stanley slumped against the seat, snoring. His snore was the only sound breaking the silence inside the car. When Michael saw how upset Sophia was, he quickly checked his conscience and recalled everything he had done that day. Realizing the mistakes he had made, he scooted over and held Sophia in his arms. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Chica? Are you angry at me?¡± However, Sophia didn¡¯t respond. It was as if she didn¡¯t hear him at all. Seeing this, Michael let go of his pride and softened his voice, ¡°Okay, I admit I made a mistake. I shouldn¡¯t have fought today. Please forgive me, alright?¡± Even so, Sophia silently pushed away his hand that was on her shoulder and remained silent, continuing to look out the window. Michael felt his heart sink and realized that he might have made a big mistake. This was the first time Sophia was mad at him. But at the same time, he was also very pleased. She being mad at him indicated that she really cared about him. At this point, hepletely let go of his manly demeanor and grabbed her hand with a smile. ¡°Darling, please stop being mad at me. I promise that I will never fight again.¡± Throughout their journey home, Sophia didn¡¯t speak a word, not only because of Michael¡¯s fight but also because of Irene¡¯s appearance that day. After they arrived home and parked, Sophia immediately grabbed her bag and got out of the car. Seeing this, Michael hurriedly went to grab her bag from her and said enthusiastically, ¡°I¡¯ll help you with your bag!¡± However, Sophia was still angry and wasn¡¯t willing to say a word to him. As soon as Maria opened the door, a tiny figure ran out of the house and rushed toward Michael and Sophia. When Nathan saw Michael¡¯s bruised face and the blood flowing down his nose, he stood still in fright. His dark eyes stared at Michael, as if he was scared of him. Sophia hurriedly pulled Nathan to the side and coaxed, ¡°Darling, your dad¡¯s fine. That¡¯s the makeup he put on set when they were shooting for the movie. He¡¯ll be back to normal after he removes the makeup.¡± With that, she turned around and nced at Michael. Then, she held Nathan¡¯s hand and went into the house. However, Nathan kept looking back at Michael the entire way, seeming a little scared. Even after returning home, Sophia continued to ignore Michael. She locked herself up in the study after washing up and did not allow anyone to enter. After cleaning himself up, Michael put medicine on his face to reduce the swelling. However, he realized that he couldn¡¯t enter Sophia¡¯s study and saw that no one answered the door. Taking a bag of ice and pressing it on his face, he knocked on the door repeatedly. ¡°Chica, my darling chica, will you open the door for me?¡± However, no sound could be heard from inside the room. Suddenly, Michael heard a cold chuckleing from behind him. ¡°You deserve it.¡± Chapter 386 Chapter 386 When Michael turned around, he saw Nathan in Bambi pajamas, an indifferent and cold expression on his face that didn¡¯t match his age. ¡°You were fighting, weren¡¯t you?¡± Nathan was not an ordinary child so Sophia¡¯s lies could only trick herself. At a nce, Nathan already knew that Michael was fighting with someone. Judging from Michael¡¯s appearance, he was sure that the fight was fierce. After all, his face was swollen. He was never so badly injured when he fought with Stanley in the past. However, Michael quickly denied, ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t. I just had a friendlypetition with Joel.¡± Hearing this, Nathan was even more convinced that Michael was in a fight. Fighting with Joel and fighting with Stanley are two totally different things! No wonder Sophia¡¯s so mad! Nathan opened his bedroom door and walked in as he said, ¡°It seems that she was worried that you might get killed.¡± Michael held onto the bag of ice and said nothing. Later, he entered the study, switching on hisputer and logging onto the game. Sure enough, he saw ¡®Sirius233¡¯ online. Michael logged onto his other ount ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯ and started to chat with ¡®Sirius233¡¯. ¡®Hubby,¡¯ he greeted. However, ¡®Sirius233¡¯ didn¡¯t reply to him. Not willing to give up, Michael logged onto his main ount, but because his identity was exposed, a group of people immediately surrounded him as soon as he went online. Having no other choice, he set his status as invisible. When he found ¡®Sirius233¡¯, he messaged her. ¡®Chica.¡¯ Still, he didn¡¯t receive any reply. ¡®Sophia! Sophie! Fifi! My darling! My princess¡­¡¯ He chased ¡®Sirius233¡¯ around for more than ten minutes but ¡®Sirius233¡¯ didn¡¯t say a word. All of a sudden, ¡®Sirius233¡¯ pulled out a sword and shed off his head. Sophia had pulled out her sword that was worth 2 million and hit Michael¡¯s game character, ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯, in the head without any warning. He is a god in the game and can¡¯t be killed anyways. Even after she attacked him with her most powerful weapon, he still had a half tube of blood. Michael didn¡¯t dare to move or fight back. Seeing this, Sophia went into a frenzy and it was as if she was the God of death, continuously beating ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ up. In ten minutes, ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ was killed by her multiple times. He was a god so he could be resurrected on the spot in a few seconds, only to be beaten to death again. Harry, who was ying the game after he returned home, saw the system messages. ¡®Your friend ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ has been hacked to death by ¡®Sirius233¡¯.¡¯ ¡®Your friend ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ has been resurrected on the spot.¡¯ ¡®Your friend ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ has been kicked to death by ¡®Sirius233¡¯.¡¯ ¡®Your friend ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ has been resurrected on the spot.¡¯ ¡®Your friend ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ has been mercilessly killed by ¡®Sirius233¡¯.¡¯ Seeing this, Harry waspletely speechless. He then rushed to the scene and saw ¡®Sirius233¡¯ chasing and shing at ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯. It was so brutal that it wasparable to a massacre. The ways ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ was murdered was unique and strange. That must be some strong resentment! However, ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ acted like a little boy who had made a mistake. He didn¡¯t dare to say a word and just stood there, letting her beat, sh, kick, strangle and even chop his body to pieces¡­ It was so brutal that children shouldn¡¯t be allowed to see it! Just then, ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ showed up and she asked Harry, ¡®What¡¯s wrong? Why are your dads fighting each other?¡¯ Harry replied calmly, ¡®Have you never seen domestic violence before?¡¯ Seeing this, ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ was rendered speechless. Harry saw that there was an unfamiliar ount name standing next to ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯ that looked like a bunny. He thought that it was a pet that Sean had just bought but after taking a closer look, he realized it was another yer with the ID ¡®Little Kitten¡¯. ¡®Little Kitten! It¡¯s you!¡¯ Harry immediately pulled out his sword that he bought for 2.5 million and gritted his teeth as he chased after ¡®Little Kitten¡¯, wanting to kill her. On the other side, after Sophia killed ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ dozens of times, she was finally willing to speak. ¡®Do you know what you¡¯ve done wrong?¡¯ Michael replied, ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have fought. I made a mistake and I won¡¯t do it again next time. Sirius Sir, I beg you to forgive my sins.¡¯ ¡®There¡¯s going to be a next time?¡¯ Michael quickly replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare! From now on, when I see Joel, I¡¯ll definitely take a detour.¡¯ This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡®Michael, you¡¯re a b*stard!¡¯ ¡®Yes, I am a b*stard!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t until the middle of the night when Michael saw ¡®Sirius233¡¯ log off. He hurriedly went to Sophia¡¯s study and knocked on the door. ¡°Chica?¡± Bang! Sophia had thrown something at the door and continued to throw things around the study as she screamed hysterically, ¡°Do you know how scared I was at the time? Joel hit you really hard. What if something happened to you? What if you got injured? Even if you don¡¯t think of me, you should¡¯ve thought about Nate! Michael, you are a selfish b*stard who only care about venting your anger! You never think of the consequences or other people¡¯s feelings. I hate you! I hate you!¡± Michael stood outside the door and didn¡¯t dare speak, quietly listening to Sophia cry and curse as she smashed things in the room. Michael kept admitting his mistake out loud and heard Sophia crying inside for half an hour before she stopped. Hearing that she went silent, he knew that her anger had subsided so he asked, ¡°Are you hungry? I¡¯ll go cook some instant noodles for you.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I¡¯m not hungry. I don¡¯t want to eat.¡± Hearing this, Michael whispered, ¡°Then open the door.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t.¡± Michael replied, ¡°If you don¡¯t open the door, I¡¯ll wait right here the whole night.¡± There wasplete silence in the room for more than ten minutes and Michael just stood there the whole time. asionally, he made some noises to remind the person in the room that he was still standing at the doorway. Twenty minutester, the door opened with a click. Sophia instantly pounced on Michael and hugged him, burying her face in his chest and sobbing. Michael caressed her tearful face and saw that her face was puffy from all the crying, looking pitiful. ¡°There, there. Stop crying; I know that I¡¯ve made a mistake. It¡¯s gettingte now, so we should get to bed.¡± Michael lifted her up and walked to the master bedroom. After they returned to their room, Sophia washed her face and rolled onto the bed, her back against Michael as she was still very mad at him. Michael undid his belt before climbing onto the bed and grabbing her legs. ¡°Come here; let me ¡®unclog¡¯ your body so that your anger will get released.¡± Then, he showed his ¡®weapon¡¯ and pushed her nightgown up to ¡®unclog¡¯ her body. Angry and ashamed, Sophie covered her face¡­ After a long ¡®unclogging¡¯ session, Sophia¡¯s anger had eased up a lot. However, when she thought of Irene¡¯s appearance, she felt really upset. She knew that even though Michael said that he didn¡¯t care about Irene, deep down, he definitely had a ce for Irene in his heart that nobody else could rece. Unable to sleep, Sophia tossed and turned. In the early hours of the morning, she suddenly heard the sound of rain hitting the eaves. Hurriedly putting on her nightgown, she got out of bed, pushed open the window, and saw an unexpected summer rain. The weather in August was hot and humid so every time it rained, the air was filled with hot steam. Standing by the window, Sophia reached out. Feeling the cold raindrops fall into her palm, she finally rxed. In the dead of night, even the neon lights outside the window had disappeared. The whole city seemed to have fallen asleep and only she was awake; it was as if she had temporarily lost connection with the outside world. At that moment, she was alone in her little bubble. She looked at the rain in a daze as she continued to recall what happened during the day. Sophia seemed to see Irene no matter whether she opened or closed her eyes. At that moment, she felt as if the person ¡®Irene Weber¡¯ seemed to be something insurmountable between her and Michael. Chapter 387 Chapter 387 At the beginning, she was desperate like an abandoned puppy and was bought back home by Michael. This doomed her status in Michael¡¯s heart. No matter what, she was destined to never be as good as Irene. Sophia was never satisfied with the present and only wanted to make herself better to be someone who could be on par with Michael. She dared not let herself rest while powerlessness and anxiety urged her to keep moving forward. Sophia was afraid that she would no longer be unique and excellent one day and could easily be reced. She wanted to stay by Michael¡¯s side forever¡­ To her, Michael was irreceable, but to him, she could be substituted at any time. All of a sudden, a hand reached out and was ced above Sophia¡¯s small hand, catching some drops of the falling rain. On the knuckles were scars left behind from the fight during the day. Sophia didn¡¯t know since when Michael started standing behind her silently. He ced one hand on her shoulder and caught droplets of the rain with the other. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she replied. Using his height as an advantage, Michael ced his chin on her head. He had thought about what happened during the day and knew that other than the fight, there seemed to be something else that Sophia was worried about. He knew that the reason was Irene, who suddenly showed up. However, Michael was really clear about his feelings¡ªSophia was the only person he loved. Nathan wanted a family and a mother so Michael had brought Sophia home to live under the same roof as him. His love for her gradually grew as he got along with her. In his eyes, her strength and small tricks were funny and cute so he wanted to love her, protect her, and spend the rest of his life with her. He kept her by his side not only to maintain thepleteness of their family but also because he loved her. As for Irene, it had been a long time ever since he became disgusted with her, as if she was a mosquito that he had hit against the wall. Meanwhile, he treated the person he loved like a warm nket over his shoulders that he could touch whenever he wanted. Come to think of it, this was the first time they sat together in silence. ¡°It is said that a person will go through three rtionships in their life. One that is ignorant, one that is unforgettable, and thest one is simple and warm.¡± Michael was the first to speak. With that, he lowered his head and looked at Sophia, who was sitting beside him. ¡°Chica, do you want to be my unforgettable love or my simple and warm love?¡± Sophia was dumbfounded. Other than the ignorant lover, the other two were given to Irene. As for Sophia, she also had one missing. The others were given to Richard. Michael looked at her but she didn¡¯t answer even after a long time. At that moment, only the night lights were switched on in the room and all they could hear was the pitter patter of the rain from outside. The sound came in waves and it was steady and quiet, but it filled their worldpletely. Hearing the sound of rain, Sophia¡¯s worries gradually calmed but she was still in a daze. One is an unforgettable rtionship and the other is simple and warm. Must I only choose one? Even though he will always remember an unforgettable rtionship, it will go by in a sh and wouldn¡¯tst forever. A simple and warm rtionship canst a long time but it seems to be missing some excitement and passion. Love would then be as in as daily necessities and like rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and tea, it will eventually deteriorate. All the passion and excitement will be gradually worn away and disappear with time. Meanwhile, Michael kept his head lowered, waiting for Sophia¡¯s answer. In the darkness of the night, all he could see was the soft and delicate outline of her lowered head that conveyed her sorrow and anxiety. After a long time, Sophia looked up at him and asked seriously,¡°Can I be both your unforgettable, as well as simple and warm love?¡± As soon as she uttered those words, it was as if the world went silent. Sophia looked at Michael uneasily, afraid he would dislike her greed. Yes, I want to be unforgettable and I want to have a simple and warm rtionship. I want to spend the rest of my life with him but I don¡¯t want our love for each other to gradually disappear. We have to at least keep our passion for each other going. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . The two of them looked at each other and it seemed like a long time had passed before Michael suddenly lowered his head and smiled. Leaning his forehead against hers, he said, ¡°You greedy little thing. Since you want to be both my unforgettable and simple and warm love, you should also give something in exchange. If you can show me something that touches me, maybe I¡¯ll consider.¡± Sophia hurriedly grabbed his shirt. ¡°I¡¯ll exchange my unforgettable love with yours. I¡¯ll exchange my simple and warm love with yours. Will that do?¡± She looked at him nervously, hoping that he would say what she wanted to hear. However, Michael didn¡¯t say anything in reply. Instead, he stroked her head and chuckled. ¡°Are we memorizing lines? Why are we talking about unforgettable love and simple and warm love? It¡¯s difficult to even pronounce these words. I¡¯ve never acted in a romance drama but I used to be a soldier. Soldiers like me have always been straightforward, so I¡¯ll only ask you one question.¡± Michael then lifted Sophia¡¯s chin and in a serious manner that he never had before, he asked, ¡°Sophia Edwards, are you willing to sleep with me for the rest of our lives?¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh. Then, she put her hands around his arms and leaned forward to kiss him deeply as she whispered, ¡°Yes.¡± It rained the whole night but the weather the next day was great. When Sophia got up early and opened the window, the air was very fresh and it seemed to smell sweet. It was as if she was in a particrly good mood after talking to Michael. It was the weekend so Michael didn¡¯t have to head out to meet the cast. All he wanted to do was spend the weekend with his young bride. However, there were always calls that disturbed their alone time. Sure enough, Michael received a call that day after breakfast. He had already set up the smart anti- harassment setting on his phone so calls that he didn¡¯t want to pick up couldn¡¯te through. Those who could call him were definitely extraordinary people. As soon as the call was connected, Michael heard Old Master Fletcher¡¯s energetic voice. It seemed that Mark was in a good mood that day because he immediately called Michael by his nickname. ¡°Mikey, it¡¯s the weekend. Ask Sophie to bring Nate over to y.¡± Michael put down the phone and felt a little reluctant. He was about to tell Sophia about this when he saw that she had already dressed and was leaving in a hurry. ¡°Sean called a moment ago and told me that Natasha suddenly went to the beachside vi to pick up my grandfather. She told him that she was taking my grandfather to the militarypound. I have to go check it out.¡± As she spoke, she went out in a hurry. Natasha always had a purpose whenever she visited Woody. She even brought Woody to the military compound this time so she must have an agenda. Whether she was trying to hurt Mark or Woody, Sophia had to go and see. Natasha brought Woody to the militarypound? Michael also started to get anxious. When he saw Sophia leave in a hurry, he wanted to follow her to check it out too. However, he hadn¡¯t returned to the Fletcher family in ten years¡­ Seeing Sophia leave the house, Nathan hurried to catch up with her. Chapter 388 Chapter 388 Natasha went to the beachside vi to pick Woody up while Sophia was only a few stops away from the militarypound so when she arrived, Natasha and Woody weren¡¯t there yet. When Sophia met Old Master Fletcher, the man was so excited that he insisted on ying chess with her and asked her about Michael. ¡°I heard that Mikey has been busy filming ¡®War Dragon¡¯tely. How is it going? It¡¯s led by the military, right? A big production is a real headache to film. Ask Mikey to do well. Furthermore, tell him that he has to hurry up and film the documentary film right after he¡¯s done with ¡®War Dragon¡¯. If there are any photos from the set, remember to send a copy to me!¡± The Old Master chatted endlessly while they were ying chess. Nathan sat obediently next to Mark that day. Seeing that Stanley wasn¡¯t there, Sophia let his cat and dog out. She stroked the cat as she yed chess and asionally petted the dog beside her. Drinking some wolfberry tea, she was tense as she waited for news about Woody. Why aren¡¯t they here yet? Did something happen? Or maybe Natasha wasn¡¯t nning to bring Woody to the militarypound at all. Maybe she¡¯s taking Woody somewhere else¡­ Sophia was anxious and wanted to send someone to find them but Mark was in a good mood that day. She couldn¡¯t bear to let him know about her worries so could only frown as she stared at the chess board. ¡°Sophie, is there something on your mind?¡± However, Mark could tell that she was worried about something at a nce. On that day ten years ago, there was also a young man who sat and yed chess with him but his drooping eyes were extremely tense and serious, having something on his mind. Mark remembered that day clearly because it was thest time he saw the young man. After that day, the next time he saw him was at his funeral as he bid a final goodbye to the young man. Every time he thought about this, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. For some reason, as he looked at Sophia, he couldn¡¯t help but think about the young man who passed away. Hearing Mark¡¯s question, Sophia immediately broke into a smile and replied, ¡°No, there isn¡¯t.¡± Even though Mark was old, he had sharp eyes and a strong sixth sense. He calmly ced a chess piece down and said to Sophia, ¡°Sophie, you look like someone I know.¡± Sophia immediately perked her ears but remained calm. Looking at the chessboard, she stroked the cat in her arms. Stanley¡¯s ragdoll cat used to be really beautiful. However, Nathan once pulled at the fur on its head, so now a patch of ck fur had grown and the whole cat¡¯s appearance was ruined. The catzily meowed as Sophia stroked at that patch of fur on its head. Mark had many orange cats and the weather that day was great so the cats were out to y. At that moment, there were a dozen orange cats sleeping around Mark¡¯s feet. The atmosphere was rxed and quiet as the two of them moved their chess pieces on the chessboard, one after another. Sophia still maintained her usual chess skills and secretly went easy on Mark. She held back to an extent and it made Mark really happy as he yed the game. After a long while, Mark said, ¡°That person¡­is my godson. His name is Cooper Mitchell.¡± Cooper Mitchell¡­ Sophia had just picked up a chess piece and there was a sh in her eyes, but she quickly recovered and said, ¡°Cooper Mitchell? He¡¯s an alumni of Bayside University. I¡¯ve seen the promotional video that he was in and he seems like an amazing person.¡± Mark saw her slight reaction and his old body curled up in the chair. Although he was still full of energy, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little disappointed and helpless at the thought of Cooper. ¡°It would¡¯ve been great if my godson was still alive!¡± If only Cooper is alive¡­ Sophia also fell deep into thought. If he¡¯s still alive, would we have already met each other by now? Although Sophia tried to hide her curiosity about Cooper, when she heard that Cooper was Mark¡¯s godson, she asked, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, what kind of a person was Cooper? Were you two close? Can you tell me something about him?¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Their chess match had ended. Because Sophia lost her focus, Mark won the game. She quickly collected the chess pieces and the cat took the opportunity to curl up on the chessboard and sleep. Mark lowered his head and stroked the cat before he suddenly looked up at Sophia and started to tell her about Cooper. ¡°Cooper is the son of my old friend, Woody Mitchell, whom he had when he was fifty. Woody had about seven or eight offsprings during his lifetime but none of them lived to adulthood. Before Cooper was born, Woody searched everywhere to seek an amulet to protect Cooper. The fortune-teller was a Levine, who also happened to be Daniel¡¯s father. He told Woody that if he didn¡¯t find a man who had a hard life and was a tiger zodiac to protect Cooper, Cooper would die at birth. After Woody heard this, he anxiously brought Cooper over to me in the middle of the night.¡± When Mark talked about Cooper, his expression was full of nostalgia and love. ¡°Coop was only a few months old when I met him. Heid in my arms silently as I looked at him and he looked back at me¡­¡± Mark was holding an orange cat and he demonstrated the way he held Cooper back then, his gaze filled with love and surprise. ¡°When I saw Coop for the first time, I knew that that child would definitely aplish something great. Sure enough, Coop didn¡¯t disappoint me. He was the most gifted child I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± While holding the cat in his arms, Mark pulled out his big photo album which contained photographs that were really important to him. Photos of all of his descendants were in there.He quickly found a photo of Cooper among the dozens of photos of his; he was probably one of the few ¡®outsiders¡¯ in that album. It was taken ten years ago when Cooperst visited Mark and it was theirst photo together. In the photo, Mark sat on a chair and a young man with a trench coat stood behind him. There was a hidden reluctance in the young man¡¯s gaze but there was also determination. It was as if he knew that it was the final goodbye and they would never meet again after that. Sophia looked at Cooper and gently brushed her fingers across his handsome face, having an indescribable feeling in her heart. This is my father! All of a sudden, tears welled up in her eyes and blurred her vision. ¡°Sophie, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Mark asked as he looked at her in concern. Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly wiped away her tears and replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I think some sand went into my eyes.¡± Then, she turned her back to Mark and wiped her tears. Mark put down the cat in his arms and got up. ¡°Sophie, hold the cat while I head to the washroom for a moment. You¡¯re not allowed to leave; do wait for Stanley toe home in the evening so we can have dinner together.¡± After Sophia saw Mark leave, she continued to look at the photo of Cooper and him. Meanwhile, Mark entered the house from the garden but he didn¡¯t go to the washroom. Instead, he made a call to Michael. At that time, Michael was already on his way to the set as they had to finish filming ¡®War Dragon¡¯ by the end of the year. Once he wrapped this up, he had to rush to shoot the documentary film. He didn¡¯t expect to receive a call from Mark at this time. Michael picked up the call and Mark heard him say, ¡°Hello, Grandpa. What¡¯s wrong?¡± Mark was silent for a moment before he asked, ¡°Mikey, I have something to ask you. You¡¯re not allowed to hide secrets from me anymore.¡± Hearing this, Michael was dumbfounded for a moment before he asked, ¡°Go ahead, Grandpa.¡± Mark asked, ¡°Do you know what today is?¡± Chapter 389 Chapter 389 Michael subconsciously nced at the time on the car¡¯s on-board disy and racked his brain for clues but he really had no idea what Mark was talking about. Mark had a hunch that Michael wouldn¡¯t know what day it was so he answered his own question. ¡°Thirty nine years ago, Woody came to me with Cooper and begged me to take Cooper as my godson.¡± When Michael heard Mark mention Cooper, he seemed to know what Mark was going to ask. Mark had always been straightforward but he was already being pretty tacit that day. The second question instantly revealed the urgency he was feeling at that moment. ¡°Tell me the truth: what is Sophie and Cooper¡¯s rtionship?¡± There was a long silence from the other end of the phone. Mark had spected that Sophia might be a descendent of the Mitchell family that was raised outside the family home and was happened to be found by Michael. Maybe she was more closely rted to Woody, or maybe she was the offspring of one of Woody¡¯s sons. However, he never thought that he would ever hear the three words, ¡°She¡¯s Cooper¡¯s daughter.¡± Cooper¡¯s daughter? Mark was so shocked by the revtion that he couldn¡¯t speak for a while. Then, he mumbled, ¡°Coop¡­ has an offspring? Are you serious, Mikey?¡± Mark was 99 years old and there weren¡¯t many friends that fought with him back then that were still alive. He had lived for almost a hundred years and seen too many deaths, personally attending multiple funerals of his descendants but Cooper¡¯s death was the only one he couldn¡¯t let go of. Back when Celine passed away, Mark was so devastated that his health was in a critical condition for a while. However, Celine at least left Nathan behind, who somehow gave him somefort, whereas Cooper didn¡¯t leave anyone. He left without leaving any offsprings or even a lover, and Mark couldn¡¯t help but pity him. But now Michael was telling him that Cooper had a daughter! Mark thought that he had misheard so he asked again, ¡°How is it possible that Sophie is Cooper¡¯s daughter? Mikey, you can¡¯t just say things like that without evidence!¡± At that moment, Michael had arrived on set and he got out of the car, watching the hustle and bustle of people around the studio. His sunsses covered the solemn look in his eyes as he said down the line, ¡°Grandpa, I hope that you can keep this a secret and not reveal it to anyone else.¡± Mark was startled to hear this but he agreed. After hanging up the phone, Mark was overjoyed and he kept mumbling to himself, ¡°Coop has a daughter? Coop has a daughter! Coop¡¯s daughter is here to see me!¡± He thought that Michael deliberately sent Sophia over to cheer him up. After hanging up the phone, he leaned on his crutches and rushed to the garden to look for Sophia. However, he suddenly remembered that Sophia was Cooper¡¯s offspring. He used to dream of recruiting Cooper to be a son-inw of the Fletchers and introduced all of his granddaughters to Cooper but Cooper didn¡¯t like any of them. Thinking that Cooper remained single until he died, Mark couldn¡¯t forget about his amazing genes. Now Cooper¡¯s daughter was right in front of him, as if it was destiny. He hurriedly gave Stanley a call. ¡°Stan, what are you doing? What time are youing home? You¡¯re not allowed to go to work. Hurry up ande home! Sophie is here again; you must seize the opportunity!¡± Meanwhile at the entrance of the militarypound, Joel was wearing an undershirt, shopping at the commissary. He was on leave that day and even though he didn¡¯t have to work, he still got up at six in the morning to train. Covered in sweat, he went to buy a drink. After his fight with Michael the day before, he still had a few injuries and there was even a bruise at the corner of his eye. Just then, he saw a car stop at the entrance of the militarypound to verify their identity. Joel could tell it was one of the Mitchell family¡¯s cars at a nce. The Mitchell and the Fletcher family were pretty close. Before the founding of Cethos, the economy was in a horrible state and theycked military supplies. As one of the nation¡¯s wealthiest families at that time, the Mitchell family had donated a lot of military supplies, airnes, weapons and ammunition. And it was because of this that the two families were really close. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Woody and Mark were friends for many years and until now, Woody would asionally pay Mark a visit. After buying a drink, Joel took small sips as he walked back to thepound. He didn¡¯t have many opportunities to take a break throughout the year but getting off work that day made him feel empty. All of a sudden, he saw a car park in the garage and a few people got out of the car. Thepound was considered as a military zone so most people were not allowed to enter. Even if there were visitors, only a limited number of people were allowed to enter, which was why there were only three people in Natasha¡¯s group¡ªa bodyguard to hold their bags, Woody and Natasha herself. Natasha immediately saw Joel, who was training in the park nearby, so she left Woody behind and angrily strode over. ¡°Hey! Why are you here?¡± Nathasha asked rudely as soon as she walked up to Joel. I didn¡¯t expect to meet someone I hate in the militarypound today! Joel nced coldly at Natasha, his gaze filled with disgust. Wiping away his sweat with a towel, he slung it over his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s none of your business.¡± With that, he walked toward his house, nning to head over to the gym after lunch. Natasha red angrily in the direction he was leaving and suddenly grinned. Then, she supported Woody as they went to find Mark. She asked her uncle about Joel but he stuttered and didn¡¯t reply to her question, which was why she nned to ask Mark. Natasha was unconvinced that she couldn¡¯t teach Joel a lesson. Woody was really old so he rarely left the house in the past few years. He usually visited Mark once or twice a year and this was his second visit of the year. He was really excited and his usual dull expression was reced with an energetic look. Walking fast with his crutches, he said, ¡°Hurry up, Natasha! I¡¯m sure your Uncle Cooper is here today!¡± Natasha had a look of dissatisfaction on her face because she was embarrassed to bring Woody out of the house. She usually didn¡¯t even want to visit him, let alone take him out. However, she needed to take Woody to meet Mark that day so that she could show up in front of Mark. She was going to be 18 years old soon and children from wealthy families got engaged rtively early. The Mitchell family desperately hoped that Natasha could get married into the Fletcher family and as she couldn¡¯t enter the Fletcher family house for no reason, Woody was a great excuse. Furthermore, Natasha could use the opportunity to talk to Mark. Before Cooper¡¯s ident back then, he went to visit Mark so there was a possibility that Mark had something that belonged to him, maybe even something that was connected to the 100 million Kuwait dinars. It wasn¡¯t long before the three of them found Mark, sitting in the garden and ying with a big orange cat. He seemed to be happy and in a really good mood. ¡°Hey, Mason! Did Coope to visit today?¡± Woody asked excitedly as soon as he saw Mark. Hearing this, Mark stroked the cat in his arms in frustration and replied, ¡°Mason? I¡¯m Mark!¡± When Mark saw Woody, he felt an unbearable heartache and almost told him that Sophia was his granddaughter. Poor Woody¡­ Although he had a son at an old age, in the end he still had to see his child die earlier than him. He even thinks that Cooper didn¡¯t leave behind any offspring. If I tell him that Cooper has a daughter, he¡¯ll definitely be overjoyed¡­ Chapter 390 Chapter 390 However, after one look at the girl beside him, Mark decided to keep it secret. Since he had already promised Michael, he had to keep his mouth shut. Furthermore, telling Woody about Sophia¡¯s identity now might do Sophia more harm than good. The Mitchell family was full of cunning people. As an outsider, Mark couldn¡¯t interfere with the Mitchell family¡¯s problems. However, Cooper was his godson, and Woody was his oldrade for many years. He wanted to do everything he could to protect him. During the war, foreign enemies invaded Cethos and they faced the danger of extermination. The children of the Fletchers spilled blood on the front line while the Mitchell family started a business and donated military supplies behind the scenes, ensuring the frontline soldiers had clothing and food. That year, the winter was harsh and the snow was deep. Mark had top-secret documents with him but was trapped in a mountain with his subordinates. The enemy surrounded and trapped them for over two weeks, and they were running out of ammunition and food while many of them were wounded and sick. Mark was so desperate that he almost gave up. At that crucial moment, reinforcements finally arrived and they fought the enemy and brought them military supplies. It turned out that Woody heard about the situation at the frontlines, so he personally brought the military supplies to Mark with the protection of a group of soldiers. After many years, Mark still remembered how he was covered in cuts and bruises after he broke out from the foot of the mountain and saw Woody, who was wearing a trench coat as he stood at a distance. This friendship that started during the revolution never faded even after so many years. Moreover, Cooper was his godson. Even though he couldn¡¯t interfere with the Mitchell family¡¯s affairs, if anyone dared to bully Woody and his descendants, he would be the first to fight back! In the span of a few seconds, Mark¡¯s thoughts had traveled from the present to memories from decades ago and back again. Looking at Natasha and Woody who were smiling brightly while they stood in front of him, he handed Woody the fat orange cat in his arms. ¡°Here¡¯s Coop; hold him!¡± Even though Woody was old and had dementia, he was still suspicious and he said, ¡°From what I recall, Coop doesn¡¯t look like this!¡± Mark replied, ¡°It¡¯s been raining a lottely and the air has been humid. Your son was affected by the humidity and became hairy!¡± Woody scratched his head and believed him. ¡°Coop has got fur¡­¡± He held the cat and stroked it as he muttered, ¡°Oh, Coop, how was your stay with your godfather? Daddy is here to take you home.¡± ¡°Meow.¡± Woody yed with the cat¡¯s ear and whispered, ¡°Oh, my dear son, you really do look like your father!¡± ¡°Meow?¡± Woody petted the cat everywhere and suddenly panicked. ¡°Coop, where is your amulet? Where did your amulet go?¡± The cat meowed back. Woody couldn¡¯t find the amulet on his ¡®son¡¯ and he got really anxious. ¡°Mason, where did my son¡¯s amulet go? Why is he not wearing it?¡± Mark pointed at the cat¡¯s cor impatiently and said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Coop¡¯s amulet?¡± Woody touched the cat¡¯s cor and was relieved. Then, he said to the cat in a serious tone, ¡°Coop, you must not lose your amulet. You must not lose it! It protects you. You¡¯ll only be safe with the amulet on, understand?¡± Natasha, who was standing to one side, watched the two old menmunicate like idiots. The corner of her lips curled into a mocking grin and her eyes were filled with impatience. If it weren¡¯t for Mark, a well- known warrior across thend of Cethos and a powerful man in the Fletcher family, she wouldn¡¯t waste her time with these two. After hiding the disgust and impatience in her eyes, Natasha smiled brightly as she opened the chessboard and said, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, it¡¯s me, Natasha Mitchell. It¡¯s been a long time since Ist yed chess with you. How about a game of chess right now?¡± Natasha had also yed chess with Mark in the militarypound before. However, Mark didn¡¯t really like Natasha. For starters, Natasha couldn¡¯t grasp the game at all. She eitherpletely dominated the chessboard or went easy on him so obviously that Mark couldn¡¯t ept it! Secondly, it was because Natasha imed herself to be a genius who could surpass Cooper! Hmph! My Coop is the greatest genius in the world! Not everyone can easily surpass him! I can¡¯t believe that this blond girl wants to surpass Cooper. Well, from what I see, she will never be able to! At this time, Mark thought about Sophia, who got called away by Stanley just now, as he reluctantly yed a game of chess with Natasha. Meanwhile, Woody held the cat and treated it as his son, not noticing that his son had turned into a cat. Meanwhile, Sophia was being dragged away by Stanley. ¡°Come on, Sophia! Let¡¯s go y some games at my house!¡± Stanley excitedly led his dog and Sophia to his house and Nathan followed behind with an upset expression. He wanted to see what Stanley was up too! Stanley had visited a principal of a prestigious university with Sean during the day to discuss the introduction of the educational administration system into the app, and sessfully signed an agreement. After he signed the contract, he immediately received Mark¡¯s call and rushed over. Stanley was still wearing a business suit that fitted him perfectly even though he finished discussing business. He looked serious and coupled with his rebellious and unruly hair, he looked really outstanding. His hair and his outfit surprisingly matched. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s a great suit. Your taste in clothes has finally improved and you¡¯re about to catch up with your uncle!¡± Sophia casuallyplimented him. Hearing this, Stanley patted his suit proudly and said delightedly, ¡°Of course! Who do you think chose this suit? Sean picked it out for me!¡± Hearing his praise, Sean, who was standing next to him, grinned happily. The two of them went to discuss business that day and had ordered two identical suits. The only difference was Stanley¡¯s dress shirt was white whereas Sean¡¯s was pink. They really looked very dashing! Stanley entered his room, took off his clothes and put on a pair of army green shorts before walking out. He then switched on hisputer and excitedly asked Sophia to look at his new game. ¡°You¡¯ve already progressed to this point?¡± Sophia gasped in amazement as she looked at the game he opened. The sniper game that Stanley came up with seemed to be shaping up well and would probably be ready for an internal test soon. The disy of the game was really beautiful, the operations interesting and the game innovative. It wasmendable that thepany managed to create such a good game in their first try. However, she knew that Stanley had poured a lot of time and effort into this. Since high school, he started interning in the gamingpany that Michael invested in. It was why he was able to have such great achievements. Later, the two of them turned on theputer and started ying games happily. Sean knew the reason why Stanley was in a hurry to head home. They initially nned to have a dinner celebration after they finished discussing business but Stanley suddenly got a call from Mark. He answered the call on speaker so Sean heard everything. Besides, after Sean found out that Natasha took Woody away that morning, he was prepared toe over to the militarypound to check it out.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. At that moment, Stanley and Sophia were ying games happily so Sean knew that it was time for him to leave. He dragged Nathan and said, ¡°Nate, let¡¯s take a walk around the garden.¡± However, Nathan was reluctant to leave and he stared at Stanley and Sophia with wide eyes, afraid that Stanley would do something untoward. When Stanley saw that Sean was leaving, he instantly pulled him back. ¡°Sean, you can¡¯t leave! Come on, let¡¯s y a game together!¡± Sean was a little embarrassed but stayed nevertheless. Oh, Stanley, you fool! Even I can tell that Old Master Fletcher is giving you an opportunity to spend time alone with Sophia! How can you not see it? Chapter 391 Chapter 391 Meanwhile, Mark was happily ying a game of chess with Natasha. The reason he was happy was definitely not because he got to y chess with her. Instead, it was because Stanley was spending time with Sophia at that moment. Cooper¡¯s daughter will finally be part of the Fletchers! Woody was old and the Mitchell family was unreliable. If Sophia married into the Fletcher family, she would have a ce to live in the future. Even after I die, at least Stanley and the Fletchers will be able to protect her. He was already fond of Sophia in the first ce and Stanley had already expressed his liking as well. Mark had intended to get the two of them together and now that he found out Sophia was Cooper¡¯s daughter, it all seemed perfect! Besides, he felt rest assured to let Stanley take care of Sophia. However, if Mark ever found out that Stanley was spending his time with Sophia by dragging her to his house and ying games, he would probably cough up blood in anger. Truth be told, Mark didn¡¯t like to y chess with Natasha. She went easy on him that day as usual so he wasn¡¯t excited to y at all. After a short while, he easily won and Natasha pretended to exim in shock, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, you won again! Your skills have not deteriorated with age. I can only wish I was as good as you.¡± Mark chuckled insincerely and replied, ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right.¡± At the end of the day, Natasha was too young and na?ve. Even if she wanted to pretend, the look of admiration should be reflected in her eyes. Mark, who had been around for almost a hundred years, could tell she was acting at a nce. In short, he didn¡¯t like Natasha. As for Natasha, she patiently yed a few games of chess with Mark and let him win easily every time, all the while thinking she was making him happy. After a few rounds, she started to reveal her cunning side. As she yed, she casually asked, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, I heard that Uncle Cooper came to visit you ten years ago and gave you something. Do you remember what it was?¡± Something from Cooper? Hmph! I knew that she had a purpose to her visit. Mark thought about it for a while before he scratched his head and said, ¡°Oh, how can an old man like me remember something that happened ten years ago? Didn¡¯t Coop pass away twenty years back? How is it possible that he paid me a visit ten years ago?¡± Useless old man! Natasha thought but she wasn¡¯t willing to give up. Perhaps he¡¯ll remember if I give him a hint. She hurriedly asked, ¡°I¡¯m talking about your godson, Cooper! I¡¯m sure you remember thest time he came over to visit!¡± Mark said straightforwardly, ¡°Cooper? Who¡¯s that? Doesn¡¯t ring a bell at all!¡± Hearing this, Natasha¡¯s insides itched with hatred. She wouldn¡¯t bother talking to these old men if she had a choice. These old people should¡¯ve gone to hell a long time ago. They are stupid and silly but they just won¡¯t die. His hands even tremble when he¡¯s ying chess. What¡¯s the point to being alive? He¡¯s just like that idiot, Woody. He can¡¯t even tell the difference between a cat and a human and is even treating a cat as his son! Woody was indeed holding the cat as if it was his son. Everything was going well and he didn¡¯t realize that he had been holding a cat instead of a child for the whole day. However, when it was time for dinner, the cat got hungry so it jumped out of Woody¡¯s arms and ran toward the house. ¡°Coop, where are you going? Coop, wait for daddy!¡± ¡®Cooper¡¯ ran away and disappeared in a blink of an eye. Bursting into tears, Woody was so anxious and upset that he stomped his feet and banged his crutches on the ground. Mark reassured, ¡°Oh, dear old man, your son went to have dinner. He¡¯ll be back once he¡¯s done. Just wait for a moment.¡± He hurriedly called his bodyguards to help Woody stand. With tears and snot streaming down Woody¡¯s face, he sobbed and said, ¡°Coop left. He left. He¡¯s noting back.¡± Mark hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; he¡¯ll be back. Look, I¡¯ll give him a call and he¡¯ll be back soon.¡± With that, Mark quickly made a call to Sean and asked him to pretend to be Cooper for a moment. Looking at the mess on Woody¡¯s face, Natasha felt utterly embarrassed and couldn¡¯t hide the disgust on her face as she frowned. It wasn¡¯t long before Sean arrived. He was still wearing the suit he put on for the business meeting and looked elegant. Sean walked over worriedly and quickly held onto Woody, who was still throwing a tantrum. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m back!¡± Upon ncing at Sean, Woody waved his hand and continued wailing. ¡°You¡¯re not Coop! Coop, where are you? Pleasee back!¡± At that moment, Woody acted like a spoiled child and no matter what they did, they couldn¡¯t stop him from crying. He kept crying and begging to see his son. Later, Stanley brought a fat orange cat over and said, ¡°He¡¯s here! Cooper is here!¡± Woody took a look and denied, ¡°That¡¯s not my son! That is not my son! I want Coop! Where did you go, Coop?¡± Woody was having a full blown episode and he wouldn¡¯t stop no matter who came over to comfort him. Mark went over to coax him but Woody unexpectedly pushed him away viciously. If it weren¡¯t for his bodyguard who stopped him from falling, Mark would¡¯ve fractured his bones from the fall. Seeing this, Natasha waspletely dumbfounded. She never thought Woody would have an episode at a time like this. If Mark fell and was severely wounded, the whole Mitchell family would be in danger! She beckoned her bodyguard over to hold Woody still, albeit roughly. Then, she turned to Mark and apologetically said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Old Master Fletcher. My grandfather is having an episode today. I¡¯ll take him home now.¡± However, Natasha couldn¡¯t hide the disgust on her face. Mark knew that if he allowed Natasha to take away Woody just like that, Woody might have to face some punishment after they got home so he hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m already used to your grandfather¡¯s illness anyway!¡± Sean silently took Woody from Natasha¡¯s bodyguard and sat him down. He knew that Woody always had medicine in his bag at all times in order to prevent him from messing around when he was having an episode. Thus, he pulled out Woody¡¯s medicine while Stanley seemed to be used to these situations as he hurriedly brought a ss of water to give Woody his medicine. Sean stroked Woody¡¯s back to calm him down and tried to coax him, ¡°Old Master Mitchell, your son will be back soon. Don¡¯t be so anxious!¡± However, Woody was really emotional and he kept crying and babbling. Copyright by N?v/elDrama.Org. Then, he knocked over the ss of water that Stanley brought over. ¡°I don¡¯t want medicine. I want Coop! I want my son! Where did you send my son?¡± Seeing this, Sean started to panic. Having no other choice, he decided to bring Woody home. ¡°Old Master Mitchell, let¡¯s go back home. Perhaps Uncle Cooper already went back home! Come, let¡¯s head home!¡± However, Woody was not willing to leave. He sobbed and muttered, ¡°I want Coop! Coop, where did you go?¡± Everyone was anxious and Natasha just wanted to leave. Initially, she was nning to ask Mark for clues but Woody¡¯s sudden episode ruined everything. Bringing this silly old man here was the worst decision ever. Natasha took a step forward and was prepared to ask her bodyguard to forcefully drag Woody back home. All of a sudden, they heard a bubbly female voice from behind them. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s the matter?¡± As soon as Woody heard this voice, the old man who was crying bitterly a moment ago instantly broke into a smile. ¡°Son, where did you go? I was looking everywhere for you!¡± Everybody turned around and saw that Sophia was rushing over. Then, she gently pulled out a tissue and wiped Woody¡¯s face. It was Sean who didn¡¯t allow Sophia to leave the house because he was afraid that she would have a conflict with Natasha. However, when Sophia saw Woody have an episode and wouldn¡¯t stop crying like a helpless child, she couldn¡¯t bear to ignore him. After all, Woody was her grandfather! Chapter 392 Chapter 392 Sophia had never met her father, Cooper, but she had spent a lot of time with Woody. She didn¡¯t know what kind of a person Cooper was but she knew her grandfather, Woody, pretty well. When Woody saw Sophia, he stopped throwing a tantrum and held her hands. His eyes turned red from excitement as he yelled, ¡°Coop, you¡¯re back!¡± Sophia smiled and nodded. ¡°Yes, Dad, I¡¯m back. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± Hearing this, Woody smiled happily and said, ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re here. Come, meet your godfather!¡± Then, Woody dragged Sophia toward Mark and said, ¡°Mason, my son is back!¡± At that instant, Mark finally realized why he felt Sophia was familiar since the first time he met her and he understood why Woody would think that Sophia was his son. It was because she was Cooper¡¯s daughter all along! Pretending to be annoyed, he replied, ¡°I know, I know. Your son¡¯s back! Are you happy now?¡± Woody grinned like a happy child and said, ¡°Yes, I am! I¡¯m happy whenever Coop is by my side!¡± With that, he pulled Sophia and sat down in front of Mark before he said, ¡°Come, my son. Write something to show your godfather.¡± Sophia obediently replied, ¡°Okay, Father. I¡¯ll write it right now.¡± Sean already knew that Woody would definitely ask Sophia to demonstrate her writing so he had prepared pen and paper beforehand. Sophia took the pen and began writing Cooper Mitchell¡¯s name. In order to please the old man, she had deliberately studied Cooper¡¯s writing. Her writing was really outstanding and it looked simr to Cooper¡¯s writing. It wasn¡¯t just simr¡ªit was exactly the same! After she finished, Woody proudly showed her writing to Mark. ¡°Mason, look at my son¡¯s writing. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± Mark red at him. When Woody was younger, he always brought his son over to boast about him even though he knew clearly that the Fletcher family was full of uncouth military men who didn¡¯t really know how to read. Furthermore, Cooper was outstanding and even though Mark thought that his children and grandchildren were amazing, none of them couldpare with Cooper and he couldn¡¯t help but envy Woody. However, he wasn¡¯t that jealous anymore. Sooner orter, Sophie will be part of the Fletcher family! Mark took the paper and said admiringly, ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Sophia continued to write, making the two old men chuckle happily. Just like that, the atmosphere was harmonious, but a certain someone couldn¡¯t stand it and wanted to ruin it. ¡°Old Master Mitchell, this person is not Cooper. She has ulterior motives!¡± Natasha suddenly appeared behind Woody and pointed at Sophia. ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by her!¡± she said rudely. What a b*tch! I can¡¯t believe that she has the ability to actually sneak into the militarypound and cheer the two old men up. She even dared to pretend to be Cooper in front of Woody! If I didn¡¯te by today, she¡¯ll probably fool them all! This was what Sean feared the most. He could no longer pretend to be Cooper in front of Woody and if Woody couldn¡¯t find his son, he might hurt himself whenever he had an episode. It wasn¡¯t easy for them to calm Woody down. What if he gets provoked by Natasha and goes crazy again? ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . He hurriedly whispered to Natasha, ¡°Natasha, stop talking. You know the old man¡¯s condition. Having someone who is able to trick him is better than letting him think about his son every day at home until he goes crazy!¡± However, Natasha didn¡¯t understand Sean¡¯s rationale and she coldly sneered, ¡°How can this lowly born woman call herself Cooper? If news gets out, people would mock the Mitchell family!¡± As she spoke, she gestured to her bodyguard to hold Woody down while she raised her voice to remind him, ¡°Old Master Mitchell, she is not Cooper. He¡¯s been dead for over a decade. She is just a liar with ulterior motives who is trying to get close to you with malicious intentions. Don¡¯t be fooled by her!¡± Hearing this, Woody looked at Natasha nervously and held Sophia¡¯s hand tightly, as if he was afraid that someone might snatch his son away from him. He pulled her behind his back protectively and said, ¡°No, my son is not dead. My son is standing in front of me right now. You are not allowed to curse him this way!¡± Natasha seemed to be acting in earnest but in fact, she was jealous. Why is it that this b*tch can make the two old men happy? Why can she sit in front of the two old masters and chat happily? The one sitting there should be me! ¡°Old Master Mitchell, take a closer look. Cooper is dead! He has been dead for over ten years now! This woman is a liar!¡± Woody waved his hands and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. I don¡¯t believe you! Coop is not dead! Coop is right next to me. Coop is not dead! He¡¯s not dead¡­¡± Even though Woody said that he didn¡¯t believe her, his hoarse voice choked as if he was about to cry. Although he had dementia, deep down, he knew that his son had passed away long ago and Natasha¡¯s words were slowly pulling him away from his fake happiness into the cruel reality. Seeing that Woody was about to have a breakdown, a pair of hands suddenly reached over and held Woody¡¯s hand. Then, a gentle voice patiently said to him, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m right here. Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± When Woody heard her voice, he burst into tears and sobbed. He held onto Sophia like a helpless child and he mumbled, ¡°Coop, you¡¯re not dead, you¡¯re not dead¡­¡± Sophia held Woody in her arms and stroked his back to calm him down as she said, ¡°I¡¯m not dead. I¡¯m alive and well. Who said that I was dead¡­¡± Woody once again broke into a smile. ¡°Everything is well as long as Coop is not dead. My darling Coop is still alive¡­¡± While Sophia coaxed Woody, she looked at Natasha, who was standing a few meters away. At that moment, she red coldly at Natasha, as if it was strong enough to pierce through her soul. Seeing this, Natasha¡¯s chest heaved in anger. If it weren¡¯t for herst trace of sanity and outsiders around, she would¡¯ve pped Sophia in the face. This disgusting, trashy b*tch! I can¡¯t believe that she dares to im to be Cooper and use his name to trick others. She is so shameless! Cooper is the pride of the Mitchell family. Not everyone can pretend to be him! At this moment, Woody grasped Sophia tightly and identally grabbed onto the amulet that was hidden under her clothes. Natasha immediately saw the ck obsidian amulet as it was exposed. In an instant, she immediately knew what happened. No wonder we couldn¡¯t find Cooper¡¯s amulet. Turns out that this woman fooled Woody and stole it! That amulet belongs to the Mitchell family and it¡¯s connected to Cooper¡¯s huge fortune. How dare she covet the Mitchell family¡¯s belongings? Then, she nced at Sean before looking at Sophia, who was wearing the amulet. Suddenly, she seemed to have figured it out. It turns out that Sean and this woman deceived Woody and stole Cooper¡¯s amulet! Sean¡¯s bloodline belongs to Cooper¡¯s old family and they have always been dissatisfied with my father and opposed us. This group of outsiders secretly hid the amulet! I figured it all out! Chapter 393 Chapter 393 As soon as the amulet was revealed, Sean was instantly annoyed. He had wanted to hide the amulet with Sophia so that the Mitchells wouldn¡¯t discover it, but it wasn¡¯t the case anymore! Earlier when he arrived, he had already reminded Sophia not to show up because he was afraid that Natasha would find out that she had the amulet. ¡°You¡­¡± Natasha muttered, her face pale from anger after she had seen through Sean¡¯s conspiracy. Pointing a finger at him, she shouted fiercely, ¡°Sean, you colluded with outsiders to steal the inheritance belonging to the Mitchells. Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself?¡± Alex had used a duplicate of the amulet for verification in Kuwait, but it didn¡¯t pass the test so he couldn¡¯t retrieve that property at all. All this while, they always thought that it was because the bank had discovered that the amulet was a fake. With the real amulet, that treasure could be retrieved! In order to find the real amulet, everyone from the Mitchells racked their brains trying toe up with ideas, but they never imagined that it was Sean who had colluded with others to take the real thing away from them! Seeing how things had developed, Sean couldn¡¯t care less about anything anymore. Fisting his hands, his usually sophisticated and gentle eyes were now red and his voice was fiercer than Natasha¡¯s as he spoke, ¡°Ashamed? Hmph! This is a personal item belonging to Uncle Cooper and not shared by the Mitchells. Why should I give it to you? Also, it belongs to Grandpa and he can give it to whoever he likes! I know what you guys are nning with the amulet, but I¡¯ll have you know right now that you can¡¯t get Uncle Cooper¡¯s properties with just this amulet, so you can give up on the idea! Have you deciphered the thousand-digit code? After his death, his private properties were divided by the Mitchells, but you know fair well how much actually ended up in the public ount! When he was alive, Uncle Cooper dedicated his life to the Mitchells and now he can¡¯t even keep any of his personal items after death! The Mitchells are the ones who should be ashamed!¡± Hearing Sean¡¯s speech, Natasha red at him and couldn¡¯t find the words to talk back. Finally, she straightened her neck and said in a weird tone, ¡°No matter how the Mitchells are, it¡¯s not up to a disgusting sissy like you toment!¡± ¡°A sissy?¡± Stanley repeated, clearly unhappy with Sean being insulted. He came forward and ced his wide body in front of her, his thick eyebrows shooting upward. ¡°How dare you call Sean a sissy! Believe it or not, I could get him to give you a punch to show you if he¡¯s a sissy!¡± Even though her eyes were turning red from all the ring, there was nothing she could do. Things are turning from bad to worse, she thought. The Mitchells and Fletchers have been friends for decades, but if this goes on, it will definitely get awkward for both families. At this moment, a voice interjected, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough!¡± It was Sophia who had spoken and she tried to make herself sound more like Cooper as she said, ¡°This amulet belongs to me, Cooper. I¡¯m the one who decides its fate!¡± Besides pretending to be Woody¡¯s son in front of him on purpose, she was also trying to act like Cooper in front of Natasha. However, Natasha chuckled and snorted. ¡°You¡¯re Cooper? That¡¯s a joke! A cheap, uncivilized person like you can never be Cooper! My advice to you is to hand over the amulet immediately, otherwise I¡¯ll make you regret it!¡± Judging from the situation, it seemed like the Mitchells still didn¡¯t know that the properties had already been taken away by another. To them, this amulet was akin to Cooper¡¯s cosmic inheritance; the real estate from ten years ago must have risen so much more in its value now! Even if things turned ugly, she had to get that amulet today! Sophia knew that she shouldn¡¯t have turned up today and if she did, there would be tons of trouble after that. Now that they knew about the amulet, there would be more troubleing up. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t regret it, but she didn¡¯t dare to reveal her true identity. Still, she had a question for the Mitchells on behalf of Cooper. ¡°Did I owe the Mitchells anything? Is there a need to mobilize so many people over a small amulet? Didn¡¯t I give the Mitchells enough?¡± Looking at her in disbelief, Natasha fumed, How dare this swindler act so arrogant and speak to me in this manner on such an asion! She is absolutely shameless! ¡°You¡ª¡± Crushed by Sophia¡¯s imposing manner, Natasha¡¯s face had splotches of red as she retreated a couple of steps and gritted her teeth while saying, ¡°Cooper was a part of the Mitchells, so everything which belonged to him belongs to the Mitchells after his death!¡± Sneering, Sophia dropped the amulet onto her chest calmly and covered it with her clothes. Trying her best to be Cooper for a moment, she asked Natasha in a tone which she imagined to be his, ¡°Even if I¡¯m dead, my properties should be inherited by my father. It has nothing to do with the Mitchells.¡± Cooper was Woody¡¯s only son and the both of them had umted a huge amount of wealth. Besides what belonged to the Mitchells, their personal umted wealth in the treasury could even be as much as a state. In spite of that, Woody had lost his mind and the ability to function civilly after Cooper¡¯s death, so members of the Mitchells had encroached all their properties through legal means. They couldn¡¯t wait to squeeze both of them dry until theirst penny, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t let go of this amulet which was equivalent to that property! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Surprised that Sophia actually had the guts to talk back to her, Natasha scoffed, ¡°You¡¯re not Cooper, so you have no right to stick your nose into our family affairs!¡± Lifting her chin, Sophia countered, ¡°Are you Cooper?¡± Rendered speechless again, Natasha¡¯s eyes shed with anger and she suddenly turned to her bodyguards. ¡°Snatch that amulet for me!¡± she ordered. Even if she had to take it by force, she would get that amulet! The militarypound was the Fletchers¡¯ turf, so Sophia was not worried about her safety at all. Just by taking a couple of steps back, someone would immediately jump out to stop Natasha¡¯s bodyguards. Sure enough, one of the bodyguards had only taken two steps when he felt a gust of cold wind and then a cold, ck muzzle was pressed against his head. Horrified, he turned and saw that a uniformed man had appeared behind him silently with a pistol aimed at the back of his head. ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± the man warned in a cold tone. Seeing wheat ears and a star on the man¡¯s epaulette, the bodyguard realized that this young man was actually a Major General! As this was Bayside City¡¯s militarypound, it was unlikely that a person who was wearing his military rank on his shoulders would turn out to be an imposter. Thus, the bodyguard thought twice before raising his hands in surrender. With that, Joel kept away his gun and ordered for the bodyguard to be taken away. When Natasha saw him, she was stunned and thought to herself, How on earth can this imposter have the guts to show up? Isn¡¯t he afraid that he¡¯ll be exposed? After taking care of the bodyguard, Joel said to Mark respectfully, ¡°Grandpa, there¡¯s a cultural festival in the military region tonight. Please excuse me.¡± Grandpa? Natasha thought in bewilderment as she stared at Joel. Can this man really be Joel Fletcher? No, that¡¯s impossible. There¡¯s no way that he will be carrying out his duties during this kind of event! Mark seemed pleased that Joel had suddenly shown up as he was one of his favorite grandchildren. Too bad that he was a little older and was with Irene for the past few years, otherwise he would have matchmade him and Sophia. ¡°Alright, go ahead. And please see these two guests from the Mitchells on your way out!¡± he said. As Joel acknowledged his instruction respectfully, he gestured with his palm toward the exit at Natasha, signaling for her to leave. Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t benefit from staying longer, Natasha tried to preserve thest shard of dignity she had as a socialite and said to Mark, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, this is the Mitchells affairs. Are you sure it¡¯s not going to be a problem if you poke your nose into it?¡± Chapter 394 Chapter 394 Dropping the pretense, Mark stood up and stared at Natasha with a fiery gaze in his eyes, a huge contrast to his old and haggard face. ¡°I¡¯m not meddling in the Mitchells¡¯ affairs, but Cooper was my godson and my friendship with Woody hassted for almost a lifetime. That amulet is thest memento left behind by Cooper, so I¡¯m begging you humbly today to let him keep it!¡± Stunned at his words, Natasha wasn¡¯t expecting Mark, the old sly fox, to use this trick¡ªtaking one step back in order to take two steps forward. He even made the Mitchells seem like such unreasonable people who wouldn¡¯t even let go of a dead man¡¯s item! In spite of that, that amulet held the key to Cooper¡¯s huge properties, so she couldn¡¯t let it slip through her hands! Now that she knew where it was, it made everything easier. After coldly bidding her goodbye, Joel sent her out of the militarypound. Turning back, she stared at the solemn ce, a sneer shing across her face. Sophia, what belongs to my family can never be taken away so easily! After driving Natasha away, the atmosphere became harmonious in a split second. Holding Sophia¡¯s hand, Woody praised her with a smile, ¡°My son, everything you said earlier was right!¡± Returning his smile, Sophia wondered if she was pretending to be Cooper in front of Woody or wanted to question the Mitchells on behalf of Cooper. But it didn¡¯t matter anymore now¡­ Mark was sure that Woody would have to suffer for today after returning, but there was nothing much that he could do as he was an outsider. This was a matter which concerned their family internally, after all. But as Woody¡¯s good friend, he had to do something about it so he said to him, ¡°Old man, just live in this militarypound from now on. I¡¯ll get you a permit and it will be easier for Cooper to visit you in the future. Staying at the beach by yourself is simply too far away!¡± Sophia thought that this was a feasible idea as well. Although there were people looking after him at the beach, it was hard to tell whether Alex¡¯s men would make things difficult for him after returning. He still had arge amount of savings left behind by Cooper and the Mitchells had their eyes fixed on it. Thinking along the same lines, Sean persuaded Woody, ¡°Old Master, just live in the militarypound from now on; Uncle Cooper can evene and visit you often after work.¡± The Imperial, where Sophia was living, was only a few stations away from here and she could easilye to visit Woody. That house by the beach was filled with memories of Cooper and even though Woody was a little reluctant to leave it behind, his ¡®son¡¯ had now returned alive and kicking, which was much better than those dead items. Thus, he agreed readily, ¡°Alright then; I¡¯ll live here.¡± When he was younger, Woody had made many contributions to Cethos and the country had remembered all his acts. Adding on to the fact that it was Old Master Fletcher who had made the request, it didn¡¯t take long for Woody to move into the militarypound for his retirement. Besides having other elderlies here and being a convenient location for Sophia to drop by, there was also a military hospital around which made living here much better than at the beach for Woody. During this period, Sophia didn¡¯t go anywhere else. Usually, she would be studying at home and going to thepany asionally. More often than not, she would be at the militarypound visiting Mark and Woody. Probably due to the return of his son, Woody¡¯s condition stabilized a lot and he didn¡¯t push people without reason anymore. Even hisplexion was much better and with a group of elderly as companions, he seemed more energetic. Every few days, Sophia would visit the Fletchers and Old Master Fletcher would treat her with as much enthusiasm as ever before. Guessing that he must know something, she silently epted his kindness. For more than a decade, Mark had sealed away his enthusiasm for Cooper after his death, which he now poured all over Sophia. On this day, Sophia paid another visit to Woody at thepound. Seeing how happy he was with the other elderlies made her equally delighted. Out of the blue, Mark came over and told her in a secretive manner that he had something to show her and so she followed him into the study. Mark didn¡¯te from a schrly family and he was a soldier when he was young, so it did seem a little odd that he had such a huge study in his home. After instructing his security officers to bring out a chest, he sent everyone away, leaving only Sophia behind. Taking out a key, he opened the chest, in which there were many things in it. ¡°Here, take a look at this. These are all left behind by your father,¡± he exined. Sophia was not surprised that he knew about her background and she stared at the things in the chest with joy and excitement. ¡°Are all of these left behind by my father?¡± ¡°Yes, your father used toe here often and left behind many things! Ever since he was gone, I¡¯ve locked away all these stuff.¡± Every word Cooper had written when he was at the Fletchers¡¯ was carefully stored and kept away by Mark, even if it was just a piece of waste paper used to practice calligraphy. The calligraphy pen and ink he had used, as well as some photographs, were also kept away carefully. After Cooper¡¯s death, Mark was afraid that he would be sad, so he locked away all of Cooper¡¯s things. In the box were a huge amount of Cooper¡¯s photographs and there were so many that it was a significant stack. Taking out stacks of photographs, he said, ¡°Cooper loved toe to my ce ever since he was young, and he loved to y with the kids in my family besides taking pictures. Every time he came over, I got someone to take pictures of him! Look at this.¡± Then, he showed Sophia the pictures one by one. Indeed, those were all pictures of Cooper from when he was a baby all the way till he became a man. ¡°He would spend a week here every summer break. Woody was too strict with his upbringing and was always sending him for various sses without leaving him any time for fun. So whenever he came over, I would secretly give him a break!¡± Pointing at a picture cheerfully, ¡°Look! This is the first time your father used a slingshot to hit a bird, which was something Woody would not allow him to do. He was so happy that day!¡± Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. In the picture, a small boy was holding a slingshot and was looking so overjoyed that his features were all crinkled up from his smile. Nevertheless, she could still tell that that boy was Cooper and his smile back then was so innocent and carefree. Picking out another photo, Mark said, ¡°When he was seven and came over for a summer break, I sent him for a camping trip with my kids. This was his first time catching a fish in the river. Look how handsome he was with his smile!¡± Sophia took the picture from him in surprise and saw Cooper fishing in the river with his trousers rolled up, revealing his fair calves. His smile was as joyful as ever and even a little unrefined. As a schrly and rich family, the Mitchells had strict requirements for members of its family and they had to always carry themselves in a superior manner. The photos she saw of Cooper in Woody¡¯s ce were all aristocratic looking, a contrast to the pictures here, where a different side of him was portrayed¡ªhis true side. Back then, Mark let Cooper join his children for fishing, bird-shooting and practice, and it seemed like he was happier than ever during this periodpared to any other. There were also photos of Cooper with the Fletchers kids¡ªJoel, Michael and even Stanley and Caleb. Chapter 395 Chapter 395 From the stack of photos, Mark picked out another one and told her, ¡°Your father loved cats the most and this was one of his.¡± In the photo, Cooper seemed to be about fifteen or sixteen, and he was holding a fat ginger cat with a brilliant smile on his face, eyes full of adoration as he gazed at the cat. Sophia learned from Woody that Cooper was outstanding and the pride of the Mitchells, as well as for Woody himself. As the future head of the family, he had to be exceptional! On the other hand, she learned about the true Cooper from Mark. Pointing at a picture, Mark said, ¡°Your father was very caring and this was one of the stray cats he rescued from the streets. Since it had a blind eye, he didn¡¯t dare to bring it home because his family would despise it, so he kept it here secretly. Every week, he woulde to visit me, but he was actually here to visit his cat! That rascal!¡± As he stared at the old photo, Mark shook his head and chuckled with his eyes full of affection. ¡°Is the cat still around?¡± Sophia asked while looking at the photo. Shaking his head, Mark answered, ¡°No. It died of old age the second year after your father did, and I buried it under a tree in the garden.¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sad. Tears stung her eyes as she gazed at Cooper in the photo. My father must have been a very gentle and kind person. What a pity¡­ Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Since Mark had watched Cooper growing up, he had endless interesting tales when he talked about him. ¡°The Mitchells have a strict upbringing with many family rules, and your father was the eldest son of the head of the family. Therefore, he had to set an example for his family peers in everything he did. His happiest days were during summer break when he would spend his days here, ying with my children. Here, this cat is for you. It¡¯s the offspring of that big ginger cat your dad kept! He really loved small animals and kept all of them here since his family wouldn¡¯t allow him to keep any. There¡¯s also a tortoise, which is kind of old now, but your father loved it to bits. Take it and keep it with you! I¡¯ll also give you your father¡¯s slingshot!¡± Even though more than thirty years had passed, Mark still remembered every detail when it came to Cooper. As he flipped through Cooper¡¯s old belongings in the big chest, he gave them all to Sophia in a heat of the moment. Holding therge ginger cat in her arms, Sophia happily yed with it. For memory¡¯s sake, Mark had kept Cooper¡¯s cat this whole time and even found another ginger cat with a simr appearance to breed with it. In the end, it gave birth to several litters and they all looked like the one Cooper used to have. Now, the house was filled with ginger cats. As he stared at Sophia¡¯s delighted face, Mark felt as though he was looking at the young Cooper who used to smile as innocently as this. Both of them look so alike! With that poise and eyes, she looks just like the old Cooper! So many years had passed and it didn¡¯t ur to Mark that Cooper¡¯s daughter would appear. Perhaps it was destiny that he was able to meet her at this age, and it left him with no more regrets in life. Looking at her, he said in earnest, ¡°Child, I have no idea what happened between your parents back then, but Cooper was a good kid and he would have been a good father. He may have been forced to leave you and your mother behind, so you shouldn¡¯t hold a grudge against him, alright?¡± There was a period when Sophia med him, wondering why he didn¡¯t appear if he was still alive. By the looks of it now, it seemed like they could only meet each other a hundred yearster in another lifetime. She took out another photo from the chest where Cooper was smiling and holding a baby Stanley in his arms. In the photograph, Cooper was still a kid himself and was only eighteen as he held a newborn Stanley, a gentle smile on his face. Little did he know that his own child would soon be arriving into this world as well¡­ She could tell that Cooper was a really gentle person; be it from Annabel¡¯s diary or Mark¡¯s memories, she could easily say that he was a genuinely kind person. Maybe things were out of his control. As she looked through the pictures, tears welled up in her eyes and she lifted her head, saying to Mark with a smile, ¡°Grandpa, I won¡¯t me him because he¡¯s my father, the one who gave me life.¡± That day, Sophia left the militarypound with many things, including Cooper¡¯s cat and tortoise as well as a bunch of his photos and toys. Holding the big ginger cat, Stanley eximed in surprise, ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up with the Old Master today? He actually gave you this orange pig which he loves so much? Usually, he won¡¯t even let me touch it!¡± In fact, Mark spoiled that ginger cat so much and kept it so well-fed that it had swelled up like a balloon! Sophia then told Hale to keep everything in the car boot. Stanley heard that there would be a feast at Michael¡¯s tonight and might even open wine from the cer, so he offered, ¡°Here, Aunt Sophia. Let me carry this cat for you. The Old Master said that it¡¯s so heavy that you won¡¯t be able to carry it, so he sent me to help you.¡± Using the cat as a ticket, Stanley followed Sophia and made his way to Vi No.8 at The Imperial, even inviting Sean on the way. He wouldn¡¯t forget his good friend when there was a free meal! However, he seemed to have forgotten that Mark wanted him to send Sophia back so that he could nurture his rtionship with her because it was Cooper¡¯s genes which he was thinking about. Truth was, he wished that Stanley would make her his woman right now. Unfortunately, Stanley knew himself too well and it was close to impossible to make Sophia his with a competitor as strong as Michael around. Therefore, he might as well just give up but it still seemed alright if he just went over to their ce and had a free meal or to hangout. At home, Michael had originally prepared a candlelight dinner for two, but Stanley had showed up unexpectedly like a leech and even brought Sean with him. ¡°Why are you here again?¡± he asked, annoyed. ¡°Uncle Michael, the Old Master gave Aunt Sophia a cat and said that it was too heavy for her to carry by herself, so he sent me to help her carry it,¡± Stanley exined and passed the cat on his shoulder to him. Wow, it is heavy! Michael thought as he carried the cat. As far as he could remember, Mark did have several ginger cats and each one was chunkier than the other. All of them were his treasures and he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to touch it because they were all Cooper¡¯s cat. Every roll of fat on the cat represented Mark¡¯s love for it and unexpectedly, he had given one to Sophia today. Pacing into the living room with the ginger cat in his arms, Michael then passed it to Maria to keep it away in a cage. He even saw the old tortoise Mark had kept for almost thirty years, and he remembered that it belonged to Cooper as well, but Mark had always kept it. Surprisingly, Mark even gave it to Sophia. It seemed like he had shifted all his affection for Cooper onto her. Well, that¡¯s not a bad thing since he now has someone to dote on, at least, Michael thought. The candlelight dinner Michael carefully prepared had now turned into a testosterone-filled gathering of friends; not only did Stanleye by himself, he broughtpany. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he even brought a dog along. Chapter 396 Chapter 396 Upon hearing that there would be a feast, Harry turned up as well, and with him, Daniel came along. The house which had been quiet for a few days suddenly turned livelier than ever. After dinner and while it was still bright, Sophia said that she wanted to buy some pet food for the cat and tortoise. Thus, she left for the supermarket together with Stanley and Sean. On their way out, Stanleyined, ¡°Why is the Old Master so kind to you? He was even so generous as to give you the cat which he won¡¯t even let me touch! Did you tell him that you¡¯re married to Uncle Michael? But that doesn¡¯t seem right because he just told me today to court you as soon as possible and even got me such a dumb excuse to send you home.¡± It was clear as day to Stanley that Mark was especially enthusiastic to Sophia and it even made him a little jealous. Dressed in casual sportswear and carrying a small backpack, Sophia chose not to answer him. Since they were the treasures given to her by Mark, she wanted to buy some pet food from the supermarket. After all, they were now in her care and she should at least make sure that they didn¡¯t lose weight. After they left the area, Stanley and Sean went in the direction of the militarypound, taking the dog out for a walk after dinner to aid their digestion, while Sophia went the opposite direction where the supermarket was. Before parting ways, Sean couldn¡¯t help but assure her, ¡°Don¡¯t be stressed out because of the amulet. I¡¯ll try to persuade the Mitchells to give up on it.¡± Nodding her head, she watched as they left, their arms on each other¡¯s shoulders. Smiling, she realized why she had always felt close with Sean; it was because he was her cousin. Sean¡¯s grandfather was Woody¡¯s youngest brother and his descendants had always followed Woody and Cooper around, making them one of the pirs of strength in the Mitchells. Unfortunately, after Cooper¡¯s death, Alex came into power and the influence from Sean¡¯s branch of the family gradually weakened, but it still carried a certain authority within the family. After they parted ways, Stanley was still happily reminiscing about the bottle of wine from the cer on the way back to the military camp. It was so good that just a sip of it was enough to satisfy him for half a lifetime! How wonderful it would be if Michael opens a bottle of his wine from his cer collection every day! On the other hand, Sean was in much deeper thought. After today, he would have to face Alex¡¯s wrath when he returned to the Mitchells, where Alex might make things difficult for his grandfather and uncles. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Thest time after he obtained Cooper¡¯s USB drive, he brought it home to show it to his grandfather and uncles, who all agreed that the information on it should be destroyed after going through it. The information which it held was simply too shocking and involved some sensitive incidents which could possibly destroy the Mitchells or ce them in serious trouble if it was leaked. Besides the part where Cooper made a confession, the rest of the information was destroyed immediately to eliminate any future problems. In the aftermath of Cooper¡¯s confession, Alex¡¯s branch of the family didn¡¯t believe it and suspected it was Sean¡¯s branch of the family who had secretly kept the token to Cooper¡¯s inheritance. Nevertheless, it had been more than two decades and Cooper never intended for the Mitchells to receive that property because there was no way to put the tokens together. In addition, nobody could decipher the thousand-digit code and the Mitchells couldn¡¯t bring forward the tokens required by the bank in Kuwait. All the Mitchells knew about was that Woody got the amulet for Cooper, which he had worn since young, but they didn¡¯t know that there was actually another half to it. As Woody was old with dementia, they couldn¡¯t find out anything from him while the priest whom he went to for the amulet had passed away years ago. As for Cooper¡¯s beloved woman, there was no way to start searching for her at all. Since he was the front of the Mitchells and their pride, anything which tainted his name would not be published and the situation back then was handled in secrecy. Twenty years had passed, and the people involved were either dead or demented, so there was no way anyone could find out where that woman was buried. With all of their leadsing to a dead end, the Mitchells could only watch in vain as such an enormous treasure dangled before their eyes but they couldn¡¯t reach it at all! Equally concerned about what happened to Sophia today, Stanley couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and asked Sean while they were walking the dog, ¡°Your family won¡¯t do anything to Sophia, will they?¡± Even Sean was deeply worried. ¡°If needed, I have no choice but to bring the amulet back home and see what happens. At the end of the day, there¡¯s nothing they can do even if they have the amulet. It¡¯s impossible for them to retrieve the money because Cooper never intended it to go to them. I¡¯m guessing that this is his final revenge toward the Mitchells! Once they¡¯re done trying, I¡¯ll think of a way to return the amulet to Sophia.¡± Stanley snorted, not wanting Sophia to be involved in the Mitchells¡¯ mess. ¡°What do you think your family did to Uncle Cooper? Why did he hate you guys so much that he even had such an evil plot in mind for you guys after his death?¡± As part of the Mitchells, Sean never denied that their family had done Cooper wrong. Letting out a deep sigh, he muttered, ¡°If I was Uncle Cooper, I¡­ might be even more ruthless.¡± Following the finding of Cooper¡¯s recording, Sean had discreetly investigated with the elders in his family. Despite the fact that many people had passed away, there were still traces of information avable and at the end of his investigations, he could totally understand Cooper¡¯s fury. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Stanley asked. It might be the Mitchell¡¯s family affairs, but he was still extremely curious about it. Smiling bitterly, Sean answered, ¡°Stan, can you imagine the helplessness when you see your beloved woman being poisoned right before your eyes?¡± Stanley tried to imagine it; if Sophia was poisoned right in front of his eyes, he would definitely shoot everyone with a gun. Meanwhile, Sean¡¯s expression was immensely sad. He had experienced enough of the Mitchells¡¯ iciness ever since he was a child. Back then after the death of his father, his mother went down on her knees and pleaded with his grandfather to allow her to bring Sean away. However, she was ruthlessly rejected by him and he didn¡¯t even allow her to step into the family home or meet Sean after she remarried. It was also his own grandfather who sent him aboard for treatment and used all sorts of cruel methods to lead him back on the right path. In spite of that, Sean knew that he was not sick but was simply waiting for his mother. He wished that he was a girl, so that he could leave that cold household along with his mother. Sadly, the Mitchells saw his anticipation as a form of intolerable illness! Electric shocks, hunger, beatings, confinement and all sorts of torture¡ªthose were the darkest two years of his life. He thought about dying and even cut his wrists countless times, only to be saved and go through another round of torture after that. The so-called treatments were just torture methods to force him to let go of his obsession so that he would lead the so-called correct path and be what they assumed to be normal. For two years, Sean felt as though he had lived through two centuries. Finally, he caved in and obediently became what they deemed to be normal. Even though he felt that he was a walking dead, he still thought that he was much luckierpared to Cooper because his punishment from the Mitchells was more than torment! Suddenly, Sean stopped in his tracks and turned to Stanley. In a low and cold tone, he said, ¡°As Cooper¡¯s punishment and to make him give up everything back then, the Mitchells poisoned his beloved woman right before his eyes. But they didn¡¯t stop at that.¡± He paused as his eyes clouded over and he fisted his hands tightly. ¡°While that girl was still breathing her last breaths, they burned her body and made Uncle Cooper watch the whole process.¡± Chapter 397 Chapter 397 ¡°Uncle Cooper watched as the woman he loved struggled in the fire until she was reduced to nothing but ashes. And the person who nned all this was none other than Woody, his father whom he respected the most.¡± As a soldier, Stanley had been on missions on the border and even to the real warzone. Having seen what death looked like, he couldn¡¯t help but shudder when he heard that story. If he had been Cooper, he would have killed the entire family¡­ Curling his lips after the shiver passed through his body, Stanley mocked, ¡°Your family is really sick!¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . As they continued walking forward, the setting sun cast long silhouettes of two men and a dog. Despite being so close together on the ground, their shadows could never ovep, just like the gap separating them that was simply too big. ¡°The Mitchells had always been heartless,¡± Sean muttered. Just as he reached the militarypound, Stanley received a call from Michael. ¡°Stan, bring your aunt back within twenty minutes or I¡¯ll break your legs.¡± Puzzled, he asked, ¡°Aunt Sophia is still not back yet? I watched her enter the supermarket to buy cat food with Gemma. Maybe she went to an Inte caf¨¦ to y online games. Don¡¯t me this on me.¡± On the other end, Michael paused and then hung up suddenly, leaving Stanley to stare at his phone for a long time before he suddenly panicked. Anxious, he tried to call Sophia but no one picked up the phone, so he rushed to The Imperial only to find out that Sophia had disappeared together with Gemma. Michael was shrouded in an icy darkness and the whole of The Imperial was enveloped in a suffocating environment, pushing in from all sides and making people breathless. While Michael sent his men to investigate, Stanley anxiously gave Sean a call. Just earlier today, Sophia had revealed the amulet and she had disappeared by evening; nobody would believe it had nothing to do with the Mitchells. However, even before he could make the call, Sean had beat him to it and called him as though having a telepathic connection with him. ¡°Stan, Natasha has abducted Sophia and brought her to an abandoned warehouse. I¡¯ll send the location to you. I¡¯m making my way there now, so let Uncle Michael know about this immediately!¡± Turned out it was indeed the Mitchells! Michael thought as he strode out of the house quickly and went to the location sent by Sean. I can¡¯t believe the Mitchells! They actually have the guts to take her right under my watch. Well done! As Michael left the house, he had also brought the amulet along. After dinner, Sophia had changed to go to the supermarket and took off the amulet. Since that property had already been taken out, there was not much use to keep this amulet anymore; the Mitchells could keep it if they wanted it so badly! Meanwhile in the basement of an abandoned warehouse in Bayside City, the ck hood covering Sophia¡¯s head was finally removed and she saw her kidnappers. Without any windows around, she guessed that she was underground and the blinding light above lit up every corner of the room. She was bound to the chair while Gemma was lying on the floor. As Sophia wondered if Gemma was still alive, she saw that she was still breathing and that probably meant that she was alright. Standing in front of her, a few bodyguards dressed in ck fixed their eyes on her. At that moment, Natasha emerged from behind them, giving her a cold stare. Sophia lifted her head to meet her gaze, but Natasha didn¡¯t want to waste any time speaking with her so she gave her a phone. ¡°Make a call and tell your family to send the amulet over. Or else, I¡¯ll end your cheap life immediately.¡± The cold muzzle pointed at her temple and she could hear the click of the safety being released, shaking her to the core. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for anyone to remain calm. Natasha had probably brought the elites from the Mitchells and she even had the guts to kidnap her in public. In addition, they even managed to knock out Gemma, so she had to be cautious. Knowing that Natasha had the upper hand because she was outnumbered, she was now on the losing end. The amulet was merely a momento to her and the property was already hers for a while now. If the Mitchells want it, then they can have it! As her hands were bound to the chair, she had to make the call by telling Natasha¡¯s men the number. Looking at her with a warily, Natasha warned, ¡°I¡¯m warning you, don¡¯t y any tricks. Before your people even arrive, I have enough time to kill you!¡± Without answering her, Sophie made a call to Hale. In another part of the city, Hale¡¯s cell phone suddenly rang and it was a call from an unknown number. Hisdy boss had just been kidnapped and he was now receiving a call from an unknown number? This must have something to do with her! In fact, Hale and Michael were on the way to the location sent by Sean. Michael, who had also heard the ringing, said solemnly after ncing at the caller, ¡°Answer it.¡± Picking up the call, Hale put it on loudspeaker mode and Michael heard someone speaking. ¡°Bring the amulet over. The address is¡ªah!¡± The call was suddenly interrupted as it seemed like an unexpected situation had happened on the other end. The voice was cut off, followed by the deafening sounds of gunshots. On the other end of the line, it sounded likeplete chaos with sounds of gunshots, footsteps, women screaming and cries of pain all mingled together, as though something dreadful was going on. Then, a series of loud gunshots came from the speaker before their car was plunged into silence. As everyone in the car had a certain knowledge of firearms, they could tell from the gunshots that it was a large machine gun! They even used a machine gun! Michael thought as his insides shivered and he almost passed out from the overwhelming fear that engulfed him. Abel, who was with them, managed to find out their location very quickly and said, ¡°They¡¯re at the ce Sean sent to us! Hurry, we don¡¯t have much time left!¡± Fully aware of the power of a machine gun and from the sounds of each shot earlier which were extremely close to one another, Michael could even hear the crisp sounds of the bullet shells hitting the floor. The scene now must be incredibly horrible with such strong firearms at work. If one party wasn¡¯t equal in weaponry power, it wouldn¡¯t be too far off from a massacre! Judging from the situation now, no matter what had happened, the ones being massacred must be Sophia¡¯s side! Rushing to the scene as fast as he could, Michael and his men found themselves in an abandoned factory which was awaiting demolishment. There weren¡¯t many people around usually but it seemed particrly busy today. After a summer rain shower, the visitors left traces on the muddy roadside. On the filthy doorway, there were many prints, including the tire tracks of heavy vehicles and footprints. From the looks of it, there were at least four groups of people. What the hell happened here? everyone wondered. After getting out of the car, they dashed in as quickly as possible. It was already dark and in the small abandoned factory, the stench of blood was overwhelming. A few steps into the factory and about a few feet ahead of him, Stanley could see a few men lying on the ground, their blood pooling into a river. It was as though an intense war had broken out and the two cars which were parked here were ridden with bullet holes; some as big as the size of a fist, which went to show how brutal the enemy was! But that was only on the outside. The people who were lying t on their stomachs were also ridden with holes, their blood and flesh sttered all over and human parts strewn everywhere. Just taking a step would cause one¡¯s feet to be drenched in sticky blood. Looking at the scene, Michael¡¯s face turned even more grim and his hands began to shake uncontrobly. No. This cannot be happening. She must be alive! She has to be! Chapter 398 Chapter 398 Frantically, Stanley went through the dead bodies spread out all over the floor. Seeing the bullet shells scattered around, he tried his best to suppress his urge to throw up while he tried to find someone who was still alive. From the broken parts of the bodies, he found the emblem of the Mitchells on them and he reckoned that the people who were dead were all from the Mitchells. Men from the Mitchells! Stanley began flipping through the dead bodies like a mad man and from the dismembered parts, he finally found one which wasplete and covered in blood. When he saw that person, he felt that the sky had copsed and was speechless for a long while from the shock. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Still dressed in the white shirt from earlier when they parted ways, Sean¡¯s shirt was now drenched red, just as his face, and his eyes were shut tightly as hey among the pile of dead bodies, not moving an inch. Holding his broken body in his arms, Stanley froze and stared wide-eyed at Sean who was now dead, his mind drawing aplete nk. Sean¡­ is dead. Frowning, Abel stepped into the sea of dismembered bodies, finding this scene to be highly familiar. Six years ago, his team of well-equipped elites were ready to attack with aprehensive n to capture the Phantom Wolf and get rid of the remaining forces. Initially, they thought that they could crush them with one blow; little did they know that what awaited them was a massacre. The craftiness and brutality of the other party was beyond their imagination. With his own eyes, he witnessed hisrades falling one after another. People who were alive just a second ago became lifeless on the ground in a blink of an eye, including his beloved wife. Although he didn¡¯t know if the people on the ground were Natasha¡¯s or Sean¡¯s, Abel knew that they were all from the Mitchells. They faced their savage enemy without even thinking of surrendering, using their bodies as shields in what looked like an attempt to protect someone. As he walked in the blood-soaked mud, he was fully aware that he was stepping on the blood of his family with every step he took. Despite the fact that he had left the Mitchells by faking his death, it was undeniable that the blood of the Mitchells still flowed in his veins. In that moment, he could feel the blood in him boiling as he saw red, a brutal look in his eyes. Reaching the middle of the bodies, he saw who the men were protecting¡ªSean and Natasha. Still holding Sean in his arms, Stanley could now speak as Abel lowered himself to feel Sean¡¯s pulse. Then, he patted Stanley on the shoulder and assured, ¡°It¡¯s alright, he¡¯s still alive. Send him to the hospital quickly.¡± It was then that Stanley snapped out of his daze and got men to carry Sean out so they could open up his shirt to check on his wounds. Fortunately, Sean was fine and he regained consciousness after some rescue efforts. On the other hand, Natasha seemed to have been shot and was carried away. Opening his eyes, Sean saw the bodies strewn all over the ground. Not only the men he brought with him were dead, even Natasha¡¯s men had lost their lives. Furthermore, they all died without their bodies intact. Just a little more than ten minutes ago, they were all alive and kicking. In order to protect himself and Natasha, they had used their bodies as shields to block the enemy¡¯s bullets so that they could buy them time to escape. Sadly¡­ Sean shut his eyes with immense sorrow, two streams of tears flowing from the corners of his eyes. When he opened his eyes again, they had turned bloodshot. Gripping Stanley¡¯s hand firmly, he was breathless when he spoke because he was also wounded. However, his delicate face, which was prettier than a woman¡¯s, was filled with unprecedented heroism and resoluteness. ¡°Stan, I¡¯m sorry that I was not able to save Sophia.¡± Choking a couple of times, Stanley yelled at him, ¡°How can you say such silly things at a time like this! It¡¯s already a miracle that you¡¯re alive!¡± Just a couple of minutes ago, he had thought that Sean was dead! Sean struggled as he described what happened, ¡°Earlier¡­ I brought some men with me to negotiate with Natasha, so that she would release Sophia if I brought her the amulet. Originally, she had agreed that she wouldn¡¯t hurt Sophia as long as I gave up the amulet to her. However, a group of men suddenly barged in¡­ Their weapons were beyond our expectations and they even wanted to kill all of us after taking Sophia away¡­ Stan, I saw that man. He was the same man in Uncle Cooper¡¯s study! It¡¯s him¡ªPhantom Wolf!¡± After hearing Sean¡¯s story, Abel hurried down to the basement and saw that Michael was already there. Upon rushing out of the car, Michael had gone straight for the basement where Sophia was held. When he arrived, there was nobody alive and bodies were everywhere. The enemy had used machine guns and the bullet shells piled up like little mountains on the ground. The attackers were acting like a bunch of mad men; with such strong weapons, they could easily turn everyone into mincemeat! As he stepped on the floor littered with bullet shells, blood and shredded flesh, Michael was shrouded by patches of red and the nauseating stench of blood. Feeling as though he had seen this before, it reminded him of a scene buried deeply into the back of his mind which he didn¡¯t wish to remember. That year, he was also walking through a massacred battlefield and was looking for his sister, Celine, within a pile of bodies. He never imagined that yearster, this same situation happened again, but this time, he was looking for his woman. The firearms carried by the enemy were simply too strong. He didn¡¯t think that they would actually use firearms with such shocking strength against these few people; even the walls in the basement were pierced through! Their aim was not only to kill, but to massacre! The modus operandi was very simr to the unforgettable person in his mind. Scanning the room, he didn¡¯t find Sophia¡¯s clothing and he breathed a sigh of relief. At least she¡¯s still alive¡­ In the chaos, he saw a few bags of cat food scattered around, Sophia¡¯s cell phone, which was trampled to pieces, and her wallet. Opening the wallet, he found a picture of himself, which was soaked in blood. Looks like they were kidnapped aftering out of the supermarket, he concluded. The scene was too tragic. Except for Gemma who escaped as he was left in a corner after being knocked out and wasn¡¯t in the enemy¡¯s shooting range, there was nobody left alive and even the dead couldn¡¯t be pieced backpletely. Rushing in, Abel scanned the bodies and saw that they were all men from the Mitchells from their clothing. ¡°It¡¯s Phantom Wolf,¡± he informed Michael. Hearing that, Michael stopped wondering because he knew that only Phantom Wolf could do such a brutal thing. Only him! He wished more than ever that he was the one who had joined the operation to wipe out Phantom Wolf and also the one who had apanied Sophia out to buy pet food. Unfortunately, there was no way to reverse the time. Trying to keep hisposure, he said, ¡°She¡¯s still safe for now. Gather everyone and check the major highways going in and out of Bayside City. Find her as quickly as possible.¡± With that said, he bent down and picked up Sophia¡¯s wallet and broken cell phone before turning to leave the basement which was stinking with blood and flesh. Abel took a long, hard look at the bodies strewn all over the ce. When he got out of the basement, Michael¡¯s cell phone vibrated suddenly. He saw that he had received an email in his private mailbox which was a video that was less than a minute. Opening the video, the scream of a woman immediately reached his ears and he saw a poorly-lit old room filled with dusty and old furniture. Amp hung in the air and swung with the wind as weak light danced around the room, floating in and out of the video frame. Two women were engaged in a battle to death in that room. One of the women was dressed in ck with a shaved head and had pin pricks all over her body. She seemed really strong and made a shrilling scream which was unlike any cries a human could make. While holding a rusty sword in her hand, she kicked the other woman to the ground with one foot. Lifting her sword, she pierced it through the woman¡¯s heart ruthlessly. Chapter 399 Chapter 399 The person on the ground got one of her hands stepped on, so she used her other hand to grab an old broken wooden block at the side, which once formed the leg of a desk, and swung it fiercely at the bald girl, knocking the sword off the girl¡¯s hand with the impact. Then, the person took the opportunity to roll over and get on her feet. She grabbed the wooden block again and hit the bald girl fiercely multiple times. Blood sttered all over her face as the bald girl let out a wail of agony. However, in the next second, the bald girl charged toward the other girl suddenly, as if she couldn¡¯t feel the pain at all. Both of the girls struggled and fought with each other on the ground violently, with one of them on top of the other as they fought fiercely like they were trying to kill each other¡­ The girl who retaliated was Sophia, whereas the bald girl was actually Ka Harper, Richard¡¯s younger sister! Michael¡¯s hand, which he used to hold his cell phone, trembled uncontrobly. The video ended and a sentence shed across at the end. It read, ¡®The old address of Mount View Elementary School. She doesn¡¯t have much time left. Come alone.¡¯ The meaning of the message was clear enough. Ka, who was supposed to spend the rest of her life in prison, suddenly appeared in the operation base of the Phantom Wolf. Judging from the drastic change in her personality, it was obvious that she had undergone Phantom Wolf¡¯s ruthless and inhumanebat training; she might have even been injected with drugs. Now, she was just like a killing machine with no emotions, one that was extremely powerful and had be immune to pain. This was a trick normally adopted by Phantom Wolf. They often brought desperate and fearless people under their wing, turning them into fanatic suicide bombers andunching massive terrorist attacks. Sophia could probably die at the hands of Ka at any time! Michael got into the car without any hesitation. Seeing that, Abel knew what he wanted to do. ¡°Michael, you¡¯re his target. You¡¯ll die if you go. I¡¯ll go instead.¡± However, Michael didn¡¯t reply. Since Abel knew he had already made up his mind and wouldn¡¯t change his decision, he had no choice but to go with him. Suddenly, Stanley, who was covered in blood, caught up with them. ¡°Uncle Michael, let mee with you guys too!¡± ¡°No.¡± Michael rejected him directly without any hesitation. The opponent they were about to face now was the fiercest and cruelest person ever in the history of mankind. He couldn¡¯t even be sure whether he coulde back alive himself, let alone the young and inexperienced Stanley. Anyhow, he did not wish for another new tombstone to be erected in the Memorial Garden. Even so, Stanley insisted on going with them, and he threatened Michael fiercely, ¡°I want to go! I¡¯ll lie down in the middle of the road if you won¡¯t let me go!¡± The car engine had revved up, but Stanley stood in front of the car, preventing the car from moving forward. Michael¡¯s eyes flickered withplicated feelings. Within a split second, a lot of different thoughts had shed across his mind. Finally, he gave in to Stanley¡¯s wish. ¡°Hale, give him a handy gun.¡± Stanley then got into the car and it sped away quickly. Mount View Elementary School was an abandoned site in the rural area. For various reasons, the school had not been demolished even after the location was marked as a demolition site. Therefore, it was leftContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org. abandoned since then. Soon, a car that carried a passenger in it sped right into the area without regard for anything else¡­ At the same time, an intense life-and-death battle urred somewhere else. The harrowing sound of a sharp tool piercing through human flesh was heard as a hair pin had been stabbed into the transformed Ka¡¯s thigh. Pushing it deeper into Ka¡¯s thigh, Sophia had a vicious expression on her face. She wore her hair in a casual bun using a wooden hair pin when she went out this morning, but she didn¡¯t expect it would actually be so handy now. Crimson blood gushed out from the stab wound, but Ka, who seemed as though she couldn¡¯t feel any pain at all, grabbed Sophia¡¯s hair and pounded her head heavily on the ground twice. ¡°B*tch, I want you dead! Just die!¡± Ka was covered in wounds. Her ck tight-fitting garment waspletely drenched in blood. Despite that, she seemed as if she couldn¡¯t feel any pain and was still unusually strong even though blood flowed profusely from her leg with every step she took. Sophia got her head pounded on the ground so hard that she felt really dizzy, so she automatically folded her arms to shield her head from the destructive impact. After all, her arms were softer than the ground, so Ka¡¯s immense strength still made her feel very dizzy when she had her head hitting the ground. By the time she opened her eyes, everything around her seemed to be spinning like crazy. Ka yanked Sophia¡¯s unruly hair and pounded her head on the ground once again with all her might, but suddenly, Sophia noticed that Ka¡¯s body convulsed for a moment before she kneeled down on the ground weakly. It happens again! Sophia had already noticed that earlier. It seemed as though there was some kind of remotely controlled device installed in Ka¡¯s body. Every time Sophia¡¯s life was in serious danger, someone would activate the remotely controlled device within Ka¡¯s body, causing temporary numbness to her body. However, after a few seconds, Ka would be really strong again, like a senseless beast that came lunging at Sophia for her life. She hadpletely lost her sanity, for she was now nothing but a beast that only wanted to kill! However, after the remotely controlled device was activated, Sophia had a few seconds of time to catch her breath. At that moment, she saw Ka go limp and lie down on the ground. Sophia knew she had another few seconds of time to save herself, so she got up as fast as lightning and snatched the sword, which Ka brought along with her initially. Deciding to strike first, Sophia charged toward Ka fiercely, swaying the de frantically at the bald girl, looking like she was about to chop off an animal¡¯s leg. She didn¡¯t know what exactly happened to Ka after not seeing her for several months. Now, she was rendered a ferocious killing machine with superhuman strength. Nevertheless, ever since that incident with Phantom Wolfst time, Sophia never once cked off on her hand-to-handbat training. Since the person behind all these misfortunes wasn¡¯t actually intending on killing her, she could still hold on. Now, it all depended on whether she would lose her stamina, or Ka would lose all her blood first! The current Ka had lost her mindpletely. What was only left in her was utter hatred and her natural killer¡¯s instinct. Nothing could stop her from killing now, except for theplete loss of blood. The person behind all these misfortunes never wished for Sophia to die at all. She could even notice the moving surveince camera on the wall, as if purposely showing someone the video of her fighting with Ka. This, of course, wasn¡¯t to fulfill some peculiar desires of some psychopaths, but to lure someone over here to save her. Nobody would do such an outrageous thing, except Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, and the one that Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader wanted to lure here was probably Michael. Ka lunged at Sophia violently again like a savage and senseless beast. Going bonkers, Sophia carried the rusty sword before charging forward at Ka. She thrusted the sword into Ka¡¯s body, piercing right through it. Then, she pushed Ka and pressed her tightly against the wall with all her might. Since she had thrusted the rusty sword really hard through Ka¡¯s body, it stuck right into the wall, pinning Ka onto it in the process. However, Ka, who waspletely immune to pain, held out her hand and grabbed the hilt. She actually still had the strength to draw the sword out from the wall. The battle was so intense that it made Sophia lose her sanity too. She waspletely oblivious of how far she had gone. The only thing she knew was if she went the slightest bit easier on her opponent, she would probably be the one to die next. So, she turned around, grabbed a broken wooden stool and whacked Ka¡¯s head with it. Using up thest bit of energy in her, Sophia kept on hitting Ka until she couldn¡¯t move anymore. In the end, Sophia waspletely drenched in blood. She was relieved finally when she noticed that Ka, who was still being pinned on the wall, was dead for good. All of a sudden, she went limp as all energy had left her body, making her slump onto the floor weakly as she lowered her head while gasping for air. Streams of blood dripped down her hair onto the floor. She couldn¡¯t even be sure whether those were hers or Ka¡¯s blood. With a few droplets of blood still hanging on her long eyshes, everything seemed to be dyed red in her vision. The ce was an old abandoned multipurpose ssroom; there was still a broken loudspeaker hanging at the corner of the wall. A deafening static sound could actually be hearding from the loudspeaker. After the static, a cold snicker was heard. ¡°Haha, it looks like you¡¯re not as important as I think you are to him after all. I told him to rush here in ten minutes, or else I¡¯m going to kill you, but too bad, for half an hour has passed by now, yet he¡¯s still not here.¡± The voice was deep and gruff. Despite the fact that it was altered with a voice changer, Sophia knew the one talking was the leader of Phantom Wolf. She felt d rather than disappointed when she heard that Michael didn¡¯te. It¡¯s better if he doesn¡¯te. His life should be left unharmed as he waits for the girl who loves him to cherish him with all her heart. As for my life¡­ You can just take it in exchange for his! Chapter 400 Chapter 400 Since the ssroom door was welded up tightly and could no longer be opened, she couldn¡¯t get out at all. Thus, she decided not to escape anymore. Instead, she just leaned against the wall of this old, blood- sttered and abandoned ssroom, panting heavily. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. She stared at the camera, knowing that person was watching her closely now. Lowering her head, she uttered a voice as cold as ice, ¡°Hahaha, your n failed. I bet you¡¯re very disappointed now, aren¡¯t you? You f*cking psychopath!¡± However, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader sounded very rxed when his voice was heard from the loudspeaker. ¡°I have two ns here. The first one is to kill him, and the second one is to take you away. At the very least, one of them worked now. With that, my n still hasn¡¯t failed.¡± Sophia supported herself against the wall. Then, she raised her head and held her chin up high with the back of her head leaning against the shabby wall, panting heavily before spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva. ¡°I won¡¯t let you have your way easily even if I die! Since I owe you my life, I¡¯ll give it back to you now!¡± She wanted to get up, but she felt weak and powerless, having used up all her energy while fighting with Ka in a brutal brawl just now. With her being injured and having lost so much blood, she didn¡¯t even have the energy to move her fingers, let alone the excruciating pain she felt while moving a muscle. Once again, the voice of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was heard. ¡°This ce is called Golden Drive Elementary School. You know this ce? Many years ago, there was a great fire here and a dozen young students were burned to death in the fire. Ever since then, this ce has be haunted. No one dares to take over the building anymore. So eventually, it was abandoned and forgotten.¡± Sophia struggled to get on her feet by holding onto the wall. Walking to the side of the tightly welded up window, she noticed there seemed to be someone guarding downstairs as well as outside the ssroom. With her current condition, she was certain she couldn¡¯t escape here. Even if she died, she didn¡¯t want to fall into the hands of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. It was too bad that she couldn¡¯t be in the wedding which Michael promised to give her anymore¡­ Also, she couldn¡¯t keep her promise of keeping Nathanpany and watching him grow up happily either. Sophia wiped the tears off her cheeks. While struggling to look for a way out, she retorted, ¡°I¡¯m not even afraid of you, so do you think I¡¯ll be afraid of ghosts?¡± The leader of Phantom Wolf let out a sinister chuckle, which echoed through the dark and creepy ce. It reminded Sophia of a quote in a novel that went along the lines of ¡®Human nature is something more terrifying than ghosts¡¯. ¡°Let me tell you a secret. I told him that you were locked up in Mount View Elementary School. That school isn¡¯t very far away from here. You can see it from the window. He¡¯s in the school now. Three secondster, I¡¯ll blow up the entire Mount View Elementary School.¡± With a buzz in her ear, Sophia¡¯s mind went nk immediately. She raised her head stiffly and through the dusty mottled window, she saw there was indeed a dark building not far away from here. As for Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, he began his countdown. ¡°Three. Two. One.¡± Boom! A loud explosion was heard and the nearby Mount View Elementary School was turned into piles of ashes. After a few seconds, the huge impact from the explosion reached here and Sophia was knocked down onto the ground immediately. Upon falling on the ground, her mind stopped working and she couldn¡¯t think for a moment. Her entire brain seemed to have stopped operating for several seconds along with her heart. Within that few seconds of time, she felt as if she was dead, but her mind was still aware. In a half-conscious state, she vaguely saw a man march bravely into the treacherous hellscape in order to save her. Within a split second, his body was blown up into pieces by the huge impact of the explosion. Then, he turned into ashes, which vanished gradually into the void¡­ He¡¯s dead. He¡¯s dead¡­ Sophia fell on the ground with her palm brushing against the wall, leaving behind trails of bloody fingerprints. Feeling her eyelids bing heavy, they closed down over her eyes, shutting her view of the whole world outside. She was still alive, but she wished she were dead. ¡°We shall meet again soon¡­¡± Some timeter, she had regained consciousness. The metallic tang of blood, her weakened legs, numbed shoulders that resulted from the immense pain and the sight of a world veiled in blurriness were the first things that assaulted her senses when she came to. She opened her eyes weakly and noticed that her shoulders were being grabbed by two people, one on each side. Then, they carried her and stood on an abandoned field. A ck car halted in front of her as a man got out of the car and strode toward her slowly. Raising her head, she felt her brain spinning like crazy, the world in her eyes swaying from left to right with a buzzing noise in her ears, as though her head was filled with water. She could barely see the man¡¯s face. No, he didn¡¯t have a face; he wore a mask instead. She knew who he was. Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader took two steps forward, held out his hand and tried to take Sophia from his henchmen. Suddenly, Sophia heard a groaning from her left side and the grip on her left shoulder loosened as warm liquid sttered on her face. She turned her head to the left side and saw the man, who grabbed her just now, falling down onto the ground quietly, for he was actually shot in the head. There were snipers around! Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader took two steps forward and lunged at Sophia. Even though both him and the guy on the right hand side were quick enough in their reaction, but unfortunately for thetter, as soon as he picked up his gun, a groan was heard and a bullet was embedded in between his eyebrows. The man was shot in the head as well, right in between his eyebrows! Only less than three seconds had psed between the first person and the second person being killed! The leader of Phantom Wolf was astounded. The sniper is an expert! The sniper managed to aim and fire urately at the two consecutive targets within three seconds, ignoring wind resistance and velocity. It was really extraordinary and one in a million for a sniper to have such an incredible shooting skill! Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was quick in his reaction too, for he had managed to find the sniper¡¯s location from the direction the bullet travelled. So, he quickly grasped Sophia and used her to shield himself from that direction. Three seconds had passed, but the sniper had yet to strike. At the same time, footsteps were heard everywhere from the surrounding. There were a few dozen people, judging from the footsteps. Several cars had even blocked the entrance to the ce. A car stopped in front of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader and Sophia. The car door was opened and a man in a ck trench coat got out from the car, standing in front of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader and Sophia. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened with joyful surprise when she saw the man, for the sight that met her eyes was none other than Michael¡¯s attractive and serious-looking face. A furious and murderous look flickered in his eyes. As he stared at the man whom he loathed so much, he could feel the hatred within him being amplified greatly. He remembered those awful nights where he was stirred from his sleep for having nightmares over and over again. Those new tombstones in the Memorial Garden and that hellish battlefield covered in streams of blood haunted his dreams. Even after a total of six years had passed, those nightmares still gued him like maggots adhering to rotting corpses, all because of the man in front of him! Tightening his grip on Sophia, the leader of Phantom Wolf nced around at his surroundings and the sniper that hid in the dark. It seemed like it would be impossible for him to escape easily now. However, he didn¡¯t seem to be afraid or worried at all, because he still had a hostage in his hands. Indeed, with Sophia in his hands, Michael dared note closer toward him. He stood a few meters away from Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. Both of them looked at each other for a long time. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for you to escape today. Stop your useless resistance and surrender, Phantom Wolf.¡± The leader of Phantom Wolf snorted coldly. Carrying Sophia with one of his hands, he slowly pulled his shirt upward with his other hand, revealing a blue metal device around his waist. It seemed to adhere closely onto his skin, but it did seem to be imnted in his body at the same time. In his usual rxed tone, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader said, ¡°You see this? I can tell you that this is a bomb. It is powerful enough to blow up everything within a ten miles perimeter. The bomb has been imnted into my body and it is directly connected to my brain. Once I die, the bomb will blow up on its own automatically. I believe you know how destructive it can be, right? Maybe you are thinking about beating the living sh*t out of me while taking the opportunity to defuse the bomb. Well, you¡¯re wrong again. The detonator is in my mouth. If I bite and crush the detonator in my mouth, the bomb will still blow up anyway.¡± The expression on Michael¡¯s face changed abruptly, for he never expected Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader would be so demented as to imnt such a diabolical stuff into his own body! Chapter 401 Chapter 401 Ten years ago, the Interpol surrounded andunched an attack on the second leader of Phantom Wolf. Finally, they managed to kill him in a vige. Later, a huge explosion urred there. All elite officers who were involved in that operation died in the explosion. None of them survived and their corpses were blown up into pieces in the explosion too. The entire vige waspletely destroyed and burnt to the ground, causing lots of deaths and casualties. The center of explosion was the body of the second leader of Phantom Wolf. He actually turned himself into a suicide bomber by imnting a bomb in his body, which would explode anytime. The bomb would go off as soon as he died, so no one could escape from the explosion. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he could still detonate the bomb whenever he wanted. He was that ruthless and cruel! Michael red at him fiercely, wanting to blow up the leader of Phantom Wolf even if it meant sacrificing himself, but he couldn¡¯t do so, for there were residential areas nearby. If the bomb had exploded, not just Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, but everyone here would die as well. Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader knew Michael had given in to his wish, so he grabbed Sophia¡¯s arm and left, dragging her along with him. He wanted Michael to feel the helplessness of having to see his enemy standing right in front of him but being unable to do anything about it. Besides, he wanted Michael to just watch him taking his wife away right before his eyes. Indeed, Michael really couldn¡¯t do anything at all now. He still underestimated Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader¡¯s savagery. ¡°You let her go and I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Michael sounded humble as he put his pride aside. Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader smirked. ¡°Do you think you¡¯re still in a position to bargain with me now?¡± Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was a demented psychopath who was not afraid of dying. The worst case scenario would be him dying while taking everyone with him. Thus, Michael dared not provoke him too much. With just the slightest bit of mistake, everyone would die along with him. Suddenly, the leader of Phantom Wolf froze in shock. It turned out that the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed against his waist. Without him noticing it, Sophia had somehow managed to obtain a gun. ¡°Let go of me.¡± She released the safety catch effortlessly in an experienced way before poking the gun at his waist harshly. The gun belonged to one of the henchmen of the leader of Phantom Wolf just now. After the man was shot in the head, Sophia automatically snatched the gun away from him. Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader didn¡¯t say a word as he released Sophia¡¯s arm and raised his arms slowly, like he was surrendering. Being freed from the control of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, Sophia clenched the gun tightly as she used the last bit of energy left in her body to back away step by step, all the while keeping a close eye on Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, for fear that he might still do something else. As for Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, while raising his arms and cing them behind his head, he fearlessly exposed his back in the direction where Sophia¡¯s gun was pointing. Then, step by step, he left the ce in a rxed manner. Sophia¡¯s hand, which she used to hold the gun, trembled slightly. As she backed away step by step, she suddenly fell into a warm embrace. Michael held Sophia, who was covered in blood. Kissing her gently on her injured delicate face, he held onto her hand with the gun in it, cing his finger over the trigger. He could see the back of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, still within shooting range right in front of the muzzle of the gun. With just a simple pull of the trigger, the man whom he despised very much would disappear from the world forever. However, he couldn¡¯t take the risk. If he pulled the trigger, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was probably not the only one who would die here; all the people around here would die too! In the end, Michael grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and persuaded her to put down the gun. ¡°Just let him go. We still have a chance to catch him in the future.¡± Michael¡¯s voice was very gentle. It sounded like an invisible hand caressing Sophia¡¯s ears. As she nced after Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, who disappeared into the dark night, everything in front of her then turned ckpletely. She copsed, falling into a warm embrace¡­ At the same time, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader turned around and looked at Sophia, his expression unclear under that human skin mask of his. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, which caught everyone by surprise. A bullet pierced through the body of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, causing his whole body to convulse uncontrobly. Everyone was frightened out of their wits on the spot. All of them froze and nobody even thought of taking cover. Who¡¯s the idiot who actually had the courage to shoot? If Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader detonates the bomb, would the people around here still be alive? However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader didn¡¯t say anything, nor did he detonate the bomb. He simply red in the direction of the sniper before turning around and leaving with difficulty. As he went far away, he left a trail of blood behind him¡­ Everyone finally felt relieved by the time he left. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. It seemed like the leader of Phantom Wolf cherished his own life very much too. Soon, he was picked up by his other subordinates, leaving behind the bodies of his two dead henchmen lying motionlessly on the ground. After disposing the corpses in a simple and hasty manner, everyone left the ce quickly as soon as possible, because the huge explosion just now had attracted the police¡¯s attention and they were on their way here now. Michael ordered his men to carry Sophia into the car and it drove away at the fastest speed possible. Meanwhile, the final car simply remained parked there without any intention of leaving as the people in there waited for the sniper who did everyone a big favor just now. Just now, the sniper hid himself in a higher location and fired a fatal shot at the two henchmen of the leader of Phantom Wolf. If the situation allowed him to fire a simr shot at Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, the man would have be a corpse by now. Soon, a young manpletely covered in blood appeared, carrying a sniper rifle with him. He got into the car with Harry sitting in it. As an ace sniper, Stanley possessed extraordinary shooting skills that were well-known in the military. However, it was a shame that he had chosen to retire from the army back then without having much consideration for his own future. Old Master Fletcher was so furious about it and he almost shot Stanley himself, for Stanley was one of the few elite snipers in Bayside City who could aim and shoot his targets within three seconds. Stanley was very scared right at that moment. As he tugged at Harry¡¯s arm, he asked, ¡°Mr. Harry, Uncle Michael is mad at me, isn¡¯t he?¡± He fired that shot just now because he couldn¡¯t hold back his anger anymore. It was impossible not to let Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader pay a little price for what he did since he killed so many people this time. Harry snorted. ¡°Oh, so now you¡¯re scared, huh? Why didn¡¯t you think about the consequences when you shot him just now?¡± Harry, too, was frightened out of his wits just now; he almost peed his pants. Stanley simply kept quiet, not daring to say anything. The car drove away, a dead silence within it. Harry¡¯s heart was still pounding rapidly, but he was feeling relieved as he had just survived a catastrophe. ncing at Stanley, who was sitting beside with his head lowered, Harry finally asked, ¡°Where did you shoot him?¡± Speaking of the shot just now, Stanley, who was sad and depressed moments ago, became so excited that his face turned red. ¡°I shot him in the groin. He¡¯s not going to get to be a father for the rest of his life!¡± Harryplimented, ¡°Uh¡­ Well done.¡± Stanley thought it was really worth it firing that shot too. Seeing the leader of Phantom Wolf reminded him of the row of new tombstones belonging to the Fletcher Family. If it weren¡¯t for thest shred of rationality that still hung on to him, he really would have killed Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader on the spot. Now, he was absolutely certain that the shot he fired would leave Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader infertile for his entire life, exactly like what he intended. Sophia was rushed to the hospital immediately. When they reached, Michael stood motionlessly outside the operating room, not moving a muscle as he waited there. Droplets of blood dotted his ck trench coat; all of those were Sophia¡¯s blood. She looked like a broken and seriously damaged ragdoll lying down beside him just now. As he watched her, he wanted to hug her, but when he held out his arms, he retracted them again, worried that his rough hands might identally hurt her. From the video, even though Ka¡¯s sharp de didn¡¯t directly touch her body, it could still have caused great harm to her. Harry led Stanley, who looked dejected with his head lowered, over to the hospital. Stanley dared not say anything as he stood at the side, his head hanging, looking like a dog that knew it had made a mistake. Michael didn¡¯t have the time to bother with him as he kept standing at the door. On the other hand, Harry had tons of phone callsing in. The light above the operating room was still on even after midnight. That was when Abel dashed in hurriedly and reported to Michael, ¡°He went missing in Hillwood.¡± Abel wasn¡¯t dejected for letting Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader escape from his pursuit again, for he had discovered some of the man¡¯s weaknesses during hisst failed mission. Whereas this time, he got to know that there was a lethal bomb on the man¡¯s body. What he would do next was to begin his investigation on the man¡¯s so-called suicide bomb device, which was imnted in his body. He needed to research its working principle and the ways to defuse it. Michael nodded at Abel, looking slightly exhausted. ¡°You go back first and take a rest.¡± Abel took a nce at the operating room with the light still turned on and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to give me a call when Sophia wakes upter.¡± Then, Abel left. The hospital personnel were still operating busily in the wee hours, with Harry¡¯s voice echoing through the corridors as he talked on the phone. Stanley kept his head lowered, not daring to say a word. Now, he was still covered in the blood sttered onto him when he saved Sean back then. Dried blood stains could still be seen on his face too. There were nurses bustling around, going in and out of the wards, filling the corridors with activity as people walked around continuously. This was Michael¡¯s private hospital, which was well-equipped with reliable medical facilities and security systems. There was a moment when the corridor became empty without anyone walking around. Suddenly, Michael¡¯s voice echoed through the empty corridor as he asked, ¡°How¡¯s Sean?¡± Chapter 402 Chapter 402 Finally, Michael was talking to Stanley. Michael¡¯s question startled him as he replied excitedly, ¡°Sean is fine. His condition is not critical anymore now.¡± A hush descended upon the corridor again. After pondering for a long time about how to exin himself, Stanley said, ¡°Uncle Michael, I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have acted rashly and fired that shot.¡± Michael didn¡¯t respond to him after a long pause. Thus, Stanley could only stare at the back of his proud and firm figure, the thoughts of the man unfathomable. Michael had gone through too much hardship, so he already learned how to conceal all his feelings deep within him, preventing others from knowing what he was truly thinking. After a long pause, Michael turned around. His feet that seemed to have been stuck to the ground were finally moved as he walked toward Stanley and sat down beside him. ¡°Stanley, you did very well. I don¡¯t me you at all.¡± The situation was very dangerous back then. If it weren¡¯t for Stanley, who fired the two shots, Michael couldn¡¯t even be sure whether he could bring Sophia back safely, even though thest shot he fired was very risky. If Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader lost control and detonated the bomb, everyone would die with him. Despite the fact that Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader¡¯s level of sadism was beyond an ordinary person¡¯s imagination, Michael could still see he treasured his own life dearly. Furthermore, Stanley did something he always wanted to do either, which was to emascte the leader of Phantom Wolf! Michael never doubted Stanley¡¯s extraordinary gift in sniping. Since it was him who fired that shot, Michael was pretty certain that the leader of Phantom Wolf had be sterile by now. When it was almost dawn, Harry, who had been on the phone all night long, came over suddenly and whispered something into Michael¡¯s ear. Michael frowned, seeming a bit uncertain. ¡°Really?¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Harry replied seriously, ¡°Yes.¡± A serious andplicated expression crossed Michael¡¯s face. No one knew what he was feeling, but he then patted Harry on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s keep this a secret first.¡± Harry nodded. Then, Stanley came over quickly and asked, ¡°Uncle Michael, what happened?¡± However, Michael didn¡¯t say anything. This time, he was determined to keep it a secret; he would not simply let the cat out of the bag again. The operation continued until early in the morning the next day. Finally, the light above the door to the operating theater was switched off. The doctor, who was covered in blood, came out and told Michael about Sophia¡¯s condition. He was relieved after hearing the doctor. Luckily, she suffered only flesh wounds. The most serious injuries sustained were perhaps those caused by the wooden splinters that pierced into her body. Although she seemed to be in a critical state when she was rushed to the hospital earlier, the medical checkup showed that Sophia just had some broken bones and suffered a slight concussion in the brain. Soon, she was transferred into a normal ward for her to rest there. Michael had been staying in the ward by Sophia¡¯s bedside, but he was still very busy. Since the incident caused so many deaths among the Mitchells this time, they were busy investigating the incident too. Besides, the explosion caused terror among the residents living nearby the ce. Thus, they had to keep an eye on the police too. Moreover, he needed to pay attention to the new finding Harry told him just now. So, he was busy settling all these stuff while sitting by Sophia¡¯s bedside. Stanley went next door to visit Sean after he noticed that Sophia was fine, leaving Michael and Sophia alone in the ward now. While working on the matter, Michael would raise his head once in a while to nce at Sophia on the bed. She was still being treated with intravenous infusion, her face as white as a sheet. The traces of blood on her hair had dried out and hardened. Having both of her eyes shut tightly, her brows were heavily furrowed, making her seem to be really ufortable even in her sleep. Gazing at her pale and delicate face, Michael suddenly felt like all his tiredness had disappeared completely. He felt very content just by gazing at her like that. Back then, when he first set eyes on Sophia, he thought she looked very familiar, as though he had seen her before somewhere. He chose her not just because Nathan liked her, but because he liked her too. In the morning, the door of the ward sprung open and a little figure dashed into the room, giving those in the room the illusion of a gust of wind that had blown past them. The little figure first took a look at Sophia on the bed. Michael put down the work in his hands and caressed Nathan¡¯s head as he reminded the kid, ¡°Keep it down. Your mommy is still asleep.¡± Although Nathan wasn¡¯t aware of what happened the previous day, he was very worried when Sophia and Michael hadn¡¯te home for the whole night. So, he rushed here as soon as morning arrived. Nathan was furious after he took a nce at Sophia. ring at Michael, he said angrily, ¡°This is the second time already.¡± This was the second time that Sophia didn¡¯te home for the whole night and when Nathan next saw her, she was in a hospital ward on the next day. ichael didn¡¯t reply to him. Indeed, it was his fault for failing to do his job properly. He held out his hands and massaged his temple, his eyes turning red with all the broken veins. It had really been a long night. If he had made a single mistake, he would probably regret it for the rest of his life. He took a sip of coffee, its bitter taste stimting him and making him feel wide awake all of a sudden. ¡°Alright. Daddy was wrong. I promise that this won¡¯t happen again next time, okay?¡± He wasn¡¯t afraid of the enemy¡¯s attack. In contrast, it was this constant fear about the probability that his enemy might strike back anytime which worried him the most. Stanley¡¯s shot this time was enough to make the leader of Phantom Wolf lose his mind. Since it wouldn¡¯t do to restrict Sophia¡¯s freedom, it would be really difficult for him to protect her from any harm, especially when they had such a demented enemy around! Nathan was still very upset. Refusing to listen to Michael, he ran out of the ward to dial a number in secret. Sophia only woke up around noon. Meanwhile, Michael, who had been working on his stuff seriously, heard groansing from the ward. When he got in, he saw the girl on the bed squirming about a little. Then, the girl moved her arms that were still heavily bandaged to stop the bleeding. ¡°Water¡­¡± Michael poured her some isotonic drink immediately. Since Sophia had lost too much blood, it was natural that she felt very thirsty. She held the ss and drank from it in a hurried manner. Soon, she finished the whole ss of water. After finishing the water, she raised her head and looked at Michael. She had nightmares right after she was carried into the hospitalst night. For a moment, she dreamed of that abandoned ssroom with lights flickering in it. The next moment, she saw Michael disappear in the zing fire as a huge explosion blew him up into pieces within a split second. Right at that moment, she felt as if she had fallen into an endless pit of darkness, surrounding her with icy despair, freezing her bones and blood. Now, when she actually saw Michael standing in front of her, alive and kicking, she felt as if she was living in a beautiful and unrealistic world that was the result of her hallucinations. If it weren¡¯t for the wounds on her body, which still hurt now, she wouldn¡¯t have believed that all of these were real. After she was certain that Michael was still alive, she wailed and threw herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly. She could really feel the warmth on his body and his pounding heart. It felt as if they had not seen each other for such a long time. Even though it had been just one night, she felt as if a century had passed, and within that short eternity, she had been wandering at the border of life and death for a long time, hovering between heaven and hell; with just the slightest mistake, death would do them apart forever. Michaelforted her immediately. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Everything¡¯s fine now. It¡¯s all in the past now.¡± Sophia only managed to stop her crying after some time. Tears kept rolling down her cheeks when she looked at Michael¡¯s tired face. She grasped his hand tightly, fearing that once she let go of his hand, he would turn into an apparition and disappear right in front of her. She sobbed and asked, ¡°How did you escape? He said you died!¡± Since the leader of Phantom Wolf was confident enough to say that, he must have watched Michael go into the ce clearly. He would detonate the bomb and blow up the school only after confirming that it was Michael. Michael kissed her on the forehead. Currently, Sophia looked really miserable with all the bruises on her face. Furthermore, she even had some bones broken and a concussion, but he still smiled mysteriously as he replied, ¡°You have been idolizing movie stars for such a long time now, so haven¡¯t you heard of silicone masks in the entertainment industry before?¡± Silicone masks? Chapter 403 Chapter 403 Sophia was surprised. Back then, Glory Entertainment kept ndering Michael to the point where there were so many dark secrets revealed about him. As Michael¡¯s fan, Sophia hated every single artist under Glory Entertainment. Nheless, what went around came around; someone actually defamed Glory Entertainment recently, revealing that the artists under its management often used substitutes while filming. The main cast members would only put their pride aside and take a few shots when they needed close-ups. The whole filming only took ce in one set, and they used substitutes for both action sequences and normal dialogue scenes. The actors and actresses did not need to memorize their scripts at all, and they even used film masks which were made out of special material. It could be made to look exactly like the face of the actor, and all the details on the face could be mimicked urately. It was exactly like the human skin mask in ancient times. An online gossip ount spread the scandals on the Inte, describing it in such a realistic way; it sounded like the film mask could be made to resemble a real person. It could even mimic all the expressions on a person¡¯s face. In the future, actors no longer needed to show their faces during filming anymore; they simply had to sign a contract with the entertainmentpany, and they would hire substitutes who would wear human skin masks and stand in for them during the entire filming process. These actors only had to sit and wait for their pay to be transferred into their ounts. Even though Sophia hated Glory Entertainment, she still had some doubts over the truth about film masks; she felt that human skin masks were simply too outrageous to believe. If an actor used film masks while filming, it would also be an insult to the acting profession as well as their fans! ¡°Uh¡­ is the film mask thing real?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been feeling quitezy as ofte, so I asked the production crew to create several film masks as standby; they found a substitute to wear the mask and take my ce during filming for the past few days.¡± Sophia was speechless; she didn¡¯t know that her idol could be unprofessional sometimes. She decided to retract the statement she posted on Twitter a few days ago which read, ¡®The entire family of all actors who use film masks must die.¡¯ While peeling a fruit for her, Michael exined, ¡°Glory Entertainment was the one who created film masks. I¡¯ve used it before, and it can really mimic the exact details on an actor¡¯s face; you can¡¯t virtually see any difference in wide shots. For close-up shots, just avoid moving too much¡ªafter some post-production editing, it will look exactly like the actor himself, and the audience wouldn¡¯t be able to see the difference at all.¡± Although Michael looked down upon such cheating tricks, he had to admit that a film mask was quite the invention! ¡°Last night, did you find a person to die on your behalf using the human skin mask?¡± Sophia was utterly bewildered. Michael didn¡¯t respond immediately. After peeling the fruit, cutting it slowly into several slices and taking out the seed inside, he finally answered, ¡°It was a drug addict. It¡¯s impossible for him to stop taking drugs anymore; he was willing to die on my behalf as long as I gave his family 1,000,000.¡± 1,000,000 in exchange for a life! Michael looked calm and unflustered when he mentioned the drug addict; he didn¡¯t feel a least bit sorry for the loss of a human life at all. To him, it wasn¡¯t worth spending 1,000,000 to buy a lowlife like the drug addict! However, he had ran out of time back then; it wasn¡¯t easy finding a person with the same build and face as him in such a short time. Since the drug addict had volunteered himself, Michael reluctantly agreed to his request. He was already a worthless scumbag when he was still alive. Besides hitting his wife and kids every day, the only thing he did was to steal money from the house, go out and get high on drugs. His wife had to take up three different jobs at the same time to raise their children. Yet, he stole his children¡¯s tuition fee too. In the end, he spent all the money on drugs. He was willing to die if his death could bring some benefits for his family. Sophia didn¡¯t ask Michael about this anymore. Suddenly, she remembered that Michael¡¯s father, Theo, died in a war around the Southwest border of Cethos back then; the main cause which triggered the war was drugs. A drug lord in Cethos had established his ownrge drug empire around the border, which was a no man¡¯snd not governed byws; the ce soon became thergest drug manufacturing base in the world. Theo was ordered to go and exterminate those bunch of ruthless drug criminals. Even though he had managed to sessfully capture several of the most wanted criminals in the end, Theo died due to serious injuries sustained during the bust. Elizabeth couldn¡¯t take the blow after Theo died. So, she chose tomit suicide and died along with her husband. Therefore, Michael had always despised drug addicts very much. Once a person got involved in drugs, his entire life would be ruined for good! The couple became silent for a while after the question. Michael fed Sophia several pieces of fruit one by one. He purposely cut them in small pieces as there were cuts around the corner of her mouth, and she couldn¡¯t open her mouth too wide while eating. She took each bite carefully, worried that the cuts around her mouth might hurt. She asked again curiously, ¡°How did you guys find me?¡± The Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader had kidnapped and taken Sophia to Golden Drive Elementary School. However, he told Michael that Sophia was in Mount View Elementary School instead. He did that on purpose to lure Michael there, nning to blow him up into pieces. Michael took the other half of the fruit where Sophia had taken a bite from and shoved it into his mouth directly to finish it. He answered, ¡°A few years ago, I went on a mission near that ce with the army. Coincidently, we came across a fire ident at Golden Drive Elementary School. I joined the army to extinguish the fire, so I¡¯m quite familiar with the ce.¡± The Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader thought he was clever enough to trick Michael by sending him a video showing the brutal fight between Sophia and Ka. His initial n was to provoke Michael, making him lose his calm and clouding his judgment. However, he hadn¡¯t expected Michael to pick up so much information from the short video clip which was only ten seconds long. For example, theyout of that ssroom, the direction the wind blew that night and the light swaying in the ssroom helped him determine the exact position Sophia was located at. Soon, Sophia fell asleep again after having something to eat. Michael closed the door quietly. He asked Nathan to keep Sophiapany in the hospital while he went home first. After all, there were still a ton of things waiting to be settled. Upon returning home, he went down to the basement first and saw Abel dissecting Ka¡¯s body. A while ago, a fire had broken out in prison and caused the death of several prisoners. Coincidently, Ka was one of the prisoners who died in the incident. They didn¡¯t expect that she would appear in the hands of the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. Performing autopsies was one of the main skills Abel focused on practicing throughout the years. Having performed ast-minute autopsy on Ka¡¯s body, he discovered that her hands were covered in scabs; it seemed like she had gone through intense and harsh training under the Phantom Wolf before she died. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . She was injected with a high dose of stimnt while she was still alive; the drug could greatly enhance a person¡¯s strength within a short period of time. However, its after-effects were horrible. Based on the amount injected into Ka¡¯s body, even if she had survived, she would spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Her body was imnted with a type of high-tech electrocuting device equipped with a remote control switch. Once the device was switched on, it could cause numbness to the muscles for three to five seconds, making the person feel weak; it felt like they had lost all energy. It was clear that the Phantom Wolf had no intention of letting Ka kill Sophia. Every time Ka was about to deal a fatal blow to Sophia, someone would secretly switch on the device remotely and temporarily numbed Ka. Such a special kind of high dosage stimnt and the imnted device would definitely leave a clue for investigation. In addition to the clue in which Ka had been trafficked out of prison, Abel was certain he could find out more about the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader if he was to look into the three clues together. Besides, defusing the bomb imnted in the body of the Phantom Wolf was one of the most important things Abel had to figure out and research too. Michael observed Abel quietly while thetter examined the body. He continued to frown; his perspective on the world would change every time he investigated the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. The phrase ¡®With hell being empty, all the devils are here¡¯ can be used to describe the Phantom Wolf. Why would such a ruthless and savage person like him exist in this world? He might as well die if he thinks the world isn¡¯t as wonderful as he thought it would be! Abel had his own workroom where he carried out autopsies, and it waspletely surrounded by plexiss. He examined the body while talking to Michael through the ss at the same time. ¡°Didn¡¯t Harry receive some information today?¡± Through the ss, Michael looked at Abel. Thetter was wearing a whiteb coat and a surgical mask while dissecting the body. ¡°It¡¯s information about your Mitchell Family.¡± Abel was curious. ¡°Oh, let¡¯s hear about it.¡± Michael didn¡¯t know what kind of expression he was supposed to put on his face. ¡°Chica has a twin brother.¡± Chapter 404 Chapter 404 ¡°What?¡± Abel goggled at him in shock. Sophia actually has a twin brother? It means that Cooper actually has a son! His daughter is already such an incredible person with unusual talent; his son might even be better to the point of amazing the whole world! Michael exined calmly, ¡°I sent some men over to investigate my mother-inw¡¯s life before she died, thinking that we¡¯d be able to find some clues about Cooper. I noticed that she was very close with a nurse in the hospital where she stayed while waiting to deliver her baby before she died. Later on, I found out that my mother-inw was pregnant with fraternal twins back then. There was another boy who had been taken away by that nurse after he was born. The nurse gave the boy to her distant rtives who were infertile. After that, the couple went overseas and cut all contact with the nurse.¡± It wasn¡¯t clear whether the nurse did that because she felt sorry for the boy since she knew he would probably be used as a pawn by the Johnson Family to ckmail Joe after he was born or if she did that for her own personal gain. ording to Michael¡¯s investigation, the couple were highly educated but they were unable to have children on their own. After they got the boy twenty years ago, they immigrated in a hurry and severed all connections with their previous contacts to avoid any trouble when they found out the boy they got was from an unknown, illegal source. Even Michael didn¡¯t know where exactly the couple were now! Abel stopped what he was doing too. The Coopers¡¯ genes were simply incredible; it was amazing enough to have one Sophia around. Supposedly, that boy grew up in a rather wealthy environmentplete with the basic necessities since he had been adopted by a highly educated family. He must¡¯ve been well-educated and nurtured in a sophisticated way by his adoptive parents since young. In that case, he would definitely be a lot more incredible than Sophia! If Cooper didn¡¯t appear, the Mitchell Family would probably have another two Coopers! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°Have you told Sophia?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. I want to wait until I find him first before I tell her; I don¡¯t want to repeat the same mistake I didst time.¡± After busying himself the entire day and night, Michael went back to his room to take a nap. He still needed to visit Sophia at the hospital in the afternoon. Abel volunteered himself bravely to ept the mission of finding Cooper¡¯s missing son. Michael woke up in the afternoon after a refreshing nap. After settling several other matters, he went out again and headed toward the hospital. Much to his surprise, his wife had disappeared only after a short while. The hospital staff informed him that Sophia had been taken away by a bunch of troops. Before Michael could ask the staff what kind of troops they were, Old Master Fletcher called him. The old man immediately scolded him furiously as soon as he answered the call. ¡°I¡¯m confiscating the young girl. From now on, she¡¯ll stay with me! Look at what you¡¯ve done!¡± Click! Old Master Fletcher hung up the phone directly without considering Michael¡¯s feelings¡ªhe didn¡¯t even listen to Michael¡¯s exnation. Michael shook his head. As he expected, Old Master Fletcher still liked Cooper the best! However, the nursing home in the militarypound was rather a great ce to stay. The medical facilities there were well-equipped and safe. Hence, Michael thought it would be good to let her stay in the nursing home for a while. However, nobody even told him about it when such a big matter like his wife being taken away had happened. It seemed like there were some betrayers around him¡ªNathan, to be exact. Michael had been quite busy recently, so he used film masks whenever he could while filming on set; he didn¡¯t even have the time to visit Sophia at the hospital. He initially thought that it would be very safe for Sophia to stay in Old Master Fletcher¡¯s ce, but he never expected that Old Master Fletcher would do something which caused him to blow his top. Sophia had been taken away by Old Master Fletcher to the nursing home in the militarypound; the old man and Woody came to visit her when they passed by daily, and Nathan had also been staying at Old Master Fletcher¡¯s ce too. He went to the hospital in the morning and left at night every day. The nursing home was located within the militarypound. Ever since Michael left the Fletcher Family, he never went into the militarypound again. So, it was certain that he would note to visit her at the hospital. After taking a few days of rest in the nursing home, Sophia video-called Michael. It seemed like Michael was abroad at the moment; he appeared tan with a visible sunburn. He wore heavily-torn clothes which appeared to be his costume, and his face was covered in traces of blood and some dirt. His entire face looked really miserable with all the blood, dirt and sweat blended together. Evidently, his makeup looked extremely realistic. ¡°Where are you?¡± Sophia studied the background in the video curiously. Michael replied, ¡°I¡¯m filming in Africa.¡± Wow, my Lord is really professional. It must not be easy filming at a ce like Africa! His costume and makeup look very realistic too! Sophia felt a bit sorry for Michael. ¡°You have to be careful then.¡± Michael nodded. Before he could say anything else, a few gunshots were heard from his back followed by some dialogueced with heavy ents of a localnguage, making it odd and difficult to understand. The voice sounded very scared. There were a few lines of dialogue in the Cethosiannguage that were heard in the voice. ¡°I¡¯ll blow your brains out if you don¡¯t tell me! Hurry up, tell me!¡± The background sounded quite noisy, and Sophia became excited instantly. ¡°Are you guys in the middle of filming? Quick, let me see it! Let me see it!¡± Michael turned the camera around and filmed the acting scene obediently. Soon, Sophia saw some kind of ghetto-like ce as it appeared in the video. Several ck actors were forced to kneel down on the floor. Harry held a gun and pressed it against an actor¡¯s brain. He was threatening the actor with something fiercely, looking very furious. There were quite a number of staff in the production crew; all the costumes, props and settings looked very realistic too. The movie looked like a high-budget production indeed! Noticing that Michael was filming him, Harry waved at the phone camera and said, ¡°Hi, Daddy!¡± The screen swept through quickly. Soon, Michael switched back into selfie mode; Sophia could only see his suntanned face instead. ¡°There¡¯s a scene I need to shoot right away. I¡¯ll be hanging up first.¡± ¡°Oh, okay. Stay focused on your filming; everything¡¯s fine around here. I have peopleing to visit me every day. Look, there are so many presents and flowers here!¡± Sophia turned her phone camera around too. Michael saw a bunch of flowers, tonics and fruits piled up around one corner of the single VIP ward. Nathan was sitting beside the pile of fruits, choosing one to eat. Sophia hung up the video call before Michael had the time to look closely at the presents. After he put away his cell phone, Abel walked toward him with a serious face. ¡°The man confessed; they are the ones who manufactured the batch of stimnt injected by Ka. I¡¯ve got the sales record. As expected, the Phantom Wolf was one of their buyers. Besides, they are long- term business partners of the Phantom Wolf, and they¡¯ve been supplying different types of drugs to the Phantom Wolf in a long-term manner.¡± The type of stimnt injected into Ka¡¯s body by the Phantom Wolf had been manufactured in a drug- producing location hidden here; it was a ghetto area in a vige of Africa. After an aggressive bust by the Cethosian government, all the drug syndicates who used to gather around the Southwest border of Cethos had moved their base elsewhere; one of them was hidden here in a vige in Africa, and this ce produced the most effective and purest stimnt in the world. Michael read through their sales record. Apart from the Phantom Wolf, the buyers included governments of several countries that excelled in sports. Unfortunately, the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was very good at hiding; it would be rather difficult to track him down. He was very cautious even when he was purchasing the drugs, and had disappeared without a trace ever since that incidentst time. After going through those records, Michael raised his gun and shot the leader¡¯s head. Blood sttered all over the floor. If the information was correct, the man was one of the descendants of a drug lord who escaped from the Southwest border of Cethos. ¡°Get rid of thempletely.¡± Michael went into the car and left after giving out the order. Abel looked at those people involved in the drug manufacturing process as they kneeled on the floor, not having the slightest bit ofpassion in his eyes. If he let them go today, they would definitely find another ce to establish their new drug-manufacturing location within a month. With no one there to govern them, their ¡®products¡¯ would be sold everywhere all over the world; countless families would be destroyed because of the drugs they produced¡­ After busting the drug-manufacturing base, Harry and Michael left together in one car. On the way, Harry said suddenly, ¡°Fass, the man you guys suspected to be Cooper before this, has a mining business in Africa. It seems like his castle is not very far away from here; he¡¯s the uncrowned king of Africa. Perhaps we should pay him a visit?¡± Putting down the sales record in his hands, Michael raised his eyebrow. Indeed, they should pay him a visit. When they returned to the set, the director was almost worried sick about them. ¡°Oh, both of you daddies¡ªyou guys are part of the main cast. Could you please stop running around in your costumes like that? I beg of you!¡± Chapter 405 Chapter 405 The production crew was estimated to be filming in Africa for a month, so Michael could take the opportunity to track down the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader here. After all, he had been hiding here in Africa all these years. Besides, he wanted to investigate the Michel Family too. The Michel Family was an ancient and mysterious family residing in Eastern Europe. They had been established over several hundred years ago, and Michael had heard of them when he was younger; there was a time where he even thought that they were the legendary vampires described in fictions. The Michel Group was involved in various businesses such as electronics, mining, crude oil and so on. They were very influential in Africa, controlling numerousrge metal mining factories in the country. The family was like a de facto emperor in Africa as they established their mining businesses there. Most of the minerals they mined were precious metals, and their businesses were ratherrge and extensive. Michael and Harry had made an earlier request to meet the person in charge of the Michel Family. They arrived at the ce punctually ording to the agreed time. Unfortunately, they came at a wrong time; it just so happened that Fass wasn¡¯t around at the moment. The one who was responsible for meeting them was the second-inmand of the Michel Group and Fass¡¯ younger brother, Linus Michel. Upon arriving at the ce, Michael saw a magnificent castle as soon as he got out of the car. It wasn¡¯t just a castle¡ªit was a city. Surrounded by high walls, the ce was heavily guarded; it couldn¡¯t even be destroyed by the mere power of a legion of army. Michael had seen the castle once before in a photo which had been provided by Abel along with some other information. However, he was amazed by its grandeur when he actually saw it with his own eyes now. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Harry was in awe when he saw the castle as he said, ¡°This castle is quite interesting; it¡¯s quite auspicious in terms of geomancy. Look, there¡¯s a moat over here. ording to Daniel, the moat is exactly in the shape of a terrain, which looks like a dragon in ordance to our Cethosian geomancy concept. With the building on top of the origin of the dragon-like terrain, it looks like a dragon flying high up straight into the sky following the terrain, indicating that the master of the house will prosper greatly with this geomancy formation.¡± A stream of river with the width of more than ten meters was constructed around the castle. There were a total of four drawbridges constructed at four sides of the castle, which were located on the east, south, north, and west side respectively. They acted as the castle¡¯s entrance and exit routes. The castle was heavily guarded, which appeared rather unusual. Although it was reasonable for such a heavily guarded castle to be built in Africa, which was a chaotic ce full of wars, the castle seemed a little too overly guarded¡­ Harry and Michael entered the castle through the drawbridge under the protection of several bodyguards. Upon entering the castle, they noticed the inside lookedpletely different from the outside; the decorations inside the castle were extremelyvish and splendid! In the castle, there was ake and a field surrounded by woods. They saw a magnificent yet ancient manor after driving into the castle for quite a while. As they entered the manor, Michael stood in the middle of therge and spacious lobby which looked just as majestic as Buckingham Pce. He saw a number of ssical paintings from all over the world hanging on the walls along the corridor; with just a nce, one could immediately tell that those were authentic pieces. The attractive images of the duo were reflected on the smooth, shiny surface of the lobby floor. Since they were here to visit the local prominent family¡ªthe Michels¡ªas part of the movie production crew, they dressed up considerably. They soon caught sight of Linus; he was a tall, Caucasian young man with a height of about 1.9 meters. His ocean blue eyes looked strikingly beautiful. In his elegant tuxedo, he strode across the smooth and shiny mirror-like floor toward Michael and Harry slowly. His blond hair appeared very eye-catching as he stood in front of the duo. ¡°Mr. Murray, Mr. Winston, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet both of you; I¡¯ve heard a great deal about you.¡± Linus greeted them in precise and fluent Cethosiannguage without any Eastern European ent at all. His pronunciations of each word were very urate as well. Nheless, Michael and Harry were not surprised by that since they had done a background check on Linus prior to visiting him. The young man must¡¯ve possessed his own extraordinary skills since he managed to be the second-inmand of the Michel Family before he was twenty years old. ording to rumors, he could speak ten differentnguages. When Fass was not around to represent the Michel Family, he would be the one traveling to different countries and representing both the family andpany during business meetings. This led many to think that he was the actual person who controlled the Michel Group. Several overseas magazines who were highly influential had published a volume on ¡®The Most Popr Bachelors in the World¡¯ this year, and Linus ranked first on the list. The second person was a prince from a petroleum-exporting country, while Ethan barely made it into the top ten. As for Michael, he had been on the listst year, but was now excluded since he had gotten married. After the three exchanged brief greetings, they sat down. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that our schedules aren¡¯t aligned. My brother went back to his hometown to settle some family business, and I think he will only be back after three months. If both of you are still here by then, my brother will definitely visit you in person.¡± The Michel Family was the oldest family in Eastern Europe; they were also an influential and noble family as well. One could see the unusual level of sophistication and education it offered to its family members from the way Linus presented himself. Linus was a humble, courteous and charming gentleman. Michael smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a bit too much visiting us in person himself. I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be other opportunities for us to meet in the future if we can¡¯t make it this time.¡± He nced around the surrounding casually without drawing too much attention to himself. The spacious living room looked really grand and sophisticated with exquisite paintings gracing the walls. The beautifully-drawn paintings depicted the history of the Michel Family, but not a single portrait of Fass could be found in the living room. Supposedly, shouldn¡¯t there be a portrait of the master hanging in the living room? Michael asked, ¡°When would Mr. Fass normally stay here? Perhaps we can fix a date and visit again next time.¡± Linus smiled politely; he showed just the right amount of courtesy on his handsome face, and his smile wasn¡¯t too arrogant nor too humble. ¡°My brother has been quite busy managing family business as well aspany business all these years. He¡¯s obsessed with his research and will work on it even during his leisure time. He¡¯s also a low-profile person who usually stays in the castle and rarely goes out. Within the year, he¡¯ll definitely go back to Eastern Europe and join the family meeting among the elders of the Michel Family for three months.¡± After the three chatted happily with each other in a friendly manner, Michael and Harry left the castle together. Exiting the castle, Michael turned around and stared at therge entrance of the castle as it closed heavily on them. The view inside wasn¡¯t visible anymore, leaving behind a dark, cold wall. ¡°It¡¯s quite impossible for Fass to be Cooper, don¡¯t you think so? The Michel Family has existed for over a few hundred years now; how could they allow an outsider to be the head of the family? Such ancient families are very sensitive and intolerant when ites to outsiders controlling their families.¡± Harry was still mumbling when he got into the car. Michael began to have some doubts over the matter too. Fass didn¡¯t seem to be Cooper at all! However, Michael was still slightly suspicious about the possibility of it. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about itter after we meet Fass.¡± Harry pursed his lips when Michael mentioned this. ¡°The man hid his identity really well, even better than the Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. It¡¯s not going to be very easy finding out his true identity!¡± Although Fass was the one controlling the Michel Family, he remained hidden in the dark without revealing his true identity at all. His younger brother had begun to take over the Michel Family a few years ago, and it would be impossible for him to reveal himself anymore once he retired from his position. Wearing the exact same suits, the both of them left the grand castle in their own car. In the castle, Linus remained seated in the same living room where he had greeted his guests just now. He held a ss of red wine with his left hand and two stacks of information with his right hand. On the documents, it wrote: Taylor Murray; real name ¨C Michael Fletcher; served in the Special Operations Squadron of Cethos from 201x to 201x; ventured into the entertainment business after retiring from the army; grandfather ¨C Mark Fletcher; father ¨C Theo Fletcher; mother ¨C Elizabeth Murray. Ethan Winston; real name ¨C Harry Winston; killed his father when he was twenty years old and took over Winston International Corporation¡­ ¡°This is interesting.¡± As he read the two stacks of information, Linus¡¯ ocean blue eyes glittered with unusual excitement. ¡°It seems like they are people from the Fletcher and Winston Families in Bayside City of Cethos. Why are they so interested in my brother?¡± Linus mumbled to himself. His mumble echoed through the spacious and empty living room. Since Michael had gone overseas to film, he would only be back after about two weeks. Hence, he made sure to give Sophia a video call every day. As time flew by quickly, Sophia had been hospitalized for several days already. Nathan moved into the militarypound along with her too; he was taken by Old Master Fletcher to join marching practice with the army early in the morning every day. After marching practice, he would bring his tiny bag to Sophia¡¯s ward while he did his homework and studied. Recently, Sophia¡¯s ward was bustling with people going in and out every day; lots of people came to visit her. Apart from Sarah, Sean, and Stanley whom she already knew, there were people who she didn¡¯t know at alling to visit her as well. Besides, two to three people came to visit her every day; all of them said it was Old Master Fletcher who had sent them to visit her. Was it really necessary for Old Master Fletcher to send someone else to visit when he himself hade to visit Sophia every day? Besides, those people who came to visit Sophia possessed certain obvious traits too. All of them were men and from the Fletcher Family, aged between 20 to 30. They were high-ranking military officers¡ª even higher than field officers. All of them were tall, handsome and single¡­ Chapter 406 Chapter 406 It was absolutely unnecessary for Sophia to make any guesses about all these men who came to visit her; it was rather obvious from the way they introduced themselves. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°How are you, Sophie? My name is ude Fletcher and I¡¯m twenty-six years old. I graduated from the Military Academy, an affiliated college of Bayside University. I serve in the army as a Lieutenant. I¡¯m single and don¡¯t have a girlfriend at the moment. I heard that you¡¯re not feeling well, so I¡¯vee to visit you specially today.¡± Early in the morning, another man from the Fletcher Family came to visit Sophia. He even brought her fruits and flowers. Maria, who came to look after Sophia, took the fruits brought by ude and ced them on a table at the side. The fruits on the table were piling up like a huge mountain; some of them were being kept in the fridge in the kitchen as well. Meanwhile, Nathan did his homework seriously on the table piled with fruits. He looked as if he wasn¡¯t aware of Sophia¡¯s visitor at all. ¡°Uh¡­ thank you. I¡¯m feeling much better now.¡± Sophia, who was sitting on the bed, felt much better. Her hands, which stayed hidden underneath the nket, clenched tightly and nervously onto a corner of her patient uniform. The expression on her face was really awkward. In front of her bed, a handsome man dded in a military uniform sat upright in a proper manner and stared at her attentively. It was obvious that ude was the type of person who had experienced lots of great things; he looked calm and serious as he sat there properly in an upright position. While standing, he stood up straight, looking like a tall pine tree. His eyes were so sharp; when he stared at Sophia, they looked like a sharp sword. Although it was temporarily sheathed, menacing energy still emitted from the sword. It kept pricking Sophia as she sat on the bed, making her shiver uncontrobly. She could even feel pain in her bones when he stared at her like that. The men from the Fletcher Family weren¡¯t very good at chatting. After they introduced themselves, they would just stare at Sophia closely, waiting for her toe up with a subject and start the conversation. Likewise, ude sat there in an upright position today. He looked really serious and the atmosphere in the room was really awkward. Sophia chuckled twice awkwardly as she tried toe up with a conversation starter. ¡°Uh¡­ today¡¯s weather is really good, huh? Haha¡­¡± ¡°What are you having for lunchter¡­¡± ¡°Since the ciers in Antarctica have been melting pretty quickly, it¡¯s be imminent for them to save the habitat of pr bears there¡­¡± After conversing in an awkward manner for a while, they exchanged contact numbers and befriended each other on Messenger before ude finally left. ncing at him as ude left the room and closed the door politely on his way out, Sophia was extremely relieved. Shey down on the bed and stared at the ceiling while thinking to herself, What exactly is going on here? As soon as ude left, Nathan scuttled over and asked curiously, ¡°What do you think of ude?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°He seems nice, just nice¡­¡± Nathan pushed the door open and went out as he munched on some fruits. After a while, ude added Sophia to his list of friends on Messenger. She left a mark on his ID. Upon checking her Messenger friends list, she noticed that she had added over a dozen of guys from the Fletcher Family within thest few days. At three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, shebed her hair and smoothened out her clothes. After washing her face and making herself look more presentable, she sat on the bed. If things went ording to n, there would be another man from the Fletcher Familying to visit her later. Recently, things had been like this every day, and she had gotten used to it by now. There would be one who came around ten o¡¯clock in the morning and another around three o¡¯clock in the afternoon. It was the same every day¡ªnothing changed at all. Soon, Maria came to announce the arrival of a Fletcher. ¡°Madam, there¡¯s another man from the Fletcher Family who hase to visit.¡± After a while, heavy footsteps could be hearding nearer and nearer. The ward door sprung open and a man in a military uniform came in while carrying arge bouquet in one hand and a box of fruits in another. The man¡¯s face was covered by therge bouquet. ¡°Are you Sophia? I¡¯vee to visit you on someone¡¯s orders.¡± This Fletcher guy said it in an even more straightforward way¡ªon someone¡¯s orders¡­ As usual, the man who came possessed standard traits belonging exclusively to the Fletcher Family. He was tall, well-built, handsome, and was a high-ranking military officer. He held a bouquet of flowers in his left hand and a box of fruits or tonic in his right. However, Sophia actually knew the man who hade today. It surprised her so much that she goggled at him with her bulging eyes. ¡°Uh¡­ Caleb, what brings you here?¡± Indeed, the man who came was Caleb, Stanley¡¯s older brother! Caleb looked a bit ill at ease. Still, he sat down and exined, ¡°It¡¯s Old Master Fletcher who has asked me toe and visit you.¡± Sophia was speechless. Then, it was silent, endless of silence descended upon the room. It was so quiet in the ward that even Nathan, who was doing his homework at the corner, felt tingly all over his body. He felt awkward for the both of them. Caleb was a quiet person who didn¡¯t like to talk much. Since Sophia had used the same topic to chat awkwardly with over ten people before, she felt a bit embarrassed if she were to use the same topics to engage in conversation with Caleb. Besides, she had already seen Caleb twice before, so he could be considered as a friend. Nheless, even if a friend came to visit her, she had no idea what she should talk about either. In the end, she went straight to the point and asked him about it. ¡°Caleb, be honest with me¡ªwhy did Old Master Fletcher ask you toe here?¡± Caleb replied to her resolutely without thinking much about it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is confidential. I¡¯m not in the position to reveal this to you.¡± Sophia was once again speechless with Caleb¡¯s reply. After staring at each other for a long time, Caleb finally stood up and took out his cell phone. ¡°Let¡¯s exchange our contact numbers and add each other on Messenger.¡± Very well¡­ It seems like this is standard procedure for everyone¡¯s mission. First, they will introduce themselves when theye in¡ªthey will definitely bring presents along. Then, after chatting awkwardly for a while, they will ask for my phone number and Messenger ID. Therefore, Sophia had no choice but toply with the requirements of their mission and exchanged phone numbers with Caleb after adding him on Messenger. Caleb kept his cell phone and bid Sophia goodbye. Upon leaving Sophia¡¯s ward, Caleb took several turns around the hospital and went into Sean¡¯s ward. Sean had been sent to the military hospital when he was injured thest time. Besides Sean, Stanley, Old Master Fletcher and Woody were in the ward too. Caleb pushed the door open and entered the room. After giving a salute to Mark, he reported to the old man in a serious way; it seemed like he was reporting the progress of his mission. ¡°Commanding General, missionpleted.¡± Mark asked, ¡°Did you send the flowers?¡± Caleb reported, ¡°I did, sir.¡± ¡°Did you give her the fruits?¡± ¡°I did, sir.¡± ¡°Have you gotten her phone number and befriended her on Messenger?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I got her number and befriended her on Messenger.¡± Mark looked very pleased. ¡°Missionpleted. Go and carry on with your duty.¡± With that, Caleb left instantly. Mark pulled out a form joyously, took out a pen, put on his reading sses and marked several ticks on the form. He checked all the boxes in the form, making sure that the flowers were delivered, fruits were given, and phone numbers were exchanged. Each step in the procedure waspleted; the rest was up to them on how to develop their feelings. In the form, the names of every man in the Fletcher Family were written in rows. Each and every one of them were his outstanding descendants; they were born in a prominent, well-to-do military family and nurtured in a good environment since they were young. All of them were single, tall, handsome and sessful. Mark couldn¡¯t wait to call all the outstanding men in the Fletcher Family toe over and get to know Sophia. If one of them could be with Sophia and produced him a baby, he would beughing in his dreams. As he checked all the boxes, Mark passed the form to a guard and ordered, ¡°Call Simon and Eric; remind them of their mission tomorrow and tell them to not bete!¡± The guard took the form and went out. Mark was in his nies, and he was almost reaching a hundred years old now; he was at the age where he had been through highs and lows in his life. Before this, his biggest wish was to see Michael get married and have his own children before he died. Now, his biggest wish was to watch Cooper¡¯s daughter get married to Fletcher before he died. They would have a little baby which would amaze everyone in the world; the baby must be strong and brave like the Fletchers besides having Cooper¡¯s intelligence. In that case, the baby would be an outstanding person who excelled academically and athletically. Woody studied the ¡®busy¡¯ Mark with a puzzled face. ¡°Hey old partner, what are you doing?¡± Mark answered, ¡°I¡¯m introducing potential life partners to your son!¡± Woody asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Coop married to your granddaughter? Who are you introducing potential life partners to?¡± Mark said impatiently, ¡°This happened a really long time ago. My granddaughter, Celine, got married to Justin!¡± Woody scratched his head and mumbled, ¡°But, I saw your granddaughter the other day. She said she divorced Justin and got married to my son¡­¡± Chapter 407 Chapter 407 Mark simply chalked his words up as gibberish, so he didn¡¯t think much about it. Stanley had been gaming, but he went over to visit Sophia and Sean the next day since he knew very well about that old man¡¯s scheming. ¡°Hmph!¡± Stanley let out a disdainful snort. Old Master Fletcher banged his cane onto the ground. ¡°No snorting!¡± At the sight of Stanley¡¯s tightly scrunched up expression, Old Master Fletcher became so angered that he didn¡¯t bother with niceties. ¡°Tell me¡ªhow many chances have I created for you? Who else can you me if you aren¡¯t capable of utilizing any of them?¡± Stanley¡¯s eyes widened; he nearly retorted right there and then. With that husbandly Michael around, Sophia was firmly out of Stanley¡¯s grasp. What chance did he stand? Still, he bit his tongue and didn¡¯t voice his thoughts. He should just let the old codger worry his head over it! Upon Stanley¡¯s silence, Mark pointed at his face to admonish him, ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, I¡¯ll let somebody else who¡¯s more capable take over. Sophia will be part of the Fletchers¡ªif not your wife, then as your sister-inw!¡± Mark had initially looked favorably upon Stanley and Sophia, but Stanley was such a moron that his idiocy was enough to make one blow a gasket. Mark had gotten Stanley to spend more time with Sophia in order to get close to her, yet the boy had merely taken her to y video games? When he asked Stanley to give Sophia a cat in order to get close to her, the boy deliberately brought a third-wheeler along. Mark was truly frustrated over this stupid boy! Stanley was so foolish that there was no hope for him; it served the boy right that he still remained single! The more Mark thought about it, the more furious he became. ¡°The way I see it, you¡¯re going to spend the rest of your life with yourputer in your arms! I won¡¯t concern myself with you any longer!¡± Stanley¡¯s mood dissipated from the scolding that he received. He watched on helplessly as Mark sent the young Fletcher men over to Sophia in droves to fill her friend lists. As he gamed on, Stanley grumbled and swore. Sean chuckled from his bed. ¡°Don¡¯t me Sundae Cone, Old Master Fletcher. He should be busying himself with work at this stage of his life.¡± Mark let out a sigh and said, ¡°If only he had even half of your smarts.¡± As he took out another sheet of paper from his pocket, Stanley hastily went over to look at it. True enough, it was another list of young men from the Fletcher Family. However, this name list didn¡¯t contain any of the Fletchers who had served in the military. The old man was intent on making Sophia marry into the Fletcher Family to the point that he didn¡¯t care whether the men he was sending over had served in the army or not. Once he had exhausted the pool of Fletchers who had served, he would march the ones who hadn¡¯t served in the army over to Sophia. Stanley scanned the list and asked in surprise, ¡°You should be getting Uncle Michael for something like this! Uncle Michael¡¯s a famed star, and he¡¯s a dreamboat to millions of girls. I¡¯m sure Sophia will like him! Why isn¡¯t his name on your list?¡± Old Master Fletcher put on his sses and said to Stanley as he surveyed the list thoroughly, ¡°Nonsense! How can your Uncle Michael possibly be a potential match for Sophia? He¡¯s a tad bit too old for her!¡± Stanley had no words for that. Old Master Fletcher had high standards when it came to his selection criteria; the men he picked had to hold a military rank, be unmarried and single, be handsome with distinguished features, and be under thirty years-old. Stanley found this unbelievable since Old Master Fletcher was typically fond of Michael Fletcher. In the old man¡¯s eyes, Michael had always been his adorable, precious grandson. Hence, why did the old man do a one-eighty ever since Sophia came over a few days ago? This didn¡¯t add up! Nathan quietly slunk over, and Mark hurriedly got Nathan to go through his selection. ¡°Have a look at it, Nate. I¡¯vepiled another list of potential suitors for Sophiae and vet them.¡± Nathan was also very invested in Sophia¡¯s match-making. With Michael¡¯s absence, Nathan had quickly curried favor with the old man. He would need to quickly find a young Fletcher who was easy on the eyes for Sophia so that she could leave that greasy old fart called Michael as soon as possible! Sophia¡¯s recent incident made him realize that Michael was a walking piece of trouble. This was already the second time it happened, and Sophia couldn¡¯t continue to get into close calls because of Michael! Stanley was enraged on Michael¡¯s behalf when he saw that both the elder and younger had reached a mutual understanding. He was willing to bet that Nathan would not even be getting an allowance of 500 per month when Michael finally came back! Meanwhile, inside her ward, Sophia video called Michael again. She had switched on the television to watch some dramas. ¡®Romance in a Tiny Vige¡¯ was currently on air; it was a series that Nicole had starred in as the lead actress a few years ago. The plot was long and cliched, detailing the love story of the female protagonist, Florina Gardner, and the vige butcher called Victor Sweeney. The two of them were deeply in love, but the vige chief¡ªwho was also the head of a fertilizer factory¡ªhad a son named Edmund Steele; he had fallen in love with Florina at first sight. However, Florina¡¯s family epted a dowry of 50,000 from an old bachelor named Andy Simple, and they tried to marry her off to him. Florina¡¯s first love, Norman Armstrong, had also returned to Florina¡¯s vige to open a barbershop after he had amassed a sum of money from his time working in the city. With that, a storm began to brew in the once happy little vige¡­ Somehow, the series had over a hundred episodes despite its plot, and it was divided into multiple arcs. It was a series beloved by both rural women and Sophia. ¡°When are youing back, Honey?¡± Sophia asked Michael as she watched her show. In a blink of an eye, half a month had passed since he flew over to Africa. She missed him somewhat. Michael¡¯s skin was tanned an unttering shade from the sun, and he could be seen with fake blood on his face through the screen. He was also d in ragged clothes with a prop rifle in his hands. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°Soon¡ªI still have a few days of shooting left. There aren¡¯t a lot of parts to be filmed in Africa.¡± He saw that Sophia had arge pile of fruits and flowers stacked behind her; the table where the presents were on had close to no space left. Maria was currently sorting through them by plucking the flowers from their bouquets and cing them into vases. ¡°Have you been getting a lot of visitors?¡± ¡°Old Master Fletcher has been getting the young men in the Fletcher Family to visit me recently. I¡¯m not sure what he has in mind, ¡± Sophia replied honestly. It was always the Fletcher men visiting her¡­ Michael¡¯s eyes narrowed into an extremely dangerous expression, looking as though he had figured out something. After he ended the video call, Michael picked up his phone and scrolled through it. Meanwhile, the film team was shooting the female lead¡¯s parts. Nicole was dressed in a ck tank top that showed off the beautiful lines of her body. The sun had caused sweat to drip all over her body, and the little droplets drenched her bronze skin. She was currently filming an important scene; Nicole had been a stuntwoman and body double for several years in the limelight, so both her physique and acting skills were remarkable. Many of her scenes were done in very few takes¡ªthere were even scenes which only required one single take. With Harry and Michael giving it their all in the acting department as well, their filming progress was going along smoothly. Michael was about to film with Nicole soon, so he quickly flicked through his Instagram stories; he hadn¡¯t been going through them recently. He soon saw Sophia¡¯s recently posted status about her hospital stay, andments from the Fletcher men flooded it. Sophia would sometimes post a few statuses on social media, but she never revealed her rtionship with Michael. Simrly, Michael barely interacted with her online either. Since when were Sophia and all these Fletcher men online friends?! Michael had a bad feeling about this, so he called Maria to ask about the general situation. Smoke figuratively emitted from his ears once he was done listening to Maria¡¯s story. The old codger had practically written his intentions on his face; he couldn¡¯t be more tant if he had tattooed ¡®I want to steal Cooper¡¯s offspring¡¯ on his face. It looked like he would have to make a move. Chapter 408 Chapter 408 When afternoon came, the filming team of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ suddenly received a notice from the director; he felt that their progress wasgging behind. In order to speed up the timeline, it was decided that all their afternoon breaks would be canceled, and filming would stretch up to sixteen hours or more per day. Upon catching wind of this news, the entire filming team grumbled andined. They were already tired, yet they had to rush their filming schedule. Wasn¡¯t the director running them into the ground with exhaustion?! Nicole didn¡¯t say anything about it; she had always been a workaholic, and would have liked nothing better than to film 24 hours a day. It would be good for her to wrap up this show quickly since she still had many contracts to fulfill. Once she was done filming ¡®War Dragon¡¯, she would still need to report for another show¡¯s filming. However, the supportingdies were whining about it. Not only that, among the supporting cast were names that Michael was familiar with. Joe had invested several billion into the Huffs as a form of repayment, so the Huffs managed to secure a supporting female role in ¡®War Dragon¡¯ for Faye, which was originally meant for Ka. While the role was pegged as a supporting character, it was akin to an extra with more screen time than usual. The general plot of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ described a former military man who changed his identity and ran a business in Africa after he was discharged from the army. By chance, he found out that a local human trafficking ring was smuggling a group of foreign girls as they crossed the African continent. They were being escorted by a band of mercenaries to the Middle East so that they could be sold off to several Middle Eastern moguls. The sister of the male lead¡¯s deadrade was among this group of trafficked girls. In order to save this group of girls, the male lead waded into danger alone and ran into the female lead, who had followed the trafficking ring¡¯s trail all the way to Africa from her home country in order to save her younger sister. The two of them joined forces to locate the girls, but they never expected a war to break out in the nation. Meanwhile, some of the girls were being escorted by the most elite of mercenaries¡­ Harry yed the role of the male lead, while Michael was cast as the leader of the mercenaries who were hired by the trafficking ring to escort the girls. Nicole yed the female lead, while Faye and X yed two of the kidnapped girls, Kidnapped Girl A and Kidnapped Girl B. Faye was most displeased by this. ¡°Why are we working such long hours? I¡¯m quitting!¡± The director glowered at them. Why did they have so manyints even though they were just extras? Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°If you¡¯re quitting, you can book a ticket back home tomorrow. Your parts will be cut.¡± If their parts were cut out from the movie, their earlier efforts would¡¯ve been for naught; they had managed to wrangle a role in a movie with international coboration so that they could spread their names after much difficulty. If their parts were truly cut, that would be aplete waste! Faye shut up immediately. All Michael could think about right then was rushing back home; he was worried that if he dyed his return any longer, one of the random Fletcher men would actually steal his wife away. When night came, Michael returned to his hotel after a day¡¯s filming work. He and Harry were thest actors to return; all the other actors had already gone back to the hotel earlier to rest. To their surprise, they saw someone standing in an empty spot in the gardens at the back of Nicole¡¯s hotel. That person had a full-length mirror ced under a streetmp and was rehearsing her lines and actions. They already had very little time to rest, but Nicole was still using whatever limited break time she had to practice her craft. It was something tomend, and it was fortunate that such a hard-working actress was cast for the lead role; that was the only reason why their filming progress was making a bit more headway than scheduled. If it weren¡¯t for those idiotic supporting actresses dragging things out, they would have been able to make even more progress. Seeing that Michael had returned, Nicole said to him, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, someone was looking for you in the hotel lobby.¡± Michael nodded and patted Harry¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You two have a major scene tomorrow, so you should practice together.¡± Harry seemed a little reluctant to do so. Michael immediately said, ¡°Come on now, Lord Winston¡ªyou¡¯re a senior actor now. You should be guiding the newbies more.¡± Harry had no choice but to practice with Nicole. Even though he had been acting for over a decade, there weren¡¯t many people with the drive Nicole had; if he nurtured her properly, she would blossom into her own in the future. Nicole was extremely nervous about practicing with Harry. She hastily gathered her wits and put all her sincerity into her rehearsal. This was her first time ying the female lead in a major movie, so she viewed it importantly. She knew how she ended up getting the role as the female lead¡ªit was because that one person liked her. Even though she didn¡¯t know who it was, the orphanage still received a monthly donation from that person. While she may have epted this role, Nicole still hadn¡¯t received her paycheck yet. Hence, she had pretty much no money on her right now, and was relying on that person to support the orphanage¡¯s finances. That person even helped the orphanage find a new permanent location to move to; they no longer had to worry about being forced to move anymore. That was why she had toplete the filming well! Right before Michael entered the hotel, he nced at Nicole¡¯s serious and hard-working figure. A sense of deep understanding flitted across his eyes; after all, she was his wife¡¯s idol. He was rather saddened by that. Only one actor could be Sophia¡¯s absolute favorite, and it was Nicole¡ªTaylor could only be second. Nicole¡¯s lead roles in the past were mostly shows set in rural viges. Sophia would often grill some lobsters and whip out a bottle of red wine out of the blue, munching on her food as she watched Nicole¡¯s drama in her home theater. Although Michael was reluctant to watch Nicole¡¯s shows, he was forced to do so. Naturally, he already knew of Nicole before they met each other. Michael had worked with Nicole before, but she had been cast as an extra in their works together. Nheless, he had to admit that Nicole was quite a spirited woman. After working with her for a while, he thought that she wasn¡¯t bad at all. It was incredible that he would think this way of an actress who had just gotten her first leading role in a major film after she had been type-casted as an actress for countryside dramas. He hoped that Nicole would be able to make her shift from roles sessfully, blooming from a country bumpkin actress to an acimed one on the silver screen. After all, dramas set in the countryside were freaking painful to watch! He never wanted to see any of Nicole¡¯s countryside dramas in his own living room ever again! Michael pushed open the door to the hotel and entered. This hotel was the poshest hotel in town, and it had been fully booked by the filming team. The rooms were awful, but it beat sleeping on the streets. A woman dressed in military attire was seated in the lobby. When she saw Michaele in, she walked over instantly; her graceful figure entered his sight. ¡°Hi, do you still remember me? I¡¯m Irene, Joel¡¯s girlfriend.¡± Michael looked at Irene. It took a few seconds for him to respond as he said, ¡°Hello there.¡± ¡°Our performance troupe just so happened to be performing for the peacekeeping forces here at the moment; I heard that you were filming nearby, so I just dropped by to see you,¡± said Irene. Michael didn¡¯t have any other expression on his face as he smiled cidly. ¡°Thank you foring.¡± The two of them chatted for a while before Irene handed over a thermal container to him and said, ¡°Please take care of your health while you¡¯re away from home; here¡¯s some soup made with some stuff I managed to scrounge up from the grounds. If you don¡¯t mind, have a taste of it.¡± Michael smiled as he took the container. ¡°Thank you, Irene.¡± Irene grinned, her eyes crinkling up. She looked exactly the same as the dazzling girl in Michael¡¯s memories; her smile seemingly brought Michael back to those days of his youth when he had been a clueless person. They had yed together without worries and with untainted feelings. ¡°We¡¯re not strangers¡ªyou don¡¯t have to be so polite. Take care of yourself then. I¡¯ll be heading off now.¡± After exchanging a few more words, Irene took a taxi home. Michael walked back to his room, the container of soup in his hands weighing him down. When was thest time such a gorgeous woman made soup out of concern for him? Irene may have given him the soup, but she was no longer the same person as before; everything had changed with the flow of time. He went up to the second floor and ced the container of soup on the lid of the bin by the elevator. Chapter 409 Chapter 409 The elevator doors opened with a ding. Faye stood inside the elevator with her hair dripping wet. She only realized that her hairdryer had broken after she washed her hair, so she was rushing downstairs to ask the reception for a new one. Much to her surprise, she witnessed Michael cing a container of soup on the lid of a bin the moment the elevator doors opened. It seemed like he was about to discard it. Faye¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the soup; she hadn¡¯t had a good meal since she touched down in Africa, and the town they were in had no restaurants with cuisine from her home country. It was impossible for her to get a taste of home, and it wasn¡¯t like the production team could bring a chef over. After eating over half a month¡¯s worth of pf and McDonald¡¯s, they were close to being sick from the food. When she saw Michael entering the elevator after discarding the soup which he didn¡¯t seem to want, she swallowed. ¡°Mr. Murray, you¡¯ve left your soup behind,¡± she said. Michael had already entered the elevator by then. As he selected his floor, he said, ¡°You can have it. Eat it while it¡¯s still hot. It¡¯s chicken soup.¡± He¡¯s giving it to me? Faye was ecstatic. Taylor actually gave her some soup! Wait a minute, this wasn¡¯t just a container of soup¡ªshe could leverage this to create some huge news! This container of soup had been given to her by the Adonis known as Taylor! Faye had been constantly trying to get a chance to get into a scandal with either Taylor or Harry during their filming here, but both men and the director stayed on the VIP floor of the hotel; one would need a key card to enter. She couldn¡¯t get ess with her status as an extra, so she never got the chance to stir up trouble. This container of soup was practically an opportunity that had fallen from the heavens! Faye brought the soup back to her room; an aromatic scent wafted from the container when she opened it. Indeed, the container was filled with delicious-smelling chicken soup. She was so hungry that she was drooling, but she still tamped down on that voracious desire of hers. She quickly blow-dried her hair and carefully put her makeup on before taking a nice selfie of herself while holding the container of soup, making sure that her face and the soup were clearly shown in the photo. She then used a photo editing app to airbrush her blemishes and edited the photo. After half an hour of editing, she even managed to nearly remove all traces of texture on the chunks of chicken floating in the soup. With that, she uploaded the heavily-edited photo onto her Twitter and Instagram stories. As she sipped on the soup, she typed out a caption. ¡®Thank you so much for the chicken soup, Taylor. Everyone, please take good care of yourself while filming! Sending hearts to you guys!¡¯ She then tagged every major ount that was rted to the ¡®War Dragon¡¯ movie, including but not limited to Taylor¡¯s official ount, Harry¡¯s, the official ount for ¡®War Dragon¡¯ promotions, Nicole¡¯s, Richard¡¯s, and the official fanclub ount for Taylor. She wished for nothing more than to let the world know that Taylor had given her some soup; she wanted to shock all the staff and actors in the production team as well! That night, the entire ¡®War Dragon¡¯ production team in Africa, as well as the Harpers, Edwards, and Taylor¡¯s fans found out that Taylor had somehow given a young, untrained model some soup. Was there a mistake? Did this iconic man have a stroke or something?! When Faye woke up the next day, she saw that she had made the headlines. As expected, getting on the front pages was a matter of time by tying herself to a handsome, acimed man. Taylor¡¯s fans were frothing. Why did their idol give some soup to a young bimbo in the middle of the night?! Due to the time difference between Africa and their home country, the photo seemed suggestive since it was posted at night. However, it was daytime in their home country, so it kept getting onto the trending searches. Michael had been so busy shooting his parts that he didn¡¯t notice Faye leeching off him for fame. The production team was on full throttle; even their bathroom breaks were timed down to the second as they squeezed every bit of time they could to rush through filming so that they could fly home earlier. He really couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted. Back home at the militarypound, Sophia was in her ward watching yet another one of Nicole¡¯s countryside shows, ¡®Temptations Of Home¡¯. It was a show about a vige woman¡¯s tragic life. The only brother of the female protagonist, Jane Miller, was about to marry Martha Bellstone from the same vige. However, the dowry that the Bellstones had asked for was too high and the Millers couldn¡¯t afford it, so they ¡®handed over¡¯ Jane to the Bellstones¡¯ good-for-nothing of a bachelor son, Jake Bellstone. She was to be his wife in ¡®exchange¡¯ for Martha. However, Jane was secretly in love with the son of the vige scribe, John Richter, and she was forced to leave her crush to marry Jake. Sophia had watched until the part where Jane and John were tearily breaking up before Jane¡¯s arranged marriage. Sophia cried until snot was running freely from her nose while watching this particr scene, and the bin next to her was piled high with tissues. ¡°Oh, why is this so tragic¡­¡± Sophia sobbed as she watched the show. Nathan had a look of horror on his face as he looked at the screen; Stanley, a look of disgust; Sean, a twisted expression on his face. Sophia had messaged Stanley and Sean out of the blue, inviting them over to watch a movie together. Initially thinking that Sophia had gotten her hands on some unreleased movie of Michael¡¯s, they joyously trotted over. To their shock, they saw the words ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯ on the screen the moment they sat down. Stanley could already guess what kind of life his uncle was living at home. They finally finished suffering through the teary breakup scene. Sophia had finished crying her heart out and took a few sips of water in preparation for the next episode. Stanley was about to take Sean and escape under the pretense of a toilet break, but Sean unexpectedly said, ¡°Look, Sophia. Uncle Michael made it to the front pages.¡± My Lord has made it to the headlines? All Sophia cared about that day was watching ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯, so she hadn¡¯t been reading or watching the news. She hastily unlocked her phone and logged into Twitter to see the term ¡®Taylor Faye¡¯ trending. What? Did Michael really give Faye some soup, not to mentionte at night? He had been perfectly fine up until now, so why did he give her the soup? With so many others in the production team, why her specifically? Faye¡¯s Twitter post had immediately gotten her onto Twitter¡¯stest trends. She was one of the entertainers that Glory Entertainment had wanted to promote, and the Edwards also held shares in Glory Entertainment. The moment this got out, Glory Entertainment¡¯s PR machine began to furiously milk Taylor¡¯s name and published articles like no tomorrow. One article stated that the two of them were dating each other, while another imed that someone had witnessed Faye entering Taylor¡¯s room; another report said that the two were spotted holding hands all the time. There was even an article saying that Taylor had a change of heart with his marriage and had already been living apart from his original spouse for a while. What sort of bullsh*t was this?! Sophia blew her top. While she didn¡¯t believe that those two were together or that Faye had gone to Taylor¡¯s room, Michael had to exin himself when it came to the soup. She didn¡¯t bother with her show anymore, instead spending the entire afternoon staring at her phone and waiting for Michael to call her and exin! The atmosphere was unusually tense. Stanley suddenly felt a bone-deep chill hit him, making his entire body tremble from the cold; he was so fearful that he couldn¡¯t stop trembling. Regardless, he still stood on his uncle¡¯s side and said, ¡°Sophia, there¡¯s a time difference. It¡¯s still night for him now! Uncle¡¯s got to be asleep!¡± Sophia continued to stare at her phone. ¡°Uh, why don¡¯t we watch another two episodes of ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯?¡± Stanley asked weakly. Sophia didn¡¯t speak as she stared at her phone. After staring at her phone the entire afternoon, Michael still hadn¡¯t called her to exin himself. By the time night came, rumors and gossip were flying everywhere. Faye and Taylor¡¯s supposed affair had rooted itself in reality to the point that some people had ¡®personally¡¯ witnessed them register for marriage at the local bureau. No one, not even Michael, his entertainmentpany, or the production team had stepped up to rify things! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Chapter 410 Chapter 410 Sophia ignored her show for the rest of the day and simply put all her effort into waiting for Michael¡¯s exnation. Unfortunately, she did not receive a single phone call despite waiting the entire day; he didn¡¯t even send her a text message. If he wouldn¡¯t call her, he shouldn¡¯t expect her to be the first one to call him either! Sophia was seething with anger as she waited. The next day, there was still nothing from Michael¡¯s end; Sophia did not receive any phone calls or exnations whatsoever. Rumors were flying like mad on the Inte as they reached new heights. For instance, there were reports of Faye showing up for filming while being heavily pregnant. The tabloids had dug up everything about Faye¡¯s background. There were articles about how she was the precious daughter of a distinguished family and acting was just a hobby of hers; some nonsense about how she was noble and pure-hearted; more nonsense about how she and Taylor were a match made in heaven; and even more nonsense about how Taylor had single-handedly brought her into the entertainment industry. In addition to that, Glory Entertainment¡¯s PR machine also figured out how to cause even bigger waves. Faye had been praised to no end during the first two days of her post, but on the third day, the articles began to take on a new direction. The tabloids reoriented themselves and mmed Faye for being a home-wrecker who dated a married man. They also mmed Taylor for being a trashy man who cheated on his partner. Taylor¡¯s name continued to trend; any article that so much as mentioned him would gain tons of clicks and receive a lot of attention. When the fourth day came, things took a 180 degree turn. A tabloid exposed that Faye was actually Taylor¡¯s proper wife; apparently, the two of them had been married for a few years already. With Taylor¡¯s wife making her debut with him, they were now a husband-wife actor couple in the industry. Since they were currently working on the same production together, Taylor and Faye¡¯s marriage immediately becamemon knowledge in showbiz. Faye had be famous overnight with just a single photo, and her fame exceeded even A-list celebrities. As expected, anyone would be able to be famous if they glued themselves to Taylor! Meanwhile, Irene scrolled through the news at the militarypound aftering back from Africa. There was no mistaking it¡ªthe soup in Faye¡¯s post was the soup she had made. Irene recognized the container; she had given it to Michael, so how did it make its way to Faye¡¯s hands? Was Taylor married to Faye? Was Faye that wife of his which Michael had not revealed to the public? How could he possibly fall for some online influencer?! Nheless, the soup she had made was indeed with Faye, and the background was that of a hotel room. Not only that, it had been posted during night time in Africa. Why would Michael¡¯s things show up in another woman¡¯s room in the middle of the night¡­ Irene¡¯s face turned stony. However, Sophia¡¯s face was far more stony than Irene¡¯s. She hadpletely lost interest in watching TV during her hospital stay. Instead, she glued herself to her phone as she read the news; her home pages were all filled with headlines such as ¡®Taylor and Faye¡¯ and ¡®Taylor Is Married to Faye¡¯. Yet, Michael still hadn¡¯t called her in five days! Meanwhile, the official ¡®War Dragon¡¯ Twitter ount kept posting photos of the filming site, proving that he was well and alive. Irate and uneasy, furious and helpless, Sophia kept pacing around in her room like an irritated little beast. On the other hand, Stanley was curled up in front of the TV with a box of tissues as he watched ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯, sobbing as he did so. ¡°Oh, Jane¡¯s life is so tragic!¡± He had initially thought of distracting Sophia with the show, but he never expected himself to be addicted to it. Sophia paced around angrily with her phone in hand. Faye, huh? I¡¯ll f*ck your sh*t up! Sophia logged into her alternate ount that she had made because of Michael and rushed over to Twitter and other forums to spread a high-definition picture of a bare-faced Faye pre-surgery. She then submitted a few posts to some tabloids, exposing Faye¡¯s promiscuous past and photos of Faye when she streaked during X and Richard¡¯s wedding. The photos weren¡¯t even censored. I¡¯ll let you drink the soup that my Lord gave you! I¡¯ll even let you spread rumors about him! Faye had only been famous for a hot second when the wave of usatory articles threatened to cut her steam. Once again, Glory Entertainment¡¯s PR machine got to work. Taylor¡¯s fans had already seen through all their tricks. How could Faye possibly be their idol¡¯s actual wife? She was clearly just a b*tch who wanted her moment of fame in the spotlight! Taylor¡¯s fans and Faye¡¯s fans tore each other to shreds online. However, Michael still hadn¡¯t called to exin himself! ¡°You¡¯re not going to exin yourself, aren¡¯t you? Well then, just wait and see!¡± Sophia spat out viciously. That afternoon, yet another Fletcher came to see her. It was ude, someone she had met not all that long ago. ude was tall and handsome, and he looked very fresh-faced. Since theyst met each other, they had talked a few times on Messenger. ude thought that she was pleasant, so he came to see her again today. Sophia was rather receptive to him this time; they had been chatting for a while when she pulled him over for a photo and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a selfie together!¡± Soon, Sean saw a photo of Sophia and ude together on his Instagram Stories with the caption, ¡®Thanks for the flowers and fruit you sent me, ude. Gotta stay upbeat even when you¡¯re stuck in the hospital!¡¯ The shade was strong in that post! After waiting for half a day, Michael still did not respond. Furious, Sophia posted pictures of her with different men every day onto her Instagram stories. Meanwhile, Michael finally finished shooting all of his parts in Africa after toiling day in and day out; he could finally pack his things and go home. Having not touched his phone the entire time, the first thing Michael did was to whip it out and see what his wife had been up to all this while. Of course, he did it by pulling up her most recent Instagram stories. The moment he saw it, he broke down instantly¡­ When Old Master Fletcher caught wind that Sophia had posed with some of the young Fletcher men and even posted the pictures to her Instagram stories, he nearly died from joy; it was as if he could see Cooper¡¯s flesh and blood falling into the Fletchers¡¯ hands already. He hurriedly got the young Fletcher men to increase their charm to snare Sophia. He had already talked with each one of them; if any of them took a fancy to Sophia, they should pursue her with all that they got! The Fletcher men were all rather simr in terms of personality with their straightforwardness. If they liked someone, they would make it obvious; a few of the Fletchers had expressed their interest in Sophia and wanted to take things a step further. The old man was overjoyed. Among the Fletchers who took a shine to Sophia was ude. ude was one of Old Master Fletcher¡¯s favorite grandchildren, and he was only 26 or 27 this year. His age was a good match for Sophia, and he was aplished in his career on top of having handsome, good looks; he also seemed like a hardworking person. ude¡¯s mother was from a family of schrs. Ever since he was a child, he had received the best education. When he was in uniform, he had the passion of a man defending his homnd; when he was out of uniform, he oozed ss. Sophia had seen ude a few times during her stay at the hospital for nearly a month. Every time he came to see her, he would bring different presents for Sophia. Today, ude brought another present for thetter. Apart from the standard bouquet of flowers, he had also brought a container of soup. Nathan had been quietly tapping away at hisptop when ude came in, and he immediately skedaddled upon ude¡¯s arrival. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want to third-wheel on this. Nathan shot Stanley several nces as he hinted thetter to get out, but Stanley didn¡¯t pick up on this; he continued to hold Sophia¡¯srge orange cat while he watched ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯. ¡®Oh, it¡¯s so terribly tragic! Why does it have to be so sad? Get that screenwriter out here! I¡¯ve got a bone to pick with you!¡± Stanley was bawling his eyes out at the scene of the female lead being verbally abused by her husband¡¯s family. ude was not surprised to see Stanley here; it was said that Sophia was a cousin through Stanley¡¯s mother anyway. ¡°Sophia, here¡¯s some chicken soup I madest night by following a recipe. It¡¯s my first time cooking, so I¡¯m a little worried. I hope you like it. Sophia¡¯s face scrunched up as her brows furrowed. ude had repeatedlye to see her, and he also kept giving her flowers and food. When coupled with that scorching gaze of his, she knew what was going on. However, she was already a married woman! ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Chapter 411 Chapter 411 Sophia had made a mistake; she shouldn¡¯t have taken that selfie with ude the other day. ude must¡¯ve misunderstood her because of that selfie, and Sophia swore to God that she had only wanted to annoy Michael. She really had no feelings for ude at all. ¡°Uh¡­ Haha¡­ Thank you¡­¡± She was embarrassed, but ude had already made the soup and brought it over. It wouldn¡¯t do for her to just turn it down, so sheughed awkwardly as she took the soup in her hands. That jerk of a boy, Nathan, didn¡¯t even call her his mother anymore. Any time someone came over, he¡¯d call her a distant cousin; he had even vanished without a trace, leaving only Stanley behind while he watched his drama and stroked the cat. However, Nathan wasn¡¯t the reason why the atmosphere at the moment was so awkward. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that convenient for you to move your hands¡ªlet me feed you.¡± In a gentle manner, ude opened up the container of soup, scooped up a spoonful and blew on it slightly before bringing it up to Sophia¡¯s mouth. ude was so gentle that he didn¡¯t seem like a Fletcher. He was like gentle snowfall, and the condition of his skin was even better than a girl¡¯s. Those slender fingers of his were wless like a precious jewel, and he was overall a soft and gentle man. If it hadn¡¯t been for the military uniform he had on, Sophia wouldn¡¯t have associated him with the Fletchers. He primarily did clerical work in the army, so when he reined in his dominating aura, he looked rather polite and soft. ¡°No, no¡­ I can¡¯t let you go all that extra mile for me. I¡¯ll feed myself, yeah¡­¡± Sophia hastily took the spoon while carefully making sure that she didn¡¯t make any physical contact with ude. Sophia had only eaten a few spoonfuls of soup when she felt her face burn; perhaps the soup was too hot. Between sips of soup, she would look up at ude and see him smile at her. That smile was truly gentle and pretty. What a beautiful man! His lovely eyes gazed at Sophia while he smiled gently again. Sophia¡¯s face reddened even more, and the air was unusually tense. She looked at Stanley from the corner of her eyes. Hey there, stupid¡ªwhy aren¡¯t you bailing me out of here? Stanley didn¡¯t understand Sophia¡¯s wishes at all. To him, ude was practically a wimp. How could he possibly be a match against Michael? Michael already had his ws in Sophia; if ude thought that he could worm his way in, then he was still years away from actually being able to do it! Sophia was fated to be with Michael forever! If Sophia wouldn¡¯t even take a second look at Stanley, how would she take a shine to this wimp named ude? Therge ginger cat seemed to have heard Sophia¡¯s prayers as it wriggled out of Stanley¡¯s arms and plodded its chubby body over into ude¡¯s arms. ¡°Hm? This cat is adorable. Is he yours?¡± ude asked as he held the cat. ¡°Yep. He¡¯s a present from my dad. His name is Chrysanthemum.¡± Chrysanthemum¡­ Chrysanthemum was arge, ginger cat with yellow and white stripes; it had a body with rolls of fat. When one factored in his long fur, the cat looked rather like a puffy dandelion whenever he ran, so thatContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org. was how the cat came to be called Chrysanthemum. ude held Chrysanthemum and stroked him before he made a remark everyone made whenever they met the cat. ¡°Wow, he¡¯s heavy.¡± Chrysanthemum stared right at Sophia, wanting to eat her soup. ude pulled out a small packet of cat food from his pocket. ¡°I heard that you wanted to bring your cat over to stay with you at the hospital during myst visit, so I brought some cat food with me this time.¡± He poured the kibble into his palm; Chrysanthemum reached over and began to eat. ude lowered his gaze, his eyes tender as his slender fingers stroked Chrysanthemum¡¯s orange fur. ¡°Easy now, Chrysanthemum. If you get any fatter, I won¡¯t be able to carry you!¡± Sophia secretly looked at him while she ate her soup. Oh, what a gentle and beautiful man! He¡¯s so tender toward cats! He¡¯s so attentive as well! ude even brought some cat food along with him when he heard that I was going to bring my cat over! Why are the Fletchers¡¯ genes so damn fine? Ahh! Even though she only had eyes for Michael, that didn¡¯t stop her from fangirling over other gentlemen. Just as she was lost in the moment, her phone rang at the most inopportune time. She peeked at it and realized that it was from ¡®Jerk¡¯. Michael¡¯s nickname in her contacts kept changing; he was ¡®Pervert¡¯ back when they were strangers; ¡®Lord¡¯ when they were at the bashful stage of their rtionship; and ¡®Darling¡¯ when their rtionship became more passionate. Now that their rtionship had hit several rocks, he was ¡®Jerk¡¯. It was as though these names were bearing witness to the rtionship stages of a married couple. At the sight of that name, rage burned within Sophia! This call has been a long timeing! He should have done so earlier! What a d*uchebag of a man! Nheless, Sophia was rather eager to receive that call, but she couldn¡¯t just pick it up like that. She deliberately let her phone ring for about ten seconds before answering it coolly. ¡°What is it? I¡¯m busy.¡± Michael cut right to the chase. ¡°Get Maria to pack your things. I¡¯ll be there in twenty minutes.¡± It was their first call in days, yet he already had an arrogant, kingly tone to his voice which made Sophia weak in the knees. He didn¡¯t even utter anything else, simply hanging right up after he finished his words without an exnation. Sophia stared at the phone in disbelief. After waiting in agony for several days, all she received was a phone call which did not evenst ten seconds? She hurled her phone angrily and continued to eat her soup. ¡°Who was that?¡± ude asked curiously as he patted the cat. Sophia deliberately made her smile as sunny as possible. ¡°Some godforsaken salesman.¡± The two of them continued to chat while Sophia drank her soup and ude patted the cat. All of a sudden, ude started a new topic. ¡°You started apany with Sundae Cone and the others, didn¡¯t you? It has something to do with online games, am I right?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Sophia answered. ude wasn¡¯t all that familiar with the online industry, but he had done his homework beforehand. Hence, he was still able to make conversation with her as the pair continued to engage in small talk. Sophia had been eating the food sent over by Maria all this while; her meals were all cooked by the same chef, so it was inevitable that she was getting a little bored of it. Getting takeout every now and then didn¡¯t seem too bad, and she blissfully finished off thest of the soup before cing the container down. ¡°Thank you.¡± Once she was done, she took out her phone and said, ¡°Let¡¯s take a selfie, ude.¡± Naturally, ude agreed to it. The sounds of a camera clicking away soon rang out in the room after that. After she had taken the photos, Sophia deliberately edited the photo to make ude and her look even nicer before uploading it to her Instagram stories. She was in the middle of editing with her head lowered when the door to her ward suddenly opened. A man in a ck windbreaker then barged in brazenly and walked straight over to Sophia¡¯s bed. Without another word, he reached out and pressed Sophia down into her pillow and wrapped the thin hospital nket around her, rolling her into a burrito before hoisting her over his shoulders and carting her away. Stanley and ude were at a loss for words. Did Sophia just¡­ got carted off like that? Sophia finally came back to her senses after they had traveled a fair distance. Realizing that Michael had suddenly appeared and carted her away after wrapping her up, she kicked at him and yelled, ¡°Michael, you b*stard, put me down! Put me down!¡± Chapter 412 Chapter 412 Tired from overworking himself, Michael had immediately rushed over as soon as he stepped off the ne. He had his sunsses and mask on as he cidly carried Sophia over his shoulders down the hospital corridor under the strange looks of everyone there. As Sophia yelled at him from the ¡®burrito¡¯, he patted her butt and said, ¡°Quiet down. It¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . ¡°So you do know that it¡¯s embarrassing! If it¡¯s embarrassing to you, then put me down right this instant! Now!¡± Sophia kicked her feet like an angry little critter, but she reined in her strength since she was worried about injuring Michael. Michael strode down the corridor quickly. He was about to enter the elevator when ude and Stanley finally came charging over from behind. ¡°Who are you? Let her go!¡± Michael looked back to nce at ude. He seemed to be part of the Fletchers, and Michael had seen him before in one of Sophia¡¯s Instagram stories. However, the Fletcher Family was huge; there were far too many Fletchers for him to remember. Coupled with the fact that he hadn¡¯t visited home in over ten years, he couldn¡¯t recognize many of them anymore. He gave a cold snort and carried Sophia into the elevator. ude chased after them, but unfortunately, the doors had already closed. He quickly legged it to the stairs, but Stanley stopped him just in time. ¡°Geez, ude¡ªforget it. Just let him be!¡± ude nearly went mad. ¡°Who was that? Why did he suddenly show up to take Sophia?¡± Stanley had no idea how to answer that. He had promised Michael that he¡¯d keep his lips sealed about his rtionship with Sophia. Otherwise, Michael would pull his investments. Stanley steeled himself to answer. ¡°Uh¡­ That was Sophia¡¯s father! You better not get on his bad side!¡± It was only then did ude stop his pursuit, but worry came over him instantly. ¡°Sophia¡¯s father? Does that mean he doesn¡¯t approve of us being together?¡± Of course he disapproves of you! Stanley knew that he would have to weave a bigger of lies now that he had told one, so he quickly answered, ¡°That¡¯s right. Her dad¡¯s an entric one, you know? Sophia¡¯s still young and in university, so her dad doesn¡¯t approve of her dating at this stage of her life. You shouldn¡¯t see her after this.¡± ude remained silent before leaving in a hurry. How would Sophia still be around by the time he left the hospital? Down in the parking lot, Hale immediately opened the door to the car when he saw Michael zooming over. Michael shoved Sophia roughly in the car, grumbling as he did so, ¡°You¡¯ve gotten fat, Chica!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the fat one!¡± Sophia rolled a little on the spacious backseat when she was shoved inside before sitting up and turning her back on Michael angrily. A few secondster, Gary came over with a reluctant Nathan. Nathan was unwilling to leave, so Gary had him secured with one arm under his armpit. Michael took Nathan and weighed him. ¡°You¡¯re even fatter!¡± With that, he tossed Nathan into the car as well. Shortly after, Gemma hauled Chrysanthemum over with all her strength. Michael stood by the door after Gemma plopped the cat into his arms, weighing this heavy lump of fur. ¡°You¡¯re the fattest.¡± He then tossed Sophia¡¯s cat into the car before getting in himself. Once the door was shut, Hale floored it and the car rocketed off immediately. When they returned to The Imperial, Sophia got out of the car, still d in her hospital gown. Michael followed her with the ginger cat in one arm, wrapping his free arm around her. ¡°Are you angry? Why aren¡¯t you talking now, hm? Is it because I said that you¡¯re fat? Is that why you¡¯re upset now?¡± Sophia had already healed and could have actually gone home sooner, but Old Master Fletcher had gotten her to stay in the hospital longer because he wanted to match-make her with the Fletchers. She was seething as she entered the building. ¡°Why are you back anyway? Shouldn¡¯t you be with Faye? Faye¡¯s three months pregnant now. Do you have the heart to just leave her alone with your illegitimate kid?¡± It had been ten days since Faye posted the picture with the soup, and the rumors going around had been switching up every day. At first, they imed that Michael and Faye were simply dating before it evolved into ones of marriage. Later on, they had supposedly been married in secret for some time now, and some of the rumors even imed that their child was already a year-old. ¡°You two are now trending at the top as the ¡®Golden Couple¡¯! I heard that your kid with her is named Lucas Fletcher, and the both of you came up with that name for your one-year-old. You even bought a mansion in Europe that¡¯s worth a million! It¡¯s also said that the kid¡¯s godfather is a member of the British Royal Family, and the kid¡¯s practically nobility at birth! Why are you back here to see some fugly person like me? Go away! I want to meet my dear, handsome hunks!¡± Sophia broke down as she went on. She was on the brink of tears as she cried out, feeling wronged. She didn¡¯t me the media; she med Michael for not even sending a word to her even though he knew she¡¯d get sad, and for not calling her to exin himself! Even though he was busy, it wouldn¡¯t have cost him anything to get someone to call her on his behalf! He just didn¡¯t care about her feelings! Michael swore he didn¡¯t know that a container of soup would be the cause of everything. It was just some soup, yet the entertainment reporters managed to create enough material for a full-length trashy, cliched soap opera. Ever since he found out about Old Master Fletcher¡¯s schemes and Nathan¡¯s betrayal, he had been furious. He had given up all his breaks to finish shooting his parts in Africa smoothly so that he could rush back; all he wanted to do was to see Sophia as soon as possible. He had been so busy the past few days that he didn¡¯t even have the time to take a breather. Every day, he would sleep for only two or three hours, and hecked the time to keep up with news online. Besides, the cell phone reception wasn¡¯t the best there. There wasn¡¯t any signal when he was outside, and he¡¯d have to return to the hotel just to connect to a weak Wi-Fi signal; he truly had no idea about all those rumors. More importantly, he was truly terrified of losing her! ¡°Listen to me, Chica. I really didn¡¯t know anything about it. If I did, I definitely wouldn¡¯t have allowed them to run their mouths. Believe me, alright?¡± ¡°No.¡± Michael ced his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head to look at her. ¡°You really won¡¯t hear my exnation?¡± Sophia turned her head and answered, ¡°No.¡± Michael gazed at her with his head lowered. She had been eating well and sleeping well during her time in the hospital. Now, she was glowing, and her little face had turned a tad rounder. She was a little chubby, so holding her felt even nicer. Michael tossed the cat aside and hauled Sophia over his shoulders to carry her up to the master bedroom on the second floor. With that, everyone soon heard a weird sounding from the second floor. ¡°Michael, you jerk, let me go! If you don¡¯t, I¡¯m going to report you! No¡­ No¡­ Stop¡­ Don¡¯t stop¡­¡± Nathan was defeated; Old Master Fletcher had him convinced at the hospital. The Fletchers were resolute when it came to how they did things, and if they chose to be with someone, they would be loyal to them forever. If they took a shine to anyone and were a match, they would register their marriage on the day itself. So, if anyone caught Sophia¡¯s eye, they would be able to hold a wedding on the day itself! Nathan and the old man had nned it out carefully; Old Master Fletcher would be in charge of supplying the ¡®goods¡¯, and Nathan would be in charge of brainwashing Sophia along with intercepting Michael¡¯s calls. Both grandfather and grandson were attempting to get Sophia to marry one of the Fletchers within ten days. Sophia was so close to falling for ude, but no one expected Sophia to take a while to warm up to him. Furthermore, Michael had ended up rushing back even though his filming schedule was supposed to have him overseas for a few months. Still, Nathan didn¡¯t fear anything. What could Michael do to him? He¡¯d just cut the boy¡¯s pocket money off at most! Chapter 413 Chapter 413 Meanwhile, an unprecedented war took ce in the master bedroom, from the bed, to the carpet, the balcony, the shower, the dressing room, the gym, the bathroom¡­ When Sophia woke up the next day, she felt that her body wasn¡¯t her own. Her head hurt; her teeth hurt; her tongue hurt; even her hips, butt, chest, stomach, and legs hurt. It hurt even to go to the toilet. She was like a robot that was seldom used, and the sudden exertion forced her rusty parts to screech against each other painfully, but she wasn¡¯t allowed the time to get used to it. Last night, Michael had practically been like a beast as he took her. So vicious he was in his conquest that they ended up going through quite a few condoms. Sitting up was painful, and standing up was painful, not to mention lying down on her back, her front, or even on her side. Sophia wished she was dead as she pressed a pillow to her belly, sobbing quietly with her face buried in another pillow as she regretted her choice¡ªshe shouldn¡¯t have challenged a beast and its nature. Michael woke up atst. Turning over to lie on his side, he looked at her before asking in an amused way, ¡°You going to ignore me?¡± ¡°Nope, nope.¡± Sophia¡¯s weak voice made its way over from the pillow. ¡°Wasst night a thrill?¡± ¡°Yes, yes! Couldn¡¯t be any more thrilling!¡± ¡°I handed over half a month¡¯s worth of seed inst night¡¯s session. Are you moved by that?¡± Sophia was currently as timid as a new bride. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Michael reached out and ruffled her sweaty and unkempt hair. During thest month or so, she had been kept in the military hospital to recover and hadn¡¯t been going to ss. All she did was watch ¡®Temptations Of Home¡¯ or stuff like that. Her body had clearly grown, and she now had more meat on her bones, which made her look even cuter. Now that her little face was now a bit longer and mature, she had gained the look of a grown woman. The gap between her appearance in that photo he had first seen her in and her current looks was growing. Back then, she was like an ugly duckling. Her looks weren¡¯t anything to write home about, and she was shrimpy. Her skin was sickly pale as she sat at a desk piled high with books, dressed in her fading uniform, a pen in one hand and her other hand propping up her cheek while she looked out of the window. What was she thinking then? Perhaps she was wondering what to eat for lunch, or maybe she was wondering what she would do if she got into Bayside University. Even so, there was still a hint of joy and carefreeness by her brows. She might have been in, but her eyes still had a resolute determination to them. Michael could already see this girl¡¯s specialness just with that look in her eyes. It was the same look his mother had when his mother and father first met. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Theo Fletcher was already an officer then, and Elizabeth Murray had gone back to the spotlight that she had stepped away from a while back, bing a globally renowned actress. She was just a step away from winning an Oscar. Theo and Elizabeth had met during a charity g one night. She was one of the performers invited, and she sang her heart out on the stage then. As he listened to her song, he immersed himself in her enthralling voice that was filled with a myriad emotions, as though she was telling a story with just her voice. He heard her soul through her song; all the loneliness, her strength, and her elegance. When she finished her performance, he weaved through her crowd of admirers to stand before her and told her, ¡°I like you.¡± The Fletchers had always been loyal to whoever they set their eyes on. They would end up with whoever they first took a fancy to. Michael and Irene had just probably gone along with things. Since they had grown up together, even Old Master Fletcher and the people around him said that they would be a pair. He also thought that he would end up with Irene, and so they naturally got together. But even though they were dating each other, they constantly kept their distance while under Old Master Fletcher¡¯s eyes. They never dared to cross that line. Always, he felt that there was something between him and Irene that was hindering their rtionship from taking a step forward. When that ¡®ident¡¯ ured, the so-called ¡®love¡¯ between them crumbled so easily. It was only then that he realized that their rtionship had been the result of going along with what others thought. That wasn¡¯t love at all. He and Irene had gotten together only because Old Master Fletcher and the rest of the family hoped they would, but the moment he caught sight of Sophia in that photo, he wanted to protect her and hold up the sky for this fragile yet strong girl with his own warm hands, to build a space that was like a sacrednd for her. She had been like a tiny little seed, d in a grey coat while lying in his palm. He nurtured her, giving her a space for her to grow healthily, allowing her to slowly sprout and eventually blossom under his warm gaze. Sophia¡¯s body now was covered with marks from Michael. There were even a few light imprints of a bite on her butt, so light that they could barely be seen. The man was in a good mood after a good night¡¯s worth of love-making. So, he got up and drank some water before getting into the shower. As he washed himself, he even sang a song to express the delight he felt after a night¡¯s romp. ¡°You¡¯re my lover, ass like a rose. With your fiery lips, my soul was ensnared past midnight.¡± Sophia sneaked a look at her phone and opened up the entertainment sites again. It was probably nine already, for Glory Entertainment¡¯s PR staff were already at work snapping up front page space. ¡®Taylor and Faye¡¯ were back up on the front pages, their articles soon bing the most clicked-on articles within a few hours. On this day, an entertainment reporter made the long journey to Africa to interview Faye, asking her whether she had married Taylor in secret. In the video, Faye was shy and timid like a happy little woman. She kept whining, ¡°Oh, how can I possiblye clean about that¡­ Mr. Taylor¡¯s always been someone I look up to¡­ I can¡¯t really say much about that!¡± And so, ¡®Faye Personally Admits Secret Marriage¡¯ quickly made its way to the front pages. The entire Inte was shaken. Faye had finally personally admitted to her secret marriage to Taylor! Sophia gave an ugly cackle as she read the news before logging into her alt ount to post a vicious comment in the article¡¯sment section. ¡®Anyone who spreads rumors about Taylor will be met with bad luck. Miss Edwards, you better watch your back!¡¯ Soon, Faye¡¯s toxic fans and Glory Entertainment¡¯s paidmenters hurled hundreds of toxicments back at her. By the time Michael returned to the room after his shower, Sophia had fallen asleep again; receiving his seeds was a very exhausting thing to do after all. Michael gently closed the door and went downstairs to ask the chef to make something nourishing for Sophia. Then, he went to the living room to look for Nathan and immediately cut to the chase. ¡°So, I heard that you¡¯ve been trying to turn your father into your mom¡¯s ex?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Nathan looked cold and aloof. ¡°I also heard that you¡¯re looking for a stepdad for yourself?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°And I heard that you¡¯ve been trying to frame me?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Michael tilted his head to look at Nathan before bursting intoughter from frustration. As he patted Nathan¡¯s head, he said, ¡°Alright, you little brat. I¡¯ll protect your mom properly in the future. I won¡¯t allow her to get hurt anymore, okay?¡± Nathan¡¯s head slowly turned back to face him as he looked at Michael¡¯s solemn expression. His dad didn¡¯t seem to be lying, so Nathan contemted it before saying, ¡°Pinky swear.¡± He then stuck out his pinky finger, and Michael happily made a pinky swear with him. However, Nathan still felt that since he was the one who first noticed Sophia, he had the right to give her a better husband. Chapter 414 Chapter 414 After they made a pinky swear, Nathan still had his doubts about Michael. Still, Nate would observe him for a while, considering how sincere Michael had been. Michael reined in the smile on his face after his talk with Nathan and called up the production team in Africa. Even though he had quickly wrapped up all his parts there to rush back home to make love to Sophia, the production team was still filming back in Africa. ¡°The production needs some promotion. It¡¯s time to kick things up a notch.¡± Michael went down to the basement. Since he had been so busy withst night¡¯s romp, he hadn¡¯t even gotten to greet Abel yet. ¡°How are things? Seen Fass Michel?¡± Abel immediately asked the moment Michael arrived. Michael shook his head. ¡°Just Linus Michel.¡± Abel promptly searched up Linus in his database. The Michels were a little on the mysterious side, but this Linus Michel was even more mysterious than the rest of his family. He was only about twenty this year, and he only made a public appearance at the age of sixteen. His history prior to that was aplete nk. There was nothing to be found at all. His grades the past years had been excellent, and while he seemed to be next in line to head the family, Fass Michel had already retreated to the shadows. So, Linus was practically the head of the Michel Group on the surface. There was more information on him than Fass, at least when it came to photos of him. A simple search turned up plenty of photos of him at gs and such. He truly was a young prodigy for him to have stabilized the entire Michel Family at the tender age of twenty. Now that he had mentioned Linus, Michael asked Abel, ¡°How¡¯s the search for chica¡¯s older brother?¡± At that, Abel smacked his own head hard. ¡°I was about to call you downst night, but you were so busy getting it on with Sophia that I didn¡¯t want to bother you. I¡¯ve unearthed plenty of interesting things.¡± Abel slowly went through the information that he had dug up. ¡°I went to Europe and found the couple who adopted the boy. They were indeed an educated family, but they were unable to conceive. They viewed the boy like their own and gave him the best education they could. The boy was three when he disyed astounding intellect. Thus, the media took notice of this, and he even got to be on TV then. If this were to happen now, he probably would have been an Inte celebrity. Unfortunately, the boy was kidnapped by a group of mysterious people when he was five.¡± ¡°Kidnapped?¡± Michael was greatly startled. ¡°How did that happen?¡± Abel shook his head and sighed. ¡°The couple didn¡¯t know who that group was. The group forcefully took the child after they left a million for the couple. Since that group had far too much power in their hands, it was no use even when the couple had reported this to the police. They were simply too powerful. After they bought the kid, the group took away all photos of the boy, and they even took down all videos of the TV stations¡¯ interviews with him. All photos online were deleted as well! I haven¡¯t been able to so much as get my hands on one of the boy¡¯s pictures.¡± Michael¡¯s expression turned stony. ¡°Not even a single photo?¡± However, Abel grinned mysteriously. ¡°I wonder if you know about the blocks they put on the Inte here back then?¡± Back when the nation¡¯s Inte infrastructure was in its infancy, in order to help the development of nationalworks, the nation had limited its citizens¡¯ ess to websites out of the country, all so that the nation¡¯s industry could grow. ¡°Years ago, some local websitespiled interesting articles about the world outside. Whoever was pulling the strings may have unprecedented power, but he forgot about the blocks on the Inte here. There are still a few holes in the Inte blocks,¡± Abel excitedly said. He then clicked on a photo in an article in excitement. ¡°Read this. Don¡¯t be surprised now.¡± Now that he had clicked on the photo, Michael saw that it was actually a blurry photo of a newspaper article with the title ¡®Child Prodigy Discovered Abroad¡ªFour-Year-Old Boy Who Solves 3-Variable Linear Equation¡¯. The apanying photo was a blurry one of a young boy. While it was blurry, Michael could still tell at one nce that the boy in the photo was that of a different ethnicity. He couldn¡¯t help but furrow his brows. How was it possible for Sophia¡¯s brother to be of a different ethnicity? He was supposed to be her twin! ¡°I tracked down the nurse who took the boy. She said that she was rather close with Annabel, who had begged her to save her children, asking her to take the children once they were born and ce them with kind families. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. When Annabel gave birth to the first twin, the nurse took the boy and gave him to some distant rtives who were infertile. She then tricked Annabel¡¯s family with the corpse of a stillborn from another delivery. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have the time to move the other baby.¡± Michael didn¡¯t know what to say after listening to the story. The boy who had been taken away then was raised by a family that loved knowledge, but Sophia, who hadn¡¯t been able to be moved in time was forced to suffer so much. ¡°The nurse confirmed that the boy had the appearance of a different ethnicity from his sister. She had been so shocked back then, but medical science has an exnation for that: these are mixed twins. Fraternal twins, basically. They don¡¯t look alike at all. Even their skin tone is different. There have been cases of other families with biracial twins who were born like this as well. Cooper Mitchell¡¯s mother was from a different ethnicity from his father, and Cooper didn¡¯t inherit her genes, but the boy did.¡± Who would have thought there would be such a plot twist behind the scenes? That mysterious person was so powerful that he could erase all proof of this boy¡¯s existence from the world, leaving behind only this blurry photo that was barely recognizable. It would be an uphill task to track down the boy. Truly, Sophia¡¯s family was filled with secretly terrifying people! A lightbulb lit up in Michael¡¯s head as hepared the blurry picture of the child with Linus¡¯ photo. Could it be? Meanwhile, Sophia slept till one in the afternoon, only waking up once she was hungry. It just so happened that Michael had emerged from his study when she was heading downstairs. The two of them ate in the dining room. As they ate, Michael kept teasing her. ¡°Still angry?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t even bother to look up. As she ate, she deleted all the trashy selfies she took with him that she had posted to social media. All of a sudden, her browser rmended a trending article to her. ¡®Shocking news: Female celeb carried away by lion while filming in Africa caught on video.¡¯ Wow, this is one fascinating article. She curiously clicked on that article. The video indeed showed there was a movie shoot at a savannah. The actress had been acting with her male co-star, a mosaic on her face. The camera then shifted when suddenly, a huge lion charged out from the side, picking up the actress quickly before dashing off. Everyone there screamed while several bodyguards with rifles came in from off-screen to chase after the lion. The production was in chaos. The video shook the entire Inte when it was released. Wasn¡¯t the actress who had been carried away Faye Edwards? She had actually been carried away by a lion! Sophia waspletely stunned. Michael¡¯s destructive power had struck again! As expected, whoever spread rumors about him would be met with a bad fate. Sophia browsed the news, revelling in Faye¡¯s bad luck. The news said that Faye was rescued, but she had nearly been bitten in half. She was suffering from severe blood loss and a bad emotional breakdown, so she wrapped up filming ahead of schedule and went home. Sophia scrolled through the news with one hand, delighting over Faye¡¯s articles. She wondered if that little hussy would dare to use her husband for fame like that again. However, Sophia didn¡¯t notice that Michael had grabbed her free hand and ced his own on top of it. Hisrge hand encased hers, pressing their rings together. Click. He snapped a picture of their hands together before editing Sophia¡¯s hand to her liking. Once he was done airbrushing her blemishes, he posted the picture to his Twitter ount that he hadn¡¯t touched in forever along with a caption. ¡®I finished my filming as fast as I could so that I can go home. Atst, I managed to make it in time for our second anniversary. We shall face our third year together side by side.¡¯ Chapter 415 Chapter 415 Faye¡¯s run-in with the lion was all captured by the filming crew¡¯s high-definition cameras. Fortunately, the production team managed to get some local guards and saved her in time. While Faye was rescued, she still suffered a huge shock. When her emotions finally settled, the director slyly asked her if she wanted even more fame. Faye obviously wanted to be even more famous, or else she wouldn¡¯t have obstinately attached herself to Taylor Murray¡¯s name to leech off his fame. And so, the director posted the video of her being carried away by the lion online. That clip sessfully brought plenty of free publicity for both Faye and ¡®War Dragon¡¯. This shocking video immediately went viral the moment it was uploaded, and for a while, Faye dominated the front pages of the entertainment papers back home and over the globe. If she timed things properly and milk her misfortune, as well as post a daily Tweet about her recovery, she would be able to maintain her relevancy for a while. No one else would be able to replicate this virality, that she was the first actress to be carried away by a lion during a film shoot. It may have been the darkest minute of Faye¡¯s life. She could clearly feel the lion¡¯s fangs viciously digging into her flesh during that minute. If the doctor that the production team had on standby didn¡¯t stop the bleeding in time and gave her an emergency blood transfusion, her life really would have just ended then and there. Meanwhile, the nation was going nuts over the ¡®Golden Couple¡¯. They were the number one husband- wife actorbination in showbiz. So, what was Taylor doing while Faye had her ident? The media noticed that Taylor had abruptly posted a Tweet in which he showed off his love not even half a day after Faye¡¯s incident. This was the first time that Taylor allowed a window into his private love life. Two hands were in the photo he posted, fingers inteced with each other and wedding rings clearly disyed on both hands. The rings were very eye-catching. Someone immediately recognized them as rings from Ido¡¯s ¡®The One¡¯ series of wedding rings. People could only buy a single ring, and they had to show their ID to buy it. So, Taylor had actually rushed home to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife! The fans who had been blindly fanning the mes finally understood; this whole series of events was simply a farcical rtionship that Faye tried to y up. Taylor had been married to a different woman all this time. And so, the ¡®Golden Couple¡¯ automatically dissolved, and Faye became the target of Taylor¡¯s fans all over the web. So you tried to sensationalize things and ride my husband¡¯s coattails? So shameless! As expected, if you spread baseless rumors about Taylor, you¡¯ll wind up with misfortune! That¡¯s an iron-d rule! Sophia was relieved of her fury after scrolling through the entertainment news the whole day, all the while fully aware of who was behind this staged scene. The lion didn¡¯t go after anyone but Faye. That clearly showed that something was fishy here. Also, the production team had plenty of guards on hand who had cleared out the perimeter earlier. They wouldn¡¯t have allowed a lion to suddenly pop up and bite one of the cast members. No matter how she looked at it, the lion in the video looked like the lion that Harry was raising at his mansion abroad. Due to the rough lovemakingst night, Sophia remained at home. She didn¡¯t want to move the entire day, simply scrolling through Twitter and the news with her cat in her arms. Just like that, she spent the dayzing around. Meanwhile, Michael was down in the basement looking up something or other. Old Master Fletcher only got to know that Sophia had been snatched away by Michael that morning, so he hastily called up Michael to st him. ¡°You impudent brat, are you trying to make me angry? Sophie was about to consider ude as a fiance, so why did you have to pull that stunt?¡± Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael still didn¡¯t want to reveal his rtionship with Sophia to the old man. Currently, all Old Master Fletcher knew was that Sophia was Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter, so he was still receptive toward her. If the old man were to know that Michael and Sophia were married, he would blow a gasket. Also, if Old Master Fletcher found out that Michael had slept with Cooper¡¯s twenty-year-old daughter at the grand ¡®old¡¯ age of 34, he probably would have made himself go senile from fury. The old geezer was still rather hale and hearty. Despite being nearly a hundred years-old, he was still very energetic. ¡°Grandfather, she¡¯s still young. She¡¯s only twenty, so she¡¯s still literally a child. I know that you like her, but let¡¯s leave the matchmaking for when she¡¯s a little older,¡± Michael replied. Old Master Fletcher was angry, but Michael did have a point. Twenty was a little on the young side, so he was indeed being impatient. All of a sudden, the old man changed the topic. ¡°I heard that you imed you¡¯re Sophie¡¯s father when you came to pick her up. Did you adopt her as your daughter?¡± Adopt¡­ A vein throbbed in Michael¡¯s forehead. He looked very young, so how on earth did he look like he could be Sophia¡¯s father? He also didn¡¯t have the guts to take Cooper¡¯s ce. All he wanted was just to be her husband! Thus, he declined to answer. ¡°You¡¯ll know in the future.¡± Old Master Fletcher then took the opportunity to ask Michael about his work, so he simply answered him. ¡°The parts to be filmed in Africa have all been done. The rest of the movie shooting will take ce back here. ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ is still in post-editing. Faye Edwards is simply a colleague from work. She has nothing to do with me, and she certainly isn¡¯t my wife. Rest assured, lions won¡¯t be able to carry me off.¡± Once he asked Michael about work, Old Master Fletcher fell silent for a while before letting out a sigh. ¡°Mikey, you haven¡¯t been back in ten years.¡± Even when Michael went to the hospital to take Sophia the previous day, he hadn¡¯t been willing to go back and see the old man. Ever since Michael left the Fletcher home at eighteen, he hadn¡¯t gone back once. Thest time Mark Fletcher saw Michael was years ago when his elder sister passed away. ¡°These old bones can¡¯tst much longer. I¡¯ll dly take the chance to be able to see you again.¡± Michael wanted to see the old man, but he didn¡¯t want to face the Fletcher Family. As long as the Fletchers refused to acknowledge Elizabeth Murray, he would not go back. Old Master Fletcher¡¯s word wouldn¡¯t be enough for the family to ept her. It would be difficult for a family like the Fletchers to willingly acknowledge a former C-list celebrity. Even someone as open-minded as Old Master Fletcher had been unable to ept that his son would marry such a celebrity, despite the fact that Elizabeth had already made her name known all over the world. Back then, Theo Fletcher wanted to marry Elizabeth, but their application was never approved. It was a military marriage, and Theo himself was special, so the marriage would have to go through strict checks. Not only was Elizabeth a public figure, she also hadplicated ties to other countries with her multi- citizenship. She had ties with diplomats and royalty from across the world, so she didn¡¯t pass any of the checks. Even when she died, Theo wasn¡¯t able to officially marry Elizabeth. Prior to Theo and Elizabeth¡¯s death, Michael and his sister Celine were raised apart from the Fletchers. Theo would oftene to see them, but Young Michael hadn¡¯t known anything then, and he couldn¡¯t understand why his father was almost never home. Until one day, Theo never made another appearance again. Theo¡¯s body was sent back from the border and he was given a hero¡¯s burial. His body had been wrapped in a g then. All the men in the Fletcher Family hade to send him off and carry his coffin. Just like that, he was lowered into a grave at a heroes¡¯ graveyard with much fanfare. However, Michael and his small family never got to see Theo¡¯s body. They didn¡¯t even get the chance to attend Theo¡¯s funeral, nor were they able to visit him at his grave. It took years for Michael to have the right to enter the Memorial Garden to see his own father¡¯s tombstone. After Theo¡¯s death, Elizabeth brought the twins over to the Fletchers for the first time. It was also the first time the children saw Old Master Fletcher, but after Elizabeth brought the children to the Fletchers, she never showed up again. Chapter 416 Chapter 416 She was a strong woman who had constantly been disparaged for only starring in R-rated movies, but she had never lost her will. Also, she was a woman who had pulled herself up by her bootstrap at a young age, but despite all the things she was, she turned into the world¡¯s most fragile woman when she met with the nicest man in the world. In order to marry him, she gave up her citizenships and cut ties with the foreign diplomats and royalty that she was on good terms with. Despite giving up so much, she still never got to fulfill her wish. It took a long time for Michael to understand everything. His father had died, but his strong mother withstood her sadness and pain to arrange everything for her children. After she had settled all matters rted to her assets, she calmly bade farewell to her own family and friends. Once her affairs were in order, she left. She had chosen her own grave, one that was across the Memorial Garden. Also, she wanted a statue erected by her tombstone, one that would face her own husband¡¯s grave, so that they would look at each other forever. They hadn¡¯t been able to be together when they were alive, and yet even in death, they couldn¡¯t be reunited. And so, she would just settle for being able to look at him from a distance. She then picked a ce. Dressed in a wedding gown that she would never be able to wear, she quietly killed herself with her wedding photo with Theo in her arms while listening to a recording that Theo had left her before his departure. After her death, her corneas and other organs were donated. Michael constantly wondered whether Theo Fletcher would have automatically epted that herculean task in order to marry Elizabeth Murray if the Fletchers had epted them from the get-go. Perhaps he wouldn¡¯t have died, and neither would Elizabeth as well; their lives would most likely have been different. Unfortunately, there were no ¡®what-ifs¡¯ in this world. Old Master Fletcher knew that this topic had touched on things that Michael didn¡¯t want to hear, so he hastily changed the topic. ¡°I¡¯ve introduced a few potential fiances to Sophia. I told them to get to know Sophia, so help me vet them.¡± ¡°Oh. Erm¡­ Right, yes I will. I¡¯ll help you to vet them properly!¡± Michael¡¯s heart still sat heavy in his chest after he hung up the call, even though he knew that no one was responsible for the situation they were in now; Theo and Elizabeth weren¡¯t at fault, and neither were the Fletchers for standing by their opinion. Old Master Fletcher had done a lot for Michael and his sister as well, so he wasn¡¯t at fault either. If someone had to be med, then perhaps it should be god. He could forgive Old Master Fletcher, but he couldn¡¯t forgive the Fletcher Family! Most importantly, the old man had actually found many potential fiances for Sophia, so he would definitely help the old man to properly ¡®vet¡¯ them. When night fell, Stanley came over again. He had seen Michael¡¯s Tweet. Since Michael had juste back from Africa, his home was sure to have a feast. He wasn¡¯t the only one who came either, for he had also brought Sean and his dog along. ¡°Uncle, I really hadn¡¯t hidden Sophia¡¯s matchmaking from you on purpose. I just thought that those wimpy guys were no match for you, and Sophia¡¯s resolute with her stance. You definitely won¡¯t be kicked out of the picture! I¡¯ve been helping you to watch her during all those matchmaking attempts! See how loyal I am! Uncle, look how hard it is to run a business. I¡¯ve gotten thinner because of it. Please consider doing a bit of charity and pop open that 82 year-old bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild for me.¡± Stanley immediately kissed up to Michael the moment he showed up. Also, he had expressed his loyalty, fearing that Michael would shift his anger onto him because of Sophia¡¯s matchmaking. Michael was angry when he found out about Sophia¡¯s matchmaking, but he was still confident in his own charms. How could that gaggle of prissy men match up to him? Still, he was furious that no one bothered to tell him about something as important as this. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. However, Stanley¡¯s heroic deed fromst time managed to rein in Michael¡¯s anger a little. Ever since Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader fled, they checked all the hospitals nearby, and indeed, there was a patient who had been warded for a gunshot wound to his groin. Although all videos and photos had been lost by the time they rushed over, and the doctor who had been treating the patient died in a sudden car ident, they found out through a medical report that that patient would be unable to procreate for the rest of his life. Stanley had put a stop to a bloodline of terror all with a single bullet. So, Michael decided to pop open that old bottle of Chateau in order to reward Stanley. Dinner was sumptuous to celebrate Michael and Sophia¡¯s second wedding anniversary. Even Harry had rushed back after filming his scenes in Africa, along with Daniel, who had also rushed over after finishing up work for the day. Everyone talked merrily as the wine flowed. The atmosphere was joyous, but Nathan then exited the room due to a phone call. Almost immediately after that, he returned with someone else. ¡°Nice to meet you, I am ude Fletcher. I¡¯m a friend of your daughter. I didn¡¯t get to greet you yesterday, so I¡¯vee to do so today.¡± ude was dressed in a very proper manner, his arms filled with bundles of gifts. The entire atmosphere tensed when everyone saw ude; everyone had fallen silent. Nathan enthusiastically gave his seat to ude. ¡°Here, take a seat.¡± ude sat next to Sophia. Then, Nathan brought over a stool and forced himself in between Sophia and Michael, separating them so that he could squeeze Sophia closer to ude. The silence continued. Now that ude had taken a seat at the table, the atmosphere became even more awkward. Nathan nced at everyone and began to introduce them to ude. First, he pointed at a stony-faced Michael beforeunching an introduction. ¡°That¡¯s my Uncle Taylor. He¡¯s Sophia¡¯s dad.¡± Then, he pointed at Harry. ¡°A rtive of my uncle¡¯s.¡± Nathan pointed at Daniel next. ¡°Another rtive of my uncle¡¯s.¡± He hadn¡¯t needed to introduce Sean and Stanley; ude already knew who they were. The Fletchers were a huge family, and with how many Fletchers there were, it was impossible for them to actually know all of the other Fletchers. ude didn¡¯t know of Michael. To him, Michael was only the famous movie star Taylor Murray, so of course, he didn¡¯t know about Nathan¡¯s family background. He only knew that Nathan frequently came over to the Fletcher home and also bore the Fletcher name; perhaps Nathan was part of a branch family. And so, ude politely greeted everyone. ¡°Hello everyone, my name is ude Fletcher. I currently work as a clerk in the military performance troop, so I suppose I¡¯m in the same industry as you all.¡± He could recognize the two megastars Michael and Harry with a nce as he greeted everyone. The frostiness in the atmosphere was enough to send a chill down everyone¡¯s spine as they eyed each other before turning their eyes on a shrinking Sophia, a stony-faced Michael, and Nathan, who had just poked a tiger in the eye. Thus, they hastily gobbled their food and chugged their wine, fearing that they wouldn¡¯t be able to do so soon. Stanley hastily gulped down the Chateau that he had wished for. Meanwhile, ude didn¡¯t seem to express any surprise that Sophia¡¯s father was the acimed movie star Taylor Murray, but he was internally taken aback that his future father-inw looked so youthful. As a movie star, one could hide his or her actual age and name. Taylor could be in his forties, but as long as he took care of his looks, people would believe him if he said that he was in his twenties, so long as people would fall for it. As he gazed at Michael¡¯s stony face, ude raised a ss and toasted Michael sincerely. ¡°Sir, I know that you still do not approve of my potential courtship with Sophia, but I am a patient man. I will prove myself so that you will agree to our marriage. I know that she¡¯s still young, and it may not be an appropriate time for her to pursue a rtionship, but I can wait. We can start off as just friends.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t dare to speak, instead lowering her head, leaving ude and Michael to engage in a staring match. Michael clinked his ss gently with ude¡¯s, his tone icy. ¡°Since you know my stance on this, you should know that it is delusional of you to think of pursuing her.¡± ude was confident. ¡°Sir, you cannot say such a thing this early. I am sufficiently confident that you will ept me. I will prove my determination to you with my actions.¡± Chapter 417 Chapter 417 The meal went by awkwardly. Sophia kept her head down as she ate, all the while fully aware of every single one of her hairs standing on end as she thought that she should find some time to rify things with ude. Everyone hastily gobbled their food, leaving ude and Michael to talk to each other. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m 27 this year, Sir.¡± ¡°An older man trying to snap up a younger woman. No go. What¡¯s your zodiac sign?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Pisces, Sir.¡± ¡°Your signs aren¡¯tpatible with each other. I don¡¯t approve of this. What do you work as?¡± ¡°I¡¯m part of the performance branch in the military¡­¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t bring in the money. You¡¯re not getting my seal of approval! How tall are you?¡± ¡°1.81 meters.¡± ¡°Too short. No thank you.¡± ude¡¯s head was beaded with sweat due to his anxiety. It was the first time he was eating with this strict potential future father-inw. Michael¡¯s face was as frosty as a primordial cier, making ude look as though he was about to ravish the former¡¯s girl. Then, ude gave Sophia some food. ¡°Here, Sophia, eat this. You¡¯ll be able to recover faster if you eat more.¡± Michael smacked ude¡¯s fork away with his own fork. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like that.¡± After that, ude poured some juice for Sophia. ¡°Here, have some.¡± Again, Michael smacked ude¡¯s hand away. ¡°She doesn¡¯t like that juice.¡± Even when faced with Michael¡¯s deliberate sabotage, ude remained even-tempered. He simply epted things graciously. Even Harry was so moved by this ¡®future son-inw¡¯ of Michael¡¯s that he couldn¡¯t resist putting in a word for him. ¡°Hey old chap, this is ude¡¯s first visit here. Quit heckling him.¡± Michael shut up atst, but he still red hard at ude. ude did his best to adjust to Michael¡¯s murderous stare. After all, he was about to take the girl that Michael had painstakingly raised all this while away. It was expected that Michael would antagonize him. When ude thought about how Michael¡¯s twenty year-old precious daughter was about to marry himself, he suddenly understood the older man¡¯s mindset. After the meal, ude still did not leave. Instead, he wanted to stay behind to spend time with Michael. The whole party sat in the living room, unsure what to do. They either watched TV, patted the cat, or yed with the dog; no one dared to be the first to speak up. Michael sat wordlessly on the couch, his demeanor as cold as an iceberg. At the same time, Sophia didn¡¯t dare to speak as she sat next to him, her eyes darting to look anywhere but him. ude was doing his best to find a mutual topic with Michael, but unfortunately, Michael was having none of it. He would simply grunt here and there at best, making the atmosphere extraordinarily awkward. When ude noticed that the Fletchers had a karaoke machine, he decided to say something bold. ¡°Why don¡¯t I sing something for everyone?¡± Nathan toddled over to ask Maria to get everything ready. Soon, the machine was up and running, so ude picked up a microphone and began to pour his heart into his song. ¡°When the mornings are warm, and the valleys are green, I¡¯lle back from wherever I¡¯ve been, Oh the longer the waiting, the sweeter the kiss, It¡¯s better my darlin¡¯, I promise you this, The next time I hold you, I¡¯m not letting go, I will give up the ocean forever I know, Forever I know.¡± As he sang, his gaze fell upon Sophia. It was as though he put all his feelings into the lyrics, pouring all the love deep in his heart into the song that he was singing for Sophia. Sophia had an awkward look on her face as she shuffled closer toward Michael. Meanwhile, Michael¡¯s expression had visibly darkened a few notches. The air in the living room had turned chilly as if a cold wind had blown over everyone. Even though they could feel the chill running down their skin, everyone¡¯s hearts felt even colder as a figurative frostiness wrapped itself around their hearts. They all instinctively stepped further away from the trio. ude was in the military¡¯s performance troop, and he had once been a singer in the military band. However, he had retired from the band and now worked behind the scenes handling paperwork. asionally, he wouldpose a song or write some lyrics, but his singing still remained top-notch. His voice was clear and powerful, and he had a ir to his singing. After ude ended his song, Michael stood up. ¡°I want to sing as well.¡± A soulful melody resounded around the living room after Michael selected his song, resulting in more goosebumps on everyone¡¯s bodies. Michael picked up a microphone and began to sing. ¡°The winter wind blows, stinging my face, Oh how it reminds me, of my son¡¯s betrayal, His words were like a pickaxe, hacking away at daddy¡¯s frozen heart.¡± Everyone was at a loss for words. As he sang, Michael¡¯s hawk-like eyes remained locked on Nathan¡¯s tiny figure. Nathan remained flippant, but his tightly-clenched hands betrayed him in the end; he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape his fateter that night. It was nine when they finished their karaoke session. ude prepared to leave, but Sophia felt that she should clear things up with him properly, so she spoke up unprompted. ¡°I¡¯ll see you off.¡± She nced at Michael, but since he didn¡¯t seem to be unwilling to let her do so, she simply slipped away with ude. Michael stalked after them like a wolf tracking its prey to watch them from a distance. There weren¡¯t many residents at The Imperial, so the walkways in the residential area were quiet. Sophia walked with ude to send him off, an expression of pain on her face, for she had no idea how to break it to ude. After all, ude was a good person, so she didn¡¯t want to hurt him. Meanwhile, ude¡¯s attention was on Michael, who was stalking them closely. He may be involved with clerical work, but he still had the instincts of an active duty soldier. Since the man following behind them had steady footsteps and even breaths, he could tell that the other man was a trained soldier with a nce. He had heard that Taylor Murray had once been part of the special forces, so this potential father-inw ranked even higher than he thought. ude could see that Michael¡¯s adoration for his daughter exceeded his expectations. Even though the path leading out of the area was only a few hundred meters long, Michael still insisted on following them personally. If guns were legal, Michael would most likely have an AK-47 in his arms already. Still, the harsher the girl¡¯s father, the more determined ude was. Michael may not approve of ude now, but that didn¡¯t mean he would continue to object to him in the future. The Fletchers were always set on their prospective partners. Since he had feelings for Sophia, he would do all he could to win her love. ude had actually figured out Michael¡¯s thoughts to a tee, such as the thing about the gun. If ude so much as disyed a modicum of impropriety, Michael would definitely shoot him dead, for he did indeed have a pistol nestled in his pocket. Fortunately, the two of them kept their distance throughout the walk. The Fletchers¡¯ men were all disciplined strictly at home, so ude would most likely not do anything improper. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Atst, they reached the entrance to the residential district. Sophia reflexively turned back to nce at Michael, who was observing them in the dark. Taking a deep breath, she then told ude, ¡°ude, there¡¯s something I have to tell you.¡± ude looked at her, his smile as pleasant as ever. ¡°What is it?¡± Sophia had thought of a few different excuses, but in the end, she still said, ¡°I actually¡­ already have someone I love.¡± ude¡¯s smile stiffened for a moment, but he soon returned to smiling as usual. ¡°I understand. You don¡¯t have to beat yourself up over it.¡± In truth, ude could already tell that Sophia didn¡¯t seem to like him romantically, but he still wanted to attempt to woo her. ¡°If there everes a day when you¡¯re no longer happy, tell me. I wille to you at once.¡± Sophia froze before raising her head to look at ude to see that there was still an unbridled smile on his face, tinged with sadness. He really was a good man, but unfortunately, her heart was too small and cramped for anyone else. After squeezing Michael in forcefully, she was already close to breathless; her heart couldn¡¯t amodate ude. ude stood by the entrance for a moment. Then, he took a look at his watch and said, ¡°I shall leave now. It¡¯ste, so you should go to bed soon.¡± ude may just be a clerk, but he never was one to drag things out. So, he did what he said and left. Sophia watched him depart through the bars of the gate. When she looked back, she noticed that Michael had walked over to stand behind her. Chapter 418 Chapter 418 ¡°Honey, actually I didn¡¯t want to go through all that matchmaking either¡­¡± Michael cut Sophia off before she could finish, his voice hushed. ¡°I know.¡± He already knew all about Old Master Fletcher¡¯s meddling; every detail of it. Old Master Fletcher should have gone doing some other geriatric activity since he was now old, so why did he still insist on pulling something like this? The air this night was somewhat muggy. The Imperial¡¯s management were a little too efficient in ensuring that the ce had sufficient greenery to liven things up, for hordes of mosquitoes circled the streetlights. Sophia had only been walking for a few minutes, but her face was already covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Several red bumps riddled her face, thanks to the mosquitoes. The two of them continued onward, silent. Michael didn¡¯t me Sophia for deliberately posting weird photos to her Instagram stories, and neither did Sophia remain angry about those scandalous rumors of Michael. The pair simply continued to walk quietly. Sophia reached out to wrap an arm around Michael¡¯s torso, but then she unwittingly felt a hard item in his trouser¡¯s pocket. ¡°What is this?¡± Michael did not miss a beat as he answered, ¡°The MP3 yer I normally use for my nightly jogs.¡± What era are we in? Who would still carry such a huge music yer around? That¡¯s very obviously a gun! Sophia mentally grumbled about that, but she didn¡¯t expose his lies. Michael gripped her hand tightly, and the pair walked back together hand in hand, sweat dripping from their bodies. Gary was busy tossing bags of various sizes into the trunk of the car by the garage when they reached the gate of No. 8. When he saw them approach the house, he called out to them. ¡°Boss, Madam, Young Master Nate said that he wants to stay with Old Master Fletcher until the semester starts. He won¡¯t be coming back until then.¡± Nathan should really leave. If he stayed behind, he would most likely end up on the receiving end of a beating. What he did couldn¡¯t be described as taunting a tiger anymore; he had practically poked the tiger in the eye! Michael strode forward withrge steps and swung open the car door to see Nathan sitting inside, a nk look on his face. Chrysanthemum the cat was in his arms, and in his hand was a tiny book with the title ¡®How to Protect Yourself as a Minor¡¯. Sophia was unamused. Seeing Nathan wielding thew to protect himself, Michael let out augh and reached a hand out. Nathan brandished the book while backing away, his expression nonchnt as he calmly and forcefully stated, ¡°It¡¯s illegal to smack a child!¡± Michael still reached over mercilessly to haul the ginger cat away. Then, he shut the door and said to Gary, ¡°Go. Call me once you arrive at your destination.¡± With that, Michael carried the ginger cat into the house without looking back at the car once. Nathan immediately hid himself away when he reached the Fletcher Residence. Actually, he didn¡¯t exactly like being at the Fletcher Residence. He typically would just stay a day or two whenever he had to stay over. Even his longest stay was only a few days long, and that was during the new year holidays. Usually, there wouldn¡¯t be any morning drills during the new year celebrations, but Old Master Fletcher would drag the boy out to run through some drills with the rest of the troops in the morning. So, Nathan wasn¡¯t much better off hiding away at the Fletcher Residence. Nathan Fletcher had really hurt Michael this time, considering how much Michael loved him. Even though Nathan was Michael¡¯s adoptive son, Michael had thought of the boy as his own flesh and blood all these years, so thetter had truly never anticipated that. The next day since Nathan left, Hale suddenly returned with a box of items in tow. Seeing how busy Michael was in the living room since the morning started, Sophia looked for some wrapping paper to do the wrapping herself. Then, she carefully wrapped up the box that Hale had brought back, adding arge pink bow as a finishing touch. She did this all by herself without allowing anyone to help her before sending Hale off with the newly-wrapped box. She didn¡¯t hear him utter a word throughout the entire process. Even though Sophia didn¡¯t know what the box contained, Michael¡¯s gaze was a little scary from the coldness that was radiating from it, his expression as sharp as a knife. It was only after Hale left with the box that she finally asked, ¡°What was inside that box?¡± Michael¡¯s expression remained frosty as he answered, ¡°The deep love I feel for my son.¡± Soon, Nathan received therge box that Hale had sent over to the Fletcher Residence, where he was hiding. Nathan opened it to find that it was filled with workbooks that spanned a variety of subjects, including foreignnguage, advanced mathematics, calculus and the like, along with several years¡¯ worth of mock test questions. It totaled up to a hundred books. That was the ¡®deep fatherly love¡¯ that Michael spoke of earlier. ¡°Young Master, the boss said that you¡¯re not allowed toe home until you finish everything,¡± Hale said to him. Nathan remained silent. ¡°I¡¯ve already called up the school. You won¡¯t need to go to school when the semester starts. From now on, you¡¯ll be running drills with the rest of the troops! Once you¡¯re done, it should be time for Bayside University¡¯s military training to start again. You¡¯ll officially start your military training this year. If you don¡¯t score at least 60% in your training, you¡¯ll have to go through it again.¡± Nathan continued to stay silent. ¡°Don¡¯t think about gaming either. All of your game ounts have been permanently banned.¡± Nathan¡¯s silence dragged on. ¡°All of your Bitcoins have been transferred, while yourputer and phone have been confiscated. Be punctual for your drills. You¡¯re not allowed to bete. Joel will be monitoring you. In short, if you don¡¯t finish those workbooks¡ªall one hundred of them¡ªthen Michael won¡¯t acknowledge you as his son.¡± On Sophia¡¯s end, now that her life had returned to a time of peace, she began to study hard on her own so that she could sit for the entrance tests as soon as possible. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Just like that, that heart-stopping moment from that night went by. Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader had been crippled. Later, Abel had found out that he had run to a different country, just not his precise location, and Ka Harper was dead. Even if Sophia hadn¡¯t killed her, Ka would have be aplete vegetable due to her muscles failing, paralyzing her when the effects of the drug wore off. Natasha Mitchell had also gotten hurt that day and was sent back to the Mitchell residence to recuperate. However, Sophia¡¯s heart would race each time she thought of that earth-shattering explosion. During those ten or so minutes that day, she really thought that he had died. Over ten minutes had passed between the explosion and when she was carried down to Michael. During those ten minutes or so, she experienced the most painful feeling of despair. It was as though her soul had died, but her body was still alive. That still-beating heart of hers had spread her pain throughout her entire body. That feeling had made her wish to be dead instead. Michael stayed home for a few days after his return from Africa before hopping on another ne to film elsewhere. His destination this time was a little on the far side. It was a studio to the south, so he took his private jet to the filming site. Typically, he would need to finish shooting all his parts before he would be allowed to go home when he was on the clock. Before he left, Michael expressly instructed Sophia, ¡°Do not allow that little traitorous rascal Nate to so much as step into The Imperial.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yep, yep. Got it.¡± However, Sophia immediately rang up Gary the moment Michael left and asked him to bring Nathan back. Gary was still hesitant when she brought up her request. ¡°Madam, this¡­ isn¡¯t exactly a good idea. What if the boss finds out¡­¡± Sophia giggled. ¡°He won¡¯t know if you don¡¯t bring that up. He¡¯s out on a movie shoot, so he won¡¯t know about it.¡± In the end, Gary still brought Nathan back home to y for a while. It really was just a while; two hours at most. Gary drove over to Old Master Fletcher¡¯s ce and fetched Nathan back. The moment he got out of the car, Nathan whirled over to the living room like a hurricane, grabbing Sophia¡¯s leg and bursting into tears. Sophia hastily wiped the tears on Nathan¡¯s face when she saw how awful he looked from all his crying. Nathan had been pale and somewhat chubby prior to his stay at Old Master Fletcher¡¯s, but now, his skin was tanned from all the drills he did out in the sun. He was significantly darker than before. ¡°Okay, okay, good boy. Please don¡¯t cry. Come on now¡ª¡± Nathan cried even harder when he heard Sophia consoling him gently. ¡°Mommy!¡± A child without a mother was often considered nothing. At the militarypound, he had been trampled like he was just a simple de of grass. Chapter 419 Chapter 419 Michael had told Old Master Fletcher beforehand that he wanted to put Nathan through the mill, to which Old Master Fletcher dly agreed. So, Nathan was dragged out of bed at 6 a.m. every morning to undergo military training these days. After the military training was over, he would start doing homework; he wasn¡¯t allowed to go home until he had finished doing 100 volumes of those workbooks. Not only that, but Gary and Joel were supervising him. While the Fletcher Family¡¯s other children were still ying with toys, he was forced into doing homework and undergoing military training together with the troops. Thus, Sophiaforted him, saying, ¡°Alright, good boy. I¡¯m home. Your dad is still in a fit of anger. Just undergo your training in the militarypound. Your Dad will definitely pick you home right away once he cools off.¡± Nathan was still crying as he was unable to speak, looking teary-eyed like a poor and innocent child abandoned by the world, but only he knew whether he was truly innocent. Suddenly, Sophia¡¯s cell phone rang. She looked at her phone screen and was surprised to see that the call was from ¡®Jerk.¡¯ In other words, this call was from Michael. So Michael called her right after Nathan came back? This couldn¡¯t have been a coincidence! Sophia braced herself and answered the phone. The instant the call was put through, Michael¡¯s threatening voice could be heard over the phone, saying, ¡°I have told the chefs in the kitchen to prepare a delicious meal. Tell that unfilial son to finish eating within an hour and get lost.¡± After that, he hung up the phone. Sophia felt chills running down her spine, whereas Nathan, who had also heard Michael¡¯s voice, burst out crying again. Not even the worst father would treat his son like this. But on second thought, I¡¯m not even his biological son! he thought to himself. Resigning himself to his fate, Nathan immediately gobbled down his food as soon as they were served on the dining table. He could hardly enjoy a delicious meal in the militarypound, where the only food avable was quick and simple meals prepared by the canteen. Not only that, but the daily schedule of life in the militarypound was also inplete ordance with that of the army, which was utterly inhumane! While Nathan was gobbling his meal, Old Master Fletcher called Sophia again. He had called Sophia many times these days, almost always with the same purpose. This time, for instance, he came up with another creative way to pump her for details. He said, ¡°Sophia, Nate has arrived home, hasn¡¯t he? Why don¡¯t youe over with Nate and have fun at my ceter? The weather is good today, and I made a pot of good tea. The problem is, I made a little too much of it, so your grandfather and I can¡¯t finish it ourselves. Why don¡¯t you bring that little boyfriend of yours over to have tea with us¡­¡± As expected, after going back to the Fletcher Residencest time, ude told Old Master Fletcher that Sophia was in love with someone else. Overjoyed at the news, Old Master Fletcher called Sophia from time to time to urge her to take her boyfriend to his ce so that he could have a look. This time, Sophia turned him down as usual, saying, ¡°He¡¯s been busy with work recently, so he can¡¯t come with me. I¡¯ll send Nate over and drop in on you and my Grandpa in a while.¡± Seizing upon the clue in her words, Old Master Fletcher asked, ¡°What¡¯s his upation? Why is he always so busy?¡± Sophia, of course, wouldn¡¯t tell him the answer, so she replied, ¡°He¡¯s been overseas on a business trip these days, so he¡¯s very busy.¡± Knowing that Sophia was unwilling to talk about the man, Old Master Fletcher stopped questioning her this time. He then hung up after saying something else. Having finished his meal, Nathan looked tearful as Sophia held his hand and led him out of the house. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m sending you back. Stop crying, good boy,¡± said Sophia as she tried tofort him. Then, seeing the orange cat sleepingzily on the sofa while keeping itself cool with the air-conditioning, she hurriedly added, ¡°I¡¯ll let Chrysanthemum keep youpany.¡± As she spoke, she went to pick up the cat. To Sophia¡¯s surprise, thezy Chrysanthemum instantly sprang into life upon hearing her words. Its big and fleshy body kept struggling in her arms with surprisingly enormous strength until it smacked her face twice with its paws. Then, it ran away and dashed upstairs. Now that it had finally escaped from the cat-devouring hell, it would never go back, of course. It had been eating well and having a good time in thisfortable ce. Not only that, but it was also given a massage every day! Therefore, it ran away without the slightest hesitation. Sophia had embarrassment written all over her face as she watched Chrysanthemum disappearing from her sight. Seeing that even Chrysanthemum was unwilling to keep himpany, Nathan burst out crying again. Sophia quicklyforted him by telling him, ¡°Good boy, since Chrysanthemum is unwilling to keep you company, I¡¯ll keep youpany instead. I¡¯ll go to the militarypound every day to keep youpany, okay?¡± Only then did Nathan reluctantly stop crying. With that, Sophia apanied Nathan to the militarypound. As soon as they arrived, Nathan was taken to somewhere else to do his homework; he couldn¡¯t leave until he finished doing the 100 volumes of workbooks. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sophia spent the entire afternoon drinking tea with Mark and Woody. Mark had many orange cats here, and all of them were the offsprings of the orange cat Cooper had back then. Meanwhile, Stanley¡¯s ragdoll cat stood out among the bunch of orange cats like a noble and elegant prince sitting on top of a pile of chicken drumsticks. They drank tea till afternoon before Old Master Fletcher chose a handsome-looking orange cat and gave it to Sophia. He said, ¡°Come. I¡¯ll be giving this cat to you as a present. That cat of yours is female, and this one is male. Even cats have to form pairs.¡± Sophia epted the cat while feeling deeply embarrassed. Well, it¡¯s good to have Chrysanthemum mated. I¡¯m rich, so I can afford to raise a bunch of kittens. Then, Old Master Fletcher added, ¡°Now that the cats have formed pairs, it¡¯s time for the owner to get paired up too.¡± Even while he was giving her a cat as a present, he would take the opportunity to remind her to bring her little boyfriend over next time. Sophia gave him a silly smile before leaving immediately with the orange cat in her hands. Before she left, she went to take a look at Nathan, who was weighed down by the 100 workbooks as he sat in the study Michael had used. She said, ¡°Just be at ease while you train yourself here, darling. I¡¯ll visit you every day, I promise.¡± Nodding pitifully with tears on his face, Nathan reluctantly said goodbye to Sophia. Having said goodbye to the pitiful Nathan, Sophia went home with the cat. The new orange cat was very active after it arrived home; it explored every corner of the house and even fought with Chrysanthemum. Since the two cats could be considered siblings, they couldn¡¯t be mated with each other. Therefore, Sophia went to the pet shop to pick two more orange cats of different sexes to keep the two catspany. There was already another Felix cat that caught mice in the kitchen. Now that there were five cats in the house at once, the house became a little crowded. Sophia was quite busy as she spent her days ying happily with the cats and studying by herself at home while delivering meals to Nathan every noon. On the other hand, Nathan¡¯s life in the Fletcher Residence was a living hell with his unfinishable homework and the never-ending morning drills. He was as busy as a bee every single day, and his skin was weathered by the sun. Nevertheless, he took a littlefort from the thought that Sophia would deliver meals to him, visit him, and have a little chat with him every noon. Even though he had lost his dad and uncle overnight, his mom was there to keep himpany. Much to his dismay, though, Sophia stoppeding after delivering meals for him in high spirits for three days. Instead, his meals were delivered by an old woman working at his home. When Nathan asked about it, the olddy answered cheerfully, ¡°Madam will be going out of town to visit your Dad on the film set. She¡¯ll set out tonight, so she won¡¯t being from now on.¡± Nathan burst out crying upon hearing that. Initially, Sophia never intended to visit Michael on the film set. After all, as an actor who yed the male lead, it was inevitable for him to do things like staring affectionately at the leading actress and whispering sweet nothings to thetter. Not only that, but he would hold hands with her, kiss her on the lips, and even film sex scenes with her. If Sophia went to visit Michael on set, she would be upset at the sight of these scenes, and Michael wouldn¡¯t be able to concentrate on his acting. Therefore, Sophia would never go to the film set and disturb Michael while thetter was working, even if the film crew he was joining was right in Bayside City. However, she had to go this time, for Michael was involved in a love scandal again! Chapter 420 Chapter 420 ¡®As Gorgeous as a Supermodel! Taylor Murray¡¯s Secretly-Wedded Wife Exposed?¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Wife Visits the ¡®War Dragon¡¯ Crew on Set!¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray Has an Intimate Chat With a Mysterious Rich Lady!¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Wife¡¯s Identity Revealed: The Genius Heiress of Mitchell Group!¡¯ It took only half a day before Michael upied the headlines again. The photos attached to the news reports showed Michael in his costume as he talked and joked on set with ady dressed in a white one-piece dress in a seemingly friendly manner. Not only that, but the photos even showed them meeting each other in secret at a cafe. The face of thedy in a white dress was also photographed, and she was none other than Natasha Mitchell. So Natasha visited the ¡®War Dragon¡¯ crew on set and was photographed by the media in such a coincidence? This matter was about Natasha, so these entertainment media wouldn¡¯t have covered the news like this without her permission. After all, this was the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family that they were talking about! These entertainment media would never dare write up news reports about Natasha without permission from the Mitchell Family and Natasha herself. The previous tragic incident whereby Faye got herself carried away by a lion after recklessly ying up her rtionship with Taylor was still fresh in everyone¡¯s mind. Therefore, what gave Natasha the nerve to get Taylor involved in a scandal with her? After reading the news reports, Sophia immediately booked a ne ticket to the city where the film crew was. She didn¡¯t want to make trouble for Michael, but now that Natasha¡ªthe b*tch¡ªhad gone to visit the film crew on set, how could she, who was Michael¡¯s legally-wedded wife, not go to the film set as well? However, she couldn¡¯t go there just like that. What if she caused unnecessary troubles for Michael by doing so? She had Maria help her pack her clothes while calling Michael. Michael was sitting at one side to take a rest after filming a set of important scenes as he took out his cell phone to watch the surveince footage of the Fletcher Residence. Seeing that Nathan was wiping his tears while doing his homework, he was very satisfied. You rascal, the tears you¡¯re shedding right now are the result of you introducing a boyfriend to your Mom back then! Suddenly, he received a phone call from Sophia. Sophia normally wouldn¡¯t call Michael while he was on a film set. Usually, she would only call him when he was free to avoid interrupting his filming. When he answered the phone, Sophia hemmed and hawed a little as she said, ¡°Are you busy, Hubby?¡± Lying on the deck chair, Michael smiled mysteriously as he replied, ¡°Not really. I have just finished filming a set of scenes and I am now taking a rest.¡± Michael was aware of the love scandal, but he didn¡¯t care much about that. After all, the media had too much free time on their hands, and they loved making up nonsensical stories. They happened to be filming an indoor scene at the cafe when Natasha came to visit them on set, but the media misrepresented it and reported that he and Natasha were meeting in secret. Luckily, he had no sex scenes in this film, or else, nobody could know what stories the media were going to make up. However, he thought that it was good to get involved in a scandal asionally. After all, a marriage had to be spiced up from time to time to make it remain pleasurable, fresh, and also to keep their passion for each other burning. He couldn¡¯t have a heart-rending rtionship involving misunderstandings, miscarriages, and infidelity with his pretty young bride every day like the domineering chairmen in romance novels. All he wanted was just to eat and sleep well together with Sophia. When they were free, they would binge on drama shows, y with the cats, and sleep together. Since he was getting old, he could no longer stand having a tumultuous rtionship that was full of ups and down; a peaceful love was all he could wish for. Nevertheless, an asional ¡®ident¡¯ would be weed once in a while. He had to make Sophia feel sufficiently threatened to keep the feelings between them fresh. As he had expected, Sophia was rmed, but she didn¡¯t do something foolish like the previous time. She med herself a lot after knowing that Michael didn¡¯t sleep on a bed for ten days in a row and even skipped meals for entire days in order to finish his filming in Africa so that he coulde back to her as early as possible. This time, she didn¡¯t dare to do anything foolish after learning of the matter about Natasha. After beating around the bush with Michael for a very long time, she finally gave her real intention away by saying hesitantly, ¡°Nicole is on the film set recently, isn¡¯t she? I¡¯d like to go to ask her for anN?velDrama.Org owns ? this. autograph.¡± Michael patiently said to Sophia, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that since you¡¯re too far away from here. Once the filming is over and she returns to Bayside City, I¡¯ll take you to the talent agency to ask her for an autograph.¡± Sophia fell silent for a moment. Then, Michael heard Maria¡¯s voiceing from afar, saying, ¡°Madam, your baggage has been packed. The film studio is located on a hill, and it¡¯s a bit cold over there, so I have put a few more jackets in your baggage.¡± Michael suppressed hisughter while pretending not to hear it. Sophia seemed to have quickly entered the bathroom. Then, she continued, ¡°Actually¡­ I¡¯m quite bored at home, so I¡¯d like to take on a summer job at the ce where you¡¯re filming. Your film crew probably needs a lot of personal assistants, continuity supervisors, and extras, I guess¡­¡± Michael interrupted her by asking, ¡°The summer break is almost over, so what summer job could you take up?¡± Sophia was tongue-tied. After a while, she thought up another excuse and said, ¡°The new semester will start soon, so I¡¯d like to travel somewhere before that¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s 40 degrees Celsius everywhere. Why would you travel in such hot weather?¡± With that, Sophiapletely ran out of excuses, rendering the atmosphere awkward. She just wanted to visit Michael on the film set to keep an eye on some ill-intentioned b*tch while she was at it, but how could she say such an embarrassing reason out loud? She would miss the ne if she didn¡¯t leave home right now, yet she couldn¡¯t even think of an excuse to convince Michael. Just as she was racking her brain for an excuse, Michael suddenly said, ¡°But my film crew is filming in the mountains right now, so it is cooler over here. One of the crew¡¯s walk-ons had her leg broken, so you maye to give it a try if you have nothing to do at home. You can also widen your knowledge and gain some life experience while you are at it.¡± Then, he added, ¡°Your semester will beginte. Since there¡¯s still more than half a month left before the new semester starts, you maye over and stay for a few more days to avoid the summer heat.¡± Sophia was overjoyed at once. As expected, her Lord was attuned to her feelings. However, what Michael said next was indescribably sweet to her. ¡°More than anything, I miss you.¡± Michael called his personal assistant over after hanging up the phone. The instant Sophia booked the ne ticket, he had already gotten news about it. So, he immediately had his personal assistant book a hotel room for her. Originally, Michael stayed in the same hotel with the film crew, but that would be inconvenient when Sophia came. After all, more people meant more chances for both of them to be seen together. Therefore, he immediately had his assistant book another hotel. Danny, his personal assistant, quickly trotted up to him and asked, ¡°What is it, Boss? Has Madam arrived? I¡¯m so looking forward to seeing her! Be rest assured. I have gotten everything prepared. Is there anything else you need? Just let me know!¡± Michael had ten mysterious and skillful bodyguards, and the one before him right now was Danny, who worked as his personal assistant while he was on set. Then, Michael cast an eye over the film set and noticed the group of female walk-ons who hade with the film crew. Since the movie ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was about the male protagonist crossing the country to save a group of Cethosiandies who were trafficked overseas, many female walk-ons had joined the film crew. These roles were not indispensable, and they didn¡¯t require superb acting skills. Therefore, they were mostly taken up by the investors¡¯ mistresses, goddaughters, and even their own biological daughters. Michael ran his eyes over the group of female walk-ons. In an instant, five or six of them brazenly made eyes at him. Tilting his head to one side, Michael said quietly to Danny, ¡°Pick a random female walk-on in the crew and break her leg.¡± Chapter 421 Chapter 421 When Sophia left home this time, she brought Maria and a chef from the kitchen along with her in addition to Hale, her bodyguard. The food on film sets were generally poor in taste. By bringing a chef with her, she could allow Michael to eat something better. He usually ate whatever the rest of the film crew ate on set without voicing any requests, which made Sophia feel sorry for him. After arriving at the airport, they were picked up by a young man wearing a brightly-colored shirt. Michael had told her that Danny, his personal assistant, was the most showily-dressed and the most talkative out of his ten bodyguards. Danny worked as Michael¡¯s personal assistant when thetter was on a film set, so he would be on leave whenever Michael went home, which was why they had never had a chance to see him in person. Now that they saw him on this day, they were stunned at the sight of the person before them. When Danny saw that Sophia was the fair lolita in her sweet youth standing over there, he thought to himself with a sigh, What an extreme taste Boss has for girls. How could hey his hands on such a youngdy? On the other hand, Sophia saw that Danny was a showily-dressed young man who looked like a peacock. Not only that, but Danny never seemed to stop talking from the moment she got off the ne until the moment they arrived at the hotel in the film studio. ¡°Hello, Madam. Ah, you¡¯re so beautiful, Madam. Boss¡¯s judgment has really be better. No wonder he keeps mentioning his chica on set¡­¡± ¡°Oh, Hale, it¡¯s been a long time since west met! You¡¯re still dashing, handsome, tall, and sturdy as usual. I heard that you have been courting Gwentely. Have you managed to hold hands with her and kiss her on the lips? Would you mind sharing with me how far your rtionship with her has progressed?¡± Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°This little beauty here must be Maria! Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Danny, or you can call me by my nickname Dan. Why aren¡¯t you speaking, little beauty? What is your zodiac sign? I¡¯m a Sagittarius¡­¡± It was quite a distance from the airport to the hotel in the film studio. While Sophia was in the car, she dreamed that she was back in the countryside of Riverdale. She was opening the duck pen to let the ducks out for a while, but the instant the duck pen opened, the ducks came out in an endless stream and quacked nonstop. Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack¡­ The film studio was located on the hill; it was a well-known tourist attraction and a great summer resort. Also, the film studio covered most of the county area, so the county earned most of its profit from tourism and by leasing the film studio to film crews. Sophia had dreamed of traveling back when she was poor. However, she was penniless at the time, so she had to save money for a long time just to get enough money for sightseeing around the ancient Imperial Pce at the center of Bayside City. When she became rich afterward, however, she didn¡¯t have the time to travel. This was the first time she came to the film studio. Overwhelmed with curiosity, she kept looking around upon entering the studio. Danny began talking on and on about the film studio. ¡°This film studio is one of the earliest film studios built in Cethos. Being thergest film studio in Aseanos, it has three major areas with different historical settings: the Ancient Area, the Republican Area, and the Modern Area. It also has an Outdoor Area, a Military Area, a Sci-Fi Area, and a Foreign Area. We¡¯re now in the Ancient Area. Once we get insideter, we can no longer travel by car; we can only walk or ride on a carriage.¡± Some of the residents here had even been working as walk-ons for generations. Ancient-looking pavilions were everywhere in the Ancient Area, and most of the tourists walking on the streets were dressed in historical costumes. The street vendors were also dressed in historical costumes so that any film crew that was shooting at this area could clear the scene and start shooting as quickly as possible. As soon as they entered the Ancient Area, Danny rented some historical costumes and took Sophia to a stylist to have her hair done in the olden style. After that, he took her for a walk around the Ancient Area. Maria followed behind Sophia in high spirits while wearing a historical costume as well. Meanwhile, Hale was forced to dress in the embarrassing style of a house servant as he walked behind them, whereas Danny was still wearing his showy clothes. Walking around the area with interest, Sophia kept taking pictures everywhere with the camera in her hand. Whenever she saw that a film crew was filming, she would immediately go near them to take a look. Since all of this was very new to her, as she continued walking around and taking pictures, she eventually forgot her purpose ining here. Over ten film crews were filming in the Ancient Area. Extras were everywhere, and there were tourists dressed in historical costumes and in modern clothes, resulting in a strange scene. Danny cooperatively took group pictures for them. When Sophia asionally saw a good-looking extra, she would excitedly ask him or her to take a picture with her. Dressed in embarrassing clothes, Hale followed Sophia around expressionlessly. He had an earpiece on, and he was on phone conversation all the time. ¡°Madam has passed through the Glory Gate.¡± After a while, he would report something else. ¡°She bought two lollipops and quite enjoyed eating them.¡± A few momentster, he said, ¡°She hase under the yellowntern at the Pryley Gate. The tourists and walk-ons ahead are rtively few, and they are ugly. The atmosphere is just right, and the lighting is fine. You may make a dazzling appearance now¡­¡± They got off the ne in the afternoon. Before they realized it, they had walked until the evening. There were fewer tourists in the area, but many film crews were still filming night scenes. Lanterns were hung along the streets in the Ancient Area. They were just electric lights disguised as lanterns instead of the real ancient papernterns, but the colorfulmpshades still looked splendid as thenterns were lit up. The entire street looked dreamlike, and those walking along the streets were all actors dressed in historical costumes. Also, there were now fewer tourists wearing modern clothes. As Sophia walked on the street, she felt like having time-traveled to the past. It was as if she had traveled back 1,000 years in time and was enjoying a dreamy night of the olden ages. Suddenly, she saw a man dressed in a white historical costume walking ahead of her. He was probably an actor, for he had a prop sword with him. Moreover, the film crew of a martial arts blockbuster was filming night scenes nearby. The man in the white historical costume walked in a hurry with his back to Sophia. She could tell from the aura he gave off that he must be a big name in the entertainment industry. Thus, Sophia immediately stepped forward to ask the man to take a picture together with her. ¡°Wait a minute, handsome! Can we take pictures together?¡± Since there weren¡¯t many people between them, Sophia immediately trotted past the crowd toward him. The actor was walking in a hurry. However, upon hearing Sophia¡¯s voice, he paused and looked back. He was obviously ying the role of a knight. Dressed in a costume as white as snow, he even wore a hat with his face covered by a white veil. Sophia didn¡¯t care whether his face was handsome or not, for she just wanted to take a picture together with him before anything else. So, she said eagerly, ¡°Hi, may I take a picture together with you?¡± The hat moved slightly; the person seemed to have nodded. Sophia immediately had Dannye over to take a picture for them. Posing for the camera with a victory sign, she had a typical tourist photo taken of herself. She seemed not to notice that Maria, who excitedly approached them to have a picture taken together as well, was quickly dragged away by Hale. Sophia then looked at the photo, which looked awesome. Satisfied, she nodded continuously to the actor, saying, ¡°Thank you. Thank you so much.¡± Then, a clear and attractive voice came from under the hat. ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± Sophia was stunned upon hearing the voice. Her eyes widened at once, and the smile on her face was quickly reced with a dumbfounded look. As she raised her head to look up at him, the gentle light shone on her face, adding a touch of softness to her facial features. This voice. Isn¡¯t he¡­ The man in white before her slowly lifted the white veil between them with his long fingers, revealing a dazzlingly handsome face. The man looked drop-dead gorgeous. His eyebrows were thick and smooth with an artificial beauty mark painted between them, while his eyes were unusually attractive and tender. Slightly raising the corners of his lips, he said with a smile, ¡°You can take a couple more pictures of us together. I won¡¯t charge you for it.¡± Chapter 422 Chapter 422 Staring at the unimaginably handsome man in white before her, Sophia felt as if she had traveled 1,000 years back in time to see an exceedingly good-looking man in white standing under the lights of the papernterns on the brightly-illuminated street. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. The beauty mark between his brows made him look especially dazzling, and any woman would fall hopelessly head over heels in the face of his otherworldly charm and peerless good-looks. Sophia felt like that was a face she had searched for in the crowd hundreds and thousands of times, only to see him standing under the dim light when she suddenly turned around. The man was so breathtakingly handsome that Sophia couldn¡¯t breathe at all. Her mind went nk for what seemed like an eternity before she withdrew her gaze with great difficulty. Luckily, the blush on her face wasn¡¯t that visible under the bright light. Feeling deeply embarrassed, she went scarlet while saying, ¡°Hubby¡­¡± Michael lowered his head slightly to stare at thedy before him, who had excitedly dressed up as ady of the ancient times upon arrival in the Ancient Area. With her beautiful face and the artificial beauty mark between her brows, she looked like a fairy that hade straight out of a Renaissance painting. As a handsome knight and a beautifuldy met each other on the brightly-illuminated street, the man¡¯s lowered eyes brimmed with tenderness, whereas thedy¡¯s fluttering eyshes gave her awe and shyness away. The scene was so beautiful and eye-catching that even the tourists around them couldn¡¯t help but pause and turn to look at them. Only then did the simple-minded Maria realize that this was another one of those ¡®chance encounters¡¯ that her boss had deliberately set up. Danny, on the other hand, kept taking pictures with the camera. It didn¡¯t take long before he had taken dozens of photos. ¡°Oh my lord, look at thisposition, this lighting, this positioning, the angle, makeup, and hairstyle¡­ Don¡¯t move! Keep them while I take a couple more pictures! Goodness gracious. This is so beautiful! What a perfect picture this is! This can even be used as a film still. Let¡¯s strike another pose and have another picture taken. One, two, three! Okay! Perfect!¡± Back when Danny was assigned to work as Michael¡¯s personal assistant on the film set, he thought he would also be responsible for taking gorgeous pictures of his boss and posting them on social media for publicity purposes. Therefore, he had made a special effort to study photography and learn using Photoshop. However, after taking up his post, he realized that Michael had no habit of taking selfies and posting them on Twitter and other social media, so he never had a chance to put these skills to use. Now, these skills of his finally came in handy! After her feelings of excitement and surprise had subsided, Sophia realized that her face had gone a little numb with overexcitement. She was quite a loss for what to do, for she couldn¡¯t even speak properly with her numb lips. Holding Sophia¡¯s slightly cold hand, Michael said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the film set with me.¡± Since her hand was icy to the touch, he squeezed it and warmed it up with his warmth. The two of them then walked hand-in-hand. Michael put down his white veil again to conceal his face; moreover, nobody could see his looks at night, so they weren¡¯t afraid of being seen while walking on the street. It wasn¡¯t until Sophia had walked some distance that she suddenly came to her senses. Why is Michael here? Isn¡¯t he acting in a war film? Why is he dressed in a historical costume? It wasn¡¯t until they arrived at the film set that Sophia learned that the ¡®War Dragon¡¯ crew had finished filming for the day that night. Therefore, Michael took this opportunity to do a cameo on the set of a historical film. There were many actors on the set of the historical film. Since the film crew was filming night scenes, Sophia¡¯s sudden appearance didn¡¯t seem abrupt at all. Michael let her find a ce to y with her cell phone while he filmed his scenes. The film¡¯s director was Elizabeth¡¯s friend, and he was also the one who had guided Michael when the latter entered the entertainment industry. Since his film crew happened to be filming nearby, Michael decided toe over to do a cameo in the film and stage a chance encounter with Sophia while he was at it. Of course, Michael¡¯s real purpose in joining the set was to stage the chance encounter with Sophia, for he could y a walk-on role anytime he wanted. Having decided to do a cameo on a whim, he only volunteered himself that afternoon, telling the film director and the screenwriter to think up some lines for him. The screenwriter could only force himself to think up a plot based on when Michael would appear and the scenes thetter was filming right now. Since Sophia didn¡¯t know the plot¡¯s specifics, she could only watch as Michael came down from above in an awe-inspiring and impressive manner while being suspended from a wire. After exchanging a few lines with the film¡¯s male lead, he made several choreographed fighting moves. Then, he hurriedly had some fake blood put on him and filmed the scene where he died due to his injuries. Having finished filming his scenes, Michael took Sophia to the hotel. They were staying in a hotel in the Ancient Area. The hotel was built in the traditional style on the outside, and its interior furnishings also had an old quaint charm about them. Not only that, but the services it provided were also better than the average star-rated hotels. The instant they entered the room, Sophia noticed the suggestive colors that the room was decorated in. On the red quilt were a whip, some candles, and other sex toys, whereas several pieces of sexy uniforms were ced on the TV cab. Furthermore, a loveseat and a love swing were ced at the side of the bed. Michael frowned, whereas Sophia was stupefied. Hale and Maria, who helped them with the baggage, were speechless. Poking his head from outside, Danny asked, ¡°Did I choose the wrong ce?¡± Later that night, Stanley was sleeping when he suddenly received a text message from Sophia. It read, ¡®Hurry up and like the photo that I have just posted.¡¯ What makes this photo so important that she specially sent me a text message in the middle of the night to tell me to give it a ¡®like¡¯? Bleary-eyed, Stanley opened Sophia¡¯s social media ount and saw the picture she had posted. The image of a handsome man and a gorgeously beautifuldy staring affectionately into each other¡¯s eyes in a dreamlike atmosphere greeted him¡­ ¡°F*ck! I¡¯ll never give it a ¡®like¡¯!¡± D*mn it! Not only did you publicly disy your affection for your man, but you even shoved it down my throat in such a forceful way! Angrily tossing his cell phone aside, Stanley went back to sleep and decided not to give the picture a ¡®like¡¯ no matter what. On the next day of her arrival, Sophia spent the day at the film studio walking around other ces and having fun to her heart¡¯s content. She only went to the set of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ on the third day. As it so happened, one of the crew¡¯s walk-ons identally broke her leg during a fall, so Sophia could substitute for her. On the first day of joining the film set, Sophia¡¯s eyes brightened as she searched everywhere for Natasha, who seemed to be absent on this day. Sophia understood what Natasha was thinking. As the daughter of a wealthy family, Natasha had to assume an air of superiority even while courting someone. It would be degrading for her to visit the crew on set every day. It was said that Natasha had made a special trip here to avoid the summer heat and was now staying right in the film studio. Therefore, she would show up sooner orter. Sophia yed a walk-on part in the film as one of the trafficked Cethosiandies. The story was about the male protagonist getting out of his country to rescue thesedies. However, thesedies had been reserved by their buyer, who sent the most powerful group of mercenaries to escort them. The male protagonist¡¯s journey to rescue thesedies was beset with difficulties; not only did he encounter many dangers along the way, but he even stumbled across a war in a foreign country. The male protagonist, who looked righteous with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was yed by Harry, whereas Taylor yed the cruel and merciless viin who trafficked humans for profit. Thedies would have many scenes to film, so only those with a behind-the-scenes backer could join the set. Therefore, when they saw Sophia joining the set, they exchanged knowing looks with each other, for it went without saying that she must have a backer as well. When it wasn¡¯t thedies¡¯ turn to film their scenes, they would put on their makeup and chat away while eating some snacks. ¡°My dad is one of this film¡¯s investors.¡± ¡°My brother is the screenwriter.¡± ¡°My godfather is the director¡¯s brother.¡± Having introduced their respective backgrounds, they asked Sophia, ¡°Are you rted to anyone in this film crew?¡± Looking high-spirited in her costume, Sophia said, ¡°The lead actor of this film is a distant cousin of mine.¡± As expected, she also has a connection in the film crew! thedies thought to themselves. Since Sophia had a connection in the film crew like them, they decided to take her as one of their own. Because of that, they began to gossip even in her presence. ¡°That Natasha woman seems to be absent today!¡± ¡°Tsk, what a good thing it is to have a rich dad. Look. She sent flower baskets over again.¡± Chapter 423 Chapter 423 The film crew received a lot of flower baskets again on this day. It wasn¡¯t rare for the film crew to receive flowers because it was amon urrence. Many nouveau riche often bombarded the film sets with flowers to tter the female celebrities they liked, and some rich women also did this to tter their favorite young idols. However, the flower baskets this time were quite different, for they were sent to Taylor by Natasha. Everyone on the film set knew that Natasha was in love with Taylor. She was eager to please him; not only did she visit the film set in person every now and then these days, but she also had flower baskets delivered to the set from time to time. Looking at the flowers ced on the set, the walk-ondies and the staff on the film set began whispering among themselves. ¡°Tsk, tsk. Natasha seems serious, but her feelings don¡¯t seem to be reciprocated!¡± ¡°That¡¯s difficult to say. Our Prince Charming here may seem aloof and distant on the outside, but who knows what he¡¯s thinking deep down inside? Perhaps he is inwardly bursting with impatience to marry into the Mitchell Family, but is now simply putting on an act!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though he is flourishing in show business, he¡¯s still just an artist after all. Marrying into the Mitchells would be a very good choice!¡± All of them sounded jealous as they spoke. Their eyes were filled with jealousy. How they wished they were born into prominent families, or possessed the same cleverness and academic qualifications as Natasha! On this day, they were filming a scene where the male lead courageously rescued the traffickeddies, who all looked travel-worn, weary, and wretched after being hidden in a car. The film director forbade them to wear makeup; instead, he told everyone to apply some dirt on their faces and roll on the ground. Sophia obediently applied some dirt on her face and rolled on the floor. However, after she had done so, she discovered that everyone else simply put a little dirt on their faces after having applied their usual exquisite base makeup, and they didn¡¯t roll on the floor at all. While otherdies looked delicate and charming with feigned pitifulness, Sophia looked a real sorry sight. Covered in dirt, she huddled in a corner while eating some snacks. As she listened to everyone¡¯s discussion, she couldn¡¯t help saying with a touch of jealousy, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily so, for Taylor is a married man! It¡¯ll be difficult for Natasha to get married to him!¡± However, her words were instantly met with unanimous ridicule from everyone else. ¡°We can tell at first nce that you¡¯re new in show business. Nothing is absolute in the field, for it is normal for celebrities to get married or divorced, and cheat on their spouses for the sake of publicity!¡± ¡°It¡¯s silly to talk about love in show business; there is no true love to speak of here. Everyone in the circle is vain. Can Taylor really stay faithful to that wife of his when differentdies want to have sex with him every other day?¡± ¡°Romance in show business is the most worthless; it¡¯s not as practical as money and fame!¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard it? There¡¯s an unspoken rule on the set whereby all the supporting actresses are supposed to sleep with the lead actors. Who do you think out of so many supporting actresses here stand the best chance to sleep with Miss Taylor?¡± ¡°Miss Taylor can sleep with whoever he wants, of course! The way I see it, he¡¯ll most likely sleep with Natasha!¡± ¡°I bet Miss Taylor doesn¡¯t dare to touch Natasha, though. If he really sleeps with her, he¡¯ll be bound to the Mitchell Family for the rest of his life, and he¡¯ll no longer be able to y around as he pleases. I wouldn¡¯t be willing to end up like that if I were him!¡± Sophia was quite at a loss for a reply, for she found herself unable to join their conversation at all. My idol won¡¯t be as deplorable as they imagined! He has always been chaste! she thought to herself. Still, Sophia was a bit worried. In general, men were animals that easily sumbed to lust. Now that so many beauties were offering themselves to Michael, what if he really gave in to their seduction one day? What if there really were supporting actresses who wanted to sleep with him? With that thought in mind, she decided to keep a closer eye on Michael. Michael was ying the male main antagonist this time. Since there wasn¡¯t any romantic subplot for his character, he never had to worry about having to film intimate scenes. Therefore, he was totally unperturbed even with his wife watching him on set. Thedies waited on the film set for a long time just to film a scene that mightst for only a minute or two. Even so, they scrambled to have their faces featured in the scene despite itsting such a short time. Sophia was unable to fight against them, so she was pushed to the back of the crowd every single time. Thus, she could only have her limbs featured in the shots at most since she couldn¡¯t have her face featured at all. However, she wasn¡¯t here to steal the show from other actresses. She was here specifically to keep an eye on her husband! Therefore, she sat silently among the crowd while watching Michael closely. Michael was a very professional actor; not only was he good at acting, but he was also very charismatic, and he rarely broke intoughter during filming. However, he frequently broke intoughter during filming on this day. Whenever he was drawn into his character only to see the dirt-covered Sophia staring round-eyed at him nearby, he couldn¡¯t help but give her an affectionate smile. In the end, he only managed to finish filming his scenes with great difficulty by forcing himself not to look at her. The morning passed in a sh. Aside from the fact that Michael often unexpectedly broke intoughter during filming, the filming went rtively smoothly, for the scenes were filmed ording to schedule. When the film crew handed out the lunchboxes at noon, the walk-ons lined up to get their own, whereas Sophia went to eat in Michael¡¯s SUV. Michael had put on quite a show this time since he had even brought a food truck and some chefs with him. The dishes were ready when Michael, Sophia, and the others arrived, so they sat at two separate tables to eat. Michael sat with Harry at a table, whereas Sophia sat with Hale, Danny, and Maria to avoid suspicions. Since this was the first time Sophia yed as a walk-on, she was both a little excited and physically exhausted, and it took only a little while before she wolfed down two bowls of rice. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. When she put down her fork and spoon, she saw the directoring to scrounge a free meal and discuss the scenes that would be filmed that afternoon with the two lead actors. However, the lead actress was nowhere to be seen. She seemed to be filming other scenes on a separate set. Looking at the flowers Natasha had sent to Michael on the film set, she quietly nudged Hale and shot a nce at the flowers. Then, she shot another nce at Michael and jutted out her chin toward Hale, signaling for him to approach Michael. Instantly understanding what she meant, Hale finished his meal and went up to Michael, asking, ¡°Mr. Murray, what should we do with the flowers?¡± Sophia pricked up her ears and listened attentively as she was desperate to know what Michael would do with the flowers. Michael ate while sneaking a nce at Sophia, who had her ears pricked up while eavesdropping on their conversation. Thus, he said with a smile, ¡°What else can we do? We can¡¯t waste them. Just bring them back to the hotel.¡± Before long, everyone on the film set learned that Taylor had epted the flower baskets Natasha sent and even brought them back to the hotel. In an instant, the film set was abuzz with gossips, and it took only a while before the story was distorted. ¡°Have you heard it? Taylor epted Natasha¡¯s flowers! They¡¯re seeing each other now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I heard that Taylor moved out from the hotel where the film crew is staying two days ago to the mountain resort where Natasha is staying! They must have been sleeping together for several days!¡± Natasha had also sent many flower baskets overst time, but Michael gave them to the film crew so that they could be used as props. However, he readily epted her flower baskets this time, which was an obvious sign that something was going on. Natasha, who was staying at the mountain resort, was exuberant when she learned of this. As expected, my perseverance works! Taylor will fall for me one day! Angry that Michael had epted Natasha¡¯s flowers, Sophia sneaked off to another film set that afternoon to y a walk-on part. For time-saving purposes, the film crew was split into two groups to allow multiple scenes to be filmed simultaneously. Michael and Harry were in a group, whereas the lead actress was in the other. Currently, the lead actress was filming other scenes on a seperate set. The lead actress of the film ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was Nicole Walker, whonded herself the role despite her obscurity as the lead actress in a local TV drama. Having yed as walk-ons in many dramas, she was the favorite of middle-aged and old countrywomen, until a highly-publicized tabloid scandalnded her on the A-list and made her a true celebrity. After that, she signed up with Imperial Management Studio and became the lead actress of the film ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Chapter 424 Chapter 424 This was the first time Nicole yed as the female lead of a film, but the film director was very satisfied with her performance. Besides being experienced and skilled in acting, she filmed her role with dedicated professionalism, allowing the filming of the female lead¡¯s scenes to go smoothly all the time. However, the filming this day wasn¡¯t going well, for it was fraught with multiple retakes of the same scenes. This was first because everyone was out of shape due to the hot weather, and secondly, because the supporting actress ying alongside Nicole kept making mistakes. Standing aside while watching as they filmed, Sophia found that the problem wasn¡¯t with Nicole, who did a perfect job as the lead actress and was in shape the whole time. However, the supporting actress kept making mistakes during filming, and she had quite a temper. Also, she seemed to have quite some backing, because even the film director didn¡¯t dare tosh out at her. As a result, the scenes that could have beenpleted that morning were still unfinished by noon. After thinking about it for a while, Sophia turned around and left. Michael was still eating when he saw Sophiaing back. Delighted, he said, ¡°Hey, you¡¯re back?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t answer him though. After packing some food, she washed her hands, took two pieces of bread, and left while carrying a flower basket. Meanwhile, Nicole could finally take some rest afterpleting her scenes with much difficulty. Even so, the supporting actress who kept holding her back was still very unhappy, and she kept swearing all the time. Even though Nicole was the lead actress of this film, she was practically new in the film industry. Since this was the first time she yed the female lead of a blockbuster, she was tense the whole time; she didn¡¯t dare to rx as she strived to do her best in every detail. While everyone else was having lunch, she watched the yback of her scenes over and over again to search for possible ws. Her talent agency had assigned a personal assistant to her, but the personal assistant attended to her half-heartedly and left sooner than she did after mealtime. Nicole took a piece of bread from her backpack and ate it while watching the yback. To her surprise, she saw Sophiaing toward her. Nicole didn¡¯t know Sophia¡¯s real identity, but she remembered thetter¡¯s face even after all these while. Pleasantly surprised, she asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°I¡¯m ying as a walk-on on the set next door, so I decided to drop by.¡± Then, she brought the food and the flower basket over, saying, ¡°This flower basket is for you. Make a good film.¡± She removed the signed card from the flower basket she had taken from the film set next door before giving it to Nicole. This was the first time Nicole received a flower basket, and it filled her heart with warmth. Feeling especially happy, she said, ¡°Thank you! I¡¯ll do my best in the film.¡± Nicole then ate her lunch while chatting with Sophia about the film crew and the orphanage. She had signed one or two endorsement deals previously. They didn¡¯t pay much, but the money was enough for her to spend. Her pay for the film ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was pathetically low despite her being the film¡¯s lead actress, and she had sent the money back to the orphanage. Nevertheless, she would no longer have to worry about not being offered film roles as long as she did a good job in this film. After a while, the staff on the film set returned from lunch and resumed shooting right away. Sophia stood aside and watched carefully as the film crew raced against the clock to film the scenes. Nicole was truly made for films; besides having a pretty face and a beautiful physique, she was a skilled actress with a solid mastery of the basic acting skills. Not only that, but she didn¡¯t even require stunt doubles while filming fighting scenes. This film would certainly be a box-office hit with her as the lead actress! As she watched Nicole filming her scenes, she yed with her cell phone and estimated the time left before she had to go back for dinner. Suddenly, she heard a strange conversation next to her. A voice full of arrogance was heard. ¡°Whose flower basket is this?¡± ¡°This is given to Nicole by somebody else, Miss Olivia,¡± said the other voice in an extremely groveling tone. ¡°What? A little-known b*tch who rose to fame by selling her body also has flowers sent to her?¡± Sophia looked over and saw threedies surrounding the flower basket she had given to Nicole while ridiculing Nicole. Out of the threedies, two looked like personal assistants, whereas thedy standing in the middle looked extremely seductive. Looking lofty and arrogant, she was none other than the supporting actress who had held the entire film crew back that morning. The scenes filmed in the morning were about the female lead oveing numerous dangerous obstacles to rescue her trapped younger sister. The supporting actress yed the part of the younger sister, so there were many scenes between her and the lead actress. The supporting actress looked at the flower basket before her. As the flower basket¡¯s bright colors were reflected in her pupils, her eyes reddened, and she ordered the two assistants next to her, ¡°Smash it!¡± The two assistants didn¡¯t hesitate at her words. One knocked over the flower basket, whereas the other plucked the flowers out of it and crushed them with her feet. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Seeing the flowers she had given to somebody else as a present being smashed like that, Sophia furiously stood up and walked toward them. ¡°Do you even have a basic sense of morality? How could you smash other people¡¯s flower baskets as you please?¡± The threedies looked back simultaneously at Sophia. Upon seeing that the person talking to them was a dirtily-dressed walk-on, they ignored her and continued stepping on the flowers. Sophia took two steps forward and was about to continue speaking, but Nicole quickly emerged from one side, telling her, ¡°Never mind. Just let them be; it¡¯s just a flower basket anyway.¡± As the supporting actress seemed to have a powerful backing, Nicole didn¡¯t dare to offend her. Sophia understood Nicole¡¯s feelings. Now that Nicole was offered the role of the female lead despite having no backing, God knew how many people were jealous of her. Therefore, she had to be very circumspect on set to avoid offending these people. Suppressing the anger within her, Sophia reluctantly sat back down. Unexpectedly, her conceding gesture made the supporting actress even more arrogant. Looking at Nicole and Sophia, she mocked sarcastically, ¡°Wow, where is this walk-on from? What a bad temper you have! So what if I want to smash your flower basket?¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes widened in anger, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Never mind, I¡¯m not going to bother myself arguing with the likes of these nameless actresses! Thus, she sat back in her seat and continued ying with her cell phone. However, the supporting actress and her two assistants seemed unwilling to let Nicole and Sophia off. They came over and surrounded Sophia, asking, ¡°Who are you? Why have I never seen you before? Are you a walk-on who just joined the set?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t even bother to speak, whereas Nicole humbled herself to please the actress as she told them, ¡°Miss Olivia, she¡¯s a new walk-on, so she doesn¡¯t know much about the rules here. There¡¯s no need to fuss with her.¡± Sophia was fuming deep down inside as she watched Nicole, who yed the female lead, speaking humbly to a supporting actress. However, she didn¡¯t know much about the entertainment industry, nor did she know what made Miss Olivia so influential on the set. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t say anything rashly, or else it would be bad if she caused trouble for Michael. Miss Olivia was very pleased with Nicole¡¯s humble attitude. Still, she said overbearingly, ¡°New? Ha! Can a neer turn up her nose while talking to people? These neers need to be taught a lesson!¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Then, she pointed at Sophia as she demanded, ¡°I¡¯m upset. Kneel down before me!¡± Sophia stared at her incredulously before looking at the staff around them. They seemed to know what was happening over here, but they consciously averted their eyes, turning a blind eye to such open bullying. It seems that this Miss Olivia has quite some backing, she thought to herself. Nicole seemed to be ustomed to this. After gritting her teeth, she knelt down with a broad smile, saying, ¡°Miss Olivia, you may take this opportunity to rehearse the scenes with me. I didn¡¯t do well in that scene in the morning.¡± That particr scene was about the female lead risking death to save her younger sister, and many shots in the scene required Nicole to crawl and kneel. However, Miss Olivia kept making mistakes during filming, causing Nicole¡¯s knees to bleed as she had kneeled multiple times in vain. Knowing that the supporting actress was deliberately giving her a hard time, Nicole kneeled down without the slightest hesitation. As long as she could do a good job in this film, she would be able to make a turnaround. The humiliation she was suffering right now didn¡¯t matter as long as she could gain a firm foothold. However, before her knees could touch the ground, an arm suddenly dragged her to her feet. ¡°Why should you kneel before her?!¡± Chapter 425 Chapter 425 Sophia dragged Nicole back to her feet while saying sarcastically, ¡°I wonder who was the one who kept making mistakes during filming this morning. Even if someone has to kneel, the person should be the one who wasted everyone¡¯s time by making bloopers all the time!¡± It seemed like Miss Olivia did have some influence in the film crew. The instant Sophia, who was obviously a walk-on, confronted her, everyone on set subconsciously nced in their direction. Then, they were shocked to see the new walk-on standing in front of Nicole and confronting Miss Olivia without knowing where she stood. Tilting her head to one side, Sophia uttered word by word with ridicule and sarcasm written all over her face, ¡°You used doubles in seven of your eight scenes. With such a bad personality and poor acting skills, it¡¯s no wonder that you can only y a supporting role for a few minutes in the film!¡± She spared Miss Olivia no mercy with her straightforward criticism. Sophia¡¯s words touched Miss Olivia¡¯s sore spot. Initially, she had expected that the role of the female lead in ¡®War Dragon¡¯ would be hers. However, she was told a few days before signing the contract that the role had gone to a b*tch named Nicole Walker instead. Because of that, she hated Nicole and often found fault with thetter on set. Even though she didn¡¯t dare to make a big scene in the film director¡¯s presence, she never stopped bullying Nicole behind the scenes. Other people on set turned a blind eye to this, for they also hated Nicole, whonded herself the role despite having no backing at all. However, all of them wondered, Where did this d*mn ignorant walk-on come from? Olivia red at Sophia fiercely. However, the thought of her husband¡ªwho yed as one of the male leads and was the biggest investor in this film¡ªand the few billions in her bank ount filled Sophia with confidence. Thus, she jutted out her chin and added, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that? Ain¡¯t I right?¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Nicole secretly tugged at Sophia¡¯s clothes from behind as if wanting to remind Sophia to stop. However, Sophia was so furious right now that she couldn¡¯t hold back her anger at all. She was looking for an outlet to vent her anger. Michael¡ªthat douchebag¡ªhooked up with women again, and he didn¡¯t reject Natasha-the-b*tch¡¯s advances, which made her blood boil. Since she was in a bad mood, she wanted to pick a fight with someone to make herself feel better. Miss Olivia stomped her foot and screamed hysterically, ¡°Director!¡± The director trotted over and wiped his sweat away before asking with a helpless expression, ¡°What¡¯s the matter again, mydy?¡± Olivia¡¯s tone of voice suddenly turned kittenish as she pointed at Sophia and said, ¡°Where did this miserable walk-one from? Throw her out of the set for me!¡± The director nced at the little walk-on before him, who looked young and unfamiliar. He knew all the well-connected cast members by heart, but since Sophia had been here for only a day, he had no impression of her. Therefore, he said casually, ¡°She¡¯s hired at 150 per day. Since you don¡¯t like her, I¡¯ll just chase her away.¡± Then, trying to send her away, he stuffed cash worth 100 in Sophia¡¯s hands without giving her the chance to speak as he told her in a good-natured way, ¡°Just go and join other sets.¡± It seemed that Miss Olivia was really quite influential since even the director was at her mercy. However, Sophia wondered whether she was as influential as Michael. Sophia returned the money to the director, saying, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. My cousin ys the male lead and is an investor of this film, so you guys have to ask for his permission before chasing me away!¡± Before the director could speak, Miss Olivia eyed Sophia up and down with a strange look in her eyes. Then, she asked doubtfully, ¡°Which of the lead actors is your cousin?¡± Sophia jutted out her chin again with the pride of a well-connected person as she dered, ¡°Listen to me, y¡¯all. My cousin is Taylor Murray!¡± The entire scene suddenly fell into silence¡­ ¡°Taylor Murray is your brother? Are you sure that this is not just your wishful thinking? You aren¡¯t worthy of being Taylor Murray¡¯s cousin at all!¡± said Miss Olivia tauntingly as if she had heard some outrageous joke. Forcibly suppressing herugh, she stared suspiciously at the boastful walk-on in front of her. Mimicking Miss Olivia¡¯s tone of voice, Sophia crossed her arms as she countered, ¡°Taylor Murray is my cousin. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can show you our picture!¡± Nicole was bullied so badly on set that she could no longer stand the sight of it. The way she looked at it, Nicole would probably be chased out of the film set within a few days if this were to go on! Since Sophia had stirred up trouble now, she would have to deal with the aftermath of it to avoid giving Nicole trouble. Therefore, she threatened, ¡°I¡¯d advise you to behave yourself a little in the future because my cousin is very fond of me. One word from me is all it takes¡ª¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Olivia suddenly burst outughing with her hand pped over her belly. The instant she laughed, her two assistantsughed too, and all the staff on the film set had strange and derisive smiles on their faces. Miss Oliviaughed so hard that she couldn¡¯t help covering her stomach with her hand. Pointing at Sophia, she mocked, ¡°Haha! I don¡¯t know where youe from, goofball, but please stop using my cousin to make yourself look good. I don¡¯t know you at all!¡± Sophia was puzzled. Miss Olivia¡¯s cousin¡­ The personal assistant next to Miss Olivia said proudly, ¡°Missy, this is Olivia Murray, Lord Taylor Murray¡¯s only cousin sister. May I know what makes you a cousin of Mr. Murray?¡± Sophia¡¯s face turned ghastly in an instant. Michael¡¯s cousin sister? Olivia¡­ Murray? She began searching her memory. Ever since she married Michael, she seemed to have never heard of him mentioning that he had a female cousin, nor had she seen such a person in his photo album. Since Olivia¡¯s surname was Murray, she was probably a cousin on Elizabeth¡¯s side. There were photos of the Fletchers in Michael¡¯s photo album, yet she really had never seen any photos of a Murray in it. Since Sophia imed to be Taylor¡¯s cousin in front of his real cousin sister, she instantly became the object of ridicule by the staff on the film set. Looking Sophia up and down, Olivia said smugly, ¡°My aunt Elizabeth has only one younger brother, who is my father, and Taylor is my biological cousin. I never heard about him having other cousins on my aunt¡¯s side, so may I know what makes you a cousin of his exactly?¡± Sophia frowned as she didn¡¯t know how to answer Olivia¡¯s question for the time being. With that, Olivia went even more overboard by taking a step forward and said overbearingly, ¡°Make it clear, or I won¡¯t let you go today!¡± Her two assistants also closed in on Sophia aggressively. ¡°That¡¯s right! Make it clear or kneel down!¡± ring fiercely at Olivia, Sophia suddenly thought of an answer. Thus, she answered with a sly smile, ¡°No wonder I have never seen you in my cousin¡¯s home. So you¡¯re a rtive of Aunt Elizabeth.¡± ¡°Aunt Elizabeth?¡± Olivia frowned. Having found a way to get herself out of this embarrassing situation, Sophia said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Taylor is my mother¡¯s brother¡¯s son, so he¡¯s my cousin.¡± Olivia felt a little suspicious as she stared at Sophia. Elizabeth didn¡¯t tell her family about her marriage back then. They knew that Elizabeth had a son, but they didn¡¯t know where he was, nor had they ever seen him. After Elizabeth passed away, her enormous wealth was inherited by her son, but the Murrays couldn¡¯t find out where he was despite having searched for a long time. It wasn¡¯t until Taylor publicly admitted being Elizabeth¡¯s sonst year that they learned that Taylor was her son. They knew nothing about Taylor¡¯s father, but when Elizabeth came back to meet her parents onest time back then, she had disclosed that her lover died on the battlefield. Sounds like he¡¯s just a poor soldier instead of someone from a wealthy noble family. Chapter 426 Chapter 426 Olivia was still wary. What if this walk-on is really close to Taylor? However, she wasn¡¯t willing to back down either. Seeing that the two ¡®cousins¡¯ of Taylor were in a standoff, the director hurriedly came forward to help resolve the dispute. ¡°Alright, both of you are a family, so please don¡¯t be hostile to each other. Olivia, please get ready for the next scene.¡± It was until then that Olivia mumbled and left the ce. Watching Olivia leave, Nicole was still reeling from shock. Sophia consoled her by telling her, ¡°Just do your best to act in the drama and don¡¯t be influenced by other people. If you be famous thanks to this drama, your future will be bright.¡± Nicole nodded. She had been getting ready for years for such a chance. Now that she had gotten the chance, she would never let it slip through her fingers. Hesitantly, she asked, ¡°Are you really Taylor¡¯s cousin?¡± Sophia said in denial, ¡°No, but I¡¯ve invested some money in this drama, so they won¡¯t dare create trouble for me. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Nicole didn¡¯t believe her totally, but Olivia indeed stopped bothering them. It wasn¡¯t certain whether it was because the director had tried to mediate the conflict, or Olivia was wary of Sophia¡¯s identity. After Nicole was done with her scene in the afternoon, Sophia went to another filming site, where Michael and other staff members were busy shooting their drama. Finding Hale, Sophia said, ¡°Help me invest 10 million in the production team using my name. The only condition is that they can¡¯t get anyone to rece Nicole as the female lead.¡± Despite not knowing what happened to Sophia, Hale still nodded in agreement. In fact, she didn¡¯t need to invest any money, because the production team was under the protection of Michael and Harry, therefore they had the final say in everything. Moreover, no one would dare rece Nicole with anyone else because she was the favorite actress of Sophia. When the sky was about to turn dark, the cooks had prepared the dishes. However, no one came to have dinner because they were still busy shooting the drama, except for Sophia, who was devouring the food. When Michael was done with his scene and ready to have dinner, he saw Sophia sitting in the corner alone and watching a movie on her tablet without chatting with anymore. Although he knew that Sophia was still angry, he didn¡¯t go over to coax her because there were too many people around. While he was having dinner, someone approached him and called out in a sweet voice, ¡°Taylor!¡± Hearing that voice, Michael frowned and turned around, whereupon he saw Olivia approaching him in a delighted manner. If the director never told him that his cousin was one of the actresses, he wouldn¡¯t have known that he had such a cousin. It was because the director was a fan of Elizabeth that he gave a supporting role to Elizabeth¡¯s niece. Since the time he started to form memories as a child, Michael had never seen Elizabeth¡¯s family members before because she never talked about her family. Therefore, he knew nothing about his mother¡¯s family. ¡°Taylor!¡± Under the jealous gazes of others, Olivia walked over in a joyful manner, held Michael¡¯s arm and shook it. ¡°Taylor, why don¡¯t we have supper together after work?¡± Without any emotion, Michael replied, ¡°I have a scene to shoot tonight.¡± On the other side, Sophia eavesdropped on their conversation and noted their sweet interaction. She¡¯s really Michael¡¯s cousin! Pfft, Michael and his cousin. Such a made-in-heaven couple! At that instant, Sophia was extremely jealous. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Totally different from her arrogant self moments ago, Olivia was now trying to get closer to Michael by speaking in a coquettish tone. Pfft, if her acting skill was as good as her ability to act coquettishly, Nicole wouldn¡¯t have been held back by her this morning. Catching a glimpse of Sophia, who was facing away from them, Olivia thought of something and questioned, ¡°Is she your cousin as well?¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°No.¡± That¡¯s my wife. However, since he wasn¡¯t close to Olivia, he wouldn¡¯t expose Sophia¡¯s identity. Olivia was overjoyed and snorted secretly. So she¡¯s just a shameless woman who¡¯s pretending to be Taylor¡¯s cousin. Then, Olivia wanted to talk to Michael further, but he was busy reading the script, so he ignored her. When night fell, he continued working on the next scene. Seeing that, Olivia walked away in a haughty way. I¡¯m the cousin of Taylor, who was the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor, so all the staff members have to respect me! Just when she was leaving, she passed by Sophia and smiled wickedly. Thanks to her rtionship with Taylor, all the staff members never dared disobey her orders. Since this walk-on dared to offend me, she¡¯ll have to be taught a lesson! Hale had wanted to tell Michael about the conflict between Sophia and Olivia, but since Michael was busy working on his scene, he thought he should wait. However, after Gwen called him to check up on him, he forgot about it. When the night scene was over, everyone started leaving the production site. Michael had his own van with all the necessary equipment. Upon opening the door, he beckoned to Sophia. ¡°Chica, let¡¯s get in. We¡¯re going back to the hotel.¡± Sophia had a dispute with Olivia in the day, and Michael was in a suspicious rtionship with Natasha. Therefore, she was displeased and replied coldly, ¡°My clothes are dirty, so I won¡¯t get in your car.¡± Upon getting into another van, she closed the door and fell into silence. Shaking his head, Michael smirked and told someone to send all the flower bouquets to the hotel. The vans reached the hotel consecutively. Upon entering the room, Sophia directly went into the bathroom and locked the door so that Michael couldn¡¯t get in. Having returned to the room, Michael remained silent and fell into his thoughts. Sophia was still angry with Michael, but the bath made her cheer up a little. Lying in the bathtub, she was trying toe up with an excuse to forgive Michael. Sighing, she thought, I shouldn¡¯t have argued with Michael¡¯s cousin. Although she¡¯s annoying, she¡¯s his cousin after all. Maybe he epted Natasha¡¯s flower bouquet because it would be embarrassing for her if he rejected it. Perhaps he would send it back secretlyter. Yes, my husband isn¡¯t that kind of person. With such thoughts in her mind, her fury slowly subsided and she forgave Michael. After taking a bath for a long time, she put on a towel and a pair of red slippers. Then, she walked out of the misty bathroom and stepped on something. Lowering her head, she realized that it was a flower petal. Raising her head, she saw that the red carpet in the room was covered with all sorts of flower petals, and the lights had dimmed. Michael had formed a love sign with roses on the floor. What the¡­ Facing away from Sophia, Michael was picking the petals from the flowers and scattering them on the table and the bed. At that instant, the room was filled with the aroma of flowers. ¡°Oh, chica. You¡¯re done with the bath,¡± he said as he picked a rose and smelled it. Sophia walked over and stood in the middle of the love sign that was formed using roses. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Then, Michael yed romantic music, which made the atmosphere in the room intimate. ¡°It¡¯s our second anniversary. I¡¯m sorry that I didn¡¯t have time in the day. Please make do with it.¡± Second anniversary¡­ Sophia suddenly recalled the tweet Michael posted some time ago. Today is our second year of marriage. On the same day two years ago, she was still a thindy who was brought to Michael by Daniel. Two years have passed just like this¡­ Chapter 427 Chapter 427 In the summer two years ago, Sophia lost everything and was in despair. Fortunately, for the following two summers, she had Michael with her. At that moment, she felt that she was the happiest person in the world. In fact, Michael was a romantic man as he would utilize his resources and give her surprises from time to time, which made her feel happy that she had such a husband. However, he felt that it would be somewhat pretentious to create surprises deliberately, just like the flower petals now as it was just his improvisation. After receiving the flower bouquets from Natasha, he had wanted to pass them to the production team as props. Nevertheless, he suddenly recalled that it was their second anniversary, so he made use of the flowers to decorate the room. I swear to God that I¡¯ve epted Natasha¡¯s flowers just to give you a surprise! Stepping on the petals, they cuddled with each other and danced to the waltz music in the background. Resting her head on Michael¡¯s shoulder, she felt that she had never been so happy before. Therefore, she had to apologize to Michael for making a fuss earlier. My Lord is the best man in the world! Running his fingers through Sophia¡¯s hair, Michael suddenly thought of something and reminded, ¡°Try not to get into conflict with Olivia.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Since Elizabeth is dead, her family members are important to Michael. If I get into a dispute with Olivia, he¡¯ll be in a difficult situation. Therefore, I can¡¯t be so wilful and always let him clean up the mess for me. After dancing for a while, Michael fished out a pornographic book, titled ¡®100 Positions for Married Couples¡¯. Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°We have no time. Let¡¯s choose two positions first. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make it up to you in the future.¡± Michael appeared to be in a rush. Sophia was rendered speechless. This morning, Michael had to wake up early and rushed to the production site for work. Thus, he was exhausted and didn¡¯t have much energy left to make love with Sophia. However, he promised that he would give her a quality intimate session next time. The film studio was quiet at night, but the lights outside the window never dimmed. Having followed Michael around for the entire day, even though she was on her phone most of the time, she was still pretty tired. Hence, Michael, who had worked all day, must be even more exhausted. As Sophia snuggled up to Michael on the bed, she felt safe and became sleepy. ¡°Chica¡­ When we¡¯re done with this drama, we¡¯ll go home and have a child. What do you think?¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t certain whether it was a dream or reality. Hearing what Michael said, she answered in a daze, ¡°Okay.¡± The next morning, Sophia woke up and realized that Michael was gone. Michael had turned off the rm for her so that she could have a good sleep, while he left the room at 5 a.m. Shooting a drama was a taxing job. As the male lead, he was under a lot of pressure, because without him, the film production woulde to a halt. Therefore, he was very disciplined by arriving at the site earliest and going off workst. All of his dramas were well-made because he had high standards for himself and would reshoot a scene until it was perfect. Sometimes, if a scene didn¡¯t feel right, he would reshoot it countless times even if he had to sacrifice his rest time. He wouldn¡¯t feel bored or tired doing so. Despite the fact that he was already rich, he went on acting for dramas simply because he really loved his job. Sophia had never had difficulties sleeping in a bed other than her own since young. Although she was in a hotel, she slept well and awakened at eight in the morning. After having breakfast in the hotel dining hall, she walked along the street of the film studio with Maria and Hale to the production site. Everyone had started work early in the morning. As they were on a mountain, the temperature wasn¡¯t high. However, the weather would be sultry in the afternoon. Hence, they normally started work before the break of dawn so that the actors could feel morefortable in the morning breeze. However, there was a subtle change in the atmosphere at the production site because X had arrived. X was just a supporting actress, so there were not many scenes for her. Since there were a few scenes she had to take part in on this day, she decided toe to the site early. The moment X appeared, all the walk-ons and C-list actresses surrounded her and greeted her because she was the fiancee of the Young Master of the Harper Group. The Harper Group was the biggest shareholder of Glory Entertainment, so they had a say in the business. If these C-list actresses could strike up a rtionship with X, they stood a chance to be the next female lead. Although what happened at the campus belle contest was broadcast live and that incident made X feel embarrassed, the cooperation between the Harper Group and Huffs Technology was a force to be reckoned with. Despite the fire that engulfed Huffs Technology some time ago, they were never defeated. Even though they weren¡¯t as powerful as before, with their resources at hand, they were able to rise again. In spite of the fact that X had been expelled from Bayside University, she made a name for herself in showbiz and was now a rising young actress. With a beautiful face, great talent, and a strong background, she had be a popr person at the production site. When the audience saw X¡¯s performance in ¡®War Dragon¡¯ in the future, Glory Entertainment would spend more time posting on social media to change her undesirable image. With money, her scandal would be erased from everyone¡¯s memory in no time. In fact, a scandal was the best way to make someone famous. After that, all the person had to do was to reverse her image so that she could obtain both fame and money. X was weed in the production site in an exuberant manner. Recently, her schedule was filled with appointments for entertainment shows and endorsements with attractive remunerations. When she was done with ¡®War Dragon¡¯, she would star in other dramas, which were all top productions. She appeared at the production site with three assistants and exclusive bodyguards. As soon as she was done with the first scene, the C-list actresses surrounded her and fawned over her. ¡°X, you did a great job!¡± ¡°X, you¡¯re so popr recently!¡± Being the center of attention, X felt like she was the winner in life. Meanwhile, Nicole was rehearsing with the male lead, Taylor. It was an intensive fight scene with no substitutes for them, so as to ensure the best viewing experience for the audience. Hung on wires, Nicole was sweating as she kept practicing her moves. The director wanted to take a long shot, which was demanding for both the actors. Expectedly, they had to keep reshooting the scene. Staring at Nicole, who was acting in the scene seriously and kept injuring herself, the walk-ons started gossiping. ¡°Pfft. Look at this slut. She must be crazy about bing famous at all costs. She doesn¡¯t want a substitute and keeps throwing herself at Miss Taylor!¡± ¡°Look how slutty she is. She is trying to seduce Miss Taylor by throwing coquettish nces at him!¡± ¡°Look at her wandering hand on Miss Taylor. Instead of working on the scene, her real intention is to seduce Miss Taylor! How can she be so shameless and throw herself at him when he¡¯s a married man?¡± The fact that X hated Nicole was an open secret among the crew as they remembered how Nicole got the leading role by partnering with Imperial Entertainment and framing Richard. It was Nicole who seduced Richard to make love to her and told the journalists to catch them in the act. She devised the plot and even exposed the s*x video to make herself famous. Chapter 428 Chapter 428 Although it wasn¡¯t certain whether Imperial Entertainment was involved in this plot, it wasn¡¯t a mere rumor that Nicole had tried to seduce Richard to be famous, for the sex video was still avabe online. To these people, Nicole was a slut who wanted to snatch the leading role at all costs. As the walk-ons kept deriding Nicole, X was gleeful. This b*tch, Nicole, framed Richard and made love to him. She even got the leading role of ¡®War Dragon¡¯! This role was supposed to be mine! The drama featured male characters, so it didn¡¯t matter who the female lead was. In this case, why should Nicole be the female lead instead of X? When they were done with the scene, Nicole was thirsty, but her assistant was nowhere to be seen. Reaching for her own bag, she took out a sk to drink some water. Since she was on her period, she could only drink warm water. However, there was a strong salty taste in the water. That taste nearly made her retch. Shocked, she spat out the water and realized that someone had poured arge amount of salt into her sk. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± The supporting actresses, who surrounded X, burst intoughter as they were gleeful that Nicole was resentful but couldn¡¯t do anything. So what if she¡¯s the female lead? We can bully her as we please! Hearing theughter, Nicole knew who did it, but she never pointed out the person. Her thirst was made worse by the salty water as the taste lingered in her mouth. Without her assistant and agent around, she was helpless. Left with no choice, she could only go to a kiosk to buy a bottle of water. Too much water would affect her performance, but insufficient water made her throat feel dry. For the entire morning, she wasn¡¯t in tip-top condition, but she managed to finish her part with perseverance. Seeing how Nicole was difited, X smiled joyfully. As long as I¡¯m here, I won¡¯t make life easy for her! Sooner orter, I¡¯ll rece her! Everyone wasughing at how Nicole was thirsty but was forced to continue taking part in the filming. As a supporting actress herself, Olivia was jealous that X was so popr among the other actresses; even her breath smelled of jealousy. Well, she¡¯s the daughter of the Huff Family and the fiancee of the Young Master of Harper Group after all! Despite always strutting around the production site as Taylor¡¯s cousin, she knew that she wasn¡¯t comparable to X. All of a sudden, X¡¯s assistant rushed over and informed everyone, ¡°Mr. Harper is here!¡± Hearing that, they pushed X forward excitedly. ¡°Your fiance is here again!¡± ¡°X, go get him quickly!¡± They all urged her to fetch that Mr. Harper here, who was none other than Richard Harper. Although he had suffered a setback and had dropped out of Bayside University some time ago, he was still the Young Master of the Harper Family. Now, he focused his time on his work and used all sorts of dirty tricks to take back control of the Harper Group. After expelling all his opponents from the board of directors, he had once again reached the top of his career. In fact, he now had a bigger ambition as he wanted to grow Harper Group into apany asrge as Asco International. As the golden Maybach pulled up in the car park outside the production site, everyone saw that the backseat of the roadster was stuffed with flowers of various colors. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s a car full of flowers!¡± ¡°So romantic. It¡¯d be fantastic if I had such a fiance!¡± Surrounded by voices of praise and amazement, X walked out of the crowd like a princess and reached for Richard. Having suffered from those setbacks, Richard was no longer the reckless yboy in the past as he was now a decisive businessman. No matter how much he has changed, he is the Richard I remember. Our love and marriage will never change! I¡¯m still the prestigious daughter of the Huff Family as well as the future wife of Richard Harper! ¡°Richard,¡± X called out in a sweet yet shy voice. ¡°X,¡± Richard replied in a low voice. Upon taking off his sunsses, he bent over as his handsome face magnified before X¡¯s eyes. Then, he nted a hot yet gentle kiss on her cheek. Seeing that, the crowd started praising them. ¡°They are a couple made in heaven!¡± ¡°They are a perfect match!¡± ¡°He is handsome, while she is beautiful!¡± At that moment, X¡¯s vanity was satisfied, for she felt as though she was the most prestigious woman in the world. With a bouquet of flowers in her hands, she held hands with Richard as they walked into the production site. Unfortunately, the first person they came across was Nicole. Nicole Walker! Seeing her, Richard was so furious that his facial features started creasing together. It¡¯s this woman who ruined my reputation! She has even be the female lead of ¡®War Dragon¡¯! However, it¡¯s apparent that she isn¡¯t doing well on the production site. It seems that her financial backer has dumped her! To Richard, Nicole was just a nobody he could destroy at any moment, so he wouldn¡¯t let her off. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Nicole knew that Richard had arrived, and he was staring at her with a ruthless gaze, but she couldn¡¯t shrink back. Now, she had to make use of her limited resources to protect herself. I can¡¯t back down! Richard retracted his vicious gaze and said to the supporting actresses around X, ¡°All of you must be exhausted. I will treat you to a meal. You can order whatever you want!¡± The actresses cheered. He¡¯s handsome, rich and generous. Such a perfect boyfriend! they thought. Despite the harmonious atmosphere, someone came forward to make a scene. A cold voice suddenly pierced through the warm atmosphere and reached Richard¡¯s ears. Like a sharp knife, it shed across his fragile and hypocritical soul. ¡°Oh, Richard, you¡¯re already bailed out so quickly? It must have cost you a lot of money.¡± At that instant, Richard felt cold all over his body and soul as though a basin of cold water had been sshed at him. He felt like the veins in his body were frozen, but the blood in the veins started boiling strangely as the hair on his skin rose. Stiffening, he turned around and saw a woman, who was d in casual clothes with an umbre in her hand and a pair of sunsses on her face, standing not far away. As the breeze came at her, the hem of her dress rose and exposed her fair legs. Sophia seemed to be excited to meet Richard as she took off her sunsses and tilted her head with a smile. Despite the seemingly harmless smile, what she was about to say was extremely vicious. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be imprisoned for a few years. After all, you assaulted the police and partnered with gangsters to kidnap someone. These are all serious crimes.¡± Richard¡¯s smile was wiped off as his expression was now mixed with coldness, fury, contempt, and even a tinge of fear. Chapter 429 Chapter 429 This nightmarish woman is here again! At the same time, X¡¯s expression was dark, for she couldn¡¯t believe that Sophia was this relentless and had even reappeared. It¡¯s apparent that she¡¯s here for Richard! Sneering, X clenched Richard¡¯s hand as though she was trying to im that this was her man. Seeing through them, Sophia smiled helplessly. Then, she said in an even more malicious way, ¡°Oh, I remember it! You were bailed for medical treatments because you suffered from a sexually transmitted disease!¡± A sexually transmitted disease?! The actresses, who were envious of the couple a moment ago, stayed away from them and stared at Richard in disbelief. It¡¯s unexpected that such an upright-looking man has a sexually transmitted disease! Then, they recalled the rumors of Richard¡¯s wild sexual life. ¡°Stop it, Sophia! What a b*tch you are! What on earth are you trying to do?¡± Richard snarled as the veins on his clenched fists on the sides protruded. With her hands tucked in the pockets, Sophia smiled sweetly and asked caringly, ¡°It seems that your disease has been cured as you can sleep with young models again now. I heard that two days ago, you went to a hotel with two newly recruited models of yourpany. It¡¯s rumored that someone managed to take the photos, and the person was about to sell the photos to an entertainment magazine. Are you alright with that?¡± He went to a hotel two days ago? X was stunned upon hearing that. Didn¡¯t he tell me that he was meeting his client two days ago? No, I have to stay calm! It¡¯s impossible that he lied to me! ¡°Sophia, stop making things up. You¡¯re just trying to destroy my love for Richard and snatch him away from me. Well, no matter what happens, I trust himpletely. He will never betray me!¡± Despite her seeming confidence, she stopped holding Richard¡¯s arm as her body stiffened, and her forehead was beaded with sweat. With her hands still tucked in the pockets, Sophia stared coldly at the couple who appeared to have faith in each other. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m just giving you a reminder, but you¡¯re ming me instead. Alright, these are the photos of Richard making out with the young models. Destroy these photos yourself and don¡¯t let them fall in the hands of the journalists!¡± With that, she took out a pile of photos from within her clothes and hurled them into the air, whereupon the photos scattered around the crowd and even hit Richard¡¯s stiffened face. ¡°How could you expect a yboy to be a good man? He will never stop cheating on his spouse. Richard, if you want to make out with other young women next time, be careful with the location and don¡¯t let other people have the chance of taking your photos¡­¡± X caught one photo and saw that it was taken from a high position. Under the night sky, a man and two women were making love on a roadster in the countryside. The twodies were the twin sisters that Glory Entertainment was trying to promote. With identical faces, they were packaged to be sweet and innocent. However, in the photos, they were unbelievably sexy as they made love to the man like two seductresses. These two women and the man had sex in all sorts of positions in a reckless and intoxicated manner. The man was none other than Richard Harper! In fact, the man¡¯s face could hardly be seen as the light was dim, but X could recognize the car. The car, in which they made love, was Richard¡¯s Maybach that was stuffed with flowers on this day! Other than the photos with the twins, there were also photos of Richard making love to different models in hotel rooms in increasingly shameless and intimate positions. Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. The time printed on the photos suggested that Richard had been cheating on X during her work trip in Africa. There were also photos that were taken as recently as two days ago. She had never expected that while she was busy making a film in Africa, Richard had slept with different women every night. Seeing these photos, the other actresses were embarrassed and they dared not utter a word. Richard was shaken to the core when he saw these photos. How could there be photos of it? I was in the countryside! Judging from the angle, these photos seem to be taken using a drone. At that instant, cold sweat streamed down from Richard¡¯s forehead. Meanwhile, these photos made X realize that the happiness she thought she had was nothing but an illusion. Her illusional pride and happiness were easily destroyed by these photos. What was presented to her was hard, cold reality! No matter how hard she tried to suppress her tears, she failed in her attempt to do so as anger rose in her and made her feel dizzy. ¡°X, listen to me. These are all fake photos. She¡¯s trying to frame me. Some of these photos were released by ourpany simply to promote our new models. It isn¡¯t real¡­¡± Richard hurriedly exined. Unlike the timid and diffident man he was in the past, he was now giving an exnation in a calm and clear manner. Despondent, X closed her eyes and squeezed out thest drops of tears. Wiping off her tears, she smirked and held Richard¡¯s hands, saying, ¡°These are obviously fake photos. I don¡¯t believe her!¡± Seeing that X still trusted him, Richard was relieved. Phew! I have to be more careful in the future! Then, X told her assistant to pick up the photos and shred them. She had surrendered to fate and stopped trying to fight for anything. If she could snatch Richard from Sophia so easily in the past, other women could do the same. However, these women could only be his mistresses because they weren¡¯t as powerful as X. I can¡¯t lose Richard! The Huff Family still needs this political marriage! Even if there¡¯s no love between us, I will still be the Young Mistress of the Harper Family! After that, they made up and never mentioned the sex photos again. When Richard saw Sophia on the production site moments ago, he was flustered. Why is she here? She¡¯s like a lunatic who would attack anyone randomly. If I stay here any longer, I will be targeted. After staying in the production site for a while, he quickly ran away, for he honestly didn¡¯t have the courage to face Sophia. She¡¯s like a demon and a lunatic who will take revenge on me at all costs! I have a bright future ahead of me, so I shouldn¡¯t try to deal with a mad woman who is left with nothing but hatred! Meanwhile, X had a different thought from Richard. She hated Sophia even without Richard. A slut like her has no right to be so sessful! I must utilize all means and destroy her! Unexpectedly, Michael took in the good show. Tut-tut, she¡¯s indeed Cooper¡¯s daughter! Such a vengeful woman! Back then, the Mitchells burned Cooper¡¯s woman to death in front of him. Therefore, he did all he could to take revenge even if he had to die. Now, the Mitchells were scrambling to look for the money that was supposed to be stored in Kuwait. The grudge remained with Cooper forever. Even when Woody was old and frail, he never paid him a visit. Now, Sophia also wouldn¡¯t let Richard and X off, and she did all she could to destroy them. Well, this production team is under my protection. She must be bored having to supervise me all the time, so I¡¯ll just let her deal with these two jerks. Will Sophia ever forgive Richard and X? Never! Chapter 430 Chapter 430 Because of the arrival of Richard and X, the atmosphere on the production site seemed to have a subtle change. Certainly, that was just the feeling of the walk-ons. Although the leading actors were unaffected, they heard about it. The leading actors and the walk-ons normally didn¡¯t mingle with each other. Apart from the scenes which they had to work on together, the two indifferent protagonists never got into contact with the walk-ons. After an important scene was done, the two male leads took a rest. Harry drank some water and started gossiping. ¡°Old man, your wife¡¯s ex boyfriend and her ex boyfriend¡¯s current girlfriend are here. Are you nervous?¡± Michael focused on reading the script and drew some circles on the important lines. In order to y his role as the mercenary, he even went to the marketce where mercenaries were hired to observe the way they acted. Hearing what Harry said, he replied, ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯m a little nervous.¡± Harry giggled without uttering a word. As the male leads were having a chat, the female walk-ons wanted to approach them to get their contact numbers or take photos with them. Before they could do that, they were blocked out by the bodyguards in ck. Left with no choice, they could only watch the male leads from afar. With the script in her hands, Nicole paced around for a long time. Eventually, she mustered enough courage and walked toward the male leads to discuss the next scene with them. The bodyguards, who blocked out those walk-ons moments ago, let her pass. ¡°What the heck. How can she approach my idols?¡± ¡°She¡¯s the female lead. Are you? Pfft.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Not everyone can be the female lead. Do you have the same tricks that she possesses?¡± The supporting actresses talked loudly in jealousy. Because of her ess to the male leads, Nicole became themon enemy of the females on the production site. Despite knowing what others talked about her, she had no choice but to go on with what she had to do as she was the female lead. Since she would have direct interactions with the male leads in the drama, she would have to discuss the scenes with them. If she didn¡¯t look for them now, should she knock on the male leads¡¯ doors at night when everyone was taking a rest? In the drama, she was the bright and brave protagonist, but in reality, she was just a humble and timid newbie to the industry in front of the male leads. Taylor and Harry were seated on chairs. With the script in her hands, it was inappropriate for Nicole to stand or squat, but there was no extra chair. Left without a choice, she decided to take a seat on the ground since her clothes were already dirty, and the next scene required her to roll on the ground anyway. Michael had high hopes for Nicole after he was forced to watch Nicole¡¯s dramas at home. Moreover, they worked together in some dramas before. Although she didn¡¯t graduate from an acting academy, she was bright and talented in acting. Not only was she willing to learn, but she was also very responsible in her work. Since she came to discuss the scenes, Michael was willing to rehearse with her. However, he felt pressured that Nicole was seated on the ground in front of him because she was his wife¡¯s idol. Before he could say anything else, Nicole¡¯s loyal fan, Sophia, came over with a chair. ¡°Nicole, don¡¯t sit on the ground. Come on, this chair is for you!¡± Embarrassed, Nicole said, ¡°I¡¯m okay with sitting on the ground. You can take a seat on the chair instead.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Please have a seat. I¡¯ll just get one more chair.¡± It was only then did Nicole take her seat on the chair. After bringing over another chair, Sophia helped fan Nicole, passed a bottle of water to her, and held out an umbre for her. Sophia learned that X had made life difficult for Nicole, and she understood the reason behind that as it was all because of her. Because of her close rtionship with Sophia, X and Richard hated Nicole. Therefore, Sophia felt obliged to protect Nicole. However, Nicole was nervous and she kept saying thanks to her. As they were discussing the scenes, Sophia watched them on the side. Having stayed in the production site for two days, she had learned a thing or two. An actor¡¯s dedication to their work was manifested in their script. Some actor¡¯s scripts were totally clean, while some actor¡¯s scripts were dog-eared, torn, and full of markings and notes. Normally, the leading actors would write many notes on their scripts, while the walk-ons would barely write anything. Nicole¡¯s script was dirty because she always picked up her script with dirty hands after filming a scene. Also, her script was full of notes with rarely any nk space. It was the same for the scripts of Michael and Harry. Facing his wife¡¯s idol, Michael took it seriously and spoke in a gentle manner. Catching a glimpse of Sophia, who was supervising him seriously, his lips curved into a loving smile.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Seeing that Nicole and the male leads were having a discussion, the other actresses were jealous, especially when Michael kept smiling in a loving way. These actresses, who couldn¡¯t even approach the male leads, were so resentful that their eyes reddened. The scene in the morning waspleted smoothly. In the afternoon, Sophia invited Nicole to have lunch with her. Nicole had finally fired herzy assistant, and the new assistant was smart and passionate. After Nicole was done with a scene, the assistant would pass her a bottle of water and hold out an umbre for her. However, there was a problem with the scene in the afternoon. It was about the female protagonist saving her young sister and other kidnapped girls amid the fire shots. She was injured and bloodied while the male leads were caught up somewhere else. Without any help, she still had to do her best to save the girls. It was a torturing scene for Nicole because she had to keep rolling on the ground until the male leads came to save her. The scene wasn¡¯t long with only a few lines for her. When the injured female lead found the location where the girls were confined, she tried her best to save them. However, the bad guys were about to reach her. With injuries all over her body, she was powerless to save the girls. ¡°Sis, please leave immediately. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be killed!¡± The younger sister in the drama, Olivia, cried. The teary and pitiful expression on her face somewhat resembled Elizabeth. ¡°No, I will never give up! Follow me quickly!¡± the female lead shouted with determination written all over her face. Despite the fact that she was bloodied all over, and there were no more bullets in her gun, she crawled toward her younger sister to save her. This crawling scene was the most touching part that should elicit tears from the audience. The female lead would soon witness her sister being taken away, but she was powerless to do anything. To make the scene look even more tragic, she crawled on the coarse ground slowly with difficulty as her elbows and knees rubbed against the ground. The scene looked real and powerful. As the girls watched the female lead, who was trying to save them, they were all wailing. At that moment, the female lead was the ¡®older sister¡¯ for all of them. The sight was moving as Nicole¡¯s yell was recorded on the spot. Her performance was excellent and convincing. Unexpectedly, a ¡®pfft¡¯ sound was heard suddenly from one of the girls. It was X who had burst into laughter. ¡°Cut!¡± Chapter 431 Chapter 431 The director was exasperated because a good shot was ruined just like this, so he snarled, ¡°One more take!¡± As the scene was reshot, Nicole also had to crawl and yell again. ¡°Sis, please leave immediately! Otherwise, I will kill you¡ªOops, sorry! I said it wrong!¡± It was Olivia who said the wrong line as she hurriedly apologized. However, there was a tinge of glee behind her gaze after her prank was sessful. Left without a choice, the scene had to be reshot. Nicoley down on the ground and repeated her part. Unfortunately, the supporting actresses kept making mistakes in the following takes. After crawling and yelling for a few times, Nicole¡¯s voice became hoarse, and her skin started bleeding. Nevertheless, she still did her best no matter how many times she had to repeat doing her part. Watching on the side, Sophia¡¯s eyebrows knitted together as she was anxious. Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. These people are obviously pulling a prank on Nicole. When will this scene ever bepleted? Her voice is hoarse, and her limbs are bleeding. If this prank keeps going on, how are we going to move on to the next scene? Since the shot was unsessful, the director told everyone to take a rest and continueter. Sophia and the assistant quickly passed a bottle of water to Nicole and held out an umbre for her. Upon a closer look, Nicole was injured all over her body. Even when she was saying thanks to Sophia, her voice was gravelly. Meanwhile, the supporting actresses wereughing at howughable Nicole was now. Sophia shot a stern look at the supporting actresses, who stared back at her fearlessly as they had never taken Sophia seriously. X was especially ted. Knowing that Nicole and Sophia were close to each other, she deliberately made life difficult for Nicole. On the other hand, Sophia was powerless to deal with X. As one of the supporting actresses, Olivia was delighted that Nicole, the female lead who hade from nowhere, was targeted. On the matter of dealing with Nicole, X and Olivia were on the same side. Meanwhile, the director had gone to another site to direct a more important scene, so only the deputy director remained there. All of these supporting actresses were the rtives of the director and the investors, so the deputy director didn¡¯t have the courage to offend them. Without a choice, he begged them to do their best. However, X wasn¡¯t flustered at all because most of the female lead¡¯s scenes were not hard to shoot. Even if she pulled a prank on Nicole for two days, it wouldn¡¯t slow down the progress. I¡¯m definitely going to do it againter. Just when the supporting actresses were discussing how to mess with the female lead, Sophia appeared behind them and persuaded in a low voice, ¡°Stop it. This isn¡¯t a ce where you should make a fuss. If you keep doing this, you will slow down the progress.¡± Understanding what Sophia was trying to say, X reapplied make-up on her face and replied lightly, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. We¡¯ve been doing our best for the drama.¡± Olivia chimed in, ¡°I¡¯ve been in this field for years, so I know what I¡¯m doing. With so many people taking part in the same scene, there are bound to be mistakes. What¡¯s wrong? Does the pampered female lead have a problem with it?¡± With that, all of them shifted their attention to Nicole. During the break, most people were having drinks and chatting under umbres, but Nicole alone was pacing around and memorizing her lines seriously. Without saying a word, Sophia turned to leave in a fury. After that, one supporting actress said bitterly, ¡°Who is that walk-on? She¡¯s so arrogant. Will she make a comint?¡± Hearing that, Olivia put on a disdainful and arrogant expression. As the most experienced actress among the cast, even the director had to give in to her. Watching Sophia leave, she said to the other actresses in a loud voice, ¡°I¡¯ve found out about it. She¡¯s just the housekeeper of my cousin, and she was lying to everyone that she¡¯s Taylor¡¯s cousin. Haha, Taylor exposed her lie on the spot. What a disgusting woman!¡± ¡°Hahaha, that¡¯s so embarrassing for her!¡± They all burst intoughter. Since Sophia was so arrogant, they thought that she was the director¡¯s rtive. To their surprise, she was just Taylor¡¯s housekeeper, not even his assistant. As X listened to Olivia, a moment of realization shone within her eyes. So she¡¯s just Taylor¡¯s housekeeper. It¡¯s no wonder that Taylor is good to her and she can live in The Imperial, Vi No. 8. I didn¡¯t expect that it was Taylor who bought her off to be his housekeeper for eighty thousand. It¡¯s a lie that she¡¯s married to the boss of a coalpany! A slut will always remain a slut after all! All of a sudden, X smiled in a mysterious way. After leaving the supporting actresses, Sophia returned to Nicole and consoled her by saying, ¡°Just do your best for the scer and don¡¯t be influenced by anyone. I¡¯ll talk to the director.¡± Nicole knew that it was useless for Sophia to look for the director, but she still remained in a tip-top condition and was determined toplete the scene perfectly. Then, Sophia went to another site, where a more important scene was taking ce. The two male leads were in an intense standoff. When the shot was over, Michael caught a glimpse of Sophia looking furious in one corner. After gesturing to him with a gaze, she sneaked into a tent. Michael rehearsed with Harry for a while and told him that he needed to take a rest. Upon getting into the tent, he told Hale to keep guard outside so that no one could enter. There was a simple bed in the tent. Sometimes, when Michael was tired, he would take a rest on it. Sophia was seated on the bed when Michael came in. Seeing him, shey down and said, ¡°Come here. I need your help.¡± Gazing at his bold wife, Michael was surprised. However, since his wife needed him, he took off his clothes and walked over. A whileter, Hale heard a creaking sounding from the tent. The bed is creaking. It¡¯s time to buy a new one, he thought. The tent was a mysterious ce in the production site. Inside the tent, different stories happened and under-the-table deals were sealed every day. Outside the tent, it was the hustling and bustling production site; inside the tent, however, two people were making love. As the tent wasn¡¯t soundproof at all, they could clearly hear the sounds of footsteps and the chatters outside the tent. At that moment, these people had no idea that the upright-looking best actor and idol, Taylor Murray, was making love to a woman inside the tent. It seemed like there was only a fine line between the lovable best actor and the lechers who cajoled actresses for sex in exchange for better opportunities! Chapter 432 Chapter 432 Michael found it exciting. It¡¯s no wonder they all love to have sex in the tent! Meanwhile, Sophia was worried that a gust of wind would lift the canvas and expose their act. As Michael¡¯s sweat dripped on Sophia¡¯s body, she clenched her hands at his sweaty shoulders as her slender fingers dug into the flesh on his shoulder des. Lacking the courage to moan, she kept an ear on the sounds outside. As soon as someone approached, she would tense up. She¡¯s so tight! Michael pulled her petite figure into his embrace as their bodies pressed against each other tightly. He could clearly feel her every breath and heartbeat as well as all her anxiety. At that moment, Michael¡¯s muscr body was drenched in sweat. Since it was his first time having such an exciting sex, he was on the brink of losing control. However, he gritted his teeth and held it back, for he couldn¡¯t disappoint his wife. All of a sudden, the anxious voice of the director was heard outside. ¡°Is Taylor done with his rest? It¡¯s been thirty minutes. Everyone is waiting for him¡­¡± Hale coughed and shouted loudly outside the tent, ¡°Mr. Murray, are you done with your ¡®rest¡¯?¡± Despite getting no reply, the director could hear a faintly discernible rhythm from the tent. Having been a director for years, he was of course familiar with the sound. At that instant, he was speechless. What the heck. Taylor is having sex in the tent! What a piece of shocking news! Although the director appeared to be clueless and was busy filming the drama every day, he was clear about what was going on in the production site, from things like what happened in the tent to what Taylor ate for lunch. Taylor¡¯s parents had been strict to him since he was young, and he was part of the special forces in the past, so he took a military approach in his acting career. Unlike other actors, he was highly disciplined and upright, thus the director was surprised that Taylor would do such a thing. Who is that woman? Is it the female lead, the second female lead or any other supporting actress? Curious, the director walked around the site to find out who was absent. To his surprise, all the actresses were around. Suddenly, he had an idea, so he took a look at the supporting actors, especially the handsome ones, but to his disappointment, all the actors were there as well. Inside the tent, Sophia was nervous because of the director¡¯s appearance. Michael understood that he should ce emphasis on his work, and it was now working time. Therefore, he gnashed his teeth together and whispered in her ear, ¡°I don¡¯t have a condom with me. Is today alright?¡± Hearing that, Sophia opened her eyes suddenly. It¡¯s my ovtion period! Gulping, she said anxiously, ¡°There¡¯s a risk of impregnation today¡­ Why don¡¯t you hold it back?¡± Michael almost burst intoughter, for he was beyond the point of holding it back. ¡°It¡¯s toote.¡± As soon as he finished his words, he convulsed and copsed onto her body, panting heavily beside her neck. Gazing at the fair neck before his eyes, he found it deeply attractive. Her skin was translucent with faintly visible veins, looking like a delicate piece of porcin. Unable to resist the temptation, he gently bit on her neck, leaving two rows of teeth marks on it. Sophia was utterly embarrassed. With Michael¡¯s seed inside her body, she was gripped by a strange feeling. Throughout the long time they had been together, Michael had never allowed her to take contraceptive pills as he always wore a condom. Thus, it was the first time he left his seed in her body. Sophia found it weird, but at the same time, she felt warm and happy. ¡°Go away. It¡¯s so embarrassing. The sky isn¡¯t even dark yet¡­¡± If she didn¡¯t need his help, she wouldn¡¯t have been willing to do such a thing in the tent with him. Content, Michael moved away and started putting on clothes. With his clothes on, he was once again the upstanding idol. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since we¡¯ve done it together, I¡¯ll help you sort it out!¡± Facing away from her, Michael buckled his belt and said those words that sounded like it was a deal between them. Blushing, Sophia felt like she had been taken advantage of. After putting on her bra, she lowered her head and stroked her abdomen. The idol¡¯s seed is inside here¡­ When Michael was done with putting on his clothes, he walked out of the tent. After looking around the production site, the director still couldn¡¯t figure out who was absent. When he returned though, he saw Michael reading his script in a serious manner. Based on his years of experience, he knew that something must have happened moments ago. Walking over, he shed a meaningful smile at Michael and inquired, ¡°Are you done with your ¡®rest¡¯?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°Yes, it was a good rest. Oh yes, there¡¯s a problem with the female lead¡¯s scene today. I have a suggestion¡­¡± As the director spoke to Michael, he kept ncing at the tent in the corner. Eventually, a woman covered her head with her hands and fled the ce. Seeing her, the director was astounded. Isn¡¯t that Taylor¡¯s young housekeeper? So that¡¯s the kind of woman he likes! With his head lowered, Michael turned a new page and asked coldly, ¡°Are you done with staring at her?¡± The directorughed hollowly and praised, ¡°You have a good taste in women. The first time I met her, I knew that she would achieve great things in life.¡± Otherwise, Taylor wouldn¡¯t have his eye on her. Retracting his gaze from the script, Michael nodded. ¡°My wife is indeed beautiful and capable.¡± Hearing that, the director was tongue-tied, for he didn¡¯t expect that Taylor would marry such a young woman. Although she¡¯s beautiful, she looks too young¡­ Has she evene of age? The director knew that the young woman was rted to Michael. If Michael never told him about it, he would have thought that the young woman was Michael¡¯s illegitimate daughter. ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . With Michael¡¯s seed in her body, Sophia held her thighs together and walked carefully, for she was afraid that her husband¡¯s seed might leak out of her body. It¡¯s wasteful if his seed is leaked! In the afternoon, two scenes were filmed at the same time. The male leads were in Team A, while the walk-ons were in Team B. For Team B, they were supposed to continue where they left off in the morning. The female lead would break through the threats of the mercenaries and the fire shots before eventually finding her younger sister. Unfortunately, her sister was taken away from her, and she was powerless to do anything while she was on the brink of death. Meanwhile, the supporting actresses were having a discussion that they would pull a prank on Nicole again to make life hard for her. Unexpectedly, when they returned, they were told that their parts were canceled. ¡°Canceled?¡± This is an important part of the drama! The female lead was powerless to save her young sister, who was just before her eyes. This was the part that was supposed to bring tears to the audience¡¯s eyes and make them tense up. As walk-ons, their parts were already minimal. If this important scene was canceled, they might as well go home. The supporting actresses, especially X and Olivia, were discontent, so they questioned the director, ¡°Director, why did you cancel our part?¡± Chapter 433 Chapter 433 The director exined calmly, ¡°I told the scriptwriter to make a change. We¡¯ll do it in a different way.¡± Nicole was already doing her part ording to the new script. Originally, she was supposed to endure hardships and eventually find her sister. After having a word with her sister, she would be forced to retreat as the enemies had powerful arms. However, due to the fact that the supporting actresses kept making mistakes, the director had no choice but to do it differently. Just then, the female lead was rushing over from afar. Unfortunately, the bad guys caught her as her sister and the other girls were pushed into a truck before they were sent to another ce. Seeing that her sister, whom she had been searching for months, was taken away by the bad guys, she fell on her knees and bawled her heart out. Despair, fury, helplessness and regret were what she had to express in a short period of time. She was doing a solo because her interactive scene with the other actresses was canceled. Other than a brief shot for Olivia, the other actresses only had their limbs shown. To show how tragic the scene was, the girls, who were trying to flee, would be beaten up by the bad guys. This scene was yed by male martial artists who wore female clothes. Therefore, the female walk-ons didn¡¯t even get to take part in it. ¡°Our part is gone just like this?¡± Olivia stared at the director in disbelief. This is one of the most important scenes for me! Even one shot less will make me sad! However, the director had all his attention on Nicole¡¯s acting. At that moment, the bad guys pressed Nicole against the ground and pointed a pistol at her head while she watched her sister being taken away in despair. The expression on her face clearly projected her thoughts. If she¡¯s gone, I might not be able to find her again! This part was a turning point for the female lead. Before this, she was a proud spy who had received an elite education. Upon learning that her sister was smuggled to Africa, she believed that she could save her sister alone and even rejected the male lead¡¯s offer to help. Ignoring the male lead¡¯s advice, she found out her sister¡¯s whereabouts and immediately took action on her own. She was confident that she could save her sister easily, but unexpectedly, not only did she fail to save her sister, but she was also caught by the enemies. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Feeling regretful, this would be the first time she came to the realization that she was weak and ignorant. At that instant, she was gripped by regret, resentment and sorrow. Focusing on the act, Nicole growled, ¡°Monsters! Let go of my sister! I will never let you off! Never! Sis, sorry. I¡¯m sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t save you¡­¡± The director held his breath, for he was worried that Nicole might be unable to bring out the emotions of the character. To his surprise, Nicole¡¯s acting was excellent and she struck the right bnce. She didn¡¯t bawl too hard, nor was she toocking in intensity of her acting. When the scene was over, everyone in the production site gave her a round of apuse, except for the supporting actresses, whose voices of discontent were muted. The director couldn¡¯t help but rush over to give her a hug. ¡°It¡¯s so perfect! Keep up the good work!¡± The script was tailor-made for the male leads when the director received it, so they had the most scenes. Moreover, the male leads gave off a powerful vibe, and almost no actress in the country was a match for them. Therefore, when the director learned that the female lead was a newbie, he didn¡¯t object to it because the character didn¡¯t matter much in the drama. Even if all the female lead¡¯s scenes were deleted, it wouldn¡¯t affect the drama one bit. However, the newbie¡¯s performance was beyond the director¡¯s expectation. Perfect! It¡¯s simply perfect! When interacting with the male leads, the female lead didn¡¯t pale inparison at all. Hence, the director decided to include more scenes for her. Nicole wiped her tears off as she was extremely excited. Having been a walk-on for ten years, she was honored that the director, who was renowned internationally, acknowledged her hard work and praised her. As Nicole celebrated with the others, she also hugged Sophia, who was equally excited. She¡¯s my idol after all! I cried watching her y the part just now! Her acting skill is natural and powerful! Sophia eximed in her mind. The scene was so well done that the male leads came over and pped their hands for her. Harry teased, ¡°As a young actress, she surprised me. Look, the newbie you¡¯re trying to support has more scenes than you now!¡± It was Michael who lent a helping hand to Nicole. When the agent of Imperial Studio signed her up, she was rmended to be the female lead of ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Michael agreed to it because he saw potential in her, and his wife was fond of her as well. Since the drama featured the two male leads, having her join probably wouldn¡¯t affect the drama much, so he decided to let her have a try. However, he didn¡¯t expect that she was so excellent that even his scenes were cut short to make space for her. Seeing that Sophia was hugging and kissing Nicole, Michael felt somewhat jealous. The scenes for the day were done smoothly as the male leadspleted most of the action shots, and the female lead sessfully brought out her intense emotions. Therefore, everyone was overjoyed, except for the supporting actresses, who werepletely ignored. Seeing the ted Sophia, X was unable to control her fury. She was so incensed that even the air around her seemed to be burning. This slut is relentless and disgusting! Sophia got so thrilled that she jumped about while hugging Nicole, she identally rubbed away the band-aid on her neck that she used to cover Michael¡¯s bite mark. When the band-aid fell off, the bite marks on her neck fell into X¡¯s gaze. At that instant, she figured out what happened. What a slut! She had sex with the director! She must have told the director to cut off my part! Sophia, since you¡¯re going against me, then don¡¯t me me for taking revenge! Since the scenes werepleted, and there was no filming at night, they decided to celebrate the sess at a nearby hotel. When they reached the hotel, they upied a few tables as the leading actors, the walk-ons and the staff members were seated separately ording to their roles. The leading actors never ate much because they had to keep fit for the drama. Even when they were having a meal, they were still talking about the scenes for the next day. Meanwhile, the staff members drank wine and enjoyed their food. On the other hand, the atmosphere around the supporting actresses was gloomy as they fell into a bout of resentful silence. When they were done with ming the director and the female lead, they shifted their me to X and Olivia. If these two people didn¡¯t keep making mistakes deliberately, perhaps the director wouldn¡¯t have cut off their part. Sophia, Hale, Maria and Danny were seated together. In the middle of the meal, Sophia went to the balcony to breathe in some fresh air. To her surprise, Nicole was there as well. The lights on the balcony were off while the lights below the balcony were dazzling. The night view at the film studio was simply beautiful. As the glittering lights outlined Nicole¡¯s profile in the dark, even her long eyshes were made conspicuous. She¡¯s so beautiful! Her beauty is beyond skin-deep! Sophia was awed by her allure. Walking over, she inquired, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What are you thinking about?¡± Seeing her, Nicole shed a gentle smile at her and said calmly, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about someone special to me.¡± Chapter 434 Chapter 434 ¡°Someone special?¡± Sophia¡¯s interest was piqued, so she leaned in toward Nicole and asked, ¡°Is he on the set?¡± At the mention of that special someone, Nicole¡¯s expression was filled with love and admiration. Like a girl who fell in love for the first time, her gaze gleamed with adoration. Her face was red because she drank some wine a while ago. ¡°He¡¯s not on the set.¡± With only the two of them on the balcony, Nicole trusted Sophia as her friend and told her about the special someone. At that time, she was still a walk-on who followed the filming crew to a foreign country. Since it was a new experience to her, she was excited. Unfortunately, when they were waiting for the transit in a European country, their flight was dyed because of a torrential rain. Stranded for half a day, most of the travelers became grumpy at the waiting area. Since it was uncertain when the flights would resume, some people left the airport, while some stayed there and keptining. People would lose control easily in a state of anxiety. During the waiting time, the airport was filled with fury and discontent. As the travelers started making noises, some of them even beat up the staff members. The filming crew members were flustered as well, but they had no choice but to wait. It was at that moment that Nicole came across the handsome Caucasian man. Among the agitated crowd, he remained silent in one corner with a book in his hands. Engrossed in the book, he would sometimes take a look at his wristwatch and answer a phone call. d in a ck coat with a ck travel hat on his head, he appeared to be a young man in his twenties. Ignoring the fury and anxiety that permeated across the waiting area, he sat by the window and was immersed in his own world. The eyebrows on his handsome face furrowed and rxed intermittently as his slender fingers tapped on the table. Sometimes, he would pick up a cup of steaming coffee and take a sip. He was patient, tranquil and decent. It was the first time Nicole understood what a gentleman should look like. Awed by his attractiveness, she fished out her phone and took a sneak shot of him. However, she was so engrossed in his charming face that she forgot to turn off the shlight on her phone. Noticing the sh, the man frowned and shifted his attention to her, looking a little annoyed. Caught in a panic, Nicole wasn¡¯t even sure how to react. Seeing that the man was approaching her, Nicole hurriedly looked away. Just then, the man said in a low and masculine voice, ¡°Are you Cethosian?¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. At that time, she was just a timid and inexperienced woman in her early twenties. Hearing the question, she subconsciously nodded. Surprisingly, the Caucasian man suddenly spoke in a very standard Cethosian ent, ¡°I stayed in Cethos for a short period of time before.¡± Lowering her head, Nicole didn¡¯t have the courage to speak to him or take a look at him. Then, the man extended his hand. ¡°Give me your phone.¡± Embarrassed, Nicole passed him the phone. Since the phone was given to her by her agent, she was afraid that the man would take away her phone, so she stared at him anxiously. After deleting his own photo in the phone¡¯s photo gallery, he passed the phone back to her. When Nicole took back the phone and identally touched the man¡¯s fingers, she tensed up and froze on the spot. That was their only interaction. After some time, the flights resumed and the nes startednding. As the travelers left the waiting area, the man disappeared into the crowd as well. ¡°Since then, I¡¯ve never seen him again.¡± The incident happened seven years ago, but Nicole still had a vivid memory of it. The man¡¯s handsome face was imnted in her mind. Other than his good-looking appearance, she was also attracted to his unique temperament. The man looked just like an other-worldly Norse god. Upon listening to the story, Sophia sighed. ¡°You should have asked for his contact number or address.¡± Nicole shook her head and replied with a smile, ¡°I was dumbfounded and didn¡¯t know what to do.¡± Knowing herself full well, she was sure that such a perfect man would never fall in love with her. She did, however, quite often ponder that when she became an internationally renowned actress, would the man notice her? If they ever met again, would he remember that she was the girl who had taken a sneak shot of him years ago? But then, so what if she became famous and he remembered her? Would he be able to ept her past? During her days at Glory Entertainment, she slept with some producers and investors. Even she found herself deplorable, so how was she going to ask the special someone to ept her? Sophia found it regretful. ¡°It¡¯d be wonderful if that photo wasn¡¯t deleted.¡± Suddenly, Nicole shed a wily smile and fished out her phone. When the screen lit up, Sophia saw the wallpaper. ¡°Aftering back to the country, I realized that my phone had a function of backing up the photos automatically. Therefore, the photo was already saved in my mailbox!¡± For the past seven years, she had always kept the photo. Whenever she felt that life was too hard on her, she would take a look at this photo because the man could always give her immense energy. ¡°What?! Let me have a look!¡± Sophia hurriedly took away the phone, for she was curious how the man, whom her idol was fond of, looked like. The quality of the photo taken seven years ago was bad, so the photo was a little blurry. However, the man was so handsome that he looked perfect from every angle, and Sophia was equally awed by how charming the man was. His thick eyebrows were faintly visible under the fringe of his golden hair. With a deep gaze and a pair of blue eyes, he was the epitome of a young and perfectly handsome Caucasian man. At the first nce, Sophia found the man strikingly alluring. At the second look, however, she found him familiar. When she looked at him again for the third time, she was dumbfounded. Coming to her senses, she covered her mouth in disbelief and suddenly grabbed Nicole¡¯s arm tightly, asking, ¡°Are you sure this was taken seven years ago?¡± Nicole answered, ¡°Yes. Look, the date is shown in the photo.¡± The man was sitting by the window. The screen on the wall showed that the date was the 9th of October seven years ago. It¡¯s really seven years ago. Staring at the photo, tears suddenly streamed down Sophia¡¯s face. On the other side, Michael was discussing the script with the director when he received a photo on his phone sent by Sophia. Upon taking a look, his expression darkened instantly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Harry thought something serious had happened, so he leaned in closer to take a look at his phone. The moment he figured out who the man in the photo was, he sprayed the water out from his mouth in shock. Meanwhile, Michael rose from the chair with a stern expression and told Hale and Danny to follow him. ¡°Hale, tell someone to go to the international airport in Xoskha in Europe and get the surveince footage on 9 October seven years ago.¡± Then, he told Danny, ¡°Contact Abel.¡± Seeing how serious Michael looked, Hale hurriedly asked, ¡°What happened?¡± With a never-before-seen somber expression, Michael turned around and stared at Hale, Danny and Harry, saying, ¡°On 9 October seven years ago, Cooper Mitchell appeared.¡± Chapter 435 Chapter 435 Cooper was supposed to have passed away more than ten years ago. If the person who appeared at the airport seven years ago was really Cooper Mitchell, it meant that he was still alive. Michael was absolutely certain that the person was Cooper. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m mistaken. Cooper is still alive! Meanwhile, Abel had received the photo and started scanning it on hisputer. Although it was a photo taken seven years ago, the resolution was still pretty high as the man¡¯s face was clearly visible. Upon a closer look, the man in the photo resembled the Cooper that Abel remembered. Taking Sophia¡¯s descriptions of the man into consideration, Abel was a hundred percent sure that it was Cooper Mitchell. However, he still decided to scan the photo to make sure he wasn¡¯t mistaken. When the dinner was over, all of them returned to their respective hotel rooms. Inside the room, Sophia was d in pajamas with animal patterns as she paced around anxiously and waited for the oue. Using theptop on the table, Michael was having a video chat with Abel, who was scanning the photo in the basement of The Imperial, Vi No. 8. A whileter, the result was ready. ¡°It¡¯s a ny-nine percent match.¡± Abel revealed the result. Hearing that, Sophia became teary out of excitement. That¡¯s really Cooper! He¡¯s still alive! When Abel was done with the scan, he started searching for the flight information of the airport where Cooper appeared before. ording to the date shown in the photo, and the time when the flight dy happened, they figured out the urate time of Cooper¡¯s appearance. Having found out the time and location, they managed to get the surveince footage quickly. Since it was a small airport with only a few surveince cameras, Abel soon found the part with Cooper in it. The torrential rain caused all the flights to be canceled and countless travelers to be stranded. Facing away from the camera, a man in a ck coat was walking toward the cafe in the airport. As though he was isted from the outside world, he faced away from the crowd and didn¡¯t look as grumpy as the others. The cafe was full of people. Then, the man put down his luggage and ordered a cup of coffee. Following that, he took a seat in a quiet corner as he enjoyed his book and his drink. When the man¡¯s face was shown to the camera, it was none other than Cooper Mitchell! The anxious and uptight atmosphere in the airport didn¡¯t seem to have affected him at all, for he retained his patient, elegant and regal-look. Cooper looked a little different from the photo Sophia saw at the Mitchell Residence. With those blue eyes, he looked like a Caucasian rather than a biracial person. However, in this footage, he appeared to have lost his charisma and aggressiveness as the head of the Mitchell Family. In the footage, he was just a handsome yet ordinary man. When he discovered that Nicole had taken a sneak shot of him, he simply put on a smile and told her to delete the photo. Perchance due to him being relieved of the burden as the head of the Mitchell Family, he seemed to have aged backward. In this footage, he appeared to be overly young to the point where he looked like a teenage boy. Sophia trembled in excitement as her tears rolled down her face. ¡°It¡¯s him. My dad is still alive!¡± Perhaps it was destiny. Just when she had given up on looking for Cooper, the picture of her father was shown to her unexpectedly. Nevertheless, Sophia tried her best topose herself and calm down. Now that she had proof that Cooper was still alive, she would have to look for him. Conducting his research based on the information Nicole provided, Abel found the flight information as well as Cooper¡¯s personal information. It was stated that he was a frence photographer from a small European country. In reality, the person didn¡¯t exist. Cooper had booked the flight with false information. This was within their expectation. Now that they had stumbled upon this lead, Abel decided to go to the city where Cooper appeared to look for more clues. Upon going through Cooper¡¯s information, a realization dawned upon Sophia as she came up with a bold idea. ¡°The Cooper I learned from Old Master Fletcher was a man who seeks a peaceful life. Maybe he wasn¡¯t willing to be a business tycoon at all. Therefore, unlike our spections, after the faked death, he might have be an ordinary man.¡± It turned out that their investigation approach was wrong. They thought that Cooper would still be a big shot after his faked death, but they didn¡¯t understand what he was really after. He just wanted to be an ordinary man who could raise his children with a woman he loved, while making a living with a normal job. That was the kind of life he pursued. Perhaps he was already living the life of his dream! However, Michael disagreed with Sophia. From a man¡¯s perspective, he didn¡¯t think Cooper was content with being an ordinary man. Even if Cooper wanted to be one, there was no way he could hide his capabilities. Having lost his loved one due to his inability in the past, he had to be craving absolute power and strength. Nevertheless, seeing how excited Sophia was, Michael decided not to refute her. As for Sophia, she finally found a reason that Cooper never appeared after such a long time. Now, he was just an ordinary man who had bid farewell to his past. Perhaps he didn¡¯t even know that the chunk of money in Kuwait was missing, and that his daughter was still alive. Knowing that her father wasn¡¯t dead, Sophia was ted and couldn¡¯t sleep at all as she forced Michael to tell her more about Cooper. Left with no choice, Michael tried to recall his interactions with CooperN?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. when he was younger. Before Cooper turned eighteen, he was a yful and happy boy. Every week, he would visit his own cats and tortoises at the Fletcher Residence. In the summer, he would go camping with the Fletcher kids in the suburbs. Michael remembered that every summer, he and his sister would go camping with Cooper for a few days. There, they watched the birds fly and caught some fish. At that time, Michael and his sister were just about five years old, while Cooper was already ten years old. As the older boy, Cooper would take good care of the Fletcher siblings. Afraid that they might injure themselves in the river, he would always prepare band-aids and water bottles in his backpack. At night, he would tell them stories from ¡®Anderson¡¯s Fairy Tales¡¯ and ¡®Aesop¡¯s Fables¡¯. During the few days of their camping, they woulde out of the tents and look up at the stars at night. Then, Cooper would start telling them stories. Apart from being a prodigy, he was also a kind and gentle person. When did the change in him begin? It was when he hit eighteen that he became a totally different person. He stopped ying with the Fletcher kids and stayed away from them. Chapter 436 Chapter 436 Before eighteen, Cooper was a tender and kind-hearted man who was polite to others and loved Annabel as well as his cats and tortoises. However, after witnessing the woman he loved being burned to death right before his eyes while he was powerless to save her, he transformed into an indifferent and ruthless man. Since then, he was no longer the young man who would take care of the Fletcher kids. It waste into the night when Michael was done telling the tales of his time catching fish and crabs with Cooper. The next morning, Sophia was energetic as she followed Michael to the production site. She remained a walk-on who would asionally show her body parts in the drama. When she came across Nicole again, she didn¡¯t even know how to thank her. Certainly, Cooper never expected that there was a woman called Nicole who still admired him secretly. With so many secret admirers, he probably didn¡¯t even remember Nicole. Perhaps, he might even be married with children of his own, then Nicole¡¯s love for him would turn out to be a disappointment in that case. The day before, Sophia did the deed with Michael and managed to get the supporting actresses¡¯ part in the drama removed. Therefore, they didn¡¯t dare make a fuss now. However, they had figured out the culprit who made them lose their part. ¡°Sophia!¡± Finally knowing Sophia¡¯s name, Olivia and the other supporting actresses surrounded Sophia, who was buying two bottles of water from a kiosk. With the bottles in her hands, Sophia understood that they had found out that it was her doing. ¡°Hi. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Confronted by Michael¡¯s cousin, Sophia was acting all reserved, for she didn¡¯t want Michael to feel troubled should things turn ugly. Olivia directly pped away her bottles of water and snarled, ¡°You slept with the director and told him to cut our part in the drama, right?¡± Elizabeth was the director¡¯s favorite actress, and Olivia was Elizabeth¡¯s niece, so the director was in favor of Olivia. After helping her get into the industry, he directly gave her the supporting role in such a blockbuster drama. Unexpectedly, the director, who was biased toward her, would remove her part in the drama. Upon X¡¯s reminder, she believed that Sophia must have slept with the director. Sophia took a look at the ted X behind Olivia and the other supporting actresses. X remains the same. She would incite others to make a scene while she stays on the side and tries to gain benefits for herself secretly. Seeing that Sophia was remaining silent, one actress angrily pulled away the scarf on Sophia¡¯s neck. It¡¯s so suspicious that she¡¯s wearing a scarf on such a hot day! As expected, the kiss marks on Sophia¡¯s neck were exposed right before their eyes. She didn¡¯t have these kiss marks two days ago. She must have slept with the director! Seeing the kiss marks, Olivia gasped. I have underestimated this slut! Then, she pointed at Sophia and growled, ¡°What a slut! Do you think you can do whatever you want and rece me after sleeping with the director? Dream on! Wait right here. I¡¯ll kick you out of the set soon!¡± I, Olivia, totally can do that!ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . With that, she turned to leave in a fury while the other actresses were gleeful. Nobody on the set had the guts to offend Olivia because she was Elizabeth¡¯s niece as well as Taylor¡¯s cousin. After the actresses left with Olivia joyfully, X remained on the spot and stared at Sophia with an exhrated expression. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t expect that Taylor bought you off to be his housekeeper.¡± X¡¯s voice was filled with coldness and extreme disdain. I can¡¯t believe that I have lost to a housekeeper like her! Without responding to her, Sophia picked up the bottles of water from the ground and returned to the production site. X followed her and mocked her coldly, ¡°You thought you could be sessful with the help of Taylor, but you didn¡¯t understand that you¡¯re just a nobody! You¡¯re just a slut with little to no importance!¡± However, Sophia totally ignored her vicious words as she looked anxiously in the direction where Olivia left. She¡¯s going to make aint to Michael! The idea made Sophia nervous, for she wasn¡¯t sure who Michael would side with. She slept with Michael in exchange for the removal of Olivia¡¯s part. What if he denied it after the sex? Well, if he really denies it, I¡¯ll just sleep with him one more time to settle the issue¡­ As Sophia paced around outside the production site in anxiety, she watched Olivia approaching Michael. X knew that Sophia would be flustered, and she believed that she had seen through thetter¡¯s true colors. She¡¯s just a slut who¡¯s managed to move into Taylor¡¯s house as the housekeeper. Behind Taylor¡¯s back, she¡¯s taken advantage of his fame and fooled everyone that she¡¯s also a prestigious woman herself. She¡¯s told lies like she has married a rich man, and her husband has donated money to a school. I¡¯m sure she has never expected that Olivia has found out her secret and is going to expose her lies! Taylor, who is the real prestigious man, is going to kick this slut out of here! I must watch her be expelled from the set! Meanwhile, Olivia reached Taylor and started making aint in anger. Sophia, on the other hand, didn¡¯t dare go near them as she paced around in anxiety. X deliberately shouted, ¡°I¡¯ve told Richard toe over to watch your lies being exposed and you getting kicked out of the set. Go back to your gutter!¡± Ignoring her, Sophia stared fixedly at Michael as she waited for his response in uneasiness. ¡°Taylor, you have to stand up for me¡­ Your haughty housekeeper is bullying others on the set using her rtionship with you. You have to do something, Taylor!¡± Olivia feigned a sob as she spoke. ¡°She¡¯s lying and bullying others behind your back. Such a housekeeper will bring trouble to you one day!¡± Michael was reading his script with a frown and didn¡¯t pay attention to Olivia. Obviously, he had guessed she was trying to get him to kick Sophia out of the set because she had bullied her. However, her request put him in a difficult situation, for he had always wanted Sophia to show off their rtionship. This way, at least it could prove that he was useful. Moreover, he didn¡¯t think it was appropriate to kick his wife out of the set. This surprised him quite a lot, for he never expected Sophia to be this lively when he wasn¡¯t paying attention to her. Chapter 437 Chapter 437 Considering the fact that Olivia¡¯s father was one of the few rtives of Elizabeth, Michael didn¡¯t want to have a fall out with Olivia. However, he wouldn¡¯t chase Sophia away because of her. Sophia is having fun on the set. Why would I chase her away? Therefore, he waved his hand impatiently and gave an ambiguous answer, saying, ¡°Alright, she¡¯ll leave in a few days. Just focus on your work.¡± The university would reopen in a few days. Hence, Sophia would have to leave even if she wanted to stay. Moreover, she had founded a gamingpany with Stanley, so she would have to take care of the company as well. As a responsible woman, she would go back when she had had enough fun. However, Olivia interpreted his words as that he would kick Sophia out of the set in a few days. Wiping off her tears, Olivia walked toward Sophia as the other actresses followed her in glee to watch the show. With a haughty expression, Olivia crossed her arms and lifted her chin. ¡°Taylor told you to pack up your stuff and leave his house! Well, he¡¯s a good man who doesn¡¯t say mean words. He¡¯s given you a few days to get ready to move out. You know what to do!¡± Without uttering a word, Sophia pressed her lips together and walked away. Fine, I won¡¯t argue with them. I¡¯m leaving the set in a few days anyway. These walk-ons only have a few scenes to y. Maybe they will be the ones who will leave first! Watching her leave, the walk-ons cheered for their falsely-assumed victory. For the following days, they anticipated that Sophia be kicked out of the set. In the afternoon, Richard arrived at the production site. Upon learning that Sophia¡¯s lies were exposed and that she had to move out of Taylor¡¯s house, he was looking forward to that day as well. To make up for his wrongdoing of sleeping with the twin sisters, he woulde to the set to apany X every day. Meanwhile, he was waiting patiently for the day when Sophia would lose Taylor¡¯s protection and her expulsion from the set. Thereafter, he would lock her up in a remote ce and torture her to get revenge for the humtion she had brought upon him. It seemed that everyone knew that Sophia would leave soon. Even Nicole, who focused on her work and rarely paid attention to gossip, found out about it, so she came over and asked, ¡°They all say that you¡¯re leaving soon. Are you alright?¡± ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org . Sophia was reading the news feed on her phone when Nicole came to look for her. Nonchntly, she replied, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. The university will reopen in a few days, so I¡¯ll have to go back anyway.¡± Nicole knew that Sophia had a powerful background, so Olivia was unable to harm her. In spite of that, she was still worried. When she heard what Sophia said, she was finally relieved. ¡°You¡¯re still a student?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a student of Bayside University.¡± Soon, it was the fourth day since Sophia came to the set, as well as the second day after Taylor said that she would leave. In the morning, when she appeared at the production site in a walk-on costume, the other actresses surrounded her and derided her. ¡°Why are you still here? Do you want me to kick you out personally?¡± Olivia didn¡¯t want to see her at all. Since the drama was set in the modern era, the crew members never gave the walk-ons any costumes. Therefore, they had to bring their own clothes. Sophia bought a one-piece dress worth fifty from a stall near the film studio to be her costume and dirtied it so that she would look poor. ¡°This is none of your business. I¡¯ll leave whenever I want to.¡± With confidence written all over her face, Sophia walked across the supporting actresses and reached for Nicole. While she was still in sight, the supporting actresses started saying vicious words about her. ¡°What a shameless slut. How does she have the guts to stay at this ce?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s looking for a chance to flip over the situation.¡± Olivia shed a victorious smile at them. ¡°Girls, don¡¯t worry. The director and my cousin have promised that they won¡¯t allow her to take part in the drama again. Also, she¡¯s leaving soon!¡± Since Olivia has said so, Sophia must be doomed then, they thought. At that moment, they were anticipating the day when Taylor would chase Sophia out of his house. Following that, Olivia suddenly asked in a mysterious way, ¡°Do you remember what I told you all to do before? Have you gotten it ready?¡± At the mention of it, their gazes beamed with energy. ¡°Olivia, don¡¯t worry. There won¡¯t be a problem. You can rest assured!¡± ¡°We have gotten it ready. There won¡¯t be any mistakes!¡± One day had passed just like that as the filming ended. Since there were no scenes that had to be shot at night, everyone was ready to return to the hotel. Having had fun on the set for the entire day, Sophia was exhausted. At that moment, she just wanted to take a hot bath. The atmosphere at the production site was different on this day. It seemed that something exciting was about to happen, but they all hid it from Sophia. Therefore, Sophia was clueless about it. As expected, the surprise came when they got off work. The sky was dark when all the lights on the set were suddenly turned off at the same time, including the streetmps. At that instant, the site was in absolute darkness. Such a surprise made Sophia, who was beside the cooks, scream. In the dark, a firework shot into the sky and exploded. Bang! As the firework exploded and glowed at the site, everyone saw that there was an empty space in front of them. All of a sudden, lights of various colors lit up as the bulbs were decorated beautifully around the site. Once switched on, dreamy colors permeated across the set. It seemed that other than Sophia, most people knew of such a surprise. Following that, the crew members held out sparklers in their hands, which added a tinge of romance to the site. With upbeat music rising in the background, everyone was amazed when a group of youngdies in beautiful clothes were dancing their way into the site. All of these youngdies were beautiful with fair skin and curvy figures. In fact, they were the walk-ons, who came from rich families and had practiced dancing since young. Dancing in short pants, they gave off an enthusiastic vibe as the crew members danced to the beat. Staring at them with a cold gaze, Sophia wondered what they were up to. The lead dancer, Olivia, danced her way to Michael and held his arm before pulling him to the center. Michael frowned at her action, but seeing the ardent atmosphere at the moment, he had no choice but to follow her to the center. Then, the people around him took a few steps back to leave a huge space around him. Olivia and the other actresses left the ce. With a sudden change of the music, a woman in colorful clothes appeared. Chapter 438 Chapter 438 The dance at the start was only an opener. What happened next was the true surprise of the night. The music slowly transformed into a mysterious and alluring tune as the girl started her solo performance. She twisted her limbs agilely like a serpent and danced around Michael, her flowing sleeves brushing against him now and then, wrapping him in a scent of lily and musk. The girl had a translucent veil on her, making her look mysterious and attractive, while the way she moved and the way her sleeves fluttered were breathtakingly beautiful. She emanated a gentle and sweet scent. Her eyes had been on Michael all the time, looking at him with a gaze that would melt any stone-hearted person. On the other hand, Michael simply had a courteous smile on his face. After the dance, she tucked away her sleeves, sweating all over and panting slightly as she purred at him, ¡°Taylor, happy birthday.¡± The mystery was revealed¡ªit was Michael¡¯s birthday! The lights came back and the production staff wheeled a huge cake in, yelling in unison, ¡°Taylor, happy birthday!¡± The solo dancer took off her veil to reveal her delicate face, with her crystalline eyes set on Michael¡¯s countenance. With some shyness and excitement, she announced, ¡°Taylor, I have adopted a panda under your name. I named it ¡®Taysha¡¯. Just think of it as my birthday gift for you. I hope you¡¯ll like it!¡± Taysha? She had indeed shown off her love to him by giving it that name, Sophia thought. A thunderous apuse exploded at the scene. The couple in the middle of the spotlight were a match made in heaven! It was a known secret that Natasha was in love with Taylor. The fact that Taylor had epted Natasha¡¯s flower basket two days ago showed that he was interested in her as well. Indeed, no man, not even Taylor, could turn down a lovely and talented girl like Natasha. Olivia started a chant. ¡°Kiss! Kiss!¡± She had gleefully nned out the birthday surprise for Taylor. If Natasha and Taylor ended up as a couple, she would be their matchmaker! If that happened, she could forge a closer rtionship with Natasha, the daughter of the Mitchell Family. Not only that, her cousin would be grateful to her as well! Michael remained unmoved, but he had a smile on his face; a polite and gentlemanly smile. At the filming set, everyone quickly caught up and chanted, ¡°Kiss! Kiss!¡± The atmosphere was getting heated. Natasha lowered her head and shyly pursed her lips, waiting for Taylor¡¯s kiss. Little did she know that the director, Harry, Hale and Danny were frozen on the spot. What the f*ck? This is utterly ridiculous¡­ Hale broke into cold sweat with goosebumps all over him. He instinctively took a look at Sophia beside him, who was probably expressionless out of anger. That made him feel as if he had explosives beside him. ¡°Hale, hand me the loudspeaker.¡± Sophia sounded very calm, which made her seem scary. Then, Hale shuddered in fear and rushed to grab a loudspeaker. With lightning speed, he had managed to retrieve the loudspeaker and handed it to Sophia, but unexpectedly, she returned the loudspeaker to him. ¡°Settle this.¡± ¡°How?¡± Hale could sense the rageing from the daughter of Cooper Mitchell, which made him tremble. shing an icy smile, Sophia said, ¡°Come closer. I¡¯ll teach you how!¡± ¡°Kiss! Kiss!¡± At the filming set, everyone was still chanting. When Olivia saw that Michael was still not kissing Natasha after such a long time, she hurriedly went up to give him a push. She pretended to unintentionally wander behind him and gave him an ¡®idental¡¯ hard shove on his back, thinking that he¡¯d naturally fall forward to Natasha, after which the two would hug, creating a fairytale ending. In that scenario, the Murrays would sessfully befriend the ultra-rich Mitchells, but to her surprise, Michael stood still on his spot even after being shoved by her. Like a statue that was rooted to the ground, he stood where he was, as steady as a rock. Not giving up, Olivia gave him another hard push, only to see him remaining steady on his spot. Around them, the atmosphere was heated. Blushing, Natasha was waiting for Taylor¡¯s kiss. No matter what, Olivia was determined to make the couple kiss on this day, for that was her confident promise to Natasha as Taylor¡¯s cousin! As the scene was reaching its climax, when everyone was waiting for the final kiss that would send them over the moon, a jarring interference noise from a loudspeaker suddenly forced everyone to cover their ears, bringing a stop to the noisy chanting. A high-pitched male voice was heard from the loudspeaker. ¡°Mr. Murray, Mr. Murray, where are you now?¡± Everyone turned around and stared angrily at Hale, who was holding the loudspeaker. What a party pooper! How could he jump out and dampen the atmosphere right when Natasha and Taylor were about to kiss? they thought. The next moment, Hale said something shocking. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, your wife is calling.¡± At that moment, everyone fell into a deafening silence. A second ago, those who had been chanting ¡®Kiss! Kiss!¡¯ were now quiet. Olivia¡¯s lips twitched. I totally forgot about that! The most embarrassed person was Natasha. Her blushing cheeks lost their rosy color and were now painted a solid red hue out of shame. She looked on as Sophia made her way through the crowd toward Michael, the center of everyone¡¯s attention. Before this, Michael and Natasha, the expected couple, were standing at the same spot; now, Sophia had made herself part of the scene with her forceful entrance. Looking emotionlessly, she reached out and handed Michael a phone, intentionally announcing loudly, ¡°Mr. Murray, it¡¯s a call from your wife.¡± Michael nodded at Sophia and took the phone, cing it against his ear. His forced smile finally softened into a genuine and sweet smile. The first sentence out of his mouth shocked everyone. ¡°Hello? My dear, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Everyone¡¯s jaw almost dropped to the floor. They had never thought it possible for such an adoring smile to appear on the cold Michael¡¯s face. Clutching the phone, Michael engaged in the call in front of the crew in an abnormally loud voice, as if he intended for someone to overhear the conversation. ¡°Birthday? It¡¯s the same every year. How would I be happy without you around?¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Natasha¡¯s expression immediately soured as she stared nkly at Michael, who was on the phone, feeling as if she had fallen into the depths of an ice cer. ¡®How would I be happy without you around?¡¯ So does that mean that all the surprise that I have carefully prepared for him meant nothing at all to him? He continued saying, ¡°Likewise. If it makes you happy, I can even turn everyday into a birthday celebration.¡± The public disy of affection made it even more awkward at the scene, especially for Natasha, who had performed a solo dance and was left dumbfounded. Every wording out from Taylor¡¯s mouth was akin to a p on her face. As she looked at the pair acting lovey-dovey, she realized that she was nothing more than a mistress who intended to ruin a family; a mistress who bared her breasts around without shame! The atmosphere cooled down and a chilly wind traveled across. Dressed in a thinyer of dancer dress made of toile, Natasha got goosebumps from the cold. However, her heart was colder than her body right now. The entire crew was extremely embarrassed and silent. The only sound was Michael¡¯s phone conversation. He stood alone at the center, immersed in the call. At that time, the lights hade back on and the scene was brightly illuminated once again. Standing beside him, Natasha looked like a clown in a colorful outfit. Still on the phone, Michael was smiling ear-to-ear. ¡°My dear, hand the phone to our son¡­ Son, do you miss me? I will be back in two days. When I¡¯m back, I¡¯ll bring you to the zoo! It¡¯s a very fun ce; there are huge tigers, big lions, teeny monkeys and round pandas!¡± Chapter 439 Chapter 439 While talking over the phone, Michael waved goodbye at everyone and silently left. The filming set was still quiet. Everyone could only hear Michael¡¯s voice slowly vanishing as he walked further away. ¡°Oh, right, son, my fan gave me a big panda as a birthday gift. Next time, I¡¯ll bring you and Mommy to visit the panda. What do you think?¡± Still engaged in the phone call, he entered his own SUV. A few secondster, the SUV¡¯s engine revved and it rolled away, disappearing from everyone¡¯s vision. Sophia remained at the same spot. After she poked Danny beside her, he shed an embarrassed smile at the rest of the crew. ¡°Thank you everyone for putting in the effort to organize the birthday party for Taylor. He¡¯s really happy and very touched. Enjoy the food!¡± Then, to Natasha, he said, ¡°By the way, Miss Mitchell, thank you for the big round panda. Uh, I mean the panda. I thank you and your family on behalf of Taylor¡¯s family of three and his ancestors.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Thank you and your family¡­ Hearing Danny¡¯s remark, Natasha¡¯s expression further darkened. What did he mean by ¡®thanking on behalf of Taylor¡¯s family of three¡¯? Is he reminding me not to be a homewrecker? Danny and Sophia went into the car and left as well, leaving behind an awkward birthday party and equally awkward crew. The theme of the night¡¯s party was ¡®Natasha celebrating Taylor¡¯s birthday¡¯. Thinking that other gifts were toomonce, she specifically splurged two million to adopt a panda as a gift for Taylor, going as far as to incorporate her love for Taylor in the naming of the animal. She had thought that everything was perfect, but now, she was practically pped in the face by that one phone call. In that instant, she was turned into a clown who was being watched by judgemental eyes. They were all secretlyughing at her. A youngdy of the Mitchell Family has chosen to be a mistress! And she confessed her love to a married man in front of everyone. How shameless! How insolent! Under everyone¡¯s awkward and meaningful nces, Natasha suddenly covered her face in her hands and dashed away, vanishing before their eyes in her dancer outfit. Olivia felt her scalp crawling as she stared at the direction that Michael had left and looked toward the other direction where Natasha had fled. Aftering to a difficult decision, she ran after Natasha. A carefully-nned birthday party ended just like that. Only a group of confused extras and filming crew was left at the filming site with a huge cake. The director was sullen when he threatened, ¡°You guys must be too bored! Since you had the time to prepare a confession party for a married man, I think you must have the capacity for overtime. Tonight, let¡¯s all work overtime!¡± No one dared to talk back and they all scurried away to work overtime. Just now, the atmosphere was fired up with Olivia¡¯s enthusiasm and Natasha¡¯s talent, but still, Taylor kept too much of a low profile. There was too little time and too much work, causing everyone to momentarily forget that Taylor Murray was married! Two days ago, he¡¯d showed off his wedding ring. How could they urge a married man to kiss a young woman? They deserved the overtime dished out by the director! After getting into the car, Michael tucked the phone that had never rang away into his bag. Just now, there was no iing call at all. He had delivered an impromptu speech! When he was now finally away from the scene, he wiped away his sweat and let out a sigh of relief. Whew! If it weren¡¯t for his wittiness, thinking up a clever script on his feet and saving the situation, he could not imagine how furious Sophia would be. Thus, he felt thankful for his own quick wit. Back at the hotel, Sophia didn¡¯t look angry. Like usual, she was gaming when Michael was studying his script. After that, she went for a shower like what she normally did. The night deepened and the couple went to bed, during which Sophia finally brought up the debacle earlier. ¡°Why is your birthday today?¡± In her memory, his birthday should fall in spring. His fanclub even prepared an event, through which they¡¯d deliver birthday gifts to Michael¡¯s managing agency. He replied, ¡°My actual birthday is today. The one before is agreed upon by the fans.¡± He had never announced his actual birthday, so the fans decided upon his debut date as his birthday. Instead, his real birthday was actually on this day, so he wondered how Olivia had gotten hold of his birthday. Anyway, Michael thought that it didn¡¯t matter if he celebrated his birthday or not. Since Celine¡¯s death, he never celebrated his birthday anymore. Every time the date came around, it seemed to remind him that the other person whom he shared the same birthday with was no longer alive¡­ Sophia sank into silence and recalled the contents of Michael¡¯s photo album at the Fletchers¡¯. There was only one photo of Michael¡¯s eighteenth birthday celebration. The twins looked jolly in the photo, and based on their outfits, the date must have been sometime in spring. She was silent for a while, but Michael brought up another topic. ¡°Last time, you wrote me a love letter on my birthday¡­¡± That made her instantly blush, because she didn¡¯t expect her embarrassing behavior would be exposed. She hurriedly covered herself with the nket. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I don¡¯t know anything about the love letter!¡± Michael couldn¡¯t be bothered to press on. Back then, he had replied to her with another letter, but that letter was torn into shreds by her during a drunk episode. He wondered if she had read it before. ¡°What do you n to give me for my next birthday?¡± She remained covered under the nket. ¡°I¡¯ll adopt a big round panda under your name too.¡± He stared at the woman hiding away under the nket beforementing in all seriousness, ¡°I¡¯d prefer a child.¡± Under the nket, Sophia went silent for a moment before pulling it down for a bit. ¡°I guess you can get in¡­¡± That night, Sophia granted Michael¡¯s wish and had unprotected sex with him. Ever since their intimacy in the logistics tent, Michael hadpletely let go of himself and didn¡¯t have protected sex. They both thought that it was time for a child. Sophia also thought that it was ideal to have a child now. It was better to give birth early. After the birth, she could spend her future focusing on her business and Nathan would be less lonely. However, Michael¡¯s intention was sneakier than Sophia¡¯s. He felt that he had gotten a hold of the elusive Cooper Mitchell. One day, he would finally see Cooper in person if he followed the clues. Then, Cooper would be back sooner orter. If he could have a few kids with Sophia, when Cooper returned, he would have to acknowledge Michael somehow, for Michael was the father of his grandchildren! The next day, the news ofst night¡¯s awkward birthday dinner had spread on the Inte, causing an uproar. Firstly, it was a dumb girl at the party who had uploaded the video of the party onto her own blog. The video recorded the moment Natasha showed up all the way until the time when everyone was chanting ¡®Kiss! Kiss!¡¯. Since the video was cut before the scene where Taylor took a call from his wife, everyone believed that someone in the cast confessed her love to Taylor and that the filming crew was chanting for him to kiss the girl. What a shameless crew these people were to do that! Due to a security loophole, ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had gotten into a scandal when their actress was taken away by the lion at the filming site. This time, the crew joined hands to urge a young woman to confess her love to a married star. They must have wanted badly to go viral! The crew of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ once again dominated the headlines, but they were heavily criticized by the public; even Taylor was being harshly reprimanded by his anti-fans. Even though the dumb girl eventually took down the video, the clips of Natasha dancing erotically for Taylor spread across the Inte, causing her name to appear on the headlines along with his. Chapter 440 Chapter 440 Of course, Taylor¡¯s fans all criticized Natasha for interfering with his marriage. This was especially obvious after some members of the crew shared theplete video where Taylor picked up his wife¡¯s call. After that, Taylor¡¯s reputation was restored and Natasha¡¯s image as the homewrecker was nted in the public¡¯s mind. Natasha couldn¡¯t allow the hate to spread, so her agency immediately used public rtions tactics to save her reputation. The message that her PR team released as essentially something along the lines of ¡®She is only a richer fan of Taylor¡¯s. What¡¯s wrong with adopting a panda for her idol? If she is deemed a homewrecker just for doing this, aren¡¯t those fans, who call themselves ¡®Taylor¡¯s wife¡¯, all homewreckers as well?¡¯ As a result, the scandal of Natasha¡¯s embarrassing confession finally passed and the criticisms online died down. There was indeed no issue that could not be solved by throwing money at it. After the incident, Natasha did not visit the filming site at all, likely out of shame. However, judging from the PR statement that restored her reputation, she¡¯d likely return in a few days and behave like nothing had happened as she would attempt again at seducing a married man. As an extra at the filming site, Sophia slowly stopped working and tagged along to the site on the meal cart, finding a spot somewhere to y mobile games. When she got hungry, she¡¯d feed herself at the meal cart. If she was tired of ying the game, she¡¯d go have a chat with Nicole. Stanley Fletcher¡¯spany hadunched a simple mobile game. Despite being simple, it was a lot of fun and Sophia would y it during her free time. Every time when Michael was done filming his scenes and checked on her, he would find her burying her head in the game. Inparison to the game, he appeared less important to her even when he was her husband, which made him a little jealous. The phone signal at the filming site was weak, so in order to help his beloved wife y her favorite game on the fastest Inte connection, Michael carried a portable wifi device in his pocket. She could only receive a strong wifi signal by staying within ten meters of him. Therefore, Sophia could only stick closely to Michael in order to use the Inte. If he didn¡¯t let her connect to his wifi, she would vanish very soon from his side. However, at the umpteenth time of seeing his cutie-pie burying herself in the mobile game after he finished shooting, his jealousy finally erupted. ¡°Chica,e over and give me a massage!¡± His voice was tinged with rage, but she seemed to still be upset at him over the Natasha incident. So, she reluctantly shoved her phone back into her pocket and dragged her feet over to give him a massage. Michaely on the armchair and indulged in Sophia¡¯s service. Her soft hands were massaging and sliding around his body, providing him aforting sensation. Although Michael had nothing to do with the scandalous ¡®big round panda adoption¡¯, the thought of a woman daringly seducing her husband in front of her made her upset. She remained silent while massaging him. After shooting his scenes, Michael was resting and took a sip of the water that Danny handed him. Then, he picked up Sophia¡¯s tablet; it was the tablet he let go of when he was undergoing military training at Bayside University, which was in turn taken by Nathan and brought home. Since then, Sophia was the only user of the tablet. He touched the tablet screen and was greeted by a wallpaper of his handsome looks. Clicking in, he connected to the Inte and opened the browser to search for panda photos. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Sophia inched closer to him to take a look. He answered, ¡°I¡¯m going to adopt two panda cubs too.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It was easy to adopt panda cubs as long as one had the money. Anyway, this adoption was only nominal. After all, panda cubs were not for sale. For the adoption, the adopter would transfer a sum of money to the Panda Foundation to nominally adopt the panda. The adopter only had the right to have his or her name on the panda. As for the animals themselves, they would still be under the care of the Panda Foundation. Michael had contacted the staff from the Panda Foundation earlier and they sent him some photos. This year, a lot of panda cubs were born at the Panda Foundation, and the staff were looking for adopters. They hoped that the adopter could be a star like Taylor because they wanted to make use of the adopter¡¯s fame to spread awareness and to sustain their work. Secondly, the adopter would transfer a sum of money which would contribute to the Panda Foundation¡¯s research and protection. Fromst year up until now, the Panda Foundation had overseen the birth of twenty cubs, all of them cute. A cute animal like the panda was easily likeable. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Michael wanted to choose two cubs for adoption. For each panda, the adoption fee was around a few million, which was an insignificant sum for him. At that moment, he was focused on choosing the panda cubs when a delicate hand suddenly shot past his shoulder and pointed at a cub. ¡°Adopt this one. No, this one¡¯s better. Uhm¡­ This one is cute too. No, how about this one? Let¡¯s go with this one. Oh no, I can¡¯t choose¡­¡± Sophia seemed more excited than him and her indecisiveness was on full force again. In her eyes, each cub looked adorable and she wanted every one of them. Michael smiled and handed her the tablet. ¡°You choose.¡± Joyful, she took the tablet and started picking the cubs. They¡¯re such adorable creatures that could elicit tears of joy! she thought. Every cub was fluffy and round, drowning her in their excessive cuteness. It was no wonder they were considered to be national treasures! She had no idea which one to choose. Ahh! It¡¯s so hard! As Michael was resting in the tent he brought on his own where Hale stood guard at the entrance so that no one would dare to enter, Sophia feltfortable enough to sit on his thighs to choose the cubs. Finally, she decided on one. ¡°I want this!¡± The cub she finally picked was a frail and tiny one which didn¡¯t really move around much. From what they were told, this weak cub had some health issues and was the weaker one between the twins. At its birth, it was only half the size of normal newborn cubs. Sophia was determined. ¡°I want this cub! I¡¯m not going to change my decision!¡± The little cutie was an absolute sweetheart. It would be nice to adopt it. They¡¯d donate more money to the foundation, which would go to the betterment of its life. After Sophia was done, Michael picked her cub¡¯s older twin as his second adopted cub. ¡°When are we going to see the pandas?¡± ¡°After this shoot.¡± Some timeter, Sophia¡¯s guess turned out to be right. Two days after the scandal died down, Natasha appeared at the filming set again. When Sophia saw Natasha and Olivia walking in Michael¡¯s direction, she hurriedly warned him, ¡°Ollie the Clown and Natasha areing over. Quick, pretend to be asleep. I¡¯ll handle them for you.¡± Amused, he lifted a brow and covered his face with his script on the armchair and started to pretend he was sleeping. ¡®Ollie the Clown¡¯, or Olivia, walked up with Natasha and found him lying down fast asleep with his script covering his face. ¡°Taylor, about the incident two days ago, it was my fault for not being thoughtful enough. I had wanted to cheer you up on your birthday, but itnded you in trouble instead. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Natasha sounded very pitiful with remorse written all over her face. Olivia was helping Natasha out as well. ¡°Taylor, just forgive Nat. She¡¯s your loyal fan and everything she did was out of admiration for you. She¡¯s young and it¡¯s understandable that she might sometimes act rashly.¡± Michael remained ¡®sleeping¡¯ silently and Sophia finally spoke up while massaging his legs. ¡°Alright, alright, Taylor has forgiven you. You two should leave now. Don¡¯t interrupt his resting time.¡± Olivia and Natasha immediately red at Sophia¡¯s dismissing remark, but they also noticed that Michael didn¡¯t attempt to stop Sophia from talking, as if he had truly fallen asleep. Chapter 441 Chapter 441 At that moment, Michael stretched his slender legs and enjoyed his beloved wife¡¯s leg massage. Sophia lifted his legs onto her knees, on which she kneaded and rolled them, appearing to be working as his ¡®nanny¡¯. Olivia silently cursed, What a busybody nanny! At the same time, she mediated the situation between Natasha and Michael with a smile. ¡°Taylor, it¡¯s my fault this time for making that bad n. If you want to me someone, please me me. Don¡¯t me it on Natasha. She¡¯s still young and naive after all.¡± Trying hard to shoulder the me, Olivia slickly attempted to find the point of bnce when dealing with Natasha and Michael; she had to be on their good sides and try to matchmake them. ¡°I know you¡¯re angry and that I have done something wrong. Taylor, could you forgive me?¡± As she spoke, she even tugged at his sleeve, pouting her lips to act cute. It was a pity that her looks were not born for those expressions, which resulted in an ufortable sight. Sophia pinched Michael on his leg while saying, ¡°Alright, alright. Taylor has truly forgiven the two of you. He¡¯s still resting. Stop bothering him.¡± Unfortunately, Olivia and Natasha were determined to stay put until Michael finally talked to them. Then, Natasha pitifully bit her lower lip and almost sobbed. ¡°Taylor, are you unwilling to forgive me? I¡¯m sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t intend to upset you¡­¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Standing there firmly, she seemed to havee to a hard decision as she uttered, ¡°Taylor, in order to be forgiven by you, I¡¯m willing to do anything!¡± She¡¯s acting pitiful! Hah! Sophia was the most skilled at handling those ¡®innocent cutie-pies¡¯ who were acting pitifully. Thus, she sted Natasha first. ¡°Since you know that you¡¯re in the wrong, why are you still standing here doing nothing? Because of you, Taylor is being criticized all over the Inte and he has lost quite an amount of fans. Everyone is saying that he uses women and abandons them, and that he¡¯s an adulterous jerk. That¡¯s all thanks to you!¡± Turning to Olivia, Sophia snapped, ¡°And you, Olivia, are you touched in the head? As Taylor¡¯s cousin, you should have known that he¡¯s married. Why would you have Natasha wear something that exposing like she¡¯s a mistress and have her dance around him? What was your intention?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t stop there at all. ¡°Did you both think that Taylor¡¯s trending too much? That he¡¯s too popr already? So that¡¯s why you two decided to create a scandal to reduce his poprity? I¡¯m begging you, Natasha, for Taylor¡¯s future prospect, please leave and never show up in front of him again. Once someone takes a photo of you two and uploads it online, Taylor¡¯s reputation will be damaged. Shoo, shoo! Stop standing here! Don¡¯t you know what it means to keep a safe distance? If you do, just leave now!¡± After Sophia¡¯s long speech, Natasha¡¯s face changed from beet red to a ghastly pale shade. No matter how angry she felt, she could not reveal her emotions. With much difficulty, she had to act in ordance to her socialite persona and maintain her dignity in front of her idol. Pouting and stomping, she urged, ¡°Taylor, why aren¡¯t you saying a thing?¡± ¡°My apologies. Your idol can¡¯t speak to you now. Once he speaks to you, I¡¯m sure you can imagine what the press would write for tomorrow¡¯s news articles. It¡¯s still a very sensitive time now. Taylor¡¯s image as an idol has just recovered slightly, so it¡¯s impossible for him to talk to you now. Your idol has truly forgiven you. You can really leave. If not, you¡¯re going to create more trouble for him.¡± As for Michael, he was still pretending to be fast asleep as if he could not sense the three women surrounding him. Exploding in anger, Olivia thought, Where is this ignorant b*tch from? Even if she¡¯s going to act out, she should not stand in the way of Taylor marrying into wealth! Taylor must marry into the Mitchell Family; he has to lift the status of the entire Murray Family along with his marriage! Natasha was the only daughter of the leader of the Mitchell Group. Although she was shy of eighteen, she already had a worth of billions, a proof of Alex Mitchell¡¯s love for his daughter. ¡°Watch your mouth, nanny! When your employers are talking, you have no right to interfere. Get lost!¡± Olivia kept her words sufficiently sharp, but not to the point of being rude, so that she wouldn¡¯t be hated by Taylor and at the same time, so that he would drive Sophia away. Surprisingly, Sophia was unaffected at all. ¡°My employers? My only employer is Taylor and he never asks me to shut up!¡± Olivia turned to look at Michael, who seemed to be asleep. She shook him gently. ¡°Taylor, say something. Your nanny is too insolent!¡± Michael showed no response and continued to pretend that he was asleep. His tacit approval was the green light for Sophia to go even further. When she saw Olivia¡¯s desperation to prove her loyalty to Natasha, she caught on to a clue, so she said, ¡°Olivia, Taylor doesn¡¯t mean to ignore you. Now, every word he says to you could be sensationalized by the press.¡± While addressing Olivia, she nudged Michael as well. ¡°The other leg, please.¡± Upon hearing that, the ¡®fast-asleep¡¯ Michael moved a little and swapped the other leg onto Sophia¡¯s knees. While Sophia was massaging his leg, she took the chance to lecture Olivia in front of Natasha. Switching to a different perspective, she added, ¡°The birthday incident irritated Madam as well. Think about it; her man had received a love confession from a scantily dressed young girl who was practicallyp dancing to him, and the news was spread across the country. How would she feel?¡± Lap dancing¡­ When Natasha heard Sophia¡¯s degrading description of her genuine efforts for Taylor, the veins on her forehead throbbed in fury and her hands were fidgeting hard at the hem of her dress. Olivia was unaffected by Sophia¡¯s words at all. How could that old housewife at Taylor¡¯s ce even compare herself to the wealthy Natasha? It¡¯s best if Taylor divorces that woman right away to marry Natasha! However, what came next caught Olivia¡¯s attention. Sophia stated, ¡°Even before Madam got married, she had been the daughter of a wealthy family and had a worth of tens of billions. Her dad was an elite here and abroad. Those sessful and handsome bachelors who were pursuing her could line up all the way from here to Bayside City. Madam is a very influential person, but after your scandal, you made it hard for Taylor to face her at home!¡± Sophia secretly counted and confirmed that the wealth left to her by Cooper Mitchell amounted to tens of billions after currency conversion. If that was the case, she could bebeled as a billionaire and one of the influential people in Bayside City as well. There was nothing wrong at all! After Olivia heard the description by Sophia, she was dumbfounded. Does that old housewife really have a worth of tens of billions? Isn¡¯t that more than Natasha? Is Taylor¡¯s wife¡¯s family more prestigious than the Mitchells? Feeling anxious, she totally forgot about Natasha¡¯s presence and asked Sophia with concern, ¡°What¡¯s her background?¡± At the mention of that topic, Sophia nced at Natasha before raising her pitch and proudly iming, ¡°Well, if we want to talk about Madam¡¯s background¡­ She¡¯s from a really influential family!¡± Natasha sneered; she wanted to understand what was the background of Taylor¡¯s wife. It¡¯s impossible that she¡¯s wealthier than me! Under Olivia¡¯s concerned and intense stare, Sophia started to describe her ¡®Madam¡¯. ¡°Madam¡¯s family has strong connections overseas. In Bayside City, they¡¯re merely a new power. Their influence stretches all over the world and they¡¯re honored guests of the monarchies of many countries.¡± Without going deeper, her remark of having ¡®strong connections overseas¡¯ was enough for Natasha to start guessing. Then, she continued to bluff, ¡°Back in the days, Madam passed up the opportunity to marry into royalty for Taylor. It took Taylor a lot of effort to win Madam over. She married him with a worth of billions and she even used her connections to help with Taylor¡¯s career, ensuring that he would have a smooth progression in the industry.¡± At this point, Sophia was sure that Olivia must have gotten the hint. Stop with your rubbish matchmaking; your cousin has married into wealth and turned into a kept man! Chapter 442 Chapter 442 Olivia btedly realized that she might havemitted a grave mistake. She had always thought that the old housewife under Taylor¡¯s roof was not well-connected. If that wasn¡¯t the case, she should have announced the information to the public. Now, it turned out that the woman was indeed from a powerful family! No wonder Taylor was untempted by Natasha¡¯s excellent family background! He¡¯s already the son-inw of another wealthy family! Mrs. Murray came from a much more outstanding background than Natasha! Feeling extremely regretful, Olivia recalled that some time ago, she had patted her chest confidently, guaranteeing sess in helping Natasha to pursue Taylor. Not only that, she had been secretly addressing Natasha as ¡®sister-inw¡¯! Oh gosh, that was awkward¡­ It only took Sophia¡¯s short speech to shift Olivia¡¯s loyalty, keenly observed by Natasha. Ever since her failed confession at the dance performance, she had not been putting much hope on Olivia anyway. Her mood had drastically changed from enthusiastic to despair, but she remained smiling like a socialite. ¡°Although Taylor has forgiven me, I won¡¯t feel any less guilty. I¡¯ll treat the filming crew to dinner tonight!¡± Then, she turned around and left. Hurriedly nodding, Oliva ran after Natasha. After Natasha and Olivia were far away, Sophia finally let out a sigh of relief and continued massaging Michael¡¯s legs. Wow, this is my idol¡¯s leg¡­ I really want to rub my cheek against it¡­ Michael, who was pretending to be sleeping with a script over his face, suddenly trembled violently as he let out a suppressedugh. He seemed to have envisioned his future from the way Sophia described him. A kept man¡­ It looks like she already nned to make me her kept man. Anyway, being her kept man would be a lovely experience, and he wouldn¡¯t mind trying it out. At night, Natasha invited the entire filming crew for a feast. They indeed preferred wealthy fans like Natasha because they could benefit from being close to Taylor and even received free meals on some days. At the restaurant, Natasha was waiting eagerly for Michael¡¯s arrival. At first, she had wanted to invite him out for a private dinner, but due to his principle of keeping a distance from her, he might not show up. Therefore, she decided to treat the entire crew because he¡¯d definitely turn up. After all, no man could turn down Natasha. Indeed, all the cast members and crew had arrived, and everyone surrounded her to shower her in compliments. Sadly, until the end of dinner, the two male leads didn¡¯t show up for her. Harry texted her, iming, ¡®Tired. Can¡¯t move. Not attending.¡¯ Michael replied to her, ¡®Same here.¡¯ On a day when Natasha was buying dinner, the filming crew could finally stop working overtime. It was rare for Michael to have the extra time to rest at the hotel, which was the reason he didn¡¯t want to attend Natasha¡¯s dinner. At night, in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, Scary Phoenix, Beast, Sirius 233, Dragon Belle Warrior, Snow Fox, and Little Kitten all showed up online and teamed up to fight monsters enthusiastically. The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ just updated a new map with awesome monsters. Even after a few days post- update, no one could emerge alive from battling the monsters. Tonight, Scary Phoenix finally went online, which was rare. So, everyone urged Scary Phoenix to lead the team against the monster zone. Unfortunately, Scary Phoenix seemed to be out of their zone, leading to the annihtion of the entire team in a winnable game. After the characters¡¯ death, they went back to the game city and waited for their hit points to be replenished while concluding the lessons learned from their failure. Finally, everyone decided that it was Michael¡¯s distracted manner that led to their defeat. If it weren¡¯t for him, they would have passed the new challenge. ¡®Uncle Michael, what¡¯s wrong? Is your knife dull after not ying the game for some time? We can¡¯t have that happen. For next year¡¯s Esports World Championship, I¡¯m pinning my hopes on you to lead our team to a consecutive victory! You must recover!¡¯ After some time, Michael replied in fractured sentences. ¡®The position I¡¯m.¡¯ ¡®in now.¡¯ ¡®is inconvenient.¡¯ ¡®for gaming.¡¯ Harry, Sean, and Sarah were speechless at his replies. Only Stanley, the fool, was out of the loop. ¡®Position? What position do you need for gaming? Be focused. Aunt is watching our gamey! You can¡¯t y like a loser. She¡¯ll be upset!¡¯ No one bothered to reply to Stanley. They felt like they were being blinded by Michael and Sophia¡¯s private disy of affection, which would take some time for them to digest. When Stanley received no responses, he asked, ¡®Aunt, why are you quiet?¡¯ Things were quiet on Sophia¡¯s side, but soon, everyone started receiving replies from her¡ªin garbled text. ¡®djidee¡¯ ¡®dodogdndd¡¯ ¡®jddddm¡¯ Stanley almost exploded in anger. ¡®Aunt, can you speak humannguage?¡¯ Although he waspletely confused, everyone else was clear about the situation Sophia was in. Based on the frequency of her evenly timed replies, they could tell that she seemed to be doing something of a simr tempo in front of herputer and identally pressed on her keyboard, sending out garbled responses. What else could a couple do in a hotel room that was rhythmic? When they connected Sophia¡¯s behavior to Michael¡¯sment on his ¡®position¡¯, it was not hard to see what was happening. Harry replied, ¡®I have scenes to film tomorrow. I¡¯m going offline.¡¯ Sean replied as well, ¡®Stan, it¡¯s going to be a busy day at work tomorrow. I¡¯m going offline soon. Sleep early.¡¯ As for Sarah, she went offline without leaving any message, while Michael was quiet in the chatroom and Sophia was sending out the garbled texts endlessly. Stanley was irritated by his teammates. ¡®You guys are not focused at all! Hmph! I¡¯m going to sleep too!¡¯ In the hotel room, Sophia was on the verge of tears. ¡°Michael Fletcher, let go of me! I want to y my game!¡± She had just begun her game when Michael started troubling her from behind, pinning her waist and insisted on intimacy. In that manner, Sophia was pinned on the table with her back arched, taking him from behind while determinedly continuing her gaming. However, she was not in the right condition to y at all. In the end, she only sent out various garbled replies to the team. On the other side, Micheal appeared more rxed, with one hand holding her body and the other hand typing freely on the keyboard in the game. After a round of game, the team discovered their live steamy session. Feeling too ashamed, Sophia logged out of the game and got in bed. Michael exited the game as well and happened to receive a call from Abel, so he hid in the bathroom and took the call. When Sophia was lying on her chest, scrolling on her phone and waiting for Michael toe to her, she clicked into Messenger and noticed a sketch sent to her by Sarah. In the sketch, a man and a woman were ying games while doing the deed. Little Kitten asked, ¡®Were you both in this position just now?¡¯ Too ashamed, Sophia dared not reply to Sarah. On the other side, Abel called Michael to report the updates on Cooper Mitchell¡ªhe had run a search around all possible areas that Cooper Mitchell could be in but returned with nothing. Apart from the photo from Nicole, there was no other evidence of Cooper¡¯s existence in this world. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Michael hung up and looked somber. Finding Cooper Mitchell is a much more arduous task than I have imagined! If not for a coincidence, Michael¡¯s men might not even have retrieved a photo of Cooper. This is just way too odd! This clearly presented a problem¡ªCooper Mitchell still had a lot of followers, who helped him to wipe off any proof of his existence. However, the moment he came out from the bathroom and saw Sophia¡¯s pale backside on the bed, he instantly felt that all the seriousness had been lifted off him¡­ At the dinner they had missed, Natasha announced a piece of huge news. In order to express her deepest apologies to Taylor, she bought the naming right for a road in Bayside City. The road would be named ¡®Taylor Murray Road¡¯. Chapter 443 Chapter 443 Since then, Bayside City was about to have a new route named ¡®Taylor Murray Road¡¯! There was also a bus stop which became avable instantly on the map. In all honesty, it was not so simple to buy the naming rights of a road, and many departments were involved behind it. Nobody knew how much the Mitchell Family had spent to get the naming rights so quickly. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. The Mitchell Family was so freaking rich! It was no wonder that Natasha had the confidence to be someone¡¯s side lover and got herself involved in an extra-marital affair with such a sense of superiority. Seeing others splurging a lot of money on her husband, Sophia became very upset. Therefore, she pursed her lips, turned off her phone, and went to bed with her idol. The next day, Natasha¡¯svish purchase of a road for Taylor was already on the news. But she still came to visit him and fussed around him. ¡°Taylor, you¡¯ve worked hard. Come and drink some water.¡± After saying so, Natasha graciously handed a ss of water to Michael, who had just finished filming. Michael nced at the ss, but before he could take it, Sophia came over and brought him a cup of coffee. ¡°Taylor likes to drink coffee, and he wants it freshly ground and ck. No cream nor sugar.¡± Michael dly took the coffee that Sophia handed over and ignored Natasha as if he hadn¡¯t seen her. Because he didn¡¯t take her water, her expression was a bit awkward. Then, Sophia deliberately said in a loud voice, ¡°Just let us assistants do menial jobs like serving drinks. How could someone with such an amazing background like Miss Mitchell do this kind of lowly job? You¡¯re not an assistant after all!¡± She deliberately raised her voice so that the whole crew could hear it. It was an open secret that Natasha liked Taylor, and she had spent a lot of money on him. But it was also another open secret that Taylor didn¡¯t seem to like Natasha very much. Moreover, he was also a henpecked husband. It was said that his wife was the daughter of a wealthy family as well, and her background was, in fact,parable to Natasha¡¯s. The whole crew knew that Natasha¡¯s love for Taylor was a one-sided one. Seeing that she had been rebuked by Sophia, all of them secretly gloated over her misfortune. Knowing that she had been humiliated, Natasha smiled and said, ¡°Taylor, since you don¡¯t like in water, then I won¡¯t give that to you in the future.¡± After saying so, she prepared to leave, but the second she turned around, a sh of anger crossed her delicate face. After a while, Michael finished filming another scene and stretched his hand out for water. Aiming at the opportunity, Natasha served him the cup of freshly ground coffee she had just made. ¡°Taylor, this is the coffee that I especially made for you. It is ck and without any sugar or cream. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like it¡ª¡± ¡°Taylor has sweated so much just now, so he needs in water to quench his thirst. He shouldn¡¯t be drinking coffee!¡± Sophia came up to them from the side with a ss of chilled mineral water in her hand. Michael was reading the script carefully and discussing it with the director, so he didn¡¯t seem to notice the two of them. However, as soon as he reached out, his fingers curled around the ss of water that Sophia brought. Holding the ss, he only took small sips from it, afraid that his stomach would feel ufortable while filming intense action scenester. Sophia then fanned him diligently to the side. After that, Michael filmed a fighting scene. The plot required his jacket to be torn off, revealing his seductive upper body, which was really charming and delectable¡­ Natasha, who was holding the cup of coffee, was neglected once again. ¡°Taylor¡­¡± Natasha called out pitifully while holding onto her coffee. Perhaps Sophia¡¯s fanning was too loud, and it had interfered with Michael¡¯s hearing. Therefore, he didn¡¯t hear Natasha even though she called him several times. In a fit of anger, Natasha stomped her feet and left with her coffee. Sophia kept following Michael around like a shadow, blocking all ways for Natasha to get through and resolutely preventing her from approaching him. But Natasha felt that she must have upied a special ce in Taylor¡¯s heart, and he probably just hadn¡¯t expressed it. After all, I¡¯m such a wealthy fan of his. For the sake of money, he must be interested in me, right? Considering the entertainment industry as a whole, which celebrity doesn¡¯t wish to have a wealthy fan like me? Taylor has many wealthy fans, but which one of them is as generous as me? As long as I work hard, I¡¯ll be able to win Taylor¡¯s heart sooner orter. The crew often had reporterse to visit and interview them. After Natasha splurged and bought a road for Taylor, the reporters tried every means to interview him. Every week, there would be a cast and crew meet-and-greet in the film studio, and the crew in the film studio would appear to meet the tourists. Usually, a bigshot like Michael was unlikely to appear, but this time he unexpectedly appeared at the meet-and-greet. As soon as Michael appeared, he was immediately blocked by a huge group of reporters, and countless microphones and recorders almost hit him in the face. The vast majority of reporters were interviewing Taylor for the first time, so they pummeled him with a lot of questions immediately. Unexpectedly, Taylor answered most of them. A reporter asked, ¡°Excuse me, Taylor Murray, how did you and your wife meet? Is it convenient to disclose that?¡± Faced with the question, Michael simply replied, ¡°Noment.¡± The reporter then asked, ¡°It is rumored that you and your wife have a son. May I ask¡ª¡± Michael interrupted him, ¡°Noment.¡± Another reporter piped up, ¡°Excuse me, Taylor Murray, but what do you think of Miss Natasha?¡± Natasha was standing to the side, waiting nervously for Michael¡¯s answer. Although she knew that he could not tell the truth on this asion, she could still make a note of what he said. Michael looked at the microphone and then at the reporter who asked the question. As his curly wig fringe fell over his eyebrows, a trace of amusement shed across his deep eyes, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly. Then, he said word by word into the microphone, ¡°I¡¯m not very familiar with her.¡± Not very familiar? Natasha¡¯s eyes widened. Is this all Taylor couldment about me? Not very familiar¡­ All he said is ¡®not very familiar¡¯! I¡¯ve always been the most dazzling one in the crowd! How could I ever be ¡®not very familiar¡¯ to anyone! Natasha thought she had heard him wrong. Staring nkly at Michael, who was surrounded by reporters, her mind was in a daze as her eyes misted over and filled with shimmering tears. If it weren¡¯t for a reporter who was filming her, those tears would¡¯ve rolled down her cheeks. The reporter began to ask questions again, ¡°What do you think about Natasha Mitchell spending millions to adopt a panda for you and even bought the naming rights of a road?¡± Without hesitation, Michael replied, ¡°It made no sense to me.¡± It made no sense? Those four words resembled four ringing drums that hammered on Natasha¡¯s eardrum, causing her head to vibrate horribly. She never expected that everything she did would make no sense to Taylor! The meet-and-greet onlysted for a short while, and Michael left first. No matter what the reporters asked, he stopped answering. He wouldn¡¯t havee to the meet-and-greet if it weren¡¯t to exin things to Sophia and make things clear to the public. Natasha watched Michael leave so indifferently and ruthlessly. He didn¡¯t seem to notice that she was dressed to the nines while waiting in the crowd to meet him. For the first time, she felt the frustration and sadness of being abandoned by the whole world. This must definitely not be what Michael really thinks. He must have been forced by that b*tch in his house to say such things! It must be so! Chapter 444 Chapter 444 Natasha recovered her usual dignified socialite appearance as quickly as possible and epted an interview with the reporters. The reporter asked, ¡°Miss Natasha, how do you feel about Mr. Taylor Murray¡¯s evaluation of your actions?¡± Natasha looked at the camera and smiled in an elegant manner, ¡°I grew up watching Taylor Murray¡¯s movies, so he is my idol. I just want to continue loving him in my own way. I suppose my actions before were indeed a bit ill-considered, but I have no intention of destroying Taylor¡¯s family, and I¡¯ll still fully support his acting career in the future.¡± Natasha didn¡¯t believe one bit that she couldn¡¯t win Taylor¡¯s heart over with her family background and strong financial resources. I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s number one wealthy fan, and my status is unshakable! However, little did she know that the ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Top Fan¡¯ online title she had splurged on purchasing was bought off by somebody else in just five days and three hours. An idol like Taylor had no shortage of fans, especially wealthy ones. Within two days, a brand-new Taylor Murray¡¯s top fan materialized from thin air with the online name ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯. The news reported: ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Top Fan Eddie Fletcher Donates Ten Million to Build Public Road Named ¡®Taylor Murray Road¡¯ for an Impoverished Mountainous Vige.¡¯ Apparently, someone called Eddie Fletcher had contacted the council of the impoverished mountainous vige and donated millions of assets to build roads and bridges for the vige in the name of Taylor Murray. The sudden windfall of a ten-million donation left the people of that impoverished vige shell-shocked, but they couldn¡¯t reach ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯. So, they had no choice but to contact a reporter to publish the news so that they could thank Eddie Fletcher and Taylor Murray for the donation. At the same time, the crew of War Dragon also received a flower basket for Taylor, which was sent by a certain ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯. With that, Taylor made the headlines again, and arge number of entertainment reporters were curious about the real identity of Eddie Fletcher. However, no one could find out anything at all. As the persona of ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ was born, Natasha¡¯s status as the top wealthy fan of Taylor Murray was in danger. Both of them dedicated roads to Taylor Murray, yet one donated money to build roads for an impoverished mountainous vige, which brought convenience to the poor people living in the vige and improved the idol¡¯s reputation; the other threw away money to glorify the idol, and as the idol himself said, it made no sense. The contrast was stark when people startedparing the two. In the summer resort of the film studio, Natasha was so angry that she smashed the tablet in her hands when she saw the news. Her hysterical scream echoed throughout this summer resort on the mountainside. ¡°Go and check who exactly is this Eddie Fletcher for me!¡± Natasha¡¯s eyes were bloodshot with rage. Whenever she closed them, she would recall Taylor¡¯s four unfeeling words: it made no sense. She had always believed that Taylor liked her. Otherwise, why would he save her in the first ce? On that nightmarish night, she had arrested Sophia to interrogate her about the whereabouts of the amulet, but unexpectedly, she was besieged by unknown assassins. She then escaped from the basement and fell unconscious among a burst of gunfire. When she woke up in the hospital, she saw Taylor¡¯s men guarding her. It was Taylor who had rescued her from Phantom Wolf! Since he saved her, it meant that he was interested in her. ¡°No one ever dared to challenge me financially. Since you want to y this game with me, I will y along till the end.¡± The news of Eddie Fletcher donating tens of millions of assets to build roads for the impoverished mountainous vige broke out at once. Although the local vigers didn¡¯t know who Eddie Fletcher was, they had heard of Taylor Murray and were extremely grateful to him. With this, Taylor¡¯s reputation on the inte improved by leaps and bounds. When the main road waspleted, they would erect a monument for Taylor Murray out of gratitude. A huge number of reporters were camping outside the set to interview Taylor and ask about Eddie Fletcher as well. Unexpectedly, Taylor actually agreed to the interview this time. A reporter asked, ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Taylor Murray, but what do you think of Eddie Fletcher¡¯s road construction in your name?¡± Michael smiled slightly. ¡°It is worth advocating.¡± Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. The same four words, yet it was in stark contrast to Natasha¡¯s ¡®it made no sense¡¯ment. Within a day of Eddie Fletcher shooting to fame, Natasha quickly fought back on her side. Since Eddie Fletcher was doing charity, she also did charity. In the name of Taylor Murray, she donated several new buildings to an elementary school located in the impoverished mountainous vige. She thought this would win the favor of other Taylor Murray¡¯s fans, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be counterproductive. The onlinements were more negative than positive, and most of thements were not great. ¡®She¡¯s just parroting others in doing charity. Can¡¯t she be a little more creative? She should be a bit more sincere when doing charity.¡¯ ¡®With such a stupid fan like her, I guess it¡¯s difficult for Taylor Murray to avoid a bad reputation.¡¯ ¡®I still like Eddie Fletcher more. Look at how low-key that fan is.¡¯ Natasha hated this person named Eddie Fletcher to death. Although she sent someone to investigate the person, she didn¡¯t even manage to find out whether it was a man or a woman. Despite being berated online, she was still pleased about spending such arge sum of money. She wanted to see whether Eddie Fletcher would dare to respond to her move or not! The duel between two top fans had officially begun! The statement of Natasha¡¯s donation of the school buildings had just been issued, but even before the money was ready, another news broke out. A research institution examining the disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) announced its receipt of a ten million ALS research fund by one of Taylor Murray¡¯s fans, Eddie Fletcher. The fund was set up to develop a drug for the disease, and ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ even called out for public awareness on ALS! After the research institution published the news of the donation on its Twitter, Taylor himself liked it and retweeted it, then called for more public awareness on the disease as well. As for the news of Natasha¡¯s donation to the elementary school, Taylor never responded to it. Seeing that something was going wrong for her, Natasha hurriedly donated 20 million to an AIDS research institution as a scientific research fund. She donated twice as much as Eddie Fletcher donated! Actually, she didn¡¯t care about what theizens said about her at all. All she wanted to do was to raze ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ to the ground! It was clear that ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ had a strong financial background. After donating to the scientific research fund, the person donated a batch of tents and relief packages to a disaster-stricken mountain area in the name of Taylor Murray. A day after donating those supplies, a foreign research institution suddenly discovered a new asteroid. On the second day of the discovery, the institution received a financial donation from ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯, the fan of Cethos¡¯ male celebrity Taylor Murray, to help with the scientific research. Thus, the institution that had discovered the asteroid named it as ¡®Taylor Murray Asteroid¡¯. Natasha, too, followed closely with her own donations of supplies and money. Since Eddie Fletcher donated an asteroid, she followed up by donating a newly discovered ind! In short, what Eddie Fletcher donated, she donated twice as much. At night in a hotel, Michael started to scroll through the news on the Inte after having finished reading the script. When he searched for ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯, a torrent of news swept across his screen. On seeing the name, his eyes were full of indulgence, and his smile became gentle. A kind of tender warmth spread through his body as he subconsciously nced at Sophia, who was ying a game beside him. Eddie Fletcher and Natasha had gone a bit overboard now, but this war was about to end soon. Natasha had gone all out with her spending. Judging from the current financial level of the Mitchell Family, she couldn¡¯t go on even if she was the daughter of the Mitchell Family. As for ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯¡­ Sophia was ying a game with Stanley, and they were grinding while chatting in-game. Stanley said to Sophia, ¡°Eddie Fletcher, you¡¯re freaking rich to donate tens of millions in one go. Why didn¡¯t you invest more money in me? You¡¯re so stingy. I¡¯m your nephew after all!¡± ¡°That¡¯s your uncle¡¯s money!¡± Sophia retorted. ¡°My uncle¡¯s money is all yours. I don¡¯t care! Invest money in me, Eddie Fletcher!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any money!¡± ¡°Eddie Fletcher¡­ This name is really disgusting.¡± Chapter 445 Chapter 445 ¡°Eddie, what do you even mean by your actions? I¡¯ve already allowed you to sleep with my uncle, so what more do you want? Don¡¯t you feel at least a little distressed when you throw away so much money? Why don¡¯t you give me the money instead? After eight or ten years, I promise to return you tenfold the amount you give me!¡± Stanley kept prattling on. Sophia did not respond but instead continued gaming in a serious manner. As she manipted the Scary Phoenix ount that belonged to Michael, its avatar was so great that it could fly like a god overlooking themon folk in the game. It¡¯s so cool to y with the idol¡¯s ount. Top guy in the whole server, a godly avatar, that lethality, that critical hit, and that agility, it¡¯s just incredible¡­ However, the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor, Taylor Murray¡¯s game ID, was already exposed and known to all. As long as Scary Phoenix appeared in-game, a group of fans would chase after him wildly, causing a server jam wherever he went. It was of no use even if he tried to log in incognito. Within this period of time, there was an increase of more than one million new users in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. All of them joined the game for Taylor Murray, which caused the game screen to hang and the line to drop for most users. After killing a monster, the yer would need to change the map location to fight monsters somewhere else. So, Scary Phoenix and Snow Fox moved at full speed toward their new destination. Snow Fox galloped on his mount, while Scary Phoenix flew in the sky. As soon as Scary Phoenix appeared, he flew past the town freely in the sky, and the people in the town could only look at him with envy and hatred. Who made him the only one who could fly in the game? Nobody could follow him even if they wanted to. Suddenly, a heroine with wings flew behind him. Scary Phoenix turned his head and saw the woman with long ck hair in a fluttering dress. As she rode on the wind, she looked as beautiful as a dream. From her appearance, she was clearly a wealthy paid user. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ actually had wings as props? Since when did this happen? So, Scary Phoenix was not the only god in the game? Heroine ID: Nat. The pair of them flew in the air in tandem like a godly couple, drawing the envy of others. Scary Phoenix didn¡¯t say a word but continued rushing toward his destination. Nat spoke, ¡°Wait up, the hero ahead of me!¡± Scary Phoenix still didn¡¯t speak. Nat continued, ¡°Taylor, I¡¯m Natasha.¡± Scary Phoenix paused, then said, ¡°I¡¯m not the man himself.¡± Nat replied, ¡°Then are you Lord Winston?¡± Scary Phoenix answered, ¡°I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s wife.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns this text. The conversation stopped for a while there. Natasha lowering herself to y this kind of game was, of course, all for Michael. She bought a god-level title with strong attributes for a high price, just so that she could stand together with Scary Phoenix in the game world. Unexpectedly, although she had found Scary Phoenix, it was his wife who was using this game ount. Taylor Murray¡¯s wife? Well, I can work with that! On the other side of theputer, Natasha smiled sarcastically and started typing. ¡®Hi, Mrs. Murray. I¡¯m Natasha, Taylor¡¯s sister. My father is Alex Mitchell, the president of Mitchell Group.¡¯ Scary Phoenix paused for a while, then replied, ¡®Hmm, what a coincidence. My dad is your dad¡¯s granduncle Cooper Mitchell! You shall address me as your elder!¡¯ Nat¡¯s in-game avatar was a fairy with colorful wings. Although she fluttered her wings in the game, in reality, she wasughing behind theputer at Sophia, the dumb housewife who didn¡¯t know any better. How could Cooper Mitchell be your father? In fact, how is someone like you worthy of having him as your father? It seems that Taylor¡¯s wife is nothing much after all. She¡¯s just an ignorant and dumb woman! Nat spoke in-game again, ¡®I recently visited Taylor on set. He¡¯s so kind to me, and we often have dinner together. Why didn¡¯t I see you there?¡¯ After saying this, she waited for the other party¡¯s response. Sure enough, the other party sounded a little frustrated as she immediately asked, ¡®You had dinner with Taylor?¡¯ Natasha was so happy that even her typing rhythm became incredibly joyful. ¡®Yes, I was having dinner with Taylor just now. It was just him and me!¡¯ The other party did not answer. Natasha knew that the woman must have begun to suspect Taylor at this time. Perhaps she might immediately call and ask Taylor, who he had dinner with just now. Then there would be endless arguments and doubts. Taylor would definitely think that she was kicking up a fuss for nothing and being unreasonable. If this continued, they would get divorced sooner orter¡­ When the seed of doubt had been nted, the divorce would happen sooner orter. Seeing that the other party hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, Natasha hurriedly typed in her exnation. ¡®Mrs. Murray, don¡¯t get me wrong. Taylor just treats me like a close buddy! After a few days, I¡¯lle to visit you, Mrs. Murray! By the way, I¡¯ve also been to Vi No. 8 of The Imperial several times before, but you weren¡¯t there. Mrs. Murray, I must make an appointment with you in advance before visiting this time.¡¯ Seeing that the other party still didn¡¯t respond, Natasha continued typing. ¡®Mrs. Murray, what¡¯s the matter with you? Mrs. Murray, please say something. You mustn¡¯t me Taylor! He really just sees me as a close buddy of his. If you don¡¯t like it, then I won¡¯t have dinner with Taylor in the future. Whenever Taylor invites me over, I won¡¯t go.¡¯ She acted so innocent, so pure, and so ignorant¡­ The other person still didn¡¯t reply, but since she was definitely behind theputer, she would have seen those words. Besides, Scary Phoenix was still flying forward in the sky. Natasha continued, ¡®Mrs. Murray, I¡¯ve prepared a surprise for Taylor. You will know it after watching the newster!¡¯ Scary Phoenix didn¡¯t speak, and finally, he arrived at his destination. When hended, a gaggle of shocked geese scattered away. His golden robe fluttered, and his waist-length hair flew about wildly as he strode away one step at a time. Snow Fox was already there waiting. When he saw the yer ¡®Nat¡¯ following closely behind Scary Phoenix, he swallowed his cursing remark and asked gently instead, ¡®Who is this fairy?¡¯ Nat quickly replied, ¡®Hello, Snow Fox. I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s sister, and my name is Natasha.¡¯ Snow Fox was dumbfounded. Nat added, ¡®Snow Fox, please help me persuade Mrs. Murray. Although Taylor loves me very much, he has always treated me like his younger sister. Mrs. Murray seems to have misunderstood something. Although Taylor and I often have dinner together, and he takes very good care of me, there¡¯s nothing between us. He really has always pampered me like he¡¯s my brother!¡¯ Snow Fox was again speechless at her audacity. Even though Stanley was pea-brained and did not quite understand what a b*tch was, he knew what ¡®driving a wedge¡¯ meant. Every sentence from Nat sounded like she was making her rtionship with Taylor clear, yet every sentence hinted otherwise. Stanley privately messaged Scary Phoenix, asking, ¡®Aunt, what now? Should I kill her? She¡¯s really disgusting.¡¯ ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ had added an online voice function, so yers could now directly speak with each other, leaving their hands free to y the game. Thus, Scary Phoenix¡¯s voice quickly reached Stanley¡¯s ears. ¡°Just let her be.¡± Michael¡¯s deep and sexy voice echoed in Stanley¡¯s ear. ¡°Pfft!¡± Stanley looked at Natasha being all arrogant and trying to cause discord and suddenly felt that she was pretty pitiful. She thought that her strategy had seeded, but she didn¡¯t know that the husband and wife were watching her making a fool of herself behind theputer. Suddenly, Stanley pricked his ears to listen to Michael¡¯s voice. ¡°Uncle, I hear some loud noises over there. You¡¯re not having sex with my aunt, are you?¡± ¡°No. Natasha¡¯s words were excellent, so I was apuding her with your aunt,¡± Michael replied, panting heavily. ¡°Then why are you panting?¡± ¡°I exerted too much effort during the apuse.¡± Chapter 446 Chapter 446 ¡°No, wait! It sounds like my aunt is crying! Are you hitting her?¡± Stanley sounded panicky. Jeez! From the sound of it, it seems like he hit her pretty hard! Did he just hit her in the face? Darn it! If he did, her face could be swollen right now! Nevertheless, nothing else more was heard from the other side at this moment. Could they be enjoying a horizontal tango in their hotel room? Something seemed to dawn on Stanley the moment he set his eyes on Scary Phoenix in the game. Darn it! I can¡¯t believe I have to hear their lovey-dovey sh*t again! Ahh! This disgusting couple just won¡¯t give me a break! Where is their sense of shame? No wonder our society is morally depraved! Soon, the game was left with only Stanley, who was in confusion, the unresponsive Scary Phoenix, and Natasha, who was trying to exin her innocence. ¡®Say something, Mrs. Murray. I¡¯m so sorry; I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. Taylor and I are just friends! Please forgive me, Mrs. Murray! I didn¡¯t mean to do that! Please don¡¯t take your anger out on Taylor. me me if you want!¡¯ Later on, Natashacently decided to go offline when Scary Phoenix didn¡¯t respond at all. ¡®Oops! It looks like Taylor is calling me now. I gotta get going to pick up his call! Stay sweet! Ciao!¡¯ After Natasha went offline, Stanley left the game as well. It was only after a while before he saw Scary Phoenix logging in again. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. ¡®Hey stupid dog, let¡¯s battle!¡¯ Scary Phoenix responded. Snow Fox asked in the chat. ¡®Are you done with your bed dance?¡¯ Scary Phoenix replied, ¡®Yup.¡¯ Then, both of them continued their exciting game until Stanley suddenly interrupted it and typed a message in the group. ¡®Eddie, you might want to look at the news because Natasha has really gone crazy!¡¯ In that instant, Scary Phoenix, who was busy killing monsters in the game, quickly sheathed his de and disappeared from Stanley¡¯s sight. Meanwhile, Sophia, who was covered in sweat all over her body, quitted the game and logged onto a website, only to see the news that Natasha was nning to build a museum that would cost a fortune, known as Taylor Murray¡¯s Museum. All of Taylor¡¯s original movies would be kept there, as well as the actor¡¯s life-sized wax statue. Apart from that, Natasha had also been buying all of Taylor¡¯s memorabilia that were once auctioned off because she was nning to build a huge statue that looked exactly like the celebrity with them. Oh dear! All this costs money! So, this is the surprise that she is nning to give Michael?! Upon reading the news, Sophia murmured to herself, ¡°It looks like the Mitchell Family is really damn rich!¡± After that, Sophia asked herself how well off she waspared to Natasha. I have enough fortune to give Natasha a run for her money, but perhaps it no longer matters anymore since Lord is already mine. Furthermore, I could use the money to build a business in the future or give it to Stanley to start his business. After all, that tinypany seems to have a promising future. In the meantime, Natasha had never taken her eyes off the news ever since she announced her n to build a museum for Taylor, desperate to see how ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ was going to make aeback from this. This is not some museum that anyone can afford. Even with tens of billions of fortune, I had to sell off most of my jewelry in order to make this project possible. At the thought of that, Natasha was worried that Eddie wouldn¡¯t respond but also afraid of the opposite at the same time, knowing how much she was struggling financially to facilitate this project. Nevertheless, her past experiences told her that Eddie would respond in less than a day, yet she didn¡¯t hear anything about Eddie¡¯s donation in thest two days. If Eddie doesn¡¯t respond, I¡¯ll be the winner! As expected, no one can challenge my wealth! Natasha was excited when she thought about that, deeming herself the victor in her rivalry with Eddie. Therefore, she continued to visit the filming crew every day with flowers. Back then, ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ used to buy flowers and deliver them to the filming crew, but ever since their defeat, they were too embarrassed to do that anymore. At the same time, Natasha was waiting for any news about Taylor¡¯s wife, expecting her challenge anytime soon after provoking thetter in the game earlier. By then, all I have to do is just to act like a poor little girl, and that should take me one step closer to Taylor¡¯s divorce. Thinking about that, Natasha indulged herself in her presumed victory. In the meantime, Michael had been paying close attention to the gossips circling around him, although he might appear unconcerned about them. In fact, he could sense Sophia¡¯s dismay after she was defeated by Natasha in their rivalry. Although Michael could choose to ignore the unpleasant incident, he knew Sophia was upset by it. After all, Cooper should have been the patriarch in the Mitchell Family, while Sophia was to be the family¡¯s eldest daughter. Nevertheless, Alex took that away from Cooper, along with everything else that belonged to Sophia, yet Natasha was now openly wooing Michael. On the other hand, Olivia started to treat Sophia indifferently after listening to how Natasha bad-mouthed her, feeling desperate to meet up with Mrs. Murray, whose wealth was allegedly able topare to a nation¡¯s. Nevertheless, she never really stood a chance to see her in person, no matter how she tried to sound out Michael. While the world knew that Taylor had a family, no one seemed to know anything about his wife and child. Besides, even the director hadn¡¯t seen Mrs. Murray in person as well, indicating just how secretive the celebrity had been about his family as his wife had never visited the filming crew. Even until this moment when the two crazy fans were fighting over Taylor Murray, Mrs. Murray seemed strangely calm and collected. This seems odd, and it doesn¡¯t make sense at all! After running through several reasons in her mind, Olivia finally came to a possible conclusion that Mrs. Murray had gone broke. Perhaps Mrs. Murray is not as loaded as Natasha or even Eddie, which exins why she doesn¡¯t have the guts to pressure Taylor. Anyway, she is nowhere near Natasha in the battle of wealth! At the thought of that, Olivia began to tter Natasha, who thought that divorces weremon among celebrities. Thus, Taylor could simply divorce his wife and be with her even though he was married. When Olivia visited the filming crew, Olivia warmed up to her and said, ¡°Here you are, Natasha! Lunchtime with Taylor?¡± Nevertheless, Natasha saw through Olivia¡¯s hypocrisy as she never forgot thetter¡¯s attitude when she was at a disadvantage in her rivalry against Eddie. However, when she saw how Olivia cozied up to her as if she was a queen, she couldn¡¯t help but feel gleeful about it. Soon, the twodies continued to chat with each other, heading to see Michael, only to find the actor busy shooting a scene in which he was performing a wire stunt while fighting the male protagonist, Ethan. Meanwhile, Sophia only followed her husband around wherever he went. In fact, this was a scene in which Ethan¡¯s character in the y found and saved hisrade¡¯s sister but was soon intercepted by the viin on their way out. Therefore, both men engaged in a fierce fight, which ended with the male protagonist safely leaving with hisrade¡¯s sister. Actually, X was the one who yed the sister of the male protagonist¡¯srade, but she didn¡¯t have much to do in this scene since the two men were the main focus. Nheless, she was still happy enough to y a role that would make all other actresses jealous because the two actors would be brutally fighting each other for her. The scene would start with the male protagonist sessfully rescuing X¡¯s character, only to be recaptured by the viin. In the end, the male protagonist would take down the viin and carry the victim away. In that case, that would mean that X would get to be carried by both actors. Chapter 447 Chapter 447 In order to perform better for this scene, X had been preparing herself by maintaining a strict diet to make sure she was in good shape. Meanwhile, Richard happened to drop by the set for a visit. Despite witnessing someone hugging his fianc¨¦e, he was still happy for her, knowing that X would rise to fame once the movie was released. She¡¯ll make me proud if Glory Entertainment sessfully makes her a star. The shooting began as the fight scene between the two male leading actors went on without a hitch. Nevertheless, audio recordings couldn¡¯t be done when filming a fight scene. Therefore, the audios could only be added during the post-production, which required the actors to dub their voices by then. The next moment, the two actors were seen interacting with each other happily while filming. Michael reminded, ¡°Hey, my wife is watching, so remember to take it easy!¡± Hearing his partner¡¯s words, Harry replied, ¡°What¡¯re you telling me that for? Talk to the director and the producer!¡± Upon shooting the fight scene, the director was satisfied with the result, so the crew went on to the next scene that involved the two male actors fighting over a youngdy. At the same time, X had a few minor shots in which she was involved, although she only just had to show her back in most of them. After the supporting actress was done with her part, the director informed the crew, saying, ¡°Next, we¡¯re going to need a shot of the character¡¯s back, and we¡¯ll get to that after a short break.¡± In the meantime, X couldn¡¯t wait for the next scene in which the antagonist would drag her away by force. Barely able to contain her excitement, she even came up with a few positionsfortable for Taylor to carry. However, Natasha waster seen emerging from the crowd with the same attire and hairstyle as X¡¯s. At the sight of that, X¡¯s heart sank. Natasha then walked toward the director and said in an aggressive manner, ¡°The next scene is likely going to be dangerous. If anything goes wrong when X is shooting, she won¡¯t be able toplete the subsequent shots. Since these scenes don¡¯t need the character to show her face, I could perhaps double for her.¡± Without hiding her intent, Natasha¡¯s straightforward reply made the director furrow his brows. Nheless, the director eventually gave in and agreed to Natasha¡¯s suggestion. Never mind. It¡¯s only just a few shots, so I guess I should just let her be. ¡°Alright, you can go ahead then.¡± Upon hearing that, Natasha smiled gleefully, knowing that things would go in her favor. Meanwhile, X could only watch her rightful opportunity slipping through her fingers in a helpless manner. As resentful as she felt, she held her peace and restrained herself from speaking her mind. Soon, Richard patted her shoulder, signaling her to calm down. After all, the Harper and the Huff Family were no match for the Mitchell Family even with theirbined power. Besides, Natasha only came here because of Taylor, so her presence wouldn¡¯t actually jeopardize X¡¯s position in the filming process, and neither would she prove to be a threat. Finally, the break was over just as the director summoned everyone to continue the shoot. At the same time, Harry was also seen exiting his tent while all other actors got into their positions to get ready. On the other hand, Natasha was exhrated about the moment she¡¯d get up close to Taylor. At the thought of that, her heart instantly fluttered with nervousness and excitement. Nevertheless, Taylor, who was cast as the antagonist, was nowhere to be seen. Thinking that he must still be resting in his tent, the director quickly headed there to call him, only to see the actor showing up not long after that. In the next scene, Taylor was needed to be shirtless, thus revealing his perfect muscr build. Besides that, he tanned his skin for the film, which made him look even hotter and attractive. While staring at this masculine actor, Natasha was instantly overwhelmed by a rush of adrenaline. Oh my gosh! I¡¯m going to be in this man¡¯s armster on. When Taylor showed up, he was seen carrying a youngdy in his strong arms. Thedy was seen to be in the same outfit as Natasha; even her hairstyle and figure looked simr to thetter. Upon seeing that, Natasha¡¯s smile instantly stiffened. Michael then carried Sophia as he walked past Natasha to the director in front of the camera. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work now.¡± While the director stared at Sophia, she couldn¡¯t help but feel shy with all the eyes that fell upon her from her surroundings. This is embarrassing! At the thought of that, she immediately buried her head into Michael¡¯s chest. Other than that, Michael also covered her face in dust, making her look the part. The director speechlessly looked at Michael and the ¡®cameo¡¯ he brought along before he shifted his eyes to the sulky Natasha. I don¡¯t want to step on Natasha¡¯s toes, but Michael is not someone to be trifled with. Nevertheless, in order to make things clear to Natasha, he pretended to ask, ¡°Who¡¯s this you¡¯re carrying?¡± Michael exined, ¡°My assistant is lighter, so she is easier to carry, which I think should help save whoever will carry her some energy.¡± After listening to his exnation, the director reluctantly gave in once more, allowing Michael and Sophia to proceed with the filming. When everyone was in position, the shooting resumed with Natasha left in the cold. Soon, the set was shrouded in awkward silence, as it was obvious that Taylor had been trying to avoid Natasha because he¡¯d rather let his own assistant than Natasha y the role. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. At the same time, Natasha only stood aside and watched Sophia burying her face in Michael¡¯s arm, disgusted by her bashful look. It should have been me in his arms! I should be the one Taylor carries, not her! This b*tch must have said something to Taylor that changed his mind. Despite her resentful thoughts, she stuck around and watched them both in silence. Let¡¯s see how long that¡¯llst! Meanwhile, X, who observed everything on the sideline, couldn¡¯t help but gloat deep down, shifting her eyes between Natasha and Sophia. Nheless, she knew that Sophia only came out on top because she was Taylor¡¯s assistant. However, Natasha was backed by her powerful family, while X was just a mere assistant with barely any power. In the end, she will lose everything at stake for standing up to Natasha. The Mitchell Family is far more powerful than one can ever imagine. As the shooting began, the antagonist carried the supporting actress and ran away, while the leading actor gave chase relentlessly. Soon, both actors engaged in a witty exchange of repartee. ¡°Give it up, weakling! You¡¯re no match for me, so watch helplessly as she bes a toy for those Arabian tycoons! You Cethosians are useless and inferior! So, y your part and stay down!¡± While viins usually talked a lot in the movies, the antagonist¡¯s humiliation was expected to enrage the protagonist and urge thetter to fight back and kill the former in ast-ditch effort. Soon, they began shooting the scene in which the antagonist began gloating before the protagonist. Dialogues in normal scenes were usually recorded live, so all actors were required to remember their lines urately. The viin that Taylor yed was a foreign mercenary who spoke fluently. Furthermore, the actor¡¯s good command ofnguage was evident in his other movies without dubbing, yet he struggled to recall his lines. ¡°Give it up, weakling! I¡¯m no match for you¡­ Sorry, one more take, please.¡± The actor, who was carrying Sophia, said his lines wrongly, probably because he was nervous. In his second take, he was still seen carrying Sophia while saying his lines. ¡°y your part and¡ªsorry, I forgot my line¡ªstay down. Ahh-choo! Excuse me!¡± Chapter 448 Chapter 448 Although Michael had only those few lines in that scene, he struggled toplete his part without error for as long as he carried Sophia, unwilling to put her down even when it was time to rest. Soon, Harry secretly approached Michael and begged with a soft voice, ¡°Come on, buddy! Please get the shot done as soon as possible. Look how tired you¡¯ve made them; even your wife can¡¯t stand that. Now, look, she is yawning. Can you see that?¡± Michael then shifted his gaze to Sophia, who was yawning in his arms. At first, Sophia¡¯s heart fluttered with excitement about the scene, but as the actor kept getting his lines wrong, she eventually grew tired of the repeated takes they had to go through. Oh gosh! I can¡¯t take this anymore! How did Michael manage to hang in there all these years? I can¡¯t believe I dozed off and woke up, only to see him still trying. Meanwhile, Michael would hate to spoil the fun moment that he was having with his wife, but he knew he had to be even more serious after countless failed attempts toplete the shot. In his next try, Michael finally found himself in the right mood and quickly said his lines without error,pleting the shot with surprising ease, while the entire crew moved on to the next shot in relief. It was then that he finally put Sophia down. After a long afternoon, Sophia was beat as she yawned in exhaustion. She then sat down and drank some water while watching the filming process from the side. The shot is finally over, but the next one is probably going to look awkward. The reason Sophia thought that way was because the protagonist was expected to retrieve the female supporting character who was again needed to be carried. There are three of us here who could y the role, but which of us should go ahead? In fact, Harry wished for Sophia to finish the act, but she was not the best fit, considering the awkward situation they were in. As for Natasha, he shared a mutual disgusted feeling with her, and neither was X his favorite. In the end, Harry decided to use a dummy instead. While Michael carried on with the shoot in a serious manner, every other cast member merely just went about their jobs in peace. In the meantime, Natasha was seen sitting aside with a resentful look on her face, insisting on waiting for her opportunity of the day. Not long after that, Olivia came closer to Natasha andforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t let your wild imagination upset you. This is a set, so you need to keep your distance even if Taylor allowed you to participate in the filming.¡± Meanwhile, Sophia settled down in a corner and connected her phone to Michael¡¯s Wi-Fi, absorbed in her social media. In fact, Stanley had created a private group chat with only three members, including himself, Sophia, and Sean. This chatroom, which was active at the moment, was a ce for them all to discuss their work , as well as office gossip. Sean¡¯s message popped up in the group. ¡®Natasha has been squandering a lot in the past two days, and the Mitchell Family is not happy about it. Therefore, I believe you¡¯d have won the battle against her if you had hung in there a little longer, Mrs. Murray. Nevertheless, people like her won¡¯t give up so easily, even if they have to exhaust their entire fortune. Therefore it¡¯s best that you be careful these few days.¡¯ Before Sophia could respond, Stanley replied in the chat group. ¡®Darn it! ¡®Mrs. Murray¡¯ sounds disgusting! By the way, can you change a new profile picture instead of my uncle¡¯s? You¡¯re going to give me a heart attack for that! Aren¡¯t you worried that your ID would give away the truth that you¡¯re married to my uncle, Mrs. Murray? Hello, anyone there? Say something, Eddie!¡¯ On the other hand, Sophia only read the conversation in the chat group like a fly on the wall. In reality, the Mitchell Family couldn¡¯t afford Natasha¡¯s extravagant spending habit even though they might be well off. Furthermore, they were also aware of their own financial situation that was growing increasingly worrying ever since Cooper left. Besides, Alex and Natasha were not part of the Mitchell Family, so the rest of the family members would surely frown on their doing. After incurring a huge cost on building the museum, Natasha was probably too broke to afford any other expense. Even so, Sophia saw no meaning in fighting Natasha, not to mention the risk that she might even blow her cover. Soon, she suddenly responded to the group. ¡®I don¡¯t see a purpose in spending any more unnecessary money.¡¯ After that, the group chat seemed to be silent as everyone appeared to be busy attending to their own matters. Not long after that, Sean suddenly replied in the group chat. ¡®Darn you, Eddie! You¡¯re bluffing again! Check the news for yourself! I didn¡¯t know that Mrs. Murray was so loaded! Alright, give me money, or I¡¯m going to start spilling your secret!¡¯ Wait, what? What¡¯s going on? Sophia quickly checked the news of the day that popped up on her news feed. ¡®Breaking News: A rich fan of a male star donated the long-lost valuable artifact¡ª¡®Imperial Seal¡¯.¡¯ Jeez! The Imperial Seal! Who¡¯s got a fan even richer than Natasha and me?! Without hesitation, she immediately proceeded to read the article about the news. ¡®Two days ago, an anonymous package was received at Bayside City Museum, which turned out to be a long-lost artifact¡ªthe ¡®Imperial Seal¡¯. Hundreds of historians have spent nights verifying it before they all concluded that this piece of artifact was indeed built during Emperor Alexander¡¯s reign over a thousand years ago. The Imperial Seal marks the highest standard of exquisite craftsmanship, deemed to be the national treasure that was kept in the pce for more than a millennium. Therefore, it has witnessed the changes throughout different dynasties and the reigns of different rulers, qualifying as an emblem of royal and power. In fact, it even went missing during a war a few hundred years ago, which was a pity to most historians, as well as a disgrace to the nation before it subsequently became the biggest unsolved mystery until recently. Since the Imperial Seal has returned to its rightful ce, it will be disyed at Bayside City Museum from now on. While the historians rejoice in its return, the news has apparently concerned all relevant ministers, as well as the president himself. Ever since the release of this exciting announcement, the Imperial Pce has been surrounded by a huge crowd of history fanatics waiting to witness this piece of artifact. ording to history, the Imperial Seal was built by the ipetent emperor at the cost of his people¡¯s welfare to signify his royal status a millennium ago. The seal was made of a few rare materials with perfect craftsmanship, although countless lives were lost in the process of making it. Most importantly, this royal emblem possesses a value that is deemed to be immeasurable. Many emperors were allegedly willing to sacrifice anything in order to get their hands on this treasure, some of which were willing to exchange several cities for it; some were willing to sacrifice a city of people, while others would even kill their brothers for it. Therefore, it is undoubtedly a witness that has seen all changes that happened throughout different dynasties over thest millennium. Other than that, there was an invasion that took ce in the pce a few hundred years ago, in which the conquerors massacred all the royal members and stole the Imperial Seal. Although it may just be an ordinary small seal to many others, it¡¯s probably one of the oldest artifacts that has been in the hands of many different historical rulers. While its worth cannot be reliably estimated, its value is believed to equal the tax ie that has been collected in thest thousand years. Therefore, the entire nation is thrilled and happy to wee the return of the Imperial Seal! As for the anonymous donor, this mysterious figure allegedly goes by an alias named¡ªEddie Fletcher.¡¯ Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 449 Chapter 449 Sophia was considered knowledgeable in history, as she once sat for a history exam for a friend who barely studied. Therefore, she was aware of how much the Imperial Seal was worth and knew that she could never afford something so precious like that. Even I can¡¯t afford that artifact, let alone Natasha, and I doubt she could afford it even if she sold off the entire Mitchell Family! Well, I guess that¡¯s the reason why it¡¯s deemed to be a national treasure. Nheless, the anonymous donor really did use my alias, ording to the news. Who is so loaded to spend such a fortune on this artifact? After all, even money can¡¯t buy it. At the thought of that, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but feel confused about the mysterious donor. Soon, the group chat was bombarded with Stanley¡¯s messages. ¡®Darn you, Eddie! Say something, you rich hypocrite! Who are you? I bet this is the reason why my uncle married you, right?!¡¯ Then, Sean replied in the group, ¡®I gotta get going. My uncle called me to the meeting room, probably to discuss what Natasha is going to do.¡¯ In fact, Natasha had spent more than she could afford on Taylor. Therefore, she barely had money left to prove her wealth now that everyonepared her museum to the priceless Imperial Seal. Although the humiliation was trivial, the real issue remained as Natasha insisted on going ahead with building the museum despite her tight fund. Fortunately, the decision hadn¡¯t been finalized, which no payment had been made. At the same time, this didn¡¯t sit well with the Mitchell Family¡¯s elderly, who interfered with Natasha¡¯s n and used her of her childishness. For that, they were determined not to pay a single cent for the museum¡¯s construction. Meanwhile, some of the crew members were seen with their eyes glued to their phones, eagerly reading more about the news on the rivalry of wealth between Eddie and Natasha since that was the biggest media focus recently. While everyone was curious to know more about how the drama would develop, Eddie¡¯s donation immediately caught the attention of many and left their mouths wide agape. ¡°Oh my gosh! Who¡¯s this Eddie Fletcher? Look, it¡¯s the Imperial Seal! If this thing is real, imagine how much it¡¯s worth!¡± ¡°What¡¯re you talking about? No one could afford to buy that artifact even if Natasha sold off the Mitchell Family.¡± ¡°It looks like she really hit a snag this time!¡± Upon noticing everyone gossiping with their eyes set on her, Natasha immediately reached out for her phone, only to see a news article popping up. Needless to say, she understood what donating the Imperial Seal implied, as she could never afford something as priceless as the national treasure. Furthermore, she also knew that the Mitchell Family wouldn¡¯t give away something so precious if they really possessed it. Soon, her pride was hurt when she saw the name ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ in thest few words of the news article. For the first time in her life, she felt devastated and defeated, doubtful about herself, as she no longer felt important. Oh gosh! I¡¯m so ashamed of myself that I don¡¯t feel like living in this world anymore. I guess Harry was right. I¡¯m just mommy¡¯s little girl who can¡¯t ept her failure, and I only felt invincible in the first eighteen years of my life because of the Mitchell Family. Now that Natasha found herself up against someone else wealthier and more powerful, she finally woke up to how vulnerable she was. In that instant, she went weak in her limbs, barely standing on her feet with Olivia¡¯s help. Suddenly, she received a phone call, only to realize it was from her father. At the sight of that, she quickly caught on to what Alex was calling her for. After that, she staggered with her assistant¡¯s help and reluctantly left the ce. At that moment, Natasha knew she had be aughingstock, as everyone else now called her a loser. Meanwhile, Olivia, who watched Natasha leave, couldn¡¯t care less about thetter¡¯s feelings because Eddie seemed more like someone from the upper ss right now. It appears that Eddie is the one who¡¯s actually loaded with money, but who¡¯s this mysterious figure? In the meantime, the two actors were in the middle of the shoot, but because it was a fight scene, both men secretly chatted since there was no live recording involved. Harry said, ¡°Darn it, you slippery b*stard! How could you donate my precious collection without my permission?! That¡¯s mine! Mine! Give it back to me!¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s just nothing more than a piece of jade. I¡¯ll make it up to you with my wife¡¯s Turbo Tornado,¡± Michael answered. ¡°That should do,¡± Harry replied. When both of them tracked Phantom Wolf down to Africa thest time, Michael discovered thetter¡¯s connection with a drug lord. Due to his hatred for drugs, he followed the lead and found the drug lord¡¯s hideout, whereupon he took down the mastermind. At that time, Harry stumbled upon something that caught his eye, which he deemed looked like a treasure that belonged to Cethos. Therefore, he imed it as his own and took it back home with him.N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Subsequently, Michael came to realize what Harry took back with him was actually an artifact known as the Imperial Seal. The Fletcher Family had served the military for generations, earning a respectable reputation for defending the nation against the invaders. Unfortunately, the warlords wereter blinded by their selfishness as they engaged in an infight that weakened their morale, unknowingly creating an opening for the invaders to conquer Cethos. Besides, the pce was even upied by the invaders, while the Imperial Seal went missing in the process. After the end of the previous dynasty, Cethos embraced a new beginning and rose from the ruins, but the Imperial Seal was never heard again. Although the artifact was no longer needed under a new reign, its loss had be a stigma to Cethos whose people could never live down. When the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestors served as the imperial guards back then, they did everything they could to resist the invaders, but the guns and canons proved too much for them to handle. In the end, they died as faithful soldiers. At the same time, the pce was invaded by enemies who proceeded to burn everything to the ground and plunder every treasure they could find, including the Imperial Seal. Subsequently, one of the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestors heard that some foreigners were smuggling some national treasures by sea at the harbor situated on the turf of the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestors. Therefore, both families quickly brought along their respective armies and intercepted these foreigners, engaging in a battle with them in the middle of the night. Although they had sessfully recovered most of the national treasures, they failed to retrieve a small number of other treasures, among which was the Imperial Seal, as they helplessly watched them taken away by the foreigners. In fact, it was the story that Mark proudly told his family, yet he sighed every time he mentioned the Imperial Seal. After all, the lost treasures that belonged to Cethos were mostly purchased by powerful politicians and wealthy tycoons, while some were even sold on an auction. Therefore, the old man couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for the humiliation to his country. Nheless, the Imperial Seal was nowhere to be found despite consistent efforts that the government had been dedicating in searching for it. Because of that, Michael had always wanted to look for the right moment to return the Imperial Seal but couldn¡¯t seem to find time to do so. Thus, when the opportunity presented itself, he immediately seized it and returned the artifact back to his country. On the other hand, Harry appeared to be less enthusiastic. Unlike the Fletcher Family, the Winston Family was less patriotic, considering their history in the underworld that could date back to two centuries ago. To them, they didn¡¯t mind donating the artifact since it couldn¡¯t possibly bring them any foreseeable benefit. Therefore, Harry decided to exchange the Imperial Seal with Michael for some advanced gears in his game, which turned out to be a virtual sword. In the meantime, Joel was in Bayside City, where he took up a mission to escort the Imperial Seal with a heavy heart. In his previous mission in Africa, he was nning to im the credit for himself after learning some news about the Imperial Seal, but he didn¡¯t manage to find the artifact even until the end of his mission. Thus, he was dismayed when he found out that Michael beat him to finding it. Soon, Old Master Fletcher¡¯s eyes welled up in tears when he saw the long-lost artifact for himself. ¡°Finally! The Imperial Seal!¡± Chapter 450 Chapter 450 The ancestors of both the Fletcher and the Mitchell Family nearly lost their lives in the process of retrieving the Imperial Seal. Therefore, Mark was thrilled and surprised when his grandson managed to bring it back in one piece. Needless to say, he knew Eddie Fletcher was just a front, and Michael was the one who recovered the precious artifact. Witnessing the seal being delivered to the museum, the old man wiped his tears sentimentally and gave his grandson a call. Meanwhile, it was already night by the time Michael returned to the hotel just when he received a call from his grandfather. In the meantime, Sophia was lying in bed, chatting with Sean and Stanley on her social media. While Stanley was excitedly going on and on about his family¡¯s historical glory with the Imperial Seal, Sean appeared to be confused with the story. He then sighed and texted the group. ¡®I can¡¯t believe both our families are rted to the Imperial Seal!¡¯ Stanley replied, ¡®Of course! While your family might have forgotten this part of the history, it¡¯s etched in the minds of every member of the Fletcher Family. The Old Master is going to be so delighted when he finds out about this! I must say my uncle has really done a good job this time!¡¯ The news said Eddie Fletcher was the donor, but since I wasn¡¯t aware of it at all, it must be Michael who was behind all this! At the same time, Sophia overheard Michael talking over the phone. ¡°Well, I bought the seal from a store when I was filming in Africa back then. So, don¡¯t mention it, Grandpa.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t say a single word upon hearing that. So, it was indeed Michael who found the seal, but all this doesn¡¯t add up at all. Michael could have donated the artifact in his own name to benefit his acting career. Besides, he would have also appeared on the headline of every news article while giving the filming crew a new idea for their next production. Doing that, they wouldn¡¯t even have to worry about their box office after that. Therefore, I can¡¯t believe he¡¯d donate the thing in my name just to prevent my rivalry with Natasha from escting further. Man! I feel sorry for her about the ¡®unfair¡¯ advantage that I had against her in this game. Jeez! Michael really went for the kill this time, and I have to admit that I almost take pity on Natasha and the Mitchell Family. Sophia then turned around and spread her legs wide apart, waiting for Michael while overhearing his conversation on the phone. Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. ¡°No, please don¡¯t say that. I¡¯m also a part of the Fletcher Family, so I¡¯m responsible for finding the lost artifact as well.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯ll y in the movie, and I¡¯ll look for the producer and the rest of the cast. So, please rest assured because I promise we¡¯ll illustrate the past in which the Fletcher Family and the Mitchell Family were in the quest for the Imperial Seal on the big silver screen. Okay?¡± ¡°By the way, how is Nate doing? Has he been a good boy? How are his studies? He is the only son my sister has ever had, so please just do anything you can to make sure he behaves. If he doesn¡¯t, just swing a cane at him to teach him a lesson. Don¡¯t worry about him because I¡¯m sure he can take it.¡± Even without hearing Mark¡¯s voice, Sophia could tell how excited the old man was. Nevertheless, she noticed Michael¡¯s voice bing serious after they were done talking about Nate. ¡°You know what I want, Grandpa. It¡¯s time we moved Mother¡¯s grave elsewhere.¡± After all, Michael had indeed contributed a lot to his family and country, determined to be an influential figure in the world. In fact, everything he had done, including charity, retrieving the artifact, and donation, was all for one purpose¡ªhe wanted his mother, Elizabeth Murray, to be recognized by the Fletcher Family! I want Elizabeth Murray to be acknowledged as Theo Fletcher¡¯s wife in our genealogy record book, and I want her to be buried as part of the Fletcher Family. After hearing his grandson¡¯s words, Mark said, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve been thinking about that, in fact. So, don¡¯t worry!¡± Michael knew this could be hard for the Fletcher Family to get over with, but he was willing to wait. Upon hanging up the call, he heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that he had nothing else to worry about after returning the Imperial Seal. Although Michael didn¡¯t mind patiently waiting until Old Master Fletcher and the rest of the family members changed their minds, he could have threatened the Fletcher Family with the Imperial Seal. Nheless, he soon gave up the idea, choosing to take the moral high ground. Ever since the news about the artifact¡¯s donation spread across the nation, Natasha was never seen on set again, probably because she was too ashamed of her defeat against Eddie Fletcher. Meanwhile, the entire filming crew was guessing Eddie¡¯s identity; even the whole country was dying to know who this mysterious figure was, as no one seemed to be able to find anything about this person. Some of the skeptics suspected that Eddie was actually Taylor Murray himself because they found Michael Fletcher instead of Eddie Fletcher. Not long after that, the set was surrounded by a number of reporters who couldn¡¯t wait to interview the star about the national treasure and Eddie Fletcher. Despite his busy filming schedule, Michael epted the interview and was instantly surrounded by the reporters with tons of questions the moment he showed up. The reporter started with the first question. ¡°Mr. Murray, what do you think about your fan who donated the national treasure?¡± ¡°Well done!¡± Michael said. ¡°Do you know anything about Eddie Fletcher¡¯s identity, Mr. Murray?¡± the reporter asked. ¡°I have noment,¡± Michael replied. ¡°Did you already know about the donation of this national treasure before all this, Mr. Murray?¡± the reporter responded with another question. ¡°I have nothing to say about that,¡± Michael answered. ¡°What else can you tell us?¡± the reporter asked a different question. ¡°I¡¯ve just been informed that I¡¯ll be shooting a movie rted to the Imperial Seal, although the details have yet to be confirmed,¡± Michael said. Unable to get any useful information from the star, the reporters reluctantly settled with the announcement to publish as news. In fact, Michael and Harry were the reason the reporters attended the press conference, but to their dismay, the two male stars preferred to keep a low profile as they quickly disappeared from sight after a brief appearance. Therefore, everyone soon turned their attention to Olivia, who intentionally dressed up like Elizabeth. While their appearances already looked alike, Olivia seemed exactly like Elizabeth¡¯s spitting image. Nevertheless, Elizabeth passed away even before Olivia was born, hence she didn¡¯t stand a chance to get along with the former. Therefore, she could only imitate Elizabeth¡¯s bearing by watching her movies. ¡°Miss Olivia, you look exactly like your aunt, Elizabeth Murray!¡± ¡°Oh, really? People have been saying that I¡¯m her doppelganger.¡± ¡°Excuse me, Miss Olivia. What¡¯s your rtionship with Mr. Murray?¡± ¡°My cousin and I have been rather close to each other. Besides, he always takes good care of me on set, so I guess I¡¯m lucky to have a cousin like him.¡± At the same time, Sophia, who had always detested Olivia, secretly roasted her while listening in on how she replied. Soon, the reporters seemingly received some news, as they all set their eyes in the same direction. ¡°Nicole is here!¡± Look who just arrived! No wonder everyone¡¯s eyes were drawn away. After all, the main female protagonist is surely more popr than Olivia, the cameo. As a matter of fact, Nicole had been in the center of the spotlighttely after news about her rumored rtionship spread across the city like wildfire. Before that, she rose to fame and became well known for starring in a melodrama that went viral on the inte. Besides, as the main protagonist in ¡®War Dragon¡¯, it was no surprise she was one of the biggest focuses in the entertainment world. Chapter 451 Chapter 451 Nicole became the center of the reporters¡¯ focus due to her role in the movie, alongside the two main male protagonists. During the interview, she presented her best self and reacted in a decent manner, while the reporters subtly avoided any sensitive topic. Instead, they asked her questions about the movie ¡®War Dragon¡¯ and were given sufficient answers. Meanwhile, Olivia and X were left in the cold as they jealously red at Nicole. What has this b*tch done to deserve ying as the main female protagonist? She should go back to acting in her ¡®soap opera¡¯! X wished Nicole could just concede to her and step down from the main role, but she soon realized that there was another challenger standing in her way¡ªOlivia. With someone who possesses powerful connections like her, I suppose she is out of my league, but since I stand no chance to y the role, Nicole doesn¡¯t deserve to either. Then, X looked askance at Olivia, whose jealousy got the better of her, and said, ¡°I¡¯m tired of this bullsh*t! It¡¯s like Nicole has no sense of shame at all! Her little experience doesn¡¯t even qualify her to y the main role. No one else fits the role better than you do, Olivia! Don¡¯t youdies think so?¡± X¡¯s words instantly evoked echoes from the other walk-ondies. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely correct! Look at Nicole! She seems exactly like an escort who sleeps around, and it really grinds my gear to work with people like her!¡± ¡°Exactly! She is barely educated, and her acting skills suck, but unfortunately, we¡¯re no match for her when ites to performing in bed!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! Who else is a better candidate than you in ying the protagonist, Olivia?¡± Despite what they said, every one of them had the same thought deep down, which they reckoned only they themselves were the best fit for the role. Meanwhile, Olivia¡¯s ego was inted by those fake compliments as she began to be convinced that she was a better candidate than Nicole was to y the role, although she had only been in this line of work for less than a year. In fact, Olivia was chosen into the cast because of her rtionship with Elizabeth. Besides that, the director happened to be Elizabeth¡¯s fan, or she wouldn¡¯t even have made it past the audition. After brief contemtion, Olivia approached X and said, ¡°X, I know your boyfriend works in Glory Entertainment Company, so you¡¯re the only one who can make this happen.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Upon noticing Olivia¡¯s reaction, X knew what she was up to, so she pretended to say, ¡°Just speak your mind, Olivia! I¡¯ll do everything in my power to help you!¡± Olivia¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I want to smear Nicole¡¯s name and drive her away from the cast!¡± In the meantime, the new semester in all universities across Bayside City would begin in the middle of September, which was around when Michael would finish his shoot. Until then, Sophia was waiting for her husband to finish his work so that they could visit the Panda Foundation together. While the news about the Imperial Seal¡¯s return was still viral across the nation, the announcement regarding Taylor¡¯s new movie about this national artifact only added to the star¡¯s recent poprity, as well as that of the War Dragon¡¯s cast. At the same time, both the actor and actress were absorbed in the filming process, while Sophia had high expectations for the movie, believing that it would set a new record in the box office. Soon, Michael gave the hotspot to his personal assistant, Danny, who was needed by his side at all times, so he could only follow wherever they went in order to stay connected. As the shoot was nearingpletion, both actors were seen filming a final fight scene. Trained by the special force, Michael performed all his stunts by himself, while Harry easily managed the actions, thanks to his ancestral background in the underworld. Because of that, the shoot went on without a hitch. In fact, this was Taylor¡¯s first action movie, in which he yed as a mercenary, although his role was a viin. On the other hand, Sophia was busy chatting with her friends on social media, reading a text message from Stanley. ¡®Eddie, when are you going to be back? Do you still care about thepany? Hey, Eddie! Say something, Mrs. Murray! Are you there?¡¯ Sophia¡¯s profile pictures on her Messenger and Twitter ounts were all Michael¡¯s images, as they both shared the same alias. Therefore, Stanley often mocked her as another Michael¡¯s crazy fan, making fun of her alias, Eddie. Nheless, her conspicuous profile provided her just the perfect cover because no one would have thought that this crazy fan was actually Taylor Murray¡¯s wife. Before Sophia could respond, Sean replied in the group chat. ¡®We had a meeting two days ago, in which the elder was against Natasha¡¯s extravagant spending, but Alex yed a lovely father and stood up to defend his daughter. What can I say? Haha.¡¯ Stanley joked in the group. ¡®I guess you guys must be really rich! Is every tile on the floor in the Mitchell Residence made of gold?¡¯ Not long after that, he sent another message to the group chat. ¡®Mrs. Murray, or Eddie, your love rival is building a museum for your husband, so you¡¯d better get another national treasure to keep her mouth shut. Since you already donated the Imperial Seal thest time, you should probably donate the Sacred Skull this time.¡¯ As a matter of fact, the Sacred Skull was also among Cethos¡¯s national treasures that were worth no less than the Imperial Seal. While the seal had witnessed every glory and defeat throughout history in the past millennium, the Sacred Skull was a shred of convincing evidence that mankind had existed on Cethos¡¯snd for more than a million years. Nheless, it was subsequently lost along with the Imperial Seal and was still missing even until the present. Therefore, Natasha couldn¡¯t possibly make aeback unless she possesses the Sacred Skull and donates it. Stanley then responded in the chat. ¡®Level with me, Sean. Is the Mitchell Family nning to donate the Sacred Skull? The way I see it, you guys have probably gotten your hands on that artifact, don¡¯t you? Nobody dares to challenge the Mitchell Family¡¯s wealth, after all.¡¯ Sean replied in the group. ¡®I¡¯m not going to lie, Stan, but we don¡¯t have it with us.¡¯ As both of them were happily chatting with each other, Sophia finally texted a message in the group chat. ¡®Sorry to interrupt, but has Natasha gotten Michael¡¯s permission to proceed with the museum¡¯s construction?¡¯ Sean responded with a question. ¡®Well, who else knows that better than you do?¡¯ Sophia typed her answer. ¡®Nope, I¡¯ll make sure he never authorizes any part of her n.¡¯ ¡®Haha!¡¯ Stanley responded in the chat. Soon, something started to worry Sean because all statues that symbolized Taylor had to be authorized by the actor himself. Otherwise, it would be a vition of thew, and the Law Enforcement Bureau could reasonably demolish all construction. Jeez! Sophia could be waiting for thepletion of Natasha¡¯s museum construction so that she could call the Law Enforcement Bureau to destroy everything she builds. By then, they could suffer a heavy penalty for copyright vition besides the expensive construction cost for the museum. Oh dear, I can¡¯t imagine how much money they are going to lose if we go along with Natasha. At the thought of that, Sean decided to call his family to tell them what was on his mind but soon gave up the idea when he realized he shouldn¡¯t interfere with Alex¡¯s business. I guess it¡¯s not easy to be the family head in the Mitchell Family. No wonder we¡¯re not even half of where the West Family is right now. I wish Cooper were here to look into this matter, but unfortunately, he isn¡¯t returning anymore. Chapter 452 Chapter 452 Sophia finallyid down her phone on the set where War Dragon was being filmed. Upon taking a peek at Michael, who was in the middle of the shoot, she secretly sneaked to the set next door to take a look at the actress in action. In fact, there was a scene in which Nicole, who was the female protagonist, had to rescue her sister from their enemy¡¯s hideout, which featured a huge amount of intense actions with a bitter sentiment. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. This part of the film talked about how the female protagonist finally decided to swallow her pride and worked with the male protagonist. When they split up to rescue the captured victim, they both engaged in a fierce battle with their enemies respectively on the way, and this scene was about Nicole¡¯s side of the story. This scene was initially part of the n as the female protagonist only showed up after the male protagonist finished the fight, whereupon it ended with both of them exchanging gazes upon rescuing the victim. Nevertheless, the director waster impressed by Nicole¡¯s performance, so he decided to add on some fight scenes that featured the female protagonist in action. Excited about the extra fight scene, Nicole put her back into the filming and memorized all her moves beforehand to smoothen the shooting process. Refusing to have a stunt double, Nicole insisted on performing her own stunts from the beginning of the filming. As soon as the camera began rolling, the stuntmen started trading blows with Nicole just like what they had nned in their choreograph. At the moment, the crew was filming a scene that showed the female protagonist¡¯s prowess in taking on ten enemies at one time. Nevertheless, theyter hit a snag just as they were about to finish the shooting as one of the stuntmen was supposed to hit Nicole in the stomach ording to the script. Since the fight scene was not an actual brawl, the stuntman was required to take extra precautions in the execution in order not to hurt Nicole. Soon, the professional stuntmannded three devastating punches in Nicole¡¯s stomach, much to the latter¡¯s surprise. The next moment, the actress was seen covering her stomach with her hands, rolling on the ground in agony. ¡°Cut!¡± The director excitedly shouted, ¡°What a perfect shot! Good take, everybody! Let¡¯s move on to our next scene!¡± After that, Nicole struggled to get on her feet while enduring the excruciating pain in her stomach. At the same time, her experience as a stuntwoman in the past told her that that level of power wasn¡¯t necessary at all in filming. Nheless, she quickly dismissed that thought, knowing that idents were hardly avoidable when shooting fight scenes. In the end, she decided to let things slide. ¡°Are you alright, Nicole?¡± Sophia noticed the painful look on Nicole¡¯s face and caringly asked about her condition. Nicole bore with the pain and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m fine, so don¡¯t worry about me.¡± In the next few shots, the stuntman kept making mistakes,nding all his strikes on Nicole without pulling his punches at all. Meanwhile, Olivia gleefully watched on the sideline as the poor actress kept taking a beating from the stuntman, gloating over her suffering. You brought this all on yourself for insisting on performing the stunts by yourself, Nicole. I¡¯ll wait until you get maimed so terribly that you can¡¯t film anymore. By then, I¡¯ll be the one who takes over your role as the female protagonist. After a long day at work, Nicole felt as if all her organs were everywhere in her body. Feeling pain in her ankles, she rolled up her pant legs, only to find her ankles swollen. Despite the overwhelming pain, she immediately covered her ankles when she saw someone approaching, acting as if nothing ever happened before she got into the car and returned to the hotel. After everyone else left, she secretly made her way to a hospital far from the hotel to see a specialist. In the end, the medical result showed that she suffered internal bleeding and multiple fractured bones. In fact, the doctor had long known Nicole ever since War Dragon¡¯s cast came here because of the actress¡¯s frequent visit due to the injuries she sustained during her filming. For that, he felt sympathetic for her and angry at the same time. ¡°Nicole, you really need to know when to stop. We don¡¯t know how long you can keep doing this, and I¡¯m afraid that the worst could happen. By then, you can forget about your entire acting career.¡± After that, Nicole responded with silence and took a stack amounting to a few thousand from her bag, whereupon she pushed them to the doctor. ¡°Doctor, can you keep my injury a secret? After all, it concerns my career.¡± In thest few visits, the actress appeared to be severely injured and was told that she should avoid shooting fight scenes. Therefore, the doctor was frustrated to find out that she didn¡¯t listen to his advice. Meanwhile, Nicole knew she might be forced to take a hiatus from her acting career if the filming cast learned about her injury, but she wasn¡¯t going to pass up this golden opportunity because she had been waiting for it for ten years! The doctor, who was aware of her condition, had been epting her money to keep the matter a secret until this time because it no longer sat well with his conscience to take her money again. In response, he returned the stack of cash back to her and said, ¡°Save the money to buy some quality medicine for your wounds instead.¡± Soon, Nicole immediately begged the doctor, saying, ¡°Please, doctor! I really need you to keep this a secret for me because my next few scenes are going to be really important for my career. There are only just a few more days left until the filming is done. By then, I¡¯ll take a break from all my work and rest in the hospital. I¡¯m begging you!¡± By the time she exited the hospital, it was alreadyte at night. I don¡¯t know whether I canst until thest day of the filming, but I¡¯m not about to give up this chance. No, not in a thousand years! As the actress was about to step out of the hospital, she was greeted by a heavy downpour, whereupon she quickly found a shade under a closed shop while waiting until the rain let up. Besides being an actress, she was also a popr figure on the inte, so she usually wore sunsses wherever she went. While the rain kept pouring, she reached out for her phone and lit up the screen, instantly seeing the smiling faces of a number of orphans. In fact, Sophia had donated some funds for constructing a new orphanage in Taylor¡¯s name so that the orphans could live in a safe ce and lead afortable life. Besides, they would also receive some funds or donations in kind from Taylor Murray¡¯s Charity Fund, other than the government¡¯s subsidy and the public donation. Therefore, the orphanage¡¯s fate seemed to be promising now that all obstacles had been ovee, while the kids could go to school for free. Upon unlocking her phone, Nicole was greeted by the wallpaper in her background, which was a man¡¯s picture, the man who was buried deep in the actress¡¯s heart. A few years ago, both of them met each other up for the first time at an airport in Europe, but sadly, that was also the one and only time they had ever seen each other. Knowing that she¡¯d never see this man again, this picture became the only thing he left her with. After transferring the picture through multiple phones, the image pixels even started to fade as the man¡¯s appearance became more and more blurry. Nheless, she could still remember how he looked vividly in her mind, including his eyebrows, attire, and speech tone. Apart from that, she could also recall the brand and model of his watch, as well as the pointer on it when he talked to her. The picture was the only thing that kept Nicole going on every time she was overwhelmed by her struggles over the years. Deep down, she hoped she could be like Taylor Murray, who was known by the entire world because she could perhaps draw the man¡¯s attention if she achieved that. Then, her mind shed back to the moment when she was still a shy little girl who came to the airport to see that man. However, she felt herself on the verge of giving up because she was getting less and less motivation from the man as time went on. Staring at the man¡¯s face in the picture, tears began to well up in Nicole¡¯s eyes as she endured the agonizing pain in her stomach and ankle. I really wish I could see him! While it was heavily pouring, a strong howling wind suddenly blew in her direction and brought the rain with it before she found her phone drenched and soaked. The next moment, the man on the screen faded away into the darkness as her phone no longer responded anymore. ¡°No!¡± Chapter 453 Chapter 453 In that instant, Nicole was overwhelmed by fear and panic when staring at the dark screen, feeling as if she had lost the beacon of light in her life. This is like my future that¡¯s bleak and uncertain because I can¡¯t see anything at all. With her eyes on the dark screen, she murmured, ¡°Are you leaving me too now?¡± Then, she curled up by the roadside and buried her face in between her knees, as her pants and shoes were soaked in the rain. Despite the summer season, Nicole still felt cold amidst the chilly rain while enduring the pain in her stomach. As the rain wouldn¡¯t let up, no one seemed to notice this soaked little girl in the corner. At that moment, Nicole felt as if she had been abandoned by the world. While the sound of the rain reverberated in her ears, she looked up but was only greeted by the water sshing from the ground as she listened to the hasty footsteps that passed by her. Nevertheless, no one was willing to stop in their tracks for her. Instead, they only just walked past her and disappeared from sight. The rain only started to let upter that night, while the street was seen to be less crowded than before with only a few passers-by. Besides, most of the lights for sightseeing had been turned off, except the streetlights as the city quieted down. Soon, Nicole heard heavy footsteps approaching, which were apanied by the sound of the rain falling on the umbre. The next moment, she saw a pair of ck boots stopping right in front of her for a few seconds before the figure walked away. Then, she noticed an umbre that was big enough to cover her from the rain was ced in front of her. Surprised, she immediately replied, ¡°Thank you!¡± Wearing a ck raincoat with a dark hat, the man¡¯s figure disappeared in the rain as his voice was apanied by the rain. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it!¡± Those words quickly reminded Nicole of something, whereupon she quickly grabbed the umbre and stood up. With her memories now evoked, she felt a rush of adrenaline running around her body before she finally decided to give chase. It¡¯s him! I know it¡¯s him! That was his voice! That must be his, and there is no way it could be wrong! I just heard his voice! ¡°Mister!¡± Nicole caught up with the man in an agitated manner that she forgot about her condition. Therefore, she felt an excruciating pain in her ankle when she took a few steps forward, eventually falling onto the ground amidst the rain and breaking her sunsses in the process. Overwhelmed by pain, she lifted her gaze to stare at the man, only to realize that he had already stopped to look back at her. In the dim, empty street, the rosy hue shone across the horizon as if it was the only thing that connected heaven and earth. Soon, the man¡¯s chiseled face became clearer amidst the drizzles as his blue eyes and good looks took Nicole¡¯s breath away. Even after all these years, this man looks so handsome, like he is a deity that people worship. He then knitted his eyebrows, watching as the woman rose to her feet clumsily. After that, she agitatedly stared at the man with her eyes lighting up with happiness. ¡°Do you still remember me? Seven years ago, we both met at a European airport, and there was a huge dy in all flight schedules back then. So, I secretly took a picture of you.¡± The man squinted a little, seemingly able to ce her face. Then, he was seen with a surprised expression on his face as he said in a calm tone, ¡°I think I remember you.¡± Oh gosh! He remembers who I am! Nicole was touched, replying with a trembling voice, ¡°My name is Nicole Walker. I¡¯m an actress, and I¡¯m shooting here recently.¡± After that, she was waiting for the man to say his name, but instead, he took off his raincoat and gave it to her. ¡°You¡¯re drenched.¡± It was at that moment that Nicole realized the shirt that she was wearing was soaked, which vaguely revealed her curvy figure, as well as her pink lingerie. Shy, she immediately took the raincoat and put it on herself. Soon, she caught an aromatic scent from the raincoat that melted her heart, feeling warm deep down. In that instant, she was like a bashful little girl who had just fallen in love for the first time. On the other hand, the man proceeded to walk away amidst the rain while she limped and followed behind him. Meanwhile, it was a rainyte night when Michael decided to read through the script. In the meantime, Sophia suddenly had a whim to look at Annabel¡¯s pictures. Having those pictures in soft copy, she¡¯d go through them with herputer asionally. Then, a picture of Cooper and Annabel caught her eyes, which turned out to be taken twenty-two years ago. Jeez! I hadn¡¯t noticed this all this while until now that I look at it. She suddenly discovered something in the picture. ¡°Lord,e have a look. This picture of my dad and mom was taken at the film studio.¡± Michael quickly approached to have a closer look and saw both of them standing on the arch bridge with an ancient castle in the background in the picture. While Annabel was smiling brightly, Cooper curled his lips upward slightly with his eyes full of happiness. He was seen cing one arm on Annabel¡¯s shoulders and the other on the rail. Even though it had been more than two decades, the ce could still be seen with traces that were left behind all those years despite the great change. For example, the arch bridge was one of the biggest tourist attractions in the ancient area even until now. As Michael usually went in and out of the film studio, he had been to that ce countless times. ¡°Let¡¯s find a time to visit that ce.¡±N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Soon, the rain stoppedter as Nicole continued to follow right behind the man until they entered the ancient area in the film studio. Determined, he showed no signs of stopping. ¡°Mister, where are you going? I film here, and I know this ce like the back of my hand. Perhaps I can take you to where you want to go.¡± The man said in a calm voice, ¡°No thanks.¡± After the rain, the ancient area in the film studio was shrouded in dead silence, which was surprising as there was not a single soul in sight, and neither did Nicole see any other filming crew shooting. Soon, they found themselves walking in a dim street slowly and silently, seemingly afraid of ruining the peace here. Meanwhile, the man looked like he was searching for something. After all, it had been twenty years, and the ce had changed a lot with the passage of time. Not long after that, they passed by the court and eventually arrived on the arch bridge where the man stopped in his tracks. In fact, the film studio was initially an ancient vige before it was developed andmercialized. However, the arch bridge had remained for hundreds of years, still serving its purpose until this day as one of the favorite shooting spots for most filming crews. While there were no streetlights on the bridge, the man stood still in ce with his white shirt wrapped around by darkness. He then ced his hands on the bridge rail and continued to stand there for the next half an hour. In this half an hour, he stood there as if he was a statue, staring at a ce that seemingly reminded him of something in the past with hisment hidden in the darkness. It¡¯s been twenty-two years! I never thought I¡¯d ever set foot on thisnd again, and neither did I think I¡¯d ever revisit the ce once more. Chapter 454 Chapter 454 He was still a naive teenager when he ced his hand here thest time. I suppose things really are different now. The bridge was still the same bridge from the past century, but everything around it had changed. The past resemnce just wasn¡¯t there anymore; even the people had changed. The atmosphere suddenly quietened down, causing Nicole to be afraid to speak. The man¡¯s silhouette looked miserable, as if he was having a remembrance of something¡­ Hence, Nicole took the hint and did not bother him. After the rain let up, the moon rose among the grey clouds as the gentle moonlight illuminated the ground, creating a mysterious frost around the man. Who, exactly, is this man? Nicole¡¯s entire body was drenched, and a gust of cold wind sent her trembling as she tightened her windbreaker. ¡°It¡¯ste. You should go back,¡± the man suddenly spoke up before he started leaving slowly. ¡°Your clothes¡ª¡± Nicole tried to catch up to him. ¡°Keep it.¡± Nicole stopped chasing after him, as she knew that he didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with her, so she watched him disappear slowly into the night. The sky was as dark as ink as it engulfed the man walking away through the masonry bridge before he disappeared under the dim street lights¡­ When Nicole got back to the hotel, she took off the man¡¯s clothes and tried searching his pockets to see if there was anything that could help her get into contact with the man. Unfortunately, she ended up with empty hands as there wasn¡¯t anything in the pockets. Nicole folded the man¡¯s clothes tidily and kept them as she thought to herself, Maybe if I be a celebrity in the future, he will still remember me then¡­ She promised herself to finish her parts while ensuring the quality of it the next day. For him, I mustn¡¯t fall! Soon, everything would be over once the shoot ended. Olivia had bribed the martial artist to pull some strings so that Nicole wouldn¡¯t be able to continue the shooting up next, but she hadn¡¯t expected Nicole to be able to get through it! The martial artist couldn¡¯t be too obvious about it, as the director might notice them, so Olivia didn¡¯t dare to go overboard as well. Nicole had been holding on firmly so that no one would realize that something was wrong, as she wanted to remain lively in front of the director. Hence, not one of them realized that she was injured all over¡­ In the blink of an eye, it was finally the start of the semester at Bayside University. Michael had gotten someone to prove that Sophia joined a site inspection intern program at Asco International so that she would be able to join the cast as a walk-on actress and leave with him uponpletion. Today¡¯s shoot involved some scenes with some walk-on actresses, so Sophia had already gotten changed into her outfit earlier on and had been waiting for her scene. Today¡¯s scenes involved a group of female bit parts trying to escape but eventually got caught by soldiers. When the direction shouted for them to start, many women started running while a group of men chased after them from behind before capturing all of them. Sophia, too, ran as fast as she could and got caught by another actor to be dragged back into the car just like how it was scripted. Suddenly, she felt someone pinching her backside. When Sophia turned around, she saw a good-looking and charismatic man, who looked like he was in his twenties, grabbing her. It¡¯s not possible for someone so handsome to be a groper, isn¡¯t it? Sophia acted ording to the script and continued struggling while the male bit part grabbed her. While they were struggling, she could feel her clothes getting pulled down to the point where her pale shoulder was revealed before her bosoms were squeezed harshly. When Sophia turned around to look at the male actor again, she noticed his lustful looks fixated on her exposed pale shoulder. It was really him! p! She didn¡¯t expect herself tond such a harsh p on the male bit part¡¯s mesmerizing face as her handprint immediately became evident on his face. That p from Sophia caught the entire set by surprise. ¡°How dare you hit me?!¡± The male actor covered his face where Sophia¡¯s handprint was evident as his eyebrows knitted together in anger. ¡°So what if I hit you?¡± Sophia retorted coldly as she grabbed onto her clothes. This man was obviously trying to molest her, as he even tore away the buttons on her clothes. ¡°You¡ª¡± The male actor¡¯s anger red up as he raised his fist and wanted to fight before the assistant director came over and told him off. ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t be bothered by these small actors. They¡¯re just babies anyway. They aren¡¯t matured yet.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. After the male actor was sessfully stopped by the assistant director, they immediately picked up the scene where it was left. As the main characters and the director were shooting another scene at the next set, the assistant director was left in charge of this shoot as the parts here weren¡¯t that important. Nicole, who had been resting by the side, immediately came over to pull Sophia away. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Don¡¯t lower yourself to fight with that kind of person.¡± Sophia huffed as she was dragged away and didn¡¯t forget to re at the male actor before she left. The male actor red at her as well. There was a ghost of a smirk on his face as if he was a vulture that had found its prey. As the buttons on Sophia¡¯s stage outfit werepletely torn off, Nicole took her to the logistics tent at the back to change into a new outfit. Although that littlemotion ended just like that, many of them had noticed what happened. When that male actor finished shooting his parts and went to rest, around three assistants dashed over to fan and send him water. The service he received was even grander than that of Taylor¡¯s. Although he was attractive and had a slight resemnce to Taylor, his eyes were full of hostility. The thought of getting pped just now made him curse in anger, ¡°Stupid b*tch!¡± ¡°James, is your face alright?¡± Richard acted as if he was worried and asked. Richard was present because X was acting in one of the scenes they were shooting today. James took a mirror and stared at his own reflection. The handprint on his cheek was still fresh. Although what happened in the scene just now should have been cut, the assistant director decided to keep it as the handprint mark made the girl¡¯s rebellion even realistic. James covered his swollen cheek before he spat. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± He didn¡¯t dare tosh out in front of the Young Master of the Harper Group. However, after Richard scanned their surroundings, he whispered next to James¡¯ ear, ¡°That woman¡¯s name is Sophia Edwards, and she¡¯s just a nobody working at Taylor¡¯s house as a nanny.¡± James¡¯ eyes immediately brightened, for he¡¯d initially thought that she was some rich tycoons¡¯ daughter as she was acting so defiantly against his approaches. Tsk, she¡¯s just a nanny, huh?! ¡°Who was that guy just now? Why does everyone seem so afraid of him?¡± Sophia asked Nicole as she changed into a new outfit at the logistics tent. Nicole frowned as she answered, ¡°That¡¯s Olivia¡¯s big brother, James Murray. He has a habit of molesting supporting female actors in the set, so you better not offend him!¡± Olivia and James Murray. A bossy little sister and a licentious big brother. They are really disgraceful to their family! I see, so they are Michael¡¯s rtives! Sophia pouted, after which she decided to let it slide after scolding them mentally. After she got changed, she exited the logistics tent. Since James was Michael¡¯s cousin, she decided not to say anything and remained silent to avoid putting Michael in a predicament. Since Hale wasn¡¯t there, Michael didn¡¯t know about what happened just now. Right then, Hale was dispatched to another ce by Michael to carry out a mission, so he would be back late. Not wanting to see James¡¯ face in the set, she set off to walk around in her costume with Maria as well as a selfie stick. The film studio was huge. She had only gone to the Ancient Area and finally had the chance to go to the Modern Area today. A whileter, Michael could see Sophia sharing a lot of pictures on her IG Stories. Most of them were group photos with other walk-on actors, and it seemed like she was having a good time. He only took a nce at the photos and did not see them in detail before he ced his phone down and continued shooting. However, Michael did not notice that there was a person that had been on his mind for a long time in the group photo¡­ Chapter 455 Chapter 455 Sophia and Maria slowly walked back to their hotel after having dinner outside. Today had been a productive day as they had managed to have fun, eat good food and hang out with many interesting people. The duo walked through the alley in the Modern Area to return to the Ancient Area. The alley was quiet because there weren¡¯t any shootings going on here today. Right after the two of them came out of the alley, a few buff men came out from the corner of the alley. Something¡¯s wrong! Sophia instinctively took a few steps backward, wanting to turn around. However, a few other men came out from the back and surrounded the two girls, blocking every possible pathway to escape. ¡°Haha! Stupid b*tch, I¡¯ll see where you can escape this time!¡± James¡¯ arrogant face appeared behind the buff men as his lustful gazended on Sophia¡¯s face. Half of James¡¯ face was swollen, and the handprint was still evident, making his ferocious face look hrious¡­ On the other hand, Richard and X stood from afar and watched as James¡¯ men dragged Sophia and her nanny into one of the unused rooms in the alley. How pleasant! Could Sophia even survive after falling into James¡¯ hands? James will be responsible for her downfall, but who would dare to get into trouble with him? He¡¯s Taylor Murray¡¯s cousin after all. His only cousin! And this Sophia girl is nothing but a mere nanny! After finishing his shoot on set, Michael felt his phone vibrating and took his phone out to see a picture message from Sophia. The picture was taken from the top, showing a sandal on James¡¯ face while James had a horrified look on his handsome face as blood dripped off his nose while his eyes were widened. Chica: ¡®I¡¯m about to hit your cousin!¡¯ Michael didn¡¯t know what really happened since he wasn¡¯t close to James, but he knew that thetter wasn¡¯t a reputable person, so he might have offended Sophia on set. Well, I guess he deserves it, then. Michael: ¡®Approved.¡¯ Although he didn¡¯t know what Sophia was doing right then, everything should be alright since Maria was there with her. In fact, Maria wasn¡¯t Maria¡¯s real name, and Sophia was the only person who called her that. Before Sophia, everyone knew her as Jack! Right when Michael finished packing up and was preparing to head back to the hotel, he received a call from Stanley, after which he frowned. Why is this stupid dog contacting me again? Usually, Stanley would only call if he needed money or the password for the wine cer in the basement of the house. The password to the wine cer changed hourly as well as every time it was opened, and Michael was the only one who had ess to the password. When the call was connected, Michael asked in a bored tone, ¡°What do you want, stupid dog? I don¡¯t have the password or any money.¡± However, Stanley sounded anxious. ¡°Uncle Michael, something happened! Didn¡¯t you realize? Have you seen Aunt¡¯s IG Stories? She posted a total of 54 pictures; six coges of nine pictures! Look at the fifth and sixth pictures of the third coge she posted! It¡¯s bad!¡± How ridiculous. Michael hung up on him. However, he still took a look at the fifth and sixth picture of the third coge that Sophia posted. Those two pictures were taken with a man. He was an attractive young Caucasian man with eyes as blue as the ocean. However, this was the film studio, so it wasn¡¯t weird to see any good-looking or even foreign actors. The man¡¯s skin tone was fair, and he looked like he was an elf from a fairy tale. His wless face stood out no matter where he was as Sophia stood next to him and smiled like a blooming flower. The two of them seemed close as they both pouted and clenched their fists together in the pictures. The image looked smooth under the filter, and the two of them looked so harmonious, as if they were a good match together. They actually looked like they were a couple! Most importantly, Sophia actually posted two pictures of them! Two! Okay, now that¡¯s odd! Sophia only posted one group photo each with every other walk-on actor, but she actually posted two with this particr man! Right then, Michael received a series of messages from Stanley through Messenger. ¡®Uncle Michael, have you seen it? That dude looks way better than you. Look! Look how happy Aunt is! She even posted two pictures of them! Something¡¯s about to happen. Uncle Michael, you better confront Aunt about this! Do not let her cheat on you!¡± Stanley was way more anxious than Michael when he saw the picture Sophia posted. There¡¯s actually someone hotter than my uncle at the film studio. Is it even possible?! And hey, Sophia took a picture with him too! Something¡¯s about to happen. Something big is going to happen! On the other hand, Michael was staring at the picture and zoning out. This white man¡¯s face¡­ It was generally hard for those in the Cethosian region to differentiate between those from other continents. Moreover, this picture was filtered, so it would surely be different from his face in real life. However, his face was so attractive that it was easy to recognize him. Still, the coincidence was too uncanny, wasn¡¯t it? While Michael was deep in thought while staring at the two pictures, Hale hurried back with a piece of huge news. ¡°Boss, I received news that Linus Michel just entered the country. Should we schedule a meeting to visit them?¡± Suddenly, Michael stood up abruptly and gave Hale his phone. ¡°Linus is at film studio right now, so I want you to find a way to get to him.¡± Hearing his superior¡¯s demand, Hale was shocked. He had just received the first-hand news and didn¡¯t even know which part of Cethos Linus was at, but Michael had already known?! When Hale took Michael¡¯s phone, he looked horrified the moment he saw the group picture of Sophia and an unnamed man. Isn¡¯t this man Linus Michel? Why did he show up at the film studio? How did he end up in a group picture with Sophia? However, before Hale could question the situation, Michael had already left in a hurry. Seeing that his superior was leaving, Hale immediately chased after him. Sophia left the set to have fun after acting as the walk-on for a while today. She posted her picture with Linus during the afternoon, and this indicated that Linus was at the film studio today. Therefore, there was a chance that he might still be at the film studio. But, Michael still couldn¡¯t figure out why Linus woulde here. There weren¡¯t any of his projects here though. Or¡­ was he here for vacation? Michael didn¡¯t know why, but he suddenly thought of the masonry bridge, the group picture, as well as Fass Michel. If Fass was really Cooper, could he be here to honor something? ¡°Danny, figure out a way to get the surveince near the bridge in the Ancient Area!¡± Then, Michael found Sophia ording to the GPS location that Maria had sent him. However, he could hear howlings from her direction before he got closer to her. ¡°Help! Stop hitting me!¡± ¡°Stop hitting my face! Somebody help me! My face is the source of my ie!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, my cousin is Taylor Murray! If you keep hitting me¡­ Ouch! Michael could also hear Sophia¡¯s taunts between James¡¯ yellings. ¡°Aren¡¯t you powerful just now? Didn¡¯t you want to record a video of me being naked?¡± ¡°Come on, take a video! Post it on the Inte after you¡¯re done and get it on trending!¡± ¡°So what if your cousin is Taylor Murray? He¡¯s my b*tch! Do you hear me? He¡¯s my b*tch!¡± Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Michael was speechless. Chapter 456 Chapter 456 Michael felt that it was better if he didn¡¯t show up right then so that Sophia could go all out. The ce that Sophia was hitting James was in an unused room at the film studio¡¯s alley. There were many empty rooms built for shooting proposes that were unupied even now. Hence, when a random person passed by asionally and heard James crying for help, they¡¯d assume that it was just another shoot. There was still rubbish remains in the room from the crew that shot here this morning. Maria had already subdued the leftover buff men, and they were all lying on the bed, their fate remaining unknown. James had been beaten to the point where he started crawling around and crying. The man in his twenties had snort and tears all over his face. Sophia watched as he crawled on the ground like a worm, asionally giving him a few kicks. Using his leather belt as a weapon, she would give him painful welts when she felt like it. A few weltster, James hadpletely lost his arrogance as he sprawled across the ground with a bruised face and pleaded, ¡°I was wrong, and I won¡¯t repeat the same mistake! Please let me go!¡± However, what replied to him was another series of pping from Sophia, causing him to end up crying on the ground. Still, Sophia wasn¡¯t satisfied. Grabbing James by his hair, she pushed his head into the flowerpot and made him choke on the soil before lifting him by his hair and giving him two ps. Then, she pushed him back into the flowerpot and repeated it a few times. ¡°Does having a powerful cousin allow you to be arrogant? So what if you have a cousin? Does having a cousin mean that you can take advantage of others on the set? James Murray, do you know that you¡¯re ruining your cousin¡¯s reputation?¡± James couldn¡¯t say anything as his entire mouth was filled with soil. Still, the thought of these siblings fooling everyone and causing trouble on the set using Taylor Murray¡¯s name pissed Sophia off. As Taylor¡¯s fan, Sophia had been constantly worried about her idol¡¯s reputation, fearing that anti-fans might find fault in the things that he had done and bash him again. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. However, she didn¡¯t expect James to openly use Taylor Murray¡¯s name to boss everyone on the set around and even tried to take advantage of the supporting actresses. He¡¯s literally attracting more anti- fans for my idol! Sophia started tearing James¡¯ clothes apart and dragged him under the light before taking her phone and started snapping a few pictures of him butt-naked. Although she was very tempted to kick his manhood, she swallowed the urge to do it, as these siblings were the only children in Elizabeth¡¯s family, and James was her younger brother¡¯s only son. Darn your cousin! Since this was the Murray Family¡¯s sole inheritor, she must at least teach him a lesson even though she couldn¡¯t beat him to death. ¡°To hell with your cousin! Get up!¡± Sophia lifted James, who was covered entirely in soil. Poor James waspletely out of luck as he was dragged through his hair by Sophia about a few meters away. Although Sophia was petite, she was incredibly strong and could subdue James anytime she wanted. While James was still shrieking, she took a taser and adjusted the pain level to ¡®painful¡¯ where one jab could cause immense pain. This was a taser specifically designed by Michael for ¡®pervert¡¯ prevention, and its effects were certainly gruesome. ¡°To hell with your cousin!¡± Sophia cursed before bringing the taser down on James¡¯ backside. ¡°Ah!¡± A gruesome shriek echoed across the empty building. ¡°To hell with your cousin!¡± Another harsh jab. ¡°Ugh!¡± James howled as his entire body trembled in pain. When outsiders overheard themotion over here as well as the repeated lines over and over again, they¡¯d mumble to themselves, ¡°It seems like this shoot had gotten a bit too much NGs!¡± Michael wanted to take a puff as he stood under the streetlight outside and soon realized that he had quit smoking after going through his bag, so he went to a cafe nearby to get coffee. While he drank his coffee, he waited for Sophia as he continued counting how many times she cursed James¡¯ cousin. A whileter, Sophia finally had enough of cursing James¡¯ cousin. She kept her taser as she had gotten hungry from exerting too much force. Meanwhile, James had tears all over his face as he had already peed himself and fainted from the torture. Sophia dragged the naked James, who was covered entirely in pee and soil, out of the room before she found amp post and tied him up with his leather belt. While she was tying him up themp post publicly, many people had passed by as they stopped dead in their tracks before quickly moving away. They all couldn¡¯t help but wonder what crew was this with such a nasty plot! The actor on the set was really open-minded, even to the point of going full naked! After tying James up, Sophia went to the faucet nearby to wash her hands. While she was washing her hands, a man¡¯s voice rang out behind her. ¡°Yo, have you finished cursing James and his cousin?¡± Sophia¡¯s petite body trembled slightly. What the f*ck? Why is my idol here? No way! Did he see everything that I¡¯ve done to his cousin? Oh lord, no, no, this can¡¯t be! Am I going to lose my youthful teenage girl¡¯s image in front of him? After Sophia¡¯s mind went nk for a few seconds, she turned around as the fierce re she had just now disappeared before sheined pitifully, ¡°He tried to molest me today by groping my backside and my chest. He even wanted to take a video of me naked!¡± Since when did that happen? Hearing the girl¡¯s exnation, Michael frowned. If that was so, Sophia had every right to curse his cousin, or even his entire family lineage. Michael didn¡¯t expect his bride to be taken advantage of in just a matter of a short time. Feeling guilty, he walked toward her to grab her wet hands. ¡°Don¡¯t be angry anymore. I¡¯ll let you curse his cousin all night long, alright?¡± He tried to coax Sophia. Sophia nodded seriously as she pouted. ¡°Alright.¡± While Michael held Sophia¡¯s hand as they left the alley, he instructed Hale, who was walking in their direction. ¡°Castrate him.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes were icy cold when he said those two words; it waspletely different from him trying to console Sophia just now. Hale nodded grimly. After they left, he raised his leg and brought it down on the unconscious James¡¯ bare manhood¡­ Sophia heard what Michael said just now as well. His tone was so cold, and it was unlike the usual him; when he said those words, it made her tremble slightly. After that, Sophia finally realized that Michael was triggered. He¡¯s really pissed off. However, she was still slightly worried. ¡°That¡¯s thest man in the Murray Family, though. Do you really want him castrated?¡± ¡°Murray is not myst name.¡± Sophia shrugged at that, as she didn¡¯t dare to say anything else. It seemed like Michael¡¯s rtionship with the Murray Family wasn¡¯t good as well. So, did it mean that she could do whatever she wanted on the set without being afraid of offending Olivia in the future? When Sophia went back to the hotel and came out from the showers, Maria had already ced all the dishes on the dining table. Then, she started eating while scrolling through her phone. She had posted many pictures of her having fun in the film studio today, and also many group pictures with other walk-on actors. Sophia scrolled to the pictures that she took with the foreign actor. Chapter 457 Chapter 457 This guy is actually so hot that he could bepared to Michael! Also, he looked way better in real life! His voice is nice as well! Sophia couldn¡¯t help but go through the pictures one by one with that man as she still had some that she didn¡¯t post in her photo gallery. What a handsome man! Oh my God! His eyes, his eyshes, his skin, his gaze! He looks so bright! I really feel like kissing him! On the other hand, Maria had already exined what happened during the picture-taking session between Sophia and Linus to Michael. Sophia was eating and walking around while taking pictures with good-looking walk-on actors. Running into Linus waspletely idental as they didn¡¯t know he was Linus from the Michel Family and thought that he was just a handsome actor. Michael got his men to search around the hotels and the summer resorts after listening to Maria and Hale¡¯s report, but none of them found Linus and his men. ording to the information that they had gathered, it was unlikely for Linus to show up here, but he did. Without alerting Sophia, who was still eating, Michael suddenly recalled the picture of Cooper and Annabel on the masonry bridge. ¡°Hale, have you found any surveince near the masonry bridge?¡± Faced with the question, Hale looked regretful. ¡°I went there yesterday night, but the surveince from nine to midnight waspletely gone along with its copy.¡± They are gone? This is too much of a coincidence! Linus, who was photographed by Sophia, the picture, as well as the sabotaged surveince¡­ Michael was certain that Cooper was here! However, these were only predictions, for Michael must find stronger evidence to be able to get in contact with Fass Michel! That day wouldn¡¯t be far away. Beating a person up was really an energy exhausting physical chore, as Sophia got really hungry from just beating James up for a while. After having dinner, she brushed her teeth and went back to their bedroom while Michael sat on the love swing and read his script. In the bedroom, the mood was already turned on as leather whips and candles were ced at the side. Seeing these objects, Sophia shivered slightly. This situation right now¡­ Michael ced his script down when he noticed that Sophia came back. Then, he walked over and grinned lightly, showing his pearly whites. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Hearing her man¡¯s question, Sophia nodded. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡± However, she took a step backward whenever Michael took two steps forward. Sophia was afraid. A man in his thirties was like a wolf, while a man in his forties was like a tiger. Michael was right in the middle of it, so he was like a wolf just as he was like a tiger. Michael forced Sophia to the wall corner while he ced his strong arms against the wall and looked at her before himself. ¡°So, what have you prepared for James¡¯ cousin?¡± The filming crew started their work on time just like previously the next day. Richard was looking forward to seeing the video of Sophia getting vited uploaded on the Inte. He knew that James was a daring yboy that had once caused the death of a model. The Murray Family was slightly powerful now as they were eating at Elizabeth¡¯s capital these recent years, so the issue didn¡¯t go out of hand as the media had to respect the Murray Family. However, James became even more savage when he found out that Taylor was Elizabeth¡¯s son. Thest time Richard tried to make a move, he got caught by Sophia and ended up losing his money as well as himself. This time, he learned to sit back and take advantage of others. If James was the one making a move, it wouldn¡¯t be rted to him at all.¡£ Richard had been visiting the filming crew for a few days now. When he saw that Sophia didn¡¯te in today, he was sure that she had already fallen into James¡¯ trap. In less than a day, the footage of Sophia getting trampled over would go viral on the Inte, and she would be discarded by Taylor like an unwanted dog. By that time, Richard would swoop in to take her away and torture her! However, he didn¡¯t see any videos of Sophia being uploaded after waiting for almost half a day. Even James himself didn¡¯te today. When the assistant director tried contacting him, his calls went unanswered. The director¡¯s face darkened. He gave the siblings roles in the movie because of Elizabeth, but he didn¡¯t expect them to be so disappointing. Their acting skills weren¡¯t even that good in the first ce, not to mention that they kept causing trouble on set. Moreover, James would always go missing in action. This time, the director had finally run out of patience. He stopped trying to contact James since the call wouldn¡¯t even go through. He deleted his part in the scene since he could always get someone else to rece him anyway. Right then, James had just woken up on the median strip of one of the streets at the film studio. He was tied up on a palm tree used forndscape, and the lower part of his body was aching really badly. When James opened his eyes, he realized that there was a crowd staring at his naked body. The crowd initially thought that this was a filming scene, so none of them dared to go closer and were searching for the video camera from afar. James was tied up for about half a day before he finally cried out for help. By then, the crowd finally realized that it wasn¡¯t a shooting scene and immediately untied him. Olivia, who was on set, only found out that something happened to James during the afternoon. No one was alerted that he went missing for the entire morning since he¡¯d usually wake up at some random bed of some venue during the afternoon, and no one would discuss that publicly. However, none of them had expected James to be stripped and tied up on the streets to attract onlookers! When Olivia was informed about what happened, she immediately rushed to the hospital and almost fainted when the doctor told her that James was castrated. He had lost his ability to reproduce! N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. James was the only son of the Murray Family! The Murray Family only had one son for each generation, which had been ongoing for eight generations now. How could James be castrated just like that?! Through the ss window, Olivia could see that James waspletely bandaged and had an oxygen tube inserted in him. He suffered many bone fractures, serious external injuries as well as minor internal bleeding while his manhood was crushed by force. James hadn¡¯t regained his consciousness until now. Olivia was dumbfounded, for she didn¡¯t know what to do, so she immediately tried to contact her family. However, she suddenly changed her mind and decided to contact Michael. Since Taylor was part of the Murray Family, the family¡¯s well-being mattered to him. Unfortunately, it was Hale who epted the call. ¡°Miss Olivia, Taylor is still in a shoot, so I¡¯ll get back to youter.¡± Then, he hung up. Olivia had no choice but to contact X, who was in the same filming crew, and get her to tell Taylor to come over. ¡°James was castrated?¡± X was shunned when she heard the news; even Richard was shocked. After waiting for almost half a day, instead of receiving the footage of Sophia getting vited, they received the news that James got castrated? This was just¡­ As James¡¯ condition wasn¡¯t good, Olivia immediately lodged a police report, and the police came to the hospital right after to take depositions from James, while Richard and X rushed to the hospital as well. James only managed to regain his consciousness during the afternoon¡­ Simultaneously, Sophia was rubbing her eyes as she got out of Michael¡¯s SUV during the afternoon. Her backside hurt so much it affected how she walked. Sophia had made some exaggerated ims of wanting to teach James¡¯ cousin a lesson, but it backfired on her as Michael taught her a harsh lesson. She was carried by Michael into his SUV earlier in the morning and had slept in the SUV for an entire morning. Sophia only managed to show up on set during the afternoon. Having a scene to film at night, Michael was going to eat his dinner on set. As the chef was serving his dishes, a group of police, as well as Olivia, suddenly came. ¡°That¡¯s her! She¡¯s the one who hurt my brother!¡± Chapter 458 Chapter 458 Olivia and the police surrounded Sophia. Seeing Sophia, Olivia was incensed. I didn¡¯t expect that this b*tch would do such a thing. The Murray Family won¡¯t have any descendants anymore because of her! ¡°Are you Sophia Edwards? We need you to cooperate in the investigation of a case for intentionally causing harm to someone.¡± The police strode toward Sophia. Upon seeing the police, everyone fell into silence and shifted their attention to Sophia. What do they mean by intentionally causing harm to someone? Who has she hurt? Shocked, Sophia questioned, ¡°Intentionally causing harm to someone? Me? How may I help you?¡± Seeing the feigned surprise on Sophia¡¯s expression, Olivia was so infuriated she wanted to beat her up. ¡°You castrated my brother! Now he¡¯s impotent! How are you going to pay us back?¡± Is James Murray actually impotent? Did Sophia castrate him? The actresses on the set were delighted to learn the news. The womanizer, James, has harmed countless women before. He only has himself to me for this oue! Terrified by the ruthless-looking Olivia, Sophia hurriedly sneaked behind Michael, after which the policemen quickly put the agitated Olivia under control. Olivia shouted hysterically, ¡°There are no more descendants for our family because of you! I have to kill you!¡± Sophia stuck out her head from Michael¡¯s back and gazed at her in an innocent manner. ¡°Olivia, I don¡¯t know what happened. I wasn¡¯t on the set yesterday, so how could I even harm your brother?¡± ¡°Stop denying. Some people saw you with my brother yesterday. It¡¯s you who harmed my brother!¡± The police almost couldn¡¯t control the ferocious Olivia. Seeing Michael, she yelled, ¡°Taylor, you have to stand up for my brother! She castrated my brother! Our family won¡¯t have any descendants anymore! Taylor!¡± With a frown, Michael replied, ¡°Sophia works for me. Since she¡¯s involved in this case, I¡¯ll go to the police station with her.¡± Under the attention of everyone, Michael, Sophia, and Maria headed for the police station. Inside the police station, Olivia held Michael¡¯s arm and wailed, ¡°Taylor, James is impotent now. He¡¯s the only son of our generation!¡± Agitated, she turned to Sophia and said through gritted teeth, ¡°I want this b*tch to pay us back with her life!¡± Meanwhile, Sophia was making a police statement. ¡°Where were you from 7 to 9 pmst night?¡± Calmly, Sophia replied, ¡°I was ying a video game in my hotel room.¡± ¡°Do you have any witness?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Maria is my witness. We share the same room, so she was with me all the timest night.¡± The policeman recorded what she said. Then, he asked Maria and the hotel receptionist, who all said that Sophia had returned to the hotel around that time. The policeman then asked Sophia, ¡°What¡¯s the rtionship between you and James Murray?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡± Seeing that Sophia was lying, Olivia stood straight up in a fury and snarled, ¡°She¡¯s lying! Yesterday, she pped my brother on the set!¡± Frowning, Sophia said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m just a walk-on, and I simply rehearsed with your brother. That p is for the drama. I don¡¯t really know him.¡± Olivia was indignant, for she didn¡¯t expect that Sophia was so masterful at falsifying truths. She then pulled at Michael and said, ¡°Taylor, she¡¯s lying. Yesterday, my brother identally touched her, so she¡¯s resentful. I swear she¡¯s the one who harmed my brother!¡± Michael had never uttered a word since entering the police station. He identally touched her? Pfft. The policeman continued making the statement. ¡°Mr. James Murray has awakened and used you of harming him in an inhumane way. How are you going to exin yourself?¡± As aw student, Sophia replied calmly, ¡°I don¡¯t agree with Mr. James Murray¡¯s usation. First of all, I have an alibi. Secondly, as far as I¡¯m concerned, Mr. James Murray is a martial artist who has won countless championships. How would I be able to harm a martial artist like him?¡± James started his acting career one year ago as a martial artist. When he debuted, his agency touted him to be the most handsome martial arts prodigy. He had won two international martial arts championships as well as countless contests since young. On the other hand, Sophia was slim and frail. Hence, it was inconceivable that she was able to harm James. Seeing that Sophia was still distorting the truth, Olivia was so enraged that she wanted to kill her. ¡°It¡¯s you! My brother said it¡¯s you who harmed him!¡± As James¡¯ sister, Olivia knew him full well. He won those championships by bribing the judges and other contestants, so he wasn¡¯t really great at martial arts at all. In reality, he was just a weakling! Faced with her usations, Sophia merely ignored her. Irritated, the policeman frowned and demanded, ¡°Silence!¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Shooting a look at the policeman and Sophia, Olivia pulled Michael¡¯s sleeve and protested, ¡°Taylor, say something!¡± Michael remained silent with a scowl. The policeman continued asking Sophia, ¡°Last night at 7 pm, some people saw you and James at the location where he was harmed. Do you have an exnation for that?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I have a witness to prove that I was in the hotel around that time.¡± Left with no choice, the policeman told the witnesses, Richard and X, to confront Sophia. Trying to suppress his excitement, Richard looked at Sophia in an insolent way. Certainly, she didn¡¯t expect that I was there! I can prove that she was with James at that time! The policeman asked, ¡°Mr. Richard Harper, please repeat your testimony.¡± Richard cleared his throat and said in an upright manner, ¡°Last night around 7 pm, I was taking a walk with my girlfriend, X, when I saw James Murray and Sophia Edwards at the crime scene. They were arguing.¡± X hurriedly chimed in, ¡°That¡¯s right. We both saw them at the same time.¡± X was gleeful. Initially, she wanted to make use of James to harm Sophia, yet it never crossed her mind that Sophia was able to castrate James. That¡¯s wonderful! Since James became impotent, the Murray Family and Taylor wouldn¡¯t let her off. There¡¯s no way she¡¯d be able to flip over the situation! Olivia grinned and waited for Sophia¡¯s exnation. Without any emotion, Michael raised an eyebrow. So Richard and X are involved in this as well. Chapter 459 Chapter 459 Michael had figured out what really happened. The policeman then questioned Sophia, ¡°What do you have to say about the testimonies of Mr. Harper and Miss Huff?¡± Unperturbed, Sophia replied, ¡°I was in the hotel room at that time, so I think the usation of Mr. Harper and Miss Huff against me is nothing more than a fabrication.¡± She then borated, ¡°Two months ago, Mr. Harper was involved in a kidnap case, and I was the victim. As far as I¡¯m concerned, Mr. Harper is awaiting his trial.¡± In an instant, Richard turned dark, for he had forgotten about it. Seeing the change in Richard¡¯s expression, Sophia said coldly, ¡°Mr. Harper, while waiting for the trial, you¡¯re limited to live and work in a certain area. If you want to leave that area, you have to get permission from the relevant government body. Mr. Harper, did you have permission to go to the film studio?¡± The policeman took a look at Richard, as he didn¡¯t expect that thetter was involved in a criminal case. Sophia continued, ¡°Mywyer is on his way here, and I¡¯ll leave the rest to him.¡± With a frown, the policemanpleted the statement and left the room. At that instant, only a few people were left in the interrogation room. Olivia stood straight up in a fury. ¡°Sophia, I suggest that you admit your crime quickly. There¡¯s no use denying it. Even if you escape unscathed this time, my family and Taylor will never let you off!¡± Knowing that the police were watching them from somewhere else, X persuaded, ¡°Sophia, you¡¯ve committed a serious crime. Even if you can leave the police station this time, there¡¯s no guarantee that you won¡¯t be convicted in the future. Richard and I saw what happened, so stop denying it. There were other witnesses around that ce as well!¡± Sophia kept her mouth shut. Wanting to destroy Sophia, X continued to coax her, saying, ¡°There are security cameras around that ce. Even if the police don¡¯t trust Richard¡¯s testimony, the security footage will be the proof.¡± However, Sophia remained silent. Seeing that, X decided to stop persuading her. It was alright if the police didn¡¯t trust her, for it would be enough that the Murrays trusted her. Even if Sophia could escape imprisonment, there was no way the Murrays would let her off the hook. Seeing that Sophia wasn¡¯t willing to admit her crime, Olivia clenched Michael¡¯s sleeve and begged, ¡°Taylor, please say something. James is the only son of the Murray Family, but he¡¯s impotent now¡­ Taylor! Taylor!¡± Hearing that, Sophia refuted, ¡°Are you saying that Taylor isn¡¯t a son of the Murray Family? As long as he¡¯s here, there will still be descendants for the Murray Family!¡± Her words infuriated Olivia. ¡°Taylor isn¡¯t really a son of the Murray Family!¡± Michael raised an eyebrow upon hearing that, but he remained silent. That¡¯s right. The Murrays have always preferred sons to daughters. To the Murrays, the daughters are not even considered humans, as they are just tools to provide for the Murray Family! Olivia realized that she said the wrong thing and continued nervously, ¡°Taylor, you know that James is the only son of our generation. Now that he¡¯s impotent¡ª¡± Finally, Michael said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the police¡¯s judgment.¡± Knowing that she had hurt Michael¡¯s feelings, Olivia dared not utter a word anymore. Although the stage name for Michael was Taylor Murray, he wasn¡¯t part of the Murray Family. Everyone knew this fact, but it shouldn¡¯t be said out so publicly. A whileter, the police came to inform Sophia that she could leave. Meanwhile, it was found out that Richard was indeed awaiting trial and didn¡¯t have permission to go out. Therefore, the police demanded that he returned to Bayside City and reported himself at the police station there immediately. Since the case was pending investigation, Olivia and the others had no choice but to leave. Upon stepping out of the police station, Olivia turned to Sophia and threatened, ¡°B*tch, I won¡¯t let you off. I will take revenge for my brother!¡± She then shifted her attention to Michael and continued, ¡°Taylor will see through your true colors one day!¡± Ignoring her, Sophia got into Michael¡¯s car and left. When the car was out of sight, X said hypocritically, ¡°Olivia, what should we do? That b*tch is such a good liar. Taylor doesn¡¯t seem to trust us.¡± Olivia sneered, ¡°I will make Taylor trust me.¡± It was veryte when they returned to the hotel, but Michael still had to handle some matters. He wasn¡¯t worried about the usation against Sophia at all. Since James wanted to harm Sophia, he must have made preparations and destroyed all the security cameras around that ce. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Even if the police managed to get the footage, they would only see James and a few brawny guys following Sophia and Maria into an alley. It was Linus who made him feel concerned. Linus really appeared around that area. However, it was toote when Michael went to look for him as thetter and his entourage had left the ce the day before. Michael was just one step away from the shocking secret, but it was difficult for him to get to it. Lying on the bed, Sophia was still worried. Seeing that Michael was done with the shower, she questioned anxiously, ¡°Do you really not feel sorry that there will be no more descendants for the Murray Family?¡± Michael was drying his hair with a towel as he said, ¡°Not at all. They¡¯re not a royal family. So what if there are no more descendants?¡± ¡°But¡­ James is the only son of their generation. What if they want to get even with me?¡± Sophia asked in anxiety. Nonchntly, Michael replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Come what may, I will always protect you.¡± Sophia felt warmth in her heart upon hearing that. At that instant, she wanted to make love to Michael, but due to the pain in her backside, she decided not to do it. With Michael¡¯s promise, she was relieved. Casting away the guilt she felt, she fell into sleep in peace. After drying his hair with an air-dryer in another room, Michael returned and saw that she was asleep. Turning off the bedsidemp, he took a seat by the table and started reading his script. Unexpectedly, a yellowish photo of the Fletcher Family taken thirty years ago was inside the script. In the photo, Elizabeth and Theo held one child respectively, while their happiness radiated from the photo. Michael whisked across the smiling face of Elizabeth. Mom is the most beautiful woman in the world, for her beauty was frozen at that moment in the past. Naively, he had tried to look for his mother¡¯s family members. However, upon getting into contact with the Murrays, he finally understood why his mother left her parents and got herself killed. The Murrays had a long tradition of opera singing. However, their business declined, and they became poor. As the eldest daughter, Elizabeth had to drop out of school and sing opera elsewhere to put food on the table. In order to send her brother, Larry Murray, overseas for higher education, the Murrays sent her to take part in erotic movies. Upon getting a massive chunk of money, it was all spent on Larry¡¯s overseas education and improving the family¡¯s living standard. It wasn¡¯t certain whether Elizabeth was just naive or forced to do it at that time, but those erotic movies became a stain in her life forever. Chapter 460 Chapter 460 After Elizabeth became famous, most of the money that she earned was used on her family. When the Murray Family received her money, they started to dabble in business, which immediately took off. However, after her death, they lost the infinite supply of money, so the Murray Family¡¯s sess went down the slope. Although it had been years, they were still using her money to earn more for their business. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Even though she worked hard her entire life for the Murray Family, they resembled a parasite that lived off her, trying to suck everything and never gave up even after her death. For her to choose death, she could have been desperate and disappointed in the Murray Family. If they had showered her with some love, even just a little, she would not have chosen to die alone. That was the reason why Michael couldn¡¯t care less about the Murray Family, but he also wanted to avoid any skirmishes with them. However, if they go overboard¡­ ¡­ Olivia went to the hospital to take care of James. However, someone unexpectedly barged into his ward and suddenly stabbed him twice with a kitchen knife while hey on the bed. Although the culprit fled the scene, he was quickly arrested by the police to assist with the investigation, resulting in an attempted murder charge being added to the current issue. It turned out that some time ago, James had fooled around with a young model until she died. Due to the influence of the Murray Family and James being a rtive of Taylor Murray, the entire incident was suppressed; James was still living a carefree life whereas the young model was dead for no apparent reason. The person who hurt James was her father. He even admitted that he was the one who castrated James to avenge his daughter¡¯s death and wanted to kill him for her sake. With that, the motive for the attack was discovered. As James¡¯ life was in a critical condition, he was transferred over the night and the murderer was brought to face justice. When Richard caught wind of the news from the filming crew, he couldn¡¯t believe what he heard. Richard had seen James kidnapping Sophia with his own eyes and the man had also admitted that she was the one whonded him in trouble. How did things end up this way? However, Richard couldn¡¯t even take care of himself. The next day after James was attacked, Richard was forced to return to Bayside City. In fact, it was better for him to leave as he did not want to visit the shooting crew often. With X there, he had no freedom at all to fool around outside. As soon as he returned to the Bayside City, he could do whatever he wanted. Since the Huff Family was no longer the same as before, he did not have to worry about anything. Even if he was caught in the act, she and the Huff Family did not have the say to call off the marriage. On the other hand, Sophia¡¯s butt hurt whenever she was with the filming crew on a daily basis. She had no idea where Michael found the energy¡ªeven though he was a middle-aged man¡ªto film many action scenes during the day. Even though she was just an extra, the schedule was already challenging for her. It would obviously be more tiring for him as the lead actor. However, as soon as he returned to the hotel, he seemed to be possessed by another spirit. He¡¯s going to f*ck me until I die! The new semester in Bayside University had already started and Michael was about to finish with his filming. Since he was the lead antagonist, his scenes weren¡¯t as many aspared to the main protagonist and even gave some of his scenes to the lead actress, so he was about to finish with his parts. ¡°Once I¡¯m done filming, we¡¯ll have to see the pandas before going for our wedding pictures. We¡¯ll only be back after a while.¡± Taking advantage of each second to film the final scenes, Michael chatted with Sophia on the phone. Their group chat was rather active as she had sent another handsome picture of Michael to everyone. Stanleyined, ¡®Eddie Fletcher, can you please stop being lovey-dovey during business hours? My job¡¯s already difficult enough yet you don¡¯t seem to care about thepany affairs. Only Sean and I are keeping it afloat¡ªwe are exhausted! This is very immoral of you.¡¯ Sean added, ¡®By the way, Sophia, Natasha has returned to Bayside City, so she most likely won¡¯t be visiting the film studio anymore. However, you must be careful as the Mitchell Family is investigating Eddie Fletcher and the identity of Uncle Michael¡¯s wife.¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡®Alright. I will be more careful. By the way, how is Nathan doing? Have you guys visited him?¡¯ Stanley appeared again. ¡®Oh my, Eddie Fletcher, you still remember that you have a son? Look at this yourself!¡¯ With that, he sent a series of images over. One of which was Nathan wearing the army uniform¡ªhe was so tanned that his baby fat was gone as he trained with the adults with a gaunt jawline and tanned skin, looking very pitiful. On top of that, he even pouted while trying to keep his tears back. How pitiful! Upon looking at the pictures, Sophia felt extremely sorry for him. My baby son! How did he be like this in a mere few days? How much has he suffered? Although he was technically not her biological son, his father was Justin, who was Coop¡¯s junior. Hence, Nathan and Sophia were slightly rted by blood; so, no matter what, he was as good as her biological son to her. Stanley exined, ¡®He¡¯s still training in the militarypound, so he can¡¯t leave. Not to mention, he hasn¡¯tpleted his exercises. My, oh, my, what a poor kid. His dad doesn¡¯t love him and his mom doesn¡¯t care about him. He¡¯s like wild grass on the roadside. How pitiful.¡¯ However, there wasn¡¯t much that Sophia could do about it. After all, Nathan had really hurt Michael this time, so thetter decided to be serious with his words. Michael¡¯s deep, fatherly love had burdened Nathan to the point where the young child couldn¡¯t straighten his back. It seemed like if he couldn¡¯t complete the 100 exercises, his father wouldn¡¯t allow him to return. ¡®Stanley, take care of him on my behalf. I will be back in a couple of days.¡¯ Upon listening to Sophia¡¯s request, Stanley was quite arrogant. ¡®Hmph! In your dreams! Take care of your own son yourself¡ªunless you give me the password of your wine cer in exchange.¡¯ There were many bottles with quality wine in Michael¡¯s wine cer, but it came with top notch security where the passcode would change on an hourly basis. To enter the cer, Stanley would need to obtain thetest passcode from Michael himself. The wine cer had always been Stanley¡¯s goal. Not only were there bottles of good quality wine, but there were also those which had been passed down from Elizabeth¡ªssic Lafite, French Cheval-nc, and many others, making it a heaven for Stanley. He was met with silence from Sophia¡¯s side. Stanley knew that the wine was more important than Nathan¡¯s well-being. Michael would never allow Stanley to sneak into the cer to ruin his precious wine. In the afternoon, when Stanley looked at his phone, he realized that Sophia texted him with a password. ¡®This is the password of the cer for the next hour.¡¯ Damn! As soon as he saw that, he quickly rushed out of hispany and raced to Vi No. 8 at The Imperial and went straight to the wine cer underground to take a bottle of wine. He also took a bottle of beer that was Sean¡¯s favorite along. He managed to make it within an hour. After he took the wine, he quickly replied, ¡®Aunt, thank you so much! I will take care of your son for you. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll treat him as my own! But, how did Uncle Michael give you the password with ease? Even if I kneel before him, he wouldn¡¯t budge.¡¯ After a while, Sophia replied, ¡®After I slept with him at the tent, he gave it to me.¡¯ He was speechless upon hearing that. We are already thousands of miles apart yet she still shows off in front of me! In the filming crew, Sophia sat down on a bench to look at her phone while her butt ached. She had given her all for her son. Chapter 461 Chapter 461 Sophia, whose role was an extra in the crew, was already done with all of her scenes. Hence, she merely sat aside and swiped on her phone as she was not needed on the set. Since her husband was a celebrity, she was attentive to any news that was rted to ¡®War Dragon¡¯ online. Whenever she had time on her hands, she would search for rted keywords to read about the news. There was another piece of sensational news that appeared today with the title ¡®She used to be the queen of a local TV drama yet she has to kneel before others today¡¯. What? After Sophia clicked on the link, she saw a picture of Nicole, which seemed to have been secretly captured by someone in the filming crew. With the script in her hand, Nicole was kneeling in front of Michael and Harry in the picture. Her head was lowered as she attentively looked at the script with a humble attitude. However, the two male leads in front of her crossed their legs. As it was secretly taken from a distance, the expressions on their faces could not be clearly seen, but overall, the two men looked rather arrogant. With her posture, it looked like she was indeed kneeling in front of them. Then, manyments about ¡®bullying a new actress¡¯ and ¡®Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston are abusing their power¡¯ filled the news section. Many ghostwriters flooded thements section and repeated the few words from time to time, brainwashing the public¡¯s logic and causing the news to gain traction. ¡°Gosh, his image of a male idol ispletely ruined now! It seems that the rumors being spread online weren¡¯t for nothing. I can¡¯t believe that Taylor is this type of person!¡± ¡°There¡¯s even a picture as evidence this time! We¡¯ll see how the fans defend their idol this time! Taylor and Ethan have even forced her to kneel before them. Now, we know how they actually treat people!¡± ¡°We have to boycott ¡®War Dragon¡¯!¡± Sophia was so furious that it made her butt ache even more. Obviously, that was because Nicole had nowhere else to sit, so she temporarily kneeled there. I immediately brought her a stool! Who the hell uploaded this picture? This familiar tactic and the smell of the same form¡­ Sophia eyed X, who was touching her makeup. Even though X looked innocent, Sophia knew that she was definitely rted to the incident. After all, Glory Entertainment knows the best method to spread rumors. Could it be Richard? As Michael always speaks up for me, Richard has taken offense and used this opportunity to nder Michael? How disgusting! Seems like I¡¯ve been too easy on them! While she was busy replying to thements online, she did not forget to take a look at Nicole. As Nicole was busy filming, she did not have time to look at the news online. Although she was almost done with her scenes, the final parts had kept her busy, flying around in the air with metal cables tied to her. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sophia reminded Nicole¡¯s assistant not to allow her employer to be influenced by what she read online. When the filming crew were done with their work, everyone scrolled on their phone. Hence, some of them definitely saw the news and spread it among themselves. In no time, everyone in the filming crew understood what had happened. They were aware of Nicole¡¯s sense of professionalism and some of them even helped to speak up for her by revealing the truth online. In a short time, the full video had been leaked online. Finally, theizens finally knew what exactly had happened. However, Sophia felt that the matter would not end just like that. Sure enough, after dinner, the news exploded like wildfire once again, but in a different direction. In the afternoon, everyone still felt sorry for Nicole as they thought that she was being bullied by her seniors. However, by the time evening arrived, rumors had it that Nicole was the one who intentionally leaked the pictures and hired ghostwriters to nder Taylor and Ethan, using their fame to boost her own poprity. It had infuriated Taylor and Ethan¡¯s fans, who were canceling her online. With the influx of countless ghostwrites, the rumors couldn¡¯t be stopped at all. In just under one night, everyone started to hate Nicole and many reporters flocked to the film set to interview her. However, since Taylor and Ethan were experienced and famous actors, they refused the interview. On the other hand, Nicole was utilizing every second to shoot her scenes, so she had no time for any interviews. Since they weren¡¯t able to interview anyone, the media concocted many different stories and rumors to nder Nicole until everyone hated her. Meanwhile, they also ndered the filming crew of ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Taylor and Ethan¡¯s fans insisted that Nicole¡¯s role as the lead actress be swapped with someone else. If she was not changed, they would boycott ¡®War Dragon¡¯ to the end. When it came to ndering people, Glory Entertainment was an expert. Even some people in the filming crew were slightly unhappy with Nicole after being influenced by what they read on the news. They thought that she was the culprit behind the rumors to gain sympathy and fame. ¡°Taylor, look at Nicole¡ªthat b*tch! She even has the courage to use you to promote herself. See, you were insulted by the public in front of her. You have to tell the director to change that b*tch! Otherwise, the entire filming crew would be dragged down by her.¡± Olivia pouted as she pulled on Michael¡¯s sleeves. After all, she couldn¡¯t wait for him to ask the director to fire Nicole from the crew. As long as Taylor speaks up, the director will definitely agree with him! When the time arrives, I will definitely be the female lead! While looking at the scriptzily, Michael raised his gaze and nced at Sophia, who had been using his hotspot in the corner. Then, he told Olivia, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the directorter.¡± Upon hearing his reply, Olivia left happily to wait for her turn to be the female lead. Even X came over to congratte her in jealousy. The entire filming crew seemed to know that Nicole was about to be fired. However, at that moment, she had no idea about it as shecked the time to peruse the news online. On top of that, her assistant also forbade her to look at them and asked her to concentrate on the filming instead. In order to decrease the amount of bloopers, Nicole was memorizing her lines and practicing her moves whenever it was time for her to rest. Her stomach still hurt¡ªthe medicine had only alleviated the pain for a while. During the final fight scenes, her hand hurt so much that she couldn¡¯t even hold her cutleries. Every step on the ground felt like Nicole was stepping on knives. It was so painful that she almost burst into tears, but she still managed to suppress all of that. It will be a matter of time before I finish my scenes and everything will end! Upon hearing the conversation between Michael and Olivia, Sophia knew that he wanted to fire Nicole. Hence, amidst her anger, she stopped talking to him. With her butt slightly aching, she was angered to the point where she didn¡¯t want to use his hotspot anymore. She hid in another corner so that she wouldn¡¯t have to see him. The more she looked at thements online, the angrier she became Thements had insulted Nicole, the filming crew, and Michael. Argh! I¡¯m so angry! When she returned to the hotel, she was still furious when shey on the bed. Everyone is hating Nicole now. As long as Michael says something about it, everything will be fine. However, his position is much higher, so he will not speak about something like this. The more Sophia thought about it, the more her butt hurt. Shey on the bed on her belly with her butt facing the ceiling. We can never use the ¡®backdoor¡¯ again the next time! No way! Not even when Michael tries to seduce me! It¡¯s the same level of pain as the time I lost my virginity! With a towel around him, Michael came out of the bathroom and climbed onto the bed before he caressed her buttocks that faced upward. ¡°Does it still hurt?¡± Sophia¡¯s voice came from the pillow. ¡°It¡¯s none of your f*cking business.¡± Chapter 462 Chapter 462 Michael knew that she was still angry. I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t take the ¡®backdoor¡¯. While rubbing her buttocks to alleviate the pain, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about Nicole. It will be over in a while. We won¡¯t change the female lead, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Sophia snorted. While touching her smooth buttocks, his mind wandered elsewhere again. ¡°After all, we¡¯ve already slept together. I will uphold my promise that I made before. Sophia, who was in the nket, replied, ¡°Men are just so ruthless! After wearing your pants, everything else is not counted anymore!¡± He quickly defended himself. ¡°How is it so? Look at everything that I promised you¡ªI¡¯ve kept to them each time. When I say that I won¡¯t fire Nicole, I will keep to my word. Don¡¯t worry!¡± She was still furious. ¡°Olivia has always wanted the position of the female lead. If she uses your bunch of rtives to threaten you, will you give in?¡± He was still caressing her buttocks as he liked them the most. After practicing squats for a long time, her outline was extremely enticing as it was also quite toned. ¡°Nothing else matters.¡± He smiled. ¡°Hmph.¡± Sophia was still unhappy about it. However, Michael added, ¡°But, you know that the Murray Family is still my mother¡¯s family. If they really come to look for trouble or force me to fire Nicole, I will probably feel pressured.¡± Of course. No matter what, the Murray Family is still Elizabeth¡¯s maiden family. On top of that, her mother is still alive¡ªin her eighties. What if that olddyes to the filming set with a stick to look for trouble with Michael? It will be a tricky matter. She turned and asked anxiously, ¡°What should we do?¡± With a frown on his face, Michael pretended to be worried. ¡°If you can sleep with me for a few more times, I can totally settle this¡­¡± Sophia was speechless upon hearing that. Sure enough, there¡¯s nothing in the filming crew that the ¡®hidden rules¡¯ can¡¯t solve. After implementing the ¡®hidden rules¡¯, her butt ached even more as shey on the bed and groaned. In fact, he felt slightly sorry. After all, the incidents with the filming crew were minute that he would not need to speak up at all. The director was exceptionally satisfied with Nicole¡¯s performance, so there would not be any need to change her role. If everyone hates her, just let them be for the time being. After all, nothing else would make her more famous than a few malicious rumors. After some time when ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was about to be promoted, there would be more than enough time to clear her name. With that, Nicole would immediately gain poprity and people would like her. It was something that many famous celebrities used to increase their fame. He was just trying to scare Sophia and deliberately teased her. The Murray Family was nothing to Michael. After sleeping with him, Sophiay on the bed on her belly again to scroll on her phone while Michael thered some cream on her buttocks so that it would reduce the pain. After that, he switched on hisptop to have a video call with Old Master Fletcher since it was still early. After the call was connected, his caretaker fiddled around the camera to make some adjustments. In no time, his face was immediately seen on the screen. With a pair of sses on his face, he greeted Michael energetically. ¡°Mikey, are you done with the filming?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Soon.¡± Then, they saw Nathan walking past with a huge orange cat in his hands. After ncing at the camera, he walked away again with a frustrated expression on his face. Michael took the opportunity to look at Nathan. How pitiful. His baby fat is all gone now, but he looks more like a man. It¡¯s about time that he needs to learn to be mature. Sophia was still on her phone with her belly on the bed. In fact, she was hiding at a spot that was not noticeable by the camera. If Old Master Fletcher sees me in Michael¡¯s bed, he¡¯s going to pester me again! During the time that she was at the film studio, Old Master Fletcher had asionally pestered her as he could not wait for her to marry one of the guys in his family. She listened to their conversation on the side. After hearing Michael finish the call, she asked, ¡°Your nickname is ¡®Mikey¡¯. What about your sister?¡± Michael replied, ¡°I¡¯m Mikey while she is Celie.¡± Suddenly, Sean sent a message to her. ¡®Sophia, when and where did you take this picture?¡¯ He sent a picture of her and an unknown handsome guy. Sophia immediately answered him with the location and the time as it was still fresh in her memory. After all, the guy was too handsome for her to forget, so she wanted his number and Twitter and Messenger handles to admire his pictures. However, she merely looked at him without having the guts to ask him about it. Why is Sean asking about this? Has he finally decided to leave Stanley, the rtionship nerd? ¡®Why are you asking about this?¡¯ Sean erged the picture until he could see the background before zooming into a man¡¯s figure and adjusted the rity of the photo to the maximum. In no time, his side profile appeared in front of Sophia. His tilted face looked calm and cool while the end of his blond hair slightly touched his eyebrows when he lowered his blue eyes. With a pair of sunsses in his hands, he looked like he was about to wear them. He asked, ¡®Who do you think this person looks like?¡¯ While looking at the man nkly, she suddenly realized something. It¡¯s Cooper! She recalled the picture of Cooper and Annabel¡ªthe background of that picture was precisely the filming studio, so it was not a surprise that he would be there. So, Cooper has visited this filming studio before? After looking at the picture in a daze for a few more seconds, tears suddenly streamed down Sophia¡¯s face. Cooper, are you here to reminisce about your Anna? After a while, she wiped her tears away and saw Sean¡¯s text. ¡®Sophia, I was investigating the case back then. When Uncle Cooper was in the car ident, his body was badly injured to the point where it was not recognizable. Only the DNA results confirmed his identity. Two days ago, when I saw this picture, I visited his grave to have a look. I wanted to take his corpse topare his DNA and the report to confirm it again, but I realized that someone has broken into his grave before. The coffin is gone. Sophia, I think he might still be alive. Because he couldn¡¯t ovee the incidents that happened before, he chose to stage his own death as a way to be free. Stanley and I are on our way to the airport. I¡¯m flying over to look for Uncle Cooper. Regardless of whether that man is him or not, I still want to have a look.¡¯ Meanwhile, Michael was looking at Nathan¡¯s pictures that Gary had sent. After that, he turned and saw Sophia looking at her phone in a daze before ncing at her chat with Sean. Michael never nned on telling her about Cooper¡¯s reappearance in the event that it was a mistake. He didn¡¯t want her to be disappointed after having her hopes up. On top of that, whether Cooper truly reappeared was a mere spection. What I never expected is that Sean also can¡¯t forget about Cooper. He erged the picture of Sophia that she took with Linus and adjusted the rity to the maximum. Sure enough, in the corner of the picture, a man who looked like Cooper was standing there. Based on everything he had investigated about Cooper, that person was definitely him. Seems like it¡¯s time to get in touch with the Mitchell Family to learn about the truth. However, Michael thought that it would be for the best if one of the Mitchells did it. The next morning, right after Sophia was dressed, Stanley sneaked into their room as soon as Michael opened the door. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Stanley was immediately shocked by the design of the room. He was greeted by the sight of the love swing, the sex toys, the huge bed, and the home cinema. Many R-rated movies were in the drawers and there were also many sexy postersying around¡­ ¡°What the f*ck? You guys even have a love swing? The f*ck! Look at the lighting of the room and its design! Gosh, both of you are so shameless! I can¡¯t even bear to look at this!¡± Chapter 463 Chapter 463 Meanwhile, Sean had also informed Michael about the reason why he wasing. ¡°Here¡¯s what happened¡ªeveryone in the Mitchell Family is aware that Uncle Cooper¡¯s coffin has disappeared. We believe that it¡¯s because he is still alive. We analyzed the picture that Sophia took and are sure that it¡¯s definitely Uncle Cooper! We won¡¯t be wrong!¡± While thinking about Cooper¡¯s coffin in the basement, even though it wasn¡¯t really him in there, Michael still felt guilty. As he brushed his teeth, he said, ¡°Yeah, Cooper is a senior whom I really respect. It would be for the best if he¡¯s still alive. If you need any help, just message me and I¡¯ll try my best.¡± He had been secretly looking for Cooper all the while and had to keep the news low. However, Sean could look for him in the open as he knew more about Cooper than Michael did. If Sean joined the search, there could be a huge surprise waiting for them. An ecstatic Sean said, ¡°That¡¯s great! Thanks, Michael!¡± After having his breakfast, Michael went to the film set while Sophia and Stanley apanied Sean to the city in search of Cooper. Michael had sent a few people to help them out too¡ªHale, Maria, and a few others, but they were actually there to inspect the progress. Many people were there in the film studio as usual. While standing on the bridge, Stanley looked at the heads of the crowd below him. It was so crowded that everyone¡¯s heads practically touched each other, which triggered his trypophobia. As he shuddered, heined, ¡°How on earth are we going to find him? Look at the people below!¡± Sean took out a stack of old photographs from his jacket. ¡°I know why Uncle Cooper returned here. He came here with someone else once. He¡¯s actually a nostalgic person. So, if he really visited here, there¡¯s something in this ce that he wants to revisit. We¡¯ll be able to find him once we look for the thing.¡± Sophia remained silent all the while and she continued to do so. While looking at the picture that Sean passed over quietly, she saw Cooper standing at the entrance of the film studio with a wide beam on his face. There were also a few other pictures of Cooper at various tourist spots at the studio. ¡°I found these pictures in Uncle Cooper¡¯s old room. 20 years ago, he visited this ce and left many pictures detailing his visit behind. But, do you guys think that someone is missing here?¡± Sean asked as he held a picture up. A shocked Stanley asked, ¡°Who¡¯s missing?¡± Sean answered, ¡°The photographer.¡± Stanley looked at the picture for a couple more times. ¡°The Mitchell Family is so rich. I¡¯m sure a bunch of people must have followed him whenever he walked around. There would have been plenty of people to take pictures for him!¡± ¡°No, no, no.¡± Sean shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve asked the people who knew about this matter. 21 years ago, when Uncle Cooper came, he actually brought his girlfriend. It was also because of this trip that their rtionship was exposed to the family. Back then, this film studio was merely an ancient city. On the third day that they arrived here, they were dragged to the Mitchell Residence where the girl¡­ was sentenced to death by the Mitchell Family.¡± Stanley was extremely shocked to hear that and broke the silence after a long time. ¡°There should be one more person in the picture, considering that it is their final memory together. I presume that¡¯s the reason why Uncle Cooper came here.¡± Sean smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s follow the locations that are in the pictures to look for him, one by one. Even though we might not find them, there are definitely some trails that he left behind!¡± While listening to their conversation, Hale was secretly reporting to Michael. On the film set, when Michael heard the news, he was quite excited. Sure enough, it¡¯s easier for someone in the Mitchell Family to look for him! Perhaps this time around, we can finally catch Cooper¡¯s tail! In the film studio, Sean was leading the group while Stanley and Sophia followed behind. While they were walking, Stanley noticed that Sophia remained silent. After he turned, he suddenly patted her shoulders when he saw her looking at Cooper¡¯s pictures in a daze, which frightened her. ¡°Hey, Sophia! What are you daydreaming about?¡± Sophia quickly replied, ¡°Nothing. I just think that Mr. Cooper is too handsome, so I was too engrossed when I saw the pictures.¡± Feeling a wave of disgust, Stanley said solemnly as he grabbed her shoulders, ¡°Sophia, you already slept with Uncle Michael, so you have to be loyal to him. Don¡¯t think about other men now. You can only think of Uncle Michael, but if you have space for another man, it will have to be me.¡± She rolled her eyes as usual as they continued to walk around. Sophia continued to look at the pictures in her hands, recalling the picture that the couple took at the masonry bridge.Was I already in my mother¡¯s womb at that time? Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Annabel and Cooper weren¡¯t the only ones in the pictures¡ªshe was there too, still a fetus. Sean took out the map of the film studio and arranged a route based on the tourist spots in the pictures before they began to look around. Since he was a part of the Mitchell Family, he was able to search for Cooper in the open. When he arrived at the film studio, he had already scanned through all the surveince cameras, but it was a futile effort. However, nothing was more urate than a pair of human eyes. Hence, he started to show pictures of Cooper to the shop owners near the ces where he could have appeared. It was a grand project indeed! After asking around for an entire day, Sean¡¯s effort did not reap any positive efforts at all. None of the shop owners had seen Cooper as there were simply too many people around, so it was unlikely that they would remember the faces. On top of that, Cooper had a face that resembled a local¡¯s. He would not have stood out among the crowd or even entered the shops at all. In the evening, after Michael returned to the hotel, he saw Sean, Stanley, and Sophia in front of three separateptops in the study of the suite, looking as though they were searching for something. ¡°Uncle Michael, wee back.¡± Stanley greeted him as soon as he saw Michael. Even though thetter knew that they did not manage to find anything, he pretended to ask, ¡°How¡¯s the search?¡± Sean replied, ¡°We asked a few shop owners and roadside stalls, but none of them have seen Cooper. We will continue the search tomorrow, but we¡¯re now looking for some information online. We noticed Uncle Cooper from Sophia¡¯s pictures by ident. Perhaps he might show up in other people¡¯s pictures too. Right now, we are looking for a few keywords on the Inte.¡± Michael walked over to have a look at the progress of their work. Truth to be told, the methods they used were quite inefficient, considering that Sean merely searched for ¡®xx film studio¡¯ in the search engine and set the time to the recent few days. Then, he looked for the thousands of pictures that showed up. All the results from Twitter, IG Stories, forums, and blogs were more than tens of thousands. How long are they going to take? They continued until evening had arrived. Even though Sean and Stanley had returned to their room, Sophia was still on herptop, refusing to throw in the towel. She searched all of the pictures¡ªone by one¡ªwith precise caution until her eyes reddened. Sure enough, her father was more important to the point where she did not even care about Nicole being ridiculed by the anti-fans. When Nicole was filming the lead actress¡¯ final few scenes, a few anti-fans suddenly barged into the film set and poured ck ink on Nicole. Soon, it was reported on the news online. Upon seeing that Sophia was serious about searching for Cooper, Michael did not distract her. When she started to search for her father, she did not care about other matters. Even though he was already well-prepared and waiting for her to start the action on the bed, she was glued to her seat. He had already fallen asleep by the time dawn arrived. Suddenly, he heard a loud noise in his dreams as she jumped on the bed and shook him. ¡°I found him! I found him! I finally found Daddy!¡± Chapter 464 Chapter 464 Michael quickly rubbed his eyes in a state of sleepiness before he rose to look at Sophia¡¯s results. She was in charge of browsing through Twitter and some forums. After she searched the keywords in Twitter and scrolled through hundreds of posts, she finally discovered some of the trails that Cooper left behind¡ªit was a picture that was posted two days ago when a female tourist took a selfie with a selfie stick at the film studio. In the picture, the prettydy had revealed half of her face while dedicating most of the space to a man behind her who wore a ck coat. Although only half of his face with an indifferent expression was also revealed, Sophia could immediately tell that he was Cooper right away. Thedy uploaded the picture onto Twitter and wrote a post that included the keywords that Sophia searched for¡ª¡®xx film studio¡¯. Her original post was ¡®At XX film studio, when I was taking a selfie, I found a handsome man. *shy emoji* I think he might be one of the actors. Does anyone know who this handsomed is? Please let me know his name and Twitter handle!¡¯ Obviously, when she took a selfie, an unaware Cooper had barged into the camera. She quietly took a picture of him and uploaded it on Twitter under the pretext of a selfie. Even though only half of his face was shown, the quality of the picture was rather clear as a result of his close distance to her. That is Cooper! Michael now looked at the three musketeers in a different light. Their idea actually worked! I can¡¯t believe that they managed to find him! Sophia immediately called Sean and Stanley over. When they realized that they finally found another picture of Cooper, they were over the moon for a while before discussing how to look for him in person. Upon looking at the female tourist¡¯s post, she realized that her followers left a fewments there. ¡®Girl, why don¡¯t you tag a few official ounts so that they will retweet this for you? With more people helping you, you can definitely find him. Even though it¡¯s not very likely that the official ounts will be of assistance, it¡¯s still worth a shot to tag a few of them.¡¯ ¡®Here, I¡¯ll tag both of them for you. My idols are filming there too. Taylor Murray. Ethan Winston.¡¯ Upon seeing the female tourist¡¯s interaction with her followers, Sophia suddenly had a bold idea¡ªto ¡®identally¡¯ make Cooper famous on the Inte so that everyone would be on the lookout for him. On top of that, it was an easy n to execute since there were people with millions of followers on Twitter around her. Late at night, Harry, who was fast asleep, was suddenly woken up by Michael. With a dazed expression, he looked at Michael with bloodshot eyes. ¡°Bro, have you gone bananas? Why are you waking me up in the middle of the night?¡± Michael stood at Harry¡¯s doorway with a phone in his hands. ¡°Get up to post something on Twitter.¡± Harry asked, ¡°What?¡± Taking out his phone, he saw that Michael had retweeted a fan¡¯s Twitter post. Basically, one of their fans spotted a handsome man in the film studio and secretly took a picture of him. Then, she uploaded it on Twitter to ask for theizens¡¯ help to look for him. ¡°Gosh, I didn¡¯t know that you¡¯re such a kind-hearted person to look for your fan¡¯s crush.¡± While teasing Michael, Harry retweeted the post as well and looked at the handsome man before adopting a serious expression the moment he saw the picture. ¡°The f*ck, you could even find that! What the f*ck! What are you nning to do? OMG, you even thought of that?!¡±Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. After Michael and Harry retweeted the post, their action had created a huge effect on the Inte. Considering that they had arge fanbase, the total number of fans for the both of them could easily reach up to 100 million. On top of that, Cooper was a handsome person, much more than the young actors and the Inte celebrities. In an instant, the few tweets were retweeted over tens of thousands of times. The only people that the film studio did notck were celebrities since they had a great influence. Once they had shared the post, Michael and Harry messaged some of their colleagues to retweet the same tweet. Within a day, half of the entertainment industry retweeted the picture of Cooper to search for him. Cooper had be an Inte sensation in two days. Not only did every celebrity in Cethos knew about Cooper, but even their fans were aware of him. It was true that when more people helped, more power woulde. Manyizens constantly updated the Inte with thetest news about Cooper. Sophia, Sean, and Stanley stayed in the hotel to gather the replies that they received on the Inte. Even Michael sent those whom he could think of to help the three of them out. ount A: ¡®Is this the man whom you are looking for? Two days ago, I was eating in a restaurant located at the ancient part of the film studio and he sat right across me, deep in his thoughts. He merely sat there without moving and didn¡¯t even eat the food that he ordered. What a mncholic man. This is a picture that I¡¯ve secretly taken. I hope he won¡¯t kill me after seeing this.¡¯ ount B: ¡®Wow! So, I¡¯m not the only person who saw him! Four days ago, at the South Game, I saw him in a convenience store. It was ate, rainy night. He immediately left after purchasing an umbre. At that time, he was standing beside me and my gosh, he¡¯s really handsome! His eyes had the color of sky blue! I was totally stunned, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any pictures.¡¯ ount C: ¡®Four days ago, in a pub at the first street of the film studio, I saw him. He left a deep impression on me, but I didn¡¯t take any pictures because the lighting was too dim.¡¯ ount D: ¡®I also took a picture of him! He was wearing the ck coat that he bought at a clothes store at the North Entrance. I was also buying some clothes at that time and secretly took a picture of him from my changing room. Please show yourself, handsome man! Would an entertainment agency quickly sign him up as a celebrity? I want to see him on TV!¡¯ In merely two days, Sean had received dozens of pictures of Cooper that tourists around the film studio identally took. They took the pictures and visited the restaurant, convenience store, pub, and clothing store that the netizens mentioned. After asking the store owners and showing pictures that were almost two decades old, they received a positive confirmation. The store owners had all seen Cooper¡ªthe man in the picture. Even though the pictures were close to two decades old, he hadn¡¯t changed much in terms of looks. After the three musketeers analyzed Cooper¡¯s pictures and discovered the ces that he had visited, many of it were the same spots that he visited two decades ago. Sure enough, he was there to reminisce about his past with Annabel. When he learned that Cooper was still alive, Sean was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. The greatest treasure of the Mitchell Family is going to return soon! On the film set of ¡®War Dragon¡¯, Michael started to scroll through Twitter after he finished filming. Under his retweet, he saw tens of thousands ofments with many of them containing useful information. Once theizens saw beneficial information, they would click the ¡®like¡¯ button. When there were more likes attached to the tweet, it would be at the top of the timeline. He didn¡¯t even have to search for it to obtain thetest news of Cooper. While reading through thements, Michael was also impressed by the people¡¯s power; it was much simpler and more efficient than him searching for Cooper himself. In just two days, everyone knew Cooper¡¯s face. Meanwhile, the filming crew were filming the female lead¡¯sst scenes. Once the particr scene was done, Nicole would have finished with all of her movie scenes. In the final scene, after the male and female lead had saved the people whom they wanted to save, they bade farewell to each other. At thest cut, she would turn and walk away without an ending for both of them, leaving a room for the audience to imagine the ending. Toward the end, Nicole brought her sister into the car and slowly walked away from the camera. ¡°Cut! Perfect!¡± When Nicole finally finished all of her parts in the movie, apuse rang around the entire film set. With that, her tensed nerves finally rxed. Just as she was about to thank everyone, she wobbled and fainted as soon as she raised her hands. ¡­¡­ ¡®The man whom you guys are looking for is here! It¡¯s 2.23PM now. He¡¯s at the modern area of the film studio¡ªStreet No. 82! He¡¯s taking a picture in front of the masonry bridge. Quicklye here!¡¯ Chapter 465 Chapter 465 Thatment was suddenly posted under Michael¡¯s tweet. After reading that, Sophia immediately rushed to the modern area with Sean and Stanley. Cooper is still in the film studio! She was so excited that she almost burst into tears. I¡¯m going to meet Cooper soon! I will have a father soon! When they finally arrived at the modern area where Cooper had allegedly appeared, many people were already there¡ªmost were the fans from Twitter. After she ignored the crowd, she saw a tall man in the middle, who was at least 1.9 meters tall. He was blond and he wore a ck coat, having a simr posture to Cooper in the pictures. Upon looking at his back, Sophia was stunned. After searching for him for a long time, the person whom she had been looking for now stood in front of her, but she did not dare to take another step further. Everything was perfect in that moment¡ªlike she was in a dream. She was worried that the dream would disintegrate and fall apart like bubbles once she took another step forward. While holding his breath, Sean walked forward in nervousness. Before he could approach Cooper, the man had already turned to look at them. The moment he turned had shocked both Sean and Stanley. He had a handsome appearance with golden blond hair, prominent facial features, and eyes that shone like blue jewels. However, he was not Cooper. Indeed, they looked very simr¡ªalmost 95% alike. After taking into ount that most locals shared simr facial features, the picture uploaded online was merely a picture after all. Hence, the man looked exactly like Cooper on it. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. However, everyone in the Mitchell Family lived together after all, so Sean was very close to Cooper. The first time he saw the man, he almost thought that it was Cooper. Now that he took a second nce, he could tell the difference. Sean stopped in his excited footsteps and stood rooted to the ground for a long time without moving. In the end, he turned in disappointment and nced at Stanley and Sophia for a long time before saying with regrets, ¡°They just look alike. He is not Cooper.¡± Sophia, who was waiting to be reunited with her father, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her. Filled with disappointment, she looked at that man in a daze with a nk mind. They just look alike? The person whom we are looking for these past few days¡­ He is just someone who bears a simr appearance to Cooper? Maybe, the man whom Nicole saw seven years ago is also this man, not Cooper. In that case, is everything a misunderstanding then? A misunderstanding that dated from seven years ago? All the surprises that I received were nothing after all? Sophia had no idea when she left that ce or how she walked away. She mechanically followed behind Sean and Stanley until they arrived at a cafe. After she drank a cup of hot coffee, she finally returned to her senses. The aroma from the three cups of coffee spread in the air, but the three of them remained silent. After being busy for the past two days, everything was merely a misunderstanding. Of course they would be unhappy about it. Sean had hoped all along that Cooper could return to the Mitchell Family and salvage the current situation¡ªAlex fooled around for his personal gains and Old Master Mitchell could no longer hold it together anymore. Cooper was the only person who could save them. But¡­ Sophia felt like bursting into tears, but tried to act normally in front of Sean, so she took her phone out to read thetest news. The man who looked like Cooper now became extremely famous. Due to his appearance, the fans took a liking to him. On top of that, they were in a film studio, so many higher-ups involved in the entertainment industry were also there. Even though he only appeared for a short time, he was invited for a chat by a few directors of the nearby film set. With his looks and a model¡¯s height, he could build a strong fanbase, so many people want to sign him up and promote him. In such a short period of time, there were many videos of him online. In the videos, the man who looked like Cooper spoke in broken English. Upon facing therge fanbase, his blue iris reflected fear and helplessness. I guess this expression will never appear on Cooper¡¯s face. While looking at the man, Sophia tried to imagine what an older Cooper would look like. I wonder if we will get to meet each other in this lifetime. Suddenly, Maria called her. ¡°Madam, Nicole finished all of her scenes yesterday, but after shepleted her filming, she lost consciousness. She¡¯s now in hospital and about to be transferred to the one in Bayside City. Are you going to visit her?¡± Nicole has finished with all of her parts and she fainted? Since Sophia was busy with looking for Cooper for the past few days, she did not visit the film set, so she had no idea what had happened there. After she put her phone down, Sophia quickly said, ¡°I¡¯m going to the hospital to visit a friend. You guys should grab something to eat first.¡± Although Sean was in low spirits, he tried to act cheerful. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯ve been helping us out for the past few days. We¡¯ll apany you to visit your friend.¡± Sophia rejected them immediately. ¡°That¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not suitable for you guys to be there. She has gynaecological problems.¡± She thought, If I visit Nicole, I will definitely tell her about the fake Cooper. After all, she has been waiting for him for seven years, so it would be expected that she would share about the incident seven years ago. Then, Sean and Stanley will know that I¡¯ve seen the pictures of the fake Cooper before this. Logically speaking, if she had seen the picture, she would definitely have said it aloud and informed Sean. However, she didn¡¯t do that. Since Sean is so thoughtful, he might assume that there is more to this than meets the eye. Since Sophia had already rejected them, Sean also stopped insisting. ¡°In that case, let me drive you there since I drove here.¡± Then, Sean and Stanley drove her to a florist to buy some flowers before they went to the hospital. After the car stopped, she hurriedly exited the car with the flowers in her hand. ¡°You don¡¯t have to wait for me here. I¡¯ll head back on my own.¡± ¡­ In the car, Stanley yawned. ¡°I¡¯m dead on my feet after searching around for two days. I¡¯m going back to the hotel to rest first.¡± Sean, who was in the driver¡¯s seat, looked calm andposed. However, he suddenly said, ¡°Sophia¡¯s presents are still here. Stanley, rest in the car for a bit first while I send this to her.¡± Stanleyy down in the backseat of the car and closed his eyes. ¡°Go, go!¡± Sean exited the car and walked upstairs without locking his car. In the ward, Sophia found Nicole and saw her case history folder. ¡°My goodness! Why didn¡¯t you tell us that you sustained many injuries? Yet, you flew here and there in the air with the metal cables around you! If something happens to you, what will the kids at the orphanage do?¡± Not only did Nicole suffer some slight internal hemorrhage, but she also had many bone fractures, many of which were from old injuries. She had not said a word about that and persisted while filming many intense action scenes for a long time. Laying on the bed, Nicole had removed all of her makeup; her face looked extremely pale with little trace of blood at all. Even she spoke in a soft voice. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s an action film, after all, so it¡¯s normal to have injuries.¡± She did not like to trouble others with her matters, so she was used to handling everything herself. Even though Sophia only hung out with Nicole for less than a month, she understood thetter¡¯s behavior well and merely shook her head helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m still looking forward to your future movies. If you are crippled now, do you know how sad I will be?¡± After chatting with Nicole, Sophia suddenly remembered about the fake Cooper and quickly took out her phone to show her his video. ¡°See, the man you met seven years ago is also here in the film studio and he¡¯s even famous now! He¡¯s been hired by a famous director. You have to take care of yourself, especially when you guys might have an opportunity to coborate together!¡± Even though I didn¡¯t manage to look for my father, I found the man Nicole has been thinking about for years. This is something good, at least. Perhaps, their rtionship might blossom into something else! Chapter 466 Chapter 466 Nicole was surrounded with scandals as ofte, but her assistant and manager were worried that the bad press would influence her emotions and prevented her from reading the news online. It was only now that she was aware of the fake Cooper incident, which made her pleasantly surprised. ¡°He¡¯s now an Inte sensation?¡± Nicole eximed. ¡°With the possibility of entering show business?¡± She snatched the cell phone from Sophia and reyed the uploaded video of the Cooper lookalike. The more she watched it, the more excited she became. Sophia reiterated the news that was announced a few days ago. ¡°Talk about coincidences. Your crush has been hanging around at the film studio for a few days. He must have been handsome for someone to have taken a picture of him and uploaded it on social media. Taylor and Lord Winston must have seen it and reshared it too, leading him to be an overnight Inte sensation. Look, this video was only uploaded three hours ago. A famous director has already assigned a role to him. Who knows if you might run into him at one of the filming sites? Here¡¯s your chance!¡± An initially ted Nicole yed the video several times, but her happiness soon fell into disappointment. ¡°He¡¯s just a lookalike. He¡¯s not the one.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t believe what she heard. Nicole thought Sophia had misheard her and repeated, ¡°I appreciate what you¡¯ve done, but this person is not him. He just looks very much like him.¡± Before Sophia could respond, Nicole added, ¡°I met him five days ago. The man in this video isn¡¯t him, but a doppelganger. Look at him and watch how he speaks. The one whom I met speaks fluently without any ent.¡± She continued topare the video and Cooper¡¯s photograph, picking on every single detail. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have an arched eyebrow and canine teeth. Even his hairline isn¡¯t the same. I spoke to him five days ago. He still remembers me and this person isn¡¯t him.¡± Sophia, who was still in disbelief, inquired, ¡°Are you really sure?¡± Nicole replied calmly, ¡°I¡¯ve been looking at his photographs every single day for the past seven years. I can¡¯t be wrong.¡± She pulled out more photographs of Cooper from the album to study them one by one and pointed with her finger. ¡°This is him. The person in the picture isn¡¯t him; it¡¯s just someone who looks like Cooper. Have a look at this picture¡ªnow, this is him. He doesn¡¯t have that ck windbreaker on him because he gave it to me. Do you notice how the doppelganger is still wearing it in this photo? His facial expression obviously does not match. Based on what you¡¯ve just said, he bought an umbre and a windbreaker from the convenience store five days ago. It was on the same night that I bumped into him and he gave both items to me. Meanwhile, in this photo, which was taken three days ago, he¡¯s still having that umbre and wearing the windbreaker, which means that it isn¡¯t him,¡± Nicole stated as a matter of fact. Sophia¡¯s mind went nk again. If that was the case, it means that the person whom Nicole met seven years ago was indeed the real Cooper Mitchell! It meant that he truly made an appearance at the film studio where he encountered Nicole and spoke to her before even giving his umbre and windbreaker to her. After Nicole pieced all of the pieces, she noticed a dumbfounded Sophia and felt bad for wasting the latter¡¯s intentions and efforts. ¡°Thank you once again, really. At least this person looks like his clone. Who knows if he¡¯s still around¡­¡± Sophia summoned her courage and yanked a photograph that was taken about twenty years ago from her pocket. In it was a younger Cooper standing with a group on a masonry bridge. Unfortunately, her mother was not in the picture. ¡°Have a look. Is this the man you said you met seven years ago?¡± The moment Nicole saw that photograph, she was shocked. ¡°Where did you get the picture from? Yes, that¡¯s definitely him. I ran into him five nights ago near that masonry bridge. Only God knew how long he stood there for. Even the spot where he stood and his posture are exactly the same.¡± She finally understood¡ªCooper had a photo taken on the bridge before, so he could have returned to reminisce about something. With all of her questions answered by Nicole, Sophia was numbed from all the emotions within. Her search for her father had been nothing but twists and turns! Every time she was about to throw in the towel, fate would step in and throw her a surprise. Just four hours ago, she anticipated the opportunity of meeting her father, only to discover that the man was not the real deal. Yet, four hourster, she discovered that the real deal was once so close. In short, the person Nicole saw was the actual Cooper Mitchell. Some of the photos that were posted online were indeed him. However, after he became an Inte sensation, he hired a body double as a decoy so that he would not be found. Sophia held the photograph in her trembling hand. ¡°Sean, what are you doing here?¡± A low voice came in from the entrance and caused Sophia to rise on her feet. She headed toward the ajar door and swung it open¡ªthere stood Sean. Behind him were Michael and Harry with a rather ominous expression. Both men held a bouquet of flowers each in their hands as they meant to pay Nicole a visit. ¡°Sean, when did you arrive?¡± Sophia looked at Sean in surprise. Could he have been here for some time? How much did he hear from my conversation with Nicole earlier? The things that happened seven years ago or just five days ago ¡°Sophia, I-I just arrived. You left something at my ce, so I thought that I should bring it over to you,¡± Sean stuttered, going out of his way to avoid her gaze¡ªa dead giveaway that he had a guilty conscience. A hand suddenlynded on his shoulder before he was shoved into an adjacent empty ward. Michael entered after Sean while Hale guarded the ward entrance. Sophia was in a daze; it wasn¡¯t until Michael manhandled Sean that she finally returned to her senses. She was not sure how much Sean had heard. However, judging from Michael¡¯s expression, it looked like he intended for Sean to bring it to his grave. Although Sean was unaware of Sophia¡¯s true identity, it would not take long for the Mitchell Family to learn of the secret. If Michael had his way, he would have ended the matter in that instant¡­ Sophia realized what was about to happen and barged into the room, only to see Danny¡¯s hand around Sean¡¯s neck. Michael really means it! He wants Sean dead! ¡°Stop!¡± She lunged forward and shoved Danny aside. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch him!¡± She nted herself between Sean and Michael and stared at thetter. Now that she was around, it was inconvenient for Danny to execute his kill order and looked at Michael for his next instruction. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Michael lowered his head and peered at Sophia with a frown. Sophia returned the gaze. If he dared toy a hand on Sean, she was ready to make him regret his decision. It wasn¡¯t long before an awkward silence ensued. Sean let out a couple of ufortable coughs before resting his hand firmly on her shoulder. ¡°Cough¡­ So, you are really my rtive. It¡¯s a shame that I¡¯m only knowing you now.¡± Sophia turned her head and nced at Sean, but said nothing. Then, she turned to face Michael. Michael never expected him to know that much. ¡°How much do you actually know?¡± Chapter 467 Chapter 467 Michael finally asked Sean. By that point, Sean decided that he had nothing to lose and fished out a photograph from his pocket. ¡°I found a photo of Uncle Cooper and his girlfriend.¡± Michael snatched the photograph from Sean¡ªin it was Cooper and Annabel. She was only about 17 or 18 when she took that photo andpared to Sophia in her twenties, the resemnce was uncanny! Sean continued, ¡°Back when the old man thought I was Uncle Cooper, we talked and he would tell me stories about how he secretly let the girl go. I only assumed that he was rambling. It was only after he showed me this picture that I realized how much Sophia resembles the girl in it. Also, when the Old Master treated her as Uncle Cooper, I began to pick up on things.¡± ¡°About that financial incident in Kuwait, I was the one who disclosed it to Sophia. My guess was that if she¡¯s Uncle Cooper¡¯s daughter, she would be able to find a way to run off with the money. When it really happened, I knew that my suspicions were confirmed.¡± After Sean hade clean, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but feel flustered. It turned out that they were deceiving each other all along¡ªshe pretended that she ran off with the money while he hid the fact that he already knew that she was the one who did it. He yed dumb when he knew everything that happened. Michael had more questions and asked sternly, ¡°Is that all? Is there anyone else who knows about this?¡± Sophia was shocked as she had never seen her husband¡¯s cold, somber side before. Sean immediately answered, ¡°The old man secretly gave me this picture when he thought I was his son. I¡¯ve been investigating this on my own all this while. No one knew¡ªnot even my grandfather. Initially, I never knew that Uncle Cooper had any children and I wasn¡¯t prepared to drag Sophia into the Mitchell Family¡¯s mess. I only wanted to fulfil the old man¡¯s wishes. When I knew that Uncle Cooper was still alive, I was hoping to look for him through you and Sophia. I swear I never told anyone!¡± Once he said those words, he closed his eyes, resigning to his fate of having his life being taken by Michael. ¡°It¡¯s pointless for me to continue with my life. Michael, if you want to take my life, please do. My only request is that you would look for Uncle Cooper and bring him home as the Mitchell Family needs him.¡± Michael regarded Sean with his cold stare and deep in his thoughts. Sophia had made it clear that he was not to harm Sean. Sean was her brother and he was the one who cared for Old Master Mitchell all along. When Natasha had kidnapped Sophia, Sean was the first one to head out and rescue her, even having a near death encounter with the Phantom Wolf. Michael nced at a determined Sophia before looking at Sean, who was prepared to sacrifice his life and still remained speechless. Sean¡¯s life was at his mercy. Stanley¡¯s voice reverberated through the door all of a sudden. ¡°Eh? Mr. Harry, what are you doing here? Where are Sophia and Sean?¡± Harry replied, ¡°Silly dog, why are you not heading home yet?¡± In the ward, Michael finally broke the silence. ¡°I don¡¯t give a d*mn as to what happens in the Mitchell Family. If the Mitchell Family dares toy a hand on my woman, don¡¯t me me for being mean by then.¡± Upon realizing his close escape from death, Sean promised, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Michael. I won¡¯t tell a single soul. Sophia¡¯s not just my sister, but she¡¯s also my friend.¡± Michael turned and left. As he opened the door and walked out, Sophia let out a sigh of relief. Sophia and Sean were the only ones left in the ward. He stood up and pulled Sophia with him. In his usual tone, he said, ¡°Sophia, let¡¯s borrow the windbreaker from Nicole. If we are lucky, we might still be able to look for Uncle Cooper¡¯s DNA on it.¡± Sophia was still flustered by how much Sean knew about her secret. She nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± While leaving the ward, they noticed Michael and Harry had already given Nicole the bouquets and headed downstairs. Stanley came up and asked, ¡°What are you guys up to?¡± Sophia proceeded to borrow Cooper¡¯s windbreaker from Nicole. Nicole cooperated, but on one condition. ¡°Can you tell me how he¡¯s¡­ really like?¡± By that point, she would have easily figured out that Sophia had a rtionship of some kind with Cooper and did not ask for much, not even his identity, but rather only his name. Sophia looked at Sean for help. He paused and gave it a thought before he answered, ¡°He¡¯s a rtive of mine. He¡¯s been out of the country for more than a decade to hide from his enemies who wanted his life. I only learned a couple of days ago that he quietly returned to the country, which was the reason why I came to the film studio to look for him. Ms. Walker, you have been of great help to us in looking for him. However, I hope that you would keep this to yourself to avoid his enemies from getting to him first.¡± Nicole paused before firmly replying, ¡°I will.¡± Sophia and Sean began to leave, but before they exited, she turned to see Nicole, still in a trance, on the bed and added, ¡°His name is Cooper Mitchell.¡± The door was then closed, leaving Nicole alone in the ward again. She repeated his name. ¡°Cooper Mitchell¡­¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sophia and Sean strode onto the parking lot where parked beside his car was Michael¡¯s SUV. Michael knew that they would look for Cooper¡¯s lookalike and what would ensue as a result. He then learned that Sophia was paying Nicole a visit at the hospital and decided to drop by, but he did not expect to see Sean eavesdropping at the door. Both vehicles drove off¡ªone after another. On the way back, Sophia reiterated what she learned from Nicole with excitement. Listening to all that happened suddenly felt like a rollercoaster ride for Michael. There was so much drama that was filled with suspense and climax¡ªnot even a movie script could be written in that manner! If Cooper¡¯s story is ever adapted into a film, I¡¯ll definitely sign on to y the role of his father! At the same time, Michael was analyzing the situation at hand¡ªit seemed that Cooper knew that someone would search for him from the shadows. Would Cooper have approached him via Twitter? After all, it was a tweet that turned him into an online sensation. If that was the case, he could have sat back and waited for Cooper to surface on his own. Sophia took Nicole¡¯s room card from her and entered the hotel room where she saw a ck windbreaker hanging on a coat rack. Cooper Mitchell wore this! Nicole left it hanging there ever since she brought it back. Apart from her, no one had touched it. Sophia was about to grab the windbreaker, but Stanley abruptly pped her hand. ¡°Eddie Fletcher, please watch where you touch. You wouldn¡¯t want to leave your DNA on the windbreaker, would you?¡± Everyone stood around Cooper¡¯s windbreaker, observing and discussing. Stanleymented, ¡°Tsk, a windbreaker that was once worn by a super genius. Wonder if I would be more intelligent if I wear it.¡± Chapter 468 Chapter 468 ¡°Stan,¡± Seanmented with a smile on his face. ¡°You¡¯re intelligent enough.¡± It was Michael¡¯s turn to observe the apparel. So, this is the windbreaker worn by the great Cooper Mitchell? It¡¯s nothing impressive; looks no different than the ones avable for 99 from the bargain fashion outlets. On the other hand, Harry held what he saw in high regard. From what he heard, Cooper Mitchell was the true boss of the Bayside City underworld before the Winston Family took over. No one would dare to mess with him back then. The hotel¡¯s room door was opened before Abel, who was dressed in immacte white, entered with a toolbox in his hand and a face mask that covered half of his solemn face. Then, he headed toward the windbreaker. The moment he was informed about Cooper, he knew that his expertise was needed and rushed over. Unlike the windbreaker, the umbre had served no use as any useful evidence would have been washed away by the rain. Abel wore his gloves and sses before gingerly opening the windbreaker as if it would easily tear. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Luckily for them, Nicole did not send the windbreaker to theundry after she brought it back. He found a couple of strands of blond hair and some dandruff around the cor and delicately ced them into his evidence bag as everyone watched attentively. Once he had finished packing up, Abel carried his toolbox and headed off. ¡°Results will be out tonight,¡± he said as he left. Michael patted his shoulder as he said, ¡°Much appreciated.¡± Abel did not reply and increased his pace. He was already in touch with the nearestboratory to arrange for the test since time was of the essence in that moment. While gazing at Abel¡¯s back as he walked away, Sean could not help but run and catch up to him. ¡°Justin, is that you?¡± Yes, he¡¯s Justin. He has to be! Even though he had changed his looks and spoke in a different tone, Sean would still have recognized him in an instant. Abel halted his footsteps for a second and resumed his task. That split second of hesitation was enough to blow his cover. So, it is really Justin Mitchell. Sean stood there in a trance¡ªthe series of events that caught him by surprise, one after another, had finally numbed him. Stanley could not believe what he heard and eximed aloud, ¡°What? Justin? Nate¡¯s daddy?¡± Sophia¡¯s emotions weren¡¯t any different from Sean¡¯s. After uncovering the plots and twists today, she hardly felt anything. Abel is actually Nathan¡¯s father? Celine¡¯s husband? Michael¡¯s brother-inw? Isn¡¯t he dead? When Justin and Celine were killed in an explosion by Phantom Wolf¡¯s bomb, it sent shockwaves across the Mitchell Family. They even sent him off as a fallen hero with a funeral of the highest honor at the Memorial Garden. Six years had passed and Justin was now back. Sean nced in the direction that Justin was headed in and suddenly understood something. Both Cooper and Justin Mitchell would rather fake their own deaths to leave the family! So, it was the Mitchell Family! If he could, he also wished to do the same to sever ties with the cruel family. As everyone waited patiently, Abel¡¯s message arrived. The DNA matched at 99%. The person whom Nicole met was indeed the real Cooper Mitchell! Michael had to salute his father-inw. This old fox. If it is not for the many coincidental encounters, no one would have been able to get hold of him. Upon hearing the result, Sean clenched his fists in excitement as hope filled his eyes. Uncle Cooper, as long as he was still alive, would return. It would have sounded selfish, but Sean really hoped that Cooper could bury the hatchet and return to the Mitchell Family. If he returned, the family would definitely be able to return to its former glory. Sean received a satisfactory answer and was preparing to return to Bayside City, where there was a lot to be done at school and thepany. Before he left, Michael pulled him aside and thrusted a stack of files into his arms. ¡°Here are the clues and information that I gathered on Cooper Mitchell. Take them.¡± Now that Michael was entrusting vital information to him, Sean knew that he was officially on the team. He skimmed through the stack of papers in tion and it wasn¡¯t long before he frowned. Fass Michel¡­ For someone who was in the programming industry, Fass Michel was a rather well-known person as he was regarded as one of the leaders in the field. Since both Fass and Cooper had shared a strong resemnce with each other, chances of them being the same person would be high. Hmm¡­ Listed in the files were details on the exhumation of the Mitchell Family¡¯s tomb. Sean was lost for words. ¡°Michael, you¡¯ve crossed the line here. This is my family¡¯s tomb. How could you dig it up¡­¡± Michael replied, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Justin did it. Bring it up to him if you wish.¡± After perusing the files, Sean proposed his idea. ¡°Michael, I have a suggestion. We could use Sophia. If she¡¯s involved, we¡¯d stand a better chance.¡± Michael raised his brow and listened attentively. Sean¡¯s timid outlook was rather deceiving at times, but his intelligence was not to be taken lightly. His idea of using Sophia¡¯s true identity was ingenious. Sean went on to exin his n. ¡°Back when I suspected that Sophia was a descendent of the Mitchell Family, I tested her with the amulet and the Kuwait incident, which confirmed my suspicions. So, I¡¯m thinking, if you have a hunch that Fass Michel is in fact Cooper Mitchell, why don¡¯t you have Sophia check him out?¡± Michael frowned as he asked, ¡°How do you do that?¡± ¡°Sophia might not be able to directly reach Fass, so we¡¯ll have to go through Linus. Since she had the chance to be in the same photograph with him, you could arrange for them to meet each other, so that she could get close to him. With some luck, she might be able to reach Fass through him. There¡¯s one thing, though. Sophia must not know about our ns as she needs to be natural while hanging out with Linus, so as not to expose our secret,¡± Sean exined. Michael¡¯s eyebrow was raised even further. God d*mn it¡­ Are you asking my wife to seduce Linus? Linus Michel was someone who made Michael uneasy. He was, after all, the second-inmand of the Michels¡ªhighly intelligent, good-looking, and most importantly, he was of the same age as Sophia. What if something goes wrong? While seeing Michael thinking in silence, Sean added, ¡°I heard that Bayside University has invited Linus for a talk. It¡¯s right after the Fourth of July. During that time, the school would arrange for the top ten students to apany Linus on a tour around campus. That in itself would be a great chance for Sophia¡­ Without her knowing what our n is, she would have no issue being close to Linus and obtaining the information that we need.¡± Michael thought for a while and took a deep breath. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thister.¡± Sean shrugged, knowing that Michael did not fancy the idea of allowing his beloved Sophia to be close to Linus Michel. In all honesty, she was the best shot that they had in order to get close to Linus. Finally, Sean came clean with his own thoughts. ¡°Michael, from what I have gathered, Uncle Cooper is a sentimental person. He must have loved Sophia¡¯s mother a lot. It¡¯s understandable that you are worried if he reconnects with Sophia.¡± If Cooper found out that his twenty-year-old daughter was married to someone in his thirties, there was a 99% chance that he would have him castrated. Chapter 469 Chapter 469 Michael¡¯s tense face was reced with a smile. ¡°If she has a father who loves her, it¡¯s all worth it,¡± he retorted. In the end, Sean left the film studio with the files that Michael gave him and returned to Bayside City. He now knew too much and had to bear the heavy burden of keeping all those secrets¡ªJustin¡¯s reappearance on top of Cooper still being alive and showing up in the same picture as Fass Michel at the same time. Would that coincidence prove that Fass was indeed Cooper? However, Sean had other clues to work with, such as whether Cooper was rted to the Michel Family from Eastern Europe. That traditional family was a recluse, preferring to keep their members close knit and never epting an outsider as their family head. If he could learn more about the connection between Cooper and the Michel Family, things would be much clearer. For them to be close, it would have to be family rted. Woody Mitchell was Cooper¡¯s father¡ªthere was no doubt about that. Could the connection be from Cooper¡¯s mother¡¯s side? Despite the fact that Cooper was still out of reach, news of the team having found solid evidence of him being alive pleased Sophia. She remained at the film studio even after Sean left, waiting for a male viin¡¯s final scene to end. The days went by as usual. She came with the food truck on a daily basis and sat at a corner, ying online video games on her cell phone. For the past two days, she seemed to have spent less time ying. Had she been ying video games, she would not giggle like a foolishdy. She had been doing it while looking at her phone. One look at it was enough to reveal that she was happily chatting with someone. A sense of uneasiness crept around Michael. Finally, when Sophia was using the jacuzzi, he snooped on her cell phone. His sixth sense guided him to search for that person whom she was chatting happily with. The name of the person read ¡®Dearest Brother¡¯. His profile photo was nothing but that of a scenery. Their chat history contained nothing of the Cethosian language¡ªonly English and a foreign dialect. Apart from the English words, he could not decipher what those foreign looking fonts meant. As he scrolled further down, Michael pursed his lips, unsure of what or how to feel. He clicked on the profile ¡®Dearest Brother¡¯ on Instagram. After minutes of searching, he finally found a photo of ¡®Dearest Brother¡¯. As Michael zoomed into the picture, a good-looking man with delicate elvish features appeared in his sight. The man¡¯s deep blue eyes looked as if it held the canvas of a star-filled sky. Linus Michel. Ugh! They¡¯ve added each other on Messenger! Michael could not believe his eyes! ording to Maria, all Sophia did was take a couple of photos with Linus and nothing else. They did not even exchange numbers with each other. So, when did they even add each other on Messenger? He felt as if there were seeds sprouting from the top of his head. By the time Sophia was done cleaning herself in the bathroom and exited, he had already put her cell phone aside and pretended to use his own. After Sophia had dried her hair with a blowdryer, she suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be doing a video call with an online friend to tutor me on programming, but I¡¯ll try to keep my voice down.¡± ¡°An online friend?¡± Michael¡¯s ears perked up like a dog¡¯s. His sixth sense told him that the friend must be none other than Linus Michel. He pretended to read his script and asked nonchntly, ¡°What kind of online friend?¡± When asked about her friend whom she had just met online, her eyes sparkled with excitement. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s that guy who took a pic with me. Guess what? When I searched for my father on Twitter, I stumbled onto his ount and I added him.¡± His jaw dropped. You could do this on Twitter? So, this is how you found Linus Michel! You found him on Twitter and added him on Messenger? Linus was merely someone with foreign ancestry, so why would he be using Twitter and Messenger? Michael yed cool, but warned, ¡°Okay, but better watch out for online scams. Only locals use Twitter and Messenger and foreigners seldom use them. It¡¯s even rare to see a foreigner use both Twitter and Messenger.¡± Sophia switched on herputer and said, ¡°You¡¯re wrong. I¡¯ve done a few video calls with him before. He knows up to eightnguages and doesn¡¯t even have a trace of the Cethosian ent. When he exined programming theories to me, he could easily beat any lecturer in Bayside University hands down. He had also practiced spokennguage with me.¡± ¡°He told me that he lives in Eastern Europe and owns a huge castle in Africa. He even invited me over to Africa during the winter holidays to hunt for lions in the savannah.¡± Once herputer was running, she adjusted her camera so that Michael would be out of frame. He was an international movie star, after all and ¡®Dearest Brother¡¯ would know who he was. It was better to be safe than sorry. She then began her video call with Dearest Brother. From where he sat, Michael nced at the screen. The person in the video call talking to Sophia was clearly Linus Michel! The both of them happily greeted each other and began chatting in an impressive mixture of three differentnguages. When they were done, Linus began to exin the ¡®Principles of Programming¡¯ to Sophia in English. A focused and keen Sophia took out her notepad and took down notes in between questions. Upon listening to him talk about programming for an hour, Michael felt like crap. He suddenly recalled what Sean said¡ªlet Sophia unknowingly be close to Linus. In spite of how reluctant he felt, Michael had no choice but to allow both Sophia and Linus to befriend each other. After all, they were merely two strangers who made acquaintances online. Moreover, as the second-inmand in the Michel Family, Linus was a legend when it came to programming. What more could someone ask for to have someone like him tutor Sophia? Alright¡­ Michael tried to keep his jealousy at bay and tried to have positive thoughts. If Fass Michel was really Cooper Mitchell, then Linus would have been her uncle. Such a rtionship would be favorable to him! Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Once Linus was done with the tutoring, Sophia continued to chat with him. ¡°My friend and I have started an online gamingpany. I¡¯m even a well-knownpetitive gamer in my country¡­ Yup¡­ Wow, you develop online video games too? You even y ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ as well?¡± ¡°But, you¡¯re ying on the European server, which is too far for me! Tell you what, why don¡¯t you create an ount on the Cethosian server so that we can y together?¡± ¡°You also watch Taylor Murray¡¯s films too? What a coincidence! I love him! He¡¯s also our ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ top gamer on the Cethosian server and his gamer tag is Scary Phoenix. You should reallye and join us where the three of us can have a showdown together.¡± ¡°Scary Phoenix is a legend! ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ is premiering on the movie screens in our country on the same date in Europe and America. Remember to support us. I¡¯m even active in his fan club too!¡± It was months since the filming of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had started. The filming crew moved through a few filming locations¡ªfrom the Middle East to Africa and onward to Europe. Now that they were back in Cethos and inching closer to the final shoot, everyone gave it their all to finish the job. By that point, Olivia was also stressed. Now that her scenes were all done, she could have left, but she chose to hang out with the filming crew. She dragged Nicole¡¯s name through the mud. Even when Nicole was hospitalized, she could not escape the same fate from the haters¡ªsome even used her of fishing for sympathy. Olivia had even hired haters to protest at the filming site, demanding that Nicole be removed from the cat. Even Taylor promised to have her role changed. However, the filming was nowing to an end. Most of the cast had left, but the director still had not mentioned anything about recing the lead actress. What¡¯s going on? This is weird! Chapter 470 Chapter 470 The director would brush Olivia off every time she hinted about it and Taylor would merely say, ¡°Soon. Soon.¡± He also promised to bring Sophia and confront her about the incident where James was badly injured. Yet, no solid action was taken after such a long time. Olivia lost her patience and chose to take matters into her own hands! It was during lunch hour that day when she made her move. Michael had barely taken two bites when his meal was interrupted by a dramatic scream from afar. ¡°Oh, Taylor. My Taylor, your uncle has missed you a lot!¡± He frowned and lifted his head to see Olivia leading an elegantly dressed middle-aged couple in his direction. In fact, he knew them both. The man was none other than Larry Murray, Elizabeth Murray¡¯s only younger brother and his uncle. Larry hurried toward Michael and gave a firm hug as his eyes began to tear. He then patted Michael¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°My dear nephew, I¡¯ve been searching for you for thest thirty years. I¡¯m finally able to meet you¡ª¡± Michael¡¯s facial expression remained stoic while he gave a polite smile, greeting, ¡°Hello, Uncle.¡± Larry wiped his tears while sobbing, ¡°Where have you been all these years? We¡¯ve been searching for you high and low. Why didn¡¯t youe to look for us? Not to mention, your grandmother¡ªshe¡¯s over eighty now and still longs to see you!¡± An unperturbed Michael smiled. ¡°I was adopted and raised abroad.¡± The Murray Family had tried to search for Elizabeth¡¯s son over the years. Unfortunately, none of them knew who his father was and where the child went. The one thing that they clearly knew was that she left 80% of her fortune to her child, which happened to be Taylor, who now stood in front of Larry. Their search for Taylor was not out of love¡ªin their eyes, he was a mere outsider who had no right to the Murray Family estate. In exchange for that 80% of the estate, they would rather give up their morality and dignity to look for Elizabeth¡¯s child and take everything back from him. s, that child was nowhere to be found and the estatewyer remained steadfast with his profession and left them with no other means. Who would have guessed that Elizabeth¡¯s child would appear after thirty years? Not to mention, he was an internationally renowned actor! How great was that?! Back then, the Murray Family had only received 10% of Elizabeth¡¯s estate while another 10% was donated to charity, leaving the remaining 80% for Taylor. An international movie star like him would not mind parting with such a small sum as they expected him to return it to the family eventually. By including him as one of their own, the Murray Family would also be able to climb the socialdder and, not to mention, mingle with the Mitchell Family. An emotional Olivia spoke with tears swimming in her eyes, ¡°We are finally reunited as a family. I¡¯m exceptionally happy¡­¡± Now that they were guided by emotions, the family hugged and cried together. Michael used his acting skills to good use and forced his expression to have some emotion before uttering, ¡°If you would excuse me, I need to return to work as the filming crew is waiting for me.¡± As he prepared to leave, Larry grabbed him by the arm and said, ¡°Sure thing, please go ahead. We¡¯ll let you return to your work, but let¡¯s have dinner tonight.¡± His grasp remained firmly on Michael¡¯s arm. With greed that was shamelessly stered all over his face, he made a request. ¡°Your cousin, Olivia, was supposed to be the female lead for ¡®War Dragon¡¯. However, at thest minute, she lost the role to some scandal-filled, B-grade actress. Perhaps you could have a word with the director, seeing that we¡¯re family¡­¡± Before he could speak further, Michael interrupted him, ¡°Sure thing!¡± Still, Larry refused to release his arm. ¡°About your cousin James¡­¡± Michael replied, ¡°I will make sure that the police find the culprit!¡± Larry was relieved¡ªhis one and only heir could no longer bear children and there was no one else left to pass the family torch to. Although he had other sons, they were illegitimate and did not have a rightful im to the family estate. He wanted to end that b*tch¡¯s life for ruining his son! Michael turned and headed to the filming site and his face filled with disgust as soon as it was out of their sight. Harry then winked at him and muttered yfully under his breath, ¡°My dear nephew, I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± Before Michael could react, the director came over with a perplexed expression. ¡°Are you sure you want to rece Nicole Walker?¡± Nicole had perfectly executed her scenes, so it would be a great shame to rece her¡­ ¡°No, we¡¯ll keep her,¡± Michael answered. The confused director stated, ¡°But, you promised your uncle¡­¡± ¡°I was simply bullsh*tting him,¡± Michael reassured. He looked around and noticed that Sophia was nowhere to be seen. Danny then informed, ¡°Madam went for a nearby barbecue.¡± On the other side of the film set, Olivia and Larry left the site together as they wiped happy tears from their happy faces. Larryughed heartily, ¡°Who would¡¯ve guessed it? Taylor is really Elizabeth¡¯s son! Things will be very different now for our family!¡± Elizabeth Murray¡¯s son would be a part of the Murray Family and since he was considered as one of their own, someone with Taylor¡¯s status would definitely bring endless wealth to the Murrays. Rumors had it that Taylor was a wealthy person¡ªan Academy Award for Best Actor winner whose influence had reached all corners of the world and a box office winner with multiple investments. Supplementing with the fortune that she left for him, he was the golden ticket that the Murray Family needed to propel themselves to greater heights. For the past thirty years, they had survived on their measly share of her estate, which was running out soon¡ªand her son appeared at the right time! Olivia was equally moved. Now that she had sessfully reconnected with her cousin, it would guarantee her the lead role that she eyed for. From now onward, she would be unstoppable in the entertainment circle with movie contracts and invitations pouring in. It would only be a matter of time before she was as famous as Bethany Nicole! That b*tch Sophia Edwards would finally get what she deserved! After meeting with his nephew, Larry recalled the reason why he came to the film studio and wiped his tears before revealing a deadly stare. ¡°Where¡¯s that b*tch who harmed your brother?¡± Olivia suddenly realized that she did not see Sophia in the studio and scanned her surroundings before noticing Sophia by the barbecue stall not far from them. ¡°There she is!¡± Hale rolled up his sleeves to wipe his sweat from his forehead as he sat facing the barbecue pit. Sophia had the unlikeliest idea of having a barbecue for lunch¡ªon a warm summer¡¯s afternoon at 35 degrees. It was even unfathomable that one could search for a barbecue stall that operated in that melting summer afternoon. The three of them stayed in front of the barbecue pit, feeding themselves with grilled meat as they profusely sweated. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Feeling chills down his spine, Larry turned to see that Olivia was leading a group of burly men toward them with ominous stares. ¡°Dad, that¡¯s her. She¡¯s the one who ruined James¡¯ future!¡± Olivia made the usation as Larry stood next to her. He observed Sophia, who stood in front of the barbecue pit. His eyes sparkled as he never expected the culprit to be a beautifuldy. It was no wonder that James fell for her! I heard that she is Taylor¡¯s assistant? That was the perfect opportunity as he would take her first. Since she snatched the chance from James to bear children, he could force her to continue the family lineage for him. The group haughtily marched toward Sophia¡¯s group. Chapter 471 Chapter 471 Sophia was in the midst of packing the barbecued food and did not forget about Michael, even though she was having her meal without him. Olivia¡¯s sudden appearance made her quickly pack the food containers, thinking that her presence meant something bad. Larry found himself staring at the eye-catching and beautiful girl before him. Her facial features were rather exquisite and her skin was as white as snow during winter. There was even a butterfly tattoo on her snow-white shoulder. Just from the look of it, he could tell that she was a slutty b*tch. His heart could not stop throbbing and he couldn¡¯t help but reach out to press on her shoulder. ¡°Are you Sophia Edwards? Come with me!¡± he roared. Upon turning her head, Sophia saw a greasy fat face¡ªhe looked like he was in his early fifties with a hostile look. Apart from him, there were 7 or 8 more people with the same facial expression. As she looked around, she discovered that the number of people on the streets had increased by the time the afternoon sun shone on them. She nced at Hale and Maria, signaling at the alley beside them. Both of them understood and merely waited for Sophia¡¯s response. As soon as she gestured, the three of them ran in the same direction and dashed toward the alley. Together with the rest of his people, Larry quickly gave chase. ¡°Don¡¯t run, you little b*tch!¡± he roared as he went after her. Even Olivia went after them in her pair of high heels as she did not want to miss the opportunity after such a long time. So, they all followed Sophia and herpanions into the alley¡­ ¡­ On the filming set, Michael had just finished his lunch when he saw Sophia returning from the barbecue session with some takeout for him. He had only managed to eat a little bit as he needed to maintain his body in good shape. Since he couldn¡¯t eat much, she then helped him to finish the rest of the food. As he watched how she seemed to be deliciously devouring her food, he couldn¡¯t help but pinch her waist and pulled her leg. ¡°Watch your intake! At this rate, your abs will definitely be gone.¡± When she touched it, she discovered that her ab lines had started to disappear, which made her feel down. Upon seeing that her hard work was gone in a matter of days, she couldn¡¯t help but purchase ice cream immediately after the barbecue to cheer herself up and even went to the nearby Golden Arch for some takeout fried chicken. Then, Hale reported to Michael what happened earlier. Michael gave a faint smile after he listened. In the evening, Olivia called. Upon seeing her name on the screen, Michael frowned and pushed the phone to Danny. ¡°Just say that I¡¯m filming,¡± he sneered. As Danny answered the call, he nced at Sophia, who was focused and on high alert, wanting to eavesdrop on whatever the caller talked about. ¡°Taylor, that Sophia b*tch badly hurt my dad! He hasn¡¯t even woken up yet¡­¡± Olivia cried in a heart- wrenching manner. Sophia was dumbfounded. She initially thought that Larry was merely a bodyguard for the Murray Family, so she baited the middle-aged fat man into the alley and had him beaten up¡­ If he is Olivia¡¯s father, does that mean he is Elizabeth Murray¡¯s only younger brother and Michael¡¯s uncle? Looks like I have officially offended the entire Murray Family. A sense of guilt was building in her heart¡­ Danny waited for Olivia to stop crying before responding in an annoyed tone, ¡°Taylor is now filming. How about I arrange for a private jet to send Larry to the best hospital in Bayside City?¡± ¡°I want that Sophia b*tch to die!¡± Olivia sobbed, seconding his suggestion while slightly threatening Sophia. ¡°Yes, yes. If death is what you wish upon her, death is what we shall bestow upon her,¡± Danny echoed. After hanging up on the phone, he arranged for Larry to be sent to the hospital with some money. Nothing else was being done after that. Sophia thought that Michael would me her for having Larry beaten up, but after waiting for a few days, there was no response from him. While Michael was having someone arrange a hospital for Larry, he was also busy acting. At any time Olivia called and whined, he would repeat the same sentence. ¡°Yeah, yeah. It¡¯s great that uncle is much better now,¡± he responded for the sake of doing so. ¡°Die! She must die,¡± Olivia repeated herself like a parrot. ¡°I¡¯m busy. Bye,¡± he retorted. He continuously kept pushing the Murray Family away. Each time they contacted him, he would give a vague answer. Finally, the filming was wrapped up. ¡®War Dragon¡¯ had now been filming for a few months with the filming location being moved to several countries where close to a thousand actors were involved. Production of the film was vastly impressive¡ª in fact, it cost hundreds of millions. On the second day after the filming was concluded with, a humongous after-party was held in a hotel near the film studio. Many actors who left the team returned for the party. The event could be described as the most luxurious after-party in the film studio¡¯s history as there wasn¡¯t ack of famous celebrities and well-known stars. After months of hard work, the cast and crew could finally unwind to a rxing atmosphere. Sophia had also rocked up, but in a in, normal skirt. As she enjoyed her food in the corner, she stole several nces at the celebrities from time to time, admiring how gorgeous they all were. Aside from James and Nicole, who were both in hospital, almost all the actors were present Sophia was eating while ying with her mobile phone. On her phone screen, Stanley had been texting in their group chat. ¡®Eddie Fletcher, you better f*cking return quickly. It¡¯s time to announce the schrship! You are the nerds¡¯ favorite! Oh, one more thing. There are VIPsing to school for inspection, so you better get your *ss back here quickly!¡¯ She replied with a question. ¡®What VIP?¡¯ He scoffed. ¡®Don¡¯t ask! Anyway, it must be some hotshot VIPs! They have been staying at the Presidential Pce for the past two days. Up until now, there is no news about their identities. They even came to Bayside University for inspection where even Uncle Joel had to be their bodyguard. What do you think?¡¯ Oh, for Uncle Joel to be their bodyguard, these VIPs must be very influential. If they are not foreign politicians, then they must be the wealthiest men in the world. As Sophia continued to y with her cellphone, she suddenly heard a howl in the hall. ¡°Grandson, I never expected that I¡¯ll even be able to meet you at this age!¡± Old Madam Murray eximed. Everyone seemed to rush in the same direction as they vied to see what the chaos was. Sophia also hurried to have a look. What unraveled in front of her was a white-haireddy whimpering loudly while hugging Michael. The old madam was crying her eyes out. ¡°Oh, Taylor, I never knew that you are Elizabeth¡¯s son. Where have you been all these years? Did you know that I¡¯ve been looking for you for so long?¡± Michael looked at the old madam in awe before replying softly, ¡°Sorry, Grandma. I haven¡¯t been a good grandson.¡± It turned out that his grandmother had arrived. Old Madam Murray was almost 80 to 90 years old. Yet, she came all the way to the after-party to meet her grandson, which was a rare sight to beckon. The moving scene made onlookers tear up, but as Sophia stood in the crowd, she was a tad bit disappointed. She had already offended half of the Murray Family where, in short, there was only pure hatred toward her. Although she had never personally hurt James, it was still impossible for the Murrays to ept her. Although Michael had insisted that he never bothered much about the Murray Family, it was still his mother¡¯s side of the family after all. No matter what, they were still his rtives. If he had to choose between the Murray Family and her¡­ She would definitely be kicked out of his life. ¡°Alright, Grandma. It¡¯s your grandson¡¯s big day, so you should be feeling happy!¡± The gentle and sweet voice came from Old Madam Murray¡¯s side¡ªand it was exceptionally familiar! N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Sophia tiptoed and looked at the crowd, noticing a girl in white standing next to Grandma Murray. The girl gently patted the old madam¡¯s chest whileforting her. ¡°You and Taylor have been separated for so many years. Plus, you both just reconnected. Don¡¯t cry anymore or you¡¯ll make Nat feel sad too.¡± Chapter 472 Chapter 472 Old Madam Murray finally ceased her waterworks and looked at Natasha, who was standing next to her. As she gazed at her, the olddy¡¯s red sore eyes were filled with love. Natasha immediately handed her handkerchief to Old Madam Murray to wipe away her tears. ¡°Nat, you are so sweet!¡± eximed Old Madam Murray. ¡°Grandma, I will be happy as long as you are happy!¡± echoed Natasha as she stuck her tongue out innocently. Following that, Old Madam Murray naturally ced her hand on Natasha¡¯s palm before thetter helped the olddy to the side of the sofa. From this scene, she seemed like she had been doing it all these times. Sophia didn¡¯t know if she shouldugh or get enraged as she stared at them. Ha, no wonder I hadn¡¯t heard from Natasha for this period of time. As it turns out, she went to kiss up to the Murray Family! Does she want to use Michael¡¯s maternal rtives to get to him? What a ¡®great¡¯ move! Michael was smiling the whole time. He was an actor, and he can easily conceal his true emotions. No one knew whether he was truly happy or not. What Sophia saw at that time was that both Natasha and Michael were helping Old Madam Murray to sit down on the sofa by taking her by the arm on each side. Once they had settled down, Old Madam Murray was sitting in the middle, with Natasha on the left and Olivia on Natasha¡¯s left, while Michael was seated on the olddy¡¯s right-hand side. This could only prove one thing. Natasha was even more importantpared to Olivia in that she could sit closer to Old Madam Murray instead. Their seating positions really did carry significance! This was the first time Old Madam Murray met Michael. She was clearly too shocked to speak. Not once had she ever imagined that, thirty years after Elizabeth¡¯s death, she¡¯d cross paths with her son, and that he was even a superstar. A little nervous yet excited, she waspletely speechless for quite some time. ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t be nervous. Taylor is your grandson. Why should you be nervous about meeting your own family?¡± uttered Natasha as she held the old woman¡¯s hand in a warm embrace. Being the observant and considerate person she was, it was only natural that she picked up on what Old Madam Murray was feeling. ¡°Grandma, I never expected you toe today,¡± said Michael as he lowered his head and smiled. ¡°Nat was the one who sent me over here!¡± said Old Madam Murray as she shook Natasha¡¯s hand aggressively. When she talked about Natasha, Old Madam Murray¡¯s words were truly filled with love and care. ¡°Nat not only put me on a flight to get here, but she also spent a lot of money to find the best doctor for James. Finally, our family will live to see another generation. Where can I find such a good girl?¡± she added further. ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t praise me like that! It¡¯s really nothing. I just happened to know a doctor who could cure James¡¯ injury!¡± Natasha eximed as she lowered her head and smiled shyly. ¡°Nat also found my father the best doctor in Bayside City. She must treat Michael even better!¡± Olivia added onto the train of praises Natasha was receiving. The family was chirping happily, and the entire atmosphere was very harmonious and joyful. Natasha and Michael sat beside Old Madam Murray on each side. This inevitably made people wonder about a lot of possibilities. ¡°Has Natasha be his wife?¡± Several crew members whispered under their breath. Another voice immediately chimed in. ¡°I think she has. Didn¡¯t you hear what Natasha said? She called the olddy ¡®Grandma¡¯. Seems only fitting to address your husband¡¯s grandmother as such.¡± ¡°Tsk tsk¡­¡± They were the focus of small talk for the night. Having heard everything everyone said, Sophia was not happy at all. She wanted to scream in their faces that she was the one and only wife of Michael¡¯s! But she had offended the Murray Family, and she even almost made them not able to have descendants because of James¡¯ injury. They surely wouldn¡¯t ept her after that incident! How could the Murray Family not love Natasha, who¡¯s such a well-behaved and caringdy with a wealthy family background! Hmph, they keep on talking about James¡¯ injury and whatnot. Isn¡¯t Michael also able to produce offspring? Sophia sneered and continued to listen to them. This time around, Natasha intentionally talked about Michael¡¯s wife. ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t praise me like that. I¡¯m going to be so embarrassed! Mrs. Murray is the best for Taylor!¡± Natasha dismissed. When it came to the elusive wife of Michael, as soon as her name was mentioned, Old Madam Murray¡¯s expression turned from a kind face to an angry frown. She looked like she was the empress in a traditional family that did not allow anyone to dispute against her. ¡°Don¡¯t ever mention that person again!¡± hissed Old Madam Murray. She grabbed Michael¡¯s hand and spoke in a very harsh tone, ¡°That wife of yours is not good! She really isn¡¯t!¡± She sounded like she was ordering something while providing advice. She was so enraged that she repeated herself twice. It showed that she was extremely loathful of Michael¡¯s wife, even though she didn¡¯t even know who his wife was. Michael still kept a smile on his face and asked, ¡°Grandma, why do you say that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that woman!¡± She raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she was the queen of a kingdom. ¡°You worked so hard acting in films. Did shee to visit you? It didn¡¯t even bother her that tonight is an important celebration party for your film. She clearly doesn¡¯t care about you at all. She didn¡¯t even show up to this event tonight! Why do you still want her for a wife? She doesn¡¯t deserve you at all!¡± Old Madam Murray went on to express how displeased she was. Before Michael had the chance to voice out, Natasha had already spoken. She wore a look of surprise and even looked distressed to a certain extent by thements Old Madam Murray made of Mrs. Murray. She hurriedly said, ¡°Grandma, please don¡¯t get things wrong. Mrs. Murray treats Taylor very well. It¡¯s just that she has her own career too, so she can¡¯t always be there for Taylor¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± roared Old Madam Murray. ¡°Women are born to serve their husbands. She should be at home being a housewife for her husband. How could she care about her career more than her own husband! Ridiculous! Unbelievable!¡± she thundered. At this moment, Sophia was raging with anger! Such a stubborn dinosaur! Why can¡¯t women have their own careers? Why should our lives revolve around nothing but our husband and children? Impossible! I still want to earn a sh*t ton of money! Meanwhile, Olivia added on by saying, ¡°Yeah, I was with the film crew for some time, but I had never seen Mrs. Murraye to visit. Even on Taylor¡¯s birthday, she simply just called to wish him. Nat was different; she always ran around on the film set, worrying about Taylor¡¯s health condition¡­¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. Mrs. Murray is really a very good person. There must be a reason why she couldn¡¯t come¡­¡± Natasha uttered in a panic. She looked at Michael helplessly with a pitiful gaze. ¡°Taylor, you know her best. Quickly talk to Grandma so that she won¡¯t misunderstand any further.¡± Michael still had a smile on his face, as if what was said just now did not affect him. ¡°Grandma, you¡¯ve really misunderstood things. She is really a very good and qualified wife,¡± he spoke calmly. Unfortunately, under the bad influence of other people, Old Madam Murray¡¯s first impression of his wife had already left its mark and was impossible to be altered anymore. She sneered, ¡°You should call her and ask her toe over now! I need to teach her how to behave like a wife!¡± N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Seeing that Old Madam Murray was furious, Michael quickly replied, ¡°Grandma, you know I am kind of famous now. That¡¯s why my wife¡¯s identity cannot be disclosed for the time being. I¡¯m afraid that¡ª¡± ¡°Afraid of what?¡± Old Madam Murray raised her eyebrows coldly. Her eyes were full of hatred and resentment even though the topic of concern was someone who was aplete stranger to her as she had never even met his wife before. ¡°Is it because I am not important enough, so I am not qualified to meet her?¡± Chapter 473 Chapter 473 Seeing the olddy getting worked up, Michael seemed to want to say something, but Natasha immediately interrupted him, saying, ¡°Taylor, let¡¯s send Grandma to the room to get some rest first. Grandma¡¯s had a long day, and she is too old to stay upte.¡± She then turned to the olddy. ¡°Grandma, you¡¯ve been on the ne for the whole day. You must be tired. Let¡¯s go to the room to rest. Taylor is famous, so some things about him shouldn¡¯t be discussed in such a crowded public space¡­¡± Seeing how caring Natasha treated Taylor, Old Madam Murray¡¯s gloomy face instantly became rxed as she said, ¡°You¡¯re so considerate, Nat! You¡¯re doing everything for Taylor.¡± It would not help to sustain the topic. Hence, Michael quickly sent someone to arrange a room in the hotel to let Old Madam Murray check in. After Old Madam Murray went into the room, Natasha immediately faced Michael anxiously. ¡°Taylor, Grandma is getting older, so you shouldn¡¯t talk back to her. If she wants to meet Mrs. Murray, you should just let her. Your wife is so nice, so I¡¯m pretty sure she can woo Grandma with her charms.¡± He frowned slightly as he replied, ¡°I will try.¡± Natasha looked like she was very considerate, almost as if she were trying to solve the conflicts between Sophia and Old Madam Murray, but as soon as she turned her back, ayer of triumph shed past her eyes. Grandma is Taylor Murray¡¯s weakness. As long as I hold onto this weakness, Taylor would be mine. I have even contacted the media in advance to spread the news. Now, the news has been posted on every onlinework. If that woman sees it, she will go crazy and start questioning Michael like a madwoman. She¡¯d even have to face Old Madam Murray. If she doesn¡¯te, then Old Madam Murray would be even angrier! No matter whether that woman ising or not, Grandma would definitely ask Taylor to kick her out! ¡°Taylor, you go ahead and do your work. I will take care of Grandma,¡± Natasha spoke to him in a very sweet voice. Michael nodded and thanked her. ¡°Okay. Thank you very much.¡± Hearing his gratitude, she lowered her head shyly. ¡°I am willing to do anything for you, Taylor.¡± At this time, the whole party was spreading the rumor around that Natasha had officially been certified by the Murrays as Michael¡¯s wife. There were many media at the scene. Everyone was sending out the drafts instantly. Taylor has officially married into a wealthy family! Looking around the whole venue, Michael was not able to find Sophia. After making a few inquiries, he learned that she had already returned to the room. Getting back to the room where they had stayed for a month, Michael saw Sophia packing up her luggage. Sophia was clearly upset about that whole fiasco. It was so hurtful to see the scene where Natasha sat next to Old Madam Murray and called her ¡®Grandma¡¯. The scene was so hurtful that she wanted to cry. She had already offended the Murray Family, and the old woman obviously wanted to get rid of her. Inparison, Natasha was so well-behaved and had a wealthy family background aside from being such a sweet-talker. No wonder the Murray Family preferred her more. In such a short time, someone had already posted the news on the Inte. The news was about how Michael and Natasha were both officially together, and Natasha had even met his family. Sophia was packing up her luggage when she saw her little notebook, which was filled with her travel ns. Soon after the after-party was over, they headed to the Panda Foundation to visit the big round panda they had adopted. Right after that, they departed from the Panda Foundation and traveled all the way back to Bayside City. When they were back, the school would have started to announce the schrships¡­ After what had happened in the party hall, it seemed like the travel n had gone to waste. Michael would definitelye to ask her to meet Old Madam Murray. After seeing his grandmother personally, she was afraid that she would need to kneel down to offer tea to her. The fact that she hurt James and beat up Larry alone was enough to make Old Madam Murray not ept her at all. As soon as Stanley found out the news, he immediately called her to offerfort. ¡°This is too much! He is not a man at all. It¡¯s not your fault! It¡¯s all the Murray Family¡¯s fault! Better yet, you should just divorce him. You are still so young. You can get any guy you want. You should find someone of the same age, like me!¡± roared Stanley. ¡°If you were with me, I¡¯d be willing to give Sunset to you as my token of love.¡± Putting the notebook in her luggage, Sophia felt that Michael might not be able to go with her, so she decided to go by herself. There¡¯s no difficulty to travel by oneself too! While she was packing her things, she talked to Stanley on the phone after putting it on the loudspeaker. All these times, it was just him talking nonstop, and she just asionally replied to him vaguely. ¡°The Murray Family is living in such a traditional feudalistic world. What century is it now? How dare they still advocate about the superiority of men! Such a dinosaur! It¡¯s not like they have a throne waiting to be inherited. You¡¯d bettere back quickly. Study hard and start a business. In the future, you¡¯ll be a kick-*ss president. You can get any kind of man you want¡­¡± Stanley added further. All of a sudden, Michael walked in and hanged up her phone, causing Stanley¡¯s voice to disappear. Hearing Michael¡¯s footsteps, Sophia voiced out first before he got a chance. ¡°I¡¯m not going. And I won¡¯t divorce you either.¡± I don¡¯t want to meet his grandmother, nor would I divorce him so easily. If Michael wants to divorce me, I willin to Old Master Fletcher. I¡¯ll make sure the Murray Family will be turned upside down! Michael did not say anything and patted her shoulder lightly. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go, you don¡¯t have to go. I¡¯ll take care of it. I will be backte, so you should go ahead and sleep earlier when you¡¯ve finished packing your luggage.¡± Shortly after, he changed into somefortable clothes and headed out. Sophia was feeling resentful packing her luggage. She even nned out a few ways to counterattack. As long as I am here, Natasha will always be just the lover. Wait! No, she¡¯s not even a lover! When she was packing her luggage, she suddenly thought of something and shed a devilish grin before calling Sean. Sean was just watching the news about Natasha being officially epted into the Murray Family. He was just getting worried about Sophia, and coincidentally, he got a call from her. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Hey, Sophia¡­ Uh, are you sure? Are you sure this is a good idea? Have you discussed with Uncle Michael? Okay¡­¡± After hanging up the phone, Sean looked very solemn, but Sophia¡¯s tone showed that she was dead serious. It seemed like she was really very riled up by Natasha. However, what Natasha did to her was too much! Such a gorgeous and wealthy girl like Natasha Mitchell actually used so much time and effort just to get a male star? How ironic is that? I just can¡¯t believe a Mitchell would do such a thing. How embarrassing! At the same time, in the hotel room, Old Madam Murray was talking softly with Natasha. ¡°I really like a cute little girl like you. You are such a good match for my Taylor!¡± Natasha¡¯s face blushed up immediately. ¡°Grandma, don¡¯t say that. Taylor already has a wife!¡± Though she had not met her in person, Old Madam Murray was already extremely disappointed in Michael¡¯s wife. She said in a fierce tone, ¡°That woman! I will get her out of my grandson¡¯s house as soon as possible. In this world, only you can be a great match to my grandson!¡± Natasha¡¯s face was getting redder with embarrassment. Upon the opportunity, Olivia even suggested, ¡°Taylor must get married to Nat! How about we let them sleep together tonight? Then Michael won¡¯t hesitate anymore!¡± Old Madam Murray was so happy that she pped her thigh. ¡°If what¡¯s done has been done, it cannot be undone! Then the woman will have to divorce Michael even if she doesn¡¯t want to!¡± Chapter 474 Chapter 474 Natasha felt utterly bashful. ¡°Is this really fine? After all, Taylor and his wife have been married for two years!¡± In fact, she was fumbling wildly on the inside. I have been pretending this whole time in front of this old- *ssdy. This is exactly what I¡¯ve been waiting for. Old Madam Murray spoke haughtily, ¡°Marriage should be decided by parents, and since Taylor¡¯s parents have passed away, I should be the one deciding. I will never ept that woman! Taylor will pay heed to my will and divorce her. Don¡¯t worry, Nat. You shall be the daughter-inw of the Murray Family!¡± Natasha bit her lip, and her face beamed. ¡°I will follow whatever you say, Old Madam Murray¡­¡± Her wish to be betrothed to her dream man had finallye true and would be the bridge that would tie the knot between the Murray and Mitchell Families. Such a win-win situation! N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Everything seemed to be going ording to n. Changing into his new clothes, Michael showed up at Old Madam Murray¡¯s hotel room. He was surprised to find the room dark and empty. An unusually sweet fragrance permeated the area and clouded his senses, sending him into an arousing daze. With the lights off, the room seemed unupied, but a seductive moan beckoned from within the darkness. The door was shut tight the instant he stepped in. However hard he attempted to push it open, it would not budge¡­ On the other side of the door, Old Madam Murray and Olivia were the ones who locked the door right after Michael went inside. That¡¯s it! We shall wait for the good news tomorrow morning! In the middle of the night, Sophia was sleeping alone in the room. Without Michael cuddling her, she felt edgy. Why hasn¡¯t hee back yet? What is he doing now? Should I go over and check on him? She tossed and turned yet failed to sleep. Suddenly, there wasmotion at the door¡­ The next day, a news report sent shockwaves across the Cethosian entertainment industry. ¡®Newssh! Superstar Taylor Murray¡¯s Jane Doe of a wife from his secret marriage turned out to be his rumored girlfriend, Natasha Mitchell!¡¯ Early in the morning, like hounds clinging ferociously to their prey, the reporters captured Natasha coming out of Michael¡¯s room. The news was broadcasted all over national television and online media at the same time. In the video, Natasha was wearing a mask as she darted out of the hotel under the escort of assistants and bodyguards. A scourge of excited reporters swarmed closely around her while countless cameras and microphones were shoved toward her face. ¡°Miss Natasha, may I ask why you came out of Taylor¡¯s room? What is the rtionship between you and Mr. Taylor Murray? What are your thoughts on thements that you have been secretly married to him for 2 years?¡± Natasha declined to respond to any interviews, while her face was covered by the bodyguards. Then, one of the reporters spoke, ¡°Taylor is already married. You do know that that would make you the disgraceful mistress, don¡¯t you?¡± This question finally triggered Natasha to break her silence. She bit back at the reporter, saying, ¡°We got married overseas 2 years ago. Over there, it is legal to be married at the age of 16. So, mind you, I am not a mistress!¡± With that, she left the ce under the bodyguards¡¯ escort. Her fiery response was enough for reporters to make sensational headlines with. The cameras turned, locking onto Old Madam Murray and Olivia as their next targets. Old Madam Murray smiled at the camera. ¡°Nat is not a mistress. She is the daughter-inw of the Murray Family, the legal wife of Taylor¡¯s!¡± Olivia added, ¡°Yeah, Nat is Taylor¡¯s wife. I have known about it for a long time. It¡¯s just that Taylor never allowed me to reveal it.¡± The entire entertainment industry exploded. The true identity of Taylor¡¯s wife was exposed and was backed by the Murray Family, so it was no longer a rumor. The news had only been out for less than two hours, and it had caused a massive ripple effect across the industry. Natasha was ted as she scrolled through every headline and online post about her as she left the hotel. She had already slept with Taylorst night, so it was now set in stone. All the press releases were pre- arranged in advance so that as soon as the news broke out, it would spread across the media like wildfire. Whilst Taylor¡¯s divorce was anticipated, it was also important to make sure his reputation remained unharmed. If everyone believed that she was his legitimate spouse right from the beginning, everything would go along fine without a hup. Right now, the entire Cethos must have acknowledged her as Taylor Murray¡¯s legitimate wife, whom even the Murray Family validated. There was no chance in hell that Taylor could deny it anymore. If Taylor would not acknowledge their marriage, he would be drawing the ire of the Mitchell Family. Even if he cared little about the Mitchells, he still had to consider the feelings of Old Madam Murray, for she had openly endorsed the news in front of the media. Under such circumstances, for the sake of his reputation and future, he would have no choice but to follow suit and take Natasha¡¯s hand in marriage. Should his real wife dared to emerge and contest her, Natasha would be prepared to fight back! No one would dare to challenge the Mitchell Family! On that day, every entertainment news revolved around Taylor. Natasha wanted to let the whole world know so badly that she had been officially epted by the Murray Family. At that moment, Stanley had already seen the news everywhere. He could not believe that even their company¡¯s employees posted the news on their gaming website to gain publicity. He was so angry that he threw the tablet aside and called Michael. He yelled into the phone when thetter picked it up, ¡°Michael! I gave the woman I love to you, and is this how you treat her?! You b*stard! You are done! You arepletely done! I am going to tell Old Master Fletcher! You¡¯d better watch out! You are going to be a dead man if you evere back to Bayside City! Let me tell you the truth¡ªSophia and I are together. I even gave her Sunset to show my love. If you don¡¯t want her, I¡¯ll take her!¡± roared Stanley on the phone. When he was done bombarding with expletives, the only faint reply he received from the other end was, ¡°Stupid dog, go watch the ¡®Panda Channel¡¯ live broadcast.¡± What the f*ck is Panda Channel?! ¡®Panda Channel¡¯ was thergest live broadcast application in Cethos that streamed the daily lives of pandas 24/7. Since it was still new, it was not that well-known, so not many people knew about it. What was more ironic was that this application was created by Stanley¡¯spany not long ago. When Stanley picked up the tablet, the application homepage was disying a headline of live news. ¡®Shocking News: when ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ meets the national treasure¡ªa big round panda.¡¯ After clicking into the live stream, Michael was seen wearing a protective suit, making a call with a Bluetooth headset. On hisp, he was holding a baby panda while feeding it a bottle of milk¡­ Stanley was dumbfounded. Michael spoke to the live stream camera, ¡°Stupid dog, I¡¯m going to hang up.¡± At the exact same time, the same voice came through Stanley¡¯s phone¡ªStupid dog, I¡¯m going to hang up. Stanley was dumbfounded. Geared up with his protective suit on the live stream, Michael was seen turning off the phone with his gloved hand. After hanging up, he resumed feeding the baby panda in his arms attentively as another baby panda was grabbing the corner of his suit, asking to be fed as well. When he was feeding the one on hisp, he caressed the other baby panda, looking all busy. After feeding the pandas, Michael picked up a panda and rubbed his forehead against it. He seemed to be enjoying himself, for his smiles were apparent, and his eyebrows were filled with tenderness and love. He was definitely savoring the moment with the pandas crawling around him. Hanging out with pandas was way better than cuddling with cats at home¡­ Stanley was still holding the cell phone next to his ear. W-What the f*ck is going on? Why is Uncle Michael always doing stuff in such a disturbing way? Chapter 475 Chapter 475 Wasn¡¯t Michael in the same room with Natasha and was caught by the reporters at the film studio¡¯s hotel? How did he teleport to the Panda Foundation, which is thousands of miles away? The film studio was at least more than three thousand miles away from the Panda Foundation! One was located along the east coast while the other was southwest. Next to Michael was a youngdy, also geared up in a protective suit. She had her mask on with her back facing the camera. Once in a while, she revealed her leg or her figure in front of the live stream, while feeding a baby panda on herp with milk. At first nce, Stanley could tell it was Sophia. There were another three to four baby pandas circling around her for milk. Some even scratched on her body with their little ck forepaws. Sophia was overwhelmed by the many big round baby pandas around her. Since it was a new application with a modest number of users, coupled with the fact that there was neither any publicity nor advertisements regarding this live stream, even the sudden appearance of Michael did not attract anyone to view the stream. There had only been a measly few hundred views for the past half an hour since it started. The Panda Foundation did actually attempt to promote this livestream. However, the entire media network was dominated by the news of Taylor and Natasha¡¯s affairs, vastly overshadowing the Panda Foundation¡¯s puny advertising efforts. Before Stanley managed to figure out what was going on, Michael had begun his live broadcasting to show off his sweet rtionship. Soon enough, the fans logged in. With the pop-up feature avable on the live streaming application, the screen was swarmed withments showing disbelief: ¡®Oh, my God! It¡¯s really Ms. Taylor! I thought it was just clickbait or someone cosying as ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯! Oh, my God! This is some awesome news! If Ms. Taylor is at the Panda Foundation, who was the man caught sharing the room with Natasha Murray at the film studio? My mind is in such a mess now! Taylor, what is going on? Can the staff or someone else answer us?¡¯ Sitting in his Bayside office, Stanley suddenly pped his thigh and stood up. He then headed into the office and shouted, ¡°Sean, get the technical team to prepare for connecting with the Panda application live broadcast! Little Kitten, immediately arrange with the art department to make a promotional poster about Taylor feeding the pandas at the Panda Foundation! I¡¯m going to call now to get the authorization of streaming the broadcast!¡± At the Panda Foundation, Michael was busy feeding the baby pandas. This is so fun. They are so soft, small, and smooth; even the way they feed is so cute! After feeding the milk, he even cuddled the soft baby panda on hisp and patted it to help it burp, just like how he did for Nathan when thetter was still a baby. He skillfully patted at the panda¡¯s back and turned to look at Sophia, who was sitting behind him. Sophia was fully covered in the protective suit with her back facing the camera. Her face waspletely hidden, and there were several baby pandas clinging onto her body. Today was actually her birthday. In the past, her birthday was often celebrated in October, when in fact, she was a September baby. With all seriousness, she held the baby panda she adopted as she fed it. Once done, she burped the panda under the guidance of the staff. The baby panda she adopted was much smaller than the other baby pandas. It felt light and small in her arms. It looked so adorable, unlike the others, which scratched her. The more she looked at it, the more she found it adorable¡­ Such a cutie! She couldn¡¯t help but rub her forehead against the panda¡¯s, catching a whiff of milk. Finally, Michael took off his mask and revealed his face. Holding the baby panda that was dozing off in his arms after finishing the milk, he greeted the audience in the live broadcast. ¡°Hello, everyone. I¡¯m Taylor Murray. I am here right now at thergest Panda Foundation in Cethos. This is the panda I¡¯ve adopted, and I¡¯ve decided to name him Nate. Today is the birthday of my wife, Eddie Fletcher. She adopted another baby panda named ¡®Little Dragon¡¯. You can visit it the next time youe to the Panda Foundation. Pandas are the national treasure of our country, and they are extremely endangered animals. There are currently less than 3,000 pandas in the world, so I hope everyone will pay more attention to the protection of endangered pandas.¡± The pop-upments section was instantly quiet. Not long after, thement pop-ups exploded. ¡®So Eddie Fletcher is Taylor¡¯s wife!? I seem to be getting in on some juicy news again. Natasha has already lost since the beginning.¡¯ ¡®Wait, let me do the math. It takes about 3 hours to fly from the film studio to the Panda Foundation. There are only two flights a day. Thetest flight is at 12.00AM, and it takes about 1 hour from the film studio to the airport. Taylor had to have left at 11.00PM. If he¡¯d left at 11.00PM, who was the person sleeping with Natashast night?¡¯Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Stanley was speechless as he watched the live broadcast. Nathan was in a daze, watching the panda which turned out to be his namesake. However, the news of Taylor feeding pandas live was overpowered by a series of his other more sensational headlines, including, ¡®Taylor Murray and Natasha Mitchell¡¯, ¡®Taylor¡¯s Secret Wife Exposed¡¯, ¡®Taylor¡¯s Disappearance¡¯, ¡®Natasha Mitchell¡¯s True Identity¡¯, ¡®Taylor Murray Married a 16-year-old Girl¡¯, and ¡®Ethan Winston Remains Silent¡¯. The Panda Foundation live stream paled much inparison to those catchy titles. Michael spent the entire morning feeding pandas at the Foundation, barely making ripples on the news, while Stanley¡¯s technical team needed more time to prepare. Their news hardly made a dent on the onlinework. At the Panda Foundation, Sophia was hugging the soft baby panda and couldn¡¯t bear to let go. They are so cute! Sophia never expected Michael to barge into the room in the middle ofst night and drag her to the airport. She followed him without asking much and slept through the whole journey to the Panda Foundation. But to her pleasant surprise, she woke up to a bunch of excited baby pandas. Michael practically just ditched the Murray Family and his grandmother before flying her overnight to the Panda Foundation to feed the pandas and to visit their pair of adopted baby pandas. ¡°What about your Grandma?¡± she asked. ¡°I asked an extra to put on a disguise with my face mold. That should fool and stall them for a few days, hopefully. We¡¯ll deal with it when we return after our holiday trip,¡± he answered. Sophia was speechless. It seemed like Michael was trying to maintain a low profile of his presence at the Panda Foundation. After half a day of live broadcast, the number of viewers still remained the same. Let the news at the film studio grow. The more they spread around, the more damage the enemy will get in return. At this moment, news of Taylor¡¯s secret wife was still going hot, apanied by all kinds of spection against him. Comments regarding him marrying an underaged girl and how he should go to jail crept into the news forums. Gradually, thements turned nasty. ¡®Taylor is already in his thirties this year, and he still married an 18-year-old girl. This is unbelievable.¡¯ Things had begun to go south. Old Madam Murray was getting anxious and requested Natasha to assure the public. The ¡®kind¡¯ Natasha naturally agreed without hesitation. At noon, Natasha held an emergency press conference at the film studio hotel. At the press conference, she yed out an earnest front with finesse. She did everything she could for the sake of Taylor to salvage his reputation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I have kept this from everyone for so long. I am holding this press conference today to tell everyone that Taylor and I have been married for 2 years. It is true that I had not reached the age of 18 years old when I married him. That was why we got married overseas, where it was legal to do so. This is the marriage certificate we obtained abroad. The registration date and both our names are printed on it. Please have a look and verify them for yourselves,¡± stated matter-of-factly by Natasha. Chapter 476 Chapter 476 Natasha showed a foreign marriage certificate. That country allowed same-sex marriage, underage marriage, and even marriages between close rtives, so everyone in the world would choose to get married there. On the marriage certificate, there were lots ofnguages, including English, with the names Taylor Murray and Natasha Mitchell. If I want to pull this off, I must make it as real as possible. As long as I have the money, I can do anything. The marriage certificate is real, and even the ID number is real. The photo on the certificate is photoshopped to perfection, so there won¡¯t be any ws if the authorities decided to inspect it. At the end, she yelled righteously, ¡°Taylor is my husband. We are a legally married couple, so I won¡¯t allow anyone to destroy his reputation!¡± Old Madam Murray and Olivia were also at the scene, so they were pleased to hear these words. What¡¯s done is done. Natasha is now the daughter-inw of the Murray Family! Therefore, they also imed that Taylor and Natasha had been married for many years. The moment the press conference started, everything has been set in stone, and Taylor now has no way to defend himself. If he still doesn¡¯t want to marry Natasha, his reputation will be destroyed! In Stanley¡¯spany, everyone was working overtime except for Stanley himself, who had two televisions turned on to watch the live broadcast. On one of the screens, there was Michael live feeding a panda, while the other live broadcast showed Natasha and her marriage certificate with Taylor. Then, Sean ran into Stanley¡¯s office hurriedly to hand him some paperwork before thetter dragged him along so that they could watch together. ¡°Hahaha¡­ You Mitchells are so so brilliant! Incredibly brilliant! She¡¯s even produced a marriage certificate. Looks like Natasha has been plotting this for a long time. Hahaha¡­¡± At the same time, Sean was also focused on Natasha¡¯s press conference. When he saw her taking out a marriage certificate with ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯ listed as her husband, he felt extremely ashamed. Stanley said to him, ¡°I¡¯ve already called the old man back at home to join the fun. Hahaha! This is such a f*cking joke!¡± At the end, Sean smiled and continued his work, which was using his special skills to delete all news on the inte reporting Taylor¡¯s panda feeding. One of the reasons was because they were about to broadcast Taylor and the panda live, so they wanted to be as exclusive as possible. Secondly¡­ the drama with Natasha was now brewing, so it wasn¡¯t wise of him to mess with it. Looking at the righteous Natasha in the live broadcast, there was a tinge of ruthlessness on Sean¡¯s feminine face¡ªa look he shouldn¡¯t have at his age¡­ Natasha¡¯s press conference was still broadcasting when someone spoke, ¡°This is major news! But where is Mr. Murray now?¡± She answered, ¡°My husband, Taylor, just received a promotional task from the crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, so he is now attending a live broadcast to promote the uing movie. This marriage is something between the two of us, so my husband doesn¡¯t wish for his private life to be the center of attention. I hope that everyone can focus their attention on my husband¡¯s new movie, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯.¡± Finally, the press conference ended sessfully. Old Madam Murray held Natasha¡¯s hand excitedly. ¡°Natasha, thank you for this. You really are Taylor¡¯s savior!¡± Natasha was also delighted. ¡°Grandma, you don¡¯t need to be so polite. After all, I¡¯m also part of the Murray Family. Now, we just need to find Mrs. Murray and have a proper talk with her. If she exposes me, I¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± ¡°Hmph, why won¡¯t that horrible woman show up after such a big incident? When Taylores back, I¡¯ll ask him to divorce her immediately so that you two can get married as soon as possible!¡± Just when Natasha was feeling excited and wanted to say something, her phone suddenly vibrated. Looks like someone has just sent an important message in the group chat of the Mitchell Family. ¡®All elders shall return to the headquarters of the Mitchell Family for a meeting!¡¯ It seemed to be an urgent meeting, because after the message was sent in the group chat, she immediately received a call to inform her of the news. Therefore, she hurriedly said her goodbyes to the Murrays before rushing back to the Mitchell residence to understand the situation. When she rushed back to the Mitchell residence, she seemed to have missed something big, because news about ¡®Taylor¡¯s live panda feeding¡¯ suddenly blew up on the Inte. This was because Stanley had his technical staff rushing overtime to finish the segway and banner so that they could push the story immediately to the Inte! Within an hour, news about ¡®Taylor¡¯s live panda feeding¡¯ suppressed all the earlier news and quickly became a hot topic. At that moment, everyone finally realized that he had been feeding pandas for a whole afternoon, and the live broadcast had started from 8.00AM. He even brought his wife? Is his wife that famous rich fan of his, Eddie Fletcher? Then who is that Natasha Mitchell who swore that she was Taylor¡¯s wife at the hotel? Nobody could wrap their heads around the plot. At the end, a huge wave of reporters poured into the Panda Foundation, requesting to interview Michael, who was still feeding the pandas. However, the foundation only selected a few to enter. When the reporters went in, they instantly saw the award-winning actor, Taylor Murray, cleaning up the panda¡¯s pen. Today, Michael came here to experience everything, from feeding baby pandas milk to feeding adult pandas snacks. He even experienced what it was like to clean up panda droppings and make snacks using milk powder. Wearing a mask and long boots, he was focused on removing the droppings as he answered the reporters¡¯ questions. One reporter was quick to ask, ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, what¡¯s yourment on Miss Natasha admitting that she is your hidden wife?¡± Michael kept on removing the droppings with his head down, not looking at the reporter. ¡°It¡¯s a load of nonsense.¡± Those simple words were enough to ruthlessly deny Natasha¡¯s act; they were enough to shred all the reputation left of Natasha, the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. The reporter asked again, ¡°Is your wife the person next to you¡­ Eddie Fletcher?¡± Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was now dressed in a fully-covered suit as she was removing the droppings at another pen. Michael prevented the reporters from interviewing her, but she now had her ears pricked up to listen to his interview. After shovelling a pile of panda droppings and throwing it into the garbage cart, Michael wiped his sweat and took the chance to answer, ¡°That¡¯s an unnecessary question.¡± Even though it was a short answer, it still packed quite a punch. He¡¯s already confirmed that Eddie Fletcher is his real wife! Then who is that Natasha? However, the reporter continued speaking, ¡°But Miss Natasha holds your marriage certificate with her. The authorities have verified that the certificate ispletely legitimate, and all procedures were legal. In the court ofw, Miss Natasha and you are already a legal couple. Can you please¡ª¡± ¡°My surname is not Murray,¡± Michael calmly cut off the reporter¡¯s rambling using five words. For a moment, the reporter was startled as he gaped his mouth because he had nothing else to say. Suddenly, he remembered the bright name, Taylor Murray, on the marriage certificate, along with Taylor¡¯s faint words¡ªmy surname is not Murray! Taylor Murray is just a stage name! Who uses a stage name on their marriage certificate? In the meantime, Michael had already shovelled the panda droppings into the cart, so he left silently with the panda droppings. At the moment, the impatient Harry quickly tweeted after seeing Michael¡¯s live broadcast. ¡®Hahahaha, this is the first time I saw someone getting married with a stage name! Taylor Murray, you are so awesome!¡¯ Immediately, some fans also followed up to his tweet. ¡®Hahaha, this is crazy. 8 years ago, Miss Taylor mentioned that ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯ was his stage name given to him by his mother! This is not even his real name!¡¯ ¡®They brilliantly used his stage name on a marriage certificate. Hahaha!¡± Fans of Taylor and Harry quickly pushed his tweet into trending. ¡®Stage name on marriage certificate¡¯ became the most trending topic today. Chapter 477 Chapter 477 After Natasha proudly admitted that she was ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s¡¯ real wife at the press conference, she actually ended up as aughing stock in all of Cethos in less than two hours. When she got back to the Mitchell residence, she realized that every elder of the Mitchell Family was already seated in the big hall. The atmosphere was oddly tense. As soon as she went into the hall, everyone looked toward her at the same time, especially those old geezers, who couldn¡¯t hold back the anger in their eyes! Nevertheless, Natasha was already used to these sorts of gaze from the elders, and she was mentally prepared for what she was going to face today. Most of the children in the Mitchell Family had their marriage arranged by the family, and they prioritized the benefit of the family more than anything. Therefore, the elders would definitely be angry at her for plotting to marry Taylor without gaining their permission first. However, her father, Alex, was the head of the Mitchell Family, and as the highly valued daughter of the family, who was beloved by her father the most, questioning her meant questioning the power of Alex. Thus, the elders had no say toward her. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m sorry that I¡¯mte.¡± Amidst the raging eyes, Natasha openly walked to the front of Alex. As the current head of the Mitchell Family, Alex already had traces of white hair on his head. Even though he was nearly 50 years old, he still retained his solemnity. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Looking at his beloved daughter today, he realized that he could no longer dote on her like he always had before while allowing her to be an embarrassment to the family. Hence, he suddenly raised his hand and gave her a ruthless p right in front of all the elders of the Mitchell Family. For a moment, the whole hall fell into aplete silence. Natasha covered half of her face that was numbed while staring at her once beloved father in disbelief. He actually hit me? A few years ago, Alex even suppressed all pressure and let her get her way when she fought with a foreign princess for a jewel. ¡°Dad, why did you hit me?¡± There was a stiffness in Natasha¡¯s sobs. At this point, Alex was at the peak of his rage. In the past, he never did anything to her no matter how much trouble she had caused¡ªhe didn¡¯t even give her a harsh warning. No matter how much trouble she caused or how embarrassing she acted, as long as she had the protection of Alex, nobody in the whole Mitchell Family could say anything about her. However, this time, it was different, because the hierarchy of the entire Mitchell Family was changing completely! Without looking at Natasha, Alex ordered two maids next to her, ¡°Bring her back to her room so that she can reflect on her actions.¡± Natasha was still startled after the first p, but when the maids came to drag her, she finally came back around, as if she had just woken up from a dream. Suddenly, she escaped the maids¡¯ grasp and rushed to the front of Alex. For a moment, her arrogant temperament surged up as she shouted at him right in front of all the elders of the Mitchell Family, ¡°Who gave you the rights to hit me? I¡¯m already 18 years old. I love Taylor, and I want to marry him. What¡¯s wrong with that? What¡¯s wrong with that? I know that he isn¡¯t qualified to join the Mitchell Family, but I love him, and I don¡¯t want anyone else except him! Not one of you can arrange my marriage for me!¡± She still thought that Alex was angry because she plotted for Taylor to marry her, but to her surprise, the atmosphere became even more silent after her shout. At the moment, Alex was frustrated inside, and after her shout, he became more enraged, so he raised his hand to p her one more time. ¡°Heh¡­¡± Amidst the silence in the hall, a sneer was heard among the crowd from a feminine-looking boy. ¡°Dear Natasha, looks like you still don¡¯t know the severity of the trouble you¡¯ve caused.¡± As the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, she had always looked down on the other members of the Mitchell Family since a young age. Therefore, when she saw Sean, who dared to mock her, she bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m talking to my dad, so mind your own business, alright?¡± However, Sean sneered while ayer of cold mist covered his pretty, feminine face. Then, he ced a laptop in front of her. ¡°Take a look for yourself.¡± When she received theptop, she saw an app called ¡®Live Pandas¡¯ broadcasting live on theptop. Today¡¯s live broadcast was about the well-known movie star, Taylor Murray, feeding pandas. It was still being broadcasted now. On the screen, the man wore a protective suit and a mask while carrying a baby panda in his arms. He was now feeding the baby panda for the second time. His movements were so gentle and familiar. Immediately, Natasha could recognize that he was Michael. Looks like he left early in the morning to watch pandas and promote his new movie. Rememberingst night¡¯s warmth and the virgin blood on the bed early in the morning, Natasha¡¯s face was filled with self-indulgence, but sadly, Michael was already gone when she woke up. While the baby panda drank the milk by itself with Michael holding it, he took the opportunity to speak to the camera, ¡°My wife, Eddie Fletcher, and I have been married for two years, but I can¡¯t give you the identity and background of my wife.¡± His one sentence shattered all of the remaining sweetness on Natasha¡¯s face, as if she had just been struck by lightning. How¡­ How dare Taylor say that! Does he know that, by saying that, he is shredding all my reputation and is standing opposedpletely with the whole Mitchell Family?! How can he face off against the entire Mitchell Family by himself? In the live broadcast, a reporter asked, ¡°So Eddie Fletcher, who always fought with Miss Natasha before, is actually your wife? Does that mean you were the one who donated the national treasure¡ªthe Imperial Seal?¡± Michael answered, ¡°I bought the Imperial Seal abroad at a price of 1.28 billion. At first, I wanted to donate it to the national museum anonymously, but at that time, my wife seemed to be in a bad mood, so I donated it under her name. As for the other donations, it was all made by my wife, Eddie Fletcher, herself using her own money.¡± The reporter asked again, ¡°What do you make of Miss Natasha faking your marriage with her abroad?¡± Michael replied, ¡°We are already working on a subpoena.¡± The reporter followed up, ¡°What is yourment on the Murray Family working with Natasha Mitchell to fake the marriage between you and her?¡± He answered swiftly, ¡°Noment.¡± However, the reporter still held on to the topic. ¡°What do you make of the ims about Miss Natasha leaving your room this morning?¡± He exined to the camera, ¡°Last night, I left the film studio at 11.00PM and came to the Panda Foundation to meet with my wife. I¡¯ve never had any private contact with Miss Natasha. As for her nder, I will hold it ountable in thew.¡± The numerous live pop-upments from the fans covered Michael¡¯s face. Meanwhile, Natasha was in disbelief as she stared at the screen. Taylor left at 11.00PMst night? Then who was the person who slept with me? No. That was him. He must have been forced by that old housewife, Eddie Fletcher, to lie in front of everyone! I never expected that old housewife to be Eddie Fletcher! If she was able to afford the Imperial Seal, then I¡¯d really underestimated her. Looks like she has a few elders backing her that allowed Taylor to go against the whole Mitchell Family! That hag actually has a few tricks up her sleeve! Then, Natasha yelled while holding theptop, ¡°Taylor was forced to make thesements. The person who slept with mest night was him!¡± Chapter 478 Chapter 478 At the moment, Alex¡¯s face darkened. The elders in the hall also began to whisper with each other. Their gaze toward Natasha changed from excruciating grief to extreme disappointment. What an embarrassment! An utter embarrassment! After taking back hisptop, Sean enunciated, ¡°Dear Natasha, don¡¯t you understand? Now, the main point isn¡¯t who you slept withst night, but you tried to snatch away a married man by forging a marriage certificate, which the whole country now knows. This is such an embarrassment to the Mitchell Family!¡± As soon as his words came out, an elder of the family immediately mmed his hand on the table. ¡°In the Mitchell Family¡¯s history, which goes back centuries, I¡¯ve never seen such humiliation. You¡¯ve really tarnished the reputation of our ancestors! The Mitchell Family can¡¯t afford such embarrassment!¡± Natasha¡¯s high-profile pursuit after Taylor, a married man, had already angered the elders of the Mitchell Family, but unexpectedly, she still tried to twist the truth in front of everyone. She knew clearly that Taylor was married, but she still shamelessly imed to be his real wife and forged a marriage certificate; even so, she was still being unreasonable toward the situation. The stage name on the marriage certificate and the humiliation by others hadpletely tarnished the reputation of the Mitchell Family! Facing everyone¡¯s usation, Natasha¡¯s face immediately became pale, but she was still headstrong as she put on her usual arrogance and wits. ¡°Since the situation is irreversible, the only n we have now is to ask Taylor to marry me immediately. If he exins everything to the public, we can still retain our reputation.¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Sean sneered and cut off her words. Then, he walked toward her step by step while questioning, ¡°But they are a perfect couple. Natasha, are you saying that you want to break up a perfect couple and force Taylor to admit to his marriage with you?¡± Natasha lifted her chin and said confidently, ¡°At this point, the Mitchell Family¡¯s reputation is more important.¡± Suddenly, Sean couldn¡¯t hold back hisughter. ¡°Natasha, aren¡¯t you afraid of offending Taylor and his wife? What if he brings more trouble to our family?¡± ¡°No one canpete with the Mitchell Family.¡± Her words were firm. Meanwhile, Alex¡¯s face hadpletely darkened, while the elders still carried on with their whispers. A section of them felt that they should force Taylor to change hisments and admit to his marriage with Natasha, while the other section felt that going against Taylor without knowing his background might bring forth an unknown power against them in the future. Both parties were now locked in an argument. At the end, they came up with a conclusion¡ªTaylor needed to admit to his marriage with Natasha quickly, even if they had to threaten him with a knife on his neck. He must confess that he was forced by someone to make thements in the live broadcast! Only in this way could the Mitchell Family retain its reputation instantly. Sean wasn¡¯t surprised that the elders had made such a decision. Heh, the Mitchell Family are still living in the glory past of Cooper. Every one of them is so self- comcent. It¡¯s time for them to eat some humble pie. Suddenly, he said to everyone, ¡°After all, Nat is still young and ignorant. That is why she has made mistakes without knowing the severity of it. Fortunately, the situation is still reversible. We need to first think of a way to retain our reputation from our glory days.¡± Finally, the elders remained silent, but they were still extremely disappointed toward the talented but deceitful youngdy of the family, Natasha. They were even disappointed in Alex, who spoiled her, but now, they could only try to save what they could. Once, the elders thought that Natasha was the seconding of Cooper, but by the looks of it now, they had overestimated Natasha and underestimated Cooper. Thinking of Cooper, an elder asked hurriedly, ¡°Sean, didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯ve found news that Cooper is still alive? Hurry up and tell us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Hurry up and tell us!¡± The subject of today¡¯s meeting wasn¡¯t only about cleaning up Natasha¡¯s mess, but also about Cooper! Cooper was still alive! Looking at the anxious elders, Sean took out the relevant information he found from his bag. ¡°This happened a few days ago. An inte celebrity that resembles Uncle Cooper has suddenly risen recently, and I suspect that he is actually Uncle Cooper¡­¡± He exined his investigation of Cooper in the film studio, but he totally excluded Sophia from the story. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. Listening to his exnation, the elders of the Mitchell Family were extremely excited. For the past few years, they had tried so hard to recreate a ¡®Cooper¡¯. At the end, they had nurtured multiple recements for Cooper, but reality proved that all of them were far from the real deal. An example would be Natasha, the idiot! The one-and-only Cooper was so brilliant that he could never be reced. If they could bring him back, the Mitchell Family would return to its glory days. Everyone was very excited, except for Alex¡¯s family, who grew gloomier the more they listened to it. If Cooper returned, it would definitely be beneficial to the Mitchell Family, but for Alex¡¯s family, it would be a disaster! Along with the trouble Natasha had caused, the want to bring Cooper back grew. ¡°Various evidence shows that Uncle Cooper is actually alive, and he still holds powerparable to the Mitchell Family!¡± Everyone in the family became more excited. He really is Cooper. In the past ten years or so, he actually made aeback and built a power stronger than the Mitchell Family. If he can return and be the head of the family once more, does that mean all the power and wealth in his hands would belong to the Mitchell Family? The Mitchell Family is finally returning to its glory days! Natasha¡¯s pursuit after a married man had already angered the elders of the Mitchell Family, so they were now desperate to bring Cooper back to steer the ship back! After exining his discovery, Sean sat back down. From now on, I will not participate in the finding of Cooper. I¡¯ll just let them find him themselves! This is what Sophia wanted. Now, let¡¯s see where Natasha can find the energy to be a mistress! Just when the elders were discussing the search for Cooper enthusiastically, Natasha, who was pleased with herself just now, felt a sense of fear that she had never felt before. She had always been the well-loved genius of the family, and she was even dubbed as the second coming to Cooper, but now, the real Cooper wasing back! If hees back, will he bring along with him a daughter too? Does that mean I¡¯ll no longer be the most beloved daughter of the Mitchell Family? She helplessly nced at Alex and saw that his expression remained dark. As she seemed to feel that she had lost everything, she red at Sean furiously. It¡¯s all because of him. If it weren¡¯t for this damn eunuch, news about Cooper¡¯s return wouldn¡¯t have spread through the entire Mitchell Family! Before the meeting was over, Natasha was sent back to her room by Alex to reflect on her mistake. This time, she didn¡¯t dare to throw a temper because she knew that her position in the family was under threat. At the same time, the Mitchell Family started to get in touch with Taylor. Let¡¯s hope he cane out and correct hisments. If he doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll force him to! He is just a rich performer that we won¡¯t even bat our eye on. If Natasha didn¡¯t insist on marrying him and him only, we wouldn¡¯t even have acknowledged his existence! However, after going back to her room, Natasha still wouldn¡¯t give up, so she secretly escaped. She wanted to ask Taylor clearly. I need to get Old Madam Murray to back me. With that old woman supporting me, he must marry me. After she was gone, she was never heard from for a while. In less than a few hours, the Mitchell Family received an anonymous letter and a video containing Natasha being tied up while shouting in horror, ¡°Dad, help me¡­¡± The anonymous letter requested a 3-billion ransom that must be paid within the next 10 hours; otherwise, pictures and videos of Natasha would be uploaded to a pornsite tomorrow¡­ Chapter 479 Chapter 479 ¡®Natasha has been kidnapped, and the other party is requesting a 3-billion ransom. If this is Uncle Michael¡¯s doing, tell him to be careful.¡¯ After feeding the pandas at the Panda Foundation for a whole day, Sophia saw the text sent to her by Sean when she was done with her bath at night in the hotel. She took a nce at Michael, who was working on hisptop, before replying, ¡®I¡¯ll ask him.¡¯ Just as she was about to ask him, Danny knocked on the door and came in hurriedly. ¡°Oh, my gosh! The Murray Family has called me a hundred times today from dozens of different phones. I beg you. Please say something!¡± Michael merely clicked his tongue. Instantly, Danny was rendered speechless. Everyone in the Murray Family was waiting for Michael to marry into a wealthy family so that he could help them enter the higher ss, but unexpectedly, he silently left Natasha and came to the Panda Foundation to feed pandas with that old housewife of his! Therefore, they were so enraged that they kept on calling him. However, Michael had two sets of phones with the same number. One of the phones could only receive calls from special phone numbers that were pre-set by him, including the numbers of Sophia, Old Master Fletcher, Stanley, Hale, Gary, and others. Calls from other numbers, including those of the Murray Family members, Natasha, and some business partners, would all be transferred to a different phone, and Danny was fully responsible to receive all the calls from that phone. At the moment, he was annoyed to death by the Murray Family. ¡°You can¡¯t keep on avoiding them!¡± Michael replied, ¡°Just ignore them. You can simply say something perfunctory.¡± Danny gave up. ¡°I¡¯m applying for leave.¡± He was also Michael¡¯s assistant in the film crew. Now that the shooting was over, he wanted to take a break. Michael said to him, ¡°Then give the phone to Hale.¡± Therefore, Danny walked out and handed the phone to Hale. In the meantime, he reminded him on how to deal with the Murray Family. ¡°If they call asking for a visit, you should just send someone to visit them. If they want some money, just simply give them a few ten thousand to make them happy. Remember to file the receipt.¡± While holding the phone, Hale furrowed his brows. ¡°What if theye straight to our door?¡± Danny exined, ¡°James and Larry are now in the hospital, so only Olivia would do that. If theye, just do what you see fit, or run away if possible. Remember not to let them pester the Boss.¡± Hale asked again, ¡°What if the Old Madames?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She can¡¯t afford toe all the way here with her old age!¡± Danny assured him. Hale thought about it. He¡¯s right. That old woman is already 80 to 90 years old, and taking a ne would kill her. Looks like she won¡¯t be able to make a few trips. There was only one flight that woulde to the Panda Foundation daily. As soon as the Murray Family found out about Michael¡¯s activity at the Panda Foundation, they immediately booked the earliest flight ticket to the airport nearest to the Foundation. When they got there, it was already dark, and the gates had been closed long ago. Also, Michael was gone. Olivia came to look for Michael, but she knew that her words meant nothing, so she brought Old Madam Murray along. Old Madam Murray was angry at Michael because he left without saying anything and even humiliated Natasha in front of the public along with the Murray Family. However, what annoyed her the most was that he dared to announce to the public that his surname wasn¡¯t ¡®Murray¡¯! This is absurd! He is as unreasonable as his mother! As long as he has the blood of the Murray Family in his veins, he will always be a member of the family. Therefore, he must listen to the words of his family! The two of them took two flights in two consecutive days to the film studio and the Panda Foundation. As soon as they got off the ne, Olivia dragged Old Madam Murray to the Panda Foundation by taking a bus, but the old woman couldn¡¯t take it as she was exhausted. Therefore, they could only stay in a nearby hotel for the night and look for Michael at the Panda Foundation the next day. That night, Olivia anxiously called Natasha, whose phone was turned off. Then, she called Michael, but it was Hale who answered the call. ¡°Tell my cousin to answer the phone!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m his assistant, but I¡¯m now off work, so I can¡¯t locate him.¡± Olivia was getting anxious because she needed to give Natasha an answer, so she yelled hysterically into the phone, ¡°I don¡¯t care. Tell him to answer the phone. Tell him that his grandma wants to speak with him!¡± Hale answered, ¡°Be here tomorrow early in the morning.¡± Beep! He hung up the phone. She had no other choice after making lots of calls to Michael, but he didn¡¯t pick up. Therefore, she dragged Old Madam Murray to the Panda Foundation early in the next morning. However, when they got there, Michael was already gone. Where has he gone? No one knew. In the morning, Sophia opened the curtains of the hotel room and saw a snowy scene outside the window. Far away, there was a snow-capped mountain that towered the clouds. The altitude was so high that it had already started to snow. Today, the weather was clear, and the sun was showing up, but it couldn¡¯t melt away the snow on the ground. She was surprised when she gazed at the snow far away because she had never seen such beautiful snow before. She lived in the suburban areas of Bayside City, so the snow there was dirty every year, but here, it looked as bright as crystals. At the moment, Michael had already put on his ski suit as he prepared to go out. The two of them ate their meals in a ss restaurant in the hotel so that they could have their breakfast while enjoying the snowy view. Michael took a sip of hot porridge before saying to her, ¡°Hurry up and finish your food. After we are done, we can go out and have some fun. It gets dark early in the mountains, so we need to go out as soon as possible.¡± Through the transparent ss wall, Sophia could see Hale leading a few huskies as he prepared the sled outside. After a day of skiing and sledding in the mountains, the two of them left by a private jet the next day. Sophia even bought a baby Samoyed and some local products from the snowy mountains. On the third day, she woke up to a misty prairie outside the hotel window¡­ During this period, Michael was quick on posting his tweets, as if he was liberating himself after their rtionship had been made public. Other than that, he also wanted to humiliate the faces of a certain person so hard that their face would shatter, exposing the disgusting maggots underneath. From time to time, he would tweet about his wife on the prairie, the desert, and the beach separately as he went on with his travel ns after finishing his movie. After traveling to snowy mountains, prairies, deserts and beaches, they were finally back at Bayside City. The beautiful background in the pictures were constantly changing, but there would always be a human-shaped mosaic inside. The people close to him naturally knew who that person was. As for those who weren¡¯t close to him, they also knew that it was his wife, Eddie Fletcher, ¡­ Therefore, Eddie¡¯s real identity immediately became a trending topic. Who is this Eddie? She seems to be one of Taylor¡¯s fans, but how did she capture his heart? In the militarypound, an old man was wearing a pair of sses while studying Michael¡¯s live broadcast for a long time. He kept on pausing, repeating, and erging the video. That back view¡­ That name¡­ The old man didn¡¯t dare to guess. Suddenly, Woody came over to him and pointed at Eddie¡¯s back in the video while giggling. ¡°Coop! Coop is feeding the pandas!¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± Finally, Old Master Fletcher came back to his senses. Isn¡¯t Eddie Fletcher actually Sophia?! ¡°Security, give me the phone!¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Old Master Fletcher was very enraged. Cooper¡¯s daughter is squandered by being with that barbaric man, Michael! I will have none of this! Soon after, he quickly found out about everything, so he called Daniel over. The Levine Family wasn¡¯t as prominent as the Fletchers, but the two families always had a connection with each other, so the old man was very familiar with Daniel. ¡°It had nothing to do with me. Joe wanted to sell his daughter, and your grandson wanted a mother for Nate, so I sent a picture over to him. He was immediately fond of her at first nce.¡± Daniel tried to act innocent. However, Old Man Fletcher was already spewing his rage. ¡°So you sold Cooper¡¯s daughter for just 80,000?¡± Daniel shivered. ¡°No, no. I would never have dared to. It was actually 10 million!¡± Chapter 480 Chapter 480 ¡°10 million? Is that all you get for selling my god-granddaughter?¡± After realizing Cooper¡¯s daughter was insulted, the old man kept on pounding his chest in anger. Suddenly, he pointed at Stanley, who was enjoying the drama. ¡°Stupid dog, why didn¡¯t you save her? Not only is she your Uncle Cooper¡¯s daughter, she¡¯s my god granddaughter!¡± Stanley acted innocently. ¡°Have you ever considered if I¡¯m able to restrain my Uncle Michael? He¡¯s so brilliant that Eddie is nowpletely charmed by him. What else could I do?¡± Daniel quickly advised the old man, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, what¡¯s done is done. Besides, both of them have such a great rtionship together. I think you should just ept it.¡± Old Master Fletcher was now fuming, but there was nothing he could do. What¡¯s done is done. What else can I do, except for epting this fact? On the way back to Bayside City, Michael and Sophia wore couple t-shirts while having fun the entire day before returning to the hotel just now. They had nned the whole travel route, and now, it wasing to an end. Tomorrow, they would return to Bayside City. Today, they had fun at an old town near Bayside City. Sophia wanted to visit here a long time ago, but she didn¡¯t have the money nor the time. Now, she had finally fulfilled her wish. Just when she was happily buying every souvenir on the road, Michael received a call from Old Master Fletcher. ¡°Brat, if youe back now, I promise I won¡¯t kill you!¡± These were his first words. Michael knew that this would happen. Even though he was unwilling to tell the old man about his rtionship with Sophia, the old man already knew about it, so he could only go with the flow. He smiled and opened a bottle of pure milk. As he drank the milk, he told him, ¡°Grandpa, if you kill me, Cooper¡¯s daughter is going to be a widow.¡± The old man was rendered speechless. Michael continued, ¡°Didn¡¯t you hope most for Cooper¡¯s daughter to get married to a Fletcher? Now, you finally got your wish.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns this text. The old man grunted as he didn¡¯t want to speak. I would rather have her married to ude, Caleb, or even that stupid dog, Stanley. Why is it Michael who got her at the end? How could an old man like him marry someone so young? There¡¯s an age gap of at least ten years between the two of them! But at this point, I can only ept it. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Murrays and the Mitchells are troubling you. Don¡¯t worry. You have me to back you up!¡± For a moment, Michael felt a warmth in his heart, but he still advised the old man, ¡°Grandpa, this is between us young people. You shouldn¡¯t keep worrying about me.¡± Old Master Fletcher informed him again, ¡°I¡¯ll ask Stan to send Nate back in two days. Even though he is a rash kid, he is still your sister¡¯s son. You don¡¯t need to intimidate him too much. It was my idea to set Sophie up with that blind date. He didn¡¯t have much to do with it.¡± When Sophia returned to Bayside City, Bayside University was already two weeks into the new semester. As soon as they got back, Stanley immediately brought Sean to Michael¡¯s house to have a meal. ¡°Uncle Michael, look at how skinny you¡¯ve be after the shoot. Hurry up and open a bottle of fine wine to replenish your body!¡± The moment Stanley arrived, he kept on pestering Michael. When he came, he also brought Nathan along back home. After over a month of devilish training, Nathan had already be a human stick. Not only that, his skin also got so dark that he looked pitiful. As soon as he saw Sophia, he instantly came crying to her. ¡°Mommy!¡± Nathan cried embarrassingly. Immediately, Sophia hugged the little ball of meat and coaxed him. Looks like he still isn¡¯t done with his one hundred exercises. After coaxing him for a while, she advised, ¡°Later on, remember to apologize to Daddy. If you make him happy, he¡¯ll probably allow you toe back.¡± However, Nathan pouted his lips and wiped his tears away while remaining silent. ording to his cold personality, he would never bow down to Michael. Sophia knew that this would happen, so she advised him, ¡°Your daddy is a bad man who only knows how to bully children. Nate, you can¡¯t bow down to bad guys, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers. Why don¡¯t you pretend to apologize to him first? Are you fine with that?¡± After giving it a thought, Nathan nodded his head with agreement. At the moment, Sean was exining Natasha¡¯s situation to Michael. ¡°She was rescued after they paid the 3 billion ransom, but they didn¡¯t want the incident to be exposed to the public, so she is now still locked inside her room. I haven¡¯t seen her for a few days. At the moment, the whole Mitchell Family is a mess. Some of them want to bring Cooper back, but the other thinks that he is a traitor to the family, so they are adamant that he mustn¡¯t be brought back. Overall, the Mitchell Family is now in peril as they are no longer harmonious, so there¡¯s no chance for Natasha to cause any trouble. However, she still insists that it was you in her room that night. The Mitchell Family can¡¯t afford to embarrass themselves, so they want you to take responsibility no matter what. After this incident, they¡¯ll definitelye for you and force you to admit to the public that Natasha is your real wife. They will retain her reputation at all cost.¡± While listening to him, Michael poured some wine for himself and Stanley. Hale also received lots of calls from the Mitchell Family, but he simply deflected all of them. From now on, they were going to use a more aggressive strategy. To deal with an actor, they had lots of ideas in mind¡­ ¡°I¡¯m preparing for pregnancy, so I¡¯m not drinking.¡± Michael took a sip of milk. After taking a sip of red wine, Sean informed him, ¡°Their first step is to halt the verification of ¡®War Dragon¡¯.¡± If the movie couldn¡¯t pass through the verification process, the movie would never make it to the cinemas. Then, the Mitchell Family would be able to shut down Taylor and force him to admit to his marriage with Natasha! However, when exining their n, even Sean felt that it wasughable. ¡®War Dragon¡¯ has the backing of the military! Most of the confidential weapons used in the movie were real; otherwise, how would they be able to use it without the backing of the military? Stanley quickly took two sips of the wine and reminded, ¡°Uncle Michael, I think you should prepare yourself. The old man is now very angry at you for insulting Uncle Cooper¡¯s daughter. He wille for you sooner orter.¡± However, Michael remained silent. What else can the old man do to me, except for epting reality? He has no other way. Then, Sophia came over while holding Nathan¡¯s hand. Even though he seemed to be unwilling to do this, he still had no choice but to walk to the front of Michael with his head down. ¡°Daddy, I was wrong,¡± he uttered while pouting his lips. This apology was probably touching Nathan¡¯s limit, so Michael chose not to mess with him as he caressed his head. ¡°Good boy. Your mommy has brought a puppy back for you. Are you happy about it?¡± Nathan was now carrying the puppy that Sophia brought back while his face had traces of satisfaction. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± After the humiliating apology, he immediately went back to Sophia, as if he was ashamed by what he just did. He was now squirming in her arms because, afraid to look at everyone else. After being gone for a few days, Michael¡¯s house had quickly be a breeding center for orange cats as they were scattered everywhere like chickens. At the moment, Sophia was whispering to Nathan while he carried the puppy. Every inch of space in this big house was filled with warmth. Michael took a sip of milk and filled his throat with sweetness. After cing down the ss, his eyes became serious as he spoke to Sean, ¡°Let the Mitchells y their little game first, but remember to inform me if anything happens.¡± Now that news about Cooper being alive has already been released, the Mitchell Family will definitely start an investigation on it, so they may find their way to Sophia. Therefore, she must be fully prepared for what¡¯s toe. However, Sean was still a little excited to see the oue of Alex using every method possible to force out Michael. By then, he will know what it¡¯s like to hit a rock with an egg. Chapter 481 Chapter 481 The news of Natasha¡¯s kidnapping leaked anyway. Soon, some vague videos started circting in certain perverted forums, hinting that Natasha had been kidnapped and raped. The fans found the news exhrating, and everyone celebrated and spread the news happily. ¡®It¡¯s true that anyone who throws themselves at Taylor Murray would get into trouble!¡¯ The second day after returning to Bayside City, Sophia did not attend lectures because she wanted to take the chance to choose the wedding gown as soon as possible since Michael was at home. ording to Michael¡¯s ns, they had to have two weddings; one would be a traditional wedding, whereas the other would be an outdoor one. The wedding gown and suit were necessary. Since a tailor- made wedding gown would take a very long time, it was vital for her to choose the wedding gown today. Sophia was especially exhrated, and she got ready early in the morning excitedly to leave with Michael. Nathan was standing among a pile of orange cats when he stared at the two of them leaving the house and going off in the car. Hmph, they are not taking me out to have fun with them again. Nathan carried the new puppy to y with it in the garden. Recently, Sophia had brought back a furry Samoyed puppy, and it was so fluffy it looked like cotton candy. At that moment, Nathan held onto the puppy while he yed with mud in the garden. Nevertheless, not long after the owner left the house, a group of unexpected guests arrived at The Imperial¡¯s Vi No.8. ¡°Old madam, you can¡¯t enter!¡± the security eximed while trying his best to stop Old Madam Murray, who had just barged into the residential area. ¡°Why? I am Taylor Murray¡¯s grandmother! Elizabeth Murray was my daughter! What is wrong for me to visit my grandson!? Where is my grandson?¡± After having her authority challenged consecutively, Old Madam Murray was already at her limit. Hence, she barged into Vi No.8 while disregarding the consequences. In my world, parentse first, and so children and grandchildren have to obey the older generation¡¯s wishes! Since Taylor is my grandson, I have to sign off on important matters, such as his marriage. I have never given Taylor and Eddie my blessings! Therefore, that does not count! Taylor has to marry Natasha! Natasha was supporting Old Madam Murray. ¡°Grandma, take it easy; don¡¯t exert yourself too much!¡± Natasha might appear worried superficially, but she was secretly delighted. Theoretically, I want Old Madam Murray to pressure Taylor. On the other hand, career-wise, the Mitchell Family will be obstructing him. Therefore, I am confident that he will give in! Taylor has worked hard to obtain his current status, and so I¡¯m sure that he would treasure what he has now. He will lose his fame and riches if he doesn¡¯t marry me. On the contrary, if he marries me, he will gain both fame and wealth. Even a fool would know the right choice. He is most probably still hung up on the old housewife he has at home since he¡¯s reluctant to get married with me now. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. I¡¯m sure Taylor¡¯s old housewife is already about 30 years old. How could she possibly be as young and pretty as I am? He must already be bored with her, but he just didn¡¯t have a reason to excuse himself. I just have to nudge him in the right direction, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯d let go of her. ¡°Grandma, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s appropriate to barge into Taylor¡¯s house¡­¡± Despite saying that, Natasha was still very cooperative by leading the way for Old Madam Murray. Without me, I¡¯m sure that Old Madam Murray would never be able to locate Taylor¡¯s house. Old Madam Murray was so furious that her jowls were trembling. She walked quickly with the aid of her walking cane. ¡°I am his grandma, so I should be able toe and go as I please.¡± Olivia was following behind Old Madam Murray while regarding the legendary Imperial in awe. True enough, this is no doubt the best real estate in Bayside City. The location and property here are priceless, while the owners are all outstanding and exceptionally powerful figures in society. I would never have thought I¡¯d have the chance to enter The Imperial! Since I¡¯ve managed to gain entry, it will not be myst time. The group of people marched to Vi No.8 boldly. Old Madam Murray was determined to meet Taylor today, and she wanted him to kneel before their ancestors. I want him to know thews of the Murray Family! Disobeying the elders is equivalent to great treason! Natasha¡¯s bodyguard and the guards of The Imperial were entangled in a brawl. Old Madam Murray and her entourage followed closely from behind, and the group of people made their way to Vi No.8. As the protagonist in ¡®War Dragon¡¯, Harry had to continue working a few more days after Michael was done with his part. Hence, after returning home, he slept for twelve hours straight, and he yed online computer games for the next twelve hours to enjoy himself. He slept untilte morning today, and he was now in his swimming trunks while sunbathing in his home¡¯s swimming pool. Suddenly, he heard a commotion, and he instructed one of his security guards to check the situation. After learning what was happening outside, he immediately phoned Michael. ¡°Oh, damn! Bro, Natasha brought your grandmother to your home. You are done for. You¡¯ll end up kneeling in the Murray Family¡¯s ancestral hall today.¡± Michael responded, ¡°Ha!¡± Then, he hung up on the phone call. After that, Harry hung up on the call to continue sunbathing. Judging by Michael¡¯s response, it seems that he doesn¡¯t take Old Madam Murray seriously at all. However, she is his grandmother after all, and I¡¯m sure he can¡¯t offend her openly. In any case, with the old madam¡¯s situation, Michael can drag things on easily. She is easily worn out, and I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t got much time to pester him. Besides, she¡¯s not like Old Master Fletcher. Just look at Old Master Fletcher¡ªhe is almost 100 years old, but he¡¯s still participating in marathons every year. He¡¯s still up and running after the passing of a few wives. He¡¯s unbeatable! Natasha led Old Madam Murray to the entrance of Taylor¡¯s house. The wall enclosing the courtyard seemed to stretch far into the distance. It looked like an ancient European-styled castle, and so it appeared especially extravagant. Olivia was stunned in shock when she saw such a luxuriousrge house, and her mouth hung wide open. This ce is as grand as a pce! How much would such arge vi cost within the ring road?! I must find a way to live here! The metal door was tightly shut, and it didn¡¯t even budge with their arrival. Natasha rang the doorbell several times, but nobody opened the door for her. It¡¯s impossible that there¡¯s nobody at home in such arge house. They must be ying dead by not answering the door. Old Madam Murray was leaning against her walking cane angrily while staring at the door. ¡°Taylor Murray! You are a horribly unfilial child! Open the door for me right now!¡± I¡¯ve noticed that Taylor has forgotten about respect for his elders, thanks to that woman named Eddie Fletcher. I must kick that woman out of the Murray Family. Besides, there is a nanny here, named Sophia, who almost ended the Murray Family¡¯s bloodline. I have to bring her to justice. Old Madam Murray screamed her voice hoarse at the entrance for the longest time, and she attracted the whole neighborhood¡¯s attention. Many workers and residents observed her in silence from afar. Finally, someone answered her through the entrance. Mr. Morgan showed up, and he spoke to Old Madam Murray through the metal grill while smiling at her, ¡°Ladies, may I know what you are doing here?¡± Once she saw that someone was finally there, Old Madam Murray banged against the metal door while instructing fiercely, ¡°Open the door right now! I want to enter!¡± Mr. Morgan nced at Old Madam Murray in confusion, asking, ¡°And you are¡­¡± Old Madam Murray answered proudly, ¡°I am Elizabeth Murray¡¯s mother, and so I am Taylor Murray¡¯s grandmother! Open the door for me immediately!¡± Mr. Morgan appeared awkward. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve never seen you before. Currently, both the Young Master and Madam aren¡¯t at home, and I am just an employee here. Hence, I can¡¯t make any decisions, and I just can¡¯t let you in for the time being.¡± Old Madam Murray was so angry that she almost passed out. Her old and wrinkly face was trembling slightly. ¡°Didn¡¯t you watch the news? I am Taylor¡¯s grandmother.¡± I am Taylor¡¯s grandmother, and so he should respect and obey me. He would be unfilial if he doesn¡¯t obey me. As for this negligible butler, he is a nobody! On the other hand, Mr. Morgan wasn¡¯t bothered by her at all. Chapter 482 Chapter 482 Natasha added hastily, ¡°Mr. Morgan, you should open the door first to let grandma in¡ªshe is truly Taylor¡¯s grandmother! Even if you don¡¯t recognize her, don¡¯t you recognize me? I am Natasha!¡± Mr. Morgan seemed embarrassed when he answered her, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Miss Natasha, but I¡¯m just a servant. I¡¯m not quite sure about the Young Master¡¯s family matters. However, the Young Master isn¡¯t around, and the rule is that we do not ept guests without him. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Old Madam Murray was fuming, and she started shaking the metal grill like a mad person. ¡°You had better phone Taylor toe back. Tell him that his grandmother is here! I want him toe home to meet me immediately, and I demand that he brings along that woman of his!¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Mr. Morgan continued frowning. ¡°Young Master has some important matters to attend to outside¡­ Ah! Little Master is around. Let me ask him for advice!¡± Little Master? Natasha pricked up at that. Taylor seemed to have mentioned that he had a son. Is this the son he was referring to? Soon, Mr. Morgan showed up again with a 5 to 6 years old dirty little boy, who was carrying a dog. ¡°Are you Taylor and that woman¡¯s son?¡± Old Madam Murray nced at Nathan, who was standing in front of her. He does resemble Taylor, but he isn¡¯t a true Murray descendent. Besides, he is that woman¡¯s son, and so I am just not fond of him. In fact, he emits an repulsive aura that I find disgusting. ¡°Where¡¯s your father? Phone him and get him to get back!¡± Old Madam Murray instructed him with a demanding tone. ¡°My father is dead,¡± Nathan answered eerily. After ying with the puppy in the garden¡¯s mud, he was covered with filth. ¡°What a brute! What kind of a child would curse their own parent?!¡± Old Madam Murray stomped her feet in anger, and she continued banging against the metal door. Her eyes were bloodshot when she shouted, ¡°Open the door for me! Just you wait; I¡¯ll teach you a lesson!¡± Natasha knew that this was a good opportunity to find out about Eddie Fletcher¡¯s identity. Therefore, she consoled Old Madam Murray while asking Nathan in a gentle tone, ¡°Little boy, where is your mother? Tell me who and where your mother is; we have something to discuss with her.¡± Nathan regarded her coldly, and he answered her with an icy tone, ¡°My mom is dead as well; stop asking.¡± It seems like it¡¯s impossible to trick this child too. Natasha continued luring him patiently, ¡°Little boy, that joke isn¡¯t funny at all. Quick, tell me where your father and mother is¡­¡± Nathan was still wearing a cold and distant expression while ignoring Natasha¡¯s question. After that, he spoke to Mr. Morgan, ¡°Fire up the highest security system. Unrted personnel are not allowed entry. Call the police if anybody has the audacity to barge in!¡± Mr. Morgan nodded respectfully to Nathan in response. When Madam is at home, Little Master is like an unfocused little boy who can¡¯t be independent. However, whenever Madam isn¡¯t around, he would immediately assume the role of a cold, cruel, and domineering young director. I wonder if it¡¯s my imagination, but I have a feeling that, after training for some time in the Fletcher Family, Little Master¡¯s aura and temperament have be even more ruthless. Nathan continued ying with the dog in the garden, whereas Mr. Morgan fired up the highest level of the security system. Suddenly, a metal door emerged from the ground and blocked behind the existing metal grill. Simultaneously, the courtyard walls around The Imperial¡¯s Vi No.8 increased dozens of feet in height. The entire house looked like a fortified stronghold now. Natasha stared in disbelief at the vi with irond security. Does Taylor actually have the courage to lock Old Madam Murray outside of his house? He is a celebrity and a public figure; he survives based on his reputation, and his actions are constantly being scrutinized. Isn¡¯t he afraid that this incident might spread to the media, resulting in a bacsh from his fans? Nevertheless, he has actually locked Old Madam Murray outside of his house right now. Old Madam Murray was so furious that she was stunned to silence. I came rushing to Bayside City all the way from the film studio like a headless chicken. It took me a lot of effort, but I finally found Taylor¡¯s home. I can¡¯t believe that I¡¯m being locked outside now! Old Madam Murray kneeled on the ground while wailing loudly, ¡°Oh, my God! Does justice still exist? Someone, help! Look! My unfilial grandson has had me, an olddy, locked outside of the house!¡± For some reason, once she started wailing, the crowd around the entrance disappeared immediately. In fact, the neighbours, who came out to check out the situation earlier, all left. The Imperial was full of important and powerful figures. Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t pay much attention to such a pointlessmotion, nor would they spread such rumors to the public. They wouldn¡¯t gossip, nor would they allow their nannies or subordinates to spread news regarding this incident. Anybody who leaks the news would directly offend Taylor! Without an audience, Old Madam Murray just couldn¡¯t bring herself to continue howling. Therefore, she stood up to start banging against the door, but nobody responded inside the house. After keeping at that for ages, nobody opened the door for them, and so Old Madam Murray was fuming. Suddenly, she grabbed onto Natasha. ¡°Nat, I¡¯m sure you have your ways. Get some reporters for me right now! I want to gather some reporters! I want them to spread the news of what just happened today. I want to hold a press conference to let everybody know that Taylor Murray is an unfilial person!¡± Natasha was caught between a rock and a hard ce, but she agreed anyway. I¡¯m afraid that Taylor would just refuse to bow down to the Murray Family. It seems impossible for the old madam to force Taylor into divorcing his current wife just to marry a new one. However, Old Madam Murray is still Taylor¡¯s elder; therefore, she¡¯s still useful to me. Currently, I have no choice but to act ruthlessly! On the other side, Michael had already been informed about the situation at home. The Murray Family is a troublesome existence. Initially, I figured I should maintain each other¡¯s dignity. Nevertheless, I should give that up since they don¡¯t seem to appreciate my gesture. How dare they say they are my maternal family! Haha! Mom has provided for the Murray Family her entire life, but they merely treated her like a cash cow. Later in life, she finally realized that the Murray Family was like a bottomless ck hole, and that was especially true after she gave birth to my sister and me. In the end, she finally realized that she had her own family and children too. Therefore, she had to n for her children and young family. She started consciously decreasing the amount of financial aid she provided for the Murray Family, and she kept her ie a secret to save up for me. She hoped that the Murray Family and Larry Murray would be independent. However, her actions resulted in the Murray Family throwing insults at her. They called her an ungrateful child and a heartless person. They cursed and humiliated the person who had worked hard to provide for the Murray Family for more than a decade! From then on, her affection and hope for the Murray Family had diedpletely. It wasn¡¯t until her death when the Murray Family realized that she had been keeping her ie a secret from them. They finally learned that she had umted arge inheritance, but out of these riches, Elizabeth only used one tenth of it for Old Madam Murray¡¯s financial needs. She left 80% of her inheritance for her descendants. The Murray Family was hysterical, and they were still cursing her to suffer in death even years after her passing. On the other side, they were using her to make money¡­ ¡°Dear, what do you think about this one?¡± Sophia¡¯s excited voice cut through Michael¡¯s train of thoughts. He looked up at Sophia, who had just walked out of the changing room, and he caught sight of a beautiful and slender figure. His eyes shone brightly, and it dispelled the haze of his anger. Sophia was trying on a fitted-bodice wedding gown, and it gave an indistinct appearance of her bosom. This particr wedding gown had a fitted cut, and it hugged her petite waist snugly. It showed off her figure well, entuating her alluring and beautiful figure. She¡¯s just like a fairy, showing up just at the right time in my world¡­ Chapter 483 Chapter 483 Michaelmented in a professional tone, ¡°Mm-hmm, not bad at all. However, I think the hollowed out skirt design doesn¡¯t make much sense because it will shift attention away from what you¡¯re trying to present. Besides, it makes the entire gown lose its focus point.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sophia seemed puzzled when she heard that. However, she agreed with Michael¡¯sment after looking down at the gown. Therefore, she went off in a hurry to try on another wedding gown. When it involved choosing her wedding gown, Sophia seemed especially serious about it, and Michael seemed focused on keeping herpany too. Michael observed while Sophia tried on a new wedding gown, one after another. Suddenly, he stood up abruptly to say, ¡°The Murrays are causing trouble at home. I should head home to check on Nate.¡± After weighing his options, Michael decided that it was best to return to check on the situation. Sophia replied hastily, ¡°In that case, you should go home first. I¡¯ll visit grandpa in the militarypound after trying on the gowns.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm, I¡¯ll send someone over to pick you up at night.¡± Michael left in a hurry. Although he did not have to worry about the situation at home, the thought of Nathan being alone at home made him determined that the Murrays must never harm Nathan. He rushed home in a hurry, and he noticed that the entire house was sealed shut. Therefore, Michael returned home through the basement and arrived at the garden to see Nathan ying with the cat, dog, and his robot in the garden. ¡°Nate, did someone drop by earlier?¡± Nathan did not even bother looking up. ¡°I told them that my parents were dead.¡± Michael was rendered speechless when he heard that. Sophia was still trying on wedding gowns in the bridal shop. Michael has picked out a suit long ago, and so I have to find a wedding gown that matches well with his suit. Due to Taylor¡¯s identity, the whole floor was specially sealed off just for the two of them. The bridal shop was part of Ido¡¯s gship stores for marriage products. Not only did Ido make wedding rings, they even tailored premium wedding gowns. Ido¡¯s gship Bridal Shop was a huge store, and they took up a few floors as their operation space. The higher the floor, the more premium it was, and thanks to Michael, Sophia was currently on the highest floor in the shop. Trying on wedding gowns was a physically demanding activity. After spending the whole day trying on countless wedding gowns, Sophia finally found one that she was happy with. After taking her measurements, she left to use the loo in a hurry. Unfortunately, it so happened that the washroom on that floor was under maintenance because the flush was faulty. In fact, the workers were trying their best to repair it as fast as they could. The workers were extremely nervous because they did not expect the washroom to be out of order upon the arrival of such an important client. Hence, they were worried that she would lose her temper. Nevertheless, Sophia did notment further; instead, she made her way downstairs to look for another washroom. In the washroom, Sophia, who was seated on the toilet in one of the cubicles, was ying her phone in silence. The washroom had a very nice fragrance that smelled wonderful. Besides, the toilet had a massage and auto-flush function that was paired with¡­ an auto bum-wipe function. Sophia sat on the toilet for a bum massage to rx herself. Simultaneously, she was thinking of a way to exin to Old Master Fletcher that she had been sleeping with Michael for a very long time. She was an important client after all, and so she couldn¡¯t possibly stay in the washroom forever. Otherwise, the staff might misunderstand. Therefore, she ced a ¡®Under Maintenance¡¯ sign in a hurry at her cubicle door. After that, she shut the door in relief to mull over her choices in life. After a moment, she heard some footsteps outside of the door. Soon, she heard a woman asking tentatively, ¡°Is anyone in there?¡± Sophia put her phone on silent mode in a hurry while keeping quiet. There were only two cubicles in the washroom, and Sophia had already upied one of them. Therefore, the other person could only take the remaining cubicle. The woman entered the washroom to knock on both doors. After confirming that one of it was empty, whereas the other was under maintenance, she walked out. After a while, Sophia heard the uniform footsteps of a pair of high heels and a pair of leather shoes walking into the washroom. Thud! The main door of the washroom mmed shut with a dull thud. Soon, the cubicle door adjacent to Sophia was closed as well. Then¡­ she immediately heard the suggestive panting sounds of a man and woman being engaged in unspeakable acts. After that, there was a loud clunk of a belt buckle hitting the floor, followed by a series of intense pping sounds. Sophia was rendered speechless when she heard that. The couple next door was lost in their intense activities while recklessly having a tryst. The woman was moaning sensually, and there were even sounds of leather pping against sh intermittently. ¡°B*tch! Say it! Do you like being f*cked by your younger brother-inw?¡± ¡°You are a brute! Your fianc¨¦e is trying on her wedding gown next door, but here you are, fooling around with your fianc¨¦e¡¯s cousin¡­ You are truly a brute!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you enjoy my brutal ways?¡± ¡°When are you nning to make things clear with that b*tch?¡± ¡°I have just received my marriage certificate. Don¡¯t worry¡ªonce I¡¯ve taken my share of money from the Huffs, I¡¯ll ditch her immediately!¡± p, p, p, p! Sophia was at a loss for words. I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s actually Faye and Richard! A leopard never changes its spots, indeed. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s actually doing this right in the washroom of a bridal shop! The couple, who was lost in the heat of their passion, did not realize that a phone camera was extending from the next door cubicle in silence from the top¡­ At the counter on the second floor of Ido¡¯s tailored bridal shop, X and Faye had already waited for half an hour, but Richard was nowhere to be seen. Earlier, Faye left to use the loo, whereas Richard had to excuse himself after receiving a business phone call. Currently, Faye was already back, but Richard had not returned. Today was the day for X and Richard to try on their wedding clothes in Ido. They even invited Faye for her opinion. After going through countless options, X finally selected a wedding gown that she liked. Now, she was just waiting for Richard to return to pay the bill. There were a lot of people trying on wedding gowns, and most of them were acquaintances of X and Faye¡¯s. The bunch of rich women gathered together to chat while boasting about their respective wedding gowns. One of them imed, ¡°The essories alone on my wedding gown are worth more than a million! They are all authentic, and it¡¯s super heavy!¡± Another woman eximed, ¡°How heavy can your wedding gown be? It must be just about 20kg! Mine is more than 30kg! In fact, the veil itself is 5 meters!¡± ¡°My veil is 8 meters long! When the timees, my husband¡¯s children will all lift my veil during the ceremony!¡± Their wedding gowns were just like their wedding rings and jewelry. The wedding gown was one of the more important items that the group of madams wereparing and boasting to each other. After listening to everybody boasting about themselves, X remained silent until they were done talking. Then, she dropped a bomb. ¡°My wedding gown isn¡¯t that expensive too; it only costs 7 million. Previously, the designer designed Princess Kate¡¯s wedding gown.¡± Upon hearing that, the bunch of rich women stared at her in jealousy and resentment. As expected from the Harper Family¡¯s Young Mistress. Those doing business in property are all rich! Other families can¡¯t evenpare to their extravagance! The group were chatting away happily. Along the way, one of them would brush their hair distractedly while showing off therge diamond ring on her finger. Once in a while, another one of the women would lift her wrist to show off a priceless jade bangle¡­ Suddenly, Faye, who had always had a keen eye, noticed Sophia, who was dressed modestly, sitting in a corner. This was a premium tailor bridal shop, and somoners wouldn¡¯t be able to afford shopping here. Hence, the client base here would either be rich or powerful. All the clients in the waiting room were either d in jewelry or wearing designer brand clothes. Sophia was the only outlier because she was wearing a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and sport shoes, paired with a baseball cap. Sophia looked like an ugly duckling which had barged into the territory of a pride of peacocks by ident, while emitting an untimely stench and was reeking of poverty. Why is she here? Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Faye and X exchanged a nce¡­ Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to cut the queue with her VIP status, and so she made Gemma wait in line to pay the bill while she sat in the corner, sending Michael pictures of the wedding gown she had chosen. Michael was ying sand with Nathan at home. He had been very busytely, and Nathan had been distant toward him. Hence, it felt like the longest time since both father and son enjoyed some ytime together. ¡°I chose a wedding gown which I really like, and I¡¯ve sent you a picture of it via Messenger. I¡¯m getting someone to pay the bill now, and I¡¯m paying for yours as well. My treat this time, and don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Chapter 484 Chapter 484 Sophia was afraid that her makeup and lipstick might stain the wedding gown since she had to try them on, and so she left home barefaced today. She only applied a thinyer of BB cream on her face. She had her earphones on while being on the phone with Michael. ¡°Hey, if it isn¡¯t my sister, Sophia! Why are you here? I¡¯m afraid you shouldn¡¯t be somewhere like this!¡± Sophia heard Faye¡¯s voice, and she looked up from her phone while taking off her earphones. She saw Faye and X leading a group of wealthy women standing in front of her in a nosy way. One of the rich women asked Faye in confusion, ¡°This is your younger sister? Why does she look different from you?¡± X exined in a pointed tone, ¡°She is a child born out of wedlock from Faye¡¯s family. She¡¯s lost her mind trying to climb the socialdder by spreading word that she has married a coal owner! But it turns out she¡¯s just a nanny in Taylor Murray¡¯s house!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± Faye was the first to burst outughing without holding back, and she exposed her fresh love bite on her neck by ident. Sophia, that little b*tch, has truly lost her mind yearning to climb the socialdder. How dare she im that she married a coal owner! She is obviously just working as a nanny in Taylor¡¯s house, but she regarded herself as someone important! Putting aside the fact that the Edwards Family were excited over nothing, we even lost a vi, thanks to her! I want nothing more than to strangle Sophia to get her to cough up the vi we lost. Nevertheless, she¡¯s just a wretched woman, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to give us back the vi even if she were to work her whole life! The group of wealthy women followed suit andughed alongside Faye. The wealthy womenwork was separated into the wives¡¯ socialwork and mistress¡¯ socialwork. These two groups of women never interacted with each other, and the ones in the bridal shop currently were obviously from the wives¡¯ socialwork. These people usually came together to discuss tips on entertaining their husbands while comining about their husbands¡¯ mistresses. Therefore, these women had seen many women like Sophia, who took advantage of their youth and pretty face, to climb the socialdder. In the end, those women might not even end up as a mistress. ¡°Miss, I am experienced. Judging by your looks, you need much more to marry a coal owner. You might have to increase your cup size a fair bit before even thinking about it!¡± ¡°You look rather young; how old are you? Some men prefer young women like you. If you truly can¡¯t find someone, I can introduce two clients to you.¡± The group of rich womenmented incessantly in Sophia¡¯s face. However, she merely looked upzily to nce at Faye and X before looking away. Then, she continued using her phone to text Michael via Messenger. I wouldn¡¯t stoop to this bunch of rich women¡¯s level. Stanley sent something to the group chat that included only the three of them. ¡®Eddie, did you drown in the toilet bowl? Why aren¡¯t you here yet? The Old Master got Uncle Joel to pick you up. The General is picking you up in person; that¡¯s great honor to you!¡¯ Eh? Joel is picking me up? Sophia: ¡®I¡¯ming now. I was picking my wedding gown, and I was just done with it. I¡¯m queuing up to pay the bill.¡¯ Sean: ¡®Natasha brought Old Madam Murray to Uncle Michael¡¯s home for trouble. Sophia, are you alright?¡¯ Sophia: ¡®I¡¯m fine. Your Uncle Michael went home to handle the situation.¡¯ Sean: ¡®Old Madam Murray ising over to the Mitchell Residence to discuss with Alex about Natasha and Uncle Michael¡¯s wedding. Yesterday, Old Madam Murray was convinced that she could make Uncle Michael marry Natasha as soon as possible. In fact, she imed that if he doesn¡¯t agree to it, she would commit suicide in front of your house. Simultaneously, Alex is pressuring Uncle Michael with hiswork contacts too.¡¯ Sophia read the message while chuckling mirthlessly. The Murray Family is most probably in a rush to get Michael to marry into a wealthy family. By getting him to marry into the Mitchell Family, it means that the Murray Family would have their status lifted significantly. Therefore, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about money for the rest of their lives! Unfortunately, their actions were based solely on wishful thinking. In the bridal shop, amidst the loud chattering, Richard finally returned from his phone call. Everybody threw him jealous and hateful stares when he approached them. Richard wrapped an arm around X while kissing her gently on her cheek. After that, he asked her gently, ¡°Have you picked a gown?¡± X¡¯s cheeks were blushing slightly when she nodded. After that, she pouted when she uttered, ¡°I¡¯ve picked one that costs 5 million. Is that too pricey?¡± Richard paid the bill while reassuring her, ¡°5 million is nothing. You are the daughter-inw of the Harpers, and you are my woman too. Only a 5-million wedding gown can match your worth.¡± The wealthy women, who were observing them, had different expressions. Those who were here to pick out their wedding gowns were all young and beautiful. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case for their respective husbands¡ªsome were undeniably young, handsome and sessful in their careers, but those were the rare ones. Most of them were middle-aged men who were already balding. Therefore, the majority of the women were jealous of X getting married to a young and handsome husband. Nevertheless, upon recalling about the gossip involving Richard, they felt much better about their situation. Men are all jerks! They are fake! They are all fake, indeed! After paying the bill, Richard noticed Sophia, who was sitting all alone in the corner. He smiled gleefully while having an arm around his well-dressed wife to approach the barefaced Sophia. ¡°Sophia, what a coincidence to run into you here! X and I are having our wedding next month. I¡¯ll send you an invitation to your ss if you are avable to attend the event.¡± Richard acted as if he had just noticed Sophia, but in reality, he had already spotted her the moment he entered the room. Currently, I am just like a prince because I have my sessful career, but she is still stuck in poverty! X lifted her chin up triumphantly like a proud swan when she added, ¡°Richard and I have received our marriage certificate yesterday. Our wedding will be held in November. Sophia, you have to show up!¡± In the end, I am the one to be the Harper Family¡¯s Young Mistress! Whereas Sophia is still just an ugly duckling! Sophia had been chatting with Stanley all along using the phone, and so she answered without even looking up, ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no reason for me to go. It would just be a waste of cash gift.¡± X taunted, ¡°I understand that you wouldn¡¯t be able to afford the cash gift. Don¡¯t worry, because we wouldn¡¯t expect a cash gift from you. How much could you afford anyway? A few hundred? Or 1,000? We don¡¯t need that bit of money anyway! Our wedding ceremony will be held at Bayside City¡¯s most luxurious Westin Hotel. I suppose this would most probably be your only chance in this life to attend such an expensive and premium wedding! It would be such a shame if you can¡¯t attend it!¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t even bothered to look up at X. However, suddenly, Gemma brought along two to three Ido shop assistants to her. One of the shop assistants looked extremely terrified and nervous when she apologized to Sophia profusely. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, madam. Initially, we have already prepared a VIP payment channel just for you. Nevertheless, due to our carelessness, you had to spend time queueing up. This was our mistake, and I would like to apologize for our oversight. I am truly sorry.¡± An important client like Taylor Murray¡¯s wife doesn¡¯t even need to queue up. Nevertheless, who would have expected her to disappear when we were done with preparing her bill? We just couldn¡¯t seem to find her after looking all over the building. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Earlier, when Sophia was mulling over her life choices in the toilet cubicle while listening to the intense lovemaking session next door, the Ido shop assistants were running around in search of her in fear. At that moment, Sophia stood up and kept her earphones. Then, she smiled warmly at the shop assistant. ¡°No worries. I was using the washroom just now. Sorry that I have rmed you. We are leaving now if the bill has been settled.¡± The other madams seemed unsatisfied when they saw how fearful and respectful the shop assistant was toward Sophia. We are all here to tailor our wedding gowns. Why do some people not have to queue up to pay? We are all equally wealthy, so how can other people receive special treatment? However, the shop assistant¡¯s next statement effectively shut everyone up. ¡°The bill has been settled, and this is the receipt and invoice. The total is 13.143344 million. The order has been sent to Europe. Later, Ido¡¯s chief wedding gown designer, Dave, who is from Europe, wille over to discuss the wedding gown details with you.¡± Chapter 485 Chapter 485 The richdies were all dumbfounded. It costs 13.143344 million? Isn¡¯t that even more expensive than the bridal gown of the Harper Family¡­ No, it¡¯s more expensive than the gown of any of our families¡¯! And it¡¯s a door-to-door service provided by the¡­ lead bridal gown designer, Dave? Sophia reached out her hand and took the receipt before keeping it into her handbag, which she bought for 50 from a street stall. The richdies immediately spotted the unnoticeable ring on her finger¡ªit was actually a wedding ring from ¡®The One¡¯ series by Ido. The Ido Company previously officially announced that they had sold a pair of rings with a sky-high price, but they didn¡¯t reveal the purchaser¡¯s identity. It turned out that the buyer was actually this low-profile youngdy before their eyes! Which rich guy is she married to? Sophia kept the receipt and spoke to the salesperson in a calm tone, ¡°Alright. My husband is usually busy with his work, and he is not at home most of the time. Please inform us in advance when the designer will be visiting so that my husband can make early arrangements for his schedule.¡± The salesperson immediately nodded. ¡°Sure. There won¡¯t be any problem from our side with Dave; you can make an appointment with him at any time. It mainly depends on the schedule of you and your husband.¡± Sophia replied. ¡°Okay. No worries. We will select a day that¡¯s convenient for everyone.¡± The richdies, who were watching them, were pissed off. As a renowned bridal gown designer, it was extremely difficult to make an appointment with Dave¡ªeven paying him a hefty amount of money couldn¡¯t pull that off. There were rumors that he was fully booked until next year. Therefore, who was that youngdy to be able to make an appointment with him at any time? Nheless, everyone was clear of the reason she was able to do that¡ªthe diamond ring and the receipt of the bridal gown that cost millions in her hands proved everything! At that moment, X was stupefied, unable to believe everything she had seen until now. Isn¡¯t she merely a nanny? Where did she get the money to buy such an expensive diamond ring and bridal gown? No¡­ no! She must have conspired with Ido¡¯s salesperson and deliberately put on a show! A pathetic and poor b*tch like her should just live among the thrash! Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. All of a sudden, a group of people arrived hurriedly outside the door. A heroic-looking man in military uniform entered the store inrge strides. ¡°Madam, General Fletcher hase to pick you up in person,¡± Gemma whispered by Sophia¡¯s ear. Sophia raised her head and looked at Joel and the group of soldiers behind him. Is there a need for him to make such a grand pomp? Old Master Fletcher actually asked Joel toe and pick me up! Joel directly uttered, ¡°Come with me. The old man had been talking about you since morning.¡± She nodded and politely thanked him. ¡°Thank you, General.¡± Joel replied, ¡°We are a family. You can save the courtesy.¡± He then turned to leave. His tall figure gradually disappeared from the eyes of the bunch of rich women, and Sophia followed behind him while her bodyguards slowly dispersed as well. Some time after they had left, one of the rich women had a sudden realization. ¡°Oh, my! Wasn¡¯t the man just now Major General Joel? The Joel from the Fletcher Family, who is the biological grandson of Mark Fletcher!¡± The rich women instantly burst into an uproar. Those who knew Joel found the scene earlier unbelievable. A big shot like him actually came in person to pick someone up? X, who was standing in the middle of the hall, was astounded. She suddenly felt as if she had been given a tight p on her face; the pain was so intense that it numbed her, and she could feel as if every single cell of her body was throbbing in pain. Faye and Richard, on the other hand, were contemting the matter. Who is she married to? They had initially thought that Sophia was married to an old man, who was an insignificant member of the Fletcher Family. However, her appearance in the film set as Taylor¡¯s nanny had disproved all their spections, yet the scene today caused her identity to be even more mysterious. Which coal owner is she actually married to? Faye immediately called home. It turns out that Sophia is really married to a nouveau riche. He must be somebody with a great background to be able to have the General to personallye to pick her up! Soon, Sophia arrived at the militarypound. She was nervous, without any idea on what to say to Old Master Fletcher. As soon as she arrived, Woody excitedly ran out. ¡°Coop, you are back! You¡¯ve worked hard, haven¡¯t you?¡± Seeing that, Mark sighed. Why is Michael able to marry such a youngdy? This doesn¡¯t make sense at all! They have an age difference of over ten years! My most perfect n had been to have Michael¡¯s sister, Celine, marry Cooper, but who could have guessed that she didn¡¯t get to marry Cooper, while Michael ended up marrying Cooper¡¯s daughter! The familial ties are now a huge mess! However, there was nothing he could say when things had reached this point. ¡°You need to tell me if he doesn¡¯t treat you well! When I¡¯m gone, you can tell my son instead. The entire Fletcher Family will protect you!¡± Sophia shrank back and nodded. I wonder who actually is my natal family. She stayed at the militarypound until the evening. After dinnertime, Michael sent someone to pick her up. Looking at Sophia leaving from Old Master Fletcher¡¯s ce, Joel¡¯s deep eyes became dark. I wonder why that little girl¡¯s face keeps appearing in my mind from time to time. Only God knows how d I was when I suddenly received the old man¡¯s order to go and pick her up! Why is this happening to me? ¡°Joel, Old Master Fletcher seems to like this youngdy a lot. Who is she?¡± Irene curiously asked after standing next to Joel for some time. Even she noticed that Old Master Fletcher seemed to treat Sophia differently. The news that the Old Master had set up a blind date for Sophia with great fanfare had been spread all over within the Fletcher Family, causing everyone to guess her identity. Could it be that she¡¯s the child of one of Old Master Fletcher¡¯s old friends? ¡°She¡¯s Michael¡¯s wife,¡± he replied before turning to leave. Michael¡¯s¡­ wife? Irene stood there in a daze, thinking about Joel¡¯s answer. That youngdy is actually Michael¡¯s wife? The Eddie Fletcher that everyone has been talking about? That¡¯s her? She was suddenly consumed by rage! She¡¯s unworthy to be Michael¡¯s wife! The only person who will make a good match to Michael in this world is me! As a matter of a fact, Irene had not lost her memories. That was just a tactic she came up with in order to leave Michael! Years ago, when Michael was still part of the Special Operation Squadron, Old Master Fletcher had high hopes for him. As he was also very talented and had made a lot of remarkable achievements, he was promoted rapidly and had a bright future. If nothing had gone wrong, he would have be the youngest Major General in the history of Cethos. However, after that, he actually left the army in order to give the opportunity to his sister. He intentionally made a mistake that was so huge that even Old Master Fletcher couldn¡¯t help keep him in the army. After he had been discharged, he started acting while studying. Due to the fact that his mother was a porn star, Michael and his sister¡¯s identities in the Fletcher Family had been extremely sensitive¡ªin fact, a lot of their family members had been clueless about their presence, and they had been ostracized by the elders of the family since young. Therefore, when he had intentionally made a mistake so that he could be discharged from the military, he had lost the qualification to return to the Fletcher main residence. He dared not to even use his real name when he was braving the outside world. His sister ended up better than he did¡ªher heroic sacrifice brought her honor and the Fletcher Family¡¯s acknowledgement. As for Michael, he was still in college when he was 23! He even debuted in a movie as a newbie and adopted Nathen, who was a burden, after his sister had passed away! Irene couldn¡¯t see any hope in Michael, and at the same time, Joel, who had a bright future, started to intensely pursue her! Even an idiot would know who would be a better choice! Chapter 486 Chapter 486 After an ident, Irene ¡®lost her memory¡¯ and forgot about Michael. She then went with the current and finally became Joel¡¯s woman. After so many years had passed, Joel indeed had a promising future, but she couldn¡¯t feel any love from him, and he had never talked to her about getting married! He had never given her any promise about marriage as well. To her surprise, Michael was now no longer how he used to be. He had be so sessful in the entertainment industry and became someone she looked up to! I¡¯m now almost 35 years old! I can¡¯t bear to wait any longer! I know that Michael is still in love with me. It¡¯s impossible that he would marry a youngdy in her twenties! It must have been because I didn¡¯t answer his feelings for so long, and that woman happened to have used some tricks to get him to marry her! A bold idea had been lingering in her mind for a very long time¡­ After Sophia returned home, she was informed about a dumbfounding news the next morning she woke up¡ªOld Madam Murray and Joe had a fight at the door! She identally revealed her wealth at Ido¡¯s custom bridal gown store yesterday, so Faye quickly went home and told Joe about it, causing Joe, who had been quiet for a long time, toe to the housing area of The Imperial, yelling and cursing. Sophia watched the security footage that was taken at the door. In the footage, Joe and Old Madam Murray arrived at the door almost simultaneously. Joe brought Faye and a few buff men, while Old Madam Murray brought Olivia and a few bodyguards; a precious youngdy like Natasha definitely would note to such a disgraceful asion. Old Madam Murray scolded, ¡°Taylor Murray, you ingrate b*stard! Come out now! Come out!¡± Joe cursed, ¡°Sophia Edwards, you damned girl who disowned your family! Come out now! Come out!¡± The roars made the two of them immediately find something both of them had inmon. Old Madam Murray looked at Joe. ¡°Who are you?¡± Joe red at her. ¡°My daughter is the Madam from Vi No.8 in The Imperial. My son-inw is the owner of the property here!¡± She had a sinister smile. ¡°You are talking nonsense. The owner of Vi No.8 is my grandson, Taylor Murray!¡± He blew up at the spot. ¡°You are the one talking nonsense! My son-inw is living in Vi No.8 !¡± She asked, ¡°What¡¯s your son-inw¡¯s name?¡± He replied, ¡°My son-inw¡¯s surname is Fletcher! The same Fletcher as our country¡¯s Founding Father¡ª Mark Fletcher!¡± Without the intention to continue quarrelling with him, she hit her walking cane on the ground and coldly uttered, ¡°Sophia Edwards is your daughter? The b*tch who is the cause that no one will inherit the surname of the Murray Family in the future? Since you are her father, you must give an exnation to the Murray Family today!¡± ¡°Who knows who you are? Get lost! Don¡¯t interrupt me from trying to get to know my son-inw!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to tear your mouth!¡± Therefore, the two groups of people exchanged a few blows with each other, and in the end, they could only back down. After making a scene at the door for two days, Michael refused to even meet Old Madam Murray, and the bodyguards refused to let her in. Finally, she decided not to go to his door anymore but to hold a press conference instead. During the press conference, she sobbed and wept while saying how difficult it had been for her to raise her daughter, how difficult Elizabeth¡¯s life had been, and how heartbroken she was when Elizabeth passed away. In the end, she indignantly used that Taylor was unfilial to her and neglected the Murray Family; he even stopped her from entering his housing area! Meanwhile, the Mitchell Family began to nder Taylor on the Inte. All previous nderous news about him had been groundless usations, but the news now were all actual facts. An actual weakness could easily destroy anyone in the entertainment industry, even if it was merely a weakness which would give no effect to people with ordinary lives. There had once been an incredibly famous female celebrity, who had been well-known all over South- East Asia, but her mother was a drug addict, who kept asking money from her to buy drugs. It had be so unbearable for her that she announced to cut ties with her mother. Regardless of the reasons she had decided to cut ties with her mother, it was unfilial of her to do so. Hence, she was condemned by everyone and was forced to leave the industry. Although she had decided to return to the industry, the past incident had given such a devastating blow to her career to the point that no one could recognize her even if she stood in the streets. The ending of said diva was Taylor¡¯s future fate! However, the Mitchell Family didn¡¯t burn their bridges; they left him some leeway to clean up his image. They were nning to wait for Taylor to give in to them before immediately making preparation to save his reputation. At the same time, The Imperial Management Studio kept receiving bad news. ¡°There¡¯s a problem with the review of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, and it can¡¯t be released on time. Besides, the director of the documentary film wishes to make an appointment with you to discuss something. I think that he wants to talk to you about changing the actor. Also, someone from the film set of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ used that you used a lot of stuntmen and lifecasting. You had over 30 stuntmen for a movie. The voices of resistance online are very loud, and all of them are forcing you to retire from the entertainment industry,¡± Hale reported. Michael had been resting at home for these few days. He had been working out, sleeping, reading, and working in his study. He had also read the news in the past few days. He knew that the Mitchell Family was forcing him to give in to them¡ªthey had had Old Madam Murray ruin his reputation, while the Mitchell Family tried to oppress him in many ways, attempting to destroy his career as an actor. He was condemned by the public within only two days, and the usation of him being unfilial almost ended his career as an actor¡ªunless he gave in to the Mitchell Family. Unfortunately, Taylor seemed to be at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t reply to thements and pretended to not know about it. He merely silently watched on as the Mitchells and Murrays took their actions. Meanwhile, there were people even more anxious than he was. After handling some business in the study, he went downstairs to the dining room to have a meal. Nathan was the only person in the dining room, together with a bunch of chubby ginger cats that wereThis is property ? N?velDrama.Org. scrambling for cat food. ¡°Where¡¯s your mother? Shouldn¡¯t she have gone to school with you?¡± Nathan was eating as he answered, ¡°She has gone to the office to work overtime.¡± After having some food, Michael asked Maria to pack up some food in a thermal food container before personally taking it to Sophia. At the same time, it was as bright as day in Stanley¡¯s office. The few experienced employees from thepany¡¯s advertising and marketing department were still working overtime. Sweating profusely, Sophia tied up her hair and revealed her oily forehead. She paced up and down in the office while giving out orders. ¡°Taylor is ourpany¡¯s sponsor, so we need to help him when he is in trouble. This is the time we prove ourselves useful! Little Kitten, I¡¯ve sent you videos of Taylor when he was on the film set. Those were videos personally taken by me. Edit the video and extract a few scenes that are able to prove that he didn¡¯t use any stuntmen and make them into short clips in GIF format before sending them to Sean. Stan, I¡¯ve sent you the documents regarding James taking drugs and Olivia smoking marijuana to lose weight. Organize them into a long picture and send it to Sean. Sean, after you receive the documents, distribute them to different ghostwriters ording to their groups ¡ªsend the GIF documents to Group 1 and 2, and they will be responsible of the nderous news about Taylor using stuntmen and lifecasting, and then send the embarrassing news about the Murray Family to Group 3 and 4. Put out some unimportant rumors first as a warm-up, and we will go in full swing once the police start to take actions. Zach, write a post that summarizes all the criminal records of the Murray Family to remind theizens that Taylor is still the anti-drug ambassador. This will lead everyone to believe that the Murray Family held a press conference to reprimand Taylor because they were furious and embarrassed that their outrageous requests were rejected by Taylor. Max, I¡¯ve submitted all the criminal records and evidence to the police. Remember to keep in touch with the police so that you can get thetest news. Logan, you will be in- charge of contacting Taylor¡¯s fan group and sending them the relevant information in time.¡± Chapter 487 Chapter 487 As soon as Michael stepped in with food in his hand, that was the first thing he saw. He couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased and gratified to see Sophia bustling around for his sake. At the same time, guilt flooded his heart because it wasn¡¯t a big deal for him, but it was a massive deal for Sophia. ording to their years of experience dealing with Glory Entertainment¡¯s team, Sophia and the others drew up aprehensive public rtion n in no time. Suddenly, Stanley asked, ¡°Should we mention my granduncle¡¯s sacrifice?¡± Back then, Michael¡¯s father was sacrificed during a mission to seize drugs. If this was revealed to the public, coupled with the news that James and Olivia took drugs, the Murray Family would be seen as extremely guilty. By that time, no matter what Taylor did to them, it wouldn¡¯t seem outrageous. Sophia rejected without hesitation. ¡°No, we cannot mention it regardless of what happens.¡± Theo¡¯s sacrifice was glorious but it was Michael¡¯s pain too. Therefore, Sophia would avoid bringing this up no matter what. ¡°Still working overtime?¡± Suddenly, Michael burst in, startling everyone in the office. He appeared in a casual attire with a cap, looking extremelyid-back and amiable. Despite knowing that Michael was their investor, only a handful of people in thepany had met him so everyone was stunned at that moment. Perhaps they were too shocked that a huge celebrity suddenly paid them a visit. After he came in, a few more men followed closely behind and they were carrying bags of takeaway crawfish. All at once, the office table was piled up with food. ¡°All of you must be exhausted from working overtime. Grab some food before continuing your work. Dinner is on me!¡± Michael said as he walked in and patted Stanley¡¯s shoulder. Only then did everyone regain their senses from the shock of meeting the legendary idol. With a cheer, they gathered around to grab some crawfish. While everyone was devouring the crawfish, no one realized that a food container appeared in Sophia¡¯s hand. It was brought by Lord Michael himself! Feeling as excited as the rest, Sophia was overwhelmed with gratitude so she swore that she wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to hurt her man! After everyone demolished the food, they continued to work enthusiastically. Even Michael took hisptop and worked in the office. Since Sophia worked so hard for his sake, he felt that he couldn¡¯t stand idly anymore so he informed the relevant department from Imperial Management Studio to cooperate with Sophia. Then, he indolently made a few calls and dredged the way that the Mitchell Family tried to block. Since ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ failed to pass the review, he resubmitted it for another review. Besides, the Murrays denounced him as an unfilial son so he might as well be the informer and send them to prison. After all, Larry evaded taxes and utilized illegal measures to suppress hispetitors, while James was a drug addict and was even involved in a few intentional injury cases and a murder case. Even Olivia took marijuana in an attempt to lose weight but she unfortunately got addicted and became a drug dealer. All of them had to reap what they sowed. Even after everything was settled, no one went home. Instead, they sat together to y a few rounds of ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. Since it was a gamingpany, the employees were experienced gamers; naturally, they were experts in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. With Scary Phoenix as their leader, they passed every stage with glory and yed through the night. The next day, Michael personally brought the relevant information to the police station in order to report the Murray Family. He even informed the reporters to cover the news. Meanwhile at Mitchell Residence, Natasha was waiting for Taylor to yield. After all, he was driven into a corner and there was no way out. Therefore, his only option was to give in to the Mitchell Family. In the living room of Mitchell Residence, Old Madam Murray arrived with Larry in tow. He had just been discharged from the hospital, and was hoping to discuss the date for Natasha and Taylor¡¯s wedding. ¡°My dear inws, Taylor and Natasha¡¯s wedding should be held as soon as possible. I think the first day of the next month is an auspicious date, so let¡¯s hold it then!¡± Larry suggested cheerfully. ¡°The first it is! First is a great date and if we miss this date, we¡¯ll have to wait for the next year. I¡¯m sure both of our families can¡¯t wait for another year!¡± Old Madam Murray quickly chimed in. They couldn¡¯t wait for Taylor to marry into the Mitchell Family. Natasha stood to one side, seeming extremely shy. She didn¡¯t expect that she would marry Taylor so soon. On the other hand, Alex wasn¡¯t so fond of the Murray Family. For him, families like the Murrays didn¡¯t deserve to be his inws. However, Natasha loved Taylor and everyone knew that she had already slept with him. Therefore, Alex had no choice but to agree unwillingly, ¡°Alright then. It¡¯ll be on the first.¡± After the wedding date was fixed, everyone was overjoyed and all that was left to do now was wait for Taylor¡¯s concession, which they believed would happen soon. After all, Taylor had no other choice now. He finally got to where he was today after so many years of painstaking effort but the Mitchell Family could destroy all his achievements with just a snap of their fingers. Therefore, he had no other option but to give in. Currently, Sean and the other Mitchells were present as well. Upon fixing the wedding date, many of them felt unhappy but this was the only speedy resolution to redeem the Mitchell Family¡¯s reputation. Only Sean was smiling, not uttering a word.Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Suddenly, someone from the concierge reported, ¡°Old Master, Old General Fletcher from the Fletcher Family is here!¡± Upon hearing that, Alex immediately asked, ¡°Which Old General Fletcher?¡± Even the Mitchells cast the concierge a sideways nce. ¡°The Founding Father, Mark Fletcher!¡± the concierge replied. Mark Fletcher! Upon hearing that name, everyone in the Mitchell Family was stupefied. Why did that old mane here? Although the Mitchell Family and the Fletcher Family were on friendly terms, their rtionship was way back in the past. As the saying went, ¡®the first generation might be as close as a family but with each new generation, they might not even recognise each other even if they met face-to-face.¡¯ Especially after Cooper passed away, theypletely stopped contacting each other. So why did Old Master Fletchere? Despite feeling suspicious, Alex told everyone, ¡°Old Master Fletcher has always liked Natasha. Perhaps he came personally to congratte her after he heard that her wedding will be happening soon.¡± Everyone was ted, especially the Murray Family, who were feeling smug. The Mitchell Family is a distinguished family after all. Even the Founding Father came personally to congratte us. How honorable and ttering! Marrying into the Mitchell Family is such an honorable deed. Why can¡¯t Taylor, that b*stard, understand? When he finally realizes, he will definitely feel grateful to me! thought Old Madam Murray. At the same time, Natasha was overflowing with happiness too. She was surprised that Old Master Fletcher would pay them a visit for her marriage, which showed that he sincerely liked her! She had never expected to receive such benefits from sending Woody to the militarypound to live his life in retirement. It wasn¡¯t long before Mark arrived. He walked in briskly and as someone who was close to one hundred, he didn¡¯t look old or frail at all. He even participated in marathons every year and walked with springy and light steps. Old Master Fletcher wasn¡¯t here alone. Following closely behind was a group of people, including Joel who was in military uniform and standing to Old Master Fletcher¡¯s left, while Stanley stood on his right in army uniform. Not to mention Sophia, and arge troop of soldiers in uniforms, came with Old Master Fletcher too. As one of the founding generals, Mark was once the marshal of the ground forces. Even if he was retired now, he was still a well-respected figure in the military. He never liked to appear in ostentation or extravagance and would always disguise himself as a retired worker when signing up for the marathon every year. But today, he intentionally disyed his marshal¡¯s magnificent appearance. Immediately, Alex and Natasha went to greet him. Old Master Fletcher sat down without a word while ring maliciously at Alex. On both of his sides, troops of soldiers stood in an imposing manner. All at once, the atmosphere was overcast. Olivia spotted Sophia immediately and whispered to Old Madam Murray, ¡°She¡¯s the b*tch who wounded James!¡± So she was the culprit! For a traditional family like the Murray Family, having offspring was everyone¡¯s most important duty and stopping that would be equivalent to killing them! Anger seared through Old Madam Murray¡¯s heart, causing her wrinkled face to tremble but she suppressed it because there was a significant figure at the scene. She would just wait for him to leave before dealing with Sophia. However, why would Sophiae such a significant figure? Chapter 488 Chapter 488 The arrival of Old Master Fletcher changed the whole atmosphere. With a troop of soldiers inside and an evenrger troop of soldiers outside, the Mitchell Residence waspletely surrounded. Meanwhile, Old Madam Murray, who was discussing the wedding date with Alex earlier, was asked to step to the side. Old Master Fletcher sat on a sofa while a row of men and women in military uniforms stood at attention behind him as they stared fiercely at the Mitchells, rendering Alex and the others too afraid to even speak. Although Old Master Fletcher was almost a hundred years old, he was healthy and strong. Sitting upright, his aura was intimidating. In order to exhibit her status, Natasha sat beside him, acting obedient and meek. Finally, Alex broke the silence and asked reverently, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, we¡¯re truly honored that you came to our humble abode. May I know the purpose of your visit?¡± Looking at Alex, Old Master Fletcher asked in a cold tone, ¡°It seems like the Mitchell Residence is bustling with activity today. What are all of you busy doing?¡± Before Alex could answer, Natasha had replied shyly, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, my father and the elders are discussing my wedding to Taylor.¡± Upon hearing that, Old Master Fletcher snorted. ¡°Really? Taylor? Which Taylor?¡± Tilting her head, Natasha smiled innocently as she murmured, ¡°Taylor Murray! He¡¯s an actor. Although he isn¡¯t quite worthy of the Mitchell Family judging from his qualifications, I love him and that¡¯s what matters the most. Therefore, my father agreed to our marriage in the end.¡± Upon hearing that, Markughed, and so did Sophia. Even a faint smirk appeared on Joel¡¯s aloof face. Sophiamented, ¡°True. Taylor isn¡¯t worthy of the Mitchell Family and it¡¯s a pity that you have to marry him. Since you¡¯re not happy with the marriage, why would you even want to marry him?¡± As Sophia said that, the atmosphere became even stiffer. Anger started to spike in Alex as he saw that an unrefined girl had the audacity to talk rudely in front of the Mitchells. Just as Alex was about to speak, Mark forestalled him, ¡°Since it¡¯s a discussion on their wedding, why isn¡¯t the groom or the groom¡¯s family here?¡± Natasha discreetly shot daggers at Sophia before replying to Mark, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, Taylor can¡¯t make it because of his busy schedule, but his grandmother and uncle are here.¡± Immediately, Old Madam Murray, Larry and Olivia stepped forward, bowing and scraping to Mark. ¡°Old General Fletcher, this is Taylor¡¯s grandmother and uncle.¡± Natasha introduced them to Mark before continuing, ¡°Taylor¡¯s parents passed away when he was young so his grandmother will be in charge of his marriage.¡± Snorting, Mark nced at Old Madam Murray before he sneered, ¡°It¡¯s certainly news to me that my grandson has a grandmother and an uncle!¡± Mark¡¯s grandson? All at once, everyone¡¯s expression changed. Why did Mark mention his grandson all of a sudden? Surprised and bewildered, Alex asked, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, your grandson is¡­¡± ¡°My grandson is Michael Fletcher!¡± Old Master Fletcher looked rather proud when he said that name. Michael Fletcher? The Mitchells looked at each other. Then and there, they recalled a young coteral rtive of the Mitchell Family, Justin Mitchell, who married Mark¡¯s most beloved granddaughter, Celine Fletcher, a few years ago. Sadly, both of them passed awayter on. Celine had a twin brother Michael Fletcher, and he was Mark¡¯s grandson. Unfortunately, no one had ever met him. Even Celine¡¯s wedding was a lowkey affair so no one had ever seen her brother. But why did Old Master Fletcher suddenly bring him up? Looking at the crowd, Old Master Fletcher proudly announced, ¡°My grandson, Michael Fletcher, is the winner for the Academy Award for Best Actor, and his stage name is Taylor Murray.¡± All at once, there was an uproar. It turned out that Taylor was Mark¡¯s grandson, Celine¡¯s brother, and the one who adopted Justin¡¯s child? This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Mark didn¡¯t spare a second for the crowd to calm down before disying his dignity of a Founding Father as he said in an irrefutable tone, ¡°I object to this marriage!¡± His tone was powerful and resounding, leaving no leeway of discussion for the Mitchell Family. Alex and Natasha¡¯s face turned pale at once. They had no idea that Taylor was actually Michael Fletcher, Mark¡¯s grandson! It was evident that Mark loved his grandson deeply since he, who was almost a hundred years old, was willing to pay them a visit in person! And they¡­ tried to force the Fletcher Family into a marriage! In just a blink of an eye, Alex was drenched in sweat. Not to mention Natasha, whose face turned ghastly pale in an instant. But soon, her expression softened as she smiled and said, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, I didn¡¯t know that Taylor is your grandson. Nevertheless, you came just right in time because Taylor and I have decided to get married.¡± Unexpectedly, Mark didn¡¯t even bother to listen to their exnation and stood up to leave without hesitation. With a strong, healthy body and in steady steps, he strode off. As soon as he left, therge troops of soldiers that he brought here went away like the receding tide, leaving behind the dumbfounded Mitchells. Natasha was stunned and stood rooted to the spot, not to mention Alex, who didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound. Meanwhile, Mark seemed extremely angry. Even so, there was one who wasn¡¯t afraid for their life and ran after him. ¡°Oh, my dear inw!¡± Old Madam Murray must have been the happiest among everyone else. Only now did she learn that Elizabeth was married into the Fletcher Family back then. In that case, they didn¡¯t even have to establish any rtionship with the Fletchers because they were already a family! Her steps staggering, Old Madam Murray chased after Mark but before she got any nearer to him, she was stopped by Joel and Stanley. Then, Mark turned back to look at Old Madam Murray and said bluntly, ¡°We, the Murrays, are unworthy of a family who sold their own daughter to that dirty business!¡± Old Madam Murray stopped all at once. Her face pale, she squeezed out a smile and said, ¡°We¡¯re in- laws after all, so we should just let the past be the past.¡± Unexpectedly, Mark ignored her and left Mitchell Residence without a second nce. For Mark, this was his first meeting with Elizabeth¡¯s family but he could understand why she¡¯d rather abandon her children and leave this world back then. In the past when Theo brough Elizabeth to meet Mark for the first time, Mark was actually fond of her because she was a polite, dauntless girl, who was worthy of Theo. However, the Fletcher Family couldn¡¯t ept the blot on her. If she was from a better family and was amon girl, things would be different. Therefore, Mark wouldn¡¯t show a hint of kindness or politeness to the Murray Family. Naturally, Old Madam Murray wouldn¡¯t give up on this marriage after finding out that Michael had such a strong background so she persistently called out to Mark. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t even spare her a nce. Once Mark left, two police cars immediately stopped in front of the door. Then, a few policemen got down from the car and barged into Mitchell Residence, showing their credentials to Olivia. ¡°Are you Olivia Murray? Someone reported that you gathered crowds to take drugs and are involved in drug trafficking. You even take in the other drug abusers. Pleasee with us to the police station.¡± ¡°Larry Murray, someone reported your tax evasion, so pleasee with us too.¡± Upon hearing that, Olivia and Larry shuddered uncontrobly. Old Master Fletcher came and left hurriedly but even after he left, his dignity that was emitted from deep within his soul lingered around, leaving everyone in the Mitchell Residence¡¯s living room suffocating under the tremendous pressure. Suddenly, Alex lost all his strength and plopped onto the chair, his eyes zed. At the same time, Natasha looked ghastly pale as the scene where Mark walked past her without showing any mercy kept reying in her mind. It was evident that Mark had found out everything they did to Taylor and he was enraged. With sounds of police sirens, the Mitchells were brought away, leaving behind a room of silence. For a long time, Alex and the elders couldn¡¯t even say a word. Chapter 489 Chapter 489 In the end, their n fell through. Suddenly, Sean¡¯s sarcastic remark broke the silence. ¡°I¡¯ve told you since the beginning that you¡¯ll only bring misfortune to the Mitchell Family if you do this.¡± All the Mitchells sank into a long silence. Judging from Mark¡¯s earlier tone, it was obvious that he was genuinely enraged. Indeed, Sean had reminded them from the very beginning but the Mitchells were too full of themselves. They thought that Taylor was just a mere actor, but it turned out that he was Mark¡¯s grandson. Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­ ¡°Dismissed!¡± Alex shouted. At once, everyone left in dejection. Even Natasha had to be supported by others as she left. When she walked away, she couldn¡¯t even straighten her body since all her energy was drained. How did this happen? How could the perfect n end up this way when it was already at its final step? After that incident, the Mitchell Family¡¯s reputation was tarnished, especially Alex¡¯s personal reputation, which dropped to rock-bottom. Because of that, all the Mitchells started to search for Cooper with everything they had. Right now, Alex hadpletely put aside Natasha¡¯s issue because a bigger threat of his would soon return. Initially, Michael wasn¡¯t nning to expose the news that Cooper was still alive. However, what Natasha didpletely annoyed Sophia so she had to leak out that news. In that case, Alex and Natasha would be busy fending themselves. Naturally, it was easier for the Mitchells to locate Cooper than an outsider like Michael. As Cooper¡¯s ex-subordinate, Sean and his uncles were the main force who were searching for him. At the same time, Sean took the opportunity to enter the Mitchell¡¯s confidential vault and found ssified information about Cooper, including the identity of Cooper¡¯s mother. The origin of Cooper¡¯s mother was a mystery. Throughout Woody¡¯s life, he had two wives and his first wife stayed by him from his youth until he reached his middle age. She passed away due to illness when Woody was fifty. Since then, Woody sank into despondency for a few years before he married a girl of a different race from overseas. No one knew who she was and Woody had never revealed her identity. Since Woody was already in his fifties, his family didn¡¯t poke their nose into his marriage. Later on, that girl gave birth to a pair of twins but unfortunately, the daughter died prematurely whereas the son was Cooper. Cooper¡¯s mother was Sean¡¯s main focus in his investigation. After Sophia came back from Mitchell Residence, she spent most of her time working and intensively devising a series of ns to clear Michael¡¯s vilification. The first step was to expose the news that Michael personally went to the public security bureau to report the Murrays, in hopes of stirring up a discussion. After the public security bureaupleted their investigation, they would need to issue a notice immediately. In the past, Taylor rarely became an ambassador but he had filmed a few public service announcements. On top of that, he was the anti-drug ambassador of Cethos and had publicly stated his detestation toward all kinds of drugs on several asions. Therefore, it was only natural for him to report the Murray siblings because theymitted drug abuse and trafficking. It not only seemed reasonable, he also gained a lofty image of cing righteousness above family loyalty as well, putting him under the halo of an anti-drug ambassador. On the contrary, Old Madam Murray¡¯s humiliation during the press conference was deliberately fabricated as an action done out of her anger because Taylor insisted to report the Murray siblings for drug abuse. Once this was revealed, Michael¡¯s personal reputation was redeemed in no time and it even rose to its peak. ¡®Sending love to our idol for the grievance he received this time.¡¯ ¡®As expected, what you see on the surface might be fake. Every time our idol feels aggrieved, he¡¯ll never say anything.¡¯ ¡®In the future, I won¡¯t trust any negative news about Taylor!¡¯ ¡®Did all of you forget that our idol donated a national treasure not long ago?¡¯ Browsing through thements on the inte, Sophia was overjoyed. Finally, she saved her idol again and she couldn¡¯t be prouder. Not only did her sense of achievement grow, the wedding ring on her finger seemed to shine even brighter as well. Right now, Taylor¡¯s poprity had risen to its peak and all kinds of news about him almost overtook the Inte. ¡®Scary Phoenix has arrived: Taylor confirmed to act in ¡®Swordsman¡¯, the adapted film with the same title!¡¯ ¡®Taylor¡¯s team held a press conference today and announced theunching of the film ¡®Imperial Seal¡¯!¡¯ ¡®¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ has officially confirmed its release date and pre-sale is highly sought-after.¡¯ This time, the Mitchell Family no longer dared to stir up any trouble. Not only that, they spent arge amount of money on public rtions to boost news about Taylor, trying to avert the public¡¯s attention from Natasha so that her issue could be soon glossed over. The inte was bombarded with news and the public loved reading fragmented information. Therefore, they would readily ept all kinds of news and simrly, they could easily forget them. A person could be a popr inte celebrity within twelve hours and could fade from the public¡¯s mind within the same amount of time. All news about Natasha had been deleted from the inte when the public¡¯s attention was all on Taylor and gradually, Natasha was forgotten by the people. On the other hand, Michael finally found out that Mark paid a visit to the Mitchell Family that day, even though everyone tried to conceal it from him. ¡°Grandpa, you don¡¯t have to concern yourself over my issues. I can take care of myself,¡± Michael said over a phone call to Mark. Although he said that, he was extremely touched in his heart. Finally, Mark personally acknowledged Michael¡¯s identity. Although it was only in front of the Mitchells, he undeniably admitted it. It was quite a miracle for Mark to openly admit that his son married Elizabeth and even had a child together. As Mark thought about what happened that day, he was still angry. ¡°If they aren¡¯t from that stupid old man¡¯s family, I would¡¯ve¡­ Ah¡ªforget it. What an annoying incident!¡± Meanwhile, Woody was sitting off to one side, watching the television. That extremely popr inte celebrity that looked like Cooper, who rose to fame due to Sophia and Sean¡¯s support, was now signed with a talent agency. It seemed like he would be debuting soon. Looking at that fake Cooper, Woody tilted his head to observe him closely. Then, he tugged hard at Mark¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Look, that person looks so much like Coop!¡± While speaking on the phone, Mark nced at television and realized that the person indeed resembled Cooper. At least, he looked much more like Cooper than Sophia did. But when Woody saw Sophia, he recognized her right away whereas that person was just someone who looked alike. Perhaps that was the power of blood rtionship. Looking at Woody, Mark couldn¡¯t help but think of the Mitchell Family. The Mitchell Family could enjoy what they had today all because Woody built them a solid foundation and Cooper developed it, which at last grew and prospered. However, Alex and that bunch of people ruined it! Sighing, Mark said to Michael, ¡°They are your father-inw¡¯s family after all, so we should avoid shing with them.¡± Michael didn¡¯t borate on the topic regarding the Mitchell Family. Simr to Mark, he didn¡¯t want to sh with the Mitchell Family either. Instead, he was nning to take over the Mitchell Family! After hanging up the call, Michael walked into the room with his phone, only to realise that Sophia hadn¡¯t returned and was currently chatting enthusiastically with Linus through a video call in the study. Silently, Michael peeped through the slit by the door. In the video call, Linus looked as tender as a child. From his perspective, his face was too young, almost like a child. Meanwhile, Nathan was sitting on Sophia¡¯sp and Linus spotted him when he popped his head in front of the screen. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± Linus asked curiously, to which Sophia answered, ¡°He¡¯s my¡ª¡± Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. ¡°She¡¯s my cousin!¡± Since Michael doesn¡¯t like western cuisine, perhaps Sophia likes it, thought Nathan while he looked at the handsome and angelic-looking Linus on the screen. Chapter 490 Chapter 490 Upon hearing that, Michael felt like punching something. It hadn¡¯t been two days since Nathan¡¯s living cost was increased to 1,000 per month, but his ego had started to grow yet again. How wonderful. Sophia burst outughing while pinching Nathan¡¯s tender cheeks and rolling them back and forth like dough, her eyes full of affection. This kid must have been itching for a spanking again! ¡°He¡¯s just joking! He¡¯s my son and I¡¯m his stepmother.¡± Linus was astonished. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten married at such a young age?¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been married for two years. Other than being old, my husband is the best. I even got a free son.¡± Michael was speechless. Not long after, Sophia had unleashed her fun side in the game. She logged onto Michael¡¯s game ount ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ and started to show off in front of Linus. ¡°Linus, let me lead you in the game. This is my man¡¯s game ount and I¡¯ve borrowed it from him.¡± Michael went to his study as well and in just a few minutes, ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯ logged onto ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. Without saying a word, he requested to join Sophia¡¯s team. On the other end, Sophia knew why he hade. What a petty man, she thought. He just had to be on his guard although she was purely chatting with Linus to train hernguage skills. And so, Sophia, Linus, Michael and Nathan teamed up to start the game. Meanwhile, ¡®Swordsman¡¯ was confirmed to be released as a film with the same title. In the past, many fans of games absolutely abhorred the idea of adapting a game into a film, because the film would normally be ruined and none of the actors could satisfy the fan¡¯s expectations. However, when news that Taylor Murray would be acting in ¡®Swordsman¡¯ spread, the gamers rejoiced. With an ever popr actor of the film industry portraying the heroic character which everyone admired in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯, it was bound to be a perfect production! ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was the top-notch game in Cethos and it inevitably followed the trend and was adapted into a film. Even so, the game¡¯s fans fervently anticipated for it. In their eyes, no one in this world other than Taylor could meet their expectations for the character. Hence today, as soon as Scary Phoenix appeared, the game burst into an uproar. There was a function in the game that allowed the gamers to like and send flowers to the other gamers. Therefore, wherever Scary Phoenix went, he was showered in flowers. Every time Scary Phoenix went online, the whole server would be shaken. Within seconds, No. 1 Beast of the Server, Snow Fox and Dragon Belle Warrior came to ride on his coattails. When everyone had formed a team, Stanley realized that there was a stranger present. Snow Fox: ¡®Hello neer. Who are you?¡¯ Scary Phoenix: ¡®This is my friend, Linus. He¡¯s a young man imported from the African grasnds and he¡¯s extremely handsome, but you¡¯re not allowed to swing the other way!¡¯ Outside the game, Sean and Harry gasped, ¡°What?¡± Could it be Linus Michel? How did the two of them know each other? When they noticed that ¡®Call Me Taylor¡¯ hadn¡¯t spoken a word since the beginning, everyone decided to shut their mouth and started to clear the monsters as a team. Since Michael hadn¡¯t involved Stanley in locating Cooper, Stanley didn¡¯t know much about Linus. He was just curious about the person who had suddenly appeared so he asked, ¡°Where did youe from and who are you to y games with Sophia?¡± Sophia seemed to be unaware of everyone¡¯s strange looks. She even set up a Messenger gaming group and added Stanley, Sean, Michael, Sarah, Linus and Harry. Herself included, there were seven of them. Instinctively, Michael tapped into Linus¡¯s profile from the list and found that he was indeed Linus Michel! What a strange fate that both of them got to know each other! Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Unexpectedly, before the game started, a stranger suddenly requested to join the team. The yer¡¯s ount name was Nat. Looking at that ount, the look on everyone¡¯s face became odd. Despite remaining silent, Scary Phoenix epted her into the team. After Natasha joined the team, she appeared in front of everyone. This time, she had changed into an expensive game outfit again and was dressed up like an angel. Pitifully, she walked over to them and they could sense the coquettishness from her even from behind the screen. Nat: ¡®Taylor, I¡¯m sorry but I didn¡¯t expect that things would turn out this way¡­¡¯ After Natasha snuck out that day, she was kidnapped and the Mitchell Family had to pay an exorbitant ransom to get her back. Now, she was grounded at home. She even tried to call Michael but he didn¡¯t answer her call. Fortunately, she knew that he would log into the game so she waited for him in the game. As expected, she saw Michael turn up. It was only now that she knew his true identity. He was Michael Fletcher, not Taylor Murray, and she realized how childish she had acted previously. ¡®Taylor¡­¡¯ Natasha typed. But he replied, ¡®Sorry, but I¡¯m his wife.¡¯ His wife again? Upon seeing that, Natasha felt annoyed but it wasn¡¯t long before a malicious smile appeared on her face. She had always thought that Eddie had a powerful backing, hence why Michael had hesitated and refused to be with her. Now, it seemed like Eddie wasn¡¯t the one with a powerful backing but Michael. Currently, the Mitchell Family was displeased with what she and her father did. For the very first time, she felt pressured and it intensified when they found that Cooper was still alive. However, she had other solutions and her target remained the same¡ªshe wanted Michael! The Mitchells were extremely displeased back then when Celine married Justin. They weren¡¯t unhappy about Celine, but they were mad because Justin didn¡¯t deserve her. After all, she was Mark¡¯s most beloved granddaughter but she married an outsider from the coteral family of the Mitchells. ording to Celine¡¯s status, Cooper, who was the head of the family back then, should be the one that matched well with her. Even Old Master Fletcher was extremely unsatisfied. Initially, he nned for Celine to marry Cooper but unexpectedly, she insisted on marrying Justin. That just showed how much Mark favored that pair of siblings. Later on, Cooper was the one who stepped out and helped to bring the marriage to fruition. Therefore, if Natasha managed to marry Michael in the end, the Mitchell Family would finally establish a connection with the Fletcher Family! By that time, who from the Mitchell Family would dare to question her father and her? Besides, Natasha still had a trump card up her sleeve. Giving up halfway was never an option in her world and after all the effort that she spent, she definitely would not give up. She must marry Michael¡ªit was her long-cherished dream as well as her only solution now! Smiling, she typed on the keyboard and Sophia soon saw a wordy message from Natasha. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Mrs. Murray. What happened that night was all my fault. I identally fell into the Murray Family¡¯s trap, causing the misunderstanding to happen between me and Taylor¡­ I know that you¡¯re not on friendly terms with the Murrays and I initially nned to mediate things between you and the Murray Family. Unexpectedly, the Murrays forced Taylor to divorce you and even vilified him. To protect his reputation, I had no choice but to hold a press conference. I am truly guilty for that, but I only see Taylor as my brother.¡¯ After sending the lengthy text, Natasha waited for Sophia¡¯s reply. That night, the fact that she slept with Michael was undoubtedly true. As long as that incident existed, a bomb would always be ticking between Michael and this b*tch. Chapter 491 Chapter 491 Since their chat was private, the others couldn¡¯t see their messages. All they could see was both of them standing still in the game. Meanwhile in the Messenger group, Imported Young Man asked, ¡®What are they doing? Why are they standing still?¡¯ Stupid Dog: ¡®They¡¯re probably having it out in private. Let them be.¡¯ Stupid Dog: ¡®What the h*ll? Why is my name Stupid Dog while Linus is named as Imported Young Man? Sophia, you¡¯d better f*cking change my alias right now! And change it to something nice!¡¯ Sean: ¡®¡­¡¯ In the game, Sophia read the text sent by Natasha. It was the same trick as usual, acting weak while sowing discord. Natasha imed she was trying to clear the misunderstanding, but she seemed to be hinting at something else. cing her fingers on the keyboard, Sophia started to type out a response. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. After a while, Natasha received Sophia¡¯s reply. ¡®You are?¡¯ Natasha wasn¡¯t convinced that Sophia had forgotten about her and believed that she was just pretending. Smugly, Natasha replied, ¡®I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s sister. I¡¯m the one who took care of him when he was shooting at the film studio.¡¯ Let your jealousy and resentment pour in! During that period of time, Natasha spent almost every single day with Michael but she had never once met Eddie! She waited for Sophia to erupt in anger but it was only after quite some time that she received an unperturbed reply. ¡®Oh¡ªyou¡¯re the traveling tramp that Taylor flirted with. I¡¯m sorry, but Taylor has flirted with too many women and I just can¡¯t remember who you are.¡¯ Natasha stared at the two-word phrase ¡®traveling tramp¡¯. She knew each of the words but when it was combined as a phrase, she didn¡¯t know what it meant so she asked, ¡®Mrs. Murray, what is a traveling tramp?¡¯ Sophia replied patiently, ¡®It¡¯s a name for girls who are so cheap that they pay a man to have her. Other people travel a thousand miles to send their affection but this kind of girl travels a thousand miles to offer her body. That¡¯s how the name traveling tramp came about.¡¯ Traveling¡­ tramp? Staring at these simple words, Natasha, who was brought up in a protected environment and was nurtured with an elite education since young, waspletely stunned. She followed Taylor all the way from Bayside to the film studio just to move him with her passionate love, but all she received from this person was vulgar words that tarnished her pure and persistent love for him. Burning in anger, Natasha furiously typed out a reply. ¡®Mrs. Murray, you¡¯ve misunderstood me; I¡¯m not that kind of woman. I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s sister, Natasha, whom he cares for dearly like a sister!¡¯ Scary Phoenix: ¡®Since both of you have already slept together, stop pretending to be his sister and admit that you¡¯re a traveling tramp. I don¡¯t mind anyway.¡¯ As expected, Sophia was cursing her in an unconventional way because she had flown into a rage. Understanding dawned upon Natasha and she quickly replied, ¡®Mrs. Murray, I know that you¡¯re extremely angry now and I¡¯m truly sorry toward you and Taylor. What happened that night is all my fault, so please don¡¯t me him.¡¯ However, Scary Phoenix replied, ¡®Men will be men and they will inevitably cheat. Taylor already has a dozen illegitimate children outside so what¡¯s the big deal since you only had one night stand with him by ident?¡¯ A dozen¡­ illegitimate children? Natasha stared at that sentence in disbelief. Michael has a dozen illegitimate children? Suddenly, Sophia added, ¡®Every year, Taylor sleeps with countless 17 or 18-year-old girls like you, who willingly offer their bodies for free! Some of them even travel across the globe to offer their bodies, much less you, who only traveled miles.¡¯ Looking at the paragraph of nasty words, Natasha¡¯s face turned pale and her fingers on the keyboard started to tremble. It turned out that in Michael¡¯s eyes, she was a b*tch who traveled miles just to offer her body to him? She was just a toy to him? No! How is that possible? She was the precious youngdy of the Mitchell Family and she believed that she had an extraordinary ce in Taylor¡¯s heart! How could Taylor be that kind of person? But looking at the few words from Sophia that seared her eyes, her breathing became unsteady. Calming herself down, she typed, ¡®You must be joking, Mrs. Murray. How can Taylor be that kind of person?¡¯ However, her hand couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Sophiazily typed out a reply, ¡®Plenty of women long for Taylor. Do you know the youngdy of the Mitchell Family? I can¡¯t even bear to look at how she shamelessly sells herself to Taylor for free. She not only travels miles to offer her body, she even pays for it! Taylor paid a huge amount of money in my name but that dumb*ss spends her money just to provoke me. How hrious! Fortunately, I¡¯m magnanimous and I won¡¯t even question Taylor when he sleeps with the traveling tramps. I just need to focus on taking care of my husband and son. With the Fletcher Family as his backing, there isn¡¯t any woman that Taylor can¡¯t get. He has countless sisters and you¡¯re just one of them, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡¯ After typing that, Sophia smiled maliciously. As a na?ve girl who grew up under the protection of power, it was time for Natasha to experience some storms so she could learn that the world wasn¡¯t always what she wished. After that, Natasha stopped replying and even her game character didn¡¯t move an inch. Sophia finally went back to the game and yed with her friends. After a round, everyone bid goodbye and left the game. Meanwhile in the Mitchell Residence, Natasha was utterly flustered. This was the first time she felt her world was tilted sideways. She tried to convince herself to not believe what Eddie said, but a part of her seemed to whisper that Eddie might be right and men would always be men. Putting others aside, even the Mitchell Family wasn¡¯t stranger to those nasty things. Those elders might look righteous in front of everyone but behind the curtains, they would do simply anything. Even Alex wasn¡¯t an exception. Although he married a woman from a distinguished family, who was Natasha¡¯s mother, Natasha knew that Alex cheated with a young model and even had an illegitimate daughter. Men were indeed disgusting! At night, a loud shout suddenly rang out at the Mitchell Residence¡¯s entrance. ¡°Natasha, I¡¯m your grandmother! Are you home? Is anyone home? Open the door!¡± It was Old Madam Murray. Unfortunately, no one answered the door, even if she shouted herself hoarse. Old Madam Murray couldn¡¯t figure out why the Mitchell Family changed their mind all of a sudden. After all, she was Taylor¡¯s grandmother! The Mitchell Family promised to find a doctor for James but they suddenly stopped paying the fees today. At the same time, Larry¡¯spany was found to be evading tax so he was arrested for investigation. To top it all off, Olivia might even be sentenced to death since she trafficked and abused drugs. Even James couldn¡¯t escape from the punishment because he was the one who taught Olivia to take drugs in the past. Besides, the news about him acting tyrannically in the film crew and being charged with a murderwsuit was exposed. Not only was thepany sealed for investigation, the Murrays were arrested too. Even the Mitchell Family changed their minds. Within a day, it seemed like the whole world had changed. While the desperate Old Madam Murray shouted curses and made a scene at the Mitchell Residence entrance, Sarah, who lived next to the Mitchells, called Sophia. Soon, Michael sent someone to escort Old Madam Murray to the airport. ¡°Where is Taylor? Where did that b*stard go? Tell him toe here and face me!¡± Even when Old Madam Murray was seized, she didn¡¯t stop cursing. Not only James¡¯ injury wasn¡¯t treated, he was also sentenced to death. Meanwhile, Larry had evaded tax and without any help from their connections to bail him out, he probably had to spend a few years in prison. The Murray Family was ruined. Completely ruined! And this was all Taylor¡¯s fault! He was the culprit! Chapter 492 Chapter 492 Unfortunately, no matter how loud Old Madam Murray cursed, Michael didn¡¯t show up. It was Gary who settled everything and sent her to the private ne that flew her directly back to her hometown. Since the Murray Family¡¯spany was sealed for investigation, the living expenses for Old Madam Murray would be paid by Michael from now on. It wasn¡¯t difficult to pay for an old woman¡¯s living but Michael had no feelings for the Murray Family, not even the slightest. With this incident, hisst tinge of good opinion for the Murray Familypletely vanished. Beside him, Sophia quietly listened to Michael as he instructed someone to settle Old Madam Murray¡¯s issue through the phone. There weren¡¯t any emotions on his face except indifference. Is he severing ties with the Murray Family? The Murray Family was heartless back then and she bet that they were cruel to Elizabeth too. Had the Murray Family been kinder to Elizabeth, perhaps Elizabeth wouldn¡¯t choose to die after Theo passed away. If she was Michael, she might not be fond of the Murray Family too. Sophia had returned to the university for a few days and it so happened that there was a special event in the university. A few important guests were visiting the country and they were hosted by the President personally. After visiting many iconic ces in Bayside, their next stop was Bayside University, the building that resembled the highest learning institution in Bayside. If a foreign guest came to visit, the leaders of the university would personally host him, along with a few outstanding students to apany the guests for a tour around the university. As the winner of Miss Misty Pageant, Sophia was naturally one of the students that had to apany the guests. The leader of the university even wrote a script, which included the time when the guests would be visiting the multipurpose building and that someone must y the piano that was ced in the hall of that building. When the guests visited the basketball court, there must be students ying basketball. In short, they had to exhibit the extraordinary study environment of Bayside University. Not surprisingly, Natasha would be the one ying the piano at the multipurpose building. When Sophia was informed of the arrangements that were made by the university¡¯s leader, she couldn¡¯t help but rant in her friends group. ¡®I not only have to apany the guests for a tour the whole day, I also have to apany them for a meal. Did any of you take up a job?¡¯ Sean replied, ¡®I didn¡¯t receive any notice but Stan and their basketball team will be having a friendly game with the basketball team from the School of Athletics. I bet it¡¯s a show for the guests.¡¯ Sophia typed, ¡®I wonder who the guests are, requiring such ostentation.¡¯ ¡®They will be here tomorrow so we¡¯ll find it out by then,¡¯ Sean replied, to which Sophia added, ¡®I¡¯m going home now. See you at Rocky Pinnacle tonight.¡¯ After a while, Sophia appeared in the group that she created for games. ¡®There is a double experience event in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ at eight tonight. I¡¯m looking for a team so for those who are interested, please reply 1.¡¯ Soon, many people appeared one after another in the group. Imported Young Man replied, ¡®1.¡¯ Stupid Dog replied, ¡®1.¡¯ Sean replied, ¡®1.¡¯ The First Wife of the Admin replied, ¡®1.¡¯ Harry replied, ¡®1.¡¯ At eight o¡¯clock that night, Sophia logged onto her ount and created a team. Meanwhile, Michael joined using his ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ ount. Under Scary Phoenix¡¯s lead, they cleared the area without effort no matter how difficult, and it was truly satisfying. Everyone in the team won awards in the Esportspetition. Even Linus, who just joined them recently, was as skilled as the others in games. Besides, his ount was bought from a high-level yer so it was rather easy to y with. While defeating enemies, Michael browsed through the chats between this ount and Natasha two days ago. After he read through the shocking conversation between Sophia and Natasha, he suddenly felt lost. He truly was out of touch with the world of youngsters. Perhaps it had been a big blow to Natasha, hence why she didn¡¯t disturb Michael for the past two days. While ying games, Sophia chatted with the team in voice message. ¡°Sophia, let¡¯s have a barbeque on skewers tomorrow!¡± Stanley said. Upon hearing that, Sophia murmured, ¡°No, thanks. I have to apany some guests tomorrow at the university.¡± ¡°You only need to apany them for lunch at best,¡± Stanleymented. ¡°You don¡¯t have to apany them for dinner. Besides, I found an interesting ce so I n to bring all of you there tomorrow. Are youing, Linus?¡± Michael invited Sean to the team to search for Cooper, but Stanley was still kept in the dark. He didn¡¯t even know Linus¡¯ identity but from what Sophia said about Linus in the past few days, he knew that Linus was also in theputer industry and was an academic overachiever, not to mention an expert in gaming too. This caused Stanley to eagerly want to meet him so that he could seek advice regarding the industry from him. Since he was still in Bayside, Stanley might as well invite them out. Linus asked, ¡°What is barbeque on skewers? ¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when youe with an empty stomach tomorrow,¡± Stanleymented and Linus replied, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s fix a time and venue.¡± And so, the few of them fixed the time and venue. Even Linus was excited to have barbecue on skewers. He had a strong thirst for knowledge and had a superb learning ability. After just a few days joining the group, he had learned to create GIFs and frequently engaged in a GIF battle with Stanley. Stanley then asked, ¡°Does anyone else want to join?¡± Sean and Sarah replied in the group, whereas the two remaining old men kept their silence. Truth was, Michael had been silently reading their chats. Although he felt guilty, he strongly hoped that Sophia could gradually grow closer with Fass. Perhaps it was up to her to unearth some secrets. After fixing the time, everyone logged out from the game. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. That night, Sophia went to sleep early. She was rather excited to have a university tour with the guests tomorrow. After all, the few of them were chosen from tens of thousands of students in Bayside University and it was an honor for her. Therefore, she had to be prepared so that no mistakes would happen. Meanwhile, Michael was still working. As he read Linus¡¯ history and experience that Abel investigated, he gave a call to Abel. Linus¡¯ experience was unbelievable and Michael started to agree that the younger generation would quickly surpass the older. Abel was in Africa when he replied to Michael, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find a way to meet Fass in person this time.¡± Perhaps some secrets would be revealed once he met Fass. Meanwhile, Fass had left Cethos before them and should be in Africa now. Linus, however, was still in Cethos. ording to the information that Michael found, Linus came to inspect the Michel Group¡¯s branch office in Cethos. Michel Group¡¯s market was mainly in Europe and America. Although they sold their products in Cethos, they didn¡¯t have a high market share. It seemed like Cethos market wasn¡¯t the focus of the Michel Family. To be precise, Fass was the one who didn¡¯t attach great importance to Cethos market whereas Linus, who just got onboard recently, seemed to be interested in entering the Cethos market. In fact, Linus came this time to get a foothold in the Cethos market. The main business of Michel Group wasputers and technology, including smartputers, tablets, wristwatches, motherboards, software development, game development and the like. Linus was an all- rounded genius in technology and had an extraordinarily sharp vision for thepany¡¯s management, as well as the development of both software and hardware. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have taken over an enterprise, which had over ten thousand employees and running a business of hundreds of billions, at such a young age. Even the Esports World Championship was sponsored by the Michel Group, and the electronic equipment that was used in thepetition was provided by them as well. Chapter 493 Chapter 493 The next morning, Sophia arrived early at university to make preparations. She had even ironed her school uniform the night before. These foreign guests were held in high regard by the university leaders and as soon as Sophia arrived, she was led into the office by the leader for their final training. The students were expected to be in their best state for the reception. As student representatives of Bayside University, they had to be extraordinary. As such, eight student representatives were selected to apany the guests. All eight had remarkable backgrounds, not to mention they were very talented and skillful. Among them were top students of Bayside University and also the winners of the Misty Pageant. After the leader¡¯s pep talk, everyone waited in the office for the guests who would be arriving shortly. While waiting, Sophia asked in the game group chat, ¡®What¡¯s for dinner?¡¯ Stupid Dog replied, ¡®Barbeque on skewers.¡¯ ¡®Barbeque,¡± Sean and Imported Young Man both replied in the group chat. Sophia was thrilled that Linus was joining them. After all, he was knowledgeable so she might be able to gain some knowledge from him after dinner and a couple of drinks. Suddenly, Linus continued, ¡®Good news is, I have decided to study at Bayside University in Cethos so we¡¯ll be university mates soon.¡¯ While the group chat was filled with celebratoryments, Sean grimaced at the news and thought, Linus is going to attend Bayside University? In fact, Linus had graduated with a PhD in Economics and Management at the age of fourteen and currently had a double PhD. Now that he was going to attend Bayside University, Sean wondered if Linus was just seeking the thrill of beating rookies. Just then, Stanley said, ¡®I have a match against School of Athletics this afternoon, so you have toe watch our game. By the way, Sophia, I think I saw Mrs. Murray at theplex building just now. She was ying the piano in the hall.¡¯ Mrs. Murray? It took a while before Sophia understood. Sheughed and typed in the group chat, ¡®Ha!¡¯ Just then, it also dawned on Sean and Sarah, and the group chat was filled withughter. Linus was the only exception as he did not understand the joke. ¡®Who¡¯s Mrs. Murray?¡¯ Patiently, Stanley exined to Linus, ¡®Nat, the one we met in our game the other day. She¡¯s always harassing Taylor. Her name is Natasha Mitchell. A while ago, she imed to be Taylor Murray¡¯s wife during a press conference. Since then, we nicknamed her ¡°Mrs. Murray¡±.¡¯ The Mitchell Family tried to cover up for Natasha, but the public would not forget about this ¡°celebrity marriage¡± meme. Secretly, they all addressed Natasha as ¡°Mrs. Murray¡±. As soon as Linus was in on the joke, heughed along with everyone else. The group chat was filled with emojis and it was a joyous atmosphere. There were a total of seven people in the game group chat. Sophia, Linus, Stanley, Sean, and Sarah were all youngsters, who had a lot ofmon topics to talk about. Not only that, they were all in the same industry so they usually would have over a hundred messages in a blink of an eye. Meanwhile, the other two older guys barely spoke in the group as they did not want to startle the youths and stop them from chatting in the group. Not only that, they barely had anything to chat about with the youngsters. However, Michael always read through the messages every day, even right now. ¡°Everyone, please prepare to greet the guests.¡± Being one of the teachers that were responsible for the guests¡¯ reception today, Quinton hade in to remind everyone to get ready. All at once, the student representatives put away their phones and left the office one by one to greet the guests. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, guys,¡± he reassured. When it was Sophia¡¯s turn, Quinton even patted her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay; don¡¯t be nervous. The guests are knowledgeable inputer science. You can take this opportunity to ask for advice. You¡¯re starting a business, right?¡± This was the first time Sophia had seen Quinton ever since returning from summer break. After not seeing each other for a few months, Quinton looked tanner and was not fair-skinned like before. Upon hearing this, Sophia nodded. With that, the eight outstanding student representatives and the school leaders had gone to greet the guests. As Sophia stood in the crowd, she saw from a distance that the school leader was approaching with blond-haired, blue-eyed guests in tow. Curiously, Sophia watched the guests who were said to be VIPs of the World¡¯s Top 500 Company¡ªthe Michel Group. Sophia knew of the Michel Family, while Abel suspected that Cooper was the head of the n. However, it had not been confirmed yet. Also, Michael did not want Sophia to know the progress of his search for Cooper, and she did not know if his whereabouts were confirmed. If it was confirmed¡­ Oh¡ªlet¡¯s leave it to fate, Sophia thought before she started to zone out. It was only when her ssmate nudged her with their elbow that she came back to her senses. At that moment, she saw the guests approaching. Although Sophia could not differentiate the blonde-haired and blue-eyed foreigners, there was a person among the guests who looked very familiar to her. The guests were a diverse group of people. Among them was a blonde-haired boy, who was very attractive. He had elf-like features and had the appearance of a male model. When he arrived, almost everyone¡¯s attention was focused on him. When a ray of sunlight shone on the blond boy, he looked as if he was shining brightly. It was Linus Michel! The Michel Family was involved inputer technology and Linus was knowledgeable in the same field. Could Linus be rted to the Michel Family? At that moment, Sophia wanted to greet Linus, but she was afraid she had the wrong person. So, she secretly observed him as she followed him. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Quinton, who was the host for the reception of the foreign guests, introduced everyone to each other. ¡°These are the top student representatives of our school.¡± ¡°These are the executives from the Michel Group, one of the World¡¯s Top 500 Companies. The Michel Group has donated schrships to our school worth 5 million. Meanwhile, Sophia was focused on the blond boy. That seems to be Linus! she thought to herself. Then, Quinton and the other lecturers and leaders began to take the guests on a tour around the school. Just then, Linus, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around and winked at Sophia. Only then did Sophia confirm that he was indeed Linus. ording to their n, the student representatives each had to lead a guest; none of the guests were to be left alone. Upon seeing Linus, a few girls had approached him, all hoping to ¡®im¡¯ him. Honestly, Sophia couldn¡¯t me them. Linus was in fact very attractive. Originally, Sophia had wanted to lead Linus. However, due to his poprity, there was already a queue. So, she went to a random older man, speaking to him in fluent English while leading said guest around the school. Sophia and the guest chatted as they toured around the school in a group. He was an executive of the Michel Group, so they were able to find amon topic and talked aboutputer science. Following the nned route, Quinton led the group on a tour to the school¡¯sndmark buildings, including Lake Misty and other scenic spots. Everyone was enjoying themselves throughout the tour. Meanwhile, Linus spoke to the girls in the localnguage fluently, making the girls giggle. Finally, they reached the multipurpose building. As they were about to enter, a melodious piano sound could be heard. Just from listening, anyone could tell that the piano yer was an expert. At that moment, the guests were astonished and asked who was ying the piano. Proudly, the school leader introduced the person who was ying the piano; it was none other than Natasha Mitchell. As a matter of fact, Natasha was one of Bayside University¡¯s top students. The foreign guests probably did not pay attention to their local entertainment industry gossip, so the school leader was not too worried about them knowing the problems Natasha had caused. ¡°Natasha is one of the best students in our school. She was taught by the world-renowned piano master, Delca. At the age of ten, she had a solo piano recital and was already a widely recognized piano yer at such a young age.¡± Chapter 494 Chapter 494 Upon hearing the school leader praising Natasha, even Linus was interested to meet her. All at once, the girls felt bitter. Ha! She¡¯s just a traveling tramp who was called out on her lies! However, this was a major asion so naturally, they could not tear each other down in the presence of their guests. It would affect the reputation of Cethosian education, not to mention the reputation of Bayside University. After all, Natasha was representing the top performing students of Cethos. As the group entered theplex building, the sound of the piano got louder. The closer they got, the more beautiful the music sounded; they could even feel the emotions of the song as they listened at a closer distance. Finally, they were able to see the person ying the piano as they entered the hall. It turned out to be a very young girl who seemed to be underage. Natasha was wearing a snow-white long dress, with a tassel hanging on each of her wrists. As she yed the piano, it was as if her hands were dancing across the piano keys as the tassels swayed. The guests immediately surrounded the piano as they watched Natasha perform and praised her as they listened to the music. In fact, most of them were familiar with ying the piano so just by listening, they knew that her piano skills were top-notch. However, they did not expect the performer to be a 17 or 18-year-old girl. Bayside University indeed deserved to be Cethos¡¯s top institution! As Sophia watched Natasha¡¯s performance, she kept a polite smile and chatted with the guests beside her. As soon as the music stopped, the guests gave Natasha a round of apuse. At that moment, Natasha walked up to everyone and murmured politely, ¡°Wee to Bayside University.¡± Speaking eloquently, Natasha managed to gain the favor of the foreign guests. One after another, they all came forward to ask her for piano lessons. At that moment, Natasha was filled with enthusiasm. As one of the most well-known students of Bayside University, she deserved all the glory and attention at this moment. Taking to it like a duck to water, she arrogantly nced at Sophia who was neglected by the foreign guests. While the guests spoke to Natasha, the eight student representatives who were carefully selected by the school leaders were left out. Keeping a smile on their faces, they tried not to look awkward. At this moment, Linus approached Natasha as the group of girls gawked in jealousy. With a handshake, Linus greeted her. As soon as Natasha saw Linus, she was stunned. What a handsome man! she thought. As he gazed at Natasha, a thought urred to him before he happily announced, ¡°I know you; you¡¯re Mrs. Murray, Taylor Murray¡¯s wife!¡± As soon as he said this, the atmosphere became a little tense. The foreign guests had no clue what was going on, while Natasha and the school leaders¡¯ hearts sank. Linus wouldn¡¯t just happen to know what Natasha did, right? Embarrassed, Natasha was about to say something when Linus happily introduced her to everyone. ¡°This is Taylor Murray¡¯s wife. Taylor Murray is my favourite actor!¡± Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston were world-renowned superstars from Cethos. As such, many of the foreign guests knew who Taylor was. Looking at Natasha now, they were all surprised and stared at her in admiration. She turned out to be the wife of Cethos¡¯s movie star Taylor Murray! All at once, Natasha felt extremely embarrassed and she couldn¡¯t admit nor deny it. Although the foreign guests did not follow celebrity news, they were still curious about the mysterious movie star Taylor Murray. Thinking that they were meeting his wife, they were all excited and started to take pictures with her. Many of them gave Natasha their business cards, hoping ¡®Mrs. Murray¡¯ would pass it to Taylor. They all seemed to have forgotten her name as they all addressed her as ¡®Mrs. Murray¡¯, which made Natasha and the school leaders¡¯ expressions darken. However, because there were guests present at the moment, Natasha had no choice but to hide her emotions. She could only y along and admit to be Mrs. Murray. Nevertheless, she would spitefully re at Linus from time to time. If it weren¡¯t for him, she would not be put on the spot like this. But her vindictiveness was only temporary, since she already knew Linus¡¯ true identity. The school leaders might not know it, but this young man who was disguising himself amongst the guests was in fact the second inmand of the Michel Family, Linus Michel! Rumor had it that this man had achieved extraordinary aplishments at a young age. He had started working with his family when he was just a teenager and he would take part in decision making for thepany. Aside from that, he was exceptionally skilled in software and hardware development, as well aspany management. At the ripe age of 18, he had sessfully taken over the Michel Group. He was the best of the best! With qualifications like Linus, not even Taylor Murray could beat him! The Mitchell Family was hoping that Natasha would be acquainted with Linus Michel. Although she wanted Taylor Murray now, she could not help but yearn to win Linus¡¯ attention as he stood before her. She had hoped to impress him with her talents and make a good impression on him. In other words, she wanted Linus to be her n B. In fact, she had known in advance that Linus would be here, which was precisely why agreed to y the piano. If they were regr guests, she would not even bat an eysh. As Natasha was surrounded by the guests asking for pictures, Linus looked back and winked at Sophia again. This time, he was grinning brightly. At that moment, Sophia realized he deliberately put Natasha on the spot! What an interesting man! After touring the multipurpose building, the student representatives breathed a sigh of relief. Whenever Natasha was present, everyone¡¯s attention would stay firmly on her while the rest became irrelevant. No one expected Natasha to volunteer to guide the foreign guests for the remaining tour of Bayside University. At that moment, the student representatives were embarrassed as Natasha confidently chatted with the foreign guests. Being the most talented youngdy of the Mitchell Family, Natasha quickly found something inmon with the foreign guests. Content ? N?velDrama.Org. They chatted about the stock market, futures, ssical music and many more; there was nothing that Natasha was not well-informed on. At that moment, being the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family who had received the best education since young, Natasha¡¯s brilliance and excellence were on full disy. Meanwhile, the other student representatives had be irrelevant and the atmosphere became awkward. Natasha knew her actions would offend the other students, but she was not afraid because they were not on her level. She would not consider the consequences of offending them, simply because there was no need to. Even the school leaders were embarrassed. ncing around, most of the guests were speaking to Natasha, but Sophia was still speaking to one of the guests, which made the atmosphere less awkward. In fact, that guest was another one of the Michel Group¡¯s executives, so Sophia and him hadmon topics to talk about. Not only did they exchange name cards, Sophia even took the opportunity to ask him for advice on some issues she faced at work. As they chatted happily, Natasha suddenly interrupted them. ¡°No way! There are only two of those wrist watches in the world. One belongs to my father; who would¡¯ve thought the other one belongs to you!¡± Natasha said in amazement as she looked at the watch on the guest¡¯s wrist. Upon hearing that, the guest was pleased that someone had finally recognized the value of his watch. Without missing a beat, he unted his wrist watch in front of Natasha. Soon, they started their own conversation while Sophia was neglected. Truth was, Natasha did that on purpose because she wanted to embarrass Sophia! Chapter 495 Chapter 495 As Natasha chatted with the foreign guest, she deliberately pulled Sophia closer as she shared the history and the exquisite details of this watch with her. She knew that Sophia was clueless when it came to things like this! ¡°This watch was released twenty years ago. At that time, there were only ten pieces in the world. Due to the exclusiveness, the watches were very valuable but so far, there are only two of them left. Collectors around the world go crazy over it. Look at the exquisite workmanship, Sophia. This was handmade by the famous master Justin¡ª¡± Silently, Sophia watched as Natasha happily chatted with the guest. When Sophia did not speak, Natasha pulled her over and insisted she stayed and joined in on their conversation. Of course, Natasha did not actually want Sophia to join in. In fact, her intentions were just to make sure Sophia felt inferior and clueless, as well as embarrass her in front of the foreign guest. Not only did Sophia not want to join in their conversation, she couldn¡¯t join in even if she wanted to. However, Natasha would not let her go and was determined to embarrass Sophia today. ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t you say you liked watches? This watch is undoubtedly a ssic! Don¡¯t you want to take a look?¡± As far as Natasha knew, Sophia was just a nobody who knew nothing about the luxury of watches. Plus, this watch was an umon one, which would not be easily recognized by those who did not have a genuine interest in watches. Sophia¡ªwho was still being tugged by Natasha¡ªfelt she would be considered impolite if she left when the guest was still enthusiastically discussing watches. If she were to admit that she was clueless about watches, that would have been an insult to her status as a student representative. As the outstanding student representative of Bayside University, how could she not know anything about famous watches? Even the school leader noticed that Natasha was deliberately causing trouble for Sophia, hence Quinton hurriedly approached them to smooth things over and joined in on the conversation. ¡°Oh¡ªthis watch? I remember when it first released and how sensational it was back then. It¡¯s too bad that there are only two of them left. This is indeed a iconic watch in the history of watches.¡± Nheless, Natasha was not having it. She insisted Sophia join in on their conversation. ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t you say you really liked this watch? Why don¡¯t you look happy now that you¡¯ve seen it? ncing at Natasha who was desperately trying to embarrass her, Sophia finally spoke, ¡°No, because I know the third piece still exists.¡± ¡°The third piece?¡± Instantly, the guest was taken aback. He repeated her words incredulously, ¡°The third piece still exists?¡± Back then, when he bought this watch from the auction house, it was extremely precious and was priced as such because there were only two of them left in the world. Yet, Sophia was telling him now that there was a third one? Upon hearing that, Quinton was startled as well. Is there really a third piece? Nodding, Sophia confirmed. ¡°Yes, there is indeed a third piece.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the third piece?¡± the guest hurriedly questioned. ncing at Natasha, Sophia¡¯s lips curled upward. ¡°The second piece belongs to Miss Natasha¡¯s father and the third piece belongs to her husband, Mr. Taylor Murray!¡± Dumbfounded, Natasha red at Sophia as she struggled to react. Meanwhile, the foreign guest furrowed his eyebrows. As he gave Natasha a strange look, he suspiciously repeated, ¡°The third piece belongs to Mr. Murray?¡± That meant Natasha had seen all three pieces of the watch, so why did she confidently state that there were only two left? Grinning, Natasha tried to avoid any embarrassment and hurriedly covered up her lie. ¡°How is that possible? I have never seen my husband with this watch.¡± Natasha was certain there were only two pieces left. One of them was here, while the other belonged to only god knows who. It could not just happen to belong to Taylor Murray, could it? Even if it did, it was impossible that Sophia would know. When Natasha brought up the topic of this watch, her intention was merely to embarrass Sophia. She emphasized yet again, ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know anything about this watch? You can¡¯t listen to rumors, because every watch of this is different¡ª¡± Realizing this was going nowhere, Quinton was about to mediate this dispute when suddenly, Sophia retorted, ¡°Mr. Murray starred in the movie ¡®War Dragon¡¯ not long ago and there was a scene in the film where the viin had to wear a watch. That watch belonged to Mr. Murray himself and it is the same one you¡¯re talking about. How could you not know about this? Aren¡¯t you Mr. Murray¡¯s wife?¡± As a matter of fact, Sophia was indeed clueless about watches, but it just so happened that Michael had the same watch that Natasha was boasting about. As he rarely wore it, he had always kept it at home, up until the filming of ¡®War Dragon¡¯ where he used it as a prop. Being Michael Fletcher¡¯s die-hard fan, Sophia was hyper aware of every inch of her idol¡¯s body. When Michael put on this watch, she had studied it thoroughly. To avoid being used of lying, Sophia took out her phone and pulled up a picture of Michael when he filmed ¡®War Dragon¡¯. In the picture, there was even a close-up of the watch. Natasha did not know about this because it had not been released yet. While Natasha was frantically chasing after Michael, she did not even know his real name. On the other hand, although Sophia would not admit her love out loud, she would be the first to detect any changes on Michael. As the guest examined the picture, he was astonished by the watch. It really was the same watch! Who would have known the third piece still existed and that belonged to Taylor Murray! Now, it was Natasha¡¯s turn to be embarrassed. She stood, not knowing whether to cry orugh, her face stiff as she filled with spite. No one would have guessed that Michael Fletcher owned this watch. Meanwhile, it was no surprise that Sophia would know, since she was the one who usually did the house chores. Natasha had miscalcted! At that moment, Linus watched the two rivals before lowering his head and smiling, his initial worry gone in a blink of an eye. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Upon verifying Michael Fletcher¡¯s watch, the guest excitedly turned to Natasha. ¡°Do you have any pictures of your father¡¯s watch?¡± All at once, Natasha was disgruntled. However, she had no choice but to force a smile and continue to cover up her lies. ¡°Coincidentally, I don¡¯t have any photos of it. I¡¯ll be sure to show them to you once I find itter.¡± Unexpectedly, the guest believed her. ¡°Yes, of course. When I bought this watch, the seller had sworn this was one of the only two that was left; the other eight were confirmed to be destroyed. I could take the evidence and demand an apology from him. This is such an insult to the watch!¡± In their circle, this was equivalent to illicitly exaggerating the value. It was an utter disgrace to the community of watch collectors! If there were three pieces left, the value of the watch would be vastly differentpared to if there were only two left. Back then, the seller swore that there were only two pieces. If the guest had any verification of the third piece, he could prove that the seller was lying! Not only would he want an apology from the seller, he wantedpensation too. Instantly, Natasha felt uneasy and started to break out in a cold sweat as she realized she had gotten herself into big trouble. If she could get her hands on any proof that the third piece existed, then she would have offended a watch collector who would definitely confront her about it. On the other hand, if she could not provide any proof of the third piece, her lie would be exposed on the spot. How was she going to get herself out of this? Chapter 496 Chapter 496 At this point, the atmosphere was extremely tense. Everyone had realized that Natasha had lied and it was nowing back to bite her. All at once, they gathered around to watch the situation unfold. Meanwhile, the foreign guest was an earnest man who insisted on leaving his name card with Natasha. In fact, he wanted to visit the Mitchell Family the very next day to admire the wrist watch, and invite the relevant experts from Europe to verify and prove that there were three pieces of this watch instead of two. Meanwhile, Sophia continued to fan the mes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sir. Mrs. Murray can easily get her hands on two of the watches; one belongs to her father while the other belongs to her husband. She would have no problem proving there are three pieces.¡± Smiling, Natasha epted the guest¡¯s name card. She kept the card into her pocket, the paper already creased from her own vice-like grip. As things progressed for the worse, the guest insisted on continuing the conversation with Natasha. Since these watches had serial numbers on them, he demanded Natasha provide the serial number of her father¡¯s watch. Upon hearing that, Natasha¡¯s expression darkened. However, she still had to figure out a way to cover up and to save herself from embarrassment. One moment, she said that it was auctioned off but the next moment, she said that it was a long time ago and that she couldn¡¯t remember. Now, with Natasha distracted, a few girls rushed to Linus¡¯ side, surrounding him as they chatted happily with him. Meanwhile, Sophia remained silent. In a blink of an eye, it was already noon and the group brought the guests to the cafeteria to try out Bayside University¡¯s cafeteria food. One of the popr things about Bayside University was their food. Although Sophia had a cook at home, she could not help herself from topping up her meal card and often sneaking into the school cafeteria to eat. The cafeteria food was a must-try for every visitor of Bayside University. The school cafeteria was self-serviced, so everyone could take their food ording to their preferences. As soon as Sophia entered the cafeteria, she sneaked into the bathroom and logged onto Messenger and texted Linus. ¡®I didn¡¯t know you work for the Michel Group!¡¯ Swiftly, Linus replied, ¡®I came here to develop our Cethosian market. Since Bayside University is a good institution, why not get a degree along the way?¡¯ ¡®Along the way¡¯¡­ Right¡­ Sophia thought. At this moment, their gaming group chat had exploded with messages. It turned out that someone had taken Linus¡¯ photo and uploaded it onto Bayside University¡¯s socialworking app and Stanley happened across the photo. Stanley wrote, ¡®Damn, Linus! Can I ride on your coattails? Pretty please, Imported Young Man?¡¯ While they had not met in person yet, Stanley and Linus had spoken on video call before. Though, he did not expect Linus to be the legendary teenage president. Linus had even met the country¡¯s president with Joel as his security. Hence, Stanley simply had to ride on Linus¡¯s coattails. Linus immediately replied in the group, ¡®Stan, you tter me. You¡¯re not bad yourself and you have your ownpany.¡¯ Stanley wrote back, ¡®Eat your lunch quickly ande watch my game. We¡¯re having barbeque on skewers tonight, so don¡¯t eat too much!¡¯ Imported Young Man replied, ¡®Sure.¡¯ While Sophia was curious about Linus¡¯ identity, she never asked him. She decided she would ask Michael when she got home. Perhaps he knew something. Soon, Sophia had taken her food and she sat in a corner to have her lunch. Meanwhile, Linus was surrounded by a group of girls. This was a perfect opportunity so Natasha plopped herself down next to Linus. Natasha slowly chewed and ate her food like a proper youngdy and she finished her food before asking, ¡°Linus, do you have Messenger?¡± ¡°Messenger? What¡¯s that?¡± Linus replied. Giggling, Natasha chirped, ¡°It¡¯s a messaging app we use here in Cethos and it¡¯s very popr. If you¡¯re going to be studying here at Bayside University, you should download it.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Linus responded. The atmosphere was just right. Natasha had taken the opportunity to ask for Linus¡¯ number, and so he gave her his assistant¡¯s number. While the other girls wanted to be close to Linus, they knew where their ce was and that they were not qualified. In the afternoon, Quinton led the guests to watch the friendly basketball match between the School of Computer Science and the School of Athletics. Once the game was over, the Michel Group left. Supposedly, there was going to be a speech but due to unknown reasons, it was canceled. After entertaining guests for the day, Sophia was exhausted. She did not attend sses as she had to be at the reception, so she went home early and took a shower before taking a nap. It was afternoon when she woke and their gaming group chat was very active. Stanley: ¡®Linus,e quickly. I¡¯ve sent the location to you. I¡¯ve prepared our national performance and after our barbeque dinner, I¡¯ll make sure you experience the full traditional Cethosian culture. You¡¯ll be sure to feel right at home!¡± Imported Young Man: Alright! I¡¯ming over now.¡± Immediately, Sophia also left on her motorcycle. Once she arrived, she realized they were meeting at Daniel Levine¡¯s venue¡ªAudistin¡ªBayside¡¯s most popr chain club. Audistin really was the perfect, fully-equipped venue. In addition to private clubs, there was dining as well. Sure enough, as Sophia walked in, there was a big hotpot in the middle and everyone was already there. Among the attendees were the youngsters Sean, Stanley, Linus and Sarah. Dressed in casual clothing, Linus grimaced at the hotpot. He seemed like he had never tried it and even looked a little afraid. As Sophia walked in, Stanley taunted her immediately. ¡°Oh, our 18-year-old beautiful young woman is here. Why did youe alone? What about your other half?¡± cing her bag down, Sophia said, ¡°He¡¯s getting old and can¡¯t move around much. He¡¯s having wolfberry tea at home, so I came by myself.¡± Upon hearing that, everyone burst outughing and the atmosphere was pleasant. Meanwhile, Michael was listening to them from next door. From the surveince camera, he could see and hear their every move. Tsk tsk tsk¡­ Getting old? Can¡¯t move around much? And wolfberry tea? He was going to show her just how much he could move around tonight! Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. On the other side, the five of them sat at a table and started barbequing their dinner. Initially, Linus was a little frustrated, but after a while he got the hang of it and was able to barbeque food on his own. The five of them were about the same age and shared the same goal in achieving sess. As such, they had many things inmon. Among them, Stanley was the most talkative. He boasted about being in the army and starting his own business afterpleting his military service. Everyone drank and talked about their careers as they ate. Approximately three hours had gone by in the blink of an eye. Recently, the club introduced a karaoke-themed barbeque and they had moved the table into a karaoke room, enabling customers to eat while enjoying themselves. Meanwhile, Stanley insisted he would sing while everyone ate and so he picked a song that he would always pick at a karaoke session. One after another, he sang songs about being in the army. He was drunk and his face was flushed as he sang and danced, even wanting to perform the goose step. In the end, no one could stop him. Wherever Stanley was, the atmosphere was always lively. Linus was initially reserved and kept to himself but after a while, he finally let loose as he sang and danced with the rest of the group. In the next room, a pot of wolfberry tea was at the center of the table as three older guys quietly sat and watched the group of drunk teenagers in the next room. The trio were sipping the tea while soaking their feet in hot water. How fun it is to be young again, Michael thought. Indeed, he did not have the energy to party so hard now. It seemed that he really was getting old. Chapter 497 Chapter 497 At that moment, Michael, Daniel and Harry were watching the surveince camera, waiting for any useful information they could get from Linus. However, these kids were so drunk that they had forgotten their objective. ¡°Old man,¡± Harry finally put down his ss as he asked Michael, ¡°Why are we drinking wolfberry tea?¡± Michael stayed silent. They couldn¡¯t do anything else while they sat here. They couldn¡¯t drink, yet they couldn¡¯t sit there without consuming anything as well, so they had to order something to drink. Without knowing why, Michael had ordered wolfberry tea without a second thought. He really was getting old¡­ The atmosphere in the room next door was pleasant. After they were done singing, Stanley dragged Linus to experience their traditional Cethosian culture. Sophia enthusiastically followed them, thinking that Stanley would take them to watch a performance of some sort yet when they arrived, there was a mahjong table set in the center. ¡°This is our national performance!¡± Stanley announced proudly as he pointed at the mahjong table. After dinner and drinks, everyone did not want to go home yet so they all sat around the mahjong table and yed three rounds. They all used Venmo and made the transactions on the spot. As they were still in Audistin, Michael wasn¡¯t worried at all. He got a deck of cards and yed poker while watching the youngsters ying mahjong. However, as the five youngsters sat at the table, it urred to them that they had a very serious problem¡ªonly three of them knew how to y mahjong! Upon walking into the mahjong room, no one was leaving without getting tainted and the other two were destined to be dragged into this. Linus was curious about Cethosian culture, so he volunteered to learn. Sophia, on the other hand, was forced to learn. They took turns all night and finally had a rough understanding of how the game worked. As Sophia¡¯s Venmo was linked to Michael¡¯s credit card, Michael¡¯s phone kept on ringing all night from notifications from the bank. ¡®600 was charged to your card ending XXXX.¡¯ From N?velDrama.Org. ¡®1000 was charged to your card ending XXXX.¡¯ As they yed happily, Sophia was growing more and more enthusiastic. Her cheeks were flushed even though she had lost tens of thousands in a single night. On the other hand, Linus had lost even more. His losses were reaching six figures, but he got happier the more he yed. Outside of the mahjong room, Gemma dozed off while standing. Meanwhile, the two bodyguards Linus brought with him dozed off one after another. In the next room, Daniel and Harry had already fallen asleep. However, Michael was leaning against the sofa as he watched Sophia through the surveince. How¡­ adorable she was! Just look at that round face and pink, tender lips. She looked good from any angle! There was a vast difference between the younger generation and the older generation. As the old men started to doze off, the youngsters were getting more and more lively. Stanley, who won money from the game, had ordered a barbeque set meal before they moved back into the karaoke room, so they ended up singing and eating. After drinking, Stanley began to talk without any restraints. He drank as he ate, all the while babbling at Sophia, ¡°Do you know what had happened to Sunset after you brought her over to your house?¡± ¡°She¡¯s pregnant! Sunset is pregnant!¡± ¡°What have you f*cking done to my cat, Sophia?¡± As Sophia ate the food that Sean brought over, she defended herself, ¡°That¡¯s none of my business and it¡¯s certainly not my fault! I don¡¯t have the body part to make your cat pregnant!¡± As they bantered, Sean acted as the hardworking elder brother and barbequed the food. This grill was good and it was smoke-free, not to mention the room was well-ventted. Smiling, Linus¡¯ face was flushed from drinking as he countered, ¡°Stan, what are you worried about? The truth wille to light when the kittens are born.¡± Furiously, Stanley swore, ¡°Hmph, just you wait. If the kittens Sunset gives birth to are orange, I will castrate your litter of orange cats!¡± Sophia mumbled a response, as she had no confidence to refute. After all, she had happily filmed her orange cats taking turns on Stanley¡¯s Ragdoll. Meanwhile, a drunk Sarah was hoarsely singing at the side. Suddenly, Sean brought up a new topic. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t we all born in the same year? I turned twenty one and my birthday was in July. Stanley¡¯s is a month earlier. Sarah started schoolte, so she¡¯s twenty one too and her birthday is in December.¡± ¡°I was born in September,¡± Sophia stated. Her actual birthday was in September, but the Edwards Family had changed it to October to ckmail Joe Edwards. However, Michael celebrated her actual birthday now. Suddenly, Linus responded, ¡°I¡¯m twenty one this year too and my birthday is in September as well.¡± Excitedly, Sophia asked him, ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a September baby too? Which date?¡± ¡°Eighteenth.¡± Upon hearing that, Stanley spat out his drink. ¡°Linus and Sophia, you were both born in the same year and on the same day!¡± In the other room, Michael had almost fallen asleep. However, upon hearing this, his eyes shot wide open and something shed in his eyes. They were born on the same day, the same year! In the room, everyone was thrilled. Sophia did not expect to share the same birthdate with Linus and she questioned, ¡°Were you born in the morning or in the evening? I heard from my grandmother that I was born in the evening.¡± ¡°I was born in the morning, in Europe. With the time difference, it seems like we were born around the same time.¡± Upon hearing this, Stanleyughed. ¡°This is fate, so just be sworn siblings already! This will stop my uncle from being suspicious all the time!¡± Confused, Linus asked, ¡°What are sworn siblings?¡± Without waiting for a response, Sarah and Stanley started to chant, ¡°Sworn siblings, sworn siblings!¡± It seemed that they were all wasted. After the chanting stopped, they dragged Linus and Sophia to swear an oath. Stanley then took out two cigarettes and treated it as incense, holding the two of them as they bowed. ¡°Repeat after me. I, Sophia Edwards, swear to be siblings with Linus Michel. Though not born on the same day, we choose to die on the same day¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Sean reminded, ¡°Stan, they do share the same birthday.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care; you have to be sworn siblings!¡± Linus thought it was fun and enthusiastically repeated Stanley¡¯s words. Meanwhile, Sophia was drunk and in a daze, so she followed suit. After reciting the oath, Sean brought over a ss of wine. ¡°ording to tradition, this should be chicken blood. But since it¡¯s not avable here, some red wine will do!¡± After drinking a mixture of red and white wine, Sophia became even more drunk. Lying on the couch, she saw Stanley tugging at Sean to do the same. Meanwhile, Linus grabbed a fish from the barbeque tray, squeezed the blood out and served it to them in a bowl. At dawn, Michael hade into the room and saw the five youngsters passed out in the room. Sophia was sleeping soundly with a nket on the corner of the couch. Walking into the room, he gently carried her away. At noon, Sophia finally woke up in a guest room of Audistin. She was in a daze before the memories from the night before came flooding back. She had be sworn siblings with Linus! How embarrassing! As she thought about that, Sophia ran out of the room! Chapter 498 Chapter 498 From that night onward, Sophia did not dare to appear in the game group chat for several days. She was afraid of remembering how she became Linus¡¯ godsister that night and she was even more afraid to meet Linus in the chat. That¡¯ll be awkward. She disapproved when Michael got himself a godsister, but now she had found a godbrother herself. After Sophia became Linus¡¯ godsister, Stanley often urged Linus to y mahjong with him. The two called each other brothers and they hung out together often. Stanley even cooperated with Linus on a big project. The Michel Family focused on electronics, while Michael¡¯spany produced online games. Thus, the two did not have much conflict and had cooperated with each other before. Sophia also finally found out Linus¡¯ identity, who happened to be the young president of the Michel Family, as well as Fass¡¯ younger brother. Sophia wanted to ask Linus about Fass¡¯ identity in person, but in the end, she suppressed that urge. Let¡¯s wait till the time is right¡­ Soon, Linus also officially entered Bayside University and began studying his favorite economics degree. At the same time, the Michel Group announced its entry into the Cethos electronics market. The Mitchell Family was the first to feel threatened by the Michel Family¡¯s entry into the Cethos market. After all, the Michel Family and the Mitchell Family were in the same industry! Today, the Mitchell Family held another meeting where the elders of the Mitchell Family and the executives of the group gathered together to discuss how to deal with the Michel Family. However, they could note up with a definite n even after much discussion. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. The Michel Family was definitely the best among its peers globally. They had developed rapidly in the past ten years and if they entered the Cethos market, they would be a great threat to the Mitchell Family. That being said, the Mitchell Family might not even be capable enough to withstand the competition. Plus, their current family head, Alex, was not Linus¡¯ opponent at all! The Mitchell Family finally realized that they had only been doing well due to the foundation Cooper had built and their stability of the past ten years was because of the wealth left over from Cooper¡¯s era. But now, the wealth left by Cooper was finally exhausted. A series of contracts that Cooper won for the Mitchell Family before his death ten years ago, which had supported the Mitchell Family for so long, had now expired. As soon as the Michel Family entered the market, the partners turned to cooperate with the Michel Group instead. Compared with the Michel Family, the Mitchell Family was still too inexperienced and not competitive enough. Moreover, that blockhead Natasha had caused a lot of trouble for the Mitchell Family. The stage name and marriage incident that had caused a hugemotion some time ago had caused Taylor to embarrass them on the spot, and Mark even came over to question them. Now, Taylor had hired awyer and was engaging in awsuit, and he had also rejected Natasha¡¯s offer to build a museum. To top it all off, Natasha had also boasted that Alex had the limited edition watch. Although the misunderstanding had been handled with Alex insisting that the watch had been auctioned off and the buyer¡¯s identity was unknown. Still, she was thoroughly embarrassed. The current family head¡¯s total earnings for ten years was even less than Cooper¡¯s yearly revenue. Thus, the Mitchell Family was now eager to find Cooper and ask him toe back. Only when he returned could the Mitchell Family be rescued from its current plight. Alex¡¯s expression began to darken while Natasha remained silent as she stood off to one side. However, extreme dissatisfaction and resentment filled Natasha¡¯s lowered face. Then, someone asked Sean, ¡°Sean, how¡¯s the progress of your search for Uncle Cooper?¡± Sean, who was originally sitting while ying with his mobile phone, replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve been busy these days so I haven¡¯t been involved in this matter.¡± Sean just brought the news back and ryed them to Alex, who was tasked with finding Cooper. Alex, on the other hand, would definitely not go all out to find Cooper. If possible, he would dy it as long as he could. Sean did not bother too much with the search either. He just stole information from the Mitchell Family and looked for Cooper with Michael. Someone else chimed in, ¡°Sean, you¡¯ve been getting close with Linus recently, eh? You should make good use of your extensivework!¡± Hearing this, everyone looked at Sean. Sean smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not me who is close to Linus, but Stan of the Fletcher Family. The both of them are currently working on a big project together. I just do some secretarial work in thepany so I don¡¯t know much about the business.¡± After that, no one asked Sean questions anymore. The matters in the Mitchell Family were too complicated and Sean didn¡¯t want to get too involved. Although he was also a genius inputer science, he chose literature as a major when he submitted his application. He never joined Mitchell Family¡¯s enterprise and instead chose to start a business with Stanley. Even if he joined the Mitchell Family¡¯s business, he would not have been allowed to manage the core business. Cooper¡¯s former subordinates had been excluded from the core of the Mitchell Family bit by bit over the years, and many of them had gone on to start their own business. Someone then proposed a new n. ¡°We can cooperate with the Michel Family. Isn¡¯t Linus unmarried? There are so many outstanding unmarried girls in the Mitchell Family so why don¡¯t we unite by marriage?¡± If they wanted to be allied with Michel Family through marriage, they would definitely choose the best and most outstanding unmarried woman. The first person that came to mind was Natasha. Even if she had done shameful things before, she was still an excellent woman. If it was Natasha, Linus would definitely agree. Thus, they finally settled on a solution after discussion¡ªmarriage! They needed to find a way to let Linus be the son-inw of the Mitchell Family! After the meeting, Sean left with an indifferent smile on his face. This was the Mitchell Family. When they knew that a threat wasing, they didn¡¯t think about how to improve their products and enhance their competitiveness, instead they thought about marriage. If Cooper was here, they wouldn¡¯t have faced such worries. After sighing, Sean left the Mitchell Family to go to thepany. However, he received a call from Stanley. ¡°Come on, Sean. Let¡¯s go to Sophia¡¯s house for dinner tonight!¡± However, Sean murmured, ¡°We¡¯re going to eat for free again? Uncle Michael is getting upset. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea¡­¡± Stanley cursed on the phone, ¡°Sunset gave birth to a litter of orange cats. I must f*cking make Sophia pay for this!¡± Upon hearing that, Sean was speechless. The weather was getting cold as Bayside City enteredte autumn. At Vi No. 8 of The Imperial, Stanley came to the door with a cat carrier. ¡°Sophia, just f*cking look at this. Take a look! Come and take a look!¡± He thrust the carrier at Sophia¡¯s face and inside was a pair of orange kittens nursing from Sunset. They had barely started to grow tufts of fur. Sophia¡¯s eyes darted around and she mumbled, ¡°What does this have to do with me? There are so many orange cats in the militarypound¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care; you have to take responsibility! You have topensate me with at least two bottles of wine!¡± Stanley and Sean came in while carrying the cat carrier together. As soon as he entered the door, he went to look for the wine. Meanwhile, Sophia took Sunset out and ced her in herp as she watched the kittens. The kittens of Ragdoll and the domestic orange cat are really cute¡­ Nathan, who was holding his dog, also hastened over to take a look. Meanwhile, Sean went to the study to find Michael. Recently, Michael was shooting a documentary film in Bayside City so he could go home every day. ¡°Uncle, has there been any progress in looking for Uncle Cooper?¡± Michael shook his head. He had been too busytely, so Abel was in full charge of this matter. He hadn¡¯t seen Fass for a month after going to Africa too and did not have any photos, so he had no choice but to come back. Fass was so cautious that he did not even manage to take a picture. Sean then told him about the results of his investigation. He did not use the power of the Mitchell Family to find Cooper, but he found many things about Cooper in the Mitchell Family¡¯s data room, such as Cooper¡¯s mother. ¡°Uncle Cooper¡¯s mother¡¯s background is very mysterious. The Mitchell Family couldn¡¯t find any information about her identity and she died very young. I suspect that she is the daughter of the former family head of the Michel Family, Beyonc¨¦.¡± Chapter 499 Chapter 499 ¡°I checked and found that Beyonc¨¦ Michel died suddenly more than 40 years ago. There is no photograph of her, but the time of her sudden death coincided with the time Uncle Cooper¡¯s mother appeared.¡± This was a major discovery. Michael took the photo of Cooper¡¯s mother that Sean found and looked at it; she was a white woman. Meanwhile, Sean continued to analyze, ¡°The Michel Family is very xenophobic. Even women of the family are not allowed to marry outside the family, and their husbands must marry into and live with the bride¡¯s family. Assuming that Beyonc¨¦, the daughter of the family head, fell in love with someone who was over fifty years old from the East, she probably had a fight with her family in order to marry this man. After seeding in leaving with that man, from then on she broke ties with her familypletely and changed her name, while the family dered that she was dead. At the same time, Old Master Mitchell brought back a foriegn girl from overseas. Everything makes sense.¡± The man Beyonc¨¦ fell in love with was Old Master Mitchell. In her early twenties, she fell in love with a fifty-year-old man. Thus, the family must have been extremely opposed to it. However, she still followed Old Master Mitchell without hesitation. From then on, the Michel Family and the Mitchell Family became enemies. ¡°I have checked the Mitchell Family¡¯s foreign marriage and transactions and found that the Michel Family and the Mitchell Family have almost zero exchange, and never had any business contacts although they are both global electronics giants!¡± Michael frowned upon hearing Sean¡¯s report. Things were getting clearer and clearer. Beyonc¨¦ was Cooper¡¯s mother, and Cooper¡¯s grandfather was the former family head of the Michel Family. Many years after Beyonc¨¦ married and went to the East, the old family head of the Michel Family fell seriously ill. He thought of his daughter and sent someone to investigate her, only to find out of the existence of his grandson¡ªCooper. Outsiders didn¡¯t know the ins and outs of this matter, but Cooper and Fass were seeming to be more and more like the same person! If Sean¡¯s inference was correct, it would prove why Cooper, a foreigner, could be the family head of the Michel Family. ¡°Now if you can get the DNA of the Michel family, maybe¡­¡± Michael frowned as he said. Beyonc¨¦ had died more than 40 years ago, so it was a bit difficult to investigate her. However, the Michel Family was big and powerful. If they could get aparison of the DNA of one or two of them andpare it with Cooper or Sophia¡­ Sean smiled mysteriously and took out a sealed evidence bag from his pocket which contained a few blonde hairs. ¡°Uncle, can we use Linus¡¯ hair?¡± In the restaurant, the dishes were served one after another. Everyone had arrived and the wine was set. Stanley and Sean drank alcohol while Michael drank milk. Meanwhile, Sophia and Nathan went aside to feed the cats. The four big orange cats rushed to eat the cat food dramatically. After Stanley and Sophia discussed, they decided that Sunset¡¯s pair of orange cats should be raised by Stanley. Meanwhile, Michael had to pay a monthly maintenance fee which was equivalent to a bottle of Cethosian wine, and had to promise to endorse their online games. After the cat issue had been settled, everyone chatted with each other while having their meal. ¡°Sophia, your new godbrother and I have recently cooperated on a project!¡± Stanley chirped. Thinking of how she shamefully took Linus as her godbrother that day, Sophia felt so embarrassed that she badly wanted to dig a hole and hide forever. ¡°You should¡¯ve stopped me but instead you kicked up a fuss!¡± While speaking, she was watching Michael discreetly but saw that he did not look upset at all. However, Stanley countered, ¡°That man is the second inmand of the Michel Family. You¡¯re so blessed to be online friends with a domineering president. I¡¯m helping you, don¡¯t you know that?¡± Sophia mumbled to herself, but in the end chose to keep quiet. After talking about Linus, they started talking about school again and Stanleymented, ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re already earning so much money. What do you want the 8,000 schrship for? The National Schrship is only 8,000 a year and you spend more than that amount of money in the game.¡± Seanughed and teased, ¡°Stanley, you don¡¯t understand the minds of top students at all. This is about honor, alright?¡± Sophia lifted her chin proudly. Yes, the honor of a top student. In her freshman year, Sophia studied very hard. She participated in manypetitions one after another and won many certificates, not for the money, but for the honor! There was only one person per school who would win that schrship! I¡¯ll get the schrship for sure! After dinner, Stanley discussed with Sophia in detail about raising Sunset. First, he must determine the cat responsible for impregnating her. There were four big orange cats in Sophia¡¯s house, two of which were male cats. Thus, it would not be easy for him to find out which cat was the father. Meanwhile, Sean had already entered the study with Michael. Abel had prepared the documents and also appeared in the study. Seeing Abel, Sean was very excited. He hurriedly took a few steps forward in excitement and wanted to call out Abel¡¯s real name, but in the end chose to respect his request and said, ¡°Abel, what¡¯s the result?¡± Abel nced at Sean, then at Michael, before saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t confirm it.¡± Sean had originally looked forward to hearing his results, but after hearing this, he lost hope. ¡°The Michel Family is so big so I may not be able to verify their rtionship even if they were from the same family¡­¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Sean left the study rather disappointed. After he left, Michael asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± He had been working with Abel for many years, so he knew that Abel was hiding something just by looking at his expression. After Abel confirmed that Sean had long been gone, he closed the door and then took out theparison documents he had hastily gathered. ¡°This is a bit troublesome. Linus is the twin brother of your Chica, and is also Cooper¡¯s son. The DNA of the three is perfectly matched.¡± Therefore, Abel didn¡¯t exin it to Sean just now, so as not to get him over-excited. Meanwhile, Michael was not surprised to hear this news. From the beginning, his sixth sense told him so. When Linus appeared, he felt that he seemed familiar for some unknown reason. That night, when they went out to have fun, he became even more suspicious when they learned that Linus and Sophia were born in the same year, the same month and even the same day. Linus really was Cooper¡¯s son! He hadpletely inherited all of Cooper¡¯s talents! What happened that year? Does it mean that Cooper already knew about the existence of Annabel¡¯s twins and was the first to find his son Linus? But why did he find his son but not his daughter? Or is it just a coincidence that he searched for Linus? Perhaps he didn¡¯t even know that Linus is his son, which is why they addressed each other as brothers? What kind of attitude should I have when I see Linus? What are the consequences after I go meet him? The next day, Sophia arrived at university early as it was the day when the school announced the winner of the National Schrship. Every top student in school was looking forward to it. That small schrship award sum was really nothing to look forward to. Eight thousand a year was nothing for Sophia, who had billions. What she wanted was the glory of being at the top of the list. Imaginepeting with thousands of academics in Bayside University, the highest-ranking academic institution with countless talented students, for the schrship. It felt like all of them were fighting for territory and Sophia was one of the ancient princes. No one could predict who would be victorious in the end. However, Sophia had a high probability of winning. Her participation in the Esports World Championship would definitely give her a boost, much less otherpetitions. ¡°The result is here!¡± The staff came over with a crimson paper. All major events of Bayside University were written in ck calligraphy on red paper and pasted on the bulletin board. Chapter 500 Chapter 500 Sarah nudged Sophia¡¯s shoulder. Sophia, who was standing in front of the bulletin board, was as nervous as most top students as she watched the staff post the result on the board. Written on it was the winner of the National Schrship. There was only one winner per school, so the schrship was extremely precious. All of Sophia¡¯s friends were waiting to witness her glory¡­ After the result was posted, everyone flocked to see it, so the bulletin board was very crowded. Sophia searched for her name excitedly but to no avail! She thought she had read it wrong, but after reading it again, she still didn¡¯t see her own name. There was only one winner of the National Schrship from the School of Business Management this year, but it was not Sophia. She looked at the results nkly, suddenly feeling puzzled. ¡°Stop searching. Your name isn¡¯t there!¡± A cold and ironic voice suddenly sounded from her side. Sophia looked sideways and saw Natasha standing next to her. Natasha wasn¡¯t looking at Sophia but straight at the result on the bulletin board. Staring at the name ¡®Natasha Mitchell¡¯ on the board, her eyes shone brightly. Natasha was the only student who received a National Schrship from the School of Foreign Languages this year. She believed that no one could get this award except herself. Natasha left triumphantly but Sophia stood in front of the bulletin board, making no move or speaking. Sean soon realized that something was wrong and hurriedlyforted her, ¡°It¡¯s okay; it¡¯s only 8,000. It¡¯s nothing. The appraisal process for this kind of schrship is particrly shady, so don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Stanley also quickly persuaded her, ¡°Exactly! It¡¯s only 8,000. Come on, I can give it to you.¡± Many students were not satisfied and started whispering among themselves as they stood around the bulletin board. ¡°Why did Natasha win the National Schrship? As far as I know, the National Schrship requires the comprehensive development of morality, intelligence and physical fitness. The topic of the stage name and marriage incident is still trending and she¡¯s the infamous ¡®Mrs. Murray¡¯. How could someone like her win the National Schrship?¡± ¡°Keep it down¡­¡± Sophia rushed back to her ssroom without saying a word and found the ss representative. ¡°ss representative, I hope to see our final result confirmation form again.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. The final score of the selected schrship was abination of academic performance and conduct evaluation scores. Sophia knew how much she scored in exams, but her conduct scores were evaluated by the ssmittee. She was confident in her exam scores and her conduct assessment as she had participated in many clubs and in manypetitions, managing to receive tons of awards and trophies. Plus, she had never been absent from the collective charity activities organized by the school. These were all rted to her conduct. She also published several papers in national journals, participated in two or three nationalpetitions and the global Esports World Championship, all of which were written in her application form. She had investigated otherpetitors in advance and no one had a better track record than she. Even if something fishy was going on, she had to know exactly how she lost and who was the stumbling block! Sophia rushing into the ss and questioning the ss representative had ced the ss representative in a very difficult position, so she couldn¡¯t help but say loudly, ¡°You have not been selected this time, so you should try again next year. There¡¯s no point for you to say anything else now.¡± Sophia asked calmly again, ¡°I just want to know why I was unsessful.¡± Seeing that Sophia wasn¡¯t about to give up, the ss representative found her score sheet and showed it to her. ¡°Look for yourself.¡± In her transcript, her test scores were fixed. No one could change it even if one wanted to. The only thing that could be changed was the behavior score. These scores would be evaluated by the ssmittee in a unified meeting. After taking a look, Sophia could see that she still had several items that deserved extra points, such as the Esports World Championship, which were not counted. After getting a look at the score sheet, Sophia kept silent. Meanwhile, Nathan followed her into the ss and looked at her. Suddenly, she received a text message. Picking up her phone, she saw that the message was sent by her ssmate Molly, who was also one of the ssmittee. ¡®Sophia, don¡¯t worry about this. Our ssmittee would also love to see a student from our ss win the National Schrship, but I¡¯m sure you know that some people don¡¯t want you to get the schrship. You can try again next year.¡¯ Sophia looked at the winner from their school for this year¡¯s National Schrship again. The winner¡¯s results were not as good as her, nor did she participate in as manypetitions as Sophia. Why did she get the schrship? That was because herst name was Mitchell. That day, Michael went home early. When he reached home, he saw Sophia ying with the cats in the living room, seeming to be in a bad mood. Michael was about to coax her when he suddenly saw Stanley calling him. Why is this stupid dog calling me? Does he want toe over for a free meal again? After he picked up the phone, Stanley said, ¡°Uncle, you¡¯re going to cook something delicious today, right? Sophia did not win the National Schrship which she applied for and her ss only gave her a constion prize. She must be in a bad mood, so hurry up and make something delicious to coax her¡­¡± It turned out that Sophia was upset because of the schrship; no wonder she seemed to be in a bad mood. Michael walked over and petted the kitten in Sophia¡¯s arms before nudging her forehead with his lips. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you upset?¡± Sophia lowered her head and mumbled, ¡°No.¡± She knew that her score was good enough and that something shady was going on. Plus, she didn¡¯t really care about the 8,000 either. However, everytime she thought about it, she still felt upset. She hugged the cat and leaned her forehead on Michael¡¯s. She felt like she could forget all her worries as long as her idol hugged her. Whenever something didn¡¯t go well for her, Sophia would think to herself, I already managed to sleep with my idol, so what else would bother me? So what if she couldn¡¯t find her dad? What if she didn¡¯t win the National Schrship? She had such a handsome man! Since the winner of the schrship was announced, Sophia didn¡¯t want to continue to work hard anymore. It was just a mere title anyway. But in Michael¡¯s eyes, this matter was a major one. Anything that made his wife unhappy was a big deal! The next day in the vice chancellor¡¯s office, the vice chancellor put on his reading sses and looked at the pile of reports in his hand. The winner of the National Schrship of the School of Economics and Business Administration¡ªa student with the surname Leonard¡ªwas suspected of cheating in an internationalpetition, falsifying results and privately bribing the examiner. Also, Natasha Mitchell, a junior foreignnguage student, was suspected of bribing and threatening the examiner in an international piano solopetitionst semester. The whistleblower, Michael, came in person today and he sat in front of the vice chancellor as he said very solemnly, ¡°As far as I know, National Schrship winners requireprehensive development of morality, intelligence and physical fitness but these two students have major moral problems. Therefore, I feel that it is inappropriate to grant the National Schrship to the two of them.¡± The vice chancellor looked at Michael¡¯s report with a serious expression as he thought to himself, How impressive. It was obvious at first nce that Michael had done his research. The video of the person concerned admitting to the ordeal and the information about the Mitchell Family threatening and bribing the examiner were all included, and the document totalled up to tens of pages. For families like the Mitchell Family, their pride was very important. Thus, their children must obtain some kind of title. A surefire way for them to do that was to participate in any internationalpetition. It was not umon for them to sponsor thepetition, inform the judges and get the first ce. This was a verymon thing to the Mitchell Family. The vice chancellor was ced in a difficult position as he stuttered, ¡°I-If news about this gets out, everyone will get into trouble. Isn¡¯t it just a trivial schrship? It¡¯s only worth 8,000 and you don¡¯t exactly need that 8,000¡­¡± However, Michael replied, ¡°I don¡¯tck money; I justck the title of a National Schrship winner.¡± Chapter 501 Chapter 501 The vice chancellor knew that this fellow came for his lovely wife. Sophia was indeed excellent enough. However, the Mitchell Family had insisted that they would pressure the vice chancellor if the schrship was not given to the Mitchell Family. Content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Next year! Next year, we will definitely award the National Schrship to your wife, but let¡¯s forget it this year!¡± Michael responded casually, ¡°No; it must be this year.¡± Upon hearing that, the vice chancellor murmured, ¡°We¡¯ve already revealed the winner. If you insist, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to offend some people¡­¡± ¡°No worries. I have alreadyined to the organizer of the contest and they will announce the change of winner as quickly as possible. You should hurry up and do the same too.¡± Michael never cared about whether he would offend people. Before he came to see the vice chancellor, he had already sent the documents to the organizer of thepetition. Then, he added, ¡°I¡¯m also in the midst of suing Natasha Mitchell for ndering me. You yourself know that it is inappropriate for you to give her the National Schrship under such circumstances, right?¡± The vice chancellor knew this. In the past, the Mitchell Family didn¡¯t take the National Schrship of the Bayside University very seriously; 8,000 was too little a sum for them. However, for some reason, they applied for the schrship this year. If the school punished Natasha for cheating in her grades at such a moment, it would be equivalent to publicly shaming themselves. His brows were knitted tightly together as struggled internally. Meanwhile, Michael stood up, patted him on the shoulder and smiled. ¡°Cheer up! I brought you a good bottle of wine.¡± With that, Michael walked away happily as Hale ced a bottle of red wine wrapped with a gand on the vice chancellor¡¯s table. The vice chancellor looked at the wine and at the pile of prosecution documents, then back at the bottle of wine before looking at the pile of prosecution documents again. Finally, he mmed the table hard. Damn it! Even if he didn¡¯t expose Natasha, Michael would contact the organizers of thepetition to make public announcements in advance. After school was over at noon the next day, Sophia saw a lot of people gathered in front of the school bulletin board. There was a hugemotion and it seemed that something major had happened. Sophia squeezed her way through the crowd and found threerge announcements posted on the board. One was about bribery of examiners and falsified scores for a student with the surname Mitchell from the School of Business Management and Law in a certainpetition. The evidence was conclusive and the organizer of thepetition had confirmed it and disqualified her from thepetition. Bayside University also canceled her qualification for the National Schrship simultaneously, giving the schrship to the student in second ce instead. The second was to punish Natasha from the School of Foreign Languages for bribing the judge in an international piano performancepetition. The organizer of thepetition had already revoked her scores and the school had also decided to revoke Natasha¡¯s honor of winning the National Schrship, and the schrship would be given to the student in second ce as well. The third was the revised list of National Schrship winners, which included Sophia. She thought she had read it wrong, but her name was indeed on it. After brief excitement, she became curious. Who reported Natasha at the risk of offending the Mitchell Family? Suddenly, she felt a gust of cold wind behind her and when she turned her head, she saw a red-faced Natasha rushing through the crowd toward Sophia under the protection of two bodyguards. Disregarding the surrounding students, Natasha walked up to her in a few steps, raised her hand to p Sophia. However, a hand quickly grabbed her fair arm. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sophia held Natasha¡¯s arm and flung it away before taking a few steps back quickly and looking at Natasha warily. Natasha had obviously been crying. She was the proud youngdy of the Mitchell Family yet she was punished publicly by the school. How embarrassed she must have been! Natasha¡¯s entire face was distorted in anger and her body was trembling with rage as her tears constantly flowed. Her trembling fingers pointed to the ck words on the red paper on the bulletin board and as she shouted, ¡°I bet you¡¯re the one who reported me!¡± Natasha kicked open the door of the vice chancellor¡¯s office just now and confronted him face to face. However, the vice chancellor refused to tell her who made the usation no matter what. Natasha knew that no one would do such a disgusting thing except for the b*tch, Sophia! Sophia knew in her heart that no matter who made the usation, she would still have to be the scapegoat in the end. It was better to just admit it so she answered frankly, ¡°Yes¡­¡± Just then, a male voice came from behind, ¡°I was the one who made the report!¡± Everyone turned their heads and saw Stanley walking over. As usual, he was wearing a unique leather jacket and looked like an ignorant hooligan. Walking over, he jabbed, ¡°I made the report. What about it?¡± Natasha turned her head and red at him with her bloodshot eyes. Then, tears fell down from her eyes again. She was still a child after all and she had never been insulted like this before. Thus, she couldn¡¯t control her emotions at all. Behind Stanley were Sean and Linus who had just arrived. Sean looked regretful while Linus looked adorably confused and at a loss. ¡°Oi! How dare you stare at me like that!¡± Stanley stepped up and said ruthlessly, ¡°I¡¯m sure you know clearly what you¡¯ve done, right? What do you say, Mrs. Murray?¡± He deliberately emphasized her title as if to remind everyone of the stupid things Natasha had done. Upon hearing that, everyone covered their mouths andughed. After the announcement of the winners list for the National Schrship the day before yesterday, there was an uproar in Bayside University¡¯s forum. Some said that they want toin anonymously, but most people were just making empty threats. In reality, who dared toin about the youngdy of the Mitchell Family? But now, someone had the guts to do so! Natasha just stared at Stanley but didn¡¯t dare to speak. She knew who he was. He was Mark¡¯s great- grandson! So, she dared not fight back. ¡°How trashy,¡± Stanley grumbled and tugged at Sophia. ¡°Come, Sophia; let¡¯s go.¡± Sophia looked at Natasha then at Stanley before quickly following him. Watching them leave, Natasha sobbed loudly. Her face was covered with tears and her chest was heaving violently. She truly despised Sophia to death! Among everyone¡¯s criticism, Natasha left without a word. As she left, every step she took felt as if she had stepped on sharp knives, making her high self-esteem suffer. Her dignity had been toyed with by someone else; it had been ravaged and trampled by others at will¡­ She had really miscalcted this time. The National Schrship was nothing to her, but she didn¡¯t expect that the 8,000 schrship award would make these poor people take such desperate measures! Damn it, Sophia. How dare you report me! Even your life is not enough to pay for the loss of my dignity! When Faye, who was among the crowd, watched Natasha leave, she suddenly remembered something and eagerly chased after her. ¡°Miss Natasha! Miss Natasha!¡± Natasha turned her head and nced at Faye, vaguely remembering the young model who was dragged into the lion¡¯s den because of her daring scandal with Michael. ¡°What do you want? Are you here tough at me?¡± Faye hurriedly stepped forward, trying to curry favors with her. ¡°Hi, Miss Natasha. Sophia is my father¡¯s illegitimate daughter. I have a way to prevent her from winning the National Schrship and ruin her reputation, but I need your help.¡± Chapter 502 Chapter 502 ¡°Oh?¡± Natasha raised her eyebrows slightly, starting to feel interested¡­ In the canteen, Sophia queued up to buy a meal before finding a seat and sitting down. The food at Bayside University was unique and delicious. Today, she ordered diced corn, braised pork and a portion of saut¨¦ed cabbage. The te was filled with food in a variety of colors¡ªyellow corn, pink diced pork, red braised pork and green cabbage. The te of food was truly enticing. Just as she put down the te, Linus had also bought some food and came over. He put his te next to hers and the two subconsciously looked at each other¡¯s food. Linus¡¯ meal turned out to be diced corn, braised pork and saut¨¦ed cabbage, all in exactly the same position as hers. Seeing this, the two were speechless. It must be because these three dishes were the most popr, so they got the same food. Sophia quickly got up to get some soup, lest Linus thought she was copying him. She brought a bowl of seaweed egg soup and a few cherry tomatoes. When she came back, she saw that there was also a bowl of seaweed egg soup next to Linus¡¯ te too, and he was eating the cherry tomatoes with a fork. The two looked at each other, speechless again. At this moment, Sean and Stanley also came and the four of them began to eat. Sophia first took a piece of braised pork with chopsticks and looked at Linus subconsciously. Seeing that he was also holding a piece of braised pork, Sophia subconsciously let go of the meat and hurried to pick up the cabbage. However, the moment she moved her chopsticks, Linus quickly picked up the cabbage as well. In order to conceal her embarrassment, Sophia quickly picked up a bowl of soup and took a peek at Linus while drinking the soup. To her surprise, the moment she looked over to him, she saw that Linus was drinking the soup while watching her as well. The atmosphere became even more awkward. The two put down their bowls at almost the same time and said in unison, ¡°Why are you copying me?¡± As soon as their voices trailed off, all four people at the table were shocked. Sophia hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m not copying you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not copying you!¡± Linus also said simultaneously. Their tone and pitch were almost exactly the same and the atmosphere turned extremely awkward. Stanley stared at the two of them and suddenly remembered something so he switched the subject. ¡°By the way, Sophia, you got the National Schrship! You won 8,000, so you must treat us to a meal! I don¡¯t care; you have to treat us!¡± Sophia mumbled, ¡°At most, I¡¯ll treat you to a hot drink in the cafeteria.¡± With Stanley present, the atmosphere finally returned to normal. Sophia lowered her head to eat but she kept looking at Linus discreetly. She could feel that Linus must also have been embarrassed. They were too goddamn in sync. After eating, Sophia craved for a hot drink, preferably a steaming hot Americano. The spoon in the sugar jar of this hot drink shop at the cafeteria was big, so half a spoon of sugar was just right. If she put more than that, it would be too sweet but if she put less than that, it would be too bitter. Since she won the schrship today, she stood up and said to everyone, ¡°What do you guys want to drink? My treat.¡± ¡°One Hazelnut Latte,¡± Stanley said while Sean murmured, ¡°Caramel Mhiato.¡± It was Linus¡¯ turn. ¡°A cup of hot Americano with half a spoonful of sugar.¡± Huh? When Sophia went to buy drinks with her meal card, she heard Linus say to Stanley behind her back, ¡°I saw the sugar jar spoon in the hot drink shop two days ago and it¡¯s very big. If I put a whole spoon of sugar in it, it¡¯ll be way too sweet! Half a spoon is just right!¡± Sophia scratched her head and went to the hot drink shop. Then, she changed her mind on buying the hot coffee she wanted and instead bought something else to drink. Soon, she came with four cups of hot drinks and thereafter the four of them walked around the school with said drinks in hand. Bayside University was veryrge. When Linus came here as a visitorst time, he only got a brief tour of the university. Thus, they wanted to give him a thorough tour of the school today. As she walked, Sophia suddenly remembered that she hadn¡¯t seen Sarah for two days and hurriedly turned to ask Sean. ¡°Sean, where did Little Kitten go?¡± Linus seemed to know what she was thinking and asked Sean before she could. Sophia opened her mouth, but no words came out. Hearing Linus¡¯ question, Sean shook his head. ¡°Oh¡ª she¡¯s working on her new book recently and had to go to theic convention to sign her books! She is not only ourpany¡¯s original illustrator, but also a very popr illustrator on the Inte so she¡¯s very busy.¡± Linus nodded and took a sip of hot coffee as the four young people walked around while talking about their dreams. ¡°I want to make mypany thergest gamingpany in the country!¡± Stanley announced. ¡°I want to create a popr online game like Swordsman Game that will be enjoyed by yers all over the world!¡± Sophia was also thinking to herself, What is my dream? She didn¡¯t have any strong desires; she just wanted to make her life better through her own effort. She wanted to raise Nathan together with Michael,Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. give birth to a baby, raise a litter of orange cats and perhaps adopt a dog. Sean said, ¡°My dreams are simr to Stanley¡¯s; I also want to be sessful in my career.¡± Linus looked at the two of them and his brilliant blonde hair seemed to be doused in light. ¡°My dream¡­ In the words of Cethosians, one should get a car, a house, a wife, children and a pet. I want to wake up to the sea every day and enjoy the warm spring blossoms.¡± Huh? Sophia was stunned. How could they even have the same dreams? Suddenly, Stanley seemed to have discovered something and said, ¡°Hey, the alumni corridor seems to be open. Let¡¯s walk around and see if there are any photos of neers hung there.¡± The alumni corridor of Bayside University was an important attraction where the university¡¯s history was disyed. Thus, it was a must-see attraction for visitors. When the alumni corridor was closed for maintenance every six months, the university would also hang up some new photos while maintaining the old photos. When Linus came thest time, this ce happened to be closed as it was under maintenance. He was quite interested in seeing the ce, so he hurriedly followed along. The alumni corridor was not far in front of them so they were able to reach there in one minute. Walking in, they saw a group photo of several founders. Just like a local tyrant, Stanley began to talk about the history of Bayside University. ¡°Bayside University has been established for more than 120 years. As you can see, these four are the founders of Bayside University¡ªour predecessors Mitchell, Winston, Edwards and Fletcher. Mitchell was the ancestor of the Mitchell Family and he was a diplomat back then. Fletcher, one of my ancestors, was a warlord in a famous town. Winston was the ancestor of the Han family and a gangster¡ª¡± Stanley continued to introduce along the way, ¡°This is Ethan and the one next to him is Taylor.¡± ¡°Look¡ªthis is my uncle Joel, who was your security guard!¡± After a while, everyone saw the photo of Cooper. In the photo, Cooper was at the peak of his youth and was extremely handsome. The four of them stood in front of Cooper¡¯s photo and looked up as if they were looking at a mountain that could never be climbed. Meanwhile, Sean and Sophia were both watching Linus¡¯ expression discreetly, because his brother, Fass, might be Cooper. If Fass was Cooper, Linus would definitely say something. As expected, Linus did say something. Pointing to Cooper¡¯s photo, he said in amazement, ¡°I know Cooper! Although he had died more than ten years ago, his contribution to electronic technology had an impact on the entire world.¡± Upon hearing that, both Sophia and Sean were a little disappointed. Linus gave a perfect response, but they wondered if it was because he already knew the truth, or he had never seen Cooper before¡­ Stanley didn¡¯t know what they were thinking so he looked at the photo and said regretfully, ¡°Oh, yes. Uncle Cooper was indeed a legendary figure. What a pity¡­¡± Chapter 503 Chapter 503 Stanley absolutely admired Cooper. Back then, Cooper was the one who made the first decent online game in the world. If he had continued to develop the industry, Cethos¡¯ current online games would be a lot better. ¡°Uncle Cooper is the ancestor and legend of our profession.¡± Stanley continued to sing praises for Cooper, just like the endless stream of a river. Linus was also listening and nodding from time to time, acting perfectly normal. The four of them continued to walk. Intrigued, Linus took out his mobile phone to take pictures. After a while, he walked from beginning to end of the corridor and saw that a neer¡¯s photo was hung up on the wall. The photos were updated every six months, swapping some old photos for new ones. This time, there were four neers, all with extraordinary backgrounds. Those among whose photos were hung were an alumni who graduated from the Department of Literature who had just won the Nobel Prize in Literature, another who had guided his students to win the Summer Olympics global championship, the chief designer of the first-generation domestic aircraft carrier that had justunched, and thest was the person who had won a gold medal in an international performancepetition. Wasn¡¯t it Natasha who just won the gold medal in the performance contest? Unexpectedly, Natasha¡¯s photo was actually hung in the alumni corridor. Not only that, her impressive achievements were written beneath her photos as well. Seeing Natasha¡¯s photo being hung on the alumni corridor, Sophia burst into inexplicable rage. Her photo had never been hung on the corridor so why did Natasha get to have hers hung? Bayside University was not owned by her family! They both had simr backgrounds, so why did Natasha get to have her photo hung and not Sophia? There were only two people who had their photos hung in the alumni corridor during their school term¡ª one was Cooper and the other was Natasha. Cooper¡¯s photo was there because he improved the USB drive while studying in Bayside University,piled the world¡¯s first prototype of online games, brought an unprecedented major change to theputer industry, and also opened up a whole new field. Those who developed online games all called him Grandmaster. The reason his photo was hung was because he was truly capable. Meanwhile, what did Natasha do? ¡°Ugh, what a nuisance. Take it away!¡± Stanley didn¡¯t even look at it. His uncle Michael¡¯s photo was also hung on the alumni corridor after bing Cethos¡¯s first Oscar-winning actor and promoting Cethosnguage movies to the European and American mainstream markets. How can Natasha, this little b*tch, shamelessly hang her own photo on the corridor? It was written that she was the first person from Cethos to win or be shortlisted for some random award. She could obtain these awards by just bribing others. How dare she have her photo hung up on the corridor? Having Natasha¡¯s photo hung here was an insult to everyone who was truly qualified to have their photos hung on the corridor! ¡°Sophia, you should take it down.¡± Because there were no stools here and the photos were very high up, Stanley squatted down, patted his shoulder and let Sophia, who was the shortest among them, climb up to take it. Upon seeing that, Sophia stepped on his shoulder and climbed up to take down Natasha¡¯s beautiful photo. Sean did not stop her. Although Sophia¡¯s move would offend Natasha, he knew that they were in a dire situation now. The Mitchell Family had both internal and external troubles, and have offended the Fletcher Family. Not to mention the Michel Group was aggressively trying to take them down too. Thus, it was unlikely for them to let Natasha have her way like before, unless Sophia¡¯s identity was exposed and threatened Alex¡¯s foundation. Although Linus did not know what happened, he also clearly felt that Natasha¡¯s contribution was obviously not as great as the other alumni, so it was unfair to put her photo up there. Meanwhile, there were many students who were visiting the corridor. Seeing that Sophia had taken down Natasha¡¯s photo, no one opposed it, but instead thought that this was the right thing to do. The previous alumni had all made contributions to the nation, the country and even the whole world in their own industry. What did Natasha do? Sophia then took down Natasha¡¯s photo. Just as shended and wanted to ask what to do with this photo, she heard a rush of footsteps. She looked at one side of the alumni corridor and saw a group of peopleing in with the person heading the group none other than Natasha. Natasha was greatly humiliated today, but when she learned that Sophia was about to have her reputation ruined, she immediately felt better. When she learned that the alumni corridor had finished being maintained and opened today, she immediately brought her friends over to watch her glorious photo on the corridor. Unexpectedly, she saw Sophia taking down her photo as soon as she came. ¡°B*tch, what are you doing?!¡± Natasha¡¯s roar echoed throughout the alumni corridor and many students gathered around to watch the fight. From N?velDrama.Org. ck ck ck¡­ Natasha rushed over in her high heels. Sophia looked at therge picture of Natasha in her hand and then at Natasha who was rushing toward her furiously, realizing she was in deep trouble. However, she had alreadypletely offended Natasha anyway. The both of them had long shed all pretenses of cordiality, so it didn¡¯t matter if they fought with each other again today. After all, Natasha¡¯s dad harmed her dad and Natasha had also snatched her husband away! Thinking about this, a wave of confidence arose in Sophia and she took on a confident stance. When she saw Natasha approaching, she threw the photo frame in her hand at her. Natasha subconsciously caught the photo of herself and took a few steps back, almost falling down in the process. ¡°How dare you take down my picture?¡± Natasha shouted as she looked at Sophia incredulously. The Mitchell Family paid a huge price to have Natasha¡¯s photo hung on the wall of the alumni corridor. Although her identity and contribution were not as impressive as those whose photos were hung here, she came from a powerful background after all. Thus, she was certain that no one would stir up trouble so ignorantly. However, she didn¡¯t expect that this b*tch would dare to take it down in public! And in front of her friends at that too! Natasha¡¯s friends were all people with extraordinary backgrounds, and some were even descendants of royal families from abroad. Today, she triumphantly took them here to show off the fact that her photo was on the alumni corridor, but she didn¡¯t expect to be humiliated in front of them! Sophia looked at a furious Natasha and countered, ¡°Ha! Why not?¡± The two words echoed in this long alumni corridor, attracting the attention of even more students toe over and watch the scene unfold. Sophia was full of confidence as she pointed at the many seniors in the alumni corridor. ¡°The alumnis who can have their photos hung on the alumni corridor are all sessful people who have made significant contributions to the country, and even the entire world. Your uncle, Cooper, invented and improved the USB drive, greatly increased the speed of theputer and reduced the size, and has more than a dozen patents. Thus, his photo is eligible to be hung here. Taylor and Ethan are the first and second Oscar-award winning actors in Cethos who pushed Cethos movies into the mainstream European and American markets. They have the same status as other actors in Hollywood, where racial discrimination was rampant, and paved the way for other Cethos actors. As for the chief designer of the first generation of domestically-made independent research aircraft carriers, he was the first winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in Cethos and a general who went to Africa to fight drug traffickers in peacekeeping operations. All of them have made great contributions! What contributions have you made, Natasha? What status and qualifications do you have to put your photo and biography here?¡± Chapter 504 Chapter 504 Sophia¡¯s words caused everyone to fall silent. The whispers quieted down, plunging the alumni corridor intoplete silence. Even Natasha didn¡¯t know what to say in response. Suddenly, Linus, who was standing off to one side, took the lead and pped his hands twice. Like a chain reaction, there was a burst of thunderous apuse. Natasha was indeed not qualified! Amid the apuse, Natasha¡¯s expression darkened even more. She was shaking all over and two fat tears fell down her eyes. After her emotional speech, Sophia turned around and left in big strides while her friends hurried behind her. Before she left, Stanley didn¡¯t forget to warn Natasha, ¡°Don¡¯t hang your photo here again, otherwise I will take it and throw it in the trash next time!¡± By the time the four of them left the alumni corridor, it still hadn¡¯t really sunk into Sophia that she had publicly embarrassed Natasha again. Coupled with the recent grievances, Natasha would definitely not let her off the hook so easily. But as she thought about it, Sophia had nothing to fear anyway. She survived the days when she had nothing to eat. Why would she be afraid of Natasha? Natasha¡¯s photo was hung up in the alumni corridor but was taken down by Sophia within a few hours. It evoked a huge reaction and discussion within Bayside University, and some even broadcasted it live on the on the campus forum application. When the vice chancellor learned about it, he paid a visit to Michael¡¯s house. ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll kneel down and beg if you want. Please! I beg you! Please stop humiliating the Mitchell Family!¡± Michael was wearing cartoon pajamas while sitting on his sofa like a middle-aged man. He spread his hands and feet widefortably as he drank healthy ginseng soup, two orange cats in his arms. After taking a sip of the soup, he put down the bowl and murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The vice chancellor exined while drinking the soup, ¡°It¡¯s your wife. She got into trouble at school again. She took down Natasha¡¯s photo from the alumni corridor right in front of Natasha. She¡¯s embarrassing both the Mitchell Family and the university. Can¡¯t you ask your wife to keep a low profile?¡± What happened to Michael recently? Has he retired in advance? There¡¯s a scent of wolfberry and ginseng in his house. Michael touched the belly of the orange cat and replied calmly, ¡°Oh¡ªabout that, I instructed her to do it. I only got my photos hung up there after great difficulty, yet Natasha got her photo up there so easily. I¡¯m really not pleased about it.¡± This married couple was going to drive the vice chancellor into an early grave sooner orter. He understood that it was not easy for Michael to marry a woman at this age, but could he at least try to understand that the vice chancellor had his own difficulties? ¡°Well, the Mitchell Family is really pissed off now. You also know that they have a huge influence in the school. Now¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give an additional five million in grants.¡± Michael totally subdued the vice chancellor¡¯s dissatisfaction in one sentence. The vice chancellor drank two sips of Michael¡¯s nutritious ginseng soup before replying, ¡°Alright. Truth is, I don¡¯t agree with having Natasha¡¯s picture hung on the corridor either. Although she is excellent, she is still too young and has little influence¡­¡± Michael knew that the only reason that this old guy came personally was to either ask for money or a building. After drinking the ginseng soup, the vice chancellor took two boxes of wolfberries and left. Before leaving, he said, ¡°Today I received an anonymousint saying that your wife is not filial and disowned her rtives and friends, so she¡¯s not worthy of the National Schrship. I just disregarded all these ims.¡± When Sophia, who was ying a game with Nathan, heard these words, her ears pricked up. Unfilial and disowned my rtives and friends? Was it possible that the old guy Joe was making trouble again? That day, her wealth was revealed in Ido¡¯s gship Bridal Shop. Thus, Joe must have been thinking of a way to make her acknowledge the Edwards Family. If it was really Joe who did it, then Sophia had to be wary of him. After sending away the vice chancellor, Michael received news from the basement. Going to the basement, he saw Abel return, but he seemed to be in a hurry to leave again. ¡°Michael, I¡¯m leaving again.¡± Abel went to Africa for a whole month, yet he did not see Fass and did not even get a photo so he had no choice but to return without sess. However, on the return journey, he learned a few things. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Michael asked hurriedly. Content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Recently, several well-known doctors have been missing in session around the world. I suspect they are rted to Phantom Wolf.¡± Abel replied while Michael frowned and questioned, ¡°What do you mean?¡± Abel hurriedly tidied his documents. ¡°Remember the shot Stanley fired? Those doctors who disappeared are all top experts in male reproduction.¡± Michael quickly connected the dots, thinking back to when Stanley shot Phantom Wolf, making him infertile. This kind of injury was fatal to men. Now, Phantom Wolf was frantically kidnapping the world¡¯s top male reproduction experts because he wanted to find a doctor to heal his injuries. So his next goal¡­ ¡°Six of the seven most famous male reproduction specialists in Europe have disappeared, while one is now in Cethos and was invited by Natasha to treat James. Now the Mitchell Family has cut off payment to the doctors and James has also recovered. After that, the expert immediately returned home. Now, he may be Phantom Wolf¡¯s next target. I will continue to watch him.¡± Abel hurriedly returned and then rushed to leave again, just like a machine that would never get tired. Michael sighed softly, taking the information that Abel had investigated and looking through it. This month, he not only went to Africa, but also went to the headquarters of the Michel Family in Europe to find more information. ording to the data, Fass took over as the head of the Michel family ten years ago. He was the grandson of the former head of the family, but it was hard to find out which daughter of the head he was the descendant of. Plus, Linus was his younger brother. It seemed that the truth was within reach¡­ The next day, Sophia had ss in the morning so she arrived at university early. She walked hurriedly on the way to school, surrounded by other students who were also rushing. Today was going to be another busy day. Although she had no ss in the afternoon, she wanted to go to the library to study. Then, she had to go to thepany and had sses in the gym in the evening. Yesterday, Natasha¡¯s incident had motivated her. She wanted to get achievements quickly so that she would have her photo hung on the alumni corridor of Bayside University as soon as possible. The photo of her father, Cooper, was hung up there when he was only seventeen! One day, her name would appear there with Cooper. As she was walking, a voice behind her suddenly called, ¡°Sophia.¡± She turned her head and saw Linus. He was wearing a navy blue overcoat and ck leather boots that highlighted his unusually slender legs, looking as handsome and dazzling as ever. ¡°Linus, do you have sses today too?¡± Sophia asked in amazement. Although everyone was in the same school, Bayside University was very big so it was impossible for her to meet him often. ¡°Yeah,¡± Linus replied. As the two walked to ss together, Linus chatted about what happened the day before. ¡°What happened yesterday turned into a huge deal. When the vice chancellor called me to the office to discuss some matters, Alex came to look for him in person.¡± Chapter 505 Chapter 505 Even Alex took action? ¡°What happened then?¡± Sophia was very curious as to how the vice chancellor would deal with the situation in the end. ¡°The vice chancellor asked me to substitute my photo with Natasha¡¯s in the alumni corridor, so the Mitchell Family was not able to refute him.¡± Hearing this, Sophia was speechless. In fact, with Linus¡¯ current status, it was not a big deal for his photo to be hung on the alumni corridor. He had two PhDs and not only was he the second in charge of the Michel Family, he also had many patents in the field of electronics and had made many contributions in said field. To top it off, he was also very influential as well. He was almost as sessful as Cooper when Cooper was at his age. With Linus as an excuse, the Mitchell Family really did not dare to make trouble anymore. Sophia and Linus were born in the same year, the same month and the same day. However, when shepared herself to Linus¡­ she suddenly felt dejected. The two chatted while walking, and Linus talked about the big project he and Stanley were cooperating on. They wanted to cooperate on a big online game and of course, Sophia was involved in this project. Truth was, Sophia loved talking to Linus. Although they were of the same age, Linus¡¯ vision and knowledge were iparable to those of the same age. Sophia felt that she had learned a lot in every conversation with him. Especially when it came to professional questions aboutputers, she could also get the fastest and most urate answer from Linus. She suddenly felt that it was great to have an older brother. She also had several older brothers previously, two older brothers from her uncle¡¯s family, but they bullied her since childhood. Thus, she suddenly hoped that she could have a brother who was gentle, patient and perfect like Linus. She thought that Linus¡¯ sister was probably the happiest woman on earth¡­ It was apletely different feeling from being with Michael. Sophia didn¡¯t know how to describe the feeling either. In short, she liked talking to Linus very much. She didn¡¯t know why, but it felt as if she had found her doppelg?nger. Linus seemed to be able to see through what she was thinking at a nce and they had a tacit understanding, much like twins¡­ They had arrived early, so there was still some time before ss started. Initially, Sophia was nning to go to ake or something to recite some foreign verses. Since Linus came along, she could talk to him and could also ask some professional questions. Linus was also very serious as he answered her answers. He even wrote down the calction form with a pen for Sophia. Seeing that ss was about to start, Gemma, who had been following Sophia, suddenly hurried over. ¡°Faye and Joe came here with a group of people and they seem to be looking for you.¡± What did Faye and Joe want with her? Sophia frowned as she closed her notebook, stopping her conversation with Linus. Linus, who was sitting opposite her, felt a moment of disgust and anxiety that he hadn¡¯t felt for a long time. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him, but he seemed to be able to easily feel Sophia¡¯s feelings¡­ ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Sophia put the notebook into her bag and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. There¡¯s a group of people who came to look for me who I don¡¯t really want to see.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. However, as she stood up and was about to go to them, a middle-aged man in an oversized suit rushed over. He was thin and wore sses, but he immediately caught hold of Sophia with great strength. ¡°Sophia, it really is you! I¡¯m your uncle!¡± Then, Sophia finally clearly saw the faces of all the people who came here. Wasn¡¯t he her uncle, Liam Johnson? Seeing her uncle¡¯s face that resembled a poor intellectual, Sophia recalled the stench of rotten food mixed with the sourness of kimchi, because when she was young, their family always gave her food that they couldn¡¯t bear to throw away. She held the bowl and looked at the rice which had a strange smell and the green vegetables that had clumped together after being reheated several times. She couldn¡¯t make herself eat it no matter what. Then, she saw her cousin holding the same bowl of food to feed the dogs. Seeing her gaze, her eldest cousin picked out some dog food from the dog bowl to tease her and made her eat it while her second cousin wouldugh at her on the side. At this time, she recalled that when her grandma was still alive, she got to eat cabbage porridge, which was actually quite nice. Grandma would also stir a little minced meat into the dish and put a little bit of crispy kimchi before giving it to her with a smile. After Grandma passed away, she secretly opened the lid of the kimchi jar at her uncle¡¯s house as she wanted to eat kimchi. However, a bamboo stick appeared out of thin air and hit her arm, causing pain to radiate up her arm. Panicking due to the pain, she cried out all of a sudden but she still did not dare to refute them. Her aunt chased her with the bamboo stick in her hands. Sophia ran away carrying the bowl and fled to the vige, while her aunt went back cursing furiously. Then, Sophia found a ce and took out the bowl she had desperately protected. There were two more kimchis in the bowl, but it had been mixed with the rotten food. She swallowed it bit by bit, swallowing some of her tears in the process. She didn¡¯t dare go home and she only went home secretly at night. However, the door of her uncle¡¯s house was closed, so she curled up at the door and slept there all night in the cold. To distract herself, she silently recited Cethos texts and verses. Snapping back to reality, she looked up and saw everyone gathered around her¡ªher uncle, aunt and two cousins. One by one, their eyes were shining with greed and surprise as if they were looking at money that just fell down from the sky. She hadn¡¯t seen these faces for six years. Six years ago, the vige was demolished and relocated, but her uncle¡¯s house was not among those that were selected to be relocated. After that, Sophia was admitted to the best high school in the south of the city. When she came back to ask for money, they vented their frustration on her and chased her while beating her. Covered in blood after being hit by them with sticks, she fled to the home of the principal of Riverdale Middle School for help. Then, the principal led her back to her uncle¡¯s house and took her household registry, identity card and admission notice. After that day, she had never seen those faces ever again. Meanwhile, Liam was really overjoyed this time. He pressed Sophia¡¯s shoulder and looked at her now, tsking in amazement. What a surprise! What a surprise! Both of his sons had reached the age of marriage. The house was not demolished in the end and the bride¡¯s family was urging them to pay the betrothal gift; otherwise, they would not proceed with the marriage. However, their family couldn¡¯t afford it so they were at a loss as to what to do. Suddenly, the Edwards Family sent someone to inform them that his niece Sophia had be wealthy in the city. Not only did she go to Bayside University, she also had returned to the Edwards Family. She even married a rich man and lived in a vi within the ring road highway of Bayside City. If the Edwards Family hadn¡¯t sent someone to tell them in person, Liam would definitely not believe it. And now, the Johnson Family surrounded Sophia happily. Faye and Joe were watching by the side and noticed that Sophia seemed as if she was full of anger and disgust, but didn¡¯t dare to show it. Ha! The Johnson Family, who has raised her for more than ten years, indeed knows how to handle her! Let¡¯s see if she can escape this time! There was a hugemotion and it attracted the attention of many students. Suddenly, Sophia looked at the crowd and saw Natasha looking at her with a very contemptuous look. These are Sophia¡¯s rtives? Sure enough, she¡¯s just a peasant! Look at her brood of poor rtives! Let¡¯s see how she¡¯ll settle her troublemaking poor rtives! If Sophia disowned them on the spot, Natasha would report her and her National Schrship would be withdrawn immediately. If she bit the bullet and acknowledged them as her family, it would mean that the family had control over her. Chapter 506 Chapter 506 The Edwards Family thought that Sophia married a local rich man so they wanted to force her to acknowledge them as her rtives, in order to obtain the wealth of said local rich man. However, Natasha knew that Sophia didn¡¯t marry a local rich man. She was basically the assistant who cleaned the toilets in Taylor¡¯s house! Let¡¯s see if she still can continue acting arrogant after being trapped by her poor rtives! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Miss Mitchell. Sophia is a member of our Edwards Family so naturally, we will teach her a lesson. I hope you can help us so that we can enter The Imperial smoothly¡­¡± Joe always wanted to enter The Imperial to recognize Sophia as his rtive, but the security at the entrance refused to let them in. However, with Natasha¡¯s help, they could easily enter the premises. Natasha chuckled. ¡°Of course.¡± Ha! I hope they continue to cause trouble. Hopefully the Edwards Family and the paupers from the Johnson Family will make a hugemotion! At that time, Michael would definitely feel ashamed and drive Sophia away. Sophia looked at the smiling Joe and then at her greedy rtives. Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on her face and she enthusiastically held Liam as she said, ¡°Uncle, Aunt, why are you here? I¡¯ve missed you guys!¡± Liam was overjoyed when he saw Sophia recognize him. After all, it meant that he had put himself under the patronage of a bigwig. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you for several years and I didn¡¯t expect to find you here! Where have you been all these years?¡± ¡°Auntie! Eldest cousin, second cousin!¡± Sophia happily recognized them as her rtives. After that, she left joyfully with the Johnson Family after saying goodbye to Linus, while Joe quickly followed. Linus didn¡¯t know what happened but he obviously felt that Sophia was upset. She didn¡¯t seem to enjoy dealing with these people, so he hurriedly told Stanley about what happened just now. ¡°What? Sophia was taken away by the Johnson and the Edwards Family?¡± Stanley eximed. When Stanley learned of this, he was so anxious that he immediately rushed around in circles. The Edwards Family had been scheming to trick Sophia and the Johnson Family definitely didn¡¯t have good intentions! He found out the true colors of the Johnson Family when he did a background check on Sophia back then! Sean was also very anxious so he called Sophia, but she ignored the call. He then sent a Messenger text to her, to which Sophia replied, ¡®I need an identity.¡¯ Sean looked at the message and pondered for a long time, not knowing what Sophia wanted. On the other hand, when Joe saw that Sophia had finally reconciled with them, he hurriedly asked her to return to the Edwards Family. Sure enough, the Johnson Family knew how to handle her! She had never been raised by her father, so there was nothing they could do if she didn¡¯t acknowledge them as her rtive. However, the Johnson Family had raised her for more than ten years. In any case, she was indebted to them. In the Edwards Residence, Joe affectionately addressed Sophia as his ¡®daughter¡¯ and was extremely warm toward her. Liam and his family were so happy to see such arge vi like the Edwards Residence. If they could win over such a generous family like the Edwards Family, they might even get a house in the center of the Bayside City, not to mention enough money to pay for his two sons¡¯ betrothal gift! Perhaps they could get work there too! Meanwhile, Sophia and the family members were practicing Tai Chi. The atmosphere was harmonious and Joe naturally said, ¡°Today, we are finally reunited as a family. I must see my son-inw! Hurry up and ask your husband toe and meet us!¡± As soon as they mentioned Sophia¡¯s husband, the Johnson Family was also excited. On the journey over, they heard that Sophia had married a dying rich local. He was wealthy and had only one son, who was only six years old. The old man might die at any time, in which case Sophia would be a widow with an orphan. This could only mean that the enormous wealth of her husband would then belong to her¡­ ¡°Yes! Hurry up and call over my niece-inw so that I can have a look at him!¡± Liam also kicked up a fuss. Sophia knew that they were targeting her husband so she said, ¡°My husband went over to White Mountain these few days. The ginseng there is of great quality and can prolong one¡¯s life. The old man is getting old and is in poor health. He has to eat ginseng to nourish himself all the time, so he personally went there to pick some.¡± He has to eat ginseng all the time? He must be on death¡¯s door! Upon hearing that, Joe was frightened. This meant that they had to get things done quickly, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t get any benefits if the old man died! Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Meanwhile, Michael had indeed bought a new batch of White Mountain ginseng. He sifted through the ginsengs one by one while watching Gemma¡¯s live broadcast of the Edwards¡¯ vi. Suddenly, he felt as if the ginseng in his hand was burning up. He was just preparing to impregnate his wife! It wasn¡¯t because of his poor health at all! He wanted a chubby, cute daughter. Although the soil was important, if the quality of the seeds was bad, no good seedlings would grow! He was just preparing to get himself a chubby daughter! Why did everyone think that he was old? On the other hand, the Edwards Family was talking about a key topic. Joe kept urging Sophia to recognize her rtives and return to her family. After she went home, they would confirm their father- daughter rtionship legally so that some matters could be easily solved in the future. Naturally, the Johnson Family wished that they would recognize each other right away, but Sophia had conditions. ¡°Dad, although I also want to return to our Edwards Family, I have my own difficulties. If you want me to recognize my family and return, I have two conditions.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± Joe looked eager. Sophia then set out her own terms. ¡°Firstly, I want you to hold a grand reunion dinner for me.¡± Joe agreed immediately, ¡°Of course! Consider it done!¡± It was even better if they held a reunion dinner. The grander the asion the better, as they would then have a good basis for reasoning when they took care of Sophia and her stepson in the future! ¡°Secondly, I want to have the same amount of shares as Faye.¡± Upon hearing that, Faye suddenly got up and objected, ¡°No way!¡± Faye held only 5% of Edward Group¡¯s shares. How could Sophia, the b*tch, ask for the same amount of shares as her? Joe also hesitated. His own daughter only had 5% of the shares, yet Sophia requested to have as much shares as her. Wasn¡¯t she asking for too much? Seeing Joe keeping mum, Sophia deliberately frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s true that the old man married me. Although I¡¯m his only legal wife, the old man secretly has arge group of illegitimate children. Goodness knows how many women are scheming to boot me from my position.¡± Upon hearing this, Joe became nervous. If Sophia was really usurped by those women, she wouldn¡¯t get any of her husband¡¯s wealth after the old man¡¯s death! Wouldn¡¯t that mean that Joe had done all this for nothing? ¡°What should I do then?¡± he hurriedly asked. ¡°They just think that I¡¯m a pushover because I am young and have no parents nor any capital.¡± Sophia drawled, ¡°Dad, if you can give me 5% of the shares, they won¡¯t have the guts to target me.¡± Yes, the old man bought Sophia for 80,000 and married her. She was not pregnant nor had any children. Although she had a stepson, he was not her biological child. She had no family and no money, so her position was indeed easily threatened. If they held a grand reunion banquet and Joe gave her some shares of Edwards Group in public, then she would be of a completely different worth¡­ Chapter 507 Chapter 507 Joe and Faye looked at each other and seemed to have the same thoughts. Then, Joe said, ¡°I have to discuss this with thepany. But don¡¯t you worry; I will give you a satisfactory answer.¡± Joe promised to give a reply to Sophia as soon as possible and hurriedly sent her to the gates of The Imperial. Sophia then murmured, ¡°The old man was very dissatisfiedst time when you came to our house to make trouble, so you shouldn¡¯te in this time.¡± Upon hearing that, Joe hurriedly agreed, ¡°Alright, alright.¡± Under the gazes of the Edwards Family and the Johnson Family, the security guard at the gate of the residential area respectfully opened the door for Sophia and let her in. Joe looked at The Imperial in all its magnificence with a longing expression¡­ That night, he quarreled with his wife. Sophia was just his illegitimate daughter, yet she wanted shares of thepany. Wouldn¡¯t her status be the same as Faye, their legal child? This was a provocation to his legal wife and Faye, his legal daughter! Sophia wasn¡¯t Joe¡¯s only illegitimate daughter. However, Mrs. Edwards would agree to almost anything as long as she did not threaten the status of herself and her daughter. However, she would never let her take shares and inherit property of their family! On the other hand, Joe also had his own opinion. That day, Faye saw that Sophia bought a wedding dress worth tens of millions and also wore a diamond ring worth the same amount of money. They were all genuine for sure. It was evident that the old man was filthy rich! Now, they must help Sophia gain a foothold in that house so that they would have an easy time snatching away the old man¡¯s wealth in the future! This 5% share was nothingpared to the old man¡¯s enormous wealth! It would all be worth it in the end!This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. The next day, Joe informed Sophia to sign and go through the formalities. After the paternity test was completed, Joe quickly went to the notary office for notarization, legally confirming the rtionship between father and daughter. Legally speaking, one¡¯s parents, spouse and children were the first in line to inherit one¡¯s wealth. When the old man died, Sophia and the child would inherit the old man¡¯s enormous wealth and when Sophia is dead, Joe would be the first in line to inherit her wealth! Afterward, Joe signed a transfer of 5% of Edwards Group¡¯s shares to Sophia. Uponpleting the formalities, Joe immediately began to send invitations out, inviting the powerful figures of Bayside City to attend his reunion banquet. Then, Sophia and Joe discussed the details of their reunion banquet. ¡°This reunion banquet must be held in a grand manner!¡± Sophia said as a matter of fact. ¡°Of course,¡± Joe agreed. Faye was watching the duo, jealousy written on her face as she raised her eyebrows and questioned, ¡°Has your husbande back from White Mountain? Will he be here to attend your reunion banquet?¡± The point of the reunion banquet was to trick the old man! ¡°Of course my husband wille,¡± Sophia replied. ¡°Otherwise, why would I ask for the banquet to be so grand? If the reunion banquet is not grand, how would others know that I have a high status in my family and how can my husband treat me even better? How can I intimidate his mistresses?¡± Joe nodded hurriedly in agreement. As long as the old man appeared, Joe could make him go bankrupt easily! The invitations were sent out quickly and before long, Stanley, Sean, and Linus all received their invitations. The Mitchell Family and Natasha also received invitations. Natasha also learned from Faye that Sophia¡¯s rich husband would appear at the reunion banquet. How could Sophia, an assistant who cleaned toilets, possibly have a rich husband? She must have borrowed her outfits from Eddie as well! That b*tch Eddie¡­ I wonder if she will show up for the reunion banquet. After all, Sophia is her lackey! Meanwhile, the Harpers and the Huffs also received invitations¡­ The reunion banquet was around the corner and the Johnson Family still stayed at the Edwards Family¡¯s house. After the banquet, they wanted to ask Joe to give them money and a house. Michael also knew about the banquet. Sophia took the invitation back and put it in the living room. It was specially given to him by Joe but since Joe didn¡¯t know his identity, he didn¡¯t write his name on it. Michael thought that Sophia was going to finally acknowledge him and publicly reveal her ¡®old and ugly¡¯ husband. Thus, he had started to improve his appearance two days before the banquet, trying to make himself look younger so that Sophia would not be embarrassed by him. Unexpectedly, the day before the reunion banquet, Sophia decisively refused Michael¡¯s request to go to the reunion banquet. ¡°You don¡¯t have to go.¡± Michael was puzzled as he asked, ¡°Why not?¡± However, Sophia did not answer. That being said, Michael still decided to respect her wishes. Since she said so, he wouldn¡¯t go. The truth woulde to light sooner orter. One day, others would find out that Sophia married an old man. Meanwhile, the reunion banquet was held in the new vi of the Edwards Family. In order to show that the Edwards Family highly valued Sophia, Joe organized a grand banquet as if he wanted the whole world to know that he loved Sophia. Even Faye¡¯sing-of-age ceremony was not as grand as the banquet today. He also invited the Edwards Family¡¯s elders, some movie stars and even Sophia¡¯s ssmates. The banquet began and guests appeared one after another. As the star of today¡¯s banquet, Sophia wore a golden evening gown dripping with diamonds. The design was such that her back was exposed and the dress outlined her enchanting figure, making her stand out among the crowd. Wearing emerald green high heels, she received guests with a ss of wine in hand. As if a spotlight was on her, she was the most eye-catching person tonight. Almost all of Sophia¡¯s ssmates came and the Edwards Family also sent some representatives to attend. It showed that the Edwards Family truly cared about the reunion banquet. Meanwhile, Stanley and Sean hid in a corner drinking. ¡°Sean, look! Look! How can Sophia look so good? Why didn¡¯t I meet her sooner? Why did she get married so young?¡± Drunk, Stanley hugged Sean and kept rubbing his head on his body. Meanwhile, Sarah stared at the two of them from the side. Sean felt very helpless. When he saw Sarah¡¯s widened eyes, he knew that he and Stanley were going to be featured in her erotic novel again. Stanley had no idea how popr he was among the fujoshis! Linus also had a drink quietly, watching the reunion banquet with curiosity. He was always one to keep a low profile. Although his photo was hung on the alumni corridor of the Bayside University, it was not in high definition and only the sides of his face were shown in the photograph. Thus, he was just an ordinary international student now. He was initially preparing to give a lecture at Bayside University, butter decided to stay to study. Thus, the lecture was canceled. Plus¡­ he didn¡¯t know why he wanted to study at Bayside University. As soon as he set foot on thisnd, he felt as if someone here was trying to make him stay¡­ ¡°Hello, Linus.¡± Natasha stood tall in front of Linus. Today, Natasha didn¡¯t steal Sophia¡¯s limelight. She was dressed normally and her outfit was very girly, which made her look like a pretty girl brought up in a family of moderate means. She looked ashamed and had her head lowered. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I left a bad impression on you because of some trivial matters and for that, I feel ashamed. However, I am very happy to see you here today.¡± She poured a ss of wine for Linus and held it with her slender hand, looking at Linus sincerely. Her delicate eyes were even more charming under the refraction of the wine. ¡°Let¡¯s toast.¡± Linus continued to put on his usual gentleman smile, took the wine and clinked his ss with Natasha¡¯s. He then smiled and said, ¡°Me too. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you here.¡± Upon hearing that, Stanley, who was in Sean¡¯s arms, suddenly got up and shouted, ¡°Damn, Linus, she wants to flirt with you. You have to be careful!¡± Chapter 508 Chapter 508 There was a sudden awkward silence. Linus bit his lip to hide his embarrassment while Natasha looked humiliated as she whispered, ¡°I am just here to apologize to Mr. Linus. I don¡¯t have any other intentions¡­¡± Sean quickly covered Stanley¡¯s bbering mouth and silently watched Natasha seduce Linus, as if he was watching a clown. The Mitchell family is overconfident. Do they know who Linus is? Do they really think Natasha will be able to seed in pursuing him? Even though they were of the same age, Sean could feel that Linus¡¯ emotional intelligence was in no meansparable to his peers. Although Linus seemed enthusiastic on the outside, he was a deeply cold person on the inside. After all, a person who could be the second-inmand of a multinational company would definitely be cold and stern. There was a cat carrier next to Linus with a small Persian kitten inside. It was young and chubby, and had orange fur. At that moment, it was sleeping. ¡°Linus, is that your cat?¡± Natasha asked curiously. Linus nodded in reply and pursed his lips slightly, as if he was smiling. Then, he lowered himself and took out the Persian cat, holding it in his arms. He stroked the cat with one finger and the cat purred softly as it stretched its body. From N?velDrama.Org. There was a small bow on its neck and it looked extremely adorable. ¡°This is the only kitten that the queen¡¯s cat gave birth to,¡± Linus exined. ¡°It happened that I went to visit the queen so she gave it to me.¡± Hearing this, Natasha stared at the kitten in awe. There was only one queen in the world who was worthy for Linus to visit personally and who had a cat¡ªit was none other than the European queen who had been ruling for a few decades. She had raised Persian cats from generation to generation and liked them very much. The queen actually gave a cat to Linus, which proved how influential he was. Natasha looked at the cat with extreme desire in her eyes, as if what she was seeing was not the cat, but supreme power. If I could marry Linus, it would bring supreme honor to my family! Unfortunately, Linus didn¡¯t seem to notice Natasha¡¯s liking for his cat. After ying with the cat in his arms for a while and feeding it some cat food, he put it back into the carrier. At first, Natasha thought that Linus would ask if she would like to touch his cat, but he unexpectedly put the cat straight into the bag. He didn¡¯t mention a single word of letting her touch the cat since the beginning. In order to hide her embarrassment, Natasha hurriedly started a new topic and continued chatting with Linus. At that instant, it was as if the other three people sitting around the table were invisible. Sarah was a homebody so she didn¡¯t like this kind of asion, choosing to keep her head lowered as she yed with her phone. Meanwhile, Stanley stared at the Persian cat in the carrier, hoping to y with it. As for Sean, he took small sips from his ss of sake as he looked at the two people chatting opposite him with a look of amusement. At that moment, Linus and Natasha were talking happily. Linus was good at making witty remarks and could chat with anyone, his words making Natashaugh again and again. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Sophia suddenly walked over and looked at the two people who were chatting with interest. Before Linus had the chance to reply, Natasha answered her first, ¡°Nothing much. I was just talking about some interesting things with Linus.¡± Then, she quickly scanned Sophia from head to toe and with an expectant expression, she asked, ¡°When is your husbanding? Many of our ssmates from Bayside University are here today and all of us are waiting!¡± We¡¯re waiting to see you embarrass yourself! Sophia didn¡¯t answer Natasha¡¯s sulky question. If it weren¡¯t for the chance to see Sophia embarrass herself, I would have never havee to her little reunion banquet, Natasha thought. However, Sophia onlymented, ¡°There are too many guests here today so please forgive me if you aren¡¯t served well. Enjoy your meal.¡± Natasha was still thinking of a way to ridicule Sophia a second time when Linus suddenly stood up, walked toward Sophia, and said, ¡°Congrattions! I heard you found your father today.¡± Found my father¡­ Sophia was smiling bitterly inside. A b*stard like Joe is not worthy to be my father at all, but I need an identity right now and being the daughter of the Edwards family is perfect. I even hired people to fake the paternity test and fooled everyone. With a smile, she replied, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m really happy that you came today.¡± With Linus¡¯ identity, it was an honor that he attended her reunion banquet. All of a sudden, Linus presented Sophia the thing that he had been hiding behind his back. Holding a sleeping chubby cat in his hands, he said, ¡°This is for you.¡± Sophia looked at the cat and was shocked for a moment. Linus is giving me a kitten as a gift? The most upset person at the reunion banquet today was Sophia. However, at that moment, the cat¡¯s appearance was a pleasant surprise and she reached out and took the cat from Linus¡¯ hands. The cat had orange fur and was really round and chubby all over. Lying in her arms, the cat yawned, looked up at Sophia and meowed. The sound of its meow immediately warmed her heart. ¡°Thank you,¡± Sophia whispered gratefully. Then, Linus took the cat back and said, ¡°You still have to greet the other guests. I¡¯ll help you look after the cat for the time being.¡± Sophia nodded before she nced at the rest of the people around the table. Then, she grabbed her ss of wine and went to greet the other guests. Watching Sophia leave, Natasha¡¯s face turned gloomy. Who does Sophia think she is? How dare she ept Linus¡¯ cat? How can she touch the cat given by the queen with her dirty hands that she uses to clean the toilets? Linus carefully held the cat in his arms. When the cat¡¯s w scratched his ck zer, he lowered his eyes to look at it, his gaze full of tenderness. Later, Natasha coldly watched as Linus put the cat back into the carrier. It was only then that she couldn¡¯t suppress her strong dissatisfaction and blurted, ¡°Linus, this cat was given to you by the queen, but you¡¯re giving it to an assistant. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s inappropriate¡­¡± Hearing this, Linus frowned slightly. Even though there was still a kind smile on his face, there was a hint of dissatisfaction in his words. ¡°Sophia likes cats. It just so happens that I have a cat so I gave it to her.¡± However, Natasha was still upset. I can¡¯t even touch the precious cat. How could he give it to Sophia? ¡°But that is the queen¡¯s cat after all and you just gave it to someone else. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a little¡­¡± However, Linus looked at his phone, as if he didn¡¯t hear her. Hepletely ignored Natasha. Seeing this, Natasha tried to start another conversation but Linus wouldn¡¯t reply to her anymore. It was obvious that he didn¡¯t want to bother with her. Upon seeing that, Natasha was extremely embarrassed so she quickly got up and left. The light from the phone screen shone on Linus¡¯ face. At that moment, he looked at the message he just received on his phone emotionlessly. Sophia Edwards, Michael Fletcher¡¯s wife¡­ During the reunion banquet, the atmosphere was harmonious and full of joy. As for Sophia, she walked around like a proud peacock in its own home. Meanwhile, Faye stood unyielding next to Sophia. Her refined face that she achieved from stic surgery was extremely beautiful but as she stood next to Sophia, it made people feel that she was missing something. The two sisters of the Edwards family were the focus of everyone¡¯s attention today. The guests came one after another, as did the Huff family, who were rtives to the Edwards family. X Huff, the daughter of the Huffs, was now officially Harper¡¯s family¡¯s young mistress. She arrived together with her newlywed husband, the young master of the Harper family, Richard Harper. As soon as the newlywed couple appeared, they attracted a lot of attention. Then, the two of them raised their sses and made a toast to Sophia. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m really happy that you found your real family. From now on, we will be one big family. Cheers to that.¡± Chapter 509 Chapter 509 X spoke softly and politely in public, but even her humble words couldn¡¯t hide the fiery hatred in her eyes. Sophia, it¡¯s still too soon for you to feel triumphant. Meanwhile, with an anticipated look on his face, Richard nced around and deliberately said, ¡°Who here is my brother-inw? Shouldn¡¯t he be with you at a time like this?¡± When Joe and Faye heard this, both of their faces filled with anticipation. However, Sophia only replied, ¡°You¡¯ll meet him sooner orter.¡± Upon hearing that, Richard stopped asking questions. After all, they were hosting a grand banquet. If the main guest of the party didn¡¯t appear, Sophia would have to do double acting alone. Tsk! A rich and powerful old man? What lies! In the end, she¡¯s just Taylor Murray¡¯s assistant who¡¯s in charge of cleaning the toilets! The banquet that day was indeed grand and lively. Not only many rtives of the Edwards Family had come, several of Sophia¡¯s Bayside University ssmates were there too. X was really excited to see Sophia embarrass herself for not being able to introduce her old husband! The acknowledgement session was about to begin but Sophia¡¯s old husband that she had promised would attend the banquet hadn¡¯t appeared yet. At that moment, Joe finally realized that something was wrong so he hurriedly grabbed Sophia and pulled her into a room. As soon as he was about to close the door, the rest of the family rushed into the room. ¡°Sophia, is your husbanding or not?¡± Sophia was fiercely thrown onto the sofa by Joe and her small body immediately sank into the sofa. Towering over the sofa, Joe red at her angrily. However, in the face of Joe¡¯s anger, Sophia chuckled and said, ¡°How would I know whether he wille or not? I¡¯m not him. How can I know what he¡¯s thinking?¡± At that moment, she maintained her calm and spoke in a nonchnt manner. Sophia even slowly took a sip of her cocktail. Meanwhile, Gemma and Hale followed her like shadows. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°You¡ª¡± Joe finally realized that he had fallen for Sophia¡¯s tricks. Standing at the side, X coldly said, ¡°Turns out that the rumors are true. Sophia didn¡¯t marry a wealthy old man at all. Instead, she¡¯s just Taylor Murray¡¯s assistant! All her outfits were borrowed from Taylor¡¯s wife!¡± Hearing this, Joe looked even more upset. However, Faye quickly rebuked, ¡°That¡¯s impossible. We saw her buy a ten million wedding dress from Ido¡¯s gship bridal shop with our own eyes! The wedding ring on her finger is the real thing too!¡± X turned to nce at Sophia, who was still sipping her cocktail, and ruthlessly exposed her disguise. ¡°I¡¯ve already asked Natasha. She works for Eddie Fletcher, Taylor¡¯s wife. The wedding dress and diamond ring all belong to Eddie. Sophia is now Eddie¡¯s right hand and is highly regarded!¡± After hearing this, Joe looked at a calm and collected Sophia in disbelief. She¡¯s just Taylor¡¯s assistant and managed to lend her owner¡¯s items to show off because she¡¯s highly regarded by her owner? Those words about marrying a wealthy and powerful old man were all lies! She tricked me! Not only did she gain the reputation of being a daughter of the Edwards family for nothing, she earned 5% of Edwards Group¡¯s shares! I did all that to gain a wealthy son-inw but I didn¡¯t expect that I let a liar join the family! ¡°You¡­ b*tch! B*tch!¡± After finding out the truth, Joe was so furious that he stood up and raised his palm to p Sophia as he yelled, ¡°I¡¯ll beat you to death!¡± Smash! All of a sudden, Sophia threw the ss in her hand to the ground and it shattered into a million pieces. Seeing this, Joe staggered back in fear. Then, Sophia crossed her legs confidently and said, ¡°So what if I¡¯m a liar? The paternity test has already been notarized and you, Joe Edwards, personally signed the share transfer form. I¡¯m now the second daughter of the Edwards family and I have 5% of the Edwards Group¡¯s shares!¡± Joe and Faye werepletely dumbfounded. They never thought that they would be tricked by Sophia. Everything that happened was all part of her n! Joe¡¯s hand that was raised a moment ago was trembling and he couldn¡¯t put it down. His plump body trembled as he yelled, ¡°Y-You¡¯re a swindler! An imposter!¡± Hearing this, Sophia lifted her chin arrogantly and countered, ¡°Even if I¡¯m a swindler, what can you do? Do you want to make a scene at this reunion banquet? Do you want to humiliate yourself in front of the elders of the Edwards Family? Or do you want every single guest that came today to know that your second daughter is a swindler?¡± At that moment, Joe¡¯s body continued to tremble and it was even harder for him toy hands on Sophia. Should I let the Edwards family¡¯s elders see me embarrass myself? The banquet has already started. How can I run out there and tell everyone that I¡¯ve epted a swindler into the family? Seeing Sophia argue with reason even after her lies were exposed on the spot, X couldn¡¯t help but speak up, ¡°Sophia, this is your fault. How is Mr. Edwards supposed to clean up your mess? Everyone came to the banquet to see your husband. If they find out that the daughter of the Edwards Family used to be an assistant, the Edwards Family will bepletely humiliated and our reputation will be ruined!¡± Sophia turned to X and suddenly smiled. ¡°I wonder what¡¯s the purpose of today¡¯s banquet.¡± Hearing this, X didn¡¯t know how to answer her. Everyone suddenly realized the purpose of the banquet was to celebrate their reunion. Guests that attended the banquet were there to see Sophia reunite with the Edwards family. As for who she was married to, the guests might pay little attention to it; the main focus of the banquet was to see Sophia return to the Edwards family. Whether Sophia used to be a prostitute or an assistant who scrubbed toilets, if they chose to expose this to the public, the Edwards Family would be humiliated. After all, it was shameful that the daughter of the Edwards Family was deserted and forced to be an assistant. It would ruin the Edwards Family¡¯s reputation! Once the people thought it through and understood everything, everyone regretted their past actions, especially Joe. Back when he triumphantly sent invitations to the elders of the Edwards family, he boasted about Sophia and told them how good she was. He even told them that she was the top student in Bayside University! After all, having a daughter with a promising future would raise his status in the Edwards Family. If Joe went out and ruined the reunion banquet, he would just be humiliating himself. The moment Joe realized that hepletely fell for Sophia¡¯s n, he was so angry that he almost fainted. Looking at the upset looks on the faces of the people around the room, Sophia drawled, ¡°Since we¡¯ve already hosted the banquet, let¡¯s end it on a perfect note! That way no one would be humiliated.¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡­¡± Faye red at Sophia and she was so furious that she couldn¡¯t say a word. The reunion banquet was fully organized by the Edwards Family and it had cost them millions. Meanwhile, Sophia arrived empty-handed and didn¡¯t pay a penny at all. I never thought that she¡¯s a swindler! And now this swindler has the same reputation of being the daughter of the Edwards family. She even has the same amount of shares as me! ¡°You liar! You tricked me! Give me back my shares!¡± Faye shouted as she rushed toward Sophia, ready to beat her up. However, Sophia quickly twisted Faye¡¯s arm and pulled her into her arms. Faye struggled like a mad dog when she suddenly heard a soft whisper, ¡°Does your parents know that you¡¯ve slept with Richard¡­¡± Chapter 510 Chapter 510 All of a sudden, Faye¡¯s body trembled and her gaze as she stared at Sophia was filled with terror. Why does Sophia know about me and Richard? It was as if her whole body stiffened and she didn¡¯t dare to say another word. When Sophia loosened her grip on her, Faye was in a daze and she guiltily nced over at X and Richard. Then, her expression instantly changed and with a smile, she said, ¡°Now that it hase to this, if we ruin the banquet right now, the money that we spent would be wasted. If there is anything else to discuss, let¡¯s talk about it after the banquet.¡± I can¡¯t let X find out about me and Richard now! X is the only child of the Huff Family. After Richard married her, he has part ownership of everything that the Huff Family owns and is slowly taking over the Huff Family¡¯s businesses right now. I can¡¯t let a swindler like Sophia ruin our n at such an important stage! Meanwhile, when Sophia held Faye in her arms and whispered to her ear, Faye¡¯s deep and charming gaze passed over the crowd and focused on Richard, who stood in the corner of the room. He had not said a single word since the beginning. Richard didn¡¯t understand lip reading, but he could understand the words that Faye mouthed. Does Sophia know about my n with Faye? Is she going to expose us both if I don¡¯t speak on her behalf? All of a sudden, Richard felt his phone vibrate. He silently pulled it out of his pocket and saw that Sophia had sent him two screenshots of a video on Messenger. They were screenshots of what he and Faye did in Ido¡¯s toilet the other day. I was right¡­ Instantly, the veins on Richard¡¯s face bulged. If Sophia exposes us now, she¡¯ll ruin my rtionship with X and I¡¯m sure the Huff Family won¡¯t let me go easily. I haven¡¯tpletely gained ownership over all of the Huff Family¡¯s fortune yet and I can¡¯t let all my previous effort go to waste! With that, Richard gave Faye a signal and the two immediately knew what they had to do. Just then, they heard a knock at the door. A man entered and lowered his voice as he said, ¡°The Fletcher Family has arrived and gave gifts to congratte Sophia. Mr. Edwards and Miss Edwards, please hurry out and greet them!¡± ¡°The Fletcher Family?¡± Joe asked in surprise. ¡°Which Fletcher Family?¡± The man hurriedly replied, ¡°Themanding general, Joel Fletcher, has personallye to hand you some gifts!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was dumbfounded. They never thought Joel would personally attend the banquet! When Sophia heard this, she fluffed her hair with her fingers and tidied her clothes as she stood up and said, ¡°Dad, why did you ask such a strange question? Of course it¡¯s the founding father Mark Fletcher¡¯s family. Who else in Bayside City would dare to take the Fletcher Family name? These are guests that I¡¯ve invited so I¡¯ll be going to greet them now. All of you can continue the discussion.¡± As she spoke, she walked out the room and left Joe and the rest of the people in the room in a daze. I can¡¯t believe this b*tch managed to invite the Fletcher Family! There were several elders of the Edwards family and the daughter of the Mitchell family, Natasha, who attended the banquet. Joe already thought that was grand enough and never in a million years did he expect Joel from the Mitchell family to appear! Joe didn¡¯t even have a way to invite many of the guests that Sophia invited! Moreover, all the guests that Sophia invited had attended! Those from the Fletcher Family, the Edwards Family, the Winston Family, the West Family¡­ Joe made a split second decision and announced to the rest of the people in the room, ¡°If there¡¯s anything else to discuss, we¡¯ll talk about it after the banquet.¡± With that, he walked out of the room in a rush. As soon as he left, three elders of the Edwards family that hardly showed their faces immediately ran up to him and surrounded him. They held onto Joe¡¯s hand excitedly and said, ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t know that you could manage to invite a precious guest like Linus Michel. You should¡¯ve told us earlier. I would¡¯ve asked the family head to personally attend this banquet!¡± Joe was shocked. Back when he begged the three elders to attend the banquet, he almost fell onto his knees but at that moment, they were telling him that they should¡¯ve invited the family head. One of the elders pointed at the corners of the banquet and said, ¡°Look around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Joel, the young master of the Fletcher family! And that¡¯s Natasha, the youngdy of the Mitchell family!¡± ¡°No, the most reputable person is the man sitting at the VIP table. Do you know who that is? He¡¯s the second most powerful man of the Michel Family from Eastern Europe¡ªLinus Michel! Not even our family head has the power to invite such a prestigious man. Also, he just gave a cat that was gifted to him by the queen to your daughter. Joe, your daughter really is miraculous! You should quickly arrange a date to take her to meet the rest of the elders and the family head!¡± It all happened so suddenly that Joe didn¡¯t know how to react¡­ Meanwhile in the room, X wanted to expose Sophia¡¯s true identity but Faye and Richard hurriedly stopped her. ¡°X, stop interfering with this matter. This is the Edwards family¡¯s business!¡± Faye persuaded bitterly. However, X ran out of the room like an angry bull. Fortunately, Richard helped Faye hold X back. Otherwise, Faye wouldn¡¯t be able to catch her alone. ¡°Let go of me! I want to expose that b*tch¡¯s lies and let everyone know the truth!¡± Why should I let that b*tch enjoy the status of being the second daughter of the Edwards family? Richard hurriedly persuaded her, ¡°X, calm down. The money has been spent, the reunion banquet has started, and Joel is here. If you go out there now, you¡¯ll offend Joel!¡± ¡°No! I won¡¯t give up!¡± That sl*t is born to have a rotten life but now she¡¯s bing the daughter of the Edwards family. She even got 5% of the shares! Everyone was fooled by her! That b*tch! She¡¯s such a sl*t! I will never allow her to change her destiny! Seeing that X was about to lose control over her emotions, Richard hurriedly left the banquet with her. The reunion banquet was about to reach the highlight and the time for the acknowledgement session was about to begin. After that, there would be a dance. ¡°General, please excuse me for a moment,¡± Sophia murmured to Joel before she bowed slightly and walked away to change her clothes. Joel nodded at Sophia in reply and watched as she slowly disappeared from his sight. After that, he looked away. As soon as he raised his head, he saw that he was surrounded by people who wished to talk to him and he immediately showed his discontent. Suddenly, he saw Stanley waving at him so he quickly walked over. ¡°Wow, Uncle Joel! You look really handsome today!¡± Stanleyplimented as soon as he saw Joel. That day, Joel had received an order from Old Master Fletcher to attend the banquet and hand Sophia the gift so he deliberately dressed formally. He wore a ck tuxedo, matching it with a white shirt and a ck tie and his patent leather shoes shone brightly. Although he had a short haircut, it went well with the formal suit. Stanley had never seen Joel dressed so handsomely before. Even though everyone was dressed to the nines, Joel outshone the others. Later, Joel greeted Natasha and Linus. Although he only met Sarah, who was sitting in the corner, a few times, he still greeted her politely. Then, the five of them sat together and chatted happily. All of a sudden, Stanley asked, ¡°Sean, do you think I look good today? Do you think Sophia will agree if I ask her to a danceter? What do you say?¡± Sean chuckled and shook his head. ¡°Stan, doing that will only get you in trouble.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia had already told Sean that he must dance the first dance with herter. No matter which man Sophia danced with that day, her ass would get beaten badly after she returned home. However, if she danced with Sean, a family member, she would probably be punished less. After hearing Sean¡¯s words, Stanley ignored his warning and said, ¡°So what if I get in trouble? I¡¯m still going to do it! I¡¯m not afraid of anything! Come on! Get up and practice with me. You dance the female steps and I¡¯ll dance the male steps.¡± Feeling helpless, Sean was dragged by Stanley to practice dancing. Meanwhile, Joel smiled and said nothing. As he finished the cocktail in his ss, his narrow gaze flickered with something. Meanwhile, Linus had his head lowered and was looking at his cat and as soon as he looked up, he saw the light in Joel¡¯s eyes¡­ It was the kind of gaze that was filled with stubborn pursuit and a strong desire to win! Chapter 511 Chapter 511 However, Linus stayed silent the whole time. All of a sudden, the music ying around the banquet hall changed. With a microphone in hand, Joe excitedly walked to the middle of the stage and his loud voice was filled with extreme joy as he yelled, ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, wee to the Edwards family reunion banquet!¡± At that moment, Joe wanted the banquet to end perfectly. As for Sophia¡¯s fraud, he decided he would get revenge sooner orter. Then, he began a touching speech about how much he loved his daughter and told the story of how his daughter was separated from him and how he found her. Joe even announced that he specially hosted this grand reunion banquet for his initially lost but now reunited daughter to let everyone know that he, Joe Edwards, had another daughter! ¡°And now, let me formally introduce my daughter¡ªSophia Edwards!¡± The guests immediately looked up and saw a youngdy slowly descending the marble staircase step by step from the second floor. She wore a white dress with blue diamonds, revealing her fair and slender arms. The dress exposed arge area of her front and her fair skin matched the blue diamonds. The fitted dress hugged her skin and they could see glimpses of her skin beneath, the slightly see- through dress making her look extremely seductive. Her hand was ced gently on the railing and the white gloves on her hands covered her hands gracefully. Sophia put on a perfect and elegant smile as she slowly entered their sight and the entire hall went silent for a while. Everyone nced at Joe before they turned to look at Sophia again. Which beautiful woman did Joe sleep with to be able to have such a gorgeous daughter? Joe took two steps forward and held Sophia¡¯s hand. Sophia obediently twirled, the hem of her dress rising slightly, making it look like a blossoming flower. Many people were starstruck by her beauty. Hearing the sound of the peaceful background music, many people started to feel restless. Natasha waited for a long time but she didn¡¯t see Xe out to expose Sophia¡¯s disgusting truth. Seeing that the dance was about to start, she decided she would lose her chance if they didn¡¯t expose her now. However, Natasha couldn¡¯t get a hold of X at all. With Linus next to her, she would never embarrass herself to expose Sophia. That b*tch¡­ Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. The dance officially started as Joe left the stage and elegant music started ying. Today, Sophia would perform the first dance. She danced gracefully and every move her flexible body made was extremely beautiful. Many men at the banquet were vying to take the first dance with Sophia and all of them volunteered. Unfortunately for them, the beautiful dancing figure slid by in front of their eyes without the slightest hesitation. Countless pairs of eyes filled with strong desire focused on the beautiful figure. Meanwhile, Stanley passionately volunteered. When he saw that Sophia had begun choosing a dance partner, he hurriedly whispered, ¡°Me! Pick me!¡± However, Sophia never considered him because she knew that if she danced with Stanley, both of them would be badly beaten up. ¡°Sophie.¡± Sophia saw ude in the crowd. ude is here too? Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t choose ude either. If she chose ude, her punishment wouldn¡¯t be as simple as getting a beating. There were many people she was close with who attended the banquet. Not long after, she locked gazes with Quinton and he bowed slightly at her. In the end, Sophia walked toward Sean. All along, she had treated Sean as her gay best friend and Michael knew that they were biological siblings so he wouldn¡¯t be upset. Furthermore, it was Sean who taught her how to dance so it wouldn¡¯t be awkward to dance with him. She reached out her hand toward Sean and he smiled as he reached out to grab her hand. As their hands were about to touch¡­ All of a sudden, a strong,rge hand grabbed Sophia and squeezed her hand tightly. Then, Sophia felt dizzy as the man twirled her around on the dance floor, his arm around her waist. Sophia¡¯s beautiful white dress twirled to the rhythm of the music as the both of them waltzed passionately. Their graceful steps managed to lead the first wave of cheers of the banquet. Sophia twirled so much that her head was dizzy. It was only after sheposed herself did she take a good look at her dancing partner. It was none other than Joel! ¡°G-General?¡± She was so shocked that she identally stepped on Joel¡¯s feet. Joel held her hand with one hand and ced the other on her waist. They continued to dance as he whispered, ¡°Dance seriously.¡± The first dance of the banquet was important for Sophia. Countless people were watching them and some probably even noticed when she stepped on Joel¡¯s feet just now. After hearing his warning, she quickly regained focus and danced seriously. Sophia had a feeling that her hand that was held by Joel was burning hot, and the heat of his other big palm that was ced on her waist seeped through her thin dress and burned her skin. However, for some reason, she felt her bottom hurting. The first dance had started and the atmosphere was getting lively. With that, the other guests each looked for a dance partner and started dancing as well. Stanley wasn¡¯t willing to give up and he kept circling Sophia, waiting for the chance to dance with her. As for Natasha, she was prepared to ask Linus for a dance. However, when she got close to him, Linus was pulled away by Faye. After all, at an asion like this, women could reject men but men couldn¡¯t reject women. As the guests danced joyously, Sophia¡¯s white dress was still the most dazzling in the court. After the first dance ended, the upbeat rhythm of the music slowed down. Joel seemed to be exhausted from the dancing as he panted heavily. Then, he lowered his head and gently rested his forehead on Sophia¡¯s, the two of them facing each other and their lips only a few centimeters apart. His heavy breath brushed Sophia¡¯s face and it smelled like the peculiar breath of a man mixed with the aroma from the cocktail. Sophia instantly blushed and it was as if there were butterflies in her stomach. Joel¡¯s hand that was ced on her waist suddenly wrapped around her slender waist and he pulled her toward him, causing her to fall into his arms. ¡°General¡ª¡± Sophia¡¯s voice was trembling. This is not supposed to happen! Joel¡¯s breath fanned across her cheeks and it passed through her lips; it was as if Joel was admiring her beauty from a close distance. ¡°Call me¡­ Joel.¡± Sophia naturally didn¡¯t have the courage to call him by his name, so she silently tried to take a few steps back. However, Joel held her close, his grip tight. She quickly turned to nced at the people surrounding her and looked at Sean, who was closest to her. Meanwhile, Sean had been watching the two of them all along. When Joel suddenly appeared and robbed his role of being Sophia¡¯s first dance¡¯s dance partner, he already had a feeling that there was something wrong with Joel, which was why he hurriedly dragged his dance partner to dance near them. Just when Sophia turned her head to the side to seek help, she felt a strange touch. Something warm and smelled like alcohol had touched the corner of her lips. She was instantly startled and tried her best to free herself from Joel. ¡°Can you please not reject me?¡± Joel sounded a little drunk when he said that. She looked up at him and saw that he couldn¡¯t focus his gaze. At that moment, she panicked and murmured, ¡°General, you¡¯re drunk.¡± As she spoke, her warm breath fell on Joel¡¯s nose and it smelled nice, causing his heart to beat faster and faster¡­ Chapter 512 Chapter 512 After the song ended, everyone changed dance partners. Seeing this, Sean seized the chance and rushed over to Sophia. At the same time, Joel loosened his grip on her so she quickly held onto Sean¡¯s hand. As the second song started ying, Sean led Sophia into the crowd. She subconsciously looked back and slowly watched Joel¡¯s tall and slender figure disappear amidst the dancing crowd¡­ What happened just now is not a dream¡­ Did Joel just confess his feelings for me? Is it because he wants to steal me away from Michael, just like what he did with Irene? ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Joel¡¯s just drunk.¡± Sophia heard Sean¡¯s gentle whisper. He had seen everything that happened a moment ago. Sean had also heard rumors about what happened between Joel, Michael and Irene. Right now it seems that history is repeating¡­ Sophia has be the prize of a contest between the two brothers. However, Sophia is not Irene! Even if she¡¯s my sister, I have to do everything I can to protect her! There were several others who were paying attention to Sophia, including Linus, who was watching from a close proximity. He seemed to be able to sense Sophia¡¯s emotions at the moment. Her fear and horror¡­ At the same time, Michael was watching the banquet from the surveince cameras and he clearly saw Joel kiss Sophia on the corner of her lips. He was instantly agitated and fiercely threw the thing in his hand. ¡°Three of a kind!¡± he yelled as he threw his cards on the table. Seeing this, Harry, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly got excited and he shouted, ¡°Yes! I won! I won again! It¡¯s time to pay up! Hurry up and pay up!¡± Daniel, who was also sitting at the poker table, frowned and said, ¡°Goodness, Michael. You¡¯ve already lost more than three million. What are you doing? If you¡¯re loaded with money, you can give some of it to me!¡± Nathan, on the other hand, was so short he had to stand on a stool to y mahjong with the other three men. Every time they finished ying a round, he would pull out a small notebook and calcte their losses. Michael has lost a lot today. More than three million to be exact! A lollipop hung from the corner of Michael¡¯s lips. At that moment, he saw red as he shuffled the cards, his expression serious. Meanwhile, Gary stood at the side, busy transferring money to Daniel and Harry. As for Nathan, he waited for him to tell him the final amount after the end of the game. All of a sudden, Michael yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s y another round! It¡¯s not my money anyway!¡± With that, they continued their game. At the same time at the Edwards Family banquet, Sophia¡¯s phone that was in Gemma¡¯s pocket kept vibrating non-stop. ¡®100,000 has been transferred out of your bank ount.¡¯ ¡®500,000 has been transferred out of your bank ount.¡¯ ¡®200,000 has been transferred out of your bank ount.¡¯ ¡°The Mitchell family has started an investigation on your mother. Right now, you¡¯re the daughter of the Edwards Family and have nothing to do with the Mitchell family,¡± Sean whispered next to Sophia¡¯s ear halfway through the dance. Her hands were still shaking and she was extremely nervous as she softly replied, ¡°Okay. I have already spoken to the Edwards Family. No matter what, they will only say that I was born in October.¡± The banquetsted until midnight and one after another, the guests bid farewell. Fearing that the Edwards Family would look for her for revenge, Sophia brought the cat with her and left before the banquet ended. She was still wearing the white dinner dress and onlyyered on another down jacket before going home. After they arrived at the door of the house, Gemma turned to leave. It was reallyte at night so Sophia was embarrassed to call someone to open the door. Pulling out her keys, she turned the lock before bending over and sneaking into the house. However, as soon as she passed through the main entrance and stepped on the floor of the house, it was as if her footsteps were so loud that it triggered a sound-controlled switch. With a click, amp in the living room was switched on. The light from themp was very weak and only managed to light up a corner of the living room, while the rest of the house was still pitch dark. Under the weak light, Sophia heard a cold chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re home?¡± It was like a dangerous question from the devil. The voice matched the eerie atmosphere and it echoed in the empty room. Sophia quickly turned toward the source of the voice and under the dim light, she saw Michael sitting on the sofa, wearing an orange striped cartoon pajamas with a row of orange cats sitting neatly beside him. It looked childish and scary at the same time as five gloomy eyes stared back at Sophia. She felt her whole body turned numb and weak. This atmosphere, Michael¡¯s expression, and the lighting¡­ It¡¯s obvious that he¡¯s angry. It seems that I won¡¯t be able to get any sleep tonight¡­ She didn¡¯t dare to move. With her head lowered, she weakly replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back¡­¡± However, Sophia didn¡¯t hear any sound from the other end. She stood at the doorway, not daring to move a single inch. At that moment, the heating in the house was turned up so high that her body started sweating. She lowered her head and noticed that Michael was sitting on the sofa with his hands and legs spread. He was twirling three pink things in his hands and when Sophia looked closely, she saw that they were three remote control vibrators! There was also a series of sex toys neatly arranged on the coffee table in front of him. The whip and candles were the standard essories. Besides those, there were mouth plugs, anal plugs and even two long cucumbers and ab of bananas, as well as other long vegetables and two golf balls¡­ Sophia had a feeling that she wouldn¡¯t be able to escape the torture she was about to suffer tonight, and she immediately felt a reflexive pain in her butt. I made a mistake. I shouldn¡¯t have danced with Joel¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have tricked the Edwards Family into hosting this reunion banquet! Looks like my fate was set in stone since the moment I refused Michael¡¯s request to attend the reunion banquet! Suddenly, the cat in her arms gave a soft meow that broke the silence. The vibrating eggs in Michael¡¯s hand collided against each other and made a thrilling sound. With a dark smile, hemented, ¡°Wow! Who gave you that cat? It¡¯s pretty cute!¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Sophia didn¡¯t dare to lie so she truthfully replied, ¡°Linus gave it to me.¡± With a seemingly joking tone, Michael said, ¡°It seems that you¡¯re bored with the cats we have at home and have already started looking for new ones outside.¡± Hearing this, the cats next to him meowed in unison, as if they were using Sophia for being unfaithful. Sophia felt like breaking down into tears. Michael¡¯s tone was like a wife questioning her unfaithful husband for being so bored of his wife at home that he started to look for other women outside. ¡°No, I love orange cats!¡± she hurriedly reassured. ¡°This cat is also orange! Look!¡± This Persian cat has orange fur too! Even though it came from a foreign country, it is still an orange cat! However, Michael ignored the cat and stared at Sophia. Holding the whip, he pointed at her eye-catching red down jacket and said, ¡°I¡¯ve turned on the heater. Don¡¯t you feel hot from wearing such a thick coat? Take it off.¡± Sophia knew that no matter what she did, she would still get punished that night. She knew that it was toote for her to kneel and beg for mercy so she hurriedly took off the down jacket obediently. Seeing this, Michael said, ¡°You¡¯re sweating. Take off your dress. You¡¯ll feel cooler.¡± With that, Sophia took off her evening gown and stood in front of him with only her bra and underwear on. Then, Michael gently pped her slender legs with the leather whip and asked, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you taking all of it off?¡± Sophia quickly nced around and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. We¡¯re in the living room. What if someone sees us?¡± Michael had his back against the light so Sophia couldn¡¯t see his face clearly. He was surrounded by a layer of darkness and she could only see his lips move grimly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; there¡¯s no one else.¡± Tonight, I¡¯m going to give her an experience that she¡¯ll never forget and show her the power of being her husband! Chapter 513 Chapter 513 Sophia nced at the cats in the corner and muttered. ¡°The cats are here¡­¡± Michael replied, ¡°The cats are young and won¡¯t know what we¡¯re doing. You can be rest assured. Just take them off; you¡¯ll feel much cooler.¡± With that, Sophia took off her underwear and stood in front of Michael stark naked. She was so embarrassed, her cheeks were blushing red. After standing still for a few seconds, Michael said, ¡°Turn around.¡± Sophia turned around obediently and had her back against him. As soon as she steadied her body, she felt a fierce p. p! From N?velDrama.Org. It was extremely painful but she held back grievously. Then, Michael carried her and ced her on the sofa. In a stance like a ruthless king, he stared down at her and asked, ¡°Who do you love the most?¡± Sophia whispered, ¡°Michael Fletcher.¡± Michael then asked, ¡°Who is Michael Fletcher?¡± Sophia quickly replied, ¡°My husband!¡± ¡°Good! Fortunately, you still know who your husband is!¡± ¡­ The next morning, Joe and some members of the Johnson family entered the Imperial and went straight to vi no. 8 under Natasha¡¯s guidance. At that moment, Joe was determined to find out Sophia¡¯s identity. Soon, the whole group stood in front of Vi No. 8 in the Imperial and Natasha pressed the doorbell. Not long after, they heard a voice say, ¡°May I ask who this is?¡± Natasha politely replied, ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Natasha Mitchell. Sophia¡¯s father is looking for her.¡± The person on the answering machine replied, ¡°Please wait for a moment.¡± Maria didn¡¯t know what to do. Everyone in the house knew that Michael had given Sophia a big punishmentst night. But it¡¯s ten in the morning. Should I go and wake them up? After thinking about it for a while, Maria mustered up the courage and knocked on the door of the master bedroom. The battlefieldst night started from the living room to the master bedroom, and it was so fierce that the cats and Sophia screamed for the whole night. After two knocks, Maria heard Michael¡¯s voice. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Maria boldly replied, ¡°The Johnson family is here.¡± Michael said, ¡°Let them wait.¡± Michael turned to look at the surveince footage of the main entrance and saw Natasha and the Johnson family standing in front of the house, looking furious. Then, he got up and rubbed his sleepy eyes. However, he felt really energetic. Who said that I¡¯m old and weak? Even after having sex for the whole night, he didn¡¯t feel tired at all. I feel like I could have gone on longer than that. On the other hand, Sophia is still asleep and looks like all her energy has been drained from her body. She was sleeping face down and her ass was swollen from all the beating. ¡°Meow¡­¡± The chubby Persian cat jumped onto the bed and cocked its head to the side as it stared at Michael. Michael got up, tucked the quilt, and went to the bathroom. A momentter, he came out wearing pajamas, then ced the Persian cat on his shoulder and knocked on the door of the second bedroom. After seeing that Nathan was ying games in the study, he went downstairs, handed the newly arrived cat to the nanny and told her to take good care of it. Next, he took some food from the kitchen and fed the cats, the tortoise, the dogs, and watched the eel for a moment before he said to Maria, ¡°Let them in.¡± During the period that Michael was feeding the animals, the group of people outside the house almost froze to death from the cold but the big iron door still didn¡¯t open. After waiting for about twenty minutes, the iron door slowly opened. Seeing this, Natasha took the lead and entered the house step by step on her stilettos. She had almost gone frozen from the cold weather. Joe, Faye, and the Johnson family followed behind Natasha and walked inside fearfully. Michael¡¯s house was definitely extraordinary. As soon as they passed the gate, they saw a small bridge, a river, a waterfall, and fake mountains in the garden. Everyone was shocked. Only the true wealthy families could afford to live like this in Bayside City. When Joe walked past the gate and saw the big house, his eyes were filled with greed and shock. It would be great if I get to live in a house like this! As for the Johnson family members, they were all dumbfounded. The only difference between Michael¡¯s house and the pce was that Michael¡¯s house was more new and modern. After they stepped into the house, a maid came and put on shoe covers for everyone before they were allowed to enter the house. A few steps in, they saw Micheal sitting in the wide and spacious living room. He was wearing casual clothes as if he had been waiting for them for a long time. Seeing him, the father and daughter of the Edwards family and the Johnson family didn¡¯t even dare to speak. They started to worry that they hade to the wrong house. This is Taylor Murray¡¯s house! Sophia didn¡¯t marry a rich, old man. She¡¯s just Taylor¡¯s nanny! ¡°Taylor!¡± Natasha happily walked up to Michael, as if the unpleasant things that happened between them were all hallucinations. Before she got close to Michael, Hale coldly stopped her. Michael looked up at the group of people and knowingly asked, ¡°Why are you all here?¡± Joe hurriedly bowed and respectfully replied, ¡°Hello, Mr. Murray. I¡¯m Sophia¡¯s father, Joe. Is Sophia here?¡± Michael frowned and he seemed really upset. He didn¡¯t say anything so Natasha immediately said kindly, ¡°Taylor, hurry and call out your nanny, Sophia! Sophia keeps telling everyone that she married a rich man. She ruined your reputation!¡± Sophia keeps boasting about her wealth everywhere she goes. Surely Taylor feels humiliated by her. I¡¯m sure that Taylor will definitely kick that b*tch out of here this time! Natasha thought. Hearing this, Michael instantly felt furious. He red at everyone coldly and asked, ¡°All of you are here to look for Sophia?¡± The Edwards family and the Johnson family quickly nodded repeatedly in reply. Michael fell silent for a moment but his aura was so strong that the two families didn¡¯t dare to make a single sound. Natasha knew that Michael was angry so she added oil to the fire and said, ¡°Sophia told everyone that she married a rich man and boasts about her riches. I¡¯ve warned her to stop multiple times but she ignored all of my warnings. Mr. Johnson is here to take her home and teach her a lesson¡­¡± Joe hurriedly nodded and chimed in. ¡°My unfilial daughter has caused you a lot of trouble. I¡¯ll take her home and make sure she doesn¡¯t continue to make mistakes anymore.¡± After Michael heard this, he still didn¡¯t say anything. In Joe¡¯s eyes, Michael¡¯s attitude implied that he had allowed them to take Sophia away. Sophia is really just a nanny! Joe was so furious, he was about to have a fit. I¡¯ll definitely drag Sophia back to my house and make her give up 5% of the Edwards Group¡¯s shares no matter what! However, the Johnson family had other ideas. After seeing the glorious vi and its handsome owner, they suddenly thought of Sophia¡¯s beautiful face that resembled her mother¡­ She might get beaten to death after Joe drags her back home anyway, and it would be a waste if she didn¡¯t earn some money for the Johnson family before she dies. Her mother was also a nanny for Joe in the past! Joe wanted to drag Sophia back home and force her to give up 5% of Edwards Group¡¯s shares while the Johnson family wanted to use Sophia to earn some money. As for Natasha, she just wished that Michael would kick Sophia out immediately. Seeing that Michael wasn¡¯t responding, she hurriedly said, ¡°Taylor, since Sophia¡¯s father is here, you should let the both of them reunite. Mr. Edwards will definitely pay you back the 80,000 you spent to buy Sophia.¡± Chapter 514 Chapter 514 Michael suddenly burst intoughter. Seeing this, Joe joined in andughed happily because he thought that he would be getting his 5% of shares back. As for the Johnson family, they were waiting for Joe to get his shares back from Sophia so that they could drag her back and sell her to someone else again. Natasha also chuckled a little. However, all of a sudden, Michael stoppedughing and instantly emitted a gloomy and murderous aura. Looking at the two families and Natasha, he roared, ¡°I know how to handle my own people. I don¡¯t need any of you to tell me what to do!¡± Then, he got up without warning and said to Hale who was standing next to him, ¡°Send off the guests.¡± With that, Michael turned around and went upstairs. Several bodyguards instantly surrounded the Edwards and Johnson family and respectfully showed them the exit as they slowly led them out the house. For some reason, Joe suddenly had the courage and he yelled, ¡°Mr. Murray, spending 80,000 to buy my daughter and make her your nanny is illegal! Please return my unfilial daughter back to me!¡± Even though he didn¡¯t have the courage to speak harshly face-to-face to the best actor of the country, the thought about losing the 5% of shares made him angry. Without turning back to look at Joe, Michael said, ¡°I bought her with 80,000 so she¡¯s mine now. No one else cany a finger on her other than me.¡± Hearing Michael¡¯s tone, they knew that he wasn¡¯t going to give Sophia up. Joe still wanted to rebuke him but Michael¡¯s bodyguards had directly dragged him out of the house. Natasha watched as Michael went up the spiral stairs and she felt frustrated. Just when she was about to go upstairs to meet the legendary Eddie, she suddenly felt a pinch on her arm. Then, two bodyguards stood on each side of her and directly carried her out of the house. Bang! After they reached the doorway, Hale gave an order and the group of people were thrown out of Vi No. 8 and left on the ground in an embarrassing manner. Natasha waspletely dumbfounded. As she sat on the wet tarmac, it took her a while toe back to her senses. I can¡¯t believe I was thrown out of a building in broad daylight! Standing at the entrance, Hale said to the guards outside the door, ¡°Why are you standing there? Grab these nuisances and throw them out of here! If I see these people around The Imperial ever again, all of you will be fired!¡± Joe was angry but he didn¡¯t dare to say anything so he hurriedly walked away. As for the Johnson family, they directly got on their feet and ran while Natasha refused to give up. She sat on the ground, pointed at Hale¡¯s face and furiously yelled, ¡°My uncle is the owner of this ce. You can never stop me from entering!¡± Hale didn¡¯t want to waste his time with her so he said, ¡°Miss Natasha, you¡¯ve repeatedly brought strangers into The Imperial multiple times. The boss is mad at you. In order to stop you from entering The Imperial ever again, the boss already asked your uncle to move away.¡± Natasha couldn¡¯t help but sneer, ¡°People like you won¡¯t be able to force my uncle to leave!¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. However, as soon as she turned around, Natasha saw her uncle and his family carrying luggages out of Vi No. 2. She hurriedly ran up to them and asked, ¡°Uncle, where are you going?¡± Natasha¡¯s uncle red at her furiously before he threw the luggage bag onto the ground hard. ¡°Where am I going? I¡¯m moving!¡± Natasha always used visiting her uncle as an excuse to enter The Imperial. Her previous visit with the Murrays already made Michael pissed, and her bringing another group of people to cause trouble again was thest straw. At that moment, Natasha¡¯s uncle didn¡¯t want to say a single word to her anymore. The whole family was still sound asleep when they suddenly received a notice to move within the time limit. The reason they were requested to move was because Natasha brought a bunch of strangers into The Imperial again in the name of visiting her uncle, and this posed a security threat to the other residents of themunity. In order to prevent Natasha from entering the residential area again, they had no choice but to ask her uncle to move. Natasha¡¯s uncle lived in The Imperial on rent because the houses here couldn¡¯t be bought, and only people with great reputation could rent there. He had gone through great lengths to rent a house here and didn¡¯t expect to be kicked out just after staying here for less than two years. Watching her uncle and his family move out of The Imperial, Natasha waspletely dumbfounded. Uncle is a person with a great reputation in Bayside City. How is it possible that he¡¯s kicked out of his house so easily? She immediately turned around and ran toward Vi No. 8 to figure out why she was being treated this way. Unfortunately, the gates of Vi No. 8 were closed. Standing outside the house, Natasha pressed the doorbell frantically and yelled, ¡°Taylor, let me in! Taylor, you can¡¯t do this to me! We made an agreement that night! You can¡¯t treat me like this!¡± Even though she yelled until her voice turned hoarse, nobody in the house gave a response. In the end, the guards had to forcefully drag her out and threw her out of the residential area. Joe had not gone far yet and saw the precious daughter of the Mitchell family being thrown out of the residential area, so he walked away even faster for fear of offending Taylor. I can¡¯t believe Taylor threw the daughter of the Mitchell family out of the area. He must have a powerful background! I¡¯ve even heard rumors that he is rted to the Fletcher family¡­ I have to run away from here as soon as I can. Sophia was awakened by Natasha¡¯s loud knocks on the door and thought that only Michael can cause such amotion. She opened her eyes, turned her body and felt sore all over. She felt as if her waist and ass didn¡¯t belong to her, and every movement caused a surge of pain. ¡°Ouch¡­¡± Sophia took a deep breath and used all her strength to get out of bed. Wrapping the nket around her, she walked toward the windowside, pulled the curtain open and saw Natasha screaming and crying downstairs. Then, she watched as Natasha was dragged out of there and thrown out in the presence of Mitchell family¡¯s bodyguard. She also noticed that the residents of Vi No. 2 seemed to be moving. Just then, Michael walked over and he looked like he was about to leave the house as he went into the dressing room to put on some clothes. With hickies all over her neck, Sophia looked at him sleepily and asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening outside? Is someone moving?¡± Then, she heard Michael¡¯s voiceing from the dressing room. ¡°Natasha brought your fake father over to cause trouble so I asked the guards to drag them out.¡± Drag them out¡­ A simple and clean solution. What a great idea. I guess Natasha, the princess of the Mitchell family, is going to cry from being kicked out for the first time. Michael seemed to not be angry anymore. After all, Sophia and him never held grudges overnight. If they had a grudge, it would be resolved with some sex; if there was a big contradiction that couldn¡¯t be reconciled¡­ They would have sex all night until they resolved it. After the busy night, the two of them spoke harmoniously that morning as if nothing had happened. Michael tried on his tie in the mirror as he said, ¡°I¡¯ve kicked out Natasha¡¯s uncle who lives in Vi No. 2. That vi belongs to us too. Pay attention to whether anyone would like to rent or buy the ce because it would be a waste to leave it empty.¡± ¡°Wait, Vi No. 2 belongs to us too?¡± Sophia only knew that Vi No. 1 and No. 8 belonged to Michael and never thought he owned Vi No. 2 too. Putting on his shoes, Michael replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Then, he added, ¡°I¡¯ve given your fake father a scare. He won¡¯t dare to pester you anymore.¡± Michael had deliberately kicked Natasha out in front of Joe. I don¡¯t think Joe will dare show his face here anymore! Chapter 515 Chapter 515 Sophia climbed back into bed and yawned, feeling sleepy. She then squinted her eyes and got ready to take a nap. Just then, Michael had already put on his clothes, so he walked over and gently caressed her swollen ass with his big hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to the movie set and I have a night scene to shoot, so you and Nate don¡¯t need to wait for me for dinner at home.¡± ¡°¡­ Okay,¡± Sophia muttered before she went back to sleep. It was when she felt extremely hungry that she went downstairs and took a bite before heading back to the bedroom to continue her slumber. Later, as sheid on the bed, she yawned and pulled out her phone only to find that there were dozens of missed calls and messages from Joe, and he was cursing and scolding her in all of them. She had tricked him and gained the name of being a daughter of the Edwards family, had a grand reunion banquet and even 5% of Edwards Group¡¯s shares. Joe naturally wanted to skin her alive! However, Sophia was toozy to read the messages. Then, she signed in to her messenger and saw that there were many messages in her inbox. The first thing she saw was several message notifications from Joel. Joel¡­ Sophia was very wary of him. In order to prevent unnecessary misunderstanding, she didn¡¯t even look at his messages and directly blocked him. Later, she saw that the people in the gaming group were chatting happily so she scrolled upward and read through the chat history. Imported Young Man: ¡®Sophia hasn¡¯t spoken the whole day. Didn¡¯t she promise that we¡¯ll y together today?¡¯ Stupid Dog: ¡®Don¡¯t wait for her. I¡¯m pretty sure that her ass is swollen from all the beating. She¡¯s probably recovering at home.¡¯ Imported Young Man: ¡®Who hit her? Why did that person hit her?¡¯ Stupid Dog: ¡®How would I know? Maybe she got hurt from falling.¡¯ When Sophia saw that Linus was online, she suddenly recalled the empty Vi No. 2, so she hurriedly sent a message in the gaming group. ¡®Linus, didn¡¯t you say that you were looking for a ce to stay? There¡¯s an empty house in my residential area. You cane live here. The rent is pretty cheap.¡¯ Not long after she sent the text, Stanley texted, ¡®Isn¡¯t your residential area fully upied? Did somebody move?¡¯ With that, Sophia simply described what happened that morning. ¡®Natasha led a group of people here and caused amotion in themunity, so my husband kicked her and her uncle out. Natasha¡¯s uncle used to live in Vi No. 2, which also happens to be my house.¡¯ Stupid Dog: ¡®Wow!!¡¯ However, Linus didn¡¯t reply but Sophia didn¡¯t bother. Instead, she checked the rest of her messages and emptied her inbox. Near the end, she saw something that made her world crash down¡­ Meanwhile, Michael, who was on set, had just finished shooting a scene and was watching the rey when Danny rushed over. Scratching his ears, he said with a helpless expression, ¡°Madam is looking for you. She seems to be angry.¡± Michael raised an eyebrow as he took the phone from Danny. Before he had a chance to speak, he heard angry shouts from the other end of the phone. ¡°Michael, where did the three million go?!¡± I lost three million in one night! Three million! It would take me a long time to save that amount of money again! Other than Michael, I can¡¯t think of anyone else who would spend my money! Listening to the hysterical roar, Michael chuckled casually and said, ¡°I lost all of that money from ying pokerst night.¡± The person on the other side of the phone was so furious, she couldn¡¯t speak. Hearing this, Michael quickly grabbed the opportunity and said, ¡°The rent from Vi No. 2 is all yours.¡± Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. After hearing her scream ¡®bast*rd¡¯, the call was hung up. At the same time at home, Sophia was so enraged, she was about to throw a fit. He lost three million in one night. Are the poker cards they yed with made out of gold?! It¡¯s obvious that it¡¯s Michael¡¯s revenge because I won¡¯t let him go to my reunion banquet. She nced at Vi No. 2 and saw the hustle and bustle. Even though Michael told Natasha¡¯s uncle that he must move out of the house within two days, Natasha¡¯s uncle knew that Michael was furious so they didn¡¯t dare to fight back. They had almost finished moving out in less than half a day. Seeing this, Sophia hurriedly took a few pictures of the ce and sent them to Linus. ¡°Oh, my millionaire friend, please rent my ce. It¡¯s the best house you can find in Bayside City. Hurry up ande over. I¡¯ll give you a discount if you pay the annual rent. How does 5 million sound?¡± Linus must find a ce to live because he wants to get a degree from Bayside University. Other than The Imperial, what other ce is a match with his identity? Hurry up and say that you¡¯ll rent my ce! Sophia soon received a reply from Linus. ¡°Send me the address and let¡¯s schedule a time to meet.¡± At that moment, all Sophia wanted was to get her money back so she quickly arranged a time and sent him the address. After she finished sending the address, she got up, put some clothes on and put on some anti-swelling medicine on her buttocks. Then, with her hand massaging her butt, she went over Vi No. 2 to watch Natasha¡¯s uncle move out the house. The whole family packed up and moved really quickly. Within the same day, they had moved everything out so Sophia hurriedly led the family nanny over to clean the house. After school the next night, Sophia enthusiastically brought Linus over to her residential area to check out the house. ¡°Ourmunity is the best in Bayside City. Look, the ancient Imperial Pce is just next door. The transportation is convenient and there are many business districts nearby. Every inch ofnd in this area is the best choice for investment and living¡­¡± Sophia brought Linus into the residential area and praised hermunity greatly. In fact, she didn¡¯t need to praise it at all because this ce was indeed the best. Every house in the area was expensive but not avable on the market. Natasha¡¯s uncle was friends with Elizabeth a few years ago so Michael had agreed to rent a house to him, but it was his own fault for ruining the opportunity. Now that he had moved out, he wouldn¡¯t be able to move back forever. Linus didn¡¯t have any major requirements when choosing for a ce to stay. However, when he entered The Imperial, he couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised by the luxurious area. No wonder they say Cethos is like heaven! Later, they entered Vi No. 2 and walked around. Vi No. 2 was a typical western retro country style building and Michael had hired a famous designer to design the ce. It was a three-story duplex with a garage and a garden. Linus fell in love with it at first sight. ¡°Not bad. I like this ce very much.¡± I¡¯m used to living in ancient castles in Northern Europe and manor houses in Africa. It will be a great experience to live next to the Imperial pce. Moreover, this ce is near the Michel Group office building in Bayside City. It¡¯s the ideal ce for me to live. When Sophia heard that Linus was happy with the ce, she hurriedly asked, ¡°Have you decided to rent the ce? We can sign the contract anytime and you can move in whenever you like.¡± Linus looked up and nced at the blooming flowers in the courtyard. He thought that the previous owner of the house was a person with character as the flowers were really well taken care of. Looking at Sophia, Linus smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°But I don¡¯t want to rent it.¡± Sophia immediately felt upset. I was hoping that I could rent it out and get my money back¡­ Staring at Sophia¡¯s disappointed expression, Linus said, ¡°I want to buy it.¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. Even Stanley and Sean, who were standing at the side, were shocked when they heard Linus casually say that he wanted to buy the ce. He really is the second inmand of Michel Group! The market price of a vi here is over a hundred million, yet he just decided to buy it at a whim! He sure is rich and capricious! Even Sophia didn¡¯t know what to do so she hurriedly called Michael and told him about the situation. When Michael learned that Linus wanted to buy a house in his area, he attached great importance to it. If Linus buys a house here, his rtives mighte and visit asionally. Fass Michel might even come. That way, I¡¯ll be able to meet him effortlessly. At that instant, Michael said, ¡°Seeing that he¡¯s a close friend of yours, you can sell it to him at a nine- figure price. If he doesn¡¯t want it, lower the price. The lowest price I can ept is 70 million. If he agrees, sign the contract as soon as possible. I¡¯m only giving him special treatment. If anyone else wants to buy the ce, I¡¯ll have to consider.¡± After hanging up the phone, Sophia gathered her thoughts and nned to sell the house at a higher price. However, Linus was a good friend so she couldn¡¯t ask for a price that was too high. She said tentatively, ¡°This house belongs to my husband. You know that this is the best residential area in Bayside City, and if you want to buy this house, the price will be¡­¡± ¡°120 million. If it¡¯s not enough, I can offer a higher price,¡± Linus replied. Chapter 516 Chapter 516 Linus directly gave his offer without any hesitation. Sophia was in shock but she quickly recovered and agreed. ¡°Well then, we¡¯ll sign the contract after my husbandes home.¡± It¡¯s so easy to do business with a wealthy tyrant like Linus¡­ After they came out of the house, they went straight to Sophia¡¯s house and Linus had already called his men to head over with the money. ¡°Oh my god, Linus, it¡¯s a lot of money. Shouldn¡¯t you think about it a little longer? Once you sign the contract, it¡¯ll be toote for you to regret.¡± Linus smiled and said, ¡°The houses here are expensive but it rarely is up for sale. Now that I have an opportunity to buy one, I have to try my best to buy it. The housing price will rise in the future so no matter how I think about it, it¡¯s a bargain. Besides, I like this house.¡± The Imperial was in the most expensive real estate of Bayside City, and every house in this residential area had its own special characteristics. For example, Michael¡¯s house, which was Vi no. 8, had a European style. It was luxurious but low key, and it was a great contrast to Michael¡¯s shining identity as the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor. Vi no. 1 that Michael used for vacation was a set of courtyards, resembling an ancient dynasty pce. There was also Vi No. 4 where Harry lived. It had a postmodern, unique industrial style that was mysterious and charming. Vi No. 7, where Daniel lived, was an antique garden vi. Every corner of the house was filled with a rich and strict aura, and every ce could constitute a perfectndscape painting. As for Vi No. 2 that Linus was interested in buying, it had a mix of retro American country house style. It emitted a low-key and restrained aura that he liked. As long as he liked it, it didn¡¯t matter if the price was high. Linus was a man of his word and right after he agreed to get it, he immediately went over to Sophia¡¯s house and waited for Michael¡¯s return to sign the contract. ¡°Linus, since you¡¯re going to be living in the same area with Sophie soon, I¡¯m going to tell you the truth. The person Sophia is married to is my uncle. You know who my uncle is, right? He¡¯s the famous Taylor Murray!¡± They were about to live in the samemunity and Linus and Michael had a simr social status, so he would find out about this sooner orter. This was why Stanley didn¡¯t intend to hide this from him and told him directly. After Linus learned about this, he seemed stunned. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that Taylor Murray is your uncle!¡± Then, the few of them chatted happily as they walked toward Vi No. 8. Before they got to the house, Michael¡¯s SUV had already driven in from outside. When the car passed by the group of people walking by the road, the tinted car window was rolled down and revealed two handsome faces with big-framed sunsses on. One of them had a buzz cut and one of them was blonde. Seeing this, Sophia quickly rushed over and peeped her head into the car window. Almost half of her body was in the car. Michael took off his sunsses and showed his handsome face that aged like fine wine. It¡¯s been less than a day since Ist met my darling wife, but it seems that she has be more adorable. Holding Sophia¡¯s small face, he gently gave her a kiss on the lips. Then, he suddenly realized Linus was there so he got out of the car. Surprised, he looked at Linus and asked, ¡°Mr. Linus Michel?¡± Linus took two steps forward and with a smile, he replied, ¡°Mr. Murray, I never thought that we would meet again.¡± They then proceeded to shake hands politely for a while. Harry got out of the car behind him. Then, he took off his sunsses and looked at Linus with a complicated expression on his face. ¡°Mr. Michel, I know that you¡¯re in Bayside City, but because of trivial matters that I have to deal with, I didn¡¯t have the time to meet you. I never thought that there would be such a coincidence where you will be my neighbour. Perhaps it¡¯s fate!¡± When Michael heard that Linus was in Bayside City, he had thought of multiple ways to meet him, and he also didn¡¯t expect to meet him under such circumstances. Linus replied, ¡°I just came not long ago. Mr. Murray, I hope that you¡¯ll be able to look out for me in the future.¡± They came up to Vi No. 8 and Michael invited Linus to dinner at home, where they could also discuss the transfer of the house. Still chatting, they walked ahead, and when Harry found out that delicious food was about to be served, he hurriedly followed behind them. ¡°Mr. Michel, how long are you nning to stay in Bayside City?¡± Michael asked tentatively. Linus replied, ¡°This time, I came here to study and I¡¯m responsible for thepany¡¯s marketing development in Bayside City, so I¡¯ll be here for a long time.¡± As soon as they entered Vi No.8 of The Imperial, they were immediately pounced on by five orange cats, including the Persian cat that Linus gave Sophia. It was still chubby and cute. Seeing that Linus still recognized him, it quickly rushed over. Michael went to his room to change into a set of clean clothes and when he went downstairs, he saw the group of people chatting happily in the living room. Nathan had appeared from a corner and he was wearing an orange cat cartoon one-piece pajamas. He sat next to Linus and looked up at him curiously. Linus seemed to really like Nathan too. He kept talking to him and Nathan kept calling him ¡®uncle¡¯. Even Michael had never been treated that way before. It seems like Nathan likes to make friends. Michael walked down the stairs in hisfortable house clothes and said to Linus in the living room, ¡°The chefs in the kitchen are preparing a scrumptious dinner. You should have some rest and have dinner with us before you leave.¡± While they waited, Michael took the chance to discuss the sale of the house with Linus. He wasn¡¯t prepared to sell the house at first and thought that Linus was only renting the ce, so he hadn¡¯t prepared the contract yet. However, Linus directly paid the deposit generously and with that, an agreement was reached. On the other hand, Stanley was watching television while stroking the cat. Yet, he kept changing channels, as if he couldn¡¯t find a channel that he liked. Stanley evenined, ¡°Uncle, look at you. Why don¡¯t you act in TV series, reality TV or game shows? The appearance fee is high and you¡¯ll easily attract more fans. I keep switching channels but I don¡¯t even see you! I only get to see you in movie channels.¡± Stanley continued switching channels and stopped after a while on a show that had been trending recently. It was a singingpetition and today was the finals, which barely managed to attract his attention. A few minutes into the show, Stanley heard the emcee enthusiastically announce, ¡°Please wee our next contestant, Chester!¡± The name sessfully attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Soon, a person that looked exactly like Cooper came on stage amidst the cheers of the audience and began to sing. He sang a pop song and although his singing wasn¡¯t amazing, his score was the highest.From N?velDrama.Org. Seeing this, Stanley angrily changed channels. ¡°Tsk! Uncle Cooper will never make such a disgusting expression!¡± Chester was the inte celebrity that really looked like Cooper. After he became famous, he started joining various variety and reality shows, and he even signed with an agency to start acting in movies. His poprity was extraordinary. ¡°Stupid dog, switch back to the previous channel. I want to see Chester!¡± Sophia grabbed Stanley¡¯s arm and shook him vigorously. Soon, the channel with Chester was back on. He used to be a frence photographer and became an inte celebrity by chance. After several months of vocal training, he started going on variety shows and joined a singingpetition. He even won first ce! Poprity and looks really do matter! Michael kept observing Linus¡¯s reaction and saw that there wasn¡¯t anything unusual. If Fass was Cooper, he should¡¯ve looked surprised. Why isn¡¯t he giving any reaction? There can only be two reasons. Either Fass is not Cooper at all, or he¡¯s really good at hiding his emotions. Chapter 517 Chapter 517 After they finished watching the singingpetition and found out that Chester was the champion, Stanley held onto Michael and anxiously asked, ¡°Uncle, why don¡¯t you get on reality shows? You know how to sing and dance. If you get on reality shows, you¡¯ll definitely overshine them. You¡¯ll even get to earn high appearance fees!¡± Sophia also looked forward to seeing Michael on a reality or variety show. He made his debut as a leader of a young group more than ten years ago and he was the lead singer and the lead dancer. Unfortunately, many of the videos from that period couldn¡¯t be found. Michael hadn¡¯t sang or danced in more than ten years. These days, in order to seed in the entertainment industry, not only did the stars have to have beautiful looks, but they also had to look exquisite. Stars with exquisite looks can get on big screens while stars with more ordinary looks can only appear in variety shows and have small roles in TV series. However, that shouldn¡¯t stop Michael from getting on variety shows! Sophia was a huge fan of Michael¡¯s and when she quarreled with other fan groups, the other fan groups usual replies were, ¡®your idol doesn¡¯t have any endorsements¡¯, ¡®your idol has never appeared on variety shows¡¯, ¡®your idol is bad at making friends and nobody talks to him on Twitter¡¯. Whenever she was faced with their insults, she didn¡¯t know how to fight back because Michael indeed didn¡¯t have endorsements and never got on variety shows. He didn¡¯t have friends to talk with on Twitter either¡­ Unfortunately, Michael only acted in movies and wouldn¡¯t ept anymercial endorsements or get on variety or reality shows. He only made a few public service advertisements. Michael waved his hand and replied, ¡°No way. I¡¯m getting old and can¡¯t stand overworking anymore.¡± Not long after, dinner was served and Michael generously picked out some fine wine from his cer to treat his guest of the day, Linus. Tonight¡¯s dinner was roast mutton and Stanley was overjoyed. Stuffing food into his mouth, he said, ¡°Wow, uncle! Did you specially prepare a whole roastedmb because you knew that I wasing today?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Don¡¯t tter yourself. Today is my 800-day marriage anniversary with your aunt.¡± Hearing this, Stanley was rendered speechless. Meanwhile, Sophia silently counted with her fingers and realized that they really had been married for 800 days. She saw argemb being kept in the backyard of the kitchen two days ago and didn¡¯t expect that it was part of Michael¡¯s preparation for the celebration. The roasted mutton was burnt and fragrant, and it was great enjoyment to eat some roastedmb in the winter. Before Sophia reached for themb, a pile of torn mutton appeared in her bowl. Michael had torn off pieces of mutton with gloves on and carefully tore it into small pieces before cing them in Sophia¡¯s bowl as he chatted with Linus. ¡°Mr. Michel, since you¡¯re good friends with my wife, can I call you Linus instead?¡± Michael said courteously. He had maintained a formic tone as he spoke to Linus all this while. Hearing this, Linus replied, ¡°Mr. Murray, there is no need to be so formal. Just call me Linus.¡± When Linus and Michael ate together, it was obvious that they were maintaining their posture and every move they made were the exact movements of a gentleman. Michael wiped his mouth with a napkin before he said, ¡°Well then, you don¡¯t have to call me Mr. Murray either. Taylor Murray is just my stage name. My surname is Fletcher and my first name is Michael. If you¡¯re willing, you can call me by my first name.¡± Linus gave it some thought before he replied, ¡°Okay, Michael.¡± After Michael heard this, he grinned in satisfaction. Linus was Sophia¡¯s twin brother. Sooner orter, this truth would be exposed but Michael hadn¡¯t found the right opportunity to tell Linus yet. He always had the idea to find the appropriate timing to tell Linus his rtionship with Sophia. When that happened, Linus would definitely investigate Sophia¡¯s background and he would spread some rumors to guide Linus to find out about Annabel¡¯s rtionship with Cooper. However, it was too risky. After all, he didn¡¯t know about Linus¡¯s background or character, and he had no clue of the Michel family¡¯s attitude toward Linus. He didn¡¯t know Linus¡¯s position in the Michel family either. If he took the risk and told Linus, he might put Sophia and Linus himself in danger, which was why he decided to give up on the thought. The matter of Sophia¡¯s reunion with her family must be seriously considered. After hearing Linus and Michael call each other by their first names, Stanley was the first to show his dissatisfaction. ¡°Uncle, how can you do that? Doesn¡¯t that make me the youngest?¡± Sean chuckled as he teased him. ¡°Stan, you¡¯ve always been the youngest among them!¡± With a cheerful person like Stanley, the atmosphere around the table was lively. Linus sat on Michael¡¯s left side while Sophia sat on his right. Michael looked to the left for a while before he turned to the right topare the looks of the two siblings. What a huge difference! They even look like they are from different races! Sophia is simply a replica of Annabel and she has inherited some of her father¡¯s characteristics such as having fair skin, straight nose, and her eyes are big like a European. However, her hair and eyes are ck. As for Linus, he looks entirely like a European. He has blond hair and blue eyes. Although he looks a little mixed, it isn¡¯t really obvious. If I didn¡¯t see the DNA results myself, no one would suspect that they are both twin brother and sister! It¡¯s amazing! As the atmosphere became more lively, Michael started probing Linus. ¡°Linus, I heard that you were born on the same year, month and day with my wife.¡± Linus replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± In a surprised tone, Michael said, ¡°What a coincidence. In which time zone were you born? Let me see whether you or my wife is older.¡± After thinking about it for a while, Linus replied, ¡°I was born in Eastern Europe and Cethos is only three hours ahead of Europe. We¡¯re in the same time zone with Cethos so we can¡¯t really tell who¡¯s older.¡± Michael continued to ask. ¡°My wife was born at 6:15 pm, Cethos time. What about you, Linus?¡± 6:15 pm? Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. It was the first time Sophia heard about the exact time she was born. I didn¡¯t even know when I was born. I didn¡¯t expect Michael to find out¡­ Linus counted for a while and replied, ¡°If I calcte my birth time ording to Cethos time, I was born around 6:00 pm.¡± Hearing this, Michael cheerfully toasted with Linus before he said, ¡°I must learn more about you when we have the time. This really is fate!¡± ording to the information that Michael found, Sophia¡¯s brother was indeed born at 6:00pm, 15 minutes earlier than Sophia. He didn¡¯t cry when he was born and the nurse who delivered him had secretly taken him away. 15 minutester, Sophia was born. Even though they were from the same mother and born on the same day, their lives werepletely different. Michael sneakily asked Linus about information about his family. The Michel family was so mysterious that he couldn¡¯t nt any of his men inside, and neither could he find any inside information about this family either, which was why Linus was his only breakthrough point. Instead of asking Abel to go to Africa and squatting outside Fass¡¯s castle, it was better to start from Linus. Speaking of his father, Linus pursed his lips and said, ¡°My father has been enjoying his retirement in his hometown in Eastern Europe. If I have the chance, I¡¯ll definitely ask him toe and visit Bayside City.¡± After taking a few bites of his meal, Michael directed the topic to Fass again. ¡°By the way, I didn¡¯t get to meet Mr. Fass during my previous visit to Africa. What a shame. I wonder if Mr. Fass has any ns to come to Bayside City. I¡¯ve heard many things about him and if I get to meet him, it would be an honor!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, everybody immediately started paying attention and anticipated to hear the answer. If they could meet Fass in person, all their questions could be answered. Chapter 518 Chapter 518 Feeling regrettable, Linus shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be disappointed. He¡¯s been traveling around the world in recent times¡ªeven I don¡¯t know which country he¡¯s in at the moment. It¡¯s up to fate whether or not we¡¯ll see each other again.¡± Michael knew what was on Fass¡¯ mind when he started traveling around the world. F*ck! He¡¯s so spontaneous! ¡°I guess we¡¯ll leave it to fate then,¡± Harry remarked casually, ending the conversation about Fass. While they were halfway through enjoying the barbequedmb, Michael asked the cook to slice the meat for them and make it into a pot ofmb broth. After it was ready, Michael helped scoop a bowl of piping hotmb broth for Sophia. Before this, Linus was very much disgusted with hotpot because everyone would dip their chopsticks into the shared pot in order to get food. However, for reasons unbeknownst to him, he had slowly grown used to it after having it a few times. As they were enjoying the hotpot, they chatted and joked around. The atmosphere was pleasant. While Sophia and Michael intimately helped each other to the food, Harry took out his phone and took pictures of everything on the table before uploading it on Twitter. Meanwhile, Sean and Stanley were talking business while Nathan, sitting next to Linus, turned around and curiously looked at Linus from time to time. Linus felt surprised because, for the first time, he was able to have such a pleasant and enjoyable time eating with others. In the Michel Family¡¯s mansion in Northern Europe, even though the entire family woulde together to eat often, the atmosphere was never this pleasant. Halfway through their meal, Daniel decided to join them after seeing Harry¡¯s Twitter post and finding out that they were having a good meal. After the meal, Daniel held Linus¡¯ hand as he wanted to read his palm. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°You have a good life blessed with riches. You¡¯ll die peacefully,¡± Danielmented firmly before the others made fun of it. ¡°Aren¡¯t you just stating the obvious? If Linus isn¡¯t wealthy, who else is?¡± Sophia jumped in acerbically¡ª she was still bitter about the eighty thousand. Ignoring Sophia¡¯s sarcasm, Daniel continued to say to Linus rather earnestly, ¡°Youck the water element in your birth chart, so I suggest that you give yourself a Cethosian name and include a water element.¡± Linus responded, ¡°Master Levine, why don¡¯t you give me a Cethosian name? I believe my tutor also wanted me toe up with one for myself.¡± Daniel looked at Linus before turning to Sophia,menting, ¡°You were born on the same day as Sophia; that should be considered fate. Why don¡¯t you have the samest name ¡®Edwards¡¯, and perhaps call yourself ¡®Sophus Edwards¡¯?¡± Daniel wrote the characters out and seeing that, Linus was pleased. ¡°Thanks a lot, Master Levine.¡± Meanwhile, Harry was secretly observing them. This is freaky. They¡¯re really twins, and they have the same smile. They look extremely alike. At this moment, one of the Persian cats jumped on Linus¡¯p and started meowing. As all four of the large orange cats were outside the house, each of the people there carried one of the cats and happily yed with them. Eventually, after they exchanged Twitter profiles, Linus went home. A few dayster, Linus got the keys to Vi No. 2 and moved in. In the meantime, Stanley tried to persuade him to throw a housewarming party. s, Linus surprised himself by putting together a housewarming banquet, inviting some of the prominent figures in Bayside City. Since this was the first time Linus was in Bayside City, he reckoned that he would need to hold a banquet for people to know that he was in town. Since Linus was the host, the attendees would definitely be prominent figures, and naturally, Michael also received an invitation. Besides him, the Fletcher Family, the Edwards Family, the Winston Family, the Mitchell Family, and the West Family also received invitations. Watching those security guards tirelessly moving Linus¡¯ personal belongings into Vi No. 2 made Harry slightly worried. ¡°Hey man, even though that guy is your brother- inw, he¡¯s nheless Linus Michel. Please, be careful!¡± He reckoned that Linus would not be any less complicated than Cooper. Even though Linus had the same birth mother as Sophia, they grew up in radically different environments. One could not judge a book by its cover. Who could really know what kind of person Linus was? Having someone influential on his doorstep, Harry was not sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Surprisingly, Linus did not have many maids with him, but there was still an increase of new faces in the neighborhood. Also, as Linus had also been receiving different visitors at his ce, this had greatly increased the traffic in this residential area. Having only moved into The Imperial recently, Linus decided to throw a private party, and Sophia was also invited. After finding out about it, Michael decided to tag along. It was a small party. There were the seven of them from their gaming group, Daniel, and a few foreigners¡ªDaniel had not made too many friends in Bayside City. Linus was extremely pleased by this ce, and he moved in without remodeling it too much. All he did was hire someone to clean the ce for him since the previous tenant, Natasha¡¯s uncle, who was a schr and an artist, maintained the ce really well. This vi was an incredibly luxurious and sophisticated three-story duplex that had a greenhouse and a garage. They were all having a good time chatting, ying mahjong, and asionally bantering with each other at the party. While Harry was endeavoring to fit in with the youngsters, Michael and Daniel sat by the fire. At some point, they felt thirsty, but they could only find either alcohol or soda. Holding up a bottle of wine, Michael frowned as it was not good for his health and his future baby girl. He then held up a can of Coke and shook his head. After all, drinking it would cause male infertility, thus, it was also not good for his future baby girl. Next, he took up a bottle of water, though it was too tasteless for his liking. All of a sudden, Linus showed up and was dressed rather casually¡ªthe white lounge set that he was in completely outlined his tall and lean figure. Michael felt pressured every time he had to stand next to Linus as Linus was a few centimeters taller than him. Every time this happened, Michael would sigh. Since Linus and Sophia were twins, why would they look so different? Having a twin sister himself, Michael¡¯s height and his old sister¡¯s was very different. He was around 185 centimeters tall while his older sister was around 178 centimeters tall. Be it appearance, temperament, or height, they were quite simr. However, when it came to Linus and Sophia, Sophia was not even 160 centimeters tall, while Linus was around 190 centimeters tall. They were also of different ethnicity. While he was at this, Michael suddenly pondered something else: since they both had twin siblings, how probable would it be that they could have twins? Michael felt that this was an incredibly serious topic that was worth looking into. Meanwhile, Linus came up to Michael with a pot of an unknown beverage that was still piping hot. He then put three bowls down on the table and helped serve Daniel and Michael, saying, ¡°I recently hired a nutritionist to prepare a medicinal broth for me. This is freshly prepared and contains seventeen types of herbs. It smells and looks good, and can help rejuvenate your skin. It¡¯s also good even if you¡¯re trying to have babies¡­ And, it can help dy hair loss.¡± Michael proceeded to thank Linus, who then left to attend to other guests. After seeing him walk away, Daniel looked at the pot of medicinal broth and subconsciously touched his hairline that had been receding. ¡°Old man, your brother-inw is a naughty man.¡± Chapter 519 Chapter 519 Linus had high EQ¡ªeven though today was just a small party among close friends, knowing that Michael and Sophia were trying to conceive, he put in the effort in preparing some special snacks and drinks for him. Not only so, but the three bowls that he brought over were all different: two of them were of blue-and- white porcin, and the other had some pink bubble designs. As such, Linus reckoned that Michael and Daniel would definitely go for the porcin ones as the other one seemed feminine; it even had a spoon of a different shape. Of course, that was the one Linus prepared for Sophia, who was having such a good time and had forgotten about drinking anything. Since Michael was here, Linus thought it would not be culturally appropriate for him to bring her a bowl of herbal soup that would aid with her pregnancy. As such, Linus used a different spoon to hint at Michael for him to save it for Sophia. Michael was still deep in thought when he was slowly drinking the soup with a spoon. Not long after he sat down, two big orange cats jumped into his arms. He looked at the two orange cats, which reminded him of the cats that he had at home. He then realized that those were indeed his as all four of his orange cats were here¡ªtwo of them were in his arms while the other two were circling Linus as if they were dogs. At this point, Linus was conversing with a foreigner, and the moment he sat down, one of the cats jumped onto hisp. Following that, Nathan showed up with the Persian cat in his arms; he walked up to Linus before sitting next to him. While Michael was drinking the herbal soup, he sensed a scorching gaze on him. So, he looked up and saw that Stanley¡¯s husky was attentively staring at him and the bowl in his hands. Feeling somewhat nervous, Michael quickly waved the husky off. ¡°Go away. Stupid dog. Go away!¡± Even though the husky left, not long after that, Michael saw Linuse out of his kitchen with two dog bowls with freshly prepared dog meals in them. The moment the husky saw that, it ran toward Linus. Simultaneously, Nathan¡¯s Samoyed puppy and Linus¡¯ dog also joined in. It was quite a sight to see those three dogs eating together. Linus¡¯ dog was a mutt that did not quite match its owner. Word had it that it used to be a stray dog, and ording to Sophia, Linus adopted him through some posts on Twitter. At this moment, Nathan knelt in front of the dogs and watched them eat, asionally licking his lips. Upon seeing that, Judge waved his tail and scooted over, leaving a spot in front of the dog bowl for Nathan. Linus patted Judge and knelt to almost the same height as Nathan. While he was patting Judge, he even exined to Nathan about the different breeds of dogs. The sight of this made Michael feel extremely uneasy. Linus had only appeared in their lives not long ago, but he had alreadye to know Sophia, Nathan, Michael, and even every single cat and dog that they had. On the flipside, Michael knew nothing about him. To Michael, Linus was a private person who would never tell anyone about his family and background. No matter how much Michael tried to elicit that information from him, his efforts were never fruitful. This person was eerily private, and it did not help that Michael liked to think the worst of everything. The reason Michael sold this ce to Linus was so that he could try and make him talk about Fass, but he regretted that decision now as not only was he unable to extract any information on Fass, he was also getting more involved in Linus¡¯ life. At this moment, Sophia happily came up to Michael and said, ¡°Linus told me he has prepared something for me!¡± Right away, she saw the bowl of herbal soup on the coffee table that was still piping hot. She then carried the cat that was in Michael¡¯s arms and began drinking the herbal soup. After finishing it, she even helped herself with a second bowl. This whole time, Michael was still deep in thought about the question earlier. After the orange cat left Michael, it yawned before stretching its body while strutting around in the living room as if it lived here. It even habitually went to the cat bowl to get food. It had only been a couple of days, but since when did Michael¡¯s cat be so familiar with Linus¡¯ ce? So many things that were taking ce now made Michael feel uneasy. All of a sudden, he heard a beautiful piano sound from the living room. It was Linus. Linus¡¯ piano skills were much better than Natasha¡¯s, and he was ying and singing a song that he composed. After finishing the herbal soup, Sophia¡¯s tummy felt a lot better. At this point, she pulled Michael¡¯s arm over and ced it around her waist. She then quietly sat there in his embrace while listening to Linus¡¯s performance. Meanwhile, Michael was still deep in thought when Sophia¡¯s fingers were restlessly tapping his back. Then, Michael tilted his head to look at her dancing fingers¡ªthey were almost on the same beat as the notes that Linus yed. This was perhaps the mysterious telepathy between twins. Ever since Linus showed up, Sophia¡¯s daily routine had changed slightly. For example, she had been up at 6 AM for the past two days, telling Michael that she was too thirsty to continue sleeping. In the past, she would not be up until at least half-past six. Michael identally heard from Stanley that Linus would get up at 6 AM every morning to drink water, without fail. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Another example was that Sophia used to be able to stay up until midnight, but recently, she could not stay up past 11 PM and would get extremely sleepy by then. Based on Michael¡¯s observationtely, the lights at Linus¡¯ ce would go off on time at 11 PM every night. Twins positively affected each other, and the closer they were with each other, the bigger the effect was. In the same way, Sophia had also influenced Linus¡¯ habits recently. For instance, Linus would never eat anything spicy before this, but right now, he had found his love for spicy food. Also,tely, Linus had been sharing news about Taylor Murray in his IG stories. After he was done ying, everyone there gave him a round of apuse. Then, some of them started a new game. ¡°Uncle Michael,e join us for ¡®Truth or Dare¡¯¡­¡± Stanley was waving at Michael in the crowd. Even though Michael was reluctant to go over, Sophia did not give him a choice and dragged him all the way there. Seeing that Linus was also there, Michael decided to go, thinking that perhaps he might be able to elicit something from Linus through this game. After everyone came, all ten of them sat around the table, and the game started. Stanley¡¯spany had recently made many game apps, and one of them was this game called ¡®Truth or Dare¡¯. He then proceeded to assign a code name to everyone before taking out his tablet and cing it in the center of the table. Opening the ¡®Truth or Dare¡¯ app, he then put in the number of participants and hit the ¡®Start¡¯ button. Right away, the indicator on the screen began to spin. After a few seconds, it stopped and pointed at one of the code names. ¡°Number 3!¡± Stanley shouted. Sarah timidly raised her hand, looking worried. She knew well about the app that herpany designed and the crazy questions that were in there. Seeing the terrified look on her face, Harry was annoyed. She¡¯s so bold and violent on the Inte, but look at her right now¡ªwhat a hypocrite! Every time he saw Sarah he would always mess with her bangs, and this exined her unkempt hair today. Stanley proceeded to tap on the app, and a question was picked by the system: ¡°Please kneel in front of No. 9, hug their leg, stick your face on their leg, and call them ¡®Daddy¡¯.¡± Pfft¡ª Linus burst intoughter right away. Chapter 520 Chapter 520 Being No. 9, Harry was overjoyed and he started patting his thigh. ¡°My dear,e and call me ¡®daddy¡¯!¡± Sarah stood up angrily, knelt rather reluctantly, then hugged his leg andid her head on his thigh. ¡°Daddy.¡± Right after she finished, she stormed back to the seat next to Sophia while her face was flushed. Meanwhile, Harry beganughing so loudly before everyone else followed suit. Then, the game carried on. Now, it was No. 5¡¯s turn. ¡°yer No. 5, please give the third yer to your left a romantic kiss.¡± The moment the system stopped speaking, a good few minutes of romantic music sounded out. Being No. 5, Sophia turned to her left and counted; the third person was Daniel. All of a sudden, Daniel felt a fierce looking from the person next to Sophia: Michael stood up and calmly exchanged seats with Daniel. Everyone was speechless. Then, Sophia blushed and leaned up to passionately kiss him on the lips in front of everyone. Everyone was startled. It was supposed to be a game, but when did it be a showcase for their love? In the next round, the yer who was picked would have to throw a cat out and shout ¡®Run, doggie!¡¯. Another yer who was picked was required to take a picture with someone of the same sex while they looked each other in the eye and then upload the picture on their IG Stories, telling everyone they were coming out. The next yer had to imitate a scene in one of Taylor Murray¡¯s films where one drama actress sang an opera. ¡°yer No. 4, please tell us the name of your first love,¡± the app read out the next question. With hands over his face, as yer No. 4, Linus let out a helpless look and said, ¡°Amos Metcalfe.¡± It was followed by pin-drop silence. From N?velDrama.Org. Last year, Amos Metcalfe was voted as the third sexiest man in the world by one of the most influential magazines. He was tall, wealthy, and gorgeous. He was only about thirty years old, but thepany that was under his management was as influential as Michel Group. Word had it that he was a yboy; he could sleep with two different people per night. But it was a guy! A guy! Linus¡¯ first love was a guy! Sophia was slow. After a good second of silence, she finally came back to her senses and screamed, ¡°Linus, you¡¯re gay?¡± Still covering his face with his hands, Linus did not respond. At this moment, Sophia could not help but curse quietly. F*ck. A prince charming falling for another prince charming! F*ck. My gorgeous husband is in danger now. F*ck. Is my husband going to cheat on me with him? No wonder Linus has been sharing stories about Taylor Murray on his Twitter ount! All of a sudden, everything clicked in Sophia¡¯s head. Everyone had a good time that night while discovering many secrets about each other. For example, they found out that Linus was gay. Furthermore, Harry and Sean forgot to remove the intimate picture on their IG Stories as well as theiring out announcement. s, someone had screenshot the picture and sent it to an entertainment magazine, which announced it on their Twitter ount that night. Needless to say, it attracted a lot of attention. It was already past midnight when Michael carried Nathan and Sophia who were both sound asleep in his arms and went home. As Nathan was sleeping drowsily in Michael¡¯s arms, the moment he opened his eyes and saw Michael, he immediately put his hands around Michael¡¯s neck and stated softly, ¡°Daddy¡­¡± This word melted Michael, who responded gently, ¡°Nathan, are you cold?¡± Then, Nathan fell back asleep again. Even though it was merely a word, it was enough to warm Michael¡¯s heart. Meanwhile, Hale and Maria followed behind with the fat orange cats in their arms. That night, those who lived nearby went home while the others spent the night at Linus¡¯ ce. They had such a good time and had also consumed a good amount of alcohol. That night, a number of them spent the night in Linus¡¯ living room. At 7 AM, Harry¡¯s phone turned on automatically. Right after that, his phone rang. Still feeling drowsy, he nheless answered it. His agent shouted, sounding devastated, ¡°My goodness! Goodness, gracious! Holy crap! Your ¡®Truth or Dare¡¯ sessionst night has made the headlines on Twitter! Now, every Twitter user in this country is talking about your sexual orientation. Why are you keeping quiet? Say something!¡± Feeling slightly hungover, he muddily turned around and said, ¡°F*ck that! I like women!¡± The agent responded, ¡°Then post something on your Twitter ount to rify that!¡± Hanging up his phone, Harry seemingly saw that there was a woman next to him. As his phone was still in his hand, he proceeded to snap a picture of her before posting it on his Twitter ount with the caption: ¡®I like women.¡¯ Right after that, he put his phone away, took out its battery, and fell back to sleep. At the same time, he subconsciously put his arms around the woman next to him. Meanwhile, Twitter¡¯sputer engineers spent the entire night trying to fix the server that was overloaded. Just two hours after they fixed it, another breaking news rolled out, and once again, the app was down. Around 11 AM, Sophia finally got up. After freshening up, she came downstairs for lunch, realizing that Michael was already gone. She reckoned that he probably went to the set to join the filming crew. While she was eating, she scrolled through the news on Twitter. The moment she opened the app, Harry¡¯s news about his new lover was all over the ce. Huh? After clicking into it, she realized that their gamest night was trending. However, Harry posted a tweet again at 7 AM this morning telling everyone that he liked women. In that picture, that woman¡¯s back was facing the camera; half of her back was exposed. Her hair was disheveled, but her face was not visible. It was obviously a picture in bed. This seemed to be an official announcement from Harry that he had a girlfriend. But, since when did he have a girlfriend? To Sophia, the back of thatdy looked familiar. Right away, Sophia gave Sarah a call as she knew that she spent the night at Linus¡¯ ce because she was too drunk to go home. Just after a few rings, Sarah answered it. ¡°Sarah, where¡­ are you?¡± Sarah tried to catch her breath and responded, ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯m home.¡± Feeling somewhat skeptical, Sophia followed up, ¡°Really? Why do you sound out of breath?¡± Sarah responded, ¡°Well, I was walking my old wolf-dog, who ran and pulled me through three streets. I couldn¡¯t even hold him tight. Listen¡­¡± Then, Sophia heard a dog barking from Sarah¡¯s end. It did sound like a strong and vigorous wolf-dog. After hanging up the phone, Sophia was suspicious and sat there thinking to herself that something did not feel right. So, she decided to go over to Linus¡¯ ce to take a look. After finishing her meal, she took her Samoyed and went to Linus¡¯ ce. Inside Vi No. 2, after hanging up the phone, Sarah was still feeling drowsy. She then turned over, feeling dazed and incredulous. Harry, the ¡®Old Wolf¡¯, got picked onst night to bark like a dog, but he refused to do it. So, in the end, he had to down three shots. Much to her surprise, he was willing to bark today. When he got up this morning, he had no idea why he and Sarah would be naked and under the same nket. It also puzzled him as to why the two would make this mistake again. However, sleeping together the second time did not make much of a difference. ¡°Call me Daddy.¡± Being the dominant one, he looked her in the eye. Meanwhile, Sarah began to blush while trying to cover her face. ¡°Not a chance!¡± Harry felt that her act of covering her face was incredibly adorable. Feeling aroused, he pinned her down on the bed with both of her hands on two sides of the pillow. It was already midday, but the two still felt horny. At this moment, Sarah was blushing, and her round face, round eyes, and tiny lips made her look like an underaged girl. It somehow reminded Harry of the lead female character in the Second Element Anime¡ªthe one who had bangs. At this point, Harry could roughly understand how Michael felt when he addressed Sophia as ¡®cutie-pie¡¯ while she was in his arms. Sarah is so f*cking cute! Chapter 521 Chapter 521 ¡°Since you refuse to call me ¡®Daddy¡¯, perhaps you can call me ¡®Old Wolf¡¯.¡± Harry tried topromise. After all, these youngdies had changed their requirements for a partner. Back in the days, they preferred young but mature men. These days, they preferred men who were handsome but clingy and younger than them¡ªthat could provide them with a sense of security. They referred to men like these as ¡®Young Wolves¡¯. Reckoning that he was perhaps too old to be included in that category, Harry supposed that he could still be an old but strong ¡®Old Wolf¡¯. Hearing that, Sarah blushed. She turned away and stated nervously, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me!¡± Meanwhile, Harry chuckled and said, ¡°We slept together already; what else is there that I can¡¯t see?¡± At this point, Sarah was in disbelief even though she could not recall what happenedst night. The only thing she could remember at this point was how muddled she was when she opened the room door. The next thing she remembered was that she was in a bed and fell asleep. How was she going to reject Harry¡¯s request right now? She mumbled something softly and seductively like a cat¡¯s meow. Upon hearing this sound, Harry immediately swallowed, lowered his head, and domineeringly kissed her on her lips. Just as things got heated in bed, Sophia¡¯s voice sounded out from downstairs. ¡°Linus, did Sarah spend the night here?¡± Immediately, Sarah tensed up and quickly pushed Harry away from above her. ¡°Old Wolf, Sophia¡¯s here. I have to go.¡± Harry was just getting excited. As such, whileying on top of her, he pinned her down on the bed. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this before you go!¡± Having just finished his lunch, Linus responded, ¡°Our security sent her homest night.¡± Although still feeling skeptical, Sophia nevertheless left with her dog and walked toward the entrance of themunity. As she left, Linus turned around and saw the closed windows of one of his guest rooms, which immediately reminded him of how tipsy Sarah wasst night. ¡°Since Sophia can sleep with Taylor, why can¡¯t I sleep with Harry? Get away from me. I want to go in and sleep with Harry tonight! I¡­ I¡¯m not going to leave here tonight until I get into bed with him!¡± Meanwhile, Linus, looking helpless, was trying to stop Sarah from barging into the guest room where Harry slept. After hearing the angry voice outside his room, Harry opened the door and stood there. ¡°I¡¯m here. Come in if you f*cking dare!¡± Even though alcohol could make one bold, this did not seem to be the case with Sarah. After seeing Harry in person, she immediately became weak and wanted to retreat. ¡°Y-You¡­ just wait! I¡¯lle and sleep with you another day!¡± Harry then took a few steps forward and grabbed her. ¡°Come on then! Let¡¯s sleep together!¡± The two then dragged and pulled each other as they entered the room. After they closed the door, Linus had no idea what happened next¡­ Half an hour after Sophia left, Linus finally heard something from Harry¡¯s guest room. At this point, half of Sarah¡¯s face was wrapped in Harry¡¯s ck towel as she came out of the room, but Linus could tell how blushed her face was. After that, she walked up to Linus and said to him, ¡°Linus, I¡¯m going now. If Sophia asks about me, please tell her that I went homest night.¡± Being the understanding person that he was, Linus responded, ¡°Uh-huh. Consider it done.¡± After hearing that, Sarah left the house rather surreptitiously while Harry followed from behind. The sight of this made Linusugh asst night, he had noticed how Sarah kept peeking at Harry, who also asionally stared at her. After leaving Vi No. 2, Sarah looked extremely suspicious as she walked on the street. It was as if she was afraid to be recognized. Seeing the terrified and insecure look on her face, Harry, while following her,mented, ¡°Look at that. Weren¡¯t you extremely bold and fearlessst night? Why do you look so terrified now?¡± Perturbed, Sarah responded, ¡°Please keep your volume down!¡± As such, Harry silently followed her until she blurted out, ¡°Stay away from me.¡± Still remaining silent, Harry steered clear of her. Finally, Sarah made it to the entrance only to see Sophia through the windows of the security booth. At this point, Sophia seemed to be guarding the entrance to see if she could see Sarah as she reckoned that Sarah might still be within the vicinity of The Imperial. She doesn¡¯t have a dog. Where on earth did that old wolf-doge from? Was that old wolf-dog¡­ Harry? She might have really slept with Harryst night. I¡¯m going to catch her red-handed and set her up with him again. The exemry couple, Michael and Harry, made Sophia feel incredibly uneasy, so she reckoned that she had to break them up. Seeing that Sophia was at the entrance, Sarah did not dare to go any closer. After finding a shrub nearby, she quickly went and hid behind it while Harry followed suit. Then, the two of them stared at Sophia, who was sitting inside the security booth. Fortunately, Sophia brought her studying materials with her, so she could study while waiting for Sarah. It seemed like she would not leave until she saw Sarah. Upon seeing that, Sarah panicked. ¡°What should we do? I can¡¯t let Sophia see me!¡± The sight of Sarah¡¯s round and cute face delighted Harry. He then put his arm around her shoulders and said, pretending to frown, ¡°It¡¯s not as difficult as you think! Why don¡¯t we go to my house as I have an underground passage that you can use to sneak out.¡± Sarah was stunned as she heard that. ¡°You have an underground passage?¡± Harry responded, ¡°Uh-huh. I¡¯m a celebrity. What should I do if the paparazzi decided to block my driveway one day? The underground passage is for emergency use, and it links to a garage in the next neighborhood.¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Hearing that, Sarah gave him a jolt and said, ¡°Bring me there now!¡± Then, Harry took her home. This property of his rarely had visitors, perhaps just some asional cleaners, so his ce was empty and dark. After opening the door, Sarah frowned as she stuck her neck in and looked around. ¡°This ce is dark.¡± At this moment, the lights were off, and the curtains were closed, so the living room was dark. It was like the abysmal mouth of a giant monster¡ªgloomy and eerie. Feeling rather scared, Sarah did not want to go in. Right at this point, Harry gave her a push. ¡°Let¡¯s go in now. You¡¯ll be in big trouble if anyone sees you!¡± Then, they both went into the house. Right after he closed the door behind him, he unleashed his inner ¡®Old Wolf¡¯¡­ Even though The Imperial had a back entrance, it was nheless guarded. Sophia had already asked the security on both sides to inform her the moment they saw Sarah. However, after the entire afternoon, when she had already memorized hundreds of words and solved many equations, Sarah was still nowhere to be seen. However, when it was almost dark, Harry was seen driving his car and leaving The Imperial. After stopping at the security booth, he rolled down the window to show his gorgeous face. ¡°Look at you, Sophia; what brought you here?¡± Coming out of the security booth, Sophia looked inside Harry¡¯s car. ¡°Uncle Harry, where are you going?¡± The back seat was empty. Harry responded, ¡°I just got up not long ago, so I¡¯m going to grab a bite.¡± After the car was driven a distance away from The Imperial, Sarah pushed the back seat down from the trunk and slowly got into the back seat. When she found out that they had finally left The Imperial, she sat in the back seat, feeling exhausted and worn out, but like she had no more regrets in life. Just because Harry said that he had an underground passage, she blindly followed him to his ce. Who knew that Harry eventually took her to a room and told her that was where the underground passage was. After entering the room, there was no underground passage, but a bed. Just like that, he f*cked her for the entire afternoon. Chapter 522 Chapter 522 While Sarah feltpletely worn out, Harry, on the flip side, was in a good mood. Throughout the entire car ride to Sarah¡¯s ce, he whistled all the time. Ever since he found out that she was the famous Little Kitten on Twitter, he was determined to find out everything about her, including where she lived. Just as there was a top fan named ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ in Taylor¡¯s fan group, there was also a top fan named ¡®Little Kitten¡¯ in Harry¡¯s fan group. Little Kitten was almost as crazy as Eddie when it came to idolizing stars. Not only did she turn Harry into the main character of her dirtyics that had be a sess, but she also spent a lot of money purchasing posters and watching his films. Every time Harry had a new film, Little Kitten would rent the big screen in the biggest mall in Bayside City to promote the new film for half a month. Even though these actions were dumb, Harry was greatly moved by them. Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org. Right now, Sarah felt conflicted. Even though her biggest dream as a fan was to sleep with Harry, now that it happened, she felt somewhat lost. When the car went past a pharmacy, she shouted, ¡°Stop the car! I need to buy some medication.¡± While parking the car, Harry asked, ¡°What medication?¡± Not saying a word, Sarah got out of the car after the car came to a halt. She quickly rushed to the pharmacy just to stop right outside the entrance for a good instant. A few secondster, she returned to the car and got into the passenger seat¡ªshe was silent while her face was flushed. Harry asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you need to get medication? Why didn¡¯t you go in?¡± Feeling extremely embarrassed and scared, Sarah replied, ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± Harry shook his head in annoyance before taking out his wallet and phone. ¡°What do you need? I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± After stammering for a good while, Sarah finally uttered something, ¡°That one¡­¡± Harry understood what she meant. So, he got out of the car while trying to drag her down the car at the same time. ¡°Let me go. I¡¯m not going¡­¡± Sarah tried hard to break away from his grasp. Still holding onto her arm, Harry replied, ¡°I won¡¯t go alone to get ¡®that¡¯ medication. I¡¯m embarrassed.¡± As such, Harry finally managed to drag Sarah into the pharmacy while Sarah¡¯s entire face was wrapped up, showing only her eyes. Still looking gorgeous, Harry then walked into the pharmacy and stood in front of the counter. ¡°A morning-after pill please.¡± Following that, Harry ced a one hundred bill on the counter. All of a sudden, the pharmacist and everyone else in the store turned over and looked at Sarah. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Harry Winston?¡± ¡°Oh my. Look at thatdy next to him. She must be his girlfriend. She has the same hairstyle as the person in the picture!¡± Hearing that, Sarah ced her hands on her face and stormed out of the store. Seeing that, Harry could not help but chuckle. Finally, Harry collected the change, medication, and water before returning to the car under the shlights of numerous phone cameras. After getting into the car, he saw Sarah who was all curled up in the seat¡ªshe looked like she wanted to bury her head in the ground due to embarrassment. ¡°There you go.¡± Harry then opened the water bottle and unwrapped the packaging of the morning after pill for her. Sarah took them right away. After that, she finally felt somewhat at ease. While fastening his seat belt, Harrymented, ¡°This pill isn¡¯t good for you. Let¡¯s just make this time an exception. I¡¯ll wear a condom next time.¡± These words agitated Sarah as she railed, ¡°Dream on!¡± Hearing that response, Harry tried to agitate her further. ¡°Fine. I won¡¯t use a condom next time; I¡¯ll just pull out before I ejacte.¡± Sarah was so angry that her face was beet-red. ¡°There¡¯s no next time!¡± The car engine was ignited again, and Harry, sitting in the driver¡¯s seat, said in a provocative tone, ¡°Isn¡¯t the biggest dream in your life to have sex with me? I made that happen, so why aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Harry knew about Little Kitten¡¯s existence seven years ago when she was still an innocent girl. At the time, her watercolor drawing of Harry¡¯s film poster was extremely hideous. However, she did not seem to be ashamed of that. After drawing that picture, she even posted it on her Twitter ount for Harry to see. At that time, what was on her mind was that since Harry had tens of millions of fans, given the numerous messages and tweets he received daily, there was no chance he would ever see her drawing. That was what gave her the motivation to post that hideous drawing. Much to her surprise, Harry did see it as it was so hideous that it attracted his attention. Not only so, but he even read every single message and tweet from her, but because of how ugly that drawing was, he did not want to respond to any of her messages and tweets. Year after year, she would post one drawing once every couple of days, and Harry had witnessed her improvements. Right now, her drawing of him was a sophisticated illustration with special effects done on theputer. As time went by, her followers started to increase. From a nobody, she had gradually be a well-known artist in that circle. Sarah did not know what to say in response to his provocative words, so she took out her phone and started using it to distract herself. Right at this moment, she noticed that Harry¡¯s previous tweet was still there, and she realized that thedy in the picture was her. Seeing that, she quickly shouted, ¡°Delete this tweet!¡± Harry responded, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± While driving attentively, he continued, ¡°You can just change your profile picture.¡± Meanwhile, Sarah¡¯s cheeks flushed red while she pretended to scroll through her Twitter feed in a serious manner. The West Family was a new elite family in town, and they managed a huge family business. However, business was never Sarah¡¯s cup of tea since young; she had always liked drawing, so she had opened an ount on Amazon to sell her drawings. Slowly, she became an influencer on all the major artist groups on Twitter, going around selling her signed artworks and receivingmissions. Now, she even had her own business, so she was fully independent by now. As of now, she had almost a million Twitter followers, and she was also the most frequent user on Twitter when it came to news on Harry. She ran several fan groups rted to Harry on Twitter. Apart from her Twitter ount, all her other social media ounts had the same profile picture that had this one line: no sex with Harry Winston, no new profile picture. Staring at her Twitter profile picture, she was conflicted as to whether to change it or not. Since Harry posted that picture of the two of them, her Twitter feed was overloaded with tweets from other fans trying tofort her. ¡°Little Kitten, don¡¯t cry; be strong! In our heart, you will forever be Mrs. Winston!¡± ¡°Tonight, we are fellow little kittens supporting you!¡± After dinner, Harry dropped Sarah off at the entrance of the West Residence. Right after she opened the door, she jumped out of the car and ran off. Upon entering her room, she closed the door and jumped into her bed, her heart still thumping hard. Ever since Harry tweeted that picture, the entire Twitterverse was overloaded with responses. At this time, Sophia had been paying particr attention to Sarah¡¯s Twitter ount. Finally, three dayster, Sarah uploaded a new dirtyic on her Twitter feed, and this time, the character was Linus¡­ For the past couple of days, Sophia had been at home in The Imperial sorting out the old belongings of Annabel from the Johnson Family. There were the clothes that Annabel used to wear, her photo albums, her diaries, and so on. Apart from those that were still with the Edwards Family, Sophia nheless received many of Annabel¡¯s belongings, including clothes that she wore while she was pregnant, her old diaries, and old photographs that she took. Ever since the Johnson Family found that Sophia had made a name of herself here, they quickly came to visit her. To get on her good side, they brought Annabel¡¯s old belongings with them as Sophia had been wanting to collect them but had not been able to find the time to do so. Finally, she was able to have them. Putting on a diffuser with a calming essential oil and turning on the heating, Sophia sat by the French window, attentively reading Annabel¡¯s diary. On that yellowed diary were pages full of pen-written words. Sophia could still recognize that handwriting: shapeless, twisted, and ugly, but each word was sincere and real. Flipping through the pages in the faint sunlight, Sophia seemingly saw a pregnantdy sitting at a desk and writing. Looking lonely and despaired, her words emanated sadness but at the same time, hope. This diary was written for her unborn child. Chapter 523 Chapter 523 ¡°My child, you may have to leave me not long after youe into this world. If you happen to read this diary someday, please remember that both your father and I love you. Your father is a nice and kind man; in fact, he¡¯s the best man and best father in the world. If one day you happen to read this diary, please go and find your father. His name is Cooper Mitchell, but he doesn¡¯t know about your existence. If you see him, tell him that I still miss him, and I¡¯m still alive.¡± Tears streamed down Sophia¡¯s face incessantly as she read those simple words that were so genuine. Then, she continued, ¡®I had an ultrasound today. My goodness¡ª¡± As she flipped to the next page to find out what came after that sentence, she realized that the next few pages had seemingly been torn off. ¡°Huh? Where¡¯s the rest?¡± She then went on to search through Annabel¡¯s belongings, hoping to find the few missing pages, but her effort was to no avail. Did those pages go missing some time in the past twenty years? She instantly felt dejected as she wanted to look at the ultrasound images. She then wiped away her tears on her face and proceeded to put Annabel¡¯s belongings, especially that diary, away in a box that sheter put a lock on. If one day she happened to meet Cooper, she thought she would pass all these belongings to him. It had been twenty-two years, and so many things had changed. She wondered if that was also the case with Cooper. Meanwhile, in Michael¡¯s office, while he was flipping through a thick dictionary, he found a few pages from a diary that had already turned yellowish; they looked like they were torn from a diary. The first page read: ¡®I¡¯m pregnant with twins! Coop, did you hear that? We¡¯re going to have two kids! Earlier today, I heard from Liam and my father that they were nning on sending me and my babies to the Edwards Family in exchange for some money. No way. Not a chance! I¡¯ll never return to the Edwards residence, and our babies can never go there too. I need to think of a way. Since I can¡¯t be there for my babies, I¡¯m going to find someone to take care of them. Coop, you won¡¯t me me for that, will you?¡± In between those yellowish pages was an old ultrasound image in which twins were seen hugging each other. Seeing that, Michael was extremely intrigued by it, and he stared at it for a good instant. So this is chica¡¯s first-ever ultrasound¡­ Eventually, he ced the image and the diary pages into a special storage device. He reckoned that it would be better to keep some of these things from Sophia for the time being. What mattered the most to her right now should be happiness, wealth, and her husband; nothing else should matter. On the other side, the Johnson Family had been trying to reach Sophia on her phone for the umpteenth time. ¡°Sophia, since you¡¯ve already obtained five percent of the shares from the Edwards Family and have also be their daughter, please help me and my family out. Your elder and second brothers are getting married soon, and their inws have asked for more than three hundred thousand worth of wedding gifts¡­¡± ¡°Go and earn the money yourself!¡± Sophia angrily hung up the phone. Ever since they found out that she was a fraudster, Joe and the Johnson Family often called her to ask for money. Joe was trying to get back his shares in thepany and sue Sophia for fraud, while the Johnson Family simply wanted some money. However, Sophia told herself that she would never give them a single penny. After hanging up the phone, before she could review too many questions on her study materials, Liam called again. ¡°Sophia, you b*tch! Don¡¯t forget who brought you up and who¡ª¡± All of a sudden, Sophia interrupted with a cynical sneer. ¡°Moron. If I didn¡¯t treat you as my uncle, I would¡¯ve called the police to arrest you already. Get lost!¡± After hanging up the phone, Sophia was no longer in the mood to study. Shey on the table and started to breathe heavily. All of a sudden, some of the bad memories of her younger days came back to her because of her recent interactions with the Johnson Family. She told herself that she hated the Johnson Family, Liam, and every living member of the Johnson Family. Outside of The Imperial, Natasha showed up again; she was still dressed immactely while carrying thetest Gi handbag. While entering themunity, her car was stopped by security. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± the security asked rather impatiently. A big smile washed over Natasha¡¯s face as she responded, ¡°I received an invitation from Linus from Vi No. 2 toe and visit him. My name is Natasha Mitchell.¡± ¡°Please hold on a second.¡± The security guard proceeded to ring up Vi No. 2, and since today was the weekend, Linus was at home. As the call got through, Linus picked it up. ¡°Hello, is this Mr. Michel from Vi No. 2? You have a visitor named Natasha Mitchell. Do you know her?¡± Meanwhile, Natasha was eagerly waiting in her car. Even though her uncle had already moved out from The Imperial, she reckoned that she still had ways to sneak in. Much to her surprise, Linus¡¯ voice sounded out from the hands-free device, saying, ¡°I don¡¯t know her.¡± After hanging up the phone, the security guard rudely chased Natasha away. ¡°Go away!¡± Natasha could not believe what she just heard. How could Linus say that he did not know her? This doesn¡¯t seem right. Linus must have heard it wrong. She right away gave Linus a call, which was answered by Linus¡¯ assistant. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but today¡¯s Mr. Michel¡¯s day off, so he won¡¯t ept any visitors.¡± Then, his assistant hung up the phone, leaving Natasha in shock and disbelief as she stared at her phone. No. This must be a misunderstanding. Linus would never treat me like that! Natasha would not leave. She then insisted, ¡°No. I need to go in and see Mr. Michel. I have an appointment made already.¡± Having lost his patience with Natasha, the security guard ordered around a dozen strong men who came out of the seemingly small booth. The security then responded, ¡°Miss Mitchell, if you insist on not leaving, we can only resort to coercive measures.¡± Looking at the group of strong and tall men, Natasha reluctantly asked her driver to drive away. As the car left The Imperial, Natasha still would not give up on calling Linus, hoping she could use her rtionship with Linus to enter The Imperial to find someone. However, right now, she could not even get through to Linus¡¯ assistant¡¯s number. That was herst hope as she did not know Linus¡¯ndline number nor his personal number. Feeling agitated, she threw her phone away and looked up just to see Liam, Sophia¡¯s poor uncle, and his wife as they were walking alongside the road. It would appear that they were also here to find Sophia. While walking, they were cursing at the same time. All of a sudden, Natasha got an idea: she could perhaps use Liam and his wife to make a scene in order to embarrass Sophia; the bigger the scene, the better. It would be best if it could cause Bayside University to expel Sophia. Liam was not the best example. Based on Natasha¡¯s investigation, Liam used to be a teacher at a public elementary school. It was a stable job with a promising future career in education. However, he was fired from his job after that and went to a private school to be a teacher. The reason he was dismissed from his job was not disclosed, but based on what Natasha found out, it was because he harassed several female students in his ss. After the parentsined, his school decided to fire him right away in order to protect their reputation. At this moment, Natasha asked her driver to pull up to the side of the road for her to get down. Before she got out of the car, she heard the angry voice of Liam¡¯s wife. ¡°That f*cking b*tch! If she refuses to give us money again next time, I¡¯m going to let everyone know about all the bad things that she did back in the days. I¡¯m going to let people know that she¡¯s nothing but trash!¡± Liam responded, ¡°Please lower your volume¡­¡± Liam¡¯s wife responded, ¡°What are you afraid of? I¡¯m not making things up. Since little, she¡¯s always been a flirty show-off, and I¡¯ve kept every single picture of hers!¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Natasha¡¯s eyes lit up as she heard that. Does this family know something about Sophia that she¡¯s been trying to keep away from everyone else? Chapter 524 Chapter 524 The car came to a stop. The cursinging from Liam and his wife halted as well. Spinning around, they saw the limited-edition luxury car that was parked next to them and Natasha who got off from it. Immediately, both of them ttered, ¡°It¡¯s you, Miss Mitchell!¡± Looking at the eyes that were filled with greed, Natasha took out a bank card from her bag. ¡°I¡¯m very interested in what you guys said earlier, including the pictures. If you tell me honestly, the one million in this bank card will be yours.¡± The couple fixed their gazes on the bank card; their eyes shed with green lights¡­ In the meantime, winter had visited Bayside City. When the snow came, the Imperial weed Linus as its new resident and a luxurious housewarming party was in preparation. A thinyer of snow fell on the ground, covering the earth with in silver clothing. The temperature dropped significantly, and breath froze into ice the moment one were to exhale. Michael had filmed more than half of his shots for the documentary film. When he finished one of the shots wlessly, Michael, who was only wearing a singleyer of garment, was trembling. He took the down jacket that was handed over to him by Hale and took a sip of warm water. While he was doing that, he nced at Harry, who was scrolling through his Twitter feed. Harry was stalking Little Kitten¡¯s ount again. After he discovered that Linus was gay, Harry found that he was no longer the only protagonist in Little Kitten¡¯s dirtyics. As he was thinking about that, he felt a little disappointed¡­ Soon after Michael took another few sips of warm water, he checked the time on his watch. The sky was getting darker, and Sophia was about to leave the campus. It was almost time for him to go home and have a warm meal while cuddling with his wife. However, Hale came toward him with a solemn expression while he held onto his phone. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s Young Master Stan.¡± Noticing Hale¡¯s serious expression, Michael¡¯s heart sank. It had been a while since hest saw Hale looking so serious. Thest time was when the Fletchers called and informed him that Celine and Justin had had an ident. Taking a deep breath, Michael answered the call. On the other end, Stanley was sobbing. ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m really sorry¡­ Aunt saw the posts and she ran out from the ssroom. I searched the whole campus along with Sean, but we couldn¡¯t find her. Uncle Michael¡ª¡± ¡°Post? What post?¡± Michael¡¯s brain exploded, but he tried to keep calm. However, there was only the sound of Stanley¡¯s criesing from the other side of the phone. At this moment, Harry suddenly came over and patted his shoulder. ¡°Look at this, bro.¡± Taking Harry¡¯s phone, Michael quickly skimmed through the information. Instantly, Hale saw a furious expression on Michael¡¯s face; it was something he had never seen on him. When Michael received the news of Celine¡¯s ident, he was sad. But this time, he was absolutely enraged! His wrath had reached its extreme, and Michael was looking like a beast. One could see the turbulence in his scarlet eyes.This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Hale knew that something big must have happened this time! Putting away Harry¡¯s phone, Michael left the set without a word. Even Harry set off with him quickly with a sullen face. A storm wasing to Bayside City! In the meantime, Linus was sitting in the president¡¯s office of the Michel Group¡¯s Bayside City branch. He did not have any sses for the day and had been dealing with thepany¡¯s work all day. From the window of his office, he could overlook the entire ancient Imperial Pce and the building of Asco International that was not far away. One day, he would also be able to own a ce on thisnd. After working for a whole day, Linus stood in front of the window with a cup of coffee in his hand. While he was enjoying the magnificent view of Bayside City, a wave of panic surged through his heart; his heartbeat elerated suddenly. Linus¡¯s form began to shake, and the coffee cup in his grip fell to the ground at once. In an instant, the robot vacuum came over and cleaned up the shattered cup and stains. At the same time, the healthcare provider robot was activated. It scanned Linus¡¯ entire body and reported, ¡°Mr. Michel, I¡¯ve detected an abnormal condition in your body. Do you need me to contact the family doctor?¡± Leaning himself against the chair as he took a seat, Linus found his hands trembling badly. He felt an overwhelming panic and a heart-piercing agony in his heart. What is happening to me? Knowing that this was not a physical but a psychological problem, he instantly said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± The robot left. Linus tried to rx for a while, but the indescribable feeling in his heart did not fade away. Suddenly, he felt something wet on the back of his hand. Taking a nce, it turned out to be drops of tears¡­ Immediately, Linus touched his face in shock. I¡¯m crying?! It seemed like he could not control his own emotions. All he wanted to do now was to cry, and he had never felt this way before. When he decided to call his doctor, a familiar face suddenly appeared in his mind¡ªSophia! A voice seemed to be telling him that something had happened to Sophia! He quickly called Sophia, but Stanley was the one who picked up the phone. ¡°Linus, my aunt left the campus alone. It¡¯s getting dark and we couldn¡¯t find her at all. She didn¡¯t bring her phone; not even her bracelet! I can¡¯t find her!¡± Stanley was sobbing. Linus stood up at once. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, Stan. Tell me what happened. Why did Sophia run away?¡± Stanley said, ¡°Check the news of Bayside University now.¡± Ending the call, Linus switched to the search engine on his phone and looked up the news. He found that a news article rted to Bayside University had appeared on the hot topic of most of the major search engines today. ¡®The Campus Belle of Bayside University Was Raped! Pictures and Proof!¡¯ Clicking into the news, there were several unclear photos that seemed to be taken years ago. The background of the photos looked like a haystack in a vige. There were three to four boys who were between the ages of seventeen or eighteen. They were pressing a girl into the haystack, and her body waspletely exposed under the camera lens. The girl was crying in despair. Her mouth was wide open; despair and agony were written all over her young face. Her dirty face was covered in dust; half of it was beaten up and swollen. The one who had taken the photo must have been someone older looking from the hand he had stretched out while taking the photo. Even from the photo, one could imagine how disgusting the photographer would have looked. The girl was crying, but the one who molested her wasughing. Looking at the faces of those persons, blood gushed over Linus¡¯ head. His eyes turned scarlet and he felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe. Tears were flowing from his eyes and his trembling hands could no longer hold on to his phone. All he could do was watch his phone fall off from his palm. It was because of the girl in the photo¡ªit was Sophia! Who are these people? How could they hurt her like that? And who is the one who posted the photos on the inte? mming the door, Linus went out¡­ His assistant saw a bloodthirsty look that he had never seen before on Linus¡¯s usually gentle face. Chapter 525 Chapter 525 In Bayside University, the school administrators, who were supposed to have gone off from work, were called back for an emergency meeting. The purpose was toe out with a countermeasure against the sudden scandal. Sophia was Miss Misty of Bayside University, and she was also the leading female character of the university promotional video. The university was extremely attentive now that something like that had happened to her. They had to take the matter seriously. Not only was the main character of the news the golden star of the university, but she was also the campus belle. The news was very eye-catching, and it was only in a blink of an eye that it had taken over the inte. Bayside University had to quickly and properly deal with it. Someone in the meeting demanded, ¡°We need to release a statement to exin that this person is not our student. We can then deal with Sophia Edwardster. The university¡¯s reputation should be our top priority.¡± ¡°No way! The news is already out. To gloss things over isn¡¯t the best way. We must make a police report!¡± another one argued. ¡°The smaller the impact, the better it would be. If we were to spread the news out, it would do no good for both the university and the students. We need to deny the rtionship of the university with the news immediately!¡± The crowd was arguing endlessly, and no conclusion was drawn. However, the vice-chancellor had not spoken; he was only looking at the crowd with a gloomy expression. All of a sudden, a bunch of students broke in from outside. They were led by the president of the student union and some of the student leaders¡ªNatasha was among them. In all righteousness, the president of the student union came in and demanded, ¡°Sophia¡¯s news has had too much impact on the students. We can no longer raise our heads whenever we go outside. We ask the university to issue a statement as soon as possible to clear the rtionship between the university and Sophia. We hope that the university can expel her promptly!¡± Many students had broken into a discussion with the school administrators. Everyone was trying to make their own point, demanding the university to deny any connection with Sophia. Even Natasha had put on a mask of pretense and said, ¡°I think the top priority now is for the university to deny its rtionship with Sophia. The girls from our university are being criticized whenever we leave the campus.¡± The school administrators discussed the matter over and over again, and they finally came out with the safest conclusion they could think of. The university would release a statement to rify the rtionship and they would privately restrict Sophia¡¯s activities. When necessary, they would expel her in order to preserve the reputation of Bayside University. Listening to the decision, Natasha was secretly d. Let¡¯s see how Sophia can turn over this time! I heard that she ran away when she heard the news! Where is she now? Perhaps she¡¯smitted suicide! How can she still live in this world after experiencing such a thing? The school administrators had begun to distribute the work. Seeing that the vice-chancellor had not spoken, someone asked, ¡°Benedict, why aren¡¯t you saying something? Tell us your opinion!¡± The vice-chancellor remained cold, and there was a cold smile hanging at the corners of his mouth. As he rose to his feet, his firm voice spread across the conference room. ¡°Everyone¡­¡± His sharp eyes swept over the crowd. As someone who had once served as a soldier, his aura was different from everyone present at the scene. In just a moment, the crowd was suppressed by his strong aura, and they were whispering under their breath. Firmly, the vice-chancellor said, ¡°I have a question for you. Did Bayside University do something to disrupt the order of things?¡± No one answered his question. He went on, ¡°Or, did any of you do something that was against reason and nature?¡± There was still no answer. The crowd could sense the wrath that was emanating from the vice- chancellor. They knew that he was very furious at the moment. The vice chancellor¡¯s sharp eyes swept across the crowd again. Coldly, he said, ¡°Since every one of you and the university isn¡¯t guilty, why should we be worried about the university¡¯s reputation? Does the century-old reputation of Bayside University rely on expelling students that are victimized in order to maintain its glory?¡± ¡°Is the reputation of our Bayside University¡ªthe most prestigious university in Cethos¡ªso vulnerable and pretentious?¡± ¡°Sophia was only eight years old back then. What did she know? What could she have done? She is the victim. Why should the victim pay for the consequences brought to her by the wrongdoer?¡± His words were firm and impactful; they pierced through the souls of everyone present at the scene, and no one was brave enough to answer. In the silence, Natasha was the first to stand up. Without fear, she faced the vice-chancellor and protested, ¡°Mr. Vice-Chancellor, I know Sophia has always been one of your favorite students. However, things have happened. No matter whose fault it was, she has caused substantial damage to the reputation of Bayside University. She must be held responsible for this. It is not only for the sake of the Bayside University but also the reputation of the students from the entire university!¡± The students behind her were all in agreement as her words seemed to make a lot of sense. Looking at Natasha and her followers, the vice-chancellor shed them an icy smile. With a teasing tone, he said, ¡°Huh! I¡¯m very sorry, then! It seems like Bayside University¡¯s scandal has troubled most of you. Can you guys pleasee over and sign your names? I¡¯ll erase them from the system immediately. From now on, you guys will have nothing to do with Bayside University, and you will never be burdened by the university anymore.¡± No one dared to speak¡ªnot even Natasha who had argued fiercely just now. The vice-chancellor was threatening them tantly. If anyone dared to say something more, they would be expelled! The conference room finally quietened down. With a m on the table, the vice-chancellor ordered, ¡°Issue a statement immediately and say that Bayside University will investigate the matter to the end. Since the victim is our student, the university cannot just sit idly by and watch her suffer for the second time!¡± ¡°Call the police! Now! Let them find the one who posted the news, including those who hadmitted the crime! It is up to the police to decide the sentence!¡± Although there were people who were in disagreement, none dared to speak out because they had never seen their vice-chancellor so worked up before. Since everyone dared not say anything, the meeting was dismissed. Natasha could only stomp away in dissatisfaction. Even if Sophia is not expelled, she wouldn¡¯t dare toe back to campus anymore! On the other side, Michael had rushed to the campus to meet up with Stanley. Stanley was exining to him what had just happened as he cried. ¡°I left for a while after ss was over. By the time I came back, I heard that Sophia had run out crying all of a sudden!¡± ¡°The post is all over the inte now. Sean is removing them from all of the tforms. The person on the other side is clearly doing this with a n. Someone had even printed the photos and posted them on the university¡¯s bulletin board. The entire university now knows that Sophia was molested when she was a child!¡± Michael¡¯s brain was constantly buzzing. Closing his eyes and opening it at the next moment, Sophia¡¯s face that was filled with despair and agony kept on appearing before his eyes. His heart was bleeding. As soon as he finished listening to Stanley¡¯s exnation, he said nothing, but turned around and left in a hurry. Stanley followed suit immediately. The underworld of Bayside City was all on the move to look for Sophia with the Bayside University as their focus. She didn¡¯t bring her wallet and phone; there was no way she could have gone far. Michael was prepared for the worst. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Keep an eye over all waters and high-rise buildings,¡± he said to Harry. Of course, thest thing he wanted was to find Sophia in the mentioned ces. Harry walked away without a word; the horrifying expression on Harry¡¯s face was something one had never seen on him before. At the Fletcher Residence, the moment Joel got the call from Stanley, he had sent people out to search for Sophia. Staring at the photo that had been circted throughout all of Bayside City in just one day, Joel¡¯s eyes reddened. Chapter 526 Chapter 526 ¡°Joel?¡± Irene¡¯s voice rose suddenly. She was curious when she saw anger emanating from Joel, and hence she asked in nervousness. Putting his phone away, Joel put on his hat and suddenly walked toward Irene. Solemnly, he called out, ¡°Irene Weber.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Irene looked up and met his eyes. Joel¡¯s eyes were as ruthless as they had ever been. As if he was giving a military order, he announced, ¡°Today, I¡¯m breaking up with you officially.¡± Irene was shocked. A breakup¡­ When she had finally returned to her senses, Joel had already gone far. Staring at his disappearing figure in a daze, Irene was not as disappointed as she had imagined she would be. On the contrary, she felt that the enormous rock in her heart had finally fallen. Breaking up¡ªisn¡¯t this what I¡¯ve been looking forward to? She knew there was no hope for marriage, but Joel¡¯s ruthlessness had gone beyond her imagination¡­ Because Linus had only arrived in Bayside City not too long ago, he didn¡¯t have a strong foundation. However, he still sent out everyone he had to join the search. At the same time, since Linus was an expert in electronics and the inte, with the cooperation of Sean, they had taken down all the photos on the inte and reduced the impact to its lowest. He didn¡¯t know why he was so attached to someone whom he had only known for a few months. After arranging and dispatching some of his manpower, Linus rushed out the door in a hurry. When he went out, he saw snow falling from the sky. It¡¯s gettingte. Where are you? Are you cold? Wrapping himself in the down jacket tightly, Linus still felt cold. However, that was someone else¡¯s cold that he was feeling¡­ He called Stanley. ¡°Stan, has Sophia ever run out like this before? Where would she go if she ran out?¡± Stanley was still looking for Sophia along with Michael. They had been to every ce she would usually go, but they found nothing. Wiping his tears away, Stanley said, ¡°We¡¯ve searched those ces all over; she wasn¡¯t there. She didn¡¯t bring her wallet and her phone, there¡¯s no way she would go far.¡± Hanging up the phone, Stanley looked toward Michael and said, ¡°Linus and Sean have removed all the posts. Sean has also found the person who posted it.¡± Michael said nothing. His face was full of gloom, and a thinyer of snow umted on the crown of his head. He said, ¡°Stay in touch with Linus. He might know where Sophia is.¡± Twins shared a special connection and they were telepathic; Linus might know where Sophia had gone. On the other side, Linus had been driving around Bayside University after ending the call. Where would you have gone? All of a sudden, an image appeared in his mind. An old bench was sitting alone below a decaying willow tree, and there was a river flowing quietly by the side. A month ago, Sophia had posted a photo like that on her IG Stories. She said that was a ce her parents had been to in the past. Bayside Park! Immediately, Linus drove to the park. The sky was getting dark and the park was closed. Linus wandered around the park¡¯s fences for a while and found footprints on one of the lower fences. Climbing over it, he went into the park. Following the picture she posted, he found the river in an instant. His steps were quiet. On a snowy night, the world was silent. asionally, the crisp sound of branches breaking from the weight of umted snow could be heard. As he walked, he tried to keep his steps gentle; he was too afraid to disturb the peaceful silence of the park. Instead of shouting for Sophia, he walked along the river. After a few minutes, he heard someone sobbing in the silence. Instantly, Linus was overjoyed. Quickening his pace, he darted forward and saw a tiny figure sitting under a small tree. The figure was curled up and trembling in the cold. ¡°Sophia!¡± Linus couldn¡¯t help but call out. The figure heard his voice, stood up, and ran. Linus immediately followed after her and pulled her into his embrace. When he held Sophia in his arms, he felt like he was holding a pile of ice. She was stiff all over and her hair was damp and frozen. She was drenched in tears. Even though ten years had passed, she still looked like the little girl in the photos: helpless, hopeless, and vulnerable. Linus hugged her with all his might, trying to warm up her freezing body. From N?velDrama.Org. After struggling for a while in his embrace, Sophia stopped moving. Instead, she continued to cry in despair. Burying his face into her dampened hair, Linus was overwhelmed with a burst of heartache he had never felt before. His eyes felt sore all of a sudden, and tears started rolling down his cheeks. He let go of her and quickly took off his down jacket to wrap her in it. Cupping her freezing face, he whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all right now. Everything is over now.¡± Sophia was already choked with sobs that she could not say anything. Her eyes were swollen and she was soaked and freezing all over. She wanted to talk, but when her mouth opened, there was only more sobbing. Even her lips were numb. ¡°Come on. Let me take you home!¡± Linus grabbed hold of her hand and tried to pull her out. However, Sophia tugged him from behind. It seemed like she didn¡¯t want to go home yet. Turning around and looking at her wrinkled face, Linus whispered, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Choking on her own tears, she sobbed, ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home now.¡± She didn¡¯t know how to face Michael and everyone else. Fixing his eyes on her, Linus held her cold hands in his palms to warm her up. Knowing that her emotions were probably all over the ce and she didn¡¯t want to go home, Linus said patiently, ¡°Then let¡¯s find a warmer ce to sit down, okay?¡± Sophia¡¯s tear continued to fall and she didn¡¯t answer. He dragged her, and she followed suit. Immediately, Linus took her to a ce sheltered from the wind and they sat down. He fished out a lighter from his down jacket, and found some dry leaves and branches in the woods. In a short moment, he lit a fire. The me rose, and Sophia sat in front of it to warm up her freezing body. She stared at the fire in a daze; mes danced in her eyes. Her face was slightly numb and her mouth felt dry. She had been doing a lot of thinking. That was the darkest time in her life; it was the moment she wanted to forget forever. However, everything was presented in front of her like a scab being torn apart. The hideous flesh and bloody wound beneath was exposed. It was unpleasantly stinky and unbearably painful. The wound that she didn¡¯t want to show to anyone was exposed in such a terrible manner to the public. That kind of feeling was traumatizing. She felt like her soul was stripped away from her utterly. Linus was very fortunate to find a carton of chocte milk in his bag. He put it near the fire to heat it before handing it to Sophia. Taking the milk from him, Sophia took a few sips. Her mouth was dry, but her stomach felt a lot better after she drank some milk. She continued to stare at the fire. Her face felt numb and cold after being washed by tears. When the fire heated her face up, she seemed to be covered by ayer of film, and it was very ufortable. In just one breath, Sophia finished up the milk and threw the packaging into the fire. Using a stick, she picked at the box and it was quickly burned to ashes by the me. Linus didn¡¯t call Stanley; he wanted to stay alone with Sophia for a while. After a long while, he said, ¡°You should go home earlier. He¡¯s looking everywhere for you.¡± Something in Sophia¡¯s eyes shed; a subtle light seemed to glisten from them. Tightening the down jacket Linus had given to her, she shrank her face into the clothing, looking like a tortoise hiding into its shell. She wanted to go home too. But, her scars were torn apart so severely. She felt like there was an unbearable smell exuding from her. How could she expect Michael to ept her? Chapter 527 Chapter 527 Sometimes, she would rather she had never been to this world before. There were also times that she would think of the past, and she would hate herself and the whole world. Back then, she was only three or four years old. She was ignorant and would run around in her open- crotch pants. When her uncle offered to bathe her, she always agreed without knowing anything. Her two older cousins often bullied her. They were still kids when that photo was taken. They were ignorant, but Liam was old enough to be sensible. However, instead of stopping them, he took out his phone to take pictures. If it weren¡¯t for her grandma, who arrived in time and shooed everyone away¡­ Before her grandmother passed away, she seemed to have sensed something. Earnestly, she warned her not to let any man simply touch her body¡ªeven if he was her uncle! Sophia still remembered what her grandmother told her: ¡°Never let anyone touch a part of your body your swimsuit would cover!¡± She kept that in her mind, and when Liam came and offered to bathe her again, she would ssh him with water! Ever since her grandmother had passed away, Liam¡¯s family had taken her in. Knowing that the only person in this world who could protect her was gone, she could only take care of herself now. Since then, she lived her life like a hedgehog. Whenever the boys in the vige tried to bully her, she would rush toward them like a beast and fight them. She remembered one instance that she hated the most was when a boy urinated in front of her. Like a mad man, she went up and kicked him in the balls! After that, every boy in the vige was afraid of her and they dared not bully her again. However, that did not make her life any better. She continued to live under the shadow of Liam. She wouldn¡¯t dare to sleep soundly at night because the door lock was broken and no one would fix it for her. It wasmon for her to open her eyes at midnight seeing a dark figure in front of her bed staring at her. That was the shadow of her life; the nightmare that she could never get rid of in her lifetime. She bit Liam¡¯s palm that covered her mouth and tried to call for help. Her cries brought her aunt to her. However, when her aunt discovered Liam¡¯s filthy intentions, instead of scolding her husband, she med Sophia, who was only twelve years old, for trying to seduce her uncle and almost beat her to death¡­ She remembered everything. All of those painful memories were stored right in her mind. She would always remember the day when she returned home after midterms. She was admitted into the best high school in Riverdale, but she didn¡¯t dare to ask for tuition fees. Later, she heard them discussing trying to marry her, a girl who was still under sixteen, off to a man in exchange for a dowry. That night, her uncle and her two cousins broke into her room. They had already agreed with the man to send her over tomorrow. However, they said one should always keep all benefits for one¡¯s own people. Since the old man would be sleeping with her soon, it would be better if her own family was the one who took her virginity away. They pressed her on the old little bed and tried to rape her. She cried hopelessly and helplessly. She later smashed Liam¡¯s head with a bench in order to escape. She was covered in blood. Like a stray dog, she limped as she ran into some green fields. Not far away was the scolding voices of the Johnson Family. She ran for about five kilometers alone and knocked open the door of the principal of Riverdale High School¡­¡£ Burying her face into the down jacket, Sophia¡¯s tears once again dampened the clothing. The teary face that was hidden between her messy hair broke Linus¡¯ heart. She didn¡¯t know when Linus sat next to her. He patted her shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s over now. One day, those bad guys who hurt you will be punished.¡± Sophia buried her face in his chest; her tears soaked through his sweater. Instead of howling like earlier, she sobbed carefully, trying to restrain her pain and grievances. Linus continued to talk to her. ¡°My childhood was actually quite tough too.¡± Linus started talking about his own life, trying to divert her attention. ¡°I was actually adopted by the Michel Family.¡± This was the first time Linus had ever told an outsider about his life. ¡°In my memory, my former parents treated me very badly. They saw business opportunities from my talent. They started bringing me everywhere to perform and collected the fees paid. Those days¡­¡± Even though more than ten years had passed and a lot of details had been forgotten, Linus could still remember some of the scariest parts that were hidden deep in his memory. Sophia¡¯s cries slowly subsided. Her ears pricked as she listened with curiosity, then she asked, ¡°What happenedter?¡± ¡°That one time when I had just finished filming at the TV station, my brother, Fass, found me,¡± Linus began. Speaking of that day, Linus still remembered clearly about it. ¡°Fass told me that he can take me away. He said my talents should not be restrained like this. I should be able to achieve more than that.¡± ¡°He asked me if I would like to go with him. And if I don¡¯t, I might be the next Fang Zhongyong.¡± It was also many yearster when Linus was exposed to Cethos culture that he learned who ¡®Fang Zhongyong¡¯ was. There was once a five-year-old child named Fang Zhongyong, who had never known how to read nor write. One day, he cried and asked for paper and a pencil. His family found him a piece of paper and a pencil, and Fang Zhongyong actually wrote something. His handwriting was pretty and it surprised his parents. So, his father took him everywhere, showing others his writing and making money from it. However, he didn¡¯t let Fang Zhongyong go to school. Later, Fang Zhongyong¡¯s talent slowly dried up and he became an ordinary person. If he was educated after they discovered his talent, he might have grown into a remarkable man. ¡°What did you say?¡± asked Sophia as she wiped away her tears and straightened her figure. Shaking his head, Linus let out a chuckle. He tried hard to remember the day when his destiny changed. ¡°Of course, I left with my brother. I followed him into the Michel Family. He ignored everyone¡¯s criticism, and made me a member of the family, finding me new adoptive parents. He nurtured me since I was young, and was very strict with me. I never let him down. At the very least, I¡¯m not the next Fang Zhongyong.¡± Staring at Linus nkly, Sophia could see from his face that Fass was a very good person. She said, ¡°If I have the opportunity, I really want to know who the person who brought you up into this excellent person is.¡± Speaking of Fass, Linus couldn¡¯t help but smile. To be honest, Fass hade to Cethos with him, but he had been keeping a low profile.N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. That day when they met Sophia by coincidence and Sophia asked him for a photo, Fass was actually not far away. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but ask again, ¡°Have you ever wanted to find your former parents in the past few years?¡± Without hesitation, Linus shook his head. ¡°Never. When they sold me to Fass, I didn¡¯t belong to them anymore. Besides¡­¡± Linus sighed. ¡°They¡¯re not my biological parents. I don¡¯t know where I actually came from.¡± Patting Sophia¡¯s shoulder, he went on, ¡°We¡¯re all the same. We weren¡¯t happy when we were younger, but we have the ability to protect ourselves now as well as the people we love. We shouldn¡¯t always live in the past; it¡¯s useless. We should always look forward to life.¡± Nodding, Sophia squeezed thest drop of tear from her eyes. She should let bygones be bygones! Chapter 528 Chapter 528 The injury caused by the Johnson Family in the past was over. She was doing very well now, and there were still a lot of things waiting for her to do. Thus, she didn¡¯t have the time to think about that nonsense! Sophia dried up her clothes and hair before Linus put out the fire. The two of them then walked out of the park one after another. Taking the opportunity, Linus sent his location to Stanley and he suddenly heard Sophia say, ¡°How did you find me?¡± He didn¡¯t know how to answer her question. When he knew Sophia was missing, the image of the park came to his mind. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him. Vaguely, he replied, ¡°I checked the CCTV nearby and saw you.¡± The two of them reached the fence and climbed back out. Even though Sophia was suddenly wearing a lot more than before, she was still very flexible. With ease, she leaped and disappeared on the other side of the wall. Linus immediately followed suit. However, when his face merely came up to the wall, he saw a car on the other side closing its door. The door was mmed close and it drove away in a blink of an eye. When Linus got down from the wall, the car was gone; Sophia was nowhere to be seen too. On a snowy night, the sky in Bayside City was extremely dark. It was the sort of dark that even the neon lights could not chase away. An SUV halted in a small alley; a few people got off from the car. Liam was the first¡ªhis wife and his two sons followed. The eldest son and the second son removed arge suitcase from the trunk. The suitcase was big enough to fit a person, and in particr, a woman. ¡°Thank you so much, Miss Mitchell. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t be able to catch this girl!¡± Liam rubbed his hands together and smiled tteringly. Inside the car, Natasha stared at the unmoving suitcase with a smile in her eyes. She said, ¡°That¡¯s nothing. Go on and hand in the suitcase. Don¡¯t keep the others waiting.¡± As the door closed, Natasha¡¯s car drove away. The Johnsons carried the suitcase happily while walking in the snow. Liam¡¯s wife scolded as they walked, ¡°B*tch, do you think you¡¯ve escaped from us? Pfft! s, you still fell back into my grasp!¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Stop talking. Let¡¯s talk after getting the money for the delivery!¡± eximed Liam. They found a dealer to sell Sophia off, and he would pay them ten thousand for her. Ten thousand was enough to get the Johnson Family to do anything that was against their consciences! After they left the small alley, they walked another few hundred meters. The road in front opened up, leading them to an old warehouse. The dealer was already waiting for them. The Johnson Family had four people; the dealer had alsoe with about four to five people in a car. ¡°Why are you only here now? Do you still want the money?¡± The head of the dealers shouted angrily when he saw the Johnsons who werete. Bowing, Liam said, ¡°We¡¯re here now!¡± He asked his son to put the suitcase in front of the dealer and respectfully said, ¡°Please take a look!¡± The leader took two steps forward and bent over to open the suitcase. The moment he ced his hands on the suitcase, a harsh sound of a car braking was heard. At the same time, a dazzling light shone over. There were car lights in all directions. They didn¡¯t know how many cars and people were there. The dealer retreated into his car in shock. The first thing that came to his mind was: It¡¯s the police! But after the lights dimmed and his eyes adjusted to the light, he realized that there were more than ten cars and they were not the police! However, his expression didn¡¯t get any better. The situation looked like he shouldn¡¯t take these people lightly! The cars surrounded the small warehouse; their headlights were turned on, illuminating the site brightly. The parties to the transaction were frightened and stepped back in fear. The Johnsons had never seen anything like that before. Subconsciously, they wanted to run. But before they could move further, a group of people got out from the car and blocked them, shoving them back to the middle of the site. There were Asians, cks, and even Whites. They came in a huge group, and they had a strong aura. The one in the lead was a youth, and he was a foreigner! Although the head of the dealers had connections in Bayside City, he didn¡¯t know since when there was a force of foreigners in the city. However, there were so many people on the other side and he didn¡¯t dare to make a fuss. Respectfully, he went up and said, ¡°Hi. May I know what brings you guys over?¡± The youth on the opposite side smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I heard that you¡¯re doing business at my doorstep. So, I came to take a look.¡± This was the type of thing someone from the underworld would say. He didn¡¯t expect a foreigner to speak so fluently in theirnguage. The dealer¡¯s forehead was covered with cold sweat. What the foreigner was implying was they had picked on one of their own. Looking over at Liam, the suitcase, and the group of people, the dealer suddenly understood something and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t know this warehouse is under your control. We¡¯ll leave immediately.¡± After saying that, he ushered his subordinates to hand the suitcase to Linus. Asking someone to take over the suitcase, Linus smiled gently and said, ¡°Since this is a misunderstanding, I can¡¯t let you leave empty-handed. I have better goods here. I can trade it for the suitcase.¡± Linus¡¯ subordinate took out another suitcase and ced it in front of the dealer. It was also a large ck suitcase that could fit a tiny person. The dealer was baffled. He didn¡¯t expect a foreigner to be so sensible. He thanked him gratefully and left with the suitcase. Seeing the dealer¡¯s car drive away, Linus walked to the suitcase. When he was about to open it, another group of people came. This time, it was again another group of more than ten cars. Screech¡ª The car stopped at once in front of Linus. The door opened and a man in a trench coat came out, his coat curved into an arrogant angle. Marching forward, Michael saw the suitcase that was ced in the snow at just one nce. He bent down and opened it, seeing a petite girl curled up inside. She was wearing a dirty down jacket; her hair was messy and stained with leaves. Her forehead was wounded and the corners of her mouth were bruised. She curled up inside the suitcase and was trembling from the cold. She was breathing faintly. When she saw Michael, her gaze went soft. Her lips parted, but they were so stiff that she couldn¡¯t say anything. Michael¡¯s eyes went wet. Quickly, he lifted Sophia out from the suitcase and walked away again. The little girl in his arms was freezing. Even though she was inside his embrace, she kept on shivering. Michael felt his heart ache as if a piece of his flesh was torn mercilessly from him. The girl he held on the tip of his heart was actually bullied like that by someone else! Michael didn¡¯t want to stay any longer. Without saying a word, he carried Sophia back into the car. There was a heating system in the car. And by staying beside him, she wouldn¡¯t feel cold anymore. Looking at Michael who came and left in a hurry, Linus said nothing. Harry came over and patted his shoulder. ¡°Thank you so much, Linus. I¡¯ll take over from here.¡± Turning his gaze to the Johnsons, who were still kneeling on the ground begging, Linus inquired, ¡°What are you going to do with this family?¡± Harry red coldly at the Johnsons; there was only coldness and disdain in his eyes. Liam had been fired when he molested a young girl back when he was a teacher. Now his eldest son was also a teacher, and evil ran in their blood. Their wrongdoings weren¡¯t revealed yet, and no one knew how many girls had been victimized by them. Purposefully, he shouted, ¡°I¡¯ll think about that after chopping off their hands!¡± Chapter 529 Chapter 529 When Liam heard Harry, he was frightened. He quickly bowed and begged, ¡°Sir, please don¡¯t chop off my hands. Please don¡¯t! Please!¡± The family¡¯s begging was like flies buzzing in Harry¡¯s ears¡ªdisgusting and annoying. Letting out a chuckle, Linus said, ¡°Oh, no. Please don¡¯t do that. It¡¯s not fun to chop their limbs off! I know a private club overseas that is perfect for them.¡± ¡°Oh, really? Tell me about it, Linus.¡± In the face of the Johnsons, Linus and Harry started chatting. ¡°The customers from that club like to y around with men. The club epts men of all ages. They will castrate the men, remove their teeth, and shave them before sending them out to meet the customers.¡± It was the first time Liam found out about such a terrifying thing and he was utterly shocked. ¡°No¡­¡± But no one heard their petty, yet useless begging. Linus went on, ¡°I know the person in charge there. They prefer Asians because they don¡¯t have much body odor, and their skin is fair. Besides, they have a tight anus. I think the club would wee the father and the sons.¡± Harry was disgusted, but he asked, ¡°Why remove their teeth?¡± Looking at the Johnsons, Linus continued to say as if it was something normal, ¡°They¡¯re afraid that the ves will bite their customers. Besides, without teeth, customers can experience a morefortable service.¡± The Johnsons were dumbfounded. Bite the customers? A better user experience without the teeth? After giving it some thought, Harry finally understood. He felt his bottom tighten and his teeth chill. Goosebumps crawled all over his body and he waved his hand. ¡°Take them. You can do whatever you want.¡± With one sentence, he pronounced the death of the family. Like a dog, Liam continued to beg. Unfortunately, it waspletely useless. Harry quickly left with his subordinates. After watching Harry¡¯s departure, Linus¡¯ expression turned cold. There seemed to be no light visible in his ocean-blue eyes¡ªit was unpredictable and there were traces of blood-red. Slowly, he turned around and looked at the Johnsons. In his mind, the photos of Sophia being humiliated by them were erged infinitely. At that moment, he was disgusted and hatred grew to its extreme. It was as if his soul was twisted by someone else¡¯s despair and hatred. That was actually none of his business at all¡­ Harry didn¡¯t know how Linus got involved in this. He also didn¡¯t know why Linus offered to help. But, he knew he would never see the Johnson father and sons anymore. Once they were in Linus¡¯ hands, what they were about to endure was even scarier than what they could imagine. However, Harry was very curious about who exactly Linus reced Sophia with. Who was the one in the suitcase that was taken away by the dealer? Inside Michael¡¯s car, Michael was holding onto Sophia tightly. Removing her clothes, he put her into his arms. Sophia felt hot all over her body, and in a daze, she muttered, ¡°I¡¯m cold.¡± Holding onto her, Michael tried his best to warm her up. He kissed her wrinkled little face and said, ¡°I¡¯m here. You won¡¯t be cold anymore.¡± Sophia started to burn up; she began crying and talking gibberish in his embrace. Like a frightened kitten, she shrank and shivered in his arms. She muttered something and Michael leaned closer to listen. Uncle, don¡¯t. At that moment, Michael felt like he had walked into her life toote. Maybe things would have worked out better for her if he had appeared several years earlier in her life! And his cutie-pie wouldn¡¯t have suffered so much back then! He wouldn¡¯t let those rascals who had hurt her in the past off the hook! He hugged her tightly and buried his face into her hair; drops of tears melted into her hair. That moment, he felt like he had turned into a beast¡­ The car came closer to the nearest hospital. Sophia was hurried into the ward to get an IV drip; Michael stayed by her side all night. When Sophia climbed to the other side of the wall, she ran into the Mitchells. She was kidnapped by them and handed over to the Johnsons. She had caught a cold from the wind by theke and from being trapped in the suitcase. She went into aa for an entire day. Michael took her back home and found a family doctor to take care of her. He had been staying by her side; he would hold her hands and check if the electric nket was warm enough. Everything was done by him personally. Many things had happened during the time she was unconscious in bed. Natasha woke up on a damp and cold hole on the floor. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw sunlighting through the roof that was covered with tiles. Sitting herself up, she recollected the incident from before. She remembered herself sending someone to hand Sophia over to the Johnsons for them to sell her off to the dealer. Sheter left with her car and met with an ident. Then, she lost consciousness¡­ Looking around, Natasha rose to her feet. She lifted the moldy nket that was covering her body. The room in front of her was extremely shabby¡ªeven the floor was just dirt. Her slim high heels marked the wet ground as she walked. Pushing open the window next to her, she saw endless mountains in front of her. The mountains were so high that they blocked out the sun. The valley was gloomy. The mountain on the opposite side looked as if it was about to engulf this tiny little house. Suddenly, a surprised voice came out. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hehe. You¡¯re awake, my dear. Guys, our wife is awake!¡± The door was opened suddenly. Four middle-aged men in poor clothing came in. They looked like they were between the ages of thirty to fifty. They wore almost nothing but a few pieces of rags. They were so excited that their yellow teeth showed as they walked toward Natasha. Before they even came near, their disgusting smell spread over. Natasha was so frightened that her expression twisted. ¡°Who are you? Go away! Get out! Someone help! Please!¡± One of the men said, ¡°Dear, we spent ten thousand just to buy you! You don¡¯t have to be afraid of us. We¡¯ll love you with all our hearts!¡± Natasha waspletely dumbstruck. She heard that the Johnsons were selling Sophia to the dealer. And the dealer had already found a buyer. The family consisted of four bachelors, and they were 150 years old in total. They were too poor to get married, so the four of them got together and gathered ten thousand to buy Sophia to make her their wife! At that moment, an unknown panic that she had never felt before struck her. She stuttered, ¡°No, no. There must have been a mistake. Your wife isn¡¯t me¡ª¡± Unfortunately, the four men could no longer keep their calm, and she was instantly buried under them. The cascading mountains were unfrequented by people. Natasha¡¯s cries were utterly swallowed by it. Even if people in the distance could hear her cries, they weren¡¯t surprised by that either. This was because the vige was too poor, and the vigers could only get married by buying a wife. The dealer was like a savior to them. If it weren¡¯t for the dealer, they wouldn¡¯t be able to give birth to a son to carry on the family name. All of the wives in the vige were bought from the dealer. If they saw someone¡¯s wife trying to escape, the whole vige woulde and help to catch her. Whenever the police came, all of them would work together and fight back. If one were to take their wives away from them, it would be like cutting off their family¡¯s roots. It was like a murder! At the same time, Bayside University also issued a statement to its students and societies: ¡®The university will not allow anyone to hurt our students. Bayside University will investigate this matter thoroughly.¡¯ After checking the surveince footage, the university quickly found out the one who had posted the photos on the bulletin board. Sean had also discovered the IP address of the one who posted the news; everything pointed toward Natasha. Without showing any mercy, Bayside University revealed the results of the investigation and expelled Natasha publicly. Chapter 530 Chapter 530 Bayside University received positive feedback. Natasha, the fool, had once again gone overboard. When news broke, it gained the attention of influential people like Taylor, Ethan, Nicole, and other celebrities who called on child molesters to undergo chemical castration, promoted the implementation of sex education for youths, and the like. As for a pervert like Liam Johnson who harassed his own niece, he still had to be held ountable for his crimes, regardless of how long ago the incident happened. However, Liam and his whole family had vanished into thin air. People imed that he had fled the country, but he was now forever pinned with shame. People also imed that Natasha had fled the country, but no one, even the Mitchell Family, knew where she was. While there was an uproar amongst the public, it was still quiet in Vi No. 8 at The Imperial. At this moment, Sophia had finally woken up. Her body was weak, she was not alert, and she ate very little. Michael continued to feed her liquid food, one spoon after the other. She found it hard to swallow anything. But seeing the concerned look on Michael¡¯s face, she still forced herself to swallow the food he fed her. When she was done eating, she mustered up her courage and asked, ¡°Hubby, are you disgusted by me?¡± Her childhood had always been her skeleton in the closet. She never brought it up to him for fear that he would be repulsed by her. cing the bowl aside, Michael dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief. When he heard her question, he smiled affectionately and said, ¡°Silly chica. It¡¯s not like you did anything atrocious. Why would I be disgusted by you?¡± Sophia lowered her eyes and burning hot tears started to stream down her face. She started to choke up and was unable to speak. She thought that everything was in the past now. But, after she was exposed so abruptly today, she was afraid that Michael would detest her for it. Wiping off the tears on her face, he ced his forehead against hers and soothed, ¡°You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Why would I me you? The people at fault here are those who hurt you! You¡¯re not the one who should feel ashamed; they should!¡± She burst into tears once again. Later, Sean and Stanley came to visit her. Sean had even brought with him thetest update. ¡°The Mitchell Family is still looking for Natasha, but it seems like someone is trying to stop them from finding her. With the family head¡¯s daughter missing, though, it¡¯s chaos in there. The Michel Group also took this chance to form several business partnerships.¡± Upon hearing his disclosure, Michael fell into deep thought. The person who was stopping the Mitchell Family from finding Natasha was none other than himself, but Linus¡¯ sudden advancement on the Mitchell Family was not something he sawing. Looks like Linus is nning to use this incident to defeat the domineering Mitchell Family. The Michel Family¡¯s first task sinceing to Bayside City was to defeat the leading group, the Mitchell Family, who were also on the same ying field. Once they destroyed them, the Michel Group could easily take over Bayside City and the entire market in Cethos. They had to gain the upper hand by taking over Bayside City. Michael was also uncertain as to whether that was good or bad. But he was quite satisfied with the way Natasha and the Johnson Family were handled. The noble Natasha was now amunal uterus to four men to carry on their lineage. To her, that was worse than death itself. As for the Johnson Family, since they enjoyed harassing little girls, karma was going to deal with them. If Linus intervened, he would definitely not let them off that easily. Upon hearing Linus¡¯ description of the ce, it sounded like they were against mankind. ¡­ Michael was busy on a daily basis, but he would always make it back in time to keep Sophiapany. It might have been because she had not been sick for the whole year that she ended up falling terribly ill after catching a cold the other day. As she was malnourished as a child, her hidden illnesses had surfaced and she spent quite some time lying in bed now. In a blink of an eye, it was already New Year¡¯s Day. It was freezing cold outside and it was even snowing heavily. The heater in Sophia¡¯s room was set at the most ideal temperature, making it feel as warm as spring. While holding her cat, she was busy gossiping with Sarah. ¡°Oh, you. Stop thinking so much. It¡¯s just one picture! When I lived in a shoebox apartment as a seven- year-old kid, we were so poor that we didn¡¯t have a proper bathroom. My mom used to boil water and bathe me in the corridor. People walked past us and no one was surprised by the sight. Some of them even watched me and pinched my butt cheeks! Is there anyone who didn¡¯t run around naked as a child? When my brother misbehaved, my dad used to take off his pants and gave him a good beating. He was ten at the time, but he went running out the corridor, crying and jumping around with his butt exposed.¡± Sarah held the Garfield cat given to her by Linus as she reasoned with Sophia. The humorous story seeded in making Sophiaugh. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. ¡°Try to let go a little. When final exams end in a few days, let¡¯s go on a trip! We¡¯ll bring Sean and Stan with us. If Linus isn¡¯t busy, we can bring him along too. It¡¯ll just be us few young people. We won¡¯t take those old men with us.¡± Sophia nodded and murmured in agreement. Putting down the cat, Sarah proceeded to take out her new sketchbook from her bag to show Sophia. ¡°They¡¯ve been cracking down on pornographytely so I haven¡¯t been able to upload anything. I¡¯ve just been drawing for my own amusement. There are copies at home. I¡¯ll only send them to friends.¡± Sarah was a well-known illustrator online. On Instagram, she was known as ¡°The Great Hand¡±, or ¡°The Great Empath¡±. She illustrated and drew covers for online game merchants, artists, and the like, and she even sold art collections. Official collections she released definitely did not contain anything inappropriate for children, but Sarah would draw some indescribable things to entertain herself with. Lately, she had a breakthrough andnded a position at Stanley¡¯spany as his personal illustrator. She stopped epting other jobs and releasing her own art collections, but she still could not abandon her hobby. Her new sketchbook contained explicit drawings as usual¡ªStanley and Sean; Sean and Linus; Linus and Harry; Harry and Stanley. Sophia was speechless. She even draws actual people in her life! It was better if it was someone she was well acquainted with, though. The more she knew the person, the less she had to worry about copyright issues. After entertaining themselves with those drawings for a bit, Sophia suddenly remembered the issue with Harry¡¯s girlfriend. Harry still came home to eat asionally, but he had never once brought his girlfriend along. The tweet he sent was still there which only showed a view from the back. Some fans had taken pictures of Harry with a mysterious woman going to the pharmacy to buy a morning-after pill. That girl looked a lot like Sarah, but she did not admit it even if it cost her her life. But even though she did not admit it, Sophia did not force her. After all, she was a shut-in. She might stir up trouble on the inte, iming that she would not change her profile picture until she had slept with Harry, but whenever she met him in person, she became very timid. ¡°Harry has publicized his rtionship. Are you still going to be his fan?¡± Ever since Ethan made his rtionship public, many fans had been heartbroken, threatening to take their own lives and leave the fandom. At the mention of Harry¡¯s name, Sarah started to get antsy. ¡°I am a diehard fan. I won¡¯t stop being his fan that easily! Oh, right. His new movie is releasing soon. Are you going to do anything before?¡± Little Kitten was Harry¡¯s number one stalker fan and the president of his fan club. If his movie was going to be released, she would have to grace the scene with her presence. When Sophia heard that, she also remembered that Michael¡¯s movie, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, wasing soon. It was going to be released at the same time all around the world and had garnered much attention. Another international production with a lead actor from Cethos. It was estimated that the film would reach 6 billion at box offices worldwide. She had to get into action! Chapter 531 Chapter 531 Sophia¡¯s enthusiasm was riled up as she said excitedly, ¡°Let¡¯s still go by the book. I want the big screen at Time Square, and you want the New Square. We should also buy a few ad disys at popr bus stops.¡± When it came to celebrities, Sarah showed an enthusiastic and professional attitude. She even came up with a whole new n to poprize Harry¡¯s new movie. She bought trendy keywords and headlines on the inte, booked advertisement slots, and purchased arge portion of tickets to promote the movie. As soon as the film stills were released, Sarah made exquisite illustrations and webtoons of them which she shared on her IG Stories and it spread like wildfire. She even personally created a wild ¡®Ethan Fan Club¡¯. They had a website, headquarters, and even a team uniform. Sarah had several cat caf¨¦s and maid caf¨¦s under her name in Bayside City, along with a few anime stores. Those were all their meeting points where Ethan¡¯s fans got half off of everything. She was an expert at being a fangirl. The money that she made so far was almost all used on her idols. Pulling out a pile of documents, she said, ¡°We used to buy advertisements at the square, but I have to change it up this year. Do you know Elijah Forest from ¡®Mr. Love: Queen¡¯s Choice¡¯? On his birthday, the fans bought a moving LED disy screen on a building where they disyed birthday messages for him. I¡¯ve already looked into that. Take a look at the cost. For one day, it will be disyed between 180 to 540 seconds and the price is between 150,000 to 500,000. Let¡¯s think through this. If we buy out several buildings to promote the new movie¡­¡± The friendship the two of them shared grew with the time they spent as fangirls. Sarah was timid in front of strangers but was very talkative around her friends. They spent the afternoon chatting and almost rubbed their cats¡¯ fur off when they heard Maria announce, ¡°Madam, Sir is home!¡± Upon seeing Sarah, she added, ¡°Lord Winston is here too!¡± Oh, sh*t! Sarah was scared out of her wits. She quickly tossed the cat in her arms aside. Not even thinking about hanging around anymore, she grabbed her bag swiftly and left through the back door. ¡°Come to my store to pet some cats when you have time. It¡¯s free if you say you¡¯re Eddie Fletcher.¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. On the way home, Michael also picked Nathan up. When Nathan came home, Stanley and Sean had also arrived. Harry did not cook at home. If he did not order delivery, then he ate outside or went to Michael¡¯s house to eat. Today, he showed up once again. Michael headed upstairs as soon as he arrived home and rushed excitedly into the room where Sophia was recuperating. They had purposely built a rehabilitation room inside of their house. Whenever they felt unwell, they could go in to recover. When he walked in, he saw Sophia cracking melon seeds while petting the cat on the bed. She was also binge-watching a show. She looked more alert than she did the past two days. As soon as he walked through the door, he saw the adult book on the bedside table and knew that Sarah had stopped by. The show that Sophia was watching was called ¡®The Woman Who Married Tom Davis¡¯. It was a local production. When Sophia saw him, she asked, ¡°Have you finished filming?¡± ¡°Did you go online?¡± Over the past few days, he kept stopping her from going on the inte to see the news. He was afraid that she would get hurt by some malicious articles. The television at home was not connected to the inte and she could only watch DVDs. Sophia tilted her head to one side. ¡°That¡¯s what Little Kitten said.¡± At the mention of Little Kitten, everything became clear to him. When the two fangirls were together, they would do nothing but fangirl all day. He took off his scarf and hung it up at the side. Sitting down on the bed next to Sophia, he said, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s finished. My part is done.¡± He cradled her small, cold hands. ¡°I won¡¯t be working for the rest of the year. Where do you want to go? I¡¯ll apany you anywhere.¡± Michael usually had a tremendous amount of work to do. As the anonymous owner of Asco International in Bayside City, and as a top actor on the surface, he was constantly buried in his work. Nheless, he still tried to spend time with his family. After pondering for a moment, she said, ¡°I want to go to the mansion in Riverdale to see the snow.¡± Sophia had purchased the most luxurious vi, Garden Vi, in Riverdale. It had been empty this whole time, but it once belonged to the Harper Family. Now, it was the Edwards Residence¡ªSophia¡¯s private property which she visited from time to time. Because of the snow, the sight would be very pretty there. He agreed instantly. ¡°Okay.¡± Stanley was ransacking the whole kitchen to pry on the food that he was going to eat at Michael¡¯s ce again that night. Then, he discovered that Michael had a lot of cured meat in the house. ¡°Holy sh*t! Uncle Michael, you have so many sausages at home! Look at all this cured meat! This is unbelievable. Wealthy households sure are different! F*ck! You have so much cured meat! I don¡¯t care; this piece is mine! Michael¡¯s house looked like a grand and luxurious European pce on the outside. Compared to the Imperial Pce next door, it was only slightly more modern. Going inside, the uniquely designed vault of the pavilion was filled with ornamental nts over which cured meat was hung. There was meat everywhere¡ªeven at the main entrance. It was ced wherever there was space for it. Therge pieces of bright red meat were lined up tightly together, making the whole ce seem more festive. Every corner showed off the extravagance of a wealthy household. While Stanley was busy expressing his amazement, he was also taking pictures to share on Twitter. Along with the caption that read: ¡®Cured meat hung at Taylor¡¯s house. Wealthy households sure are different.¡¯ Because he had a substantial following on Twitter, and the famous prince of esports had hundreds of thousands of fans, in a blink of an eye, Taylor and the cured meat in his house made headlines. Sophia liked to eat cured meat. As a child, she was only ever able to eat a piece of cured meat during the New Year¡¯s. Now, she would prepare cured meat, sausages, and some traditional goods to celebrate New Year¡¯s Day. Because she had spent this year recovering at home, she went to check out the freezer in the kitchen out of boredom and realized that they had stocked up on quite a bit of meat. Thus, she decided to prepare cured meat out of all of them. It just so happened that Michael wanted to cook at home and celebrate the end of his filming that night. Stanley hade over at the right time. Michael also wanted to invite Linus since they lived in the same neighborhood. When Linus came over and entered the front yard, he was greeted by the extravagant sight which startled him. He was still wary of locals. After he rushed home, he returned with two bodyguards behind him as if he had brought over something big. Before the food was served, everyone went to view the cured meat and sausages. Those were all made by Sophia and the kitchen help when she had nothing better to do at home. ¡°The meat is all fresh local pork with some bits and pieces from other sources.¡± Under close observation, Harry seemed to be able to identify the lion meat that he had hunted in Africa a few days ago, and the rabbit meat that he caught on the grasnd. He gifted some to Michael when he returned, but he did not expect that they would all be turned into cured meat. Meanwhile, Linus opened the icebox that the bodyguards had brought over. Inside, there was a whole fully-skinned and cleaned-out fawn. ¡°My rtive from Eastern Europe mailed this over to me. I can¡¯t finish it on my own, so I wanted to give some to you guys.¡± Sophia dly epted the venison and prepared it as cured meat. That night, everyone had an appetizing feast with cured meat. People said that those from overseas were particr about their food. They did not eat pork, internal organs, and many others, but it did not seem like Linus minded at all. Sausages, pork intestines, pork liver¡ªhe ate them all. Once dinner was over, Michael even gave him arge piece of cured meat. When Linus returned home, he had someone prepare them into strips and hung them outside the vi. Since he could not finish it all on his own, he sent some home to Eastern Europe to share with his rtives. Another wealthy household was born in The Imperial. Every time Michael passed by Vi No. 2, he looked pleased when he saw the festive rows of cured meat outside. He¡¯s such a down-to-earth brother-inw! Chapter 532 Chapter 532 There were a lot of cats and dogs in the neighborhood¡ªSophia had six cats, Linus had four stray cats, and the other households also had cats. Hanging cured meat outside the house was risky. There were always several big orange cats sitting at the bottom of the shelf where the meat was hung, especially where the dried fish were. It would all disappear in an instant after being hung up. Someone always had to keep watch outside Vi No. 8 to chase the animals away. Meanwhile, Linus had already designed an intelligent system to cure meat. He created an environment where there was constant temperature, adjustable wind direction, and humidity. Moreover, he even made two intelligent robots that used infrasound to chase away the animals that were stealing the food. The dried fish he left outside his house was still in perfect condition after several days. Indeed, science and technology were revolutionary. Whenever Michael passed by Vi No. 2 and saw their automated set-up, he wanted to yell, ¡°He¡¯s breaking boundaries!¡± Sophia had so much admiration for him, too. She gazed at Michael with a yearning look in her eyes. I really want a cured meat robot! Michael decided to put his pride aside and ask Linus for a robot, but he still felt like it was too shameful. This is so embarrassing! Fortunately, Linus was sensible enough to give them a robot as a way of thanking them for teaching him how to cure meat. Not only did he send it to their doorstep, he even wrapped it in protective packaging. The dried fish Sophia hung outside the house could be cured perfectly now. Feeling delighted, she decided to give Linus a treasured, decade-old, pickling liquid to make pickled vegetables with. But Michael thought it was a shabby gift. After all, Linus was the second-inmand at Michel Group. Fass had brought him up to be his sessor. If everything went smoothly, he would also be the head of the Michel Family in the future. Was a jar of pickling liquid worthy enough for a man like him? When Linus received the pickling liquid, however, he was quite happy about it and had the cook in his house make arge amount of pickled vegetables. ¡­ Sophia had not gone to schooltely and had just been resting at home. Because she had enough cured meat tost the whole year, and she had the robot that Linus sent to her, she was quite content. She would drop by Linus¡¯ ce every day. When she came back, she always bombarded Michael with endlesspliments about Linus¡¯ house. ¡°Linus has a 3D projector in his room! It¡¯s so cool. You can even see the stars!¡± ¡°The window panes of Linus¡¯ French windows link to the beach at his old ce in Eastern Europe, so you can see the ocean when you look out of it!¡± ¡°Linus even has a robot that takes care of his cats. It can process a hundred different cat body languages and noises to distinguish what the cat is saying!¡± ¡°Linus¡­¡± Every time she started her sentence with ¡®Linus¡¯, she lookedpletely in awe as if she was just dying to live there. Whenever that happened, Michael felt like he was about to grow green with envy. Nathan also spent all day at Linus¡¯ ce. Linus had upgraded that robot of his by using the world¡¯s most sophisticated intelligent technology to create a new CPU that was able to simte dozens of emotions and have an intelligent conversation with a person. The robot could check on the state of an injury; it had a program that detected emotions, and it also had a defense program. It was sr-powered and was able to charge itself. It followed Nathan to and from school every day. When it entered the house and saw Michael, it even knew to call him ¡®Dad¡¯. Aside from Sophia and Nathan, the few big orange cats at the Fletchers also ran off to Vi No. 2. Despite making the effort to go home and keep Sophiapany, Michael was deserted. Sulking on the sofa, he was watching television while Sophia and Nathan had gone off to Linus¡¯ ce. They imed that they wanted to try out the cat-petting robot at his house so they brought the cats along too. Stealthily, the robot came over and stood in front of Michael. It asked politely, ¡°Dad, I want a pat on the head.¡± It had the cute voice of a little boy and was even leaning its head to one side as it acted coy. A frown appeared on Michael¡¯s forehead when he looked at the robot that was even more obedient than Nathan. He felt incredibly conflicted. The robot was wearing Nathan¡¯s clothes and was wearing a tiger hat on his head. He intentionally made a hole through the hat for his antenna to poke out. Nate, this little brat. He ran off to Linus¡¯ ce and was worried that I would be left alone at home so he reluctantly sacrificed his robot to keep mepany. When Michael did not pat the robot¡¯s head, it stretched out a robotic arm and took Michael¡¯s hand to put on its head. Michael caressed his headzily, and the robot let out a contented murmur. As Michael watched television, he did not say a word. After the robot was content with the head pats, he went to sit next to Michael on the sofa and watched television seriously. A momentter, it said, ¡°Dad, I want to watch a cartoon!¡± Michael pressed on the remote control and switched to a kids channel that was ying a cartoon. A man and a robot were watching cartoons together. The robot was very happy and was even swaying his legs leisurely. Nathan had given his own clothes, pants, hat, and shoes to the robot. He did it to make it seem like it was himself and to keep Michael, the old man with an empty nest,pany. ¡°Nichs.¡± Michael suddenly called the robot¡¯s name. ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Call me ¡®Dad¡¯.¡± ¡°Dad! Dad!¡± Michael was quite happy. Ever since Nathan was little, that unfilial brat had never really called him dad. Every time he did, he did it reluctantly. The robot was so much better at it! Michael said, ¡°Again.¡± ¡°Dad!¡± The robot could scan a person¡¯s features to detect the emotion that person was feeling thene up with the most appropriate response. When Nichs saw that Michael was happy, he continued to call him dad repeatedly, which sent Michael over the moon. While Michael watched television, he had a conversation with the robot. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Nichs Fletcher!¡± ¡°Who is your father?¡± ¡°Michael Fletcher.¡± ¡°Your mother?¡± ¡°Sophia Edwards!¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael patted his head. ¡°Good. Go and pour me some tea.¡± The robot obediently got up and went to get some tea. ¡°What tea would you like to have, Dad? You had Dragon Wellst time and before that, you had oolong tea.¡± ¡°Oolong tea.¡± A whileter, Nichs came back with the tea. He even cautioned, ¡°It¡¯s hot. Drink slowly, Dad.¡± Agh! Look at him acting cute! Michael felt aloof on the inside, but he still drank the tea. As he drank, he said, ¡°Nichs, find any news rted to me and put it up on the screen.¡± The robot got into action. It did a wireless connection to the television and started ying relevant news that it had found. ¡°The major film in the limelight at the moment, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, is scheduled to premiere on the 21st of the month. Top actor Taylor Murray from Cethos ys the lead role¡­¡± ¡°With regard to this matter, dozens of celebrities from Taylor¡¯s country have called on the suspect, Liam Johnson, to undergo chemical castration.¡± Chapter 533 Chapter 533 All of a sudden, the robot said, ¡°Dad, Mom and Nathan are home.¡± Michael instructed, ¡°Turn off the news.¡± The channel switched back to the cartoons from before. When Sophia came back with different bags of things, she saw Michael and the robot sitting together on the sofa watching cartoons. She put down what she was carrying and called, ¡°Nichs!¡± ¡°Mom, Nate!¡± Michael watched the robot rush off happily and even dly helped Sophia bring the things inside. That is one clever robot. Michael had goosebumps all over. He remembered the time when X ced a toy to spy on them in their house. The robot in front of him now was way more intelligent than that toy back then. If Linus imnted something inside this robot¡­ But, this robot is very intelligent. It knows how to cheer Sophia up everyday. I can¡¯t bear to throw it away. How frustrating! Every time Sophia came back from Linus¡¯ ce, she woulde home with all those bags as though she had inappropriately acquired them. For example, the window panes of the French windows she cherished so dearly. She finally got them from Linus¡¯ ce today. Not to mention, he also sent someone over to install it for her. After the new windows were put in ce and they went to look out of it, it was apletely different view. One moment it was the deep underwater world, then in the next moment, it was a windy desert. Next, it was a tropical rainforest. Those were not simply still shots but actual scenes. It was a high definition transmission of the scenery being captured in real-time. It was real and spectacr, making them feel as though they were physically there. Moreover, she also took the 3D projector in his bedroom and installed it in her own room. Shey down on the bed excitedly as she could not wait to try it out. When it turned on, it started projecting various sights. The ceiling was not just a ceiling anymore; it was a starry night sky. There was also a moon. She could even hear the sound of crickets right by her ear. Warm air brushed across her face and brought with it the scent of fresh grass. The sound, temperature, and visuals were all unbelievably convincing. If she reached out, it was as if she could actually feel the fireflies dancing around her fingertips. Apart from the stars, there were grasnds, beaches, and many other simtions. It felt like she was actually out camping. This is so surreal. Content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I want to see fireworks! Fireworks!¡± As soon as she said that, the projector started to disy fireworks. The splendid fireworks made her so happy that she started rolling around on the bed. ¡°Shooting stars!¡± Very quickly, shooting stars also started to appear. It felt so real as though it was truly right before her eyes. Michael was also on the bed, looking at the lifelike aurora. He was in awe. Linus is living the life! But something still did not feel right. He reminded, ¡°These are all advanced technologies. I¡¯m guessing it isn¡¯t cheap. You shouldn¡¯t ask Linus for so many things in the future. The cost is too high.¡± Sophia changed the scene from the aurora to a desert night scene. She could even hear the sound of camels walking from her bedside. She retorted, ¡°This is what I won from ying mahjong with Linus. It¡¯s mine!¡± She wanted to, but she did not think it was too courteous to tell Michael that Linus could not beat her in their game of mahjong, and these were all the things that they had bet on. He had lost many things over the past two days. Michael was baffled. ¡°Your bets are so high.¡± ¡°Linus upgraded all the robots in his house yesterday. They know how to y mahjong now!¡± ¡°Smart move.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Nichs with me tomorrow to get upgraded. Linus wants to teach him how to y mahjong.¡± Michael was speechless now. ¡°Stop talking. There¡¯s a shooting star. I¡¯m going to make a wish.¡± Then, she closed her eyes and made a wish upon the shooting star. Her thoughts were simple: to be happy every day and have Michael by her side. ¡­ The next day, Sophia went out early in the morning and took the robot with her. When she came home, Nichs had already turned into a gambling expert¡ªmahjong, poker, and ckjack¡ªhe was proficient in all of them. When Harry and Daniel heard that the robot at Michael¡¯s house knew how to y mahjong, they came without dy to test the robot out. The three of them yed against Nichs all night and lost miserably. They had probably lost as much as a three-bedroom house located around the central business district in Bayside City. Since then, Nichs beat everyone in the small neighborhood and had no opponents. Everyone in the small neighborhood, from proprietors to security guards to housekeepers, was defeated. Nichs even knew how to be smart about it. He chose whether to win or lose depending on the person¡¯s looks. Michael was starting to regret letting Linus move into the neighborhood. It was bad enough that it was interfering with his routine. He nned to wait until Sophia was done with her exams before finding an auspicious day to take the three of them and their dog out on holiday. During this time, it seemed like Sophia had gone to Linus¡¯ ce almost every day. She had disregarded her studies, but she was still self-studying. Linus had actually created Nichs to keep Nathanpany. Not only did Nichs know how to y mahjong, he even knew how to give advice. If there was anything that Sophia did not know, he could give her an answer for it. After that incident, Sophia had not gone to school once and spent her time at home self-studying. Nheless, final exams crept up on her. If she returned to school to take the exam, she figured she would have to face all the students at school. Even though two weeks had passed since it happened and the photos on the inte had almost completely been erased, everyone still remembered the incident. With her grades, however, she did not have to take the exam. She could request to be exempted from the exam, but she still decided to go to school toplete her exams. The morning that she was about to leave for school, Michael walked her to the car and asked, ¡°Do you want me to take you to school?¡± Sitting inside the car, she shook her head and said, ¡°This is my problem. I should face it on my own.¡± She always wanted to be strong. She had to sit for two examinations. After taking the exam for her major, she had to take another one for a course at the School of Computer Science. The exams would stretch over four days. Fortunately, her exam times for both schools were staggered. When Nathan and Nichs got in the car, Nichs reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Dad. Nate and I will protect Mom!¡± Indeed, Nichs had a way with words. Michael bent down to pat his head as a reward. At the same time, he nced over at Nathan with a stern expression. Look at him and look at yourself! On the way to school, Sophia had a conversation with the robot. ¡°Nichs!¡± ¡°Yes, Mom!¡± ¡°Nichs Fletcher!¡± ¡°Mom!¡± The robot was like a chatterbox. He coulde up with various amusing topics to discuss with Sophia. He was able to empathize as well as a person did. After putting on those kid¡¯s clothes and the tiger hat that Nathan used to wear as a child, the robot looked just like a child¡ªhealthy and strong. Talking to him made Sophia feel a lot better. ¡­ At Michel Group¡¯s building, the person-in-charge of the branch in Cethos, Linus, was in his office. He was watching a video that was being recorded from Nichs¡¯ point of view. It showed Sophia smiling brightly. Seeing that gentle and beautiful smiling face, he could not help but smile too. Linus had designed Nichs, so he made a concealed back-door that was not apparent to anyone. He could send everything that Nichs saw to himself whenever he wanted to and even monitor Sophia¡¯s emotional activity. The server automatically analyzed her mood whenever and wherever. While he was working, he listened to the conversation Sophia had with Nichs. Just then, the system automatically analyzed her emotional activity. ¡°Linus, Miss Edwards is feeling very nervous. Her pressure index is at 65. Depression level has gone down from average to low.¡± Chapter 534 Chapter 534 Linus replied, ¡°Got it.¡± Even though Sophia was smiling, he knew that she was feeling very nervous and scared on the inside. Still, she put up a strong front to face what she had to. When he put Nichs in the Fletcher Residence, he did not do it to spy on them. He only wanted to know how she was doing. His heart broke for the misfortune that she had encountered. Thus, he was trying to make her happy in his own way. He did not know why he was so concerned over a stranger, either, but he felt a need to watch over her. Just then, the robot had automatically analyzed the data that Nichs sent over. ¡°They are at the entrance of Bayside University. Miss Edwards¡¯ pressure index has gone up again. Mr. Linus, do you need to go there?¡± ¡°Release the anti-depressant fragrance.¡± Under Linus¡¯ orders, Nichs began silently releasing a calming fragrance while he was talking to Sophia. When they arrived at the entrance of Bayside University, Sophia felt extremely nervous as she looked at the crowded school gate. This is my battle to fight, so I have to ovee it on my own. Taking a deep breath, she suddenly detected a strange fragrance. Her emotions seemed to calm down significantly, and her heart was not racing as fast as it did before. Nheless, she still felt the pressure and remained seated inside the car for a long time, not daring to step out. Her emotions were detected by Nichs and sent to Linus in real-time. Linus instructed, ¡°Act cute, Nichs.¡± Nichs took the lead and got out of the car first. He dragged Sophia out and headed toward the concession stand that was located inside the school. ¡°Mom, let¡¯s go. I want to eat some candy.¡± Sophia was dragged into the school by the robot. When she stepped into Bayside University, however, she realized that it was not as bad as she had imagined. Hence, she started to feel more at ease. Nichs dragged her to the concession stand and pulled out a fiver from his own pocket. To the seller at the stand, he said, ¡°Miss, can I have some chewing gum, please? The spicy kind that always remains at the cost of one-fifty!¡± The innocent, intelligent robot made Sophia feel a lot more rxed. On the other hand, the owner of the concession stand was already aware of robots like Nichs at the school. She promptly gave him a pack of chewing gum and some change. After Nichs handed the chewing gum to Sophia, he put the remaining three-fifty back into his pocket. ¡°Mom, chewing gum helps you rx. I used my own savings to buy that, so you can¡¯t be mad at me for it!¡± Not holding back a smile, she opened the chewing gum packaging and put it in her mouth. As she patted the tiger hat he was wearing, she said, ¡°Sweet Nichs.¡± Nichs let out a satisfied chuckle then proceeded to walk ahead. ¡°Mom, the ground is slippery. You have to hold my hand!¡± Sophia reached out to grab his robotic hand. Since he was wearing gloves, it felt veryforting. He walked her all the way to the examination hall and added, ¡°Mom, when your exams are over, let¡¯s go see Daddy¡¯s new movie. Two days ago, I saw Daddy secretly y a sample of the movie. It was really good!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Sophia was in an excellent mood now. Even though she was walking on the main road on campus with numerous nces being thrown her way, she still felt at ease. Everything that happened was already in the past. She had to be strong to face the future! Outside the examination hall, Gary had driven Nathan to the School of Computer Science while Nichs followed Sophia into the examination hall. As it had been a long time since everyone saw Sophia, they all came up to her to ask how she was doing and that was when they spotted Nichs. It piqued their curiosity and people started to surround him to scrutinize him. Not long after, it was time for the exam to start, so everyone went back to their seats. When the invigtor, Quinton rk, came in, he discovered a robot inside the ssroom. Nheless, he had already known about Nichs¡¯ existence. Putting on a serious and professional front, he said, ¡°Please do not bring anything unrted to the exam into the examination hall.¡± Sophia nudged him. ¡°Nichs, go outside and wait for me.¡± However, Nichs did not want to leave. Taking out the three-fifty he received in change earlier out of his pocket, he gazed at Quinton pitifully and said, ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll give you all my savings. Can I stay here, please? I promise I¡¯ll be good.¡± That made the people in the roomugh, making the atmosphere more harmonious and rxed. Even Quinton could not hold back augh and eventually allowed Nichs to stay inside the ssroom, but he was not allowed to disturb the examinees. The robot obediently stood at the side and found a sunny spot to recharge. Then, the room started to quiet down and the exam began. ¡­ In Linus¡¯ office, he had turned off the screen when he suddenly remembered something. Sitting back down in front of hisptop, he opened hisptop and started programming. Because Sophia liked to y games, he wanted to program a gaming code in Nichs. She¡¯s going to love it. ¡­ The news that Sophia had returned to school to take the exam did cause a great stir. Moreover, it quickly came to Faye Edwards¡¯ knowledge. ¡°That b*tch still dares to show up at school? Where did she get the audacity toe to school after that scandal?¡± When Faye heard the news, she felt sick to her stomach. Whore! She stole our family¡¯s shares and went into hiding. How dare she show up at school now? At the thought of Sophia taking 5% of the Edwards Family¡¯s shares, her resentment shot up in an instant. Here I thought she was trying to gain a fortune by devious means, but it turned out that she¡¯s just a big fat liar! Upon hearing the news, Faye immediately headed toward Sophia¡¯s examination hall only to find that she had already left after finishing the exam. Hence, she went to inquire about the location of Sophia¡¯s exam the following day and quickly made it there. The next day, before the exam started, everyone had already arrived at the examination hall early. Some of them were cramming at thest minute while some were surrounding and touching Nichs. Nichs was extremely intelligent. He allowed them to touch his head, but not his buttocks. In a stern tone, he warned, ¡°Miss, I might be a young boy, but you still can¡¯t touch a young boy¡¯s butt!¡± They were all amazed. ¡°So clever! Where did you get him from? I want one too!¡± Nichs answered, ¡°I¡¯m the only one in the whole world. You can¡¯t buy a robot like me!¡± His remarks made themugh. One student asked, ¡°You¡¯re such a good boy, Nichs. What are some things that you can do?¡± ¡°I can sing, dance, and y mahjong!¡± At this point, the entire ss huddled over as they looked at Nichs curiously. An intelligent robot like Nichs already existed on the market, but they had yet to see one as intelligent as him. Being able to y mahjong was breaking boundaries! All of a sudden, a sarcastic tone came from outside the examination hall. ¡°Wow. Has our big star arrived?¡± The smile on Sophia¡¯s face stiffened in an instant when she heard that voice. Looking in the direction where the voice came from, she saw Faye standing at the entrance, seemingly looking for trouble. From N?velDrama.Org. Faye was pleased to see her expression go cold. In a loud voice, she said, ¡°After such a humiliating incident, I heard you tried to cut your wrists. I assumed you weren¡¯ting anymore!¡± At that moment, the atmosphere in the room changed. This whole time, whenever they saw Sophia, they had tried to avoid talking about the news of the harassment she suffered as a child. Meanwhile, Sophia did not say anything and simply lowered her eyes. Her expression did not look good and her rosy cheeks had turned deathly pale. Chapter 535 Chapter 535 Faye happily added fuel to fire as she walked over in an overbearing manner. ¡°You¡¯ve brought shame to our family. You better return that 5% you¡¯re holding in your name now back to me at once! You¡¯re a disgrace even to the ancestors of the Edwards Family!¡± When Sophia did not answer her, she warned in a harsher tone, ¡°Don¡¯te to school anymore after an incident like that. It¡¯s humiliating!¡± Sophia¡¯s ssmates started to get worked up. Someone immediately criticized, ¡°What kind of sister are you?¡± Faye red at that person and retorted, ¡°This is a family matter. It has nothing to do with you!¡± That person had more to say but a hand suddenly reached out to stop that person. Sophia, who had remained silent this whole time, stood up and walked in silence toward Faye. When she was standing less than a meter away from Faye, she looked up and met her eyes with an unexpected smirk on her face. After letting out a scoff, Sophia said, ¡°If I¡¯m such a disgrace, then what about you, Miss Faye? After you exposed those explicit stills of yourself just to rise to fame, you must have been so ashamed that you would willingly throw yourself into a river.¡± ¡°What are you¡ª¡± Faye started to speak but could not find the right words to say. At that moment, everyone remembered the incident that happened in the entertainment industry not too long ago. It was said that while Faye was filming for an explicit movie, the male actor had actually stripped her clothes off and she was exposed on site. The images were then spread all over the inte and her fame slowly grew. After that, Faye and the male actor held a press conference where they imed that it waspletely false, the photos were photoshopped, and they had been friendly with each other throughout the production. But Sophia knew that it was just the usual publicity stunt. Within the entertainment circle, many celebrities would expose intimate photos of themselves for publicity, then rifyter that it was not them in the photos. Once they were popr, they would clean everything up. It was their go-to method. Faye stood her ground and spoke calmly, ¡°Those were all misunderstandings. I¡¯m warning you. If you nder me again, I¡¯ll sue you!¡± While looking at her, Sophia suddenly thought, What can I do about getting molested? What can I do about the photos of me as a child being exposed? From N?velDrama.Org. She did not do anything wrong, but she still med herself. The ones who actually did wrong were living just fine. They even had fame and fortune! With a righteous smile on her face, she said, ¡°Miss Faye, you can keep up with your innocent act in front of others, but why are you pretending in front of me?¡± She relentlessly tore her disgusting exterior away. ¡°You¡¯ve been going to clubs since you were thirteen. Is your womb still intact after getting an induced abortion four times? You¡¯re known as the ¡®Abortion Queen¡¯ within the sadomasochist circle. Abortion is just a game to you. Don¡¯t you think you¡¯re a disgrace to yourself?¡± Faye had grown pale while the other students there were also stunned and speechless. Who knew that beneath that lovely face was someone like that? This time, it was Sophia who strode up to her in an overbearing manner. Taking two steps forward, she said loudly, ¡°If I¡¯m that big of an embarrassment, then what about you, Miss Faye? Who in your circle doesn¡¯t have at least a few of your little videos? Is there anything you wouldn¡¯t do?¡± Everyone was gaping at them. Faye was even more shaken up. On the streets, she was known for being audacious. There was nothing that she was not bold enough to do. However, all of that information was top-secret. Everyone involved had to sign a letter of guarantee which stated that they were not allowed to keep any videos or pictures, and they were not allowed to tell a third party. How did Sophia know all this? When Sophia took another step forward, Faye subconsciously took a step back. ¡°Are you thinking about asking me how I know all this? You¡¯re a well-known b*tch among our circles. Do you really not know? If you choose to be a b*tch, you should have the instincts of a b*tch too. Don¡¯t assume that the people you slept with will keep your secret for you! Not only did he record a video, but he also shared it on a specific forum. You have no idea how popr it is! Who do you think you are? You¡¯re like an automatic toilet. It¡¯s convenient to use you, but once people are done, you just be disgusting! Even though you¡¯re wealthy, that merely makes you a gold toilet. A b*tch with a gold cor!¡± Faye had broken into a cold sweat and her voice was weak. ¡°T-That¡¯s nonsense! I¡¯ve never done that!¡± Unfazed, Sophia pointed at the door of the examination hall and said, ¡°Get out of here right now. If you don¡¯t, you can be prepared to see the video of the night you slept with five men at the age of sixteen on the news headlines tomorrow. I even have videos of the disgraceful things you did. Depending on my mood, I can send them out whenever I want. As for the shares, don¡¯t even bother!¡± Faye waspletely dumbfounded now. She never knew that there were people who knew about the things she did at clubs. She had concealed her abortions so well that even Joe Edwards had no idea. How did Sophia find out? How does she know all the details? She felt like she was about to copse. Without saying anything else, she leaned against the wall for support with her quivering body as she walked out. Watching Faye leave, Sophia returned to her seat in silence. The atmosphere inside the examination hall was very silent. A minute or twoter, everyone shuffled back to their seats quietly. The news that was revealed to them today was, indeed, shocking. After Sophia returned to her seat, she looked down at her phone with a cold expression. When the Edwards Family hosted a wee ceremony for herst time, she saved Faye¡¯s phone number and added her on Messenger. Faye was walking out of the building in a limp state. It was only when she reached the door that she came to herself. No, the people in our circle definitely keep their word. The people involved all had strong backing and trustworthy identities. After signing the letter of guarantee, it was certain that they would not leak anything and there would not be a video either. She had lived that way for years now and Joe still had no idea. How could a shabby housekeeper like Sophia know? She¡¯s just trying to scare me! The more she talked, the more apparent the loopholes became. There was no way she had a video. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Taking it out to look at it, she saw that Sophia had sent her a video on Messenger. In the video, five guys and one girl were going at it. A 16-year-old Faye looked like a b*tch being toyed by them. Her eyes rolled back and she almost passed out. Inside the examination hall, Sophia kept her phone and took out a pen to do the exam. Just then, Nichs came over and murmured in an innocent tone, ¡°Mom, I want a pat on the head.¡± That was when she realized that she had a hostile and sullen presence. Reaching out to pat his head, Nichs let out a content sound again and seemed to have released that sameforting fragrance. Her emotions started to settle down and her rapid heart rate was also slowly going back to normal. As she caressed his head, she said, ¡°Nichs, go and rest over there. We¡¯ll go home once I¡¯m done with this.¡¯ But he shook his head, unwilling to leave. ¡°The temperature in here is a bit low, Mom. I will give you warmth.¡± Perhaps the heater had broken down because the temperature inside the room was indeed a bit low. Despite wearing a down coat, she still felt cold. Her hands were also about to freeze. Nichs walked to a power outlet at the side and plugged himself in to warm the room up. When the exam was over, Nichs made circles around the examination hall excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s over! It¡¯s over! Time for mahjong!¡± Sophia could not hold back augh. With him around, life felt more lively and colorful. Chapter 536 Chapter 536 After sitting for exams four days in a row, Sophia still did quite well. It might have been due to her illness that she was not able to get first ce, but she had no problem in making it into the top ten. Once exams were over, it was the start of winter break so she headed home to enjoy her holidays. That day, Michael had prepared a feast for her at home. Stanley also brought Sean along to join in. When Michael came out of the study, he found the three of them¡ªSophia, Stanley, and Sean¡ªying a game in the living room. He watched them for a bit and took a look at their group in the game. They were a group of four with one unknown yer called ¡®Baby Hero¡¯. Even though the name sounded unfamiliar, he was a skilled yer. He easily beat Stanley and the rest. Even when the three of them teamed up, they were still unable to beat him. Useless. Michael could not contain his curiosity. ¡°Where does this Baby Heroe from? Why haven¡¯t we seen him before?¡± Before Sophia could answer, a child chirped from the corner, ¡°Dad, it¡¯s me, Nichs! I can y games now too!¡± Michael walked up to take a closer look and noticed that his robotic arm was connected to the USB port of theputer. In the game, Baby Hero was having a three-on-one match with them. While Sophia was ying, she said, ¡°Linus upgraded Nichs. He can y games now. You can add him on Messenger too and message him about anything; he will reply to you.¡± That is just unheard of! When Michael took out his phone and logged in to Messenger, he noticed that there were two more people in their seven-member gaming group. One was Daniel, and the other was the neer Baby Hero. He even left his own message: ¡®I love Mommy, Daddy, and Nate!¡¯ His disy picture was a group photo of him and Nathan. Baby Hero automatically added Michael as a friend. Baby Hero: ¡®Dad!¡¯ Michael was baffled. He is a real robot. He can chat in the gaming group while still battling Sophia in the game. Baby Hero: ¡®Uncle Harry, Mr. Eighty Thousand. Come and y a game of mahjong!¡¯ Harry: ¡®You have my respect! I¡¯m scared of you. I¡¯m not going. I¡¯m going to lose my underwear as well at this point.¡¯ Daniel: ¡®Can you stop bringing up that eighty thousand? Are you all hoping to use this against me for the rest of my life? Call me Daniel or Uncle Daniel.¡¯ Baby Hero: ¡®Okay, Mr. Eighty Thousand. No problem, Mr. Eighty Thousand.¡¯ Daniel: ¡®Linus, teach your robot properly, will you?¡¯ Linus: ¡®Haha. Sorry, Mr. Eighty Thousand. I may have written the program, but some of the data was keyed in by Sophia. Not my problem.¡¯ With the phone in his hand, Michael switched between sneaking nces at the robot and at Sophia who was gaming. This technology irks me! His Messenger notification went off. It was a message from Baby Hero, ¡®Daddy, what are you stealing nces at me for?¡¯ Oh my god! ¡­ When the blissful winter break started, the family of three made their way to Riverdale to spend the holidays. Their car stopped at the entrance of what once was Harper¡¯s Mansion but now was the Edwards Residence. Stepping out of the car with the dog behind him, Nichs cried, ¡°Wow! Such a big house! I¡¯m going to live in a big house now! I¡¯m so happy!¡± Michael could not shake off the feeling that the robot was a spy and felt slightly apprehensive around it. Hence, he subconsciously tried to keep some distance between them. Wrapped up in her fur coat, Sophia entered the Edwards Residence and was greeted by a patch of red as all the plum blossoms had bloomed. The big blossoms had fallen and piled up on the ground, contrasting with the white snow. It was a picturesque sight. Ever since they took over this ce, Michael did not make any big changes to it. Once in a while, he sent someone over to clean. It was normally left empty or rented out, to film crews that he was familiar with, to use. Some of the shots in the documentary film were taken here. Since the plum blossoms were in bloom now, they were able to admire the snow and flowers. Taking Sophia¡¯s hand, Michael entered the plum blossom forest with her. The flowers were falling endlessly. Nichs had run off into the distance with the dog, leaving behind a string of paw prints and wheel imprints in the ground. Standing under the falling flowers, Sophia caught one and took a sniff of it. The fragrance rushed up to her nose and she looked up to take in the intoxicating scent. From behind her, Michael watched the plum blossoms fall onto her face and lips. It seemed like she was exuding a divine radiance around her and her soul was drenched in the fragrance of falling plum blossoms. The family of three had nned to stay there for a few days. There were many helpers both inside and outside of the residence. Today, someone had hesitated and lingered around at the entrance of the Edwards Residence. His messy footprints were left all over the snow. Richard Harper hade alone. But looking at the piece of property that was once his, he no longer had the courage to move forward. That property once belonged to the Harper Family. That piece of property had witnessed a hundred glorious years under the Harper Family. The house was still the same as before, and even the bus stop nearby was still named after Harper¡¯s Mansion. However, the owners of the ce had changed a long time ago. It felt as though the Harper Family¡¯s era was now over. Gazing at the house, Richard thought he could see the past glorious days of the Harper Family, but it was now gone forever. A whileter, he mustered up the courage to walk up and knock on the big, red door. He wanted to visit the new owners of the ce. If they had the chance to get close, he would make that ce his again. After just a couple of knocks, a response came from inside. ¡°Who is it?¡± The person who opened the door was dressed in ck and was wearing ck sunsses¡ªhe looked very unusual. Richard presented a friendly smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m Richard Harper, the son of the previous owner of this ce. I wanted to visit the new owners here.¡± The man in ck eyed him a few times, then let him in. ¡°Please,e in.¡± As Richard followed the man in ck inside, he walked past the familiarndscape and still felt the same atmosphere the ce used to have. It still had the same magnificence, but it did not have the same owners anymore. Feelings of destion grew within him. When they made it to the previous Harper¡¯s Mansion and entered the previous Harper Family¡¯s living room, Richard sat in there as a guest. ¡°One moment, please, Mr. Harper. Madam will be here shortly.¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. The housekeeper left after bringing him a cup of hot tea. Sitting on the soft cushion, he realized that the interior and furniture did not change one bit. It still had the ssic and quaint style to it. The red wooden furniture with gold lining still looked the same as before He got up and started walking around. Looking outside the window, he could see the plum blossom garden and the smallke not too far away. There was also a stone bridge over theke. The white snow along with the red flowers gave the ce a picturesque view. He used to roam in that plum blossom forest, but today, that was all history. While he was deep in thought, he spotted something moving in the snow. It was a Samoyed ying in the snow. The robot had an umbre in one hand and a leash in the other as he walked the dog in the snow. Richard thought his eyes were ying tricks on him. Focusing once more, however, he still saw a robot walking a dog. The weather was freezing, but the dog wanted to go out for a walk. If the owner did not want to budge, then it was up to the robot to walk the dog. At that moment, Richard broke into a cold sweat and re-evaluated his perception of the fortune and power this new owner had. A robot walking the dog. This isn¡¯t something just any wealthy family can do. Chapter 537 Chapter 537 A chuckle came from behind. ¡°What brings you here today, Mr. Harper?¡± Upon hearing that voice, Richard reacted as if his soul had jumped out of his body, and his body shuddered slightly too. Then, he turned his head stiffly and saw a face that he hated to his bones. ¡°Sophia, why are you here?¡± Sophia was wearing a thin sweater. Walking over slowly, she hugged her arms and sighed softly. ¡°Sigh. It looks like your news is a little outdated, Mr. Harper. This ce is now the Edwards Residence, and I am its owner.¡± He recalled seeing the words ¡®Edwards Residence¡¯ written on the entrance. Nheless, he had not dared to associate those two words with Sophia. He had fantasized about the owner¡¯s new identity¡ª perhaps they were a politician, an underworld overlord, or a movie star. However, not even in his wildest dreams had he imagined that it would turn out to be Sophia! In that instant, all the clues in his head jumbled together like a tangled mess of string. Even so, he quickly found the answer. It was her all along! The fall of the Harper Family was her doing! ¡°It¡¯s you! You did this to the Harper Family! I can¡¯t believe it was you all along, you b*tch!¡± Rushing over, he was tempted to rip her to shreds. Unfortunately, she had two big and burly bodyguards with her. Even if he wanted to harm her in any way, he had to take his abilities into ount. ¡°Yes, it was me.¡± She strolled over and sat on the sofa. The look she gave him was as if she was looking at a wretched dog. ¡°Why? Are you surprised? Are you amazed?¡± Restrained by her bodyguards, he was forced to sit in front of her. ncing at her incredulously, he could not begin to understand. Where did she get her hands on the capital to corner the Harper Family so badly? Didn¡¯t Joe confirm that she was just an assistant at Taylor Murray¡¯s house? But, from what I can see, she doesn¡¯t look like an assistant at all! Meanwhile, she calmly made a pot of tea. She was in a good mood after observing the exasperation and fury radiating from her ex-boyfriend. Sipping some tea, she ced the teacup down leisurely and said, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about business since you came here uninvited, Mr. Harper.¡± Richard red at her viciously. He was unable to ept the reality that Sophia was living a better life than he was currently. ¡°What kind of business do you want to talk about?¡± Then, Sophia crossed her arms in front of her and said, ¡°As you can see, the Huff Family will fall soon.¡± The Huff Family dabbled in technology. Although they could not be regarded as a major yer in electronics, they managed to survive for so long through the gaps of the Mitchell Family. However, ever since the global electronics giant, Michel Group, sessfully entered Bayside City¡¯s market, many electronicspanies were forced into a precarious situation. Simrly, the Huff Family did not have the ability to protect itself from the advances of the Michel Group. Therefore, it was no secret that Huffs Technology was going to copse sooner orter. Despite that, Richard and X were married for over a month now. Thus, the Huff Family naturally held great affection toward the Harper Family; they were blissfully unaware that the Harper Family was nning to devour them. The Harper Family nned to obtain as much value out of Huffs Technology as possible before it copsed. When she mentioned Huffs Technology, his ears perked up suddenly. ¡°What do you want?¡± She bluntly stated her terms, ¡°A 50/50 split.¡± In response, he sneered, ¡°In your dreams!¡± He was walking a tightrope by cooperating with Huffs Technology right now. It was unknown when the company would copse. Therefore, he had taken a huge risk to obtain this asset, not knowing if he could extricate himself from thepany in time. Why should I split it 50/50 with her?! Listening to his answer, she couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to him anymore. ¡°See the guest out.¡± In the first ce, she had no ns to cooperate with him. She had simply been teasing him¡ªwhat she actually wanted was to make him realize just how well she was doing these days. Standing up coldly, he walked out of the door. Then, he suddenly stopped at the entrance, looked back, and sarcastically said, ¡°It looks like you did marry an old man. Let me guess how old is he¡­ 80? Or 70?¡± Afterward, he seemed to find some peace within himself and continued mocking her in a contemptuous voice, ¡°Sophia, you might be living a good life right now, but in return, you have to service an old man who is going to die soon. Don¡¯t you find it disgusting when you sleep at night?¡± Seeming to think of something else, he smilingly added, ¡°Also, it¡¯s best not to let that old man learn about what you did when you were younger, lest you get kicked out of the house!¡± She smiled slightly. Right now, he was nothing but a weak little puppy¡ªthere was nothing else he could do except bark. Therefore, she only needed to smile. However, it seemed to him like she was forcing herself to smile. So what if she is living in thep of luxury? So what if she lives in Harper¡¯s Mansion? Just thinking about how she has to service a doddering old man every night soothes my anger! Hence, he was in a good mood. Even his steps seemed more confident as he walked out in a rush, acting as if the stench surrounding her body would contaminate him if he stayed any longer. To his surprise, he saw somebody walking toward him before he could walk out the door. The person stood tall and straight; his handsome face was enhanced with the years and the mature aura surrounding him put Richard to shame. No matter where that man went, his outstandingly gorgeous facial features seemed to attract all the light to them, making everybody else seem dull and colorless¡ªit was Taylor Murray! Richard had defamed Taylor countless times. Even so, he still felt inferior when he stood before Taylor. It felt like Taylor stood at the top of all the men in the world¡ªhe was famous, powerful, and handsome. Therefore, Richard was acutely aware of his inferiority and insignificance whenever he crossed paths with Taylor. At this moment, he couldn¡¯t help stopping and asking curiously, ¡°Mr. Murray? Why are you here?¡± Michael looked back at him and smilingly replied, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Mr. Harper. What a coincidence.¡± After saying that, he walked toward Sophia, lowered his gaze to stare at her warmly, and said a little resentfully, ¡°How can you bring your ex into the house? Aren¡¯t you worried that your current husband might feel jealous?¡± Current¡­ husband?! Richard reeled from the shock. He couldn¡¯tprehend it for the longest time. Sophia¡¯s husband is Taylor Murray?! Isn¡¯t her husband an ugly but wealthy old man?! How did it be Taylor Murray?! Frozen to the spot as if struck by lightning, he couldn¡¯t move for a long time. Meanwhile, Sophia was acting coy with Michael. The tone of her voice was as different as night and day, bing considerably girly and soft. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t do it again! Lord, please don¡¯t be angry¡­ Didn¡¯t we agree to go and watch the premiere of your movie? Let¡¯s go!¡± Michael lowered his head to kiss her. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll forgive you. Let¡¯s go; it¡¯s gettingte. I¡¯ve reserved the nearest cinema for just the two of us.¡± However, she pouted. ¡°No! I like watching it at thergest cinema! It¡¯ll be more meaningful to watch it at thergest cinema. Besides, I want to listen to everybody apuding your movie!¡± ¡°Sure, sure. We¡¯ll do as you say.¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Acting as if Richard didn¡¯t exist, they left, hand in hand. It wasn¡¯t until then that Richard came back to his senses. I can¡¯t believe it! Sophia is Eddie Fletcher, the wife of Taylor Murray! The wife he kept hidden for two years! What on earth happened?! How did Sophia end up marrying Taylor Murray?! Chapter 538 Chapter 538 All of a sudden, a thick and solid hand fell on Richard¡¯s shoulder whilst he was still frozen in shock. That palmnded on his shoulder heavily, shocking him out of his daze. Then, Taylor¡¯s icy voice sounded by his ear. ¡°Mr. Harper, I hope you keep what you saw today to yourself. After all, the fact that your ex- girlfriend got herself a husband leagues better than you is an extremely embarrassing thing for you as a man¡­¡± Taylor made a living based on his looks. He was an artist on the level of a national treasure. Just going by appearances, Richard was no match for him. Moreover, he was thergest shareholder of Asco International. Therefore, the only aspect Richard could confidently win against him was his age. For a while, Richard¡¯s mind went nk again. He didn¡¯t even know how he left the Harpers¡¯ mansion. By the time he came back to his senses again, he had been unceremoniously thrown out of the house. Sitting in the snow outside the door, he looked back and saw a small robot wearing a tiger hat closing the door. The robot even fiercely said to him, ¡°Don¡¯te back again! If you return, I¡¯ll set the dog on you!¡± The Samoyed barked in agreement. After the door closed, all sounds from the inside were cut off. Getting up from the ground, he walked away alone. Suddenly, he received a call from Mrs. Harper. ¡°Hurry up ande back! Huffs Technology is going under! Moreover, X¡¯s parents tried tomit suicide by jumping off a building and are hospitalized right now. If Huffs Technology copses, their debt will amount to several billion! This debt will fall on your shoulders if X¡¯s parents pass away because you are husband and wife!¡± Upon receiving this news, he felt his mind going nk. He knew Huffs Technology was about to go under. He also knew he should have washed his hands of it earlier. However, his greed had made him hesitate. He wanted to siphon off as much as he could before thepany went under. Unfortunately, the speed of thepany¡¯s copse came much earlier than he had anticipated¡­ Inside the Edwards Residence, Michael was watching the news. The news of Huffs Technology¡¯s chairman and his wifemitting suicide by jumping off a building had already spread throughout the entire Bayside City. Furthermore, the daughter of the Huffs Family and popr debut actress, X Huff, was inundated with a debt of several billion in an instant. As thousands of shareholders lost their money, they blocked the gates of Huffs Technology, demanding to be reimbursed. Regrettably, the ce was completely deserted. Knowing that the Harper Group had a long-standing cooperative rtionship with Huffs Technology, they then rallied at the gates of the Harper Group to collect their dues. Asco International had been suppressing Huffs Technology recently. However, the former was not very involved in electronics, so it did not have enough strength to pressure thetter. Coincidentally, the Michel Group, which was just the right counterpart against Huffs Technology, entered the market aggressively and cornered Huffs Technology so badly that it couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure. Therefore, the speed of Huffs Technology¡¯s copse was staggering. With the fall of the Huff Family, the entire Bayside City fell with it. Even the giant Mitchell Family was steadily being pushed back. The Michel Group is way too powerful! Michael had been suppressing the Mitchell Family too. With both Asco International and the Michel Group looming down from two sides, the Mitchell Family was struggling. However, Michael was beginning to worry that the Michel Group might monopolize the electronics industry in Bayside City of Cethos¡­ After all, it was a foreign investor! Besides, he also suspected that Linus was taking advantage of his anger and making use of him to jointly take down the Mitchell Family. Once the Mitchell Family copsed, the entire electronics industry within Bayside City would be dominated by the Michel Group, an outsider. Even so, I won¡¯t be able to contain my anger if I don¡¯t bring down the Mitchell Family¡­ On the other hand, Sophia didn¡¯t have as many worries as Michael did. She was preparing the clothes she would be wearing to the premiere. As a crazy fan, going to watch the premiere of her idol¡¯s new movie was a huge affair. Therefore, she needed to have a sense of ritual and a set of cute clothes to wear there. After getting dressed, she came out and stood in front of Michael, proudly saying, ¡°Look, dear!¡± Looking up from his phone, he nced over, and his mouth twitched¡­ The premiere was held at 8 that night. Hence, Sophia and Michael headed to the nearest cinema. Sophia had reserved the entire cinema in the name of Taylor Murray¡¯s Top Fan, Sirius, and invited the nearby fans to watch the premiere for free. By 7:40 PM, the cinema was filled with Taylor¡¯s fans¡ªshe had reserved several cinema halls, including Riverdale¡¯s one and only giant screen. She appeared very quickly, wearing a hooded sweater. The front was printed with Taylor¡¯s cartoon image while the back was printed with his name. Everybody was dressed in the same outfits, feeling extremely jubnt. When they saw Sophia, they came over and greeted her, ¡°Sirius, you¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Sirius, who is this? Is this your sister?¡± Beside Sirius stood a talldy with blonde hair and a touch of light makeup. She looked very morous wearing a down jacket, a thick scarf, and a face mask. Also, she remained silent without saying anything. Instead, Sophia answered, ¡°Yeah, this is my sister! She¡¯s a model! She came here tonight to watch the movie with me!¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody was amazed. As expected, she¡¯s a model! With her height, she¡¯s at least 1.85 meters without high heels! Seeing that the movie was about to start, everybody hurried into the cinema hall to wait for the movie to start. Thus, therge hall was filled with hundreds of people. Meanwhile, Sophia and her ¡®sister¡¯ chose the best seats in the hall and sat down. Soon, the movie started. The movie was very exciting from the beginning. When the climax came, every scene was dramatic. It was so engrossing that Sophia didn¡¯t even have time to eat her popcorn. Throughout the entire movie, she looked amazed and nervous; it was as if she were part of the movie. In particr, when the male lead appeared on the screen, he was so handsome that it was beyond description. Thus, the entire cinema was filled with shrieks and screams whenever the male lead appeared on the screen. From theFrom N?velDrama.Org. high-spirited beginning, to the middle where the male lead was captured and forced to be a drag queen, to the end where he became a superhero¡ªTaylor Murray captured every scene perfectly and wlessly portrayed the ill-fated male lead. His acting was realistic and contagious. The moviested for two hours, and the fiery atmosphere in the cinemasted for two hours. When the screening was over, the cinema was filled with thunderous apuse. The fans were stoked from the beginning to the end. The atmosphere was very intense¡ªit was as lively as a concert. Meanwhile, only one person remained calm, and that was the 1.85-meter tall ¡®sister¡¯ sitting next to Sophia. ¡®She¡¯ was so calm that it was almost as if she had starred in the movie. After the movie, Sophia came out of the movie hall still wanting more. Getting into the car, she sat in the passenger seat and carefully took a picture of the movie stub. Then, she wrote a review intently before posting it on Twitter. Recently, she had created a new ount on Twitter under the name ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯. She intended to make her debut as the official wife of Taylor Murray on Twitter. Therefore, Michael had given her a real-name verification ¡®V¡¯ and confirmed that she was ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s wife, Eddie Fletcher¡¯. Besides, her Twitter was used for her fangirling activities. If it wasn¡¯t about Taylor Murray, then it was about his movies. On the other hand, in the driver¡¯s seat sat her ¡®sister¡¯. Thedy took off her wig and removed the makeup on her face with some makeup remover. After that, Michael¡¯s face was revealed under the makeup. Starting up the engine, he drove them home. None of the fans could have imagined that their idol had cross-dressed and watched a two-hour movie with them. Unfortunately, he had been forced into it. How great would it have been to watch the movie from our home theater?! Why did we have to watch it at the cinema?! When they got home, Sophia seemed to be very upied. She faced theputer and was busy doing something. The next day, he woke up to see that she had used her Twitter ount to create a lucky- draw contest through retweeting. ¡®Retweet this post and include a picture of your movie stub as well as the hashtags #Doctor Invincible and #movie. Once the movie stops showing in cinemas, 10 people will be chosen! The 10 winners will receive a gift package of cured meat personally autographed by our idol!¡¯ Michael was rendered speechless. Did you even ask for my opinion before putting my cured meat up as the prize? Chapter 539 Chapter 539 Sophia had learned this trick from Little Kitten. After the release of a movie, one had to create a sensation and find ways to increase the movie¡¯s poprity. That was why many celebrities would suffer breakups or get involved in quarrels after the release of their movies¡ªit was to make themselves more popr. Two days ago, Stanley had posted pictures of the cured meat at Taylor¡¯s home. It immediately became a viral topic across the inte, indirectly leading to the increased poprity of Taylor¡¯s new movie. Therefore, they had to do something, so that perhaps even those who had no interest in the movie would end up watching it. Besides, cured meat cooked by the idol himself would surely be exceptionally delicious. As soon as the Twitter post came out, the interest in his movie went up by leaps and bounds. Thus, Taylor and his cured meat once again made headlines. With the gimmick in ce, they had to fervently create more enthusiasm by spending money to get the media to report about it to keep the news trending. Michael was very cooperative in ying along with Sophia¡¯s fangirl activities. Whenever she asked him to post on Twitter, he would post ordingly even though he was extremely unwilling to give away his cured meat. Those are mine! Mine! I don¡¯t even have enough for myself! Why do I have to give it away?! How maddening! Even more maddening was that, since the movie¡¯s release, Sophia insisted on watching the movie at least once every morning. This happened once, twice, thrice, four times¡­ Sometimes, she felt that she could watch it again after watching it once in the morning. Thus, she would hurriedly purchase tickets for the second screening of the day. Therefore, Michael would apany her to the nearest cinema to watch the movie every single morning. Although he enjoyed watching what he acted in, he was growing sick of it after watching it repeatedly every single day. However, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to tire of it. Rather, she insisted on watching it every single morning, then having lunch outside before returning to the Edwards Residence. She wanted to use her own way to support her idol¡¯s new movie. Not only did she go and watch it every day, but she also brought people along with her to watch it together. Hence, Nathan and Nichs were forced to watch it with her every single day. She even went so far as to specially buy a ticket for Nichs so that it had a seat too. An extra person meant an extra movie ticket, which would, in turn, increase her idol¡¯s box office earnings! Because of this, Michael felt utterly embarrassed. Particrly since he had to cross-dress whenever he went out with Sophia, for fear of being recognized. By now, all the ticket sellers at the cinema knew of Sophia. After all, she was the only one to brave the winter, arriving on time every morning to watch ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ without fail. Furthermore, she was also the only one to bring a robot with her and even went so far as to buy a ticket for the robot. One of the staff members had taken and posted a photo of Nichs sitting properly in his seat watching the movie, which led to another wave of enthusiasm for the movie. On the other hand, Michael was no longer ashamed about going around in female clothing. Still, he was very tempted to tell Sophia that she did not need to work so hard. After all, his movies were nevercking in box office earnings. Even if she worked earnestly to increase the poprity of the movie, the box office earnings would still hit 5 billion. Simrly, even if she didn¡¯t do anything, the box office earnings would still hit 5 billion. Therefore, it didn¡¯t make a difference. As this movie was based on aic, it was portrayed in a fictional world. More than ten movies had been filmed based on the same premise previously, and those movies had been well received in the box office. This time around, the movie starred two mega-celebrities¡ªTaylor Murray and Ethan Winston. With first-ss acting skills, top-quality production, sincere and mature production technology, as well as backing from a whole series, its box office earnings hit 400 million on the first day of its release. After that, it continued to maintain between 200-300 million every single day. During this time, Sophia would check the box office earnings of the day before as soon as she woke up every morning. Then, she would check to see if the number of screenings for the day and the attendance of these screenings were high. It was as if she was obsessed with her fangirling activities. After that, she would hurriedly book her tickets. It reached a point where she was tempted to bring her cats along just so that her cats could upy seats too. With that, she would be able to contribute to the box office earnings by another four or five tickets. Michael honestly did not wish to be dragged out every morning to watch the movie. Hence, he quickly suggested, ¡°The snow and the plum blossoms are so beautiful here. Why don¡¯t you invite Stan and Sean over to admire this?¡± That¡¯s a good idea! Hence, she quickly called up Stanley and invited him over for two days. As soon as Stanley received her phone call, he immediately brought along his pets. Naturally, Sean came along too. It happened to be the weekend, so it was just right for them to spend the weekend. Linus joined them too. His arrival was just in time for him to examine Nichs. Recently, its server responses seemed to be slowing down and nobody could figure out what was wrong with it. Furthermore, he brought his pets along too, and it turned into a pet conference. Then, Sophia called Sarah. ¡°Little Kitten,e over to y! Sean will being over too! Why don¡¯t you come together with him?¡± Sarah hesitantly asked, ¡°Will Harry be there?¡± Sophia patted her chest confidently and assured Sarah, ¡°He won¡¯t be there. He has gone to the beach to escape winter.¡± With that, Sarah finally agreed to join them without fear and brought her cat along too. When everybody arrived at the mansion, Sophia brought out the new batch of cured meat she made as refreshments for everyone. After lunch, the servants started a bonfire near the plum orchard. Crowding around the bonfire, they chatted and exchanged ideas on pet-raising methods. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯ve been wanting toe here ever since I heard that you¡¯re living here. But, I was afraid of getting scolded by Uncle Michael,¡± Stanley said. There was a Ragdoll snuggled in hisp. Meanwhile, his husky had run off to y in the snow. Looking at Sophia¡¯s fat orange cats, he scornfully remarked, ¡°Say; you and Uncle Michael are so slim. So, why are your cats so fat?¡± It snowed heavily today. Thus, they were warming themselves around the fire at the pavilion. However, it was freezing as soon as they left the fire. For that reason, even the pets were crowding around the bonfire and refusing to move away, except for the two sled dogs. Sophia hugged one of her cats to warm her hands as she said, ¡°They just have a thick coat of fur.¡± Scratching Chrysanthemum¡¯s face, she said to the cat, ¡°You just have thick fur, don¡¯t you, Chrysanthemum?¡± The orange cat purred in reply. Then, he shifted his attention to Linus and his pets. He looked at them disdainfully as he said, ¡°Why are you raising local breeds for pets? It doesn¡¯t match with your status at all.¡± How could the future patriarch of the dignified Michel Family and the world¡¯s most eligible bachelor raise a bunch of local breeds? If word got out about this, it would be so embarrassing! In response, Linus held his Dragon Li cat and smiled. ¡°Stan, you don¡¯t understand. The Dragon Li is very expensive overseas. I heard it¡¯s worth over 300 US dors! Besides, aren¡¯t the pets you¡¯re raising nothing but a bunch of local breeds from where Ie from?¡± Upon hearing those words, Stanley had noeback. After all, a Ragdoll and a husky were indeed the local breeds at Linus¡¯ hometown! Then, Sarah suddenly piped up, ¡°Stanley, Sunset is gorgeous. If you¡¯re free, you can bring her to my cat caf¨¦ and let her work there. I¡¯ll pay you by the hour!¡± Stanley couldn¡¯t bear to send his cat out to ¡®work¡¯. Thus, he quickly changed the subject. ¡°Where¡¯s Uncle Michael? Where did he go?¡± After they finished lunch, they had not seen Michael anywhere, and nobody knew where he went. Snuggling against the cat, Sophia said, ¡°He said he is going to give me a surpriseter. So, he is in the middle of preparing it now!¡± Upon hearing those words, Stanley had a chilly expression. Every time they get together, they just have to show off how loving they are. I wonder what kind of earth-shattering performance we¡¯ll be getting this time. It¡¯s fine;e at me! I¡¯ve gone through many battles! I can take it! In front of their bonfire was a stage. As Harper¡¯s Mansion was built and passed down from a hundred years ago, it retained the stage that all big families in the past used to have in their houses. Besides, the stage seemed to be prepared for some sort of activity. Thus, Stanley loudly made a guess. ¡°Uncle Michael must have hired a theater troupe to entertain us today!¡± Content ? N?velDrama.Org. Linus was looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of show I¡¯ll get to watch today. Chapter 540 Chapter 540 Soon, the y started and the music yed. A group of female warriors came on stage and began showing their moves. Just a few actions at the beginning of the y were enough to elicit loud apuse from everybody. ¡°Bravo!¡± Linus, who had an interest in opera, immediately recognized the y. ¡°It¡¯s ¡®Lady General Mu Takes Command¡¯!¡± Soon, the main character, Lady General Mu, appeared on the stage. It was another female warrior with a strong posture and excellent professionalism. One nce was enough to tell that she was no ordinary person¡ªher actions were so tricky that it was amazing. Even Sophia, who had not much interest in opera, couldn¡¯t help being sucked in by the superb choreography. Thus, she directed her full concentration to the show. Although nobody knew where Michael had hired these actors, they were extremely professional, and everybody in the audience was very satisfied with the performance. Apuse rained down for these actors, and everybody forgot about the fact that Michael still had yet to make his appearance. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was in a great mood as she watched the show while she ate some snacks and yed with her cat. Suddenly, the leading female warrior got off the stage and walked over to a spot of snow-covered ground close to Sophia. Stepping across the snowy ground, she showed off her shy moves with a short spear while singing. Her voice was elegant and yful. One could tell with a nce that she was a star¡ªshe had brought Lady General Mu to life through her voice, style, and actions. ¡°Bravo!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help apuding the wonderful performance in front of her. After finishing a set of dance moves, Lady General Mu ced the short spear down and walked over to Sophia. Then, she started singing again. Thebination of that body and that voice was extremely rare. If one were to say the actor was male, the corresponding figure and voice were not something that could be imitated by ordinary men. On the other hand, if one were to say the actor was female, the intensity and aura of the spearmanship disyed just now were not something a woman could pull off. Meanwhile, Stanley pped enthusiastically even as his eyes darted about. The show is reaching its climax, so why hasn¡¯t the main character appeared yet? ¡°Where¡¯s Uncle Michael? Where¡¯s Uncle Michael?¡± He looked around as he searched for Michael. Next to him, Sean was tapping his hand against hisp in time to the rhythm as he listened to the music. His eyes were shining with amusement as he watched Lady General Mu singing and spinning around Sophia. Then, he said, ¡°There! Isn¡¯t that your Uncle Michael?¡± ¡°Where? Where?¡± Stanley looked around but couldn¡¯t find his uncle. All of a sudden, he stared straight at the dancing and singing female warrior. After a moment, his eyes widened. F*ck! It¡¯s another serving of lovey-doveyness! This pair of lovebirds are trying to kill off all the single people in the world! Lady General Mu sang and danced around Sophia, who was engrossed in listening to the music. Suddenly, the female warrior did a little twist. As soon as she turned around, she took out a rose from her clothes like a magician and presented it to Sophia. Thus, Sophia was stunned. However, she suddenly noticed the passionate gaze belonging to Lady General Mu behind the thickyers of greasepaint. Coming back to her senses, she covered her mouth in surprise¡ªit was Michael! Is this the surprise he prepared for me? Did he specially prepare this opera for me? This is the first time I¡¯ve ever seen Michael acting and singing so seriously! She appeared to be extremely ttered and reached out to take the rose. To her surprise, Michael twisted slightly, avoiding her and preventing her from taking the flower. However, when he turned back, more roses appeared in his hand. The bright red roses were like a ball of fire in his hands, entering her field of vision again. This time, he didn¡¯t avoid her when she reached out again and allowed her to take the roses from him. After finishing the song, Lady General Mu retreated and another opera began. Unfortunately, the other stars were unable to sing as well as Michael. Thus, everybody was still immersed in the surprise from before and couldn¡¯t pay attention to the present performance. Meanwhile, Sophia was hugging the roses Michael had given to her and sniffed them eagerly. Finally, Linus realized that the female warrior just now was actually a male. Moreover, it was Michael himself. For a long time, he was stunned. Then, he suddenly shook his head and smiled. That¡¯s impossible to imitate¡ª Sophia was blushing like a youngdy in love. Holding the roses in her hand, she smiled foolishly. On the other hand, Stanley curled his lips. He was tempted to leave. It looked like Michael had prepared arge dose of public disy of affection for him. Therefore, he was uninterested in watching and wanted to leave. However, he was also curious whether Michael still had other activities lined up for them. In the end, he busied himself by bringing out a te of honeydew. Happily eating his honeydew, he waited for the show to start. When the song ended, music yed again. This time around, it was a popr pop song. Then, Michael appeared in morous attire. He had removed all his makeup and was wearing a fashionable hat. Dancing in time to the music, he danced toward Sophia with youthful and dynamic dance moves, jazzing up the modern song with his energy. His dance was powerful and breathtaking. Moreover, his dance skills wereparable to leading dancers of popr dance troupes. Michael was very simr to his mother, Elizabeth Murray. Since he was young, he had an acute artistic instinct flowing in his blood. Be it jazz dancing or breakdancing, he could dance them decently. At 10 years old, he debuted as the lead singer and dancer of a youth band. Unfortunately, he could not gain the support of the Fletcher Family and entered the army when he was 18. Hence, it had been a long time since hest danced, especially after debuting as an actor. Now, he relearned the dance moves he used to do just to elicit a smile from his beloved wife, as he wanted to make her happy. It was snowing heavily outside. Despite that, it felt as warm as spring, and the air burned with passion. In this situation, everybody else was simply ying the third wheel among those two. Tired from dancing, Michael picked up a guitar, walked over to Sophia, and sat down opposite her. ¡°What song do you want to hear? I¡¯ll sing it to you.¡± Upon hearing those words, Stanley lost his cool. During his birthday, he had knelt in front of Michael and begged him to sing a birthday song. Even so, Michael had adamantly refused. Yet today, he was offering to sing for Sophia so readily! This is unfair! Despite his anger, he perked up his ears to listen to the song Sophia picked. Meanwhile, Sophia looked like a young, unmarried girl who had just fallen in love. Clutching at her flushing face, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s start with ¡®Cause I Love You¡¯.¡± It¡¯s the first popr song I came across. I wonder if Michael knows the song¡­ Again, Stanley felt upset. Uncle Michael finally agreed to sing, but he has to sing ¡®Cause I Love You¡¯?! What a waste! She should have asked for a difficult song with pitches as high as dolphin voices! That would have been more worthy! In the meantime, the clean strumming of a guitar rang out. Michael cleared his throat slightly and stared at Sophia with a smile in his eyes as he started singing, ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand; you were looking straight at me. Did you think I couldn¡¯t see? That was yesterday and you¡¯re all I thought of since¡­¡± His singing voice was clean, sexy, and mixed with a vaguely ethereal feeling. As he sang, the two of them identally fell into their own little world. Sophia was enraptured as she listened to the song. Tilting her head to the side, a blissful smile hung from the corner of her lips, and her small hands tapped in time to the rhythm. This is a concert my idol is holding especially for me! The others were also listening intently. The emotions in the song were very powerful; it carried a love so strong and deep that it could almost condense into dew drops. One man and one woman; one singing and one listening¡ªit was a perfect match. They were a dazzling couple; a match made in heaven. They were so loving that it made the others envy them. When the song was over, Michael asked again, ¡°What else do you want to listen to?¡± Sophia mulled over it slightly before saying, ¡°¡®Pretty Young Thing¡¯.¡± Chapter 541 Chapter 541 Everybody felt rather speechless. Even so, Michael ced his hands on the strings and began strumming. Despite being an extremely girly song, it did not affect his performance. Using that low and sexy voice of his, he turned the song into one with a different feel to it. ¡°You¡¯re a pretty young thing. It¡¯s a damn cool thing¡­¡± Thus, everybody listened intently as he sang such a girly song yet he still managed to make it sound great. However, they couldn¡¯t remain calm. The two of them leaned in closer and closer, and their gazes became hotter and hotter. Watching them, everyone began to worry that, at any time, those two might start an intense make-out session in front of them. Stanley had eaten a lot of honeydew by then. Burping loudly, he said, ¡°Come on; let¡¯s have a game of mahjong.¡± Stanley, Sean, Linus, and Sarah made just the right number of yers for a game of mahjong. Thus, they set up the mahjong table. It was snowing heavily outside. However, it felt like a small spark could start a huge fire inside¡ªit was as warm as spring. Besides, the charcoal fire burned brightly in the firece, and everybody felt high-spirited. When the mahjong table was set up, Stanley rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He hoped that he could get rid of the bad luck hanging around him and win some money while he was at it. Seeing that Sarah still wasn¡¯ting, he urged, ¡°Little Kitten, are youing? If not, I¡¯m going to ask Nichs to take your ce!¡± ¡°Go ahead!¡± Sarah was using a ck fountain pen to draw a rough outline in a notebook. On the ck- and-white-lined notebook, a female warrior wearing a morous costume was dancing while a girl was earnestly admiring the dance. Although the draft was yet to bepleted, the emotions in the picture were clearly expressed¡­ The snow finally stopped falling in the afternoon, and the entire mansion looked like a snow sculpture. Meanwhile, the snacks on the table were reced several times, the charcoal in the firece was changed several times, and the sound of mahjong echoed in everyone¡¯s ears. When Michael got tired of singing, he ced his guitar to the side and pulled Sophia into his arms. Afterward, the two of them sank into the soft sofa as they watched the snow. There were fireces in front of them and behind them. Therefore, they were warm and cozy. Moreover, Sophia had taken off her shoes and curled up on the big sofa to watch the snow with arge nket thrown over her and two orange cats snoring in her arms. In the plum orchard across a smallke, Nathan was ying with the two dogs together in the snow and having a great time. ¡°Are you happy?¡± Michael asked in a whisper, kissing Sophia lightly on the forehead. Sophia nodded. Leaning into his arms, she gazed out in the distance. I¡¯m happy; I¡¯m very happy. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been as happy as this. It¡¯s even better than the time when I got to eat cured meat as a child. The cats in her arms snored away and she became drowsy too. By the time she woke up again, everybody was grilling skewers around the charcoal fire they used for warmth. Thus, the smell of cumin wafted throughout the entire mansion. After finishing off the skewers for dinner, they changed locations and moved indoors. Then, they continued ying mahjong until veryte into the night before they retired to their bedrooms. Meanwhile, Sarah finished her rough outline in the living room. She had not brought her tools with her on this trip. Therefore, she nned to wait until she got home before scanning the picture and coloring it. She intended to make it into an album or a table calendar and give it to Sophia as a present. That night, she was sleeping in the guest room the butler had arranged for her. After washing up, she turned on the night light and felt her way into the bed. To her surprise, she touched a man¡¯s bare chest when she got into bed¡­ The next morning, everybody was still sleeping in after staying upte the night before. Hence, only a few people were present in the dining room during breakfast. Linus was one of them¡ªhe was the type that had to have breakfast in the morning. Nathan was also drowsily sitting there after being forced out of bed to eat breakfast. Lastly, Michael was like a nanny, holding the chubby Persian cat as he fed it with cat food. Breakfast was veryvish. Sophia ate some noodles followed by a sd. After that, she ate some fruits while she nned out the schedule for the day. First, let¡¯s invite everybody to go and watch a movie with me. That way, I can contribute some tickets again¡­ It had been nine days since ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was first released. The total international box office earnings had exceeded 6 billion. Therefore, it easily slid into the top 100 rankings in the global box office records. Just yesterday, the domestic box office earnings recorded more than 300 million. With Asian actorsbined with a Western storyline and team, the movie was killing it both in the East and the West¡ªits box office earnings were soaring into the sky. First, she used her phone to check the movie ratings and reviews. Then, she checked the movie schedules for the day. After confirming that ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was ced first, she finally felt at ease. However, she noticed that there was a premiere for a self-proimed gigantic production today. Moreover, the scheduling in cinemas for that movie was catching up to ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. The movie was called ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. It was adapted from a popr online novel. For that reason, it had arge existing fanbase that was raring to go. They imed that they intended to surpass ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, an adaptation of an overseas story, and make the local online novel adaptation shine. Curiously clicking into the introduction page for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯, she saw the names of the main actors¡ªBethany Nicole, Nichs Yates, X Huff, and Faye Edwards. Isn¡¯t this the f*cking movie Richard invested in? She was reading on her phone when she suddenly heard the sound of footstepsing her way. Lifting her head, she saw the arrogant, blond-haired Harry walking in. He was dressed in pajamas and there was a bite mark on his face. He said nothing as he walked into the dining room, picked up an empty bowl, and filled it up with noodles. ¡°Huh? Uncle Harry? Weren¡¯t you on a vacation by the beach? When did you return?¡± He filled therge bowl with noodles, then carefully topped it with the avable condiments and poured some soup over it before answering her. ¡°I arrivedst night.¡± Watching him take so much of her favorite handmade noodles, she couldn¡¯t help rebuking him, ¡°Uncle Harry, you won¡¯t be able to finish that alone. Don¡¯t take so much of it.¡± Even so, he picked up his noodles to leave, saying, ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is for both of us. We exercised a lot last night, so we¡¯re hungry now. We¡¯ll be able to finish it.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Sophia watched as Harry returned to the guest room. Looking at the direction he went in, she thought, Isn¡¯t that the guest room Sarah is using? After breakfast, everybody came out one after the other and drove two cars to go to the movies together. Even though it was the 10th day since ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was released, its poprity was not decreasing. Sophia had reserved tickets for the morning show. When she bought her tickets, she noticed that more than 75% of the seats for that screening had been sold out. So, she only managed to get seats at the back. Arriving outside the cinema, she immediately discovered that the promotional posters for ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ that was still there the day before were gone. Instead, they were reced by ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. Entering the inner part of the cinema, she then discovered that the inside was stered with promotional posters for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯, and the promotional screens in the lobby of the cinema were promoting it too. In addition, one could take photos with cosyers cosying as the male and female leads of the movie for free. The publicity for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ was very aggressive and intense¡ªit was everywhere. Everywhere she looked, she could see the faces of X Huff and Faye Edwards. Thus, she felt very ufortable. Upon returning home after the movie, she began to pay attention to ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. Glory Entertainment had invested a lot in the movie. The entire team came from Hollywood, and the two main actors were famous domestic A-List celebrities. Moreover, they spared no cost for the production and publicity of the movie. It was known to have a budget of 500 million. The estimated domestic box office earnings were 3 billion while the global box office earnings should easily hit 5 billion. On the surface, the main actors were Bethany Nicole and Nichs Yates¡ªtwo mega-celebrities. However, the real purpose of the movie was to support X Huff and Faye Edwards. After all, thergest investors in this film were the Edwards Family, the Huff Family, and the Harper Family. The two mega- celebrities were simply there to serve as a foil and gimmick to attract viewers. Besides, Richard was hoping that this movie would be a hit, which would sessfullyunch X into stardom. If her acting career could help repay the money owed by the Huffs, then they would still have room to maneuver. After ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ was released, Sophia began taking notice of it. Following its premiere, the box office earnings were strangely high. On its first day of screening, it managed to hit 300 million in box office earnings and sessfully pushed ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ to second ce. Chapter 542 Chapter 542 Sophia felt a wave of bitterness rising in her heart, especially when she saw the earth-shattering publicity and the triumphant momentum for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ after its box office premiere. All the reviews for the movie were favorable. In contrast, many viewers criticized and insulted ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, using words that were very vulgar and harsh on the eyes. Simrly, the fans of the opposing party would pop up from time to time to insult, mock, and ridicule the movie. Not only that but they would extend their insults to the two middle-aged washed-up actors, who had no endorsements nor variety shows. From N?velDrama.Org. You motherf*cker! Who the hell do you think you are, son of a b*tch?! Inside the Edwards Residence, the two fangirls exploded with anger. Setting up twoputers in the living room, they began taking control of the fan support group to do activities amidst the sound of mahjong in the background. They monitored the data, conducted online and offline activities, chartered venues and cinemas, controlled reviews, appeased fans, and so on. At the same time, they also had to watch ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ and deliver the cured meat. Therefore, they were extremely busy. Meanwhile, the two middle-aged washed-up actors were sucking on lollipops as they yed mahjong. Stanley had a lollipop in his mouth too. While ying mahjong, he said, ¡°Uncle Michael, don¡¯t you think Aunt is being silly? How could the movie sponsored by the Harpers possiblypete with the poprity of your movie? Why does she need to spend so much money? She might as well use it to y mahjong with me.¡± Michael nced at Sophia, who was assigning tasks to the fan support group. Then, he said, ¡°You won¡¯t be able to understand a girl¡¯s heart.¡± Simrly, Harry sneaked a nce at Sarah and said teasingly, ¡°Bro, be careful. Otherwise, they will give away all the cured meat in your house as their prizes.¡± At the mention of cured meat, Michael felt a little distressed. He had secretly taken a look at their ¡®Box Office Rescue n¡¯. ording to the n, half of his cured meat would be given away¡ªthey were nning to use his handmade cured meat to reinvigorate the ticket sales! What a f*cking pain! While Sophia was focused on monitoring the ticket sales, Richard couldn¡¯t even fall asleep out of worry. The movie, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯, was X¡¯s only remaining hope. If it became a sess, she would be famous within the circles instantly. Then, they would have hope of repaying the Huffs¡¯ gigantic debt. If it failed, the Harpers would never spend another dime on her again. When that happens, the Huff Family would copsepletely with no hope of rescue anymore! On the first day, the box office earnings of the movie recorded 300 million, and it seemed like it was extremely well-received. What with the shocking amount of online and offline publicity, the situation seemed to be very good. However, only Richard knew that those results were brought about through the money poured into it by their investors! Therefore, he knew best just how much the 300 million recorded in the box office earnings was actually worth. In his anxious state, he finally waited until the final box office earnings for the second day were announced¡ª50 million! It was 300 million on the first day and 50 million on the second day. The sharp decline in ticket sales was shockinglyrge. The film reviews that had been bought over before had fallen apart as batches of movie fans voiced their discontent after watching the movie. They furiously demanded refunds, citing that the primary roles and the minor roles were imbnced; the supporting roles had more appearances than the protagonists; and it had great special effects, but the storyline was terrible. Despite the amazing special effects, it could not make up for the downsides. Many scenes had been cut out and the acting of the protagonists and supporting roles were horribly exaggerated. At the same time, fans of the original work protested that the movie had destroyed the original work¡­. By the third day of its release, the box office earnings fell to 30 million. In contrast, the bad reviews were increasing by the day, and the word of mouth came crashing down. As the box office sales tumbled down, the 500 million investment into the movie could not be regained. On the other hand, the box office earnings of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ remained scarily stable despite being ripped apart by the ghostwriter fans of ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. It recorded ticket sales of 300 million on stable days and 250 million on unstable days. Still, the attendance rate remained extremely high even after 10 days. Looking at the box office data, Richard felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Thus, he slumped limply into a chair, his head hurting terribly. ¡°Richard, trust me. We probably chose an unfavorable date of release. The past two days were working days, so the ticket sales won¡¯t be as great. If we put in a little more money into publicity, the ticket sales will definitely pick up,¡± X said reassuringly. Even so, she knew in her heart that the movie was a flop. In order to persuade herself, or perhaps to persuade him, she continued, ¡°Many movies start off with poor ticket sales. However, their ticket sales start to skyrocket once word-of-mouth picks up.¡± As she talked, she started to choke up. She knew that she only had several chances left, and her chances were reducing bit by bit. If she failed to perform well this time around, the Harper Family might completely lose their patience with the Huffs. Moreover, her parents were still in the intensive care ward at the hospital, and their medical expenses came to approximately 20,000 to 30,000 per day. Although the debtors had been appeased by the Harpers, for now, they would surely return sooner or later. Besides, the Huff Family would fall to utter ruin once they lost the support of the Harper Family. Therefore, she had to seed and make her mark in the entertainment circles so that the Harper Family would continue to support her acting career. Conversely, if she was unsessful, the consequences would be dire. He remained quiet. Countless ns shed through his mind in an attempt to reinvigorate their box office earnings. If he failed this time, not only X, but he, too, would suffer the consequences. However, each of his ns was mercilessly turned down by himself. How could it be so easy to rescue their box office earnings? Meanwhile, she red bitterly at ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, which stood arrogantly at the top of the box office rankings. If it wasn¡¯t for that movie, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ would have been a hit! It¡¯s all that movie¡¯s fault! I had a cameo in that movie, but I can¡¯t believe that particr scene was cut off before its release! Not only that but my role in ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was canceled too. So, now I only have ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. Then, she resentfully muttered, ¡°If only a scandal involving Taylor Murray could surface during this time¡­¡± If a scandal were to appear, the sales tickets of that movie will fall, sooner orter. When that happens, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ will shine in its ce! She na?vely believed that her movie would be popr as long as there were nopetitors. He was currently under great pressure. ring at the irritating words ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ written at the top of the box office rankings, a bold idea came to him suddenly. Once that idea took root, his mind immediately reyed those words Taylor had said to him back then: ¡®How embarrassing would it be for you if word got out that your ex-girlfriend had gotten herself a husband who is leagues better than you?¡¯ However, he had no other choice. He had to try everything in his arsenal. Thus, he broke his silence and said, ¡°I happen to know a scandal about Taylor. Moreover, it¡¯s rted to Sophia¡­¡± Upon hearing those words, X¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°What scandal? Hurry up and tell me!¡± Richard hesitated, considering it over and over again. In the end, he said, ¡°Back then, Taylor spent 80,000 to buy Sophia and make her his wife. Perhaps we can use that to our leverage.¡± ¡­ Over at The Imperial, Sophia began to send out the cured meat via delivery services upon her return from her holiday at Riverdale. Therefore, the cured meat at home was nearly all gone. Michael was starting to worry as he studied the amount left over¡ªit wasn¡¯t enough tost them for the year. Meanwhile, Nathan hurriedly stole a few pieces and hid them at Linus¡¯ ce. Sophia had been extremely busy over the past two days. After vacuum packing the cured meat, she had to ce them in gift bags before posting them out via delivery services. At the same time, she had to make more cured meat. For that reason, Michael was also instructed to make more of his handmade cured meat during his off days at home. Dressed in his pajamas with an apron over it, he yawned as he put on gloves and prepared to make the cured meat. First, he rubbed handfuls of salt into the fresh meat, then he left them to marinate for a while before hanging them out to air dry for several days. After he was done making cured meat, he quickly sneaked into the basement to look for Abel, for fear of being forced to continue making cured meat. All of a sudden, the phone in his pocket vibrated. It turned out that ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ had posted a new tweet on Twitter. He had listed her ount under favorites, so he would receive a notification on his phone as soon as she posted something on Twitter. Taking out his phone, he saw that she had posted a picture of him in his pajamas, yawning as he made more cured meat. The caption was: ¡®Shocking! Middle-Aged Washed-up Actor With No Endorsements or Variety Shows Makes Cured Meat for a Living!¡¯ Michael was rendered speechless by what he read. Chapter 543 Chapter 543 Sophia had gone mad for the sake of boosting ticket sales. She neglected her studies, her work, and her company to focuspletely on her fangirl activities! She had gone bonkers! When the box office earnings passed 5 billion, she sent cured meat to 10 lucky-draw winners. Later, she sent cured sausages to 10 lucky-draw winners when box office earnings went over 5.5 billion. Then, when box office earnings hit 6 billion, she sent out dried fish to 10 lucky-draw winners. There was another person who was as crazy as she was. Ever since the rtionship between Sarah and Harry was exposed, she no longer tried to keep it a secret. Rather, she boldly and openly went over to his ce. Moreover, every time she went there, she would rummage through his house and take everything she could get her hands on. His toothbrush, shaver, towel, random doodle, barely-read books¡­ She took them all and gave them all away. When box office earnings passed 5 billion, she gave away the used toothbrush stolen from her idol¡¯s house. Later, she gave away a packet of snacks stolen from her idol¡¯s house when box office earnings went over 5.5 billion. Then, when box office earnings hit 6 billion, she gave away a rusty kitchen knife stolen from his house. ¡­ Meanwhile, Stanley, as the president of thepany, could only look on as his two employees neglected their studies and their work just to pursue their fangirling activities. Therefore, he came forward to comin many times. Unfortunately, Michael was very tolerant toward Sophia¡¯s fangirling behavior. Every day, he only repeated three things to her: ¡°Do you have enough money? Don¡¯t overwork yourself! Leave it to me!¡± Due to the previous incident, Sophia suffered from a mild case of depression. Hence, he tended to coddle her nowadays. She could worry over whatever she wanted to worry about as long as she was happy. Making my wife happy is my top priority! In this regard, Stanley only had one opinion, A doting husband spoils his wife! That day, he noisily rushed over to Michael¡¯s house again, shouting, ¡°Uncle Michael, something big came up again!¡± When Stanley rushed into The Imperial, Michael had an inkling of what he was going to say as he was sitting on the sofa in the living room, watching thetest news with a frown on his face. In today¡¯s breaking news on Cethos¡¯ entertainment industry, the famous actor, Taylor Murray, was suspected of human trafficking, having reportedly bought an underage girl for 80,000 to be his wife. At the same time, a scandal broke out revealing that the popr actor, Ethan Winston, was in an intimate rtionship with one of his fans. He was revealed to have had a one-night-stand with ¡®Little Kitten¡¯, a high-profile individual among his fan group. Moreover, he refused to take responsibility after sleeping with her. Harry and Little Kitten¡¯s rtionship was practically an open secret by now. After all, she had taken so many of his personal belongings and given them away. Even his sweaty shirt had been stolen to give away to his fans in exchange for more ticket sales. Thus, it was hardly a secret anymore. However, Michael had never expected that Richard would go so far just to boost the earnings of his terrible movie¡ªRichard had chosen to take the risk and expose Sophia¡¯s identity. This time around, Richard had gonepletely nuts¡ªhe bought over several ghost ounts to create groundless rumors. The rumors imed that Taylor Murray had abducted and sold underage girls, and his wife, Eddie Fletcher, had been sexually vited when she was a child. Richard was desperate to discredit Michael and suppress the box office earnings of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. He even dug up all the dirt on Sophia from her past. For example, he imed that she had undergone an abortion during her high school years and that she used to have rtionships with many men. Cobbling together bits and pieces of truth mixed with lies, he exposed them all at once. In particr, he highlighted the fact that Sophia had been molested as a child. He also emphasized that the male celebrity had married a woman that had been sexually vited before. Thus, no matter what the male celebrity said, it would still make his fans extremely ufortable. Despite knowing that these rumors would eventually blow up in his face, he couldn¡¯t care less right now. He wanted to drag Taylor Murray through the mud for as many days as he could. After all, a movie would only show in the cinemas for a month. Even if he could only drag it out for half a month, it would still greatly impact the ticket sales of the movie. Besides, he also hired many ghostwriters to go on a denouncing spree against Michael, criticizing him and using him of human trafficking. Looking at the degree of madness, it felt like Michael was being condemned by the public. If it were the past, Michael would have ignored these rumors. However, the situation this time was different¡ªit involved Sophia. Therefore, he hurriedly contacted his agency to rify everything. Sophia did not wish to have her identity exposed. Not only that, but she was also not mentally prepared for it. More importantly, he did not wish to use such methods to expose their rtionship to the public. After hanging up on his agency, he turned to Stanley and said, ¡°Don¡¯t let your aunt know about this yet.¡± Only then did Stanley realize that he had seen neither hide nor hair of Sophia even though he had arrived for a while now. Thus, he quietly asked, ¡°Where is she?¡± At the mention of Sophia, Michael couldn¡¯t help smiling. ¡°She¡¯s making cured meat in the kitchen.¡± Contrary to his expectations, Sophia, who was in the kitchen, received a phone call right at that moment. It was from somebody she never expected to hear from. ¡°Haha; Sophia, I could never have imagined that you became Taylor Murray¡¯s wife! What a stroke of luck!¡± Sophia was not surprised to receive an ill-intentioned call from X. From the time she invited Richard into the Edwards Residence at Riverdale, she had prepared herself for X to learn of it too. At the moment, she was wearing an apron as she made cured meat. Her phone was held in Nichs¡¯ hand and set on hands-free mode. Besides, it came as no surprise to her that X would call and kick up a fuss. Thus, she continued sprinkling a handful of salt into the meat and then mixing it vigorously while responding, ¡°You must be surprised. I married the most charming man in the world!¡± On the other side of the phone, X smiled mockingly. She was acting as if she had already won. ¡°Sophia, all you married is a clown!¡± The tone of her voice made it sound as if marrying a celebrity was something to be ashamed of. Then, she borated, ¡°Did you think that you would stand above others just because you married him? Let me tell you; you are still the same wench as before. Even if you left the nest, you are still nothing but an ugly duckling! It¡¯s a piece of cake for the Huff Family to bring you down! Did you think that clown, Taylor, could protect you? Dream on! It¡¯s easy to ruin him! Just you wait; he will be a goner by tomorrow!¡± Her tone had reached the point where she was hysterical and fuming with rage, and it was clear to see that she was beyond madness. Thus, she frantically scorned and derided Taylor and Sophia to the max. At first, she thought Sophia would falter and show her weakness. Contrary to her expectations, the other party simply replied nonchntly, ¡°I¡¯m making cured meat right now; I¡¯m hanging up.¡± After hanging up, X paced about Richard¡¯s office in satisfaction. She was so excited that her hands were shaking. The way she acted was as if she already had Sophia crushed under her feet and the ticket sales of her movie had gone through the roof. Meanwhile, Richard frowningly stared at thetest news intently. It was not the first time he had defamed Taylor. Every time he felt that sess was at hand or that he could bring down his opponent, he would end up failing miserably. But, it was different this time¡ªit felt like victory was in his hands. After all, he held Taylor¡¯s greatest weakness in his hand. He had used Taylor of dealing in human trafficking. Even so, he felt extremely unsure. Unfortunately, he had no other choice but to fight on. This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. At the same time, X called Joe. ¡°Hey, Uncle Joe! Did you see the news today? Sigh. I honestly could not have imagined that! To think Sophia married Taylor Murray! What a surprise! I think she is ashamed of you, Uncle Joe. It looks like she wants to cut ties with you!¡± On the other side of the phone, Joe jumped up in anger. He could never have imagined that Sophia¡¯s old, ugly, and wealthy husband would turn out to be Taylor Murray! It was beyond his wildest imaginations! ¡°That motherf*cker! That wench deceived me and stole so much money from me! How dare she think of cutting ties with me?! No f*cking way! This time around, I¡¯m going to y her skin! Isn¡¯t that husband of hers a celebrity? Isn¡¯t he worried about his reputation? I¡¯m going to ruin their reputation! That f*cking b*tch!¡± Chapter 544 Chapter 544 Listening to Joe cursing endlessly on the other side of the phone, X felt overjoyed. After she ended the call, she paced about tedly. Suddenly, she noticed that Richard still looked extremely worried. Thus, she quicklyforted him by saying, ¡°Richard, don¡¯t worry! Uncle Joe is going to kick up a fuss soon. This time around, there will be no escape for Taylor!¡± It was different this time. In the past, all the dirt on Taylor had been nothing but fabricated rumors. However, the information they had on him was the truth. It was enough to put Taylor in jail, let alone defame and bring down ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. Even so, Richard couldn¡¯t help feeling extremely apprehensive as he studied the growing interest on the inte¡­ Michael had intended to cut off inte ess in the house after Stanley left The Imperial to allow Sophia to rest for a few days while she concentrated on making more cured meat for New Year¡¯s. Contrary to his expectations, Sophia walked out from the kitchen before Stanley left and bluntly asked Michael, ¡°So, what do you n to do?¡± Looking at her expression, he knew that she had seen the news. He was worried that she might be suffering from shock caused by revisiting her past trauma. Thus, he subconsciously nced at Nichs. Nichs could scan Sophia¡¯s emotions in real-time and perform any immediate responses as required. As if understanding what he was thinking, Nichs replied, ¡°Mom is doing great! Rest assured, Dad! Mom is very strong!¡± Even so, he still felt very anxious. ¡°You don¡¯t need to bother about this. I will handle it.¡± However, Sophia knew that the other party didn¡¯t just want to destroy Michael¡¯s new movie¡ªthey wanted to drag her down too. ¡°No. Let me handle things this time.¡± There was a strange light shining in her eyes, and she still had the same thought in her head, Who the hell do you think you are, son of a b*tch?! ¡­ As the news broke out, it elicited various responses from both the fan groups of the two washed-up male celebrities as well as the students studying at Bayside University. In the past, the names ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯ and ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ were often associated together. For example, Taylor, who rarely made appearances at public social events, had made an appearance together with Sophia at the birthday party of the Harper Family¡¯s daughter. On another asion, Taylor, who had been absent from the campus belle contest at Bayside University for many years, suddenly became a judge for the event and gave the previous campus belle, Natasha Mitchell, zero points. Back then, Sophia had been in the picture too¡ªthe two of them had coborated on the program. Simrly, Taylor, who normally kept a low profile, had taken on a high-profile role by joining the International Esports Tournament. During thepetition, the two of them had been working together again. Lastly, when the indecent photos of Sophia had been circted all over the Inte, the first celebrity to stand up and speak for her had been Taylor. In recent years, Taylor Murray, who normally kept a low profile, had been making frequent appearances, especially in thest two years. Upon closer inspection, Sophia seemed to be present every time he appeared! Unexpectedly, this couple with an age difference of more than ten years turned out to be husband and wife! Moreover, Sophia was the minor Taylor had spent 80,000 to buy and groom into his wife?! Taylor was suspected of being involved in the buying and selling of underage girls?! After the news broke out, X waited for ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ to be taken down from cinemas in advance to make room for her movie to increase its screening slots. Then, the box office earnings for her movie would have aeback. The two leading actors of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ had suffered from scandals. Furthermore, she had arranged for many people to raiseints about the movie. Thus, she was certain that it would be removed from the cinemas early. As winter and summer vacations were domestic film protection months, cinemas could only show domestic movies. ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was considered foreign intellectual property, as it was produced by a foreign team. However, it had two Cethosian actors as the leading actors. Therefore, it had been ssified as a domestic product and remained showing in cinemas during the domestic film protection months. Since the ssification of the movie was inherently subtle, it would definitely be taken down early if something were to happen. By then, it will be the time for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ to shine! Thus, she waited and waited. Two days after the scandals broke out, the ghostwriters had posted comints by the thousands every day. Even so, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was not forcibly removed from the cinemas. Moreover, it continued to bring in revenue of approximately 200 million per day despite having been released nearly half a month ago! More shockingly, the ticket sales of the movie were boosted after therge-scale scandal had been revealed! Conversely, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ was doing poorly. Not only was the 500-million-dor production suppressed by ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, but its box office earnings couldn¡¯t evenpare to other newly-released domestic indie movies and cartoons! No! That¡¯s impossible! The two leading actors of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ have been defamed! So, why isn¡¯t it falling from grace?! Why are the ticket sales still so high?! The only things she did every single day were to monitor the box office earnings and endlessly criticize ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ and Taylor Murray¡ªso much so that it left her disheveled and crazy. Then, she frantically called Joe. As soon as the call went through, she questioned, ¡°Why haven¡¯t you sued Taylor Murray? Hurry up and sue him! He abducted your daughter!¡± In response, Joe cursed at her, ¡°You crazy motherf*cker! My son-inw is an Academy Award for Best Actor winner as well as thergest shareholder of Asco International! How could I possibly sue him?! You¡¯re insane!¡± After that, he hung up viciously. X, the stupid b*tch! Although Joe had indeed had the impulse to cause trouble for Taylor, Taylor had unexpectedly called him up instead. At the time, he had fallen to the ground suddenly and nearly knelt before Taylor! F*ck! With such a powerful son-inw, I¡¯d be crazy to try and sue him! After being hung up on by Joe, X froze in shock. Then, she quickly called Faye. The moment Faye answered the phone, she coldly told her, ¡°X, stop struggling. That movie is doomed to fail. You better not interfere with me as I mingle in the entertainment circles. Now that Taylor Murray is my brother-in- law, I can get whatever I want and whatever I need in the entertainment circles¡ª¡± Before she could finish, X lost control of her emotions suddenly. ¡°You prick! A*shole! All of you are c*nts! The Edwards Family are all motherf*ckers! Don¡¯t forget who helped you out back then! If it wasn¡¯t for my family, you would have died¡ª¡± ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± Without waiting for her to finish speaking, she hung up on her fiercely and blocked her number. Inside the freezing Huff Residence, X, who was all alone and helpless, cried in despair. At the same time, Richard of the Harper Family was also monitoring the scandals rted to ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. Despite spending arge sum of money to hype up the scandal, it turned out to be useless again¡­ Aside from the ghostwriters who were being paid, the fans seemed to have a mediocre response toward the scandals. They seemed indifferent toward the scandals. Rather, they seemed to find it funny instead. ¡°Oh, my idol. He truly is the world¡¯s richest, highest-quality, and most eligible bachelor! Since he couldn¡¯t find a wife, he was reduced to spending 80,000 to buy himself a wife! This is very believable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a harsh path that a washed-up male celebrity of the ¡®three noes¡¯¡ªno endorsements, no variety shows, and no announcements¡ªhas to take to find a wife! He has already fallen so far that he has to make cured meat for a living! I¡¯m begging you; please have mercy on him! It¡¯s very difficult for him to make cured meat at his age!¡±This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Shocking! He was once a world-famous Academy Award for Best Actor winner! After he lost his poprity, he couldn¡¯t get jobs nor find a wife! So, he had to spend 80,000 to buy an underage girl to be his wife!¡± Chapter 545 Chapter 545 Aftermenting on how Michael had bought himself a wife with 80,000, their attention finally turned toward Sophia. Shockingly, ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ turned out to be Sophia Edwards, the campus belle of Bayside University famous for joining esports tournaments! ¡°When the two of them participated in the Esports World Championship together, I knew there was something up between them! Turns out my intuition was right! Have a happy marriage! Sophia is a strong and kind girl! I feel reassured about leaving our idol in her hands!¡± ¡°The daughter of the Edwards Family, the smart and beautiful campus belle of Bayside University, and a well-known esports yer¡­ I have to admit; she matches up to my idol.¡± ¡°So far, nobody has sessfully recreated the song ¡®¦Ð¡¯ that Sophia and our idol coborated on together! That¡¯s a top student at Bayside University for you! I heard that she holds so many certificates that they are weighed by the pounds!¡± Taylor had always kept a low profile¡ªhe did not maintain a public persona, create scandals, or beg for favors. Rather, he simply concentrated on filming and focused on making quality shows. Therefore, he was not as popr as the movies he acted in, and his fans were rtively more rational. Besides, too many scandals involving him had been born out of nothing in the past. So, his fans were no longer surprised by them, especially in regard to something like buying himself a wife with 80,000¡­ On the other side, Joe held a press conference to openly recognize Sophia as part of his family. Furthermore, he criticized the unscrupulous media and rified that it wasn¡¯t a marriage of convenience but a marriage of love. He mentioned that Sophia was 18 when they registered their marriage, so the rumors about the human trafficking of minors were nonsense. Sophia was his long-lost biological daughter and the precious second daughter of the Edwards Family, so the 80,000 was just a symbolic dowry from Taylor during their marriage. Meanwhile, Michael kept quiet throughout all this. He said nothing, held no press conferences, made no rifications, and couldn¡¯t even be bothered to post anything on Twitter. In contrast, Sophia posted on Twitter every day through ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯, describing the lovey-dovey married life of a young fangirl and a handsome man who was past his prime. As for Harry, he made no response either. Besides, his fans were aware of the truth¡ªLittle Kitten was his girlfriend. However, she was a big-time figure and the longest-standing fan among his fan groups. Hence, his fans didn¡¯t see anything wrong with the two of them being together. All in all, Richard spent arge sum of money to boost the poprity of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ that had been slowly declining in ticket sales after its initial release more than half a month ago. However, his efforts did nothing for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. Not only was ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ unable to surpass ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯, but it also failed to win against domestic cartoons that were releasedter. Although the movie was supported by two popr A-listed celebrities, online celebrities will always be online celebrities. They had millions of followers on Twitter, and their posts were retweeted thousands of times. However, their true selves were revealed once they appeared on the big screen¡ªtheir acting skills and charisma were not up to par. Thus, the box office earnings kept going down. 10 days after its release, the ticket sales had dropped to 10 million. No matter how popr an intellectual property film like ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ might be, it was doomed to fail! Richard stared at the box office ratings as well as ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ that couldn¡¯t increase in ranking no matter what he did. Without warning, he suddenly swept everything on his office desk to the ground. As a result, the ss cups and documents scattered across the floor. His phone was about to explode from all the calls it was receiving. The calls were from various business partners. However, he didn¡¯t want to nor dared to answer those calls, knowing that none of them were calling with good intentions. After messing up so many things, the Harper Family was extremely disappointed in him. If I weren¡¯t the only son, I would have lost my position a long time ago. No! There must be a way to salvage this! Hugging his head in his hands as he leaned against the chair, his brain kept running into a brick wall. Then, a lightbulb went off in his head as he thought of a bold and extreme method, and his blood-shot eyes shone with determination¡­ Meanwhile, X couldn¡¯t believe that Joe could make peace with Taylor and Sophia so easily. After all, he used to say that he wanted to rip them apart all the time. Besides, the rtionship between Sophia and Joe had already reached the point where it was unsalvageable. How could Sophia ept Joe so quickly? She must have another motive for doing so! Thus, X made herself presentable and hurried over to the Edwards residence. The father and daughter pair of the Edwards Family had dressed up and were preparing to leave the house. Seeing that, X walked up to them with a sweet smile, forgetting that she had been cussing out Faye not too long ago. Then, she asked, ¡°Where are you nning to go, Uncle Joe?¡± Joe straightened out his suit gaily with a preening expression on his fat face. ¡°Where else could I be going? Of course, I¡¯m going to meet my son-inw, Taylor!¡± He had received an invitation from Taylor out of the blue today, inviting him to Vi No. 8 for dinner. Hence, he felt that his life was about to change for the better soon! Upon hearing those words, X cursed at him in her heart, When the Edwards Family was in trouble, the Huff Family contributed a lot of money to help them out of their rut. But, now that the Huffs were in trouble, the Edwards are feigning ignorance instead! These ungrateful ingrates! You want to go and meet with Sophia, don¡¯t you? You want to acknowledge your rtionship with Taylor, don¡¯t you? In your dreams! This damn fatty had harmed Sophia on so many asions! Does he have selective memory loss?! I need to pit them against each other. The more they tear each other apart, the better! Besides, the Edwards are scoundrels. They won¡¯t be able to let things end just like that! Therefore, she hurriedly said in a hopeful manner, ¡°Are you going to meet up with Mr. Murray? Can I tag along too? I really want to meet him too!¡± Faye yed with her hair for a bit as she watched X¡¯s impatient behavior. Then, she contemptuously said, ¡°You want to tag along? You should just forget it. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know about the resentment you hold against Sophia. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s inappropriate for you toe along.¡± X seemed taken aback for a moment. After a moment, she forced a smile on her face. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®inappropriate¡¯? Faye, it can¡¯t be that you¡¯re still harboring a grudge over what I said yesterday, right? It was my mistake. I was in a bad mood yesterday so I misspoke.¡± Gently, she continued, ¡°As you know, our movie involves both of us. I was feeling very anxious because it just won¡¯t be a hit no matter what. Therefore, Ished out without thinking. Faye, you¡¯re going there to ask your brother-inw to share some resources with you anyway. Why don¡¯t we do things this way instead? Bring me along, and we¡¯ll have one more person¡¯s strength to add to our numbers¡­¡± Bursting inughter, Faye sized X up before sneering coldly, ¡°You? Your little tricks might be able to fool Richard, but they won¡¯t fool me!¡± After saying that, the father and daughter pair headed to The Imperial next door. X trailed after them, stubbornly following along. I won¡¯t give up until I instigate a fight between them today! This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Upon arriving at the gates of The Imperial, X saw that Sophia was waiting by the door to wee them herself. She even opened the door for them, smiling as she said, ¡°Dad, Faye, you¡¯re here! Please, come inside!¡± Thus, Joe and Faye felt extremely honored and they proudly entered. However, X was naturally locked outside mercilessly when it came to her turn. The security guard coldly blocked her way when she tried to sneak inside. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but you can¡¯t enter the premises of The Imperial without an invitation.¡± Watching the three people who had entered before her and were happily chatting away, X felt extremely anxious. A sudden impulse came over her and she shouted after them, ¡°Sophia, be careful! I heard that Joe is targeting your assets and your property! If you bring him inside, he might end up devouring you and your husband alive! They¡¯ve had it all nned out! They n to murder your son, then take over your house and your money! You have to be careful!¡± Chapter 546 Chapter 546 Joe heard those words clearly. Thus, his aged face turned red, and his fat body shuddered slightly. He was both angry and embarrassed at once as he hurriedly smiled at Sophia and said, ¡°She¡¯s talking nonsense! You¡¯re my daughter! I don¡¯t even have enough time to dote on you! How could I possibly try to harm you?!¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Faye hurriedly added, ¡°We¡¯re family! Don¡¯t believe that outsider¡¯s nonsense!! It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know about that wench¡¯s instigating methods!¡± Back then, X, that wench, had caused so much harm to me. How could I possibly be instigated by her words?! Sophia smiled but didn¡¯t say anything. Then, the three of them entered Vi No. 8. Of course, I¡¯m aware of what Joe is plotting. How could I not? Still, he doesn¡¯t have what it takes to take over my assets! Upon entering Vi No. 8, the look in Joe¡¯s eyes darkened. Damn that wench, X! She nearly destroyed my ns! Just you wait! I¡¯ll kill you when I get back, you b*tch! X stood at the entrance, yelling after them. When she saw that it didn¡¯t seem to have any effect, she quickly took out her phone and frantically sent messages to Sophia, telling Sophia everything she knew about Joe¡¯s ns. I don¡¯t believe Sophia would willingly ept Joe as part of her family! At that moment, Joe and Faye stood at the entrance of Vi No. 8 with their mouths agape. This is the legendary Imperial! Thevishness! The luxurious look! It¡¯sparable to Buckingham Pce! This is, without a doubt, the wealthiest residential area in Bayside City! The opulence is iparable! It would be great if I can stay in one of the houses here! Especially Vi No. 8! There must be dozens of rooms in that house! Moreover, it has a parking garage, a garden, a fountain, and a pool! God; how great would it be if I can live here for a while! No, I can¡¯t settle for staying here for a short while! I will live here for the rest of my life! After a while, Michael finally came downstairs. Sitting on the sofa in the living room, he studied the father and daughter pair as they continued ncing about even after entering the house. Then, he smiled slightly and said, ¡°Wee.¡± Joe quickly smiled in response. Meanwhile, Faye stared fixedly at Michael when she saw him. At the same time, she swiftly stretched her long legs out on the sofa. Her sexy and shapely legs peeked out from behind her ck stockings, and she even nced at him seductively from time to time. In stark contrast, Sophia sat opposite her, dressed in pajamas. Hmph; she has no redeeming features whatsoever! How can she possiblypare with me?! The only reason she acts so arrogantly is that Taylor is backing her! If I can win over Taylor¡­ Faye was busy making ns. However, Joe had other ns of his own¡ªhe wanted to move into this house! Better yet, his name should be added to the title deed! Sophia nced at the scheming pair¡ªtheir malicious intentions were practically disyed on their faces. Smiling mockingly, she clicked on the messages X had sent to her. There were more than ten messages, and all of them were several-second-long voice messages. After that, she listened to the voice messages right in front of the pair. Immediately, X¡¯s bitter and hysterical voice yed out for everybody to hear. ¡°The Edwards Family are a bunch of scoundrels! Did you really believe that he would rify things with you out of the goodness of his heart?! Once he enters Vi No. 8 of The Imperial, you¡¯ll be on the expressne to bankruptcy! That guy would never leave without sucking you dry first! Sophia, you¡¯re so pitiful and pathetic! You are forced to ept such a repulsive man as your father just to protect your husband¡¯s reputation! Even I feel disgusted on your behalf! They n to murder your son and your husband, then steal all your wealth from you! You never imagined that, did you?! Haha! If my guess is right, Faye, that b*tch, is already starting to flirt, isn¡¯t she?! That b*tch can¡¯t keep her legs closed whenever she sees a man in front of her! Haha; letting that b*tch into your house was a mistake! She¡¯ll sleep with your husband sooner orter! That slutty b*tch has slept with more men than the total amount of rice you¡¯ve eaten in your entire life! Do you seriously believe your husband can withstand her charm? Why don¡¯t youe to your senses? You aren¡¯t their opponents! Besides, so many have seen your body before! Don¡¯t you feel unclean?! You were sexually vited by your uncle! You¡¯ve been sullied a long time ago! Moreover, Taylor has so many beautiful women by his side. Do you really think that you can tie him to you? Hahaha! You couldn¡¯t even hold onto Richard! Let me count; how many days would it take Faye to seduce your husband? Three; no, two days? Let¡¯s wait and see!¡± ¡­ Sophia yed those voice messages on her phone, deliberately setting the volume to the maximum. Thus, X¡¯s resentful voice resounded in the living room. Listening to it, Joe and Faye flushed beet-red and were unable to say a single word. Furthermore, Faye looked extremely embarrassed and hurriedly withdrew her legs. After listening to it once, Sophia listened to it again as if she had not heard it clearly the first time. Hence, those bitter and spiteful words rang out in the living room again. In response, the Edwards father and daughter pair seemed to react like they were sitting on a bed of needles after listening to it. Joe waved it off, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to the nonsense that wench spills. She¡¯s gone insane! How could she say such unfounded words?!¡± Still, Michael didn¡¯t say anything while he quietly drank some water with a vague expression of ridicule on his face. On the other hand, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to have heard enough. So, she listened to it again while ying on her phone. Consequently, only X¡¯s bitter and resentful voice rang out in the living room again and again. And every time it repeated, it felt like it was stabbing into Joe¡¯s heart again. He knew that Taylor and Sophia were sending him a message! Despite relying on Joe, they had no intention of giving him any benefit in return! Not a single thing! Bam! Joe decided to take the initiative and gain the upper hand. mming his hands down on the table, he stood up from the sofa and pointed at Sophia viciously. ¡°You unfilial daughter! Kneel before me!¡± ncingzily at Joe, Sophia ignored him and continued listening to the voice messages. Looking at her attitude, Joe felt his hatred bubbling up again. ¡°The two of you deceived me and made me suffer so much! How dare you turn to me when you need me, then kick me to the curb when I¡¯m no longer useful to you! Just you wait! Once I return, I¡¯m going to reveal your true colors to the world! I¡¯ll show them just what kind of people you are!¡± Still, Sophia remained silent. She acted as if she had not heard him yelling at her. Then, Faye stepped forward and tried to smooth things over. Looking at Michael and Sophia, she said, ¡°Hey, can¡¯t you see how angry Dad is? Quickly apologize to him right now! We¡¯re family. You shouldn¡¯t be listening to what an outsider says. How could Dad do anything to harm you?¡± Surely, even Faye did not believe in the words she herself had uttered. In any case, Sophia did not react to them as she continued ying on her phone. Rather, Michael spoke up instead. He coldly said, ¡°Nichs, bring it out.¡± A momentter, Nichs appeared with a thick stack of papers in his robotic hands. Then, he ced them in front of Joe. ¡°Take a good look at that, father-inw,¡± Michael said, strongly emphasizing the first six words. Flipping through the papers casually, Joe¡¯s expression immediately darkened. How did Taylor obtain this?! Chapter 547 Chapter 547 It wasn¡¯t just Joe; even Faye showed an expression of disbelief mixed with horror. Michael observed the changes in their expressions and casually said, ¡°Those documents reveal some of the unscrupulous things you have done in the past few years, Mr. Edwards. There are three counts of rape, two counts of murder, one count of kidnapping, as well as tax evasion and tax fraud involving your company. If this information were to fall into the hands of yourpetitors¡­ I wonder what will happen, Mr. Edwards?¡± The information covered not only Joe¡¯s dark history but also Faye¡¯s dark history at nightclubs. Each page held information more shocking than the one before it. Moreover, there were pictures too. Cold sweat dripped down Joe¡¯s forehead. Over the years, I¡¯ve stepped on so many toes. If this information were to fall into the hands of mypetitors¡­ then¡­ No! That won¡¯t happen! As soon as I open my mouth, I can ruin Taylor¡¯s reputation! Reputation is extremely important for a celebrity like him! Besides, I still have my family¡¯s wealth and mypany. On the other hand, Taylor is a phony actor who relies only on his reputation to make a living. Therefore, his reputation is more important than his life! As those thoughts ran through his head, he became more confident. I hold his weakness in my hand! He will be finished if I reveal my hand! Hmph; he¡¯s nothing but a clown! No matter how rich he is, he is still just a clown! Calming down, he hardened his resolve and nced at Michael fearlessly. Then, he smiled stiffly. ¡°Mr. Murray, your reputation is in my hands. Aren¡¯t you worried I might destroy you out of desperation?¡± Upon hearing those words, Michael burst outughing. If it didn¡¯t involve Sophia, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to have anything to do with Joe. After a moment, he smilingly said, ¡°It looks like you don¡¯t understand your situation, Mr. Edwards. The scandal you have on me won¡¯t hurt me. Do you really think anybody would care whether or not I spent 80,000 to buy a wife? Contrarily, I don¡¯t think you have enough lives to survive this if this information were to fall into the hands of the relevant authorities, Mr. Edwards.¡± Joe flushed red at Michael¡¯s words and was unable to refute his words. It¡¯s Taylor Murray after all. If I had not seen it for myself, I would never have imagined that he would spend 80,000 to buy Sophia and make her his wife. It¡¯spletely far-fetched! Even if I expose it to the world, nobody would believe me. Afterward, Michael waited until they finished reading through the documents before asking Nichs to keep the documents away. Sipping on his tea, he said, ¡°You know what you need to do, Mr. Edwards. With my authority, I can destroy you in a matter of minutes. Since you are my wife¡¯s biological father, I don¡¯t wish to cause trouble for you. So, I hope you don¡¯t cause too much trouble either, Mr. Edwards.¡± ncing at the stack of papers in the robot¡¯s hands, Joe was faced with a dilemma. Even so, he knew he had no other choice. ¡­ At the moment, Linus was weing a guest at Vi No. 2. Vi No. 2 had very few people in it. Aside from Linus, only one or two other servants had followed him from the Michel Family. Since his house was fully automated, he didn¡¯t need many people to maintain it. He had an automatic temperature control system, an automatic cleaning system, and a self-making bed. Moreover, the security system was very strict¡ªeven a fly couldn¡¯t get inside. Even the grooming and cleaning of his pets were automated too. Therefore, everything was automated except for the cooking. At that moment, he had not even entered the house yet. However, the housekeeping robot had already made two cups of hot tea and ced it in the living room per his living habits and coordinates at the time. When he entered the house, the two cups of green tea were still steaming. Putting down his phone, he took off his jacket and shook the snow off it. In the meantime, the lights in the room turned on automatically, and the hall lit up instantly. At the same time, his pets came running toward him. Upon walking into the living room, a man wearing a ck trench coat followed after him. The brim of a ck top hat was pulled low over his face, and a mask hid most of his face from view. After walking into the living room, he took off his mask and revealed a handsome face under it. His blond hair and blue eyes were very distinctive. ¡°Cooper, why did youe to Cethos so suddenly? You should¡¯ve informed me a little earlier; I could have made some preparations.¡± The two of them sat down and Linus handed one of the cups of tea to the man sitting opposite him. The man drank some tea before saying, ¡°I came to visit an old friend.¡± His voice was low and rich, containing an unspeakable reservation and depth to it. In response, Linus asked curiously, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you cut off all ties with all the people in your past, Cooper? Why did youe back?¡± The man opposite him said nothing, so he didn¡¯t ask further. The past had always been a forbidden topic with this man. Changing the topic, he said, ¡°I just bought this house. I¡¯m quite satisfied with it. Why don¡¯t you stay here for a few days before leaving?¡± The man did not respond. Meanwhile, Linus seemed to be ustomed to his quiet nature and went into the kitchen to ask the chef to start dinner preparations. Then, the man stood up and gazed outside the window alone. The entire Bayside City spread out before him. This house was pretty nice after all. He walked about casually and noticed that Linus had hung many pieces of cured meat outside. A bright red piece of meat entered his vision. It was a color he had not seen in a long time, and it seemed to bring him twenty years back into the past¡­ A pretty girl with her hair in two braids was wearing an apron with her sleeves rolled up. Mixing the salt into the fresh meat, she lifted her head and smiled at him. ¡°Coop, the cured meat and kimchi made by my family are to die for! The recipe is only passed down to the females in the family! Coop, I¡¯m going to make more cured meat this year. I promise you¡¯ll have enough to eat. Coop¡ª¡± ¡­ Originally, he wanted to leave this ce forever never to return again because everything here easily brought back the memories he had desperately tried to suppress. It hurt so much that he couldn¡¯t breathe, and even the blood in his veins felt like they had frozen over. Even so, he had returned. He wanted to meet that person. This year, he was a hundred years old. If he didn¡¯t meet that person now, he would never get another chance again¡­ All of a sudden, the housekeeping robot warned, ¡°There¡¯s a guest. A human, a dog, and a cat. Are they allowed to enter?¡± Linus looked at the surveince footage and saw Nathan standing outside the fence. Nathan held a dog leash in his hand and carried a huge orange cat in his arms as he looked in from behind the fence. If Linus did not allow it, any trespasser could lose their lives on the spot. Looking at the man, he asked for his permission. ¡°Cooper, that¡¯s my neighbor¡¯s child. Hees over frequently.¡± The man nced at the surveince footage. It was a six or seven-year-old child. So, he didn¡¯t mind it. ¡°Let him in.¡± As soon as permission was given, Nathan saw the infrared rays vanishing outside. Thus, he swaggered into the house. People he disliked hade to his house, so he quickly slipped away. When he heard that Linus had returned, he quickly brought his pets over to y and check on his cured meat while he was at it. As soon as he entered, Linus asked, ¡°Nate, have you eaten? Where are your parents?¡± Nathan lifted his head and pouted. ¡°We have guests at home, and I don¡¯t like them.¡± Linus replied, ¡°The kitchen is making dinner now. Why don¡¯t you leave after dinner?¡± Nathan thought back to the dwindling stock of cured meat at his house as well as the cured meat hanging outside Linus¡¯ house. Licking his lips, he said, ¡°Sure.¡± He walked into the living room and sat down, then saw the man sitting opposite him. Widening his eyes, he nced at the man curiously. Thus, Linus introduced them. ¡°This is my neighbor¡¯s child, Nathan Fletcher.¡± Fletcher! The indifferent expression on the mysterious man¡¯s face wavered slightly. Then, he asked, ¡°Nathan?¡± This is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Linus smilingly replied, ¡°Yeah, Nathan as in ¡®the gift of God¡¯.¡± Turning to Nathan, he said, ¡°This is a rtive from my hometown.¡± Despite the introductions, Nathan widened his eyes as he studied the man in front of him; he was brimming with curiosity. Just then, the man finally had a good look at the child in front of him. The more he looked, the more the child¡¯s appearance seemed to resemble the two people in his memory. Chapter 548 Chapter 548 In his memory, that man and woman had been very well-matched¡ªtheir interests and hobbies were simr, and they had a strong bond with each other. Unfortunately, their families were very against their rtionship, and they could not get married. In the end, he had gone against everybody¡¯s wishes and allowed them to get married. ¡°Cooper, thank you for blessing our marriage. Also, Celine and I would like that you name our future children, if possible.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ If it¡¯s a boy, name him ¡®Nathan¡¯. Nathan as in ¡®the gift of God¡¯. If it¡¯s a girl, name her ¡®Esther¡¯. The name is derived from the word ¡®Aster¡¯, a flower that blooms in Autumn. It also means ¡®star¡¯.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Okay. Thanks, Cooper.¡± ¡­ Could it be their child? Then, the man hurriedly asked Nathan, ¡°Who is Celine Fletcher to you?¡± Nathan was usually very quiet in front of strangers. Only in front of close friends and family would he asionally act cute. Upon hearing the man¡¯s question, he became upset. Thus, he turned around and ran off to the kitchen to check on the cured meat he hid here. Linus smiled as he watched Nathan run off. ¡°Speaking of which, that child is rted to you too. His father is Justin Mitchell, and his mother is Celine Fletcher.¡± It was them after all¡­ That young couple I unwittingly helped¡­ Back then, they were only in their early twenties. I can¡¯t believe their child is so big now. Regrettably, Linus shook his head, and his demeanor abruptly became mncholic as he continued, ¡°He lost his parents several years back. Right now, he is living with his uncle, Michael Fletcher, who is also known as Taylor Murray, the Best Actor Award winner.¡± Michael Fletcher¡­ Fass searched his memories, trying to find something about Michael. He had met Celine several times, but he didn¡¯t have much of an impression of her brother. The only thing he could recall was that the Fletchers had a little kid. After that, Linus went to the kitchen to look for Nathan. Meanwhile, Fass remained in the living room alone, watching TV. ¡°Search for Mark Fletcher.¡± The words he said in a cold voice were captured by the robot, and it immediately pulled up the relevant news on the TV. Soon, an aged face appeared on the TV screen. ¡°The founding general, Mark Fletcher, appeared at the military parade. He remains full of energy at the age of a hundred.¡± ¡°The founding general, Mark Fletcher, appeared at a marathon.¡± The Mark Fletcher that appeared on the TV was already a hundred years old. Even so, he was still as lively as a young man. Even though his 100th birthday was soon approaching, he seemed to be in good spirits and great health. Looking at the person on the TV, Fass smiled suddenly. Later, Linus reported to him about some work matters. While he was listening intently, he suddenly felt a weight in his arms. A fat orange cat had jumped into hisp. Linus thought the man would get angry. After all, his impression was that the man had never raised a pet. Contrary to what he thought, Fass didn¡¯t get angry. Petting the cat¡¯s head, he looked at the cor it was wearing around its neck. ¡°Chrysanthemum¡­¡± ¡°Meow!¡± Chrysanthemum answered. Acting like it knew him, it rubbed its head against the back of his hand. Then, Linus hurriedly exined, ¡°That¡¯s the neighbor¡¯s cat.¡± All of a sudden, Fass reminisced about a cat he used to raise. Simr to this cat, its name was also ¡®Chrysanthemum¡¯ and it was a domestic orange cat too. Back then, he had left the cat with Mark because he didn¡¯t dare to bring it home¡­ Fass was lost in his memories and Linus suddenly saw a small guy knocking on the gate outside the window. Thus, he immediately gave permission to open the door and allow Nichs to enter. As soon as Nichs came in, he said, ¡°Uncle Linus, Mom said that Nate cannote over and eat for free every day. So, she asked me to bring some meat over.¡± Every time Nathan came over to eat, Sophia would quickly send Nichs over with some food in exchange. Thus, Linus couldn¡¯t help smiling. epting the food Nichs brought over, he opened it up and asked, ¡°What did you bring today?¡± Nichs replied, ¡°Mom¡¯s braised pork.¡± Linus recalled Sophia telling him before that the Johnson Family used to sell braised pork and kimchi at the market. She had learned the recipe at a young age but didn¡¯t really feel like making them. However, she began making them again recently when she suddenly felt like stepping up to her role as a wife and mother. He asked Nichs to bring the braised pork to the kitchen. After a while, Nichs came back out. Walking over to the man sitting on the sofa, he said, ¡°Hello, my name is Nichs.¡± Fass took a look at Nichs¡¯ configuration and felt extremely satisfied. He could tell at a nce that it was Linus¡¯ handiwork! Only Linus could write such a perfect coding program and give it such a high level of intelligence. Teaching a genius like Linus is the greatest pride of my life! At the same time, Linus hurriedly introduced Nichs. ¡°This is the educational robot I programmed for Nate.¡± However, he knew in his heart that Nichs¡¯ main purpose was to treat depression. Fass touched the tiger hat on Nichs¡¯ head. Then, Nichs looked at him and said briskly, ¡°The hat belongs to Nate. Please don¡¯t break it!¡± Upon hearing that, Fass couldn¡¯t helpughing. When dinnertime rolled around, Nathan joined Linus for dinner. As soon as they started eating, he quickly ced a few pieces of cured meat on his bowl; he seemed to be worried that the others would finish it quickly. Looking at the dishes, Linus said, ¡°I¡¯ve gone native recently. Most of the time, I¡¯ve been eating Cethosian cuisine. If it¡¯s not suited to your tastes¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Fass picked up his chopsticks to eat. He had been living in Eastern Europe and Africa for decades. So, it had been a long time since hest used chopsticks. Now that he picked up a pair of chopsticks again, they felt strange and unfamiliar, yet at the same time, he felt a warm feeling of kinship. The table was covered with various dishes¡ªit was a luxurious affair. Aside from various seafood dishes, there was a te of stir-fried cured meat, a te of steamed sausages, a te of kimchi to stimte the appetite, as well as the braised pork they just received. Picking up a piece of braised pork, he tasted it. When his taste buds came in contact with that unique taste, the sense of familiarity that came with it nearly brought tears to his eyes. Thus, he didn¡¯t eat anything else except for some cured meat, braised pork, and kimchi. Perhaps, he had been gone for too long¡ªeverything he ate reminded him of her. Once again, he was reminded of that girl¡ªthat beautiful, kind, and innocent girl. It was almost as if she could make anything with those skillful hands of hers. When he decided to go against his family¡¯s wishes and marry her, they had fled far and wide. Traveling across Cethos, they looked for a ce where nobody could tear them apart. He changed his identity, abandoned his original name, left his original family, and eloped with her to a ce where they thought was safe. Afterward, he opened a bookstore under an alias to support their little family, thinking that it would be great to live as an ordinary person from that point forward. Likewise, she opened a small stall next to the bookstore, selling cooked food and cold dishes. Thus, he could see her whenever he looked out the ss window of the bookstore every day. Wearing an apron and a pair of gloves, she would concentrate on making the cold dishes and the braised pork. On the asion where she lifted her head to look at him, there was always a smile in her eyes. During that period, they lived together every day and loved each other deeply. They were young¡ª ignorant of the darkness and helplessness that existed in the world¡ªand na?vely thought that those happy days wouldst forever¡­ Meanwhile, Nathan was worried that Fass would finish up the braised pork Nichs had brought. So, he quickly put a few more pieces of it on his te and polished off an extra bowl of rice. That night, Sophia waited at home for a long time for Nathan to return. By her estimates, he should have been done with dinner by then. Thus, she went over to Vi No. 2 to pick him up after dinner. From a distance, she saw the vi¡¯s gates open. Then, a car drove out from the garage as Linus stood by the door and watched the car disappear into the distance. The car passed by Sophia. The windows were cked out, and the car lights were too bright. Hence, she couldn¡¯t make out what the person in the car looked like. When they passed by each other, a small sound seemed to reverberate within her. With a ¡®crack¡¯, it felt like something shattered or broke. For that reason, she couldn¡¯t help but stop in her tracks and nce backward at the car that was leaving. It felt like she was connected to something in that car. Due to the increasing distance between them, the connection had stretched thin and finally snapped. Hitting her head lightly and shaking her head to clear it, she thought to herself, What was that? She finally withdrew her gaze after the car became a spec in the distance. After that, she asked Linus curiously, ¡°Who was that?¡± Linus smiled. ¡°A business partner who came to visit.¡± Upon entering the house, Sophia saw the little brat, Nathan, lying on the sofa in the living room with his butt facing the ceiling, sleeping soundly. Linus covered the child with a nket and said, ¡°He had two bowls of rice for dinner just now. Then, he promptly fell asleep immediately after dinner.¡± Chapter 549 Chapter 549 Looking at Nathan as he slept soundly, the look in Linus¡¯ eyes was doting. I don¡¯t know why, but I like this child very much. Perhaps this is fate! On the other hand, Sophia was extremely embarrassed. This little brat! Not only did he invite himself over for dinner, but he also fell asleep and is refusing to leave! Why is he treating this ce like it¡¯s his own house?! It¡¯s bad enough that he came alone, but he also brought the pets along! He might as well have dragged the entire family along to mooch a free meal! How embarrassing! Looking at the pets, she was faced with another dilemma. How am I going to bring them all back? Just carrying Chrysanthemum will be difficult enough for me! He seemed to notice her dilemma and said, ¡°I¡¯ll send you back.¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Working together, they managed to put Nathan on Linus¡¯ back. After that, Linus piggybacked Nathan, Sophia followed after him while carrying the cat, and Nichs led the dog on its leash. In that manner, the rag-tag bunch returned to Vi No. 8. Taking Nathan from Linus, Michael thanked Linus, ¡°Thanks,d. Why don¡¯t youe in and have a seat?¡± Linus shook his head. ¡°No need. It¡¯s veryte. You should rest early.¡± Then, Michael carried Nathan inside and watched Linus leave. On the way home, Linus thought to himself, Should I upgrade Nichs with a heavy lifting system? Lest Nathan falls asleep in some random bush one day and Nichs can¡¯t carry him. After Michael took Nathan back, he handed the sleeping child over to the nanny to take care of. On the other hand, Sophia went back into the study and busied herself with her fangirling activities. Since her identity as Taylor¡¯s wife was exposed, various media and newspapers were asking for her contact information to interview her. However, Sophia had no interest in being interviewed. Rather, she epted an offer from a publisher to publish a book. The book would be about her emotional journey as the wife of a Best Actor Award winner, some suggestions and thoughts on the protection of minors, as well as her experience and first- hand insight into her student life as the campus belle and top student of Bayside University. Therefore, she had been racking her brains over the past few days to squeeze out the words. At the same time, she had to monitor the ticket sales of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ and make arrangements for the cured meat she had left. Hence, she was extremely busy. Meanwhile, Nichs withdrew its hands and legs back into itself, then folded itself into a cylindrical shape. Even the antenna was kept away as it plugged itself into a socket at a corner of the study to charge its batteries. Wary of Nichs, Michael waited until it turned itself off to charge its batteries. Then, he went into the basement to look for Abel, who had just returned not too long ago after flying across half the world. He had organized a search and capture operation. However, he still failed to capture Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. My guess was right after all. Previously, Stanley had broken the manhood of Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. After that, Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader had searched the world for the leading andrology doctors to treat his manhood. The doctor Natasha had invited over to treat James was rather lucky. Not only had he managed to escape, but he had also been ced under high-priority protection recently. In recent years, Abel had thrown himself into searching for Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader. He had no personal life, no rest, no holidays, much less time to start a family. Thus, he started working as soon as he got home. This time around, he felt that something was amiss the moment he came back. Hence, he hurriedly reported to Michael, ¡°Gemma and I have both detected unknown signals being transmitted out of the house. Unfortunately, we could not intercept them. You have to be careful of any devices of unknown origins in your house.¡± The first thing that came to Michael¡¯s mind was the items that Linus had given to them. After all, Linus was an expert in this field. It would be a piece of cake for him to temper with the items, and there was no way to prevent it from happening. Besides, they were amateurs¡ªthey did not stand a chance against him. Notably, that robot might look adorable and sound sweet while it called him ¡®Dad¡¯, but the fact remained that it wasn¡¯t human. Who knows what is hidden in its programming? Abel had been away for some time. So, he was unaware of what had happened back home. Therefore, Michael exined, ¡°Recently, Linus moved into thismunity. During that time, many devices that were personally programmed by him had been added to the house. For that reason, I told Gemma to create a shielding device so that they cannot detect the signalsing from the basement.¡± Abel frowned in disbelief. ¡°Linus Michel?¡± In response, Michael nodded in affirmation. Following that, he recounted everything that had happened recently to Abel. When Abel finished listening to the story, his scowl deepened. His entire being seemed to be grim as he gravely said to Michael, ¡°Linus is not as simple as he seems. He and Fass practically monopolize the power of the Michel Family. Over the past few years, several conservative and traditionalist founding members of both the Michel Group and the Michel Family have died unnaturally. I suspect that they were involved. Besides, I heard that Fass is only in his early thirties while Linus is only in his early twenties. For the two brothers to hold so much power despite their age, their hands must be stained with countless lives. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware of that too¡­¡± ording to Abel¡¯s investigation, Linus was known as the world¡¯s most eligible bachelor and a well- known phnthropist. Regardless of how harmless he might appear on the surface, the methods he employed in secret were so outrageous that they made one¡¯s blood run cold. Michael didn¡¯t need Abel to tell him¡ªhe was already aware of the means Linus employed. Not long ago, he had investigated the recent living situation of the four surviving members of the Johnson Family. They had ended up as sex ves at a high-end private club in Europe. Furthermore, all their teeth had been removed and their skin had been bleached¡ªthey were reduced to nothing but sex ves used by the wealthy to satisfy their curiosity and thirst for novelty. That was a fate worse than death¡­ Many private clubs across Europe were filled with deviant novelty attractions. However, the mastermind behind the scenes all pointed to a mysterious person. And, that person was Linus Michel. Additionally, he was the overlord of the European underground world as well as the demon king of the night. Not only was he powerful and capable, but he was also cold-blooded and cruel. Just by investigating him, Michael was terrified of him. There was only one difference between Linus and Phantom Wolf¡ªPhantom Wolf killed openly while Linus killed in secret. Unfortunately, I invited such a dangerous person into my house myself. I¡¯m terrified that I would lose everything¡ªfrom my child to my wife to my soul. The more Michael learned about Linus, the more he regretted his actions back then. Why did I let the wolf in? No, Linus is no wolf. A wolf would have some form of weakness. More importantly, it wouldn¡¯t dare to stand alone. Rather, Linus is akin to an evil dragon with no weaknesses! The Michel Family has always been an evil dragon hovering over Eastern Europe throughout history, and now, it has extended its deadly ws toward Cethos. It was to the point where he wanted to give up investigating Linus and Fass. Likewise, he never wanted to let Sophia know about her rtionship with Linus. The Mitchell Family were ruthless¡ªtheir callousness was etched deep into their bones. To them, lovers and family were nothing more than bargaining chips for them to gain more power. Each and every one of them was a cold-hearted monster¡ªwould they care about a sister and a daughter they had never met in 20 years? Sophia hopes to find her biological father¡­ but what if, in the end, all she found was a power- obsessed monster with no feelings? Linus is more terrifying than Phantom Wolf. Unfortunately, Michael felt that he was already riding the horns of a grave dilemma¡­ Late at night, X hid in a motel room, all alone. The cramped room smelled of instant noodles, dampness, and rancidity. Moreover, the abysmal heating system worked sporadically. Hiding under the covers, she shivered uncontrobly from the cold. At this moment, the Huff Family¡¯spany and residence had been blocked by debtors and her parents were still in the intensive care unit at the hospital¡ªtheir lives hanging in the bnce. None of the rtives and friends that used to try and curry favor from her were willing to lend her a hand. Therefore, she did not dare to return to the Huff Residence nor the Harper Residence. Ever since the Huffs had gotten into trouble, the disgusting true colors of the Harper Family were quickly revealed. In particr, Mrs. Harper constantly made things difficult for her over trivial matters. Not even in her wildest dreams had she ever dreamed that she would be in the state she was in today! Chapter 550 Chapter 550 During dinnerst night, X had been berated and humiliated by Mrs. Harper all because she had eaten an extra piece of braised pork belly. Meanwhile, Richard continued eating his food, acting like he had not seen her being picked on despite sitting at the same table. Thus, she had left in a fit of anger. At first, she thought that the Harpers would give in, and Richard would come to bring her back. Unfortunately, she thought wrong. After she left, the Harpers had not even bothered to give her a single phone call. Haha; how foolish of me. Quietly clicking into Twitter, she nced through thetest news. ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ had been showing in cinemas for half a month now. During that period, it had umted slightly over 500 million in ticket sales. However, she knew best how much that was actually worth. In the end, the movie was a total disaster¡ªso much so that there was no way to rescue it whatsoever. Many cinemas had even gone so far as to remove it from screenings ahead of schedule. Although the movie was a flop at the box office, the other leading actors did not seem to have been greatly affected by it. Bethany Nicole and Nichs Yates were still being endorsed on various variety shows. They only needed to stand in front of a camera to earn several million easily. On the other hand, Faye had posted a selfie of her at Taylor¡¯s vi on Twitter today. Moreover, she had created a disgusting caption to show off her close rtionship with Taylor: ¡®Finally, I can disclose this to the public! Mr. Taylor is actually my brother-inw! I¡¯m sorry about the misunderstandings we caused before!¡¯ Haha. With just a few simple words, she cleared up the malicious rumors that were going around and attached herself to Taylor, a bigshot in the industry. The Huffs had invested the most money into the movie. Consequently, they, too, suffered the most. As a result, the billions worth of debt that weighed down on X¡¯s shoulders left her gasping for air¡ªnever before in her life had she felt as helpless and desperate as she was now. The copse of the Huff Family was all over the news by now and everybody knew that she had lost everything. Just a few days ago, I was still the youngdy of the Huff Family that was loved and favored by all, the wife of the young master of the Harper Group, and the budding new actress that was rising in poprity within the film industry. But now, I¡¯m no more than a penniless small fry that can only hide in a small motel that costs 100 per night¡ªin thest throes of my life. Soon, I won¡¯t even be able to afford to live in this little motel. When she ran away in anger, she left without her wallet. All she had on her was her phone and ID card. Not only was she penniless, but she also did not have her debit cards or credit cards with her. Moreover, her Venmo and PayPal ounts had run out of cash. Soon, she wouldn¡¯t be able to pay for her motel room. The best friends and rtives that she used to have were all avoiding her like the gue, so she had nowhere else to go. Once she ran out of money, she had no other choice but to return to the Harper Residence in humiliation and continue suffering the dirty looks and harsh treatment Mrs. Harper would heap on her, as well as Richard¡¯s cold indifference. As the saying went, ¡®a person¡¯s true character is often revealed in times of crises¡¯. All of a sudden, X¡¯s phone rang. A name that made her jump for joy appeared on the screen. Thus, she answered excitedly, ¡°Richard, I knew it; I knew you wouldn¡¯t abandon me¡­¡± This is great! Richard still cares about me! On the other side of the phone, Richard fell silent for a moment before saying, ¡°X,e out. I¡¯ll wait for you at the caf¨¦ opposite the motel.¡± Overjoyed, she hurriedly tidied herself up and left the motel. When she arrived at the caf¨¦, she saw Richard¡¯s handsome figure sitting at a corner of the coffee shop through the ss window. All of a sudden, she was so moved that her tears poured down her face. Rushing over to him, she hugged him tightly and burst into tears. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t abandon me! You¡¯re the only one in this world who treats me the best¡­¡± After a moment, she finally released him and saw that he had ordered two cups of coffee as well as some desserts. She was so hungry that she shoveled them down immediately. All she had eaten today was a bowl of instant noodles because she had no money to order in since her ounts were empty and she didn¡¯t dare to leave the motel. As a result, she wolved down the food like a starved beggar. She, who had not washed her hair today, was a disheveled mess. However, she was so famished that she didn¡¯t even notice when her hair went into her mouth while she was eating. From N?velDrama.Org. He quickly sipped on his coffee, trying to suppress the revulsion rising in his heart. He was even starting to doubt his preferences back then. Why did I marry such a useless and disgusting woman? In the two years we¡¯ve been together, how much trouble has she brought to me? I can¡¯t even keep count anymore! If this woman had not taken off her clothes and seduced me back then, I would never have left Sophia. If this woman had not resorted to underhanded means, which nearly caused Sophia to lose her life, and repeatedly tried to bring Sophia down after that, I would not have be a subject of Sophia¡¯s vendetta. But now, Sophia seems to have pushed all the responsibility onto me. Her revenge is targeted at me, and me alone. Meanwhile, this woman remainspletely unharmed. No; her current situation has nothing to do with me whatsoever. She had iting! Besides, even if she died, Sophia would continue to seek revenge on me. When X finished eating, she even licked the te clean without care for her public image. Finally, Richard couldn¡¯t bear to continue watching any longer. Finishing off half his coffee, he said solemnly, ¡°X, I have a way to stimte the ticket sales for ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯. And, it is also the only method we have left.¡± Can we still stimte ticket sales? Her eyes immediately lit up, and she asked expectantly, ¡°How do we do it?¡± He looked a little troubled. ¡°It¡¯s a great method, but I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be willing to do it.¡± Thus, she quickly nodded. ¡°Just say it; if I can do it, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Then, he seemed to hesitate for a long time before he slowly exined, ¡°I have great expectations toward your acting skills. I believe there is nothing wrong with our movie. The main reason our box office earnings are low is ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. It has been a long time since the movie was released, and it will soon stop screening. As the audience¡¯s interest and enjoyment toward the movie decreases, it will soon be our turn to shine. However, our movie has too few movie screenings. Some cinemas are only screening it two or three times a day. Some cinemas have even removed it from the screening list altogether! So, we only need to increase the screening slots of our movie as well as the interest in the movie. The ticket sales will definitely be boosted as a result!¡± X widened her eyes; she looked as if she had been enlightened. As long as we increase the screening slots of our movie and arrange for more screenings per day, we will definitely be able to increase ticket sales! Tugging at his clothes, she anxiously said, ¡°Richard, tell me! I will definitely find a way to do it!¡± Richard looked at her greasy hands that had held various pastries previously as they left greasy and disgusting marks on his neatly-ironed suit. A wave of nausea swept over him, especially when he saw dandruff crusted under her broken nails. It made him sick. Picking up the coffee he was drinking, he took a swig of it and forced down the bile churning in his stomach. Then, he took out a business card from his briefcase. The words ¡®XX Films, Mr. Murphy¡¯ were written on it. Without wasting any more time, he bluntly said, ¡°Mr. Murphy owns thergest chain of cinemas in Bayside City. All screening slots depend on him. He has taken an interest in you. If you sleep with him for a night, he has agreed to increase the movie¡¯s screening slots by 30% throughout all his cinemas.¡± Chapter 551 Chapter 551 X felt her world crashing down around her as she stared at Richard nkly with a look of disbelief. However, Richard showed neither guilt nor any uncharacteristic expression on his face¡ªhe was acting like he was talking about something insignificant. Without waiting for her to respond, he handed her a bag containing a low-cut evening dress and a set of sexy lingerie. Then, he expressionlessly said to her, ¡°I brought you a change of clothes from home. Also, Mr. Murphy doesn¡¯t like using protection, so I prepared a morning-after pill for you. Here; take this 10,000. Why don¡¯t you use it to get your hair done? If you take good care of Mr. Murphy, he will definitely arrange more movie screening slots for you. Don¡¯t worry; you will forever be my beloved wife. I will forget this incident. We still have a long future ahead of us.¡± Listening to his cold and unfeeling words, the light in her eyes died out. Right now, my beloved husband is talking about betraying me in such an indifferent manner and acting like it has nothing to do with him! I can¡¯t believe something like this is happening! However, he didn¡¯t seem to notice the despairing look in her eyes. He calmly took out a hotel key card and used the chance to brush off her dirty hands that were clutching at his suit. He was so disgusted with her that he didn¡¯t want to have any form of contact with her. ¡°This is the hotel key card. Give me an answer before 6 PM tomorrow. If you refuse to go, let me know early. I will arrange for somebody else to take your ce. Mr. Murphy has been very busytely, and not just anyone can get hold of the key card to his room.¡± Standing up, he patted her on the shoulder. ¡°X, this is thest chance I can get for you.¡± After saying that, he picked up his briefcase and left without a hint of hesitation, leaving her behind as she stared at the cold key card in a daze. This is myst chance¡­ If the movie bes a hit, I have a chance to start over. But, if it fails to be a hit, I will suffer a fate worse than death! Richard left the caf¨¦, then he took out a wet cloth and wiped the hand he used to touch X¡¯s shoulder. After that, he threw the wet cloth into the trash can, got into the car, and instructed the driver to drive. Then, he called up a number. ¡°Hello? Is this Mrs. Murphy? You don¡¯t need to know who I am. I just wanted to tell you that your husband will be at Jade Spring Hotel, Room Number XXX tomorrow at 7 PM¡­¡± At The Imperial, Sophia woke up at 6 AM. Even though she wanted to sleep in, it seemed like her biological clock was set firmly in stone¡ªas soon as she opened her eyes at 6 AM, she couldn¡¯t fall back asleep again. Thus, she got out of bed, washed her face, and brought the dog out for a walk. She also brought along her MP3 yer to memorize foreign words. On the other hand, Michael chose to work out at home and deal with some work matters while he was at it. It felt like the entire city was still asleep at 6 AM on a winter¡¯s day. Simrly, The Imperial was silent too. Vi No. 8 and Vi No. 2 were the only buildings with lights on. Sophia trudged through the snow, stuffing her hands in her pocket as she walked the dog. The wind that blew against her face was so cold that it hurt. If I had known, I would have asked Nichs to walk the dog instead. The silly white-furred dog was growing bigger and bigger, but it was a sled dog after all¡ªit was ted by the sight of snow. While Sophia was walking the dog, Sarah suddenly called. ¡°Sofie, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m walking the dog!¡± Then, Sarah burst out impatiently, ¡°Damn! Why are you walking the dog?! Hurry up and watch the news! Something big has happened! It¡¯s massive!¡± After hanging up, Sophia happened to walk the dog over to the security booth by the gate of the community. Then, she noticed that all the security guards were huddled together in excitement. Every one of them had a phone in their hand and seemed to be watching an important video. Thus, she hurriedly walked over to steal a nce. It seemed like everybody was watching the same video. The title of the video was: ¡®Leading Actress of ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ Caught Sleeping With Married Senior Executive of Renowned Cinema Chain to Increase Her Movie Screening Slots. Caught by the Wife and Stripped Naked On the Spot!¡¯ Simply listening to the title of the video was amazing! The heartrending screams of a girl were heard immediately upon clicking into the video. The video started with a girl being stripped off her clothes by two or three noble-lookingdies in front of everybody. Looking at the surroundings in the video, it was taken in the downtown area during the peak hours of the night. Many passersby were crowding around, watching and pointing. But, nobody stepped up to help the girl. The dramatic sight of the wife beating up the mistress was everybody¡¯s secret guilty pleasure. It would be even better if the mistress waspletely stripped naked. Therefore, everybody quickly took out their phones to record the scene instead of helping. From N?velDrama.Org. One could hear the excited murmurings of the crowd, the grating voices of thedies cursing and throwing insults, as well as the girl¡¯s tragic pleas for help in the video. ¡°You damn wh*re! How dare you seduce my husband?! How dare you! Come on; there are so many men here! Why don¡¯t you show off your seductive wiles for everybody to see?! How dare you! How dare you! You slutty little c*nt! I¡¯ll show you what you get for being a whore!¡± Amid the abuse thrown out by the wife, two or three strong and fitdies tore the sexy low-cut evening dress the girl was wearing into strips, revealing the seductive and sexy lingerie underneath it. Then, they pressed her down by her thighs and exposed her body to the world. The girl wept pitifully, struggling with all her might to maintain thest remaining bit of fabric on her body. However, her efforts were all in vain. She couldn¡¯t stop her private parts from being exposed. So, she then struggled desperately to cover her face with her hands. Unfortunately, they refused to let things go as she wished. Holding her hands down, they forcefully revealed her face. Consequently, the girl¡¯s face was shown to the world; her expression was full of pain and despair, and her makeup was ruined by her tears. With that, both her face and her naked body were put on disy in front of countless eyes and cameras. Thedy kicked her hard several times, screaming as sheshed out, ¡°X Huff, was it? You¡¯re a popr rising actress, right? The wife of the young master of the Harper Family, right? You slutty little c*nt! How dare you seduce my husband?! How dare you!¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody seemed shocked. It turns out that the mistress is the popr rising actress, X Huff! The wife of the young master of the Harper Family! She is the noble daughter of the Huff Family and the wife of the young master of the Harper Family! Why would she sleep with an old, married man over 50 years old when she has such a good family background and an excellent husband?! How can she stoop so low?! How shameless! She deserves to be stripped naked! Every time thedy kicked the girl, the crowd cheered in response. In the end, too many people had gathered at the downtown area¡ªso much so that traffic was disrupted and the police were called. As soon as thedies heard the police sirens, they ran away in fright. Afterward, only X, who had been stripped naked, was left at the scene, and she searched around for some cloth to cover up her private parts amidst the jeering of the crowd. Her body was covered with shoe prints; her face was badly pped; her makeup was smudged by her tears; and her naked body shivered uncontrobly on the snow-covered ground. In the end, a female police officer kindly gave her arge cotton-padded coat. At the same time, another police officer suddenly rushed over to the camera and instructed them to stop filming. Only then did the video stop. This incident seemed to have happenedst night. Only one night had passed, yet the inte was already teeming with videos of the incident. The videos were recorded in high-definition with no censoring and from many different angles. As soon as one batch of the videos was taken down, another batch immediately followed. The shocking news of a female actress being caught in an affair and being stripped naked in front of everybody was a vice everybody secretly loved. While walking the dog, Sophia watched the video as she slowly walked home. Her demeanor was strangely calm. All of a sudden, she recalled the voice message X had sent to her previously: ¡®So many have seen your body before! Don¡¯t you feel unclean?!¡¯ Then, she couldn¡¯t help smiling. When she got home, she kept a close eye on the news. The current lover of her ex-boyfriend was in deep trouble¡ª that was such pleasing news to her ears. Naturally, she had to witness the entire story for herself! Chapter 552 Chapter 552 At 8:30 AM, the hospital announced that the chairman of Huffs Technology and his wife had passed away the night before, one after the other. Therefore, Huffs Technology suffered a total copse. At 9 AM, the media was having a field day as the Harpers held a press conference. Richard was dressed neatly, but he looked tired and sad. With an expression of faithfulness, he suppressed his anger and shame as he heartbrokenly said to the camera, ¡°Even now, X Huff is the woman I love the most. But, as a man and a husband, I am unable to ept the mistake she has made. I will take care of the funeral affairs for my inws. After all, I am still a son to them even after my divorce from X. Moreover, I will continue giving her a monthly stipend upon our divorce. I¡¯m sorry, X. I can bear all the mistakes you¡¯ve made in the past. But this time, I can¡¯t tolerate your behavior anymore.¡± After saying that, he hid his face and wept. Then, the sorrowful man left with some difficulty, leaving with the help of his assistant and his bodyguards. With that, the press conference ended, and he was immediately perceived as the best son-inw, best husband, and the most responsible man in Cethos as soon as the press conference was released to the public. On the other hand, X took the fall and went down in mes. She couldn¡¯t even file awsuit to get more alimony. At the same time, the Harper family quickly cut all ties with her. Several billions of debt fell on her shoulders, so all her assets were forcefully seized by the courts and auctioned off to repay the debt. For a long while, Sophia watched the news without doing anything else. Her ex-boyfriend¡¯s extraordinary intelligence and methods had left her in awe! Amazing! Truly amazing! With this disturbance, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ became popr all of a sudden. The box office earnings experienced a huge turnaround. In a day, the ticket sales exceeded 100 million almost instantly as it went through a sudden boom! All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. At the same time, X became known as a cheating sl*t condemned by all. Thus, she couldn¡¯t ask for more alimony from her divorce. Even when Richard threw her aside, nobody dared to say that he was kicking her when she was down. Instead, they praised him for being morally righteous. In short, Richard had emptied the Huff Family¡¯s coffers. After taking their money, he kicked her to the curb and killed off the Huff couple. Moreover, he even gained honor from those actions. Simultaneously, the ticket sales of ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ miraculously surged up. It¡¯s not an exaggeration to say that he killed three birds with one stone. Today, Michael kept seeing Sophia sitting on the sofa in the living room. She watched the news over the last two days repeatedly with a smile he could not fathom. Thus, he felt goosebumps covering his entire body. It¡¯s impossible that she is feeling happy to see her ex-boyfriend doing so well! After all, she is the twin sister of Linus and the daughter of Cooper! Her brother and her father are so evil that they make my blood run cold! Naturally, she has inherited their innate cruelty too! Don¡¯t be fooled by her appearance! Her heart is as dark as it gets! Hence, he decided to treat her a little better in the future, lest she turned against him one day. On that day, X was rescued by the police. Wearing the cotton-padded coat and a set of clothes the police had given to her, she left the police station. When she walked out of there, she was truly all alone in the world. Her family assets had been confiscated, the contract she had with Glory Entertainment had been canceled by the other party, Richard wanted to divorce her, and her face was bruised and battered under the mask she wore. Standing in the falling snow, she watched the colored TV disyed in the window of an electrical retail store by the side of the street. The TV was showing the press conference held by Richard. He was well- dressed and had a sorrowful expression on his face. He looked so perfect that nobody could find fault with him, and his character setting was so well-created that it moved people to tears. At that moment, she realized that she had been deceived all along. He was the one to suggest that she slept with that man. Even so, he immediately threw her aside the moment something happened and escaped unharmed all by himself. I wish I could reach into the TV and rip him to shreds! She had thought that she no longer had tears left to cry. To her surprise, her tears flowed down her face freely when she heard that her parents had passed away, one after the other, and her family assets had been forcefully seized and auctioned off. However, she couldn¡¯t ept it quietly. Using the few dors she had in her hand to hail a cab, she charged into the Harper Residence. The Harpers had cut off all her contingencies, and she had no evidence against them. They¡¯ve nned this for such a long time. And now, I¡¯m penniless. I have nothing! Nothing! Since the Harpers were so merciless, she decided to create a ruckus¡ªso much so that everybody became uneasy. Rushing over to the gate of the Harper Residence, she yelled at the top of her voice, ¡°Richard Harper! Come out! You asked me to sleep with Mr. Murphy! You gave me the hotel key card! You nned all this! I¡¯m going to let the world know about your true colors! You hypocrite! You hypocrite! You and your entire family will rot in hell!¡± She was hoping that somebody nearby would record it and post it on the inte. With that, everybody would learn about the true colors of Richard and the Harpers. Unfortunately, not a single person was around even though she yelled until she lost her voice. At that moment, Mrs. Harper came out of the residence. This time, she openly revealed all the hatred and disgust she felt¡ªshe did not need to don a fake mask anymore. ¡°You rotten little c*nt! You have embarrassed our entire family! How dare you return so brazenly?! Get lost!¡± Then, she ordered two bodyguards to shoo X away. Standing by the side of the road, X wept in despair beneath the falling snow. Joe, who lived next door to the Harpers, stuck his head out when he heard her crying. Seeing that nobody was around, he ordered his bodyguards to drag her into the Edwards residence. As soon as he captured her, he revealed his true form. His fat face squeezed into a wretched expression as he approached her. ¡°You slutty c*nt! You nearly ruined my ns! You are in my hands now. I¡¯ll show you what you get for trying to ruin my ns, you wench!¡± He had been coveting her for a long time. In the past, he could not make a move against her. However, she was in trouble now. With how much debt she owed, her debtors would probably sell her off to repay her debts. Thus, she would not have much longer left to live. Even if she did survive, she would be forced to sell her body to repay her debt, sooner orter. Why don¡¯t I have a taste of her while I have the chance¡­ In the early morning, the snow had piled up on the ground when Joe threw X out of the Edwards residence. Limping, she walked in a corner of Bayside City. Blood trickled down her thigh as therge cotton-padded coat was wrapped around her battered and ruined body. In the past few hours, she had been ravaged by all the men within the Edwards residence¡ªfrom Joe to the bodyguards to the driver to the chef to the gardener¡­ Just a few days ago, I was still the noble youngdy of the Huff Family. But now, I¡¯m worse off than a maggot. In the early winter morning, the street was empty. She walked along the road, alone with no idea where to go. Suddenly, a luxurious car stopped on the road next to her with a sharp screech. Thus, she stopped walking, turned her stiff neck in the direction of the car, and watched expressionlessly as the door of the car opened. Subsequently, a waft of warm air and a burst of elegant incense blew into her face¡ªit was like the door to another world had opened up in front of her. After that, a carpet was lightly ced against the snowy ground and a pair of exquisite high heels stepped onto the carpet. Ady stepped out of the car; she was dressed in a mink coat and exuded a noble air. Then, the woman stood on the carpet several meters away from her and studied her curiously as if she were something strange. Looking at the person who came, X let out a peal of maniacalughter. ¡°Sophia, are you here to see the state I¡¯m in? Your plot has finally seeded. Are you happy now?¡± Sophia stood in front of her and said nothing. Instead, she took aptop from her bodyguard and smilingly handed it to X. ¡°I¡¯ll give this to you. The password is 123456.¡± Chapter 553 Chapter 553 X didn¡¯t know what Sophia intended to do. Thus, she simply stared nkly at the clean and beautiful fingers in front of her. After a long while, she finally reached out her heavily wounded hands and took the laptop that was handed to her. Starting up theptop and keying in the password, she saw a folder on the desktop. When she clicked into it, she saw that it contained many documents and videos. Then, she clicked on a video. It was a video of her meeting with Richard at the caf¨¦ opposite the motel the other day. As the video yed, Richard¡¯s voice entered her ears clearly. ¡°Mr. Murphy owns the largest chain of cinemas in Bayside City. All screening slots will depend on him. He has taken an interest in you. If you sleep with him for a night, he has agreed to increase the movie¡¯s screening slots by 30% throughout all the chain cinemas¡­ Mr. Murphy doesn¡¯t like using protection, so I prepared a morning- after pill for you. Here; take this 10,000. Why don¡¯t you use it to get your hair done? If you take good care of Mr. Murphy, he will definitely arrange more movie screening slots for you. Don¡¯t worry; you will forever be my beloved wife. I will forget this incident. We still have a long future ahead of us¡­¡± Her eyes widened suddenly. I went to the caf¨¦ in hopes of looking for evidence of Richard setting me up too, but they informed me that there was no surveince footage within the caf¨¦. Therefore, I had no evidence to prove that Richard was the one that asked me to sleep with Mr. Murphy! I can¡¯t believe Sophia has the evidence! She was feeling very excited¡ªso much so that the blood that had frozen in her veins was rushing to her head now and her heart was pounding away wildly. She quickly clicked on the next video. It turned out to be a high-definition video from a hidden camera in Richard¡¯s car. In the video, Richard¡¯s face was clearly visible, and his voice was extremely clear. When he got into the car, he took out his phone and made a phone call with a strange smile on his face. ¡°Hello? Is this Mrs. Murphy? You don¡¯t need to know who I am. I just wanted to tell you that your husband will be at Jade Spring Hotel, Room Number XXX tomorrow at 7 PM¡­¡± Upon seeing that, she couldn¡¯t help sobbing. I see; he nned everything! He asked me to sleep with Mr. Murphy and then reported it to Mrs. Murphy. Because of that, I was mistaken for Mr. Murphy¡¯s mistress. Not only was I beaten up, but I was also stripped naked in front of everybody. Meanwhile, he found a justifiable excuse to throw me away and gained the reputation of being a filial son-inw at the same time. Even the box office earnings of the movie were driven up by this incident. Honestly, what a great method! It makes my blood run cold just thinking about it! Crying, she continued to the next video with trembling fingers. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. The next video was taken at a hospital ward in the intensive care unit of a hospital. Richard was ying the video of X being stripped naked in public inside the hospital ward. Mr. Huff, who had just woken up, was staring at the video with wide eyes. He was so mad that he couldn¡¯t breathe. All of a sudden, he struggled slightly before copsing back onto the bed, his eyes staring nkly into space. After he died, Mrs. Huff cursed at Richard. However, Richard simply stepped forward and unplugged the oxygen tube. As a result, she struggled for a bit before she stopped moving too¡­ After that, there was a video of Joe raping X as well as Faye and Richard conspiring together to steal the Huff Family¡¯s assets. There were several copies of ledgers too, detailing how the Harpers and the Edwards had quietly transferred out the Huff Family¡¯s assets. That was also the reason the Huff Family had copsed so quickly and so suddenly despite being such a stable and powerful family. Moreover, the files contained a lot of information on Joe¡¯s misdemeanors too. After she finished going through the information, she finally lost control of her emotions. Kneeling on the ground, she burst into tears. I can¡¯t believe this! This is how my entire family was killed by those people! Looking at X now, Sophia nearly sympathized with her. She sighed and indicated for Hale to bring out another folder. Squatting down, she nced at X, who was weeping on her knees. Then, she said gently, ¡°Here; your ID card. I took the liberty of getting it back for you. Also, here is 20,000. Use it to do your hair, change your clothes, find a hotel to take a bath, and have a good rest. Tomorrow, you can release that information to various media outlets that Joe and the Harpers cannot control. With that, both Joe and the Harpers will be finished. Additionally, this is the shareholding certificate for 7% of the Harper Group that I worked really hard to umte. Since we were deceived by the same man, I decided to transfer it over to you for free. I¡¯ve signed the documents. There¡¯s a pen inside the folder, so you can sign it yourself. Rejoice; you will be able to take your revenge immediately. Soon, the Harpers will apany your parents in the afterlife. It¡¯s a little cold today, so I¡¯m going to leave now.¡± ¡­ A long time after Sophia left, X finally came back to her senses. By then, the documents in her hands had already gone cold. She hurriedly flipped it open and saw that it truly was the transfer letter for 7% of the Harper Group. Moreover, the transferor was Sophia Edwards. Looking at the money and the transfer letter, she was confused. Sophia would never be so kind as to help me out of the goodness of her heart. She must be afraid of dirtying her hands. So, she wants me to destroy Richard in her stead! She gripped theptop that contained all the evidence of Richard¡¯s wrongdoings and sneered suddenly. Sophia, you¡¯ve made a mistake in your calctions! ¡­ Inside The Imperial, Michael had been observing Sophia¡¯s actions over the past two days. When he saw that she had transferred all the shares she had painstakingly amassed in the Harper Group over to X, he couldn¡¯t understand her intentions. With X¡¯s personality, she might not necessarily hand those documents over to destroy the Harper Family. Rather, she would most probably bring those documents over to the Harpers to negotiate her return to the Harper Family and be the honorable and richdy she once was again. Even if the 7% shareholding was lost, it was nothing but pocket change to Sophia, who was a multi- billionaire. Still, she had been watching the news intently over the past few days, keeping an eye on how things were progressing. It was to the point where she stopped all her fangirling activities and no longer paid attention to the news and movies about Taylor Murray. For that reason, Michael was very angry as he felt like he had fallen out of favor. How can there be something more important than her fangirling activities?! On the third day after the documents had been handed over to X, the sky cleared up. At the same time, the young master of the Harper Family, Richard, suddenly called for a second press conference. During the press conference, Richard appeared together with X, who had been condemned by all just two days ago. The two of them stood hand in hand and looked very loving. Although X wore shades, it wasn¡¯t enough to cover the bruises on her face. Facing the camera, she wept pitifully. Meanwhile, Richard held X¡¯s hand. His eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears as he said to the camera, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for gathering you all here today. However, this is a press conference I must hold. It directly rtes to a man¡¯s dignity and responsibility. First of all, I need to apologize to my wife, X Huff. Since then, the matter has been thoroughly investigated. On that day, my wife was simply meeting with Mr. Murphy and several others within the industry at Jade Spring Hotel to discuss a new film. Unfortunately, Mrs. Murphy, who did not know the truth, mistakenly assumed that X was having an affair with Mr. Murphy. Because of that, X has suffered deeply from the incident. It was all a misunderstanding. Moreover, Mrs. Murphy will be making a public apology and providing suitable compensation for her mistake. Furthermore, I solemnly apologize to my wife. I should not have chosen to divorce her under those circumstances. Allow me to deeply apologize to her once again. No matter what happens, she will remain the woman I love the most. I am willing to hold the sky up for her if need be. From now on, I will stand by her side no matter how the outside world nders and doubts her. Also, I will help her repay the debts of Huffs Technology.¡± Chapter 554 Chapter 554 During an emotional moment, they hugged each other and cried. Their love, which was as deep as the sea, was very moving. After that, Joe appeared too. Expressing his grief about what happened to the Huffs, he announced that since X had lost both her parents, he and the Edwards Family would now be her closest family. Upon hearing those words, X burst into tears on the spot. Even therge pair of shades she wore could not conceal her emotions¡­ After the press conference, the public opinion toward X changed. The public praised them for the strength of their feelings and bonds toward each other. However, nobody knew what Richard and Joe were feeling inside. Michael was sitting in the living room and reading a fashion magazine. At the same time, he sneaked nces at the expression on Sophia¡¯s face after watching the press conference¡ªit was an extremely pleased expression. She is so happy that it¡¯s insane! At the same time, she is so psychotic that it¡¯s adorable! Oh, my lovely wife! Even when you¡¯re crazy, you¡¯re still so adorable! After watching the press conference, she saw that the Harpers and the Edwards had left the scene. Thus, Sophia called up Richard to express her concern as his ex-girlfriend. She even put the call on loudspeaker. The moment the call connected, Richard¡¯s ear-splitting roar reverberated throughout the entire living room. ¡°Sophia Edward, you b*tch! You damn b*tch! I hope you rot in hell!¡± Richard was going mad with anger. Yesterday, X had suddenly appeared with a bunch of documents to ckmail him. She threatened to expose the evidence unless he reinstated her as the young mistress of the Harper Family. How could he possibly allow her to return?! Not only did she sleep with Mr. Murphy, but she had also been raped by Joe too. Even all the men in the Edwards residence had already slept with her! She was as repulsive as a maggot! Just by living under the same roof as her, he felt sick to the stomach, let alone sleeping in the same bed as her. To his shock, she not only had those documents in hand but also the shareholding certificate for 7% of the Harper Group¡¯s shares. If the information in her hands were exposed to the public, he, the Harpers, and the Edwards would all die together! Therefore, he had a rough guess of what had happened! Sophia and X must have coborated! Those documents were prepared by Sophia! As a result, he was tempted to strangle both X and Sophia to death. However, he didn¡¯t dare to touch any one of them. He knew that if either one of them died, the information on him would be exposed to the public¡ª his fatal weakness was in the hands of his enemies. Nowadays, the Harper Residence felt like it was covered in heavy miasma. The moment X returned, she had gotten into a huge quarrel with Mrs. Harper. She even went so far as to hit Mrs. Harper! And, if Mrs. Harper so much as said something upsetting, she threatened to expose the Harpers¡¯ dirty secrets! Therefore, he could only suffer silently and resign to his fate. For her sake, he had stepped on many toes, spent a lot of money, and even held a press conference. With the knowledge that she had cheated hanging over his head, he had to hug this foul-smelling woman and pretend to be loving during the press conference. Moreover, he felt as if he was soaking in a dung pit all the time. Whenever he opened his mouth to breathe, his nose, eyes, and mouth were filled with sh*t. As long as X was there, even the air stank horribly! And, all of this happened because of Sophia! Hence, he was so furious that he was about to explode, and all the vicious words that he knew spewed out of his mouth. ¡°You horrible, disgusting woman! You¡¯re a slutty whore who sleeps around with old men! I hope you rot in hell! I can¡¯t wait to crush your bones into powder! I¡¯m going to use your ashes to make a toilet! Just you wait! I¡¯ll kill you someday! I¡¯m going to kill you! How dare you give all those documents to that b*tch?! Did you think you could use her to get rid of me?! Haha. You got it wrong! That b*tch is so wretched that she came crawling back to me with those documents! That 7% shareholding of yours has gone to waste! It will be mine soon! Haha. You never imagined that, did you?! Your perfect n was ruined by such a repulsive wench! Serves you right!¡± When he finished his rant, he panted heavily. Then, Sophia finally spoke up with a bright smile. ¡°Your wife slept with Mr. Murphy before. Moreover, she was seen by all of Cethos! Besides, I didn¡¯t sleep around; your wife did. She slept with Joe, the bodyguards at the Edwards residence, the driver, the chef, and even the sewer cleaners! She slept with all of them! But, you can¡¯t divorce her! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. I knew she was going to go back to you with those documents. I don¡¯t care about that little bit of money. I just wanted to see you disgusted to the core, yet unable to do anything about it! You¡¯re done for! You¡¯ll have to live with an unfaithful wife for the rest of your life! More importantly, you have to live with a woman who could turn around and murder you at any time!¡± Richard felt so incensed that his eyes rolled back and he nearly fainted. It was no use even if he gnashed his teeth to pieces; he desperately wished he could murder Sophia. After all, he was well aware that X wanted to murder his entire family. She was a demon who came to get her revenge! Just as he was about to continue swearing, he heard Sophia sneer, ¡°Oh! I forgot to tell you! Yesterday, I received another 5% of the Harper Group¡¯s shares. On ount of our previous rtionship, I decided to give it all to your wife as a constion gift. So, she will hold 12% in yourpany. Hmm; I seem to remember you only hold a 10% share in thepany¡­ Now that she owns more shares than you do, do you feel scared?¡± When the conversation ended, he mmed the phone down. Then, he paced about angrily like an angry beast and his eyes were red. On the other hand, X, who had been observing the entire phone call between Richard and Sophia, leisurely took off her sunsses to reveal her battered and bruised face. She calmly took out her face powder and touched up her makeup. Then, Richard¡¯s fist came flying toward her as if he wanted to vent his anger out on her. To his surprise, she red at him abruptly. ¡°Hmm¡ª¡± His fist froze in mid-air. All his weaknesses were in this woman¡¯s hands. If he angered her, she might do something out of desperation and everything would go downhill from there. After she finished touching up her makeup, she got up. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We need to attend my parents¡¯ funeral serviceter. A ¡®filial son-inw¡¯ like you can¡¯t miss it!¡± ¡®Filial son-inw¡¯. Those words shackled him down firmly. He red at her but couldn¡¯t do anything. He was still far too young¡ªhe had been so foolish that he had dirtied his own hands and given his enemies a weakness they could exploit! At that moment, X¡¯s expression was filled with a sick and hideous delight. She liked watching Sophia and Richard fighting against each other. In the end, she was the one who benefited from it. If what Sophia said was true, she now held a 12% stake in the Harper Group. With that, she no longer had anything to worry about for the rest of her life. In the past, she had been too kind¡ªshe had given everything she and her family had to that b*stard, Richard. However, she was no longer the delicate and beautiful daughter of the Huff Family she used to be. Her next objective was to seize control of the shareholder¡¯s meeting and ckmail the directors. I¡¯m going to make the Harper Group mine. I¡¯m going to be a rich, young wife who forever stands above everyone else! All of Sophia¡¯s conspiracies will be my personal assets! Even though she nned to get rid of Richard¡­ I¡¯m sure she never imagined that she would be helping me out instead! Unbeknownst to them, Sophia was doing a happy little dance in The Imperial right now. She was ted as she imagined what Richard was feeling at the moment. During this period, she had worked hard to gather information on the dirty secrets of the Harper Family and umte theirpany shares. Now, she sessfully ced that deranged and repulsive woman in the Harper Family. However, these were simply the first steps in her n. Later, she had a whole set of ns to put into motion. I¡¯m going to make the Harpers wish they were dead! Chapter 555 Chapter 555 Michael observed the happy expression on Sophia¡¯s face and felt happy too. Then, he studied the videos of the two press conferences Richard had held. During the first press conference, he looked sorrowful and resigned. However, the twitching of his brows and the slightly rxed facial lines betrayed his true emotions. He clearly did not suffer from the slightest bit of grief. Rather, he seemed like he wanted to smile. What a total hypocrite. During the second press conference, he still had the same sorrowful and guilty look on his face. However, his voice was uptight, and the corners of his mouth and eyes were trembling slightly. That indicated that he was on the verge of breaking down. He could explode at any moment but had to hold himself back. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Right now, the knowledge that his wife had been unfaithful would loom over him every day, leaving him feeling perpetually disgusted. Even so, he had to be affectionate toward his wife. For a man, that was extremely cruel. Still, he gets what he deserves! After the ¡®caught in an affair and stripped naked¡¯ incident, X returned to the Harper Family in a grand manner and continued being the young mistress of the Harper Family. At the same time, she frantically acquired the odd lots of the Harper Group. Combined with the 12% Sophia had given to her, she soon saw the Harper Group issuing a public announcement that she had acquired 15% of their shares. Thus, she became a major shareholder of thepany and joined the board of directors. With that, she became a pivotal figure within the Harper Group. Meanwhile, ¡®Legend of Fan Lihua¡¯ crashed and burned in the end. The hundreds of millions that were invested in the movie had gone down the toilet, and the investors suffered a huge loss trying to repay the debt. Richard had failed to boost ticket sales despite racking his head for ideas. On the 20th day since its release date, it appeared on several mobile apps where one could watch the movie with a fee. On the other hand, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was extremely popr. One month after its release, the Cethosian box office earnings hit 4.5 billion while global box office earnings surpassed 9 billion. It easily entered the top 100 in box office rankings. Due to that, it became another peak in the acting careers of Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston. Due to its overwhelming response, its screening was extended for another month¡ªit was screened in cinemas for two consecutive months. Soon, the entertainment news revealed that X had signed on to another new movie. Moreover, it contained many highly erotic scenes. When the news broke out, the entire country was shocked! It was incredible that the dignified young mistress of the Harper Family had epted a role in a movie with many highly erotic scenes. In this regard, the Harpers did not ept any interviews from reporters. The Harper Family¡¯s scandals had be the most discussed gossip among Cethosians. However, the husband and wife seemed to be in a strong and loving rtionship. Moreover, they constantly showed off their affection for each other. Everybody wished them happiness on the surface but didn¡¯t know what to make of them behind their backs. No man could tolerate his woman epting a role in a movie with highly erotic scenes. Therefore, Richard Harper was truly a man among men! However, after the incident where X was stripped naked, she had be a popr topic for a while. For some reason, everybody held a strange interest in her new uing movie, thinking that perhaps she had nothing to lose anymore. The Harper Residence, the Edwards residence, and The Imperial could be considered neighbors. asionally, Sophia would nce in the direction of the Harper Residence curiously when she went out. Sometimes, she even went so far as to watch them with a pair of binocrs. Ever since X¡¯s return, it seemed like she could see smokeing out of the roof every other day. Thus, she was curious what the situation was like inside after all that fighting. Due to the poprity of the movie, the crew of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was holding arge-scale celebration banquet. Although Michael was invited to attend, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to go. Since Michael wasn¡¯t going, Harry didn¡¯t bother to attend either. He would rather stay at home, y games, and pet his cats. In a blink of an eye, New Year¡¯s Eve rolled around. The most anticipated holiday among the Cethosians was here. Early in the morning of New Year¡¯s Eve, Michael began preparing to worship his ancestors. Meanwhile, Sophia was in the kitchen nning for tonight¡¯s reunion dinner. It had been a difficult year, although it wasn¡¯t as tough as it used to be in the past. Back then, she suffered greatly throughout the year just to eat one good meal on this day. Even so, the reunion dinner was a meaningful custom and had to be upheld. On this day, the snow in Bayside City was as beautiful as ever. Across thends of Cethos, some families were happy while others were not, and some people were deeply in love while others were fighting. Early in the morning of New Year¡¯s Eve, a hugemotion was happening at the Harper Residence. The reason for that was that Richard, who woke up in a private room of a business club in the arms of a pair of twin models with 36D busts, received an angry and frantic phone call from Mrs. Harper. ¡°Hurry up ande back! X, that b*tch! She¡¯s going to be the death of me! I¡¯m so mad!¡± Mrs. Harper was so livid that she couldn¡¯t get her words out properly. Guessing that something was wrong, he practically flew back home. Then, he kicked open the door to their master bedroom like a wild, red-eyed beast. Ever since the incident, he had not slept in the same bed as X¡ªin his eyes, she was soiled! At this moment, he nced in the direction of the bed and immediately lost his temper. On the bed of the master bedroomy his wife, X, and two other naked male models. Inside the room, the smell of sex still lingered in the air. Scattered across the ground were wine bottles as well as all sorts of unbelievable garbage and tools left behind from their crazy sexual activities. ¡°X Huff! You b*tch!¡± His wife had daringly brought two random men back to the Harper Residence in an entitled manner. She even slept in his bed. Moreover, she didn¡¯t seem to feel any shame even though she had been caught having an affair. Under the angry gazes of Mrs. Harper and Richard, she got out of bed in her birthday suit, unabashedly revealed her body before Richard, and brazenly showed off the unsightly traces of her love affair. X tilted her head to the side and looked at the beastly man mockingly. ¡°What? You can y, so why can¡¯t I? I¡¯m telling you; I¡¯m not just going to y, but I¡¯ll also bring them home to y. What¡¯s it to you?¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Richard was being cheated on. Thus, he was so furious that he felt lightheaded. Choking on his rage, it became a string of dry words. ¡°Shameless wench! As the young mistress of the Harper Family, how dare you¡ª¡± Nowadays, she no longer had anything to fear. Leisurely donning a sexy silk chemise, she lit up a cigarette and exhaled a perfect circle of smoke. Then, she casually shook the ashes onto the carpet and lifted her enchanting brows slightly, saying, ¡°It¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve today. I¡¯m going to invite several male models over to the house to party. You can join us if you like.¡± He was rendered speechless by her words. Not long ago, she finally realized that the girl she was in the past had been stupidly honest. Thus, she underwent aplete change. He fools around outside every night. What right does he have to criticize me? Mrs. Harper was so furious that she rushed over to hit X. ¡°You b*tch! You little slut! Get out of here!¡± When X saw Mrs. Harper rushing over to hit her, she fought back. Reaching out to stop Mrs. Harper¡¯s attack, the twodies in the house fought tooth and nail. X was no longer the same girl she had been in the past. Grabbing Mrs. Harper¡¯s clothes, she tore them off viciously. Very quickly, both women stood there in their birthday suits. X no longer cared, but Mrs. Harper still felt ashamed despite her age. Mrs. Harper¡¯s clothes werepletely stripped off of her in a blink of an eye. Hence, she was crying, screaming, and searching for some cloth to cover herself up ¡ªall at the same time. Finally, Richard couldn¡¯t stand watching any longer. He fiercely pped X across the face and helped Mrs. Harper out of the room. After that, he mmed the door behind him, never wanting to see that sight again. Meanwhile, X¡¯s voice came out from inside the bedroom. ¡°Richard, you better keep your mouth shut for the sake of your reputation!¡± Richard heard the vicious threat but couldn¡¯t do anything in retaliation. That woman has gone crazy! On that day, X held a party in the Harper Residence just as she said she would. She invited over a dozen dodgy men and women over to the house for a sex party. They sat in the living room, flirting, and even started getting handsy right in front of the Harpers. As a result, Mrs. Harper was so furious that she fainted on the spot. Hence, Mr. Harper and Richard sent her to the hospital, and their New Year¡¯s passed gloomily. As always, the Mitchell Family was enveloped in despair. The Michel Family was being very aggressive ¡ªso much so the Mitchell Family couldn¡¯t stand up against them at all. They were seeking a marriage between the families to promote cooperation between the families, but the other party simply had no interest. Chapter 556 Chapter 556 At this critical point where the survival of the Mitchell Family was at stake, the most distinguisheddy of the family, Natasha, had gone missing. There had been no news from her for more than a month now. Thus, Alex had focused all his energy on searching for his daughter. He mobilized all the forces he could to search all over the world¡ªit was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Faced against the unscrupulous Michel Family, the Mitchell Family was steadily losing the fight. Every year, the Mitchell Family would hold an annual family meeting on New Year¡¯s Day to summarize the gains and losses of the year, as well as looking into the future. However, the annual family meeting this year was turning into a quarrel between the Alex faction and the Cooper faction. Cooper¡¯s old supporters were in favor of weing him back at any cost. They believed that it was the only way to save the family. In contrast, the Alex faction believed that Cooper was a traitor. They refused to wee him back into the family even if he returned. For that reason, the two factions were at each other¡¯s throats during the annual meeting. Throughout all that, Sean acted like he was an outsider. He lowered his head to y games on his phone while he chatted with Stanley on the game chat. Stanley: ¡®Sean, I heard Sarah saying that the Mitchell Family is having a huge quarrel. It¡¯s so loud that they can hear it from next door. Are you okay?¡¯ Sean replied exasperatedly, ¡®I won¡¯t be able to celebrate New Year¡¯s today at this rate. I¡¯ll probably return to work soon after dinner.¡¯ Stanley: ¡®Hey, why are you working on New Year¡¯s Day?! It so happens that my family isn¡¯t celebrating New Year¡¯s together this year. My parents have gone overseas on an exchange program while my brother is out on a business trip. Besides, we had dinner together just a few days ago, so we¡¯re not celebrating this year. Why don¡¯t we go to Sophia¡¯s house to celebrate New Year¡¯s instead? Uncle Michael will surely bring out the good wine.¡¯ Hmm; mooching a free meal at Michael¡¯s house doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea! Besides, they have so much cured meat they won¡¯t be able to finish them¡­ Sean answered, ¡®Yeah, okay.¡¯ Lifting his head, he nced at the two factions arguing ceaselessly. Then, he sneaked out. When he drove past the West Residence, he heard the West Family arguing loudly too. Therefore, he slowed his car and saw Sarah running out of the house. Peter followed behind her; he was so furious that he was jumping in anger. ¡°Leave if you dare! And, don¡¯t you daree back again!¡± Peter was so furious that his thick neck was flushed red. A mother and a daughter hugged each other behind him, crying. However, a barely-concealed triumphant light shone in their eyes behind the fa?ade of their tear-stained faces. Sarah was wearing her pajamas and her hair was disheveled. Stuffing some items into her pocket, she rushed outside without turning back. Simrly, Peter was in a fit of anger. He didn¡¯t know whether he should chase after her or not. Thus, he simply watched as her pajama-d figure disappeared around the corner of the road. Looks like Sarah has gotten into another fight with her father and her stepmother! Rolling down the window, Sean said to Peter, ¡°Mr. West, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll go after her!¡± When Peter saw Sean, his face lit up with joy. Nodding quickly, he said, ¡°Thanks.¡± Sean drove his car after her and soon found her. She was walking and crying at the same time. Stopping the car, he opened the car door for her. ¡°Get in. I¡¯ll send you back.¡± Sarah wiped her tears as she got into the car with red-rimmed eyes. ¡°No, thanks. I want to go to my shop. I¡¯d rather spend the New Year¡¯s with my cats than go home right now!¡± Exasperated, he sent her to her cat caf¨¦. All the workers were on holiday today, so the doors were shut tight. Then, he quickly called Harry after watching her walk into the caf¨¦. ¡°Hello? Old Wolf, your little kitten ran away after getting into a fight with her family. Right now, she is at her cat caf¨¦. Come and comfort her quickly!¡± Hanging up, he parked his car at the entrance and waited for a while. The West Family affairs were not something he could meddle in. However, they had been neighbors for 10 years now. So, he had a vague understanding of their family situation. The saying ¡®men turn unfaithful once they achieve sess¡¯ described Peter to the tee. The moment his business seeded, he divorced his wife, who had stayed with him through thick and thin, and married a richdy instead. Over the years, Sarah was often bullied by her stepmother at home. Therefore, she disliked her family from a young age and would rather focus on her fangirling activities than go home. Even so, it was New Year¡¯s¡ªsomething probably happened to upset her so badly. It was not easy to describe her stepmother. Her stepmother had always wanted to marry Sarah off in exchange for a sizable dowry. She also wanted to snatch away the shares Sarah owned to give to her own daughter. If not for Sarah¡¯s capable brother, she would have suffered even more at home¡­ Not long after Sean¡¯s call, a shiny and bright sports car stopped in front of the caf¨¦. Harry climbed out of the car and was dressed in clothes that didn¡¯t stand out, a mask, and a hat. Hurriedly greeting Sean, who was waiting inside the car, he anxiously rushed into the caf¨¦. Afterward, Sean drove to The Imperial. By the time he arrived, Stanley was already there. ¡°My parents abandoned me and left to go abroad. My brother is out on a business trip. I¡¯m the only person at home on New Year¡¯s Day. Even the housekeeper has returned home to celebrate the New Year¡¯s. The kitchen and the hearth are cold, and I have no food to eat. Uncle Michael, take pity on me! Hurry up and open some good bottles of wine tofort me!¡± Stanley was pestering Michael. Meanwhile, Michael was sitting on the sofa, dressed in a set of pajamas with an orange cat cartoon print. Looking very irritated, he said, ¡°Go away; go away! Go somece else to eat! I don¡¯t have enough food for this year either!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. The affectionate bickering between the uncle and his nephew didn¡¯t seem to affect the atmosphere of the New Year¡¯s at all. When Sophia saw Sean, she greeted him warmly. She had known that he wasing. Not long after that, Harry turned up with Sarah, whose eyes were swollen from crying, to join the reunion dinner too. Just as the dishes for the reunion dinner were being served, Nathan ran off suddenly. He soon came back with Linus in tow. As foreigners generally did not celebrate the Cethosian New Year, today was no different from other general holidays to Linus. However, in Nathan¡¯s eyes, Linus was extremely pitiful and miserable for having to work alone at home despite the New Year¡¯s celebration. Thus, he rushed over to invite Linus over too. Meanwhile, Daniel also hurried over for after-dinner drinks after finishing dinner at the Levine Residence. With everybody gathered here, the New Year¡¯s atmosphere this year was better than in previous years. Theyzed about in the living room while chatting leisurely, snacking on sunflower seeds, and ying with the cats. ¡°Hmm? Mr. Harry, don¡¯t you need to return to the Winston Residence? Aren¡¯t you the head of the family?¡± Stanley asked curiously. As the head of the Winston Family¡ªthe most powerful underworld family in Bayside City¡ªand the uncrowned king of the underworld, Harry Winston should have been at the Winston Residence right now. However, Harry wasn¡¯t bothered. ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered to go. They can celebrate New Year¡¯s on their own.¡± After dinner, the New Year Dinner G was about to begin. As usual, Michael disappeared for a short while, sprucing himself up a little before he left. Then, Harry hurriedly followed suit. He smartened himself up, hopped into Michael¡¯s car, and they left together. Last year, Michael only left after the New Year Dinner G started. However, he left a little earlier this year. Everybody knew that Michael and Harry were going to appear at the New Year Dinner G, so they gathered in front of the TV to wait for their performance toe on. The movie ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ that they acted in might not have been a local film, but they were Cethosian actors. Besides, the movie had broken all past records of box office earnings for movies starring Cethosian actors. For that reason, they would certainly be invited to the New Year Dinner G no matter what. The two of them had sung a duet togetherst year, but they didn¡¯t work together this year. Harry cooperated with a magician to perform a magic show, pretending to be picked as part of the ¡®lucky audience¡¯ to go on stage and help with the magic tricks. On the other hand, nobody knew what program Michael had prepared¡­ Chapter 557 Chapter 557 After Harry¡¯s program, the host was very excited and emotional as he announced, ¡°Today, we have a very special guest among us! He joined the army at a young age and made great contributions to the establishment of Cethos as we know it today! Today, this hundred-year-old man would like to say a few words to us.¡± Then, the camera panned over in the direction of the auditorium, and the audience immediately noticed an old man with white hair but a youthfulplexion, dressed in military uniform¡ªit was Mark Fletcher! Following that, thunderous apuse rang out across the venue. Nobody had expected that he would make an appearance today! The old man was already over a hundred years old, yet he was still in such good health and spirits! Another host was standing beside Mark, and he respectfully handed the microphone over to Mark. epting the microphone from him, Mark stood up. Despite his age, his body was strong and healthy. He had been a brave general in his youth. Even though he was now older, he was still the same brave general as back then. He didn¡¯t like wasting time on words. So, he picked up the microphone and said to the audience, ¡°Happy New Year¡¯s, everybody! I don¡¯t have much to say either. I wish everybody an auspicious year ahead. Also, please focus on the performances! You don¡¯t need to pay attention to an old man like me. I¡¯m certain I¡¯m not as interesting as the performances!¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody roared withughter. They were surprised that the old man was so humorous! After that, the host smiled respectfully as he asked, ¡°Old Master, what brings you here today?¡± Mark remembered his lines and he excitedly said, ¡°I love listening to ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯. When I heard that somebody will be performing ¡®Mn¡¯ tonight, I had toe!¡± Then, the host went on to say, ¡°It looks like Old Master is excited to watch the opera! Next, let¡¯s invite the renowned master of performing arts, Taylor Murray, to present us with the traditional opera ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯!¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody watching the g was shocked to the core! Stanley jumped to his feet in surprise. ¡°Oh, my God! Uncle Michael is going to perform ¡®Mn¡¯!¡± Simrly, Sophia hurriedly closed her mouth that fell open from the shock. No wonder Michael has been hiding in the training room over the past few days. I thought he was hiding to get out of making cured meat. It turns out he was preparing for the New Year Dinner G¡¯s performance. At the New Year Dinner G, Old Master Fletcher took the lead in apuding and the venue was filled with thunderous apuse and excited cheering. Soon, Taylor appeared onstage, fully dressed up as Mn. Despite being dressed as a female, he wore heavy armor and was armed with spears. His appearance as a handsome female warrior stole the hearts of many. All they could see was a heroic female general. He waspletely different from the bare-faced, washed-up man, who yawned as he made cured meat, in Eddie¡¯s Twitter post a few days ago. The choreography for his performance during the New Year Dinner G was perfectly done, exemplifying his magnificent beauty. As soon as he came on stage, he showcased a beautiful dance with his spears. His exquisite skills and perfect figure instantly drew a round of apuse from the audience. From time to time, the cameras that were focused on the stage would pan toward the audience. The cameras circled the venue, perfectly capturing the expressions of amazement among the audience. His figure, his voice, and his professional poses were no less than that of a professional opera master even though he was just an actor! At that moment, everybody was suddenly reminded of the New Year Dinner G more than 30 years ago. A movie star had performed ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯ too¡ªit was Elizabeth Murray. Back then, she had charmed the entire nation when she was at the peak of her youth. Performing ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯ had established her position within the opera world and boosted her reputation greatly! Identical appearances and the same lyrics¡ªthe two performances that were separated by 30 years infinitely ovepped in the hearts of the fans! The older fans couldn¡¯t help crying at the sight. Like mother, like son! Elizabeth¡¯s son truly lives up to his reputation! Originally, Taylor Murray had been just a movie actor in everybody¡¯s eyes. But now, he became famous due to his wless performance of ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯. Meanwhile, Sophia was so stunned by the performance that she even forgot to apud. The only thoughts in her heart were: Oh, my God! My husband is so handsome! Oh, my God! My husband is so amazing! Oh, my God! I want to have his children! The apuse and cheers roared throughout the venue, and the atmosphere was lively¡ªso much so that it woke the people who were dozing off. At the same time, online tforms were providing simultaneous live broadcasts and real-timements from viewers flew across the screen like bullets. After the song, Taylor took a bow, and the host called him over to interact with the audience. Then, Sophia immediately used her phone to check the onlinements. News of Michael appearing at the New Year Dinner G had be a trending topic on Twitter. As the program itinerary of the New Year Dinner G had always been a secret, the fans were finally reacting to it. Therefore, the online comments were very favorable. ¡®Oh, my God! A washed-up actor appeared at the New Year Dinner G! He¡¯s going to be popr!¡¯ ¡®His career is going to be revived again! Pay close attention!¡¯ ¡®I guess making cured meat isn¡¯t enough to make a living. Appearing at the New Year Dinner G is the king¡¯s way!¡¯ From N?velDrama.Org. At the same time, there were viciousments too. ¡®Oh, my! How timely; he¡¯s just riding the coattails of Mark Fletcher! I guess if he can cling to Mark, his future will be smooth-sailing!¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re overthinking it. How could Mark Fletcher be interested in a lowly actor like him? He¡¯s not worthy! It won¡¯t be easy for him to cling to Mark.¡¯ Motherf*ckers! Who the hell is this son of a b*tch?! Sophia was livid. How dare this damn chicken cause drama?! No matter how I look at it, the cynical tone is sickening! She was about to reply to thement when a burst of apuse rang out from the TV. Taylor and the host were interacting onstage. Taylor was about to pick the lucky draw winner from among the audience. Before he could start to draw the lots, an enthusiastic fan barged onstage and rushed toward him. It stood to reason that fans forcing their way onto the stage during the New Year Dinner G was a huge incident. Besides, normal fans couldn¡¯t push through the multipleyers of security guards that surrounded the stage and disrupt the performance on the stage. However, this fan was a little special¡ª he was rather influential. So, the security guards did not dare to stop him. After all, who would dare to stop the founding general, Mark Fletcher? Mark was holding a bouquet of flowers as he suddenly rushed over. His appearance left the host feeling flustered¡ªthis was not in the script! The enthusiastic fan was extraordinarily excited. He practically flew toward Taylor. Nobody could stop him as he made a beeline toward Taylor Murray, who was still dressed as Mn. Then, he hugged Taylor tightly. He was so emotional that tears streamed from his eyes; his behavior was akin to a crazy fan who had finally met an idol they admired for so many years¡­ However, Sophia knew¡ªit was because Mark had not seen his grandson in many years that he was so emotional! Although Michael¡¯s expression was concealed under a thickyer of greasepaint, she was certain that he was just as emotional to see Mark. Originally, the old man had no ns to attend the New Year Dinner G this year. However, Michael had attendedst year, and Old Master Fletcher assumed that Michael would attend this year as well. Moreover, he was already a centenarian. Due to that, the New Year Dinner G had invited him to attend in conjunction with such an important age. When Michael learned about it, he immediately agreed to attend the g and prepared the old man¡¯s favorite opera. The grandfather and grandson had been separated for so many years. They had not expected to meet under such circumstances. Mark was as lively as a cheeky little boy. After handing the flowers over to Michael, he said earnestly, ¡°Lad, I heard that you¡¯re past your prime now! Don¡¯t worry; just focus on your acting. Your fame will return to you, sooner orter.¡± Chapter 558 Chapter 558 The audience burst intoughter¡ªthe old man was surprisingly humorous. The term ¡®washed-up actor¡¯ had stemmed from the insult of an anti-fan some time ago. That person had imed that Taylor was a washed-up actor with no endorsements nor variety shows. However, that became a running joke within Taylor¡¯s fan group. Every time they mentioned their idol, they would affectionately dub him as the ¡®washed-up actor¡¯. To their surprise, Old Man Fletcher was aware of it too. Judging by the level of his excitement, he must be a fan of Taylor¡¯s! Moreover, he was, without a doubt, a true fan! Still, it wasn¡¯t too surprising. After all, Taylor¡¯s fans covered all age groups, from the elderly to young girls. Old Man Fletcher had caused such a ruckus during the New Year Dinner G; he was undoubtedly telling the world that he was in favor of this washed-up actor! Those words of his made the crowd that used Taylor of riding on coattails disappear too¡­ Michael thanked Mark repeatedly. In the end, the host wittily took back control of the flow, and Mark returned to his seat after handing the flowers over. When Michael finished drawing the lots for the lucky draw, he stepped off the stage to remove his makeup. In the meantime, the New Year Dinner G continued. The next time the camera panned toward Mark again, everybody noticed that Taylor Murray, who had removed his makeup and was now dressed in a suit, was sitting to the left of Mark while Ethan Winston and Joel Fletcher were sitting nearby too. Subsequently, the live broadcast camera kept panning over to Mark. Every time it did, it showed that Taylor seemed to be in deep conversation with Mark. Both middle-aged washed-up actors seemed to have jumped onto the express train to the pinnacle of life! Although the old man was in good health, he was still an old man. Thus, he left the venue early at 11 PM, and Michael saw him off. After midnight, Michael finally returned home. After changing his clothes, he continued watching the New Year Dinner G with everybody else. Harry yawned and muttered, ¡°I¡¯m never going again next year. I won¡¯t go even if they beg me on their knees.¡± Previously, he refused when the New Year Dinner G had invited him to perform. After that, the crew begged him again and again. They asked him to be a ¡®lucky member of the audience¡¯ that would be chosen to help out a magician with his magic tricks as his assistant. Thinking that being an assistant would not be a big deal, he had agreed to the proposal. During the rehearsal, he discovered that the magic trick the magician was performing was cutting a living person into pieces! As there were several rehearsals and one official performance, he had, all in all, been cut approximately seven or eight times. Moreover, he was cut into three sections every time. It¡¯s so emotionally draining¡­ He then hugged Sarah, who was sitting on hisp and holding his hand, and they cuddled together. Amidst the sound of mahjong, everybody enjoyed a quiet and peaceful New Year¡¯s. It was the first time Linus experienced the New Year¡¯s. He found it very novel and couldn¡¯t help having a couple of drinks too. They yed mahjong all through the night. After that, they had a small barbeque on the rooftop. By the time they finished barbequing, it was almost morning. So, they ate some dumplings and glutinous rice balls in syrup before returning to their respective homes. On the third day after New Year¡¯s, Sophia and Nathan went to the militarypound where Old Master Fletcher was staying to visit for a few days. Old Master Fletcher had just celebrated his hundredth birthday. He had hosted arge birthday banquet, and the entire Fletcher Family had returned from all over the country to celebrate with him; the only exception was Michael. Michael had once said that if Elizabeth Murray was not recognized as part of the family, he would never step back into the Fletcher Residence again. Early in the morning, Sophia and Nathan took the car to the Fletcher Residence. When they passed by the Harper Residence, they saw Richard and X standing at the entrance having a screaming match. Sophia simply nced at it briefly before leaving. Recently, the Harpers had been very unharmonious¡ª so much so that Mrs. Harper had been hospitalized. Serves them right! Then, Sophia¡¯s car arrived at the militarypound¡¯s gate. As it was a military zone, everybody in the car had to get down and undergo an inspection. Sophia got out of the car with Nathan, Hale held a suitcase, and Nichs followed behind. Although they were familiar acquaintances, they still needed to undergo a cursory inspection. Sophia stood by the gate, waiting for her turn. Standing beside her, Nathan saw the car parked not too far away. As the car window rolled down, a handsome but aged face entered his vision. Then, he tugged at her jacket. Rubbing his head affectionately, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling?¡± He was staring at the car stopped on the other side of the road. Thus, she followed his gaze and saw the car slowly driving away. All the windows were cked out and she couldn¡¯t see who was inside it. Rubbing his little head, she smilingly said, ¡°Alright, stop staring. When you¡¯re older and you get your driver¡¯s license, I¡¯ll buy you a car like that. Okay?¡± He lifted his head to look at her. His small face was flushed and cute, but he seemed anxious. Unable to help herself, she reached out and pinched his cheeks with her gloved hands. The checks to enter the militarypound were quite strict. Not only the luggage but also the cat carriers were checked several times. Chrysanthemum, who was sleeping inside the cat carrier, was dragged out several times to be inspected too. After the inspection, Hale carried the suitcase and took the lead. Nathan followed behind him, and Sophia carried the cat carrier to bring up the rear. However, Nichs did not go inside. ¡°Nichs, why aren¡¯t you going in?¡± she asked puzzledly. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Nichs nced at Sophia, and his mechanical voice sounded out. ¡°Mom, this is a military zone. My program states that this is a restricted area. I cannot enter this ce. I will go back and wait at home with Dad for you and Nate toe home.¡± After saying that, it got into the car on its own. Then, a pair of eyes looked out at her from the window. Upon its reminder, she realized that Nichs was considered a highly intelligent robot. The military compound was part of the military zone, so unknown devices were not permitted to be brought inside. Although it was a robot, she felt a little reluctant to be parted from it. Thus, she could only let Hale go back with Nichs. They would be back to pick them up in a few days. Afterward, Sophia and Nathan entered the militarypound and arrived at the Fletcher Residence. They saw two old men ying chess at home in great spirits. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯re here? How is work? Are you tired?¡± Woody hurried over to ask as soon as he saw Sophia. Mark was feeling a little sulky. ¡°Hmph, I finally hit my hundredth birthday with great difficulty. I can¡¯t help it if Mikey won¡¯te, but why didn¡¯t youe? Hmph!¡± Looking at Mark, who was acting like a man-child, Sophia hurriedly went over to coax him. He wasn¡¯t actually mad at her. However, she and Nathan had failed to attend his hundredth birthday banquet. Even though Michael had spent a lot of effort preparing a grand opera for him, he still felt upset every time he thought about it. She quickly smiled and cajoled, ¡°Old Master, aren¡¯t I here now?¡± He still wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t you stay here for a few days?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she readily agreed. After that, he instructed the servants to ce Sophia and Nathan¡¯s luggage in the room Michael used to live in. Today, Old Master Fletcher was in no hurry to drag Sophia over to y chess with him. Rather, he dragged her over to the gallery wall for a tour. The gallery wall at his house was akin to a history book. One could see photos of various major historical events in Cethos because he had personally participated in them. Recently, Mark had added two more pictures to the wall. One was a picture of his hundredth birthday banquet. He had taken a picture with all his children and grandchildren. Combined, they made a very large family. The photo was very spectacr¡ªhalf of them wore military uniforms while the other half were not in the military. Those that were not in the military seemed to be faring well too. As for the other photo, it was a photo he had taken with Michael backstage during the New Year Dinner G. Michael had not even removed his makeup yet. Chapter 559 Chapter 559 Mark looked at the two pictures and smiled happily. ¡°Everybody¡¯s here; all of them are here¡­¡± However, Nathan was staring at another picture in a daze¡ªit was a picture of Mark and a young man. That man in the picture was the same man in the car outside the militarypound¡ªhis name was Cooper Mitchell. Sophia came to the militarypound and lived a life like a retiree. Waking up at 6:30 AM every day, she went jogging and exercising with Old Master Fletcher. The old man might have been a hundred years old, but his body was still strong and healthy. Moreover, he insisted on working out his body. Hence, he went jogging every day. After jogging with a bunch of old men, she had her breakfast. Then, she carried a bottle of wolfberry water with her while ying chess with Old Master Fletcher. Either that or she would apany the old man out for a walk and practice Tai Chi. On the second day since her arrival, she ran into Joel when she went out to buy some snacks at night. He was the one person she had been trying to avoid. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re here.¡± Joel, who was wearing a green military coat, appeared out of nowhere from a dark corner. His sudden appearance caused her to jump in fright. Stopping in her tracks, she gripped the big bag of snacks in her hand and smiled awkwardly. ¡°Yeah, I arrived yesterday.¡± After the ball at the Edwards Residence previously, she had not dared to face him again. Moreover, she had blocked both his phone number and his Messenger ount. When she came to visit Old Master Fletcher at the militarypound, she had been afraid of running into him. s, they met anyway. In the darkness of the night, she could not see his eyes clearly. They seemed like two pools of water at the bottom of an old, abandoned well at night. She couldn¡¯t tell the depth or temperature of his gaze¡ªall she could see were two ck pits. He stepped forward. His army boots had left a trail of footprints in the snow. When she saw the spot where he had been standing, she noticed many footprints in the surrounding area. It was obvious that he had been waiting there for a while now. As he approached her, she responded by retreating backward, step for step. Joel and Michael were very different. Although Michael used to be in the army, he had spent many years in the entertainment circles. Therefore, he had learned to control the military aura that he had around him ¡ªhe could release it or withdraw it as he wished. However, Joel could not hold his aura back. He was somebody who had killed in battle before. Thus, he carried a bleak and chilling air around him that came from leaving a pile of bodies in his wake on the battlefield. It left a fangirl like Sophia shivering in fear in his presence. Joel fixed his gaze on Sophia. ¡°Are you terrified of me?¡± Sophia had thrown a military coat over her pajamas when she came out to buy some snacks. Under his imposing aura and the freezing winter wind, she was trembling uncontrobly. Upon hearing his question, she cowered slightly as she answered, ¡°A-A little bit.¡± His footsteps stilled and he did not continue approaching. Instead, he asked calmly, ¡°Is he troubling you?¡± Naturally, the ¡®he¡¯ he was referring to was Michael. Thus, she quickly shook her head. ¡°No¡­¡± Then, he asked, ¡°Am I bothering you?¡± She was tempted to answer, ¡®Yes.¡¯ However, she felt too embarrassed to say it. After all, he was one of the grandsons Old Master Fletcher was very proud of. Besides, Woody was here too. Since she constantly came over to visit, it would be bad if she couldn¡¯t get along with Joel. Therefore, she organized her thoughts in her head and mustered up her courage to look at the man standing one head taller than her. Solemnly and seriously, she said, ¡°General, as you should know, I¡¯m your sister-inw. As such, I believe we should maintain an appropriate distance between us.¡± Under his increasingly frigid gaze, she felt her arrogant confidence slipping away slowly. The intensity of this man¡¯s aura was simply too powerful. He was a man who could restrain an entire army by himself¡ª the aura he carried was not something an ordinary person could withstand! He waited for her to finish before saying, ¡°So, that¡¯s the reason why you blocked my number.¡± The aura around him grew stronger all of a sudden. She was so terrified that she was covered in a sheen of cold sweat, and all she could think of was escaping. Forcing augh, she said, ¡°Blocked your number? What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand¡­ Maybe it was just Michael fooling around.¡± He stared at the cowering girl in front of him. Her slightly lowered face was flushed and she seemed to exude an alluring scent like no other, arousing the destructive possessive desire within him. He didn¡¯t know if it was because she was Michael¡¯s woman or some other reason, but his possessive desire was stronger than it had ever been before. Hence, he continued walking toward her. At the same time, she was dripping with cold sweat from head to toe. Stepping back in terror, she was about to be forced into a corner¡­ As Sophia watched the approaching figure that was Joel, she was so scared that the bag of snacks in her hand fell to the ground and was crushed under her feet. Meanwhile, his beast-like gaze was fixed intently on her. ¡°Sophia, you should know this.¡± Forcing her into a corner, he continued in a whisper, ¡°The person Michael truly loves and cannot let go of¡­ is not you.¡± In an instant, herplexion became deathly pale. The person Michael truly loves and cannot let go of¡­ She had a vague idea who it was but had deliberately ignored it until now. On the other hand, he mercilessly tore out the cruel truth and presented it to her in all its raw and bloody glory. ¡°You are simply a substitute he bought with money. You know who the person he truly loves is¡­¡± Sophia lowered her head and said nothing. Then, he leaned close to her face and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m the only one who is sincere toward you.¡± His hot breath blew against her face. In the harsh, cold winter, his actions made her unbelievably distressed and embarrassed, and it caused goosebumps to appear all over her body. She kept quiet. All of a sudden, she slipped out from under him and ran for her life. In her desperation to get away, she didn¡¯t even bring the snacks she had brought with her. Joel watched as the figure vanished out of his sight. After that, he bent down to pick up the bag of snacks she had left behind. Shaking the snow off the bag, he suddenly spoke in the direction of a dark corner, ¡°Come out. Stop hiding.¡± A figure came out of the shadows and walked toward him. When the figure walked out of the darkness and into the light of a streetmp, the dim yellow light revealed her exquisite facial features. Moreover, the military coat she wore over her tall figure could not hide the bump she was carrying. Irene walked over with a mocking sneer. ¡°Is that the reason you broke up with me?¡± She was referring to Sophia, who had fled. Joel answered candidly, ¡°Yeah.¡± In response, sheughed self-deprecatingly. Joel is unimaginably cruel. He truly is the epitome of cruelty. She had silently dedicated herself to him for so many years. However, he dismissed all her efforts with a single word with no room for maneuver whatsoever. The way he was trying to court SophiaAll content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. right now waspletely identical to how he had courted her back then¡ªdomineering, cold, and refusing to take no for an answer. Simrly, nobody could stop him once he decided to leave. He isn¡¯t chasing after love; he¡¯s chasing after his prey. Moreover, he isn¡¯t hunting out of hunger; he is hunting simply to snatch away the prey of another hunter. And, that hunter is Michael Fletcher. Irene gritted her teeth. ¡°Joel, you really are cold and ruthless to the bone. Aren¡¯t you afraid of receiving retribution?¡± Joel nced at Irene, who was brimming with rage. Then, he couldn¡¯t helpughing coldly. ¡°Irene, you should find a suitable opportunity to ¡®recover¡¯ your memories. That way, you can peacefully continue being Mrs. Fletcher.¡± Chapter 560 Chapter 560 Irene¡¯s fury was thrown back in her face with those words. Her shoddy acting could fool nobody except herself. She was simply a prey. Hunters were only concerned about where she would end up, not how she had been caught. In the hunting game back then, she was the prize Michael and Joel had been fighting for. What they cared about the most was her final destination¡ªit didn¡¯t matter why she chose who she did. Still, that did not mean that Michael was a fool or that he had not noticed the clues. However, everybody else was ying dumb. If he pretended to be smart all by himself, then wouldn¡¯t he have be the real fool? Joel took the snacks and left. Watching as he threw her aside callously to go on another hunt, her heart pounded with hatred. At the same time, she felt relieved. She had long lost all hope and illusions about him. Thus, separation was the best choice. I¡¯m going to snatch Michael back! But, I can¡¯t just return like that. I need to find a suitable opportunity! I can¡¯t wait any longer. I need to return to Michael¡¯s side as soon as possible! As for Sophia¡­ Haha; she is nothing more than a substitute anyway. The only reason she can stay by Michael¡¯s side is that she is young and pretty. Men always have a soft spot for women in their twenties. However, those feelings are only skin deep. As for me¡­ I¡¯m the only one that is buried deep in Michael¡¯s heart forever. Sophia fled all the way back. When she arrived at her room, her heart was still pounding wildly. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Thus, she hurriedly escaped into the bathroom. In the meantime, Nathan opened the door and saw Joel standing outside. He lifted his head to stare at Joel. Simrly, Joel lowered his head to stare at Nathan. Nathan was the spitting image of his parents. Therefore, Joel couldn¡¯t help being reminded of Nathan¡¯s parents whenever he looked at Nathan. Sighing, he patted the boy¡¯s head. ¡°Your mom forgot her snacks.¡± Receiving the snacks from him, Nathan closed the door, ced the snacks on the table, and continued ying his game. Meanwhile, Sophia continued hiding in the toilet for a long while before she dared to step out of it. Even then, her heart was still thumping madly. Joel is way too terrifying! It feels like I can barely breathe whenever I stand before him. That night, Sophia tossed and turned¡ªshe was unable to fall asleep. On the other hand, Nathan was sleeping like a log beside her. Chrysanthemum was making rustling noises in the room as it rummaged through the stuff and stole some potato chips. The sounds left Sophia even more awake than before. Thus, she took out her phone and went through her contacts. However, there was nobody she could call. After that, she logged into Messenger and stared at Michael¡¯s profile picture for a long time. In the end, she said nothing to him and tapped into the chat with Nichs instead. ¡®Nichs, I can¡¯t sleep. Can you tell me some jokes?¡¯ Then, Nichs immediately sent her joke after joke. At the same time, Michael was lying on the sofa watching TV in Vi No. 8 of The Imperial. Several fat orange cats were snoring in his arms. Life without his wife was depressingly lonely. He had epted a role in a movie where the main theme was about searching for and retrieving an imperial seal. Hence, he searched for several documentaries and movies involving seals to watch in order to get a feel for his character. He yawned. Suddenly, Nichs spoke up from beside him, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± he answeredzily. Nichs seemed like it was about to say something. Its head turned toward him, then all of a sudden, the lights in its eyes died. It¡¯s for the best if it can¡¯t be fixed! He was extremely wary of this overly intelligent little guy; he was afraid that it was a spy. Putting Nichs inside the storeroom, he yawned and went to bed. Inside the Fletcher Residence, Sophia didn¡¯t wait for Nichs to reply to her again. She could no longer keep her eyes open and she finally fell asleep. The next day, the weather had cleared up and the snow had melted¡ªit was great weather. Old Master Fletcher had gone out with a group of old men to practice Tai Chi early in the morning. After exercising, Sophia returned with Nathan. She took a shower then went to look for Old Master Fletcher. When she arrived, she saw Old Master Fletcher ying chess with Irene. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Old Master Fletcher sighed in admiration as he yed. ¡°You¡¯re good at this! Well yed! Well yed!¡± Irene responded humbly, ¡°No, no; it¡¯s because you let me win!¡± Upon seeing Irene, Sophia¡¯s steps faltered. Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend¡­ Irene, the beauty in the army; the famous military singer. Her figure was something most women couldn¡¯t hope topare with. Now that she was in her thirties, she possessed a unique charm that would put any woman to shame. An angelic voice, a swan-like grace, a majestic appearance, and an impressive background¡­ Sophia had to admit that she couldn¡¯tpare in terms of elegance and looks. However, she took a deep breath, mustered up her courage, and walked over. I cannot falter in the face of my lover¡¯s ex-lover! ¡°Grandpa.¡± Irene turned back to look at Sophia when she heard the voice. Sophia had always entered the military compound bare-faced. There was no image she needed to keep up when spending time with a group of old men. Therefore, her ck hair was casually tied behind her head, and she couldn¡¯t be bothered to tidy the strands of hair that hade loose and were sticking out in ces. Her young face was clean, clear, and free of impurities while her nose was red from the cold. On the other hand, thepelling aura around Irene could not be hidden even if she had been born with mediocre features. Standing up, she greeted Sophia. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re here.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Yeah.¡± Walking over, she sat next to the firece. Then, Woody tugged at her, always acting a little silly. ¡°Cooper, have you had breakfast? Are you cold? Come over to Daddy. It¡¯s not cold here.¡± Woody had sat by the firece for a long while. Hisrge hands that were warmed by the fire wrapped around her frozen hands. It was so warm that even her heart was filled with warmth. The old men shifted over and made some space for Sophia and Nathan. After that, they sat down and watched the chess game between Mark and Irene. Irene was clearly exceptional and kind, but Sophia could not bring herself to like her. In particr, when she saw how Irene and Mark were chatting away gaily¡­ That spot is mine. It belongs to me, but now Irene has snatched it away. With those thoughts in mind, the darkness in her heart expanded infinitely¡ª jealousy was giving rise to the darkness in her heart. As a father, Woody seemed worried that Sophia would catch a cold. He didn¡¯t seem to think that she was wrapped up warmly enough. Hence, he found several military coats from somewhere and wrapped her up in them. She was wrapped up so thickly that she felt like a ball of cotton, and the space she took up was double the others. Despite that, it felt natural sitting among the group of old men, and she felt like a middle-ageddy. Meanwhile, Irene was ying chess with Mark. However, she would asionally nce over at Sophia, who was warming herself by the fire. With every nce she took, her confidence grewrger. It looks like Michael married her simply because she¡¯s young. Chapter 561 Chapter 561 Men will always like girls between the ages of eighteen to neen because that is usually the age at which they meet the love of their lives. Anyone who came after her were mere resemnces of her. The person Michael loved when he was eighteen was her, Irene Weber. And I, Sophia, am no more than a vessel for him to reminisce about the happiness he had with her all those years ago. Old Master Fletcher and Irene were currently ying chess together. Just then, Stanley walked over with his dog. He had been working overtime at thepany over the past two days and had not been aware of Sophia¡¯s arrival. The moment he saw Irene and Sophia, he teased, ¡°Oh! My two aunts are here!¡± Irene scolded, ¡°Excuse me? I¡¯m still eighteen at heart!¡± ¡°Yes, yes. You¡¯ll always be eighteen!¡± Seeing their amicable interaction made Sophia feel gloomy again. It feels like I¡¯m going to lose my eldest nephew to her too. Once she takes him away, she wille for my husband. Even when Stanley saw Sophia, he did note up to her to greet her. Instead, he went to stand behind Irene to watch the chess game. ¡°You have to defend, Old Master!¡± ¡°Old Master, you¡¯re about to lose!¡± ¡°Stop resisting. With the level you¡¯re at, you may be able to beat Sophia, but you¡¯re no match for Aunt Irene.¡± Sophia red at him. That brat. I let him off for noting to greet me, but how dare he ridicule me for being less skilled than Irene? Actually, Stanley had found Sophia¡¯s sloppy appearance funny¡ªshe was wrapped in twoyers of cotton-padded coats with the buttons on the outermostyer unfastened. He was worried that he would burst outughing if he went up to her, so he decided to stay back to stop himself from making a slip of the tongue. He did not think that that mindless action of his would strike a nerve with her. Meanwhile, Sophia had already harbored a grudge against him and put him on her February cklist. In this chess game, Mark was unable to beat Irene¡¯s skills and got defeated once again. ¡°I¡¯m done!¡± Mark waved his hands and left. A group of old men was pushing the burden onto each other. No one dared to challenge Irene in a game of chess. After all, she was the strongest yer in thispound. Old Master Fletcher pointed at Stanley and said, ¡°Come over here, Stan. y a game with her to show us how it¡¯s done.¡± Stanley waved his hands frantically. ¡°I¡¯m not ying. I can¡¯t even beat Sophia, much less Aunt Irene.¡± To Sophia, that remark was rubbing salt in her wound. She was ced second after Irene again and was unhappy about it. Just then, Mark looked over at Sophia who was sitting by the fire amongst the old men while stroking a cat. ¡°Come, Sophie. y a round with Irene.¡± Irene¡¯s eyes lit up and her red lips curled into a smirk. ¡°Great! I¡¯ve never gotten a chance to y with Eddie before.¡± Without saying a word, Sophia ced the cat down and wobbled over with her two coats. The moment she sat down, Stanley started to tease her. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re no match for Aunt Irene. You should just throw in the towel!¡± Ever since Sophia went from being a goddess to an aunt to Stanley, he would tease her every now and then. Normally, she did not think much of it and even felt like it could make the atmosphere more lively sometimes. Today, however, his teasing sounded especially hurtful. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. In the past, it would have just been banter among the people. People mocked each other and it was seen as a form of affection and camaraderie between the proletariats. But today, in this setting, it was a hostile attack against her. It had gone too far! As she was drinking some wolfberry water, she looked at the wolfberries in the cup and buried the unhappiness she felt in them. Once she was done, she had a pure and bright smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯ve wanted to y with you too, Irene!¡± Irene smiled. With every move she made, she had the reserved and charming nature of a mature woman. It was not something Sophia, a girl in her early twenties, had. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a handicap of three moves.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Okay. Please go easy on me, Irene!¡± After they arranged their chess pieces, the game began. Mark was nervous as he observed them from the side. He was worried that Sophia would be unhappy if she lost the game. Irene had impable skills while Sophia was on par with himself. Irene was two whole levels ahead of them. Meanwhile, Stanley could not hold back his tongue. ¡°Aunt Irene, be kind. I¡¯m telling you. If Sophia loses, she will cry to my uncle when she gets hometer.¡± The old men burst intoughter. Irene alsoughed and took in every word he said. If she loses, she¡¯s going to go home and cry? Irene scoffed. Did Michael marry a wife or a daughter? Women like her only rely on their youthful appeal. After a few more years, she won¡¯t be young anymore, then she¡¯ll be a nobody. While Irene yed, she thought about the best way to lead Sophia to a miserable defeat. I hope she¡¯ll run home immediately after this and weep to Michael! She knew Michael; he did not like pretentious girls. He was simply taking into ount her young age. He might put up with her whining once or twice, but not when the frequency of it started to add up. ¡°Aha! Checkmate! Thanks for going easy on me, Irene!¡± Feeling delighted, Sophia started to p. That was when Irene pulled herself out of her thoughts and realized that she had already lost. While she was unaware, Sophia had already led her to a dead end. They did not move more than ten times yet! No one had anticipated that Irene would lose that quickly. With an air of confidence, she also let Sophia make three moves first, but she ended up losing in less than ten moves. What is this? Irene and everyone present were all dumbfounded. Stanley sighed, breaking the silence. ¡°Irene, you should¡¯ve paid more attention. Don¡¯t go easy on her just because she looks cute! She was the champion of our school¡¯s chesspetition. She¡¯s quite good! One more round!¡± At that moment, Irene had a realization¡ªshe had been too careless. In the second round, she focused all her attention on the game and made every move with caution, nning ten steps with every move. Her brows were furrowed together tightly. But Sophia, who was sitting across from her, was very rxed. ¡°Irene, I see you¡¯ve realized that you need to take this more seriously now and not be as careless asst time.¡± Irene was confident this time. She had ced all her attention and focus in the game. I can¡¯t let Sophia win no matter what! Nheless, she could not make it too obvious nor be too cruel with her tactics. Old Master Fletcher adored Sophia. If I lead Sophia to a miserable defeat, it might make him unhappy. Just then, Sophia cried, ¡°Checkmate again!¡± Sophia¡¯s presumptuous smile broke Irene¡¯s train of thought. Irene realized that she had only made a few moves when she somehow fell into Sophia¡¯s trap and waspletely defeated. In a blink of an eye, she had lost after just ten moves! Chapter 562 Chapter 562 Irene looked at the chessboard in disbelief. She could not ept that she had lost. Sitting across from her, Sophia was acting like a spoiled and pampered child. ¡°No, this isn¡¯t right. You can¡¯t keep letting me off easy, Irene. It¡¯s so obvious that you¡¯re letting me win. Who loses before even making ten moves? Let¡¯s go again!¡± Stanley also came to a realization. Irene is letting Sophia win! No wonder she lost two times in a row when she¡¯s usually an ace yer! He knocked on his head. ¡°Oh, me and my bbermouth. Did I scare you, Irene?¡± He quickly exined, ¡°Irene, I was only joking. Sophia is not that weak! Even if she loses, she won¡¯t run home and weep to my uncle. Just rx and y! You don¡¯t have to go easy on her. Just beat her! Let¡¯s do this again. You can¡¯t lose on purpose this time!¡± Stanley and Sophia started to put the chess pieces back in ce as they were in a rush to get the game started again. At that moment, Irene came back to her senses. Did I lose on purpose? She felt like there was something distracting and confusing her in the background, bringing her to defeat when she was still confident and unaware. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. But everything happened so quickly that she did not have a chance to react. She almost believed that she did, in fact, lose on purpose. Forcing a smile, she continued with the game. This time, she was on high alert and was not going to show any mercy. Right from the start, she was very swift in her attacks. Her moves were extremely aggressive, and she used the most brutal and unrelenting way to end the battle without considering Old Master Fletcher¡¯s feelings. This young girl isn¡¯t easy, but neither am I! Just likest time, however, she was led to another dead end when she was still full of confidence. She had made exactly ten moves when she heard Sophia squeal, ¡°Checkmate!¡± Did I lose again? Putting down the chess piece, Sophia started to whine, ¡°Irene, I won¡¯te anymore. You keep letting me win. It¡¯s not fun anymore!¡± Irene was dumbfounded. I keep letting her win? I had clearly put in my best effort, but it looked like I was letting her win? If this girl is not na?ve, then she is way too smart! Now, Irene knew that Sophia was not as easy as she might have seemed. Going along with her, she said, ¡°I¡¯m older than you. It¡¯s only right that I let you win!¡± Then, she stood up and excused herself. ¡°I still have things left to do at the troupe. I¡¯m going to head off first. Have fun ying, you guys!¡± Sophia waved goodbye to her. ¡°See you, Irene. I¡¯ll visit you often to y chess!¡± Irene¡¯s eyes zed over, but she quickly recovered her expression. ¡°Sounds good. I won¡¯t let you win next time!¡± Between the both of them, an intense re was exchanged. Irene shuddered when she felt the extraordinary aggression from the twenty-year-old girl. No, I must be mistaken. She¡¯s still in her early twenties! I¡¯ve lived a few years more than she has. What have I not witnessed before? How can I shudder in the presence of a girl who has not experienced real life yet? The crowd watched Irene leave. At that moment, the foolish Stanley finally sensed something¡ªhe had witnessed an intense battle between two women! To him, Irene and Michael¡¯s fling happened ages ago and had almost be something that happened in their past lives. Moreover, Irene and Joel were together now. But to Sophia, regardless of how many years had passed or even if it had happened in their past lives, Irene was still the person who came before her. Women had a sense of hostility toward the ex-lovers of their partners and current lovers of their ex- partners. Earlier, while they were arranging the chess pieces, Sophia had already begun fighting a silent battle with Irene and had seeded in tearing her to pieces. Lowering his head, Stanley looked at Sophia who was putting away the chess pieces on the board. It was as though a giant ck dragon was sitting there, slowly retracting her talons that still had the remains¡ªblood, flesh, and internal organs¡ªof her prey left on them. While she was retracting them, she let out a soft sigh¡ªa breath that could suffocate those in the room. Her whole body exuded a chilling presence. When he felt his body go numb, he quickly made his way home with the dog. The more he thought about it, the more it did not seem right. At the same time, however, he did not know what the problem was. He only felt chills all over his body as if the menacing dragon was staring at him and making him feel like he was in imminent danger. Hence, he made a quick phone call to Sean to tell him about what happened and to ask for advice. Sean was also baffled by the end of it. Stanley has always been foolish, but how did he get even more foolish to let something like this happen? He evaluated, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, you sided with Irene today and ridiculed Sophia. You¡­¡± He hesitated then gave him a final sentence of advice, ¡°Stan, you should prepare yourself for the consequences.¡± Because now, he had made it onto Sophia¡¯s cklist. Stanley realized that the situation was looking bleak for him and grew more afraid the more he thought about it. Being scared senseless, he ran to Sophia¡¯s room and hugged her leg as he pleaded, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aunt! I was wrong!¡± The expression on her face remained unmoved. It was a side of her that Stanley had never seen before. She was giving off an apathetic presence that felt even scarier than Michael. She may look like a pretty youngdy on the outside, but she is truly frightening! Staring at him, Sophia asked, ¡°What did you do wrong?¡± Stanley shuddered. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have mocked you in front of Aunt Irene.¡± ¡°Hmph! Since you know what you did wrong, do you know how to save yourself?¡± Clenching his jaw, he decided to give in. ¡°I¡¯ll let you raise Sunset¡¯s kittens.¡± She was appeased now. ¡°Okay, you can leave now. Give them to me tomorrow.¡± ¡­ The next day, Stanley reluctantly gave Sunset¡¯s two kittens to Sophia. Initially, he had nned to raise them himself. But in exchange for his own life, he chose to give them to her with a heavy heart. In a stoic manner, Sophia took the kittens with her and sat in the car that Hale drove over with. Then, the car sped off, leaving a devastated Stanley in its dust. He wanted to p himself in the face. Me and my big mouth! As he watched Sophia leave, he called Michael and told him about the chess game yesterday. Michael gasped in admiration. From listening to Stanley, he could already visualize how intense the match was yesterday. Sophia was like a vixen disguised as an edelweiss flower¡ªshe had on an innocent face but she easily beat the chess expert. Without showing any mercy, she ended Irene in just ten moves and even ridiculed her. Irene had no choice but to feign ignorance and go along with it. That was how women had their silent wars with each other. As long as there was resentment, it was a battlefield anywhere. Chapter 563 Chapter 563 Tsk, tsk. She is truly Cooper¡¯s daughter. It¡¯s an inherited darkness. Her gloominess was extreme, but at the same time, it was adorable. Stanley finished recounting the incident to Michael andmented, ¡°Uncle Michael, does Aunt have a grudge against me now?¡± Michael snorted and said, ¡°Seeing as how she didn¡¯t use 502 Super Glue to seal your mouth, she still sees you as her beloved nephew. Rx.¡± That put Stanley in even more despair. ¡°What should I do, Uncle?¡± ¡°You have to be warier when youe to eat at my ce in the future. She might put poison in the dishes and alcohol.¡± Stanley was bewildered. He only came back to his senses after a long while and realized, He¡¯s practically telling me not to eat at their ce anymore! After Michael satisfied himself by scaring Stanley out of his wits, he hung up the phone. Looking at the time, he saw that she was going to be home soon and quickly left the office to greet the victor of that silent battle. Back at home, he prepared a festive dinner to wee her with. Watching the both of them intertwine and gush at each other as they went into the master bedroom and did note back out, Nathan put down his bag and stormed off to look for Nichs. ¡°Nichs!¡± he yelled. When Nichs did not show up, he started to grow frantic. When Maria informed him that he found a broken Nichs in the storage room. He red at the door of the master bedroom once again. Without saying a word, he brought Nichs out to let Linus have a look at him. Nathan was ted and started to push Nichs into Linus¡¯ house. But the person who greeted him was not Linus; it was the stranger he met the other day. It was the man he had seen in photos at the entrance of the militarypound and on the photo wall in Mark¡¯s home. At first nce, Fass could tell that something was wrong with Nichs, but he still asked, ¡°Is Nichs broken?¡± Nathan nodded his head silently. His pitiful demeanor made Fass feel sorry for him. Fass bent down and took a look at Nichs. He looked fine on the outside, so something must have been damaged on the inside. With a flick of his finger, arger and more advanced robot walked out. ¡°What can I do for you, Master?¡± ¡°Bring Nichs into the workroom.¡± The robot brought Nichs to the basement which was also where Linus¡¯ workroom was located. The previous owner of this house was an artist. The spacious basement was where he used toe up with his artistic creations, but now, it had been transformed into Linus¡¯ workroom. The workroom was fully equipped with various tools and materials that he could practically make several smaller robots on his own with what was avable. Following Fass into the basement, Nathan saw several robotic arms lift Nichs onto the work table. After Fass changed into his workwear, he turned on all the lights that illuminated Nichs and made every detail on his body as clear as day. When Fass saw the tiger hat on Nichs¡¯ head, he had a feeling it looked rather familiar. Taking it down to look at it, he was taken aback, then a smile grew on his face. It was the same one he used to wear as a child. From the stories that he was told, the year that he was born, he had fallen gravely ill. Woody had asked for an amulet for him and went to look for Mark, his godfather, to save him. Woody took his advice and found Fass the tiger hat. He had gotten the hat from somewhere else, but it was said to have belonged to a child who had been free from illnesses or pain ever since he was little, and had grown up healthily. If Fass wore it, he would not be sick anymore. Sure enough, he miraculously recovered when he wore the hat. Later, when he grew up, he was unable to wear the hat anymore. Mark took it and passed it down to his grandchildren until eventually, it reached Nathan. Indeed, it was destiny. Fass took the tiger hat down and put it on Nathan¡¯s head. Nathan lifted his head to look at him; his round eyes were filled with surprise. Fass could not resist caressing his little head, then he gently nudged him away. ¡°Stand back, kid. I¡¯m going to start working on Nichs now.¡± Nathan stepped away obediently and found somewhere far away to watch Fass fix Nichs. Fass skillfully disassembled Nichs and looked over the internal parts carefully. The system automatically analyzed Nichs¡¯ damaged condition and projected it on a floating screen. Several robotic hands divided the work with Fass and quickly made Nichs into a pile of disassembled pieces. Finally, he could see Nichs¡¯ motherboard. ¡°Can this be repaired automatically?¡± The system replied, ¡°It can¡¯t be done with the current set-up.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to do it manually, then.¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Fass put on safety sses and retrieved the tools the robotic arm passed to him. After backing up Nichs¡¯ data, they reced his motherboard along with the other internal core parts. Not long after, the robotic hands reconstructed Nichs to his original state and downloaded the data back into him. A new feature was even created and they added a few colors that children would like. After recharging, Nichs¡¯s system connected to the main system. Fass was testing out Nichs¡¯ capabilities when he identally discovered something hidden in his program. It could fool an expert, but it could not fool Fass. Throughout the whole maintenance process, Nathan kept his big eyes fixed on them. The amazement in his eyes did not fade and only continued to intensify. Fass was incredibly focused while he worked. He had lost track of time until the cook came downstairs with lunch, and only then did he remember that it was time to eat. At the same time, he beckoned Nathan over. ¡°Come and eat, boy.¡± The moment Fass called for him, Nathan ran over at the speed of light and sat down at the modest dining table in the workroom. The cook ced a simple lunch on the table¡ªa te of cured meat, a te of vegetables, a bowl of soup, and a te of pickled vegetables. ¡°I have simple taste. If you¡¯re hungry, you can have some to eat,¡± Fass said. However, Nathan had already picked up his utensils and started to dig in. Halfway through, the doorbell rang. Fass looked over at the surveince monitor and saw ady, who looked to be a housekeeper, standing outside with a lunch box in her hands. ¡°Mr. Michel, it¡¯s Maria. I¡¯ve brought some food for Young Master Nathan.¡± When Nathan was not home by lunchtime, Sophia knew right away that he was eating at Linus¡¯ ce and quickly sent Maria over with some food. Fass looked at Nathan and said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± Nathan ran up excitedly and brought a lunch box back down with him. Opening it, there were several side dishes¡ªspiced beef, braised meat, and brown rice congee. It was a solid meal. Fass was in a daze as he looked at the home-cooked food. The smell seemed to almoste from his memories. Nathan hadid the dishes out, but after seeing Fass stare at them, he silently pulled them in toward himself. His round eyes looked at Fass warily as he was worried that he would eat all his food. He did fix Nichs, though, Nathan thought. It would not be polite if he did not offer him even a piece of meat. Hence, he hurriedly pushed the dishes to Fass. Chapter 564 Chapter 564 Fass had a taste of the braised meat. It was the same as the one he ate the other day. The two ate in silence. When they were done, Fass continued to fix Nichs. Nathan sat at the side and watched for a bit before going off to look for a ce to nap. Fass adjusted the temperature and humidity in the room then had the robot bring a nket over to cover Nathan with. Muchter, Fass had a newly-constructed Nichs in front of him. He rebooted Nichs and set him in motion. Nichs used to be lessplicated since Linus had built him in the earlier stages. He always wanted to reconstruct him but never nned for it. Today, Fass had changed every part of Nichs from the inside out. His outer appearance was designed better too. Now, he had a pair of big and bright eyes that allowed him to make simple and realistic facial expressions. It was no longer just the two ck circles from before. It could even change colors ording to his surroundings. After learning that Nichs had broken down due to the cold temperature, Fass changed his original motherboard, processors, and other internal parts to materials that were frost-hardy. He also put in some additional features and updated the system. Nichs¡¯ processors were now more advanced and he had a faster response time. No matter what Fass did, he had to be precise to the dot. A series of tests were conducted, and it was now time to see the final result. He looked at Nichs and asked, ¡°What is your name? What is your model?¡± Nichs answered urately, ¡°Nichs Fletcher. B-1 Educational Robot.¡± ¡°Who is your user?¡± ¡°User settings. My mother is Sophia Edwards. My brother is Nathan Fletcher. My father is Michael Fletcher.¡± Fass pulled his brows together. Your first master is a woman? ¡°What is your mission?¡± ¡°Protect Mom and Nate.¡± Fass thought, I¡¯ll take him apart again and make some changes, then restart him and test him again. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. He nced over at Nathan who was sound asleep, then back at Nichs. He disassembled him once more, put on safety sses, and welded in a new part inside of Nichs. Finally, Fass took the tiger hat that Nathan was wearing and put it back on Nichs. The system was done restarting. Nichs¡¯ eyes lit up and he was functioning normally again. He moved his robotic arm and it was more reactive. Lifting his head, he looked at Fass and said, ¡°Thank you, Fass.¡± Fass had programmed an automatic deletion of his memories here once he stepped outside, including the videos, documents, and maintenance log. When Nichs went to wake Nathan up, Nathan was thrilled to see an alert and active Nichs in front of him and immediately hugged him. Nichs, who was now back in perfect condition, stretched out his robotic arm to take Nathan¡¯s hand so they could go home together. He turned around to wave at Fass, ¡°Thank you, Fass. We have to go home for dinner now.¡± Fass nodded and smiled. ¡°Go on home now, Nate. Don¡¯t forget our promise. Don¡¯t tell anyone about what you saw today.¡± Nathan nodded and started to head out. After taking two steps, though, he stopped abruptly and turned around. ¡°Thank you, Fass.¡± After that, Nathan went home happily with Nichs. Nichs was even more intelligent and incredible than before. He can change colors too! This is amazing! Later that night, Linus came home from work and saw Fass sitting in the living room. While he was taking off his overcoat, he said, ¡°Cooper, my housewarming is in two days. Do you want to stay for it?¡± Fass did not answer him. His gaze shifted to the small object on the coffee table in front of him. Linus also looked down¡ªit was a tiny memory card. Linus felt a tug in his chest, but he still looked indifferent on the outside. ¡°What is that?¡± Fass looked at Linus¡¯ expression but did not see any changes. ¡°An internal analysis chart from a military compound.¡± A hint of uneasiness spread across Linus¡¯ face momentarily. He pried, ¡°What¡¯s that doing here?¡± Fass did not beat around the bush and said, ¡°The kid from the Fletchers came over today because his robot had broken down. When I was fixing it, I noticed a backdoor in the robot¡¯s program. Someone had been spying on them with that robot.¡± Ayer of sweat had covered Linus¡¯ back. Nonchntly, Fass continued, ¡°It looks like someone tried to use that robot and kid to try to steal confidential military information in Cethos and go against the Fletchers.¡± He emphasized the words at the end of his sentence. Linus did not respond, but Fass could see the look on his face turn sullen. His introverted appearance was harboring a heinous crime that no one knew about. The air in the room grew heavy. In this room, except for the cats who were threading along the floor lightly, there was not a single sound or movement. Both Linus and Fass remained silent. Linus lowered his face. His eyes were clouded over. Like a murderer waiting in a corner in the dark to ambush his target and hit them with the first shot. Meanwhile, Fass was like a sculpture. He sat up straight and looked at Linus with a pair of sharp eyes. He seemed normal. He did not have a terrifying imposing manner like Linus did, but still, no one dared to overlook him. At that moment, Linus noticed that the security system ced in the middle of the living room had been activated. As the second-inmand of the Michel Group, he did not have any bodyguards there but his house was the hardest house to break into in the world. It was filled withser weapons¡ªable to kill off anyone who broke in without leaving a trace behind. However, theser weapon that he had made was now pointed at him. Even his housekeeping robots were standing with Fass and were being hostile toward him. He wrote the program and assumed that no one could break in. Except for Fass¡­ His life was now in Fass¡¯ hands! After a while, Fass suddenly stood up and walked toward him. His tone had be gentler. ¡°Linus, I won¡¯t let anyone harm the Fletchers.¡± He brushed his shoulder as he walked past him and went up the spiral staircase. Just then, a thought struck him. ¡°Oh, and¡­¡± He looked over at Linus who was still standing in the middle of the living room. ¡°Keep Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader in check. The revenge he took on the Fletcher Family should be more than enough to appease his resentment toward Theo.¡± Linus remained quiet. Seeing theser weapon move away slowly, the threatening atmosphere in the living room quickly dissipated and it was peaceful once more. Then, he fell into a prolonged silence. ¡­ It had been a week since New Year¡¯s and Sophia was carrying a basket of red packets to give out to people. She gave them to the helpers and cooks at home, to the conscientious security guards on duty, and to the other property owners in her neighborhood. Quite frankly, she gave red packets to whomever she met in the neighborhood. She was wearing a red cotton-padded top, a white fur scarf, a red hat, and a pair of red snow boots. The basket in her hand was filled to the brim with red packets. Nathan was also forced to wear a red outfit and to walk in embarrassment behind her. Nichs was also wearing a red hat and following along behind her. To amodate Sophia¡¯s festive attire today, he turned himself red. They looked fit for the asion. When Sophia was giving out red packets in the neighborhood, she saw Linus drive out in his car. ¡°Linus!¡± He stopped the car and wound down his windows. Sophia was just on her way to his house to give him a red packet and thank him for fixing Nichs. ¡°Nate says you helped to fix Nichs. Thank you so much! Here, take this. Have a prosperous year!¡± Sophia gave him two red packets which Linus epted. ¡°Thank you. If there is a problem with Nichs again in the future, you cane look for me. It¡¯s not a problem at all.¡± Nathan leaned against the car window and looked at the man sitting in the backseat of Linus¡¯ car. Chapter 565 Chapter 565 The man in the backseat was wearing an all-ck coat. The hat on his head was almost covering his whole face, and with a mask on, his face was not visible at all. Sophia spotted him at first nce and asked out of curiosity, ¡°Hey, Linus. Is that your friend?¡± ¡°A friend from back home came to visit me. The haze in Bayside City is too severe. He can¡¯t bear with it, so he¡¯s leaving today.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Sophia took out two red packets from her basket and weaved her hand through the gap of the passenger seat to give them to him. ¡°Happy New Year! Have a prosperous year!¡± The man lifted his hat slightly and revealed his blue and deep-set eyes. It was obvious that he was from overseas. The man reached forward to retrieve the red packets. ¡°Thank you.¡± He enunciated those two words clearly in a robust voice. There wasn¡¯t a hint of an ent and he did not sound very old either. He must be Linus¡¯ rtive! Linus interjected, ¡°We have to get going now. My friend¡¯s flight is in the afternoon.¡± With that, the car drove off. Sophia stared aimlessly as his car vanished into the distance. Inside the car, Fass opened the red packets he had just received. There were eight one-hundred notes in each one along with a name card. Printed on the front of the card were a name and the picture of the girl from before. The girl had a beautiful smile and looked full of youthful energy. Her name was Sophia Edwards. Her position was the deputy general manager of some ITpany. On the back of the card, there was a QR code to download their newlyunched game as well as a QR code to add her on Messenger. Fass flipped the card back over and stared at her studio portrait shot. He pondered, This girl looks like¡­ Linus drove Fass to the airport. As Fass was about to enter the gate, he turned around to look at Linus. Patting him on the shoulder, he said in earnest, ¡°Linus, don¡¯t make trouble for yourself. The Michel Group is yours.¡± Linus looked down but did not say anything. He knew that any exnation or argument made in front of Fass would be in vain. After he sent Fass off, Linus went back home and turned on hisputer only to find that he had lost connection with Nichs. Fass had modified the durability of the backdoor, and Linus was unable to fix it even if he wanted to. Linus put a surveince robot next to Nathan, but just as expected, he had lost connection with it. The information he secretly gathered on the Fletchers was also gone. He had also lost all connection with the devices in Michael¡¯s home. ¡­ After dinner, Sophia brought Nichs for a night run, intentionally going past the Harper Residence to eavesdrop. She loved seeing the bustling activity there. Just as expected, they were in another big fight today. She pricked up her ears and listened in. Mrs. Harper was sobbing in anguish while Mr. Harper and X were arguing. Richard, the coward, was trying to mediate between them. He seems to be doing well. A very exciting life, indeed. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Nichs.¡± ¡°Okay, Mom!¡± The both of them ran one behind the other. After improvements were made on Nichs, his intellectual abilities had also be more advanced. He walked with his two robotic legs, and when he needed to run, he would release his wheels and speed off. If she increased her speed, he also increased his speed. If she slowed down, he also slowed down. He matched her pace the whole time. The sun was out today and the haze was not that severe. After running for a bit, she pulled down her mask and took in a breath of fresh air. She rested on the side of the road to catch her breath and drink some water. As the sky grew darker, the streemps turned on. The warm lights illuminated the once snow-covered streets which Sophia was running on now. Suddenly, a gust of cold wind came from the side and the inconceivable amount of strength had flung her into an isted corner in a second. Before she had time to realize anything, she was shoved against the wall by that force. The back of her head hit the wall, leaving her in a daze as her head started to spin. Both of her hands were being pressed down by a pair of iron arms. The man¡¯s icy cold body pinned her in the corner. A passionate and dangerous kissnded on her face. When she avoided his lips, the kiss landed on her neck instead, and she could feel his threatening breaths against her skin. ¡°Help¡ª¡± However, her cries were muffled by his kisses. He had a deathly grip on her neck and she couldn¡¯t breathe or call for help. Her vision was growing dark. At that moment, she felt like an ant being stepped on mercilessly with no way to defend herself. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she waved her hands haphazardly in front of her, but it was all to no avail. She could already feel a cold hand in her pants, trying to lift her leg. Then, she realized that the icy breath felt familiar as if she had felt it before. It¡¯s Phantom Wolf! I thought he disappeared. I wasn¡¯t expecting him to show up again! When she felt like all hope was lost, hisrge body suddenly quivered and he let out a stifled grunt. He turned his head back to look behind him, and not too far away was a robot standing there with a gun- like weapon in its outstretched robotic arm. The gun barrel was aimed right at him and was letting out a continuous stream of an unknown substance. When it prated through his body, he suddenly felt the back of his hand go cold. When he lifted it, the small needles did not go through his skin, but a visible ck substance was dispersing under his skin. His hand suddenly went numb. Seizing the chance, Sophia quickly tried to escape. After pushing him aside, she started to sprint off. Nichs took onest look at Phantom Wolf before following after Sophia. While he was running with her, all four cameras on his body were still constantly observing their surroundings so he could act immediately if he had to. Sophia was running on the side of the street. Even with someone by her side, she could not feel at ease. Feelings of despair overwhelmed her and she started to cry as she ran. After running just a few hundred meters, Michael suddenly appeared, still in his pajamas, at the corner of the street ahead. When she saw him, she finally felt safe. She ran into his arms and started to sob. Michael looked very distraught. He hugged her tightly in his arms andforted, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯re okay now.¡± She was trembling all over. There were injuries all over her face and neck, and scratch marks all over her stomach and chest. When he received Nichs¡¯ report, he immediately ran out of the house to save her. It had only been a few minutes. He did not dare to imagine what could have happened if he had just been a bitte. More so, he did not want to think about the horror the woman he loved had to go through during those few minutes. The people that Hale brought over rushed to that prior location like a tidal wave. But aside from a bunch of messy footprints, there was nothing else in that cramped corner. Michael had lost the slippers he was wearing as he was running out of the house earlier. He was now standing bare feet in front of the wall where the incident urred. It seemed like there were still traces that Sophia left behind. The fear she felt was evident in the flurry of scratch marks there. How much desperation and fear must she have felt earlier? Phantom Wolf! Michael had underestimated him. He did not think that he would make an attack right at their doorstep! Moreover, it happened right under his nose! Chapter 566 Chapter 566 After Sophia was taken home, she did not speak for a long time as she was traumatized. She also felt like she was still trembling all over. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Taking some people with him to look for Phantom Wolf, Michael still did not return when it had gotten dark outside. Nathan did not hear about the incident that night and had gone to bed early. Back in her own room, Sophia was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She was worried about Michael and wondered if they had caught Phantom Wolf yet. Nichs stayed by her side. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared anymore, Mom. I¡¯ve chased that bad guy away! I¡¯ll protect you from now on!¡± He stood by the head of the bed. His glimmering eyes made him seem like a clever child. The expression on her face did not look good. While she was looking at him though, she felt gratified. If it were not for Nichs today, she might not have made it back alive. ¡°You¡¯re the bravest, Nichs. I love you!¡± She caressed his robotic head. His eyes crinkled as if he was smiling. ¡°Dad alsoplimented me for being brave today!¡± Sophia gazed curiously at his hand. There was a ck object in his hand earlier that he used to shoot something. It hit Phantom Wolf and made him falter. ¡°Nichs, can I see what¡¯s in your hand?¡± He answered, ¡°It¡¯s a new feature Uncle Linus gave me. If we ever meet a bad guy in the future, I can protect you, Mom.¡± Linus upgraded Nichs just yesterday. Who knew he had added such a profound feature? The timing of this upgrade couldn¡¯t have been better! Sophia looked for some tools to open his exterior. She found that all his internal parts were reced with more advanced materials. After connecting Nichs to theputer, she also noticed that his system had been upgraded. It had an additional defense feature that allowed him to lock on and attack a target with a weapon in the shortest amount of time. She looked at his new system curiously. Even though she was only a novice, she still had an idea of how things worked. Nichs had gotten a thorough upgrade. From the inside out, his materials and motherboard were all reced. It was a bigger upgrade than thest time. His internal system was as vast as the night sky¡ªincredibly exquisite. She was in awe. The Michel Family did live up to their name as the world leader in electronics. They could make such an incredible robot like it was nothing! Just then, she noticed that Nichs had lost half of the needles in the gun heunched earlier hurriedly fixed him up. ¡°Let¡¯s go see Linus.¡± He should have some left in his inventory. She wanted to buy a few back to study it and install more of it in Nichs next time. At the same time, in the basement of Vi No. 2, Linus was staring nkly at the man who had invaded his workroom and was using the robotic arm to operate on himself. Phantom Wolf had taken off his wig, revealing a youthful face that looked both handsome and insolent. Hey fully naked on the work table while the robot scanned him. The veins on his sweat-covered body looked like dragons popping out of his skin. Biting down, he used the robot to cut through his own skin and tear further into the tissue to pick out the small silver needles. Those silver needles almost cost him his life! Because he was doing the operation himself, he did not dare to use anesthesia. Every time it cut through his skin, the blue veins on his face became visible, sweat started to pour down, and his body quivered from the pain. s, he got all the needles out of his body and was able to let out a breath of relief. While hey on the work table, fresh blood also trickled down the sides of it and was promptly cleaned off by the robot vacuum. The medical robot automatically gave him anesthesia, cleaned off his wounds, stopped the bleeding, and stitched him back up. Through gritted teeth, he said, ¡°Why did you imnt something like that in a robot?¡± Those silver needles were not just any regr silver needles. They were deadly microbots that released poison as it moved through the whole body in the veins once it entered through the skin. If he had not run fast enough to get help from Linus, he would be a corpse by now. While the operation was taking ce earlier, Linus simply stood and watched at the side without much of a reaction as though he was used to the sight. He kept feeling unsettled today for some reason. After listening to Phantom Wolf, he finally put down the coffee mug in his hand and slowly made his way over to the work table. ¡°You should consider yourself lucky that you¡¯re still alive.¡± Tossing some clothes at his now treated body, Linus said, ¡°Find a way to get out yourself!¡± Phantom Wolf remained lying on the work table. He looked pale from the blood loss. Because his wounds were still healing, the medical robot could help him recover faster. To avoid attracting suspicion, he had to stay there for a while before he was able to leave. Linus got up and nced over at Phantom Wolf¡¯s vitals on the floating screen. His wounds were still healing and all the microbots had been removed from inside his body. Linus looked at the microbots under the magnifying ss. These were what Fass had brought over to use on military robots. It was highly lethal and crude. The most sought-after feature was that it caused instant death. Death was especially horrible and there was no way to be saved. Linus did not think that he would find it on Nichs or that Phantom Wolf could have fallen victim to it. When Nate went over to get Nichs fixed yesterday, Linus was not home and Fass had done the repairs himself. After he closed the backdoor, he also upgraded Nichs. Fass is never that kind. No, he isn¡¯t that kind to most people except for the Fletcher Family. As Linus studied those unusual needles, he said, ¡°Fass noticed. He gave me a warning before he left.¡± Phantom Wolf, who was still lying down and waiting for his wounds to heal, scorned, ¡°Why? Are you scared? Do you want to back out?¡± Everyone knew that the Phantom Wolf was a killer organization. They took in cash for lives. No one knew, however, that their biggest customer was none other than Linus¡ªthe second-inmand of the Michel Group. Without his steady ie and support, he would not dare to be that reckless either. Phantom Wolf was savage with human lives, but who could beat the person in front of him? At twelve years old, Linus started working with Phantom Wolf to exchange money with lives. By helping him get rid of apetitor, he was able to make Linus who he was today. On the surface, Linus lived a life of luxury and mor. But underneath all of that, he had enough blood on his hands to fill a river. To be where he was today, he had to step on countless corpses and take away numerous lives. Linus did not bother with his snide remarks. ¡°I¡¯ve been exposed. I can¡¯t help you gather information on the Fletchers anymore. You should know his tactics too. It¡¯s probably best for you toy low for the time being.¡± Phantom Wolf snorted at him, but he also knew that Fass was just as frightening as Linus. Is he trying to interfere with my grudge against the Fletchers? Linus noticed his dissatisfaction and said with a nk expression, ¡°I¡¯ll send you back to Africa for a while.¡± Phantom Wolf did not respond. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The both of them looked up at the surveince monitor simultaneously and saw a girl standing outside. She had an army coat draped over her shoulders and a robot by her side. Chapter 567 Chapter 567 Sophia pressed the doorbell a few times before the door swung open automatically. Pushing through the main gate, she entered Linus¡¯ front yard. The French windows were dark and bleak as if no one was home. But after taking a couple of steps, the house lit up and Linus came out of his workroom. He opened the door to let her in. ¡°Sophia, what brings you here?¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. She looked at him still dressed in his work attire and guessed, ¡°You¡¯re still working at this hour?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± When he saw the injuries on her lips and neck, he inquired, ¡°What happened to you?¡± Without hesitating, she answered, ¡°I went out for a night run and slipped because the ground was too slippery.¡± Linus casted a quizzical nce at her but did not press further. He did not know about the bad blood between her and Phantom Wolf. He assumed that Phantom Wolf had gotten attacked by Nichs¡¯ silver needles when he was trying to harm the Fletchers. Sophia stated her purpose foring, ¡°I noticed that Nichs has an additional defense feature now thates with a gun. The silver needles inside of it seem quite good. Can you give me the link from where you purchased them from? I want to stock up for Nichs.¡± He took a look at Nichs and figured that Sophia had already found out about the properties of the silver needles. ¡°That item can¡¯t be listed on the market legally, but I still have a lot left. I¡¯ll give you a dozen.¡± She quickly interjected, ¡°No, no. How much are they? I¡¯ll buy them from you.¡± She felt bad enough to ask him for things. Those were all valuable and high-tech products! Linus did not refuse either. ¡°Okay, I will issue an invoice to you in a bit.¡± This time, Sophia felt at ease leaving Nichs with Linus to get the ammunition replenished. Before he brought Nichs down to his workroom, Linus said to Sophia, ¡°Have a seat. I will go and get the items from my workroom.¡± Because his workroom could contain some undisclosed and confidential things, she knew better than to follow him downstairs. Instead, she sat in the living room and waited. The pets in his house came running out to see her. When she was leaning against the soft sofa, a Dragon Li cat came over and cozied up in her arms. The purring sound of the cat was slowly making her sleepy. When Linus brought Nichs down to the basement, Phantom Wolf had already disappeared. He probably went to rest, he thought. Linus proceeded to disassemble Nichs¡¯ exterior and check his defense system. As it turned out, Fass had personally upgraded him and gave him an incredibly fast response time. Additionally, the backdoor Linus hid in the system had been closed permanently. If he wanted to open the back door, his only option was to reinstall a new system. At this point, however, there was nothing more he wanted to gain out of it. This was a warning from Fass. Linus was not going to be reckless and defy him. Fass knew about all the deals he made in the dark but did not ever stand in his way. Since he was stopping him now, he was not going to step out of line either. He still did not have a way to duplicate the silver needles that Fass installed in Nichs, so he put in another set of silver needles with the same specifications and simr results. After finding more silver needles in his inventory, he packed them all up and gave them to Nichs to take home so Sophia could replenish them for him. Suddenly, he remembered the injuries on her face and neck. He took out some fast-working paste medicine for treating wounds from his first-aid kit and put everything into the littlepartment in Nichs¡¯ stomach. There was some space in there to store a few small items. Once everything was settled, Linus rebooted Nichs and connected him into the system. Entering the video management center, Linus wanted to watch the clip of Nichs carrying out the defense function to see if Phantom Wolf was exposed. When the video started, it showed Nichs going on a night run with Sophia. She looked back at him several times and always had a happy look on her face. All of a sudden, a shadow came in from the side and pulled her into a corner. Nichs quickly followed after them and recorded everything in high definition. In the video, the man had Sophia pressed against the wall and was kissing her in a frenzied manner. Her small body was close to being forced into the wall itself. Her small arms iled around helplessly and her nails left desperate marks on the wall. Tearing off her clothes, he reached a hand under it and started fondling her like a mad person to which she could only let out cries of despair. At this point, Nichs had identified the situation before him and set his defense feature in motion. He fixed the man as his target and, in a short time, shot a continuous stream of silver needles at him. After he hit all the vital points, the man¡¯s body shook and he turned around to look at Nichs. Linus was able to see his face now¡ªit was Phantom Wolf. Linus¡¯ mind went nk at that moment, and he felt all the blood in his body rush to his head. He looked over at the surveince footage of the living room and noticed that Sophia, who was sleeping on the sofa just before, had disappeared. All that was left behind was her army coat on the ground. The person Phantom Wolf attacked was Sophia! Not Nate! Yet, he put them together in the same space! An overwhelming fear washed over him. He immediately went to check on the surveince footage and saw two dogs barking uncontrobly as they ran up to a guest room on the second floor. Linus dropped his tools and rushed up to the second floor. When he got there, he saw the two local breed dogs scratching at the door. How could he have left her in the living room by herself? Fortunately, the room doors here were not heavy and he was able to burst into the room with one kick. Rushing in, he saw Sophia lying unconscious on the bed while Phantom Wolf was pressing her down from on top as he tried to peel her clothes off. The veins on Linus¡¯ clenched fists popped up. How dare he hurt her here? How dare he hurt her right under my nose? Before Linus could do anything, however, the robot came from behind him with an aloof expression and shot two silver needles into Phantom Wolf¡¯s bareback which prated deep into his skin. Immediately, he went weak and limp while still on top of Sophia. Linus took two steps to reach them. He pushed a half-naked Phantom Wolf away and found Sophia in deep sleep under him. The lower hem of her sweater had been lifted, revealing her fair stomach and pink bra. She was breathing slowly as if she had fallen asleep. Her stomach was rising and falling while there were a few more fresh scratch marks on her skin. Seeing as how she did not wake up even after he kicked the door down and made all that noise, there was definitely something wrong. Linus gripped Phantom Wolf by the throat. ¡°What did you do to her? Tell me what you did to her!¡± But Phantom Wolf waspletely paralyzed now and he could only speak. When he saw the worried look in Linus¡¯ eyes and felt like he had hit a nerve with him, he scoffed. ¡°I just took some anesthesia needles from your toolbox. She¡¯s sleeping.¡± Linus red at him. When he remembered what he saw in that video¡ªher cries of despair and helpless struggles¡ªhe felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces. It was as though he could feel her fear and desperation. In the heat of the moment, he clenched his fists tightly and sent a punch across Phantom Wolf¡¯s face. Once he was done hitting him, Phantom Wolf had lost two teeth. ¡°I won¡¯t let you hurt her! I won¡¯t let you!¡± Linus punched and kicked him continuously in a rage, but Phantom Wolf did not make a sound. A bizarre thought then rushed into his consciousness, and he suddenly became mad. He now had an urge to kill Phantom Wolf. Chapter 568 Chapter 568 Seeing that the situation was off, the robot by the side quickly sprayed a mist. When Linus breathed in the mist, he calmed down in an instant. The boiling blood inside of him finally cooled down. Linus stared at his hands that were still shivering from the excessive agitation; his eyes were filled with dismay. What happened? Why is this happening? Why did I suddenly lose control of my emotions? Linus had never lost his cool like that before. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Phantom Wolf, who was lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face,ughed with his mouth wide open; blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to make such gaffes for a woman. I thought you¡¯re only interested in men.¡± For a while, Linus continued to stare at his trembling hands; his mind went nk. It was only after he suddenly thought of Sophia, who was sleeping still on the bed, that he quickly straightened himself. Instantly, he pulled her sweater down to cover her torso and carried her out in a hurry. Phantom Wolf found the entire situation interesting when he noticed the extremely nervous expression on Linus¡¯ face. The cold-blooded Linus Michel can actually be so anxious! Haha! How interesting! Unfortunately, Sophia did not belong to him nor Linus! Once Linus carried Sophia back to the living room, he wrapped her in a coat and ced the cat in her arms to keep her in her earlier sleeping posture. Observing Sophia who was still asleep, a strange emotion rose in Linus¡¯ heart. It was something he had never felt before. It seemed like Sophia had a dreadful dream. Two lines of tears trickled down the edges of her eyes. Her hands that were ced against the sofa kept on moving, and her fingers seemed to be struggling subconsciously. Her fingers were covered with band-aids; all of her nails were scratched and broken. It was apparent how frightful and defenseless she had been earlier in those few minutes. What is she dreaming about? Did she dream of what happened during the day again? Something inside Linus tore apart when he looked at her painful and anxious expression. The robot had brought the antidote over and he injected it in her neck. The eye of the needle was so small that it was invisible to the human eye. After the shot, Sophia seemed to have quietened down a little. Wiping away the tears at the corner of her eyes, Linus let her sleep in peace¡­ In the middle of the night, Michael rushed home in a hurry. When he was told that Sophia had not been back after visiting Linus, he darted toward Vi No. 2. After pressing the doorbell, he entered without obstacles. Coming out from the basement in his gloves and work clothes, Linus saw Michael. In amazement, he said, ¡°Michael, you¡¯re finally here to pick up Sophia!¡± As Michael¡¯s gaze swept across the space, he immediately found Sophia who was sleeping on the living room sofa. The heating system was fully turned on. She slept soundly under a nket with a cat in her arms; her cheeks were pink. Nichs shrank into a cylinder while he stood aside for charging. When he heard Michael¡¯s voice, his limbs sprang out, activating itself automatically. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re back!¡± The rock in Michael¡¯s heart finally fell. When he talked to Linus, he subconsciously lowered down his volume. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Michel. I¡¯m here to take Sophia home.¡± With an embarrassing smile, Linus said, ¡°I was upgrading Nichs¡¯ system earlier, andter found Sophia asleep in the living room. I couldn¡¯t make myself wake her up.¡± He then asked the robot to hand a box to Hale who was standing next to Michael. ¡°Sophia came to me today for this defensive microbot. This is all I have in stock now. The invoice is inside the box.¡± Speaking of that, Michael was very grateful. Perhaps this is fate. Linus had only upgraded Nichs with the silver needle the day before and ites in handy today! What a coincidence! Immediately, he thanked him, ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll transfer the money to youter.¡± He then inquired, ¡°What happens to people who have been injected with this kind of needle?¡± ¡°The needle will enter the blood and cause great harm to the body. It must be taken out promptly,¡± answered Linus. It seemed like Michael wanted to ask something more, but his eyes found Sophia who was sleeping on the sofa. She sat up suddenly and nced at her surroundings in a daze. Was that a dream? Earlier, she saw Phantom Wolf approach her then she fainted. The living room was still the same; the cat in her arms was still the same cat from earlier and she was still lying on the sofa. However, Phantom Wolf was nowhere to be seen. She sat there for two seconds and saw Michael walking toward her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, chica?¡± Holding Sophia¡¯s face in his palms, he noticed her facial features were tensed. Fear had filled her eyes. Sophia was lost for a while before she realized that that was just a nightmare. She suddenly felt like she was a survivor of a disaster, feeling grateful when she saw Michael who was in front of her. Unable to control herself, she buried her face in Michael¡¯s chest. ¡°I dreamed of him just now. I saw him. He¡¯sing¡­¡± She yelled and whimpered incoherently. Feeling like his heart was stabbed by needles, Michael whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s just a nightmare. It¡¯s only a nightmare¡­¡± He helped Sophia up as she held him tightly and kept crying. Holding her hand, Michael turned toward Linus and apologized, ¡°My wife was frightened today. I¡¯m sorry you had to see this.¡± Linus¡¯ expression was simrly heavy as he said, ¡°Just tell me if you need any help.¡± Michael then took Sophia away. Sitting on the sofa alone, Linus stared at the ce where Sophiay earlier. His mind was upied with the helpless look of her sobbing and wiping her tears away. He didn¡¯t expect that she was involved in the battle between Michael and Phantom Wolf. He knew what kind of person Phantom Wolf was. He couldn¡¯t imagine the pain he had caused Sophia in the past! Every time he thought about that, his heart couldn¡¯t calm down. It was like something violent was hiding beneath his veins. After sitting for a long time, Linus stood up and went down to the basement. Phantom Wolf was tied to the working table and the medical robot was treating his injuries. When Phantom Wolf saw Linus walking in with a gloomy expression, he was only amused. ¡°What? Are you angry that I hurt your little darling?¡± Without saying a word, Linus held up a remote control that appeared out of nowhere. With a light press, Phantom Wolf noticed a hot wave in his abdomen. Looking down, he saw the ce where the bomb was installed suddenly give off a burst of light and a warm current flowed along his blood vessels throughout his entire body. The current rushed into his nerves and an unbearable pain filled his body in an instant. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Argh¡ª¡± After a sudden scream of pain, Phantom Wolf couldn¡¯t help but start trembling. He curled himself up as he shivered until the pain subsided after half a minute. Sitting by the working table, Linus looked at him emotionlessly. He stared at Phantom Wolf as he howled, spasmed, and trembled in pain. ¡°You¡­ You set me up!¡± Chapter 569 Chapter 569 After half a minute, Phantom Wolf finally found the strength to speak. His body was sore and sweaty. He gritted his teeth as he looked at Linus. The bomb in his body was the one that would explode when he died. It was hisst amulet, and it was Linus who had invented and imnted it in him. He didn¡¯t know the bomb had a function like that too! Staring at him, Linus grinned coldly and he pressed the remote control again. ¡°Argh¡ª¡± Phantom Wolf¡¯s figure twisted on the working table, his veins bing visible. He even felt like his soul was being torn apart. Linus listened to Phantom Wolf growling in pain and was very satisfied to see him suffer. ¡°Do you think that I can¡¯t do anything with your lowly life?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re just a dog I raised!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll repeat it again. I don¡¯t care about the grudge between you and Michael. But, if you ever touch her again¡­¡± Linus¡¯ words were harsh as he went on. He looked at Phantom Wolf mercilessly. Phantom Wolf was also ring back at him; there was nothing humane in his scarlet eyes. He then heard Linus¡¯ words. ¡°I¡¯ll torture you so terribly that you¡¯ll hope to die.¡± As Linus pressed onto the remote control again, Phantom Wolf once again let out a desperate groan. He yelled until his voice turned hoarse, but the soundproof basement cut off all his cries¡­ In Vi No. 8, after Michael had put Sophia back to sleep, he went down to the basement. Abel had just come back after a whole day. He moved Nichs down to the basement and about a dozen people surrounded it as they studied it. Yesterday, Michael discovered some breaking news. He found out the rtionship between Phantom Wolf and the Michel Family. Linus might be one of the members of the Phantom Wolf! Michael had originally wanted to destroy Nichs, but its performance today changed his mind. So, he only gave it an overall repair. Stanley and Sean were called over to connect to Nichs¡¯ system. It was the first time Sean had seen Nichs¡¯ programming and he was astonished. A universe is installed inside it! No wonder Nichs is so smart! The one who wrote this system is simply a genius! After two to three days of checking and testing Nichs¡¯ program, everyone finally came out with a conclusion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle Michael. Nichs¡¯ system is absolutely safe. There are no loopholes in it and its program is wless. It¡¯s more powerful than any supeputer we¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Stanley patted his chest as he said. Even Sophia had checked it for herself. The program written by Linus was extremely marvelous. No wonder Nichs was so smart! In the end, they decided to keep Nichs because Sophia and Nathan were very fond of it! Sincest year, Linus had been dying the housewarming party. It was only this year that he finally sent out the invitation letters and the date was set in the second half of the year. Last year, Bayside City underwent a subtle change. The Michel Group broke in with a full fury, catching the Mitchell Family, who was the boss in the city, off guard. The Mitchells deteriorated a lot. Most of the electronics technology enterprises in Bayside City had copsed, and one of them was the Huffs. The Mitchells were probably going to be the next Huffs The Michel Group was like a nightmare for everyone in the industry in Bayside City. However, for those in other industries, this was their opportunity. Now that Linus was holding a banquet, most of the prominent families in Bayside City were looking forward to receiving his invitation letter. They didn¡¯t know who could receive it, but those who were invited by Linus must have been the richest people in the city. All residents of The Imperial would definitely have gotten invitation letters. Sophia and Michael were the first to receive invitations as the letter wasbeled as No. 1. Influential figures from the business, military, art and political fields had also received invitations. Even people in the entertainment and fashion industries received invitations too. Furthermore, lecturers and students from the campus, as well as some of the prominent families, also received them. The banquet was held in Linus¡¯ private residence and the preparation had begun several days in advance. In order to repay Linus for upgrading Nichs, who had saved her life, Sophia was very enthusiastic to help him out every day. After all, he was her sworn brother. So, she should be contributing some effort too. Instead of stopping her, Michael did nothing. After that incident with Liam, Sophia had been depressed for a while now. She didn¡¯t go out nor yed games. And she even stopped eating. The trauma she suffered during her childhood left an unconquerable shadow in her. Her depression had be even more severe than ever. Fortunately, she was a strong girl and she managed to survive it. So, Michael would always support her in the things she liked to do. This time, Sophia would also attend the banquet. She had been preparing her outfit in advance and Michael was happy to see her making positive changes. Stanley¡¯s ¡®son¡¯, Kenny, had been visiting Vi No. 8 almost every day. Sophia was his old customer. Every time I/K released a new series, they would send the merchandise over to Sophia. Now that Sophia was preparing for the banquet, of course, Kenny would be the first she would think of. Today, Kenny was here again, and he came with three cars of models. A few days ago, Kenny sent over a brochure of LK¡¯s new products. They were all products that had yet to be released. Sophia had her eyes on a few sets and Kenny was here today to let Sophia pick some as the models showcased them. For the first banquet, her sworn brother would be holding in Bayside City, Sophia had made enough preparations. Now that the models were here, she took it very seriously and the living room was about to turn into a fashion show. Linus¡¯ housewarming party¡¯s name list fell into Michael¡¯s hand because of Sophia¡¯s connection with Linus. At this moment, he was studying the name list. Linus had indeed invited all of the influential figures in Bayside City and some of them were people he hated a lot, like ude, Joel, Joe, and Faye. Because Joe and Faye lived just right next to the Imperial, they were sort of like a neighbor. Furthermore, Joe was Sophia¡¯s father. So, Linus had to send them the invitation letter. ncing at the name list, Michael was trying to figure out what Linus was thinking about. As he was doing that, he looked up to check on Sophia from time to time. Sophia had already agreed on the outfit with Kenny. Swiping Michael¡¯s bank card, they agreed on the delivery time and Kenny left with his models. Before he left, Sophia even gifted him a piece of her specially-made cured meat and tipped each of the models. On the other side, Nathan went to Linus¡¯ house along with the braised pork he saved from the meal. Recently, there were many people at Linus¡¯ house. Most of them were there to prepare for the banquet. However, Nathan couldn¡¯t find the man who had upgraded Nichs for him the other day. He was slightly disappointed and went back home with his head held low¡­ He wanted to ask Linus, but he promised the man not to reveal him to the others.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Initially, he wanted to thank him for upgrading Nichs; otherwise, his mom would have been caught by the bad man. And that was why he deliberately brought his favorite food over¡­ Chapter 570 Chapter 570 After watching Sophia pick her outfit, Michael took Nichs, Hale, and Gemma out. Sophia was scratched by Phantom Wolf and she was left with a scar on her face. To make sure that she could be in her best condition and appearance during Linus¡¯ banquet, Sophia had to deal with it quickly. After all, Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend and her own ex-boyfriend would be attending too. Besides, this was going to be her first time appearing in public as Taylor¡¯s wife. She made an appointment at a stic surgery hospital, hoping that her wound could be healed quickly without leaving a scar. That stic surgery hospital was said to have the best scar healing and cosmetic repair procedure. Even the normal treatments that they offered were well-known. Instead of the usual stic surgery look one saw on the streets, the faces they created were all beautiful in their own way. Many celebrities had visited Bayside City from overseas just to get a facelift. Even if Sophia was Michael¡¯s wife and a VIP, she could only make an appointment for a few dayster. In the past, she underwent many operations in this hospital and the mark left by Phantom Wolf was removed here too. The effect was amazing and there was no scar left at all. She once got herself a tattoo here, butter removed it and there was still no scar left behind. Those who could make an appointment here were usually rich and influential. When Sophia got her number and went to the VIP waiting area, there were already more than a dozen people there. Among them were many familiar faces often seen in movies and TV series. When they saw Taylor¡¯s wife ¡®Eddie¡¯, something in their eyes showed that they knew who she was. However, when Sophia sat down, the man that was wearing a face mask suddenly called out, ¡°You¡¯re here too, Sophia?¡± Huh? Sophia was shocked. She looked at the man who was sitting beside her, but she couldn¡¯t see his face because the big face mask had covered it up. However, his voice was very familiar. ¡°Professor rk?¡± Nodding, Quinton¡¯s eyes seemed to be smiling. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened in bewilderment. Looking at his face mask and the surroundings, like a thief, she whispered, ¡°You¡¯re here for stic surgery too?¡± Huh? Sophia stared at him nkly. His pretty face is actually a product of stic surgery? Gulping, she said, ¡°It looked quite natural though.¡± ¡°Of course, I started getting surgery at fourteen years old,¡± said Quinton. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten rhinosty and blepharosty. I¡¯ve also gotten chin and temple imnts. Most of my face has undergone surgery before.¡± Sophia felt like her worldview was overthrown. Quinton has done stic surgery before? And for his whole face? But, who said that a man couldn¡¯t be obsessed with his appearance? In the meantime, Quinton took the opportunity to gossip with Sophia. Turning on his phone, he started to comment on the faces of some of the celebrities. ¡°Look at Nichs¡¯ face. It¡¯s the typical Korean face and I¡¯m sure he did it in Korea. Look at this; there¡¯s a wound on his chin, but his fans insist that it¡¯s just a wrinkle. Bethany¡¯s face is pretty natural and her fans say that it was because of her braces. But, she actually got a jaw surgery done in this hospital too. And the singer, Irene. Her face is almostpletely filled with silicone so that she looks more friendly. This one who ims to be a mixed-race celebrity has gone even more overbroad. In my opinion, he is definitely a pure Cethos. He¡¯s had a brow lift and his European double eyelids are from surgery! Look at his blue eyes; they¡¯re fake too.¡± In disbelief, Sophia inquired, ¡°There¡¯s even a surgery for the eyeballs?¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Nodding, Quinton continued, ¡°One can even change their gender now. Changing the color of the eyeballs is not that difficult.¡± As Sophia observed the pictures, she touched her face, wondering whether she should make an appointment to try one of the procedures. Perhaps, she should try something like the mysterious sky-blue eyeballs and get herself European double eyelids like her father. She could also try to reconstruct her face into an oval shape. Her father was mixed-race, but she didn¡¯t inherit any of his characteristics. So, she could only do it manually. However, when she saw Quinton¡¯s crooked nose that slipped out identally when he was drinking water, she decided to give up on the idea. She might not be able to go around as she pleased after undergoing the surgery! If she wasn¡¯t careful enough, she might end up having a crooked nose like Quinton. Suddenly, something came to her mind. Taking out Michael¡¯s photo, she was eager to find out where her husband operated on his face. He was so good-looking; there was no way he didn¡¯t do something to it! Just when she took the photo out, Quinton immediately said, ¡°Thepanymander and Lord Winston didn¡¯t undergo any surgery. Don¡¯t worry. They are 100% natural. They might have injected some sort of skin whitening serum or sheep centa extract, but that¡¯s all.¡± He then went on, ¡°He filmed all of his action movies personally. Usually, celebrities wouldn¡¯t dare to do it because they¡¯re afraid of hurting their face.¡± Because the two of them arrived early and it would take some time before their numbers were called, they started chatting to pass time. Switching to the photo album on his phone, Quinton found the photo of his face before he underwent stic surgery. The little boy in the photo was adorable. He was only a teenager, but the difference between his appearance and what Quinton looked like now was extremely huge. However, the boy in the photo was very handsome and he would have grown into a stunning young man. Why did he do stic surgery? And why has he done it since he was fourteen? All of a sudden, the woman, who was sitting on the other side of Quinton, stood up. She seemed like she wanted to go to the washroom. Quinton called out, ¡°Mom, I will cover for you when the doctor calls you.¡± Once again, Sophia was shocked. Mom? As soon as she came in, she had noticed the woman that was sitting beside Quinton. She had big- framed sunsses on; her skin was as white as snow and her ck, wavy long hair was extremely gorgeous. Her figure was captivating and she looked at most in her thirties. That¡¯s Quinton¡¯s mother? Noticing Sophia¡¯s stunned expression, Quinton said, ¡°That¡¯s my mom. She got lip fillers a few days ago and her lips went numb. She couldn¡¯t talk and so she came here to check if there¡¯s a problem.¡± Sophia was only feeling shocked. His mother is way too young¡­ Unfortunately, the doctor called Sophia¡¯s number and so she had to leave. When Sophia went home, she couldn¡¯t wait to share Quinton¡¯s secret with Michael! ¡°Professor rk has done stic surgery on his whole face before! His nose, eyes, and chin are fake! He started operating at fourteen years old! How scary! His mother should¡¯ve been fifty or sixty years old, but she looks only thirty! Oh, dear. She¡¯s so young! Her hair, her figure, her chest, and her face. Oh my goodness¡­¡± However, Michael responded without emotions. ¡°Oh.¡± Having been in the entertainment industry for ten years, it no longer amazed him whenever he came across someone obsessed with stic surgery. Sophia continued to gossip, ¡°You know that mixed-race celebrity you worked with before in movies? He¡¯s not mixed! His blue eyes are also from stic surgery. That¡¯s so amazing!¡± However, Michael was not surprised at all. ¡°They can even make their members longer and thicker now. There¡¯s nothing impossible nowadays.¡± ¡°You can even perform surgery on your penis now?¡± Sophia was amused. Chapter 571 Chapter 571 Intentionally, Michael teased, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll go extend mine to 20 centimeters next month. Are you scared?¡± Instantly, Sophia¡¯splexion went pale. A 20 centimeter-long penis! How strong would he be? She didn¡¯t think she would be able to fit him in! Watching Sophia who was dumbfounded, Michael arched his brows and gave her a wink. Sophia suddenly realized that she had been teased; covering her face, she ran away. In the meantime, Nathan, who was watching, was rendered speechless. They¡¯re setting a bad example for children again. After Sophia ran away out of shyness, Michael continued with his work at hand. He was suddenly very interested in the gossip she had told him earlier. Sophia told him that Quinton was pretty handsome back then, but why did he go for stic surgery? Besides, he was highly educated and was the second son of the rk Family¡ªone of the most influential families in Bayside City. There was absolutely no need for the surgery. However, one wouldn¡¯t know what the others were thinking. Perhaps he was someone who really cared about his appearance! Sophia did note back after a long while; instead, it was Abel, the one who had been out for some days, that had returned. This time, he suffered a slight injury, but he brought major news back for Michael. ¡°Thanks to Nichs for taking that video of Phantom Wolf. Although it caught Phantom Wolf on camera, he was wearing a face mask, so I couldn¡¯t recognize his face. But his subordinate was in the video.¡± Filled with excitement, Abel yed the video clip that he had copied out from Nichs¡¯ system. Other than Phantom Wolf, there was one of his subordinates that was helping him keep a lookout. When Nichster made its move, Sophia took the opportunity to escape. That subordinate nced over, and that was why Nichs managed to catch his face on camera. Due to Nichs¡¯ high-definition camera quality, Abel was able to recognize Phantom Wolf¡¯s subordinate¡¯s facial features. He found this man and observed him for a few days. Following him, Abel was led straight into the Phantom Wolf¡¯s branch and had wiped them out in one fell swoop. ¡°There were eighteen people in total. All of them were the elites of the Phantom Wolf. I kept two of them alive and the rest are here now.¡± ncing at Abel who was ordering someone to move the sixteen mutted corpses into his basement, Michael found all of them were still warm. Blood was still dripping, painting the floor scarlet. He looked at Abel, who was happy with the results, but he said nothing. Abel had collected a lot of corpses in there. Some of them were not easy to destroy, and some were worthy for research purposes, so he kept them in the freezer. For example, the corpse he dug from Cooper¡¯s grave and also Ka¡¯s body. He wondered if Sophia could still run around happily if she knew that there were hundreds of dead bodies hidden in her basement. This time, they had received sixteen more bodies. Although Phantom Wolf¡¯s body wasn¡¯t one of them, Abel was still very satisfied. After all, this could be considered progress! Even the corpses of Phantom Wolf¡¯s subordinates were valuable for research purposes. While the corpses were still warm, Abel dissected them. However, the other two that were still alive and had their mouths gagged were imprisoned in the next room, so they could watch through the transparent bulletproof ss as he dissected their friends. It was torture! Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get something out from them, Abel didn¡¯t bother to interrogate them. He decided to trap them just so that he could observe them whenever he wanted. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Soon, Abel made a major discovery. Instantly, he called Michael down. Even Sophia was excited toe too. In the past, Michael was reluctant to expose her to bloody things like that. He didn¡¯t want her to visit the basement, but he couldn¡¯t bear to reject her. After notifying Abel to make the workspace cozier, Michael brought Sophia downstairs. He didn¡¯t want Sophia to see the scene where dozens of corpses were piled up all over the ce. However, when they were down in the basement, the corpses were still piled up together. All Abel had done to make the ambiance warmer was to put a flower next to the dead bodies. Inside his fully transparent dissection room, he was busy dissecting the bodies; there were internal organs all over the workspace. Abel¡¯s studio was huge. It was connected to tunnels in all directions; they were made as escape tunnels, not by Michael but the Emperor of the ancient Imperial Pce. They were hidden from people¡¯s sight, and Michael had borrowed a few of them. Michael originally thought that Sophia would be frightened. However, it seemed like Sophia was not affected at all. With a calm expression, she walked over and started talking to Abel. Abel¡¯s voice rose from the inside of the bulletproof sses. ¡°Thirty years ago, Theo led soldiers to destroy the century-old family of drug traffickers hidden in the Southwest border. I found some top-secret information when I browsed through some files when I was in the army. The drug traffickers were studying a special super stimnt that could maximize the human body¡¯s performance with minimal side effects.¡± Super stimnt? Sophia was shocked when she heard that. She recollected the time when Ka was under the influence of a stimnt. She was extremely strong¡ª as if she was a killing machine that would never go tired. She was frantic, aggressive, and cruel. It was a memory Sophia didn¡¯t want to look back to in her lifetime! Abel went on, ¡°Unfortunately, due to the limited technology in the past, their super stimnt wasn¡¯t completed. The studio was blown up by Theo and all of the information and equipment was destroyed. This time, I discovered that Phantom Wolf¡¯s subordinates were powerful and different from regr people. There was a strange type of stimnt found in their blood and it was transforming their bodies constantly. The preliminary test showed that this stimnt is the same series from the batch thirty years ago. However, what¡¯s different is that the batch used by the Phantom Wolf is way more advanced than the previous batch. And, it¡¯s almost perfect.¡± When Michael and Sophia heard him, theirplexions worsened. In other words, Abel was saying that Phantom Wolf had obtained the information about the stimnt that was still in development by the drug traffickers thirty years ago at the Southwest border, and they had been studying and improving it. These modified super stimnts could transform the human body without any side effects? Remembering that day when she had a brief scuffle with Phantom Wolf, Sophia was unable to resist him at all. He was like a powerful machine with limitless strength. All of her resistance was futile¡­ There was also another time when she fought Phantom Wolf¡¯s subordinate, Quill, and he wasn¡¯t even afraid of electric shocks! No wonder they had been out there for years and no one could find them. Many countries had worked together to stop them, but they always failed. And she didn¡¯t expect it was because they had been transformed by the super stimnt! Aren¡¯t they simr to super viins one usually saw in movies? Unfortunately, there were no superheroes in reality. The more Sophia was exposed to those things, the more she could feel the darkness of reality. All of a sudden, she broke out into a cold sweat. If Phantom Wolf were to study the stimnt thoroughly, wouldn¡¯t it be¡­ Completing his job, Abel removed his gloves, face mask, and his whiteb coat. He walked out of the room after disinfecting himself. ¡°Come on. I have something important to show you.¡± He found the information and cast it on the floating disy. ¡°In order to find out the rtionship between Phantom Wolf and the drug traffickers at the Southwest border, I went to investigate at the old site in Southwestst year. And, I found something you might not want to know.¡± When he said that, he looked toward Michael. Chapter 572 Chapter 572 ¡°ording to my research, the reason Theo was able to wipe out the base that the drug traffickers had built for more than a hundred years in such a short period, was because he had obtained top-secret insider information in advance. After knowing his and the drug trafficker¡¯s own strengths and weaknesses, it only took one shot for him to take them out with the fastest speed and the lowest cost.¡± Abel only described the situation in a few words, but Sophia could imagine the scene back in the days. It must have been tough and more thrilling than the spy films one could watch now. It was a pity that Theo ended up dying due to serious injury. When it came to the topic of his father, Michael¡¯s expression turned gloomy. Holding onto his hand, Sophia found it extremely cold. With a nce at Michael, Abel let out a sigh and said, ¡°You might not be able to ept the thing I¡¯m about to say in a moment.¡± Sophia was nervous. She was afraid that Abel would say something that would shake her entire worldview. In a hurry, she said, ¡°Then, let¡¯s not talk about it first¡­¡± ¡°Speak,¡± Michael demanded solemnly as if he was giving out an order. Giving Michael a serious look, Abel said in a very solemn voice, ¡°The head of the drug traffickers had a daughter. Months before that incident happened, his daughter brought a handsome young man home and got married to him. On the day of the wedding, the man led his troops to break through all the defenses of the drug traffickers¡¯ base. They broke into the base and took them at once. Half of the family members were dead in that battle, and the rest were captured and sentenced.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was stunned. An extremely terrible thought came to her mind. Could it be that the live-in son-inw was¡­ A young and handsomemander endured the humiliation and used his beauty to break into the enemy¡¯s base. He became the live-in son-inw of the drug lord. Seizing the opportunity, he constantly sent out insider information to his people. Finally, on the wedding day of the drug lord¡¯s precious daughter, he invaded the base when the enemy wasn¡¯t attentive with their defenses and took them down in one fell swoop¡­ ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Michael¡¯s handsome features were distorted. Furiously, he punched the working table that was made of ss. Although being an undercover agent wasn¡¯t disgraceful, Theo was a hero and a good father in Michael¡¯s heart. If what Abel told him was true, then it proved that Theo had once betrayed Elizabeth. Even if he didn¡¯t do it willingly. But still, Elizabeth was dead because of him! In a hurry, Sophia quicklyforted Michael. Softly, she said, ¡°That¡¯s all Abel¡¯s spection. Theo was a commander; why would he have gone undercover personally¡­¡± But Abel¡¯s next sentence shattered any remaining hope. ¡°Phantom Wolf is your half-brother from another mother!¡± As soon as that sentence came out, Sophia was dumbstruck. The information within those words was shocking. So, it¡¯s true that the live-in son-inw back then was Theo? And the daughter did not die but escaped? And she even gave birth to Theo¡¯s son? That child was the second generation of Phantom Wolf? Is he taking revenge on his biological father by attacking the Fletchers? Even TV series couldn¡¯t make up something like that! There weren¡¯t a lot of people inside the studio. When Abel finished talking, almost everyone in the room looked in Michael¡¯s direction. So, he¡¯s Phantom Wolf¡¯s biological brother. From N?velDrama.Org. Staring at Abel in a daze, Michael¡¯s expression was extremelyplicated. Mercilessly, Abel continued, ¡°The previous story was just my spection. Back then, the drug lord was caught in such a short period because of the betrayal of his live-in son-inw, but the DNAparison between you and Phantom Wolf proves that you¡¯re indeed brothers.¡± Michael continued to stare at Abel nkly. He couldn¡¯t ept the cruel reality. After a long moment, he suddenly inquired, ¡°Do you have the photo of the drug trafficker¡¯s daughter?¡± Patting on Michael¡¯s shoulder, Abel knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to ept reality. After a few words of comfort, he showed him the photo he found from the investigation. Soon, a photo of a young woman was shown. Raising her head, Sophia¡¯s eyes met with a wild beauty. The woman in the photo had healthy, tanned skin. Her hair was slightly curled and she had a toned body. At first nce, she didn¡¯t look simple. She looked like an alluring devil¡¯s bloom. ¡°Tanya Slovia was only 21 years old when the incident happened. Despite her age, she was her father¡¯s right-hand woman. She¡¯s cruel and ruthless, and has murdered a lot of people. People called her Miss Poison¡­¡± Before he could finish talking, Michael ran out suddenly. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Before Sophia could even take in what was happening, Michael was nowhere to be seen. Immediately, she followed suit and saw him go into the gym and lock the door up. ¡°Hubby!¡± Sophia yelled as she pounded on the door with all her might. However, Michael showed no reaction. There was a burst of loud music that was mixed with screaming and drums. The volume was turned to its maximum and the punching bag was hit with loud noises. Sophia was worried. She kept on screaming for Michael. Suddenly, Abel came forward and patted her shoulder. He said, ¡°You should let him calm himself down¡­¡± Looking at the tightly closed door, Sophia was heartbroken. It must have been hard for him to ept that¡­ At this moment, Michael was smashing the punching bag with his fists amid the loud music. His fists were wounded and blood was dripping, but he didn¡¯t realize it. He remembered it¡­ The woman¡¯s face brought back memories of his childhood. The news of his father¡¯s death came to them; his mother was crying alone in front of his father¡¯s picture while she mourned for him. Michael was hiding outside with his sister, not knowing what was happening. At night, the wind was howling. His mother was crying softly, afraid that she would wake her children. All of a sudden, a pregnantdy broke into his house. He and his sister were crying in fright as a cold knife was ced against his neck. His mother cried and begged thedy to let him and his sister go. ¡°Theo¡¯s children must die,¡± thedy said. But, his mother kneeled and begged, ¡°I can die for them.¡± With a cruel grin, thedy said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you some days to prepare yourself.¡± Then she supported her tummy as she left. Holding both him and his sister in her embrace, his mother cried all night. She sent them off to Mark the next day. From that day onward, she never showed up again. That pregnantdy was Tanya! She must be Tanya! Elizabeth didn¡¯tmit suicide because she missed her husband! She was forced to death by Tanya! Tanya used his and his sister¡¯s life to force Elizabeth to death! And the baby Tanya was pregnant with was Phantom Wolf! Theo had lied to Tanya and killed her whole family. She hated Theo to her core and wasn¡¯t satisfied even after his death. She killed Theo¡¯s wife and gave birth to Phantom Wolf, wishing for him to kill all of Theo¡¯s children one after another. After killing Elizabeth, she wanted to see Theo¡¯s children fight each other too! Now that Celine was dead, the next would be Michael and Nathan. Even his wife, Sophia, was included in the n. What an evil woman! Chapter 573 Chapter 573 Amid the loud music, Michael continued to throw his fists out without noticing the pain. His wounds were so deep that one could see his bones, but he didn¡¯t realize it¡­ The next day, when the sun was up, the door to the gym finally opened. Michael looked cold and seemed to have changed into someone else. When he stepped out of the gym, he identally stepped onto something soft. Looking down, Sophia had made a makeshift bed by the door and was sleeping on it. Originally, she was still asleep. However, when Michael stepped onto her hand, the pain woke her up suddenly. She opened her eyes in confusion and leaped up suddenly, pulling him into her arms. She hugged him in front of the gym. None of them spoke. All Michael could hear was Sophia¡¯s sobbing in his ear. Reaching his wounded hands out, he hugged the woman in front of him. When he closed his eyes, tears flowed down his cheeks. They were for his father, his mother, and his sister, as well as Sophia, who had been hurt so many times because of him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Phantom Wolf¡¯s target had never been her. She was only hurt because she was his wife! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. ¡°What¡¯s the use of apologizing now? You need to pull yourself together. Do you understand?¡± choked Sophia. ¡°Brace up, Michael Fletcher! You still need to protect me and Nathan! What are we supposed to do if something happens to you?¡± Holding her tightly, Michael choked with sobs¡­ After what happened thirty years ago, Tanya disappeared. It was like she had vanished from the world and no one could find her anymore. In order to find some clues, Michael decided to visit the ce where he had lived. Tanya had been there before. And back then, Elizabeth was already a superstar. She installed a surveince system in the house, so he might be able to find something by chance. Sophia set off along with him. The weather was still freezing outside. She simply grabbed onto the coat that she brought back from the militarypound and put it on. Inside the car, Michael remained silent for the entire journey. He seemed to be very anxious. Both his hands that were rested on his knees were trembling; the wounds on his joints had been treated with medicine. Cautiously, Sophia put her hand into his palm. She did it carefully as she was afraid of touching his wounds. Michael gently held her hand. Looking at the woman who had been with him for such a long time, he found the toughness in her eyes that was once familiar to him. The both of them used to think that they had reached the end of their lives. However, they managed to move on by relying on their survival instincts. Weren¡¯t they supposed to survive no matter how hard the future was? Michael gave Sophia a peck on her cheek before he looked out the window. A familiar building came into sight. The car came to a stop in front of an old, discolored vi. The vi looked aged after being washed by years of rain and wind; the nts in the garden seemed to be managed regrly by someone. Although it looked like someone came over regrly to tidy the ce up, the loneliness and destion from the absence of upants for thirty years could not be hidden. This was an elegant and dashing two-story vi. From afar, it looked like a beautifuldy, but it was a pity that her outfit was worn out and torn. Taking out the key, Michael opened the lock and pushed open the door. A familiar ce unfolded before his eyes. It wasn¡¯t inhabited for more than thirty years, but everything remained as it was thirty years ago. All the furniture was covered by dust-proof cloth. As Michael observed the ce that he once lived, he was overwhelmed with emotions. ¡°Whenever my sister and I were mistreated by the Fletchers, we would always run back here.¡± ¡°After Mother passed away, the both of us were sent away as well. The Fletchers had been taking care of this ce since then. When I turned eighteen, Grandpa gave it back to me and my sister to manage.¡± However, after the both of them grew up, they never came back again. When Abel took Gary, Hale, and Gemma to check out on the surveince footage, Michael suddenly recalled his childhood. In the past, he and his sister would alwayse back in secret. They would climb into the house through the dog hole that was only known by them. While they cuddled one another, they would stare at the photos of their parents in the living room in a daze while they waited for them toe back, despite knowing they never would. When Michael brought Sophia to look at the bed he once slept in as a child, he noticed that Celine¡¯s room was full of garbage. Her bed was covered in mud. A string of dirty footprints traced the floor from the room to the kitchen and disappeared. His expression darkened. It seemed like a street bum had sneaked in to spend the winter in his sister¡¯s bed. It looked like they didn¡¯t spend a lot of time there since someone woulde to clean the ce every month. Ordering someone to keep a lookout on the outside, Michael called up some people toe repair the rusty window that could be simply destroyed with just a punch. He then continued to look for clues that were left behind by Tanya. Back then, Michael was only three to four years old. It wasn¡¯t bad that he could still remember that Tanya hade by before. However, he had no memory of the specific date she had been here, and to find it from the surveince records was aborious process. Besides, he wasn¡¯t sure if the equipment from thirty years ago could still function. Entering the room Elizabeth used to sleep in, Michael opened up the safe and found her ount book. The money that passed her hands every day was quite a significant amount and all of it was recorded in this ount book. Flipping open the discolored book, Michael checked the transactions in order. He then flipped it to the transactions that happened in thest few days of Elizabeth¡¯s life. In thest few days, she had invited herwyer and photographer into this room. She did a video recording of her will, and together with a handwritten will, she locked them in the safe. Two keys were each given to Mark and thewyer she trusted the most. Michael noticed from the ount book that his mother¡¯s handwriting was messy and she seemed to have written in haste. She did not have the habit of keeping a diary, as everything was recorded in her nner and ount book. His eyes fixed on thest sentence written on the ount book: ¡®I hope, in exchange for my life, my kids can grow up healthily.¡± Seeing the sentence, he couldn¡¯t help clenching his fists. His scabbed wound broke open again, and blood flowed out unknowingly. Squirt¡ª When Michael felt a chill on the back of his hand, he looked down and saw Nichs spraying something from its mechanical hand carefully. What a sweet little thing! Michael was touched even though he knew that it was only led by its program. It detected that he was bleeding and its system made it respond ordingly. ¡°When was the spray installed? Has it expired?¡± he asked. ¡°Uncle Linus changed it when Mommy went back the other day. It hasn¡¯t expired yet.¡± Closing up the ount book, Michael suddenly realized something. The day when Sophia and Nathan came back from the Fletchers was the day when Nathan sent the broken Nichs to Linus¡¯ house for reparation. But, Linus was not home that day! He went out the first night and didn¡¯te back untilte at night the next day! However, Nathan went there in the morning and he only came back before dinner. He had his lunch over there and Nichs was repaired. Who was it? Who upgraded Nichs and installed the defensive system that saved Sophia¡¯s life at that very moment? Could it be that the robot at Linus¡¯ house had repaired it automatically? No way. Someone was in his house. It was just that the surveince system couldn¡¯t capture his face. But that person had gone into Vi No. 2 and did not appear for a few days. Could it be¡­ Chapter 574 Chapter 574 Michael pretended to be nonchnt as he asked Nichs, ¡°Nichs, who fixed you?¡± Nichs responded, feeling overjoyed, ¡°It was Uncle Linus who did it!¡± Then, Michael sternly stared at him and responded, ¡°Linus wasn¡¯t even home that day!¡± Nichs replied obstinately, ¡°Hmph. You¡¯re lying to me! Uncle Linus was home the whole time. If you don¡¯t believe me, go and check with Nate! It was Uncle Linus who fixed me, and he even added new features to my functionality so that I could help Mom fight the bad guys!¡± Staring at Nichs, Michael decided to stop probing into this matter. ¡°Nichs, go and spend time with your Mom.¡± Nichs said happily, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go now.¡± Sitting on the chair where Elizabeth used to sit, Michael attempted to analyze everything that took ce that day. Since Nichs was a robot, his memory could bepromised and altered. Reckoning that Linus was definitely not home that day, Michael supposed that it had to be someone else who fixed Nichs. Right at this moment, Michael recalled hearing from Sophia that on that same day, Linus drove home one of his hometown friends who was visiting him, and he remembered her saying that she even gave him two red packets before he left. Word had it that that friend of Linus was better with technology than Linus. Besides, for Linus to let someone into his workstation, that person must have had a close rtionship with him. If that person was the person Michael thought of, he reckoned that life would be too cruel to Sophia. At the same time, Sophia was supervising the workers who were installing grills on the kitchen windows. At the same time, she tried cleaning the room that was messed up by the street bum. Sophia had no idea how the street bum got in, but judging from how dirty the room was, that person must have lived there for at least a couple of days. Fortunately, nothing went missing; just that the room itself required some cleaning. After cleaning Celine¡¯s room, it was almost mealtime. Since everyone looked busy, Sophia volunteered to go out to get some food. Bringing Nichs along, Sophia went out with Hale to get some food, but because the garage was full, upon getting some food, they had to park somewhere nearby and walk home from there. In an olive- colored coat, she carried a few long bread loaves while Hale carried a few bags with him as he followed her; he carried enough food to feed ten people. After walking just a couple of steps, Nichs asked Sophia, ¡°Mom, there¡¯s someone in front of us.¡± Sophia looked up and saw a woman curled up next to the fence. She was so dirty that one could hardly tell the color of her clothes, and there was also ayer of brown smudge covering her face. Given how disheveled her hair was, Sophia almost could not tell if she was male or female. The temperature was almost freezing, so the bum was shivering. Right at this point, she was staring at the patch in front of her with her zed eyes while she mumbled something. It appeared that she was not mentally stable. Seeing this, Sophia had the realization that she was the street bum that barged into Celine¡¯s ce! She looked pitiful and was probably so desperate that she decided to barge into the house. As such, Sophia instructed Nichs to bring one of the long bread loaves to her. Upon receiving it, she quickly and firmly grabbed the loaf with her dirty hands and started stuffing it into her mouth. While walking past the woman, Sophia subconsciously threw her a nce. She looks rather young, and it must be because of some mental disability that she ended up like that. It¡¯s dangerous for a young woman to be wandering outside by herself. Seeing her reminded Sophia of her time when she wandered off and lived inside the bridge hole. She dared not fall asleep as she was afraid that the other bums mighte and steal her belongings. That aside, she might even have been¡­ Sophia recalled that after one of the bums stole her nket, that night, she also curled up in the bridge hole next to the river as she shivered. There was also a retarded bum that tried to rape her. If it were not because of the rocks that she managed to pick up by the river and used to injure him in the head, that person would not have run off. However, her nket could never be found. Since she could not afford to get a new nket, she ended up guarding the trash pile in that neighborhood every day, hoping she would be lucky enough to pick up someone¡¯s old garments. When Sophia passed that woman, she kept staring at the coat that Sophia was wearing to the extent that she stopped eating. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Seeing this, Sophia sighed. She proceeded to take off her overcoat and passed it to her. Even though the woman might have been mentally disabled, she was nheless a human being who could feel cold. The woman draped the olive-colored coat over herself and continued munching away at the bread. Sophia reckoned that the woman must have felt bitterly cold. Upon entering the house, Sophia said to Hale, ¡°Please call the orphanage owned by Nicole¡¯s younger sister; I believe they need some extra help. You can tell them to make some living arrangements for that woman and let her help them with cleaning or some odd jobs.¡± Hale agreed apathetically. After entering the house, Sophia found herself a new coat. Right at this moment, she heard a loud noise coming from outside. She then opened the door and saw two other bums who came out of nowhere and tried to grab the bread and the coat from the woman. In a fit of rage, Sophia grabbed the broom that she used to clean the room earlier and stormed out of the house. When she got there, she saw that the two men were touching and grabbing the woman with their filthy hands. Meanwhile, the woman clenched the bread between her teeth to prevent it from dropping. While her mouth was tightly closed, she was sobbing angrily. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sophia growled and ran toward them with a broom in her hand. However, a ck figure appeared and flexibly yet powerfullynded a kick on one of the men¡¯s heads. That kick sent the man flying toward the pir at the entrance of the Murray Residence. Following that, there was a loud bang as his head hit the pir, and specks of blood sshed out of his head, spattering all over the pir. At that moment, he stopped moving. At the same time, for reasons unbeknownst to Sophia, the other man¡¯s head appeared underneath the woman¡¯s underarm. The woman immediatelynded a blow on his head, causing him to fall to the ground. That man screamed hysterically before she used her elbow to strike his head, and that instantly silenced his scream. Everything seemed to have taken ce within a few seconds before the man died. Eventually, Sophia came back to her senses when his blood reached her feet and she quickly retracted her feet. All of a sudden, the smell of a stench moved past Sophia and before she realized it, that woman had already run into the Murray Residence. At this very moment, Hale had juste out of the house. Seeing that woman, he yelled. Just like that, still having the bread loaf in her mouth, she ran toward Hale¡­ When Sophia finally made it back, she saw that Hale, Gary, and Maria were all lying t in the front yard. Fortunately, they were in a better condition than the two street bums outside the house¡ªat least the three of them were still breathing. The three of them could not fight that woman, who could easily defeat them with a blow. She was incredibly strong¡­ Nichs then started chasing after that woman while shooting her with silver needles. However, none of those silver needles managed to hit her. That woman was incredibly flexible and fast in avoiding all the flying needles. She could run on the walls as if she had hanging wires attached to her body. After shooting seven or eight needles, each of them missed the target. Just like that, that womannded at the tree next to the house. She then stepped on the tree to use that as a springboard for her to jump to the second floor. Right then, she broke the windows with a punch and leaped into the room. This whole time, that bread loaf was in her mouth. These scenes that seemed straight out of an action movie startled Sophia so much that she even dropped the broom in her hands. Chapter 575 Chapter 575 Apart from the three people lying in the front yard, seven others were lying on the floor in the room. At this moment, Nichs showed up and stood in front of Sophia. ¡°Mom, please don¡¯t go in yet.¡± As such, Sophia decided to help move those three people in the front yard aside, which took up a lot of energy. Since Hale¡¯s head was bleeding, he was leaning on the wall for Nichs to help him stop the bleeding while hemented, ¡°She¡¯s a super killer. I can¡¯t fight her. It seems like only Abel or Boss can take her down.¡± All of a sudden, a loud noise came from inside the house. Around ten minutester, they heard the woman¡¯s beastly growl. Right after that, Michael rushed out of the house to see if Sophia was safe. Upon seeing Sophia, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, when Hale and Sophia walked into the living room, they saw that the army overcoat had already been stripped off the woman, who was tied to a pir and growling as she looked at them. With one hand covering his wound, Hale used his other hand to make some phone calls to ask for more help while Michael and Abel were covered in sweat. After much effort, they had finally taken that powerful woman down. At this moment, that woman was still growling like an animal; shecked any semnce of a human being. Where did shee from? Turning to Michael¡¯s bloody hand, Sophia realized that he was badly injured. Right now, both of his fists were bleeding profusely. The sight of this saddened her heart. Just as Sophia was about to approach Michael, that woman suddenly growled again. As she growled, she struggled vigorously and snapped the rope right away. Upon seeing this, everyone there was terrified. They found that rope somewhere in the Murray Residence, and even though it had been around for a while, it still should not have snapped that easily. This homeless woman¡­ was truly scary! After snapping the rope, the woman jumped down from the pir and stormed out like wind as she ran toward Sophia, who was standing at the door. Seeing that, Sophia retreated, subconsciously heading toward Michael for help. ¡°Michael Fletcher¡ª¡± The woman was moving at inhumane speeds. Even though Michael¡¯s response was also quick, that woman was already standing in front of Sophia in a split second and she extended her hands that were like ws toward Sophia¡¯s neck¡­ ¡°Stop!¡± Michael howled subconsciously. Since those seven people could not take her down, what more could Sophia do. The woman was truly a super killer. How on earth could Sophia¡¯s tender neck withstand her attack? At that particr moment, Sophia was so frightened that she closed her eyes. Right after that, a breeze of bitterly cold wind wrapped around her neck. She expected to be dead meat in the next second, but she was surprised that the suffocating force did not choke her. With her eyes closed, Sophia seemingly heard a hoarse voice that was calling a name. ¡°Michael¡­ Fletcher.¡± She opened her eyes and noticed that the woman was still in an offensive gesture¡ªher hands had already reached her neck. However, she did not go on to grab Sophia¡¯s neck, and in a confused state, she actually started speaking. Due to her proximity with that woman, Sophia was able to listen attentively and clearly in that highly intense moment. ¡°Michael Fletcher¡­ Michael Fletcher¡­¡± At the same time, Michael jumped into the scene and came pouncing on that woman before they both rolled on the floor several times. After much struggling, he finally pinned her down. Just as he was about to deal her a blow, he saw the human look on that woman¡¯s face. All of a sudden, she had turned from a beast into a human as she looked him in the eye, and the ferocious look on her face had disappeared. Conversely, she let out a rather thoughtless smile as she reached out her dirty, trembling hand as if she was trying to touch his face. Her hoarse voice sounded out in Michael¡¯s ears. ¡°Michael Fletcher¡­ M-Michael F-Fletcher¡­ Mikey¡­¡± She then smiled idly while tears ran down her cheeks. Seeing that look on her face, he began to loosen his tightly clenched fists. At this moment, he quiveringly reached out toward her face and tucked away her disheveled hair, using her tears and sweat to wipe off the dirt on her face. At that moment, he saw¡­ a face that looked exactly like his. Widening his eyes, his quivering hands gently touched her face as he saw a reflection of his own face in that woman¡¯s eyes. In the next second, Michael held that woman in his arms and began crying in his hoarse voice while seemingly mumbling something. ¡°You¡¯re alive¡­ You¡¯re alive¡­ Celie!¡± Sophia was stunned. Celie¡­ Is that woman Michael¡¯s elder sister, Celine Fletcher? ¡­ It waste at night, and Michael and Abel were at the hospital, pacing back and forth in the hallway, feeling conflicted. At this moment, Michael¡¯s eyes were red while Abel had been sobbing silently. Abel¡¯s wife, who passed away six years ago, hade back! She¡¯s still alive! Back in the days, they should have seen that explosioning since Justin had sensed that something was amiss. But no matter how hard he tried to push his wife away, it was already toote. Abel should have figured that since he survived, Celine should have too. But where did she go all these years? Did she go through a lot of suffering? Why had she never returned to the Fletcher Residence? Why had she never looked for him? Why was she living as a street bum? Hundreds of possibilities crossed his mind. However, the fact that she was alive was all that really mattered¡­ After going home, Sophia brought Nichs with her back to the hospital so that she could bring some food for Michael since Michael and Abel had not eaten anything since the afternoon. Upon hearing about what happened, Harry and Daniel came over too. After watching the video rey in Nichs¡¯ video memory, they were both startled. What the f*ck! Celine Fletcher is back?! That unbeatable woman came back! When they were young, every time Michael was bullied by someone, it was Celine who fought back on his behalf. None of her peers in the Fletchers Family could beat her. In front of the tough and bold Celine, Michael was just a weak crybaby. Now that she hade back alive, she was stronger than before. Her fighting skills were truly spectacr like they were special effects on aputer. While Michael was restlessly sitting in the hallway waiting to hear from the doctor, he lifted his head and noticed that Sophia had arrived. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Michael stood up and held her warm, tiny hands. Then, Sophia took out a hot lunchbox from Nichs¡¯ storagepartment. ¡°I brought you some food.¡± When she opened the lunchbox that was still piping hot, Michael immediately saw a few slices of cured meat, and the sight of this warmed his heart. After ncing at Sophia, he started to dig in. While he was eating, he asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Nate?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°He¡¯s already asleep.¡± Sophia felt conflicted as she was afraid that since Nathan¡¯s birth mother hade back, she would be Nathan¡¯s aunt in the future. It was somewhat disappointing to think about that. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Knowing that he had to take care of his body, Michael tried to finish the food as quickly as possible. While sitting next to him and clenching her tablet, it seemed like Sophia wanted to say something to him. s, she thought she should wait for Michael to finish his meal before letting him watch the video. Otherwise, he might get too upset to finish his food¡­ Chapter 576 Chapter 576 While Michael was eating, Stanley rushed to the hospital. Since Celine¡¯s actual situation was still unknown, Sophia figured that the news on Celine should temporarily be kept away from the Fletcher Family. She only told Stanley, whom she trusted and, thus, asked toe over. After Michael had finished thest bit of rice and drank thest bit of soup, biting her lower lips, Sophia opened her tablet and showed a video recording to Michael. ¡°This is what Nichs recorded on his camera.¡± Seeing the conflicted look on her face, Nichs quietly yed the video recording. He saw two street bums trying to snatch Celine¡¯s food and clothes, and when one of their dirty hands lifted her shirt underneath the coat, he could see Celine¡¯s waist and belly. Besides that, there was an unforgettable symbol on her waist! It was the symbol of Phantom Wolf¡ªthe one that Michael abhorred! It finally dawned on him that they could not find Celine back in the days because she was abducted by Phantom Wolf! He could not even begin to imagine how much she had suffered in the past six years whilst in the hands of Phantom Wolf. He managed to turn a valiant person like her into what she was now. Everyone spent the entire night waiting at the hospital. Since this was the hospital that Michael had a share in, he managed to have the entire floor vacated for Celine to undergo the operation. Finally, around midday the next day, Celine woke up. Experts from various departments such as the psychiatric and surgical departments showed up to check on her. The hospital waited for another day before informing Abel, Michael, and the others of her situation. The psychiatristmented, ¡°The patient has been subjected to tremendous mental trauma, so her mental condition is not particrly good. It would require long-term treatment to stabilize her condition. Right now, her situation is very unstable. Please be prepared for the worst.¡± Upon arriving at the hospital, Michael and Abel rushed to the intensive care unit right away and saw Celine in bed. Right now, she looked clean as someone at the hospital had already cleaned her hair and face. At this point, a face simr to Michael¡¯s loomed in front of Sophia. On Michael, this face was handsome and gorgeous-looking. While on Celine, this face was heroic and courageous. Celine was the perfect feminine version of Michael. Much of her hair had been shaved off while there were many patches on her head that were connected to different kinds of devices that were used to monitor her mental condition. Her physical body was perfectly fine, but not her mental condition. The devices showed that as was mentally stable as of now, but no one knew when that would change as her mental condition waspletely out of her control. This was the result of the long-term abuse that led to her mental breakdown. As such, she would need an even longer period of treatment for there to be a possibility of returning to normalcy. Looking at the bedridden Celine, Abel did not dare to move closer. He hated himself now, so what could he expect Celine to think of him? While he silently stood in the corner, he began to quiver as he could no longer hold in his emotions. ¡°Celie,¡± sitting by the bed, Michael gently whispered her nickname. All of a sudden, Celine opened her eyes and looked across everybody in the room with a clear and sharp gaze. Standing next to Michael, Sophia was shaken when she and Celine locked eyes. What a sharp gaze! It was a powerful gaze that Sophia had never seen on a woman before. Eventually, Celine¡¯s gaze fell on Michael as she calmly uttered his nickname, ¡°Mikey.¡± At this juncture, Michael¡¯s eyes uncontrobly turned red. He nodded and grunted while he started to choke up. Celine looked excited yet calm as shemented calmly, without any redundant words, ¡°I survived that explosion because the Phantom Wolf abducted me.¡± Right at this point, there was pin-drop silence in the room. Holding their breath, everyone tentatively listened to Celine as she recounted her misfortune. She then continued in an unemotional voice, ¡°The Phantom Wolf wanted to shape me into their best killer, so they brain-washed me. Even though I was mentally strong¡ª¡± ¡°Please stop it! Just stop it!¡± Michael quickly stopped her from continuing. Celine was one of the most outstanding children of the Fletcher Family and had a will of steel. The fact that such a strong-willed person could be turned into what she was now showed how bad the torture was. The thought of this was truly blood-boiling. Looking at Michael, an agonized look washed over Celine¡¯s unemotional face as streaks of sparkling tears ran down her cheeks. She knew her situation well, so while she was awake, she wanted to try her best to tell everyone everything that happened. Then, she continued, ¡°Phantom Wolf injected a kind of super stimnt that they invented to strengthen my physical fitness. I pretended to give in and endured the humiliation. Then, they transported me to their base in Cethos and wanted me to attack the Fletcher Family. I took the opportunity at night to kill everyone in the vicinity and managed to escape.¡± Abel was startled as he recalled the night when they found out where the meeting point of the Phantom Wolf was. Their original n was to observe for the next couple of days and only kill all of them when they appeared. However, much to their surprise, at midnight that day, chaos broke out at that meeting point, so they had tounch their attack right away. Perhaps that chaos was caused by Celine when she tried to escape. If he was slightly more observant, he could have traced her! In that case, he could have spared her a couple of days of torture. After escaping from the base, she must have lost her sanity and was unable to recall what happened before. She ended up subconsciously returning to where she used to live as a child. After that, she must have sneaked in through the dog hole that was only known to her and Michael, andter slept in the room she used to sleep in. In the end, when Michael came back to look for clues, they had found her. At this point, Michael held her cold hands and quietly begged her in a choking voice, ¡°Celine, please stop saying anything anymore. Please¡­¡± All these years, what sort of torture did she go through that had turned her into this? Ignoring his begging, Celine continued to recount things about the Phantom Wolf based on what she knew. ¡°The leader of Phantom Wolf would never disclose his face in the presence of his subordinates. I know that he has a steady stream of financial support and he is under the protection of many politicians and financial groups. He collects payment from politicians and many financial group leaders to carry out tasks that can¡¯t be achieved by normal means. Besides, they have a powerful brainwashing method that can completely destroy one¡¯s mental will. They repeatedly brainwashed me until I could no longer differentiate between dreams and reality. They¡­¡± As she continued, the somewhat normal look on her face became distorted as she wrinkled her face in pain. After a while, she finally calmed down. To prevent her from sinking back into the memories of the past, Michael quickly brought a tablet over and yed the video clip, saying, ¡°Celine, look! This is Nate. Look at how big your son is!¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. The moment the video clip started ying, a crisp sound of a voice saying ¡®mom¡¯ sounded out as Celine watched Nathan in that video clip. It was a video clip of Sophia bringing Nathan to walk the dog two days ago. Even though Nathan was a sneaky little devil in front of Michael, he would asionally act cute whenever he was with Sophia. In that video, he was seen running around while walking the puppy as he innocently addressed Sophia as his ¡®mom¡¯. Meanwhile, Celine began sobbing as she watched Nathan in the video. No matter how strong a woman was, she would definitely soften up when she was faced with her own son. Sophia quivered as she listened to everything. It was beyond her what she would do if one day she also fell into the hands of Phantom Wolf¡­ Chapter 577 Chapter 577 ¡°My son¡­ My dear Nate. Look at how big my dear Nate is¡­¡± Celine began sobbing. Seeing this, Michael quickly piped in, ¡°Also, grandpa! Look at grandpa. He¡¯s already a hundred years old!¡± He then switched to the video clip of Mark, who looked as strong and healthy as a young man. Upon seeing this, Celine began to sob again as she switched between the two video clips. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. At the same time, everyone in the ward could not help but tear up. At this point, Michael introduced Sophia to Celine. Feeling slightly nervous now that she had to face Michael¡¯s difficult sister, Sophia stammered, ¡°Nice to meet you, Celine. My name is Sophia Edwards, Nathan¡¯s aunty. All this while, I¡¯ve been taking care of him.¡± Celine then reached out and held Sophia by her hand, instantly bing very gentle. ¡°I remember you. You¡¯re a good person.¡± Indeed, Celine remembered Sophia. When she was shivering in the cold earlier, she saw a familiar olive green. Then, she saw a young woman drape a coat that still contained her warmth over her shoulders. That familiar olive green color evoked some memories in her head; all of a sudden, she recalled something¡­ At this point, Sophia chuckled nervously, and after which, Celine proceeded to greet everyone else standing behind her. Stanley, Daniel, and Harry¡ªshe remembered all of them. s, she turned to the quiet man with hideous scars all over his face that was standing behind Michael. Her emotions that had just calmed down not too long ago began to fluctuate again. Suddenly, she started crying, then sheughed, and finally, she uttered the person¡¯s name while shuddering. ¡°Justin Mitchell¡­¡± How could she ever forget him? Even though his face was disfigured, she would nheless remember the look in his eyes. That¡¯s Justin! After calling his name twice, Abel still did not move an inch. After giving Celine and Abel a look, Michael stood up and said to the others, ¡°Let¡¯s wait outside.¡± After that, they all left, leaving Celine and Justin alone in the ward. ¡°Justin,¡± once again, Celine uttered this name. Finally, Abel moved his legs and began walking toward Celine. He then sat down next to her and looked at her face that was marred with misery and pain. ¡°Celie.¡± Staring at hispletely disfigured face, Celine felt peeved yet happy at the same time. In all her nightmares that were induced by Phantom Wolf, the scene of Justin dying kept on reying in her head day and night; she could not close her eyes and sleep without that scene ying in her head. This was the cruelest way Phantom Wolf used to torture her soul. At this point, she did not believe that Justin was still alive¡­ Eventually, Celine was discharged from the hospital, and everyone was overjoyed. Meanwhile, Stanley could not contain his excitement that he wanted to give Old Master a call. ¡°I¡¯m going to inform Old Master now. He would definitely be on cloud nine!¡± Old Master Fletcher had suffered the loss of many wives and sons. This had rendered him somewhat indifferent toward the lives of his children and grandchildren. Even so, when they all thought that Celine died, he fell into such deep agony that he ended up being hospitalized. As such, Stanley reckoned that breaking this news to him right now would definitely cause him to be ecstatic. Right at this point, Michael stopped him. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until Celine¡¯s condition is more stable before informing him.¡± Just like that, Celine reappeared in their lives. Now, Michael had made arrangements for her to recuperate and recover at an extremely secure location since her injuries were not physical but psychological. Michael would show up to visit her almost every day while Justin was there the whole time. Since her condition fluctuated considerably, she had to be handcuffed as no one would be able to restrain her whenever she lost control. As a result of Phantom Wolf injecting the super stimnt into her body, she had be incredibly strong. Justin had previously captured a few members of the Phantom Wolf, andparing the effects of the super stimnt in them, he found that they did not measure up to its effect on Celine. Every time Michael visited Celine, he would bring along Sophia, who would trick Nathan into going with them. While Michael stayed in Celine¡¯s ward, Sophia took Nathan to the garden of the hospital for him to y with Nichs. Looking at her son from afar through the ss window, Celine had a satisfied smile on her face; she was satisfied even though she could only see him from afar. Given her current condition, now was not the right time for her to be reunited with Nathan as she could lose control of herself anytime. If that happened, she might end up hurting Nathan. Whilst in the garden, Nathan thought that Michael could not see him, so he would asionally be the nice and adorable boy as he smiled happily with his chubby face. Judging from the contented smile on Nathan¡¯s face, Celine was certain that he had been well taken care of all these years while she was absent. At this point, she held Michael¡¯s hand and sternly said to him, ¡°Please protect Sophia and never let her fall into the hands of Phantom Wolf; that person is wicked.¡± Reminiscing the times throughout all these years that she was in their custody, Celine continued, ¡°He had ways of putting nightmares in my head to torture me. I saw you, Justin, Nathan, and Grandpa die in front of me every single day. I could not differentiate reality from illusions. I¡­¡± As she continued, she began to sob. At the same time, she began to experience excruciating pain in her head. This was a vulnerability that Michael had never witnessed before. ¡°Phantom Wolf will never give up on Sophia. You have to protect her!¡± While her hands were still on his arms, her grip tightened and she uttered her words in an increasingly forceful manner. All of a sudden, she lost her mind and began scratching his arms so hard that they started to bleed. Seeing this, Justin quickly pinned her down and cuffed her to the bed. At this moment, Celine began to howl. Her howl sounded inhuman, and it became increasingly agonizing. Michael stood up, retreated, turned around, and hurried out of the room. Ever since Celine returned, Sophia had rarely stepped out of the house. Apart from asionally visiting Celine with Michael or eating out, she spent most of her days living within the four steel walls of Vi No. 8. As such, she was able to help out around the house. She was cooperative enough to stay home. Aside from taking walks in themunity, she would be home for the rest of the time. Now that school had opened, she applied for sick leave to stay home and self-study. At the same time, she was also able to take care of her business since it was an online business. As such, she would be on different work-rted video calls each day. For the past couple of days, Michael had been extremely busy. He would either be spending time with Celine or trying to catch Phantom Wolf; he even promised Mark he would shoot the film about finding the Imperial seal. Even though the script of that film was still being worked on, Michael was tasked with ying several different characters. He was an imperial guard, who was also an ancestor of the Fletcher Family, that would sacrifice himself in the battle at the pce to protect the national treasury; he was also the warlord of the Fletcher Family who bravely fought the Westerners in saving the national treasury. Eventually, he was also the character who found the Imperial seal. Since Michael was not home and Nathan was at school, Sophia was all by herself at home all the time. As such, she had gradually turned into a slob. It had been days since shest showered, and she could sit in front of herputer all day long. Before Michael came home, she would briefly and quickly clean herself. As Stanley looked at Sophia who was drinking Coke and eating spicy chicken strips in the video call, he commented with disdain, ¡°Eddie Fletcher, please pull yourself together. Linus¡¯ banquet is in a couple of days. Your ex, your ex¡¯s wife, your husband¡¯s ex, and your husband¡¯s ex-ex-girlfriend will all be there. Are you scared now? Are you?¡± Chapter 578 Chapter 578 Having eaten another spicy chicken strip, Sophia burped. ¡°Apart from Phantom Wolf, what else was I ever afraid of?¡± She had already seen the entire guest list for Linus¡¯ banquet. Apart from Michael¡¯s ex, Irene Weber, another one of Michael¡¯s exes would also be there. Before Michael wedded Sophia, he was in two rtionships. The first person was Irene, and the second person¡­ was someone whom Sophia had never seen in person before, but she was certain that she would meet her at the banquet. Speaking of that, Sophia was slightly excited. After eating another spicy strip, she quickly went to wash her face and put on a facial mask. The day before the banquet, knowing that Michael wasing home, Sophia took a shower in advance so that Michael would see her best side. After Michael came home, Stanley and Sean also showed up saying that since they were attending Linus¡¯ banquet tomorrow, they decided toe and visit them today. Even though Michael had been busy and was rarely home, he would nheless check the surveince system installed in the house. Seeing how Sophia stayed home the entire time ying video games, working, studying, and working out, he felt bad for her. As soon as I catch Phantom Wolf, Sophia will be able to go out and get some fresh air! The moment Stanley came through the door, he began to roast Sophia, ¡°Uncle Michael, look at Eddie¡ª she¡¯s turning into a slob!¡± Of course, Michael could not be bothered by thatment. Holding Sophia¡¯s hand, Michael and Sophia went into their room and did note out for a long, long time. After cing his bag on the floor, Stanley sneaked into the wine cer to drink some wine while Sean went to Vi No. 2 to check on Linus and the banquet preparations. After school, Nathan came home with Nichs just in time for dinner. Meanwhile, Michael came out of his room after having sex and showering. After dinner, Michael secretively asked Nathan to go into his study. Upon entering, Michael locked the door. Now that it was just the two of them, Nathan immediately turned from an adorable boy into an unfriendly and rebellious teenager¡ªeven his pure and na?ve voice turned deep and nonchnt. At this point, he gave Michael a cold nce and said, ¡°Is there anything? Get on with it; I have some school work to finish tonight.¡± Michael proceeded to take out a picture of a gorgeous man of mixed race; that person looked exceptionally fine and had a unique temperament. ¡°Do you recognize him? Have you seen him before?¡± Giving him another nonchnt nce before looking away, Nathan responded, ¡°I don¡¯t; never saw him before.¡± Watching Nathan lie through his teeth, Michael held in his urge to p him. Before this, the poor Nathan did not have a mother, so Michael could not get himself to hit him. Now that Nathan had both Celine and Sophia, Michael reckoned that he would not feel as bad for hitting him. That picture was a picture of Cooper, whose house Nathan had often visited during holidays. Nathan would stay at his ce and sleep on his bed, and the room where Nathan slept had Cooper¡¯s pictures everywhere. How could Nathan say that he did not recognize that person? Something was wrong¡ª terribly wrong. Once again, Michael asked patiently, ¡°Is this person the person who helped you fix Nichs?¡± Nathan responded, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Did he say anything to you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do you know where he is now?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Do you have his contact details?¡± ¡°No.¡± Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Feeling annoyed, Michael stared at Nathan for a good while before giving in. In the end, he patted his head and said, ¡°I know you made him a promise. Since he doesn¡¯t want you to say anything, I won¡¯t force you. You can go now.¡± Hearing that, Nathan fled right away. Sitting at his desk, Michael was in a daze as he stared at Cooper¡¯s picture. The secret had been revealed¡ªFass and Cooper were the same person! That day, it was Cooper who fixed Nichs, installed a defensive system, and upgraded his functionality. Perhaps he never imagined that doing that saved the life of his daughter. It seemed that this was all fated¡­ If Michael found out about this back in the days, he might have excitedly broken the news to Sophia for her to be reunited with her father. However, at this point, he felt somewhat hesitant. ording to Celine, Phantom Wolf had a steady stream of financial support from many politicians and financial groups. Having said that, the Michel Family ran the biggest financial group in Northern Europe. If Sophia learned about the many connections between the Phantom Wolf and the Michel Family, she might be disheartened. Then, Michael cautiously put the picture away in his drawer before he leaned back. Let me find a proper time to let Sophia know about this¡­ Soon enough, the banquet hosted by Linus took ce. On that day, Sophia went over extremely early. Since she could not really go anywhere else, now that Linus had hosted a party in her neighborhood, she would have to be the first one to be there. After getting changed, Michael decided to go with Sophia. Among all the invitees today, there were many familiar faces, including exes, their ex¡¯s new partners, and admirers. As such, Michael reckoned that he had to be on the alert today. When the two got there, they were among the first to arrive. As such, they proceeded to find a spot to y cards to kill time. As this was the first banquet Linus had ever hosted, he decided to put together an incredibly grand event to show everyone the wealth and generosity of the Michel Family. At that banquet, there were many robot servers. These robots were intelligent and could automatically avoid knocking into anyone while they were swiftly moving around. There was a 3D projector installed on the ceiling of the living room, so when one looked up, one could see a colorful sky as well as some pces in between the clouds. asionally, there would be fairies flying across the sky sprinkling colorful petals. As Michael watched the petals fall, he could not help reaching out to catch them, but the moment he touched the petals, they dismantled into a pile of red ashes, disappearing immediately. What a special effect that Linus has here¡­ When Michael looked up, he saw another fairy as she flew across the sky and circled the room several times. The sight of this impressed everyone there. Not just that, but the fairy looked exactly like Sophia. This was an extremely advanced special effect technology that could vividly portray human faces. Since Sophia helped with the nning of this banquet, she came up with this theme on fairies and pces and included herself as the fairies. Linus was able to scan her face to create the faces of the fairies. Michael proceeded to find a couch to sit on. After reading the menu on the floating screen, he ordered a Martini, which was delivered to him by a robot in just a few minutes. He was stunned to have taken the ss of Martini from the robot; technology did have the power to change the way humans lived, and since automation might be the way to go in the future, Linus¡¯ line of profession would be very lucrative. At this moment, Linus was busy attending to his guests, so Sophia and Stanley decided to y ckjack. A whileter, Harry showed up with Sarah. ¡°Please scoot over; I need a spot.¡± Harry nudged Stanley. Having cards in his hand and a lollipop in his mouth, Stanley felt annoyed and responded, ¡°There¡¯s only room for four on this couch. Go and sit somewhere else!¡± Insisting on sitting there, Harry tried his best to squeeze himself in before Sophia stood up and sat on Michae¡¯sp, creating a spot for Harry. After Harry sat down, he asked Sarah to sit on hisp. Just like that, six of them sat on that couch. Being surrounded by two lovey-dovey couples, Stanley felt annoyed. ¡°All of you are public figures, so can you please behave properly?¡± Much to his dismay, none of them heard his protests. Now that more and more guests had arrived, asional nces were being thrown at them, making Sophia, who was sitting on Michael¡¯sp, feel uneasy. This was their first public appearance as husband and wife, so perhaps it was not too presentable if people saw her sitting on hisp. Chapter 579 Chapter 579 ¡°Are we giving a bad impression to others?¡± Hugging her lean waist, Michael chuckled and said, ¡°How so?¡± Sophia grunted before throwing a nce at Sarah, who was sitting on Harry¡¯sp. Seeing that, Sophia felt better. As such, she continued to sit on Michael¡¯sp and y cards in peace. At this juncture, she took a quick look at her outfit. They were both wearing a matching customized outfit from LK. Then she said, ¡°We¡¯re wearing a matching outfit. Is this a bit too high-profile?¡± Michael responded, ¡°No. Not at all.¡± Truth be told, I can¡¯t wait to let the entire world see it! I want to announce to the whole world that I have a wife now, and she¡¯s a stunning woman. While Sophia was up against Stanley in this round, Michael sneaked nces at Stanley¡¯s deck and said to Sophia, ¡°He has one king and two sets of bombs. Be careful.¡± Hearing that, Stanley responded, ¡°Uncle Michael, that¡¯s not very fair of you.¡± As more guests arrived, the number of people in the living room increased. Meanwhile, the band that Linus hired started performing. The band had a lead singer who was currently singing a Nordic song, rendering the atmosphere polished and rxed. After all, banquets were just a vanity fair for people to meet each other and mingle around. In this vanity fair, many pretentious people were trying to approach people they wanted to befriend in order to further their goals. Right now, there were several smaller groups of three to five people chatting with each other while holding wine sses in their hands. They were either chatting or enjoying the extravagant special effects that Linus specially put up for this banquet. Every time a fairy appeared, everyone present would be in awe. All of a sudden, Sophia, who was still in the middle of the game, shuddered. Looking up, hatred instantly filled her almond-shaped eyes. In a split second, the atmosphere tensed up. At this moment, everyone subconsciously looked toward the entrance; it was Irene Weber. In the past, Irene was always seen in her military uniform. Today, she was dressed in a tailor-made dress that outlined her voluptuous body; she looked truly seductive. In her thirties, this was the best time of her life¡ªshe was mature and elegant. Upon showing up, she began to look around the room with her beautiful eyes. Her lean neck looked like that of a swan¡ªit was extremely inviting. Furthermore, her outstanding aura as a female soldier plus her towering 170-centimeter figure in a pair of high heels made her stand out in a sea of rich and famousdies. The moment she appeared, a group of people went up and surrounded her. As a famous army singer who was the third generation of a well-known family, she had a good background, social status, and looks. Not just that, but she was also single. Who would not want to impress her? However, she had actually been seeing Joel for the past six years, but apart from the Fletcher Family, no one knew about it. As such, the general public perceived her as single. Despite being together for six years, this rtionship had always been kept a secret. She was calm and collected as she stood amid the crowd while engaging in conversations. However, her gaze was all over the ce, seemingly looking for traces of somebody.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Upon seeing Irene, Stanley thought of going up to her to greet her. Before he could make a move, something dawned on him. As he looked up, he saw the cold look on Sophia¡¯s face while she sat on Michael¡¯sp. Knowing that this was not the right time for him to make a move, he turned to the cards in his hands before looking at Sophia again. After that, he nervously yed a card. ¡°Five!¡± Sophia mmed a king and said, ¡°I beat you!¡± ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Stanley jumped. ¡°Aunt, I only yed a five. You didn¡¯t have to y a king, right?¡± Sophia clenched the card tightly and said, ¡°I just want you to lose in the worst possible way!¡± Hearing that, Michael jumped in to help her out. ¡°If your Aunt wants you to lose in the worst possible way, do as she says.¡± Looking at Irene before turning to Sophia, Stanley was afraid of uttering a single word. Since Sophia wants me to lose in the worst possible way, I should just do as she says! As such, he lowered his head and continued with the game. Even though he dared not greet Irene, Irene spotted him right away. Then, she began to walk toward him with a big smile on her face. ¡°Stan.¡± Her voice was like music to one¡¯s ears and sounded as beautiful as ark. Conversely, this beautiful voice sent chills down Stanley¡¯s spine. If I don¡¯t respond, it¡¯ll make things awkward between us. Since we all live in the same neighborhood and run into each other all the time, this may not be a good idea. But, if I respond, I¡¯ll offend Sophia. Given the closed-minded person that she is, I have no idea what she will do to me. After mulling over it, he eventually decided to force himself intoing up with an impable response. ¡°Irene, you made it! Where¡¯s Uncle Joel? Why didn¡¯t hee with you?¡± As he finished, he looked around for Joel. Hearing Stanley¡¯s response, Sophia was delighted. After that, she threw a menacing nce at Irene, seemingly warning her to stay away from Michael. Meanwhile, Michael pretended to be ignorant of everything that took ce in front of his eyes and remained silent while everyone else, including Sean and Harry, were enjoying the show. Irene was aware of the look on all of their faces. She then smiled and responded, ¡°Didn¡¯t Joel tell you? We broke up already. Don¡¯t call me ¡®aunt¡¯ anymore!¡± Those words startled Stanley, who responded, ¡°When was that?¡± Irene replied rather nonchntly, ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that anymore. We broke up, and I¡¯m now single!¡± As she said those words, she subconsciously peeked at Michael; it was as if she was sending him a message. At this point, Sophia could feel that Michael¡¯s grip on her waist had tightened. Following that, she could almost feel his increased breathing and heartbeat. She reckoned that he must have been leaping with joy in his heart. Back in the days, Joel was the reason Michael was dumped by Irene. Now that Irene and Joel have broken up, doesn¡¯t this mean that there¡¯s a good chance Irene and Michael will get back together? Bloody hell. Not a chance! That won¡¯t ever happen under my watch! Sophia held Michael¡¯s hand that was around her waist as she callously looked at Irene. However, she did not make any moves. So long as Irene stays put, I¡¯ll do the same. On this battlefield without gunpowder, both of their faces looked tensed. Right now, those two women were plotting when tounch their attacks amid the grim situation. After Irene and Stanley exchanged pleasantries, Irene pretended to have just noticed Sophia and Michael as she joyfully greeted them, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Sophia and Michael? So good to see you guys again!¡± Hearing that, Sophia responded stolidly, ¡°Irene, what a surprise to see you here. I¡¯m happy to see you.¡± Sophia¡¯s innocent and harmless smile rendered Irene incredibly nervous. It seems like this young girl is a lot moreplicated than I thought. Irene then subconsciously turned to Sophia¡¯s hand that was clutching Michael¡¯s hand. Upon seeing that, she scoffed silently. Look at how nervous she is. She must be really scared now that she knows about what happened between me and Michael in the past. With just a move, I can easily snatch Michael away from her. She must be terrified, jealous, anxious, and fearful of my presence. I bet she¡¯ll definitely find ways to cut me out of the picture. My God. Look at that innocent look on her face. In her heart, she must be dying to chase me away! But the more she feels nervous about me, the more it shows how much Michael cares about me. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll see who Michael picks! Chapter 580 Chapter 580 Feeling confident at once, Irene greeted Sophia, ¡°Your chess skills really were an eye-opener for me when we yed chessst time. Let¡¯s y another round of chess when we have time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s for sure. We must y another round of chess together when we¡¯re free, but it¡¯s too bad that today¡¯s asion isn¡¯t quite suitable for ying chess.¡± Sophia still smiled with innocence. Then, she instructed, ¡°Give up your seat, Stan.¡± Stanley was confused as he listened to the twodies¡¯ conversation when he suddenly heard Sophia calling his name. Startled, he opened his mouth and wanted to ask why, but upon thinking of the situation right now, he immediately stood up with his tail between his legs. He said to Irene, ¡°Pleasee and have a seat, Aunt Irene.¡± Irene came over and sat down while teasing, ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you many times to call me Irene?¡± Stanley gave her a foolish chuckle before seating himself on the sofa beside her. As soon as he left, the rest of those sitting on the sofa walked away immediately as well. Gosh, this is so scary! We must go away quickly lest we get sttered all over with blood if theye to blowster. With that thought in mind, everyone moved to the sofa opposite the trio and watched as they sat together in a strange atmosphere. Sophia finally got down from Michael¡¯sp and sat between him and Irene. Unexpectedly, she started to chat with Irene, saying, ¡°I loved the song you sang at the New Year Dinner G so much, Irene. I even sat in front of the TV all night to wait for you that day!¡± However, what she said sounded fake and unconvincing, for her face darkened right away back when Irene appeared at the New Year Dinner G that day¡­ Irene smiled shyly. ¡°That was the second time I performed at the New Year Dinner G ever since my debut, so I was still a little nervous. Luckily, Michael was there, and he soothed my nerves by talking to me for a little while.¡± What?! Michael¡­ spoke to Irene that night? Sophia¡¯s adorable makeup seemed to have cracked a little. She was obviously angry; even the corners of her mouth were twitching. Seizing the opportunity, Irene sipped at her drink to conceal the trace of a self-confident smirk that curved her lips. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Afraid of showing his face, Michael hid behind Sophia¡¯s hair; he trembled all over upon hearing what Irene had said. That matter is exposed atst¡­ Alright, I indeed met and spoke to Irene backstage at the New Year Dinner G that day. It was a pure coincidence that he ran into his ex in private. Even though the encounter was not of his free will, he found it embarrassing to tell Sophia about this kind of thing. However, he never expected the matter to be let out on this day. He could feel Sophia¡¯s grip on his hand tightening. Her freshly manicured fingernails were sunk into the back of his hand, hurting his flesh. Sophia was exploding with rage. Is she provoking me? Hmph! Come on! Irene¡¯s heart was filled with jealousy. As expected, women were beautiful when they were young. She also made men unable to take their eyes off her back when she was Sophia¡¯s age. No¡ªshe still had the ability right now. She wasn¡¯t bothered about such a callow little girl. To her, a little provocation was all that was needed to make Sophia expose her uncivilized and ignorant nature. Men liked charming and flirtatious women like her, not an unruly and capricious little girl who often threw unreasonable tantrums. She would wait for Sophia to raise hell with Michael. The bigger the fuss she kicked up, the better! However, her anticipation came to nothing¡­ ¡°Oh, I see. I saw that you really held the stage with your tremendous presence, Irene. I even voted for you for the Best Performance!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t get to the bottom of the topic Irene had brought up, as if it didn¡¯t matter. Not only that, she even changed the topic of conversation immediately and gave Irene a look of worship like a fangirl, dumbfounding thetter a little. Is she really unbothered, or is she faking it? Doesn¡¯t she care about something like her husband meeting his ex in secret? Suddenly unable to make out what was on Sophia¡¯s mind, Irene could only respond, ¡°Thank you.¡± Upon hearing what they had said, those around them started toin inwardly again, Vote for her? Who the hell would dare to vote for Irene at the New Year Dinner G? We didn¡¯t even dare to take a nce at her when she appeared! Sophia was so petty-minded that she held a grudge against Chrysanthemum just because it took a nce at Irene on TV. Because of that, she took Chrysanthemum to the militarypound every day to have the ginger cats there beat it up. The ginger cats in the militarypound were big and brawny. Not only did they exhibit soldierly qualities, they even goose-stepped. Therefore, Chrysanthemum was beaten up so hard every day in the militarypound that it couldn¡¯t help howling with pain. All of us could only vote for Michael¡¯s Broadway performance. Who has the nerve not to vote for him? Women are all liars! As the battle of words between the twodies went on, Irene artlessly brought the conversation round to Michael again when she heard Sophia speaking of the New Year Dinner G. ¡°Actually, my singing is mediocre. Mikey is the one who¡¯s good at singing; I had never won against him whenever we had singing contests as kids. He received the highest vote out of all performances.¡± Damn! She called him Mikey! The nickname sounded so unty both in itself and the tone in which it was spoken¡­ It was an ostentatious assertion of how close and intimate Irene¡¯s rtionship with Michael was. Mikey was Michael¡¯s pet name; only those who were closest to him dared to call him that. Irene called him Mikey with such genuine affection and sincere concern, as if the pet name was a nod to the romantic past they shared in their sd days. It was as if the pet name reminded Sophia and Michael of the huge gap named ¡®Irene¡¯ between them. The atmosphere turned harsh and oppressive. Finally, both parties began to arm themselves with heavy weapons, and the battle heated up. Shivering with fear, Michael wanted to kneel down before Irene. Please shut the f*ck up! The back of my hand is scratched so hard that it¡¯s almost bleeding! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Sophia suddenly gave an icy chuckle. Her voice sounded chilling, but she still wore a sweet smile as she tilted her head to one side and said in pleasant surprise, ¡°Irene, I heard that you lost some of your memory after a past brain injury. Have you recovered now?¡± Irene was startled; only then did she remember that she was supposed to still be ¡®amnesiac.¡¯ Hmph, is this her counterattack? Is she trying to mock me for pretending to have lost my memory? Irene raised her brow before giving a bitterugh. ¡°I have always been looking for ways to regain my past memory all these years, so I never stopped taking medicine. But for now, I can only recall some fragments of memories. It wasn¡¯t until I saw Mikey singing onstage at the New Year Dinner G that night that I suddenly remembered something¡­¡± She deliberately left her speech unfinished to make Sophia guess blindly. Once she made too many wild guesses, she would start letting her imagination run wild, which, in turn, would make her lose her composure. Sophia¡¯s heart was filled with hatred, but she didn¡¯t give it away on her face. Instead, she looked genuinely sincere as she said, ¡°Please get better as soon as possible, Irene!¡± Irene nodded. Then, as if recalling something, she directly ignored Sophia and spoke to Michael next to her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mikey. It¡¯s true that I lost most of my memories, but I¡¯ll definitely make it up to you if I¡¯d ever hurt you.¡± Everyone gasped in horror. Oh, no. She has brandished a weapon of mass destruction! The battle could be decided at any minute! Chapter 581 Chapter 581 Going cold all over, everyone silently wiped their cold sweat away as the tense atmosphere made their hair stand on end. However, they were reluctant to leave, so they watched the drama before them with great interest, and their eyes were focused especially on Michael, whom Irene had called out. Michael was terror-stricken, for he knew that Sophia would resent him for whatever he said right now. He¡¯d rather y dead all night, but he didn¡¯t expect Irene to drag him into the conversation. He had indeed seen Irene backstage that day, but it was her who came backstage with Joel to meet him. He swore that he never had any private contact with Irene; all he did was say a few greetings to her in front of Joel and ask her to take a photo of him and Joel using his cell phone! At this moment, he could only brace himself to speak. ¡°It¡¯s been so many years since then. I have put everything out of my mind¡ª¡± Soon after he began his sentence, Sophia suddenly got up. When everyone thought that she was finally about to unleash her killer move, she stuck out her tongue yfully and said with an adorable expression, ¡°Hubby, excuse me for going to the restroom.¡± Everyone was astounded. How could Sophia leave at this critical moment? Was she making a full-scale retreat because she knew that her enemy was more than her match? But this was so unlike her! Michael nodded foolishly as he also didn¡¯t know what Sophia was up to. Sophia then said, ¡°You two haven¡¯t seen each other for so many years, so you two must have a lot to say to each other. Chat to your hearts¡¯ content, then.¡± After that, she actually lifted the hem of her dress and left. What move is she making? Not only is she in full-scale retreat, she¡¯s even surrendering her position to her enemy! Michael broke out in a cold sweat as he watched Sophia leaving like that. Sh*t, I can¡¯t tell what she¡¯s up to! All I know is that I¡¯ll be done for! He and Irene were left sitting on the same sofa right now. Those around them stayed away from them as far as possible, and nobody came to bail him out of the situation. Since he was a Best Actor award winner, he gave nothing away on his face despite the emotional roller- coaster inside him. He spoke tly, ¡°That¡¯s how naughty my wife is. I spoiled her rotten, so she can¡¯t rein back her willful disposition. Please don¡¯t take it to heart since you¡¯re her sister-inw.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. At this moment, Irene was in no mood to correct Michael as she merely stared nkly at Sophia¡¯s receding figure. Did she make a full-scale retreat? No! She is trying to win against me by retreating! If she cozied up to Michael on her own initiative right now, not only would she demean herself, she¡¯d no longer hold such a profound and special ce in his heart. She¡¯s pretending to be open-minded right now to put pressure on Michael by making him feel guilty. Besides, he must be overwhelmed with guilt right now, so he can no longer reminisce with me about the old days even if he wants to. What a brilliant move this is! Still, Irene chatted with Michael for a little while. She started by correcting him with a wryugh. ¡°You know that I have broken up with Joel, so I¡¯m no longer your sister-inw. Just call me Renie.¡± With just a word, she instantly evoked Michael¡¯s memory, reminding him of his carefree childhood days, when everyone was running around in the militarypound, calling each other Mikey, Celie, Renie, and Joe, respectively. What a memorable and wonderful time it was¡­ Sh*t, now that our chiefmander is in full-scale retreat, the enemy hasunched her attack by reminding Michael of the past! We¡¯re going to lose! Stanley was so jumpy that he nearly called Sophia to summon her back. Why did she run away at this critical moment? Michael is about to start reminiscing with his ex about the past at any moment; it¡¯d be awful if he loses himself in his wonderful memories of the past! Is she going to surrender her position to her enemy? Everyone was seized with a deep concern for Sophia when they suddenly heard Michael speaking. ¡°Whether or not a rtionship canst depends on whether the two people really are well-suited to each other. Take my wife and me, for instance; we get along unusually well despite our huge age difference. If you and your partner are on the same wavelength as my wife and I are, you should never let him go. On the contrary, if you and your partner aren¡¯t well-suited, breaking up is better for each other.¡± There was a faint but strangely animated glint in Michael¡¯s eyes when he spoke of Sophia. Anyone could tell that he was extremely fond of the person he was talking about; it was as if he had begun to miss her less than a minute after she left. Irene was startled; she didn¡¯t expect Michael to steer away from the conversation. She quickly assumed a forlorn look by wearing a charming little frown. ¡°Joel and I had been together for six years, but I always felt like something was missing inside me whenever I was with him, which was why I summoned up the courage to suggest to him that we break up. I think that he and I weren¡¯t meant to be together forever after because my feelings for him seemed tock something.¡± She stared at Michael with tears glistening in her eyes. ¡°It seemed that I¡¯d lost my heart to someone else and couldn¡¯t let go of the person, so I couldn¡¯t hold Joel back for the rest of his life. Leaving was the best oue for both him and I.¡± Everyone was worried for Sophia again as they looked on. It was already very obvious what Irene was hinting at¡ªMichael was the one she had lost her heart to! She was hinting to Michael that she hadn¡¯t gotten over him! Stanley took out his cell phone and was about to call Sophia. Just then, however, he saw Michael responding casually, ¡°Since you two weren¡¯t suited for each other, breaking up was the best solution for you two. One¡¯s feelings for their lover muste from the bottom of their heart. If you love someone from the bottom of your heart, you¡¯ll find that they always stand out the most among the crowd. Take Sophia, for instance. She seems to glow with an umon radiance that makes me unable to avert my eyes. All I can see and think about is her¡­¡± As he spoke, his eyes glinted again. Everyone was dumbfounded at the sight of the scene, for the story was progressing in a direction that they couldn¡¯t figure out. Her heart filled with resentment, Irene raised the topic again. ¡°Some of my lost memories seem to have returned these days. I felt like I saw both of us walking along the bank of a stream outside the city. You were fishing the stream while I sang songs to you by the stream¡­¡± Michael picked up on the topic steadily. ¡°I remember that stream, of course; I even took my wife there this summer. The stream was still so clear, but I was the one singing by the stream this time while she fished in the stream. She was very clumsy, so she identally fell into the stream. I was so scared that I hurried down to the water to lift her up, yet she giggled at me¡­¡± Irene pinched her palm hard as a trace of sinister hatred flickered in the depths of her eyes. Still, she continued to unobtrusively reminisce about the rainy and blossom-filled old days with a pleasant and sweet voice. ¡°I think I have recalled the rain that time. I seemed to be sheltering under a tree with someone. I was shivering with cold, so the person took off his clothes to shelter me from the rain, but he caught a cold instead.¡± The person she was talking about was Michael, of course. Michael remained unperturbed. ¡°When you fall in love with someone, you¡¯ll naturally be willing to sacrifice everything for them. When Sophia and I went to feed pandasst time, she was worried that I would be scratched by the adorable pandas since it would hurt a lot when they scratch people. Whenever she saw the pandas reaching their paws out toward me, she would help me ward them off. Her arm bled all over from being scratched, yet she still gave me a silly smile. She said that I was an actor that earned a living with my face, so I mustn¡¯t get my face disfigured from being scratched by the pandas¡¯ paws¡­¡± After that, Michael shook his head and smiled like a foolish man in love. Everyone was astonished. What a divine move he pulled! Chapter 582 Chapter 582 Wasn¡¯t this a battle between Sophia and Irene? Why did Michael be the one who¡¯s exchanging words with Irene instead? Irene tried as hard as she could to evoke Michael¡¯s memories of the past, but all he wanted was to unobtrusively heap praise on his pretty young wife. In his own words, she was adorable every time she smiled and in one of her mood swings, and even when she yawned; he loved her so much that even her fart smelled pleasant to him¡­ Only then did everyone realize that Sophia was the true master. Since Michael was the reason behind her catfight with Irene, she simply decided to let Michaele forward and confront Irene! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. If Michael sided with Irene from the beginning, she would stand no chance to continue the catfight anyway. In that case, she had better save some energy and find a divorce attorney to im arger share of his wealth. Just as one couldn¡¯t stop leaves from falling off trees, a man who wanted to leave his spouse could never be made to stay. If Michael sided with Sophia, it would prove that Irene had lost the battle from the outset¡ªSophia wouldn¡¯t need to keep on fighting with Irene because Michael had chosen her. Overwhelmed with regret at this moment, Irene was already sweating all over. She was clearly aware of Sophia¡¯s intention, but she still wanted to take a shot at gauging what Michael was thinking. She tried to make him look back on his past with every word she said, yet he kept steering the conversation away stealthily. Not only did she lose this time, she also suffered a humiliating defeat! Meanwhile, Sophia had really gone to the restroom. While staying in the restroom, she had some fun with the smart massager toilet and reapplied her lipstick beforeing out. She was also very nervous right now, for she didn¡¯t know how things were going on out there. She didn¡¯t know if Michael and Irene were happily reminiscing about their past together or something like that. If they were really looking back on their lost time together, it would prove that Sophia didn¡¯t have a ce in Michael¡¯s heart at all, and he would get back together with Irene sooner orter as long as thetter was present. After reminiscing about their lost time together this time, they might pick an auspicious date to get back together and get married the next time they met. If that was indeed the case, Sophia thought she wouldn¡¯t need topete with Irene at all; she¡¯d better save some strength to im as much from him as possible when they got divorced. In short, everything depended solely on Michael. She had experienced a lot of this kind of thing. Back when Richard wanted to be together with X, she couldn¡¯t bring him round no matter how hard she tried. She would no longer be the person he trusted no matter what happened. Men¡­ After leaving the restroom, she went to the spot where she had seated herself just now. At this moment, the banquet hall was already filled with numerous guests, so she was spotted the instant she showed up. Large crowds of people immediately surrounded her to strike up conversations with her. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mrs. Murray. I¡¯m Jack, the New Women magazine¡¯s editor-in-chief. May I ask if you have time for an interview with ustely, Mrs. Murray?¡± ¡°Mrs. Murray, rumor has it that you¡¯re nning to publish an autobiography. Can you tell us a little about what will be in the autobiography?¡± ¡°Mrs. Murray, since your husband is a very outstanding actor, are you currently interested in following in his footsteps by entering show business? You¡¯ll definitely have more opportunities than other people with your looks and physique.¡± As the attention-drawing Mrs. Murray, Sophia seemed to be the most dazzling person among the crowd. The instant she showed up, she was surrounded by many, and tons of questions were thrown at her. Maintaining a graceful standing posture, Sophia gave a gracious and demure smile while preserving her impable bearing. Her exceptional qualities made her look like a sparkling, exquisitely-cut diamond in the shing lights, and she attracted a lot of attention with the wedding ring on her finger. She smiled while answering everyone¡¯s questions in an affable voice, ¡°I have no ns to agree to interviews for now. My autobiography has been scheduled to be published. It will touch lightly on my husband and me, but it¡¯ll mostly be about using my life experience to alert the public to the necessity of stepping up the protection of minors. Our country is stillcking in this regard, so I hope that my experience can raise public awareness and draw more attention to this issue. As for entering show business, I have no ns for that yet. I¡¯m currently majoring in economicw at university, but I¡¯m also takingputer programming courses. If everything goes well, I¡¯ll graduate with a double degree in two years and then pursue my studies. I¡¯ll probably work in the field of electronic technology in the future. For now, I have partnered up with my friends to start apany that produces mobile games and browser games¡­¡± Speaking with confidence andposure, she carried herself with the elegance and wisdom of a noble lady who excelled at her studies. Her outstanding personality shone through even from a distance, like the most dazzling and elegant jewel on the tip of a crown. Upon hearing what she had said, everyone sighed with amazement from the bottom of their hearts. As expected, she was Taylor Murray¡¯s wife, for her temperament and conversational style set her apart. After Sophia¡¯s identity was exposed, the media dug up her past and discovered that she had had a rough life. When she was a child, she earned a living by collecting garbage with the adults and didn¡¯t attend primary school until she was eight or nine years old. She had almost dropped out of school forck of money; furthermore, she was once forced to live in Duckburgs as a homeless person after being falsely used of being pregnant out of wedlock. As if that wasn¡¯t bad enough, her traumatic experience of being molested in childhood was recently exposed. Despite the miserable first half of her life, shemanded widespread admiration. After being admitted to the best high school with her remarkable academic achievements, she remained top of her ss and was currently awarded a national schrship from Bayside University. As Bayside University¡¯s campus belle, she studied two majors and even took up courses on minoritynguages. Moreover, she was eventually found by her biological father. After her transformation from a wretched Cindere to a nobledy, she was now the wife of a Best Actor winner. All the tribtions she had suffered had toughened her up and made her stronger instead of bringing her down. She was only 21 years old this year, but her life experience was truly well beyond even one¡¯s wildest imaginations! One couldn¡¯t help but gasp in admiration for her charming brilliance. Joe quickly rode the wave of Sophia¡¯s poprity by praising her to the skies. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry to have done a great disservice to her. It was all my fault as her father that she was homeless since young. She had lived a miserable life and was living homeless alone in Duckburgs. Had I not found her in time¡­ She¡¯s a good daughter, and Mr. Murray is a good son-inw. I¡¯m content with having such a good daughter and a good son-inw in my life¡­¡± Faye also seized this opportunity to ride the wave of Sophia¡¯s poprity byvishing praises on her as much as she could. Meanwhile, Richard had been here for a long time and was staying in a corner. He and X appeared together on this day and held hands before the media to put on a show of affection. Richard felt that even his soul was insulted; he washed his hands with liquid soap in the washroom for a long time, but he could still smell the stinking stench lingering on them, as if he had put his hands in the cesspit. X had gone to mingle with her circle of friends when he came out of the restroom. Seeing that she was having a good time with a bunch of repulsive producers and directors, he went to a corner and drank wine in disgust. When he sat down, he couldn¡¯t help feeling that his whole body was ming with shame; some people were spying on him and gossiping about him in secret. He could tell what they were talking about without having to look at them. Of course, they were gossiping about his wife¡¯s adulteries. Chapter 583 Chapter 583 Now, everyone knew that his wife¡¯s naked body had been seen by other people. Moreover, she would be performing in an R-rated film; the released cast posters of the film showed her being almost nude. He took a mouthful of wine in bitterness as his wife¡¯s promiscuity made him restless and uneasy. When he put down his wine ss and looked up, he saw Sophia standing dazzlingly among the crowd like a goddess. The high-tech home renovation inside Linus¡¯ house was nothing short of amazing; what particrly evoked words of amazement were the ss windows that could be remotely connected to the entire world, and the 3D holographic projection that looked so lifelike to the point of making one¡¯s skin crawl. Gasps of admiration could be heard among the crowd every time the fairies flew out of their pce. At this moment, another special effect shed across the screen. The face of the devastatingly beautiful fairy that shed across the screen looked strikingly simr to Sophia. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. She and X¡ªwho nauseously coquetted with the repulsive men and was itching to sell her body to them then and there¡ªwere simply poles apart. Both of them had been stripped naked before, yet nobody dared tough at Sophia, whomanded admiration by gritting her teeth and pulling through. On the contrary, X chose to abandon herself to vice and be a cheap sl*t! Why did I betray Sophia for the sake of X-the-wh*re back then? She was clearly so good and excellent; with her promising future, she would achieve what she had achieved this day sooner orter. Had he stood firm by her side and believed her unconditionally back when she was set up by somebody else, would he have be the fabulous man who inspired envy by standing next to her? With that thought in mind, he took another mouthful of wine bitterly. It was all X¡¯s fault. He had always loved Sophia unwaveringly, but that b*tch deliberately and ceaselessly seduced him out of her lust for power and wealth. Hell-bent on bing the Young Mistress of the Harper Family, she revealed her true colors now that she had the power and social standing she had wanted. She¡¯s such a wh*re and a filthy b*tch! thought Richard to himself. Mrs. Harper was also here on this day. Wanting to approach Sophia, she kept circling around her, but she couldn¡¯t get close to Sophia since there were too many people around her. She looked Sophia up and down with great satisfaction. Only such a woman was qualified to marry into the Harper Family and be her son¡¯s wife. Compared to X-the-sl*t, Sophia was really a perfect candidate for a daughter-inw. Hastily seizing the opportunity, she said to Richard, ¡°You must hurry up and find a way to banish that sl*t from our family and marry Sophia instead!¡± Richard shook his head with a bitterugh. ¡°That isn¡¯t possible anymore, Mom. She must hate me to the bones.¡± Unwilling to believe her son¡¯s words, Mrs. Harper spoke, ¡°You silly kid, what did I tell you before? The deeper one¡¯s love for somebody is, the deeper their hatred will be when the love turns sour. She hates you right now exactly because she loves you!¡± Richard no longer wanted to find out whether Sophia loved or hated him, though. ¡°She¡¯s Taylor Murray¡¯s woman now¡­¡± Looking shrewd, as if she had deep insight into human nature, Mrs. Harper reminded him, ¡°You don¡¯t understand¡ªTaylor Murray must be inwardly unable to get over the fact that she was molested when she was a child, so he¡¯ll divorce her sooner orter. Moreover, isn¡¯t itpletely normal for celebrities to get married and divorced? The way I see it, they¡¯ll get divorced within two years, so you must seize the opportunity! Rest assured, for I surely won¡¯t frown on her, and she will certainly be willing to make it up with you. You should let her know this and tell her to divorce Taylor as soon as possible to marry you.¡± This time, however, Mrs. Harper¡¯s baloney didn¡¯t work on Richard anymore. He had thought that he would always have a ce in Sophia¡¯s heart no matter how contemptibly foolish he was. Even though she married someone else and had often set herself against him, he had still believed that she must still have feelings for him. Only now did he realize that the only feeling she had for him was hatred. She spared his life just because she wanted to see him putting up ast-ditch struggle. X now possessed 15 percent of the Harper Group¡¯s shares. Moreover, she kept increasing her shares in the Harper Group by buying individual shares and sleeping with several directors and major shareholders. After joining the board of directors, she took control of shareholder meetings and was encroaching on the Harper Family¡¯s business. Furthermore, the stupid stuff Richard and Ka had done weakened the Harper Family¡¯s influence over the board of directors even further. The Harper Family¡¯s men in the board of directors were now being removed one after another. Not only that, he even had to put on a show of affection with a disgusting dirty sl*t every day despite beingbeled as a cuckold! He had had enough of the life he was leading now! Richard felt that he was suffering a fate worse than death. He¡¯d rather die, but he was unwilling to do so. However, he didn¡¯t dare to fight X to the death. Being on hisst legs day after day, he felt like he was going to die, for his whole body reeked of a repulsive putrid smell. Being incapable of resisting, he had neither the courage to live on nor the resoluteness to die. Merely a few months had passed, yet his life seemed to have been disproved; he being a specially privileged person was but a joke. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. After ncing at it, he looked up at Faye, who was standing nearby. Seeing that she was walking toward the restroom, he put his cell phone away and walked toward the restroom as well. The two of them then entered the same toilet cubicle. ¡°Are you saying that X has begun to take control over the board of directors?¡± asked Faye. The two of them stood in the same cubicle. Thanks to the restroom¡¯s excellent soundproofing, they no longer had to worry about being spied or eavesdropped on. Upon hearing Faye¡¯s question, Richard answered with a bitter smile, ¡°Several of the directors who stood by the Harpers have been fired by the board of directors. The current situation is very unfavorable to us since X has bought off most of the board of directors¡¯ members.¡± A sinister look shed across Faye¡¯s exquisitely beautiful face when she heard Richard¡¯s words. Originally, X was sure to die; she was already more dead than alive when she was thrown out of the Edwards Residence that day, so it would have taken less than an hour before she¡¯d freeze to death, not to mention that the street was empty when she was thrown out. Since she had made such an unsightly scene, there probably wouldn¡¯t be anyone who would save her. Much to their surprise, however, she miraculously freed herself of her predicament. ording to their n, once X got involved in that kind of scandal, Richard would be able to divorce her justifiably and then marry Faye smoothly. Once the Edwards and Harpers joined forces, the Edwards Family would gain a foothold in its n with the Harper Family¡¯s support. The Harpers could also take the opportunity to strike up a rtionship with the Edwards, thereby promoting a mutually beneficial alliance between the two powerful families. However, they didn¡¯t expect Sophia to show up at thest minute and sabotage all their ns. As a result, X managed to crush them by taking hold of their families¡¯ lifelines, rendering them totally unable to fight back. Still, men could always think up all kinds of reckless, risky, and conscienceless things when tempted by the huge interests before them. Sophia and X were working together to drive the two families to their doom. Besides holding shares in the Edwards Family¡¯s business, Sophia was now secretly buying individual shares. X, on the other hand, was gradually taking control of the Harper Family. They would only meet their doom if they didn¡¯t fight back. Analyzing their situation, Faye said in a deep voice, ¡°The first thing we need to do right now is to get our hands on the incriminating evidence that fell into X and Sophia¡¯s hands.¡± Richardughed helplessly. ¡°How are we going to get our hands on that kind of stuff? Most of them are electronic documents. Who knows how many backups of these documents there are?¡± Upon hearing Richard¡¯s words, Faye swelled with confidence andbed her blonde hair flirtatiously. ¡°We both know who is at X and Sophia¡¯s backs. They dare to be so cocky because Taylor Murray is backing them up. What else can they both depend on once I seed in seducing Taylor?¡± Faye was very confident of herself when it came to seducing men. There was no man in this world whom she couldn¡¯t seduce¡ªnot even Taylor Murray! A trace of disgust flickered in the depths of Richard¡¯s eyes as he looked at Faye¡¯s flirtatious expression. As expected, women are all b*tches! Thinking that they weren¡¯t discovered, the two then hatched up what they thought was a wless scheme. However, they forgot that they were now on Linus¡¯ turf¡­ Chapter 584 Chapter 584 Linus chatted with the guests while listening to the conversation in the restroom via his Bluetooth earpiece. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. The corners of his lips curved up into a charming smile which, coupled with his blonde hair and blue eyes that constituted his handsome looks and made him look as warm as the scorching sun, often drew sideways nces from the female guests. It could be said that the unmarried socialites of Bayside City were scrambling for him, for he was surrounded by many female guests just a short while after he showed up. However, Linus looked at Sophia from time to time. Looking beautiful and self-confident, she stood among the crowd like a fairy. Seeming to have sensed Linus¡¯ gaze, she turned to look at him and gave him a radiant smile. Linus raised his wine ss and gave her a nod across the crowd. Sophia nodded to him as well. The two of them raised their respective wine sses toward each other in a toast before taking a sip of their drinks. With that, all they wanted to say to each other had been conveyed in silence. Having finished drinking her wine, Sophia put down her wine ss and was about to go back to find Michael when she unexpectedly heard a familiar voice from behind. ¡°You¡¯re here too, Sophie.¡± Upon hearing this voice, Sophia froze all over; she then looked back to see ude standing near her. Linus had invited some members of the military to the banquet, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that ude was among them. Back when Michael spotted ude among the list of guests Linus had invited, he was so annoyed that he nearly crossed out ude¡¯s name. Sophia really felt a little embarrassed. Thest time they met, Nathan said that Michael was her father, but now, he had be her husband. After a brief awkward silence, ude spoke, ¡°I have learned everything¡­¡± He had learned about Michael, Nathan, and Sophia¡¯s identities from Mark. He waspletely at ease when he met Sophia this time. He was generous and open-minded in the first ce, so it gratified him a lot to see Sophia being so happy right now. He gave her a smile that was as warm as the spring sun. ¡°The Fletcher Family¡¯s men are all dependable!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but lower her head and smile. She didn¡¯t dare to be certain whether the Fletcher Family¡¯s men were dependable, but Michael and ude were definitely the dependable ones. She chatted with ude for a while before her ssmate, Molly, suddenly approached her. ¡°Oh, my! Sophia, so you really are Taylor Murray¡¯s wife! Oh, my god! Hurry up and give me an autographed album of your husband¡¯s!¡± The new semester had started by now, but Sophia hadn¡¯t reported to the university since what had happened with Phantom Wolf made her afraid of leaving home. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t until this day that she finally met her ssmates, from whom she parted with during the winter vacation. Everyone seemed to have be prettier after the winter vacation. Upon seeing Sophia, they hurried over and surrounded her. The saying was especially true that one would never know what his or her ssmates had done during their vacation. Sophia could hardly recognize her ssmates after not seeing them during the winter vacation. Some of them had slimmed down; some of them had gained some weight; some had dyed their hair; and some had even undergone cosmetic microsurgeries¡­ Of course, she was the one who had undergone the most drastic change, for she quietly became her idol¡¯s secretly-wedded young wife. Ladies of the same age could never run out of things to talk about when they were together, so Sophia chatted with them for a while. What everyone asked the most about was, of course, her rtionship with Michael. ¡°Wow, I really couldn¡¯t tell that you were actually our idol¡¯s wife! By the way, how long have you two been married?¡± Sophia was still a little shy when she spoke of this. She answered, ¡°We registered our marriage back when I was in my senior year.¡± Everyone couldn¡¯t help but gasp in admiration upon hearing her answer. It wasn¡¯t until this moment that they finally realized what had happened. ¡°So the person who came to the ssroom during the cash-countingpetition was Miss Taylor himself? Oh, my god! He looked so young; I didn¡¯t realize it was him despite him sitting right in front of me!¡± ¡°The person who showed up during the sports carnival¡¯s basketball match was also Miss Taylor himself, right? Oh, my god! Oh, my god¡­¡± Only then did everyone learn that Taylor Murray had shown up in front of them several times. Feeling a little shy, Sophia nodded repeatedly. The rtively calm Molly admired Sophia a lot. ¡°You can really keep yourposure. I¡¯m so fed up with Richard and X¡¯scency as this adulterous couple put on a show of affection every day. If I were you, I would have brought Miss Taylor out with me to disy our affection right before them.¡± As they spoke of this topic, everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the adulterous couple who were also present this day. The husband, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, was speaking with ease and fluency while standing among the distinguished personages and the rich. The wife, dressed in a flesh-colored low-cut dress, was flirtatiously drinking with a group of sickening producers and directors. The couple¡¯s harmonious facade could only fool ordinary people who were ignorant of the inside story. Who else in upper-ss society didn¡¯t know that X had slept with countless men? The couple was now ying around on their own. The husband slept with young models and female celebrities, whereas the wife slept with producers, directors, male models, and young idols. The tabloid reports about them were roughly the same. What a stinky adulterous couple! Sophia twisted her lips into a smile before saying to everyone, ¡°He is my husband, not a tool for me to disy our affection and strike back at a jerk.¡± Everyone was startled. Then, feeling awkward, they immediately changed the topic of conversation, or else they¡¯d be reduced to tears by the open disy of affection. When it came to disying affection, nobody could be a match for this married couple. Publicly disying their affection toward each other all the time, Sophia and Michael were widely acknowledged as a lovey-dovey star couple. Molly hastily switched to a new topic. ¡°Sophia, do you know that Professor rk is leaving?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sophia pricked up her ears. ¡°Professor rk? Why is he leaving? Where is he going?¡± The youngdies were gloomy when they spoke of this topic. Molly exined dejectedly, ¡°He has handed in his resignation letter. Didn¡¯t you see the IG Stories that he posted two days ago? He wanted to resign and go out to travel.¡± Sophia had been so busy these few days that she barely had time to look at her social media. She immediately opened Quinton¡¯s IG Stories to see the two lines that he had posted most recently. The lines read, ¡®The world is so huge, so I¡¯d like to go out and take a look at it.¡¯ Quinton is leaving¡­ Bayside City¡¯s teaching staff¡¯s overall physical attractiveness will plummet! Looking at Quinton¡¯s IG Stories, Sophia also felt an overwhelming sense of loss. Quinton really is a great teacher! ¡°I think I heard someone saying behind my back that I¡¯m handsome¡­¡± Suddenly hearing Quinton¡¯s voice, thedies looked back to see Quinton standing not far behind them. Dressed in a wine-colored suit that showed off his elegant and mysterious qualities, he looked indescribably handsome as he stood elegantly in the light while holding a ss of red wine. Pleasantly surprised, thedies immediately dragged Quinton over and surrounded him. ¡°Professor rk, didn¡¯t you say that you couldn¡¯t attend the banquet because you were ill and bedridden?¡± ¡°Professor rk, let¡¯s take a picture together!¡± Being handsome was indeed a privilege, for everyone caught Quinton and took selfies with him right after he showed up. After they finished taking pictures together, everyone surrounded him and spoke enthusiastically to him. ¡°I didn¡¯t want toe at first, but Linus invited me after all. Moreover, I¡¯ll go overseas in a few days, so I muste to have a look at everybody.¡± Quinton¡¯s voice was especially attractive and pleasant to the ear, so everyone couldn¡¯t help feeling regret for his departure upon hearing his reply. ¡°When will youe back, Professor rk? Where can we find you in the future?¡± Quinton took a sip of the red liquid in his wine ss before answering, ¡°I don¡¯t know that as well. I think I may volunteer to teach in rural areas after traveling around the world. It has always been my dream to be a volunteer teacher in rural areas.¡± Chapter 585 Chapter 585 Everyone felt so down that they almost cried. Sophia secretly fixed her eyes on the tip of Quinton¡¯s nose. He just had his previously crooked nose straightened, so he was probably still in the recovery period. Thinking that it wouldn¡¯t be good for him to drink alcohol, she couldn¡¯t help but remind him, ¡°Professor rk, didn¡¯t you just undergo surgery? It isn¡¯t a good idea to drink alcohol now, right?¡± Quinton looked at Sophia and secretly winked at her, saying, ¡°It¡¯s alright; what I¡¯m drinking is actually fruit juice.¡± Sophia also winked at him mischievously as they both understood what he was talking about. Still, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but ask out of curiosity, ¡°Professor rk, why would you want to be a volunteer teacher in rural areas?¡± Having gotten his Bachelor¡¯s degree from Bayside University, Quinton returned to teach at Bayside University after getting his Ph.D. degree overseas from a prestigious university. With such great academic qualifications, it would really be a waste for him to be a volunteer teacher in rural areas. Instead of answering Sophia¡¯s question immediately, Quinton took a small sip of his fruit juice. Then, he answered slowly, ¡°Humans are higher animals, so they want to seek more things after having their fill. Different people have different dreams of their own; some seek to liberate their bodies, whereas some seek enlightenment of their souls.¡± Startled, Sophia found herself at a loss for how to respond to Quinton¡¯s reply. What was she seeking? What she wanted seemed to be very simple, for she just wanted to live well. Compared to what she was chasing after, what Quinton sought after was much more advanced. She couldn¡¯t help but hold out her wine ss to clink sses with him, saying, ¡°Here¡¯s a toast to you.¡± Quinton raised his ss and said to Sophia and everyone else, ¡°Here¡¯s a toast to everyone. I¡¯lle back often to visit you all in the future.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. After having small talks with different people, she returned to where she had been just now and found Michael, who seemed to be in animated conversation with everyone. There were already a few more people sitting on the sofa. Besides Michael and Irene, Stanley and Harry were here; it seemed that they were here to support Sophia. ¡°Sophia was very much like me back then, for she worked very hard when she was in high school. She studied alone till well past midnight every night without taking a rest.¡± Irene had been trying hard to remind Michael of their lost years together, but he seemed totally uninterested, for all he talked about was Sophia. Irene was so pissed that her stomach churned, yet she couldn¡¯t do anything. She could only put on a friendly and understanding smile while being forced to listen to Michael talking about his pretty young wife. Stanley had taken out his game props to get ready to y games again at Michael¡¯s suggestion. Michael would soon run out of things to talk about if he kept on chatting. When Sophia showed up, Stanley was setting up his game props. He called her over, saying, ¡°Sophia, come on over and y Truth or Dare!¡± The few people then sat around the table and received their respective numbers before starting the game. After all, it was better to y games than to watch the awkward chat between Irene and Michael. Sophia still seated herself next to Michael as they started to y the game. While Stanley was setting up the props, she said to Michael, ¡°Professor rk is leaving.¡± Michael was a little astounded. ¡°Leaving? Where is he going?¡± ¡°He quit his job to travel the world and is nning to be a volunteer teacher in rural areas after that. He¡¯ll board the ne tomorrow night.¡± Quinton is going to be a volunteer teacher? Everyone was shocked, but whatever choice Quinton made was his own business, so everyone did nothing after learning about that. Quinton had a bright future, so it would really be a waste for him to be a volunteer teacher in rural areas. Everyone began to y Truth or Dare. The tablet started to choose questions by drawing lots. Soon after that, the application announced the first question in a sweet female voice, ¡°No. 6, please reveal the name of your first love.¡± The corner of everyone¡¯s mouth twitched at once as they looked at No. 6 together. Michael¡ªwho was No. 6¡ªinstantly looked as ck as thunder. The atmosphere that had been livened up with great difficulty suddenly became awkward once again. A deadly awkward silence engulfed everyone. Irene asked with a smile, as if she knew nothing, ¡°Huh? Mikey, aren¡¯t you No. 6?¡± Michael fixed Stanley with a murderous look before speaking with a suddenugh, ¡°About my first love¡­ A famous person once said that one¡¯s current partner is his or her first love forever.¡± As he spoke, he held Sophia¡¯s hand earnestly. ¡°The name of my first love is Sophia Edwards.¡± Sophia¡¯s previously sullen face finally cracked into a bright smile. Well, that¡¯s a good answer! The famous person who said that must be Michael himself since ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯ is considered a well-known figure too. Everyone was startled for a moment before theyughed the episode off. Stanley wished he could punch himself. What a lousy question that was! He immediately let out an awkward chuckle. ¡°Let¡¯s continue the game, everyone. Hehe¡­¡± Irene seemed to beughing with everyone else, but there was a hint of dissatisfaction in the depths of her eyes. The second round soon began. The application announced the question, ¡°No. 6 and No. 7, please hold hands together with your fingers inteced until the end of the game.¡± Michael¡¯s face darkened again. Irene, who was No. 7, was dumbfounded for a moment before a look of pleasant surprise crept over her face. Sophia, who was No. 5, gave Stanley¡ªwho was No. 4¡ªa murderous look. Stanley felt like he was about to die very soon, but he braced himself and red back at Sophia, for she was the person who had thought up the question and input it into the application. Everyone was speechless. An unspeakable silence engulfed everyone again as a murderous aura filled the air. Everyone didn¡¯t dare to speak as they looked at the three people. Sophia red at Michael, who was panic-stricken since he was at a loss for what to do. Luckily, being an actor, he had experienced situations that were more intimidating than this one. After calming down, he hit on an idea in desperation and shot Harry a nce. Harry raised his brow in confusion. Michael shot him another nce before shifting his gaze to the cell phone that he had ced on the ss coffee table in front of him. Harry narrowed his eyes and nodded. Then, he quietly took back his cell phone and dialed Michael¡¯s phone number. Two secondster, Michael¡¯s cell phone rang. Seizing the opportunity, he stood up with a broad smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to answer a phone call. Have fun ying the game, everyone.¡± After that, he picked up his cell phone and fled. A trace of resentment shed across the depths of Irene¡¯s eyes as she watched Michael disappearing from her sight. The game couldn¡¯t be yed anymore! Stanley, who had proposed ying the game, was at a loss for how to wind things up. Just then, the sound of music ying was heard from the stage, letting everyone know that the main story of this banquet was about to begin. Seizing the opportunity, Stanley suggested, ¡°The show has begun! Let¡¯s go and watch it!¡± The show had begun atst! Everyone immediately stood up and headed toward the main hall where the banquet was held. Irene gave Sophia a vicious re as she stood up. Sophia also looked back and, seeing the displeased look in Irene¡¯s eyes, gave Irene a hostile look. They had almost fallen out publicly anyway. For the sake of saving face, they wouldn¡¯t raise such an unsightly ruckus in somebody else¡¯s presence, but they couldn¡¯t be bothered to put on an act anymore when there were just the two of them. Chapter 586 Chapter 586 The twodies exchanged nces like that before they immediately went to watch the show with everyone else. The banquet this day was not only Linus¡¯ housewarming banquet, but also the first banquet he held since coming to Bayside City. Therefore, theunching of his products was an important part of the banquet. Everyone took their seats in proper order, including Sophia, who naturally sat next to Michael as his wife. The two of them simultaneously looked toward the stage to see Linus going up on the stage. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I¡¯m very honored to be able to invite you all to my housewarming banquet.¡± Linus impressed everyone with his clear voice and fluent Cethosiannguage. Gasps of amazement could be heard from the crowd, for everyone was surprised that Linus could speak such fluent Cethosiannguage with no trace of an ent. Linus then began to introduce his products. All the electronic products shown at the banquet were new products that hadn¡¯t been announced by the Michel Family yet, including the eye-catching robot and others. All the guests gasped with wonder as they expressed their amazement. The Michel Group was indeed different, so it wasn¡¯t unjust that an electronicpany like Huffs Technology lost to them! The Mitchell Family had received an invitation to this day¡¯s banquet, so several members of the family attended the banquet to fish for information. Seeing the products the Michel Family disyed, they were envious, but they could do nothing. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. The Mitchell Family couldn¡¯t find a talent as powerful as Linus! They felt as if they had seen the end of the Mitchell Family. Was the distinguished family thatsted a century really going to retire from the stagepletely? Would the family withdrawpletely from the high-tech electronic industry? Or would the family be forced into the second ce and have to survive at the mercy of others? At this very moment, they thought of Cooper Mitchell¡ªthe genius¡ªonce again. If Cooper could return to the Mitchell Family, the Mitchells would have no problem returning to its peak! The product disy on this day was an eye-opener for the guests, for they never thought that high technology could be utilized in such a way. We must hurry up and ce orders! Linus¡¯ product disy ended with a dance by a robot. The robot, dressed like a human, began to dance on the stage very much like a human with flexible joints and extremely standard movements. The dance drew bursts of apuse and cheers among the guests from time to time. Several popr celebrities had also been invited to perform at this day¡¯s banquet. Those who could be guest performers at Linus¡¯ banquet were definitely big names in show business, including Irene. As a military singer, Irene rarely performed inmercial events, yet she attended Linus¡¯ housewarming banquet as a guest performer, which was enough proof of Linus¡¯ social standing. Compared to inviting any superstars, it was a greater honor to be able to invite Irene to perform at the banquet. All the guests below the stage apuded and cheered when Irene came up on stage. She began singing a song in a loud and clear voice. Being an all-around singer, Irene could sing bel canto, pop songs, and folk songs; she easily outssed everyone the instant she sang. Her wonderful singing voice put some pop singers who were present at the banquet to shame. It was no wonder that even the President would invite her to perform during dinners with foreign political heavyweights. Her wonderful singing voice really made her worthy of her status! Sophia felt a tingle in her heart again. Sh*t, I¡¯m gloomy deep down inside.8 She couldn¡¯t help feeling that Irene kept making eyes at Michael and that he and Irene were exchanging amorous nces. Also, she couldn¡¯t help feeling that there was something between the two of them and that they would rekindle their rtionship and make up with each other. However, she had to wear a smile of wonder and pretend to be blown away by Irene¡¯s singing. Irene was already dripping with sweat when she finished singing a song. Holding the microphone, she then announced to the guests below the stage, ¡°I¡¯m very honored to be able to attend Mr. Michel¡¯s banquet as a guest performer. I¡¯m so happy to see many friends that I haven¡¯t seen for years today.¡± Sophia¡¯s heart shuddered at the sight of the scene. Having a bad feeling, she quickly grabbed her husband sitting next to her, as though she was afraid that Michael would grow a pair of wings and fly away. As she had expected, Irene immediately began to direct the topic to Michael. ¡°I wonder if everyone still remembers that there¡¯s a song titled ¡®The Love of My Life¡¯ in my first album. The song was written for me ten years ago by a colleague in the song and dance troupe. Ten years had passed since then, and we went our separate ways, but I¡¯d always think about him whenever I sing this song¡­¡± Who is ¡®he¡¯? Everyone was very curious. Judging from Irene¡¯s longing expression, her rtionship with the colleague must have been very special; they mustn¡¯t be ordinary colleagues. Having joined the song and dance troupe since young, Irene seldom got herself involved in love rumors over the nearly 20 years since her debut. Moreover, she never publicly acknowledged being in a romantic rtionship with anyone. Upon hearing her words, everyone turned to look at Taylor. Rumor had it that Taylor and Irene had been engaged, but they called off their engagement for all kinds of reasons. Also, Taylor was rumored to have enlisted in special forces and joined the song and dance troupe. Therefore, could he be the colleague that Irene was referring to? Sophia was so piqued that her eyes popped out. F*ck! So Michael could write songs and have written a song for Irene? Why have I never heard him mention this before? Why didn¡¯t he write a song for me? The gloom within her grew due to jealousy. Michael didn¡¯t seem to have any response. Seeing that the crowd apuded and called upon Irene¡¯s colleague toe up on stage, he pped his hands and giggled with everyone else. Having finished pping his hands, he put down his hands and immediately grabbed Sophia¡¯s little hand. However, the little hand seemed to be angry; it ran away nimbly, not allowing him to catch it. Michael was bent on grabbing the little hand, though. He opened hisrge hand and held it out to catch a thumb, but the little hand got angry and pped his hand. p! The p was loud and clear. Luckily, nobody noticed it since everyone was pping. The little hand was totally furious, for the fine hair on its back seemed to stand on end. It kept running away to prevent therge hand from getting close to it. However, not only was therge hand determined to get close to it, it also wanted to embrace it and cling to it. After a few struggles, the reddenedrge hand finally caught the reluctant and sulky little hand; it sped the little hand with all its might to prevent it from running away. Sophia finally quieted down as well. Refusing to let Michael go, she grabbed his hand as hard as he could. Irene was still looking everywhere, as if searching for the colleague in the song and dance troupe who had written a song for her ten years ago. Everyone also frequently nced at Michael as they guessed that he was likely the colleague Irene was referring to. Regrettably, Michael didn¡¯t move at all, and he even whispered in Sophia¡¯s ear from time to time, as if there were nobody around them. Irene directed her gaze toward Michael from time to time as well, for she believed that he certainly wouldn¡¯t make her feel embarrassed when she was onstage alone. This was Linus¡¯ banquet, so how embarrassing would it be for her if he didn¡¯te onstage at her invitation? Linus would also be embarrassed, so there was no reason for Michael not toe onstage. Irene ran her eyes back and forth over the audience. She nced at Michael every now and then, but she didn¡¯t see himing on stage for a long time. The atmosphere grew increasingly awkward as the audience below the stage started to feel anxious. Feeling a little worried, Irene nced at Michael once again, only to see that he was also looking at her. As their eyes met, Irene saw a guilt-free expression on his face. If Michael had averted her eyes, it would prove that he still had feelings for her. However, there was no trace of guilt in his eyes; he looked open and poised with a clear conscience. Irene smiled wryly, but she didn¡¯t believe that she had no ce in Michael¡¯s heart. She had been his girlfriend for ten years after all! Chapter 587 Chapter 587 Irene sneered inwardly as she nced at Sophia, who was sulking next to Michael. As it turns out, Sophia is having a fit of the sulks, so it¡¯s no wonder that Michael doesn¡¯t dare toe onstage. Otherwise, he would have difficulty defusing the situation if the little girl begins weepingter! Having collected her thoughts, she held the microphone and said to everyone below the stage, ¡°It seems that the colleague is absent today. In that case, I shall sing ¡®The Love of My Life¡¯ for everyone alone.¡± A round of apuse came from the audience. With that, Irene began to sing to the apaniment of the clear sound of a guitar. With the music¡¯s simrly clear and simple melody and tone, the audience felt like they were instantly brought back to the summer vacation when they were 17 years old. The cicada¡¯s chirps kept ringing in her ear, and the air was unbearably sultry. She pushed the window open to let the cool breeze into the room, but she didn¡¯t expect to see the young man she had been waiting for a long time hiding in the shade of the tree downstairs the instant she pushed the window open. His white shirt was soaked in sweat, but when he looked up and saw that the long-awaited window was finally opened, his suntanned face cracked into a delightful smile¡­ ¡°Your shirt was pure white in color, and the sky was slightly blue. You were carrying a bamboo basket, and I saw the smile on your face with a thin sheen of sweat¡­¡± Irene began singing the song in a clear voice. The sincere emotions in her pure singing voice made the song extremely appealing, and the audience was entranced while listening to the song, as if it reminded them of their first loves. Michael seemed to be listening to the song as well. Moreover, he closed his eyes slightly, as if he was enthralled by the song¡¯s mood. It was as if he was lost in his memories and was unable to snap out of them. As Sophia listened to this song, she couldn¡¯t help recalling the person who was by her side in the days of her youth. She and he were young and thus ignorant of the harsh reality of the world. The love between them was so young, pure, beautiful, and foolish; looking back at the old days, she found that the happiness she had back then was genuine. Richard was listening to this song as well. As he closed his eyes slightly, his mind was preupied with Sophia. His love for her was faint and innocent; it was the purest and most beautiful without any impurities. Since when did his love for her begin to change? Perhaps it started when he brought her back to the Harper Residence for the first time. She was so silly, foolish, and embarrassing back then that he couldn¡¯t hold his head high in front of his family. At that moment, he realized that they couldn¡¯t possibly be together. No matter how much he loved her, the love between them would die out as they returned to reality. Even so, his love for Sophia was genuine, and she was aware of this too. The love between them was sincere, but it was built upon their young age and ignorance, so it couldn¡¯t withstand even the slightest blow and temptation by reality. It was beautiful and fragile; only at this very moment would it asionally glisten with a trace of the past Their love back then was already gone. He could have ended their rtionship in the most amicable way, and she definitely wouldn¡¯t pester him. However, Richard ruined her in the cruelest way! Michael also recalled his old days. Many people had appeared in the wonderful years of his life, and Irene was only one of them. When he heard this song, what shed across in his mind was the scene where he ran on the sports ground when he was young. They were so innocent and happy back then. Celine hadn¡¯t ended up in the state she was in right now; Joel was still a brother of the same age as his; and Irene was still a naive little girl who could sing as beautifully as ark. As for Michael, he was just an adolescent boy with a dream of his own. They studied in a school attached to the military, so they would have a drill with the troops every morning before going to school. The good thing about the militarypound was that there were many children of the same age, so everyone always went out and had fun inrge groups. They were so naive, honest, and happy at that time. They would go camping outside the town together, during which the older kids had to look after the younger ones. Michael remembered that he and Joel were the eldest among the kids, so they had to bring many things with them and look after Stanley, Caleb, and other little brats whenever they went camping¡­ The song ended, and everyone returned to reality as the memories of their youth gradually disappeared. They seemed to find it hard to ept that the reality and their memories were struggling inly against each other like that. In the end, however, reality gained the upper hand and upied their minds. The scene was silent for a few seconds before the audience burst into apuse. Sophia pped her hands for a moment along with the crowd, but she immediately grabbed Michael¡¯s hand after that, as if she feared that he would vanish when she didn¡¯t notice. Having finished singing two songs, Irene came off the stage to leave the stage to the next guest performer. Sophia refused to speak to Michael since she was still angry. After going off the stage, Irene found a seat and sat down under everyone¡¯s gaze of wonder. The song she had sung just now was really too appealing, so many people wanted to take pictures together with her. After taking pictures together with everyone else, she subconsciously nced in Michael and Sophia¡¯s direction. It seemed to her that Sophia was still sulking, whereas Michael had a helpless expression on his face. Irene believed that Michael still had feelings for herself. Otherwise, Sophia wouldn¡¯t be at odds with him. She had plenty of opportunities. There was a dance after the banquet. The key part of Cethosian banquets was the food, but the dance was the focus of Western banquets. Since this day¡¯s banquet was a fusion of Cethosian and Western styles, both the food and the dance were the main parts of the banquet. Being sulky the whole time, Sophia refused to speak to Michael during dinner, but she still ate the food he ced on her te. They ate just a little for dinner since there would be a dance afterward. There was arger ballroom next door that was prepared specially for the banquet. The dance floor there was magnificently decorated; the stage decor there was more splendid than that of this room, and the stereo system there was nice too. ¡°Let¡¯s go and dance together.¡± Michael tugged at Sophia as she was reapplying her lipstick. Sophia was still angry right now, though. She said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m not going. Go and dance yourself if you want to.¡± Michael watched her reapplying her lipstick with a straight face. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll dance with somebody else.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t stop you if you do so,¡± responded Sophia after letting out a deep breath. Michael stared at her sulky expression with a look of admiration. What a cutedy she is; she¡¯s so adorable even she¡¯s in a sulk. How I wish I could gobble her up right now! Sophia finished applying her lipstick, only to feel shy when she saw that he was still staring at her. ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed of yourself? How could you ogle me? It¡¯ll be bad if somebody else sees you doing this!¡± Michael still stared at her without blinking his eyes. ¡°Do you want me to ogle somebody else instead of you?¡± Sophia nced at him coyly. ¡°You¡¯re annoying.¡± Somehow, the anger within her dissipated a lot after she had a tiff with him. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. The couple then walked to the room next door hand in hand to dance together. They had barely walked a few steps when Michael suddenly paused. He pulled at Sophia¡¯s hand, saying, ¡°You go there first. I saw a friend, so I¡¯ll be going to say hello to her.¡± He then let go of her hand and walked in a certain direction before she could respond. Sophia¡¯s hand fell naturally the instant Michael let go of it. Instantly feeling a void in her heart, she looked at Michael, only to see that he had picked up a ss of wine and was walking in a certain direction. There was a beautifuldy surrounded by many male guests in that direction. Thedy was also a so- called old friend whom Michael said he wanted to say hello to¡­ Chapter 588 Chapter 588 Thedy was talking to Linus in a whisper when Michael walked up to her with a wine ss in his hand and clinked sses with her cordially. Thedy turned to face him, and they started to talk and joke. Thedy was young, and the golden-yellow evening dress she was wearing made her stand out a lot among the female guests dressed in different colors, like a poinciana that bloomed proudly among the colorful flower bed. Her gorgeous beauty was so aggressive that nobody dared to look her in the eye. Her eyes still shone with the pride of a queen even when she was talking to Michael. Sophia didn¡¯t know if it was because of aparison she drew or if it was because of Michael himself, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling that he lowered himself to an obsequious degree while talking to her. Michael was undoubtedly proud, but he humbled himself in front of thisdy, for she was the one whom he had once chased after but couldn¡¯t marry in the end. ¡°She¡¯s Lucy Edwards, the eldest daughter of the Edwards Family,¡± Irene suddenly spoke behind Sophia with a note of chilling jealousy in her voice. Irene despised Sophia. She had always thought that Michael¡¯s rtionship with Sophia wouldn¡¯tst long, for she believed that what he loved about thetter was merely her youthful body and appearance. As for Lucy, Irene was absolutely jealous of her; she could only be jealous of Lucy since she knew that she was inferior to thetter. Sophia merely gave a bitterugh without responding to Irene. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Sophia had seen Lucy¡¯s name on the list of the invited guests long ago. Lucy Edwards was the eldest daughter of the Edwards Family, but she didn¡¯t belong to Faye and Joe¡¯s branch of the family. Instead, she was the eldest daughter of the main branch of the Edwards Family, which was famous in Bayside City for being one of the world¡¯s richest families. Being 26 years old this year, she held a Ph.D. degree in management science and was the Vice President of the Edwards Group. Besides being a highly intelligent top achiever, she was a well-known irondy. Being the daughter of the head of the Edwards Family¡¯s n and the Chairman of the Edwards Group, she was also her father¡¯s indispensable assistant. Being a female businesswoman whose presence was as imposing as a queen¡¯s, she got herself inducted to Bayside University¡¯s Wall of Alumni with her capabilities. She was a million times morepetent than Natasha, the idiot. After joining the Edwards Group at 15 years old to learn to manage a business, she carved out a niche of her own at 26 years old and was among the Forbes list of the world¡¯s wealthiest women. She was also Michael¡¯s ex. It was said that she was Michael¡¯s second fianc¨¦e, but her engagement to him had been nullified for all kinds of reasons. Rumor had it that the Edwards Family called off their engagement after she was involved in a car crash, but there were also rumors that the Edwards Family considered Michael unworthy of marrying her. In other words, Lucy dumped him! Out of the four most prominent families of Bayside City, the Fletchers was a military family; the Winstons ruled the underworld; the Mitchells were influential worldwide; and the Edwards Family was among the richest families of the world. Lucy wasn¡¯t as famous as Natasha simply because the former kept a low profile. Michael and Lucy began dating not long after Irene ¡®lost her memory¡¯ back then. The pair soon got engaged before breaking up shortly after that, ending their rtionship with lightning speed. Meanwhile, Lucy seemed to be amused by Michael¡¯s jokes. She pressed her lips into a smile, revealing a beautiful face, thus enabling Sophia to see her face clearly and discover that she bore a striking resemnce to Elizabeth. Michael stared at Lucy with a trace of sadness and hope in his eyes, as if he saw somebody else in her. It was as if he wished that Lucy could speak to him a little longer. Sadly, Lucy and Elizabeth had different destinies despite having the same looks. How could Michael not humble himself in front of the person who was the very image of Elizabeth, his mother? ¡°What is it? You are jealous of her, but you feel that you can do nothing, don¡¯t you?¡± Irene¡¯s frosty voice could be heard. She could still capitalize on the memories of her and Michael¡¯s tender youth, but what did Sophia have? Sophia was young and beautiful, but so was Lucy. Moreover, Lucy had a prominent family background and business management capabilities that would put most women to shame, both of which Sophia didn¡¯t have. Sophia didn¡¯t answer Irene¡¯s words. She lowered her head and gently took a sip of the red wine in her ss, only to find that it tasted bitter. Irene stood behind her as they jealously watched Michael talking happily to Lucy. Even so, Irene thought that she herself was better than Sophia. Lucy was the substitute he found for himself after losing her, whereas Sophia was another substitute he found after his engagement with Lucy fell through. As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Edwards Family¡¯s direct line of descent, Lucy¡¯s personal wealth was estimated at hundreds of billions. On the other hand, Sophia was but an illegitimate child of a bastard son who belonged to a distant branch of the Edwards Family. Therefore, she had no comparability with Lucy. Lowering her eyshes in dejection, Sophia couldn¡¯t hear distinctly what Irene said. She knew that Irene and Lucy would be present on this day, yet she humiliated herself by insisting on attending the banquet. Suddenly, her shoulder was gently pushed by someone, and Michael¡¯s voice snapped her out of her imagination. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, chica? Are you unhappy?¡± Only then did shee to her senses and notice Michael standing in front of her without her realizing it. Irene had left before she realized it, while Lucy was still talking to Linus, and Michael was standing right in front of her. ¡°Huh?¡± Only then did she snap out of her daze. ¡°Nothing! Have you finished greeting your friend?¡± Michael whispered, ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s dance together.¡± Sophia stupidly let Michael lead her into the dance floor. Lucy had noticed Sophia long ago when thetter sat on Michael¡¯sp in a sulk. She wasn¡¯t very interested in gossip about stars and celebrities, but she knew that the youngdy was Michael¡¯s wife. What an irony that he spent money and bought a young bride for himself after being unable to marry me! Lucy felt that she was insulted, for Michael substituted her with such a woman. The dance party began, and Michael held Sophia¡¯s hand and led her into the dance floor. A slow and soothing music happened to be ying, and thedies and gentlemen on the dance floor slowed down their movements. Sophia was upset the whole time while she was dancing with Michael. Without saying a word, she rested her chin on Michael¡¯s shoulder while slowly taking her steps along with the music. Michael seemed to know the reason for her silence, for he ced his hand on her back and gently patted her twice. ¡°I just went to say hello to her.¡± Lucy looked very much like Elizabeth, so he really couldn¡¯t ignore her when she stood in front of him. Michael used to resent Elizabeth for abandoning him and his sister. To him, she could live well even without Theo. Now that he had learned the truth, he was ashamed of the thoughts he once had, and the feelings in his heart became stronger when he saw Lucy¡¯s face. He knew that Lucy wasn¡¯t Elizabeth. All he wanted was to speak to Lucy so that he could imagine what it was like to speak to Elizabeth¡­ Of course, Sophia wasn¡¯t angry just because Michael had spoken to Lucy. She was just feeling inferior, for she knew that she was inferior to Lucy. Some heights were destined to be insurmountable no matter how hard one tried. So many people worked hard to earn money, yet there would always be only one person who was the richest in the world. Sophia hooked her arms around Michael¡¯s shoulders by passing her hands under his armpits and sping them on his back. Not wanting to speak for the moment, she buried her face in his embrace. Michael knew that she had been dealt a blow on this day, and the fact that her husband¡¯s ex was more outstanding than her definitely made her feel even more upset. He gently appeased her byforting her, ¡°You insisted toe¡­¡± ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Sophia responded without saying anything else. The two then danced in silence. Suddenly, Michael left to answer a phone call. When he returned, he said to Sophia, ¡°Abel has something to talk to me about, so I¡¯ll be going back first. Have fun while you¡¯re here.¡± The furrow in his brow and the anxious tone of his voice indicated that the matter seemed to be very urgent. Chapter 589 Chapter 589 As Michael left in a hurry, Sophia felt perplexed and sat next to the dance floor, staring nkly ahead. A drunk Stanley staggered over. ¡°Sophia, what happened? Where¡¯s Michael? Did he run away with some wild woman?¡± She sat there in silence. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! Want to dance?¡± Stanley pulled her hand. Sophia continued to ignore him. Then, Stanley pulled her again. ¡°Come on! Let¡¯s go and grab a bite, then!¡± Sophia shoved him roughly. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying! Go away!¡± Stanley huffed angrily, ¡°Hmph! I was just trying tofort you because Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend had insulted you, but it seems like my efforts are not being appreciated! I¡¯m angry now, and I¡¯m not going to forgive you easily!¡± Sulking, they turned their backs against each other and ignored one another. Sean rushed over to smooth things over. ¡°Stan, Sophia must be feeling frustrated. Why don¡¯t you leave her alone while we go and have some drinks over there?¡± Sean patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder lightly as he put his arm around Stanley and walked away. Sophia ordered a hot drink and drank slowly as she watched the crowd dance on the dance floor. As the crowd danced away happily, she began to calm down. She knew that being jealous was pointless; the fact was that Lucy was better than her in every way. She would continue to feel frustrated by constantlyparing herself to Lucy, and she refused to allow herself to live in jealousy forever. Meanwhile, Lucy and Linus were having such a great time talking; it almost felt like they had known each other for centuries. Lucy¡¯s first impression of Linus was so good that she thought of him as the type of man that was worthy of her. Besides, she liked men that were younger than her, for they helped to fulfil her need to dominate. While they were heading toward the dance floor, Linus was about to ask Lucy for a dance when he nced over at the lonely silhouette at a corner. He changed his mind and said apologetically, ¡°The dance floor looks quite lively tonight. You should go and enjoy yourself, Miss Edwards. I¡¯m afraid I have to go and greet the other guests now. Please forgive me for my poor hospitality.¡± Even though Lucy was disappointed, she nodded her head and watched Linus walk away. Lucy looked around the dance floor as she was curious about the identity of the guest that had Linus left her for. To her surprise, he walked toward the lonely silhouette at the corner of the dance floor. Although there were dance invitations from the other male guests, she declined them all without hesitant. Isn¡¯t that Taylor¡¯s wife? Lucy knew that Taylor had left earlier. Looks like they had an argument. The argument between Taylor and Sophia was no surprise to Lucy; it was as if she had expected it to happen. As Linus walked toward Sophia, he could sense that she was upset. ¡°Linus¡­¡± Sophia looked up at Linus as he walked toward her and murmured, her voice filled with chagrin. This was all so confusing for Sophia. Earlier, when Stanley was trying tofort her, she used anger to hide her frustration, but when it came to Linus, she was unable to do so. All of the resentment and hurt that she was feeling waspiled into that soft, choked up word¡ªLinus. Conflicted emotions were all over her face as Linus sat down next to her and asked worryingly, ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia stared at him as if she was going to say something, but she remained silent. Linus was born on the same day and year as she did, but he was able to speak to Lucy as an equal, and even had his own business empire. Sophia, on the other hand, had absolutely nothing. She was still studying and establishing her own business while still relying on her father¡¯s savings. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. An unexinable bitterness crept into her heart as she dwelled in her own thoughts. Suddenly, Linus put out his hand and muttered, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go and dance.¡± As Sophia looked at Linus¡¯ extended hand and his sincere gaze, she felt a tug in her heart. Even though she wanted to decline, she involuntarily ced her hand onto his. Linus held her hands as they walked onto the dance floor and danced to the music. Normally, Sophia would step on whoever was dancing with her, but Linus seemed to be able to predict her moves and follow her beat as they danced. While they were dancing, Linus made jokes and managed to tease augh out of her. It made Sophia feel better as time went by. At the same time in Vi No. 8, Irene had been wandering around the gate for a while. She knew that Michael had gone in, but she was hesitant about pressing the doorbell and eventually left. Michael went down to the basement and found Abel. ¡°Regarding thest two prisoners we caught, when I was dissecting one of them alive, the other one immediately confessed. From what we know, Phantom Wolf is still in Bayside City and will leave Cethos within the next two days. He doesn¡¯t know where Phantom Wolf¡¯s hideout is, nor does he know about Phantom Wolf¡®s true identity. That man is so cautious that he never even revealed his true face to his subordinates,¡± Abel reported. If Phantom Wolf manages to escape, it would be harder to catch him again. Abel continued, ¡°Phantom Wolf¡¯s sponsor has prepared a private jet and an exclusive route. I shall go and check all the private airports nearby immediately.¡± Phantom Wolf¡¯s sponsor! Michael always knew that for Phantom Wolf to be so brazen, he would need a steady supply of money to support him. His sponsor could be anyone, such as Linus¡­ After he left the basement, Michael sat in his study room and started to process the continuous amount of paperwork. Tonight was bound to be a sleepless night. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the study room door, and Nichs¡¯ voice rang. ¡°Daddy, can Ie in?¡± It was then that Michael remembered Nichs. He wanted Nathan to have somepany at home, so he didn¡¯t bring it to Linus¡¯ party tonight. But why would it suddenlye over at this time of the night? Furthermore, it was a robot, and its program didn¡¯t allow it to go into the study room, basement and other file storage ces. I¡¯ve always suspected it¡¯s a spy, and even though we¡¯ve checked its system countless times, who knows whether there¡¯s a loophole in its system? After clearing and putting away his ssified files, he replied, ¡°Come on in.¡± Nichs only came in after receiving Michael¡¯s voice ofmand. Michael caught sight of the box of kids¡¯ milk in its mechanical hand. ¡°Daddy, Nate wanted me to sneak this in for you and to not tell you that it belonged to him.¡± Oh! That little brat, Nate, finally realized that he needs to care about his cheapskate father now? Michael tore open the box of milk and took a few sips. It tasted sweeter than any other milk he had drunk before. At the same time, Nichs had already scanned the whole setting of the study room. Its initial setting was to not go into restricted areas, such as the study room, but since Michael had allowed it toe in, the study room had now been eliminated from the restricted list. Whenever Nichs entered a new environment, it would first scan its surroundings for any threats to its master, and after a few seconds, Nichs was finished with the scan. Michael¡¯s bookshelf was filled with pictures; besides his own, there were pictures of Nathan and Sophia, even pictures of Theo, Elizabeth, and Mark. Nichs scanned them one by one while it looked for matching clues in its memory bank to determine the identity of the people in the photos. If there was a conflict with a file within its memory bank, it would ask Michael for an urate answer before saving the information into its database. Nichs¡¯ program was operating so fast that within ten seconds, Nichs had already processed arge amount of information. It reached out its mechanical hand, pointed at a photo on the bookshelf, and asked, ¡°Who is that, Daddy?¡± Michael turned toward the bookshelf and took down the photo that Nichs was pointing to. He looked down at it; the man in the frame was about 13 or 14 years old, and even the yellowing photo couldn¡¯t conceal his youthful good looks. He shed the photo to Nichs¡¯ camera and replied, ¡°His name is Theo Fetcher, and he¡¯s my father. This is a picture of him when he was 13 years old.¡± Nichs rescanned the photo, processed the information of the picture, andpared it against the data from its memory bank. Then, two secondster, it asked, ¡°Daddy, why does a 14-year-old Professor rk look simr to the 13-year-old Grandpa? The resemnce rate is more than 95%; are they rtives?¡± Chapter 590 Chapter 590 ¡°Hmm?¡± Michael murmured, warning rms ringing in his head. ¡°Nichs, what did you just say?¡± Without answering, Nichs walked in front of theputer and turned toward Michael. ¡°Daddy, can I use yourputer?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Michael nodded in response. Then, Nichs¡¯ mechanical hand turned into a plug and connected to theputer¡¯s USB port. Shortly after that, a video file popped up on Michael¡¯sputer screen and began to y automatically. The video was shown from Nichs¡¯ perspective¡ªa masked Quinton was seen talking to Sophia at some stic surgery hospital. ¡°Well, I had already started stic surgery on my face since the age of 14. My nose and chin was padded; my eyelids were cut; and I filled my forehead. Essentially, my whole face has been changed. Here; this is a picture of how I looked before I had stic surgery.¡± Just then, Quinton took out his phone, flipped to his gallery, and showed the photo to Sophia. Nichs took the opportunity; it stretched its camera wider, peeked over to his side, and caught the image of Quinton before he had stic surgery. Nichs captured the image and zoomed in. After it adjusted the rity, it showed the image onto Michael¡¯sputer screen. When he saw that young dashing face, Michael felt like the blood in his body was frozen in his veins. While Nichs wasparing the photo of a young Theo against Quinton, he asked in disbelief, ¡°Daddy, why does Professor rk look exactly like Grandpa?¡± Feeling like they were running out of time, Michael stood up abruptly and gathered the people from all over the mansion and basement. Gemma and Hale were still protecting Sophia at the party, and Abel had gone out, leaving only Gary, Ben, and the rest of the lot with him. ¡°Inform everyone that Quinton rk is Phantom Wolf!¡± Michael had never thought that Quinton would be the Phantom Wolf. He was so deviously cunning that Michael had unknowingly mixed with him. Sophia had mentioned that he had undergone stic surgery at the age of 14, and she even wondered the reasons for it since he was already handsome. The answer was clear to Michael now¡ªQuinton was Phantom Wolf, and he looked exactly the same as his father, Theo! That was the reason why he had to undergo the continuous stic surgery! At that moment, Michael shivered violently, as though a frosty cold was lingering around his veins, suffocating him from inside out. Gary tried contacting Hale, but no one was answering the calls, so Michael decisively rushed toward Linus¡¯ party. The ball was still going on as the people were singing and dancing happily. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s phone was still unanswered as she was nowhere to be found. And Quinton was at the party earlier! Michael had never been this flustered. Regardless, when he rushed in and found Harry flirting with Sarah, he grabbed him roughly and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s chica? Did you see her?¡± Confused and dazed, Harry asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I just saw her dancing with Linus!¡± Michael let go of Harry and walked toward Linus, who was talking to Stanley. He charged forward, grabbed Stanley¡¯s cor, and snarled, ¡°Where¡¯s Sophia? Where did Sophia go!?¡± Stanley shrunk back in fear and pointed at the door. ¡°She and a few other ssmates had gone over to Professor rk¡¯s house¡­¡± he replied, shivering. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. They went to Quinton¡¯s house! At that moment, Michael felt as if his sanity was breaking apart as he stood there dumbfoundedly, and his mind went nk while he stared at Stanley. Upon hearing that, Gary made a phone call as he ran out. ¡°Uncle Michael? What happened¡­¡± Stanley asked tensely. He had never seen Michael like this before. But Michael was ring at Linus with bloodshot eyes, and at that moment, he looked like a vicious beast, ready to lurch forward and attack Linus. Linus calmly met Michael¡¯s gaze, but he was suspicious of thetter¡¯s intentions. Michael remained motionless as he asked coldly, ¡°Where is she?¡± Harry and Daniel rushed over as they were concerned about the situation. ¡°Bro, what¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± However, Michael was still ring at Linus. ¡°Where is Phantom Wolf?¡± he spat with gritted teeth. Linus¡¯ face was calm with a slight tinge of anger as he replied, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. Who is this Phantom Wolf?¡± Everyone was confused. What is going on? Once again, Michael glowered at Linus and grinded his teeth in anger. ¡°You¡¯re the sponsor of Phantom Wolf, also known as Quinton rk! Didn¡¯t I guess it right?¡± he sneered. Shock rippled through the crowd. Quinton rk is Phantom Wolf!? And Linus is actually the one who has been continuously providing financial support to Phantom Wolf behind the scenes!? The world had fallen into the pits of madness! Linus shrugged and nonchntly replied, ¡°I still have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Mr. Fletcher.¡± Suddenly, Gary came over with a solemn expression as he nced at the crowd and murmured, ¡°We have found the students from Bayside University, as well as Gemma and Hale¡ªall of whom were drugged by ether. They are not in danger, but Madam and Phantom Wolf¡­¡± Gary did not dare to continue speaking. Upon hearing the information, Michael felt like the whole world had gone dark. He gritted his teeth as he resisted the urge to roar. ¡°Continue tracking them,¡± he ordered. At this point, everyone had realized what was happening, and the atmosphere dropped to a freezing point. Sophia had fallen into the hands of Phantom Wolf! And Quinton was Phantom Wolf, whose aplice was Linus! Stanley turned around and ran out hurriedly to make a call. ¡°Joel, Phantom Wolf¡¯s identity has been confirmed¡ªit¡¯s Professor Quinton rk from Bayside University! You have to report this immediately; he¡¯s nning to flee Bayside City, and he has Sophia as a hostage. The traffic in the city is still quite congested, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to go very far; pay attention to unidentified flying aircrafts.¡± After Harry had sent Sarah back to West Family, he quickly dispatched his men to help locate Phantom Wolf. Ever since Phantom Wolf appeared, everyone had been walking on a razor¡¯s edge. Michael unclenched his tight fists as his pale fingers trembled uncontrobly. He stared at Linus and growled, ¡°Linus, she¡¯ll be dead if you waste more time.¡± Linus¡¯ face was expressionless. After two seconds of silence, he turned around and called out, ¡°Butler.¡± The robot butler moved in response and came over toward Linus as thettermanded, ¡°Call Phantom Wolf.¡± Instantly, the call was picked up, and Quinton¡¯s voice came through. It was no longer the warm, chirpy voice from before; instead, it was reced byplete evil madness. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± In a deep, serious tone, Linus asked, ¡°Where are you?¡± As he spoke, his eyes were filled with gloom. When Michael heard Quinton¡¯s voice, all he wanted to do was rush over and cut him up into pieces. Quinton chuckled dryly. ¡°Things were getting out of hand, so I¡¯ve decided to leave tonight.¡± As he spoke, a woman¡¯s whimper was heard from the other side. Michael exploded with rage when he heard that voice. That¡¯s Sophia¡¯s voice! Chapter 591 Chapter 591 Linus beckoned Michael to remain silent. While he was talking to Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader, Linus tapped the robot¡¯s screen lightly and said, ¡°Why are you leaving all of a sudden? Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d wait until the wounds on your face recover? The wounds on your face are not suitable for flying at such a high altitude.¡± That tone of voice seemed so natural, and it looked as though they did have a good rtionship; Linus was indeed the Phantom Wolf¡¯s sponsor! Hot, burning anger burned from inside out as Michael balled his fingers into a fist and grinded his teeth. He could even taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He looked down and saw that Linus had sent him coordinates that were constantly moving. While Linus was talking to Phantom Wolf, he gave Michael a pointed look. That was Phantom Wolf¡¯s current coordinates! This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Michael looked at Linus with aplex expression, but he had no time to spare for him. After sending the coordinates to everyone, he rushed into the car and led the rest of his men toward Phantom Wolf¡¯s location. The coordinates showed that Phantom Wolf was going on the highway at full speed. Since it waste at night and there was not much traffic, they managed to speed through without any obstacles. Their destination was clear; they were heading to Linus¡¯s private airport at the outskirts, and Linus¡¯s private jet was waiting for them. If the Phantom Wolf managed to take Sophia on that ne, he would never be able to find her ever again! In the car, Michael¡¯s phone never stopped ringing. Stanley called and said, ¡°My brother and Uncle Joel have been dispatched, Uncle Michael. The special forces are in position; once theyplete the road blockade within the next 3 minutes, thebat helicopter should be able to catch up with them in 10 minutes.¡± Michael nodded and replied, ¡°Make sure to protect the hostages.¡± Although he didn¡¯t want to alert the Fletcher Family and its troops, there was no other force with troops that could arrive at the scene as quickly as them. Then, Gary called back, ¡°We have captured Madam Curtis and have confirmed her as Tanya.¡± ¡°Lock her up.¡± Michael replied coldly. A minuteter, Harry called, ¡°That robot of yours seemed quite curious about what was going on, so I took it along with me. Its needle seems quite useful right now.¡± At Vi No. 2, everyone was still gossiping about the conflict between Michael and Linus after the storm had passed over. They were specting about what had happened between them. Meanwhile, Linus had retreated back to his study. He was distracting Phantom Wolf as he tried to hack the surveince cameras in the car. It was his own car after all, and Linus knew the car had surveince cameras in it. ¡°The wounds on my face have recovered, and that batch of super medicines have sped up my recovery processpared to a regr person.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Phantom Wolf hung up and cut off the conversation, but Linus had managed to hack into the surveince cameras on the car. On his screen, Phantom Wolf was holding his phone with one hand while tightly covering the lips of a woman using his other, blocking off her voice. Phantom Wolf released his hand on her lips as he hung up. Sophia was lying down on the backseat of the car, still wearing the same evening gown she wore to the party. Her face was covered with panic and her make up was smeared by tears; she was defenseless. Her hands were spread out on the leather seat as her body trembled all over, but she couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. She parted her lips feebly, but only soft whimpers were heard. That gunshot from Stanley had caused Phantom Wolf to lose his family heirloom, and he could no longer have any form of physical intimacy. However, it didn¡¯t matter if he needed the help of tools¡ªhe still wanted Sophia for himself! He sat on Sophia¡¯sp, leaned down, and gently brushed his fingertips against her delicate, fear-stricken face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t hurt you¡ªyou just can¡¯t move right now. However, you¡¯ll definitely experience how I¡¯m about to vite you.¡± Sophia¡¯s lips parted silently as tears poured down her face. Her chest rose and fell violently from her labored breathing. Her tongue was so numb that she could only make helpless sobbing sounds. She was going to be vited by Phantom Wolf in such a perverted way, yet she didn¡¯t even have the strength to fight back! Her fear and powerlessness turned into tears as they spilled from the corner of her eyes¡­ The medicine that Phantom Wolf had injected into Sophia rendered her powerless, but her mind was lucid and clear; every inch of her skin became unusually sensitive and every touch was amplified. Even when Phantom Wolf came close to her and breathed gently on her skin, it was enough to give Sophia goosebumps all over. Never did she expect Quinton to be Phantom Wolf. Along with a few other ssmates, she had gone to Quinton¡¯s house to give him their farewell gifts. However, everyone fainted and lost consciousness as soon as they stepped foot into the house. By the time she came to her senses, she was already here. Sophia knew that she was in a car from the asional bumps, but she had no idea where they were going or if Michael woulde in time to rescue her. She was desperate and helpless, feeling like a leaf that could be crushed at any time by a passing boat¡­ He was actually Phantom Wolf! He had always been lurking around Sophia and observing her every move; he was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike! Linus turned off the screen as he could no longer bear to watch that scene. A gush of warm heat gushed out and condensed into tears. As he turned around, the tears sshed out from his eyes. ¡°I want Phantom Wolf dead, Butler!¡± One secondter, the robot butler replied, ¡°The other party has gone beyond your range of control, Linus. Unable to execute the relevantmands.¡± The bomb ced on Phantom Wolf was Linus¡¯s protection amulet; it was also a kill switch for him. He could take Phantom Wolf¡¯s life as long as he wanted to, but they were too far apart and Linus could no longer control him right now. The news of Phantom Wolf¡¯s appearance in Bayside City spreaded like a wildfire, rming all forces in the city. Michael¡¯s men, the Winston Family, the military and Linus¡¯s men all followed the coordinates. Meanwhile, Sean also brought men from the Mitchell Family. Phantom Wolf had killed 10 men from the Mitchell Familyst time, so Sean wanted to avenge their deaths. While these vehicles drove toward the private airport outside the city, Sophia¡¯s gown had already been taken off in the car, leaving her only with a thinyer of base clothing; she waspletely useless against Phantom Wolf. She looked like a dumpling wrapped in a thinyer, utterly defenseless and powerless. Phantom Wolf was not in a hurry to devour her. Having left in a hurry earlier, he did not bring along any lubricant. If he were to go overboard this time round, it would probably be his only time having her. He wanted to slowly enjoy the process of swallowing his prey and watching her cry helplessly beneath him; it filled him with a sense of aplishment. Chapter 592 Chapter 592 Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands wandered over her silky skin as he took a whiff of the faint fragrance between her neck greedily. His tongue swirled gently around her pale, snowy shoulder as he tasted all of her sweetness. He crouched over her and exhaled his hot breath in her ear. ¡°You¡¯re mine. I was the one who saved you on Salvador Ind. You are mine, do you hear me?¡± he remarked. Then, he left teeth marks on her shoulder and imprinted his own symbol like a wild beast. As he tasted her warmth and sweetness, there was a tinge of warmth that shot straight to his heart when his cold hands ran over her silky, smooth skin. That night, the sea was cold as ice. He had escaped Abel¡¯s assination by jumping into the sea and was washed up on Salvador Ind. Hey down on the beach and looked at the scattered stars. When he realized that there were no assassinsing after him, he knew he had barely escaped death once again. Quinton didn¡¯t know what he was doing with his life. He obviously didn¡¯t like killing, yet he couldn¡¯t stop killing. Later on, it dawned upon him that it was because he was born from hatred. His biological father was Theo, the honorarybat martyr who had eliminated a Southwest drug lord. Meanwhile, his biological mother was the daughter of that drug lord; his life was destined to be extraordinary! If he could turn back time, he wished that Theo had killed Tanya along with her father back then. Just then, the murky water washed Sophia up shore. When she begged for her life like a dog on the beach, he felt as if he saw another version of himself. Weren¡¯t they all the same? Weren¡¯t they living so hard just to fight for a chance of survival? Some people were born destined to be loved by all without having to strive for anything; there would always be someone who¡¯d eventually offer the best things in this world to them. On the other hand, some people were born with the sole purpose of surviving with all means. Quinton¡ªno, Hope¡ªwas one of these people. Ever since he had been born, he was always on the run with his mother, Tanya. When she gave birth to him, she was filled with such a deep resentment that he was drenched in a sea of hatred from the moment he was born. By the time he was three years old, Tanya had already sent him to the Phantom Wolf. His mother was known as Miss Poison, and she was a brave and skilled fighter. Meanwhile, his father was Theo, the God of War. As their son, Hope had perfectly inherited all of the merits of his parents; he had his mother¡¯s determination and his father¡¯s bravery. If he had been born in the Fletcher Family, he would have be more outstanding than Michael or even as powerful as his biological father. Wouldn¡¯t it have been great if he entered the army, became a God of War, and fought in the name of justice? Unfortunately, he was born in the midst of Tanya¡¯s endless hatred toward the Fletcher Family. Phantom Wolf was intrigued by the possibility of the powerful bloodline in him and wanted to raise him as the next generation of Phantom Wolf, while Tanya only wanted to use him for revenge. Along with dozens of other gifted children, he was sent to Phantom Wolf¡¯s base. Majority of the childrens¡¯ parents were from the army and had fallen into the hands of Phantom Wolf for various reasons. There were boys and girls with different skin colors; some had been kidnapped, some had been stolen, and some were even sold by their own parents. They were from different parts of the world and spoke differentnguages, but the only thing they had inmon was that they no longer had a home. To simply survive and stay alive was already proven to be a difficult task. Initially, there were about 100 of them. They were provided with three meals and a bed to sleep in every day, but there was only enough for 50 people. In order to have a meal and a bed to sleepfortably, these children had to defeat different opponents every single day. There was nowhere to run; it was to kill or to be killed. As the years went by, countless bodies of children were sent out, and the numbers started to dwindle down. Those who survived became more skilled in the art of killing, and their innocent faces gradually became cold and cruel; they were no longer fearful of death. The conditions in their living space became increasingly strict and harsh as the food and beds were gradually decreasing. They had to maintain high alert at all times to survive, and in the end, only one was left alive out of the hundred children that were in the base. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. That child would be the heir of Phantom Wolf. After the 14-year-old Hope had killed all of hisrades and eventually became the heir of the Phantom Wolf, he was the perfect killing machine to be used against the Fletcher Family. He had thought about quitting this game of death at first, but he soon realized that there was no quitting in the rules of this game¡ªit was only death or kill¡­ He wanted to visit the Fletcher Family and look for his father, but he realized that it was toote. His hands were already stained with blood, and the Fletcher Family would never have a ce for him! He remembered that fateful day; the way Sophia looked when she begged for mercy in front of him really made her seem like a washed-up dog¡­ He saw a glimpse of his shadow in her. He was probably in a good mood and chose to save her. As she was begging for his help, she copsed at his feet and slowly lost her breath. She should have died that day, but he happened to have studied medicine. Despite outsiders only knowing him as a killer, he was also a proper medical doctor. He held her and gave her cardiac resuscitation and CPR over and over again. After a while, she eventually regained her breath and was shivering uncontrobly. He took her small frame in his arms; it was like hugging a skeleton wrapped in a thinyer of skin. The breeze from the sea was bone-chilling and they had nowhere to run to. He blocked the wind with his back and gave her the little warmth he had left with his embrace. That night as they hugged each other, they kept each other warm by clinging onto one another¡­ Back then, he brushed away her hair and swore to remember her face. She was a good-looking but withered little girl. In fact, he had already recognized her at the start of the new semester in Bayside University. She was no longer the withered little girl¡ªshe had blossomed into a beautiful white rose who was vibrant and confident. Right now, the girl beneath him was crying in such despair that he felt a tinge ofpassion and pity for her. But he was a bad man through and through, and this littlepassion was worth nothing to him; all he wanted was to have her for himself. Even though he knew that he had been castrated, she could only belong to him! This white rose could only blossom in his own palm! Her unique fragrance fascinated him. The elegant and womanly scent mixed with a hint of perfume and the smell of wine was enough to intoxicate him in her beauty. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s tears had not stopped from before and her makeup was soaked through. As he gently removed thest piece of fabric from her body, he leaned down next to her ear and said gently, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to a ce where Michael¡¯s dirty hands would never touch you. You¡¯ll only belong to me. My injuries will heal, and we will have children in the future.¡± Suddenly, he was a little tired as he fantasized about having a child¡ªhe was even looking forward to it! Quinton¡¯s hot breath blew against Sophia¡¯s earlobe as she heard his words clearly and closed her eyes in utter despair. Although the Phantom Wolf had saved her back then, did her whole life belong to him as well? Chapter 593 Chapter 593 Just as they were about to get to the main point, the chauffeur suddenly spoke up. ¡°Boss, the route up ahead has been blocked off due to the heavy fog, so all outbound vehicles have to change course.¡± Quinton¡¯s hand was on Sophia¡¯s safety shorts; he was about to pull them down, but he stiffened upon hearing the chauffeur¡¯s words. Quinton got up a few momentster to put on hisbat uniform and picked up his weapon¡ªarge caliber submachine gun. He strapped on a variety of other weapons before he pulled a gas mask over his face. Right then, Quinton dropped a coat on top of Sophia. He picked her up and helped her into it. ¡°Get out of here through the nearest exit, and keep your guard up.¡± She waspletely limp like a doll as he held her. Fully dressed for battle with that weighty gas mask on his face, he was armed to the teeth as well. Quinton gazed at Sophia, thetter being near him. She had dressed up nicely, but her pretty face was a mess right now with visible tear streaks on it. He pulled his gas mask off and kissed her deeply. He wanted to hug her, but there was a cold submachine gun between them. Quinton couldn¡¯t put down his gun, but he wanted to hug her as well. As long as we survive the night, she¡¯ll be mine forever! Quinton gently ced Sophia onto the backseat and buckled her seatbelt. The whirring of helicopter des could be heard above the car as he did so. Quinton¡¯s expression took an ugly turn, while Sophia¡¯s eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Did someone come to rescue her? A cold and emotionless male voice then red from some speakers. ¡°You have been surrounded, Quinton; resistance is futile. We¡¯d advise you to put down your weapons, stop the car, and surrender.¡± The voice seemed toe from above them; it was from the helicopter hovering up in the sky. Sophia was delighted since someone had actuallye to save her. But then, she thought of something important¡ªthe Phantom Wolf had a bomb on him. If he detonated it, everyone in the vicinity would die for certain. She could feel her own body shaking involuntarily, but she had no way of controlling it. It felt as though her body could not stop doing it. It was evident that the people surrounding them also knew about the situation of the bomb, for they still hadn¡¯t opened fire yet. The Phantom Wolf¡¯s car forged ahead. They got out of the nearest exit and made it to the highway, continuing to a vige under the cover of the night. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. They had already made their way out of Bayside City proper. All that surrounded them now were a few farming settlements and some fields. From what Sophia could see through the rearview mirror, the Phantom Wolf had many of his men and cars here. They had captured many hostages from the vige before leaving the settlement and heading to an open field outside of the city. A private airfield could be seen in the distance, while a private ne approached them. Linus¡¯s helicopter was a medium-sized passenger ne. It was a rare make, and its interior had been remodeled. Not only did it have a pool, but it also had a meeting room and other amenities as befitting of his status. The car stopped atst. Quinton carried Sophia out of the car, tying the sex toys he had brought along to experiment with around Sophia¡¯s waist. When they boarded the ne, he would finish what he had started. It was freezing. Although Sophia was wrapped in a coat, her bare feet were on the verge of being frozen. She leaned herself against the Phantom Wolf¡¯s shoulder, her arms dangling weakly downward. asionally, a hand would brush against the cold and firm surface of his bullet vest. When they got out of the car, she could hear the sound of countless people crying. It was probably the hostages. Mixed among the weeping was an elderly man, but his robust voice hurled insults. ¡°You whippersnapper, you¡¯d let me go if you have the guts to! If we were to face each other in a fight, this old man here will let you have 10 free wins out of 80 rounds!¡± It was Old Master Fletcher¡ªhe had been captured by the Phantom Wolf as well. No wonder the soldiers hadn¡¯t made a move; Mark had been taken as a hostage by the Phantom Wolf! Wait a minute¡ªMark is typically under heavy protection at the militarypound. How did he get kidnapped? Mark was tied to a wheelchair, and a huge bomb was strapped to his chest. He kept kicking as he hurled his abuse. When he noticed that the woman in Phantom Wolf¡¯s arms looked familiar, he took a closer look and recognized her. In an instant, his anger red. ¡°It¡¯s you, Sophia! You craven sc*m, why do you have her with you? If there¡¯s something you want to prove, juste at me!¡± As the Phantom Wolf passed Sophia over to another person, the door to the ne¡¯s cargo hold slowly lowered. Now, the cars and the people could be loaded onto the ne. Quinton had a cruel smile on his face as he peeled his mask off and approached Mark. He crouched down and patted the old man on the shoulder. ¡°I have to thank her for making it possible to capture you, old man. If it hadn¡¯t been for her, I wouldn¡¯t have known about your whereabouts!¡± Mark was enraged. ¡°What nonsense are you spouting? Sophia¡¯s not that kind of person!¡± Mark rarely left the militarypound; he had only followed Woody out of thepound because Woody was very insistent about seeing the ocean. That was how he ended up being captured by the Phantom Wolf by the ocean and taken hostage. ¡°Of course she¡¯s not. Even so¡­ times have changed. Speaking of modern technology, I just needed to find an opportunity to imnt a listening device under her skin without her knowledge, and I was able to find out whatever information I needed.¡± Sophia felt her entire being go cold that instant; it was as though she had been doused with cold water. When did he imnt that listening device under her own skin? Was it during that jog at night? No, the Phantom Wolf wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to that day¡ªit had to be some other time. Suddenly, a thought struck her. She recalled the exact day; Sophia had brought Nichs with her to visit Linus back then. Both Linus and Nichs had gone into the workshop while she nodded off in the living room. The Phantom Wolf had suddenly charged in, and she knew nothing after that. When she woke up, she found Michael by her side while she was on the couch in Linus¡¯s home. She thought it was an extremely realistic dream, but now, it turned out that it wasn¡¯t a dream at all¡­ It was something that actually happened in real life! Linus had mentioned before that those imnted with those micro devices would die if they didn¡¯t get medical attention in time, but the Phantom Wolf still lived. That was because he wasn¡¯t saved by just anyone; Linus was the one who had saved him. The Phantom Wolf had been in Linus¡¯s home that day, and the cutting edge listening device was something that only Linus had! Linus was the financial backer behind the Phantom Wolf! Everything had been a lie. Linus had deliberately approached Sophia and Michael in effort to be closer to the pair, and the information he obtained from the listening device was so that he and the Phantom Wolf could take down the Fletchers. Sophia closed her eyes, leaving only tears of regret and anger behind. She understood atst that everything had been a lie; all the niceness and goodness was an borate illusion. Her ignorance and naivete had brought suffering to everyone, and she had hurt Old Master Fletcher too. The door to the cargo hold was now fully lowered, and Phantom Wolf members bundled all the hostages into the ne. Meanwhile, Sophia was ced with Mark. They were the biggest draws here, which made everyone else quiet down. Soon after that, cars burst past the forest surrounding the airfield. In the blink of an eye, the airfield was completely surrounded by cars and people. Both members of the underworld and men of thew were here; there were even foreign troops present. Countless gunmen already had their guns locked onto the Phantom Wolf members. The flight systems on Linus¡¯s ne had been jammed from a distance, making it unavable for takeoff. The entire group seemed to have their wings clipped, but the Phantom Wolf still was as fearless as ever. He ced Sophia on a wheelchair and tied a bomb to her. Then, he fastened the detonator to her ankle. If it touched the ground, everyone would die. Mark was still furious as he yelled, ¡°You son of a b*tch! If you¡¯ve got a problem,e at me! I¡¯m telling you toe at me! Just you wait¡ªmy children and grandchildren will never let you see the end of it!¡± Chapter 594 Chapter 594 Quinton took a look at Mark and tilted his head. A mocking smile came onto his face as he said, ¡°Old man¡ªno, I should be calling you Grandfather instead.¡± ¡°Pfft, who¡¯s your grandfather?¡± Mark red at him. ¡°Whether you admit it or not, you are my grandfather. My biological father is your son, Theo,¡± Quinton said patiently. With his eyes focused on Quinton, the old man went rigid. He wasn¡¯t able to return to his senses for a long time. Quinton continued with a sneer. ¡°How do you think your son managed to take down that major drug trafficking family within a few months back then? In case you didn¡¯t know, they had been reigning in Southeast Asia¡¯s Golden Triangle for close to a hundred years. He married into that family, intending to take down the entire n from the inside!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± It was Mark¡¯s first time hearing about this. His eyes were widened with rage, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t move. Quinton continued to say, ¡°However, your son made a terrible mistake back then. He shouldn¡¯t have let that poor woman whom he lied to walk free, even if he felt a sense of duty! He thought the poordy was different from her father, thinking that she would turn over a new leaf and lead the life of a regr civilian. He never knew that the woman would birth his child and turn that same child into a killing machine while she happily watched his descendants kill each other¡­¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Mark was shaking in fury right now, his wizened face having turned ruddy. He recalled the Fletchers who had died at the Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands; Celine, Justin, and even the murderous Phantom Wolf himself were all his own descendants! ¡°Ugh!¡± Mark coughed up a glob of blood. In an instant, he seemed to have aged several years. Mark and Sophia had bombs bound to them. With the detonators strapped to their ankles, the explosives would go off as soon as they touched the ground. Not a single de of grass grew here; the Phantom Wolf¡¯s men held onto Sophia¡¯s ankle, making sure that the detonator was a few meters above the ground. It was as though she could fall any moment and cause the whole ce to go up in smoke. Sophia noticed that the bombs had the Michel Group¡¯s logo on them. The Michels don¡¯t just make electronics, they make military weapons too¡­ People streamed out of the cars surrounding the airfield. Joel stepped out of his vehicle, the expression on his face sharp and harsh. When he saw Mark all tied up, he gritted his teeth. The cannons were already primed and ready. Whether the ne would be able to take flight all depended on Mark, but Mark had ended up being taken hostage. Michael got out of his ck Porsche Cayenne. The ck jacket on him made it look as though he had the actual night sky draped over his shoulders. From a distance, he could see Sophia and Mark with the bombs strapped to them. Fury took over him, nearly destroying all his sense of reason. Still, he took a few deep breaths and forced himself to calm down. The foreign guards protecting Linus walked over, and the Mitchells were here as well.N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. The airfield was well andpletely surrounded. With this kind of manpower, it would be difficult for the Phantom Wolf members to escape. However, Quinton was as unfazed as ever, for he had sufficient trump cards at his disposal! The Phantom Wolf took off his mask and called out loudly to the crowd. ¡°I know you¡¯re here, Linus. You¡¯re the one who jammed the ne¡¯s systems.¡± Linus didn¡¯t dare to make a false move. He could make the Phantom Wolf drop dead with the press of a button, but he didn¡¯t dare to gamble on Sophia¡¯s life. He moved toward Michael. Michael was already standing next to Joel, ready to fight side by side. It felt as though they had returned to those times when they were in the Special Operations Squadron. Even though they had always been competitive and tried to outrank one another, they miraculously fell into step with each other when they had to fight against a mutual enemy. ¡°Do you have any ns?¡± Joel¡¯s voice was even, but he was panicking on the inside. ¡°Let¡¯s negotiate first,¡± Michael replied coldly. They couldn¡¯t kill the Phantom Wolf. Everyone here would be done for the minute he died, never mind the hostages. Despite that, they couldn¡¯t let the Phantom Wolf go either, because it would be difficult to capture him if he escaped. Sean rushed over. ¡°They took our patriarch as well!¡± he said anxiously. The Phantom Wolf probably thought that Woody wasn¡¯t enough incentive for them, for he simply instructed his members to bundle Woody and the other hostages into the ne. The moment Linus unjammed the ne¡¯s systems, they would be able to escape without a trace along with the hostages. Linus walked over. An unfriendly light gleamed in Joel and Michael¡¯s eyes when they caught sight of him. Obviously, they hadn¡¯t forgotten the reason why the Phantom Wolf was able to capture Mark and Sophia in the first ce. ¡°I¡¯ve already neutralized the bomb in his body permanently. It won¡¯t pose a threat to you anymore.¡± The moment Linus said that, everyone understood instantly that he was the one who had nted the bomb inside the Phantom Wolf¡¯s body. Now that they hade to this critical point, they didn¡¯t care that much about that. They had to find a way to rescue the hostages! Everyone put their heads together and began to discuss different strategies. Quinton paced on the spot like he was a patient but ferocious beast. He said once again, ¡°Do you hear me, Linus? Get the ne started!¡± Right then, there was a sound of a gunshot; one of the hostages had been shot in the leg. He cried out loud as he cradled his leg from where he was on the ne. After that gunshot, the previously silent airfield was filled with that person¡¯s horrific screams. The air was even more tense now as sweat beaded Joel and Michael¡¯s foreheads. They had no time left; all they could do now was to secure Quinton. ¡°My ne has its own automatic anti-theft system. If your men attempt to start the engines without my say-so and trigger the anti-theft system, the rest of the ne¡¯s systems will automatically lock down. I will have to lift it manually,¡± Linus called out. Quinton had a pistol in his hand as he pointed toward the ne. ¡°In that case, go up there and do it.¡± Linus didn¡¯t speak. He took a nce at Michael before he lifted his arms high into the air and slowly walked toward Quinton. He had no weapons on him. Sophia watched as Linus made his way over alone. She slumped weakly against her wheelchair, tears flowing from her eyes. Linus didn¡¯t dare to look at her. Quinton¡¯s men had a gun to his waist as they shoved him toward the ne. Linus stepped closer and closer to the ne¡¯s cargo hold. With his back to the others, and he finally entered the hold. The cargo hold was filled with vehicles belonging to the Phantom Wolf. There were over a dozen men here guarding eight hostages. There was a mix of elderly and young, male and female among the hostages. From the looks of it, they were vigers from the settlements nearby. They were all still wearing their pajamas, and a silly old man smiled stupidly at him. ¡°Coope here, boy. Come to me.¡± Linus never stopped once. He walked to the passenger cabin from the cargo hold before making his way to the cockpit. He saw two pilots already sitting there, but they were unable to do anything about the locked systems. Linus was pressed into the pilot¡¯s seat. Soon, he began to lift the anti-theft system. Everyone watched as Linus stepped into the ne, feeling a myriad of emotions that instant. Regardless of Linus¡¯s motives, he had walked into danger on his own ord. As this went on, the Phantom Wolf members got on the ne and drove their cars into the hold. Michael and Joel approached Quinton while he stood there and weed them. The three of them stood where they were. It was the first time these three Fletchers, all with different backgrounds, faced each other head-on. Their fathers were all part of the Fletcher Family. One had been born directly into the family and was a proper Fletcher through and through; one of them yearned to be epted by the Fletchers but was constantly rejected by them; and another never even got the chance to be epted by the Fletcher Family. Chapter 595 Chapter 595 Joel stared at the Phantom Wolf coldly. It was also his first time hearing that the Phantom Wolf was Theo¡¯s descendant, but Joel was still as calm as ever. ¡°Release the hostages, and I will guarantee that you¡¯ll have a safe passage out of the country.¡± Quinton tilted his head as he gazed back at Joel. A cold light emanated from his dark eyes, seeming as though he was a venomous snake. ¡°My apologies, dear brothers; it¡¯s a pity that we have to meet under such circumstances.¡± The Phantom Wolf gave a polite bow to them. ¡°My birth father is Theo, while my biological mother is Tanya. I was initially born as Hope, but I changed my name to Quinton after my mother remarried.¡± Michael pointed somewhere, and Hale brought Tanya over with a gun held to her head. ¡°Your mother is with me. I want to exchange her for one of the hostages.¡± Even though Michael would love nothing better than to kill Tanya with his own hands to avenge his mother, Tanya was the only hostage he had. Quinton took a look at the woman in Hale¡¯s hold and waved at her from a distance. Tanya¡¯s face was nk. One had to wonder if it was because her facial nerves had been damaged from all the excessive stic surgery, or if she simply didn¡¯t care. After greeting her, Quinton said to the two men, ¡°Do as you wish with her. I have no love for her anyway.¡± He was just three years old when Tanya sent him to the Phantom Wolf¡¯s organization. At the age of 14, he crawled out of there to see her for the first time in years, but she sent him for stic surgery because he looked too much like Theo. It was well within Michael¡¯s expectations that Quinton had very little connection to his biological mother. He took a few steps forward and said, ¡°Since you don¡¯t want your birth mother, I¡¯ll offer myself up in exchange for two hostages. I am a celebrity, and I am known all over the world. You¡¯ll have more sway if you have me instead, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Sophia¡¯s heart was lurching, her tears continuing to fall as she screamed internally. No, don¡¯t do this! Please don¡¯t! She would rather stay in the Phantom Wolf¡¯s clutches if it meant that Michael would not offer himself in exchange. Negotiations had hit a critical turn, but both parties knew that they were just buying time; the Phantom Wolf was waiting for Linus to fix the ne, while Joel and Michael were waiting for a chance to strike. Apart from Mark and Sophia, all the other hostages had been moved onto the ne. Most of the Phantom Wolf members had boarded the ne as well, leaving only a few people out on the airfield itself. Everyone had their eyes on the two Fletchers and the Phantom Wolf. The gunmen remained at their positions outside, but no one noticed that some strange thing had slithered in. Michael was still negotiating with the Phantom Wolf as he said, ¡°You took my sister in hopes of molding her into the perfect killing machine. It¡¯s a pity that she isn¡¯t able to match your expectations. You can take me to see for yourself.¡± Mark was so frustrated that he yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything rash, Mikey! I¡¯ve already lived a fulfilling life at a hundred, but you still have many years ahead of you!¡± Sophia wanted to call out to Michael and advise him as well, but her tongue was numb. She couldn¡¯t make a sound. All of a sudden, she felt something jab into her arms dangling weakly by her sides. That jab had a massive effect on her. In just a few seconds, her body felt as though a fire had just zed through it; Sophia¡¯s mind soon let her know about her control over her limbs. She wiggled them discreetly, and a sense of joy surged up in her. She could move again! She didn¡¯t alert the Phantom Wolf of this. Sophia sneakily moved her eyes to survey her surroundings; she was figuring out a way to stay alive and rescue Mark while saving herself in the process. However, her survey yielded nothing. She had no idea why she was able to move either. The Phantom Wolf currently had his back to her. Some of his subordinates had formed a circle, keeping an eye on the hostages warily. Two of them had their eyes on Sophia and Mark, keeping their hands on the detonator. If these two died and the detonators fell to the ground, no one else would be getting out alive. The light here was weak, and the member with Sophia¡¯s detonator had his back to her as he gripped her foot. Hisrge, hulking frame blocked off the dim yellow of the evening sun. Sophia was engulfed with darkness while everyone¡¯s attention was on the Phantom Wolf and the two Fletchers. No one else was looking at her, nor did anyone notice the cold vapor that was spreading from the bomb strapped to Sophia. Sophia fell into extreme nervousness; she watched as the cold vapor soon enveloped the bomb and felt her chest go cold. Despite the thick coat separating her bare skin from her vapor, the chill still got to her. A barely audible voice suddenly spoke up from inside the bomb. ¡°The low temperature is destroying the bomb¡¯s internals¡­¡± As this went on, a tiny mechanical arm silently reached out and gently snipped the wires on the bomb under the cover of the night. The soft sound of those wires snapping sounded horribly loud in Sophia¡¯s mind. She felt her scalp crawl at that, and she didn¡¯t dare to breathe as her eyes widened. Atst, she could see what it was¡ª¡ªit was a robot! Linus had mentioned before that the Michels were researching some type of material for military use that could be truly invisible. He never mentioned the specifics, but the material could confuse human eyes and radars by repeatedly reflecting the environment around it, thus achieving true invisibility. However, that material hadn¡¯t been fully developed yet and was still under testing. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. There was no mistake about it; the robot in front of her eyes was made with that material. It silently neared her, mimicking its surroundings and confusing her eyes by reflecting the actual environment back. Since no one was actually watching Sophia, no one caught sight of this. To top it off, the light here was dim. Her arm suddenly brushed against something. She seized this opportunity to grab it and picked up a cold, sharp object. Linus finally lifted the locks on the ne¡¯s systems and walked out of the cargo hold. A Phantom Wolf member followed from behind with a gun pressed to Linus¡¯s lower back. As the ne revved up sessfully, the roar of its engines could be heard even from a distance. ¡°It¡¯s running now. You can leave whenever you want,¡± said Linus. Quinton smiled and said to Michael, ¡°Your offer is very enticing, but I have no interest in you.¡± He took another look at Michael¡¯s unsightly expression andughed sinisterly. ¡°Your wife¡¯s the only one I¡¯m interested in.¡± Michael gritted his teeth as he watched Quinton approach Sophia with a gun in his hand. They were about to watch Sophia and Mark be taken away with no means of stopping it. Linus suddenly said, ¡°I forgot to mention this, but you¡¯ve got too much cargo. My ne is only a medium- sized one; there¡¯s no way it can carry that many personnel and cars.¡± Quinton took a look. Linus was right; the ne¡¯s cargo limit had been exceeded. There was no way for it to fly. The food and weapons couldn¡¯t be disposed of, so he removed some of the cars instead. Nheless, it was still too heavy to fly. He then ordered for all the other hostages to be booted out, and those hostages immediately scrambled away. After all, none of them were as useful as Sophia or Mark. Woody followed the rest of the hostages, but heughed when he saw Linus. ¡°Coop¡­ Oh, there are two Coops¡­¡± Now that the Phantom Wolf had removed much of the original cargo, the ne could finally take off. He gave another warning to Michael and Joel as he made his retreat. As the airne roared, it could take to the skies at any time. Michael and Joel could only watch as Sophia and Mark were about to be taken away on the ne. Chapter 596 Chapter 596 Mark kept ranting and raving while Sophia slumped in her wheelchair, motionless and silent. Michael abruptly chased after them. While the Phantom Wolf members were all looking at him, Sophia suddenly whipped up from her slumped position in the wheelchair and flung a shiny item at one of the Phantom Wolf members. It quickly flew past his neck, leaving a long, red gash on it. By the time the pain hit him, he had already fallen to his knees weakly, his neck having been sliced open by Sophia. That member had been holding Sophia¡¯s detonator when she suddenly leaped up nimbly and killed him despite being paralyzed. Now that he was dead, the detonator fell to the ground. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Everyone instinctively braced their heads for cover. They had only one thought in mind¡ª¡ªthat they were all about to die! However, the explosion they were expecting never came. Sophia struggled and hurled the dagger that she had somehow managed to conjure out of thin air at the member that was guarding Mark. The de sunk into the man¡¯s chest. He reflexively reached up to touch it. Having lost his grip on the detonator, it began to fall to the ground. Sophia charged over to grab the detonator and shoved it into Mark¡¯s hands. She then kicked Mark¡¯s wheelchair, sending it careening into the distance. Everything was over in a blink of an eye. By the time everyone realized that the bomb hadn¡¯t blown up, two Phantom Wolf members were already down, and Mark had been sent far away from his initial position. Sophia still had her leg raised from when she kicked the wheelchair. Joel rushed over and immediately caught hold of Mark¡¯s wheelchair, and the bomb experts nearby quickly swarmed over to defuse the bomb. Meanwhile, Michael hurried over to Sophia. Sophia¡¯s head was empty. Her mind kept buzzing as she stared at Mark, who seemed to be yelling about something after she had kicked him away. Michael was shouting as well as he charged over. She reached out for Michael, but right that moment, a suffocating force pressed itself into her neck. Her legs suddenly left the ground; Quinton had her in his clutches. Quinton didn¡¯t waste his breath as he dragged her back into the cargo hold, to which the door was already closing. The ne was ready for takeoff and was already taxiing while slowly gaining speed. Michael immediately chased after them, but the door to the cargo hold was gradually being pulled up as he neared the ne. Linus didn¡¯t manage to chase after them. Instead, he turned his head to watch the bomb experts defuse the bomb strapped to Mark. He then looked at the ne that he couldn¡¯t possibly catch up to before turning around to help defuse the bomb. Hispany was the one that manufactured that bomb, so he knew how to safely defuse it. The ne had already sped up and would be leaving the ground anytime soon. Miraculously, Michael had caught up to the Phantom Wolf in the cargo hold, having managed to get in before the door could close. The Phantom Wolf shoved Sophia away and whipped out his pistol, but Michael quickly grabbed at his wrist and the two ended up wrestling each other. The ne suddenly shook, causing everyone to fall. The members sent as backup toppled over as one before they reflexively looked for a ce to steady themselves and aimed at Michael in an attempt to help the Phantom Wolf. However, both of them were balled up together like a meatball, so the others didn¡¯t dare to shoot recklessly. As they battled, Michael whipped the helmet off the Phantom Wolf¡¯s head. Sophia came rushing over from behind, brandishing a long, thick weapon in hand and smashed it hard onto the Phantom Wolf¡¯s skull. A loud smack rang out. Although the Phantom Wolf had his strength and reflexes boosted by various serums, his head was just like any other ordinary person¡¯s no matter how much extra help he got from being altered. After he was struck brutally on the head, his body stiffened. He turned back to see Sophia with a 20-centimeter metal dildo in hand. She then leaped up and struck him in the head again with the dildo, stunning himpletely. Michael took this opportunity to kick the Phantom Wolf from behind, sending him deeper into the ne. With that, Michael quickly grabbed Sophia and rolled out of it. As soon as they escaped the ne, the door to the cargo hold closedpletely. The ne soon reached the speed needed for takeoff and left the ground, slowly taking to the skies. Michael still held onto Sophia as they rolled out into the air. Considering the speed of the ne, he knew that they might not live through this. He tightened his hold on Sophia, hoping that his body would act as a meat shield for her. If only one of us can live¡­ In that short moment of time, Sophia forgot about everything. She couldn¡¯t recall anything¡ªnot the Phantom Wolf, not Linus, not anyone. All she could think about was Michael. She held onto him tightly; even if they were going to die, she wanted to die together with him! There was only a single moment left now. Michael fell to the ground with Sophia still in his embrace, but it didn¡¯t hurt like he thought it would. He was the first one tond; even if he died, she must live. The ground seemed to be soft and as fluffy as cotton. He crashed onto the surface, sinking into the ground before springing away from the rebound. The two of them whirled through the air before falling to the ground again. This time, it hurt¡­ Michael opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on the grassywn of the airfield. His limbs were intact, and Sophia was still clinging tightly to him, shrinking into his hold from fear. The ne was already up in the sky when Joel, Linus, and the rest of the troops on the ground came rushing over. In the distance, Michael caught sight of the jumping cushion which had been set up. They had fallen onto that cushion earlier and bounced off of it before falling to the ground a second time. Miraculously, they managed to spare their lives. He lifted his head to see the jumping cushion being deted, and it took some time before it could be put away. A figure then approached them from the darkness. As the figure neared them, its silhouette became clearer; by the time the figure came to a stop, they could see that it was Nichs. ¡°I want a pat on the head, Dad.¡± It finally hit Sophia¡ªthe invisible robot earlier was actually Nichs! Nichs had been altered that day and was capable of turning into any color. Sophia simply thought that Nichs looked good, but she didn¡¯t realize that this was the high-tech invisibility material Linus was talking about. In fact, it was the kind that could automatically change to any color. She ended up crying in happiness. Wrapping her arms around Michael, she was unable to stop herself from bursting into loud sobs. There had been several times earlier when she thought she was about to die. Michael pulled Sophia in close; he never thought that it would feel so sweet to be alive. Being alive was better than anything else. Linus had already defused the bomb as quickly as he could. Mark had now recovered somewhat from that moment of anger when he coughed up some blood. As he lowered his head, he saw this strange man. Blond hair and blue eyes¡­ Still, Mark found this man quite familiar. He felt this inexplicable sense of familiarity with him. ¡°Coop, Coop!¡± Woody suddenly came hurtling over, grabbing onto Linus while asking him, ¡°Are you cold, Coop? Why didn¡¯t youe back to visit your dad?¡± Linus lifted his head to look at the old man before him. ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong guy. I¡¯m not your Coop,¡± he said softly. Woody had thought that he was Cooper. As soon as Linus denied it, Woody¡¯s face fell. Sean quickly led him away to see Sophia. ¡°Hey, you¡¯ve got the wrong man. That¡¯s not Uncle Cooper; he¡¯s over there.¡± Woody kept turning his head back to look at Linus while mumbling, ¡°Coop¡­ Coop¡­¡± Chapter 597 Chapter 597 Hale and Abel had already rushed over to lift Sophia and Michael onto some stretchers. While they managed to live through their ordeal, they had sustained multiple fractures of differing severity. Woody saw Sophia on the stretcher and reached out to grab her hand. ¡°How are you, Coop?¡± he asked in concern. It was only then did Sophia notice her throbbing aches and pain. She didn¡¯t know which bones were fractured, so she merely chuckled in pain and answered, ¡°I¡¯m okay, Dad. I simply had a fall.¡± Joel nced at Michael as thetter was being carried away. The two of them met each other¡¯s gazes, but they didn¡¯t speak; they didn¡¯t have anything to talk about either. Meanwhile, Sean followed after the both of them while helping Woody to keep up. Nichs trotted by their side obediently. Now that the bomb on Mark¡¯s body had been taken down, Stanley helped the old man to stand up. When he saw Sophia and Michael being carried over, Mark was shocked yet ecstatic; he thought that he was about to bury a child. ¡°Grandpa¡­¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but choke when she saw Old Master Fletcher. Mark gazed at her before shifting his eyes over to Michael. ¡°As long as you¡¯re alive,¡± he said. He couldn¡¯t help but tear up when he looked at Michael. He thought about Michael¡¯s father Theo, the son who¡¯d lost his life at a young age. Who would have thought that the Phantom Wolf was actually Theo¡¯s son¡­ Linus took a few steps back. As he watched everyone bonding with each other, he became hyper-aware of his status as an outsider. Since all of this started because of him, he felt that he should take his leave now that everything was settled. ¡°Mr. Michel,¡± said Joel as he called out to Linus in a chilly voice. Linus stopped in his tracks and looked at him. Joel looked at the ne that was about to vanish into the horizon. ¡°Once the ne is away from high- density areas, detonate the bomb in his body.¡± He was being truthful. When Joel heard this, he merely chuckled. Linus wondered whether he believed him or not. ¡°In that case, it seems like we won¡¯t be able to salvage your ne.¡± Having said that, Joel turned sharply and walked away. His subordinates began to clean up the ce. The darkness of night hade to an end, and light began to break out from the edge of the sky. Joel¡¯s men cleaned up the airfield, carting away the Phantom Wolf members¡¯ corpses as well as a broken dildo. Although it was awkward and rather inappropriate, that thing still had the Phantom Wolf¡¯s blood sttered all over from when it hit his skull, so it was ssified as important evidence and stowed away carefully. Joel gave his orders through a walkie talkie. ¡°The missiles are ready to fire; the target has been locked on. Do we fire the missiles?¡± Joel looked at the vanishing ne and answered, ¡°Fire.¡± Everyone raised their heads and looked at the sky. A stream of light that resembled aet streak appeared in the sky, heading toward the ne that was disappearing into the horizon. A momentter, the missile hit its target, and a blinding light lit up the entire nation; the ne had exploded. With a loud bang, the notorious head of the infamous international terrorist organization, Phantom Wolf, died after his body was blown apart. Everyone had a strange expression as they watched that blinding light. Sophiaid on her stretcher as she looked at the light in the sky. Perhaps it was because of how blindingly bright it was, but tears rolled down her face when she shut her eyes, slowly disappearing into her hair. She and Michael were then carried into a vehicle and sent to a military hospital along with Mark, who had angrily spat out a mouthful of blood earlier. After Linus¡¯s ne was blown up, the wreckage fell into a mountainous forest that hardly anyone frequented. The recovery efforts were a huge undertaking, and the explosion had caused a huge stir among the citizens as the recovery went on. The next day, a plethora of videos and lies were spread all over the Inte. The military quickly held a press conference to exin the situation. ording to their official statement, the notorious terrorist organization Phantom Wolf had barged into Quinton¡¯s home, who was a Bayside University lecturer. They made off with the man himself and a student before capturing several vigers. While they were escaping via ne, the ne was struck down by a missile. All members of Phantom Wolf died on the spot, while the hostages were freed. Quinton had died from being shot by the Phantom Wolf members while he was protecting his student. Meanwhile, Joel was orded medals of honor. Three days after the fiasco, Sophia still remained in the military hospital. She was currently watching the news; Joel¡¯s ceremony was currently being aired. She and Michael were warded in the same room. He had cracked his ribs, while she had several leg fractures. Michael was in the middle of a phone call with Maria. ¡°Mr. Michel¡¯s belongings have been returned, Nichs included. The Young Master cried very hard at that.¡± Michael didn¡¯t even need Maria to tell him that; he could clearly hear the earth-shattering sobs in the background of the call. Nichs was a godsend. If it hadn¡¯t been for the robot, he and Sophia probably wouldn¡¯t have made it. Still, Nichs had no ability to directly aid or harm people; he was just a mere robot. However, once trust had been lost, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to gain it back. Linus had admitted it himself; even though he did not intend to harm Sophia, he had imnted microscopic listening devices in Sophia and Nathan¡¯s bodies. That was the reason why the Phantom Wolf had been able to track down Old Master Fletcher. Despite cooperating with Michael to save Sophia and Mark in the end, he didn¡¯t dare to leave those things alone. ¡°Send him over,¡± instructed Michael to Maria. After ending the call, he got up and headed outside. He wanted to be discharged, but Old Master Fletcher forbade him from leaving; he had to stay there for a few more days. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Old Master Fletcher had sustained some minor injuries too, so he was resting in a room next to them. Michael would visit him every day. Nathan was sent over that afternoon. He was still sniffling and sobbing when he came into the ward. Without even greeting Michael when he saw him, Nathan rushed over to Sophia¡¯s bed and leaped into her arms. Sophia cooed at him. ¡°Alright, good boy. Nichs belongs to Uncle Linus. He will have to go with him. Rx, I¡¯ll definitely make you a new robot in the future.¡± Nathan still sobbed hard. He recalled the day when that strange man upgraded Nichs again. Linus said, ¡°I¡¯ve given Nichs an upgrade, Nate. He¡¯ll protect you and your parents from now on. You¡¯ll have to take care of him like he¡¯s your family. You can¡¯t lose him, alright?¡± What was the reason? Nichs had been such a good robot; he even protected his parents. Why was Nichs being sent away? Nathan had been so upset that he didn¡¯t speak to Michael for days, nor did Michael speak to him. Two surprise guests came to visit Mark on that same day. Filled with disbelief, Mark stared at Celine as she stood before him. ¡°Celie! Haha! My dear Celie¡¯s back atst!¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± Celine¡¯s eyes were teary as she rushed over to hug him. Both grandfather and granddaughter never thought that they would see each other again, crying their hearts out as they held each other. Mark took a look at Justin, who was standing off to the side. The old man was so emotional that he could barely speak. ¡°You¡¯re back¡­ You¡¯re all back¡­ This is great! Nathan has his parents again¡­¡± Mark held Celine and Justin¡¯s hands as he shifted his gaze between them. His emotions made him tear up again. The other Fletchers present couldn¡¯t help but shed a tear at this. Nathan shyly ducked behind Sophia, his eyes wide as he curiously took in the woman who resembled Michael, as well as the man with the mask. Chapter 598 Chapter 598 Abel had his mask on the entire time¡ªhis appearance was extremely shocking and he didn¡¯t want to scare his son off. Meanwhile, Celine¡¯s mental state showed great improvement throughout her recovery and Abel was finally able to let go of the burden that had weighed upon his shoulders for years now that Phantom Wolf¡¯s leader was dead. Their family could finally reunite. When Celine finally got to see her son, she waved toward Nathan happily as she cried, ¡°Nathan, my darling¡­¡± Nathan looked around before his gazended on her. He seemed a little confused at first, but once a sense of realization struck him, he clumsily scurried over to the woman and shouted, ¡°Mommy!¡± Everyone felt tears welling up in their eyes when they heard Nathan¡¯s single cry for ¡®Mommy¡¯. Celine was practically drowning in her own tears as she hugged her son tightly. It felt like she just fell asleep and had a long nightmare. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. However, her son was a mere tiny creature that she swaddled and fed milk to before she fell asleep; once the nightmare ended and everything got better, she woke up to see that her own son had grown a lot older. Nathan looked up with his glistening eyes fixated on Justin, who stood quietly beside him. The young boy finally said, ¡°Daddy!¡± Celine could tell from the way the child called out for his father¡ªthis step dad had done everything he could for his son. Justin¡¯s arms were filled with cuts and bruises as he reached out to pat the young boy¡¯s head. He eventually fell onto his knees as he pulled his wife into an embrace. I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for so, so long¡­ Nathan beamed happily as he watched this. Turning around to see Sophia and Michael¡¯s rather dejected faces, he quickly shouted, ¡°Uncle! Aunt!¡± Sophia turned away from the child as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, while Michael reached out to ruffle the young boy¡¯s hair. This was the first time the both of them had spoken to each other since he sent Nichs away. Mark looked around at his houseful of children and grandchildren¡ªJoel, Stanley, Caleb, ude, Michael, Nathan, Justin, Sophia and the rest. Regardless if they were his biological descendants or simply people who got married into the family, all of them were like his own children to him. His heart was filled with pride and satisfaction! ¡­ Michael rushed off after staying for a few days. He had a lot of matters to deal with¡ªone of them being to meet up with Tanya. He hadn¡¯t been able to recognize her when he first saw her; from the color of her skin tone to the features on her face, she hadpletely changed her appearance. By then, Tanya had been locked up in the basement of his house for days. Michael sat himself down and red at her, the two of them separated by ayer of bullet-proof ss. His eyes were filled with pure hatred as he stared at the woman who had forced his mother to her death. Having undergone excessive stic surgery, Tanya had to take medications every day to ensure that her face did not turn red or swollen. However, her face waspletely bloated at the moment, making her look like a monster more than ever. When she saw Michael, she gave him a sneer as she raised her eyebrows and grinned smugly. ¡°Are you trying to get revenge for that dumb woman, Elizabeth? Hah. Let me tell you this¡ªI¡¯m the winner here! I¡¯m thest person standing! The one that Theo actually loves is me! I heard it with my own ears back then; he said that his love for Elizabeth wasn¡¯t real as he found it impossible to love someone who had shot pornographic flicks. However, he had no choice because that evil woman tried her best to get him in bed and became pregnant with the two of you so that she could force him to take responsibility for her life. He had no choice! Theo was the one who set me free previously; we even agreed that he¡¯d help to change my identity. That way, I could go back to him once everything had calmed down a little. We were even supposed to get married; that just shows how worthless you and your sister are to him! You guys don¡¯t understand how much Theo loves me! Michael gazed at her emotionlessly as she went on and on with her speech like a madwoman. Poisonous gas was gradually being released into the single, ss-covered room that she was in¡ªTanya was going to die in less than 20 minutes. Being caught up in her own delusion, the woman continued to ramble on crazily. Michael gave her a cold re; he insisted on remaining silent as he attempted to use his disdainful gaze to tear down her veryst bit of stubborn pride. His calm and cool expression was the greatest way to taunt her. In reality, Tanya was the only one who knew how pitiful of a person she was. After all, how could she lie to anyone else if she couldn¡¯t even lie to herself? Theo never loved her. Never! Back then, Theo had adopted the identity of a merchant selling tobo; he was visiting the Golden Triangle to purchase his goods when she first met him. Immediately falling in love with his charismatic looks, Tanya brought him home and forced him to get married to her. However, he told her that he had a wife and children. He was very much in love with his wife and was only there for business, so he¡¯d never love her. However, the innocent and young Tanya thought that her beauty and power would be able to change his mind; in just a matter of time, he would abandon the wife he had at home. Wanting to make them seem like a married couple, she locked him in her castle and tried various methods to get him in bed with her. However, no one expected that the frail, gentle looking man was actually Theo! He was Theo, the bloody warrior that left all of the other drug dealers trembling in fear whenever they heard his name! Tanya watched him murder her entire family in cold blood. Furthermore, he could still gaze at her heartlessly¡ªwithout a hint of pity or concern in his eyes¡ªafter annihting her entire household. That was when she knew that he¡¯d never fall in love with her! Never! It had been her own one-sided desires all along; he didn¡¯t even bother to fake his interest for her as he simply stayed around to gather intelligence from her family! After getting badly injured, she had to crawl out from under a pile of dead bodies before she was finally saved by her father and her partner, Phantom Wolf. It was only then did she find out about her own pregnancy while getting her injuries treated. She didn¡¯t hesitate to give birth to Theo¡¯s son; she wanted to see their future generations waging war against one another. In fact, she wanted Theo to be troubled both in life and after death! ¡°Haha! I¡¯m the winner! I¡¯m the winner!¡± Tanya took in huge gasps of poisonous air as sheughed. After a while, she leaned against the ss wall before gradually slumping down onto the ground. She began to cry as she hugged her legs to her chest. Bits and parts of her stic face were sticking out in odd angles beneath her twisted skin as she sobbed and wailed helplessly. She had met Elizabeth once; the woman was extremely pretty and Tanya knew that she was no match for her. Throughout the years, she had been doing stic surgery just to make herself look like someone that Theo would like, but what use was it? ¡°I¡¯ve said this before¡ªI¡¯d clean all the blood off my hands and be a regr couple with you once we get married, but why¡­ You¡¯re so cruel, Theo. I named our son Hope Fletcher in hopes that you¡¯d nce at me for just a little longer someday¡­¡± Tanya¡¯s voice was gradually trailing off as she eventually crossed to the other side with all the resentment and helplessness within her. She knew that Theo wouldn¡¯t be interested in her even on the other side¡­ Michael simply stared at Tanya¡¯s dead body as he zoned out after watching her die a gradual death. Elizabeth didn¡¯t end her life because she was dumb; how could she have died just because Tanya told her to? She was only willing to leave because she no longer had any reason to stay alive. Theo was dead, and she knew that the best arrangement for Michael and his sister would be for them to live with the Fletcher Family. Once the siblings settled down with the Fletchers, she knew that there was nothing else she needed to do in her life. Theo had killed a lot of people, so Elizabeth thought that her own death might be able to better the lives of her own children. After all, she was a Buddhist who believed in karma. She wanted to take in all of the bad karma of her family, and she hoped that her own death would be able to relieve the hatred Tanya felt toward them; it¡¯d allow for her children to grow up safely. Clearly, things didn¡¯t work out the way she wanted it to¡­ After a long while, Michael stood up and turned toward Gemma. ¡°Burn the body and send the ashes to the rks.¡± Chapter 599 Chapter 599 Michael had done his research beforehand¡ªTanya remarried to the head of the rk Family and assumed the identity of an expat who had just returned to the country. Quinton had been 16 years old when that happened. The rks didn¡¯t know about the rtionship between the two of them, and Hope changed his name to Quinton, turning himself into a son of the rk Family after Tanya married the family head. Until today, the rks were still unaware of Tanya and Quinton¡¯s actual identities. When the two of them disappeared together, the rks assumed that they had been kidnapped by Phantom Wolf. Yet, they received only a single urn of ashes when two people had gone missing. Quinton¡¯s funeral was hosted on a warm, sunny day in the middle of spring. A good number of students and lecturers from Bayside University attended the funeral. In their eyes, Quinton was nothing more than a typical man and an outstanding teacher; he was a noble soldier who had sacrificed himself for the sake of his own students. Thest status he had posted on his social media was: ¡®The world is huge; I just want to step out and take a look.¡¯ He wanted to travel the world, yet he decided to settle as a supporting teacher in the mountains. He once said, ¡°Humans are the highest form of animals; we often seek for greater pleasures once our stomachs are full. Some of us crave for physical pleasures while others seek for spiritual awakenings; to each its own dream.¡± For the sake of saving his own student, Quinton volunteered to be held hostage and eventually sacrificed his own life. Naturally, Jackson mourned the death of his stepson whom he had treated like his own child. ¡°Although Quinton isn¡¯t my own child, I¡¯ve always treated him as mine. He once told me to make sure that his funeral was done on a sunny day if he passed away. He said that those who attended the funeral were all people who cared about him, and he wanted these people to feel a little better with the sun shining on them.¡± Standing in the middle of a weeping crowd, Sophia was oddly calm as she found herself zoning out while ncing at a photo of Quinton. When the funeral had ended and everyone was leaving, she came back to her senses and realized that her entire face was soaked with tears. Perhaps this man, the one who insisted on having his funeral on a sunny day, was the actual Quinton rk. Perhaps there was a hint of beauty hidden within his dark, evil spirit. He wasn¡¯t born with much of a choice but to taint his soul with darkness for the sake of keeping himself alive, but deep down, there seemed to be a part of him who hadn¡¯t given up on the tiny ray of light that he had tried his best to protect. After the funeral ended, only Quinton¡¯s clothes were buried at the tombstone. His young face, as seen on the tombstone at the newly dug grave in the cemetery, carried a mix of destion and helplessness. Jackson gave it a long, thoughtful stare before he left quietly. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Right then, Sophia turned around to see Linus. Standing by a nearby tree, he was dressed in a full ck suit. She hadn¡¯t seen him ever since the incident. He stood there for a long time, looking as though he had been waiting for her intentionally. Sophia subconsciously threw a nce toward a car that was parked nearby to see Michael seated inside. He had been at the funeral the whole time; he just didn¡¯t get out of the car. It was hard to see the expression on Michael¡¯s face as the sunsses he wore were big enough to cover half of his face, but since he didn¡¯t seem to show any objections to it, Sophia began walking toward Linus. As the two of them took a walk in the chilly, spring breeze, several cars tagged along some distance behind them. ¡®I¡¯m leaving¡¯ was the first thing that Linus said. Sophia didn¡¯t seem too surprised by this and merely grunted. She hadn¡¯t expected Linus to stay in the country for long after all that had happened. Although he had arge team ofwyers and other connections that could help him sever all ties with Phantom Wolf, it didn¡¯t change the fact that he had been someone who colluded with them. The Fletcher Family was kind enough not tounch an attack against him, but he simply couldn¡¯t stay in Bayside City for much longer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for everything that I¡¯ve done.¡± Linus didn¡¯t try to defend himself. Sophia understood that each individual had their own struggles, but regardless of what his reason was, it was a known fact that he had been an aplice to Phantom Wolf¡¯s deeds and had nearly caused a huge tragedy. It was tough for an adopted son like Linus to survive in a family as powerful, cruel and preupied by the importance of blood rtions as the Michel Family; he needed something more than just Fass¡¯s support and his own hard work. He needed to use more bloody and vicious methods in order to maintain his own position in the Michel Family, to make sure that he had a stable base in the family, and to improve his own quality of life. It made sense that he¡¯d pay a group of lunatics to risk their lives for him. After all, to live was to suffer; everyone understood their own sufferings more than anyone else. Sophia finally decided to say something. ¡°You shoulde back for a holiday someday,¡± she suggested. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said quietly. Then, he handed Sophia the keys to Vi No. 2 as he continued, ¡°I¡¯m taking the next flight out after the funeral is over. These are the keys to my house; you can clean it up whenever you¡¯re free, and you can be the substitutendlord if anyone wishes to rent the ce. Just deduct whatever is needed and transfer the remaining bnce over to my ount.¡± She took the keys from him as she uttered, ¡°We should keep in touch. I¡¯ll contact you if I ever get myself into trouble.¡± However, both of them could tell that this was probably thest time they¡¯d be saying goodbye to one another before embarking on two separate journeys. Understanding this, Linus chuckled as he replied, ¡°Yeah. You can always call me if you need money. After all, that¡¯s the one thing I don¡¯tck.¡± Sophia giggled at his words, and the two of themughed for a bit longer before a wave of loneliness drowned their voices. Linus then took a look at his watch before he said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I need to catch my flight.¡± ¡°Your ne got bombed, didn¡¯t it? I can lend you one of mine!¡± she quickly offered. Linus had already walked toward the car that his driver parked next to him, and his bodyguard had already opened the car door for him. Half of his body was already in the car when he turned around and gave Sophia a casual wave as he rejected her offer. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡ªI got a new ne. I have always wanted to get rid of the old one, but I never found the right time to do it.¡± He turned to face his back toward Sophia and paused before muttering, ¡°Help me bid goodbye to Stanley and the rest.¡± He got into the car with his face still turned away from her, looking as if he was afraid that she would see how dested and lonely he felt. By the time Linus¡¯s car left, Michael¡¯s car had alreadye to a halt beside Sophia. She got in feeling more dejected and alone than ever. She knew that she shouldn¡¯t be putting on such a dispirited look in front of her own husband when she had just bid goodbye to another man, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to put a smile on her own face. She couldn¡¯t forget the man who had climbed walls to find her in hiding when Sophia was at her lowest; he was also the man who had taken his shirt off and ced it over her while he shivered in the cold. She felt a deep connection to Linus, but she loved him like a brother rather than a romantic partner. ¡­ Soon enough, Linus arrived at his own private airport. He didn¡¯t receive anypensation after his private ne had been bombed previously. Of course, he wasn¡¯t expecting to receive any; Phantom Wolf wouldn¡¯t have managed to capture Mark so easily if it hadn¡¯t been for the intel and devices Linus provided them with. Although Mark himself said that he wouldn¡¯t hold this against Linus, Linus thought that he¡¯d just leave as he knew that things didn¡¯t look good for him here. The Michel Group would proceed with their ns of opening more branches in Cethos, and they had already transferred other workers to handle the ce. Linus¡¯s purpose of visitation had beenpleted, and it was about time he left. The ne made a move soon after he got in. His pet cats and dogs drifted off to sleep beside him while he pulled hisptop out to do some work. Every now and then, he would look up to see the endless clouds spreading before his eyes. He gazed at the blue skies for a while before he seemed to realize something. He then unlocked his luggage and pulled two photo frames out of it. One of the frames held a group picture of all the friends he had met at Cethos. This included him, Sophia, Stanley, Sean and Sarah; the five of them often went loitering after ss, and they¡¯d usually hang out at a cafe, mall or park. It was a shame that the rest of them¡ªapart from Sophia¡ªhad blocked him on all social media tforms after they discovered that he had ties with Phantom Wolf. They no longer contacted him at all. They used to be a tight-knit group of five friends who shared the same interests; even with such differences in their identities, they still wasted their youth together. They looked forward to the future while lying on the grass outside Bayside University, ncing up at the starry skies as they exchanged their ambitions and hobbies. Right now, Linus was only left with some photos and a bunch of good memories. The other frame was a shot of just him and Sophia. Chapter 600 Chapter 600 He had noticed her earlier at the film studio as she took a selfie stick and stood by the street in her costume and took pictures with anyone. He, too, wanted a picture with her, so he moved closer and finally got to be in the same frame with her. Back then, everything seemed so wonderful. Unfortunately, all those magical moments were just popped bubbles. Linus put down the picture carefully and went back into work. Phantom Wolf had stayed on the that exploded ne, and after the ne exploded, the wreckage crashed into a deserted forest in the mountains. In theory, it was impossible for Phantom Wolf to have survived the crash. But Linus was still uneasy; he knew how cunning and cruel Phantom Wolf was, and that was why he had to predict the worst oue of everything. Only when he killed Phantom Wolf with his bare hands and dismembered him into pieces would he then believe that thetter was really dead. If he didn¡¯t see the corpse, he would never believe that Phantom Wolf was actually dead! Even if Phantom Wolf didn¡¯t die, he wouldn¡¯t dare to cause any more troubles in Cethos. If he had managed to escape, he would have left the country by now. Linus¡¯ foundation in Cethos was not stable enough, so he couldn¡¯t take any actions against Phantom Wolf, but once thetter was out of the country, the matter would be easier to handle. Phantom Wolf would never die, and the terrorist organization he was leading would not disperse as well. Phantom Wolf wasn¡¯t the only dog that Linus was feeding; likewise, Linus wasn¡¯t the only sponsor Phantom Wolf had. Since the beginning of time, thewful and uwful had always been codependent. Every time some big shot encountered a problem that the police couldn¡¯t solve, they would then turn to the dark underground forces of the criminal world, such as Phantom Wolf. Phantom Wolf was a notorious name that everyone hated, but his sponsors were scattered all over the world, from the rich businessmen in Cethos to foreign officials, and even some royal family members. As long as the world was filled with greedy, atrocious people, then there was still a ce for Phantom Wolf. But this time, Linus swore that he would never allow Phantom Wolf to harm Sophia and Nathan. While the ck Cayenne car was parked in the cemetery, Sophia was sitting in a daze and hadn¡¯t spoken since she got into the car. Michael was silent too, but he had caught sight of the overwhelming grief and conflict in her eyes. There were times where he wanted to tell her the truth, but he stopped himself before he did. Now, he was almost certain that Fass Michel was actually Cooper Mitchell. When Fass inadvertently met the gifted and intelligent Linus and adopted him, he wouldn¡¯t have expected thetter to be his biological son. Furthermore, he wouldn¡¯t have known that Annabel gave birth to twins back then. People would change, and nobody knew whether Fass was still the same Cooper from a decade ago. This brief contact with Linus had almost cost the lives of the Fletcher Family and Sophia, so Michael would definitely not allow Sophia to contact Fass and his son without precautions. Michael could sense the feelings Linus had for Sophia. Although they hadn¡¯t reconnected as siblings, the strong family bond that was in their blood involuntarily caused him to treat Sophia well. Despite knowing this, Linus did not hesitate and used Sophia to gather information about the Fletcher Family, and he even lured the Phantom Wolf to her side. In Linus¡¯ eyes, family bond was nothing, and he was indifferent toward that notion. Michael swore he wouldn¡¯t let her suffer this kind of pain anymore! As the car slowly started, Sophia leaned against the window. Her heart felt hollow and depressed, as if the air was running out of her lungs, making it hard to breathe. I just want to cry out loud¡­ All of a sudden, she turned her head toward Michael and asked, ¡°Can I cry?¡± The recent events were all good news¡ªPhantom Wolf finally died; Celine managed to stay alive; and Linus, who was concealing the evil ns, had also left. But Sophia still felt very depressed, and she just wanted to cry as hard as she could. Michael froze, then he smiled gently and rubbed her head as he gently pushed her head into his arms and whispered in her ear, ¡°You should cry if you want to. I know you¡¯re feeling sad; it¡¯s okay to let it all out.¡± His gentle words pierced right through Sophia as shey in his arms and sobbed her heart out. She didn¡¯t know who she was crying for; all she wanted to do was cry. All the tears that were piled up in her were so heavy that it left her gasping for air. She felt that if she cried them out, it would make her feel better¡­ That afternoon, Michael brought Sophia to Theo¡¯s grave at the Memorial Garden. There were flowers at Theo¡¯s grave, which could be from Celine and Justin¡¯s visit. Celine and Justin¡¯s extra joint tombstone was already removed, and there was an empty spot next to Theo, so Michael decided to keep it for Elizabeth. One day, Elizabeth had to be moved here. In front of Theo¡¯s grave, Michael put down the wine, flowers, and some fruits he brought. He poured out a bowl of wine for himself and another one for Theo. As the wine burned down his throat, he stared at Theo¡¯s grave in a daze. There were many things he wanted to say to Theo, but he didn¡¯t know where to begin. He had little recollection of his father. When he was very young, Theo woulde back asionally to see them. After all, he was a soldier, so he didn¡¯t have much time to take care of his family. Besides, he and Elizabeth had never been able to get married. Due to Theo¡¯s special identity, the photos and information he left behind were scarce, so they didn¡¯t have much inmon. Suddenly, he smelled a pungent burning smell and looked to his side; it was Sophia burning offerings for Theo. She had brought a big bag of things to burn. She burned a few recent photos and entertainment magazines of Michael, and finally, she burned a USB drive that had plenty of Michael¡¯s movies¡­ Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. While she was burning, she murmured, ¡°Dad, this is a photo of Mikey from yesterday. Look, I¡¯m also burning some photos of Celine and Justin for you. And about the imperial seal, Mikey had finally managed to retrieve the imperial seal. All the magazines covered that story, and I¡¯m burning one whole publication for you. Mikey¡¯s story is on page 29¡ªthe whole page is just about him. I¡¯m also burning a USB drive for you that contains several movies that Mikey acted in. I would rmend ¡®Doctor Invisible¡¯; that¡¯s a good movie. It¡¯s about¡­ You would need aptop to watch the movie, but don¡¯t worry, because I¡¯m going to burn aptop for you and some speakers. When ¡®War Dragon¡¯es out, I¡¯ll burn that for you to watch too.¡± As she was talking, she burned the paperptop, speakers, and the actual USB drive. Then, Sophia scrunched her face from the stinky smell from the burnt USB drive. ¡°Well¡­ you could have burned a paper-made USB drive,¡± Michaelmented. Sophia used a wooden stick to carefully pick up theptop in the fire to ensure that everyponent was burned to ashes. She didn¡¯t want Theo to have difficulties in turning on theputer from wherever he was. ¡°But the shop didn¡¯t have a paper-made USB drive!¡± she retorted. ¡°Then you should¡¯ve told them to make one there and then.¡± Sophia shook her head. ¡°Even if there were a paper-made USB drive, how could you guarantee that your movies, and not someone else¡¯s, would be inside?¡± Michael thought about it and realized her logic was quite impable. After giving their respects at Theo¡¯s grave, Michael went over to Elizabeth¡¯s grave. The statue of Elizabeth stood in front of her grave with the same posture¡ªfacing toward the direction of the Memorial Garden, looking at her husband¡¯s grave from afar. Michael looked up at the beautiful sculpture and felt tears stinging his eyes. Meanwhile, Sophia was burning offerings for Elizabeth. She burned some of Michael¡¯s photos, another USB drive, a few SKII luxury skincare sets, and some Saint Laurent lipsticks which she was sure that Elizabeth would like¡­ Chapter 601 Chapter 601 Ever since Quinton¡¯s death and Linus¡¯ departure, Sophia¡¯s depression had be worse. There were often sleepless nights and splitting headaches. As soon as she closed her eyes, she could see a blood-covered Quinton standing in front of her with a contorted face while choking her to death. ¡°Sophia, you are mine! I was the one who saved your life, so you are mine! Do you hear me? Mine!¡± She startled awake before realizing that it was not dawn yet, and the space next to her was empty. Michael had been very busy recently, but he would still find time to apany Sophia every day. He would stay with her until she fell asleep then go back to work and secretlye home around midnight. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia woke up alone and sat in front of the window. She looked out at the early morning scenery of Bayside City; it was unusually quiet. She didn¡¯t switch on the lights and allowed the darkness to engulf her whole being. She was always dreaming about that cold, frosty night on Salvador Ind. Her bones were frozen stiff, and she thought she was dead, but vaguely, there was a voice that was calling her over and over again. He did CPR for her repetitively; his cold fingers skillfully reached into her mouth and nose, clearing out the mud and sand that were blocking her airway. She took big gulps of fresh air as he held her in his arms. He blocked off most of the cold wind, giving her the little bit of warmth he had. She remembered all of it¡­ During this time, Michael was spending more time with her since the incident had caused her too much pain, and she needed time to heal herself. By the time it was spring season, Sophia was already a sophomore in college. She was still working on her double degree while working at Stanley¡¯spany. Thepany had recently created a new mobile game called ¡®The Traveling Snail¡¯. It was about raising an electronic pet by feeding the snail in the game everyday and preparing dry food, tents, and amulets for it. When the snail went out traveling, it would mail back postcards and special souvenirs from wherever it was. Ever since the game was introduced, the response had been so great that it was the talk of town. ¡°The game has a simple way of ying, so it might get boring very quickly. Don¡¯t get too excited about it just yet,¡± Stanley slurred out. The game was such a sess that the number of downloads were unprecedented, and so the four main members of thepany held a celebration party at Sophia¡¯s house. The table cups and tes were in disarray, and after Stanley had devoured everyst drop of the cer wine, he pestered Sophia for another bottle. ¡°This is a calm, soothing game, so the number of people topping up in the game is very few, and the recharge revenue is not much. We could rely on marketing and word of mouth to temporarily harvest the sales, but it would not be a long term solution,¡± Seanmented. As the four of them were discussing the future of thepany, Sophia peeled a boiled peanut and spoke, ¡°Our main objective now would be to attract the attention to the other products of ourpany to traffic mization.¡± Sarah chipped in, ¡°Maybe put in more top-up functions, like paid movies or paid novels, to ensure a speedy mization.¡± ¡°The snail¡¯s gamey has to be constantly updated too.¡± ¡°And we could take in some ads to maintain the operation of thepany, and it would look better on our financial statements.¡± ¡­ As they were discussing their work and thepany, the topic eventually led to Michael. ¡°What has my uncle been doingtely? Hurry up and get him to advertise our game!¡± Stanley huffed loudly. Sophia replied, ¡°Your uncle is busy!¡± ¡°Then what about that little brat, Nate?¡± Although Celine was back, her mental state still required time to recover. Justin was apanying her at the hospital, and Nathan would stay over for 2 days, then asionallye to Sophia¡¯s for 2 days; he never stayed in a fixed ce. On the other hand, Justin seemed to be busy as well. The Mitchell Family had yet to be informed of his existence, and he wanted to choose an auspicious day to announce his return so that his wife and child would be recognized by the family. He also wanted things like, nning for another child, returning back to the army, and even traveling around the world with Celine. Justin just wanted toplete his unfulfilled dreams. But first, he had to undergo stic surgery. 6 years ago, his face waspletely disfigured, hence his nickname, ¡®Goblin¡¯. Back then, when he was living in resentment, he didn¡¯t bother about his appearance¡ªhe just wanted to look more ugly so that he could look more intimidating to others in hopes that one day he could use his ugly face to scare Phantom Wolf to death. But now that his wife was back, and his son had also recognized him, he began to care about the way he looked. After all, Justin used to be known as the handsome young man of the Mitchell Family! How else could Celine have fallen for him at first sight? In the future, when he would go traveling with Celine, attend Nathan¡¯s parent-teacher conference, or try for a second child, it would not be possible with the face he had now. Sophia strongly rmended him to go to the stic surgery hospital that she frequently went to. That hospital had a very good scar recovery rate and was at the forefront of the world in its field. Besides, she had a VIP membership card, and so aplimentary double-eyelids procedure woulde together with the stic surgery. When Michael found out that Justin wanted stic surgery, he was very concerned, and he found him the best doctor with the most expensive package avable. The surgerysted for about two months intermittently, and now, Justin was still in the process of recovery. Nowadays, Nathan could be seen running between two different ces. Today, he went over to visit his mother at the military hospital. While they were talking about Nathan, the lights in the house suddenly turned dark, and a few colored spotlights shone on the living room. The whole living room became mysterious as soft, light music rang out. ¡°There were three little bears living together. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear¡­¡± A sour-faced Nathan popped out, wearing a baby bear onesie, as he wiggled his little butt and danced to the cheerful children¡¯s music. Everyone was dumbfounded. They had onlye to their senses by the time Nathan was done with his dance and realized that Michael had been standing at the revolving staircase while leaning against the wall, watching Nathan¡¯s whole performance. After he finished dancing, Nathan felt so embarrassed that he leaped into Sophia¡¯s embrace and rubbed his face against her arms. Stanley fell onto the sofa as heughed uncontrobly. ¡°Hahaha! The little brat can actually dance!¡¯ They couldn¡¯t help butugh at Nathan. In order to cheer Sophia up, Nathan had sacrificed that little pride of his. As Sophia hugged Nathan, who was rubbing against her in her arms, she wanted tough and cry at the same time. Nathan, the well-known little iceberg, had performed a dance for her; how could she not be happy? She had never felt so ted! Ever since the recent incidents, it was rare to catch a smile from Sophia. Michael walked over in casual pajamas and sat down next to Sophia. He nced at the state of the cups and tes on the coffee table; Sprite, fruit juice, and wine wereid out on the table with a pile of peanuts and pistachios. Garfield, which was given by Linus, had turned from a cutie to a fatty. As soon as Michael came, it went straight into his arms; it was the only gift from Linus that wasn¡¯t sent away. Michael hugged the cat while he ate a peanut and asked, ¡°How¡¯s thepany doingtely?¡± Stanley drank a mouthful of wine and shoved some peanuts into his mouth. ¡°Uncle, thetest popr game now was made by ourpany. We¡¯re just waiting for you to endorse us!¡± Michael took a look at his phone. ¡°The Traveling Snail?¡± He had been quite busytely, but he had always been following his beloved wife¡¯s career. He knew she had gotten thinner from all those nights of staying upte to write game programs. He didn¡¯t understand what was so fun about the game, but everyone was ying it. Perhaps the idea of raising a virtual pet became more popr because it was time-consuming to keep a pet in reality. Michael had just recently had a virtual snail named ¡®Chica¡¯. He bought a flirty red flower for it to wear on its head and topped up a lot of money in the game to build a luxurious nest for Chica while feeding it expensive food for every meal. Naturally, as one of the developers of the game, Sophia would join in as well. Both herptop and phone had downloaded the game, and she had a total of 3 snails, all of them named ¡®Mikey¡¯¡­ Chapter 602 Chapter 602 As the conversation gradually died down, everyone took out their phones to check on their snails; it could have gone out to explore or was eating or reading a book at home. There wasn¡¯t anything special about the game, but everyone just liked to y it. The party went on till about 10.00PM. Sophia walked them out as she had had too much peanuts earlier, and she wanted to take a small walk to help digest the food before going back home. After a spring rain, the air in Bayside City felt refreshing as she walked around the neighborhood. She enjoyed the cold breeze so much that she was reluctant to part with it, and she identally walked toward Vi No. 2. It brought back a vivid memory of her first meeting with Linus. But now, they were worlds apart. Isn¡¯t it saddening¡­ Sophia couldn¡¯t help but walk toward Vi No. 2; it was as though something was calling out to her. Ever since Linus left, Vi No. 2 had been empty. Although Linus still owned the property, he left the keys to Sophia and cut off all ties, so the house was considered Sophia¡¯s for the time being. She walked back home to take the keys then headed back to Vi No. 2 and swiped the door open in the dark. The key was actually a card that could be swiped to open the door of the vi. When Sophia walked into the courtyard, the automatic light switch sensed that someone had walked in, and so the living room lights were automatically turned on and brightly lit up the whole vi. As she walked into the quiet living room, she realized that Linus had left in such a hurry that he didn¡¯t manage to move out all his stuff; there were cat nests neatly ced together and even some cat hair left on the cat post. Dazed, Sophia sat on the sofa and stared at the vacant living room, allowing her mind to go nk. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Suddenly, a voice came from a corner. ¡°Mommy¡ª¡± Startled, Sophia looked toward the source of the sound. There were a pair of round ck eyes staring back at her from the dark. Nichs walked out from the dark and stared at Sophia with his bright, sparkling eyes. ¡°Nichs!¡± Sophia cried out with surprise and glee as she bent down and hugged Nichs. It had been 2 months since Linus had left, and no one hade here. She couldn¡¯t believe that he would leave Nichs behind. Nichs was still wearing Nathan¡¯s tiger head cap with its two antennae poking out two holes; it made it look like a little tiger boy. ¡°Why are you here? Didn¡¯t you leave with Linus?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Uncle Linus gave me a new mission; he told me to guard the house and keep it clean.¡± Although Nichs was not human, Sophia still felt heartbroken for it when she learned that it had been staying alone in the house for thest 2 months without anyone noticing. Dust flew everywhere when she tapped his tiger-head hoodie. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Nichs reached out its mechanical hand and held Sophia¡¯s. ¡°Alright,¡± it replied. Sophia happily brought Nichs back home. Meanwhile, in the living room of Vi No. 8, Michael and Nathan were watching TV after the nanny had cleaned up the mess. They were boringly watching television and having boring conversations. ¡°Call me Daddy,¡± Michael said. ¡°You¡¯re not my Daddy,¡± Nathan retorted. ¡°Then call me Uncle.¡± Michael tried again. ¡°You wish,¡± Nathan scoffed. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to call me Daddy, someday, someone will!¡± Michael huffed. Nathan shrugged him off. Upon his cold shrug, a chirpy voice suddenly rang out from the door. ¡°Daddy!¡± The two people flinched when they heard the voice and turned around to see Sophia entering with Nichs. Nichs was covered in dust, but it still greeted Nathan and Michael with enthusiasm when it saw them as the two wheels under its feet rolled fast. ¡°Daddy! Nate!¡± It was a robot, so it didn¡¯t possess any human emotions. In its memory, Michael had turned it off, and when it was turned on again, Linus had given it a newmand¡ªto stay patiently at Vi No. 2 and wait for Sophia to pick it up one day. Its mission hadn¡¯t changed; it was still the same¡ªto protect Sophia¡¯s family. Now that Sophia hade and picked it up, it acted like nothing had happened. Nathan was very happy to see Nichs as he rushed over and hugged it. Nichs arrived in front of Michael and looked up at him. ¡°Daddy, I want a head rub.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes flickered for a moment, an unsettled look shadowing over his face. Ever since he found out that Linus was using Nichs to steal Fletcher Family¡¯s secrets, he had been bearing a grudge against it. Nichs wasn¡¯t at fault here, but¡­ After a while, when Nichs saw that Michael wasn¡¯t responding to it, it repeated, ¡°Daddy, I want a head rub.¡± Michael remained motionless. Then, Nichs reached out its mechanical hand, grabbed Michael¡¯s hand, and ced it on its head. Hence, Michael sighed and rubbed its dusty head. Michael was speechless. I might as well keep it around. It¡¯s just a robot, anyway. Probably due thefort of knowing Nichs was back, Sophia didn¡¯t have nightmares at night anymore and slept soundly. Michaely down next to her and looked at Nichs, which was sitting at the bedside. It had entered standby mode and was secreting a calming, antidepressant incense to help Sophia sleep. Michael, however, couldn¡¯t sleep and got up abruptly. When Nichs saw him get up, it chased after him hurriedly. After Nichs followed Michael into the study room, Michael closed the door and sat down at his desk. He stared at Nichs and said, ¡°Say what you need to say.¡± He could never put the me on a tiny robot; it was, after all, just a robot. That was why it would betray Michael and Sophia but save them during dangerous times. ¡°Daddy, Uncle Linus left some things for you to see.¡± Nichs seemed to have been upgraded some time ago as its t face was turned into a screen that could disy images. Michael looked at its screen as it showed a scene that seemed to be in the basement of Linus¡¯ house. A man was seen upgrading Nichs through the surveince camera. He was carefully observing every detail of Nichs¡¯ system, testing and upgrading it over and over again. He put on Nichs a kind of invincible material that would change color ording to the environment before testing its performance system as well as its reaction to the surroundings. Nichs was able to change colors at any time¡ªit would turn pink, then blue afterward; it was extremely magical. The original intention of using this material was so that Nichs could please more people with its color- changing ability. After all, people would inevitably get bored with a in, ck robot. If the robot could change its color from time to time, Nathan would enjoy it very much. This material was certainly not developed for a household robot; it was a strong and powerful military- grade material! But it was because of the use of overqualified material on Nichs that unexpectedly saved Sophia¡¯s life. The man was wearing protective goggles as he held a welding gun and personally welded all the internal parts for Nichs with detailed perfection. Chapter 603 Chapter 603 After Michael and Sophia watched the northern lights for a while, Sophia changed the mode into the deep sea, where the sea was pitch ck and there were glittering deep sea animals swimming around. Suddenly, a vicious shark rushed out. Sophia jumped in fright and subconsciously scampered into Michael¡¯s arms. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. He chuckled heartily as he held her tight. Tomorrow would be a big day for Sophia. She was so nervous about it that she couldn¡¯t sleep, so she picked different modes: the deep sea, rainforest, dessert¡­ It was already 1.00AM, and she still couldn¡¯t sleep. Sophia¡¯s eyes were bulging as she rubbed against Michael. ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m so nervous,¡± she said coyly. ¡°What kind of nervous are we talking about here?¡± Michael replied. ¡°My whole body feels tight,¡± Sophia answered. ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. Let me check.¡± A perverted Michael reached out his hand toward her nightgown¡­ The next day, Michael¡¯s styling team arrived early in the morning. After they styled and dressed Sophia, she headed out. As Sophia was getting down at the entrance of Bayside University, Michael, who was in the car, asked her again, ¡°Do you want me to go and support your event?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to use your poprity to boost my event,¡± Sophia scoffed. Michael shook his head and sighed as he watched her run toward the entrance. He saw the posters at the entrance of the university¡­ Hmm, Sophia¡¯s going to give a speech at the auditorium in Bayside University and attend her book signing event. The poster showed, ¡®Book Signing of Sophia, Bayside City¡¯s Outstanding Student, at the auditorium today¡¯, with small prints, ¡®Taylor Murray will not be attending.¡¯ She did say she wasn¡¯t going to use his poprity to boost her event. Michael felt like he had been abandoned as he walked away sulking. When he got into the car, he flipped Sophia¡¯s book and started to read it. Title: Mighty Me Author: Sophia Edwards Today¡¯s Bayside University gymnasium was bustling with people. Hale had just moved Sophia¡¯s books into the gymnasium. Initially, book signing events were not allowed in Bayside University, but Sophia was an exception since she was the university¡¯s student, so they made an exception for her. Even though the poster stated that Taylor Murray wouldn¡¯t be attending the book signing, there were still many Taylor¡¯s fans, Sophia¡¯s fans, as well as the fans that were rooting for their rtionship. The auditorium was filled with people, and even though this was not the first time she had faced this kind of scene, Sophia was still quite nervous. She took a deep breath as she got on stage and began her speech. Her speech was simple and straightforward. She talked about her past and poured out her encounters of pain and suffering during her youth. She exined that because she faced her trauma bravely, she became stronger, and all the pain and suffering she had to endure were just the sharpener for her to be stronger. The speech was going well, and the crowd apuded intermittently, but halfway through the speech, there was a loudmotion outside the auditorium, as if something was happening. ¡°The speech has already started, so you¡¯re not allowed in. Get out, get out.¡± Sophia¡¯s personal bodyguards and the security team of Bayside University were working together to maintain order at today¡¯s event. It seemed as though they were trying to stop the people who were trying to force their way in. There were about a dozen ck d bodyguards trying to break through as they caused quite a ruckus at the entrance. The students inside the auditorium turned around and tried to see what was happening. Sophia was also forced to stop halfway through her speech as she rushed backstage and asked Hale through a walkie-talkie, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Hale quickly responded from his side. After hearing Hale¡¯s response, Sophia¡¯s expression turned dark. A grim look shed through Sophia¡¯s delicate face. A few secondster, she spoke into the walkie-talkie, ¡°Let her in, and give her the best seat.¡± Sophia scoffed coldly as she put down the walkie-talkie. She re-adjusted her clothes and touched up her makeup. Then, she drank some water to moisten her throat and calmly re-applied some lipstick. Meanwhile, themotion outside the auditorium had finally ended. Sophia¡¯s friends and family were sitting in the first row, and Stanley had even given the wholepany a day off toe and support Sophia¡¯s event. Earlier, Stanley had already noticed themotion outside and kept trying to peek outside. Just when things started to quiet down, a dozen over bodyguards suddenly rushed into the auditorium and stood on both sides of the aisle. Judging by the stance, it seemed like some big shot was on the way! That stirred up quite amotion among the crowd as some people started to take out their phones to record. It must be Tayloring! Although the poster stated that Taylor wouldn¡¯t being, it was his wife¡¯s new book signing after all, so how could he not be here? Perhaps this was his surprise for Sophia! In the midst of everyone¡¯s expectant gaze, a person walked slowly into the auditorium¡­ The busy chattering sounds in the auditorium quiet down as they caught sight of the person. The one who was heavily protected by the bodyguards was wearing a long, loose dress with a pair of t shoes. Her petite body looked plump with her bulging stomach; she had one hand on her stomach, as though she was protecting a valuable treasure. She smiled warmly with rosy cheeks on her face, just like an ordinary pregnant woman who was enjoying the pride of experiencing motherhood. She walked slowly toward the stage and looked up at Sophia, who was about to continue her speech, with a victorious twinkle in her eyes. Stanley was stunned when he saw the pregnant woman¡¯s face. He subconsciously tugged on Sean¡¯s arm. ¡°Sean! Isn¡¯t that Mrs. Fletcher?! Why did she pop up?¡± Mrs. Fletcher was the ¡®fond¡¯ nickname they came up with for Natasha. While looking at the pregnant Natasha, Sean waspletely taken aback. Recently, he hadn¡¯t been back to the Mitchell Family due to his busy schedule, so he moved to live near thepany. asionally, he would visit home, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to care about the Mitchell Family anymore. But who would have thought that Natasha would be back? And pregnant with a child, no less! Most of the students knew of the ridiculous things Natasha was responsible for back then, and they knew that she was always trying hard to court Taylor. There were rumors that ever since she tried to harm Sophia, she was sent out of the country to seek refuge. Could it be that since some time had passed, it was okay for her to be back? And with a child?! There were numerous scandals of her with Taylor, and she deliberately chose to appear today at Sophia¡¯s book signing event. Could it be the father of her child was¡­ Everyone stared at the pregnant Natasha, who was walking slowly, and then at the emotionless Sophia, and back at Natasha, with a chill on their backs. This scene, this atmosphere, this situation¡­ It looked exactly like a pregnant mistress trying to im her rights! At that moment, the whole auditorium was quiet. Then, Natasha sat down at the front row seat that was the closest to Sophia. The smug smile on her face was that of an expecting mother who seemed to have won something. Stanley, who was sitting next to Natasha, was staring at her bulging belly as he felt a headache throbbing in his head. No way. Is that Michael¡¯s child? That would be a big problem! Filled with concern, he looked up and saw Sophia quietly staring at Natasha¡¯s stomach; the look in her eyes was unreadable. The strange atmospherested for only a few seconds, then Sophia continued her speech with the calm demeanor she had before and performed steadily. But the atmosphere was very different from how it was earlier. People had the feeling that there would be a fierce battle between the wife and the mistress today. When Sophia was doing her speech, Natasha sat quietly below the stage and would asionally rub her stomach with a content yet triumphed look on her face. After the speech was finished, it was the question-and-answer session with the audience. Sophia would pick two enthusiastic readers and answer their questions. As soon as the session started, the readers raised their hands enthusiastically to ask their questions. Natasha, on the other hand, finally removed her hand from her stomach and raised her hand, which looked plump due to her pregnancy. A provoking smile creeped onto her face as she raised her hand. Chapter 604 Chapter 604 In the video, the man reced the external shell with thetest materials and added all the updated features so that Nichs was able to release all the air cushions in it within a few seconds before filling them up with air. He chose the materials for the cushions, tested its strength, and ran all the other tests personally, as if he was taking care of his own child. With the use of his god-like skills, he upgraded all of Nichs¡¯ systems and improved all its abilities within a single day. However, the man in the video never revealed his appearance even until the very end. He either wore goggles or a face mask used for his work while he buried his head in work without ever looking up. Nichs said, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m a really amazing smart-robot. Uncle Linus said that his brother was the one who upgraded me, so you can¡¯t throw me out, alright?¡± Michael stroked the robot¡¯s head as he zoned out while looking at the video¡­ Who is Linus¡¯ brother? Could it be Fass? Why would Linus pass this camera footage to Nichs? What was he trying to say? Although he didn¡¯t understand what Linus was trying to do, Nichs indeed proved itself useful the other day. Both the Fletchers and the military were extremely interested in it. The materials used to provide it the ability to duplicate its own surroundings before camouging and disappearing within it left them speechless. Caleb even phoned over a few times in an attempt to get some information; his words made it sound like he wanted to borrow Nichs for his own research. Michael used all sorts of excuses to decline his requests. The special materials belonged to the military department under the Michel Group, and it hadn¡¯t been released to the public, so it had to be kept private for the time being. Yet, Linus was generous enough to use it on Nichs; he even kept Nichs after everything¡­ Nichs¡¯ screen returned to an image of its two, round pupils once the video finished ying. It then reached its metallic hand out and smacked its own tummy before pulling a box out of it. ¡°Daddy, Uncle Linus asked me to pass this to you.¡± Michael took the box over and opened it to see the camouge material used on Nichs¡¯ outeryer, and a USB drive with the design files for the materials. Michael seemed to understand it then¡ªLinus was trying to provide him with the camouge materials in exchange for his forgiveness. Or perhaps he was trying to use the materials as a peace offering toward the Fletchers or Cethos to ensure the continuous development of Michel Group¡¯s branch in Cethos¡­ After taking the items, Michael patted Nichs on the head before he ordered, ¡°Go get some rest.¡± ¡°Alright. Daddy, Uncle Linus said that you can send me to get fixed at the after-sales service department in Michel Group¡¯s Bayside City branch in Cethos if there¡¯s anything wrong with me,¡± Nichs replied. Michael nodded. Nichs then left and shut the door behind it. After it left, Michael continued staring at the files in the USB drive. He got more and more surprised with every file he went through. Michel Group is impressive indeed! With the use of electronic technologies and weapons throughout the years, they invented something that would definitely steal the first ce in the whole of Northern Europe. Their presence in this field is shocking! A whileter, Michael phoned Stanley and told him to drop by to pick something up. Stanley knocked on the front door about ten minutester. Judging by how anxious he was to go over, it was clear that the Fletcher Family was extremely keen about this! Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Michael heaved a sigh of relief after he handed Linus¡¯ information over. I hope everything is over now. I hope Linus and Phantom Wolf will disappear from Sophia¡¯s life from now onward. As for Fass¡­ if they are fated to meet as father and daughter, they¡¯d definitely encounter one another sometime in the future. They still have a lot of opportunities to meet, after all; there¡¯s no need to rush into it as she¡¯s still a child and doesn¡¯t deserve to carry such great burdens at her age. Once it had been confirmed that Fass and Cooper were the same person, all of the secrets seemed to unravel itself gradually. The mixed-blood girl that Woody brought home in the past was Beyonc¨¦, the daughter of the ex-family head of Michel Group. Hence, Sophia¡ªlike her father¡ªhad both the blood of the Michel and Mitchell Families running in her veins. The Michels were truly akin to arge and dark dragon that had been hiding on thends of Northern Europe for the past 900 years. They ced excessive amounts of emphasis on the bloodline of their family, and they utterly rejected the idea of having their blood mixing with that of others. Back then, Beyonc¨¦ made the immediate decision to cut all ties with the Michels once she decided that she wanted to get married to Woody. She had to do it as the family¡¯s bloodline was too powerful; if Sophia and Cooper got to know one another, she¡¯d have to deal with the Michels¡­ which would be messy. Michael, on the other hand, didn¡¯t have any mother-inw to bother him, so the only person he was afraid of was Cooper. That crazy old man. I¡¯d be extremely stressed out if I ever get to meet him. ¡­ The month of May came in the blink of an eye, and the weather was getting warmer. Sophia¡¯s career was improving along with the rise in thepany¡¯s business; they had developed a few trendy handphone games and even released a beta testing version of a first-person shooter game that they had been preparing for a long while. The first-person shooter game was undoubtedly different from the regr ones made by otherpanies¡ªit was easier to get the hang of this game, and it was very addictive. The game shot right up to the top of the charts once its beta version was released as it generated huge responses from the audience. Stanley had invested a great deal into marketing and promoting the game, and its effects were evident and immediate. Sophia¡¯s book was released about the same time as the game found sess. In current times, it wasn¡¯t rare to see a celebrity¡¯s wifeing out to write a book about her romantic rtionship with some world famous popstar, but Sophia¡¯s book differed in that Taylor barely appeared within the pages. She had quite a number of chapters in the book, each talking about a different topic. Some were about her teen years, how she started primary school at the age of 9, everything she went through when living under Liam¡¯s roof, the mother she had never met, the grandmother who said that she loved her, as well as efficient methods of preparing smoked bacon and a self-reflection on how she progressed from a bad student into one of the top students in school. Sophia wrote the book while Sarah designed the front cover. Michael stayed up the whole night to finish the book, and he even counted the number of times he appeared in it¡ªhe scarcely saw his own name there. The whole book had a few hundred thousand words, yet he was only mentioned in less than one- tenth of it. Even a piece of smoked bacon took up more space in the book than he did. However, he didn¡¯t mind it as long as it made her happy. Vague descriptions of several people appeared in some parts of the book, most of them being people that Sophia found to be unforgettable in the past 20 years of her life. Some of these included her beloved grandmother and the principal of Riverdale High School, whose door she had knocked on when she was bleeding badly, and also her godbrother, who shared the exact same birthdate as her¡ªhe was the one who was the first to have found her when she got injured and ran out of the school. Her godbrother¡¯s name was Brooke. It took Michael a while before he finally realized what that name meant to him¡ªit was the same name that Master Levine had given to Linus when thetter came to Cethos. At the end of the book, Brooke¡¯s family called for him to return to his own country, and Sophia¡¯s reluctance in sending her godbrother off was evident through the passages she wrote. Her godbrother appeared even more than the smoked bacon did! Michael felt a sour feeling in his chest after he shut the book. He looked up to see Sophia humming a tune as she fixed the 3D bedroom projector that had previously been sent back after Linus sent it over. Ever since the incident that urred with Linus, Michael had sent all his gifts¡ªexcept Garfield¡ªback to him. However, Sophiater found out that Linus had left all these things in the basement of Vi No. 2, so she happily brought all of them back before openly installing all of them into her own ce. After the projector was installed, she switched it into Arctic mode, and the two of themy on the bed as they stared up at the northern lights. To better fit the mood, she lowered the temperature in the room and covered herself with a thick nket. While shey in her spot, she wondered, What could Linus be doing right now? Could he be staring at northern lights from his own bed as well? Chapter 605 Chapter 605 Sophia noted the provocative look on Natasha¡¯s face, but she kept her cool and proceeded as if she was having a usual conversation with just any individual. While standing on the speech podium, she offered, ¡°The pregnant reader seated in the first row¡ªdo you have anything you¡¯d like to ask me?¡± There wasn¡¯t any other pregnant reader apart from Natasha in the crowd. The assistant quickly brought the mic over and passed it over to Natasha while the crowd alternated their gazes between the pregnantdy and the speaker. Most of them had a feeling that Natasha was about to reveal something shocking¡ªthis was clearly a case of a mistress getting herself pregnant beforeing to ruin the event and cause trouble. No one understood why Sophia provided Natasha with the mic, for any regr person would¡¯ve just kicked Natasha out of the hall. Right then, Natasha took the mic over and said in a sweet voice, ¡°I¡¯m 8-months pregnant, and it¡¯s a little hard for me to speak while standing up. Can I speak while sitting down?¡± Her words were meant to sound humble, but something in her voice exposed her clear intentions of showing off and unting her power. Eight months¡­ Everyone frantically calcted the dates only to realize that Taylor was filming ¡®War Dragon¡¯ in the film studio during that period of time. That was the same period when Natasha went over to visit him every day, sparking numerous rumors, and she waster caught leaving his room early in the morning one day. The news spread like wildfire until her lie was exposed by his livestreamter. However, he never rified if he was sharing the same room as Natasha that night even until the very end. So the child¡¯s father¡­ ¡°Of course,¡± Sophia replied in an equally sweet voice, interrupting all the ongoing hushed whispers that went on in the hall. Everyone turned their nervous gazes on Natasha as they were all curious to see what she would say. A sweet, charming smile crept across Natasha¡¯s lips as she then said her simple yet shocking sentence, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask¡­ when are you and Taylor going to get a divorce?¡± The entire hall erupted with discussion and exmation. She is really here to demonstrate her dominance! Just her first sentence itself isContent is property of N?velDrama.Org. already so shocking! Satisfied by the crowd¡¯s reaction, Natasha looked around with a pause before she then shifted her gaze to her bulging belly and said, ¡°Taylor and I are prepared to wee our baby into the world really soon.¡± Everyone¡¯s jaws hung loosely as they gaped at how intense and exciting this entire plot unfolded. She really started in the most dramatic way possible! The crowd first nced at Natasha, the triumphing mistress, and then at Sophia, the calm and collected wife. A sweet and elegant grin spread across Sophia¡¯s face, showing her straight row of teeth and hiding any signs of panic or other emotions. With a smile, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss. Your question isn¡¯t fitting to my topic for today¡¯s speech, and I am unable to answer any private questions. Next, please¡­¡± Natasha didn¡¯t attempt to disrupt her anymore as she obediently handed the mic over. After throwing a nce at Sophia, who was still on stage, she simply left the hall wearing a look of satisfaction on her face. She only had a single goal that day¡ªto tell everyone that she, Natasha, was back! All the evil b*stards who have hurt me will soon die a painful death! The second she turned around to leave, the sweet smile on her facepletely disappeared and was instead reced by a face filled with hatred and anger. The past 6 months of her life had been torturous; she spent every living moment thinking and hoping for her own death, yet failing to actually die. Fortunately, God was looking out for me, and He brought me back! Everything that I went through was all Sophia¡¯s fault; I have to make her pay for what she did! Even though Natasha showed up and disappeared after throwing her an odd question, none of it seemed to have affected Sophia¡¯s speech and book signing event at all. Although there were slight changes in the atmosphere of the crowd, the whole event ended on a positive note. After it was over, Sophia left the hall with a calm, emotionless look and headed straight for the car. Michael was already there when she got in. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about it,¡± he said in a stern voice. Natasha¡¯s sudden appearance hade as a surprise to everyone. Michael partially med himself for his own carelessness¡ªalthough Linus was the main reason Natasha got sold off into the mountains, Michael had also secretly stopped the Mitchell Family from looking for her. But ever since Linus left the country after that incident, Michel Group hadn¡¯t been as radical and progressive as it had been when he was still around, although thepany had sessfully found itself a ce in Bayside City. Their suppression of otherpanies in their fields were slowing down, and the Mitchell Family soon began to conduct a thorough search for Natasha once they found the chance to do so. Furthermore, with Michael being upied with the Phantom Wolf issue and Sophia¡¯s illness, he neglected the whole issue with Natasha. No one could¡¯ve expected the Mitchells to have secretly found Natasha during this period ¡ªshe had already been back for a month! Linus was the main contributor to Natasha¡¯s unfortunate oue. Michael was in the know but wasn¡¯t part of the action, and Sophia waspletely clueless, yet Natasha chose to ce all the me on her. The baby in her belly¡­ ¡°That baby definitely isn¡¯t mine!¡± Michael rified repeatedly. He only wanted to nt his seeds into Sophia and no one else. She, too, understood that he wasn¡¯t someone who would simply sleep around with others. But if Natasha could make such bold ims about her child belonging to Michael, then she must have some trick hidden up her sleeve. Judging by how certain and confident she was in her acts of calling the man out, she either had a 100% certainty that it was his child, or she had good enough reason to believe that the man would eventually admit to it. Michael hadn¡¯t expected someone as careful as Linus to leave such a huge loophole¡ªhe probably thought that Natasha, like the Johnson Family, would never return for the rest of his life. Soon enough, news of a mistress carrying her baby and forcing her way in between a legal marriage spread across the Inte. It was the digital era, and news went around extremely quickly; by night time, Taylor and Natasha were on the front cover of the papers. Michael received an endless stream of calls from all over, and the house itself was swarmed with people. Sean and Stanley dropped by to pay a visit. ¡°Uncle Michael! Uncle Michael! Bad news! Natasha went to the militarypound and met up with Old Master Fletcher today. Judging by what he said, he¡­ he¡­¡± Stanley paused mid-sentence and looked all around his surroundings to make sure that Sophia wasn¡¯t around before he edged closer to Michael¡¯s face. ¡°Old Master Fletcher thinks that Natasha should give birth to the baby. It¡¯s already 8 months old, and it¡¯s toote for her to get an abortion¡­ Old Master Fletcher is troubled by this incident as well; he¡¯s throwing a tantrum in the garden! That child belongs to the next generation in the family, and he feels extremely bad to have his own flesh and blood living out of the family. At the same time, he adores Aunt Sophia and would never get anyone to rece her even for the sake of his own grandchild.¡± Sean was just as anxious as he added, ¡°Uncle Michael, the Mitchells are really losing it right now. They are cing all of their family¡¯s pride and ego on the line just to get you to marry her! If you refuse to do so, Mitchell Family¡¯s next step would be to cut all ties with the Fletcher Family before engaging in a deadly fight with you.¡± The Mitchells had huge influence in both business and politics; if they were forced to, they might actually stand out andunch a massive attack against Michael. As of right then, the Mitchells were already losing patience with everything that was going on. They thought that it was about time they gathered their resources as an entire family to ensure that Michael would be willing to take full responsibility for the child in Natasha¡¯s belly. Chapter 606 Chapter 606 Michael wore a grim expression on his face. He now understood that the main question wasn¡¯t who the kid¡¯s father was, but whether he was willing to get married to Natasha. If he refused to do it, the Mitchells might really send their entire family after him! On the other hand, the Fletchers were well-aware of their own capabilities, so they would probably stay out of this. Michael didn¡¯t want them to be a part of this either¡ªthey represented the military, and he didn¡¯t want his own issues to tarnish the reputation of his family name. Sean and Stanley¡¯s gaze were fixed on Michael¡¯s grim face as they anxiously waited for him toe up with a n. Right then, Old Master Fletcher gave them a call, his voice concerned as he immediately cried, ¡°What¡¯s going on, Mikey? Everyone on the Inte is talking bad about you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, Grandpa. Let us youngsters handle these issues ourselves. You don¡¯t have to worry about it,¡± Michael uttered. ¡°Is that child really your¡­¡± Old Master Fletcher was clearly still concerned about the incident. ¡°No.¡± Old Master Fletcher didn¡¯t seem to beforted by Michael¡¯s answer as he continued, ¡°It sounds like they¡¯re all extremely certain that you¡¯re the father. Do you need me to help you out with this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± After talking to Old Master Fletcher for a while longer, Michael glumly ended the call. Before he could say anything, he received another call from the security guard who was in charge of their residential area¡¯s entrance. Apparently, there were 10 members of the Mitchell Family who were already waiting outside the entrance¡ªthey were demanding to meet him in order to discuss the child¡¯s matters. Apart from a few older members of the family, the family head, Alex, and Natasha herself were also present in the group. Stanley was extremely shocked to hear this. ¡°Sh*t, sh*t! It looks like the Mitchells aren¡¯t going to let you off the hook since Alex came over personally. What should we do now, Uncle Michael?¡± With a nonchnt, breezy voice, Michael addressed the security guard on the other end of the call, ¡°Tell them to f*ck off.¡± The security guard passed the exact message to Alex, whose face darkened the minute he heard what Michael had said. He rolled his sleeves up in anger¡ªthis simple sentence meant that Michael had just dered war against the Mitchell Family, one of the four greatest families in the whole of Bayside City! Things were about to change in Bayside City. Both Stanley and Sean were shocked to hear how straightforward and heartless Michael was with his words¡ªhe could¡¯ve spoken to them face to face at the very least! It isn¡¯t a surprise that the Mitchells got furious after receiving such a cold, heartless rejection. ¡­ At the same time, Sophia was on a call in the study room. Linus was the first person to phone her the minute he found out about the incident. He kept quiet for a moment before speaking, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was careless, and it resulted in so much trouble for you. I¡¯m going to clear things up.¡± The guilt in his voice could be heard through their international phone call. This was the first time Sophia had spoken to him since he left a few months ago. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to apologize for. This entire incident stemmed from the longsting grudges Natasha and I have been holding against each other. You¡¯ve already done enough for me. Thank you, but I think I¡¯ll have to be the one to deal with the uing issues.¡± The line then fell silent for a while. After a few seconds, Linus offered, ¡°You can still look for me if you need me to help out with anything.¡± Sophia giggled before she replied, ¡°Thank you, but please let me handle this. I can do it myself.¡± The line fell silent yet again. Sophia actually had tons of questions to ask Linus, but she didn¡¯t know where to start. He seemed to feel the same way toward her. ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s it, then. It should bete where you¡¯re staying. I¡¯ll end the call now; don¡¯t stay up too late.¡± Linus ended the call only to realize that he had only gone through about one-tenth of all the things he had nned to talk about in his head. He wanted to ask if she was fine, if Nathan was fine, whether Nichs was doing its job¡­ Yet he couldn¡¯t seem to ask any of those questions. After ending the call, he picked up the book he was reading, ¡®Mighty Me¡¯, and continued flipping through the pages. He was one of the first batches to have pre-ordered the book, and he finally got his hands on it. He nced through the book, his eyes scanning across each page, as if the gentle, delicate words on the page could allow him to interact with her inner world. There was even her own signature scribbled on the title page of the book. He chuckled when he came to the part about ¡®Brooke Edwards¡¯. I can¡¯t believe she still remembers everything so clearly¡­ Meanwhile, in Vi No. 8 at The Imperial, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but giggle while she shook her head after ending the call and zoning out for a while. She finally understood Linus¡¯ intentions. The most cruel thing he did wasn¡¯t selling Natasha off to a poor mountain area; it was to have her rescued and faced with the Mitchells and the public after she was sold off. To Sophia, the scariest and toughest memory wasn¡¯t the traumatic incident where she was vited at a young age, but the experience of her traumatic incident being exposed to the public such that everyone was aware of how she had been vited as a young girl. It made her feel like she had nowhere to escape to back then¡­ If a respectable and blue-blooded youngdy had to go through what she had encountered, what would it feel like for her? It must be worse than death itself! This time, the Mitchell Family really discarded their pride to start a fight with Michael. Judging by the situation, they seemed to have really given up on all their honor and dignity for the sake of starting a full- fledged, tumultuous fight with Michael, where either party would lose terribly. The Mitchells made their stance clear¡ªthey¡¯d never let him go if he refused to marry Natasha. Most of the partnering businesses who had worked with Michael were forced to cut ties with him after being coerced by Mitchell Family. Even directors and producers in the film industry began to make public statements, criticizing Michael¡¯s irresponsible behaviors before stating that they¡¯d never work with him again in the future. Theizens who started off feeling doubtful about the whole situation gradually shifted their beliefs as Michael refused to make any public statements or replies¡ªthey took his silence as a sign that he was ashamedly admitting to his faults. All of a sudden, everyone agreed that Taylor¡¯s entertainment career had indeede to an end. Everything before this had merely been groundless usations against him, but things actually got real this time. Michael had two movies that were scheduled to be screened¡ªone of it being ¡®War Dragon¡¯, and the other being a tribute film¡ªbut both, as expected, reported dys in their screening dates. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Taylor¡¯s scandal wasn¡¯t just covered in local news reports; it even spread across countries and was turned into an international highlight. The issue of Taylor impregnating Natasha turned into the headlines of entertainment news across the globe. He was a well-known actor, and nasty incidents like these spread quicker than any other types of news. Despite this, Taylor didn¡¯t seem interested in giving anyments about it. He remained calm as ever, and he didn¡¯t even post anything on his Twitter¡ªonly Eddie¡¯s Twitter remained active every now and then. Her Twitter content mostly included games, posts fangirling over other celebrities, and the asional sharing of adorable puppies, kittens and robots. It was almost as if she was saying, ¡®Life is good, and everything else is none of my business¡¯, even though she received more than ten thousand hate tweets every day. Although she didn¡¯t seem to be concerned, the public definitely expressed their great worries to her. ¡°Damn it, you have to say something about this, Sophia! Look at these news articles; they¡¯re all calling Uncle Michael a d*ckhead! They even said that you¡¯re heartless! Uncle Michael¡¯s entertainment career is over! It¡¯s over!¡± ¡­ Stanley moved around like an active monkey every day, and he rushed over to look for Sophia one day. He hadn¡¯t seen Sophia giving any form of reaction ever since the news of Natasha¡¯s pregnancy surfaced; she went to work like usual each day and even went out for meals and shopped, as if she wasn¡¯t affected by any of it. Stanley thought that he would¡¯ve been sobbing in fear if he were in her position¡ªimagine being cursed by ten thousand people each day! Who could remain calm in such a situation?! Chapter 607 Chapter 607 Sophia was in the midst of practicing yoga, her face expressionless as she had a face mask on. She pursed her lips slightly as she uttered, ¡°What is there to be afraid of? I¡¯m not the one who¡¯s pregnant. The pregnant woman who¡¯s trying to force a married man to get married to her isn¡¯t worried at all, so what reason do I have to be worried about this?¡± Stanley felt like he had nowhere else to release the anger he felt in him. ¡°Where¡¯s my uncle?¡± He looked around to see that Michael wasn¡¯t home even though the pregnancy incident was now a huge matter. ¡°He¡¯s busy!¡± Sophia shifted into a different yoga pose. Michael had been acting rather mysteriously since the incident urred. The Mitchells were simply too wild; they utilized the powers and strength of their entire family just to go against him. But this was both a disaster and an opportunity to him¡ªhe should grasp this chance to benefit from the Mitchell Family¡¯s acts! Apart from his business, he also had to care for Celine every now and then. Meanwhile, Justin¡¯s stic surgery was nearlypleted, and his recovery was going well, so the couple threw Nathan aside and went on a romantic getaway. Hence, Nathan had no choice but to frustratedly y his games every day. Stanley thought that it was over for Michael¡ªalthough acting in movies wasn¡¯t his main source of ie, it was his passion and career. Who would ask him to star in their movie now that this scandal had surfaced?! If he got canceled from the industry, no one would be able to see him in any movies in the future! Throughout this period, Sophia was indeed calm. Natasha was the one who should be worried. One day, Natasha was just pacing around in the Mitchell Residence, looking through all the news articles and updates about Taylor¡¯s whereabouts. She then realized that he hadn¡¯t responded to anything at all¡­ Things are starting to look bad for me! The baby in me isn¡¯t even 8 months old! And it isn¡¯t even Michael¡¯s child! She didn¡¯t know whose child it was. She was too afraid to recall the most torturous period of her life and how she had been vited, ravaged, and torn apart by those people. She was tied onto a bed frame as the people took turns with her. Every once in a while, she would be punched and kicked, and her meals were leftovers served with dirty water. She had no knowledge of the day, time, and season in the outside world, and she had considered killing herself multiple times, but she managed to endure and get through all of it in the end. She was waiting for the Mitchells to save her¡ªshe knew the sort of power and influence they had, and she knew that they¡¯d be able to find her soon. By the time they saved her, she had already been pregnant for a few months. She thought that she had finally escaped from her problems, but she then realized that she had another issue once she returned to Bayside City¡ªshe had no exnation for the baby in her belly! However, if others found out that Young Lady Mitchell had been sold off into the mountains to be gang raped by a few men, what would they say? How could her blue blood tolerate such judgements under public scrutiny? Only a few people in the Mitchell Family knew where she actually was when she disappeared. They only had to know that the baby in her stomach was Michael¡¯s¡ªthat was enough! She wanted to use this opportunity with her child to get married into the Fletcher Family, but the fact that the child¡¯s father wasn¡¯t Michael would soon be exposed. She therefore had to get Michael to agree to marry her quickly before she could find a way to give herself a miscarriage! Then, no one would be able to prove if the child was actually his! Now, she just had to wait for Michael to give in to her wishes. The Fletchers didn¡¯t recognize Michael as a part of them and knew better than to get involved in this, so Michael was alone in this. Under the pressure and coercion of the Mitchell Family, it was likely that Michael would soon give in and get a divorce with Sophia to marry Natasha. ¡­ In the middle of the night in Vi No. 8, Stanley, who was still wearing his pajamas, rushed over on a bike and banged the door open. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you pick up my call, Sophia? Hurry up! Something has happened! Something bad!¡± Stanley charged into the living room to find Sophia half-asleep in her pajamas. She had just woken up, and her eyes were half-shut as she yawned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong you, Stanley?! You called so many times; you called even after I ended your call! So I had no choice but to turn my phone off!¡± She had an especially bad temper since her beauty sleep had been disrupted. With beads of sweat coating his forehead, Stanley tugged on her arm and pulled her out. ¡°You have to take a look at this, Sophia! Uncle Michael, that heartless jerk, shared a room with Natasha and was caught by the media. It¡¯s all over the news. Look!¡± Stanley handed his phone over and shed thetest news in front of her face. It was a video released by someizen¡¯s personal ount, showing Natasha and Taylor entering the same hotel in the middle of the night. Oddly enough, neither one of the two people in the video seemed to be acting secretive about this; they generously revealed their faces and boldly strode into the hotel while holding hands. All the passionate netizens didn¡¯t seem to need any sleep in the middle of the night, for a great number of them crowded in front of the hotel to wait for Taylor and Natasha. Soon enough, many high-definition versions of the video were uploaded online, all from different angles. The video showed Natasha, with her huge belly, wearing a joyous expression on her face, while Michael looked cool and emotionless as ever. It was definitely Michael in the video; his short-trimmed hair and distinct facial features were highlighted in a high-definition video filmed from the front. Sophia could clearly see the face that she was so familiar with. But Michael had been in the Special Operations Squadron and had so many bodyguards by his side; he couldn¡¯t have been forced by Natasha to do this. This meant that he most likely did it voluntarily! He voluntarily went into a hotel with Natasha! Stanley looked like he was about to cry as he said, ¡°That¡¯s my uncle; I¡¯m sure of it! I wouldn¡¯t have believed it if I hadn¡¯t seen the video myself! He hid it too well! He probably went off with Natasha because she got a child while you kept dying your pregnancy! Sophia, my uncle is a jerk indeed. He¡¯s probably had something going on with Natasha for a long while; he¡¯s been cheating on you for so long! You should divorce him and be with me instead!¡± The more he spoke, the more it sounded like he was trying to benefit from this disaster. He continued to convince her by saying, ¡°It exins why he has been so mysterious recently. It¡¯s because he¡¯s been meeting Natasha secretly! Let¡¯s go catch them red-handed! We have to confront this indecent couple! The hotel that they¡¯re messing around in has been surrounded by all the media sites, so they probably can¡¯t get out right now! Let¡¯s go and catch them now! Just get a divorce with him already; you can¡¯t live like this!¡± Sophia was shocked when she first saw the video as well. Oh, dear. It really is Michael! He really went to get a room with Natasha! How could that be?! ¡°That¡¯s impossible¡­¡± she mumbled. Stanley hurriedly attempted tofort her as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Sophia. You still have me as your support; I¡¯ll always be right behind you. If that jerk dares to do anything to you, I will fight him with all my might! You really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover. I hadn¡¯t expected someone as respectful and proper as my uncle to be capable of doing such a thing. He even got his mistress pregnant! You should leave as soon as possible and just get him to share some of his wealth with you!¡± Suddenly, a cold voice rang from behind Stanley. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re here, Stan?¡±All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Stanley jumped in fright the minute he heard the voice. He turned his head around in disbelief, only to see that Michael had been standing behind him. Stanley hadn¡¯t realized when the man had arrived and what he had heard. Michael was dressed in a couple¡¯s pajamas that matched the one on Sophia, and his gaze was cold as he stared directly at Stanley. With his jaw hung loose and his eyes wide and bulging, Stanley trembled in shock as he muttered, ¡°Uncle¡­ how are you back here?! Weren¡¯t you¡­ with¡­¡± Chapter 608 Chapter 608 Michael rested an arm on Sophia¡¯s shoulder before he nced downward to stare at the phone that she was holding in her hand. A look of satisfaction crept across his face when he saw himself appearing in the video and holding hands with Natasha as they walked into the hotel. He even ran his fingers across his own face as he watched the video. Stanley first looked at Michael, who stood right before his eyes, then at the video of Michael; this shift in his gaze went on multiple times as he felt cold sweat forming on his skin. Michael threw the phone over to Stanley once he finished watching the video. ¡°I¡¯ll go get changed, and we can go catch that indecent couple together. We should practice some of our fighting skills, Stan,¡± he said while throwing him a cold re. Stanley was so shocked that he fell onto his knees immediately. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡­ The next morning, Bayside Grand Hotel was swarming with a mixture of news reporters and passionateizens. Therge crowds blocked all the entrances to the hotel; even the pet door that led into the hotel was upied by a number of phones with the cameras pointed toward the building. Natasha and Taylor shared a room in this hotel yesterday! There¡¯s video evidence, and even the receptionist confirmed our suspicions! Now, this unfaithful couple is stuck in this hotel, and they have yet to step out of the building! Rumors have it that Eddie and Taylor have already called it off, and that they have already got their divorce certificate! Taylor has also been rumored to have gotten a sh marriage with Natasha just so that their child would be legitimate! It was also rumored that Taylor gave Eddie a hefty alimony of 100 million! Rumors have it¡­ It only took a single night for the whole of Bayside City to hear about the fact that Natasha had booked a hotel room with Taylor. The traffic around the hotel was really bad; Sophia, who had left at 4.00AM to catch the adulterer, only arrived at the location 3 hourster. She was caught in a terrible jam! As her car was still stuck in a standstill on the road, she walked over to the hotel. A 3-mile radius surrounding the Bayside Grand Hotel was filled with passionateizens from the Maple District who came forward to catch a glimpse of the adulterers. It was indeed a rare asion to be able to witness the live situation of a famous actor going into a hotel with his mistress, so there were many individuals who stayed around all night, their eyes red from the sleep that they had sacrificed. It was a never-before-seen sight¡ªthe crowd wasrger than the huge mobs seen around malls on ck Friday! People began to get impatient as they saw that it was 7.30AM. The sun was out, yet the adulterers hadn¡¯t walked out of the building. Why aren¡¯t they out yet? It¡¯s nearly time for us to head to work; we¡¯re all waiting to catch them cheating before we go to our offices! The Bayside Grand Hotel was surrounded by huge clumps of people¡ªsome of themizens who were excited to catch the adulterers, and others fans of Taylor. Some fans had been supporting him for ten years, and they hadn¡¯t expected to stop supporting him because he cheated on his wife, so they had to see it for themselves in order to get proper closure. The group, made up of news reporters, passersby, and fans prepared to catch the adulterers, was waiting around; countless phones were prepared to start their livestreams the minute the cheating couple appeared. Apart from those who were at the location itself, there were hundreds of millions of fans who were waiting for something to happen on the livestreams! They were all ready to witness a historical moment that day¡ªthey wanted to catch the adulterers red-handed! As they continued waiting for the couple, they then noticed that the legal wife had arrived. ¡°Eddie¡¯s here; please give her some space!¡± The crowd went wild once they heard that Taylor¡¯s legal wife had arrived, and they quickly shifted around to form a narrow, empty pathway so that Sophia and the rest could easily enter the hotel. With Sophia leading the way, there were more than ten individuals who followed behind her, including Stanley, Sean, Hale, Gary, and a bunch of other men. Michael, on the other hand¡­ decided to wait in the car as he was too ashamed to go out. It wasn¡¯t exactly convenient for him to show his face during such a situation, after all. Therge crowd who came to catch the adulterers had been waiting for hours, yet signs of them surfaced in the hotel only ten minutes after Sophia arrived. Soon enough, the Mitchell Family¡¯s car stopped at the entrance of the hotel, their arrival grand and loud. More than 10 bodyguards dressed in ck marched out of the hotel and stood by the two sides of the road to separate the happening crowd. The indecent couple is about toe down! Media and entertainment sites had all deemed this a huge, problematic scandal; there was no chance of it being salvaged at this point. Everyone was prepared to watch how the fight would go down. Taylor, the Oscar winning actor and the nation¡¯s greatest treasure in the entertainment field, being caught cheating while his wife and his mistress went against one another¡­ The mere thought of it was exciting. Everyone rubbed their palms together eagerly as they fished their phones out and prepared their cameras. Sophia¡¯s every act was caught on camera, and the crowd even took videos of what she wore that day. Sophia was clearly there just to catch the adulterers, as she was dressed in ts and a t-shirt while her hair was allbed into a bun. That way, the other woman wouldn¡¯t be able to tug on Sophia¡¯s hair if they got into a fight. Her group of men were all dressed in identical clothes, which made their aura stronger than ever. Sophia stood by the entrance of the hotel, her hands still rested on her hips as she watched the indecent couple walking out of the hotel. The woman was¡ªas expected¡ªNatasha, dressed in an expensive- looking outfit that made her look like a richdy. With her huge belly and her curvy figure, she didn¡¯t look anything like a 19-year-old at all. She wore heavy makeup and a proud expression on her face; her chin was lifted high as she walked out hand-in- hand with Taylor, her other hand ced on her own belly, as if what she was touching wasn¡¯t a ball of meat but a rare piece of treasure. Inparison to her, Sophia was dressed in a much simpler manner¡ªa t-shirt, some concealer, and ts, without any other essories. When the two of them were put together, they were a typical combination of an unkempt wife and a flirty mistress. The whole situation was really embarrassing for Sophia, who really didn¡¯t want to be there but knew she had no choice. After all, who would wish for such nasty, personal incidents to be revealed to the whole nation? She had done a great job of being a dutiful and loving wife, yet someone had the audacity to step forward and ruin her life. Since Natasha wants to y this game with me, I¡¯ll make sure to fulfil all her desires! ¡®Taylor¡¯, whose hands were intertwined with Natasha¡¯s, had remained silent the whole way through. He had a neat crew cut and an ice-cold demeanor. Although he didn¡¯t speak, his lips curved into what looked like a sneer, and there seemed to be some sort of hidden meaning behind the look in his gaze. He appeared hand-in-hand with Natasha. It¡¯s really Taylor! It¡¯s solid proof of him cheating! He¡¯s caught red-handed! Everyone began to snap images of the scene excitedly. Countless pairs of eyes red right at them for fear that they might miss out on something if they looked away. Under the scrutiny of all the camera lenses, Natasha intentionally led ¡®Taylor¡¯ over to Sophia; she walked right up to Sophia and tightened her grip around the man¡¯s arm as she shed Sophia a malicious grin. Natasha¡¯s bodyguards and Sophia¡¯s own men stood facing one another, their stares burning into each other¡¯s skulls as both groups looked prepared to start a fight! The crowd fell silent as everyone widened their eyes to witness the show that was about to happen. They¡¯re about to get into a fight! The wife is going to beat the mistress up! Natasha herself was waiting for Sophia to hit her as well. Once Sophia started a fight, it¡¯d give her the chance to get rid of the b*stard in her own tummy! Then, there¡¯d no longer be any proof of who the child belonged to, and Michael wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this any longer. Sophia would also be convicted for causing intentional harm; Natasha could pull a few strings in prison to make sure that she would stay in there forever. Two birds with one stone! The two of them continued to stand facing each other silently. With a gap of 80 inches between them, one woman was gloating with pride as she lifted her chin high, while the other was calm and collected with her gaze cold. The fight seemed like it was on the verge of urring, and the thousands of people who stood around quietly thought to themselves, Start the fight! Hurry and start the fight! I want to see action; I want them tugging on each other¡¯s clothes; I want them stripping each other naked! Everyone was waiting for Sophia to give her orders so that someone would charge forward to tear Natasha¡¯s clothes off her. It¡¯d be even better if they beat that jerk, Taylor, up as well! Chapter 609 Chapter 609 To the crowd¡¯s disappointment, Sophia refused to make any moves. She stood in front of the hotel¡¯s entrance along with her group of men and blocked Natasha from leaving, but she didn¡¯t start a fight. Her cold gaze was fixed on the woman as she stood in the way of the adulterers. The public¡¯s hopeful and excited gazes nearly burned a hole through Sophia¡¯s t-shirt, yet she refused to do anything even after a few minutes of standing still and staring at Natasha. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Why isn¡¯t she doing anything? Natasha felt a little anxious. She tried her best to infuriate the other woman by clinging onto Michael¡¯s arm and leaning into his embrace, like a timid little girl seeking attention. ¡°Taylor, look at what Sophia is doing¡­ How dare she stand in our way! She¡¯s even ring at us so fiercely. I¡¯m scared¡­¡± Her pretentious and whiny voice gave everyone in the crowd goosebumps the moment they heard it. What an annoying mistress! She is clearly showing off in an attempt to provoke Taylor¡¯s legal wife! Any other regr person would¡¯ve probably lost control of themselves and charged forward to beat Natasha up. But Sophia didn¡¯t; she simply red at the woman with her hands on her hips, and her stance firm and solid. She only blocked the woman¡¯s way without starting a fight. Everyone gazed at Natasha, then Sophia, then Taylor, who had remained silent this whole time. They watched as Taylor reached for his phone and scrolled through it arrogantly, as if all of this was none of his business. How dare he do that! Beat him up! Hurry and beat the jerk up! Beat the mistress up too! Everyone felt impatient on behalf of Sophia, his actual wife! Natasha kidnapped and brought Michael over to be locked up in the hotel for the whole ofst night. He probably got a good grasp of how powerful the Mitchells were in rtion to himself, which exined why he was so silent the entire night. He would never dare to speak up for Sophia in the present situation. Natasha felt like she was in charge of the entire situation, so she spat in an extremely haughty and exaggerated tone, ¡°Since you¡¯ve found out about it, I¡¯ll just be straightforward with you¡ªTaylor and I made love in the hotel yesterday night. He loves me so much; he caressed me the entire night and was especially gentle with me as he was afraid that he¡¯d harm the baby in my belly! The baby is ours, after all; it¡¯s due really soon! Taylor also told me yesterday that he was going to tell you¡ªa hen that doesn¡¯ty eggs¡ªabout getting a divorce today! He¡¯ll get married to me right after getting a divorce with you, so that my child will be a legitimate child! Don¡¯t worry; even though you were the one that came between Taylor and I before we got together previously, we will still provide you with an alimony that¡¯ll be banked into your ount each month. You can treat it as apensation fee for all that you¡¯ve done for Taylor in the past two years. Don¡¯t you even dare to ask for any other property. You have to at least have some self-awareness¡ªyou should just pack your things and leave since you¡¯ve failed to give Taylor a child! You useless, infertile hen!¡± Natasha highlighted Sophia¡¯s infertility and her failure to get pregnant in her two years of marriage while rubbing her round, bulging tummy every now and then¡ªany regr woman would have definitely been triggered and charged forward by then! Her words sparked anger in the crowd, and people began to protest. The audience was extremely triggered, and many of them desperately wanted to murder the adulterers on behalf of Sophia. None of them had expected Taylor to be this kind of person! It¡¯s over; it¡¯s all over. His career is utterly destroyed, and he¡¯ll only be known as the World¡¯s Greatest Jerk from now on! Natasha¡¯s even worse! We all feel so bad for Sophia; she came over early in the morning to catch her spouse cheating, but she probably didn¡¯t expect to hear such hurtful words! Taylor, that jerk, is still scrolling through his phone! They should beat them up! Tear their clothes off! Destroy the b*tch and b*stard! Natasha was waiting for Sophia to lose control andunch an attack against her as well. If Sophia refused to make a move, Natasha wouldn¡¯t be able to free herself from her responsibilities regardless of whether she got injured. Sophia was a lot calmer than Natasha had expected her to be¡ªshe remained calm even after Natasha had said a series of hurtful words that should¡¯ve targeted her sensitive spots. Yet Sophia simply ced both her hands on her hips and stood still before walking around her area and changing the positioning of her arms every now and then. Seeing this, Natasha continued to act pretentiously as she leaned her head against Michael¡¯s shoulder while beaming happily. She then tugged Michael¡¯s arm over and ced it on her pregnant belly, as if they were one happy family. With Michael¡¯s hand still pressed against her belly, Natasha provocatively red at Sophia. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re going to give Taylor and I your best wishes, aren¡¯t you? You have no idea how ted he was when he first heard that I was pregnant. Well, it¡¯s a shame that you didn¡¯t manage to get pregnant even after two years of being with him, isn¡¯t it? Perhaps you have some sort of illness. I¡¯ll give you a sum of money after your divorce; you can use it to treat your infertility issues!¡± The crowd lost it then. F*ck her best wishes! Bunch of sc*mbags! We hope that, if it¡¯s a daughter, she¡¯d be born with no *sshole, and if it¡¯s a son, he¡¯d be born with two! Beat them up, Eddie! Sophia finally spoke up after looking at the disgustingly happy and proud face in front of her. ¡°What else do you have to say for yourself, Michael?¡± Her voice was strong, and its impact huge; it was filled with the fury and anger that any other woman should have when she was questioning her cheater of a husband. Everyone began to get excited as the atmosphere was finally building up! It¡¯s starting. Finally! His wife is finally going to speak up! But Michael remained silent in response to Sophia¡¯s question. He continued to scroll through his phone with his head lowered. Natasha tugged against his arm then. ¡°Say something, Taylor!¡± She knew that Michael was afraid to speak up after he saw how determined the Mitchells were, but she was waiting for Michael and Sophia to get into a terrible fight so that they¡¯d end things between them once and for all! From then on, she¡¯d be the one and only Mrs. Murray! Finally, Michael kept his phone into his shirt pocket and looked up. He was dressed in a loose-fitting, casual shirt, which made it look like he was prepared to go for a run; it didn¡¯t match the morous look Natasha had at all. His gaze was deep as he lifted his head, and it was equally mesmerizing regardless of how he looked at others. A single casual and boyish nce was enough to send electric currents down any young girl¡¯s spine while melting her heart. This celebrity was a national treasure indeed; a single look was enough for anyone to turn crimson red, experience heart palpitations, and form sexual thoughts, all at the same time! If it weren¡¯t for his good looks, charisma and charm, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to have two girls fighting over him in such a manner. He nced at Sophia and Natasha before shifting his gaze to the public, whose eyes were all bulging as they waited for him to make a statement. ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m a woman, and I can¡¯t possibly impregnate Natasha. Please don¡¯t me me for this,¡± he finally said. His voice sounds manly and handsome, but¡­ he¡¯s a woman! Everyone¡¯s gazes unconsciously shifted to his throat before they realized¡ªhe didn¡¯t have an Adam¡¯s apple! No Adam¡¯s apple? Natasha¡¯s gaze shot up to re at the man as he spoke, and she then realized that the ¡®Taylor¡¯ who stood before her didn¡¯t have an Adam¡¯s apple! ¡®Taylor¡¯ continued, ¡°I was kidnapped and brought over to the Bayside Grand Hotel halfway through my jog yesterday. I don¡¯t know what happened. I don¡¯t know anything at all!¡± Everyone in the crowd seemed to have turned into stone after they heard what he had to say. All of them red at ¡®Taylor¡¯ with their huge eyes. Their focus was no longer on questioning if Taylor and Natasha actually had a thing with one another. Instead, it was¡­ Is Taylor Murray actually a woman? Chapter 610 Chapter 610 His handsome face, his icy aura, and his sharp features that often appear on the big screen¡ªanyone would be able to recognize Taylor Murray even if he had been burned to ashes! Yes, it was Taylor indeed. But Taylor was actually a woman¡­ The rumors are true! Taylor¡¯s a woman! She had been pretending to be a man in the entertainment industry, and she seeded in fooling all of us for more than 10 years! It¡¯s no wonder there¡¯ve been so many rumors of Taylor being gay and interested in men; it¡¯s because ¡®he¡¯ is actually a woman! Of course she is interested in men! Does that mean that her marriage with Eddie¡­ is actually a same-sex marriage? What about the baby in Natasha¡¯s belly, then?! Could a woman get another woman pregnant?! Gosh, this storyline, this plot twist, and the current direction of the story has long surpassed what any of us could¡¯ve expected¡­ The entertainment industry in Cethos embraced its greatest news of all time: Best Actor, Taylor Murray, was actually a woman! He had perfect facial features, a 6-foot tall figure, and the charisma of a sexy man, yet ¡®he¡¯ was actually a woman! Shocked, Natasha pulled her hand away in the speed of lightning before she staggered backward. With her hand pressed against her belly, she red at ¡®Taylor¡¯ as if she had just seen a ghost. ¡°Who are you? Y-You¡¯re not Taylor! Who are you?!¡± How could Taylor be a woman?! The person in front of her looked exactly like the one she had seen on screens; if anything, she was even more charismatic than she appeared to be in her movies. The side of her thin lips curled into an enigmatic smile, and a thinyer of darkness covered her gaze. All that was missing was an Adam¡¯s apple. While Natasha remained quiet, it was now Sophia¡¯s turn to sneer at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you made love with Taylor yesterday night? That he had been gentle to you because he was trying to be careful with the baby in your belly? What, now? Couldn¡¯t you tell that ¡®he¡¯ was actually a female when the two of you spent the night making love to one another? How did you even have sex with her? Did you use a cucumber?¡± Did they use a cucumber? Everyone was curious to learn if Natasha and this woman had used a cucumber to make love to one anotherst night. Was it the cucumber that impregnated Natasha with the baby in her belly? Everyone turned their gazes toward Natasha. All they saw was a ghastly pale face; with her cheeks blushing, she turned pale and then blushed again as she continued to step backward. She only had one single thought in her mind¡ªTaylor¡¯s actually a woman? A woman?! But Sophia didn¡¯t want to let her off the hook just yet. She intimidatingly stepped forward, her tone of voice unforgiving as she spoke, ¡°What about the baby in your belly? Where did thate from? Isn¡¯t it time for you to provide us with an exnation? Do you want Taylor to be seen as a cheater for the rest of her life? Or did you, the high and mighty Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, forget the actual identity of the father and mistook Taylor as the one who made you pregnant? Perhaps Taylor used a cucumber to make you pregnant. Does that mean that you¡¯ll be giving birth to a cucumber?¡± Natasha was dumbfounded while her mind wentpletely nk. Taylor¡¯s a woman? A woman? How could that be?! If he is a woman, who did I sleep with in the film studio that night?! That¡¯s impossible! But this ¡®man¡¯ in front of my eyes is definitely Taylor; I¡¯m sure of it! All of a sudden, Natasha charged forward and reached her hand over to feel Taylor¡¯s crotch area. Her face darkened the moment she felt it, and beads of sweat began to drip off her forehead as she stepped backward in disbelief. There¡¯s nothing there¡­ She¡¯s really a woman! If the bodyguards hadn¡¯t caught her in time, she would¡¯ve copsed onto the ground right there and then. The crowd finally epted what they saw to be true. The baby in Natasha¡¯s belly must be some b*stard with an unidentified father! No wonder Taylor and Eddie were so calm as they watched the Mitchells overdramatize everything; it¡¯s because Taylor is actually a female! How could a female impregnate another woman?! No wonder Taylor hadn¡¯t been in a rtionship for years until she finally got married to Eddie. How embarrassing it must be for the Mitchells right now; Natasha fooled around and got herself pregnant, and she then attempted to ce the me onto Taylor, but this only forced thetter to reveal that she is actually a female! This storyline is even crazier than an actual TV show¡­ Sophia wasn¡¯t about to let Natasha off so easily, so she intentionally repeated her question she asked earlier. ¡°My respectable Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, you haven¡¯t answered my question yet. How exactly did you make love to Taylorst night? Tell me about it! I¡¯m so curious to find out! Also, you kept saying that the baby in your belly belonged to Taylor, but don¡¯t you have another exnation for it? Do you want Taylor¡¯s reputation to be ruined forever? If you can¡¯t find the child¡¯s father, I can help you do it! The Mitchell Family is so rich; I¡¯m sure you can afford to bring the child up yourself, right? Why must you insist on framing Taylor with such a deed?¡± Natasha was trembling as her bodyguards supported her weight. Her chest heaved up and down as her bloodshot eyes red at Sophia. She felt a huge ball of fire building up in her chest; it felt like the fire was about to shoot out of her eyes. All of a sudden, she shoved her guards away. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! It¡¯s all your fault that I¡¯m pregnant with this b*stard! It¡¯s all because of you! You!¡± she screamed at the top of her lungs like a madwoman. Right after that, she reached her arms out and began to charge toward Sophia. Sophia should¡¯ve been the one who was sent to the mountains; she¡¯s the one who should¡¯ve been pregnant with this b*stard! It¡¯s all her fault! Seeing that things were about to get out of control, Natasha¡¯s bodyguards quickly grabbed onto her arms before dragging her into the car. The Mitchell Family might just lose theirst bit of dignity if things went on like this. But Natasha persistently howled as she was dragged away. ¡°The baby in my belly isn¡¯t Taylor¡¯s, and it¡¯s not 8-months old, but he still has to get married to me! Otherwise, it¡¯d mean that he¡¯s going against the whole Mitchell Family! Do you guys dare to form enemies with the Mitchells?! I, Natasha Mitchell, can get any man that I want! The fact that I am interested in a lowly actor like you, Taylor, is actually a blessing to you!¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ Taylor is an actress, not an actor, so I¡¯m afraid she can¡¯t get married to you!¡± Sophia chuckled. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. At that thought, Natasha felt a metallic-tasting liquid gushing up her throat. She furiously tried to swallow it down as her head pounded as if there was a bomb about to explode in it, but to no avail. She just realized that she had been fooled this entire time; she had been fooled from the start until the end. She must¡¯ve been blind to have never realized that Taylor was actually a female! The man that she had loved for so long was actually a woman! The greatest joke here was that she had been so proud with her idea that getting herself pregnant with ¡®his¡¯ baby would make everything work out for her. It¡¯s all a joke; what a joke¡­ Natasha broke into a crazy fit ofughter as the guards dragged her up into the car, leaving a pool of blood on the ground. Sophia walked over and gave ¡®Taylor¡¯ a high five before they both walked off with ¡®Taylor¡¯s¡¯ arm on her shoulder. The crowd was left frozen as they gazed at the pool of blood on the ground. They had expected to catch a bunch of adulterers, but they hadn¡¯t expected things to turn out more dramatic than in the movies! Who would¡¯ve expected for Taylor to actually be a female?! The entertainment news in Cethos was going to be juicy today! Taylor¡¯s fans would be in shock¡­ The man that they had admired for years turned out to be a woman! Meanwhile, Michael sat in the car as he scrolled through his phone to see all the diehard fans who had posted links of the livestream. He then felt a sudden pang of uneasiness in him. Chapter 611 Chapter 611 Michael hurriedly logged in to his Twitter ount that he hadn¡¯t used in a long while. He immediately posted a tweet with a photo of his own Adam¡¯s apple with the caption, ¡®I¡¯m a man. Thank you.¡¯ Meanwhile, Harry, who sat beside him,ughed so hard that he could barely straighten himself. ¡°Hahahaha¡­ dude, you¡­. hahahaha¡­¡± Michael ced a hand against his face ashamedly. He was d that he stood his ground and refused to get out of the car and catch the adulterers, for he would¡¯ve been even more embarrassed than ever if he had done so! This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Soon enough, Sophia and Celine made their way back into the car. Celine had been staying in the mental hospital for a while now; her condition was much better than before, but she would still lose her sanity every now and then, which exined why she had to stay in the hospital. Fortunately, she was well enough to function on a day-to-day basis. Previously, she had shaved her head clean to treat her wounds, but her hair had now grown and was at the length of a crew cut. She was only one inch shorter than her brother; she was t-chested, and she generally preferred to dress in a more gender-neutral manner¡ªshe was literally wearing the same pair of pants as Justin right then. No one could tell the difference between her and a man, and she looked like a carbon copy of Michael when they stood next to each other. That day, Michael had gone over to the hospital to visit both her and Justin. She stepped out to send Michael off before she went for a jog to train her stamina, but she hadn¡¯t expected Natasha¡¯s men to kidnap her by throwing a bup sack over her head. The twins¡¯ souls must¡¯ve entered the wrong body, for Michael had always been a cry-baby while his sister acted like a tomboy since they were children. Celine was practically a male; even Sophia found it hard to distinguish between the two of them, let alone Natasha. That probably exined why Natasha hadn¡¯t recognized that Celine was a female throughout the whole night. All of them got into Michael¡¯s SUV, with Sophia sitting between Michael and Celine. She felt like she had two husbands right then. Michael then felt a tiny hand creeping toward his crotch area before pressing against it¡­ Sophia heaved a sigh of relief once she made sure that Michael¡¯s private part was still in his pants. I¡¯ll have to touch their crotches the next time I get confused between the two of them, then. After the whole incident that morning, ¡®Taylor¡¯s a woman¡¯ became the hot topic that was discussed by all the citizens of the city. Everyone, from the wealthiest families to the middle-aged women that strolled by the side of the roads, were gathered to discuss this topic. The first discussion that came up in each conversation, online or offline, would be the issue of Taylor¡¯s gender. Some of the people who saw Taylor in person were certain that she was female. Although her height and facial features resembled a man¡¯s, she didn¡¯t have an Adam¡¯s apple and a rod between her legs, so she had to be a female. But there were also people who argued that he was a male; especially since he had filmed a lot of movies that revealed his upper body in the past ten years. That was something that he couldn¡¯t hide or lie about. He was a man, and he had even posted a picture of his Adam¡¯s Apple on his Twitter ount. The two parties with opposing views were close to getting into a fight over their beliefs, but everyone shared amon understanding¡ªthe baby in Natasha¡¯s belly didn¡¯t belong to Taylor. The child had another father, but Natasha forcefully framed Taylor to shoulder this burden after she slept around and got herself pregnant by some stranger. Therefore, after everyone discussed Taylor¡¯s gender, they were sure to end their sentences with a curse directed at Natasha. ¡°Pfft, that b*tch, Natasha!¡± The Mitchell Family felt extremely embarrassed after the whole incident with the adulterers, so they no longer dared to boldly ask for Taylor to take responsibility for anything. ¡­ ¡°Sophia, did you know that Alex gave Old Master Fletcher a call yesterday? Haha!¡± Stanley bumped into Sophia the minute he stepped into Vi No. 8, and heically began to tell her about what he witnessed yesterday. He lifted a hand to his ear and acted as Alex, who was giving Old Master Fletcher a call. ¡°Hey, Old Master Fletcher. When did your grandson, Michael, turn into a woman?¡± Stanley then pretended to be Old Master Fletcher as he mimicked the old man¡¯s voice. ¡°My granddaughter, Celine, has always been a woman! Did you just find out about this? Hahahaha!¡± At the sight of this, Sophia doubled over as she burst into a fit ofughter. Celine felt rather helpless in this situation¡ªshe just wanted to go for a jog, but Natasha somehow chose to kidnap her. Although she could have easily strangled Natasha to death with her extraordinarybat skills, she also wanted to see what Natasha was up to. However, she hadn¡¯t expected for Natasha to bring her to a hotel and force her to get married to her. She remained silent the whole night and pretended to bepliant to Natasha¡¯s wishes, but she had actually been texting Michael the entire time. Michael initially thought of going over to save her from the hotel, but it suddenly struck him that he could actually make a fool out of Natasha, so that things would be especially dramatic when Sophia went over to catch the adulterers. All of them gathered at the No. 8 Vi that day, with the asion being to celebrate a milestone achieved by the game created by Stanley¡¯spany. It had just hit its first ever 1 million online gamers. The shooting game that they had created, Soul of Sniper, had a crazy amount of downloads the minute they uploaded the public beta version of the game. The morning that Sophia had headed over to the hotel to catch the adulterers, she intentionally wore a t-shirt that was used for thepany¡¯s promotion¡ª¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯ was printed in huge fonts right at the front of the shirt. While everyone had gathered to watch the incident, they were also staring at an advertisement. Perhaps the advertising was done especially well this time, or perhaps the game itself was addictive; either way, the downloads for the game saw a drastic increase after the incident at the hotel, and it finally surpassed a total of 1 million users ying the game at a single time. All four of thepany¡¯s elders were present that day, along with Michael, Celine, and Harry, the old wolf who tagged along behind his little kitten, Sarah. The atmosphere was cheery as Sophia quickly set the dining table up before bringing the bacon that she had prepared out. Stanley continued to tell her all about what went on during the call between Alex and Old Master Fletcher. When she ced the bacon down on the table, she lifted her head up to see that the Fletcher twins had arrived downstairs. The two of them were dressed in the exact same clothes, and they had the exact same face and hairstyle, but one of them was just a little taller than the other. Sophia widened her eyes as she couldn¡¯t tell which of them was Michael. The taller one stepped over and grabbed onto Sophia¡¯s fair hand before cing it over his own crotch. He then edged his face toward hers as he beamed with his eyes narrowed. Sophia turned as red as a tomato as she hurriedly pulled her hand away. ¡°Gross!¡± a few of them shouted. Michael couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter as he watched Sophia scurrying away from him with her face red. It looks like I can use this trick to tease her for days! Celine realized how much her brother loved Sophia when she saw the way heughed so happily with her. She liked Sophia too. Soon, all of the dishes were ced on the dining table, and everyone apart from Justin¡ªwho was still in the midst of recovering from his stic surgery¡ªwas present. Celine pulled Nathan into her arms and nted a huge kiss on his face. Only during such times did she ever show the slightest hint of her feminine side. During dinner, Sean began to talk about the Mitchell Family¡¯s situation. ¡°Natasha was in shock after going home that day; she ended up giving birth prematurely, and I¡¯m not sure how her condition is right now. I heard that the child hadn¡¯t been healthy from the start, so it¡¯s hard to tell if it will survive. Now, the Mitchells are a mess as their whole family is utterly embarrassed by what Natasha did.¡± Michael listened to him speak without giving anyments. The messier, the better. It¡¯d be easier for me to target them, then. Out of nowhere, Stanley started a new topic of conversation, with his question directed toward Celine. ¡°What are your ns for the future, Aunt Celine? I think you can consider entering the filming industry with Uncle Michael.¡± With a face that was already so well-known in the industry, they¡¯d only be even more famous if they appeared as twins! Furthermore, Celine was a lot more handsome than Michael; if she really decided to enter this field, she¡¯d probably outshine Michael. Chapter 612 Chapter 612 Instantly, Celine put her hands up. ¡°I can¡¯t do it! You know how I am; I couldn¡¯t even sing a word when my mom tried to teach me.¡± The two siblings were exactly like their parents¡ªMichael was like his mother, and Celine was like her dad. Elizabeth had tried to teach them to sing when they were young. Michael caught on quickly with his natural talent, good body posture, and a gifted voice. It was obvious that he was meant to be in the showbiz industry, while Celine had stiff limbs and couldn¡¯t get the song out right. But when Theo taught them how to use water guns, Celine was a natural sharp shooter, and Michael could neverpare with her. Now that Celine was back, she also wanted to live a normal life and provide Nathan with a warm, loving family. But she still had dreams to fulfill¡ªshe nned on returning to the army as soon as she recovered. Sophia peeked at the siblings and suddenly realized how sometimes Michael acted gayish while his sister seemed to be the real man! At least, she behaved more manly than Michael did. No wonder Natasha mistook her as a man when she held Celine captive. It was difficult to identify Celine as a woman if one did not pay attention to the Adam¡¯s apple. Tsk! She definitely has the handsome looks to attract women! Even Michael started to get jealous when he realized Sophia was stealing nces at Celine. Michael was quite used to his sister¡¯s ability to attract women¡¯s attention. Back then, when Celine and Jusin got together, all the men and women in the army sighed in relief. The women sighed because the only rose among the thorns was picked, and everybody else would have a chance to stand out now; meanwhile, the men sighed in relief because there were already so few women in the army, and most of them had changed their sexual preference because of Celine, so things could go very badly for them if it had gone on any longer! Michael was a little concerned as he widened his eyes and stared at Sophia and Celine, worried that the former might get attracted to thetter. After dinner, Celine stayed over at Vi No. 8. She wanted to spend some time with Nathan, but right after she had called Justin about noting back tonight, he rushed over to the vi in 20 minutes. They had already been separated for a night, so Justin would go insane if they were to be apart again. Justin was just done with his stic surgery and was still in recovery. His whole face was covered in gauze, which had not been removed yet, so only his eyes, mouth, and nostrils were spared. Without Celine in the hospital with him, he would get someone to carry him wherever she was if he had to. After their meal, Michael called Sean to his office and listened to him exin the current situation of the Mitchell Family. After the recent big scandal from Alex and his daughter, Natasha, the divided Mitchell Family were in a bigger risk of being separated into factions. Sean paused for a while before speaking, ¡°Now, the family has been divided into 3 factions¡ªone faction is under Alex; while another faction consists of my uncles, grandfather, and Cooper¡¯s old allies; whereas the other faction has been wanting to split from the family for a while now. Thatst faction is the one that¡¯s causing the most trouble now.¡± The Mitchell Family had always been restless. Furthermore, Alex had been excessively using all of the Mitchell Family¡¯s resources to crush Michael. The bigger the pressure, the louder the voice of opposition would be; the internal conflict within the family was bound to happen. Michael snickered. ¡°I have a big, juicy piece of information for you to bring back to the Mitchells! It would be like adding fuel to fire.¡± Sean asked anxiously, ¡°What would that be?¡± Michael chuckled heartily. ¡°Cooper has a son.¡± ¡°What?!¡± When Sean learned this news, he was dumbfounded. The Mitchell Family had always valued their bloodline, and they were already stunned to learn that Cooper was still alive. The fact that Cooper had a descendent¡ªparticrly a son¡ªwas important news! If it were just Cooper, then he would probably just get a Chief position and wouldn¡¯t be a threat to the family. But if he had a son as his descendant, then the whole Mitchell Family¡¯s bloodline would be threatened! That was why Michael reserved his information about Copper¡¯s descendant, because that would drive the Mitchell Family crazy enough to act recklessly. However, this information would act as the best catalyst topletely divide the Mitchell Family. Sean was quite calm now, but he was also taken aback by the information and took a while to fully digest the news. Michael added, ¡°You should also tell them that Cooper¡¯s son had inherited all of his father¡¯s merits and has even exceeded his father.¡± Upon that, someone popped up in Sean¡¯s mind for some reason¡ªLinus Michel. If Cooper had a son, then he would definitely be someone like Linus! Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Sean had always suspected that Fass was Cooper. Moreover, Linus was single-handedly brought up by Fass, ans he fit all the criteria of how Sean thought Cooper¡¯s child would be. Although Sophia had also inherited Cooper¡¯s powerful genes, the environment she was born in had greatly restricted her talents and caused her to be a dust-covered pearl. It wasn¡¯t until Michael met her and gently wiped off all the stains that her dazzling glow shone through. Her foundation was still quite shallow as she only started school at 9 and was still quite inexperienced in many aspects. If she had been born in the Mitchell Family under Copper¡¯s personal care with all the top resources provided, Sean was sure that her achievements would have surpassed Linus¡¯ and Lucy¡¯s. Suddenly, he remembered that Sophia and Linus shared the same birthday¡­ and a bold idea came to mind as he hesitated. ¡°Uncle Michael, it can¡¯t be that Linus is¡­¡± Sean was drenched in cold sweat as he mulled over the possibility of that idea. Michael replied calmly, ¡°Yes, I lied to you thest time. Linus and Sophia are rted.¡± Thest time when Sean got hold of Linus¡¯ hair, he gave it to Michael to test his DNA. Now that Michael had revealed the information, he must have had the data to support his statement. Sean was speechless. He smiled sadly as a wave of sadness washed over him. After he bid farewell to Michael, he went back to the Mitchell Residence and informed them of the information he was told. That night, the Mitchell Family elders found out that, not only was Cooper still alive, he also had a son, whose talent was not inferior to his! Chaos erupted among the Mitchells. Cooper¡¯s old allies were overjoyed, while the other factions started to panic. One Cooper Mitchell could only threaten them for a few decades, and sooner orter, he would have to step down like Woody and retire. But if he had a son, then their family could threaten them for centuries, and their faction would no longer have a ce in the Mitchell Family! As soon as the news was released, it was a matter of time before the split of the Mitchell Family would happen. Michael was just waiting for the Mitchells to fall apart and then swallow them whole. It was difficult to take down a united Mitchell Family, but if it was divided and falling apart, then things would be much simpler. The affair scandal had gradually died down as everybody found out that Taylor was indeed a man, and the person that Natasha had captured to spend the night with was indeed a woman. It was said to be Taylor¡¯s martial arts double, who looked 90% simr to him. Natasha tried to use her to create an illusion that she and Taylor were having an affair, but she was unexpectedly exposed by Eddie. Chapter 613 Chapter 613 After all, news was just news, and it would die down after a few days. By then, everyone was distracted by other news, and the gender controversy about Taylor was slowly forgotten. Everyone began to focus on his uing movie. When he had offended the Mitchells previously, they banned his movie and dyed its screening in the theater, but now that the Mitchells were busy handling their inner family problems, Michael¡¯s new movie was finally screened as scheduled. Meanwhile, Justin¡¯s face had finally recovered, and he was cleared to remove the stitches. The day the stitches were removed, Sophia rushed over hurriedly with Nathan to witness the miraculous moment. Sophia had only seen pictures of Justin from 7 years ago, and the explosion that was nned by Phantom Wolf hadpletely destroyed his face. She wasn¡¯t sure whether the hospital could manage to restore his face. This hospital was known as the top stic surgery hospital in the world, and there was none other like it. Everyone held their breath as circles of gauze were slowly removed from Justin¡¯s face. As a sharp angr face appeared in front of Sophia, who widened her eyes in surprise. On his face was a pair of gleaming eyes, a tall nose bridge, and thin red lips; his features had a tinge of Western features mixed with Oriental charm. This is¡­ Justin? He was not much different from what Sophia saw in the photo. His skin was destroyed in the explosion, but his features were still well preserved. After the skin imnt surgery, the results turned out so good that it was impossible to imagine how hideous his face was before. Nathan stared in amazement at his father with wide eyes. Justin was very satisfied with his new face as he happily rushed over to hug his family, looking very happy. Now the family of 3 was finally reunited. Since Justin and Celine were still in the process of recovering, they continued living in the hospital with Nathan visiting them on both sides. Just then, Justin faced a new problem, which was to give his wife and child a normal life. Returning to the Mitchell Family was impossible as he had just escaped that fire pit and had finally cut off all ties with them. Hence, he would not easily go back to the Mitchells, and even until now, the news of Celine and Justin¡¯s return were still hidden from the Mitchell Family. But they would need to be prepared for when the Mitchells found out about it. Since he was back, he wanted his family to live proudly and would not allow them to live in hiding. At the moment, Justin was working under Michael and was receiving a generous sry that was enough to sustain his small little family. Even though the money from Michael was more than enough to provide for his family, Justin thought that, as a man, supporting his family was his sole duty, and he shouldn¡¯t rely on his wife¡¯s family for support; he must contribute to it too. While Justin was busy trying to provide for his family, he realized with utter despair that Celine was back to her flirtatious, suave ways again. The two siblings were born as walking aphrodisiacs. When the younger brother went into the entertainment industry, he had charmed all the girls in Cethos. But his sister was even worse¡ªfor the The most skilled person to pick up a girl had to be a girl as well, and if this girl had a face that was more handsome than a guy, then they would possess insurmountable power. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org. During thesest few days, Sophia had been frequently visiting Celine to ask her guidance in sharpening her fighting skills. If the unbeatable fighter, Celine, was willing to teach her a few moves, she would be able to use it for the rest of her life. Since Celine seemed quite free, Harry also urged Sarah to follow Sophia and learn a few fighting tips from Celine. Sarah had a timid nature, so she was often bullied by her stepmother. He wanted her to be more strong and fierce, so that sooner orter, this little kitten of his would be a big tiger. As Sophia and Sarah went to see Celine everyday, after a while, the three of them had be quite close to each other. They were often spotted with their arms around each other, whispering and giggling, with Celine hugging them both in her arms. It was only then that Michael and Harry smacked their heads¡ªOh, no! We have just the sheeps straight into the tiger¡¯s mouth! Celine had been ¡®dead¡¯ for 7 years, and 7 years was such a long period that they had almost forgotten her true nature. She was actually a yboy without the necessary tools! Michael had thought his flirting skills were quite good; that was why Sophia had fallen head over heels for him. But he was still inexperiencedpared to Celine! Back then, Old Master Fletcher knew that ordinary men wouldn¡¯t be able to control Celine, so he sent out his beloved godson, Cooper, to step in. Firstly, he wanted to steal the Mitchell Family¡¯s powerful genes, and secondly, he knew that, apart from a man as powerful as Cooper, there was no other man that could restrain his unbelievable granddaughter! Unexpectedly, Cooper had already fallen in love with someone else and had sworn he would never marry Celine. He pretended to agree but had secretly pushed Justin out to fulfil that duty. Justin used to be a legend in the army as well; he had a very feminine face and soft, tender skin, but his combat power was so strong that he won a couple of martialpetitions, and so the title, ¡®King of Soldiers¡¯, was given to him. As soon as they met, Celine flirted with Justin, and that was how their story began. The day Old Master Fletcher learned that his granddaughter wanted to get married, he jumped in joy and wanted to immediately marry her off. He was afraid that when Justin realized Celine¡¯s true nature, he would turn back on his promise to marry her. Therefore, he put in the request for marriage to the upper management, and by the second day, it was approved. They immediately registered and had a military wedding! It was a military wedding! Justin couldn¡¯t back out even if he wanted to! When Celine got married, all the girls in the army were seen crying¡ªhalf of them were crying tears of joy while the others were heartbroken. As they looked at the two young girls that were teased by Celine, the two old male idols regretted the reckless mistake they had made. Back then, Sophia used to respectfully call Celine ¡®sister¡¯, but now, it was just ¡®Cece¡¯. It is all over; they¡¯ve gone over to the other side. Probably because of her near-death experience, after she had recovered, Celine had really started to let go of herself. She used to grow out her long hair, but now, she couldn¡¯t be bothered about it and shaved her head. She would dress up like a young rascal and go around picking up girls of all ages. Celine was definitely the ck sheep of the Fletcher Family. Almost overnight, gossips about Michael piled up as the entertainment weekly magazines were all digging the dirt on him. ¡®Taylor Murray was seen at well-known Bayside night club, arms around different girls! His scumbag nature has been exposed!¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray chatting closely with two women at a bar¡ªtrouble in paradise?¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray suspected to be having an affair with a well-known influencer.¡¯ ¡­ Michael scowled as he read the news while drinking ginseng soup at home to prepare for pregnancy. He was just at home rxing, and unexpected disasters were falling from the skies. Stanley hesitated before he spoke, ¡°Aunt Celine, would you quickly teach me the skills of picking up girls? I beg you, please!¡± Like a pitiful little dog, Stanley held onto Celine¡¯s thighs and looked at her with glittering eyes. Celine organized a swimsuit party and invited over a group of swimsuit beauties. She sat in Michael¡¯s sports car and looked at the young and beautiful beauties from afar, letting her down and having fun without restrictions. This is how life is supposed to be! Chapter 614 Chapter 614 After 7 years of imprisonment under the hands of Phantom Wolf, Celine had missed out on too many wonders in her life, and she was nning on making up for it all! She took a sip of hard liquor before reaching out and pinching Stanley¡¯s cheeks. ¡°You are a waste of such a handsome-looking face!¡± she said frustratingly. Stanley¡¯s face was obviously attractive to young girls, yet he still remained single. This height, this physique, this temperament, this face¡­ He fulfilled theplete standards of a perfect man! Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know how to appreciate it himself. The other day when Celine went to pick her son up from school, she saw a pretty girl sitting next to Stanley, blushing while trying hard to find a topic to chat with him. Stanley nced up at her, the ss president, and chased her away. The girl wasn¡¯t studying their major¡ªshe had run into their ssroom and just sat there the whole afternoon. She wasn¡¯t even listening in ss; she was just giggling the whole time. She must have had an ulterior motive! Maybe she¡¯s here to steal something! Stanley gripped his wallet and cell phone tightly. Or maybe¡­ she is crazy! Mentally ill patients are not sentenced for murder! I¡¯ll chase her away; I¡¯ll call the police if she doesn¡¯t leave! Finally, the girl ran out in tears. It was at that moment that Celine felt the need to rush over and kick Stanley out of the third floor window. She couldn¡¯t me him¡ªpicking up girls was just not in the Fletcher Family¡¯s genes. Nevertheless, Stanley¡¯s standards were considered to be above average. It only improved when it came down to Michael and his sister. Stanley looked up to Celine in awe and said bleakly, ¡°Aunt Celine, teach me please¡­¡± Celine waved her hands. ¡°You¡¯re hopeless. Go, go! Leave me alone.¡± Although Celine was clearly a woman, her mannerism was more charming than any man¡¯s. As Stanley watched the beautiful women surround Celine while giggling, he felt an itch in his heart that made him anxious. Meanwhile, Justin was barbecuing under the tree, while Michael and Nathan were sitting on the side, waiting for food. Nathan was ying with the two dogs as he looked at his mother hugging girls from both sides, his little face in a daze. ¡°Don¡¯t take after your mother.¡± Michael rushed over to grab him to Nichs and told thetter to watch over him. Maybe Justin couldn¡¯t stop Celine because he couldn¡¯t use a knifetely, or maybe it was because she was too hard to get a hold of. Nevertheless, Celine had been behaving more excessively¡ªevery day, she would invite Sophia out to y while driving Michael¡¯s car, and she wore his clothes everywhere to flirt with girls. And she acted so high profile about it that she was often photographed by the media. Because they were born with the same face, Michael had to take the me everytime she was photographed. He only realized Celine was having a pool party behind his back when he saw Sophia packing up her swimsuit. Gee, a pool party?! Michael had nimbly trailed behind to personally keep an eye on his wife. Even Harry rushed over to spy on his little kitten, for he didn¡¯t want her to take down the wrong path with the big bad wolf. After Justin was done barbecuing, he carefully loaded the food on a te. He then lifted the te high and avoided Michael as thetter reached over for it. Then, he walked toward the busy Celine. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Michael was speechless. When he arrived in front of Celine, he asked gently, ¡°Celie, the barbecue food is here. I grilled your favorite scallops.¡± Celine seemed busy as she had Sophia on her left and Sarah on her right. All the girls wereughing loudly at a joke she just made. ¡°Just put it there,¡± Celine said. Justin put down the food and asked obediently, ¡°What else would you like to eat?¡± ¡°Lobsters, oysters, and some pork belly,¡± Celine replied. Justin took the empty te and continued to barbecue the food without saying a word. Michael was speechless as he turned to educate Nathan. ¡°Don¡¯t ever learn from your dad, and especially not from your mom. You should learn from me¡ªat least I still have some kind of achievements.¡± Nathan rolled his eyes. I would be better off learning myself than from you. As the night fell, Celine sent all the young models, who nobody knew where they came from, back home and walked over to join the barbeque session. The early summer night breeze was so warm andfortable. While everyone was eating barbecue and talking at the same time, Sean took the opportunity to talk about the Mitchell Family¡¯s current situation. ¡°The Mitchell Family has almost fallen apartpletely now, and they can¡¯t even pull themselves together to maintain their appearance in public.¡± Sean¡¯s tone was particrly gloomy whenever he talked about the Mitchells. After Michael had released that information, it elerated the interval division of the Mitchells, and their division was just a matter of time. Alex¡¯s authority within the Mitchell Family was slowly weakened because of Natasha, and while the threat from the Michel Family hadn¡¯t been solved yet, he had used all the Mitchell¡¯s resources to suppress Michael. Then, the internal conflicts within the family erupted, and Alex was now busy cleaning up after his own mess. But then, Sean also revealed a very crucial piece of information. ¡°Alex¡¯s biggest disadvantage now is that hecks a sessor.¡± The Mitchells ced great importance on their bloodlines. Although Alex had raised an illegitimate child outside, illegitimate children were not considered as a member of the Mitchell Family. Therefore, Natasha was the only offspring of his that was recognized as his descendant. And now that Natasha had gone and done so many stupid things, she no longer bore the responsibility of a potential n leader. So Alex¡¯s line of offspring was not qualified anymore, and it was equivalent to having no descendant at all. ¡°All these years, Alex only had Natasha, and he had put in all his energy and resources into her, trying to sculpt her into an aplishment, but she turned out to be a good-for-nothing. Just some time ago, when Natasha disappeared, Alex did an IVF, and is now expecting a son. His second son should be born in the near future.¡± If Alex had a son, then the situation in the Mitchell Family would change again. Sophia listened to Sean¡¯s analysis of the Mitchell Family¡¯s situation, like listening to a story. She couldn¡¯t sense any affection from his tone. Natasha was not Alex¡¯s daughter; she was just a morous tool that he used to stabilize his position as the n leader. Likewise, that son of his didn¡¯t seem to be his son and was just a backup tool after the first one was ruined. But she understood that if Alex¡¯s son was born, then his reign as the n leader would continue! Alex had kicked Cooper out, so she would never sit back and watch Alex continue to sit on his thronefortably. That seat belonged to her father, Cooper Mitchell! A dark, sinister thought grew in her mind as her long, slender fingers fiercely dug into her hands¡­ ¡­ Nathan sat next to Celine and alternated between leaning in her and Justin¡¯s arms. Justin, who just got stic surgery, had always had an indifferent expression. But after the explosion, he probably injured the nerves on his face, so his face was constantly expressionless now. ¡°Daddy,¡± Nathan called out suddenly. Justin reached out his hand and scuffled Nathan¡¯s hair before putting some effort into forming a grin. Michael was displeased with him calling Justin ¡®daddy¡¯. Ungrateful brat! I¡¯d raised that little brat for 7 years! Even so, asking him to call me Dad was as hard as asking him to eat turd. It¡¯s really different when they¡¯re not your own! He subconsciously touched Sophia¡¯s t tummy, poking his fingers into her stomach. I wonder if there¡¯s a child of mine inside. Chapter 615 Chapter 615 Sophia had had a rough time growing up. When she had her first period, she was still forced to do heavy work by her uncle¡¯s family. As she gritted her teeth and did a whole day¡¯s work without resting, blood started dripping down her pants and wet the inside of her shoes¡­ Ever since then, her body had always been fragile and weak. Her menstruation cycle had always been unstable; sometimes, it wouldst for about 15 days, and sometimes, she wouldn¡¯t have her period for several months. She had never had the resources to nurse her body back to health, and after she met Michael, he had helped to take care of her body. Sophia was still young, so everything was still fixable. Nathan soon fell asleep in Justin¡¯s arms as he carried him back to the tent to rest. As Sean looked at Nathan, he turned to Celine and said grimly, ¡°Celine, you must keep an eye on Nate. The Mitchells might try to make a move on him soon.¡± There were many reasons for the Mitchells to make a move on Nathan. Now, at the time of the Mitchell Family¡¯s turmoil, all the forces within the family would want to split out and divide. If they wanted to possess more power and profits in the division of the family, then they would need to control more power and influence. Where would the influencee from? If any faction had a 5-year-old child genius that was attending Bayside University, and if this child was of the Fletcher bloodline and was Old Master Fletcher¡¯s favorite¡ªif they could use this child to build a connection with the Fletcher Family, then this faction would be stronger and more influential than the others. There were many benefits of getting Nathan. They could nurture him into a child prodigy, and iming the purpose of surpassing Cooper¡¯s abilities would easily win over the others. He was the descendant of Justin, the son of the martyrs, born with the glory of his father¡¯s name. For the Mitchell Family, since both of Nathan¡¯s parents had died, he, just like the vast amount of possessions of Cooper after he died, had be themunal asset of the Mitchell Family that anyone coulde and grab¡­ The pool party had turned into a camping trip, and everyone camped overnight before returning back to Bayside City. Sophia started to prepare for her finals and went to ss diligently every day. Their lecturer for their major subject was reced by an old professor with sses. His lectures were not as lively and interesting as Quinton¡¯s, nor was he as good looking as thetter. Whenever she was attending the ss for her major subject, she would go into a daze. ¡°Sophia!¡± Sophia was tapped gently on her shoulders by her ssmate, and it pulled her out of her daze state. She turned around and asked in a low voice, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Her ssmate seemed outraged as she pointed to thetest news on her phone. ¡°When are you going to get a divorce? Look at this! That scumbag, Taylor Murray, went out clubbing again and was fooling around with those young models!¡± Sophia was speechless. Celine was bound to get into trouble by going out and fooling around with Michael¡¯s face. But¡­ she¡¯s so handsome! Even more handsome than her brother! Sophia started daydreaming as she stared at Celine¡¯s photo on the news. Meanwhile, her ssmate was chastising Taylor for being a scumbag, and the spineless Sophia for putting her husband on a pedestal. Suddenly, as Sophia was still dreaming away, she received an urgent call from Stanley. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯d better hurry over! Natasha is here to capture Nate! Sean and I are rushing over there now!¡± ¡­ In the small alley in front of the school, the car that Gary was driving to pick up Nathan was forced to stop in a corner and was knocked into a bad shape. The headlights of the car were damaged, and its path was blocked by 4 or 5 cars. Gary and Hale were each guarding two car doors, protecting Nathan, who was in the car. Stanley and Sean immediately rushed over and stood in front of the car to stop the Mitchell Family from grabbing Nathan. Like vultures, the dozen men from the Mitchell Family were eyeing and surrounding Nathan¡¯s car. ¡°I¡¯m warning you¡ªdon¡¯te any closer! Whoever dares toe closer would be the enemy to the Fletcher Family!¡± Faced with the vicious Mitchell Family, Stanley turned serious and took out the brave stance he had when he shot off Phantom Wolf¡¯s crotch. With every word he spoke, he had the aura of an army general and was actually quite intimidating. The Mitchells grew weary and didn¡¯t dare to move forward. Suddenly, a low, hoarse female voice came out from one of the Mitchell Family¡¯s cars. ¡°Don¡¯t bother him! He¡¯s just an insignificant character from the Fletcher Family¡¯s side faction! Bring me that kid, Nathan!¡± To the Mitchells, the Fletcher Family was a military family, and their influence was only in the army. Those who did not join the military in the Fletcher Family were considered abandoned wastes, just like Stanley, who was standing in front of them. Stanley instantly recognized that voice. ¡°Natasha, it¡¯s you! Do you want to start a war between the Mitchells and Fletchers?¡± he bellowed. Natasha spoke once more from the car, ¡°Oh? A war between the Fletchers and the Mitchells? What does it have to do with the Fletchers if we, the Mitchells, are just retrieving our own bloodline?¡± Naturally, she was talking about Nathan. Stanley scoffed loudly, ¡°Ha! Nate belongs to the Fletcher Family, and his name is registered under the Fletchers! You must be dreaming if you think you could just take him away!¡± Natasha sneered, ¡°You can¡¯t change the fact that he is a Mitchell. His whole life can only be nned out by the Mitchell Family!¡± ¡°Oh, is that right? But I seemed to remember that hisst name is Fletcher!¡± Suddenly, a cold, demanding voice came from the street corner. Everyone turned to look and realized that Sophia had arrived. She was still in ss when she learned of the news and rushed over in her ts while still carrying her bag. She had a simple ponytail and looked no different than a normal university student. She walked over with confidence. The Mitchells were wary of her and didn¡¯t dare toy their hands on her openly, so they stood on both sides and gave her a path to walk through. Sophia Edwards! Natasha, who was sitting in the car, shivered in anger as she watched Sophia walk toward her. If it weren¡¯t for her¡­ Natasha would have been Michael¡¯s wife and would have sessfully married into the Fletcher Family! It was all because of Sophia that she had gotten herself into this situation! Sophia walked over under the watchful eyes of more than a dozen people of the Mitchells. When she reached the car, the tightly closed window wound down a little, and Nathan stared at her with his big round eyes, looking quite scared. Nichs, which was sitting next to him, eximed happily when it saw her face, ¡°Mommy! You¡¯re finally here!¡± Sophia reached her hand in and rubbed Nathan¡¯s face and Nichs¡¯ head. ¡°You guys stay and wait in the car. I¡¯ll be back after I fight off the bad guys,¡± she said. Nathan nodded as he put up the window. Nathan¡¯s car was modified with military manufacturing, and the car window was bulletproof. They must have experienced a fierce car chase for the car to be in such a bad shape; no wonder the usually stoic Nathan looked scared and aggrieved now. After she had finished talking to Nathan, Sophia walked toward the front of the car and stood next to Stanley and Sean. She tilted her head and folded her arms as she stared at the opposite car with its car door half opened. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I was wondering who it was¡ªturns out it¡¯s you, Young Lady Mitchell!¡± She deliberately raised her voice and used a very bright tone to say those words. When it came to Natasha¡¯s ears, it was harsh, and every word was filled with mockery as it was viciously stabbing at her high self-esteem. Natasha still wore her sunsses and hat in the car to cover up her face. Her hands trembled uncontrobly as she grabbed the fringe on the hem of her blouse. ¡°Since you know that I am Young Lady Mitchell, then you should know where your rightful ce is! The Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs is not something that the likes of you could meddle in! Get lost!¡± Chapter 616 Chapter 616 Sophia refused to budge. Seeming as though she had not heard Natasha¡¯s snide remarks, she looked at the car with great interest before yelling loudly, ¡°Hey, are you ashamed of letting other people see you? Why are you hiding inside the car? Come on out!¡± Natasha snapped. ¡°Get out of the way. Otherwise, I¡¯ll make sure you pay for this!¡± When she spoke, her hands started to tremble again as she could not help but touch her face; the p mark was still fresh and warm, causing half of her face to swell up. As Sophia sat right in front of the car, she calmly put a lollipop in her mouth and spoke to Natasha in a casual manner. ¡°I heard that you were beaten up?¡± she asked. There was no movement from the car and dead silence filled the air. Sophia continued, ¡°I also heard that you were beaten up by severaldies from the faction families¡ªis that true?¡± Seeming as though she was unaware about Natasha¡¯s current state of mind, Sophia lifted her chin up slightly and sighed heavily. She said, ¡°Tsk, tsk tsk¡­ All those sl*ts from the other factions¡¯ families¡­ How dare theye and beat you up! You¡¯re the Young Lady Mitchell¡ªthe most valuable youngdy of the Mitchell Family. Your father, Alex, is the leader of the n! Even if your father doesn¡¯t care about you, your mother should worry about you! Your uncle is our nation¡¯s most valuable painter! Not only that, your mother¡¯s family is also a prestigious one in Cethos! Your existence has even surpassed the legendary Cooper! Where did they get the courage to beat you?! You must¡¯ve fallen by ident and hurt yourself!¡± Those words were like a sharp de, piercing through all of Natasha¡¯s weakest points. She couldn¡¯t help but tremble in anger; even the sunsses couldn¡¯t hide her murderous gaze. In the end, she couldn¡¯t hold down the burst of anger within her and save whatever little pride she had left. Natasha allowed her self control to slip away as she got out of the car and dashed toward Sophia. ¡°Sophia! No matter what you say today, I will definitely take Nathan away!¡± she roared out hysterically. She was so emotional that the sunsses on her face fell off and revealed her swollen face. Her face was so swollen that she couldn¡¯t even open one of her eyes. The Mitchell Family was in turmoil because Cooper had a genius son. It was rumored that Cooper¡¯s son was even more outstanding than his father, for he had already started building his own empire in his younger years. Compared to Cooper, who was a golden child, Natasha was simply a loser. As the search for Cooper and his son grew, Natasha had been long forgotten by the side. In just a few days, the winds of the Mitchell Family had changed. The girls from the other faction families¡ªwho once scurried away like mice when they saw Natasha¡ª visited her at the hospital one day. She had been hospitalized due to her miscarriage. They taunted her, humiliated her and even hit her. Since Natasha was still in confinement, she was no match for them and received a few hard ps. She called Alex and asked for help, but he was so anxious about his own situation that he told her to get lost when he received her call. She tried calling her mother, but no one answered since Mrs. Mitchell was due to give birth to her next son. At that moment, Natasha knew that she had lost all her capital. Having given up on her, Alex had already started making preparations for his son topletely rece Natasha. That son would inevitably take away everything that belonged to her; her status, her market shares and her parents. She would be nothing when that son grows older! No! No way! Natasha would never allow anything like that to happen. She was the pearl of her parents¡ªshe was the only Young Lady of the Mitchell Family and the future n leader of the Mitchells! She would do anything to make sure that things stayed the same! Capturing Nathan was the only solution to her problem. Once she captured Nathan, she would be able to please Alex; she would nurture Nathan into one of her own and surpass that brother who will soon rece her! That way, she could continue to be the glorious Young Lady Mitchell! ¡°Tsk, tsk, tsk¡­¡± As Sophia looked at Natasha¡¯s swollen face, she put on a sympathetic look and said snarkily, ¡°It appears that the rumors are true¡ªyou were beaten up terribly! I heard that your dad didn¡¯t want anything to do with you, and your mother was going to have a brother to rece you; that¡¯s really pitiful to hear. Now that you¡¯re the disgrace of the Mitchell Family, I¡¯m sure your parents are ashamed to even talk about you to outsiders! They¡¯re probably going to give your shares of thepany to your brother as a gift! I even heard that your parents want to change your name and send you abroad to marry a Middle Eastern oil tycoon as his third wife! That tycoon should be well in his sixties by now, and his grandchildren are probably older than you. You¡¯repletely finished, Natasha!¡± As Natasha listened to Sophia¡¯s words filled with mockery, her eyes misted over and tears came falling down her beaten, swelled up face. She had beenpletely abandoned by the Mitchell Family, and the news about her being sold off to the mountains could no longer be concealed. Now, the whole family knew that she had been raped by a bunch of savage vigers for 6 months. By the time Alex found her, she had gonepletely insane. Locking those men up in a room, she had poured gasoline everywhere before burning these men along with the ce where she had been humiliated to the ground. Previously, several policemen had tried to rescue the women in the vige, but the vigers chased them away with their racks. The vigers believed that the police were shaking the core of their lives and ruining their beliefs by taking these women away, so they brought together a bunch of strong, young men in their vige to fight against the police. The police wanted to save the women, but it could only happen if they ughtered the entire vige. Since it was impossible for them to do so, they could only turn a blind eye and save as much as they could. Eventually, they stopped trying altogether¡ªthat was not the case with the Mitchell Family, though. It was a barbaric ce where even thew was ignored; killing a few people wouldn¡¯t attract the attention of the authorities anyway, so Natasha went on a mad killing spree in the vige. She killed the only family in the vige that had a phone because they refused to let her call home for help. She killed the whole family who lived at the entrance of the gate; when she had escaped in the middle of the night, the three men in that household caught her and raped her before sending her back to that rascal. She also killed the chief of the vige and his family. Half of the families in the vige bought their wives through illegal means, and the human trafficker would sell these ¡®wives¡¯ openly in a stall.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. When the police came into the vige to investigate, he tricked them with his clever words and sent them away. She was almost rescued once, but the vige chief had intercepted! She burned half of the vige when she left, resulting in the cries and wails of the vigers. However, the tragic and cruel reality wouldn¡¯t turn into dust and was destined to follow her for the rest of her life. She had no choice but to conceal the truth and told the Mitchells that she had taken some time off to recharge after her heartbreak; she was also determined to let Taylor take the fall. However, everything soon fell apart and she disgraced Alex along with the entire Mitchell Family. All of them wanted her to be killed! In a matter of time, she would bepletely banished from the Mitchell Family¡¯s core power circle and her only role in the future would be to marry fat, old men and use them to gain greater benefits for the Mitchell Family. Unless they were standing at the top with absolute power, all thedies who were born in the Mitchell Family had no say when it came to arranged marriages. The powerlessdies who were married out were considered sold goods, and those who were capable would get their future husband to join the family instead. She was once entitled to that right; she had all the resources of the Mitchell Family to get Taylor to join the Mitchell Family as her husband, but now, she had be a useless piece of trash whose fate was to spend the rest of her life as a legitimate mistress to an old man! If she could turn back time, she wished that she had died in those mountains. Feeling depressed and hurt, Natasha¡¯s tears covered her whole face as she retreated several steps and suddenly pointed at Sophia. She screamed destely, ¡°Kill this woman!¡± Chapter 617 Chapter 617 The Mitchells hesitated. They were a little apprehensive. Nathan was a descendant of the Mitchell Family, so snatching him was the Mitchell Family¡¯s own business; the Fletchers would be in the wrong even if they stepped in. Even so, it was a reckless move for them to abduct Nathan. However, they¡¯d be stirring up a ho¡¯s nest if they killed Sophia, who was both Taylor¡¯s wife and the daughter belonging to a distant branch of the Edwards Family. Even though the Fletchers hadn¡¯t acknowledged Taylor¡¯s identity yet, everyone in Cethos knew that Mark was very fond of him¡­ ¡°Wait a minute, please, brothers of the Mitchells. All of you should realize the consequences of killing her,¡± said Shawn hastily. He then advised, ¡°The Mitchells are going through a turbulent period. Do you guys want to bring the Mitchell Family to its doom by offending the Fletchers openly?¡± Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. The Mitchell Family members hesitated. They were very loyal and obedient to their superiors; those who couldn¡¯t reach the zenith of their power and be masters in the Mitchell Family were reduced to the lowest rung of the family as hatchet men and cannon fodders. They had to snatch Nathan today. Even if they didn¡¯t do so, members of other factions in the family would do the same. They had to take Nathan back to the Mitchell Family since he was the darling that the Mitchells were scrambling for. Some factions were attempting to have Nathan back by asking for Mark¡¯s consent, so Natasha wanted to get her hands on him before other people did. However, the situation right now ced them in a tight spot¡­ Sean continued to talk them out of killing Sophia and said, ¡°All of you will subject the Mitchells into living hell sooner orter by doing so. Why don¡¯t you guys step back while the Fletchers aren¡¯t here yet¡­¡± Seeing that her men did not take any action for a long time, Natasha suddenly lunged at Sophia like a little beast. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Sophia spat out the lollipop in her mouth, rolled up her sleeves, and dashed forward. She had been waiting for this day for ages. Since Natasha had be crazy long ago, she looked incredibly insane. She had lost all her marbles during the six hellish months she spent in the mountainous area. All she wanted right now was to kill someone¡ªshe wanted to see blood and strangle Sophia to death! If it hadn¡¯t been for Sophia, she wouldn¡¯t have lost face in the campus belle contest; if Sophia hadn¡¯t stood in her way repeatedly, she would¡¯ve been married to Taylor by now instead of stinking to high heaven like this! Sophia should have been the one suffering in humiliation after being sold to the mountainous area. However, she tricked herself out of it by making Natasha unconscious and stuffing her into the suitcase as a substitute for herself. To Natasha, all the misfortunes she had suffered till this day were Sophia¡¯s fault. She wished she could eat Sophia alive! It looked as though Sophia¡¯s face had ovepped with that of the several men who raped her. Consumed by hatred, she charged toward Sophia fiercely and let out an inhuman scream like a wild beast. At the moment, she was not a human but a vengeful spirit wandering between life and death. She wanted to take Sophia¡¯s life; even if she died, she wanted to die together with Sophia! ¡°I want to kill you¡­¡± Smack! Natasha¡¯s anger and growls were cut short by a punch to her face that made her vision blurry, causing her to fall backward. Then, a pair of arms swiftly caught her and pinned her to the floor. Immediately after that, a shower of ps and punches rained on her. Finally unleashing her wrath, Sophia¡ªMichael¡¯s legally-wedded wife¡ªheld Natasha down and beat the hell out of her. ¡°F*ck you! Does it feel great to try and break someone else¡¯s marriage up? Who the hell let youe between my husband and me? How dare you fancy my husband?! Who gave you the nerve to do that?! Stick your face out and let me have a look! Who the f*ck do you think you are with those looks of yours without the Mitchells?¡± How could Sophia not be angry with a woman who repeatedly tried to seduce her husband and refused to mend her ways after getting multiple ps in the face? She was mad as hell! Since she was Taylor¡¯s wife, she couldn¡¯t beat anyone in public. Moreover, Natasha was the most precious Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, making it even more impossible for her to beat her. She could only tolerate and watch as Natasha repeatedly seduced her husband in her presence and forced him to marry her, though she spoiled Natasha¡¯s ns again and again. Even a weakling would be furious at this! Furthermore, she wasn¡¯t a weakling at all! She scolded Natasha while pping thetter rhythmically as a form of apaniment. Ever sincest year¡¯s campus belle contest, she kept in mind every instance where Natasha tried to seduce her husband. There wasn¡¯t a moment during thest hundred days and nights where she wanted to give Natasha a good beating to vent the resentment and hatred within her. Once she burst into rage, she instantly turned into a shrew! She was so wealthy that she could have easily killed Natasha without anyone noticing by hiring a random assassin to shoot her dead. However, she didn¡¯t want to do so, for Natasha would die a little too easily this way. Instead, she wanted Natasha to stay alive so that she could pin thetter down and p her fiercely in public¡ªjust like what she was doing right now. She wanted Natasha to bepletely unable to fight back while she held her down and beat the hell out of her; she wanted Natasha to watch helplessly as everyone pointed fingers at her while the Mitchell Family that she was so proud of left her in the lurch! She wanted Natasha to be up the creek without a paddle! Sophia considered herself more generous than other wives who beat up women that tried to seduce their husbands. At the very least, she didn¡¯t strip Natasha of her clothes! Natasha was beaten so badly that she saw stars and was totally unable to fight back. She cried while calling for help, ¡°What are you waiting for? Help¡­¡± Smack! Her call for help was cut short by Sophia, who pped her so hard that her mouth burned. ¡°Do you think that they¡¯ll save you? Don¡¯t you have any f*cking idea who you are right now? You have been abandoned by the Mitchell Family! Do you know what it means to be abandoned? Your father wishes that you¡¯d die outside¡ªit¡¯d be even better if you die courageously! You¡¯re a disgrace to your father and the Mitchells now! You¡¯d just waste resources by staying alive. Why don¡¯t you die instead? I would have died long ago if I were you! Who cares if you are Young Lady Mitchell and was once a genius? Now, you¡¯re nothing but a worm; the only purpose of your existence is to disgust your entire family!¡± ¡­ Natasha cried while calling for help, but to her despair, she found that the Mitchell Family¡¯s servants¡ª who used to act upon whatever she said¡ªstood aside and watched her being humiliated like that; none of them dared to move. She growled, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill all of you! I¡¯m going to kill all of you!¡± Her words made the Mitchell Family members even more afraid of taking action. Sophia was right; the only purpose of Natasha¡¯s existence right now was to make Alex lose face, for he wished that she would die immediately right now. Although she was a victim after being sold to a poverty-stricken mountainous area and had gotten raped, what happened to her was nheless an intolerable disgrace to the Mitchell Family. Her best bet was to die immediately before people found out about this incident. That way, they¡¯d pity her a little bit more when they talked about her in the future, for it would be unkind to talk about the foolish acts she hadmitted after her death. Since there was quite a lot of noise here, more and more people gathered around to look on. ¡°W-What¡¯s going on here! She¡¯s being beaten so badly! Hurry up and call the police! These people have no regard for thew!¡± ¡°I heard that it¡¯s the case of a wife bringing her family¡¯s men with her to confront the woman who tried to seduce her husband. Thedy who¡¯s hitting the otherdy is the wife, whereas the one being beaten is the mistress!¡± ¡°Oh, I see! She deserves it then!¡± ¡°I heard that this mistress repeatedly seduced the wife¡¯s husband, but he rebuffed her advances strongly. Even so, she eagerly offered to sleep with him and brazenly continued to seduce him despite being warned multiple times by his wife! What a shameless woman who has brought disgrace to her ancestors!¡± ¡°She isn¡¯t a mistress. Other men cheat on their spouses voluntarily, but the husband isn¡¯t interested in her at all! This little b*tch has repeatedly tried to seduce him but failed, which is why his wife eventually got pissed off and took action!¡± ¡°Hey, why hasn¡¯t she been stripped of her clothes yet? Isn¡¯t itmon practice for the wives to strip the mistresses of their clothes first before beating them up?¡± ¡­ Chapter 618 Chapter 618 Natasha¡¯s cries of despair quietened down as Sophia pped her again and again. It wasn¡¯t until more and more people gathered to look on that Sophia stood up and took out a face mask to cover her face. She gave Natasha one final kick and felt deeply pleased. She used to despise wives that beat up women who broke up their marriages; a mistress wouldn¡¯t have seeded at seducing a husband into having an affair without thetter¡¯s consent. Therefore, Sophia believed that men should be the ones getting beaten up for cheating on their spouses! However, what Natasha did was way too over the top. Michael had no feelings for her, yet she tried to seduce him repeatedly. It would be difficult for Sophia to vent the resentment within her if she didn¡¯t beat Natasha up. Natashay face down on the floor with both her nose and mouth bleeding; two teeth fell out the instant she opened her mouth. Her face was swollen from the beating, and her body ached all over. She could only cry while lying face down on the floor. Her head buzzed, but she could hear distinctly what the others were saying about her. ¡°What a little wh*re and a b*tch!¡± ¡°She deserves that beating! She seduced someone¡¯s husband at such a young age, but the man has no feelings for her at all!¡± ¡°Strip her of her clothes! Bare her hips!¡± ¡°If I were her father, I would have banished her from my family long ago!¡± Natasha could only sob helplessly, for she couldn¡¯t curse the onlookers even if she wanted to. The Mitchells waited until Sophia finished beating Natasha before picking thetter up and throwing her into the car like they were picking up a piece of trash. They then closed the door, muffling her sobbing voice inside the car. Thinking that Sophia would be open to persuasion after beating the sh*t out of Natasha, the Mitchell Family¡¯s representative said to her calmly, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, Young Master Nathan is still a member of the Mitchell Family. Since he has lost both his parents as a child, he should be taken in and brought up by the Mitchell Family. Mrs. Fletcher, the Mitchells hope that you can hand Young Master Nathan over to us so that we can bring him back to the Mitchell Family¡ªafter all, we are his father¡¯s family.¡± Fearing that Sophia would object, he quickly continued, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, there have been some unpleasant instances between you and the Mitchell Family; now that we¡¯ve let you teach the culprit a lesson, I think it¡¯s time to clear up the misunderstandings.¡± Although Sophia had taken pleasure in beating Natasha up, she didn¡¯t agree to the Mitchell Family¡¯s proposal easily. Pretending to be in a dilemma, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t think I should decide on this since I¡¯m not Nate¡¯s parent. I¡¯m just his aunt, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t decide whether he¡¯d get to go with you or not.¡± The representative opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by a stern andmanding voice. ¡°How dare you! What makes you think you can touch my grandson?¡± Upon hearing the voice, the representative knew that he could no longer aplish the task Alex had assigned to him that day. Several cars had stopped outside the crowd before anyone realized it. Then, about a dozen people stepped out of the cars and chased the onlookers away. Following that, a middle-aged man with amanding look strode up to Sophia and the Mitchell Family members under the escort of several young men. Sophia had seen this man¡¯s information on the document previously; he was Anthony Mitchell, Justin¡¯s father. Anthony also had a tremendous influence within the Mitchell Family. He had three sons, one of whom was a businessman and enjoyed high prestige in the Mitchell Group; one entered politics with high political standing; and one joined the army and died a glorious death as a martyr with his remains ced in a g-draped casket and interred at the Memorial Garden. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. He was also the third most powerful member of the Mitchell Family besides Alex and Cooper¡¯s former subordinates; even the representative Alex had sent forth had to lower his head in front of Anthony. ¡°Master Anthony¡­¡± Anthony ordered, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up my grandson, so you may leave now.¡± The representative looked reluctant. ¡°But the family head said that this kid should be raised by the family since he lost both his parents. This is¡­¡± Anthony red at him with an iparably stern andmanding look in his eyes. ¡°Do you want me to repeat what I said?!¡± The representative looked at the people Anthony brought with him and the cars with tinted windows that belonged to the Fletchers. After gritting his teeth, he led his men to retreat; it took only half a minute before all of his men were gone. Although a group of the Mitchells had left, Sophia fixed her eyes on Anthony as she continued to keep her guard up. This man was much harder to deal with than Natasha, for it was him who had single-handedly brought about Justin¡¯s ¡®death¡¯ back then. Back when Justin was hanging between life and death, Anthony and other members of the Mitchell Family talked right in front of his sickbed, discussing the right time to take him off his oxygen and kill him. That way, they could submit an application for him to be named a martyr, bringing glory to his ancestors and solidifying his line of descent¡¯s prestige within the family. Sophia clenched her fists tightly. She watched as Anthony walked up to her expressionlessly. ncing at the cars, he ordered his men to surround the vehicles while managing an affable smile. He then said to Sophia, ¡°Mrs. Fletcher, thank you for taking care of Nate throughout the years. I¡¯m Nate¡¯s grandfather, and I¡¯m here to take him back to the Mitchell Family.¡± Back then, Anthony had wanted to adopt Nathan after Justin¡¯s death. However, when he had somebody pick up Nathan, he learned that Celine¡¯s younger brother had adopted Nathan ahead of him and registered Nathan as a Fletcher. Anthony was furious. To him, each of his descendants was an important resource, so he would never allow any outsiders to adopt Nathan. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Celine¡¯s younger brother was very determined not to hand over Nathan to him no matter what. After considering his options between getting Nathan back versus offending the Fletcher Family openly, he decided to give up on adopting Nathan. Now, he learned that Taylor was the younger brother of Celine who had adopted the little boy. Upon discovering that Nathan had demonstrated amazing talent, he was tempted to have him back as well. The Mitchell Family was in a state of inner turmoil, so it would be advantageous for him to have a child prodigy in his camp. Much to his surprise, Sophia politely turned him down with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s really not up to me to decide if Nathan can go back with you since I¡¯m not his parent. Why don¡¯t you visit the Fletchers and ask Old Master Fletcher about it? It was the Old Master who personally had Nate registered as a Fletcher.¡± Anthony knew that she was ying for time. Nathan had lost both his parents, so it was perfectly reasonable for him as Nathan¡¯s grandfather to adopt him. Therefore, he made a gesture for his men to quickly surround the cars. However, Sophia quickly blocked the car handle before looking at Anthony with a half-smile. She said, ¡°It¡¯s wrong of you to do this. Nate is registered as a Fletcher; whether he stays or leaves should be decided by the Fletcher Family¡­¡± ¡°What do the Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs have to do with an outsider like you?¡± Anthony¡¯s expression changed as he forcibly interrupted Sophia¡¯s speech. His deep andmanding voice resounded throughout the entire scene as he thundered, ¡°Are you a Mitchell?¡± Sophia red at Anthony while swearing inwardly, I¡¯m not a Mitchell, but my father is! While she was doing so, she calcted Anthony¡¯s position in the Mitchell Family¡¯s hierarchy and realized that he was her junior by two generations! Realizing that she was speaking to someone her junior, she affirmed confidently with a note of righteous forcefulness and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a Mitchell, but I am Nate¡¯s aunt. Nate is registered as a member of my family, and I¡¯m his current guardian. Legally speaking, I have the right to decide on whether he stays or leaves!¡± Seeing that the youngdy dared to talk back, Anthony looked as ck as thunder. He coldly waved his hand, ordering his men toe forward and snatch Nathan by force. Sophia still had a few people with her, and they protected the car from all angles. Seeing that the Mitchell Family members were gradually approaching them, Stanley warned again, ¡°Don¡¯te near us! Do you believe that I can call apany of soldiers over andnd all of you in serious trouble with just a phone call?¡± The instant he finished his sentence, a military vehicle arrived. As soon as it came to aplete stop, a crowd of soldiers d in olive-drab uniforms stepped out of the car; one could judge by the naked eye that there was apany of them. Heading the crowd of soldiers, Joel instantly led them to surround the dozen people from the Mitchell Family. Stanleyughed, but Anthony¡¯s face darkened instead. ¡°Who wants to snatch one of us Fletchers?!¡± Chapter 619 Chapter 619 Joel strode up to them and instantly took hold of the situation with a deep, frosty, and thunder-like voice, scaring the Mitchell Family¡¯s men out of acting rashly. Seeing the crowd of threatening-looking soldiers, Anthony broke out in a cold sweat. He had never expected the Fletcher Family to care about Nathan so much as to send Joel out to snatch Nathan himself! No¡ªthis is more like a disy of the Fletchers¡¯ power! Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat when she saw Joel. She quietly moved back to avoid meeting him. As soon as Joel arrived, he red at Anthony with a ferocious look on his face. Stanley immediately approached Joel andined, ¡°It¡¯s him, Uncle Joel! He¡¯s the one who wants to snatch Nate away!¡± Joel smirked icily. ¡°Oh? Who are you?¡± Thinking that he was Nathan¡¯s grandfather and was entirely in the right no matter what, Anthony braced himself and said, ¡°It¡¯s me, Anthony. I¡¯m Nate¡¯s grandfather, so I have the right to take him back!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Joel stiffly curved up the corners of his lips, looking as though he was smiling. ¡°I¡¯m here today to speak on behalf of the Fletcher Family. Nathan is one of us Fletchers; whoever dares to snatch him from us will be an enemy of the Fletcher Family!¡± Upon hearing Joel¡¯s tone, Anthony¡¯s back broke out in another cold sweat. Did Mark instruct Joel to say this? Anthony¡¯s eyes flickered as he decided to word his demand differently. ¡°Since this is Old Master Fletcher¡¯s wish, I shan¡¯t insist on having Nathan back. It¡¯s just that my youngest son has passed away for many years. I¡¯ve missed Nate every single day throughout these years, but I only came to know his whereabouts today. Can I take Nate back to the Mitchell Residence for a while? I don¡¯t mean anything else; I just want to take a look at him¡­¡± Like a grandfather who missed his grandson, he sounded extremely pitiful. Unfortunately, Joel didn¡¯t buy his story at all. ¡°No,¡± he tly interrupted Anthony¡¯s imploring speech. Anthony clenched his teeth silently without saying a word. Just then, a middle-aged woman came up to them from behind; she was Justin¡¯s mother. Mrs. Mitchell sobbed tearfully the instant she walked up to them. ¡°Oh, my poor Justin! It¡¯s my fault for failing to keep your son! I have let you down! If it hadn¡¯t been for our ipetence, your son wouldn¡¯t have been surnamed after somebody else! Justin, oh, Justin! Why did you leave us so soon? Oh, my dear Justin¡­¡± Sobbing miserably and pitifully, she spoke with unbearable bitterness in every word as though the Fletcher Family had killed her son and snatched her grandson away from her. Unable to stand the sight of her yacting, someone scoffed right away and said, ¡°Huh! Why did it never ur to you two that Justin was your son when you guys wanted to let him die by taking him off his oxygen?¡± Upon hearing the cold and scornful voice, Mrs. Mitchell stopped wiping her crocodile tears. Then, she watched as a person stepped out of the car that had its lights smashed, revealing a handsome face that looked at them with a sneer. She recognized that face. It belonged to Taylor; he was the younger brother of Celine, her daughter-in- law whom she had never met. She had never met Celine before. Back when Justin came home and told them that he wanted to marry Celine, the granddaughter whom Mark loved most dearly, the first thing that came to Anthony and Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s mind was ¡®no¡¯! They persuaded Justin to break up with Celine and give up the opportunity of marrying her to his eldest brother, who was unmarried back then. His eldest brother¡¯s political career was on the rise at the time, so he could garner the support of the Fletcher Family by marrying her. That way, he would advance smoothly in his career and have a meteoric rise, thus maximizing the benefits of marrying her. As the most ¡®useless¡¯ youngest son, Justin was not as wealthy as his second eldest brother¡ªa businessman¡ªand not as influential as his eldest brother, who was in politics. Holding a small post in the army, he wasn¡¯t even a field officer; how could he be worthy of marrying the granddaughter whom Mark loved the most? It would be a shame to let Justin marry Celine, an enormously precious resource! After hearing their words, Justin turned his head and left without saying a word. Thinking that Justin had left to persuade Celine, Anthony and Mrs. Mitchell made preparations for their eldest son to get into contact with Celine. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. However, things took an unexpected turn on the third day after Justin had left. Cooper, the head of the Mitchell Family, came and told them that Justin and Celine had already registered their marriage in the army. Moreover, the couple¡¯s marriage was a military marriage approved by Mark and witnessed by Cooper himself, so it would be against thew for them to interfere with it. Anthony went ballistic when he heard that. However, since Justin and Celine¡¯s marriage was a military marriage witnessed by Cooper and approved by Mark, they could only acknowledge it patiently and silently. However, they began to hold a grudge against Justin since then, thinking that Justin had gone against his family¡¯s wishes and deliberately robbed his eldest brother of the marriage that should have belonged to thetter! In their opinion, Justin married Celine despite the Mitchell Family¡¯s wishes because he wanted to have the enormous benefits of ying up to the powerful Fletcher Family to himself. He didn¡¯t want his eldest brother to be acquainted with the Fletchers because he didn¡¯t want thetter¡¯s power and influence to surpass his! They judged Justin¡¯s behavior using the worst logical reasoning. As a result, Justin never once took Celine back to the Mitchell Residence until her ident, nor did he have any ns of doing so. The couple merely picked a few members of the Mitchell Family as representatives and invited them to their wedding. Because of that, Mrs. Mitchell never met her youngest daughter-inw. Seeing the face at this moment, she thought that it was Michael. Mrs. Mitchell started to sob and wipe her tears again as she said, ¡°My Justin died at such a young age. Not only have you taken his son away from us, you¡¯re falsely using us as well! How can all of you be so heartless¡­¡± The person she thought was Michael stepped out of the car and walked step by step toward Mrs. Mitchell while staring coldly at her. She wiped her tears while sneaking nces at the person, but she soon noticed that the person didn¡¯t have an Adam¡¯s apple! She was quite shocked upon realizing that. It turns out that Taylor is actually a woman disguised as a man and has been deceiving the public the whole time! Associating what she saw with thetest tabloid reports, she was emboldened at once. Pointing at the person before her, she cried out self-righteously, ¡°You really are a woman! What a licentious and shameless liar you are! It really is a disgrace to Mark that someone like you was born in the Fletcher Family. My grandson is still young, so I can¡¯t let him follow a bad example like you!¡± Also emboldened by his wife¡¯s words, Anthony demanded with a sanctimonious look on his face and said, ¡°I have no objection to the Fletchers adopting Nate, but I can¡¯t stand my grandson being adopted by someone who is so indecent in private! For the sake of Nate¡¯s upbringing, I must take him away! I don¡¯t want my grandson to be the second Taylor! We¡¯ll see you in court if you all insist on taking Nate away from us! It¡¯ll be difficult to get custody of Nate with Taylor¡¯s notoriety!¡± Taylor had be a widely hated sc*m since he went clubbing, flirted withdies everywhere, and was photographed with different women in his arms every day! Such a person couldn¡¯t quite possibly get custody of a child! The person thought to be Michael across them couldn¡¯t help butugh. Walking up to them, she introduced herself to the couple for the first time and said, ¡°Hi. I¡¯m Celine Fletcher, Justin¡¯s wife.¡± Anthony and Mrs. Mitchell stared at her in shock. However, Celine didn¡¯t want to give them any time to swallow the news at all. ¡°That¡¯s right¡ªI¡¯m alive and back now. Nate is my son. Legally speaking, you two can¡¯t have custody of him since his biological mother is still alive.¡± ¡°Also¡­¡± She directed her gaze to the car door. Seeing that a young man had stepped out of the car while holding a little kid¡¯s hand, she then continued, ¡°Justin, of whose oxygen you two had taken off, is alive too. I¡¯m so sorry, but since both Nate¡¯s parents are still alive, you two can¡¯t have custody of him.¡± Chapter 620 Chapter 620 Justin and Celine hade to pick Nathan up from school themselves, but they didn¡¯t expect to run into members of the Mitchell Family midway. They weren¡¯t nning to meet them so soon, but Anthony and Mrs. Mitchell¡¯s words were simply too disgusting! Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. If Justin hadn¡¯t heard them talking about removing his oxygen with his own ears back when he was lying on his sickbed, Celine wouldn¡¯t have dared to believe that there were parents who would do that to their biological children! While Anthony and Mrs. Mitchell were stillpletely dumbstruck, Justin came over as he held Nathan¡¯s hand. He gave his parents a very apologetic nod and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad and Mom. I¡¯m actually still alive.¡± Anthony stuttered, ¡°J-Justin, y-you¡­¡± Justin was expressionless. ¡°I hope you guys won¡¯t go around telling people that I¡¯m still alive. Otherwise, your son will no longer be a martyr.¡± Justin had lost all hope for his parents; he had given up his hope for good back when he returned home excitedly to tell them that he wanted to get married. Instead, he was met with their stern objection and threats. He then continued, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being useless. I didn¡¯t die gloriously as you two wished; instead, I have been living life all these years just for the sake of remaining alive. Also, I married into the Fletcher Family as a live-in son-inw; my son is surnamed after his mother. Since I¡¯m no longer rted to the Mitchell Family, just consider me dead.¡± Anthony trembled all over with rage upon hearing these words. As he felt his blood rushing to his head, he pointed at Justin and Celine angrily with a trembling hand. ¡°Y-You two¡­¡± Celine spoke aggressively, ¡°That¡¯s the way things are¡ªyou two can¡¯t take our kid away because he¡¯s one of the Fletchers! Both your son and your grandson are now Fletchers; they¡¯re also protected by the Fletcher Family! You two should keep your mouths shut. Otherwise, I can¡¯t guarantee that I won¡¯t tell anyone about your attempt to kill your biological son by taking him off his oxygen!¡± Celine hated Phantom Wolf the most. After all, he had forced her family of three to be separated for seven years. The next thing she hated the most were the Mitchells¡ªthey had nearly killed Justin by taking him off his oxygen! If Justin hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to hang on until Michael arrived, her currently sober self would only have gotten the news of Justin¡¯s death! Having finished what they had said, the family of three got back into their car as they didn¡¯t want to get entangled with the Mitchells. This was already thest bit of mercy Justin could show the Mitchell Family. Joel started to chase the Mitchell Family¡¯s men away while Anthony was still in shock over the fact that Justin was still alive. Seeing that he could no longer seek undue advantages on this day, Anthony had no choice but to leave. After chasing the Mitchell Family¡¯s men away, Joel nced at Sophia without speaking to her. He turned around, got into the military vehicle, and left with his troops. His main purpose ofing here on this day was to tell the Mitchells that Nathan was one of the Fletchers. The Fletcher Family would not turn a blind eye if the Mitchells ever attempted to snatch Nathan away again! Having watched the entire drama unfold, Sophia finally came to her senses a little; it was only then did she feel some soreness in her hands. Celine winked at her from inside the car before driving off first. Michael¡ªwho had arrived long ago¡ª stepped out of his car and walked up to Sophia concernedly. His heart ached a lot when he saw her reddened hands, so he quickly put her hands in his and massaged them. He red at Stanley while he said, ¡°You stupid dog¡ªwhy didn¡¯t you give Natasha a few ps on your aunt¡¯s behalf when you saw her beating Natasha up? Look at how her hands have be after the beating¡­¡± Sophia had already finished beating Natasha up when he arrived. Otherwise, he would have given Natasha a few ps to ease Sophia¡¯s burden. Feeling hurt, Stanley pouted his lips and said, ¡°Alright, just me me for it!¡± He was stupefied when Sophia beat Natasha up without hesitation just now. He never wanted to see such a scene again in his life! After that, Michael carefully led Sophia into the car before driving off. Meanwhile, Stanley curled his lips when he saw Sean picking up something that Natasha had dropped earlier. It was a bracelet. Patting Sean¡¯s shoulder worriedly, Stanley then asked, ¡°Will you be alright with going back to the Mitchell Residence by yourself? Are they going to give you trouble after seeing that you¡¯re on such good terms with Uncle Michael?¡± Sean smiled with perfectposure. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m nothing but a useless person in their eyes, so they can¡¯t be bothered to give me trouble.¡± He was right. In the Mitchell Family, those who weren¡¯t part of Mitchell Group¡¯s core management team or hadn¡¯t made a name for themselves in politics were all useless. For instance, Sean had long been excluded from the Mitchell Family¡¯s core leadership. He was pretty much nonexistent in the Mitchell Family; one would probably learn that he was a member of the Mitchell Family only by noticing the extra tableware set at every meal. It wasn¡¯t until he had recently brought back news of Cooper being alive bit by bit and pretended to uncover news about Cooper by ident did his family gradually notice his presence. The Mitchells didn¡¯t care if he was on good terms with Stanley. After all, Stanley was also a useless member of the Fletchers in their eyes. A Fletcher who didn¡¯t join the army was a useless piece of trash, and two good-for-nothings who got together were even more worthless. To the Mitchells, it was a waste of time to take one more nce at them¡ªthey didn¡¯t pose a threat at all. Two dayster, Michael had a feast at home to celebrate the fact that Sophia had finally vented her resentment by beating up the woman who had seduced her husband in public. Having learned about this, Stanley immediately told Sean to visit Michael¡¯s ce to scrounge a free meal together. Ever since Sophia married Michael, he would often spread feasts to celebrate all kinds of things. He would spread celebratory feasts during instances when Sophia had done well in her end-of-semester exams, when she beat up the woman who tried to seduce her husband, or when herpany performed well. He even had all the reason to spread a feast when she finally menstruated normally this month without experiencing any menstrual pain. Sometimes, he would even have a feast merely to celebrate her new hairstyles. Therefore, he had feasts at home almost every day. Whenever Stanley learned that Michael would be having a feast, he would immediately rush to his home and scrounge a free meal. On this day, Stanley was eager to share a piece of gossip he had recently heard once he arrived. ¡°Aunt, I¡¯d like to tell you an earth-shattering piece of gossip. I¡¯ll tell you if you open up a bottle of French Cheval- nc for me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in listening to gossip,¡± answered Sophia. Acting like a spoiled child, Stanley pleaded, ¡°Aunt, just open a bottle of French Cheval-nc for me, please. The gossip is about Natasha, and it¡¯s even more bizarre than novels. Don¡¯t you want to listen to it? Would you like to listen to it?¡± Sophia pricked up her ears, but she pretended to be unconcerned. ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± With a cheerful smile on his face, Sean came over and said, ¡°It¡¯s about Natasha. She¡­¡± ¡°Let me say it! Let me say it!¡± Stanley couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and interrupted Sean. ¡°Aunt, Natasha was admitted into the hospital after you beat the sh*t out of her. The next day, Alex¡¯s son was born! Since his son was born in poor health, he was kept in an incubator in the ward next to Natasha¡¯s. Guess what happened next¡ªNatasha sneaked into the ward at night and strangled her younger brother to death! What¡¯s more, she refused to admit it when his death was discovered the next day. Luckily, the surveince camera caught her red-handed!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t feel anything strange about the news after learning about that, for the baby would rob Natasha of everything she had once he was born. Natasha quietly strangled him to death because she had no other choice, but this was a good move on her side. Natasha¡¯s mother was almost 50 years old and had exhausted herself by giving birth to this son, so she probably could no longer give birth to another child. Now that the baby was dead, Natasha would be Alex¡¯s only descendant. If he lost Natasha as well, he would really die childless andpletely lose the upper hand in the power struggle within the Mitchell Family. One would have no future without a descendant since long-term development wouldn¡¯t be possible. That was also why the ancient officials and emperors preferred princes who had more descendants. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What happened after that?¡± Sean answered, ¡°What else do you think happened? Now that she is Alex¡¯s only descendant, he cannot do anything to her. He covered up the news, and no one dares to speak about it anymore.¡± As expected, what happened was in line with Sophia¡¯s expectations. Even though such a course of action was ridiculous and didn¡¯t conform tomon logic, one mustn¡¯t think about the Mitchell Family in the way he or she thought about ordinary people. Anthony could take his son off thetter¡¯s oxygen himself just to have Justin named a martyr, whereas Cooper left the Mitchell Family because he resented the Mitchells for killing Annabel; his father had be so furious that he fell ill with Alzheimer¡¯s disease. Moreover, Natasha even killed her younger brother to maintain her position within the family. Therefore, what else could Alex do right now? Now that Natasha had be his only descendant just when the Mitchell Family was in a state of turmoil, he had to keep her safe and sound. At the very least, this was the only thing he could do before his next descendant was born. All Natasha needed to do during this period was to behave herself as the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. As long as she redeemed her position within the family as soon as possible, she would still be acknowledged as Young Lady Mitchell sooner orter. Chapter 621 Chapter 621 Noticing a fierce glint in Sophia¡¯s eyes, Sean immediately asked, ¡°I think Natasha would definitely not leave the matter at that, Sophia. Do you have any ns?¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes flickered with ferocity, but she suppressed it in the end and said, ¡°She¡¯ll probably behave herself in the future. I¡¯ve already beaten her up, so let¡¯s forget about it and let her be.¡± Sean didn¡¯t say anything else, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling that Sophia was setting a deadly enemy free. After all, both of them had reached a point where they would fight to the bitter end. If Sophia didn¡¯t do anything to Natasha right now, Natasha would surely go against her after rising to power again in the future. The bad blood between Sophia and Natasha had been going on for a long time, and Sophia even beat Natasha up like that in public previously. Even Sophia herself wouldn¡¯t believe that Natasha would let her off, for thetter would never spare her once she gained power. However, Sophia couldn¡¯t sit back and wait passively as Natasha gradually returned to her peak and struck against her. An evil n formed in Sophia¡¯s mind¡­ Meanwhile, entertainment news pages were nearly upied by a series of scandalous gossip about ¡®Taylor¡¯. There were all sorts of gossip about Taylor going clubbing, huggingdies left and right, sleeping around, and getting into a drunken brawl with somebody else at a bar¡­ Taylor, who was once a low-profile Prince Charming, finally knocked himself off his pedestal and went from one extreme to the other. ¡°Taylor has gotten into a drunken brawl in a nightclub, injuring many and resulting in property damages of up to 1 million. Imperial Management Studio has agreed to pay for the damages, but Taylor himself hasn¡¯t made anyments for the time being¡­¡± Michael was drinking some ginseng soup in front of the television while having a foot bath, looking as though he was already living in retirement. He frowned upon seeing the TV news anchor delivering the news report regretfully. ¡°Switch to another channel, Nichs.¡± Nichs, who was sitting next to him, switched to another channel obediently. ¡°The film ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ has released its first batch of character posters today. Based on a true story, this film tells the story of the loss and subsequent recovery of an imperial seal dated around the end of thest dynasty. Written by acimed screenwriters, this film stars well-known actors Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston. It also marks another blockbuster coboration between the two. The film ¡®War Dragon,¡¯ which theyst coborated in, grossed 5.8 billion at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing Cethosian film in history. However, it¡¯s worth mentioning that Taylor has been gued by a series of scandals recently. Let us wait and see if he canplete the film as professionally as ever¡­¡± Michael ordered again, ¡°Switch to another channel, Nichs.¡± Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Nichs switched to another channel. As Michael expected, it was also reporting news about him. . ¡°ording to rumors, the person whom Taylor had beaten up in the nightclub this time is the No. 2 leader of Green Lotus Gang, an underworld organization. After the incident, Green Lotus Gang has issued an order to have Taylor hunted and killed.¡± Michael put down the ginseng soup with deep furrows in his brow. He really couldn¡¯t let things go on like this anymore. Even though he was fine as long as Celine was happy, he felt that he shouldn¡¯t take all the me for her deeds. Now, he was being med for all the foolish acts she hadmitted! There would be grave consequences if things went on like this¡­ Even though Celine didn¡¯t have to save face, he needed to. Everyone only knew that the face belonged to ¡®Taylor,¡¯ so he would be med for everything she did. Michael called Celine and asked, ¡°Where are you, Celie?¡± Panting, Celine answered, ¡°I¡¯m busy¡ªI¡¯ll talk to youter.¡± A loud noise could be heard in the background, and there seemed to be lots of people over there. Moreover, Michael could hear many wailing voices. There were voices of men bellowing, sounds of women screaming, and the tter of tablewares being smashed to the floor. He could tell that she was quite busy fighting with somebody again! He hung up the phone, but the more he thought about it, the more he sensed that something was wrong. For instance, Sophia hadn¡¯te home yet. Nathan, who should¡¯ve been staying at Celine¡¯s ce, was suddenly dropped off at Michael¡¯s house. He was currently having a foot bath while watching TV with Michael. Logically speaking, Sophia should be working overtime in herpany just then. Soul of Sniper¡ªthe game created by herpany¡ªwas very well received, so herpany was currently working extra hours to produce a new version of the game that would be updated next month. Since the updated version would include many new features, everyone in thepany had their hands full, making it usual for them to go home in the middle of the night. After all, people who worked in gamingpanies never finished work on time. Michael called Sophia, but nobody answered the phone. He then called Sean and Stanley, but they didn¡¯t answer their phones either. When he called Harry, thetter was ying games. ¡°Where is your little kitten, Harry? Is she not with you today?¡± Harry answered, ¡°She told me that she was going to get her hair done; she¡¯ll be here a whileter.¡± Michael felt that something was deeply wrong after hanging up the phone. Feeling unsettled, he held his cell phone while subconsciously tapping it on the ss coffee table. Getting her hair done? Working overtime? He nced at Nathan, who nced back at him and said coldly, ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I know nothing; they left me behind because they wanted to go out and have fun.¡± Several minutester, Michael got up and got changed before calling Gary and Hale to go out with him. ¡°Nichs, report your Mom¡¯s coordinates.¡± Michael carried Nichs into the car as he got into it as well. Sophia¡¯s wristwatch could report her current location. Nichs answered, ¡°Mom is in her office, Dad!¡± The group of three then went to Sophia¡¯spany, but she wasn¡¯t there. It was already 10.00 PM, and everyone in thepany had already left work. It was dark in thepany, and Sophia¡¯s wristwatch was in her office. Furious, Michael called Justin, but nobody answered the phone. He called Harry over and urgently sent people out to find them. About ten minutester, they finally found the ce where Sophia was ¡®working overtime¡¯ and where Sarah ¡®was getting her hair done¡¯¡ªthe ce was none other than Green Lotus Gang¡¯s headquarters. Green Lotus Gang¡¯s headquarters was an old warehouse at Ring Avenue. As soon as Michael and Harry arrived, they could hear the sound of people yelling and brandishing their knives from afar. A Husky tied to a tree stump near the warehouse¡¯s entrance was digging the soil for something to eat, and its mouth looked a little familiar. Stanley¡¯s car was parked at the entrance, and next to it was Sophia¡¯s favorite Yamaha motorcycle along with Sarah¡¯s car, which had cat whiskers pasted on its pink front. Michael was speechless at the sight of the scene. He drew his gun and led the group of people into the warehouse. Kicking the door wide open, a beer bottle flew in his face before he could even see what was going on inside. Startled, he moved sideways and dodged the beer bottle, and it shattered at his feet. A scuffle was going on in the warehouse. Dressed uniformly, dozens of members from Green Lotus Gang were beaten so badly that they couldn¡¯t walk steadily. An incredibly tough person emerged from the crowd of gang members. Dashing in on all sides, she single-handedly beat up several brawny men so brutally that they howled in pain. She beat them up while swearing, ¡°F*ck you, how dare you touch thedy whom I fancy? F*ck you! Did you hear me? F*ck you!¡± Like a sharp de thrust into the enemy¡¯s heart, Celine led her underlings to beat up the Green Lotus Gang¡¯s members until they cried out in pain, fell onto their knees, and begged for mercy. She had only a few underlings¡ªJustin, Stanley, Sean, Sarah, and¡­ Sophia. Following Celine¡¯s pace closely, Sophia brandished the stick in her hand in an imposing manner as she bravely and impressively fought five men alone. Even Sarah, who usually looked obedient and well-behaved, was smashing people with beer bottles like a hooligan. Not only that, she really looked a little like Celine while doing so. The smell of alcohol and blood filled the air, and screams and calls for help resounded through the warehouse. Both Michael and Ethan were speechless at the sight of the scene. It seemed that Celine was very ¡®dedicated¡¯ to helping them improve theirbat skills. It was no wonder Sophia looked so exhausted when she came home every night. She fell asleep as soon as shey down on the bed and was lethargic even while sleeping with Michael. As it turned out, she was going out with Celine to have fights! Choking with anger, Michael found a stool and sat down while watching them fight like that. Chapter 622 Chapter 622 The fight ended very soon in Celine¡¯s presence. Charging into the enemy¡¯s ranks, she precisely grabbed hold of the Green Lotus Gang¡¯s leader. He had been behind his underlings the entire time, directing them to fight. With that, she held him down on the floor by stepping on his head. The leader was frightened out of his wits. He had joined the underworld for several decades, but this was his first timeing across such an invincible figure. ¡°Brother¡ªno, sister¡ªI¡¯m in the wrong! It¡¯s all my fault, and I won¡¯t do that ever again¡­ Help!¡± She¡¯s too formidable! he thought to himself. Previously, he thought that Taylor was simply an actor who could perform showy yet useless martial arts movements, but he didn¡¯t expect thetter to be so skillful at fighting¡ªit was just like the movies. He even suspected that they were filming the sequel to ¡®War Dragon¡¯ without his knowledge. Where are the steel wires? Director, hurry the f*ck up and stop the filming! Unfortunately, there was no director nor camera. Instead, there was only ¡®Taylor,¡¯ who coldly and mercilessly stamped a footprint on his head. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. He heard her ordering in a cold voice, ¡°Remember this face. Stay away from me whenever you see me in the future!¡± The leader cried while nodding his head. ¡°Yes, yes, yes¡ªI¡¯ll stay away from you!¡± ¡°If you ever dare to take one more look at thedies I fancy next time, I¡¯ll castrate you!¡± The leader trembled with fear. His teeth chattered as he responded, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll never do that anymore.¡± Why did no one tell me that Taylor is such a formidable fighter?! The fight had ended just then, and the bunch of young people beat up the dozens of Green Lotus Gang¡¯s members so badly that they werepletely unable to fight back. Aren¡¯t they a little too good at fighting? the gang members thought to themselves. Green Lotus Gang was an underworld organization that emerged in a rural-urban fringe area, but strictly speaking, it wasn¡¯t even qualified enough to be considered a gang. Its head was simply a hooligan who had been in the underworld for years with dozens of underlings under him. These underlings were younger than one another¡ªthey seemed to be undergraduates, high school students, and junior high school students. It took little effort to beat up this bunch of hooligans; Celine could have ended the battle alone in less than half an hour. This time, her main purpose ofing out was to mentor the inexperienced juniors so that they could gain some experience and improve their fighting skills. Having dealt with Green Lotus Gang and forcing its members to kneel down, Celine even assigned homework to her ¡®underlings¡¯ by telling them to write a post-mortem essay of about 1,000 words each when they went back. After that, she and her ¡®underlings¡¯ were ready to leave with their arms wrapped around each other¡¯s shoulders. Having drunk a mouthful of wine, Celineughed merrily while hooking her arm around Justin¡¯s neck. Justin was expressionless the whole time, but one couldn¡¯t tell if he had nothing to say about what his wife had done or if he was fine as long as she had fun. Stanley and Sean felt very great. They suffered from a lot of stress at work, so having a fight outside was a nice way to relieve their stress. Sarah had been a little scared in the beginning, but she became more and more courageous after mingling with Celine for a while. It does feel awesome to fight with people! From now on, I can fight back if my stepmother bullies me at home again! Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s eyes shone; she felt as though her blood was boiling over with excitement. Everyoneughed and joked with their arms wrapped around each other¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I heard about the gang that acts like a big bully in a high school at Third Avenue. Let¡¯s find time to teach them a lesson!¡± ¡°In that case, what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go! I like beating up these little brats the most!¡± ¡°Hahaha! I think I¡¯ve figured out what it feels like to be young and hot-blooded high school students!¡± ¡°What do you mean by that? We are young and hot-blooded ourselves, okay?!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and eat some barbecue!¡± ¡°Hey, Sophia! Aren¡¯t you worried that your husband will lock the door if you go homete?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I told him that I¡¯d be working at thepany all night, and you¡¯ll testify to it.¡± Theyughed and joked as they walked to the entrance. Before they could realize it, they saw a row of men dressed in ck standing at the dark entrance. They almost couldn¡¯t notice these men because the ck clothes they wore blended perfectly with the pitch-ck background. Silence suddenly filled the air, and the merry group of people stood transfixed in ce. Since when did Michael and Henry arrive? Frightened, Sophia hurriedly hid behind Justin, revealing only a pair of watery eyes as she looked at Michael standing at the doorway. Michael was dressed in an all-ck outfit, but his expression was even darker than the clothes he was wearing. He sat silently on the stool as his dark and chilling aura spread to his surroundings. He was mad¡ªhe was very, very furious. The two groups of people looked at each other like that for over ten seconds in absolute silence. In the end, it was Harry who broke the silence. Sitting cross-legged with his arms folded, he stared at the group of people and asked, ¡°There have beenints from the underworldbor union that many gangs have been ambushed by unknown forces. Are you guys the so-called unknown forces?¡± Sarah looked shocked. ¡°There¡¯s abor union in the underworld?!¡± Harry curled his lips into a sneer. ¡°We even buy insurance and give contributions to the provident funds for our brothers!¡± he answered. Frightened by the murderous aura that suddenly emanated from Harry, Sarah ducked her head and didn¡¯t dare to speak anymore. Celine¡¯s eyes flickered before she pretended to fall into Justin¡¯s arms. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m drunk!¡± With that, Justin swaggered away while supporting the ¡®staggering¡¯ Celine. Stanley¡¯s temples pulsed. He had been taught a lesson by Michael after the previous incident, and it seemed like he couldn¡¯t avoid being taught another lesson on this day. No! Even if the sky falls down, any senior in the family hierarchy can take my ce. I¡¯m in the lowest ranks of the family, so I¡¯m just a pure and innocent baby! No matter what, I can¡¯t be taught a lesson again! Stanley hurriedly grabbed Sean and fled. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving first since Judge is afraid of being outside alone, Uncle Michael. See you around. Hehe¡­¡± Harry¡ªwho was fuming¡ªbeckoned to Sarah. ¡°Come, Sarah.¡± With that, Sarah was taken away by Harry with her head drooping low. As Michael stared at Sophia expressionlessly the whole time, thetter did not even dare to breather. Now that everyone else was gone, the two of them were the only ones left. After staring at her for a few minutes, Michael stood up and stepped into the darkness without saying a word. Sophia immediately went after him. The two of them got into the car silently. Michael closed his eyes to rx, whereas Sophia sat next to him while twiddling her fingers; she was figuring out how to act cute and beg him for mercyter. Once they reached home, Michael got changed and went to sleep without saying a word. Sophia immediately showered, took off all her clothes, and slept next to him; she even deliberately put the leather whip, the candles, and the other items on the nightstand. However, Micheal merely turned over, ced his hand on her waist, and fell asleep without doing anything else with her. He didn¡¯t quarrel with her, nor did hefort or warn her. He did nothing at all¡­ Michael seemed to have put that day¡¯s incident behind him just like that. He didn¡¯t make anyments about the incident, nor did he scold Sophia or even give her a ck look. In another few days, he was going to start filming another movie. The film studio was located in another city, so Michael could onlye home once or twice a week. Sophia had been very well-behaved these days; she would probably feel better if he scolded her. After all, his anger would definitely dissipate after scolding her, and it would be wrong for him to put on a darkened expression by then. However, Michael neither scolded nor spanked her; this stressed Sophia out instead. Thinking that she hadn¡¯t gotten the beating she deserved from him, she was apprehensive and cautious all the time for fear that she would make Michael angry again. At the same time, she reflected deeply on her mistakes. She would¡¯ve been worried if Michael fought with Joel, so Michael would definitely be worried when she had fights outside. Therefore, she resolved not to fight with people and fool around outside with Celine ever again. However, her determination always wavered unusually fast¡­ Chapter 623 Chapter 623 Since it was summer break, there were no sses to attend. Trying hard to act like a dutiful wife and loving mother, Sophia left home for work at 8.30 AM sharp and parked her motorcycle in the garage at 6.30 PM every day after finishing work. Moreover, she would leave home with Michael for a walk every weekend. Celine acted as if nothing had happened after Michael caught her in the act that day; she still acted without restraint as if wanting to retrieve the seven youthful years that she had lost. Her life was colorful as she spent every day clubbing, flirting withdies, and beating up high school students. As a result, scandalous titbits about Taylor were updated regrly in the entertainment news like a serial novel, with daily stories about him picking up girls, engaging in illegal racing, fighting, and getting into brawls¡­ These days, many underworld gangs recruited members who were still studying, especially middle school kids. Teenagers were hot-blooded and gullible; since they were rtively weak in distinguishing right from wrong, they would think that it was cool and respectable to be gangsters. Many kids who were tricked into joining these gangs also became addicted to drugs, neglected their studies, and ended up spending the rest of their lives as gangsters. Celine had been picking on these student gangs recently. Firstly, it was because such gangs were rtively weak and were convenient tools for her to train the tenderfoots with. After all, these gangs infiltrated schools to trick students into joining them because they were weak. Secondly, the members of such gangs were all teenagers, making them easy targets to beat up¡ªshe could do whatever she pleased with them while she was at it. Thirdly, underworld gangs should be nipped in the bud. Students should go back and study instead of joining the underworld! Celine thought she had done a great deed by giving these teenage gangsters a beating and telling them to return to school and study! Meanwhile, Sophia had been acting like a dutiful wife and loving mother for several days before Stanley asked her in secret, ¡°Aunt Celine is going to have another fight with some gangsters at 12.00 PM tomorrow, Aunt. Would you like to join us? It¡¯ll be exciting!¡± Sophia quickly waved her hand and conscientiously worked in her office with her sses on. ¡°No, I¡¯m not joining! I¡¯m never going to join you guys ever again; your uncle had been really angry thest time.¡± Stanley assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! This time, I¡¯ve already asked around¡ªUncle Michael and Mr. Harry will be having a meeting to discuss their scripts tomorrow. They¡¯ll begin filming soon, and they¡¯re bound to be busy. We¡¯ll go secretly and end the fight within two hours. This time, we¡¯re going to beat up a sc*mbag named Ben in Riverdale. He has quite the influence over there and has amassed a gang of high school students to act like tyrants everywhere. He provoked Aunt Celine the night before yesterday.¡± Sophia pricked up her ears upon hearing the word ¡®Riverdale¡¯, and the name ¡®Ben¡¯ resounded in her ears. She eximed, ¡°Are you talking about Ben Oak?¡± Stanley answered, ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s him that I¡¯m talking about. You must know him since you grew up in Riverdale!¡± He¡¯s more than someone I know! Sophia thought to herself. Having quite some influence in Riverdale, Ben had more than 200 underlings. Most of them were undergraduates and high school students. It could be said that Ben¡¯s name resounded in the students¡¯ ears back when she was studying at Riverdale High School. Everyone spoke of him with either a look of admiration or a look of terror on their faces. To Sophia, Ben¡¯s name used to be associated with several past events that she couldn¡¯t bear to recall¡­ She had just been admitted to Riverdale High School back then, and the school principal specially approved the waiver of her tuition and amodation fees. Besides the living allowance that was credited to her meal card every month, the school principal gave her some pocket money out of his own pocket every month. She also earned extra ie by doing part-time jobs in school, such as delivering barreled water and sweeping the floors. She was also awarded a yearly schrship, so she never had to worry about spending money on food and clothing¡ªshe could even save some money asionally. Sophia had forced herself to be stronger to reward the school principal for recognizing and appreciating her talents. She finished in the top five of her ss during every exam; she usually had the best grades in her ss, but there were also several asions where she had the second or third best grades. She heard of Ben¡¯s name for the first time when several dozen female gangsters blocked her in the toilet one day before her sophomore year¡¯s second end-of-term exam. Her head was pinned against the toilet seat cover as the female gangsters stripped off her school uniform shirt. Then, they stubbed out a few cigarette butts on her back. It produced a sizzling sound and the smell of burning flesh, which formed an extremely strange smell when mixed with the weird odor in the toilet. Sophia shed tears of pain but didn¡¯t dare say a word. ¡°You b*tch, you should have asked around outside! Rosie is Ben¡¯s younger sister! Do you know who Ben is?¡± ¡°You should feel honored that Rosie wants you to pass the exam questions¡¯ answers to her, so don¡¯t be ungrateful by turning her down!¡± She nced up at the girl named Rosie as her bruised face was pressed against the toilet seat cover. Even though Rosie was dressed in school uniform, her hair was permed and dyed in multiple colors. Wearing heavy makeup despite her young age, she held a cigarette between her fingers¡ªher fingernails of which were multicolored¡ªand stared coldly at Sophia¡¯s face pressed against the toilet seat cover. Then, she let out a chuckle, blew a ring of smoke, and stubbed out the cigarette butt on Sophia¡¯s back. As she trembled with pain, Sophia¡¯s tears fell drop by drop. Even so, she didn¡¯t dare to utter a single sound¡ªshe was afraid of Ben. Who wasn¡¯t afraid of Ben at Riverdale High School? He was a local bully in Riverdale with several hundreds of underlings under him, and many boys in the school had joined his gang. One would no longer be able to survive in Riverdale if he or she messed with Ben. In the end, one of the female gangsters patted an old-fashioned Nokia cell phone on her face. ¡°Listen up, poor wretch! This is a gift to you from Rosie! Her phone number is saved on this cell phone. You must finish answering all the questions 30 minutes before handing in your exam papers. You¡¯ll have to pass Rosie all the answers! Also, you mustn¡¯t give Rosie away if the proctor catches you. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have a few gangsters gang-rape you! Are you afraid of being gang-raped?¡± Sophia reached out her hand¡ªher fingernails of which had been broken¡ªand took the cell phone. In that end-of-term exam, Rosie¡ªwho had always finished at the bottom of her ss¡ªunexpectedly made herself into the top 100 of her ss. As a result, Rosie and many students who had good grades were called over by the school teachers to investigate the matter. Sophia was so scared at the time that she didn¡¯t even dare to sleep. She was afraid of being discovered that she had passed the answers to them, but she was even more afraid that the school principal would be disappointed with her¡­ If she remembered correctly, Rosie was the one who did it when Ka had a few gangsters break her legs. She was staying in Duckburgs when a bunch of gangsters attempted to rape her, forcing her to jump into the river to save her own life. Those gangsters were Ben¡¯s men. ¡°Sophia!¡± Seeing that she was in a daze, Stanley pushed her shoulder; only then did she snap out of her past memories. ¡°Huh?¡± Stanley winked at her and asked again, ¡°Will you be joining us? Come on, I guarantee that Uncle Michael won¡¯t catch you!¡± Sophia sneered as she took off her elegantly designed big-framed sses. She replied, ¡°Why not? I¡¯ll be joining you guys.¡± Her eyes, which once looked innocent, shed fire. Thepany¡¯s office closed at 6.00 PM, but the staff usually stayed until 9.00 PM. That evening, however, Sophia drove home as soon as she finished work. Since the office was near her house, it only took 30 minutes at most for her to arrive even if there was a traffic jam. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. She reached home that evening at 6.30 PM. Lately, Sophia dressed like a high-flying career woman. Wearing a refined and decent-looking hip skirt and a pair of big-framed sses without any prescription, she looked smart and resolute when she walked in her ck stilettos. Her long hair was coiled up on the back of her head, making her look like a white-cor elite in every way. After reaching home, she took a shower, changed into cartoon pajamas, and went to the dining room to have dinner with Michael. Nathan was also here on this day, so the family of three had dinner together. Sophia tried hard to pretend that everything was normal, acting like she was eating and sleeping well. To her surprise, as soon as she finished her meal and put down her utensils, Michael asked in a perfectly calm tone, ¡°Are you going out to fight some gangsters tomorrow?¡± Sophia trembled all over nervously while her muscles contracted. After a few seconds, she replied with a smile, ¡°How is that possible? I have work tomorrow.¡± Sh*t, who leaked that out?! Chapter 624 Chapter 624 Michael finished his meal without saying another word before he entered his study. Seizing the opportunity, Sophia asked Nathan, ¡°Did you snitch on us?¡± Nathan rolled his eyes and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t you realize that my Mom will send me here whenever she¡¯s going to have a fight outside?¡± Only then did Sophia realize what was going on. Justin would go with Celine whenever she had a fight outside. Since nobody could meet Nathan at the hospital, Celine would have Hale take Nathan to Michael¡¯s ce in advance so that he could have dinner and stay the night there. Having learned about it, Sophia patted her forehead. I¡¯m too careless! Indeed, there was something wrong with the atmosphere at home after dinner. Even though everyone still watched TV together after dinner, nobody dared to say a word. Sophia was also in a dilemma, but she had to join this time¡¯s fight no matter what. Rosie and her people had left seven cigarette burns on her back. Even though she had gotten the scars removed viaser surgery afterward, she still remembered these scars; she even kept these scars¡¯ positions in mind. She remembered everything clearly, including the seven cigarette burns, the two instances where her leg was broken, and that particr night when she was forced to jump into the river to save her own life¡­ This will be thest time I act wilfully. After beating them up tomorrow, I¡¯ll wash my hands of this and never fool around outside with Celine again. With that thought in her mind, she grew confident as she believed that justice was on her side. It was already 10.00 PM when they finished watching TV. Since it was time to sleep, Sophia went back to her room. Suddenly, Michael beckoned to her. ¡°Come here, chica.¡± This was the first sentence Michael had said to her after dinner. Despite her heavy heart, Sophia walked toward Michael upon hearing his words. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. She knew that Michael probably wanted to persuade or scold her, but she was determined to go¡­ Michael entered the cloakroom without saying a word, and Sophia followed suit. Michael¡¯s cloakroom could bepared to a small department store with its ample space and superb collection of clothes and essories. Having entered the cloakroom on this day, Michael stood in front of the rack where the watches were disyed. After pressing a button, the disy rack split in two, revealing a secret room inside. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment when she saw the secret room. Disyed inside were several firearms and cold weapons¡ªthere were boxing gloves, cudgels, brass knuckles, light submachine guns, and smoke grenades¡­ Michael entered the secret room with Sophia behind him. Her eyes shone with amazement as she looked left and right at the weapons disyed. Michael opened a ss box using his handprint; inside the box was a golden vest. He took out the vest and handed it to Sophia. He said, ¡°This is an ¡®imprable armor¡¯ that I ordered to be custom-made. It can¡¯t be prated by ordinary cold weapons, but every inch of it costs a lot. It¡¯s expensive, so wear it only when you really need it.¡± Sophia took the imprable armor from him with a dumbfounded expression on her face. Is this for me? Following that, Michael took out a ck skin-tight battle suit and said, ¡°This is bulletproof and tear- resistant. The first thing thates to a person¡¯s mind when fighting with women is to tear their clothes, but this suit can¡¯t be torn. It¡¯s alsofortable to wear in the summer since it dissipates heat quickly.¡± Huh?! Michael took out a lot of equipment continuously. ¡°This is a brass knuckle; it protects your hand and hurts your opponent a lot when you punch them. This electric rod will inflict severe pain and render one unable to fight for 30 minutes upon touching the human body; use it with your insted skin-tight battle suit. This is a teeth protector; it can be used to protect your teeth.¡± Holding the pile of equipment in her hands, Sophia was puzzled for a while before she realized what was going on. Michael knew that he couldn¡¯t stop her, so he decided to find some better equipment for her instead. That way, she wouldn¡¯t be at a disadvantage when fighting outside. Sophia¡¯s eyes gleamed as she stared at the tall figure standing before her eyes. Indeed, my hubby is the best! Michael took out more equipment and said, ¡°Ears and knees are the weakest parts of the human body, so take care and protect your knees and ears well. Wear this helmet to protect your ears and head¡ªit¡¯ll prevent your opponent from pulling your hair.¡± The more Michael acted like this, the more guilty Sophia felt. She swore inwardly, This is definitely the last time! I¡¯ll make sure to be a dutiful wife, loving mother, nobledy, and socialite after this¡ªI¡¯ll never fight again! I¡¯ll fight just this once! Just once is enough for me! The next day, everyone met at the agreed venue on time at 11.30 AM and set out together to the ce where they would fight with Ben¡¯s men Among the several vehicles parked together, Celine and Justin shared a car. Justin wore a pair of boxing gloves without saying a word. On the other hand, Celine didn¡¯t wear any boxing gloves, for she liked to fight with naked fists. Otherwise, how could she get physical with the young boys? Sean, Stanley, and Sarah were in the same car. They seemed to have juste from thepany after work, for they were changing their shoes. Seeing that Sophia¡¯s car had arrived, Stanley wound down the car window with a lollipop in his mouth. He mocked, ¡°Hey, Sophia! I thought Uncle Michael locked you up at home since you didn¡¯te to work today!¡± Sophia wound down her car window to reveal a cold and beautiful face. Dressed in a ck skin-tight battle suit, she wore a ck helmet and brought a ck electric rod with her. This appearance of hers invited another round of ridicule from Stanley. ¡°Wow! Will you be fighting or attending aic con? Who are you cosying as?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you have any objections to this?¡± A deep male voice spoke from inside Sophia¡¯s car, catching Stanley off guard and startling him so much that his lollipop fell out. It was only then did Stanley notice someone sitting in the passenger seat of Sophia¡¯s car. Also dressed in a ck battle suit, he had half of his face covered using a ck face mask while staring coldly at Stanley. ¡°Pfft!¡± Stanley was so frightened that his legs turned to jelly. ¡°Why are you here, Uncle Michael?¡± What?! Is Michael actually here?! Then, a third voice spoke from inside Sophia¡¯s car. ¡°What do you think? We¡¯re here to fight, of course!¡± There was another person in the back seat, and his shy blonde hair shone with dazzling golden light that even the ss window didn¡¯t seem to be able to block. Stanley felt that his worldviews were being challenged. Michael and Harry are actually here to fight with a bunch of high school students?! Is it proper for an anonymous Bayside City citizen and Mr. Winston, the lord of Bayside City¡¯s underworld, to fight with a group of high school students?! Sophia had driven off first before everyone could respond. They would be fighting with Ben¡¯s men under a bridge in Riverdale. Sophia happened to be familiar with the ce since she had lived there previously. Their cars soon arrived near the bridge, and everyone got out of their cars and walked to the ce. The bridge crossed the river, and it was very wide. Not only was the space under the bridge warm in winter and cool in summer, but it was also sheltered from wind and rain. Moreover, this ce was secluded; several homeless people would live here. Some gangs would also fight under the bridge since nobody would discover the dead bodies if there were any. Whenever the river¡¯s tide rose, this ce would be flooded and everything would be washed away. Standing under the bridge, Sophia recalled everything that happened in the past; it seemed like her blood had be frozen at that very moment. She had stayed here for over a month before Joe discovered her here and took her away. However, she never expected to be back here right now. Michael stood behind her as he patted her shoulder. Since this ce was near the riverbank, there were some strange-shaped jagged rocks here; one could build a makeshift home by putting something on top of two rocks as a sort of roof. Such a makeshift home was warm and sheltered from the wind, so it was suitable for the homeless people to take shelter. My chica used to stay here¡­ It must be very cold at night! Chapter 625 Chapter 625 It seemed that many people had arrived since the sound of footsteps could be heard from all directions. Sophia immediately put on her face mask; her ck battle suit looked so over-the-top that she looked like someone acting in a movie about assassins. Standing next to her, Michael also put on his face mask. He wore matching outfits with her since they were a couple! Stanley secretly asked, ¡°Uncle Michael, how could you be here and fight just like this? What if you get photographed and your photos are sent to the weekly entertainment magazines?¡± Annoyed by the question, Celine answered, ¡°That¡¯s not a big deal. This isn¡¯t the first time I¡¯ve been photographed fighting with someone.¡± Celine was already used to being photographed. After all, photos of her fighting, clubbing, and making trouble after getting drunk appeared in entertainment headlines almost every day. Because of that, Taylor¡¯s public persona had long since changed from the mysterious and wless Prince Charming to a loafer who liked clubbing and waved his fists at the drop of a hat. However, Celine¡ªthe chief culprit¡ªseemed to be totally unaware of Michael¡¯s resentment. Her eyes brightened as she looked at the seemingly threatening crowd that closed in on them from all sides. What a group of underage hunks with rosy lips, pretty white teeth, and muscr bodies! Anyone can tell at a nce that they feel great to the touch! There were dozens of people on the other side, so Celine and the rest were grossly outnumbered. It seemed that Celine¡¯s side was indeed short of men. There were only eight of them at the very most, including the three Fletchers, the three Mitchells, as well as Harry and Sarah. As their leader, Celine stepped forward and met the other side¡¯s leader. She shouted confidently, ¡°Tell me your name!¡± The leader told Celine his name. ¡°No problem. I¡¯m Ben Oak, and everyone in the underworld calls me Ben. Who are you?¡± He¡¯s Ben? Sophia stared at the young man before her eyes. Seemingly in his early 30s, he looked short and as thin as a skeleton. One could easily tell from his dreadfully pale skin, heavy dark circles, and dull eyes that he lived a life of debauchery. The saying is indeed true that knowing a person by repute is not as good as seeing him or her in the flesh¡­ Standing beside Ben was a group of men and women dressed in various colors. Sophia recognized one of the women at a nce; she was none other than Rosie. Rosie didn¡¯t seem much different since Sophiast saw her a few years ago. Dressed in revealing clothes, she had a nose ring and a lip stud in addition to her heavy makeup; there was a brightly colored butterfly tattoo on her corbone as well. It seemed that she was also a drug addict, for one could notice the injection marks on her arm that were visible to the naked eye if he or she looked closely. Sophia looked cold as she tightened her grip on the electric rod in her hand. Celine sat casually on a rock while saying, ¡°As for me¡­ Everyone in the underworld calls me Cece. Have you heard of me, brat?¡± ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡± Ben couldn¡¯t helpughing derisively, leading his men tough as theirughter echoed through therge space under the bridge. Ben resumed his grim and sinister expression the next second after he finishedughing. ¡°You must be the imposter who looks like Taylor!¡± There had been a lot of scandalous gossip about Taylor recently; it was quite unusual. Ordinary people were clueless, but word had been spread in the underworld that a woman who looked a little like Taylor was stirring up trouble there. Ben nced at the people Celine brought with her. He could tell at a nce that the two people dressed in ck were cosyers, whereas the other three seemed to have rushed here after work since they were still dressed in worker¡¯s uniforms. The blonde man who looked like Ethan was even more outrageous¡ªhe came here in slippers! What a disorderly band of people they are! They must be a bunch of little-known stunt doubles from a small and poorly-equipped film crew! Ben didn¡¯t take them seriously at all, for he nned to catch one of the guys and beat him to deathter. As for thedies¡­ ¡°Beat them!¡± At Ben¡¯smand, the dozens of people behind him charged toward Celine and the rest. Ben was just a hooligan who couldn¡¯t even be considered a gangster. His underlings didn¡¯t even have a lot of machetes, let alone guns. They couldn¡¯t even wield the same weapon; some of them went so far as to use their school bags as weapons, whereas some charged toward their opponents after leaving their bags behind. Upon Ben¡¯smand, all these people charged toward Celine and the others with passion and ferocity written all over their innocent and young faces. Ben led the crowd and was met head-on with Celine. Ben¡¯s ns were pleasurable. He would catch Cece and sell her to the brothel since she must be worth a lot of money with her face that looked like Taylor. However, while he was still indulging in his daydream, a face that looked very much like the celebrity suddenly appeared before his eyes with lightning speed. Ben¡¯s mind went nk in an instant. By the time he came back to his senses, he had been sent flying; it was apanied with blood-curdling and shrill screeches. His skeletal-like body flew over everyone¡¯s heads before falling heavily on his face in the sandy area several meters away, making him unable to get up for a long time. Celine smiled fiendishly as she moved like a human-shaped butcher¡¯s knife. Howls of pain were heard wherever she went, for the group of tender high school students were as delicate as flowers to her as Justin silently protected her. Wielding the electrified electric rod, Sophia charged into the crowd and beat whoever she came across. The electric rod could inflict severe pain on those whose bodies it touched, so those touched by it screamed, held their heads, and rolled on the floor in pain right away; they couldn¡¯t get up for at least half an hour. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Only the best assassins in the world would be equipped as she did. To her, it seemed a little bit of overkill to wear these pieces of equipment to beat up a group of high school students. Blood-curdling screams were heard wherever she went as she beat the high school students so badly that they begged her for mercy. Michael followed behind her while also quietly protecting her. When he exchanged nces with Justin from time to time, they could see a look of resignation in each other¡¯s eyes. Hehe, it¡¯s fine as long as they¡¯re happy, they thought to themselves. They felt a little ashamed, as though they were a bunch of top fighters who wanted to beat up a bunch of defenseless kids and frail elderly people. Sean had received first-ssbat training, and Stanley was born in a military family; they had absolutely no problem beating up the high school students. They were like skilled yers who had reached the highest level in an online game and were ughtering the entire Novice Vige. It was slightly tough for Sarah to beat up her opponents, but Harry armed her with the equipment he had borrowed from Michael. As the head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld, Harry was acting as her assistant. Hence, Sarah gradually gained the upper hand. The few of them beat up several dozen people so badly that they couldn¡¯t fight back at all, and the high school students were all over the ground as they held their heads and wailed. Sophia¡¯s target was the same all along¡ªit was Rosie, who was hiding among the crowd. She remembered the seven cigarette burns and the two instances where her leg was broken very clearly. Even though Rosie was only paid to do so, she was ultimately the one who did it! No one could stop her as she charged toward Rosie. Just then, a familiar face shed past her. She reached out her hand and fiercely clutched the person¡¯s cor, only to see a young and panic-stricken face. ¡°Derek?!¡± she called out the person¡¯s name while pulling down her face mask to reveal her stony face. The boy named Derek was stunned when he saw Sophia¡¯s face. ¡°Sophia¡­¡± Sophia¡¯s heart sank when she saw that Derek was one of Ben¡¯s underlings. Feeling exasperated and disappointed, she clutched Derek¡¯s cor and scolded, ¡°Why the hell are you mixing around with Ben? Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to go to Bayside University back then?! You should be in your senior year right now! Why are you here instead?! Huh?¡± Sophia wouldn¡¯t have been so angry if she came across somebody else, but the person she met was Derek Oak! Derek was attending junior high school back when Sophia was in her sophomore year at Riverdale High School. Sophia had the highest grades in the sophomore year, whereas Derek was the top student of the 7th Grade. Moreover, he had started studying high school courses on his own at the time! They knew each other since both of them were straight-A students. Moreover, Derek¡¯s family was also poor, so he and Sophia did part-time jobs at school together. Theypeted with each other in their studies, but they were close friends in private; they even shared the same goal of getting admitted to Bayside University! Startled by the dressing-down Sophia gave him, Derek burst out crying on the spot. ¡°I lied to you, Sophia. Ben is actually my uncle; he forced me into joining the underworld, and I can do nothing about it!¡± Derek is Ben¡¯s nephew?! Sophia gave Derek a loud, hard p before charging toward Ben like a mad dog. ¡°F*ck that son of a b*tch!¡± I must kill Ben today no matter what! she thought to herself. Derek quickly grabbed her by the arm. ¡°Don¡¯t do that, Sophia. Don¡¯t mess with my uncle¡ªhe has a backer! I¡¯m totally finished since I can¡¯t get admitted to a university anymore. Don¡¯t do anything foolish because of me!¡± Sophia shoved him aside, but she didn¡¯t expect him to hug her feet to stop her from leaving. ¡°Hurry up and leave, Sophia. You can¡¯t afford to offend my uncle¡¯s backer!¡± Sophia ran forward as hard as she could with a cold expression. ¡°F*ck that! There isn¡¯t a backer that I can¡¯t afford to mess with!¡± Feeling desperate, Derek said, ¡°My uncle is a rtive of Alex Mitchell, the Mitchell Group¡¯s Chairman!¡± Alex?! Chapter 626 Chapter 626 Sophia paused and turned around to look at Derek, who had been dragged onto the floor. ¡°Are you saying that Ben is rted to Alex?¡± Derek nodded vigorously. ¡°That¡¯s true! Hence, you¡¯d better not mess with him! You can¡¯t afford to mess with Alex!¡± Knowing that Ben actually had ties with Alex, it was even more unlikely that Sophia would let him go! Michael had been behind Sophia all along; when he learned that the little thug actually had rtions with Alex, he quickly made up his mind and ordered Stanley to tie him up. Sophia kicked Derek to the side and walked toward Rosie with a stun gun. Obviously, Rosie hadn¡¯t recognized Sophia. Who would¡¯ve thought that the nerd she stepped on the toilet cover a few years ago was actually the girl in front of her? Rosie had dropped out of school and mingled in the society for several years, so she knew what to do in such a situation. Then, she grabbed a machete and charged toward Sophia. As she raised the machete at Sophia, thetter avoided the attack with incredible agility and blocked the machete with her stun gun. As Sophia caught the machete in her hand, she released the current from her weapon. In the blink of an eye, Rosie¡¯s whole body twitched as she fell to the ground, paralyzed. The high-end killer equipment Sophia was using to fight against the group of high schoolers was like killing a chicken with a chainsaw. As Rosie writhed in pain and sobbed loudly, her smoky makeup was all ruined. Then, a pair of ck heavy-duty boots stepped on her head forcefully. Sophia stubbed Rosie¡¯s head in the sand by the river bank, just like how Rosie had pressed her face onto the toilet lid back then. She did it with such force that Rosie¡¯s face went so deep into the sand; the sobbing woman was even forced to eat a mouthful of sand. A hard p hit her face as it interrupted her mid-sentence. Rosie had about a dozen underlings with her, whereas they only had a few people with them¡ªhow could she have possibly lost?! ¡°What the h*ll?! Who the f*ck are you?! Tell me your name if you have the guts to do so!¡± Sophia turned Rosie around. She had to wear a mask earlier because it was too dusty, but she ripped off her mask to reveal her delicate face now. ¡°Please remember my name¡ªit¡¯s Sophia.¡± Sophia! Rosie¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Sophia¡¯s face clearly. She knew that Sophia was the wife of that movie star named Taylor, but Rosie had dropped out of school ages ago; she had beaten many people up, and shepletely forgot about the withered young girl who was once beaten by her in the toilet. Sophia stepped on Rosie¡¯s chin and leaned down as she gave another hard p, mimicking the way they used to beat her. She had been pped ten times back then, each time harder than thest. Her face waspletely red and swollen just because she refused to pass her answers to Rosie. At that moment, she took off her gloves and gave Rosie another hard p. As her face turned red and began to swell, Sophia wanted to make sure that Rosie ended up just like her back then! Meanwhile, the battle on the other side was already over. Celine had given these people a good beating to the point where Ben was kneeling in front of her with the rest of them in a neat row. Crying as they kneeled, the bridge was filled with the sound of people wailing. Celine carried a whip and established the dominance she had when she was training new recruits in the army to educate the young thugs. ¡°You guys have now been targeted by me, Cece!¡± ¡°From this day onward, if I see you loitering around and not going to school, I¡¯ll let my fists teach you a lesson if the teachers in school can¡¯t control you!¡± ¡­ On the other side, Rosie was still cursing away. Everytime she cursed, Sophia would p her back. These girls who mixed in such social societies were not even considered gangsters; they were just a bunch of thugs. They were so used to bullying weaker people that when they were faced with actual leaders of gangs, they cowered away. Hence, they resorted to bullying students in school and engaged in campus bullying. After Rosie witnessed how ruthless Sophia was, coupled with the fact that Ben and the others were already subdued, she knew that she had finally hit a snag and cried as she pleaded for mercy. Just then, Sophia turned Rosie again with her back to the sky. She ripped open her jacket, revealing the ck suspenders as well as her bare back. After abusing drugs for so long, Rosie was as thin as Ben; Sophia had no sympathy for people like them. She put a foot on Rosie¡¯s back and turned to Stanley, ¡°Give me a cigarette, Stan.¡± Stanley had been helping Celine to teach the high school students a lesson; as soon as he heard Sophia, he immediately went over to pass her a cigarette, but he still subconsciously nced at Michael¡¯s face. When he realized Michael wasn¡¯t trying to stop it, he boldly offered one and lit up the cigarette for Sophia. Sophia pretended to be a thug as she took a few puffs from the cigarette. She frowned at the strange smell and mped the cigarette in her hand as she leaned down and poked hard on Rosie¡¯s bareback. ¡°Ahh!¡± Rosie screamed in agony, instantly overshadowing the cries of the rest under the bridge cave. Everyone turned and looked over at them. Sophia took another puff to prevent the cigarette from going out and proceeded to poke it several more times on Rosie¡¯s back; it turned out to be a shape of the Big Dipper. As a form of interest, she had specially gifted her a north star. Eight ring-shaped scars were imprinted on Rosie¡¯s back. After her screams of pain, her voice had be hoarse and husky. When he saw Rosie being treated that way, Ben¡ªwho had been beaten up badly¡ªseemed to muster enough strength as he struggled with his skeleton-like body and roared out angrily, ¡°Do you know who I am? Do you know who my sister is?¡± Sophia flicked away the cigarette in her hand as she turned toward Ben and raised her eyebrows. ¡°Hey! Why don¡¯t you tell me instead? Who are you and who is your sister?¡± Ben¡¯s spirits lifted as he struggled to stand and snickered at her. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you¡¯re finished! You¡¯re in big trouble this time!¡± ¡°Do you see that kid there next to your feet? His name is Derek, and he¡¯s my sister¡¯s son. Do you know who his father is?¡± Sophia looked over at Derek, who was kneeling with the other high school students. She saw Derek lowering his head in shame. ¡°He¡¯s Derek, the son of Alex Mitchell¡ªthat¡¯s the CEO of Mitchell¡¯s Technology!¡± Once these words came out, everyone looked at Derek and saw that thetter still had his head down and was afraid to look at Sophia. Sophia¡¯s furrowed her brows. Was Derek Alex¡¯s long lost son? No, he was an illegitimate son. In addition to Natasha, Alex had raised many illegitimate children outside of the Mitchell Family, but they were iparable to the children from his legitimate marriage. These illegitimate children would never be able to return to the Mitchell Family, much less earn the inheritance rights. The difference of status had always been very clear, especially in families such as the Mitchells who have passed down their familyws for hundreds of years. From a legal perspective, illegitimate children have the same inheritance rights as the other children, but the premise was that these illegitimate children would first need to possess the ability and resources to fight with the Mitchell Family in awsuit. But at the end of the day, Derek was still Alex¡¯s son! Chapter 627 Chapter 627 Sophia had known Derek for several years now; it turned out that he had been pretending to be poor in school. The guy who couldn¡¯t even afford to eat an extra piece of meat was actually Alex¡¯s illegitimate son¡ªhe had been living so poorly! Although he was an illegitimate child, he was still Alex¡¯s illegitimate son. Their lifestyles werepletely different! Everyone was not interested in Alex¡¯s illegitimate children. They were not afraid of Alex, let alone his illegitimate son. Sophia pped Ben so hard that he fainted on the spot. ¡°Get lost! Get going now! Today, your boss has been dethroned. Go back and study your f*cking asses off!¡± ¡°If I see you guys out here hanging with these thugs again, I¡¯ll beat every single one of you!¡± The students fled like scattered birds as they cried and ran around looking for their school bags. While Celine drove out all the students, she caught sight of a young, tender-looking pair of firm buttocks. She couldn¡¯t help but p the young man¡¯s butt, and that young man fled with his backpack in fear. Justin watched the whole scene in silence. Celine was quite pleased with herself as she smirked at the boy¡¯s direction. When she met with Justin¡¯s cold gaze, she quickly wiped the smile off her face and put on a solemn look as she picked up the unconscious Ben and chucked him in the car, ready to dump him at the nearest police station they could find. Meanwhile, everyone else was busy cleaning up the battle scene. They picked up all the school bags that were left behind. Stanley picked up a paper and nced at the score. ¡°Hey, this idiot couldn¡¯t even solve such a simple question!¡± he scoffed. Sean picked up a school bag and eximed excitedly, ¡°Look, Stan! There was an art student here!¡± Rosie had lost her voice from crying so much and was dragged to the car by Sarah. They put her together with the unconscious Ben. Meanwhile, Sophia helped Derek back to his feet. The 18-year-old boy was terrified with tears on his face. She patted the dust off him. She seemed to be at a loss for words, but Ben spoke up first and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hide the truth from you, Sophia. I also didn¡¯t mean to cheat you by freeloading off of you.¡± Back then, Derek was often too poor to eat; Sophia would painfully share half of the only bun she had with him. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to do it. My mother told me to be like my sister¡ªshe wanted me to study hard and please Alex. I¡¯ve only seen my so-called father a few times since I was born, and he doesn¡¯t even remember my name. I didn¡¯t want people to know my rtionship with Alex; I¡¯d rather be an orphan. Since my mother did not care about me, I followed my uncle out into the streets¡­¡± He wiped his tears as he spoke, and all the words that Sophia wanted to reprimand him with had vanished together with his tears. Derek was a smart genius in school. When she was a senior in high school, she would look for him in the junior section to discuss subjects with him. Back then, Sophia couldn¡¯t afford to buy the books she needed for her studies; she couldn¡¯t even afford to buy a better dictionary that cost several hundred, and she was too embarrassed to ask the principal for money. Derek lied to her, telling Sophia that his family collected junk in front of the school. Every year, they would find a lot of books as well as a variety of informative reading materials. Hence, Sophia would always look for Derek and asked for more books. He would give her a dozen different books every time, such as teaching aids, word cards, extracurricr reading, romance novels and dictionaries. She had saved a lot of books that were given to her by Derek, but she couldn¡¯t bring them with her when she left. Even at that time, the situation felt quite strange to her. Whenever she liked a book in the bookstore but couldn¡¯t afford to buy it, Derek would find the exact same book from the pile of junk collected by his family the very next day; he even exined that they collected it by weight and would exchange a book for a steamed bun. It seemed like Derek had gone out to steal the book specially for her, but he lied about being a junk collector since he was afraid that it might hurt her pride. All of a sudden, Sophia remembered those days where she would run to the nearest yground during the holidays to collect mineral water bottles and sold them to Derek. The bottles that Derek¡¯s family collected had always paid her 10 cents more than the others. In hindsight, Derek was probably quite speechless back then¡­ After all that had happened, she could only sigh. Sophia patted his shoulder and solemnly warned, ¡°Well, you¡¯re still young. Since you missed the college entrance exams, just repeat another year of high school. What¡¯s more, you haven¡¯t missed this year¡¯s exam yet!¡± With Derek¡¯s intelligence, getting into Bayside University would be a piece of cake for him. Although she was disgusted by the fact that he was Alex¡¯s son, it was not a choice that he could make; who would want to be born as an illegitimate child? While she talked and ushered him to the car, Sophia told him that they¡¯d be sending him back to school first. In the car, Derek hung his head and murmured, ¡°Sophia, I don¡¯t want to go back to school and I don¡¯t want to get into Bayside University as well.¡± He leaned against the window. ¡°My mother has been using me as a tool to please Alex. She would do anything to get me into Bayside University as long as Alex would pay attention to her.¡± There was reluctance in his tone. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Sophia patted his shoulder lightly and said, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Studying in Bayside University has always been your dream¡ªdon¡¯t give it up because of your mother! Stop worrying about everything else and just focus on getting into the university. You can talk to me if you need money.¡± Michael hadn¡¯t spoken a word, but he had taken off his mask and was driving the car. His handsome face would asionally nce at Sophia and Derek, who were both sitting in the backseat. Even though he didn¡¯t know what their rtionship was, it seemed that Alex¡¯s illegitimate son was quite close with Sophia. I¡¯m jealous¡­ Derek was also stealing nces at Michael as he secretly tugged at Sophia¡¯s clothes. ¡°Sophia, are you really married to Taylor? Is it really him?¡± As Sophia nced at Michael, who was driving with a serious face, her eyes filled with pride as she nodded, ¡°Yes. That¡¯s my husband, Taylor.¡± Derek¡¯s eyes were filled with admiration. He usually did not pay any attention to celebrity gossip, but he heard that Sophia had been expelled because she was pregnant. It turned out that Young Lady Edwards was married to the movie star named Taylor. When he thought about what had happened in the past, guilt trickled through him as he hung his head and avoided Sophia¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sophia. I couldn¡¯t help you much back then.¡± ¡°I would have liked to help, but my words carried very little weight¡­ I couldn¡¯t persuade my uncle when he received the money from the Harper Family to cause trouble for you, so I went over to the bridge cave and couldn¡¯t find you. I got so angry that I dropped out of school and went out into the streets. I didn¡¯t even take my exams, but I still made it into high school somehow.¡± When Sophia found out the real reason why Derek had dropped out of school, she was quite perplexed. Feeling touched and angry at the same time, she finally pped him gently on his head. ¡°Who told you to drop out of school?! How dare you miss your midterm exams¡ªdo you think you¡¯re so incredible?!¡± After the p, Derek pouted and said, ¡°I just wanted to make my mother angry¡­ I¡¯d rather skip sses daily and visit Inte cafes to watch news broadcasts. I¡¯m not going to study! She has my sister, and that should be more than enough for her. My sister is better than me, so I¡¯ll just let my sister make Alex happy.¡± Chapter 628 Chapter 628 The illegitimate children had dreamed of seeing their father more often. They weren¡¯t expecting to inherit the Mitchell¡¯s Family, but they just hoped that Alex would visit them asionally and provide them with a bit more living expenses every month. If Alex was in a good mood, he would reward them with a gift that ordinary people would never dream of having. These two siblings were just some of the many illegitimate children Alex had raised outside. Although they were well fed and had a roof over their heads, anyone would want to work their way up to thedder of sess. Speaking of Derek¡¯s sister, Sophia remembered that his sister¡ªSandra¡ªwas about to graduate high school this year. She was an art student who had great athletic performance. ¡°By the way, what about your sister? How is she doing?¡± Derek didn¡¯t know what to feel about his older sister. Even though they were only a year apart, their rtionship was quite strained because it felt like a million year generation gap. They were never close, which was why he rarely mentioned anything about his sister. ¡°Oh, my mother is pretty worried about Sandra. My sister is in the swimming team, so she was almost selected for the national team to represent Cethos to participate in the Universal Games.¡± Sophia knew that Sandra was a swimmer, but she didn¡¯t expect that thetter had nearly made it to the national team¡­ The Universal Games was the biggest event in the world! Being able to participate in the games was already impressive, not to mention winning a prize from it! Winning a bronze medal in the Universal Games was more than enough to honor one¡¯s ancestors! Sophia felt a tug at her heartstrings as her ears perked up. Sandra was Derek¡¯s sister, which meant that she was also Alex¡¯s daughter. From what she could remember, Sandra looked simr to Cooper but had Alex¡¯s proud temperament. ¡°Why didn¡¯t she get in?¡± Sophia asked. Derek shrugged. ¡°Sabotage, I guess¡­ Besides, my mom had to take care of my stupid, good-for-nothing uncle. Hence, she didn¡¯t have enough money to buy better equipment for my sister. You probably don¡¯t know this, but the swimmers in their team wear swimsuits worth several millions which have been personally designed by well known designers. When they put it on, they¡¯re faster by a few more seconds ¡ªthose mere seconds can make a great difference to their results. My sister didn¡¯t have such good equipment, so her results weren¡¯t as impressive as theirs. We didn¡¯t even have enough money for her expenses.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll be joining this year¡¯s Universal Games, so my mom has been trying to contact Alex about it. However, he hasn¡¯t visited my mom in a year.¡± ¡­ Those were just mindless words, but Sophia had already taken the matter to her heart. In the end, Sophia dropped Derek near Riverdale High School and threw Ben and Rosie to the nearby police station. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. As they bid farewell to each other, Sophia said, ¡°You helped me so much before, so now it¡¯s my turn to help you. I¡¯ve helped you with your uncle, so don¡¯t go out to the streets with him anymore. I¡¯ll try to talk to the principal about your studies. Your results were great back then, so it shouldn¡¯t be hard to get you reinstated. I¡¯ll also help you figure out a way to help your sister¡¯s situation.¡± Derek looked embarrassed. ¡°Sophia, you don¡¯t have to do this¡ª¡± Sophia patted his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Rx and just focus on studying well. When you¡¯re done with your studies,e and work for me in mypany.¡± After sending Derek away, Sophia changed her clothes in the car and asked Michael to drop her off at Riverdale High School. The principal of Riverdale High School was more than kind to her. That year, Sophia had run more than ten miles alone in the middle of the night and knocked on his door when she was beaten and covered in blood. He took her in and brought her back to Liam¡¯s house to get her identification documents and luggage. When Liam refused to let her go, the principal had threatened him by taking out his phone to report Liam¡¯s family of child abuse. He had sessfully intimidated Liam into letting him take Sophia away. After she had got hold of Cooper¡¯s inheritance, Sophia turned into a millionaire overnight. She followed Michael¡¯s footsteps and donated a building and a library to Riverdale High School, keeping in touch with the principal. After several days of persuasion and trips, Sophia dragged Derek along and made him kneel in front of the principal to admit his mistakes. The principal finally agreed to reinstate his status as a student and allowed him to continue studying. After she was finished with Derek¡¯s education, she started to work enthusiastically on Sandra¡¯s affairs. The Universal Games was only held once every four years; it was a major event that attracted the attention of the world. If a representative won a gold medal at the games, it would bring utmost glory to his or her country! Derek¡¯s mother used to be a synchronized swimmer, but her results were not extraordinary. Because of her outstanding looks, Alex took a liking to her and made him his mistress. After she retired, she gradually lost her beauty as the years went by. Hence, she ced all her hope and dreams onto her son and daughter. In fact, Sandra performed well and even surpassed her mother, but shecked the right timing and resources¡­ Michael noticed that Sophia had stopped fighting and was using all her connections to get Derek¡¯s sister into this year¡¯s Universal Games expedition team to represent Cethos. After studying at Bayside University for thest two years, she had umted her own contacts; she also knew several people who were in the sports scene. For instance, her ssmate Molly had a brother who was a basketball superstar. He was also the most expensive basketball yer in Cethos. She got her contacts to get Sandra into the expedition team for this year¡¯s Universal Games and even spent millions on a high tech swimsuit for the girl. Michael knew that Sophia was not that kind; even if she had a good rtionship with Derek, they were still Alex¡¯s illegitimate children. There seemed to be an ulterior motive behind her enthusiasm, but Michael just couldn¡¯t seem to figure out what it was¡­ Summer break had soon arrived, and Sophia spent all her time on her work. After helping the Oak Family to solve their problems, she began to work earnestly while Michael was packing up for a movie shooting in a film studio out of town. When Danny came to pick Michael up, he was dressed in green leather pants. He also sported colorfully dyed hair and a pair of sassy sses. Michael was very worried that Sophia would go out fighting again, so he told Hale and Gary to keep an eye on her. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to persuade her, but there would be someone who could block a knife for her at the very least when they followed her. Hale despised the fact that he had to help Sophia fight a group of high school students, but he still had to ept Michael¡¯s orders. With that, Michael left on his private jet. Ever since Sophia had received Cooper¡¯s inheritance, she was living like a noblewoman. She had so much money to spend that she even bought Michael his own private jet ne. From now on, her idol would no longer be afraid of stupid fans blocking his way¡ªhe could go wherever he wanted to! Michael had begun filming his new movie in a film studio. He had invested in the production of this movie and polished the script numerous times. They hired many A-list movie stars as well as rising talents. For example, an influencer named Chester¡ªwhose career had been quite sessful thanks to his dashing Westerner looks that looked almost like Cooper¡ªhad already charmed many of the women in Cethos. This time round, Michael wanted Chester to act in a supporting role. Chester would portray a heartless western merchant who specialized in stealing Cethos cultural relics and would be beaten up by him, the protagonist. Pretending that he was beating up Cooper seemed like a pretty good idea¡­ Chapter 629 Chapter 629 Even though he was away, Michael still paid close attention to Sophia and herpany. He had to admit that Stanley¡¯s game, Soul of Sniper, was a pretty fun game. Whenever he had free time after filming, he would y it. Pretty soon, he watched as the game expanded and its yer base grew. The game ranked higher and higher on the charts, and the in-game experience improved. In fact, it was a miracle that such a ragtag team had made it. The gamingpany¡¯s initial investment had been sizable; the powerful servers themselves were already a huge investment. However, their monthly profit was substantial since the game had taken off running, and it was bound to increase even more in the future. He had a feeling that this game would be a ssic in gaming history. However, Michael was unable to log into the game when he started it up a few dayster. He wasn¡¯t the only one; everyone around him wasn¡¯t able to log in, so he quickly phoned up Stanley. Stanley was sweating buckets over there, a cigarette between his lips as he ran himself ragged. ¡°Someone has sabotaged the servers, Uncle. The game is currently offline now, and I¡¯m running the emergency repairs. Everything will be up and running again soon.¡± After he hung up the call, Michael took a look at the time. It was currently 8.00 PM, which was the game¡¯s peak hour. However, such an incident would definitely have a great impact on the yers¡¯ enthusiasm for the game. Thepany¡¯s employees must be working overtime since the yers were unable to enter the game. Michael wanted to call Sophia and ask about it, but he was also worried that he would end up bothering her while she worked. Hence, all he could do was to silently follow the news. After a night¡¯s worth of emergency repairs, the servers were finally back to normal. yers could log in again, but a lot of in-game data had been lost. The first thing Michael noticed was that all of his ount¡¯s in-game currency had been lost. He had poured in a lot of money into the game too, having spent hundreds of thousands buying expensive gear. In a single night, all of that premium equipment and currency was gone. Michael wasn¡¯t the only one; many famous yers had their ounts altered. Their equipment and premium currency had vanished as well. Five days after the server fiasco, Michael realized that his lost equipment had been put up for sale on the ck market. There were ck markets for online games too. It had plenty of equipment from various games up for grabs, just like an actual ck market in real life. However, this was all online, and the goods were virtual items from games. Soul of Sniper had been a rising star in the gaming world. It was like a dark horse that enthralled the entire nation in just a short amount of time¡ªthere were even talks about expanding the game overseas. There hadn¡¯t been any local shooter games worth ying prior to Soul of Sniper¡¯s arrival; all they had were a bunch of knockoffs aping internationally renowned shooters. Those games were constantly criticized, and the graphics andbat fluidity couldn¡¯t bepared at all. Now that Soul of Sniper was born, it filled in this gap in the market, attracting hordes of fans purely for its high production values. To top it off, this game was created by an entrepreneurial team; it was said that the brains behind this game were university students too. This ruffled the feathers of several local developers in the industry, making them enemies. Now that Soul of Sniper had been dealt a bad blow, those industry yers kept striking them while they were weak. Soon, scores of ounts¡ªsome actual, some paid¡ªpopped up and began ming the game. They wanted the gamingpany to step up and rify things. There were even people who came storming up to thepany¡¯s doors looking for an exnation. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. The wave of negativity was strong. Every day, more bad news surfaced; rumors and nder spread everywhere. For the new game made by a new team, it was definitely a bad sign. Michael could smell a rat. In fact, he could smell several of them. Stanley would definitely not sabotage his own game; stealing his own yer base¡¯s equipment and brazenly selling them was practically suicide. If this was done by apetitor, their methods were crueler and more insidious than they had to be. Michael kept up with the news every day, and he still appeared in the daily entertainment news sections. Those entertainment news outlets ran like clockwork; if Michael wasn¡¯t supposedly starting brawls in clubs, he was picking up girls; if he wasn¡¯t, he was racing illegally. It was hriously absurd. There were many reports on Soul of Sniper as well. There would be a report ¡®exposing¡¯ thepany for dragging their feet about money they owed, but another report about the yers moring for an exnation at thepany¡¯s doors would appear momentster. There¡¯d also be another article about famed esports yers and livestreamers using Soul of Sniper of shady behind-the-scenes dealings. There would also be reports of supposedly famous people threatening to reveal the truth anonymously. In just one night, all sorts of ridiculousness sprouted up. This was the definition of striking while they were down. Michael was worried as he watched the news. Just as he was about to make a phone call, he heard sounds of someone sobbing from Harry¡¯s room. He went over to take a look and saw that the door was ajar. Harry was in the middle of calling Sarah on video; she was sobbing hard on-screen, and her words wereing out all slurred and garbled. ¡°Thendlord suddenly ripped up the rent agreement without our input. He wants us to have everything moved out in two days. We can¡¯t possibly move everything on such a short notice! We don¡¯t have the time either, especially not with what¡¯s been going on! We¡¯ve uncovered the culprit¡¯s identity, but we haven¡¯t been able to get into contact or find him. He broke the CCTVs, and he¡¯s also the one who altered the data. We¡¯ve already reported this to the police. However, it¡¯s no use now; the yers won¡¯t believe us at all! We didn¡¯t know that the jerk would sell ourtest game to someone else after we poured so much effort into developing it, not to mention what he did to our servers and database! The shooting game which wasunched today by that gamingpany is actually an upgrade we did for an existing client! I was the one who personally drew most of the assets in there! Oh¡ª¡± Harry quickly soothed her through the screen. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s alright now. Everything will be over soon. Here, let me kiss you¡ª¡± After hearing Sarah vent, Michael quietly returned to his room. He never expected things to havee to this. Soul of Sniper had been continually praised since itsunch, and its production values were not like that of other locally-developed shooters. This wasn¡¯t a coincidence; every single line of code had been put together painstakingly by the team. All everyone saw was the buzz it got and the high revenue it was pulling in, but no one saw Sophia working overtime into the night despite thete hours. She had headaches throughout that period, but she still insisted on working every day. The new game was built sessfully with the team working overtime, testing and improving it continuously until it was ready for release. No one thought that it would be stolen just like that. No one knew just how many of those dissenting voices were paid shills, but to apany new to the business, the negative impact was massive. They were most worried that they would lose their yer base, and there was a high chance that they would never be able to rise again after this. She probably feels helpless now¡­ Maybe she¡¯s already crying in frustration. Unfortunately, Michael wasn¡¯t in Bayside City. He couldn¡¯t leave this ce now, so he hastily called up Sophia. Soon, Sophia picked up his call. She seemed to be working overtime at thepany, for her ts made loud, smacking sounds as she walked across the room. Her steps were rushed with a rhythm to them, and the background was incredibly noisy. He could tell from the background noise that thepany was working themselves like donkeys. He took a look at the time and realized that it was already 10.00PM. Chapter 630 Chapter 630 When the call went through, Sophia spoke before Michael could. ¡°Huh? Have you finished filming already?¡± Her voice was as gentle as ever, and there was no hint of frustration in it at all. It seemed that she was still ratherposed. Michael wanted to speak, but he didn¡¯t know what to say when he tried to open his mouth. Despite having such a huge dilemma hit herpany, she never bothered him once. Her resolution made his heart ache. ¡°Is thepany doing okay?¡± Sophia was unfazed. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s just a small problem; we¡¯ll ovee it. Also, I noticed earlier that your equipment is gone. All the data will probably be restored by the day after tomorrow.¡± From the way she spoke, it was like she was describing some easily-dismissed matter. However, Michael knew that theirpany was going through their biggest challenge since inception. If they couldn¡¯t weather through this, they would fall uncontrobly. It was anxiety-inducing to see so much pressure weighing upon their young shoulders. ¡°I heard that thendlord destroyed the rent agreement and asked you to move. Have you guys found a new ce to relocate?¡± Michael continued. With thendlord suddenly demanding that they move out during such a critical period, there definitely had to be some mastermind pulling some strings in the background. Argepany like this would need some time to move; during this period, many things could happen in just a day or two. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s no skin off my back. That old coot of andlord¡¯s just taking advantage of us while we¡¯re down after he epted payment from someone else. He even ripped up that agreement himself. We never agreed to move, so he¡¯s got no other choice here. Finding a legal team or forcing us out by suing thepany will take time; it¡¯ll be enough for us to solve all the problems here. If he dares to get us out by force, then he¡¯ll be viting thew!¡± Sophia replied as she walked. ¡°Once we¡¯re done with everything here, we¡¯ll move immediately. We¡¯ve already gotten a new office. It¡¯s currently being remodeled, and it¡¯s actually that new building we bought. Screw that old coot¡ªonce we get out of here, I¡¯m going to make sure that one will ever rent this ce!¡± Her tone was jovial yet steady. Michael truly couldn¡¯t pick up that she was currently undergoing a huge crisis. He continued to ask, ¡°I¡¯ve already seen the dissenters online, as well as the matter about the new gaming fiasco. Do you want me to pull some strings¡­¡± Things were very busy on Sophia¡¯s side as people kept calling for her. ¡°Miss Edwards, Mr. Goodman requested you to head to the police station at 3.00PM tomorrow so that he can get your statement.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, Mr. Field has already sent the documents over. They¡¯re in your office.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, the time for your appointment with Mr. Barton tomorrow has been decided.¡± ¡°Mom, it¡¯s almost time for your interview with Mr. Watts! Nichs is already here to remind you of that!¡± ¡­ As he heard all those people calling for Sophia, Michael suddenly realized that his little chica had already grown up without him noticing. Her wings had slowly spread, but in his eyes, she was forever that scared, jumpy, and skinny little girl who had just arrived at his house. Sophia seemed to have just gulped down some water. ¡°Forget about those people online and let those bullets fly. The bigger the fuss they kick up, the better. I have my own PR crisis team ready tounch their counterattack. I met with the police and the gaming association yesterday. Since our game is a rare local gem, the higher-ups have given priority to our case. We¡¯ve already sent all relevant information over, and they¡¯ve just caught the insider rat. He escaped to northern Europe, but he was captured by our underworld friends there the moment he stepped off the ne. If things go smoothly, he¡¯ll arrive at Bayside¡¯s police station thising dawn. I¡¯m going over tomorrow for my statement.¡± The onught of words sent Michael reeling. This was when he fully realized that his little chica had well and truly grown up. She had her own career, honed her abilities, and built her ownwork up. She was hardened now, and had blossomed into a phoenix who could go wherever she wanted. Sophia was already speaking before Michael could make his thoughts known. ¡°I¡¯ve even invited some reporters over. Oh, it¡¯s nearly 10.00PM. They¡¯re already waiting in the office. I¡¯m gonna hang up now. Muah¡ª¡± After the call ended, Michael felt gratified yet a little lost. He felt as if his daughter had grown up and flown the coop. He switched on hisputer and took a gander at the knockoff game. It was called Medal of Sniper, and it yed very much like Stanley¡¯s Soul of Sniper. It was practically cut from the same cloth, and Michael almost thought that the game had been developed by them personally. Since it was a rip-off of Soul of Sniper¡¯stest version, there were many traces of the original game in it. Thepany behind the game was an old-timer in the gaming industry. Their level of production was higher than Stanley¡¯s, and they had more experience than he did. Thispany had ripped off many internationally renowned games, and peoplembasted them for that. However, thepany still stood strong due to a myriad of reasons, even if they were clearly infringing on intellectual property. Whilebat was very simr and it had heavily giarized Stanley¡¯s game, Medal of Sniper was made by an experienced team. Hence, theirbat and fluidity was even better than the original. In addition to that, thepany had incredible marketing strategies. Several days after theyunched its beta testing, they already garnered a huge number of fans. It felt like Soul of Sniper was being reced. Michael thought that things couldn¡¯t be as simple as they seemed, so he looked into thatpany¡ªjust as he thought, Harper Group had invested in thispany at the start of the year. Sophia began to throw herself into working overtime after she cut the call. It was already 10.00PM, but the lights in thepany were still on. Even though the building they upied had multiple floors, their floor was the only one still lit. No one left early. Everyone knew that while this was a crisis for the company, it was also an opportunity. Sophia had invited a renowned reporter to thepany for an interview. She had asked her to write a positive article in conjunction with the PR crisis team to quell the voices of negativity online. All of a sudden, there was a shriek from the young receptionists in the lobby. Sophia went out to check and saw that thendlord was here once again. He wasn¡¯t the only one here, as he had brought along a gang of people dressed in gaudy clothes. The moment they stepped through the ss doors, they began sshing paint everywhere and smashed the furniture, scaring the receptionists into screaming. They even scared the other workers who were working overtime, causing a halt in their work. Fear began to spread through the employees. Ever since the fiasco started, Sophia had received quite a few resignation letters; some of the key employees had suddenly resigned as well. She had no idea whether it was because they were spooked, or if they had been poached by others with the offer of a higher sry. A few days ago, some of their employees got beaten up when they left their workce, and thendlord kept showing up to add more to the fuss. This was a huge blow onpany morale; no one was willing to live in fear while going to work or going home after work. If the employees were running from terror, thepany would be thoroughly done for. Soul of Sniper couldn¡¯t possibly make itseback. Their enemy had probably anticipated this and kept coming over to stir up chaos, causing many employees to resign out of fright. Seeing how thendlord was here and up to his shenanigans again, Sophia knew that the bribe he received had to be substantial. She got her assistant to keep the reporter in her office before putting down the papers in her hands and rushed out of the door. Gary and Hale were guarding the door. Some of the more heavy-set male employees charged out as well, but the moment they did, their foes immediately sshed paint their way. ¡°Retreat for now!¡± Sophia immediately yelled. Damn this old coot. If I don¡¯t give him a taste of his medicine, he won¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to be on the receiving end of his bullsh*t! Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 631 Chapter 631 Everyone hastily rescued the receptionists and shut the door to the office area. The office was separated from the reception area with a ss wall, so everyone could currently see thendlord furiously trashing everything and sshing paint outside. The receptionists¡¯ sobs kept echoing in everyone¡¯s heads. The two receptionists were very upset and scared as they wept, having been sshed with paint. Everyone grew even more frightened as they watched what unfurled in the office. Sophia would probably have yet another stack of resignation letters on her desk tomorrow; who would want to work in a ce where their safety couldn¡¯t be guaranteed? Soon, thendlord began to smash the ss wall ferociously; everyone could see every bit of dementedness in his face. They huddled in a group as their fear reached a fever peak, afraid that the landlord would smash the ss door at any moment and charge in to kill them. Sophia had a cold gaze as she nced at the terrifyingndlord and his bunch of goons. A cold smile revealed itself on her face. Thendlord had only been smashing away for a few minutes when a huge group of people in ck suddenly charged into the space. They were all dressed in ck suits and sunsses as they came surging in like a flood, forming line after line by the door. Dozens of nk faces stared at thendlord and men as they smashed their surroundings. Thendlord and his goons were dumbstruck by this. They had no idea where all these men in ck popped up from, but they could tell with a nce that they weren¡¯t any ordinary people. The sudden arrival of protection made everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. They wiped their tears and looked at these cold men in ck. Thendlord and the goons he brought certainly didn¡¯t dare to continue their destruction with this many imposing people around. Thendlord forced himself to pretend to be calm and recalled the words that the person had said to him; if he was going to smash things up, he should go all in. In fact, he shouldn¡¯t be afraid if he brought others to help. Sophia and her employees wouldn¡¯t dare toy a finger on him. If they did, someone would naturally sue them on his behalf and bankrupt Stanley¡¯spany. Remembering that he had a strong backer, thendlord puffed himself up and questioned the people in ck. ¡°Who are you?¡± he yelled in a shrill voice. The leader of those men took a step forward and brandished the pistol by his hip. ¡°We¡¯re part of the underworld,¡± he said coldly. As this went on, thendlord looked out the window and saw many cars parked at the foot of the building. He hastily pulled out his phone to call the police. ¡°Hello, police? Save me! I¡¯m being surrounded by some underworld guys. They have guns! Please hurry over, and here¡¯s the address¡­ Pleasee soon!¡± After putting down the phone, thendlord was ecstatic as he pointed at Sophia before pointing at the group of men in ck. ¡°Hahaha, you lot are finished! Hiring some mafia guys? You¡¯re done for! That¡¯s certain!¡± This was good news to him; even if Sophia did suffer a lot, there was no escaping the fact that she was guilty of hiring men from the underworld! Now, herpany was simply awaiting its closure. When everyone heard the two words ¡®underworld¡¯ and ¡®done for¡¯, they felt their vision go dark. The company was definitely finished this time! While some of her employees wept quietly, Sophia¡¯s face was nk as she observed the situation on the other side of the ss wall. Everyone here had been working hard for so long, but their work had been stolen just as they were about to see the fruits of theirbor. To top it off, theirpany was in danger of closing. How could they not be upset? Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Thendlord stood there basking in his jubtion. As long as he destroyed thispany, he would be able to receive a sizable reward! The three parties were at a standstill; the employees peered out through the ss wall, while the men from the underworld blocked off the door. Meanwhile, thendlord and his goons stood there in a puddle of paint. The entire lobby was in disarray, and everything that could be broken was already smashed on the ground. Thendlord waited for the men in ck to run with their tails between their legs, and he would be able to continue shattering everything by then. To his surprise, the men remained there, unmoving and silent. They continued to block the door, not allowing anyone to escape. Thendlord was a little terrified with those dozens of eyes on him. His heart kept racing in his chest, and he instinctively tightened his grip on his stick. Those without bats or sticks of their own tightened their holds on their paint buckets so that they could be used as weapons in a pinch. Everyone shrank back into a corner, creating some distance between them and the men in ck. The police came quickly when they heard that there were mobsters around, and they soon squeezed their way past the horde of men to enter the premises. ¡°Who called us just now?¡± Thendlord hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m the one who made that report, officer! Thispany hired some mobsters! They¡¯re all involved with the underworld! Those guys have guns too!¡± The police took in the paint sttered on the ground before ncing at thendlord and his goons, who all had sticks or paint buckets in hand. They immediately frowned at this. ¡°Officer!¡± The door to the office area finally swung open after being shut tight for a while. Sophia stepped out and approached the police calmly. ¡°This man here brought some underlings to vandalize our company, and he has constantly terrorized our employees. Every time we made a report, he would flee. I had no choice but to hire a group of actors to pretend to be mobsters and try to scare them off. They¡¯re not part of the mob¡ªthey¡¯re just a bunch of TV actors. I hired them for 200 bucks a day each.¡± The leader of the ¡®mob¡¯ took out his gun and pulled the trigger. A jet of water sted out of it, hitting the landlord square in the face. Thendlord was stunned, but he soon leaped back onto his feet. ¡°Officer, they were the ones who hit me! They beat me up badly too! They¡¯re all mobsters, the lot of them!¡± Thendlord¡¯s goons yed along. The police looked at the goons with their sticks and paint buckets before looking at the mess on the ground. They frowned again as they took in all the debris. Sophia maintained her outward look ofposure as she continued, ¡°Officer, my husband is an actor. These are background actors that I¡¯ve hired through his connections, and they still have to return to their set for filmingter; the production team can prove this. This man brought these people over and defaced ourpany for no reason. He even beat some of the employees up. We¡¯ll hand over the CCTV footage of the lobby to youter. Please, you must punish them severely.¡± The first thing thendlord did when he entered the premises was to break the camera. He was utterly fearless as he insisted that he had been beaten up as well. No one would be able to say otherwise, but much to his surprise, the CCTV footage was immediately reyed before everyone¡¯s eyes. In the video, thendlord was clearly going to town as he smashed everything and sshed paint everywhere, his expression twisted while he screamed absurdities. Meanwhile, the group of terrifying ¡®mobsters¡¯ never once lifted a finger ever since they entered. They simply blocked off the door and stayed there until the police arrived. The footage showed it all clearly. Thendlord was spluttering all sorts of excuses as the police led him away in handcuffs. The police, of course, still had to look into the group of ¡®mobsters¡¯, only to realize that there really was a filming team nearby. They had sealed off a road during night for the filming, and the show was indeed about mobsters. These people were actually called over from the film set. After exchanging some words with the production team, the police left. Sophia let her employees off work before she got ready to head to the police station, asking the reporter toe along as well. The reporter naturally wanted a huge scoop, so she followed Sophia hastily with her eyes lit up; she could tell at one nce that this incident would make a stir. Just the sneakily recorded footage of thendlord breakingpany property would be enough for her to craft an article that would have readers on the edge of their seats! Meanwhile, Stanley consoled everyone. The employees were already gathering their things in fright, wondering whether they shoulde in to work tomorrow in case they ended up dying for no reason. However, they saw Stanley patting the two terrified receptionists on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t cry. I¡¯ll let you two have the day off tomorrow. I¡¯ve got two three-bedroom apartments at Ring Avenue, and you cane take a look at them tomorrow. If you like them, I can give them to you and try to make up for all the fright you went through.¡± Did he just say that¡­ he will hand over two apartments¡­ to make up for the ordeal they just experienced?! Chapter 632 Chapter 632 Everyone was absolutely gobsmacked. The two receptionists were startled as well. That was the Ring Avenue in Bayside City; one wouldn¡¯t be able to buy even a square meter of property there without spending at least 40,000 or 50,000 on it. Right now, Stanley was nning to give the apartments to them to¡­ quease their fears?! The next day, everyone showed up to work at an abnormally punctual time; the incidentst night hadn¡¯t scared any of the employees away. As they worked, they kept an eye out for news aboutst night¡¯s pensation¡¯ for the receptionists¡¯ fear. When noon camed, they could see that the two receptionists had posted stories of themselves signing the contracts for those apartments. Everyone was stunned at this. Why was their boss so rich? Why weren¡¯t they the ones who got paint sshed on themst night? Sophia came to work at noon. It was only then did she find out that Stanley had kept his employees¡¯ loyalty by gifting them apartments. Although they had lost a few million, they still managed to keep their employees. Although thendlord had been arrested, the man stubbornly refused to speak. He wouldn¡¯t admit who sent him to sabotage thepany, getting hiswyer to do everything instead. Sophia knew who was the mastermind behind all of this, but she couldn¡¯t scrape up any proof. When she returned to her office, herwyer¡ªMr. Fields¡ªwas already waiting for her. The two of them talked aboutst night¡¯s incident for a while before Sophia sent him off. She then returned to her office, but then a thought suddenly struck her. She proceeded to make a phone call. ¡°It looks like Harper is being really active. I see that he¡¯s got a lot of savings on hand!¡± Her voice was abnormally chilly and filled with contempt when she spoke. X was in the middle of a manicure when Sophia called. She gave a cold chuckle and said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to use me in order to take Richard on, Sophia? I told you¡ªthere¡¯s no chance!¡± X was now a winner in life, for she was already in control of the Harper Group¡¯s board of directors. She had kicked all the Harpers out from the board. That was why Richard had recently invested into other professions, such as the online gaming industry. In addition to that, he had also received arge investment with no clear origins. X knew why this happened, and she also knew about the crisis that Sophia was currently facing. She couldn¡¯t stop herself from mocking thetter as she said, ¡°Hehe! I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t expect this, did you? You tried to use me as a weapon against Richard, only to have me turn back and bite you. Just sit back and watch yourpany go bankrupt! I will definitely not help you.¡± She seemed to be very smug as she added onest bit. ¡°By the way, don¡¯t even think about getting your stocks back,¡± she said. Sophia already knew that things would end up like this, but everything was still within her control. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Mypany¡¯s woes are not something for you to worry yourself over. I just wanted to remind you ¡ªdon¡¯t forget where dear old Harper¡¯s money ising from.¡± With that, she hung up the call and silently cursed her. Dumb b*tch. X was now in charge of the Harper Group after having gained control of the board of directors. She had elected her own supporters into key positions, but she never seemed to have thought about the little things. The Harper Group was a sprawling corporation; would some hack with no experience like her be able to manage it? She wasn¡¯t cut out for it at all. With the Harper Group in her hands, it would be a crumbling titan sooner orter. X also knew that Richard had received an overlyrge investment. Seeing how Richard was about to use that money to stop Sophia¡¯s rise, she decided that she absolutely couldn¡¯t allow that! X finished her manicure and delicately blew on her nails before phoning Richard. She immediately cut straight to business the moment the call went through. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve received a sizable amount of investment money. Is that so?¡± Richard¡¯s heart leaped into his throat as he denied this. ¡°No, where did you hear this from?¡± X seized on this and said, ¡°Let¡¯s split it 50-50. I want to see you transfer half of it to my ount tomorrow. Or else¡ªwell, you know.¡± ¡°You b*tch, don¡¯t you dare!¡± Richard hung up the phone viciously. X scoffed on the inside and waited for Richard to transfer the money. This was what the Harpers and Richard owed her! If Richard decided that he wouldn¡¯t split that money with her, she would spread the news about the Harper Family. They would see who would get the lastugh then! Meanwhile, Richard flung his phone away. ¡°Damn b*tch! Damn!¡± He stomped on his phone like mad and tried to break it, looking as though he was stomping on X herself. The former scion and favored son of the Harper Family had already be a normal man with an easily triggered temper. This explosive temper of his made the woman lying next to him jump in fright. Richard had now left all restraint behind; X had taken control of the Harper Residence, and his parents were so angry that they moved out. He truly didn¡¯t want that house anymore, nor did he want to set eyes upon that repulsive woman ever again. He¡¯d rather treat clubs as his new home, bouncing between different ones every night. After stomping on the phone for a while, he calmed down atst. He couldn¡¯t stay like this forever; he must rise up again. As the saying ¡®the enemy of my enemy is my friend¡¯ went, he had to work with Natasha right now. She was the only one who could trip Sophia up. Natasha was attempting to topple Sophia with any means she could. He was very much willing to act as Natasha¡¯s weapon, borrowing her might to kick Sophia down. As long as Sophia fell, X wouldn¡¯t be able to exert her power for a few days. By then, Richard could rise up again. He had taken Natasha¡¯s money to cripple Sophia¡¯spany. If his attempt seeded, not only would he be able to receive more funds from Natasha, he would be able to rebuild himself through the online gaming industry and build his own business. Everything would be perfect! His opportunity woulde soon. Sophia¡¯spany would not be able to weather anything for more than a few days. Perhaps, he would even hear news about herpany folding the next day. Soul of Sniper would only be forever remembered as a story of the ages, but his game¡ªMedal of Sniper¡ªwould be an eternal ssic! He had pulled out everything in his arsenal from his amassed glory and Harper Family connections, garnering the funds to intentionally drag Soul of Sniper¡¯s name down. Once Soul of Sniper¡¯s name was ruined, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy for them to rebuild it. He was looking forward to seeing Sophia¡¯spany fold and watch their game being taken down. Attacking herpany was just the first step for Natasha; she still had many tricks up her sleeve waiting for Sophia! Of all the people that she could have ticked off, Sophia had to step on Natasha¡¯s toes. She really did have iting! Unfortunately, he still hadn¡¯t heard any news of Sophia¡¯spany closing down even after a few days had passed. Not only were they still up and running, they were going strong. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. The paint on the floor still hadn¡¯t dried even after a few days since thendlord had gone on his rampage at thepany, but Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to get someone to clean it up. After doing a cursory cleanup job, she continued her work. They were going to move once they had this matter settled anyway; she couldn¡¯t be bothered to cough up the money for the cleaning fees. Let thendlord figure it out himself! For the next few days, everyone kept talking about the two apartments. Sophia was still as busy as ever, rushing between departments and scurrying around to meet with reporters, police, andwyers. She was in a tizzy from how busy she was. But at longst, the tampered game data was restored. The rest was up to the PR crisis team. Everyone could finally rx a little. They began tidying up their things to prepare for their move to the new workce. Thepany had expanded quickly in half a year, having grown their team by several dozen members. The movingpany transported their belongings, and everyone soon arrived at the new office. This new office was even more posh than their previous workce. It was in a better location with a nicer vicinity; transportation was even more convenient here. This time, they weren¡¯t renting this ce¡ªthe company had bought the office instead. They had acquired a whole floor that spanned over 2000 square meters. Everyone picked their work cubicles and arranged their items. As they tidied up their new space, the employees gossiped. ¡°I told you that Miss Edwards is married! Not only that, her husband is the famous celebrity named Taylor!¡± ¡°No way! Miss Edwards still looks very young to me! She¡¯s still a student! How can she be married?¡± Chapter 633 Chapter 633 Even though the cat was out of the bag when it came to Sophia and Michael¡¯s marriage, it wasn¡¯t like everyone knew about it yet; some of the workers still didn¡¯t know, and everyone gossiped discreetly as they worked at theirputers. ¡°Why isn¡¯t Taylor here even though thepany¡¯s going through such an upheaval?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been here a few months already, and I¡¯ve never seen him swing by before.¡± ¡°A mere rumor, I guess. How old is Miss Edwards anyway? 22? How could she be married this young?¡± ¡°There¡¯s Miss West too. It¡¯s rumored that she¡¯s Ethan¡¯s girlfriend!¡± Much to their surprise, a surprised cry rang out just after they spoke. ¡°We¡¯ve got a celebrity here! Come on, they¡¯re at reception!¡± Everyone hastily rushed over to the reception area and caught sight of Sophia walking in. She was talking to a gorgeous woman. ¡°It¡¯s Nicole!¡± As the leading actress of ¡®War Dragon¡¯, Nicole had climbed up to the top in the local industry with her first major role. Despite being a female protagonist in a movie centered around men, she wasn¡¯t overshadowed by her two co-actors and had opened up a new stage in her career. Ever since ¡®War Dragon¡¯, multiple film offers kepting in for her. As her managingpany, Imperial Entertainment did their best to grow her career, epting many high-quality projects for Nicole. Now, many eyes were on Nicole during her promotions for her second movie as a female protagonist. When Nicole got to know about Sophia¡¯s troubles with herpany, she deliberately canceled some of her promotional activities to visit her. The two womenughed as they stepped into the workce. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s alright now. It¡¯s inevitable that we¡¯ll face some challenges, but it¡¯s all in the past,¡± Sophia said as they walked. She was rather positive and upbeat about this. It was Nicole¡¯s first time visiting Sophia¡¯spany. She eximed in surprise when she saw the employees. ¡°Everyone here is so young¡ª¡± Thepany¡¯s employees were young and fresh-faced; some of them were only in their early twenties. Young people were filled with determination and were unafraid of anything. Sophia puffed herself up. ¡°Yep, they¡¯re all young. That¡¯s because young people are filled to the brim with ideas!¡± Nicole¡¯s arrival had caused a huge stir. Now that she was a popr actress, she naturally had tons of fans. She stayed at thepany for a while, and Sophia got someone to give each employee a photobook of Nicole so that they could get an autograph from the actress. Everyone was beside themselves with excitement after receiving Nicole¡¯s autograph, and they trotted off back to work happily. It was Sophia¡¯s gift to them. The employees could not stop talking about this the entire day, for they never thought that they would get to see a film star during their time here; it was definitely worth working for thispany! Unexpectedly, there was another surprise the day after Nicole¡¯s visit while everyone was busy with work. ¡°Taylor and Ethan are here!¡± At the sound of that, everyone threw down their work and sneaked over to the reception area to take a look. They could see that thepany doors were open; two rows of bodyguards in ck lined the sides as the dazzling stars came walking in with big strides. The pair were dressed in the same shirt and the same type of ck cks. One was blond, while the other had ck hair. One was the princely type, while the other was wilder and louder. The two of them hadpletely contrasting styles. Sophia had already known about Michael¡¯s visit as she came to wee him in delight. She took a look at him; it seemed that he hade rushing here the moment he stepped off the ne. ¡°You¡¯re here atst, Uncle! I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± Stanley charged over to hug Michael, his emotions running high. Michael allowed himself to be hugged for a few seconds before smacking Stanley in the face. ¡°Stop your fake worshipping. I¡¯m here to see your aunt!¡± He approached Sophia and lowered his head to look at the young girl before him. She was dressed in a professional-looking business dress, and her hair was coiled up on her head. She had the beginnings of a powerful CEO in her. But no matter what, she was still his adorable girl. ¡°Why are you back?¡± Sophia asked him the moment she stepped closer. ¡°I came back because it¡¯s the weekend.¡± Sophia still had many things she wanted to say after going through such a huge ordeal, but now wasn¡¯t the time. She lowered her head, a light flush on her face as she took Michael¡¯s hand in hers. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this in my office.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Sophia¡¯s office was within thepany¡¯s office area. The two of them held hands as they headed to her office, and everyone¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their heads at this sight. ¡°Whoa, it really is Taylor!¡± ¡°Come to think of it, isn¡¯t he filming something overseas?¡± ¡°Wait, the news even said that he ended up pummeling someone after he got drunk at a clubst night!¡± While Sophia showed some restraint, Sarah didn¡¯t. She immediately leaped at Harry with a loud sob the moment she saw that he was back. ¡°You Old Wolf, you¡¯re back atst!¡± Harry felt rather embarrassed having dozens of eyes on him. He hugged Sarah and said in a low voice, ¡°Okay, you¡¯re a big boss now. Have some restraint!¡± Sarah brought Harry back to her own office. Meanwhile, Sophia took Michael to take a look around the entire office area. They had bought the entire floor; a few thousand square meters of space was more than enough for their team of a hundred people or so. They still had plenty of empty space with room to remodel further, and it looked like Sophia had great ambitions. ¡°The new office looks good. The remodeling went well.¡± Michael remembered topliment the ce. Sophia had a look of pride on her face. All of the remodeling was done with her vision in mind; of course the ce would be extraordinary. As she brought Michael into her office, Sophia remembered to shut the door and locked it. The employees¡¯ eyes were still as wide as dinner tes after they watched the pair enter Sophia¡¯s office. That was Taylor in the flesh! Stanley had been like a perfectly-behaved puppy when he first saw Michael. Now that Michael had left, however, he immediately transformed into a tyrannical boss as he said harshly, ¡°What are you looking at? Never thought that your boss¡¯s partner would be this handsome? Why aren¡¯t you all back at work yet?¡± The crowd didn¡¯t answer him. Since Sophia was their boss, they supposed that Taylor was actually their boss¡¯s¡­ ¡®wife¡¯. Everyone was filled with vigor, having seen two ¡®handsome wives¡¯ here at work today. They threw themselves even harder into their work. Meanwhile, Michael immediately pressed Sophia against the wall of her office after the door closed. He cupped the back of her head with one of his huge hands and lowered his head to kiss her lips. Ever since he went abroad, he constantly thought of her. However, she had been busy all this while. Sometimes, she wouldn¡¯t even pick up his calls, nor did she have the time to have video calls with him. He missed her greatly. He missed her voice, her scent, her everything. He greedily took in her sweetness and her warmth. It felt as though he was being caught under a spell¡­ Sophia managed to extricate her lips from his onught with much difficulty. ¡°I have my own¡­ private resting space next door,¡± she said huskily. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Michael could feel the lust burning through him. He picked her up and kicked the door to the room next door; it was indeed a private break room. Other than the bed there, he didn¡¯t notice the other furniture inside the room. Michael retreated after a dance of passion, knowing that she still had work to do. She then put her clothes back on and called Stanley and the others into her office to discuss their next course of action. Michael was very concerned about this, knowing herpany¡¯s current struggle. ¡°Celie doesn¡¯t have anything nned for the next few days, so I¡¯ll get her to guard this ce temporarily. At the very least, no one will dare toy a hand on this ce,¡± he said. If Celine was here, no shady person would dare toe here again. Furthermore, she would have something to do as well. It would save her from having no outlet for her energy born from her youth and make her go stir-crazy. Chapter 634 Chapter 634 At that moment, Sophia took the opportunity to share her ideas. This was life or death for thepany. Every decision they made would make a huge impact on their entire operations and the future of the company. As such, they had to be very cautious and consider every single aspect before making any decisions. Hence, she was eager to listen to Michael¡¯s opinion. At the present time, their concept had been stolen. Even though the culprit had been apprehended, it would be impossible for them to take back what was theirs. After all, theirpetitor was more sessful than them and were a veteran in the industry. It would be difficult to win against them even though the culprit had admitted that he sold the game to the other party because he already got the money and fled. Additionally, there were a lot of hateful messages, usations, and nder on the inte that were constantlying for the small startuppany. Not only was thepany just a startup, but their team also consisted mostly of university students. If they failed to ovee this, then that would be the end of theirpany. Solemnly, Sophia nced at everyone before sharing her strategy. ¡°The n for the new version remains unchanged. We should stick to the original n and release the game on the scheduled date!¡± As soon as she shared her n, everyone grimaced. Apologetically, Sarah disagreed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea¡­ If the other party sues us, we would be fighting a losing battle. After all, they released the game first.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone else agreed that it was a risky move. Although the idea was theirs and they had developed the game first, the other party did release it before them. Many of the main highlights of their design were copied, so if they released the game, there would not be any originality and it would be predictable to the users. This would greatly impact its impression on the users. However, Sophia said confidently, ¡°Even though they released the game first, our game didn¡¯te out of thin air. There are traces of our work in the development stages on the inte, including what inspired us. So, we don¡¯t have to be afraid of going to court. Their game was copied from ours, and the giarism is too obvious. So, the situation is actually in our favor.¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. ¡°Since they have used a malicious tactic, we don¡¯t have to be kind to them. We¡¯ll do everything we can to beat them!¡± ¡°I have already contacted my friends from overseas, and I still have a few more calls to make.¡± The person behind thepany who developed ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ had been found¡ªit was none other than Richard Harper. There was no need for Sophia to investigate as she could easily identify the crook through the ghostwriters¡¯ cover ups. It was the same blueprint and idea but to invest in online games, you¡¯d need money. Arge sum of money. In fact, Harps was t broke. So, someone must have given him money. It was obvious he had no intentions of producing online games, and he was just using this as an excuse to sabotage Sophia. This was a cunning strategy. If it were any other startuppany, they would¡¯ve crumbled a long time ago. However, Sophia and Stanley had surprisingly managed to hold out. What surprised them even more was Sophia¡¯s extensivework. Since thepetitor had no shame, she would not hold back. Let¡¯s see who has thestugh! Once the n had been finalized, the wholepany began to work overtime to prepare a new version of the game. On a rted note, Michael¡¯s schedule was packed. He stayed a night in Bayside City and left the next morning, and even then, he slept in thepany in order to spend time with Sophia as she was working over time. Before he left, everyone reluctantly bade goodbye to Michael and Ethan. Someone came up to Stanley and asked, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, why don¡¯t you let thedy boss be the spokesperson for our game?¡± If the two lady bosses could be the spokesperson, then the game would surely be a hit. ncing at the ignorant programmer, Stanley snapped, ¡°What do you know? Who do you think thedy boss is?¡± At once, the programmer did not make another sound. Right after Michael¡¯s departure, came another ¡®Taylor¡¯ unexpectedly who looked exactly like the one who had just left. She was working there as a security guard. Holding Stanley¡¯s dog with a leash, she patrolled while everyone else worked. Recently, Celine had been getting herself in trouble at nightclubs, but she had finally found a decent job as a security guard. Immediately, Justin followed her and became a security guard as well. Both of them patrolled the office while walking Sophia¡¯s Samoyed and Stanley¡¯s husky at the same time. Celine was hoping for someone toe and cause trouble, and little did she know that her wish would be granted as someone came over by noon on her first day. It seemed like thendlord had been released by the public security bureau and had gathered some people to cause trouble at the office. They would not stop until this little startuppany was destroyed. The gangsters came in and saw Celine chatting with the receptionist, and there were only a few people at the reception. So, they thought this was their chance and immediately came in with bats and started smashing everything. It startled Stanley¡¯s husky so much that it yelped in fear. Seeing the colorfully- dressed gangsters, Celine rolled up her sleeves as her eyes lit up before charging at the gangsters. As the receptionist shrieked while the husky barked, Celine fought and ended the battle within a few minutes. The gangsters were scattered all over the floor while thendlord suffered a broken nose and a swollen face. Clutching his bruised face, he pointed at Celine and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re going to regret this. I¡¯m calling 911 now!¡± Fearlessly, Celine challenged him. ¡°What are you going to do? I¡¯m Taylor Murray, a superstar who has tens of millions of fans! Do you think I¡¯ll be afraid of you?¡± Everything had happened so fast that thendlord didn¡¯t even see the person who had beat him up. Just then, he saw the person in front of him clearly. This person looked exactly the same as the actor in the movie! Taylor Murray had hit someone! Who would believe this? Before thendlord could say anything, Justin had immediately brought him to the public security bureau before the police took over. With Celine¡¯s protection, thepany was no longer bothered by gangsters. Anyone who came to cause trouble would face the wrath of Celine Fletcher. As a matter of fact, Celine was afraid no one woulde and cause trouble as she was starting to feel bored. The gangsters in town knew that the infamous Cece was here to stay, and they never came to bother them anymore. Since Celine was here, Justin would naturally be here too. Even Nathan who was on his summer break would tag along with his parents to the office. He would do his homework and y games on the officeputer. Not only that, he had also gotten a job there for the summer, and he would go home with his parents after work. Meanwhile, the new version of ¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯ was ready to be released officially. Before releasing the new version, Sophia had gotten in touch with Calvin, and formally submitted thewyer¡¯s letter to Richard¡¯s game developmentpany. Due to the fact that ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ was modified based on the new version of ¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯, there was plenty of proof of their giarism. There was a high chance of them being able to sessfully sue the other party for infringement. Thewyer¡¯s letter was sent out, and it waspletely ignored as expected. Moreover, they had been copying from other gamingpanies in the past few years. Therefore, the lawyer¡¯s letter was just another addition to the pile of letters they have received over the years. Since they were a big and sessfulpany and had a strong legal department, they were not afraid. It was only normal that they disregarded thewyer¡¯s letter from a small startuppany, not to mention a company started by a team of college students. To put it bluntly, they were tantly bullying neers. They were treating them the way an old generation would treat the younger, inexperienced generation. After all, they had been established for ten years while the other was only established for one. Chapter 635 Chapter 635 Although the letter was disregarded, their PR team still had to write an article to broadcast this incident to keep users in the loop. Even though they could be silenced by theirpetitor¡¯s powerful ghostwriters, the new version of the game was released after a day or two of warming up since the news broke. This version was extremely simr to ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ by Richard¡¯s game developmentpany. Since its release, it instantly attracted attention and a wave of negative news followed. When the other party became aware, they officially sent out awyer¡¯s letter while buying arge number of inte ghostwriters to attack Sophia¡¯spany. It was the typical move of a hypocrite. Since then, thepany had be hectic. The pressure on every department was particrly high, especially for the Public Rtions department. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Aunt, what should we do next? They¡¯re suing us!¡± Stanley panicked. At that moment, Sophia felt indifferent. ¡°Stan, do you know what media hype is?¡± Now that the twopanies were suing each other for giarism, this incident had immediately attracted a lot of attention. Even those who were not yers were driven by curiosity to download both games topare as they wanted to find out who was the true giarist. As such, the number of downloads for both games had shot up significantly. One of these games was developed by a neerpany with many aspects still in the experimental stage, and the user experience was not as good as others. Yet, they had many ideas and the gamey was unique. On the other hand, the other game was from an establishedpany with many years of experience and a strong and aggressive team. They each had their own strengths. In terms of the number of downloads for each game, it was a tie between the two. Still, ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ obviously had the upper hand with their strong team from behind the scenes. Otherwise, they would not be standing now with all thewsuits filed against them over the years. At this point, this situation was unfavorable for Sophia. Before thewsuit was concluded, both parties may be the giarist. Meanwhile, fans of both games were losing their heads. Sean was a nervous wreck. He had been working overtime every day, as he was constantly reporting any updates to Sophia. ¡°Aunt, there areints against our game andpany. The relevant authorities have asked to meet Stan.¡± Sophia was calm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Stan will be back in a while. We¡¯re undergraduate entrepreneurs, so concessions will be made. No one will trouble us for no reason.¡± The problems didn¡¯t stoping. ¡°Miss Edwards, several of our games received over ten thousand zero- star reviews overnight. The average score has gone down to 2 out of 10.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, the business administration and firefighting department stopped by earlier and said that our relevant procedures were unqualified.¡± ¡°The Travelling Snail has been temporarily removed from the app store due toints, and there is a new game called The Butterfly¡¯s Outing. The gamey is exactly the same as our game!¡± ¡°Miss Edwards¡­¡± In fact, it seems like Sophia had already anticipated all kinds of emergencies. If they couldn¡¯t get rid of them through illegal means, then they would use wful¡¯ methods. The other party was frantic and would not stop until Sophia¡¯spany was destroyed! Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Sophia looked out to the view of Bayside City. ¡°It¡¯s time¡­¡± Her lips curled up. Bad publicity was still publicity. Though they were ndered, their exposure had ultimately skyrocketed. Once the time was right, they would get the chance to turn the page. This was a trick she¡¯d learn from Harps. As the twopanies were tearing each other down because of the giarism issue, a sudden news came that shocked the entire online game industry! Currently, Richard was investing in one of Cethos¡¯s top online gamepanies called Raytheon Tech that had developed a number of popr online games, some of which were used in the Esports World Championship. However, those in the industry knew that many of their games were giarized from well- known ssic online games from overseas. For various reasons, the other parties had given up their rights protections, but now, several foreign online gamepanies had sent awyer¡¯s letter to Raytheon Tech. They were publicly defending their rights and suing Raytheon Tech for infringement, demanding highpensations. Now, severalpanies were suing at the same time, which involved more than a dozen games! This never-before-seen multinationalwsuit was shocking to the industry and various rted parties. Due to the bad press, the games under Raytheon Tech that were used in the Esports World Championship were invalidated. It was as if Raytheon Tech had just messed with a ho¡¯s nest! The people in the industry were specting that Raytheon Tech might have provoked some powerful figure this time. As soon as this news broke, Sophia¡¯s team was relieved. Apany like Raytheon Tech should have been shut down a long time ago! For the past couple of days, Stanley had been busy with meetings with several different authorities. He still had the protection of the Fletcher Family status, hence no one dared to give him a hard time. Fortunately, thepany¡¯s procedures were inpliance with regtions, and they were on time with tax payments. On top of that, thepany was run by university students, so they were able to get subsidies. Also, they strictly abided by thews and regtions, so there were no loopholes. For the sake of Stanley, they would not cause any major trouble with them. Just then, Stanley returned from the tax department, looking exhausted. ¡°Every department has been taken care of, including inte cafes and e-sports associations.¡± ¡°By the way, the cooperation between ¡®The Traveling Snail¡¯ and several scenic spots has also been negotiated. We will ntndmarks in the postcards sent back by the snails to promote their scenic spots and I¡¯ll be signing the contract in the next two days.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia patted him on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard.¡± Then, Sean asked, ¡°What should we do next?¡± For some reason, it had be a habit for everyone to wait for Sophia to make a decision. It was probably because she was older, and also an aunt. Mysteriously, Sophia smirked. ¡°An eye for an eye.¡± That very night, ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ was cyber attacked by hackers. Arge number of ounts was stolen and ced on a trading tform, which caused an outburst ofints from yers. Not only that, the server was also destroyed and the game was shut down for more than twelve hours. As the major shareholder of Raytheon Tech and thepany¡¯s decision-maker, Richard was directly responsible for ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯. On that day itself, all kinds of crises emerged one after another. ¡°President Harper, the game is currently down!¡± ¡°Our servers were destroyed and the IT staff have collectively resigned today!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve received over twenty resignation letters!¡± At once, Richard¡¯s expression darkened. Suddenly, there was a sharp cry from the reception desk. A group of gangsters had barged in and started to smash everything, and even sshing feces! A few more buckets of feces were pulled into the office. The gangsters were not afraid of getting dirty and immediately, they started to ssh. Just then, the security who rushed up to stop them were sshed with feces and he instantly retreated in disgust. Soon, the office was filled with a pungent odor and theputers and desks were all soiled. The employees were so disgusted that they had fled the moment the gangsters started doing their deed. When the police were called, the gangsters escaped without a trace, but the office was already completely ruined. Richard had been hiding in his office all this while. Still, feces was sshed onto his lower body. He looked down and was so disgusted that he vomited. When he saw his own vomit, he vomited again. Suddenly, his phone rang. Once he answered, Mr. Harper¡¯s voice rang from the other end. ¡°How dare you embezzle thepany¡¯s funds in my name? Fantastic, just fantastic!¡± Chapter 636 Chapter 636 Although Richard had received a sum of money from Natasha, it was not enough to develop games. So, he had embezzled a sum of money from Harper Group using Mr. Harper¡¯s name, nning to make money from the game and reimburse the money he took, but¡­ Who let the cat out of the bag? Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Before this, Mr. Harper still had some prestige among the Harper Group. If word got out, then the Harper Family was done for! Richard immediately rushed to Harper Group, only to find Mr. Harper had been driven out of the company and was currently packing up his belongings. Dumbfounded, Richard realized that Mr. Harper had been fired! Generally speaking, it would not be any problem if the money was reimbursed. So, why was Mr. Harper being driven out of Harper Group? ¡°Father, what¡¯s going on?¡± Richard hurriedly asked. ring at Richard, Mr. Harper was furious and he was reluctant to speak to Richard. He took his belongings and got into the car before the driver sped off quickly. Watching the car speeding off, Richard felt ashamed. Suddenly, a honeyed voice came from behind. ¡°Father was just fired, so he¡¯s not in a good mood. Let him go.¡± Upon hearing that voice, Richard instantly felt his stomach twist. Turning around, he saw X walking down the steps. Today, X was dressed as enchanting and sexy as ever. She wore a dress with a plunging neckline, exposing her pale skin. Walking by her sides were her beautiful male assistant and secretary. As she approached him, she wrinkled her nose and furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°I heard yourpany was sshed with feces. How disgusting!¡± she covered her nose and said pitifully, but her eyes were full of mockery. Although Richard had changed, the smell still lingered on him. Coldly, he stared at her as he gritted his teeth. ¡°You b*tch! You¡¯re the one who drove my father away!¡± Unsatisfied, X snapped, ¡°How could you say that? Your father embezzled public funds. They were going to turn him over to the court, and I was the one that changed their minds. I saved your family! How could you me me?¡± Upon hearing that, Richard remained silent while he trembled with rage. His handsome face turned pale, but he did not say anything in the end. He felt pitiful that he was being suppressed by a woman! In her stilettos, X walked away with her handsome young assistant and secretary. They even deliberately avoided walking past Richard as they left. Turning around abruptly, Richard coldly uttered, ¡°Sophia told you.¡± It was a statement rather than a question. There was no possibility that so many things could happen in one day. The only possibility was that Sophia had found out about the embezzlement and told X. Then, X had taken the opportunity to cause trouble and drive Mr. Harper out of Harper Group so she could dominate thepany! Without saying anything, X turned around and mysteriously chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t want to share!¡± So, it was Sophia! It was the both of them! He thought. At that moment, the assistant respectfully opened the car door for X. With one hand on the car door, she turned around abruptly and enchantingly before speaking in a rxed and ordinary tone, ¡°You should go home. Mother and Father are having a divorce. Mother is trying to im half the shares Father owns, as well as the house and property.¡± Divorce? How did this happen? Richard was confused. Recently, Richard had been busy working at the office, so he rarely went home. Naturally, he was not aware of this! Upon hearing the news, he immediately called Mrs. Harper. As soon as the call was connected, Mrs. Harper could be heard crying awfully as she yelled like a mad woman, ¡°Your father had an affair with that b*tch X! Now, she¡¯s pregnant with your father¡¯s child, and he ns to keep it! Your father¡­ That animal wants to give all his shares to that b*tch! I want a divorce! If he doesn¡¯t give me half the shares, I will expose the nasty things they did! I don¡¯t care about the Harper Family anymore! Don¡¯te looking for me in the future because you¡¯re not my son anymore! You Harpers are all trash!¡± m! Mrs. Harper hung up the phone, and she could not be reached again. At once, Richard burst into tears. Watching the car X left in, he was filled with hatred! At that moment, Raytheon Tech was calling him again and again, but he was afraid to pick up. Squatting by the side of the road, he cried like a helpless child. How could it be? In a day¡¯s time, both Mr. and Mrs. Harper did not want anything to do with him. Once again, he had messed everything up and seemed to be abandoned by the whole world! On the other hand, Sophia had been receiving good news. Raytheon Tech had been attacked by big shots to the point that they could neither advance nor retreat, and many of them had joined forces to try and block Raytheon¡¯s giarized games. Also, there was news that they had lost arge number of employees and were unable to operate smoothly. Not only that, Raytheon was also being investigated for tax evasion and bribery. They were being pressured by so much negative news that they did not have the capability to cause any more trouble. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s PR team began to work hard to turn the page for their game. The incident of confidentiality breach was already filed for investigation, and the authorities hade forward and said that although it would be a lot of trouble to get back the copyright, it would at least prove who was the real developer of the game. Getting back the copyright was only a matter of time. Raytheon had been involved in infringement for many years and now that they were in hot water, they had no time toe for Sophia. Even if they managed to runch their games after this incident died down, everyone would have already stopped supporting them. In the end, Sophia and her team had won the battle. Not only were they victorious, but their game had also achieved unprecedented results. On top of that, they also got a group of experienced online game specialists to join their team. Theirpany had grown stronger, while their team had be more professional. Of course, Sophia knew who had caused all these troubles, and she knew that person would never let them go. As such, she could not be waiting for the other party to take action. Soon. Sophia took her phone out and keyed in a phone number, but she hesitated to press the dial button. She stared at her phone for a moment more before putting it down. She then changed her mind again and picked her phone up to log into Messenger. She clicked into the conversation with ¡®Imported Young Man¡¯ and began typing, but she deleted it. She did this for a few more times and in the end, thousands of words turned into only two words¡ª¡®thank you¡¯. If it weren¡¯t for Linus, things would not have gone so smoothly. Linus was the one who had caught the culprit who escaped overseas and persuaded the big bosses to initiate rights protection against Raytheon Tech. Sophia was grateful to him as he could have refused to help her. Linus responded within seconds as if he had been waiting for her text. ¡®No worries. It was nothing.¡¯ After the short conversation, Sophia put her phone away. Chapter 637 Chapter 637 After going through that incident, ¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯ had gained more yers, leaving ¡®Medal of Sniper¡¯ behind. While Raytheon was caught inwsuits, their peers had taken advantage of the situation and poached their employees. As a result, thepany was in a slump. ording to rumors, Richard had been removed from his management position due to his miscalctions. He had a lot on his te so naturally, he didn¡¯t have time to bother about Sophia. And so, this battle was concluded with Richard¡¯s defeat. His father was having an affair with X, who was pregnant with an illegitimate child, and waiting for him to pick up the scraps. Was he willing to? Of course, he was not, but if he didn¡¯t, X would not let him go. Mr. Harper would not let him off the hook either. Before this, he had taken Natasha¡¯s money and swore to destroy Sophia. But now, instead of destroying Sophia, he was the one who fell first and lost everything. Natasha would not let him go too. It waste, and Richard was wandering around Bayside City like a lost puppy as he did not want to go home. His shirt was dirty and greasy and it shined under the streetlights, and he was holding a bottle of beer. On top of that, his face was unshaven, which made him look like a shabby homeless man. He stopped walking and sat down on some steps which were dirty. Chugging a mouthful of watered- down beer, he looked around and saw that the hotpot restaurant across the street had an outdoor theatre. It was packed with people. The movie that was ying was ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Currently, the movie was so popr that it was being yed everywhere. Taylor Murray could be seen everywhere. Taylor Murray, huh¡­ Drunk, Richard slept on the street while another homeless man took the opportunity to steal his shirt, mobile phone and wallet. Unable to stop him, he had shbacks of when he was still the proud son of the Harper Family before he turned out this way¡­ Meanwhile, Stanley had learned about Richard¡¯s current situation. Tsk tsk, how pitiful! Stanley thought. Not only was his wife pregnant with his brother and he had to take responsibility, but he also had no career anymore. He waspletely under the grips of his father and X. If it weren¡¯t for his shares in Harper Group, he would not even be able to feed himself. For the average person, having shares in Harper Group meant that he would not have to worry about money for the rest of his life and might even be considered rich, but for the once proud and arrogant Richard, this was more miserable than death itself! He was once a billionaire, but he was scammed and was only left with a million now. Even though he might still be a millionaire, he would rather die. Most people would not be able to ept the huge difference. Some people could learn from the pain and start from the bottom, while others just fell apart and epted their fate. Once, Richard used to belong to the former group, but now, after failing many times, he belonged to thetter group. ¡°Aunt, I heard your ex is now taking drugs, drinking, relying on his family to provide for him and a father to a child that¡¯s not his. How pitiful!¡± Stanley sighed. When they met Richard for the first time, he was so high-spirited. After all, he was Harper Group¡¯s young shareholder who was worth billions and the future owner of thepany! With his superiority and extravagance, he looked down on everyone. What a pity as he had brought this upon himself by provoking Sophia! Now, he was as good as nothing! Upon hearing this, Sophie chuckled coldly. She had wanted him in utter misery, just like this. She would being for those who had hurt her back then one after another. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. For now, she would leave X alone. As long as the Harper Group was still standing, she would not move on. Currently, herpany had hired over two hundred employees. As the vacant positions were taken up, thepany had added new departments. They had also sessfully raised funds and received venture capital from one investor after another, which was how they acquired a smaller but experienced game developmentpany. Thus, a brand newpany was formed. First, they had to rename thepany. At that moment, everyone was caught up in a dispute over renaming thepany. Sarah believed that since thepany¡¯s initial mission was to get more women to y games, the company¡¯s new name should be cute, such as Meow Tech. Meanwhile, Sean thought that since thepany would be focusing onrge-scale 3D male-oriented online games from now, the name should be manlier, such as War Dragon Technology. With this name, they could also lift their reputation, not to mention that this name was still avable for them to register with. On the other hand, Stanley felt that since the yers up till the programmers were young men & women, their name should sound young. For example, since Judge was the mascot of thepany, they should name it Judge Co. However, Sophia thought thepany¡¯s new name should be more down-to-earth and catchy, such as Plum Technology. For the sake of the naming rights, the four of them almost broke out in a fight with their own reasons. Finally, Stanley sneakily suggested, ¡°How about we listen to whoever wins a physical fight?¡± Upon hearing this, Sarah stared at Stanley huffily while Sean shook his head helplessly. Among them, Stanley was the strongest. Of course he would win in a fight! ncing at Sean and Sarah who had surrendered, Sophia then turned to face Stanley and nodded. ¡°Okay, no problem.¡± Stanley giggled before rolling up his sleeves. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be gentle!¡± Sophia calmly chuckled before stepping aside and Michael, who had been standing by the door, entered. ¡°I heard you guys were fighting over thepany¡¯s new name?¡± Seeing Michael, Stanley was instantly stunned. ¡°N-No, there is no such thing¡­¡± F*ck, no one can beat Michael! Stanley thought. Michael approached Stanley with a dangerous smile on his face. ¡°I think I heard you want to name the company¡ª¡± ¡°Plum! Plum Technology!¡± Every time Michael took a step closer to him, Stanley would take a step back. His smile was forced, and he looked like he had seen a ghost. He couldn¡¯t possibly beat Michael. If they were to be in a fight, Michael wouldn¡¯t go soft on him! Still, Michael closely followed him. Scared, Stanley screamed and ran away. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but burst outughing. And so, thepany¡¯s new name was decided¡ªPlum Technology. The day after the name was decided, the advertisingpany sent over a designer to design a logo for them. Meanwhile, there was an unexpected guest at the reception. ¡°Ourpany has another celebrity guest!¡± someone shouted loudly, causing everyone who was working to go to the reception desk one after another to spy on the celebrity who hade today. A lot of celebrity guests had been visiting thepany recently. Who could it be this time? At the reception area sat a beautiful and ssy woman. She was sitting up straight and gracefully, and one could tell immediately that she was different from other celebrities. Instantly, everyone recognized her. ¡°It¡¯s Irene Weber!¡± Naturally, everyone knew Irene. Every New Year Dinner G, she would always perform solo. As the most well-known military singer, she was undoubtedly the most eye-catching star. However, why was she here? Immediately, an employee who gossiped a lot said, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you know? Irene is Taylor¡¯s ex-fianc¨¦e!¡± Everyone was stunned. So, she was their boss¡¯s ex? What was the boss¡¯s ex doing here? Curiously, everyone carefully watched every movement at the reception. ¡°Our boss¡¯s ex is here!¡± This news had also reached Sophia. Chapter 638 Chapter 638 As soon as the secretary came into the office, she timidly informed Sophia, who was busy with work at her desk. At once, Sophia pushed herrge-framed sses with blue light filter lenses up her nose. Irene Weber? What¡¯s she doing here? Michael isn¡¯t here, so did shee to see me? When an ex wants to meet, it is definitely not a good thing! ¡°Tell her I¡¯m away,¡± Sophia instructed coldly. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Then, the secretary left. As expected, Irene was not here to see Sophia. Instead¡ª ¡°Cece, someone wants to see you!¡± Celine was patrolling the office with the dog when she heard this. Who was looking for her? She nced at Justin, who was holding the Samoyed¡¯s leash. Only a handful of people from the Fletcher Family knew of her return. Was it the Mitchell Family? Hurriedly, she asked the secretary, ¡°Who wants to see me?¡± The secretary said mysteriously, ¡°Boss¡¯s ex.¡± Instantly, Celine knew who it was. Her face turned dark, and she looked nauseated and disgusted. Not long after, Irene spotted Celine. She had unintentionally learned from her father that Celine was still alive, so she came to see her immediately. Back then, they grew up together, and they used to be closer than best friends! As long as Celine was around, Irene¡¯s rtionship with Michael would ease a lot. At the sight of Celine, Irene was ecstatic. She stood up and happily rushed to her while calling her nickname, ¡°Celie, you¡¯re really back!¡± However, before she could go near Celine, she saw therge ck and white dog she was holding, which looked as fierce as a wolf. As someone who had always been afraid of dogs, Irene was frightened and backed away as she screamed, ¡°Ah!¡± From a young age, Irene had been terrified of dogs. Back at the militarypound, everyone had amodated her fear of dogs. In fact, not even Old Master Fletcher and Michael had dogs. Meanwhile, Stanley had Judge, but he had always avoided Irene. Irene turned pale at the sight of such arge and vicious dog. ¡°Celie, take it away! I¡¯m afraid!¡± Grimacing at Irene, Celine had deliberately extended Judge¡¯s leash. Judge became excited and curious when it saw a stranger, and it kept trying to jump on Irene. Judge was a pure-bred Husky with a ck and white coatbination on the top of its head, and it had vicious and wolf-like features which was terrifying. Meanwhile, it kept raising its paws to touch Irene, who screamed in fear. Loudly, Irene deliberately asked Justin, ¡°Dear, do you know her?¡± ncing at Irene, Justin knew who she was but he was not close to her. He said sincerely, ¡°Not really.¡± Celine pretended to be weak and leaned into Justin. At that moment, she held the dog leash with one hand and her forehead with the other. She then said with a frown, ¡°Oh, I feel like I¡¯ve lost my memory since I returned. I can¡¯t seem to remember anyone¡­¡± While she sighed, Irene who was frightened by the dog was dumbfounded. ¡°Celie, it¡¯s me, Renie! Irene Weber!¡± Celine continued to pretend. ¡°Oh, Renie? I don¡¯t recall knowing a Renie?¡± Irene said in disbelief while being wary of the dog, ¡°I¡¯m Mikey¡¯s girlfriend, Irene!¡± Celine acted like she was confused. ¡°Mikey¡¯s girlfriend? Mikey is married. What girlfriend are you talking about? Are you a crook?¡± Loosening the dog leash, shemanded, ¡°Judge, bite!¡± Freed, Judge barked as it charged toward Irene who quickly ran away in her stilettos. Once Irene had run away, Celine stepped on the leash and pulled Judge back with some effort. Irene Weber. Now, Celine was making up for the past. After her ident, Michael had faced the news of his sister¡¯s death and brother-inw¡¯s disability alone. Nathan was still a baby then, and Michael had been forlorn and in despair. His then-girlfriend¡ªwho was supposed to be by his side¡ªfell and when she woke up, she had remembered everyone except Michael. Did she understand how cruel this was to Michael? Just then, Judge walked up to Celine as it wagged its tail. Celine patted its head. In reality, this dog was stupid. It was no wonder the military and police did not want it. Recently, Celine had been giving Judge military dog training with little sess, and it was a miracle that this dog understood the ¡®Bite¡¯mand just now. Ultimately, it was Stanley who had spoiled Judge rotten. He fed Judge imported dog food and high-end mineral water, and bought a dog kennel that cost thousands. Even its leash and cor were high-end brands. Stanley had practically been treating Judge as his own son! Was it still a dog if it was raised like this? Therefore, Celine had taught Judge to eat his own feces on her first day! Only a dog that ate feces was a true dog! Eating feces was the first step of bing a true dog! While Celine was secretly feeling proud that she had raised Judge to be a real dog, she noticed Stanley returning from his business meeting. As soon as he saw Judge, he dropped his briefcase and went up to kiss Judge on the mouth. ¡°Good boy! Did you miss me?¡± Stanley patted Judge on its head before kissing it again, while Judge affectionately licked his face. As he wiped off the saliva, Stanley grabbed his briefcase and approached Celine, who looked dumbfounded. ¡°Aunt Celine, are you okay?¡± he asked while still wiping the saliva. Still stunned, Celine answered, ¡°I-I was walking your dog!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t overwork yourself, Aunt Celine. Go out more as there are many fun ces to go nearby.¡± Celine nodded dazedly. In fact, she had been taking Judge to eat feces everyday and she already knew her way around. With a horrified expression, she watched as Stanley entered the office with his briefcase. Touching the cold sweat on her forehead, she felt apologetic. The following days, Stanley noticed Celine being very kind to him. She would always go into his office to check up on him and on top of that, she spoke to him warmly, which ttered him. Probably because of the attention that Celine was suddenly showering on him, he was totally indulging and basking in it and boasted about it to Sophia. ¡°Sophia, look! Aunt Celine went shopping and got me a pair of new pants!¡± ¡°Aunt Celine went out today and got me some snacks! No one else got it, just me! Not even Justin got it!¡± ¡­¡­ Every time Stanley gloated about how good Celine was treating him, Sophia wanted very badly tough, but she held it in. Stanley was like a neglected child who was suddenly being spoilt. He was so happy that he constantly bragged about the way Celine was treating him. One day, he brought a piggy bank that Celine had won at a night market and showed it off to Nathan. ¡°Nate, your mother won this piggy back yesterday and she gifted it to me! You don¡¯t have it, right? Don¡¯t be jealous!¡± On behalf of everyone else, Nathan who was doing his homework decided to spill the cold hard truth. ¡°Stan, my mom has been taking Judge to eat faeces for the past few days.¡± Chapter 639 Chapter 639 That day, everyone in thepany heard Stanley¡¯s loud cry of despair from his office. He had locked himself and Judge in the room and cried while he hugged his dog. No one was allowed to enter, and he would not listen to anyone. He never expected that while he was busy working, Judge would be fed with feces! Feces! His fur kid that he had worked so hard to raise! The descendent of a pure-bred king! A true Husky with a pedigree certificate! A Husky who grew up eating high-end dog food! His fur kid that he would kiss and hug to sleep, and even take a bath with! He could not even bring himself to hit it, but it was taught to eat feces by Celine! Feces! ¡°I¡¯ve let you down!¡± Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Hugging Judge, Stanley cried noisily. As the dog¡¯s fur was soaked, Stanley sobbed. ¡°I was going to make you thepany mascot, and then bring you to Uncle Michael¡¯s production crew to give you a role or something, so you could be a dog actor¡­¡± Not understanding a single thing, Judge barked, went into the bathroom and drank from the toilet before returning to watch Stanley howl in despair. Seeing how familiar Judge was with the practice, he cried again. Everyone could hear him bawling in his office and they looked in his direction and started to whisper to one another. Celine and Justin were long gone, while Nathan was forced to stay and clean the toilets as punishment. At that moment, Sophia knocked on the door and tried to calm Stanley down. ¡°There there, Stan. Stop crying. My Snowball has eaten feces too. There¡¯s nothing to be sad about.¡± ¡°No! You¡¯re all b*stards!¡± Stanley roared. ¡°Your cats r*ped my Sunset, you bullied my Judge while I was away! You¡¯re all b*stards!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a b*stard. We¡¯re all b*stards,¡± Sophia said. ¡°How about I return Sunset¡¯s kitten back to you?¡± she said albeit feeling reluctant. Stanley paused, and his cries seemed to have stopped. ¡°Then I wille and pick up the cats tonight! Don¡¯t you dare go back on your words!¡± At once, Sophia nodded. ¡°I won¡¯t. When my Persian cat gives birth, I¡¯ll give a kitten to you.¡± She rolled her eyes as she said this. How exhausting. How did she get a nephew who never grew up? It was only then did Stanley stop cryingpletely. Sulking, Nathan was washing the toilets at the office. He had no choice because his parents had run away and left him here to suffer Stanley¡¯s wrath by himself. In the morning, he would do his homework. By the afternoon, he would be cleaning the bathroom. Life was hard. He was very upset and would lock Judge in the bathroom whenever he felt that way. Confused, Judge would mistake the bathroom as a dining hall and when Stanley found out, he fired Nathan without a second thought. Nathan¡¯s desk was in Sophia¡¯s office, along with his books. Although he was a university student, he still had homework to do during summer break. Plus, he had toplete an internship, which was why he was working here. Nathan packed up his belongings in a huff. Why did he have such unreliable parents? Celine always had to cause trouble everywhere she went. Now that she finally found a decent job, she messed it up by teaching the boss¡¯s fur kid to eat feces. As for his father, his stic surgeries were more important than his own son, and he never stood up for him! How unreliable! Because of their ipetence, he had to start working at a young age to provide for the family, and not to mention being punished for the trouble his mother caused. He was doing so well at his job¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Nate. Go home and rest for a couple of days. Once Stan calms down, you cane back to work then.¡± Silently, Nathan nodded. He then carried his backpack and held Snowball with a leash. His unreliable parents had fled to another country overnight to escape from Stanley. At the moment, they were ice skating on the other side of the, leaving their poor son alone here. Fortunately, he had a dependable aunt. Snowball was the name of the Samoyed Sophia brought back from the snow mountainst year. It was a silly female dog with white fur that was now a year old, and it would smile goofily at everyone. A couple days ago, Snowball had also been tricked into eating feces by Celine. Unaware of what happened, it continued smiling goofily at people. It was arge dog, probably because of the good food it had been fed. Once, Snowball fought Judge and won. Sitting next to Nathan with its front legs up now, it was taller than him. ¡°Bye, Mom.¡± Nichs waved at Sophia before going home with Nathan. Watching them leave, Sophia smiled. After cleaning up Snowball¡¯s kennel and Nathan¡¯s desk, she continued to work. There was a lot going on at the office, and she was afraid she could not arrive at school on time. The Universal Games finally kicked off, and Cethos¡¯s team had brought good news. While having their lunch, everyone was watching the event on live TV at thepany. ¡°Sandra Oak is amazing! She has already won a gold medal in the women¡¯s 400-meter freestyle swimming event. Tomorrow, she¡¯ll bepeting in the 100-meter event!¡± At the mention of Sandra, everyone got excited and started chiming in. ¡°Before Sandra, no Cethosian has ever won in these twopetitions!¡± ¡°Did you know that she gained a million followers just after a day she signed up for Twitter? Her first tweet even broke the server due to the huge amount of retweets!¡± ¡°Sandra¡¯s poprity isparable to that of an A-list celebrity! Heck, she¡¯s even better than an A-list celebrity!¡± ¡°Wow, she¡¯s so pretty. I¡¯m going to be a fan!¡± Stanley was watching the event as well. Today¡¯s match was a 100-meter ry swimming event and as expected, Sandra won gold again. As the neen-year-old emerged from the pool, Cethos and the entire world was stunned. ¡°Sandra Oak? That sounds familiar¡­ Where have I heard it before?¡± Stanley muttered as he ate, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. While Stanley was wondering, Sean had already recognized her. Sandra Oak was Derek Oak¡¯s older sister and Alex Mitchell¡¯s illegitimate daughter. Subconsciously, he nced at Sophia who had on a cold expression. It seemed like she was thinking about something bad. At once, Sean shuddered. Just then, Nathan came into the office with Snowball. It was still lunchtime and everyone was watching the live broadcast of the sports event. Ever since he was fired by Stanley, he had beening to thepany to hang out every day and bring Sophia lunch at the same time. Seeing Nathan, Stanley snorted at him. Disregarding him, Nathan handed over Sophia¡¯s lunch. ¡°Aunt Sophia, I¡¯ve brought you lunch.¡± At that moment, Sophia was ying with Snowball when she realized Nathan had brought her lunch. Happily, she rubbed his cheek before petting Snowball¡¯s head. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Nathan!¡± ncing at Sophia¡¯s food, Stanley huffed. When he realized that her food was better than his, he became angrier. After lunch, Nathan put away his lunchbox and left with Snowball. ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow, Aunt Sophia.¡± Every day, Nathan would bring lunch for Sophia, and each meal was better than before. It was as if this was done intentionally to anger Stanley. Once Nathan left, Sophia got a call from Danny. Danny, who usually talked a lot, said in a concise and serious manner, ¡°Boss is in trouble.¡± Chapter 640 Chapter 640 ¡°Michael was given a strong aphrodisiac by Natasha. The drug was activated, but we managed to rescue him from Natasha¡¯s room before she did anything. However, the drug willst for quite a while and since the hospital is further away than the airport, we brought him to the airport and we¡¯ll be departing immediately. Our estimated time of arrival in Bayside City is two hours from now. Please freshen up and come over. We¡¯ll be there soon.¡± m! Danny had hung up. Bewildered, Sophia took a while before understanding what happened. F*ck! Natasha went to the film studio again? She even gave Michael aphrodisiac and locked him in her room! Danny sessfully rescued him and they¡¯re on the way to the airport, ready to take off. As everyone else watched the live broadcast of the Universal Games, Sophia abruptly stood up without a word before rushing into her office. ¡°Aunt, where are you going?¡± Stanley hurriedly asked. ¡°None of your business.¡± Seeing that Sophia did not touch her food, Stanley said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll eat your food!¡± When he didn¡¯t get a response, Stanley took the opportunity to finish her food. Closing her office door, Sophia rushed into the bathroom and cleaned herself up. Then, she went downstairs and bought a bottle of lubricant, and Hale was already waiting for her with the car. Traffic was slow along the way, and they only reached the private airport after two hours. The moment she got out of the car, she could see their private nending. Just then, Danny approached her. Before Sophia could ask him anything, he solemnly said, ¡°There¡¯s no time to exin. Hurry, or Ben would be in trouble.¡± F*ck! Is it that serious? Hurriedly, Sophia took her bag and got onto the ne. Once she entered, she saw Michael being tied to the chair by Ben. Ben was one of Michael¡¯s bodyguards, who had a baby face and rosy lips¡­ Covered in sweat, Ben looked terrified. As Sophia approached, he quickly said, ¡°We¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± After he said that, he got off the ne at once. How frightening! If she had beente, Ben would have lost his innocence! Once Sophia entered, everyone else got off immediately, and thest one even helped her close the doors. At that moment, Sophia nced at the sweaty Michael, whose face was flushed red and whose eyes were bloodshot. Frightened, she swallowed hard. ¡°A-Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still alive,¡± he said albeit in a restrained manner. He was staring at her like she was something to eat. Tied to the chair, his veins had visibly popped up, and the bruise from the sedative injection could be seen on the back of his hand. The drug that was given to him was too powerful and after it took effect, he would even do it with a male dog, let alone Natasha. Fortunately, Danny, Harry, and the others had sessfully rescued him after a fierce battle. Otherwise, he would be in bigger trouble. Unfortunately, Natasha managed to escape. Indeed, the drugs were too strong. Even after giving him a sedative, it was no use. Sending him to the hospital would take too long, and it would be too much of a hassle. Most importantly, he was the Best Actor. If anyone found out that he was given an aphrodisiac, it would be humiliating! So, their best bet was to send him back to Bayside City, where his personal ¡°antidote¡± was. As soon as she released Michael from the chair, he tackled Sophia without another word. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they watched the antidote in human form get on the ne. Then the doctors arrived, and the rest of them yed card games while they waited in the airport lounge. Michael was aggressive under the influence of the drug and he was extremely aroused. He finally stopped just after dusk, falling asleep on top of Sophia. At that moment, Sophia was covered in sweat and her face was flustered. Pushing Michael off of her, she let him continue sleeping. Meanwhile, Michael was also covered in sweat, and strands of hair stuck to his face. Even in his sleep, he was furrowing his eyebrows as if he was still suffering. Covering him with a thin quilt, she wiped away his sweat and cleaned him up with a towel before putting a pair of pants on him. Sophia was aching all over as she dressed herself before getting off the ne. She felt a sharp pain with every step she took, but she gritted her teeth and endured it. Earlier, she had been saving her energy because she knew she had more important things to do. As soon as she got off the ne, Danny and the doctors brought Michael out of the ne and sent him to the hospital for treatment. Not long after, before she could catch her breath, Hale came over with a darkened expression. ¡°Madam, something happened to Little Master.¡± Sophia was stunned and her mind became hazy. It waste at night, while a private hospital was still brightly lit. Nathan and Nichs were sitting in the hospital corridor. It seemed like Nichs had been hit by a great force as its paint had been chipped off. Also, it couldn¡¯t speak smoothly, so something must be broken inside. Meanwhile, Nathan¡¯s forehead was bruised badly, but the hospital staff already treated it. Lowering his head, Nathan was mournful but he managed to hold back his tears. His adorable and delicate features were wrinkled, and he looked pitiful. Rushing to the hospital, Sophia saw this scene. Her heart immediately sank. As soon as he saw Sophia, Nathan instantly fell apart and sobbed. Distressed, Sophia hugged Nathan as she soothed him. ¡°There, there. Everything¡¯s fine now.¡± After Nathan brought lunch to the office, Gemma had driven him back. However, arge truck had lost control and crashed into them, nearly crushing them to death. Although Gemma had managed to save them from being crushed with her superb driving skills, their car was still hit and it had crashed into a pole. Fortunately, Nichs had released the airbag in time. With the child seat, Nathan did not suffer any major injuries except a bruised forehead. On the other hand, Gemma was severely injured and he was still in the emergency room. The paint on Nichs was only chipped off, and he would be fine after some reparations. But¡­ After Sophia calmed Nathan down, Hale sent him and Nichs home. Meanwhile, Sophia went into the morgue alone. Snowball was lying quietly in the morgue, covered with a nket. When the nket was removed, her snow-white fur was soaked in blood. When the car was hit, the humans were wearing seatbelts so they were all okay. Meanwhile, Snowball was thrown out of the car through the window. Half of her body was crushed, and she had died on the spot. Snowball¡ªwho always had a silly smile on her face¡ªfinally stopped smiling. Her eyes were shut, and she was nothing more than a pile of flesh and fur. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. This was no ordinary car ident because a bullet had been found in Snowball¡¯s body. When the ident happened, Snowball was sitting next to the window, and she was shot before the car flipped over. It was obvious that the bullet had been aimed at Nathan. However, because of Snowball¡¯srge head, she had saved Nathan. Staring at Snowball, Sophia sat there for a long time. Earlier at noon, Snowball was still smiling goofily at her. Just hourster, she had be a pile of crushed flesh. Sophia could not ept this, Just then, she choked up and lifted her head. The mist in her eyes turned into tears and they rolled down her cheeks. Chapter 641 Chapter 641 Back then when Sophia and Michael went to y at the snow mountain, she met Snowball there, a ball of white fur which was frolicking in the snow covered ground. Since she wasn¡¯t strong, she couldn¡¯t be a service dog, so she could only be sold as a pet. When Sophia first met her, she had run out from the puppy mill and rolled in the snow. She almost blended into the snow so she identally stepped on her tail, causing her to yap in pain like a weak little girl. She had decided to buy Snowball then and there and brought her home. Since then, she grew from the size of a kitten to a sizerger than Nathan. Ring, ring! A simple ssic ringtone rang and it was from an unknown number. Wiping away her tears, Sophia answered the call and at once, an arrogant voice travelled into her ears. ¡°Sophia, do you like the present that I gave?¡± Natasha! Everything made sense now. Natasha truly wanted to finish her off and would go to extreme lengths to do so. It was indeed a ¡®present¡¯ that Sophia would remember forever! Without replying to Natasha, Sophia listened to her as she swaggered about it. ¡°So, how do you feel? You must be exploding in anger but what can you do about it? Hahaha!¡± Sophia smacked the button to end the call. Since Natasha called just to unt, she wouldn¡¯t listen to whatever she said. Putting the phone aside, Sophia wiped away the tears from the corner of her eyes before she stood up and carefully removed Snowball¡¯s cor. Then, she covered her remains and instructed the staff to return Snowball¡¯s ashes to her after they cremated her. After that, she walked out of the mortuary with the blood-stained cor tightly clenched in her hand. Michael had also been admitted to the same hospital and he was currently being treated. When Sophia went to his ward to apany him, she copied the video that had been sent by Nichs to theputer and started to watch it seriously. The video showed that when the truck drove toward them, Nichs had detected someone shooting at the window, and that person was aiming at Nathan. Right at that moment, Snowball seemed to have sensed something so she looked outside the window by popping her huge head out, blocking the entire window. Then, she never came back in, and it was probably then that she was shot dead by the bullet. After that, the truck that had lost control drove toward them. Calmly, Sophia analysed everything that Nichs had captured and sent the video to Hale for a deeper analysis. Soon, they found the origin of the killer and his employer. After half a day of torment and a night of rest, the drug in Michael¡¯s body finally subsided but he only woke up the next morning. When he was awake, he felt that every part of his body was sore and he couldn¡¯t even move an inch without feeling pain. Lying on the bed, his mind was nk for a long time knowing that his reputation was truly ruined this time. He had never imagined that this would happen to him, where he was drugged and kidnapped to a hotel room under Natasha¡¯s order. He felt that he must be acting like a beast at that time. He remembered that when he sensed the drug kicking in, he had hit Natasha, who had tried to offer her body to him, unconscious before he locked himself in the bathroom. Then, he started to hallucinate and felt that everyone he saw was Sophia. After that, he saw Sophia walking toward him and when that familiar fragrance travelled into his nose, all his forbearance broke down. At that moment, all he wanted to do wasply with the drug and unleash his lust. He wanted very badly to be one with her. Later on, everything went wild¡­ After lying on the bed for some time, only did he recall what had happened. His arm was still connected with an intravenous line and looking to the side, he saw Sophia sleeping on the bed beside him. Sophia seemed to be deeply asleep. With her eyes closed, she looked as quiet and beautiful as an angel in a painting. He gazed at her and extended his hand, but he couldn¡¯t reach her. Sophia woke up at 6 a.m. She would have seven hours of sleep every day and would wake up at 6 a.m. sharp. When she noticed that Michael was awake, she asked him how he felt in a concerned tone. Michael felt so sorry for Sophia for being outrageously careless, causing him to fall into someone¡¯s trap. However, Sophia didn¡¯tin and just said, ¡°Rest well and don¡¯t overthink. I¡¯ll settle everything.¡± She said that in a wise and experienced manner as if she was a professional that had done it for years. That utterly surprised Michael and he felt that she had grown wiser than thest time they met. After apanying Michael for breakfast, Sophia immediately went to discuss Michael¡¯s situation with the doctor. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t serious and wouldn¡¯t affect his fertility other than some scratches and muscle strain, which might stop him from having an erection for a month. Meanwhile, Gemma awoke as well. Her injuries were more severe but she had passed the critical period. As long as she rested well for some time, she would be fine. After leaving the hospital, Sophia headed toward thepany. On the way there, she called the agency and the film crew to inform them about Michael¡¯s situation as he would need to rest for some time. She also requested them to announce to the public that Taylor had an ident and was severely injured when he was filming an action scene without the help of a stuntman, so he had to rest and recuperate for some time. Not only could she sustain her husband¡¯s reputation, but she could also take the opportunity to publicise the new movie. Then, she called Maria to send Nichs to be repaired at Michel Group. On the way back, she even bought a Samoyed that looked exactly like Snowball from the pet shop and sent it back home to apany Nathan. After that, she went to thepany. Everything was arranged and in order. As soon as she stepped into thepany, everyone gathered around her. The news had been announced on the inte saying that Taylor was injured while filming and was recuperating in the hospital, whereas Nathan almost died in the car ident. ¡°Miss Edwards!¡± ¡°Sophia¡­¡± ¡°Sofie!¡± Sophia walked in calmly as if nothing had happened while saying, ¡°Everything¡¯s fine. You may go back to your post.¡± She seemedpletelyposed like a shrewd elite of the urban workce while walking into the office, and she started to work as usual. It seemed like nothing had happened, or it might just be the calm before the storm. If a man¡¯s wife was coveted by someone and was even attempted rape on several times, he wouldn¡¯t be able to swallow his anger either. Therefore, Sophia and Natasha¡¯s battle was far from ending. For the whole morning, Sophia worked. There was still a lot to be done since a few soul-stirring incidents had happened consecutively in the past 20 hours. At 3 p.m., Sophia arranged tea for everyone and even gave them a one-hour leave so they could watch the Universal Games. The 100-meter female freestyle swimming finals wouldmence this afternoon and the famous beautiful swimmer, Sandra Oak, had a huge chance of winning her second gold medal today and breaking the world record at the same time! Thispetition attracted worldwide attention and the entire Cethos was paying attention to it. Everyone looked at their ownputer nervously as if they were the ones participating in the competition. The inte media was providing life coverage for the finals and on the screen, the girl looked beautiful and lively. At that moment, the whole world was paying attention to her. If she could win thispetition today, she would break several world records and make Cethos proud! Finally, thementator eximed excitedly, ¡°She won! Sandra won! She defeated her enemy as well as herself and won her second gold medal at the Universal Games. This meaningful gold medal not only represents a great victory in sports for Cethos, but it¡¯s also an important milestone. Today will definitely be recorded in history!¡± At that moment, the entire country cheered and rejoiced! Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 642 Chapter 642 This was a glory for the entire Cethos! Her name, Sandra Oak, would certainly go down in history. Watching the live video, where Sandra was wailing emotionally while holding the gold medal, Sean felt a shiver down his spine but he didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Sean,e to my office.¡± Suddenly, Sophia called him through the internal line. After taking a sip of this coffee, he rushed to Sophia¡¯s office. In the office, Sophia was also watching the live broadcast of the games, where Sandra wept while being interviewed. ¡°I would like to thank my parents because I wouldn¡¯t be who I am today without them.¡± For some time, both of them quietly watched Sandra¡¯s live interview. Suddenly, Sophia paused the video and it stopped at Sandra¡¯s teary face. That was a face that looked like Natasha¡¯s. Sandra was Alex¡¯s daughter and she was Natasha¡¯s sister. Not only was their age simr, but they looked alike as well. Staring at that face, Sean felt another shiver down his spine. Without wasting time, Sophia showed him a series of evidence. ¡°I¡¯ve investigated Nathan¡¯s car ident and Natasha is the one who hired the killer. I haven¡¯t told anyone about it. If it¡¯s known by others, Old Master definitely won¡¯t let it slide.¡± Upon hearing that, Sean felt goosebumps all over his body. As expected, Natasha was the culprit! It seemed like Natasha hadpletely lost her mind. How dare she try to hurt Nathan? Doesn¡¯t she know that Mark loves Nathan the most? If this news was leaked out, the Mitchell Family and the Fletcher Family woulde to an open break of their rtionship. When they snatched someone in the past, it was just a dispute, but now that they had attempted murder, it was a grudge! Sean analysed the situation solemnly. ¡°The Mitchell Family is now dividing their family so Alex will surely protect Natasha with all means because she is his only child. Sophia, if you want to take revenge on Natasha, it¡¯s better to hire a killer.¡± ¡°No,¡± Sophia rejected firmly. ¡°Death would be too kind and brief. My aim is to let her live in hell.¡± Sean furrowed his eyebrows. Judging from the current situation, the only way to make Natasha live in hell would be to destroy the Mitchell Family. Once Natasha wasn¡¯t the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, she would naturally suffer. However, destroying the Mitchell Family seemed impossible with Sophia and Michael¡¯s current power . After all, that was a huge family that had existed for a few hundred years so they wouldn¡¯t be able to do it unless they coborated with Linus. Yet, Linus seemed¡­ In just a split second, myriads of thoughts appeared in Sean¡¯s mind. Maintaining a poker face, Sophia said to Sean, ¡°Come here. I want to tell you my n.¡± After listening to her n, Sean felt yet another shiver down his sine and he almost froze in fear. ¡°I-I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t persuade Alex. Besides, will he listen to me?¡± Sophia remained expressionless. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. In the Mitchells¡¯ eyes, you¡¯re just a nonentity and they won¡¯t make things difficult for a nonentity. All you have to do is show Alex these evidences and he¡¯ll know what to do since he¡¯s clever.¡± ¡­¡­ The Universal Games had ended in a grand and spectacr manner. The expedition team won over 40 gold medals for Cethos and they steadily ranked first on the gold medal list. Sessively, the expedition team returned to the country and the national team had an outstanding achievement this time, which in turn made many sports stars famous. Undoubtedly, Sandra was one of the most famous stars. She alone broke three world records and won two individual gold medals and one silver medal, which shook the entire Cethos as well as the whole world. With her beauty as a bonus point, she became a celebrity athlete overnight that was known by everyone in the country. Sandra appeared in the headlines almost every day. One reported that she was epted to Bayside University as an exception and that she attended the party organised by the President for foreign diplomats as a distinguished guest. Another reported her to be the ambassador of a famous fashion brand and was invited to the New Year¡¯s G. The media also revealed that she was pursued by famous handsome dandies. In just one night, she rose to a well-known star from a nobody in the past. Meanwhile, Bayside University had started its sses. On the first day of school, Sophia came to the university to attend the g-raising ceremony. In the afternoon, she had lunch in the university¡¯s cafeteria since she still had money in her meal card and had decided to use it as often as she could. Sophia and her three friends chose a perfect spot to sit down, where they could watch the television once they raised their heads. The television was reying the highlights of the games. In this year¡¯s Universal Games, Cethos¡¯s team had performed well in manypetitions, including the female volleyball event where the team had a shocking win, diving events where the Dream Diving Team won gold medal yet again, and the freestyle swim events where Sandra won two gold medals. While eating, Sophia looked at her phone and saw Natasha on the news. It was a scandal about her and a handsome dandy from the Edwards Family that had a worth over ten billion. They even wore matching couple rings and were rumored to have been engaged. Judging from thetest news about Natasha, she was living leisurely andfortably like a beautiful Young Lady from a wealthy family, where she attended shows, read books, shopped and went on dates. asionally, she would even donate to charities to boost her reputation. Because of her young age, all her wrongdoings could be excused and glossed over by saying that she was insensible since she was young. In addition, since she was wealthy and was willing to spend her money in donating to charities, her reputation and image gradually became positive. Everyone seemed to have forgotten all the stupid things she had done. As long as she was the Young Lady Mitchell, she could enjoy the privilege, where all her disgusting sins could be forgiven. The title of Young Lady Mitchell was her greatest shield! Without that title, she would be nobody, but as long as she had that title, she could do as she pleased because she had the entire Mitchell Family as her backing! Watching the news, Sophia sneered and put down her phone. Then, she checked the time and realized that it was almost time, so she decided to ask Stanley to change the channel. It was at that moment that an arrogant voice came from behind. ¡°Sophia, here you are! No wonder I couldn¡¯t find you anywhere.¡± Hearing that voice, everyone was stunned. They turned back to look only to see Natasha. Natasha had changed her hairstyle during summer to burgundy big curls. It made her look distinguished and bejewelled as if she was a shining diamond. Everyone seemed to be unaware of what had happenedtely but when they saw Natasha, they instinctively felt disgusted and everyone seemed annoyed. In graceful steps, Natasha walked to them and sat on the empty seat beside Sophia while asking her in concern, ¡°I heard that your son got into a car ident not long ago. Is he okay?¡± Sophia remained expressionless while holding her spoon but her eyes were full of coldness and ruthlessness. Seeing that Sophia was unmoved, Natasha smiled innocently while continuing, ¡°The traffic in Bayside hasn¡¯t been goodtely and car idents aremon. You should watch over your son. Otherwise, he might be¡ª¡± Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± Stanley was the first to smack the table and stood up. ncing at Stanley, Natasha didn¡¯t respond to him and just twirled her curly hair with her manicured fingers while saying coquettishly, ¡°I think Taylor is hospitalisedtely and I heard that his ward is 302 at the third floor of XX Hospital. When will he be free? I want to visit him¡­¡± She deliberately said that in a seductive and breathless manner and only Sophia understood what she meant. It seemed like she wasn¡¯t nning to give up on Michael and had even asked for his ward room. She must find an opportunity to take action. Experiencing a misfortune was not as scary as knowing a misfortune was awaiting them. As long as Natasha held onto that thought, she would seed sooner orter. Sadly, there was nothing Sophia could do to stop Natasha coveting Michael! Chapter 643 Chapter 643 Although Stanley had no idea what had happened, he still felt sick at Natasha¡¯s tone so he red at her and cursed, ¡°You shameless b*tch! Let me tell you, if you dare to bully Sophia, I won¡¯t let you get away with it!¡± His loud voice attracted everyone¡¯s attention in the cafeteria. Turning to look at them, they saw that Stanley was about to start a fight. Indeed, Stanley had rolled his sleeves up and was about to hit Natasha. Even if she had two bodyguards with her, he would hit her to vent his anger. Right at that moment, Sophia finally spoke. ¡°Stanley, change it to the finance channel. I want to watch financial news.¡± Stanley smacked the table. ¡°Why would you want to watch the financial news in a situation like this?¡± On the contrary, Sean found the remote control and quickly changed it to the financial channel. After that, he looked back and forth between Sophia and Natasha while persuading Stanley to sit down. Turning a blind eye to Natasha, Sophia looked at her phone and realised that it was already 12.30 p.m., so she said, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Natasha knew that Sophia was dying to rip her apart but she couldn¡¯t. As long as she was alive, she wouldn¡¯t let Sophia live in peace! Meanwhile, Sophia started to watch the television with great interest. Currently, the finance channel was broadcasting financial news and the headline for today was ¡®The real- life story of swapping daughters: Sandra Oak is actually the daughter of the Mitchell Family!¡¯ ¡°Today, the Chairman of Mitchell Group, Alex Mitchell, held a press conference at 12.30 p.m. and revealed a shocking incident to the public, where his daughters were swapped. Alex said that Natasha isn¡¯t his real daughter and his real daughter is actually the famous sports star, Sandra Oak, who had won two gold medals in the Universal Games! Kindly watch the following live coverage of Alex rifying this incident to the public.¡­¡± At once, Natasha¡¯s expression changed drastically and her fingers that were twirling her hair froze. Everyone¡¯s attention was attracted to the news so they immediately gathered in front of the television. The scene was switched to Alex¡¯s press conference, showing Alex in a neat suit with the famous sports star, Sandra, as well as his first wife, who was also Natasha¡¯s mother, beside him. Choking up, Alex said to the reporters on the scene and the camera, ¡°I¡¯m standing here today to rify an incident that happened 20 years ago. 20 years ago, my wife, Mrs. Wright, gave birth to a baby girl in the hospital, which is our daughter. Unexpectedly, the nanny that we hired with a high price for our daughter took the opportunity to swap her daughter with our daughter when my wife was weak and frail from thebor. All these years, we have been kept in the dark and cherished the nanny¡¯s daughter like she was the apple of our eyes, while our real daughter struggled to live. By chance, we found our real daughter and she is Sandra Oak! Now, the truth is revealed and the three of us have finally united as a family!¡± Speaking of the sad part, the family of three hugged each other and wailed as if they were genuinely families that hadn¡¯t met for years. As soon as the news broke out, the students in the cafeteria burst into an uproar and the discussion was turbulent. Sandra was the real daughter of the Mitchell Family? What about Natasha, who was right in front of them? Was she the nanny¡¯s daughter? Oh my! That nanny was truly heartless to swap other people¡¯s daughter with her own daughter, letting her own daughter to live a luxury life while the real daughter of the wealthy family lived in a life of poverty with her. It was said that Sandra grew up in a poor family when she was young. Simultaneously, everyone looked at Natasha, only to see herpletely stupefied while staring at the news on the television in disbelief. She was the nanny¡¯s daughter and the real Natasha was actually Sandra? What about her?! Natasha sprung up at once and dashed out while calling someone. After she left, the discussion became even more heated. No one had imagined that such a bizarre incident would happen in real life. Then, everyone went online and shared the news they had just heard. Bayside University and the entire Bayside were shook! While the others were busy discussing, Stanley remained stunned for a long time. Wasn¡¯t Sandra Derek¡¯s sister, Alex¡¯s illegitimate daughter? How did she be Alex¡¯s real daughter who was maliciously swapped by someone 20 years ago? Suddenly, he turned stiffly toward Sophia, only to see her bowing her head to eat her food calmly. While eating slowly, she would asionally look at her phone. At that moment, it dawned on him. Good gracious, what a ruthless trick! From the beginning when she found Sandra¡¯s existence, she had started to n everything calmly just for today. Now, Natasha no longer had the title of Young Lady Mitchell. Without saying a word, Stanley sat down to eat while all his hair stood on end. He swore that from now on, Sophia would be his respected elder, his God and he would obey her regardless of anything she said. He wouldn¡¯t oppose her anymore! When Natasha rushed back to Mitchell Residence, she was beaten and thrown out of the house mercilessly by the Mitchells. At the same time, all her assets were frozen, including her credit cards and bank ounts. Everything that the Mitchell Family had given her was taken back. In a short amount of time, she had gone from a wealthy youngdy to a penniless person. ¡°No! Mom, Dad, I¡¯m your daughter. I¡¯m Natasha!¡± Natasha screamed shrilly outside Mitchell Residence but no one answered her. Only a group of women from the upstart West Family that stayed next door watched her with amusement as she made a scene. Content is property of N?velDrama.Org. Natasha could strangle her own brother to death just to prevent him from taking what was hers. Simrly, Alex could tolerate his own daughter, who strangled his son, and conceal the truth for his own benefit. It was all about benefits and Alex needed an offspring! Nothing would be ced above benefits, not even his family. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t strange that Alex abandoned her today. Sean had showm the evidence of Natasha attempting to murder Nathan to Alex and told him that he had an outstanding illegitimate daughter. He had also told Alex a perfect n where he could swap Sandra and Natasha¡¯s identity. After hearing that, Alex would know what to do. Between a b*tch that always got herself into troubles and a sports star that brought glory to the country, he knew well which daughter would bring him the greatest benefit. Therefore, he wasted no time in bringing Sandra into the family and changed her name to Sandra Mitchell. Not only that, after she was registered in the Mitchell¡¯s family genealogy record book, he even organized a grand banquet to celebrate his union with Sandra. Sandra was indeed Alex¡¯s daughter so she looked like Alex. In addition, she was a sports star that was cherished nationally, who brought glory to the country. The only shoring was her origin and an illegitimate daughter would never be allowed in the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral hall. Yet, it wouldn¡¯t be the same case if she was a legitimate child that was swapped 20 years ago. Although Alex had carried out the n wlessly, some of the Mitchells still sensed something fishy, but what could they do? After Sandra was reunited with the family, Mitchell Group¡¯s shares shot up so no one would be so stupid to cause trouble. Natasha guarded outside Mitchell Residence for a day but no one responded to her. Then, she thought of her uncle so she hopped into a taxi and headed to her uncle¡¯s house. Unexpectedly, when she arrived at her uncle¡¯s house, she bumped into Mrs. Mitchell and Sandra, who were visiting her uncle. Seeing that everything she had was being handed to another woman, Natasha flew into rage. So, as soon as Sandra got down from the car that had just stopped, Natasha charged toward her angrily and pped her hard. ¡°You b*tch! I¡¯ll strangle you to death!¡± Chapter 644 Chapter 644 Sandra was not only a sports star that was cherished by the whole nation but also the Young Lady Mitchell, so she had numerous bodyguards around her, who seized Natasha right away and threw her to the side. Mrs. Mitchell embraced Sandra, who cried out of fear, andforted her. Right now, they looked like an affectionate pair of mother and daughter. Natasha couldn¡¯t believe her eyes while she wailed and shouted, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m Nat! I¡¯m your real daughter and this woman is a liar!¡± She believed that her mother wouldn¡¯t be deceived even if her father was because she had given birth to her! Unexpectedly, Mrs. Mitchell looked at her with a stern face which Natasha had never seen before and scolded, ¡°No, Sandra is my daughter!¡± ¡°No, no!¡± Natasha shrieked. ¡°It¡¯s me! I¡¯m your real daughter, mom!¡± Mrs. Mitchell refused to talk to her anymore and left with Sandra, leaving behind Natasha to wail in despair by the road. How did this happen? She was the real Young Lady Mitchell! That woman was a liar who had deceived everyone! Unfortunately, no one cared about her even after she wailed for a long time outside. Now, she was just the nanny¡¯s daughter, not Young Lady Mitchell. Standing at the roadside with her body covered in dirt and stinking, she cried until she felt hungry. It was only then that she realized she should eat something so she walked into a nearby western restaurant. As soon as she sat down, she heard the whispers from the people around her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Natasha?¡± ¡°If you look closely, she looks simr to Sandra.¡± ¡°How pitiful. It seems like she¡¯s chased out of the house after the family reunited with their real daughter.¡± ¡°As expected, a peasant will always be a peasant and she can never be on par with Sandra, who is the real princess. I¡¯ve said since the beginning that Natasha doesn¡¯t have the nobility of ady at all. and she acts like she has never seen a man by going after Taylor desperately. It¡¯s true that a daughter of a poor man will never be elegant even if she¡¯s brought up in a rich family.¡± Natasha trembled in anger while tears trickled down her cheeks. However, all she wished now was to fill up her stomach. After the food was served, she gobbled everything up without taking care of her deportment. After the meal, the waiter came to settle her bill but when Natasha reached into her pocket, she realized that she was penniless. She didn¡¯t have the habit of carrying her purse with her so it was with her assistant now, and her phone battery had died. She searched every pocket on her but still failed to find a penny. Noticing the embarrassment on Natasha¡¯s face, the waiter knew that she had no money and his expression darkened at once. Right at that moment, a cheerful voice rang. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Natasha, the Young Lady Mitchell?¡± That title was extremely ear-piercing for Natasha. She turned around to find a stranger in office attire, so she sniffed and asked coldly, ¡°Who are you?¡± That woman seemed shrewd and she smiled when she looked at Natasha while crossing her arms. ¡°You might have forgotten me. I¡¯m the president of this chain restaurant and I started this restaurant from scratch.¡± The woman¡¯s voice was full of mockery. ¡°Three years ago, my restaurant only started its business and the staff weren¡¯t familiar with the operations yet. Unfortunately, they identally offended you but you called your men to smash my restaurant. You even forced me to kneel down and apologize to you.¡± Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. The atmosphere was getting intense when the staff started to gather around fiercely and stood behind their boss. Drenched in sweat out of fear Natasha tried to speak in aposed manner, ¡°What do you want? Everybody¡¯s watching. I don¡¯t think you would dare to¡ª¡± The female boss smiled before she coldly said, ¡°Your bill for this meal is 5,899. You can pay it by card, cash, Paypal, Venmo or online bank transfer.¡± Natasha¡¯s face turned extremely sour. In the past, 5,899 was the price for just breakfast. But now, she didn¡¯t even have a penny. Biting the bullet, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t have my purse now but I¡¯ll call my friend here.¡± The female boss burst outughing. ¡°Do you even have a friend? Hahaha!¡± Moreughter followed, as if everyone had just heard a hrious joke and could not stop themselves from guffawing. The crowd grewrger and they pointed at Natasha whileughing. Right at that moment, Natasha spotted quite a few of her ¡®friends¡¯ among the crowd. Overjoyed, she said to a girl in branded clothes, who was obviously from a distinguished family, ¡°Evonne, you¡¯re here just at the right time. Lend me some money!¡± However, all she received was a merciless p from Evonne, which sent her spinning. Evonne, who was an ingratiating follower of hers in the past, had suddenly changed into a different person. With a fierce look, she pped Natasha again as if one wasn¡¯t enough to vent her anger andshed out all her resentment that she had bottled up for the past few years. ¡°B*tch, I¡¯ve had enough of you! Do you remember the incident that happened five years ago? You liked the ne that my mother gave me and forced me to give it to you. Do you know how reluctant I was? That was the only thing that myte mother left me! You knew how important it was to me but you insisted on having it! In the end, I had no choice but to give it to you because you¡¯re Young Lady Mitchell, whom my entire family can¡¯t afford to offend. But what did you do to my ne after you got it? You gave it to your nanny after wearing it for just two days! Do you know how much I hate you? B*tch!¡± Filled with resentment, Evonne used both her hands to p Natasha, causing Natasha¡¯s face to swell. Before Natasha regained her senses, another pnded on her face and this time, it was an even harder p. Next, another noble woman cried whileining, ¡°Do you remember how you humiliated me in public back then? Just because I was better at ying piano than you, you deliberately burned my hand! I could never y piano from that day onward! B*tch, I hope you die right now!¡± When Natasha was still Young Lady Mitchell, she indeed had many friends but she knew that they were not sincere to her. If she wasn¡¯t Young Lady Mitchell, she would just be a stupid, useless person! This high-ss restaurant was visited by many wealthy people so there were quite a few familiar faces today. The haughty Young Lady Mitchell was used to being the center of the world. Acting rudely and domineeringly weremon for her so she often offended people, but they didn¡¯t dare to oppose her. Now that she had fallen into a dire strait and the Mitchell Family had abandoned her, those people that she bullied in the past besieged her. In the blink of an eye, her face was swollen from all those ps. Yet, Natasha didn¡¯t dare to resist and just red at the people who hit her. She firmly believed that she would rise back up someday. By that time, she would get even with everyone here today. Seeing that Natasha didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound even though she was getting hit, the female boss felt delighted so she said, ¡°Young Lady Mitchell, since you¡¯ve finished your food, shouldn¡¯t you pay for it?¡± Bowing her head, Natasha didn¡¯t dare to speak. The nobledies behind herughed and one of them said, ¡°Forget it. Since we already hit her, we¡¯ll just gather our money and buy her a meal.¡± At once, money fluttered in the air and stacks of money were tossed at Natasha. Everyone wasughing and theirughter was ear-piercing yet hearty. Natasha bent her dignified knees and picked up every note from the ground. In her heart, she swore that she must rise again because she was Natasha! The noblest Young Lady Mitchell, Natasha! Chapter 645 Chapter 645 With a swollen face, Natasha left the western restaurant with 200 in her pocket, which was thest bit of money she had while the rest were taken by the female boss to pay for her meal. She then decided to go to Bayside University. Even if she had lost the title of Young Lady Mitchell, she was still a genius so she decided to stay in Bayside University to get her degree! In the future, she would be sessful enough for the Mitchell Family to take her back in. Alex must still be angry at her because she attempted to murder Nathan. As long as she acquitted herself well, she would sooner orter regain the title of Young Lady Mitchell. When Natasha arrived at Bayside University, she went straight to meet the vice chancellor. She disyed thest pride of being Young Lady Mitchell and said to him, ¡°I want to resume my studies here. I hope that the university can arrange a private dorm for me along with a personal assistant and a driver. On top of that, I need a subsidy of at least 10 thousand every month for my living expenses.¡± In the past, she was Young Lady Mitchell who never had to do chores or run errands but now, she had to handle these trivial things just so she could eat. Even so, she had to do it in order to rise again as soon as possible. Hearing her requests, the vice chancellor thought that she was joking. But judging from her serious face, she didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Out of kindness, the vice chancellor didn¡¯t want to hit her when she was already down and gently said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t do that. Our subsidy for needy students is 6 per day and the money will be deposited directly to the meal card so it can only be spent at the university¡¯s cafeteria.¡± Needy student? Natasha thought that she had misheard him. She? A needy student? How was she a needy student? The vice chancellor started to exin seriously, ¡°For the dorm, we only have rooms for four and the private dorm is all upied at the moment. Our subsidy is only sufficient for three basic meals a day. For needy students, our university provides part time jobs to earn some pocket money such as cleaning the toilet, transporting barrels of water, cleaning the library¡¯s floor¡ª¡± Natasha couldn¡¯t listen to it anymore and smacked the table fiercely while shouting, ¡°I¡¯ve represented the university in countless internationalpetitions and won countless awards. How can you do this to me?¡± Since she was no longer Young Lady Mitchell, the vice chancellor finally decided to tell her the truth. ¡°Well, all the awards that you won from thosepetitions were actually paid for by the Mitchell Family. After all, you¡¯re Young Lady Mitchell and if you fail to get the first in thepetition, it would be a disgrace¡­¡± Looking at how dejected Natasha was, the vice chancellor quickly cheered her up with sweet words. ¡°It isn¡¯t for all cases. At least you¡¯re good at ying piano and those awards from ying piano are genuine. All the Mitchell Family did was break the top three¡¯s hands to let you win.¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Natasha had stormed off. She felt that she was only wasting her time talking to the vice chancellor. These people were hitting her when she was down and deliberately making things difficult for her! How dare he asked her to live in a dorm with three other peasants and even asked her to clean the toilet? Would that ever happen? That was totally a humiliation to her dignity! But he had a point because she indeed was good at ying piano! That was the only thing she was confident of herself because her piano skills were taught by the world¡¯s famous pianist. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. She stormed into the multipurpose building and as soon as she saw the piano, she immediately dashed toward it and couldn¡¯t wait a second longer to start ying it. But this time, her fingers were so stiff and weak on the piano keys. It was only then did she recall that she had never practiced in a long time. Besides, when she was trapped in the mountain, she was continuously r*ped by those men for days. She was not only r*ped by them in turns at night, but she also had to work during the day in chains. If she disobeyed them, she would be beaten up. Due to that, her hands were severely injured and she could no longer y the piano. Unpleasant and discordant notes echoed in the hall of the multipurpose building, attracting everyone to the scene. Seeing that it was Natasha, they pointed at her and started mocking her. ¡°Who¡¯s that? How does she have the courage to y the piano with such lousy piano skills? That¡¯s absolutely shameless!¡± ¡°She¡¯s Natasha. Can¡¯t you recognize her?¡± ¡°Oh my god! It is Natasha! The news said that she isn¡¯t Young Lady Mitchell.¡± ¡°Let me tell you something which I didn¡¯t dare to say in the past. Two years ago, there was a knowledge competition and Natasha won the first. To be honest, the second and the third scored a lot higher than her but the student who should¡¯ve won first was forced to drop out of school after his leg was broken by someone¡­¡± Finally, Natasha couldn¡¯t stand those discussions anymore and dashed out in tears. Wherever she went, she was showered with unbearable taunts. It was only then did she understand how cruel the world was and how heartless people were. At the same time, she thoroughly understood how it felt to be hit when she was down. If she could, she¡¯d rather die! What else did she have now after everything was stripped off from her including her dignity? At night, Bayside was glowing with neon lights. Natasha spent her remaining money on alcohol and walked tipsily on the street. No wonder everyone loved alcohol. It turned out that after getting drunk, she could forget about all her worries. Sitting at the roadside, Natasha chugged the alcohol while giggling foolishly, imagining that she had regained her title of Young Lady Mitchell. Suddenly, she saw someone sitting on the steps across the streets, who was also drinking. That person was as skinny as a skeleton and extremely pale, looking abjected with dark circles around his eyes. Simr to Natasha, he was drinking alcohol inrge gulps and looked down and out. Even worse, he seemed to be even more dejected than her and his arms were full of needle wounds from abusing drugs. ¡°Richard! It¡¯s you!¡± Natasha recognized him at once and dashed toward him like a mad woman. Then, she grabbed him and punched him weakly. ¡°Give me back my money! Give it back to me!¡± In the past, she gave Richard money to kill Sophia but that money was wasted and she hadn¡¯t settled ounts with him on this matter. If she could get back that money, she could bob up like a cork immediately. Richard recognized Natasha as well. Sneering coldly, he sprung up, grabbed her and hit her repeatedly. Two drunk people got into a fight and no one had the upper hand. Looking at Natasha, Richard felt like he was looking at himself so heughed. ¡°My distinguished Young Lady Mitchell, you must have never imagined that this would happen to you! Look at you. You¡¯re even worse than a dog. At least I¡¯m still the Young Master of Harper Family, but what about you? ¡± Natasha erupted in rage and tried to pinch his lips to shut him up. ¡°Stop talking! Stop speaking!¡± Absorbed in the fight, both of them were unaware that a figure was standing a few steps away from them and ring coldly at them. After they were worn out from fighting andy down on the pavement to rest, the figure finally walked up to them. The ck pencil skirt entuated that person¡¯s sleek figure and on her delicate feet were wedged heels, exposing her tender toes. She looked aloof yet shrewd, and it felt like she was cast with ayer of halo. Slowly, Sophia walked toward them while looking amusingly at the two of them who just had a fight. Her large ck-framed sses concealed the delight in her eyes. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here, I see,¡± she chuckled. Looking at Sophia, Richard seemed to be hit by a wave of chills. She was the culprit who schemed against him and threw him into this abyss from the highs of being the dignified Young Master Harper. He had tried to defend himself but failed each time, and now, he no longer dared to fight back. Fate was cruel to him and all he could do was resign himself to adversity. Richard didn¡¯t even have the courage to hate her now. Hopelessly, he took arge gulp of bitter alcohol and plopped himself back on the ground. However, Natasha couldn¡¯t suppress her anger and charged at Sophia, as ferocious as a beast. ¡°It¡¯s all because of you! You¡¯re the one who caused me to be in dire straits! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Chapter 646 Chapter 646 But before she could rush to Sophia, she was stopped by her bodyguard. She could only watch Sophia standing a few meters away from her, scoffing at her as she made a fool of herself. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, b*tch! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Natasha was like a crazy beast. Sophia sneered at Natasha, and then said to Richard from a distance, ¡°Richard, your wife has AIDS, and she has infected your whole family! Your father, uncle, aunt and nanny¡­ Half of your family has been confirmed to be infected, and the other half are being examined.¡± ¡°What¡¯s more, 3 over 5 of the board of directors have slept with your wife. Tsk tsk, how miserable. Now the hospital is full to bursting with people from your family andpany. You¡¯re finished! Your family is ruined, and your family members will all die! You should also go and get checked quickly. If you¡¯re diagnosed early, you may be able to preserve your life and leave a remaining bloodline for your family.¡± Richard smiled like a fool and took a swig of alcohol. When he raised his arm to drink, he revealed his skinny arm and the shocking number of needle marks on it. After drinking, he wiped his mouth and smiled insanely. ¡°There is no need for me to be checked. The first person in our family to get AIDS was me.¡± Richard said this as if it didn¡¯t concern himself. He had been sick for a long time, and the first thing he did after getting sick was to go home and sleep with X. He originally just wanted to take revenge on X and the men who hooked up with her, and he didn¡¯t expect that X would hook up with his dad. Not only did she hook up with his dad, but she also hooked up with some of his uncles. Hah, they all deserve it! He took another swig of wine to drown his sorrows. He looked as if he woulde apart at any time, but then he heard Sophia¡¯s quiet voice in his ear. ¡°To tell you the truth, I had someone deliberately infect you with AIDS. Several of the clubs that you often went to all had my people in them, and half of the women you usually picked were women who I had arranged for and were infected with AIDS. Thedy who tempted you to take drugs was also deliberately arranged by me! So how is it? Are you surprised?¡± Richard¡¯s eyes widened instantly. His pupils shrank slightly, and his mind went nk. Turning his head away, he covered his face and cried like never before. He remembered how Sophia came to the Harper¡¯s Mansion several years ago begging for help. She had lost everything and he was her final hope. But instead of help, her pleas got her a beating from the Harpers instead. Richard avoided seeing her because he was in the bedroom going at it with X. He heard Sophia¡¯s desperate cry and screams lingering near the Harper¡¯s Mansion for a long time after that¡­ She had fallen into despair because of him, but he had turned a blind eye. Now, she had paid back the despair he had given her ten times over. And now, he was in anguish. When she learned that Richard had that disease, Natasha was so frightened that she became as white as a sheet. During the fight with Richard just now, she had scratches from him all over her body and he had even deliberately bit her! He had done it deliberately! Natasha was so scared that she screamed, crying miserably. ¡°The hospital! Take me to the hospital! I need medication!¡± But no one listened to her. The two bodyguards came prepared, wearing thick gloves and protective gear. After ridiculing Richard, Sophia had the bodyguards send him to a nearby hospital. Today, it broke out that the Young Master of the Harper Family and his wife were suffering from AIDS. People from the Harper Family and the entertainment industry filled the hospital to the brim. Many on the Board of the Harper Group were confirmed to have the disease as well. The Harper Group waspletely finished and their stocks plummeted, and even if the business was not finished, it would need to go through aplete change in name. Richard was dragged away like a defeated dog. Natasha was still crying and howling, scared and terrified. She was knocked unconscious and taken away in a car. When she woke up, Natasha found herself lying in a room without any windows. The furnishings of the room were very simple. There was a single bed, a bathtub, a toilet, a TV and nothing else. The door was locked tight, and no matter how hard she pounded on the door, it was useless. But when it was mealtime, food would be delivered through a small window. Natasha didn¡¯t know how long she had been in there, and she broke down in despair. She had to go to the hospital because if she was toote, she might get AIDS. She kept yelling and smashing things, but the things here were extremely sturdy and could not be broken, and no one appeared. After an indeterminate amount of time, the TV suddenly turned on, and Sophia appeared on the screen. She greeted Natasha infortable pajamas, ¡°Hi, Honorable Young Lady Mitchell.¡± Natasha angrily threw the pillow in her hand at the TV screen, but Sophia¡¯s appearance and voice were still pervasive. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s only been a day since west saw each other and you have be like this, Young Lady Mitchell?¡± Natasha frantically tried to smash the TV, but she found that the TV was protected by ayer of tempered ss. She couldn¡¯t smash the TV or turn it off and no matter where she went, she could hear Sophia¡¯s voice in her ears. ¡°It¡¯s all because of you! You did this to me! You will get retribution!¡± Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. On the screen, Sophia pushed her wide clear lens sses up her nose. She smiled. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all because of me.¡± She then imitated the threatening tone Natasha used on her in the cafeteria that day. ¡°But¡­ What can you do to me?¡± Under Natasha¡¯s red, hatred-filled eyes, Sophia talked about her n, as if she was telling an interesting story. ¡°You stole my husband, tried to kill my son, and killed my dog¡­ You have seen my dog before. It was that white dog, and was very cute!¡± Sophia said. ¡°Her life was worth a lot more than yours! That was why I wanted to kill you, but you are the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. So, how could I kill you?¡± Sophia held her cheek and frowned, as if she wasn¡¯t part of it. She was even speaking with a lilt. ¡°And so I thought, if you weren¡¯t the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family anymore, then it would be very easy for me to kill you!¡± Natasha was trembling all over. Tears kept falling from her eyes and she felt cold, but she couldn¡¯t say anything and her lips trembled. ¡°By chance, I discovered Sandra Oak, the illegitimate daughter of your father Alex Mitchell,¡± Sophia continued. ¡°You have seen her, haven¡¯t you? She looks very simr to you, and she is also a student athlete. She has been swimming since elementary school, and her grades are very good. Sandra almost joined the national team to participate in the Universal Games.¡± ¡°I spent money to get her into the national team, bought her equipment and cleared all obstacles for her, allowing her to perform at her best,¡± Sophia revealed. ¡°Then I told your dad that Sandra is his true daughter, and that you were mistakenly switched with her 20 years ago! Hahaha! Your dad really believed it. You are an useless idiot who only knows how to embarrass your dad, and he couldn¡¯t wait to kick you out of the house. Now, he has finally received his wish!¡± So this is how it is! She was not switched by mistake, but abandoned by the Mitchell Family! Natasha cried in despair. ¡°Not only did your dad believe it,¡± Sophia said, ¡°but your mum believed it too, as did everyone else in the Mitchell Family. They couldn¡¯t help it even if they didn¡¯t believe it!¡± ¡°You, an idiot who only knows how to cause trouble, and Sandra, a girl who has attracted the attention of the world; who do you think they would choose?¡± Sophia taunted Natasha. ¡°In truth your father, mother and even the whole of the Mitchell Family know that you are the true born daughter of the family, and that Sandra is just an illegitimate child who is not worth mentioning! But it¡¯s funny how the way fate works; they would rather have an illegitimate child enter their household than ept you. Aren¡¯t you pitiful? You are even less than a bastard!¡± ¡°Your parents, uncle and whole household would rather let an illegitimate child rece you and let her take all the things that belonged to you¡ªyour property, your money, your status and even your fianc¨¦! Don¡¯t you think you are pitiful? If I was you, I would have killed myself long ago!¡± Chapter 647 Chapter 647 Natasha held her head, frantic, and said hoarsely, ¡°Stop talking! Stop talking!¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t want to talk to you,¡± Sophia said. Natasha desperately covered her ears, but then she suddenly remembered something that she could taunt Sophia with. ¡°Even if I¡¯m down and out, I¡¯m still the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. But what about you? You¡¯re just Joe Edwards¡¯ bastard!¡± Natasha jeered. ¡°You are an illegitimate daughter that can¡¯t be brought to light! You are a bastard who came to this world because your mother was r*ped!¡± ¡°Even if you were acknowledged by Joe and he weed you home, you would still be a bastard! Your family wouldn¡¯t be able to raise their heads in the Edwards Family!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t get angry when she heard what Natasha said. Instead, she chewed on her apples with relish before speaking, ¡°Who told you that I was Joe Edwards¡¯ daughter?¡± She quietly said to the screen, ¡°I will tell you this quietly; my father is not Joe Edwards. My father is the former family head of the Mitchell Family, Cooper Mitchell.¡± Natasha was shocked. Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter¡­ Didn¡¯t Cooper only have a son? ¡°You know him, right?¡± Sophia blinked and said. ¡°He¡¯s my father. I¡¯m actually the true Young Lady of the Mitchell Family.¡± ¡°My father isn¡¯t dead. Very soon, he will return to the Mitchell Family, and when hees back, your father will have to step down as the family head!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough talk. I need to get busy with my work.¡± She hung up the video call, and Natasha stared at the TV screen in a daze. Sophia is actually Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter? The 60-inch big TV screen which overshadowed her gloomy face flickered to life again and started to broadcast news all rted to Sandra Oak. To be more urate, it was the news of Sandra Mitchell, the daughter of the Mitchell Family. ¡°SANDRA MITCHELL, THE YOUNG MISTRESS OF THE MITCHELL FAMILY, APPEARS AT THE MITCHELL FAMILY¡¯S ANNUAL FAMILY MEETING, WEARING A DIAMOND RING WORTH TENS OF MILLIONS IN HER HAND. SHE HAS AN ELEGANT TEMPERAMENT.¡± ¡°SANDRA MITCHELL ADMITS THAT SHE LOVES THE YOUNG MASTER OF THE EDWARDS FAMILY. A MATCH BETWEEN A CAPABLE YOUNG MAN AND A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, TRULY AN ENVIABLE PAIR.¡± ¡°CHAIRMAN OF THE MITCHELL GROUP, ALEX MITCHELL, TRAVELS WITH HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER. SANDRA MITCHELL¡¯S BEAUTIFUL SWIMSUIT PHOTOS ARE EXPOSED.¡± ¡°NOT ONLY DOES SHE KNOW HOW TO SWIM. BUT SHE ALSO KNOWS HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO: THE YOUNG MISTRESS OF THE MITCHELL FAMILY GAINS RECOGNITION FROM A MASTER PIANIST FOR HER SKILL AT PLAYING THE PIANO. PRAISED FOR BEING ADEPT AT BOTH THE SWORD AND PEN.¡± ¡°ALEX MITCHELL GAVE SUPERSTAR SANDRA MITCHELL AN EXTRAVAGANT BANQUET TO WELCOME HER HOME. MANY FAMOUS STARS GATHERED IN THE UNPRECEDENTED GRAND OCCASION.¡± ¡­ News about Sandra Mitchell continued to appear one after the other. The proud and contented face that appeared from time to time kept tearing at Natasha¡¯s heart. That illegitimate child that wasn¡¯t worth mentioning had stolen everything that belonged to her, and she was even strutting around acting all triumphant! But the sad thing was, her parents would rather acknowledge an illegitimate daughter for the sake of appearances! And she, the true born daughter of the Mitchell Family, could only wait here and die! She knew she couldn¡¯t live anymore. Sophia was torturing herself deliberately, and she wanted her to suffer in hell and beg for death! Death itself was not terrifying. What was terrifying was waiting for death toe. When she was in the mountains, it was like she was in hell, but she still harbored hope in her heart. She knew that the Mitchell Family was powerful and they would find her soon, and she would be able to get out sooner orter. But now, she knew that no one would being to save her. She was deliberately scratched by Richard Harper, so there was a high chance that she was infected with AIDS as well. Everything was alreadyte. All she could do now was to lie down and wait for death every day, slowly dying in torment. The Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs had attracted much attention, and both Natasha and Sandra received worldwide attention. Before, the Mitchell Family suppressed all negative news for her, but now, they wanted nothing more than for her stupid stunts to be well known by everyone. After all, the worse Natasha¡¯s reputation got, the more perfect Sandra would look in contrast. The negative news about Natasha justified Alex Mitchell¡¯s treatment of her, where he ignored her and took everything back from her. Every day, besides watching the various morous news about Sandra, she would watch how the media reported the stupid things she had done¡ªhow she had falsifiedpetition scores, threatened her opponents and faked her grades, and how her schrly persona was a facade¡­ Everything was fake! Even her identity as the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family was fake! She had also publicly seduced Taylor Murray in the film studio but failed repeatedly, and her private life was chaotic where she was pregnant with a child, whose father was unknown. Then, she had asked Taylor to ept this child, and after being rejected, she angrily kidnapped Taylor¡¯s twin sister and spent the night with Taylor. After tricking Taylor¡¯s partner to where they were, she pretended she had slept with him but was exposed on the spot¡­ Natasha had lost even thest shreds of her dignity. Natasha¡¯s soul was being tortured, and to her, life was no better than death¡­ At Vi No. 8 in The Imperial., Sophia was munching on an apple in her study room as she studied. She was listening to an online lecture from a teacher using earbuds and taking notes. asionally, she would raise her eyes to watch Natasha in the surveince video. Tormenting Natasha truly was fun. Next to theputer, there was a photo of Sophia and Nathan together. Between the two was a dog, who didn¡¯t like to be left out, rubbing her head against them and smiling goofily. That was the first photo they took together when Snowball came. Snowball was only a few months old then and was very small. Nathan was holding her and looked very happy. Sophia took the photo and looked at it carefully for several minutes before cing the picture frame back carefully. The new Snowball was lying next to Sophia¡¯s feet, who also smiled goofily, but Nathan seemed to be unable to ept it. He had seen with his own eyes how the original Snowball was being run over by a car. For a child, this was a dark shadow that would linger for a lifetime. When she saw no end to her torment, Natasha finally couldn¡¯t handle it. On the day she received news that she was infected with AIDS, she ran into the wall head first andmitted suicide. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Sophia saw the whole process of Natasha¡¯s suicide from the surveince video. ¡°Throw out the body and return it to the Mitchell Family,¡± Sophia said in disgust. On the third day, a tabloid broke the news that Natasha Mitchell, the former Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, had contracted AIDS because of her chaotic private life, and finallymitted suicide in despair. When Alex Mitchell heard the news, he shed two drops of tears of sentimentality, saying that it was his fault for not teaching her well and that although she was not his trueborn, he had raised her with his own hands. Alex then chose a good cemetery for Natasha and buried her in a high profile. News of Natasha¡¯s death was soon overshadowed by news about Sandra, such as ¡®Sandra Mitchell epting amercial endorsement that pays millions¡¯, or ¡®Sandra Mitchell guest-starring in a TV series¡¯. No one cared about the death of a trivial person like Natasha and the public would always be more interested in explosive news, such as the destruction of Harper Group. The once prosperous Harper Group had finally copsed and dered bankrupt. Richard Harper¡¯s father, the former chairman of Harper Group, was diagnosed with AIDS, and news of him being in an incestuous rtionship with his daughter-inw, who was pregnant with his child, finally broke out. Overnight, he was drowned in huge debt and had to face immense pressure that came from public opinion. In despair, he jumped off a building andmitted suicide. Even after his death, he was criticized for having sexual rtions with his daughter-inw and couldn¡¯t rest in peace. The whole of the Harper Family was infected with AIDS all because of one person, and even half of the members of thepany as well as a few people from the entertainment industry were infected. Many people were appalled when they heard the news, and they panicked. Hospitals were overcrowded, causing the supply of medicines to fall short. As more information about the incident was leaked, everyone started to see the rancid and unpleasant things hidden under the brilliance of the rich. Everyone suddenly felt sorry for Richard Harper. He had been cuckolded by his uncles, brothers, father and coborators. All of them had slept with his wife, and not only did he have to raise a child that was not his, but he was also infected with AIDS. He was pitiful, very pitiful¡­ There was a lot of gossip these days. Gossip about the Mitchell Family had just only died down when gossip about the Harper Family began, and more and more news wasing every day. Not long after, X Huff, who was suffering from AIDS and in despair, suddenly posted on the Inte everything that the Harper Family had done to her. Even if she died, she would make sure the Harper Family¡¯s reputation was ruined! Everybody was talking about it! The plot was so clich¨¦ that it could be made into a TV drama! Chapter 648 Chapter 648 ¡°That slut X is so despicable! What a slut to have an incestuous rtionship with her father-inw. They say that she will be sentenced to jail for maliciously spreading AIDS!¡± ¡°Oh my God, she¡¯s really crazy! But she¡¯s also very pitiful. She was ruined, her parents were killed, and almost all of her family¡¯s assets were taken by others through illicit means. And the one who did all that was her husband! She really must have been in the deepest pits of despair!¡± ¡°But the people who slept with her are not innocent at all! I heard that they were the ones who stole their family¡¯s assets and caused her family to be ruined!¡± ¡°Looking at it now, she is innocent. She was caught, stripped, r*ped and beaten by others. No wonder her temperament changed a lot aftering back!¡± ¡­¡­ The Harper Family waspletely finished, and X had been sentenced to jail as well. If she was not sentenced, she would probably not have survived to see the next day. Many gangsters were maliciously infected by her, and they wanted nothing more than to kill her right now. The day she was released from jail would be the day she died. As for Richard Harper, evidence of how he killed X¡¯s father and mother came into the hands of the police through unknown means, and he was also investigated. The wrongdoers were all miserable and regretting their life choices, whereas Sophia¡¯spany was booming. Several games made by thepany had be popr, and the ie was quite considerable. Several rounds of financing had also beenpleted in a short period of time. Michael was resting at home, and he would throw parties when he had nothing to do. The reasons for the party ranged from Sophia getting a new dog, the dog learning how to use the doggie toilet, Natasha¡¯s death, the fall of the Harper Family to Richard Harper and X Huff going to jail¡­ And today, the reason for celebrating was even more unbelievable: to celebrate him being able to get hard again. Sophia was speechless when she received Micheal¡¯s text message. ¡­Are we really celebrating this? Although this was indeed something to be happy about, it was rather embarrassing to announce it to everyone! Thest time he was drugged by Natasha with a strong aphrodisiac, they had so much sex that even the skin of his pe*is was peeled off! When Micheal was sent to the hospital, he waspletely shriveled up, his p*nis with traces of blood due to Sophia¡¯s vaginal bleeding. After he was treated and went home, he was bedridden for several days before he recovered. He had been sore all over and his limbs felt cold for a long time, so he had to take medicine every day. He really failed miserably this time. He never expected that something like this would happen, and it was extremely embarrassing. He didn¡¯t dare to leave the house and just stayed at home to recover. After a month or two, Michael could finally stand at attention! As for his film¡­ Celine could take his ce! He would get her to do some work! Just a few days after Celine went on vacation, news about the Cethosian superstar Taylor Murray picking up foreign girls was reported by the local news and causing a stir. To everyone, this was Taylor¡¯s doing! As Michael¡¯s stunt double, Celine could stand in for him first. After he got better, they could take the front shots and it wouldn¡¯t matter because they were identical twins. She could put on some tform shoes, the Adam¡¯s apple could be addedter, and after Michael shot the scenes that required close ups of his facial expression, they would be done. If Celine didn¡¯t agree¡­ Hmph, then her son could pay his mother¡¯s debt! He would ask his son to continue cleaning the toilets! Celine had already started working with the crew, and Michael hoped that she wouldn¡¯t do something stupid like training Stanley¡¯s dog to eat feces this time! With his parents gone, Nathan went to Bayside University for sses every day. When school was over or he didn¡¯t have any sses, he would go to thepany to y video games. Nichs suffered some scratches in the previous car ident and was sent to the Michel Group for repairs, but they found that Nichs had suffered damages to his core part. So, the domestic branch of the Michel Group was unable to repair it, and Nichs had to be sent back to the European headquarters for repairs. He was finally sent back after a few days. As soon as he was switched on, Nichs said happily, ¡°Mom! Mom! I have been upgraded again! I have a new feature!¡± Sophia was also curious about Nichs¡¯s new skill, and she found that Nichs had been upgraded with a great skill this time¡ªhe could knit sweaters! Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Not only sweaters, but also scarves, gloves and hats! If you gave Nichs a tuft of wool, you would get a brand new wool scarf in four hours, and you could choose from dozens of styles! It was almost November, and Bayside City was getting very cold. Nichs was knitting sweaters while sweeping the floor with his nimble and dexterous robotic fingers. The sweater he made for Sophia had a baseyer and outeryer, and he also knitted a scarf for Michael and a pair of gloves for Nathan. It kept him very busy. Soon, the banquet to celebrate Michael being able to be erect finally began. He had made smander stew, cooked some eels and brought out the smoked bacon that he hadn¡¯t finished eating fromst year. Meanwhile, Harry was almost done with his film. When he learned that Michael¡¯s banquet was today and that there was going to be a smander for dinner, he quickly came over for a free meal and even brought his kitten with him. And when there was something delicious to be had, Stanley would definitely be there. Although Sophia didn¡¯t tell Stanley they were having a banquet for fear that he would eat them out of their homes, Stanley had already learned from experience. Normally, Sophia would work overtime until nine or ten o¡¯clock before returning home. If she left work on time, then that must mean that Michael had prepared delicious food, so she would hurry home to eat dinner. So, everytime Sophia got off work on time, he would follow her because he was sure that there would be a scrumptious meal! Sophia had bought some new woolen yarn for Nichs today. As soon as she opened the door, Stanley, who was following behind her, rushed into the door and found that Sophia¡¯s kitchen was filled with delicious food beyond imagination again! ¡°Oh, damn! You corrupt capitalists! What an extravagant and dissolute life you all lead, eating so well! I wanna eat too! And you¡¯re having smander?! You shameless rich people!¡± Stanley¡¯s family were practically never at home. His brother was in the army and his parents were busy with research 365 days a year, so they seldom came home. What he ate at home depended on his old nanny, and he never got to choose. But at Sophia¡¯s house, the meals were never repetitive and each meal would be better than thest! If Stanley came, Sean would definitelye as well. The two of them had rented a two-bedroom apartment together near thepany, and they didn¡¯t turn their heater on and had instant noodles for meals, which was just in pitiful. Hence, they were always waiting for Sophia to make something delicious so that they coulde and have a taste or two. Michael was a little unhappy. He was afraid the delicious food would all be divided up by their guests, and his family and him wouldn¡¯t have enough to eat. But today was a celebration for his recovery, which held a deep significance. Oh, forget it¡­ I¡¯ll let them join in! During the meal, Michael turned on the TV in the dining room and saw that the financial news was talking about the Mitchells again. Just then, the news announced that the Mitchell Family had officially split into 3 different branches! Even if the family had acknowledged Sandra Mitchell, it couldn¡¯t change their fate of splitting into branches. One branch was led by Alex Mitchell. As the family head of the Mitchell Family who had led them for many years, he had power. Plus, his daughter Sandra had many eyes on her and had many supporters, so his branch was the main branch. The second branch was made up of Cooper Mitchell¡¯s subordinates. After dividing up one-third of the family assets, they nned to wait for Cooper and his son to return and lead the Mitchell Family back to its former glory. Thest branch was led by Anthony Mitchell, Justin Mitchell¡¯s father. He didn¡¯t want to submit to Alex, and he didn¡¯t want to wait for Cooper toe back either. He just wanted to take as much as he could and stand by his own two feet. The separation this time round was more dignified. Even if the Mitchell Family was squabbling behind the scenes, it still looked peaceful on the outside. They told the public that thepany was being reorganized for detailed nning because of the business split, but everyone was still a part of the Mitchell Family. Stanley was biting his chopsticks and said excitedly the next second, ¡°Sean, your family has separated!¡± Chapter 649 Chapter 649 Sean did not react in any way to the news of his family¡¯s separation. In the Mitchell Family¡¯s eyes, he was a useless person. He hardly returned to the Mitchell Residence now, and he would rather go abroad to look for his mother during the New Year. After Sean¡¯s father had died, his mother was widowed for a few years, and then she got into a rtionship with a foreign photographer. She then got engaged to him and wanted Sean to go with her. Unfortunately, the Mitchell Family didn¡¯t allow it. His mother and stepfather had no ability to fight against the family, so they could only leave in powerless anger. After she remarried, she was not even allowed to see Sean. A while ago, Sean went abroad and finally met his mother whom he hadn¡¯t seen for many years. His mother already had a brand new home and he had gained a cute new sister. His stepfather was a very good person, and Sean would rather go abroad to look for his mother than go back to the Mitchell Family. After he learned that the Mitchell Family had separated into three branches, he only let out a smile. Everyone drank a lot of wine, and Sophia was the one who drank the most. Stanley ate all the smander stew and almost licked his te clean. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. He then wiped his mouth, satisfied after getting his fill of food and drink. ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m going back to work now.¡± ¡°Ok, if you don¡¯t cook at home in the future, you cane to my house for dinner!¡± Michael said gently to him. Stanley was overjoyed. ¡°Really?!¡± he squealed. Michael¡¯s face sank. ¡°Of course not.¡± He wished this stupid boy wouldn¡¯te to his house ever again! He seduces my wife and eats so much food! He even finished my smoked bacon! We¡¯ll be driven to the poorhouse if he continues toe over for food! ¡°You Scrooge!¡± Stanley tsked. He had recently moved out of the Fletcher Residence to be independent and rented an apartment, and he had also brought Judge with him. Usually, there was no one to take care of Judge, so he kept it in thepany as a mascot-cum-watchdog. Unexpectedly, Celine had taken it out and taught it how to eat feces when he wasn¡¯t paying attention, so he reluctantly kept Judge at Sophia¡¯s house. He went to work during the day and went home with Sophia at night, and he would scrounged Snowball¡¯s food for Judge. After eating, Stanley left the dog with Michael and spent some time instructing him how to take care of Judge, and, especially, not to let it eat feces! When he saw Sophia go into the bathroom to wash her hands, he hurriedly walked up to Michael and whispered, ¡°Uncle, I think something is wrong with Aunt Sophia recently.¡± Michael seemed to know what he was talking about and responded in a low voice, ¡°Hmm?¡± Stanley was embarrassed. ¡°I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s wrong, but she has talked less recently, and something feels wrong with her. I tried to get her to rest but she wouldn¡¯t¡­ Oh, just pay attention to her! Maybe it¡¯s because she is under a lot of pressure. Since you will be at home for a while, you can take her out for a walk!¡± Michael did not reply to him. Then, he and Sean left together, and Harry also took his kitten home with him. In the middle of the night, Michael was eating fried chicken from Golden Arch as a snack in the living room. He was going to resume filming soon, and in this film, he was going to y three characters: an old warlord, an old Imperial Guard and himself, Taylor Murray. Because the old warlord¡¯s character was a middle-aged man with a beer gut, he needed to have a belly. In order to fit the role more perfectly, Michael needed to stuff himself with food and get fat. After eating a lot of junk food at home recently, his beer belly finally started forming. Being an actor really was a chore. In order to keep in shape, he normally had to watch what he ate. Recently, Michael was finally able to eat whatever he fancied. Whenever he ate something, Snowball and Judge would look at him with puppy eyes, hoping for scraps to eat. Michael tore a chicken leg and gave it to Judge, who bit the chicken leg with a yelp and started to eat. It devoured the meat ravenously and looked vicious as it ate. Michael was disgusted with its table manners. He then picked up another chicken thigh, tore it into small pieces and fed it to Snowball. The treatment Snowball received was naturally better than Judge. For example, Snowball had three kennels that it could take turns to sleep in, and Judge could only sleep on the carpet. Snowball was a gentle girl, so she ate the chicken in small bites. Good girl! After Sophia dealt with some things in her study, she joined Michael in eating junk food. As she ate, she tore some chicken meat and fed them to the orange cat. If Michael was going to get fat, then the whole family along with the dogs and cat could get fat together! Sophia was under a lot of pressure recently so she ate to relieve her stress. After polishing off a whole chicken thigh, she burped and took two big gulps of C. Then, shey beside Michael and yed on her mobile phone, where she checked on the snails she was raising. Halfway through, she took a short break. After ying with her phone for a while, she started to eat again. She put on some gloves and started eating shrimps in delight. It really felt nice stuffing her belly full of food! Michael switched to the entertainment channel on the TV. Watching the evening entertainment news, he saw that they were still going on about the Harpers or the Mitchells. The news was about Richard Harper and X Huff being sentenced for deliberately spreading AIDS. It was said that there were more than 20 people who were infected by the two of them. A reporter had visited Natasha¡¯s grave, but the grave was deserted and no one hade to pay their respect. Looking at the news, Sophia suddenly asked Michael, ¡°Do you think I will face retribution after doing so many bad things?¡± Michael didn¡¯t know why she would ask such a strange question. He freed up a hand to stroke her head. ¡°Seems like your mind is wandering after you have had your fill!¡± Michael said. Retribution? Heh, that kind of thing probably only exists in legends. It seems that my little chick is still too soft. She¡¯s already so afraid after killing only a few pests! Looks like I¡¯ll have toe up with a n for you. The whole serving of takeaway shrimps was practically devoured by Sophia, with Michael peeling off the shells of the shrimps for her. The red and tender meat of the shrimps were piled in Sophia¡¯s bowl like a small hill. Michael finally wiped his hands clean and pulled Sophia into his arms before pressing his forehead against her. ¡°Stop thinking about it,¡± he whispered to her. ¡°Hurry up and finish your food. If there really is retribution in this world, I will bear it for you, ok?¡± Sophia really was still too soft. She was still not very professional at killing, and there were a lot of things she couldn¡¯t do by herself. Naturally, Michael had given her a lot of help when she needed it. If they really were going to hell for murder, he would definitely be the first. Sophia looked at him. Two lines of tears suddenly trickled down her face and made it wet. She felt like she was a fool, crying while she ate. She never wanted to harm others, but there was always someone who wanted to harm her. If she didn¡¯t retaliate, then she wouldn¡¯t be able to protect the people and things she loved! Michael fed her a shrimp and she sobbed while she ate. At that moment, he realized that she was still the same innocent and poor little girl she was back then. Michael remembered the day Sophia arrived. He had taken her out to dinner, and she had been starving. As she ate, she kept wiping away her tears. She seemed afraid that Michael would get angry at her, so she didn¡¯t dare to make any noise as she cried and quietly shed tears. While eating gluttonously, the tears in her eyes trickled down like two clear streams. Back then, Sophia was powerless, in despair and terrified, while her thin face was withered and decadent. Some people were loved and spoiled the moment they were born, and some people would be very happy just to have a bite to eat. Sophia was thetter. When he stroked her messy hair to show that he liked her very much, she was frightened so badly that her whole body shook. She had looked at him from the corner of her eyes, which were full of fear and vignce. Michael had read Sophia¡¯s information. She was a strong woman struggling to live in a desperate situation, just like a grass seed under a boulder. Although she had been crushed by the unbearable weight of fate again and again, she never stopped struggling and did her best to emerge from under the boulder and reach for the sun. Even if she encountered failure again and again, she would keep on trying. Fate had drained her of all of her spirit, and every time she saw hope, it was extinguished ruthlessly. Yet, she was not willing to surrender and resisted again and again. Even if she bled, she would fight against her destiny to the bitter end. Life was hard, and everyone was fighting a battle others knew nothing about. Chapter 650 Chapter 650 Now, Sophia was looking at him with teary eyes exactly like that time from before. She used to live a miserable life, but now, she was a dominatingdy boss. However, she was still the same person. She was heartless and cruel, and she had blood on her hands, but Michael knew that she would often wake up in the middle of the night in shock. He didn¡¯t know what she saw in her dreams, but she always looked fearful. She used to fear her future¡ªof getting married to a stranger who she would call her husband. Now, she was afraid of herself. She was afraid that she would be a cold-blooded monster and that one day, even her family wouldn¡¯t recognize who she was. She feared that she would be the kind of person she once hated, the type that would do whatever it took to achieve their goals. She found that ruthlessly retaliating against those who had once hurt her couldn¡¯t satisfy her anymore! She was afraid that one day, she would lose herself to the point that she didn¡¯t even care about Michael and Nate anymore. Michael tried to calm her down. ¡°It¡¯s alright. We¡¯ll visit the temple this weekend to burn some incense sticks. It¡¯s all over now. Even if we really will be going to hell in the future, I¡¯ll be with you.¡± Sophia wiped her tears away and continued eating her shrimps. Michael suddenly spoke up. ¡°I know of a very spiritual temple not far away from here. Why don¡¯t we go take a look tomorrow? The scenery on the mountain is great.¡± Sophia nodded and finished the shrimp she was having, then fed the leftovers to the dogs and cat. After all, she couldn¡¯t be the only one getting fat! After washing her hands, she went upstairs to get ready for bed. Michael put the sleeping Chrysanthemum into its bed and said to Nichs,¡°Nichs,e and clean up the cat fur.¡± The house was quickly turning into a shelter for dogs and cats. There was fur everywhere. Nichs came over with a vacuum nozzle sticking out of him to suck away the cat fur on Michael¡¯s thigh. The cat fur was indeed gone, but there was still plenty of dog fur left, so Michael clicked his tongue. ¡°What about the dog fur?¡± Michael had only asked Nichs to clean up the cat fur so he vacuumed the cat fur only and ignored the dog fur. Only when Michael mentioned the dog fur did Nichs start to clean them up. Michael shook his head. As expected of a robot, it sure is dumb. After Nichs finished cleaning the fur on Michael, it took the initiative to clean the fur on the sofa. It asked Michael a question as it cleaned. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Michael replied. ¡°Mom behaved like that just now because she feels guilty deep inside,¡± Nichs said. ¡°Recently, she¡¯s been suffering from insomnia, anxiety and overeating, and she has a strong sense of guilt. These are all symptoms of depression. I suggest you bring her to a psychiatrist tomorrow.¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°Alright,¡± Michael agreed. He answered Nichs while drinking thest bit of C, and he stared into the night sky while frowning. It was alreadyte, and Michael held Sophia in his arms while he slept. Sophia¡¯s back was pressed against Michael¡¯s chest. Feeling his heartbeat, hers was in sync with him after a while, signifying the closeness of their hearts. Her eyes were wide open in the darkness. It had felt great when she was killing her enemies, but now that her enemies were all dead, she suddenly felt upset, hollow inside and scared. She didn¡¯t dare to close her eyes. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, she could see the ghosts of her enemiesing after her for revenge. They were covered in blood, waving their sharp ws and gnashing their teeth, and their visages were terrifying. They wanted to eat her flesh and drink her blood¡­ The sky seemed forever dark to her, even though it was actually bright and clear. Sometimes when she was eating tasty food, she wouldn¡¯t have the appetite, unless the food was really stimting. Recently, she ate a lot of stimting junk food. She had grown fatter and her face was breaking out. Nichs emitted a special calming incense in the room, and Sophia seemed to find a feeling of security from that and fell asleep after a while. Seeing her fall asleep, Michael asked Nichs solemnly, ¡°Nichs, who upgraded you?¡± Sophia said that Nichs had been damaged because of the ident, so it had to be sent back to the factory in Europe for repairs. He was curious. Who fixed and upgraded Nichs? Nichs hesitated for a bit but still ended up answering Michael. ¡°It was Uncle Linus who fixed me.¡± Linus¡­ When Michael learned that Nichs had to be sent back for repairs, he had been concerned. Once bitten, twice shy. Who knew if Linus would do anything using this chance? Last time, he had almost hurt Sophia and Mark. He didn¡¯t have a single shred of trust in Linus! Seeing that Michael¡¯s gaze was getting more and more unfriendly, Nichs said hurriedly. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t hurt you and mom.¡± It could read people¡¯s expressions and through that, analyse their emotions and feelings. Right at that moment, it had read that Michael didn¡¯t trust it. He poked his fingers together and said, ¡°Uncle Linus said the weather is getting colder, so he asked me to knit a sweater for mom.¡± ¡°Uncle Linus also said that mom is very ill, so I have to take care of her.¡± Michael snorted. Who knew if it was being sincere or putting up a show? Nichs knew that Michael didn¡¯t trust it anymore, so it didn¡¯t continue to speak. It shot out a beam from one eye onto a white wall, presenting a view. ¡°Dad, Uncle Linus has been tracking Phantom Wolf for a while. There is an 80% chance that Phantom Wolf is not dead.¡± When he heard what Nichs said, Michael instantly sat upright and looked at the information Nichs had projected onto the wall. Looks like it has really been upgraded. It can even be used as a projector now. He was used to expecting the worst and had a feeling that Phantom Wolf was not dead yet. Until he saw his dead body, he didn¡¯t dare to confirm. He had been searching for Phantom Wolf¡¯s dead body all this while, but there was no news up till now. Joel hadn¡¯t gotten anything too, so he had reason to believe that Phantom Ghost was still alive, but he needed evidence to prove it. Right now, Linus had already found the evidence that he needed. There were traces of him all over the world, and all these pictures had been collected and sorted out by Linus. Nichs gave his analysis. ¡°Uncle Linus also found out that Phantom Wolf has a very secretive patron in Cethos. After the incident, that patron had provided him with protection.¡± ¡°Uncle Linus has sent all the rted information to me. He also invites dad to investigate together with him.¡± Michael hurriedly sat in front of his desk, looking at the information Linus sent over carefully. Linus really did put in a lot of effort during this period of time as he had found a lot of information regarding Phantom Wolf¡¯s appearances. Europe, Africa, the Far East; all of them had what seemed to be traces of Phantom Wolf. Linus and his people had been tracking Phantom Wolf¡¯s whereabouts, but they had failed every time. Phantom Wolf was just a dog that anyone could own if they had the money. If Linus could employ him, others naturally could as well. ording to the information that Linus had provided, the patron of Phantom Wolf in Cethos was a person that was well connected. Michael could think of a few people who were well connected in Cethos. He also learned that the groups behind Phantom Wolf were veryplicated. Other than consortiums, there were even a few small countries that had employed Phantom Wolf to do some dangerous missions¡­ Chapter 651 Chapter 651 Michael believed that the Cethos government would never buy Phantom Wolf¡¯s services. Cethos was not a small country and it had a strong military force, so it did not need to borrow Phantom Wolf¡¯s power. So that just left a few consortiums and aristocratic families as the suspects. Cethos was a country with a long history and had many aristocratic families. Although there had been wars in recent years and many aristocratic families had disappeared as a result, there were still some tenacious families that had survived and were very powerful. For example, the Fletchers, the Winstons, the Mitchells and the Edwards. The Fletchers were a military family and were all loyal to the country. They had produced many great heroes and generals but bore a grudge with Phantom Wolf, so obviously, the Fletchers weren¡¯t the ones who used Phantom Wolf. The Mitchells were once enrolled in politics and also had a hand in the oil industry before they switched to high-tech electronics. They had influence in both the business and political world, and although Phantom Wolf had also killed a few of their members before, it was still possible that the Mitchells had used Phantom Wolf. It was impossible during Cooper¡¯s reign, but there was a high chance that Alex would have done so. As for the Winstons, they had always mingled with people from the underground world¡­ If it was the former family head, it was highly possible that they had used Phantom Wolf because he was merciless and cruel. Unfortunately, more than ten years ago, an illegitimate son of the head of the Winston Family suddenly killed him to seize power. Using bloody means, he ruthlessly suppressed the Winstons and killed almost all of his siblings. The mother of that illegitimate son was an insignificant stripper who identally got pregnant with the head of the Winston Family¡¯s child. The child was named Harry Winston after he was born. Things were always unpredictable in life. The head of the Winston Family had so many legitimate and illegitimate children, and it was publicly known that he had three or four mistresses. But only Harry, the illegitimate son of an inconspicuous stripper,pletely inherited his father¡¯s mind and cruelty, who then fought his way up to the top while eliminating his brothers and sisters along the way. Harry Winston¡­ It was impossible as well. He and Michael had known each other since college and had worked together ever since. Michael had faith in him, so it was impossible that the Winstons would buy Phantom Wolf¡¯s services. So the only one left was the Edwards Family. The head of the Edwards Family, Jordan Edwards, who was also the father of Lucy Edwards, was a true equal of Cooper Mitchell. He was very likely the patron behind Phantom Wolf because he had both the means and motive to buy Phantom Wolf¡¯s services! After Michael analyzed the situation, he came up with a few people based on his judgement, then finally narrowed down the list to a few suspects and focused on investigating them. Linus had a list of suspects as well. After he was finished with everything, Michael felt mentally and physically tired. He massaged his temples and went back to his room to sleep. He set the rm to ring at five thirty in the morning because he wanted to do it before going out. Because it was a sudden decision to visit the temple in the mountains, they only began to pack their luggage the next morning. Sophia packed her own luggage. Because there was snow on the mountain and it would be cold, Sophia packed the sweaters Nichs had knitted. While she packed her travel kit , hygiene kit and some snacks, she asked Michael, ¡°Are we bringing Nate along?¡± Michael was in the middle of a shave and replied, ¡°No, it will be a long hike up to the mountain, so he might get lost. Besides, he has to go to school.¡± ¡°Then are we bringing the dogs with us?¡± Sophia asked another question. ¡°It would be troublesome, so no,¡± Michael replied. Sophia gave it a thought. It really did seem troublesome. After having breakfast and seeing Nate off to school, Michael started putting their luggage into the car. He was just done putting in the luggage and Sophia had just gotten in the car when something suddenly jumped into the car and refused to get out. Michael frowned and pulled the leash to drag Judge out. ¡°Stupid dog, get out!¡± Judge didn¡¯t move and refused to get out. It then curled up beside Sophia, and there was a bag of biscuits in its mouth. It probably knew they were going to travel, so it had prepared its own food. Sophia patted its head andughed. ¡°Let¡¯s just bring the dog along¡­ Judge would be bored being alone at home.¡± Judge barked softly to agree with her but when it looked toward Michael, there was a little bit of fear in its eyes. Michael was left speechless. He put Nichs into the car as well then started the engine, and the four of them set off for the outskirts. They would be gone for a few days as Michael had nned for a pilgrimage. If the spirit in the first mountain was not efficacious, then they would go visit a few more mountains. There was bound to be a Saint Mary that was efficacious. If worshiping Saint Mary wasn¡¯t enough, then they would worship the Daoist Three Pure Ones, Jesus and God too. They would treat it as a trip to rx and be inspired. Sophia had said she was going to write her second book, so she could use this opportunity to collect some material. The first stop was the Reverie Mountain which was not far from Bayside City. There was a Daoist temple that was famous in the Reverie Mountain, which was also an important holy land for the Cethos Daoist. Daniel had trained there, and the rest of the Levine Family received their training there as well. When they reached the foot of the mountain, it was already jam-packed with cars. The parking lot was full even though it wasn¡¯t peak tourist season because many people visited the temple, most of them being high officials and important V.I.Ps from Bayside City. Sophia looked out the window from inside the car and saw the majestic mountain top. A Daosist temple loomed in the sea of fog, swarmed by a crowd of people. So this is Mr. Eighty Thousand¡¯sir¡­ Daniel spent one third of his time conning people in Bayside City, another one third conning people at this mountain top and the remaining one third conning people around the world. From what she knew, he had attended a forum abroad as a well-known metaphysical master recently and had just returned. The smog in Bayside City was quite heavy these few days, so he came to Reverie Mountain for fresh air and to con people at the same time. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. There was no snow at the Reverie Mountain, and everyone walked up the mountain after getting out of the car. Sophia came with great sincerity and walked up the mountain step by step obediently. She looked up to the mountain top with every step she took, thinking that if she reached the top, she would fulfil her merits and that the trip would not be in vain. But after she took two steps, Michael said, ¡°Chica, you¡¯re going the wrong way. The cable car is this way.¡± So there are cable cars now. It makes sense because who would want to walk up there? Of course they would choose to ride the cable cars to get up the mountain. Sophia looked at the cable cars then looked at the stairs. She got on a cable car at the end. Standing in the cable car, she found it boring, feeling that they weren¡¯t sincere enough for this trip. But the scenery at the mountain top was really beautiful. The celestial mountain was surrounded by fog all year round and it loomed in the distance, obstructed by the rolling mist. When the cable car passed through the thick clouds, there was an illusion of them ascending to immortality. But Sophia still didn¡¯t seem interested and was looking at the clouds outside the window in a daze. When they reached the mountain top and got out of the cable car, they saw vigers selling roasted sweet potatoes and roasted corn. The potatoes and corn were all organically grown by the farmers without using any chemicals. Seeing Sophia ncing at them, Michael quickly went and bought a few. The group then ate their roasted sweet potatoes while waiting for Daniel to wee them. Daniel arrived very quickly dressed in a Daoist robe. He already looked handsome in the robe to begin with, and with his long hair, he seemed more stunning. However, from very early on, Sophia had already identified him as a liar. Daniel then chuckled and walked toward them, looking like a liar indeed. ¡°It¡¯s a busy day. A few moneybags came this morning and I¡¯ve already earned tens of millions.¡± Ha! As expected from a liar! They then entered the temple, which was huge and filled with people. After a few twists and turns, Daniel led them into the heart of the temple. ¡°I requested my master to give you guys a slot. Hurry up. There are plenty of people lining up waiting to see him,¡± Daniel said. They increased their pace. Sophia finally met Daniel¡¯s master¡ªhe was a sage-looking old liar. As soon as she entered the door, the old liar said, ¡°You have a high forehead and bright light in your eyes. You are either a reincarnated immortal or a descended immortal. Come here quickly and let me have a look.¡± Sophia was left speechless and thought, This liar is really unprofessional. He doesn¡¯t even bother to make up his own lines and just steal lines from movies! Chapter 652 Chapter 652 Looking at how excited Michael was, Sophia took a seat for his sake and stretched out her hand for the old fraudster to have a look. The old fraudster grabbed her hand, looked at her palm and even touched her face to feel her facial bones. He pressed his rough fingers against her cheek and studied the veins, all while shaking his head. ¡°You have a good fate. Look at your palm, the moreplex the lines on the palms, the better one¡¯s fate is! Your palm lines areplex, extremelyplex!¡± ¡°Your facial features and the structure of your face indicate good fortune. Everything is good!¡± ¡°With your fate, you will either be an emperor or a prince in the future!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. It was already the 21st century and this fraudster was still using the same lines used for deceiving people in the past and not changing them. Who would still believe this crap in this era? The next line would definitely be that she would be involved in some bloodshed, so she had to spend money to avoid it. To avoid being scammed, she quickly said, ¡°Thank you, sir. Please take a look at my husband¡¯s palm instead!¡± With that said, she quickly left. Michael, Daniel and the old fraudster were the only ones left in the room. Michael had been here many times before, so they skipped the part of reading his fate through looks. The old fraudster stopped looking duplicitous and said seriously, ¡°She is bound to have a rough life. Although she has good fate, of the 100 pains that humans have to suffer, she will have to endure 99 of them in order to break free.¡± Not waiting for Michael to respond, he continued, ¡°Of the 99 pains she has to go through, 45 of them are rted to you.¡± ¡°Back then when I took a reading on your future, I saw that you would have an ominous fate, so I asked Daniel to find you a woman that could resolve your fate.¡± ¡°That is because that woman could take away half of your bad luck!¡± ¡°The 45 pains of hers that are rted to you initially belonged to you!¡± Michael was shocked. ¡°Master, you¡ª¡± Back when he wanted to find a mother for Nate, Daniel learned of the news and had taken the initiative to choose a suitable girl for him. He had said he wanted to find a girl that wouldplement his fate! But Michael didn¡¯t expect that by plement¡¯, Daniel meant to find someone to bear his bad luck for him!! Daniel rubbed his nose and remained silent, afraid of being beaten. When the old fraudster saw that Michael, who was badly shaken, seemed like he would raise his fist to hit Daniel at any time, he quickly added, ¡°It¡¯s toote to regret it. Your bad luck has already been passed to her. No matter how hard you try, you can¡¯t change it. That is her fate, and she has to atone for her sins in this life. She has to endure the bad luck of the one she loves and suffer 99 times in order to fulfil her merits.¡± Michael sneered, but his heart despaired. Atonement?! Fulfilling merits?! This is bullsh*t! She did nothing wrong, so why would she need to atone for others? He clenched his teeth, holding back the urge to hit someone and asked while gritting his teeth, ¡°Master, is there any solution to this?¡± The old fraudster stroked his beard and said enigmatically, ¡°Well, you can get a divorce with her immediately.¡± ¡°After the divorce, you can pretend you can¡¯t see her suffering. Out of sight, out of mind. She will continue to bear your suffering for you, and you will have a bright future. If you feel sorry about it, you can give her more money. Don¡¯t hit me. If you hit someone, she will be the one to get punished!¡± Michael gritted his teeth in anger, wishing he could burn the old fraudster¡¯s goatee! But he couldn¡¯t do anything¡­ Not far away from the door, Sophia was ying with Judge. She ate the sweet potato while Judge ate the skin of the sweet potato. Judge seemed to enjoy it. After she finished eating the sweet potato, she tugged on Judge¡¯s ears, ying with them. ¡°Oh, you cute little doggie! If you had never eaten your own feces, I would definitely kiss you.¡± Judge didn¡¯t know anything about eating its own feces and was looking at Sophia with wide eyes, waiting for her to feed it some sweet potato skin. Suddenly, Sophia saw Michael walk out angrily. She quickly rushed up to him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did the old fraudster scam your money?¡± Michael looked very angry. When he saw Sophia, there was a hint of shame and a trace of red in his eyes. Sophia hadn¡¯t been in a good condition recently. Her depression was getting worse, she was overeating and her face was breaking out. And all of this turned out to be because¡­ He clenched his teeth and nodded. ¡°Yes. He tried to scam me for money.¡± Sophia had that ¡®I knew it!¡¯ look and became livid. ¡°I knew it! I knew he wanted to scam us!¡± When she saw Daniel walk out, she said loudly, ¡°Fraudster! You bunch of fraudsters! You¡¯ll get what you deserve sooner orter!¡± Daniel didn¡¯t dare to reply as he was indeed a fraudster. He walked over with a straight face and said, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark. You guys have been walking the whole day and are probably tired. You can take a rest at the guest room.¡± Sophia taunted in a huff, ¡°Do you have hidden charges for the guest room too? Is it because you think we¡¯re gullible?¡± ¡°I dare not,¡± Daniel said humbly. While he spoke, he led Michael and Sophia to a guest room. Their guest room had the best scenery. Looking out from the window was a bold cliff, and the clouds and mist could be seen twirling in the sky. It looked like a fairnd. There was even a tearoom inside their room, and they could sip tea there while enjoying the view; anyone would feel like they were on top of the world. Sophia brought Judge to the bathroom and bathed it as soon as she entered the guest room. The air was humid up in the mountain and there was mud everywhere, causing Judge to be dirty and wet. Since Judge had a lot of hair, it would take a long time for it to dry so she had to clean it up now. If the dog fell sick, Stan woulde after her. Meanwhile, Daniel and Michael sipped tea in the tearoom. Daniel poured a cup of tea for Michael, who had been quiet ever since he found out what Daniel had done. Daniel knew he couldn¡¯t ept it, so he tried to advise Michael. ¡°Take it easy. The two of you were destined to be together. Even if I didn¡¯t matchmake the two of you, you would still have found each other in the end.¡± Although Daniel said this, he knew that he was being selfish. Back then, Michael¡¯s parents had died, and his sister had died early too. His love life and career was at a standstill, and he couldn¡¯t walk out of the shadows of his sister¡¯s death. Moreover, the murderer was still atrge. He was angry, depressed and unable to get back on his feet. So, Daniel had tried to change his fate. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Finding someone to bear everything for Michael was a good idea. It was convenient, fast and environmentally friendly. He and Sophia were not rted in any way and weren¡¯t friends, but Michael had been his close friends for years, so he knew what he had to do. Michael still didn¡¯t say anything, so Danielforted him again. ¡°Actually, I was just making up things. No one can have a say about stuff like this! You know my master and I make up most of the things we say to deceive people, so take it easy.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have a solution, but you can still go to other Daoists to see if they have one.¡± Michael took a sip of tea in silence. It tasted extremely bitter. Meanwhile, Sophia was already done cleaning Judge and was blow drying it with a hair dryer. Michael turned his head to look at her, but the more he looked at her, the sadder he felt. Why would someone be born just to bear the sufferings of the one they loved? She was so kind and always tried her best to live. He took a big gulp and finished the whole cup of tea. His body trembled because of the bitterness. No matter how hard it gets in the future, I will be with her to the end! At night, both of them slept on an ancient canopy bed in the guest room while Judge slept on the floor beside the bed with Sophia¡¯s scarf on. She had reluctantly given it to Judge as a sweater to wear, afraid that it would catch a cold. Michael looked at Judge and thought that the red scarf looked weird on it. The dog was snoring loudly while sleeping. Sophia was next to Michael and she couldn¡¯t sleep because of Judge¡¯s snoring. She suddenly sat up and lay on her stomach with her hands under her chin. She looked at Michael, wanting to have a discussion with him on a profound metaphysics topic. ¡°Say, if someone who has undergone stic surgeryes to have their fortunes read, will it still be urate?¡± Chapter 653 Chapter 653 ¡°¡­ Well, I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Michael answered. That question was really too deep, and he couldn¡¯t answer it. Sophia started muttering to herself, ¡°So if a star like Nichs Yates who has undergone mrsty, rhinosty, and had some work done on his forehead went to have his fortune read, would it still be urate? I personally don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°Technology is pretty advanced these days, so it¡¯s easy to change your looks and body structure. All those ways to tell your future through reading your palms or bone structure are all lies! Lies, I say!¡± Sophia continued to mutter for a while before finally falling asleep. Michaelid her head on his chest and asionally stroked her hair gently, the sadness and guilt in his eyes gradually piling up. Feeling her gentle breaths on his chest, he gave her a deep kiss. He then looked at her face and studied her brows and lips, not willing to miss any details. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. Let me take care of everything for you in this life! On the next day, Sophia wanted to leave after they had breakfast. She felt that if they stayed even a minute longer, they would find themselves scammed. Daniel saw them off at the cable cars and waved to them from afar. ¡°Pleasee again soon!¡± ¡­¡­ Their second stop was to a mountain that wasn¡¯t well known. They initially hadn¡¯t nned oning, but it was on the way they needed to pass through so they came to have a look. Although this mountain was big, it only had a small Buddha statue in a small temple on the mountain. The temple was not developed to the fullest and there weren¡¯t many pilgrims. The mountain road was especially rugged and was frozen near the top of the mountain. Luckily, Michael and Sophia were prepared. They changed into an off-road vehicle with tires made to drive in snow, but even so, the engine of their vehicle died a few times on their way up. Sophia sat in the car, watching as the car traversed the mountain road, crushing the frozen ice beneath them. The sound of the ice being crushed was really frightening. Some of the mountain roads only had onene and there was no guardrail, and beyond that was a cliff dropping down thousands of metres. Sophia was terrified. ¡°Let¡¯s get off the car and walk instead,¡± she suggested. Michael was a bit reluctant to walk up the mountain because he needed to be back for filming in a few days. The fat he had been umting might be burned off if they hiked up the mountain. However, the car was having a hard time making its way up. Even an experienced driver would be terrified of the dangerous road. Plus, it had snowed recently so it was white everywhere, and they were quickly running out of a visible path. Judge was also petrified. The dog¡¯s huge body was curled up in Michael¡¯s arms and trembling, leaning its head pitifully on his shoulder. Judge was frightened and wanted to beforted. Also, the dog had motion sickness and had vomited a few times. Without a choice, everyone could only get down from their cars and walk the rest of the way up the mountain. They left Nichs and a few others to watch over the cars, then followed the trail. Because the mountain was located in the south, there wasn¡¯t only snow there, but also some green nts tenaciously surviving in the cold mountain. Sophia seemed very happy. Wearing her snow boots, she took big steps as she hiked. Some pilgrims had pooled their money to build a pathway to the mountain. It was just some stone steps, which were in disrepair for a long time and were pitted. Everyone walked up the stairs cautiously, carrying bundles, both big and small, up the mountain with them. Judge, who had been suffering from motion sickness, recovered right after getting out of the car. It was indeed the descendant of a sled dog and the snow was its yground. It ran in front of them with its tail wagging happily, then let out a howl as he rushed into the white forest and was gone in the blink of an eye. Sophia became anxious, but Michael grew a little happy. He said to Sophia, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Dogs have a very good sense of smell and I¡¯m sure Judge will be back soon. There are no wild animals in this mountain, so he¡¯s safe.¡± Stupid dog. Just stay here forever and be a wild animal! The group continued hiking up the mountain. It was very cold because it had snowedst night. Everyone left deep footprints in the snow with each step they took while making twists and turns. Michael was in front, holding Sophia¡¯s hand. ¡°Just step on my footprints and follow,¡± Michael said gently. Sophia lowered her head and walked carefully, stepping on Michael¡¯s big footprints as she walked. She left her small footprints within his big footprints on purpose, finding it fun. It was so cold in the mountain that Sophia¡¯s brows were frozen. Michael turned around from time to time, adjusting her hat and sweeping off the frost on her brows. They were acting like lovebirds, causing the rest to be jealous of how lovey-dovey they were. Halfway up the mountain, Michael received a phone call from the director of the film crew. The signal on the mountain was poor so the call would break off intermittently, but Michael still learned what had happened to the crew from the director¡¯s roar. Celine had made a mess again. This time, she did something even more brain-dead than instructing the boss¡¯s dog to eat its own feces¡ªshe had seduced the director¡¯s wife! Now, the director was running around everywhere hunting for Celine and out for her blood. The whole film crew was in chaos. Upon hearing the news, Michael really wanted to wring Celine¡¯s neck! Although something unpleasant had happened, their pilgrimage to the temple was more important at the moment. The ce they were heading to was called Dragon Mountain. There was almost no one living on the mountain as it was a difficult ce to develop. Cars could only drive halfway up to the mountain, and subsequently took around an hour to reach the mountain top by walking. After a long walk, they finally reached the parking lot located halfway up the mountain. It was already noon and they were starving, so they cooked their meal in the empty parking lot. The so-called parking lot was just a rtively t surface of ground. In this weather, no car could reach there, which was why there wasn¡¯t a single car. Their group was made up of eight people, and they had brought along pots and charcoal with them. Luckily, there was a stream which was not frozen nearby, so they collected some mountain spring water and started cooking. There was a pond named Free Life Pond in Dragon Mountain where one could free captive animals, and Sophia had reluctantly brought two smanders from home to be released. But when they were preparing their meal in the afternoon, she couldn¡¯t help but kill one of the smanders to satisfy her hunger. When it was time to eat, she felt like her merits had halved¡­ Judge didn¡¯te back after a long time and Sophia didn¡¯t know where it had gone. The mountain was completely covered in snow, so she was worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If we can¡¯t find Judge, I¡¯ll just buy another simr dog for Stan,¡± Michaelforted her. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely find one that has not eaten any feces!¡± he emphasized. Michael was acting as ifpensating Stanley with a Husky that had never eaten its own feces was a blessing! But Sophia frowned. ¡°What if Stan doesn¡¯t agree?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll beat him up until he agrees,¡± Michael replied. Sophia was speechless. After their meal, everyone packed up and continued their way up the mountain. After walking for an hour, they still saw nothing but snow and mist in front of them. They couldn¡¯t see anything in the vast expanse of whiteness, and they didn¡¯t know where the road or the temple was. When they looked back, they couldn¡¯t even see the path they came from. Just when they were about to panic, a shadow rushed over from the front and came up to Sophia. She had thought it was a wolf, but when she looked closer, it turned out to be Judge who had gone missing. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s Judge!¡± Sophia happily stepped forward and tried to grab it, but the dog agilely turned around and ran away. They had finally found the dog, so they hurriedly followed the dog¡¯s footprints closely and chased after it. Unexpectedly, after chasing the dog for a few minutes, they saw a temple loom in the distance. The group walked into the temple and saw an old monk standing at the entrance of the temple¡¯s meditation room, smiling at them. Judge was next to a fire in the room. It seemed like it had been waiting for them for a long time. Everyone looked at each other but they still entered the temple. After they exchanged greetings with the old monk, they started to burn some incense. There were only two monks in the temple, which was in bad shape. Even the statue of the Buddha was old and dirty. Michael burnt some incense for Buddha, praying sincerely. Sophia was carrying a bag of money, and she donated some after saying a short prayer. Even after she finished donating all of her money, she wanted to donate more, which could be done by scanning a QR code. It was quite advanced despite the fact that they were in the middle of nowhere. However, after scanning the QR code, she couldn¡¯t donate any money because she couldn¡¯t connect to the inte with the poor signal in the mountain. ¡°Hm, I don¡¯t have any more cash and there is no signal. I guess that¡¯s it,¡± Sophia said. ¡°Miss, the Wi-Fi password is on the wall,¡± the monk said quickly. Sophia was rendered speechless. Chapter 654 Chapter 654 After connecting to the Wi-Fi, Sophia found that the signal there was extremely strong. She hurriedly scanned all the QR codes to donate some money so that this trip wouldn¡¯t be a waste. After everyone had donated money and burned incense, the old monk led them to drink the holy water under the cliff. The so-called holy water was a stream of clear spring water that poured from the top of a cliff. It was crystal clear and wasn¡¯t frozen, and each of them scooped a little bit of the water to drink. Regardless of whether the water was holy or not, the mountain spring water tasted pretty sweet and they drank the water to quench their thirst. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sophia took a big gulp and tasted the sweetness of the water. Just when she was about to take a second scoop with the gourddle, she saw Judge running over happily wagging its tail. With a howl, it dipped its muzzle into the holy water and started taking big gulps of the water while also blowing bubbles into it. Everyone instantly didn¡¯t want to drink the holy water anymore. ¡°The holy water is spiritual. Before you all drank the water, this dog had already dipped its muzzle in the water and drank a lot of it,¡± the old monk informed them. Everyone started retching. After drinking the holy water, Sophia felt that her mouth tasted like feces. Although the holy water was a stream of flowing water, the water that Judge had drank had probably already flowed away. Next, the old monk invited them into a room to have tea by the fire. The room had a coal stove lit up. Judge was rubbing itself on the side of the coal stove, covering its body with soot. Just when Sophia and Michael sat down, the monk looked at Michael and said, ¡°Sir, you look familiar.¡± ¡°Maybe we were fated to meet,¡± Michael said. ¡°Because I¡¯ve seen your movie,¡± the monk added. Michael was speechless at that. After the tea was brewed, the monk poured everyone some and chatted with them casually. It got dark early in the mountains. After they sat around for a while, the sky outside grew dark and it started to snow lightly. The monk invited them to stay the night at the temple. At night, after having a vegan meal, the sky wasn¡¯tpletely dark yet. Sophia led the dog outside to y near the temple and Michael followed her, stomping heavily on Judge¡¯s pawprints in the snow. The temple was very small and was built on the mountains. There were also a few dpidated houses built along the mountain, and only two or three rooms for guests. The monks had to carry their provisions up the mountain using manualbor, so it was definitely hard to live on the mountain. As the snow fluttered in the wind, Sophia held a small umbre to keep them from falling onto her. The sky was gradually getting darker and it was bing misty, and visibility was decreasing. Sophia seemed to spot something dark at the top of the opposite mountain. After taking a closer look, she discovered that it was a pagoda. The pagoda had seven floors and seemed to be very run down. It had sunk into the mountain with no way up, and there were cliffs on top, below and around the pagoda. She couldn¡¯t figure out how it was built and why they would build that pagoda in the first ce. It was almost impossible to repair anything in the mountains as manpower was needed to carry all the materials. That pagoda looked valuable, but it had been built in such an awkward location. It looked like there was no one living there, and there was no way up to it either. ¡°Master, why is the pagoda built halfway up the mountain? And why isn¡¯t there any road leading up to it?¡± Sophia asked the monk. Michael also took a look with his binocrs. There was indeed a ck pagoda, which seemed like it had been pushed directly into the steep mountain by something divine. It would definitely be difficult to build a road to it as there were no t surfaces around it. The monk shook his head while smiling and began to talk about the origin of the pagoda. That mountain was called Dragon Mountain and Dragon Temple was built on top of it, in which a respected master who was famous lived. The temple used to be popr and had a lot of pilgrims, who had raised funds to build the road up the mountain and a seven-storey pagoda. That seven-storey pagoda wasn¡¯t there initially, but in the Dragon Temple. One day, Buddha had wandered here and found the master meditating in the temple. To test the master to see whether he hadpassion, Buddha hatched a n. A panicked little deer suddenly ran past the master. Not long after, a hunter came chasing after it but didn¡¯t see the deer, so he asked the master where the deer went. The master pointed in the direction the deer had escaped to and the hunter chased after it, killing it with an arrow. Hence, the master failed Buddha¡¯s test because he had been involved in the killing. When the deer died, the world shook and the road to the mountain copsed. Since the road had crumbled, the way to the temple was blocked, making it difficult for pilgrims to hike up the mountain. So, the number of pilgrims slowly decreased. Somehow, the seven-story pagoda moved from its original site to the opposite mountain and was embedded within that mountain with no way up or down. The master looked at the tower and sighed every day as he was no longer able to use the pagoda. He regretted his choice and passed away soon after. Since then, the whole Dragon Temple withered. The monks left, there were no pilgrims who came to visit and it slowly became dpidated like how it was now. No wonder the road up the mountain is in such bad condition and was not repaired! Sophia murmured to herself. She asked another question, ¡°This ce has a great scenery and has a lot of potential. The road can be repaired, and you can build a suspension bridge or cable car connecting to the pagoda.¡± The monk shook his head. ¡°Everything has a cause and an effect. You need to go with the flow and let everything follow its course. Since that¡¯s how the way things are, why should you force any demands on them?¡± The monk soon left because of the cold, but Sophia looked at the shadowy pagoda opposite her, thinking about the words of the monk. Go with¡­ the flow? Let everything follow its course. She repeated the words again and again, then suddenlyughed. There was nothing on the mountain and it was very cold. There was no convenient transportation and the temple¡¯s roof leaked, but still, the monk had stayed here for more than twenty years. He really was enlightened. If only everyone had this mindset of going with the flow, how nice it would be. There was a reason for everything and it was best to let things run their course. There was no point in demanding it otherwise. Suddenly, the suffocating feeling in her chest was lifted by a lot. Just rx and let things run their course¡­ Michael also looked at the snow and the pagoda. He unpursed his lips suddenly and he seemed to let out a smile. He would let things take their course¡­ She had already borne his pain for him, and there was no way he would ever divorce her. He wanted to be with her forever and ever, and he would go through the 99 sufferings in this world with her. If there was any suffering, he would endure the bulk of it for her! He would ensure that she would never need to suffer again and live a happy life. Michael held Sophia¡¯s hand, and the two shared an umbre, looking at the snow in silence. Neither of them said a word. The snow would asionally fall on their heads, and, without them noticing, turned their hair white¡­ They stayed overnight in the mountains. The roof leaked, Judge¡¯s snores filled the room and the bed was freezing cold, but none of them could stop Sophia from falling asleep. She slept on the bed like a log. That night, she slept peacefully. Even without Nichs by her side, she didn¡¯t have a nightmare and no ghosts came to haunt her dreams. The sky finally had some color, and even Judge¡¯s snoring sounded like the rhythm of a song. The next day, Sophia went to Free Life Pond to free captive animals again. The pond was connected to a stream which wasn¡¯t frozen. They released the eels, mud fish and the smander they kept at home for game. Although Michael didn¡¯t know what good releasing the animals would bring, he was fine with it as long as Sophia was happy. The smander was released too, and it fled along the stream. Judge suddenly started running along the stream and jumped into the water, then bit the smander with a growl. Sophia stopped it hurriedly. ¡°You can¡¯t bite it! Let go of it!¡± However, Judge didn¡¯t let go. ¡°Once the smander we raised is released, it is a wild smander!¡± Sophia said sternly. ¡°It¡¯s a wild smander, do you understand? It¡¯s an animal under International ss 2 protection! If you eat an animal under that protection, your dad will be sentenced to jail!¡± Chapter 655 Chapter 655 Arf? A frightened Judge quickly spit out the smander, who then took the opportunity to escape and it disappeared in no time. When Sophia turned, everyone was looking at her as if they saw a ghost. They suddenly realized that their boss¡¯ wife was a meticulous person. Her logic is wless! It¡¯s just like that time when she copied the contents of the pendrive. After they freed the animals stranded on the mountain top, they left. There was ayer of thick snow on the peak, which made it look extremely beautiful. When Sophia took a few more steps out of the temple, she turned and saw the clouds and mist covering the entire mountain and house of worship until nothing could be seen anymore¡­ Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Everything is like a dream¡­ Michael remained for a little while longer as he had promised the monk to use the donation to repair the roads leading to the mountain. After the new year, Michael would arrange for a bridge to the mountain to be built, trying to improve the condition of the temple, however little his efforts would be. After they arrived at the base of Dragon Mountain, Michael then dragged Sophia to the other mountains to pray at the temple as well as donate clothes and stationeries to children in the poor, mountainous areas. Throughout their journey, they were on the lookout for schools that did not have enough money and did good deeds to earn merits. After all, Sophiacked everything but money and a husband. After making the round, she felt much happier and her guilt had been diminished by a lot. Hence, she returned to Bayside City in happiness. However, Michael was unhappy as Celinended herself into trouble with the filming crew, so he had to quickly rece her. At the current moment, the director¡¯s wife was throwing tantrums about divorcing her husband and marrying Celine abroad. However, Celine was nowhere to be seen. If it was possible, he wanted to p her with a stick of cucumber. What made him even more irritated was that the belly fat he tried to umte was gone since they were hiking the mountains on a daily basis to visit the temples. While touching his t stomach, Michael felt disappointed, as if he suffered a miscarriage. Nothing is going ording to n. On the other hand, Sophia looked happy as she ran around for the past few days. When she arrived home, her e had disappeared, making her prettier as her face glowed in a pink hue. She even brought some presents for Nathan. The family pajamas that they previously ordered had also arrived. After being washed and dried, they were neatly ced in the wardrobe with fragrance. When Sophia returned home, she immediately wore her pair, feeling warm andfortable as if her life was full of radiance. After she tidied the ce, she threw a bag of trash outside. Just as she was in the midst of doing so, she saw her next door neighbor, Harry, who was yawning while taking out the garbage. He was in a pair of pink jumpsuits with the hoodie covering his blond hair while two bunny ears hung on the attire, making him look different from his position as the head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld. It was such a stark difference from what she was used to seeing that it was both disgusting and cute at the same time. It was because of his outfit that she burst intoughter. ¡°Haha! Haha! Haha! Mr. Blond, look at your outfit ¡ªhaha! Haha! Haha!¡± A slightly annoyed Harry scoffed. ¡°What the f*ck are youughing at?¡± With that, he turned to return to his own ce. Sheughed all the way home and even informed Michael of what she saw. ¡°By wearing that outfit, Mr. Blond is really¡­ trying to look young! Haha! Haha!¡± Michael, who was wearing a husky family outfit, lowered his head to look at himself and wanted to retaliate but eventually allowed it to slide in the end. It wasn¡¯t long until everyone knew that Sophia and Michael had returned from their adventure. Since they knew that the couple would prepare a lot of delicious food, they quickly scooted over and waited for the meal. Initially, he nned to prepare a scrumptious meal, but Harry suddenly said, ¡°In all our times of coming over for a free meal, we feel bad that you¡¯re preparing yet another meal for us. Let us prepare a meal and invite you over tonight.¡± As soon as Michael heard that, he was shocked. ¡°Y-Your house¡­ actually has a kitchen?!¡± Both middle-aged men stared at each other for a moment before finally realizing what they wore. Michael always wore the family pajamas whenever he was home, following whatever Sophia and Nathan had. Hence, it wasmon for him to wear a peculiar outfit. No matter from which angle of observation, Harry looked wretched, as if he was a young gangster being chased by the police and escaping into a kindergarten aftermitting some crime. Then, he stole a kindergartner¡¯s attire to pretend that he was a young child to escape the pursuit. I¡¯m finding it hard to look at his outfit. Michaelmented, ¡°Before you try to act like a young boy, can you at least color your hair to its original color? It¡¯s disgusting for a man in his thirties to wear something like this¡ª¡± Harry had a huge reaction. ¡°Do you think I want to do this? If I don¡¯t wear this attire, Sarah won¡¯t let me f*ck her!¡± ¡­ Michael dragged his entire family to Harry¡¯s house for dinner in the evening. As soon as they entered, they discovered something weirder¡ªfor example, there was a pink rug in the heavy-metal, funky living room whereas the minimalist-looking couch in ck and white contained Hello Kitty on top of it. Harry seemed to be a fan of antiques and weird items¡ªthere were a few huge vases and samurai swords in the living room, but a pink piggy bank stood out in the middle. It was obvious that he fell head over heels in love. Meanwhile, the ¡®scrumptious meal¡¯ that Henry and Sarah prepared was already on the dining table¡ª pizzas for eight, lobster takeaways for ten, fried chicken buckets from Kentucky Fried Chicken for five. As if those weren¡¯t enough, there were also ten cup noodles. Immediately, Michael felt that the wine he brought was not suitable for the asion. As Harry was involved in various violent fights over the years and Sarah was aplete hermit, it was difficult to imagine how the couple spent their day together. However, since Michael and his family were already here, they couldn¡¯t leave just like that. Hence, everyone graciously still sat around the dining table for dinner. After all, it was Harry¡¯s first time inviting everyone for dinner at his house, so Michael wanted to show respect for his feelings and opened his wine topliment the cup noodles. Sean and Stanley came over after knocking off work, so they were in their work clothes of formal suit and ties since they coincidentally had a business meeting earlier. Right after they entered, they saw Harry and Sarah all dressed in pink and seated to the left of the hall. Although it was normal for her to dress in that manner, it was painful to look at him in his attire. On the right was Sophie and her family of three dressed in husky pajamas. As such, both Stanley and Sean stood out in their striking attire, unable to blend in. Despite the difference in attire, everyone sat down for dinner. While peeling the lobster for Sophie, Michael asked Harry, ¡°When are you guys getting married?¡± Harry¡¯s birthday was a few days away from Michael¡¯s, so it was also time for the former to be anxious about the particr topic. Sarah blushed and lowered her head to eat. While slurping on his cup noodles, Harry replied, ¡°Her dad opposes it by saying that I¡¯m a gangster.¡± After Sarah returned home and informed her father that she was in a rtionship with someone part of the underworld, he was so angered that he snatched a feather duster and threatened to break her leg off with it. Hence, she fled and stayed with Harry for a while, never returning home even once. Michael clicked his tongue without saying another word. Harry is not just ¡®someone from the underworld¡¯; he¡¯s the head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld, the uncrowned king of the underworld. He has bought life insurance for all his subordinates and submitted his taxes on time. In addition, he even epts interviews from leaders all around the country. Can he even be called a ¡®gangster¡¯? He advised, ¡°You should find a time to visit Sarah¡¯s parents and exin everything to Mr. West. It¡¯s best to be done with the wedding quickly.¡± However, not too long after Michael spoke, the security guard at the front door called¡ªSarah¡¯s father had arrived with a feather duster in his hands! Chapter 656 Chapter 656 Harry immediately looked at the surveince tape¡ªsure enough, there were a handful of people from the West Family blocking the entrance to Harry¡¯s house. Sarah¡¯s father, Mr. West, and her stepmother, Judy Edwards, stood in front of the house¡ªhe held a feather duster with a furious expression while she pretended to sob. In addition, Sarah¡¯s brother, sister-inw, uncles and aunts were present as well. Mr. West thought that Sarah was staying on her own because of her busy work schedule, but never expected her to be living with someone from the underworld. He was now well-prepared with ropes to bring her home. I also want to take a good look at who this leader of the underworld is! When Sarah looked at the surveince tape, she freaked out when she saw her father in front of the door with a feather duster in his hand. Holding the bunny tail of Harry¡¯s cute pink bunny costume, she asked fearfully, ¡°What should we do, Old Wolf?¡± Harry consoled, ¡°Calm down. Let¡¯s lure him in and talk it out with him.¡± However, Michael frowned while looking at Harry¡¯s messy house. For two people who did not know how to manage their lives to stay together, it only brought disaster to them. If Michael was Sarah¡¯s father, he would have beaten Harry to death with the feather duster after seeing his daughter eating cup noodles all day along. ¡°Let¡¯s calm down and tidy the entire ce while changing the dishes.¡± Michael pointed at Harry¡¯s striking costume. ¡°Change your costume too, you indecent old fellow.¡± ¡­ After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Mr. West¡¯s face darkened when the guards still refused to allow him in. His group of family members behind him started to give snide remarks. One of the women in heavy makeup led the conversation. ¡°Oh dear, why aren¡¯t they opening the gates? Is it because Sarah is doing something unspeakable?¡± The group of women started to gossip among themselves. ¡°How shameless! She has even locked her own father outside the gates!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Sarah? How can she be associated with those from the underworld?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a good child, but the older she bes, the more useless she is. She¡¯s a disgrace to the West Family!¡± ¡°The underworld is merely a bunch of gangsters who collect protection fees, especially when anyone can call themselves a member.¡± ¡°I heard that she suddenly took a few million from the family a while ago, supposedly to start her own business. Hmmph, I wonder what business she¡¯s doing!¡± ¡°I bet she¡¯s using the money to fool around with the gangsters!¡± The more they discussed, the harsher the criticisms became and Mr. West was unable to retain his dignity any longer. As a businessman himself, he had his fair share of dealing with people from the underworld. He even had a few friends¡ªboth from the underworld and from thewful side. Many people of the underworld were also rather loyal to him, so he could close eye one if his future son-inw was a decent man. As long as Harry was able to handle most scenarios, everything was doable. However, Mr. West never expected the entire incident to be known by everyone in both the West Family and Judy¡¯s family. Since both families gossiped about Sarah¡¯s boyfriend who was allegedly from the underworld, Mr. West could not risk his pride being made fun of. I need to take a good look at him today! I¡¯ll see whether he is really someone prominent from the underworld or merely a gangster. If he¡¯s the latter, I¡¯ll definitely bundle Sarah up and kidnap her home if I have to! A few brothers from the West Family had started their business in the retail industry and learned from the Mitchell Family to stay together. It was obvious that nothing could be hidden from anyone when many people lived together under one roof. As a result, the incident surrounding Sarah was known by every member of the household. Her stepmother, Judy, wiped her fake tears away. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. If I cared more for Sarah, maybe she wouldn¡¯t be that rebellious.¡± The woman with thick makeup on her face next to Judy quickly added, ¡°Judy, don¡¯t be sad. This already happened when you married Peter, so let¡¯s think of possible solutions to bring Sarah home!¡± She was none other than Judy¡¯s sister, Victoria Edwards. Both sisters agreed with each other, making themselves look kind. However, deep down in their hearts, they couldn¡¯t wait for Sarah to be estranged from her father. The worse their estrangement is, the better. Back then, when Mr. West seeded in his business, he divorced his first wife and married someone from the Edwards Family¡ªJudy Edwards. In the second year of their marriage, Judy gave birth to a daughter. With that, problems surfaced¡ª company stocks were limited and the children from Mr. West¡¯s first wife all received their fair share of it, but not his second wife¡¯s daughter. Of course Judy would have needed to n something beneficial for her daughter. Sarah¡¯s elder brother was now Mr. West¡¯s capable assistant, so Judy could not afford to offend the young man for the time being. However, she could definitely cause problems for Sarah. Hence, over the years, she had sowed discord among Sarah and her father. To make matters worse, Sarah also became more rebellious¡ªduring the new year, she went to another man¡¯s house to spend the festivities with him. She hadn¡¯t even returned home recently and started a rtionship with a gangster instead. He¡¯s from the underworld? My *ss! He¡¯s merely a gangster. People nowadays have the courage to im that they are part of the underworld. Based on what Sarah has achieved, the best person whom she looked for ends up to be a good-for-nothing gangster! The entire West Family was aware of what Sarah did¡ªthe high and mighty youngdy of the West Family was actually in a rtionship with a good-for-nothing! Let¡¯s see how Mr. West is going to defend her this time! If only he¡¯s able to chase that b*tch from the family and take her shares away, it¡¯ll be for the best! Both Victoria and Judy had their own schemes in their minds, but the former was rather confused when she saw the area. What kind of a good-for-nothing will stay at such a strategic spot? It¡¯s The Imperial after all! Rumors had it that those who lived in the neighborhood descended from the aristocrats. The head of the Edwards n¡ªJordan Edwards¡ªoriginally thought of purchasing a house in The Imperial, but failed to do so. No matter what, Sarah is still in love with a gangster. It doesn¡¯t matter how well his life is; he is still a gangster. To them, Sarah was always a rebellious kid¡ªshe never maintained a proper job, didn¡¯t help out in their family business and even after she enrolled into Bayside University, she never worked hard in her studies. What she did instead was iste herself in her room with herputer while she drew. Be an artist? Will toying around with herputer pay her bills? Sure enough, when one is wealthy enough, they won¡¯t appreciate what they have. No one in the West Family is not involved with anything associated with the arts. I don¡¯t believe that she can f*cking draw! On top of that, after having drawn for many years, she hasn¡¯t even made a name for herself. Other artists often appear on magazine covers and the news, but I haven¡¯t seen her anywhere! N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Those folks in the West Family even tried to ask around the circle of artists in Bayside City, but Sarah was never a part of them. Hence, to the West Family, she was merely a good-for-nothing herself and only befitting for them to think that they thought she was entangled with a gangster. She has embarrassed the entire West Family! Just as everyone was still in the midst of their discussion, the security finally announced, ¡°The owner of Vi No. 4 wees everyone.¡± With that, the door was opened. They finally opened the door! As they chatted among themselves, they entered thepound with Mr. West leading the way, holding a feather duster in his hand. Sarah¡¯s elder brother was slightly nervous as he tried to calm his father. ¡°Dad, calm down and put the feather duster down first. Don¡¯t give Sarah a hard time. After all, this is the first time that you¡¯re visiting her boyfriend¡¯s ce.¡± Victoria immediately added, ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though he is a good-for-nothing gangster, he¡¯s someone whom Sarah loves. We have to behave ourselves and not embarrass him.¡± Judy also chimed in. ¡°Dear, this is our first time here. We shouldn¡¯t give them a long face.¡± Initially, when Mr. West heard his son¡¯s advice, he was not going to make a scene since it was his first time meeting Harry. However, after hearing Victoria and Julia¡¯sments, he suddenly remembered that his daughter had fallen heads over heels for a gangster. I have to knock some sense into her today! Hence, the group of people stormed into Vi No. 4. Chapter 657 Chapter 657 Upon arriving at The Imperial, everyone behaved as if they were in a museum. Wow, this is indeed the best residential area in Bayside City! It¡¯s exceptionally luxurious! N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. As soon as everyone entered, they seemed to reduce the speed of their footsteps. Thedies who were furiously gossiping earlier forgot their primary intention upon seeing such a luxurious area. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s Vi No.8! I heard that Taylor Murray lives there!¡± ¡°Quickly take a picture for me!¡± ¡°One, two, three. Say cheese.¡± In front of the entrance of Vi No.8, the group of middle-aged women quickly removed their scarves and posed for selfies with various poses, looking like a bunch of monkeys in a circus. After waiting for them to finish taking pictures, Judy quickly reminded, ¡°I saw Vi No. 4!¡± The moment she pointed to the building opposite Vi No. 8, Mr. West rushed over in anger with a stick in his hand followed by the group of middle-aged women. Shortly after they took a few steps, Judy said hastily, ¡°Calm down, dear. Even though Sarah is rebellious, she¡¯s still your daughter. You shouldn¡¯t beat her harshly just because she is still dating a gangster. Once we educate her well, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll return to our side.¡± Her words undeniably added fuel to the fire. Mr. West, who was furious beyond belief, rushed to the gate of Vi No. 4 with the group of middle-aged women from the West Family in tow. Once he pushed the door open, he yelled for Sarah with her nickname. ¡°Sally, immediately get your *ss here! I want to break your legs!¡± The group of middle-aged women behaved as if they were afraid of skipping the perfect opportunity to watch a perfect episode unfolding. However, they were stunned as soon as they saw the room. The sound of the people barging in had caught the attention of the few well-dressed people, who looked at them. On one side of the room were elegantly dressed people whereas on the other side stood women in casual attires with Mr. West holding the feather duster in his hands. Both groups of people were stunned. Mr. West and everyone behind him were shocked beyond belief. When have gangsters be so ssy? Have I entered the wrong house? However, ording to Jude¡¯s intel, Sarah is definitely in Vi No.4! It was at that moment when Sarah approached them with a smile on her face. In her red evening gown, she spoke, ¡°Hello, Dad, brother, Judy. You guys are here. Come on in! When Ethan learned that you guys are here, he prepared a feast for everyone.¡± A table full of delicious food had already been prepared in the dining hall¡ªthey even cooked two smanders and roasted an entiremb. She was dressed in an elegant and ssy way, which waspletely different from how she was when she was at home¡ªmessy and unkempt. Not only was Mr. West stunned, but the West Family was also shocked as well. With a dark-suited blond man in tow, Sarah approached her family and blushed. ¡°Guys, this is my boyfriend, Ethan. You guys probably know him since he¡¯s an actor.¡± Harry held out his hand to shake Mr. West¡¯s hand and unted his acting skills, allowing his handsome looks to shine under the light. ¡°Mr. West, it¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m Sarah¡¯s boyfriend, Ethan.¡± Mr. West¡¯s eyes widened as he shook hands with Harry in a daze. Is this Sarah¡¯s gangster boyfriend?Didn¡¯t he say that he was from the underworld? Chapter 658 Chapter 658 Harry warmly weed everyone into his house. ¡°Wee in, everyone.¡± The West Family was stunned as they could not believe that the alleged gangster was actually the famous actor, Ethan Winston. No, how is this even possible? Could it be that Sarah has asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend? He¡¯s an actor, isn¡¯t he? However, it costs a lot to hire him¡­ The group of people were in a daze as they were invited into the house in a daze. Then, Ethan spoke again, ¡°Since we are all a family, just make yourselves at home.¡± It was only after the group sat down did they return to their senses. So, Sarah¡¯s boyfriend is really Ethan. Taylor Murray and his wife were among the few guests in the hall. They are really celebrities! Sarah has found a famous celebrity as her boyfriend! The group of middle-aged women were excited to hear his words. She¡¯s definitely capable indeed. It¡¯s a story worth unting for a long time. However, both Judy and Victoria had their own thoughts. Based on Sarah¡¯s prerequisites, how is she able to hook up with Ethan? Sarah was rather nervous because she feared about ruining the entire situation and merely followed Sophia¡¯s advice. Just let Harry take control and nod at the right times. Then, Harry started to blow his own trumpet. ¡°Mr. West, I heard that you recently had an argument with Sarah. Actually, it¡¯s not her fault. She just had to deal with many matters in thepany, so she¡¯s more irritated. You guys merely had amunication breakdown, so why don¡¯t you two shake hands and bury the hatchet here? After all, you guys are still a family. On top of her business, she is also busy with school work and hasn¡¯t been returning home due to her busy schedule. It¡¯s also more convenient for her to stay at my ce to work.¡± As soon as Sarah¡¯s rtives heard that, they couldn¡¯t believe their ears. Didn¡¯t she recently squander a few million? She actually founded apany and earned tens of millions a month? We¡¯ve received the wrong information! Mr. West also felt incredulous, but since it was Ethan speaking, the only option was to believe him. Hence, he quickly asked Sarah, ¡°Sarah, is this true?¡± A blushing Sarah was so nervous that her forehead was coated with a film of perspiration. Since she was a little girl, she never fancied talking much and did not properly speak to him ever since her father remarried. Whenever both of them met up, they would eventually be at loggerheads with each other. It was years ago that they werest able to sit down and have a peaceful chat. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Upon thinking about Sophia¡¯s advice, Sarah replied, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. Even though I want to learn to manage the family business from you, I really have no interest in that field. So, I started an online gaming company with a few ssmates and we¡¯re developing games now.¡± She gritted her teeth before continuing. ¡°Dad, I was immature in the past and I¡¯ve caused a lot of trouble. You¡¯ve worried a lot about me as well. Now that I¡¯m an adult, I¡¯m more mature and able to have an independent life. So, you don¡¯t have to worry about me anymore.¡± It took everything that she had to say those words. Her face was now flushed and she was profusely perspiring. Mr. West looked at Harry before turning to Sarah. After ncing at them both, he suddenly patted her shoulder and responded in relief, ¡°That¡¯s good. As long as you are now mature, it¡¯s all good.¡± With that, both father and daughter finally buried the hatchet. In the past, Sarah was merely too young and thought that Mr. West had disappointed her mother, bing disinterested in her because he became wealthy. However, sheter understood that her father was not to be entirely med for the divorce. If someone had to take the me, it would be the couple themselves¡ªthey sold breakfast together in their trolley from street to street and started their business, but once it took off, they couldn¡¯t enjoy their sess together. Mr. West had med his first wife for not understanding him while she condemned him for being an old- fashioned man, which resulted in them splitting up. Even though they worked in the same corporation, they both had a new family. Chapter 659 Chapter 659 Victoria, who stood next to Judy, looked at Harry with sparks in her eyes. Upon learning that he was Sarah¡¯s boyfriend, Victoria felt that she herself was better for him. Look at Sarah¡ªhow is it possible that she¡¯s good enough for him? I¡¯m more suited to be Ethan¡¯s girlfriend! After all, she was already in herte twenties at around 27 to 28 yet she did not have her own career. She loitered around in a carefree manner without even heading to work and only looked forward to meeting her Prince Charming, who owned submarines and a cer of gold, to marry her. However, it was close to impossible to look for such men. Even though she was anxious, she could not find someone who was suitable for her. So, to her, Ethan was the best choice, considering that he was handsome, wealthy, and famous. After all, not anyone could afford to live in The Imperial. Both sisters soon arrived at a consensus¡ªthey would not let Sarah live peacefully with a boyfriend like him. After quickly thinking about it, Judly smiled. ¡°Sarah, you must be busy with your university assignments as well as your business. Back then, you were only a few marks away from being epted by the university. Your father has used many of his connections to get you enrolled¡ªit¡¯s not as easy as you think! No matter how busy you are with your business, don¡¯t forget about your university grades. You have to quickly retake those subjects that you failedst semester. It would be bad if you can¡¯t even graduate with a degree in the end.¡± The reason how Sarah met Ethan is because she attends Bayside University, isn¡¯t it? If Ethan knows that she earned her eptance letter by using the backdoor, I wonder whether he¡¯ll still like her! Even though Mr. West did not feelfortable listening to what was being said, sooner orter, Ethan would have to know about it. Sure enough, as soon as the topic was touched upon, Sarah¡¯s expression immediately changed¡ªshe lowered her head and bit on her lips, almost at the brink of crying. Her cheeks flushed and paled at certain times. She did not fancy chatting with Judy because the stepmother had always scared her. If she was slightly unaware, she would have fallen into Judy¡¯s trap. However, Harry merely gave a mock smile before he made a few cups for everyone. Then, he exined slowly, ¡°Mrs. West, it seems that you don¡¯t know Sarah well enough. Yes, it¡¯s true that her college entrance exam was a few marks shy of being epted, but she has participated in international drawing competitions a few times and even won in some of them. This will add more points to the entrance exam, so it was enough to cover the few marks that she missed. Sarah did not cheat her way into being epted by the university and no one had to arrange anything for her. Mr. West, Mrs. West, it seems that you guys have been scammed. You must have spent a lot of money on this.¡± Both Mr. West and Judy were speechless upon hearing that. Sarah often yed truant to have fun outside the ssroom, so she couldn¡¯t pass her college entrance exam and enroll in Bayside University. Because of that, Judy had asked Mr. West to lecture Sarah, which he did. After that, she disappeared without a trace and earned herself the enrolment letter from Bayside University. Judy thought it was because Mr. West relied on his connections to make it happen. However, it was unexpectedly due to apetition that covered the shortage of Sarah¡¯s marks. Harry added, ¡°The reason why she failed was because of her health. During the exam period, she fell critically ill and couldn¡¯t even stand up straight. Hence, she applied for sick leave to recover at her mother¡¯s ce. After that, she passed all the exams that she retook.¡± Upon hearing that, Mr. West¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Sarah, when did you fall ill? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Sarah merely lowered her head without saying anything. She initially nned to tell him. However, as soon as she arrived home, she only saw her stepmother¡¯s wicked face as he was away on a business trip. Hence, she turned to head to her mother¡¯s ce. Because of that episode, she received a zero for a few of the subjects in her finals. Upon hearing that, he scolded her right after she recovered from her illness. Hence, she turned and left without giving any exnation. While patting Mr. West¡¯s shoulders, Harry imitated Judy¡¯s tone as heunched his next verbal attack. ¡°Mr. West, that¡¯s why I said you guys need to sit down andmunicate well.¡± Judy wanted to speak, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Harry interrupted her. ¡°Before the entrance exam, Sarah went abroad alone¡ªnot to fool around, but to attend an international illustrationpetition in Europe as the youngest among all contestants. Even though she only earned second ce, it wasn¡¯t an easy feat. After all, it was her first time heading abroad and she didn¡¯t speak thenguage well. Despite all that, she still managed to score a second ce, which is already a great achievement.¡± At that moment, Mr. West finally looked at his daughter in a different light. Again, Judy wanted to say something, but after seeing how much closer the father and daughter now became, she knew that nothing she said would be of influence. It¡¯s alright. There will be plenty of chances in the future! Sophia was monitoring the situation from a distance and saw Judy¡¯s expression, which showed how much thetter wanted Sarah and Mr. West to be sworn enemies. Sarah had always shared about JudyCopyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. to her, but with fear and resentment. It seems like this stepmother is quite smart as well. On top of that, the sisters from the Edwards Family were considered as her ¡®rtives¡¯¡ªJudy and Victoria¡¯s father was also Joe¡¯s cousin brother. They seemed to have appeared at Sophia¡¯s banquet to acknowledge her as a rtive, but she did not have many memories of them. No matter what, Sarah doesn¡¯t have to worry about being bullied with Harry now protecting her. Even though Sophia detested people from the Edwards Family and did not n on calling them out, Victoria saw her and quickly asked in a loud tone, ¡°Isn¡¯t that Sophia?¡± Sophia could only walk to her and greeted the sisters with a smile. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Judy and Victoria.¡± While she spoke, both the sisters secretly appraised her outfit. In order to boost Sarah and Harry¡¯s morale, Sophia deliberately wore bright clothes with jewelry all over her body. Any single piece of it would be sufficient for one to spend for their entire lives. The sisters were jealous to the point where their eyes reddened. It¡¯s infuriating topare with others! Look at her¡ªshe married well! Her husband is rich and handsome, definitely one in a million. Look at ourselves¡ªone of us chose an old-fashioned wealthy man and became a stepmom. The other is so choosy that all eligible men are either married or already in a rtionship. Even until now, I¡¯m still single. Everyone in the Edwards Family knew that Sophia was Joe¡¯s daughter as he often unted about her, making them jealous of him. However, Sophia¡¯s outfit today was slightly over the top¡ªshe had a few rings on her fingers, looking as if she couldn¡¯t wait for others to see that she was wealthy. She¡¯s from the countryside and raised by the bumpkins after all. How ssless! Even though she acknowledges her father¡¯s family, things like ss and elegance are trained since young. People like her are not born with elegance. They had to admit that Sophia¡¯s attire was indeed mboyant¡ªshe was initially wearing pajamas for dinner, but she had to return and change into more decent clothes, so she merely wore a few essories without having the time to match them with her attire. Victoria deliberately sat next to Sophia and affectionately held her arm. ¡°Sophia, I didn¡¯t get a chance to speak to you during your reunion banquetst time. I fretted about it for a long time!¡± While trying to maintain her appearance as Mrs. Murray, Sophia replied, ¡°I was simply too busy during that event. Please forgive me if we need to improve in certain aspects.¡± As there had been simply too many people at the banquet that day, she had no impression of the sisters except that her buttocks were whacked until it was swollen. However, both Judy and Victoria were absolutely keen to her and tried to engage in small talks with her. Finally, Victoria said in a sinister manner, ¡°By the way, I heard that you grew up at your uncle¡¯s ce, Sophia!¡± As soon as she asked that question, the temperature in the living room seemed to have decreased a few degrees. Everyone knew that it was a forbidden topic for Sophia hence everyone avoided it in front of her. Yet, Victoria unexpectedly raised the subject today. Michael, who had been listening to Stanley¡¯s report of hispany, frowned and looked at them with a dark expression. He put his wine ss down and walked toward her. However, he was still a stepte because she intentionally and loudly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s your uncle then? Why isn¡¯t he here?¡± Then, she looked at Sophia expectedly, as if waiting for her to embarrass herself. Her embarrassing history is now being brought up. Oh, that thing with her uncle and cousin is such a difiture! Chapter 660 Chapter 660 It was after Victoria¡¯s reminder that everyone from West Family suddenly remembered Sophia¡¯s fast, so they attentively looked at her. Only a fool wouldn¡¯t want to see this! With a dark look on his face, Michael was about to berate her when he heard Sophia replying with a nonchnt expression on her face. ¡°What? My uncle¡­ I¡¯ve already sent him abroad.¡± ncing at Victoria with a cold expression, she clearly enunciated everything. ¡°They are living a great life there now, doing an unprofitable business while serving the upper-ss society¡­ in a state of misery. Why, do you want to visit them?¡± Of course Victoria was the only one who heard the few sentences at the end. She was so shocked that her entire body jumped as it broke out in cold sweat. However, Sophia never nned to let them off the hook. After quenching her thirst with a cup of tea, she looked at her red nails while saying, ¡°In university, I heard that we have a pair of famous sisters from the Edwards Family. The elder sister became a mistress to a man old enough to be her father. Rumor has it that she tried to seduce him when his wife was pregnant. Young Lady Edwards became someone¡¯s mistress, tsk¡­ On top of that, I also heard that the younger sister is jobless and good-for-nothing. After being unable to sustain in the entertainment industry, she returned to work in her family business, but misused the money to buy luxurious items. When she tried to start a business, it failed and she¡¯s still spending her parents¡¯ money until now. She even became engaged thrice, but it was called off twice because of her messy private life when her fiance caught her cheating with other men. My, oh, my, I can¡¯t believe such incidents would happen in the Edwards Family, causing the family¡¯s reputation to be affected. It¡¯s fine if they merely humiliate themselves, but they ended up dragging their parents, siblings, and rtives down with them. These b*tches deserve to die!¡± Sophia seemed oblivious to the sisters¡¯ sudden change in expression as well as the West Family who were stunned into silence while muttering, ¡°Luckily they are not from the main branch of the family. No matter what, they just can¡¯t present themselves decently anywhere. If they want to humiliate themselves, we¡¯ll just let them continue doing so.¡± As she did so, she admired her beautiful fingernails. Others would not have believed it, but after Nichs was updated in the factory, it could make wool jackets and even perform manicures. Silence suddenly hung in the air. Michael, who was not far from her, stopped and secretly smiled. My chica never allows herself to be bullied! Each sentence is worse than thest. Of course everyone knew who she referred to¡ªthe two sisters, Judy and Victoria. As the women from West Family were usually housewives, they worked hard with their husbands to start their businesses, but did not have the knowledge or the capabilities to manage apany. So, they merely yed cards and gossiped at home. By that point, they already knew everything about the sisters. However, they had secretly talked about it because no one dared to do so in front of them. All the wives in the West Family led a hard life with their husbands because they were currently able to enjoy a luxurious life. However, Judy was different from them¡ªas she was from a wealthy family, everyone was afraid of her. On top of that, she was used to being the person in charge of the West Family, so the women were not her match. However, they never expected that she still wanted to call the shots outside the household. Judy is courageous indeed to have breached Sophia¡¯s most taboo topic in front of her husband. Serves her right for being humiliated! Judy and Victoria finally knew that they met someone who was not easy to be bullied and being careless since they were dealing with those naive women from the countryside in the West Family. Then, she suddenly recalled another topic and asked tentatively, ¡°The Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting is around the corner. Have you received the invitation, Sophia?¡± Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting? Sophia frowned. As Joe and his brother were acknowledged by the Edwards Family, it meant that they could participate in the annual dinner. It should be that annual dinner she¡¯s referring to. Upon seeing Sophia¡¯s frown, Victoria found the perfect opportunity to unt herself. She described the annual dinnerst year with excitement, trying to show off with every single sentence she spoke¡ªthe helicopter pad was full of private jets and many luxurious yachts were also docked at the pier. She also mentioned the opulence, the luxurious scale of the event as well as the red gs and the number of invited guests¡­ Victoria then deliberately added, ¡°The invitation was sent to me two days ago with my parents¡¯ name on it. In addition, the names of Uncle Joe, his wife, and Faye are also printed on the invitation. Even the name of my sister, who¡¯s already married, is also written on it. It¡¯s a pity that I can¡¯t search for your name anywhere on it. Perhaps it¡¯s because you were reunited with the family a littlete, so your name is not on the list yet. I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t make it to the annual dinner anymore¡­¡± Huh, it¡¯s just an annual dinner¡ªyet she unts about it as if she¡¯s a countrydy who has just arrived in the city. About the Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting¡­ Even if I¡¯m invited, I won¡¯t go. In fact, I don¡¯t even feel like going! After all, my husband¡¯s ex, who looks like his mother, will also be there. Sophia responded, ¡°That¡¯s probably the case and I haven¡¯t changed my name. A daughter who has married is like water that has been poured out. I¡¯m also toozy to go.¡± However, Victoria felt that she had won the round. It¡¯s the annual dinner, after all. Who doesn¡¯t want to go? By that time, everyone in the Edwards Family¡ªincluding those who were married¡ªwill be there. All of them had to gather at the family head¡¯s private ind. With the pier full of docked yachts and a helipad full of private jets, it would indeed be a huge event and worth living to attend it once. Sophia must be dying to go, so she¡¯s ying dumb! Victoria pretended to console her. ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll send tons of photos to you after the event so that you¡¯ll feel like you were in attendance.¡± Sophia smiled as she could no longer stand seeing Victoria¡¯s proud expression. ¡°I heard that you say the annual dinner is held on a small ind every year. If it¡¯s on an ind, I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t make it anyway.¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Victoria quickly asked, ¡°Why?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°My airne is gigantic¡ªit¡¯s a private Boeing jet. There won¡¯t be enough space for us to land the ce on the helipad.¡± Victoria was stunned upon hearing that. She has a private airne? Sophia added, ¡°As for the boats we own¡­ It¡¯s a mini-sized military ship from an auction in Russia. We usually use it to go and fish. I¡¯m afraid that there won¡¯t be any space for the rest after we dock our ship.¡± Both Victoria and the West Family were shocked beyond belief upon hearing it. Then, Sophia continued, ¡°I guess it¡¯s alright after all. We have an even bigger ind near the ind that belongs to the Edwards Family. We can dock our ship there and use a smaller airne to fly to that ind.¡± The West Family were dumbfounded upon hearing that. Poverty has definitely limited our imaginations. She no longer wanted to talk nonsense with Victoria anymore and waved at Nichs. ¡°Give Mommy a ss of milk, Nichs.¡± In no time, the robot respectfully came over with a ss of milk and passed it to her. ¡°Mom, here¡¯s your milk.¡± They had already noticed the smart robot, Nichs. After all, everyone who knew Taylor Murray was aware that he had a unique smart robot, who was famous online. Victoria quickly said, ¡°What a sweet robot. Let me touch it.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Be careful. He costs a few hundred millions.¡± Victoria retracted her hands in shock. Nichs joked, ¡°My essories are made from state-of-the-art technology. The maintenance fees are rather expensive; even if we sold you off, it won¡¯t be enough.¡± Victoria gave a dryugh upon hearing that. With that, Sophia bade farewell with all of them before leaving with Nichs. On the other hand, Michael had overheard their earlier conversation. Sophia isn¡¯t included in the invitation card that the Edwards Family passed to Joe? When he returned home, he took the time to flip through the mails that Vi No. 8 received. As they had not been home for the past few days, the invitations they received were as high as a small hill. After pursuing the list of envelopes, he eventually found the invitation by the Edwards Family. The first line bore Sophia and Taylor¡¯s name. So, the Edwards Family had privately sent the invitation to Sophia! Chapter 661 Chapter 661 Michael never maintained a good rtionship with Jordan, who was the head of the Edwards Family. Not to mention, Lucy had dumped Michael a few years ago. Later, when Jordan wanted to buy Vi No. 1 from him, he was rejected, causing them to have a tense rtionship. What is he implying by sending the invitation to us? Jordan was also one of the suspects to have sponsored Phantom Wolf. Hence, Michael felt that he needed to attend the event¡­ After chatting with the West Family, Harry saw them off after the scrumptious meal. Before they left, he even gave a smander to Mr. West, making him delighted. Harry changed clothes and threw all the cup noodles away after the West Family left. He finally realized that he could not live a life like that any more. After all, he also wanted to settle down and have kids. I can¡¯t go on like this anymore! I have to learn to live like Michael. When Michael went home, Harry sent his neighbors away and reced all the antique vases with the pink rug, returning the entire ce to its initial decor. Once he was done with everything, Sarah suddenly hugged him from behind as she was moved by his actions. ¡°Old Wolf, you are the best!¡± He looked incredibly handsome when he stood up to my stepmother earlier! If only I can be as assertive as him, she won¡¯t be able to bully me anymore! Upon looking at Sarah today, Harry thought she was incredibly beautiful. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. She had always been a hermit who usually never left the house and would not participate in any upper- ss society gatherings. The dress that she wore earlier was even borrowed from Sophia. Sophia¡¯s clothes were usually purchased from the factory, resulting in her wardrobe containing many new clothes that she hadn¡¯t worn. She lent one of them to Sarah today and was surprised to know that it perfectly fitted her. As Sarah wore the red dress, it gave her style a different aura from her usual attire. Even her young face had a different ir to it. She curiously asked, ¡°How did you know about my familial matters?¡± Harry gave her a mysterious look. ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± She scratched her head and mumbled to herself as she went upstairs to change. Upon looking at her heading up the stairs in her red gown, his eyes were full of affection. He had always known about her. Harry had been doing well in his circle nine years ago. Even though he was a businessman in the underworld, he needed to have a proper public identity. When Michael started his acting career, he felt that he also had such talents and joined the former to act in a movie, earning him a job title as an actor. As the Inte gained poprity, more kids knew how to use technology. Harry realized that he often received tweets from a user called ¡®Little Kitten¡¯ on Twitter. Hers was just one of the many few million messages and did not stand out. Sometimes, Sarah would show her drawings to him, knowing that he would never read anything that she sent and reply to her. So, she treated his Twitter as a ce for her to vent her frustrations. Whenever she ran into something that made her sad, she would send him messages¡ªsomething about the divorce of her parents and her fierce stepmother. She had messaged everything about herself to him. Even though he seemed as though he never read any of her messages, he had actually been reading them¡ªher first time participating in a drawing competition, her first time receiving a love letter, being alone abroad for the first time, her first time signing her works¡­ When she failed her college entrance exam, she was so desperate that she even contemted suicide. However, someone told her she still could save her marks, so she quickly prepared for the materials to prove herself and rely on her connections for help. In the end, she managed to sessfully enroll in Bayside University. He was aware of everything that she endured. He also knew about everything she had been through¡ªher love and hatred on top of her troubles and worries as well as her dreams and goals. Even though Sarah was a bit silly, it was still cute for Harry. After he finished packing his items, he changed into his pink bunny outfit. In fact, he became so adept at wearing it that he becamefortable, even though he felt awkward when he first tried it. Harry felt that he should also thank Michael for today¡¯s arrangements. If it hadn¡¯t been for him, it wouldn¡¯t have looked as good as it did. Meanwhile, he also felt that he had disappointed Sarah. After all, he was from the underworld, so living a quality life wasn¡¯t his strong suit. On the other hand, Michael was very good at living a fruitful life¡ªhe nurtured Sophia until she looked healthy and plump. Nathan was also chubby with a lot of baby fat on his face under his care. When Harry arrived at Michael¡¯s house, he saw Stanley on the rug hugging his uncle¡¯s thighs. ¡°Uncle Michael, why don¡¯t you invest a bit more money? Just a little will do.¡± When Michael was disgusted and annoyed, Stanley continued to plead. ¡°It¡¯s not much! Just a little¡ª100 million would do.¡± ¡°Get your hands off me. I don¡¯t have money. Go and ask someone else.¡± However, Stanley continued to grab Michael¡¯s thigh and pretended to be pitiful. ¡°Uncle Michael, just invest in us. Our game is about to beunched on an international stage to make our country proud. I have a huge event lined up, but it needs a lot of money. Sophia has invested money into this. You¡¯re the one left!¡± If Michael refused to give Stanley money, he would throw tantrums and roll on the ground. After being annoyed by Stanley, Michael responded, ¡°Gosh, you are embarrassing yourself! Get up on your feet! I¡¯ll give you some money, alright?¡± Stanley immediately rose to his full height and bowed. ¡°Thank you, Uncle Michael! You are a good person!¡± With that, both of them sat down to discuss the details of the investment and were soon joined by Sean. Upon seeing that, Harry also quickly participated in their discussion. Now that the Inte was booming, even the rural ces and temples used QR codes to solicit for donations. It was clear how popr smartphones and the Inte was bing. Hence, it was a necessity to develop a gaming app on the phone. Stanley nned to develop a mobile game called ¡®The Soul of Snipers¡¯. With ns to develop another game, he would require lots of money to be invested. Sophia had invested a lot in his new project. With the amount of money from Cooper, it was useless to keep it in the bank. Hence, she quickly withdrew it for investments¡ªshe bought stocks, timely purchases of the trending properties, and invested in many other businesses. As Harry approached them, Stanley quickly grabbed him to talk about investments. Once the four of them had finished their discussion, they signed an investment agreement. With that, Stanley packed his things in contentment and happily left with Sean. Not only did Stanley leave his dog in Michael¡¯s ce, he had also brought his cats over. At the current moment, it seemed like the entire ce was inundated with cats. Before Stanely left, he carefully reminded, ¡°Sophia, take good care of Sunset and Judge¡¯s cors, yeah? They are branded and expensive.¡± While hugging Sunset, who had soft fur, Sophia hummed in agreement and shot a good look at the cat¡¯s cor. Harry finally sat down and talked business with Michael. After all, they were buddies for many years¡ªto thank Michael formally would be too awkward. Harry spoke, ¡°Sarah¡¯s dad has asked me and Sarah to join the Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting.¡± Even though both Sarah and Harry were not a part of the Edwards Family and Judy was merely their stepmother without any blood rtions, Mr. West had still asked them to join the annual dinner to boost his wife¡¯s reputation. Joe¡¯s generation had descended from the illegitimate side of the Edwards Family. He initially could not be listed in the genealogy record book. However, since his name was recently included, it was a piece of good news to him, so he fervently hoped that he would be able to show good results to the family¡ª bringing along two handsome and privileged son-inws was a good choice. After thinking about it, Michael replied, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go together then.¡± He also wanted to meet Jordan. Michael sent Harry home after their discussion. By that stage, Sophia had also showered and changed into her pajamas before approaching Michael with Sunset in her arms. Stanley recently hadn¡¯t gone home as he was worried that his old caretakers would mistreat his sons and daughters. Hence, he quickly sent Sunset and her family of three cats over to her. Sunset had a beautiful cor full of diamonds around its neck, matching its personality and boosting her elegance. Whenever it was in the same picture as Sophia and the other orange cats, it looked like a rich youngdy posing with other people from the countryside. ¡°Dear, look at Sunset¡¯s cor¡ªit¡¯s so beautiful!¡± Chapter 662 Chapter 662 While ncing at Sunset¡¯s cor, Michael responded, ¡°This is a famous luxury brand for pets abroad. It¡¯s rather expensive. Stan¡¯s quite generous with his cats since this cor costs at least tens of thousands. Its price could set its owner back by even hundreds of thousands.¡± I¡¯m guessing that Stanley must have spent all of his earnings from the past year on his pets. No matter he keeps saying that he¡¯s broke every day. F*ck me! If I give him another penny, I¡¯m an idiot. Upon looking at Judge and the Persian cat, he added, ¡°Judge and Garfield¡¯s cors are also from the same brand. It costs at least 5 to 6 digits. Garfield¡¯s cor is specially designed, so it¡¯s even more expensive.¡± Garfield was the Persian cat that Linus gave as a present and the cor came together with the cat. When he brought it over, he had already gifted two cors¡ªone of which was already around Chrysanthemum¡¯s neck. Sophia thought, This must be the reason why Chrysanthemum recently has a hint of elegance, even though he¡¯s a fat cat. He is fat, but it¡¯s a different kind of chubbiness from other cats. It¡¯s because of the luxury cor that Linus gave. She said with excitement, ¡°I¡¯ll buy a few for the other cats tomorrow to ensure equal treatment. We can¡¯t be biased.¡± While petting the cat, Michael concurred. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll ask a couple of designers abroad to order a few for us.¡± However, Sophia was unhappy to hear that. ¡°Can¡¯t you buy that locally? You are so unpatriotic, always buying items from abroad!¡± He shook his head. ¡°Selling luxury items for animals is a new industry. There aren¡¯t any stores catering for that market locally. None of the local brands are good enough to even be listed in that category. Everything is old-fashioned that even a Ragdoll will resemble a stray cat after wearing them!¡± There aren¡¯t any stores locally¡­ Sophia suddenly sank into deep thoughts as she caressed the cat before a grandiose idea popped up in her mind. Since there¡¯s no market to cater for that industry locally, why don¡¯t I¡­ give it a go? As Taylor Murray¡¯s wife, she was acquainted with the socialities of Bayside City. Nowadays, whenever the rich wives went out, they cared a lot about how they looked. Luxury items had always been a must and pets were also considered essential. In the earlier years, even the royalties reared a few royal cats. Pets were now considered as a luxury brand too. This has a huge market potential! Previously, she also wanted to invest in a jewelry brand, but since that market was saturated, she kept dying it. Why don¡¯t I start a luxury brand for pets? Cooper has loads of money. Even if it¡¯s in the bank, it¡¯s not going to do anything. Why don¡¯t I withdraw it and invest? N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Once Sophia made up her mind, she started to write her business proposal. Meanwhile, Michael returned to the filming crew to settle the issues that Celine caused and to finish filming her scenes. It was almost time to attend the annual dinner when he returned home. At the same time, she was also engrossed with her own matters¡ªin no time, she wrote the proposal and emailed it to Michael, who was still at the filming crew, to peruse. After all, he was older and more experienced than her. He read through it with all of his concentration. Upon seeing his beloved wifeing out of her depressive episode and strove hard to earn money, he was relieved and happy as it was a good sign. He had to give her the credit for having bold ideas and being observant. He had merely been talking about it, but she started to survey the market after that. In the few days after their conversation, she never returned to work and instead traveled to various ces including heading abroad to conduct research on the local market. Her ns had included something else¡ªapart from developing a luxury brand for pets, she wanted to take over the tourism in Dragon Mountain. As Michael read the proposal, she exined with excitement, ¡°Meditation retreats will be the trend for the next few years. Many wealthy people will fancy it as they have been inhaling too much hazy air in the city and doing many things that make them feel guilty. So, they like to visit temples in the mountains to make donations in exchange for that peaceful feeling. Meanwhile, they take a few days¡¯ worth of rest. In fact, there are many people who like to head up to the mountains to do so. My ssmates have vis in the mountains specially for them to rejuvenate themselves and breathe in fresh air. They would head there for one to two months to rest on an annual basis. I¡¯m nning to make it a one-stop service for them. Once we have renovated and fixed the Dragon Temple, we can develop the surrounding areas to encourage more people to visit. Then, we can build a series of rest vis, holiday vis, and old folks homes in the mountains. We can also build many restaurants and farms there to help the local economy. The air is fresh there with snow in the winter. Maybe we can build a skiing resort too. I¡¯ve been there and I know people there who want to develop the area as well. However, they are unable to secure enough investors¡ªand there isn¡¯t another ce to bring such ns to life. The old monk told me that his temple only has two monks. Even though there are no roads leading to their temple, both of them are able to make seven figures annually! Right now, meditation retreats are very profitable with a few sessful cases in Cethos. Take Reverie Mountain as an example.¡± Sophia¡¯s proposal was very detailed¡ªit was obvious that she had done a lot of research. While Michael was in a video call with her, he thought that her voice was melodious and she looked pretty. My wife has matured a lot. After he finished reading the proposal, he ate two hamburgers for supper to gain weight as he portrayed someone fat in the movie, so the entire filming crew were waiting for him to be fatter. Then, Michael added, ¡°With regards to the luxury brand for pets, you can ask Stan¡¯s godson, Kenny, to teach you about it. For meditation retreats and developing Dragon Temple, you can ask Mr. Eighty Thousand about it as he¡¯s most experienced.¡± It was difficult to change Daniel¡¯s rare nickname after he was used to calling him like that. ¡­ Both of them often discussed the topic in their video calls. Michael fully supported Sophia¡¯s career while she was also eager to start something great on her own. She was unable to finish many things at once as she did not have any experience, so she had to search for business partners. Firstly, she reached out to Daniel. Even though she didn¡¯t want to do so, she couldn¡¯t deny that he was undeniably experienced in that field. After he learned about Dragon Mountain, a rich piece ofnd, he was rather interested in the investment. He even personally went there a few times to have a look for himself. After he was sure that he wanted to be Sophia¡¯s business partner, both of them were engaged in discussions and decided to kickstart their n after the New Year. She was also looking for an investor for the pets¡¯ luxury brand¡ªand the first person whom she thought of was Sarah as thetter loved cats with all her heart. Sarah also owned a few animal-rted stores. Her cat cafe was a famous cafe and right next to it was her pet store. Whenever customers like any of her cats in the restaurant, they could immediately purchase it. The pet store, which was next door, would send cats to ¡®work¡¯ in the cafe on shifts, making the entire process a cycle. After Sophia described her n, Sarah wanted to be part of it in that instant. This is a great idea! I¡¯ve been wanting to do this for ages! In Sarah¡¯s cat cafe, Sophia showed her the proposal. Even though Sarah was petite and quiet, she was blessed with a business acumen¡ªher stores were doing well, especially the cat cafe. Based on her fame as ¡®Little Kitten¡¯, it became a popr store online that all cat lovers would frequent whenever they visited the area. After perusing the proposal, she was interested. ¡°The pet industry has been gaining traction recently. The need for pet photography, gadgets and luxury items is also growing. I mean, look at my cafe and pet store¡ªthe vination, food, toys, hair care for the dozens of cats that I own have caused me to spend a lot of money. If we don¡¯t do so, the cats won¡¯t look beautiful and energetic.¡± The cats in Sarah¡¯s cat cafe were cute, healthy, and yful. While petting one of them, Sophia ordered a cup of coffee andmented, ¡°It should be fine, shouldn¡¯t it? At least I think it¡¯s working out well since the customers are gentle and kind.¡± Since the customers like cats, I don¡¯t think they will be that fierce. When Sophia brought the topic, Sarah had numerousints. ¡°When you have many customers, you¡¯ll encounter all kinds of weird people.¡± She pointed at a corner with many mattresses for cats and a clean rug. However, an unhygienic many on top of the futon with his long hair covering his face while a few cats slept next to him. His body radiated a stinking odor, causing the cats to stink as well! Chapter 663 Chapter 663 Sarahined in a soft voice, ¡°Did you see that? That homeless manes to my cafe everyday and sleeps on the floor all day long after ordering a cup of coffee. No matter what I do, he won¡¯t leave.¡± As she spoke, the unhygienic homeless man hugged the cats next to him and blissfully rubbed his face on their fur, revealing a sinister smile. He smelled their fur as if he was on drugs before lying on the ground like a dead dog. However, the cats seemed to fancy him and gathered around him. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Sophia responded. ¡°How disgusting. You should call the police.¡± Sarah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve called them a few times, but they can¡¯t do anything about him as he¡¯s suffering from a mental illness.¡± Sure enough, there¡¯s something wrong with his mind. One of the cats is sitting on his face with its butthole on his nostrils yet he has no reaction. Sophia suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you hire a security guard to throw him out? What if he startsying his hand on the cats when he¡¯s insane?¡± Sarah sighed. ¡°Forget it. He¡¯s actually quite pitiful.¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. ¡°The police informed me that his parents died in an ident when he was just a student and his rtives had absconded all of their assets. Three years ago, his wife died in a difficultbor and his child only survived in the incubator for two days in the hospital before passing away as well. Two years ago, his younger sistermitted suicide by jumping from a building after she fell out of love. While he was busy dealing with her funeral, his cat, which he reared for eight years, ate three of his hamsters that had been around for three years. The cat even choked to death! The dog, which he had for around ten years, was taken away by someone else after it ran outside. When he asked for it, the person ignored him and threw it down from ten floors in front of him. Since then, he waspletely traumatized. Geez¡­¡± A dumbfounded Sophia paused before replying, ¡°What a miserable life that he has!¡± Everyone suffered in the world¡ªand there were many reasons for the pain everyone experienced. However, his entire family died, causing him to be alone¡ªno one could handle such a trauma. ¡°However, it¡¯s not the way out for him to be like that everyday.¡± Sophia frowned. ¡°It¡¯s affecting your business!¡± Sarah also looked troubled. ¡°I don¡¯t have any other way. He¡¯s obsessed with the cats and here on a daily basis for close to a month. No matter what I do, he won¡¯t budge.¡± Sarah was amazed by what she saw. The police can¡¯t do anything about it, so how did the man leave after a few words from Sophia? Sophia replied vindictively, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he loves cats? I merely told him that he¡¯s unhygienic, so he might cause the cats to suffer from illnesses. He immediately left.¡± Sarah was speechless upon hearing that. Plum Technology was finally on track. Since Michael was not at home, Sophia had a lot of time on her hands to deal with her business. She often visited Sarah¡¯s cat cafe to discuss their idea of luxury brands for pets. What she did not expect was to see the homeless man again the next time she visited the store, but his appearance had changed¡ªhe washed and tied his long hair while keeping his beard, looking like an educated man. He did not look old; he resembled someone in his thirties. He had a clean face and he wore different clothes¡ªhe was in the cafe staff¡¯s uniform as he delivered orders, moved the items around, and cleaned the floor. ¡°Hey.¡± Sophia was shocked. ¡°Did you hire him?¡± Sarah exined, ¡°After he left thest time, he returned the next day with a clean look. He even said that by being clean, he won¡¯t spread any disease to the cats anymore. Since he¡¯s rather tall and muscr with nowhere else to go to, I hired him as the cafe¡¯s security guard. After all, everyone else in the cafe is a girl, so he will be responsible for the duties that require more strength. On top of that, he still knows how to take care of the cats. Once we close for the day, he¡¯ll remain to look after them and sleep in the storage room.¡± Sophia was still shocked upon hearing that. So, he¡¯s really a homeless man who loves cats. However, he was not in good spirits¡ªhe¡¯ll be stroking the cats in a daze most of the time, but no matter what, he still looked better than before. ¡°Hey, you guys are here!¡± While Sophia chatted with Sarah, Stanley entered the cafe with Judge in tow. As a person who loved both cats and dogs, he was interested in their business proposal, so he quickly joined the partnership. The minute he arrived, Sean would definitelye as well. ¡°Quicklye over. We were waiting for you guys,¡± Sophia said. Judge was left to roam about in the cafe to search for the cats whom he was familiar with. He liked cats as well and often came over to y with them. When Stanley and Judge were in the militarypound before, the dog could only y with the same compatriots over and over again, which it was tired of doing. The cat cafe was better because there were new cats everyday. In just a short while that he was here, Judge had already liked a few cats that he liked until their furs were drenched. He trotted around the room like an emperor visiting his concubines. From the cafe all the way to the outside, he would give the cats he liked two licks. Fortunately for him, the cats were rather docile, so they did not retaliate. Upon seeing that there was another person in the cafe today, Judge curiously walked toward him. The homeless man was stroking the cats with a gentle and affectionate look in his eyes and petted Judge¡¯s head after seeing him arriving. He seemed to have the ability to attract both cats and dogs as the animals surrounded. Judge also rested his head on the man¡¯s thigh to take a nap. While stroking the dog¡¯s head, the man saw the cor on the animal¡¯s neck. After using his fingers to take a closer look at it, his eyes widened in shock¡ªas if he couldn¡¯t believe what he saw. The four people who were in the midst of a discussion suddenly heard a wail. After looking around, they noticed that the homeless man tightly hugged Judge as he sobbed. A shocked Judge struggled to free himself. ¡°Ivan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sarah hurried over to give Ivan a hug. The homeless man did not utter a word as he continued to cry while tightly grabbing the dog cor. Upon knowing that the cor did note at a cheap price, she quickly added, ¡°Ivan, please let go of that. This cor is a luxury brand abroad, which was designed by a famous designer. You can¡¯t afford to rece it if you break it!¡± Ivan sobbed. ¡°Which designer?¡± Because they were preparing to be involved in the same business and Sarah had been paying attention to the industry, she knew more about the business. Hence, she immediately gave the name of the designer. ¡°This is designed by the famous designer for animal luxury brands, Bill Winterford.¡± As soon as he heard that, he wept bitterly and continued to tightly hug the dog. Fortunately, it was quite late, so there weren¡¯t many customers. Otherwise, his behavior would have affected her business. Finally, they managed to rescue Judge from Ivan¡¯s embrace. Stanley quickly brought his shocked ¡®son¡¯ aside while she coaxed Ivan to return and rest. The moment Sophia arrived home, she gave Michael a video call to update him about hertest progress and gossip that she heard. They often chatted until midnight before one party fell asleep. Without a doubt, she told him about the homeless man whom she met in the cat cafe. ¡°That homeless man is pitiful. I heard that he used to be wealthy and handsome, but he¡¯s now in this state. After his parents died, his rtives took advantage of him being young and squandered his family assets. His wife died in the midst of a difficultbor whereas his child only survived for two days. The cat that he reared for many years ate his hamsters and choked to death as a result. The dog whom he took care of for ten years also died, which is the really tragic part. Sarah said the pet was thrown down by others from the tenth floor. That¡¯s horrible!¡± Sophia was not someone who particrly liked animals, but she was devastated when Snowball died. The homeless man looked like he loved animals a lot. It must be traumatic for him to see his own dog die in front of him. Perhaps it was because the tragic story was extremely unique and it was a small world, Michael frowned as soon as he heard the story. Thinking that it was familiar, he quickly asked, ¡°Is the man called Ivan?¡± ¡°Wha¡ª¡± Chapter 664 Chapter 664 Sophia was so shocked that she spurted out the milk in her mouth. ¡°Do you know him?¡± Michael sighed and whispered, ¡°Yes. Back then, when I was still a drill instructor for the Bayside University freshmen, he was one of my students. After that, I heard that he went abroad to further his studies in designing. Unexpectedly, in the end¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t bear to borate further. After all, the said person was a talented student when he was in university. No one knew that fate would have dealt such a cruel blow in such a way on him. ¡°After his parents died, his rtives bullied him and his sister¡¯s naivety before cheating them of their house at a low price. Knowing that they wouldn¡¯t be able to have their house and their assets back, both of them studied abroad with the money. I heard that their business was initially doing rather well. It¡¯s such a pity¡­¡± He¡¯s actually our senior from Bayside University! All those who graduate from Bayside University are talents! I can¡¯t believe that he would actually reach this stage! Sophia felt sorry for Ivan and sighed uncontrobly. A while ago, Michael actually meant it when he said that he was about to purchase a few expensive high-end cors from abroad. He really ced the order after he talked about it. During these few days, his orders had finally arrived from abroad one after another. Their service was perfect. It was evident that the way one carries themselves depended on their clothes and essories, regardless if they were humans or animals. After their cors were changed, the few cats looked absolutely different. They were previously fat, but they were now wealthy! It had further strengthened Sophia¡¯s determination to kickstart a luxury brand for pets. ¡­ Even though everyone had founded their ownpanies, they were still students of Bayside University, so they still needed to spare some time to return to campus for their lectures. That noon, when Sophia returned to campus, Stanley dragged her to the alumni corridor on campus. ¡°Some new pictures are being hung in the corridor. Let¡¯s take a look!¡± As they approached the corridor, a few new faces were spotted. A surprised Sophia also realized that the four of them were also in one of the pictures. It was a pity that it was a group photograph as they were represented as a quartet. Of course, their achievement was their ability to kickstart Plum Technology. Using some of Michael¡¯s connections and persuaded by his vehement request, the vice chancellor relented and framed their picture as a team on the wall. Even though Sophia did not have any individual photo on the wall, she still felt content. In the future, I¡¯ll make sure that my photo is on this wall! After everyone grinned and joked at their picture, they walked along the entire corridor She suddenly found a name that shocked her after they trod for a while. ¡°Look, Sarah, isn¡¯t this the homeless man?¡± As she pointed at the wall, a young man dressed in suits appeared in front of everyone. His handsome face carried a creative ir that only belonged to artists and his name¡ªIvan Snowden. A few days earlier, Sophia heard Michael mentioning that Ivan was a talented man. However, she didn¡¯t expect that Ivan was talented to such an extent that his picture was hung on the corridor¡¯s wall. Stanley also pointed at the picture in surprise. ¡°Guys, look at his dog!¡± There was a husky in Ivan¡¯s photo that looked simr to the one that Stanley reared, although the former¡¯s one was more handsome. It should be the dog that was thrown from the tenth floor. However, the main point wasn¡¯t the dog¡ªit was the cor. Stanley eximed, ¡°His dog¡¯s cor is exactly the same as Judge¡¯s!¡± After everyone scooted closer to have a look, they concluded that it was exactly the same as the one he bought. The picture was hung five years ago, but as everyone¡¯s attention was focused on the newer alumni, theypletely missed out on Ivan¡¯s portrait. As the picture was taken five years ago, he still looked handsome and in high spirits¡ªaplete opposite of his current look. However, the cor was thetest release of the luxury brand for pets. If thetest version of the cor could appear in a five-year-old picture, it was a scary matter for someone to think about. Sophia looked at his designation¡ª¡®renowned designer for luxury brands¡¯ and ¡®one of the founders for a pet luxury brand¡¯. After perusing the picture of Ivan and his dog as well as his resume, they recalled the way he broke down when he held Judge¡¯s dog cor. Perhaps Ivan designed the cor? He designed it for his dog and seeing it on Judge reminded him of his dead pet? However, the official designer is the luxury brand designer, Bill Winterford¡­ No matter what had transpired, everyone was convinced that Ivan was a talented person in the design industry. Otherwise, his portrait would not be hung at the alumni corridor. Without waiting for their lectures to be concluded with, Sophia and Sarah rushed to the cat cafe and grabbed hold of him. ¡°Ivan? You are Ivan Snowden from Bayside University, right?¡± ¡°We are nning to start a luxury brand for pets. Can you please be our designer?¡± On their way over, Sophia had already read Ivan¡¯s resume. What a talent! What a f*cking talent! An average designer would not have the capabilities to appear on Bayside University¡¯s alumni corridor. He was an all-rounded designer who dabbled in fashion, jewelry, bags, shoes, and even luxury brands for pets! There were many internationally renowned designers with Ivan being the most famous with his design of luxury brands for pets because he himself loved cats and dogs. Both he and his wife were the best in their field as they both loved animals. They were only initially designing for their own pets, but soon caught the attention of the fashion industry with many people from the upper-ss society asking them to design luxury items for their pets. Slowly but surely, it created the trend of luxury brands for pets. Most of Ivan¡¯s information online were pictures of him with dogs and cats. Regretfully, after the incident three years ago, he hadpletely disappeared. No one would have thought that he would appear in Sarah¡¯s cat cafe as a homeless man who loved cats If they could hire him as their designer, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about their business failing. Ivan had a cold and amused expression on his face. Upon looking at both of Sarah and Sophia¡¯s agitated expressions, he waspletely unmoved and replied in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You have the wrong person.¡± ¡°Impossible! It¡¯s definitely you!¡± Sarah took out the picture that she took at the alumni corridor¡ªeven though Ivan looked slightly different, as if he was a tad bit older in real life, it was undeniably him. Sophia knew what he had experienced¡ªthe deaths of his parents, sister, his wife, child, and his beloved pets. As if that wasn¡¯t traumatic enough, the only cor which he designed for his dog was stolen by others. Such an experience would have been enough to cause a mental breakdown. He continued to deny it. When the girls continued to ask further, he pretended to be asleep on the floor. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Judge had recently been staying in the cafe¡ªhe woulde over on a daily basis to visit Ivan since the dog really liked him. Even if Stanley did not bring him, he would sneak out of thepany to see Ivan. In the past, it was Celine who always brought the dog over whenever she bought a cup of Joe from Sarah, which exined why Judge was familiar with the route. Once he arrived, he would use his tongue¡ªthe same one that he used to eat his own poop¡ªto lick the cats whom he fancied. Judge had followed suit when he saw Ivan lying on the ground. With that, he hugged the dog and continued pretending to sleep. Sarah was flustered upon seeing that. If only we can get his help! Chapter 665 Chapter 665 However, Ivan would not budge and would rather feign dead on the ground everyday. Even after Sarah threatened to chase him away, he still pretended to sleep on the ground. Hence, she could only try to bribe him. ¡°I¡¯ll give you this cat. I¡¯ll give you Judge! I¡¯ll give you Judge¡¯s cor too!¡± However, Ivan still wasn¡¯t moved, looking like a pile of mash potatoes that could be moulded into any shape. Meanwhile, Sophia went to LK to learn from them and had many chats over coffee with Kenny. On top of that, she also visited a few big shots of luxury brands who were in her cohort in Bayside University. She could find many well-performing teams for production and marketing in Cethos; what shecked was merely the designing team. Luxury brands for pet-rted goods were scarce in the local market, while the few brands that were into this were unstable. Many people wanted to earn money off this, but they simply didn¡¯t have the talent, so it was difficult to start. There was ack of designers in the local market. Apart from that, the designing requirements for humans and animals were very different. The few products done by local brands elicited the same response¡ªthey were ¡®very old-fashioned¡¯. Their products made the animals look like stray animals after wearing them. Of course, there were locals who were talented in design; however, all of them had pursued their careers overseas. It was too difficult to make a career out of this in Cethos. There was a talented person in front of them, yet they could not utilize him. Initially, Ivan designed luxury items for humans, but he had intense love for animals and thought of them as his family. Using his technical abilities, he created a unique luxury brand for his cats and dogs, but unintentionally, he became the pioneer of the pets luxury fashion, and so Ivan¡¯s focus shifted from creating luxurious goods for humans to that for animals. His creations had been very popr. However, it was a pity that his sister, wife, and child had passed away. Even his final mental support¡ªhis cats, dog, and hamsters¡ªdied as well. Since then, his life hadpletely fallen apart, never to see the light again. Sophia scoured around for designers. In fact, she managed to find a few who were creative enough, but their skills were simply not up to par. What theycked was someone who could mentor them. Ivan was an experienced designer, but he was simply too stubborn and troublesome. No one could stand him. Meanwhile, other candidates were either too far away or too incapable, and Sophia couldn¡¯t find anyone else. Even though Ivan was stubborn and troublesome, she would have to make do with him. Hence, she decided to pester Ivan until he obliged to her requests. She went to the cat cafe everyday to persuade him, almost in a flirty manner sometimes. ¡°Ivan, help me out¡ªI¡¯m your junior in university! If you work for me, I¡¯ll give you Vi No. 1! By the way, Garfield¡¯s mom is the Queen¡¯s cat. I¡¯ll hook it up with a date next year and give you all the kittens!¡± Nevertheless, Ivan remained unfazed. I will never design anything anymore! Never! However, Sophia stuck around him like a pesky fly. Finally, Ivan flipped out and proposed a humongously difficult request to her. ¡°Unless you can make Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston¡ªthe two Oscar award recipients¡ªperform a sexy dance in front of me, everything is off the table!¡± Sophia was shocked by his request. Sure enough, she was scared away by his rude, lecherous, and difficult request, and so she steered clear of the cat cafe for a while. However, not longter, Sarah suddenly pushed Ivan into a car that was full of cats and fetched him away. After a short drive, the car stopped. With a few cats in his arms, Ivan was led into a house by Sarah in a daze. After the door of the house was opened, Ivan saw a few cats in it, so he bent down to stroke them subconsciously. He hadpletely given up on himself. With cats and dogs, at least he thought that the world was warmer. Without caring what asion this was, hey down on the ground while hugging a few cats. Among the litter of cats, there was a white Samoyed, which he also pulled into his arms. He was surrounded by animals, feeling delirious and high. Amidst the daze, a cold, irate voice suddenly rang. ¡°That rascal from the third row, eighth column¡ªwhat the hell are you doing? Attention!¡± A memory of his army days that had been locked in his subconscious was suddenly resurrected. He immediately jumped up and gave a salute. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± After opening his eyes, he realized that he was standing in a wide hall with a row of humans and animals in front of him. Among the humans, two people were familiar to him¡ªone of them looked handsome, while the other looked arrogant. They had immediately brought back Ivan¡¯s memories, leaving him dumbfounded as he stammered, ¡°C-C-Company Commander!¡± He paused. ¡°Harry from the otherpany! Why are you guys here?¡± Back then, when Michael was the drill instructor for that batch of first years, the group of students ignored him, seeing that he was almost at the same age as they were. However, in less than a day, they hadpletely lost to Michael, and everyone was fearful of him, like how mice were afraid of cats. Back then, Ivan didn¡¯t belong to thatpany, but since Michael¡¯spany was short of one member and hispany had one in surplus, he was shifted over. In order to train them, Michael specially brought them to run around in a natural forest. Ivan even identally stepped on a snake and yelled in shock, whereupon Michael rushed to him and saved him by killing the snake. He had a deep impression of his drill instructor, who was as fierce as a tiger, even though thetter was at the same age as they were. After Michael finally returned home from the film set, he received an embarrassing task. At this moment, he revealed a cold smile. ¡°What are we doing here? Performing a sexy dance for you, of course! Didn¡¯t you request a sexy dance from both of us?¡± Looking at Michael and Harry, and then at Sophia and Sarah next to them, Ivan¡¯s cheeks were flushed red. Previously, he was still abroad. After finishing arranging his sister¡¯s funeral, he came back two years ago, so he wasn¡¯t very familiar with the news in Cethos. Apart from that, he had been living the life of a walking-dead, so he didn¡¯t take note of the news of the entertainment industry. Hence, he didn¡¯t know that Taylor Murray had gotten married. Seeing that Sophia was seated next to him at this moment, Ivan seemed to have understood something. In fact, he was so shocked that his soul almost left his body. Michael introduced Sophia. ¡°This is my wife. I heard from her that you would work for her after Ethan and I perform a sexy dance in front of you.¡± Sweat trickled down Ivan¡¯s forehead as he stuttered, ¡°I-I¡­ N-No! That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± With a lollipop in his mouth, Michael said darkly, ¡°Pick a background music. I¡¯ll dance in front of you right now.¡± Ivan stammered, ¡°H-H-How would I dare¡ª¡± Michael interrupted, ¡°Find a spot to sit down. I¡¯m about to start stripping.¡± Ivan was at the brink of tears. ¡°Sir, please let me go!¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Michael mmed his fist on the table and barked in a loud voice, ¡°Then what do you want?¡± Immediately, his tough, irate voice had gained control of the entire situation, even scaring Sophia, who had been secretly smirking. He¡¯s much fiercer than Commander Ford! Ivan was so scared that he almost burst into tears. ¡°S-Sir, I-I don¡¯t want anything. I just simply said that.¡± Michael clicked his tongue before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve already practiced my sexy movesst night just for you. Come here. Sit down and enjoy the performance.¡± With that, he dragged Ivan to sit on the couch, looking like he was indeed going to start his performance. However, Ivan didn¡¯t dare to ask his Company Commander to perform a sexy dance in front of him at all! Chapter 666 Chapter 666 Hearing that, Ivan almost peed his pants and resisted Michael¡¯s tug. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, really. Sir¡­ I-I just said that out of annoyance. You don¡¯t have to do this¡­ You know what? I¡¯ll do it! I¡¯ll do a sexy dance in front of you! You just have to sit down to watch it!¡± Michael continued to drag him as he said politely, ¡°Come here. Don¡¯t be shy! I¡¯ve already practised all the dance moves. Come take a seat!¡± Ivan replied, ¡°No, no, no. Sir, you should take a seat. I¡¯ll stand.¡± Michael¡¯s smile was too cunning and terrifying. It made Ivan¡¯s heartbeat speed up. After continuous rejections from Ivan, Michael¡¯s patience was slowly running out. In an instant, his face darkened. After all, he was a professional actor. Taking back his old vigor while training first-years, he asked firmly, ¡°So what do you want? Do you still want to watch the sexy dance? Are you going to work for my wife and sign the contract?¡± Stammering, Ivan answered, ¡°S-S-Sir, I-I¡¯ll sign it¡­¡± With that, Michael pushed the contract to him, along with the stamp and a pen. Ivan didn¡¯t even dare to look at the contract as he signed it with trembling fingers. After that, he slumped to the ground in a daze. Meanwhile, Sophia took the contract away happily. ¡°Give me a moment to stamp on it. I¡¯ll send your copy to youter.¡± After Sophia walked over, Michael sat down with Ivan while Sarah quickly prepared tea for them. Patting Ivan¡¯s shoulders, Harry felt sorry for him. ¡°How did you be like this? You¡¯ve fallen from grace! Back then, you were a famous talent at Bayside University. At least in our batch, everyone knew your name. How did you reach such a low point to watch men perform sexy dance? What a disgusting hobby!¡± To be honest, Ivan didn¡¯t have any intentions to watch any sexy dances. He was just annoyed by Sophia, so he wanted to scare her off so that she would know it wasn¡¯t going to be easy. Unexpectedly, Sophia actually managed to invite Taylor Murray. Ivan¡¯s cheeks flushed red immediately. Taking this opportunity, Michael quickly treated him to a meal and some beer. After all, it would be better to talk to him about this if he was drunk. Michael was quite devoted to his beloved wife¡¯s business. Right after he returned, she asked him to perform a sexy dance, and he even practised it. At the final juncture, if Ivan really wanted to see it, he was already prepared to dance. Of course, it would be the best if he didn¡¯t have to do that. Finally, he understood how Nathan felt when he forced him to dance to ¡®Three Little Bears¡¯ the other time. Nate must have been cursing in his heart the entire time. Soon enough, Ivan was drunk after being served some beers by them. Then, Michael and Harry dragged him to a secluded rooftop to continue drinking. After so long of not seeing his old friends, Ivan couldn¡¯t help remembering his younger days, crying as he drank on. He probably cried out all the contents that he drank. Sobbing, he began to tell them his experience for the past few years. ¡°Back then, I went abroad before I could even finish studying at Bayside University. I had no choice¡ªmy house was cheated away by my rtives who only gave my sister and I some money. Taking the money, I went abroad because I might be tricked by my rtives more if I had stayed. They were even thinking of marrying my sister off to get some money as dowry. After I went abroad, I studied design while working part time to support my sister. My career had been doing well, so she came to work with me after graduating. The first time I met Lavender was at a cinema. She loved your movies, Commander. I even promised to bring her to meet you after we came back here. However, everything was so unpredictable¡­ After my sister came back here to continue her career, I didn¡¯t know that she was already so fragile¡­ When I was busy with her funeral, I forgot to care for my cat, Raindrops, which ate my sister¡¯s hamsters. When I found out, it was already toote. My hamster, my sister, Raindrops, Lav, and the baby¡ªthey were all dead. But I still had Tiger. After I came back here, I started an office and lived together with Tiger. When I was drawing, it would alwaysy by my side. With it around, I thought, At least Tiger¡¯s still here with me. However, one fateful day, after I had a meeting with some clients, I found out that thieves had broken into my house and left the door open. Because of that, Tiger ran outside. After searching around for it, I found out that it had been picked up by others. When I asked for it back, they disagreed and threw it out of the tenth floor in front of me. I-I¡­¡± Sobbing, he couldn¡¯t continue anymore as tears streamed down his face. Michael had already known about his story from others, but it waspletely different from hearing him telling it himself. Who would have expected that he¡¯s living such a miserable life? His parents, sister, wife, and child are all dead. Even his pets are dead. I wonder how he has lived through all these years¡­ Harry brought an unwilling Judge over and threw it into Ivan¡¯s arms. ¡°Tonight, it belongs to you! Be more gentle to it! It¡¯s your Tiger for the night. You can tell it anything you want.¡± Hugging Judge, Ivanpletely broke down, talking to it about his misfortunes throughout these years. Michael consoled him, ¡°There, there. Buck up. Those who are dead can¡¯te back to live. You just have to work hard. In the future, you will have your own wife and kids, and your dogs and cats. This is a good job. Since we know each other way back, I won¡¯t lie to you. Do your job well, alright? We wouldn¡¯t want your talents to be hidden. The pets luxury brands industry in Cethos needs you to save it. After Judge and Sunset mate next year, we¡¯ll send their puppy to you. I will also give you Garfield¡¯s kittens!¡± ¡­ When it was midnight, Sophia went to the third floor to take a peek at them, only to find three drunk men and a dog. Being hugged tightly by Ivan, Judge looked sorry for itself. Sophia brought her husband away and left the others there. After a while, Sarah also came to bring Harry away. However, Ivan was a big shot they had finally convinced to sign on, so he couldn¡¯t be left sleeping alone on the rooftop as well. Hence, Sophia quickly sent him to the guest room and even put Judge and Chrysanthemum in his room to apany him. After she finished settling them down and went back to her room, she saw that Michael had woken up, even though he was still drunk. He justy in his bed and looked at her with his eyes wide open. Probably because he was happy to see his old friends, he had drunk a lot tonight. Back then, they were still a bunch of young men. In the blink of an eye, they had all be bald middle- aged men. Michael still remembered the group of students back then¡ªIvan, Harry, Quinton¡­ Back then, Ivan was still a bespectacled nerd who scored well in exams, and Harry was a brat who only knew how to fight, while Joel was the drilling instructor of anotherpany. Bothpanies secretly competed with each other, while Quinton was still a quiet sissy who was slightlydylike. ¡­¡­ Ten years of time was like a sculpting knife, moulding the simr people back then into different shapes and structures. The nerd had be a lunatic; the sissy became a notorious assassin, Phantom Wolf; Harry became the lord of the underworld; while Michael was stillpeting with Joel. Sophiay down on Michael¡¯s arm after seeing that he was lying on the bed spread eagle, slightly drunk. He had gained some weight at the film set, so it was soft andfortable to sleep on him. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Taking his arm as a pillow, Sophia looked at his slightly plump face with his double chin showing. He looks pretty cute this way too! A middle-aged man should look like how they should look. With his age, it was about time for him to gain some weight. Sophia stretched her hands into his shirt to gently rub on his belly fat. Michael was indeed drunk tonight. He turned around to hug Sophia and murmured drunkenly, ¡°Chica, do you want to see a sexy dance¡­¡± Chapter 667 Chapter 667 Sophia looked at him in disgust. ¡°You¡¯ve gained weight. You won¡¯t look good dancing sexily anymore. I don¡¯t want to see it.¡± Her words had triggered Michael, who quickly took off his clothes to dance in front of her. Sophia quickly covered her eyes with her hands. ¡°My God! Stop dancing! It hurts my eyes!¡± Even though she said she didn¡¯t want to watch him, she allowed herself to peek from her fingers through the slits. It¡¯s rare to see a drunk Michael dancing¡­ For his acting career, Michael had really put in all effort. All the fat around his belly was real. When he performed the sexy dance, his belly fat was wiggling as he was just wearing shorts, making Sophia giggle out loud. My, my. His image as a male idol ispletely ruined. Sophia even took Michael¡¯s phone to record him dancing half-nakedly so that he could see this himself after waking up the next day. Early morning the next day, Michael was deep in his sleep when Danny called. ¡°Sir, New Year is almost here. Have you recorded the congrattory video for the agency to use for the promotion of ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯? The tribute film has finally been approved, and they need a video too. Quickly record them and send them over.¡± Still dazed, Michael vaguely remembered he had recorded it before. ¡°I only recorded one video. You guys have to edit it before sending it in.¡± Seeing that there was already a video on his phone, he sent it to Danny. When Danny received the video, he was actually slightly revolted. He knew that his boss didn¡¯t care about his image, but he didn¡¯t expect that he had totally let himself go. Forget it, forget it. He¡¯s not young anymore, and he¡¯s grown so fat for the sake of box office. Poor guy. Danny edited a shirt on him and adjusted the lighting of the video before sending it to the agency, who sent it out as a bonus for the fans. Hence, in less than a day, #TaylorMurrayDancing was trending. When Michael realized about this, it was already toote¡ªhis dancing video had spread all over the Inte. When the fans saw Taylor acting this way, they realized that he had indeed given up on his image. Some time ago, he visited night clubs, flirted around with other chicks, and even got into fights. Now that he had gained so much weight, the fans were thoroughly disappointed. They finally epted the cruel reality that their idol was not the handsome actor anymore. Instead, he had be a fat middle-aged man. It¡¯s enough to take note of his works. Sophia was also bewildered upon seeing that. I merely recorded the dancing video to show it to him. Why did he send it out himself? Ah, forget it. Michael was supposed to change his style anyway. He can¡¯t possibly be acting like a handsome man forever. It¡¯s time for him to star as some middle-aged characters. This is just to prepare the fans for that inevitable day. Sophia had already epted the fact that her idol simply could not help getting out of shape because of his age. After all, he was already in his thirties. In fact, she even felt he looked cute in his plump figure. When they were making out, she could even y with his belly fat. However, Michael refused to concede defeat! He started going to the gym. When Sophia went out to look at different projects, he also tagged along to try to lose all his belly fat. The video had be a tainted history of Michael¡¯s. Triggered by that, he refused to see anyone during this period. ¡°I won¡¯t look down on you, so you don¡¯t have to work so hard. Eat while you can; don¡¯t starve yourself,¡± while hiking, Sophia panted as she spoke to Michael, who remained silent while wearing a face mask with a cold look in his eyes. They were hiking up Dragon Mountain. This was Michael¡¯s second time here, though Sophia had been here numerous times. This time around, they also brought Daniel along. When they reached the peak, Sophia pointed to a piece ofnd and said, ¡°There¡¯s the spot to build our ski resort, while the holiday resort and old folks¡¯ home will go there. The air here is very fresh and sweet. If we seed in this, we will earn a lot of money! And when we are old, we¡¯ll retire here.¡± The mountain was still snow-capped and foggy. Hence, it was easy to lose one¡¯s way. When Sophia couldn¡¯t find the temple, she would let Judge find it, and it had never failed her. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. This time around, they saw the old monk who was in charge of the Dragon Temple. There were three new monks, who came here after knowing that a rich boss was about to develop this area. As soon as the old monk saw Michael, he said, ¡°Dear sir, you¡¯ve gained weight.¡± Michael¡¯s face immediately darkened. After they walked into the meditation room, the old monk made tea for everyone as usual. He also knew about the imminent development of Dragon Mountain, but he neither agreed nor protested. ¡°Let¡¯s take it easy. Nature will take its course.¡± To him, whether Dragon Mountain would be sessful or not depended on God¡¯s will. Because of the tantment about his figure just now, Michael was angry at the monk. Hence, he walked out of the room without another word to say his prayers outside, leaving Sophia to speak to the monk alone. Looking at Sophia, the monk said after some hesitation, ¡°Dear madam, the destined departure wille sooner orter. You¡¯ll have to be mentally prepared.¡± Confused, Sophia put down her teacup and asked, ¡°Master, what are you talking about?¡± He replied, ¡°You should know what I¡¯m talking about. Some words can¡¯t be easily retracted or changed after you say them out loud. You have to pay some karma back, be it good or bad.¡± Sophia¡¯s smile froze briefly before she changed the topic with a smile. ¡°Master, your level is too high for a commoner like me to understand.¡± After the joke, she continued drinking her tea. Then, he added, ¡°Everything will return back to the beginning.¡± In fact, Sophia had roughly guessed what the old monk was talking about. She had been betrayed, and she had received help from others. Some people tried to hurt her for their benefits, while others had helped her out selflessly. Hence, Sophia had always been quick to take revenge and return the favors she received. She had been returning the favor of the principal of Riverdale High School by providing many schrships to the school, and she even donated for the construction of a few buildings. Derek had helped her, so she helped his sister set up the Mitchell Sisters so that they would lead a better life. However, this was actually part of Sophia¡¯s ns. Michael loved her, so she always loved him back. Despite all that, there was a person whom she could never return the favor. He held her, who was barely alive, in his arms on Salvador Ind in the middle of that night to protect her. She had promised him to be his ve if he saved her, but she didn¡¯t fulfil that promise. Instead, she killed him¡­ As the weather was nice that day with the sun out, Sophia nned to stay at the temple for a night. When she walked around in the snow, enjoying the view, Michael took a bowl to collect the holy water from the cliff. The drips of the holy water formed a crystal-clear pool with Judge taking a bath in it. No one knew where this water came from. Even though everything had been frozen on the peak, this pool of water was an exception. In the cold winter, there were even white fumesing from it. Upon seeing Michael, Sophia quickly walked to him joyfully. ¡°What are you doing, dear?¡± Raising his head to look at the holy water, Michael replied, ¡°Drinking water.¡± He collected another bowl of water for Sophia, who took a sip happily. Sure enough, water that¡¯s collected by my idol is sweet. After Sophia finished drinking, Michael also took a few sips before asking, ¡°What did you and the old monk discuss?¡± Sophia wiped her lips and smiled. ¡°Nothing much. We just went through some details of the development.¡± Chapter 668 Chapter 668 Michael felt extremely suspicious as he realized how different Sophia was behaving after speaking to the old monk. She seemed to be keeping something to herself, so much so that the smile on her face looked contrived. He waited for an opportunity where Sophia was not within ear¡¯s reach to ask the old monk what happened. The old monk simply answered ambiguously, ¡°Let nature take its course.¡± The monk had this aura of all-knowing wisdom around him¡ªMichael could tell. Something he told Sophia then that must have caused her to act so reservedly. A few more days after they returned from the mountains would be the annual gathering of the Edwards Family. Michael had only these few days to lose the weight he gained. He was determined not to cause any embarrassment to Sophia. The moment his sexy dance hit the Inte, it had caused a huge stir among the public. Everyone was commenting about how the international superstar, Taylor Murray, had gained weight, lost his charm, faded out, and lost his grace. Coincidentally, the annual event of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ awards was around the corner. Taylor¡¯s votes barely made it to the top ten even without any sabotage from rivals. His ranking remained vtilepared to some of those up-anding celebrities. If it were in the past, Sophia would have been extremely busy. However, this time around, she had no intention of spending any time on such irrelevant events. Right this moment, making money was her top priority. Michael shared simr sentiments with Sophia when it came to such poprity rankings. After all, he had been topping the charts for years. Such pursuits had begun to wear him out, and he couldn¡¯t care less. He would be focusing on getting back in shape. The news of a heavier Taylor had everyone in the nation talking. Everyone¡ªeven those in universities and offices¡ªhad expressed their disappointment on witnessing their idol, who was once so stunning, losing his charm and was now merely a pudgy, middle-aged man. Sophia was now in her third year of university. Although she hardly needed to return to the faculty for sses, she had to keep abreast with the sybus and modules. Needless to say, her schedule had never been busier. The moment she went back to campus, everyone swarmed her in the spot she sat with tons of questions. ¡°Hey, I heard your hubby gained weight. Is it true that Taylor has put on some pounds? It¡¯s so hard to believe! How could he? He¡¯s my idol! This is uneptable! Sob!¡± Sophia replied nonchntly, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s true. Well, isn¡¯t this normal? It happens to most men his age.¡± The crowd seemed to be dumbfounded with what they had learned. This was almost as serious as the world learning that Leonardo DiCaprio got out of shape. When Sophia dropped by at the office, the staff hounded her with equal curiosity, ¡°Is it true that our boss has put on weight? Oh, my God. How could this happen to a superstar like him?¡± The entire nation seemed to be quite invested in her husband¡¯s expanding waistline. There was no shortage of Michael¡¯s fans who worked in thepany. Sophia felt the intense pressure of having to fend off their piercing stares as they gave her the stink eye. She immediately exined, ¡°Yes, he did gain weight. But let me assure you that it had nothing to do with me! He did it to himself!¡± It was true that Michael¡¯s weight gain had nothing to do with Sophia. He did it for the sake of his career! He could have achieved the same effect had he used prosthetics and make-up in his filming. However, this coulde across as an insult to his professionalism, for he was a strong believer in method acting, so he had to actually be fat. Yet, the death stares from the others surrounding her suggested that they were not convinced. His wife must have failed to take care of his health and body figure! Look at how she ruined a man who used to own a figure many would envy! Such sphemy! Once theymented Taylor¡¯s weight gain, everyone shifted their attention to Sarah. They held her tight and reminded her profusely, ¡°Now that Taylor¡¯s lost his figure, you must take good care of Ethan. Don¡¯t let him get out of shape too!¡± Winter had arrived. Sarah¡¯s pet store weed a few gorgeous pedigree felines and canines, which were here for breeding. Sophia secretly brought Stanley¡¯s cat and dog, Sunset and Judge, to the store for breeding too. These two pets belonged to Stanley, who requested Sophia to take care of them for the time being. Sunset and Judge descended from a pure line of pedigree. Their predecessors were well known in the industry. Sunset mated with a few of Sophia¡¯s cats previously and gave birth to two kittens. Its cats were mere mongrels, so the kittens, although good-looking, were mongrels nheless. Theycked the air of elegance that a pure-bred like Sunset exuded. Sophia felt wasteful of Sunset¡¯s pure-bred ancestry, and so she decided to bring Sunset and Judge over to find a mate, in hope that they would find someone worth mating and perhaps conceive a half-breed Mutt. At the same time, Sophia brought Garfield, which was still too young for breeding, over for a grooming session. Meanwhile, the few other mongrel cats at home would not require any specific breeding. Sarah found Judge a pure-bred female Siberian Husky for a mate, but Judge did not seem to show any affinity; it showed interest in a Norsk Skogkatt instead. Despite the Skogkatt being a male cat, Judge seemed to have fallen in love with it at first sight and waspelled to make a move on it. The owner of the Skogkatt had to step in to put a stern stop to such an unnatural union and introduced their very own Siberian Husky to Judge. Sarah sent out invitations to her pet store clients and organized a cats and dogs mating party. Her cafe and pet store had been in operation for some time; she had also built up a clientele for both establishments and intended to introduce her new products to them. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. There were a decent number of visitors to her store that day. They were mostly wealthy women, holding their pedigree pets with one hand, and some luxurious essories in the other. The nes, clothing, and handbags they donned were merely the basics. It was the pets they held with them that made up the social hierarchy among them. Since the pets represented their social statuses, these wealthy women made sure they were well-groomed. As they gathered, they impressed each other not only with what they fed their beloved pets or the essories they wore on them; they also disyed the apparel of their cats and dogs. Such arge market with so much potential! Not many could resist the charms of an elegant pedigree canine. As soon as Judge came around, it was swarmed by the women, all wanting to carry it and give it kisses. Some even offered to matchmake Judge with their very own Siberian Huskies. Sunset¡¯s poprity was no less than Judge¡¯s. When the visitors caught sight of it, they could not help stroking it fervently and asking for ns to mate ining years. For the sake of her business, Sophia worked hard to establish a spot for herself in the circle of these ladies to further study the market. Garfield had her share of fans. Pure-bred with good looks, everyone loved it. But they stopped inquiring about it for breeding after Sophia explicitly stated that it was too young for breeding. The party was going well until someone decided that it was a good day to ruin everyone¡¯s mood. Judy walked over with her pure-bred Persian cat in her arms. She noticed Garfield perching in Sophia¡¯s arms and suggested, ¡°What a gorgeous Persian cat you have. Let¡¯s have yours to mate with mine.¡± Sophia nced at her cat and declined. ¡°Nah. Garfield¡¯s still too young. Perhaps a few yearster.¡± Victoria joined in the conversation with her cat. ¡°It¡¯s more than one year old. That¡¯s not young; it¡¯s good enough for breeding.¡± Even if Garfield were ready, over my dead body! She was fully aware that they were at Sarah¡¯s party and would want to avoid creating a scene. She then decided to take the high road and replied, ¡°One year old is still too young. If you breed them too young, they won¡¯t grow well.¡± Judy locked her eyes on Garfield. ¡°It¡¯s just a cat. You¡¯re overthinking.¡± Not wanting to argue, Sophia remained silent and stroked Garfield¡¯s petite little head. Chapter 669 Chapter 669 It was a grand day for Garfield. Everything it donned at the party was nothing less than extravagant. Its cor was given by Linus, while its clothes were custom ordered from overseas by Michael. Armed to its teeth best described its choice of apparel that turned many heads that day. Sophia used to not pay that much attention to dressing up her pets. She thought that keeping them well fed would suffice. However, to fit in with thedies from the social elite circle, she too felt the pressure to invest in her pet¡¯s wardrobe. Judy was not impressed when Sophia ignored her. She¡¯s nothing but a nouveau riche! Judy thought of Sophia¡¯s plump, disgusting father and her sister, whose face had gone under the knife countless times. She could not help but imagine how Sophia emanated the greasy stench from her father and the whiff of disinfectant from her sister. Judy knew Joe better than anyone else. Sophia¡¯s sister, Faye, who used to own a face so hideous, could pass for a different person after she returned from overseas, having gone through numerous intensive stic surgeries. They used to beg around for help when they were down in their luck. But now that things have turned around for them, they are acting all superior. Look at these upstarts¡ªeven their cats behave like them¡­ Judy nced at Garfield¡¯s clothing and felt a pang of bitterness in her. Bah! Daughter of an upstart, nouveau riche, social-climber, who married a middle-aged, out-of-shape, has-been superstar, acting like she¡¯s all that! Her pudgy husband still dares to frequent the clubs every night. God knows how many women he¡¯s slept with! I feel sorry for her! Once thedies ran out of topics to unt their pets and essories, they naturally moved on to gloating about their husbands. And when it came to the topic of husbands, everyone would instantly think of Sophia and her celebrity spouse, who was recently infamous for his expanding waistline. ¡°I heard your husband has put on quite some weight, huh?¡± Sophia knew she could no longer hold off such an inquisition. As ofte, whenever she went out, whomever she met¡ªneighbors, ssmates, or business associates¡ªthey all probed on her husband¡¯s weight. Sophia responded with a simper, ¡°Yes, yes, he¡¯s gotten heavier. It¡¯s inevitable for men his age. That¡¯s prettymon.¡± Everyone shook their heads inmentation. Indeed, he, who used to be the man of every woman¡¯s dream, could not escape from the harsh reality of aging. Such is life! Sophia was bemused by how much concern these women had for her husband, even more so than herself. It was as if they were grieving for their own husbands. Amidst the sighing, thedies knew better not to rub it in for Sophia, so they merely afforded some constion. ¡°Some would say that gaining weight is a sign of a good life.¡± ¡°He actually looks healthier this way.¡± ¡°It must have been tough being a celebrity, being unable to choose what he liked to eat. Well, now he can.¡± Among the voices of concern, there was bound to be that sarcastic one, this time in the form of Victoria. Her voice, almost on par with the sound of nails on a chalkboard, pierced through the chatter. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t spoil your man. Look at him, hitting the clubs night after night. It¡¯s no surprise he got out of shape with a mboyant lifestyle like that.¡± Herments reminded everyone of Taylor¡¯s news on the tabloids. It appeared that his beer gut had much to do with his vivacious nightlife. Partying every night would eventually take its toll on the body. At this moment, everyone gazed at Sophia with pity. They might look like the power couple on the outside, but who knows what she has to go through behind closed doors? It¡¯s all but a show! While Taylor is having the time of his life out there, she could do nothing but to put up with his antics. I feel sorry for her. Sophia kept silent with a smile. Everyone knew how bad she must have felt at that moment. While most steered away from this topic, there was someone who just never knew when to stop. Judy uttered maliciously, ¡°Sophie, I heard your dear Taylor is getting quite chummy with the wife of some director, and they even got caught on camera hitting the clubs together! Aren¡¯t you worried¡­¡± Sophia stroked Garfield as she stared at Judy¡¯s taunting expression. She raised her voice in retaliation. ¡°I¡¯ve never known a mistress who ends up getting what she wants. Take a look at Natasha¡ªshe¡¯s a good example! I have nothing to fear because I¡¯m the legitimate wife! Last I checked, I didn¡¯t even budge when some mistress who got herself pregnant tried to force me to divorce my husband. What¡¯s there to be worried about?¡± Those scathing lines took the words out of Judy¡¯s mouth, leaving her in a grimace. Sophia curled her lips at that. You asked for it! Both the Edwards sisters were lost for words as they red at Sophia with seething anger. They were all a part of the Edwards Family. Back when Joe hit rock bottom, he sought help from Judy¡¯s father. She would never forget that pathetic look on his face at that time. But who would have thought that after all these years, not only did Joe get back on his feet, both his daughters did pretty well themselves too? One was a rising star in show business, while the other married Taylor Murray to be Mrs. Superstar. What did they do to deserve this? Judy and Victoria struggled to ept the fact that while both their families started somewhere along at the same level, even Sophia, an illegitimate daughter, was living a better life than theirs. While Victoria was still sulking from her humiliation, she noticed a mutt cat gently rubbing its body around her ankle. It was chubby with a yellowish-brown coat¡ªnothing close to the elegant pedigrees she was used to. It irked her to have her ankle rubbed by a mutt like that. Without hesitation, she gave the cat a vigorous kick, as its pointed heelsnded on its belly. The cat flew off andnded with an excruciating ¡®meow¡¯, its mouth spitting blood. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Thedies at the store gathered around the bloodied mutt cat, and some cried, ¡°Oh, my God! Look at the cat; how could you do this?! It¡¯s bleeding!¡± Victoria remained unnerved, and she scoffed condescendingly, ¡°This is a high-ss pet shop. How did this half-bred get in here?¡± Sarah¡¯s pet shop only had pedigree cats for sale. Mutts were definitely not offered in the shop due to its target market. The majority of the elites would not even consider mutts, but for some reason, three to four identical mutt cats, with the same color and shape, showed up at the pet shop that day. Who could the owner be? While everyone was wondering how the cat sneaked into the shop, they saw Sophia squat down next to the cat to have a closer look. ¡°Simba¡­¡± Of course, Simba belonged to Sophia, for it was one of the offspring of Cooper¡¯s cat. Old Master Fletcher mated Cooper¡¯s cat with Chrysanthemum. Due to its yellowish-brown coat that resembled a lion¡¯s, it was named Simba. Simba looked at Sophia weakly. With its blood-stained mouth, it purred incessantly as itid on the floor. Sophia, with a stern look on her face, carefully carried her cat up. Sarah most certainly did not see this coming, for Sophia happily brought her cats here for grooming. ¡°Victoria, it¡¯s you again! Apologize to Sophia at once!¡± Sarah darted toward Victoria, who ignored her while examining her pointed heel shoes. ¡°Gee, where did that damn mutte from? I gotta say it¡¯s quite tough. Even the rhinestones on my shoe came off after knocking into it.¡± She let out a couple of sighs. ¡°Tsk-tsk, I can¡¯t believe that anyone would want to adopt mutts like these. Low ss is what I¡¯d call it!¡± Sophia threw her a cold stare before she turned away to send Simba to the veterinary. As she walked off, she reminded Maria to gather their cats and dog to be brought back home. At the veterinarian, Simba was inspected and had its wound scanned. It took Sophia nearly half a day to get the health check report. Chapter 670 Chapter 670 Victoria¡¯s kick was brutal. That kick with her pointed heel shoe was enough to send Simba flying and lose one of its teeth. On top of that, its mouth was injured, and it suffered from a mild concussion. Had it been an average cat, its organs might have gotten hurt as well. It was a good thing that Simba was plump and rounded. Its fat provided the protection it needed to absorb the impact and shielded its vital organs. Despite that, the veterinarian insisted that it remain at the facility for an additional two days of monitoring. What a scare¡­ Sophia found herself drenched in sweat from the frightening experience. It was the offspring of Cooper¡¯s cat, and Old Master Fletcher personally entrusted it to her. If it was harmed in any way, she would have failed both Cooper and Old Master Fletcher. ¡°Simba, you stay here. I¡¯lle to see you tomorrow,¡± said Sophia, to which Simba knowingly replied with a ¡®meow¡¯. Due to its missing front tooth, it did not look as charming as before. In fact, a cat with a missing front tooth was aical sight. She caressed Simba¡¯s head and, at the same time, received a call from Maria back home. ¡°Madam, bad news! Someone swapped Garfield away!¡± Maria was about to burst out crying. ¡°Calm down. I¡¯m on my way home now,¡± replied Sophia. Upon returning home from the veterinary, Sophia took a look at Maria¡¯s cat bag. An unfamiliar Persian cat stuck its little head out. The cat bag belonged to Garfield, but the cor and the cat did not match. Maria knew how much this cat meant to Sophia, so the former was exasperated. ¡°I personally made sure all seven cat bags were packed beforeing home. But I was careless, and someone swapped Garfield away when I wasn¡¯t looking.¡± Sophia brought all her cats to the pet shop today. She brought four ginger cats, Garfield, Sunset, and her two kittens, which was eight cats in total. Simba was at the veterinary, so seven cat bags were brought home. Sophia gazed at the stranger Persian cat and felt she had seen it somewhere. Upon further study, she confirmed it belonged to Judy; she remembered it clearly because of the ck mark on its bottom. Maria bit her lower lip. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if I should bring this up to Ms. Sarah¡­¡± Sophia was close with Sarah. Given the incident that happened at the event earlier on, Maria felt it was not her ce to ask Sarah about it, so it would be best for Sophia to ask instead. Sophia gave the cat a rub in the head andmented, ¡°It¡¯s quite good looking too. We¡¯ll keep it.¡± She then turned around and went out the door with her phone on the dial before driving off in the middle of the night. When Sarah found out about this, she was vexed. They¡¯ve gone too far. Stealing someone¡¯s cat? Have they no shame at all? I don¡¯t care if they¡¯d lose face or if they¡¯d pull the family card on me. To hell with that! Before long, Sarah joined Sophia. Stanley, who got the news, came to help as well. Together, they headed off to the Edwards Residence. Sophia¡¯s luxury design workshop was located in an office building opposite Sarah¡¯s cat cafe. Ivan, who was living in the cafe¡¯s hostel, arrived at the cafe after work and noticed Sophia¡¯s grouping and leaving in a haste. Upon asking what they were up to, Sophia told him what happened to her cat and that she was going to get it back. Ivan was stunned, for he was reminded of his dog. Back then when his dog ran out and got taken away by someone else, he attempted to get his dog back. The other party asked for money, which he offered, but they turned back on their words and humiliated him. When the negotiation went south, they threw his dog off the building from the tenth floor, right in front of him¡­ Hence, Ivan decided to follow Sophia, offering any help he could. At the West Residence. Today was Judy¡¯s birthday. Being the third daughter-inw of the West Family, she threw avish party and invited members from the West and Edwards Families. The rtives from the West Family were mostly from the middle ss, so they found it hard to mingle with the Edwards Family; both groups could hardly get along well. At this moment, Judy was carrying a Persian cat in her arms as she chatted with her family. The Edwards family who came included Judy¡¯s parents, Victoria, Joe, and Faye. By now, Faye had made a name for herself in show business. She had acted on the silver screen and was involved in some online productions. Although she was not as mainstream as heavyweight stars like Harry, Taylor, or Nicole, she still had some fame within the industry. Some of thedies from the West Family gathered to gossip. ¡°Tsk-tsk, Judy¡¯s done pretty well for herself. Having famous celebrities as rtives¡ªnot bad at all! Why would they even bother to hang out with lowly people like us? For all we know, even their cat is more worth their time than we are! I heard that the Persian cat she¡¯s carrying costs 10,000 a month to maintain! What kind of cat needs that much maintenance? Does she feed it caviar?¡± Though the Edwards Family seemed harmonious, it was pretty evident that they stillpared themselves to each other relentlessly. Faye scrutinized the Persian cat in Judy¡¯s arms, noticing the extravagant apparel it was wearing. She mocked under her breath, What a pretentious woman who married an upstart. Faye then noticed the scratch marks on Judy¡¯s forearms and asked, ¡°Oh, my. What happened to your arm?¡± ¡°Got it from the cat. Guess I wasn¡¯t careful enough,¡± answered Judy. ¡°Well, you should really watch out. You won¡¯t want to get scratches on your face next, would you?¡± teased Faye. ¡°Hang on. Don¡¯t you have a pair of them? Where¡¯s the other one?¡± Faye added. ¡°That one¡¯s gone a little feisty today. It kept scratching me, so I had to lock her up,¡± replied Judy while her eyes scanned Faye with a smirk. ¡°Where¡¯s Sophia? She didn¡¯te?¡± Hearing Sophia¡¯s name, one could see an intense blend of fear, hatred, and jealousy in Faye¡¯s eyes as she answered, ¡°Everyone knows she¡¯s not an Edwards, so why should she be here? No one was going to give her the time of the day if she even showed up.¡± Naturally, she would not dare to be in the same room with Sophia, for thetter was holding on to her darkest secrets. Having first-hand experience of what her sister was capable of, Faye would not even think of getting in her way. Because of Sophia, Richard, and X were suffering in prison, having to serve their sentence even when they were infected. They lost their family; theirpany changed its name, and they had numerous people who were out to take their lives. During that period, Faye was living in such constant fear that she could hardly sleep until she finally confirmed that she was free from the infection. Meanwhile, Natasha had it worse¡­ Although she could not tell how much Sophia was involved in all that had happened to them, Faye knew for sure that anyone who tried to mess with Sophia would either suffer or die. Hence, she was not ready to meddle with that woman. Nheless, Faye would not pass up the chance to defend her dignity in front of Judy, so she replied arrogantly, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t let here even if she wanted to. Who does she think she is?! Look at her husband. In our industry, if you get out of shape, you get out of jobs. Who¡¯s gonna get him to act in their films?! Her husband¡¯s career is done for. She was strutting around because she had her husband backing her! Her glory days are numbered! I saw the invitation list that the Edwards Family sent to us. Everyone¡¯s on it, except for hers. She¡¯s nothing!¡± At Faye¡¯s speech, Judy could barely hold her tion. She could not tell whether she was excited to hear how Sophia¡¯s glory days were numbered or to witness such scandalous news within Faye¡¯s family. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. Faye caught Judy hiding her smirk and was less than impressed. I can¡¯t possibly just let herugh at our family¡¯s expense. I have to air out some of their dirtyundry too; it¡¯s only fair. Faye then deliberately raised her voice. ¡°By the way, Judy, where¡¯s that cheap daughter and son-inw of yours? Why aren¡¯t they here yet?¡± Chapter 671 Chapter 671 Judy¡¯s expression turned colder. For my birthday, everyone in the West Family must be here, including Peter and his eldest son. However, only Sarah, that b*tch, refused toe. The reason Judy went to Sarah¡¯s store today was to tell her personally to bring Harry along to her birthday party. But that b*tch actually rolled her eyes at me! N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Faye knew that Judy didn¡¯t have enough power to ask Harry to join the party, so she deliberately brought up the topic. Both of them werepeting with each other with all their might, but to outsiders, they seemed like close sisters. Victoria, on the other hand, nced at the Mitchell Family from time to time. The Mitchell Family is the real aristocrat! If only I could marry someone from the Mitchell family! Even though the scale of the party wasn¡¯t too big as only the West and Edwards Family members were invited to have a simple dinner, it was the birthday of Mr. West¡¯s third wife after all, so it would only be appropriate for someone from the Mitchell Family next door to send some presents. Sean was the only person from the Mitchell Family there, making Victoria over the moon. Since he was handsome and elegant, she kept striking up conversations with him. However, he merely smiled at her coldly. Suddenly, the door of the bustling West Residence was suddenly pushed open, followed by a few people coming in. The leading people were Sarah, the Young Lady of the West Family who said she wouldn¡¯t be joining, and Sophia, the youngest daughter of Joe from the Edwards Family. Their arrival had stunned everyone in the hall. Seeing Sarah¡¯s return, Mr. West was quite pleased. ¡°Sarah, you¡¯re back? Is Ethan here?¡± However, Ethan was nowhere to be seen. Sarah was already walking to Judy inrge strides. Without any small talk, she asked directly, ¡°Where did you hide Sophia¡¯s cat? Bring it out now!¡± Seeing that Sarah was prepared to ruin the entire asion, Mr. West was immediately highly alert as he barked harshly, ¡°Sarah, is this how you speak to Judy?¡± However, Sarah refused to back down today and asked Judy again fiercely, ¡°Where¡¯s the cat? The Persian cat! Where did you hide Sophia¡¯s cat you stole?¡± Judy acted as if she was scared by her and hid behind Mr. West weakly. ¡°Dear, look at what Sarah is saying. Today is actually my birthday, you know¡­¡± Mr. West also scolded Sarah harshly, ¡°Today is Judy¡¯s birthday. What are you talking about?¡± Sarah was already used to her father¡¯s bias. Taking a deep breath, she uttered, ¡°Judy mixed up the cats at my store today and brought Sophia¡¯s cat home, so I¡¯m here with Sophia to take the cat back. Judy, please return the cat to Sophia. It¡¯s very important to her.¡± Looking at Judy, Mr. West said, ¡°If you took the wrong cat, just return it to them.¡± However, Judy frowned innocently. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. My pair of Persian cats are definitely the right ones!¡± She turned to Sarah. ¡°Sarah, today is my birthday after all. You¡¯d better know your limits and stop making a scene. I know you are angry because I neglected you in the past, but today¡¯s my birthday after all. We can settle everything privately, can¡¯t we? You¡¯re¡­ deliberately embarrassing your father!¡± Thinking that Sarah was deliberately making a scene, Mr. West was about to re up. Sophia, who hadn¡¯t been speaking a lot since they arrived, spoke coldly, ¡°Judy, you¡¯ve indeed taken the wrong cat. If you don¡¯t believe me, show me the Persian cats you¡¯ve got.¡± While speaking, she nced at Judy¡¯s arms, which had some obvious cat scratches. One of Garfield¡¯s left paw nails was bitten off by Snowball, so she always left four deep scratches and one lighter one. It was quite unique. Subconsciously, Judy covered her arms andined to Mr. West sweetly, ¡°Dear, look at this group of kids¡ªthey are not giving me any face at all. And all I want is just to have a peaceful birthday.¡± Mr. West dared to scold his own daughter, but since Sophia was not his daughter, it was not appropriate for him to re up at her. Hence, he suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s take a seat first. We are all a family. We can talk about thister.¡± Sophia¡¯s voice turned even colder. ¡°Are you really not giving me my cat back?¡± Looking pitiful, Judy almost cried. ¡°Sophia, I really don¡¯t know what cat you want from me. If you are not happy with me, you can just tell me¡­¡± Since it was the birthday of Mr. West¡¯s third wife, the rest of the family members were unhappy about the way Sophia ruined this. Hence, as her father, Joe would have to step up and say something no matter what. ¡°You unfilial daughter! What do you want this time?¡± With his belly fat wiggling, he rushed over to them quickly. Everyone thought that he would be able to at least hold Sophia back. However, after she turned around and red at him coldly, Joe was stunned immediately on the ground. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be involved in this, dad.¡± Though Sophia¡¯s words sounded gentle, it was firm. All of Joe¡¯s courage just now had disintegrated. Even though she was his daughter, Joe didn¡¯t even have the courage to speak in front of her. However, in front of both families, he must do something about this. Just as he was about to speak, Sophia turned around and said in a low voice, ¡°Stanley, let the dogs out.¡± She then turned to Judy. ¡°By the way, your face simply looks evil. You look hideous trying to act cute.¡± With that, Judy red at her fiercely. Stanley walked out with three people behind him. Each of them had a military dog that they had borrowed in their hands. The dogs had a great sense of smell; after they sniffed Garfield¡¯s belongings, they started barging into the West Residence immediately. With the three dogs running around, all the women in the West Residence scrambled to escape from them. Judy was so shocked that she clung onto Mr. West, who was beyond furious. He said darkly to Sophia, ¡°Sophia, seeing that you are Judy¡¯s younger rtive and Sarah¡¯s good friend, I¡¯m talking to you nicely. Don¡¯t take it for granted!¡± After all, the glorious days of Taylor Murray were about to end soon. If they went overboard, he was also not worried about it. After all, people from the West Family weren¡¯t people who could be easily bullied. Anxious, Sarah tried to convince him. ¡°Dad, wake up! Judy took Sophia¡¯s cat. We¡¯re just here to get her cat back!¡± Mr. West¡¯s voice boomed at Sarah loudly. ¡°Shut your mouth! It¡¯s not your turn to speak yet!¡± Shocked by his roar, tears finally found their way out of her eyes as she looked at the hypocrite, Judy, and her berserk father. After wiping off her tears, she said furiously, ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll shut up and see how you can protect this cat thief!¡± The entire situation was almost like a warzone. No matter whether Judy had actually stolen the cat, or if Sophia was merely looking for trouble, one thing was sure¡ªthe dispute between the West and the Edwards Family was inevitable. Joe quickly walked to them to be the peacemaker. ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s enough. It¡¯s just a cat! Stop the drama and follow me home. I can give you a new cat. No matter how many cats you want, I can give them to you too.¡± Sophia continued to nce at Judy coldly without even looking at Joe. ¡°My cat was a gift from Mr. Michel. Can you find the exact same cat for me, dad?¡± Linus Michel! Chapter 672 Chapter 672 Joe suddenly remembered that Linus had appeared at the reunion banquet he held for Sophia the other day, and he even brought a cat with him. Cats were everywhere, but a cat from Linus was extraordinary! The military dogs had already barged into the West Residence. Walking behind them, Stanley said loudly as soon as someone was about to block them, ¡°What are you guys doing? These are military dogs with proper military positions! It¡¯s illegal to harm them!¡± In the few seconds of the military dogs searching through the entire house, the entire atmosphere was about to explode. ncing at Sophia coldly, Mr. West asked, ¡°If you couldn¡¯t find your cat here, how are you going to exin things?¡± Sophia retorted, ¡°But what if I find it here? If something happens to my cat, how are you going to take the responsibility?¡± Mr. West was furious beyond belief. If Sarah were the person standing opposite to him, he would have given her a p. No one in this household had ever dared to challenge his authority! On top of that, he was organizing a birthday party for his wife today, so all the guests were family members. Where should he ce his dignity if someone younger than him wrecked the entire asion? How would I be able to even lift my head in front of the West and Edwards Families in the future? Gritting his teeth, Mr. West growled, ¡°If you can¡¯t find your cat here, you must take responsibility for this and apologize to Judy!¡± Sophia met his gaze unflinchingly. ¡°If my cat isn¡¯t found, I¡¯ll kneel before her; if it¡¯s found here, she¡¯ll have to kneel before me. If my cat is fine, add a kowtow to me, and I¡¯ll let things slide; if my cat is injured, I¡¯ll kill her.¡± ¡°Outrageous!¡± Mr. West was so angry that he snorted outughing. What an insolent brat! Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Seeing that both of them were about to start a fight because of a cat, the rest of the West Family members watched from afar. ¡°My, my, rich people are really enjoying their lives. I can¡¯t believe that they can get into such a huge quarrel for a cat.¡± ¡°But it seems like it¡¯s real. Someone saw Judy secretly stealing the cat away when they weren¡¯t paying attention.¡± Hearing the murmurs from the others, Ivan had a strange glint in his eyes. He recalled the time when his dog was thrown from the tenth floor. He ran all the way to the ground like a lunatic, but it was already dead. He went berserk and reported this to the police to fight for justice for his dog. However, the perpetrator was a man from a poor family who was renting from other people. His mother was disabled, and he was working part time. His wife was jobless, and he had three kids to feed. The dog was thrown by the man who was the pir of the family. He had no money at all; the most he could do was to exchange his family¡¯s lives for Ivan¡¯s dog. Even the police said, ¡°No matter how much your dog is worth, we can¡¯t possibly ask him to take the responsibility. He¡¯s just an unreasonable person who can¡¯t afford to pay you anything!¡± However, to Ivan, that wasn¡¯t merely his dog¡ªit was his family, his only hope! No one would take responsibility for the death of a dog, because a human¡¯s life was more precious than that of a dog. Hence, he could do nothing about it. Seeing that Sophia dared to make a big fuss out of this for her cat, it showed that she treated it as a part of her family. Seeing that the entire situation was about to go out of control, Joe quickly told Mr. West, ¡°Mr. West, just return the cat to her. It¡¯s a very important cat to my daughter. Young kids, you know, love all these dogs and cats. On top of that, this cat was¡ª¡± ¡°I believe that Judy didn¡¯t take your daughter¡¯s cat!¡± Mr. West interrupted Joe immediately. However, right after he said that, Stanley¡¯s voice rang. ¡°We found it!¡± Three military dogs were each holding three different things in their mouths¡ªa cat, a cor, and a cat shirt that Garfield wore. The cor and the shirt were even found in the trash! Sophia quickly took the cat from the dog¡¯s mouth. Garfield seemed to be shocked. Right after it saw Sophia, it cried immediately, with tears flooding its eyes. Everyone was shocked to see this. Judy really stole her cat? Even Mr. West couldn¡¯t hold his pride anymore. However, Judy yelped and tugged on Mr. West. ¡°What are they doing? Dear, that¡¯s my cat! That¡¯s Wendy!¡± Mr. West immediately barked furiously, ¡°Put our cat down!¡± Sophia lowered her head to look at Garfield, whose tender paw nails had been cut off violently. It was probably because it had scratched Judy. The cut was quite deep¡ªthere was blood in some of the nails. After the cut, Garfield¡¯s paws were full of blood. Sophia handed Garfield over to Maria to put it in a bag before looking back at Judy and Mr. West. ¡°Your cat? Ha! What about Garfield¡¯s cor and shirt that were found here?¡± With the support from the West Family, Judy had nothing to fear, so she quickly pretended to be innocent. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about Garfield. That¡¯s Wendy¡¯s shirt and cor!¡± Mr. West knew nothing about the cats his woman owned. To him, they all looked the same! He believed that the cat belonged to Judy, and that Sophia was here to pick a fight deliberately. Hence, he ordered, ¡°If you don¡¯t give the cat to me today, don¡¯t even think of walking out of here!¡± With a loud bang, the door was closed. The atmosphere of the hall had reached an extreme point. The West Family had decided to show their true strength. A group of bodyguards appeared and surrounded Sophia and the people who came here with her. Upon seeing the way Mr. West red at them fiercely, Sarah was so furious that steam almost came out of her head. ¡°Dad, are you mad? Do you know who Sophia is?¡± He looked at Sarah sternly. ¡°Go back to your room!¡± Seeing her father¡¯s mistake, tears of frustration leaked out of her eyes. She rushed to stand in front of Sophia as she sobbed. ¡°I dare all of you to touch her!¡± Mr. West was livid at Sarah¡¯s actions. With a hand raised, he gestured for the bodyguards to catch her. Unexpectedly, Sarah had learned some fighting skills that made the bodyguards unable to catch her. Standing behind Mr. West, Judy was watching the entire drama indignantly. ¡°Dear, be careful not to hurt my Wendy,¡± she added. The situation was at a breaking point now. With any mishap, a huge fight was going to break out between both the families. On top of that, the rtionship between Sarah and Mr. West, which took them much trouble to rebuild, was going to fall apart once again. Sophia eyed Judy and Mr. West indifferently. One is a hypocrite who¡¯s awaiting the drama while the other looks like a fierce bull. In fact, Sophia was hesitating if she should really go all out as she couldn¡¯t help looking at Sarah. If she were merely dealing with Judy, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate. However, Sarah¡¯s father was also here. Because of his pride, he had to side with Judy. However, if she really flipped out with Mr. West, it would be awkward between her and Sarah in the future. However, she was determined to get her cat back today. Sarah, who had been chased by the bodyguards, finally lost her cool and rushed to Judy. ¡°Judy, do you know where this cat came from? This was a gift of a Queen from Europe to the vice president of the Michel Group, Linus Michel, who gave this to Sophia! It seems like my dad has really spoiled you. It¡¯s fine if you want to do anything you like in the family¡ªno one cares. But how dare you fool around outside! Who gave you the courage to do so?¡± The few sentences from Sarah had made Judy¡¯s expression change immediately, even though she was still looking forward to the drama earlier. Even Mr. West¡¯s face darkened upon hearing that. Both the West and Edwards Families were stunned upon hearing that. There was a long-standing Queen in a European country who had been at the throne for decades. She had a few Corgis and a litter of Persian cats that had been inherited for generations. This cat actually once belonged to the Queen! Chapter 673 Chapter 673 The Michel Family was famous worldwide¡ªmanyputers that they were currently using were manufactured by thepanies under the Michel Group, which wealth could bepared to a country. Hence, it was highly probable that their vice president would receive a cat from the Queen. However, everyone else didn¡¯t understand how Sophia got that as a present. Gritting her teeth, Judy murmured, ¡°What¡¯s that about the Queen? This cat is my Wendy¡ª¡± Courage bubbled up within Sarah out of nowhere¡ªperhaps she had learned a few tricks from Sophia after spending more time with her. ¡°Do you want topare it with some pictures? The father of Sophia¡¯s cat is the Duke¡¯s cat, while the mother is the Queen¡¯s cat. It looks like its parents. The fur around Wendy¡¯s buttocks were roasted a few days ago by the stove. Because of this, you pped your assistant¡ªeveryone knows about this. Do you dare to take your cat out to show us whether its buttocks are burnt? Do you dare to? Huh?¡± Judy was rendered speechless by her, so she leaned on Mr. West and sobbed. ¡°Dear, look at Sarah. She embarrassed me in front of everyone. I don¡¯t want to live anymore¡­¡± Mr. West also pulled a long face. Even though he still wanted his pride, Sophia¡¯s cat was too big of a deal. This cat is such a big deal. How can they bring it out just like that? They should take good care of it at home! At this critical juncture, someone had finally arrived to ease the tense situation. Looking to the front door, Harry had arrived in a sweat. Wearing a suit and some expensive essories, he looked like a male mannequin in the shopping mall. Ever since Taylor had gained weight, Harry had be the sessor to the nation¡¯s male idol with his poprity reaching a new level. As soon as he entered, the hall seemed shinier than usual. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte. Really sorry about that.¡± With a cat bag in his hand, he quickly walked to them. ¡°Geez, what are you guys doing? It¡¯s just because of a cat! If you took the wrong one, just return it to the rightful owner. Here, here, this is your cat, Judy. Take good care of it. You know how young people nowadays are more impulsive. Now that the cat is here, just take it! Mr. West, you don¡¯t have to get mad at this bunch of kids¡ªyou are a bigger man!¡± With a few words of constion, Mr. West had finally found a way to keep his pride. Sophia also softened her tone to apologize to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. West. My cat is too important to me, so I was rather impulsive. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Since Sophia had apologized, Mr. West also found a way out of the situation and continued Harry¡¯s rhetoric. ¡°It¡¯s all a misunderstanding! Just a misunderstanding! It¡¯s fine as long as everyone has eaten some delicious food!¡± Sarah also apologized to her father after being forced to do so by Harry. Joe also came around to soothe everyone. Now that the tension in the hall was eased, no matter how much Judy liked Sophia¡¯s cat, she could do nothing else but to smile at everyone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault that I recognized the wrong cat. Sorry about this, Sophia.¡± Sophia merely shed a perfunctory smile without saying another word. Just like that, the fight was resolved. With Harry around, the atmosphere became lively immediately. Mr. West introduced his future son-inw to everyone formally, for Harry¡¯s handsome face and prominent status had made him very proud. A few girls of the family surrounded him to take pictures with him, and the party finally ended on a good note. Once everything had ended, Judy¡¯s face darkened as soon as she went back to her room. Seeing the cat bag that Harry brought, she picked it up and threw it immediately. It mmed into the wall and fell down. ¡°Useless thing!¡± Her anger still wasn¡¯t fully vented, so she rushed to the broken bag and stepped on the cat inside while cursing it, as though it was Sophia. ¡°It¡¯s just a cat! F*cking b*tch! It¡¯s your honor that I like your cat!¡± After a while, the bag was torn after being stepped by her, but there was no cat to be seen. After the bag was opened, she realized that it was empty. Her assistant came to her, trembling as she said, ¡°Madam, the bag brought by Ethan is empty. There¡¯s no cat inside¡­¡± With that, Judy was so angry that her entire body trembled. Even after she pped her assistant ruthlessly, thetter didn¡¯t dare to even make a sound. Good one, Sophia! You¡¯ve taken my mercy for granted! It¡¯s your honor that I like your cat. I already exchanged my cat for yours. My cat¡¯s buttocks were already burnt, so I didn¡¯t want it anymore. After seeing Sophia¡¯s beautiful cat today, Judy even thought she could mate it with hers. However, she didn¡¯t expect that Sophia would insolently barge into the West Residence and ruin her birthday party. Who gave her the courage to do so? She merely married a male celebrity who¡¯s not trending anymore, yet she seems to have forgotten her ce! Faye gently opened the door to enter the room. After seeing the trembling assistant and the ruined empty bag, she had gotten the gist of what happened just now. It seemed like Judy had indeed stolen Sophia¡¯s cat secretly. Initially, she thought that Sophia would suffer this silently because of Judy¡¯s position as the third wife of the West Family, but unexpectedly, Sophia was brave enough to barge into the West Residence and ruin Judy¡¯s birthday party. Not only did she take her cat away, she even left an empty cat bag to pass it off. After gently pushing the door open, Faye asked the assistant to pack away the cat bag before sitting down to speak with Judy. ¡°You¡¯re in trouble. Sophia is a cruel and ruthless person. Now that you¡¯ve offended her, she won¡¯t let you go. You know my cousin, X, right? Both her and her husband were ruined because of Sophia, who even managed to end Natasha, the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family! Your sister kicked her cat, and you stole it today. Do you think she will let you off the hook that easily?¡± Judy had heard about the incidents between the Harper and Huff Families with Sophia, so she knew that Sophia was quite smart. But so what? What haven¡¯t I seen? Back then, I even managed to force Peter¡¯s first wife away. Sophia is just nothing to me. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Is she going to kill both me and my sister for the medical bills of her cat?¡± Looking at Faye¡¯s face, which looked different again due to cosmetic surgery, Judy smiled coldly. Faye couldn¡¯t wait for Judy and Sophia to get into a huge fight. It would be the best if they could fight to their deaths. However, Faye still reminded her hypocritically, ¡°Don¡¯t me me for not telling you. My sister is known for being ruthless, brutal, and callous. You¡¯d better not offend her!¡± However, Judy merely shed a cold smile, leaving Faye wondering if she had actually heard her. In fact, Judy was sure that her fight with Sophia hadn¡¯t ended. After all, Sophia had embarrassed her this time in front of everyone. How would it be possible for Judy to stop here? After chatting for a while, Faye suddenly took out her phone mysteriously and flipped to a picture in her photo album. ¡°Judy, look at this picture. Do you find them familiar?¡± Judy scooted over and saw the people in the picture, which seemed to have been captured secretly. It was set on a study desk with an exquisite photo frame on top of it with a photo showing a man and a woman. The man looked rather young, while the woman was beaming widely. Both of them looked young¡ªthey were more or less in their twenties. In an instant, Judy recognized who the woman was. Shocked, she eximed, ¡°This girl looks like Sophia!¡± Chapter 674 Chapter 674 It was undeniable that the girl in the photograph looked simr to Sophia. However, the girl in the picture looked especially gentle and docile with her bare face, whereas Sophia had fine makeup on and had a forceful presence. It was the same face, but it gave off different auras. Faye pointed at the man in the picture while asking mysteriously, ¡°Do you know this man?¡± Judy got closer to have a look, and she noticed that the man in the picture seemed to be in his teens or early twenties. He looked handsome and elegant; he was wearing an ordinary white shirt, but it did not diminish his elegance. Nevertheless, the picture seemed aged, and so Judy simply didn¡¯t recognize him. Faye was delighted when she imed, ¡°He is our 9th Old Master Edwards! He is also our family head¡¯s 9th younger brother, Sam Edwards!¡± Judy was stunned to silence at the mention of the 9th Old Master. I¡¯ve never met the 9th Old Master before, but I¡¯ve heard too many stories involving him. He is a legend in the Edwards Family! Sam became famous at a very young age, thanks to his exceptional talent and intelligence. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he isn¡¯t interested in power, he might have ended up as the family head now. This person is very capable; in the past, he used to be involved in politics in the country. Once upon a time, people assumed that the youngest president of Cethos would be from the Edwards Family. However, when Sam was at the peak of his career, he resigned from his position suddenly, and he retired from his political career to return to the business world. At that time, he was one of the few people who could be on par with the head of Edwards Family, Jordan Edwards. Sam also held thergest share portion as an individual. Initially, Jordan had the most shares, but he divided them between his children, and so the portions were dispersed. On the other hand, Sam did not have any children or wife. Therefore, he held the entire portion of his shares, and it gave him a voice and power within the Edwards Family. ¡°Is this truly the 9th Old Master, Sam Edwards, who is still single even though he¡¯s 40 years old?!¡± Judy asked in astonishment. She stared at the picture for the longest time, and her gaze was shining with admiration. I didn¡¯t expect the 9th Old Master to look so handsome. Faye remarked while winking at Judy, ¡°I visited a distant rtive of the Edwards Family just a few days ago, and I saw this picture in the 9th Old Master¡¯s study. I heard that he did not get married despite being 40 years old, all thanks to the woman in the picture.¡± Judy let out a snort ofughter. He is such a loyal lover. Nevertheless, she couldn¡¯t help but feel envious of the woman in the picture. Who is this woman? How did she manage to seduce the 9th Old Master and keep him shackled by not marrying another person for the rest of his life? Faye nced at Judy while urging her, ¡°Look, don¡¯t you think my younger sister resembles this woman? Do you think that the 9th Old Master might appreciate our effort if we get her into his bed?¡± Judy stared at the picture, her eyes shining brightly. Get Sophia into Sam¡¯s bed? Our family and bloodline will have a significant boost within the Edwards Family if the 9th Old Master favors us. Sam hadn¡¯t gotten married even though he¡¯s 40 years old, and so this woman must be exceptionally important to him! If we manage to get Sophia to him, he might be especially happy! The Edwards Family has been around for several centuries, so despite being from the same family tribe, the family has undeniably branched out. Therefore, the Edwards, who used to be a single core family five hundred years ago, barely have any family ties after five centuries. Thew dictates that family members can¡¯t get married within three generations¡ªthe gap is more than that within the Edwards Family. Some Edwards family members even get married with each other for the sake of tighter family ties. Furthermore, nobody is saying that Sam is getting married with Sophia. She is just a used woman, and she is merely a tool to keep Sam¡¯s bed warm, at best. After that, I just have to figure a way out to get Victoria to approach Sam¡­ Faye started nning as well when she noticed Judy¡¯s spooky expression while she was lost in her thoughts. In all honesty, Faye had already started nning when she noticed that picture, but she didn¡¯t have the courage to voice it out because she was afraid that it would cause trouble. If I were to manipte Judy to lure Sophia to Sam, Judy would just be a glorified messenger. Sophia is my younger sister and Joe¡¯s daughter anyway, so we would be the ones who benefit in the end. Even if this fails, Judy would be the one in trouble¡­ The two sisters were preupied with their own ns, but they were both clearly aware of each other¡¯s motives. Faye wanted to approach Sam; although the man was already 40 years old, he was still exceptionally handsome! 40 years old was a man¡¯s golden age after all. Besides, he is in charge of the financial empire¡­ Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Naturally, Judy shared the same thoughts. I can¡¯t approach him myself, but I can still n on behalf of Victoria. On the other side, Sophia left the West Residence in anger because she had been forcing a smile for the whole night just to please Sarah. When Sophia brought the cat out of the West Residence, Harry was walking her out while advising her at the same time, ¡°Please, Sophia, just let go of this matter for me. Just this once; I¡¯ll only beg you this once! You are superior, my master, my ancestor!¡± Sophia snorted before getting into the car. She spat furiously while having her back facing Harry, who was outside of the car, ¡°You had better teach your cheap mother-inw how to behave!¡± Harry felt utterly helpless. My mother-inw, Judy, is younger than I am; even so, I feel extremely helpless as a son-inw! ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll back you up by giving you her cat as apensation for the stress inflicted upon Simba and Garfield, alright?¡± He took an empty cat bag as decoy. He knew that the West Family wouldn¡¯t look into it since they were in the wrong. Sophia finally left after that. Michael sat just beside her in the car. It waste at night by the time they arrived home today. They noticed that the Persian cat had its bottom burnt. After some questioning, they found out what happened today. I can¡¯t believe someone kicked Simba and stole Garfield. How dare they! The West Family wouldn¡¯t have a good year if Michael were to take action. Nevertheless, they took in consideration that the perpetrator was Harry¡¯s father-inw, and so Michael let the West Family off the hook. This was the first chance, but it was also theirst! Sophia was fuming throughout the journey back home since she had taken a hit in the West Residence. Michael carried Garfield out, and the poor thing started crying when it saw him. The cat¡¯s tears started rolling down uncontrobly, and it seemed as if it had suffered immensely in the West Residence. Its small paws were already stained red with blood. ¡°Garfield, you are such a good kid. I¡¯m here to take you home. Please don¡¯t cry; don¡¯t cry, now.¡± Michael was furious, but due to the rtionship between Harry and Sarah, he had no choice but to leave this issue at that. He tried coaxing the cat and his wife simultaneously. ¡°Alright, now. Don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯ll soothe your anger once we get home.¡± Sophia shed him an intimidating smile. ¡°I¡¯m not angry. Who says I¡¯m angry?¡± Nevertheless, Michael knew that she was fuming, and so he continued coaxing her along the journey. At night, once the lights were off, Michael helped her ¡®vent¡¯ her frustrations. He helped her so hard that the bed kept creaking nonstop. After they were done with the first round, Michael wiped his sweat away while asking Sophia, ¡°Have you vented your frustrations?¡± Sophia was drenched with sweat, and she nudged Michael¡¯s bby tummy with her toe. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve vented 30% of my frustrations,¡± she answered. Michael responded, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s continue.¡± After a while, he asked again, ¡°How about now? Are you satisfied?¡± Sophia was blushing deeply when she answered him, ¡°I¡¯ve only vented 25%.¡± Michael frowned at her. ¡°Why did it go down 5%?¡± Sophia retorted, ¡°I¡¯m unhappy! It decreases once I¡¯m unhappy!¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll continue.¡± ¡­ ¡°How about now?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s barely through 50%¡­ Hang on. It decreased to 49% again!¡± Chapter 675 Chapter 675 It took Michael a lot of effort to help Sophia vent her frustrations. The next day, his whole body felt sore. I can¡¯t do this anymore¡ªI¡¯m getting old. The disadvantages of an old husband with a young wife is apparent now. I feel as if I¡¯mpletely worn, but she is a young woman with healthy needs and desires. Previously, I was thirty while she was twenty, but soon, she¡¯ll be thirty, whereas I¡¯ll be forty. Today, Harry deliberately came over to their house to thank Michael. ¡°Michael, thank you very much. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep the situation under control.¡± Michael was slumped on the couch. He didn¡¯t want to move at all because he felt as if he had been completely hollowed out. I wh*re myself out, but he¡¯s benefitting from it. Hahaha. ¡°I¡¯m going to say the same thing¡ªget your cheap mother-inw to behave.¡± This is thest chance. Harry nodded earnestly. That mother-inw of mine isn¡¯t a good person, but I am her son-inw, after all. Hence, I have to y my part. Nevertheless, it wouldn¡¯t be my fault if this happens again. Harry didn¡¯te empty-handed. In fact, he brought along a load of male supplements because he knew that Michael would need some health supplements for his sex life in the next few days. Sophia dropped by thepany after she went to the university. After that, she left thepany to visit Simba in the veterinary hospital. Yesterday, Garfield was sent over as well because it needed treatment since its ws were trimmed horribly, and it bled profusely. Two days had passed, and the two cats were recovering well. Therefore, Sophia took both cats home from the vet. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael was done with work, but when he arrived home, he was greeted with nine cats in the house. The floor was covered with dung, and he felt disgusted. Initially, there was only Chrysanthemum, but Old Master Fletcher sent Simba over to mate. Later, Sophia bought a pair of new cats to keep thempany before Linus gave her another one. Besides, there was a stealthy magpie cat efficient in catching mice in the kitchen, which Michael had never even met, since it often showed up and disappeared swiftly. And then there was the one she snatched from Judy, as well as Sunset and the other two cats Stanley left at her ce. That¡¯s a total of ten cats! There are two dogs as well! After New Year, they¡¯ll all mate and give birth to puppies and kittens! There¡¯ll be even more then! Oh, my. It doesn¡¯t matter how much I earn because they will eat a hole through my pocket! Michael barely sat on the couch in the living room when the group of cats started surrounding him. They got entangled into a fight while trying topete against each other to take the position on his knees. Cat fur started flying around since they were biting each other. In the end, Michael held the new Persian cat in his arms. This cat belonged to Judy initially, and its buttocks were burnt during a barbecue. It was abandoned since it was marred by a scar. Now, it was here with Sophia, and she named it ¡®Scorchy¡¯. Michael was touching the burnt cat¡¯s bottom when he saw Ivan, who was recording each cat¡¯s progress. Under Sophia and Sarah¡¯s financial support, his luxurious design studio had started moving forward. The Marketing and Design Departments had started hiring. Ivan was experienced in this aspect, and so he carried out the task well. The studio had not started operating officially because it was in the stages of going through the formalities of hiring people. The first job was to design a series of costumes for Sophia¡¯s cats and dogs so that she could help advertise. First of all, Ivan was familiar with each cat¡¯s temperament and personality. Hence, he designed based on their appearance and temperament. For example, Chrysanthemum had a greasy, middle-aged man appearance, and it was the leader in the pack. It was steady and skilled while having a matured and forceful presence. Therefore, when designing for it, the style had to be modest and dignified. Furthermore, it was slightly on the heavy side, and so the designs had to be slightlyrger to ensure appropriate proportions. On the other side, Stanley¡¯s Sunset was just like a little princess¡­ Sunset already had a very gorgeous noble appearance, and so its cor couldn¡¯t be too shy. Hence, it had to be designed in a conservative manner; otherwise, they would steal each other¡¯s limelight¡­ Ivan had a sketch paper in one hand while he patted the cats and dogs with another. He still preferred to design for these furry animals because caressing their fluffy and furry coats gave him boundless inspiration. Ivan would lie down for a while, and then he¡¯d be sprawled on his stomach. Then, he would be sitting down for a bit before standing up; after that, he would even nap for some time. He found it liberating. Sophia set a tight deadline, and so this was a test for him. Ivan had to create something that he was satisfied with within the shortest time possible. After drawing the designs, Ivan would have to hire an artisan group to manufacture them before Edward Family¡¯s Annual Meeting. Therefore, Ivan had been living in Michael¡¯s house for the past few days. Sean showed up today suddenly at the house alone, but he brought along some of Cooper¡¯s personal belongings he had left behind. ¡°Uncle Michael, I found some of Uncle Cooper¡¯s belongings he left behind from the family archive. You should give them to Sophia when you have the chance.¡± Sean left right after passing over the items. Michael took out his father-inw¡¯s belongings to have a look. It was a box of old stuff, and they were mostly things like diaries, photo albums, books, and such. Michael picked up a picture to have a look at it. In the photograph, Cooper appeared especially young; he must have been about 18 years old. He looked delicate and young, whereas a young man with a pretty face, who was about the same age and height, was standing beside him. The two men had their arms around each other¡¯s shoulders, and they seemed close. ¡°This pretty face looks familiar¡­¡± Michael rubbed his chin, but he just couldn¡¯t recall where he had seen this man before. This photograph had been taken more than twenty years ago after all. I probably don¡¯t know him personally even if he¡¯s someone I find familiar. Then, he flipped the picture to look at its back. Cooper Mitchell, Andrea Edwards, photographed in 199X. Andrea¡­ Michael stared at the word ¡®Andrea¡¯ while spacing out. For some reason, he thought of Sophia Edwards. Sophia Edwards, Sophia, So-phea¡­ Could it be possible that¡­ The dream was referring to ¡®Andrea¡¯?? Is it possible that Andrea Edwards and Cooper shared a secret rtionship, and that was why they picked the name ¡®Sophia¡¯ for their child? However, Cooper wasn¡¯t even aware that he had a child. In his ns, he most probably hadn¡¯t expected Annabel to be pregnant so quickly. It was impossible for him to have named the child, and so Annabel must have given the child her name. Hence, Annabel was the one who had the dream? ¡­ The Edward Family¡¯s Annual Meeting was just around the corner. Sophia was managing her businesses, whereas Faye and Joe were trying to figure out the best way to ¡®sell¡¯ Sophia while benefiting from it. On the other side, Judy was also nning on taking advantage of Sophia. Taylor has be fat, and so his career as a celebrity is in ruins. In fact, he would struggle to get work in the future. Therefore, Sophia wouldn¡¯t have a good life soon. Faye spread those lies just for her own satisfaction. However, after lying for so long, she even managed to fool herself. Sophia has been stirring up trouble just because Taylor has been protecting her. So if Taylor is out of a job, Sophia would have nothing to stand on and nothing to be proud of. I¡¯m sure if Sam were to truly show interest in Sophia, Taylor might very well beg Sam on bent knees to take Sophia as a partner in bed! If Sam is willing to help, it means that Taylor¡¯s future and career would be salvageable! That group of people had been nning and scheming. Soon, the Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting finally arrived¡­ That day, the private ind owned by the Edwards Family was decorated in a grand-scale, and it was crowded with people. Private yachts and private boats docked one after another at the pier of Edwards Ind as groups of people d in shy and splendid clothes streamed onto the ind. The red carpet extended from the pier right into the ind¡¯srge and magnificent resort. asionally, there¡¯d be private nes flying overhead tond on the ind¡¯s ramp. The annual Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting was thergest event for the Edwards Family n. The Edwards Family bloodline had stretched across centuries, and there were descendants of the Edwards Family all over the world. They would all return specifically for the Edwards Family¡¯s Annual Meeting. Chapter 676 Chapter 676 Naturally, not all members of the Edwards Family had the qualifications to attend the annual meeting¡ª only those that were respected were invited. For that reason, Joe had cracked his head to obtain an opportunity to attend the annual meeting. This time, he eagerly brought Faye and his wife with him to attend the annual meeting. When Joe¡¯s second-hand yacht docked at the pier, the three of them stepped onto the red carpet energetically. As the annual meeting would be held for three days, they brought along their luggage in preparation for a three-day stay on the ind. Upon getting off the yacht, a service staff hurriedly came forward to take their luggage from them and diligently helped them with the check-in procedures. There were exclusive holiday vis and hotels on the ind to host the people participating in the annual meeting. Therefore, more than enough amodation and facilities were avable for the guests¡¯ use. The moment Joe and his family arrived, they saw that Judy and her family had already arrived. As soon as the two groups met, they beganshing out at each other with stinging words and mockery. Faye deliberately made a show of looking around several times. However, she could only see Judy and her husband, Peter. There was no sight of Sarah and Harry anywhere. Thus, she intentionally said, ¡°Oh, it looks like Ethan didn¡¯te!¡± I knew they wouldn¡¯t be able to invite Ethan! Judy red back angrily. She had been overtly hinting at Ethan recently, asking whether he was attending the Edwards Family annual meeting. However, he had always given a vague response and seemed unwilling to attend. Besides, she had caused trouble and stole a cat not too long ago. At the time, he had given her an out. For that reason, Peter was too embarrassed to force Ethan to attend. Thus, he had noeback to Faye either. All of a sudden, Victoria quietly mentioned, ¡°Looks like Taylor didn¡¯te either!¡± Judy immediately jumped on the bandwagon, having found something to ridicule the other party with. ¡°I bet he is so fat that he doesn¡¯t dare to show himself!¡± Victoria smoothly replied to her sister, ¡°What right does he have toe? That couple wasn¡¯t even invited! Besides, he is nothing but a washed-up actor. Who would invite him?!¡± The two groups loathed each other, and they headed toward the resort at daggers drawn. Unexpectedly, they had taken no more than several steps when they suddenly heard exmationsing from behind them. ¡°Look! Look at that boat!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a small, dmissioned naval ship from Russia!¡± ¡°Who is so rich that they can afford toe here on a naval ship?!¡± A small naval ship rode the waves as it slowly entered the harbor. Luckily, it was a small ship. With the cooperation of the staff at the pier, it smoothly entered and docked at the harbor. The Edwards Family knew the value of this small naval ship. Even if it was small, it was still a naval ship. Who among the Edwards Family would be so influential? The host of today¡¯s reception was Lucy. When she heard that somebody had arrived on a naval ship, she immediately came to the dock to wee them herself. Once the small naval ship was securely docked at the pier, a group of people slowly came out of it. First, a young girl in a white dress walked out, holding hands with a man in a suit. As they leisurely approached, they were followed by several bodyguards carrying their luggage. Although it was only a three-day stay, they must have brought along more than a dozen suitcases. Everybody¡¯s attention was drawn to this well-matched couple. Peter, who was in the crowd, immediately recognized the couple and happily called out, ¡°Sarah, you¡¯re here!¡± The couple was Sarah West and Harry Winston. Just for today, Sarah had specially gotten herself styled and dressed to the nines. Hence, she was extremely eye-catching. Combined with Harry, who was dazzlingly handsome, the sight of the pair made Peter very happy¡ªhe felt extremely proud to be associated with them. Even Judy felt honored too. Simrly, the Edwards Family looked at them in admiration. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Harry and Sarah held hands as they walked along the red carpet. It was Sarah¡¯s first time attending an event of this scale. Thus, she felt extremely overwhelmed and clutched at his arm desperately. After Harry and Sarah disembarked, they were followed by another group of peopleing out of the naval ship. This subsequent group of people was also led by a man and a woman. The woman was dressed in a haughty red dress that seemed to flutter in the warm seaside wind. Walking over in small steps, she slowly took off her sunsses to reveal an unimaginably delicate face¡ªshe was bright-eyed and had an imposing air. The man standing beside her was even more eye-catching. Dressed in a well- cut ck suit fitted to a slender and athletic figure, the man¡¯s curves were vaguely visible. He looked like he was all legs from under his neck. His handsome face was angr and sharp¡ªeven the oversized sunsses on his face could not hide the captivating aura around him. When this group appeared, everybody couldn¡¯t remain calm anymore. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Taylor Murray?!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t he be fat?¡± ¡°No matter how you look at him, he doesn¡¯t look fat at all!¡± Michael looked extremely dashing and young today. More importantly, he wasn¡¯t fat. Rather, his figure was perfectly athletic¡ªit was as if his body was built ording to the golden ratio. The difference between his current appearance and the washed-up actor dancing in the online video was as stark as day and night. At that moment, all sorts of gossip began to spread. ¡°When actors im they are fat; they are not fat, okay? They intentionally put on weight for their acting roles. Besides, they quickly lose the excess weight once the role is over.¡± ¡°Oh, my God! It¡¯s the mythical balloon man! Actors are all weirdos!¡± ¡°He truly is my idol! He is so dedicated to his work!¡± ¡°I love you, Taylor!¡± Sophia and Michael walked over, hand in hand. Behind them, Ivan held a Persian cat in his arms, several bodyguards carried their luggage, and an energetic robot followed behind them. They looked quite stylish as a group. The service staff under the Edwards family came forward to take their luggage. Then, Sophia instructed carefully, ¡°My cat doesn¡¯t like sunny rooms. Arrange a shady room for it and its assistant. On the other hand, my makeup artist prefers sunny rooms. My robot is quite clingy; it doesn¡¯t need a separate room.¡± Listening to her instructions, everybody felt amazed. Sure enough; they were bigshots! Even the cat had its own assistant. Moreover, the cat and its assistant required their own room. From the way she talked, she would probably ask for a separate room for the robot too, if it wasn¡¯t clingy! After that, Michael and Harry met up again, and the two groups headed toward the entrance of the Edwards Family Resort. They needed to sign in at the entrance. This time around, Sophia had deliberately brought Ivan along. It was necessary to have a strong sense of fashion when designing luxury goods. Therefore, it was imperative to identify fashion trends at any time. As he had been depressed for a long time and stayed out of the fashion industry for far too long, he had to learn how to move around and observe his surroundings. For that purpose, the Edwards Family annual meeting was the perfect opportunity. They were dazzling and their aura drew people¡¯s attention. Thus, Joe triumphantly eximed, ¡°That¡¯s my daughter and my son-inw! My son-inw is Taylor Murray!¡± He was ted. Not only is Taylor not fat, but he also attended the Edwards Family annual meeting! Rumors can¡¯t be trusted after all! Happily following Michael, he endeavored to build a rtionship with him. At the same time, Peter and his family were trying to butter up Harry. Hence, both groups couldn¡¯t get along with each other. On the other hand, Lucy hade out to greet them herself. When she saw that both Michael and Harry were present, she quickly said, ¡°Wee, wee! I¡¯m so honored to have you both on my ind! While speaking, she purposely nced at Michael¡­ Sure enough; he isn¡¯t fat. In response, Michael and Harry gave a simple greeting to Lucy before heading toward the sign-in area by the door. At the sign-in area, the two sisters, Judy and Victoria, arrived with their father. Taking out their family invitation, the names of their entire family were written on it. Families were generally invited to the annual meeting as a unit¡ªonly on rare asions, would special and particrly outstanding individuals receive a personal invitation to attend. Therefore, Judy¡¯s invitation included the names of the two sisters, their parents, their sons-inw, as well as Peter. In addition, the names of Sarah and Harry were specially added at the back too. Once their identities were verified, the group was allowed to enter, Finally, it was Joe¡¯s turn. However, only the names of Joe¡¯s family of three were written on the invitation ¡ªSophia and Michael¡¯s names were not on it. Chapter 677 Chapter 677 Joe became anxious. Previously, he wanted Sophia to attend the annual meeting this year. After all, it would serve to increase his reputation if she brought Taylor along with her. Contrary to his expectations, he learned that Taylor had gotten fat. Moreover, the invitation had arrived without Sophia and Taylor¡¯s names on it. Thinking that bringing Taylor, who had gotten fat, would humiliate him, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to use his connections to add their names to the invitation. Unfortunately, his actions had led to the present awkward situation wherein his son-inw had made a magnificent appearance, but there was no invitation for him¡­ For that reason, Joe was so desperate that sweat beaded his forehead. ¡°This is my son-inw, Taylor Murray. And, this is my daughter, Sophia Edwards. My son-inw is a famous celebrity. I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t need an invitation, right?¡± Naturally, his request was turned down immediately. Judy, who had stayed behind to observe the situation, finally found an opportunity to get the upper hand. Laughing, she said, ¡°Uncle Joe, it¡¯s your fault for not adding Michael¡¯s name to the invitation in advance! You can¡¯t get in without an invitation after all!¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. She was secretly enjoying their misfortune. So what if you¡¯re a bigwig? It doesn¡¯t matter how great you are! You don¡¯t even have an invitation letter! How do you n to join the grand family meeting?! However, she saw Sophia taking out an invitation from her handbag before she finished speaking. ¡°My husband and I were invited separately.¡± As expected, Sophia and Michael¡¯s names were written on the invitation Sophia brought out, but Michael¡¯s name was written as Taylor Murray. After verifying their identities, the check-in procedures werepleted at the same time. Thus, Sophia and Michael entered the banquet hall, arm in arm. The first wee dinner would be held here tonight, then the three-day annual meeting would begin. Watching them go inside, Faye threw a scathing look at Judy and triumphantly boasted, ¡°Did you see that? They were invited separately.¡± Judy felt like she was pped in the face as she red at Faye furiously before entering the banquet hall in a fit of anger. Upon entering the banquet hall, it was a magnificent sight to behold. It was decorated magnificently and could hold up to a thousand people. By then, many people had already arrived. They were all members of the Edwards Family that came from all over the world and from all walks of life, including politicians, businessmen, and entertainers. Some even had different skin colors. Several members of the Edwards Family had gone abroad to spread their wings. After a few generations, the appearance of their descendants no longer carried any Cethosian characteristics. Even so, they were still recognized as members of the Edwards Family as long as they were outstanding enough. Besides, new members were epted into the genealogy record book every year. These new members were always the focus of attention. Moreover, two familiar faces, Ethan and Michael, had been newly invited to the Edwards Family annual meeting this year. Therefore, many were paying attention to those two. As they gathered around Harry and Michael for more information, the two were soon surrounded by people. Idols were popr no matter where they went. The two of them seemed to shine when standing together¡ªit felt like they lit up half the hall with their brightness. ¡°Oh, my! What a beautiful cat! What is its name?¡± ¡°The cat¡¯s cor is gorgeous!¡± With that, Sophia and Sarah smoothly joined a group ofdies carrying cats in their arms. As Garfield¡¯s assistant, Ivan stood by the side with a cat bag at the ready. At the same time, he studied the outfits of the cats and dogs being carried in the arms of thedies to understand the current popr trends, as well as search for a muse. Unexpectedly, he saw an extremely familiar cor around the neck of a certain lady¡¯s cat¡­ When a group of young women and their cats got together, the topic of conversation naturally revolved around their cats. Sophia was diligently trying to be part of their group. Thus, she introduced her cat to them, ¡°My cat¡¯s name is Fiffy, and its nickname is Garfield. Its mother is the beloved cat of Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, Barbara, while its father is the beloved cat of Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, Soso. Therefore, my cates from a noble lineage and has an extraordinary background.¡± Many of thedies were surprised and envious to hear that as they carefully patted Garfield and admired its outfit. Garfield was wearing a beautiful set of clothes paired with an exquisite cor. The design of the outfit was extremely delicate, particrly when it came to the cor¡ªit was very fitting for the noble bloodline that it carried. As expected of the descendent of the Queen¡¯s cat, it was different from ordinary cats! As a result, everybody rushed to ask, ¡°Hey, what brand is Garfield¡¯s cor? It¡¯s beautiful!¡± That was the question Sophia was waiting for. Hence, she hurriedly introduced her new business to them, ¡°Oh! This¡­ It doesn¡¯te from any brand. It was specially designed for Garfield by a renowned, foreign designer of pet luxury goods that I hired!¡± Thedies eximed, ¡°It truly is the work of a renowned designer! It gives off such a different aura!¡± Sophia proudly said, ¡°Of course! My designer is none other than the pioneer of trends for pet luxury goods overseas, Ive!¡± Ive was the name Ivan used. It was also the name he used when he started to make a name for himself abroad. At the mention of that name, many looked confused. However, some were familiar with the name too, and they eximed in amazement, ¡°I know him! That¡¯s the guy who started the trend of pet luxury goods! Many of my dog¡¯s outfits were designed by him! What a pity that he left the fashion industry three years ago!¡± Sophia took the opportunity to say, ¡°He has been traveling the world for the past three years. He¡¯s a designer after all; they like traveling about to find inspiration. Ive has returned to Cethos. So, I invited him back, not just to be Garfield¡¯s exclusive designer, but also to start a pet luxury goods brand within the country.¡± Upon hearing those words, thedies became happy and rushed to get Sophia¡¯s contact information to be her first customers. Sophia saw that Ivan had been standing behind her all this while and staring at the cor of a certain lady¡¯s cat. There was a look of sorrow and pain in his eyes. Noticing the look in his eyes, she hurriedly asked thedy carrying the cat, ¡°Miss, your cat¡¯s cor is gorgeous! It¡¯s so delicate! Which designer created this?¡± Thedy proudly replied, ¡°This was designed by Bill. The one who was as famous as Ive back then¡ªBill Winterford!¡± Ivan¡¯s gaze darkened and he fell back into a gloomy depression. That was a unique cor he had designed for his cat, Raindrops¡ªit was the only one in the world. After Raindrops died, he had buried the cor along with it. That belongs to Raindrops! It also belongs to me! He had designed all sorts of unique ornaments for his pets, leaving only the best for his family. However, he returned after disappearing for three years only to find that the unique items he had designed in the past had turned into a popr item among thedies. Moreover, that popr item had been crowned under a different person¡¯s name¡ªBill Winterford! As if having heard Ivan¡¯s indignation, ady suddenly said, ¡°Bill came here today too! He¡¯s also a member of the Edwards Family! Look! He¡¯s right there!¡± In unison, everybody looked in the direction thedy was pointing. Among the crowd stood a blond- haired, blue-eyed, handsome young man¡ªhe was the internationally renowned designer, Bill Winterford. ncing in the direction of that person, Ivanughed. Bill Winterford! I can¡¯t believe hees from a branch of the Edwards Family overseas! This man that used to follow after me, calling me ¡®Master¡¯; I taught and raised this man! To think he stole all my designs when an ident befell my family and I was in dire straits! He found the sight before him extremely offensive, yet at the same time, it was extremely saddening too. Unable to cry orugh, he became expressionless in the end. Chapter 678 Chapter 678 Bill was talking to Lucy when he suddenly seemed to notice that he was being discussed by this group of people and approached them. When thedies saw that Lucy wasing over, they hurriedly tried to fawn and tter her. Then, Lucy introduced Bill to the crowd, ¡°This man is one of our family members. A few generations back, his family left to live abroad. His name is Bill Winterford, and he is a renowned designer of pet luxury goods. He has decided to return to Cethos to start up a business next year. For that reason, we are working together to start a studio to create a pet luxury goods brand in Cethos. I hope everybody will support our endeavor.¡± Upon hearing those words, thedies quickly nodded in agreement. On the other hand, Sophia frowned. Isn¡¯t this too much of a coincidence? I just started my business n, but Lucy is already bing a businesspetitor? Bill didn¡¯t seem to have recognized Ivan. After all, Ivan had changed a lot during these three years¡ªhe practically aged overnight. He now looked much older than he was, and his hair was peppered gray. Compared to the young and energetic Ivan back then, the difference was far too great. Looking at Bill as he chatted with thedies, Sophia felt her confidence waver slightly. Thus, she asked Ivan, ¡°Do you have the confidence topete against Bill?¡± Ivan stared at Bill, who was in high spirits and standing not far away. Then, he replied icily, ¡°I was the one that taught him. I¡¯m well aware of his capabilities. How could I not?¡± In the past, Bill had been one of the apprentices at his studio. At the time, the other apprentices had reported that Bill had stolen their designs. Unfortunately, he had trusted Bill back then and did not take heed of thoseints¡­ When he was busy dealing with matters involving his wife and child, he even handed the management of the studio over to Bill without any worries¡­ Haha¡­ I was such a blind fool back then! During those three years, he hade to realize everything as he experienced all the coldness and mercilessness that existed in the world. He could only watch as his loved ones left him, one after the other; as his career copsed; and as his life copsed¡­ His faith had been tested time and time again as he tried again and again only to fail every single time. The person who truly loved him had long since passed, and the person he used to trust had stolen everything he had to build up a reputation. Besides, he had revisited the pet luxury business these days. By focusing on some of the popr styles that recently appeared in the international market and paying attention to Bill in particr, he discovered that Bill had giarized all his designs. In every design that Bill came up with, he could find traces of his designs in them. Not only that, but even his unique designs that he had created especially for his beloved pets had turned into popr items on the market! Those were not just made from his efforts alone; they included the sweat, blood, and tears of his wife and his sister. At the time, he had established his studio with his wife and his sister. We came up with those designs together! Yet, Bill had shamelessly stolen them all! His fists clenched and rxed, and he did that over and over. In the end, he lowered his head and focused on taking care of Garfield. Even so, his gaze was filled with the mes of fury. Bill! Just you wait! When Sophia learned that Bill and Lucy were working together, she felt anxious. She could sense that she was facing a challenge she had never faced before. If she wanted to make a move, then she would aim to be the best in Cethos. Besides, she felt at ease with Ivan¡¯s ranking. However, if Bill and Lucy were to work together, that would be a huge obstacle in her path! After all, Lucy was the vice president of the Edwards Group. Together, those two would have a more experienced and influential team. Moreover, it was a given that Lucy would have more resources at hand than she did. No matter how hard it is, I still have to give it a go! How would I know how sessful I can be if I don¡¯t try? More importantly, she did not feel as if she were inferior to Lucy in any way. Rather, if not for her background which couldn¡¯tpare with Lucy¡¯s, she believed that her current achievements would be much greater than Lucy¡¯s! Perhaps because Lucy was the vice president of the Edwards Group, as well as her husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend, that she couldn¡¯t help regarding Lucy as her imaginary enemy, a role model, and a person to surpass. For that reason, she alwayspared herself to all of Lucy¡¯s achievements. Sophia also believed that if Cooper¡¯s struggles back then were effective¡­ If Cooper had married Annabel and given birth to me¡­ I could have been the youngdy of the Mitchell Family, just like Natasha. But, I would never act like Natasha. Instead, I would have lived like Lucy¡ªI would have built my own business, climbed up thedder of sess, sat at the top of the business empire, and be a powerful woman! It¡¯s a pity, but I am neither Natasha nor Lucy. I am simply Sophia. Sophia, who was born in Johnson Family Vige in Riverdale; whose uncle was a felon that molested women; who only started studying at the age of nine and entered university at the age of 19. Even so, it¡¯s only a matter of time until I catch up to Lucy! Once I am 25, I will definitely be able to achieve everything I ever wanted to do! After a while, Bill and Lucy left to socialize with other people. Thus, Sophia continued chatting with the ladies, trying to join in their social group. When a group ofdies gathered together, their conversation tended to revolve around certain topics¡ªfrom flower arrangements and tea ceremonies to stocks and real estate to child-bearing secrets and skincare methods. Later, they took turns touching Sophia¡¯s robot and cat. In the meantime, the conversation identally touched on the topic of their husbands. As soon as the topic touched on their husbands, Sophia shuddered. Sure enough; thedies nced in her direction all at once. ¡°We heard¡­ your husband has gotten fat¡­¡± Sophia was just about to answer when thedies looked behind her in unison. Their gazes were full of surprise as they quickly took out their phones and rushed forward to take photos. It turned out that a handsome man in a suit had appeared behind her. His slim figure was beautiful beyond belief. He held a wine ss in his hand with his slender fingers; his sharp and angr face was neither fat nor thin. His body proportions were perfect and his legs were long and attractive. ¡°What are you all talking about?¡± Michael¡¯s voice sounded as if it was infused with the richness of the wine in his ss¡ªit was intoxicating. Sophia looked back and nced at him, saying ¡°We were talking about how you got fat!¡± He lifted his ss and said to the curious and nosydies, ¡°Alright, as you can see¡ªI didn¡¯t get fat.¡± He knew that if a group ofdies got together, they would talk about how he had gotten fat. Thedies¡¯ eyes lit up at the sight of him. After all, he was the national idol. His fanbase included everyone from old ladies to young girls¡ªthese richdies were no exception. Then, thedies rushed to take a photo with him. He was extremely patient today as they were Sophia¡¯s future customers. While taking photos with them, heplimented, ¡°What a beautiful cat. That dog sure looks strong. Your chinchi looks so delicate!¡± ¡­ Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. After the photo session, Michael turned to Sophia and said, ¡°Come; I want to introduce you to a bigshot.¡± A bigshot? Sophia immediately stood up, brushed off the cat fur on her legs, took out a name card, and swiftly left with him. He introduced her, ¡°This bigshot is very influential. His status is equivalent to the deputy family head of the Edwards Family. Aside from Jordan Edwards, he is the most powerful here. Moreover, he is very influential in both business and political circles. He was only one step away from bing the president of the country. In the end, he withdrew from politics. He¡¯s the 9th Old Master.¡± No matter what circles one was in, connections were extremely important. Therefore, he hoped that she could get to know some high-leveled contacts. Getting to know this bigshot might be very useful in expanding her career and business. ¡°Wow! What a bigshot! Hurry up and introduce me to him!¡± Sophia excitedly grabbed Michael¡¯s sleeve while holding her name card in her other hand. He nced at her name card, especially that slim and beautiful portrait. He had never wanted to make a retort as much as he did now¡ªthe photo was photoshopped to the extent that even her husband couldn¡¯t recognize her anymore! Chapter 679 Chapter 679 The actual person and the person in the photo don¡¯t match at all! She practically photoshopped herself into an underaged girl! Moreover, she actually believes that¡¯s how she looks! On the other hand, Sophia only had eyes for the bigshot that was only one step away from bing president of the country. Even if he failed to be the president, he¡¯s still a very high-level bigshot! Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael brought Sophia into the men¡¯s social circle. Widening her eyes to look for the bigshot, she could immediately tell the man with the imposing aura apart from the crowd with a single nce. The man was not that old; he was probably around Michael¡¯s age. His back was straight and tall. His figure was dominating and his aura was extraordinary. Despite standing next to Harry, who relied on his looks in his career, he did not lose in any way. Rather, he had an air of maturity around him that came from the wisdom and experience he had umted over the years. Therefore, it made him stand out from the crowd. There were three types of older men in the world. The first type were handsome men like Michael who desperately refused to admit to their age. The second type were real men like the one before her¡ªthey had an imposing aura and a mature air around them. Andstly, there were scumbags like Harry who only fed instant noodles to their girlfriends for every meal! Michael led Sophia over to the older man. The older man nced at her without saying anything. Even so, his aura pressed down on her¡ªso much so that she could barely breathe. ¡°Master Sam, this is my wife, Sophia Edwards.¡± Although she didn¡¯t know the identity of the man before her, he had to be very influential for Michael to address him as ¡®Master¡¯. ¡°Nice to meet you, Master Sam. My name is Sophia Edwards,¡± she said as she extended her hand toward him. The older man reached out, and they shook hands. Immersed in the joy of shaking hands with this bigshot, Sophia thought to herself, The Edwards Family annual meeting is truly on a whole other level! No wonder Judy always acts so stuck up whenever she attends the annual meeting! As expected of a bigshot¡ªthis bearing, this aura, this temperament¡­ I need to be friends with more influential people. That way, I can pick up this powerful aura from them! However, she failed to notice that two balls of mes suddenly ignited in the depths of the older man¡¯s gaze. His heart that had remained calm for more than 20 years became turbulent at that moment. ¡°Hello, my name is Sam Edwards.¡± Outwardly, Sam looked calm and unaffected despite the surging emotions inside him. This girl looks like her¡­ She looks exactly like her¡­ Faye and Judy stood by the side, observing them secretly. With their status, they had no right to even approach somebody as high-ranking as Sam. They could only get as close as they could to spy on them. Therefore, they noticed Sam¡¯s expression when he looked at Sophia. Something is going on after all¡­ Meanwhile, Sophia handed her name card over to Sam. ¡°Master Sam, this is my name card. Currently, my friends and I are working together to establish a gamingpany. I hope to learn from you.¡± Seeing that there were no changes in his gaze, she became very nervous. She was afraid that he might look down on her fledgling status and the meagerpany she established. To her surprise, he pursed his lips and asked, ¡°What kind of games do you make?¡± Sam is talking to me! Thus, she hurriedly answered, ¡°We are an entrepreneurial team consisting of university students. So, our operating scale is not that huge yet. For now, we are producing several large-scale 3D online games and mobile games.¡± He replied, ¡°Not bad. Sunrise industries have a very promising future. Old men like us have much to learn from you youngsters.¡± She¡¯s so alike! Far too alike! When she isn¡¯t moving, she looks simr. When she is moving, she looks even more simr! It¡¯s as if she is a clone of that person! Even if that person has been gone for more than 20 years¡­ I still remember the way that person smiled. At that moment, that person¡¯s face was vivid in his mind. While speaking, he nced at her name card. Ignoring the heavily photoshopped photo, her name ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ entered his vision. Sophia¡­ Sophia¡­ Sophia Edwards! At that moment, it felt as if his heart had skipped a bit¡ªso much so that he could barely breathe. Each letter of the name felt like fireballs burning into his eyes. I thought I had long forgotten that name. However, now that the person in question is standing in front of me, it feels as if I¡¯ve met her before in another life! Upon seeing that Sam had conversed with her, Sophia hurriedly answered, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. The profits are great, but thepetition is fierce too. As we are still a startup with little experience, we hope to learn more from an experienced senior such as yourself.¡± Sam controlled his breathing and made his voice as calm as he could. At the same time, he said almost subconsciously, ¡°You look very young; it turns out you¡¯re a university student! What year of university are you in?¡± She replied, ¡°Our founding members are all students of Bayside University. We are currently in our junior year at university.¡± Michael, who was standing by the side, took the chance to enter the conversation. ¡°My wife is 23 this year. The founding team is all of the same age. They are very young, have many great ideas, and have new ying styles. Moreover, they upy arge market share.¡± Meanwhile, Sam¡¯s gaze was fixed on the ck spot in front of Sophia¡¯s chest¡ªit was an obsidian amulet in the image of the Goddess of Mercy. His eyes seemed to be glued to that item. ¡°The image of the Goddess of Mercy is very unique.¡± Sophia touched the amulet that held her warmth. ¡°Oh, this? This amulet was given to me by my father.¡± It was Cooper¡¯s amulet. His name was carved into the back, but she had used something to obscure the infamous name. Therefore, it simply looked like a normal obsidian amulet in the image of the Goddess of Mercy. After saying a few more words to Sam, Sophia quickly added him on Messenger¡ªmaintaining a means of contact with him was the way to go. Their conversation had been very pleasant. When they parted, she delightedly looked at her phone and searched up his biography on the inte. Oh, my God! He is f*cking awesome! If Cooper was still around, he would be just as amazing, right?! Afterward, Michael brought Sophia with him to get to know the other bigshots that were present. Many bigshots had been invited to the Edwards Family annual meeting. Therefore, he wanted to introduce her to many of these bigshots. If she wanted to make a lot of money, she would need to create connections with these bigshots of both the legitimate and underground worlds. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to know them after all. Nobody noticed that Sam¡¯s expression seemed lost as soon as he ended his conversation with them and he turned around. His head felt nk, filled only with the way Sophia looked as she talked. Her image kept ovepping with the person in his memories¡­ ¡°Andrea, Anna and I have decided to elope. I hope you can keep this secret for us. I¡¯m going to bring Anna to a ce where the Mitchell Family can never find us.¡± ¡°Andrea, I know¡­ I know you love Anna too. But, I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t step back¡­¡± ¡°Andrea, if I have a child with Coop in the future, I¡¯m going to name her ¡®Sophia¡¯. So-phea¡­ It¡¯s a name that sounds simr to yours. We will never forget you.¡± ¡­ Sam had no idea how he managed to leave the banquet hall. When he returned to his room, he sat on the bed nkly, stiffly, and in silence for a long while. He was caught up in hisplicated memories of the past. 23 years ago, that person died. And now, 23 yearster, a woman who looked exactly like her appeared. Chapter 680 Chapter 680 Sam called his assistant over and handed the name card he just received to her. ¡°You have one hour. I want all the information on this person, including her parents, her family, her birthce, her biographical information, and so on.¡± The assistant epted the name card and immediately began her investigation. However, she still said, ¡°9th Old Master, if you want to investigate this person, you can find a lot of information on the inte. You can simply check on the inte in the meantime.¡± A casual search on the inte would bring up a lot of information on Taylor Murray¡¯s wife. After that, the assistant left the room. Then, Sam sat at his desk, turned on hisputer, and typed the words ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ into the search bar. To be honest, he didn¡¯t need to ask his assistant to investigate her. Her information was all over the inte¡ªshe even had an exclusive entry on Wikipedia. Clicking into her Wikipedia page, he read through her biography: Sophia Edwards¡ª23 years old. Her father is Joe Edwards, her sister is Faye Edwards, and her husband is Taylor Murray. She published a book and gave a speech at Bayside University before. Currently, she is the executive director of Plum Technology as well as a student at Bayside University. However, he couldn¡¯t find any information about her mother. Some articles merely mentioned that her mother had died prematurely. He scanned through the information quickly and discovered that she had been molested by her own uncle when she was younger. Reading the news, he was unable to ept it nor imagine it. I can¡¯t believe the face that is identical to that person hid such a painful past behind that cool demeanor! After that, he searched for her picture on the inte. She would asionally post a picture of her daily life on Twitter, but there were very few selfies of her¡ªshe mostly posted pictures of her pets. Even so, every photo he found of her was uncannily simr to that person. One hour passed by quickly. The assistant promptly came back with arge amount of information on Sophia. She handed the information, that had been printed out into arge stack of documents, over to Sam. The Edwards Family possessed a powerful intelligencework; they investigated everything about Sophia and her background to the minute details. The information on her included her origins, her family, her birth, and even the prizes she received in school¡ªall of it was written out clearly. Sam turned to the first page of the document. It contained aprehensive and detailed version of her household registration information. The moment he read that page, his entire body stiffened in surprise. The information in the document was far moreprehensive than the information he had found on the Inte¡ªSophia¡¯s entire background had been investigated. Aside from her father and her husband, even her mother¡¯s name had been retrieved. ¡®Mother: Annabel Johnson.¡¯ Not much information was written on her mother, Annabel Johnson. Only several lines were written there. ¡®Annabel Johnson died of a postpartum amniotic fluid embolism at the age of 19 in 199x.¡¯ Upon reading those words, his hands began to shake, and his internal emotions crashed about in huge waves inside his heart. His eyes were filled with those words: ¡®Died of a postpartum amniotic fluid embolism at the age of 19.¡¯ Died of a postpartum amniotic fluid embolism at the age of 19¡­ Then, he turned to his assistant and said with an emotional expression he had never shown before, ¡°I want information on Annabel Johnson! All of it! Quickly!¡± He practically roared out those words. His assistant had never seen Sam in such an unbridled and emotional state before. Thus, she hurriedly left the room to gather information on ¡®Annabel Johnson¡¯. Afterward, Sam continued reading the information on Sophia and understanding her past. The more he read, the more shocked he felt. At the same time, his grief, indignation, and anger grew. By the end of it all, he could almost confirm something. In the meantime, his assistant had obtained Annabel¡¯s personal information as fast as she could and handed it over to Sam. Compared to the stack of information on her daughter, the information on Annabel was remarkably much less. It consisted of only one simple page¡ªone piece of paper was enough to summarize her 19 years of life. She was born in Johnson Family Vige, which was located in the suburbs of Riverdale. She graduated from primary school and dropped out of school to work at the age of 13. At 18 years old, she worked as a confinement nanny under Joe Edwards. She was chased out of the household when she later became pregnant. Afterward, she returned to her vige and gave birth to her daughter, Sophia Edwards. The father of the child was unknown. She died of an amniotic fluid embolism. When Sam finished reading that single piece of paper, he seemed stunned and couldn¡¯t say a word for a long time. His assistant stood by the side, not daring to say anything either. That was because Annabel Johnson looked identical to the girl in the photo Sam cherished and loved the most! At that moment, Sam stared at the paper in his hands that he had almost crushed in a daze. All of a sudden, he stood up, shredded the document to pieces, and smashed around him like a madman. It looked like he had gone crazy¡ªhe was crying andughing at the same time while muttering endlessly, ¡°Hahahahaha¡­ Fate conspires against you! What a rotten hand! Why?! Why?!¡± Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. ¡­ Sam had gonepletely mad¡ªit seemed like he was a different person altogether. He destroyed everything he saw. Everything in the room was smashed to pieces, including the photo that he loved and cherished the most. That photo was the photo he took with Annabel. Laughing and crying, he finally ended up wailing in despair. His assistant was shocked, but she remained standing at the door and did not dare to leave. The doghouse by the corner had been broken too, and Sam¡¯s pet dog ran out of the room in fright as a result. Standing by the door, the assistant cracked open the door and observed Sam, who was destroying everything like a wild beast with scarlet eyes. The hair on her body stood up at the sight. Lucy rushed over after hearing themotion and asked, ¡°What happened to Sam?¡± The assistant replied in a whisper, ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­¡± Lucy could hear Sam destroying stuff inside the room. He was crying andughing while simultaneously yelling, ¡°Why?! Why?!¡± ¡­ Edwards Ind was brightly lit today. After the simple wee banquet, everybody was tired from their travels. Therefore, there were no other activities, and they all headed back to their respective rooms to rest. Inside the room, Sophia was unpacking her luggage. Initially, she felt that it was enough to only bring some toiletries since they were only here for three days. However, they were famous now. They had to be extravagant when making an appearance. Even if she wanted to pack light, she needed to bring more luggage with her. Why did I have to be the wife of the Best Actor Award winner?! With her husband¡¯s fame surrounding her, she was constantly being watched wherever she went. I knew this would happen. That¡¯s why I preferred a hidden marriage! On the other hand, Michael was on the phone on the balcony of the room. It was a call from Sean. Sean quickly cut to the chase, saying, ¡°Uncle Michael, I made a major discovery! Back then, Cooper and Annabel went to the south to elope. In the end, they settled down in an ancient town. It¡¯s the predecessor of the film studio where you always go for movie shootings. Originally, the Mitchell Family couldn¡¯t locate them. But, somebody snitched on them! That person was Cooper¡¯s best friend and one of the few people who knew about Cooper and Annabel. If you can find that person, you might be able to find out more about Cooper. I¡¯ve investigated Cooper¡¯s photo. At the time, he was frequently in contact with a person named ¡®Andrea Edwards¡¯. There were many photos of them together. Moreover, I suspect that Andrea was the snitch! I believe he is a member of the Edwards Family. Try to find out more about this person during the two days you have with the Edwards Family.¡± After ending the call, Michael returned to the room. He saw that Sophia was trying on the swimsuit she nned to wear tomorrow as she walked about butt naked. Then, he saw that a copy of the Edwards Family¡¯s genealogy record book was avable on the bookshelf in the hotel room. Picking up the book, he flipped through it while looking for the name ¡®Andrea Edwards¡¯. Unfortunately, his search came up empty¡ªthere was no such person in the Edwards Family. The Edwards Family generally did a very good job at controlling the information on its family members. If there was something they didn¡¯t want outsiders to know about, it would be impossible to find out. Or perhaps, Andrea Edwards was not part of the Edwards Family. No matter who he was, Michael was very interested in this person. After all, his wife was named Sophia while this person was named Andrea. Chapter 681 Chapter 681 However, those that could be friends with Cooper were surely influential. Since he had the surname ¡®Edwards¡¯, then he was most probably part of the Edwards Family. Besides, the Edwards Family¡¯s genealogy record book changed every year. If they could add new people into it, then they could remove some of the people they were displeased with too. Moreover, Andrea was a person from over 20 years ago. Perhaps, he died a long time ago. Or, he failed to enter the genealogy record book in the first ce. I¡¯m sure many unpredictable things urred in these 20 years¡­ Even so, Michael did not give up and skimmed through the book again. In particr, he paid attention to the bigshots that took up an entire page within the genealogy record book. Some of them even had an exclusive page just to introduce them. Among those people, Sam took up two pages all by himself. It could be seen that his position within the Edwards Family was just beneath the family head. While looking through Sam¡¯s information, one sentence caught Michael¡¯s attention: ¡®Sam Edwards, formerly known as Andrea Edwards. He changed his name in 199X.¡¯ So, Andrea was Sam all along! Moreover, the year he changed his name coincided with the year Sophia was born¡­ No wonder I kept feeling that the way Sam looked at Sophia today seemed a little odd. His rtionship with Cooper should be pretty close, and he must have met Annabel before. I wonder if he keeps tabs on Cooper. Or, was he the person who snitched on them back then? So-phea¡­ An-drea¡­ They sound so simr! Oh, deputy family head of the Edwards Family¡­ Master Sam¡­ The people Michael had to bow down to and respectfully address as ¡®Master¡¯ were not many. However, he was sure of one thing¡ªthis 9th Old Master surely knew Cooper very well! After mulling over it, Michael stood up to take a shower. Along the way, he groped Sophia¡¯s fleshy butt while she was trying out her swimsuit. Then, he squatted down and opened up the luggage bag that contained his clothes. Who could have expected¡­ As soon as his luggage bag was opened, arge dog¡¯s head emerged from his bag and stared at him affectionately. His pajamas werepletely covered in dog saliva¡­ The room fell silent for five seconds. ¡°You sh*tty dog! Get out of there! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± he yelled as he searched for the feather duster to hit the dog. s, he found a belt! Yelp! Judge, who was hiding in the suitcase, was so frightened that it let out a loud yelp. Jumping out of the suitcase, it ran toward the door, used its paws to press down on the doorknob, bit on the lock to release it, then opened the door and ran out of the room. The sight of its escape left Michael feelingpletely speechless. He nearly forgot that during the time Celine had trained it, in addition to eating feces, it had also learned to open doors! Otherwise, how could it open the door to the bathroom to find food?! When the door flew open, Sophia let out a shriek¡ªshe was butt naked while trying out her swimsuit. At first, Michael wanted to run after the dog. However, his wife was exposed to the public. Closing the door quickly, he covered his wife up before leaving to find the dog. That damn mutt! Luckily, there was nobody outside and Sophia was not exposed to anybody. Otherwise, I¡¯ll skin that dog alive! In the end, he sent somebody to look for the dog. Unfortunately, the search was in vain. Still, they were on an ind surrounded by the sea. There was no need to worry about the dog escaping by swimming away. Besides, it was hot outside. Returning to the room, he discovered that not only had Judge returned on its own, but it also brought a huge, ck dog with it. At that moment, Sophia was letting Judge drink some mineral water. Judge had hidden in the suitcase while Sophia had been busy packing. Fortunately, the journey here had been fairly smooth. They left the house and went directly to the pier by car before boarding the boat to the ind. Even so, it had taken them several hours by boat to reach the ind. During that time, Judge had been hiding inside the luggage without food or water. It was rather pitiful. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Sophia poured the mineral water into her footbath. Then, Judgepped at it hungrily. It seemed that the dog was very thirsty. When it noticed that Michael was back, it was so scared that it hid behind Sophia. Although Michael was extremely livid, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to stoop to the level of a silly dog. Thus, he unpacked his pajamas from the luggage bag¡ªit was soaked in dog saliva. It stinks of shit! He was utterly disgusted. Fortunately, the room also came with a washer-dryer. On the other hand, Sophia was petting the dog. Judge had decided to bring a huge, ck dog home with it. The two dogs seemed to be on good terms with each other as they sniffed at each other¡¯s butts. The huge, ck dog seemed to be a Labrador. It waspletely covered in ck fur, with not a stray strand of fur out of ce. It was veryrge and looked very healthy. Its body was full of very firm muscles, and the color of its fur was also very beautiful. Since it was not wearing a cor, they didn¡¯t know its name. However, it was probably raised by one of the Edwards Family¡¯s members living on the ind. As a result, Sophia decided to name it. ¡°Corrado! Corrado!¡± Although Corrado looked very fierce, it was rtively docile and allowed Sophia to squeeze its paws. She was sitting on the carpet. Sitting opposite her, it was taller than her. Judge had been hiding in the luggage for a long time. When it escaped outside just now, it took the opportunity to clear out its bowels. Now that its stomach was empty, it was getting hungry. Hence, Sophia fed it some cat food. Corrado ate some too. Watching the two dogs scarfing down the food with relish, she couldn¡¯t help tasting the cat food baked with a secret recipe. It tasted surprisingly good! Following that, the two dogs and one human polished off two bags of cat food together. After ying for a while, Corrado wagged its tail in satisfaction and left. Due to Judge¡¯s idental ¡®surprise¡¯, Michael¡¯s mood had turned sour. He felt as if he was surrounded by the smell of shit¡ªso much so that he dreamed that he fell into a dung pit¡­ Late at night, Sam was having nightmares too. He dreamed that he met Cooper, then he dreamed about Annabel. Throughout these 20 or so years, he had been gued by nightmares. Tossing and turning, he could never sleep peacefully. Hence, he needed sleeping pills to help him sleep. The nightmare that came to him tonight was extremely vivid. The voices and smiles of Cooper and Annabel were so alive in his mind that it felt like it had just happened yesterday. ¡°Andrea, Anna and I have decided to elope. I hope you can keep this secret for us. I¡¯m going to bring Anna to a ce where the Mitchell Family can never find us.¡± ¡°Andrea, if I have a child with Coop in the future, I¡¯m going to name her ¡®Sophia¡¯. So-phea¡­ It¡¯s a name that sounds simr to yours. I will never forget you. However, I have not discussed this with Coop. I¡¯m sure he will agree to it, but you have to keep it a secret for the time being.¡± ¡­ Those scenes were torn apart by Annabel¡¯s helpless screams before she died, and Cooper¡¯s furious yet sorrowful roar. Then, Sam woke up from his nightmare and discovered that he was still lying on the ground in the hotel¡¯s study; alcohol bottles were scattered around him. Lifting his head, he nced at the clock on the wall¡ªit was 3 AM. Last night, he had destroyed the entire office in a fit of frenzy. Familiar with his temper, his assistant had not dared to enter the office, lest she disturbed him. After that, he drank a lotst night. However, he still couldn¡¯t escape from those pervasive nightmares despite drinking until he waspletely drunk. At some point, his dog, ckie, had returned to the office. The ck dog was sleeping in the doghouse by the corner. When it saw that Sam was awake, it lifted its head and nced at him before going back to sleep. Sam¡¯s head felt like it was going to break from the splitting headache he had. Lying on the ground, he didn¡¯t feel like moving. Rather, he felt like crying andughing. He was consumed by loathing¡­ He had preserved the photo of him and Annabel for more than 20 years. At this moment, the picture frame had been broken to pieces by his own hands. As a result, the picture fell out of the frame, only to reveal that it was actually a group photo of three. The three people in the photo looked to be of simr age. They looked lively and happy. Annabel was standing in the middle, holding hands with Cooper and smiling. It was clear that she only had eyes for Cooper. Meanwhile, Sam, who was known as Andrea back then, stood on the other side of Annabel. He had deceived everybody, including himself, by folding the part with Cooper in it to the back and pretending that he and Annabel were the only ones in the photo. However, even that could not erase the cruel truth. Chapter 682 Chapter 682 The truth was that they were mutually in love with each other. For the sake of marrying Annabel, Cooper went so far as to abandon the entire Mitchell Family and eloped with her. His ns were very thorough. Although he was only 18 at the time, he had considered everything¡ªhe brought enough money from home, nned their escape route, and chose the safest ce for them to settle down. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. If everything went well, the Mitchell Family would never be able to find them. And, he seeded. Woody did everything in his power to find them but failed to locate them. Not long after that, Cooper sent a letter and a photo to his most trusted friend, Andrea. It was a photo of him and Annabel in an ancient town. In his letter, he imed that the two of them were living a blissful life after settling down in a quiet, ancient town. He had opened up a bookstore, and Annabel was running a stall selling pre-cooked snacks beside the bookstore. They were very happy together. Sam could never forget the words Annabel and Cooper had said to him before they left. ¡°Andrea, if I have a child with Coop in the future, I¡¯m going to name her ¡®Sophia¡¯. So-phea¡­ It¡¯s a name that sounds simr to yours. We will never forget you.¡± What I wanted isn¡¯t this! What I want is you, Annabel Johnson! Staring at their blissful faces in the photo, jealousy razed his sanity to the ground. Then, his 16-year-old self did the one thing he regretted most in his life¡ªhe handed the photo over to the Mitchell Family. Afterward, the Mitchell Family found Cooper and Annabel through the background in the photo. He had only done what he did in a fit of rage¡ªhe simply wanted to tear them apart. However, he had not expected that his actions would lead to Annabel¡¯s death and Cooper¡¯s drastic personality change. Upon learning the tragedy that unfolded, he realized how wrong he had been. Only then did he understand just how great a mistake he had made! Unable to ept the disaster he had created with his own hands, he changed his name and went abroad. Twenty yearster, he finally learned the cruel truth that had urred back then. Fate is conspiring against me¡­ It waste at night, yet Sam continued to pour the alcohol down his throat while reading the information on Annabel. Looking at the information, he suddenly covered his face with his hands and wept bitterly. I never thought that things would unfold in this manner! I just wanted to separate the two of them! I never imagined that the Mitchell Family would kill her just to make Cooper give up! Cooper and I both thought that she was dead! We thought everything was over! To think that Annabel was still alive! In a ce neither Cooper nor I knew about, she was raped by a fat b*stard and gave birth to his child! I can¡¯t believe it! She wasn¡¯t killed by the Mitchell Family. Instead, she died while giving birth! Her child, Sophia, was born without parents. Moreover, she suffered through so much pain too! Everything¡ªall of this¡ª is my fault! It¡¯s all my fault! ¡°Anna¡­ It¡¯s all my fault¡­ It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± Sam muttered repeatedly, his soul plunging into endless darkness. On the first day the Edwards Family annual meeting officially began, a banquet would be held at night. However, everybody was generally free to spend their time during the day as they wished¡ªthey could use this time to meet the people they wanted to meet. Hence, Sophia hurriedly brought her cat and entered thedies¡¯ social circle. The group ofdies was sunbathing by the seaside while their assistants were ying with their pets. There were many cats and dogs on the ind, and Judge stepped away to y on its own. After a while, it brought its new friend with it to Sophia to be petted. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you again, Corrado!¡± Sophia petted Corrado¡¯s head. It had followed Judge back. This time around, it was wearing a cor. It turned out that it had a name¡ªit was called ¡®ckie¡¯. However, she felt that the name ¡®Corrado¡¯ suited it much better. After ying together for a while, Judge and Corrado disappeared off somewhere. To prevent Judge from eating feces again, she borrowed a muzzle from one of the otherdies and fitted Judge with it. After conversing with thedies, she noticed Michael beckoning her from afar. Thus, she hurried over. Michael was only wearing a pair of beach pants as he sat under the beach umbre, drinking tea and admiring the sea with a group of bigshots surrounding him. It was the annual meeting after all¡ªit was meant to be a rxing asion. Under the guise of spending a vacation together, the members of the Edwards Family would get the chance to mingle and get to know one another. Rxing was not the main purpose¡ªthe main purpose was to foster a rtionship with the bigshots. Michael¡¯s half-naked, athletic figure looked absolutely delectable. Having sessfully lost the weight he put on, his figure was at the peak of its perfection. It was well-proportioned and stunningly attractive¡ªso much so that it seemed to glow. For that reason, the attention of all the women around him was focused on his body. Sophia walked over and saw the circle of big shots. She recognized a few of them, including Lucy, Sam, Harry, and some others. Lucy was wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit that showed off her fair skin and slender figure. Simrly, Sophia was also wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit with a light jacket thrown over her shoulders. Her long, slender legs were vaguely revealed under the jacket. Our outfits sh! This is so embarrassing! Lucy was wearing sunsses, so her expression was hidden behind them. However, the frown on her face was still noticeable. It was clear that she was not happy. Hence, Sophia felt very nervous as she walked over to Michael¡¯s side. Then, Michael introduced her to all the big shots present. Sure enough, every one of them was influential! Except for the family head, Jordan Edwards, all the bigwigs in the Edwards Family were practically gathered here. Therefore, Joe took advantage and joined the rest of the bigwigs. If it weren¡¯t for Michael, he would never be able to step into their social circle. Laughing out loud, Joe imed, ¡°This is my daughter! She takes after her mother, doesn¡¯t she? She¡¯s very outstanding!¡± Everybody nced at Joe, who was very fat, then they nced at Sophia in surprise. Did the wife of this fat b*stard cheat on him? How could he have such a pretty daughter with those looks of his? Or, did she undergo stic surgery? Faye was sitting next to Joe as she diligently tried to enter the social circles of the upper ranks within the Edwards Family. The three of them might be of one family, but their appearances differed greatly. Sam was wearing a pair of sunsses to hide his exhaustion from not sleeping all night. Even so, his eyes brightened the moment he saw Sophia. I¡¯m right! I wasn¡¯t mistaken! Sophia Edwards is Cooper¡¯s daughter! Sophia¡¯s birthday was in October, and everybody imed that she was Joe¡¯s daughter. However, he immediately realized that she was Cooper and Annabel¡¯s daughter as soon as he learned that she was Annabel¡¯s daughter. She had her mother¡¯s looks and her father¡¯s personality, inheriting her mother¡¯s good looks and her father¡¯s way of doing things. After reading the information he had on her, he was certain that she was 100% Cooper¡¯s daughter! Back then, Cooper ran away for another reason¡ªhe wanted to have a child with Annabel. Then, the two of them would raise their child with care and love. As long as the child was outstanding enough that the Mitchell Family had to ept the child, then they had no choice but to ept the child¡¯s mother too. Oh, how far-sighted the 18-year-old Cooper had been! If it wasn¡¯t for Andrea¡¯s foolishness back then, they would have given birth to their child. Then, the Mitchell Family could not cause trouble for them since a child was involved, even if they were discovered in the future. Sam observed Sophia, who stood before him. She should have been born as the Mitchell Family¡¯s precious youngdy. Then, she would not have needed to go through so much pain; she would not have had to wait until she was nine before she had the opportunity to go to school. She would not have been molested by her uncle and she would not have needed to escape the Johnson Family, after being beaten up badly during her high school entrance examination, just to survive; she wouldn¡¯t¡­ Sam blinked. His eyes were wet with tears. Lifting his sunsses, he tried to hide his tears¡­ and his guilt. Chapter 683 Chapter 683 Meanwhile, Sophia had started to integrate herself into the world of the bigwigs. She was chatting with them about topics on real estate, stocks,pany management, and so on. Sam remained quiet as he watched her. This is Cooper and Annabel¡¯s child! Unfortunately, Cooper didn¡¯t know of the existence of this child even when he died. At the peak of his career, he stood above all others as the president of the Mitchell Group and the family head of the Mitchell Family. However, he didn¡¯t know that his own child didn¡¯t even have the chance to go to school at the time. What a cruel fate to have befallen Cooper and Annabel! Sophia sat beside Michael while listening to the people around her. She learned a lot from listening to them. Once in a while, she would participate in their discussions too. She didn¡¯t try to blow her own trumpet. Rather, she appropriately emphasized her existence. She was very subtle and clever about it, and it showcased her high emotional intelligence. In the first ce, Cooper¡¯s child would be very intelligent even if their brilliance were buried. However, if they were allowed to shine, their brilliance would be dazzling. Sitting while sipping on her juice, Sophia suddenly noticed arge, ck dog sneaking over. Its ck fur glimmered under the sunlight as it sat down beside Sam like a shadow. Delighted, she reached out to pet the dog¡¯s head. ¡°Corrado! Why are you alone?¡± Where did Judge, that sh*tty dog, go?! Corrado stuck out its tongue and raised its head, allowing her to pat its head. Unable to stand it, Lucy put the ss of juice in her hand down and called out to Corrado, ¡°ckie,e here.¡± Who is she calling Corrado?! This is ckie! How could this dog have such a distasteful and tacky name?! Sophia withdrew her hand awkwardly, thinking that it was Lucy¡¯s dog. ¡°I just thought¡­ the name ¡®Corrado¡¯ would suit a ck dog like it¡­¡± Unfortunately, Corrado was not familiar with Lucy. Even though she called out to it, it did not budge an inch and remained between Sophia and Sam. All of a sudden, a hand reached out to rest on Corrado¡¯s head while stroking it. Sam, who was wearing sunsses, petted Corrado and said to Sophia warmly, ¡°It is called Corrado. The name ¡®ckie¡¯ was simply derived from the word ¡®ck¡¯ because of its ck fur.¡± At that moment, Sophia came to realize that the dog belonged to Sam. Thus, she hurriedly responded by laughing awkwardly. Meanwhile, Lucy didn¡¯t seem happy either. After all, being put down by her uncle in front of so many people was not a nice feeling. While chatting happily, somebody came up to Lucy suddenly and whispered something in her ear. Lucy listened and a disgusted expression showed on her face. She was in charge of managing the annual meeting this year. That meant that all matters, big or small, had to go through her. Naturally, her subordinates only came to her when something important came up. After listening to her subordinate¡¯s report, Lucy replied, ¡°Keep it under wraps for now and lock it up. Somebody wille looking for it sooner orter.¡± With that, her subordinate left. The people around her rushed to ask about the incident as it seemed like something huge had happened. Lucy looked repulsed. ¡°There¡¯s a Husky trying to eat feces in the bathroom and my people are unable to stop it. Since it is unregistered, we don¡¯t know whose dog is it.¡± After hearing those words, everybody was rendered speechless. However, a few people were shocked by those words! Sophia lowered her head and sipped her juice. Her body was stiff, and she didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Simrly, the corner of Michael¡¯s mouth twitched while Harry¡¯s gaze wavered slightly. This truly was a huge deal, and everybody was shocked to the core. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. ¡°What? How uncultured¡­ How can it¡ª¡± In their eyes, a dog eating feces was unimaginably vulgar! How shameful! Something like this could not be publicized. Thus, Lucy did not instruct her people to openly search for the owner of the dog. What was I supposed to do? Ask my staff to go around questioning, ¡°There¡¯s a dog eating feces in the bathroom. Does it belong to you?¡± If somebody admitted to it, the news that XX¡¯s dog ate feces would immediately spread across Bayside City¡¯s well-known circles. How would the owner, their family, and the dog hold their head up after that? They wouldn¡¯t be able to continue living in Bayside City! At that moment, nobody would dare to admit that that was their dog, especially a public figure like Michael. If he went to im the dog, the whole world would soon know that Taylor Murray¡¯s dog ate feces before the afternoon was up. How will I continue working in the film industry?! Simrly, Sophia stubbornly refused to say a word too. Sam¡¯s eyes were covered by his sunsses. However, he seemed to have noticed something. Not many Huskies could be found on the ind. Moreover, Sophia had been talking to one earlier. Hence, he smilingly said, ¡°Dog¡¯s can¡¯t change their nature of eating feces. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± The 9th Old Master had personally spoken up. No matter how uncultured or vulgar the joke, everybody else had no choice but to ept it. Therefore, theyughed with him. Only Sophia looked like she was crying through herughter. Lucy felt extremely frustrated. She was in charge of hosting the annual meeting this year. It was such an important task, and she did not want any mishaps happening during the annual meeting. More importantly, she did not want something like somebody¡¯s dog eating feces in the bathroom happening during the annual meeting she presided over! She snapped, ¡°I asked my staff to lock the dog up in the utility room. Its name is ¡®Judge¡¯. If anybody knows whose dog it is, please inform its owner toe and im it.¡± When Sophia heard the name ¡®Judge¡¯, she shuddered slightly. Meanwhile, Sam secretlyughed. He remembered seeing ckie ying with a Husky that went by the name ¡®Judge¡¯ earlier. After the conversation with the bigshots ended, Sophia and Michael excused themselves and hid in an isted corner to talk. ¡°Go and get Judge back!¡± Sophia ordered Michael. ring at her, Michael answered without even thinking about it, ¡°I¡¯m not going. If anything, you should go! I¡¯m a public figure!¡± She angrily said, ¡°Who will go if not you?! Are you asking me to go?! Do you want Lucy to know that my dog eats feces?! Do you know how huge a deal it is to let my husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend know that my dog eats feces?! Do you?! I don¡¯t care; you have to go!¡± They yelled at each other by the beach, transferring the me between one another. None of them wanted to back down to go and im Judge back from Lucy. However, they identally became touchy and flirtatious instead, touching each other¡¯s hips, chest, crotch¡­ For a moment, they forgot about the matter of getting Judge back. Michael felt that he was an international celebrity. No matter what he did, it would be magnified several times over. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t show himself carelessly for the sake of preserving his reputation. It would be bad if things got out of hand. On the other hand, Sophia believed that if she had to im the dog that had been caught eating feces from her husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend, she might as well kill herself! The two of them couldn¡¯t reach a consensus, and their fightsted the entire afternoon. After ying at the beach the entire morning, Sophiay in her room, tossing and turning. She wanted to rest, but she couldn¡¯t fall asleep. This is all because of Judge! Argh! How embarrassing! Michael had gone out, iming that he was going to meet with Jordan. She knew that she was overdoing it a little by asking such a famous man to go and do something like this. However, she felt that her pride was valid too! After sending Ivan to ask about it, it seemed like the other party wanted the dog¡¯s owner to go and im it themselves. Moreover, they had to bring the invitation from the Edwards Family to take a photo and register the dog. The check-in procedures were very stringent¡ªeverybody staying there, including their pets, had to be registered. Sophia tossed and turned; she was at a loss for how to proceed. Then, a knock sounded on the door. Standing up, she looked out of the door through the peephole and saw a face she never expected to see ¡ªit was Sam! Chapter 684 Chapter 684 Why is Sam here?! Sophia hesitated for several seconds without opening the door. Then, an agitated scratching sound came from outside the door. It sounded like an animal was desperately wing at the door. Straightening out her hair and her clothes, she opened the door only to see Sam holding a Husky on a leash. As she was slow to open the door, the excited Husky had scratched the door until the paint peeled. Her eyes spun in confusion at the sight, and she pretended not to know the dog as she asked, ¡°Master Sam, w-what brings you here?¡± As usual, Sam was wearing a pair of sunsses. He seemed to be smiling, and it made his 40-year-old self look very young. As the corners of his mouth curved upward, he said, ¡°Judge is your dog, right?¡± She smiled in response, but it looked terrible. Then, she resolutely answered, ¡°Nope; I¡¯ve never seen this dog before.¡± Judge had smuggled itself in through the luggage. So, nobody knew that it belonged to her. Besides, it really isn¡¯t mine! The name registered on the dog ownership certificate is Stanley Fletcher! Thus, she firmly believed that she had not lied. Even so, she didn¡¯t dare to meet the dog¡¯s fierce gaze. Seeming to realize that she was refusing to acknowledge it, Judge lifted its paws to jump on her. However, Sam pulled on the dog leash and held it back. He seemed to be smiling as he said, ¡°Oh, is it not yours? I thought I saw you petting its head on the beach a while back¡­¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Yeah. I thought it looked pretty, so I petted it.¡± The oversized sunsses hid all the emotions behind his eyes. Still, he seemed to believe her. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll take care of it for the time being. When its owner turns up, I¡¯ll return it to them.¡± She hurriedlyplimented him, ¡°Master Sam, you¡¯re such a warm-hearted person.¡± ying along with her, he said, ¡°Of course. It¡¯s the Edwards Family annual meeting. As one of the elders in the family, I should not overlook these tiny matters too.¡± She smiled in reply, feeling extremely embarrassed. However, he did not leave. Holding Judge by its leash, he stood at the door and asked her, ¡°I heard that you n to start a pet luxury goods brand. Is that true?¡± Receiving favor from a bigwig all of a sudden left Sophia feeling very nervous. Besides, Judge was ring at her with a fierce expression. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± Sam looked very interested. ¡°Most of the talents in this field are abroad. It won¡¯t be easy to start this venture.¡± At that moment, Judge went crazy. It kept trying to leap forward and bite Sophia. Thus, she took a step back and said, ¡°I invited Ivan, a renowned designer from overseas, to join my team¡­¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s good.¡± He was holding two dog leashes in his hand. One belonged to Corrado, and the other belonged to Judge. As Judge was going crazy trying to bite her, he was having trouble holding it back. It looked like it could escape his hold at any moment as he said, ¡°I was just thinking of making a new cor for Corrado. Once we return to Bayside City, I will contact you and your designer.¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. She nced at Corrado. ¡°Isn¡¯t it called ckie?¡± With a natural expression, he replied, ¡°Its name has always been Corrado. It¡¯s also written as so on its dog ownership certificate. We used to live overseas, so I changed its name to something simpler. Isn¡¯t that right, Corrado?¡± Corrado wagged its tail as if saying, ¡®This is the first time I¡¯m learning that my name was registered as Corrado on my dog ownership certificate.¡¯ Meanwhile, Judge was acting as fierce as a wolf. Feeling very guilty, Sophia pretended to be scared. ¡°That dog looks so scary. Has it been vinated against rabies? I-I¡¯m a little scared¡­¡± Finally, Sam led Judge away while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll take my leave then. See you at dinner.¡± After that, Judge was led away, barking pitifully as it left. Upon closing the door, Sophia let out a deep breath in relief. She had decided, I¡¯m never going to admit that it¡¯s my dog! When I get back, I¡¯ll just ask Stanley to im Judge back from Sam. We can just im that it had gotten lost and identally sneaked onto the boat with Michael. And, that¡¯s how it arrived on the ind. In any case, I, Sophia Edwards, have never seen that dog before. I don¡¯t know anything. She nned to cut all ties with Judge in the future. After all, she was going to start a business in the pet luxury goods line. If people learned that the dog she raised had a habit of eating feces, who would buy her luxury goods? Moreover, if the news of Judge eating feces got out it would negatively impact the reputation of her other pets, including Snowball, Garfield, Scorchy, and Sunset! At the thought of Garfield, she suddenly remembered that she had not seen Ivan nor Garfield since this morning. Thus, she changed her clothes and went to Ivan¡¯s room to look for Garfield. After all, Garfield had been left in his care for this trip. However, nobody answered the door when she knocked, and nobody answered her phone calls either. She didn¡¯t know where Ivan and the cat had gone. Hence, she instructed Hale, Gemma, and Maria to look for them. Even so, their search came up empty. The ind is not that big, and the ces where one can go are limited. Where did Ivan go? What about Garfield? Sophia had a feeling that something was greatly amiss. Standing at the door, she hammered the door and yelled for Ivan with all her might. She couldn¡¯t hear Ivan¡¯s voice from inside the room. However, she could hear a cat¡¯s meow. Garfield was yowling at the top of its voice and scratching at the door with its ws. This is bad; something happened to Ivan! ¡­ At the same time, Sam was walking the two dogs nearby. He had not gone far¡ªhe was simply walking by the beach. While he was walking, he thought about the short conversation he had with Sophia just now. Then, he recalled what happened back then and couldn¡¯t help chuckling. Sophia¡¯s nervous and guilty expression looks exactly like her mother¡¯s! I can¡¯t believe Annabel gave birth to her alone. What shocks me more is that she did not forget about her promise from back then. Sophia¡­ This is the first time I¡¯ve ever regretted changing my name¡­ Throughout their walk, Judge seemed rather indignant. It kept barking non-stop as if it were cursing at somebody. If it were tranted into the humannguage, it would probably be something like: ¡°Sophia, you b*stard! How dare you refuse to acknowledge your family! I¡¯m still a baby! How can you treat me like that?!¡± It wailed in grief and indignation¡ªso much so that it hurt its throat. When they passed by a freshwater swimming pool, it stuck its head into the pool to drink. Sam waited for it to finish drinking. In the meantime, he took the opportunity to squat down and pat its head. ¡°Why did you have to act so shamefully? If I were her, I wouldn¡¯t admit to knowing you either!¡± Judge didn¡¯t reply as it concentrated on drinking. On the other side of the swimming pool, severaldies of the Edwards Family had gathered around to talk. They seemed to be discussing something excitedly. Sam had no interest in what the women were talking about. However, he perked his ears up when he heard the name ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯. ¡°I heard Sophia was raped by her uncle when she was just a child!¡± ¡°Her photos are all over the inte! She was raped by her uncle and her cousin. They even took pictures of her. Look; I saved those pictures on my phone. She ispletely naked. Moreover, she had not even hit puberty at the time!¡± ¡°Her uncle raped her before she even hit puberty?! What a strange taste in women! If he really wanted a woman, he could have paid a few hundred dors and gotten himself a prostitute! Maybe she volunteered herself!¡± ¡°Tsk. Did Taylor really marry her willingly? A woman like her¡­ She has such a bad reputation. Taylor can get any woman he wants. Why did he have to choose such a filthy woman?¡± ¡°Perhaps, her skills in bed are amazing since she was trained from a young age.¡± ¡°Haha; that might be it¡­ Perhaps, Taylor only acts like he loves her on the surface. He might actually secretly hate her. But, if he left her right now, he would be in deep trouble. After all, he has portrayed himself as somebody who loves his wife to death, spoiling her and pampering her every single day. If he divorced her, his character setting would copse. His fans won¡¯t buy that story!¡± ¡­ Sam heard the entire vulgar conversation between thosedies clearly. At that moment, he felt as if his entire body had frozen over¡ªhis bones, blood, and soul were ravaged by icy winds. Clenching his fists, he trembled slightly. Chapter 685 Chapter 685 At this moment, Sophia¡¯s innocent face and the picture that was circting on the Inte shed across his mind, upying his every thought¡­ Meanwhile, after taking a bath, Judge came back and walked toward Sam. He was frightened when he sensed the murderous vibeing from Sam. After asking his assistant toe over, Sam whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever see those bbermouths ever again!¡± His assistant nodded and went on to take care of it. After the annual meeting, one of the ships would go missing on its way back. The ship would sink and everyone on board would drown¡­ After a while, the assistant asked, ¡°I believe Miss Edwards is in some sort of trouble. Would you like to go and have a look?¡± Sam quietly handed the dog lead to the bodyguard next to him and hurried to the scene. At this moment, Sophia was anxiously looking for someone from the Edwards Family to unlock a door for her. When the waiter came with a set of keys and tried unlocking it, he realized that they were locked out. Just as they were about to break down the door, Sam showed up with his dog. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sam asked as he saw the worried look on Sophia¡¯s face. Sophia responded anxiously, ¡°Something happened to my cat and the assistant who takes care of my cat. They are both in the room, and we¡¯re trying to open this door.¡± Since the key did not work, they nned to break down the door. The waiter, however, did not allow them to do so but insisted on first asking his superior for permission. This ce was, after all, owned by the Edwards Family. It would not be proper to break their door down without their permission. Thankfully, Sam showed up at the perfect time. Since he was here, they no longer had to get permission from anyone else. Together with Hale, Sam mmed his shoulder against the door. After breaking down the door, they found Ivan lying unconscious in the bathroom while Garfield was hiding underneath the bed, looking terrified. They immediately admitted Ivan into the hospital that was on the ind. This time around, the Edwards Family was fully prepared for this annual meeting. They even set up a hospital on this ind. As such, they were able to send Ivan to the hospital for a check-up without dy. Eventually, they found out the reason Ivan passed out¡ªit was an allergic reaction. Had they arrived at the room slightlyter, he would have died. After a couple of hours, Ivan finally woke up. After waking up, he quickly nced about the surroundings and said, ¡°Where¡¯s Garfield? Where¡¯s Garfield?¡± Why on earth is he still worried about the cat? Ivan finally calmed down when Sophia ced Garfield in his arms. Carrying Garfield in his arms, he let out a contented look. Realizing that Ivan had regained his consciousness, Sam decided to retreat. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have to go and prepare for dinner tonight. I¡¯ll see you allter!¡± If it weren¡¯t because of Sam, Ivan would¡¯ve died. At this moment, Sophia bustled up to Sam to express her gratitude. In the bed, even though Ivan could hardly move, he would not let go of Garfield. ¡ª To him, as long as he had animals around him, nothing was too big of a deal for him. As he recalled the allergy incident today¡­ The thought of that sent an unexpected chill through him. Since Ivan was allergic to shrimps, he had to be extra cautious with his diet whilst on the ind. He had specially requested the restaurant on the ind to not include shrimps in all his meals. For reasons unbeknownst to him, he still had it. He believed that this was not because of his oversight, but that someone had intentionally tried to hurt him. Apart from Bill, his ex-student, who knew about his shrimp allergy, no one else on this ind knew about it¡­ Bill, did you start taking action against me already? ¡­ ¡°Master Sam, thank you for today,¡± Sophia thanked Sam, who let out a smile on his ageless face even though he was forty. The thin T-shirt on him outlined his muscr body figure; he looked more youthful than Michael. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem at all. Feel free toe to me if you run into any problems in the future.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia quickly nodded with gratitude. ¡°Thanks so much, Master Sam. You are truly a good man.¡± Sophia felt that she was obliged to at least send him off after what he had done for her. Little did she know that Sam actually intended to spend more time conversing with her. Mysteriously, ever since he, while being immature and ignorant, caused the death of Annabel when he was sixteen, he had shut himself off, never again experiencing the joy of chatting with someone. However, Sophia was the first person that made him feel this way again. However, much to his dismay, they ran out of topics after just a few exchanges. Right at this point, he saw Michael, who hurriedly came over after hearing about what happened to Ivan. When he received the news, he was already wrapping things up in his meeting with Jordan. After the meeting, he rushed over right away. ¡°How¡¯s he? Ivan and Garfield are fine, right?¡± Michael came in such a rush that his forehead was covered with sweat. Upon seeing Michael, Sophia threw herself into his arms. Just seconds ago, she still looked calm and composed. However, she copsed the moment she saw Michael. She could not help pouting as she stated, ¡°Ivan¡¯s still in the hospital and Garfield¡¯s paw bled again.¡± A frown creased Michael¡¯s forehead. How did this happen? Michael tended to think the worst of everything. Last night, Sophia discreetly told him about the studio of pet luxury goods that Lucy was starting and that Bill was her chief designer. Since Bill used to be Ivan¡¯s student, they had aplicated rtionship, and it wasn¡¯t an amicable one. Just after that conversation, this incident happened today¡­ Did Bill do this? Or did Lucy suggest it? No. That¡¯s not possible. My instinct tells me that Lucy isn¡¯t such a person. Even though she¡¯s dominant and would never allow anyone to challenge her authority, she isn¡¯t as dumb as Natasha, who wouldn¡¯t hesitate to y dirty tricks to discredit her opponents. Lucy isn¡¯t like that; she confronts her opponents head-on! Holding her hand, Michael lovingly patted her on her shoulder and said, ¡°Alright. Alright. They¡¯re both fine, aren¡¯t they?¡± Hearing that, Sophia nodded pitifully without realizing that Sam had taken it all in. It was as if what happened twenty years ago had just repeated itself. Sam was the person who knew Annabel first! Back in those days, Annabel worked part-time at a restaurant close to Bayside University. At that time, Sam visited the restaurant daily just so he could catch a glimpse of Annabel. Sam still remembered that he was only sixteen while Annabel was seventeen. Being the immature and ignorant teenager that Sam was, he felt that she came into his heart like a rainbow and stayed there ever since. She was the first person who had ever made his heart skip. Everything was so pure and wonderful. Since then, he had carefully ced that feeling in his heart and never once told anyone. One day, he took his best friend, Cooper, to that restaurant to share his deepest secret with him. Much to his surprise, before he could say it, he found out that Cooper was actually dating Annabel. Each time they went on a date, they asked Sam to keep watch for them. When they secretly went on a date in the park on the weekend, they would ask Sam to help take pictures for them. Sam hated himself for not expressing his feelings for Annabel earlier, and he hated Cooper for taking his love from him. What happened in front of him right now reminded him of how lovey-dovey Cooper and Annabel were back in the days¡ªthey were deeply attached, and every look they gave each other was so compassionate. Michael and Sophia were equally an eyesore! As this scene unfolded before his eyes, he began to feel conflicted. Even Annabel¡¯s daughter is married¡­ ¡°Master Sam, thank you for today. We¡¯ll make a move now. See you tonight at dinner.¡± After thanking Sam, Michael departed with Sophia, leaving Sam by himself as he walked away in a daze. Chapter 686 Chapter 686 The incident that took ce during the day did not affect the banquet that night. Sophia and Michael turned up on time. Sophia was seen in a brand new dress named ¡®Ten Thousand Miles of Mist¡¯ that was designed by Kenny of the L/K Group. This dress was all white, looking as if it was surrounded by faint clouds and mist; it was truly a piece of art, emanating a mysterious and fairy-like aura. Furthermore, her white-based makeup and the white heels with diamond ornaments made her look dignified and graceful. As Taylor¡¯s wife, Sophia showed up with Michael tonight. Gently wrapping her arms around his, Sophia¡¯s cheeks were beet-red as she felt butterflies in her stomach. After all, this was the first time she attended a social event with Michael as husband and wife. It was no surprise that she felt slightly nervous and emotional. Even though Michael had smartened himself up, he did not overdo it so that he did not overshadow Sophia. I¡¯m here tonight only toplement Sophia, he thought to himself. Regardless, they could not help being in the limelight, even at the dinner hosted by the Edwards Family. In the sea of famous and stunningdies, Sophia nevertheless stood out with her beauty. The moment she showed up, she was immediately surrounded by people who wanted to talk to her. She then began engaging in conversation with different people. As she spoke confidently and with people, she looked like sparkling jewelry. It was impossible to not notice her. Standing afar, Sam looked at the dazzling Sophia with admiration. He noticed her right away the moment she appeared at the dinner. She¡¯s truly stunning, just like Annabel in my memory. But, Annabel is more stunning. Annabel was a delicate and gentledy. She was submissive and meek like an unknown wildflower silently blossoming by the roadside. On the other hand, Sophia was like an enchanting and gorgeous white peony. Her looks came from Annabel while her body figure came from Cooper. It was Cooper who gave life to the stunning looks that she inherited from Annabel. She was truly thebination of the characteristics of her parents. Moreover, she was also as ambitious as Cooper¡ªperhaps it was a little too much. He had reviewed her r¨¦sum¨¦. The way she carried out her revenge is identical to her father. She¡¯s truly Cooper¡¯s daughter! Gazing at her from afar, it was as if he was appreciating a piece of exquisite artwork. In his eyes, she was God¡¯s best creation. No one had expected that through the twists and turns of life such a special girl was brought into the world. Holding a ss of wine, Sam slowly strode toward Sophia, who was in the midst of a huge crowd. Everyone who saw Sam slowly and reverently backed away. ¡°Master Sam, lovely to see you,¡± Sophia humbly and politely greeted Sam. Sam returned the greeting by offering a toast to Sophia and Michael. The three of them proceeded to take a swig of the wine. At the same time, Sam could not take his eyes off Sophia¡¯s flushed cheeks. His eyes reflected her stunning looks. The sight of her caused ripples in his heart. Sam asked, ¡°How¡¯s it going? You must have had an eventful day.¡± Sophia nodded and responded, ¡°Not bad at all. It¡¯s just the first day; I look forward to the next two days.¡± Within one day, Sophia added almost every wealthy woman on the ind on Messenger and had yed with all their pets. All of these wealthyddies will be my clients from today onward! Tomorrow, she would be having tea with some bigshots from the fashion and online game industries. The day after tomorrow, there would be a conference specifically for those wealthydies with their pets. Her schedule was packed. ¡°By the way, Master Sam, are you by any chance avable tomorrow night?¡± Hearing this, Sam knew that she was up to something. He responded, ¡°I am.¡± Deep within him, he was jumping for joy and full of anticipation¡­ It was a feeling that he had never experienced before. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Sophia continued, ¡°I¡¯m going to have a barbeque with some friends at the beach tomorrow night. Would you like to join us?¡± Underneath hisposed look, his heart was leaping with joy. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯ve been wanting to try the seafood that this ind offers. I¡¯m sure it would be nice to try them grilled. I¡¯ll be sure to make it tomorrow night.¡± Between attending the head of families meeting tomorrow night and eating seafood, of course I¡¯d choose thetter. Upon hearing that, Sophia was ted. ¡°That¡¯s settled then! I¡¯ll create a group chatter and add you into it.¡± Now that he had epted the invitation to join the barbeque tomorrow night, Sam was strangely over the moon. Having no intention of leaving, Sam carried on the conversation with Sophia after they talked about the barbecue. Wherever she is, the air around her seems to be filled with her scent. ¡°Ah, I just remembered something.¡± Sam asked his assistant to bring over a book. He held that book with a pen in his hand and said, ¡°Could you sign this for me, please?¡± Isn¡¯t that the book that I wrote? Sophia was surprised yet delighted. Did Master Sam really read my book? I thought only fangirls and housewives read it! ¡°Isn¡¯t this my book? Master Sam, I didn¡¯t know you read my book too.¡± Sam responded, ¡°I came across it by chance. I thought it was a meaningful read so I¡¯ve been keeping it. It wasn¡¯t until recently that I found out that it was written by you.¡± He had actually instructed someone to fly to the nearest bookstore on the maind to buy it for him today. He only managed to finish one-third of the book as he could not muster up the courage to finish the rest. In her book, she talked about her childhood, the leftovers, where and how she got the scars on her body, her experience of being bullied in middle school, and her fangirling stories. She was upfront about her past with the hope that it could be a warning to everyone who read her book. However, Sam did not have the courage to finish it because the more he understood the misery that she went through, the more he med himself. Rather shyly, Sophia took the book and pen over and signed it for Sam. It¡¯s a lot of pressure signing my book for Sam¡­ I have no idea how many people are watching me right now. As the second most important person in the Edwards Family, Sam was not in any way inferior to his predecessors. As such, all his moves were under public scrutiny. Among all the people who would love to strike up a conversation with him, he nevertheless chose to speak to Sophia, Michael¡¯s wife. Was that not somewhat bizarre? Standing next to Sophia, Michael sensed the strange look in Sam¡¯s eyes as he looked at Sophia, but he had no way of describing what he saw. Nevertheless, he was certain of one thing: Sam knew Annabel! Since Ivan was not around, it was Maria¡¯s turn to look after the cat carrier bag where Garfield slept. Sam carried Garfield in his arms andter patted Nichs on his head. He talked to Sophia aboutputer games, fashion, pets, and technology. It was as if he had endless topics to discuss with her. asionally, his words made Sophiaugh. They had a pleasant time conversing with each other. Knowing that he had many eyes on him, Sam decided to not cause her any trouble. As such, after a while, he left. At this moment, as Michael took Sophia away, he began to have his guard up against Sam. Is that my imagination? Why do I keep sensing that there¡¯s something wrong with the way Sam looks at Sophia¡­ But, he¡¯s Master Sam! No woman is out of his reach. It seems improbable that he would be into Sophia. However, I have such a strong gut feeling about it! Chapter 687 Chapter 687 After the conversation with Sam, Sophia took Sarah with her to go around and meet people. Sarah was an introvert and would not normally take the initiative to speak to anyone. As such, she barely knew any wealthy people in Bayside City. Even though taking one¡¯s own daughter to meet people should be something normal, it was nheless not something Judy was willing to do. All that Judy hoped for was that Sarah never existed in those circles. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. However, connections were important in today¡¯s society. It was better to make friends than to make enemies. These twodies believed that they could easily get to know all the bigshots they wanted to know with the help of the two washed-up male celebrities. Meanwhile, Sarah was endeavoring to get used to her identity. Since she wanted to get involved in bigger business, she needed connections. Right now, she was not only the Inte-famous illustrator, Little Kitten, but she was also the daughter of the Third West Family! No matter what, she had to adapt to this status upgrade. The dinner banquet tonight was a sess so far. Halfway through the dinner, Sophia began to feel her stomach churning, perhaps because of all the sashimi that she consumed. As such, she had to use the bathroom multiple times. Each time she went to the bathroom, she was met with long lines. In the end, she decided to use the bathroom that was located outside the banquet hall. After using the bathroom, she went to the mirror to fix her lipstick. At this juncture, she saw two figures in the mirror as they strode into the men¡¯s bathroom one after another. On a second nce, she realized that they were two dogs¡ªone was a husky and the other a Labrador. It was Judge and Corrado. The two dogs stopped outside of the men¡¯s bathroom as if they were talking to one another. Corrado theny down in a watchman position at the entrance of the bathroom and began looking around. Upon entering the bathroom, Judge began sniffing around looking for something. ¡°What the f*ck!¡± Sophia exploded with anger. Why did Judge bring along Corrado toe and eat sh*t? ¡°You sh*tty dog! Stay where you are! I¡¯m going to hit you!¡± After making sure that the men¡¯s bathroom was empty, Sophia stormed into it and started dragging Judge by his cor. ttening himself to the ground, Judge held down and desperately resisted Sophia¡¯s pull. While being dragged around along the floor, he barked incessantly. Woof, woof, woof, woof! Sophia pulled him so hard that she began sweating profusely. ¡°Stupid dog! Go back to your own room! I¡¯m going to send you home tomorrow. Don¡¯t you ever think of staying at my ce any longer. I¡¯ll let Stanley bring you home tomorrow!¡± Woof, woof, woof, woof! Judge became increasingly aggressive as he continued barking while struggling to resist Sophia¡¯s pull. Seeing this, Corrado began turning in circles, not knowing what to do and which side to be on. It seemed like Judge was adamant about eating feces today, but all the bathrooms on this ind were squeaky clean. In each toilet was also a bidet and a dryer with a flush sensor. There was no way that Judge could scavenge anything to eat. ¡°Do you believe that I¡¯m going to hit you? I¡¯m going to do it now!¡± Sophia lifted her palm, pretending to get ready to hit him. Judge looked up fearlessly and continued barking. Woof, woof, woof¡ª It was as if he was protesting, ¡®Do it then! I dare you!¡¯ Still in her dress and heels, Sophia identally stepped on the corner of her dress and fell prostrate. Realizing that her face was about tond on the ground, Sophia immediately covered her face with her hands. All of a sudden, a pair of strong and powerful hands caught her by her waist, saving her from that fall. I¡¯m safe now! Sophia was drenched in a cold sweat. After regaining her footing, the hands on her waist retreated right away. Sophia was startled when she saw the person who saved her life. ¡°Master Sam? Why are you here?¡± Sam was always impably dressed like a prince. His clothes looked untouched even after that brief commotion. He ruffled Corrado¡¯s head and responded, ¡°I was just about to ask you what you were doing in the men¡¯s bathroom.¡± Now, that¡¯s awkward¡­ Rolling her eyes, Sophia calmly gave a nce at Judge who was beside her, and came up with an idea. She pretended to look terrified and said, ¡°Earlier on, I was just walking out of thedies¡¯ bathroom next door when this big dog showed up and wanted to bite me. On a whim, I decided toe in and hide in the men¡¯s bathroom.¡± Upon hearing that, Judge became upset. He jumped on her and wanted to bite her. Woof, woof, woof! Rather pretentiously, Sophia looked terrified and hid behind Sam. ¡°Look at that! He¡¯s a mad dog!¡± Sam frowned and shot Judge a cold look. The sight of the look on Sam¡¯s face terrified the angry Judge. Judge pulled back his ears and retreated in fear. After that, Sam turned around and looked at Sophia who looked petrified. Seeing this, he could not help softening his voice. ¡°Alright. Everything¡¯s fine now. You can go back to the banquet hall now while I take care of this dog. It wouldn¡¯t do your reputation any good if you are seen in the men¡¯s bathroom.¡± As such, Sophia quickly thanked him and left. After seeing that she left, Sam turned around and nced at Judge who had already shrunk into a corner. This dog is such a troublemaker! Looking upset, Sam called someone to take Judge away. Judge has been under strict supervision. How did he get out? As Sophia bustled back to the banquet hall, she tried to get rid of the dog fur on her dress while cursing, ¡°Stupid dog. Sh*tty dog. I hope you get what you deserve!¡± Looking at the amount of fur on her dress, she reckoned that Judge must have eaten something recently that had caused him to shed so badly. How on earth can there be so much dog fur on me after such a brief moment with that dog? She stood at the entrance of the banquet hall for a while as she tried to get rid of all the fur before going in. A few momentster, she saw a few cars that came from the airport. Someone must have just arrived on the ind. I wonder who it is. After pulling up by the roadside, a group of people came down from the cars. Being led by the bodyguards hired by the Edwards Family, seven or eight Caucasians rushed toward the banquet hall. Standing at the entrance, Sophia curiously looked at that group of people. Much to her surprise, she saw a familiar face. ¡°Linus!¡± After seeing Linus, Sophia almost lost control of her feet as she dashed toward Linus. It¡¯s really Linus. I haven¡¯t seen him in such a long time. He still looks the same. Linus stopped in his tracks and stared at Sophia. There was a distance between the two as they stood there. Linus seemingly knew that Sophia would be here. He asked, ¡°What a coincidence. I was invited by Lucy to be here.¡± It would appear that Lucy had some feelings for Linus but not the other way round. This time around, Linus had surprisingly epted her invitation to attend the annual meeting of the Edwards Family. Perhaps it was because he knew that Sophia would be here. Rushing over to attend an event that he was loath to attend would be made worthwhile by the prospect of being able to see Sophia. Ever since the previous incident, Sophia found it awkward to be with Linus. However, she did want to speak to him. She contemted before saying, ¡°Your ce is still well-maintained. I send someone to clean it monthly.¡± Linus responded, ¡°That¡¯s great. If you can¡¯t find a tenant, just leave it be. I have a rtive who visits Bayside City from time to time. It may be good to let him stay there whenever he¡¯s in town.¡± Sophia added, ¡°Garfield¡¯s doing well too.¡± Linus grinned and said, ¡°I know. I see all the pictures of Garfield on Twitter you post every now and then.¡± He knew everything. He knew how well she had been¡­ Chapter 688 Chapter 688 Sophia smiled, face lighting up as she looked at Linus. ¡°Mr. Fass, what a pleasure to finally meet you!¡± After sending Judge away, Sam ran into Linus after coming out of the bathroom. Before this encounter, Sam had long heard about Linus, and he also knew that Lucy had invited him to the annual meeting. What he did not know was that Linus and Sophia knew each other. As Sam¡¯s reputation preceded him, Linus inched forward and shook his hand. ¡°Master Sam, I¡¯ve heard a lot about you.¡± The two had a friendly encounter. For reasons unbeknownst to him, Sam felt that there was something strangely familiar about Linus although they had never met. He had only ever seen him featured on the covers of certain business magazines. ¡°Mr. Fass, do you know Sophia?¡± Sam asked, eyebrows raising in surprise. Sophia jumped in proudly, ¡°Linus and I went to the same school!¡± Linus added, ¡°And we share the exact same birth date.¡± We probably shouldn¡¯t mention the fact that we are sworn siblings. Same birth date¡­ Sam frowned and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head inside.¡± Linus¡¯ appearance had attracted a lot of attention. Since this was the Edwards Family¡¯s annual meeting, everyone that showed up was rted to the Edwards Family in one way or the other. There were hardly any outsiders invited. However, when people heard that he was invited by Lucy, people seemingly understood why he was here. Upon entering the banquet hall, Linus met with Lucy. At the same time, Sophia finally returned and walked up to Michael. Linus¡¯ appearance piqued his interest. Linus? Why is he here? Did he marry into the Edwards Family? Meanwhile, Sophia looked excited as she carried Garfield in her arms; she was looking forward to letting Linus see Garfield and Nichs. Much to her dismay, she did not have the opportunity to do that tonight. Lucy was busy bringing Linus around for him to meet different members of the Edwards Family. It was as if she was introducing her boyfriend to her rtives for the first time. The news about the wedding between the Michel Family and the Edwards Family quickly spread like wildfire; the public had great expectations toward this marriage. On a side note, Lucy was older than Linus by three years¡­ he was going to marry an older woman! After hearing this news, Michael was incredibly perplexed. Harry leaned over and joked, ¡°Your ex is going to marry your brother-inw! Are you terrified?¡± Is the Edwards Family really going forward with the Michel Family on this? While carrying Garfield in her arms, Sophia lingered close to Lucy and Linus. Naturally, Sophia also heard the news. Linus is going to marry Lucy? Why do I have the feeling that Linus isn¡¯t too happy about it¡­ Since he turned up at the annual meeting, doesn¡¯t this mean he¡¯s agreed to this arrangement? Is this a wedding for political gains? Sophia was in a daze as she stood at the sidelines of the huge crowd. Before she realized it, the dinner banquet hade to an end. After returning to her room that night, Sophia removed her makeup and took a shower. She then changed into cartoon-themed pajamas, applied a face mask,y on her bed, and started swiping her phone. Firstly, she created a group chat for the barbecue and added whoever needed to be added to it: Harry, Sarah, Michael, Sam, and even Linus. Michaely next to her, also applying a face mask to take care of his aged face. When he clicked into the group chat, he received a notification that Sophia had just added Linus to the group chat. Tsk! Can¡¯t Linus give us a break? But, as long as she¡¯s happy, there¡¯s nothing I can do. Later on, she began exchanging voice messages with Linus. Linus stated, ¡°I brought you a little something. I¡¯ll pass it to you tomorrow.¡± Tsk! Look at that¡­ I¡¯m getting jealous again. After putting her phone away, Sophia went to wash her face. When she got back, she started talking to Michael about what happened today. ¡°Judge is totally out of control! He was trying to bring Corrado with him to eat poop! We need to quickly get our dog back. Otherwise, we might get ourselves into trouble one day! What if Master Sam found out that Judge had taught Corrado to eat poop? We¡¯ll be in deep sh*t. You have to go and pick him up tomorrow!¡± Upon hearing that, Michael frowned so hard that his face mask dropped from his face. Trying to put it back, he said, ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing. I¡¯m not going.¡± Sophia responded, ¡°You have to show up tomorrow! That dog belongs to your nephew, not mine!¡± Michael clicked his tongue in disapproval without saying a word. He then washed his face and went to bed. That night, the two kept pushing each other in bed. ¡°You go.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not going. You go.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an actor. You have thicker skin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a public figure. I need to save my face.¡± ¡°Anyway, I won¡¯t be going. I leave the decision to you.¡± Still pushing each other in bed, they were equally loath to pick up Judge the next day. ¡­ In Sam¡¯s room, he had just finished reading the book written by Sophia. He then took out his phone and watched all her IG Stories, going back as far as the ones postedst year and the year before that. Watching her at work, working out, or at school, Sam felt that she did live a wonderful life. When it came to her picture with Michael, Sam was annoyed. They don¡¯t match each other! They don¡¯t even look like a couple at all. Michael¡¯s love for her is not true love! Since he knows that the poop-eating husky belongs to Sophia, why wouldn¡¯t he show up to take him away? To him, his face is surely worth more than his wife! Much to his surprise, just shortly after breakfast the next morning, Lucy showed up with Michael to pick up the dog. ¡°Sam, the husky that you took with youst time belongs to Taylor. He¡¯s here to take him back.¡± Looking apologetic, Michael said, ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for the inconveniences caused. This dog is mine. I identally packed him into my luggage and brought him here.¡± Not saying a word, Sam took the dog out by its leash and passed it to Michael, who in turn passed it to Hale. Lucy frowned and let out a disgusted look as she saw Judge. Why is Taylor¡¯s dog eating poop? Oh, dear¡­ Sam did not know how to respond as he watched Michael leave with the dog. He really showed up! But, lowering himself anding to take the dog doesn¡¯t mean anything. It merely shows that the dog means a lot to him. Prior to this, Sam had never paid any attention to Taylor. All that he knew was that this movie star used to date Lucy. After Lucy¡¯s car ident, Jordan decided to call off the wedding, perhaps because Taylor was an actor and he felt that he could not match up to Lucy. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. This time around, he had instructed someone to dig into Taylor¡¯s identity and provide every detail to him. This investigation did indeed unearth some surprising information. Taylor was a secretive person. No one really knew his background and upbringing except that he had strong support backing him up. His mother was Elizabeth Murray while the identity of her father was unknown. Notwithstanding, there was information suggesting some connection between his father, who died decades ago, and the Fletcher Family. Having made his debut as an artist in his teenage years, Taylorter went into the army. After that, he returned to the movie industry. He truly had a lot of different experiences under his belt. Sam tried to nit-pick his problems as he went over the information. Eventually, he came to a conclusion: He¡¯s not good enough for Sophia! He¡¯s not worthy of her. The daughter of Cooper and Annabel deserves someone better! Chapter 689 Chapter 689 The following morning, after having breakfast, Sophia was about to head out to meet some bigshots for morning tea. At that moment, she thought about inviting Lucy to the barbecue tonight before she came up with a perfect excuse to get Judge back without losing her face. Now that Judge was with Sam, it was just a matter of time before Judge became a negative influence on Corrado. If Sam found out that Judge took Corrado to eat poop, I¡¯d be really embarrassed. Who knew that the moment she put on her lipstick, Michael showed up with Judge. Sophia was surprised yet ted. ¡°You brought the dog back!¡± Michael responded ndly, ¡°I did. From Lucy.¡± Sophia incredulously looked at him and squinted in suspicion. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to save your face? What changed your mind?¡± Michael felt equally helpless. If I could, I¡¯d rather throw this sh*tty dog into the sea. But this dog is Stanley¡¯s dog, and Sophia seems to like it a lot. I can¡¯t possibly get rid of it. Michael responded seriously, ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m an actor, so I have thick skin. After all, if I didn¡¯t go, were you going to show your face and look for Lucy?¡± Michael¡¯s words sounded ttering. Sophia jumped out of her seat and kissed him. She said, ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re the best.¡± I¡¯m sure going to his ex to find the poop-eating dog must have been embarrassing for Michael. But, if he didn¡¯t go, I would have to go. That would¡¯ve been a real conundrum. I never liked Lucy, so if I were to really go up to her to ask for my dog, it would be a real embarrassment. It¡¯d be a lot better for Michael to do it. Between embarrassing Sophia and himself, Michael ultimately chose thetter. Saving Sophia¡¯s face is more important than saving mine. Since Judge had caused such a huge embarrassment this time around, Sophia held Judge to teach him a lesson. ¡°Sh*tty dog! You¡¯re such an embarrassment! You¡¯re so embarrassing! Do you believe I¡¯m going to beat you up? I¡¯m so going to beat you up!¡± Not admitting his fault, Judgey down, reached out his paws, and refused to move as it resisted Sophia¡¯s drag. In the end, Sophia decided to pass the dog to Hale for him to look after. If Judge still manages to eat poop under Hale¡¯s watch, I¡¯m going to make Hale do the same. Ivan had been targeted the moment he arrived at the ind. Since he was still in the hospital, the job of looking after his pets fell on Hale, who felt helpless and annoyed. After dealing with the dog, Michael and Sophia split up¡ªMichael went to meet a few people from the film industry while Sophia went for her appointment with the bigwigs with Sarah. This morning, Sarah had an appointment scheduled with the bigshots from the gaming industry. In the afternoon, she had arranged a meeting with some of her seniors in the fashion industry. When Sophia and Sarah arrived at the first appointment, they found Sam there. ¡°Eh? Master Sam? What brought you here?¡± It seemed like Sam had been here for a while. Meanwhile, Corrado was taking a nap next to him. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to focus on the online gaming industry. Since we have the rare opportunity of having so many talents in this field here today, I thought I shoulde by.¡± Half believing what he said, Sophia ced her handbag on the table and sat down. This morning, they picked a caf¨¦ to have morning tea for the appointment. There were not only cafes on this ind, but there were also pubs, discos, gyms, and so on¡ªthe ind had all kinds of facilities. The caf¨¦ was bustling with the members of the Edwards Family. They were in groups of three to five, discussing matters of their respective fields. Plum Technology had been in the limelight recently because of the two hot-selling games they created ¡ª¡¯The Traveling Snail¡¯ and ¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯¡ªas well as many other apps. Sophia¡¯spany was truly the rising star that had attracted a lot of attention. Being her eloquent and talkative self, Sophia engaged in many pleasant discussions with the bigshots. Sitting in the booth next to the caf¨¦ were several people from the film industry, including a producer, some actors, and a director. They were all part of the Edwards Family or the rtives of some family members of the Edwards Family. Inevitably, Michael and Harry were part of the group. Michael could not help throwing nces in the direction where the gaming group was, alternating between the talkative Sophia and the awkward-looking Sam who was trying to fit in. That¡¯s strange. This old chap knows nothing about games. What¡¯s he doing there? After finishing the discussion with the gaming circle, Sophia joined the fashion industry circle and began chatting with several bigshots in that industry. To no one¡¯s surprise, Sam was there too. By noon, some of the bigshots from the digital fashion circle decided to have their lunch at that caf¨¦. After having their lunch, they went their own ways, and of course, Sam took the opportunity to have lunch with Sophia. In the afternoon, Michael made an appointment to meet with some bigshots from the finance industry. Since a number of his business partners attended this annual meeting, he took advantage of this asion to gather all of them to y mahjong on the beach. As such, he set up a huge beach umbre for them to y mahjong. Right next to them was the pet club organized by Sophia, who managed to gather all the wealthy women on the ind who brought their pets along. There were all sorts of pets¡ª cats, dogs, rabbits, hamsters, and even fawns. Those wealthydies were having a good time exchanging ideas with each other about their pets. Sitting underneath the beach umbre, Michael looked over toward the group of wealthydies and spotted Sam with his huge Labrador. This old chap¡­ What is he doing there at adies club? On the flip side, Sophia was honored to be able to get Sam to join them. Having the presence of Sam, the 9th Old Master, she did not even have to try to gather those wealthydies, who showed up automatically after finding out that he was there. Oh, Master Sam, the popr and eligible bachelor! Everyone who had any unmarried and single daughters came up and tried introducing their daughters to him. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Even Victoria and Faye were there, but Sam did not seem to show any interest in them. Having Sam at the pet club made it a sess. Sophia managed to smoothly expand her client base to include all these wealthydies. After the pet club ended, Sophia instructed her workers to pack up. Sam was still there, deliberately pacing around the sidelines with Corrado. Seeing the gorgeous and sturdy Corrado, which looked way better than Judge, Sophia could not help patting him. The moment she started patting Corrado, Sam immediately foundmon ground. The two eventually sat down and yed with the dog, chatting with each other and even patting Garfield after. Perhaps it was his imagination, but Michael kept getting a lecherous vibe from Sam. After patting the dog, his hand almost touched Sophia¡¯s hand. Something¡¯s wrong. Something¡¯s clearly wrong¡­ Is this old cow trying to nibble on tender grass? Even Harry noticed that something was not right. He nudged Michael and pointed toward their direction with his mouth. ¡°Look at that! Is Sam trying to seduce your wife?¡± Michael frowned while looking at them. Sophia had her head down as she ruffled Corrado¡¯s head while conversing with Sam, perhaps asking about the dog. Sam responded gently with an asional smile on his face. He even sneaked nces at Sophia with his gentle eyes when she was unaware. Something¡¯s definitely wrong! Sam, you dirty old man¡­ Chapter 690 Chapter 690 Michael clenched his teeth then deliberately brought Judge along as he went forward. After being put on a leash upon returning home, Judge was unable to secretly run off and eat his feces anymore. He could only follow Michael to where Sophia was and sniff Corrado¡¯s butt. ¡°What are you guys talking about?¡± Michael asked. He naturally ced a hand on Sophia¡¯s shoulders then let it slide down and rest on her waist. ¡°Oh, Master Sam was just telling me about this beautiful Persian cat. We can potentially introduce the cat as a mating partner for Garfield.¡± Sam even added, ¡°I also know a female husky. She¡¯s a pedigree from the strongest of the pack. She will be a good match for Judge.¡± Michael forced an awkward smile. How dare he try to curry favor with me? ¡°Okay then, we can arrange for them to meet.¡± A frown appeared on Sam¡¯s forehead. He had heard the annoyance and displeasure in Michael¡¯s words. When he looked up, he saw Michael looking down at him with an insincere gaze as though he was sneering at him. Either way, he did not look kind. The two men made eye contact briefly and caught the ominous look in each other¡¯s eyes before looking away again quickly. Sophia, who had bent over to pat the dog, did not notice the animosity that was exchanged between them, and continued to talk with an eager look on her face. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s my husband¡¯s nephew¡¯s dog. I thought it looked familiar! Unfortunately, I can¡¯t tell huskies apart so I didn¡¯t recognize it. No wonder he keepsing up to me. It¡¯s because he recognizes me. Hubby, why did you secretly bring the dog with you?¡± She was talking about Judge. She wanted to sever all ties with the dog, but Michael had brought the dog back. For now, she could only come up with excuses. Judge had a muzzle over his face so he could not bark even though he wanted to. Sam seemed to believe her. ¡°Yes, Judge does have a very typical husky appearance.¡± After the afternoon pet club ended, it was time for their seafood barbecue in the evening. Sophia was working round the clock and did not have a moment to rest. They did not invite a lot of people to the barbecue. It was Sophia, Michael, Harry, Sarah, Linus, and Sam. After pondering for a bit, she decided to invite Lucy as well. In the past, she was always wary of Lucy. Because Lucy was her husband¡¯s past lover, she kept having this feeling that Lucy wanted to seduce her husband. But after Michael went to Lucy to ask for his dog, it dismissed all her concerns. After finding out that Michael¡¯s dog ate its feces, Lucy probably would not have a good impression of him anymore. She was the youngdy of the Edwards Family. Her standards were high. She probably could not ept the fact that Michael, her ex-boyfriend, was raising a dog that ate excrement. Before the barbecue began, Linus personally handed over the gifts he had prepared for Sophia to Michael. Linus looked like he was moving houses with all the bags in his hands. One by one, he handed them to Michael. ¡°I lived in Africa over the past few years, so I brought back a few local African goods.¡± ¡°This is for you, Mike¡ªa diamond belt.¡± ¡°This is for Sophia. It¡¯s a jewelry set with a diamond ne, bracelet, anklet, and two pairs of earrings.¡± ¡°This is for Nate.¡± ¡°This is for Chrysanthemum, Simba, Snowball, Sunset, Judge, and Garfield¡­¡± Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. ¡°And these are for Stan, Sarah, and Sean.¡± Michael took all the presents from him but still had a troubled expression on his face. ¡°You spent quite a lot. They¡¯re all so valuable.¡± The pet cors that he gave were covered in diamonds. It was clearly expensive just by the looks of it. Linus let out a genuine smile. ¡°They¡¯re not expensive. They¡¯re just local goods we got from the ground.¡± The Michel Family did mining in Africa. Not only did they have several valuable metal mines, but they also had a few open-pit mines. To Linus, those really were just goods that he excavated from the ground. After Michael received all the gifts, he felt extremely uneasy. It looked like Linus had prepared those gifts very early on. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give them the gifts yourself?¡± Michael asked. Linus looked at the ground and chuckled. ¡°Mike, I don¡¯t feel toofortable doing that. Could you do it for me?¡± There were many reasons he did not feelfortable, but Michael did not ask any further. Everyone knew what Linus had done, so asking any more would have been awkward. Michael epted the gifts on behalf of Sophia and the rest. Then, he handed them to Gary to store away safely inside the room. Midway, Michael looked at the four pieces of jewelry that Linus gave Sophia. The size and quality of the diamonds were phenomenal. It would be a top-notch luxury item in the market. Even though he was giving Sarah four pieces of jewelry with the same specifications, Michael still felt like the diamonds on Sophia¡¯s jewelry were a lot bigger. Was he just overthinking it? He kept feeling like the whole world was trying to take his wife away from him. When he got to the venue, he spotted Sophia busily making preparations, so he hurried over to help. Because they were at someone else¡¯s ce, everything seemed inconvenient. Fortunately, Sophia came well-equipped. She even hired a barbecue expert specifically toe and help them out. When Michael arrived, he saw Lucy right away and the diamond ne that she was wearing. It was clearly a gift from Linus as it was simr to the one Linus gave Sophia earlier. Nheless, the one Sophia received was bigger and nicer. No wonder Linus wanted to give the gifts in private¡ªit would not have turned out well if Lucy saw it. Michael also heard a rumor that Linus was going to be engaged to Lucy soon, but he was still not fond of her. From the way the Michel Family talked, however, it was a sealed deal. Michael knew that Linus did not have to have a marriage arrangement with the Edwards Family. There was still a bit of a gap between the Edwards Family and the Michel Family. Why did hee to the Edwards Family¡¯s annual meeting? Even though he did not understand, Michael knew that Lucy was about to be dumped. Karma will get back at anyone! The seafood barbecue was going really well. Lucy was sitting beside Linus and talking to him. She was constantlyughing at his words. It was clear that Lucy was looking forward to their engagement. It had also been a while since Sarahst saw Linus. Every now and then, she would start up a conversation with him. Linus was content with holding Garfield in his arms and patting Judge who was next to him. Judge still remembered Linus and had snuggled up next to him just waiting to be patted. Michael was busy with the barbecue but he liked what he was doing. Harry and Sam were talking to each other with Sophia sitting on the other side of Sam. She was eating seafood and getting along well with Sam. While Michael was cooking, he would look over at Sam from time to time. This b*stard¡­ He¡¯s been talking to Sophia all day, but his eyes keep drifting off to Linus. Linus Michel¡­ Sam had never seen this person before, but there was a faint sense of familiarity. Chapter 691 Chapter 691 Halfway through dinner, Sophia brought out a bottle of homemade peach blossom wine to share with everyone. ¡°This is our homemade peach blossom wine. It might not be as good as those collector wines, but it has its own unique vor. Do give it a try!¡± Everyone in the room got some, including Sam. Holding the small ss of peach blossom wine in his hand, a familiar scent suddenly wafted past him and he couldn¡¯t resist drinking the small ss of wine in one go. The wine was fragrant. It was supposed to taste sweet, but Sam seemed to have tasted something bitter instead. The bitterness was making him tear up. Covering the smell of the wine, he closed his eyes and tears rolled down his cheeks. It was the Johnson Family¡¯s secret peach blossom wine. Sam drank it once a long time ago. At the time, his name was still Andrea Edwards. He remembered that there was also a small ss of homemade peach blossom wine in front of him. Annabel had opened it, and Cooper had poured it for him. ¡°Andrea, you¡¯re not an adult yet, so you can¡¯t drink. But, since it¡¯s a happy day today, you can drink some in secret. I won¡¯t tell your parents.¡± He remembered tearing up from having tasted the burn of alcohol for the first time. He did not think that he would get to drink it again over twenty yearster. Seeing Sam finish the drink in one go, Sophia hastily poured him more. ¡°You¡¯re good at holding your alcohol, Master Sam!¡± She poured another full ss for him. Sam wiped his tears away and said in a rather choked-up voice, ¡°The wine is too strong; it¡¯s making me tear up.¡± She smiled. ¡°This is our family¡¯s secret recipe. You have to savor it slowly. It will definitely be too strong if you drink it at once.¡± He lifted the ss again, and this time, he let the taste sink in. Somehow, it was different each time he took a sip. It seemed like the wine he drank twenty years ago, but there was also a new vor to it. After he finished the second ss, he lifted the empty ss and Sophia automatically brought the bottle of wine to him and poured another full ss for him. With the ss in his hand, he asked, ¡°This is pretty good wine. Did you make it yourself?¡± Sophia also took a sip herself. ¡°Yeah, I made it myself.¡± She grew up in her uncle¡¯s house. Her uncle was a teacher, and her aunt sold pot-stewed dishes and their homemade wine at the market for a living. It went without saying that Sophia also had to help out. On some asions, she had to wake up very early in the morning to set up the stall and finish selling everything off before she could go to school. There was a small wine-making workshop at their house. In middle school, she was dragged home from school and forced to work for half a year. Luckily, she was able toplete her studies. The principal of her school could not bear to see a young person like her work tirelessly, so he let her return to school to continue her studies. ording to her aunt, Annabel was still the best at making wine. Her aunt had always cursed Annabel in front of her and said that Annabel secretly possessed the Johnson Family¡¯s wine form. Hence, their wine was unfavorable to people and caused their business to go bad. In the end, they had to close their workshop. Sam was in a good mood today. He drank several sses in a row. By the end of the night, he even wanted a bottle to take home. Michael, who was drinking, cursed at him on the inside, This old geezer. He eats and drinks our food, and now he wants to take our alcohol home too. Go to hell! Sophia came back out with various wines like peach blossom wine and apricot blossom wine. They seemed to be popr with everyone. Lucy also asserted that she wanted one for herself. The pet club that Sophia set up on the ind had received a lot of attention¡ªso much so that Lucy had heard of the pet luxury goods brand that Sophia wanted toe up with, but she chose not to bring it up. That was because she was confident that Sophia was not her rival. She did not have a reason to fear her existence! The seafood barbecue turned out to be a sess; everyone ate and drank to their hearts¡¯ content. Michael brought out a premium red wine from his collection at home. On top of Sophia¡¯s wine, everyone was already drunk before they even finished eating. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Sam, in particr, was not walking straight anymore. In all these years, it was the first time he had gotten that drunk. When he was drunk, all he could see was Annabel in front of him. Sophia looked like Annabel, and even Linus was slowly starting to look like her. Fearing that Sam would cause a scene, Lucy quickly brought him back to his room. Once the Edwards were gone, Sophia let herself loose. Not only did she start to drink more peach blossom wine, but she also started to talk gibberish. Michael held her and said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Let¡¯s not drink anymore. You¡¯re drunk.¡± Huping with a red face, she said, ¡°I¡¯m not drunk! Who said I¡¯m drunk?¡± He looked at her in annoyance. ¡°I saw you hugging and kissing Judge earlier. You still don¡¯t think you¡¯re drunk?¡± She was definitely drunk after kissing a dog that ate excrement. However, Sophia firmly believed that she was not drunk and shook Michael off. She hugged Judge and kissed him again. Laughing and slurring away, she grabbed a tuft of Judge¡¯s hair and put it on top of Garfield¡¯s head. Michael looked at her from behind disapprovingly. Look at how drunk she is¡­ After Sophia left Judge befuddled, she held a bowl of wine and arrived next to Linus. She drank the wine in two mouthfuls and started talking nonsense again. ¡°Linus¡­ why are you a bad person?¡± He was rendered speechless by her question. He let out a scoff, then downed some wine himself. He was also feeling a bit tipsy. Am I a bad person? In this world, the line between good and bad was getting harder to determine. A majority of people were doing things to help themselves live a better life. Just then, Michael lifted Sophia and went back to their hotel room. ¡°Linus, I¡¯ll take her back first.¡± Once they went back to their room, Sophia started to have a drunken fit. She whined about wanting to kiss Judge and make love to Michael. Michael bathed her in the bathtub, then wiped her dry and put her on the bed. After her bath, she whined about wanting to wear her racy bikini pajamas. Those pajamas were too suggestive and she did not want to get caught in them, so she never got a chance to wear them at home. She had only worn them several times since she bought them. This time, she purposely brought them back so she could wear them every day. She only stopped making a fuss when Michael let her wear them. Because she had several gatherings in a row during the day, she was already exhausted. Her drunken fit came to an end as she hugged the nket and looked at Michael with her round eyes on her small flushed face. ¡°Hubby¡­¡± Her soft voice tingled like a little kitten. She deliberately hooked a long and slender leg around his waist, bit her bottom lip, and looked at him seductively. With some effort, he pulled her leg off and put it under the nket. Touching her red cheeks, he said, ¡°You¡¯re drunk. Go to sleep first. I will go and clean up. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± She nodded obediently. Michael put Garfield in her arms, and she fell asleep while hugging the cat. After that, he picked up his phone and prepared to go out again. Before he left, he put Nichs next to the bed and turned on the security system. He still had some things to discuss with Linus and wanted to tell him about his encounter with Sam. Meanwhile, Sam did not return to his room right away after Lucy escorted him out. With a bottle of wine in his hand, he walked along the coast and ended up at an isted ce. He drank, bit by bit, as he watched the glistening waves under the moonlight. There was a different bitterness to the sweet peach blossom wine each time he drank it. It did not fail to trigger the most beautiful and tormenting memories in his mind. Once he was done drinking, he let go of everything andy down on the secluded beach. Being away from all themotion and bustling activity was lonely but blissful. He looked at the sky of stars that seemed unchanged. It did not seem any different from the night sky twenty years ago. Sadly, though, his rtionships with those people were history now. How nice would it be if I could turn back time? He wanted to return to that moment and change everything. He wanted to witness Cooper and Annabel¡¯s sessful struggle. They would get married in the end and Annabel would give birth to Sophia. He would adore Sophia and treasure her as she grew up. He would watch her beautiful transformation into a woman. Finally, Sam went back to his room in the middle of the night. The room was pitch ck, but he did not bother to turn on the lights. He searched for his bed in the dark andy on it. However, he did not expect to feel something warm at his fingertips. Chapter 692 Chapter 692 ¡°Corrado?¡± Sam called for his dog in a dazed state, assuming that Corrado had got on the bed. Thud, thud, thud. In the corner, a dark figure moved upon hearing the sound. It arrived at the side of the bed and was looking at Sam intently as though it had already epted the name it was given. Looking at the dark figure, Sam¡¯s eyes suddenly widened. Reaching out to the warm object beside him, he suddenly felt skin that was as smooth as butter and he heard a coquettish murmur. A woman? His body stiffened, and he immediately felt his anger rise as though something had clicked in his mind. The Edwards Family is trying to set me up with another woman! Over the years, they had sent countless women to him with the hope that he would carry on his lineage. Who was it this time? In the past, there had been several shallow tramps who had tried to sleep with him, and it never ended well. He turned on the lights hastily to see who it was that had the nerve to climb onto his bed. When the lights turned on, the room became bright as day, and the woman on the bed was revealed. His eyes lit up when he saw her. She was dressed in suggestive clothing and looked like she was drunk. Her body exuded an intoxicating aroma and her long legs were exposed. The hemline of herce skirt only covered a small portion of herN?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. skin while the rest of her beautiful, pale body was exposed as shey on the bed. She looked as perfect as an oil painting. His eyes continued to fill with bewilderment when he saw the woman¡¯s face. It¡¯s Sophia. He knew that something was wrong. Sophia would not be lying in his bed dead drunk for no reason. He had to say something, but when he saw the young and beautiful body in front of him, he was unable to make a sound. He waspletely captivated by her. During the day, he had already seen her in a swimsuit on the beach, but it was not as astonishing as the racy bikini pajamas she was wearing now. He could not help himself from getting closer to her. He wanted to touch her, kiss her, hold her in his arms, and be one with her. He had no control over himself. Despite knowing that it was not right, those thoughts were leading him to a point of no return. I want her! One of his hands went to her chest. He only had to move slightly and she would be his. At that moment, Corrado jumped on the bed and started to lick Sophia¡¯s face which seemed to have woken her up. Letting out a soft moan, she waved her hands around and eventually found Corrado¡¯s head. ¡°Judge, quiet now.¡± Her eyes remained closed. Then, she turned on her side and continued to sleep. Sam pulled his hand back in shock. Jumping a few steps behind, he remained staring at her in a dumbfounded state. Just then, he noticed that he was sweating all over. When he sobered up from the alcohol and rationality took over his desires, he finally realized what he had almost done. No, I can¡¯t do this! She is Cooper and Annabel¡¯s daughter. I can¡¯t hurt her! She wouldn¡¯t be lying here for no reason either. A usible exnation urred to him and that set his eyes aze. He pulled the nket over Sophia to cover her suggestive body before giving his assistant a call. When his assistant picked up the phone, he got straight to the point. ¡°What is this?¡± It was silent for a few seconds¡ªenough to let Sam know what was happening. He acted on his own ord again! The assistant muttered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master Sam.¡± Sam did not ask what he was trying to do, but instead asked, ¡°Whose idea was it?¡± ¡°A woman called Judy.¡± His assistant did not dare to conceal anything. Judy had revealed some information to Sam¡¯s assistant, then instigated and helped him to do this. The main culprit was Judy and his assistant simply closed an eye to it. After all, his assistant had always hoped that Sam would find a woman to his liking whenever they had sent those women to him over the years. She may be Taylor¡¯s wife, but Taylor is still iparable to Sam. Moreover, the assistant could tell that Sam had feelings for Sophia. Because she was Annabel¡¯s daughter! Sam had remained single for over twenty years because of Annabel. Now that Sophia was here, it was definitely meant to be. However, things didn¡¯t go as nned. Sam¡¯s low and aloof voice was heard over the phone. ¡°Judy? Tsk. I have a task for you now. You can leave once it¡¯s done.¡± The assistant eximed, ¡°Master Sam¡­¡± Am I getting fired? I¡¯ve worked by your side for a decade! Are you going to get rid of me just because of this? Unfortunately, Sam¡¯s words were never up for debate. Everything had happened in less than twenty seconds, but the assistant had already epted the fact that he was getting fired. ¡°Tell me what I have to do, Master Sam.¡± ¡­ Michael and Linus spent quite a while talking about something and only returned to their roomste at night. When Michael got back, he saw Sophia asleep on the bed with Garfield snoring away in her arms. With both hands, he carried Judge into the room and put him on the carpet, covering himself with dog fur in the process. He went into the bathroom to take a quick shower beforeing back out again. After his shower, he blow-dried his hair and went to sit on the bed. Looking around the room, he felt like something was not right but could not seem to put his finger on what it was. Since he had had a bit to drink, his mind was not as alert. Thus, he decided to just go to sleep. ¡­ The next day, Sophia started making a fuss as soon as she woke up. ¡°Ah! Why didn¡¯t you stop me? Why?¡± She immediately recalled all the dumb things she did the night before. She could not believe that she actually kissed Judge! Scratching his bedhead, Michael said, ¡°You wanted to kiss Judge so badly that I couldn¡¯t even stop you. What could I have done?¡± She was infuriated. I must¡¯ve embarrassed myself so muchst night! Lucy must have seen everything. The fact that her husband¡¯s ex saw her kissing a dog that once ate excrement was even worse than death to her. In a burst of anger, she pushed Michael down and bit onto his lip. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve already kissed a dog. I¡¯m not clean anymore. You shouldn¡¯t think about staying clean and pure either!¡± They wrestled andughed on the bed for a bit, then a set of consistent thumping sounds were heard. After they were done with their first session of the day, Sophia went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. No matter how much she brushed, however, she could still smell the stench of dung in her mouth. Later, Judge woke up feeling a bit thirsty. He went into the restroom, lifted the toilet seat skillfully, and put his mouth in to drink some water. Sophia immediately became furious when she saw him. She could not help but feel like he had seduced herst night into kissing him. Enraged by the sight of him drinking out of the toilet bowl, she picked up the cucumber she brought backst night to use as a face mask and hit him with it. Judge started barking at her angrily. Michael had gotten out of bed and was putting on his clothes in front of the mirror. When he heard Judge barking, he felt like something was not right. Then, it dawned on him that Nichs had not said a word sincest night. Chapter 693 Chapter 693 Before Michael leftst night, he put Nichs on security mode. If anyone tried to break in, Nichs wouldunch an attack on them right away. If it was someone he knew, he woulde out to greet them. When Michael came homest night, however, Nichs did note out to greet him. Moreover, he was still nowhere in sight today. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. ¡°Nichs?¡± Michael called. When there was no response, he went and found Nichs in a corner. Nichs had been powered off and was standing there silently. Michael turned his power back on, but there was no response. He tried charging him but it was to no avail. He¡¯s broken again! Why does he keep breaking down? When Sophia learned that Nichs had broken down, she quickly grabbed some tools and began repairing him. Her efforts were in vain, however, as Nichs did not power back on. Fortunately, Linus was still around. She quickly pushed Nichs along with her to look for him. Linus took a careful look at Nichs. Because he did not have his equipment with him, he could only tear Nichs apart and observe with his naked eyes. After inspecting Nichs for a while, Linus finally found out what was wrong with him. There was a lot of powdered graphite in his system and in the room as well! This substance could damage electronic equipment the moment it came into contact with it. It would cause a short circuit which would result in the equipment going out of order. Linus tinkered around a bit and finally managed to repair Nichs. He opened Nichs¡¯ daily work record but found that the footage from that period was missing. Sophia also could not remember what happenedst night. All she remembered was Michael leaving the room anding back again. Because she had drunk a lot, she ended up sleeping like a log. She pondered for a while then said, ¡°After you leftst night, hubby, I remember Judgeing up to me and licking my face! Could he have ruined Nichs?¡±Michael immediately froze and felt his hair stand on the back of his neck. Last night, Judge had gotten drunk and passed out on the beach. Michael was the one that carried it back. Judge did not move an inch throughout the night! It was even a bit hungover this morning. After drinking some toilet water and having a few bites of cucumber, it simply went back to sleep. How could it have licked Sophia¡¯s facest night? Michael felt mortified the more he thought about it. He looked over at Sophia frantically, but she seemed indifferent. When he came backst night, she was sound asleep. She was also full of energy this morning and wanted to be on top. What on earth happenedst night? I¡¯m positive someone came in! There were around forty minutes when Michael put her to sleep and went back to the beach to talk to Linus, then came back again. Anything could have happened during that time! He suddenly felt a sense of terror and quickly went to hug Sophia. He was too carelessst night to have left her alone in the room. If someone had gone in and taken her, then it would have been a disaster. Thank goodness, she¡¯s still here! This is all that I can ask for. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s focus was on something else. Touching the part of her face where Judge licked her last night, she fearfully asked, ¡°Judge didn¡¯t eat fecesst night, right?¡¯ ¡­ Michael canceled all his ns and wanted to leave the small ind as soon as possible. The incident fromst night still gave him goosebumps. He did not want to stay there another moment longer. Since it was the Edwards Family¡¯s annual meeting, he assumed that all those malicious people would hide themselves. Who knew they would still try to harm Sophia? He had no idea what happened in the forty minutes that he was gone, and he did not dare to think of the possibilities either. It was fine as long as nothing happened to her. When Harry found out that they were leaving, he quickly packed his things and followed along, not forgetting to take Sarah with him. Sarah decided to leave with him because she did not want to travel with the West Family. Unexpectedly, Sam also followed them. ¡°Are you guys leaving? Please excuse me, but my boat broke down. I noticed that you have quite a big boat. If you don¡¯t mind, can I hop on as well?¡± Even though Michael was a bit reluctant, he still agreed to let him on. Sam went on the boat with a few suitcases and his bodyguards. Then, the small naval ship departed Edwards Ind. Michael kept paying attention to Sophia, but she seemed normal today. There was not much of a change in her. Nheless, he was still very worried. After Sam got on the boat, he kept looking through his telescope. A momentter, he seemed to have discovered something as he looked at Sophia and said joyously, ¡°I see it!¡± She hurriedly asked, ¡°What is it?¡± He gave her a dubious smile. ¡°This area is called Shark Bay. There are a lot of sharks here.¡± Sharks! Sophia looked into the telescope excitedly and saw shark fins gliding through the water a distance away. She was excited to see a real shark for the first time in her life. Grabbing Michael, she said, ¡°Hubby, quick, look over there. There are sharks!¡± Michael looked over and was able to spot the sharks swimming in the water. ¡°There really are a lot of sharks here.¡± It was hard for her to suppress her excitement when she was seeing sharks for the first time. She kept looking into the telescope, but the sharks remained a distance away from them. All of a sudden, Sam said, ¡°I brought some pork to feed the sharks. They wille if we throw some meat in.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Sophia was jumping with joy. She watched Sam¡¯s men open one suitcase filled with cut-up meat and saw the water turn red when they threw it into the water. The sharks smelled the blood and started to swim closer to them. Michael had them stop the boat so that Sophia could look at the sharks. Sam threw quite a bit of meat in to feed the sharks, giving Sophia more than enough sharks to look at. Sophia was ecstatic to see sharks for the first time. When the sharks finished eating and swam away, the boat also started to leave. Both Sophia and Sarah were looking at the sharks intently while Michael and Harry were staring at Sam who was feeding the sharks. Perhaps he had been to the market often and was experienced with the smell of blood, but Michael kept having this feeling that it was not pork. Harry had a frown on his forehead as it was also obvious to him. Although he did not see it clearly, he also had a feeling that it was not pork. It did not smell right. However, Michael did not dare to think about the kind of meat it actually was. After he dropped Sam off at the nearest dock, the rest of them made their way back to Bayside City. Less than two days after their return, Sophia had to return to the hectic workforce. On the third day after returning, she left for work on time and even brought some gifts for the people at the office. At lunchtime, the four founding members of thepany ate lunch with Sophia in her office. She was lucky because she was sent food at lunch every day. They all enjoyed joining her for lunch. They gossiped while they ate. Sarah had heard more gossip today and was sharing it with everyone else. ¡°After the Edwards¡¯ annual meeting ended, one family left the ind on a boat. When the boat reached deeper waters, they apparently encountered a whirlpool or something. The boat sank and everyone on board died!¡± They felt sympathy for the family when they heard the story. Once they were done talking about other people, Sarah winked and began talking about her own story. It was a shocking revtion. ¡°My stepmother ran off with her lover!¡± When they heard the news, everyone stopped eating and urged Sarah for more details. Chapter 694 Chapter 694 Sarah started to bring the details of her story to life. ¡°Apparently, after we left, my stepmother secretly ran off with her lover. My dad got really furious and went to look for her. I heard that he found herst night, but she¡¯s refusing toe back!¡± Sophia felt like the story was not very convincing. For a gold-digger like Judy who was able to marry a man twenty years older than her, how could she run away before even getting her hands on the company shares and the money? She blurted, ¡°Who is that man?¡± Shaking her head, Sarah ate some food then said, ¡°My dad is about to lose his mind. They didn¡¯t reveal too much so I don¡¯t know either. They only told me that Judy ran away and is refusing toe back. She¡¯s no longer part of our family now. To make up to my dad, the Edwards Family wants to send Victoria over as his new wife.¡± After listening to this story, Sophia lost her appetitepletely. She couldn¡¯t help but feel like there were a lot of loopholes in this story. On the ind, she even saw Judy going around and unting her rich husband. How could she walk away with another lover that easily? Money was more important to her than anything else. Unless the man she ran off with is richer than Mr. West? Or, unbelievably handsome? But, Sophia had taken a close look when they were on the ind. Except for Michael, there was no other man who was that good-looking. It made even less sense that the Edwards Family was marrying Victoria off to Peter aspensation. Wouldn¡¯t the family¡¯s top priority be to bring their daughter home and hand her over to their son-inw? Still, that was their personal matter. Who knew what was really going on? Perhaps Judy did find herself an incredibly rich and handsome man who had better backing than Peter. Hence, he had to let her go. To make up to him, the Edwards Family wanted to marry Victoria off to him. While they were eating, Sophia nced over at Judge who was sitting and waiting for dropped food with a deep yearning in his eyes. She was reminded of how he got taken away on the ind a few days ago because he ate feces and how she had kissed him in apletely drunken state. Suddenly, she felt a stench in her mouth and was overwhelmed with feelings of nausea. Putting down her utensils, she rushed to the restroom and started throwing up. When she returned, Stanley winked at her and asked, ¡°Aunt, are you pregnant?¡± ¡°Get out! You¡¯re the one who¡¯s pregnant!¡± Even though Sophia said that, she felt a bit hopeful. Could I actually be pregnant? Am I going to have a baby? Am I going to be a mother? After work, she rushed to a nearby hospital to check, but as it turned out, she only had an upset stomach from all the seafood that she ate. Walking out with some digestive medicine the doctor prescribed to her, she felt immensely defeated. She rubbed her t stomach and remembered the name Natasha used to call her¡ªa female rooster. A d*mn female rooster! The doctor was not happy to see her with her head hung low. Heforted her. ¡°You¡¯re still young. You¡¯re only 23. It¡¯s still early! Take good care of your body and you will conceive sooner orter.¡± When Sophia got home, she was even more upset. Even with an array of delicious food before her, she did not have an appetite. Stanley had called Michael earlier to inform him that Sophia threw up during lunch. Everyone assumed that she was pregnant, so she rushed to the hospital in high spirits right after work. Since she hade home with her head hung low, the results must not have been satisfactory. Michael also wanted children, but he decided to leave it up to fate. Getting shots at the hospital was going to be painful. They were still young, so it was still easy for them to conceive as long as they kept their bodies healthy. If they could not have their own children, they could always adopt. By dinner time, Sophia pulled herself together and had something to eat. In addition, she also drank a nourishing medicinal dish as she told Michael about the story she heard today. ¡°Judy, Sarah¡¯s stepmother abandoned her current husband to run off with her lover! They can¡¯t bring her back anymore, so the Edwards are marrying Victoria off to Sarah¡¯s dad!¡± Sophia was not quite in the mood, but Michael had perked his ears up. For some reason, the first thought that popped up in his mind after he heard this story was the bright red ¡®pork¡¯ that Sam fed the sharks with. Once they were done with dinner, Michael sent someone out to investigate. Indeed, there was a problem in the West Family. Judy had run off right after the Edwards Family annual meeting ended, and Sarah¡¯s father was going to marry his little sister-inw, Victoria. This is unusual. It¡¯s definitely not as simple as it seems. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. ¡­ At the Edwards residence, Faye also learned that Judy had run off with her lover on the second day after they came back from the annual meeting. Her body turned ice-cold, and she started to tremble in fear. I can¡¯t believe this happened! Judy did not run away in secret. Just a couple of days ago, she was unting off the fact that she married a wealthy husband. Why would she run off the next day? There could only be one possibility¡ªshe was dead. Eloping with a lover was just an excuse. Judy had long since vanished off the face of the earth. The scary part in all of this was that Judy, the wife of the West Family, disappeared without a trace. Instead of looking for her, however, the Edwards Family let Victoria marry her brother-inw. The West Family was iparable to those older affluent families, but they had risen up fairly quickly over the past few years. Their power was not to be looked down upon, but in front of the Edwards Family, they were still not able to stand up to them. They listened to everything the Edwards Family said instead of having discussions. In fact, they were too afraid to make a sound. The West Family told outsiders that Judy had run off with her lover, but Faye knew the truth. How could Judy run off with a lover that easily? She had failed that ¡®n¡¯, angered Sam, and got taken care of. Faye was lucky that nothing happened to her at the time, but still, she was not going to give up. Everything Sophia possessed agitated her. Faye still had some cards up her sleeves. They were like bombs that could explode at any time. She had to start taking action now; otherwise, she would always be trapped behind her opponent and never be able to rise. If she did not seed this time, there was going to be another chance sooner orter. Just like that, Judy was gone. The Edwards Family canceled her residency and dered her dead. Not long after, Victoria and Mr. West had a low-key wedding. After she received all of Judy¡¯s belongings, Victoria became Sarah¡¯s second stepmother. However, all of that had nothing to do with Sophia. She had too much on her te now. It was going to be New Year¡¯s soon, so things were getting hectic at work with year-end and winter holiday sale promotions; there would be a new mobile game they were going to sell in the new year, and much more. Her pet luxury goods studio was also in the middle of preparations. For now, Ivan had to suppress his feelings and deal with the bigger matters. She started a new project with Dragon Mountain that was set to start work next year and also had final exams to take. She was working round the clock. Michael had also gone overseas for his own business. At some point, she could not be bothered to return to the Fletcher Residence anymore and slept in her office most of the time. Today, Stanley suddenly brought in a homeless person. The person had entered Sophia¡¯s office full of filth. After staring at the filthy face for a while, she finally recognized who it was. ¡°Derek? What happened to you? Didn¡¯t you go on to study? Did you go off the rails again?¡± Derek was Alex¡¯s son. His sister had be the youngdy of the Mitchell Family. He shouldn¡¯t have ended up that way! Derek was starving. He hastily ate all the leftover food from Sophia¡¯s lunch that the secretary brought over. ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t bring it up. My whole family is dead.¡± Chapter 695 Chapter 695 Derek told Sophia about everything that had happened. After Sandra¡¯s career took off, she was put in the Mitchell Family¡¯s registry and became the youngdy in ce of Natasha. Her life changed in an instant. But a lot of people knew about her hidden identity. She was not Alex¡¯s biological daughter who was kidnapped twenty years ago, but his illegitimate daughter. Sandra¡¯s mother and Alex came to an agreement to hand her over to the Mitchells. Sandra¡¯s biological mother received monies in exchange for cutting off all ties with her while the Mitchell Family found a new youngdy in their family. Everything was supposed to be perfect. It all went wrong when Derek¡¯s uncle, Ben, was sent to the police station after being beaten up by Celine and forced to undergo rehabilitation for a period before he was released again. However, he started to idle around after that. When he heard about his sessful niece, he thought of ways to get money from her. To him, Sandra was like an ATM. He visited Sandra¡¯s biological mother twice in three days for money. If she did not give him any, he would go and bother Sandra instead. The brother and sister pair were more or less cut from the same cloth. Both of them saw Sandra as an inexhaustible ATM. They often visited her to ask for money and threatened to expose her as a good-for- nothing to the media if she did notply. Since Sandra was being threatened, she could only hand the money over to them obediently each time. Thest few times they asked for money, it really exposed their greed. They lived a luxurious life and spent money like water. ording to Derek, thest time they visited Sandra to ask for money again was actually the final time. The next day, the police contacted Derek, who was still in school, and told him to identify some bodies. Both his mother and uncle were lying still in the mortuary after having died from a car crash. When they found out that Derek¡¯s mother and uncle had passed away, Derek¡¯s greedy rtives came over and tricked him into giving up his house and family fortune. Moreover, some rascals who were bullied by Ben got to know about Ben¡¯s situation and came looking for Derek for trouble. They came and went constantly. Derek became afraid of going to school and of going home, so he ended up in the state that he was in now. ¡°Didn¡¯t you think to look for a job?¡± Sophia asked with disappointment in her voice as she looked at a miserable Derek. With an anguished look, he said, ¡°What can I do? It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know how immoral my uncle was. People who want to kill him are everywhere. Now that he¡¯s dead, it¡¯s so hard for me to find a job or even go back to school. I have two more uncles. They took my mom¡¯s house away and chased me out of it.¡± When Sophia looked at him, she felt like she was looking at herself from many years ago. At the time, she had also felt dejected. However, Derek still had other family members. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go look for your sister and dad?¡± Speaking of his sister, Derek became even more sensitive. ¡°I¡¯m not going. She would rather see me dead!¡± Sandra was already secured as the youngdy of the Mitchell Family. Unless Alex had another son, her current position was unshakable. Letting Sandra stabilize like now was nothing more than a way for Alex to stall time. He still had to have a sessor that he could raise and nurture again. Some rumors imed that Alex was starting in-vitro fertilization treatments again. He was trying so hard to have another child. If he had another son, he would still receive the attention of an athletic star. It would not end too badly. The present Sandra was very appalled by her past. She feared that if people found out about her past and how she was willing to harm her biological uncle and mother, the car crash would not be seen as just an ident. Indeed, she was a spiteful woman. ¡°Okay, you can make do with some odd jobs for now. I will be responsible for your food and amodation. I¡¯ll find a way to get you a new student status too. You should start going to school when school starts next year. But, Derek¡¯s misfortune served as a cautionary reminder for Sophia. She was the one that made Sandra Oak into Sandra Mitchell. She held the reins on Sandra now, but Sandra might grow independent and bite back at her one day. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡­ Stanley and Sean recently moved into a four-bedroom, two-sitting-room house that they bought. They were getting ready to bring the dogs over. Each of them stayed in one room, the dogs were in one room, and thest room was for Derek. He was able to move in right after Sophia paid the rent. Just as she finished settling Derek¡¯s matters, an unexpected person showed up at thepany. ¡°Master Sam? What are you doing here? Pleasee in!¡± Sam had also brought Corrado along with him. He wore an extremely simple outfit today¡ªall ck with a fur coat and high boots. He looked younger, and despite being forty, his hair was full and ck. When he walked amidst balding young people, it made him seem a lot more handsome and dignified. ¡°I came to take a look at yourpany. It¡¯s not bad; it¡¯s quite big.¡± As Sam looked around Sophia¡¯spany, he saw a lot of people and a rather aggressive interior. It did not seem like there was a w anywhere. She was truly Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter. It was hard toe by someone who could produce visible results while they were still studying. On the other hand, Sophia felt embarrassed and did not dare to act up in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. I must seem like a joke to you.¡± Nheless, she still hurried to take Sam on a tour around herpany. Word that a handsome man was at thepany spread like wildfire and Stanley ended up bringing Sean out to see. ¡°Look at that person over there! Where did hee from? Look at my aunt; she looks so happy.¡± Stanley caressed his own crew cut while he admired Sam¡¯s thick ck hair as he spoke. He had lost a lot of hair from staying upte and ying games. Hence, he had gotten his current haircut. He was green with envy just by looking at Sam¡¯s thick hair. Sean looked at that person and fell into deep thought for a moment. ¡°He¡¯s the 9th Old Master of the Edwards Family. He used to be in politics, but now he is in business. I¡¯ve seen him on Aunt¡¯s IG stories before.¡± A couple of days ago, Sophia posted a photo with Sam on her IG stories and Sean remembered it. After walking one round, Sophia brought Sam to meet Stanley and Sean. ¡°These are the other two founders of ourpany. This is Stanley Fletcher, my husband¡¯s nephew, and Judge¡¯s owner.¡± ¡°This is Sean Mitchell. We¡¯re students at Bayside University.¡± Sam shook hands with Stanley and Sean. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Sam Edwards.¡± Stanley was praising him silently. I¡¯ve heard of this man before. They say that he¡¯s in his forties now. I didn¡¯t think he would look so young. He looks even younger than Michael! When the introductions were over, Sophia looked at Stanley and said, ¡°Master Sam wants to invest some money in ourpany.¡± Wow, he truly is a big shot! His smile became even more sincere. Even though he was still wary on the inside. With confidence, Sam said, ¡°Even though you¡¯re a startup, you have good prospects. I see potential in you. Why don¡¯t I invite all of you for dinner tonight at Crimson House?¡± Stanley was stunned. ¡°It¡¯s really hard to book a ce at Crimson House. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to get a table at this hour. It¡¯s also very expensive¡­¡± ¡°No problem. I¡¯m paying. I¡¯ll be d to.¡± Sam hoped that Sophia would enter Crimson House, as Annabel¡¯s things were there. Chapter 696 Chapter 696 Stanley did not know what to say now. The Crimson House was the most luxurious and well-known food and beverage outlet in Bayside City. He often heard of people spending up to a million in one sitting there, and seats were especially hard to book. He had only eaten there once for Judge and Sunset¡¯s birthday. He did not think that his own birthday was worthy enough either. Sophia assumed that the people being invited out for dinner were just the few founding members of the company, so she gathered them together after work. To her surprise, Sam asked, ¡°Oh? Just the four of you? Get the others toe along as well!¡± She blinked at him, unsure of who he meant by the others. He quickly said, ¡°The wholepany, of course. I love chatting with younger people.¡± Sophia froze. There are over two hundred people at thepany. The restaurant might not even have enough seats to amodate everyone. I heard the food is also very expensive there. With two hundred hungry people, he¡¯s going to go broke! She had a troubled expression on her face. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. We have so many people at thepany.¡± Sam did not think much of it. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve already booked the ce. There¡¯s a Crimson House a few hundred meters away from thepany. We can walk there.¡± While Sophia and the other founding members exchanged nces with each other, the other employees were already jumping for joy upon hearing that Sam was inviting them out for a big meal. Before Sophia could greet them, they swarmed right past her and headed toward the nearest Crimson House. A whileter, apart from those who needed to keep track of data, all the other employees had gone off. Sam looked at those who stayed behind and said to Sophia, ¡°Count the number of employees on guard too. I¡¯ll have the restaurant deliver some food to them.¡± The staff cheered. Everyone was waiting eagerly for dinner. Sophia did not want to spoil their excitement so she also followed along. Crimson House was one of the tallest buildings in Bayside City. They had restaurants that served diverse cuisines, and those tailored for the rich. Today, it was taken over by Plum Technology employees. The hall and booths were filled with young people in identical work attire. One of the booths was upied by only five people¡ªSophia, Sean, Stanley, Sarah, and Sam. When the waiter brought them the menu, Sophia was shocked to see the prices of each dish. D*mn! You¡¯re kidding me. This is so expensive! A single fish cost tens of thousands. Is this a robbery? Oh, no. With over two hundred employees, one being a bigger eater than the other, Sam is going to be broke! Can I give up my family fortune and sell my husband in exchange for money? However, Sam was very rxed. ¡°Pick anything you want. It¡¯s my treat.¡± Sophia ordered the cheapest option on the menu, stir-fried vegetables. Still, it was more expensive than average. Once she picked hers, she put down the menu and forced a smile. ¡°I¡¯m on a diettely. I don¡¯t want to eat too much.¡± Sam took the menu and brushed his finger over more than ten dishes. Sophia was so shocked that she turned pale in an instant. Putting down the menu, Sam looked at the waiter and said, ¡°Prepare a takeaway order for 18 people and send it to Plum Technology, please.¡± The waiter nodded and noted it down. Seeing this, Sophia was close to being frightened out of her wits. If Sam tries to take off on his ownter, it¡¯s over for us. But, as the 9th Old Master of the great Edwards Family, he wouldn¡¯t just eat and take off, right? At the thought of that, she started to feel more at ease. The restaurant needed some time to prepare the dishes, so the five people ate some snacks and talked while they waited. Sam said, ¡°Crimson House was my first restaurant. I¡¯ve been running it for over ten years now and sessfully made it into a global high-end food and beverage outlet.¡± It was very high-end, indeed. They never imagined that Sam was the owner of the famous Crimson House from overseas. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. While waiting for the dishes to arrive, Sophia went to use the bathroom and also calm herself down. When she came back out again, she saw how enthusiastic they looked and decided to treat this as a corporate team-building activity. Every one of them was busy taking and sharing pictures on various socialworking tforms. After all, not everypany had the means to invite all their employees to dine at Crimson House. Sophia had never been there before either. She admired the ce as she strolled around looking at the d¨¦cor when she noticed a wall full of pictures in the hall. Most restaurants had pictures of the restaurant¡¯s history on the walls or pictures of awards that they received. She noticed both old and new pictures on the wall which recorded heaps of historical moments at Crimson House. For example, the President having a meal there, a celebrity visiting the restaurant, being listed on the stock market, and so on. They also had pictures of several outstanding employees. Out of the corner of her eye, Sophia found an old and yellowish photo in a pile of photos. The woman in the photo was wearing a waitress outfit, and she had a beautiful face with fair and smooth skin. The old photo was not photoshopped, but the woman glowed like a lily flower in full bloom. Beside the woman was a young man who looked to be around the same age as her. The young man had a handsome smile, and his features seemed rather familiar to Sophia. Sophia was taken aback. Isn¡¯t this woman my mother, Annabel Johnson? Looking at the background in the photo, it was taken in this restaurant. She remembered Annabel talking about a restaurant she worked at in her diary. Cooper had also dined at that restaurant and the two fell for each other after several encounters. Does that mean Annabel once worked at this restaurant? ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe, isn¡¯t it?¡± Sam¡¯s voice suddenly crept up from behind her. He pointed to Annabel¡¯s picture. ¡°That is a friend of mine from my younger days. She worked at this Crimson House back then. But at the time, this ce was just a regr restaurant close to the university. See; that¡¯s me beside her. I never thought another person who looks so much like you could exist in this world.¡± The young man next to Annabel in the photo was Sam. He never had a two-shot with just Annabel. Cooper was also in that photo, but he was cut out. Sam always kept this photo on his desk. It had only been a few days since he put it up in this restaurant. Sophia smiled, but there was a bitterness behind it. I never imagined my mother knew Sam in her youth. Surely, this is fate¡­ However, she did not tell Sam about her rtionship with Annabel and asked instead, ¡°Where is your friend now?¡± Sam was slightly disappointed to hear that. He knew that Sophia was well-aware of the identity of the person in the photo, but she did not want to admit it. Though it made him sad, he also knew there were a multitude of reasons she did not want to admit to it so he did not impose on her. ¡°I went abroad after that. When I came back many yearster, I found out that she had gotten married in her hometown and I didn¡¯t contact her again.¡± He was looking at Sophia with desire and longing in his eyes as he stood next to her. She looks exactly like her mother¡­ Sophia murmured, ¡°A twist of fate.¡± Sam might not know that Annabel passed away more than two decades ago. Lowering his head, he forced a smile. ¡°Right, a twist of fate.¡± Chapter 697 Chapter 697 As they talked on their way to the booth, Sam said, ¡°After that, I bought this ce where she used to work at and expanded it to what it is today while keeping its original name, hoping that she would see it one day and drop by for a bit.¡± Sadly, that person will never show up. Sophia felt heavy-hearted but also grateful that, apart from Cooper, there was someone else in this world who remembered Annabel. To mask her low spirits, she joked, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem very likely. She might not be able to afford this high-end restaurant!¡± Theyughed and eventually returned to their booth to eat. That meal was a burden to everyone. Stanley couldn¡¯t help but feel like Sam had an ulterior motive. First, hees to ourpany and invests in us, then he even treats us to an expensive meal. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world! As expected, when everyone was close to finishing their food, Sam revealed his true intentions. ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s going to be New Year¡¯s soon and I¡¯m getting ready to go on a trip. I usually live alone so there isn¡¯t anyone to look after Corrado while I¡¯m away. I was wondering if you could help me look after him for a while.¡± Once he said that, everyone showed mixed reactions. Sarah¡¯s eyes lit up. Another dog to y with! Sean frowned. He¡¯s hiding something! Stanley¡¯s eyebrows shot up. That was it! Back then, Stanley also treated Sophia to a meal before asking her to look after Judge for him. He took the opportunity to bring it up once she was done eating so she did not have a choice. After that, Judge began living under Sophia¡¯s care at no cost. She could not get out of it even if she wanted to! Who knew Sam would use the same tactic? But Sam was such a big businessman; where wouldn¡¯t he be allowed to have a dog? Was there even a lack of people to look after his dog? Did he invest millions and treat everyone to a meal just to trick Sophia into looking after his dog? Sophia also thought it was questionable, but since finding out about Sam¡¯s friendship with Annabel, she somehow felt closer to him. ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± After all, it was just a dog. She already had two of her own at home and did not mind looking after another one. Sam was delighted when she agreed. ¡°It¡¯s settled then. I will wire the costs to your bank ount!¡± Sophia immediately waved her hands. ¡°Gosh, there¡¯s no need to talk about money between us!¡± Annabel had suffered throughout her life. She quit school at a young age and started working to support her brother¡¯s education. She was only eighteen when she returned home pregnant which would have only brought her disdain and nder from people. In the end, she gave birth to Sophia and died in despair. She had just turned neen when she died. Before even living a fifth of her life, she experienced all the despair and pain life had to give. Who would have thought that there was someone out there who still missed her? It was ratherforting, and it also let Sophia know that her mother was once cared for so dearly. On the other hand, Stanley was unhappy now. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org. As her nephew, he had not heard those wordse out of her mouth before. Who is this Sam guy? When did they get so close? Sean, however, saw through the whole thing. Sarah did not understand what was happening between them and was only thinking about ying with the dog. ¡­ The weekend rolled around the following day. Sam brought Corrado to Sophia¡¯s house along with its dog bed, small pillow, bone, toys, potty, and other belongings that filled up two whole trunks. The care requirements for Corrado were very different from those for Judge. Judge could sleep on the carpet and eat leftovers from Snowball. But for Corrado, Sophia even cleared out a whole room! It took half a day just to move all his daily necessities in and Sam had done it on his own. It was obvious how well he treated Corrado. While he was carrying Corrado¡¯s food through the door with a head full of sweat, Sophia quickly came over with a towel and wiped his sweat for him. He let out a breath and said, ¡°I¡¯ve lived alone all these years with only Corrado by my side. He is family to me. I personally oversee all his matters.¡± Seeing Sam move the things in on his own, Sophia decided to help move some things as well. When it was noon, he also stayed at her ce for lunch. After lunch, Sam bid a reluctant farewell to Corrado and went on his way. Corrado was not very lively as he was a bit frightened in the new environment. He did not know anyone except for Sophia, and only stuck by her side when she came home every day. In the past, Sophia did not allow pets to sleep in her room, but she started doing so by putting Corrado¡¯s dog bed right next to hers. She even made two outfits, one in neon pink and the other in neon green, for him to wear, so they would not identally step on him at night. On the other side of the globe, Michael was watching the surveince footage of Sam bringing Corrado to their house. It was the middle of winter but Sam was wearing a thin T-shirt as he went in and out of the house to move things. By the time he was done, sweat had soaked through his shirt and made it stick to his sturdy chest and abdomen, revealing his muscles and veins. asionally, he would lift the side of his shirt slightly to fan himself in front of Sophia. His messy hair had stuck to his sweat-covered head. Seeing Sophia tiptoe to wipe him off with a towel made Michael green with envy in an instant. That b*stard! However, there were some things that Michael had to deal with in Europe before he could leave. On top of that, he was also walking the red carpet at the Oscars. He waspletely tied up. Whatever. Besides, he only sent his dog over and left. There¡¯s nothing he can do now. Michael wanted to finish up everything in Europe before the year ended so he could head home to celebrate the new year. Thus, he did not have the time to watch the surveince footage at home for a few days. When he finally finished work and was able to watch the footage, he was furious. Sam did leave after dropping his dog off that day, but the dog waspletely spoiled. Sarah woulde over whenever she wanted to pet the dog. Apart from coddling and cuddling the dog every day, Sophia also let it into their room to sleep. The more infuriating part was when Sam came over again just after a few days to visit the dog. He left some more things at their ce, had dinner, and left without taking the dog with him. The next day, he was at their ce once more. As usual, he checked up on the dog, ate dinner, and left on his own. It looks like leaving the dog there was the first step. Now, he¡¯s using the dog as an excuse to meet up with Sophia all the time! While Michael was looking at the surveince footage that day, the sun was high up in the country he was in. He was dressed in a new outfit and getting his hair done by the stylist. In a few moments, he was going to attend the Academy Awards ceremony. It was already ten at night in Bayside City, but Sam had dropped by once again. Dressed in pajamas, both he and Sophia were cracking sunflower seeds in the living room and waiting to watch the live stream of the Oscars. Those were new pajamas that Michael had never worn before. I couldn¡¯t even bear to wear them myself! What right does Sam have to wear them? What is he doing at my house in the middle of the night wearing matching pajamas and watching television with my wife? Chapter 698 Chapter 698 Even though Stanley, Sean, Sarah, Nathan, and several nannies and bodyguards were also gathered around the television, Michael could only see Sophia and Sam. Heaps of awards would be presented at the awards ceremony today. Last year, an arthouse film that Michael starred in received multiple nominations. Michael was also nominated for the Best Actor award. The film informed the public of and criticized drug trafficking. Michael took on the role of a perverse murderer that was also a gambling-addict. With his refined acting skills, he led the whole film as the main actor in portraying the progression of a righteous policeman who turned into a despondent murderer due to drugs. The film garnered massive global attention and influence. It also won countless awards. This time, Michael was once again nominated for multiple awards. With this film, he might get his second Best Actor award. Hence, Sophia came home early today to watch the live broadcast. Sam hade over to see Corrado again when he ended up staying for dinner and watching the Oscars live broadcast with them. He was wearing a pair of new pajamas that Michael had never worn before. It was part of a matching set with Sophia and Nathan, making the three of them look like a family. Sam was even chatting andughing away with Sophia. Moreover, he was sitting in Michael¡¯s favorite spot! He was tantly stepping over his boundaries. Material ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael could not help but feel bothered by it. He wanted more than anything to fly home this instant and grab hold of Sam. But, Sophia was still eagerly watching the live broadcast; he could not leave just yet. In the meantime, he could only suppress his jealousy. Just you wait, you b*stard! Suppressing his anger, he made a phone call and said, ¡°Go home right now.¡± It was very noisy on the other end of the phone¡ªthere was a disorderly and chaotic mor. It was evident that this person had a very enriching nightlife. ¡°There are a lot of young, handsome men at home,¡± Michael added, then ended the call. Shortly after, his face appeared in the surveince footage at home. Sam was shocked to see Michaele home, but soon realized when he did not see an Adam¡¯s apple that it was Celine Fletcher, Michael¡¯s sister. She was dressed in shabby clothes. Her hair had grown out and was styled inyers on her forehead, making her look rather youthful. Hearing that there were many young, handsome men at home, she quickly headed home and found that it was true. Not only were Stanley and Sean there, Derek had alsoe over and so did Sam, an older handsome man. ¡°Cece, you¡¯re back,¡± Sophia greeted her. Celine hugged Sophia¡¯s shoulders and brushed over her tender cheeks before she replied, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± When Celine came home, she started acting flirty as she hugged Sophia all the way into the house and sat between her and Sam. As expected, Sam looked slightly annoyed. He knew about Celine and that Michael had such an entric sister. For some time, Taylor kept getting caught on camera for going in and out of nightclubs, and even hitting people. People assumed that the great Best Actor had been destroyed and his reputation was ruined. But, several tabloids reported earlier on that Taylor had a twin sister, and that the person at those nightclubs was his sister. Nheless, Taylor remained low-key on the matter and did not speak up on it. Later, various rumors started to spread and furtherplicate the issue. Sam, however, figured that perhaps it was all a smoke screen and that Taylor was actually the one who went out and messed around. His sister was simply a scapegoat and an excuse for him to clear his name. That dirtbag Taylor is not good enough for Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter. Cooper and Annabel¡¯s daughter has to be with a man who is unrivaled and wless, not a tainted sc*m like Taylor with numerous sex scandals! If Lucy disapproved of him, how could he be a good fit for Sophia? He¡¯s not good enough for her. Currently, in the living room, Celine was taking a very subtle stance. The spot that originally belonged to Michael where Sam was sitting in before had now been forcefully taken over by Celine. After Sam got pushed aside, Celine sat down and started flirting with him. She presumptuously pinched his face and praised, ¡°Oh, who is this hunk? I haven¡¯t seen him before. Is he here just for me?¡± The atmosphere in the room changed when she pinched him. Justin, who had tagged along with her, almost grabbed for a knife while Sam¡¯s face clouded over. After Justin silently pulled Celine¡¯s frolicking hand back, Sophia quickly said, ¡°This is a friend of mine. A friend.¡± On the inside, she was quietly hoping that Celine would behave herself. However, Celine was very interested in Sam. She reached out again to lift his chin and teased, ¡°Oh, he¡¯s a sight for sore eyes! I like him!¡± Sam was very unhappy now. With a straight face, he flicked Celine¡¯s hand away and said, ¡°I¡¯m Sam Edwards, the 9th Old Master of the Edwards Family.¡± Celine should have understood right away when he made himself clear, but that did not seem to be the case as she inched closer and made eyes at him. ¡°Oh! Are you angry? Wow. You look really good when you¡¯re angry too! I love this side of you.¡± Astonished, Sophia quickly pulled her back. ¡°Cece, the live broadcast is about to start soon. Let¡¯s watch it!¡± If Celine irritates him further, we will lose our investment. Finally, the live broadcast started. Celine behaved herself and focused on watching the broadcast. After all, it was another pinnacle in Michael¡¯s life. When the awards ceremony began, filmmakers and movie actors from all around the world started walking in on the red carpet. Michael and Harry also showed up on the scene. Michael reached a whole new level of attractiveness with his new hairstyle. He looked like a prince as he stood tall and handsome on the red carpet. Just by subtly lifting his hand, raising his eyebrows, and pursing his lips, he exuded an unparalleled manner and elegance. As the hot topic at this year¡¯s Oscars, he stood in the limelight and was the most dazzling figure present, gaining the attention of everyone who was watching. Sophia was almost intoxicated by the sight of him. While she looked at him intently, she was also ying with Judge¡¯s ear excitedly. My idol is too handsome! Meanwhile, Sam had been unhappy ever since Celine flirted with him, but seeing Michael put Sophia in a daze during the live broadcast made him even unhappier. He always thought that Michael and Sophia did not truly love each other, and that Sophia had gotten fooled by him. That dirtbag does not have any pure intentions. He took advantage of Sophia¡¯s young and na?ve nature and fooled her. When she grows up in a few years, she will regret marrying someone like him. On television, Michael was so dazzling that it was a bit difficult to look at him. Chapter 699 Chapter 699 The awards ceremony had begun. They were now announcing the award categories along with the winners in session. Sophia¡¯s nervous hands subconsciously pulled on Judge¡¯s fur as the results were being revealed. As expected, Michael¡¯s movie won the awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Screeny which immediately became a trending topic. When Sophia saw the announcement, she immediately looked down at her phone to send out a tweet. Fortunately, she had already made a draft of her tweet and only had to make a few adjustments before sending it out. She wanted to deliver the good news as early as possible. Shortly after, they announced the Best Actor for this year¡¯s Academy Awards, and Taylor, without falling short of expectations, won the award for the second time! He was the second Best Actor winner from Cethos and also the only Cethos celebrity to win the title for the second time. No, he might even be the first in all of Asia! Feeling overjoyed, Sophia started to send out tweets with her fur-covered and trembling hands. Michael reached the ultimate achievement as an actor and had even surpassed Elizabeth Murray. Standing at a new peak in the industry, he was now a superstar at the center of the world¡¯s attention. With the Oscar in his hands, Taylor looked at the camera and began his eptance speech in a fluent British ent. ¡°I¡¯m a man of film. I don¡¯t hope for my movies to only be a source of entertainment for the mass audience, but also for them to be able to relive the glorious days of the past, to contemte the darkness within human nature, and to make a change in this world. For being able to stand here today, I want to first thank my mother, Elizabeth Murray, who gave me the gift of performing. I would also like to thank my father, a soldier who had lost his life when I was very young. He was the one who taught me determination and to never give up in times of failure. I also want to thank my wife for being by my side and supporting me all these years.¡± He looked into the camera with a profound gaze as if he was talking to Sophia. Listening to his speech, Sophia suddenly burst into tears and buried her face in Celine¡¯s embrace as she continued to cry. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Celine was munching on some seeds. When his speech ended, sheined, ¡°He didn¡¯t mention my name! Why didn¡¯t he mention me?¡± Stanley, who was watching the live broadcast, thought, Why didn¡¯t he mention you? Can¡¯t you see why? But he did not say anything out of fear that he might get beaten. Once the live broadcast ended, everyone prepared to leave. Celine put down the sunflower seeds and went up to Sam with a coy look. ¡°Young man, which room are you staying in tonight?¡± Sam felt chills all over. ¡°Work came up at the office. I have to go now.¡± He quickly went back to the guest room to change, then proceeded to make his way out in a hurry. Initially, he wanted to take the chance to stay for the night, but Celine had terrified him. Thus, he quickly left, leaving the dog behind as usual. Before he left, he deliberately said, ¡°I¡¯ll be going overseas for a few days. Please look after Corrado for me.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Of course, no problem. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± These days, if Sam was not on a business trip overseas, he was on his way to a business trip. Whenever he did return to Bayside City, he was always buried in work. Therefore, Corrado continued to stay at Sophia¡¯s ce. Every time Sam came back from a business trip or before he went on one, he would drop by to see Corrado and have a meal. Because it waste that night, and Sophia had invited him over to watch the Oscars, she was willing to let him stay for the night and even let him wear a new pair of pajamas that Michael had never worn before. Since she prepared heaps of pajamas for Michael, he was unable to wear all of them anyway. By the time the awards ceremony ended, it was already eleven at night. A few others chose to stay at her ce instead of going home, so it was not a big deal if Sam stayed as well. Moreover, from Sophia¡¯s standpoint, Sam was a generation older than her. It was not convenient for him to drive home in the middle of the night. He was better off sleeping in her living room. Sam also wanted to stay, but unfortunately, he was frightened off by Celine who came home all of a sudden. From the back, Celine and Justin silently watched Sophia send Sam off. Isn¡¯t Sam the 9th Old Master of the Edwards Family? How did he and Sophia get to know each other? ¡­ On the other side of the world, Michael took his golden statuette trophy and was ready to go home. Right after the awards ceremony ended, he got on the private ne his wife sent for him and headed back. While he was watching the surveince footage during his flight, he was astonished to see what happened when Celine came home. If you evere again, Sam, don¡¯t get mad at me for locking you up with Celine! Because Michael wasing home soon, Sophia eagerly made herself extra clean and put on some face cream, then happily waited for him to get home. Michael¡¯s flightnded in Bayside City the next day. He dropped by Sophia¡¯spany to visit and ¡®rested¡¯ in her office for a bit. After work, he brought her out for a celebratory meal. Indeed, Michael was extremely happy to win the Oscar again. In the past, Elizabeth used to love performing. She wanted to act in movies and appear on the big screen. Unfortunately, after making her debut as a teenager, her na?vete led her to a fall out with her family and eventually took her on the wrong path. Even though she managed to find her way back againter on, for various reasons such as racial bias and her dark history, she never got a chance to receive an Oscar. It was her dream to win that trophy; a dream that Michael had fulfilled for her twice now. The day after they had their celebratory meal, Michael set off to a cemetery on the outskirts of the city to pay homage to Elizabeth. Sophia also set aside her multimillion business and followed along happily so they could pay their respects together.Perhaps his fans found out that it was his rule to visit his mother¡¯s grave whenever he received an award. Hence, the next day, Elizabeth¡¯s grave was surrounded by fans. Michael was extremely unhappy to see therge number of fans there, but he had already made the trip and he was going to pay his respects regardless. Michael shocked the whole world with his revtion that he was Elizabeth Murray¡¯s son. Many of Elizabeth¡¯s fans also came to her grave. At that moment, the two groups of fans with an age gap of a few decades between them stood before the grave. The urrence startled the guards at the cemetery. The police were also called toe and maintain order. Taylor¡¯s car arrived under the eyes of many. Sophia was the first one to get out, then Taylor followed after. Dressed in all ck, Taylor walked with heavy steps with a pair of ck sunsses that hid his expression from people. The fans started to cry when they saw him. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s really not fat at all!¡± Not fat at all! Our idol¡¯s beauty is still unrivaled! On the other hand, Elizabeth¡¯s fans also teared up from being gratified. ¡°Elizabeth¡¯s son definitely did not disappoint!¡± Suddenly, a second Taylor in a suit and leather shoes came out of the car. He was also dressed in all ck and was walking with heavy steps. The fans grew silent. There really were two of them! The mystery was solved. The times when Taylor was caught at a nightclub, fighting with people and ruining his reputation¡ªthose cases were finally solved now. As it turned out, Taylor did have an identical twin sister and that sister was the one who did all those foolish things. Michael kept it hidden and low-key to protect his family. The image of his subtle and caring attitude toward his family built itself back up again! Chapter 700 Chapter 700 In just a split second, all the attention shifted from the two Taylor Murrays to what Sophia brought with her. While the two Taylor Murrays set off firecrackers next to the tombstone, Sophia was burning some joss money. As usual, she was burning an SK2 suit and lipstick. This time around, she added a USB drive that contained the clip of Michael receiving the award, and a paper Academy Award trophy that looked hideous. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Michael frowned and he wanted to tell her to not burn the paper trophy that was hideous enough to terrify Elizabeth. Having thought about how she sacrificed her sleepst night to put that paper trophy together, he decided not to say anything. It¡¯s the thought that counts. They were in a hurry to visit the cemetery. Since the funeral supply store did not sell any paper Academy Award trophies, she figured she had to create one herself. After finishing the rituals at Elizabeth¡¯s tombstone, they managed to bypass all the sea of fans who were there and left in their car to the plot ofnd in the Memorial Garden that belonged to the Fletchers Family. After finding Theo¡¯s tombstone, they began paying their respects. Standing in front of the grave, Michael looked somber. He nced at the empty spot next to Theo¡¯s tombstone¡ªthat spot used to be where Justin and Celiney, but it was now empty. Perhaps, it¡¯s time to move Elizabeth¡¯s tombstone¡­ Michael felt that it was time to speak to the Fletchers Family about this. After all, he was part of the Fletchers Family, and Old Master Fletcher wanted him toe home. I can¡¯t possibly refuse to recognize my roots for the rest of my life. I think I¡¯m ready to face it. While burning the USB drive, Sophia burnt another paper trophy that looked even more hideous than the previous one. Standing in the corner, Nathan silently watched the earnest look on Sophia¡¯s face as she burnt the USB drive. He was eager to ask, Can you really burn a USB drive? After paying their respects, they were getting ready to go. At this moment, Nathan picked up a stick and poked at the pile of ashes until he found the undamaged USB drive. I knew it! On their way home, Sophia was happily reading the news on her phone. This time around, the two siblings had finally made the headlines together. Lord¡¯s finally getting his name cleared off the misunderstanding. Now that he won the Best Actor award for the second time and rified the rumors surrounding his weight, his poprity will surely skyrocket. Sophia was right. The hashtags #TaylorMurrayPayingRespects and #TaylorMurrayRealOrFake were already trending on Twitter. Michael had finally restored his public image. However, two other hashtags that had recently emerged quickly took over. #EddieFletcherAndPaperTrophy #EddieFletcherBurningUSB Sophia was rendered speechless when she saw that. Public opinion is really interesting. It¡¯s so easy for everyone¡¯s attention to sidetrack. Just seconds ago, everyone was still talking about Michael¡¯s weight and his twin sister. Now, their focus is on the hideous paper trophy that I burnt. By the time they arrived home for dinner, news attention was totally diverted. ¡®Breaking News: Taylor Murray¡¯s Female Roles Were yed by His Sister!¡¯ ¡®ssic Scenes of the Reserved Taylor Murray¡¯s Female Roles Were yed by His Sister. Warning: Excessive Pictures¡¯ ¡®Insider Tip-Off: Taylor Murray Is a Trash Actor as Sister Did Everything¡¯ While having dinner, Sophia put down the chopsticks on the table and started cursing, ¡°Son of a b*tch!¡± ¡­ Michael¡¯s tactics were right, after all. Everything would be fine if one ignored the public opinion on the Inte; once one made a public statement, all sorts of strange things would take ce. On the first day, the discussion revolved around the incident when Taylor was found at a nightclub. This completely ruined his reputation. After rification was made that it was actually his sister who went there, rumors about how all his female roles were yed by his sister emerged. There were even discussions going around that Taylor should split the award with his sister. On the third day, the news would probably zoom in on Sophia. Unfortunately, certain media reporters managed to get their hands on some trivial information on Celine such as her past as a special operation officer in the army. After getting hold of this, the reporters immediately came up with many rumors. The greatest gossip in the entertainment industry of Cethos came about: the twins worked together and entered the entertainment industry as one person! Taylor was not by himself. It was the coboration of the two. All his female roles were yed by his sister, including the fighting scenes, while he yed the normal roles. She was now recognized as the top unknown actor in Cethos! These siblings were seamless in ying their ovepping roles. This was why he managed to present a wide array of styles and characteristics in all his different roles, especially the female roles that he yed impably. Those were actually yed by his sister! Thereafter, the public dug out all of Taylor¡¯s films and analyzed every scene. They differentiated the ones that were yed by his sister and the ones that were yed by him. Some even proposed to lodge a comint with the Academy Award Committee¡­ The development of things was beyond Sophia¡¯s imagination. Sometimes, she felt that it would be better if she stopped reading the news. The more she read, the more she doubted the world and her life. Being utterly confused, she quickly reached out to Michael¡¯s crotch and let out a sigh of relief after making sure that his manhood was still there. While everyone was watching the rey of the Academy Award ceremony, Sophia had her head down all the time, staring at her phone. All sorts of emotions shed across her face: fright, rage, gratification, and disgust. She could not help fidgeting about, alternating between touching Michael¡¯s crotch and thigh. I can¡¯t bear looking at all this anymore. Michael was intrigued by what Sophia was reading on her phone. He leaned in and saw a huge title on an Inte article that read: ¡®Breaking News: Taylor Murray Is Intersexual! The Alleged Sister Is Just a Mask! Pictures as Proof¡¯. Michael did not know how to react to that. He quickly took her phone away, and this caused her to pout. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have something prepared for me as a surprise?¡± His words threw her fury back in her face. After hearing that, she quickly got up and said secretively, ¡°Just wait here.¡± Meanwhile, Michael waited in anticipation of that surprise from Sophia. The more erotic, the better! Hopefully, it¡¯s some role y costumes that we can use for an entire night of sex! She turned on theputer, entered ¡®Soul of Sniper¡¯, and logged in using his username. Before him loomed an entire set of customized equipment that no one had seen before. ¡°This is your personalized equipment goodie bag that I made for you!¡±The smile of excitement on Michael¡¯s face froze. He looked at Sophia and asked, ¡°Is there anything else? Sophia responded joyfully, ¡°Of course! Give me a minute!¡± She left and came back in just a few seconds with the fat Chrysanthemum in her arms. ¡°Chrysanthemum is pregnant. The kittens wille out after the new year! Isn¡¯t that a wonderful surprise?¡± The expectant smile on Michael¡¯s facepletely froze up. Chapter 701 Chapter 701 Seeing the excited look on Sophia¡¯s face, Michael forced a smile and pretended to have a good time ying video games with Sophia the entire night. In the end, they had also decided on a name for Chrysanthemum¡¯s kittens. Around 11 PM, Sophia was tired so she went to bed and fell asleep right away. It was a good night¡¯s sleep for Sophia. She had a thin nket covering her fair skin and body; the temperature and humidity in the room were perfect. As she was asleep, her cheeks were flushed and her ck hair covered her face. Lying next to her, he could not take his eyes off her beautiful face¡ªit was as if she had a magical aura around her. What a cutie pie¡­ As he lightly kissed her on the forehead, her eyes blinked gently, seemingly filling the air in the room with love and happiness. She¡¯s the best gift to me in the whole world ¡­ Sophia had a doctor¡¯s appointment. Ever since she wanted to have a baby, she had been consistent in having regr body check-ups, so that she could get rid of any hidden illnesses that would prevent her from having a baby. Since Michael was on leave today, he took her to the doctor¡¯s appointment. Afterpleting a general check-up, the doctor proceeded to do a scan for any gynecological diseases. The report that came out suggested that her body was in a good state, so she could get pregnant at any time if she wanted. As such, she had to take care of her body and not fall sick. Other than that, she had a decayed tooth and an impacted wisdom tooth. This situation required immediate attention as it would be inconvenient to take care of it after she got pregnant. If the condition of those teeth got worse, the pain would be unbearable. Hearing that, Michael immediately made an appointment with a doctor at a stomatological hospital. After the current appointment, he took Sophia there right away. Meanwhile, at the stomatological hospital¡­ ¡°Extraction?¡± Holding the X-ray film, Sophia jumped when she saw a horizontal wisdom tooth through the film. The dentist stated, ¡°Your wisdom tooth is inmed. Look at you¡ªeven your cheek is swollen. If you want to have a baby soon, you need to take care of this right away. Trust me; you don¡¯t want it to cause you any problems during your pregnancy.¡± Sophia could not help licking the wisdom tooth. No wonder that part of my mouth has been hurting and smelling bad recently. Michael nced at her face. I thought she put on weight. I didn¡¯t know that her face got swollen because of an inmed tooth. Michael became aware of the seriousness of the matter and immediately asked to schedule an operation. Fortunately, they managed to jump the line on that day for the dentist to fill the cavities. A couple of dayster, Michael took Sophia over for the wisdom tooth extraction. The dentist grimly exined the operation to Sophia, ¡°Your impacted wisdom tooth is fairly new, which makes it easier to extract. It has only started emerging above the gum recently. We¡¯re going to cut open your gum and halve the wisdom tooth before taking it out.¡±Upon hearing that, Sophia was dumbfounded. She immediately got up and wanted to leave. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m doing that. I don¡¯t want to do it anymore.¡± Michael wrapped his arms around her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There will be anesthesia. You won¡¯t feel a thing.¡± Sophia frowned bitterly and pouted. ¡°I don¡¯t want that¡­ It¡¯s so scary. I don¡¯t want to have an extraction anymore. I insist!¡± Holding her in his arms, Michael kissed her and consoled gently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m here. I¡¯ll be here the whole time during the operation.¡± Sophia rubbed her head against his chest and acted coy as she whined, ¡°Um. Hubby, I¡¯m scared¡­¡± Michael responded, ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯m right here. You don¡¯t need to be scared. Come and let me kiss you.¡± The two started kissing, which eventually made Sophia¡¯s fear go away. After they finished making out, they turned around and realized that everyone there at the busy clinic was disgustedly staring at them. That¡¯s gross! Look at this disgusting couple! Finally, Sophia underwent the operation. The operation was smooth, and that wisdom tooth was extracted sessfully. Even though the wound was stitched up, Sophia was nheless required to be hospitalized for two days for observation given the size of the wound. In the ward, while receiving an intravenous drip, Sophia was spitting out the blood from her mouth. Next to her, Michael was putting away the bloody tooth that was halved. He decided to stay in the ward to take care of Sophia. He brought her water and checked on her now and then. After she was done receiving the intravenous drip, he brought ice and ced it on her swollen cheek. Michael touched her somewhat pale face, and just as he was about to utter something, someone knocked on the door. ¡°Eh. What a coincidence!¡±In a patient¡¯s gown, Irene stood outside the door and grinned as she looked at Michael and Sophia. Irene came to the hospital for tooth extraction, but she did not expect to run into them here. Even though both of them had their teeth extracted, they looked entirely different. Sophia¡¯s face was swollen and pale while her wound would not stop bleeding; meanwhile, Irene looked fine and her skin was radiant. ¡°What a coincidence! Did you have a tooth extraction as well?¡± Michael nheless greeted her. Making herself at home, Irene came into the ward and sat down. She said, ¡°Uh-huh. I¡¯ve had a toothache on and off recently, so I decided toe here for a tooth extraction as well as a dental crown.¡± Once she opened her mouth, two rows of beautiful teeth loomed before Sophia¡¯s eyes. Well, at any rate, she¡¯s Michael¡¯s ex. As much as I hate her, I still have to pretend to smile. Sophia responded, ¡°What a coincidence.¡± Sophia tried not to say anything to prevent her wound from bleeding. Michael jumped in, ¡°You just had an operation. You should talk less. Come. Lie down and get some rest.¡± Afterying down on the bed, Sophia felt relieved that she no longer had to entertain Irene. After seeing Irene off, Michael returned and started attending to his work in the ward. N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. Since this was a private hospital and Sophia stayed at the most expensive ward, she did not have to share the room with any other patients. The next day, Stanley took Sean and Sarah to the hospital to visit Sophia. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Stanley was enjoying a pork knuckle when he stated, ¡°Aunt, you have to be careful with your diet for the next couple of days. You can only take fluids. Forget about things like pork knuckles. I¡¯ll eat them on behalf of you.¡± Since Sophia had a fresh wound in her mouth, she could not act rashly. Otherwise, she would definitely have strangled Stanley. Knowing that she could not eat anything solid, Stanley deliberately brought a bag of delicious food to the hospital and unboxed it in front of her. While the three of them dug in, she could only have her nd porridge. Every time after she ate something, she had to rinse her mouth with mouthwash that tasted bitter and horrible. After finishing their food, everyone departed, and Maria was there to put away all the trash. Sophia swiped her phone for a good while before deciding to take a nap. Meanwhile, Michael was nowhere to be seen. Thest time she saw him was when Stanley came over. Michael left the ward at that point and had not returned since, leaving Nathan by himself in the ward. At this point, Nathan was doing his homework while munching away at some fruit. ¡°Nichs, where¡¯s Daddy? Nichs¡¯ voice sounded out next to the bed. ¡°Daddy went out to take a phone call.¡± Phone call? Why is it taking so long? Recalling that Irene was around in the hospital, Sophia instantly had an ominous feeling. Perhaps he went to find Irene! Right away, she lifted her nket and jumped out of bed. She draped a coat over her shoulders and left the room. After pacing the hallway back and forth to look for Michael and failing to trace him, she instead saw Irene surreptitiously scurrying toward the stairs. Something¡¯s wrong! Alerted, Sophia quietly followed her. The stairs were dark, so she had to be quiet and gentle every time she took a step. It was dark and quiet as if she was catching someone having an affair. Just a few secondster, she heard a series of thuds as if something had rolled down the stairs. Following that, she heard a blood-curdling scream. ¡°Ah!¡± Chapter 702 Chapter 702 A loud scream turned the voice-activated lights on, and the small staircase lit up instantly. Sophia took two steps forward and saw a person lying in a pool of blood on the stairwell one floor beneath her. Isn¡¯t that Irene Weber?! ¡°Oh, my God!¡± she eximed in fright. Then, she ran to call for help. Fortunately, they were in a hospital. So, help arrived quickly, and Irene was ced in a hospital ward in a matter of minutes. As the first person to discover Irene, Sophia hurriedly followed and waited outside the emergency room with her assistant. Within a short time, many people arrived, including Irene¡¯s assistant, staff from the agency, leaders, members of the Fletcher Family, as well as arge number of reporters drawn by the possibility of a scoop¡­ ¡°Chica!¡± When Michael learned of the news, he frantically ran over. Upon his arrival, he saw Sophia standing in front of the operation room with a bag of ice held up to her swollen face. She was being interviewed by a group of reporters surrounding her. Meanwhile, the security guards of the hospital and Sophia¡¯s bodyguards were trying to chase away the reporters. However, their efforts seemed to be in vain as the reporters flooded into the room. Countless microphones, phones, and recording devices were practically hitting against Sophia¡¯s face. ¡°Miss Edwards, did you push Irene Weber down the stairs?¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t, why were you the first person to discover her after she fell down the stairs?¡± ¡°Are you jealous of her because she was Taylor Murray¡¯s first love?¡± Sophia said nothing. Putting on her mask and covering her face, Hale and Gemma escorted her as they pushed through the crowd to leave. Michael¡¯s face turned dark at the sight before him. When somebody came to visit Sophia just now, he had taken the opportunity to run some errands. To his shock, he returned only to learn that Sophia had pushed Irene down the stairs! Moreover, he heard about it on the breaking news! Although Sophia was jealous of Irene, who was his ex-girlfriend, she was not stupid enough to push Irene down the stairs. Upon noticing Michael¡¯s arrival, the massive horde of reporters rushed toward him, shifting their attention to him instead. Hence, arge number of reports surrounded him suddenly. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, do you know anything about this?¡± ¡°What are your thoughts on your wife, Miss Sophia Edwards, pushing Miss Irene Weber down the stairs and endangering her life?¡± ¡­ Surrounded by arge number of reporters, Michael signaled Hale with his eyes. Thus, Hale hurriedly brought Sophia back to her hospital ward. Moreover, he tightened the security outside the room, preventing reporters from entering. Sophia sessfully escaped from the reporters and swiftly returned to her hospital ward. Afterward, Michael led the reporters away, and the hospital finally became peaceful again. Even so, many leaders and members of the Fletcher family remained along the corridor. Before Michael left, he nced at the lights above the operation room that remained brightly lit. That sight seemed so familiar as if he had seen it before. Back then, Irene had rolled down the stairs and copsed in a pool of blood. When she woke up again, she hadpletely lost her memories of him¡­ After a while, he sessfully returned to Sophia¡¯s hospital ward. He rushed forward to check on her face; it was still as swollen as a bun. Still, it was better than this morning. Frowning, he asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t know what happened either. Hence, she honestly replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. When I arrived, I saw her falling down the stairs.¡± Recalling the pool of blood on the ground, her face paled with fright. Then, he quicklyforted her by patting her on the back. ¡°It¡¯s okay now; it¡¯s okay now.¡± She lowered her head, not daring to look at him as she softly said, ¡°I really did not push her¡­¡± When she said that, she tugged at his sleeve uneasily, seemingly worried that he might believe what everybody else was saying too¡ªthat she pushed Irene down the stairs. Smiling softly, he held the small hand tugging at his sleeve. ¡°You¡¯re not that stupid.¡± If she had pushed Irene down the stairs out of jealousy, he might even be a little happy. After all, it proved that she cared about him. However, on the off chance that she wanted to push Irene down the stairs, she had more than a hundred ways to prevent Irene from ever stepping out of this hospital again. Pouting, she said, ¡°It¡¯s true that I dislike her though.¡± Disliking her husband¡¯s ex-girlfriends was part of a woman¡¯s basal instincts. However, Michael had two exes. Out of these two, she disliked Irene the most. The other one was Lucy. Although she disliked Lucy as well, Lucy was very impressive¡ªso much so that she couldn¡¯t help admiring Lucy. Besides, Lucy had no feelings for Michael. On the other hand, Irene was different. She could sense that Irene was vaguely hostile toward her. Later, Michael went out to run some errands and bought some steamed egg custard back for Sophia while he was at it. The injury in Sophia¡¯s mouth had been stitched up. So, she could only eat some semi- solid food. Eating the steamed egg custard, she made a face. ¡°Why is it tasteless?¡± Touching her swollen face, he said, ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to eat any strong-tasting food for the next few days.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. She endured her displeasure and ate some more. When she saw him watching her, she ate in small bites. It made her look very adorable. Before she could finish eating, Hale came over and reported, ¡°Miss Weber has woken up.¡± Michael frowned. His ex-girlfriend had fallen down the stairs and only one person had been present at the scene. Right now, the inte and the news were saying that his current wife had pushed his ex- girlfriend down the stairs. As a man, he felt that he ought to step up. Therefore, he stood up and said to Sophia, ¡°I told Maria to pack up everything. When you¡¯re done eating, we¡¯ll go home immediately. For now, I¡¯m going to go and check on Irene.¡± Sophia quickly finished her steamed egg custard and said, ¡°I¡¯m done eating. I want to go too.¡± When they arrived in front of the hospital ward, they saw that many people were already standing both inside and outside the room. Many members of the Fletcher Family were there, including Joel and Stanley, who left not long ago but hurriedly returned to the hospital after hearing the news. Everybody¡¯s gaze fixed on them upon noticing their arrival. In particr, they were ring at Sophia resentfully. In response, Sophia gripped Michael¡¯s hand tightly. Holding her small hand in his, Michael gave her a reassuring look so that she wouldn¡¯t be afraid. Irene grew up without parents and was adopted by Joel¡¯s father. As her ex-boyfriend and her family member, Joel was already there. He walked toward Michael with heavy footsteps and said, ¡°She has been asking for you ever since she woke up.¡± Upon hearing those words, Sophia seemed to realize what had happened, and her hand tightened its grip on Michael¡¯s hand. On the other hand, Michael¡¯s eyes darkened. Letting go of her hand, he gently said to her, ¡°Wait for me for a bit. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± She could clearly feel her fingers that were clutching at his hand being pried off, one by one. The feeling broke her heart. Lowering her head, she made a nonmittal sound in reply; she was afraid to speak. After that, Michael pushed open the door and entered the hospital ward. He and Irene were the only ones inside¡ªeverybody else had left the room to wait outside. Meanwhile, Sophia found a ce to sit. She remained silent, not daring to say a word. Even so, she could hear the people around her whispering softly. It sounded like they were talking about her. Stanley sat down next to her, used his phone to scan the news, and discovered that some reporters had already released the news on the inte. The incident urred at the fire escape, which had no surveince cameras and no witnesses. However, Irene had fallen down the stairs, and Sophia was the first person to find her and call for help. Naturally, many questions arose. Why did Irene go to the fire escape¡ªa ce where there was nobody? Why was Sophia at the fire escape too? Was it a coincidence? Moreover, witnesses were iming that Sophia had followed Irene into the fire escape! Chapter 703 Chapter 703 All the evidence pointed toward Sophia. Everybody was saying that she had pushed Irene, her husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend, down the stairs. Moreover, some people on the inte even imed that they heard a fierce dispute between the two of them, followed by Irene falling down the stairs. Even Stanley felt a little skeptical. Using his elbow to nudge Sophia, he asked in a whisper, ¡°Aunt, was it you?¡± Sophia was in no mood to argue; she was feeling very depressed. Even if the entire world wronged her, it was enough if Michael believed in her. However, she was afraid that even Michael didn¡¯t believe in her right now¡­ There was only one bed inside the hospital ward. Ireney on the bed, weeping. She was hooked up on an intravenous drip. Her pale face was wet with tears and her frail body trembled as she sobbed. When she saw Michael walking in, she lifted her head to reveal a frightened and helpless expression peeking out from under her messy hair. Her forehead was wrapped in bandages and she was sporting a huge bruise on her head. Her pale lips trembled as she lifted her arm that was not hooked to the intravenous drip. Looking at the person standing in front of her, her voice shook with innocence and delight. ¡°Mikey? Is that you?¡± The soft and gentle way she called out the name ¡®Mikey¡¯ brought back fond memories from many years back. However, Michael¡¯s heart was cold and calm. Looking at him, her eyes sparkled with tears. ¡°Mikey, Mikey¡­¡± Her expression was both joyous and tearful as she said, ¡°You¡¯re finally here! You¡¯re finally here! They said that I hit my head when I fell and had amnesia. They im that it¡¯s 201X now. They¡¯re lying, right? It¡¯s only 200X, right?¡± 200X¡­ That was the year Celine and Justin had gotten into an ident. It was also the year Irene had hit her head and lost her memories. It was also the year Nathan was born. Nathan will be 9 years old next year¡­ Back then, the doctor said that Irene had hit her head, and a blood clot formed in her brain. That was why she suffered from amnesia. The fall this time around was a blessing in disguise¡ªshe had regained her memories. However, she had just awoken and her memories were a chaotic mess. At present, she could only remember the events from eight years ago. She had forgotten everything that had happened during thest eight years. Michael studied Irene¡¯s pitiful state. Then, he gently and slowly said, ¡°Irene, eight years have gone by.¡± His words were a huge blow to Irene. She stared at him in a daze; her almond-shaped eyes widened and filled with tears. After a moment, she looked pained and said incoherently, ¡°Impossible¡­ That¡¯s impossible¡­ It¡¯s impossible! How can that be?!¡± She was in extreme emotional distress¡ªso much so that she nearly suffered an emotional breakdown. However, he simply stood several meters away and looked at her indifferently. He watched as she cried in distress. Under normal circumstances, he would haveforted her with a hug. Even so, his feet felt as if they were nailed to the floor and he couldn¡¯t budge an inch. After all, it was all in the past¡ªit was meaningless to continue chasing after it. She looked like she couldn¡¯t ept the truth as she begged him with tears in her eyes. ¡°Mikey, I don¡¯t want to stay here. Please bring me away from here, okay? It¡¯s cold here. I¡¯m very scared. Can we please go home? What have we been doing throughout these eight years? Has our marriage application been approved?¡± In her memories, she was still his girlfriend, and they were engaged. At the time, they had nned to get married during the most depressing period after Celine¡¯s death to give him the courage to continue living. Mark had it all nned out to perfection. Since Nathan had lost his parents and Michael was feeling lost, he quickly made Irene and Michael marry each other. Not only would it give Michael a reason to live, but it would also give Nathan a proper family again. As Irene was part of the army, she was required to file a marriage application. The day before she submitted the application, she had gotten into an ident, and their marriage ns had been put on hold. Michael simply watched her quietly. When she finished speaking, he emphatically told her the truth. ¡°Irene, I¡¯m sorry. Many things happened in these eight years. I¡¯m married and I have a family now. But, you¡¯re not my wife.¡± Irene was shocked to the core by that information and stared at him incredulously. In her wide-eyed state, her tears flowed down like clear springs¡­ In the corridor, Sophia learned that Irene had regained her memories. Thus, she became more depressed and kept her silence. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Simrly, Stanley didn¡¯t dare to say anything anymore. Back then, he was young. Even so, he could still remember what had happened to Michael and Irene¡­ Now that things had progressed to this point, it was nobody¡¯s fault¡ªthey could only me fate for making fools of them all. The current situation was torture to Irene, but it was torture to Michael too. After Irene suffered her ident in the past, Michael became very gloomy and depressed. He lost his sister and his brother-in- law, and his girlfriend left him too. Even now, Stanley could vividly recall seeing Michael hiding in the wine cer as drunk as a skunk when he sneaked out of the militarypound to visit him. Harry had allowed him to take Nathan out of the cradle and hold the baby in his arms. Later, Michael held Nathan and wept soundlessly. That look of despair and hopelessness was something Stanley could still see in his mind. Over the years, Michael had slowly gotten himself together. Moreover, he had gotten himself a perfect wife. Still, Irene must have always been a thorn in his heart¡­ Right now, he was probably in a pickle. He was caught between a rock and a hard ce, having to choose between Irene and Sophia. One represented the joy when he was younger, and the other represented his eternal youth. Both were difficult choices, but Irene was also his first love¡­ Stanley, who normally had a sharp tongue, softened his tone tofort Sophia while patting her on the shoulder. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t think too much about it. Look; your face is swollen.¡± Sophia blinked, but her eyes were as dry as could be. All of a sudden, a despairing scream came from Irene¡¯s ward. It surprised everybody standing in the corridor. At the same time, Michael suddenly threw the door open and said, ¡°The patient is very distraught.¡± Arge group of people rushed into the hospital ward. Sophia stood up in shock and saw Michael walking toward her. Amid the chaos, he urately grabbed her hand and said in a low voice, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After saying that, he led her away by the hand. Turning her head to look back, she nced into the hospital ward. Irene seemed like she was unable to ept reality¡ªshe was screaming in agony and destroying everything around her like a madwoman. Then, Sophia turned the corner in a rush and couldn¡¯t see anything else anymore. Even the screams ringing in her ears gradually faded away too. She did not return to her hospital ward. Instead, she got in a car and went straight home to recuperate. Upon arriving home, Michael instructed the kitchen staff to make some liquid food for Sophia before locking himself up in the study. He was rather quiet today¡ªit was clear that something was up. Sophia knew what was going on. Thus, she chose to remain silent too. When she passed by his study, she heard him talking to Mark on a video call. ¡°Mikey, I¡¯m not trying to force you¡­ But, you need to choose between Rene and Eddie¡­ And, you can only choose one¡­¡± Chapter 704 Chapter 704 Sophia walked away before Michael could reply. She was afraid that she might hear an answer that would disappoint her. When Celine heard the news, she came back too. Sheforted Sophia by saying, ¡°It has nothing to do with her losing her memories! Back then, Irene believed that Mikey had no future because he refused to join the army and left to pursue a career in the film industry! Moreover, that little brat, Nate, was a burden she wasn¡¯t willing to bear. Since she couldn¡¯t find an excuse for their breakup, she pretended to have amnesia. Mikey knows that. Don¡¯t worry; he only has eyes for you.¡± ¡­ Sophia smiled weakly. The stitches on the wound in her mouth had not been taken out yet. Of course, I know that. But, Irene wants to return to Michael¡¯s side now. If Michael is swayed by her¡­ Then, Celine tried tofort her from a different perspective. ¡°It¡¯s okay. If you separate, then so be it. Look at me; if not for my children, I would have happily chosen to get a divorce a long time ago. Look at how lucky you are! You have a stable career and no children. Even if you divorce, you¡¯ll still be attractive. Besides, I can introduce you to more handsome men¡­ I believe Sam is a good choice. He¡¯s rich and handsome. More importantly, I believe he¡¯s interested in you. If you don¡¯t like older men, I¡¯m sure Linus is a great choice too. He¡¯s good-looking, wealthy, gentle, and young! In the worst case, that silly boy, Stanley, isn¡¯t too bad either. He has potential. Come on; it¡¯s not worth it getting heartbroken over a man! Men are all pigs!¡± Justin and Nathan, who were close by, had the same cold and indifferent look on their faces as they coolly watched the two women chatting. Haha¡­ During that time, Michael stayed in Bayside City to keep Sophiapany. He did not go anywhere else. Sophia rested at home for two days before going back to work¡ªeven before the stitches in her wound were taken out. She was rushing to set a good performance record for the year in preparation for New Year¡¯s. When she arrived at thepany, she noticed that everybody was secretly talking about her behind her back. She knew what they were talking about but couldn¡¯t be bothered to do anything about it. As soon as she arrived, Sarah ran up to her. ¡°Sofie, you¡¯re here! Quickly; look at the news!¡± Sophia knew that the entertainment news had been buzzing recently, but she was toozy to look at it. Even so, Sarah pushed her phone in front of Sophia¡¯s face. ¡°Sofie, look! Look! The media has gone overboard with this! You should file aint!¡± Photos of Sophia¡¯s swollen and makeup-free face had been published in entertainment magazines. In the photo, her brows were slightly furrowed. It was a full-frontal photo taken in high definition and was unedited. She had just finished her operation, and her condition had been poor at the time. However, that photo had been secretly taken and spread all over the entertainment news. Not only were her bare-faced photos circted on the inte, but they also had ridiculous captions attached to them such as ¡®Sophia Edwards Panicking At the Scene of Irene Weber¡¯s ident¡¯ or ¡®Sophia Edwards Suspected of Deliberately Causing Harm; Arrested by the Police for Investigation¡¯. Sophia knew the media would report the incident indiscriminately. Besides, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to care anymore. On the other hand, Sarah cursed at the reporters while reading the news. Then, she refreshed the page and discovered that all the news was gone; even Sophia¡¯s swollen, bare-faced photos were gone. Everything had probably been deleted. Even so, theizens seemed convinced that Sophia had pushed Irene down the stairs. In a short while, all of Sophia¡¯s public social ounts were overwhelmed by thousands of people. These people included Michael¡¯s disappointed fans, Irene¡¯s furious fans, as well as her own fans. These groups of people gathered together, and the atmosphere online was very lively. Knowing that Sophia was not in a good mood today, Stanley let her off early. Thus, she packed up and went home in the afternoon. When she returned home, Michael was not at home. So, she had a simple lunch before taking an afternoon nap. Unexpectedly, she picked up her phone to check the time after waking up from her nap and saw a pop-up notification on her phone stating, ¡®Secret Meeting Between Taylor Murray and Irene Weber Revealed¡ªOld mes Rekindled!¡¯ Curious, she clicked into the news and saw a high-definition photo that was secretly taken. Inside the photo, Michael and Irene were sitting in a caf¨¦ and seemed to be having a happy conversation¡­ The comments attached to the news article were full of blessings such as ¡®Get together!¡¯, ¡®What a matching couple!¡¯, and ¡®Divorce Sophia!¡¯. Within the span of a few days, the media had hyped up the history of love between Michael and Irene. The media reported that they were childhood sweethearts that were very much in love. The media also reportedly imed that they had gotten back together after missing each other for eight years. Even if they were secretly photographed on a date together, nobody had any issues with it, and their fans were encouraging them to get back together. It was as if the entire world was blessing their rtionship and wishing for them to get back together. Meanwhile, Sophia became the third party in the rtionship. She was painted as a vicious and cruel- hearted mistress¡ªthe greatest mistake in Michael¡¯s life. Everybody else believed that Michael did not love her, and she was the biggest obstacle in the romantic love story of the star-crossed lovers. In just a few days, fan-fiction of this tragic love story was already appearing all over the inte. As expected, they all featured Sophia as the mistress in the rtionship. Therefore, the fans were very happy to see the photo of Michael and Irene on a date! Haha¡­ Sophia felt as if she couldn¡¯t breathe. Thus, she hurriedly turned off the news. Getting out of bed, she washed her face and prepared to read a book. To her surprise, she had barely started reading when Maria said, ¡°Madam, the 9th Old Master is here.¡± Going downstairs, Sophia saw that Sam was already seated in the living room. Corrado, who was dressed in a neon pink outfit, sat next to him. It was wagging its tail and begging for pets. Meanwhile, Judge, who refused to wear any outfits, was also sprawled next to it. ¡°Hello, Master Sam.¡± Sophia greeted Sam as she came down the spiral staircase. Sam was dressed in ck formal wear today. It seemed like he came over directly after a meeting, bringing with him an air of elegance that seemed to surround professional elites. Moreover, he looked like he was a little tired from traveling. Looking at the pale-faced girl in front of him, he felt his heart ache for her. Even so, he smiled at her warmly. ¡°I just returned after a meeting overseas. I need to leave again in two days, so I thought I¡¯d drop by to visit Corrado.¡± Then, the two of them sat on the sofa to chat. Unfortunately, she was not in a good mood today, and their conversation died out after a while. Sighing, hefortingly said, ¡°Men have a hard time forgetting their first love. If it really came down to it, don¡¯t hesitate. It¡¯s better to nip it in the bud than to allow it to fester for a long time.¡± Those words of his came from the heart, and he was equally empathetic toward the situation. More than 20 years had gone by, but he was still unable to forget Annabel. Perhaps, it was because he was the cause of her untimely death. In any case, she upied arge portion of his heart¡ªshe was very important to him. Sophia felt her heart sinking into despair. She knew that she would need to face this issue as long as Irene existed, sooner orter. Thus, she forced a smile and said, ¡°Thank you, Master Sam. Things are not so bad yet, and I will never leave him.¡± He no longer wanted to continue with this topic. Therefore, he changed the subject and said, ¡°Alright, everything will pass eventually. If something upsettinges up, call me. I¡¯m good atforting people.¡± Sam brought many gifts with him. There were fresh flowers, gifts, jewelry, as well as nutritious, semi-solid takeaway meals from the Crimson House. The many gifts were piled up all over the ce. While they were talking, the security guard by the gate called to inform them that there were guests outside by the gate. ncing at the surveince camera by the gate, Sophia saw many people standing there. Stanley, Sean, Derek, and Sarah had rushed over after work; Joel and ude were standing by the side, dressed in casual clothes. A short whileter, a car drove up¡ªLinus verified his identity at the gate and was allowed inside immediately since he was one of the residents at The Imperial¡­ After getting off work, Stanley had specially gotten dressed up beforeing over. He was holding a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hand. Joel and ude were also simrly dressed up with bouquets in their hands. The three of them exchanged looks of bewilderment. Stanley said, ¡°Haha; what a coincidence.¡± Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Joelughed awkwardly. ude replied, ¡°Yeah, what a coincidence.¡± Chapter 705 Chapter 705 News of Michael and Irene rekindling old mes and the photo of their date had spread across Bayside City in a sh. Therefore, Michael¡¯s love rivals were itching to make a move, going around telling each other, trying to find a chink in the armor, and looking for an opportunity to slip in. As a result, they identally ran into each other. Three well-dressed members of the Fletcher Family entered the residential area and walked to the entrance of Vi No. 8. Then, they saw Linus, who was equally dressed up with a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hands at the entrance. The four of them looked at each other and smiled. However, their expressions changed immediately when they looked away. Upon entering the house, they discovered another dressed-up individual sitting in the living room. He had already handed his flowers over and finished saying whatever he needed to say. The sight of that man left the newly-arrived crowd feeling speechless. Looking at those people, Sophia looked shocked. Why are these people together? ¡°Linus¡­ Joel and ude! Why are you all here?¡± Linus put down his flowers and gifts. ¡°I heard you had an operation. Since I was still in Bayside City, I dropped by to visit you.¡± ude also replied, ¡°I brought some nutritious supplements as gifts. How is your body?¡± Joel said, ¡°I came to visit after hearing that you were sick.¡± With these bigwigs around, Stanley suddenly realized that he did not stand a fighting chance against them. Thus, he quietly put his gifts down and went to y with his dog. Sophia invited everybody inside and asked Maria to prepare some tea for them. After all, they imed that they were here to visit her. She also specially invited Linus inside. However, Linus felt very suffocated after the previous incident and left quickly after a short greeting. He had dropped by purely to visit her, but the rest didn¡¯t seem to have such pure intentions. Naturally, he had seen the news beforeing. Practically everybody in Bayside City knows that Michael had gotten back with Irene, so Sophia must be feeling very sad right now. Before he left, he deliberately said, ¡°Love is not everything in life. You still have a long life ahead of you. It¡¯s going to be New Year¡¯s soon, so cheer up. If you¡¯re free, you cane and visit me in Africa. I¡¯ll take you hunting.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± After seeing Linus off, her heart felt very heavy. She returned to the living room and saw the visitors ring at each other. Here to visit? As if! They¡¯re all here trying to take advantage of the situation to sneak in! Joel was expressionless, ude looked reserved, Sam was gritting his teeth, and Stanley was secretly observing them. Since dinnertime was just around the corner, Sophia said to them, ¡°Thanks for your concern. I only had a tooth extraction, and I¡¯ll be getting my stitches taken out tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you all stay for dinner?¡± To her surprise, the door opened again just as she finished her sentence. Another dressed-up individual appeared with a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hands. As soon as he walked in the door and saw the four other well-dressed men in the living room, his expression immediately darkened. Michael had been extremely busy all day long so that he could make it back in time for dinner. He even went out of his way to get a new haircut and buy a bouquet. He did not expect toe home to a house full of visitors. Moreover, the gifts, nutritional supplements, and flowers were piled all over the ce¡ª there was practically no room left for them to walk about. ¡°Dear, you¡¯re back!¡± Sophia happily came forward to wee him home and took the flowers from him. He replied with a cold expression as he changed his shoes and entered the house, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back.¡± He walked inside with a chilly expression and nced at the people in the living room. Sarah, Sean, and Derek were not involved in the matter, and Ivan was hugging a cat while drawing up designs in a corner of the room. Under that chilling re, Stanley jumped out of his skin in fright, Joel was undaunted, ude had a clear conscience, and Sam was expressionless. ¡°Haha, what a crowd!¡± Michael said grimly. Sophia replied in her usual tone, ¡°They came to visit me after hearing that I had an operation.¡± Then, she added, ¡°Linus came over too. But, he has already left.¡± From her perspective, they were simply there to visit her. Even if their intentions were seen through, they were fearless. It was as if they had expected that Michael would rekindle his rtionship with Irene and break up with Sophia soon. Michael frigidly said, ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t you have dinner before you go? I¡¯ll excuse myself for a moment. I need to change my clothes.¡± After that, he went upstairs to change. Stanley took the chance to follow him and hurriedly begged for mercy. ¡°Uncle Michael, please believe me. I really only came to visit her!¡± He felt like he was about to be murdered. Meanwhile, Michael changed his clothes and studied Stanley coolly. It¡¯s not the first time this silly boy has tried to take advantage of the situation. He sure doesn¡¯t know his limits. Doesn¡¯t he realize that he is incapable of snatching Sophia away? Besides, Stanley isn¡¯t the problem; I¡¯m more afraid of the others. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Over the past few days, he had been very busy. He discovered that somebody with arge influence was manipting public opinion from behind the scenes. He had invited Irene out today to discuss holding a press conference to disclose the truth. He wanted to clear Sophia¡¯s name. However, he had not expected to be secretly photographed. Moreover, the news instantly became a hot topic on the inte within a short period. It seemed like the entire Bayside City thought that he had reconciled with Irene, and Sophia was about to be thrown aside. After watching the news intently over the past few days, he found something strange. The media seemed to be exaggerating the rtionship he used to have with Irene. The media imed that they were star- crossed lovers or that they missed each other by a strange stroke of fate. It was as twisted as it could get, and it made Sophia into the other woman that had stepped in between them. The story was going in a strange direction. Besides, the driving force behind it was very powerful¡ªby manipting public opinion, it had caused the entire world to wish for him to get back together with Irene. He had seen many simr methods of manipting public opinion in his time, but they had never been as aggressive as this. The mastermind behind the scenes was very skillful¡ªat the very least, they were leagues better than Richard Harper had ever been. That person had created such a strong public opinion. However, the aim was not to force Michael and Irene to get back together. After all, Michael would not reconcile with Irene just because of the pressure of public opinion. Therefore, that person¡¯s aim was Sophia. If the whole world was wishing for Michael to get back together with Irene, Sophia would definitely be upset. Moreover, it would cause an undue amount of psychological stress. The identity of the culprit is obvious¡ªit¡¯s one of the men boldly trying to seduce my wife in my living room right now. Was it Joel? ude? Sam? Stanley? Or, was it Linus? ude isn¡¯t capable enough to do this, and Stanley doesn¡¯t have the guts. So, the circle of suspects narrows¡­ Upon seeing Michael¡¯s cold gaze and silent demeanor, Stanley anxiously said, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m telling you; the three of us are just the beginning! When the old man heard that you had gotten back together with Irene, he swiftly gathered all the unmarried men in the family that are below 30 years of age! The main force ising soon! As you know, the old man hates your guts. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s something new. Moreover, you¡¯re over 30 while Aunt is in her early twenties. He would also be happy if you reconciled with Irene. He wants to find a man who is better than you for her.¡± Michael was so furious that he felt like rolling his eyes. He had been trying to investigate the mastermind behind this incident over the past few days. I¡¯m too busy for this! Why is the old man causing trouble for me at a time like this?! He smiled viciously and said to Stanley, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, call up everybody who wishes to visit and invite them here. In two days, I¡¯m taking your aunt with me on a vacation. We won¡¯t be home for the New Year¡¯s, so the house will be empty.¡± Stanley didn¡¯t know what Michael¡¯s n was. Even so, he swiftly went to make a phone call. When he was done, he came back to report, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯ve made the calls. They will be assembled in 10 minutes and will arrive within 30 minutes.¡± Michael felt speechless. From the way he talks, it must be quite a lot of people! Chapter 706 Chapter 706 Stanley looked at Michael suspiciously and asked, ¡°Uncle Michael, is it true that you¡¯ve gotten back together with Irene?¡± Michael rolled his eyes in response to the question. Afterward, Stanley shuffled away with his tail between his legs and went to the kitchen to give some instructions. Many people will being soon; there might not be enough food to go around for dinner. This time around, the numbers are truly staggering! Inside the living room at that moment, Sophia, Sam, Joel, and ude were having an awkward conversation. Joel bluntly said, ¡°I heard about Mikey and Irene getting back together. Despite being with me for so many years, Irene has never loved me. I¡¯m certain she still loves Mikey.¡± He doesn¡¯t love you; come with me instead. ude quickly added, ¡°Don¡¯t be too sad. You need to keep looking forward in life.¡± For example, look at me! Sophia was rendered speechless by them. Last night, Michael informed me in advance that he was going to meet Irene and discuss holding a press conference. Therefore, I had mentally prepared myself for this. But, why does it feel like the whole world knows that I¡¯ve been dumped in just a few hours? Sam said nothing. He was like a spectator by the sidelines, secretly observing everything. However, he coldly mocked them in his heart, What a bunch of scumbags! All of a sudden, Stanley walked over and told Sophia, ¡°Aunt, the old man is sending some people over to visit you. Quite a lot of people will being. So, I asked Maria to bring out some extra chairs and benches just in case we run out of seatster.¡± Huh? Old Master is sending some people over? Also, quite a lot of people will being? Sophia stood up and went to discuss with Maria about bringing out more chairs. Meanwhile, Joel and ude looked very upset while Sam looked puzzled. When they say quite a lot of people¡­ how many do they mean? 10 minutester, Celine opened the door and entered. Then, she loudly called out, ¡°Mikey! Sofie! You have guests!¡± Michael changed into a set offortable clothes and came down from the second floor. Sophia stuck her head out of the kitchen and everybody looked toward the front door in unison. After Celine entered, she was followed by a well-groomed young man dressed in a suit and holding a bouquet in his hand. He looked to be in his twenties, had bushy eyebrows, and hadrge, lively eyes, which made him look very masculine. Behind that young man, another young man in his twenties followed. This man had a sharp and angr face with soft and pleasant facial features. He was also dressed to the nines and held flowers and gifts in his hands. After that, a third young man followed. This person had a cold but handsome face as well as a sharp aura around him. His expression was stiff and frozen, and his steps were steady as he came in with a bouquet. Then, a fourth young man followed. This man had a warm smile as gentle as a spring breeze and his enchanting eyes were very attractive. He gave off the impression of a loyal and caring little puppy¡­ Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Row after row of attractive young men holding fresh flowers in their hands came inside. They were all dressed neatly. Soon, the living room was filled with well-dressed unmarried men in their twenties. It was the first time Sophia ever felt that her living room was small. Michael stared at the sight before him nkly. This is a f*cking toon! Just how much does the old man hate me?! How dare he prepare an entire toon to take my ce?! Sam was also stunned by the aggressive and imposing behavior disyed by the young men of the Fletcher Familying to ¡®visit the sick¡¯. Still, the most shocked of them all was Sophia. Aren¡¯t these the young men of the Fletcher Family that I went on a blind date with back at the hospital?! How long ago was that?! I can¡¯t believe the Old Master was reserving them for me! Subsequently, Celine sat Sophia down on the sofa as the toon of young men vigorously arranged themselves into several rows. They were of equal height, wore the same clothes, had the same expressions, and stood in identical poses. Moreover, they held flowers in their left hand and a gift in their right¡ªeven the flowers and the gifts were exactly the same. Hence, they had more order than a military parade as they stood there, waiting for Sophia to take her pick. This atmosphere; this sight before me¡­ I¡¯m sure even the selection of concubines for emperors in the past couldn¡¯tpare to this¡­ Thus, Sophia feltpletely speechless by the disy in front of her. Meanwhile, Justin was expressionless as he carried arge stack of resumes in his arms and stood by the side. Picking one up, Celine nced at it and called out the name. ¡°Gary Fletcher! Step up!¡± Among those rows of young men, somebody yelled out, ¡®Yes, ma¡¯am!¡¯. Then, he stepped out of formation with sonorous footsteps and walked over to Sophia with a straight gaze. Flipping through the resume, Celine was very serious as she introduced the man, ¡°Gary Fletcher; unmarried 27-year-old male. 183 cm tall and weighs 75 kg; he holds the rank of a major. He is an Aries with blood type A and has a gentle temperament¡­¡± After the introduction, Gary handed the flowers and gift to Sophia while saying, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, Sophia. I heard your operation went well, so I came to visit you. This is just a small token of my respect and sincerity.¡± Sophia was almost frightened by this disy. Thus, she dazedly epted the flowers and gift. ¡°Take a seat. Why don¡¯t you stay for dinner before you leave?¡± As Gary found a ce to sit, Celine took another resume from Justin. Calling out the name on the resume, another young man holding flowers in his hand stepped out of the formation. It was the first time Sam had ever seen an operation on this scale. Hence, he sighed in amazement. Although it was not the first time Michael was faced with the old man¡¯s crazy antics, he still nearly passed out from anger. Fine! Do what you want! He silently took up a spot in a corner and watched Celine carrying out Old Master¡¯s orders as she introduced the entire toon of young and excellent bachelors from the Fletcher Family to Sophia. Sophia was overwhelmed after being bombarded with an entire toon of young men. So, she could only smile awkwardly and tried to look for Michael. However, Michael had been squeezed into some hidden corner¡ªshe couldn¡¯t find him anywhere. In the end, several tables were set up in Vi No. 8 for dinner. The sudden appearance of the visiting army had caught the kitchen staff off-guard. Fortunately, dinner somehow passed without issues. After dinner, Celine left with her visiting army. Before she left, she pushed the stack of resumes into Sophia¡¯s arms. ¡°I¡¯ll send them back to rest. If you are interested in any of them, don¡¯t be shy and give them a call.¡± That tone of voice¡­ It¡¯s like this was an interview. Joel, ude, and Stanley left together with the visiting army. Sam, who had been ignored all night, left grumpily too. Naturally, he continued to leave his dog with Sophia. After all the visitors left, the house suddenly became quiet. The flowers and gifts piled up haphazardly in the living room¡ªthere was no longer any ce to walk. Maria was slowly going through them, but Sophia was still feeling faint. Michael stared at the pile of presents in the living room with a dark expression. Haha¡­ Although he was furious at the Old Master¡¯s actions, it also made some of his love rivals that were secretly trying to make a move aware of their ce. Even if they got rid of him, a whole toon of excellent young men from the Fletchers was waiting to take his ce. Just who do they think they are?! Michael sat in the living room and went through the resumes of the toon members that Old Master had prepared for Sophia. Wow, the requirements are quite strict! ording to their resumes, the handsome young men ranged from 22 to 30 years old. All of them were single and unmarried, had no prior criminal records or hereditary diseases, and had good careers and excellent parents. Moreover, a photo that exposed the upper half of their bodies was included with each resume. Each one of them was posing to show off their muscles and broad chests. How incredibly vulgar! Looking at the r¨¦sum¨¦s, it probably took quite a long while to gather them and organize them in such a manner. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t something that could be prepared within a day. Old Master is really doing his best to get Cooper¡¯s genes! Chapter 707 Chapter 707 m! Michael angrily mmed a pile of r¨¦sum¨¦s on the table. After a while, Nathan sneaked over and took them away¡ªthey still had their uses. Sophia took a bath and went to bed after settling her work. What a crazy day¡­ I can¡¯t believe so many things happened in such a short time. And, all I did was a tooth extraction! Simrly, Michael was done with his work for the day andy down beside her. They were silent for a moment, staring at the fish projected on the ceiling in a daze. Suddenly, he turned around and hugged her. ¡°Can I do it today?¡± She resolutely rejected him. ¡°No!¡± The stitches from the wound in my mouth have not been taken out yet, and he wants to kiss me?! Don¡¯t even think about it! Ever since the tooth extraction surgery, Michael had been holding himself back. Although the operation didn¡¯t affect much, it was still surgery. It was rather unreasonable of him to want to make love to her after she had just gone through an operation. Therefore, they had not had sex for the past few days. He couldn¡¯t even kiss her on the mouth for fear of causing an infection. Since she wasn¡¯t willing, he fondled her slightly and rubbed against her. After a while, he finally managed to turn her on¡­ When they woke up the next day, Sophia was absolutely glowing; she was in a wonderful state. Thus, she energetically headed to the hospital to remove her stitches. Meanwhile, Michael left early in the morning to work on his own affairs. It was the end of the year. Coupled with Irene¡¯s incident, he was hounded by a lot of work and couldn¡¯t spare any time. Hence, Sophia went to remove her stitches alone. Her recovery was going very well, and she sessfully had her stitches removed. As she was leaving the hospital, she noticed a furtive figure hiding in a corner. Irene? She raised her eyebrows when she saw the figure. She must have obtained the information in advance and came here to ¡®coincidentally¡¯ run into Michael¡­ It¡¯s too bad for her, but he didn¡¯te today. Over the past few days, she kept seeing Irene through the surveince camera monitoring the gate. Irene wasn¡¯t passing by. Rather, she stood at the gate and refused to leave. When she failed to meet Michael, she would leave on her own ord. Her actions had been photographed by the media, and the photos were posted on the inte with captions such as ¡®Irene Weber Waiting for Taylor Murray in the Snow All Night¡¯ or ¡®Girl in Love Waiting for the Man Who Betrayed Her¡¯. It stood to reason that Sophia, the vicious and cruel wife, had to do something in retaliation after something like that urred. For example, she would call out the weak, fragiledy and throw some money in her face while saying, ¡°Take this money and leave him!¡±. Or, hire some thugs to ravage the pitiful woman. At the very least, she should scold and threaten the pitiful woman through the phone. Otherwise, where would the majesty of the official wife go? Where would the aura of the vicious and cruel wife go? However, Sophia never came forward nor made any calls. It waspletely quiet¡ªalmost as if nothing had happened. She had left everything to Michael. After meeting with Irene once to discuss holding a press conference, Michael did not have any private contact with Irene again. As a result, Sophia never came forward herself. She did not approach Irene and avoided all contact with Irene to prevent people from exploiting any loopholes. Even if she saw Irene, she didn¡¯t want to talk to her. I have nothing to say to her. At this point, whoever made the first move would be the loser. After all, people with cards to y and the confidence to back it up had nothing to fear. Irene still had bandages on her head, and they made her look very pitiful. Moreover, she did not seem to have the maturity of a 30-year-old. Those pure and innocent eyes of hers made her look more like a woman in her early twenties. Sophia got into the car as if she had not noticed Irene¡¯s presence. Then, Nichs nimbly followed her into the car. Just as the car door was about to close, Irene finally couldn¡¯t hold herself back and stepped out from the corner. She called out loudly, ¡°Sophia, please wait for me!¡± It was snowing today, and Sophia was wearing a thick mask to keep warm. When she heard Irene¡¯s voice, she took off her mask and asked, ¡°Irene, how can I help you?¡± The way Sophia addressed Irene was light. However, it contained a strong sense of confidence and poise. It was as if the ident had not happened¡ªnothing had ever happened between them. Irene walked over and stood outside the car. After hesitating for a while, she took out a small item from her handbag and handed it to Sophia with both hands. ¡°This is the amulet Mikey received when he went to the temple at 18 years old. Ites in an exact pair¡ªone for me, and one for him. This was a token of our love, and I¡¯ve kept it with me all these years¡­¡± As she spoke, her voice choked up. Looking at the amulet in her hands, she looked very reluctant to part with it. Even so, it was something she had to abandon. Gathering her courage again, she continued, ¡°It¡¯s no longer possible for Mikey and me to have a rtionship again. So, I should return this amulet to him now.¡± She brought out the amulet. The amulet was small, and the color was faded. One could tell that she had carefully kept it safe for all these years. If Michael saw this, I¡¯m sure he would feel touched. After so many years, I¡¯m sure he is still keeping the other half of this amulet¡­ Sophia stared at the amulet and fell silent. During the short silence, Irene¡¯s pure and innocent gaze flickered, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly¡­ However, several seconds passed and Sophia withdrew her gaze. Smiling at Irene warmly, she said, ¡°Keep the amulet. After all, it¡¯s a beautiful memory between the two of you.¡± The rtionship between Michael and Irene was not something that could be brushed off. After all, Irene was Michael¡¯s first love, and they created many beautiful memories together in the past. Besides, Sophia had never intended to run away from this matter. Although she felt a little unhappy whenever she thought about it, who did not have a past of their own? Acting like somebody who had experienced it all before, sheforted Irene by saying, ¡°The past is in the past; you cannot continue to dwell in it. You should look to the future instead. Taylor has a new amulet¡ªone that I gave to him. So, he stopped using this amulet a long time ago. Even if you returned it to him, it has already lost its meaning.¡± The amulet Michael had right now was the same one Cooper had given to Annabel¡ªit was a pair with what Sophia had. Irene seemed taken aback. She probably did not expect Sophia to be so magnanimous. Lowering her head, her eyes immediately filled with tears. Teardrops hung from her eyshes as she whispered, ¡°I know¡­ I know that¡­ Taylor has been avoiding me recently because he doesn¡¯t want to meet me. I know¡­ So, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll hold a press conference. I won¡¯te between the two of you.¡± Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. That tone of voice and that expression¡­ Irene looked like she had been gravely wronged. It was as if Michael had thrown her aside and married his new lover. It was as if she was a weak, fragiledy that had been abandoned by the world. It was as if Michael was avoiding her and refusing to meet her not for ack of love, but because Sophia did not allow him to. Looking at her, Sophia felt extremely guilty. But, I¡¯m not a saint. So what if she looks pitiful? That¡¯s my husband! Seeing that Irene was still standing in front of her car door and refusing to move, she kindly gave a reminder. ¡°I have a dog with me.¡± As soon as she said that, arge dog¡¯s head popped out. Stretching its neck forward, the pure ck dog stuck its head out toward the amulet in Irene¡¯s hand and tried to sniff at it. Irene was inherently afraid of dogs. Therefore, she was so frightened by the big dog that appeared that she staggered backward several steps. Perhaps, the ground was slippery. As she stepped back, she slipped and fell on her butt. On the other hand, Corrado seemed to find it fun. Jumping out of the car, it walked toward her. That scared her so much that she began screaming. Thus, Hale quickly grabbed Corrado and stuffed him back into the car. Soon, the car drove off, leaving behind Irene as she sat on the ground by the side of the road with tears of fright streaming down her face. As a result, a shocking headline made the news again that night. ¡®Shocking! Eddie Fletcher Set Her Dog on Irene Weber in a Fit Of Rage!¡¯ Chapter 708 Chapter 708 Michael arrived home after finishing his work and saw that strange piece of news. The photographer had chosen a good angle when taking the photo. The photo happened to capture the time when Corrado rushed down the car and headed toward Irene. Irene was retreating in horror as Corrado rushed forward fiercely. Meanwhile, Sophia was sitting in the car and watching the scene unfold coldly. How vicious! Michael called Danny and instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to delete the posts.¡± Since the mysterious mastermind liked to spread rumors and create trouble, he would keep deleting all the posts that appeared. However, news on the inte could not be curbed simply by deleting the posts. It would continue to be posted even after being deleted. Moreover, they were not just deleting posts, they were also deleting some of the ridiculous fan fiction. In those books, Sophia had been painted as the world¡¯s greatest viin. Despite knowing about Irene¡¯s fear of dogs, Sophia had deliberately set her dog on Irene! How could she be so heartless?! Combined with the rumor of her pushing Irene down the stairs, she had been completely viinized and turned into a cruel, heartless woman! Contrary to her expectations, she didn¡¯t manage to kill Irene. Rather, she identally made Irene regain the memories she lost. In the meantime, Taylor finally saw her for who she was and dumped her. Truly, what goes aroundes around! As the inte was going crazy over the news, Irene held a press conference to exin the recent incidents. During the press conference, her head was still wrapped in bandages, and she looked anemic and haggard. Facing the cameras and the reporters, she rified in a weak voice, ¡°Back at the hospital the other day, I fell down the stairs myself. It had nothing to do with Miss Sophia Edwards.¡± She lowered her head and studied the draft in her hand, not daring to look into the camera. However, her face was full of sorrow and disappointment, her eyes were filled with tears, and her voice was choked up. It felt as if somebody was holding a gun to her head and forcing her to say those words. ¡°As forst night¡¯s incident, it was an ident. I fell by myself. It had nothing to do with Miss Sophia Edwards either. So, I hope everybody will leave her alone. I sincerely wish that Taylor and Miss Edwards will have a happy and blissful life together.¡± After saying that, she quickly left the scene under the escort of her manager. As she left, tears streamed down her face. She had obediently held the press conference as Michael had instructed and rified the truth. However, the press conference was useless. With her performance, everybody became certain that Sophia was the evil one. Moreover, she even forced Irene to lie. What a vicious woman! Afterward, Irene pitifully called Michael. Sobbing helplessly, she said, ¡°Mikey, I think I messed things up. I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± Listen to that tone; how innocent and hopeless. She wanted to help but messed things up instead. Moreover, she stupidly tried to take all the me on herself too. Under these circumstances, I¡¯d be an a*s if I said anything harsh. Thus, Michael gently replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You did nothing wrong. You did your best.¡± Then, she burst into tears again. It felt like they went back 10 years into the past; she was an innocent and na?ve girl and she cried until her words slurred together. ¡°Mikey, I want to see you.¡± Most men would not be able to refuse at a time like this. Her n was so thorough; she was the one who had been pushed down the stairs and she even held a press conference just because Michael asked her to. Although she messed up, it wasn¡¯t her mistake. She simply wanted to help. Could Michael still be considered human if he couldn¡¯t even grant her such a humble request? Michael felt slightly regretful. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t. I¡¯m at the airport. I¡¯ll be leaving the country soon.¡± Sure enough; he was at the airport. Hale was next to him, carrying the luggage. Sophia was eagerly walking in front of him and Nathan seemed excited too as he walked beside Sophia with three dogs on leashes. Then, the family of six¡ªthree humans and three dogs¡ªboarded the private ne. Irene asked pitifully, ¡°When will you return?¡± Michael replied, ¡°After the New Year¡¯s. I¡¯m boarding the ne. Bye.¡± After hanging up, he threw his phone to Hale and said, ¡°If she calls again, tell her I¡¯m busy.¡± Hale nodded in response. Bayside City was unnaturally cold this year and Sophia was sick of the cold. Besides, there were a lot of worries in the city. Hence, Michael decided to bring his family to a warmer ce to celebrate New Year¡¯s. As for Irene¡­ Haha¡­ Irene grew up in the militarypound. Her parents lost their lives protecting their comrades while on a special mission. For that reason, Michael didn¡¯t want to go to the extremes. Right now, we are testing each other¡¯s limits. She is testing my limits. At the same time, I¡¯m waiting to see just how far she is willing to go. If she oversteps my boundaries, then she can¡¯t me me for using cruel means! All of a sudden, a car screeched to a stop at the airport. Then, Stanley barreled out of the car carrying a suitcase, and Sean was behind him. ¡°Uncle Michael! Uncle Michael, wait for me! Wait for me!¡± Stanley looked like a husky running with all its might as he rushed up the ne. Then, another car arrivedte. As soon as it came to a stop, Sarah and Harry came out of the car and boarded the ne. The ne took off quickly, bringing a group of people overseas for a vacation. It was very lively on the ne. Michael had confiscated Sophia¡¯s phone, so she brought many books to keep her upied during her free time. At the moment, she was trying to put an outfit on Judge. However, it refused to be dressed, preferring to run naked. Thus, Sophia and Judge were in a tug-of-war, and she wasughing away happily¡­ Looking at her smiling face, Michael felt his spirits lifting. After she removed her stitches, she recuperated at home for several days. Her diet was gradually returning to normal, and she was looking forward to her vacation during the New Year¡¯s. In the past, she had always celebrated it at home. Therefore, it was her first time celebrating elsewhere, and it felt a little strange. Soon, news of Taylor bringing his beloved wife on a vacation overseas via a private ne broke out. When Irene saw the news, she trembled with anger. So, when he told me he was going overseas, he was doing it to apany Sophia?! Does he still have feelings for me?! I¡¯ve already done so much for him. Can¡¯t he see the ¡®truth¡¯?! Will he only believe me if I use Sophia of pushing me down the stairs and almost killing me?! After a moment, she forced herself to calm down. I know I still have a chance. I know he still has feelings for me. After all, I was his first love! We grew up together! How could Sophia possibly rece all those years we spent together! Currently, he doesn¡¯t dare to rely on me. I guess I have to praise Sophia for her tenacity. She is doing her best to keep him dancing in the palm of her hand. Hmph; even Old Master Fletcher is hoping for Michael and me to get back together. Just who does Sophia think she is?! The only thing she has over me is her age! She can¡¯t even give birth to a child! Mulling over it, Irene decided to try calling Michael again. However, the phone had been turned off. He was probably still on the ne. Even so, she had no ns to give up. I need to get Michael back. I can¡¯t wait any longer. Nowadays, he was no longer who he used to be. He was an international celebrity. Moreover, he had two Academy Awards. Since Celine has returned, and the burden is gone, it¡¯s time for me to return to Michael¡¯s side. While pondering it, she walked into the militarypound to look for Mark¡­ Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 709 Chapter 709 On the other hand, Michael received a phone call from Mark as soon as he got off the ne. ¡°Mikey, are you not spending New Year¡¯s Day in Bayside City this year?¡± Michael was walking along the airstrip as he replied, ¡°Sophia and I are celebrating New Year¡¯s overseas this year.¡± As soon as they got off the ne, they were greeted by a gust of warm wind. After suffering from the cold throughout winter back at Bayside City, Sophia hurriedly took off her coat and changed into thinner clothes. Then, shefortably walked in front of him. The south is awesome! He only had eyes for her as he distractedly listened to what the old man was saying. ¡°Mikey, Irene has been very depressed over the past two days. How on earth do you n to deal with the affairs between the two of you?!¡± Michael said, ¡°Grandpa, this is between us. Don¡¯t worry about it so much.¡± Although Michael did not answer, Mark seemed to have guessed his decision and said, ¡°I watched the two of you grow up together. So, I know your feelings run deep. I will understand even if you choose Irene. Don¡¯t worry; I like Eddie very much. Even if you choose Irene, I will take good care of Eddie. She¡¯s still in her early twenties. Don¡¯t waste her time anymore.¡± Thest two sentences were the main points he wanted to say. She is only in her early twenties while you¡¯re almost forty! How can you sleep with such a young girl?! Don¡¯t you have a conscience?! In response, Michael sneered coldly in his heart. The old man is wishing that Sophia would kick me to the curb when she is still young! In the first ce, Old Master had been extremely unhappy when he learned that Michael had silently married Sophia. If Michael decided to choose Irene now, then the toon of reserves Old Master had prepared could immediately step up to the te. In your dreams! Michael answered, ¡°Grandpa, we¡¯re about to leave the airport. I¡¯m hanging up now; I¡¯ll send you a postcard.¡± After saying that, he hurriedly ended the call, lest the old man tried to brainwash him. This year, Sophia enjoyed her New Year¡¯s a lot. She did not touch her phone nor read the ridiculous news on the inte for half a month consecutively. She spent every day eating, having fun, and shopping. At one point, she went to the Sahara desert to ride camels. Next, she went to the North Pole to admire the aurora. After that, she went shopping at the premium outlet stores in Meyes. Sheter went under the sea to touch the tail of a whale. She experienced something different every single day. Therefore, she had no time to think of other matters. As for the matter about exes, she left it to Michael¡­ In contrast, Michael became much busier as hemandeered the operations back home via phone. These days, the enemy¡¯s counterattacks were unusually strong. All sorts of rumors were flying about, and it seemed as if the whole world wanted Taylor to get back together with Irene. Naturally, Michael had his ways too. Firstly, he prevented Sophia from touching her phone. He was determined not to let her be affected by the ridiculous news. Rather, he wanted her to enjoy her vacation every day without any worries. Next, he diverted the public¡¯s attention elsewhere. Soon, the popr A-List celebrities Nichs Yates and Bethany Nicole¡¯s secret rtionship was revealed to the public. Thus, they were forced to admit it. XX Sky King married an inte celebrity! Moreover, the inte celebrity used to be a sex worker in the past. Not only that, but she had also undergone stic surgery before and reportedly looked extremely ugly before the stic surgery. The man in a certain publicly recognized couple in the entertainment circles was photographed cheating on his partner with a B-List celebrity. Shockingly, the B-List celebrity turned out to be a man! A popr A-List actor had sexual rtions with his fans. A crazy fan even wrote a long love letter and publicly revealed all the details of the affair! A government officer physically assaulted another! It was snowing in the south! ¡­ The entire New Year¡¯s period was filled with all sorts of breaking news and juicy gossip¡ªso much so that it was hard to keep up with. Therefore, Taylor and Irene¡¯s affair gradually faded away. After all, public attention would always be fixed on the newest hot topic. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Once the spotlight shifted away, everything would be buried in the past. That was how the entertainment industry worked¡ªone might suddenly gain poprity in a short period, but one could also be easily forgotten. For that reason, most celebrities would rack their brains trying toe up with a way to make the headlines¡ªthe bigger the better. Besides, ghostwriters were usually the ones to rock the boat. Some fans might be influenced by ghostwriters, but they would quickly realize the truth. At this point, Michael began posting about his lovey-dovey daily life on social media tforms. He posted a photo of Sophia ying with her pets and the robot. With that, he calmly and clearly made his position clear and his fans gradually dispersed. Simrly, erotic fan fiction also lost its poprity and slowly disappeared. As things began to cool down, everybody gradually came to a realization. Although the incident eight years ago was very regrettable, Taylor already had a new family and a wife. Trying to instigate matters between him and Irene at this point was rather immoral. Thus, the criticism slowly died down too. Besides, Irene had admitted to falling down the stairs on her own. Hence, this incident blew over. And, Sophia waspletely oblivious about what had happened. This time around, Michael was handling this matter on his own. After all, it wasn¡¯t her battle¡ªit was a personal matter between Michael and Irene. When the waves died down, things gradually subsided. However, the other party refused to give up so easily. A few days before New Year¡¯s, Irene suddenly began to post some rather dark and desperate content on Twitter, which conveyed her extremely negative emotions. Although she did not specify who it was, everybody knew. She was mentally unstable because she couldn¡¯t ept Taylor leaving her. On New Year¡¯s Eve, she disappeared after posting a long, weary letter detailing her despair. On the first day of the new year, the agency issued a statement saying that she had attempted suicide. Thus, she was sent to the hospital for emergency treatment. Fortunately, she did not lose her life. At that moment, she was still in the hospital. As soon as that happened, the public turned their attention, which had been diverted with great difficulty, back to the issue at hand. Once again, Taylor and Irene made the headlines again andpletely overwhelmed the enthusiasm about the New Year Dinner G. Tsk. Michael was reading the breaking news as well as thements below it. Naturally, thements were obscene and full of malice. It was as if Sophia had personally strangled Irene to death¡ªall the attacks were aimed at Sophia, who had always been out of the picture. As he read the news, he sipped on his juice. The level of the other party¡¯s team of ghostwriters was truly extraordinary¡ªthe degree of obsession they showed was amazing. When the news got out, the inte was filled with pity for Irene. Everybody criticized Taylor for being a scumbag and abandoning his first love. Sophia had pushed Irene down the stairs and nearly killed Irene. Later, she set her dog on Irene. Last but not least, she even went so far as to coerce Irene into holding a press conference and lying about her circumstances. Even so, Taylor never once stood up for Irene. Being abandoned by her first love andmitting suicide¡­ How desperate and hopeless must she be?! Compared to Irene¡¯s misery, Taylor was having the time of his life. He even went traveling and showed off his affection for his wife every day. What a heartless man; how could he force a woman into that situation?! Can you still be considered human, Taylor Murray?! ¡°Haha¡ª¡± Michaelughed coldly. Then, he put down his phone, refusing to watch the news anymore. At that moment, all he had to do was prevent himself froming into contact with Irene again. The thresholds of both parties were slowly being exposed. Michael was not a heartless man. However, if the opposing party continued to press down on him and crossed his limit, he would not show mercy. It didn¡¯t matter whether she was a martyr or the daughter of God. If she crossed his limits, he would retaliate. At present, they were vacationing on a beach in a country on the other side of the hemisphere, and it was still summer there. They just arrived here yesterday after finishing their shopping in Meyes. Moreover, they nned to stay here until New Year¡¯s was over before returning home. Meanwhile, Sophia was wearing a pink swimsuit, running and jumping on the beach. She was having the time of her life,pletely oblivious to the news circting on the inte. Chapter 710 Chapter 710 Judge followed after Sophia, running with its tongue out. It was extremely lively. On the other hand, Corrado was sprawled beside Michael like an old veteran soldier. It was not as active. Meanwhile, Snowball was a white ball of fur ying in the water with Nathan. By the time it came back after rolling around on the beach, it was a huge mess. Corrado was a pure ck dog. As ck absorbed heat, it was so hot that it kept sticking its tongue out. Thus, it hid under the shade of the beach umbre. Michael sipped on his juice and rubbed its head. It was so hot that it scorched his hands. So, he poured it a ss of ice water to lower its temperature. Just then, Sophia¡¯s joyfulughter entered his ears¡ªit was truly a beautiful sound. All of a sudden, Hale came over with a troubled expression as he held his phone in his hands. ¡°Old Master Fletcher has been calling non-stop. You can¡¯t keep avoiding him like this!¡± Tsk. Michael clicked his tongue; he was most afraid of the old man acting up. He just wants me to step down from my position so that the toon of young men can take over instead! He took the phone and called the Fletcher Residence while speaking to Hale. ¡°For the next few days, train Corrado to be an indomitable dog. If you don¡¯t know how, ask my sister to teach you.¡± Hale made an ¡®Ah!¡¯ sound but did not understand what Michael meant. Just as he was about to ask, Michael had his back to him while making a phone call in a serious manner. Teach Corrado how to be an indomitable dog?! How would I know how to do that?! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a dog! He stared at Corrado, and Corrado stared back at him. They stared at each other for a long while. Then, he took out his phone and called Celine for tips. On the other side of the world, Celine was apanying her husband for the New Year¡¯s in Vi No.8 at Bayside City, Cethos. When she learned about Hale¡¯s request, she said, ¡°Ha! That¡¯s not difficult! Don¡¯t you know that dogs can¡¯t change their habit of eating sh*t?! The first step is to teach it how to eat sh*t!¡± After Hale heard that, he was in shock for a long time. At the same time, he finally understood what Michael meant. At that moment, Michael was on a call with Old Master Fletcher. The old man¡¯s voice was imploring. ¡°Mikey, why don¡¯t youe back and visit Rene? She¡¯s at the end of her rope! The conflict between her and Eddie is over. The matter between you and her can also be regarded as part of the past. But, she still has no will to live, so why don¡¯t youe back and visit her? I don¡¯t mean to force you to reconcile with her, but only you can get through to her right now. She is refusing both food and water! It¡¯ll be bad if this goes on!¡± It was clear that the Old Master believed that Sophia had pushed Irene down the stairs too. However, he decided not to pursue the matter because Sophia was more important than that. Michael agreed easily. ¡°Sure, sure. It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯ll be back in two days. Unfortunately, I have some work going on here and I can¡¯t step away from it right now. Two more days; I¡¯m going back in two days. Yeah, sure. Okay, no problem, No problem.¡± Upon ending the call, he breathed out heavily andy back on the beach chair. On the other side, Old Master Fletcher was in the military sanatorium. After ending the call, he turned and said to Irene, who was lying weakly on the bed, ¡°Rene, don¡¯t worry. Mikey will visit you when he returns. So, you have to get well.¡± Weeping soundlessly, Irene said in a hoarse voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Grandpa¡­ It¡¯s all because I messed everything up! Right now, the fans are criticizing Mikey and Eddie. They must hate me¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have appeared before them. I understand why Eddie resents me. I was asking for it when I fell down the stairs.¡± He looked at her as she wept soundlessly, feeling very conflicted. Young people¡¯s affairs are such a headache. He watched Irene and Michael grow up; he also knew about what happened between them. At present, one was in despair while the other had a family of his own. Thus, he felt very troubled too. All he could do was give advice. Hence, he encouraged Irene to eat while he tried toe up with a solution. Bayside City became very lively during the New Year¡¯s due to the scandal involving two-time Academy Award winner Taylor Murray, his first love, Irene Webber, and his current wife, Sophia Edwards. Even if Taylor did not participate in the New Year Dinner G, his poprity was several times greater than the New Year Dinner G. As Sophia¡¯s phone had been confiscated by Michael, all her calls were directed to him instead. Over the past few days, her phone kept ringing non-stop. Therefore, all phone calls from the media requesting interviews were transferred to Sophia¡¯s assistant while all private calls went to Michael. During that period, many called out of concern, including Linus and ude. Joel¡¯s number had been blocked on Sophia¡¯s phone. Hence, he changed his number just to call her and express his sympathy. The Fletchers constantly nagged at Michael to quickly return to visit Irene, who was sick in bed. However, Michael kept dying his return. He just didn¡¯t want to go back. It was almost the 6th day after New Year¡¯s, and he was still overseas. Although calls kepting from Bayside City urging him to go home, he continued to dy his return. Finally, Sam couldn¡¯t stop himself from calling. Naturally, Michael was the one to answer the call. ¡°What has Sophie been doing recently? I messaged her on Messenger, but she has not replied.¡± Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Michael said, ¡°Oh, we¡¯re traveling. We didn¡¯t have time to check our phones since we were having so much fun.¡± Sam replied, ¡°Oh¡­ When will you be returning to Bayside City? I miss Corrado and wish to see it soon.¡± Michael said, ¡°Soon. I n to return on the 8th to avoid the peak travel season during the New Year¡¯s.¡± When Sam learned that they were going to return soon, he hurriedly set a date and time toe over and visit them. Upon ending the call, Michael heard a series of crashing sounds and saw Sophia chasing Judge across the beach with a feather duster in her hand. ¡°You stinky mutt! Stop right there! Stop!¡± Stanley was also chasing behind them while shouting, ¡°Judge! Stop! Stop running!¡± Judge seemed overjoyed to see so many people chasing it. Hence, it ran even faster. On the other hand, Sophia was livid. As expected, I can¡¯t let Judge, that sh*tty dog, y with Corrado! Over the past few days, Sophia had yed to her heart¡¯s content. She was either shark-watching in a boat, diving, or looking for food near the vi by the beach. How could I have known that Judge would lead Corrado astray in such a short time?! Today, she had caught the two dogs red-handed as they ate a mouthful of a warm and fresh pile of sh*t. Ahh! That¡¯s the 9th Old Master¡¯s dog! It¡¯s a purebred Labrador that has only ever eaten the best and highest-end dog food throughout its entire life! How could it eat sh*t under my watch?! How am I supposed to exin this to Master Sam?! In the end, Judge was caught and beaten with the feather duster. However, Stanley couldn¡¯t bear to let the dog suffer. So, he only allowed Sophia to symbolically hit it twice on the rear before taking it away. Meanwhile, Corrado seemed oblivious about what had happened to it as it sat by the side and watched Sophia earnestly. Looking at Corrado, Sophia wanted to pet it. However, she recalled the sight of it eating a mouthful of sh*t and couldn¡¯t bring herself to touch it. Therefore, she could only sulk by the side. Michaelforted her, saying, ¡°Oh, well. Dogs can¡¯t change their habit of eating sh*t! We just need to keep an eye on it in the future. At most, we¡¯ll just keep it a secret from Master Sam, lest he gets mad at us.¡± At this point, we have no other choice! We can never tell Master Sam about this! On the 9th day after the New Year¡¯s, they returned to Bayside City. A short while after they arrived home, Sam appeared at their doorstep like a lingering spirit. To put it nicely, he missed his dog. As soon as he knew that they were back, he sped over at breakneck speed to meet his dog that had been away for many days. ¡°Corrado, have you missed me?¡± Sam was ted to see his dog. Thus, he affectionately rubbed against its face, hugged it, and kissed it on the mouth. At the same time, Corrado affectionately licked him¡­ Chapter 711 Chapter 711 Standing by the side, Sophia felt her blood run cold. Her back was wet with cold sweat, and she felt like the guillotine was hanging over her head. She didn¡¯t dare to say a word nor move a muscle, and she didn¡¯t dare to look at Corrado either. Every time she looked at it, the sight of it with a mouthful of sh*t automatically shed across her mind. Sam was vigorously licked by Corrado. Taking out his handkerchief, he wiped his face and noticed Sophia¡¯s serious expression. Thus, he quickly asked, ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophia hurriedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± Meanwhile, Michael was grinning from ear to ear. He seemed unusually happy as he said, ¡°Master Sam, rest assured. Corrado has been very happy these days. It even gained some weight.¡± Sam could tell that it had gained weight too. ¡°I can tell. I feel at ease when I leave Corrado with you.¡± Corrado wagged its tail and followed behind Sam. It was very clingy. Michael knew that Sam had rushed over right before dinnertime so that he could eat with them. Usually, Michael would get upset whenever Sam came over to eat with them. However, he seemed unnaturally happy today. He even went so far as to invite Sam to join him for a cup of tea, and they chatted away happily. On the other hand, Sophia sat by the side, not daring to say a word. Even Sam noticed that Sophia was acting strangely today. It looked like something was weighing on her conscience. Taking the opportunity when Michael left to the toilet, he quickly asked Sophia, ¡°Sophia, are you alright?¡± Sophia felt very guilty. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Recalling the hot topic these days, he deliberately dragged the conversation back to Irene. ¡°I saw the news recently. Public opinion is very unfavorable to you. Do you want me to help? I have a lot of friends in the legal profession.¡± She quickly shook her head in response. ¡°No, that won¡¯t be necessary.¡± Whenever she looked at his face, her head was automatically filled with the image of Corrado with a mouthful of sh*t as well as the sight of him kissing the dog. Then, the two images ovepped and an automatic rendering effect was applied to them. In the end, the images became one of Sam with his mouth full of sh*t. Thus, she didn¡¯t dare to look at him directly or face him at all. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. He wanted to continue the conversation. However, she eagerly said, ¡°Master Sam, Corrado looks a little homesick these days. Why don¡¯t you bring it home for now?¡± She didn¡¯t dare to help take care of it anymore. Now that it had gone off astray under her watch, she had to send it back as soon as possible. Otherwise, she might not be able to withstand Master Sam¡¯s fury when the conspiracy was revealed. I feel like I¡¯m about to be torn apart! Should I get rid of the dog? He frowned and looked very troubled. ¡°To be honest, I came here to let you know that I¡¯m going abroad again soon. It¡¯s too inconvenient to bring Corrado with me. So, I hope you can continue to help take care of it for a while. Once I¡¯m done with my work, I¡¯lle and take Corrado back. I promise I won¡¯t trouble you for too long.¡± She smiled with difficulty. ¡°Sure, sure¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know what was going on today. She seemed dispirited today, but he couldn¡¯t tell what was wrong either. Right now, the entire country was hoping that she would step aside and allow Michael and Irene to get back together again. Yet, all she wanted was for him to bring his dog home? I don¡¯t believe that she isn¡¯t affected by it at all. After dinner, Sam left. As soon as he left, Sophia threw away the chopsticks, bowls, and cups that he had used. This is bad! Whenever I see his face, my mind is filled with the image of Corrado with its mouthful of sh*t! I can¡¯t help but feel like there¡¯s a strong stench of sh*ting from the utensils that he used. In fact, his entire being seemed to exude that inexplicable smell of sh*t¡­ The amazing image that Master Sam had has been utterly destroyed! On the second day of their return, Michael finally went to the military hospital to visit Irene. He also nned to visit the Old Master while he was at it. After visiting the Old Master, he went directly to the hospital ward to visit Irene. Irene had been waiting for Michael over the past few days. I knew he would definitelye to see me. Lying on the bed, she looked extremely feminine as she closed her eyes and waited for him to arrive. As the sound of footsteps rang out, she silently counted down to the moment he would enter the room. Atst, the door opened. She opened her eyes and saw Michael¡ªthe person she had been thinking about all day and all night. In a weak voice, she softly said, ¡°Mikey, you¡¯re here¡­¡± ¡°Irene, we came to visit you!¡± A beautiful voice sounded suddenly. A girl in a rose-red outfit was following behind Michael. Isn¡¯t that Sophia?! Michael and Sophia appeared, hand in hand. Michael was holding a bag of nutritional supplements in one hand and Sophia¡¯s hand in the other. Their fingers were entwined together and the wedding rings on their fingers shed before Irene¡¯s eyes. All of a sudden, Irene felt a pang of sadness in her heart. Staring at them nkly, she could not believe that she had waited in the hospital for so many days only to receive this result. Sophia seemed ignorant about what had happened recently as she came over happily. Her face was glowing, and she seemed slightly chubby. Her delicate makeup was clear and translucent; her youthful face was incredibly lively and spirited. She was holding a bag of nutritional supplements in her hands. Behind them were Hale and Gary. Both of them were carrying a bag of presents. After putting them down, they created a small pile in the middle of the hospital ward. In any case, they were gifts from the Fletchers. Besides, she couldn¡¯t finish them all by herself. So, she reluctantly gave some to Irene. After that, Sophia and Michael sat down beside Irene¡¯s bed. Sophia seemed oblivious to what had happened during this period. She even warmly held Irene¡¯s hand as she said, ¡°Irene, you need to take care of your body! Don¡¯t do anything stupid again. If something happens to you, Grandpa will be devastated!¡± Irene felt as if her heart was partially frozen. I was waiting for Michael, not Sophia! After staying in the hospital for several days, she looked rather haggard and pale. Even so, she still looked extremely beautiful¡ªit was a beauty that made one feel sad and poignant. Her looks made people want to cherish her. However, her carefully prepared looks were not meant for Sophia to see! I was waiting for Michael! She had carefully prepared to put on a good show. Unfortunately, an unexpected guest appeared, and she was unable to perform her act. Michael looked at her, feeling rather sorry for her. He was acting like how a good ex-boyfriend should¡ª he showed the appropriate concern. ¡°Irene, leave the past in the past. Don¡¯t get too distressed by the past. I havepletely moved on from that rtionship. Right now, I¡¯m very happy. So, I hope that you can get over it quickly and find your happiness as soon as possible.¡± He spoke sincerely and straightforwardly. He waspletely open about Sophia¡¯s standing in his life. At the same time, he did not try to conceal the past he had with Irene. He was very frank and honest because he hadpletely moved on from those feelings. The first step to moving on was to face it squarely, and those words were what he wanted to say with great sincerity. Irene did not expect him to say those words. Thus, she stared at him nkly. Michael Fletcher, is your heart made of steel? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t understand my feelings?! What I want is you! Still, Irene couldn¡¯t believe that they couldpletely disregard her existence. She firmly believed that her existence would forever be a thorn in their rtionship¡ªas long as she was alive! Crying, she lowered her head and said, ¡°I know¡­ I know¡­ I shouldn¡¯t keep thinking about the past now¡­ But, I can¡¯t do it! The past shes before me whenever I close my eyes; my ears are filled with the words you said to me before. Mikey¡­ I don¡¯t understand why this happened to us. This clearly wasn¡¯t what I wanted¡­¡± Chapter 712 Chapter 712 As Irene spoke, she grabbed Michael¡¯s hand and held it in front of Sophia. Even so, Michael did not evade her advances. Thus, the two of them spoke of the past while holding hands. Sobbing quietly, she reminisced about the years that had gone by like the flowing waters of a river. At the same time, she treated Sophia as if she were invisible. He humored her and went along with the conversation. As the memories from back then slowly surfaced, their talks became more and more intimate. It felt like they had gone back in time¡ªback to the time when they burned with a passionate love for each other. I knew he would never be able to forget me, she thought to herself, secretly feeling triumphant. To her surprise, he frowned after they finished talking and said, ¡°Irene, the past is in the past. Even if we reminisce about it, it changes nothing. In the end, we need to face forward.¡± Then, he turned to Sophia and said, ¡°Sophia, bring some tissues.¡± Sophia looked no different from usual. It was as if the man holding hands with his ex-girlfriend and reminiscing about their past was not her husband. She handed the tissues over, then Michael pulled his hand away from Irene to retrieve several tissues and hand them over to Irene. ¡°You cried so much that you¡¯ve be ugly, just like how you were when we were kids. Here; wipe your snot before you talk.¡± Irene looked slightly unsettled before she came to a sudden realization¡ªshe had cried so hard that her face was covered in snot and tears. I must look horrible right now. No wonder I can¡¯t move his heart! Thus, she hurriedly turned around and wiped away her snot. By the time she turned around again, her pretty smile had returned to her face. Like an edelweiss flower blooming determinedly despite the wind and the rain beating down on it, she looked so strong that it made one¡¯s heart break for her. Any man would want to pick her up and protect her to the best of their ability. Before she could say anything, Michael spoke up first with a bitter look of regret. His words were as sharp and merciless as knives. ¡°Irene, we are not young anymore. We¡¯re adults now and we have to be reasonable. Therefore, the past should stay in the past. You¡¯re already in your mid-thirties. So, you should understand that we¡¯re long past the age of living for the sake of love. Look at you; you cried so much that your wrinkles are showing!¡± Those words stabbed into her heart, that beat only for the sake of love, like des. Subconsciously, she touched the corner of her eyes. Sure enough; she could feel roughness against her once smooth skin. Knowing that he wasing today, she had secretly put on some light makeup in advance to sway his heart. However, her crying just now had washed away her makeup, causing her wrinkles to appear. Michael¡¯s cruel words had revealed a truth she did not wish to admit¡ªshe was in her mid-thirties. She was around the same age as him. Moreover, she had been hospitalized for several reasons recently. Hence, her facial care had been neglected, and her skin was in poor condition¡ªso much so that her wrinkles had appeared. On the other hand, Sophia, who had been sitting by the side without saying anything, was radiant¡ªher face was supple and full of youthful vigor. No matter how much Irene tried to prepare in advance, she was a hospitalized patient. Moreover, her makeup had smeared. It wasparable to using the front camera of a phone to take a picture¡ªit was natural and without any post-editing. Meanwhile, Sophia looked like a photo that had undergone extensive beautification to smoothen the skin. The two of them were iparable, to say the least. Even while Michael had been talking to her, he constantly nced over at Sophia. At that moment, Irene knew¡ªshe had made a mistake. She had wanted to show him her most pitiful and helpless side so that he would pity her and return to her side. Meanwhile, Sophia had used her prettiest and most considerate side to capture his heart and firmly keep him by her side. Still, Irene couldn¡¯t ept her loss. Michael is mine! He has always been mine! What right does Sophia have toe in between us?! For the sake of making him look at her, she had not hesitated to put on a show by throwing herself down the stairs and hospitalizing herself. For the sake of getting the most realistic effect, her wounds were mostly real. She had truly harmed herself just to be hospitalized. Therefore, she looked unusually haggard and old. However, Michael, who was sitting opposite her, retained the same youthful looks he used to have. Sitting next to Sophia, they looked like a well-matched couple. Irene could not ept it, but she knew that she had no means to sway his heart anymore. He had completely fallen for Sophia¡¯s youth and beauty! Hence, she no longer insisted on making them stay and imed that she was tired instead. Thus, Michael and Sophia took the opportunity to leave. When they left the hospital, Sophia was in a good mood. Michael is so wicked! She was crying so hard and he asked her to wipe her snot! She was trying to make him pity her, yet he asked her to pay attention to her wrinkles. Every word he said was heartbreaking! Hence, she held onto Michael¡¯s arm and returned home in high spirits. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. In the meantime, Michael called the Old Master. ¡°Yeah, I talked to Irene. I think it worked; she¡¯s eating. So, don¡¯t worry so much.¡± ¡­ After that, the press release came out quickly. Naturally, everything that was written there was the truth. Following that, the criticism online finally stopped. It turned out that they had reconciled a long time ago! All that nonsense about love and hate was made up by the fans themselves. Besides, Irene was such a pretentious b*tch! The married couple was so in love with each other. Why did she create so much drama over it?! That day, Irene made a phone call after Michael and Sophia left. ¡°Hey¡­ Taylor is caught firmly in that girl¡¯s palm. What should I do?¡± The person on the other end of the phone swiftly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t push too hard. He still has feelings for you. So, you will have more chances in the future. Lay low for a few days; I¡¯ll let you know once we set the next n in motion.¡± Hearing those words annoyed her. I worked so hard for so long; I even had help too! So, why can¡¯t I drive Sophia away from Michael?! I can¡¯t afford to wait any longer! I need to get him back! Then, she coldly said to the mysterious person on the other end of the phone, ¡°I can¡¯t wait any longer. What is the next step in the n? I¡¯m going to implement it immediately.¡± Wait? Do I have the luxury to wait? Sophia could get pregnant at any moment. If she bes pregnant, I will never stand a chance! Besides, I¡¯m already in my mid-thirties! I can¡¯t afford to wait anymore! The other person sounded irritated. ¡°The time isn¡¯t right. Making a move right now won¡¯t benefit us.¡± However, she had lost her trust in the other party. She did not know the identity of the other party¡ªthat person had called her out of the blue and proposed that they cooperate. She wanted Michael while the other party wanted Sophia¡ªtheir goals aligned, so they worked together in tacit understanding. She thought he would be exceptional. Truth be told, he did have the means to create a huge impact. Unfortunately, that seemed to be all he had. ¡°Go ahead and wait on your own then.¡± After saying that, she fiercely ended the call. If that person won¡¯t help me, then I¡¯ll just have to do it myself. Afterward, Irene quickly contacted several inte advocates and asked them to create a sensation on the inte. She wanted them to im that Sophia was the cause of her injuries, that Sophia pushed her down the stairs, that Sophia forced her tomit suicide, and that Sophia forced her to hold a press conference to lie about the facts! She nned to spark public outrage against Sophia! I can¡¯t tell Michael about these matters myself. Right now, my character is supposed to be a weak, fragiledy bottling up all her grievances. Michael has to learn about all these grievances from other people. Compared to telling him myself, this method is far more effective! Chapter 713 Chapter 713 The inte advocates were specialized in this field. Therefore, they were very skilled in this area. Only one day had passed since they started their work, and Irene¡¯s image of a strong, yet fragiledy was in full swing. In addition, she posted words such as ¡®No matter how painful life is, we need to stay strong¡¯ and ¡®Medicine may be bitter, but I still have to take it to live¡¯ on Twitter. asionally, she also shared some tidbits on depression. Thus, her image of a tragic and pitiful woman came alive on paper. With that, she sessfully built an image of herself as a strong yet fragiledy, who had bottled up all her grievances. I¡¯m sure Michael will look at me! After all, Old Master Fletcher believed it! Although Old Master Fletcher couldn¡¯t meet her every day, he would call her daily. However, Michael never called¡­ In the end, she couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and took the initiative to call Michael instead. ¡°Mikey¡­ Did I mess things up again? I¡¯m sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to¡­ I never thought things would turn out like this¡­ This is all my fault¡­¡± She sounded as if she had all sorts of grievances hidden away in her heart. Even though she couldn¡¯t talk about it, her words wereden with a strong sense of being wronged. Any man would pity her after listening to her. Even if the entire world used Sophia of pushing her down the stairs, Michael would never hear it from her. How pitiful! How heartbreaking! Even if the grievances in her heart overwhelmed her, she refused to affirm it, for fear of causing conflict in their rtionship. How kind! How magnanimous! Contrary to her expectations, Michael feigned ignorance when she mentioned nothing about it. Smiling lightly, he responded, ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. Don¡¯t me yourself for it.¡± After hanging up, Irene waited confidently for news of Michael and Sophia¡¯s breakup. However, she turned on her phone and saw that her screen was filled with words such as ¡®Don¡¯t cry, Irene¡¯ or ¡®Taylor, you heartless scumbag; when will you finally figure out Sophia¡¯s true nature¡¯. The whole world thought that Sophia had tried to kill her. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. I¡¯m sure Michael has seen it too. He might be able to feign ignorance for a day or two, but what if the people around him keep bringing it up? There¡¯s a saying that goes ¡®lies turn into truths if enough people believe them¡¯. Sooner orter, he will start to believe it and doubt Sophia instead! Contrary to her expectations, Taylor¡¯s personal Twitter ount sent outwyer letters to several rumor- mongering ounts the next day. The ounts that were the first to im that Sophia had pushed Irene down the stairs, as well as arge number of ghostwriter ounts, had been blocked too. Moreover, in just a single day, all the posts about the rumors were deleted. As a result, the public rtionspany suffered a huge loss, and Irene lost everything she invested in it. Thus, she was utterly dumbfounded. Michael Fletcher, do you really not know what I¡¯m trying to imply?! Still, things didn¡¯t stop there. The day after that, a certain popr idol pair were seen publicly holding hands. Hence, it drew all attention away from the current issue again. All the rumors vanished without a trace within a few days. Meanwhile, the fans that had felt bad for Irene seemed to disappear collectively, and Irene¡¯s poprity cooled rapidly. She couldn¡¯t evenpare to a poodle, which became viral because of its gigantic size! Recently, a video surfaced on the inte. A poodle asrge and strong as an adult suddenly became popr all over the inte. Theizens were stunned by it. They could not believe that a poodle could be so huge. When it sat down, it was taller than a child! It was practically a monster! This dog immediately overwhelmed Irene¡¯s gossip enthusiasts with its monster-like size as it made the headlines. Sophia, who had been watching the news recently, was constantly paying attention to what tricks Irene was up to. Naturally, she also came across the news about the giant poodle. Thus, her eyes were filled with amazement, and she vigorously shook Michael¡¯s arm. ¡°Wow! What a huge dog! It¡¯s so cool! I want one!¡± Michael was aware that somebody was up to something recently. All the criticisms and jabs were aimed directly at Sophia. Therefore, he hurriedly asked his men to hype up some other hot topic to bury the chaotic mess. He knew that somebody was trying to do something; he also knew the opponent¡¯s objective. Thus, he was not in a hurry to make his move. He wanted to observe his opponent¡¯s upper limits and find a chance to deal a lethal blow to his opponent while he was at it. However, the dog was identally poprized in the process. Watching the video, he was taken aback by it¡ªthe giant poodle in the video looked like a gori lying on its stomach! I can¡¯t believe there¡¯s such a huge dog! That¡¯s practically a monster! No wonder it caught more attention than Irene! Looking at Sophia, she looked like she wanted one. It¡¯s such a huge dog. One of them is equivalent to 10 dogs. Besides, we already have more than 10 pets at home. If we get another dog asrge as that, it would be equivalent to having 20 pets at home! I¡¯m going to be so poor that I¡¯ll have to sell my Academy Award for money! No way¡­ I can¡¯t afford it¡­ Therefore, he pretended not to notice her expectant gaze and gave her a scientific exnation instead. ¡°That¡¯s a type of poodle. Due to its size, it is known as a giant poodle.¡± He believed that she was simply feeling a slight twinge of envy. After a few days, the dog¡¯s poprity would subside, and she would naturally forget about it. Contrary to his expectations, Harry bought a giant poodle for Sarah the next day. As a result, Sarah cockily brought the dog over to show off in front of Sophia. The dog was extremely beautiful. Despite being a puppy, it was still taller than a person¡¯s knee when sitting. It truly was a gigantic poodle. The giant poodle that came to the house was very well-received. Stanley even came over specifically to look at it after learning that it wasing over. Thus, a group of people surrounded the dog while petting it. Feeling absolutely jealous, Sophia turned her puppy eyes toward Michael after ying with the dog. Her gaze was full of longing that seemed to say: ¡®I want one! I want one! I want a huge dog too!¡¯ In response, Michael¡¯s eyes shifted uneasily, desperately avoiding her wishful gaze. Giant poodles were known toe with an exorbitant price tag. Still, she could easily buy one no matter how costly the price tag was. However, she wanted Michael to buy one for her. Compared to buying one for herself, her husband buying one as a gift for her feltpletely different. They were two different concepts altogether. Despite knowing that she wanted to have one, he continued to pretend not to notice and feigned ignorance. They had more than enough pets at home¡ªthere were ten cats and three dogs. Moreover, they wererge dog breeds to boot. If we add another giant poodle to the mix¡­ I can¡¯t afford to raise them¡­ Besides, it¡¯s just a passing curiosity. If I hold firm for a few more days, she will lose interest in it. She simply wants to start over with a lovely new dog since all the dogs in the house have eaten sh*t before, and she now finds them repulsive. Women are all the same; they like having new things after getting bored of what they have. Ever since Sarah acquired the giant poodle, Sophia would casually bring up Sarah¡¯s giant poodle at any chance she got. ¡°Sarah¡¯s dog is so well-behaved. She is currently keeping it in thepany, and everybody loves it! That dog is way more well-received than Judge ever was! Moreover, it¡¯s super gentle. I want one too¡­ Not many people in Bayside City have a giant poodle and very few ces sell this breed. There are many non-pedigree versions too. The giant poodles sold by XX dog kennel on XX street are authentic. They are gorgeous ande with certificates of authenticity too. Also, it¡¯s not that expensive. It¡¯s only a few thousand.¡± Sophia had already calcted the cost needed for the kennel and the price of the dog. In Michael¡¯s experience, she probably had already chosen the dog she wanted. Even the dog bed, toys, and room for the dog had been prepared already. All that was left was for him to go and pay for the dog and bring it home. I must never give in to her! Otherwise, the dogs are going to eat us out of house and home! I¡¯m sure the only reason she wants to have so many pet dogs is that Irene is deathly afraid of dogs! Chapter 714 Chapter 714 Michael pretended not to understand her words. ¡°Yeah. If you like it, you should y with it more.¡± Upon hearing his reply, Sophia lost her temper and decided to ignore him. Over the next few days, she would also blow up from time to time without rhyme nor reason. ¡°Michael Fletcher! You used to wear the belts from L/K. Why did you change to the belts from CK?! Are you sick of what you have? Are you going to get sick of me soon? You used to be able tost for more than 45 minutes! Why did you onlyst 30 minutes today? Are you getting tired of me? Do I disgust you? Tell me clearly! Don¡¯t you dare pretend to sleep! Stay away from me! You¡¯re too handsome. It¡¯s going to make me blind. I can¡¯t stand looking at you!¡± ¡­ After squabbling for two days, Michael ended up at the dog kennel Sophia had mentioned. It was a shop Sarah owned. As soon as he arrived, the shopkeeper said, ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, you¡¯re finally here! Your dog is ready; you can bring it home immediately.¡± He had a gloomy expression as he paid for the dog. Meanwhile, the shopkeeper enthusiastically brought out a giant poodle. It was a teddy bear poodle. Its fur was yellowish and incredibly fluffy. Although it was still a puppy, it wasrger than most adult dogs. The moment he saw the dog, his vision went ck. Why a teddy bear poodle?! This size; this aura¡­ It¡¯s going to be humping everything! Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. When he brought the giant poodle home, Sophia was very nice to him; she heard the news a long time ago. Thus, she was preparing a party to wee the new dog. Even the dog ownership certificate had been prepared¡ªthe new dog¡¯s name was Bubbles. Upon hearing the name, he agreed that it looked like bubbles too¡ªit was way too fluffy! When Sam heard that Sophia had gotten a new dog, he found another reason to visit them again. Thus, he enthusiastically came to visit and brought many gifts with him. Even Linus, who was abroad, called to congratte her. Hugging their older dog, Snowball, Michael sat on the sofa and watched as everybody else surrounded Sophia and the new dog in a festive cheer. Then, he felt very lonely. The old man is hugging the old dog¡­ Now that Snowball has fallen out of favor, will it be my turn soon? However, his loneliness was fleeting. Looking at the innocent and happy smile on her face, he thought to himself, Whatever; as long as she is happy. Then, Sophia carried the dog, Bubbles, over to him. The new dog seemed a little scared of its new home. It was very timid, and it shrank back into her arms. ¡°Bubbles, this is Daddy. Come here, Daddy. Come and hug Bubbles.¡± Michael snorted. He didn¡¯t want to hold it. However, she ced the dog directly in his arms. So, he was forced to hug it. The new dog was very timid. It looked at him with big, soft eyes like a shy maiden. Still, the imbnce between its attitude and its body size felt rather strange. She happily petted itsrge head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled by Bubbles¡¯ size. It¡¯s a girl!¡± In response, he thought to himself, Hmph. It¡¯s so strong; of course, it¡¯s female. All of a sudden, he saw an illusion depicting a muscr little girl with yellowish skin sitting in his arms and acting cute. As soon as the image popped into his head, he could not look the dogs in its eyes again¡­ Ever since Nathan¡¯s biological mother returned, Sophia seemed to have ¡®lost her beloved child¡¯. Hence, she directed her desire for children on her pets instead. For that reason, he na?vely believed that she would no longer raise any pets if she had children of her own. What a pity¡­ During the wee party for the new dog, she also announced a major piece of news¡ªpreparations for the pet luxury goods studio werepleted! It would open for business soon! Not long after getting the new dog, Sophia immediately buried herself in work. The Remote Mountains¡¯ Health Club Project was about to begin, and the new productunch for pet luxury goods was also being prepared at the same time. Hence, she was extremely busy. This was the career she loved. Therefore, she was very into it and workedte into the night every day before going home. In a blink of an eye, it was April. It was spring, and the flowers were blooming. Sophia¡¯s new product launch for pet luxury goods was about to begin. Moreover, the end of the productunch would also indicate that they were officially opening for business. Sophia¡¯s Twitter ount was full of photos of her pets recently. She was quietly showcasing the products they were going to market. Enough hype had been created for the products; all they could do now was to wait for the productunch. Since all the richdies with pets in Bayside City had received an invitation, they gathered at her new productunch. On that day, all the pets in the house were given a makeover¡ªexcept for Chrysanthemum as it had just finished giving birth. Each of them was dressedvishly in gold and silver, and their bodies were covered in jewels. They looked like nobles going out for a stroll. Even Simba, the local breed cat, was dressed like a prince. After that, they were transported by car to the scene of the productunch. They were there to act as models for their products. Although Michael was busy filming a new movie, he cleared his schedule for the day. As Sophia¡¯s husband, he made a special trip to her productunch, hoping to increase the publicity. Besides, he was going to walk the runway with Garfield. Garfield was the most beautifully dressed today. It was wearing a cor specially tailored for it, as well as a gorgeous outfit. Unfortunately, it looked like a traditional bodice to Michael. Ivan was able to execute the outfit with style, using various fashion design concepts to turn the bodice into a flower. Still, it¡¯s just a bodice, even if it is a stylish bodice. I don¡¯t understand fashion. Sam was naturally indispensable at such a huge event. He had some time on his hands recently due to his diligence. Although he was usually present at most opening ceremonies, he and his dog would most certainly attend whichever event Sophia appeared at. Unfortunately, he was too busy to take care of his own dog. Thus, it was constantly left in Sophia¡¯s care. Michael silently watched as Corrado polished off all the sh*t excreted by the pets in his house. Meanwhile, every time Sam came to visit, he would hug and kiss the dog¡­ Upon arriving at the productunch, Michael immediately saw Sam. Sam was wearing a ck suit, which made him look cold and mysterious. It was in matching styles with Corrado¡¯s outfit. Besides, Corrado¡¯s cor was also designed by Sophia¡¯s studio. As the dog had a dominating appearance, the cor¡¯s design further enhanced its elegance. If they didn¡¯t know the truth about its habit of eating sh*t, it would be very eye-catching. Sam walked with Corrado. Their outfits matched each other very well. As soon as they appeared, they caught everybody¡¯s attention. Thus, a group ofdies surrounded them and praised them. He had taken the initiative to help Sophia dominate the scene. Later, he also had to walk the runway with his dog. Then, Michael appeared with Garfield in his arms. He specially wore an outfit with simr styles today; it was so that he could match Garfield¡¯s elegance. Due to hisplementing outfit, Garfield stood out even more¡ªevery single strand of its fur seemed to shine with a luxurious and noble air. Naturally, Harry¡¯s presence was required too. Walking with Sarah¡¯s giant poodle, he was a humanoid essory for the dog. For that reason, he was specially dressed up too. Other than that, Stanley appeared with Judge while Sean walked with Sunset. Theunch today was for insiders only, and only those invited coulde. Hence, the guests were all carefully selected from among their clients. Meanwhile, Sophia and Sarah were extremely busy making sure that everything went smoothly during the productunch. The highlight of the day was the fashion showter. Many models and pets were invited toe onto the stage. Among them, the main attraction was Harry and Michael, the two Academy Award winners. Sam came uninvited while Stanley and Sean were the founding members of thepany. Therefore, letting them walk the runway would reduce some of the costs of hiring models. As they were about to go on stage, they were gathered at the waiting area backstage. The waiting area backstage was filled with pets, models, and stylists. As the art director, Ivan was required to check through each and every person and animal before they could go on stage. At the waiting area backstage, Michael held Garfield in his arms and petted it asionally. At the same time, he sneaked a nce at Sam. Sam, who wasforting Corrado at that moment, was dressed like his dog. To think Master Sam¡ªan existence akin to the deputy family head of the Edwards Family¡ªwas willing to attend a productunch as a model for free¡­ It¡¯s utterly unthinkable! I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a reason for this; he must have some ulterior motive¡­ It was extremely hectic backstage¡ªthe animals were walking all over the ce. At the same time, it felt like something was simmering beneath the surface. Still, Michael would not try to do anything today. After all, it was an important day for Sophia. However, an unexpected guest appeared just before the fashion show officially started. ¡°Irene, why are you here?¡± Sophia froze in shock for a moment when she saw Irene. Still, she smilingly invited Irene inside. She was not afraid of Irene acting up today as the ce was crawling with dogs. Irene¡¯s appearance today made her seem like another person altogether whenpared to how she looked back at the hospital. Like a patient dying of a critical illness, she looked pitiful and pale-faced back then¡ªso much so that her wrinkles were showing. Now, she looked like a radiant beauty. Her face was exquisite, and her makeup was elegant. Her entire being seemed to radiate gracefulness. This version of Irene was the one Sophia was familiar with. Chapter 715 Chapter 715 Irene waltzed into the backstage area and smilingly said, ¡°I heard that you were having a productunch today. So, I specially came by to have a look. Is there anything I can do to help?¡± As soon as Sophia heard those words, she knew why Irene was here. What help can she give when she is so scared of dogs?! She would never send an invitation to Irene to attend her new productunch. I knew Irene wanted to come¡ªshe knew Michael would be attending. During this period, Irene had been trying to find an opportunity to meet with Michael. Unfortunately, her circles had nothing to do with his circles; there were no joint projects that they were working on together; he never returned to the Fletcher Residence; she didn¡¯t know his daily schedule; and she couldn¡¯t enter The Imperial even if she wanted to. The person that had been helping her had severed all contact with her too and could no longer be contacted. Thus, she could only rely on herself now. I need to get back to Michael¡¯s side. But, how am I going to achieve that if I can¡¯t even meet with him? Previously, she had hired people to hype up the fact that she was Michael¡¯s first love online. She had two reasons for doing that. She wanted to remind him of their memories together. At the same time, she also wanted Sophia to exit the game on her own. Contrary to her expectations, he seemed to havepletely let go of the past. Even Sophia seemed like she was unaffected by it. Despite reminiscing with Michael in front of her, she had not shown any reaction. She is so horrifyingly thick- skinned! Even though people all over the country are wishing for their breakup, she stubbornly continues to hold on! How shameless of her! Still, Irene didn¡¯t believe that the love between Michael and Sophia was really that strong. As long as I exist, there will be a chink in their armor! But first, I need to get closer to Michael. She might not have known his daily schedule, but he would definitely appear at Sophia¡¯s new productunch for her brand. Sure enough; she learned that both Michael and Harry were present today. Then, Sophia and Irene made small talk as they headed toward the backstage area. However, Sophia was cursing Irene in her heart, Came here to help? Yeah, right! You came here uninvited; why are you making it sound like you¡¯re so noble?! Having heard that Irene had arrived uninvited and was currently heading toward the backstage area, Sarah was frantic as she rushed about like a whirlwind. ¡°Maria, bring Snowball here. Master Sam, can I borrow Corrado for a moment? Stan, remove Judge¡¯s leash. Old Wolf, let Bubbles go. Unleash it.¡± ¡­ Irene was dressed morously today, and her makeup made her look very youthful. Over the years, she had carefully maintained her skin. So, she still looked as young and supple as she was when she was younger. Unexpectedly, they were greeted by two gigantic dogs sitting side by side as soon as they entered the backstage area. They were two poodles asrge as goris. Even while sitting, they were as tall as a young girl¡¯s waist. Irene had a fear of dogs since she was young. Knowing that many dogs would be present today, she had mentally prepared herself. Even so, she still turned pale with fright and subconsciously stepped back in fear when she saw the two monstrously huge giant poodles. ¡°What a huge dog! Bring it away! Bring it away!¡± Both the giant poodles were not on leashes. When they saw Sophia, they dashed over immediately. Meanwhile, Irene was so scared that her face became bloodlessly pale. I knew Sophia had a big dog, but I didn¡¯t think it was this huge! Sophia quickly grabbed both giant poodles by the cors and brought them over to Irene. ¡°Irene, don¡¯t be fooled by their size. These two puppies are very well-behaved. Why don¡¯t you touch them and see?¡± N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. How could Irene possibly dare to touch them? She was so scared that she kept stepping backward, and her calves started trembling in fear. In the next moment, many other dogs ran over from the backstage area too, including the all-ck Corrado, the all-white Snowball, the ck-and-white Judge, as well as a group of skan Mmutes, Golden Retrievers, and Saint Bernards. All of them wererge dog breeds. Irene was so scared that she nked out. Why are there so many dogs?! All the dogs were not on their leashes as they surrounded her and sniffed at her. As a result, she was so scared that she couldn¡¯t speak. Thus, Sophia hurriedly said to her, ¡°Hey, Irene. We have many dogs here. Why don¡¯t you go and have a seat at the VIP seating out front?¡± After that, she asked Maria to lead Irene to the VIP seats in the main venue. By then, Irene was so scared that she barely had any strength left to walk. Upon seeing Irene being led away, Sophia was overjoyed. Bringing the dogs with her to the backstage area, she handed Bubbles¡¯ leash over to Michael. ¡°I¡¯m leaving Bubbles in your care today.¡± No, I should say I¡¯m leaving Michael in Bubbles¡¯ care. Bubbles is going to protect him. If Irene dares to approach again, I¡¯ll set Bubbles on her! As instructed, Bubbles remained by Michael¡¯s side all day long. Due to its monstrous size, it kept many women at bay. Everybody knew that Taylor had gotten a giant poodle, but nobody expected to see that it was such arge dog. It came up to Taylor¡¯s waist when it sat down! The productunch today progressed smoothly. In particr, the fashion show was amazing. The models they hired were very outstanding, and the pet models were chosen very well too. After the product launch, the orders flooded in, and Ivan was surrounded by a group ofdies. Naturally, the ones that stood out the most were Michael and Harry. The two Academy Award winners had gone above and beyond in creating a stir. Michael and Harry came out from the backstage area after everything was over. Harry was holding a giant poodle by the leash while Michael was walking with a giant poodle, a Husky, and a Samoyed. Although he was usually quite cold at home, the pets in the house seemed to like him a lot. It was probably due to his handsome looks. At that moment, he was surrounded by a group of dogs. Irene plucked up her courage to walk over. When Judge noticed her, it became curious and tried to get a closer look at her. However, its fierce appearance scared Irene so much that she didn¡¯t dare to get closer. On the other hand, Michael quickly left, lest he was blocked by his fans once news got out of his whereabouts. Irene could only watch as he left; she didn¡¯t even have the courage to go up and greet him. Simrly, he pretended not to notice her as he got into the car with arge group of dogs. After he left, she red furiously at Sophia, who was being surrounded by a group ofdies. It¡¯s her! It¡¯s all her fault! She deliberately arranged everything! She knows I am scared of dogs. That¡¯s why she ced so manyrge dogs around Michael¡ªshe wanted to stop me from approaching him! Did she think that just because she stopped me from getting closer to him, she can have him all to herself? In her dreams! Making up her mind, she headed toward Sophia. Most of the clients had left, and the remaining few were surrounding Ivan. In the meantime, Sophia was talking to Sam. Sam was leaving his dog in Sophia¡¯s care again. He imed that he had to go on a business trip for a while. Since he was worried about leaving the dog at home, he might as well leave it with Sophia. As the first major customer of the new brand, Pourl, he had signed the lifelong rights of Corrado¡¯s outfits and essories to her. Thus, she had no choice but to ept Corrado and allow it to continue living in her house. After Sam left, Sophia asked Maria to take Corrado away while she drank a ss of water. She had worked hard the entire day¡ªso much so that she didn¡¯t even have the time for a water break. As she was drinking, Irene suddenly approached her and said, ¡°Sophia, can I have a word with you? I have something important to say.¡± Sophia said nothing as she left with Irene. Let¡¯s see what trick she¡¯s trying to pull now. Chapter 716 Chapter 716 The two of them took a short walk and came to an isted corner where they were alone and away from everybody else¡¯s sight. Sophia took a swig of water before saying, ¡°Irene, what do you want to say?¡± Irene hesitated to speak. She looked like she had to muster up her courage before she said, ¡°Sophia, as you know, the Old Master wishes for Mikey and me to get back together¡­¡± Sophia snorted loudly; it could be considered her response to Irene¡¯s words. It was not the first time the Old Master had expressed that he wanted Michael to get back together with Irene. Following that, Sophia would be ¡®freed¡¯, and the toon of young men he had prepared could finally be put to use¡­ When Irene saw that Sophia didn¡¯t have much of a reaction to her words, she pretended to cry crocodile tears again. Biting on her lower lip, she looked like it was hard for her to speak. In the end, she said, ¡°Sophia, the Old Master heard that you are infertile. And, that¡¯s why Mikey still doesn¡¯t have any children after so long. He is worried that if things go on as they are, it will be a burden to Mikey¡­¡± Sophia continued to remain silent. It was true that the Old Master had secretly hinted to her about having children several times in the past. However, the meaning behind his words was vastly different from what Irene just said. His words had implied that the reason she couldn¡¯t get pregnant could only be due to a problem with the ¡®seeds¡¯. But, that was okay, since he had already prepared an entire toon of excellent ¡®seeds¡¯ for her¡­ N?velDrama.Org: text ? owner. ¡°So, what are you trying to say, Irene?¡± she coolly asked while holding her cup. The tears overflowed from Irene¡¯s eyes as she said, ¡°Sophia, the Old Master is getting older. Why don¡¯t you go along with his wishes? Besides, you know it too¡ªwho Michael really belongs to.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± Sophia decisively dered. Then, she sneered, ¡°Whether we want to have children or not has nothing to do with you! I will go and exin that to the Old Master myself. As for who my husband loves¡­ I know better than you do. So, don¡¯t waste your time, Irene. The past is the past. Taylor has his own family now. There¡¯s no point in trying to stubbornly hold on to the past. Besides, you¡¯re not young anymore. If you¡¯re in such a hurry to get married, I¡¯m sure you have many excellent men willing to marry you. Why are you wasting your time and youth on a man who is already married?¡± After saying that, she lifted her cup to drink some more. Irene had never expected Sophia to be shameless enough to say those words. Michael clearly still has feelings for me. Yet, he is being controlled by her¡ªso much so that he doesn¡¯t dare toe and meet me! ring at Sophia fiercely, a hint of darkness and determination crept into her eyes¡­ ¡°Ah¡ª¡± All of a sudden, a horrified scream pierced the quiet and peaceful venue. A group of clients and business partners that had yet to leave were still talking to Ivan and Stanley. Arge number of workers were also present, busy handling the post-event cleanup. When they heard the piercing scream, everybody looked in the direction of the sound in unison. They were greeted by the sight of Irene backing out of a dark corner. As she stepped into their field of view, they noticed that water was dripping from her head. She was in a terrible mess. At that moment, Sophia walked out of the corner with an empty cup in her hand as she looked at Irene expressionlessly. Looking at the scene before them, everybody immediately had the same thought, Did Sophia pour water on Irene?! On the other hand, Irene seemed to have experienced a great shock. She was crying and screaming hysterically, ¡°What on earth do you want?! I pretended that it was nothing but an ident even when you pushed me down the stairs and tried to kill me! What else do you want?! Will you be satisfied only when I¡¯m dead?! Just because Taylor still has feelings for me¡­ must you kill me because of that?! Sophia Edwards, you¡¯re so cruel! One day, Taylor will see through your true colors!¡± The entire venue fell silent all of a sudden. Oh, my God! That¡¯s huge news! They felt as if they were about to witness some sort of earth-shattering revtion. As a result, their inquisitive nature was lit from within, and they crowded around to watch. Irene looked like she had gonepletely mad as she continued to yell all sorts of nonsense. Then, Stanley hurriedly stepped forward to hold her and warningly said, ¡°Aunt Irene, please mind yourself! There are so many people here. If you have something to say, we can discuss thister. Let¡¯s go back and talk¡ª¡± She shoved him away. Pointing at Sophia, she looked at the crowd and yelled, ¡°This vicious woman pushed me down the stairs hoping that I would die! After that, she threatened me. She refused to let me reveal the truth and even forced me to lie during the press conference! I did everything she asked, but she continues to harass me! It¡¯s all because Taylor still has feelings for me! She hates me so much that she wants me dead! She wants to kill me!¡± She continued to point at Sophia as she scolded, ¡°You two- faced woman! Taylor will see through your true colors, sooner orter! It¡¯s just a matter of time! Contrary to what you want, I won¡¯t die! I¡¯m going to live my life to the fullest! I¡¯m going to see what other insane things you¡¯re going toe up with! And, I¡¯m going to watch you expose your true colors to the world!¡± Upon hearing those words, the crowd was shocked. Those rumors turned out to be true! Irene being pushed down the stairs andmitting suicide¡­ Sophia was behind it all! Irene was Taylor¡¯s first love, and he still had feelings for her. Was that why Sophia was trying to get rid of Irene?! ording to general tragic fan fiction stories, when the plot progressed until this point, it basically meant that the weak, fragiledy that had been oppressed would finally lose her temper and be determined to expose the wife¡¯s true colors. After that, the male lead would break up with his wife and reunite with the female lead. Irene seemed to be suffering an emotional meltdown as Stanley hurriedly tried to drag her away while saying, ¡°That¡¯s enough, Aunt Irene. You must be drunk. Let¡¯s go back home, okay? I¡¯ll send you back.¡± He was terrified and at a loss for how to handle the situation. Based on Sophia¡¯s personality, she might have been the one that poured the water on Irene! At that moment, everybody started to point and whisper among themselves. Some even took out their phones to secretly record the scene. On the other hand, Sophia, ¡®the evil wife in question¡¯, seemed calm and fearless. Rather, she had an arrogant air about her. ncing at Irene, she coldly said, ¡°Well, well. Since you used me of pushing you down the stairs, forcing you to lie during your press conference, and forcing you tomit suicide, you should report it! Go ahead and report me for my crimes! I should be punished for attempted murder!¡± Compared to her assertive and calm look, Irene appeared to be panicked and distraught. The difference in their attitudes made Sophia seem as if she was used to doing bad things¡ªso much so that she was proficient at it. Therefore, she was naturally fearless. In contrast, Irene was the pitiful female lead whose imagination was limited by her kindness. She was so confused by the evilness that she couldn¡¯t even speak clearly anymore. Wiping away her tears, she wept despairingly. Even so, her determination shone through as she said, ¡°Just you wait; I will definitely expose your true colors!¡± After saying that, Irene turned and left. Meanwhile, Stanley tried to smooth things over as he said to the crowd, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, she¡¯s drunk and talking nonsense. Please don¡¯t believe what she said.¡± Watching as Stanley chased after Irene, who was leaving, everybody began discussing fervently among themselves¡­ Back at home, Michael learned about the incident today through the news. Soon, Irene posted on Twitter, protesting against Sophia. ¡®One will always receive their just rewards, be it good or evil. It¡¯s just a matter of time! I will expose your true colors! Did you think you could fool everybody with your lies forever?!¡¯ Chapter 717 Chapter 717 Irene¡¯stest post was all over the ce. One could almost tell the extreme rage and helplessness she was in when sheposed it. At the same time, many video recordings of Irene being sshed with water and her yelling at Sophia in public were uploaded on the Inte. Everyone knew before this that Irene had been wronged but she chose to keep quiet about it. Finally, she exploded with anger today. These incidents had enraged all her fans, who started criticizing Sophia on Twitter in exasperation. The ¡®ignorant scumbag¡¯ Taylor was also targeted. Meanwhile, Irene called Michael, who was loath to answer the call. He instructed Gemma to keep tabs on the development of the news on the Inte. ¡°Please remove all relevant news as quickly as possible. At the same time, please release the news of the two artists who have been secretly married for eight years and are now getting divorced.¡± The public fight between Irene and Sophia became a media firestorm for just one day before the excitement died down. When something more shocking got out, everyone spontaneously shifted their attention. Thetest rumor was about a young female artist who allegedly divorced her husband whom she had been secretly married to for eight years. On top of that, her husband was also a famous artist. Before this, scandals were going around that these two were dating. In the face of these allegations, they both denied everything outrightly. All theizens were shocked. They did not expect so much to be going on behind the scenes. The news that they had been secretly married for eight years sent everyone reeling. After this news broke out, the female artist raised the allegation that the male artist brought his mistress home and waster caught red-handed in bed. The male artist countered by stating that the female artist was a lesbian and that all the members in her female support group were her sexual partners. In retaliation, he even uploaded a video of a group of lesbians having an orgy. Both the artists personally participated in this Inte whirlwind. This had instigated the fan groups from both sides to start fighting each other. Things became interesting as days went by,pletely going beyond human imagination. On the other side, Taylor and Eddie never responded to the several Twitter posts that Irene made. Besides, many posts were also removed. This hadpletely extinguished the excitement. They certainly did note close to what was taking ce between the other two artists and the rest of the things that were going around in the entertainment industry. The little spark between Taylor, Eddie, and Irenepletely vanished in the face of the turbulence of gossip and rumors. Sophia could not be bothered by what happened. As such, she let Michael take care of it on her behalf. Having read the news, Mark called, although he could almost figure out what happened. Sophia and Irene were both dear to his heart, so it was difficult for him to choose sides. One was the daughter of his godson, another was a descendant of a fallen hero that he watched grow up and treated as his own granddaughter. ¡°Sophia, just let yourself go. If you don¡¯t feel that you can continue to live with him, let me know and I¡¯ll find you a better husband,¡± Mark patiently coaxed Sophia. Mark no longer knew whose side he should be on. This will all depend on how Michael handles this incident. If he still wants to be with Sophia, then he should pick her. If he picks Irene, that goes to show that they were meant to be together. Some things just can¡¯t be forced. Anyway, I¡¯ve been wanting to find a better husband for Sophia as I never got along with Michael. He¡¯s utter trash! It¡¯s been so many years and he still can¡¯t let Sophia conceive. I can¡¯t wait any longer. All I want is for Cooper¡¯s offspring to be born into the Fletcher Family before I die. Sophia was rendered speechless by Mark¡¯s suggestion. She responded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Old Master. We¡¯ll make sure that we handle this well.¡± Hanging up the phone, Sophia put her phone down and saw that Michael was watching TV in the living room. In the living room was also Nathan, who was petting his dog after being left behind in the house by his parents. Meanwhile, many cats and dogs were taking a nap in the corner. There were four dogs and more than ten cats in the house. Two of the cats were pregnant, so there would be more cats soon. Michael felt like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown when he saw the group of ginger cats. This scene reminded him of his younger days living in the militarypound where Old Master Fletcher raised a bunch of orange cats. To him, it was a painful memory¡­ Nothing can be more annoying than that giant poodle at home. It¡¯s truly a monster. At this moment, the giant poodle was sitting right in front of Michael, tilting its head and staring at him. Is it trying to act cute? Doesn¡¯t it know how big it is? This is so creepy. For this reason, Michael would, by all means, avoid any eye contact with it Nichs strolled over and said, ¡°Daddy, Bubbles wants you to pet its head.¡± Pretending to not hear it, Michael turned his head sideways to avoid having eye contact with the giant poodle. Inching forward, the giant poodle sat right in front of Michael and looked him in the eye. Feeling irritated, Michael turned his face away only for the giant poodle to move in the same direction. Again, it sat down right in front of Michael and looked him in the eye. ¡°Bubbles,e to Mommy!¡± Hearing Sophia¡¯s voice, the giant poodle immediately swayed toward her. Michael remained in a state of shock even after the giant poodle had walked away. When this giant teddy bear goes into heat, it¡¯ll be the death of me¡­ Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Bubbles was extremely cooperative when Sophia put a new shirt on it. Even though it was huge, it was nheless a well-mannered puppy at heart. After putting a shirt on Bubbles, Sophia put a hairband on its head and took some pictures of it. She then petted Bubbles on its head and said, ¡°What a cutie pie. Go and let Daddy see it.¡± Wagging its tail, the giant poodle strode over to Michael. It then sat down and stared at Michael wholeheartedly, hoping that he would pet its head. Michael took a quick look at the giant poodle that was in a dog costume wearing a hairband in the form of cat ears. There¡¯s nothing wrong with its looks. But look at how big and threatening it is¡­ How can I refuse to pet its head? Eventually, Michael reached out and petted Bubbles. Bubbles was over the moon as it wagged its sweeping tail. Michael had finallypromised and petted its head! After that, the giant poodle swayed back to Sophia for her to brush its fur. Snowball and Bubbles were both cute dog breeds. They both gave in and let Sophia brush their fur after some resistance. Even Corrado, the masculine one, was cooperative for Sophia to brush its fur knowing that it needed to maintain a good look after shedding. Judge was the only problematic one. It shed a lot but refused to let Sophia brush its fur. There was no way Sophia could hold it down¡­ Sitting in the corner, Michael saw the happy look on Sophia¡¯s face as she sat among the animals. She gently talked to these animals as if they were her children. Deep within Michael, he knew that apart from her career, the other reason she had so many animals was that Michael¡¯s ex was afraid of dogs. Undoubtedly, the main reason was the little desire she had in her heart¡ªto have kids and be a mother. Just be patient for a little while. You will be a mother soon¡­ While browsing the news, Irene realized that her news had already been reced by other shocking news. She could no longer find herself under the trending topics on Twitter. How did this happen? Isn¡¯t that big news? I don¡¯t believe Michael didn¡¯t see it! Why does he refuse to answer my phone? Why hasn¡¯t he taken any action? Can he bear seeing that woman bully me like that? Old Man Fletcher knows about what happened. Howe he never said anything? Irene could not ept it. After trying to call Michael multiple times and not being able to get through, rage razed her sanity to the ground. Since Sophia is suppressing my news, I¡¯m going to create a ruckus! Irene quickly made several long Twitter posts attaching pictures of her injuries and recounting how Sophia pushed her down the stairs as well as the severity of the injuries she sustained. Besides, she also talked about the time when she offered to help Sophia out at her productunch but ended up being sshed with water and insulted by Sophia. I no longer want to be the poor thing who swallows all her grievances. I¡¯m going to confront Sophia head- on! Chapter 718 Chapter 718 Even though no one saw her being sshed with water by Sophia, many were there back in the days when Sophia yelled at her. There were also video recordings of it. After the Twitter post was made, the incident where Sophia pushed Irene down the stairs instantly made the headlines. In no time, many on the Inte started condemning Sophia. This gave the two artists who were secretly married a break. The ball was now in Irene¡¯s hand, and news began spreading like wildfire. Sophia, who had been keeping quiet, finally responded. She responded by posting a few arrogant words on her Twitter: ¡®Call the police if you dare then!¡¯ These words were automatically interpreted by many as: ¡®I wanted to kill you¡ªso what? I have people backing me up. If you want, go ahead and call the police!¡¯ She¡¯s so arrogant and ferocious. How can she be so arrogant after hurting someone? This is absolute lawlessness! Many fans became enraged by the post right away and could not take their eyes off this matter. Irene never intended to go to the police about it as she was feeling guilty. The discreet ce where the incident happened was handpicked by her so that no third party would be able to testify against and for any of them. There was nobody in that emergency passage, nor were there any surveince cameras. However, many in the hospital hallway saw Sophia when she surreptitiously followed Irene. If investigations were to be carried out, it would just be her words against Sophia¡¯s; no one else could testify and prove anything. Before this, Irene never dared to bring this matter up to the police for fear of being investigated. She merely wanted to create a ruckus out of the situation and cause a fight between Michael and Sophia. Little did she know that not only was Sophia unresponsive toward her allegations, but Michael was also suspicious about what happened. Feeling nervous, Irene felt that her efforts had gone to waste as none of her goals were materialized. Under the instigation of public opinion and her confidence over the number of fans she had, she took the risk and went to make a police report. Soon enough, reporters took and published pictures of Irene showing up at a police station with her assistant to make a police report. The police station epted the statement, began the investigation, and updated the public on the progress of the investigation via their official website. Public opinion appeared to be in support of Irene. Finally, Sophia, that heartless b*tch, is going to be arrested. Irene, the brave, fragiledy has finally sought revenge. Now that things are heated up, Sophia, the cruel supporting actress, will be put behind bars. Some even took the opportunity to examine how many years Sophia would have to be in prison. Based on the injury assessment report, Sophia may either be sentenced to a maximum of three years of imprisonment or be ced under police surveince. Reading all the Twitter posts that seemed logical and well-founded, Irene was overjoyed. As long as Sophia can be put behind bars, my opportunity wille. Even if she doesn¡¯t end up in prison, Michael would still be utterly disappointed in her. All of a sudden, an unfamiliar number called Irene. Upon answering it, Irene heard an angry voice yelling, ¡°How dare you report it to the police? Do you want your life to end?¡± Irene knew who this person was: it was the person who had been helping her out but decided to withdraw halfway through. Irene responded conceitedly, ¡°You useless pig. What else should I have done?¡± Not saying anything, that person hung up. Irene had been monitoring the news for the past couple of days. At the same time, she had also been waiting for Sophia to call. However, neither Sophia nor Michael called. Only Old Man Fletcher called several times to check on how things were while persuading her to withdraw the police report. We¡¯re family. Things shouldn¡¯t get so ugly. But, Irene was still determined to make a ruckus. While Irene was eagerly waiting for Sophia to be arrested, Michael posted a video clip on his various social media ounts. This was unlike Michael, who was never involved in any of these dramas. The first scene of the video clip was the busy hospital hallway. It was the day Sophia allegedly pushed Irene down the stairs. The back of a woman in a patient¡¯s gown was facing the camera. As the woman turned around, Irene¡¯s face appeared. After turning around and sweeping a nce, she surreptitiously opened the door to the emergency passage and went in by herself. A few minutester, Sophia, in her patient¡¯s gown, went in too. At this point, the camera zoomed in as if someone was controlling the camera. Sophia then opened the door and let the person holding the camera follow from behind. Throughout the entire video clip, Sophia was in sight and would asionally turn around. Later in the recording, the person recording turned on the night mode on the video camera after realizing that they were in a dark and bleak stairway. As such, the video was still clear. After just a couple of seconds, Sophia heard a series of thuds and immediately began running toward it, followed by the person holding the camera. Shortly after that, the video disyed the scene where Irene was bleeding and lying on the ground in her patient¡¯s gown. ¡°Oh my God!¡± Sophia yelped and ran out to look for help. The next scene went back to the hospital hallway where Sophia was calling a doctor toe and rescue Irene. Thest scene of the video clip was where Sophia nervously followed behind the crowd. The video clip was of high resolution, so every face in that video clip was visible and discernible. In addition, the entire video clip was time-stamped, from the scene where Irene entered through the door to Sophia doing the same, and it was unedited. After paying close attention to the video, one could notice in the surveince clip of the hallway that there was a quick and energetic robot following Sophia. That¡¯s Nichs! Sophia mentions him a lot in her Twitter posts. The robot followed Sophia around and recorded the entire process! Based on the contents of the video clip, Sophia did not push Irene down the stairs; instead, Irene fell down the stairs herself. The truth finally came to light! Sophia was framed! Irene¡¯s jaw dropped when she finished watching the video clip. I didn¡¯t even notice that Sophia had a robot following her around. s, that robot can even record videos! What should I do now? Desperate, Irene quickly deleted all her usatory Twitter posts that could be used as evidence before she dialed her assistant with her trembling fingers. She wanted her assistant to post a Twitter post in her stead, saying: ¡®Irene Webber fell and bumped her head, so she could not remember clearly what happened that time and thought that Sophia pushed her. We¡¯re truly sorry, everyone.¡¯ Good thing that I really bumped my head because of how dark it was. It¡¯s sensible to say that I couldn¡¯t clearly remember if I fell off the stairs myself or someone pushed me. I suppose there¡¯s still room for maneuver. Following that, Irene quickly withdrew her police report and sent out some Twitter posts begging for sympathy, stating how severe her condition was after bumping her head and that no one cared about her. She continued by saying that she had mistakenly used Sophia and she was sorry. Perhaps, as time goes by, people will forget this incident. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Much to her surprise, Taylor posted another video clip on Twitter after a couple of hours. The video clip was recorded on the day of the productunch for Sophia¡¯s pet luxury goods brand. In a quiet and empty corner, Sophia and Irene were seen talking to each other. The content of their conversation was not made avable, but Irene looked sorrowful as she begged Sophia, who was sitting right opposite her drinking a ss of water. Throughout the whole conversation, Sophia lookedposed and calm. All of a sudden, the sorrowful Irene snatched the ss from Sophia and sshed the water in the ss onto her face. When she did it, the camera clearly captured the ferocious yet happy grin on her face¡­ Chapter 719 Chapter 719 All of a sudden, the audio of the video clip sounded out. Following that, Irene¡¯s horrific scream was immediately heard before she took a few steps back, looking enraged yet frightened. The next scene was from a different video clip that was seamlessly incorporated into the first one¡ªit was the video clip of Sophia and Irene trying to rip each other apart in public¡­ In that video clip, Irene was crying hysterically while yelling at Sophia. Throughout the entire process, Sophia did nothing but unemotionally stare at her. ¡°This vicious woman pushed me down the stairs hoping that I would die! You two-faced woman! Taylor will see through your true colors, sooner orter! It¡¯s just a matter of time! Contrary to what you want, I won¡¯t die! I¡¯m going to live my life to the fullest! I¡¯m going to see what other insane things you¡¯re going to come up with! And, I¡¯m going to watch you expose your true colors to the world!¡± ¡°Well, well. Since you used me of pushing you down the stairs, forcing you to lie during your press conference, and forcing you tomit suicide, you should report it! Go ahead and report me for my crimes! I should be punished for attempted murder!¡± Seeing this, everyone instantly understood what a real plot twist meant. This was apletely unexpected turn of events. In the same Twitter post, Taylor wrote in a sarcastic tone for the first time: ¡®It seems like Miss Weber had a pretty serious head injury!¡¯ If her falling down the stairs was an ident that caused her to bump her head and be confused as to what happened, how does she exin this incident? How could she still take Sophia¡¯s ss and ssh water onto herself to frame her if she had a head injury? She¡¯s incredibly sick! Just moments ago, she was still an innocent and aggrieveddy. In the next second, she sshed water on herself without batting an eye and pretended to be framed and frightened. Her malicious acting skills and perfect pretense truly made one¡¯s blood run cold. It was no wonder that she was able to deceive so many for such a long time. At that point, the video clip came to an end. After processing the order of events, many realized that it was Irene acting up by herself all along, one drama after another. As for Taylor and Sophia, they had been refraining from responding. At first, many assumed that it was because they were guilty as charged, but looking at the evidence right now, their reluctance to respond was thest bit of mercy Taylor showed Irene, his first love. He knew about the truth from the beginning. Possessing those video clips the whole time, he had been loath to post them on the Inte. He chose to wait patiently until Irene made a ruckus out of it by going to the police. That was the breaking point for Taylor. This whole time, Irene had been digging a hole for herself. The discussion on the Inte began to get heated up. After watching that video clip, Irene sat on the floor in a daze. It¡¯s all over¡­ I didn¡¯t know that Michael knew the truth the whole time and had those videos with him! How could I still act up pretentiously in front of him when he knew about what happened this entire time? I still thought I could change his mind. Little did I know that he had been looking at me like a fool! This is ridiculous. Truly ridiculous. Michael Fletcher, you are evil. Truly evil! The entertainment industry could never be short of rumors and shocking news. After a couple of days, the public sentiment toward this news died down. Meanwhile, Irene still made the headlines from time to time. For example: ¡®Army Singer Irene Weber Undergoing Mental Treatment Abroad¡¯. Regardless of whether or not she had a mental illness, treating herself as a mental patient was the only way out if she wanted to save thest bit of her dignity. People who are mentally ill get away with murder. I¡¯m definitely safe since all I did was use and frame Sophia. However, she nheless had to pay the price by using mental illness as an excuse to get away with everything she did. For instance, she had to change her career right away as a mentally ill person was not allowed in the army. Without her military status, she lost everything, including her military rank and other benefits. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Besides, a mentally ill person could no longer be in the art and literature industry. Also, it did not help that the entertainment industry was Michael¡¯s territory; there was no way she could remain there. It saddened Old Man Fletcher to see how Irene turned out. Ever since then, he never saw Irene again, and Irene never had the audacity to return to the Fletcher Residence. Fearing that this might have been a huge blow to Old Man Fletcher, Sophia took Nathan to visit him. When they arrived there, they saw that Old Man Fletcher was in good shape. ¡°Sigh. What can I do? I don¡¯t understand young people¡¯s affairs anymore.¡± Old Master is right. He¡¯s been through so much. Look how well he is even after establishing a career for himself at a young age and facing the death of a number of his children and grandchildren. While Sophia was lost in thought, Old Master Fletcher cornered her in that round of chess. After that, Sophia learned about what happened to Irene. iming to have changed her career, Irene was actually fired from the army. Since she did not dare to return to the Fletcher Residence, she had to start making her own living. Word had it that she left the country to receive medical treatment, but she was actually using that as an excuse to avoid the consequences of everything she did. Although Sophia did not dig further into this matter, she nheless kept herself updated on Irene¡¯s news. Since the beginning, Michael had had those video clips with him. Nevertheless, he chose not to release all the evidence so that he could allow Irene to continue with her ns and test his limits. It wasn¡¯t until Irene made a ruckus out of the situation that he released the video clips to deal her a blow. Michael had been a gentleman in showing hisst bit of mercy to his ex. Although he had the evidence all along, he chose not to release it until he had to. Then again, this could be interpreted as extreme coldness. Irene began executing her n by carefully testing the waters. She did not make any public statement herself but spread rumors everywhere behind the scenes. Whenever she faced Michael, she seemed cooperative while acting in self-pity. As such, Michael was unable to bring himself to release the proof right away. Had he done that then, Irene would have had room for maneuver by saying that she had never used Sophia of pushing her down the stairs in the first ce. She was even trying her best to defend Sophia to make herself look good. Though, she never seeded in defending Sophia. Conversely, Sophia always ended up being criticized heavily. However, Irene never got hold of any leverage. The hospital video clip did not hurt her; it was merely one less opportunity to cause a provocation. Michael withheld the truth and let Irene perform all her acts. The devastating suicide attempt and the press conferences were all tests set up by Michael. Knowing that Irene wanted to make a fuss out of everything, he never allowed that to happen. Every time she made a scene, he minimized its impact to slowly agitate her, leading her to a head-on confrontation with Sophia. As long as she used Sophia of pushing her down the stairs, every single word that she said would be a nail that could not be removed. When he released the evidence then, Irene would have no way of escaping. Everyone would then know that she had falsely used Sophia. In that way, she would be forced into an impasse! Sophia never got along with Irene. If it were not for Irene¡¯s own act of testing Michael¡¯s limit, none of these would have happened. Now, she lost everything, including the Fletcher Family¡¯s protection. It was a stark contrast with her life before this. Though appearing merciful, Michael was extremely cruel. Had he still had any hopes of getting Irene back, he could have shown her the video clips, in the beginning, to persuade her to stop. But, he did not do that. Step by step, he led her on until she walked into the trap that he set up¡­ After finishing another round of chess, Sophia went home. Michael prepared many good dishes for Sophia that day. Meanwhile, Stanley and the others showed up after being invited. So did Sam, who came because of the dogs. After the meal, everyone gathered in the living room and chatted. Michael was sitting on the couch. Looking at Sam, who was petting and cuddling Corrado who had just eaten poop half an hour before Sam arrived, he smiled happily. ¡°Look at how gorgeous and smart Corrado is. Master Sam, you have such good taste!¡± Michael complimented. Looking proud, Sam responded, ¡°Of course. Corrado is such a good dog.¡± Sitting in the corner, Sophia dared not speak or move an inch. The first thing she saw when she came home today was Corrado eating sh*t in the backyard. She quickly dragged it into the bathroom to wash its mouth. Much to her surprise, before she could finish washing its mouth, Sam showed up, then¡­ Chapter 720 Chapter 720 Sam said to Sophia, ¡°You¡¯ve had a hard time recently.¡± As she peered at his face, the image of Corrado eating sh*t shed across her eyes. She then started recalling the scene of Sam kissing Corrado earlier. Putting these two images together¡­ Sophia instantly felt nauseous. Even though Sam had a high social status, Sophia only had one thought at this moment¡­ Bleurgh! Staring at Sam¡¯s face, a wave of nausea swept over Sophia. The food that she ate earlier began churning in her stomach. Before she realized it, the taste of vomit had filled her throat. She immediately cradled her mouth, ran into the bathroom, and vomited out everything that she ate today. After that, she turned around and saw Corrado sitting on the toilet with a deep yearning in his eyes. It was as if he was waiting to start digging into the pile of mashed-up food beneath her. The sight of that made her queasy again¡­ Sam came over and asked, ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s going on?¡± While Michael was getting some water and tissue for Sophia, he overheard Sam¡¯s question. He stuck out his neck and cracked, ¡°Perhaps your gorgeous face made her nauseous, Master Sam.¡± Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Sam thought that these words had deeper implications and were full of hatred, but he did not know why Michael said these to him. The rest of the people who were there knew that it had something to do with the dogs, as Judge made Sophia throw up once before. Trying to soothe the awkwardness, Stanley piped in, ¡°Ha! Uncle Michael loves to joke!¡± Sophia threw up so hard that she almost emptied her gastric acids. Aftering out of the bathroom, she saw Sam¡¯s face and immediately felt queasy again. Knowing that Sam was the reason that she threw up, Michael quickly stated, ¡°Master Sam, Sophia doesn¡¯t seem to be well today. I¡¯ll bring her to her room upstairs to get some rest.¡± Hearing that, Sam did a double-take. He felt something but could not tell what exactly it was. He then said, ¡°Take care. I¡¯ll be off now.¡± Sam¡¯s voice instantly reminded Sophia of his face. As such, she started retching again. I guess I can never look Master Sam in the eye again¡­ Michael quickly took her back to the bedroom and gave her something to drink before putting her to sleep. The next day, Sophia still felt unwell. I think it¡¯s serious this time. It seems like every time I try eating something, Sam¡¯s face will appear. His face will then remind me of Corrado and his mouthful of poop¡­ Bleurgh! Having just eaten breakfast, Sophia puked out all the food again. After that, shey on her bed and was having difficulty breathing; her head was also starting to hurt. Michael patted her head before tucking her under the nket. Meanwhile, he cast a quick nce at Corrado in the corner and said, ¡°Is it because of this dog? Let me send him away.¡± I only nned to let Corrado eat some sh*t to make Sam feel sick, and perhaps through that, Sophia would stop liking him. I guess I seeded¡ªSophia can¡¯t stop feeling queasy every time she sees Sam now. I didn¡¯t expect it to get so bad. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s work-rted stress. I¡¯ll just take two days off work,¡± Sophia responded weakly as shey in bed. The sight of her ashen face made Michael feel bad. He never meant to overdo it. s, what he did backfired and now Sophia got sick. ¡°That sounds like a good idea. Take two days off work and get some good rest.¡± Recently, Sophia had been working long hours as her business progressed. Plum Technology had been doing well to the extent that Stanley had started preparing for its listing. Her luxury pet brand ¡®Pourl¡¯ received positive public feedback and response after it made its debut. At the same time, all her other projects had kick-started. She reckoned she might have overworked recently, causing her to be constantly stressed. It was no wonder that she fell ill. Since she insisted on working, Michael could not possibly lock her at home with the dogs, regardless of how bad he felt. Eventually, Michael decided to inform Stanley toe and pick up Judge. ¡°Bring that sh*tty dog away! Look at what he did to your aunt!¡± Eyes widening, Stanley was enraged when he heard that. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! How can you possibly me him? Weren¡¯t you happy when you taught him to eat sh*t? Do you regret it now because Sophia got sick?¡± He continued swearing as he led Judge away. However, Stanley had been incredibly busy with work recently that he kept neglecting Judge. After a day or two, Judge went back to Michael¡¯s ce. Perhaps even dogs could tell the difference between good and bad hospitality. After sessfully sending Judge away, Michael turned to Corrado. This dog is truly hideous. I have to send him away. Sophia¡¯s health condition did not seem to improve. Whenever she ate something or saw an animal, Chrysanthemum and Bubbles included, she would immediately start throwing up. After studying the situation, Michael noticed that Chrysanthemum and Bubbles had amon feature¡ª they were both yellowish. He then nced around and saw the few orange cats at home, realizing that they all resembled a clump of poop whenever they were grouped together. It was indeed disgusting. There are way too many animals in the house. Some of them have to go. I have to find someone to adopt those newly born kittens. If I can¡¯t find anyone to take them, I¡¯m just going to send them to Sarah¡¯s cat caf¨¦. I don¡¯t want these animals to nauseate Sophia anymore, especially that giant poodle that looks like walking feces. She¡¯s so disgusting! Michael decided to call Sam toe and pick up his dog. ¡°Master Sam, I¡¯m truly sorry for calling you over. As you know, Sophia hasn¡¯t been feeling well recently. The doctor says it¡¯s a sudden allergic reaction to dogs. She throws up every time she sees one. I¡¯m afraid we can¡¯t take care of Corrado temporarily. You might have to bring him home,¡± Michael said apologetically. Sam began cursing him in his heart, Dog allergy, my *ss! I know you¡¯re trying to get rid of me, Michael. But¡­ Sophia did indeed throw up after seeing Corrado that day. Perhaps she¡¯s really sick. Leaving Corrado there might really be inconvenient for them. As such, he smilingly went to pick up Corrado and left. Once he left The Imperial, he began to look ferocious. He tried using Irene to split Michael and Sophia up, but he did not expect Michael to outsmart him. Irene¡¯s too dumb and rash. She jumped right into his trap. She¡¯s no longer usable. If it weren¡¯t because of Irene¡¯s stupidity, I would¡¯ve been able to use her for something bigger. Now that she¡¯s completely useless, I¡¯ll have toe up with another n¡­ The Edwards Family had another elders¡¯ meeting. During the annual elders¡¯ meeting, things pertaining to the Edwards Family would be brought up for discussion. The discussion today was on Lucy¡¯s wedding. Previously, the Edwards Family had decided for Lucy to marry Linus of the Michel Family. However, the arrangement fell through. Even though Lucy was young, to maximize the benefits Lucy¡¯s marriage could bring, they had toe up with a perfect candidate for Lucy to approach. Firstly, the elders came up with a list of people who could match up to Lucy. The list contained the sessor of a certain foreign financial group, the son of a certain local wealthy and highly respectable family, and so on. They were determined to pick a husband for Lucy. Sitting in the corner, Lucy remained silent as she watched the elders of the Edwards Family pick the perfect man for her. As far as she was concerned, marriage was merely a way to integrate resources. As such, the person she married depended entirely on how powerful that person was. Soon enough, a decision as to the most eligible bachelor for Lucy was made. At the same time, Sam threw out a r¨¦sum¨¦ and said, ¡°Personally, this is by far the best and most suitable man for Lucy.¡± Everyone turned to the information on that r¨¦sum¨¦ and became aghast at what they saw. Curious, Lucy peeked at the name on the r¨¦sum¨¦: Michael Fletcher. Chapter 721 Chapter 721 Who¡¯s this? I¡¯ve never heard of this name in Bayside City. By the sound of it, he seems to be rted to the Fletcher Family. Much to everyone¡¯s surprise, they saw a few more sentences as they read on. His stage name is Taylor Murray; one of the grandsons of the Founding Father, Mark Fletcher. Father¡¯s name is Theo Fletcher; mother¡¯s name is Elizabeth Murray; sister¡¯s name is Celine Fletcher. The anonymous person-in-charge behind Ascot International and Audistin. Two times winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor. ¡­ Lucy and everyone else from the Edwards Family were taken by surprise. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Is this really who Taylor Murray is? We did previously find out about his mother being Elizabeth Murray and that she left him some inheritance. As such, he does have some power and money with him, although it belonged to his mother. I got rid of him because I couldn¡¯t see any future being with him. But¡­ his father is Theo Fletcher! Theo and Mark aren¡¯t ordinary people. Had Theo not passed at a young age, he would¡¯ve attained an unimaginable status by now. Also¡­ how can Taylor be the anonymous person-in-charge behind the powerful corporation that emerged in the past couple of years in Bayside City? Everyone, including Lucy, was impressed by Michael. Is this really my cheap-looking ex who raises a dog that eats poops? Had Lucy learned about this by word of mouth, she would not have bought it. But now that she got it from Sam, she had no choice but to believe it. All of a sudden, everyone began seeing Taylor¡ªno, Michael¡ªin a new light. Never in my wildest dream would I have imagined him having such impressive credentials. Why did he hide all his credentials this whole time? Jordan was equally impressed by Michael¡¯s credentials. Overall, Jordan reckoned that Michael was the perfect son-inw for the Edwards Family¡ªmuch better than Linus¡ªnot to mention he used to date Lucy. ¡°But¡­¡± Jordan¡¯s eyebrows tangled in a frown. Based on the information, Michael was married. Sam exined, ¡°His marital status is temporary. As long as Lucy makes up her mind, he can easily be hers.¡± Lucy gawked at the r¨¦sum¨¦ in shock and was trembling. However, she knew well that if she decided to put in the effort, Michael would eventually be hers. Based on all his credentials, be it his appearance, status, or power, he was truly the perfect husband candidate, ticking all the boxes of Lucy and the Edwards Family. There were just two things that did not sit well with Lucy: Michael let his dog eat feces, and how she caught his dog in the act. After giving it some thought, Lucy still agreed to it. Since this is a marriage for political gains, what benefits we can get out of it are the priority. A feces- eating dog is insignificantpared to the huge benefits before us. If we really get what we want, I¡¯m willing to eat feces myself. Ha. Marriage for political gains. Most of the elders felt good about Michael. Unlike Michael, not many men in Bayside City could match up to Lucy. Sam knew that once Lucy began her hunt, Michael would not have a way out. Although this would be cruel to Sophia, Sam nheless felt that Sophia deserved someone better than Michael, who was better off with someone like Lucy. As for Sophia, she deserved a better husband¡ªlike himself. While everyone thought that Sam had helped the Edwards Family find a wealthy man to be their son-in- law, Jordan sensed that Sam was up to something else. As the 9th Old Master of the Edwards Family, his marriage was always a big concern for everyone in the family, including Jordan, because whether or not he got married influenced his standing in this family. Having observed Sam¡¯s recent whereabouts, Jordan knew that he had always spent time at Michael¡¯s ce; he knew that he was there for Sophia. Now that he was giving all that he had to set Michael up with Lucy, he reckoned that his ultimate goal was perhaps not as simple as finding a husband for Lucy. I¡¯m afraid Sam has fallen for a woman¡ªa woman who has a husband¡­ Soon enough, Lucy began to take action to approach Michael. As the daughter of the Edwards Family, she could easily find the opportunity to meet Michael. Three dayster, Michael showed up at a private cocktail party hosted by a tycoon. It was not his choice to be there. He came here with some of the new designers. As Sophia was still sick at home, he took Ivan to this party to help broaden his exposure. After seeing Michael, Lucy walked up. Dressed gracefully and gorgeously, Lucy lovingly sauntered toward Michael. Upon noticing her, Michael raised his ss and greeted her. The two began to converse normally with each other. Noticing that Michael did not suspect anything, Lucy seized the opportunity and said, ¡°You gave me a bottle of red wine from Francisville Winery seven years ago. I¡¯ve been saving it until today. I reckon that now is probably the best time to drink it. I was wondering if you were free tonight¡­¡± Having made it as clear as possible, Michael understood what she was trying to say. Lucy figured that he would most likely agree to her proposal as no man in this world could resist her and her money. Much to her surprise, Michael frowned before saying, ¡°I¡¯m truly sorry, but I have a doctor¡¯s appointment today. Maybe next time.¡± Upon hearing that, Lucy was frozen. How ignorant of him! However, given Michael¡¯s background, she had to patiently y this game with him. She knew that he was no longer the same person she knew before, and she was also no longer the simple She carried on the conversation with Michael, attempting to remind him of some of the memories from when they were madly in love with each other. However, shortly after that, he checked his watch and ced his ss down on the table, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m afraid I have to go now. It¡¯s almost time for my doctor¡¯s appointment.¡± Anger raged within Lucy as she watched him hurry out of the party. Michael, are you ying ¡®hard to get¡¯? Very well. You got my attention now. After meeting the doctor, Michael went home with him. He assumed that Sophia had an allergic reaction. As she would start throwing up whenever she saw an animal, he had temporarily prevented the animals from getting close to her. Even so, Sophia was still unable to eat anything without vomiting. She had been experiencing headaches and tightness in her chest, causing her entire body to feel weak. Having realized the direness of the situation, he made an appointment with the doctor for the doctor toe over and see Sophia. On another day, Stanley received a phone call from Michael while he was at work. Surprisingly, Michael sounded unusually affable today and carried a deep sense of affection in his voice. ¡°Stan,e over for dinner after work today. I¡¯ve prepared a feast. Remember to invite the rest.¡± Stanley was left in utter confusion after the line went dead. Never in my life has Michael ever invited me over for a meal, and he even called me to extend the invitation! Something¡¯s definitely wrong. Is this a trap? Is he trying to tell me that he¡¯s going to cut off ties with me because Judge nauseated Sophia with his poop-eating habit? Mired in anxiety and restlessness, Stanley showed up at Michael¡¯s ce and saw a spread of delicious food set out on the table. It was difficult for him to not be over the moon at the sight of that. Upon seeing Stanley, Michael initiated the conversation, still in a friendly manner, ¡°Stanley, you¡¯re here! Go and wash your hands, then we can start eating.¡± Michael¡¯s attitude shook Stanley to the core. I¡¯m dead. This is really a trap. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to walk out of this house today. Chapter 722 Chapter 722 Scared out of his wits, Stanley rushed toward Michael, hugged his leg, and implored, ¡°Uncle Michael, I¡¯m sorry! Please don¡¯t kill me! I won¡¯t talk badly about you to Aunt again! Sob! I¡¯m your biological niece. Can you please not kill me?¡± ¡­¡­ Without saying a word, Michael¡¯s face dropped. Since today was the day he learned about the first-ever big news in his life, he would not allow himself to lose his temper. He kicked Stanley before saying nicely, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m having you over for a meal, not to kill you.¡± Meanwhile, Stanley was already frozen with terror as he began sobbing. An instantter, many turned up, including Harry and his little kitten, Sean, Celine and Justin, Ivan, as well as Sophia¡¯s junior, Derek, who showed up amid his busy college entrance exam preparation schedule. Even Daniel, who never got along with Sophia, showed up. Once they walked through the door, they immediately saw Stanley¡¯s sobbing face. They all came up and surrounded him. Upon finding out the reason why he was crying, Celine roared withughter. ¡°You stupid dog! Fifi is pregnant! Look at how happy your uncle looks today. He won¡¯t choose today to kill you, and perhaps not anytime within the next couple of months. Rx!¡± An epiphany dawned on Stanley, who turned around and looked incredulous. Sophia¡¯s pregnant! It¡¯s no wonder that Sophia is all smiles while looking at me right now. Sophia looked rather different today. It was as if she was glowing and emanating an aroma as she was experiencing an important turning point in her life. One could tell that she had a radically different aura today. Sophia¡¯s pregnant, and Michael¡¯s going to be a father! To celebrate this, Michael decided to host a feast, only inviting those who were close to him. Still keeping Sophia¡¯s pregnancy on the down low, Michael only told some people about it. What was even more surprising was that when Michael took Sophia for a checkup, Celine tagged along. Celine ended up also doing a checkup and finding out that she too was pregnant. This was truly a double celebration! When the news of the two pregnancies reached the Fletcher Family, Mark decided to visit them. While he looked happy as a m when he showed up, Woody looked rather nonplussed. ¡°Justin, Celine¡¯s pregnant?!¡± As a father-to-be and a second-time father, Michael and Justin delightedly wrapped their arms around their wives as they beamed with happiness. Nathan was over the moon as well. Although he would no longer be the only child in the family, the thought of having two baby sisters to carry around delighted him. Sophia had not informed the Edwards Family about her pregnancy. At this point, Lucy was still trying to find ways to meet Michael. However, she gradually became aware that Michael was not as warm toward her as she had expected. The most he did whenever they met was to arduously greet her and nothing more than that. As such, Lucy decided to let Jordan know about the current situation with Michael. Upon hearing it, Jordan immediately understood the situation. Michael has surely figured out what Lucy¡¯s up to. He wouldn¡¯t be the Michael I know if he didn¡¯t understand Lucy¡¯s obvious cues. A Bayside City anonymous and a character who chooses to hide behind the fa?ade of Bayside City to manipte things behind the scene¡ªthat¡¯s Michael, the second-rate clown that the Edwards Family despises. But¡­ what can I do? This problem belongs to the younger generation. I have to retreat. Having said that, I don¡¯t believe that Michael doesn¡¯t have any feelings whatsoever for Lucy. He will surely have a thing toward the woman who used to despise him but has nowe back to him. I guess the key lies with his wife, Sophia. Jordan had certainly looked into who Sophia was. She thinks she¡¯s Cindere, but she¡¯s just the daughter of an illegitimate son of the Edwards Family. She doesn¡¯t evene close to being included in the genealogy record book. It¡¯s such a waste that Michael chose to be with her¡­ Recently, Sam had been finding reasons to visit Michael¡¯s ce now that Corrado was sent back. In the end, he thought he could use visiting her while she was sick as an excuse. In fact, he had been worried about Sophia¡¯s health condition. On the other hand, he reckoned that Lucy had started executing her n to get close to Michael. I wonder how that¡¯s going. So long as it¡¯s Lucy, Michael isn¡¯t going to have a way out. Sam had been following Michael around recently, hoping to obtain some evidence of him being with Lucy to show Sophia. But his efforts had not been fruitful so far. I can no longer sit back and wait. I¡¯m going to their house to check it out. A couple of dayster, he showed up at Michael¡¯s ce. Since Sam was one of the investors in all of Sophia¡¯s projects, Sophia had no reason not to let him into the house. Upon entering the house, Sophia and Sam took a seat before Sophia instructed her helper to bring some hot tea for them. While Sam was taking a few swigs of hot tea, he could not help taking a peek at her. Seeing Sophia¡¯s glowing face, he reckoned that she had already recovered from her illness. ¡°Sophia, did you recover already? Looking down, Sophia smirked rather shyly and responded, ¡°Yes, after taking some medication.¡± Sam asked, ¡°You no longer throw up after seeing dogs, do you?¡¯ Sophia replied, ¡°Not anymore.¡± There was a taboo among the artists¡ªno pregnancies that were less than three months could be announced publicly. All this while, she had been upied with work. Before she realized it, her pregnancy was almost three months. However, she would not make any announcements even if it was only a couple of days shy of three months, and she would definitely not tell Sam about it. She responded, ¡°Thank you for your concern, Master Sam. I have always been healthy. It was my busy work schedule that lowered my immunity and caused me to fall sick.¡± Nodding, Sam began ncing around. It¡¯s the weekend today. I wonder if Michael is home. But, he¡¯s an actor. Actors work every day throughout the week, don¡¯t they? After looking around calmly for a good instant, Sam stated, ¡°Where¡¯s Taylor? Why isn¡¯t he around while you are sick?¡± Michael¡¯s name made Sophia blush. She cradled her mouth and answered, ¡°Who knows where that jerk went¡­¡± Michael had been working on a new film recently. Fortunately, the set was in Bayside City, so he could come home every day after work. Apart from the new film, he even made an exception and became a spokesman for an advertisement. He did all these for the baby. Doubts arose in Sam¡¯s heart. Sophia looks different from when I normally see her, but I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s different about her. As they carried on their conversation, the security guard of the residential area called and informed her that she had visitors. Sophia looked at the surveince screen and saw Joe and Faye standing outside. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. What are they doing here? Although Sophia was loath to invite them, especially Joe, in, Joe was nheless her father on paper. Furthermore, he was part of the Edwards Family. Sam would definitely be suspicious if she refused to let her father in. ¡°Who are they?¡± Sam asked, to which Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s my dad and my sister.¡± Her father¡­ and her sister! Right away, Sophia stood up and went to get Joe and Faye. As she turned around, Sam¡¯s countenance became gloomy. Joe¡­ Sophia¡¯s father on paper. Isn¡¯t he the fat chap who raped Annabel? When Sam found out about Joe, Sam resisted the urge to kill him numerous times. But, I¡¯m going to hold it in for Sophia. The amulet given by Cooper which Sophia wore showed that she had long known the identity of her biological father. However, she was nheless willing to treat Joe as her father. I bet Sophia and Michael know the truth about the identity of her biological father. Regardless, it¡¯s beneficial for Sophia to acknowledge Joe, the fat chap, as her father. She can ride on Joe¡¯s standing in the Edwards Family to be included in the genealogy record book, and enjoy the protection of the Edwards Family. But, if Sophia¡¯s identity as Cooper¡¯s daughter came to light, it might invite revenge from the Mitchell Family. I¡¯m sure they will try their best to kill her like how they killed her father¡­ Chapter 723 Chapter 723 When Sophia went to greet Joe, Sam suddenly stood up and strode across. He looked at her coldly and said, ¡°Since you have a guest, I will get going now.¡± ¡°Huh? Aren¡¯t you going to stay a bit longer, Master Sam? At least have something to eat before you leave!¡± Unfortunately, Sam left apathetically without eating anything. He feared that he might want to kill Joe if he saw him. When Sam exited the area, he saw the father-daughter pair make their way in. Joe had heavy jowls on his face and arge potbelly. Upon seeing Sam, his smiling face turned his eyes into slits. ¡°Oh! Isn¡¯t this Master Sam? Such a coincidence!¡± However, Sam did not even spare him one look and continued to walk ahead. Joe did not call him out for it, nor did he dare to continue talking to him. He simply headed to Vi No. 8 with Faye. Sophia did not have any intention to meet Joe and Faye. Originally, she was going to act with filial piety in front of Sam. But, now that Sam was gone, she could not bring herself to put up the act any longer. When she saw Joe, she asked coldly, ¡°What do you want?¡± Joe¡¯s eyes were barely visible on his smiling face now. All that could be seen was a dramatic set of gold teeth. He snickered. ¡°Sophia, my daughter. I have good news for you!¡± Faye was also smiling with bright eyes. ¡°It¡¯s actually great news. I promise you won¡¯t regret it after you hear it!¡± Sophia stared at them coldly. Even though they had not seen each other in a while, Joe was still fat. On the other hand, Faye seemed to have changed. She looked kinder and more like Sophia. Faye thought Sophia had nice eyes the first time they met each other. Since she needed to get her nose fixed after she got punched in the face, she decided to also get her eyes done so they looked simr to Sophia¡¯s. This time, she even got her mouth done to look like Sophia. Every time Sophia saw Faye, she felt goosebumps all over. ¡°Get out. I don¡¯t want to see either of you. Please get out of my sight in three seconds.¡± Then, she turned around and left the two of them outside the big metal gate. When Joe saw that she was leaving, he quickly shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the Edwards Family. They have their eyes on your husband, Taylor Murray. They want him as their son-inw!¡± Sophia stopped in her tracks abruptly. At this point, Joe did not try to build suspense anymore. With a flushed face, he said, ¡°You¡¯re going to make it big. The Edwards have their eyes on Taylor! As long as you divorce him, you will automatically be put on their family registry and be set up with someone even better than Taylor!¡± The way Joe saw it; Taylor might be rich but he still did notpare to the Edwards Family. He was only an actor. Being favored by the youngdy of the Edwards Family was the result of the good fortune he had earned in his previous life. ¡°This is such a good opportunity. As long as you divorce Taylor, the Edwards Family will fulfill their promise! This is your only chance! The moment you agree, you will get everything other people can only dream of. Our whole family will be indebted to you!¡± Joe could not wait for Taylor and Sophia to get divorced. That way, he could gain so much more from the Edwards Family. Moreover, he was also doing Taylor a tremendous favor. What man in this world would reject the chance of bing the rich son-inw of the Edwards Family? Perhaps once Taylor was happy, he would destroy the overdue materials Joe had left with him. After listening to the whole thing, however, Sophia did not even look back as she said, ¡°That¡¯s such good news. You should go by yourself, Dad.¡± Joe could not believe that Sophia had declined this great opportunity. Seeing that his chance to get into the Edwards Family was slowly slipping away, he berated, ¡°Sophia! You have to think through this properly. Lucy Edwards, the youngdy of the Edwards Family, is the one who has her eyes on your husband! You know just as well whether you can keep him or not! She is the Lucy Edwards. Do you think you can go up against her? If you give in now, you still have such a great opportunity waiting for you! If you still can¡¯t think straight, then don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you when you lose both Taylor and all your wealth on the day he divorces you!¡± Thud! Sophia mmed the door shut and locked loudmouth Joe outside. She did not want to hear a single sound from him. Because of Joe¡¯s visit, Sophia spent the whole day in low spirits. She did not go out nor did she have much of an appetite. She had been sleeping moretely. The weather was a bit stuffy and hot in the afternoon. After forcing herself to have something to eat, she went toy on the bed while rubbing her belly. She was quickly reaching the end of her first trimester. Oftentimes, she felt like she could feel a tiny worm wriggling around inside of her. It was a rather intriguing experience. I¡¯m going to be a mother soon! Not a mother for cats or dogs, but for her own child! Suddenly, a thought urred to her. Getting up, she went to look for Annabel¡¯s diary and started flipping through the pages, one by one. When Annabel was pregnant with Sophia, the Johnson Family kept her inside the house like a money tree and did not let her go out or work. Because she did not have anything to do all day, she used the little education she had to write in her diary. Even though there were many incorrect words, Sophia was still able to understand them. Now that she was going to be a mother herself, Sophia felt even more moved as she read through the diary. She did not have any parents when she was born and had a hard life growing up. I¡¯m never going to let my child follow in my footsteps. Never! Michael was rather exhausted by the time he got home after work that night. He had his hands full during this time with hispany, his movie, and finding Phantom Wolf. After thest incident, Phantom Wolf seemed to have disappeared from the human realm, but Michael knew that he was still alive. Ever since he found out he was going to be a father, he felt another weight added onto his shoulders. He had to fight in order to protect his family! No matter how dangerous the future got, he had to forge on! Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. When he got home, a bunch of furry kids rushed toward him. Michael was under a lot of pressure, but he was also happy. It won¡¯t be long now before we have a furless kid in our house. There was a heavy downpour in the middle of the night and drops of rain had covered Michael¡¯s shoulders. He got in the house, hung his coat up, and put down the bags in his hands. Sophia immediately got out of bed and went downstairs when he came home. ¡°Chica,e and see what I brought home for you!¡± Sophia was as happy as a child. She opened the bags he brought home and found a bunch of toys for kids, maternity clothes, and even diapers. He had been on a frenzytely and wanted to bring home any baby items or maternity items that he saw. Sophia was embarrassed. ¡°I¡¯m not that far into my pregnancy yet. You¡¯re being too anxious!¡± She was only two months pregnant, but he had already prepared a varied and good amount of maternity and childcare items. ¡°Come. Show daddy how our baby is doing today!¡± Kneeling down, he ced his ear next to her belly and tried hard to listen. Even though he was unable to hear anything at this stage, the thought of him and his child only being separated by a thinyer of skin made him feel ted and boundlessly fortunate. This is my child! Chapter 724 Chapter 724 He was about to rub her belly raw with his big hand. Despite being pregnant, Sophia still yed games for hours on end since Michael was not home. However, Justin was keeping an eye on her so there wouldn¡¯t have been a big problem. After dinner, the two of them changed into their pajamas and yed their game of dictionary on the bed. A thick dictionary was ced in front of Sophia. With her eyes closed, she flipped the pages andnded on one. Michael had to open it and circle his favorite word on that page, then record it in a notebook. Based on Sophia¡¯s estimated due date, every quarter of an hour corresponded with one name and they would go with the name at the time the child was born. That was how Michael got his name. In the future, his child would have to carry on the tradition. The child¡¯s name would be abination of both their parents¡¯st names plus a chosen first name. The chosen name would ultimately depend on the birth time of the child. ¡°Have you recorded it? I¡¯m going to flip through it again!¡± ¡°Wait, there are a few good ones on this page. I¡¯m going to write down two more.¡± The raindrops continued to patter down on the rooftop outside. It felt like the autumn rain was going to clean off Bayside City tonight. ¡­ At the Edwards residence, Jordan heard about the setback they faced today from Joe. Standing in front of Jordan, Joe was so nervous that he started sweating profusely. He stammered, ¡°Jordan, don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s my daughter; I will find a way. Give me two¡­ no, one day. I will convince her.¡± Meanwhile, Jordan simply waved his hand weakly and said, ¡°You can leave for now.¡± Joe did not dare to say anything else and walked away with heavy steps. Some time after he left, the door to Jordan¡¯s office opened again and a young man walked in. The man looked weary as if he had traveled a long distance. He was dressed in a solid ck, ssic British suit and wore a ck top hat on his head. When he bowed deeply before Jordan, every move he made was carried out in a noble and dignified manner. ¡°I¡¯ve arrived, Mr. Edwards.¡± Jordan looked up at the man in front of him who was also wearing a pair of gold-rimmed sses that made him appear intellectual. The frown on Jordan¡¯s forehead eased. ¡°You don¡¯t look too bad. I happen to have a task for you now.¡± He put down a name card in front of the man that had the name ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ printed on it. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I want this woman to vanish from the world.¡± Jordan knew that Sam harbored his own desires this time. If he got married, it would be extremely unfavorable for Jordan. When he almost became president in the past, Jordan made him acknowledge his mistake and resign. Now that he wanted to get married, Jordan was going to make the woman he loved disappear! If Sam did not have any legitimate descendants, then all his possessions would be distributed to the Edwards Family after he died. Without Sophia, however, it seemed like the world would be more peaceful. Lucy and Michael would also get married. The man took the name card. The natural smirk on his face made it hard to tell if he was really smiling or not. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll finish this task.¡± ¡­ In a blink of an eye, it was already June. Sophia¡¯s belly was getting a bit more evident and her visible abdominal muscles had disappeared. Her body was slowly filling out, but fortunately, there was a limit. She did not announce her pregnancy until now. When the time came, she would be able to announce it naturally. She was still working hard now to create a thriving family business for her child. Because of her hectic schedule, she only remembered that June was also graduation season when Stanley reminded her. As a senior at Bayside University, she would be graduating this year. Her graduation went smoothly; she managed to get her graduation certificate and Bachelor¡¯s degree. At this point, she was not preparing to further her studies. The business world was the best school for her. Her career as a student hade to an end as she ventured into a bigger ying field. On the day they took their graduation photos, she just so happened to have a doctor¡¯s appointment. She was extra careful during the shoot and did not dare to make anyrge movements. Fortunately, her belly was not too big. Since she felt like she looked fattely, she also wore more loose-fitting clothes. Everyone assumed that she had just gained weight from eating too much. After all, she was already a boss of apany. Once they finished taking photos, Sophia immediately took a car to go to the hospital for her appointment while Michael was already waiting for her there. Justin also followed Celine along to the hospital for her check-up. After the check-up, the doctor looked at Michael and exhorted, ¡°The fetus¡¯ facial development looks good. Pregnant women have to rest more. Since she is going to be a mother soon, she can¡¯t live as she used to anymore.¡± Michael nodded like a chick pecking at food. It was fine if he had to work more or be a bit worn out as long as Sophia was doing well. Prior to this, being busy with work and writing her senior thesis must have worn her out. Since she received her graduation certificate today, she deserved to have a good rest now. Coming out of the hospital, they passed by a big department store that sold daily necessities for mothers and infants. Celine could not walk past it without taking a trip inside. Hence, Sophia was also dragged in. Then, Michael and Justin followed. There was an endless array of products to look at in the store that the soon-to-be father, Michael, became dazed. He wanted to take the whole store home with him as he wanted to get everything in there. Necessities like milk powder were also extremely important. Michael and Justin, the two men, knelt down by the milk powder aisle with serious expressions on their faces as they looked through the different kinds of milk powder. Even though it could not be used now, there was no harm in learning about it. After looking at the milk powder for a bit, Michael looked up to see Sophia and Celine, who were choosing maternity clothes not too far away. Sophia was excitedly looking at several outfits. Pregnant women have different ideas every day. We better get more outfits ready for her. These days, maternity clothes also went with thetest fashion. She had to pick several pretty and comfortable ones to wear. Sophia looked captivating as a first-time soon-to-be mother. Her face was filled with a happy blush and the rest of her face was also glowing even more. In Michael¡¯s eyes, she was an angel sent from above to exude her entrancing aroma and radiance. Every word, action, smile, pout, and coy look from her was beautiful. Meanwhile, Celine was slightly concerned about her second pregnancy and did not go out for the time being. Justin was also actively preparing to be a father for the second time. Just then, a shop assistant came over and introduced the products to them eagerly. She was rather excited to see Taylor Murray in front of her. Nheless, she remained professional. She definitely could not reveal such a big incident so simply. Furthermore, celebrities often came to the store so security was very tight. These days, a post about ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ being pregnant was circling around. Seems like that¡¯s the truth. Michael, who was still choosing milk powder, looked up for the umpteenth time but did not see Sophia. She probably went into the changing room to try on some clothes. It was not that crowded inside the store so she would not get lost. Besides, Gemma, Maria, and Celine were there too. But, when he lifted his head three more times after that, he still did not see Sophia or Celine. ¡°Where did they go?¡± Michael asked Justin. Justin was holding a jar of milk powder and looking intently at the instructions. When he heard Michael¡¯s question, he also looked up. ¡°I saw them going to the bathroom earlier.¡± Feeling like something was wrong, Michael put down the milk powder and walked over to the other side. He asked Gemma, but she was also only aware that they had gone to the bathroom. He was particrly on edge now and started thinking of the worst. Pacing over to the bathroom the shopkeeper pointed him to, he opened the door and saw that there was an additional exit in the women¡¯s bathroom that led to the other shops in the mall. More importantly, Sophia and Celine were nowhere to be seen. This is not good¡­ Chapter 725 Chapter 725 Michael felt his heart start to race. Taking out his phone, he tried calling Sophia. During this time, Sophia was going down to the basement with Celine. When she received his call, she answered, ¡°Hubby, I¡¯m in the basement with Cece. She says there are more things to look at here.¡± While he was still on the phone, Michael rushed down to the basement. He could not bear losing Sophia from his sight for even a moment now. Because the elevators were full, he ran down the stairs from the fifth floor. Justin, Gary, and Hale were also following him at full speed. ¡°Where are you? Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll be right there,¡± he exhorted. On the other end of the call, Sophia replied, ¡°Okay, I¡ª¡± She stopped talking all of a sudden, making Michael¡¯s heart skip a beat. Before he could ask her what happened, he heard her terrified scream through the phone. ¡°Ah!!¡± Then, the phone fell to the ground and her voice was cut off. Michael stopped in his tracks for a moment as shock washed over him. When he and Justin looked at each other, they saw the grave look in each other¡¯s eyes and they immediately ran to the basement. ¡°Hale, seal off the whole mall! Quick!¡± Justin shouted an order to Hale who was behind him. Hale also seemed to have caught on and quickly went to do as he was told. He had to close down the whole building in the shortest amount of time possible. But, at that very moment, an unexpected announcement was made throughout the whole mall. ¡°Academy Award winner, Taylor Murray, is at a maternity store with his wife!¡± Tons of fans poured into the mall like tidal waves and upied all the stairs, elevators, and esctors. They kept rushing in from the ground floor all the way to the fifth floor¡ªit looked like a zombie apocalypse. It also frightened the workers at the store. They were a chain store that sold top-grade maternity and childcare products. Normally, they also saw their fair share of celebrities. Their confidentiality measures were taken very seriously and celebrities always entered through a special entrance. What was happening today? Hale was on the phone dispatching more people. They had not expected to encounter that situation. Seeing the tightly cramped headsing all the way up from the ground floor was truly chilling. Amidst his terror, Hale spotted a bright disy window in one of the stores. He kicked it and shattered the ss right away, triggering the security rm. The moment the rm went off, the mall would automatically lock down. It only took thirty seconds for all the doors in the mall to seal off. It was toote¡ªthe mall waspletely saturated with fans. Michael had run down from the fifth floor to the second floor and was going to reach the ground floor very soon. Suddenly, he saw numerous heads squeezed tightly together downstairs as they tried to get up. They were so close to each other that there was not even a small crack to move. ¡°Taylor! Ah! I see Taylor!¡± ¡°He¡¯s over there!¡± ¡°I love you, Lord!¡± The fans who were as tumultuous as waves quickly blocked off every path. The look on Michael¡¯s face changed. Lowering his head, he started to head back upstairs but realized that there were more fans coming down. In just a few seconds, an army of frenzied fans blocked off the staircase and surrounded Michael, Justin, and Gary. Seeing the basement right before him, Michael¡¯s red-rimmed eyes were filled with rage. It was so close, yet so far away! If only I had gotten there sooner, it would all be fine. Unfortunately, he was toote. The fans that kept pouring in pushed up against each other until Michael couldn¡¯t move an inch. Justin and Gary were trying to block the fans off from in front of and behind him but it was all in vain. Multiple hands kept reaching out to touch him. Even when he yelled, it was masked by the fans¡¯ screaming. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his waist. When he touched his waist, he felt something moist and warm. In the parking lot of the basement, Sophia was stepping back and trembling in fear as if she had been greatly frightened. Her tears continued to fall, each drop quivering as they rolled off her cheek. She was in so much fear that her legs had started to tremble. No matter how scared she was, though, she did not forget to protect her tummy. In front of her, a man slowly emerged from the dark and walked toward her. The outline of the man¡¯s face was getting clearer and more familiar to her. She had seen that face before. Theo Fletcher! Michael¡¯s father was also Quinton rk¡¯s biological father, Theo Fletcher. The man in front of her only had a simr appearance and height as Theo. The look in his eyes, however, gave her a deep sense of familiarity. Whenever she went to sleep at night, she often saw those mournful eyes in her nightmare. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, Sophia.¡± The man was wearing gold-rimmed sses that made him look very intellectual. His speech was refined and his handsome face carried a long-lost cheerfulness. Nheless, Sophia felt chilled to her bones the more she looked at him. At that moment, she felt a chill down her spine and was gued with the fear of death. Quinton rk was finally back, but he had a different face now. The face he used to have was very simr to Theo¡¯s. Meanwhile, Celine was standing with a nk expression beside him. With only apathy in her eyes, she was no longer the same person Sophia knew. Sophia did not dare to speak. Her weak legs continued to back away until she heard a sound go off behind her. There¡¯s an elevator. Several of Phantom Wolf¡¯s underlings came out and looked at Quinton. ¡°The ne can take off anytime.¡± Quinton nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± He kept his gaze fixed on Sophia the whole time¡ªher kind, intelligent, and dignified face was wless. When he took a step forward, Sophia jumped back two steps in shock. She had to protect her child. Since she was alone with these cold-blooded murderers, if they decided to harm her, she would not be able to protect herself or her child. She wanted her child to live. After her checkup today, she learned that it was growing healthily inside of her. If she were to give birth to it, it would definitely be a healthy and beautiful baby. In a trembling voice, she looked over at Celine. ¡°Cece¡ª¡± But Celine¡¯s answer was indifferent and unconcerned. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. I¡¯m Katrina.¡± Katrina? But, that¡¯s clearly Celine! What in the world happened? Quinton took a couple of steps forward and grabbed Sophia¡¯s shoulders. They looked to be as familiar with each other as a couple who had long parted ways. ¡°Let¡¯s talk on the ne.¡± Sophia was dragged into the elevator with the rest of them. After the elevator doors closed, they quickly reached the roof of the tall building. When they got out of the elevator, Sophia saw that a ne was already waiting for them. Taking Sophia¡¯s hand, Quinton led her toward the ne. She was like a zombie without any strength to defend herself. I don¡¯t want to fall into his hands. I¡¯d rather die! But, I want my child to live¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t harm my child,¡± she choked through her sobs. Her tears and snot were dripping at the same time. A cold hand touched her belly, making her freeze in ce. That thinyer of skin was not enough to provide any protection for her child. If Quinton simply exerted a bit more force, her child would die! Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 726 Chapter 726 Sophia stood stiffly in ce and let the beads of tears roll down her cheeks. ¡°No! Don¡¯t hurt my child!¡± She was shaking in fear, but she did not have the strength to protect herself and her child. Despair, horror, and desperation. Those feelings manifested themselves into every single drop of tear that fell. Fortunately, Quinton was only gently feeling her belly over the thin fabric. ¡°Why would I hurt him? He¡¯s my little nephew!¡± Grasping her hand, he said, ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ncing at the hostile people around them, she realized that they were all fully equipped and hade with an intention while she had no means of defending herself. The only person Sophia could look to for help was Celine, but Celine was not the same person anymore. Once Quinton escorted her into the ne, he ripped off her GPS watch and threw it onto the ground. Soon, the ne began to take off. Quinton looked at Celine, who remained on the rooftopnding pad, and said, ¡°Thanks for all your help, Katrina.¡± Without saying a word, she wielded a sharp sword in her hand as though she was about to enter a battlefield. Inside the ne, Quinton spoke right next to Sophia¡¯s ear. ¡°Have you ever heard of dissociative identity disorder? Her name is Katrina. I single-handedly nurtured her into the phenomenal killer she is today. She is also one of the most sessful killers in the world with a lot of blood on her hands. She¡¯s also Celine¡¯s second personality. Don¡¯t you think she¡¯s really pretty?¡± The hand Sophia had over her belly was trembling and she could not bring herself to say a single word. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Just as the ne left the ground, Justin suddenly kicked open the rooftop door and rushed out. The sight that greeted him was a ne that had taken off and Celine who was wielding a knife. Because there was too much of a distance between them now, Sophia was unable to see his expression. He must be in despair too. She watched Justin let everything go and run toward Celine, then saw as her de pierced through him. Even when Justin fell on the ground, he still desperately put up a fight with her. A small red flower began to unfold in Sophia¡¯s eyes, getting smaller the further away the ne flew. A predestined debt must be paid sooner orter. A predestined end muste sooner orter. ¡­ Arge number of security guards were dispatched inside the mall. They managed to keep the wild fans under control and find Michael, who had been stuck at the stairwell. Michael had fallen into a pool of his own blood. There was a cut in his waist made by a dagger of several inches in length. Not only did he lose a massive amount of blood, but the dagger he was stabbed with also had poison on it. At this point, Michael slipped out of consciousness. After the security and bodyguards dealt with one person, they ran over, lifted Michael, and rushed out recklessly. This was when the fans realized what was happening. They stared at Michael being carried and at his blood that was still on the ground. Once Michael was taken out of the mall, he seemed to have opened his eyes a bit. Looking up at the sky, he saw a ck shadow pass by. His heavy eyelids covered the world before him and brought him deeper into a darker world. In this world, there was no starlight, no warmth, no light, and no Sophia¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile, Linus was sorting through documents while sipping on his coffee. All of a sudden, his hand trembled and he spilled the coffee everywhere. When he stood up, he noticed that his heart was beating unusually fast, his breathing felt urgent, and he was unable to control his trembling hands. Panic took over him as though something bad had happened at a ce that he was not aware of. After a long while, he still had no control over his feelings and was not able to focus on his work. His hands constantly trembled for no reason at all. Two dayster, he found out the reason behind his strange behavior on the news. The headlines for that day¡¯s Cethos Entertainment News read: ¡®A human stampede at XX Mall. Academy Award winner, Taylor Murray, and his beloved wife, Sophia Edwards, both perished. Three lives have been lost.¡¯ The incident from that day eventually made its way onto the news. Taylor apanied his beloved wife to the mall but was met with a frenzy of fans. Amid the chaos, both of them passed away. The day Sophia left this world, she was already three months pregnant. After watching the news, Linus stood up and faced a wall. Lowering his head, he let his tears fall. ¡°Why?¡± Sliding down against the wall and slumping down on the ground, he felt like someone was violently pinching his heart. It hurt so much that the pain seeped into his bones. ¡­ When the news broke, it shocked the whole Bayside City, Cethos, and the entire world. Sam hurried over to Vi No. 8 at The Imperial when the news came out. Nate was at home with Nichs by his side. The boy and robot were waiting for their parents who were nevering home. ¡°Nate, where are your parents, uncle, and aunt?¡± Sitting on the carpet, Nathan looked up with his tear-stained face and said, ¡°They¡¯re dead. They¡¯re all dead.¡± Sam looked at him in disbelief and fell into a daze. For a moment, he lost his ability to process anything¡­ ¡­ Six monthster, a task force team from Cethos appeared on thends of Africa looking hostile and ready to fight. They were like a pack of wolves and a bunch of sharp knives¡ªsilent and obscure. Their presence broke the peace over there. The convoy sped off in the dested desert. asionally, they could see a couple of oases in the middle of the desert. In the car, a man with a mask over his face had his head lowered as he looked at the tablet in his hand. A video was being yed on the tablet. In that video, a man who looked like Theo was going berserk. ¡°Michael, you chased me from Cethos all the way to Europe, then from Europe to Africa. I don¡¯t mind it, but your wife won¡¯t be able to handle it!¡± ¡°Listen to me. She¡¯s mine. If you don¡¯t want to go back then get lost for the sake of her and the child.¡± The screen changed and revealed Sophia. Dressed in filthy rags, her face was pale and her eyes carried fear and desperation. She was cowering in a corner, desperately trying to protect her child. Her belly was big and swollen. It was harboring a small creature that was growing inside. This video was sent by Phantom Wolf a month ago. A month had passed, which meant that Sophia had reached her due date and could be giving birth any time now. But, in order to escape from Michael, Quinton brought her to hide in different ces; even walking across all the uncivilizednds of the world. How could her body be okay with that? Michael¡¯s eyshes fluttered and he turned off the video. He did not have any expression on his face as he was probably devastated on the inside. He could not disy any other expression. The person he loved was separated from him through a screen and they lived looking at each other from opposite ends of the world. Only he understood this kind of suffering and torment. However, that was precisely Quinton¡¯s goal. Quinton wanted to torment Michael and make him experience a gut-wrenching pain that made him want to pull his own heart out of his chest. Well, he seeded. He really did. After that incident, Michael managed to survive. The blood loss and poisoned dagger could not kill him. But, he did not think that he would wake up to face the cruel reality of his lover being abducted. Quinton had abducted Sophia and even sent him videos to provoke him. He did not dare to rest or rx. When he closed his eyes, all he could hear were Sophia¡¯s desperate cries and screams¡­ as well as the baby¡¯s cries. Chapter 727 Chapter 727 A hand reached over and patted his shoulder as the personforted him, ¡°He¡¯s just giving you psychological pressure. Stop looking at it.¡± Michael looked over at Joel, who was sitting beside him. Indeed, Joel and a group of men from the Fletcher Family were apanying him around the world to look for Sophia other than Michael¡¯s own mercenaries. The infamous international fugitive, Phantom Wolf, had resurrected and snatched away Sophia and her unborn baby; since they were the granddaughter-inw and great granddaughter of Cethos¡¯ Founding Father, it was simply an insult to the nation. Therefore, the military had specially approved a special task force led by Joel to rescue Sophia. Michael nced at Joel but remained silent; after suffering from so much torture, Michael became numb until he couldn¡¯t be bothered by anything. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Joel was the one stepping in this time. In the face of real distress, the little grudge that was once there didn¡¯t seem worth mentioning anymore. They traveled around the world and struck out several times for the sole purpose of getting Sophia and the child back. Nheless, Phantom Wolf wasn¡¯t an easy catch. Even more so, this was a transnational operation with many inconveniences. All of a sudden, Stanley turned around from the passenger seat and said, ¡°Uncle Joel, I got in touch with Sam and his men; we¡¯re expected to meet up in Mustka Town tonight.¡± Joel mumbled an ¡®OK¡¯ as he was in deep thought. In addition to their group, Sam had also formed a group of mercenaries to search for Sophia right then. Every once in a while, Phantom Wolf would send a video as a form of protest, and they would deduce his location from the video¡¯s background and IP address. Quinton was deliberately provoking and leading them to different locations, and they failed to find Sophia every single time. He deliberately gave them hope and left them with despair. The whole scenario seemed like a cat ying with some mice; he was the cat, and they were the mice. While they were looking for Phantom Wolf in Africa during this period of time, Africa was in the midst of a civil war and an epidemic gue with war signals everywhere. Many small countries formed various forces as wars happened all over the ce, and it was almost impossible to find an authoritative organization. Even when they found one, the organization had their own set of problems to deal with and could not provide any support to the group. Hence, they had to rely on themselves. Under the relentless pursuit of Sam, Michael and Joel, Phantom Wolf still escaped with ease; it seemed as though he had acquired quite a number of support. If Phantom Wolf had been that easy to capture, the internationalmunity wouldn¡¯t have suffered for decades. This terrorist organization had been passed down for three generations, and each leader was crazier than the previous one. In particr, this generation¡¯s Phantom Wolf was simply psychotic. Meanwhile, the team was stationed in a small town at night. This nameless town had been through countless shootings and wars, leaving very few residents left in its empty houses. They were still a few hours away from Mustka, so they decided to rest and leave early in the morning to meet up with Sam¡¯s team in the afternoon. Everyone was silent as they gathered around the fire and ate field rations. Due to the ongoing war, the communication system here had been destroyed; it took a lot of effort for them to contact Cethos. Sitting in silence, Justin watched a video sent from Cethos as Celine appeared on screen. That day, the vicious battle between him and Celine had almost cost his life. Katrina¡ªthe super assassin¡ªwas iparably strong since she had Celine¡¯sbat skills and a cold, ruthless mind. She was going to kill Justin without hesitation, but Justin couldn¡¯t bear to kill her. Katrina had almost seeded in doing so, but she forgot that she was pregnant. Hence, the miscarriage saved Justin¡¯s life. When she woke up in the hospital as Katrina¡¯s original personality, Celine, she broke down when she learned about the cruel reality of her miscarriage and the fact that Sophia had been sent to Phantom Wolf by her own hands. Now, she was living in a cage specially prepared for her by the Fletcher Family as they tried to find a cure for her split personality disorder. Naturally, she couldn¡¯t ept the fact that she was being trapped in a cage like a wild beast¡ªshe was human, after all. Justin put theputer away as he couldn¡¯t bear to watch the video again. He clenched his fists as he stared at the burning fire in front of him and held back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. Since he had lost his second child, he vowed to get Sophia and her child back¡­ to atone for Celine¡¯s sins! Michael knew that Justin was watching a video of Celine, but he remained indifferent; he still had no idea how to face his sister. Did she fall into the hands of Phantom Wolf on her own free will? Did she be Phantom Wolf¡¯s assassin without knowing it, or did she do it voluntarily? Did she also let her child die willingly? No one would be willing to¡­ However, Celine personally sent Sophia into Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands! How can I possibly ept that?! Michael bit into his rations as he nced at the men who followed Joel from the Fletcher Family; all of them had volunteered toe on their own free will. As they relentlessly pursued Phantom Wolf over the last few days, the group had encountered countless deaths and injuries. Yet, these men had no comints or regrets. He thought to himself, If I get Sophia back this time, I¡¯ll return to the Fletcher Family and live as one of the Fletchers¡­ Initially, Michael had thought about asking the Michel Family for help during this operation; the Michel Family had a huge influence in Africa, but it was limited to a few countries that were rich in minerals. Right then, they were in a piece of barbaric, barrennd¡ªeven the Michel Family would not want to get themselves involved there. Africa was a big country, and it was impossible for them to be involved in all areas. Furthermore, Linus and Fass were not even in Africa at the moment. As Michael ate his biscuits, he looked up and saw the battle fire burning at the end of the horizon; it was as though he could still hear the sound of guns firing in the distance. Where could she be right now? Is she feeling cold? Does she have any food to eat¡­ Every night, Sophia had to drink a ss of milk to help her sleep. Since she was so picky with her food, she had to have a te of vegetables at every meal so that she could eat the meat dishes as well. Would there be someone to prepare a ss of milk and a te of vegetables for her? As he ate, Michael grasped his rations tightly in one hand while holding his forehead with the other. Shedding several tears in silence, he thought to himself, I¡¯m supposed to be with her at the hospital¡ª we¡¯re expecting our child at any moment now¡­ Harry patted his shoulder and saidfortingly, ¡°Hey there, old man. Finish your food and get some early rest. I¡¯ll stand guard tonight.¡± They had been traveling without rest for several days, and Michael had not closed his eyes to sleep for the past two or three days. Harry had apanied Michael in his search for Sophia all along. Each time, he watched as Michael set out with hope and returned with despair¡­ Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Michael kept quiet as he took a big gulp of water and ate the crumbled biscuit in his hand. I can¡¯t give up! I need to get her and the baby out safely! All of a sudden, Stanley, who was in charge ofmunications, eximed loudly, ¡°Uncle Michael! Phantom Wolf has sent us another video!¡± When Stanley left hispany behind to follow Michael for thest six months, he was put in charge of their task force¡¯smunications. Although he was a businessman, he was still a genuine veteran. Michael moved in a flurry as he took theptop from Stanley and opened the video sent by Phantom Wolf. As the video began to y, Michael saw a scene that crumbled his world¡­ Chapter 728 Chapter 728 Quinton was holding a small baby girl who had just been born; she looked absolutely filthy, and her umbilical cord was still intact. Quinton pinched the baby girl as though she was a toy and said smugly into the camera, ¡°I have good news and bad news to tell you, Michael.¡± Still in a daze, Michael watched the video and stared nkly at the baby girl who was still attached to the umbilical cord. Is that my daughter?! Sophia has given birth to a daughter for me! Unfortunately, the baby¡¯s eyes were closed; she didn¡¯t even cry or move as Quinton rocked her around like a hairless little monkey. Quinton continued, ¡°The good news is that your wife gave birth at 5.23PM tonight. Congrattions, it¡¯s a girl.¡± Shortly after that, he teased in a ghastly voice and said, ¡°Unfortunately, she was not breathing when she was born. Your wife also died of amniotic fluid embolism. I¡¯m currently at a hospital in the small town of Mustka; if you rush over now, you might still be able to see their remains for thest time.¡± ¡­ At that moment, the core of Michael¡¯s heart ached so much that it closed off all his senses; he didn¡¯t even know how he managed to get into the car. In his mind, the words ¡®She was not breathing when she was born¡¯ and ¡®Your wife also died of amniotic fluid embolism¡¯ yed again and again. Sophia is dead. My child is dead. They¡¯re dead, all dead¡­ Joel roared in anger and hatred as they watched Phantom Wolf¡¯s video. They got into the car with bloodshot eyes and drove as fast as they could, ignoring the feeling of exhaustion from their previous days and rushed to Mustka Town. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. It was as though a part of Michael had died; he was oblivious to everything that was going on around him. While his entire body froze, he could only hear Stanley yelling at him as he cried, ¡°Pull yourself together, Uncle!¡± ¡­ When Sam received the news, they had already rendezvoused at Mustka Town just after dawn. Meanwhile, Michael finally came back to his senses and followed the troops as they rushed over there. The little town had been through so many rounds of war that there were no longer people walking on the streets; there were also more empty rooms than people. The group quickly discovered the hospital where Quinton had sent the video from and pushed open the barely held-together gate that had been bombarded by gunfire as the two-storey hospital stood in front of them. During the war, many of the wounded had been treated and buried hastily at the entrance of the hospital; the air emitted a sickening smell of blood and even a strange meat aroma. The hospital seemed deserted. As everyone walked cautiously inside, the smell of meat grew stronger as they went further into the hospital. In a ce where food and clothing were a rare necessity, it was quite uncanny to smell the strong smell of meat! Michael¡¯s heart was numb from all the hurt, but at that moment, he held on to a faint glimmer of hope as he slowly walked inside the building. He knew what he was about to see as his palms turned sweaty. He even thought about turning around and leaving the ce to avoid catching sight of it, but he had to go and see with his own eyes! The strange aroma tempted everyone; like a trail of breadcrumbs, it led everyone the way to it. Another team rushed to check on the other rooms of the hospital as they investigated the situation, while others followed the aroma into a small kitchen. Instead of using gas tanks, the kitchen used coal to cook food. There was an iron pot on the stove. It was covered with a lid as the aroma of meat wafted through the edges, but no one knew what was cooking inside of it. The coal was about to burn out, and only a small fire was left burning. The kitchen looked like it had just experienced a massive massacre with blood all over the floor; there were still some bone scraps mixed in the blood, and there were pieces of bloody clothing with long, ck hairs spread messily across the ground. Everything seemed to have been trampled on. When Michael saw the bloody clothes, his breath choked as his eyes stared dully on the ground. At that moment, his mind had gonepletely nk. Those clothes¡­ He remembered that Sophia was wearing it in one of Quinton¡¯s videos. Staring at the clothes stained with fresh blood, Michael froze in ce as if there was some strange magic affecting him; an invisible force clutched onto his attention so that he couldn¡¯t avert his eyes anywhere else. With a thud, Michael fell to his knees as his hands dropped weakly to his sides; he couldn¡¯t even hold his gun anymore. When the rest of the men charged in, Hale noticed a bloody ring on the kitchen counter as therge diamond was glittering under the light. At that moment, he knew that the wedding ring was from ¡®The One¡¯¡ªSophia had one exactly like this. It had been custom-made, and Sophia was the only one who owned this particr design. Now, the lone ring had been found sitting on a pile of minced flesh. Joel was hesitant to step forward as he stared at the small pot of soup stewing slowly over the fire. Cold- blooded as he was, it was the first time he realized that he was capable of crying too. ¡°Go and take a look, Gary,¡± said Joel to a young man beside him. Gary silently moved forward and stood in front of the pot. He fidgeted for a while before finally uncovering the lid of the pot. Within the next few seconds, he mmed down the lid as he turned around and retched violently. In that pot was human flesh¡ªa pot of woman flesh. It was unclear how long the flesh had been stewing into a pot of thick soup, but the tiny skeleton frame inside could be vaguely identified as a woman. A long, empty silence filled the room as everyone looked at the pot of meat and sobbed uncontrobly. All the hot-blooded men in the room were found in tears. The Phantom Wolf was incredibly cruel. Justin looked at Michael, who was sitting on the ground and staring dazedly at the pot. Meanwhile, Sam had turned around to wipe away his tears. Justin quietly went forward and took the pot from the stove, pouring away the soup as he began to slowly pick out the bones from the pot. We¡¯ve finally found her. Even if she¡¯s just a pot of soup, we should still bring her back home, right¡­ Suddenly, Stanley hurried over to the kitchen. ¡°Uncle Michael, Uncle Joel! Quicke and take a look at this!¡± As Stanley rushed in, he realized that everyone had gone silent and were wiping away tears from their faces. Michael was gawking at the bloody clothes and did not respond to anyone, whereas Joel stood in a corner and wiped his tears away. As themander of this task force, he quickly wiped his tears and asked Stanley, ¡°What happened?¡± Stanley was mortified when he noticed that Justin was handling the pot and taking out several pieces of bones from it. Joel shook him several times before he answered, ¡°S-Second¡­ floor¡­¡± He stammered the words out with difficulty; all he could see was that pot of disfigured human flesh that had been stewed. Joel left in a hurry as Stanley stared at the pot of meat and slid down weakly against the wall. Is that¡­ Sophia? Stanley grabbed his head as tears covered his face. Phantom Wolf made her into a pot of stew! On the other hand, Joel made his way to the second floor. Wanting to check on the situation, he found the other group as they gathered in front of a ward; it was as though something remarkable had happened. As he entered the room in strides, Joel saw a ck woman huddling in a corner fearfully. She seemed to be holding something in her arms¡­ Chapter 729 Chapter 729 While Michael stared nkly at the bloody clothes, Hale ced a ring into his hand gently¡ªit was Sophia and Michael¡¯s wedding ring. The small ringy helplessly in his palm, its diamond shining the same dreamy luster as when it was once worn quietly on Sophia¡¯s delicate fingers. However, it was stained with blood right now and had been picked up from a pile of minced flesh. Michael had previously prepared a grand wedding for Sophia; they had already ordered her wedding dress, but Sophia wanted to start her own business and was too busy to attend the wedding. After that, they agreed to wait until she graduated before they held the wedding¡­ Michael clutched the ring tightly in his hand, but he could feel his entire being breaking into a million pieces. His wife and his child had turned into a pot of meat, so how could he possibly ept it? Is this a nightmare? Why does it feel so real and so painful? Why is it such a long dream? If he could, he would give anything in this world to end this endless dream. He felt like his head was splitting apart as he ruthlessly banged his head against the wall; it seemed like it was the only way he could end this nightmare. When he could finally wake up, he¡¯d be at his home in Bayside City with Sophia sleeping soundly by his side, just like how they used to be¡­ ¡°You crazy b*stard¡ªwhat are you doing?!¡± Harry rushed over and pulled him back with the help of several other people. As Harry looked at Michael crying with a kind of desperation he had never seen before, he didn¡¯t know if tears or blood would be running down from thetter¡¯s bloodshot eyes the next moment. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. It was the belief of finding Sophia and the child that kept Michael going for thest 100 days and nights. Now that Sophia and his child were both dead, all of the courage and faith within Michael copsed within a single night; nothing else could support him anymore. All of a sudden, a baby¡¯s loud cry pierced through the dead silence of the room. Michael felt like a pair of invisible hands had suddenly grabbed hold of his heart, and his heart started to pump blood throughout his veins as he felt some warmth returning to his body again. He jerked his head up as he saw Joel rushing toward him. Then, Joel ced the tiny moving mass of flesh into his arms. When that tiny weight fell into his embrace, Michael¡¯s eyes widened in shock as he realized that it was a tiny baby girl! The sleeping baby in swaddling clothes had been born not long ago. With her wrinkly little face, her tiny limbs and body fell into Michael¡¯s arms. Seemingly through some divinemand, she stopped crying at once. She opened her eyes and looked at Michael curiously. This was a small town in Africa full of ck people, yet there was actually a fair-skinned child right here! His whole body shuddered when he came in contact with the tiny mass of flesh. He knew that this was his child! This is my child! She¡¯s not actually dead! Michael held the child for a long time before he suddenly let out a hoarse cry, but nobody knew whether he was happy or sad about it. This scene brought on a sense of deja vu; many years ago, Michael had also cried desperately as he held onto a small ball of flesh, but who would have thought that history would repeat itself after so many years? It seemed like Michael was running around in circles and eventually returned to the original point of pain and suffering. The ck woman trailing behind Joel exined that a group of people had arrived a few days ago. There was a pregnantdy among them, but she died after delivering her child smoothly. After she died¡­ She didn¡¯t mention where the woman had gone, but her eyes nced toward the pot of soup unconsciously. After that, Joel retrieved aptop from the ck woman¡¯s room. As soon as he switched it on, he caught sight of a video file on the desktop. Quinton¡¯s detestable face appeared again when he clicked on it. ¡°Hi, my dear brother. Do you like the present I left you? You¡¯re wee! It must have been a long and tiring journey for you, so please enjoy the soup that I¡¯ve prepared for you. After all, it¡¯s made out of your wife¡¯s flesh. Are you surprised? Are you shocked? Your child is not actually dead! It¡¯s my principle as the Phantom Wolf not toy a hand on a child.¡± In the video, Phantom Wolfmented on each incident in a very rxed manner. It seemed like a mere joke to him, but their hearts were chilled to the bone. On the other hand, Michael had gradually calmed down as he watched the video. His bloodshot eyes were filled with pure hatred. Quinton! All of a sudden, Stanley rushed over and started to pack up his equipment as he gritted his teeth and bellowed, ¡°I¡¯m going to get my revenge on Phantom Wolf! I want to cut him into a thousand pieces!¡± With that, everyone else started to yell about seeking revenge on Phantom Wolf. If they did not avenge her death, they would have no right to be part of the Fletcher Family! ¡°Come back, Stan.¡± Michael spoke up as he slowly rose from the ground. At that moment, his disheveled appearance seemed incredibly strong and resilient. The desperate cries of the baby in his arms sounded soft and weak as it tugged at everyone¡¯s heartstrings. Stanley paused and turned back. As Michael¡¯s daughter cried in his arms, he lowered his head to look at her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home first, go home¡­¡± The baby had just been born, and the conditions out here weren¡¯t sanitary at all. Moreover, the town wouldn¡¯t have any milk supply since it was so chaotic. The baby¡¯s cries were getting fainter, so they had to leave this ce first. Stanley was very reluctant upon hearing this, but they had to go back home first since a child hade into the picture. With that, the group left the run-down town by car and went to the nearest airport, getting themselves back to Cethos as quickly as possible. Michael realized that it was already winter by the time they arrived back in Bayside City. Time flies¡­ Michael ended up burying Sophia¡¯s bones next to Elizabetth¡¯s grave without a funeral. After all, her bones had been stewed for so long that only a few recognizable pieces were left. Justin went back to the Fletcher Family and visited Celine while the rest of the Fletcher¡¯s men resumed their duties; even Old Master Fletcher personally came over to visit that tiny bundle of life while he cried andughed. Right then, Michael sat in the living room of Vi No. 8 and felt that his house was surprisingly big and empty without her. Meanwhile, Nathan found his new sister and squatted next to the cradle as he watched over her intently. When Bubbles realized that Michael hade back, it wagged its tail excitedly and ran to the door in anticipation for its owner, but it was all in vain. Bubbles ran back and ced its paw on Michael¡¯s knees, looking at him silently with a questioned look. Michael reached out his hand and rubbed its head automatically. The house was incredibly quiet. Judge, who was usually quite yful, sprawled out on the floor without a sound. The butler brought over several kittens in a bag and said, ¡°Boss, we¡¯ve already found foster families for the kittens you ordered me to put up for adoption, so I¡¯m going to send them over now.¡± ssy-eyed, Michael¡¯s face looked shades darker; scruff was growing out of his chin, and his hair had turned white. Unshed tears stung the butler¡¯s eyes as he turned away from Michael¡¯s snow white hair; he couldn¡¯t bear to see his master in such a state. After a while, Michael responded dully as he looked into the cat bag prepared by the butler and saw the three kittens inside. He hadined about having too many cats in the house, and when he realized the cats were about to have more kittens, he initially nned on giving them up for adoption. Michael hadpletely forgotten about the cats while he was busy traveling, so the butler took it upon himself to make the arrangements. Otherwise, the matter would continue to drag on. The three chubby little kittens meowed at him as Michael held them in his arms. He looked at them with his soft, warm eyes and smiled bitterly. It was unclear whether he was talking to the butler or himself. ¡°Let¡¯s¡­ keep the cats. They belong to her; if shees back, she¡¯ll be mad at me when she sees that they¡¯re missing.¡± How does someone without an intact body find their way home, though? Chapter 730 Chapter 730 The butler left submissively. Michael stroked the cat in his arms every once in a while. His hair had turned grey as his world descended thoroughly into the boundless darkness. He would spend the rest of his life year after year in endless suffering that he couldn¡¯t free himself from¡­ until a silvery voice spoke. ¡°Daddy, can you pat my head?¡± He raised his eyes to see a cute little girl standing in front of him; she ced her hands on his knees while staring hopefully at him. Only then did he feel that he was alive. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. ¡­ Meanwhile, a nameless town in Africa sat in the middle of a desert. It was very much out of the way; there weren¡¯t any resources avable, nor was it a ce of strategic military importance. Miraculously, the war hadn¡¯t spread to this town, so it remained peaceful and harmonious for the time being. However, the violent atmosphere of its surroundings still affected thisnd with each passing day. The situation in this town became increasingly tense; drugs were rampant, and violence kept increasing day by day. The owner of the only bookstore in town was a Caucasiandy. Businesses that made the most money in such circumstances would always be hospitals, funeral homes, and shops that sold firearms. The bookstore barely had any customers, but it had been operating for many years; meanwhile, the beautiful Caucasiandy had been here for two years. The light from the setting sun shone into the bookstore through its French windows, warming up several bookshelves that seemed to have existed for decades. The atmosphere was sofortable that it made people sleepy. The youngdy was reading a book with great concentration in front of the French window. Wearing a white dress, she looked like a white butterfly that was about to spread its wings and fly away under the setting sun. Her soft, jet-ck hair was as fluffy as the clouds, and it was so long that it touched the polished floor. After reading the book for a while, she closed it. Staring nkly at her reflection in the French window, she pondered over a question. Who am I? She knew that her name was Sophia and her husband was called Quinton, but she knew nothing else. Based on what other people had told her, she and Quinton were a married couple from Cethos who came here because of a job transfer. However, they hadn¡¯t expected to run into conflicts in a small country. Both of them had been injured; Quinton was rendered impotent, whereas she suffered a brain injury and could no longer remember who she was. Leaning against a bookshelf, she took out the pendant she wore around her neck and stared nkly at it. This was the only thing that was linked to her past. The pendant was a Goddess of Mercy figurine made of obsidian. It seemed to be an amulet with some alphabets engraved on it, but the alphabets were blurred using some unknown material. However, if one touched the engraving carefully, he or she could still make out the words carved on it¡ªCooper Mitchell. One could see the whole town from a nce out of the French window, which looked peaceful and harmonious. Just then, several cars arrived and parked into the parking spaces in front of the small three-story building. Sophia knew that Quinton hade home; he worked somewhere else and could onlye back once every fortnight. She hastily went downstairs to greet him. It¡¯s strange; he is my husband, but I don¡¯t seem to have any feelings for him. Perhaps it¡¯s because of my brain injury, she thought to herself. Quinton got out of the car. He was quite worn out by his journey, but he looked happy from head to toe when he saw thedy walking out of the bookstore. She looked so beautiful in the white dress; her beauty stirred his heart and made him unable to avert his eyes. At longst, she¡¯spletely mine, he thought to himself. ¡°You¡¯re back, Quinton.¡± Sophia walked up to him and grabbed her husband¡¯s arm with a smile. Quinton held her hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± With that, they walked hand-in-hand into the bookstore. Dressed in a ck suit, Quinton exuded the air of a noble intellectual. He often wore a pair of gold-rimmed sses that made him seem out of ce in this town. However, he and Sophia looked ideally suited as they stood together. The bookstore barely had customers, so all their family expenses depended on the ie Quinton received by working away from town. Sophia had nothing to do at home, so she spent most of her time reading. Quinton would bring many books back for her whenever he came home. She didn¡¯t know what Quinton¡¯s job was, but he seemed to have many subordinates; he even left a few of them in the bookstore to protect Sophia. That evening, Sophia prepared a tableful of delicious dishes. Quinton came out in a bathrobe after taking a bath. When he saw the mouth-watering spread on the table, his deep and tender eyes had a look of pleasant surprise. ¡°My wife¡¯s cooking skills are so good.¡± Sophia smiled shyly. ¡°Stop talking¡ªhurry up ande here to eat dinner.¡± With that, they had dinner in a cozy mood. Quinton had a very good appetite that day, so he had two bowls of rice. Since there were only a few ingredients avable locally, Sophia nted most of their food herself. She had transformed the garden behind the bookstore into a vegetable plot by nting towel gourds, tomatoes, and other vegetables. How fortunate it is to have a bite of Cethosian dishes at this very moment! What¡¯s more, my wife nted these vegetables herself. Quinton stared at her beautiful and ruddy face with his eyes full of happiness and satisfaction. After having dinner, he said, ¡°The situation in Africa is unstable right now, so I¡¯m preparing to move out.¡± ¡°Where are we moving to?¡± asked Sophia as she cleared the dining table. Quinton responded, ¡°My job in Meyes is about to be confirmed soon, so we¡¯ll be moving there.¡± Sophia was overjoyed upon hearing that they would be moving to Meyes. ¡°That sounds great! I¡¯ve wanted to go to Meyes for a long time!¡±She had almost zero memory of her past. However, she disliked this town and had wanted to move away for the longest time! After having dinner, they sat on the rooftop to look at the stars. The starry sky was always beautiful in this small town that was far away from industrial pollution. Quinton wrapped his arm around her shoulders and let her rest in his arms as they stared at the starry sky, imagining what their future would be like. ¡°I¡¯lle back to pick you up after a few days. We¡¯ll fly there directly, but we¡¯ll travel to Europe for a few days before going to Meyes. That¡¯s where we¡¯ll be living in the future.¡± He had been hiding Sophia away in this nameless town for two years to prevent Michael from finding her. This ce was so deste and backward, and its soil was infertile. I have really done her an injustice over thest two years. She won¡¯t have to suffer that much when we move to Meyes, and we¡¯ll be able to be together forever. Sophia was also very excited as she listened to Quinton talking about how prosperous and bustling Meyes was, as well as the wonderful life they would be enjoying in the future. He said that their house was located in the suburbs with a vast expanse of fertilend next to it. It was a detached double-story, ssical-style vi built next to a garden where one could nt many flowers. In other words, there¡¯d be enough vegetable plots at her disposal. Moreover, they would keep a pet dog. He would work in the town, and it would only take him an hour tomute between the town and their home. He would also look for the best doctor in Meyes to have his injuries healed as soon as possible. They would have many, many kids in the future¡­ Resting in Quinton¡¯s arms while listening to his deep and attractive voice, Sophia soon fell asleep before realizing it. Although she was asleep, she could feel him nting a kiss on her forehead; his lips were tender and wet. She remembered Quinton putting her to bed afterward. Since he had been rendered impotent, he couldn¡¯t have sex for the time being. Hence, he didn¡¯t have to disturb her while she was having a sweet dream. Sophia dreamed that she was leading a big dog while running on the beach. There seemed to be a man chasing her from behind and talking to her happily in her dream. However, the man¡¯s face was blurry; even the dog¡¯s face was so blurry that she couldn¡¯t remember the dog¡¯s breed and who the man was when she woke up. For some reason, she always dreamed of a faceless man. Quinton told her that this was normal because she suffered from a brain injury. She had no idea when Quinton left. He always came and left in such a hurry, but she was already used to it. After the other half of the double bed was emptied, Sophia turned over and spread out her arms and legs before she continued to sleep soundly. In the midst of her sleep, she heard an earth-shattering sound; her house seemed to have copsed with a loud bang! Sophia woke up with a start before everything went ck before her eyes, and she passed out instantly¡­ Chapter 731 Chapter 731 After a long time had passed, Sophia woke up and found herself trapped in a cramped space. She struggled desperately to climb out when she saw a flicker of light in front of her and finally freed herself out of it. However, she soon realized that her house had copsed and the town was ravaged by the burst of war. She looked up with her poor eyesight and felt even more dizzy and lightheaded; there was also a long, bleeding wound on her arm. The peaceful town had be war-stricken as buildings were torn apart and almost all of her neighbors¡¯ houses had been destroyed by something. Cries of despair and roars of anger sounded throughout as the survivors ran desperately out of the town. ¡°The rebels are here to ughter the town!¡± She heard the locals running away frantically as their cars raced out of town. ncing back at the copsed bookstore, she realized that she could no longer save all those people that had taken care of her; they were crushed inside forever. In a chaotic situation like this, it was best for her to save herself first and run as fast as she could. After all, she couldn¡¯t find anyone to save. Sophia crawled back into the wreckage and found some clothes, cash, and a car key. She didn¡¯t know where she was going to look for Quinton, but she would end up dead sooner orter if she waited around here. Since the rebels had chosen this town as their shing point, Sophia needed to run away before the government forces and rebels started the war. Sophia drove the car and followed the crowd as they headed toward a safer city. She wanted to wait for Quinton¡¯s return, but she had no idea where he had gone or where to look for him without his contact information. If she were to wait here, she would have ushered in the rebels instead of Quinton. As ofte, the entire African continent had been gued by an epidemic and social unrest as despair spread among the people and burned off theirst piece of sanity. With that, rebels were birthed and killings of the innocent started. Thend had gradually lost its sanity andst sense of peace; even this small town was finally affected by the ripple of disaster. Sophia fled with the troops in the car as she didn¡¯t know where to go. She had no passport or any form of identification on her, so she would just have to take one step at a time; it was better than waiting here for her death. Three dayster, Sophia came out of the desert and arrived at thergest city near the port. Although there were government troops around, the people were still unsettled and frightened about the situation. The rebels were about to attack the city and no one knew what the oue would be; the country had completely fallen into a state of chaos, and many of its people tried their best to flee the country. Moreover, the deadly airborne gue had caused the city¡¯s entire medical system to copse¡ªthose who were infected by it would have their whole bodies festered while they died in pain, and there was still no cure for it. Terror and despair spreaded throughout the city; it was not the safest as the rebels were already closing in. Not only that, the city¡¯s army had turned against each other. It was only a matter of time before the city would crumble, so some of its people were trying to escape as fast as they could while others took advantage of the situation. As Sophia walked through the crowd, she would get knocked down by the panicked crowd from time to time; the wound on her arm had been rubbed roughly so many times that it turned numb. Her car eventually ran out of gas, but she couldn¡¯t find a ce to refuel it and was running out of money. Still, Sophia didn¡¯t know where to find Quinton. Walking through the devastated city that was crumbling into pieces, most of the residents had left their homes as the armyid down defenses everywhere; they knew that their firepower was no match against the rebels. The capital had already fallen into the enemy¡¯s hands, and it was only a matter of time before this city would end up in a terrible state too. The rebels weren¡¯tunching any attacks on the city at the moment because they were waiting for the evacuation process of other countries to bepleted. Once all the other foreigners were sessfully evacuated, the battle would begin. As Sophia walked through the crowd, her face and lips had turned pale; every step she took felt like she was walking on cotton. Despite being thirsty and hungry, she couldn¡¯t find any food. The stores in the city had been looted as dead bodies were everywhere for various reasons in the city. No one was bothered by it as bloodshed and hunger could be seen everywhere with no hope in sight. She was helpless and terrified as she walked aimlessly through the city. Suddenly, someone came over and snatched her bag since she seemed like an easy target. Sophia tried her best to protect her bag and used the self-defense skills she had learned from Quinton to fend him off. Sadly, her body was so weak that day; Sophia was no match for the thug, but she still used everyst bit of her strength to hold onto her bag. The thug grabbed her arm and forcefully tore off her sleeves, but he was horrified when he caught sight of her arm. As the thug turned around and fled instantly, it was as though he had just seen a devilish beast. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. The fight to protect her bag had used up all of her strength. As soon as the thug left, Sophia copsed to the ground weakly; she couldn¡¯t even muster the energy to lift up a finger. She looked up to the sky as the sunlight stung her eyes before looking down at the wound on her arm that was exposed from the torn sleeve. When her home was bombed three days ago, Sophia had a long cut on her arm when she crawled out of the rubble. She simply treated it with a simple spray and did not expect it to have festered so badly¡­ The festeration was so abnormal that her whole arm felt numb, and it was spreading rapidly throughout her body. Just then, she remembered that the thug had yelled something when he saw her wound. ¡°Virs- 18!¡± he screamed. Virs-18 was thetest virus rampaging throughout the African continent. Patients with this virus had symptoms of festeration and pus, and they eventually died in extreme pain after a few days of being infected. There was no cure for it. During such chaotic times, no organization had the ability to develop a viable medical solution. Virs-18 had brought upon despair and war; conflict had allowed the virus to run rampant on the African continent, forcing people into desperation which led to a full-blown war throughout the country. Simply speaking, it had turned into a deadly cycle. Now, all foreign forces had to move out of the country because no one would be bothered to rescue them. Lying down on the side of the road beside the numerous dead bodies ced there, Sophia¡¯s eyes were half-opened as she had no idea if she was dead or alive. She closed her eyes and saw the silhouette of that man again. He was faceless as he stood in front of her, but she could tell that he was looking at her with sorrow as tears had fallen first without a single word being uttered. Chica¡­ ¡°The Cethosian Foreign Embassy is about to evacuate itsst batch of residents. Cethosians who have yet to be evacuated, please bring your passport to the Cethosian Foreign Embassy at No. 28 East Street before 1.00PM today.¡± As a car drove past the chaotic street, it was broadcasting an announcement in anguage that Sophia was familiar with. That¡¯s right! All of a sudden, Sophia remembered that Quinton and her were from Cethos. As a fellow Cethosian, she was eligible to go to the Cethosian Foreign Embassy for help. She had also heard along the way that there was a military naval ship parked at the port to pick up the Cethosians! A glimmer of hope sparked inside of Sophia. She stood up with all her might and leaned slowly against the wall before walking toward East Street. She was so weak that she even lost the strength to carry her bag, so she threw it aside¡­ What was supposed to be an hour¡¯s journey took Sophia two and a half hours, and she cked out while her limbs lost all strength. As she leaned against the wall and looked up, she finally saw a familiar red g waving in the distance. The Cethosian Foreign Embassy was just across the street. However, Sophia no longer had the strength to walk over as she slowly copsed on the street opposite the Cethosian Foreign Embassy. Chapter 732 Chapter 732 Sophia could no longer keep her eyes open. She slowly closed her eyes and fainted at the side of the road. The passersby saw the fainted Sophia, and they knew she was infected when they saw her ulcerated skin. They all avoided her, as if she was some kind of monster¡­ It was 12.30PM. The Cethosian were done gathering, and several buses were already waiting by the door. The Cethosians got onto the bus excitedly, waiting to be evacuated. In the midst of all the turmoil and chaos of war, the foreign nations¡¯ ambassadors escaped before the people did. The traffic system was down, and there were battles everywhere. People couldn¡¯t go far without nes or ships; they could only wait for death. Foreigners who didn¡¯t have a strong nation helping to evacuate their own people would have the same destiny. There was only one foreign battleship still stopping for its people at the harbor nearby, waiting to bring their people back home. But no one realized that there was a young life slipping away at the roadside. At the same time, a helicopter parked before the Cethosian Foreign Embassy. Around five to six people came out from the helicopter, both men and women. They were walking in a hurry, and they took out their Cethosian passport so that the embassy could verify and allow them to evacuate with the troop. Among them was a posh woman. Her dress was simple, and she was wearing sunsses. She stood out in the crowd with her dark, shiny hair and her curvy figure. She got out of the helicopter holding her passport, walked past the square, and was about to cross the road to the embassy on the other side, relieved to make it there in time. She suddenly saw the young life that was dying by the roadside. Her exposed arm was ulcerated; it was a symptom of infecting the Virs-18. Everyone knew that the person was dying, and there was no point saving her. They were scared to even go near her. She¡¯d witnessed too many young lives dying by the side of the road like that on her way here, but she still couldn¡¯t bear looking at them. Suddenly, the woman froze. She saw the face of the girl lying by the roadside. It was someone extremely familiar¡ªsomeone she thought she would never see again! The woman took off her sunsses, and it was a face that often appeared on screens in cinemas. Her eyes were filled with joy and surprise. She quickly walked toward Sophia, turned her body around, and was ted to see her face. ¡°Sophia! It¡¯s you!¡± She shook Sophia vigorously, and Sophia opened her eyes forcefully as she heard her name. She saw the face of a strange woman. It was difficult for her to even breathe, and her chapped lips, which were bleeding, finally moved after some moment. ¡°W-Who are you?¡± The woman didn¡¯t expect her to ask that question. ¡°It¡¯s me! Nicole! Nicole Walker! Don¡¯t you remember?¡± She had been in Africa for a film, but there was an armed rebellion, and the traffic was down. She just managed to get to the embassy, but she didn¡¯t expect to see Sophia here. She looked at the wound on her arms. It was clearly a symptom of Virs-18! ¡°Sophia, what happened? How are you here? Gosh, what exactly happened?¡± She knew what contracting Virs-18 meant, but she couldn¡¯t understand what happened to her. Didn¡¯t she die three years ago? The newspapers were all reporting her death three years ago. Both Taylor and her were assassinated, and it caused an uproar. Yet, she showed up here after three years! Sophia gasped for air with difficulty. She could feel her throat burning as she breathed, and it felt as if her throat was ripped open; it was difficult to speak. A person¡¯s organs would start to ulcerate once they were infected by Virs-18, and it would start from the throat. Her mouth widened as she gasped for air, but she couldn¡¯t breathe. All she felt was pain instead, as if she was breathing inva or like chilli powder entering her respiratory system. Nicole¡¯s eyes reddened as Sophia remained silent. She immediately helped thetter up. ¡°Nicole, what are you doing?¡± Her assistant was shocked to see her helping an infected person and wanted to stop her, but she was scared to go near her. Scientists were still clueless about the method Virs-18 spread, and anyone in contact with the virus might be infected. Being infected was equivalent to inevitable death! Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. ¡°She is my friend; I can¡¯t watch her die. I have to help her!¡± Nicole was determined. She held Sophia and sought help from the embassy, but they were sorry to inform her that the disease couldn¡¯t be controlled at the moment, and they couldn¡¯t risk the lives of everyone in the bus. She had to be quarantined there, and she couldn¡¯t leave with Sophia. Quarantine¡­ Nicole was stunned when she heard them, but she could understand. If she brought Sophia with her, the people in the bus might be infected too. But leaving her to quarantine here would be leaving her to die! The embassy¡¯s bus was leaving. They were thest batch of Cethosians, and the battleship would leave once they managed to get on. There wouldn¡¯t be another chance if she missed this; she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave this country that was caught in war. This nation was having a civil war, and the rebel army was going to attack the city. They almost overthrew the current government, and all they needed was the international powers¡¯ support. They needed superpowers like Cethos to recognize the legitimacy of their regime, so the rebels and the embassy had reached an agreement to attack the city once their people evacuated. These agreements were useless once war started. The embassy might be turned into ashes within seconds. How can she stay here and quarantine! It would mean death if she didn¡¯t leave! Sophia was feeling groggy, but she was aware of what was happening. She didn¡¯t know who Nicole was, but she could tell that she seemed to know her and was trying to save her. However, she was infected by Virs-18 and was dying. The embassy couldn¡¯t take her with them. If they did, she would infect everyone else in the bus. ¡°You s-should l-leave¡­¡± Her voice was soft. Nicole looked at the bus that was leaving before looking at the dying Sophia. ¡°How could I leave? What would happen to you if I left?¡± She was determined. ¡°Oh, dear. It¡¯s not the time to be kind. Thisdy clearly won¡¯t make it. You can¡¯t do anything even if you managed to bring her back! Let¡¯s go!¡± Her assistant was still trying to persuade her. She tried to go near Nicole, but when she saw the terrifying symptoms on Sophia, she retreated out of fear. Nicole was panicking. She looked at Sophia and then at the soon-to-be leaving bus that was gradually filled with people. She was so panicked that tears were running down her face. ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave her here in the embassy? It¡¯s safe here. I know that the leader of the rebel army is negotiating with the pharmaceuticalpany of the Michel Group. The Michel Group has managed to develop a special cure for Virs-18,¡± the staff from the embassy spoke to her kindly. Chapter 733 Chapter 733 Nicole¡¯s eyes brightened. Right! The Michel Group has control over Africa¡¯s minerals, ammunition, and runs thergest bio- pharmaceuticalpany in Africa! They might have discovered the cure for Virs-18! I just won the Academy Award for the Best Actressst year and have gained some fame internationally. They might help me! ¡°You can leave. I won¡¯t leave her here,¡± Nicole told her team after she had made up her mind. She then left with Sophia, ignoring her assistant and team¡¯s anxious pleas. The helicopter they rented was still parked on the square, and she knew how to fly it. It¡¯s around a thousand miles from here to the Michel Group. It won¡¯t take long¡­ Nicole helped Sophia onto the helicopter resolutely and helped fasten her seatbelt. Sophia¡¯s eyes were half closed, and tears fell from the corner of her eyes. Nicole could hear her soft whispers between her lips. ¡°Why bother¡­¡±She didn¡¯t know Nicole, but she could figure out that they might have used to be best friends. Why bother saving me and sacrificing yourself when you have the chance to leave? Nicole didn¡¯t answer her. People who were infected by Virs-18 would soon die in endless torture and pain, so time was precious. She had to make it to the Michel Group as soon as possible and find her the cure. The helicopter took off soon. Nicole saw the evacuating bus leaving the town toward the harbor, and the battleship would leave real soon. Meanwhile, she could only stay in the midst of this turmoil¡­ But she didn¡¯t regret it! Sophia had saved her once, and it was time to pay her back. She was the winner of the Best Actress of the Academy Award and had earned enough money. The orphanage and her sister¡¯s life were guaranteed too. She had no regrets! The journey to the Michel Group was dangerous. The war-riddennd was full of danger, and there were shots fired everywhere. A helicopter passing by might get shot down anytime. Sophia was half awake on the way. Her throat and nose were burning so much that she couldn¡¯t speak anymore. Her throat felt as if it was being cut when she tried to speak. Her wounds were ulcerating, while pus and blood were flowing out from her wound. Her body was swelling up, and her entire body would soon ulcerate until she became a lump of rotten meat. She would then die in great torture and pain. Her body had almost ulceratedpletely by the time they were near the Michel Group¡¯s building. Flies were flying around her, and she was holding onto herst breath. It felt as if she would copse anytime. How can I die when someone sacrificed herself to save me? Nicole could see a huge castle when the helicopter was still flying in midair. The castle was tall with thick walls, and there was a small town surrounding it. It stood there like a mighty dragon that was lurking under the war in Africa. One could feel its majestic grandeur before walking in. It was the Michel Group¡¯s branch in Africa. The Michel Group controlled almost half of the African economy. They had control over the minerals and ammunition, and they even ran the top bio-pharmaceuticalpany in the world. There was a fierce fight near Michel Castle. Forces in Africa were tempted to get the Virs-18 cure as they learned that the Michel Group might have developed one. Getting the cure meant holding power in their hands, and it meant having control over all African countries. All these overconfident powers were therefore trying to take over this major force lying in Africa. However, they forgot that the Michel Group was running the secondrgest ammunition dealership in the world. There had been multiple forces that came attacking, but they were all defeated. Nicole parked the helicopter nearby. They would probably be shot down before they reached the Michel Group if they just flew over without notice. She stopped the helicopter in an empty town, found a car, and carried Sophia in. It had just been a few hours, but Sophia¡¯s appearance had changedpletely¡ªher entire body was swollen, and the area of ulceration had increased twofold. She looked like a decaying corpse. Her temperature was shockingly low. Nicole carried her into the car and identally touched her open wounds. Her hands were covered in blood as she touched her; her fragile skin couldn¡¯t handle any touches. Looking at the blood in her hands, Nicole burst out into tears out of despair. Time was ticking, and she had to find a cure as soon as possible. Sophia woke up in pain. She had herst bit of consciousness and felt as if she was burning; even her soul was in pain. ¡°L-Leave m-me¡­¡± Sophia tried to speak, but her throat wouldn¡¯t allow her to speak. She could feel the taste of iron in her mouth as she opened her mouth. The Cethosian battleship shouldn¡¯t be far. Nicole figured she could probably make it to them with the helicopter if she left alone. ¡°We¡¯ll leave together!¡± Nicole wiped off her tears and looked for the car key. She thought she was at the edge of breaking down, but herst bit of determination was keeping her rational. Just then, Sophia, who was sitting on the passenger seat, took her amulet down from her neck forcefully. She then gave it to Nicole with her shaking hands. Nicole took over the amulet, which was covered with her body temperature, pus, and blood. The amulet was made up of obsidian stone and was carved into the shape of the God of Mercy. There were words carved on the back of it. Nicole recognized the amulet; Sophia always had it with her. She could feel the words carved at the back¡ªCooper Mitchell. Cooper Mitchell¡­ It was the man who was in Nicole¡¯s memory deep down. Although they had only met twice, she still couldn¡¯t forget him even after over a decade. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. ¡°Keep your own belongings,¡± Nicole started the car as she said. ¡°No¡­¡± Sophia shook her head difficultly. She couldn¡¯t say anything else after the ¡®no¡¯. She couldn¡¯t remember who she was, and the amulet was the only thing left on her. She didn¡¯t know who Cooper was and what rtionship they had. All these didn¡¯t seem to matter before death¡­ She had to give it to Nicole. Nicole must know where she was from, her family, and who Cooper Mitchell was. Her family and Cooper might learn her situation after seeing this amulet. She slowly closed her eyes as she felt as if she were in a sea of fire. Getting numb from the pain, she seemed to see that faceless man walking toward her from the fire. Who is he? Quinton? Nicole wiped off her tears, took Sophia¡¯s amulet, and drove toward Michel Castle with the fastest speed. A fight just ended right outside of the castle. Another force just came and tried to take down Michel Castle, but they forgot that their ammunition was bought from the Michel Group. The result was a clear defeat. It was scorched earth everywhere outside the castle¡ªburnt marks, bullet cases, and burnt corpses were scattered everywhere. Chapter 734 Chapter 734 Nicole¡¯s car ran over those burnt corpses, making some scalp-numbing crackling noise. After a series of confrontations, Michel Castle opened its gate. The gate dropped on the moat, forming a bridge. Several cars drove out from the castle, and quite a number of men wearing chemical protection suits came down to clean the battlefield. There had been outsidersing to the castle recently. They were either desperate small forces or civilians infected by the Virs-18, asking for help with theirst breath. The people from the castle never showed mercy to those seeking help. They just left them to die. Layers andyers of rotten corpses were piling right outside of the castle, letting out a pungent smell. The bones of those who died from Virs-18 would be corroded by germs, and even stray dogs wouldn¡¯t go near them. The people from the castle woulde out from time to time to clear up the corpses. They would burn those dead and living but infected people to death. War required ammunition supply, and they were the supplier; a gue meant a need for a cure, and they were selling it. They had no mercy norpassion¡ªthey would sell the cure as long as people could afford it. Unfortunately, the leaders in Africa were too reserved and refused to pay the Michel Group the price they offered. They were waiting for the international organizations to pressure them into providing the cure for free. Monsters would never speak of mercy, and they had no idea what kindness was. All they cared about was the benefit they would get. Nicole¡¯s car stopped nearby. She realized that there were many infected people who came with the same intention. They quickly went over to the people from the castle and sought help as the battlefire ceased. Among the dozen of ulcerating infected people, Nicole was the only healthy one. Her sullen face, which was covered in blood and dirt, was full of determination. She piggybacked Sophia as she walked in between the group of zombie-like infected people. She felt as if she was walking to hell with a group of walking dead, and she was extremely afraid. The air was filled with the nauseating stench of decay. As expected, the infected people were blocked outside. The group of men in chemical protection suits formed a human wall to stop them and was pushing them violently. Some copsed and never got up, while some were stepped to death by the others. Nicole put Sophia on a rather t ground as she whispered to her, ¡°Wait for me.¡± Sophia opened her eyes slightly. Her eyes were filled with blood, and her vision was blurred. There was a small scratch on her face, but such small scratch started ulcerting at lightning speed. She leaned against a stone and saw a little girl next to her. The girl didn¡¯t cry although she was infected just like Sophia, and they shared the same helplessness and despair. Sophia looked at her, and her tears started falling. There were male, female, elderly, and kids among the infected. They all dressed differently and all had different identities. ¡°I am a diplomatist and can speak fivenguages. Please save me! I will work for you for my entire life! I have been infected for two days! Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a businessman. I¡¯m rich, and you can have as much money as you want!¡± ¡°I am an Academic Award Best Actress winner. Please save my friend!¡± ¡­ However, no matter what kind of power, authority, or fame they had, they were just lumps of rotting meat in the eyes of the staff of the Michel Group. They would be cleared and turned into ashes within a day. The people were crying and shouting in despair, but they couldn¡¯t do anything! Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Nicole was squeezed among the group of infected people. She thought they would at least take a look at her since she was an Academic Award winner, but they didn¡¯t¡ªno one cared. At the same time, a car drove out from the castle. After it stopped, a man in a chemical protection suit came out of the car with a group of people protecting him. He was wearing a gas mask, only exposing his pair of eyes and blonde hair. The wind blew, and the dust was flying around. The man stepped on the deadlynd and stepped on the burnt corpses calmly. His ocean blue eyes showed no humanity. The desperate yell of the people didn¡¯t move his heart a bit. He was cold-blooded, as if there was ayer of ice covering him, isting him from the worldpletely. He seemed to be here to check on the battlefield. He squatted down and observed the bombednd. He seemed to be observing the aftermath of the ammunition. Everyone could tell that the man had status, and he must have the authority to speak, so they all shouted for help, but the man ignored them. Nicole was shouting at the top of her lungs, but it was useless nevertheless. The man got up and walked toward the car after collecting the data. The people¡¯s screams were intensifying. Nicole was anxious as she watched the man leaving. She stared at the man and kept shouting for help loudly. The man took a nce in their direction before he stepped into the car. His blue eyes were cold as he scanned around mercilessly. He seemed to be used to seeing death, and there was no longer warmth or mercy in his eyes. Nicole froze when she saw that pair of cold, heartless, blue eyes. It was so familiar, as if she¡¯d seen it in her dream¡ªa dream she had several years ago, on the night she was in a film studio. He was the man she followed into darkness and to the masonry bridge. It¡¯s him! It¡¯s actually him! Although it was just a short nce, Nicole still recognized him! The man was already in the car. The door closed, and the noise of the engine starting overwhelmed the desperate calls of the infected people. Nicole was shouting something in the crowd too. Suddenly, the man who was resting in the car opened his eyes. His blue eyes that were cold and heartless seemed to have moved. He heard two words. ¡°Cooper Mitchell!¡± In the crowd, among the millions of pleads in English, he heard a Cethosian voice yelling desperately. ¡°Cooper! Cooper!¡± The man was stunned when he heard that name. It had been twenty years, and he almost forgot that name he used to bear. Cooper Mitchell¡­ Nicole saw the closed door open once again. The man walked out of the car and pointed toward her indifferently. She soon understood that he had heard her voice, and so she immediately burst into joyful tears. There¡¯s hope! There¡¯s hope! Someone brought Nicole to the man. Nicole rushed forward and finally confirmed that it was him! The man named ¡®Cooper Mitchell¡¯! ¡°Cooper!¡± Nicole called out that name. The man named ¡®Cooper¡¯ was still emotionless, and his ocean blue eyes were still cold. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± he asked in Cethosiannguage. ¡°I have a friend who said you are her rtive. She is infected and is dying. Look, I have t-this¡­¡± Nicole quickly exined. She took out Sophia¡¯s amulet hastily and showed it to Cooper. It has his name, so he must recognize it. The man reached out his hands covered in the chemical protection suit and took the amulet. It was a small amulet of the God of Mercy carved in obsidian. It still looked so familiar even after twenty years, and he actually felt like it was just yesterday that he took it off. He wouldn¡¯t be mistaken. It was the amulet he had worn for twenty-nine years. The name ¡®Cooper Mitchell¡¯, which he had used for twenty-nine years, was carved at the back of the amulet. Cooper didn¡¯t expect to see someone with his amulet appearing before him at such a moment. Is it someone from the Mitchell family? Too bad I¡¯d bid farewell to my past. Just as Nicole thought that Sophia would be saved, Cooper held the amulet and turned around to leave. ¡°Leave,¡± he uttered indifferently. Chapter 735 Chapter 735 Leave? Nicole thought she had heard it wrongly. Cooper must know about Sophia, but why is he not taking action after hearing that she is dying? Is he cold-blooded? Nicole was unwilling to give up. She ran after him and pleaded, ¡°Please, save her! She is dying! Please! I¡¯m begging you, Cooper!¡± But Cooper ignored her, strode forward, and got into the car emotionlessly. The engine started again. Hearing the noise of the engine, Nicole fell into despair. She suddenly exploded and dashed toward Sophia like a gust of wind. Sophia had lost her consciousness and was leaning against the rock. There was still slight breathing as her chest rose and fell, and there was a dead little girl lying next to her. Their hands were held together. Nicole knew that Sophia would be the next to die if she didn¡¯t get the cure. She never knew she had such strength. She felt nothing as she carried Sophia and ran toward Cooper¡¯s car before he left. She put Sophia on the ground and kneeled down, blocking the way. Nicole looked up and stared at Cooper in the passenger seat. ¡°Cooper! Her name is Sophia Edwards, from Cethos. Her dad is Joe Edwards, and her mom was Annabel Johnson. Her uncle¡¯s name is Liam Johnson, and Taylor Murray is her husband. She said you were her rtive, and she¡¯d been looking for you. She always kept the amulet with her. You must know her!¡± Nicole shouted with her loudest voice. ¡°She¡¯s dying. Please, save her! Save her!¡± Nicole¡¯s voice was hoarse, and her throat was hurting as she spoke. The paparazzis investigated Sophia¡¯s family background when the news that she was sexually assaulted by her uncle leaked. Nicole learned about her mother¡¯s name then. Since Cooper was her rtive, someone from her dad or mom¡¯s side¡ªor someone from her husband¡¯s family¡ªmust know Cooper! The cold-blooded man in the car was stunned when he heard a particr name. Cooper soon got out of the car again and walked toward Nicole. His eyes were fixated on the deeply infected girl in her arms. The girl¡¯s face was starting to swell up and ulcerate, and her breathing was weak. She was at the edge of dying¡ªshe might die anytime. Her young, beautiful face was withering gradually, and her life was coming to an end. Nicole finally saw emotions in Cooper¡¯s cold eyes. There was shock, disbelief, and a slight doubt. ¡°What was her m-mother¡¯s name?¡± he asked, his voice hoarse all of a sudden. It turns out he was her mom¡¯s distant rtive. ¡°Her mom was Annabel Johnson! She had a brother named Liam Johnson, who used to be a primary school teacher.¡± Nicole remembered the information those unscrupulous paparazzis posted. She didn¡¯t dare to forget anything rted to her. Cooper slowly took down the gas mask and gloves, exposing his looks that hadn¡¯t changed in over a decade; he still looked handsome as ever. Nevertheless, time did leave some marks on him, making him even colder and merciless. He reached out his arms and slowly touched the fragile skin of that girl. He could still see someone familiar through that swollen face of hers. ¡°W-When was she born?¡± Cooper¡¯s voice seemed to be shaking a little. His eyes were flickering, for he couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. Nicole recalled the time when Sophia was ying a small role in the same production in the film studio. She mentioned visiting the pandas at the Panda Foundation on her birthday in September, and she soon learned about Taylor going live at the Panda Foundation! ¡°September! She will turn twenty-six this September!¡± she calcted Sophia¡¯s birthday and answered quickly. Twenty-six¡­ Born in September! Cooper¡¯s hands were trembling, and the expression on his face changed from shock to grief. ¡°Sophia¡­ Sophia Edwards¡­ A-Annabel¡¯s daughter?¡± Cooper¡¯s blue eyes were fixated on her as he murmured. Nicole saw him being stunned, as if he was learning something he couldn¡¯t ept. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, she is dying. Please, save her!¡± she held onto him and begged eagerly. Only then did Cooper pull himself back. Looking anxious, he said no more and carried Sophia into the car while Nicole followed right behind. The car soon drove back into the castle. Nicole realized that it was apletely different world behind the tall walls. It was the end of the world outside, but it was heaven in there. There was greenery, flowers, birds, mountains,kes, and even an airport and arge garden. Cooper carried Sophia to the medical center as soon as they got out of the car. It was the only ce on earth with the cure for Virs-18. The doctors from the medical center suited up and got the equipment ready as soon as they got the news. Cooper put Sophia on the operating table carefully. He was covered in her blood and was dumbfounded as he looked at Sophia, who was like a lump of rotten meat. The doctors shook their heads when they saw Sophia. It¡¯s toote, toote¡­ ¡°Save her.¡± Cooper¡¯s voice was extraordinarily husky, and that was all he said. Sophia was pushed into the emergency room, while Cooper stood outside for several hours without moving at all, as if he was rooted to the ground. Soon, a stack of documents about Sophia¡¯s background was passed into his hands. Cooper took off his gloves that were covered in her pus and blood, and his fair hands took the documents. He flipped through the first two pages. ¡®Sophia Edwards, born on 18th September, 199X. Mother: Annabel Edwards, died from postpartum amniotic fluid embolism.¡¯ A photo of a youngdy was attached in the document. The photo was taken in a studio, and the young, pregnantdy was wearing an outdated dress. She was holding her baby bump and was smiling in contentment. The photo was taken in June, 199X. It was Annabel Edwards! Cooper was eighteen when he saw her dying right before his eyes, watching as her body was burnt into ashes by the Mitchell family before they threw her ashes into the drain! Yet it was now revealed that she was pregnant and had taken a photo in a studio five months after her death! Cooper seemed to have understood the truth. The hatred that he had been holding for the past twenty years dissipated. He kneeled down slowly as he leaned against the wall, and the documents in his hands fell onto the ground. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. The hatred and resentment were relinquished along with his tears. ¡°Dad, why did you lie to me¡­ why¡­ why?¡± It was Woody Mitchell who captured them from elopement, fed her poison right before his eyes, and sent her into the incinerator. He even made him witness the scene of her being cremated. He just watched his loved one cremated and vanished before him. He was filled with great pain and hatred. He never suspected anything. He never thought his dad might have yed tricks to save Annabel, much less kept it from him for all these years.He didn¡¯t even know that Annabel gave birth to a daughter for him! Chapter 736 Chapter 736 Cooper punched the wall hard repeatedly while sobbing in a guttural voice. He was inconsble as he wept. More than ten hours passed by as Nicole watched him guard the entrance of the operation theater. He did not rest, nor did he eat; instead, he stayed silent, facing the wall while tears rolled down his cheeks. Finally, the light of the operation theater turned off, and the doctor walked out of the door. Cooper stood up immediately when he heard that, and he dashed to the front of the doctor. ¡°What is the situation?¡± The doctor appeared exhausted when he replied to him, ¡°The patient has been severely infected by the Virs-18, and she has multiple organ failures. After urgent treatment, her organs have recovered their function. We have also used the cure on her. She will have a fighting chance if she is able to regain consciousness in the next two days. However, if she can¡¯t¡­¡± Cooper took a couple steps backward, and his tears started rolling down once again. ¡°Is it toote after all¡­¡± If we had arrived earlier¡­ would the chances have been better? Why didn¡¯t I take her here earlier? God, did you do this deliberately? Cooper looked up while staring at the sky through the window. Recently, there had been a fog over the sky in Africa. It looked so gloomy, as if everything mighte bearing down at any moment. Why is fate such a cruel thing? After twenty-seven years, I finally learned the truth, and now, I know that I have a daughter. However, I am helpless while I look on as she dies in front of me. In fact, she is dying due to my ruthlessness! The strong always prey on the weak, and those who are weak would end up destroyed. Once upon a time, I used to be one of the weak ones, and I couldn¡¯t even protect the person I love. I worked hard to be more powerful to ensure that I could control my own fate. Nevertheless, I end up not being able to even save my daughter. When I was Cooper Mitchell, the power I possessed used to be iparable. I had control of the Mitchell Family¡¯s finances, but I wasn¡¯t aware I had a surviving daughter. Her daily necessities weren¡¯t even taken care of, and she had been bullied badly. Why did fate make a fool out of us? Why did fate make us pass by each other in our lives¡­ A day had passed by, and it was already twenty-four hours, but Sophia was still in aa. The sky outside of the building went dark before the sun rose once again. However, the person lying in bed remained motionless. She was sound asleep, but her festering wounds were under control now. The cure was working, but she didn¡¯t seem as if she might regain consciousness. Her heartbeat was steady, but it was weak too. It sounded as if it might stop anytime now. Most of her face was horribly festered. Her scalp waspletely damaged, and her hair was all gone. Even if she were to survive this, she would be left with severe scars for the rest of her life. Cooper sat by her bed all night long, and he didn¡¯t dare close his eyes because he was afraid that he might wake up to a corpse if he were to fall asleep. I just want to keep her close to me, and I want to guard my own daughter. Having the chance to even look at her for a moment longer brings me joy, and I know that it is a luxury. Sophia¡¯s face was wrapped underyers of bandages. One of her arms had horribly festered, and even her bones were visible. Meanwhile, her other arm seemed alright, but it was icy-cold. Cooper held onto her petite, pale hand while feeling the warmth and affection of his flesh and blood. However, it felt as if even her warmth was slipping away. My palm is so warm, but why can¡¯t I seem to impart warmth upon this frail life? Is God punishing my ruthlessness and cruelty? Did God deliberately arrange for me to meet Sophia, just so that I could learn that I have a surviving daughter who would then die in front of me? If someone has to die, why isn¡¯t it me? Nicole had been strolling around outside the ward. She was ced in Michel¡¯s Castle while enjoying the protection of the Michel Group. They would charter a ne for her flight back to Cethos as soon as possible. There were urgent footsteps suddenly from outside of the hospital room as a young man d in a ck suit came rushing over. Linus came rushing over from somewhere else, and he learned about the situation here. Cooper¡¯s daughter is here, and her name is Sophia Edwards! Previously, when I was in Cethos, Michael hinted at me by showing me a photograph of an influencer named Chester Gailman, who looked simr to Cooper. I thought that Michael was just asking about the connection between Fass Michel and Cooper Mitchell. That was why I pretended to be oblivious to it while iming that I hadn¡¯t any idea what he was talking about. I didn¡¯t know that he was actually asking about Fass and Cooper on behalf of Sophia. I did not expect Sophia to be Cooper¡¯s daughter! ¡°Fass!¡± Linus called for Cooper from the entrance of the hospital room. Cooper was sitting by the bed while staring at the heavily bandaged person lying motionless on it. He remained motionless, but his eyes were bloodshot, and there were tears brimming in the corners of his eyes. Linus had never seen this side of the ruthless Fass Michel. Linus walked briskly to stand by the bedside while he looked at theplicated machines connected to Sophia¡¯s body. Her eyes were shut, and half of her face was festered. She looked exceptionally pale, and she was breathing weakly. It sounded as if it might be herst breath anytime soon. This is undoubtedly Sophia Edwards! Oh, my God! What happened? Didn¡¯t she die three years ago? ¡°Sophia¡­¡± Linus called out to her softly, but the bedridden person did not respond to him. ¡°Linus.¡± Cooper looked up suddenly at him with yearning in his eyes. ¡°Tell me about Sophia.¡± Linus nodded while sitting down slowly, and he started speaking in a quiet voice about how he became acquainted with Sophia. He mentioned how they got to know each other in the film studio, and how they had the same interests in Bayside University. He mentioned about the chilly night where they kept each other warm in the park. Besides, he also talked about Phantom Wolf¡­ Cooper wept his eyes out after listening to Linus. His tears came rolling down uncontrobly. The once strong and unshakable Cooper was now just a father who was about to lose his only child, and he was filled with desperation, pain and regret. It turns out our paths have crossed so many times in the past. A few years ago, I visited the ancient town Annabel and I eloped to to reminisce about the past, and I brushed shoulders with Sophia. My photo was leaked, and it caused an uproar. I knew that someone was looking for me in secret. Therefore, I sent my substitute, Chester, to avoid trouble so I could put an end to the situation. I just realized now that Sophia might be the person behind that situation. She must have known about my background, and she knew that her biological father had surfaced. She was trying to find me through that method. That year, I even had direct contact with her. I was in the car, and she was sitting in the front passenger¡¯s seat when she handed me her name card. Why didn¡¯t I look up at that time to have a good look at her? She is the spitting image of Anna. I would have recognized her if I had looked up at her face! The world has been cruel to me, and so I¡¯ve treated it more cruelly. God wants to punish me, and that is why my offspring has been suffering so much. Will she end up dead after going through so much pain? I am the one who has been ruthless and cruel! By the end of it, there was a catch in Linus¡¯ voice, and he just couldn¡¯t go on¡­ Sophia did not regain consciousness for the whole day. It meant that the chances of her waking up were now slim. The next day, she was still motionless, and the machines were helping her breathe and stay alive. Cooper stood beside the windows, and his back was facing his dying daughter, whom he had just reconnected less than thirty hours ago. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to speak with her, yet he was already helplessly witnessing her slowly wasting away.Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Through the window, Cooper saw the scorched earth outside of the walls. The inner part of the towering walls was an isted bubble because there were flowers and grass¡ªit looked like a prosperous town. On the other hand, outside of the walls, the earth was scorched ck. Desperate people were wailing for help outside of the city, but nobody took pity on them because from the perspective of the castle¡¯s owner, they were just a bunch of nobodies. Linus came rushing in once again. Cooper had been keeping Sophiapany in the hospital room for the past two days, so Linus was in charge of everything else. Nevertheless, he would drop by once in a while to check up on Sophia. ¡°Linus,¡± Cooper called out to him once he arrived. ¡°Fass, what is it?¡± Linus responded, but his gaze was focused on Sophia, who was lying on the bed. It was already the second day, but she had yet to regain consciousness. Cooper nced outside of the walls, and he noticed that the people who were begging for help were like zombies besieging the city. It was almost like purgatory beyond the walls because people seemed like ghouls that had been sent to hell to be punished. ¡°Allow the infected ones in to receive treatment,¡± Cooper uttered, but his eyes remained cold and distant as usual. Chapter 737 Chapter 737 Linus was shocked, but he remained silent as he nodded. Cooper added, ¡°Contact the governments who phoned earlier asking to purchase the cure¡­ Tell them that we will supply the cure free of charge. Besides, release theposition and form of the cure to the public free of charge. Get the pharmaceutical factories to work over time and synthesize as many cures as possible to send them out to the main hospitals inrge cities, where the infection has spread the worst.¡± Cooper did not run a charity; in fact, the cure developed by his medical team shouldn¡¯t be given out for free. This was his bargaining chip, which he wanted to use to take advantage of the horrible situation in exchange for the mining rights from governments of different countries. I was waiting for Africa to fall into chaos because once there was chaos, an arms dealer, like myself, would benefit from the situation the most. The life and death of others had nothing to do with me! However, right now, I can¡¯t help but look at everything differently. Copper hesitated before continuing, ¡°Saving a person¡¯s life is the best karma I could possibly umte. If I were to salvage the entire Africa, wouldn¡¯t I umte limitless virtue in life¡­ With that, my daughter might¡­¡± He turned to look at Sophia, who was lying in bed, but his eyes were brimming with tears, his gaze unfocused. She was still deep in hera, and it seemed as if she would never open her eyes again. ¡°Maybe God would witness this and allow my daughter to return to me.¡± While staring at his flesh and blood going through so much pain, Cooper started crying again. For the past twenty years, he had never shed a single tear ever since Annabel¡¯s death. However, in thest two days, he finally understood that the suffering he had to endure now was the result of the umtion of his ruthlessness over thest two decades. More than twenty years¡¯ worth of tears now flowed freely in the past two days. Linus could sense Cooper¡¯s desperation, and so he left in silence. After a while, news got out that arge number of unmanned aerial vehicles, which were loaded with the cures, flew off torge cities all over the world. The cure¡¯s form was sent to every country¡¯s medical institutions too. Hence, any medical institutions had ess to the Michel Group to obtain the cure. The gates opened, and the infected people, who were begging for help outside of the walls, were sent into hospital rooms. Everybody was excited, and some were even crying tears of joy. Those who sought help received the cure and the necessary health care from the Michel Group free of charge. The news spread throughout the entire Africa within a day. Thend, which had once fallen into despair in the mes of war, appeared as if it had been reborned¡ªthere was good news everywhere. Nicole stood behind Cooper. Sensing the despair and regret emitting from the man¡¯s aura, she couldn¡¯t help but feel down as well. However, Cooper broke the silence suddenly. ¡°Miss Walker.¡± Nicole was stunned into silence because this was the first time Cooper spoke to her in thest two days. She responded hastily, ¡°Yes, Mr. Mitchell.¡± She already knew that he was the person in charge behind Michel Group, Fass Michel, but she also knew that his name was Cooper Mitchell. Therefore, she addressed him as ¡®Mr. Mitchell¡¯. However, Cooper did not correct her; instead, he paused for a long time before saying, ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Nicole was at a loss for words now. She finally had a chance to speak with him after waiting for more than a decade. Nevertheless, the heavy and gloomy atmosphere crushed her joy and excitement. Cooper continued, ¡°Thank you for making sure that we were united as father and daughter.¡± Nicole smiled bitterly while shaking her head. She was perplexed. It¡¯s toote after all. Everything seems to be fated. It was night time soon. Sophia had been in aa for two days, and she would never regain consciousness again if she didn¡¯t wake up now. Cooper hadn¡¯t had anything to eat nor drink the entire day. He had been gazing at Sophia while he sat beside her bed. This is my daughter! If I had been able to raise her since birth, she would have been enjoying life as a youthful and beautiful woman now. She would have been healthy and happy. In fact, with her intelligence, I¡¯m sure she must be as talented as Linus. However, right now, she¡¯s lying in bed while bncing at the brink of death. Cooper stared at Sophia¡¯s face, and the longer he did that, the prettier he found her to be. Anna gave birth to this daughter of mine! She gave birth to her in despair, and I¡¯m sure she must have hoped that we would be reunited as father and daughter one day. Who would have expected our first official reunion to be when she was on the brink of death? She has suffered so much throughout her life, and so I must keep herpany while she goes through thest part of the journey. Cooper did not have the courage to look away¡ªhe did not even dare to blink. He was afraid that he might be staring at his own daughter¡¯s corpse if he were to shut his eyes for a moment. Nicole¡¯s tears came streaming down silently while she stood by the bed. Linus entered the hospital room quietly before he spoke to Cooper. ¡°The infested victims from outside of the walls had been let in. They would be provided with free health care services upon registration. The cures have been ced into cirction in an orderly manner, and the form and specialists have been sent to thergest pharmaceutical factories. The leaders of different countries have been phoning to thank you¡­¡± The tears on Cooper¡¯s cheeks dried quickly after his tears streamed down, but his cheeks would get wet again with tears. He stared at Sophia while responding to Linus in a quiet voice, ¡°They don¡¯t have to thank me. They should thank my daughter. She is the one who gave them their lives. She is the one¡­¡± Linus nced at Sophia, and his eyes turned red with tears too. His eyes were shining with tears, but this time, he did not leave the room. Instead, he sat by her bedside to keep herpany while she went through thest moments of her life. Cooper stared at Sophia¡¯s face, as if in a trance. He then held onto her hand lightly to ce it on his cheek. His face was hot, and it was a stark contrast against her icy-cold hand. His tears were dripping constantly onto her palm. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Cooper sat closest to Sophia, and he was speaking to her in a quiet voice. Perhaps she¡¯s able to hear my voice right now. She had been searching for me for so many years, and so I¡¯m sure she must have been looking forward to meeting me. I need to let her know that I, her father, am just by her side. In that case, she might move on to the afterlife while feeling at ease. ¡°Sophia, my name is Cooper Mitchell. I am your father¡­ Cooper.¡± He choked with sobs. ¡°I know everything now. I know that¡­ I know that you have been searching for me all along. I have disappointed you, and I shouldn¡¯t have avoided you. I shouldn¡¯t have let you look for me all alone. This is entirely my fault. Will you please be my daughter if there is a next life? I promise that I will make it up to you¡­ I will never let you or your mother suffer. Sophia, my dear daughter, open your eyes to look at me, please¡­¡± Unfortunately, Sophia was still deep asleep. Cooper nuzzled his face against her palm while he wailed in despair. Linus looked away because he didn¡¯t have the courage to face this moment of life and death. He was afraid that he might break down. He turned away, but he realized that his face was streaked with tears. The medical staff around were crying silently as well. Cooper, who had lost all hope, knew that it was impossible to salvage anything. He reached out with a trembling hand to retrieve the amulet, which he had been wearing over two decades, to ce it gently into Sophia¡¯s hand. He sobbed before continuing, ¡°I¡¯m giving you the amulet, which I have had with me for more than twenty years, and you¡¯ll have to continue wearing it in your next life. With that¡­ I¡¯d be able to locate you straight away, alright?¡± Unfortunately, she would never respond to him ever again. Cooper kept his head bowed while he held onto Sophia¡¯s hand tightly. He was trying to preserve thest bit of warmth. God has been so cruel to me, and I¡¯m sure that this is my punishment. That is why I¡¯ve been punished to experience the pain and despair of watching my daughter dying slowly right before my eyes. Is there a chance of redeeming myself if I were to admit to my mistakes? Suddenly, he felt as if the cold and tiny hand in his grasp had moved slightly. He thought that he was imagining things, but he looked up abruptly. He stared at the person in bed, and her eyshes fluttered a few times. Her eyelids started quivering, as though she was trying her best to open her eyes. Sophia¡¯s lips moved a couple of times with difficulty, and Cooper heard her frail and hoarse voice calling out weakly, ¡°Dad¡­¡± Chapter 738 Chapter 738 Cooper was stunned into silence, and he thought he was dreaming. On the other hand, Linus reacted swiftly by standing up. ¡°She¡¯s awake, she¡¯s awake! Quick!¡± The medical staff, who were on standby for the longest time, came rushing over. Cooper, who was rendered motionless by shock, was pushed to the side straight away. Cooper was still in shock even after Sophia had been wheeled into the operation theater. When he saw that the light of the operation theater was turned on, he mumbled, ¡°She¡¯s awake¡­ My daughter¡¯s awake?¡± ¡­ After the rescue, Sophia finally made it through miraculously. Her vitals were normal, and everything indicated that she was on the path of recovery. She woke up for real the next day. Her eyshes fluttered lightly like wings of a butterfly before she opened her eyes. Cooper, who had been staring at her all the while, held onto her hands immediately. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re awake,¡± he whispered. Sophia was bleary-eyed, and her eyesight had not returned to normal yet. However, she knew who that person was because she had been listening to the person speaking to her for the past two days. She just didn¡¯t have the strength to open her eyes to look at him. This man¡¯s name is Cooper Mitchell, and he is my father. He is the father I¡¯ve spent years searching to no avail, but I¡¯ve stumbled upon him under the most unimaginable circumstances. My father, who has been known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, has rescued all the infected victims to save me. Holding onto her fixation toward her father, Sophia mustered all her strength to open her eyes and escape from the cold and dark world. ¡°Dad.¡± That was the first word she uttered when her lips parted. Her voice box was damaged, and so she sounded like she was exhaling as she spoke in a whisper. Nevertheless, Cooper heard what she said clearly and started crying tears of joy. To have my daughter address me as her dad feels so much more surreal and beautiful than a dream. He nodded, and his tears came rolling down. He was about to say something, but his voice caught in his throat as he sobbed. Sophia forced a smile with difficulty, and she called out again, ¡°Dad.¡± Her voice was still frail like before, as if she was merely breathing. Nevertheless, Cooper nodded happily, and his voice was trembling. ¡°I¡¯m here. I am right here¡­¡± When Sophia called out for him, Cooper felt that it was the most melodious thing he had ever heard despite her hoarse and weak voice. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to announce to the world¡ªI, Cooper Mitchell, have a daughter now! Sophia¡¯s recovery was encouraging. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have much hair left, and her scalp was festered. Most of her face had undergone necrosis, and she was wrapped in bandages. Nevertheless, those weren¡¯t important because as long as she was still alive, other issues could be readily addressed. The Michel Group took the initiative to release the cure for Virs-18 to the public. Therefore, they saved the entire African continent. Although it was a small-scale war, the cure gave people hope. This meant that there would be peace throughout thend soon enough. The Michel Group suffered immense losses over this matter. They exhaustedrge amounts of human resources to research and develop the cure, but in the end, they gave it out for free, and so they did not reap any benefits at all. Once the cure had been released, countries all over the world were in joy. The wars died down, and so the sales of firearms were severely affected. Nevertheless, Cooper didn¡¯t mind. Everything is worth it in exchange for my daughter¡¯s life¡ªeven if it means that I need to pay with my own life. Linus saw Cooper standing at the corner of the castle wall the day Sophia regained consciousness. Cooper was facing the wall while he cried in silence. After receiving news that his daughter had survived the ordeal, Cooper learned about another cruel reality¡ªAnnabel, whom he watched pass away, did not die in reality. Instead, Woody let her leave discreetly. After Anna left, a fat bastard, Joe Edwards, r*ped her, and she gave birth to my daughter in despair. During childbirth, she experienced amniotic fluid embolism syndrome. Since her family refused to consent to the hysterectomy procedure to save Anna¡¯s life, she died in the delivery room after the dy of the optimum rescue window. They were reluctant to allow her to undergo the hysterectomy procedure because Anna wouldn¡¯t be able to give birth again without her womb. Hence, it would also mean that she wouldn¡¯t fetch a good price if they were to put her up for sale. Heh! If I had known all those years ago, my daughter and I wouldn¡¯t have been separated for so many years, and Anna might not have died¡­ Fate is toying with me¡­ I¡¯d always thought that I had mastered the key of controlling my fate, and that I had my fate in my grasp. Hence, I assumed that I was the master in controlling the world. However, in the end, I realized that I am just amoner, like I¡¯ve always been. I am just a pitiful person who has been toyed around by fate. My woman had been bullied, and she died after childbirth while feeling hopeless. She was merely 19 years old when she died. My daughter had been mol*sted by her own uncle at a young age. After growing up, someone broke her leg, and she was chased out of her school. The nightmare she had to endure during her childhood spread like wildfire, and Sophia had been forced to face her pain and sufferings for the second time. Now that she has endured the attack of the virus, her looks havepletely been destroyed. She was at the brink of death, and she went through hell for it. Everything seemed to be destined in an invisible manner. Cooper¡¯s tears rolled down his cheeks silently. Suddenly, he sensed someone behind him, and so he turned around. He came face-to-face with Linus, and the once cruel and cold Cooper was reduced to nothing but a hopeless old man who was suffering in silence. ¡°Linus, is this retribution?¡± Linus couldn¡¯t answer him¡­ Ever since Sophia regained consciousness, she had been recovering well. Cooper handed all his affairs to Linus to handle because he just wanted to spend time with his daughter. Soon, a week passed by since Sophia regained consciousness, and she was in much better spirits. She could even consume small amounts of food. That day, after her first time having solid foods, Sophia smacked her lips, as if relishing the delicious food. ¡°Is it delicious?¡± Cooper asked. He was worried that she might not be used to the food in a foreign country, and so he specially flew a Cethos chef over to prepare some Cethos cuisine in the form of a liquid diet for her. Sophia nodded, and her lips curled into a smile. Although only half of her face was intact, she was still the prettiest daughter from Cooper¡¯s point of view. Nobody has anything on my daughter. Sophia opened her cloudy eyes to look at the sunny and clear blue sky through the window. Then, she asked in a hoarse voice, ¡°Dad, why are the lights off all along?¡± Cooper was halfway scooping the liquid food up with a spoon when he heard that, and the smile on his face fell. After that, he reached out to wave a hand in front of her eyes. Sophia¡¯s cloudy eyes appeared lifeless like pools of stagnant water; she had no response at all. Nevertheless, she forced a smile while asking him, ¡°Dad, why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± She has lost her eyesight. Cooper¡¯s heart throbbed in pain, and he choked back a sob. He kept his head bowed while he stirred the food in the bowl. Cooper blew against the hot steam before continuing feeding her one scoop after another. ¡°Your eyesight isn¡¯t the best right now¡ªin fact, it¡¯s very weak. You won¡¯t be able to see temporarily, but you will recover in a few days¡¯ time.¡± Sophia seemed to have sensed something, but it was impossible to make out her feelings through her murky eyes. However, she forced a smile anyway. ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll recover with you by my side.¡± Cooper did not respond to her. After making sure that Sophia had finished her food, Cooper instructed someone to fly an ophthalmologist over. After the doctor examined Sophia¡¯s eyes, he shook his head at Cooper once he left the room. ¡°Her eyes had been damaged continuously, and the Virs-18 had rendered her cornea necrotic. She would most probably never see again in the future.¡± Cooper maintained an indifferent expression, and it appeared as though he was already numb to the situation. However, his heart was bleeding in pain. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. My daughter has lost her eyesight¡­ Nevertheless, the doctor added, ¡°However, the artificial cornea, which we have developed, has had ten years of clinical trials. We can try that while waiting for a suitable match for cornea transnt.¡± Cooper shed him a bleak smile. Everything is worth it as long as she gets better. Chapter 739 Chapter 739 Soon, Sophia had been living in the castle for more than a month, and she had been recovering well. Most of her bandages were taken off, and it exposed the scars on her skin. The festering wounds had left her with scars, which would stay with her for the rest of her life. Her scalp was hairless, and the skin over her head appeared grotesque. The scars looked like centipedes etched across her skin. She was still unable to see with her eyes, but her body had not fully recovered. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t undergo the stress of going through a cornea transnt surgery for the time being. Cooper¡¯s eyes started brimming with tears when he saw Sophia after her bandages were taken off. However, he couldn¡¯t reveal his sadness in front of her. ¡°Dad, I¡¯d like to head out for some fresh air and feel the sun. Can I do that?¡± Sophia broke the silence. Her voice box was damaged, and so her voice was gravelly and unpleasant. Cooper answered, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll take you out.¡± The weather was wonderful today, and the breeze outside felt especially good. Cooper pushed the wheelchair with Sophia on it to enjoy the breeze while they took a stroll. All those years ago, Cooper discovered this precious stretch ofnd in Africa with exceptional geomancy. Hence, he built the African branch of the Michel Group here, and heid his roots. There were buried treasures underneath the impoverishednds, and so with hispany built on top of it, the Group grew larger and stronger by relying on these treasures. The Michel Family came looking for me a long time ago, and that was how I found out about the background of my mother¡¯s family. It turned out I have another identity¡ªFass Michel. At that point, I started arranging my affairs to leave the Mitchell Family. I started building up my own forces abroad, where the Mitchells had no intel on. It was at that point when I found Linus. I used a car crash as a front to leave my identity behind when I was 29 years old. I abandoned my identity as Cooper Mitchell to embrace my identity as Fass Michel. This castle was the result of his umted efforts over the years. It had now developed into a rich town, and it was like an enormous, ck dragon perched across the continent of Africa. The area was truly like an uncrowned king, and people trembled with fear at the mention of him. They took a walk in the garden, and they were surrounded by flowers. Hence, the fragrance in the air was pleasant enough. Sophia enjoyed the sun while sniffing the fragrant flowers. She appreciated the wind while feeling content. Cooper introduced her to the area in a gentle tone. ¡°This town belongs to me, and so it will belong to you in the future. Once you are able to see after a few days, I¡¯ll take you to have a look at the wider horizon.¡± Sophia nodded. Her smile resembles her mom¡¯s! Cooper was walking leisurely when Sophia asked him all of a sudden, ¡°Dad, where¡¯s mom?¡± The smile across Cooper¡¯s face froze. I¡¯ve recently learned that my poor daughter had forgotten about everything. I know what she had gone through. An assassin attacked her three years ago, and she reappeared three years after. She once had a husband named Quinton rk when she lived in one of the small towns in the desert. I know who Quinton rk is, and I am also well aware of his methods. He has a specific set of brainwashing techniques. He artificially controls the human¡¯s brain waves using certain equipment to forcefully create some hallucinations. The person¡¯s deepest fears would be magnified multiple times and in repetition. This is the worse mental torture for humans, and it would easily break anyone. Even the most valiant special agents on earth would not be able to free themselves when subjected to such extreme and cruel mental tortures. I can¡¯t even begin to imagine how much my daughter had suffered. She¡¯d been tortured so much that she ended up in such a state. She hadpletely forgotten about the past after going through a breaking point. Therefore, her mind had bepletely nk. Sophia mentioned that her eyes hadn¡¯t been the best even in the past. Tears would start streaming even at the slightest breeze. In fact, she would be in excruciating pain once she started crying. Cooper knew that once upon a time, his daughter almost ended up blind from crying too much, so he had always known that her eyes were already weak. Hence, her eyesight deteriorated swiftly after the Virs-18 infection. Currently, she could no longer see. Quinton rk¡­ Cooper gritted his teeth in silence. However, on the surface, he remained gentle when he answered, ¡°Your mom passed away many years ago.¡± Sophia looked crestfallen, and she didn¡¯t say another word after that. The two of them walked for quite some time before she asked again, ¡°Dad, how was I like in the past? Why did I forget about everything?¡± Cooper answered her, ¡°Let the past stay in the past. You only have to remember that you are Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter¡ªmy daughter¡ªand that is more than enough.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± answered Sophia with a gravelly voice. After a while, she added, ¡°Have you managed to contact Hope?¡± Cooper¡¯s voice turned harsh when he heard that. ¡°He is not your husband. He is just a hooligan who has committed countless murders! Forget about him! He doesn¡¯t deserve you!¡± Sophia seemed to have gotten used to Cooper¡¯s attitude, and so she stuck her tongue out yfully. In reality, she felt that she didn¡¯t harbor much feelings for Quinton. I just made do with him¡­ I do not recall anything at all anyway. I was left with Quinton alone, and I couldn¡¯t leave him, could I? However, now that I have dad, I¡¯m presented with another choice. I do not want to idle away my youth by staying in a small town. I want to go to a bustling city to get to know more people. I want to experience life more. Once my eyesight has recovered, I will realize my dreams. After strolling for a while, Cooper saw a person pacing outside of the garden. It turned out to be Nicole. Nicole was in close contact with Sophia since she brought thetter over for treatment, so she was inevitably infected too. However, her conditions were mild, and so she recovered swiftly after using the cure. Currently, order had been gradually restored in the African continent, and the traffic had recovered slightly too. The agency was already urging her to return as soon as possible, so she had to take the flight this afternoon. She plucked up her courage to bid Cooper farewell. When Nicole saw Cooper walking toward her, her breath caught in her chest while she stared at the handsome face which had weathered through the years. It has been over ten years; I still can¡¯t believe that I can get to speak with him now. I was even able to stay in the same small town with him for such a long time. Everything feels like a dream. ¡°Mr. Mitchell,¡± she greeted Cooper politely. ¡°Ms. Walker,¡± replied Cooper tly. He sounded cold and distant, as if he was putting up a barrier to keep everybody out, apart from his daughter. It was almost impossible to get a gentle and warm expression from this man. Nicole suppressed the bitterness bubbling in her chest as she smiled at him. ¡°I am here to bid you farewell. I have a flight to catch this afternoon because I¡¯m returning to Cethos.¡± Cooper paused for a while before he said, ¡°You should see my daughter.¡± Nicole nodded and thanked him gratefully. ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Mitchell.¡± However, Cooper¡¯s next statement sounded unexpectedly cold and cruel. ¡°I hope that you will not mention her past in front of her. I will also not allow you to mention my daughter to anyone after you¡¯ve returned to your country!¡± Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Nicole was bewildered while she stared at his ruthless and distant expression. Nevertheless, she promised him anyway. ¡°Alright.¡± Only then did Cooper agree to let her bid Sophia goodbye. Sophia died three years ago. She died in a stampede by a hoard of frenzied fans. Since I¡¯ve learned about her existence, she has to say goodbye to her miserable past. She is no longer anybody¡¯s wife¡ªshe is just my daughter! My only daughter! Chapter 740 Chapter 740 Nicole bade Sophia goodbye too. ¡°Nicole, have a safe trip. I¡¯ll visit you once I¡¯ve recovered.¡± Sophia¡¯s murky eyes were blind now, and so she could only locate Nicole¡¯s position by listening to her voice. She reached out her hand, which was filled with scars, to hold onto Nicole¡¯s. Nicole replied, ¡°Mm-hmm, I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡± Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. As they were about to part ways, Sophia asked her suddenly, ¡°Nicole, what kind of person was I in the past?¡± Nicole turned to look at Cooper, who was standing by the side, reflexively. He was shooting daggers at her, looking almost menacing. Therefore, Nicole smiled bitterly as she answered Sophia, ¡°You were a good person. Once upon a time, I only worked some walk-on parts, and my younger sister was extremely ill. She needed urgent treatment, but I didn¡¯t have the money to save her. You paid her medical bills for me. Besides, after finding out that my younger sister and I opened up an orphanage, you forked out money to build a new building for our orphanage.¡± Sophia chuckled. I have no idea about my past right now, but at least I know that I was a good person. I think that¡¯s not bad at all. After Nicole left, Cooper was about to speak with Sophia when Linus came rushing toward him. He whispered into Cooper¡¯s ear, and thetter¡¯s expression soured immediately while his aura became intimidating straight away. However, he switched swiftly into a gentle and happy expression when he turned to his daughter. He grabbed onto her hand when he said, ¡°Sophia, I need to attend to some matters. I¡¯ll get Linus to send you home.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Go ahead with your work, dad.¡± Cooper nced at Linus while nodding at him. Then, he said to Sophia, ¡°Linus has a gift for you.¡± Sophia broke into a happy grin at the mention of a gift. Therefore, she asked hastily, ¡°Uncle Linus, what is it?¡± Linus was still not used to Sophia addressing him as such. We were born on the exact same date. Previously, I used to be her older brother, but now, I have ended up as her uncle for no reason. She pushed Sophia¡¯s wheelchair while walking forward. ¡°Hazard a guess,¡± he answered her. Cooper watched the two of them leaving slowly, and the warm and gentle smile vanished from his face instantly as he now looked frosty and cruel. Michel¡¯s Castle weed a guest today¡ªit was none other than Phantom Wolf, Quinton rk. Quinton was pacing in the hall anxiously. He had lost contact with those at home when the war broke out. After that, he took the risk to return to the small town, but he realized that it had be a war zone. The bookshop had been razed to the ground, and his subordinates were all dead¡ªmost importantly, he couldn¡¯t find Sophia. He searched along the way, asking around while looking for a helpless and weak girl in the midst of the messy war. He lost confidence over time, but he wouldn¡¯t give up unless he found her body. However, everywhere was a warzone, and some people didn¡¯t even have a body to show for after death. Quinton moved around for a month until he finally got hold of her news. It turned out she was infected by Virs-18, and so she came over to Michel Castle for treatment. It so happened that Michel Castle¡¯s gates were opened to allow the infected victims to enter the castle for treatment. That was how he barged in excitedly. Linus must have found her and saved her! She must be fine. ¡°Quinton rk.¡± A deep and masculine voice rang. It was in native Cethosnguage, and there was even a hint of Bayside City ent. Quinton was shocked, and so he turned around abruptly. He noticed that a man was already standing at the end of the corridor. He couldn¡¯t make out the man¡¯s age. Superficially, he looked young, but his eyes were cruel, as if he had weathered through years of experience. He looked like a foreigner, but he was speaking in fluent Cethos, and so it didn¡¯t seem to match. Why didn¡¯t Linuse out to meet me? Previously, I had a falling out with Linus, and he even helped the Fletchers to dig up my past. Now that Linus knows I¡¯m here, why isn¡¯t there a response from him? Despite not knowing the person in front of him, Quinton went forward to greet him politely anyway. ¡°Good day to you. My name is Quinton rk. I am here to¡ª¡± ¡°Come with me.¡± The cruel man did not reply to his greeting; instead, he turned around to leave. Quinton was confused, but he followed after him anyway. Along the way, Cooper did not utter another word. The two of them made multiple turns to arrive at a ce which resembled a hospital of sorts. On the other side, Quinton was also trying to figure out the man¡¯s identity. Upon arriving at the destination, Cooper stood in front of a wall to press a button lightly, and the wall turned into a see-through ss. Surprisingly, behind the ss wall was a ward. Sophia was sitting on a wheelchair in the ward, and her eyes were dull. Her once bright eyes were now dull andcked luster. Her bald scalp was filled with scars, which were ugly and terrifying. Layers of scars had covered most of her face, and her thick scars were like an utterly ugly shirt that was covering her delicate skin. It was a stark contrast inparison to her previous look. ¡°Sophia!¡± Quinton was in shock, but he charged forward while ignoring everything else. He mmed against the wall with all he had while screaming for Sophia. Unfortunately, Sophia didn¡¯t seem to hear him at all. Her dull eyes were wide open when she looked up, and she tried locating Linus¡¯ position through hearing. ¡°Uncle Linus, will I be blind from now on?¡± Linus kept his head bowed before looking up tenderly at her. He chuckled while he answered, ¡°Silly, what nonsense is that? Technology is extremely advanced now. Is there still any incurable disease around?¡± After saying that, Linus picked her up from her wheelchair to ce her gently on her bed. She was now as thin as a stick, and she looked as if she was made of skin and bones. The Virs-18 had almost sucked up all her energy and health; although she managed to survive, her physical body was almost destroyed. She would need quite a long time to recuperate; in fact, she was so weak that she didn¡¯t even have the energy to walk. Quinton¡¯s eyes bulged in disbelief when he witnessed everything in front of him. What happened to her when I wasn¡¯t by her side? How did things take such a drastic turn¡­ The wall in front of them turned back to a normal wall, and Quinton couldn¡¯t see what was inside anymore, nor could he hear anything else. Quinton was still stuck against the wall, and he wouldn¡¯t leave. The man behind him spoke in an exceptionally cold and ruthless voice. ¡°She is my daughter. She has been reduced to her current state after being infected by Virs-18, and she is now blind. I¡¯m sure you know best how she ended up being blind.¡± Before arriving at Michel Castle, Sophia¡¯s eyesight hadn¡¯t been great. Cooper red cruelly at Quinton, who seemed as if he was hit hard by the earlier scene. ¡°Quinton rk, I am happy that we reunited as father and daughter, and so I do not wish tomit murder now. You should thank my daughter because she saved your life! You should leave and never appear in front of my daughter again. Otherwise¡­ I will chop you up and make you into a pot of stewed meat!¡± Cooper hissed thest few words through gritted teeth. It was obvious that he had found out what happened years ago. Phantom Wolf did not kill Sophia; instead, he deliberately chopped up a woman to make a thick pot of stew to fool the pursuing troops; he even rescued Sophia¡¯s daughter. If it weren¡¯t for that, Quinton would have ended up as a pot of stew now! Chapter 741 Chapter 741 However, Quinton seemed to hear nothing. His eyes were glued onto Sophia. How did my woman be like this? He had forgotten how he left Michel¡¯s Castle; all he could remember was Sophia¡¯s vacant eyes. Her eyes hadn¡¯t been functioning well. However, after she contracted Virs-18, her condition deteriorated quickly, and she became blind. Quinton knew very well how Sophia¡¯s eyes ended up this way¡ªit was all because of him. Sophia was quite obstinate¡ªshe would rather die than follow him, but he had his own ways too. Since he could train Celine, who had undergone special training, to be a callous assassin, he naturally had his ways with Sophia. He forced her to undergo his own brainwashing techniques and used equipment to disrupt her brainwaves to manually create nightmares for her. In the nightmares, everything that she cared for was destroyed in front of her again and again. She would watch her beloved child die in front of her numerous times. She would witness Michael, whom she loved, die tragically in front of her countless times. Her nightmare would continue endlessly, yet she couldn¡¯t escape from any of them; it was torturing her endlessly. Everything that she most feared would appear in her dreams. Apart from that, her fears would be erged until she couldn¡¯t differentiate between reality and her nightmares. She cried and howled in pain day and night until her traumatized brain became nk. All her memories hadpletely disappeared as a defense mechanism. Since she thought all the nightmares were real, in order to protect herself, her brain had erased all the memories that brought her pain. It was also during that time when she cried so much that she almost turned blind. Then, Quinton brought her to various eye specialists to heal her. Who would¡¯ve thought¡­ Standing on the walls, Cooper was watching Quinton leaving with his fleet of cars, and he almost pressed the button to st him to the skies. Nevertheless, he managed to hold his impulse back in the end. Since Sophia had notpletely healed, he didn¡¯t want to kill anyone yet. Meanwhile, in the ward, Sophia asked Linus expectantly, ¡°Uncle Linus, where¡¯s my present?¡± Linus smiled at her dotingly as he wore a hat for her to cover up the unseenly scars on her scalp. ¡°It¡¯s going to arrive soon.¡± Then, he shouted to the door, ¡°Shae,e in.¡± A contraption outside the door started moving and walked inside. It was actually a robot that was a meter tall. After it walked in, it spoke to Sophia sweetly, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m Shae, your smart household robot.¡± Delighted by its appearance, Sophia touched around. Then, Linus said, ¡°This is a smart robot that Coop and I designed for you. It¡¯s called Shae. Come touch it.¡± With Linus¡¯ guidance, Sophia finally touched Shae. After feeling the smooth and sleek outline of the robot, Sophia smiled delightedly. ¡°Shae, Shae¡­¡± Then, she was confused. ¡°Why do you call it Shae?¡± Linus¡¯ face fell slightly, but he still forced himself to smile. ¡°Because¡­ Shae means ¡®three¡¯ in ancient Mayannguage. It represents the three of us¡ªyou, me and Fass!¡± Sophiaughed upon hearing that, moving the scar on her face as well. Of course, Linus couldn¡¯t bring himself to tell her that there was Nichs before Shae. With that, Linus instructed Shae, ¡°Shae, sing a song for us.¡± Shae was much smarter than Nichs. After all, it had been four years since Nichs was invented. In the past four years, technology had advanced tremendously. Even though Nichs couldn¡¯t sing and dance, Shae could do that well. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. Hence, it began to sing ording to their conversation. ¡°Moon river, wider than a mile¡­ I¡¯m crossing you in style some day¡­¡± To Sophia, this song rang a bell. She was even familiar with the rhythm, but she couldn¡¯t recall where she had heard it. After hearing Shae sing it once, she had had it memorized. She knew that she had lost her memories and forgotten many past incidents, but her instincts were still there. She had lost the memories of how to cook, but after seeing the utensils and how others did it, she got the hang of it immediately. Instincts and habits worked in mysterious ways. After recuperating in the castle for a few months, Sophia hadpletely regained her health. She had been doing well, and she had also slowly gotten used to being blind. Shae was a responsible guiding robot¡ªit brought her out everyday. The residents in the town were all employees from the Michel Group. With the strong Michel Group backing them up, everything was flourishing and safe. After Sophia had gotten better, Cooper brought her to Europe for a cornea transnt. The operation was very sessful. After that, when Sophia opened her eyes, light flooded into her vision. Beyond excited, she looked around curiously. Ahh, it¡¯s so great to be able to see again. Of course, the first person she saw was a handsome young man with a profound look in his eyes. She recognized him immediately. ¡°Dad!¡± Finally, she could see what her father looked like. She rushed to hug him, feeling so agitated that tears streamed down her face. Finally, both the father and daughter saw each other for the first time. Hence, Cooper was also very excited as he carefully looked into Sophia¡¯s eyes. It was a pair of perfectly man-made eyes that cost a bomb; it wasn¡¯t even in the market right now. As it was a technology from Europe, they only had blue iris. Sophia¡¯s ck iris had be blue right now. As soon as she opened her eyes, she could see a pair of blue eyes staring back at her in the mirror. Her eyes had never been in great shape before¡ªtears often flowed out of her eyes. Sophia thought that as long as her eyes could be cured, nothing else mattered. However, now that her eyes were perfectly fine again¡ªshe could see clearly and all her old problems were gone¡ªshe felt that everything was wrong again. Her scalp could no longer grow any hair, and half her face was also covered by hideous scars. Because of the rotten flesh, she was even short of two fingernails that could never grow back again. She dared not look at herself in the mirror. In fact, she wasn¡¯t even able to bring herself to look at her fingers, and she refused to go outside. Cooper brought her around the entire Europe to carry out various operations to transnt her skin, hair and fingernails. Sophia acted like someone from the countryside who had entered the city for the first time. During the consultation visitations, they also looked around the vibrant big cities and shopped a lot. Cooper agreed to every request she had, paying happily as he held the bags for her After all, this was also his first time being a father, so he didn¡¯t really know what to do either. He could give in to all her requests. Even if Sophia wanted the entire world, he would buy it for her. Sophia even got blond hair imnts. Right now, she was aplete blondie with blue eyes. When she was in the small town, Quinton forbade her to use her phone to surf the Inte. Hence, she hadn¡¯t seen anyone else apart from herself. Since the only people she had seen were Caucasian and cks, she was influenced by western beauty standards. This was why she chose to imnt a set of blond hair for herself. Cooper had intentions to groom her in terms of career. Hence, while he brought her to several stic surgeries, he also showed her around his business and taught her many things about it. After her hair, eyes, and fingernails were done, Sophia was still unsatisfied because the scars on her face were still too ugly to be publicly seen. However, unexpectedly, they faced some issues during the skin transnt surgery¡­ Chapter 742 Chapter 742 As the diameter of Sophia¡¯s scar was extremelyrge, they were unable to perform the traditional method of skin grafting as her face required a patch of healthy skin from her body. Even though her face was already healed, there would be another patch of scar. In short, the process involved the grafting of skin from other parts of her body, but they were unable to do so because there was no extra skin left. Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org. It was obviously not what Cooper wanted. Sophia had bought many beautiful dresses, but she was unable to wear them because of her scars. As a father, he naturally wanted his daughter to be the prettiest. Since the traditional method of skin grafting was unable to meet his expectations, it was only viable to use other methods likeser surgery to reduce the appearance of the scars. For that kind of treatment, only a private hospital in Cethos had that kind of expertise. Since Sophia was a local there, that hospital would be a better choice¡ªsince it was already specialized in surgeries for folks like her. The few hospitals that Cooper asked around all rmended him to bring Sophia to the hospital in Cethos for her condition to be surveyed. ¡°Cethos¡­¡± he murmured in a low voice. It was a ce that seemed to wield magical powers, rendering him unable to sever all connections with the country. He had once hated Cethos with a vengeance, but now that the cruel truth was revealed, the topic was off-limits for him. Cooper never wanted to return to that country. In fact, it could be said that he feared that ce because hecked the guts or the heart to see Woody again. The hatred Cooper bore toward Woody had now turned into guilt. He admitted that he was extremely reckless in the past until it was difficult for Woody to act in the interest as the family head. Hence, Woody had no choice but to ruin Cooper¡¯s happiness. Cooper was unaware of Woody¡¯s actual intentions, but now that the former knew about it, 20 years had already passed. However, after he turned and saw his daughter, whose face could not be seen by others, all of his fear and guilt became insignificant. Half of Sophia¡¯s face was covered in scars and she only had an eyebrow. She¡¯s still young and will need to be married in the future. Of course she can¡¯t look like this forever. However, if we return to Cethos, both of us will have to face our past¡­ His resolve hardened in the end. ¡°Let¡¯s return to Cethos!¡± Sophia¡¯s happiness is more important than anything else. Right now, the most important thing is to fix her face. With that, Cooper immediately made an appointment with the hospital at Cethos, which specialized in treating burn scars. On top of that, he also scheduled an appointment with another hospital in Bayside City that was famous for their otryngology department. Apart from Sophia¡¯s face, even her vocal cords needed to be treated. As soon as Sophia learned that they were returning to Cethos, she packed her luggage in excitement. However, Cooper did not feel good upon seeing her excitement. Linus suddenly appeared again and reported to Cooper in a low voice, ¡°Quinton is here again.¡± Quinton, who was also known as Phantom Wolf, had been circling around Michel¡¯s Castle once every few days, but Cooper had sent him off. ¡°Ask him whether he prefers minced meat or meatballs. I can grant his wishes.¡± In Cooper¡¯s eyes, Quinton was as good as a te of walking minced meat. If it hadn¡¯t been for his good mood that he was finally reunited with his daughter, he would have already killed Quinton much earlier. If the Phantom Wolf was a deadly wolf waiting for an opportunity to attack in the African ranges, the Fletcher Family was an amateur that was not a match for him. Using that analogy, Cooper resembled the ancient dragon who had been living on that piece ofnd for ages. No matter how sly the wolf could be, it was never his match! He wants to be my son-inw? In his dreams! It¡¯s not like he¡¯s a virgin or someoneplete, so how can I possibly give my daughter¡¯s hand in marriage to him? I wish I could throw him into a barrel of pee and ask him to look at himself in the mirror! Sophia is being tormented like this because of the internal battle between Theo Fletcher¡¯s two sons. I will never allow her to keep in touch with any of Theo¡¯s descendants again! ¡°Dad, is Hope here again?¡± Sophia asked as soon as she saw Cooper entering the room. She seemed to know that something had happened. Cooper¡¯s face darkened. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still thinking of turning him into minced meat and meatballs.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Can I meet him?¡± ¡°No way.¡± She pouted in unhappiness upon hearing that and begged Cooper as she grabbed his sleeves to vent her frustrations. ¡°Dad, let me meet him for once. After all, he has taken good care of me all this while. If I leave like that, I¡¯ll feel bad about it.¡± Sure enough, he was someone who had a soft heart. After she gently asked for his permission, he softened his tone. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you meet him for once.¡± During that period, Cooper had been bad mouthing Quinton as soon as he saw the opportunity to do so, saying that thetter was a callous assassin who killed many people. Sophia had never developed any romantic feelings for him since the beginning and did not have any whatsoever, but since he had taken care of her for ages, she thought it would be better to meet up with him before she left. As soon as Quinton knew that Cooper agreed to let Sophia meet him, he was ecstatic. After Quinton arrived at the designated spit, the wall in front of him immediately became a huge screen as soon as he sat down. Then, she appeared in front of him¡ªthe entire set-up was realistic to the point where he felt that she was sitting opposite him with a panel of ss in between them. ¡°Sophia!¡± he happily greeted as soon as he saw her. She was in great spirits¡ªon top of that, she had undergone hair and eye transnt. With her beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes, she lookedpletely different from before, but half of her face was ruined. When she saw him, she smiled. ¡°Hope, you¡¯re here.¡± She never had any romantic feelings for Quinton from the beginning. However, after regaining consciousness in an unfamiliar ce and feeling as if she was a stranger without any familiar face around her, he was the only person whom she knew. Naturally, he became her savior. Quinton stretched his hand and pressed it on the wall to be closer to her, but unfortunately, it was merely a projection of her. Hass and Linus will never allow me to be near her since I¡¯m the cause of her looking like this. ¡°Sophia, how are you doing?¡± Since they had been separated for almost half a year, he continuously thought about her and even dreamed of her. Yet, after waiting for six months, he was only able to see a projection of her. Sophia, who was opposite him, nodded. ¡°I have found my biological father and he treats me well.¡± Quinton looked at Fass, who was standing behind her. He had already known about her father¡¯s identity ¡ªas the head of the Michel Family who never revealed himself, Fass Michel. I can¡¯t believe that he¡¯s actually Sophia¡¯s father! At that moment, Cooper continued to stand behind her and red at Quinton. If Quinton said the wrong thing, it would be moments before he became minced meat. After some hesitation, she informed him, ¡°Hope, please don¡¯t look for me anymore. My dad will take care of me from now onward. You don¡¯t have to worry about me. I know that you treat me well, but¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I only treat you as a family member and nothing more.¡± A tragic feeling rose within Quinton, but he had already expected it. He had been selfish to keep her by his side as he wanted to start afresh with her. In fact, he would even use cruel methods to brainwash her by nting the orders ¡®to love Quinton rk¡¯ in her head so that she was unable to resist him. With that, she would be loyal to him forever. However, he chose not to do that because he wanted a fresh start¡ªhe wanted her to love him for who he is and not as a result of his brainwashing techniques. Chapter 743 Chapter 743 Since things had turned out in that manner, there was nothing he could do about it but feel distressed. What rights do I have to love her? Three years ago, Quinton secretly brought Sophia back and hid her from sight because she was pregnant. When she went intobor, the town was still at war andcked doctors and medicine. In the deserted hospital that was bombed, she delivered to a girl in writhing pain and as a result, both mother and daughter almost died in the process. After that, he hid her in yet another dpidated town. Sophia had always loved the city, but she was forced to wither away in a small ce. He wanted to give her the best, but still hurt her in the end. Hence, it was only natural that she did not reciprocate his feelings. Quinton remained silent as he helplessly pressed his hands on the wall with his head lowered in silence. When Sophia was about to continue speaking, Cooper reached out and flipped the ¡®off¡¯ button while saying, ¡°Okay, time¡¯s up. We¡¯re leaving now. You better leave soon. Otherwise, I¡¯ll definitely turn you into minced meat!¡± She grumbled, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± However, the audio and visual immediately stopped. When Quinton raised his head again, only the bare wall was in front of him, creating a distance of thousands of miles between him and Sophia. At that moment, she was still in Meyes and what he saw was a mere projection of her being in that ce. He finally left Michel¡¯s Castle in low spirits while she prepared to leave for Cethos. Cethos was a ce that Sophia longed to return to as she was tired of eating mashed potatoes and bread in Europe and America. She much preferred to visit Chinatown there to have Cethosian dishes, but Linus once mentioned that those foods could not bepared to the authentic ones back home. Once theynded in Cethos, he brought her to have an authentic hotpot. As their car left the airport and passed by the city square, they saw many exhibitions of the Cethosian culture as it was their cultural week. Apart from that, there was an introductory video being screened on therge screens, borating on the country¡¯s tasty food, beautiful sceneries and their folk cultures. As Sophia leaned against the car windows, she observed everything in excitement. As they were caught in a traffic congestion where their car was bumper-to-bumper, she rolled down the windows to watch the video about Cethosian culture on the disy screen. In the video, she noticed the delicious food, the grand caste, Beijing Opera, shadow puppets, and various technologies. Her eyes flickered with hope as she looked forward to all that entertainment. A man¡¯s face suddenly appeared in the promotional video on the disy screen. He looked like he was in his thirties¡ªeven though he looked indifferent, he was handsome yet rugged from those men whom Sophia had met. He had the unfamiliar beauty of a local man yet the profound facial features of someone who lived abroad. Upon looking at his face, her mind suddenly went nk as her eyes widened in shock. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. What a handsome man¡­ ¡°Dad! Dad, look! This man is so good-looking! Who is he? Do you know him?¡± Sophia quickly asked as she tugged on Cooper¡¯s sleeves. He must be pretty famous to be on the international promotional video along with the symbols of Cethosian culture, such as delicious food and shadow puppetry. After Cooper raised his head, he was able to catch a glimpse of the person in question before it was reced by one of fried spring rolls. Nevertheless, he had a good look at the man whom Sophia mentioned and immediately turned his head in disgust while coldly saying, ¡°His name is Taylor Murray, an actor who has been dead for years. It seems like the video is outdated.¡± He¡¯s dead¡­ Sophia¡¯s eagerness disappeared, as though she had wilted. Upon seeing how disappointed Sophia was, Cooper felt sorry for her, but he did not want her to be rted to that man anymore. Once her face was sessfully repaired, they would immediately leave the ce. Michael Fletcher may not have been dead, but ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯ had ceased to exist in the world forever. A disappointed Sophia asked again, ¡°How did he die?¡± Cooper replied coldly, ¡°I heard that he brought his pregnant mistress to buy some baby forms at the mall and ran into his wife, who was also with child, when she shopped for clothes there. In the midst of their argument, his wife identally pushed him down the stairs before they were trampled to death by his excited fans who had crowded around them. Upon hearing that, Linus nearly burst out inughter. Seems like Cooper really hates Michael! Since Michael had bought Sophia for 80,000, Cooper would forever hold a grudge against him on this. On top of that, Michael had dug into Cooper¡¯s grave and stole his coffin. When Sophia heard that, she was crestfallen and angered at the same time. ¡°Indeed. You can¡¯t judge a book by its cover! He deserves to die like that!¡± Cooper replied, ¡°You are right. It serves him right.¡± Even after she knew that Taylor was a yboy, his handsome features in the introductory video had left an indelible impression on her. After they boarded their private jet, she secretly took out herptop to search for any news rting to him. As expected, there were a few rted news articles. ording to Taylor¡¯s Wikipedia profile, he was the only actor who was the Academy Award for Best Actor winner twice. He was killed with his pregnant wife, Eddie Fletcher, after being trampled upon at the mall three years ago¡ªthree lives were lost on that day. Apart from that news report, there was nothing new from a celebrity who had been dead for years. The news articles online about him were now old reports yet they were all negative. Sophia gathered that he was a yboy who always frequented clubs from the news articles. Apart from that, he was often involved in fights and a bully who forced an actress to kneel before him. On top of that, he even pressured a young, good-looking actor to y by the hidden rules of the industry for his personal benefits! What a scumbag! Even though he had a horrible personality and conducted himself in a terrible manner, he was the only person who won the Oscar twice, making him a legend. The final piece of work from Taylor was a movie named ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯, which had been adapted from a true event that described the history of the legendary Imperial Seal in the past century. However, before he could finish with the filming, he was killed and there were no updates from the blockbuster movie after that. God must have hated talented people, but Taylor surely deserves this. He apanied his pregnant mistress to buy baby forms, but ignored his own pregnant wife¡ªhe deserves to die indeed. Sophia could not help but search her own name after she was done reading up on Taylor. After she entered ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ into the search engine, she saw various news reports¡ªbut none were on her and merely about people who shared the same name as her. Seems like I wasn¡¯t a famous person in the past. In fact, Linus has been secretly monitoring her¡ªhe saw that she searched for news on Michael and herself. All the information about Sophia online had been blocked or deleted, so she could never stumble upon anything about herself¡ªno matter how much she looked around. Three years were enough for people to forget about many things. As for news on Michael, as long as she used the electronic devices from the Michel Family, be it cell phones,ptops, and the like, she would only see the negative reports about Taylor. Linus sighed and could not help but remind Cooper, ¡°Fass, she has lost her memories. Now that she has returned to Cethos, she might remember something after meeting someone whom she used to know¡­¡± As their shoulders brushed against each other, Cooper replied, ¡°Even if she did so, she won¡¯t remember a thing.¡± She hadpletely lost all of her memories and would not be able to remember them anymore. At the current moment, she was now a brand new person. . The past entanglements of her various rtionships werepletely unrted to her¡ªshe was no longer Sophia Edwards, but rather the daughter of Cooper Mitchell. The only reason why she retained her old name was because her mother had christened her. However, Cooper never fancied the name because it reminded him of Annabel. Linus remained silent, but felt that Cooper was trying to deceive himself. However, Cooper approached Sophia and gave her the new passport that he made for her. ¡°Come here, baby. This is your passport. Keep it well.¡± Meanwhile, Linus secretly smirked. He even calls her ¡®darling¡¯¡­ Chapter 744 Chapter 744 When Sophia took the passport, there was an unfamiliar name on it¡ªScarlett Mitchell. ¡°Dad, why is my name Scarlett?¡± Upon seeing the name, Cooper had mixed feelings about it and exined after sitting next to her, ¡°Back then, your mom and I eloped to a historical town known as Ancient Town of Scarlett, which was where she conceived you.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± She kept her passport away before asking in an innocent manner. ¡°Do I have to change my name in the future?¡± He looked at her lovingly like how an old father would. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. It¡¯s a name that your mother gave to you, so we will not change it all. The name ¡®Scarlett Mitchell¡¯ is a temporary identity as you had many enemies in Cethos in the past. I¡¯m just scared that they might take their revenge on you, so if anyone asks for your name, just tell them that you are Scarlett or Lucile Michel. Got it?¡± ¡°Yup.¡± Even though she felt awkward, she still kept the passport safely in her bag and continued to watch her movie on theptop. An enthusiastic Cooper poked his head to have a look at the movie Sophia watched. ¡°Darling, what movie are you watching? Can I join you?¡± Sophia chuckled before turning theptop in Cooper¡¯s direction, thereafter he saw two lines¡ª¡®War Dragon¡¯ and ¡®Main actors: Taylor Murray and Ethan Winston¡¯. ¡°This is not a good film to watch. The ratings are extremely low. Let me rmend another movie to you,¡± Cooper immediately said. However, Sophia thought that it was decent. ¡°I think it¡¯s quite good. Look at this¡ªit was an international box office with billions back then! It has remained as the highest in Cethos as no one has been able to break its record so far.¡± He was still against it. ¡°The main actor is a scumbag. Don¡¯t watch.¡± She pouted unhappily and frowned at him before she answered in a hoarse voice, ¡°Dad, it¡¯s just a movie¡­¡± Ten minutester, ¡®War Dragon¡¯ was being screened through the audio surround sound and 3D visual effects in the private jet¡¯s family cinema. It had entertained Sophia so much that she forgot to eat her popcorn. On the other hand, Cooper was forced to watch it with her, resulting in his face darkening throughout the entire film whereas Linus felt likeughing out loud. The moment the powerful Cooper Mitchell, also known as the callous Fass Michel, became a loving father, his insensitivity melted into one of vulnerability. He could treat the entire world cruelly, but not his little princess. Sophia felt a familiar sense of longing for her mothend when she alighted from the ne as soon as it landed in Cethos. Every inch of soil beneath her feet bore familiarity and she even found the air weing. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Since their hospital appointment was on the next day, they still had some free time on their hands. After settling down at the hotel, she immediately wanted to look around the town in excitement. Of course, Cooper had personally tagged along with her. He would feel that he was about to lose his little princess even if she left him for a second. It was already the snowy season in Bayside City with beautiful wintry scenerynterns hung everywhere, creating a festive aura for the new year. After she walked around the busiest spot and bought a lot of things, Linus brought her to have a hotpot. She seemed to have discovered a brand new world as soon as she finished the hotpot¡ªthe taste was unforgettable and she wanted to have it for her daily meals. Once she was satiated, she did not rush back to the hotel and walked around instead before stumbling upon a cafe. Then, she announced in surprise, ¡°Dad, look at this cat cafe!¡± Before Cooper could even react to Sophia¡¯s words, she already ran toward it in excitement. Then, she looked at the cats which stood outside the shop window. ¡°Dad, look! There are so many beautiful cats!¡± Next to the cat cafe was a pet shop and opposite was an animal luxury brand store with the Standing outside the pet shop, she leaned against the ss to have a look inside. At the shop window was a beautiful huge dog with its leash that looked like it was being exhibited¡ªa purebred husky with an impressive cor around its neck. The husky gave many idiotic expressions as it looked at Sophia from the other end of the ss. As it was her first time seeing such a beautiful dog, she was shocked. Apart from that, tworge poodlesy in the kitchen, giving off the aura of adult bulky men, while not too far away was a white Samoyed. The dogs scratched on the ss panel in enthusiasm when they saw her outside the window. An ecstatic Sophia turned and tugged on Cooper¡¯s sleeves again. ¡°Dad, I want a dog.¡± Cooper frowned. ¡°Uncle Linus has one.¡± She pouted. ¡°That is his dog. I want my own dog.¡± He was both exasperated and helpless upon hearing that. As long as his little princess liked it, he would not have any issues even if she wanted to open a dog store. Upon seeing that he had agreed to her request, she happily entered the pet shop and wanted to select a cat or a dog home. Her interest was instantly piqued by the four big dogs on the window disy¡ªeach looking cooler than the other. ¡°Are these four dogs for sale?¡± she asked the salesperson. However, the salesperson replied, ¡°Miss, I¡¯m sorry to tell you that these few dogs belong to our boss. Since they have nothing to do at home, we have decided to bring them here. They¡¯re not for sale.¡± Feeling slightly disappointed, Sophia removed her gloves and patted the beautiful husky¡¯s head. It jumped and licked her hand in agitation, as if it saw someone whom it knew. After stroking the dog, she looked around for other dogs, but she still felt that none of them matched the ones at the disy. None of the ones for sale was up to her standard. Meanwhile, Linus was still stroking the excited husky at the disy. Since Sophia could not find any dogs she liked, she wistfully left. After she left, the husky barked from the ss panel and fervently scratched on the ss when it watched them walking further away. Not long after they left, a tanned young man with a short haircut opened the door and walked into the store. The young man wore a formal ck suit with a coat, looking as if he just got off work. He had the air of a business elite around him. Then, he walked forward to undo the leash of the husky and said happily, ¡°My good son, I¡¯m off work now. Let¡¯s go home!¡± No one knew that once the leash was undone, the husky quickly rushed out of the door and looked around. Amidst the snow, the people who entered earlier were nowhere to be seen. It lowered its muzzle to the ground and sniffed the snow to pick up their scent. It saw in Sophia¡¯s eyes that she was the person whom it had been looking for. The man in the store ran outside and grabbed the husky back to his car while saying, ¡°Judge, please stop running off!¡± As the car was being driven off with two men at the front seat, the big four dogs were seated at the backseat. After the vehicle made a turn, the husky sitting by the window saw the few people who petted it earlier as they bought some sweet potatoes by the roadside. Awooooo! Awoooooo! It howled at the window. The man in the passenger seat asked the driver, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Judge today?¡± The driver replied, ¡°No idea. Maybe he wants to y in the snow since it¡¯s his natural environment¡­¡± Sophia, who was by the roadside, removed the mask that she wore and ate the sweet potato in a beautiful manner. Bayside City is the best since food is avable everywhere and even the roast sweet potato looks tasty. As she ate, she saw a car passing by with an excited dog. When Sophia was about to take a second look, a few people walked past her and stared at her face. Cooper took a few steps forward to obscure their view of her as well as block her view of the dogs. Chapter 745 Chapter 745 Sophia headed to the cosmetic hospital to have the doctors there take a look at her. Sure enough, it was the best facility in the world for her to recover from her scars. After her appointment, they said that they would do their best, but there was a problem only which Cethos had¡ªthe new year was around the corner. All the slots for surgeries were fully booked and the doctors had applied for their annual leaves to return home for their family reunion. The fastest that they could arrange for her was after the new year celebrations. Once they agreed on a date for the surgery, Cooper left with Sophia. When she passed by the waiting area, she heard a nurse calling out. ¡°Sarah West. Is Sarah West here? You can have the treatment to remove your stretch marks now.¡± Upon hearing the name ¡®Sarah West¡¯, Sophia turned, only to see a woman¡¯s back as thetter walked to the operation room. As Sophia¡¯s operation was scheduled to be after the new year, she needed to stay in Cethos for another month. If they stayed in a hotel, she would be bored, so Linus offered his property in Bayside City that was conveniently located near amenities and tourist spots while being located next to the ancient Imperial Pce. On top of that, it was within a close distance to the hospital, so she could stay there with him and Cooper. Linus had already arranged for people to tidy the ce up. As soon as she heard that it was situated next to the ancient Imperial Pce, she was excited to head there. Since the ancient Imperial Pce museum was about to close for the new year celebrations, she had to quickly make a visit. Hence, they moved out from the hotel to the property that Linus owned¡ªVi No. 2 at the Imperial. Even though he had left for many years, the mansion was always under his name. Throughout the years, the price of the properties in that area had significantly increased in value, especially since the Imperial was located right below the ancient Imperial Pce. Furthermore, it was close to the elite schools, which caused the property prices to skyrocket to the point where even he felt a chill down his spine. Around five years ago, when Michael had bequeathed the vi to him, it only cost 120 million. However, its current value rose to billions due to the real estate transactions at the Imperial. You really can¡¯t predict anything with the properties of Bayside City. As the car spun around the ancient Imperial Pce, Sophia still acted like a countrywoman who came to the city for the first time. Impressed by what she saw, she eximed, ¡°Wow! What beautiful architecture! Dad, uncle, look! It¡¯s beautiful!¡± Cooper remained indifferent throughout the entire journey as he felt that Linus deliberately offered to host them in his property. After all, Michael also lived at the Imperial. However, after knowing that Linus had a mansion with convenient amenities, she insisted on staying there for a few days. When the car arrived at the neighborhood and their identities were verified, they were able to enter the compound. After Sophia looked at the other mansions through the car window, she was again shocked. Every mansion has a different style! There are styles of ssical garden, hard rock, luxury, the local Cethos, and a countryside vibe, which was what Linus¡¯ mansion is. When they passed by Vi No. 8, she noticed that there was meat being hung in the garden of the castle-like vi. Hence, she quickly asked, ¡°Dad, why are they hanging meat outside?¡± After looking at it, Cooper replied, ¡°That is called sausages. Cethosian folks make their own sausages for the new year and it has to be dried outside so that it tastes delicious.¡± Upon looking at the sausages, she licked her lips. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s delicious¡­ Linus seemed to read her mind and smiled. ¡°Since we are staying here for some time, I¡¯ll make some too.¡± After moving into his house, he started to prepare sausages, just as promised. Since they would spend the new year in Cethos, they should make the most out of their stay. The next day, he went to purchase the ingredients to make the sausages. Sophia visited the ancient Imperial Pce in the morning and saw Linus making the sausages himself when she returned home in the afternoon. Then, she quickly went over to have a look. Upon noticing his experienced hands as he made them, she could not help but ask, ¡°Uncle Linus, where did you learn to make sausages?¡± He lowered his head to look at the meat with mncholy. ¡°A friend taught me.¡± ¡°I would like to learn! Uncle Linus, why don¡¯t you teach me?¡± Since she was enthusiastic about learning to make sausages, he taught her a bit. Even though she had lost her memories, she still had her instincts and quickly learned the techniques. He decided to whip up something delicious after they finished making the sausages. The moment he arrived in Cethos, he had an unforgettable memory about the dishes. Since he was unable to sample Cethosian dishes when he returned home, he learned how to make them himself. Linus found the kimchi barrel that he kept a few years ago and Sophia was the one who gave him the vinegar back then. After he took it, he realized that it had not expired since the temperature in the vi was regted. Even though it was now winter, the vinegar still tasted good. On top of that, there were fresh cabbages that were recently left to soak in the liquid and the water had notpletely dried. It seemed like there were people continuously visited to take care of everything in the vi. A housekeeper arrived at Vi No. 8 at that moment. Even though there was no one living in Vi No. 2 anymore, she often came over to clean the ce. Whenever the cleaning crew saw that the barrel of kimchi was empty, they often replenished it. ¡°Mr. Michel, my boss has been staying at home these days,¡± she said. ¡°Feel free toe over from time to time.¡± Linus replied, ¡°Definitely.¡± Once the housekeeper left, Sophia asked in curiosity. ¡°Who lives in Vi No. 8? Is it your friend?¡± He replied while cutting the vegetables, ¡°Yup, he¡¯s a friend.¡± However, when he spoke, he could not bring himself to look into her eyes. Even though Linus was cooking, he bought a lot of takeouts as well¡ªroast duck, vegetables and pickles. WIth the few dishes that he prepared, the table was full of food. Sophia happily cooked a dish and asked Cooper to give it a taste. ¡°Dad, I made your favorite dish!¡± Not only was he delighted to hear that, he was so moved that he almost cried. My daughter knows how to cook for me now! She even knows what dish I like! How thoughtful! Hence, he sat down and picked up the prepared cutleries as he waited for her dish. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. She brought a dish to the table while saying, ¡°Dad, here¡¯s your favorite minced meat with eggnt!¡± Cooper was speechless upon hearing that. Both Linus and Sophia prepared many dishes for the three of them to eat together. However, Cooper did not have an appetite¡ªpartly due to the minced meat with eggnt. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to look at the dish as he felt that it came from a suspicious source. Meanwhile, she happily ate everything. To her, everything was delicious. Upon looking at his daughter and younger brother, Cooper suddenly felt a surge of euphoria. Maybe this is what they call family ties. I¡¯ve never experienced this up until now. While they ate, the rm outside was triggered. Shae then entered the dining room and reported, ¡°Linus, there is an adult Siberian husky at the door.¡± With the fork still in her mouth, Sophia asked, ¡°Uncle Linus, what¡¯s a Siberian husky?¡± She could not remember anything when she regained consciousness. Quinton was the one who taught her everything¡ªincluding eating and speaking. Hence, she could no longer recognize the different dog breeds. Linus patiently replied, ¡°It¡¯s a type of husky, which is owned by my neighbor. It used to frequently visit for some food, so I¡¯m sure that it was attracted by the smell of our dishes.¡± He then asked Shae to open the door. Once it was opened, an enthusiastic husky charged into the room like a gust of wind with a howl as it ran toward Sophia and circled her with a wagging tail. It even wanted to stand up and give her a peck. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you! You¡¯re off work now!¡± Sophia recognized it the moment she looked at the dog¡ªit was the husky she petted in the pet store earlier. Then, she surveyed its beautiful cor with its name engraved on it. ¡°So, your name is Judge! Hello, Judge the doggie!¡± Chapter 746 Chapter 746 Linus looked like he knew Judge. He took out the dog bowl and ced it next to Sophia for her to put some meat in it. Meanwhile, Judge had a voracious appetite and downed his food like a pig. Sophia asked Cooper while eating, ¡°Dad, can I have a husky too?¡± Cooper was slightly disgusted by Judge¡¯s behavior and thought that it would not be suitable for his special princess. However, since she fancied the husky, he figured that he would grant her wish. ¡°Yes, you can. Once we return home, I¡¯ll search for the best dog breed at its birthce.¡± After Judge finished eating, it did not leave, buty on her feet for her to stroke it instead. She asionally did so as she watched the television in the living room. Suddenly, she heard a young girl¡¯s childlike voice slurring, ¡°Judgey! Time toe home for ¡®diwwer¡¯!¡± When the dog heard that, it ran over and opened the door to leave¡ªmaybe it was his owner looking for him. Sophia went outside to take a look. Since it was already dark, she could only see Judge¡¯s tail wagging and a little kid next to it while they were leaving. The little shoes that the little girl wore squeaked each time she took a step, making a delightful sound. Her little figure seemed to have left a magical effect on Sophia and attracted her gaze. Sophia watched as the tiny figure left while listening to her squeaky shoes until shepletely vanished from her sight. The next day, Sophia did not head anywhere as the weather was unbearable for her. She found a recipe book somewhere in the vi with many recipes written for making sausages, braised meat, and pickled vegetables. She wanted to learn to cook all those a while ago so that she would not have to worry much about getting delicious food once she returned to Africa.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Linus mentioned that the book was given to him by his friend. Judge visited again, walking around Sophia the moment it entered. On top of that, it sat on the couch, as though it was her pet from the beginning. Sophia felt that she could have been good at cooking before she lost her memories as she had picked up the skill rather quickly. Within a short time, she was familiar with the skill and sessfully made a few dishes the entire morning. While making the braised meat, she addressed Judge, ¡°Judge the doggie, didn¡¯t you head to work today?¡± Judge replied, ¡°Woof!¡± When it was almost time for lunch, a voice that sounded like wind chimes rang again. ¡°Judgey!¡± Judge, who sat on the couch watching the television, immediately left. Upon hearing that, Sophia walked out from the kitchen as she wiped her hands. ¡°Judge, why don¡¯t you have some lunch before leaving?¡± She wanted to head outside and see who was calling for Judge. However, after she remembered that she looked awful, she only went outside after she wore a face mask. After she exited, she merely saw a series of cute footsteps in the snow with the dog¡¯s paw print next to it. By that point, both Judge and its owner were nowhere to be seen. Sophia lowered her head and surveyed the ground¡ªthe series of footsteps had little bears in them. There might be bears imprinted on the sole of her little shoes since it showed up in her shoe prints. Sophia tilted her head to look at the ground in interest. Judge¡¯s little owner must be a cute little girl! At around three or four in the afternoon, Judge returned, but it wore a pink hoodie with a hairband of the same color on its head. Two pink circles were drawn around its eyes, making the dog look like a mess. It immediately removed the hoodie the moment it entered and rolled on the ground, as if protesting that it did not like how it was dressed. While stroking its head, Sophia smiled. ¡°No wonder you like going outside. You don¡¯t like to take care of kids back home!¡± Judge was angered and thought, Indeed! Otherwise, why would I be at the pet store at work? I just don¡¯t want to babysit kids back home! Sophia, you are such a jerk! Take care of your own kid! I¡¯m a good, pampered dog yet I¡¯m now a babysitter. I would rather wake up earlier to head to work instead of taking care of kids! However, even the pet store is closed! Aoooooo! Aooooo! Aoooooo! Cooper and Linus were engaged in a video conference with the Michel Family for the entire day. Once the Michel Family were aware that Cooper had a daughter, they wanted her to be a part of the family. However, since Sophia¡¯s face had not made a full recovery, she did not want to meet anyone. After Cooper was done with the meeting, he unexpectedly saw a husky rolling on the floor and howling. Disgusted by the dog¡¯s behavior, he asked, ¡°Where did this wild wolfe from? I¡¯ll make you into minced meat if you stay a second longer!¡± Judge refused to leave¡ªwhen the dog saw Shae approaching to remove the dog fur on the carpet, it even liked her all over her body. ¡°Eeek! This is disgusting! Don¡¯t lick me!¡± Sophia excitedly brought out the braised meat that she made for Cooper to try. However, she heard that angelic voice once again after taking a few steps. ¡°Judgey, ¡®wear¡¯ are you now?¡± As soon as Judge heard the voice, it immediately let out a soft yelp as it got up. Then, it took the hoodie in its mouth to Cooper and tugged on it with its paw before looking at him again, as if asking him to wear the apparel for it. Even though Cooper was disgusted, he still helped Judge to wear the hoodie. The dog charged outside right after he wore the attire. Sophia felt that the girl¡¯s voice had a soothing tone to it. After she quickly covered her face with a scarf, she quickly walked outside and finally saw the girl. Then, Sophia saw Judge in its pink hoodie wagging its tail as it headed off with a cute little girl who wore a pink sweater and cute cat ears on her head. Her pair of pink boots stepped on the snowy ground, leaving little bear prints with each step she took. With her back facing Sophia, the girl slowly walked to Vi No. 8 and opened the door herself. Sophia was suddenly interested in the family who lived in Vi No. 8. With such a beautiful dog, they must be a loving family¡­ However, when she brought some gifts the next day, she heard that the entire family had left early in the morning. It was a futile attempt for her. As she headed home with the presents that she prepared for them, she looked slightly disappointed. However, a flurry of footsteps suddenly rushed behind her. After she turned, she saw a huge poodle running toward her before it stopped and sniffed at her in excitement. Upon seeing that, she happily patted its head. The master of the huge poodle walked toward Sophia¡ªshe was a young woman with a baby face. When she stopped next to the dog, which was near Sophia, she could not recognize thetter. ¡°Hey? Are you new here?¡± Sophia quickly replied, ¡°Hello, I-I¡¯m Lucile. Lucile Michel.¡± The young woman next to her replied, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Sarah West and I live at Vi No. 6.¡± She had already guessed who Sophia was. ¡°You must be Linus¡¯ rtive. I heard that he returned yesterday.¡± Apart from that, she did not forget to praise Sophia. ¡°You speak the localnguage well.¡± Sophia smiled. ¡°Linus is my uncle. My dad and I are here to see a doctor, so we are temporarily staying here.¡± Sarah nced at Sophia, who wore a cap and a mask that covered her entire face but for her blue eyes. The ugly scars next to Sophia¡¯s eyes were still visible. I bet she came to Cethos to remove her scars! Chapter 747 Chapter 747 The cosmetic hospital in Cethos had the world¡¯s best technology to remove scars. Many foreigners specially came to the hospital to remove their scars. Sarah herself had undergone the procedure two days ago to remove the stretch marks on her belly after she gave birth. She had been merely walking her dog, but since Sophia was also returning to Vi No. 2, both of them walked together. Then, she took out her phone andmented, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring my business card out. Why don¡¯t we exchange phone numbers? I will add you on Messenger.¡± Sophia scratched her head as she looked slightly embarrassed. ¡°I-I don¡¯t have a phone number.¡± After she had recovered, she had been living under Cooper¡¯s watchful eye for thest six months, so she did not have her own circle of friends yet. Hence, she did not need to maintain a phone number. Sarah also did not force Sophia. ¡°I¡¯m staying next door at Vi No. 4. Whenever you¡¯re free, you can come over with Linus.¡± Sophia nodded and returned to Vi No. 2 while Sarah also went back to her ce. After Sarah married Harry, she had officially moved in. After around three to four years, Harry¡¯s looks did not change much, but he matured even more after he became a father. Four years ago, when Taylor Murray ¡®died¡¯, Ethan Winston retired from his acting career and now only focused on his family and his business in the underworld. When Sarah removed the leash from the dog, she started to share about her day. ¡°I ran into Linus¡¯ rtive earlier today. Her name is Lucile. Her face is scarred and she seems to be having issues with her vocal card. I feel really sorry for her.¡± Harry, who held his one-year-old son to make him burp, slightly frowned upon hearing it, but let the matter slide after a while.N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Based on how he reacted in the past, he would definitely have clearly asked about everything after realizing that Linus had some rtives in his house. However, after Sophia¡¯s fake death, Michael stopped investigating the Michel Family, so it no longer mattered whether Fass was Cooper. After all, it made no sense to tell Cooper that he had a daughter and she died three years ago. In the blink of an eye, Cooper and the rest of the entourage had already been in Bayside City for a few days. Sophia discovered that the residents of Vi No. 8 seemed to be on a vacation for the new year since they had not returned. Meanwhile, Judge continued to visit her on a daily basis for food. It was not the only canine visitor¡ªit even brought a group of friends along, resulting in Vi No. 2 being full of dogs and cats that came for food everyday. On New Year¡¯s Eve, Sarah also came to visit when she walked her dog and was weed inside by Sophia. It feels good to make friends. Once Sarah entered inside, she saw all the dogs and cats which belonged to Vi No. 8ing to Vi No. 2 for food. Sophia exined, ¡°The people from Vi No. 8 seems to have left for a while, so their pets are all here to get some food from us.¡± Sarah replied, ¡°Yeah. The owner of Vi No. 8 brought his entire family for a vacation.¡± In reality, they merely returned to the Fletcher Family to spend the new year. Sophia took out a phone and said, ¡°I bought a phone and got myself a phone number yesterday. Uncle Linus also downloaded Messenger for me, so let¡¯s be friends online.¡± When both of them happily scanned each other¡¯s QR code, Sophia realized that Sarah¡¯s profile picture was of a handsome man whom she had seen before¡ªthe male lead of the movie ¡®War Dragon¡¯, Ethan Winston. ¡°Oh, you like Ethan too? I have watched his movie. He has great acting skills.¡± Sarah replied proudly, ¡°He is the father of my child. Whenever you¡¯re free, you shoulde over. I¡¯ll ask him to sign something for you.¡± Linus was also delighted to see Sarah. While Sophia busied herself by preparing dinner in the kitchen, he chatted with Sarah in the living room. They had not met each other for close to two years, so they made small talk and casually chatted. While conversing with each other, they seemed to subconsciously avoid raising the topic of a certain person¡ª someone who would make all of them tear up in regrets. Sarah left after spending a while there, which made Linus wistful and emotional when he watched her leaving. I would never have thought that Sarah and Harry would be married. Heck, they even have a child together. It seems like yesterday when we were all at Bayside University, but now everything has changed in the blink of an eye. Stanley and Sean have since stopped contacting me whereas Sarah still texts me on Messenger from time to time. As for Sophia¡­ Linus nced at Sophia, who was cooking in the kitchen, before he smiled bitterly. It seemed to be her first time celebrating the new year, so she was over the moon and busied herself by preparing the dishes for the reunion dinner throughout the entire day. Just like that, the three of them spent their first year together in his vi. Cooper was frustrated and disgusted with the sight of cats and dogs around the house, but Sophia was ted and even introduced Cooper to all of them¡ªone by one. ¡°Dad, this is Chrysanthemum, this is Simba and this is Garfield whereas this is Scorchy and this is Snowball. Last but not least, this is¡ª¡± she held up a huge teddy that looked strong. ¡°Bubbles!¡± Isn¡¯t this an actual gori lying on the ground? It looks like a big blob of sh*t to me. Cooper¡¯s face darkened. He finally knew how Woody felt when he brought home a bunch of stray cats and dogs. No wonder he forbade me to keep pets back then! Sophia gently held the huge dog¡¯s head before it obediently leaned on her shoulder. ¡°Even though it looks strong, it¡¯s actually a cute girl!¡± Cooper chuckled. ¡°Haha, I have never seen such a bulky-looking girl.¡± Sophia carried another orange cat and introduced, ¡°Dad, this is Chrysanthemum. It¡¯s a cool garden cat with a huge lung capacity. It has a long ¡®meow¡¯!¡± Cooper preferred cats and rubbed Chrysanthemum¡¯s head while asking, ¡°How is that so?¡± Rubbing the cat¡¯s head, Sophia ordered, ¡°Chrysanthemum, give me a ¡®meow¡¯.¡± Chrysanthemum deeply inhaled, as if to introduce more air into its lungs. Its fat body trembled as it flexed its inherited skills¡ªit was that ability that enabled her to gain Sophia¡¯s affection the most. ¡°Meeeeeoooooooo¡ª¡± Upon hearing that, Cooper was indeed shocked. The cat really has a loud voice and a long breath. Its meow can easilyst anywhere from ten to twenty seconds. People who didn¡¯t know about this will definitely think that a siren had gone off. It¡¯s a long ¡®meow¡¯ indeed. Outside the door, a man with snowy white hair who returned homete seemed to have heard the long ¡®meow¡¯ and stopped in front of Vi No. 2. Is Chrysanthemum performing its legendary skills? However, he merely paused for a few seconds before leaving. In Vi No. 2, Cooper remembered that he used to have an orange cat two decades ago; it was as strong as Chrysanthemum and had an iron lung as it could ¡®meow¡¯ for a long time too. However, the Fletchers had always taken care of that cat. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s already dead from old age by now. Before I left, I went over to have a round of chess with Old Master Fletcher and even visited his cat. Sophia brought the cat that she hugged closer toward her face and beamed from ear to ear. The scar on her face even looked much better and softened. Cooper looked at her face in a daze while she started to watch the New Year Dinner G with the cat in her arms. On that night, thousands of houses were brightly lit as many families in the entire nation celebrated the new year together. How good would it be if thissts forever? On the first day of the new year, Sophia asked after breakfast, ¡°Dad, what are we going to do today?¡± Standing in front of the French windows, Cooper looked at the snowy scenery outside as he gravely replied, ¡°Visit the grave.¡± In the afternoon, a few cars left Vi No. 2 and headed to Riverdale. When they entered Riverdale, they drove in the direction of the suburbs and followed the route to the south until they arrived at a deserted vige. Cooper remained silent throughout the entire journey as he walked forward with Sophia trailing behind. They climbed a tiny slope to the top of the hill where many graves were located and firecrackers could be heard everywhere, indicating that many people arrived for a visit. Chapter 748 Chapter 748 Cooper found a grave that contained a 19-year-old young person. The name on the grave was ¡®Annabel Johnson¡¯. Since she was unmarried when she died, her grave was situated next to that of her parents. As her death came as a surprise, it was a simple-looking grave that others erected for her after that. Someone seemed to have visited the grave moments ago¡ªthe snow in front of the grave had been removed with remnants of firecrackers being left behind. The joss sticks in front of the tomb were still lit and there were footprints in the snow. As it snowedst night, the footprints stood out in the midst of the snowy ground and it seemed to have appeared in the morning. As Sophia squatted in front of the grave, she looked at the fresh footprints in a daze. She saw a series of small footprints with the familiar bear symbol in the middle. Each step had the bear, revealing the shoe owner¡¯s childlike innocence. Next to the little bear footprints were a series ofrger ones that seemed to belong to an adult male. As Sophia tilted her head while observing the footsteps, she pressed her feet next to the little bear footprints in curiosity. Therger footprints surrounded the little footprints with the bear in the middle looked as if it belonged to a family of three. Sophia watched the footprints with a nk expression, but she suddenly felt a heavy feeling in her chest, making her want to burst into tears. On the other hand, Cooper merely looked at Annabel¡¯s grave as he sank into a stupor. That¡¯s my Anna. I can¡¯t believe I only arrived twenty yearster. He trailed the name on the grave with his fingers ¡ªevery inch of it was like knives being stabbed in his heart. Anna, I¡¯mte¡­ After both Connor and Sophia paid their respects at the grave, each of them walked down the hill with a heavy feeling. Since it was a deserted hill, there was only one way up¡ªthose who wanted to visit the grave needed to take the same road down. She had been in search of therge footprints and the bear footprints that she spotted earlier on their journey down. However, amidst the other footprints, the little bear one could no longer be seen. After that, they returned to Bayside City. He merely entered his study in silence and stayed there without leaving. When she returned, she realized that all of the dogs and cats that were at her ce earlier were gone¡ªmaybe because their owner had returned. Since Cooper felt heavy and solemn and Linus was busy tending to his business, Sophia was left alone at home with nothing to do. It was freezing outside and many stores were still closed. The huge city of Cethos was always deserted during the new year since everyone returned home to spend time with their families. After Sarah added Sophia on her Messenger, they asionally chatted. When Sarah learned that she was dying of boredom at home, she encouraged thetter to y online games to alleviate her boredom. Hence, Sophia¡¯s desktop contained many icons of different games.Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Sarah also shared that she owned pet stores and cat cafes, but were closed due to the holidays and would only reopen on the seventh day. Otherwise, she would have invited Sophia over to have a look. asionally, Sarah even visited her and taught her how to y online games and reload her ount. Meanwhile, she was focused on selling the dogs and cats in her store as well as the animal luxury brand she founded¡ªPourl. ¡°The cors that Judge and the rest are wearing are from Pourl. The brand has kickstarted the trend of animal luxury brands. Since you¡¯re feeling bored at home, you can choose two furry animals from the shop to take care of them. They are like your children, so you must treat them like a family member. Once you have decided to bring them home, you have to treat them well and give them the best. When you have a few pets, feel free to swing by to choose suitable essories from Pourl. Mention my name and I¡¯ll jump the line for you and ask the lead designer, Ivan, to design something specially for you.¡± As Sarah stroked her cat, she was trying hard to sell her business. Sophia was Linus¡¯ niece and bore the family name ¡°Michel¡¯. The moment she heard that Sophia was someone wealthy, it was a rare opportunity for her to stumble upon a valuable customer and wanted to forge a good rtionship. Sophia was envious upon hearing that. ¡°Sarah, I envy you so much since you have many businesses.¡± To her, Sarah was an incredible person¡ªshe was the founder of a listed gamepany, had her own pet business, and managed an animal luxury brand. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m merely a business partner. The businesses do not fully belong to me!¡± Sarah humbly replied. Sophia added, ¡°Once I have undergone the surgery to repair my face, I want to learn to manage a business from my dad.¡± The moment Sophia mentioned the scar, Sarah had more toment about it. After ensuring that no one else was around them, she lifted her shirt to reveal her abdomen. ¡°Take a look¡ªmy stretch marks havepletely disappeared. This was how I looked before. Isn¡¯t it terrifying?¡± When Sophia saw pictures of Sarah¡¯s stretch marks, it was indeed serious, but she was delighted when she nced at thetter¡¯s smooth abdomen again. ¡°Wow, it¡¯spletely gone!¡± Since it had such an awesome result, Sophia was more confident about her facial scars. Sarah was proud. ¡°Of course! When I underwent a Caesaran section, it left an ugly scar. However, look at me now¡ªit ispletely gone. You can¡¯t even see it!¡± After speaking about the scar, Sarah asked again, ¡°Has your voice been like this since birth?¡± Sophia had always been wearing a mask in the house as she did not dare to reveal her face. Only her eyes could be seen and as a result of wearing a mask, her voice sounded weaker than it was and hoarse. Since it was difficult to recognize, she felt as if she was speaking in a raspy voice and those addressing her had to whisper to her instead. After Sophia nodded, Sarah immediately added, ¡°I have a friend who was also in a simr situation as you. However, he managed to look for a doctor who cured his condition. I¡¯ll ask him to send the doctor¡¯s contact via Messenger. You can consider scheduling an appointment since that doctor is amazing!¡± she described in detail. ¡°That friend of mine was immensely upset for a while after he was widowed and cried so much until he damaged his vocal cord. He used to be an opera singer and could not even speak when his condition was at its worst. Now that the doctor cured him, he has recovered his voice and it is better than before. I mentioned before that my husband is an actor, right? He knows many singers and all have visited this doctor. He¡¯s an otryngologist and one of the most famous in his field. It¡¯s difficult to schedule an appointment with him, but if you tell him that you¡¯re my husband¡¯s friend, you can also jump the line. You have to make the appointment soon. If you arete, you¡¯ll have to wait till next year!¡± Sophia quickly added the doctor¡¯s contact on Messenger and proceeded to secure an appointment with him. However, as he had returned to his hometown during the new year break, the earliest spot they could obtain was February. When Cooper knew about it, he immediately asked his men to purchase the hospital without any further dy. Then, he asked the famous doctor to treat his daughter as soon as he returned from his vacation. It was a pity that the cosmetic hospital could not be purchased as the owner was an anonymous person in Bayside City. Since that person was an influential local, Cooper did not want tond himself in any trouble since his daughter depended on them to remove her facial scars. Hence, they could only wait for the hospital to reopen and quickly repair her face. During that period of time, Sophia went outdoors on a daily basis with Cooper as her bodyguard. The pets, especially Judge, that belonged to their neighbor still swung by everyday. The dog seemed like it could not wait to visit Sophia and Cooper because it had to babysit when it was home. The child would ensure that the husky wore shoes and skirts. On top of that, she would paint its nails pink, put cat ears on its head and apply makeup on its face¡ªit was obvious that she was a mischievous little kid! Chapter 749 Chapter 749 Judge decided to hide in Sophia¡¯s house everyday after having a meal there. Shae went out alone for a while that day and brought a new friend upon returning home. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Nichs Fletcher. Who are you?¡± The robot that Shae brought home greeted Sophia as soon as it entered. Linus brought Nichs to his work studio and spoke, ¡°This is Nichs and is from the series of robots as Shae. He¡¯s merelying over for an upgrade.¡± Sophia looked nkly at the direction in which Nichs left. Cooper noticed that she was often in a daze, looking as though something was missing from her life. After a pause, he quickly rmended, ¡°Why don¡¯t I rmend some handsome guys to you?¡± She looked slightly crestfallen, but she continued to joke in reply. ¡°How handsome is he? Is he as good- looking as Taylor Murray?¡± His face immediately darkened. Taylor Murray again! She¡¯s crushing on Taylor Murray! Cooper gently smiled. ¡°I promise that he¡¯ll be much better-looking than Taylor! Why don¡¯t you meet up with him? I guarantee that you¡¯ll definitely like him.¡± It was rather obvious that he favored the mystery person since he couldn¡¯t stop talking about him. ¡°He is of the same age as you and from a decent, powerful family. He started his business at a young age. Right now, he¡¯s the CEO of a listed gaming company. When he was a baby, I even held him in my arms before!¡± Although he hoped that his little princess would always live with him, she would still have to marry someone in the future. With the fear that she would meet another weird old man again, he thought it would be better if he selected a handful of men for her to choose from. There was someone whom he coincidentally liked a lot, so he quickly asked Sophia to have a date with that person. Sophia pouted in frustration. ¡°But, Dad, my face and voice have not recovered yet. How can I go on dates?¡±He replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Just meet him first and see whether he meets your standards. We can figure out the detailster.¡± Apart from that, he even emphasized, ¡°He also has dogs and cats and doesn¡¯t have aplicated history. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like him.¡± Under Cooper¡¯s persuasion, Sophia was experiencing her first blind date¡ªshe was curious about it and treated it as one of her life experiences. Cooper had said many good things about the man to the point where she wanted to meet him. Her father naturally apanied her for the date. Of course, he sat in the next room while Shae continuously transmitted the video to him. The location of the blind date was in the VIP room of a random restaurant with dozens of guards outside the door. Since it was Sophia¡¯s first blind date, Cooper was also quite nervous. Sophia finally met the man with her own eyes¡ªhe was rather good-looking and looked like he was around 28 years old. His tanned skin looked healthy and strong in a formal suit and contrasted with his unique short hair, which gave off a different vibe from other men in Cethos. He also had a solid resume¡ªhe was born in a respected military family and graduated from Bayside University on top of being the director of a listedpany. The man opposite her had a solemn expression, creating a tense atmosphere where it felt like they were negotiating a business deal. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Stanley Fletcher.¡± With an indifferent expression, he shook hands with her. Sophia stretched her scarred hands out and returned the handshake. ¡°Hi, I am¡­ Lucile.¡± Stanley remained indifferent. ¡°Oh, hello, Lucile. Please take a seat.¡± Only the both of them were in the big room. As it was her first blind date, she was so nervous that she broke out in cold sweat until she was unsure of what to say. However, Stanley, who sat opposite her, was flipping the menu. ¡°What would you like, Lucile?¡± She suddenly regretted her decision to turn up for the blind date. Although he looked decent, he was definitely not her cup of tea at all. I wonder why, but he looks like¡­ a husky! She merely wanted to return home as soon as they were done with dinner. However, since Cooper liked Stanley a lot, she figured that she would regard it aspleting a task. After taking her copy of the menu, she casually ordered two dishes. Just as she simply scribbled it on the notepad, the door suddenly barged open. ¡°Daddy, why are you going on a blind date?¡± A sobbing voice rang. Sophia was so shocked that she dropped the pen. When she turned, she saw a handsome young man rushing into their room with a little girl¡ªshe seemed to be around three years old. After the little girl was ced on the ground, she ran as fast as she could on her tiny legs. When her shoes touched the ground, it squeaked and she reached Stanley amidst the squeaks. While Sophia was still confused by what had just happened, the girl had already hugged Stanley¡¯s legs and cried out loud. ¡°Dad, why are you ditching me and Daddy? Even though you guys are unable to be married here, you did promise to take care of us forever! How can you go back on your words? You¡¯re a gay, so why are you on a date with a woman? I¡¯m going to hit on you on Daddy¡¯s behalf!¡± Stanley looked dumbfounded as well. Just as he crouched and held the girl in his arms, sheid a hand on his cheeks twice, shocking him even more. Amidst her cries and smacks, the girl cried in desperation, ¡°If you marry someone else, what will happen to me and Daddy? He can¡¯t live without you! You can¡¯t just leave him now that he¡¯s a gay! You¡¯re a gay who cheated us! I¡¯ll hit you! I¡¯m going to whack you!¡± Sophia was so shocked that her eyes widened. So, he¡¯s a gay who cheated on his family! How dare he do such a thing! He already has a handsome husband and a cute daughter yet he¡¯s still on dates? Smack! Sophia mmed her fists on the table as she stood up. Just when she was about to ask someone to teach this cheating gay a lesson, the little girl ran to her with her squeaking shoes and hugged her legs while she continued crying. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. ¡°Miss, please don¡¯t me my Daddy for going on a date with you. His hands are also tied! Since he¡¯s a gay, his family has never agreed for him to marry my Dad. Both of them are pitiful! Please don¡¯t me him. If you want to me someone, me me instead! It¡¯s my fault that he picked me up from the trash just to give me aplete home. Daddy¡¯s family had threatened him that they would throw me into the trash if he did not attend this blind date with you¡­¡± she sobbed. How pitiful! Upon looking at how the little girl was crying, Sophia¡¯s initial anger was reced by infinite sympathy as she felt sorry for the three of them. ¡°It¡¯s alright. There, there. I¡¯m not angry.¡± Sophia crouched and carried the little girl. It felt nice to hold a little girl who smelled nice in her arms. Even though Sophia wanted to hold onto her longer, the situation did not allow her to do so. Instead, she took out a piece of tissue paper to wipe the little girl¡¯s tears and snot. After that, the little girl¡¯s innocent and beautiful face could be seen. What a beautiful little girl! When Sophia saw the way the little girl sobbed, she felt sorry for her and spoke, ¡°I¡¯m not angry. Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯tnd your daddy and dad into any trouble.¡± How is it possible that such a cute girl was left in the trash? Gosh, who was so heartless to have dumped her? Why didn¡¯t they dump her in my house trash instead? The little girl choked on her tears, but it still continued to flow from her eyes. ¡°Miss, you are such a nice person¡­¡± Upon seeing the little girl¡¯s miserable expression, Sophia almost cried with her. What a cute little girl¡­ Chapter 750 Chapter 750 In the end, the little girl held the hands of both her ¡®fathers¡¯ and left. She took a few steps before she turned her head back with tears flowing down her cheeks and bade Sophia farewell. ¡°We¡¯re leaving now, Miss.¡± Cooper decided toe over from the other room only after they had left. He frowned as Sophia stared at the empty seat whilst her mind wandered. Cooper consoled his daughter as he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, darling. Even though this didn¡¯t work out for you, I will find a better one for you!¡± This was Sophia¡¯s first attempt at matchmaking. Although she did not feel good for having failed the first time, she replied to her father, ¡°It¡¯s okay, dad. Don¡¯t get mad. I didn¡¯t really expect much from this anyway. I was only trying to have a feel of what matchmaking is like. Come and sit down, dad. Let¡¯s eat.¡± Cooper still struggled to ept the fact that his daughter¡¯s maiden attempt at matchmaking involved a gay conman who was trying to fake their marriage. He was fumed with anger throughout his meal. In a shoppingplex nearby at that very moment, Stanley, the so-called ¡®gay conman¡¯, was pacing along theplex with Sean carrying his clothes and bag. He had the little girl sitting on his shoulders with her legs around his neck. The little girl was still in tears. Stanley asked with a frown, ¡°Why are you still crying?¡± ¡°I was too deep into my act¡­¡± she answered chokingly. Sean wiped her tears and gently consoled her, ¡°Alright, darling. Don¡¯t cry. It was all a show just now! Aren¡¯t we supposed to be getting your present ready for daddy? We won¡¯t make it if you¡¯re still crying.¡± Stanley was invited to a matchmaking arrangement the day before by a peer in the industry. While he was reluctant to attend the matchmaking, he could not decline his business partner¡¯s offer, so he got the little girl to put on a show to scare the match-making partner away. She was only supposed to be acting as his daughter, but the little girl went far too deep into her character, and she turned him into a malicious gay man who was trying to con Sophia into marriage. She¡¯s so dramatic! With a little bit of coaxing from Sean, the little girl, who was initially pouting, finally chuckled. It was already midday by the time the three of them shared a meal and headed back home. Their car soon arrived in front of The Imperial Vi No.8. Stanley got out with the girl in his arms before he swiped the door lock with his ess card, while Sean parked the car. The little girl was giggling and chuckling while she chatted with Stanley. ¡°Hello, pretty girl. What¡¯s your daddy¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Mackie Patcher!¡± she replied. Stanley corrected her on the spot. ¡°It¡¯s Michael Fletcher!¡± ¡°Mackie Patcher!¡± she said again. Stanley then asked her, ¡°What about you? What¡¯s your name?¡± She answered, ¡°Carmen Patcher!¡± After they closed the door behind them, Stanley put her on the floor and rectified her pronunciation once again. ¡°It¡¯s Carmen Fletcher! Fletcher! Not Patcher!¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. ¡°Carmen Patcher!¡± He was speechless. ¡°Alright, then. Carmen, let¡¯s get ready. Your daddy¡¯sing back very soon!¡± Carmen hurried off to prepare her new year¡¯s present for her beloved daddy. Stanley sighed as he observed her cheerfully skipping off into the room. She¡¯s growing up so fast¡­ As a token of love and appreciation for her father, who spotted a crown of white hair from bringing her up, Carmen had specially prepared a y for him this new year, titled ¡®Snow White¡¯. The other actors would be arriving shortly¡ªthose included Sarah and Harry, who lived next door, Stanley and Sean, and not to forget, her brother, Nathan. Nathan was no longer the little boy he used to be. He was already a thirteen-year-old with strong hints of puberty for his tall stature and hoarse voice evidently showed. Afterpleting his junior year at Bayside University, he enrolled in aputer science course. During holidays, he would return to the Fletcher Residence for his military training. Nathan had grown up from a quiet little boy to a quiet teenager. Carmen was coordinating the roles to be yedter. ¡°Godmother, you will be the evil queen.¡± Sarah nodded and skimmed through the script that was actually written by herself. ¡°Godfather, you¡¯re the huntsman.¡± Harry pulled a solemn face and tried to grasp his part of the script. He had to admit that, in his many years of acting experience, this had to be the most challenging script he had ever read. ¡°Uncle Sean, you¡¯ll be Snow White!¡± Sean nodded. He was already in his costume, which was bought by Sarah from Amazon. ¡°Nate, you and Judgey will be the dwarves. I¡¯ll be the prince. And Stan, you¡¯ll be the white horse the prince rides on.¡± Stanley was lost for words. ¡­ When the night was still young at 9.00PM, the sky was filled with snowkes asrge as goose feathers. A car stopped in front of Vi No.8, and a man got out of it. Outside thepound was a carpet of fresh, white snow. As the man made his way toward the door, he left a heavy trail of footprints on the immacte snow behind him. Despite the darkness encapsting his tall figure, his shiny white hair stood out so much it was almost brighter than the snow. He opened the door and stepped right in. He then shook his coat to remove the snow before resting it on the coat hanger. The hall was brightly lit with a warm and cozy ambiance. An excited little girl was standing there in anticipation. ¡°Daddy! You¡¯re back!¡± The sight of his daughter turned Michael¡¯s cold, hard expression from earlier into a fuzzy smile. He noticed the stage set up in the middle of the hall, and the line up of cast members who were ready to perform. Michael asked his daughter, ¡°If I may, what would be the title of tonight¡¯s y?¡± Carmen adored performing. She had always been working on her own ys, which Michael wondered from where or whom she picked it up, and made him watch every single one of them. ¡°I¡¯ll be performing Snow White and the Prince! Sit here, daddy!¡± Carmen led her one and only guest to the couch and hopped off to prepare for her show. Harry, who was in his huntsman costume, locked eyes with Michael. Everyone could empathize with what thetter had to go through for his daughter. Who would have known she loved performing, like her father. The y was about to start. No one was spared from being summoned to be part of the audience. Besides Michael, there were the chefs, the bodyguards, the chauffeur, and the robot. Even the magpie cat in the kitchen was brought in to fill up the seats before the stage. There was simply no way around it for the little master liked such activity. A stage was set up in the middle of the hall, so Carmen could arrange for her performance any time she wished. Michael threw a handful of popcorn into his mouth and watched intently, despite the plot being nothing new to him. The prince rode on the back of ¡®his¡¯ white horse and arrived upon Snow White and the dwarves. ¡®He¡¯ pulled out his sword, which in actual fact was a cucumber. ¡°My beautiful princess, what has happened to you? Oh, heavens! How could such cruel fate befall upon my beloved princess?¡± ¡­ When the y was finally over, everyone pped with deliberate fervor. Carmen stood proud on the stage and curtsied as Maria diligently threw petals around her while Nichs focused the spotlight on her. Carmen was no stranger to such stage etiquette. Besides having someone to present her a bouquet of flowers at the end of her performance, she even had her speech prepared. With the bouquet in her hands, she said with emotion, ¡°It has been my lifelong dream to be an actress¡­ To be able to stand here, I give my thanks to my beloved, adorable father! Ah! My dear old daddy, who has gone through so much to bring me up that even his hair turned white! Today, I would like to offer my sincerest appreciation to my daddy. Thank you! I will not let your hair grow any whiter!¡± ¡­ Michael buried his face in his palm. She did that every single time at the end of all her performances. He wondered to himself if she could come up with a different speech for a change. Everyone stared at Sarah, who was responsible for the script. She wasted no time exining herself, ¡°She specifically insisted that I include this part!¡± All the actors scampered off right after Michael paid them for their services and hard work. None of them looked forward to another round of such awkward performance! However, it would seem inevitable that Carmen would summon them over a few dayster to discuss her uing y. After all, she was a rather productive actress. Chapter 751 Chapter 751 As the evening came to an end, Michael carried Carmen up to the attic, where they could see the night sky through the sky window. Carmen leaned beside Michael and gazed upon the stars above. ¡°Daddy, I wonder which star is mommy today.¡± Michael raised his hand and pointed at the brightest one among them and said, ¡°That one. Look, she¡¯s winking back at you!¡± Carmen fixed her eyes on that star and chuckled before a tinge of sadness took over. She asked, ¡°Daddy, why did mommy turn into a star?¡± Michael looked at the star and answered with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s because mommy¡¯s an angel! She¡¯ll have to be an angel and travel to the skies soon. At night, she transforms into a star to watch over us to see if you misbehave. She will be back in a few years¡¯ time.¡± He gently curled Carmen¡¯s hair with his fingers and spoke apprehensively in a low voice. ¡°Is there anything you want to tell mommy today? She¡¯s listening right now. She¡¯s an angel, and she¡¯ll fulfill your wishes.¡± Carmen made her wish carefully as she focused on the shining star. ¡°I wish that mommy would bless my rtionship this time. May it go smoothly¡­¡± Michael¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Are you in a rtionship again? Or are you referring to Nichs?¡± It had been a long while since Michael found out that his three-years-old daughter had started being in rtionships, so he was not surprised this time. Carmen answered solemnly, ¡°Daddy, Nichs is my ex-boyfriend; both he and I are history. I¡¯m now going out with brother.¡± Michael asked, ¡°Which brother?¡± Thest time she told him Nichs was her boyfriend, he got so mad that he locked Nichs up and hid him. He then lied to her that her boyfriend went back to his hometown to get married, and that took her a while to finally move on. He wondered who would resign to the same fate this time. Carmen replied coyly, ¡°Take a guess, daddy!¡± After a moment of speechlessness, Michael asked, ¡°Is it Bubbles?¡± Covering her mouth as she giggled, Carmen answered, ¡°Bubble¡¯s a girl. My boyfriend¡¯s Judgey!¡± Michael¡¯s chest tensed up as he had a solemn expression on his face. He was determined to dash her hopes by revealing a dark past Judge had. ¡°Judge ate sh*t before!¡± Carmen paused for a long while and rested her head onto Michael¡¯s arm. Michael fell silent for a while before asking, ¡°Why are you quiet?¡± ¡°Daddy, I¡¯ve had my heart broken again.¡± Relieved, Michael consoled, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here for you still.¡± He stroked her hair as he lifted his head to observe the stars. You¡¯re one that shines the brightest. Our girl has grown up so much¡ªcan you see it? ¡°Daddy?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I want to pee.¡± ¡­ At the same time in Vi No.2, another pair of father and daughter were also stargazing. Sophia leaned beside Cooper as she rested her sight upon the skyscape above Bayside City. Cooper never uttered a single word, for he was still annoyed about having picked a gay man for his daughter¡¯s matchmaking session earlier that day. Never judge a book by its cover! Stanley Fletcher, you a*shole! ¡°Dad, how did mommy pass away?¡± asked Sophia abruptly. Cooper¡¯s heart felt a brief sting before he replied, ¡°idents happen¡­¡± He did not have the heart to tell her that Annabel died from giving birth to her. Sophia raised her head and peeked at the brightest star in the sky. ¡°Maybe mommy turned into a star, and she¡¯s watching over us right now!¡± Cooper lifted his head and looked at the shining star with a smile. ¡­ Ever since that day, Sophia never attended any matchmaking sessions. The weather had been fairly cold outside as ofte. She would rather spend her time learning how to make better tasting meat jerky at home, and she even began packing some to be delivered back to Africa. Judge came over again. It gave Sophia quite a scare the moment it got in. Standing in front of her was a husky wearing a pink skirt with a mboyant mixture of makeup on its face, not forgetting its freshly painted bright-red nails. ¡°Woof! Woof!¡± yelped Judge as it rolled incessantly on the carpet, as if it was angrilyining about a certain someone. Sophia rubbed its head andforted it, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something happen that pissed you off badly?¡± Judge continued its volley ofints to her. Damn it! Take your own child back! I¡¯m not entertaining her anymore! s, every protest it made sounded nothing more than barks to Sophia. Sophia knew exactly how to calm Judge down. She offered it a handful of kibbles, and it stopped at once. Nevertheless, Judge¡¯s break was short-lived; it was not before long that a shrill voice came through the door. ¡°Judgey, where are you?¡± Judge jumped up and let out a woof before darting into the restroom. Sophia said, ¡°Hey, doggie. Your owner¡¯s calling for you! Why are you hiding?¡± Someone started knocking on the door. Sophia threw a shawl over her shoulders and went to open the door. Outside the door stood a young girl at the age of two to three. She was wearing a maroon-colored padded jacket, apanied by a teenage boy with a stone-cold expression. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Sophia recognized her immediately. She was the girl adopted by the gay man whom she met at the matchmaking two days ago. Could this be Judge¡¯s little owner?! She was about to greet her before the teenager stepped in between them and asked, ¡°Have you seen a Husky wearing a skirt?¡± It was clear that he did not intend for her to speak to the little girl. Sophia let out a chuckle and replied, ¡°Yes, indeed I have. It¡¯s cold outside; why don¡¯t you bothe inside and wait? It¡¯s hiding in my restroom.¡± The teenager replied coldly, ¡°No, thanks. We will wait here.¡± Sophia left the door open so that the heat from the house would keep them warm while they waited. She then headed into the restroom and tried her best to pull Judge out toward the main entrance. Judge¡¯s reluctant whine reverberated across the corridor. No! I¡¯m not babysitting anymore! Especially not her! I¡¯d rather work at the pet shop and face iing bullets every day at the military field training back at the Fletcher Residence! Help! Cooper heard themotion and saw Judge mbering on anything it could sink its nails in as it was being hauled out. Amidst the chaos, the canine identally drew a shallow wound on his dear daughter¡¯s arm. That¡¯s it, you little runt! Cooper took two strides toward Judge, hoisted it, and kicked it out of the door. After being tossed out onto the snow-filled porch, Judge was still not done with its barrage of barking. Cooper was about to give an earful to the husky¡¯s owners until he realized one of them was a petite little girl. He then decided to let them off. He turned back to Judge and warned it, ¡°If you evere back to disturb my daughter again, I¡¯ll turn you into minced meat!¡± Bam! Right after Cooper mmed the door shut, Sophia protested, ¡°Dad, that wasn¡¯t necessary. You startled the kids¡­¡± On that fifth day of new year, Sophia was arranging the meat jerky she hung outside her front porch when Judge appeared in front of her wearing the same striking pink skirt again. Beside it was that little girl she met that day, followed by the quiet teenager not far behind. The little girl, dressed in vibrant red, was knocking on every door along the street, greeting all the homeowners with a hand gesture as they returned her something red in color. She gleefully put those red items into her bag and moved on to the next unit. What¡¯s this all about? Chapter 752 Chapter 752 Sophia asked Linus, ¡°Uncle Linus, what are they doing? What¡¯s that red-colored thing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s called a New Year¡¯s greeting. Those you were looking at are red packets; there¡¯s money in them. When someonees over to wish you Happy New Year, you have to give them red packets,¡± exined Linus. Sophia saw the little girling over toward their unit. She anxiously asked, ¡°What should I do now? I don¡¯t have any red packets!¡± Linus was well prepared, and he assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have some ready.¡± Sophia hastily grabbed a stack of red packets as she saw the little girl approaching her doorstep to knock on the door. She opened the door and found the little girl standing right in front of her. She was immactely dressed, and the purse hanging in front of her belly was bursting with red packets. ¡°Happy New Year! May you be blessed with prosperity!¡± greeted the little girl in her sweetest voice as she shamelessly reached out to Sophia with open palms. Sophia ced a red packet into her hands and replied, ¡°Happy New Year to you too.¡± The little girl got what she was after and was about to leave. Sophia subconsciously wanted to stall her but struggled to conjure any excuse at such short notice. She was also aware of the teenager whose cold, wary gaze had never left her since they arrived. Linus suddenly appeared at the door and offered a friendly wee. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Nate? My, my, you¡¯ve grown so much!¡± At the sight of Linus, the teenager¡¯s solemn facade melted into a genuine smile. ¡°Uncle Linus, you¡¯re here!¡± It had been three years since theyst met, but Nathan never forgot about Linus, the coolest man in his life¡ªthe man who gave him Nichs. ¡°Goodd, you¡¯ve grown so tall. Come in and have a seat!¡± invited Linus. Nathan brought Carmen into the house while an ted Sophia trod behind. The little girl got in and helped herself to a seat on the couch. As she looked around the hall, she noticed Sophia¡¯s Shae, so she asked curiously, ¡°Is there a Nichs in your house too?¡± Such a beautiful voice she has! Sophia wanted to get close to her, but fearing that her face would frighten her, she sat far away. When the girl asked about her robot, she quickly replied, ¡°It¡¯s Shae. You could say it¡¯s Nichs¡¯ younger brother!¡± She then followed up with another question. ¡°Little girl, what¡¯s your name?¡± Not realizing that Sophia was the poor woman she had tricked the other day, the little girl answered, ¡°I¡¯m Carmen Patcher.¡± Carmen¡­ Sophia took a good mental note of this name. Carmen and Nathan did not stay for long, as they had to move on to the next unit for more red packets. Seeing them leave, Sophia felt as if her soul had left her shell. With bated breath, she stared at the little figure as she walked farther. Noticing that, Linus consoled her, ¡°She lives in Vi No.8. If you wish to, you could always go see her there.¡± She¡¯s¡­ your daughter! Even if she had forgotten, the sight of her own daughter awakened Sophia¡¯s urge to get closer. Sophia nodded. If she cooked something delicious everyday, Judge would keep showing up at her ce, and Carmen would drop by asionally. There were times when Judge needed a break from babysitting, and it woulde to seek refuge at Sophia¡¯s unit. Carmen would then end up going over to get it, and Sophia would have more opportunity to see her too. Little Carmen¡¯s sweet voice and witty charm had Sophia falling in love with her over and over again. On the eighth day of the New Year, Sophia went for an appointment with an ENT specialist to have her vocal cord checked. This medical center had been bought by Cooper, and it weed Sophia as the first patient on its opening after the holidays. The specialist, rmended by Sarah, was revered for his skills and experience. After inspecting Sophia¡¯s vocal cord, he admitted that her injuries were severe but curable. All that was required was a long period of continuous rehabilitation. Sophia booked the next avable slot for her surgery right after the consultation. However, the specialists required more time to study and discuss her surgical case. Hence, Sophia left the doctor¡¯s office with Cooper as his nurse called for the next patient to go in. The next patient came walking toward Sophia from the other end of the corridor, and they eventually met halfway. Sophia, who just did herryngoscope inspection, wore her face mask to cover her wound. She donned a hat and walked along the corridor with her head down to hide her face from others. Somehow, as she crossed paths with the iing patient, she had the urge to look up and saw a man¡­ with a head full of white hair. Sophia turned her head and stared at the back view of the man. He seemed young and fashionably dressed, but he unfortunately had a thick set of white mane on his head. ¡°Baby, let¡¯s go,¡± said Cooper, snapping Sophia out of her trance, and they soon left the hospital. Cooper was also wearing a face mask because he happened to resemble Chester, the online influencer, and he was trying to avoid unwanted attention. After they left, the ENT specialist greeted the second patient. He gave the patient¡¯s throat a thorough check and performed aryngoscope inspection. After it was done, the man returned to sit at the doctor¡¯s desk while putting on his face mask again. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, yourrynx is as good as new now. You¡¯ve been taking good care of it, and I think you¡¯re ready to make aeback on singing and acting,¡± said the doctor with enthusiasm. Michael remained stoic and nodded. ¡°I see. Thank you.¡± The specialist pursued, ¡°So when will I be seeing you on television again?¡± Struggling to pull a smile, Michael replied, ¡°Not anytime soon. I¡¯m doing this simply because my daughter told me I sounded horrible.¡± The doctor, of course, knew his story. He knew that Taylor Murray was not dead. He simply faked his death to leave the entertainment industry and got addicted to smoking and drinking, which ruined his vocal cords in the process. For an actor like him, having his voice ruined was akin to putting an end to his career, but he did not care, because the person who loved watching him sing and act was no longer around. The one true reason he came to treat his vocal cord was because he heard a petite voiceining, ¡°Daddy, your voice is scary, like the big bad wolf!¡± At that moment, he realized he had another role to y¡ªa father. He could not imagine himself going on talking to his little Carmen in that scary, hoarse voice. As he was leaving the office, the doctor reminded him once again, ¡°If you ever decide to get back onto the screen, do let me know. My family and I love watching your films!¡± ¡°We shall see.¡± ¡­ Not long after, the specialists finally came back with a surgical n for Sophia. They would fix her vocal cord with a vocal alteration surgery. This kind of surgery had been practiced in various countries and was getting popr as it could enhance one¡¯s voice into something more appealing to the ear. The only downside was that Sophia could not revert her voice back to how it sounded before. After her surgery, Sophia could not speak for two weeks, and she had to undergo a lengthy period of recuperation. As she had to return for periodic checkups, her father and she had to remain in Bayside City for some time. Upon Sophia¡¯s returning from the hospital, Sarah celebrated her sessful surgery by bringing a handful of gifts and items. ¡°You are not allowed to speak for the next two weeks. If you want to tell me anything, just type with your cell phone. Here, try drinking these supplementary herbs. I had a friend who took these herbs after her surgery, and her recovery was phenomenal.¡± Sophia tried to thank her, but she refrained and managed a gesture. Sarah got up to leave as Judge came over. She could not help but caress his luscious coat while saying, ¡°Hey, doggie. Why haven¡¯t you been to my shoptely?¡± Judge replied with a ruff. Before Sarah left, she reminded Sofia, ¡°This dog ate sh*t before, so make sure he doesn¡¯t lick your face.¡± Sophia was speechless. You could¡¯ve told me earlier. Judge came today holding a rope in its mouth. The other end of the rope was attached to its cor. It shoved the folded stack of rope into Sophia¡¯s hands and gazed at her. Sophia understood its request and took Shae along with her as she headed to the door. It was obvious that the husky wanted her to bring it out for a stroll. When Cooper realized his dear daughter was about to head out, he immediately said, ¡°Dear baby, just stay within our area and don¡¯t go too far out.¡± Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Sophia answered with a nod. Until now, why Cooper moved into this area was beyond Linus. They were staying in the same neighborhood, so they could easily bump into Michael. But Cooper probably had this all figured out. So what if theye across each other? Would Michael even dare take her away from me? Sophia put on her face mask before she walked Judge, which was leading the way. It was knowingly leading her to Vi No.8. So you¡¯re trying to get me to babysit for you? Damn dog, dream on! Chapter 753 Chapter 753 As they reached its home, Sophia left the husky there and headed back to her own. Judge had every intention of luring her into its house to babysit for him. s, Sophia saw through its ruse and turned back immediately. It loitered at the doorstep, uncertain whether to go in or to go to work. If it went to work at the pet shop, its rump would be sore from being caressed and pinched by guests there. If it went to thepany to stand guard, it knew it was no match against the two fierce German Shepherds that just arrived. Every time it tried to put up a fight, it would end up getting beaten badly, so it figured it might as well skip work. If Judge returned to Stanley¡¯s ce, it would be all alone as Stanley was always at work, and no one would y with it. It did not even think about going back to the Fletcher Residence, for there would be an entire pack of military dogs, both still in service and retired, waiting for it at thewn. Once again, winning a fight with them would be out of the question. After much consideration, it decided to settle in Michael¡¯s cozy vi. Despite several years of sleeping on the carpet, its meals had been well taken care of. It would have been perfect if it did not have to babysit Carmen. Judge entered through the door and noticed that the living hall was decorated in pink. Right now, Carmen was applying makeup on the Samoyed. The poor samoyed had its face painted with colourful makeup, which was far fromplimenting its looks, yet it still bared a silly wide grin. Meanwhile, the poodle was seen lying by the side, dressed in a pink princess costume. Horrified, Judge ran off with a yelp with Carmen chasing behind. ¡°Judgey! Come and try this new skirt!¡± Sophia had just arrived back at her house and closed the door when she realized that Judge was once again nervously wing on the door from outside, with Carmen catching up behind. She opened the door and saw Judge barge in and hide. Delighted to see Carmen, Sophia bent down to rub her head. What an adorable little girl, smelling all nice and sweet. She would have loved to give her a big hug, but seeing that her nannies came running over, she refrained herself from doing so. She wished to talk to the little girl, but she remembered that she should not strain her vocal cord. Carmen, notorious for her extraversion, begged her, ¡°Miss, can Ie in and y in your house? My doggie has gone inside¡­¡± Sophia dly weed them in, so Carmen headed into the living room as both her nannies followed behind. She found Carmen to be under constant supervision. Standing behind the little girl, Sophia observed the hat with cat ears she was wearing, looking no less adorable even from behind! Cooper and Linus were working in the study room. Cooper noticed their little guest and went on with his own business, while Linus, who came out for a drink, said to Carmen, ¡°Little girl, Lucile is not feeling well, so she cannot talk. Why don¡¯t you go y by yourself?¡± Carmen turned to Sophia with a frown. With concern, she asked, ¡°Miss, are you sick? Shall I dance for you? When daddy was not feeling well, I danced for him and he got better. He even stopped crying.¡± Linus gazed at Carmen and felt a tinge of sorrow. He nced at Sophia and replied, ¡°Sure!¡± Sophia beamed with tion. She then sat down and eagerly looked at Carmen. ¡°Miss, this is the bear dance that was passed down in our family!¡± Carmen said. ¡°Nate told me that before mommy became an angel and went to heaven, she fell ill and was crying in pain. So after Nate performed the bear dance for her, she got better and stopped crying. Nate taught me this bear dance. I¡¯m only showing it to you, Miss. Please don¡¯t share it with others!¡± Such a bright little child. Sophia was bursting with anticipation. Carmen looked at Nichs and ordered, ¡°Nichs, music!¡± The robot began ying a light melodious tune as Carmen started dancing to the rhythm. She shook her butt and iled her waist as she happily sang and danced. ¡°Three brown bears, living together. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear¡­¡± To hear a mellow children¡¯s song like that was a pleasant experience for Sophia. After she finished her dance, Carmen ran up to Sophia and ced her hand on her knee while she yearningly asked, ¡°How was my dance, Miss?¡± Sophia was more than pleased. Despite her lower face being covered by the mask, her smiling eyes were enough to tell Carmen how impressed and entertained she was. ¡°Are you still in pain, then?¡± Sophia shook her head. Far from it¡ªit¡¯s as if my heart has been smothered with sweet, sweet honey. Carmen then added, ¡°I¡¯lle and dance for you again tomorrow. You need toplete the full course to recover!¡± Admiring her infectious smile, Sophia remembered something and hurried off into the kitchen. She then brought out the braised chicken wings she made and fed Carmen after she cut them into pieces. She had been staying at home for the past few days, studying Cethosian cuisine and learning some famous recipes from the cookbook, so that she could cook some of these dishes herself when she moved back to Africa. Cooper had hired a couple of chefs¡ªone was to prepare her meals, while the other was to teach her how to cook. After tasting such vibrant vors of Cethosian cuisine, she would rather die than go back to eating rice and bread with her hand once more. She had also made several desserts, which she did not hesitate to bring out and feed Carmen in small bits and pieces. Carmen was seen thoroughly pampering her pte. When they were finally done, Sophia wiped Carmen¡¯s little mouth as thetter smacked her little lips, still tasting all the sweet, delicious vors that lingered in her mouth. She asked, ¡°Miss, I¡¯ll be organizing a concert in a few days. Will youe?¡± Sophia nodded with a wide grin underneath her mask. She was cherishing every moment of bliss with this adorable girl in front of her right now. How could there be a little girl this cute? Carmen was exhrated to hear Sophia agreeing to attend her concert, so she let out a whole-hearted laugh. Meanwhile, Cooper found out that Carmen was still around and came out to see her. He gently rubbed her head and felt her soft silky curls. He nced at her and thought to himself, Is she that kid? Sophia must have looked like this when she was two to three years old. Unfortunately, he only found several photos of her when she was around the age of five to six. Back then, she was a poor, filthy little girl collecting empty cans off the streets. Had she been under his care since young, she would not have suffered like that. ¡°Baby, how¡¯s your voice today?¡± asked Cooper warmly as he sat beside Sophia. Sophia nodded and returned a smile without saying a word. Carmen stared at Cooper and innocently asked, ¡°Uncle, why is your dear baby so big, but my dear baby is so small?¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Cooper raised his brows. How would one answer such a question? He was quite reluctant to move in at first, for he did not wish for Sophia to meet up with Michael. However, he still wished to see his granddaughter. What an adorable little girl she is. Although he had not much affinity for Michael, he had to admit that Michael¡¯s genes were like icing on the cake for the descendants of his family tree. Cooper could no longer contain himself and carried her, saying, ¡°All of the babies are the same. You¡¯re all dear babies.¡± After ying with Carmen for a little while longer, Cooper returned to his study to continue his work. The living hall was filled with joy andughter. Sophia was a natural when it came to babysitting¡ªCarmen was giggling incessantly when she yed with Sophia. Judge noticed that someone had finally taken over its babysitting duties, so it stealthily weaseled out of the room to escape. Little did it expect that Carmen caught it and held it down. She delightedly turned to Sophia and asked, ¡°Miss, shall we give Judgey a makeover?¡± Judge scowled in protest. ¡°Woof-woof?¡± Chapter 754 Chapter 754 Carmen spent the evening having dinner at Sophia¡¯s ce. When she was done, she took Judge, which was wearing its skirt, by the harness and headed home. Judge was beyond recognition, for it was covered in tattoos, and its ws were painted bright red. It could no longer tell if it was a dog or a doll. ¡°Miss, my daddy ising home soon. So I need to go back now. I¡¯lle y with you again tomorrow. You¡¯ll need a full course of bear dance to recover, okay?¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Sophia packed the desserts she just learned to make, including the jelly and pudding, for Carmen to be brought home. She even packed extra for her two ¡®daddies¡¯. She gave the packed desserts to the nannies. Apparently, Carmen had five to six nannies, and all of them were highly educated! Sophia stood at the entrance as she gazed at Carmen, who was heading home. She also noticed a car parked in front of Vi No.8. Both her ¡®daddies¡¯ were back. One of them carried her lovingly and lifted her high up in the air. Such a wonderful, happy family! It¡¯s a shame that the Cethosian society could not ept their love. Life must be tough for them¡­ She returned to her living room, theughter of joy heard earlier still lingering in her ears. Now that the guests were gone, she felt emptiness creeping in. Cooper saw the disappointment on her face and consoled her, ¡°It¡¯s okay, dear baby. I will bring you out for a ride tomorrow.¡± Upon that, Sophia let out a forced smile. At Vi No.8. There was a feast going on tonight again. As it was the first dinner after New Year, the food would have to be rich and extravagant. Stanley grabbed Michael the moment he stepped in through the door. ¡°Uncle Michael, look at what your daughter has done to my dear Judge! I don¡¯t care. You gotta pay me back! At least with a bottle of wine.¡± Michael nced at Judge and noticed its pathetic skirt and the heavy makeup. He could not bear the sight. This sh*tty dog has been freeloading for years; it¡¯s time for it to pay back. Before he could say anything, Carmen interrupted by snarling at Stanley. ¡°Stan, you¡¯re making daddy drink with you again! I won¡¯t allow it!¡± Everyone said daddy turned into a big bad wolf because he drank wine, so he shall not drink another drop! Stanley tried to weasel out and exined, ¡°I¡¯m drinking, but you daddy isn¡¯t. I¡¯ll drink all the wine in your house, then you daddy won¡¯t have any left to drink.¡± Carmen replied, ¡°You wish! Don¡¯t even think about it! I¡¯m saving it for my future husband!¡± Stanley was left speechless. A momentter, Carmen discreetly whispered to Stanley, ¡°Stan, I¡¯ll offer you the wine in my house. Only 998 for each bottle. Don¡¯t tell daddy! You should take all the bottles away; I¡¯ll offer you a package price. With no wine left, daddy won¡¯t turn into a big bad wolf anymore.¡± Stanley was lost for words once more. Stanley and Sean were invited over for dinner that night together with Harry and Sarah. Harry brought his son, Hope, too. Hope inherited his bad-boy charm from his father. Although he carried this dangerous vibe with him wherever he went, it was contradicted by his beautiful looks¡ªsomething he got from his mother. It had been bothering him for a while, for he wished to exude a more dominating presence. Carmen had had her meal at Sophia¡¯s ce much earlier, so she skipped dinner. Her nannies reported to Michael what she had eaten. Everything she ate had to be inspected by Nichs beforehand. Michael was pleased to know that his little daughter did not forget to take away some food for him after having a meal somewhere else. The pain and suffering I went through for her was worth it, after all. ¡°Daddy, Miss gave these to me. You can have them.¡± Michael opened the pink lunch box and noticed the pudding and jelly within. He could tell they were not made with enough practice. He then went ahead and tasted a couple of spoonfuls of jelly. To his amazement, they were delicious and fragrant. He was going for more when he saw Carmen gaping at him. He could tell she really wanted to eat them, but she did not have the heart to keep it all to herself. She even had that adorable frown on her face¡­ Those watery eyes were more than enough to make Michael feel guilty. He then carried her onto hisp and fed her the desserts. ¡°Dear baby, why don¡¯t you eat them? I don¡¯t really like them anyway.¡± As Carmen enjoyed the jelly and pudding, she said to Michael, ¡°Daddy, the Miss next door is also uncle¡¯s dear baby. Uncle gave his dear baby a big lion! The big lion is this big! This big!¡± She described by reaching out both her little arms as far apart as she could. Michael replied, ¡°They have big lions, but we have big pandas. Good girl, when you¡¯re older, let¡¯s go see my big pandas.¡± He personally fed her every spoonful of dessert until she was done before he resumed his own dinner. Everyone gathered at the table and chatted. Sarah brought up the topic about the new neighbors who had moved into Vi No.2. ¡°I saw Linus¡¯ niece, Lucile. Linus said she contracted a severely infectious disease called Vir-18 back in Africa. As a result, her entire face was disfigured. Sigh. I wonder if she¡¯ll ever recover. It might be hard.¡± Michael¡¯s ears stood up. He knew a long while ago that someone had moved into Vi No.2. One of them was Linus, and another was ady with a disfigured face who never showed it. Sarah continued, ¡°I think Lucile¡¯s pretty young. Linus said she¡¯s barely 20 years old. Her face and vocal cord were ruined, and she had toe to Cethos to seek medical help. I even saw Lucile¡¯s father today. He looked rather young. He could pass off as a thirty-something-year-old. He even resembles Chester, that washed-out inte celebrity. You remember Chester? He¡¯s the one who became viral over a photo several years ago. Heter participated in a singing contest, but he didn¡¯tst long in show business.¡± By the time Sarah was done with her words, the men at the table froze as they stared at her. Stanley gaped at her, a chicken drumstick still in his mouth as he eximed, ¡°Lucile¡¯s father looks like Chester?¡± Sarah could not fathom everyone¡¯s reaction. Seeing everyone staring at her, she said, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you guys? Lucile¡¯s father really looks like Chester, except that he¡¯s more refined than Chester!¡± Still speechless, everyone shifted their sights toward Michael. Chester was that inte celebrity Cooper resembled. Someone who resembles Cooper appeared in Linus¡¯ house. Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­ A long-standing mystery that had been bothering everyone for years was about to be disclosed, yet everyone was far from feeling excited. As a matter of fact, they felt a growing despair. Back when Sophia was still around, she desperately wished she could meet her own father in person. s, she did not get that chance even until the day she died. When Sophia was in peril, Michael thought of seeking help from the Michel Family. If Fass Michel was indeed Cooper Mitchel, he would not let his own daughter suffer. However, he was not very well acquainted with Linus, so he could not even contact thetter during that moment. The Michel Family was very mysterious; they were like a dragon with imprable scales for armor¡ªno spear or sword could get through to them. Michael could not even find Fass, let alone verify if Fass and Cooper were actually the same person! It seems that Cooper already has his own family and children. It shouldn¡¯t matter to him anymore whether he used to have children. Michael was filled with sorrow, especially for Sophia. Both of them were Cooper¡¯s daughters¡ªLucile was brought up in an abundant and loving family, while his chica had to suffer since she was young. Not only that, she married such a useless husband who could not help her when they turned her into a pot of stew! Chapter 755 Chapter 755 Michael was silent for a while before he turned to Sarah and said, ¡°Sarah, look for a chance to inform Lucile¡¯s father tomorrow about the seriousness of Woody Mitchell¡¯s illness. He¡¯s the former family head of the Mitchell Family.¡± Sarah was confused, but remained silent. It¡¯s always a mysterious matter when ites to men. The next day, she went to Vi No. 2 again and brought a tablet to show the dogs and cats at the pet store to Sophia. ¡°Look, look¡ªthese puppies are like Judge, who is a purebred Husky. They are very clever, but also expensive. I keep them in my store so that someone would adopt them. I¡¯m sure Judge¡¯s father would want some suitable to adopt these dogs. If you like them, we can head over to my storeter and I¡¯ll give them to you. Stanley said that you don¡¯t have to pay for it.¡± Sophia glimpsed at the photos and videos on the tablet¡ªthe dogs looked like they were full of life as they ran around. In actual fact, they are Judge¡¯s puppies. Cooper had finished dressing up and arranged his work schedule beforehand since he promised that he would bring his daughter to have fun today. She brought the tablet to him and gestured excitedly at the puppies on the screen while waiting in anticipation for his response. Although he was not a fan of noisy dogs, he knew that it only mattered whether Sophia liked them or not and nced at the tablet¡¯s screen before replying, ¡°Alright then. We¡¯ll head to the store and bring the dogs home today.¡± Sophia grinned. No one in the world is better than my father! Cooper was about to return the tablet to Sarah when it chimed with a notification¡ªit was a new message that popped up for one of the apps on the tablet. The message was, ¡®The former chairman of Mitchell Group is seriously ill, but where would the inheritance go?¡¯ Cooper was stunned for a moment and continued to stare at the message on the screen as his mind went nk. Woody is now seriously ill. Only after he became a father himself was he able to understand Woody in a better manner. Cooper had his own worries and responsibilities as Sophia¡¯s father, but now he also had to worry about his own father, who was the family head of the Mitchell Family¡­ Upon realizing that she was tugging at his clothing, Cooper finally came to his senses and ced the tablet down before emotionally announcing, ¡°Darling, Daddy has to attend to something, so I will ask Linus bring you out.¡± Cooper turned and hurried out the door in the direction of the military¡¯s nursing home. Woody had been living at the nursing home for almost three years. Ever since his beloved Coop disappeared, his spirit had deteriorated day by day¡ªhe relied on an oxygen tube and IV drip to stay alive, but he was bing a walking bag of bones. It was obvious that he was close to dying. Since he was critically ill again, the children of the Mitchell Family rushed to the nursing home where he resided and filled the corridor while waiting anxiously outside his room. Among them was a beautifuldy dressed in a ck and white attire, who strode past the family and into the ward. She wore a mournful expression as she turned to nce at the younger generation of the Mitchell Family with a hint of pride in her eyes. Isn¡¯t she Sandra Mitchell¡ªformerly known as Sandra Oak? Four years had passed since she retired from the world of sports to devote herself to business after she obtained a graduation certificate from Bayside University. Slowly, but surely, she paved her way into the Mitchell Family as an outsider and now became their most distinguished Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. By that point, the statuses of each and every family member of the Mitchell Family were revealed. Only those who were closely rted to the Old Master could enter the ward and bid their farewell to him. After all, his inheritance belonged to those selected individuals. On the other hand, rtives were only allowed to stand outside in the corridor¡ªthey had nothing to do with the Old Master¡¯s inheritance. Standing in the corridor and looking as Woody¡¯s descendents shuffled into his ward one by one had made the rtives of the Mitchell Family haughty and exasperated as they were called over at the crack of dawn for something that did not involve them. ¡°Tsk, for an outsider, you really consider yourself high and mighty!¡± ¡°Watch your words. She¡¯s the champion of the Universal Games!¡± ¡°The Old Man keeps doing this to us. How many times has it already been? Is he going to die or not?¡± ¡­ The members of the Mitchell Family had gone their separate ways a few years ago and if it had not been for the Old Master, who still owned some property, no one would have even thought twice about bidding farewell! Woody was nothing short of a thief¡ªhe allegedly bequeathed his personal property to Mark for his safekeeping, which meant that the Mitchell Family would only receive the assets from the Fletchers after Old Master Fletcher¡¯s death. Now, there were three divisions of the Mitchell Family, but who was the real one? Well, it seemed that whoever behaved well was a Mitchell! The three divisions immediately sent their respective representatives into the room to feign kindness and present themselves as the most filial in front of Mark. Mark had been sitting on the side of the bed, watching the old man who was hispanion for years. His heart broke with the knowledge that the old man was about to leave the world. He thought about them surviving together in trying times and of the time when they constructed the new Cethos together. Those memories were still fresh in his mind, but it felt that in the blink of an eye, the Old Master was about to leave him just like that¡­ While Woody took hisst breaths, he reached out with dry, trembling hands and grabbed Mark¡¯s paw. ¡°Mason, has Coop returned?¡± Mark swiped at his tears before replying, ¡°He should be arriving anytime. I just called him and he said that he¡¯s parking his car downstairs. He¡¯ll being up soon!¡± Ever since Sophia left, Woody was beyond upset¡ªhis beloved Coop would not return home anymore! Woody smiled with relief, knowing that his cherished son was on his way to visit him. He took a couple of shaky breaths and immediately asked again, ¡°Mason, is my son here?¡± Mark repeated what he replied earlier. ¡°Just hold on for a while. He¡¯s parking his car downstairs. There is traffic congestion today, which is why he¡¯ste!¡± ¡°Sobs, forefather¡­¡± A group of people now huddled around the Old Master, feigning their tears as if they were saddened by the situation. Little were they aware that young Carmen stood to inherit Woody¡¯s property. Meanwhile, the other family members standing outside were stunned as they watched the scene unfold. Given his identity, Sean was among those who stood outside in the corridor. He looked at the bunch of hypocrites who were in front of him and sniggered. The Mitchell Family is now less than what we were before. We need someone to step in to stop this family from crumbling. That person whom he had in mind now miraculously appeared out of nowhere¡ª And that person had now miraculously appeared out of nowhere¡ª ck, ck, ck¡­ The sound of leather shoes tapping on the floor reverberated the hospital corridor with a heavy yet urgent tone, creating the impression that someone was in a hurry. Sean looked up in surprise to see a man wearing a ck trench coat hurrying from the other side of the hallway toward him. As the figure approached, it became clear to Sean who that man was. He is here! That exceptional person who only existed in my memory is now here! Excitement grew in his heart while tears simultaneously swam in his eyes and his breath caught in his chest. It was really Cooper Mitchell! ¡°Uncle Cooper, is that really you? It¡¯s Sean¡­¡± The man facing Sean gave a sweeping nce at him, feeling overwhelmed as the sad atmosphere did not permit him to say much. He merely patted Sean¡¯s shoulder and answered, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m now back.¡± It was as if Cooper had merely gone out on a shopping trip and easily returned home. In that instant, Sean knew in his heart that it was really Cooper standing in front of him! He has returned! ¡°Cooper Mitchell is back! Our own Cooper is back!¡± Sean eximed in such a loud tone that it startled the rest who stood in the corridor. They each dropped their fake act of sobbing to turn and look at the two people who hurried past them into the ward. Mark, who was inside the ward, had heard Sean¡¯s distinct voice and turned to smile at Woody. ¡°Old partner, hang on. Your son has arrived! Coop is here!¡± He even thought that the Mitchells had hired a lookalike to stand in as Cooper as they wanted Old Master to pass on without any regrets. Chapter 756 Chapter 756 When he turned, he expectedly saw a pair of blue eyes that were in the color of a thousand-year-old lake, leaving him in shock. Save for the difference in the color of that person¡¯s irises, the one who stood in front of him resembled Cooper! Based on his own memory, that was how Cooper looked! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. The Old Master looked equally shocked. Where did they find such a lookalike? He looks so lifelike! Sean was evidently thrilled. ¡°Old Master, this is Cooper! Cooper¡¯s not dead and has finally returned!¡± Cooper is still alive! Members of the Mitchell Family were taken aback as they turned to see who the man was. All eyes were on Cooper as he took a swift stride toward Woody. Cooper was choked up in tears as he digested the sight of an aged person¡¯s body. Then, without saying anything, he fell to his knees in front of the old man. ¡°Father!¡± Cooper¡¯s body shook as he shouted that word. He now realized how ignorant and defiant he was in the past¡ªhe had been extremely cruel to have left Woody on his own¡­ Woody beamed when he saw Cooper. ¡°Coop, you¡¯re back!¡± Cooper took his father¡¯s dry, bony hand in his and blurted, ¡°I¡¯m back. I¡¯m finally home.¡± He looked over at Mark Fletcher and was choked up in tears before he added, ¡°I¡¯m back, Godfather.¡± It is really Cooper! He is now here! Cooper was actually still alive! In all honesty, Mark wanted to give him two ps across his face to teach him a lesson¡ªhe never knew how much Woody and Sophia yearned to see him all those years! However, he never showed up! Mark had many things on his mind that he wanted to say to him, but the words were stuck in his throat and he could not seem to say it as he was trembling in tears. ¡°Where have you been all these years?¡± Cooper choked and replied, ¡°I did not die as I was rescued back then. After that, I went to Africa to work as a miner and have been there ever since!¡± Mining¡­ in Africa. Old Master Fletcher¡¯s mind pictured a scene where Cooper was mining for coal in a faraway ce called Africa. If he disobeyed his orders, he would be whipped by a foreman who stood nearby. Cooper¡¯s passport and ID card had been snatched and he had no chance of leaving¡­ ¡°My dear Coop, you have suffered a lot¡­¡± Mark could only imagine what Cooper endured all those years and he couldn¡¯t help but tear up. Cooper now gazed at his father, who was now aging and sported gray hair, while being speechless as he tried to stop himself from crying. ¡°Father¡­¡± Woody looked at Cooper and smiled. ¡°My son,e here¡­ I have a few words that I would like to say to you.¡± Cooper leaned his ears closer to Woody and heard thetter¡¯s whisper. ¡°Remember that youngdy a long time ago? I have secretly released her and given her a sum of money. You should go and look for her. Find her and¡­¡± The words trailed off, leaving the sentence to be unfinished. Woody now gasped for air¡ªa smile was still on his face and his hands tightly gripped Cooper¡¯s for a long time¡­ The news headlines of that day in Cethos were all about Woody¡ªthe man who was with Cethos for a lifetime finally allowed himself to seek eternal peace with a final smile of glory. He had taken over the family business in his younger years and brought it to greater heights. He actively participated in the development of Cethos and exercised all efforts to support the revolution. Not too long after the founding of the country, he kept abreast with its economy and even took its financial matters into his own hands. However, life was extremely miserable for Woody¡ªafter losing his father in his youth, he was a middle- aged widower before his son in hister years gave him a taste of life¡¯s ultimate suffering in a lifetime. After Woody passed on, Cooper remained by his father¡¯s bedside in the ward for what seemed like an eternity without moving or speaking. Tears continued to stream down his face¡ªit appeared glum and deep in thought, as if he was mentally elsewhere. Mark then asked everyone to leave the room to give the father and son a few moments to themselves. Outside the ward, the Mitchell Family resumed their pretense of sobbing. It was not long after Woody¡¯s death that they approached Mark and asked, ¡°Old Master Fletcher, how about the property entrusted to you by our forefather¡­¡± Mark rolled his century-old eyes. ¡°For Pete¡¯s sake, what property are you speaking of? If I did not mention it, would you guys have shown up?¡± Upon hearing about Cooper¡¯s death, Woody had been beside himself. Not only did the Mitchell Family take over Woody¡¯snd and property, but they also reimed it on the grounds that thetter had no rights as he did not own it. In other words, Woody was nothing short of someone¡¯s private property in which the Mitchell Family had all but taken away! He did not have any house under his name and they did not pay for a single cent in alimony¡ªthey only depended on Cooper¡¯s old faction to support Woody since then. Mark now pointed unceremoniously at some noses and spat, ¡°Look at yourselves¡ªyou wouldn¡¯te to visit him when he was well and alive. Now that he¡¯s dead, all of you are here and pretending to be filial for a slice of the inheritance? Heck, even if I have it, I wouldn¡¯t give anything to you now that my godson is back! I would rather give the inheritance to him if I had it!¡± The words hit home for some of the members of the Mitchell Family. Each of them were silent as they lacked the courage to defend the obvious. Over the years, only a few of them would regrly visit Woody¡ªor whatever was left of that old man. The truth was that the Mitchells would not have paid Woody a visit for as long as he lived, regardless of time or distance. Cooper grieved in silence, contemting the sight of his dead father on the bed. It was not until half an hourter that he opened the door of the ward and finally stepped out. He was now the one being judged by those who were in front of him. Although he looked like the same person twenty years ago, his behavior resembled that of a king and those brooding eyes were no longer downcast. No one could guess his thoughts. The family members were puzzled. Could this really be Cooper? No, he can¡¯t be Cooper. He must be an imposter who¡¯s here to take advantage of Woody¡¯sst moments to swindle the old man¡¯s money! He must have inherited all of Woody¡¯s property. How can a person look the same as they were more than twenty yearster? Even if he was Cooper, nheless, he was a traitor to the Mitchell Family! However, Mark seemed to have identified the man as Cooper and joy danced in his eyes. ¡°Coop, you are finally back. You¡¯re now here¡­¡± As Cooper had made his appearance, he naturally wanted to handle Woody¡¯s funeral like how a son should. Cooper replied in a low voice, ¡°Yup.¡± Mark nervously watched him before he spoke in a worried voice, ¡°You were stuck in the mineshaft digging coal for more than twenty years. Why didn¡¯t you call home? If you had done so, I¡¯d have gone to rescue you, no matter how far you were!¡± Cooper pulled Mark aside yet those around them could still hear his reply. ¡°There was no signal inside the coal mine. I had no way to contact you and the family.¡± Sean rushed toward the two of them. The older members of the Mitchell Family had witnessed the return of the revered leader who left more than 20 years ago and hurried along¡ªone by one. It was such good news because the family had hope with Cooper¡¯s return! Despite what seemed like a positive event, the other two factions did not feel ted. Is that Cooper? Huh, who does he think he is? Even if it is truly him, they would not recognize his presence¡ªand he ims that he was forced to dig for coal in a mineshaft for more than twenty years? Cooper spent the rest of the day listening to the Fletcher Family addressing the Old Master. The old man still reared many cats and dogs at home. Old Master Fletcher eagerly picked up a sizable orange cat and dumped it in Cooper¡¯s arms. ¡°Look at it¡ªyou still remember the litter of kittens you took care of all those years ago, right? They are all here¡­ Even your cats, your photos as well as your little turtles have all been taken care of by me all this while¡­¡± Speaking of the turtle, the old man suddenly remembered that he had given the turtle away to someone else¡ªand could have given it to Cooper¡¯s daughter! He closely observed Cooper with tears swimming in his eyes. How am I going to break the news to him that he still has a daughter? But, she is¡­ With no other choice, Mark knew that he needed to tell Cooper the truth at that moment and choked. ¡°Coop, you still have a daughter¡­¡± Cooper surprised Mark by remaining stoic about the news before he replied with a smile, ¡°Godfather, she is still alive. I have found her.¡± The old man could hardly believe Cooper¡¯s words and looked at him in surprise. ¡°Are you saying that¡­ Is Sophie still alive?¡± Chapter 757 Chapter 757 Cooper nodded in response. Old Master Fletcher gasped and took out his cell phone before dialing Michael¡¯s number while mumbling, ¡°I want to give Mikey a call¡­¡± Cooper stopped him in his tracks. ¡°Old Master, please don¡¯t let anyone know about this for now. She has forgotten about her past and I don¡¯t want to pressure her.¡± He knew in his heart that Sophia would have to face her past the moment she returned. He was aware of how her life story unfolded¡ªshe experienced love and hatred while the shadow of her childhood apanied her all her life yet she carried herself with utter strength and optimism despite dealing with a serious episode of depression at one point in time. As time passed them by, it seemed like she hadpletely forgotten her past. Why can¡¯t we let things be the way it is for her? Let the pain and the happiness be forgotten and never to think about it again! As soon as he stepped out of the Fletcher Residence, members of the Mitchell Family¡¯s old faction quickly swarmed Cooper and inadvertently blocked his path. ¡°It¡¯s really the family head!¡± ¡°Coop, it seems like you¡¯re really back!¡± Cooper feltforted when he saw those people standing around him. It never urred to him that twenty years would pass before he would see them again. Still, several of them had fervently been waiting for him to return home all those years. ¡°Well, I¡¯m back now.¡± It was an understatement¡ªthey knew that his words carried an important implication deep down in their hearts. Word now spread that Cooper did not in fact die, but he was smuggled to the coal mine and spent 20 years of life in hardbor. It was only now that he had been rescued from the trenches. Sean did not feel like rationalizing what everyone else misunderstood. Coal? Sold to the mineshaft to mine coal? Only Old Master Fletcher can think of such an exnation. It turned out that the Mitchell Family was divided into three factions in three respective homes¡ªthe old house that was adjacent to the West Family was now upied by Alex while Cooper¡¯s factions had moved away. When Cooper dropped by to have a look, the situation was much better than he imagined. At least the Mitchell Family¡¯s estate is still around even though it is crumbling. The crowd warmly invited him to survey the estates that they owned. The three factions currently fought each other like it was life and death¡ªeach party wanted to drown the other. Ever since Old Master Mitchell fell gravely ill, Cooper¡¯s n gradually lost their power and influence, bing the weakest after being overruled by the other two factions. Despite a mutual understanding and an unspoken agreement that was formed by the other two factions, each was persistent in wanting to emerge as the winner. Now that Cooper was back, the situation in the Mitchell Family could finally be salvaged. It only took a while for him to survey the estates before he formed an understanding of the current situation. He then dered lightly, ¡°There¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s just a trivial matter.¡± Upon hearing what he had mentioned, the people burst into tears. There¡¯s no problem. It¡¯s just a trivial matter. This is Cooper¡¯s mantra when he was the head. Now that he is around, surely all of the world¡¯s difficulties wouldn¡¯t be so difficult to resolve. Now that he returned, he would definitely take what belonged to him. Years ago, he gave up on hisst name, identity, family as well as his ancestry while creating a new name for himself¡ªFass Michel, someone who originated from Northern Europe. However, he regretted his decision.After he became a father, his perspectives and mentality had changed, allowing him to understand why Woody waspelled to act in the way that he did. Returning to the Mitchell Family was something that he truly desired¡ªhe wanted to be Cooper Mitchell again. Sophia had no idea about what happened in the Mitchell Family. Cooper had promised to bring her out that day only to suddenly rush off, so she allowed Linus to take his ce instead. It so happened that he was also heading to Sarah¡¯s pet shop to bring the dogs home. Sarah also tagged along in the same car. As they were about to head off, Judge barked before he rushed inside the car and insisted on following them. If I do not do so, I will be dressed up like a doll! Sophia was about to push the dog out of the car when Sarah added, ¡°Judge, you are a big dog, so you shouldn¡¯t head to work today. For now, you¡¯ll stay home and apany Carmen to y. Be obedient.¡± The dog was now upset and opened his mouth, ready to scold the humans. ¡°Wooooooof! Woooooof!¡± His barks were definitely directed at Sophia, who was also the one whom he wanted to admonish. I can¡¯t believe you want to have fun and leave me to babysit your child! In your dreams! I have eaten X! Does that scare you? Judge was allowed to tag along in the end. Fortunately, Linus¡¯ car was spacious enough to amodate him, Sarah, her dog, Sophia and one big dog named Judge, making it a crowded space. While they were on the road, the excited Sarah gushed. ¡°The dogs are really beautiful! I have lost track of the number of people who want to adopt them! However, Stanely is reluctant to let them go. I¡¯m sure if you have a word with him, he¡¯d agree to it. Now that you have met Judge, you¡¯ll be able to tell that the dogs look exactly like him when he was a puppy! It¡¯s just a pity that Stanley is forever busy with work and unable to take care of the dogs. He forced himself to agree to let me put them up for adoption because of this,¡± she babbled. Judge¡¯s owner is named Stanley¡­ Is he the same Stanley Fletcher whom she went on a blind date with the other day? Does that mean he is Carmen¡¯s gay daddy too? The world was filled with such coincidences¡ªher blind date turned out to be a neighbor and it seemed that Cooper was well aware of it. No wonder he agreed to allow her and Stanley to go on that date! Sophia never expected her date to be a gay. However, if that was the case, it would really be awkward since everyone was neighbors. It would be embarrassing whenever they bumped into each other in the future! When the car was being driven out of the residential area and momentarily stopped at the gate for registration purposes, Sophia stopped a beautifuldy lingering at the entrance. She could not help but point at the figure and wondered aloud, ¡°Who is that?¡± Sarah nced at thedy and her face instantly turned to a look of disgust. ¡°A persistent salesperson. She¡¯s always trying to enter the residential area to sell her rat medicine! I had no luck in asking her to leave!¡± An attempt to enter this sort of high-end residential area to promote rat medicine? There are surely other reasons why she could not enter. Thedy, who paced by the gate, was known as Irene stared at the car for a while as it drove away. When she learned that Sophia was dead, she returned to Bayside City, thinking that her opportunity had arrived. s, no matter how long she waited, the person whom she wanted to meet would not bat an eyelid at her even if they bumped shoulders. On the other hand, Sophia went to Sarah¡¯s store. Sarah¡¯s store had reopened after the annual holidays and business seemed to be good. Judge would check on his puppies whenever he came over and sat by the cab window to keep an eye. He was an experienced father yet he still had to work and earn money to support his family. Sophia looked at the puppies and thought that they looked really cute. She was ready to bring them home, but something made her hesitate. If Judge is already a noisy dog when he barks, it would be havoc if there are two more of them. She gritted her teeth and hesitated for a long time. Meanwhile, Sarah eagerly called Stanley, who was the dog owner, to have a word with them. As it was the weekend and he had returned to the Fletchers to settle his family issues, he agreed to swing by in the afternoon to discuss the adoption process. Truth be told, he really did not want to give those dogs away as they were like precious grandsons to him! However, it was not like he had a choice¡ªhis work rendered him unable to take care of them. Michael had already kept more than 20 big orange cats at home and there was not enough space to move around, so it was impossible to amodate another three dogs. Having Judge around was already giving him a hard time. If Michael had to deal with another two dogs¡­ Well, Stanley did not have the heart to do that to him. Hence, the dogs could only be ced for adoption. Stanley could not deny that he was relieved at the very least to know that Linus¡¯ niece was interested in adopting the puppies. They would surely be well fed in that household. After Sophia decided to adopt the dogs, Sarah ushered her to the luxury brand store next door to select a handful of outfits for the puppies. Since it was a luxury item, it was obviously expensive and tailor-made for dogs with the capacity to burn a hole in their owners¡¯ wallets. It was as if Sophia could not bring herself to ept that her father was a millionaire. She was given quite a sum of money to spend, but Linus delightfully paid for those items. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. After they left Pourl, Sarah led them to a nearby restaurant to have a meal. ¡°Let¡¯s head over to the Crimson House. It¡¯s my treat!¡± Chapter 758 Chapter 758 ¡°Crimson House is an internationally popr restaurant chain. I know the boss well and he has arranged a seat for us.¡± Upon hearing that there was delicious food to eat, Sophia was excited. She left the dogs at the pet shop before making her way to Crimson House. Crimson House came with high ceilings that made the restaurant appear vast and grandiose; even the dishes looked extremely expensive to be eaten. Sarah seemed unfazed by it and generously ordered more than ten dishes to be shared by the three of them. As soon as the menu was handed out to them, she excitedly announced before leaving, ¡°Hang on for a minute. Let me bring a friend over.¡± She returned a whileter¡ªthis time with a ck Labrador in tow. ¡°This dog belongs to the boss, Sam Edwards.¡± Sophia stared at the big, ck dog, wondering whether its name was Corrado. True enough, its cor revealed the truth¡ªit really was Corrado. Corrado immediately took a liking to Sophia, as if she was an old friend whom he had not seen in years. He lunged forward to give her a big sloppy kiss but was stopped in time by Tyrell. When they finished eating at the Crimson House, they left the restaurant and walked around the area to purchase lipsticks, shoes, and an assortment of items before returning to the cat cafe¡ªwhere they were supposed to meet Stanley to discuss the adoption of the dogs. Upon their return, Sophia noticed that there was another luxury brand for pets called King, situated not far away from Pourl. This is odd¡ªthe same type ofpany has opened another store at such a close distance. This must have been deliberate¡­ They were now back at the cat cafe where she asked for a ss of in water once they were seated at a table. Fearing that Sarah would see her scarred face, she angled her face to the side and gulped her water. Sarah was warm and animated when she talked with Sophia about the trendiest shades of lipstick, most fashionable purses and clothes in the market and more. Sarah was mostly up to date with Bayside City¡¯s most fashionable things¡ªmainly because her luxury brands for pets started to manufacture the equivalent for humans as well. So, having a fashion sense was a necessity for her. Sophia found it interesting to listen to Sarah speaking and continuously nodded her head to what the latter mentioned. The twodies were so engrossed in their conversation that Linus felt like he could not interrupt, so he decided to excuse himself to the restroom to make a call. When Sarah finished talking about the packaging of lipstick, she changed the conversation topic to that of her husband. ¡°My husband managed to secure the Academy Award for Best Actor winner but chose to retire from the movie industry. Sigh¡­ It¡¯s such a huge loss to Cethos¡¯ film industry!¡± The look on Sarah¡¯s face resembled someone in a dreamy daze as she spoke of her husband¡ªlike a child who was starstruck at the sight of their idol. Sophia took out her phone and tapped on it before putting it down. ¡°Do you know who Taylor Murray is?¡± she asked. ¡°Of course I know who he is. He was my husband¡¯s golden partner when they were both actors¡ªthe national couple!¡± Sarah eximed as she covered her face with her hands to hide her flushed cheeks while reminiscing about the time when Taylor and Ethan were both in her life¡­ Sophia gave Sarah¡¯s words a thought before typing on her phone. ¡°My father said that Taylor Murray is a pervert.¡± As Sarah stared at the text, she felt a sh of anger, but quickly calmed herself and exined, ¡°He isn¡¯t a pervert¡ªat least not in the same way as my husband! How can Taylor even be considered a pervert?¡± The year after Taylor died, arge number of media outlets wanted to discover where his grave was located¡ªthey were desperate enough to even want to get a shot of the headstone where he was buried. He allegedly passed away without any announcement¡ªthere was no memorial service, a funeral, an exnation or even a news report on his death. A handful of idiotic news outlets even went as far as to retrieve his old posts in desperation to create false news when there was nothing to report on. Soon, they soon spread unverified information about him. It was appalling to fathom that the media wanted to even mize a person¡¯s death. It was a pity that Michael had stopped caring altogether by that stage. Taylor no longer existed in the world and Michael could care less on what the media wanted to report. Sarah concluded, ¡°Even though they are now both washed-up stars, they will always be my idols in my heart!¡± Sophia chuckled and did not continue to type into her phone. A sarcastic voice suddenly rang from behind Sarah just as her words hung in the air. ¡°A washed-up actor¡¯s fan who has a sense of superiority? That¡¯s ridiculous¡­¡± Upon hearing the uttered words, Sarah seemed to sag and copse¡ªshe knew who said it even before she saw the person. An explosion of scent exploded¡ªon one hand, there was stale perfume from Amazon and on the other was a fermented oil that smelled flirtatious¡ªand instantly permeated the air. Anyone who caught a trace of it would never be able to forget it in their lifetime! Sophia saw that there was a woman behind Sarah¡ªthe person wore an elegant fur waistcoat while her hair was immactely pinned up with the diamonds on her neck and hands shining so brightly that they could crush metal. She also had a limited-edition purse in hand while looking at Sarah with a grin. Even if the woman had said something offensive, it did not offend Sarah to the point where she looked angry. It was more like Sarah was used to it. ¡°Victoria, what are you doing here?¡± Four years had passed since Victoria and Peter were married. Judy had offended the West Family and disappeared four years ago, paving the way for Victoria to take her ce and marry him. She then fell pregnant before giving birth to two children in the course of three years. As a result, she now held extraordinary status in the West Family. Peter West became obsessed with her to the point where she plotted to sever the rtionship between him and his son. It resulted in his eldest son running away from home and bing independent. Not only did the son stop visiting the West Family, he even went to court to emancipate himself from Peter. When Sarah discovered what had happened, there was a rumor among her family members that the eldest brother of the West Family was fixated by his beautiful stepmother, who was younger than him, and wanted to take sexual advantage of her. When he was caught by Peter, both father and son threw punches at each other. The eldest brother of the Edwards could not fight back¡ªhow could he, when he had a hundred people up against his word? Subsequently, his wife divorced him and took their child back to her hometown. In one night, he had lost his family, stripped of his share and ce, and driven out of his own house. It was at the same time when Taylor ¡®died¡¯ and Ethan retired from the entertainment circle, causing them to be washed-up and irrelevant. For Ethan, his true identity was being the head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld. Ethan Winston was merely a facade for his acting career and whenever he made a public appearance. It did not make sense for him to introduce himself as a gangster whenever he met people. It was not the kind of low-key principle that his gang held either! Although he was secretly Mr. Winston, he would make an appearance as a washed-up actor¡ªand it would have been believable if he had actually died. After several years of not filming, he had all but disappeared and those who were not privy to his life thought that he passed away from his heartbreak over Taylor. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Once Victoria was stable in her position as the Edward Family¡¯s mistress, she set her sights on Sarah when she sessfully chased the eldest brother away. Not only was Sarah holding the family¡¯s share in her possession, the money was also in the hands of her washed-up actor husband and, most importantly, the house at the Imperial! However, how would someone be able to snatch another person¡¯s house and shares without a valid reason? By obviously causing problems! Now that Victoria noticed that Sarah still had her back against her, she raised her voice where it sounded like she was shouting. ¡°So, this is how you treat me¡ªI¡¯m your mother!¡± Sarah knew what Victoria had in mind¡ªher stepmother wanted to provoke her intoshing out. By making her lose her temper, it would incite enough trouble to involve her father. Sarah had been deeply disappointed by the fact that he could not differentiate between right and wrong. Although she still kept in touch with her elder brother, he vowed that he would never return to the West Family. She never intended to speak a single word to Victoria and was now cold-hearted. Myst name is now Winston, so anything to do with the West Family does not bother me whatsoever! ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re not wee here. Why don¡¯t you return to wherever you came from?¡± Sarah did not allow Victoria the privilege for a face-to-face conversation. She merely waved her hand and gave permission to her subordinate to chase her stepmother away. If it had not been for her longing to the Edwards Family, she would have left the family a long time¡ªshe was now Mr. Winston¡¯s wife! However, it was not as easy as Sarah thought to chase Victoria away. Now that she came, there would be something for her to gain. Although she knew that Sarah would not be easily defeated, she decided to think of other methods to provoke her. Chapter 759 Chapter 759 Victoria leaned forward and intentionally mouthed the words at Sarah¡¯s ears. ¡°Where is your husband now? I¡¯m sure he must be missing me¡­¡± There was a condescending tone in her voice as she spoke coquettishly, trying to provoke a reaction from Sarah. At Sarah¡¯s and Ethan¡¯s wedding, they had followed tradition and invited the West Family, reserving a few tables for the members of her family. They never expected the cunning Victoria to take the opportunity when Ethan drank one too many sses of wine to distract Sarah while shey on the wedding bed with him. When she was discovered, the cunning woman hypocritically defended herself while pretentiously using Ethan of trying to molest her. Sarah had not wanted to cause a scene at the wedding, so she allowed the incident to slide. Ever since then, she refused to return to the West Family. Back at the shop, she felt that her heart had stopped and not wanting to say a word, she gestured for the shop assistant to ask Victoria to leave. Upon sensing that Victoria¡¯s n did not work on Sarah, she then turned to Sophia, who was seated opposite. Sophia had lowered her head and half of her face was covered by a thick, opaque mask¡ªonly the slit of her eyes showed. There were centipede-like scars around the edges of her eyes. Victoria abruptly stepped forward and tore Sophia¡¯s mask off. What she saw underneath was a sheet of translucent white flesh that was covered with red scars all over her face. Victoria observed Sophia¡¯s face for a moment before bending over inughter. ¡°How on earth does an ugly-faced monster like that exist? It looks just like a sausage!¡± What happened had unfolded so quickly that Sophia did not even have the time to react. She realized that her mask had been ripped off her face, but all she heard was the words¡ªugly monster. She looked up and saw Victoria¡¯s smug face. The woman looked like she was in her early thirties with supple and well-maintained skin that gave her a beautiful glow. The condition of Victoria¡¯s skin was a sharp contrast to Sophia¡¯s scarred face as thetter sat opposite. Ugly monster¡­ Sophia¡¯s body trembled uncontrobly as she hastily wore her mask again. When she returned to her senses, she realized that everyone now looked at her face and felt like they wereughing at her. A ugly monster who looks like a sausage¡­ She is an ugly monster who looks like a sausage! Sarah, who had been resisting her anger earlier, charged toward Victoria like a vicious beast. ¡°Damn you, b*tch! You are the ugly monster here. Your whole family are ugly monsters!¡± She grabbed a cup of coffee and sshed it across Victoria¡¯s face before she used the sharp nails of her manicured hands to w at thetter. ¡°Ugly monster? You are the ugly monster!¡± The two women suddenly wrestled with each other on the ground while Victoria¡¯s bodyguard and the cat cafe¡¯s shop assistant went for each other, causing the frightened guests at the shop to flee in horror. The scene at the shop was in a state ofplete chaos. Sophia¡¯s body continued to shake uncontrobly as her mind was focused on the same words that continuously yed in her head¡ªUgly monster. She is the ugly monster! She turned, wanting to leave the ce, but was grabbed in an embrace by a pair of burly arms. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t cry now, Scarlett. Crying is not good for your vocal cords. We¡¯ll head home. We¡¯re heading home now¡­ ¡± Linus took one look at the chaotic scene at the cafe before ushering Sophia home. In the car, tears streamed down Sophia¡¯s face even though she made a valiant effort to stop herself from doing so. Crying is not good for my throat. Linus tried tofort her. ¡°It¡¯s alright now. Our family¡¯s darling is the prettiest girl on earth.¡± However, Sophia knew that there was nothing much that could be done to save her face. Both her face and body were badly scarred, so there was no way for her to make a full recovery¡­ She remained silent when they arrived home and hid in her room where she continued to cry while a distressed Linus stayed and apanied her the entire time. There will not be any woman who does not care about her own beauty¡­ He then requested Shae to fill Sophia¡¯s bedroom with soothing incense. It did not take long before Sophia fell asleep with a tear-stained face. Linus then watched her with tender eyes before helping her to wipe the tears away. I will never allow anyone to harm her again! Stepping out of Sophia¡¯s bedroom, his body suddenly grew cold¡­ ¡­ The duo, who had been fighting at the cat cafe, were finally pulled apart from each other. Sarah resembled a little beast as she screamed and cursed. Even though the bodyguard had restrained her, she managed to wrestle and kick the air with her legs. Victoria touched the side of her face, which had been scratched, as she looked into the mirror. Her face was barely recognized. Tossing the mirror aside, she shrieked, ¡°You will get your punishment! Just you wait!¡± When she returned home, she approached Peter and sobbed in pity, pleading her innocence¡ªshe merely wanted to have fun with Sarah, but her face was wed at by his daughter for no apparent reason. A furious Peter then stormed off to the Imperial to seek justice for his mistress. Meanwhile at the Imperial, Sarah anxiously hurried to Linus¡¯ house to apologize the moment she returned from the cafe. When she arrived, only Linus was around as Sophia was asleep. When the incident at the cat cafe was brought up, he merelyughed it off. ¡°It¡¯s alright. Lucile has a very forgiving nature. After all, you are not the one who should apologize.¡± Sarah knew Peter was about toe over and demand an exnation¡ªin his eyes, only the enchantress mattered. She gritted her teeth and said coldly, ¡°I have already faced off with my father, so whatever he is about to do has nothing to do with me! Linus, do whatever you like!¡± The cunning Victoria would not have any choice but to admit that it was her own doing that brought her to that point¡ªno one could help her anymore. What is the Michel Family¡¯s background like? Sarah understood that she was not only Ethan¡¯s wife, but also the mistress of the Winston Family. Thus, she was aware of the influence at y. The Michel Family¡­ Linus simply gave a polite smile and nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± She had also brought the dogs that Sophia and Linus wanted to adopt and dropped them off before leaving. After Sarah left, Carmen then approached and chirped. ¡°Uncle Linus, I heard from Godmother that Lucile is not well. So, I came to dance for her. Our family¡¯s traditional Bear Dance is able to cure all illnesses!¡± She had even brought along her bear suit and was eagerly looking up at Linus. He couldn¡¯t help but pinch those little cheeks and replied, ¡°Lucile is sleeping! You should wait until she wakes up before you perform your dance, okay?¡± ¡°Okay, I was just about to head for my rehearsal,¡± Carmen replied with excitement. ¡°The dance should be better after that.¡± While busying himself at his study, he saw the concentration on her face as she rehearsed her family¡¯s traditional Bear Dance in the living room while waiting for Sophia to wake up so that she could perform the dance for her. ¡­ N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Too many things had happened at Bayside City today¡ªWoody passed away and Cooper was back, but the Mitchell Family seemed reluctant to admit that it was really him and imed that it was a liar. Meanwhile, the West Family had now arrived and was furiously knocking on his door. Four years ago, Ethan became famous when he won the Best Actor Award and they had grown fond of him. Now that he was merely a washed-up actor with nothing to film, they had nothing to fear. On the other hand, Peter felt that Ethan had gone overboard. After all, he was Ethan¡¯s father-inw and did not bother much when he was being ignored. Yet he wants to sleep with my wife? Victoria had once taken a liking to Ethan¡¯s house and expressed her interest to purchase it. Much to her surprise, he immediately refused her request. Does he even have any respect for me as his father-inw at all? Well, let¡¯s settle our dues today! Sarah was also waiting at home for them and her blood boiled with each passing minute. Her face had been badly scratched and as she ced bandages on the wounds, she made up her mind to confront her father today. Once I sever my ties with him, he better note around anymore from then on! Ethan stuck a Band-Aid on her face and berated, ¡°What were you thinking by getting into a fight? You¡¯re not supposed to be doing things like that. It breaks my heart to see you like this¡­¡± As if Sarah had consumed dynamite earlier in the day, she exploded, but her baby face did not look fierce. ¡°I am f*cking fed up with this! The West Family? My *ss! Whatever f*cking happens in the future has nothing to do with me! I f*cking had enough with them for the past four years! Enough is enough!¡± She had done everything that she could, which meant that the West Family really dug their own grave that time! Peter was soon at the door with Victoria, whose face was swollen. Little were they aware that a disaster was awaiting them. Chapter 760 Chapter 760 Mr. West screamed the moment he entered, ¡°You are such a scumbag! You had the nerve to whack your mother into such a state! Get down on your knees now! I won¡¯t let this matter slide easily today!¡± Sarah had actually beaten Victoria into a pulp that time, causing her to be in such a state¡ªand it was something that could be resolved with a property! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. An infuriated Sarah rushed up like a gust of wind and lectured her biological father. ¡°To hell if I will kneel down! Peter, you are here in the nick of time. I¡¯m telling you this here and now¡ªI¡¯m cutting ties with you! We will go our separate ways after this!¡± There were a bunch of rtives from the West Family behind Peter. After learning that he appeared at Sarah¡¯s door to find fault with her after she whacked her stepmother, everyone quickly came to watch and look at the house as well¡ªthe same one that would soon belong to the West Family. The father and daughter crossed swords with each other the moment they met¡ªshe dashed forward to fight her father while Peter did the same thing. ¡°You unfilial daughter! I dare you toe at me! Juste. I¡¯m standing right here!¡± Peter and Sarah used to have at least some affection for each other. However, after his two sons were born in three years, he naturally sided with his younger sons. It also did not help that Victoria¡¯s instigation had made the matter worse, which caused Sarah to be even more insignificant to him. Not only were the betrothal gifts given by Harry, the washed-up celebrity, insufficient, but he even rejected my request to move in here. Does he have any respect for me as his father-inw at all? She struggled like a little beast when Harry grabbed her. ¡°I will hurt you today! There is not even a good person in your entire family! You are plotting against my husband and conspiring to snatch my property and even mypany! In your f*cking dreams!¡± Upon seeing that her husband hade over the hill andcked the power to protect her, but learning that she had managed to attain sess with a gamingpany and luxurious brand, her rtives had coveted a slice of the pie without knowing where they stood! The bunch of people of the West Family tried to be the peacemakers. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Sarah. It¡¯s better to talk less and apologize to your father. He is still your father, so it won¡¯t be nice to make a scene!¡± ¡°Your father merely wants to upgrade to arger and nice house as the West Residence. Why don¡¯t you follow his wish?¡± ¡°This house is big enough to amodate dozens of people from the West Family. It¡¯ll only be a waste if the two of you are living here!¡± ¡°You will bring honor to the West Family if we are able to have such a gorgeous house to proim as the West Residence! You should just sacrifice for us¡­¡± Sarah was beyond furious. They actually have the guts to say those words while scheming for my husband¡¯s house! ¡°Pfft, in your dreams! Only my name and my husband¡¯s name are listed on the property title! I¡¯m making this clear today¡ªfrom today onward, I¡¯ll sever ties with the West Family, so you can all get lost!¡± The bunch of people continued to make noise as they used and pointed fingers at her formitting treason and being unfilial, causing chaos at the scene. Harry watched as the West Family revealed their true colors. He was never able to handle matters like that in the same manner that he usually did in the underworld. I can¡¯t just exterminate her entire family in one night, can I? Therefore, all he could do was to let them be, but they actually turned out to be a malignant tumor. Every single one of them thought that a washed-up celebrity like him would be an easy target, so they continually showed up to scheme for his property and it was exhausting to deal with them. His tall and sturdy build grabbed on Sarah¡¯s cor, which was as effortless as grabbing a cat¡¯s nape, while he tried to coax her. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sarah. Your father is going bankrupt soon. It¡¯s not nice to fight with him now!¡± Bankrupt? The West Family burst intoughter. The West and Edwards Family had joined forces and were now on the crest of the wave as they were considered to be one of the leading upper-ss families in Bayside City. Hence, they were certain that they would not be bankrupt even when it happened to a washed-up celebrity like Harry. ¡°What do you mean, Harry? We are a family, so how can you wish for your father-inw to be bankrupt? That¡¯s an unfilial act!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stop making a scene. You are both father and daughter, so let¡¯s have a seat today and talk things out. This house has great energy and moving in here will surely bring fortune to the descendants of the West Family.¡± Sarah cursed, ¡°F*ck! Other than my brother and myself, whoever with the surname West will die if they dare to enter this house!¡± When her brother learned about the news, he rushed to help her to fight against Peter. After her brother had been framed, he had been at odds with his father. The shares that he held in the West Family were snatched from him before he was driven out. He had to start his business from scratch by relying on the tiny capital that she gave him and managed to persuade his wife and child to return while leading a rather sessful life. Therefore, it was beyond his imagination that after driving him away, the greedy and insatiable West Family intended to plot against Harry, the washed-up celebrity, andy their hands on thest valuable item that he owned! The two groups of people now crossed swords with each other. However, there was arge gap between them as they were held back by those beside them. Victoria¡¯s family members also showed up to pressure Harry into surrendering the property. Plenty of neighbours and paparazzis were outside as well to watch themotion. A rather calm Harry felt thirsty after coaxing his wife and ordered his butler to prepare a ss of water. As he drank the water from the ss that he held in one hand, he used the other hand to grab his enraged yet pretty young wife. This is thest showdown. Let¡¯s enjoy till the end! All the involved parties were present¡ªthe West and Edwards Families, both of whom were coveting his house with brightening eyes. The Imperial had always been hyped up as the ssic of the real estate industry. Everyone was fixated on the house in that area like a fly eyeing a piece of meat. After ncing at his watch and discovering that it was almost time, Harry suddenly raised his voice and addressed everyone at the scene while maintaining his grip on his pretty wife, ¡°Everyone, please check the news now¡ªespecially the financial one. The West Family has gone bankrupt.¡± Bankrupt? Haha. Members of the West and Edwards Families guffawed again. Nevertheless, arge yet orderly wave of phones suddenly rang. Peter¡¯s phone was also ringing and he exhaled before growling, ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯lle for you after answering this call!¡± Sarah replied, ¡°Juste. I¡¯m not afraid of you!¡± Peter, who had a pot belly, profusely perspired after the little amount of exercise he had earlier and answered the call before rudely responding, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I¡¯m busy here!¡± The person on the other side of the phone reported something in an anxious manner while throwing a lot of profanities in those few seconds. Peter could have heard something shocking because he was dumbfounded as he held the phone in his hand. His face seemed to have frozen as itcked motion for a long time. As if Sarah had noticed that something happened, she stopped moving and looked at Peter in curiosity. It seems like something big has happened. The West Family discussed among themselves while the Edwards Family watched from the side. Harry lowered his head and nced at his phone¡ªsomeone had sent him the rted information. This is expectedly¡­ harsh. He then kept his phone and announced, ¡°The West Family has been found to havemited tax evasion. There are serious quality issues with your products and you have plenty ofints from the consumers. Even the act of bribing the rted departments has been exposed. The stock price of the West Family¡¯s business has plummeted. Speaking of which, there was arge fire in the factories owned by the West Family. I wonder why people are so careless, especially in such hot and dry weather. The row of factories were burnt down in a matter of minutes. Everyone from the West Family was rooted to the ground. I-It¡¯s impossible! However, Peter, who seemed to know something, suddenly slumped to the ground. His eyescked life after being dealt with such a huge blow. ¡°Dear, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Victoria caringly supported him. Damn it, could it be that something has happened to the West Family? Harry then spoke to the Edwards Family, who had been watching the entire scene from the side, ¡°The Edwards Family is in a simr situation as well, but you guys are slightly better off¡ªat least you can sustain for a few more days.¡± The members of the Edward Family received plenty of calls as well and all of them had sour expressions too. Sarah seemed to suspect that something was amiss, but all she felt was a sense of relief and she could not resistughing. ¡°Haha! Haha! Serve you right! You finally get a taste of your own medicine! You deserve it!¡± She was d that the West and Edwards Families were defeated¡ªin fact, she felt an immense amount of pleasure that she had vented her frustrations and anger! The show finally came to an end where Harry ordered his men to throw the entire West and Edwards Families out of the ce. Sooner orter, you will have to pay for what you have done! Chapter 761 Chapter 761 Cooper was busy dealing with Woody¡¯s funeral in the hospital and surveying which property of the Mitchell Family that he could control. When he learned of the incident in the pet store, Linus had already handled the whole incident. The West and Edwards Families¡­ Cooper was not familiar with the West Family as it was not an influential family when he left years ago. However, he was acquainted with the Edwards Family, especially the family of those two brothers¡ªSam and Jordan Edwards. Joe was also someone whom he knew well¡ªthe person who raped Annabel and sold Sophia for 80,000. Cooper left the Mitchell Residence with a clenched fist and noticed Carmen singing and dancing in the living room when he returned to Vi No. 2.. Upon seeing his return, she innocently uttered, ¡°Mr. Cooper, Lucile has fallen ill and she¡¯s sleeping. I¡¯m waiting for her to wake up to show her the Bear Dance and she will recover after that.¡± Cooper stroked Carmen¡¯s little head although the tiny bun on her little head was a little pricky. He then went upstairs and silently opened the door of the room to take a peek into the room through the tiny gap. Sophia was asleep in the room and Shae was guarding at the head of the bed. Sophia was sound asleep¡ªthe corner of her lips were curved upstairs and her peaceful expression showed that she seemed to be dreaming about something interesting. His heart melted at the sight, but the next second, his expression turned cold. My daughter was actually called ugly by others. This is unforgivable!Seeing that his daughter was soundly asleep, he did not want to disturb her and quietly closed the door before heading downstairs to the living room where Carmen was still singing and dancing. She was learning the dance moves from the video that was being yed on the television in the living room and imitated it well. He could not help but to sit down and watch her dancing for a while. She was concentrating on her dance moves with rhythm, which showed that she had talent in dancing. After she finished dancing, he could not resist the urge to ask her, ¡°Darling, who taught you how to dance?¡± Carmen skipped toward him as she replied, ¡°The TV taught me.¡± However, she continued with her answer. ¡°Daddy doesn¡¯t want me to learn dancing, but I want to appear on TV! ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ is a TV show that I want to join!¡± ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was a recent yet popr variety show that featured interactions between parent and child. It had been her dream to participate in the variety show together with Michael, but the latter forbade it. Carmen reluctantly gave her favorite yoghurt to Cooper while sharing her ambitions and life ns with him¡ªfirst of all, she wished to make a debut in the entertainment circle and act in movies, participate in variety shows because she wanted to earn plenty of money as a star while winning many awards such as the Flying Apsaras Awards, Hundred Flowers Awards, and Golden Globes Awards. She wished to be the breadwinner of the family and rear dogs and cats so that her father would not need to worry about making a living. However, he suddenly recalled the time when he once told Woody as a young child that he wished to catch an alien and rear it as a pet. Woodyughed at him at that time without saying anything. That incident is almost the same as the current situation¡­ Yet, it is normal for a child to have weird and peculiar dreams. Cooper consoled Carmen, ¡°Be obedient and study well in school. You will achieve your dreams once you¡¯ve graduated from school.¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Since Sophia was sound asleep without any signs of waking up soon, he chatted with Carmen in the living room. Carmen was loquacious¡ªand not shy whatsoever. After sharing her ambitions and aspirations, she started to share about her unrequited love. ¡°Daddy mentioned that Nichs returned home for a blind date to get married and will leave me. I thought that Daddy was lying to me. However, I saw him sneaking out that day to y with Lucile¡¯s Shae. It made me realize that he never liked me. Sigh.¡± With furrowed brows, he contemted for some time before understanding the logic behind her story. So, she thought that the person whom Nichs is going to marry is Shae? This is such a complicated rtionship¡­ She was filled with great worries. ¡°Mr. Cooper, why do I have such a tough life?¡± He remained quiet, but she continued to ask, ¡°Mr. Cooper, will you attend my concert?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡± Cooper was at a loss for words as Carmen¡¯s questions made him feel like they were twopletely different species with no way for them tomunicate. They waited until night time. Sophia was still asleep even after Carmen had dinner at his ce, which meant that the former would not be waking up tonight. Carmen was yawning and wanted to head home, but she was worried about Sophia, who was still ill upstairs. Therefore, she suggested, ¡°Mr. Cooper, I think I will record the Bear Dance for Lucile to watch.¡± Cooper took out his phone and recorded her dance. After that, she said to him, ¡°Mr. Cooper, you must remember to show the video to Lucile. If it doesn¡¯t work after you y it once, let her watch it again.¡± He nodded as he watched the video of Carmen¡¯s graceful dance. Once it was recorded, he tapped on the camera icon on the phone. As a loving grandfather, he wanted to take a photo with her to use it as his phone screensaver. When he took out his phone and focused the lens on Carmen, she immediately covered her face and asked, ¡°Mr. Cooper, have you switched on the beauty mode?¡± Cooper fell silent as he looked at his phone, which was a high-end business phone manufactured by Michel Group. With its powerful attribute with a military configuration, it could still function normally in extreme environments and even block bullets. It could also be imed as the world¡¯s most powerful phone in terms of its functionality on top of having a top-notch quality for its camera lens. However, it did not contain a beauty mode. Carmen was dissatisfied with Cooper¡¯s phone thatcked a beauty mode. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Nichs to take a photo for us then.¡± Nichs had constantly been upgraded throughout the years¡ªit was periodically sent to Michel Group¡¯s branch for maintenance and to upgrade its functions. For instance, it now has the ability to take photos with beauty mode. Click! After they posed, Nichs took several photos of them together. Many camera filters were used¡ª auto-focus, ovey filters, beauty mode and slimming effects were used¡ª before dozens of warm photos were printed and dispensed from Nichs¡¯s mouth secondster. Cooper took a photo and looked at it¡ªin the photo, his lips were red and his teeth were white, as if he was decades younger, and he even had a pair of cat¡¯s ears. Maybe this is the legendary beauty effect. Hmmm, looks like I need to buy a phone with a beauty mode as soon as possible. Carrying the dozens of photos in her hands, Carmen picked the ugliest photo and gave it to him. ¡°Here, this is for you to keep as a souvenir.¡± She then kept the rest of the photos in a hidden drawer located in Nichs¡¯s belly. Feeling curious about the hidden drawer, Cooper reached his hand inside and fished out plenty of candies, hair pins, and a stack of photos. As expected, those were photos of Carmen taken by Nichs. She really loved to have her photos taken all the time, no matter where she was¡ªshe had photos of herself eating, sleeping, and ying. As she was skillful in locating her good angles, she looked pretty in all her photos. Carmen spread out all of the photos on the couch and introduced them, one by one, to Cooper. ¡°This photo was taken during my performancest year whereas this was taken together with Judgey. This one here is Daddy and I.¡± Chatting with her and listening to her childish voice, he felt that his ears were filled with honey¡ªit was such a bliss. This is my granddaughter! When Linus returned, he found Cooper and Carmen happily taking selfies in the living room and there was arge stack of photos disyed there. He had never seen Cooper in such a casual and delightful mood. Cooper was always cold and distant, but seemed different today; perhaps it was because he really adored Carmen, but she was also a pleasant and likeable child herself. The moment Linus arrived home, the selfie group of two turned into one of three. All of a sudden, the housekeeping robot reported, ¡°There is a guest at the door.¡± Linus looked at the security camera and found a man with white hair standing at the door while pressing the doorbell. Chapter 762 Chapter 762 ¡°Daddy¡¯s here!¡± Carmen eximed in joy and quickly instructed Nichs to pack her photos and prepare to head home. On the other hand, Linus turned to Cooper. It was usually Michael¡¯s nanny who came to pick Carmen up, but he came instead. ¡°Let me talk to him, ¡± Cooper replied and personally went to answer the door. The door swung open. Outside was Michael, who finally saw the face that once filled his mind all day long¡ªone that only existed in his memories. However, the sight of Cooper now failed to cause any ripples in his heart. Nobody knew the despair Michael felt when he failed to contact Cooper at a time when he desperately needed to get hold of Sophia¡¯s father to join forces to save her. After all, they were the mysterious Michel Family¡ªthe legendary Northern Europe Vampires. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Nobody knew where theirir was up until now. If they did not wish for anyone to search for them, nobody would be able to do so. Nevertheless, all of those were a thing in the past as if the ending had been predetermined. From the incident when Sam exposed the secret until the end when they brushed past each other multiple times, all of those only served to prove that Sophia was destined not to meet her biological father in person. Michael¡¯s chica had endured repeated sufferings in the world for his sake and now, he finally found her father on her behalf. Her father was currently standing in front of him, but¡­ she would not be able to see him anymore. At that moment, Michael¡¯s eyes were filled with sorrow and destion. Cooper was also looking at him while Michael nced at the former. His first impression of Michael was that he looked old. The second impression was that Michael looked even older than him. The third impression was that Michael was not a good match for his one and only darling. ¡°Daddy!¡± Carmen¡¯s crisp voice interrupted the brief eye contact that the two men shared. Upon seeing Carmen, Michael forced a smile and suppressed the sorrow in his eyes. He then held her little hand with a grin. ¡°Good girl, let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Yay!¡± She dly waved her hand at Cooper. ¡°Goodbye, Mr. Cooper, I¡¯m going home with Daddy!¡± Cooper waved goodbye to her as well. Michael uttered, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, thank you for taking care of Carmen.¡± Without replying, Cooper watched as the father and daughter headed toward Vi No. 8. Michael seemed very old¡ªhe looked more like her grandfather than her father. Upon looking at Michael¡¯s back view, Linus sighed. His impression of Michael was that he was a handsome actor, but now¡­ The next day, as soon as Sophia woke up, she saw Nichs projecting the video of Carmen¡¯s dance on the screen for her to watch. Carmen looked meek yet lively in the video, making her look like an absolutely adorable child when she sang and danced. Upon looking at her, a smile appeared on Sophia¡¯s face and the gloom in her heart was washed away. Ugly¡­ that¡¯s right, I look hideous now. I can never escape this, so I guess this is my fate. Even if she remained ugly for the rest of her life, she was mentally prepared to let things be. At least I have a father and an uncle who loves me¡ªthat is more important than my beauty. Sophia noticed that she used to live under Quinton¡¯s protection and now that she was in Cooper¡¯s sanctuary, her ability to protect herself was weakened. It seems like this is not who I was in the past. Although she now had her father¡¯s love, she could not live under Cooper¡¯s watch for the rest of her life. She needed to have her own life and there would be times when she would be in ces that were away from his watch. By then, who woulde to protect her? Cooper came the moment he found that she was awake. ¡°Sophia, how do you feel today?¡± Sophia wore a forceful smile and nodded. Upon looking at Sophia, Cooper felt overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He knew that in fact, she was far stronger than he imagined. The repeated blows and injuries that she sustained made her stronger. Even if she had forgotten everything, she still had her strength within her. Nheless, anyone who hurt his daughter would have to pay a heavy price! Soon, it was time to attend Woody¡¯s funeral. As Cooper was his son, he had to show up and bring his daughter along. The funeral was held in a cemetery somewhere outside the city. Apart from the entire Mitchell Family turning up, people from all walks of life were also in attendance. It was the first time that Sophia knew that she had a grandfather, but unfortunately never had the opportunity to meet him. The moment Cooper and Sophia arrived at Woody¡¯s funeral, almost everyone present at the scene turned to look at them. She heard the quiet chatters among those who surrounded them everywhere she went. ¡°That¡¯s really Cooper! Isn¡¯t he dead for close to twenty years? How did he suddenly pop up out of nowhere?¡± ¡°Haha, Cooper? He¡¯s just a fake, rushing to pretend to be a filial son so that he can inherit the Old Master¡¯s assets!¡± ¡°Look, he even brought his daughter!¡± Cooper was dressed up in ck and impassive, as if he was covered in a thick ice that was the length of ten thousand miles. The girl next to him had blond hair and blue eyes. With a thick mask covering her face, she wore a ck bowler hat with a draping ck veil that covered her face. However, her pair of blue eyes were not the only thing visible under the translucent veil. Even her chappedplexion that spread across half of her face could also be seen. Step by step, Sophia followed Cooper toward Woody¡¯s grave where she watched her grandfather being buried. As today was Woody¡¯s funeral, many people from various industries had shown up, crowding the cemetery. Among the crowd was a father dressed in ck carrying his daughter in his arms. Nobody noticed Michael showing up at the hectic funeral with his white hair and a mask. As Woody was Sophia¡¯s grandfather, Michael needed to attend the funeral, no matter what. Since the scene was packed like sardines, Michael could not spot where Cooper was as he sat in the corner. His expression revealed his indifference as he looked at the youngdy next to Cooper. Is it my imagination? I somehow feel that the girl closely resembles Sophia. Perhaps it¡¯s because they are both Cooper¡¯s daughters¡­ Carmen suddenly asked, ¡°Daddy, why is my forefather sleeping in that box?¡± Michael replied, ¡°He is bing a star in the sky.¡± She then asked, ¡°Will he see Mommy when he is up there?¡± The sunsses he wore masked all of his emotions, but he choked when he answered. ¡°Yes.¡± Carmen pressed on. ¡°Will I meet him in the future?¡± He paused for a moment before responding, ¡°He will turn into a star and watch over you¡ªjust like how Mommy does. From now on, you will be able to see him when you raise your head.¡± Carmen then leaned her head on Michael¡¯s shoulder in confusion and watched everything that was happening¡­ In the blink of an eye, two weeks flew past after the funeral. Cooper also started to officially take care of the Mitchell Family¡¯s properties that he inherited. Sophia, who had also undergone the surgery to remove her scars, was also recuperating at home. Medicine had been applied on her face as it was wrapped with gauze. A doctor woulde to change her medication every few days. As she did not dare to leave the house, Carmen, who had yet to enroll in kindergarten, would swing by on a daily basis to y with her. Judge would also obedientlye over every day to bring Carmen to y on time while visiting its puppies at the same time. It made a mental calction¡ªit had helped Sophia to take care of her child, but she had returned the favor by taking care of its two babies. This is such a good deal. Sophia¡¯s entire face was wrapped under the gauze, which made her look like a mummy¡ªit only revealed her pair of eyes to aid her vision, her mouth for her to eat, and her nostrils to breathe. The first stage was to lighten the scars on her face and neck before moving onto the next stage, which would be carried out after she made a full recovery. It would be a long process, so they had expected to stay in Bayside City for a long time. Cooper seemed to be rather busytely, but he would still spend half a day at home to apany Sophia. She had also fallen in love with local Cethosian dramas, which illustrated the clich¨¦ stories of the rtionship between a mother-inw, her daughter-inw, and the ingrate son as well as the couple¡¯s extra-marital affairs. Chapter 763 Chapter 763 The kinds of dramas that she watched were ¡®Temptations of Home¡¯, ¡®The Woman Who Married Tom Davis¡¯ and ¡®Don¡¯t Cry, Stepmother¡¯. Although the titles were buzzwords, she still watched them with relish. Those dramas, which were broadcasted in high-definition, were from the DVDs that Carmen brought from her home to lend to Sophia. It had been produced many years ago, which exined why the videos obtained from online sources and its footages were of an extremely poor quality¡ªto the point where the alphabets were blurry. In contrast, the DVDs in Carmen¡¯s house were well-kept. The DVDs were in an outdated format and required the use of a DVD yer to y the videos. Therefore, Cooper specifically searched for a DVD yer and connected it to the projector so that Sophia could watch it through a home theater system in their living room. The DVDs could basically be referred to as antiques since each one only contained one episode. Those types of DVD were practically obsolete in the market, so it was unexpected that Carmen would have some well-kept ones in her house, let alone that sort of shows. Carmen would bring a few episodes for Sophia on her daily visits and carefully kept it away at home. Once Sophia had watched them, Carmen would bring another set of episodes the next day. When Sophia asked Carmen who the owner of the collections was, thetter replied, ¡°These are mommy¡¯s babies!¡± Babies¡­ Speaking of which, isn¡¯t her father one half of the gay couple? She actually has a mother? Isn¡¯t that a fraudulent marriage? ¡°Where is your mommy? Why haven¡¯t I seen hering over to y?¡± After she had undergone vocal cord surgery, she had made a full recovery and her voice was much better than before. However, traces and charms of her old self would still be noticeable to those who listened to her carefully. Carmen answered, ¡°Daddy said that Mommy is a fairy. Fairies and mortals cannot fall in love with each other, so she has gone to heaven to be a fairy and will return in a few years.¡± She even proudly added. ¡°Mommy turns into a star every night to secretly visit me.¡± She turns into a star¡­ Sophia seemed to have a sudden realization. She¡¯s an abandoned child, so she doesn¡¯t have a mother¡­ This is such a beautiful white lie¡­ She involuntarily stroked Carmen¡¯s head as she pulled the young child into her arms. ¡°Darling, your mommy must be watching over you from the sky. You must listen to your daddy.¡± Carmen brought Sophia a few DVDs every day, but that meant thetter could only watch three episodes daily. The drama would always stop at the most exciting part, which would leave her on edge. On top of that, Carmen was still young, so she often brought the wrong DVD, which made Sophia even more anxious. She took the opportunity and asked, ¡°Carmen, can you bring the whole set to me? I¡¯ll make a copy before returning them to you.¡± Carmen agreed and returned home to carry an entire set of DVDs over to Sophia. As those clich¨¦ dramas usually had dozens of episodes, an entire set of DVDs could fill up arge box. Fortunately, Nichs came with the function to move things after an upgrade and was able to help her to carry the box. When the DVDs arrived, Cooper slowly copied its contents into theputer. He initially refused to do so when he saw the drama titles. Since those DVDS were manufactured years ago, it would blur when it was projected onto their home theatre¡ªeven in high definition. Therefore, he took the initiative to repair and restore them, attempting to maximize the rity of those videos. When it involved Sophia, Cooper would treat it seriously, no matter how insignificant the matter was. With his utmost seriousness, he tried his best to repair those old videos that had been kept for many years. Tsk, Michael¡¯s taste is damn vulgar! As expected, he is not a good match for my daughter! A man with a poor rating and negative score! He should just get lost! Carmen was nervously watching Cooper from the side. Whenever he finished copying a DVD, she would quickly take it back and carefully keep them in the box. She even uttered, ¡°Mr. Cooper, you need to be careful. These are Mommy¡¯s favourite DVDs! She would be saddened if it breaks! If she is sad, she will not return from the heavens!¡± He was stunned by her words. It turns out that these are Sophia¡¯s taste. Hmm, elegance and vulgarity have traits to be admired by everyone. Great vulgarity is the same as great elegance! This is expected from my daughter¡ªshe¡¯s really unique! As Sophia watched him sitting in front of theputer to slowly repair the video quality of the DVDs, she felt curious. ¡°Dad, please let me try!¡± After watching for a while, she felt that she more or less understood how it worked, so she was tempted to give it a shot herself. As a matter of fact, it was not particrly difficult since she only needed to use the software to repair the videos. Cooper allowed her to take his seat so that she could sit down and repair the quality on her own while he stood beside her to teach. As expected from my daughter¡ªshe¡¯s so intelligent that she can learn anything quickly. Nichs unexpectedly entered the room to notify them that they had a guest after they had repaired a few episodes. Cooper nced at the surveince tape and noticed that Michael was standing at their door. Why is Michael here again? He left Sophia to continue learning on her own before he went to open the door. The moment he opened the door, Michael asked with a deadpan expression, ¡°My DVDs are here with you, right?¡± It turned out that he came for his DVDs. Since they were done with copying the DVDs, Cooper returned them to him. Michael then returned home while carrying a box of DVDs in his arms. It so happened that it was sunset, so it was time for Carmen to return home as well. After she said goodbye to Cooper, she returned home with Michael. While they were enroute home, the father and daughter did not speak to each other. As Michael wore a cold expression, Carmen knew that her father was mad and did not dare to say a word. Upon returning to Vi No. 8, Michael entered the study that no one had used for a long time before cing the box of DVDs into the cab. Inside, there were many treasured DVDs and CDs as well as small essories, technical books,ic books, novels and so on¡ªeverything was ced in an organized manner. After storing the DVDs, he sat in front of the study table and looked at the familiar items¡ªbench, bookcase, andputer. Sophia¡¯sputer, phone and tablet were ced on the desk and the room was cleaned on a daily basis. Sticky notes with her short-term goals written on them were glued on her desktop¡¯s monitor. When he saw that one of the notes¡ªwith the goal ¡®regain my figure in one month afterbor for a wedding photoshoot¡¯¡ªwritten on it, fell andnded on the table, he quietly used glue to stick it back and intentionally at the same angle as before. Everything seemed like it was yesterday. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. The room was maintained in the same way as she had left it back then, as if weing her home at any time. Michael woulde in to sit for a while every day to feel how it would have been to have her by his side. It was already three years¡ªshe had left for three years. Sophia¡¯s name was still registered in Michael¡¯s household registry¡ªit had not been removed yet, so it meant that he would not be able to enter into another marriage. It was as if he was waiting for her to return¡­ He sat in the study for a long time. When Carmen came to take a look many times, he finally called her in. ¡°Carmen,e to Daddy.¡± She silently approached him and seemed guilty as she pouted. Without ming her, he took her into his arms instead. Pointing at the orderly arranged book rack, he adjured in a serious yet earnest manner, ¡°Carmen, these are Mommy¡¯s babies. Don¡¯t take them out and show it to others in the future, okay? If she returns someday and finds that her stuff is missing, she will be upset.¡± Carmen seemed confused, but she nodded. Caressing her little head, Michael smiled and whispered, ¡°Darling¡­ That is my Carmen. You are such a good girl¡­¡± Even as he beamed, there were tears in his eyes. Chapter 764 Chapter 764 Carmen used to steal three episodes each day. Therefore, when she stole the whole box at once, Michael immediately discovered her action. She was afraid that her mother would be upset when she returned one day as well. Although Michael still allowed her to head to Sophia¡¯s house to have fun, he forbade her from bringing anything over there. Luckily, Sophia had an amazing father as he was able to find high-definition sources of the videos that she loved almost instantly. As for those videos that he really could not search, he would repair them based on the existing resources. As expected, my father is the best person in the world. Today, Sean arrived in the morning with Carmen and Stanley in tow. ¡°Uncle Cooper, we are really sorry. What happened that day was really unintentional! We didn¡¯t know that Lucile is your daughter¡­¡± Sean almost kneeled before Cooper. He eventually learned from hisplicatedwork that Lucile, whom Stanley had a blind date with that day, was Cooper¡¯s daughter. Upon knowing that Sophia was being fooled on her first blind date, Cooper¡¯s expression darkened. Stanley, who was at one side, did not dare to say a word¡ªhe only had the courage to intermittently raise his head and nce at Cooper. Oh my God! He¡¯s really Cooper Mitchell! Cooper, who has been dead for dozens of years, is actually back! His looks seemed not to have changed much, but he still retained his bone-chilling temperament, which was more intimidating than Sophia¡¯s. This is the person who caused the Edwards and West Family to be bankrupt overnight. I¡¯m screwed. Fortunately, Sean was the peacemaker and on top of that, Cooper still valued his rtionship with the Fletcher Family, so he could not cause any trouble for Stanley. Cooper had always known that Stanley became sessful all those years. He had great potential and since Cooper had practically watched him grow up, he should have been a reliable person. That was why Cooper harbored the intention to allow his daughter to try and develop a rtionship with Stanley, but it was unexpected that the young man was inconsiderate. Carmen had gone upstairs on her own to look for Sopha while Judge quickly followed behind her. Only three people were left in the living room to chat with each other. As they had not seen one another for many years, there was a lot to talk about, but could not avoid discussing Sophia. Upon hearing her name being mentioned, Stanley immediately fell silent. He ventured together with Michael across the entire world, only to discover that¡­ ¡°Uncle Cooper¡­ Sophia, she¡­¡± He had a lump in his throat when he talked about Sophia. He did not participate in the entire operation back then, but he had been waiting for updates in the country instead. However, all of the waiting only resulted in him receiving the news that she was dead. Before Cooper managed to say anything, Shae came to report, ¡°Another guest has arrived!¡± It was a man who was about the same as Cooper this time, creating the impression that time and life experiences barely left any trace on him as he arrived in hasty footsteps. Upon entering the door and seeing the man sitting in the living room, a stunned Cooper was rooted to the ground. It was Cooper who recognized him¡ªhe stood up and greeted, ¡°Andrea, you are back.¡± The person who came was Sam! ¡°C-Coop¡­¡± Sam felt that he was in a dream. Only when Cooper called that name did Sam regain his senses and strode toward him. He was based abroad, so he was particrly not familiar with the matters back home. When he returned last night, someone had informed him before he could arrive home that Cooper was back and immediately rushed over at the break of dawn. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Corrado tagged along as well and started to sniff around the moment he entered the house before the scent led him upstairs to look for Sophia. The few people in the living room were engrossed in their conversation. Upon seeing that Cooper was alive, Sam was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He¡¯s back, but Sophia¡¯s dead¡­ If I hadn¡¯t revealed the secret, Sophia would have been safely born, Annabel would not have passed away and the father and daughter would not have been separated by death¡­ A noise was suddenly heard from outside as they talked with each other. Meanwhile, on the first floor, Sophia wore the clothes that she wanted to wear today. They were headed to the hospitalter for her bandage to be removed and she would be able to see how much her face had recovered too. To Sophia, it was a big day and she was ted that she barely sleptst night. Just when she was about to head downstairs after a change of clothes, she saw Carmen and Judge coming upstairs. ¡°Lucile, I¡¯m here to visit you again.¡± Judge passionately pounced on her and attempted to give Sophia a sloppy kiss, but the quick-eyed and deft Linus carried the dog away. ¡°Carmen, I¡¯m going to the hospital today, so I can¡¯t y with you. You¡¯ll have to y alone,¡± Sophia caressed Carmen¡¯s chubby cheeks as she gently uttered. Carmen meekly replied, ¡°Lucile, leave without worries. I¡¯ll y with my doggy then.¡± As she spoke, arge ck dog pushed the door open with its nose and entered the room. Sophia instantaneously recognized who it was. ¡°Corrado, it¡¯s you! Why are you here?¡± Isn¡¯t this the ck dog whom I saw some time ago at the Crimson House? Why is he at our house so early in the morning? Carmen recognized Corrado as well. When she saw him dashing toward them, she quickly stood in front of Sophia to protect thetter while fixing her gaze on therge, ck dog. ¡°Doggy bites. Lucile, don¡¯t be scared. I¡¯ll protect you!¡± Upon looking at the tiny figure standing in front of her as she attempted to block the dog, Sophia felt warmth in her heart. She¡¯s such a brave child. She caught Corrado with one hand. Corrado, who was not as enthusiastic as Judge, sat quietly beside her the moment he entered the room. She petted his head and said, ¡°Look, doggy doesn¡¯t bite.¡± Carmen hid beside her as she was a little scared and replied, ¡°Daddy says that Corrady bites! He forbids me from ying with Corrady.¡± Sophia could not resist the urge to embrace the young child in her arms. ¡°Darling, I¡¯m older than you. I¡¯ll always protect you!¡± she coaxed gently. She is such a gentle little baby. If I have a darling like her, that would be lovely¡­ The initial n was to visit the hospital after taking breakfast, but since Linus informed her that Cooper had a few visitors and they would only depart slightlyter, she stayed in her room to y with Carmen. They put on little shoes for Judge and a little bib on Corrado. It was especially noisy in their housing area today. Sophia looked out of the window and saw many people blocking the door of Vi No. 6, which was Sarah¡¯s house. One of them was thedy who called her ugly half a month ago. She had lost the arrogant and intractable attitude that she had 2 weeks ago; she now looked like a lowly dog as she bawled and shouted while knocking on the door of Vi No. 6¡ªher cries filled with despair and helplessness. However, no matter how desperate that woman¡¯s tears were, Sophia would never pity her. Everything that happened to her was a product of her own doing! Thud! She shut the window to prevent the sound from disturbing her peace. At the door of Vi No. 6, Victoria and Peter¡ªtogether with the rtives of the Edwards and West Families¡ªcried and yelled in front of the entrance. In just one night, the West Family went bankrupt and so did their inw, the Edwards Family. Of course, the current Edwards Family was not the Edwards Family. The Edwards Family of the Four Great Families in Bayside City was known as the main Edwards Family. Victoria¡¯s family, on the other hand, was merely an insignificant lineage of the Edwards Family, which could only be recognized as the minor Edwards Family. Although the West Family and minor Edwards Family were not as illustrious as the main Edwards Family, they were still wealthy families. It was like a nightmare when the two families were destroyed overnight¡ª their stock price plummeted, factories were burnt down, their senior executives resigned, interruption in cash flow, and their senior managers were caught by the authorities. Chapter 765 Chapter 765 The West Family had built their family business from scratch¡ªit had not been more than a dozen years that they led their luxurious lives and now had to be as poor as they once were. To them, it would be a fatal blow. However, what terrified them was the fact that they did not know who was behind their bankruptcy. In the blink of an eye, a hand emerged from the shadows and silently pushed them into despair. Using all of their connections, they tried to find out who the person was, but to no avail. One could only imagine how powerful the person in the shadows was. Only then did the West and Edwards Families realize that they really messed with someone whom they were not supposed to. They did not even know who they had offended even after reflecting on their actions. However, they suddenly recalled that Harry seemed to have mentioned something. Believing that he could know something, they hurried to his house to ask him. ¡°My dear son-inw,e out now! Only you can save the West Family. Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡± Peter anxiously banged on the door, but he did not receive any response. He knew that Harry was at home, so thetter must have known that they were at the door to beg for his help. After all, without the owner¡¯s permission, that group of people would not have been granted entry into the housing area. Victoria was flustered as well. If the Edwards Family fell, she would still have her family. Now, even her own family had fallen¡ªshe lost everything in two weeks. Sarah and Harry would have known who the person behind the chaos was, but they refused to open the door! They initially came to ask for help, but when the upants inside refused to open the door, their begs turned into yells and screaming in front of the door. They were so loud that the entire housing area could hear them. Victoria and the Edwards Family¡¯s bunch of middle-aged women blocked the door and cursed like shrews, ¡°Sarah, are you partnering up with someone else to frame us? You b*tch, you should suffer a tormented death!¡± ¡°Come out now! You even harmed your father! Are you even a human?¡± ¡°It would have been better for the West Family to rear a dog than to raise you!¡± ¡°B*tch,e out now!¡± After rebuking for half a day, Sarah poked her head out from the second floor window and viciously cursed, ¡°F*ck you!¡± Then, she mmed the window shut, refusing to appear no matter how loud they scolded her. Harry, who knew that they were here, had intentionally allowed them into the housing area. Nevertheless, after they arrived at the door, he refused to show up. The reason he allowed them to enter was not because he intended to meet them¡ªit was for someone else to watch. At that moment, a stout, greasy middle-aged man blended into the crowd and sneaked in. After he managed to enter the housing area, he stood at the door of Vi No. 8 while snooping around in suspicion instead of following the rest of the entourage to curse at the door of Vi No. 6. It¡¯s Vi No. 8¡ª the property in the Imperial that even the riches of the Bayside City would die for, Vi No. 8! It would be amazing if I get to stay in it for a day! Unfortunately, the owner of Vi No. 8, Taylor and Sophia, had passed away years ago. If he remembered it correctly, the property was bequeathed to a kid¡ªTaylor¡¯s son. Taylor¡¯s rtives all passed away and it seemed like there were no other surviving rtives. After his passing, no one knew who would be living in Vi No. 8 and the beneficiary¡ªa child¡ªwas still a minor who had no power to make any decisions. As Taylor¡¯s father-inw, Joe was itching to take action as he had been coveting Vi No. 8. He heard that after Taylor¡¯s passing, it seemed that the house was temporarily ced under Harry¡¯s care. However, under thew, as his father-inw, he had the right to inherit the property. During the normal days, hecked the opportunity to enter the housing area. Today, he was able to sneak in with the Edwards Family¡¯s troop with the intention to check the condition of Vi No. 8. After knocking on the door of Vi No. 8, a man with white hair and a mask came out before casting a cold nce at the suspicious Joe. ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Joe grinned while replying, ¡°I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s father-inw and this is my daughter¡¯s house. I¡¯m here to c-c- check out¡ª¡± As he spoke, his fat figure tried to squeeze in, but the man inside came out before thetter managed to do so. Bang! The vi¡¯s owner then shut the iron door outside. The smart door lock only recognized fingerprints and key cards, which caused Joe to be stuck¡ªhe was unable to enter even if he wanted to; he would be locked outside even if his eyes burned a hole in it. The man came out to walk a pair of dogs on leashes, locking Joe outside the house. Joe was furious. ¡°Who are you? I¡¯m here to look for my son-inw. Who are you to lock me outside! Y- You, stand right there!¡± Nheless, the man, who had no intention to answer him, left with his dogs. Michael initially prepared to stay at home for the whole day to apany Carmen, but to his surprise, she sneaked out after taking her breakfast and seemed to have gone to Cooper¡¯s house to y. Therefore, Michael came out to walk the dogs and incidentally took Carmen out to have some fun. Upon seeing that the man with white hair had walked away, Joe stood at the door and scolded for a while. When he noticed that he was not getting any attention from anyone, he leaned closer to the door to study it, attempting to enter the vi. However, no matter how hard he knocked on the door, nobody else came to answer him. The housing area had been noisy and rowdy since early in the morning, disturbing the neighbors and causing them toe out to have a look. In Vi No. 2, Cooper rose to his full height and addressed the crowd, ¡°I have some business to attend to today. Let¡¯s chat again some other day.¡± Since he returned, it would not be difficult to get hold of him. The few people then stood up and prepared to leave, nning to pay a visit again some other day. Cooper suddenly uttered, ¡°Since all of you are here, I would like to introduce my daughter to you.¡± The news that he had a daughter was widely spread in the Mitchell Family as she even appeared at Woody¡¯s funeral. Rumors imed that she was extremely hideous, so she only met people with her mask on. As everyone was curious about his daughter, they turned their gaze toward the end of the spiral staircase. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. ¡°Dad, are we leaving now?¡± A pleasant voice was heard, attracting everyone¡¯s gaze to her. The voice was extremely simr to Sophia¡¯s, but it seemed to have sounded a little different¡ªperhaps it was because they were biological sisters. Cooper gently replied, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Sophia immediately went to get her purse. A whileter, everyone saw a girl slowly walking down the spiral staircase in her camel-colored wool coat. She was quite slim with medium height. Carrying a Chanel¡¯s handbag from the recent winter collection, she walked briskly toward the crowd. She had dazzling gold hair cascading over her shoulder, but her face was wrapped with bandage and only revealed her eyes. As expected, she was Lucile¡ªthe person whom Stanley met during the blind date. All he had in his mind at that time during the blind date was to escape, so he did not really take a close look at her. When he met her again today, he found that she was indeed Cooper¡¯s daughter, Sophia¡¯s half-sister from a different mother. She resembled Sophia in her demeanour and gait. Upon looking at the figure, Stanley sank into deep thoughts. As Sophia did not expect to see the visitors in the living room, she blinked at them with a hint of shyness, especially when she spotted Carmen¡¯s pair of fathers and even seemed to feel a little awkward. Cooper introduced them to her one by one. ¡°This is your cousin, Sean. This is Stanley, the person whom you had a blind date with. This is my childhood friend, Sam.¡± Upon looking at the few people, she held out her hand and greeted, ¡°Hello.¡± As she forgot to wear gloves, her hand was full of scars that most people would feel unbearable to look at. She had no choice but to awkwardly use her left hand to shake hands with them while subconsciously hiding her right hand under her sleeve. Of course, the few people had noticed her injured hand, but did not ask any questions. Suddenly, Carmen dashed out from behind Sophia and hugged Stanley¡¯s leg. ¡°Stan, hugs!¡± Stan? Not ¡®daddy¡¯? Chapter 766 Chapter 766 Upon seeing the scene before her, Sophia frowned. In embarrassment, Stanley hugged Carmen with an awkward smile. ¡°Hehe¡­ hehe¡­ This is my uncle¡¯s daughter.¡± Sean felt embarrassed as well when Cooper exined the situation with a long face. Sophia was stunned when she was told about the truth. Carmen is actually not their daughter which they picked up from the rubbish bin! Although they had cleared up the misunderstanding, the image of Stanley and Sean as a gay couple had left a deep impression on her. Of course, her blind date with Stanley would never progress further. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Cooper said to Sophia. Since the host would be leaving soon, it would be inconvenient for the guests to stay. Cooper was back, so there would be more chances for them to meet again anyway. Upon looking at Cooper¡¯s daughter, who was treasured by him, Sean had a lump in his throat. If only Sophia is still alive¡­ On the other hand, Stanley kept staring at Lucile when he noticed that Judge and Corrado obediently followed her as if they had known her for a long time. ¡°Hmm, these dogs are acting weird¡­¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Corrado, who had always been cold toward people, was never amiable to anyone. It was the first time today that he became close to someone whom he met for the first time. Linus¡¯ car was already parked outside as the group of people exited the house. When Linus saw Stanley and Sean leaving with Carmen, he finally poked his head out from the driver¡¯s seat and greeted, ¡°Long time no see.¡± Upon noticing Linus, Stanley proudly turned his head away while Sean returned the greeting. Linus had once partnered with Phantom Wolf. Years ago, when Michael tried to seek Linus¡¯ cooperation to save Sophia, he was unable to contact thetter. Stanley had suspected that Linus intentionally did that¡ªup until now. If they had been able to contact Linus at that time, perhaps they would have been able to find Cooper. Cooper would have been able to meet his daughter, Sophia, and she would not¡­ Knowing about Stanley¡¯s resentment toward him, Linus did not press further. When they exited their house, they saw the Edwards and West Families making a scene outside¡ªthey bawled, scolded and begged for forgiveness. However, if Sarah and Harry continued to refuse toe out, the situation could escte even further. As the 9th Old Master Edwards, Sam had long known about the incident that involved the West and minor Edwards Families. Although he did not know what happened in the middle, all he knew was that Cooper took action. Since it was Cooper, he must have had his reasons for doing so. Although Sam did not ask or intervene, as the 9th Old Master Edwards, he needed to step forward and take a look at themotion. Upon seeing Sam, someone from the minor Edwards Family, who had gone bankrupt, swarmed around him as if they saw their savior. Sophia knew what themotion was all about¡ªshe had known earlier that Cooper attacked the Edwards and West Families during that period of time, but the face that was hidden underneath the bandage was cold and indifferent. ¡°Darling, let¡¯s go,¡± Cooper reminded again. However, she suddenly answered, ¡°Dad, I would like to watch themotion.¡± Upon looking at her, he had a feeling that his obedient child was different from the child she had been a few days ago. Yet, he had no choice but to apany her to watch the show. They then headed in the direction of Vi No. 6. Sean and Stanley quickly followed behind them to see what all the fuss was about. Meanwhile, Michael, who was outside walking the dog and looking for his daughter, immediately spotted Stanley, who carried Carmen in his arms. A smile instantly appeared on Michael¡¯s cold face. ¡°Daddy!¡± Carmen called out to him in her crisp voice. Stanley then put her down before she dashed toward Michael. Her voice attracted Sophia¡¯s attention. Her gaze followed Carmen andnded on the man with white hair. The man was wearing a mask and the pale color of his hair reflected his extreme sorrow. Upon hearing Carmen¡¯s voice, he squatted with gentle eyes as he looked at her. Happiness filled his eyes when he watched his daughter pouncing at him like a little butterfly, which resembled Cooper¡¯s happiness when he looked at Sophia. This must be Carmen¡¯s father¡­ He doesn¡¯t seem old. I wonder what sort of suffering he has endured to have caused his hair to turn white. After her gaze was attracted by the man with white hair, she subconsciously slowed down in her pace and felt a sudden inexplicable grief growing within her. ¡°Darling, where did you go and y?¡± Michael¡¯s voice was especially gentle. Upon hearing his voice, Sophia suddenly came to a stop. That voice sounds extremely familiar¡ªas if I have heard it in my dreams or from my past life. Carmen turned her head to look at Sophia while replying in a sweet voice, ¡°I went to y with Lucile. We wore clothes for Judge together and Corrado tried to bite her, but I bravely protected her!¡± She sounded particrly proud and excited. As Michael raised his head, he saw Judge¡¯s awkward gait as he wore two pairs of tiny shoes on his feet. Sam and his dog were there as well. Before he managed to notice the rest, the two dogs that he was walking suddenly dashed in a certain direction while struggling in excitement. The moment he released the leashes, the two dogs raced toward that direction. It was March and the sun had finally peaked from the clouds. Michael raised his eyes and the dazzling sun momentarily blinded him. When the darkness dispersed, he saw a youngdy gently squatting under the brilliant sunlight. He could not see her face, but her figure was stunning in such a way that it was enchanting. ¡°Bubbles, you are a girl. You need to be more reserved!¡± He watched as thedy stooped down to pet Bubbles, the poodle. Her voice was tender to its core. The voice pierced through his eardrums, which made him feel as if some solid ice had been smashed into pieces. Warm sunlight finally reached the most tender area, buried deep within his frozen heart. Some past memories suddenly be incredibly vivid at that moment. ¡°Hubby, Bubbles is a girl. You need to treat her gentler!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be deceived by her strong appearance. She is a girl!¡± ¡­ Thump. Thump. Michael¡¯s heartbeat uncontrobly raced. Blood rushed into his brain and to his limbs, causing him to feel that all of his senses had suddenly heightened. He could smell that there was a familiar scent in the air that sank deep in his soul. The face of thedy before his eyes slowly ovepped with the face of the girl who would never appear again until they became one. He fell into a fleeting daze before using his fastest speed to regain his usualposure. His gazended again on the girl. She seemed to be happy as she petted the dogs, but Cooper, who was beside her, looked unhappy. Linus picked up the leashes and handed them to Michael. Michael¡¯s gaze then turned to Linus. From Linus¡¯ expression, he seemed to have something to say while walking toward Michael, but did not have a chance to voice his thoughts. At that moment, Michael seemed to realize something as immense happiness bloomed in his heart before being reced by a deep heartache. His hands started to tremble to the point where he could not even hold onto the leashes. Cooper¡¯s daughter, Lucile, fancied Carmen, their cats and dogs, and the dramas that only Sophia loved. I should have realized it earlier¡­ Chapter 767 Chapter 767 Sophia initially attempted to address Carmen¡¯s father, but Cooper interrupted,¡±Darling, didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to watch themotion? We are going to the hospital after that.¡± She then turned to the other direction and headed to Vi No. 6 to watch the buzz. Upon looking at her back view, Michael noticed the scars on her hand that were hidden under her sleeve. His mind went nk as he immersed himself in great joy and sorrow. The leashes in his hands were released again, allowing the tworge dogs to dly run toward her. Even the dogs know that their mother has returned. Why didn¡¯t I realize it? What exactly has happened in the past three years? ¡°Uncle, uncle¡­¡± It was only when Stanley came over to give Michael a shake did thetter snap out of his reverie. He then realized that Sophia had gone to watch the show. As a former actor, he was able to hide his emotions under the surface. Now that he had returned to his senses, he immediately uttered, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± As he looked at the figure standing among the crowd while watching themotion, his world had turned upside down¡ªdeep within his heart. ¡°Stan, take Carmen home first.¡± Upon hearing Michael¡¯s words, Stanley took Carmen home with Sean before returning to watch the show. Sophia, who was standing among the crowd and focusing on the buzz of the group of people, suddenly seemed to hear that someone was calling her. ¡°Sophia¡ª¡± With that feeling in mind, she subconsciously turned, but nobody was calling her. Only Carmen¡¯s father was standing not far behind her. In a state of puzzlement, she turned to continue watching themotion. What she did not notice was the trace of inconspicuous shiversting only for a split second that the man with white hair had at the moment she subconsciously looked behind. Chica, have you returned? Why don¡¯t you recognize me? Why¡­ didn¡¯t youe home? After Stanley sent Carmen home, he even locked Judge inside so that she could y with him at home. Upon seeing Michael standing among the crowd and spacing out, Stanley secretly pointed at the person next to Cooper before uttering, ¡°Uncle, look over there¡ªthat person is called Lucile. She¡¯s Cooper¡¯s daughter and my aunt¡¯s younger sister. She does look like Sophia from behind! Uncle Cooper said that Lucile¡¯s face was injured, so she has undergone stic surgery in Xavion Cosmetic Hospital and will have the bandage removed today.¡± Michael did not budge as he gazed intently at the figure. The show among the crowd was nearing the climax. Upon seeing Sam¡¯s appearance, the West and Edwards Families kneeled around him, as if they saw their savior. ¡°Master Sam, please save us! Our family is going to fall apart if you don¡¯t save us!¡± The words were from Victoria¡¯s father. A lot of things happened in the minor Edwards Family in these two weeks. They went bankrupt, their debtors showed up at their doors, and they had a rted department conducting investigations on them ¡ªthe same of which had happened to the West Family. They could not leave, had their lives thrown into chaos, and were unable to die. ¡°9th Old Master, someone is targeting the Edwards Family. When they knew that I¡¯m from the Edwards Family, they framed us and threw us in such a desperate situation. Their next target would definitely be the entire Edwards Family! Master Sam, you have to save us!¡± Peter chimed in as well. ¡°Master Sam, we are all rtives. You can¡¯t just let us die!¡± Upon looking at Peter and Victoria¡¯s father on their knees, a stunning Victoria with tears streaming down her cheeks, and the cold, stoical Cooper standing amidst the crowd, Sam raised his brows as he announced in an indifferent tone, ¡°This time, it isn¡¯t because the Edwards Family refuses to save all of you. It¡¯s because there¡¯s nothing we can do¡­¡± The crowd whined and wailed when Sam refused to help them. It was not easy for the West Family to be able to live a good life, so they absolutely refused to return to the life of poverty. The same could be said of the Edwards Family. Victoria suddenly saw Sophia watching themotion among the crowd. As soon as Victoria recognized her, she abruptly stood up and dashed toward thetter while pointing at her in fury. ¡°It¡¯s her! This is the ugly b*tch whonded us in this mess! Master Sam, it¡¯s her! She¡¯s the one who ruined the Edwards Family! Catch her! Catch her now!¡± Sam¡¯s gazended on Cooper, who stood beside the girl wrapped in bandage, and finally understood why thetter took action against them. Serves them right! Upon seeing that Sam was unfazed, Victoria dashed up to Sophia in grimace like a gust of wind, as if she wanted to destroy the other person¡¯s face. An enraged Cooper was about to make a move when Sophia, who was beside him, suddenly uttered in a cold voice, ¡°Dad, let me handle this matter myself.¡± Under his watch, she took two steps forward and confronted Victoria, who was charging at her. Before everyone could understand what was happening, two crisp clicks were heard before it was followed by Victoria¡¯s shriek that sounded more tragic than a pig in a ughterhouse. ¡°Ahhhhh¡ª¡± The screechsted until she held her hand as she kneeled on the ground, screaming in a helpless yet terrifying manner, ¡°My hand! It¡¯s broken!¡± Sophia had broken Victoria¡¯s hand with only one move¡ªan extremely skilled and professional technique. Everyone looked at thedy with a cold expression and backed away in fear. Michael, who squeezed into the crowd to watch themotion, happened to witness her action and found it extremely familiar¡ªit was the technique of the Phantom Wolf. His eyes filled with horror as he recalled his sister, whom Phantom Wolf had trained into another person. My chica, what have you endured all these years? Sophia¡¯s sharp, ruthless technique stunned Cooper as well, causing him to have a sudden realization that his daughter was not a defenceless little girl¡ªshe was under the care of Quinton, the Phantom Wolf, for three years! When she regained consciousness, she had told Cooper, ¡°I¡¯ve killed many people in order to survive.¡± In order to survive, she escaped from the town in the desert in a car to seek help in big cities. During that period of time, everywhere in that ce was in the midst of chaos. Once the war started, the world became an incredibly difficult ce to live in since there were bandits everywhere taking advantage of the situation tomit crimes. It would not have been a smooth journey for her as a woman to drive and venture through many chaotic towns in her journey to an even morewless city. Countless people would have targeted her car, aiming for thest piece of fortune and food she had on her¡ªor even targeting her body! If Sophia did not have a method to protect herself, she would not have peacefully survived for the past three years. If it had not been because she contracted Virs-18, she would have boarded the warship that was evacuated from there and safely returned to Cethos. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Cooper did not dare to even think what she had endured in those three years! At the same time, he felt content yet heartbroken to know that his daughter would be able to protect herself if he was no longer around one fine day. Without even ncing at Victoria, who was crying on her knees, Sophia turned and smiled at him. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s go.¡± Cooper had originally nned to leave, but when he saw a stout b*stard approaching the crowd before standing next to Sam to watch the scene, his usually indifferent eyes suddenly burst into mes at that moment. It¡¯s him¡ªthe person who raped Annabel! It felt like a grim storm had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Chapter 768 Chapter 768 The reckless Joe, who did not know the situation, tried his best to ingratiate himself with Sam upon seeing him. ¡°Master Sam, do you recognize me? I¡¯m Faye¡¯s father and Sophia is my daughter too,¡± Joe said without noticing that a person was silently standing in front of him for some time. Cooper¡¯s appearance gave him a fright. The man before him was looking at him gloomily, sending shivers down his spine, as he reprimanded, ¡°Who are you? Why are you standing here in a shady manner? What do you want with me?¡± Sam let out a coldugh as he took a step backward. Now that Cooper returned and Sophia had passed away, Joe hadpletely lost his purpose. Joe had been left unharmed because he was always Cooper¡¯s target! Hisyers of fat were trembling. He now had an influential identity since his daughter, Faye, was a top- level celebrity, which made his business be incredibly sessful. As a result, he lived a particrly comfortable life, causing him to be so full of himself and thought that he was a bigshot. Upon seeing a man like Cooper in front of him, he reached out his hand and rudely pushed his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! Are you mute? Master Sam, look at this man¡ªis he mute?¡± After appraising the man before his eyes, Cooper was left with a pang of sadness. My Anna was raped by this person. She was tainted by him while carrying my child, causing her to live in suffering and despair, and she sacrificed her life in exchange for Sophia¡¯s in the end. With gritted teeth, he snarled, ¡°Are you Joe? Do you still remember Annabel?¡± Annabel? Joe thought for a moment before finally remembering her face and vigntly nced at Cooper. His tone dripped with caution as he questioned, ¡°Who are you?¡± Cooper inched closer to him. Using a voice only that the two of them could hear, his sinister voice rang by Joe¡¯s ears. ¡°I¡¯m her husband¡­ and Sophia¡¯s biological father.¡± Biological father? Joe¡¯s narrow eyes widened in fury. Only then did he understand that he had been cheated for many years. He took three steps backward before pointing at Cooper¡¯s nose and reprimanded, ¡°It turns out that you are that b*tch lover¡­ Y-You guys have been cheating me all these years!¡± It turns out that Sophia is not my biological child! She actually cheated me out of my shares! Joe was enraged to the point where hisyers of fat continued to tremble. In a fit of fury, he pointed at Cooper and mindlessly scolded him. ¡°I will sue you guys in court! You guys¡ª¡± Hang on, he thought. This might be a scheme. If this matter esctes to court and it¡¯s proven that I¡¯m not rted to Sophia, how am I going to get Sophia¡¯s inheritance? How am I going to get Vi No. 8? This man must be scheming for that property. Upon having such thoughts, Joe swallowed his anger andughed in a sinister manner. ¡°Haha, you guys are using this opportunity to im your rtionship with her toy your hands on my daughter and son- inw¡¯s house! Tsk, in your dreams!¡± He had an arrogant attitude¡ªas if the house was already his. ¡°As long as I am alive, this house and my daughter¡¯s inheritance will be mine sooner orter. Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± Cooper scoffed without saying anything. He would allow Joe to live for a couple more hours as he had to attend to other matters today. He then turned to notice that Linus¡¯ car had arrived, so he entered the car with Sophia and left. Upon looking at the departing car, Sam patted Joe¡¯s shoulder and uttered, ¡°Mr. Edwards, be careful and good luck.¡± However, Joe had nothing to fear. Now that my daughter is a top-tiered celebrity with a strong influence, not only in Cethos but in the whole world, I don¡¯t have to be afraid of anyone! Sam brought his dog and left too. Stanley, who was standing next to Michael, was puzzled and asked, ¡°What did Uncle Cooper say to that b*stard, Joe, earlier?¡± Michael had an enigmatic smile on his face. ¡°Perhaps it is something that fathers talk among themselves.¡± Since Cooper, the biological father, had returned, it was time for Joe, the fake parent, to take his leave. Michael suddenly strode away and soon left in his car. Stanley and Sean, who had no idea what transpired, left one after another as well. Harry came out to kick the West and Edwards Families out. Since it was still Sarah¡¯s family, he would have felt slightly bad if he were to take action himself. Thankfully, Victoria had offended Cooper and as a result, Harry was able to get rid of the toxic family members from their lives. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Michael was heading toward the cosmetic hospital as well. On the way, he made a call. ¡°Justin.¡± The man on the other side of the phone remained silent for a moment before answering, ¡°Yes.¡± Three years ago, since Celine was sent to the military¡¯s special facility for treatment, Justin had been by her side. Unfortunately, the three years went by with little sess. If they wanted to save Celine, they had to kill her. Otherwise, with both Katrina and Celine sharing the same body, the former would not bepletely eliminated. She was just like a time bomb¡ªand the detonator was in Phantom Wolf¡¯s hands. If the Phantom Wolf pressed on the detonator, the bomb¡ªCeline¡ªwould explode, triggering immeasurable consequences. Michael and Justin, who was on the other side of the phone, were silent for a long time before the former asked, ¡°You were the one who conducted theparison of chica¡¯s DNA at that time. Tell me about the details back then.¡± Justin, who had no idea why this question was being asked, answered, ¡°The bones that we brought back were damaged due to the high temperature. Combined with theck of an appropriate condition and equipment to properly store the evidence, it caused the DNA collected to be destroyed. The DNA that I used was collected from the clothes with blood stains. After conducting theparison, it matched Sophia¡¯s DNA perfectly.¡± Everything happened at a fast rate at that time. Sophia became a pot of broth that was boiled at a high temperature, which caused the collected DNA to be unusable. Therefore, Justin had no choice but to use the one from the clothes with blood stains to conduct the test. However, DNA verification was not foolproof and could often be wrong. After Justin gave his answer, Michael did not give a response for an extremely long time. After some time, Michael¡¯s voice was finally heard from the other side with a sobbing yet surprised tone. ¡°Chica, she¡­ isn¡¯t dead¡­ She has returned. She was brainwashed by Phantom Wolf and has forgotten about everything!¡± Upon hearing that, Justin fell into a shock thatsted for a long time. The Xavion Cosmetic Hospital¡¯s scar removal technique was one of the top 10 methods in the whole world¡ªthey had plenty of precedents and the hall was constantly packed with people who came from all over the world to seek help. Disyed in the hall were all the sessful cases performed by the doctors¡ªincluding a case of a facial burn on the whole face that had perfectly recovered. The patient with burns on his whole face was called Justin Mitchell. Currently, in the hospital¡¯s director¡¯s office, the director was slowly removing the bandage on the face of the woman before him, as if he was lifting precious treasure with full expectations. Therge group of doctors gathered around them as well, as if they faced extreme danger. It had been a long time since the hospital epted a patient with such severe injuries¡ªthe previous one was Justin. A few years ago, they epted Justin¡¯s case and managed to repair his face, creating a miracle. However, he had to pay a price, which was that his facial muscles stiffened due to therge number of surgeries he had undergone, which looked simr to that of those celebrities who had excessive stic surgeries. After so many years, the scar removal technique had improved and everyone wondered whether they could create another miracle again. Everyone including Cooper and Linus present at the scene focused their attention on Sophia¡¯s face. Nobody noticed a doctor with white hair silently standing at one side while reading her case. Chapter 769 Chapter 769 His gray hair was hidden under the sterile cap and the surgical mask covered his face, exposing his eyes. He wore ab coat and had his back facing everyone else. As he read the patient information, he was stunned when he saw the photo of the girl named ¡®Lucile Mitchel¡¯. Her face and half of her body had decayed. There were detailed photos that enabled the viewer to see the other half of her face, which was still intact. It was the same face that he remembered. It was only after understanding her situation that the hospital was able to treat her scars and one of the photos was from a long time ago¡ªwhen half of Sophia¡¯s body was festering. She was drenched in blood and looked like a lump of decaying meat. Blindness caused by corneal infection¡­ Huge surface of ulceration due to the strong germ erosion caused by Virs-18¡­ Michael closed the file, walked out from the office and leaned against the wall outside for a while. He looked down, gritted his teeth and allowed his tears to drop like raindrops hitting the ground. His tall figure was shaking in remorse, hatred, surprise and pain. It¡¯s not a dream! My little chica is still alive¡­ Why? Why didn¡¯t I search for her for a few more days? I might have found her if I did! Why did I fall into such a stupid trap set by Phantom Wolf? Why¡­ Michael returned to the ward after some time¡ªhe still wore the same white coat, spectacles and face mask and followed the other doctors to check on Sophia¡¯s condition. After the first stage ofser scar treatment, her face was recovering well with the help of different medications. Her scars had faded a lot and her skin was gradually bing smoother. However, there was still arge area of faint traces. Even so, Sophia was satisfied as she looked at her face in the mirror and seemed to be ted. She could feel someone passionately looking at her and looked at the crowd, only to notice someone leaving with his back against her¡­ Cooper was happy with the result and immediately discussed the next stage of treatment where the hospital director would be the one treating Sophia¡¯s face. The scars on the face would bepletely removed in the second stage and medication would be used to lighten the scars throughout the entire process. Sophia would also need to take some medicine to improve her health too. Technologies nowadays were advanced with only time being the only issue for her to make a full recovery. The doctors could also reduce the stiffness that she felt to a great extent. Cooper was ted. I really came to the right ce. He left after agreeing on the time of surgery and noting the things that he needed to look out for in between. He firmly kept the notes of the doctor¡¯s advice in his pocket with the determination to strictly follow the instructions. I have to treat my daughter¡¯s face! The head of hospital watched as Cooper left before leaving his office right after that. He then took several turns before entering an office that was hidden from view. A man with gray hair was already sitting there. The man was the boss of the cosmetic hospital, Michael Fletcher. ¡°Boss, since you called me toe, is there anything?¡± Michael remained silent for a long time and finally spoke when the hospital director thought that the former had fallen asleep, ¡°Make an appointment. I want to dye my hair ck.¡± He saw Michael looking at his own face in the mirror before touching his gray hair, looking at the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and his tanned, rough skin. ¡°Schedule an appointment for me as soon as possible. I want to get my face done¡ªbrightening, softening, and removing those wrinkles.¡± He left the entertainment circle after Sophia¡¯s death and never cared about his looks since then. His hair turned gray within a night and he seemed to have aged by dozens of years. Ugly¡­ Old¡­ No wonder Cooper despised me when he saw me. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. That old man is turning immortal. He is in his forties yet he still looks like a youngd in his twenties. I have to be the same no matter what. The hospital director was shocked. Did I hear it wrong? Boss is nning to make himself look younger through stic surgery? This is such bizarre news! Since his boss wanted to do it, the hospital director would definitely form the best team to n a personalized effective age revitalizing package. He would paint a perfect green paint on the old pickle. It waste when Michael left the cosmetic hospital. The hospital director and the best team had met him and spent some time finalizing his surgery procedure. He wanted his hair dyed, wrinkles removed, and his face rejuvenated. It was fortunate that he maintained his habit of working out, which gave him a toned physique¡­ He received the news about Joe¡¯s disappearance on his way back. As expected, Cooper was quick. Since he was the one who took action, Joe¡¯s consequences would be horrible. So¡­ Cooper must have left home! Michael immediately ordered the driver to rush home and called Cooper¡¯s home upon realizing that Carmen was not home. As expected, Cooper and Linus were not home, but Sophia was and Carmen went over there again! Michael styled his hair using hair wax, took some things and rushed to Vi No. 2 and knocked on the door. When Carmen¡¯s nanny opened the door, Michael took a deep breath and walked into the living room steadily, only to notice that Sophia and his daughter were ying with the dogs. They made Judge wear a pair of fancy shorts and the dog was covering its face, as if embarassed to meet people. Sophia¡¯s treatment was done, but she still wore a mask. There was medicine on her face and she was not allowed to touch it. Michael removed his mask before Sophia for the first time, revealing his face. He even sprayed some perfume before he left his house in the hopes that it would work. Her family¡¯s home theater system was featuring a sad TV drama series and she was watching it attentively while ying with the dog. She jumped when she saw him entering. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Taylor Murray?¡± She looked at him for some time before asking in shock. ¡°Y-You¡­ Are you Carmen¡¯s dad? Aren¡¯t you dead?¡± Carmen¡¯s dad also has gray hair too. I definitely did not get it wrong. Am I seeing ghosts in broad daylight? Michael walked forward with a grin. His eyes were filled with Sophia¡¯s looks. It¡¯s not a dream. It¡¯s my chica, standing right before me. ¡°It was an ident. The truth is I left the entertainment circle. My death was merely stories made up by the media,¡± he answered with a smile. A doubtful Sophia still invited Michael into the living room. She then switched the movie to the TV channels, switched on the lights, and ordered the nanny to make some tea for her guest. She looked at him in shock as she still found it weird. How can someone who died three years ago appear before my eyes? Didn¡¯t he perish when he apanied his pregnant mistress to shop for milk powder, ran into his wife and waster pushed down the stairs before being stepped to death by his fans? So, this jerk didn¡¯t die, but his wife did? Upon having that thought, Sophia¡¯s attitude turned cold. If it had not been the fact that he was Carmen¡¯s dad and she feltfortable with him, she would have chased him out of the house. Michael thought her attitude toward him was a little cold for some reason as she poured some tea and asked, ¡°Mr. Murray, may I know if there¡¯s anything you need help with?¡± This attitude¡­ Chapter 770 Chapter 770 Michael frowned as he could tell that she was distancing herself from him. Cooper, that old fellow, must have talked bad about me! Or, maybe I look bad and she despises me. ¡°Taylor Murray is my stage name. My actual name is Michael Fletcher,¡± he answered. ¡°Oh¡­ Mr. Fletcher,¡± Sophia responded indifferently. Michael did not understand her cold attitude toward him, but it was more than enough to be able to talk to her. He was content. He paused a little and took out the things that he brought over for her. It was a sealed folder with some documents. ¡°These are for Mr. Mitchel.¡± Another sealed folder was produced. ¡°This is for you.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Sophia was guarded as she took the folder. However, Michael merely stood up and mysteriously replied, ¡°You¡¯ll know once you see it. I won¡¯t disturb you and will take my leave.¡± He strode out and said as he rubbed Carmen¡¯s head before he left. ¡°Darling,e back earlier.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Carmen answered. She had already treated Sophia¡¯s home as her own. She had not nned to leave and wanted to have dinner before heading home. Judge took advantage of the opportunity and quickly ran with his two little pairs of shoes to follow Michael home. As for Sophia, she opened the folder and saw a stack of photos and documents. The first thing she saw was an identification card. My identification card as Sophia? The date of issuance was 8 years ago when she was 18. She should be currently 26 and the address on it showed Vi No. 8, the Imperial! I¡¯ve lived there? She then took out the second document¡ªit was actually a Cethosian marriage certificate¡­ Cooper and Linus returned homete at night. There was the smell of blood on Cooper. His shadow was hidden in the dark like a huge, ck dragon resting after hunting its prey. He was exhaling breaths of death around him. His cold, ruthless expression gradually softened when he arrived home, opened his eyes and saw the lighting out from his house. Anna, I¡¯ve taken revenge for you. Leave Sophia to me from now on. ¡­ Cooper knocked on Sophia¡¯s door and walked in when he saw that the light in Sophia¡¯s room was still switched on. ¡°Sophia, why are you still awake?¡± Sophia, who was in the room, seemed to have cried. Her eyes were red and puffy as she sat in front of her dressing table. ¡°Dad, is there something that you are not telling me? she asked as she turned to look at Cooper. Cooper had a bad feeling. As expected, he saw the photos on the dressing table¡ªthose were pictures of Sophia and Michael that were taken in the past. There were photos they took in Harper¡¯s Mansion, in the film studio, in the restaurant, and a photo of them with Nate. There was also her identification card and her marriage certificate with Michael. Cooper walked over and looked at their marriage certificate. The Cethosianw allowed females aged 18 and males aged 20 to get married. She was only 18 when they were married. She looked horrible back then as her hair was in a mess and her face was pale, giving the impression that she was lost in life. That was probably her worst time¡­ She was sold at 80,000 and married to Michael. However, in the second photo, Sophia seemed to havepletely transformed. Her cheeks were red as she had light makeup on and looked ssy in a gorgeous and exquisite evening gown. She had a maroon-colored ring on her finger too, looking like a princess as she turned at the spiral staircase. The third photo was taken when they enjoyed the snow¡ªthe couple stood on the white ground as their footprints ovepped with each other. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Michael wore a costume and was singing opera as she attentively listened to it. There were also pictures of them holding hands while traveling around the world. He had stored the memories between them with those photos and sent it over with her identification card and marriage certificate, giving her an opportunity to learn about her past. ¡°Dad¡­ Am I Carmen¡¯s mom? Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Even though medicine had been applied on Sophia¡¯s face, she had cried for such a long time that it was washed off by her tears. Cooper quickly wiped her tears off from her face. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s my fault¡­ It¡¯s all my fault. Please don¡¯t cry; it will be bad if you damage your eyes from crying.¡± Cooper was panicking. He could never forget her eyes, which were blinded from all the pain and suffering she endured. This pair of eyes were synthetic and were as equally fragile as her previous eyes. However, Sophia could not stop sobbing. How am I supposed to ept all these? I am Michael¡¯s wife and Carmen¡¯s mom? I have a kid and a husband? ¡°Dad¡­ What happened back then? Why did you lie to me?¡± She understood that Cooper could be protecting her from the truth, but she also had the right to know about it! Didn¡¯t the news report that three lives were killed? How are Carmen and Michael still alive? I¡¯m alive too, but have been living in Africa, which is far away. Gosh, I always thought that Quinton was my husband! What happened? ¡°Child, it¡¯s better for you not to know,¡± Cooper said in a low voice. His eyes were filled with sadness as he held Sophia¡¯s pale face. She continued to cry. ¡°Dad, I just want to know what happened.¡± He knew that he could no longer keep the truth a secret, so he shared with her everything that he knew. ¡°I was 17 when I met your mom. She was 17 too¡­¡± ¡°Joe found you after that and thought that you were his daughter. He sold you to Michael.¡± ¡°Quinton rk was Michael¡¯s illegitimate son and nned to take revenge on the Fletcher Family. He kidnapped you at a time when you were pregnant and convinced Michael to think that you were dead.¡± Sophia was stunned after hearing all those and looked at Cooper with teary eyes as tears started to roll down her cheeks again. Her emotions were unstable. She continued to cry and her recently recovered throat was sore again. He had to send her to the hospital in the middle of the night and only returned home hourster. She only managed to fall asleep after he lit some soothing fragrance. Yet, she still had nightmares even with the incense. The faceless man in her dreams all those times finally had a face. Michael was running on the beach with the dog and it was Judge whom he was holding. She recalled the friend Sarah mentioned¡ªthe one who hurt his throat from crying too much because he was widowed¡ªand the man with gray hair and face mask she saw in the hospital the other day¡­ That must be Michael. Among the photos that he gave, there was one where he wore his costume to perform opera. He must be the one whom Sarah mentioned¡ªher friend who damaged his vocal cords from crying¡­ Is his gray hair and ruined throat as a result of crying all caused by my departure? Chapter 771 Chapter 771 Carmen came to visit with her toys, backpack, dogs, nanny and everything that she needed after breakfast the next morning. Michael had personally sent her over and it looked like she nned to stay in Cooper¡¯s house. Sophia had gone to bedte the night before and was still asleep. It was Linus who opened the door and Carmen sweetly greeted as she entered, ¡°Uncle Linus!¡± He was about to correct her that he was Sophia¡¯s father¡¯s younger brother and that he should be addressed as granduncle, but Carmen had dashed into the living room. ¡°Grandpa!¡± She called in a sweet voice when she found Cooper sitting on the sofa. Cooper was still a little upset to see Michael, but his heart melted when he heard Carmen¡¯s voice. I¡¯m a grandpa! ¡°Hey! Carmen,e to grandpa.¡± Carmen happily pounced over like a little butterfly. ¡°Grandpa!¡± She called again. ¡°Hey,¡± he responded. What a charming little one! ¡°Grandpa, where is Mommy?¡± Carmen asked. She seemed to have happily epted the fact that Sophia was her mom. ¡°Your mom is still sleeping!¡± Cooper answered gently as he lovingly carried Carmen. Michael spoke, ¡°Great. Carmen, you shall apany your grandpa and I¡¯ll look for your mom.¡± Although Carmen happily agreed, Cooper objected and red at Michael. ¡°No way!¡± Michael did not dare to move. ¡°Darling, go and see if your mom is awake.¡± Cooper had a chilly re when he looked at Michael, but looked gentle while addressing Carmen. Carmen ran upstairs to look for Sophia. Michael sat down before Cooper. ¡°Father-inw, just say whatever you want to say. I¡¯m listening!¡± He could tell that there was something Cooper wanted to say, so he broke the ice. Michael seemed to have gotten younger by many years when he learned that his wife was alive. He looked like he was wilting yesterday but now looked like he was blooming today¡ªin short, he was reborn. ¡°I do not agree with this marriage.¡± Cooper cut to the chase with his opinion. He would never agree to the marriage. Michael doesn¡¯t deserve my daughter! Him? Be my son-inw? In his dreams! Cooper left after that and told Linus to send Michael out. ¡°Please take good care of Carmen then,¡± Michael said as he looked at Cooper. ¡°I¡¯lle and pick her up tonight.¡± After he said those words, he also left. It¡¯s not up to you whether you agree or not! Sophia saw that Carmen was by her bedside in her room when she woke up. ¡°Mommy!¡± Carmen called when she saw Sophia waking up. Sophia had a mixed feeling when she saw Carmen and immediately got up to hug the young child. ¡°Carmen, my darling, my daughter. I¡¯m here. Mommy¡¯s here¡­¡± Carmen is my daughter! Carmen Sophia Fletcher. My name is in her christened name! This is the child that I never had the chance to meet after her birth! ¡°I¡¯m here. Mommy¡¯s here¡­¡± Sophia tried to hold back her tears, but her face was still covered in them. Carmen was mature for her age and a cutie pie while she innocently consoled, ¡°Mommy, you are a fairy and fairies don¡¯t cry!¡± Sophia nodded and suppressed her tears as she excitedly looked at her daughter. No wonder I felt a strong connection toward her. She¡¯s my daughter after all! My daughter¡­ I have a daughter! As Cooper stood outside, he was assured when he looked at the mother and daughter before quietly closing the door. He saw the documents that Michael gave as well. With everything that happenedst night, Cooper did not have the chance to peruse all the documents in detail and he finally had the chance to do so today. It was Annabel¡¯s belongings in the folder. Kept inside the folder was the diary that he made her write in the past, which he thought was lost when they eloped. He never expected her to keep it throughout the years. There were also other things¡ªincluding the amulet that he gave her¡ªthat she stored in the safety deposit box at Citibank. She had deposited the money that Woody gave her in the same bank and never withdrew it because she wanted to keep it for her child, but¡­ Cooper fell into a long silence after reading the diary. Sophia was Cooper¡¯s daughter, Lucile¡ªand she was also known as Scarlett! That news spread like wildfire within the night, bringing visitors to Vi No. 2 every single day. Sarah and Harry came. Derek and Ivan visited. Sean and Stanley popped by as well. When Stanley learned that Sophia was his blind date, he immediately regretted it and was close to kneeling down before Cooper. ¡°Uncle! Uncle Cooper! You are the best! Please allow me to go on a date with your darling again! Pretty please!¡± ¡°In your dreams!¡± Cooper was cold in his answer. He never expected Stanley to behave in that manner. No wonder he has been single all these years. Even Old Master Fletcher¡ªMark Fletcher¡ªcame for a visit. Mark saw Sophia sitting in the living room the moment he came in. Although she wore a mask and had medicine applied to her face, he still recognized her at first nce. ¡°It¡¯s Sophie! Sophie¡­ Come to Grandpa!¡± She walked toward him, knowing who it was¡ªHe was Michael¡¯s grandfather and Cooper¡¯s godfather. No matter which identity he had, he was her grandfather. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Although she could not ept the fact that she had a husband, she could ept Mark¡¯s existence. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Mark was so happy to see that Sophia was alive that he cried. He rted events that happened after she left¡ªMichael¡¯s hair turned gray and Nate enrolled in university. On top of that, ude had joined the African Peacekeeping Force and Joel was married. She listened attentively, but it was a pity that she could not remember anyone. They were people whom she was acquainted with in the past anyway. Mark shared more about Joel. The second year after Sophia¡¯s alleged death, he was on a rescue mission when an earthquake struck an area in Cethos. An aftershock caused him to be buried under the debris with a local girl. The rescue team had spent the entire day removing the debris and managed to save both Joel and the girl in the end. They were married immediately after they returned. Old Master Fletcher was their witness and it was a military marriage. Everyone whom she knew seemed to find their ce in life. Michael and Carmen had been eavesdropping when Mark arrived. Michael had looked around for Sophia, but she was busy talking to her best friends in the past and never came down. ¡°I heard about Stan and Sophie¡¯s blind date. Don¡¯t worry, Stan is a dumb fellow. There are many other outstanding boys from my family! Come, I even brought a chart for you to see¡ªlook!¡± Michael overheard Mark having a chat with Cooper. ¡°This is the booklet that I had prepared for Sophie in the past. Inside are the people whom I have selected. Some of them have left and there are neers to the list, so I had to amend it again yesterday.¡± Cooper took it and seriously gave it a look. He was satisfied because he knew that the boys from the Fletcher Family were outstanding in their own right as a result of being born into a military family. Upon seeing that Old Master Fletcher was prepared, Cooper immediately started to discuss about blind dates for Sophia with him. Michael was speechless. They are discussing blind dates for my wife right before my eyes. Did Cooper think that the marriage certificate was a joke? Chapter 772 Chapter 772 Mark had never approved of Michael being together with Sophia from the start. He had always been merely putting up with it in the past. Hence, it was only natural that he had his eyes set on a different path now that there was a better choice. On the other hand, Cooper had never considered Michael. He is too old, and he has a generation gap with my daughter. How could it possibly work out? It¡¯s impossible! I believe Michael is merely a few years younger than I am. Looking at Carmen, who was busy fooling around with the dog, Michael felt extremely anxious. Carmen must have sensed Michael¡¯s anxiety because she took the initiative to approach them before asking Cooper and Mark, ¡°Grandpa, forefather, are you guys looking for a new daddy for me?¡± Cooper nodded. ¡°Mm-hmm, I will find you a brilliant and handsome new daddy. I promise you¡¯ll be happy with him.¡± Carmen appeared especially happy. ¡°I want to have a look too! I want to pick my new daddy!¡± Michael was rendered speechless when he heard that. Traitor! Upstairs, Sophia was in the bedroom, and she had a guest today too. Sarah did not expect that Lucile was actually Sophia. She was excited despite being in a confused state. Nevertheless, after learning that Sophia had lost her memories, Sarah brought out her photo album and started telling her stories from the past. Fortunately, Sarah had the habit of collecting photographs. In fact, she would print out all the important pictures to ce them into a photo album. ¡°This is thepany that we built together. Stanley, Sean, you, and I. Look, look! This is how it used to look like when ourpany was newly established. At that time, we rented an office space, and there were a little over ten people on our team. Besides, the majority were still students. This is the first time our first game showed results. This is our celebratory party. Look! Stanley was drunk, and you scrawled all over him.¡±Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Sophia looked at Sarah¡¯s photo album, but it seemed as if she had never seen any of these pictures. However, each photo felt deeply familiar, as though she had seen them in a past life. Nathan was here too, and he was moved. However, he had not uttered a word all this while. Sophia had her arms around Sarah¡¯s young son, who had a distant and unreadable expression. Sophia started to familiarize herself with the people from her past all over again. After going through the pictures of Plum Technology, Sarah brought out pictures of Pourl, the pet luxury brand, while exining to Sophia, ¡°This is ours too. Currently, we have expanded to owning dozens of shops. They are located in different cities throughout Cethos. We even have a few branches in Bayside City, and the main branch is just opposite my cat caf¨¦¡­ Plus, this is our university¡¯s military training. Look, just look! It¡¯s the three of us¡ªSean, you and I! Stanley was in the Superb Company at that time, and so he didn¡¯t hang out with us!¡± ¡­ After a series of introductions, Sophia seemed better-informed, but she still seemed confused. Hence, she spaced out while staring at the photo album. It turns out I¡¯ve had such a brilliant entrepreneurial history. I had so many undertakings and so much¡­ money. The next day, Michael snuck in since he received news that Cooper wouldn¡¯t be at home in the morning, and only Linus would be around. He brought some of Sophia¡¯s stuff from the past, including her previous phone, bags, and things like that. Cooper wasn¡¯t at home, and so he instructed Linus to keep an eye on Sophia to prevent Michael from taking every chance he could get to harass his precious daughter. However, Cooper couldn¡¯t have guessed that Linus was feeling guilty toward Michael, and so he let thetter in. In the living room, Michael sat beside Sophia, handing over her things for her perusal, while Carmen was ying with the dog. Linus started retreating tactfully. Previously, Phantom Wolf kidnapped Sophia on the lower ground floor in the shopping mall. Later, they only managed to find her bag and phone. Michael ced those things in front of her. ¡°This is your mobile phone and wallet. Have a look at them. This is your driver¡¯s license and various certificates that you¡¯ve obtained.¡± Sophia switched on the mobile phone and unlocked it using her fingerprint. The phone model was from three years ago, but it didn¡¯t look especially out-of-date at present. She opened her phone records, but she just couldn¡¯t recall anyone from the list. Therefore, she turned automatically to Michael, who was sitting beside her, to ask, ¡°Who is Principal Jones from Riverdale High School?¡± Michael answered her, ¡°Well, that¡¯s a long story. You were born in Riverdale, and Riverdale High School is the best high school in Riverdale. You lost your mother after she gave birth to you, and so your grandparents took you in. Later, both of them passed away too, and so your uncle took you in. You passed the exam and seeded in securing a seat in Riverdale High School. You wanted to continue with your education, but your uncle wouldn¡¯t let you. Therefore, you went to Principal Jones¡¯ house to ask for his help¡­¡± Michael scooted nearer to Sophia stealthily while chatting with her. He got closer and closer. At that moment, being able to chat with Sophia while sitting right beside her was almost as perfect as a dream- come-true from Michael¡¯s perspective. After listening to the story of Principal Jones, Sophia felt touched. One day, I have to meet this person. Then, she pointed at another person while asking Michael, ¡°Who is Richard Harper?¡± Michael exined without missing a beat, ¡°He¡¯s your ex-boyfriend. Once upon a time, you managed to enter Riverdale High School with Principal Jones¡¯ help. You focused on your studies because you wanted to change your fate through education¡­¡± Linus came out to check on them from his office intermittently. Each time, he would see the two of them chatting away happily, whereas Michael would be staring adoringly at Sophia. Michael knew everything about Sophia, down to the most mundane details. Hence, Linus knew that Michael must be truly in love with her. Not every man could have their hair turn white overnight over a woman. After introducing Richard, Michael started talking about Ka, X, Natasha, and the rest of Sophia¡¯s peers. ¡°You ced a few women with infectious diseases in the brothel that Richard patronized. Therefore, he was infected, and he passed on the disease to his wife, X. That couple infected the entire household, and they are still in prison now. Furthermore, you substituted Natasha with an illegitimate daughter. That¡¯s not all¡ªwe adopted two pandas from the Panda Foundation. If you are interested, we could drop by tomorrow to have a look at them.¡± Michael knew everything about Sophia, and the wealth of information was always readily at his fingertips. He even knew the cup size of her bra and her favorite tampon brand. Michael knew all about it, and he would take the chance to visit her every day. Whenever Cooper returned, Michael would leave, and when Cooper left, Michael would show up. He would alwayse looking for Sophia, as if he was adopting guerri tactics. Even when Cooper stayed home, Michael would still drop by to bring over Sophia¡¯s belongings in batches. The first day, he sent over an orange cat. ¡°This is Sophia¡¯s cat, named Chrysanthemum. It has a long meow.¡± The next day, he sent over another orange cat. ¡°This is Simba; it is Chrysanthemum¡¯s husband.¡± The third day, he sent over another orange cat while exining, ¡°This is Chrysanthemum and Simba¡¯s baby, Tumba.¡± It took him a few days just to send over all the cats. It was always a different cat every day, but the cats would run back to Michael after it had been passed over. Hence, Michael might send over the same cat after a few days. This went on until Cooper lost his cool. ¡°How many cats exactly do you have at home?¡± Michael chuckled in response. ¡°Sophia especially adores cats. Initially, I had about a dozen of them at home. In thest few years, they gave birth to more kittens, and so there are more than twenty now.¡± Cooper knew his goal¡ªMichael wanted an excuse to visit Sophia. Therefore, Cooper stated, ¡°You don¡¯t have to send the cats over anymore. I¡¯ll go over to your house to pick up all the cats.¡± I¡¯ll take them altogether; I¡¯d like to see what else he could possibly have left to send over. Michael agreed straight away. ¡°Sure. You are most wee. You are wee anytime.¡± Cooper brought his subordinates to Michael¡¯s house because he wanted to move Sophia¡¯s belongings out to make a clean break. On the other hand, Sophia followed Cooper to Vi No. 8 as well because she wanted to have a look at her previous home from the past. Chapter 773 Chapter 773 Upon entering Vi No. 8, Sophia noticed that there were cats everywhere. There were many orange cats, and there were even two Persian cats and Ragdolls. The cats started following her once she entered the house. She picked up a Ragdoll cat randomly to pat it, and it started nuzzling her hand obediently. It looked very pretty, and it went up to the second floor together with her and Cooper. They wanted to have a look at the ce she used to live in, and Sophia wanted to take some things she fancied away. Upon entering the master bedroom, she noticed that the walls were painted in pink color, and it appeared especially warm and adorable. When she opened the door to the adjacent space, she caught sight of a splendid and spacious walk-in closet. It waspletely filled with women¡¯s clothes, handbags, jewelry, and such. Arge ruby-red diamond in a see-through security safe caught her attention. Michael exined to her, ¡°That¡¯s the Eternal Love, and it was your favorite ring. Take it with you if you like it; you can unlock it with your fingerprint.¡± Sophia stared at the Eternal Love for a very long time. Although she adored it, she didn¡¯t take it away in the end. After taking a tour in the closet, Sophia didn¡¯t take anything with her; instead, she strolled leisurely to the study next door. There was a table in the study, and a desktopputer was ced on top of it. There were two other laptops just beside the desktop too. There were a few post-it notes stuck onto the desktop monitor. There were things like, ¡®Go on a diet after delivering the baby to take our wedding photos¡¯, and ¡®Get the company listed in three years¡¯ time¡¯, scrawled over the notes. Furthermore, there were quite a number of photos beside the desktop¡ªsome of Michael and Sophia, Sophia and Nathan, and the three of them together as a family. There was even one picture, where they had their photos taken with the pandas in the Panda Foundation. Sophia picked up the panda photo excitedly. ¡°Are these the pandas we adopted?¡± Michael answered in a hurry, ¡°Mm-hmm. Let¡¯s visit them if time allows. They were still babies when we adopted them, but they have grown into adult pandas now.¡± He did not have the courage to get closer to Sophia because Cooper had been watching him like a hawk. Sophia stared at herself in the picture. In the photo, her eyes were twinkling withughter, and it was obvious that she was truly happy at that moment. After going through the photos, Sophia turned to look at the study table. There were piles of textbooks of university¡¯s specialized subjects. Some of them included Computer Science, Economics, Finance, and ounting. Furthermore, she saw a few collectors¡¯ CDs and DVDs too. Sophia even noticed the CD Carmen had shown her in secret. Michael immediately stated, ¡°These are all yours. Feel free to take them away if you like.¡± Sophia nced around at the study, where it seemed as if she had left it behind just yesterday, while regarding Michael, who still had a shock of white hair. Suddenly, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. Carmen mentioned that the study was filled with her daddy¡¯s precious items, and nobody was allowed to touch them. Sophia looked up to observe the book racks that were neatly arranged. I think this area must have been cleaned regrly¡­ I didn¡¯t expect him to keep my things all this while, but I honestly don¡¯t remember any of it. In the end, Sophia did not take anything away; instead, she merely asked someone to copy everything from theputers to take away with her. While they copied the data, Cooper stared at their group photo that was ced beside theputer because he thought that it was an eyesore. I can¡¯t believe my daughter got married to an old man. ¡°You two should get a divorce first. I¡¯ll shift Sophia¡¯s household registry out,¡± instructed Cooper in a demanding manner while facing Michael. Sophia¡¯s heart throbbed painfully, but she did not contradict him. Michael was dumbstruck when he heard that. He hesitated for a few seconds before finally responding dejectedly, ¡°Alright.¡± The word ¡®divorce¡¯ weighed heavily on Michael because he had never thought of getting a divorce with Sophia. However, if that¡¯s what she wants, I¡¯ll give her my blessings. Nothing can beat the fact that she is back and alive. Nevertheless, upon hearing Michael¡¯s answer, Carmen burst out crying unexpectedly. She started throwing a tantrum while rolling on the floor stubbornly. She wailed loudly, ¡°Daddy and mommy are getting a divorce, and nobody wants me anymore! I¡¯d need to go around begging for food soon!¡± Cooper got a shock when he saw that. Hence, he wrapped his arms gently around Carmen, who was still throwing a tantrum, while reassuring her, ¡°No, of course not. Who says that daddy and mommy don¡¯t want you? They both want you! Good girl, please don¡¯t cry. My heart is breaking.¡± Carmen wouldn¡¯t stop crying, and she kept struggling while shaking her head sadly. She wept so loudly that everybody on both floors could hear her clearly. ¡°Sob¡­ Daddy and mommy are getting divorced! They don¡¯t want me anymore!¡± Sophia held Carmen tightly in her arms hastily while coaxing her in a gentle tone, ¡°Baby, you are a good girl. Don¡¯t cry, please. We won¡¯t get divorced. Daddy and mommy won¡¯t get a divorce, alright?¡± Carmen slumped against Sophia while crying her eyes out loudly, and it seemed as if she was inconsble. Sophia uttered while shooting Cooper a disgruntled look, ¡°Dad, Carmen is still young. Let¡¯s drop the matter of divorce for now!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Cooper med himself too, and so he put the matter of divorce on hold temporarily. It was alreadyte by the time they managed to console Carmen, so Michael took the chance to invite Cooper and Sophia to stay for dinner. Cooper barely said ¡®no¡¯ when Carmen started sobbing while her eyes started brimming with tears. Cooper was taken aback, and he uttered hastily, ¡°Okay, okay. We aren¡¯t leaving. I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡± Carmen pouted, and tears started streaming down her cheeks in silence. In the end, Sophia and Cooper had no choice but to stay for dinner at Vi No. 8. After dinner, Sophia was getting ready to leave when Carmen, who seemed content just a second ago, burst out crying again. ¡°I want mommy!¡± Sophia felt helpless, but she didn¡¯t have a choice. Therefore, she requested the nanny to send over her toiletries and pajamas since she had decided to stay overnight in Vi No. 8 to apany Carmen. This time, Cooper was worried, and so he instructed Shae to keep an eye on the situation. He instructed Shae to beat Michael up if he were to try something. Upon learning that Sophia would be staying overnight at Vi No. 8, Michael was overjoyed. He sent over Sophia¡¯s previous pajamas to Carmen¡¯s room, and he even prepared her favorite mint-vored toothpaste. Sophia changed into a pink rabbit cartoon pajamas. It was her first time, and so it took some time for her to get used to it. Nevertheless, after wearing it for a while, she found it especiallyfortable. Carmen wore a set of smaller pink pajamas as well. Her clothes matched Sophia¡¯s since they came as a parent-child set. In fact, she looked absolutely adorable. Sophia held Carmen in her arms lovingly. Carmen was especially obedient today, but she wouldn¡¯t sleep despite having the lights turned off. Instead, she stared at Sophia while blinking her eyes slowly. Intermittently, she¡¯d nce at Nichs and Shae, the two robots, at the side. Previously, Nichs used to belong to Nathan, but ever since he left for university, Nichs was passed onto Carmen. ¡°Baby, why aren¡¯t you sleeping yet?¡± This was Sophia¡¯s first time sleeping with Carmen. She didn¡¯t know how to coax a child, but since she saw that Carmen¡¯s eyes were still wide open, she just had to ask her. After a moment of hesitation, Carmen asked, ¡°Mommy, when are you returning to heaven to be a fairy?¡± Sophia paused for a while before chuckling. Then, she kissed Carmen¡¯s cheek while reassuring her, ¡°I won¡¯t be going back anymore. I will apany you from now on.¡± However, Carmen was still worried as she asked again, ¡°In that case, will you revert to a fairy secretly to fly away?¡± It turns out she¡¯s afraid I¡¯d leave, and that is why she wouldn¡¯t fall asleep. Such an adorable but pitiful little thing! Sophia exined straight away, ¡°I won¡¯t leave anymore. I promise you that I will leave when you¡¯re asleep, baby; you are a good girl.¡± Carmen was finally satisfied with her answer. However, just when she was about to fall asleep, she tightened her tiny hands around Sophia reflexively. It was as though she was afraid that Sophia might turn back into a fairy and leave her while she was sound asleep. The small nightmp emitted afortable warm glow, and Sophia regarded Carmen under the dim lighting while her eyes shone with adoration and love. This is my baby! She¡¯s just like an angel. From now on, nobody will separate us ever again! Chapter 774 Chapter 774 The next day, Carmen woke up exceptionally early. After freshening up, Sophia helped Carmen wash up and brush her teeth under the nannies¡¯ guidance. Sophia was anxious since this was her first time looking after her child. She was afraid that she wasn¡¯t good enough. Fortunately, Carmen was extremely obedient, and so everything progressed swiftly. Sophia was aware that there were three to four nannies with different ethnicities looking after Carmen. They conversed with her in differentnguages ever since she was a child, just so that Carmen would be fluent innguages from different countries. Soon, the clean and obedient Carmen followed Sophia to head down for breakfast. Breakfast was already served in the dining room by the time they arrived. There were steamed egg custard, bread, millet porridge, milk, and much more. Everything had been carefully prepared, and the colors were vibrant. In fact, the spread looked especially tantalizing. ¡°Sophia,e over for breakfast.¡± Michael was putting out the cutlery eagerly. Once he was done, he took Carmen from Sophia to ce her onto a child seat. Sophia sat down, whereas Michael started serving her with sd and a bowl of millet porridge. He then served her some pickled vegetables while exining to her, ¡°This was your favorite breakfast.¡± She took two spoons of porridge with some crunchy pickled vegetables. It tasted delicious, and the vegetable sdplemented everything to perfection. Michael¡¯s eyes twinkled with a smile while he regarded her. Sophia still had some medication over her face, so she had to be careful whenever she was having her meal or during her sleep, and she had to reapply her ointments constantly. She might not look perfect now, but from where I stand, she¡¯s still the most beautiful woman in the world! Cooper came knocking on the door early in the morning. He acted as if he was worried that Sophia might not be treated well here. However, when he arrived, he caught sight of the family of three having breakfast in the dining room. Michael was also wearing a set of pink cartoon rabbit pajamas, and so he looked especially out of ce. On the other side, Carmen was having breakfast happily. Michael sat on her left, whereas Sophia sat on her right. Carmen was so overjoyed that she didn¡¯t need anyone else to feed her; instead, she ate on her own. She had just finished her milk, and it left a white foam across her upper lip. When she saw Cooper, she eximed excitedly, ¡°Grandpa, have you eaten?¡± Cooper observed the situation with a frosty stare. He was upset, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t show it tantly. It¡¯d be bad if I scare Carmen and she bursts into tears again. ¡°I have eaten.¡± He merely waited until Sophia was done with her meal. After that, he brought her home right away. Sophia was still in her pajamas, and she left right after putting a coat on. She was reluctant to take off her pajamas since she felt especiallyfortable in them. Upon arriving home, Sophia wanted nothing more than to head back to her room to sleep since Carmen kept her awake most of the night for bedtime stories. It¡¯s quite exhausting to raise a child. It is no wonder that Judge would rather head out to work than to babysit. Cooper had brought over all the cats in Vi No. 8. Nevertheless, these cats woulde and go between these two locations as they pleased. They would head to wherever served the better food; nothing would hold them back. Michael watched as they left. In fact, he didn¡¯t try to stop them. They are always there; they won¡¯t leave anyway. Later, Sean showed up again to discuss with Michael about matters involving Linus. ¡°Uncle Michael, the matter regarding Linus as Sophia¡¯s biological older brother¡­¡± It seems like even Cooper is oblivious to that. Michael frowned deeply, lost in his thoughts. After a while, he stated, ¡°Let¡¯s not bring that up temporarily. I want to use this as a bargaining chip to strike a deal with Cooper.¡± In the morning, Sam showed up in a hurry. Somehow, he got hold of news stating that Sophia was actually Lucile. Therefore, he rushed over to meet her. Unfortunately, Sophia was still asleep, so he didn¡¯t get to meet her. Nevertheless, he was excited, and so he insisted on waiting in the living room to meet Sophia. Simrly, that morning, Michael was d in a suit and a pair of leather shoes when he came knocking on Cooper¡¯s door. He brought along his assistant and awyer. However, he saw Sam chatting happily away with Cooper through the window from afar. Tsk¡­ that old fellow must havee running after getting wind of the rumors. Damn it, that old man looks younger as he ages. He must be consuming some sort of forbidden concoction. Michael did not enter immediately; instead, he stayed outside while phoning Cooper. As soon as the call went through, Michael barked impolitely, ¡°Father-inw, haven¡¯t you thought of who was the snitch when you were captured after eloping with my dearly departed mother-inw to the Ancient Town of Scarlett?¡± Snitch?! Cooper had never considered the possibility of a snitch all those years ago. He merely assumed that his n was not airtight, and that was the reason the Mitchells found him. Who would have expected that someone might have exposed my secret? If it¡¯s true that someone was the snitch, there weren¡¯t many who knew where I was headed to. It seems like Sam, who is sitting in front of me, is the only person. He is also Andrea Edwards from years ago¡­ All those years ago, after arriving at the ancient town, we sent Andrea a letter and a postcard once we were settled down. In fact, the Mitchells came knocking on our door a few days after. I just assumed that the Mitchell Family was extremely powerful, and I¡¯d never considered the possibility that someone exposed our secret! Michael waited outside of the door for a while, but he soon heard people arguing and fighting inside the house. It sounded like an intense fight. Linus and Sophia were shocked, and they rushed down the stairs in a hurry. They tried dissuading Cooper in the living room, whereas Sam, who had been beaten to a pulp by Cooper, did not fight back. Sam knew that it was his fault, and so he deserved a beating from Cooper. If Sam hadn¡¯t done what he did in the past, things wouldn¡¯t have ended up in such a way today. ¡°Get lost! You had better get lost now!¡± Cooper opened the door and kicked Sam out of the door. Cooper would have chopped him into pieces if they hadn¡¯t been childhood friends in the past. After he was kicked out of the house, Sam struggled to steady himself on his feet. Then, he caught sight of Michael, who was observing the entire ordeal. Michaelmented coldly, ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you the 9th Old Master Edwards? What happened to you?¡± Sam covered his swollen face without replying to him; instead, he red at Michael before leaving swiftly. I knew that that old man was nning something! He was trying to rob the cradle! He should really reflect upon his despicable act! After Sam left, Michael adjusted his clothes and ran his palm over his hair. After that, he entered the living room and noticed that Cooper was still fuming in the living room. On the other side, Sophia and Linus were both trying to console him. ¡°Cooper, I¡¯m here.¡± Michael was with hiswyer and assistant when they walked into the living room. Cooper was still furious from Sam¡¯s betrayal. Therefore, Michael¡¯s arrival at that moment was like adding fuel to the fire. ¡°What are you here for?¡± spat Cooper unkindly. Michael answered respectfully, ¡°I¡¯ve brought mywyer, Calvin Fields, with me today. Previously, I¡¯d been managing Sophia¡¯s personal assets. Now that she¡¯s back, it¡¯s time she takes control of her own assets now.¡± Cooper didn¡¯t answer him, but Sophia sounded exhrated. ¡°I have assets? How much are they worth?¡± Michael sat on the couch smoothly while answering her mysteriously, ¡°A lot.¡± Previously, Michael and Sophia¡¯s assets were handled separately. Naturally, Michael was in charge of the daily expenses at home. He was the breadwinner for the family, whereas Sophia just had to make herselffortable while staying beautiful. Her money belongs to her, but my money is hers too. I am not interested in the small amount of money she has. I have never interfered with her finances; it wasn¡¯t until she ¡®passed away¡¯ that I started handling her assets. Cooper didn¡¯t stop Michael since he was here to hand over money and assets. However, he stayed on to watch him like a hawk. Calvin started listing out Sophia¡¯s assets. Cooper was rather surprised while observing from the side. It turns out my baby is rather good at earning money. She invested in a lot of real estate, shops, stocks, and such, and the profit had been great. This was especially true in the shops and real estate she invested in. The real estate prices in Bayside City were still quite low when she bought them many years ago. Currently, their prices had shot up more than tenfold. Furthermore, Sophia was involved in a few projects. She coborated with Daniel for the Remote Mountains¡¯ Health Club Project; she was also involved with Sarah and a few others in setting up the luxury brand for pets. In addition to that, there was Plum Technology. Michael smiled faintly while saying, ¡°Last but not least, there¡¯s the sum in Kuwait, which Cooper left for you. I have been managing it for you all these years, and the earnings have been promising so far.¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. While speaking to Sophia, Michael had been moving closer to her too. Chapter 775 Chapter 775 Sophia¡¯s eyes were shining brightly at that point. I already have some personal savings to begin with; coupled with different streams of investments and the stock dividends collected, it is a handsome sum of money! If I were to sum up my assets, I¡¯m already a billionaire! There are so many zeros that I don¡¯t even know where to look. Cooper was caught by surprise, and so he just had to ask, ¡°What money in Kuwait? I left that money? Why don¡¯t I know about it?¡± At the mention of the money in Kuwait, Michael couldn¡¯t help but smile with an evil expression while exining to Cooper, ¡°Well, about that money¡­ All those years ago, we found out by chance that you had left a sum of money in Kuwait, which could only be retrieved by a keepsake and a thousand-digit password. Hence, I brought Sophia along to unlock the safety deposit box, and we got the money. Didn¡¯t you know that?¡± Cooper still looked confused. After all, he had a lot of money, and he had it scattered all over the world. With some over here, and some over there, how could he possibly remember all their locations? Michael continued, ¡°At that time, Sophia thought that she would be able to locate you once she retrieved the money, yet you had remained hidden throughout the time. Sophia was heartbroken for a long while back then.¡± Cooper¡¯s expression turned steely, and he shot daggers at Michael. The two of them exchanged menacing res. On the other hand, Sophia seemed oblivious to that because she was distracted by money. Since money yed a role now, she approved of Michael more than before, and so she uttered, ¡°Thank you.¡± Michael answered while shing her a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it; that¡¯s the least I could do.¡± He paused. ¡°By the way, this is the list of the expenditures for certain projects for the past few years. Apart from the usual expenditures in thepanies, you have a periodic donation for the orphanage, and there¡¯s also some monthly expenses for the pandas you adopted. Besides, you have been providing financial aid to a few poor students, including Derek Oak, your junior. You founded Hope Educational Charity in my name; you also provided the follow-up expenses for repairing the roads in the mountain vige in my name. Furthermore, you had a great debt of gratitude toward the principal from Riverdale High School, and so I¡¯ve been paying him a visit every month. Last year, I donated a block of infrastructure in Riverdale High School under your name¡­¡± Michael was well-versed with every detail in Sophia¡¯s life. In fact, he was much more informed about her matters than his own. Sophia had no idea that she had aplished so many things in the past. What threw her off was that after she left, Michael continued everything on her behalf. At that moment, Cooper could only re at Michael in silence. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. When she was at the lowest point in her life, he was the one who took her in and gave her the warmth of a family. He gave her the chance to further her studies while enabling her to put her intelligence and wit to good use. Michael was also the one who protected her. Throughout the five years, from when she entered university right until she graduated, he was the one taking care of her meticulously, whereas I had been busy mining in Africa. I didn¡¯t know that I had a daughter, nor did I care about her fate. Cooper was aware that he was in the wrong in that sense, but that did not mean that he would have a soft spot for Michael over his gratitude for him. He just couldn¡¯t willingly betroth his daughter to Michael. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You can go over the numberster. Just ce your signature here,¡± Cooper interjected Sophia and Michael while they were chatting happily away. With that, Sophia ced her signature on the document handed over by thewyer. Michael added, ¡°Thiswyer is Mr. Fields. He used to be thewyer you retained in the past. If you require any assistance legally in the future, feel free to consult him. He is the best in Bayside City¡¯s legal profession. He¡¯d won countless legal battles on your behalf once upon a time.¡± Therefore, Sophia and Calvin exchanged pleasantries. Soon, Michael sounded like an old and long-winded mother who was nagging his daughter that was about to embark on a long journey. ¡°Previously, you always jotted down notes whenever you achieved a milestone. I already handed the notes to you, and you should have a look at them to familiarize yourself with the businesses. Besides, I¡¯ve shifted all your work files from yourpany offices back here. You should familiarize yourself with those, and once the time is right, you should head back to work.¡± Sophia nodded while thanking him. ¡°Thank you.¡± The exchange of Sophia¡¯s assets and work folders took up the entire morning, and it was noon soon. After Michael sorted matters regarding her finances and her work folders, he chatted about Dragon Mountain Meditation Health Club Project and its developments; he also chatted about the conditions of the orphanage. He spent so much time chatting that he was already having hunger pangs, but Sophia didn¡¯t hint at anything at all. Sophia was too immersed in the discovery of her status as a billionaire, and she was too overwhelmed by the situation. On the other side of the room, Cooper wore a sour expression, and he wanted nothing more than to chase Michael out of the house, whereas Linus was shaking his head helplessly. While chatting with Sophia about work, Michael kept signaling inconspicuously at Carmen, who was focusing on ying with the dog. Carmen, it¡¯s time for you to repay me! Carmen got Michael¡¯s hint, and so she waddled in front of him while asking sweetly, ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s almost noontime. Why don¡¯t we stay for lunch before heading home?¡± Sophia snapped back to her senses when she heard that, and she said hastily, ¡°You should have lunch before leaving.¡± Michael pretended to reject her. ¡°It¡¯s alright; I shouldn¡¯t. I have other matters to attend to.¡± With that, he stood up to leave. Sophia stood up abruptly to stop him. ¡°Have lunch before you leave. The kitchen has prepared lunch anyway.¡± Michael rejected her adamantly. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. Mr. Cooper doesn¡¯t seem pleased with my presence; it¡¯s best that I head home for lunch.¡±Sophia grabbed Michael hastily. ¡°Of course not! My dad is a very nice person! I¡¯m sure he¡¯d wee you to have a meal with us! Lunch wouldn¡¯t take long at all, and I¡¯m sure we wouldn¡¯t dy your time.¡± Michael responded, ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t want to trouble you. It¡¯s best if I head home for lunch.¡± Cooper was about to lose his cool. Leave! Why don¡¯t you leave?! You im that you¡¯re leaving, but why do I not see you taking a step forward?! How are you different from those b*tches iming that they weren¡¯t interested in bribes, but were yanking their pockets open to collect all the bribesing their way!? After declining a few times to no avail, Michael appeared as if he had no choice but to stay. Sophia let out a sigh of relief since he agreed to have lunch with them. After that, she turned to the kitchen to check on the dishes for today. Michael winked at Carmen the moment Sophia turned away. Soon, Linus started putting away the folders in the living room, whereas Cooper and Michael red at each other venomously. Cooper: Who do you think you are to marry my daughter? Dream on! Michael: Haha. Carmen sat between the two of them. After looking at Michael, she nced at Cooper. Then, she pouted while asking Cooper in an unhappy tone, ¡°Grandpa, do you dislike my daddy?¡± Cooper¡¯s face immediately smoothed over while he reassured her, ¡°Why would I? You must be mistaken.¡± Suddenly, Cooper came up with a n, and he asked Carmen an extremely tricky question. ¡°Carmen, imagine that your daddy and I fell into the water one day, and you could only save one of us. Who would it be?¡± Carmen didn¡¯t seem perturbed by the question at all; instead, she answered sweetly, ¡°Oh! Daddy knows how to swim. I will get daddy to rescue you, grandpa!¡± Michael chuckled while caressing Carmen¡¯s head. He praised her while smiling, ¡°You are so obedient, Carmen. You are my understanding and considerate baby.¡± Cooper, however, looked extremely gloomy. Hence, he announced loudly and deliberately in front of Michael, ¡°My wonderful granddaughter! I¡¯ll pick a new daddy for you in two days¡¯ time! I promise that you¡¯ll like him!¡± Carmen jumped with joy. ¡°That¡¯s great! That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Cooper looked especially pleased with himself, and he red menacingly at Michael while thinking, It¡¯s useless to use Carmen against me! However, Carmen¡¯s unexpected responses almost knocked Cooper off in anger. ¡°I¡¯ll have two daddies on rotation in the future!¡± Cooper exined hastily, ¡°You can¡¯t be greedy; you can only have one daddy! The new daddy can¡¯t come if the old one stays. I promise you that your new daddy will definitely be better than your old daddy!¡± Carmen blinked her eyes a few times at Cooper. Herrge, ck eyes reflected her concerns. In the end, she turned around to hug Michael tightly. ¡°In that case, I think I prefer old daddy! Old daddy feels familiar!¡± Cooper was rendered speechless by her response. Chapter 776 Chapter 776 Under a tense atmosphere, everybody had lunch together. After lunch, Michael stayed back for a short while. He chatted with Sophia about the story of Garfield getting stolen, and the one about Judge eating sh*t. He chatted with her until about 3.00PM before finally leaving. Just when he was about to leave, Michael suddenly said to Sophia, ¡°Sophia, I will be away for a period. I¡¯ll count on you to look after Carmen for the time being.¡± Sophia asked him automatically, ¡°Where are you going?¡± She didn¡¯t even realize that she sounded slightly panicked and disappointed. Michael smiled at her. ¡°I have some matters to attend to, and so I have to leave Bayside City for a while. Carmen would be bored alone at home, and so I¡¯d like to put her under your care, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± He¡¯s leaving? Sophia answered, ¡°Carmen is my child too. I¡¯ll look after her well, naturally.¡± Michael nodded in response, but his eyes were twinkling mischievously. I knew that even after losing her memories, my chica would always have me buried deep in her heart. She is fated to belong to me, and me alone, because I have debts to repay her. Michael waved at Carmen. ¡°Baby, I¡¯m leaving now. You have to obey mommy at home, alright?¡± Carmen was in the living room in Cooper¡¯s arms as she was distracting him to make sure that Michael had the chance to bid Sophia goodbye while having some privacy. Upon hearing his voice, Carmen nodded while answering, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Just go ahead. I will eat, sleep, and pee well.¡± Cooper was just about to stand up to separate Sophia and Michael when Carmen stated hastily, ¡°Grandpa, I need to pee.¡± Why does she have to pee so frequently throughout the day¡­ Carmen seeded in diverting Cooper¡¯s attention, and so Sophia walked Michael out. She stared at his back view while he walked through the entrance of Vi No. 8. That night, she saw Michael leaving in his car. The next day, she didn¡¯t see Michael. The third day, Sophia had yet to see him return. Michael had been dropping by consecutively for more than ten days, and so Sophia had gotten used to his presence. Now that he was absent suddenly, Sophia felt empty somehow, and she felt as if there was a gaping hole. Since Michael had stoppeding over to harass Sophia, Cooper took the chance to urge her, ¡°Darling, I¡¯ll introduce a handsome guy to you. I promise you he¡¯ll be more handsome than thest one.¡± Nevertheless, after going through the failure of the first blind date, Sophia didn¡¯t have any desire to go on blind dates anymore. Besides, her face had yet to fully recover, and so she didn¡¯t want to head out to meet people. She would rather focus and go through her notes at home while revising her assignments from university. ¡°Forget it, dad. It¡¯s best that I study for a few days at home to prepare myself to pick up my career.¡± Since she was preupied with reading her notes, Cooper decided not to force her. In the past, Sophia used to have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. She enjoyed jotting down new knowledge in her notebook. Previously, she learned from a person, named Kenny ir, in order to establish the luxury brand for pets. Hence, she had a notebook filled with her reflections and thoughts. Even a good memory can¡¯t beat some lousy notes. It¡¯s a good thing I have this good habit, and so it¡¯s not too hard to pick things up. With that, based on the notes she had jotted down in the past, Sophia picked up her businesses from the past gradually. During the time she spent in Africa, there were simr kinds of books avable in Quinton¡¯s bookstore. She used to read them when she was bored. She didn¡¯t have much to do for entertainment apart from reading in those two years, so she had read quite a number of books. It seemed that the knowledge she had umted during that time could finally be put to good use now. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Sarah dropped by to visit her on a daily basis as well. They¡¯d exchange tips on raising children while petting the dog and caressing their kids. Sarah was now a strong, career-oriented woman, and so she left Harry to take care of their child while she headed out to attend to her career. It was apparent that she was extremely busy. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t strain yourself too much. Getting your face to heal well is the priority now. You should not worry yourself too much with work for now. There¡¯s no rush in these matters,¡± Sarahmented while munching on melon seeds. She had three cats in her arms, whereas her son was crawling freely on the floor. Sophia was reading the notes she had written down in the past. She seemed extremely focused because she wanted to take over her businesses as soon as possible. Michael was extremely tentative¡ªnot only did he send over her previous notes, he even sent over the work reports and work logs from the past four years. Therefore, she had been receiving a constant stream of work reports and statements in her email for the past few days. After spending some time reading, Sophia took a break. She was having a gulp of water when she thought of something suddenly. Michael hasn¡¯t visited Carmen¡­ and me for an entire week. Sophia felt a sudden sense of loss. I don¡¯t see himing home at all. I wonder where he is. Sophia wanted to ask Cooper, but she was sure that he wouldn¡¯t tell her anything. She asked Carmen, but she seemed clueless too. Sophia wanted to ask Sarah, but she was embarrassed to do so. Hence, after weighing her options, Sophia finally came up with an excuse in her mind. She pretended to read the notes while asking absentmindedly, ¡°Carmen criedst night, iming that she missed her daddy. She wouldn¡¯t stop crying for the whole night, and I couldn¡¯t sleep well either. I wonder where he is. He hasn¡¯t been home for the whole week. In fact, he has already left Carmen here for a whole week.¡± Sarah didn¡¯t seem to get Sophia¡¯s intentions, and so she replied, ¡°Sigh, that¡¯s the issue with men¡­ Who knows which brothel he might be patronizing?! He might be seeing someone else!¡± He might be¡­ seeing someone else? Sophia¡¯s eyes, which were shining with anticipation just a moment ago, turned dull instantly. That¡¯s true¡­ I¡¯d been ¡®dead¡¯ for three years; he couldn¡¯t have stayed single for the past three years. He¡¯s wealthy and powerful, and so I¡¯m sure plenty of women throw themselves at him¡­ Sophia lost her interest in reading her notes when she came to that conclusion. She propped her chin up against her fist while she thought about him. I wonder which brothel he is in now. Suddenly, Sarah patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder from behind suddenly while cackling loudly. ¡°Haha, I was just pulling your leg! He is busy with work! You should phone him if you miss him, or send him a text via Messenger if you are shy!¡± Sophia blushed furiously, and she mumbled without meeting Sarah¡¯s eyes, ¡°I was just asking because Carmen misses her daddy.¡± Sarah knew that being in love with someone required a sincere heart. One should love a person with their heart, not their memories. Therefore, Sarah did not force Sophia. If they are truly in love with each other, she would go back to him even if she has forgotten about the past. Sarah went back home after a short visit, whereas Sophia took out her previous phone tounch her Messenger. She hadn¡¯t used her Messenger for three years, and she didn¡¯t recognize any profile pictures in the list. There were tens of thousands of unread messages, and so she opened them one after another to read through them. Most of the chat histories were dated three years ago. However, those who received news of her return had been dropping her texts via Messenger every once in a while. She found a person nicknamed ¡®Dear¡¯ in the list. Sophia knew instinctively that the person must be Michael because he was the only starred friend in her list, and so he was always at the top of her chat list. Michael¡¯s profile picture was Sophia, whereas her profile picture was him. She opened their chat history, which was dated three years ago. She scrolled up casually, and their most recent chat history was the day she took her graduation photo. It was also the day Quinton kidnapped her. Sophia: ¡®Hubby, look at this photo of me in a graduation gown. Do I look good? Dear: ¡®You look beautiful.¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Hubby, I think the baby kicked me just now.¡¯ Dear: ¡®Tell her to let her mommy off the hook. She should deal with me if she¡¯s unhappy with something!¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Hubby, I¡¯m at the entrance of the school now. Where are you?¡¯ Dear: ¡®Turn around. I¡¯m right behind you.¡¯ Chapter 777 Chapter 777 Even though it was a simple chat history, deep love was overflowing from it as she read through the chats between a loving couple. While she looked at the chat history, Sophia suddenly felt a lump in her throat and a sinking feeling. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Looking at Michael¡¯s profile picture, she typed many words on the keyboard, but she didn¡¯t send it out in the end as she didn¡¯t know what to say to him. Suddenly, her phone rang, sending her into a shock. After all, this phone seldom rang nowadays since very few people knew she was back. Basically, no one would call this number anymore. The caller ID showed Hale¡¯s name. After recalling, she realized that everything matched what Michael had told her. This was one of his bodyguards. ¡°Miss Sophia,¡± the man said in a low yet mysterious voice. ¡°I¡¯m in the bushes opposite your house. Boss asked me to bring you something.¡± Michael brought something for me? Feeling slightly jubnt, Sophia quickly put on a coat on top of her pyjamas before she walked outside. After she got out of the door, she saw the bushes right opposite her front gate. Sure enough, a dark figure stood there¡ªa man with sunsses was holding a box in his hands. After seeing her, he walked to her. ¡°This is a present from our boss.¡± Sophia wanted to ask him whether he could watch where he was going with the dark sunsses at this late hour. However, after sending the gift to her, he left immediately, not wanting to say anything extra to her. Hence, she was left with the box in her hands, having no way to return it even if she wanted to. After standing there nkly for a moment, she opened the box as a thick fragrance wafted into her nose. It was actually a box of roses. Sophia couldn¡¯t stop smiling. After all, this was her first time receiving real roses. Back when she was living in Africa, Quinton also gifted her many roses. However, due to his limitations, he could only give her stic roses to represent his feelings. As soon as she returned home with the roses in her hands, she saw Cooper in the living room with a dark face, and he saw her roses immediately. Their entire house had beenpletely automated. With just a step out of the door, Sophia¡¯s actions would be detected right away. ¡°Baby, who sent you the roses?¡± ¡°I picked them outside.¡± Sophia lied. It¡¯s still early spring. I don¡¯t think there are roses at this time of year! Cooper knew very well who had sent the roses to her, and he also knew that Sophia was deliberately lying. He was so triggered that he advised solemnly, ¡°Don¡¯t trust men¡¯s sweet words. Most of them are liars. I¡¯ve been through it, so you must trust me.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Sophia replied before going upstairs with the roses in her hands. Whether she had actually taken his advice was another story. After she returned to her room, she took out the roses one by one, put them into a vase, and ced them in her bedroom. Apart from that, she even took a picture of it, wanting to send it to Michael. However, she felt that it was a bad idea. He merely gave her a box of roses¡ªshe must not reveal that she was too happy about it. Hence, Sophia deliberately sent many pictures of Carmen with a picture of the rose in between to avert the attention. In just mere seconds after she sent them, Michael replied to her, as if he had been waiting by his phone all this while. ¡®Has our baby been behaving well for the past few days?¡¯ After lying on the bed, Sophia nced at Carmen, who was fast asleep beside her. Then, she replied, ¡®She¡¯s very well-behaved. She is already sleeping now.¡¯ Michael: ¡®Alright. Sleep well. Goodnight.¡¯ Their conversation ended just like that. Looking at the chat room that had no more new messages, Sophia felt empty. She wanted to continue chatting, but she didn¡¯t know what to send. Little did she know that her Messenger chat history had been bugged by Cooper. By just looking at Michael, he knew what thetter was up to immediately. Around 30 years ago, Cooper already knew that Michael had many tricks up his sleeves. After 30 years, Michael¡¯s tactics seemed to have flourished. Clearly, he was a veteran at romance. My sweet baby is still very innocent. How could she even resist him? You are nning to y hard to get, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯ll let you continue your games! The next day, when Sophia woke up, she realized that her ¡®dear¡¯ wasn¡¯t in her contact list on Messenger anymore. ¡°Huh?¡± Where did he go? She looked at her phone in confusion for a while before realizing that Michael¡¯s contact hadpletely disappeared from her phone book as well. In no time, she guessed that it was all Cooper¡¯s work. To her, Michael didn¡¯t seem to be a bad person, but Cooper seemed to be absolutely certain that he was an evil person. Perhaps his persistence might be right after all¡­ Sophia put her disappointed feelings aside and continued to look at her notes to familiarize herself with past tasks. Taking advantage of her diverted attention, Cooper fed all the roses to the dogs. Right now, there were three huskies in their house¡ªJudge and his pair of puppies. The three of them looked like Cereberus, the three-headed hellhound. They ate everything in the house; they finished eating the box of roses in no time. In the afternoon, Sophia¡¯s new phone received a call from an unfamiliar number. ¡°Hi, may I speak to Miss Lucile?¡± The caller had a nice male voice as he spoke fluently. Sophia replied, ¡°Speaking. You are?¡± He chuckled affably before saying, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Bill Winterford, the designer for King, the top brand for pet luxury goods.¡± Sophia immediately became more alert and wary. When she was reading her journals, she found out that in the beginning of her startup journey, she faced some difficulties and challenges, especially when she was setting up the chain for the pet luxury brand, Pourl. One of their greatestpetitors was King. Even at this point, both of the brands still existed in Cethos¡¯ market, but King¡¯s business was greater than Pourl¡¯s. In fact, they had actually reached internationalization, but Pourl still remained in the local business, falling behind King. Sophia replied calmly, ¡°Okay. Why are you calling?¡± Bill spoke gently. ¡°I heard that you were nning to customize cors for your beloved dogs. They are two huskies, right? King is the best brand in Cethos for pet luxury items, and we are even better than Pourl. I wonder if you are interested in having some pet outfits customized here. I will personally design them¡­¡± So they are here to take our business away! It had not been long since she had gotten this number, and she had a small social circle. Only Cooper, Linus, and a few others knew about this number. She seemed to recall that she had only left her phone number when she made the cors for Judge¡¯s puppies at Pourl. Unexpectedly, Pourl¡¯spetitor, King¡¯s top designer, actually knew her name, her number, and even her dog¡¯s breed. It was certainly thought-provoking. Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. My puppies are still very young. I¡¯ll make some for them when they grow bigger.¡± Bill probably knew that Sophia was a customer with great potential, so he didn¡¯t give up. ¡°Miss Lucile, your dogs only made a pair of custom-made cors. But apart from that, we also have full sets of pets luxury items, and we have a team of designers who are more mature and fashionable than Pourl¡¯s. Our designs are internationalized, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be satisfied¡ª¡± ¡°I already told you that I don¡¯t need them!¡± Sophia became harsher. It seems like we didn¡¯t lose to them because of marketing strategies or designer¡¯s incapabilities. It¡¯s because someone has been betraying us. They actually sold customer information to our opponents behind our backs! Chapter 778 Chapter 778 Unexpectedly, the other party said distastefully, ¡°King is directly sponsored and managed by Lucy Edwards, the Young Lady of the Edwards Family. We will provide you the best, so I believe you definitely would like to work with Miss Edwards. Otherwise, we know your name, address, and phone number. If you have any needs, we can also drop by and provide you with our services.¡± Even though he sounded respectful, his words revealed a thinly veiled threat that sent chills down one¡¯s spine. They knew about her background, and they had a strong background themselves as well. So if I don¡¯t work with them, I¡¯ll be offending the Edwards Family, and they would ¡®pay me a visit¡¯. Is that what they meant? Even though the address was a fake one filled by Sarah, this doesn¡¯t mean that I¡¯m not angry about it. Sophia snorted coldly and retorted with a local phrase she had just learned¡ª¡°F*ck off!¡± After she hung up, she was still quite furious about it. Seems like I have to go to the office soon. After all, it¡¯s my business. Since I¡¯m back now, I have to take care of my own business. In the afternoon, Ivan came over. Sophia had ordered a pair of cors for Judge¡¯s babies that she adopted, and Ivan hade over earlier to take their measurements personally. At this moment, he was just sending thepleted products personally. Ivan¡¯s nature attracted dogs; after he arrived, the pair of puppies surrounded him. With a gentle look on his face, he put the cors he had designed on the pair of them. Then, Cooper held one of them in his arms. Sure enough, after they wore the cors, they looked very different. Unexpectedly, he was not disgusted by them anymore. Stanley, who was well-dressed, also sneaked into the house after Ivan. Once he saw Cooper, he quickly pestered him. ¡°Uncle Cooper, please let me date Sophia again. I promise I¡¯ll be serious this time!¡± Cooper gave a three-worded reply. ¡°In your dreams.¡± Seeing that Cooper did not allow any second chances, Stanley pestered Sophia instead. ¡°My good Sophie, sweet Fifi, you must know that I¡¯m the one you loved before¡ªdo you know that? Uncle Michael was the one who took you away from me. I couldn¡¯t win against him after all¡­ We had the same interests, and we loved each other. If you don¡¯t believe me, I can show you this intimate picture of us!¡±Sophia was suspicious of Stanley¡¯s words. I fell in love with this guy, who looks like a husky? Even Carmen didn¡¯t believe him and tried to expose him. ¡°Stanley, you are doomed! I already asked Nichs to take a video! You¡¯d better have some of your favorite food as yourst dinner after you go back, because in two days, daddy will go over to deal with you!¡± ¡°Damn!¡± Stanley was shocked to hear that. Even though many years had passed, genuine fear rose within him when he recalled Michael¡¯s punches. He would only dare to use his sneaky ways to trick Sophia when Michael wasn¡¯t paying attention. When Michael returns, I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be able to escape his punches! In the past, Cooper really liked Stanley. After all, he had his own listedpany when he was still very young, and he had a bright future ahead of him. Apart from that, he graduated from a famous university, and he was borned in a military family. Both their families were as good as rtives, so they knew each other well. Apart from that, Stanley¡¯s age was close to Sophia¡¯s, and he was also good-looking. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. However, this fool wasted the golden opportunity himself. Seeing that he was still pestering Sophia, Cooper started to chase him away. ¡°Go, go, go!¡± As Stanley refused to leave, Sophia suddenly remembered something and said, ¡°Stan, I want to go to the pet shop and yourpany.¡± Stanley agreed immediately as he couldn¡¯t have hoped for anything better. ¡°Sure! I¡¯ll drive you there and show you around!¡± Cooper didn¡¯t object to this as he felt it would be good for Stanley to take the trouble and also for Sophia to experience being cared for by another man. It would be better for her to have more experience so that Michael wouldn¡¯t be her only option. After Sophia put on a face mask, she got into Stanley¡¯s car. He also brought his dog out to walk around. In the ck sports car, Stanley turned the volume up. Deep, booming bass sted throughout the entire journey, making Sophia slightly annoyed. When they finally reached the base of theirpany, Sophia lifted her head and realized that it was a tall, huge building. ¡°Sofie, look¡ªthis is what I¡¯ve built for you!¡± Stanley wrapped his arms around Sophia¡¯s shoulders as he announced proudly. However, Sophia quietly pulled his hands away before saying in a slightly annoyed tone, ¡°Please lead the way.¡± Stanley removed his hands in disappointment and led the way while the dog walked in front of him. There were quite a lot people in the office even though it was the weekend. Many departments were still working overtime. Plum Technology wasn¡¯t just making online games now¡ªthey also had many other business streams, such as making websites, movies, and softwares. Right now, they were a listed company and had made a lot of money, growing into a strong presence in their field that couldn¡¯t be ignored. Sophia walked forward to take a look at thepany culture wall that had the picture of them when they first started thepany. In the picture, Sophia was still quite young, and she was very different compared to her current looks. She looked quitefortable in her ck hair and irises. Sophia suddenly regretted having a blond hair transnt, and she nned to change her hair color some timeter. When she raised her head as she looked at the pictures and the timeline of thepany on the wall, the gaze from her blue iris deepened. The attractive sparkle in her eyes mesmerized Stanley, who was standing beside her. He thought, This is a chance given by gods. I must grab hold of it tightly! Now that Michael is not here, I have to make use of this opportunity! After they walked out of thepany, it was almost time for lunch. Stanley rubbed his fingers together while saying, ¡°Hehe¡­ Sofie, where do you want to have lunch?¡± After thinking about it, she replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to meet Sarah first.¡± Unhappy about it, Stanley deliberately said, ¡°Sarah might be out with Mr. Harry. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s just the both of us today¡­¡± ¡°But I¡¯ve already made ns with her via Messenger just now.¡± With that, Sophia got into the car. ¡°Fine¡­¡± Stanley apanied Sophia to her shop in disappointment. The main branch of Pourl was right next to Sarah¡¯s cat cafe. It had a good location with many other branded stores next to it, while the workstation was just upstairs. Sarah was pretty influential among the socialites of Bayside City. However, they had no idea why their business had always been second to King, which was opposite to them. Sarah had already heard from Sophia about the incident yesterday. When they arrived at the store, they saw that Sarah and Sean were there as well. The four of them finally sat together once again. Back then, they were just four young students of Bayside University; now, all of them had had a great change in their current identities. They sat in a corner of the cat cafe as they discussed what happened yesterday. Sophia was the first to speak. ¡°Who can ess our customer¡¯s information now?¡± Sarah replied, ¡°The customer¡¯s information is all recorded in theputer system, and many people have ess to them. The store owner, customer service, and sales and design department all have ess.¡± Right now, Sarah was mainly in charge of the pets business while Stanley and Sean were in charge of Plum Technology. However, if there were anything important, the three of them would gather and discuss. Now that Sophia had returned, the four of them were finally all present. After listening to Sarah¡¯s exnation, Sean said, ¡°There are many people who have ess to the customer¡¯s data. It¡¯s going to be difficult to find out who betrayed us.¡± Sophia took a sip of her coffee, revealing a faint scar on half of her face. She still wore a mask when she went out, but she took it off when she was drinking the coffee. She remained silent while the four of them tried toe up with ways to solve this. At this moment, there weren¡¯t many customers in the cafe. They could only hear the cats¡¯zy purrs. Judge looked like he was walking in a market, looking around for the cats it liked. Once it spotted one, it would scoot closer to lick it affectionately. Suddenly, Sophia put down her mug and said, ¡°Since we can¡¯t find them, let¡¯s fire everyone.¡± Fire everyone? Chapter 779 Chapter 779 All at once, everyone was bewildered. This would involve a number of people! Were they all really going to beid off? Then, Sophia continued, ¡°Our product sales aren¡¯t doing welltely and the marketing department is responsible for many matters. Since that manager has ess to the customer information, he is also a suspect. Lay him off andy the other few people off as well; thepany willpensate for the breach of contract.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone frowned. Wasn¡¯t it a little too harsh toy off so many people at once? However, since Sophia said so, she must have had her reasons. Then, Sophia and the rest went to the store and as usual, she wore a face mask and watched as Sarah gathered all the employees and announced the names on theyoff list. Those who wereid off were customer service agents, cashiers, and the manager of the marketing department. Even Ivan¡¯s assistant wasid off! The business had been running smoothly, hence theyoffs were a shock to everyone. In the blink of an eye, everyone in thepany panicked. After a long day at work, Sophia returned home. Meanwhile, Cooper was already aware about what had happened today. As soon as she arrived home, he came over and asked with great concern, ¡°Darling, do you need my help with the business?¡± As a matter of fact, Sophia was reluctant to ept Cooper¡¯s help. If she could not handle this matter, she would be embarrassed to say that she was Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter. Despite that, she suddenly thought of something andughed. ¡°Yes, Dad. I could use some rmendations for marketing talents. I justid off the manager of the marketing department so I need to hire someone.¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper nodded. He had always paid attention to his daughter¡¯s career so he gave his suggestion. ¡°I have a few in mind. However, if you would like to expand your dog cor store beyond Cethos, I have a few suitable international talents that I can rmend.¡± Dog cor store? Um¡­ It turned out that to Cooper, Sophia¡¯s pet business was just a store that sold dog cors. That being said, even if it was a store selling dog cors, it was still his daughter¡¯s business. Nevertheless, he was very attentive and he immediately rmended a few talents to Sophia and had them flown over straightaway for her to choose. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. When Sophia arrived home, she saw Cooper had stolen the roses from her room and was picking them one after another to feed the puppies¡­ Judge¡¯s puppies now belonged to Sophia, and they looked like carbon copies of Judge. They were chubby, tiny and looked like potatoes. In fact, Sophia had not given them names yet. Cooper named them Rover and Doug; Sophia named them Fortune and Richie. Carmen named them Tater and Tots, while Linus named them Windy and Moony. Meanwhile, the bouquet of flowers sent by Michaelst night werepletely destroyed and the flowers were eaten by the puppies as if they were snacks. Earlier, Sophia wasining that she rarely received flowers but now¡­ On another note, the talents rmended by Cooper were from overseas. In fact, the pets¡¯ luxury goods industry was almost always developed abroad and it was rare to find one locally. However, while the talents were still on their way, many staff had resigned one after another. With the loss of staff, the entirepany was on edge; it seemed like Pourl was not going to make it. Sophia had seen Pourl¡¯s financial statements and business operations, which had been deteriorating in the past two years. Especially when Plum Technology was firstunched, everyone had no time to manage the business. Moreover, Ivan¡¯s capabilities had its limits too. Frankly, many of their staff needed to survive so when the performance was declining, they thought it would be best to leave. When Sophia returned, she resumed her career, starting with the dog cor store. As soon as she was back, she made a series of big moves,ying off staff and hiring new people. To the staff, she had been ¡®dead¡¯ for three or four years. Most of the staff at the store were new, while the long-time staff did not believe she was still alive. Sophia was wearing a mask when she came to the store and everyone thought the boss had hired a new manager named Lucile. Nobody knew she was actually Sophia, who had been ¡®dead¡¯ for three years. Now, the business was losing their high-end customers and the customer base that was built by Sophia and Sarah were slowly disintegrating. Before this, they had no idea what happened but now, it seemed like there was a rat among them. As a matter of fact, this person was rather ruthless¡ªthey even used the Edward¡¯s Family name as a threat. In terms of backgrounds, Bill Winterford had connections to Faye, while Sarah had Harry¡ªwho won the Academy Award for Best Actor and was the head of the Winston Family, which was one of the Four Great Families! On the other hand, the Winston Family had always kept a low profile. After all, they were part of the underworld and they could not simply announce it to everyone they met. Even in Cethos, many powerful forces did not know that Harry Winston himself was backing Sarah. Not only that, Sarah had also never told anyone about her identity. To the outside world, she was the wife of the once-popr actor, Harry Winston. As Harry¡¯s poprity started to decline, the glory of being the wife of the famous actor also started to fade. Furthermore, the traitor¡¯s endless customer poaching tactics was the reason the business was doing worse than the year before. Meanwhile, Sarah¡¯s hands were full with managing Plum Technology, so she had not been paying attention to this business. Plus, the pets¡¯ design line was supposed to be a loving and gentle industry. She did not want to make it too intense, which eventually led to the business¡¯ deterioration. Every day, Sophia went to the store to observe the operation of the store. Sarah also took time out of her day toe over to work and at the same time, talk about what had happened after Sophia had left. ¡°Did you know? When you left, the Edwards Family tried to force Taylor into marriage!¡± ¡°Lucy Edwards is disgusting! Before you, she dated Taylor and disliked the fact that he was not as rich as her, so she dumped him. Now that Taylor became sessful, she came back and tried to force him into marriage! Ha! She should take a good look in the mirror! Taylor would never marry someone like her!¡± Pointing at the King outlet across from their store, she continued, ¡°Lucy also happens to be the boss of King!¡± Another unfamiliar name¡­ Lucy Edwards is Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend? Although Sophia had not met her yet, she felt an inexplicable rivalry toward Michael¡¯s ex. Furthermore, Michael seemed to have never mentioned her. He had mentioned Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend, the ex-boyfriend¡¯s current girlfriend, and the lot so why did he not mention this ex-girlfriend of his? He might have deliberately withheld this information. Based on this, Sophia had jumped to the conclusion that there must have been something fishy going on between Michael and his ex-girlfriend! And so, she asked Sarah, ¡°Did we have any conflicts with them?¡± Sarah furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°Not really. You even invited her for a seafood meal once.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was even more confused. However, since they werepetitors, she thought they should not let their guard down around Lucy. On this day, Sophia came to the store along with the puppies. The house was packed with dogs. Judge and its two puppies were like a three-headed dog from hell and to top it off, there were Bubbles and Snowball. Hence, they had to hire someone to babysit the five dogs. Fortunately, the space was not too big so it was not overly stressful. Two days ago, Stanley finally made the decision to neuter Judge. Despite that, he did not dare to bring Judge over himself. It was said that when neutering a pet, the owner had to put on an act. Otherwise, the pet would be vengeful. As a result, Sophia brought Judge to a cat caf¨¦ and pretended to walk away. Then, the veterinarian from the pet hospital pretended toe and steal him away, ying the bad cop and putting an end to its sexual activities. After that, Sophia pretended to have found out what happened and fake-cried before promising Judge to make a new cor and vi kennel aspensation. Sigh¡­ This is tiring. At that moment, the neutered Judge was whining while lying motionless in the kennel beside Sophia. Chapter 780 Chapter 780 Recently, the studio did not have many orders and those they had were made by their acquaintances. They were Sophia¡¯s ssmates, the Winston Family, the Fletchers, Sean¡¯s uncle, Stan and Judge and the like. Truth was, their customer base that was built up over the years were gone. Right away, Sophia stopped the business operations and decided toplete the orders at hand before anything else. As for the remaining stock in the store that was not sold, Sophia would bring it home for her pets. She also had two dozen toys sent over for Judge aspensation for the sin of castrating it. Now, the store was about to be renovated. The designer hade over to discuss the details with Sarah as Sophia listened while holding her two puppies. Suddenly, the phone rang¡ªit was still the new phone with an unfamiliar number. There were not many unknown callers for this phone. As soon as the call was connected, Bill¡¯s voice came over the line. ¡°Hello, Miss Lucile. My name is Bill Winterford. May I know if you need any pet luxury goods service? The King team would be happy to serve you.¡± Coldly, Sophia rejected, ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not interested.¡± Upon hearing that, Bill snickered. ¡°It seems like you¡¯re still a loyal customer of Pourl. You may not know this, but Pourl is about to close down and their employees are currently working with us at King. Are you sure you don¡¯t want toe and experience our service?¡± Sophia sneered nonchntly. ¡°King is nothing but a little shop that sells dog cors. Who gave you the courage to threaten customers?¡± Obviously, the phrase ¡®a little shop that sells dog cors¡¯ made Bill very unhappy. All at once, his tone became unkind. ¡°Who gave us the courage? The Edwards Family, of course!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Without saying a word, Sophia hung up and continued supervising the designer with the renovation ns. Meanwhile, Ivan came to the store too that day. Due to the fact that many of the staff had left, they were short on manpower so he hade to help clean up the store. In the afternoon, Sarah went to Plum Technology while Sophia stayed back. She actively discussed with the designer about the details and walked around holding her puppy in her arms. It was such a delight to cuddle a tiny Husky while it was still small and incapable of destroying everything in its path. The other puppy was in the kennel at the store,forting its newly neutered father who was still under anesthetics. After walking around for a while, Sophia sat down to take a break. At that moment, a young man with blonde hair and blue eyes came in. When Ivan¡ªwho usually did not talk much¡ªsaw the man, he abruptly stormed up to him and snapped, ¡°Please get out! You are not weed here!¡± This man spoke in poor Cethosiannguage, but Sophia could still hear the heavy mockery and superiority in his incoherent pronunciation. ¡°Not weed? This ce will be mine soon so why can¡¯t I come?¡± All at once, Sophia recognized this voice. It was the same one that she spoke to on the phone¡ªBill Winterford, the coteral rtive of the Edwards Family and the chief designer of King across the street. Bill had disregarded Ivan and strode into the store. When he saw they were preparing for renovations, he commented loudly, ¡°So you¡¯re preparing for a renovation. That¡¯s great. Once you¡¯re done, we can just move in.¡± Instantly, Ivan was furious. He walked toward Bill and shoved him. ¡°Bill, I told you to never show up in front of me. Otherwise, don¡¯t me me for disregarding our past!¡± Upon hearing this, Bill sneered. ¡°Disregard our past? What are you going to do? Punch me? Come on then¡ª¡± Enraged, Ivan brought his fist up as he saw red. However, he still could not release his tightened fist. He could not hit him! If he did, Bill would just take advantage of the opportunity to cause more trouble. After all, Ivan wasn¡¯t stupid! It seemed like Bill hade in just to provoke him and if he punched Bill, the consequences would have been unimaginable. However, Bill continued to aggravate him. ¡°Look at yourself, Ivan. Your designs and talent became the stepping stone to my sess, while you have achieved nothing! Your precious Pourl is going out of business! To tell you the truth, I am currently in the midst of a discussion with yourndlord to buy this store. When the deal is made, you will all have to move out!¡± Meanwhile, Ivan¡¯s face was flushed with rage and his chest rose and fell violently. His fists that were clenched tightly looked like it would swing any time, but he held himself back. Looking at the quiet store, Bill couldn¡¯t help but mock, ¡°Pourl won¡¯t be able to make it and you don¡¯t even have customers anymore; why not just sell it to us so that we could reuse this waste? If you don¡¯t take up our offer, you¡¯ll be losing so much money that you won¡¯t even have your capital. It would not be worth the loss. Ha!¡± Upon hearing this, Ivan gritted his teeth in anger. He had poured his soul into designing the cors for his pets, yet Bill had stolen his designs and used them to be an internationally renowned master. ¡°Bill, I¡¯m warning you. Don¡¯t get too cocky!¡± However, Bill onlyughed, as if he heard something hrious. ¡°Ha! I¡¯m not being cocky. This is me being humble.¡± Just as Ivan was about to retort, a cool voice echoed. ¡°Ivan, don¡¯t waste your time with him. Carry on with your work.¡± Reluctantly, Ivan went back to work. It was at that moment that Bill noticed the blonde woman with a face mask sitting in the corner. Judging from her hair and eye color, it seemed like she was not local. Bill approached her, smiling politely as he buttered up to her. ¡°Hi, beautiful. Forgive me for not noticing you earlier. Are you a customer of Pourl? I am the chief designer of King, Bill¡ª¡± ¡°I know who you are,¡± Sophia interrupted coldly. Wearing a face mask, only a pair of cold eyes watched Bill closely. After her stic surgery, the doctors tried to preserve her original voice but her voice still changed. It sounded lower and better, as if it had matured by several years. Bill looked at the Husky in her arms and the two other dogs by her feet, recognized her voice and instantly knew who she was. ¡°So you¡¯re Miss Lucile! Well? Are you interested in what I mentioned on the phone earlier?¡± At Pourl and in the presence of Pourl¡¯s chief designer, he was shamelessly trying to poach Pourl¡¯s customer. Sophia¡¯s ocean blue eyes were emotionless as she refused his offer without any room for discussion. ¡°No deal.¡± Without waiting for Bill to speak, she continued, ¡°I¡¯m the new person in charge of Pourl and this store¡¯s landlord.¡± Upon hearing this, Bill¡¯s expression changed. Just as he was about to say something, Sophia mercilessly interrupted him again, ¡°Mr. Bill Winterford, regarding your offer to acquire this store, I hereby decline.¡± Chapter 781 Chapter 781 Sophia paused for a moment before she continued, ¡°Also, I own this entire row of shops and the row across where your store King is. We have signed a one-year contract with your store, which I won¡¯t be renewing. When it expires, please move out immediately.¡± When she took back her assets, she found out that thismercial area was developed six months ago. Not only that, it was developed by apany that was under Michael. When she learned of this, she bought two rows of shops through connections and now, they were all developed. Not only did she get back her capital, the shops¡¯ value had also increased a lot. As such, she was making a profit every day. Michael discovered the assets in Kuwait a few years ago and opened up apany specifically to manage the money. When Sophia ¡®died¡¯, Michael had transferred all of her assets to thispany for efficient management. In recent years, the money umted and Sophia got a handsome amount of money upon her return. Upon hearing her statement, Bill became embarrassed beyond words. His bright smile vanished from his face before he said grimly, ¡°You¡¯re kicking us out? I¡¯ll have you know our boss is¡ª¡± ¡°Lucy Edwards, Miss Lucy, the vice president of Edwards Group. I know.¡± In one breath, Sophia finished the rest of Bill¡¯s sentence. After putting down the puppy, she stood up and a powerful aura radiated from her petite body, her blue eyes stormy. In Cethosiannguage, she spoke each word clearly. ¡°I¡¯m not selling this shop and I¡¯m not renewing your tenancy. When it expires, please move out; I don¡¯t care if your boss is Lucy Edwards or the King himself. Also, Bill Winterford, it is embarrassing that a copycat like you could make a living in the Cethosian fashion industry. In Cethos, we have a name for people like you¡ªforeign trash.¡± As Sophia spoke, Bill became angry and embarrassed. His handsome face contorted in anger as he rudely pointed his finger at Sophia. In a tone that was more blunt and threatening than when he was on the phone earlier, he snarled, ¡°Miss Lucile, I hope you won¡¯t regret what you said today!¡± Sophia, however, looked straight at him and retorted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I keep my promises, especially to copycats. I won¡¯t go back on my word.¡± Then, Bill stormed out of the store. Everything became quiet in an instant. Calmly, Sophia sat back down and continued reading the store¡¯s work log and the operations over the years, on and off petting the Husky. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Feeling uneasy, Ivan came over. ¡°You know, Lucy Edwards is the investor in King¡ª¡± He was worried about the consequences if Lucy found out about what went down today. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if the sky falls down, I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Sophia reassured. Still, Ivan was concerned. He did not know much but he knew that Michael used to be a superstar and had some power. However, now he had grown old and his poprity had declined. Moreover, although Sophia¡¯s father was back, he was just the has-been head of the Mitchell Family. Not only that, there were rumors saying that Cooper was abducted and forced into coal mining for twenty years and had been rescued just recently. In the afternoon, Linus came to the store to pick Sophia up after work. ¡°How was work today, Sophia?¡± Realizing Linus had arrived, Sophia shut down herputer. ¡°Uncle Linus, you¡¯re here! It was alright; I¡¯m still getting myself familiar with the operations in the past years.¡± Even though Sophia had been addressing Linus as ¡®Uncle Linus¡¯ for quite a while, Linus still felt a little strange. They were sworn siblings born on the same day in the same year, but now he was being referred to as an uncle. Meanwhile, Judge¡ªwho was still under anaesthetics¡ªwas carried away by Linus, while Sophia followed behind with the two puppies and they left the store together. They got into Linus¡¯ car that was parked downstairs and went home. When they were back in the neighborhood, Sophia unconsciously nced at Vi No. 8. Although the lights were on, it does not seem like Michael had returned. If he had, he would have called her. On second thought, why should he do that? Back home, Vi No. 2 was warmly lit. Cooper had been home for a while and as soon as Sophia walked in, she saw him cuddling Carmen as they watched TV. They were watching the hit variety show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Carmen loved this show and her biggest wish was to be on this show with Michael. Lately, parent-child reality shows have been particrly popr in Cethos, with many celebrities and their families participating in them. Some would bring their babies, while others without a baby would go as far as to borrow one from someone else to participate. Simr to ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, there was another show called ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯, featuring a few unmarried female celebrities and a group of babies. In ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯, the most popr female celebrity looked simr to Sophia. Her name was Lucy Edwards. Cooper, who had been forced to watch ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ the entire afternoon, breathed a sigh of relief when Sophia came back. Upon seeing Sophia, Carmen dashed into her arms. ¡°Mommy, you¡¯re home!¡± At that moment, Sophia picked her up and took off her face mask before giving her a kiss. What a good girl! After only a day of not seeing each other, she felt like she had been separated from her for years. With the anaesthetics still in effect, Judge was carried inside by Linus. Judge¡¯s tongue hung out of its mouth, its eyes were hazy and there were even tears in the corner of its eyes. Judge¡¯s chin hung from Linus¡¯s shoulder as it whimpered. Linus gentlyforted Judge. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Judge. Don¡¯t cry anymore. Look at this!¡± As Sophia walked in, she saw a fewrge luxury dog kennels in the living room, all designed to look like a vi. Reaching into the kennel, Sophia realized it even came with an automatic massage function. ¡°Huh?¡± Then, Linus put the dog into the kennel. ¡°Look, Judge. This is the vi that Sophia and your dad made for you. Aren¡¯t you happy?¡± In an instant, Judge was so excited that its grief of being neutered was gone in a sh. It rolled around in the kennel happily. Leaving Judge in the kennel, Linus said to Sophia, ¡°I heard your discussion with Stan about neutering Judge two days ago and preparing a vi as apensation. So, I hired someone to make one that could be dismantled.¡± Hearing this, Sophia felt touched yet embarrassed at the same time. The whole thing about the vi was just a lie to make the dog feel better as it would not remember it anyway. Or, they could just bring home all the discounted cors from the store. She did not expect Linus to remember this and even make a dog vi for Judge. Furthermore, Judge had been sleeping on the carpet for years at Michael¡¯s house pitifully, without even having a bed. Judge also ate the other dog¡¯s leftovers and yed with old chewed up toys. On top of that, it had puppies too. All in all, it was rtively heartbreaking. Uncle Linus is the best! If I can¡¯t find a husband in the future, I¡¯ll just marry Linus, Sophia thought. He was not Cooper¡¯s blood-rted brother anyway! After admiring the kennel, Sophia held Carmen and sat next to Cooper. As soon as she sat down, Cooper muttered, ¡°Would you like me to chop off Bill Winterford¡¯s hand?¡± Obviously, he heard about what went down at the store today. Upon hearing this, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but scowl. ¡°Dad, you need to stop with the violence. There¡¯s a child here!¡± Carmen also pouted in dissatisfaction. ¡°Grandpa, you can¡¯t talk about violence in front of me. It¡¯s harmful to my health!¡± At once, Cooper fell silent for a moment before rephrasing his question in a gentler tone. ¡°Would you like me to turn him into delicious roasted eggnt with minced pork?¡± Chapter 782 Chapter 782 Sophia grimaced. This old man seemed to love ¡®roasted eggnt with minced pork¡¯ and was constantly talking about it! How could she look at the actual roasted eggnt with minced pork after this? ¡°That¡¯s enough, Dad. I can handle this and I¡¯lle to you if I need your help! Besides, I have to learn as I grow. I can¡¯t be relying on you for everything!¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper dropped the matter. He was relieved but also a little disappointed. His baby was all grown up and would not need him anymore. As he thought about it, he became really depressed! For the entire day, Sophia had been catching up with the business operations. Exhausted, she washed up and got ready for bed. Michael had not been around for a few days. Thus, Carmen had been staying with Sophia and had been sleeping with her every night. During the day, Carmen¡¯s nannies yed with her and took care of her. At night, one of them would stay over and sleep in the next room. There were some changes to Sophia¡¯s bed; a guard rail was installed on the side of her bed to prevent Carmen from falling off the bed when she slept. Hugging her teddy bear, Carmen had her eyes wide open and was still wide awake as she talked to Sophia. ¡°Mommy, when can we go to the zoo? I want to see the lion!¡± ¡°When Daddyes back in a few days, we¡¯ll go to the zoo together,¡± Sophia murmured tenderly as she pinched Carmen¡¯s tiny face. A momentter, Carmen asked again, ¡°When can we go see the panda?¡± ¡°When Daddyes back!¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen was pleased. Then, she went to sleep while hugging her teddy bear. When Carmen was asleep, Sophia stared at her phone. Michael¡¯s phone number had vanished from her phone and he had disappeared from Messenger too. Sophia had no idea how to reach him. In a daze, she stared at the list. Suddenly, a group chat named ¡®Gay Swordsman Group¡¯ appeared and someone named ¡®stupid dog¡¯ typed, ¡®@group: Everyone, there¡¯s an event tonight for the 15th anniversary of the Swordsman Game! There will be special sets, new maps, and new monsters! Who wants to join?¡¯ ¡®Me,¡¯ Sean replied. ¡®Old Wolf and I too. He¡¯s preparing milk right now,¡¯ Sarah replied. ¡®I want to join too,¡¯ Imported Young Man wrote. Sophia had just learned to use Messenger so she was still a little confused with group chats. After fumbling for a moment, she replied that she would join as well. Sarah had downloaded the Swordsman Game for Sophia. Previously, Sophia had kept a record of all her ounts and passwords in a little notebook. Logging into one of the old ounts, she entered the game and into the game room that Stan mentioned. It had been a few days since she retrieved the game and she was slowly getting familiar with it, already familiar with the basic functions. Even though she had forgotten, her instincts were still present as she yed the game. When she entered the game room, there were already a number of people in the team. One by one, she identified each gamer¡ªStan was ¡®Snow Fox¡¯, Harry was ¡®Beast¡¯, Sarah was ¡®Little Kitten¡¯, Sean was ¡®Dragon Belle Warrior¡¯, and thest one was ¡®Moon Breeze¡¯, which was obviously Linus. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Although Uncle Linus looked like a foreigner, in fact, he was a gentle and old-fashioned man. Meanwhile, Sophia was ¡®Sirius 233¡¯, a male character. ¡®Is everyone here yet? We¡¯ll start right away,¡¯ Stan wrote. As soon as he said that, a magnificent golden light special effect shone from the sky in the game. A colorful light cascaded from the sky before a male character in golden armor descended from the sky andnded before Sophia. Sophia examined this character, who was wearing a golden armored robe with a long sword hanging on his green silk waistband¡ªthe character design was very cool. This character¡¯s name was Scary Phoenix. When he appeared, there was quite a reaction from everyone. ¡®Crap. Daddy, why are you here?¡¯ ¡®Holy sh*t! Where the f*ck did youe from?¡¯ ¡®Sir Scary Phoenix, please ept my respect.¡¯ Everyone seemed to be very familiar with him. Sophia, however, was totally confused. She clicked into Scary Phoenix¡¯s information and found out that this gamer¡¯s scores were through the roof. Due to the time limit, the triple experience was only valid for an hour. When time was up, everyone rushed into the instance zones and started doing quests. Sophia enjoyed ying the game. In the virtual world, she could be a virtual boss or a virtual warrior. It was simply amazing! Her old self must have chosen to develop games because she loved it! They had chosen the monster with the highest difficulty and the oing monsters were particrly fierce. Suddenly, a giant monster rushed straight at Sophia and unleashed strange attacks. However, Sophia did not defend herself, which resulted in the monster wing her. Hence, she was poisoned and lost half of her life. Once she was poisoned, her character¡¯s actions were slowed down. The monster was right before the character, but Sirius¡¯s speed was still extremely slow. At once, Sophia was intimidated. Right at the critical moment, a bright golden light shed and she could hear the sound of a sword being drawn out. The golden armor-d warrior had appeared before her and rushed toward the monster, fighting it by himself. It turned out to be Scary Phoenix! Scary Phoenix¡¯s gaming skills were unbelievable. A golden light shed and in an instant, he unleashed a series of superb moves. A giant monster that could only be defeated by a team that cooperated closely and had strong gears was single handedly defeated by Scary Phoenix. When the monster copsed, everyone in the team was in awe. ¡®God damn! The old man¡¯s skill did not diminish at all! He is indeed old but vigorous!¡¯ ¡®Good game! No wonder you¡¯re known as the Swordsman¡¯s Number One God of War!¡¯ ¡®It would¡¯ve been great if you had finished filming ¡®Swordsman¡¯ back then. It¡¯s such a pity that you had to fake your death in the middle of filming! They had the heart throb Nichs Yates rece you in ying Scary Phoenix and the film went to sh*t!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s such a shame! It started off as a ssic but it ended up being bullsh*t!¡¯ ¡®They even cut your scenes and left you with only three episodes!¡¯ Seeing what everyone was saying in the game, Sophia curiously opened the browser and typed ¡®Swordsman¡¯ TV series, and the results popped up. The series was released two years ago and the lead actor was the has-been actor Nichs Yates. The plot was about the main character¡¯s family being tragically murdered and he had changed his name to ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯, wandering around the world as he sought revenge. In the reviews section, the first three episodes were considered a ssic; the ratings were so high that no TV series could beat it. Despite that, the ratings rapidly declined after the third episode. It was disastrous, all because the lead actor had passed away. Hence, they reced the actor with Nichs Yates, whose acting skills were almost non-existent. The contrast was just tragic! In the first three episodes, the lead actor who yed Scary Phoenix was Taylor Murray and it was also hisst film. All at once, Sophia was shocked. Scary Phoenix was Taylor Murray? In other words, he was Carmen¡¯s Dad, Michael Fletcher? She found a photo of the set of the film from that year. In the photo, Michael was dressed in gold amour. He had a powerful gaze and a handsome and cool expression, radiating a fierce aura. Comparing the photo and the character in the game, they looked exactly the same. The costumes were magnificent. It was aplete oppositepared to his haggard and white-haired appearance now¡­ Chapter 783 Chapter 783 When Sophia returned to the game, the triple experience event had ended. ¡®How about we y a PvP match? We haven¡¯t yed that in a while!¡¯ ¡®Sophia, you have to join!¡¯ This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Without replying, Sophia followed the group and entered the PvP match, where yers could duel with each other. The group consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Winston, the Fletcher couple, Carmen¡¯s parents, and the single Linus¡ªseven of them in total. However, they needed another yer for the teams to be equal. After entering the PvP match, they opened up invitations for one extra yer and a character dressed in a ck dragon suit while holding a machete entered. His gaming skills were fantastic too and his character name was Ranma. Stanley had been ying this game for a decade, thus he was extremely active in the gaming world. If there were any masters, he would be the first to know. Now that there was an unfamiliar character named Ranma, he simply brushed it off, thinking he was just someone that filled an empty spot. Stanley would just kill him off immediately. As the game leader, Stanley assigned the teams. ¡°Sophie, Sean, Uncle Michael, and myself will be in the blue team. Meanwhile, Little Kitten, Mr. Harry, and Linus will be in the red team with Ranma. I¡¯ll get rid of Ranma in a second.¡± Stanley knew he was no match for Michael, so he got him on his team to save himself from being killed. That would have been in embarrassing. With Michael here, Stanley could only try to save his remaining dignity instead of showing off. When the match began, they fought four against four. The yer¡¯s attacks were ineffective to their own teammates and they could only fight the opposite team yers. As soon as the battle started, everyone had decided on their opponents. At once, Scary Phoenix darted toward Linus. Despite looking unassuming, Linus was actually the strongest opponent. The Swordsman Game had long been popr outside of Cethos and it made an impact. Little did they know that Linus was a well-known yer on foreign servers. Sean was battling with Harry, which meant Sophia had to take on Sarah. Meanwhile, Stanley charged at Ranma with a sword. When the match started, Sophia ran around trying to dodge Sarah¡¯s attacks while sneaking nces at Scary Phoenix and Linus¡¯ battle. How cool they were! In the game, Michael was the golden-armored God of War while Linus was the white-robed swordsman. Both had their own merits and had different types of attacks. They exchanged a few blows and it was dazzling to watch. On the other hand, Harry and Sean were also equally matched. Truth was, it was difficult to tell one apart from the other. As for Sarah and Sophia, they were not as intense as the other pairs. One of them had only just retrieved the game and had not been ying for years, while the other was never good in the first ce. They were rookies fighting each other, chasing one another around like cats fighting. It seemed everyone had found suitable opponents. Meanwhile, Stanley raised his sword and chargedzily at Ranma, thinking he would be able to kill him with two strikes. Little did he know¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± The scream came from the game and everyone was shocked to see that Snow Fox had copsed and died. He was killed with just two attacks and Ranma stood next to his corpse, a long sword in hand. Blood was dripping from the sword and the corpse looked like it was still warm. However, the system showed that ¡®Snow Fox¡¯ was dead. Everyone was stunned, including Stanley. For crying out loud, he was a well-known e-sports expert, a ten-year veteran of the Swordsman Game! Yet, he was killed by a nobody with only two strikes! Two attacks and he was killed! Sadly, he was already dead and it was impossible for him to fight back. Exasperated, Stanley started to curse in the gaming group. ¡®Everyone, stop what you¡¯re doing. Kill that Ranma and avenge me!¡¯ All at once, everyone stopped fighting. Linus and Harry stepped back to watch the battle. Meanwhile, Sean raised his sword and charged at Ranma with an ultimate attack to avenge Stanley. He was extra careful as his opponent had killed Stanley with only two strikes. It was either because Stanley did not take him seriously or he was indeed skilful. However, no one would have expected¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± After three strikes, Dragon Belle Warrior was dead. Upon seeing that, everyone was dumbfounded. What a master! There were only Sophia and Michael left in the blue team. Suddenly, Michael silently dashed toward Ranma. Sophia wanted to help but her skill sets were from three years ago and she could not keep up with the current developments. Moreover, she was still weak in general; she could not help even if she wanted to and could only watch as they fought. And so, the Swordsman¡¯s godly character went against a nobody. This was a shocking battle that left everyone stunned behind their screens. How powerful! Time really made it inevitable to be reced by younger and newer people. Who knew there was such a master in the Swordsman Game? Three years ago, Taylor Murray died and the Swordsman game no longer had Scary Phoenix. Three yearster, Scary Phoenix had reappeared in the game and as this was announced through the server, everyone rushed to watch this PvP match. In the match, Scary Phoenix was battling against someone named Ranma. The fight was intense and fierce, which attracted many yers to the scene. The two fought mercilessly for thirty minutes before it was over. A scream was heard and a yer had died. The system prompted ¡®Scary Phoenix killed¡¯. Upon seeing that, everyone could not believe their eyes. Scary Phoenix had died¡­ Scary Phoenix, the godly and undefeated character, had actually died? Where did Ranmae from? Not long after, people were talking about this battle all over the world. ¡®Oh my God! Scary Phoenix actually got killed!¡¯ ¡®Since Taylor Murray died, his ount was probably reced by someone else! No wonder¡­¡¯ ¡®But from what I saw, he was still powerful. The skills were fantastic, yet he still died. Who is this Ranma? He can¡¯t be just a nobody!¡¯ ¡­ Meanwhile, the gaming group chat was quiet; it was as if everyone was so shocked that they forgot how to type and continue with the game. In the game, all of the red team members were still alive while the blue team was left with Sophia. Without any other choice, Sophia charged with her sword, her palms sweaty from nerves. She took on the Ranma that killed Scary Phoenix, drew her godly sword Turbo Tornado, and swung. However, the opponent was able to block the attack. Most probably due to his previous battle with Scary Phoenix, Ranma was left with half a life. Not even a few movester, he screamed and died. At that moment, everyone was taken aback. If they had seen correctly, Ranma did not resist at all when he fought Sophia. He even removed his gear and reced his weapon with a knife and swung randomly before giving up. The red team was left with three yers, while Sophia was the only blue team yer left. If they killed her, Scary Phoenix would definitely avenge her. Thus, they could only stand and wait for Sophia to kill them. Meanwhile, Sophia did not understand why everyone did not make a move. Regardless, she charged toward them and killed them all. The first match was over and unanimously, everyone agreed to start the second match. This time, they would absolutely not take it lightly again. As soon as the second match started, the three masters on the blue team¡ªSean, Stanley, and Michael ¡ªtook their turns charging at Ranma. The first one to charge was Stanley, who took a million precautions and carefully attacked with his best shot. He was so nervous, it felt like he was ying in a world e-sportspetition. Then¡­ One after another, three screams could be heard, signifying that three yers were killed. Chapter 784 Chapter 784 All at once, the blue team lost three of its yers¡ªScary Phoenix, Stanley, and Sean died in Ranma¡¯s hands one after another. In the previous match, Scary Phoenix resisted for thirty minutes but this time, he was killed within ten minutes. Again, only a dumbfounded Sophia was left. The master, Ranma, silently removed his gear and stood motionless before Sophia. Taken aback, Sophia nervously swung her sword and killed him. That being said, it took a while before she was able to kill Ranma. Everyone was at a loss for words. Then, Sophia killed the rest of the red team. No one made a sound. Who was this ck Dragon Warrior? It was as if it was specifically designed to defeat Scary Phoenix. He was merciless when he killed Stanley, Sean, and Scary Phoenix. Yet, he was willingly letting Sophia defeat him? In front of her husband, Scary Phoenix? Did he not know Scary Phoenix was showing off in front of his wife? Even Linus knew this and he just showed off for a moment before giving the spotlight to Scary Phoenix. Where did this ck Dragon Warriore from? The situation in the match was on the verge of a frenzy. In the end, everyone had gone into spectator mode to watch the two masters battle one-on-one. On this day in the Swordsman Game, thousands of people joined to watch Scary Phoenix in action, and also the battle between him and Ranma. They wanted to see how Scary Phoenix was defeated again and again. Sirius233 and Scary Phoenix had resurfaced on this day and everyone knew these two ounts belonged to Taylor Murray and his wife. However, both of them died a tragic death three years ago and the media back then were all reporting on this incident. Therefore, the person behind this ount could not be Taylor Murray. Furthermore, it was impossible for this ount to be sold. When the TV series was first released, everyone joined the game just to see the Scary Phoenix. Back then, the game developer said this ount would be a permanent disy and would never be sold. Now, everyone was curious as to who took over the Scary Phoenix ount. Could it be someone from the game developmentpany? On another note, the new Scary Phoenix¡¯s skills were fantastic as well. How could he be defeated? In the match, the two of them fought fiercely. Scary Phoenix was repeatedly killed and respawned. They fought until their weapons broke, yet they still fought. It was almost midnight when Sophia nced at the clock. It was eleven-thirty and Carmen was sleeping soundly. Meanwhile, Sophia had turned down the volume to avoid waking her up. It was time to end the game¡­ In the game, Sirius233, who was watching the game, suddenly said, ¡°Daddy, it¡¯ste. You¡¯d better go to bed.¡± ¡®Daddy¡¯? At once, everyone was shocked. It was such a pity; it turned out the ount really was reced. Sirius233 was beaten so badly that she called the opponent ¡®Daddy¡¯! He would rather die than give in back then. At once, the gaming group blew up. ¡®Sophia, who are you calling Daddy? How could you be so shameless? You really did lose your memory and you¡¯re not the Sophia that I know! You¡¯ve changed!¡¯ Stan wrote. ¡®But this guy is really good and I¡¯d like to call him Daddy too!¡¯ Little Kitten added. Upon reading this, Sophia replied with an eye roll GIF. Meanwhile, Linus continued watching the battle. Scary Phoenix was once again cornered by Ranma and it was only a matter of time before he was killed again. This Ranma¡­ For some reason, Linus was suddenly reminded of someone. This person created the world¡¯s first online game almost thirty years ago, when the inte was still not as advanced. He was also the world¡¯s first online gamer. Now, the Cethosian gamingmunity worshipped him as the Grandmaster. That person was none other than Cooper Mitchell. Once this was spected, Ranma¡¯s behaviors made sense. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Mercilessly defeating Scary Phoenix, it seemed that every move carried a strong sense of mockery from a powerful father-inw to his pretentious son-inw. Ha! There goes your big moment to look cool! Linus was at a loss for words. Finally, a scream was heard and Scary Phoenix was defeated once again. After being killed, Scary Phoenix stopped challenging him. Instead, he said, ¡®Dad, it¡¯s gettingte. I will challenge you again another day.¡¯ The audience who was watching this epic match were baffled and the silence became deafening. Did they hear that right? Did they see it correctly? The Swordsman¡¯s Number One Warrior¡ªthe godly Scary Phoenix¡ªwas beaten and had to call ¡®Dad¡¯ in surrender? Unfortunately, Ranma did not appreciate Scary Phoenix¡¯s words. Putting his sword back into the sheath, he retorted coldly, ¡®I¡¯m not your Dad.¡¯ Then, he left the game and disappeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. Scary Phoenix had initially wanted to show off in front of his wife but now he was just disappointed. Without a word, he left the game as well. One after another, everyone, including the audience, left the game. It was a shock to everyone that Scary Phoenix was repeatedly defeated. Immediately, the news spread like wildfire. Taylor Murray who had ¡®died¡¯ three years ago was suddenly making headlines again. Not only him, but also the gaming ount ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯ as well. The gaming ount was popr too; after all, the TV series with the same name was still in existence. Although everyone had left the game, the gaming group was still lively. Stanley was the first to curse in the group. ¡®Uncle Michael, you¡¯ve be so hical! You¡¯ve changed; you¡¯re not the Uncle Michael that I admired! You¡¯ve all changed!¡¯ Michael remained silent. Meanwhile, Sophia looked through the chat list. There were seven people in this group so it was easy to search for someone. Soon, she found a Messenger user named ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯s Original Husband¡¯. This name¡­ Then, she nced at her own username. ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Original Wife¡¯. These matching usernames¡­ His avatar was a picture of her facing the sky with her hair down, while her avatar was a picture of him yawning. It was obvious that these avatars belonged to soulmates¡­ It was too bad that Sophia could not remember anything at all and did not recall these photos too. Sophia hadpletely forgotten everything. For a moment, she stared at Michael¡¯s Messenger and wanted to add him. However, she felt that she wasing on too strong if she added him now. Shouldn¡¯t a girl be more reserved and let the man make the move? After staring at the avatar for some time, she decided not to add him. On the other hand, Stanley was still cursing in the group when Sean finally spoke. ¡®Stan, do you remember the Grandmaster of the gamingmunity?¡¯ ¡®Of course! Wasn¡¯t it Daddy Cooper Mitchell?¡¯ He was the Grandmaster of the gamingmunity, so Stanley was willing to call him Daddy. Moreover, he was Sophia¡¯s father. ¡®Who does that Ranma look like to you?¡¯ Sean added. At once, Stanley went silent, as if he had just pieced everything together. The group fell into a moment of unspeakable awkwardness. Immediately, Stanley took back everything he said earlier. Sophia was still staring at the group chat in a daze when Cooper sent her a message. ¡®Go to sleep, Darling. We¡¯ll continue the game tomorrow.¡¯ At that moment, Sophia was speechless. It was just a game, after all¡­ Was it necessary to be so merciless? Chapter 785 Chapter 785 Sophia didn¡¯t head to the store the next day because the construction team would be starting the construction process. However, the rest of Pourl¡¯s branches were not affected so that morning, she continued to read her previous notes and work diary in the study. It also happened to be the weekend so Nathan came over. Nathan had grown up to be a young teenager who was cold and moody. After he arrived, he sat off to one side and watched Sophia read her notes, not saying a word. After being stared at for a while, Sophia started to feel embarrassed so she asked with a smile, ¡°Nate, what¡¯s the matter? Why are you staring at me like that?¡± Hearing this, Nathan quickly turned his head to the other side and muttered coldly, ¡°Nothing; I¡¯m looking at Snowball.¡± Snowball was a huge Samoyed with white fur and it stood next to Sophia obediently like a little girl. After Sophia heard Nathan¡¯s reply, she smiled and continued to read her notes. However, a moment later, she noticed that Nathan was still staring at her intently. What a cold and quiet child. Sophia had learned about Nathan¡¯s past from others. Nathan¡¯s mother, Celine Fletcher, helped Phantom Wolf steal Sophia away but was injured by Justin who came after her, which ultimately led to her miscarriage. Sophia was stolen away, Michael was almost killed, and Celine and Justin were so badly hurt that they nearly lost their lives. Even now, Celine was still being held in the Fletcher family house for psychiatric treatment. There is such an unbearable burden on this little boy¡¯s shoulders. Carmen liked Nathan very much. As soon as she saw him, she kept pestering him for hugs. The two siblings were very close to each other and in order to prevent Carmen from disturbing Sophia, Nathan carried her out of the study. After lunch, Sophiaid on the sofa and watched televisionzily. Just then, Carmen brought a new DVD from her house again. This time, she brought over a ssic collection of a high-definition version of ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ and yed it in the home theater in the living room. Then, shey on the sofa as she petted the dog with her left hand and ate fruits with her right. Meanwhile, Cooper entered the study after lunch. He had been really busy for the past few days. Even though he had Linus to deal with the Michel Group¡¯s development in Cethos, he was now in charge of the Mitchell family¡¯s business. Since his return, the other two families had joined forces to defeat his family first. However, he was stillying low for the moment. After all, his attacks always brought a fatal blow. Before he was confident that he would win, he chose to save his strength. He now had two identities¡ªone as Fass Michel and another as Cooper Mitchell. Behind these two identities were two different families and he made sure that the two were differentiated clearly. For the time being, he didn¡¯t want the two to merge, which was why he never used the Michel family¡¯s power to deal with the Mitchell family¡¯s problems. There were certain things that only his identity as Cooper Mitchell could aplish. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t forget that we have to head to the hospital for the second surgery tomorrow.¡± At that moment, Sophia was watching television intently so she nodded and replied briefly, ¡°Okay.¡± Cooper nced at the home theatre and saw Michael¡¯s handsome face on the screen, which shockingly resembled his image of Scary Phoenix in the game. The ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ TV series was originally created for the fans. However, because of Sophia¡¯s strong persuasion, it became a TV series tailored to the yer ¡®Scary Phoenix¡¯. This was Taylor Murray¡¯s first andst TV series. Back then, he got injured after shooting a few scenes so they changed the actor for the lead role. Even though it was a TV series, the production standard was very high and the lead actor was really famous. For a popr movie actor¡ªwith extremely handsome looks that was very different from ordinary actors¡ªto star in a TV series, the audience had high expectations. Back then, the ratings skyrocketed as soon as the TV series started airing. Sitting at the side, Carmen said, ¡°Daddy specifically starred in this TV series for you, Mummy.¡± Sophia was watching excitedly and she reached over to ruffle Carmen¡¯s hair. When she saw Nathan at the other side, she reached over to pat his head too. There wasn¡¯t a female lead in the first three episodes of this TV series, but it was still interesting to watch. The special effects were realistic and beautiful, the scenes were astounding, the male lead¡¯s acting was amazing, and the fighting scenes were smooth. It was considered one of the ssics. A whileter, Sophia finished watching three episodes. When the fourth episode started, the plot of the TV series suddenly changed, whereby the male lead¡¯s family had a tragic event so he went for cosmetic surgery to get revenge. Using this scene, they changed the male lead actor. This new lead¡¯s acting skills were terrible; his acting was exaggerated and his facial features looked weird because of excessive stic surgery. Furthermore, the fighting scenes fully relied on special effects, his aura didn¡¯t match with the character, and his lines were all post dubbed so what he was mouthing didn¡¯t match the lines. What was even more disastrous was that in order to keep the whole TV series cohesive, they changed all of Taylor¡¯s voice in the first three episodes to post production dubbing, so his lips didn¡¯t match the lines either. It ispletely ruined¡­ After watching it for ten minutes, Sophia turned it off. Seeing this, Carmen hurriedly switched to another DVD. ¡°Let¡¯s watch this. This movie is interesting.¡± Carmen had brought plenty of DVDs from home that day and they were all Michael¡¯s movies. Those were also DVDs that Michael personally collected so they were high-definition and suitable to be yed in a home theater. Although Cooper really hated to see Michael¡¯s face in his house, his daughter liked it so there was nothing he could do. In fact, he had known that as soon as Sophia returned to Cethos, she would meet up with Michael again no matter what. He was also hesitant to move into the Imperial at first but what else could he do? Even if he moved back to Africa, as long as Michael knew that Sophia was alive, he would still pester them no matter how far they moved. Besides, my daughter is still young so she can¡¯t stay hidden her whole life like me. In the future, once her face is cured, she¡¯ll definitely have to go back into the outside world and see other people. She also needs to have her own social circle and her face will be exposed sooner orter. It¡¯s all destiny¡­ However, as long as I¡¯m alive, I will use my methods to prove that if he wants my daughter, he won¡¯t be able to have her with just 80,000 this time! Later, Cooper returned to his office. He had already implemented a holographic video conference system in his office so he could work from home, and he was about to have a conference with several of the older department heads. Perhaps he was used to hiding from the public. Even after he had returned to the Mitchell family, he still didn¡¯t like to head out and socialize. Apart from going out with his daughter, he rarely left the house. Therefore, there were rumors going around that he was sold to the ck coal mines in Africa and dug coal for twenty years before he was finally rescued. However, nobody knew that he was Fass Michel. Before the meeting started, Linus suddenly entered the office and said, ¡°Cooper, the Edwards family seems to be secretly investigating Sophiately.¡± Hearing this, Cooper frowned and asked, ¡°Who in the Edwards family is investigating Sophia?¡± ¡°Lucy; Jordan¡¯s daughter,¡± Linus replied. ¡°Should we order people to cut her up into pieces?¡± Even though Lucy was the young madam of the Edwards family, with Cooper¡¯s strength, it was really easy for him to secretly kill her. He had only found out about this persontely. Just like Sophia, Lucy opened a store to sell dog cors and the two of them werepetitors. Perhaps she¡¯s trying to find out about Sophia¡¯s whereabouts so that she can destroy her shop. In the end, Cooper ordered, ¡°Don¡¯t let her find any useful information.¡± Linus nodded in response and went out to carry out the order. At best, they would find out about Sophia¡¯s identity in the Mitchell family. However, Cooper still felt uneasy and knew that the best solution was to kill them. If this happened in the past, he would definitely do so. However, at the moment, Cooper had be a kind father and for some reason, he started to believe in karma so he couldn¡¯t simply kill anyone. Well¡­ It¡¯s not toote to kill them after they do something wrong. Chapter 786 Chapter 786 The next day, Cooper apanied Sophia to the stic surgery hospital for her second operation. She had recovered well after the previous operation so now she could go for the second one. After going through the second operation and undergoing some careful and scientific post-treatment, her face would fully recover. As the previous operation went sessfully, Cooper gave every doctor that participated in the operation a luxurious three bedroom condominium in Third Avenue. A three bedroom condominium in the Third Avenue of Bayside City cost at least a few million, which was why the doctors were extremely caring this time. Moreover, their boss had personally told them to cure Sophia, so nobody dared to neglect her. If Sophia¡¯s face could be fully cured, Cooper had promised the chief doctor that he would give a Bayside City vi that was not in the suburbs to every doctor. The more beautiful Sophia¡¯s face turned out to be, the closer their vis would be to the city center and therger the area. It would also be near school districts. At the same time, the boss behind the scenes promised that once they cured her face, every doctor would have a luxury car and they wouldn¡¯t have to go through the license te lottery system. To top it off, it also came with a parking lot. The more beautiful Sophia¡¯s face turned out to be, the more valuable the car would be. However, if they couldn¡¯t cure her¡­ What happened to Sophia¡¯s face would happen to them! Naturally, Cooper didn¡¯t tell them about the consequences of not being able to cure Sophia. Nheless, they knew that they would probably be murdered if they failed, which was why the best doctors of the hospital specially changed all of their appointments and kept a whole day¡¯s schedule free to treat Sophia. While Sophia was undergoing the operation, Cooper, who was waiting outside, felt extremely anxious. The operation was very painful because Sophia¡¯s face was in a really bad shape. In addition toser scar removal, they needed to use other methods to help cure her face, such as injections, post-treatment medications and skin grafts. Furthermore, they couldn¡¯t do too many surgeries on her. Otherwise, her face would be stiff. When it came to the face, no matter how small a problem was, it was still a big deal. A little mistake could cause a huge loss. And so, the operationsted two hours. When Cooper saw his daughter being pushed out of the operating room, he almost burst into tears. He saw his darling daughter lying on the hospital bed and her face was red and swollen, wrapped in medicated gauze. ¡°The operation was really sessful,¡± the doctor announced. ¡°Miss Scarlett needs to stay in the hospital for one night and be put on a drip, but she can be discharged tomorrow morning.¡± Cooper stayed by Sophia¡¯s side and entered the inpatient department. Her face was numb because the anaesthetic was still working and as soon as they put her on intravenous, she fell asleep. Meanwhile, Cooper worked silently at the side as he kept watch over his daughter. It was afternoon when Sophia woke up. After having some liquid food, she went out for a walk. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. There were very few people in the inpatient department of the hospital and the scenery was beautiful, with plenty of flowers and nts. At that moment, Sophia¡¯s face was still swollen and her face was covered in gauze. ¡°My darling, how are you feeling? Does it hurt?¡± Cooper asked, feeling concerned. Only Sophia¡¯s eyes, mouth and nostrils could be seen and she was very careful as she whispered, ¡°It¡¯s like ants biting my skin; it doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Hearing this, Cooper leaned close and said, ¡°Come here. Let me blow on your wounds; you¡¯ll feel better.¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh. Cooper is treating me like a baby. However, in Cooper¡¯s eyes, Sophia was indeed just a baby and his only precious child. After sitting for a while, Cooper received a call and left, leaving Shae and two bodyguards to guard Sophia. All of a sudden, there was amotion in the inpatient department and it seemed as if there were people quarreling. In order to treat Sophia today, many doctors canceled their original appointments to operate on her. Most of the customers of this stic surgery hospital were well-known big shots and as their appointments were dyed for no reason there would definitely be problems, but the hospital staff were able to resolve them. However, this time, it seemed that the hospital couldn¡¯t resolve this customer. The customer seemed to be really powerful. She rushed over to the inpatient department with a big group of bodyguards and her target was Sophia, who was sitting outside enjoying the breeze. ¡°Who here goes by the name Scarlett?¡± A shrill female voice could be heard and it startled everyone in the inpatient department. When the bodyguards next to Sophia saw the woman approaching aggressively, they hurriedly made a call. Soon, a dozen bodyguards appeared to protect Sophia. The person who walked over was a young woman. Judging by her outfit and attitude, it was obvious that she had a powerful background. Sophia tried to lift her eyelids, but they were covered in medicine so she wasn¡¯t able to see clearly. She didn¡¯t seem to recognize the woman who was walking over. The woman, on the other hand, seemed to know her well, or one could say that she knew Sophia¡¯s current identity. Looking at Sophia¡¯s face covered in gauze, the woman¡¯s gaze was filled with disdain and her words were rude. ¡°Scarlett, you really did a lot of stic surgery. Let me guess what you did to your face. I¡¯m guessing you went for double eyelid surgery, sharpened your jaw and changed the shape of your nose! After all, if you didn¡¯t go for surgery, it¡¯s embarrassing for you to meet people.¡± Sophia struggled to look at the woman and asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman replied angrily, ¡°I¡¯m the daughter of the Mitchell family, Sandra Mitchell. My father is Alex Mitchell.¡± As soon as Sophia heard her name, she knew who it was and she murmured, ¡°Oh¡ªhello.¡± Sandra looked at the woman in front of her from head to toe, feeling extremely contemptuous. She did stic surgery to her whole face. She must¡¯ve been born so ugly that she feels embarrassed to go out in public. What an ugly b*tch! Sandra had a skin brightening appointment that day but it was unexpectedly pushed back for no reason. It had been several years since Sandra Oak became Sandra Mitchell and for the past few years, her identity had changed drastically. She had secured her position as a daughter of the Mitchell family with her efforts and managed to be the world champion, which made Alex proud. Furthermore, she was engaged to a son of the Edwards family. Right now, she was at the pinnacle of her life. However, she herself knew how she got to this ce and deep down, she felt inferior. When her inferiority reached the extreme and she gained power, she became extremely conceited. Sandra wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to challenge her authority as a daughter of the Mitchell family, and wanted to receive the best treatment wherever she went. Even if it was just for a cosmetic treatment, she naturally couldn¡¯t allow anyone to challenge her. Because of Scarlett, the b*tch that appeared out of nowhere, the doctors at this stic surgery hospital specially changed their schedules. In Sandra¡¯s eyes, this was uneptable. Scarlett is hideous and iparable to me. Even if she did stic surgery, she will still be ugly! If this happened in the past, Sandra would have caused huge trouble in this stic surgery hospital and directly tear apart the gauze that was covering Sophia¡¯s face to see the hideous monster underneath. However, she had other things to deal with that day¡­ ¡°Hey Scarlett, I heard that you have a few shops in a great location¡­¡± Sandra¡¯s tone changed abruptly and it even sounded like she was praising Sophia. Seeing that Sophia didn¡¯t respond, she deliberately reminded her, ¡°I¡¯m talking about the two rows of shops near Xenia Square¡­ I really like them. Why don¡¯t we have an exchange?¡± Sophia¡¯s face remained expressionless. Then, Sandra took two steps forward and asked, ¡°I¡¯ll exchange a luxurious condo for your two rows of shops. How does that sound?¡± Sophia struggled to look up and she nced at Sandra, her face full of wounds so she couldn¡¯t have too much expression. Then, she asked, ¡°The shops that you mentioned indeed belong to me, but where is this condo that you¡¯re talking about?¡± Hearing this, Sandra hurriedly replied, ¡°The condo I¡¯m talking about is a two-bedroom condo on Third Avenue that is worth millions!¡± Sophia¡¯s shops were also on Third Avenue and they were in primend, with arge flow of people passing by everyday. There are a total of nine shops in those two rows but Sandra is asking for them in exchange for a two- bedroom ¡®luxurious¡¯ condo¡­ Chapter 787 Chapter 787 Sophia would basically be exchanging her shops for almost nothing. Six month¡¯s rental ie of her shops was more than the house that Sandra was offering. In Sandra¡¯s mind, Sophia was just the ugly daughter of the ex-family head, while Sandra was Alex¡¯s daughter and the current official family head. Furthermore, she won the world championship and had plenty of connections in the sports and business industry, not to mention she was also engaged to a young master of the Edwards family. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. As Sandra thought about it, she was sure that Sophia would definitely give her the two rows of shops. However, after pretending to consider it for a moment, Sophia replied, ¡°No deal.¡± At that moment, the veins on Sandra¡¯s forehead seemed to pop and her delicate face was filled with an eerie aura. Deep down, she secretly scolded Sophia fiercely, I¡¯m being nice but you seem to not appreciate it. Sandra had tried her best to enter the real social circle of the young madams of the wealthy families and did everything she could to curry favor with them. For instance, Lucy Edwards had always been the target of her attention. If Lucy didn¡¯t personally ask her for a favor, she wouldn¡¯t ask this hideous monster for her shops. Sandra chuckled before she took another two steps closer to Sophia and said in a soft voice, ¡°Scarlett, you¡¯re new here so you probably don¡¯t know Bayside City¡¯s market. Nowadays, shops are not valuable and the prices won¡¯t rise much; onlymercial lots have room for appreciation¡­ Moreover, you have just returned to Bayside City and we¡¯ve only just met. I like those two rows of shops a lot so why don¡¯t you give it to me as a greeting gift? ¡± Sandra was determined to get those shops today because she had already promised Lucy. She was the young madam of the Mitchell family and Scarlett was no one. If she couldn¡¯t even get something from this hideous monster, she would be too embarrassed to face Lucy. However, Sophia was still resolute. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t give them to you.¡± I¡¯ve embarrassed myself by acting cute in front of Carmen¡¯s father in exchange for money to buy those shops. After holding onto them for several years, their prices are finally starting to appreciate and I¡¯ve just started to make some money. However, Sandra is asking me to give them to her as a greeting gift. I¡¯m still reading my old notes and even though I don¡¯t have the habit of writing diaries, I made ounts for my money. Every single penny I earned, even if I found a five dor note by the roadside, I would write it down. When I married Carmen¡¯s father at 18, he gave me allowance regrly. I¡¯ve recorded all of it in my ounts and worked hard to save it. All of that is my hard-earned money and I¡¯m not going to give it to her for nothing! Seeing Sophia¡¯s attitude, Sandra lost her patience. A moment ago, she had on a kind expression but at that instant, she was too impatient to treat her nicely. Sandra decided to get straight to the point and arrogantly threw a pile of contracts at Sophia. ¡°Since you won¡¯t listen to me when I asked nicely, don¡¯t me me for being rude. Here are the contracts. As long as you sign them and give the two rows of shops to me, I¡¯ll let you and your father enter the Mitchell family genealogy record book!¡± Sophia waspletely dumbfounded. At that moment, Sandra seemed to be standing on high ground as she crossed her arms and announced, ¡°Even though the Mitchell family is separated, the Mitchell family genealogy record book is still in my father¡¯s hands. Whether or not you and your father¡¯s names can enter the book and be buried in the ancestral grave is up to my father! I¡¯ll only give you one minute to consider.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was at a loss. She had just returned not long ago and didn¡¯t know much about the Cethos culture. Enter the genealogy book? Be buried in the ancestral grave? It seems if my name isn¡¯t on the book and I can¡¯t be buried in the ancestral grave, I¡¯ll die miserably. Coincidentally, Cooper had just returned so Sophia hurriedly asked, ¡°Dad, what will happen to us if our names are not in the genealogy record book and we can¡¯t be buried in the ancestral grave?¡± Cooper didn¡¯t know what had happened but when he saw the contracts in Sophia¡¯s hands, he solemnly picked them up and nced at them. Scanning through two pages, he deduced what had happened and looked even more upset, seeming to emit a cold and dark, terrifying aura. The spring sunlight was burning bright but Sandra suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She rubbed her arms that suddenly had goosebumps all over them and silently cheered herself up. Isn¡¯t he just a man who returned after twenty years of absence? In the twenty years he had been gone, the Mitchell family has long nominated another family head and this ce is no longer his territory. Other than his old department heads, who else does he have? Moreover, the elders of the Mitchell family don¡¯t admit that he¡¯s Cooper Mitchell. He¡¯s just a liar who suddenly appeared to deceive us and wants to steal the old man Woody¡¯s inheritance! However, he didn¡¯t expect the old man to leave nothing after his passing so he didn¡¯t get a single penny! Thinking about this, Sandra felt a strong surge of courage and she even dared to be arrogant in front of Cooper. ¡°Hey Cooper, if you want the elders of the Mitchell family to admit that you¡¯re part of the family, sign these contracts. Right now, my father is still in control of the elders of the family. As long as you sign, I¡¯ll ask my father to agree to write your names in the genealogy record book!¡± Even though the Mitchell family was separated, the ancestral hall couldn¡¯t be cut into half so the elders of the family still had power and were under Alex¡¯s control. The other two families would also need to listen to Alex. A wealthy family like the Mitchell family cared a lot about being in the genealogy record book. After all, if their names were not in the book, they couldn¡¯t be buried in the ancestral grave, which meant that they weren¡¯t part of the Mitchell family! When Sandra saw that Cooper was still looking at the contracts, she triumphantly nced at her wrist watch. Then, she purposely spoke in a pitiful tone, ¡°Oops! Time¡¯s up! Even if you sign the contract now, I can¡¯t guarantee that your names will enter the genealogy record book! Now that I think about it, my decision was too rash. To have your names in the Mitchell family genealogy record book is not something that can be solved with two rows of shops. I was being extra kind today but I didn¡¯t expect you to not appreciate it. Well, you can¡¯t me me now¡­ However, if you don¡¯t sign those contracts, I¡¯ll make sure that you¡¯ll never be buried in the Mitchell family¡¯s ancestral grave!¡± When Sophia heard Sandra¡¯s terrifying threats, she felt a little afraid. It seemed as though if her name wasn¡¯t on the record book and can¡¯t be buried in the ancestral grave, she would be cursed with a great illness and would die immediately! Will I receive some mysterious blessing once my name is in the genealogy record book? Is it a mysterious power from the East? She couldn¡¯t help but look at Cooper and saw that he had put down the contracts, politely returning them to Sandra. Then, he nced at those standing next to him and said, ¡°Send the guest off.¡± Cooper didn¡¯t feel like cutting up anyone that day. At the same time, Sandra held onto the contracts in disbelief before she crumpled them up. With a cold expression, she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this? Are you looking down on the Mitchell family? I¡¯m giving you an opportunity to have your name in the genealogy record book so don¡¯t waste it!¡± Cooper didn¡¯t want to talk to a powerless girl like Sandra. The car ident he was in back then was nned by Alex. If Cooper guessed right, Alex wasn¡¯t the only one who nned it; Jordan was also an aplice. Their evil ns were too clumsy but it was a chance for him to get out of his situation so he took it and left. Unexpectedly, this gave Alex a few decades of false power. The Mitchell family has truly fallen. A true child of a reputational family shouldn¡¯t act like this. I can¡¯t see any characteristics of a child from a reputational family in the girl in front of me. The children of the Mitchell family should be confident, but all I see on the face of this girl is an arrogant and domineering attitude. Whether or not one¡¯s name is recorded in the genealogy record book should depend on personal merits, not on obedience. No wonder the Mitchell family is getting worse year by year¡­ Chapter 788 Chapter 788 Cooper was in a good mood that day because Sophia¡¯s operation went really sessful. He sat down next to Sophia and coaxed her a little before he said, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you about the genealogy record book later.¡± Then, he patted her shoulder before he turned to Sandra and asked, ¡°Your father Alex is still in charge of the group of elders right now, isn¡¯t he? Judging from your tone, it seems that whether or not our names can be written in the book is entirely up to him.¡± Cooper was sitting while Sandra was standing. At that moment, Sandra was so furious she lifted her chin and stared down at Cooper as she replied, ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Then can you please tell me the names of the elders of the Mitchell family?¡± Cooper asked with interest. ¡°Also, do tell me about the rules of the genealogy record book!¡± Hearing this, Sandra was secretly delighted. Sure enough, he still cares about it but he¡¯s just pretending not to. And so, Sandra patiently told him the names of the elders of the Mitchell family and in the end, she even emphasized, ¡°All of these people heed my father¡¯s orders. Whether or not your name enters the genealogy record book is entirely up to him! If you want to have your name in the book, you¡¯d better sign these contracts!¡± However, after listening to Sandra, Cooper shook his head. He had heard of these elders before and they were all around the same age as him. ording to his standards, these people were not suitable to be elders because they were not qualified! An elder of the Mitchell family should be highly respectful, virtuous, fair, and just. However, all of the elders were now Alex¡¯s subordinates. No wonder the children of the Mitchell family are getting worse. To top it off, they even managed to raise such an ungrateful offspring. Cooper waved his hand andmented, ¡°You can leave now. We won¡¯t give you the shops.¡± Hearing this, Sandrapletely lost her temper and she gave an order to her bodyguards, ¡°Men, hold that b*tch¡¯s hand and force her to sign these contracts!¡± I must have Scarlett¡¯s shops today no matter what. Otherwise, how can I maintain my reputation of being the young madam of the Mitchell family in front of Lucy? The reason I can be friends with Lucy is because I¡¯m part of the Mitchell family but if I can¡¯t control this b*stard, I won¡¯t be considered as a true young madam of the Mitchell family! Sandra had bodyguards but Cooper had bodyguards too. In a blink of an eye, a dozen men rushed in front of Cooper to confront Sandra¡¯s men. Cooper frowned and was considering whether he should cut all of these people into pieces. However, his daughter had juste out of an operation so he was afraid that the sight might frighten her. Never mind; I¡¯ll just let them die in one piece¡­ However, he remembered that the young woman in front of him was a descendant of the Mitchell family who had only walked on the wrong path and learned from the wrong people. Perhaps she didn¡¯t do things voluntarily. As such, he couldn¡¯t bear to kill them either. In that 0.001 second, countless thoughts shed through Cooper¡¯s mind but in the end, he came up with a more philosophical solution. He decided to numb them with anaesthetics and leave them on the road. If they were run over by a car, it would mean that they deserved it. He was just about to give the order when he saw a group of people walking toward them. As soon as the leader of the group saw the situation, he frowned and asked loudly, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Sandra immediately turned around and realized they were members of the Edwards family. Moreover, the person leading the group was Master Sam himself. Sam strode over and repeated, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Sandra, why are you here?¡± Sandra¡¯s expression instantly changed and with a respectful and humble attitude, she smiled softly. Her features looked delicate as she smiled elegantly and said, ¡°I heard that Scarlett had an operation so I came over to see her and discuss matters about writing her name in the genealogy record book!¡± Hearing this, Cooper snorted. This b*tch is really two-faced! Sam obviously didn¡¯t believe Sandra either. However, he didn¡¯t say anything. After all, this was the Mitchell family¡¯s affairs and it would not be suitable for him to interrupt. In an apologetic tone, he asked, ¡°Am I interrupting?¡± Sandra quickly replied, ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Then, she continued, ¡°Master Sam, why are you here?¡± ¡°Cooper and I are childhood friends so I came over today to visit,¡± Sam murmured. As Sam spoke, he didn¡¯t dare to look at Cooper¡¯s solemn expression. When Cooper saw that Sam had come over, he was really upset but he didn¡¯t embarrass him in front of the youngsters. Meanwhile, Sandra¡¯s heart was beating fast. I didn¡¯t expect Cooper to have a close rtionship with Master Sam. No wonder he¡¯s not afraid of me. It seems that I won¡¯t be able to get those shops today, but I still have plenty of opportunities in the future! With a smile, Sandra said, ¡°In that case, I won¡¯t be disturbing you both from catching up. Mr. Cooper, I¡¯ll visit you to discuss the genealogy another day.¡± With that, she gestured to her men and left. Sam watched as they left before he slowly walked up to Cooper. At the risk of being beaten up on the spot, he bowed and asked, ¡°Cooper, do you need my help?¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Sam was not a fool so he could tell that Sandra was looking for trouble just now. However, he also knew that with Cooper¡¯s fierce methods, there was no way Cooper would be bullied by a child. Although it was widely rumored that Cooper was sold to Africa for coal mining, Sam knew that it was absolutely impossible. He had not been able to find out Cooper¡¯s current identity but he knew Linus and Linus¡¯ family background. Cooper was living with Linus and Linus treated him with respect, so his identity was really clear. The poor Mitchell family actually thought that the family head of the dignified Michel family, the man who controlled the coal mines in Africa, Fass Michel, was a coal miner! I can¡¯t believe that they sent a child to threaten Cooper. Now that the Mitchell family has fallen, I¡¯m sure Cooper feels upset too. Cooper red at Sam and said nothing. At the same time, Sophia tilted her head and nced behind Sam before she asked, ¡°Uncle Sam, why didn¡¯t you bring Corrado along?¡± Hearing this, Sam¡¯s heart sank as he thought, I¡¯m not as weed as the dog. Then, he snapped his fingers and Corrado rushed out with a swoosh. Sophia was really happy and wanted to pet Corrado, but she had just had an operation and it was a little inconvenient for her to move around. However, she was still really happy that Corrado came to see her. Meanwhile, Cooper had already silently got up and walked away, and Sam followed him. Sophia didn¡¯t know what happened but thest time Sam and Cooper met, they had a fight so she hurriedly said, ¡°Dad, if there¡¯s anything that needs resolving, talk it out. Please don¡¯t fight. Both of you are too old to be fighting.¡± Cooper looked sullen and he said nothing. Later, the two of them entered the inpatient department of the hospital and found a ce that was out of Sophia¡¯s sight to have a chat. After a while, the two of them finished speaking and came out. Cooper still had an angry expression while Sam¡¯s face was swollen and his nose was bleeding. When Sophia saw this, she was startled. ¡°Dad, you hit him again!¡± Cooper denied. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± Holding his face, Sam said, ¡°I fell and hurt myself¡­¡± Sophia immediately pouted in anger. Sam limped as he trailed behind Cooper and said, ¡°Sophia and Lucy are fighting over the shops. As her uncle, I¡¯m also responsible. Why don¡¯t I teach Lucy a lesson on Sophia¡¯s behalf?¡± However, Cooper only said, ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Sam tried again. ¡°A few levels of offices above Sophia¡¯s two rows of shops belongs to me. I¡¯ll transfer all of it to Sophia; think of it as a greeting gift from me to her.¡± Hearing this, Cooper said, ¡°Transfer the offices and leave.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Sam hurriedly agreed. Chapter 789 Chapter 789 With that, Sam limped away with Corrado in tow. Sophia still looked confused and could not figure out what happened between Cooper and Sam so she asked, ¡°Dad, what happened? Why did you beat up Uncle Sam when you saw him?¡± Cooper sat down next to Sophia and stayed silent for a long time, pain and regret in his eyes. After a while, he replied, ¡°People make mistakes when they are young.¡± The biggest mistake Cooper made when he was young was to fall in love with Annabel and be with her, without having the power to bear the consequences. As a result, he brought harm to everyone. He brought harm to Woody, who was the family head at the time. Because of this, Woody was threatened by the people who objected to Cooper¡¯s rtionship and even almost lost his position as family head. He also harmed Annabel and their daughter Sophia¡­ This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. If they were a little more mature back then, none of the tragic events would happen. However, it was fate and there was no one to me for them being young and immature. Looking at Sophia who was sitting next to him, there was a hint of happiness in Cooper¡¯s gaze as he thought, At least I still have her. Because of the mistake he made back then, he harmed everyone. Looking back, there was nothing he could do to restore everything to what it once was. However, at the very least, a bright flower blossomed in his cruel fate and that flower was Sophia. After hearing Cooper¡¯s answer, Sophia asked, ¡°Can¡¯t you just forgive him?¡± With a bitter smile, Cooper replied, ¡°I can understand him but I will never be able to forgive him¡­¡± Staring at the floating clouds in the sky, Cooper muttered to himself, ¡°Even if I can forgive him¡­ who will forgive me?¡± He wanted to ask Woody and Annabel for forgiveness but it was impossible. My sins can never be forgiven¡­ ¡°Dad, didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯re going to tell me about the genealogy record book? Tell me now!¡± Sophia lightly tugged at Cooper¡¯s sleeve and it was only then did Coopere back to his senses. Then, he pulled out a thick booklet. When he opened it, Sophia realized it contained the history of the Mitchell family. ¡°This is the Mitchell family¡¯s genealogy record book that records the glorious history of the Mitchell family.¡± Looking at the booklet, Cooper¡¯s gaze was filled with pride. He flipped through the booklet and slowly exined everything to Sophia. The Mitchell surname appeared more than 2,000 years ago and it was passed down from generation to generation, and now there were descendants with the Mitchell surname all over the world. The Mitchell family in Bayside City was the most glorious bloodline among all the Mitchell families in the world. One of their ancestors was a king and others were so wealthy, they had power to control the world. That being said, there was also a group of notorious bandits. Especially in modern times, the family had an even more glorious history. Cooper flipped through the booklet page by page as he told Sophia about the modern history of the Mitchell family, which was also rted to the modern history of Cethos. The Mitchell family did business in past dynasties and became really rich. In modern times, they were the first to develop modern industries. During the turbulent times of a change of dynasty, they umted great wealth and made glorious history. They protected the nation¡¯s treasures, donated armory, and donated food and money during a national crisis. Some of their ancestors were at the forefront of the battle while others focused on doing business to umte food, money, and ammunition for the troops at the forefront. Their efforts helped to protect the country and it led to the stable and prosperous life they had today. Shadows of the Mitchell family were everywhere in modern history. All of a sudden, Sophia saw a ck and white photo of two teenagers in the snow. One of the teenagers was wearing clothes that were so tattered that the cotton of his coat could be seen. Meanwhile, the other teenager was wearing an exquisite and gorgeous fox fur coat. ¡°Dad, who is this?¡± When Cooper saw the photo, he smiled and said, ¡°The teenager in tattered clothes is my godfather. This photo was taken about 90 years ago. Foreign enemies invaded Cethos and my godfather was trapped somewhere in the mountains. It was a harsh winter and they didn¡¯t have clothes, food, and ammunition; they almost died from the cold and starvation itself. Back then, my father Woody personally escorted winter supplies to the front line. After he found out about their situation, he asked his superiors to approve the rescue mission. In the end, my father and a group of reinforcements fought the enemies until they retreated and cooperated with my godfather to break through the¡ª¡± ¡°Back then, my godfather was 19 years old and my father was¡­ 15.¡± Hearing Cooper describe the thrilling battle, Sophia was dumbfounded. At that time, Woody was only 15 but he took care of the family. He was even brave enough to personally escort winter supplies to the forefront under the rain of gunfire. After he found out his best friend was under siege, he asked for reinforcements to rescue him and in the end, he even personally led the troops to rescue them. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t get to meet Woody. Cooper continued to flip through the genealogy booklet and Woody took up several pages alone. Then, they saw Cooper. After all, he also had a really glorious history. They continued to look through it and Sophia saw that every name of the descendants of the Mitchell family was written. She even saw Sandra¡¯s name there. However, Sophia¡¯s name wasn¡¯t in it and at that moment, she understood what it meant to not have her name in the genealogy and not be able to be buried in the ancestral grave. After they finished flipping through the genealogy record book, Coopermented lightly, ¡°It¡¯s just a name in a book so there¡¯s no need to worry about it. A true descendant of the Mitchell family can¡¯t be recognized by just a name.¡± Then, Cooper threw the book to the side. Sophia had to be hospitalized for observation so Sandra came by again the next day. This time, Alex came with her. Sophia saw them talking in the garden from the second floor but she couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying. After Alex left, Sophia hurriedly walked up to Cooper and asked what happened. ¡°I kept a few fortunes around the world twenty years ago and they want that money,¡± Copper replied. Other than Kuwait, Cooper had kept a couple more fortunes at other ces and they hadn¡¯t been touched for twenty years. The Mitchell family found out about this but they couldn¡¯t find a way to retrieve it. Now that Cooper had returned, if he could retrieve that money and hand it to the Mitchell family, it would prove that he was Cooper Mitchell. In that case, he could be buried in the ancestral grave after his death. But if he couldn¡¯t get the funds, it would prove that he wasn¡¯t Cooper Mitchell and they wouldn¡¯t put his name in the genealogy record book, which resulted in him not being buried in the ancestral grave. ¡°Will you give them the money?¡± Cooper shook his head. ¡°I have to thank them for reminding me. Otherwise, I havepletely forgotten that I have some moneyying around.¡± When Sophia was discharged from the hospital, Cooper already retrieved all the assets. It wasn¡¯t much ¡ªthey were just some gold andnd deeds. Cooper gave them all to Sophia as presents and she then saved these presents, nning to give them to Carmen in the future¡­ As soon as Cooper retrieved the assets, the Mitchell family immediately found out about it and it wasn¡¯t long before Sean came over to Cooper¡¯s ce to tell them about what was going on in the Mitchell family. ¡°I heard that Alex threw a fit in front of the elders and told them that you are a liar, that you stole the Mitchell family¡¯s money!¡± Hearing this, Cooper was expressionless. A film was ying in the home theatre in the living room, which not surprisingly, starred Michael. Carmen is definitely doing this on purpose. She shows Sophia her father¡¯s movies everyday. Hearing what Sean had to say, Cooper coldy replied, ¡°It seems that the Mitchell family has really fallen. It¡¯s just some small assets and they are already so obsessed with it. I¡¯d rather sell them all and use the money to buy dog food for the husky than hand it to them.¡± All of a sudden, Judge appeared with a swoosh. Sticking its tongue out, it wagged its tail and looked at Cooper with anticipation. Seeing this, Cooper frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m just giving an example. Stop daydreaming.¡± After Judge heard this, it got angry and immediately turned around and went back to its cage, not willing to bother with Cooper anymore. What kind of a person is he¡­ How can he lie to a dog? Sean smiled bitterly. However, as soon as Cooper was back, the Mitchell family would rise to glory again sooner orter. Later, he asked, ¡°After you left that year, the Mitchell family invaded your property and took your money. Are you going to initiate the legal process to get all of that back?¡± Chapter 790 Chapter 790 This was the thing that the other two families were most afraid of and also the thing that the old Mitchell family was most looking forward to. If they could use legal methods to retrieve Cooper¡¯s money, they would immediately rise to glory again and quickly surpass the other two families, which was why the other two families didn¡¯t admit the legitimacy of Cooper¡¯s return. They wanted him to hand them his fortune but they were also afraid that he would ask them to return his personal assets. However, Cooper didn¡¯t mind at all andmented, ¡°I have forgotten about that small amount of money.¡± Sean waspletely speechless. Well, in Cooper¡¯s eyes, that amount of money is indeed peanuts. He kept money all around the world and the Mitchell family went crazy for them. However, those were just dispensable chump change to him. Later, the two of them turned to look at the screen in the home theatre in silence. At that moment, the documentary film Michael starred in was ying, and he had acted as Mark in that film. Back then, this documentary film broke the box office record and the impact on the audience was huge. All of a sudden, Cooper murmured, ¡°Sean, thank you so much for what you¡¯ve done these years.¡± Sean was watching the film attentively so when he heard these words, he was taken aback and didn¡¯t know how to react. Cooper had already found out about what happened for the past few years. Fortunately, Sean remembered Woody and often visited him so Woody wasn¡¯t too lonely. He even brought Sophia to Woody and let Woody meet his granddaughter. ¡°I have some chump change in the Middle East and I¡¯ll give them to you as a small gift.¡± Upon hearing that, Sean was startled. A small gift from Cooper¡­ On the other hand, after the film ended, Sophia stretched a little while Carmen took out the DVD and carefully put it back into the box, as if she was holding a treasure. ¡°Mom, let¡¯s continue watching after dinner!¡± Sophia entered the kitchen and saw Linus cooking with an apron on, seemingly very busy. Linus usually liked to cook when he had free time. Even though he was used to machines and technology and would let robots do almost anything, he preferred his food to be cooked by humans. He hired a chef at home but when he wasn¡¯t busy, he would cook a few dishes by himself. Sophia watched curiously as Linus cooked in the kitchen. Truth was, his cooking skills were amazing and after cooking a dish, he would even decorate the tes beautifully. Right now, Sophia wanted to have a taste so she reached over to grab some. Seeing this, Linus hurriedly snatched the te away and gave her a bowl of porridge instead. ¡°You can¡¯t eat that. This is specially made for you and it¡¯s good for your skin.¡± Looking at the exquisite bowl of porridge, Sophia said in amazement, ¡°Wow, Uncle Linus! You¡¯re amazing! I hope I can marry you in the future.¡± Linus was focused on the vegetables in the pot and did not take her words to heart. ¡°Silly girl.¡± Carmen was right next to Sophia and she yelled eagerly, ¡°Me too! Me too! I want to marry Uncle Linus too!¡± Then, Sophia carried Carmen out of the kitchen and said, ¡°My darling, he¡¯s your uncle¡­ You¡¯re still young so you can¡¯t get married yet.¡± After they left the kitchen, Sophia put Carmen down. Then, Carmen ran into Cooper¡¯s arms and in a sweet voice, she said, ¡°Grandpa, Mom says that she wants to marry Uncle Linus.¡± ¡°Nonsense. I didn¡¯t say that.¡± Sophia was lying on the ground, looking at the dog in the kennel. Since moving into the vi, Judge had been staying at home. Except for taking a dump and eating, Judge barely left his kennel. Come to think of it, he seemed to havee out just now but he ran back in again, seemingly angry and would not come out no matter how much Sophia coaxed. Sophia reached out to pull the dog out as she said that to Carmen. Resting her chin on her hands, Carmen looked at Cooper innocently and asked, ¡°Grandpa, can I marry Uncle Linus with Mom?¡± Cooper smiled and picked Carmen up before he replied, ¡°Silly girl, you¡¯re still too young. Children can¡¯t get married.¡± Although the speaker wasn¡¯t being intentional, the listener started to think about her words seriously. Should I let Sophia marry Linus¡­ Cooper fell into deep thought. After dinner, Sean bid farewell and went home. As for Sophia, she watched movies for a little while before the nanny bathed Carmen and handed her into Sophia¡¯s arms. After ying with Carmen for a moment, Sophia carried her upstairs to sleep. All in all, Sophia¡¯s schedule was pretty full as she had to go and handle the transfer process for the offices that Sam gave her. However, she couldn¡¯t sleep and her mind was filled with Michael¡¯s various appearances in the movie she watched during the day. Since thest time Michael got badly beat up in a game by Cooper after trying to act cool, he had completely disappeared. He even stopped calling or sending flowers. Sophia didn¡¯t know whether his calls were blocked by Cooper or he didn¡¯t call at all. She stared at her phone, contemting whether or not she should add his Messenger and ask him, when Carmen suddenly sat up and said, ¡°Mommy, I want to call Daddy.¡± Sophia was a little distressed. ¡°But I don¡¯t have your father¡¯s number.¡± Carmen hurriedly replied, ¡°Nichs knows! I call Daddy everyday!¡± Nichs moved when it heard the order and as it turned its head, light shot out from its eyes. The light shone on a wall and became a projection screen, showing them that it was dialing Michael¡¯s number. Sophia almost forgot that Nichs could be used as a telephone. The call was soon answered and it turned out to be a video call. Michael appeared on the screen but the quality was pretty bad so they could only see a dark figure. It¡¯s Michael! For some reason, Sophia felt excited but her face was covered in gauze so nobody could see her expression. ¡°Hey, Carmen! Do you miss Daddy?¡± Michael¡¯s voice could be heard and it was extremely sexy and alluring. When Carmen saw her father, she was so happy that she rolled around the bed. ¡°Yes I do! Mommy and I miss you very much!¡± Sophia was really embarrassed but it was too difficult to refute Carmen so in the end, she chose to stay silent. Michael saw Sophia too. Even though it was so dark Sophia couldn¡¯t see his expression, she could tell that he was smiling. ¡°Is the cow outfit that I ordered for you pretty?¡± Hearing this, Carmen stood up, showing him her new cow pajamas as she chirped happily, ¡°Look! Mommy and I are both wearing cow pajamas.¡± In a gentle tone, Michael replied, ¡°I¡¯m wearing it too.¡± Sophia felt even more embarrassed. Carmen¡¯s nanny suddenly gave her a set of new pajamas today so she merely chose to wear it. She never thought that it was part of a family pajamas set and didn¡¯t know Michael had one too.This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Michael¡¯s voice sounded a little tired as he said, ¡°Darling, can you perform a dance for me?¡± When Carmen heard this, she immediately got up and replied, ¡°I learned a cow dance today. How about I show you my cow dance?¡± As she spoke, she already started dancing. She jumped off the bed and started dancing on the rug. Carmen shook and twisted her body this way and that. Her dancing was so lively and cute, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but feel joy as she pped along with her. When Carmen finished dancing, Sophia reached over to pick Carmen up to kiss her. However, her face was still covered in gauze. My baby girl is so cute! Michael¡¯s gaze was full of happiness as he watched the mother and daughter hug each other. This happiness is mine and nobody can take it away from me. Later, Carmen rolled on the bed and muttered, ¡°Daddy, I want to be on TV.¡± Upon hearing that, Michael instantly frowned. My darling¡¯s obsession with getting on TV seems to be really deep! With her belly facing up, Carmen kicked her small feet and said in dissatisfaction, ¡°I want to be on TV. I want to act in movies just like Daddy. I want to y roles like heroes, viins, beautifuldies¡­¡± Chapter 791 Chapter 791 Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh. At that moment, she thought about the role of a beautifuldy that Michael had yed¡­ To be honest, the beautifuldy that Michael yed is the most realistic one that I¡¯ve seen! Michael, on the other hand, was really distressed because he didn¡¯t want Carmen to be in the entertainment industry. It¡¯ll be great for her to go into business when she grows up. That way she can inherit mypany, or be a soldier, or even inherit her grandfather¡¯s business to manage coal mines in Africa. However, Carmen seems to inherit all of the Fletcher family¡¯s acting talents. Even though she¡¯s really young, she already knows how to learn to dance and sing on her own by watching television. ¡°Alright. I promise you that when you are three, I¡¯ll send you to kindergarten. The teachers there will teach you how to sing and dance. Once you graduate from kindergarten, I¡¯ll let you join the movie industry, okay?¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. When Carmen heard this, she was so happy she did a flip and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re the best, Daddy! I love you!¡± Then, she made a heart shape with her hands. Seeing this, Michael asked curiously, ¡°Who taught you to do that?¡± Carmen replied, ¡°I learned it from the TV show ¡®Dad, Where Are We Going¡¯. The father in the show taught his children how to do it.¡± Well, that¡¯s Carmen¡¯s favorite show and she never misses a single episode. She even dreams of getting on that show¡­ ¡°Alright, it¡¯s gettingte. Carmen, it¡¯s time to sleep. Only children who sleep early can grow up beautifully.¡± Carmen was jumping around and was really energetic but she nodded and replied, ¡°Okay, Daddy.¡± Then, Michael added, ¡°Your Mommy has just had an operation so you have to sleep in a separate bed for a few days.¡± Carmen nced at Sophia¡¯s face before she pouted her lips. ¡°Okay.¡± As a father, Michael was really worried about his child. Then, he nagged again, ¡°You have to listen to Grandpa and Mommy and you can¡¯t run around alone, understand?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Carmen repeated. ¡°Daddy, when are youing home?¡± In a gentle tone, Michael replied, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in two days.¡± When Carmen found out that her father wasing back soon, she was overjoyed and she yelled, ¡°Mommy said that after youe home, we¡¯ll go to see lions and pandas!¡± Hearing this, Michael was also happy. He was looking for a chance to bring Sophia to ces they had been before. ¡°Alright then. Darling, go to sleep. If you don¡¯t sleep soon, you won¡¯t grow up to be pretty and children who are not pretty can¡¯t go on TV.¡± As soon as Carmen heard that she wouldn¡¯t be able to go on TV, she hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, Daddy. Let me give you another heart.¡± Then, she quickly made a heart shape with her hands and chirped, ¡°Mommy, you have to make a heart shape for Daddy too!¡± Sophia was a little embarrassed but she followed Carmen¡¯s lead and made a heart. This is so embarrassing! Seeing Sophia and Carmen made heart shapes, Michael also made a heart shape for the camera. After that, Carmen climbed into her small bed, got under the quilt and covered herself up. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep! I¡¯m sleeping now! I want to be pretty!¡± Looking at his lively and cute daughter, Michael¡¯s gaze was filled with tenderness and love. Then, Michael looked at Sophia and said, ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m sure that Carmen has been bothering you for the past few days.¡± Sophia was watching Carmen sleep when she suddenly heard Michael ask her a question. She blushed and replied, ¡°Not really. The nanny takes care of her most of the time. I just y with her asionally.¡± Later, she added, ¡°Carmen is a really good girl and she didn¡¯t make me worry about her.¡± Then, they heard a voice from under the covers. ¡°I¡¯ve been a good girl. Mommy said so!¡± At the other end of the video call, Michael couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. However, afterughing, he said, ¡°By the way, I heard about the shops. Would you like me to help you?¡± Sophia was speechless. I only rejected Sandra¡¯s offer to give my two rows of shops to her in exchange for a ¡®luxurious¡¯ two-bedroom condo. Why does it feel like I¡¯ve caused a huge trouble and the whole world knows about it? ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Sophia muttered. ¡°I can handle it myself.¡± Those shops belong to me and no one can take them away from me. Now that I have returned, I¡¯ll make sure the business at Pourl will get better. She finished transferring her previous fortune in the past two days and Cooper gave her some gifts. Moreover, Sam was about to give her another few levels of offices so she was not short of money and she was ambitious. Feeling guilty, Michael said, ¡°It¡¯s my fault for not managing Pourl properly¡­¡± Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly reassured, ¡°You¡¯ve already done a great job and you have a lot of things to deal with yourself. It¡¯s normal for you to not be able to take care of everything.¡± I¡¯m already really grateful that he has taken care of Carmen so well. She is more important than anything else. Later, the two of them talked about work matters for a while. ¡°What¡¯s your next step?¡± Michael asked, to which Sophia replied, ¡°I want to renovate the store and maintain the previous customer base. I¡¯m also nning to hold another new productunch conference.¡± Michael hurriedly said, ¡°I remember that when Pourl opened, I was the model for your new product launch conference. If you need me, I can head over to help.¡± Michael is offering toe over to help? To be my model, no less? If he can be my model, my conference will certainly blow up! However, she was hesitant. ¡°Aren¡¯t you ¡®dead¡¯?¡± Michael didn¡¯t take it seriously. ¡°I¡¯ve never said that I was dead and my agent never announced my death. It was just rumors that the media simply made up. Besides, I¡¯m prepared to make aeback after a while.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Sophia shouted before she fell into deep shock. After being stunned for a while, she started to feel a little excited and surprised. Carmen had been bringing over Michael¡¯s movies to watchtely and Sophia had almost watched all of them. After watching his movies, it was hard to watch movies by other actors. Michael was able to win the Oscar twice and became a national treasure. This was not only because he was handsome, his acting skills were also worthy of his fame. His movies were all very profound and significant. If he stopped acting, it would be Cethos, or even the whole movie industry¡¯s loss! Now that Sophia heard that he was about to make aeback, she was excited. Suppressing her joy, she asked, ¡°If you¡¯re going to make aeback, what are you going to shoot? Can you tell me a little bit about it?¡± Sure enough, Sophia is still Sophia. Even though she lost her memory, she is still the chica that I remember. Michael replied with a smile, ¡°I recently got a really good script and I¡¯ve already let my grandfather read it. It¡¯s about the story of when my grandfather was rescued by your grandfather after being trapped in the snowy mountains. I will bring the script over to show your father in a few days.¡± Hearing that, Sophia was overjoyed. She had just read the genealogy record book and found out about the past. After she learned about the wonderful story, she was thinking that it would be great if it could be made into a film. She didn¡¯t expect that Michael had already prepared the script. ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Sophia said. ¡°I hope you start shooting soon because I¡¯m excited to watch it.¡± Then, she suddenly remembered something and asked, ¡°Is the movie about the national treasure¡ªthe imperial seal¡ªthat you shot a few years ago going to be in theaters soon?¡± It is said that he died before he finished filming that movie. Now that he¡¯s making aeback, he should be able to continue filming it! Looking at her excited expression, Michael shook his head and smiled helplessly. Then, he replied, ¡°Of course. What do you think I was up to all this time?¡± Turns out that it was to shoot a movie! Chapter 792 Chapter 792 Sophia was so happy she wanted to do a cartwheel, but she managed to suppress herself and keep a straight face. Then, Michael added, ¡°Carmen wants to be on ¡®Dad, Where Are We Going¡¯. If I¡¯m not famous, my child won¡¯t be able to get on that show, which is why I¡¯m nning to apany Carmen to be on TV after myeback.¡± As soon as Carmen heard this, she immediately pulled away her covers, jumped out of bed and made a heart shape with her arms. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re the best. I love you!¡± Seeing this, Michael hurriedly waved his hand and said, ¡°Okay, now go to sleep. The producers won¡¯t want a child that is not pretty. You can only be pretty if you sleep early.¡± Sophia put Carmen back into bed and asked her to go to sleep. Then, she got up, took the phone and went out to call Michael. The two people who hadn¡¯t spoken in a few days chatted happily on the phone. They talked about Michael¡¯s new movie, Sophia¡¯s shop that sold dog cors and about Carmen getting on the TV show, ¡®Dad, Where Are We Going¡¯. When they talked about Carmen getting on TV, Michael was actually unwilling. ¡°Carmen is still too young. In fact, I don¡¯t want her to debut at such a young age and I was hoping to wait until she¡¯s old enough to make her own choices. Sophia, what do you think?¡± As they spoke about this, Sophia also had a solemn expression. ¡°She¡¯s still a child, so perhaps she¡¯s just curious. I think you can find some roles for her to act in, maybe a small role in a movie, so that Carmen can have a try. Who knows? She might not be amazed by it after trying it out and stops being curious.¡± It is not a good thing to be a movie star. Back then, Michael also lost his life after being surrounded by crazy fans¡­ Michael thought about it for a while before he relented. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll ask my friends in the crew for a favor and give her a small role.¡±This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. The two of them spoke on the phone until the middle of the night. All of a sudden, there was a third person¡¯s voice on the phone. ¡°Enough of chatting. You should go to bed.¡± Upon hearing Cooper¡¯s voice, Sophia was startled. ¡°Dad? Where did youe from?¡± On the other end of the line, Michael greeted, ¡°Hello, Mr. Mitchell. How¡¯s your health?¡± However, Cooper only muttered, ¡°I¡¯m so healthy that I won¡¯t be dead in ten years. Goodbye.¡± With a thud, the other end of the phone went silent and nobody¡¯s voice could be heard. And so, Michael hung up helplessly. Cooper really is¡­ I can¡¯t believe he hacked into our call! We were just talking on the phone and I can¡¯t even do anything to his daughter! After he hung up the phone, Michael¡¯s figure disappeared into the darkness. The darkness swallowed his figure and he blended into the dark. Hebed through his hair that was as dark as the night and looked at himself in the mirror. The person who likes to watch my movies has returned, so it¡¯s time for me to get back up¡­ At breakfast the next day, Sophia told Cooper about her n to take Carmen to the TV set to try out for a small role. Sure enough, Cooper looked solemn and he announced, ¡°No, I don¡¯t agree.¡± My granddaughter doesn¡¯t need to show her face to the public to earn money! A young child like her should stay at home and y. There¡¯s no way that I¡¯ll let her shoot a movie. Isn¡¯t it fun to y with the dog and cats? If that¡¯s not fun enough, I¡¯ll buy another dozen for her to y with. Why does she want to shoot a movie? If she really can¡¯t find a job in the future, she can follow me to the coal mines in Africa! If that doesn¡¯t work out, she can work in the Michel Group. If that doesn¡¯t work out either, she can go back to Northern Europe to nt vegetables. I have arge piece ofnd and a millionmbs for her to inherit. If she really gets bored, I¡¯ll let her manage the million employees in the Michel Group. She¡¯ll definitely be busy! Her father was so famous back then that he was blocked at the stairs by crazy fans and almost got killed by someone who took advantage of the chaos. It is too dangerous to be a star. In a stern tone, Cooper said to Carmen, ¡°I don¡¯t agree on letting you go. A child should act like a child. You¡¯re not allowed to shoot a movie.¡± Hearing this, Carmen pouted her lips and with a firm attitude, she replied, ¡°I want to be a star. I want to be on TV. I want to y the role of a beautifuldy!¡± However, Cooper was equally stubborn as he countered, ¡°No, I won¡¯t allow it.¡± Carmen instantly threw her milk bottle away and angrily turned her back to Cooper. ¡°I¡¯m really angry! You won¡¯t be able to coax me!¡± Sophia knew that Cooper wouldn¡¯t agree so she hurriedly said, ¡°Alright, alright. Calm down. Let¡¯s discuss this properly.¡± Carmen puffed out her cheeks angrily but she still took her milk bottle back. Even though she was mad, she still needed to drink. Meanwhile, Sophia had to leave the house today so she changed into office attire and wore a mask. Before she left, she said to Carmen, ¡°Darling, talk to Grandpa nicely. I have to go out to work now.¡± Carmen pouted her lips and said, ¡°I want to go to work too. That way I can earn money and raise Judgey.¡± Sophia then took the dog out and went to the office that Sam was about to transfer to her. She also stopped by to check the progress of the renovation at her shop. Linus apanied her to transfer the ownership that day and Sam was also there. His face was still swollen that day and Sophia still had no idea what happened between Cooper and him but judging by the situation, it must have been serious. ¡°Uncle Sam, are you alright?¡± However, Sam only replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine; don¡¯t worry.¡± After they finished signing the ownership transfer papers, Sophia and Linus got ready to leave. Sam wanted to have a chat but Linus didn¡¯t seem to like Sam talking to Sophia. Thinking about it for a moment, Sam decided to use the same method. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯ll be going abroad soon and there¡¯s no one to take care of Corrado. Can you help me take care of him?¡± Sophia blinked in confusion before she said, ¡°The Edwards family residence is huge. You can ask other family members to take care of Corrado for you!¡± Sam pressed, ¡°Your house has more dogs and it¡¯s more lively there. Plus, Corrado likes lively ces with lots of dogs.¡± Sam gave me a few floors of an office building. Helping him take care of a dog is nothingpared to that. And so, Sophia agreed to his request and happily took Corrado with her. Sam was also happy because he now had an excuse to visit them in the future. After they finished the transfer, Linus kindly rejected Sam¡¯s invitation to have lunch together. Instead, he brought Sophia to check on the renovation progress at the shop and went to the pet shop to drop off the dogs for a grooming session. After leaving the dogs at the shop, they went to have lunch. Once lunch was over, they hurriedly went to meet Stanley¡¯s ¡®son¡¯ in the game, Kenny, to discuss their business cooperation. Pourl was a luxury chain store for pets and Kenny worked at L/K, which specialized in luxury goods for people. The two of them could work together to develop a series of luxury products. Sophia read her previous work notes and saw that she had discussed business cooperation before. After the ident, she ced it aside but now that she wanted to do it again, Kenny was also interested to work with her. The discussion with Kenny ended in the afternoon. After Sophia left L/K, she turned around and nced at the magnificent building, hoping that Pourl could be that sessful one day. Meanwhile, Linus came over from Michel Group to pick Sophia up and had made it just in time. Then, they went to pick up the dogs before they head home for dinner. In the car, the dogs smelled great after their bath. Bubbles even had a cut so it looked pretty and smelled nice. Holding her dog, Sophia suddenly remembered something and asked Linus, ¡°Uncle Linus, have you ever thought about finding your family?¡± Cooper told her that Linus was his adoptive son. Linus has a family. With his current abilities, it should be easy for him to find his own family. At that moment, Linus was looking down at hisptop. With a smile, hemented, ¡°Since the day your father adopted me, I became part of the Michel family and have no other rtion to my past.¡± Chapter 793 Chapter 793 Hearing this, Sophia stopped asking. Linus put down hisptop and looked out the window to admire the scenery as he fell into deep thought. Find my family¡­ Linus still remembered some childhood memories. He remembered that his parents were a couple who werepletely different from him. Truth was, Linus was not their biological child either. He could asionally remember some of his childhood memories and could recall that his adoptive parents mentioned he was from Cethos. However, he had never thought about finding his birth parents¡­ After all, what good would that do? Cooper adopted him back then, brought him into the Michel family, found him adoptive parents, and devoted himself to nurturing him. In a family meeting, he won a ce for him in the Michel family and resisted public opinion to let a man that wasn¡¯t born in the family work in the very heart of the Michel Group. All of Cooper¡¯s efforts led to who Linus was today. If Linus went to find his family now, it would be an act of betrayal to the Michel family, not to mention Cooper and his efforts for the past twenty years would go to waste¡­ N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. At that moment, Sophia seemed to have realized that she had asked a sensitive question, so she busied herself with petting her dog and stopped talking. Suddenly, her phone rang; it was a call from another unknown number. The unknown numbers that appeared on Sophia¡¯s new phone never brought good news. As expected, as soon as she answered the call, she heard Sandra¡¯s voice. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve reached out to L/K to talk about business cooperation. Ha! Who gave you the courage to do that?¡± When Sophia heard Sandra¡¯s voice, she immediately hung up the phone. After a few seconds, her phone started ringing again and Sophia answered it tiredly. Sandra¡¯s voice that came through was as annoying as Sophia¡¯s ringtone. ¡°Scarlett, I¡¯ll give you half an hour to transfer your shops to me. Otherwise, you¡¯ll receive a call from L/K in half an hour to terminate your business cooperation. Mark my words. One order from me and no one in Bayside City will dare work with you!¡± With that, Sandra instantly hung up the phone. ¡°Crazy b*tch¡­¡± Sophia muttered as she hurriedly blocked Sandra¡¯s number. L/K was a big international brand. Since Sophia had already negotiated a cooperation with them, they naturally wouldn¡¯t terminate their cooperation with her just because of the Mitchell family¡¯s threats. Moreover, Sophia was able to smoothly negotiate a cooperation with Kenny not only because of Stanley¡¯s help, but also because Michael had agreed to be the ambassador for their new product. Before the ident, Michael epted his first endorsement and it was from L/K. He had never epted any endorsements before that and as it was his first endorsement, it naturally became a big deal. In fact, all these happened because Michael had to follow Sophia¡¯s wishes as she wanted to work together with L/K, so she offered up her husband. Now that the previous endorsement contract was about to be restarted, without a doubt, being the first brand endorsement after Taylor Murray¡¯s ¡®resurrection¡¯ would definitely be a great deal. Half an hourter, Sophia arrived home. After changing her clothes, she was ying with Carmen when she received another call from an unknown number. It was Sandra¡¯s voice again. ¡°Scarlett, I don¡¯t know what methods you used to negotiate a cooperation with Kenny¡ª¡± It seems like she was embarrassed by Kenny. ¡°I have my eyes on those two rows of shops. If you don¡¯t give them to me, I will make sure that you regret it!¡± With that, Sandra hung up. Sophia muttered yet again, ¡°Crazy b*tch.¡± Sandra is trying to bully and trick me because she thinks I¡¯m new and don¡¯t know about the market here. However, Bayside City is filled with rich and powerful people. Even though Sandra is the daughter of the wealthy Mitchell family, she isn¡¯t omnipotent. Sophia threw her phone to one side and focused on her dinner. At that moment, Carmen seemed to have reconciled with Cooper and she was drinking milk happily. After she finished drinking, she announced, ¡°Mommy, Grandpa agreed to let me be in a movie.¡± Hearing this, Sopia was stunned and she stole a nce at Cooper¡¯s upset expression. My baby girl is really good at persuading her grandfather. Cooper was really solemn as he muttered, ¡°I¡¯m letting her try first. If it doesn¡¯t work out, she¡¯ll inherit the family business.¡± I will be the one who decides on the script and main role of the movie, and I¡¯ll also be apanying Carmen throughout the whole shoot. Deep down, Cooper had a n. Since she wants to star in a movie, I¡¯ll let her try. However, I¡¯ll make things a little difficult for her. Sooner orter, she¡¯ll get scared and she¡¯ll give up. Why does she want to act in movies anyway? Isn¡¯t it better to inherit the hundreds of millions of family fortune? After dinner, Cooper noticed that there was another dog in the house. When Sophia left, she brought a total of five dogs¡ªBubbles, Snowball, Judge, and two of Judge¡¯s puppies. However, when she returned, there was another dog with ck fur. ¡°Is that Sam¡¯s dog?¡± Sophia nodded happily and gestured for Corrado toe over as she said, ¡°Yes. It¡¯s Uncle Sam¡¯s dog and it¡¯s name is Corrado. It¡¯s a really obedient dog.¡± Hearing this, a cold expression appeared on Cooper¡¯s face. That day, he already received a report that an old bachelor that was two years older than him not only had his eyes on his lover, Annabel, he also had his eyes on his daughter, Sophia. Sending a dog over is just a n. I know that he¡¯s nning to use his dog as an excuse to pay us a visit whenever I¡¯m not around¡­ Sophia patted Corrado¡¯s head. She had brought Corrado for a bath that day too, so it was clean and smelled nice. When Sophia saw that Cooper seemed angry, she pursed her lips and asked, ¡°Daddy, do you not like Corrado?¡± Surprisingly, Cooper smiled. ¡°Of course not! This dog looks really lively. I like it very much!¡± That night, Sam received a call from Cooper, informing him that Cooper liked Corrado very much and he was confisticating it, so Sam didn¡¯t need toe to his house to ask for the dog back anymore. After Sam heard this, he was speechless. Not only have I lost several floors of an office building, I even lost Corrado. As expected, Cooper is more aggressive than Michael. After solving Corrado¡¯s problem, Cooper¡¯s heart still felt heavy. I never thought that the old man would have his eyes on my beautiful young daughter. What a disgusting old man! Don¡¯t these old men know the age difference between them and my daughter? The next day, Sophia went to the hospital for a follow up. The doctors removed the gauze and saw that her face had recovered well. However, she still needed to apply some medication on her wounds and take some pills for a while to slowly restore her former beauty. Before returning home from the hospital, Sophia received a call from the investmentpany. Michael had established an investmentpany to manage Sophia¡¯s assets and they were also responsible for her shops. After the call connected, the people at the investmentpany told her that for some strange reason, the tenants of her two rows of shops asked to cancel their leases together, except for King. As soon as Sophia ended the call with the investmentpany, she received a call from Sandra again. ¡°Scarlett, I¡¯m sure that you¡¯ve heard about the news. I¡¯ve already released a warning. Starting from today, if anybody dares to rent your shop, it would mean that they are going against me¡ª¡± Sophia was toozy to talk to Sandra so she hung up on her. At the same time in the Mitchell family residence, after hanging up the call, Sandra was feeling confident and she immediately called Lucy. Her voice instantly became humble and gentle. ¡°Hello? Lucy? Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ve already got the two shops and we¡¯re signing the contract. I¡¯ll transfer the ownership of these shops to you in three days.¡± ¡°Yes¡­ How could she say no? After all, there is only one young madam in the Mitchell family. Besides, the genealogy record book is in my father¡¯s hands. If they want their names in the book, they have to ask for my permission.¡± Chapter 794 Chapter 794 After the call ended, Sandra felt really pleased and she was waiting for Sophia to give in. I¡¯ve scared away the tenants that rented Sophia¡¯s two rows of shops. Who else would dare to rent her shop? Sandra knew the value of the shops well. If nobody dared to rent it, even if it was empty for just a day, it was a huge loss. Under inducement and coercion, I¡¯m sure Scarlett will give in! However, even if she gives me those shops, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let her be in the Mitchell family¡¯s genealogy record book! In order to consolidate her position, Sandra needed to establish a good rtionship with Lucy and she had put in great effort to be so-called best friends. Hence, she must show her value to stay in Lucy¡¯s good friends list. This time, Lucy had taken the initiative to ask for her help so it was a great chance for Sandra to perform. The next day, Sandra went to check on the situation at the shops and saw that the tenants were pretty much finished with moving out. When they heard that theirndlord had offended the Mitchell family, those tenants moved away quickly for fear of getting into trouble. In less than three days, the area that huge crowds often passed through everyday had eight vacated shops and they wasted arge flow of potential customers. Other than King, Pourl¡ªwhich was still under renovation¡ªwas open. The other shops were all closed and empty. Sophia still hadn¡¯t called Sandra to admit defeat but Lucy was already calling and urging her. Sandra was getting anxious so she made another call to Sophia. However, Sophia didn¡¯t answer her calls but someone at King secretly reported to Sandra that Sophia was in her shop. After Sandra heard the news, she quickly rushed over. It was the morning of a work day so there weren¡¯t many people walking nearby. Sophia was wearing a mask as she looked around her shops with a few bodyguards. Several of her shops wererge in size and they were in a good location. The previous tenants sold luxury goods, but as they were small brands, they couldn¡¯t afford to offend the Mitchell family and hurriedly moved. Sophia looked through the shops one by one as she thought about how to attract new tenants. After looking at two shops, she heard the click of high heels approaching her. Turning around, she saw Sandra, who was decked in jewelry, had arrived. Looking at the empty shops, Sandra sneered, ¡°You can¡¯t find new tenants, can you? As long as the Mitchell family exists, there is no way you¡¯ll be able to rent your shops out! You¡¯re losing money every single day that you can¡¯t find a tenant! I advise you to hand over the shops to me!¡± Sophia ignored her and continued walking around the shop. The area of her shops were huge and the location was great. Moreover, they were double-storeyed. All this is the result of my hard work! As she walked around, Sandra trailed behind and continued to mock her. She mocked Sophia for not being able to find tenants and for not being able to have her name in the Mitchell family genealogy record book. Sandra even warned her that offending her would mean that she had offended the entire socialite circle in Bayside City. However, Sophia pretended to not hear anything she said. Under the guidance of her bodyguards, she finished looking around her shops and was really satisfied with it. No wonder I was willing to sell my things to buy these few shops back then. I really have to praise my past self for having such a good eye. Cooper also felt that this was a good location and had bought many buildings and shops nearby. Now that he was about to go back to his old profession, he was determined to be sessful. The original office building could no longer satisfy his needs. Sophia focused on looking at her shops, as if she didn¡¯t know Sandra was there. It was until she finished looking at all the shops when Sandra, who was ignored for a long time, finally lost her temper and strode over angrily. ¡°Scarlett, were you listening to me?¡± Sandra was extremely furious. This b*tch is the one who should be begging me but I can¡¯t wait any longer. I must have these two rows of shops! However, after taking two steps forward, Sandra was blocked by Sophia¡¯s bodyguards so she could only speak to Sophia from a distance. At that moment, Sophia seemed to have finally realized her existence. She turned around and calmly nced at Sandra before she said, ¡°Miss Mitchell, there is no need for you to worry. I have already found new tenants for my shops and the renovation team of my tenants will be here tonight.¡± Hmph! Sandra chuckled and countered, ¡°I¡¯m curious as to who is brave enough to dare rent your shop.¡± With a smile, Sophia replied, ¡°If you¡¯re curious,e by tonight and you¡¯ll find out.¡± Then, Sophia left under the protection of her bodyguards. She had other things to do that day. Other than looking at her shops, she had already made an appointment to meet with Daniel to discuss the development of her meditation retreat project. Watching Sophia leave freely, Sandra was enraged. How dare a hideous monster like her be so arrogant? She is just relying on her father¡¯s rtionship with 9th Old Master Edwards! How long will Sam be able to protect them? Later, Sandra sent a few men to keep an eye on Sophia¡¯s shops; she wanted to know who dared to rent them! Soon, her men sent her a message. As expected, a renovation team entered the shops and did some renovation overnight. After asking around, they found out about the new tenants. One shop was for Cooper, two shops were leased to Sam as the branches for Crimson House, one shop was leased to the Michel Group to open an official shop in Cethos, another was leased to the entertainment chain club ¡®Audistin¡¯, and one shop was leased to L/K as a branch. The veryst one was even more shocking¡ªSophia had leased it at a low price to the Public Security Bureau to be used as an office for the police patrol team¡­ Looking at the list of tenants, Sandra couldn¡¯t believe her eyes. She didn¡¯t dare to offend any one of the tenants on the list and the only one she dared to bully was Cooper¡¯s shop, but they didn¡¯t care about her threats at all. The Mitchell family¡¯s internal fights were still ongoing and they had taken everything they could. However, Cooper¡¯s bloodline was still living well and they were constantly getting stronger. Moreover, they weren¡¯t afraid of the threats from the other two families. ¡°That¡¯s impossible! How could she possibly have found such quality tenants?¡± Sandra didn¡¯t believe the list so she personally went over the next day. It was then that she saw the renovations at those shops had begun and they were really from the merchants on the list! The deadline she had promised Lucy had arrived and Lucy kepting to urge her now and then. Sandra couldn¡¯t wait anymore but she didn¡¯t dare to go against those merchants! However, Lucy was getting impatient. If I can¡¯t deal with such a simple problem, how am I going to speak to Lucy in the future? Since I can¡¯t go against them, I¡¯ll secretly sabotage Sophia! Sandra was infuriated so she gritted her teeth and chose a few shops to attack. She wanted Sophia to know that her shops could never be rented out! That day, Sophia received a call from the shops to report to her that the shops caught fire in the middle of the night. Fortunately, they found the fire and extinguished it in time so there was no major loss. The next morning, Sandra called to threaten Sophia again. ¡°Scarlett, do you think you can sit back and rx now that you¡¯ve found tenants? Let me be very clear; without my permission, don¡¯t think about renting out those shops!¡± ¡°Boring¡­¡± Sophia hung up the phone and asked the people at the shops to continue the renovations. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Seeing that she failed the first time, Sandra started nning for a second attack. Merchants pay attention to feng shui when they open a shop to do business. If one shop keeps encountering problems while still under renovation, they will consider leaving. As long as this group of merchants leave, those shops won¡¯t have any more tenants! It¡¯ll be even better if someone dies! Chapter 795 Chapter 795 Unexpectedly, during the second ruckus, Sandra¡¯s men were noticed by the policemen that were patrolling the area nearby, so the policemen rushed over and seized them. When Sandra got the news, she was shocked. Fortunately, those were just some loafers, so even if they were caught they wouldn¡¯t dare to expose her. After that incident, Sandra finally behaved herself. Even Lucy stopped making a fuss, whereas King ended the lease and moved out on its own. Therefore, Sophia took back the shop and reserved it for Linus. Recently, Cooper¡¯s force and Michel Group¡¯s business seemed to be expanding in Bayside since they were increasing their shops. Therefore, Sophia reserved a shop for all of her people. These days, Copper almost gave up his authority over the Michel Family and passed it over to Linus to settle any issues. Meanwhile, he was focusing on the Mitchell Family and exploring deeper into the field of high-tech electronics. He even moved all his equipment to his basement and spent all his time working in his workroom. He knew he had to make a breakthrough and conquer a more advanced field if he wanted to regain the Mitchell Family¡¯s former glory. At the same time, he mustn¡¯tpete with Linus for business because he knew very well that the Mitchell Family was not a match for the Michel Group right now. However, Cooper was as wise as always, so he had his own n. While Linus was busy expanding his market in Cethos, Cooper picked up his past profession to rejuvenate the Mitchell Family. At the same time, Sophia was enthusiastically developing her business. She interviewed all the sales talents that were introduced by Cooper and got the employment in progress. After she hired two salespeople, she was sure to share her resources so she shared them with Kenny, since the coboration with L/K Group had reached the stage of signing the contract. Soon, Pourl resumed its operation and Sarah invited a few regr customers to support the business. Fortunately, they got a few orders. Ever since Sandra made a ruckus, although it didn¡¯t substantially damage Sophia¡¯s shop and the fire only burnt some stics, Sophia was still angry about the whole incident. While the three families werepeting against each other, all of them tried to win over more talents. Since Cooper was back, his force thrived in their business and made huge progress, tempting some people to be in alliance with Cooper. However, they were worried that they might choose the wrong team in this critical situation. If they made a mistake in choosing sides, they would end up in a dire situation. Therefore, many people were indecisive. Naturally, Sophia understood the situation. She initially decided to brush off Sandra so that she wouldn¡¯t waste her time and energy in these meaningless games, but considering the current situation where three forces stood in a deadlock, a devious idea suddenly popped up in her mind. That idea seemed to have appeared effortlessly as if she often did that in the past. Within two days, the few loafers that made trouble in Sophia¡¯s shop that night confessed in the police station and exposed Sandra. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be a big deal since what they did didn¡¯t cause severe damage. Besides, the Mitchell Family was powerful enough to conceal this incident, not allowing even a piece of information to leak. Therefore, nothing happened to Sandra and she was still the perfect, noble princess. Sophia even received a call from her, who wanted to show off. ¡°Scarlett, please keep your meager skills away from me. You should know that Bayside is my territory and your petty schemes won¡¯t work on me. Besides¡ª¡± She continued sarcastically, ¡°¡ªthere¡¯s no hope for you and your father to be added into the genealogy record book so don¡¯t ever dream of it, not to mention entering the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral tomb. You will never be epted into the family in this lifetime!¡± Only those who were recorded in the genealogy record book were the real Mitchells, whereas those who couldn¡¯t be added in were just pitiful coteral families. If one could not be buried in the ancestral tomb after they died, they would forever be a lost soul. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but shake her head. Since she read the working diary of the past, she knew Sandra¡¯s background. It was true that people would try their best to unt what theycked the most. Sandra knew how she became the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family so even though she earned that title, her sense of inferiority toward herself was still deep-rooted. In the past, Sandra often dreamed of being added into the genealogy record book. Now, not only her dream came true, she even became the Young Lady of Mitchell Family. At that moment, she felt like she had ovee all the difficulties in her life so she turned to torture the next person that was in the same situation as she was in the past. Finally, Sophia couldn¡¯t hold it in and expressed her thoughts about the genealogy record book. ¡°Some people are proud of being one of the Mitchells, but others make the Mitchells proud of them.¡± With that, she hung up the phone without bothering to listen to Sandra¡¯s reply. Twenty years ago, Cooper was the pride of the Mitchell Family and he still was after all this time. Therefore, they were not the ones who should beg to be in the genealogy record book but the Mitchell Family should be the one on their knees, begging her and her father to be on it. Since her father and uncle were such extraordinary people, and even Carmen was intelligent enough to make a living to take care of the dog by acting, Sophia felt that she had to pull herself together. As expected, Sandra¡¯s foolish act wasn¡¯t exposed to the public so she was still the wless world¡¯s champion, the princess of the sports world. However, everyone in the Mitchell Family knew about her stupidity. The Mitchells weren¡¯t sure of the ins and outs of the incident so they didn¡¯t know who was in the right. Besides, it only involved a few shops and it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Usually, it wouldn¡¯t be something to make a fuss of but during this critical time, all trifles would be exaggerated. Therefore, they inferred the whole incident as Alex¡¯s daughterpeted against Scarlett, Cooper¡¯s daughter, for two rows of shops but failed. Because of that, Sandra flew into anger and paid some people to wreck the shops. Unfortunately, those people were caught and the mastermind¡ªSandra ¡ªwas found by the police through traces of evidence. She was deemed ipetent for failing in getting the shops. Even worse, she was not only caught after paying people to make trouble but was also found out by the authorities after that. That was absolutely humiliating and it highlighted the difference between Sandra and Scarlett. After all, Scarlett was Cooper¡¯s daughter. How could a daughter of someone so astonishing be weak? Through this small incident ofpeting for shops, many things became evident. For example, Scarlett had powerful resources since she could rope in so many high-quality sellers, whom Sandra couldn¡¯t even control, for seven or eight shops within a day. Besides, these sellers clearly knew that Scarlett waspeting against Sandra for the shops but they willingly rented the shops to her. What did that show? The owner of Audistine was Bayside¡¯s anonymous force, while the Crimson House belonged to 9th Old Master Edwards as well as L/K and Michel Group. These were powerful forces which no one could afford to offend, but they lent a helping hand to Scarlett during critical times. Everyone understood what it meant. An interesting point was Scarlett rented one of the shops to the police patrol team for almost free and that wasn¡¯tmon for everyone. Through such a small gesture, many things dawned upon the public, such as Scarlett had greater resources than Sandra and that her skills and boldness took after Cooper. While everyone was disappointed with Sandra, they became more confident with Cooper and Scarlett. After all, with such a clever daughter, the father must be wise too. After 20 years, many people had forgotten how powerful Cooper was in the past but now, they got to witness a whole new history happening right before their eyes. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. This incident was like a magical seed, slowly germinating in the environment. Without realizing, it caused some subtle changes to the situation where the three forces confronted each other. At this critical time, even the smallest change could induce a butterfly effect, which might lead to a huge effect. Not long after that incident, Cooper rose like a powerful dragon from the sea and took over Justin¡¯s father, Anthony¡¯s force, in a domineering way. Chapter 796 Chapter 796 Even the arrogant Anthony surrendered to Cooper. At once, the state of the three forces were altered and Alex was now at the opposing end from Cooper. Alex and the Edwards Family were united by marriage and with that protection, he still had the upper hand. After all, he and the Edwards Family made a strong coboration. On the contrary, what did Cooper have? After 20 years, the Mitchell Family and Bayside were no longer under Cooper¡¯s control. Therefore, the winner of this battle was still unknown and it would be more than a challenge for Cooper if he wanted to gain back the Mitchell Family. ¡­ In Pourl, which had just resumed its operation after the renovation, a small party was held by Sarah to celebrate the reopening of the shop and some close friends were invited. Today was just a small reopening and it wasn¡¯t a grand party, as they were reserving the splendid asion for the productunch ceremony. Sophia had brought all her cats and dogs to the shop to liven up the atmosphere, so the shop was now filled with animals. Nicole even purposely canceled an event just to attend this party. As a huge celebrity, her presence made the shop dazzle. She was indeed giving great honor to Sophia, willing to turn down another event just to attend this small party. Sophia was still wearing a mask since the wound on her face hadn¡¯t recovered. It needed some time to heal with medications. Those cats and dogs that came were decked out in jewellery. Standing among the animals, Ivan was grateful and overjoyed to see his works worn by furry friends, especially when he saw the cor on Judge¡¯s neck. That was the work he felt the proudest of and it was also the treasure of the shop. That cor itself won countless medals in all types of internationalpetitions. Whenever Ivan saw Judge, he would think of his dog that died painfully in his house. After so many years, he couldn¡¯t get past it to rear another dog. Wearing that cor, Judge looked extremely lively and handsome, sessfully attracting a bunch of female dogs. Judge was now the main signed male model and ambassador of Pourl, being featured in every new product poster as a model. In the world of dogs at Bayside, he was famous and even had a personal agent. Most importantly, he had several ounts on social media, including Twitter, Snapchat, Tiktok, and Facebook, with over ten million followers! Now, Judge had reached the peak of its life, enjoying luxury houses and branded items. But when a group of pretty, obedient female dogs gathered around him, he, who was surrounded by females, finally recalled that he had been neutered! Therefore, Judge felt really down for the whole day. On the other hand, when a few women got together, there would always be endless topics to chat about. Nicole shared her story first by saying, ¡°Two days ago, Taylor suddenly came to me and asked if I had any free time because he wanted to coborate with me on a script.¡± When Taylor appeared out of nowhere to find her, Nicole was thoroughly shaken. Taylor was not only alive, he was even well-informed of what had happened in Africa and thanked her. Nicole didn¡¯t expect that someone so arrogant like Taylor would thank her, hence she happily reserved her time for his new drama. These few years, she remained at Imperial Entertainment. In the past, it was Ethan and Taylor who made thispany sessful but after they retired, Nicole was left to support thepany alone. In the past few years, Nicole not only acted in movies, she also took over some managing jobs in Imperial Entertainment and supported a few rookies. While working on her career, she also led a batch of new celebrities and they were doing rather well now, bringing fame to thepany. If Taylor really came back, it would be perfect. Speaking of that script, Sarah became enthusiastic and said, ¡°I know! Yesterday, Taylor came back to find my Old Wolf and he is even going to make aeback! Their new movie is adapted from a true story and it¡¯s amazing!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia started to zone out¡­ Had Michaele back yesterday? Why didn¡¯t hee to visit Carmen or her? Since he came to meet Ethan, why didn¡¯t he visit Carmen and her as well? Once Sophia thought of that, she felt dejected. Speaking of the movie, Sarah looked like a fan and blushed profusely. ¡°My Old Wolf says that the movie that was banned a few years ago¡ªthe one about the imperial seal¡ªis submitted for review and will soon be aired. Nicole, don¡¯t forget to advertise for Old Wolf! After all, he has faded from the public¡¯s sight and he¡¯ll need help from famous celebrities like you to regain his poprity!¡± Nicole smiled shyly. ¡°Sure! I¡¯m more than happy to help him.¡± She became who she was today because her two seniors, Taylor and Ethan, had helped her. Sarah was excited as she gushed, ¡°That¡¯s awesome! It¡¯s rare for Taylor, Old Wolf and Nicole, these Oscar winners, to be in the same movie. In fact, this will be the first time ever in Cethos! I¡¯m sure the box office will explode and I can foresee that it will surpass War Dragon soon!¡± On the other hand, Sophia was still upset that Michael didn¡¯t visit her¡­ While she was immersed in sadness, a few people suddenly appeared at the door. A few bodyguards in ck suits escorted Sandra, who was dressed in all white like an angel, into the shop. Upon seeing that, Sophia put down her cat and approached them. ¡°You¡¯ve got quite a number of guests here,¡± Sandra said in a light voice while looking around. Actually, there weren¡¯t many people in the shop today. In fact, the cats and dogs in the shop outnumbered the staff. Stanley and Sean weren¡¯t here so there were only a few regr customers. It was obvious that Sandra came to cause trouble since she brought her men and blocked the door fiercely, seemingly afraid that they would escape. After a nce around the shop, she memorized the few guests. After getting a good feel of the guests in the shop, Sandra said in a haughty tone, ¡°I came here today to tell everyone that I¡¯m one of the shareholders of King and I¡¯m the one in charge now. King will be resuming its business two dayster and we¡¯ll hold a grandunch, and I¡¯d like to invite all of you to attend the ceremony. I¡¯ve memorized all your names and I¡¯ll send the invitation card to your houses respectivelyter on. King wees all of you.¡± With that, Sandra turned and left. The shop was filled with dogs¡¯ odour and she hated it so much that she even tried to hold her breath while speaking. Who said that someone who owned a business of branded pet supplies would love pets? Sandra was one of those who hated these drooling creatures who shed fur; they were absolutely disgusting to her. Once she left, the atmosphere in the shop changed. It was evident that Sandra was openly snatching the remaining customers they had! N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Besides, she even said that she memorized the names of the guests today! Could it be that she wanted to threaten those who didn¡¯t attend King¡¯sunching ceremony? What a cruel person she was! Who could win against her if she used this method to snatch the customers away? Fortunately, the guests that came today were Pourl¡¯s regrs, which were as close as a family, and they wouldn¡¯t easily betray them. Those unfamiliar customers were already won over by Sandra. Sarah was the first to spring up. ¡°Just you f*cking wait and see!¡± Everyone was picking on her, who was an online illustrator for an actor that were both no longer famous. Bah! ¡°When my Old Wolf makes aeback, it will be her doom¡¯s day!¡± Staring at the direction that Sandra left, Sophia sank into deep thought before a mysterious smile suddenly appeared on her lips. Was Sandra going to hold a grandunch ceremony? Unfortunately for her, that would only happen in her dreams! Chapter 797 Chapter 797 Sophia then turned to take out Calvin¡¯s name card and called him. It wasn¡¯t long before he arrived at the shop. King¡¯sunch ceremony was around the corner so Sandra had been visiting King every day. Ever since she lost to Scarlett in thepetition for that few shops, Lucy had enlightened Sandra, telling her that she fell into Scarlett¡¯s trap. It turned out that Scarlett had been deliberately enraging Sandra, causing her to act irrationally. Scarlett¡¯s objective was to make the Mitchell Family disappointed in Sandra after her scheme was exposed. It was still vivid in Sandra¡¯s mind that the former victim, Natasha, fell for that trap as well. She acted stupidly, causing Alex to bepletely disappointed in her, which then led him finding Sandra as her recement. However, Sandra wasn¡¯t the same as Natasha. She had learned her lesson and changed her tactic. This time, she would defeat Scarlett in a face-on battle. She would make Scarlett¡¯s shop go bankrupt and prove her ability to the Mitchell Family! What did Pourl have now? Their customer base that they had been umting from the past had now be King¡¯s customers. Not only their designers joined King with theirpleted work, which had be theirtest Spring product, even their sales manager brought away all their customer resources. Half of Pourl¡¯s sales and design department were now under King, so what did they have now? Burning with ambition, Sandra prepared for theunch ceremony. She wanted to prove her superiority to Scarlett so that Scarlett could taste the bitterness of offending her. But right at that moment, King suddenly received a summons from the court and it turned out that Pourl had finally prosecuted King! However, Pourl didn¡¯t prosecute Lucy, the legal body of Pourl. Instead, they prosecuted the few designers and salespeople who left theirpany and joined King. After all, when they joined Pourl they had signed a contract with a nonpetition use which stated that upon their resignation, they mustn¡¯t work in the same profession within a year. Since they one-sidedly broke the agreement, those who left Pourl had vited the agreement. Therefore, thepany had the right to ask forpensation or make them fulfill the nonpetition restriction. When Sandra heard about that, she chuckled codly andpletely ignored the situation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s just a small amount of money. Let them prosecute us and we¡¯llpensate them no matter how much they ask for.¡± In order to show that she cared for those employees that left Pourl and joined King, she not only paid the compensation on their behalf, she even promoted them in a high-profiled manner. In addition, she publicly promised that she would hire everyone who came from Pourl and even promote them. Not only that, she would pay them double and give them twice the staff benefits. If Pourl sued them, King would pay for them without asking the employees to fork out a penny. What the ordinary employees ever wanted was to make a living. Therefore, Pourl¡¯s employees had been consecutively resigning due to Sandra¡¯s temptation. Now, there were only two designers left in the workshop; one was Ivan and the other was his new apprentice. Ivan¡¯s new apprentice was rather dull since he had just graduated. Every morning when he reached the workshop, he would show Ivan the message from King¡ªwhich tried to lure him to leave Pourl¡ªthat he received the previous night and even joked about it. He not only picked things up slowly, he was also dim-witted; even Ivan felt sorry for him. Through his actions, Ivan further confirmed that his apprentice was helplessly dumb so he decided to teach all his skills to him. Since he was so dull, Ivan bet that no one else would want this apprentice other than himself. And so, there were only two people in the design department whereas in the sales department, only a handful remained other than the two employees who were newly hired by Sophia. ¡°Damn it!¡± Sarah threw a pile of resignation letters on the table. ¡°King has taken this too far. They even took away our janitor, Lily.¡± Sophia nced at the letter and sighed inwardly as she thought, Impressive! Now, even their janitor left. It seemed like King wouldn¡¯t give up without driving her, the owner of a small dog cor shop, into a corner. Even Cooper was informed about the huge crisis that Sophia¡¯s shop met. As soon as she got home, Cooper walked up to her but before he could speak, she forestalled him. ¡°Dad, let me handle this. I honestly don¡¯t need your help. I¡¯ve grown up so I can¡¯t rely on you in everything.¡± Cooper was at a loss for words. Meanwhile, Linus walked out from the kitchen with a dish of scrumptious stir-fried vegetables and reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cooper. If Sophia needs your help, she won¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± However, Cooper seemed dejected. Since his daughter had grown up, she was no longer that vulnerable baby when he first found her. She didn¡¯t even need his help now. Thinking of that, he felt rather lost. After Sophia changed her clothes, she came down to eat. Carmen had finished a bottle of milk when she suddenly said, ¡°Mommy, Daddy came home to visit me today!¡± ¡°Your dad is back?¡± Sophia could barely conceal her happiness. ¡°When did hee home and what did he say?¡± Seeing that Sophia became merry once she heard about Taylor, Cooper couldn¡¯t help but pull a long face. Sophia immediately concealed her happiness and surprise on her face, pretending that she didn¡¯t care about that while she continued to eat her food. However, Carmen told on her grandfather. ¡°Grandpa chased Daddy out!¡± Knitting her eyebrows, Sophia grumbled, ¡°Dad, how can you chase Carmen¡¯s father away in front of her? It must have broken her heart to witness that!¡± But this time, Carmen took Cooper¡¯s side firmly and supported him. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m not sad at all because Daddy is at fault this time!¡± Curious, Sophia asked, ¡°What happened?¡± Carmen slowly rted the incident and she said, ¡°Daddy wants to act as Grandpa¡¯s father and that¡¯s outrageous!¡± Michael wanted to act as Cooper¡¯s father? Confused, Sophia looked at Cooper¡¯s sulky expression. It was only after a while that it finally dawned on her that Michael must havee to meet Cooper to discuss the script! He was nning to film the exciting past where Cooper and Mark made a sortie out of the snowy mountain. Therefore, he had to get the approval and authorization from the person involved or his descendants before shooting the movie. As one of the people involved, Mark definitely would agree with that since he longed for Michael to act as him every day. However, the other person involved, Woody, had passed away and since Cooper was his descendant, Michael had to get Cooper¡¯s approval. This was where the problem arose. That film was about Mark and Woody when they were young. If everything went as nned, Michael and Ethan, who were somehow resurrected and no longer famous, would be ying the two leading roles. Therefore, Michael had only two roles as his options¡ªeither Mark or Woody. In other words, Michael would either act as Cooper¡¯s father or his godfather. How could Cooper ept that old, shameless son-inw to portray his father? That was totally impossible! Sophia widened her eyes upon hearing that, wanting to persuade Cooper but she had no idea how to. Atst, she could only mumble, ¡°It¡¯s just a movie though. You shouldn¡¯t chase him away regardless¡­¡± Cooper had on a sulky face for the whole day and even got annoyed at the few cats and dogs that belonged to Michael. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. He would never approve or authorize that! Never! When night came, Carmen went to bed early to have her beauty sleep since she wanted to be on TV. After she dozed off, Sophia secretly called Michael. When the call was answered, Michael¡¯s deep, sexy voice came from the other end. ¡°Is everything going well with your shop? Do you need my help?¡± Chapter 798 Chapter 798 ¡°It¡¯s alright; I have ns for that. You don¡¯t have to help me.¡± Since Sophia said that she had other ns, Michael wouldn¡¯t interfere. His chica still had her tricks even though she lost her memory. After a moment of silence, Sophia spoke first in a careful tone. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about the incident today. I love that film too and I¡¯ll try to talk to my dad for you.¡± Unexpectedly, Cooper¡¯s voice suddenly rang out right after she said that. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± ¡°Dad!¡± He¡¯s here again? Sophia stomped her feet in anger. Couldn¡¯t he give her some privacy and stop eavesdropping on her calls? Cooper¡¯s voice was firm. ¡°I won¡¯t allow you to act in this movie. Period.¡± Thud! The voice disappeared and the line was cut off. Looking at the phone, Michael clicked his tongue. What a father-inw¡­ Michael knew that Cooper didn¡¯t want him to act as his father, but he was still surprised at how angry he was. Acting as Cooper¡¯s father was Michael¡¯s dream so it was impossible for him to give up on that! In the past, he painstakingly tried to find Cooper but that old man hid so well, causing him so many difficulties in finding him. Therefore, he swore that he would specifically write a film for Cooper and act as his father! Putting down his phone, Michael opened the window and under the night sky, he saw lights were still on at the second floor of Vi No. 2¡ªit seemed that Sophia was still awake. Michael felt that he hadn¡¯t recoveredpletely so even after he came back, he didn¡¯t meet Sophia immediately. Truth was, he missed her so much that it almost drove him crazy. Looking at that brightly lit room, an idea suddenly came to him so he walked to the study and took out the Four Treasures of the Study. Then, he ground the ink and picked up the writing brush. With strokes of the brush and sshes of ink, he wrote a romantic letter in cursive writing. In the past, Sophia loved to watch as he wrote with a writing brush. This was all thanks to his father-inw, who frequently showed off his calligraphy skills to Mark. Turning shame into anger, Mark forced all the youngsters in the Fletcher Family to practice calligraphy, hoping that one of them would surpass Cooper one day. Because of that, Michael was trained to write well. The letter was sent out by a drone, which was controlled by Michael, and it silently flew toward Sophia¡¯s room. Unexpectedly, before the drone could get any nearer to Vi No. 2, a beam ofser appeared in the night sky and shot the drone precisely. Without making any sound, the drone fell from the sky and hit the ground, shattering into pieces. Damn it! Michael flung the remote control in a fit of anger. It was just a drone. Why did Cooper have to shoot it down too? He then logged into the Swordsman Game and realized that Sophia¡¯s ¡®Sirius233¡¯ was online too. Excited, he was about to talk to Sophia when ck Dragon¡¯s de appeared in front of him, blocking his way. Ranma in ck Dragon armor stood beside Sophia¡¯s game character, not leaving her side for even one second. Michael was speechless and almost exploded in anger. He swore that he must act as Cooper¡¯s father this time just to disgust him! When Michael and Cooper were battling for the authorization of the film¡¯s adaptation, Sophia was working on her career too. As expected, King generouslypensated Pourl and even so, they didn¡¯t stop tempting Sophia¡¯s employees to leave Pourl. Even the new janitor left Pourl for King within a few days. Not only the janitor, they even tried to snatch Judge, the ambassador for Pourl! Sandra had tried her luck several times on Stanley, hoping to buy Judge from him. She waspletely heartless and inhumane! King was too vicious and pressuring, so Sophia felt that she might as well close the business for two days. Finally, it was King¡¯s Spring Festival productunch ceremony and Sophia had received an invitation too. That golden embossed letter was still warm when it was ced on Sophia¡¯s hand and to her, every word on the letter was dripping with sarcasm. It seemed like the result of the battle hade out with Sophia closing her shop, whereas Sandra was having a splendid Spring Festival productunch ceremony. However, it was still unknown who would get thestugh. Theunch ceremony began on time and many nobledies and women came. Surprisingly, Lucy, the legal body of the shop, didn¡¯t show up. It was Sandra and Billy who hosted the entire ceremony. That day, King seemed to be shining in glory and as its biggest shareholder and the current person in charge, Sandra was proud too. She didn¡¯t like to interact with cats or dogs because she felt that they were dirty. Besides, she was disgusted by their foul smell and saw them as a bunch of monsters. At today¡¯sunch ceremony, there were many cats and dogs at the scene. Even the backstage was filled with animals and it grossed her out. One by one, the guests arrived and the Mitchell Family came too. Sandra smiled while weing the guests. Today, she even deliberately invited Natasha, that ugly woman, as well as many of the Mitchell Family. Previously, she failed to snatch those two shops from Scarlett. Unexpectedly, the news was spread to the Mitchell Family, which caused some fence sitters to sway. They felt that her family was inferior to Cooper¡¯s family, so they impulsively supported Cooper instead.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Today, Sandra wanted to prove to the Mitchell Family that she was the most talented Young Lady of the Mitchell Family! As expected, Sophia epted the invitation and came. Today, she wore an ivory cheongsam. Since it was Spring, the temperature wasn¡¯t too harsh so people had started to put on thinner clothing. Sophia even tried a Cethos¡¯ cheongsam for the first time. The high cor of the cheongsam covered her neck, showing off her figure while managing to conceal the gauze on her neck at the same time. The scars on her neck were covered with skin-colored gauze. Besides, she let down her dark straight hair which she recently trimmed and dyed, and it covered the unnatural skin on her neck. Not only that, it set off her snow-white wless skin. In short, she looked stunning in this get-up. She was wearing a mask as usual and it only exposed her eyes. Her blue eyes shone beautifully and they looked as deep as gems. In her hand, she held a small, delicate clutch and on her feet, she wore a pair of diamond-embellished high heels and entered the venue, dazzling from head to toe. Beside her were a few blue-eyed, blond- haired bodyguards as well as her two beloved dogs¡ªa dignified-looking husky with its forehead burning with mes, and a pure ck Labrador that was as dark as a shadow and looked majestic. This pair of vicious dogs stood in line and looked absolutely domineering. From afar, Sandra saw Sophia and she inwardly cursed, Ugly woman! But with so many guests around, she wouldn¡¯t show her disgust on her face no matter how repellent she felt. In a coquettish way, she walked up to Scarlett and shouted when she was still a few paces away, ¡°Scarlett, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Sophia was actually two years older than Sandra but she didn¡¯t want to waste her energy arguing so she replied, ¡°Yeah. Here I am.¡± Sandra stopped after taking a few more steps toward Sophia because those two fierce dogs were too intimidating. Sandra frowned, her eyes filled with disgust toward the dogs. Even so, she still coated her words with sugar. ¡°I¡¯m busy today so I can¡¯t apany you. Please find yourself a seat.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Go ahead. I can take care of myself.¡± She then turned and found her seat. Unexpectedly, Sandra deliberately added behind her, ¡°Many of Pourl¡¯s previous customers are here too. Go ahead and have a chat with them.¡± Indeed, those former customers were sitting here and they had be Sandra¡¯s customers. Chapter 799 Chapter 799 Sophia¡¯s high heels stopped for a while but she didn¡¯t turn back. Then, she walked straight to her seat. After she sat down, Judge and Corrado sat beside her. Ivan came with her today too, and he remained expressionless. He didn¡¯t even speak and the only thing he did was bow his head while ying with the shop¡¯s treasure on Judge¡¯s neck. Judge loved to attend these kinds of grand events because it made him look superior. As soon as he sat down, he nudged his paws against Sophia¡¯s shoe. Knitting her eyebrows, Sophia took out her phone and turned on the beauty camera. Then, she took a few handsome photos from the side and posted them on his Twitter. Judge¡¯s photo must be taken using the beauty camera; otherwise, he would get upset. Undoubtedly, he was a dog with vanity. Judge had been a famous star for a long time in Bayside¡¯s world of dogs. After all, his father, Stanley, was a famous dandy in Bayside while Judge himself was Pourl¡¯s main signed model. Even though he slept on the carpet at home, he should seem glorious on the outside. After Sarah made Judge popr, it actually improved Pourl¡¯s business. Bowing her head, Sophia focused on ying with her phone. She didn¡¯t even talk to the people beside her but that didn¡¯t stop the others from looking at her, especially the Mitchells. Ever since Cooper came back, he had only appeared twice, which was the day when Woody passed away and when he was buried. Unfortunately for the Mitchell Family, they couldn¡¯t lure him back. Therefore, the Mitchell Family had never seen Cooper¡¯s legendary daughter. Judging from her skin color and eyes, it seemed like Cooper had her when he lived overseas for a few years. Today¡¯s spotlight was naturally on Sandra and her fianc¨¦, a legitimate son of the Edwards Family and was also Lucy¡¯s cousin. Most importantly, he was worth hundreds of billions. ¡°Scarlett.¡± Sophia heard Sandra¡¯s voice while she was ying with her phone so she lifted her eyes from the screen and looked at her. At that moment, Sandra had stopped beside Sophia while a young, handsome, ck-haired man stood beside her. Both of them looked like a perfect couple when they stood together. Sandra held onto that noble, handsome young man as if she was unting a rare treasure. ¡°This is my fianc¨¦, Ian Edwards.¡± Ian extended his hand to Sophia and greeted her politely, ¡°Nice to meet you, Scarlett. I¡¯m Ian and I¡¯ve heard much about you.¡± Sophia had a simple handshake and a small talk with Ian. After that, Sandra pulled her fianc¨¦ away while Sophia lowered her head and continued to y with her phone. While pulling Ian away, Sandra couldn¡¯t help looking back at Sophia. If she wasn¡¯t mistaken, Sophia must be drowning in jealousy now. It went without saying that every nobledy in Bayside envied Sandra. After all, Ian was the legitimate heir of the Edwards Family and he was also the right-hand man of the family leader, Jordan. Therefore, he had an extraordinary status in the Edwards Family and he was about to be her husband. Now, she not onlypletely destroyed Scarlett¡¯s business, she also had such a wless fianc¨¦ and a noble identity. But what did Scarlett have? Seeing that Sandra and Ian were close, the Mitchell Family felt relieved. Their marriage would mean that the Mitchell Family and the Edwards Family had a long-term coboration. At the same time, they would be as close as one family in the future. However, they didn¡¯t notice that Ian seemed confused after having a handshake with Sophia and even turned back several times to look at the girl that was named Scarlett. Had he met her before? Four years ago, a girl named Sophia once appeared in the Edwards Family¡¯s meeting. They had lunch together, discussed stocks and even became friends on Messenger. She was Taylor¡¯s wife and had passed away three years ago. Besides, she had a husky too¡­ As Sophia started to get bored with her phone, the productunch ceremony was finally about to start. The ceremony started with Sandra going on stage to give a speech, followed by the new product¡¯s exhibition. The male models walked on the show with pets embellished with jewellery, passing by in front of everyone and disying King¡¯stest product. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Getting into the business of branded pet products was only the first step. King and Pourl¡¯s were nning to produce branded human essories next. King had taken its first step by holding today¡¯sunch ceremony, starting to exhibit branded products for humans as well as luxurious essories for pets. Sophiazily looked at the stage. King¡¯s main designer, Billy Kim, was the apprentice of Pourl¡¯s main designer, Ivan. The two shops¡¯ designs were so identical that it seemed like giarism. However, since King was more domineering and frequently sent out invitations to their customers¡¯ doorsteps, it had surpassed Pourl in terms of business. Most importantly, King had expanded their market and became international, whereas Pourl was ranked second in the country. Therefore, Pourl had been used of giarising King. However, only Ivan and Billy knew the truth. If everything went as nned, King¡¯s Spring Festival¡¯s products for this year would be familiar to Ivan as well because every product would have his style. However, that incident happened too suddenly in the past and many of his design blueprints that hadn¡¯t been published were stolen by Billy. Sadly, Ivan didn¡¯t have any evidence to prove that it was his! Therefore, there was nothing he could do even though he almost exploded in indignation. Naturally, the best product would appear at the veryst. The biggest product for thisunch ceremony was a gxy cor, and it was worn on a female husky¡¯s neck. That female husky had a light coloring and she looked gentle; even her temperament seemed gentle while she was brought up the stage by a male model. The dark-colored cor almost blended with her coat while delicate jewellery dangled at the end of the tassels, embellishing her with bits of starlight. Everyone was stunned at the gxy that appeared on the dog¡¯s chest. The designer, Billy Kim, proudly introduced his proudest work. ¡°I named this cor Starry Night. This cor is not only gentle but it¡¯s natural as well, matching well with the pet¡¯s coat. While keeping a low profile, it¡¯s elegant and will be thetest fashion trend this summer in the luxury pets world¡ª¡± ¡°giarism! This is giarism!¡± Suddenly, an angry voice cut off Billy¡¯s speech. Everyone looked toward the direction of the voice, only to see a young man charging at Billy who was on the stage, a look of grievance and indignation on his face. ¡°You¡¯re lying! What Starry Night? I designed this for my cat but you stole it! You¡¯re a thief!¡± The crowd went into an uproar. When Ivan saw Starry Night, he lost control. He designed that for his cat. Unfortunately, he not only lost his design draft but his cat died as well. Therefore, he could only act as if he did not design it. Unexpectedly, that draft was stolen by Billy! With his eyes red in anger, Ivan recalled his cat had suffered a painful death. This cor was initially meant as a birthday present for his cat. Unfortunately, Ivan couldn¡¯t make it to Billy before he was pinned on the floor by guards that rushed over. Billy didn¡¯t ask the guards to throw Ivan out immediately because it would be boring if he did so. Since Ivan appeared in front of him on his own to be humiliated, Billy would dly fulfil his wish. Billy acted surprised when hemented, ¡°Oh¡ªit¡¯s you, Ivan, Pourl¡¯s designer. Did you say that I giarised? Hrious! Since you used me of giarising, please show me the proof!¡± Ivan was the one who guided and taught Billy since he entered the profession, yet Billy acted as if he had never met Ivan until now. Could he be more fake? Chapter 800 Chapter 800 Ivan knew that Billy was emboldened due to his strong backing now, so Ivan¡¯s usation held no weight. However, it didn¡¯t mean that he would silently stay shut. ¡°Billy, you stole all my design drawings back then, including Starry Night. Be honest with me¡ªdo you really think that you are worthy of the title ¡®designer¡¯? Do you still have any professional ethics at all?¡± Professional ethics? Ha! Billy smiled and deliberately said loudly, ¡°You have no evidence, yet you dare falsely use me of giarism and deny all the fruits of mybor in one sentence. Is this what you call professional ethics? Mr. Designer, I know that Pourl is facing bankruptcy but you shouldn¡¯t nder me for giarism just because of that! Do you think Pourl will be able to recover after you ruined the reputation of King? Never! Our job requires talent and strength. Since you can¡¯t make good products, you should be eliminated by the market! Even without King, you will never stand a chance! If you can¡¯t do it in Pourl, it doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t do it in King!¡± Seeing a giarising jerk actually defending himself and even reprimanding Ivan, his heart turned completely cold, thereupon he smiled sadly. Billy nced at Sandra in the audience and a cold look shed through his eyes. As if he had received some kind of instruction, he looked at Sophia who was still ying on her phone and called out to her, ¡°Miss Scarlett, you are currently Pourl¡¯s person in charge. Don¡¯t you have anything to say?¡± Sophia pretended as if she didn¡¯t hear him, continuing to y with her mobile phone. Billy yelled again and looked in her direction, causing everyone to look at her. Seeing this, the guests whispered and gossipped among each other. This is Scarlett, the new person in charge of Pourl? Pourl was going to go bankrupt and everyone knew it. Thus, no one expected that Sophia would actually come up with such an evil n and deliberatelye to someone¡¯s new productunch conference to cause a scene. It seemed that Pourl¡¯s bankruptcy was not without reason; they were too unprofessional. Sandra looked at Scarlett, who kept quiet in defeat, and knew that she was backed up into a corner. She cast a nce at the Mitchell Family members and saw that they were shaking their heads. It seemed that Scarlett was not as powerful as rumor had it. Woody was gone and Cooper was no longer as powerful as he was in the past. Plus, his daughter had not inherited the methods and brains of her father. Woody and her family were done for and was not the opponent of Alex and his family. ¡°Miss Scarlett, don¡¯t you need toe out and give me an exnation? Your designer tantly insulted me for no reason. Are you going to just stand by and watch? Please answer me, Miss Scarlett. Don¡¯t ignore my question!¡± Billy boomed through the microphone and his voice spread throughout the audience, drawing everyone¡¯s eyes to Scarlett. Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Sophia finally put down her phone and raised her eyes; there seemed to be ripples of emotions shing in her blue eyes. She stood up silently and strode toward Billy who was standing on the runway. Her eyes were indifferent. She didn¡¯t even nce at Ivan, who was held down by the security guard, and only the triumphant face of Billy entered her vision. Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued to the figure. Such an embarrassing thing happened to her on such an asion, but the petite and charming figure was still full of pride and strength. After Sophia got on the stage, she stood under the spotlight and nced down at the exquisite ¡®Starry Night¡¯ on the neck of the female Husky. Raising her hand, she murmured, ¡°Give me the microphone and I will give you an exnation.¡± Billy gave a smirk and asked the staff to bring over the microphone. He wanted to see what a brand that had gone bankrupt could do at such a moment. A microphone was ced in Sophia¡¯s hands and her domineering and mature voice spread throughout the audience. She then voiced her first question, ¡°Mr. Kim, are you sure that ¡®Starry Night¡¯ is your work?¡± A slight smile appeared on Billy¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m certain.¡± Sophia had a mask on her face, so no one could see her expression. Only her pair of blue eyes glowing with strange brilliance could be seen, and anyone who nced at her would easily drown in the blue abyss in her eyes. She continued, ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Kim, how can you prove that ¡®Starry Night¡¯ is your work?¡± Billy smiled and looked behind him. On the stage, there was a huge screen. Billy made a gesture and a clip of his design work started ying on the screen. ¡°There¡¯s a camera in my design studio which records the entire process of my design. Not only me, but all the designers at King¡¯s design process will be recorded and saved just in case our opponent makes unprovoked insults and rumors toward us like today!¡± Sophia looked at the projected screen. It was the process of Billy¡¯s design of Starry Night. The yback speed was very fast, so the video of the entire design process finished ying in a few minutes. Shortly after, there was a round of apuse. Billy proudly epted the apuse of the crowd and bowed again and again, making Sophia standing on the stage look extremely embarrassed. Sandra, who was in the audience, also pped happily and her eyes filled with joy and pride as she thought to herself, Ha! Oh, Scarlett¡­ I¡¯ve overestimated Cooper¡¯s daughter. It seems that Cooper is not as capable as I thought after all. Times have changed. Now that Cooper and his old theories are no longer feasible, the Mitchell Family will eventually belong to me! However, Ian, who was standing next to Sandra, seemed to feel that things were not as simple as it seemed. He looked at the girl silently and saw that she was still standing tall and proud, as if there was a strange force supporting her. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia waited silently for the crowd to finish apuding and stayed silent the whole time. Then, Billy asked maliciously, ¡°Miss Scarlett, do you have any other questions?¡± Sophia retracted her gaze from the video broadcast on the screen, parted her lips slightly and asked another question, ¡°Mr. Kim, can you reveal the source of inspiration for this ¡®Starry Night¡¯ and the specific time when the design drawings werepleted, as well as when the finished product waspleted?¡± Speaking of this, Billy became even more proud as he eloquently introduced, ¡°I had the inspiration for ¡®Starry Night¡¯ on a certain day a year ago. It took me half a year to finish the design drawings and I just finished the productst year.¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°So, the design inspiration and design drawings of ¡®Starry Night¡¯ originated a year ago?¡± Billy was fascinated by the apuse and the spotlight. Although something felt off with her question, he still replied confidently, ¡°Yes.¡± The moment his voice trailed off, a sneer appeared on Sophia¡¯s face that was hidden under the mask, and there was a gleam in her eyes as if she was a beast looking at the prey she had been staring at for a long time jumping into a trap. ¡°So¡­¡± The pitch of Sophia¡¯s voice lowered in an instant and her expression suddenly became dark. ¡°If I told you that ¡®Starry Night¡¯ was already designed and made into a finished product a few years ago, does it mean that your ¡®Starry Night¡¯ was giarized, Mr. Kim?¡± Chapter 801 Chapter 801 Billy was horrified, but he remained calm on the surface. He came here well prepared so he didn¡¯t fear her in the least. He knew that they hadn¡¯t made a finished product at all. Back then, he saw Ivan design ¡®Starry Night¡¯ with his own eyes. Then, something happened at his home and Billy took the opportunity to take away the design drawings and destroyed all his design traces. Hence, he knew Sophia was just trying to trick him into confessing now. He confidently countered, ¡°Impossible! This is what I designed. How could there be a finished product a few years ago unless time and space travel exists? You¡¯re just ndering me, Miss Mitchell.¡± Sophia could not be bothered to argue with Billy. She snapped her fingers and theputer expert she brought instantly hacked into the projection equipment at the scene, sessfully taking control of the big screen. A photo appeared on the big screen, showcasing a handsome man holding a husky with a cor around the husky¡¯s neck. The cor was exactly the same as the new product ¡®Starry Night¡¯ that was disyed today! Holding the microphone, Sophia said to the audience, ¡°This photo was a photo taken by Pourl¡¯s designer, Ivan, eight years ago and it has been kept in the alumni corridor of Bayside University. Eight years ago, Starry Night was worn on Ivan¡¯s pet dog¡¯s neck! Does this mean Mr. Kim¡¯s ¡®Starry Night¡¯ is giarized?¡± The audience was in an uproar again. Everyone stood up one after another and looked at the cor in that photo. It was exactly the same as Starry Night shown by Billy today! This model already existed eight years ago, yet Billy¡¯s design only took shape a year ago! It was clear in just one nce who was the one giarizing. There were also many alumni who graduated from Bayside University at the scene. Seeing Ivan¡¯s photo, they all finally remembered. ¡°It¡¯s true. I have seen it before. It turns out that Ivan is an alumni!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never noticed it. Apparently, Starry Night already existed eight years ago!¡± ¡°Billy had giarized it!¡± ¡­ After hearing everyone¡¯s discussion, Sandra¡¯s expression turned sour. ¡°Impossible!¡± Billy let out a shout which shocked everyone at the scene. He paced up and down irritably, pointing at the photo of Ivan as he yelled, ¡°nder! This is pure nder! This photo is a fake; it¡¯s been photoshopped! I¡¯ve seen this photo and I personally saw them taking this picture. At that time, there was no Starry Night in the picture. The cor did not look like this at all!¡± Billy saw Ivan take this picture, which waster hung on the alumni corridor of Bayside University. When this photo was taken, Ivan hadn¡¯t designed ¡®Starry Night¡¯ at all, so how could it be in the picture? Sure enough, this was a trick to get Billy to confess! Seeing everyone still whispering among each other, Billy hurriedly continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, please go to the alumni corridor of Bayside University to take a look. The cor on that photo is not like this at all!¡± Facing Billy¡¯s argument, Sophia sighed quietly. ¡°Then what do you think it should look like?¡± Billy almost replied but when he was about to say something, he suddenly decided not to. Something had urred to him, and he was so shaken that he couldn¡¯t speak a word. When he took this photo, Ivan¡¯s dog was indeed wearing a cor. The cor was designed by Ivan for his beloved dog and it was not formercial use. It waster lost and the design drawing was stolen by Billy and he in turn made the cor a hot item in the pet luxury industry¡­ There were many pet dogs on the scene wearing that exact cor! Meanwhile, many had already started calling their contacts at Bayside University to take a photo of the picture to verify¡­ It was only then did Billy realize that he had fallen into a trap. Sophia didn¡¯te for Starry Night today. Theparison picture between the cor and his work would be published soon, and he could no longer escape the charge of giarism by then! He stared Ivan down. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. So what if he giarized? Did Ivan have proof that it was his design? Billy squeezed his fists and nned to continue lying till the end. The Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family were the ones backing King and no one dared to provoke these two families! Unexpectedly, Sophia spoke again. She no longer continued the topic of giarism, but instead started a new topic. ¡°Just now, Mr. Billy said that in King¡¯s design studio, there are security cameras which are turned on 24 hours per day. In addition to capturing the hard work of the designers, the cameras seem to have captured some other interesting things too! I have footage here and I¡¯d like everyone to watch them together!¡± With that said, the big screen behind her changed. Ivan¡¯s photos were gone, reced by the footage of the security camera of King¡¯s design studio. In the first footage, a customer sent his Shiba Inu to the design studio to tailor make some luxury goods. As soon as the customer left, the assistant grabbed the Shiba Inu and approached Billy. Billy then took a measuring tape to measure it, but the disobedient dog twisted its neck and rear, refusing to cooperate. Billy pped the dog, which in turn made the dog whimper in pain. Whenever the dog didn¡¯t behave, he would give it another p. And so, he pped the dog again and again on its head, causing the dog to yelp pitifully. The next footage was even more shocking. A naughty Samoyed lolled his tongue and licked the hand of King¡¯s designer; unfortunately, it was also pped on the head. Still feeling furious, the person even grabbed the dog¡¯s ears and banged the dog¡¯s head on the wall. Next was a naughty husky running around, but King¡¯s assistant designer held it down fiercely and pierced it with a needle. And so, the naughty husky copsed instantly and was dragged away by its tail. Then, when Sandra came to the studio to inspect, a client¡¯s pug walked past her feet and she kicked it away in disgust. Her kick caused the dog to fall down and made its head bleed. ¡­ The scene turned silent and the guests were all stunned. Unexpectedly, their beloved dogs which they sent to King to get luxury goods tailor made were abused to such an extent! A major international brand that made pet luxury goods secretly abused its customers¡¯ pets! Upon seeing the footage, Sandra was also dumbfounded. Those surveince videos could only be obtained by high-level confidantes inside King. How could they fall into Scarlett¡¯s hands? At this moment, she thought of the employees who had been poached from Pourl. In order to provoke Pourl, she also specially selected a group of employees who were poached from Pourl and gave them high positions. They were promoted very quickly and were allowed to be the core employees of King. Unexpectedly, Sophia actually nted a spy in King and got the footage! ¡°Turn it off. Turn off the video!¡± Sandra shouted hysterically as she rushed over, and the video on the big screen quickly disappeared. Sophia then said into the microphone, ¡°I have uploaded all the videos to King¡¯s client base. If you need evidence, you can download the footage from the group.¡± Upon hearing that, everyone took out their mobile phones and saw dozens of videos from King¡¯s high- end client base, all of which were evidence that King designers abused their customers¡¯ pets! Chapter 802 Chapter 802 There was chaos at the scene as King¡¯s customers all grabbed the employees and asked for an exnation. While the security guards were busy controlling the chaos, Ivan took the opportunity to escape and rushed to Billy before punching him. He had been waiting to punch Billy for many years! Billy, on the other hand, felt dizzy after Ivan punched him. Then, a group of ferocious dogs who had been abused by him rushed up, biting his hands and feet. No one could hold them back at all. Today, King¡¯s press conference waspletely messed up. Not only was the press conference messed up, their brand was probablypletely screwed as well. King¡¯s abuse of pets would forever tarnish their reputation, not to mention their act of giarism. Sandra was busy maintaining order on the scene and she tried to stabilize the situation, but she also knew that today¡¯s press conference was aplete botch up. She did not expect that little b*tch, Scarlett, to use such a vicious method! Meanwhile, Ian also hurriedly helped out. In the chaos, he looked everywhere for Sophia, only to see the enchanting back of her cheongsam d figure leaving him¡­ Since Sophia had seeded, she left King¡¯s press conference. Her purpose today was not to catch Billy red-handed for his giarism but to expose King¡¯s abuse of client pets.All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. This was enough for her to teach them a lesson! As for giarism, that hot model back then was Billy¡¯s pride, so it was well-known in the industry. Plus, the photo of Ivan was still hung in the alumni corridor of Bayside University. Naturally, the nosy media wouldpare between them so they could no longer hide their giarism nor animal cruelty. The extent of their embarrassment was corrted to the grandness of the conference. Ivan, who was beside her, looked overjoyed. Although his fists were bleeding, he finally got to take his revenge after so many years. Judge was also satisfied. Just now, he took advantage of the chaos and humped the female husky wearing Starry Night. And so, the group went home triumphantly. Today, many guests came to their house, one of them being Derek. He was about to graduate from Bayside University, but he had been working in Stanley¡¯spany for a year. A few years ago, Sophia sent him back to school and he vowed to work for her for a lifetime. Derek had known the news a long time ago. It only took a while before it went viral on the Inte. He put down the tablet that he was watching the news with and asked, ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s obvious that you could¡¯ve ruined her. Why did you take mercy on her¡­¡± He was naturally asking about his sister Sandra Oak, who was now Sandra Mitchell. He did not have a good rtionship with her since childhood as she rarely went home due to her swimming lessons, so the two of them barely spoke to each other. Thus, they didn¡¯t have a bond at all. Sophia walked in and put down her clutch. Petting the cat, she announced, ¡°I want to embarrass herter on!¡± Sandra embarrassed not only herself, but also her father during thest time she robbed the store and at this press conference! Alex was already in his old age and he had a son who was only three years old. Meanwhile, Sandra was ipetent as well. To top it off, Alex¡¯s influence in the family was getting weaker and weaker¡­ If Sophia continued to expose Alex, the Mitchell Family would finally realize who the real master of the Mitchell Family was. Today, Carmen was going to hold a home concert, so the nannies were busy setting up the stage. Meanwhile, Sarah helped Carmen to put on her clothes and was anxiously making preparations for the concert. Thus, they had many guests in the house today. After all, it was Carmen¡¯s New Year¡¯s concert so naturally, many people came to watch. Not long after Sophia sat down, she received a call from Sandra. Sophia didn¡¯t want to pick it up at first, but Sandra kept calling her. Tired of receiving her calls, Sophia picked up the phonezily. As soon as the call was connected, Sandra¡¯s scream came from the other end of the line. ¡°Scarlett, you b*tch! Go to hell!¡± Judging from Sandra¡¯s irrational and hysterical scream, it was evident how furious she was right now. Fortunately, Sophia had moved the phone farther away from her ears in advance. After Sandra said her piece, Sophia murmured, ¡°Miss Mitchell, it seems like you¡¯re already done settling the matter and calming down the angry customers?¡± Sandra sounded as if she was on the brink of tears, but she managed to hold it back thanks to her overwhelming anger. ¡°Scarlett, let me tell you, I will take my revenge! Do you think that your Pourl will be able to make a comeback just because of this? Impossible! Who cares about those customers? I have warned them that I will destroy anyone who dares to spread the news about what happened today! King won¡¯t fall as you wish. Just you wait!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t helpughing before she hung up the phone. Sandra had threatened the customers not to speak out about the matter¡­ What a genius idea. Perhaps that was possible, as those who could buy luxury goods for their pets were definitely not the average Joe. Although they were not as rich as the Mitchell Family, they were also bigwigs in the Bayside. Sandra could threaten one family or two, but she wanted to threaten all customers? Only someone like her would do such despicable things. Sophia could easily spread information on the matter. She didn¡¯t need the news to spread on arge scale, but she just wanted to let the Mitchell Family know about it. She wanted to let the Mitchell Family see what their Young Lady did! Today was Carmen¡¯s concert, so Stanley and Sean were also here. Upon their arrival, Sean immediately sat next to Sophia and said, ¡°Today¡¯s matters have spread all to all from the Mitchell Family and Sandra was majorly embarrassed again. Just this afternoon, many of Alex¡¯s men came to us and surrendered.¡± What Sandra did this time was really disappointing. The Mitchell Family never cared about whether the process was right or wrong; they only cared about the results. Sandra was in charge of a good brand that had major advantages. In the end, thepetitor stole all confidential information and even controlled her customer base, sending confidential information to the customers. After the ident, the method Sandra chose to resort to was to threaten all customers? How disappointing. She really wasn¡¯t Scarlett¡¯s opponent at all. Sophia¡¯s staff have long entered King, intercepted their customer base and obtained customer information. Now, these customers have be Pourl¡¯s potential customers. Hence, Pourl took the opportunity to announce their new year¡¯s big move. Next, they must map things out well. Sophia was talking about work with Sean when Carmen, who had just got dressed up, came over. Wrapping herself in Sophia¡¯s arms, she asked sweetly, ¡°Mommy, look at me. Do I look beautiful today?¡± Sophia petted her head gently. ¡°Of course you are. My baby girl is the most beautiful!¡± Carmen blinked and asked, ¡°Then can I be on TV?¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°Sure.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen went away contentedly. Today was Carmen¡¯s concert, but in fact everyone was just taking advantage of this time to gather and use Carmen¡¯s concert as the background music. Guests came to the door one after another. Ding dong. Someone was at the door again. Sophia was the nearest to the door, so she hurriedly got up to open the door. As soon as the door opened, she raised her head and saw the person standing at the door. Her eyes lit up as she raised her shocked eyes, her sea-blue eyes brightening with amazement. Standing at the door was Michael. His white hair was gone, reced by a head of shiny, soft ck hair. His handsome facial features were very defined and he was dressed in a ck suit, perfectly tailored to fit his body and outlined his tall and fit figure. Every detail on him was of utmost perfection. He looked exactly the same as he looked in his films that Sophia had watched¡­ Michael Fletcher was back. Chapter 803 Chapter 803 Michael was holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand and he looked like the perfect gentleman. When Sophia raised her eyes and looked at him, she was stunned for a moment. Today, Michael¡¯s face and skin were bright and radiant with no wrinkles visible at all. ¡°Carmen¡¯s mommy, aren¡¯t you going to wee me?¡± Upon seeing that Sophia was not responding, Michael finally spoke. His voice was sexy and deep while being strong and powerful, and it was very pleasant to the ears. Sophia blushed as she lowered her head. Stepping aside, she whispered, ¡°Come in.¡± She was still wearing a mask so fortunately for her, Michael couldn¡¯t see the blush on her face. Michael came in with a bouquet of flowers, while Sophia blushed and lowered her head before the both of them went into the living room together. The moment he arrived, the whole house seemed to brighten. Cooper¡¯s face soured when he saw him but Carmen pounced on Michael like a butterfly, overjoyed. ¡°Daddy!¡± With flowers in his hand, Michael knelt down on one knee and hugged Carmen like a gentleman before he said, ¡°Good luck for your concert!¡± ¡°Thanks, Daddy!¡± After speaking with Carmen, Michael walked toward Cooper with a respectful smile. ¡°Mr. Mitchell.¡± Cooper harrumphed and ignored him, expression grim. Michael deliberately sat next to Cooper. Putting the bunch of flowers aside, he took the script from Hale and handed it to Cooper. ¡°Father-inw, won¡¯t you take a look at the script again?¡± Cooper didn¡¯t even bother to look at it before he announced, ¡°You don¡¯t need to show it to me. I won¡¯t authorize it.¡± ¡°Dad!¡± Sophia muttered, dissatisfied. ¡°It¡¯s just a film so why don¡¯t you just let Carmen¡¯s Daddy direct it? Grandpa would definitely be happy too.¡± Carmen¡¯s Daddy looked a few dozen years younger, as if he had aged backward. If he acted in this movie, it would definitely be a hit. Sophia had watched Michael¡¯s films many times. There was a shortage of films currently, so it would be great if they could release a movie now¡­ However, Cooper had a sarcastic expression as he said coldly, ¡°You and Harry are already middle-aged. However, I was only fifteen years old back then. Do you think you are worthy?¡± Sophia stared angrily at Cooper, unable to think of any rebuttal. When the incident happened, Woody and Mark were both in their teens. Meanwhile, Michael was almost forty this year, and Harry was around the same age as him. It was a bit too much for the two to y the role of handsome teenage boys¡­ But Michael was very confident about himself. ¡°No worries. Fortunately, your son-inw has age-defying acting skills. Mr. Mitchell, if you don¡¯t believe it, I can make a short video for you to see before you make a decision.¡± However, Cooper¡¯s expression remained frosty. Sophia then took the script from Michael and put it in Cooper¡¯s arms as she said, ¡°Look at the script first. It might exceed your expectations!¡± Cooper stayed mum. Then, Carmen ran over while holding her small face and said innocently, ¡°Grandpa, Daddy agreed to give me a role! Grandpa, if you agree, I can be on TV!¡± Michael ruffled her hair as he looked at her tenderly and said, ¡°This will be my first film after I make a comeback, so I must give our little princess a role in it!¡± Carmen grinned from ear-to-ear, revealing her small teeth. Michael took out a book from hisp and gave it to Sophia. ¡°Actually, I nned to shoot this story into a movie many years ago, but that idea had been set aside. My initial n was to have a novel released first and then make it into a movie. This is a sample of the novel which has beenpleted but has yet to be released. As long as Mr. Mitchell authorizes it, the novel will be released immediately.¡± Pleasantly surprised, Sophia took the novel and read it. Michael continued to talk to Cooper and Cooper had a sour expression the whole time, right until the start of the concert. The so-called concert was actually just a stage set up with a family-style karaoke set. Carmen sang to her heart¡¯s content while everyone pretended to listen to her. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. In reality, Sophia listened very seriously to her own daughter¡¯s concert. After Carmen sang a song, Michael even presented flowers to her; the both of them really went the extra mile. After the concert, the nanny was busy cleaning and tidying up the stage. The adults were busy chatting while the children were running around off to one side. Nathan supervised Harry¡¯s son and Carmen, doing his best to be a gentle elder brother. Harry¡¯s son¡¯s name was Hope. His name showed Harry¡¯s eagerness to have a daughter for his second child. He ¡®hoped¡¯ to get a daughter¡­ Sarah, on the other hand, had given him the nickname Sour Face, as he always had a grim expression. She wondered who he inherited it from. The two children ran around in front of Cooper. Meanwhile, Cooper was feeding the dogs the flowers that Michael had brought over while listening to Linus talk about some important affairs of the Michel Group. Throughout, he deliberately ignored Michael. Then, Sophia went up to Cooper with her mobile phone in hand. ¡°Dad, can you take a photo of me and Carmen¡¯s daddy?¡± Cooper¡¯s face turned cold and he nced at the handsome Michael before he muttered, ¡°I¡¯m busy.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia pouted and took a photo with Michael with her mobile phone herself. Cooper saw the two of them sitting together while taking a selfie. Seeing their faces getting closer to each other, he exploded in rage and said coldly, ¡°Michael, I thought you wanted to talk to me about the script?¡± Michael was overjoyed and immediately went to him. And such, Cooper had to reluctantly look at the script. Cooper really didn¡¯t want Michael to make this movie, but Sophia urged Cooper to authorize it every day after she finished reading the novel that Michael gave to her. Carmen was also very much looking forward to acting in this film as she could finally be on TV. She would definitely get a role in her daddy¡¯s film. In the face of eager anticipation from everyone, Cooper finally agreed. And so, Michael became busy again, actively preparing for hiseback. On the other hand, after Sandra did such stupid things thest time, she offended a group of dignitaries in Bayside. Those dignitaries and celebrities might not be as powerful as the Mitchell Family, but the number of them was sorge that King waspletely ruined. Plus, arge number of customers had alsoe forward to ask for an exnation from King. When Sandra tried to conduct business by force back then, she used the names of the Mitchell Family and the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. Now that things went wrong, people naturally came after them. Although no media dared to report this matter and the influence from the outside world was minimized, this matter still spread like the wind throughout the circle of the celebrities in Bayside. Hence, the Mitchell Family was embarrassed once again. Compared to Sandra¡¯s embarrassing methods, Lucy¡¯s approach seemed very wise. Although King was only part of her investment, she did not take care of thepany¡¯s affairs directly. However, after the incident, she quickly apologized publicly. Acknowledging her mismanagement mistakes, she fired Billy who was suspected of giarism and permanently withdrew from the pet luxury industry. Thereafter, King only specialized in fashion luxury goods. Lucy was forced to slowly clear up the mess Sandra had left behind. Compared to Sandra, Lucy was smarter and much more powerful. When Sophia saw Lucy who sincerely apologized to the camera on TV, she could feel that Lucy was a strong woman. It was no wonder that she became King¡¯s vice president at a young age. She definitely had her way with things. Sophia had a hunch that she would have a head-on fight with Lucy sooner orter¡­ Chapter 804 Chapter 804 The battle between King and Pourl ended with the former¡¯splete defeat. Sandra had learned her lesson and had started doing public welfare campaigns to get the public¡¯s approval. Meanwhile, Sophia began to prepare for her new productunch event for Pourl this summer. At the new productunch event, not only should the products have highlights, but the event must also have something eye-catching. It needed to attract attention and increase the attention on Pourl. Now that King had stepped back, the domestic market was now Pourl¡¯s stage. If they needed something eye-catching, Sophia had just the thing. Taking the relevant materials with her, Sophia put on her face mask and went out. Pushing the door open, she was greeted with the sight of a garden in full bloom. It had rainedst night and the air was great this morning; spring was here and everything was growing anew. It felt fantastic! Sophia had just exited the door when Cooper appeared right behind her. ¡°Darling, where are you going?¡± Sophia held the relevant work documents in her hand and replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to look for Carmen¡¯s daddy to discuss some work matters.¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Cooper¡¯s expression immediately grew cold but he didn¡¯t stop her. ¡°Come back early for dinner,¡± he muttered. Sophia gave him a grunt in reply and left. Michael was back for the past two days and whenever he had time, he would apany Carmen at home. And so, Carmenmuted twice a day. She would eat at her own house during the day and sleep at Sophia¡¯s ce at night. She was free to go wherever she liked. Sophia always had the key for Vi No. 8. She swiped the card and entered, only to find Carmen ying in the yard. After ying with her for a while, Sophia then entered the house to find Michael. They had made an appointment to meet up and wanted to discuss Michael working as a model for her new product launch event. This summer, Pourl was going to undergo a transformation and rebirth, and begin to get involved in the high-end luxury goods industry. The first step was to cooperate with L/K tounch luxury goods for people and pets. Michael also needed an opportunity to announce the news of hiseback, so the two hit it off and decided to cooperate. He knew in his heart that if he wanted toe back he would have many opportunities, but he just wanted to pick Sophia¡¯s event. Good things should be left for the family, after all. The two of them sat in the living room and discussed the relevant details. It happened that Michael also signed an endorsement contract with L/K and would be able to fulfill the contract after he finished endorsing it. Sophia read to him the specific details one by one while Michael listened, looking down at the side of her serious face from time to time. Sophia was so beautiful that it was as if he seemed to be dreaming. He was really afraid that he would suddenly wake up from this beautiful dream. Finally, they came to the topic of Michael¡¯s appearance fee. Sophia was running a big business now and she wouldn¡¯t skimp on Michael¡¯s appearance fee. She wanted to pay him enough for the appearance of an international first-ss movie star and also a little bit extra for their friendship, but Michael felt that it was inappropriate. ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about my appearance fee. After all, I¡¯m also a shareholder of Pourl. If you really want to pay me, then you can just pay me in shares.¡± Sophia was really pleased when she heard this. She could see that Michael was a really straightforward man; he didn¡¯t dawdle at all. After the two agreed on the relevant details for the event, Sophia took the materials and prepared to go home for dinner. ¡°Come on, Carmen. It¡¯s time to go to Mommy¡¯s ce for dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯ming!¡± Carmen happily followed Sophia. Before leaving, Sophia looked back at Michael, who was still reading the relevant information for the event in the living room. She thought for a while and offered, ¡°Michael, since you haven¡¯t eaten yet, how about youe to my ce for a meal?¡± Michael pretended to decline. ¡°I have a kitchen in my own house so there¡¯s no need. I already prepared a meal.¡± Sophia, however, was insistent. ¡°Come on; we¡¯re having something delicious for dinner tonight.¡± Carmen pouted. ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s go to Grandpa¡¯s ce to eat!¡± Under the warm invitation of Carmen and Sophia, Michael followed them in the end and went to Vi No. 2 for dinner. Meanwhile at Vi No. 2, when Cooper saw that Michael hade again, his expression became pitch ck. Carmen was holding onto Michael¡¯s hand and when she saw Cooper¡¯s long expression, she pouted. ¡°Grandpa, is Daddy not wee here for a meal?¡± Cooper angrily turned around and denied, ¡°Nope.¡± Michael, on the other hand, had a gentle smile on his face. There was not a single hint of embarrassment about not being weed. ¡°Sorry foring here and bothering you, Mr. Mitchell.¡± When Michael came over, he had brought some home cooked food with him, including Sophia¡¯s favorite free range chicken stew, tomato scrambled eggs, stir-fried shrimps and many more. Plus, he even brought over appetizers made from his own kimchi jar. At the dinner table, Michael enthusiastically served Sophia some soup. ¡°You used to like chicken soup the most. The chicken needs to be free range, because the meat will only be juicy if it was raised with coarse grains. You need to add wolfberries too, in order to bring out the vor.¡± Sophia drank the chicken soup happily. It was indeed soup made from free range chickens. The taste was so delicious that it waspletely different from the chickens bought outside. ¡°Where did you buy the chicken from? It¡¯s so fresh!¡± It was as though Michael didn¡¯t seem to notice Cooper¡¯s darkening expression. ¡°We have a farm in the suburbs,¡± Michael replied. ¡°The chickens are raised on the farm. They have coarse grains for every meal and are free to wander around. That¡¯s why the taste is so delicious. Michael sat opposite Sophia and noticed the tiny scars that looked like centipedes under her facial skin. A burst of distress spread in his heart. Sophia licked her lips, savoring the taste. ¡°Then can I catch a few of them one day?¡± ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll go with you when I have the time.¡± Cooper was about to say something but Sophia quickly served him some soup. ¡°Dad, you need to try it too. It¡¯s very fresh!¡± A bowl of soup blocked Cooper¡¯s mouth, but his eyes were still staring at Michael fiercely. As for Michael, he seemed to be a little smug and there was a bright light in his eyes as he smiled slightly. After dinner, the sky had still not yet turned dark but Michael had already gone home. Sophia then secretly said to Linus, ¡°Uncle, I¡¯m going out to walk the dogs. Don¡¯t tell my dad; I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Then, she spoke to Carmen. ¡°Baby, I¡¯m going out for a walk. You need to stall your Grandpa, okay?¡± Carmen agreed without a fuss. After a while, Sophia could be seen wearing a tracksuit. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and she went out with a mask. She brought Judge and its pair of puppies out for a walk, and used the chance to digest the meal she had. She left and walked to the door of Vi No. 8. At that moment, Michael also came out wearing sportswear, taking his two big dogs out for a walk. When the two met, they petted each other¡¯s dogs before leaving happily. Upon seeing that, Linus was rendered speechless. No wonder Sophia wanted Carmen to stall Cooper. If Cooper knew about this, he would have chased after them like the wind. Linus nced at Cooper, who was holding a video conference in the study-cum-conference room, and silently turned off the surveince. In the conference room, Cooper was having a video conference with the elders of the Michel Family in northern Europe. This was the nth time they had urged him to take Sophia back to his hometown in northern Europe to pay respects to her roots. Cooper had been recognized by the Michel Family and his descendants were automatically recognized by them as well. As long as Sophia returned now, she would be able to register with the Michel Family immediately. Corradoy quietly beside Cooper, wearing a fluorescent green vest to avoid being stepped on. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Carmen called out sweetly as she hugged her bear plushie and pushed open the door to the conference room. She immediately attracted the attention of the elders of the Michel Family and they started pelting him with questions before he even had the chance to talk about Carmen. No one knew that Cooper had a grandchild. Seeing that people were asking about herself, Carmen immediately switched to French and her kiddy ent immediately attracted the attention of the elders. Carmen¡¯s nannies were all nursery experts from different countries. She had been nurtured since she was a child and had learned multiplenguages, so this situation was nothing to her. Cooper held Carmen and smiled dotingly at her, formally introducing the existence of Carmen to the Michel Family. Carmen, on the other hand, did her best to stall Cooper. She sat in his arms and chatted awkwardly with the elders of the Michel Family, while Sophia went out to walk the dogs with Michael¡­ Chapter 805 Chapter 805 Walking Judge and its puppies was quite stressful for Sophia. These three would demolish the house every day and make a huge mess. Simply put, they were like a Cerberus from Hell. Judge was Stanley¡¯s dog and he had left it at Michael¡¯s house, but for some unknown reason Judge tended to stick to Sophia. Maybe in this silly dog¡¯s eyes, Michael and her were family, so it was fine with staying with either of them. However, Sophia¡¯s ce obviously had better food and treatment, plus it had a vi there. Inparison, Bubbles and Snowball that Michael was taking for a walk were more well behaved. It seemed that Michael¡¯s dogs were indeed much cuter. These dogs were all ¡®dog models¡¯ who were under contract with Pourl. They were always sweet and well behaved, and everyone could see that Michael took good care of them. Because they were Sophia¡¯s dogs, Michael had been taking good care of them. He would take good care of everything that belonged to her. He had even hired someone to care for the sponge gourd she had nted in the garden. The two walked their dogs out of the residential area and strolled around nearby before walking to a small park. Along the way, the two of them talked about their child and work, and handed the dogs to their bodyguards and had them walk the dogs. Hale and Gary walked the dogs as they carried poop bags, silently following behind Sophia and Michael. The two walked in tandem to each other, trying to minimize their presence and the dogs as well. ¡°¡ªWhen I brought Carmen back, she was in very bad shape. She weighed less than 2.5 kilos and was as thin as a stick. She would often fall ill and spent almost all of her time in the hospital before she was one year old.¡± ¡°I found her in an abandoned hospital in a country that was always embroiled in war. The hospital compound was full of dead people buried in the ground hastily. I held Carmen and looked everywhere for a hospital that had a spot for her, but there was war breaking out everywhere and the hospitals had no space left. So, I took her to a rtively stable country and she was taken to a hospital.¡± ¡°When she was at the hospital, she would cry every night but would stop crying whenever I went to see her. Hence, I had to go to the hospital every night to apany her. That¡¯s why she¡¯s so close to me.¡± ¡°Nate was also raised by me but at the time, I was too busy and had no time to apany him, so now he ignores me.¡± ¡°Ever since she was young, Carmen would stick to people and strive to improve. She¡¯s like you.¡± Michael recalled those hard and desperate years. They came from far away and were alone and helpless. Sophia had died and he held his weak daughter in his arms, begging for medical treatment everywhere for her. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. At the time, all transportation had stopped and the country was in a mess from the war. His daughter cried hoarsely in his arms and his wife had been turned into a pot of stew. All of this tortured his nerves constantly at the time and he was on the verge of copsing at any minute. If it wasn¡¯t for the strong bundle in his arms that still carried a slight warmth, Michael knew he would have lost it. But now, everything was well. Carmen was alive and healthy, and Sophia had also returned. Although she had lost her memories of him, he would continue to wait, and would keep waiting until she returned to his side once more. Sophia listened to Michael speak, not saying anything. He was talking about their past again and the origin of Carmen¡¯s name. ¡°After a discussion, we decided to name Carmen after the Roman goddess, Carmenta. Carmen is also the root name of the english word ¡®charm¡¯.¡± Sophia still couldn¡¯t ept that Quinton rk was a notorious killer and an internationally wanted criminal. She also couldn¡¯t believe that he actually did such a crazy thing back then. Carmen was now very healthy and she was the apple of everyone¡¯s eyes, but Sophia had never imagined that she had experienced so many hardships in her life. As the two chatted with one another, they arrived at a convenience store. Michael stepped forward and took a look before he said, ¡°Give us two red jujube ice creams.¡± He then spoke to Sophia, who was next to him. ¡°This is your favorite.¡± Sophia looked at the ice cream curiously. It wasn¡¯t long before Michael handed a jujube ice cream to her. She was about to take a bite of her treat when the ice cream vendor suddenly spoke up. ¡°Sir, you look very simr to someone.¡± As Michael used his mobile phone to scan the QR code to make payment, he raised his eyes and smiled at the vendor. ¡°Who do I look like?¡± he asked, a smile on his face. The vendor had a worshipful look on his face. ¡°Like Lord Taylor Murray!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but burst intoughter. It was because Michael was Taylor Murray! But unexpectedly, when the man spoke about his idol Taylor Murray, his expression turned to one of sadness. ¡°It¡¯s a real pity; the heavens do envy talent. Lord Murray has been gone for so many years already. How great it would be if he was still around.¡± After Michael finished paying, he picked up his ice cream and walked away. Sophia used the opportunity to tease, ¡°Just look at how many people wish you would make aeback!¡± Michael just shook his head. The two found a remote corner, took off their masks and ate their ice cream. As Michael ate his ice cream, he murmured, ¡°In the past, you used to be in poor health and you kept taking care of your body in order to get pregnant. You rarely ate ice cream but when you wanted to eat it, you would eat jujube ice cream every time.¡± Sophia had finished half of her ice cream. She enjoyed it immensely but her body was weak, so she didn¡¯t dare to eat too much. After taking a few big bites of her ice cream, she gave the rest to Judge. Wiping her mouth clean, she asked, ¡°Why?¡± Michael gave her a smile. ¡°Because jujube is good for our health!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was startled¡­ Eating too much cold food was not healthy, so after adding some healthy jujube, it would be fine? This logic was¡­ Sophia lowered her head and pondered on the logic of this. Meanwhile, Michael stole nces at her as he ate his ice cream. She was still the same. After Judge finished eating the ice cream, it obediently ced its head on Sophia¡¯sp. Seeing that Judge was being so obedient, which was a rare urrence, Michael told Sophia of its origins. ¡°Judge was Stanley¡¯s dog. He wanted to start a business and didn¡¯t want to leave his dog at home by itself, so Stanley left it at our house. When it was a puppy, it had its leg broken by Nate. Look, you can see it walking with a little limp now.¡± ¡°Look at Bubbles. It¡¯s a huge dog but is especially timid and usually doesn¡¯t dare to leave the house.¡± ¡°Snowball is the most obedient of them all. At home, she calls the shots.¡± ¡­ Michael and Sophia talked about the dogs and the manor. He knew that she had forgotten about everything, but if he was patient enough and gave her enough time, she would ept him. As Sophia petted the dogs, she listened to Micheal as he introduced to her various things in his warm, gentlemanly voice, which sounded much like a dream to her. After they had finished their ice creams, the sky had already turned dark and Sophia was ready to go home. The two of them put on their face masks and prepared to head home. This area was where the rich lived and it was rtively quiet. The two talked andughed on the side of the road, walking their dogs under the dim light of the streetmps. It was as if they had gone back to how things were all those years ago. As they walked past a mansion, they came across a man in a suit and leather shoes, curled up on a bench outside the mansion. He was carrying a work bag and was holding a stack of insurance leaflets. Judging from the cheap and wrinkled suit he wore, the man was probably an insurance agent peddling hispany¡¯s services. At that moment, the man seemed to have fallen asleep from exhaustion. He looked approximately forty years old, the corners of his eyes weary and full of wrinkles. As they walked past him, the mischievous Judge rushed forward to take a sniff at him. He then bit the insurance leaflet in the man¡¯s hand and yanked it away, waking the man up. Sophia raised her palm and made a gesture as if to hit the dog. ¡°Don¡¯t take other people¡¯s things! Return it now or I¡¯ll punish you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s just an insurance flyer and it¡¯s alright if he takes it,¡± Michael murmured. And so, the two led their dogs and walked slowly away. The man on the bench suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the group of people who had left. ¡°Sophia?¡± he whispered. Chapter 806 Chapter 806 The man¡¯s voice was hoarse from a whole day of pushing insurance sales, which was why he spoke softly. Despite that, Sophia could still hear him. She turned around and took off her mask as she looked at him. What she saw was an unfamiliar, tired and dejected face. She had no recollection of this face in her memories. Smiling at him, she asked, ¡°Do I know you, sir?¡± Taken aback, the man opened and closed his mouth a few times, but not a word left his pale lips. There was no mistake; it really was her. Then why¡­ Before he could say anything, the man standing next to Sophia tugged at her as he spoke coldly. ¡°That¡¯s your ex-boyfriend, Richard Harper. Ignore him.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sophia faintly remembered this person. However, no matter how unforgettable someone was, they were just another stranger to her now. ¡°He looks so old.¡± Taking another look at him, Michael almost did not recognize Richard too. Indeed, Richard looked extremely old. Standing before them was a man in his twenties, but he looked like he was past forty. His white hair and wrinkles made him look pale and dull. He must have been released from prison. On top of that, he was sick too. Then, Michael led Sophia away and they left. Standing still, Richard watched as Sophia slowly disappeared from his sight. He knew that he was forever gone in her memories, bingplete strangers and would never interact with each other again. The past would stay in the past, buried forevermore. It was only after a long time that he sat back down on the bench. Turning around, he looked at the house that was once his home. Once upon a time, he was an incredibly powerful man. He was worth tens of billions and was a high- profiled and influential person. But now, everything had changed. Everything that he once had was now far out of his reach. Not only did the Harper Group go bankrupt, the Harper Family waspletely ruined. Mr. Harper had taken his own life while Mrs. Harper remarried, left the country and was unreachable. Meanwhile, Richard and X were both sentenced to prison and had lost all their fame and fortune. On top of that, X had a miscarriage and passed away due toplications. After four years, he was finally released.At this moment in time, he did not have a penny to his name. No one wanted to help him and none of his rtives could be reached. His birth mother had remarried and was now overseas, and he could not afford to go in search of her. Now, he could only run around doing sales and selling insurance just to make ends meet. He was aware that this was karma brought on by Sophia. Finally, they were even. As Michael and Sophia left, Michael turned back to look at a depressed Richard before looking at Sophia, who looked unbothered. At that moment, he felt relieved. Forgetting was not a bad thing, after all. While the good memories were forgotten, the bad ones vanished too. Come to think of it, it wasn¡¯t that bad. After walking her dogs, Sophia happily went home. As soon as she arrived, she saw Cooper, who was sitting in the living room, looking at her coldly. ¡°Where have you been, darling?¡±Sophia froze, knowing she was caught. She could only force out, ¡°I went out to walk the dogs.¡± ¡°Who did you go with?¡± It seemed like he already knew, which was why Sophia did not try to hide it. ¡°Carmen¡¯s daddy!¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper harrumphed. I knew it¡­ That man does not have good intentions! he thought to himself. Unfortunately, his darling was too innocent to see through him! Cooper sat on the couch frigidly, while Linus sat silently on the other side. From time to time, Linus would nce at Sophia sympathetically. Meanwhile, Carmen was on her toes, trying to reach up to Cooper¡¯s hair and was attempting to braid it. Not long after, Cooper¡¯s blond hair was tied into two little pigtails that were way too short. After that, it was Linus¡¯ turn. Looking at the pair of messy pigtails, Sophia found it hard to take Cooper seriously. At that moment, Carmen blew at Cooper¡¯s annoyed face. ¡°Grandpa¡¯s mad. I¡¯ll blow the anger away and Grandpa will be happy again.¡± Cooper was indeed disgruntled. He knew things were not that simple when Michael let Carmen recognize Cooper as her grandfather. He was actually wondering why Carmen was especially clingy today. It turned out she was creating an opportunity for her father! As Carmen blew, Cooper¡¯s resentment seemed to be blown away too. Taking this opportunity, she asked, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m going to pick strawberries with Daddy. Do you want toe?¡± Speaking of this, Sophia suddenly remembered. ¡°Michael is bringing Carmen and I to the farm outside the city tomorrow to pick strawberries and catch free range chickens. Would you like to join us?¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Upon hearing this, Cooper was set on declining the offer. Moreover, he would forbid Sophia from going too. However, Carmen insisted while Sophia looked eager as well. In the end, he had no choice but to reluctantly agree. He had to join them on the trip and keep an eye on Michael, in case he tried to make a move on his darling. The next day, Michael came to pick Carmen and Sophia up. Not only did Cooper join them, Linus came along too. Carmen, Linus, and Sophia all went with Cooper, who was the driver. Meanwhile, Michael drove himself, with four dogs and two puppies with him. At that time, Nathan was home too. When Sophia saw him wandering around, she hurriedly said, ¡°Nathan, you shoulde with us!¡± However, he coldly rejected, ¡°No.¡± Muttering under her breath, Sophia then got into the car. After driving all morning, they finally arrived at Michael¡¯s farmhouse. Thrilled, Sophia got down from the car, excited to see the free range chickens and to pick strawberries. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, this is my farm, which mainly grows vegetables that we use for cooking at home,¡± Michael proudly introduced. However, Cooper had on his usual cold expression and did not respond. He only had his darling in his eyes. Thus, Michael stopped speaking to him. Each of the men looked after their own darlings. That being said, Michael understood Cooper. If Carmen was sold to someone for eighty thousand, he would have castrated them right away. After thinking from Cooper¡¯s point of view, he thought that Cooper was actually being kind to him. At least he did not castrate him. On Michael¡¯s private farm, there was a holiday vi, which was specifically for his asional holiday use. In the past, Sophia loved toe here for a stay once in a while. At once, everyone went into the vi, which had been cleaned and prepared beforehand. The beddings were all freshly cleaned and smelled like sunshine. Then, Michael opened the door to one of the bedrooms. ¡°This is the room we used to stay in when we came over.¡± Happily, Sophia took her things and went in but before Michael could enter, he was blocked by Cooper. ¡°You¡¯d better not go in.¡± Cooper then picked the room right next to Sophia¡¯s. Linus picked the room next door, leaving Michael with thest room on the furthest end. The farm was a good distance from the city, almost in a different province. They had departed in the morning and arrived at noon. Here, the soil was fertile and the area was sparsely popted, so many wealthy people from Cethos had bought private farmhouses here. During lunch, they all ate a very simple but healthy lunch at the vi. They were served vegetables that were freshly picked and chicken that was freshly prepared. On top of that, When they were done with lunch, Sophia changed her clothes and went out. She had on a loose outfit and had tied up her hair, putting on a pair of boots before walking to the strawberry garden with a basket in hand. The strawberries were grown in a greenhouse, where the temperature and humidity was well managed and the light was sufficient. Thus, the strawberries grew to be big and round. Sophia picked the strawberries happily while Carmen trailed behind. The fruits here were all grown organically, free of pollution and pesticide. As Sophia picked the strawberries, she stole a few bites and her lips turned red from the juice. Whenever Michael found any big and round strawberries, he would immediately ce them in her basket too.It was indeed a peaceful atmosphere. Chapter 807 Chapter 807 Ever since Annabel¡¯s passing, Cooper rarely took any photos. Now that he was reunited with his daughter, he picked up the camera again and took Sophia¡¯s photos. Just look at how beautiful his daughter was; she was absolutely adorable. Holding his DSLR, Cooper snapped away at Sophia¡¯s every move. He could even take a dozen shots of Sophia picking strawberries. After snapping photos of his daughter, it was his granddaughter¡¯s turn. He took close up shots of Carmen who was naturally photogenic and she effortlessly posed for the camera. Meanwhile, Michael was also snapping pictures of his daughter. She was truly the apple of his eye. To him, she was extremely lovable; everything she did was nothing but adorable. After taking Carmen¡¯s photos, Michael also secretly snapped a few photos of Sophia. Unfortunately for him, he was caught by Cooper. Immediately, Cooper strode over and blocked the shot, turning around to viciously re at Michael. Upon seeing that, Michael grunted in disdain. What a hypocrite Cooper was. He was allowed to snap photos of Michael¡¯s daughter, but Michael was not allowed to take photos of Sophia? Despite that, Michael still managed to sneak a few photos, all of which he was reluctant to delete. Other than photos of Carmen, his photo album was filled with photos of his pets and Sophia. He was unwilling to delete any of her photos. Not only did he get them printed and made an album, he also kept them on his phone. At that moment, Sophia found an unusually good-looking strawberry and couldn¡¯t bring herself to eat it, so she handed it to Cooper. ¡°Here you go, Dad.¡± Following her example, Carmen found a nice strawberry too and gave it to Michael. ¡°Here you go, Daddy.¡± And so, the two fathers ate the strawberries happily. Then, Sophia found another one and gave it to Michael. ¡°This is for you, Michael.¡± Upon seeing this, Cooper was about to stop her when Carmen¡¯s dirt covered hands tugged at his pants. She was holding a ttened piece of strawberry when she said, ¡°Grandpa, this is for you.¡± Being held back by Carmen, Cooper felt embarrassed to stop the couple. Reluctantly, he watched as Sophia handed a strawberry to Michael. At that moment, Michael¡¯s hands were full. His left hand was holding the basket while his phone was in his right hand. Hence, he opened his mouth and waited to be fed. Sophia did not think anything of it and fed him. Michael finished the strawberry in one bite and smiled at her. Embarrassed, Sophia looked away. Their fingers had identally touched earlier and everytime she thought about his unusually soft touch, she instantly felt warm. While she picked the strawberries, she would asionally nce at him. When their eyes met, they would smile at each other. On the other hand, the more Cooper watched their interactions, the more riled up he got. The whole time, Carmen¡¯s dirt covered hands were tugging at his pants, leaving two little dirty handprints on it. She pouted and asked, ¡°Grandpa, were my strawberries no good?¡± Cooper hurried to reply, ¡°Of course they were! How could they not be?¡± Looking at him, Carmen seemed unhappy. ¡°So, why do you look unhappy?¡± He immediately choked out augh. ¡°I am happy! I¡¯mughing happily right now!¡± Upon hearing this, Carmen smiled. She turned around and picked a strawberry that was not ripe, giving it to her grandfather and refused to let him leave unless he ate it. The whole while, her hands were tightly holding onto his pants. Cooper grew more anxious as he watched Michael and Sophia flirt with each other. They were walking further and further away, while Carmen still refused to release him and insisted that Cooper ate the strawberry. Each strawberry tasted worse than the one before. Cooper did not look happy while he ate, which upset Carmen even more. He felt awful. Standing on the other side was Linus, who couldn¡¯t help butugh as he shook his head. Oh, Cooper¡­ After picking a strawberry and cleaning it, Linus cut it into smaller pieces with a knife and fed them to Carmen. Pleased, Carmen chewed happily while she was still holding tightly onto Cooper. After eating the strawberry, she looked up at Cooper excitedly. ¡°Grandpa, let¡¯s go see the piggies!¡± Cooper panicked as he watched Sophia and Michael, who looked like they were done picking and were about to leave the strawberry garden. Trying to pry Carmen¡¯s grip off his pants, he murmured, ¡°Grandpa is busy right now. Why don¡¯t you go with Grand-uncle Linus?¡± At once, Carmen pouted her lips. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she choked out, ¡°Do you not love me anymore?¡± Upon seeing his teary-eyed granddaughter, Cooper hurriedly bent down. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Of course I love you!¡± Hanging her head, Carmen pouted as she sniffled quietly, her eyshes wet from her tears. ¡°Then why won¡¯t you see the piggies with me?¡± Having no other choice, Cooper reluctantly agreed, ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll go see the piggies.¡± It was only then did Carmen smile reluctantly. What a grievance-filled little cutie! As soon as she felt wronged, her tears would start flowing! Carefully, Cooper led Carmen away, terrified that she would suddenly burst into tears. Now that Cooper was distracted by Carmen, Michael was finally able to have some alone time with Sophia. However, they were still not alone as the bodyguard Cooper brought with him was still watching them. Then, Michael tugged Sophia along and they ran toward the farmhouse. As she ran, Sophia asked, ¡°Michael, where are we going?¡± Michael gave her a mysterious look. ¡°You¡¯ll know when we get there.¡± There were many animals on the farm and as they ran, the animals were startled. Then, Michael entered a little hut that looked like it was where they kept the livestock. Meanwhile, Sophia waited at the door. ¡°Neigh!¡± N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. A loud and clear whine was heard. Just then, Michael walked out with a red-coated stallion; it looked magnificent. ¡°A horse!¡± Instantly, Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up and she rushed toward the horse. The horse lowered its head as she petted its soft coat. Softly, Michael murmured, ¡°She¡¯s yours. Her name is Cherry. You¡¯ve been keeping her at the ranch but I brought her here a few years ago. When you got her, she was just a pony but now, she¡¯s all grown up.¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia gently petted the horse. ¡°Nice to meet you, Cherry.¡± Cherry was extremely tame as it huffed at her. Michael brought the protective gears and put them on for Sophia before helping her up Cherry. Then, Sophia spent the entire afternoon wandering everywhere with her horse. With her memory lost, she had forgotten how to ride a horse. Despite that, she quickly got the hang of it with Michael¡¯s guidance. He led the horse and they wandered around the farm. They went to look at the fish pond that hemissioned for her, and then they went to see the greenhouse that was filled with vegetables. Next, they went to see the cornfield¡­ ¡°Everything that is grown in this farm is intended to be consumed at home; they are all organic and free of pollution. When we can¡¯t finish them, we¡¯ll sell them to others. Under Asco International, the crops are branded as organic and we supply them to areas where the wealthy people live. There is anotherrger industrialized pollution-free farm in a more remote area. Thend is bigger and we export agricultural produce abroad every year. We¡¯ve also industrialized the Edwards Family¡¯s traditional winemaking, pickled vegetables, and braised pork businesses. These were all your ideas and the yearly revenue is extraordinary. Not only that, we also own a holiday vi resort nearby.¡± After talking about the business, he pointed to the cornfield as he casually added an interesting remark without batting an eyelid. ¡°Also, that is where we conceived Carmen.¡± Chapter 808 Chapter 808 Michael was probably right. If they traced back, they were on this farm during that time, so this was most probably where Sophia had conceived Carmen. Flustered, Sophia bit her lip as her face turned red, not knowing what to say. They wandered around the farm the entire afternoon. It was the first time they had spent time alone for so long. As she listened to Michael talk about the things they used to do, Sophia felt a sense of warmth in her heart. On the other hand, Carmen was dragging Cooper to see the pigs. There were pigs of all sizes in the pen, all fed with a mixture of grass and grains that were grown on the farm. Leaning on the fence, Carmen chirped, ¡°Let¡¯s count the piggies, Grandpa.¡± Cooper counted it all with just a nce. ¡°There are seven big ones and eight smaller ones.¡± Pointing at the pigs, Carmen counted them one by one slowly. ¡°You¡¯re wrong, Grandpa. There are only four big piggies and six small piggies.¡± Skeptical, Cooper pointed at the pigs. ¡°Look¡ªthere are seven big piggies, four hairless piggies and three with long fur.¡± ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re mistaken.¡± Carmen giggled. ¡°The long fur ones are doggies!¡± As soon as she said that, the three long-furred ¡®pigs¡¯ came running wildly toward Cooper. They were completely covered in dirt, to the point of being unrecognizable. It turned out to be the three dogs that they brought along! After rolling around in the pen, they were filthy! Frightened, Cooper took a couple steps back. Filled with enthusiasm, one of the dogs leaped over the fence and charged at him. Another dog stuck its tongue out, while the other shook off the dirt from its fur. The dirt-covered dog was shaking off the dirt right before Cooper! Carmen was so horrified that she screeched. Cooper, on the other hand, subconsciously held onto Carmen and shut his eyes while dirt sprayed all over him. When the dog was done, she was still clean; not a single spotnded on her. However, poor Cooper was covered in smelly mud and dirt. Pinching her nose, Carmen muttered, ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re smelly.¡± Looking at his dirt-covered body, Cooper almost fainted from the smell. When Carmen had screamed earlier, Linus rushed over and witnessed this hrious incident. No one would expect the high and mighty Fass Michel to have an embarrassing moment like this. Holding back hisughter, Linus chased away the dogs and picked Carmen up. He then turned toward a scowling Cooper andmented, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and get yourself cleaned up?¡± Without saying a word, Cooper went back to take a shower. He glowered while Carmen giggled happily. By the time Cooper came out of the shower, it waste afternoon. He did not bother to dry his hair and went straight to look for Sophia. Coincidentally, Michael was leading the horse and Sophia back. She looked like she had fun, her cheeks flushed while she giggled non-stop. In the evening, they prepared pork and chicken and made a delicious dinner. Sophia had picked a lot of strawberries and grapes. At night, she watched TV while eating the freshly picked fruits. Meanwhile, Linus, Michael, and the people at the farm spent hours cleaning the dogs. Except for the well-behaved Corrado, the other dogs were filthy. When it was time to go to bed, Carmen wanted to sleep next to Sophia. She must have used up all her energy at the farm as she fell asleep almost instantly in Sophia¡¯s arms. Gently pushing the door open, Michael saw Carmen sleeping soundly. In a hushed voice, he whispered, ¡°She fell asleep pretty early, huh?¡± Sophia also kept her voice low as she gazed lovingly at her daughter. ¡°She must have spent all her energy ying on the farm today. She fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed.¡± Watching Carmen, Michael felt like he was admiring the most exotic and precious view. His gaze was filled with love. She was the fruit of his and Sophia¡¯s love! Carmen was also the continuation of their legacy. If he could, he would stare at her forever until the world ended. Quietly, they both watched their daughter happily. ¡°Look at our beautiful little Carmen Fletcher.¡± Michael softly nudged Carmen¡¯s pink and round cheek.¡°She has your nose and your eyes, but she has my lips.¡± Sophia thought her daughter looked like her too; she was beautiful even when she was asleep. Michael softly kissed Carmen¡¯s forehead. Carmen rolled over and opened her eyes blurrily. ¡°Daddy¡­¡± she mumbled, as her tiny hands grabbed Michael¡¯s hand and hugged it like it was a doll. Instantly, his heart melted when her tiny hands grabbed his. He lovingly admired the little hands that were much smaller than his own. ¡°Look; even our daughter¡¯s hands look beautiful.¡± Sophia looked down at Carmen¡¯s little hands. How adorable. She grabbed her phone, muted it and turned off the camera sh before secretly taking a photo. She was just too cute! After snapping the photo, Sophia reached down and kissed Carmen¡¯s tiny cheek. She reached her hand out and ced it in Michael¡¯s palm, gently holding Carmen¡¯s hand. Then, Michael¡¯s hand turned and he held both Sophia¡¯s and Carmen¡¯s hands in his own. At that moment, he gazed at Sophia before saying seriously, ¡°The both of you suffered in the past because of me. From now on, I will not let that happen again. I promise to protect both of you.¡± Gazing at him, Sophia did not know what to say, but she thought his hand was exceptionally warm and dependable. ¡°Ahem!¡± Suddenly, a loud cough could be heard. Turning around, Michael saw Cooper standing by the door with a dark expression, staring coldly at them. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s time for bed.¡± Michael carefully ced Carmen¡¯s hand under the covers before tucking them both in bed. He then dimmed the lights before quietly getting up and leaving the room. A series of footsteps could be heard from the door as Michael and Cooper went back to their respective bedrooms. The night was so quiet that the only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat. While Carmen slept, Sophia had trouble sleeping. Michael was all she could think about. She guessed that she had started to ept Michael and was prepared to give Carmen a perfect little family! All her past memories were long gone. Despite that, she knew she had grown up without parents. Thus, she did not want her child to go through the same thing. Carmen was still young so she had to give her a perfect home! The next day, Carmen made a fuss as soon as she woke up. Even though they had brought along a nanny, Sophia still wanted to take care of Carmen herself, so she got her washed up and dressed. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Then, she proudly carried Carmen, whom she had tended to so well, to the dining hall for breakfast. When breakfast was done, everyone prepared to go home. Sophia had packed up the berries she had picked yesterday while everyone packed their stuff. After that, they left and returned to Bayside City. It was already noon when they arrived home. Meanwhile, Nathan was ying by himself at Vi No. 2. Recently, Nathan had started attending Bayside University and only came home during the weekends, sometimes not at all. Besides Carmen and Hope, he barely paid any attention to anyone. He treated everyone coldly and naturally was cold to Sophia too. Chapter 809 Chapter 809 As soon as Sophia returned and saw Nathan, she happily eximed, ¡°Nate, you¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± He nced briefly at her before walking out the door. ¡°Nate, where are you going? It¡¯s almost lunch time; why don¡¯t you stay for lunch before you go?¡± Sophia desperately tried to make him stay. ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating,¡± he answered coldly before returning to Vi No. 8 and never came out again. Compared to the indifferent Nathan, Michael was much more enthusiastic. He brought in the fowls that Sophia caught from the farm to their backyard. Then, he carried the freshly picked fruits and ced them in the kitchen. After that, he sat in the living room to rest, Carmen in his arms as he chatted with Linus. On the other hand, Cooper was getting riled up and thought that Michael was thick-skinned when he did not leave. Even Carmen couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and asked innocently, ¡°Daddy, are you trying to dilly- dally at Grandpa¡¯s house? Look; Grandpa¡¯s getting mad!¡± Michael rubbed her forehead as he cuddled her. ¡°Silly girl. I¡¯m Mommy¡¯s husband; what¡¯s wrong with having a meal at Mommy¡¯s house?¡± Behind those words was a sense of smugness. ¡°Nonsense!¡± Sophia was flustered upon hearing that. Meanwhile, Cooper was fuming while Linus couldn¡¯t help butugh. Cooper really was not fond of Michael! Seeing that the meal was about to be served, Sophia nced at Carmen and Michael, and then at Vi No. 8. Michael and Carmen were here, while Nathan wasn¡¯t. He was eating at home alone and Sophia thought it seemed a little lonely. Despite that, she felt dejected as she recalled Nathan¡¯s coldness toward her. Biting her lip, she asked, ¡°Michael, did Nate hate me before this?¡± Meanwhile, Michael was being held while Carmen forcefully braided his hair. Heughed and said, ¡°No way; he loved you back then! He liked you more than he did me!¡± However, Sophia did not seem to think so. Nathan had always been cold toward her and she was always taking the initiative to speak to him, but he would just ignore her. He rarely came to y or evene home. What a head-scratcher of a little teenager. Sophia then made a phone call to Vi No. 8. When Nathan did not pick up, she hurried to the vi to check on him. She brought Carmen with her, in case Nathan rejected her offer. Before this, Sophia had been there before so she knew where Nathan¡¯s bedroom was. She went over, only to find Nathan¡¯s bedroom door closed. Carmen knocked on it and yelled, ¡°Nate, it¡¯s time for lunch!¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± They could hear shuffling through the door before it was swung open. Not expecting to see Sophia at all, Nathan froze for a moment. Sophia enthusiastically chirped, ¡°Nate,e over for lunch. Linus and Carmen will be there; you should join us!¡± However, Nathan¡¯s expression remained cold. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Before he could shut his door, Carmen slipped into his room with Sophia. Nathan¡¯s room looked a little more sophisticatedpared to an average boy¡¯s. The color palette of the room was a simple ck and white, and it was arge area that was fully furnished. In addition to the basic study room and wardrobe, he had his own gym room, balcony, and a swimming pool. In his study, there was even a Bitcoin mining machine. Seeing them, Snowball came out of its kennel and wagged its tail at Sophia. Snowball belonged to Nathan. After staying the night at the farm with the others, it came back to Nathan while the other dogs went back to Vi No. 2. ¡°You have a beautiful room, Nate!¡± Sophia eximed. At that moment, Nathan scowled. ¡°Please leave when you¡¯re done.¡± What a cold little teenager! Sophia thought maybe she shouldn¡¯t have barged into his room like that. After all, Nathan had grown up and needed his own privacy. Despite that, her sharp eyes caught sight of the photos on Nathan¡¯s desk. There were portraits of himself as well as pictures of him with Carmen, Michael, and his parents. On top of that, there were many pictures of him with Sophia. ¡°Nate, those are pictures of me!¡± Ecstatic, Sophia picked up one of the photos and looked at her past self. She was wearing Bayside University¡¯s uniform and was carrying Nathan in her arms, who was wearing the school uniform too. Not only that, there was also a photo of her and Nathan wearing matching pajamas. In the photo, Nathan was smiling happily. It was clear that they used to have a good rtionship, so why was he being so cold to her now? Frowning, Nathan tried to kick them out once again. ¡°Please get out!¡± ¡°You¡¯re so mean.¡± Carmen pouted disapprovingly. Resentfully, Sophia ced the photos down and said to him once again, ¡°Nate,e over for lunch. We¡¯ve brought back a lot of delicious food from the farm!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± Nathan looked away. He really is a cold little teenager. And so, Sophia stopped pushing and turned to Carmen. ¡°Darling, you can stay a little longer. Mommy will go now. Don¡¯t forget to bring Nate along for lunch.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen instantly agreed, ¡°Okay.¡± With that, Sophia left. When she was gone, Nathan sat at his desk and stared at the photos Sophia looked at. For the past few years, he had been staying at the university and he rarely came home. This home reminded him of his guilt. He did not know how to face Michael, Carmen, and Sophia. Back then, it was his mother, Celine¡¯s, doing that the Phantom Wolf had kidnapped Sophia. On that day, he almost lost everything he held dear. He had lost two mothers and two sisters¡­ Despite that, Michael and Sophia still treated him like their own. However, the more they treated him well, the guiltier he felt. He matured overnight and he was no longer the oblivious little kid he once was. ¡°Nate¡­¡± Carmen pouted as she came over holding the dog. She held onto his shirt as she begged, ¡°Mommy told me to take you home for lunch¡­¡± Waking from his daydream, he felt a weight on his chest. He hugged Carmen before whispering, ¡°Alright; you wait here while I change.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen smiled happily. ¡°Okay!¡± All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Not long after, Nathan and Carmen went over to Sophia¡¯s. Compared to other kids his age, Nathan was much more mature. By now, Sophia roughly knew why he had been treating her so coldly. She did not me anything for what happened back then. She did not me Michael or Nathan, not even Quinton. She could only me her cruel fate. Despite that, she had gained back everything that she lost, and it was enough¡­ Chapter 810 Chapter 810 Nathan came after all. Sophia was pleased, even though his attitude toward her was still unfriendly. When he came, she patted his shoulder. Now, he was almost as tall as her. Nathan attended Bayside University and was interning at Stanley¡¯spany. Meanwhile, Michael was ready to let him travel around the world for his education. The boy would have a bright future ahead of him. After they ate, Michael was still reluctant to leave. The family was in the living room, watching TV and chatting. As they watched the movie, Michael was trying hard to engage Cooper in a conversation. He tried to find something they had inmon so that they could have something to talk about, and they only went home in the afternoon. The next day, Sophia and Cooper went to the militarypound to visit Mark and to send him some of the food they brought back from the farm. Meanwhile, Michael tagged along and brought Carmen and Nathan with him. Not long after, they arrived at the Fletcher Residence. Old Master Fletcher was still in good spirits despite his age and he was thrilled to see his grandchildren and great grandchildren. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael finally returned to the Fletcher Residence. With his great effort, not only did Elizabeth¡¯s grave finally relocate to the Fletchers¡¯ ancestral grave and was buried next to Theo, she was also listed in the Fletcher Family¡¯s genealogy record book. However, her tomb was still there for fans to pay their respects. Joining their visit to the Fletcher Residence, Judge disappeared as soon as he went into the military compound. After all, this was where it grew up. When Stanley moved out, he brought Judge with him. At that moment, Carmen went to find her own littlepanions while Nathan trailed behind her. The Imperial was not too far from the militarypound. Back then, Michael would send Carmen to the Fletcher Residence whenever he would be away from home. Hence, she had made friends with the kids around there. The news of Cooper¡¯s return caused an uproar and many of the Fletchers came to see him. Almost all of the Fletchers knew of Cooper, as Old Master Fletcher would always talk about him endlessly. He had hoped that they would follow in Cooper¡¯s footsteps. Cooper was a genius who had vanished for years. Now that he had returned out of the blue, everyone rushed to see him. Sophia sat for a brief moment before they were surrounded by the Fletchers who came to see Cooper. During lunch, she saw a man had carried Carmen over; it was hard to tell his age. This man had sharp and bright eyes, and he looked confident and assertive. It was obvious he was a Fletcher too. Despite that, he was gentle as he carried Carmen and yed with her. At that moment, Carmen was seen holding a little windmill toy. Her cheeks were puffy as she blew at the windmill; it seemed like she was having a lot of fun. As soon as he saw Sophia, the man greeted in a low voice, ¡°Sophie.¡± Sophia nodded stiffly in response. Once again, it looked like it was someone she knew back then. Having already learned about her situation, the man did not dwell on it much. Instead, he introduced himself, ¡°Nice to meet you. I¡¯m Joel Fletcher.¡± An unfamiliar name¡­ Michael had never introduced him to her. Just then, Carmen eximed, ¡°This is Uncle Joel!¡± Fletcher¡­ I¡¯m guessing he¡¯s Michael¡¯s brother. ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± Sophia replied. As usual, Sophia was wearing her mask. The scar on her face was still prominent so she did not want it to be seen. Meanwhile, Joel ced Carmen in her arms. Sitting next to Sophia, Michael tickled Carmen¡¯s little cheeks and asked, ¡°Where did this little windmille from?¡± Carmen turned to look at Joel. ¡°Uncle Joel gave it to me.¡± ¡°Did you say thank you?¡± Sophia chimed in. Blinking, Carmen said shyly, ¡°I did.¡± Watching the beautiful family, Joel¡¯s cold and stern lips curled ever so slightly as he smiled warmly. Instantly, he picked up a child from Nathan¡¯s arms. It was his own son, whose expression was as cool as him¡ªthere was no doubt that the child was his. When Sophia saw the toddler, she was amazed. ¡°How cute! What¡¯s his name? How old is he? What baby form do you feed him?¡± Looking at his son, Joel answered, ¡°This is Drew. He¡¯s almost two and his mother breastfeeds him.¡± Meanwhile, Michael leaned over to look at Joel¡¯s son. He looked bigger than he was thest time Michael saw him. The two men then chatted and exchanged some parenting tips. Ten years ago, Michael and Joel would never have imagined that they would get together and chat about boring things like this. Time was indeed a wonderful thing that healed any wound. Twenty years ago, they grew up together in thepound; they got along really well and had a good rtionship. Ten years ago, they had fallen out and would constantly fight. Ten yearster, they each carried their own children as they shared parenting tips. ¡°Where¡¯s Maddie? Is she not here?¡± Michael asked when he realized Joel was alone. Joel chuckled. ¡°Reporters¡ªthey¡¯re always on the job. She knew you wereing and she wanted to interview you, so she took the day off. She¡¯ll be here soon. Maddie was Joel¡¯s wife. Fate was a strange thing too. Back then, Joel was ambitious and verypetitive. He had high standards for himself and his partner. When he dated Irene, who had fantastic qualifications, everyone thought they would get married. However, they still separated in the end. Back when Joel stole Irene away from Michael, it was not because of love. Instead, it was just a game of pursuit that ended in Michael¡¯s disastrous defeat. Joel had intended to steal Sophia away too, but he knew it was not possible because she was not as gullible as Irene. Back when he first heard about Sophia¡¯s kidnapping by Phantom Wolf, Joel immediately dispatched military forces to search for her but in the end, he could not save her. Despite that, it could be regarded as him repaying Michael for all he had done. From then on, they were no longer enemies; they were brothers once again. Looking back, the fights between them seemed pointless. After losing his supposed enemy, Joel was a little defeated. Even so, it did notst long. An earthquake with an 8.0 magnitude had hit a small remote country in the southwest, where thousands of civilians were injured and had died. That was when Joel took on the task of earthquake relief. Back then, the situation was critical. Traffic andmunications were cut off while external rescue forces could not find their way into the remote stricken region, and the survivors were not able to get out as well. The roads had to be repaired multiple times as it would copse again and again due to the aftershocks. Joel had signed the death waiver and led amando unit, whereby they were all air-dropped into the disaster stricken area. They were the first military rescue force to arrive. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere and many families were ruined. Joel could still remember that scene vividly. There was where he first met a reporter named Maddie Evans, who happened to be having an interview at the area when another earthquake happened. In the middle of the rescue, there was a strong aftershock. Unfortunately, Joel and Maddie were buried under the rubble. They encouraged each other and cheered each other on as they waited for help to arrive. Finally, they were rescued by reinforcements. After that, Joel continued with his task and saved anyone that he came across. Meanwhile, Maddie did not leave and volunteered to assist in disaster relief. Without missing a beat, Joel proposed to Maddie on the day they left the stricken area. Chapter 811 Chapter 811 Maddie¡¯s family background was not particrly good. She went to college before she dropped out and worked at a newspany as a trainee journalist, where tasks were the most difficult. Plus, she did not look particrly outstanding. When Joel proposed, even Maddie was shocked to her core. The situation at the disaster-stricken area was tough and they were running out of supplies. In fact, they had trouble looking for clean water. Joel had given her his Minute Maid Orange Drink that he had saved as a proposal gift. Despite that, Maddie said yes. Without a second thought, she went to Bayside City with a man that she had known for less than a month. In fact, she did not even know his real name or where he came from, or even cared that he was way older than she was, which was why her family strongly opposed their marriage. Coming to the disaster relief, he did not look like he was from a good background. On top of that, he was so much older and rushed into marriage when they only met briefly. Clearly, he was just a lonely old soldier who could not find a wife. As Joel told Sophia about this, he couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°I was injured and had a broken leg. I was in a wheelchair when Maddie stole the household registry from her home and came to Bayside City with me. How silly! She did not stop to think that maybe I was a fraud.¡± Sophia, on the other hand, was amazed. When she first saw Joel, she thought he was a cold-hearted person but when he spoke, she realized he was very gentle! When they arrived at Bayside City, they immediately went to register their marriage without even meeting Mark. On top of that, it was a military marriage, as if he was afraid Maddie would turn tail. ¡°Maddie must have had the shock of her life when she found out about who you are!¡± Sophia murmured as she chuckled. From Joel¡¯s tone, it seemed like Maddie really thought he was just an old man who couldn¡¯t get a wife. On the other hand, Joel was very impulsive as well. As they talked, a youngdy came over. She looked younger than Sophia and was dressed inly. In fact, she looked like she was still in school. ¡°I¡¯m back, Joel!¡± a cheerful voice echoed. Curiously, Sophia nced at her. She looked ordinary, with an ordinary face and dressed ordinarily. She was not wearing makeup and was sweating like she had been running. With her appearance and personality, she did not seem like she would bepatible with Joel. But if it was true love, then they would be the most perfect couple of all time. As soon as Joel saw Maddie, his manner became gentle as he murmured, ¡°You¡¯re back. Mikey and Sophie came by and we had lunch at Grandpa¡¯s.¡± Turning back to Sophia, he introduced his wife, ¡°This is the missus¡ªMaddie Evans.¡± Maddie Evans¡­ Sophia thought the name sounded familiar. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. The two of them greeted each other. Maddie seemed eager to talk to Sophia but she did not want to be rude, which was why she sat beside Joel and stared at Sophia the whole time. Then, Joel sheepishly made a request. ¡°Mikey, Maddie recently joined a big mediapany. It¡¯s extremelypetitive there and it would be difficult for her to be promoted. As you know, her ounts have not been approved yet and her education background isn¡¯t up to the mark. However, she refuses to depend on rtionships too, so she was hoping to have an interview with you, which would help tremendously.¡± The couple were hopeful as they waited for Michael¡¯s response. Hence, Michael had no choice but to agree. ¡°No problem. You can make an appointment through my assistant.¡± If it was ten years ago, Michael would have never imagined that the high and mighty Joel Fletcher would set his pride aside and ask him for a favor. Interviewing Taylor Murray had always been Maddie¡¯s dream. In fact, she was a huge fan of Taylor! After having dinner with Old Master Fletcher, Sophia decided to stay the night at the militarypound. She went into the room and rested while Carmen went out to y with her friends. As Sophia took a look at the furnishings of the room, it seemed like she had stayed here before. There was even a photo of her and Nathan. It wasn¡¯t long before Carmen returned with Corrado. Corrado had a dark coat, which made Carmen afraid so she never yed with it. However, she did not seem to be scared now. ¡°Baby, aren¡¯t you afraid of Corrado? Why are you suddenly ying with him?¡± Sophia asked as she picked Carmen up. Carmen chirped happily, ¡°Drew¡¯s mommy said she sealed Corrady with the windmill. He won¡¯t bite anymore, so I can y with him now!¡± It was only then did Sophia realize there was a hair band on the top of Corrado¡¯s head. The hair band was holding up Carmen¡¯s windmill toy, which spun everytime he walked. Corrado seemed to have epted his fate of being ¡®sealed¡¯ and did not resist. Upon seeing this, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but pet the dog as she looked at the windmill spinning on its head. Anyone who coulde up with a cute idea like this must be a total cutie too. Joel did have good taste; he married such a cute girl! At that moment, Michael and Cooper were chatting and drinking tea with Mark. Cooper was talking about his experiences abroad when Mark sighed. He did not expect Cooper would engage in military overseas. Speaking of the military, the Fletchers were experts. They were exporting firearms from Cethos and imported a small amount too. Not only that, they once cooperated with the Michel Group as well. No one had expected Fass Michel to be Cooper! How lucky of his godson to be someone powerful wherever he went! After listening to Cooper, Mark suddenly asked, ¡°Oh, where¡¯s the other kid? What¡¯s his name¡­ Lionel?¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper fell silent. Back then, Linus had stolen information from the Fletcher Family for the Phantom Wolf through Nichs and Nathan. Cooper¡¯s heart stung at the thought. ¡°He¡¯s busy so he couldn¡¯t make it!¡± Cooper said. Clearly, Old Master Fletcher was very fond of Linus. ¡°I like that kid. When I first met him, I thought he¡¯s a lot like you; turns out the both of you are rted!¡± At that moment, Michael fell silent too. Sooner orter, they had to reveal Linus¡¯ past. However, Michael had his own motives and wanted to negotiate the terms with Cooper. Cooper, on the other hand, hated negotiating. It was the biggest provocation to him, not to mention Michael was trying to negotiate terms using his children. Therefore, Michael felt this was a rather sticky situation. Exhausted from ying, Carmen came back and fell asleep almost instantly. Not long after, Stanley came back too and he yelled from downstairs, ¡°Sophie,e down and hang out with us!¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia opened the window and saw Stanley holding Judge. Sean was with them too. After the matchmaking incident, Sophia automatically deemed Stanley and Sean as a pair. ncing at Carmen who was asleep, she instructed the nanny to keep an eye on Carmen before she slipped out to see Stanley. The three of them then wandered around mindlessly. Taking this opportunity, Stanley babbled, ¡°I¡¯m telling you, Sophie. We were meant to be a pair, but Uncle Michael barged in and ruined what could have been!¡± Chapter 812 Chapter 812 ¡°If we get together again, I¡¯m sure my uncle will give us his blessing.¡± Sophia was wearing a mask so she rolled her eyes to show her disbelief. ¡°Stanley, are you itching for a beating?¡± Hearing this, Stanley didn¡¯t dare to continue the conversation. After all, Michael might suddenly appear and beat him up. Pointing at his dog, Stanley said, ¡°Sophia, look at Judge. Just look at his leg! Back then, your son broke Judge¡¯s leg and I spent a lot of money to get it cured. Many years have passed but I still haven¡¯t received thepensation you promised!¡± Sophia immediately rebuked, ¡°I¡¯m taking care of Judge and his puppies for you right now. Isn¡¯t that enough topensate for those bills? Moreover, I made Judge an online superstar and he is even more famous than you now. What else do you want? Not to mention, your cat got Lucile pregnant and she gave birth to a few mixed breed kittens, and I¡¯m taking care of all of them for you right now!¡± ¡­ As the two of them quarreled, Stanley recalled the good times they had. All of a sudden, Sophia heard a fierce quarrel taking ce not far away from her. It sounded like two women were arguing about something. ¡°You did everything you could to marry Joel. So what? Do you think that you can make him stay by giving him a son? Maddie, don¡¯t you know your ce?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t? Have you forgotten how you seduced Joel back then?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t! I really didn¡¯t!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of people like you who wish to have a Cindere ending. Even though you look innocent, deep down, you¡¯re just a b*tch who is greedy for money and power.¡± It was obvious that one person¡¯s voice was aggressive while the other¡¯s had no confidence. I think I hear Maddie¡¯s voice. Sophia took a step forward but Stanley stopped her. He seemed to understand what was going on when he said, ¡°Forget it; don¡¯t go. That¡¯s their family¡¯s private affairs.¡± If I guessed right, she¡¯s back¡­ It¡¯s better to not let Sophia intervene. Since it was their family matters, Sophia didn¡¯t want to intervene either. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard the aggressive voice let out a weak and helpless scream. ¡°Ah!¡± Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly turned around to check on the situation. She and the others went around a corner and saw several people standing in front of them. By then, a few people had arrived at the scene and they saw a beautiful woman in high-heels sitting on the ground, looking pitiful. There was a wound on her knee and she was trying to stand up but everytime she tried, she fell down again. The woman was weeping helplessly and there were tears on her long eyshes. Meanwhile, Maddie was standing off to the side, panicking. Sophia looked at the poor woman and wanted to help her up, but a hand suddenly held her back. She turned around, only to find that it belonged to Michael. He was wearing a mask and he shook his head at her. Seeing this, Sophia had no choice but to stay still. The woman in high heels sobbed as she said, ¡°Maddie, why did you push me? I have no grievances or grudges against you!¡± Then, she looked up at Maddie with an aggrieved look on her face. Facing the questioning nces from the crowd, Maddie waved her hands in panic and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± At that moment, Sophia also noticed that something wasn¡¯t right. This woman was really aggressive a moment ago. In just a few seconds, her attitude had a drastic change. At this time, Joel had also arrived and he had a cold expression on his face. A chubby toddler with the same cold expression followed closely behind. Joel looked at them nkly and Maddie tugged his arm and mumbled incoherently, ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­ Joel, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± The woman on the ground hugged her knee with an aggrieved look on her face. She sobbed twice before she looked at Joel weakly and in a coquettish voice, she called out to him, ¡°Joel¡­¡± Seeing this, Sophia could guess what was going on. A great man like Joel married Maddie, who looks really ordinary, so naturally there were many people who were upset. The difference between Maddie, who dressesmonly, and the elegant woman in high heels is too big. A normal man would probably¡­ Sophia was just thinking about it when she saw Joel silently help the woman in high heels up. Meanwhile, the woman took the opportunity to hold onto his arm and leaned her head against it. With a blissful look on her face, she whispered, ¡°Joel.¡± Then, she nced at Maddie out of the corner of her eyes with a triumphant grin. Seeing this, Maddie lowered her head and sobbed silently. Sophia felt a little disappointed. She never thought that Joel was such a person! However, unexpectedly, Joel pushed the woman away at the next second and simply pointed at a bystander who was watching the scene unfold. ¡°Josh, please take Irene to the infirmary.¡± After he threw the responsibility to someone else, Joel turned around and coaxed his wife. Maddie looked up at him and there were tears rolling down her cheeks. Seeing this, Joel whispered, ¡°It¡¯s over now. Don¡¯t worry; I believe you.¡± Then, Joel grabbed his wife and Drew, turning around to leave. Unexpectedly, the elegant woman in high heels suddenly pushed away the person who was holding her and ran over frantically. She hugged Joel fiercely and cried hard as she yelled, ¡°Joel, don¡¯t leave! Don¡¯t leave me. I¡¯ll die without you!¡± However, Joel¡¯s attitude was resolute. He coldly pushed off the hands around his waist and said, ¡°Irene Weber, I¡¯ll say this again. I¡¯m married and it¡¯s a military marriage, so don¡¯t use any of these tactics in front of me ever again.¡± This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. Hearing this, the woman called Irene Weber wentpletely hysterical and began to cry and curse at Joel, looking really agitated. ¡°Ask yourself, Joel¡ªdo you think you¡¯ve done right by me? How are you going to pay me back the years you owe me? I gave you the best years of my life and this is how you treat me? You secretly married that ugly woman! How is she better than me?¡± Joel was still hugging Maddie and holding her hand tightly when he froze in ce. Turning around, he stared at Irene and with an earnest gaze, he said slowly, ¡°Irene, I¡¯m the one who owes you a debt. If you want my life, you cane and take it anytime, but I can¡¯t marry you! If you want revenge, juste at me. This is the second time and if you disturb Maddie again, I assure you that you¡¯ll be facing the consequences!¡± His words were clear and the fierce look on his face made Irene understand that if she did something like this again, there would be no doubt that he would take her life. After Joel finished speaking, he left and didn¡¯t spare another nce at her. Irene cried and cursed at him but it was to no avail. After watching this, Michael said to Sophia, ¡°Let¡¯s go; it¡¯s time to head back. Carmen has already woken up and she¡¯s searching everywhere for her mother!¡± With that, Sophia followed Michael back to Old Master Fletcher¡¯s house. On the way there, she couldn¡¯t help but ask him, ¡°About that woman just now¡­ I think I heard her yell ¡®nobody in the Fletcher family is good¡¯ and ¡®the Fletcher family ruined her life¡¯. What does she mean? Who is she?¡± Michael paused for a moment but chose to reply truthfully, ¡°She¡¯s my ex-girlfriend.¡± He then told Sophia the stories about the past without concealing anything. Stanley, who was listening next to them, was shocked. My uncle really is brave! I can¡¯t believe that he dares to mention this kind of matter. He¡¯s a true man! Chapter 813 Chapter 813 Michael calmly introduced who Irene Weber was, including how they knew each other since childhood, how they started dating, how they broke up and everything that happened after that. He even emphasized on how Irene harmed herself to frame Sophia but was caught. After listening to Michael¡¯s introduction, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°It seems that the Fletcher family really did ruin her life.¡± Irene started dating Michael at the age of eighteen and dated him for over seven years. She didn¡¯t expect Michael to retire from the army and enter the entertainment industry. At that time, Irene already had great achievements but she wanted more. She felt that Michael wasn¡¯t able to take her up the social ladder. Furthermore, Michael¡¯s sister and brother-inw, who both had bright futures ahead of them, had passed away, which was why she quickly switched to rely on Joel and was with him for a few years. In the end, Joel abandoned her unexpectedly. She wanted to return to Michael¡¯s side but realized Michael was married, so she thought about Joel. However, Joel had gotten married too and he had married someone who Irene thought was a million times worse than herself. Now, Irene was almost forty years old and had wasted the best twenty years of her youth on these two men of the Fletcher family. Michael didn¡¯t refute Sophia. She¡¯s right. Joel and I have done wrong by Irene. It¡¯s a fact. However, this is not a unteral fault, which is why when Irene hurt the people I love, I didn¡¯t punish her. Instead, I sent her abroad and let her live. Even though she¡¯s forty years old, she¡¯s still a beauty and has a reputation. In this era of great information transmission, everyone has probably forgotten what happened four years ago. If she wants to make aeback, the Fletcher family will help her. Although Joel abandoned her, if she really asks herself, apart from love, has Joel ever treated her badly? Can she be where she is today if she only depended on her own strength? Even if she can¡¯t marry Joel, she can still be a guest performer at the state banquet and a solo singer at the Spring Festival G. However, she doesn¡¯t seem to cherish it. She¡¯s never cherished what she has and always wants to climb the socialdder with the help of a man. It is na?ve to want true love when she dates with a greed to be more sessful. The two walked into the courtyard and entered Mark¡¯s house as Sophia silently listened to Michael¡¯s introduction of Irene. It was really detailed and he exined everything clearly. In the end, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°You¡¯re being really honest. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I might get angry?¡± The current state of their rtionship could be regarded as Michael pursuing her. It is rare for a man to talk about his ex-girlfriend honestly in front of a woman he is pursuing. Michael put his hands in his pockets and looked really calm as he replied, ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I be honest? It¡¯s not like I¡¯ve done anything wrong. Who doesn¡¯t have a past?¡± The two of them looked at each other and smiled. Then, they changed the topic and walked over to Mark together. Meanwhile, Stanley, who was walking alongside them, couldn¡¯t help but feel amazed. My uncle really is charming. He wasn¡¯t afraid that Sophia would get upset and run away. After staying in the Fletcher residence for one night, the group left the next day. Unexpectedly, when they returned to The Imperial, Sophia saw a woman standing by the gates. Isn¡¯t that Irene who pestered Joel yesterday? At that moment, Sophia suddenly recalled that she had seen Irene at themunity gates before. Back then, Sarah had told her that Irene was a rat poison seller. Their car stopped at the gates and the guards verified their identities. As soon as Michael¡¯s car stopped, Irene suddenly rushed over and stood in front of his car. ¡°Mikey, I know that you¡¯ll always be by my side! I know it¡ª¡± It had been two years since Irene¡¯s return, so she naturally knew Michael was still alive. For the past two years, she asionally wandered around The Imperial but she never managed to bump into Michael. When she found out that Michael had returned to the Fletcher residence yesterday, she had been waiting for an opportunity and finally managed to meet him at the gates of hismunity. She saw the car drive out of the militarypound so she knew it was Michael¡¯s car. ¡°Mikey,e out. Talk to me, please.¡± Irene banged the door pitifully but the tinted windows never rolled down. Michael, who was inside the car, did not respond either. In the car behind Michael¡¯s, Sophia rolled down the window and saw Irene hitting the car over and over, refusing to leave. Before this, Sophia felt a little sympathy for Irene but at that moment, she didn¡¯t pity her at all. A person¡¯s pitiful situation can always be attributed to her own fault. She harrasses two men at the same time. After she was done pestering Joel, she came to pester Michael. Is she trying to open a harem? With her current identity, she can live a glorious life. Why is she obsessed with the men of the Fletcher family? The car was parked there for a long time and couldn¡¯t move as Irene was standing in front of the car. It seemed as if her attitude was that if Michael didn¡¯t get out of the car to speak with her, she would m her head against the head of the car and die. The guards, on the other hand, didn¡¯t dare to stop her and this situation went on and on. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. In the end, Michael¡¯s car door finally opened. However, it was not a person who stepped out but a three- headed dog from hell. Judge and his puppies rushed out with a growl, like hungry wolves that were set free. Upon seeing that, Irene was so afraid that she turned pale and immediately ran away. Michael took the opportunity and drove into the residential area. Later, the guards caught the dogs and Irene was so scared that she left. Sophia looked in the direction Irene was running away and sighed. I¡¯m sure Michael can¡¯t deal with Irene right now. He doesn¡¯t owe her anything. Back then, Irene pretended to have amnesia and broke up with him when he needed someone tofort him most. When she lied about me pushing her, Michael let her go too. From how Michael introduced Irene, she grew up with the Fletcher family and saw the amount of power and influence the Fletcher family has so she probably can¡¯t wait to marry one of them to be a real family member of the Fletcher family. Come to think of it, Irene and Sandra are the same kind of people. They pay too much attention to the family genealogy record book. After Sophia returned home, she contacted Maddie often. After all, Pourl¡¯s new year conference needed a lot of coverage from the media industry. The newspaper Maddie was working for was also a very influential print media in Bayside City and it was one of the media that Sophia had to keep contact with. When Maddie heard that Michael was making aeback, she was even more excited and looked forward to having an exclusive interview with him. Michael had also promised to let her conduct his comeback interview. After making an appointment, Maddie was thrilled as she went to Michael¡¯s house for the interview. Sophia took the opportunity and went to Vi No. 8 to meet Maddie and discuss the time of the publication, hoping to gain more publicity before Pourl¡¯s conference. Then, Sophia suggested putting an advertisement in their magazine, effectively using Michael¡¯s poprity to Pourl¡¯s advantage. After Maddie finished interviewing Michael, she returned to her office happily and Sophia followed her to discuss matters about the advertisement. Maddie worked at arge newspaper which published a series of fashion magazines and it was one of the influential print media in Bayside City. Sophia had seen their job postings before so she knew that their interns were elite students from the best universities in Bayside City. However, Maddie was not from Bayside City and didn¡¯t have great academic qualifications so it was hard for her to work in this newspaper. Chapter 814 Chapter 814 The members of the Fletcher family always kept a low profile in public. For instance, Stanley was already the president of a listed gamingpany, but he stayed low-key and never revealed his family background. And even though Maddie was married to the man who was once the youngest major general of Cethos, she never mentioned a word about it to the public; she preferred to just be known as an intern at the newspaperpany. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for girls from other ces to find a job in Bayside City now. I risked my life to write a few reports about the earthquake that attracted attention. Because of this experience, the editor-in-chief agreed to give me an internship. Moreover, I¡¯ve already given birth to a child so they don¡¯t have to worry that I¡¯ll take maternity leave and waste the position. Because of these two reasons, I managed to defeat the elite students whopeted at the same time.¡± Maddie was a very talkative person. While leading Sophia to her office, she chatted endlessly. Before this, Sophia always thought that Maddie got the job because of Joel¡¯s connections! Maddie¡¯s desk was tucked away in a corner of the spacious office. It was a small desk and it was filled with materials. As Maddie talked about her desk, she looked really proud. ¡°My seat is the best in the company. The pantry is on the left and the printing room is on the right, so it¡¯s really convenient. Take a seat, the editor-in-chief is still in a meeting. Wait for a moment while I bring you a cup of coffee. It¡¯s freshly ground coffee with the coffee beans I secretly brought from home.¡± With a smile, Sophia replied, ¡°Go ahead and do your work. I¡¯ll go meet the editor-in-chief myselfter.¡± After sitting in the office for a few minutes, Sophia found out why Maddie¡¯s desk was right between the pantry and the printing room. Maddie had just sat down for a few minutes and switched on herputer, but before she could click on a file, the office was filled with voices calling her name. ¡°Maddie, get me a cup of coffee.¡± ¡°Maddie, the materials I need are already in your mailbox. Please help me print them.¡± ¡°Maddie, I¡¯ve sent my materials to the printer. Once they are printed, send it over.¡± ¡­ ¡°This seat is not only close to the pantry and the printing room, but it¡¯s also close to the washroom. It¡¯s considered to be the best seat in the whole office!¡± Maddie was so content and optimistic that Sophia was speechless. She was a girl from another state with low academic qualifications and didn¡¯t have any powerful background. Because of luck, she was unhurt in the earthquake while other local reporters who were at the scene were either dead or injured. Reporters from other states were not allowed to enter the disaster area, so Maddie had exclusive coverage which she showed to the editor-in-chief. Because of this, she got to enter apany with elites with great academic backgrounds. Naturally, Maddie would be under pressure. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. She hadn¡¯t stopped since she entered her office. Wearing a pair of canvas shoes and a shirt, Maddie carried a cup of coffee and a stack of materials as she hurriedly shuttled among a group of well-dressed employees. After she finally finished delivering the coffee and materials, an old woman with sses came over and fiercely threw a pile of materials on her table. Then, she asked rudely, ¡°Maddie, have you prepared the materials that I asked for this morning?¡± Hearing this, Maddie hit her head and replied, ¡°Oops! Sorry Miss Buckley, I forgot. I¡¯ll do it right now.¡± Miss Buckley muttered in dissatisfaction, ¡°Hicks are hicks. People like you are not ambitious and do nothing in the office. Azy person like you will never be a permanent employee even if they gave you a lifetime to prove yourself.¡± Maddie was scolded so fiercely that she didn¡¯t dare to say a word. After Miss Buckley left, Maddie immediately turned on herputer and started working. Ever since she came back to the office, she had been running around the pantry and printing room so she didn¡¯t have time to prepare the materials. Seeing her being oppressed, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Why do you choose to suffer? Ask Joel to use his connections and he¡¯ll help you find an easier job. Joel is in charge of the military training in Bayside University so no graduate from Bayside University would dare to disrespect him! He¡¯ll be able to find you an easy job effortlessly.¡± Unexpectedly, Maddie was unbothered. ¡°Suffer? I¡¯m not suffering! Look at how good my life is. There is no mortgage pressure and there¡¯s someone taking care of my child. I don¡¯t have any pressure at all. My life is great!¡± Compared to the other country girls who lived in basements and struggled with unemployment, Maddie was considered a very lucky girl. She was married to a man from a powerful family who could protect her and she didn¡¯t have any mortgage or car loan to worry about. Moreover, there was someone who took care of her child so she had no worries at all. All she had to do was to work hard. It would be perfect if I can be a permanent employee with a good sry and get a foothold in the workce. Sophia could see content on Maddie¡¯s face. This was the greatest difference between her and Irene. Irene would never be satisfied with what she had and she was extremely greedy and ambitious. Meanwhile, Maddie was already really happy with what she had. Even though she was bullied and suppressed by a group of colleagues, she was still very happy and carefree. She really is a silly girl¡­ While working on the documents, Maddie said, ¡°I¡¯m already having a really happy life right now. I don¡¯t have to worry about my child at all and I¡¯m only earning some money for myself. Back then, I almost died in the disaster area but Joel flew down from the sky, lifted the prefabricated te and fished me out of the rubble. Being married to him is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me!¡± Looking at Maddie¡¯s blushing cheeks, Sophia thought that she looked like a little girl in love and couldn¡¯t help but tease her. However, before she spoke, Maddie¡¯s colleague who was sitting nearby already started giving bitter remarks. ¡°Why are you so happy to be married to a paratrooper?! Can¡¯t you be a little more ambitious?!¡± Maddie shrugged helplessly and muttered to herself, ¡°To be able to marry Joel brings me great happiness. I want nothing else.¡± Sophia shook her head and smiled. I heard Joel is already promoted to lieutenant general¡­ The colleague closest to Maddie suddenly remembered something and asked loudly, ¡°Maddie, you went out this morning. Didn¡¯t you say that you were going to do an ¡®earth-shattering interview¡¯ in the Messenger group? How did it go?¡± Speaking of the ¡®earth-shattering interview¡¯, Maddie was filled with confidence and replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve promised the editor-in-chief that if it¡¯s not earth-shattering, I¡¯ll leave thepany.¡± Everyone in the officeughed, but theirughter was filled with ridicule. What kind of a big shot can Maddie, a shabby girl from the countryside, interview? An earth-shattering interview? What a joke! Everyone naturally didn¡¯t believe her and was sure that she would be kicked out by thepany tomorrow. While they were chatting, Miss Buckley who was talking to Maddie a while ago came over. ¡°Maddie, the editor-in-chief is looking for you.¡± Maddie thought that the editor-in-chief had finished his meeting so she said ¡°Sophia, I think the editor-in- chief is done with his meeting. Come, I¡¯ll introduce you to him.¡± Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly grabbed her bag and followed her. She thought to herself, I should give Maddie a hand because she¡¯s really hard working. She stayed calm during the earthquake, has written many reports and taken many photos, some of which she won awards for. Her work ability and resume makes itpletely eligible for her to be a permanent employee. However, she is looked down upon because of her education background. I came here to put an advertisement in the paper and I¡¯m the client. I can probably give them a little extra money and give some hints to the editor-in-chief to secretly make her a permanent employee¡­ Unexpectedly, Sophia met a person that she really did not want to meet. Chapter 815 Chapter 815 This time, not only did Maddie find a customer, she even wrote an exclusive interview with Michael. The exclusive interview will definitely be a hit. Even if I don¡¯t prompt the editor-in-chief, he¡¯ll probably promote me. Maddie had not told the editor-in-chief who she was interviewing because she was cautious and didn¡¯t want to brag. It was only after she finished the interview and got the recording and video did she gave some hints in the Messenger group. At that moment, she was about to show the exclusive interview to the editor-in-chief and discuss next week¡¯s headlines. It was hard for print media to survive in the inte era, and the reach of newspapers were not as wide as they used to be. With this interview, Maddie was sure that it would push up sales of printed publication. She strided down the hall happily in her canvas shoes. When they arrived, the door of the editor-in- chief¡¯s office was open and the editor-in-chief was standing at the doorway. He was a middle-aged man and he had a serious expression. When Maddie saw him, she said, ¡°Chief, I have an earth-shattering interview¡­¡± This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Maddie, pack up your stuff and go to the finance department to get your sry. You don¡¯t have toe tomorrow!¡± The editor-in-chief spoke and mercilessly fired Maddie. At that instant, Maddie¡¯s excited footsteps immediately came to a stop. She stood there, stunned, and it took her a few seconds toe back to her senses. In a trembling voice, she asked, ¡°Why? Chief, I really have an earth-shattering interview. Please look at it first. If it doesn¡¯t surprise you, I¡¯ll leave.¡± The editor-in-chief didn¡¯t give her an opportunity to exin. ¡°There¡¯s no need to discuss anything. Leave! Thepany doesn¡¯t need your services anymore!¡± Maddie waspletely dumbfounded. In the morning, she had happily interviewed Michael and was about to see the results soon. She obviously didn¡¯t expect this to be the result. At that moment, Maddie asked herself whether she had been working hard conscientiously over the past few months she was in thepany. However, everyone else in the office didn¡¯t seem to be surprised at all. They knew that it was only a matter of time before Maddie got fired. What is the use of an earth-shattering interview? Sophia also wanted to ask why they dismissed Maddie. After all, she was a diligent employee. Then, she saw a woman who was beautifully dressed in white walking out of the editor-in-chief¡¯s office. The woman was wearing a limited edition one-piece dress from thetest collection of a luxury brand. She looked elegant and exquisite, as if she had a halo over her head. ¡°Maddie, don¡¯t you have any idea why you¡¯re fired?¡± As soon as the woman opened her mouth, her sweet oriole-like voice traveled into the ears of everyone in the office. The people who worked in thepany were reporters so as soon as they heard the woman¡¯s voice, they knew that something was going on. Their ears perked up and they looked over. Everyone saw the woman who came out from the editor-in-chief¡¯s office. Her temperament was remarkable and she seemed to be a little old, but she still looked very beautiful and charming. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Irene Weber?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right! Do you know that she¡¯s really famous right now? It took a lot of effort for ourpany to invite her for an interview!¡± ¡°Tsk! She doesn¡¯t seem to be on good terms with Maddie!¡± Full of arrogance, Irene walked over to Maddie aggressively. Then, she raised her voice and yelled, ¡°Weren¡¯t you powerful enough to steal my man? Why are you pretending to be weak and innocent? I told you, it doesn¡¯t matter that you¡¯ve tricked Joel and gave him a son. Do you think you¡¯re worthy of him? You¡¯re just a mistress!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, there were whispers around the office. I didn¡¯t expect Maddie, who usually looks so honest, to be a mistress! Once they heard that she was a mistress, they started specting about the reason she was able to join the newspaper. Maybe she¡¯s secretly sleeping with the editor-in-chief. Back then, it was the editor-in-chief who made an exception and allowed her to be an intern. Tsk, tsk! You really can¡¯t judge a book by it¡¯s cover! Listening to everyone¡¯s whispers, Maddie burst into tears. ¡°I¡¯m not a mistress! I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a mistress?¡± Irene¡¯s cruel words were like knives to Maddie¡¯s heart. ¡°Do you dare to tell everyone how you got close to Joel and married him? Who do you think you are? Do you know how powerful Joel is? Do you? If it weren¡¯t for your methods, Joel would never have fallen for you!¡± Maddie was not good at quarelling with others. She was the kind of person who cried when being shouted at, which imperceptibly made her look weak. Seeing that Maddie wasn¡¯t speaking, Irene yelled loudly in front of all of her colleagues. ¡°My fianc¨¦ and I have known each other for many years and we were about to get married. Unexpectedly, while my fianc¨¦ was on a mission in the frontlines, this mistress tried to get close to him and did everything she could to sleep with him. Then, she got pregnant with his child and used it as an excuse to force him to marry her! If you¡¯re not considered a mistress, what kind of person would be considered a mistress?!¡± As Irene spoke, tears started rolling down her cheeks. It was as if she had been bravely trying to hold back her tears but failed, and they soaked her face. She looked like a pitiful woman who was abandoned by her fianc¨¦. The crowd started whispering and pointing fingers. However, Maddie couldn¡¯t say anything. She was so panicked that she couldn¡¯t even speak clearly, let alone quarrel with someone. Maddie is no match for Irene¡­ At this critical moment, Sophia decided to fight back. She calmly walked out from behind Maddie. ring at the aggressive Irene, she coldly said, ¡°Hey! Miss Weber, may I ask who your fianc¨¦ is? Three years ago, didn¡¯t you say that you would only marry Taylor Murray? So¡­ is Taylor your fianc¨¦ ? If so, who is Joel? How many men are you nning to marry?¡± When these words came out, everyone was dumbfounded and suddenly remembered the news about Irene three years ago. At that time, she did a lot of stupid things to get Taylor back and forced Taylor, the idol who never talked about personal rtionships, to personally exin it to the media. Until this day, some people were still talking about it. Although everybody forgot about it, once somebody mentioned it, they immediately remembered the past clearly. At that time, Irene really embarrassed herself a lot. If Irene had a fianc¨¦ that she had known for many years that was stolen away by Maddie, why did she chase after Taylor? Before Irene and the others could react, Sophia spoke in the same aggressive tone Irene used a while ago. She approached Irene step by step and mercilessly said, ¡°Maddie has been married for almost three years, and you were chasing after Taylor around two years ago. Are you telling me that in just a year, you managed to get a fianc¨¦ who you¡¯ve ¡®dated for many years¡¯ who was pried away by Maddie? Or do you have a fianc¨¦ who you¡¯ve been dating for many years but you secretly pursued Taylor behind his back?¡± This seemed to make sense to everyone. Perhaps Irene and her fianc¨¦ had a fight back then, so she pursued Taylor but failed. She was really embarrassed about it so she went abroad, and when she came back, she saw that her fianc¨¦ had already married a woman who was inferior to her. She couldn¡¯t figure out why, so she came here to trouble Maddie. Gee¡­ Chapter 816 Chapter 816 Irene¡¯s idol image waspletely ruined. When Sophia appeared, Irene was instantly vignt. This woman wearing a mask gave her a great sense of familiarity and danger, but she couldn¡¯t recognize her. She looks like a foreigner. ¡°Who are you? This is between Maddie and me and it has nothing to do with you!¡± Irene said rudely. Sophia straightforwardly replied, ¡°Since it is between you and Maddie, what does it have to do with the editor-in-chief and the newspaper? A mistress like you is allowed to use someone else¡¯s job to threaten them, so why am I, the rtive of thewful wife, not allowed to say something?¡± Without waiting for Irene¡¯s response, Sophia continued, ¡°By the way, go and ask your fianc¨¦ whether the name he entered in the spouse column of his household registration book is yours or Maddie¡¯s! Oh wait! I forgot that you went to his house and caused trouble two days ago and was kicked out. Even if you went over to find him now, he won¡¯t let you in! Have you forgotten your dear fianc¨¦¡¯s warning?! It seems that you still haven¡¯t learned your lesson. Do you have to exhaust thest bit of kindness he has and force him to tear your life apart in person? Will you only feel relieved after you get sent abroad again?¡± Sophia¡¯s words were like barrel-fire that hit the key points. She had brought up the past and the present and every word was a direct attack to Irene¡¯s weak points. After Irene heard this, she turnedpletely pale and couldn¡¯t find the words to refute her. N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner. Meanwhile, the reporters at the scene suddenly recalled the fight between Irene and Taylor three years ago. At that time, Taylor constantly left room for her to back out but she didn¡¯t retreat. Instead, she continued to push Taylor¡¯s limits and caused trouble again and again. In the end, Taylor had to personally tear his ex-girlfriend¡¯s life apart. Tsk, tsk. It seems that even though years have passed, Irene still hasn¡¯t changed and she¡¯s doing the same thing again. Reporters could always find the important points of an incident so they naturally found many important points in Sophia¡¯s words. Then, they started to specte the identity of Irene¡¯s fianc¨¦. Everybody knew about Irene¡¯s background, so her fianc¨¦ must be a good match for her and have great wealth¡­ They didn¡¯t dare to specte any further. Irene took a few steps forward angrily, as if she was about to hit someone. However, before she even got close, two blond bodyguards appeared from behind Sophia and blocked Irene¡¯s way. Looking at the foreign woman in front of her, Irene asked again, ¡°Who are you?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Scarlett Mitchell and I¡¯m the new person in charge of Pourl.¡± When everyone heard Scarlett¡¯s name and Pourl, they naturally knew who she was. Not long ago, Pourl fought with theirpetitor, King, so fiercely, King was forced to close down. The newspaper was still tracking and doing follow-up reports. I didn¡¯t expect this woman to be the person in charge of Pourl who vigorously demolished her competitor¡¯s new productunch, which is the first in history! No wonder she has such a domineering aura. Irene did not expect Maddie to have such a powerful rtive, but she had her own connections too. She ignored Sophia and Maddie and directly spoke to the editor-in-chief. ¡°Mr. Frazier, I¡¯ll leave it to you. As long as this woman is in yourpany, I will never ept your interview!¡± Mr. Frazier was in a sticky situation. Even though he liked that Maddie was hard working and enthusiastic, Irene was more powerful. Furthermore, the newspaper had been in a slump for a long time and they needed an explosive interview. ¡°Mr. Frazier,¡± Sophia said in a soft voice, ¡°Maddie just interviewed a big shot. Take a look at her interview before you decide whether you want to have an exclusive interview with Miss Weber or not.¡± At the same time, she turned around and said to Maddie, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared and show your interview to the editor.¡± Hearing this, Maddie wiped away her tears, braced herself and handed Mr. Frazier the documents in her hands. Mr. Frazier nced at it, then flipped through two pages in disbelief. He was bbergasted and asked Maddie, ¡°Is this genuine?¡± At that moment, Maddie¡¯s cowardice was gone and she confidently nodded. ¡°Yes, it is. I went out this morning to interview him! I also have videos and our entire conversation was recorded with the camcorder. I¡¯ve already emailed all of it to you.¡± Mr. Frazier was overjoyed and he patted Maddie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°This really is earth-shattering news! Deputy chief editor, editors, and every department head,e to my office for a meeting in ten minutes! No one is allowed to miss it! Maddie, you have toe too! Someone please escort Miss Weber out of here! We really have earth-shattering news this time!¡± ¡­ Everyone looked at each other in confusion. However, the editor-in-chief had spoken so they had to follow his instructions. In an instant, the whole office was a mess. In the past, Maddie wasn¡¯t invited to official staff meetings but this time, she was called in for the first time. Everyone started getting busy, except Sophia and Irene. Amongst the chaos, the two of them stood opposite each other, having a staredown. In the end, Irene was so furious, she turned around and left, full of hate for this woman called Scarlett. Sophia chuckled and found a seat, waiting for them to finish their meeting so that she could discuss her advertisement cement. It seemed like Maddie¡¯s ¡®earth-shattering news¡¯ had gotten the whole office excited. Later, a man from another department came to serve Sophia. Maddie had a shocking exclusive interview this time so she instantly became a permanent employee and was even promoted two levels. Happily, she invited Sophia out for seafood. Sophia invited Sarah and the two of them brought their children over. Maddie had interviewed Stanley in hispany before, so she knew Sarah. They reached the cafe one after another and got seated. They were a group of threedies with three babies, who were the sweet and cute Carmen, the cold Drew and Sour Face. The three babies yed at the side and there were nannies watching over them. It was a special day so they had chosen a private room to specially amodate them. Downstairs was a square at the end of one of themercial streets in Bayside City center. Through the ss windows, they could see therge screen in therge square that was ying advertisements. It was the weekend so there was a crowd and the square was extremely lively. This was one of the most crowded squares in Bayside City, so it was really expensive to ce an advertisement here. Hence, the advertisements were mostly from international brands. ¡°Hey, look at this. I got the samples and the magazines will be shipped out all over the city this afternoon!¡± Maddie pulled out the magazine samples excitedly and handed a copy each to Sophia and Sarah. The man on the cover was Michael, also known as Taylor Murray, and below him was the title, ¡®A Phoenix Rises From the Ashes¡¯. Chapter 817 Chapter 817 Michael¡¯s picture on the cover was extremely handsome. He looked more mature and wiser than he used to be, and his eyes were filled with vicissitudes of life. It was as if he could see through you, and it was easy to lose yourself in those charming eyes. His exclusive interview upied several pages and it included what he had been doing after his retirement and an apology to his fans. Michael¡¯s words were printed in the magazine: ¡®Three years ago, a catastrophic disaster caused me to lose everything. In despair, I chose to retire. Three yearster, I found hope again so I chose to make a comeback because the one who likes me is always here.¡¯ The sentence ¡®the one who likes me¡¯ seemed to refer to the fans who had been missing him. However, Sophia had a feeling that Michael was referring to her. Sophia learned a lot about the details of the ident that happened three years ago. At that time, in order to hold Michael back, Quinton deliberately revealed Michael¡¯s position in the shopping mall and caused his crazy fans to surround him. Michael was stuck in the stairwell and had to watch Sophia being taken away by Quinton. Then, a killer who was lurking among the fanatics cut Michael with a knifeced with poison. Michael wouldn¡¯t have survived if it weren¡¯t for his good health and was rushed to the hospital in time. Until now, everytime the anniversary of the ident came round, arge number of fans would miss him more than usual and med themselves for their recklessness. If Michael had quit the entertainment industry because of this, it was reasonable and fans would forgive him. Sophia was looking at the magazine when Carmen¡¯s head poked out from under her arm and she asked urgently, ¡°Is my name in there? Did daddy mention me?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°The main focus of this issue is your daddy so your name is not in here, but you¡¯ll be in them next time.¡± Carmen was a little disappointed. All of a sudden, Sarah said, ¡°Hey, it¡¯s time! Hurry up and take out the telescope!¡± Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly put down the magazine in her hands and pulled out the telescope. Then, she turned to look at the big screen in the distance. In fact, they could see everything clearly without any tools but she didn¡¯t want to miss a single detail. The three children also leaned on the ss window and watched. At twelve on a Sunday afternoon, the big screen, on which would cost tens of thousands to ce a one- minute advertisement, suddenly turned ck. A few secondster, a cloud of mes rolled across the screen. It was a brand new advertisement that no one had ever seen before, and many people in the square stopped to watch. The cloud of mes rolled and gradually formed a phoenix rising from the ashes. It hovered in the sky for a while and with a clear cry, it dived to the ground into a ball of mes again. Then, a man slowly walked out of the zing fire. Sparks of fire on the slender figure slowly dissipated. The man wore business clothing from L/K¡¯s new summer collection, and he looked handsome and casual as he slowly stepped forward. The man¡¯s face gradually got clearer and his youthful look gradually faded away. He still had a handsome appearance but he looked more solemn due to the challenges he had experienced in life. However, there were a few things that stayed the same¡ªhis resolute gaze and the elegance that was in his bones. At that moment, it was as if Taylor Murray was making an announcement to the world. I¡¯m back. Many people could be seen in the square. Even after the advertisement ended, they were still staring at the big screen. Taylor Murray was a man whose name was often associated with the word ¡®regret¡¯. He was the first actor in Cethos who won the Academy Award, the man who appeared in most of the greatest movies of Cethos, and the man who died three years ago for a well-known reason. Many fans cried in despair and many filmmakers cried in regret over his death. Even though he had been gone for three years, nobody could break the box office record set by his film. He represented an era and he was a myth. But now, the man had silently made a return without any warning. It was as if Imperial Entertainment, L/K, and several media outlets seemed to have made an agreement in advance. While the advertisement was ying, all of them announced the news of Taylor¡¯s return. Furthermore, the movie that he didn¡¯t finish filming three years ago was officially named ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯, and it was scheduled to be released simultaneously worldwide. The citizens of Cethos and the whole world were shocked! It turned out that he was not dead. Many fans in the square instantly burst into tears when they found out about Taylor¡¯s return. After Sophia finished watching the advertisement, tears welled up in her eyes too. He is so perfect. It¡¯s like he was born to be admired. After they watched the advertisement, everyone wanted more. They turned on their phones and saw that the advertisement had been posted on the Inte so they watched it again. After watching it, Maddie rested her chin on her hand and she looked obsessed. ¡°Miss Taylor is amazing! To be honest with you, I grew up watching his movies!¡± ¡­ Why does it feel strange to hear this sentence? Sophia frowned and felt that this sentence was a little inappropriate. Then, Maddie asked, ¡°Miss Taylor is not short of money. Why do you think he¡¯s making aeback to the industry?¡± Before Sarah could answer, Carmen, who was in Sophia¡¯s arms, jumped and said, ¡°My daddy said that if he doesn¡¯t continue to make movies, mommy will have nothing to watch anymore!¡± Sophia blushed and said, ¡°Nonsense. The reason your daddy made aeback is to earn your kindergarten tuition fee!¡± However, everybody knew the real reason. Taylor returned to film because she had returned! They wereughing and chatting happily when Sophia¡¯s phone suddenly rang. It was a call from Michael. As soon as the call was connected, Michael¡¯s raspy and sexy voice could be heard. ¡°Have you seen my advertisement and exclusive interview? What do you think?¡± This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. The corners of Sophia¡¯s lips curled upward unconsciously and turned into a sweet smile. She was in a really good mood. Holding the phone in one hand, she poked the matcha cake in front of her with a fork with the other. ¡°What do you think? It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been on screen so I¡¯m a little rusty. Did I do well?¡± Sophia smiled and replied, ¡°Well¡­ from a fan¡¯s perspective, you did pretty good. Keep up the good work.¡± ¡°By the way, the time for Carmen to meet the crew has been set. They arranged a few scenes for her for ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯, and the filming process will be finished in two days. Let her try some shots and I will guide her personally¡­¡± After finishing the seafood lunch that Maddie paid for, Sophia and Sarah went home together with their children. Not long after Sophia returned home, showered, changed and went downstairs to prepare for dinner, Michael came. He was wearing a white shirt that was clean and crisp and it made him look really young. Youth wasn¡¯t defined by the skin on your face, but by the youthful feeling that came from the bones. For Michael, he was youthful inside out. He was holding the script and talking to Cooper about Carmen¡¯s scenes. ¡°Carmen will only have a few shots. The first scene will be set in ancient times. Carmen will be acting as a civilian child living in the capital of one of the dynasties. She sees the enemy breaking into the city but is still too young to understand what is going on. Her innocence will be a contrast to the enemy¡¯s guns and cannons. The second scene will be set in a modern museum. An actress will carry Carmen to the museum to see the ¡®Imperial seal¡¯ and tell its story to her, which symbolizes that the future generations will remember this period of history.¡± ¡­ While Cooper was reading the script, Michael winked at Sophia and Sophia winked back at him. It was as if they were secretly dating¡­ Chapter 818 Chapter 818 After they finished reading the script, Carmen said, ¡°Daddy,e join us for dinner.¡± As soon as Cooper heard this, he was upset. However, before he said anything, Carmen put on an innocent look and said, ¡°I want to eat dinner with daddy.¡± Michael grabbed the chance and pulled Carmen into his arms as he dotingly replied, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll eat dinner with you.¡± After dinner, Michael went home but before he left, he gestured to Sophia to yputer gamester. After Carmen went to bed early to get her beauty sleep, Sophia grabbed herptop and headed to the study. Then, she logged into ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ was extremely lively that day because the number of yers online was two to three times more than usual. Naturally, it was because of Taylor¡¯seback. It was only then that they realized that it really was Taylor behind Scary Phoenix all along! As soon as Sophia logged on, she saw Taylor¡¯s name everywhere. It was obvious that his fans were really happy and excited for his new movie. In just a day, the news of Taylor¡¯seback seemed to have spread throughout the world, and even people who weren¡¯t movie buffs knew about it. Because the news of Taylor¡¯s endorsement of L/K and the scheduled release of ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ was announced one after another today, not only did it make the stocks of L/K and ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ go up, even the stocks of the gamingpany that owned the ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯ and Stanley¡¯s Plum Technology soared. As for the magazine issue that was published by Maddie¡¯spany, it was sold out in half a day. Everyone weed Taylor¡¯s return happily and nobody brought up his fake death. After Sophia logged into the game, it was filled with fans calling out to Scary Phoenix. Amidst their calls, Scary Phoenix appeared and swept across the sky like a rainbow, shocking thousands of fans and gamers. When Sophia arrived at their usual gathering point, she realized everyone else had also arrived. Naturally, Stanley and Sean were there. Sarah and Harry were also present. Cooper, Linus, and Sophia¡¯s family of three had also arrived, and so had Michael and Nathan. With Cooper there, nobody dared to speak except Michael. ¡°Wow, father-inw, good evening.¡± From the beginning till the end, Cooper didn¡¯t say anything. Everyone teamed up, entered the game, and yed inplete silence. However, they were sending voice messages in the Messenger group. ¡°Oh my god, Grandmaster is so awesome. I want to follow him everywhere. I don¡¯t care! Grandmaster is mine!¡± Stanley had changed from being his uncle¡¯s die hard fan to being Cooper¡¯s die hard fan. ¡°Sophia, your father is amazing, so why are you so bad at this? If only you were half as good as your father!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t say anything. She just stayed behind Cooper and easily passed through each challenge. Meanwhile, Michael fought side by side with Cooper the whole time. However, Cooper would never have thought that at that moment, Michael and Sophia were talking on the phone. He kept an eye on Sophia online and offline all the time, and he even eavesdropped whenever they called each other. It was almost impossible for Michael to spend time alone with Sophia. Even if he lured Cooper away, there were bodyguards watching them. Which was why ying games was a great opportunity. In Michael¡¯s study, Michael had connected Nichs to hisputer. At that moment, Nichs was killing monsters with Michael¡¯s gaming ount while Michael was lying at the side and talking to Sophia on the phone. It was the only time Cooper wouldn¡¯te to bother them. After all, calling Sophia under his nose was the safest solution. Holding the phone, Michael got up, pulled open the curtains, and looked at Vi No.2. He could see that the lights in Sophia¡¯s study were on, and the soft light reflected in his eyes that were full of tenderness. ¡°Sophia, I don¡¯t want to pressure you. You just need to follow your heart and slowly ept everything¡­¡± Michael¡¯s voice was like sweet spring water that flowed into Sophia¡¯s heart and filled her soul. She was wearing headphones to talk with him on the phone while she yed the game. ¡°Actually¡­ You¡¯re a nice guy and you¡¯re honest, and you fit the image of a perfect partner in my mind. But¡­ even though I can quickly ept the fact that I have a child, I really need time to ept a husband. The marriage of two people is not a simple thing.¡± Michael knew this so he never pushed her. ¡°Let¡¯s just go with the flow¡­¡± He suddenly thought of the eminent monk they met on Dragon Mountain. He had perfectly predicted what would happen to them and guided Michael to his future. A destined debt must always be paid. A destined departure will alwayse. Everything is fate. Let nature take its course. What belongs to you will be yours and no one else can take it away from you! All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°You should go to bed early. I¡¯ll be pretty busy for the next two days so you¡¯ll have to take care of Carmen. I will make time to guide Carmen after lunch tomorrow.¡± ¡­ The next day, Michael came over in the afternoon and spent the whole afternoon teaching Carmen. Carmen studied hard. She was young and never received any official training, so she was a little obtuse. After all, she learned everything from watching television. In the past, when Michael was at home, he would sing a little when he was in a good mood. Carmen would follow closely behind him and tried to sing like him, and she was pretty good at it. Michael patiently taught her how to look at the camera, how to move around and how to angle herself, and she listened attentively. After a few days of training, Carmen felt really confident and felt that she could make her debut. She started packing her bags for her trip to the set. The night before the departure, the nanny packed up everything Carmen needed for her trip to the set. Even though she only had two scenes that were added in at thest minute, in the spirit of striving for perfection, they had to go to the film studio for the shoot, so there were a lot of things she needed. Aside from shooting, she nned to have some fun. She was about to meet a panda that she had been thinking about for a long time, so she would be gone for about four days. Sophia naturally had to join Carmen¡¯s first filming. Cooper was worried too and insisted on going to the studio personally. Michael also needed to guide her on site. After Sophia packed up the daily necessities for Carmen, she turned around and saw Carmen carefully braiding the dogs¡¯ fur. The heads of the shaggy Samoyed and Teddy were filled with braids, and even the short-haired huskies had small sections of braids. Poor Judge. His head is filled with braids and there are even two small red flowers on his ears. Sophia pulled out her phone and took a picture of Judge¡¯s silly appearance. After that, she took pictures of her cute daughter. While taking pictures, she asked, ¡°Carmen, why did you braid the dogs¡¯ fur?¡± Carmen was so busy, she didn¡¯t even have the time to look up. ¡°I¡¯m about to leave so I can¡¯t braid the doggies anymore. I want to braid as much as I can tonight.¡± Hearing this, Sophia frowned. What kind of logic is this? How can I understand a two-year-old¡¯s logic? Perhaps she thinks that braiding the dogs, her father and her grandfather¡¯s hair is good for the body and mind? Now that she¡¯s leaving, is she trying to enjoy all the fun in one night? However, Carmen immediately added, ¡°Once I leave, nobody will braid the doggies anymore. They will be sad.¡± On the contrary, they get sad when someone¡¯s braiding their fur! Chapter 819 Chapter 819 It was really cute to see a little girl sitting among the big dogs. The dogs at home were always given baths. Other than making sure there weren¡¯t any insects and mites on them, Carmen needed to wash her hands whenever she was done ying with them. Carmen then brought out a pile of clothes to put on the dogs because she was afraid that the dogs would have no clothes to wear after she left, while Sophia recorded a video of her to show her in the future. Perhaps braiding was a physical activity that wasted a lot of energy. After ying happily for a while, she started dozing off. Sitting on the ground, her tiny head bobbed for a while before she leaned against one of the dogs and fell asleep. Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh. Then, she put down her phone and washed Carmen¡¯s hands and face before she ced her on the bed. Later, Sophiay on the bed and scrolled on her phone, taking the time to post Judge¡¯s silly picture onto the twitter ount made for him. She also posted a series of professional shots of Judge wearing Pourl products to create buzz for Pourl¡¯s new productunch. Even though Judge usually looked silly, his photos from the studio looked great. After all, they were shot in a professional studio with good lighting, and they were heavily edited¡­ Early next morning, Carmen woke up at dawn. She jumped out of bed, went to find her mother and pestered her to bring her to the studio. Michael came over early to pick her up and also joined them for breakfast. After breakfast, the whole family got in the car and drove to the airport outside the city. Later, they took Michael¡¯s ne to the film studio outside the city. They were afraid that Carmen might feel lonely without a dog by her side, so they brought Bubbles with them. After they got off the ne, Sophia felt drowsy but Carmen was extremely energetic. Carrying her small doggy backpack, she walked around excitedly. Even though Michael really loved Carmen, he didn¡¯t always spoil her. Ever since she was young, he already cultivated her independence and taught her to do everything she could, such as carrying her own bag. ¡°Daddy, where shall we go after we finish filming?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and see pandas!¡± ¡°Yay!¡± Carmen walked happily ahead, her little hand holding onto Michael¡¯s big hand as she chatted with him excitedly. Meanwhile, Sophia yawned and walked behind, holding Bubbles with a leash. Then, she freed one hand to turn on her phone and logged into Judge¡¯s Twitter to check his status. Tsk, tsk. It seems like this dog is getting famous. In the past, Sophia only received at most one thousand replies in one tweet. However, the reshares, comments and likes for the video she posted yesterday were more than 60,000. This dog is even more famous than most humans. However, after she clicked into thement section, she realized that the people seemed to have their attention elsewhere. ¡®Judge still looks handsome even with pigtails!¡¯ ¡®Oh my god! That little girl is so cute! Is her name Carmen?¡¯ ¡®Is that the little owner of Judge and Corrado?¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s so pretty and cute!¡¯All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia clicked on the video and found out that she forgot to cut Carmen out from the video she posted last night. The look of Carmen trying hard to braid the dogs while she slowly dozed off was recorded and her cute appearance immediately attracted a lot of people. She soon made the list of the weekly hot topics, and the poprity of ¡®Cute Girl Braids Dogs¡¯ was only second to ¡®Taylor Murray Faked His Death¡¯. Oh¡­ Many people had sent private messages to ask about Carmen, hoping that they could see more of her photos. There were even many verified agency ounts that asked for her contact number so that they could make Carmen a star. Faced with the huge attention, Sophia felt a little panicked and she hurriedly discussed it with Michael. Michael only found out about the video after getting off the ne. He didn¡¯t expect that his daughter would get famous for saying a few words in a childish tone and braiding the dogs. Moreover, her poprity was still rising and she was about to overtake him. He patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°Just go with the flow. You don¡¯t have to respond to any of the messages.¡± However, Sophia was still at a loss. On one hand, it was inevitable that Carmen would be in the public eye because she wanted to be an actress. On the other hand, she thought that it wasn¡¯t healthy to expose a child to the media at such an early age. They soon arrived at the studio. Because Carmen¡¯s scenes were supplementary shots, there weren¡¯t many other actors, and most of the people on set were staff. Carman ran into the set and greeted each staff member. Before we came, daddy told me that only sweet children are weed and I cannot offend the director. Otherwise, he won¡¯t let me y the role. Furthermore, I can¡¯t offend the makeup artists and the stylists, or else they will make me look ugly. As soon as Carmen entered the set, she greeted every staff member politely and they really liked her. Some people even recognized her as the cute girl from the video that went viral today. Judge was the model for Pourl and the founder of Pourl was Taylor¡¯s wife, Sophia, so naturally, the little girl that lived with Judge was rted to Taylor. They didn¡¯t expect Taylor to have a daughter. Soon, Carmen changed into her costume, put on makeup, and stood in front of the camera confidently, preparing for her first shoot. Her scene today was really simple. The background of the scene was the enemy besieging the city as she stood at the side of the street, watching everything but not understanding what was going on. It was like a scene from Cethos¡¯s past. The gates of the country were sted open by the enemy¡¯s cannon, and at that moment, their dream of being the strongest country in the world shattered in one night. Everyone was at a loss and nobody knew what their future would be. Michael had written the plot for Carmen: More than a hundred years ago in Bayside City, the people lived happily in theirnd, not knowing that a catastrophe was about to happen. On a stage along the streets of Bayside City, an opera singer was singing sonorously while a little girl dressed in in clothes tried to sing along. The public surrounded them and were enjoying the show. All of a sudden, sounds of cannons could be heard and it shocked the city. Realizing that the enemy was besieging the city, the crowd scattered and the singer ran away. However, the little girl didn¡¯t know what was happening so she turned to look at the gates. Among the smoke and fire, she saw that the enemy had entered the city center, but she didn¡¯t know that a massacre was about toe. The opera singer was naturally going to be yed by Michael. In order to help his daughter debut, he went all out. Soon, the opera singer, the extras, and the little girl were in ce. As soon as the director yelled action, everybody started acting their role. The opera singer took a deep breath and started singing. Seeing this, the little girl sang along with the opera singer and did a good job. Carmen¡¯s acting in this scene was great as she had practiced a lot with her father at home. Whenever her father sang, she would sing along, so her performance was perfect. Almost all of the shots passed with one take. She sure is Taylor Murray¡¯s daughter! The director was ecstatic. Her confidence and spirit is amazing. She was born to be in movies! Seeing that the scene was done in one take, the director excitedly yelled cut and watched the rey. ¡°Amazing! It¡¯s perfect!¡± The director was ted and as he watched the rey, he couldn¡¯t help but praise Carmen. Michael carried Carmen over to watch the rey and he was really satisfied with how it turned out. Not bad. If there weren¡¯t so many family businesses for her to inherit, Carmen really can consider an acting career after she turns eighteen. However, with me, her mother, and her grandfather¡¯s fortune, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll have the time to act in movies. Because the shooting of the first scene had gone smoothly, Carmen was really excited. She urged the director to start shooting the second scene before she skipped away to prepare for it. Seeing this, Michael hurriedly went to make preparations for the next scene too. However, Cooper, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly stepped forward and ced his hand on the director¡¯s shoulder. In a cold voice, he said, ¡°For the second scene, get a few more takes.¡± Chapter 820 Chapter 820 This was Cooper¡¯s request. The director didn¡¯t know who he was so he turned to look at Michael. Cooper came with Michael and Michael seems to treat him with great respect¡­ Michael was helpless. It seems that Cooper is very opposed to letting Carmen act in movies. He definitely doesn¡¯t want her to finish acting the second scene so smoothly. Moreover, Carmen needs to experience the hard work that goes into acting in order to make a better choice. Michael had no choice but to agree. ¡°Okay, Mr. Mitchell. Whatever you say.¡± The director immediately started to find faults at the beginning of the second scene. ¡°Cut! The flower dropped! Let¡¯s do this again!¡± ¡°Cut! Your gaze did not express the character¡¯s feelings! Start over!¡± ¡°Where are your emotions? You have to show your emotions! Again!¡± There was a series of cuts the whole morning and the director found fault with almost everything. Everyone on set was tired and listless, and it was not until the crew put out lunch at noon that everyone dispersed and had a rest. Carmen was sad and emotional. She sat on Cooper¡¯sps and buried her head in his chest, not saying a word. Holding her in his arms, Cooper coaxed her. ¡°That¡¯s how acting works. There will always be a lot of retakes. If the shot doesn¡¯t look good, you have to start over again and again. It¡¯s not fun at all. After you finish shooting in the afternoon, let¡¯s go home and you can inherit my farm. It¡¯s full of fluffy sheep and you can have as many of them as you want. Or, you can learn how to build robots from Uncle Linus!¡± Carmen was too sad to speak. She pursed her lips and tears welled up in her eyes, but she held back her tears firmly. Cooper had scared her with words like ¡®that¡¯s how acting works¡¯ and tried to lure her with words like ¡®inherit my farm¡¯ to persuade Carmen to leave. However, Carmen wouldn¡¯t leave. At noon, she even stubbornly ate a big bowl of lunch and braced herself to prepare for the afternoon shoot. Michael and Sophia stood at the side and both of them felt speechless. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. Cooper really doesn¡¯t want Carmen to act in movies! Sophia thought that whether or not Carmen inherited the family business was not important because all she wanted was for her to be happy. If she really likes acting, as her mother, I¡¯ll naturally support her decision. After Carmen finished eating, she drank some water and looked up at her father. Michael looked like Mn today, and he was even going to sing a verse from the movie itself. In order to apany Carmen, he really did everything he could and was willing to be in the background for her. With his female character¡¯s makeup and clothing, Michael looked really beautiful. If he didn¡¯t speak, Sophia wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that he was a man. ¡°Daddy¡­¡± Carmen looked at him innocently. Seeing this, Michael squatted down and his face full of makeup was filled with tenderness as he said, ¡°Darling, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Carmen buried her face in Michael¡¯s arms. Looking shy, she stuttered for a long time before she finally came up with a full sentence. ¡°I want to hear you sing opera¡­¡± This was also the wish of everyone on set! When Michael came out in a dress a moment ago and everyone heard the sound of his heightened voice and saw the way he swayed his body, they didn¡¯t want to shoot the scene anymore. All they wanted to do was watch him sing opera. In order to strive for perfection and for the scene to look realistic, Michael¡¯s makeup was impable, a stage was set up, and they even hired a troupe to act with him. Everything was in ce and all they needed was an opera singer. There was also a glint of hope in Sophia¡¯s eyes. She had watched all of Michael¡¯s movies and two of them had scenes of him singing opera, which was rumored that he sang them himself. He had also sung a little just now, but they were intermittent and not complete. His fans always said that he was born with a great voice. They admired him because not only did he know how to act, but he was also good at singing opera. Sohpia looked at Michael in anticipation. Under everyone¡¯s excited gaze, Michael stretched out his slender figure and poked Carmen¡¯s adorable small cheeks as he softly said, ¡°Okay. If my darling wants to see me sing, I¡¯ll sing! However, once I finish singing, you can¡¯t be sad anymore!¡± Carmen nodded and looked excited. Taylor Murray is about to sing opera! Everyone immediately swarmed over. Because of Michael¡¯s visit, they were under heavy security and fortunately, his whereabouts had not been leaked. Apart from a dozen extras and the crew members on set, there were no other people. Everyone soon gathered under the stage and waited for Michael to sing. The set was set up ording to the actual street corner from history using high quality props. Sophia sat among a group of extras and she felt as if she had travelled back in time to a hundred years ago, which was a strange feeling. She found the best seat and waited for Michael to sing. The apaniment began and Michael started singing live. His singing was graceful and pleasant to the ears. Moreover, he sang professionally and was different from the countertenor singers who sang weirdly on the Inte. His voice was very imposing, and he sang high and low notes in one breath. Listening to him sing was like hearing the rain fall on the ground. It was beautiful and full of personality. After singing the first paragraph of the song, there was already a round of apuse and cheers from the audience. Sophia was also pping happily and Carmen excitedly gave her father some flowers. Only Cooper¡¯s face was as dark as night. This b*stard. Now that he knows his family background and power are not as great as mine and it¡¯s useless to attract Sophia with money, he turns to seduction. Ever since he was young, I already knew that this b*stard would be really good at seducing girls. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Now, as expected, Michael knows a lot of seducing methods. My cute and pure daughter won¡¯t be a match for him! Meanwhile, at that moment, Sophia¡¯s eyes were focused on Michael. The twinkle in his eyes and his charming smile is a piece of art. Every word he sings sounds beautiful¡­ It would be great to listen to him sing for the rest of my life! Michael continued to sing seriously, and coincidentally, this was Sophia¡¯s favorite piece. In his eyes, everyone else didn¡¯t exist and he could only see her. His singing was meant for her, and only her. After having her father cheer her up, Carmen looked much more energetic in the afternoon. She braced herself and told herself that she needed to act well. Even if it¡¯s only a few shots, I want to give it my all. However, the director continued yelling cut, pointing out little problems every time. He kept asking everyone to do everything over and over again, and in the end, Carmen was so tired that she started dozing off when standing. Michael couldn¡¯t bear to see her like this so he spoke to the director. ¡°This is Carmen¡¯s first shoot. Don¡¯t go so hard on her.¡± Since Michael already spoke up, the director naturally had to go easy on her. In fact, the front few shoots were done well. In the end, they shot one more time and ended the filming. When Cooper saw that his granddaughter was not willing to give up even though she was exhausted, he felt distressed and angry. However, he finallypromised. The first day ended perfectly. After Michael took off his makeup and changed his clothes, he took Carmen from Cooper¡¯s arms, carried her into the car, and went to the hotel they were staying at to have dinner. Sophia followed behind with Bubbles and asked, ¡°Darling, filming is tiring. If you want to have an acting career, every day will be like this!¡± Carmen was drowsy and she rubbed her eyes. She couldn¡¯t open her eyes but she still pouted in response. She wanted to be in movies but she was afraid of being tired. However, when she remembered that she didn¡¯t have money for her kindergarten tuition fees, that Judge¡¯s dog food for the next month had not been paid, and that the other dogs at home were waiting for her to feed them, she made a decision and determinedly said, ¡°No, I want to continue acting! No matter how tiring it is, I want to continue! Daddy has been working hard for many years. I want to continue acting and earn a lot of money to take care of daddy!¡± Chapter 821 Chapter 821 Michael was touched. My little girl is all grown up and sensible now. She already understands how hard her father works. However, Sophia was a little upset. She pursed her lips and purposelyined, ¡°Then what about me? Aren¡¯t you going to take care of me?¡± Carmen nced at Cooper, who still had a dark look on his face, and said, ¡°I¡¯ll take care of daddy, and daddy and grandpa will take care of you!¡± Sophia was amused by Carmen¡¯s words and the family of three walked together happily. At that moment, Cooper looked like an outsider. They only needed a few shots in the film studio and they had finished filming in one day. There was another scene in the museum, and per the director¡¯s order, they were going to film it at the Bayside City museum. The shooting time there had been scheduled and they had two days of free time, so there was enough time for them to stay at the film studio for one night and travel around to see pandas. After dinner, the lights in the studio were turned on, illuminating the night sky. When they were eating dinner just now, Carmen buried her face in the bowl halfway through the meal and she was so exhausted, she fell asleep. Sophia ced her in the hotel room and asked the nanny to watch over her before she got ready to head out. Michael was a frequent visitor to the film studio so he said, ¡°You¡¯ve been to this film studio before, but let me show you around!¡± Sophia naturally epted his invitation. Michael knew that at this time, his father-inw would definitely follow them so he could ruin Michael¡¯s ns. However, Cooper was quiet. He was so quiet, Sophia thought that it was strange so she asked, ¡°Dad, aren¡¯t you going to join us?¡± Cooper shook his head and replied, ¡°You two go ahead and have fun. Remember toe back early.¡± After he finished speaking, he put down his knife and fork and went out alone, his figure forlorn. Watching Cooper leave alone, Sophia was still confused. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± Looking at Cooper¡¯s figure, Michael suddenly felt a little sorry for his father-inw. This ce was filled with Cooper¡¯s memories. Back then, the film studio was not a film studio, but an old town. He and Annabel had eloped and came here but unexpectedly, as soon as they settled down, Sam had told the Mitchell family, and he was forced to go back. Michael knew all about Cooper¡¯s experiences, so he always cherished the people he loved¡ª Cooper lost Annabel and he could never make up for it. Michael also lost Sophia once, but God gave him a chance to make it up to her so he swore to never lose her a second time! Cooper silently went to the ce he and Annabel once lived. After they eloped and came here back then, he found a job at a bookstore and Annabel set up a stall nearby to sell some food she made. They thought that they could live their lives like that forever. Unfortunately¡­ He walked past the bookstore where he used to work, which had already been demolished and reced with a souvenir shop. The small building they used to live in waspletely demolished too and reced with an antique small building for the crew to film. The only thing that I can find is probably the masonry bridge where we once took a photo¡­ Late at night, Cooper stood on the masonry bridge like a stone statue. He looked in one direction, at a ce he wouldn¡¯t be able to go. My beloved Annabel is right there¡­ Meanwhile, Michael took Sophia to the night market. Although Cooper wasn¡¯t with them, he had ordered two bodyguards to follow Sophia. The night market was really lively and there were all kinds of delicious food on disy. ¡°I want to eat barbecue!¡± ¡°I want to eat noodles!¡± ¡°I want to eat lobsters!¡± This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I want to eat fries!¡± Sophia took off her mask and kept walking ahead, her mouth chewing non-stop. The visibility at night was not as good as the day, so her scars were not visible. Her face was smooth and her former appearance seemed to have been restored. Michael wore his mask and didn¡¯t eat much. Everything he bought was for Sophia to eat. After walking around for a short while, his hands were already filled with bags of food. ¡°Eat slowly. Come, drink some water. There is more delicious food over there!¡± Michael took Sophia to search for more good food. As Sophia ate, she saw something floating in the sky in the distance. At that moment, the sky was brightly lit and the night was like a veil that shrouded the mes. She was really surprised so she hurriedly asked Michael,¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Michael nced at the sky and replied, ¡°Those are skynterns.¡± Sophia immediately saw a small stall on the street selling skynterns and she asked, ¡°Can I get one?¡± Michael replied, ¡°No, this is an ancient city so there are many wooden buildings. You have to go out of the city to set it to the sky!¡± Hearing this, Sophia hurriedly urged, ¡°Then let¡¯s go outside the city!¡± With that, they drove out of the city and went to the riverside. There were many people selling sky lanterns by the riverside, so Michael asked Hale to buy some. Soon, Hale brought over two skynterns, set them up, and quickly left. There were a lot of people ying with skynterns that night, so Michael chose a ce with fewer people to release their skynterns. Hale sensibly persuaded the two foreign bodyguards that Cooper sent to give them some space, and they guarded them nearby, not allowing anyone to get close. After all, Michael just came back from the dead and was in the limelight. It would be chaotic if his fans saw him and swarmed over. The two of them were about tounch their skynterns by the riverside when Sophia saw someone write something on theirnterns. Curious, she asked, ¡°What are they writing on theirnterns?¡± As Michael assembled thenterns, he pulled out a marker pen from his pocket. ¡°Just write anything you want.¡± Tonight, the riverbank was bright and the streetmps were dim. When the soft lights shone on Sophia, it was like a thin veil wrapping around her body, making it seem like she had a halo. She looked like a fairy falling from the sky in the moonlight, and she was so beautiful that Michael thought that he was dreaming. There were two skynterns but only one pen, so Michael quickly wrote on his skyntern first. Sophia leaned close to take a look and as expected, she saw her name. Sophia, Carmen. These two people were the only ones that mattered to Michael, and his life would be iplete without any one of them. They were his flesh and bones¡ªwithout bones, he would have no strength to live; without flesh, his life would be short of something fulfilling. Michael¡¯s life would only beplete with the two of them in it. After he finished writing, he handed the pen to Sophia. Looking at his handwriting, Sophia said, ¡°Your handwriting is beautiful!¡± Michael smiled and lowered his eyes to look at her face closely, which was as smooth as a peeled hard- boiled egg under the soft light. It didn¡¯t have any blemishes or a single visible scar. However, she had had surgery, so it was still different from what she looked like. But, objectively and subjectively, she looked more beautiful, more mature, and more intellectual. When he came back to his senses, Sophia had written a string of words. Naturally, she had written Carmen¡¯s name, but his name was on there too. Before Michael had the time to cheer, he saw her extend the list of names. There was him, Carmen, Cooper, Linus, Nathan¡­ and Judge, Snowball, Bubbles, Corrado, Chrysanthemum, Garfield, Sunset, and the other cats and dogs. She had filled every corner of the sky lantern until there was nowhere else to write. Michael was rendered speechless. Chapter 822 Chapter 822 Finally, Sophia and Michael released their skynterns into the night sky. All the surfaces of Sophia¡¯s lantern were filled with her handwriting. She was too kind-hearted, and she wished for peace for everyone she knew. On the other hand, Michael¡¯s only wish was for his wife and daughter to be happy. Staring at thenterns which ascended into the sky, Sophia felt as if she was floating in the sky with them too. Though the metaphysics behind the releasing of skynterns were unknown, it must be somewhat efficacious since so many people did it. She hoped that the skyntern would bring her wishes to heaven so that everyone she knew would be granted peace. Her eyes were fixed on the skyntern full of handwriting as it gradually faded out of her sight. Eachntern represented a beautiful wish. The riverside was lively as many came to release sky lanterns as well¡ªsome with their family while others with their lovers. There werenterns floating on the river too, and the river became radiant and colorful as it was full withnterns flowing gently with the current, creating a magnificent spectacle. Sophia found a spot to sit down and quietly admired the sight. ncing toward Michael who sat beside her and was also staring at the rivernterns, she could see the reflection of the lights in his eyes, which were elegant yet mysterious. All of a sudden, she asked, ¡°Is there any grudge between you and Quinton? Dad asked me to stay away from Theo¡¯s son, but who¡¯s Theo?¡± Michael showed a rueful smile as she finally asked the questions. Nevertheless, he told her the story of him and Quinton. His narration started from thirty years ago where Theo was summoned to perform tasks at the Southwest border, and he talked about Tanya and Hope as well as her history with Quinton. There was nothing that he could not say to her, and he didn¡¯t conceal anything. He would tell her whatever that was appropriate, and hold back other less appropriate contents. He should not have kept these from her, and it was good for her to know now. ¡°¡­ That night, Justin plotted to kill Quinton, but Quinton managed to escape. On the same night, you were attacked by a gangster that the Harpers hired was forced to protect yourself by jumping into the river. You ended up being washed ashore to Salvador Ind, and there you met Quinton, who was also injured. Something might have happened back then¡­¡± Michael let out a ruefulugh as he came toward the end of the story. ¡°I once thought that he took you away because you¡¯re my wife, and he wanted to snatch everything away from me. I thought that he would torture me by killing you and Carmen once he knew he could not have you.¡± All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°But you¡¯re back now, and he did not harm you nor Carmen at all during those years. He thinks that you belonged to him and I¡¯m the one who stole you from him, so it was reasonable for him to take you away from me.¡± Sophia smiled and shook her head as she listened to Michael. A glint shone in her eyes as she gazed at the floating rivernterns. She said, ¡°I actually owe my life to him, then. At that time, he might have been nning toe and find me the next day, but Joe took me away, unfortunately.¡± Michael remained silent. Back then, Quinton might have genuinely intended to take Sophia away after the incident had blown over. But s, when he came back after everything had calmed down, Sophia had already left Duckburgs, and she had be Michael¡¯s woman by the time they met again. ¡­ Indeed, Quinton came across her first. The two sorrowful souls got together and kept each other warm against the piercing wind, sustaining each other throughout the long night. Seemed like he was theter. Nevertheless, order did not exist in love. He believed that he was the one whom his chica loved, and Carmen was the proof of their intense love. Even though Michael paid a price and bought Sophia over, he was still a responsible man¡ªhe had already made up his mind to love her and protect her for a lifetime ever since he took her away from Daniel. Two of them remained silent for some time. Momentster, Sophia lifted her head and stared at the sky full of romantic skynterns. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve paid off the debt owed to him. From now onward, my life belongs to myself.¡± Quinton treated her well back in those days, and she probably had somemitments toward him. However, after that, she left with Michael and thereafter fell in love with him. If she had to trade her life for love, she had already done so! Virs-18 hadpletely ruined her since the catastrophe¡ªher appearance, her voice, her eyes, and even her life. Since Quinton bloodlessly intended to exchange the favor of saving her life for her love, she poured out everything to repay his favor. However, her love toward him ceased too as she finished returning the favor to him. From now on, she was the one to decide who to love. Michael stared at her numbly, then suddenly broke into incessantughter as he looked down. Sophia looked at him puzzledly and asked, ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you? Why are youughing?¡± Laughing until he cried, Michael waved his hand about. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± The eminent monk from Dragon Mountain was right¡ªdestined favors had to be returned, and destined separations could not be avoided. Right from the start, Sophia was bound to repay the favor to Quinton for saving her life, and she had already cleared her debt. And true enough, they were separated for three years before they met again. Finally, everything hade back to the start. Indeed, none of them were indebted to each other now. Standing on an equal footing, it seemed as if there were never any entanglements between them. This was essentiallying back to the start, where everything restarted again, wasn¡¯t it? The wind was strong by the river. Though spring hade, the film studio had a higher altitude, and the temperature could decrease dramatically when the wind howled. However, Sophia did not want to leave as she desired to watch the rivernterns. Michael took off his jacket andid it on her body as he gently cooed, ¡°It¡¯s cold here, so let¡¯s get back earlier. We cane again some other day.¡± It was not a smart approach given that he was courting her¡ªhe should have apanied her until midnight. However, he could not bear to see her sitting in the wind and was worried that she would catch a cold. Out of his expectation, his bodyguard grantly interfered before Sophia answered him. Turned out Cooper had called to urge them to go back. Michael checked the time. It¡¯s still early! We¡¯ve only been out for less than two hours! Michael could not have done anything to Cooper¡¯s daughter in public within two hours. Even if he really wanted to do something to her, it was at most holding her hands. Resigned, Michael had no choice but to quickly send Sophia home, in case his father-inw got mad at him if they werete. They arrived at the hotel, and Cooper was waiting in the lobby. When he saw Michael, he looked at him with a darkened face, then coldly threw Michael¡¯s jacket back to him and walked away with Sophia. Michael¡¯s room was on the ground floor while Sophia¡¯s room was on the top floor, and between the floors were a dozen bodyguards who kept watch over Sophia all day. Carmen had finished shooting her scene in a day, and she went to Panda Foundation right after that to see the pandas. Following that, she wandered around the ce before returning to Bayside City for the second scene. The second scene was going to be shot at Bayside City Museum, and the actress would carry Carmen to see the national treasures and tell her the history of them. The shooting would take ce after the museum was closed. This time round, Michael did not follow along as he was upied with other matters. Sophia wore a mask and apanied Carmen to the museum together with Cooper. Upon arriving at the scene, Sophia met the actress with whom Carmen would be acting with¡­ and she looked exactly like her! Chapter 823 Chapter 823 Sophia and Cooper were both stunned when they saw the woman. The actress resembled Sophia very much in appearance. Though it was extravagant to say that they looked exactly the same, all her features, face shape and even her cheekbone were very simr to Sophia¡¯s in the past. Sophia felt a chill down her spine. Even Cooper thought it was unbelievable. Nevertheless, he could notice the difference as soon as he walked closer¡ªthey might look alike when they were immobile, but there were still dissimrities between them once they started moving around, and they were two totally distinct individuals. Moreover, the actress had a stiff face and heavy makeup on. Her skin was bad withrge pores, and she had to touch up her makeup every half an hour to conceal the ckheads on her nose. Besides, the scar left from stic surgery could be obviously seen on her face. There was no doubt his daughter was the prettier one! The woman seemed to be a big shot as she had eight assistants following her around, all as busy as a beaver. Some served her drinks, while the others took care of her makeup and gave her massages. ¡°It¡¯s Miss Faye!¡± Carmen saw the woman and recognized her the moment she arrived at the shooting scene. Excitedly, Carmen tugged at Sophia¡¯s arm and eximed, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m going to ask for Miss Faye¡¯s autograph!¡± Feeling resigned, Sophia was led away by Carmen to ask for an autograph from the celebrity. Suddenly, she thought of something. Isn¡¯t this Faye Edwards? Lately, parent-child variety shows such as ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ were bing popr in Cethos, and these shows had sessfully helped some obsolete actors regain their poprity along with their children. Following that, many television programs that were simr like ¡®Where Are We Going, Mom?¡¯, ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis? and ¡®Where Are We Going, Bro?¡¯ emerged, all of which had high ratings. Meanwhile, Faye Edwards was exactly the famous sister starred in ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯. She was also one of the most popr A-list celebrities in Cethos currently. Carmen saw her on the television everyday, and she admired her extremely. Now that she had met Faye Edwards in person, she immediately got down to ask for an autograph and pictures with her. On the other hand, Sophia had no choice but to go along with her. Sophia knew Faye and could barely remember her as Joe¡¯s daughter. If nothing unexpected happened, Joe would have been gotten rid by Cooper already. Nevertheless, Cooper held on to his principle that women and kids should not be implicated by a man¡¯s wrongdoing, so he did not go after Faye even when he sought revenge against Joe for Annabel. Thus, Faye was still a popr A-list superstar, especially after starring in ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯, which further boosted her fame. She was no longer the insignificant actress who had to ride on other people¡¯s coattails. Without Joe, Faye merely lost a father who was a loser that constantly caused her trouble. She was indifferent to losing her father, and in fact, she was even kind of d about it. Nevertheless, she was unaware of Joe¡¯s whereabouts, and she thought he had fled overseas to escape from the creditors, as he always had. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. She would rather him die and disappear forever. She had been castigated for having a father who was a troublemaker, and anti-fans would constantly dig out Joe¡¯s unattractive pictures andpare them with Faye¡¯s features whenever they criticized the fact that she had stic surgery. Carmen skipped buoyantly toward Faye and said in a syrupy tone, ¡°Miss Faye, may I ask for your autograph?¡± Holding a pen and notebook in her hands, Carmen lifted her head hopefully with excitement in her eyes. Though she had already shot one scene, Carmen¡¯s identity remained a secret as Michael was extremely protective toward her. The staff were not allowed to reveal her identity either, hence Faye assumed she was just a random kid who came from nowhere. Surely, Faye heard the request, but she quickly shifted her gaze away after ncing at Carmen, pretending as if she did not notice her. She hated children the most! They were nasty and dirty¡­ She would have loved to shoved them away if it was not for the shoot. Nevertheless, Carmen was not discouraged and she called out to her again. ¡°Miss Faye¡­¡± Faye was touching up her makeup with apact powder in her hand. Suddenly, she snapped it shut and asked her assistant with her brows furrowed, ¡°Go and check what time Taylor Murray is arriving.¡± Putting on an awkward look, the assistant answered inferiorly, ¡°Wait a minute, Ma¡¯am. I¡¯ll go and check right away.¡± As much as the assistant was fawning over Faye, he immediately changed his attitude when he approached the director. Rudely, he barked, ¡°Hey you, what time is Taylor Murray arriving?¡± In the past, this director had produced a few popr films, but his production had been going downhill in recent years and he became infamous for producing box-office bombs. The current film was his only hope to repair his reputation. He was well aware that the obsolete actor starring in this film might not be able to guarantee the film¡¯s poprity, and hence, he could only go around begging famous celebrities to y a cameo role in the film, and Faye was one of them. Cursing in silence, the director unctuously approached Faye and asked respectfully, ¡°How can I help you, Miss Faye?¡± Faye was sitting down like an honorable queen with eight assistants attending to her. Arrogantly, she red at the subservient, middle-aged director. Indeed, every dog had its day. Several years ago, she had to send these directors money and even sleep with them in order to get a good role. Now that she had built up her career and established her ownpany and resources, these directors became the ones who needed to beg for her appearance in their films. Faye had on fabulous makeup, and an assistant was half-kneeling beside her holding a mirror which she was looking into at her gloriously made-up face. Sneering, she said, ¡°Director Wall, you should be well aware of the grade of your film. There¡¯s neither A-list celebrities in it nor does it have a conventional theme. You merely have a few obsolete actors who retired from acting a few years back, so I suppose it is indeed challenging to record a decent box-office performance¡­¡± Director Wall looked humiliated but he agreed with her. ¡°You¡¯re right, of course. The poprity of this film will be boosted the moment we announce your cameo appearance, and it will guarantee a box office smash.¡± Sniggering, Faye red up all of a sudden and smashed the mirror into pieces. ¡°Since you¡¯re the one seeking my help, what about the conditions that you¡¯ve promised me? Where¡¯s Taylor Murray?! You¡¯ve promised that you would get Taylor Murray to y second fiddle!¡± Tears welled up in the director¡¯s eyes as he pressed on and mumbled, ¡°Uhmm¡­ Something came up, so Taylor won¡¯t be here today.¡± In fact, he did not even dare to ask Taylor about it. Knowing that Taylor was not showing up anymore, Faye kept silent and stared fiercely at the director. Meanwhile, her assistants sensibly put themselves to good use. One of them hissed in a surly voice, ¡°Director Wall, you should know that given Miss Faye¡¯s poprity, she is paid millions for showing up in a commercial shoot and tens of millions for starring in one season of reality shows. She declined other work opportunities to participate in your filming, so how could you not keep your promise?!¡± Another assistant was even arrogant. ¡°The lead is merely an obsolete actor. Miss Faye wouldn¡¯t even show up if it wasn¡¯t because they had worked together before. Call him right away! Miss Faye will not act in this film if he doesn¡¯t show up!¡± Director Wall tried to persuade Faye. ¡°We can shoot your scene first. He is merely held back by some issues and can¡¯t show up for now. It¡¯s just a small hup and he¡¯ll be here soon.¡± Nevertheless, Faye was not appeased. ¡°Director Wall, times have changed, and you should know who¡¯s the big shot here. I¡¯m saying this upfront¡ªI want Taylor Murray to y the supporting role and apany me to dinner, or else I won¡¯t shoot any scenes. Make sure he shows up within half an hour!¡± Chapter 824 Chapter 824 Taking on a ghastly expression, Director Wall mumbled servilely, ¡°I¡¯ll get him right away.¡± He turned around to make the phone call, not knowing how he should bring this up to Michael. All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. At the moment, ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ desperately needed some eye-catching elements. If an A- list celebrity appeared in the show, it would instantly boost the poprity of the show and the director would not have to worry about the box office performance. It was a daunting task to get an A-list celebrity onboard. Nevertheless, Faye had taken the initiative to request for a cameo role in the show, and her only condition was to have Taylor Murray y the supporting role. Obviously, Faye¡¯s intention was to flirt with Taylor! Years back, she rode on the wave of Taylor¡¯s fame. To attract his attention, she even underwent stic surgery to look exactly like her sister, Sophia, who was Taylor¡¯s wife. However, times had changed and they were in totally opposite states now¡ªthe formerly infamous best actor had be an obsolete artist while the actress who was once insignificant had be an A-list celebrity. That was the reality of showbiz, where people toadied the superiors and trampled over the inferior ones. One could do whatever he wanted toward others when he was highly sought-after. Conversely, he could only be at the disposal of others when his poprity faded. Back then, Faye was the one begging favors from Taylor, but now, he would be the one begging favors from Faye! Meanwhile, Carmen was frightened by the sudden smashing of the mirror. With tears welled up in her eyes, she pouted her lips. Sophia, too, was startled at the scene, and she quickly cuddled Carmen. Forget about it, we should pull out. Showbiz is f*cking toxic. And poor Michael, he has been dealing with these underlying rules all this while. Meanwhile, Cooper pulled a long face. Indeed, showbiz was a corrupted industry. Director Wall made a call to Michael, who was busy dealing with issues regarding the release of the movie at that moment. Actually, the entire film had already been shot, but a few more scenes of Carmen were addedter on, so it would be ready for release as soon as her shots werepleted. ¡°Hi, Director Wall, how¡¯s Carmen doing?¡± The director stammered, ¡°Uhmm¡­ I¡­¡± Thinking that Carmen was not cooperative, Michael said, ¡°No worries, I¡¯ming over soon.¡± He thought Carmen had thrown a tantrum because after all, she was just a three-year-old and was very attached to her father. Given that this was only the second scene and he was not around, it was normal that Carmen would feel uneasy, so he decided he should still go over to guide her. After hanging up the call, Director Wall told Faye in a servile manner, ¡°Miss Faye, Taylor will be here soon.¡± ted, Faye waited arrogantly. She was wondering how Taylor would react upon seeing her after all these years. She had be an A-list superstar in Cethos whereas Taylor was merely an obsolete actor who had been forgotten by people after retiring from the screen three years ago. He had to depend on Faye¡¯s favor if he desired to re-establish his poprity. In fact, she would not even be bothered about Taylor if it wasn¡¯t because she could not reconcile herself to her failure to surpass him in the past. She might still help him if he pleased her. ¡°Taylor is just an obsolete actor. How dare he be this arrogant? Is he still reminiscing about his good old days?¡± ¡°Miss Faye is the Queen of Cethos¡¯ showbiz these days.¡± All kinds of ttering came from her assistants as they gave her a massage and touched up her makeup. Taking selfies, Faye was extremely pleased by the adtion from them. Meanwhile, Sophia frowned as she looked at the scene. She knew that given Michael¡¯s status, he would not need to be at these people¡¯s disposal if he really wanted to make hiseback. She reckoned that it was the director who was unconfident about his film¡¯s performance and took it upon himself to invite A- list celebrities for cameo appearances. Sophia was worried that Carmen would have to deal with these nasty people in the future if she really chose to be an actress. Carmen, who had good hearing, could instantly hear that they were talking about her father. Pouting her lips, she turned to Sophia and asked, ¡°Are they bad-mouthing Daddy?¡± Thinking that kids should be pure and innocent, Sophia did not want Carmen to be exposed to the ugly side of the world at this young age. So, she answered, ¡°Not at all! They are not bad-mouthing Daddy. We¡¯re not going to film today and we¡¯ll go home with Daddy. He¡¯sing to pick us up soon.¡± Carmen did not want to film with someone who spoke ill of her father either. With a moue, she replied, ¡°Okay.¡± Following that, Sophia put Carmen down and went to the director to talk about the shooting. Meanwhile, Cooper took Carmen¡¯s hand as he led her to admire the Imperial Jade Seal, which was disyed in a bulletproof ss case. Looking at the seal, Cooper was overwhelmed with mixed emotions. The Mitchell Family had participated in the search for this seal, but they were not featured in the movie as they did not contribute greatly. In addition, it was difficult to get approval for their contribution to be featured in the film. He introduced the seal to Carmen. ¡°Carmen, this is the national treasure of Cethos. It¡¯s invaluable!¡± At the same time, the entire crew was waiting for Faye to start shooting. However, none of them dared to comin because everyone would suffer if she was displeased. After all, she was the main celebrity there. All of a sudden, one of Faye¡¯s assistants squealed with surprise. ¡°Look, Miss Faye! Isn¡¯t that the lolita who became popr on the Inte recently?¡± Putting down her phone, Faye nced toward the lolita who was looking up to admire the Imperial Jade Seal. Indeed, she was the lolita who became viral on the Inte recently! This toddler was just some random kid, but she had be extremely popr through a short video. It was now the era of cute toddlers¡ªin the past, attractive appearances were a must for celebrities to be popr but nowadays, cute toddlers had be the key. Faye herself did not have a child, and she was envious of the obsolete actors who had regained their poprity through their adorable children in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Because of that, she invested in producing a simr show¡ª¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯, of which she was the star. Now that the first season had finished airing, they were seeking actresses and cute kids to participate in the second season. While there were plenty of professional actresses out there, it was an arduous task to seek adorable children. In fact, besides Faye, many otherpanies were also seeking out celebrities¡¯ children to participate in reality shows. Now that this lolita had be famous, many productionpanies must want to get her on board for reality shows. How lucky Faye was to bump into her! She secretly observed the lolita who was not too far away from her. This girl was even cuter than she was in the video with her sweet baby voice. Furthermore, she was now recognized and had fans all around the world, so she would be the perfect candidate to cast in the reality show. Faye¡¯s eyes lit up as she stood up and walked toward Carmen. ¡°Honey, didn¡¯t you ask for my autograph just now? I can give it to you.¡± Disying her professional acting skills, Faye put on a friendly smile and intended to coax Carmen. Lifting up her head to look at Faye, Carmen was frightened and immediately hid behind Cooper as she could still remember Faye¡¯s vicious appearance when she smashed the mirror. With her tiny hand holding onto Cooper¡¯s sleeve, she purred, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± Carrying Carmen in his arms, Cooper stared at Faye, who had unkind intentions, and snapped coldly, ¡°Stay away from my grandchild!¡± Meanwhile, Sophia was negotiating with Director Wall. Director Wall was flurried knowing that they wanted to leave, and he insisted them to stay on andplete the shooting. Just as they were arguing, Sophia noticed Faye walking toward Carmen. Worriedly, she strided over. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± Faye nced at Cooper and Carmen, then Sophia, who had her mask on. Suddenly, she came to a realization about their backgrounds. ¡°So, you¡¯re Scarlett Mitchell!¡± Chapter 825 Chapter 825 Scarlett Mitchell was the daughter of Cooper Mitchell. Faye had seen her before at King¡¯s product launching ceremony, which Sandra had carefully nned but was ruined. Sandra had even spent a great deal of money to invite numerous celebrities to support the event, and Faye was one of the guests. These days, not only was Faye an A-list celebrity who was in a few blockbuster film series and popr reality shows, but she was also a socialite in Bayside City given her identity as the youngdy of the Edwards. Furthermore, she was close to Sandra, so she had delightfully attended the event when Sandra invited her. However, she had left early on that day due to the chaotic scene, hence she did not get to meet Sophia. Because of her identity as one of Sandra¡¯s socialite intimate friends and the close rtionship between the Edwards and the Mitchells, Faye had been paying close attention to the happenings of the Mitchells. In addition, she deemed herself as the future family head of the Edwards and had been seeking out potential candidates from the Mitchell Family for marriage. As such, she was aware of the internal situation of the Mitchells. Never had she thought that she would bump into Scarlett and Cooper today, whom Sandra detested. ording to Sandra, Cooper and Scarlett were merely swindlers who came back to fleece them out of the inheritance and beguiled some of the witless members in the Mitchell Family. They were not even worth mentioning, and it would be a piece of cake for the Mitchells to destroy Cooper. However, they left him alone to lure him into exposing the location of Old Master Mitchell¡¯s hidden inheritance. ncing at the child being carried by Scarlett, Faye smirked. As far as she knew, only poor families would send their children into showbiz at such a young age, and the rich would never allow their toddlers to appear on the big screen. ¡°What a surprise! You already have a child!¡± Sandra would be thrilled if she knew about this. Faye had heard through the grapevine that Scarlett was only twenty years old, yet this child seemed to be at least a couple years old. Cooper also didn¡¯t seem to have a son-inw, so it would be interesting to find out how Scarlett had this daughter. Frowning, Sophia held Carmen in her arms and retorted impatiently, ¡°This is my child, and it¡¯s none of your business. I don¡¯t even know you!¡± Faye ran her fingers through her blonde, curly hair and remarked, ¡°It¡¯s normal that you don¡¯t know me since you just returned to the country. You¡¯ll know who I am after some time.¡± She continued, ¡°Your daughter has decent qualities, and she¡¯s pretty smart. I intend to recruit her for my company and groom her into a child star. You¡¯ve got a bargain!¡± Faye spoke in an arrogant tone as if she was giving alms to them. Of course, Sophia wasn¡¯t going to agree to that. Carmen was just a child and she had allowed her to participate in this film merely for fun. It was a matter to be discussed in the future once Carmen was old enough, and that was if she still had the intention to be a celebrity. Besides, their family had sufficient money and resources to support Carmen and she did not have to go around begging people to make a debut. It was known that trainees of entertainmentpanies had a hard life and were ill-treated. ¡°No, thanks. My child came here just for fun, and we have no intention to make a debut.¡± Holding Carmen in his hands, Cooper red at Faye and decided to not give a damn about her. She assumed herself as the conqueror of everything else upon aplishing some achievements in her industry. How pathetic she was! The Mitchells were determined to leave the ce and even the director failed to persuade them to stay. Enraged at being ignored, Faye ordered her assistants to block Cooper and Sophia¡¯s way. ¡°Hey, freak! Are you a mute?! Miss Faye was talking to you!¡± ¡°Your daughter is lucky to be to Miss Faye¡¯s liking. Your kid will be popr instantly with Miss Faye¡¯s help, and she¡¯s going to make a fortune! Don¡¯t you need the money?¡± Carmen had left a favorable impression on Faye with her adorable and smart look. Faye was confident that the girl would instantly be famous with her debut, and she was determined to recruit her since she had met her today. Pursing her cherry-red lips, Faye smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s such a pity if your daughter doesn¡¯t make a debut. What about this¡ªname your price to sell your daughter. I¡¯ll pay whatever price you demand.¡± ¡°After all, your daughter is only acting in this movie for the sake of money, isn¡¯t it?¡± She finally revealed her true colors. Cooper had no desire to be bothered with this ridiculous woman. Sophia, too, thought that it was a waste of time to engage in a conversation with her, and she quickly caught up to Cooper as they left. Seeing how they had ignored her act of ¡®kindness¡¯, Faye red coldly at the bodyguards standing beside her, and the four of them immediately dashed out to block the Mitchells¡¯ way. Aggravated, Cooper was about to beat them up but was immediately stopped by Sophia. ¡°Forget about it, Dad. We¡¯re in the national museum and there are cultural relics all around, so we might break something if we start fighting. Besides, Carmen is watching.¡± Carmen stared at Cooper adorably with her eyes so clear and bright that it could melt one¡¯s heart. Cooper did not want to rough up someone in front of Carmen either, so he ordered his bodyguards to send off the trouble-seeking people. Amidst the chaos, Cooper carried Carmen and left the scene first. Just as he took a few steps toward the exit, Michael walked in hastily. He was surprised to see Faye at the scene while Cooper and Faye¡¯s bodyguards were pushing and shoving one another. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. He knew what had happened the moment he saw Faye. Upset, Carmen tenderly called out to Michael when she saw him. ¡°Daddy¡­¡± Before Cooper left hurriedly with Carmen in his arms, he coldly said, ¡°We¡¯re not going to shoot anymore. We¡¯re leaving.¡± Michael was distressed, and then saw Sophia walking out coldly. ¡°Carmen is not in her best state today. We¡¯ll continue the shooting some other day; hope that¡¯s fine.¡± Meanwhile, Director Wall and Faye caught up to Michael too. Faye had seen Michael the moment he entered the ce, and she was astounded by his charm and good looks, which did not change a single bit even after three years. Three years ago, he was a stately prince who was high up there and could only be admired from afar, but now, he was merely an obsolete actor. Getting him to sleep with me will be easy this time round. She then walked up to him inrge strides, her eyes glinting. On the other hand, Michael was questioning Director Wall, who had already reached him. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Thest scene had been tailored for Carmen, and the original n was to look for any actress to take Carmen around the museum. However, it turned out that the actress was Faye Edwards. Director Wall became even more embarrassed as he mumbled, ¡°Uhmm¡­ As you know, you¡¯ve retired from the screen for three years, and I¡¯m worried about the box office performance even with your comeback. I thought it would be desirable to have the cameo appearance of a few popr celebrities in this film.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards is your rtive, and she offered to take the cameo role for free. All she wants is to meet you.¡± Given Faye¡¯s identity as Michael¡¯s sister-inw in addition to her physical resemnce to Michael¡¯s wife, Director Wall thought he might as well matchmake them knowing that Faye was interested in Michael. Meanwhile, swaying her body, Faye walked charmingly toward Michael. Even though she was excited, she contained herself as she knew that they were not in the same league anymore, and he should be the one riding on her coattails. ¡°Taylor¡­¡± Gazing at him seductively, Faye osted Michael in a delicate voice, her body almost leaning against Michael¡¯s. She sized up Michael from head to toe as if what was standing in front of her was a delicious meal. Avoiding Faye¡¯s feverish re, Michael frowned and turned to Director Wall. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the box office performance. Also, we don¡¯t need the cameo appearance of A-list celebrities in our film. Let¡¯s call it a day for now. We shall schedule another time for today¡¯s shooting.¡± After he said that, he left in a hurry and didn¡¯t even talk to Faye. Sophia was waiting for him at the entrance, and they quickly left the scene. Once he was gone, the atmosphere became increasingly awkward. Director Wall did not even dare to nce at Faye, who was now ring up in contrast to her gentle demeanor just now. Who do you think you are, Taylor Murray? You¡¯re just an obsolete actor! How dare you be this arrogant? Chapter 826 Chapter 826 While storming off, Faye turned back and red at Director Wall. At the same time, she cursed, ¡°Director Wall, your movie will definitely fail!¡± Weren¡¯t they submitting the movie for a review? She would definitely make it impossible for it to be screened! ¡°Miss Faye, Miss Faye!¡± Burning with anxiety, Director Wall ran after her. Outside the museum, there were only a handful of tourists and a few cars in the car park since the museum was closed today for maintenance. When Michael ran out, Cooper was lifting Carmen into the car. Hastily, Michael went up to them and asked, ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong? Are you upset? Tell me.¡± Carmen raised her head to look at him and pouted her lips. ¡°Faye is a bad person. She said nasty things about you so I got mad!¡± So that was what happened. Michael honestly didn¡¯t anticipate that so many issues would arise from a movie. Hugging Carmen, he kissed her forehead and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Baby. You don¡¯t have to be angry. Everyone has a mouth so you can¡¯t control what they say.¡± After that, Sophia got into the car and the whole family drove off. Behind them, Faye spotted Michael and Sophia getting into the same car one after another. Witnessing that, she suddenly understood what had happened. ¡°No wonder he¡¯s so arrogant. It turns out that he has a thing with Scarlett!¡± She had heard about Cooper and Scarlett¡¯s background from Sandra. Although Scarlett was shrewd, she and Cooper were just nonentities that couldn¡¯t even be registered in the genealogy record book of their family. Poor Taylor. He thought that he had managed to ride on Young Lady Mitchell¡¯s coattails and became the father of someone else¡¯s son. Little did he know that she was just a fake Young Lady that had appeared out of nowhere! She would definitely make him regret for rejecting her, the true princess, and going after a fake princess! When they got home, Michael was still worried so he followed Carmen back to Vi No. 2. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen was always fond of the young actors, fathers and older sisters in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ and ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯. Unexpectedly, the older sister in the show whom she loved had said nasty things about her father behind his back. That upset her so much that she didn¡¯t even speak ever since she reached home. The whole family was burning with anxiety, especially Michael, who hugged Carmen and tried to cheer her up for a long time. Yet, his efforts were fruitless. Judging from the situation, it seemed like she wouldn¡¯t cheer up even if Judge performed a sexy dance. With teary eyes, Carmen clenched her little fist tightly around Michael¡¯s shit. ¡°Baby, what¡¯s wrong? Can you tell me?¡± Michael asked softly. Cooper¡¯s panic rose to the peak as well. He even tried to cheer her up with her favorite panda plushie. ¡°My sweet baby, were you shocked today? It¡¯s actually acting and that¡¯s how acting is.¡± After humming and hawing for ages, Carmen finally replied in a low voice, ¡°Grandpa, I want to be on the television.¡± It turned out that she wasn¡¯t shocked by Faye, but she was upset because she heard that Cooper wouldn¡¯t allow her to be on the television again. That made Cooper hesitate. After all, the entertainment industry wasn¡¯t a safe ce, so how would he feel at ease to let his darling appear in a ce that was a hodgepodge of good and bad people? Besides, what Faye said had triggered him. She said that only poor *sses would send such a young kid to act in movies. Acting was a profession that had a bad reputation since ancient times. As his granddaughter, Carmen had boundless prospects so she didn¡¯t need to step foot in such a nasty industry and work with those disgusting people. However, when Carmen¡¯s soft, adorable eyes gazed at him, he started to waver. He just couldn¡¯t help it! Taking Carmen from Michael¡¯s arms, Sophia gently said, ¡°Baby, you must¡¯ve misheard Grandpa. He didn¡¯t say that, and we¡¯ll go shooting tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you ask your father if you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Carmen looked at Michael and he immediately replied, ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll go shooting tomorrow!¡± In such a situation, Cooper had no choice but to give in. Softly, he said, ¡°Alright, alright. You can be on the television.¡± Finally, Carmen cheered up and showed a faint smile. After that, Sophia brought her to the room to sleep because she was exhausted from such a tiring day. In the living room, Michael took the initiative to admit his mistake to Cooper. ¡°It¡¯s my fault for what happened today. I was too careless.¡± He didn¡¯t expect that a small movie would cause so many problems. Pulling a long face, Cooper didn¡¯t reply to him. Nevertheless, Michael continued, ¡°Carmen will have to continue acting in the movie. Since we¡¯ve promised her, we must fulfil it.¡± After that, he stopped talking and waited for Cooper¡¯sment. After staying silent for a long time, Cooper finally responded. ¡°I¡¯ll choose the actress she will be acting with.¡± Michael was relieved that Cooper gave in. At the same time, he took the opportunity to ask, ¡°May I check on Carmen upstairs before I leave?¡± Cooper didn¡¯t agree nor oppose that request, so Michael stood up and dashed up the stairs like a speeding bullet. Then, he went into Sophia¡¯s room. Lately, Carmen had been staying here. Sophia¡¯s room was all pink like a princess¡¯s room as always, and it looked extremely girly. After traveling, Carmen was worn out so she had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, Sophia had changed her clothes and was lying on the bed to apany Carmen while she slept. When Michael came in, Sophia got up from the bed. ¡°Why did youe?¡± she asked softly, afraid that she would wake Carmen up. Tip-toeing, Michael came in while gazing affectionately at his daughter. Then, he asked in a low voice, ¡°How is she? Has she cheered up?¡± Sophia chuckled softly. ¡°She¡¯s overjoyed that her grandpa agreed to let her act.¡± Michael knew that Cooper woulde up and chase him out if he stayed here any longer so he quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ve discussed this with our dad just now and he agreed to let her act in the movie tomorrow with a condition of changing the actor. This time, no more unexpected incidents will happen.¡± Shamelessly, he had grabbed the opportunity to use the phrase ¡®our dad¡¯, but Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to make a fuss now. Upon hearing that, Sophia was relieved so she said, ¡°Thank you.¡± After that, Michael left. The next morning, Carmen wouldn¡¯t stop pestering them to go to the set. So, the whole family went there and when they arrived at the set, they realized that the actress, who was Carmen¡¯s acting partner, had already arrived before them. She had evenpleted her makeup and was waiting for her call. ¡°Mr. Mitchell.¡± As soon as Nicole spotted Cooper, she went up to them gleefully. It was like a dream when she suddenly received Cooper¡¯s callst night where he invited her to be Carmen¡¯s acting partner. Although this was a job and Cooper paid for her appearance fee, she was still overjoyed. Cooper nodded at Nicole and replied, ¡°Thank you foring, Ms. Walker.¡± That was the only thing he said to her before giving all his attention to his granddaughter. However, Nicole was still over the moon. To her, being able to talk to him was the biggest honor she could have. Aftering back from overseas, Nicole had never met Cooper. Every time she went to Sophia¡¯s house, he would stay in his office and seldom came out. Therefore, she couldn¡¯t be happier to meet him today. When Michael knew that Cooper would be choosing the actor on his own, he had guessed that it would be Nicole because she was the only one he knew. To be honest, he sympathised with Nicole too because whenever he saw her, he would think of his mother, Elizabeth. She, too, once went astray but fortunately, she got back on the right path and changed her own fate. Yet, finding true love was extremely difficult. With the help of Nicole, the shooting went smoothly and it waspleted at noon. Carmen loved Nicole so she insisted that Nicole have a meal in their house. Therefore, all of them went back happily. Within a short time, the news reached Faye. ¡°What? They asked Nicole, that b*tch, to be the recement?¡± Chapter 827 Chapter 827 Speaking of Nicole, Faye couldn¡¯t stop grinding her teeth in anger. To her, Nicole was a third-rate p*rnstar that didn¡¯t have any fame nor any endorsement deals. Did she think she was someone just because she won the Oscar¡¯s Award for Best Actress, which she only got after having sex with one of the judges? To be honest, Faye knew that Nicole was a famous actress that could easily make billions of box office sales for a movie. On the contrary, she could only appear in television shows or reality shows, and she would be considered lucky if her movie exceeded a box office of 1 billion. Everyone in the industry knew which types of jobs were better. Yet, she always believed that she wasn¡¯t inferior to Nicole. In fact, she started off better than Nicole, but Nicole was more prestigious than her now and she couldn¡¯t get past that fact. Therefore, she mustpete against Nicole for everything. Since Nicole made a cameo in this movie, she definitely wouldn¡¯t allow it to be aired! Even if she was just a cameo in this movie, she wouldn¡¯t let her enjoy the limelight! Besides, this was Taylor¡¯s movie and she wanted to prove to him that she owned the world now. In the past when she was just a rookie, she ingratiated herself with those famous celebrities. Now, she wanted those famous celebrities who looked down upon her to have a taste of their own medicine. Just when Faye was hatching a n to destroy this movie, Nicole was having a meal in Sophia¡¯s house. Carmen hadpleted her shooting for her first movie and it was a huge event to celebrate. Therefore, Michael contacted the farm to bring some live smander and finless porpoise over to cook it on the spot. This was the first time Sophia tasted a smander and it was finger-licking good. This was also the first time Nicole had a meal with Sophia and her family. Although she sat far away from Cooper, she was bursting with joy. Quite a number of guests attended Carmen¡¯s wrap party, including Harry and his family that lived next door. They even invited Daniel and when Sam received the news, he shamelessly came uninvited too. Previously, Cooper killed Joe silently but since Joe was registered in the Edwards¡¯ genealogy record book, even though he disappeared without a trace or a clue, and rumors had it that he fled overseas in order to escape from his creditor¡¯s murder pursuit, Sam knew that he was actually dealt with by Cooper. Once Cooper came back, Joe would definitely be the first one he took care of. As an elder of the Edwards Family, who was also known as 9th Old Master Edwards, he should have interfered in this matter and managed it, but he had turned a blind eye to it and let it slide. Therefore, Joe disappeared just like that and no one knew where he went. Today, it was Carmen¡¯s wrap party, so Cooper gave her his respect and didn¡¯t pull a long face during the party. Even though he saw Michael and Sam as well as Stanley¡¯s huge stupid dog that came to eat for free, he tried his best to maintain his smile. After the meal, everyone gathered in their own small groups and chatted about their topic of interest. Even Sophia, Nicole and Sarah had their own group so they hid in Sophia¡¯s room to chat. ¡°Did Fayee from a powerful background? Everyone seems to be afraid of her.¡± Sophia asked about Faye. Nicole snorted. ¡°She¡¯s just a buffoon. You don¡¯t have to waste your time on her.¡± In the past few years, Faye rose to fame quickly with the help of the Edwards Family. She acted in a few popr television series and gained high poprity, and after being hired several times to be the international ambassador of some products, she became arrogant. She even left her previous agency and established her own studio to work alone. On top of that, the Edwards Family had good prospects of her. Nicole wasn¡¯t in the same circle as these high-traffic celebrities. She didn¡¯t ept endorsement deals frompanies and rejected offers to participate in reality shows, preferring to keep a lower profile. She would produce a movie every year, and she trained hard on her acting skills in order to wow her audience. Other than that, she had taken over a managing role at Imperial Management Studio, so she had started to train the rookies and always gave them the priority when it came to allocating resources. Even though she kept a low-profile, she was still the imaginary enemy of those famous television shows¡¯ actresses, including Faye. Even if Nicole didn¡¯tpete against them to be the ambassadors or for fame, the box office sales for her movies would drive the others crazy in jealousy. Therefore, all these years, Faye would frequently hire someone to spread rumors of Nicole¡¯s dark past and it was as annoying and timely as the menstruation cycle. As for Nicole, she had been keeping a low profile but apart from the good reputation, she had her fair share of bad reputations too. No matter how sessful she was, she couldn¡¯t escape from her disgraceful past. However, she had gotten used to it. The few of them took a sip of the peach blossom wine that was made from the peach blossom which Sophia picked from the farm a few days ago. Nicole¡¯s face blushed slightly while she suddenly recalled something and said, ¡°I heard from the people inside the circle that Faye is dating one of the young masters of the Mitchell Family.¡± Faye and one of the Mitchells are engaged? Nicole might just be gossiping casually but Sophia paid attention to it and put it in her mind. It so happened that Sean came and joined them for a meal today so she specifically yet discreetly asked himThis material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. about it. Sean replied, ¡°Faye is now in the limelight and she¡¯s the nation¡¯s goddess. Besides, the Edwards Family ns to establish a closer rtionship with the Mitchell Family too so Faye and one of Sandra¡¯s cousins got very close to each other.¡± News travelled at lightning¡¯s speed to Sean¡¯s ears and not a single information about the Mitchell Family could escape him. So Faye would be Sandra¡¯s cousin-inw in the future? At night, Sophia was checking something on herputer. Herptop stored many interesting things, including information about Faye. When she searched for ¡®Faye¡¯ in the data that she copied from her privateptop which she used in the past, she indeed found many interesting things. The next day, Sophia went to Pourl¡¯s designing studio to check on the new product¡¯s progress. The productunching ceremony was just around the corner and the invitation cards were already sent out. In addition, Ivan¡¯s new product was almostpleted, so it was time for them to advertise heavily. Other than publishing the necessary advertisement in the early-stage, they also printed many limited magazines that introduced the new product. Then, they strategically sent it to every customer¡¯s doorstep. In these few days, they consecutively received orders for high-end custom made products and the company was slowly getting on the right track. After an exhausting day, Sophia went home before evening. When she reached home, Linus had gone to work in Michel Group while Cooper was working in his office with his golden hair tied up into two stalks of hair, pointing upward. Meanwhile, Carmen was putting little shoes on Judge¡¯s feet. After changing her clothes, Sophia decided to cook a delicious meal so she went to Vi No. 8 with a basket to get some of their loofah and tomatoes. Vi No. 8 had a huge garden and they had removed all the flowers a few years ago, then nted some vegetables. Hence, it was now a vegetable garden. Michael said that Sophia was the one who nted the vegetables so since she was back now, she could harvest it as she pleased. After she swiped her card, she entered the vegetable garden to pick some greens while thinking of what dishes to make tonight. When the basket was full of vegetables, she noticed that someone was standing in the yard of Vi No. 8. It was a man and he nodded at her politely, then proceeded to stare at her for quite some time. It seemed like he wanted to say something, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to do so. Beside that man stood Nathan, so Sophia immediately called out to him. ¡°Nathan, you¡¯re home. Come over to my house and have a meal!¡± Looking at her, Nathan seemed hesitant to speak as well. In the end, he introduced the man beside him. ¡°This is my father, Justin.¡± Once he mentioned Justin, Sophia immediately realized that he was Michael¡¯s brother-inw. ¡°So, you¡¯re Justin. My father always talks about you. Doe over because he¡¯s at home right now.¡± Justin didn¡¯t reply to her and remained expressionless. With an aloof attitude, he followed Sophia to Vi No. 2. Sophia had forgotten everything, but Justin hadn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t forget the day when he rushed to the top floor only to see Sophia being brought into the airne in despair by Phantom Wolf. Sadly, all he could do was look at her while she was brought away. At that time, her eyes were filled with tears of despair and helplessness, and she didn¡¯t know if she should go on living. In the Mitchell Family, her rank was higher than his, but she had always seen him as her older brother. However, as an older brother, he couldn¡¯t save her at that time. From that day onward, he lived with double the amount of guilt and pain as well as the remorse for Celine and today, when he saw Sophia again, those negative emotions magnified instantly. Chapter 828 Chapter 828 Justin didn¡¯t even know how he got to Vi No. 2. It was only when Cooper stood in front of him that he finally came back to his senses. ¡°Cooper, it¡¯s really you!¡± Overwhelmed with emotions, Justin took a step forward and hugged Cooper. He knew that Cooper was back long ago, but he didn¡¯t know how to face him and only managed to muster up his courage to meet him today. Seeing that both of them were finally reunited after so many years, Sophia didn¡¯t want to interrupt them so she carried the vegetables that she harvested from Vi No. 8 into the kitchen. At the same time, she said, ¡°Justin, please stay for dinner!¡± In the living room, Nathan was ying with Carmen whereas Cooper and Justin sat down. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about Celie¡¯s issue and I¡¯ll try my best to help you in every possible way.¡± Celine had dissociative identity disorder after being hypnotised by Phantom Wolf. All these years, she had been locked up in the Fletcher Family¡¯s research center while they tried to find a method to suppress her evil personality. However, Celine¡¯s condition had gotten worse. In the past, they could use a certain method to get her to change from her first personality to the second, but now, both personalities were starting to blend into one another. She was like a beast that was locked up in a cage. Once they let their guards down, she would break free from the cage and kill someone. Every day, she would alternate between Celine the King of soldiers and Katrina the cold-blooded killer without warning. One second ago, she might be thinking of killing someone but the next second, she might break down because of the thought she had earlier.All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Justin didn¡¯t say anything and his eyes were indifferent. When one was suffering too much, they would be as numb as he was now. Before this, Cooper, too, thought of catching Phantom Wolf and forcing her to tell them the method to recover Sophia¡¯s memory. However, after weighing up the consequences, he gave that idea up. His daughter had suffered too much and experienced too much darkness and despair. She even suffered from severe depression, but now, she had forgotten all that pain. The only memory left in her was Quinton and his kindness toward her, and that was all she needed to remember. Losing her memory might actually be a great thing for her. Besides, it would be difficult to catch Phantom Wolf now unless he showed up himself. In the kitchen, Sophia hummed a song while cooking vegetables. Seemingly sensing that Cooper was thinking about her, she popped her head out from the kitchen. ¡°Dad, I made your favourite minced meat eggnt.¡± Cooper was speechless. Unable to reject Sophia¡¯s warm hospitality, Justin stayed for dinner. Sophia made simple yet pleasant home cooking dishes, such as shrimp loofah soup, minced meat eggnt, tomato fried egg and a few other dishes, and they were delicious. Even Michael rushed back just in time to drop by for dinner. After dinner, Sophia sat beside Justin and stared at him mysteriously, to the point that Justin started to be embarrassed. ¡°Why are you staring at me?¡± With her eyes shining brightly, Sophia requested, ¡°Can I touch your face?¡± Justin was lost for words. Sophia touched every part of Justin¡¯s face and she honestly couldn¡¯t find a single scar. Not only that, but his skin was also tender. They had gone to the same hospital so she believed that her face would recover as well as his face! Justin stayed at her house until it waste night. To be previous, he was forced to stay so that Sophia could touch his face. After she was done with touching his face, she even touched his chest and asked Cooper and Linus to touch it as well. Cooper had seen Justin¡¯s name in the list of sessful cases of that stic surgery hospital. He knew that Justin¡¯s case was even more severe than Sophia, but both his face and the scars on his body had recoveredpletely. Not only did his scar vanishpletely, but his skin was also tender. Not bad. It seems like I chose the right hospital. Even Sophia gained more confidence for her face. Late at night, Justin finally left with mixed emotions. After Sophia washed herself up and tucked Carmen into the bed, shey on the bed and called Michael. ¡°Nathan talked to me today and even addressed me as his aunt! Did you hear that? Did you?¡± Today, Nathan had talked to Sophia on his own initiative and that made her wild with happiness. Michael was working out at home and he was jogging while chatting with her through the phone. ¡°Nathan¡¯s character is indifferent and it¡¯s my fault. However, he¡¯s extremely cordial to those he likes. In the past when you¡¯re upset, he would even dance for you.¡± ¡°Really? I want to see it! Do you have any videos of it?¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up while she asked impatiently. While she was happily chatting, Cooper¡¯s voice rang again. ¡°Alright. The call has reached ten minutes and it¡¯s enough. I¡¯m hanging up now.¡± Beep, beep¡­ The call was cut off again. Sophia was speechless. Why did Cooper hate Michael so much? After applying the medicine, she went to sleep. On the other side, Michael was still working out at home. He was training to build his chest muscle, abdominal muscle and Apollo¡¯s belt. After he finished working out, he looked at the mirror in satisfaction. The more he looked at himself, the more he felt that he was a juicy delicacy which Sophia would definitely love. After that, he went to take a shower and took some vitamins as well as some beauty soup. Then, he massaged his skin with a beauty tool before applying body lotion. Atst, he applied a sleeping mask for men and dozed off. He clearly knew that Sophia was no longer attracted by wealth and power. Even worse, he was not young anymore so his only bonus point was his looks. If he lost his beauty, he would truly lose all his competitive strength. The next day, Michael carried a bag of mask and makeup products to Sophia¡¯s house and cordially exchanged his beauty tips with her. ¡°This face mask is effective. Justin uses it often, which is why his face could recover so well. This face massager is also great. I¡¯ve been using it every day and it¡¯s suitable for women too. Oh, don¡¯t forget this face cream. I¡¯ve been using this brand for many years and I strongly rmend it. Besides, this brand has always wanted me to be their ambassador!¡± At the side, Cooper looked at him coldly. With that character, Michael could be a sissy if he showed his orchid finger. There was a small bottle of BB Cream in Michael¡¯s huge pile of makeup products. Carmen had taken it and was applying BB Cream on herself, so Michael took some from Carmen and casually smudged it on the back of Sophia¡¯s hand. ¡°The BB Cream that Carmen is using has a marvellous moisturizing effect. Besides, it¡¯s gentle on the skin and it¡¯s developed specifically for babies. I¡¯ve been using it secretly too. Look at how fast the skin absorbs it.¡± While Sophia bowed her head to apply the BB Cream, she suddenly heard Carmen¡¯s grumble. ¡°No wonder the BB Cream is used up so fast.¡± She thought that her face had grownrger. Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh while extending her hand to apply the BB Cream evenly on Carmen¡¯s face. As long as Michael was at home, he would find excuses toe over. He would invite Sophia to see the loofah that had borne fruit, and he would pick a few ripe tomatoes for her to eat. Once, he even came to rmend Sophia a new set of makeup products which had just arrived. He was using every single opportunity to be with her. In order to repay Michael for his face mask, Sophia gave a dozen of her handmade dog¡¯s fur pillows to him. Lately, her cats and dogs had been shedding vigorously so she would gather them whenever she was free and clean it before making it into a pillow. Because she identally mentioned that her pets were shedding, Michael immediately rmended a brand of dog food to Sophia, saying that dogs would shed less if they ate that. After exchanging their thoughts on skin care, it was already lunch. Naturally, Michael stayed for lunch and while they were eating, Sophia turned on her phone to read the financial news. Unexpectedly, she stumbled upon a shocking piece of entertainment news that had blown up with the title of ¡®He Was Once an Oscar Winner, but He Failed to Regain the Public¡¯s Interest so He Is Now a Sugar Baby.¡¯ Chapter 829 Chapter 829 Upon seeing the title of the news, Sophia sank into deep thought. There were only two Oscar winners of Cethos, which were Michael and Harry. Harry was now nning to have a second child with Sarah, and Michael didn¡¯t seem to be someone who would be a sugar baby. Therefore, this news must be about the Oscar winner overseas. However, after she read the news, she grimaced. The news was basically reporting that Taylor was a kept man of Scarlett, and the source of the news was from an online post. The post said that an actor who had faked his death failed to regain his poprity after he made a comeback, and in order to find a sponsorship, he was even willing to be a kept man. On top of that, the wealthy woman had a child out of wedlock and the father of the child was unknown. Therefore, that actor had be the father of another man¡¯s child as soon as he carried on with that wealthy woman. Once they mentioned ¡®the actor who faked his death¡¯, everyone knew who it was. The post also said that the actor¡¯s fans had cried their eyes out for him three years ago, but he didn¡¯t care. Now, he casually made aeback without giving his fans a single exnation, so his haters gave him a title of ¡®the actor who faked his death¡¯. Meanwhile, the wealthy woman was someone who came back from overseas and was the person in charge of a luxury brand for pets. She had a child, whose father was unknown, and the child was doted on by the actor who faked his death as if the child was his own. The family of three lived happily and lovingly. The names of that actor and wealthy woman were dug out by the public, and even the name of the luxury brand for pets was exposed. Since that actor got into such a scandal right after he made aeback, the haters got excited like a fly that found a pile of trash. They hurled malicious remarks at him like a hyena that had found its prey, dying to rip his flesh out. It was terrifying. Looking at the post, Sophia averted her gaze to look at Carmen and Michael, who were having their meals. Suddenly, a bright smile bloomed on her face. People in the entertainment industry were indeed talented in creating stories. This news was also seen by Michael and Cooperter, which created an indescribable expression on their faces. Cooper flew into a rage. ¡°I¡¯ll delete it right away and chop up the person behind this into minced meat eggnt! ¡± What kind of outrageous news was that! Chewing on the chopsticks, Sophia said, ¡°Forget it and let it be. Anyway, Michael needs some poprity for hiseback. Look, this news even brought Pourl to fame.¡± Michael said too, ¡°Negative poprity is still poprity. I¡¯m fine with it. In fact, this news can actually bring me back into the public¡¯s eyes.¡± Being kept by Sophia? That¡¯s great news! Michael thought. Since Sophia requested to leave it, Cooper couldn¡¯t do anything. After the meal, Michael went to the bathroom and deliberately left his phone in the living room for Sophia to look after it. Michael had two phones¡ªone for his work and one for his personal use. Their usage was separated clearly. Sophia was in the living room collecting dog¡¯s fur while Carmen took a nap in her room. Suddenly, Michael¡¯s business phone rang and it was from an unknown number. ncing in the direction of the bathroom, she didn¡¯t see Michaele out so she decided to answer the call. Before she made a sound, the caller spoke. ¡°Mr. Murray, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Miss Faye¡¯s assistant. I believe that you¡¯ve read the news and Miss Faye wants me to tell you that this is just the first step. Soon, you¡¯ll receive the news that ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ has been banned. Miss Faye is willing to support you so if you change your mind, please don¡¯t hesitate to contact us anytime.¡± After saying those words, the assistant arrogantly and coldly hung up the phone, not wanting to waste even a second of his time. Really? Is ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ going to be stopped from airing? I¡¯m so scared! It seems like Faye is powerful indeed. She can even ban the movie that is supported by the Winston and Fletcher Family. With that intelligence, I wonder how she got to where she was today. After the call, she nced at Michael¡¯s phone screen. The wallpaper was a naked couple embracing and kissing each other. Most importantly, the man in the bold photo was Michael while the woman was Sophia. No wonder Michael had asked her to watch his phone. What an old b*stard! Blushing, Sophia put the phone down and pretended that she didn¡¯t see it. However, her heart was fluttering. Judging from his prestige, looks and emotional intelligence, Michael was undeniably the cream of the crop. However, Sophie felt that she should remain reserved for a longer time and only make a decision after examining the situation. After Michael came back from the bathroom, Sophia told him about the incident earlier. Michael didn¡¯t take it as a big deal. ¡°Faye wants me to be her kept man but I rejected her. Just forget about her and let her be. Anyway, my poprity can be increased with her help.¡± Since Michael had something to attend to that afternoon, he left. As expected, he didn¡¯t receive the news that ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ would be banned. Truth was, he had received the screening license many days ago so no matter what Faye did, nothing would happen. Faye didn¡¯t expect that an actor that was no longer famous had such powerful tricks. He even sessfully got the screening license, but so what if he did? She continued to spread rumors that ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ had been banned. She rted the rumors confidently and with a vivid description as if it was true. ording to her, the state administration was going around banning actors and actresses who had a notorious attitude. Since the widespread news about the actor who faked his death was a kept man of a wealthy woman had brought negative impact, the state administration banned him and the movie together. Even the fans thought that ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ was banned. Faye worked hard on her n and wouldn¡¯t give up until she destroyed Taylor and the movie¡¯s reputation. At the moment, the inte was flooded with their negative news, which actually caused their fame to sky-rocket. Even Sophia¡¯s Pourl became famous. Michael and Sophia didn¡¯t care about the fake news which Faye spread. Because of Faye, Pourl was under public scrutiny. While its fame rose, criticism came with it. However, Sophia wasn¡¯t bothered by that. After all, Pourl had positioned themselves in a niche market so obviously, those people who cursed them weren¡¯t their target customers. Along with the flooding criticism on the inte, Pourl¡¯s name became widely known, causing many people to ce orders with them. A day before Pourl¡¯s productunching ceremony, Sophia saw a group photo of the crew from ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ online. In that photo, Michael had a beer belly and a face covered with stubbles. Apart from that, his face seemed bloated and he was bald. This image of him made her shudder in fear. W-Was that Michael? No matter how much negative news the actor had, his loyal fans remained loyal to him but when this crew photo was posted, their hearts instantly broke into pieces. What had happened to their Lord in these three years?! Time was indeed pig feed. Look at what it did to their Lord! It had turned him into a fat pig! Holding her tablet, Sophia went to Vi No. 8. In the cloakroom, Michael was trying on his clothes for tomorrow¡¯s runway during theunching ceremony. He had called his styling team a day before and asked them to stay overnight at Vi No. 8 so that they wouldn¡¯t be in a flurry the next morning. In front of her, Michael was dazzling, looking extraordinarily elegant and gorgeous. He waspletely different from the man in the photo! When Michael saw that crew photo, he was styling his hair. He had to be in his best state to attend his goddess¡¯sunching ceremony, so he had to spend a longer time choosing his outfit. When he saw that photo, he took it lightly and said, ¡°Oh, this photo. When I shot this movie, I stuffed myself with food and gained more than 25kg. The fats on my belly are all real.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Sophia was shocked. ¡°You deliberately stuffed yourself to gain weight for a movie?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Yeah, I did. Hold on¡ª¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. He stood up, went to the study to retrieve a photo album, and took out a photo from it. In that photo, he had fat rolls on his body and his face was even distorted from being obese. In his hand was a fried chicken while a woman, who was as fat as him, sat beside him and devoured a pork trotter. Chapter 830 Chapter 830 ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± Sophia eximed. With one look, Sophia could tell that she was the woman in the photo. She didn¡¯t think that she would ever be this fat. ¡°This was when I was shooting ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯,¡± Michael exined to her. ¡°The character was a fat middle-aged man, so I made myself fat. Look, you apanied me, and we grew fat together! However, you weren¡¯t as fat as I was and lost weight in just a few days.¡± Sophia felt this was very unusual. ¡°You really worked hard for the sake of filming a movie!¡± she eximed. ¡°Weren¡¯t you worried you wouldn¡¯t be able to lose weight after that?¡± Generally, actors cherished their body shape very much. Other actors would not dare to do what Michael did. If they couldn¡¯t lose weight and regain their figures, their acting careers would be ruined. However, Michael didn¡¯t think it was something to worry about. ¡°I wanted to try being fat. If one couldn¡¯t even control their eating habits, how would they control their own life?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t say anything, but respect for Michael grew from the bottom of her heart. What a bold man he is. This was why Michael could be an Oscar-winning actor, while other actors could only be movie stars. When she just returned to Bayside City and saw Michael for the first time, he looked so old and worn out that she thought he was Carmen¡¯s grandfather¡­ True beauty lied on the inside and not on the outside. If one was beautiful and elegant on the inside, they would be radiant by just fixing up their appearance. After looking over the photos, Michael suddenly asked, ¡°Tomorrow is your big day. Have you prepared your outfit?¡± Sofia scratched her head. ¡°I¡¯ll be dressing casually.¡± Michael immediately said, ¡°I have prepared some clothes for you. Would you like to try them?¡± After speaking, he opened the cloakroom Sophia used in the past which still contained all her things. There was actually a secret door inside the cloakroom. The outside stored only items of daily use, but there was also another cloakroom behind the secret door. When she walked through the secret door, Sophia¡¯s eyes lit up. There was a wedding dress, a suit and a set of traditional Cethos wedding clothes inside. The wedding dress had an affluent and elegant design, and every detail was very exquisite. Even if it was only worn on a stic mannequin, it was still radiant and extraordinary. If it was worn on a real person, it would be even more morous. As soon as she stepped inside the room, Sophia¡¯s gaze was locked onto the wedding dress. ¡°This was a wedding dress we hadmissioned,¡± Matthew exined to her. ¡°You personally chose the design!¡± Sophia approached the wedding dress and took a look. She really had a good eye for taste. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± she murmured. Michael gave a bitter smile. After they had ced the order for the wedding dress, it took a year for them to receive it. By that time, Sophia was already pregnant and couldn¡¯t wear it. Sophia had thought that after she gave birth, she would quickly lose weight and recover her figure, then immediately take wedding photos of her in her wedding dress and hold a grand wedding ceremony. Such a pity¡­ While Sophia was still admiring the wedding dress, Michael had already gone to find the custom-made clothes he had ordered for her. The clothes Michael chose were naturally unique, and Sophia liked them very much. After choosing what she wanted to wear, Sophia made an appointment toe over to do the styling tomorrow morning, and then she went home. After returning home, Sophia transferred the money for the clothes and the fee for the stylist to Michael, and Michael epted it without any hesitation. He didn¡¯t like to be courteous with Sophia as doing so would alienate her from him. Sophia liked straightforward men like this. Michael would being to the event tomorrow, and she was looking forward to it¡­ Meanwhile,te at night, Justin returned to the ce where he had lived for three years. It was a secret research institute outside the city under heavy guard that belonged to the military. There were many dangerous people locked inside here, such as Celine Fletcher. Justin entered his room, which was no different from a normal room for 1 person. Although the room was small, it had all the necessary furnishings, but one of the walls was transparent. On the other side of the transparent wall, there was another room. The furnishings in that room were simple¡ªthere was only one bed, one wardrobe, and a set of tables and chairs. It was as simple as a cell. Justin turned on the light, took off his clothes, and hung them on the hangers. On the other side of the wall, a female voice said, ¡°Justin, you¡¯re back.¡± Hearing that voice, Justin¡¯s heart became heavier, but he put on a smile on his face, walked to the wall, and looked at the person standing on the other side before saying warmly, ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± The person opposite him was Celine Fletcher. Three years had gone by. She had lost a lot of weight, there were wrinkles on her face, and she looked much older. The two of them sat down, separated by a sheet of ss, and quietly looked at each other. Celine had been detained here for three years. Justin had been apanying her all this time, taking care of her while also monitoring her. When she was normal, she was the same as before, but when she was abnormal, she would kill people indiscriminately. She was also extremely cunning and was always thinking of ways to escape. However, no one knew why she would be normal in one instant and suddenly be abnormal in another. Celine wanted to ask Justin something, but she felt she didn¡¯t have the right to ask, so Justin spoke up first. ¡°I saw Sophia and Mikey. They are currently doing well. Sophia has forgotten about the past, but I can see that she still has Mikey in her heart.¡± ¡°They¡¯re doing good. Tomorrow, Sophia¡¯s pet supply store is having a productunch ceremony, and Mikey is helping her prepare.¡± Justin took out his phone and scrolled to a picture. The photo was taken by Justin during dinner, which showed Michael and his family sitting together for dinner. Celine looked at the photo through the ss, especially at Carmen. She remembered that day. She had apanied Sophia to look at maternity clothes, but when she saw Quinton rk, she suddenly lost control. She didn¡¯t know why she reacted that way either. She could feel that there was another malicious person hiding in her body. That person could control her at any time and was hidden in her own body, and whenever she came out, Celine could only watch helplessly as she hurt her loved ones. She could even feel her child slowly leave her body with a stream of heat. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°If our daughter was born, she would also be around this age, wouldn¡¯t she?¡± Celine murmured while looking at the picture of Carmen. When Celine spoke of their daughter, Justin was so sad that he couldn¡¯t say anything. That day, when he ran up to the rooftop, Celine had blocked his way. In fact, it was Katrina as she had resurrected in her body. Not allowing anything to get in his way and in order to be able to take her down quickly, he hardened his heart and attacked her abdomen. The ce he struck was where their child was growing. As a result, Celine suffered a miscarriage because of the injury to her abdomen. She was subdued by Justin in the end, but their second child, a daughter, was gone as well¡­ As the night went on, the couple leaned their backs against each other with a piece of cold bulletproof ss in between, trying to seek warmth from each other in the endless cold night. Justin leaned against the ss, tears silently dripping down his face. ¡°Celie, we still have Nate! He¡¯s doing very well. He¡¯s now studying at Bayside University, and he works in Stanley¡¯spany after school.¡± ¡°Stanley bought a new office building. Hispany is growing bigger day by day.¡± ¡­¡­ The second day was the day Pourl unveiled their new products. Sarah, Stanley and Sean had alle. Maddie, representing their newspaper, had alsoe. Nicole had also turned down an event and made a special trip there to take a look. Backstage, the two obsolete stars were ready to walk down the runway with their dogs. Michael brought Judge along, while Harry brought his giant poodle. Carmen also enthusiastically wanted to do a catwalk too, and since they were the ones who organized the event, they let her have her fun. Carmen would be walking with Snowball. Sarah, Stanley and Sean were acting as hosts at the front, whereas Sophia was busy with the stuff backstage. She would split her attention to the models, then the dogs, and then to Carmen and Michael. Carmen, who was about to go on a catwalk for the first time in her life, was extremely excited. She had been practicing for several days and was now following behind her father backstage, learning how to strut on a catwalk. Cooper was overseeing things on the side. He was extremely disgusted when he saw Michael, who was wearing makeup. Ever since the media had written about Michael as a gigolo who was financially dependent on a rich woman, he seemed to have found his ce in life, and was developing more and more into a gigolo. Chapter 831 Chapter 831 Sophia was at the side, taking videos of the father-daughter duo using her phone. asionally, a model would excitedlye and ask Michael for a photo. Harry secretly took a front shot of Michael, added mosaics over Carmen, and was about to make a surprise promotion on Twitter when suddenly, Sarah came barging in angrily to the backstage from the front. As soon as she stepped foot inside, she started swearing up a storm. ¡°Those little shi*s! A female celebrity is shooting a shower gelmercial naked in the hotel next door. All of the reporters have headed over there.¡± Sophia nced at the surveince footage in front of her. Sure enough, many reporters had gone next door. The media area was quickly bing empty, and even some of their customers were attracted there as well. But which celebrity would choose today of all days to shoot the shower gel advertisement? And why would they choose to shoot theirmercial in the hotel next to their venue without any warning? It seemed that the celebrity must be someone famous, else the reporters wouldn¡¯t have rushed off so quickly. Very soon, Stanley learned what was going on. When he came back, he was filled with indignation. ¡°I have found out what the situation is about¡ªit is Faye Edwards and Irene Weber!¡± In the past, Stanley would respectfully call her Aunt Irene, but now, he didn¡¯t use any honorifics when saying her name. Irene knew that they were having a productunch today, but she still arranged for a shooting to take ce next to them. This was obviously done intentionally! Ever since Irene came back from abroad two years ago, her temperament had changed drastically. Without her military rank, she had released all her inhibitions and had also starred inrge-scale erotic dramas, so her shooting a shower gel advertisement naked was not unexpected. After making some more enquiries, they learned it was an advertisement for a bath product under a big international brand, whose agent in Cethos was Sandra Mitchell. And so Sandra Mitchell, Faye Edwards and Irene Weber, the three women that Sophia had a grudge against, got together. This was done deliberately to make her press conference a failure! Sandra had also picked an appropriate time to give Sophia a call and lorded it over her. ¡°Scarlett, I heard that today Pourl isunching a new product, right? How is it going? It must be jam packed with people!¡± Sophia¡¯s face was icy cold. ¡°Yes, there are so many people here,¡± she replied icily. She hung up the phone unceremoniously and took a look at the front. Their customers were still there, but many reporters had left. However, the big-name reporters didn¡¯t leave. After all, they were personally invited by her, and it would be rude to leave halfway through. Sophia had also used her connection with the Michel Family and invited some ace reporters from major international fashion magazines. Naturally, these reporters would not be attracted by some vulgar shower gel advertisement. All in all, it was just not as crowded as before. Michael also learned of this news and sneered inside. This was a trick he had used before. Previously, at Richard Harper¡¯s engagement banquet, he held a charity dinner next door and attracted all his guests. He patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± he said. ¡°The only ones who left are some two-bit reporters. To think that they would want to take nude pictures of someone else, they really have no standards. It¡¯s fine even if they¡¯re gone. I called a few friends toe over, and they¡¯ll be here soon.¡± Meanwhile, Cooper had half of the people from the Mitchell Family who were in the fashion industry to come. Linus wanted toe himself, and since it was a slight effort, he brought a group of important VIPs from the fashion world here. No one would refuse Linus Michel¡¯s invitation once he opened his mouth. The Michel Family also had members who were big shots in the fashion world and since this was their patriarch¡¯s order, they needed toe. This time, Pourl and L/K had coborated to produce a series of new products, so people from L/K were also here. Hence,there really was no shortage of people at the scene. A few vulgar journalists from some tabloids being absent wouldn¡¯t have any impact on the event. The productunch proceeded as nned and was about to begin. Before it started, various big shots from the fashion world came as promised, and every single person who received an invitation attended the event. Pourl¡¯s customers were all pleasantly surprised. They never expected that a store selling dog cors would have so many celebrities from the fashion worlde to their productunch. Many of them were internationally renowned fashionistas, and you couldn¡¯t invite them to attend your events even if you paid them. Of course, whether it be the customers or guests, today¡¯s biggest surprise was still toe. At the same time, at the hotel next door, Sandra came to supervise the shooting of themercial. In truth, she was only here to see Scarlett and Pourl bing a joke. So what if they coborated with L/K? If no one attended the event, they wouldn¡¯t be able to proceed as they nned! Irene and Faye, two A-list celebrities, were shooting a naked shower gelmercial, so obviously, many reporters wanted to take photos of them! Of course, there was no way Faye would really strip downpletely as she still had to marry into a wealthy family. She didn¡¯t have to show too much to the cameras because it was just a gimmick, after all. Even if it was just a gimmick, Faye and Irene¡¯s fame couldn¡¯t be underestimated. As she stood at the entrance of the hotel, she could see many reporters swarming over to where she was from next door. Many of the reporters who had learned of themercial beforehand drove directly over and didn¡¯t bother to go to Pourl¡¯s productunch. This is what you get for picking a fight with me! When Sandra was about to return to the hotel, she suddenly saw a limousine passing by the entrance of the hotel. The crest of the Michel Family was printed on the car, and the car stopped at the entrance of the hotel that hosted Pourl¡¯s productunch ceremony. A few Caucasian bodyguards got out of the car and opened the door cautiously. Then, a blond, blue- eyed man who looked like an elven prince got out of the car. He looked up at the hotel, and his raised side profile almost overwhelmed everyone because he was extremely handsome. When Sandra saw the man, her whole body went limp and she was in stunned disbelief for two seconds¡­ Wasn¡¯t that Linus Michel? After Sandra won the world championship of the Universal Games, she once represented Cethos along with other outstanding youths to apany the president to visit abroad and attended a grand banquet. Those who attended the banquet were the heads of the world¡¯s major financial groups and members of royal families. However, the only person she remembered from the event was a blond, blue-eyed, handsome and prince-like man, whom she often thought about as well. This material belongs to N?velDrama.Org. She had thought he was the prince of a European royal family, but she learned that he was the second- inmand in the Michel Family¡ªLinus Michel was a man who was more important than any prince. After glimpsing him back then, Sandra had been dreaming about him for all these years, but she didn¡¯t expect that Linus would appear here! And judging from where he was headed, he would be attending Pourl¡¯s productunch ceremony! How did that b*tch manage to invite the second-inmand of the Michel Family to her event? Sandra watched as Linus was respectfully invited into the hotel by Pourl¡¯s host, surrounded by his bodyguards. And with a crack, she broke the nail she had just got done. She turned away sullenly and went into the hotel, but unexpectedly, when she entered the hotel, she heard the reporters madly spreading news amongst themselves. ¡°What? The fashion leader renowned in Europe and America is here?¡± ¡°The vice president of the Michel Group, Linus Michel, is here?¡± ¡°What?! Taylor Murray had also arrived?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. And not only Taylor Murray, but also Ethan Winston. Take a look, Winston just tweeted! So Murray didn¡¯t get fat after all!¡± ¡­¡­ ¡°Oh my god, this is big news! We need to hurry over and take a look!¡± The reporters swarmed back to where they came from. Very soon, Sandra¡¯s ce became empty as everyone had gone next door to see if Taylor Murray was fat or thin. Chapter 832 Chapter 832 Faye and Irene, who were shooting themercial, could also see that there were suddenly fewer reporters. What was going on? They immediately inquired about the ins and outs of the incident, and it turned out that Taylor Murray was at the productunch ceremony next door! The reason they had agreed to shoot thismercial today was naturally to disrupt Scarlett¡¯s new productunch ceremony next door, but they didn¡¯t expect that Taylor would appear in person! Although he was one of Pourl¡¯s shareholders, he had not been seen attending Pourl¡¯s annual new productunches over the years. Why did he suddenly appear today? Was it because of Scarlett? Irene and Sandra both knew the background of Michael. He was the grandson of Mark, and his father was Theo. No matter how bad of a situation he was in, he would never be a kept man. Did he choose to catwalk during Pourl¡¯s productunch today to create buzz for hiseback? No way. Irene, who grew up with Michael, could see that something was different this time. She had heard that Mark recently intended to let Cooper¡¯s daughter, Scarlett, get married with the children of the Fletcher Family. Could it be that Scarlett had taken a fancy to Michael? In that case, was Michael also interested in Scarlett? Irene was so angry that her entire face was distorted. Michael, you would rather fancy a woman of unknown origin than give me a chance! Sandra also sensed that something was different this time. Michael was Mark¡¯s grandson, and Cooper was Mark¡¯s godson. After Cooper came back, he managed to persuade Anthony and his men in a very short time although he had no support. It was impossible for him to have done it on his own, so he must have received help from the Fletcher Family. Cooper was very likely to marry his daughter into the Fletcher Family to stabilize his rtionship with the Fletcher Family. Did it mean that he wanted Scarlett to marry Michael? What a scheming fellow¡­ However, this was also expected by Alex. Cooper wanted to make aeback, and the safest and fastest way was to marry his ugly daughter to someone from the Fletcher Family. If he could please Mark, he would be able to get the support of the Fletcher Family. However, Sandra would never allow Cooper¡¯s daughter to marry into the Fletcher Family sessfully! Irene and Sandra looked at each other and reached a consensus. They had only one purpose¡ªto stop Scarlett from marrying into the Fletcher Family so easily and to disrupt Scarlett¡¯s productunch event. Irene was doing it because of Michael, while Sandra was doing it for the internal conflicts of the Mitchell Family. But now, the question was, who was going to get involved? Sandra didn¡¯t dare to go. She was not afraid of Scarlett, but she was afraid of Michael. Although he was a star who was now past his prime, he was still Mark¡¯s grandson, and Mark even personally gave flowers to Michael at the New Year Dinner G, which was a great honor! Irene didn¡¯t dare to take the risk and stir up trouble either. But right now, the opportunity was here¡­ Only Faye was not in the state of mind yet. The reason why she promised toe to shoot this shower gel advertisement today was because she deliberately wanted to go against Scarlett. Plus, Nicole was at the event next door and she wanted to prove that she was the superior star, which was why she was here. Halfway through the shooting, Faye got her makeup reapplied. The makeup artist carefully applied makeup on her face which had stiffened in anger, while the assistant loudly tried to tter Faye. ¡°Miss Faye, don¡¯t be angry. He¡¯s just an obsolete male celebrity who has be a kept man. He has nothing to be proud of. How can hepare to you? Let¡¯s post a few more posts criticizing him when we go back! His film hasn¡¯t been released yet, so let¡¯s try to get it down!¡± The assistant¡¯s words were heard by Sandra and Irene. The two exchanged nces, and it suddenly dawned on them. It seemed that Faye still didn¡¯t know the true identity of Taylor, and the hateful posts on the Inte must have been made by the retarded Faye¡­ In recent years, Faye had gotten lucky and became a national beauty. She was one of the top A-list celebrities in Cethos, and she was invited to act in many international blockbusters. She felt that she had surpassed even Lucy, so she was extra arrogant. After all, Faye was from the coteral side of the family. All she wanted at that time was to break into the social circle of elitedies, so she kept ttering Lucy and Sandra. Perhaps we should make Faye, that retard, go stir up trouble? Making up their minds, the two went to Faye with ill intentions¡­ On the other side, at the entrance of Pourl¡¯s productunch ceremony, arge group of reporters swarmed in but were all stopped by the staff at the door. The event had already started, so no one was allowed to enter. The group of reporters at the door kept yelling, and suddenly, a few bodyguards in ck suits came to fend off the reporters. The bodyguards then stood in two lines opposite each other and guarded a few gorgeously-dressed women as they came in. The woman walking in front was the fragrant Faye, who had just finished shooting the shower gel advertisement, followed by Sandra in a ck chic pencil skirt and Irene in a satin cheongsam. The three appeared grandly at the door of the productunch, but they had no invitation letter, so they were naturally stopped by the staff. Sandra asked, ¡°What? Is Scarlett afraid? Is it because she¡¯s afraid that I will mess up her product launch?¡± Hearing this, the staff asked his supervisor about what should be done. The person above responded immediately, and the staff respectfully let them in. At this time, the catwalk had already begun. There were a lot of people who left the venue just now, so there were some vacant seats. Thus, the next few people who came in were randomly assigned seats. After sitting down, the three of them searched for their own targets. As soon as Irene came in, she saw Maddie, whom she despised, but she did not dare to approach her because Maddie was carrying a retired military dog. Sandra, on the other hand, was looking for Linus, but she saw Linus sitting next to Cooper and surrounded by celebrities. As for Faye, her target was Taylor. Then, the catwalk continued on. The models invited here were all international supermodels, and they were all wearing intricate L/K branded clothes. Each model was walking a dog, and the dogs were wearing Pourl essories. L/K and Pourl had teamed up to create matching fashionable outfits for the owner and pets. This was an ingenious idea, and it was sought after by celebrities after its release. In the second half of the catwalk, a child model around the age of three came out, walking childishly. Although she was not professional, her walk was full of vigor. Walking a dog, she was very eye-catching the moment she appeared. It was that lolita who was very popr on the Inte! Unexpectedly, she was Pourl¡¯s model! Seeing her walking in the show, Faye¡¯s eyes lit up. She indeed had great potential, and she must find a way to poach her. She had already decided to participate in the next season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯, but her child partner¡¯s performance was really unsatisfactory. She had to find the right child star before they started shooting for the next season, otherwise the ratings of ¡®Where Are We Going, Sis?¡¯ was destined to be beaten by the ratings of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. After making up her mind, Faye began to scheme¡­ All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. After walking around the stage with the dog, Carmen was very satisfied with her own performance. Halfway through, she turned her head and walked around again, making the guestsugh. After Carmen went backstage, it was Harry¡¯s turn as expected. He attended Pourl¡¯s productunch every year, so unsurprisingly, he came here with his giant poodle again. It had been three years, and he brought along this dog every time. This year, Harry was still as amazing as ever. Both him and his dog were eye-catching. However, they had been the final act for many years now, so everyone was already tired of seeing them. Everyone just wanted the catwalk session to quickly end, so that everyone could go meet more celebrities. Unexpectedly, after Harry finished his runway walk, everyone didn¡¯te out together to end the show. At the end of the T-shaped tform, a slender figure appeared. He walked from among the dark shadows into the brightly-lit area, causing his blurry figure to increasingly look clearer and clearer. The colorful lights above the T-shaped stage shrouded the figure, slowly delineating the outline of his figure, and a familiar face appeared in everyone¡¯s eyes. The lively press conference turned quiet at that moment. Chapter 833 Chapter 833 The man on the tform walked down the runway while holding a mighty husky under everyone¡¯s gaze. He was chic and cool, and his walk was professional and handsome. He walked to the ce where the spotlight was, stopped, and looked around the venue for a few seconds. A smile that was both righteous and evil appeared on his lips, and his whole body was full of the domineering aura and the elegance of an Eastern gentleman, which was in harmony with his outfit today and the temperament of a dog. It wasn¡¯t until he walked up the runway that everyone regained their senses, and there was sparse apuse. In the blink of an eye, it was as if a stone was dropped into theke water, arousing a thousand waves. Then, thunderous apuse could be heard. That was Taylor! Taylor did not die, and he was not fat either! Many of Taylor¡¯s fans in the room were extremely excited! They all stretched out hands which were holding their mobile phones, frantically capturing every frame of his smile and every movement. The atmosphere of today¡¯s conference reached a climax. Taylor walked once around the stage and walked backstage. However, within three seconds, he reappeared. This time, he was not holding a dog, but a fair and beautiful hand. Taylor was holding a woman¡¯s hand and slowly entered everyone¡¯s sights again. The woman wore a yellow dress with a high-necked design. The skirt was ingeniously matched with a hollowed out design. It was tailored to fit her body, and it outlined her beautiful curves. A fair and smooth arm was exposed, while the other arm was wrapped in cloth. The exposed arm integrated with the whole outfit under the ingenious design, so it did not stick out like a sore thumb. The woman had long ck, wavy hair. A few strands of hair were hanging by her ear, and a few fell on her forehead, hanging over her eyebrows. It covered her imperfections without obstructing her facial features. Her hairstyle and makeup were perfect. When these two appeared together, it immediately caused a bigmotion. That woman was¡­ When the woman appeared, everyone looked at Faye in the audience, and saw that Faye herself was stunned as well. After the two of them walked down the T-shaped tform, Michael bowed gracefully to the beautiful ck-haired woman, then retreated gracefully, giving her the stage. The woman adjusted her microphone, and she said with a British English ent with her elegant and mysterious voice, ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Scarlett. You can also call me Lucile.¡± Scarlett¡­ She was Scarlett! Scarlett, the daughter of the resurrected former family head of the Mitchell Family, Cooper! Rumor had it that Cooper¡¯s daughter was ugly and hideous, but the woman in front of them had a very beautiful face, a face that everyone knew previously as Sophia! Sophia, Taylor¡¯s original wife and Faye¡¯s sister, had died in a fan stampede three years ago. She had died with her unborn baby! But how could Cooper¡¯s daughter be Sophia? ! Cooper had been in exile abroad all these years. His daughter was born abroad, so it was impossible that Sophia was his daughter! Under the surprised gaze of everyone, Sophia had already started giving her speech. She was the newly appointed person-in-charge, and not long after she joined, she had grown Pourl into a major international brand. Today, she had also invited many foreign journalists from fashion magazines toe over to watch the show. Thus, she spoke fluently and with a English ent, which was a special ent for the royal family and nobles. Everyone was attracted by her beautiful and elegant ent and her grasp of the Englishnguage. No, this was not Sophia. She did not sound the same as her, and their temperament seemed to be a little different. Scarlett should be the third generation of mixed race, and her appearance looked more like a foreigner. Even her eyes were blue, and she didn¡¯t look like she was wearing circle lenses at all. Sandra and Faye exchanged nces in shock. They thought that she was Sophia, but they didn¡¯t feel like the woman was simr to Sophia. Except for their simr facial features, they weren¡¯t alike at all. Sophia couldn¡¯t speak English fluently, what more with a British ent. Plus, didn¡¯t she die three years ago? Her father was the fat man, Joe, whom she had confirmed her blood rtions by the practice of dripping blood. How could she appear here as Cooper¡¯s daughter? They were probably just simr in terms of look. Perhaps she deliberately had stic surgery to look like this! As the original wife of Best Actor Taylor Murray, Sophia¡¯s face had long been used as the standard for cosmetic surgery. There were a lot of inte celebrities who looked like her in Bayside. Sandra had also seen her hospitalized after having stic surgery. Everyone looked at Scarlett on the stage, and now they finally understood why Taylor woulde back suddenly and was rumored to be taken care of by Scarlett, the wealthy woman. It turned out it was because Scarlett and his dead wife were so simr. This man must have been crazy in love¡­ Sophia¡¯s face had notpletely recovered. There were still some fine marks on her forehead, and there were very obvious scars on her arms and neck, all of which were cleverly covered by Michael¡¯s stylist. Today, she looked extremely delicate and elegant, and she was also very satisfied with today¡¯s look. She was like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, and like a phoenix reborn from the ashes. Backstage, Michael silently stared at the woman who seemed to be illuminated by all the lights in the world, her eyes full of tenderness and admiration. His little chica was no longer a little chica, but a phoenix that had soared into the sky¡­ Sophia exined Pourl¡¯s design concept today in English and won another round of apuse. Sure enough, this was Cooper¡¯s daughter. She had her father¡¯s demeanor. Amidst the apuse, Pourl¡¯s productunch this summer ended. Everyone started to interact with each other at will with free flowing wine and champagne. The men were holding dogs, while the women were holding cats. Through the interactions of their pets, they could get to know the people they wanted to. Sophia and Michael appeared together. Michael was so fair that his skin seemed to shine, and he looked like a loyal kept man as he followed behind Sophia while ttering her. With an elegant and domineering expression, Sophia walked freely among celebrities from various countries, and greeted different people proficiently in severalnguages. She had truly undergone a transformation. Virs-18 had destroyed her body and appearance, and although she was recovering well now, her appearance had changed under the influence of time and surgery. An amnesia had caused her topletely change from what she used to be. Now, she was a brand new person. During the two years in Africa, she lived in a bookstore under Quinton¡¯s arrangement, thus she read books everyday. Moreover, she could read ten lines at a nce, and she remembered everything she read. At one point, there were not enough books in the bookstore for her to read. Reading not only allowed her to regain thenguage she once learned, but also gave her apletely different temperament from before. Although some people still suspected that she was Sophia, no one dared to express their thoughts under the current circumstances. After all, the two had very different identities, and they might invite trouble by talking about it at will. Sophia walked up to Cooper, clinked her wine ss with his and said, ¡°Dad.¡± She looked excited, waiting for Cooper to praise herself. Cooper was also very pleased as his daughter lived up to his expectations. He didn¡¯t skimp on hispliments and said, ¡°You performed well today.¡± Sophia smiled contentedly. In order to take care of his daughter¡¯s business, Cooper had specially ordered several outfits for Corrado. He had snatched Corrado from Sam, so he was his now. When Corrado was free, Cooped would ask him to go to Sophia and Sarah¡¯s dog food stores and dog chain stores to shop around to increase their sales. Sophia clinked her ss with Linus¡¯, and then she walked away to receive others. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Cooper red at Michael, but did not stop him from following Sophia. In Michael¡¯s view, this meant that his father-inw had begun to rx his attitude toward him. If he worked hard, he would be able to have a second child next year. Michael followed behind Sophia with light steps. Irene¡¯s eyes were filled with hatred when she saw the two of them being so lovey-dovey. Chapter 834 Chapter 834 Why? Why?! Michael obviously belonged to her, so why did this woman named Scarlett snatch him from her? Did she think that she could enchant him just because she had the same face as Sophia? But there were dogs everywhere here, so Irene didn¡¯t dare to do anything and could only hide in a corner. Sooner orter, Faye would teach Scarlett a lesson! Just you wait! Sandra saw the opportunity and went toward Linus silently. ¡°Hi, Linus, long time no see. Do you remember me?¡± A few years had passed, and Sandra was no longer the ugly duckling who stammered in English all the time. She had now transformed into a white swan, and she believed Linus must be able to notice her. Linus also saw Sandra, and he naturally remembered her. After all, she was Sophia¡¯s cannon fodder. ¡°Miss Mitchell! I hope that you¡¯re well.¡± Linus raised a ss to Sandra. Sandra was overjoyed, but she still stayed calm on the surface, and she inquired after the well-being of him and his pets. Linus had brought a big yellow dog over. His dog was very well-groomed, and with Pourl¡¯s cor on its neck, it looked low-key luxurious. At this time, he was lying silently at Linus¡¯s feet and dozing quietly. ¡°Wow, this Akita dog is so beautiful. Looking at its coat and appearance, it must be the offspring of a rare dog breed.¡± Sandra praised the dog enthusiastically. Linus said, ¡°¡­This is a Cethosian mutt.¡± M-Mutt?! The corners of Sandra¡¯s mouth twitched. The dignified vice president of Michel Group actually had a mutt as a pet?! She had already started this topic, so she had to continue talking about it no matter what. ¡°Mutts are great¡­ What¡¯s its name?¡± Linus said, ¡°Its name is Blessing.¡± The corners of Sandra¡¯s mouth twitched again. Linus didn¡¯t understand why everyone made such an expression when they heard that his dog was named Blessing. He liked this mutt. It looked fierce but it was cute. Plus, it understood humans extremely well and looked after his home. He had decided to stay in Cethos for a period of time, so he brought Blessing over. Blessing was more obedient and more clever than the other dogs at home. In addition, he didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with its name. In contrast, celebrities and richdies liked to call their dogs ¡®ck¡¯, ¡®Lucky¡¯, and ¡®Lowell¡¯. They sounded high ss, but in Linus¡¯s view, the name ¡®Blessing¡¯ was a way better name. Sandraughed nervously and continued to talk awkwardly, trying to find amon topic with Linus, but it proved difficult for her. ¡°Mr. Linus, what kind of sports do you usually like to do?¡± It was easy for her to findmon ground with him on this topic. She could talk about any sports that he was interested in as she was an athlete. Linus said, ¡°I¡¯m an introvert, so I usually just y online games at home.¡± Sandra responded, ¡°Ahh¡­ haha, I didn¡¯t expect Mr. Linus¡¯s hobby to be so trendy. Mr. Linus, it¡¯s your first timeing to Bayside, so you must try some Bayside cuisine. I know of several restaurants¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I always cook and eat at home. I don¡¯t like eating outside food,¡± Linus replied calmly. Sandra pretended to be surprised. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know that you knew how to cook! I wonder if I can have the honor of tasting your cooking?¡± Linus frowned. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I only cook for my family.¡± Sandra was speechless once again. Sophia had been eavesdropping, and she heard Linus trying to end the conversation several times. If Linus didn¡¯t want to talk to others, he would be able to shut them up in a few words; if he was talking with people he liked, he could talk about everything and anything. She felt she had to go save him from this. Sophia walked toward them with a ss of wine, interrupted their chat, and asked, ¡°Uncle Linus, what are you guys talking about?¡± Sandra felt unhappy when she heard Sophia calling him Uncle. She was the daughter of the coal miner. How could she be so bold as to call Linus ¡®Uncle¡¯? But since Sophia took the initiative toe over, she had a great chance to embarrass her. She must teach Sophia a lesson especially in front of Linus so that she would not dare to try to get in good with Linus again. Although she already had a fianc¨¦, Sandra had already regarded Linus as her prey the moment she saw him today! Sandra spoke ahead of Linus. ¡°We are discussing pets! Oh, yes, I specially brought my cat today to show it to you.¡± Sandra didn¡¯t like pets, but she had pets. She then asked her assistant to bring over her pet. It was a medium-sized cat which was white with yellow stripes, and it looked like a leopard. It was very beautiful and his eyes were full of vigor. At first nce, he looked like an extraordinary spiritual beast. ¡°This is my pet, called ¡®Lucky¡¯. It¡¯s a purebred leopard cat. Although it looks scary, it¡¯s very docile and has a very high IQ.¡± The beautiful leopard cat immediately attracted the attention of a group of people, and they came over to look at it. It was indeed a beautiful cat! While the assistant held her cat, Sandra said proudly, ¡°This cat breed can only be found in one African country, and only 20 cats are born each year. The original owner of Lucky is the prime minister of a European country. We hit it off on our first meeting, so he gave me Lucky as a gift.¡± Everyone was amazed. This cat had such an amazing background! Linus, too, was watching. Well¡­ although its name wasme, it was indeed a beautiful little cat. But he faintly felt that Sandra had other intentions besides just simply showing off her pet. Sure enough, when more and more people came over to look at Lucky, Sandra asked Sophia, ¡°Scarlett, where¡¯s your cat?¡± Sophia knew that she was waiting to embarrass her! If she called over her cat, and her cat was not as expensive as hers, wouldn¡¯t she be looked down upon? She had many cats, and all of them were big orange cats. She had a few imported big orange cats such as Garfield, Sunset, and Scorchy, as well as a fewrge domestic orange cats. Sophia held the wine ss elegantly and replied, ¡°Cat? I have a big orange cat. It was there just now, but I don¡¯t know where it is now.¡± Big orange cat? Howme! Of course, Sandra didn¡¯t let her off the hook. ¡°Well then, why don¡¯t you bring your big orange cat over and let me have a look!¡± All content ? N/.?vel/Dr/ama.Org. Sophia was in a quandary. ¡°No thanks. My orange cat is not worth looking at at all. It¡¯s just amon and ordinary orange cat.¡± Even then, Sandra continued to pressure her. ¡°Everyone is here today to bond over pets. You have a pet, so you should bring it over! Hurry up and bring it over so that I can take a look!¡± Feeling helpless, Sophia had no choice but to ask someone to find her big orange cat. Sandra and a rich lady sneered, waiting to see Sophia¡¯s local cat. After waiting for about ten minutes, she finally saw Sophia¡¯s long-overdue big orange cat. Sophia¡¯s ¡®big orange cat¡¯ had golden, shiny hair. It was 2.5 meters in length, and it had well-developed limbs, sharp ws, and a thick mane on its neck. When it entered the hall, it opened its mouth and yawned so loud that it shocked the audience. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Chapter 835 Chapter 835 As soon as Sophia¡¯s ¡®big orange cat¡¯ came out, the audience instantly fell silent. The whole room was silent as everyone looked at it. The big orange cat walked briskly behind Sophia. Its golden hair was shining, and it was exquisite and domineering. He was big and had a very toned body. It was evident that it led a veryfortable and great life. Sophia took her 2.5-meter-long orange cat to the stunned Sandra, and said, ¡°This is Barney. It¡¯s an orange cat. Feel free to touch it if you like.¡± Sandra looked at Barney, her face pale with fright. Forgetting her image, she screamed, ¡°It¡¯s a lion!¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. This was no orange cat. This was a lion! It was a male lion, an adult male lion! Sandra backed away in fright, and many of the guests were also frightened by the ¡®orange cat¡¯ and backed away. Although lions were also cats, the difference between lions and cats was huge! Sophia rubbed Barney¡¯s mane and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it doesn¡¯t bite. Don¡¯t scream so loudly. It¡¯s very cowardly, and it¡¯s still a baby.¡± As soon as the big orange cat came out, it sessfully stunned the audience. After Sophia walked her cat around the venue for a while, she asked someone to bring it away. Everyone¡¯s exchanges continued, but every time they saw Sophia, they couldn¡¯t help but think of her ¡®big orange cat¡¯, and the look in their eyes changed. A woman who dared to raise such a big ¡®orange cat¡¯ was indeed extraordinary. Frightened by the orange cat, Sandra did not dare to talk to Sophia again and avoided her with her leopard cat. However, many wealthy people came to ask about the origin of the big orange cat. It had been legal to raise lions and tigers as pets in Cethos for more than 20 years ago, but the procedures were very complicated, and the permit was difficult to obtain. The types that could be raised were also very limited, and few people dared to raise lions and tigers. Sophia was also the first among the famous people in Bayside City to raise a lion. Many celebrities were very interested in raising a lion, and Sophia also patiently exined the origin of the lion. Sophia¡¯s lion had been raised by Cooper for two years, and it was one of the few legally bred lions. It was born in Africa¡¯srgest lion-raising circle. This lion-raising circle had been raising lions for more than two hundred years. Barney¡¯s ancestors had been domesticated since two hundred years ago, and now they were as docile as a dog. It had taken a few months for them to get their permit, so it had not been easy for Barney toe to Cethos. Michael frowned on one side. Another big orange cat! And this one is bigger than Bubbles! Bubbles is the size of ten cats, while this lion is the size of one hundred cats! Raising it will be equivalent to raising more than 100 orange cats. Oh heavens! Sophia and the celebrities continued to exchange their experiences on raising a big orange cat. The exchanges went on harmoniously, but Sophia suddenly saw a lot of peopleing in from outside. They seemed to be emergency doctors, and an ambnce had even arrived outside. The doctor came in anxiously, looked around their surroundings, and said anxiously, ¡°Who called the hospital and said that he was bitten by a dog?!¡± Someone was bitten by a dog?! Because today was a luxury pet goods conference, there were many pets present, includingrge dogs. What Sophia was most afraid of was dogs biting people, so she had already reminded the customers to take good care of their dogs. Those who could buy luxury goods for their dogs usually could afford to hire an assistant. Generally speaking, there should be no idents, but once an ident happened, Pourl would be the one responsible for it, and the reputation of Pourl would also be affected. Moreover, she did not hear anymotion although someone was bitten by a dog. Under normal circumstances, wouldn¡¯t one call for help if such a thing happened? There was also a special medical team at the scene to deal with emergencies. Why did they have to call 911? It wasn¡¯t until an ambnce came that Sophia knew that there was a problem at her productunch. ¡°Doctor, over here!¡± A girl ran out anxiously and shouted to the 911 emergency personnel who came, ¡°My boss, Miss Faye, was bitten by a dog! She¡¯s bleeding a lot. Hurry up and save her!¡± That girl was one of Faye¡¯s assistants. The assistant led the emergency personnel to the direction of the bathroom. Sophia hurriedly followed, and when she reached the bathroom, she saw Faye with blood all over one of her legs. Faye¡¯s face was weak and pale, and she cried pitifully as if she was about to die. Then, she was carried away by the medical staff. Her bloody thigh was ced in front of everyone, and she looked miserable. Shey on the stretcher, crying hopelessly and helplessly. ¡°Faye was bitten by a dog!¡± ¡°Oh my god, how could such a thing happen!?¡± The guests started whispering among themselves. Sophia looked fiercely in the direction she was leaving. Faye, you b*tch! Sure enough, she hade to mess up her productunch. If she was really bitten by a dog, why didn¡¯t she shout for help? If she was really injured, why did she hide silently in the bathroom and call 911 for first aid? She should have a car herself. Wouldn¡¯t it be faster for her to go to the hospital by car? Although there were many loopholes, the news of Faye being bitten by a dog at Pourl¡¯s new product launch still spread around. It was said that Pourl¡¯s mismanagement and loss of control on the scene caused the popr star Faye to be bitten by a dog. This had a terrible impact on Pourl¡¯s reputation. Even after Faye was carried away for a long time, Sophia still had on a sour face. The scene was chaotic, and many guests left early. Thus, the productunch ended ahead of schedule. Sophia was busy sending the guests off, and although she was still smiling, she was furious deep down inside. Michael had been following Sophia. Knowing the seriousness of the incident, he patted Sophia on the shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You know Faye¡¯s secrets.¡± If she released Faye¡¯s secrets, Faye would basically have to bid farewell to the entertainment industry. Cooper was also angry when he saw that his daughter¡¯s productunch had been ruined. How he wished he could take revenge in her stead, but Sophia didn¡¯t seem to like him interfering with her matters for no good reason. He waited by the side, waiting for his baby to ask for help. On the other hand, he wanted to see how Sophia would deal with this crisis this time. Irene and Sandra deliberately waited until everyone was almost gone before they came out leisurely to say goodbye. ¡°Miss Scarlett, if you need legal aid, give me a call. I have a very goodwyer here who I can introduce to you. I guarantee that Faye won¡¯t be able to win against you.¡± Sophia said with a cold face, ¡°Please send off the guests.¡± Sandra and Irene, who were enjoying Sophia¡¯s misfortune, were sent away. Only some staff and her men were left in the previously lively press conference. Just now, Sophia was busy sending guests off. The moment she spun around and sat down to take a sip of water, she received a call from Faye¡¯s assistant. ¡°Miss Scarlett, Miss Faye is in the hospital now, and her thigh was injured very badly. She was bitten by your husky and we have it on video, so be prepared to be sued by us. By the way, if you don¡¯t want the pet luxury brand you just took over to be ruined, you must sign a contract to have your daughter work as a child star under Miss Faye¡ª¡± Click! Sophia hung up the phone without saying a word. Chapter 836 Chapter 836 It was useless to say anything now. The assistant was angry because Sophia hung up on her. In a very short period of time, the fact that Faye was bitten by a dog became headline news. The news pointed out that Pourl was not able to control the situation and the person in charge of supervising the venue was ipetent, which led to Faye, a famous celerity, being bitten. Faye¡¯s angry fans were furiously criticizing them on the Inte. They first rushed to the Twitter ounts of Taylor and Ethan to curse at them. They were Pourl¡¯s shareholder and model after all. The fans of the two male stars, who were long past their prime, were much more peaceful. They reacted calmly and didn¡¯t fight back. Plus, the two had retired for many years, so they had much less fans now. This was nothingpared to the time when he was used of being a scamming transvestite and teaching his dogs how to attack people. Fans of Faye and her ghostwriters went around looking for their next targets like headless flies. After scolding the founders of Pourl, Harry and Michael, they finally went to Judge¡¯s Twitter page. It was the one who bit Faye after all. To bury the news of Taylor¡¯seback, Faye frantically pushed the news of her being bitten by a dog everywhere and made it a trending topic. In the end, it really overshadowed the news of hiseback and the announcement of his new movie. She wanted to see how he was going to make aeback without any publicity. He would have a hard time promoting his new film! After Sophia handled the hotel¡¯s affairs, the founders gathered together for a meeting. It was clear that Faye wanted to smear their reputation with this incident. If she had truly been bitten by a dog, she would have called for help immediately, but she had hid herself in the bathroom instead and called 911! ¡°We should have found someone to follow her to the hospital and expose her true colors on the spot!¡± Stanley was filled with righteous indignation. However, Sophia disagreed with him. ¡°Just let her continue acting as she wishes! I¡¯ll take care of this matter.¡± Everyone had full trust in Sophia. She seemed to be very good at this kind of thing. It just so happened that there were many matters that needed to be handled in Plum Technology, so Pourl could only rely on Sophia to handle this matter. After the meeting, Sophia went out. Cooper was waiting for her in a car parked outside. Linus, Carmen, and Michael, who wanted toe sit in this car although he also had a car himself, were also in the car. ¡°Mommy, did I do well just now?¡± Carmen asked immediately when she saw Sophia. Seeing the cute Carmen, all the frustration in Sophia disappeared. As she hugged her little baby, her worries vanished. ¡°My dear baby, you did very well!¡± Sophia got into the car, and the bodyguard climbed in with her ¡®big orange cat¡¯ next. Barney had only been in Bayside City for a few days, so it was still not used to this ce. It kept dozing off, and it put its head on Michael¡¯s shoulder to sleep. With the lion head on his shoulder, Michael calmly chatted andughed with Cooper who was sitting opposite him while silently chanting to himself, This is just a big orange cat. This is just a big orange cat. Even though Michael was scared of the 2.5-meter big orange cat, he absolutely refused to show his weakness in front of Cooper. After Sophia went home, took a shower and ate dinner, she took another look at the online news. The headlines had changed from Faye being bitten by a dog, to Faye being bitten by Scarlett¡¯s lion. Then, it was rumored that Scarlett and her lion had been caught. It was also said that she didn¡¯t go through the procedures of applying for a permit, and the lion had been confiscated and was now locked in a zoo, etc. The opponent was really aggressive this time, going to great lengths to force Sophia to give up. However, Sophia didn¡¯t respond. No matter how much the fans or ghostwriters on the Inte scolded her, she would not respond. Despite the scolding on the Inte, in reality, Pourl¡¯s orders had skyrocketed. It was probably because the more they were being criticized, the more popr it became. After all, Pourl had nothing to do with it as the faulty in the poor supervision of the site. Who would¡¯ve known that Faye would get bitten by a dog in the bathroom? There were no issues with Pourl¡¯s own products, and because of the appearance of Sophia¡¯s big orange cat, she had be a legendary figure in the pet world of Bayside City. The pet lovers in the city were very interested in her orange cat and started to pay attention to Pourl. They finally attracted the celebrities of Bayside City, which made Pourl¡¯s poprity shoot up. This was simply free advertising for them! Therefore, Sophia decided to shut up and wait for a few days. She decided to take advantage of the increased publicity for now, but when she saw the haters on the Inte cursing at Michael and Harry, she felt uneasy. On this day, she made a special trip to Vi No. 8 to apologize to Michael. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. Before departing, as soon as Cooper learned that she was going to Vi No. 8, he immediately said, ¡°Barney is also bored at home. You should take it out to y by the way.¡± As soon as Barney heard that it was going out for a walk, it immediately came over and rubbed itself against Sophia¡¯s belly docilely. Sophia was speechless and had no choice but to take Barney. Cooper was relieved when he saw Barney and Sophia enter Vi No. 8. When Michael returned to Vi No. 8, he received a call from Sophia saying that she woulde and talk to him about work. Overjoyed, he hurriedly dressed up. Unexpectedly, he saw Sophia¡¯s 2.5-meter orange cat as soon as the door opened, and he couldn¡¯t help feeling queasy. When the 2.5m cat came in, all the orange cats at home hid under the sofa. As for Barney, she immediately sat down on a rug and watched Michael and Sophia discuss work matters. After the two sat down on the sofa in the living room, Sophia asked first, ¡°How are you doing these days¡­¡± Michael wiped his hair that he had just washed and said nonchntly, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m used to it.¡± When he said this, Sophia felt even more embarrassed. She bit the bullet and said, ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. This happened because of me.¡± Michael took the opportunity to say, ¡°You really don¡¯t have to take it to heart. News like this is already commonce to me. If you remember, the news about me a few years ago was even more outrageous! They said that I was a woman disguised as a man!¡± Sophia was taken aback. ¡°Did they really say that?!¡± Michael leaned toward her strategically. He took out his tablet and searched for a few keywords casually, and then gossip about him appeared. Because he had recently returned to the public eye, some of the gossip posts from that year also resurfaced. Sophia nced at it casually. Michael indeed had many scandals¡ªhaving sex with male actors, cheating a gay into marrying him, lifecasting, fighting in nightclubs, and that he was a woman disguised as a man¡­ So there was really such crazy news? Sophia initially came here to talk about work matters with Michael, but she ended up talking about gossip with him all night. She only left hesitatingly in the evening when Cooper called again and again to urge her to go home. She initially felt sorry for Michael, but after chatting with him today, she felt a lot better. Before leaving, she said to him, ¡°Michael, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let you be scolded in vain!¡± Michael¡¯s unconditional support for her made her feel touched, so she would never let him be scolded in vain! Chapter 837 Chapter 837 Michael watched Sophia and Barney leave with a warm and content smile on his lips. It felt good to be able to talk to her all night. He was so happy that he felt as if he was in a dream. However, Michael was a greedy man and was definitely not satisfied with their present rtionship. He still wanted to remarry Sophia and have a second child with her. In addition, he could feel that Cooper¡¯s attitude toward him seemed to be a little better recently. This might be a sign. He had even figured out the name of their second child. After talking with Michael all afternoon, Sophia felt a lot better. She truly got along well with Michael. He was really a person who knew what was appropriate and what was not. Sophia knew that he was pursuing herself, but his pursuit did not make her disgusted and annoyed. He was neither fanatical nor humble, and he treated her as an equal in his quest. This made her feel very comfortable. He never used reasons such as ¡®Mark hopes¡¯ and ¡®Carmen can¡¯t live without her mother¡¯ to give her pressure and guilt. Instead, he expressed his feelings for Sophia calmly. Although he wanted very eagerly for her to return to him, he never forced her. He just waited for her in such a calm and quiet manner. Sophia felt very rxed and satisfied with him. The news of ¡®Faye was bitten by a dog¡¯ quickly caused an uproar on the Inte. Fans of Faye kept hurling insults at everyone. They cursed and scolded both humans and dogs, and even crowdfunded to hire people to steal Judge and cook it into soup. They even wanted to find a few strong, lustful dogs to gang rape it, making Stanley furious. Those f*cking fans of Faye. If anything happens to my precious Judge, I¡¯ll kill Faye for sure! Ever since a 2.5-meter orange cat moved into Sophia¡¯s house, Judge, who had been freeloading in Michael¡¯s house for many years, finally proposed to go home. It barked at Sophia to call Stanley to pick it up. When Stanley came to pick up Judge and saw a 2.5-meter long orange cat lying across the door and blocking the door, he was too afraid to enter. Damn, it¡¯s scary. He thought it was scary enough for Sophia to raise arge poodle. Unexpectedly, she even raised a lion at home. He should definitely not offend her! Cooper shook his head when he saw him being so cowardly. He was even more of a scaredy-cat than Carmen! Carmen was not afraid of Barney at all, probably because she was an ignorant child. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Stanley, why are you standing outside?¡± Michael came from behind Stanley and saw him waiting at the door of Vi No. 2, frowning at the lion that was blocking the entrance. Michael, who was in a suit and leather shoes, was obviously heading somewhere. With a gentlemanly smile, he walked to the door of Vi No. 2 and stepped over the lion. Stanley was so scared that he almost peed himself. Still standing at the door, he said to Michael, ¡°Uncle, please bring Judge to me. I-I don¡¯t want to go in.¡± The difference between the uncle-nephew duo was so obvious. Cooper shook his head while he looked at Stanley, but his knitted brows slightly loosened when he saw Michael step over the lion without fear. Stanley didn¡¯t know that he had beenpletely abandoned by Cooper and became a stepping stone for his uncle¡¯s show of bravery. He waited anxiously for Judge outside the door. ¡°Mr. Cooper, I¡¯m here to pick up Sophia.¡± They had a press conference today, so Michael had hurried over to pick up Sophia. Although Cooper had on a cold face, he didn¡¯t stop him and said, ¡°End the conference early and send her back for dinner.¡± Michael took it that he could alsoe to their house for dinner, so he quickly replied respectfully, ¡°Okay.¡± Sophia went downstairs soon after and asked the servants to pack up all the daily necessities of Judge. Even its bed was taken away by Stanley. Michael calmly helped her carry the things in her hand and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the press conference first. We are almostte.¡± He alsoplimented her smoothly. ¡°I like the earrings you¡¯re wearing today.¡± Sophia fiddled with her new earrings shyly and replied, ¡°Thank you.¡± These were the diamond earrings from Africa that she received yesterday. She didn¡¯t expect Michael to notice it when he walked in. He¡¯s really observant. The two went out talking andughing. They stepped over the big orange cat calmly at the entrance and drove away. Although Cooper was expressionless, he saw everything that happened. Although he didn¡¯t particrly like his old son-inw who was only a few years younger than himself, he had to admit that older men were better at loving their partners. He was much better than Stanley, that stupid young man. Comparison was the thief of joy. Stanley was afraid of even a cat. How could he marry his daughter to such a person!? At this time, in the VIP ward of a private hospital in Bayside City, Faye was sitting among flowers in the room, happily and excitedly sharing her recent ¡®feat¡¯ with Sandra. ¡°Now, Scarlett and her store are going to copse. Taylor¡¯s new film is also crushed by my news, and the new film is destined to be a failure!¡± Looking at the proud and confident Faye, Sandra smiled. However, she was actually gloating in her heart. Faye had indeed achieved a great feat. However, the pitiful girl didn¡¯t know that she had offended the Fletcher Family and the Winston Family at the same time. She also had to be held ountable if her n went wrong, but the person who would suffer the most was Scarlett. Now, Scarlett must be utterly exhausted¡­ It was a pity that King had announced that they wouldpletely withdraw from the pet luxury goods market. Otherwise, she could take this opportunity to gain publicity. ¡°You did a great job this time round. Lucy hates Scarlett because she ruined King that she worked so hard to create. Lucy will definitely thank you for all the trouble you caused Scarlett!¡± Sandra said pretentiously. Speaking of Lucy, Faye was both fearful and disdainful of her. Lucy was nothing. She was the goddess of the nation after all! Sooner orter, she would surpass Lucy! But now, she had to please Lucy as beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. She had done such a good job this time round, so she would definitely be able to leave a good impression on Lucy. Sandra said confidently to Faye, ¡°From my judgment, Scarlett has suffered a big loss and will never let you off the hook easily. You have a tough battle to fight next, but don¡¯t worry! You will always be backed by me and Lucy!¡± Of course, this was just lip service. If she really provoked the Fletcher Family and the Winston Family, they would abandon Faye. Faye took it seriously. Full of confidence, she said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she cane at me! I¡¯m waiting for her to do just that. I even have a video of her dog biting me! They cane to check the wounds if they like. I made this wound very realistic, and I¡¯ve bribed the people in the hospital.¡± The more they talked, the more excited they became. Sandra vigorously instigated Faye to continue to frame Scarlett and asked her to go to Lucy to take credit. Just then, Sandra¡¯s phone rang so she went out to answer it. When she came back, she looked weird. With a frown, she said to Faye, ¡°Scarlett and Taylor jointly held a press conference and apologized to you publicly.¡± In the battles between Sandra and Scarlett, Sandra was the one who was defeated all the time. Although she had not known Scarlett for long, Sandra already had a certain understanding of Scarlett¡¯s personality and methods. How could she possibly apologize after suffering such a big loss? However, Scarlett¡¯s apology press conference had already gone live¡­ Chapter 838 Chapter 838 ¡°Scarlett really¡­ apologized?¡± Faye thought she had heard it wrong. She had always known about the fight between Sandra and Scarlett, so she knew that Scarlett was a very difficult person. She had suffered such a big loss this time, so she was most likely going to fight back. However, after a few days of silence, she actually apologized directly? Sandra was also at a loss as to what was happening. She silently turned on the phone and searched for the live video of Scarlett¡¯s press conference. The ¡®Faye was bitten by a dog¡¯ incident had caused a lot of uproar on the Inte. It had been several days since the incident, but it was still trending. Now that the owner of the dog that caused the ident hade forward to apologize, the poprity of the incident naturally reached a climax. Immediately, it was followed up and reported by many media outlets. Faye immediately turned on her phone, and she didn¡¯t even need to search for it because the entertainment channel had vacated the homepage cover to promote Scarlett¡¯s apology press conference on arge scale. Faye was now in the A-plus list. Even if she squatted casually on the side of the street, her fans would storm the ce. Plus, anyone who had any rtions with her was guaranteed a boost in poprity. This time round, she was bitten by a dog, so the dog and the owner were also pushed into the limelight. In the live broadcast, Sophia wore a white skirt. She looked capable and elegant, and she had a serious expression as she said to the live broadcast camera very sincerely, ¡°I am here to formally apologize to Miss Faye for everything that happened at the Pourl new productunch a few days ago.¡± She got up and faced the camera before lowering her noble head and bowing deeply, full of sincerity. After the apology, she raised her head and took all the me on herself. ¡°I am mainly responsible for the urrence of such an incident, and I me my mismanagement, which caused the scene to be chaotic. I am extremely sorry for the harm caused to Miss Faye. Pourl will bear all subsequent treatment costs and the costs of her work lost. I apologize again to Miss Faye. I will definitely strengthen my management in the future, and this will never happen again.¡± Sandra felt that she must be imagining things. A proud person like Scarlett had suffered such ninjustice, yet she chose to apologize directly instead of fighting back? Was it because she knew that Faye had evidence and footage of the incident, so she gave up fighting back? However, she had gone to great lengths to tear apart Sandra and King. Why did she get scared when the matter involved Faye? Faye was biting her lower lip as she watched the live broadcast with aplicated expression. At the press conference, after Sophia apologized, Michael also apologized. Although the matter had nothing to do with him, he still took the initiative to do so. ¡°As one of Pourl¡¯s shareholders and executives, I am also responsible for this incident. I am extremely sorry for what happened to Miss Faye. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Michael also bowed and apologized. He then fell silent for a few seconds, waiting for the media to finish taking pictures of him. After the apology, the two instantly upied the moral high ground. They had apologized and wouldpensate her. What else did Faye want? Kill the dog? Gang rape the dog? If this was the case, the animal protection organization and fans of Judge would not stand idly by. Did she want Sophia to kneel down and kowtow? To be paraded in public? Or confiscate her household registry to make up for Faye¡¯s injuries? The police probably would not agree. The reporters looked at each other as they had never seen such a straightforward apology. After the apology was over, the reporter could voice out their questions. Some reporters began to ask tricky questions. A reporter asked, ¡°Miss Mitchell, what are your thoughts on the Inte rumors that you allowed your dog to bite Miss Faye because you are jealous of Miss Faye¡¯s fame?¡± Sophia replied clearly, ¡°Ms. Faye was indeed injured because of my negligence in management, but the rumor that I allowed the dog to bite her is pure nonsense. On the day of Pourl¡¯s productunch ceremony, there were many international superstars among the guests. There were five or six Oscar winners, and if I allowed my dog to bite her because I was jealous of famous people, then I definitely would not have targeted Miss Faye.¡± After the reporter heard this answer, they nodded one after another, feeling that her answer was reasonable. It was said that there were also European royals and international superstars present that day. Pourl¡¯s slogan was to be an international brand and have global influence, so their clients were all international big shots and celebrities. Although Faye was popr in Cethos, this was not the case overseas¡­ There had been so many celebrities on the scene, so Sophia wouldn¡¯t have targeted her just because of her fame. Michael had a solemn expression, but he was secretlyughing. While Sophia was rifying, she roasted Faye as well. Well done. The reporter went on to ask the next tricky question, ¡°Miss Mitchell, is this a marketing ploy jointly nned by you and Miss Faye? I understand that Pourl¡¯s sales have skyrocketed since theunch. Even Mr. Murray¡¯s new movie ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ has continued to rise in poprity. Miss Mitchell, I hope you can answer this question.¡± Sophia replied very solemnly, ¡°This was an ident caused by my mismanagement. It was definitely not a premeditated marketing ploy. We will take responsibility andpensate Miss Faye, but please refrain from any conspiracy theories. This is disrespectful for Pourl, and even more disrespectful to Miss Faye. She is the victim, and the victim should not be subjected to such spection.¡± The reporter nodded and agreed again. It was an impable answer. It showed full sincerity while protecting Faye, showing Scarlett¡¯s responsibility and courage. She was indeed Cooper¡¯s daughter! All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. Another reporter asked another question, ¡°Miss Scarlett, can youment on the unexpected consequence of Pourl¡¯s soaring sales due to this incident? Did you secretly cheer, or even gloat for having caused such a misfortune?¡± Sophia remained calm and answered impably, ¡°It is definitely not a fluke that Pourl can have such high sales. We focus on quality and craftsmanship, and with great sincerity, we strive to create a big pet luxury brand belonging to Cethos. Although Pourl¡¯s new productunch event was regrettable, it was generally very sessful. The whole world knows Pourl now, which has always been a part of my n. Pourl deserves our current sales and poprity, and we definitely did not take pleasure in Miss Faye¡¯s misfortune.¡± The reporters had nothing more to ask, so they turned to other topics. ¡°Miss Scarlett, what do you think of the Inte rumors that you had stic surgery?¡± Sophia said, ¡°I indeed had stic surgery.¡± The reporters were all speechless. They had never seen such a frank person before. The reporter asked again, ¡°Someone revealed that Mr. Taylor Murray is your sugar baby in an anonymous online post. Can you please give ament? You had stic surgery to look like Mr. Murray¡¯s dead wife. Does it mean that you are also interested in Taylor?¡± Sophia said, ¡°Mr. Murray is pursuing me. Our rtionship is fair and equal, and he¡¯s not my sugar baby. As for why I look like this, my answer is: it¡¯s because I like it.¡± The reporters fell silent again. They felt that they had reached new heights in their careers. Striking while the iron was hot, the reporters asked, ¡°Miss Mitchell, what do you think of Mr. Taylor Murray? Would you consider dating Mr. Taylor Murray?¡± Chapter 839 Chapter 839 Sophia was thirsty from answering all the questions bombarded by the reporters. When she was about to reply, Michael, who was beside her, handed her an opened bottle of mineral water. He then took the initiative to answer the question with a smile. ¡°I feel that this question shouldn¡¯t be answered publicly. I¡¯d like Miss Mitchell to answer me when we¡¯re alone.¡± The reporters were left speechless. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. But giving it a thought, Scarlett was single, and Taylor had also been widowed for years. It wasn¡¯t anything shameful if he wanted to remarry. They had the freedom to fall in love and were a good match. They looked good together, like a picture from a fairy tale, and had nothing people couldin about. But some reporters liked to make a fuss. Snatching over the microphone, the reporter started asking some pointed questions. ¡°Mr. Murray, is the reason you are courting Miss Mitchell because she looks simr to yourte wife, Miss Edwards?¡± ¡°Did you choose to court Miss Mitchell because of her wealth, and because she can bring you resources?¡± That was an extremely pointed question. It was so pointed that some of the reporters felt awkward and looked at Michael. Michael went silent for a moment. Sophia, who was drinking water, couldn¡¯t help but perk up her ears. That question was really inappropriate. For the time being, she didn¡¯t want to admit that she was Sophia Edwards because she wasn¡¯t ready to ept everything she used to have and be. But if the situation was critical, she could only bite the bullet. Michael remained silent for a few seconds, but he still answered with the microphone. ¡°My wife was the only interesting soul in this whole world. A lot of people tried to imitate her appearance, but no one could ever imitate her soul. I love her forever.¡± Love her forever¡­ Sophia, who just finished drinking water, felt tears well up in her eyes, but she didn¡¯t show any obvious reaction and maintained her dignified manner. Michael maintained his warm smile, but everyone could see how sorrowful his smile was. His voice travelled to everyone¡¯s ears on the scene. ¡°Three years ago, because of that incident which everyone knows, I lost the love of my life. These three years, I shut myself out from the world. I had even wanted to follow after her, but I pushed through.¡± ¡°Three yearster, I met Miss Scarlett. She was like a gift from the heavens because she gave me the hope and motivation to live. The reason I love her has nothing to do with her appearance.¡± ¡°We make a great pair, and money was never part of the equation.¡± It was a touching confession. After hearing Michael¡¯s answer, those reporters who wanted to ask why he faked his death and didn¡¯t appear for three years were left speechless, while the reporter who mentioned histe wife was ashamed of himself. A few years back, when Sophia became famous as the prettiest girl in Bayside University, her face was used as the reference for stic surgery, and a lot of stars used her face as a temte when they themselves went under the knife. With so many people wearing a simr face, Taylor had chosen Scarlett. That was probably true love! Taylor was not a poor man either¡ªhe was a major shareholder of Asco International and was an Academy Award winner. Even if he had retired, he was still filthy rich, so the rumor of him being a sugar baby was indeed groundless. The press conference ended sessfully in peace. After the press conference, ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ and Pourl¡¯s poprity increased rather than waned. Three years ago, Michael¡¯s whereabouts were exposed and he was harmed from being mobbed by his fans. His fans regretted their actions and were filled with remorse, and him resigning from being an actor was more than understandable. Now, he had made aeback and found a person to rely on. His fans were all happy for him. In the ward, after Faye finished watching the live stream, she quickly took out herptop and googled Pourl. Although they were criticized badly on all social media tforms in Cethos, their branches were spreading quietly abroad. The business of their headquarters in Bayside City was also booming. She didn¡¯t know the actual turnover, but it didn¡¯t seem like they were going to go bankrupt anytime soon. Taylor and his new movie were also criticized badly, but the search index had also risen sharply, bing one of the most anticipated blockbusters this year. At the same time, Taylor admitting that he was chasing after Scarlett had also be the nation¡¯s second hottest topic following the incident of Faye being bitten by a dog. Sure enough, announcing a rtionship was the best way to build hype. The poprity of Pourl and Michael¡¯s new film didn¡¯t decline because of Faye¡¯s incident, but instead reached new highs. What?! Faye was so mad she threw herptop onto the ground. How could this be? She had hired ghostwriters online to spread rumors, engaged in sadfishing, and even turned down a lot of jobs just so she could pretend to be sick in the hospital, but what she did had helped them instead. Sandra was looking at all the information on the Inte too. The more she looked, the more ugly her expression grew. They yed us. They gave ground so that they could advance. Faye was really popr now, so anyone who had a connection with her would be popr. She didn¡¯t expect them to be so shameless to throw away their pride and ride on her coattails. Faye didn¡¯t know what to do. Ring! Ring! Faye¡¯s phone rang. It was an unknown number. She answered the call, and the first thing she heard was the voice in the live stream. The person on the other end sounded excited. ¡°Thank you, Miss Edwards, for faking your injury and aligning it with Pourl¡¯s new product marketing schedule this year.¡± ¡°Also, thank you for sacrificing your precious time and turning down jobs worth tens of millions to help Pourl achieve our goals.¡± ¡°I also want to thank you on Michael¡¯s behalf. A first rate actress like you taking the initiative to create buzz for an obsolete actor who faked his death was really nice, and it has allowed him to regain his poprity and restart his career.¡± ¡°Later, mywyer will go over to discusspensation matters with you, taking into consideration your injuries and missed work opportunities.¡± Not waiting for Faye to react, she hung up the phone. ¡°Damn you, Scarlett!!!¡± Faye was so mad she smashed her phone. A bulging vein throbbed on her face, and even the imnt in her chin protruded. ¡°B*tch! B*tch!¡± Faye was so furious that she started smashing things. To put on this show, she had turned down a few endorsements which paid handsomely! Hiring ghostwriters had also cost her a lot too! She had spent all that money but it ended up helping others. Not only did they ride on her wave of poprity, but they also humiliated her! How could Faye ept all these? Compared to Faye who was going crazy, Sandra was calm. She was not the one who suffered all these losses anyways. She carried on scheming, nning to let Faye continue to shine and be in the front line, and have her crush Scarlett on her behalf. Besides, Faye was the one who needed to take responsibility if anything happened. Now, there was no point for Faye to continue acting like a victim. They had already apologized and promised topensate her. It would definitely be inappropriate to continue to criticize them. Asking Faye to ept their apology was impossible too, as this was harder than having her swallow dog sh*t. Not only was she unable to fight back, but she was also incriminated of cooperating with the other party on hyping up their new product and new movie. After much deliberation, Sandra thought of a safe way to deal with this. She suggested to Faye, ¡°Apologising through a press conference can¡¯t be considered a proper apology. You can raise the issue to the media and request for Scarlett to apologise to you personally! She¡¯s too proud to do that so she will never agree. Then, you can make an issue out of it!¡± ¡°Also, didn¡¯t she mentionpensation? Just take the opportunity to bleed her dry. The higher the price, the better. She must have a limit, right? When that happens, it¡¯s your turn to put on a show.¡± Chapter 840 Chapter 840 Faye was blinded by rage earlier, but now that Sandra had given her an idea, enthusiasm instantly flooded her. She¡¯s right. At present, I can only retaliate in this manner! After making up her mind, she hurriedly contacted herwyer tomit daylight robbery by demanding a king¡¯s ransom! It¡¯ll be great if she agrees since I¡¯ll be recouping all the damages I¡¯ve suffered. However, if she refuses, I can continue kicking up a fuss, too! Meanwhile, when the press conference had ended, Sophia said to Michael, ¡°Let¡¯s go for dinner! My treat.¡± My goddess is offering to treat me to dinner? With just the two of us? Michael was inwardly ecstatic, but outwardly, he maintained a nonchnt expression. ¡°Are you sure? Didn¡¯t Dad say toe home early for dinner?¡± he reminded, sounding conflicted. Cooper¡¯s love for Sophia was so overwhelming that he¡¯d have eyes on her 24/7 if possible. Despite the press conference on this day, he still called every half an hour to inquire about her. But to be fair, if it were Carmen who¡¯d gone out, Michael, the gray-haired old father, would definitely be pacing anxiously as well. However, Sophia was already walking away. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just give him a call. Let¡¯s go to Uncle Sam¡¯s Crimson House for dinner.¡± Thus, Michael briskly followed. At home, when Cooper learned that Sophia wasn¡¯ting home for dinner, his face turned as ck as charcoal. Nheless, he said nothing, merely asking her toe home earlier. In Crimson House¡¯s best private room, a candlestick sat on the dining table. As the candlelight flickered, an intimate and romantic air enveloped the ce amidst the elegant strains of piano. The two people at the table clinked sses lightly, creating a tinkling sound. Thereafter, Sophia raised her ss slightly with a single hand and sipped from it. As they ate, they talked in a low voice, their topics ranging from the stock market to real estate besides also talking about the interesting things Michael encountered during his filming throughout the years. In fact, they talked about everything under the sun. Sophia listened attentively, interjecting andughing asionally. Having indulged in red wine, her petite face was stained with a hint of scarlet, her eyes slightly ssy. Her zed eyes seemed as though they held an infinite ocean, rendering her entire person immensely breathtakingly. ¡°How¡¯s the performance of the stock I rmended to you the other day?¡± Michael asked, raising his ss. Sophia ordered medium-well steak but found it rather dismal after eating some, so she left half of it uneaten. Jabbing the remaining half with her fork from time to time, she answered, ¡°Not bad. It¡¯s doing good, having gone up quite a bit, so I made a little over ten million. By the way, when are you nning to send Carmen to kindergarten?¡± Speaking of their child, the two of them turned solemn. Michael replied, ¡°Carmen is almost two and a half years old, so it¡¯s about time for her to attend kindergarten. She¡¯s definitely going to kindergarten since children need to mix with their peers.¡± Then, hemented, ¡°I raised Nate, but in an attempt to protect him, I¡¯ve never had him attend kindergarten. I employed an early education expert and gave him the best education, yet he¡¯s been isted since young, with few friends. He doesn¡¯t like talking to people either¡­ It¡¯s all on me.¡± Finally, he asserted, ¡°Thus, Carmen has to attend kindergarten. She can¡¯t be too isted, so I had Hale drop his kid off at our ce.¡± Recently, Sophia had noticed that Vi No. 8 had seen an increase in the number of children who stuck to Carmen every day. Having so many friends to y with, she wasn¡¯t even interested ining home anymore. Michael is truly a tender and considerate person! When she snapped back to reality, she saw that Michael had already taken her half-eaten steak, which she couldn¡¯t quite bring herself to finish yet didn¡¯t want to waste, and he was eating it with relish. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Shock inundated her. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. However, Michael was used to it. Not only did he finish her half-eaten steak, but he also ate her unfinished fruit sd. ¡°You had a difficult life when you were young, often having no food to eat, so you cherish food a lot. When you go out for a meal, you only order what you want to eat, but you be distressed when you can¡¯t finish the food at times. You don¡¯t want to waste it, yet you find it troublesome to request for takeaway, so you force yourself to finish it.¡± For that reason, he then became her recycle bin for unfinished food. He would often be seen eating her unfinished steak, the coriander in her beef noodles, and the green pepper she disliked in her shredded meat dish. Of course, he knew that she loathed wasting food, probably because she was once destitute, at the mercy of others for even a bite of clean and fresh rice in the past. Hence, she was still exceedingly thrifty even after having money to her name, food wastage her pet peeve. Sophia froze for a moment before she smiled, not knowing what to say in response. When he¡¯d finished her half-eaten steak and fruit sd, she asked in curiosity, with a hand resting on her cheek, ¡°Back then, I was just a pet you bought. Why have you always been so good to me?¡± Upon hearing this, Michael knew that Cooper had given her a fake story again. In Cooper¡¯s mouth, he¡¯d probably be a shameless old man who spent 80,000 to purchase her so that he could ravage her every day. However, Sophia knew that Cooper¡¯s version of events wasn¡¯t true. Michael had always regarded her as family, a fact that he¡¯d never once concealed. ¡°Bought? Never once have I said that I bought you. I merely offered ten million as bride price to marry you. We¡¯re a legally married couple.¡± After he was done eating, Michael suddenly said, ¡°Oh yes, there¡¯s something I¡¯ve been meaning to give you.¡± He then took out a card from his wallet and slid it over to Sophia. While the card was preserved nicely with a stic sleeve, one could still tell that it was a few years old. The words Bayside University were printed on the card, while Sophia¡¯s name was written at the corner with a ballpoint pen. ¡°What is this?¡± Sophia questioned, curious. His lips curving upward, Michael replied with a smile, ¡°This is the meal card you used when you attended Bayside University. There¡¯s still money in there, so remember to go and use it when you¡¯re free. After all, you were still thinking about the remaining money when you took your graduation photo!¡± After having been poor for half her life, Sophia was done with poverty. Back then, she practically killed herself to get into Bayside University just because Bayside University provided top students a generous meal subsidy. Meals and amodation would be free of charge, while tuition could be covered with a student loan. This was so perfect for her that it all sounded like a dream. Although she was already making money when she got into Bayside University, she abandoned the thought of eating all the delicious food out there, going to the cafeteria instead when she could do so since the subsidy issued was in the meal card! When she left upon graduation, she was very much reluctant because she hadn¡¯t yet finished the money within the meal card! Sophia stared at the meal card while listening to Michael speak of its history, bursting into giggles every so often. Out of the blue, she stood up and suggested, ¡°It¡¯s still early, so let¡¯s go to Bayside University now and finish the money in the meal card. There¡¯s no time like the present!¡± Without a word of objection, Michael slipped on his jacket and offered, ¡°I¡¯ll lead the way.¡± Since Sophia had dered that she¡¯d be paying, it was certainly a done deal. Anyhow, Michael felt that he was a kept man now, merely waiting for her to foot the bill. As he followed her out of Crimson House like a puppy, he remarked, ¡°Back then, you wholeheartedly hoped that you could make money and support me one day, making me a kept man.¡± Now, she¡¯s finally getting her wish! Chapter 841 Chapter 841 ¡°Looks like my ambition back then was indeed rather lofty!¡± Back then, Sophia was impoverished to the point that Michael had to pay for her living expenses. Meanwhile, Michael was already an Academy Award winner for Best Actor, globally renowned. Where did I get the courage to have Michael Fletcher be my kept man? The two of them then reached Michael¡¯s car, nning to take his car to Bayside University. His car looks much better than mine with the entire body painted noble ck. It looks just like a king in the dark night, speeding like the wind anytime. I love this color! It¡¯s much more stunning than my sports car! The Michel Family had a subsidiary in the automotive industry, manufacturing high-tech supreme cars. Thus, Cooper gifted her a fleet of cars from time to time for her to use or y bumper cars with. However, she was always rendered speechless by his tastes, for the cars he gifted her were either pink, rose, green, or red in color. She didn¡¯t even dare drive those cars out! Instead, she furtively sent one to the auction house to have it appraised in exchange for cash, saving the money for Carmen¡¯s kindergarten fee and debut fund. Hence, she was very much in love with this car of his. Eager to try it out, she asked, ¡°Can I drive your car?¡± ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± Michael agreed. Going over to the trunk, he took out a pair of ts and handed them to her. ¡°You loved driving my cars, so I have a pair of shoes for you in the trunk of every single car of mine.¡± Taking the shoes, Sophia looked down at her high heels, a feeling of warmth suffusing her. ¡°Thank you.¡± After changing into the shoes, she then climbed into the car. Gripping the steering wheel, she said to Michael, who was in the passenger seat, ¡°It¡¯s not as advanced as mine.¡± Despite being a tad bewildering in terms of color, her small car was great in all other aspects. As soon as she slipped into the car, it¡¯d adjust the air-conditioning ording to the temperature outside to ensure the best and mostfortable environment. Besides, it was also voice-activated. Fastening his seat belt, Michael countered, ¡°I¡¯m a kept man, so my car should naturally be inferior to yours.¡± Chuckling, Sophia then started the car and drove off. Meanwhile, the bodyguards followed in the car behind, maintaining an appropriate distance. It was a half-hour drive from Crimson House, which was where they had their meal, to Bayside University. Midway, Sophia abruptly elerated and sped past the pedestrian crossing at the final second the green light shed, giving Michael such a scare that he gripped his seat belt tightly. As the sports car shot out like an arrow, Sophia nced at the rear-view mirror. Upon seeing that the bodyguards¡¯ car was forced to stop at the traffic light to wait out the red light, she beamed with joy. ¡°I¡¯m not a fan of them following me around every day,¡± she exined. Michael nodded in agreement. I¡¯m not a fan of them following you around every day either. They cock- block me! The car sped toward Bayside University. When they arrived, Sophia parked the car in the parking lot. Just when she¡¯d parked, she saw that the bodyguards¡¯ car had caught up to them and was looking for a parking space. ¡°Quick, let¡¯s go! Hurry! Let¡¯s scoot!¡± she said hurriedly. Locking the car, Michael grabbed her hand, and they sprinted into Bayside University under the cover of darkness. Theyughed as they ran, and it was as though they¡¯d returned to the past, many, many years ago. Wearing ts, Sophia kept up with him closely. At his lead, they quickly lost themselves within the university after numerous twists and turns, hiding where the bodyguards couldn¡¯t find them. After all, he was very much familiar with this ce. Only when she was out of breath did Sophia stop, panting while clutching her stomach. Resting a hand on a small tree, sheughed uproariously. ¡°Did you see how ridiculous they looked earlier, Michael? Haha¡­¡± Sweat dotted Michael¡¯s forehead from his sprint. I love this feeling! It¡¯s as though we¡¯ve gone back in time. It was now time for nightly self-study at Bayside University, so the buildings were brightly lit. Nheless, there were still plenty of students strolling and jogging within the campus, rendering the atmosphere vivacious with a youthful vigor filling the air. ¡°So, this is what a university is like¡­¡± She studied everything before her, her eyes teeming with envy. Michael then bought two ice creams at the store with her card. As they enjoyed the ice creams and gazed at the students jogging and frolicking on the lush, green field, he replied, ¡°Yup, this is Bayside University, the first university in Cethos and your alma mater.¡± Pointing at the adjacent stadium, he commented, ¡°You were the champion sportswoman in your ss back then, leading your ss in clinching first ce in the basketball championship during sports day.¡± All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. As Sophia ate her ice cream, a trace of disappointment manifested in her eyes. It¡¯s such a pity that I¡¯ve forgotten everything. If only I could remember it all! After they¡¯d finished their ice-creams, Michael walked with her on campus. Under the illumination of the streetlights, their shadows intertwined on the ground, sticking to each other like glue to the point that one couldn¡¯t be discerned from the other. He surreptitiously took her hand as they strolled within the campus, introducing her to everything once again. Then, he brought her to her favorite cafeteria to shop and spend all the money in the meal card. Sophia, who¡¯d beencking in appetite, was eager to try the fare on this day, ordering two grilled wings and a Coke. Taking a huge bite of the chicken wing, she mumbled indistinctively as she ate, ¡°The food here is indeed delicious and cheap!¡± In no time, she finished the chicken wings and Coke. Michael could no longer stomach anything after eating so much, but still, he looked on as she ate. ¡°Eat more if they¡¯re to your liking,¡± he told her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about gaining weight, what with you being so thin now.¡± There were few people in the cafeteria since it was now night, and it wasn¡¯t yet suppertime, while dinnertime had just passed. Thus, no one had recognized them so far as they sat eating in a corner. On this night, Sophia¡¯s appetite soared, and she ate a lot. When she¡¯d finished the chicken wings, she even ate a bowl of noodles and a bowl of red date porridge. There was a little over one grand in the meal card; it was the sum of her hard work, so it¡¯d be a waste not to spend it. However, the food in the cafeteria was cheap, so no matter how much one ate, one wouldn¡¯t be able to finish that much money in a single meal. Thus, Michael then suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go over to the canteen next door? The food there is more expensive, so you¡¯ll be able to finish a grand in a single meal.¡± Holding the card, Sophia hesitated for a moment. In the end, she declined, saying, ¡°Never mind. I don¡¯t feel like doing so. I want to keep the card¡­ Let¡¯se and eat together again next time.¡± Staring at her card, she muttered, ¡°A little over a grand¡­ A meal will only cost two to three hundred at most, so we can eat another 20 to 30 times!¡± This was already a tant hint that Michael still had 20 to 30 times the opportunity to apany her here to eat. Michael dipped his head and gazed at her indulgently. ¡°Sure, no problem. If you wish to eat here, my goddess, your humble servant is always ready to apany you,¡± he murmured. Beaming, Sophia then ced the card into her bag. As soon as she¡¯d put the card away and her hand was empty, Michael reached out and grasped her petite and fair hand. She didn¡¯t reciprocate, yet she also didn¡¯t object, merely allowing him to hold her hand. When I held her hand in the past, I could still feel some fleshiness, but now, it¡¯s all skin and bones. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll bring you around some more, then we¡¯ll go home.¡± They then strolled around the campus with fingers interlocked. Soon, Michael brought her to the alumni corridor. ¡°All famous alumni of Bayside University are exhibited here.¡± They started with the establishment of the institution whereby he exined Bayside University¡¯s history before introducing the people she might like one by one¡ªIvan, Harry, and himself, for instance. Besides, Linus, Faye, and Sandra were also here. Chapter 842 Chapter 842 ¡°That¡¯s Stan!¡± Upon taking two steps forward, Sophia glimpsed Stanley¡¯s picture hanging on the wall, looking all formidable with his trademark crew cut while holding Judge¡¯s leash in his hand, Judge appearing very impressive as well. With the illumination provided, she could clearly see that his introduction included the founder of Plum Technology, a renowned esports yer, and a multi-time singles champion of Esports World Championship. Beside him were Sean and Sarah, both listed as the founders of Plum Technology. Regretfully, she wasn¡¯t there. She pouted. ¡°I¡¯m not there¡­¡± Even Faye, Sandra, Irene, and Lucy were there, but not her. ¡°Back then, the pictures of you four were hung up concurrently, but the ident then befell you, and Plum Technology increased in scale, so they changed things up,¡± Michael exined. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You¡¯ll also be there in a few days.¡± As they both walked along the alumni corridor, Sophia asked him some strange questions, such as, ¡°Are Stan and Sean dating?¡± and ¡°Are they nning to go abroad to get married soon?¡± Michael¡¯s brows furrowed. Never had I expected her intuition to be so spot on. He gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°It¡¯s a long story. It all began when Sean was young¡­¡± When Sean was young, he often visited Fletcher Residence to y with Stanley. Since he had long, ck hair and wore a pink tutu, everyone thought that he was Stanley¡¯s little girlfriend. Even Michael thought that he was a girl and treated him exceptionally well, but unexpectedly, he turned out to be a boy. They chatted while walking, the two of them blending into the dark sky in Bayside City after walking through the alumni corridor¡­ At longst, the bodyguards found Sophia. Upon seeing that their fingers were interlocked, they were driven by the urge tomit murder, but since Sophia was there, they couldn¡¯t really do so. Thus, they maintained a dark expression throughout the drive home, feeling that theirdy had been defiled. When they arrived back at The Imperial, Michael saw Sophia to the door, only to be greeted by the sight of the 2.5m cat blocking the door. Cooper was treating the cat like a guard dog, tying it to the door to keep him out. Sophia could only get in by stepping over it, and Michael followed behind her. He was on cloud nine today, so the enormous orange cat seemed much more pleasing to him, and he couldn¡¯t help stroking it. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Upon entering the house, the lights in the living room were turned on. The three members of the Mitchell Family were sitting in the living room, watching television. Again, Cooper wore a long face, dourness and displeasure written all over his face. The moment they stepped foot into the house, Carmen flew over like a butterfly. ¡°Mommy! Daddy!¡± Hugging her, Sophia couldn¡¯t help giving her a kiss. How adorable! She¡¯s grown a lot. It¡¯s just been half a day since Ist saw her, but she seems to have be cuter by 100 times! When she was done with her cutie pie, she then walked over to Cooper and said, ¡°I¡¯m home, Dad.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± There was a sense of resentment within Cooper, but he couldn¡¯t vent at his precious daughter, so he shot daggers at Michael. He knew that his daughter would have her own life now that she was all grown up and would date sooner orter. Mark phoned him today, saying that he¡¯d seen the live broadcast, thus inquiring about their progress since they seemed to be getting on very well. Cooper then proposed that Michael marry into the Mitchell Family, to which Mark instantly agreed, all gung ho to have him married away immediately. However, at the sight of them bothing into the house with fingers intertwined, he was still very much irritated. ¡°Mr. Cooper, I¡¯ve brought Sophia home safely, so I¡¯ll be taking my leave.¡± After hugging Carmen and giving her some instructions, Michael then went home. His steps were airy when he left, and he felt as though he was walking on air. I¡¯ve already held her hand, so I¡¯ll surely get to kiss her on the cheek next time! Today, Great-Grandpa even called to ask whether I was willing to marry into the Mitchell Family. Of course, I¡¯m willing! I¡¯m extremely willing. It¡¯ll be great to be a live-in son-inw! Sophia scrolled through the news, only to see that she and Michael had be the talk of town. Fans were all offering their blessings to the actor who was past his prime yet made aeback now for finding his love for the second time. Carmen¡¯s identity had also been brought up since she¡¯d be popr thanks to a video. The fans indeed had a keen eye, for they managed to surmise the identity of Carmen¡¯s father from her cute countenance. Some reckoned that she was Taylor¡¯s daughter, while some guessed that she was Scarlett¡¯s daughter. In short, a myriad of spections abound. Michael didn¡¯t reply, knowing that it¡¯d then all die down after they¡¯d had their fill of gossip. When they were in bed at night, Carmen burrowed into Sophia¡¯s embrace and whined pitifully, ¡°Mommy, I miss Judgey. It won¡¯t being back after moving, will it?¡± Judge had been with her since young, so she truly missed it now that it had moved away. ¡°Judgey has its own home, but we can go over to its home to visit in the future,¡± Sophiaforted. Carmen nestled into her arms, yet not falling asleep at once. Sophia, on the other hand, was still scrolling through her cell phone when Michael sent a few videos to her. ying one, she then saw herself. Michael¡¯s voice sounded in the video though he didn¡¯te into view. ¡°12 weeks pregnant. Mommy is healthy, and pregnancy is progressing normally. She even gained weight.¡± That was Sophia a little over three years ago. She was lying on the sofa with a nightgown, watching television when Michael walked in with his cell phone, filming her. Judge was sprawled beside her, and she stuck her tongue out at the camera while stroking the dog¡¯s head. ¡°11 weeks pregnant. Baby and mommy are both healthy. Pregnancy is progressing well.¡± ¡°10 weeks pregnant. Mommy is healthy and even has a bit of morning sickness.¡± And so it went on. When she was pregnant, he filmed her every week to keep a journal. As she watched her stomach grow increasingly bigger in the video, her heart filled with happiness and warmth. s, I¡¯ve forgotten everything! I¡¯ve forgotten how I gave birth to Carmen and how satisfied and blissful I was when she was in my stomach. While I¡¯ve forgotten the past, I can still cherish the present! Putting down her cell phone, she pecked Carmen on the cheek before turning off the lights and going to sleep. The next day, Faye¡¯s studio issued a statement, epting Scarlett¡¯s apology. The day after, Calvin, the lawyer Michael retained, went over to negotiate thepensation with Faye. Faye¡¯swyer made a list of numerous damages, to which thepensation totaled up to over 50 million. Faye revealed to the public that she merely makes one to two billion a year when she made it to the top five highest-paid actresses in Cethos, and it has only been a few days since she was bitten by the dog. As she¡¯s injured on her thigh, it¡¯s true that she can¡¯t film any action flicks, but she can still film sedate movies. Furthermore, her shampoo, perfume, and jewelry advertisements are all the more unaffected. A flesh wound only takes a month at most to heal, so how could her damages amount to 50 million? However, herwyer swore that this was her unvarnished ie, iming that she made 50 million a month. Calvin brought the list back to Sophia. After looking at it, Sophia signed the agreement, and the compensation was swiftly wired over. When Faye received the exorbitantpensation of 50 million, she counted the money happily, never once expecting that before she¡¯d finished counting it, the subsequent events had developed beyond her imagination. Chapter 843 Chapter 843 After Faye had gotten the money, she boasted to Sandra with no holds barred. Seizing the opportunity, Sandra suggested, ¡°Demand that she apologize to you in person!¡± Engrossed in her victory, Faye agreed at once. It so happened that her birthday was just around the corner, so she was hosting a small birthday party and had invited quite a number of people. Many from the Mitchell and Edwards Family would be in attendance, as would business partners in abundance; all attendees were either rich or aristocratic. Besides, Sandra had even specially invited many of the Mitchell Family¡¯s elders. I want Scarlett to apologize to me publically during my birthday party! I want the Mitchell Family to see how Cooper Mitchell¡¯s daughter lowers herself and apologizes to someone else! I just want to utterly humiliate her and have them realize who should be the rightfuldy of the Mitchell Family! Faye then contacted Sophia, and Sophia agreed right away. It was going to be Faye¡¯s birthday soon, so her fianc¨¦, Vincent Mitchell, definitely had to prepare her a gift. Vincent was Alex¡¯s biological nephew, a direct descendant of the Mitchell Family. Alex¡¯s son was still young, so he groomed Vincent as though he was his biological son and entrusted him with important tasks. Faye had long since had her eye on him, finally bing his fianc¨¦e after ying all sorts of tricks, and unsurprisingly, they were going to get married within the year. When they were married, she¡¯d then retreat behind the scenes and be a producer. At the same time, she¡¯d have stocks from both the Edwards and Mitchell families. It¡¯d be much more enjoyable than filming. Thus, she was now at the pinnacle of her life, being the center of attention in the Edwards Family and soon-to-be young mistress of the Mitchell Family in addition to procuring 50 million in compensation. In short, it was smooth sailing for her. With her impending birthday, Vincent once indirectly asked her what birthday gift she wanted, but she naturally feigned hesitance since she couldn¡¯t really speak her mind. In reality, however, she was already hankering after a car. It was a burgundydies¡¯ sports car manufactured by the global industrial giant, Michel Group. In fact, it was a customized sports carmissioned by the mysterious director of Michel Group, Fass Michel, for his daughter, Lucile Michel. This was the world¡¯s first sports car to be specially customized fordies with a gorgeous burgundy coat and car seats as well as windows designed especially fordies. Furthermore, it was brand new. It¡¯d be auctioned by Bayside Golden Age Auction House with a starting price of 30 million, the sports car going to the highest bidder. Not only was the car superb, but the former owner of the car was also extraordinary, so it¡¯d be doubly prestigious to drive it. However, she couldn¡¯t just admit it bluntly, so she merely said that she fancied a piece of jewelry that would be auctioned at the same time to avoid appearing crass and invited him to attend the auction with her. The appearance of that burgundy sports car at an auction house in Bayside City in Cethos attracted widespread attention from celebrities. Fass was indeed a mysterious figure whose origins were unknown to everyone, and this was even the first time they were hearing that he had a daughter. It was rumored that he pampered his daughter greatly and had tailored many exclusive sports cars for her. Only one of those was auctioned this time, but still, it caused a stir. Many people were even dubious, but the auctioneer this time was Linus Michel himself, so it seemed credible. Many celebrities came from abroad just for a look at how advanced the car belonging to the eldest youngdy of Michel Group was. It was even said that it exceeded the current standard for at least ten years. Therefore, an invitation to the auction was truly difficult to procure. Nheless, Faye managed to finagle an invitation and attended with Vincent. On the day of the auction, a huge crowd thronged the venue. Dressed in a stunning burgundy dress with her arm hooked around Vincent who was young and handsome, Faye attracted much attention. Just after she¡¯d sat down, she caught sight of many acquaintances, such as Nicole, Bethany, and of course, Sandra. Sandra wore a white sheath dress, appearing elegant and stately as she made her appearance with her arm hooked around her fianc¨¦, Ian. Very quickly, Ethan who seldom made public appearances showed up with his wife, Sarah. Finally, the actor past his prime who was the current talk of the town, Taylor, made his appearance amidst a torrent of exmations. After his dog, Judge, had bitten Faye, he was once again thrust into the limelight while riding on the coattails of her fame and was recently at the height of poprity. Michael had deliberately brought Judge along. Judge was wearing a muzzle, but it was richly bedecked in gold and silver, looking as dazzling as ever with an imposing bearing. It¡¯d just bitten Faye a while ago, yet he¡¯d brought it out now, and to the same event in which Faye was in attendance to boot. Hence, the media swarmed him for an interview as though they¡¯d discovered something huge. After Michael, Sophia appeared with her hand hooked around Cooper. She was dressed extremely inly today in a dress and a pair of leather shoes. As someone who was involved in pet luxury goods, she needed to bring a pet, so she had Corrado on a leash. Naturally, Corrado was bespangled in essories, simultaneously showcasing her products. When the auction was about to begin, the guests from all walks of life sought out their seats and sat down. Everything to be auctioned today was women¡¯s favorites such as jewelry, essories, and also that sports car exclusively fordies. Sophia sat beside Cooper, and on her other side was naturally Michael. Faye stole several nces at her, noticing that she and Sarah who was sitting behind her were gesturing at the sports car¡¯s promotional brochure. So, she¡¯s also here for the sports car! But well, with me, Faye Edwards, here today, that sports car can only be mine! I want to use thepensation she paid me to buy the sports car she fancies! However, never had she imagined that Sophia and Sarah¡¯s conversation was actually thus: ¡°Why are you selling off such a good car for no good reason? Are you broke frompensating Faye that you¡¯ve gotAll rights ? N?velDrama.Org. to sell your car to recoup your losses?¡± ¡°Huh? Nah, that¡¯s not it. I¡¯ve got too many cars that this garage in Bayside City has run out of space. So, why not exchange it for some pocket money? I¡¯ve still got several more cars like this. Come over to my house and have your pick one day. I¡¯ll give you one as a gift!¡± ¡°How affluent!¡± Today, it wasn¡¯t just thedies who had their eyes on the car, but also many of the male guests. Michel Group had subsidiaries in the military industry and also the hi-tech industry, so this car boasted a combination of both industries¡¯ advantages. The military material ensured that it was bulletproof, while the hi-techponents made it fully intelligent; it was a perfectbination of the two. Besides, it was specially designed by Fass for his daughter, so the quality and significance were extraordinary. There wasn¡¯t much suspense during the first two rounds of auction. At longst, the final round of auction began. The supercar rose automatically, slowly ascending before manifesting in the crowd¡¯s line of sight. As the lights hit it, it appeared magnificently stunning as though an aristocraticdy in a burgundy dress, its perfect body reflecting a breathtaking countenance. As the auctioneer introduced the main item in the auction today, his voice steeped in enthusiasm, exmations rang out from the guests below. ¡°I think this car matches you well.¡± At a single nce, Vincent could tell that the color of Faye¡¯s dress today truly matched the supercar. Covering her mouth with a hand, Faye giggled in embarrassment. ¡°Indeed.¡± Vincent understood her meaning without her pointing it out. Her birthday is right around the corner, so it¡¯s time for me to prepare her an insightful gift. She didn¡¯t fancy any of the jewelry earlier, so why don¡¯t I just buy her this sports car? Thus, he emphatically called out a bid as soon as the auction began. ¡°40 million!¡± This price instantly shocked everyone, including Ian who wanted to buy the car for his fianc¨¦e. After mulling it over, he decided to give up. It¡¯s obvious that Vincent is determined to win the bid, so I won¡¯t fight him for it. It was extraordinarily intimidating when Young Master Vincent spoke out, so many people were discouraged. However, someone called out a higher bid in no time. ¡°41 million!¡± Everyone¡¯s gaze swung over, only to be greeted by the sight of Taylor with his bidder card raised. Chapter 844 Chapter 844 The starting price of this luxury car belonging to Lucile was 30 million with an increment of a million for every bid. Vincent hiked up the price to 40 million in a single go, while Taylor merely increased the price by a million. The implication of this was rather obvious. Vincent cast a nce in Michael¡¯s direction. He¡¯d been long since aware of Michael¡¯s identity as Mark¡¯s biological grandson and a descendant of the Fletcher Family. However, he¡¯d never cared a whit about him. After all, Mark¡¯s influence was limited to the military, and Michael wasn¡¯t in the military, so he wasn¡¯t worth a damn. Seemingly sensing his gaze on him, Michael looked in his direction. His eyes were gleaming as though he was resolute to win, and beside him, Scarlett seemed to be harboring some kind of expectation as well. Just after he¡¯d called out his bid, another person raised his bidder card. ¡°42 million.¡± The person who bid was the heir of a particr European conglomerate, a handsome man with blond hair and blue eyes. ¡°43 million.¡± ¡°44 million.¡± There were sessive bids, all by people who boasted an impressive background. Besides, all of them were men. While this car might be contrary to men¡¯s tastes, all who bid on it were men. At a single nce, one could tell that some were bidding for their femalepanions, such as Vincent and Michael, while some had their sights on the car¡¯s former owner. Rumor had it that Fass¡¯ daughter, Lucile, was breathtakingly beautiful and was only in her early 20s, yet to be married. Regretfully, she kept an extremely low profile and wore a mask during all her appearances. If one could make the acquaintance of this superbly fair, wealthy, and stunningdy and start a rtionship with her, one¡¯s entire family would be spared several years of struggle. Thus, many European celebrities and royalty flew over from Europe and America just to attend this auction. This auction was destined to be a bloodbath, for it wasn¡¯t only a car, but also a chance to make the acquaintance of the eldest youngdy of the Michel Family! Vincent had known that it¡¯d be a financial battle from the beginning itself, so he again whipped out his bidder card. ¡°50 million!¡± The crowd went into an uproar. It¡¯s just been a mere few rounds, yet the bid has gone up by more than ten million! However, there were still people who continued bidding despite it being 50 million. ¡°51 million.¡± Michael raised his bidder card. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°53 million!¡± It was a European royal prince who called out the bid. ¡°55 million!¡± This time, it was a prince from a country rich with oil in the Middle East. Harry hurriedly joined in the fun. ¡°57 million.¡± He definitely wasn¡¯t buying it since he¡¯d save the middlemen fee if he got it from Sophia directly. Thus, he was merely ying the game now and driving the price up. Emanating a cold air, Vincent swept a disdainful gaze over the crowd. With his utmost confidence as the Young Master of the Mitchell Family, he squeezed the slightly anxious Faye¡¯s petite hand before loudly proiming, ¡°60 million!¡± Faye was over the moon. After all, who wouldn¡¯t be moved in her shoes? Is there a woman who won¡¯t be envious of me to have a fianc¨¦ who¡¯s throwing away money recklessly for my sake? She nced at Sandra out of the corner of her eye, only to see that her eyes were zing with jealousy. However, Ian knew that Vincent was determined to win the bid for the car today, so he¡¯d long since given up bidding. Since Cooper Mitchell is here today, the opportunity to stand out naturally has to be given to Mitchell from Alex¡¯s line. Thus, she was set on showing off before Cooper. While she was inwardly ecstatic, she still needed to keep up appearances. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just call it a day, Vincent?¡± Gazing at her, Vincent shed her a gentle smile. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a drop in the bucket.¡± This amount was actually quite taxing to him, but he was dead set on getting the car. When the price had gone up to 60 million, a group of bidders gave up, but still, some persevered. Of those, some were merely hiking up the price, while others were truly wealthy. ¡°61 million.¡± This was from Michael who was driving up the price. ¡°62 million.¡± This was Sean who was likewise driving up the price. ¡°65 million.¡± This was the truly wealthy heir to the European conglomerate. ¡°68 million.¡± Simrly, this was the truly wealthy oil prince from the Middle East. With his own woman and another member of the Mitchell Family looking on, not to mention Michael whom he looked down upon bidding on it, Vincent definitely wouldn¡¯t give up, so he sneered and called out, ¡°80 million!¡± It¡¯s an increase of more than ten million at a single go! Everyone sucked in a breath. The Mitchell Family is truly rich! And this time, Vincent Mitchell is hell-bent on winning the bid! ¡°81 million.¡± Michael promptly countered without even having to consider it. Every time Vincent called out his bid, he always followed with an increase of one million. It was an even figure of one million, no more no less as though his goal was to provoke him. The heir to the European conglomerate stopped bidding, but the oil prince with deep pockets instantly called out, ¡°85 million!¡± In the next moment, Harry shouted, ¡°89 million!¡± Vincent had finally realized the cruelty of bidding, but he had no retreat since it was him who¡¯d authoritatively started bidding, and his fianc¨¦e was even looking on beside him. Hence, after Harry, he dered, ¡°90 million!¡± All at once, Michael spoke up and said, ¡°91 million.¡± Again, it was one million more, no more no less. This time, no one made a bid. The oil prince frowned as he scrutinized theptop in his assistant¡¯s hand beside him. Harry had also gone silent, appearing very much defeated, even pulling Sarah who was beside him for a consoling hug as aggrieve manifested on his face. Only two people present continued to persist¡ªMichael and Vincent. Now that the price had more than doubled, many were pulling out. Gritting his teeth, Vincent mmed his hands on the table and sprang to his feet. ¡°I offer 100 million!¡± The auction hall plunged into pin-drop silence. This time, everyone¡¯s gaze swung to Michael, only to see that his brows were deeply creased as though he was hesitating. Several times, he made to raise his bidder card, and his mouth was even twitching in preparation of calling out ¡®101 million,¡¯ but he seemed to be holding back the words that were right on the tip of his tongue, dithering a handful of times. It was apparent that he was exceedingly hesitant; he wanted to buy it, but at the thought of the price, he swallowed his words again. In the end, the auctioneer hammered the nail in the coffin with the gavel. ¡°Congrattions to Mr. Vincent Mitchell for winning the bid for this one and only exclusively-customized luxury car in the world at 100 million!¡± Thunderous apuse broke out in the hall. Meanwhile, Faye was so touched that she threw herself into Vincent¡¯s arms and sobbed quietly. Despite his heart twisting in agony, Vincent forcefully stifled it amidst the apuse of numerous celebrities, leaving smug satisfaction on his face. Then, he even instinctively nced at those few people who¡¯d countered his bid. Michael had a distressed expression, seemingly talking to Cooper about something, and it looked very much like he was apologizing or mollifying him. In short, he looked despondent, making it in as day that Cooper was enraged. Therefore, this had Vincent feeling all the more conceited as though he¡¯d done something exceptional. When the curtains fell on the auction, everyone slowly left. Reporters were waiting outside the door for the celebrities to make an appearance so that they could interview them. The news that Vincent had bought a luxury car at 100 million for his fianc¨¦e, Faye, had quickly spread throughout the entertainment industry, making headlines. Thus, the reporters caught wind of it and rushed over for some hot interviews. Harry was the first person to exit. When he epted the interview, he expressed his deep regret, saying, ¡°I was actually nning to buy my wife a new car, but it looks like this car isn¡¯t meant for her.¡± Then, it was Michael who was interviewed next. Forcing a smile, hemented, ¡°I initially wanted to buy this car just to put a smile on Miss Scarlett Mitchell¡¯s face, but regretfully¡­¡± Finally, Vincent was interviewed. As he held on to Faye, who was so touched that she was crying, he dered smugly, ¡°Faye likes it, so I got it for her birthday present.¡± Faye dashed off her tears of gratitude, but still, she was keeping a triumphant eye on others around her out of her peripheral vision, such as Scarlett whom she hated to the bone. She¡¯s bound to be extremely frustrated now! Chapter 845 Chapter 845 Sophia too saw thecent look in Faye¡¯s eyes, but she drove off without making anyments. Arriving at Crimson House, she booked two private rooms, which was soon popted by a crowd. Among them were Michael, Linus, Harry and his partner, as well as Sean and Stanley. Even the filthy rich prince from the Middle East who fought with Vincent, as well as that heir to an European conglomerate were present. Upon entering the room, Sophia announced, ¡°I appreciate your support, so tonight¡¯s meal is on me.¡± If there were no worthy opponents present for the asion, it would be hard to prompt Vincent into action, which would make it hard to raise the price of the car. A thirty million car being sold at the price of a hundred million was quite the deal in itself, more so when it could benefit from Faye¡¯s poprity. Faye¡¯s birthday soon arrived. As the Mitchell Family¡¯s future daughter-inw, the Mitchells honored her by inviting a lot of celebrities, as well as members of the Edwards Family. The birthday party was held in the riverside mansion that Vincent bought for Faye. The four-storeyed mansion spanned across more than 700 square meters, whereas its interior was not onlyvishly decorated, but equipped with an elevator. Vincent personally drove the burgundy car to the venue before parking it in the garden of the mansion, which quickly garnered a lot of attention and praise. While the crowd watched on in awe, Vincent got out of the car to hand the keys to Faye as if it were a solemn affair. His actions seemed to touch Faye so much that she threw herself into his embrace in tion, with the subsequent round of apuse seemingly having fulfilled Faye¡¯s vanity. However, other than the sports car, the other highlight of the day was Scarlett¡¯s apology. Sandra brought along with her a few of the elders from the Mitchell Family, as she wanted them to witness Scarlett¡¯s humiliating public apology. They spent a long time waiting before Scarlett finally arrived. Upon ncing at Cooper¡¯s daughter, whom they had yet to meet till then, the elders determined that she was but another celebrity with a stic face, her appearance a splitting image with many among the crowd. On the other hand, Cooper came alongside Sophia, only to be irked upon seeing people walking around with faces simr to Sophia¡¯s. In fact, Sophia¡¯s appearance was somehow being hailed as thetest beauty standard, so a lot of people had been tweaking their faces to look like her, which was something that Cooper was unhappy about. Aside from Cooper, Michael, Sean, and Stanley came along as well. To add to their already grandiose line-up, they brought with them the 2.5m cat, Barney. Judge came along with Stanley as well, but it cowered at the entrance upon noticing the enormous cat. All eyes on them, the crowd fell silent for a moment upon their entry. Although it was outrageous of them to have brought a lion to someone else¡¯s birthday party, to be fair, the lion was docile, sitting down upon finding itself a spot where it could rest. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. That was the elders¡¯ third encounter with Cooper after his return. The first time was when Woody Mitchell passed away, the second being during Woody¡¯s funeral, while the third being this birthday party. Instead of returning to the Mitchells, Cooper had been going solo ever since his return without heeding the elders¡¯ summons. His actions made the elders felt their statuses challenged, so they always gave Cooper the cold shoulder whenever they met him. However, Cooper also ignored their presence. For all he cared, the elders were only superior to him in age, as some of them were still among the servants when he took over the Mitchell Family. On the other hand, Sophia kept a low profile by dressing up inly today, as she didn¡¯t intend to steal the limelight. Aside from applying some of Carmen¡¯s baby powder, she wasn¡¯t wearing any makeup at all. Due to its ritualistic significance, she only ever put on makeup when she had to meet someone important, but not when she was merely gracing someone inconsequential with her presence. As soon as she arrived at the venue, she went to Faye and apologized, ¡°Miss Faye Edwards, I hereby offer you my deepest apologies regarding the hurt I caused you during Pourl¡¯s productunching ceremony. Please ept my apology.¡± She gave Faye a sincere bow after saying so. Chucklingcently, Faye scanned the crowd before she responded, ¡°It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t need to take it so seriously. Let¡¯s consider this settled now that you already paid the fines. Vincent and I will soon be married, so we will be family soon.¡± While she spoke, Faye deliberatelybed her hair using her slender fingers to show off the huge diamond ring she wore, whereas a simr one resided on Vincent¡¯s ring finger. Seemingly unaffected, Sophia said, ¡°Oh, so I see you are registered.¡± Faye was so proud of herself, her face was flushed from all the emotions. ¡°Yeah, we did. Because it¡¯s my birthday as well as an auspicious day, we got registered in the morning, while the ceremony will be held next month.¡± In fact, news regarding their marriage was the trending topic on the Inte ever since a week ago, which helped to promote her uing movie. Sandra chimed in, ¡°Miss Faye will be a member of the Mitchells from now on, while Vincent is the youngest member among the board of directors with a firm hold on the shares of Mitchell Group, so I bet they have a bright future ahead of them! With howpatible they are, this sure is a match made in heaven!¡± Getting ahead of herself, Sandra was starting to show off unabashedly. ¡°The Edwards Group provided Faye with a huge amount of dowry, which indicates how important her wedding is. And we Mitchells also offered a huge sum as a betrothal gift, seeing the significance of the wedding for both families. My wedding with Ian will be happening next year, which would deepen the bond between the Mitchells and Edwards as we¡¯re now inws. This is surely the strong banding together to form an even stronger union!¡± However, Sandra wasn¡¯t referring to Cooper and Scarlett¡¯s family. Although the Edwards and Mitchells would being into union, Cooper had nothing to gain from it. With nothing under his name, the fact that Cooper had Mark¡¯s assistance meant nothing, more so when Mark would kick the bucket any moment. Even by arranging for Scarlett to marry Michael, it was naive of Cooper to think that they were secure. Not so long ago, Michael wasn¡¯t even regarded as a member of the Fletcher Family. They only inserted him into the family tree after the poor sod lost his wife. Cooper was therefore being regarded as a senile fool who misjudged the situation in Bayside City after being a castout for more than twenty years. Despite catching on to the fact that Sandra was trying to show off, Sophia seemed unaffected when she replied nonchntly, ¡°Yeah, that sounds great.¡± Without further words, she turned to reunite with her father and the lion. Exchanging a smile, Faye and Sandra assumed that Sophia¡¯s nonchnce was but a facade to the dejection she felt deep down, as a public apology should be extremely humiliating. However, Faye wasn¡¯t about to let Sophia off the hook, so she dragged thetter with her to check on her new car. ¡°Look, Scarlett, this is my new car that Vincent bought for me! It was used by Lucile Michel! I bet you have no idea who she is! She is one of the top socialites in the world! Her father is Fass Michel, the president of Michel Group, whose worth could easily rival that of a country! Vincent and I had an audience with her when we went to sign the contract for purchasing the car! We became friends very quickly, and she even invited us to visit her manor! It was a shame that she left for Africa for an errand, or else you might even get to meet her today!¡± Chapter 846 Chapter 846 Meanwhile, Vincent listened in silence, opting not to expose Faye¡¯s lie. The truth was that Lucile did not show up when they went to sign the contract, as Linus acted as proxy throughout the process, so Faye actually missed out on Lucile. However, her vanity seemed cute at the moment, while the lie served to show Cooper and Scarlett the connections that the Mitchells possessed, as not everyone got to meet Linus and Lucile. Through buying the car, Vincent got to meet and exchange contacts with Linus, which meant that they had established some sort of connection in the least. Spending a billion in exchange for a chance to meet the vice president of the Michel Family was¡ªto him¡ªa fair deal. On the other hand, Sophia was rendered speechless by Faye¡¯s vain attitude, more so when thetter dragged Sophia over to check out the car which Sophia was in fact tired of. Meanwhile, the car was being treated as the hottest luxury item, with celebrities taking selfies in front of it before posting a heavily edited version of the picture onto their social media. Faye dragged Scarlett over to inspect the car. ¡°Scarlett, try running your hands over it! The car was produced ording to military standards! Look at the color, the shimmer, as well as the fully automated system embedded in it! I bet you¡¯ve neverid eyes on such an advanced car before!¡± N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. However, Sophia maintained a nk expression while she recalled that the car was in fact one of the more in ones she owned. The reason she sold it was because it was too small tofortably fit her 2.5 meter cat. In the meantime, both Michael and Harry put on a look of adoration. Michael ran his hands over the car in awe whilementing, ¡°This is such a superb car! It¡¯s a shame that I don¡¯t get to own it!¡± With a look of envy, Harry cried, ¡°Oh, evenying eyes on it is a pleasure!¡± The two best actors put on their best act to portray themselves as poor sods who could only begrudgingly behold the car of their dreams but couldn¡¯t own it. Their wless acting not only managed to satisfy both Faye and Vincent¡¯s vanity, but also put on show the Mitchells¡¯ sturdy financial foothold. In the meantime, Cooper was on the verge of nodding off while on the sidelines. Although the elders of the Mitchell Family were discontent about his defiant attitude, they refused to approach him actively, thus resigned to cursing him mentally. Cooper had always stuck out like a sore thumb ever since young, so the elders¡ªdespite being not much older than Cooper¡ªwere rejoicing in the fact that not only was he met with his downfall, but her daughter was also being publicly humiliated. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s face was devoid of expression when Faye was showing her wealth off. In fact, she wouldn¡¯t even have attended Faye¡¯s birthday party if it wasn¡¯t for the uing incident that she¡¯d nned. Eventually, during the climax of the asion, a few cars pulled over, from within emerged a group of people in uniforms. Their leader sought out Faye before inquiring cidly, ¡°Greetings, Miss Faye Edwards. We¡¯re from the Inspection Division of the Local Tax Bureau. Miss Scarlett Mitchell reported that you had beenmitting tax fraud, so we will need you toe with us for investigation purposes.¡± The fact that Scarlett reported Faye came as a huge shock to everyone present on the asion. It was public knowledge that tax fraud was illegal. Having set up her own studio that was independent from its shareholders, Faye would be faced with charges if she was found guilty of tax fraud. The crowd fell into silence while closing in on Faye to check out the situation. Upon knowing who was after her, Faye shot Sophia, who was watching from the sidelines, a menacing nce before feigning surprise. ¡°Oh, why would you use me of that? How is that possible? I have always paid my taxes ordingly!¡± In fact, she was aware that she had broken thew, but she was confident that even the bureau had to bend to thebined will of both the Mitchells and Edwardses due to how powerful both families were. Even if they managed to uncover anything, she had both families behind her back, so Faye didn¡¯t believe for a second that Scarlett could topple her. There was just no f*cking way that she could. In the meantime, Vincent exined cordially, ¡°There must be some misunderstanding behind this. Seeing that we¡¯re already thiste into the night, why don¡¯t we proceed with the investigation tomorrow?¡± The people from the bureau agreed to his proposition, so were soon on their way, allowing them to go on with the party. However, the atmosphere in the mansion during thetter half of the asion went through a drastic shift. The guests were beginning to whisper among themselves regarding Faye¡¯s supposed crime, as well as the fact that Scarlett Mitchell opted to do so without even trying to cover up for herself. The amount that Faye deredst year was a little more than two hundred million. However, she requested apensation of fifty million just that year after being bitten by a dog, which forced her to recuperate for a month. Only a small sum was dedicated to Faye¡¯s mental anguish and medical bills, as the majority of thepensation was determined based on the loss of ie when Faye was recuperating. ording to the avable data, it was apparent that Faye was able to earn approximately fifty million within the span of a month, which meant that she could earn approximately five hundred million in a year. However, she only dered a total of two hundred million, so it meant that the remaining three million was untaxed. It became apparent to the public now that Scarlett had been waiting all this while to get back at Faye after being subjected to an unreasonablepensation of fifty million. Sophia left the mansion for her car in the nearby parking lot after the men from the bureau left. While on her way out, she made a call to administer a quick order. ¡°You can now spread the news around.¡± Upon ending the call, Sophia turned to observe the glorious mansion behind her while wearing a menacing smile. You won¡¯t be getting away easily, Faye! The incident became a hot topic overnight. There were already various conjectures and contesting opinions going around on the Inte regarding the matter when news broke of the astronomical amount of money beingpensated to Faye after she was bitten. The fact that an actress who had no skills and having undergone extensive stic surgery could earn fifty million per month made Faye the object of people¡¯s envy. Aside from the peasants in the lower ranks of society, even Faye¡¯s colleagues wished to be in her position. As soon as a hatred toward the rich was triggered, it ignited a ze that managed to destroy the foundations of lies that Faye¡¯s riches were built upon. With the aforementioned incident being the preamble of the situation, the fact that Faye was being investigated by the Local Tax Bureau became the critical point that kickstarted a series of gossips that trended the Inte. It was soon discovered that Faye¡¯s wedding ring cost tens of millions, while the new mansion Vincent bought for their wedding spanned across a few hundred square meters, equipped with an elevator no less. On the other hand, someone else uncovered that her car was worth a hundred million. Every single amount spent on the items were getting on people¡¯s nerves, as they could hardly earn fifty million even if they worked for life, so it was extremely unfair that she could earn fifty million within a month. Her movie saw one of the lowest-grossing box offices, as she had no skills in acting. Other than that, her beauty was artificially constructed, and all she knew was totch herself to globally-acimed award-winning actors, so it was incongruous that she could earn so much more than the other actors who worked hard. Meanwhile, her envious colleagues were allshing out at her now that they finally found fault with Faye, direly hoping that the incident would be her downfall that would subsequently end her career. The incident was blown out of proportion during the next few days, so much so that it gave the Mitchells and Edwardses a headache, as they couldn¡¯t possiblye out unscathed. In the meantime, because Sophia reported Faye publicly, her brand and Michael¡¯s new movie were both gaining attention due to the incident. As things went south, Faye was beginning to panic, all the while regretting lying about her ie. Thus, she quickly agreed to cooperate with the tax bureau with their investigation. After a thorough investigation, it was revealed that although Faye didmit tax fraud, the amount wasn¡¯t huge, so things began calming down after she paid both the required taxes and the fine, as well as finding herself a scapegoat to serve her jail sentence in her stead. It was also revealed that she didn¡¯t earn as much as she¡¯d dered, as the true sum was merely two-fifths of it. Faye¡¯s studio quickly announced the truth to the public, admitting that Faye didn¡¯t earn as much as she¡¯d imed. As soon as the statement was issued, it seemed that the incident would resolve itself after a few more moves to soothe the public. But without warning, Pourl filed a high-profile police report at that critical moment to sue Faye for scamming. Chapter 847 Chapter 847 The events unfolded one after the other ording to n. Just when the case with Faye¡¯s tax evasion was finally beginning to subside and the public was on the verge of turning their attention to something else, Pourl made a move to sue Faye for scamming. In effect, they were using the whole ordeal with Faye as an opportunity to market their brand. Since Faye admitted that she didn¡¯t earn as much as fifty million per month, the fact that she requested a compensation of fifty million from Pourl would be a scam. The list forpensation was done by Faye¡¯s team, which listed out in ck and white each of the items that were beingpensated for. Compensation for medical bills and mental anguish didn¡¯t even amount to a million, while the rest were allpensation for loss of ie. Faye had no way of denying any of the ims, as it was listed out on paper. Thewsuit caught Faye unawares. It wasn¡¯t until then that she realized she had fallen into a trap. Right after the people from the tax bureau were done with her, the police woulde knocking on her door as well. It was all a meticulously nned trap for Faye that was set into motion ever since she requested a fifty millionpensation. All Sophia had to do was wait for Faye to fall deeper into the trap. Pourl set up a social media page just for that single event, on which their first post was the police report they filed against Faye. Of course, she came to know of it quickly. Pourl made sure to keep a high profile; they went as far as to make it live on the web, as if reminding Faye to brace herself. Meanwhile, the police would soon be knocking on Faye¡¯s door, so she quickly gave Vincent and Sandra a call, as it was Sandra¡¯s idea to make the outrageous request forpensation. The incident quickly rmed the Edwards and the Mitchells, as they ced a lot of importance on Faye and Vincent¡¯s marriage. As soon as the two main families came into union through marital ties, it meant both families would effectively be considered as one. However, it also meant that Cooper would unscrupulously work against that union, as a union between Alex Mitchell and the Edwards would put him at a disadvantage. In short, Scarlett would be targeting both Faye and Sandra as both were the key to the union of both families, which was precisely why neither family would sit out of it. Soon, news broke that the Mitchells and the Edwards spent an astronomical amount to hire ten or so lawyers from both local and abroad to form a team that would work on Faye¡¯s case. The intensewsuit went on for two months, and by the end of it, Faye was determined as innocent. Both the Mitchells and the Edwards spent a lot of money on the case; just the attorney fees alone amounted to an impressive sum. Besides, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to pull through this if it weren¡¯t for their connections. After the case was closed, Faye gave Sophia a call to gloat. ¡°Scarlett, you should know that both the Mitchells and the Edwards agreed to teach you a lesson. Extras like your father and you should never have returned! Neither the Edwards nor the Mitchells will let you off the hook that easily, nor will you have any chance at winning this feud! Scram back to where you came from!¡± However, Sophia mocked, ¡°Thank you for endorsing our products for free. We owe you one for Pourl¡¯s booming business.¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. When Faye heard that, she was so furious that she hung up. Meanwhile, Sophia was expanding her business, whereas the marketing team that Cooper rmended seized the opportunity to market the company¡¯s products when news regarding Faye¡¯s case was the trending topic. Theirbined efforts helped to boost Pourl¡¯s reputation greatly. On the other hand, Ivan and his team managed toe up with brilliant designs that swept multiple international awards, which helped to consolidate his status within the industry. In short, Pourl was thriving. It was within Sophia¡¯s expectations that both the Edwards and the Mitchells would do their best to protect Faye at all cost. After all, Sophia was Cooper¡¯s daughter, while Faye was the daughter-inw of the Mitchells, so anything she did to Faye was bound to be perceived as a slight to the Mitchells. Therefore, it was no longer just a matter between Sophia and Faye, but also a feud between both Cooper and Alex. However, she didn¡¯t ask for help from Cooper regarding the matter, as thetter was busy expanding his local business while soliciting the support of other Mitchells. In fact, Sophia preferred to focus on being Cooper¡¯s witty sidekick while working on expanding her own business rted to pet products. She liked her career pertaining to pet luxury goods, and would soon be expanding into more areas regarding pets by theing year. Pourl¡¯s office and design studio was moved to the second floor of its gship store. The building was a gift from Sam, but Sophia only held onto a single floor to be used by Pourl, while the rest were rented out. The offices and shoplots in the building were mostly bought off by Cooper, with the branch family being based upstairs, while the local HQ of Michel Group had just moved into the building next to them. After all, Cooper wanted nothing more than to keep watch on his precious daughter 24/7 every day of the week. On this day, Michale brought Judge with him to Sophia¡¯s shop. As soon as Judge saw Sophia, it began barking. After leaving The Imperial, Judge was sent back to Stanley¡¯s ce. Thetter just bought a mansion beside the sea, with Sean settling down in another mansion next to his, so they could take over looking after Judge. Judge became the only doggo in the house, but despite the fact that everybody doted on it, Judge was still feeling dissatisfied. It missed Sophia and Michael since it had grown attached to them and the ce that it spent a few years living in. Not only was the orange cat not with it in the new ce, neither was Sophia the loli there; both of them were being perceived by Judge as its subjects. Nowadays, the lion had stepped in to seize everyone and everything away from Judge, which made it unhappy, to say the least. Woof! Judge was barking non-stop. Caressing its head, Sophia asked Michael, ¡°Why is Judge barking so much?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because Judge wants toe back to The Imperial since it¡¯s now living alone by the sea. Stanley spends a lot of time away from home, so Judge might be feeling a little lonely.¡± ¡°But Judge doesn¡¯t want to y with Barney,¡± Sophia said with a frown. Judge was still barking when Ivan opened the door to the design studio. Right now, Barney was having its measurements taken inside as Sophia wanted to make Barney an outfit. Upon seeing Barney, Judge quickly cowered behind Michael with its ears ttened. On the other hand, Ivan was slightly nervous upon receiving such arge animal in his studio for the first time, but he quickly got used to it. Ever since business expanded, Pourl had been taking on other more exotic pets aside from the normal ones, including golden pythons, groundhogs, kos, alpacas, kangaroos, monkeys, squirrels, ostriches and even giant earthworms. They also had a century-old tortoise waiting outside, as its owner was nning on giving it a golden tattoo on its shell. In the meantime, Sophia was going through the datas of recent clients to get a grasp on thetest trending pets among the upper ss society in Bayside City. However, Michael was watching in trepidation as he didn¡¯t want her getting any weird ideas on buying any other exotic pets, as in most cases, he would end up being the one taking care of them. Therefore, he quickly redirected her attention. ¡°You used to like dogs when you were younger, and you had a dog that you kept for ten years!¡± He seeded in capturing Sophia¡¯s attention. ¡°Oh, is that so? What was the dog¡¯s name?¡± Michael recalled Sophia having told him about a dog she kept when she was living with her grandmother. With how smart it was, it helped to find aluminium cans in bins whenever Sophia went scavenging for trash. Michael went on for a while with the story. ¡°You kept the dog with you for many years until it passed away of old age.¡± However, the truth was that after Sophia¡¯s grandmother had passed away, she moved into her uncle¡¯s ce with the dog. When her cousin bullied her, the dog bit him so hard that it tore off a chunk of his flesh. After that, the dog was beaten to death before being used to boil soup that ended up as nourishment for her cousin. Chapter 848 Chapter 848 Of course, Michael would never tell her about the gruelling parts, as it would be better to allow her to assume that her dog simply died of old age. The dog was her only friend who got killed for protecting her, and was made into soup after that. After that, its bones were retrieved by Sophia from the bin before being put together and buried in a tiny grave she dug for it. The trauma scarred her for life, but fortunately, she had forgotten all about it. After listening to the story, Sophia heaved a sigh. ¡°They¡¯re just our furry babies¡­¡± Pets¡¯ lives were so short, while humans had lifespans that were so much longer than theirs, so it could be considered fate for one to be able to encounter his or her own ¡®furry baby¡¯. Thus, it was all the more reason why Sophia decided to offer the best she could to the pets she encountered. Caressing Judge¡¯s head, she could smell the fragrance of shampoo as well as feel the smoothness of its fur from its recent shower. Judge was around five to six years old by that point, so since huskies had an average lifespan of under twenty years, she didn¡¯t have much time left with Judge. Michael changed the topic after that. ¡°My movie will be released the week after this, but there will be a premiere before that. Would you like to join us?¡± Being an actor had its merits seeing that he had at least gotten a superb reason to ask a girl out. However, Sophia turned down his offer after some thought. ¡°I think I¡¯ll wait for the release, as I prefer to watch it on a big screen in the cinema. It would be great if the seats are all filled up. I like it when the audience cheers for a good movie.¡± Taken aback, Michael hung his head low while being on the brink of tears upon realizing that his chica was the same as before, and she hadn¡¯t changed at all. Michael hung around until afternoon when Stanley, Sean and Maddie came over for an exclusive interview about Judge. As the main character behind the incident with Faye, Judge was the reason why Pourl lost fifty million, as well as the reason why Faye had to facewsuits against her for tax evasion and scamming. Therefore, fans of Faye tracked Judge down through theirbined efforts, going as far as to crowdfund to have Teddy rape Judge. It was under such circumstances that Judge rose to fame, eventually bing one of the most well-known dogs with the highest worth in the world. However, though Judge¡¯s action of biting Faye caused Pourl to lose fifty million, the level of fame they gained due to it far outweighed their financial loss; even spending fifty million on celebrity endorsements might not necessarily guarantee a simr oue. Thus, Maddie figured she could do an interview about Judge to add to Pourl¡¯s fame. As soon as the interview began, Judge barked nonstop as if announcing that it never bit anyone to begin with. Despite having chewed on sofas, chairs, beds, toilet lids and TVs, Judge didn¡¯t seem to recall ever biting anyone. It almost sounded like Judge was denouncing Faye¡¯s ims for having been bitten, while Sophia was simply strung along. Maddie asked a few more questions regarding Judges¡¯ daily life, to which Stanley replied in detail, allowing the interview to go on smoothly. However, when Maddie was about to leave when they were done with it, Sophia¡¯s bodyguard reported to them, ¡°Miss Irene Weber is downstairs.¡± Not only was her presence unexpected, but none of them knew if she was after Maddie or Michael. Even Maddie was disgruntled about her arrival, as Irene had been constantly dropping by to harass both Joel and her. Whenever Joel was away from home for military duties, Irene would harass Maddie by hurling insults at her in front of her house. The fact that Irene would evene to Sophia¡¯s shop was unexpected. ¡°I¡¯ll go chase her away!¡± Maddie volunteered. On the other hand, Joel knew Maddie was often being harassed by Irene, but he also acknowledged the fact that she didn¡¯t like to have a bodyguard following her around. Thus, he adopted two retired army dogs that she could bring along with her to work, which were with her at the moment. However, Sophia held her back. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I can handle her.¡± In the meantime, Irene was waiting downstairs, knowing that Michael was upstairs, orbiting around that wench, Scarlett as usual. She decided she would make everybody¡¯s life difficult, because she could easily get away¡ªeven from Mark Fletcher¡ªdue to her parents¡¯ status as fallen heroes. Soon, Sophia showed up wearing a pair of sunsses and having a lion beside her. Upon noticing Irene¡¯s presence, she walked toward Irene with the lion in tow, which shocked Irene so much that she ran away shuddering. It wasn¡¯t until then that she led Barney onto the car to head back home with Michael tagging along. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Not even Michael could do anything about Irene. ¡°She is the daughter of fallen heroes. Both her parents sacrificed themselves for the country, so she was left orphaned when she was a child. Although the Fletchers adopted her¡­¡± The Fletchers treated Irene as one of their own, providing her with all the necessary resources to be the best singer in the military. However, her low self-esteem caused her to fixate on the dream of bing a true Fletcher by being listed on their family tree. If she could be more firm in her stance back then, she would¡¯ve already married Michael and their children would¡¯ve been in high school by now. Yet, she chose Joel instead of Michael, only to be shunned by Joel with the only reason of him having no feelings for her. It was tricky for Michael to deal with Irene, as he couldn¡¯t just cast her aside like how Joel did, and that was precisely why Irene was able to do as she pleased. Michael¡¯s rtionship with Sophia hadn¡¯t seen much progress, so he didn¡¯t want Irene¡¯s presence to affect their rtionship. Meanwhile, Sophia knew full well who Irene was, but she issued a harsh warning nheless. ¡°While you did owe her something, I don¡¯t, so I will treat her the same way I did Faye if she ever crosses me.¡± At the mention of Faye, Sophia was reminded that the movie Faye was starring in was still being promoted, and it would be released on the same day as Michael¡¯s. Also, Faye¡¯s wedding with Vincent would happen within a few days on a private ind that the Mitchells owned. Sure enough, it was Faye and Vincent¡¯s wedding was the hottest topic of the season, with the media either portraying them as a fairytale couple, or focusing on the fact that the Mitchells had settled Faye¡¯s two court cases, which indicated just how important Faye was to Vincent. All in all, the wedding received a lot of attention from the public. On the other hand, though Alex sent Cooper an invitation, thetter turned it down as he wasn¡¯t interested. As a major event for both the Edwards and the Mitchells, the wedding was in fact a stage to show off their financial prowess and familial status to their opponents. However, it would be pointless if their opponents weren¡¯t even there to witness their achievements. Upon arriving home, Sophia got a call from Faye. ¡°Scarlett, you must attend Vincent and my wedding that will happen in three days! He told me you¡¯re a member of our family, so you have to attend such an important event! Our wedding would be iplete without your presence!¡± Sophia could hear the pride in Faye¡¯s cute voice over the phone when thetter began describing her supposed wedding. ¡°My wedding will be held on a private ind that Vincent and I own! The ceremony willst three days, with invitations being sent to upper ss people such as government officials and people of noble statuses. By right, people like you would never even get to set foot on it, but since you¡¯re a Mitchell, we will make an exception for you!¡± Chapter 849 Chapter 849 Sophia retorted without hesitation, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, as I won¡¯t be able toe. Still, I wish you a happy marriage!¡± On the other end of the call, Faye couldn¡¯t help but chuckle incency. ¡°Scarlett, are you worried that you might cry after witnessing my marital bliss?¡± Without holding back at all, Sophia snapped, ¡°You¡¯re right! I¡¯m so jealous of you, so I will make sure to ruin your wedding. Also, I will never allow the union to happen, so I will do my best to trash it! Your wedding will be theughing stock for everyone!¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. As soon as she said so, Faye burst outughing. ¡°Hahaha! Scarlett, you¡¯re too full of yourself! Both the Edwards and the Mitchells ced a lot of importance on the wedding, so you won¡¯t evene close to thrashing it! Haha, I will be sending you the invitation, soe trash our wedding if you can!¡± With a nod, Sophia replied, ¡°Sure, just you wait! I will make sure your wedding goes down the drain!¡± Hanging up, Sophia cast her phone to the side before lying down on the sofa to organize her thoughts. Linus was cooking in the kitchen, whereas Carmen and Cooper were ying with toy blocks while the latter had his hair tied up in two stubs. As Carmen was familiar with building houses with the toy blocks, she could do so with much ease. Michael never cked when it came to Carmen¡¯s education. Although she had yet to start attending kindergarten, she could already speak in fournguages fluently. She also learned to dive and roller skate, while Michael also took time to go on trips with Carmen on their private jet. However, the presence of family was also important for the education of a child. While Michael had a hard time attending to every single need of the child back then, things were easier now that Sophia and her family were there to help. As they were ying, Cooper was able to teach her a lot of things, and he was also able to let her practice speaking, so Sophia had it much easier, for all she needed to do was y with Carmen after work. ¡°How do you n to trash their wedding?¡± Michael overheard Sophia¡¯s conversation with Faye when he came for dinner in his pajamas after a shower. Propping herself up, Sophia smiled before replying, ¡°What will you do if you ever see someone you dislike getting fed sh*t without knowing it was in fact a pile of sh*t?¡± With a frown on his face, Michael imagined the situation. Well, I figure I would remind him about it only after he ate it! ¡­¡­ Faye¡¯s wedding was held as scheduled. The asion wouldst for three whole days, which was a feat that shook the entire nation. Before the wedding, Faye¡¯s team already began publicizing it. It was as if they wanted the whole world to know about their wedding, as well as the unbreakable bond forged through the amalgamation of two prestigious families. A lot of celebrities and people of status were invited, and Faye would asionally post a photo of her in her wedding gown as a means to showcase the progress of the wedding preparations. Meanwhile, all of the publications served to help market her new movie. Sophia wore a cruel smile on her face while reading through those articles regarding the glorious wedding on the Inte. After that, she made a call. ¡°You can now release all 28 gigabytes of the data.¡± ¡­¡­ During the first day of their wedding, Edwards Ind was buzzing with activity. After the three-day ceremony, the guests would be ferried back to Bayside City on a luxury cruise owned by the Edwards. The entire wedding cost hundreds of millions, making it the event of the century. To celebrate the asion, both the Edwards and the Mitchells had invited a lot of important partners to witness it. The scale of the wedding was absolutely unprecedented. The entire ind was covered with flowers. Also, Faye¡¯s outfit cost a good forty million. Other than the thousands of prominent guests present, they alsomissioned a renowned Hollywood director to direct and produce a clip to be showcased during the ceremony. Such was the grandiose of a rich person¡¯s wedding. The ceremony of the first day ended without a hitch. The next few days would be followed with banquets, cocktail parties, balls and performances. Shockingly, the performers were all world-renowned artists who rejoiced in being invited to the wedding. While the Edwards and the Mitchells were busy promoting the wedding as the event of the century, a 28 gigabytepressed folder which contained a ton of incredible videos was being uploaded onto the largest legal overseas pornsite. All of the videos were of a woman having sex with her face clearly shown. There were a variety of genres, ranging from normal sex to hardcore fetishes. Soon, the female lead was quickly being pointed out as Faye Edwards, the hotshot celebrity of Cethos. All 28 gigabytes of videos were of her having unscrupulous sex with all manner of subjects. Aside from Faye, prominent figures such as Richard Harper of the Harper Group and another hotshot celebrity called Nichs Yates were also captured on the videos. Almost all of the younger men and women who were managed by her studio were forced to have sex with her. The videos were uploaded when Faye and Vincent were exchanging their rings. Such impable timing made it obvious that this was an act of tant mockery. Meanwhile, a bunch of self-proimed experts downloaded the videos to determine if those uploaded contents were true. They did such a meticulous job of it, which resulted in them being able to firmly determine that the woman featured in all the videos were in fact none other than Faye Edwards herself. All of the videos indicated the time and location of filming, with the most recent one being filmed in a bridal shop. It showed Faye¡ªdressed in her wedding gown that Vincent spent a huge fortune on¡ª having sex with a man. ording to the officially released material, the gown was worth tens of millions. Although it was Faye who wore the gown, the man who was having sex with her sure didn¡¯t seem to be Vincent. News regarding the videos were being spread around like wildfire. Initially, they were only circted on foreign websites, but within a span of few hours, it infiltrated the websites in Cethos. Meanwhile, the wedding of the century was proceeding as nned on the ind. After the ceremony in the day, there would be a banquet by night. In the meantime, the videos were being spread onto all major local websites in UHD quality. There were a lot of simr scandals among female celebrities, which in some cases were deliberately done in order to attain a certain level of fame. However, Faye¡¯s case was different, for it was a stark contrast to her clean public image as seen through news regarding her wedding, which made the scandal all the more shocking and exciting. In order to get Faye to marry into their family, the Mitchells had spent a lot of money, going as far as to exhaust their connections ever since she was involved in thewsuit. All the while, Vincent was constantly showing her his support and love. asionally, the couple would even show off their love by showering each other with expensive gifts. They made sure that their wedding was publicly known, and by allowing the world to know that Vincent married Faye, the release of those videos also in effect announced the fact that Vincent was cuckolded through and through. Furthermore, he essentially brought this upon himself, for it was toote to hide the scandal now, not when he had made sure that the wedding was being publicized so heavily! Due to the differences in time zones, the fact that time was needed for the so-called experts to determine the authenticity of the videos, the hasty removal of the videos due to them being regarded as indecent, and also the isted condition of the ind, a dy in the passing of information was being resulted. Thus, it wasn¡¯t until the next day that the guests saw the videos. When it was time for the cocktail party in the morning, the guests were already gossiping about it, but none dared confront the newly married couple. It was their wedding after all, so it didn¡¯t seem nice to dump such a scandal in their faces. In the meantime, Sophia¡¯s private jetnded on the ind. As a member of the Mitchells, she figured she should bear witness to the wedding of the century, or else, as what Faye told her, it wouldn¡¯t be complete. Chapter 850 Chapter 850 The wedding wouldst for three days. On the first day, the ceremony and the dinner party would take ce. On the second day, there would be more exciting performances and other social gatherings. On the final day, all of them would board the cruise ship and return to Cethos. Although the most climactic and sacred part of the wedding was over, Sophia didn¡¯t think she was late. The show has just begun. After showing the security guards her invitation card, she got into the ce easily. Also, she was apanied by some people. Meantime, Harry and Michael had gotten their invitation cards as well. After all, they were the only two Cethosian winners of the Academy Award. Even if they were not as popr as previously, they were still influential figures in the country. Furthermore, Cooper had brought with him Sean and other Mitchell Family members. Since this was Vincent¡¯s wedding, of course they had toe. As the second most powerful person in the Michel Family, Linus was also invited to the wedding. Additionally, Stanley arrived at the venue as the representative of the Fletcher Family. Since the return of Cooper, he had always kept a low profile. He especially tried to keep some distance from Linus and the Michel Family because he intended to get back what was rightfully his on his own. He had to prove to everyone that even if he had left the Mitchell Family for more than twenty years, he was still the king of the family. So, Linus came to this ind in Michael¡¯s small naval ship, while Cooper, Sophia, and her huge orange cat flew over in a private jet. When they met up on the ind, a cocktail party was taking ce. Sophia decided to attend the party. In fact, this cocktail party was a prelude to the wedding dinner. With no designated seats, the guests could pick up sses of wine and chat with each other freely. As a pleasant aroma permeated across the venue, the atmosphere was wonderful. However, after a long time, the bride and the groom still hadn¡¯t reached the venue. Even the most important family members on both sides hadn¡¯t appeared, so the suspicion of the guests had been aroused as they talked about a particr topic. There were many promiscuous people within the wealthy families. Nevertheless, as privileged members of the society, they tried to keep a low profile when engaging in scious activities. However, Faye was the exception. The extent of her immoral behavior stunned the general public. ¡°Thetest video was taken just two months ago, right? Her leg was still bandaged because of a dog bite.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe that when she was still injured, she hooked up with the staff member when she was trying out a wedding dress. Perhaps Vincent was just waiting outside.¡± ¡°They decided to wed on a whim. The wedding dress was ready-made and then modified. It was two months ago when they tried out the dress. At that time, Vincent had just bought a luxurious car that was worth a hundred million for her.¡± ¡°Taking the mary gift, the wedding, the diamond ring, the car and the new house into ount, Vincent had to spend more than a few hundred million to marry her, but he was still cheated on.¡± ¡­ After a momentary silence, one of the guests went on to say, ¡°I think the person exposed the video at this point intentionally. With evidence in his hand, he never uploaded the video at moments like the confirmation of their rtionship, the engagement party or when they were getting their marriage certificate. Right before the wedding, he decided to expose the video for maximum effect. It is an unfortunate moment as all the guests have arrived.¡± ¡°Even I feel embarrassed for Faye and Vincent. If I were in their ce, I would have jumped into the sea.¡± ¡°Even if they¡¯re not embarrassed, I feel utterly awkward being here. Did you see those performers who just left? They also hooked up with Faye before.¡± The atmosphere on the ind was rather sullen. Even outsiders like them felt uneasy, let alone the family members of the couple who was about to wed. However, they couldn¡¯t leave early. No matter how unsettled they felt, they had to go through this wedding that they would never be able to forget. There¡¯s one more day to the wedding itself¡­ One of the sensitive guests took a look at a group of people at the other end of the venue and said in a lowered voice, ¡°Who do you think is the culprit who messed with Faye?¡± Another person raised his chin at the same group of people. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious by now?¡± The group of people they were talking about were Cooper and Sophia, who came from one of the branches of the Edwards Family. Since Sophia had said that she would destroy Faye¡¯s wedding, she would definitely do it. Not only did she want to humiliate Faye on her wedding day, but she also had to stop the political marriage between the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family. It was like when someone she hated was about to eat some poo, she had to wait until the person was done having it before she would remind the person about it. This wedding was the poo the Edwards and Vincent had eaten. Now that the whole world had found out about this scandal, Sophia eagerly awaited their response. Would they go on with the wedding? Or would they fall out on the spot? Didn¡¯t Vincent marry Faye because of her influence as a famous actress? She was touted as the most beautiful and desirable woman in the country, but after this scandal, could she still stay in showbiz? Could Vincent tolerate the fact that Faye had cheated on him, since the whole world had learned about this scandal? On this day, Sophia was d in her usual simple outfit. Looking at her fair skin, it was hard to tell that there was a scar on her face before. While Barney was snoozing by her feet, Sophia was clinking her ss with Cooper. At the same time, Michael was having a chat with Harry and Linus in a nearby spot. Seeing her, he raised his ss at her. Knowing that Cooper had arrived, Sam rushed over to the venue. Having been out of the public¡¯s sight for some time, he seemed to have grown older. Perhaps it was because he was infuriated by what happened with Faye. ¡°Why would you still dare toe here?!¡± That was the first thing Sam said to Cooper and Sophia when he saw them. At this point, the Edwards and the Mitchells were scrambling toe up with a solution. Whether or not they would continue with the wedding, it was already shameful enough for them. Hence, they decided to send Sam to calm the guests down. Basically everyone believed that it was Cooper¡¯s doing, and they thought that his move was extremely ruthless. Also, no one could have imagined that Cooper and Sophia would swagger into the venue. In reality, this wasn¡¯t Cooper¡¯s doing, as he didn¡¯t like to use dirty tricks. He was an upright man who would fight with his opponents head-on. Even if the political marriage between the Edwards and the Mitchells were sessful, they would still be no match for him. However, since Sophia had done such a thing, he was med as well. All rights ? N?velDrama.Org. In a confident manner, Cooper replied, ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I dare toe here? It¡¯s not like you can do anything to me.¡± In fact, the Edwards were in a mess now. While Jordan was close to Alex, Sam was on Cooper¡¯s side. In spite of that, Sam had to protect the reputation of the Edwards. Torn betweenughter and exasperation, he decided to give up and leave the problem to Alex and Lucy. ¡°If Alex finds out you¡¯re here, he¡¯ll kill you.¡± He wasn¡¯t joking, as Alex had countless ways to kill a person without anyone¡¯s knowledge. In a calm manner, Cooper said, ¡°My own troops have surrounded this ind. I¡¯ve brought with me a naval ship, two submarines and five armed helicopters. As soon as I give the order, they will destroy this ind. None of you will survive.¡± Sam was drinking a ss of wine to calm himself down at that moment. Upon hearing that, he sprayed out the liquid from his mouth. Horrified, he was thinking if he should beg Cooper to think twice. The Michel Group was the secondrgest arms manufacturer in the world, so it was just a piece of cake for them to destroy the ind, even if they had to suffer as well in the process. ¡°W-Why are you even thinking of doing that? This ce is packed with the elites of Cethos! If anything happens to them, you¡¯ll be dead!¡± Sam stammered. Cooper replied, ¡°Well, this ind isn¡¯t within the territory of Cethos. We¡¯re now in the territory of Demarca, which is currently troubled by some rebel troops. After all of you are killed, the rebel troops of Demarca will be held responsible instead of me.¡± Sam was soaked in sweat upon hearing that. Previously, he had persuaded his family members against getting involved in the internal strife of the Mitchell Family. Unfortunately, things hade to a point where they could not stay out of this mess anymore. F*ck it! I¡¯m not gonna care anymore! After meeting with other members of the Edwards Family, Sam proceeded to greet other guests, leaving the problem to his other siblings. ¡°Corrado, do you miss me?¡± Sam was stroking the dog¡¯s head. Corrado hade to this ind with Cooper. Since Cooper had taken Corrado away, Sam hadn¡¯t seen the dog for a long time. With its tongue stuck out, Corrado was taking a rest under the umbre with Judge. All of a sudden, the crowd broke into amotion because the bride and the groom had arrived. Chapter 851 Chapter 851 Faye and Vincent came to the venue together. Just like the day before, Faye sported delicate make-up, and her white wedding dress perfectly outlined her curvy figure. Although she was still greeting the guests in a gentle and elegant manner, it was apparent to everyone else that her body was stiff, and she was walking in a strange way. On the other hand, standing beside Faye, Vincent still appeared to be confident, as though he had no clue what had happened. In reality, the scandal was already taking a toll on him. They still appeared to be lovey-dovey, but deep down inside, Vincent was burning with rage as he wanted to strangle her on the spot. Despite the fact that he was utterly ashamed of the scandal, he had to go on with the wedding. Just then, Jordan and Alex arrived at the venue together and headed straight to Cooper. The ind was located on the Pacific Ocean within the territory of Demarca. It was also the property of Vincent and Faye. Since Demarca had been gripped by internal conflicts recently, they had arranged enough troops and firepower on the ind. However, they had never expected that Cooper was bold enough to deploy a naval ship and submarines, which were enough to take control of Demarca. Twenty years had passed, but Cooper remained the mad man who would destroy his opponents at all costs, even if he had to be brought down as well in the process. If a missile was dropped on this ind, all of the important members of the Edwards and the Mitchells would be dead. Cooper thought of himself as only one man, so the sacrifice would be worth it. Even though Jordan and Alex were enraged, they had to pretend to be gentle while dealing with Cooper. ¡°Hey Cooper, we haven¡¯t met for more than twenty years!¡± Feigning surprise, Jordan clinked sses with Cooper. In an impassive manner, Cooper replied, ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you again after so many years.¡± They were beating around the bush as though they were clueless about what had happened. In reality, they were eager to kill each other on the spot. Cooper understood that it was impossible for Phantom Wolf to snatch Sophia from the Fletchers and the Winstons without the help of a local in the past, and that local was Jordan. While people of the older generation were having a chat, the young people gathered in another ce. At that moment, Sophia was taking a rest with Barney under the umbre. Sarah was very fond of Sophia¡¯s pet, so she kept stroking the lion until its fur was in a mess. ¡°Oh, my goodness. It¡¯s so cute!¡± In an envious manner, Sarah rubbed her face against the lion¡¯s fur. In fact, she had kept a lion in Harry¡¯s mansion in Africa, but the animal retained its wild nature. When it was set free a few years ago, it almost killed Faye. On the other hand, Sophia¡¯s pet had been domesticated for a long time, so it was now as obedient as a dog. With her sunsses on, Sophia was drinking a ss of juice when she caught a glimpse of Faye and Vincent, who were entertaining other guests, but they did not have the courage to walk up to Sophia. Faye would never dare to go near her. Just then, a dark figure whizzed past Sophia and charged at Faye, who screamed in response. It was Judge, who seemed to have figured out the culprit who framed it. The scandal had affected its reputation negatively in the dog model field. As a result, it had to go through the painful process of being vinated and almost lost its job as a dog model. Seeing the culprit, it decided that it had to bite her on this day. Fortunately, Hale, who was beside Michael, stepped on the dog leash in time, thus preventing this ordeal from happening. However, Judge was still barking at Faye like a mad dog, which caused her wine to ssh and soak her dress. At that instant, she was hiding behind Vincent in a pitiful manner. Although Vincent was disdainful of her now, he had to endure this three-day wedding no matter what. As her husband, he chided, ¡°Scarlett, look what your dog has done!¡± Under the umbre, Sophia put down her wine ss and rose from the recliner. As she walked over in her stilettos, her fair skin glowed under the hot sun in the climate of the Pacific Ocean. Reaching them, she took off her sunsses and shed a smile at them. ¡°Mind yournguage. ording to the family tree, I¡¯m your aunt.¡± Loathing Sophia as much as he hated Faye, Vincent snorted. ¡°Can you even be considered a member of the Mitchell Family?¡± She had found out what Faye was like, and what thetter had done, but she never warned me about it earlier. However, during my wedding, she decided to expose the video and made me theughing stock of the whole world. I¡¯m gonna kill her! With a frown, Sophia chuckled. ¡°Are you ming me, your aunt, for not reminding you earlier? Since you¡¯ve bought a car that¡¯s worth a hundred million for her, it proves that you really love her. I thought she¡¯d change! It¡¯s alright though. Now that she has learned her lesson, she will be a good wife and never do anything immoral again.¡± ¡°Scarlett Mitchell!¡± Vincent growled as he was on the brink of losing control. He had tried very hard to calm himself down, but Sophia¡¯s words enraged him. His growl attracted the attention of the other guests. Although they didn¡¯t go over immediately, they were staring at him, awaiting a good show. One of the Mitchells immediately rushed over and took Vincent¡¯s arm so that he wouldn¡¯t embarrass himself further. Panting heavily, Vincentposed himself and said through gritted teeth, ¡°Aunt Scarlett, thanks for your lesson.¡± Sophia put her sunsses back on to hide the coldness in her eyes. ¡°Give me your contact number later. I¡¯ll send you more shocking videos of your wife that have yet to be exposed. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t keep any copy.¡± Vincent was so incensed that he wanted to kill Sophia on the spot. Nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t do anything to her, so with his eyes reddened, he clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Thanks, Aunt Scarlett.¡± Suddenly, Sophia¡¯s voice turned stern. ¡°Vincent, as a member of the Mitchell Family, you have to remember our ancestors¡¯ teachings. You are framed by your opponents not because they¡¯re too sly, but because¡­¡± She then poked his chest and continued in a cial tone, ¡°You are too weak.¡± The veins on Vincent¡¯s forehead popped as he gnashed his teeth together. He was known to be a ruthless businessman who had helped save Alex¡¯s business empire. Even if he was a seasoned man, he was still being cheated on by a woman. Never had he imagined before that the woman he was to marry was this kind of person. He was fooled by Faye and her family members. Before this, she was presented to him as an innocent girl who came from a privileged family, but he could not have expected that she was actually a slut. ¡°You¡¯re right, Aunt Scarlett.¡± Vincent was on the verge of tearing up. At this moment, he hated Sophia, but he was more resentful of Faye and the Edwards. After giving him a lesson, Sophia turned to Faye and shouted, ¡°And you, Faye. I¡¯ve gathered enough evidence to prove that you¡¯ve falsely used Judge of biting you. Just get ready to go to jail. You will not be spared the consequences ofmitting a fraud. Hopefully, the Edwards and the Mitchells will still try to save you by then.¡± Although Faye was trembling, she still tried to keep herself calm and pretended to be innocent. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The sunsses had concealed the emotion behind Sophia¡¯s gaze, but her lips were seen curving into a contemptuous smile. ¡°Do you remember that during the freshers¡¯ week at Bayside University, I broke your nose with a punch?¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Faye was startled. Now that she recalled that period of time in her life, she realized that only one person had broken her nose before. Chapter 852 Chapter 852 During the freshers¡¯ week at Bayside University, Faye fell into an argument with someone. Amidst the chaos, that person broke her nose with a punch. But it has been four years since that person passed away! Suddenly, Faye widened her eyes and stared at the woman before her, whose face had be an online sensation and a sample for people who nned to undergo stic surgeries. Even Faye used the woman¡¯s face as a reference when she had her face modified at the clinic. However, a modified face could never be as perfect and natural as the original. That person was Scarlett Mitchell, who was also Sophia Edwards! No way! Sophia Edwards was dead! How did shee back to life and even be Cooper¡¯s daughter? Faye thought. Upon finishing her words, Sophia turned around and met with Michael, who was gazing at her in a loving manner. On the other side, Faye returned to her room in a dazed state. At this moment, she had lost her ability to think. Sitting on the bed, she started spacing out. She¡¯s back. The Mitchells had been trying to figure out Cooper¡¯s whereabouts for years, but their attempts always failed. Hence, they didn¡¯t have the foggiest idea about Scarlett Mitchell¡¯s background. The father and daughter simply returned to the family one day out of nowhere. However, Faye couldn¡¯t have imagined that Scarlett Mitchell and Sophia Edwards were the same person. She had witnessed her ruthlessness before. Back then, Sophia alone was enough to bring down the entire Harper Family. Because of her, Mr. Harper jumped off from a building; X was killed with a disease; Richard¡¯s life was destroyed. Ever since Sophia agreed to give them 50 million, it had always been a trap. Faye almost forgot that Sophia had the proof of her scious activities. Her goal is to destroy the political marriage between the Mitchells and the Edwards through me. Now, she¡¯s done it! The dinner party wouldmence soon. No matter how disdainful Vincent felt about Faye, he had to pretend that they were still a loving couple. When the wedding was over, he would do all he could to divorce her. Seeing that Faye¡¯s make-up was ruined from all the crying, Vincent mocked coldly, ¡°What are you doing here? Get changed and go to the dinner party now. Also, fix your make-up. It¡¯s revolting!¡± Oblivious to him, Faye was still sobbing. Sincest night, she had been gripped by fear and sorrow. She knew that her life was ruined. For the past two days, she didn¡¯t even have the courage to watch the news. While the Edwards wanted to kick her out of the family, the Mitchells were eager to kill her. The moment her scandalous videos were exposed, her marriage with Vincent was over, and she could never go back to showbiz. My life is over¡­ It¡¯s all Sophia¡¯s trap. She has the ability to keep a person¡¯s hopes high and then ruin their lifepletely. Hugging her own knees on the bed, Faye sobbed as she mumbled, ¡°She¡¯s back¡­ She¡¯s back¡­¡± Meantime, Vincent had changed into new clothes, ready for the party. Seeing as Faye was still murmuring like a mad woman, he felt irritated. Suddenly, he recalled that Sophia had mentioned about the freshers¡¯ week. So, they knew each other a long time ago. It means that Faye should know about Scarlett¡¯s background! Holding his irritation in, Vincent asked in a soft voice, ¡°Faye, did you know Scarlett before this? Can you tell me her background?¡± Faye¡¯s eyes were soaked in tears. Having gone through an emotional roller coaster for the past two days, she was on the brink of going mad. The moment she found out that Sophia and Scarlett were the same person, the strings in her mind snapped. After all, she had witnessed how ruthless Sophia could be. Aside from the downfall of the Harper Family, the Edwards Family was also Sophia¡¯s target for revenge. A few years ago, Judy suddenly went missing for no reason. After Victoria offended Scarlett, who was also Sophia, she was forced to go bankrupt. Also, Sarah¡¯s father¡¯s life was ruined because of Sophia. Additionally, Joe went missing after Scarlett and Mitchell returned to the family. Now, everything had fallen into ce. It was no wonder that Sophia didn¡¯t look like Joe at all. It was because she was Cooper¡¯s daughter, and Annabel was his woman! The father and daughter had returned to the family to take revenge! ¡°My life is over¡­ My life is over¡­ Both the Mitchell Family and the Edwards Family want to dump me¡­ My dad¡¯s dead¡­ I¡¯m going to die as well¡­ She¡¯s back! Sophia Edwards is back!¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Seeing as she had gone mad, Vincent stared at her in a derisive manner. However, he had managed to get a piece of useful information from her¡ªshe mentioned Sophia Edwards. He had been pursuing his doctorate degree for the past few years in a foreign country. Having returned to the country just two years ago, he didn¡¯t know who Sophia was. When he stepped out of the bedroom, he came across Sandra, who was going to check on Faye. ¡°Vincent, how¡¯s Faye?¡± Sandra asked. With a contemptuous expression, Vincent replied, ¡°She¡¯s gone mad. Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯s still alive.¡± Sandra let out a sigh, thinking that it was a shame that Faye was destroyed. She¡¯s no match for Scarlett after all! It seems that Scarlett is cleverer than I expected. In one easy move, she managed to ruin the political marriage between the Edwards and the Mitchells. I guess I have toe up with a better n. With a frown, Vincent continued, ¡°Just now, she kept mumbling that Sophia¡¯s back. Who on earth is Sophia? What a crazy woman!¡± He then turned to leave, failing to notice Sandra¡¯s expression that had turned dark in an instant. What did I hear? Sophia is back?! In that instant, Sandra immediately figured out that Scarlett and Sophia were the same person. With her eyes widened, she gasped in disbelief. Remembering how she had gotten her position within the Mitchell Family, she couldn¡¯t believe that not only was Sophia alive, but thetter also returned as Cooper¡¯s daughter. She didn¡¯t think Sophia had any proof of her wrongdoing. Even if anything happened to her, the Mitchells would protect her. However, she had offended Sophia earlier. Moreover, the reason for Sophia¡¯s return was that she wanted to get back the title as the youngdy of the Mitchell Family from Sandra. Of course, she would never allow her hard work over the years to be destroyed just like this. I have toe up with a solution! No one can snatch my position from me! ¡­ Here on this ind, a typical luxurious dinner party was going on pretty smoothly. d in a formal dress, Sophia walked into the venue arm-in-arm with Michael, which was a rare permission from Cooper, who was trying to be inconspicuous in one corner. On this night, Michael was a gentleman who would fend off all the trouble for Sophia. ¡°This party looks great,¡± Sophia said. ¡°The Mitchells must have spent lots of money to get this done.¡± Michael replied, ¡°Our wedding will be grander than this.¡± Without refuting him, Sophia held his hands and they walked toward the dance floor before dancing to the music in the background. They looked like a loving couple. Holding her hands, Michael asked in a gentle voice, ¡°How do you want our wedding to look like? A traditional one? Or an exotic one? However you want it to be, I¡¯ll get it done for you.¡± Chuckling, Sophia was about to speak when a woman covered in blood rushed into the venue and shouted, ¡°Help! There¡¯s an attacking lion! Help! Miss Faye was bitten to death!¡± Chapter 853 Chapter 853 Growling, a lion soaked in blood jumped into the venue, pinning down the woman who just rushed in, and started gnawing at her neck. At that instant, blood spread across the floor. The crowd immediately broke into a panic and started screaming. Sophia was stupefied, as this was her first time seeing a lion biting a human. Moreover, Barney was the only lion on the ind. At the moment, Barney¡¯s fur was covered in blood, and its eyes were bloodshot. With its wild nature ignited, it was now acting like a wild beast from the forest. Its sharp ws were pressed firmly against the woman¡¯s neck. The blood-soaked woman¡¯s scream cut across the tranquility of the night. No matter how hard she tried to struggle, she was no match for the beast. ¡°Barney!¡± Sophia yelled. Oblivious to her call, Barney wed at the woman¡¯s body and dug its teeth into her flesh. ¡°Back off! Back off!¡± Cooper came to his senses and pulled Sophia away. Now, she could do nothing but watch her lion turn into a human-eating beast. Just then, another beast covered in blood leaped into the venue and spat something out from its mouth ¡ªa bloodied head, which rolled on the ground. It was probably the most frightening sight these people had ever seen in their lives; some guests passed out on the spot. After making out whose head it was, someone shouted, ¡°It¡¯s Faye¡¯s!¡± The Mitchells and the Edwards turned to look at it and confirmed that it was indeed Faye¡¯s head. The beast that was holding Faye¡¯s head a moment ago was the husky that had harmed her before. ¡°The lion and the dog are eating humans!¡± The sight was beyond everyone¡¯s wildest imagination. When Stanley saw his dog jumping into the venue with a human head in its mouth, his legs turned to jelly. After Judge hurled the head away, it started barking at other guests like a mad dog, making it resemble a wild wolf. Ignoring Stanley¡¯s yell, it kept barking and was ready to bite. ¡°Judge, what¡¯s happened to you? I¡¯m your daddy!¡± Stanley tried to approach his dog. As though Stanley was a threat, the dog growled and went into an attacking posture. All of a sudden, more than ten bodyguards in ck charged into the ce and started smashing at Judge with the weapons in their hands. Judge turned around andunched itself at them. Then, three bodyguards rushed over and smacked its head. Right then, more men in ck advanced into the ce and started attacking Judge and Barney. With rods in their hands, they were trying to kill those animals. With her eyes widened, Sophia stared at the sight right before her eyes, but she couldn¡¯t even utter a word. A dark memory from the past sprang back into her mind, and she started tearing up as her mind went nk. ¡°Stan! Sean!¡± Michael charged forward. Although he had no idea what happened to the animals, it was apparent to him that the other party was trying to destroy the evidence. If Barney and Judge were dead, the death of Faye would remain a mystery forever. Justin, who had been waiting outside the door, rushed in and started shooting his tranquilizer gun at Barney. After Barney was paralyzed, Michael ran over with some people to protect the animal. After Judge was shot as well, it fell to the ground and panted heavily. With its fur soaked in red, it was hard to tell whether it was its own blood or Faye¡¯s. Gazing at the paralyzed Judge, Stanley fell into a dazed state. Upon wiping his tears off, he lifted the animal off the floor and went to the veterinarian. Fortunately, Cooper had brought a veterinarian along because he was afraid that Barney wouldn¡¯t be able to get used to the climate on the ind. Finally, the situation was under control. Lying on the ground, Barney¡¯s 2.5 meters-long body was bathed in blood, some flesh still hanging on its ws. The neck of the woman who rushed in moments ago was still stuck between its teeth. Blood was still streaming out from her neck, but she was no longer breathing. On the other side of the floory a bloodied human head. All of the guests were dumbfounded as they had never expected this to happen. While they were approaching the animals, one of them shouted, ¡°Kill these two human-eating beasts!¡± Sophia brushed off her tears. Of course, she would never believe that Barney would suddenly turn into a human-eating beast. It was sleeping in the room a while ago, guarded by some men. Why would it suddenly run out of the room and attack Faye? With her body still trembling, she rushed toward her pet, but someone managed toe to the animal¡¯s side before her. ¡°No one dares touch my pet!¡± Cooper growled. In an instant, Cooper¡¯s men surrounded Barney to protect the animal and fend off those men in ck. Meanwhile, Michael¡¯s men hade over with a cage. After cing Barney into the container, they brought the animal to the ship for treatment. Cooper¡¯s lion has killed humans in broad daylight. I believe he will be held responsible for that. As the groom, Vincent was terrified to see that his wife¡¯s head was right by his feet. However, after his sorrow subsided, his heart was filled with glee. Faye is dead, so I don¡¯t have to tolerate the fact that she¡¯d cheated on me any longer. Moreover, the culprit is my opponent. It¡¯s like killing two birds with one stone! Pretending to be sorrowful, he fell on his knees and started bawling beside Faye¡¯s head. ¡°Cooper, you will be held responsible for the fact that your lion has killed my wife! I will not let your lion leave this ind today! Come on! Kill that beast!¡± As the leader of the Edwards Family, Jordan came forward to stop the chaos, while Sam dispersed the guests. The timid ones immediately returned to their own rooms, and the bolder ones stayed to watch. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Distressed, Sam said, ¡°Let us find out what really happened first¡­¡± While his men were protecting the lion, Cooper snarled at Jordan, ¡°Before we get to the truth, no one shall touch my pet, or I¡¯ll kill him right now!¡± Sam was really terrified that Cooper would do anything irrational. At this moment, a few armed helicopters were hovering above the ind, ready to drop bombs at any moment. Hence, he hurriedly said, ¡°All of you, please calm down first. Something must have gone wrong in this matter. Let us find out the truth before using anyone.¡± Summoning her courage, Sandra yelled, ¡°Yes, let us figure out the truth first!¡± ¡°Before the investigation ispleted, no one can leave this ind!¡± Upon finishing his words, Jordan turned around and went to inspect the crime scene with his people. Without uttering a word, Cooper turned to look at Sophia, who was sobbing in one corner. It seemed that she had been traumatized. Rushing over, Cooper asked in a lowered voice, ¡°Darling, are you alright?¡± With a stiff face, Sophia looked up at her father and cried, ¡°Dad¡­¡± Hearing the way she called out to him, Cooper was heartbroken, but at the same time, he was enraged. He raised his hand to help wipe off her tears, but there was nothing else he could do. Just then, Michael said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep watch here. Leave this to me.¡± Cooper gave Michael a look. Although he wasn¡¯t fond of him, he could trust him for taking good care of his daughter. ¡°I¡¯lle back soon.¡± After Cooper left the ce to inspect the crime scene as well, some daring guests followed him. Sandra took a look at the sobbing Sophia and sneered. After that, she also followed the crowd. Countless people have witnessed this act of brutality. I¡¯m sure Cooper will be prosecuted for this! Chapter 854 Chapter 854 ¡°Sophia! Sophia!¡± Michael called out to her in a hushed voice as he held her face with his hands to make her face him. Like a string of pearls that had snapped, her tears were streaming down the back of his hands. Staring at him, Sophia wailed, ¡°I seem to have recalled a sad memory, but I cannot remember what it is. I don¡¯t know what the event is about¡­¡± When Judge was being assaulted by those men in ck, a fragment of her forgotten memory sprang back to her mind. It seemed that she had witnessed a simr sight before, in which she was left helpless, crying in despair. She was sorrowful, but she couldn¡¯t remember the reason behind that. She had forgotten what she had gone through! On the other hand, Michael knew that bit of her memory. There was once when her dog was trying to protect her, but it waster beaten to death. That was a trauma she had suffered from when she was a child. Even if she had forgotten about it, it had left a mark in her heart. So, when she witnessed a simr scene again, she was gripped by the same negative emotion. Hugging her gently, Michael said, ¡°You¡¯re safe. Let¡¯s go to the bedroom and take a rest.¡± He wanted to help Sophia get to the room, but she couldn¡¯t even stand on her own. In a decisive manner, he lifted her off her feet and said, ¡°Let us take a rest and go hometer. Do you wanna go home on a ne or a ship?¡± He was trying to distract her so that she wouldn¡¯t fall back into her wild thoughts. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. In a low voice, Sophia replied, ¡°I wanna go home on a ship.¡± Michael said, ¡°Alright. Your wish shall be granted.¡± He could never believe that the lion and the dog, which were inside the room, would suddenly go berserk and start attacking humans. Having no trust for the Edwards and the Mitchells now, he helped Sophia get into the car and drove to the port. After that, he carried her into his small naval ship. This ce is one hundred percent safe. After entering a bedroom, he ced Sophia on the bed and gave her some sleeping pills so that she could have a proper rest. When he was certain that she was asleep, he went to the infirmary to check on Judge and Barney. Barney was still asleep. At that moment, the veterinarian was shaving all its fur to get its wounds treated. The wounds on its body were a frightening sight to behold, and its blood was sshed across the floor. Meanwhile, Cooper, the Edwards, the Mitchells and some guests were reaching for the crime scene. Linus boarded the ship to check on Barney and said, ¡°It¡¯s fine. These are all flesh wounds.¡± However, Judge was badly injured. Its skull was broken, and there were wounds all over its body. Fortunately, the animal had stopped bleeding. While Stanley was sobbing on the side, Sarah was patting his back, trying tofort him. Although Judge was paralyzed by the tranquilizer, it hadn¡¯t passed out. As a living animal with emotions, it was tearing up in fright. With its mouth open, it was whimpering. Holding its paws, Stanley said gently, ¡°Judge, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here for you¡­¡± My dog has never bitten anyone before. What happened to it today? As Barney was a huge animal with thick skin, it only suffered from some flesh wounds. However, Judge¡¯s organs were severely injured, so they were racing against time to save its life. It is just a dog. Why do those people want to make it suffer? Stanley thought as he brushed off his tears. By now, his clothes were soaked in Judge¡¯s blood. After patting Stanley¡¯s shoulder, Michael told Shae to go into Sophia¡¯s room to apany her. As the sky was darkerning, the sun disappeared into the horizon, and the smell of the breeze was tinged with a metallic tang. At this point, the Edwards, the Mitchells and some bold guests were going from the wedding venue to the beach, where the crime happened. ording to some witnesses, Faye didn¡¯t attend the party because she was feeling unwell, and she went to the beach with her assistant, who was bitten to death by Barney at the venue. For some reason, Faye was attacked, so the assistant fled the scene to ask for help. Although the bodyguards of the Edwards Family had stepped in to help, they failed in their attempt to stop the lion from running away. Subsequently, the animal jumped into the venue and killed the assistant. Firstly, they went to the room where the lion stayed. Inside the room, there were two more dogs, which were a giant poodle and a ck Labrador. The dogs seemed to have been frightened as they started barking at the guests. Meanwhile, the two animal trainers, who were responsible for keeping watch on Barney, were lying on the ground, clearly intoxicated. The door had been broken with the animals¡¯ ws. One of the guests made a rash guess. ¡°It seems that these animal trainers fed some wine to the lion, so the animals became drunk and started attacking humans!¡± The others nodded in agreement. With a dark expression, Cooper told some people to keep an eye on the dogs and wake those trainers up before he headed for the crime scene. Reaching the beach, they once again witnessed another horrifying sight. Countless footprints of humans and the lion were left on the sand, and human organs were spread across the beach. It was probably the cruelest way a human could lose her life. With her body dismembered, she couldn¡¯t die with an intact corpse. It was apparent to everyone by now that these body parts belonged to Faye, who was the hottest actress currently as well as the protagonist of those scandalous videos. Just a few hours ago, she appeared before the crowd in an exquisite dress, but she was now dead with her organs sshed across the beach. Some people surrounded the corpse, which was full of w marks that resulted from the attack of a beast. Smelling the blood, some seagulls were hovering above the body. ¡°Oh, God. She¡¯s dismembered!¡± ¡°What a miserable way to die.¡± As the guests were gossiping, the Mitchells and the Edwards put on face masks and started picking up the body parts. Walking over, Justin took a look at the scene and whispered in Cooper¡¯s ear, ¡°Most of the wounds were caused by humans rather than by an animal. Her body seems to be torn apart by something like a harpoon.¡± Over the years, in order to hunt Phantom Wolf down, Justin taught himself forensic science because those who knew Phantom Wolf¡¯s whereabouts were all killed. Now, his expertise was on par with those forensic specialists. That was why he could easily figure out what was wrong with the corpse. Upon hearing that, Cooper remained impassive. Firmly believing that it was Barney who killed Faye, Jordan growled, ¡°Cooper, you allowed your lion to attack humans. You must be held responsible today!¡± Not willing to appear weak, Cooper said in a glum voice, ¡°I will not ept this usation before we find out the truth. I want to check the security footage and have a post-mortem performed on the corpse!¡± ¡°No way!¡± Right after Jordan yelled, dozens of men in ck immediately surrounded Cooper. ¡°If you don¡¯t hand over the lion to me, I will never let you go!¡± Oh wow, are they trying topare firepower with me? With his armed helicopters ready to strike, Cooper was unafraid of the threat he was facing. He would never believe that his lion would harm humans for no reason. Just then, Sam voiced his opinion. ¡°Cooper, it isn¡¯t entirely your fault that your lion went berserk. You shouldn¡¯t damage the friendship between our families for the sake of an animal. Please pass the lion to us.¡± There was no way Cooper would let them have Barney. Otherwise, the usation against him could never be proven wrong. If he wanted to kill, all of these people would lose their lives on this day. However, he would never tolerate any false usations against him. Furthermore, he had returned to Cethos to expand his business. Unlike some war-torn countries, there was thew in Cethos, hence he had to protect his own reputation. The sea level was rising. Just when they were in a stalemate, a figure wasing over from the other side of the beach. His expensive ck leather shoes were submerged in the sea, and his socks were soaked wet, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind. With a pair of bloodshot eyes, the person was shuffling toward the crime scene with a bloodied dog chain in his hand. ¡°Let me tell all of you what really happened!¡± They turned around and saw a young man, whose white shirt was dyed crimson. His face, his hands and the dog chain were all caked in dried blood. Chapter 855 Chapter 855 ¡°Stan!¡± Sean ran toward Stanley. He had never seen Stanley in such a state before. At this moment, Stanley looked like a razor-sharp de that had been unsheathed, tainted with dried blood. Walking along Stanley was Michael, who, unlike his usual calm self, was now burning with rage. With the dog chain in his hand, Stanley never looked at the scattered body parts or Vincent, who was pretending to be sorrowful on his knees. After sweeping a look over the Edwards and Mitchells, he held out the blood-soaked dog chain at all of them. ¡°I am Stanley Fletcher, the owner of the husky used of killing someone. Previously, after my dog was med for biting someone, I installed a hidden camera on its dog chain in order to find out why my obedient dog would attack humans all of a sudden.¡± As soon as he finished his words, the expressions of some of the Edwards changed drastically. While the guests were stupefied, Jordan and Alex were terrified that their wrongdoing might have been captured by the camera. Despite the fact that his eyes had turned bloodshot, Stanley tried his best to hold back his tears. The sky had darkened, and only a few streetmps lit up the beach. Harry told some people to set up a projector screen, after which Stanley inserted a chip into one of the ports of Nichs, which then projected the video taken by the camera at the screen. The video on the screen was crystal clear. Harry had set up a home entertainment system on the beachplete with loudspeakers. The crowd fixed their eyes on the screen, which showed the viewing angle from the dog chain. Sometimes, the dog would sit up, and when ity on the floor, its fur would cover the camera. A while The lion wanted to y with Judge, but Judge was terrified and went to hide in one corner. Seeing this, the animal trainer lugged the lion away. The other dogs didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of the lion as they were lying on the floor together and licking each other. After the two animal trainers got some tap water to quench their thirst, to everyone¡¯s surprise, they fell to the ground. At that time, no beer bottles were seen, and the animal trainers never consumed any alcohol. After the animal trainers passed out, the lion walked over and patted them with its w. Seeing as the humans never responded, the liony down beside them and wagged its tail, seemingly waiting for them to awaken. The lion just looked like a bigger cat and didn¡¯t seem like it was about to kill any humans soon. Judge immediately opened the door in an attempt to flee from the room. Unexpectedly, more than ten men in ck were already outside the room. They stormed into the room and captured the lion and the husky. If the animals resisted, they would strike them with rods. Although the lion was groaning in pain, it didn¡¯t seem to have the intention of harming humans. The most it did was to w at the men lightly. While the dog was growling in pain, the lion extended its head in an attempt to save the dog. One of the men immediately hit the lion¡¯s head with a harpoon, which caused the animal to howl as blood streamed out from its head. The men seemed to have a particr n. While some of them were standing guard, the others lugged the dog and the lion toward the beach. At that moment, all the guests and staff members were still at the party. On the beach, some men in ck were killing a woman with harpoons and then dismembering the body. After the animals were brought to the corpse, they were howling in fright, but they were then mercilessly beaten up. The woman who was killed with harpoons was Faye Edwards. At the sight of that, all the guests were shaken to the core. The following scene was even more horrifying. Those men surrounded the lion and tortured the animal. The harpoons that were used to kill the woman were now deployed to harm the lion. Even the rods were split into two in the process. However, the lion seemed to have forgotten how to resist as it was only growling in response. A whileter, the wild nature within the king of the forest seemed to have been reignited. It became incensed and killed some men in ck on the spot. Although the image was shaking now, the guests could see that the lion was truly infuriated. After attacking those men, the lion went on to dig its teeth in Faye¡¯s flesh. The dog turned mad as well. After gnawing at the corpse, it then held the head in its mouth and fled from the scene. Then, the image turned ck suddenly. After Stanley turned off the video, Harry hurriedly told his people to pack up the entertainment system. Otherwise, his system would be smashed if the others went into a scuffle. At that instant, no one had the guts to utter a word. The Edwards and the Mitchells were left bbergasted. The guests felt that their world view had been shattered. ¡°Oh, God! Did you see that? Faye was pierced to death!¡± ¡°Yes. The woman was still moving initially. Oh my goodness! That was cruel!¡± While the expressions of Jordan and Sam had darkened, the look on the faces of Alex and Vincent was even gloomier, because those men in ck worked for the Mitchells. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Stanley was so enraged to the point that his expression was eerily calm. By now, he had memorized all the faces of those men who had harmed Judge. Still, they were just executing the order of the Mitchells, who were Stanley¡¯s real enemy. Pointing at them, Stanley sneered. ¡°The Fletchers are not as rich as the Mitchells, nor are we as powerful as you are, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can harm us as you please! That is my dog! Since you¡¯ve hurt my pet, it means that you have no regard for my family whatsoever. I, Stanley Mitchell, will never let you off!¡± Upon finishing his words, he turned to leave. The crowd fell silent; no one even dared to let out an audible breath. The Mitchells had killed Faye, who had just married Vincent, in the cruelest way possible, and even shifted the me to Cooper in an attempt to sow discord between Cooper and the Edwards. However, they didn¡¯t expect that they had offended the Fletchers along the way. What a magnificent show! those people in the crowd thought. After Stanley left, Cooper stared at the silent crowd with a cial expression. Meanwhile, a naval ship appeared at the port that was some distance away. Cooper shot a look at the Edwards and the Mitchells. Rather than feeling angry, he was just utterly disappointed. Although he was ruthless, he was an intelligent man. On the other hand, these people were cold- hearted, but somehow, they were also foolish. ¡°Do you see that naval ship? In half an hour, it willunch a missile and destroy this ind. Whoever wants to live, flee now.¡± As soon as Cooper finished his words, he turned around and left. Trembling in anger, Jordan snarled, ¡°Cooper Mitchell, you¡¯ve crossed the line!¡± Without stopping, Cooper replied, ¡°So what?¡± While Jordan¡¯s chest was heaving in a fury, Sam had run off. After packing up his stuff, Sam took Corrado away and boarded his private jet to flee from the ind. All the guests went into a panic. Without even retrieving their belongings, they boarded the ship and the ne to run for their lives. No matter how much the Edwards and the Mitchells were resentful of Cooper, they did not have the courage to stay on the ind. In half an hour, the ind had been deserted. Faye¡¯s corpse was left on the beach, serving as the food for the seagulls. Thirty minutester, a missile wasunched from the sea within the territory of Demarca. The wedding venue that took hundreds of millions to build vanished in an instant. When a mushroom cloud sprouted on the ind, it signaled the start of the war between the Fletchers, the Edwards and the Mitchells. Chapter 856 Chapter 856 Half an hour before the ind was blown up, Cooper left very coolly, leaving the guests only half an hour to escape. Time was indeed tight. There were thousands of people on the ind, not including a thousand or so staff. With this bit of time, it was toote to pack any luggage. It was only enough for people to go back to their rooms to pick up a bag and run toward the nes and boats. For the guests, there was nothing to lose. But for the Mitchell Family and the Edwards Family, this loss was huge. They weren¡¯t able to take away the properties on the ind nor this luxurious wedding. There was not one bit of this scenic ind they could take with them. The warship¡¯s missiles had been prepared. The bombs would not give them any time to argue and theorize. ¡°Cooper!¡± As Jordan roared, he was dragged away by Lucy and Ian, while Sam had already slipped away much earlier. If Cooper ordered the explosion, it would definitely happen. He was Fass Michel, the secondrgest arms dealer in the world. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. There was nothing Alex could do now, even if he hated Cooper to the core. The warship was not fake either. I didn¡¯t expect that Cooper would really use a warship! All of the guests got on their own means of transportation one after another. With their own ships and nes, they disappeared as fast as they could, and after a short while, the pier and airport were both devoid of people. For this wedding, the Mitchell Family had also dispatched a luxury cruise ship, which brought the Mitchell family members and some guests away. ¡°Dimon, take your men around the ind to check if there are any stragglers,¡± Alex suddenly said to a young man in a ck suit. The young man, Dimon Mitchell, was taken aback. But at that very moment, the cruise ship had sailed away. Dimon and his two dozen men were just left on the ind like that. There were no boats at the pier and probably no nes at the airport. The two dozen of them who were left there were just waiting to die by the explosion. Those twenty young faces were filled with despair and anger, but they knew why they were left behind. They were the group of people who had taken on the task of injuring the lion and the dog. Besides, they also killed Faye Edwards. But what choice did they have? Those who were born in the Mitchell Family would either be servants or masters. For them, they were only thugs raised by the Mitchell Family. Even their ancestors had been thugs for generations. Their parents and brothers were members of the Mitchell Family, so they couldn¡¯t leave, let alone resist the orders issued by the Mitchell Family. Loyalty was their creed. Now that their mission had failed, they were destined to die together with Faye in order to quell the anger of the Edwards Family and also to end this horrifying lion mauling case. There would be no evidence after their deaths! Ha, my little brother was killed on the spot just now by that lion while trying to get it to submit to him. I also lost several brothers, and now, this is how I end! But what can we do? There will always be a sacrifice in family conflicts. We¡¯re the first sacrifices of the Mitchell Family¡¯s internal conflict, and there will be more in the future. ¡°Dimon, what should we do?¡± asked a young man beside him with blood still on his face. Dimon looked back at the group of men who had been with him for many years. His eyes were full of apology, but he still said, ¡°There is still some time, so let¡¯s first look for any ships nearby.¡± There were two piers on the ind; one was in front of them and was without any boats, not even a small one. They had no idea what the situation was like at the other pier, but they had no time to go over there now. As Dimon despaired, he received an unexpected call. Caller ID: Sean Mitchell. Although Sean and Dimon were supporting two different sides, they were still ymates when they were young after all. However, they hadn¡¯t spoken to each other for more than ten years. All they had between them was a saved number that was never used. Until now. Dimon decided to answer the phone. The voice of the person on the opposite side was loud and clear. ¡°There is a truck at the pier, and the key is under the sun visor. Drive to the airport; I will wait for you there.¡± I will wait for you there¡­ When Dimon heard these six words, the faith that he had held in his heart copsed instantly. After hanging up the phone, he took a second to express his anger and conflicting emotions. A secondter, he yelled, ¡°Come with me if you want to survive!¡± He took the lead in pulling off the Mitchell Family crest from his shoulder. The Mitchell Family crest originally had a dragon on it, which was the symbol of the Mitchell Family and had been passed down for hundreds of years. After Alex seized power, he changed the family crest. As for Cooper, he still used the old crest after his return. What Dimon and his men wore was the transformed family crest that Alex had changed. Driven by Dimon¡¯s action, all of his men threw the family crest on the ground and stepped on it. Then, they hurriedly got into arge truck next to the pier. It was originally used for transporting goods, but there was no time to drive it onto the ship just now, so it was still parked at the pier. The two dozen or so men just barely fit into the truck. After retrieving the key, Dimon drove the truck carrying his two dozen men to the airport at the fastest speed. They had no other thoughts. At this moment, they just wanted to save their skins! What is loyalty even? We are loyal to the Mitchell Family, not to Alex alone! The airport was empty, saved for a luxurious private passenger ne parked there. The old Mitchell Family crest was painted on the ne. Sean was waiting for them at the door of the ne. Dimon and his twenty men swarmed up to the ne as fast as they could¡­ Not long after the ne took off, there was a loud bang in the ind¡¯s direction, which caused the ne to shake violently. As everyone looked back at the ind, they saw that the entire ind, along with its properties, had exploded, and its pieces sunk to the bottom of the sea. Dimon had noticed just now that it was a very special bomb. The bomb divided itself into dozens of bombs over the ind and sted it with such precision that every area was wiped out without mercy. There was absolutely no hope of survival on the ind. This small ind and the wedding that was held on it were worth hundreds of millions. Yet, they were just blown up like that, along with countless treasures that could not be taken away in time. The ne flew away, but Cooper himself was not on the ne. It was Sean who assisted them and told them to call home to inform their family members to make preparations so as to prevent Alex¡¯s men from causing trouble for them. After making the phone calls and talking to the families, a dead silence enveloped the cabin, for no one dared to speak. They had only injured Cooper¡¯s lion, and Cooper had be so furious that he bombed the entire ind for it. Even if they escaped from the ind, they were about to suffer Cooper¡¯s wrath. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to die on the ind instead? Many of these young men had never experienced Cooper¡¯s power, but now they had a chance to see it. For a lion and a dog, he was fine with offending the entire Bayside City. Sean distributed cans of beer to them to calm them down. He evenforted them by exining, ¡°My fellowrades, there¡¯s nowhere for you to go after leaving the Mitchell Family, so you should just work under Uncle Cooper!¡± Dimon drank his cold beer and smiled bitterly. ¡°We¡¯ve offended Cooper, so how could he ept us?¡± Rationally, Sean smiled and said, ¡°Uncle Cooper knew that you were going to be left to fend for yourselves, so he asked me to wait for you! He also specifically ordered us to wait until you got on the ne before dropping the bomb.¡± Dimon was shocked, but after a long pause, he still refused the suggestion to go to Cooper. ¡°Oh¡­ Forget it, we will just cause him trouble.¡± Thousands of distinguished guests had watched the video and saw them killing Faye and making Cooper the scapegoat. If they took refuge in Cooper now, Alex might use this to make a fuss. He could say that they were originally the spies Cooper had ced next to him. With that, he could then smoothly me all of this on Cooper. In that way, Cooper would be the one having to pay for Faye¡¯s death. Chapter 857 Chapter 857 They had escaped, so there was no need to cause unnecessary trouble to Cooper. Sean drank some beer with them and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Everything is within Cooper¡¯s expectations.¡± No matter whether Cooper or Alex was to me for Faye¡¯s death, it was all the Mitchell Family¡¯s fault anyway. The Edwards Family and Cooper had already turned against each other. So, it was nothing much for thetter to be med for one more death. At the thought of the future held, an intense feeling rose in Dimon¡¯s heart. They knew that if they went back now, they would probably die at the hands of Alex. Since they had left the Mitchell Family, they were now considered traitors. Therefore, being found by Alex would mean certain death. Not only would they die, but their families would also suffer. This was Alex¡¯s reign of terror! If one didn¡¯t obey him, he would kill one¡¯s parents, wives, and children! Sean patted Dimon on the shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Your men¡¯s families are safe now. You can rest assured to follow Uncle Cooper in the future. It will benefit all of you.¡± Dimon nodded, his gaze more determined than ever. They were members of the Mitchell Family and were forever loyal to the Mitchell Family! Moreover, Cooper was also the former patriarch of the Mitchell Family! Since Alex did not show us mercy, we¡¯re not to me! Although Dimon was only a minor leader, he still had a group of confidants. In addition to these two dozen men, there were dozens of others who were notified right then to follow Cooper! Sophia took two sleeping pills and slept soundly all night. When she woke up, the ship was almost in Demarca. ¡°There really was an explosion?¡± Sophia thought it was a joke when she learned that Cooper had blown up the ind. Faced with her question, Michael confidently replied, ¡°Yes, and the whole ind sank. I saw it with my own eyes.¡± Sophia still found it incredulous. But when she thought about it, it was Cooper after all. I guess that¡¯s a natural thing for him to do. After all, Cooper is the founder of dictators. If he wants to bomb it, it will get bombed! He¡¯s simply a lunatic. That was why Michael had always stayed servile before Cooper and tried to be as modest as possible. Since he wanted to win over thetter¡¯s daughter, he had no choice but to make an effort, as Cooper was not a foolish man. Bubbles came near Sophia¡¯s bed. Yesterday, those from the Mitchell Family had rushed into the room and taken Judge and Barney, but they didn¡¯t take Bubbles and Corrado. Perhaps it was because Corrado was Master Sam¡¯s dog. If they touched Corrado, Master Sam would be upset. They probably also thought that Bubbles looked too cute and wouldn¡¯t bite, so they let the two of them go. But Bubbles was still frightened. Pitifully, it looked at everyone and kept whining for a hug. Stroking Bubbles, Sophia remembered Judge and asked, ¡°How are Judge and Barney?¡± When Judge and Barney were mentioned, Michael felt his heart constricted. ¡°Barney is fine; it was just a superficial wound. But Judge¡­¡± Sophia¡¯s heart sank. Her mind was filled with scenes of Judge being hit with a stick and blood spurting from its head. Whenever these scenes appeared, her head would suffer terrible pain, as if she had experienced such beating before. Her brain had no memory, but her body still retained the memory¡­ ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll be in Demarca soon, and the best veterinarian in the country is on standby at the pier.¡± Michael massaged Sophia¡¯s temples for her. The ship finally arrived at the pier, and as expected, there was a veterinarian waiting at the pier. Before Sophia had a chance to see Judge, she saw it being carried into the car, which drove away with Stanley as well. Sean and his party had already arrived by ne. When they saw the ship docked at the pier, they came to greet them. Cooper noticed Dimon and the others but did not say anything, for he knew that they never had a choice to begin with. Soon, Dimon and his men wore Cooper¡¯s family crest and officially became Cooper¡¯s followers. Their parents, wives, and children were also moved to a safer ce. Judge was sent to the veterinary hospital for surgery, and Barney was also sent in for treatment. After a night of treatment, Barney¡¯s condition had improved a lot, but it was still frail. Locked in a cage, it cried with pain and attempted to bite anyone who came near. As it was still fearful, it almost bit the vet as well. It still didn¡¯t know what it did wrong, nor why those people hit it for no reason. However, Barney had already eaten a human. It remembered the taste of human flesh and even enjoyed the pleasure of hunting and killing people. This was the first time it had killed and eaten a human, but it wouldn¡¯t be thest. As a pet lion, once it killed a human, it would either be executed or released into the wild. If it continued to be kept in a household, there was no guarantee that it would not continue to kill people. But if it was released into the wild, it had no hunting skills, so it would be dead sooner orter. Sophia sat outside the cage where Barney was locked up in and kept a watch on the IV infusion bag. Barney was still whining and looking like a two-meter-tall orange cat. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Barney. We will go home soon to the African savannah. That¡¯s your real home!¡± Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have brought Barney to Cethos. Africa is still its real home. After the surgery, Judge¡¯s condition was brought under control, but it was not out of danger yet. Barney also needed to continue its treatment. Sophia decided to take Barney back to Africa. Judge would come along for treatment as well, since there was a better veterinarian in Africa. Sophia saw Judge when it was brought onto the ne. Covered with tubes and gauze, it also wore an Elizabethan cor. The dog appeared at the brink of death as ity there in aa, breathing weakly. Stanley sat paralyzed to one side as if he had lost the whole world. Sophia, too, couldn¡¯t ept it. How can a healthy dog turn out this way?N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. The atmosphere was gloomy all the way to Africa. Stanley kept staring at Judge without eating nor drinking. Michael had to persuade him for a long time before he would drink some milk. Sophia nced at Judge and Stanley, then took out her phone and checked the news about Bayside City. Bayside City was in turmoil. Faye Edwards, an A-list celebrity, had died under suspicious circumstances, while Alex came out to ce all the me on Cooper. The Edwards Family also cooperated with Alex well. They jointly used Sophia¡¯s lion and dog of mauling and eating humans, causing any voice of reason to be drowned out. The public became angry overnight and wanted the lion killed to avenge Faye¡¯s death. A day ago, they had branded Faye as a shameless b*tch and a wh*re who had messed around since she was a child. Now, they had suddenly all be her diehard fans, even going so far as to threaten to smash Sophia and Cooper¡¯s properties if Faye¡¯s death was not brought to justice. Sophia was a little worried, so she went to the conference room to find Cooper. He was discussing something with Linus. ¡°Dad, have you watched the news?¡± Her tone was a little anxious. This was the first time she had encountered such a big event, and she felt that her young shoulders could not bear such weight. Putting down the wine ss in his hand, Cooper nced at the news and patted Sophia¡¯s young shoulders. He said with a smile, ¡°Come, darling. I will teach you something new. Remember, there is no enmity thatsts forever, nor friendship. Only benefits are eternal!¡± In order to help Sophia understand more intuitively, Cooper gave a live demonstration on the spot. Just as the news of Faye¡¯s death raged on the inte and the public demanded Cooper and Scarlett to pay for it with their lives, Cooper¡¯s spokesperson in Bayside City held a press conference. The spokesperson announced that Cooper¡¯s team had developed an efficient method to increase gasoline usage. In fact, the method could increase the utilization rate of gasoline by one-fifth! It wasmon knowledge that gasoline was a scarce resource and could not be regenerated. Countries all over the world had been racking their brains toe up with ways to increase the utilization rate of gasoline as much as possible. Thus, it came as a bombshell revtion that Cooper¡¯s team had developed a method to do this. An increase of the utilization rate by one-fifth! By extrapting the data, it was obvious that this method could save a staggering amount of gasoline and resources every year! Chapter 858 Chapter 858 At the same time, Cooper announced that he had officially shifted from the electronic technology field to the energy field. He wished to research and develop cleaner energy, and so ¡®Mitchell International Energy and Technology¡¯ was officially established. This invention that was about to change the world overwhelmed the news about Faye. It became a hot sensation that was being discussed all over the world. Cooper had already thought about the future when he returned to Cethos. Engaging in arms was not feasible in Cethos as all of that was run by the state. On the other hand, he knew that he was no match for Linus when it came to high-tech electronic technology. Linus¡¯ achievements in this area had already surpassed his, so Michel Tech would surely crush the high-tech electronic technologypanies belonging to the Mitchell Family. He himself was involved in the mining industry in Africa. However, it was impossible to continue mining. After mining for so many years, he had long been tired of it. It was better to change direction and engage in the clean energy industry instead. Clean energy was the future development trend and the direction for humanity to move forward. Cooper had already started learning more about this field a few years ago. The news of the establishment of Mitchell International Energy and Technology soon spread worldwide. Cooper had already applied for a patent, and the equipment was about to go on the market. Therefore, numerous oil giants started holding out olive branches to him. At this time, the Edwards Family, who was also engaged in the oil industry, was ced in an awkward position. They wanted to partner up with Cooper, but they were now at odds with each other. But of course, in the face of huge profits, any torn rtionship could be mended again. Cooper¡¯s ne hadn¡¯t even arrived in Africa yet when the Edwards Family had already dispatched Sam to wait there and ask for a peaceful reconciliation. Alex knew about the situation, so he didn¡¯t dare to make any rash moves. After Cooper announced the new invention, the negative news about him on the Inte had disappeared overnight as if it never urred. In fact, Faye Edwards had vanishedpletely as well as if she had never existed in the world. The efficiency was so great that Alex couldn¡¯t imagine the mastermind behind it. Not only were the major oil giants proactively making contact with Cooper, but the Cethosian military and political forces were also taking the initiative to curry favor with him. In the face of such interests, Faye was nothing! Cooper would not fall for amateur tricks; Alex deeply understood this even from before. This matter seemed to just end like this. Alex instructed people to attack Barney and Judge, and so Cooper retaliated by bombing his ind. That was all. But the grievances between Jordan and Cooper and the internal conflict of the Mitchell Family had just begun. As for Faye¡­ Who was Faye? When the ne arrived in Africa, Sophia returned to Michel Town. This was Michael¡¯s second visit, and he was still amazed by how spectacr it was. How remarkable! It¡¯s just like a city! Harry and Sarah were worried about Stanley, so they had followed as well, taking a tour around the African base of the Michel Family along the way. Judge¡¯s surgery was sessful, and its life was eventually saved, but it lost half of its teeth, one ear, and one w. Because Judge was implicated in the Mitchell Family¡¯s internal conflict this time and suffered for no reason, Cooper promised to make a full set of prostheses for it to ensure that it could move the same as before. But Barney would live in Africa in the future. Cooper had arge private grasnd here. He made the decision to keep Barney on the grasnd and gradually teach it to hunt. Later, it would be released into the wild. If it couldn¡¯t survive on its own, then he would raise it over its lifetime. Sophia went to see Barney. She couldn¡¯t touch its head anymore and could only look through ayer of ss. Barney looked at Sophia from the other side of the ss. It was as meek as ever as it tried to push at the ss with its big head, appearing to headbutt Sophia¡¯s hand, which made her very sad. ¡°Don¡¯t be sad. To it, Africa is its home.¡± Michaelforted Sophia, who smiled reluctantly. Yes, here, Africa is its home¡­ This big orange cat shouldn¡¯t have gone to Cethos in the first ce. It should just go home! Michael was actually secretly joyful in his heart. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia had never returned to Africa ever since she followed Cooper to Cethos to get her face treated. This time, it was just right for her toe back. She could wait it out here for a period of time while the whole matter in Cethos blew over before going back there. Carmen was also brought here. It was just in time for her to spend a summer vacation in Africa and go to kindergarten after the vacation. Soon, Carmen came with two little orange cats, both of them Garfield¡¯s offspring. ¡°See, these are your favorite kittens. I¡¯ve brought them over for you. You can lick them. You¡¯ll feel better by then.¡± Carmen was still the one who knew Judge best. She even knew which cat it liked most recently. She brought the kittens close to Judge. Since Judge was still recuperating, it was inconvenient for it to move about. However, when it saw its beloved kittens, it still tried to stretch its tongue out in an attempt to lick them. But it couldn¡¯t quite manage to lick the kittens, which made it whine in distress. Carmen kindly moved the kitten to its mouth. Judge licked the kitten greedily, making the cat meow loudly. ¡°Lick its belly.¡± ¡°Now, lick its butt.¡± ¡°Okay, today¡¯s kitty has been fully licked. We¡¯ll lick it again tomorrow.¡± Carmen took the kitten back, then considerately helped Judge push back the tongue that it couldn¡¯t put back. Gently touching Judge¡¯s head, she wiped away its saliva and whispered, ¡°You have to get better soon, okay? Let¡¯s go to kindergarten together when we go home!¡± Judge yelped in agreement. Cooper was very busy during this period. He had returned to the country early, as did Michael, who had also had something to do. Harry and Sarah had also left while Linus was busy traveling to and fro between the countries. Sophia spent the summer vacation in Africa with Carmen and helped Stanley, who had left, take care of the dog. Judge recovered quickly, and the Michel Family built an artificial prosthesis for it. After wearing it, it could walk normally again after adapting to it over a period of time. It also got a super-sensitive artificial ear. It was the kind where Judge lying on the first floor could clearly hear Sophia secretly eating snacks on the third floor. They couldn¡¯t find the broken teeth, so a full set of titanium alloy dog teeth was specially made, which made it easier for Judge to wreck the house. At the same time, Michael¡¯s new movie ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ was also a great sess. In just one month since its release, it easily broke the box office record for Cethosiannguage movies he himself had set. As an actor who had made a surpriseeback after dropping out of the limelight for a long time, he truly shocked those attending the film festival with his malleable acting ability. Moreover, he brought his acting to an even higher level and became thetest sensation in the country. In ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯, Michael alone yed four roles. He was the street performer, the slimy warlord, the zealous imperial court guard, and the modern Taylor Murray himself. His intense and precise proper acting skills lifted his acting career to its second peak and returned him to the throne of the national hunk despite him having retired from acting for many years. This movie had also made quite a number of actors popr. Michael¡¯s movies often included new actors with a ir for acting. This time, he was sessful in making Carmen popr. But even though Carmen¡¯s poprity shot up the charts in Cethos, no one could guess her true identity. Africa also brought ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ to its theaters. There was a movie theater erected for employees in Michel Town, but Sophia felt that it was not good enough for her to watch it there. She wanted to go back to Cethos to watch it. As the box office results were good and the summer releases were postponed for one month, she was still able to catch the movie when she returned to Cethos at the end of August. When Sophia and Carmen arrived in Cethos, Michael went to the airport to pick them up. With excitement in his heart, he arrived an hour earlier. After waiting for an hour, he finally saw the private nend. Sophia and Carmen then came down from the exit. Next to Sophia, there was a graceful, noble, andpletely orange¡­ ¡°Alpaca?¡± Chapter 859 Chapter 859 Sophia was holding the reins of a pair of furry creatures. The creatures looked graceful and noble as they walked down steadily with their necks raised high. With their presence, even the ambiance around them felt aristocratic and not to mention the shy bourgeois-looking bow ties around their necks. Michael¡¯s face suddenly drained of color. A pair of alpacas! Seeing the creatures, Carmen eximed cheerfully, ¡°Fluffy camels!¡± Sophia immediately corrected her.¡±No, they are alpacas, not camels.¡± Quickly, Carmen said, ¡°Yeah, fluffy alpacas!¡± Michael¡¯s excited smile gradually froze and turned into an extremely panicked look. Sophia actually took advantage of my attention being elsewhere and found more beasts! Last time, she had caught him by surprise when she brought back a two-meter-tall orange cat. This time, she brought back a pair of alpacas! But Sophia liked the new alpacas she brought back very much. She touched one of them and said, ¡°This is the alpaca that Carmen fell in love with when I took her to America. The alpaca is suitable for domestication. This dark brown one is called Chow, while this light brown one is called Eggnt. They¡¯re both noble alpacas!¡± Carmen added, ¡°Grandpa was the one who gave those names!¡± At that moment, Michael¡¯s horror deepened even further. In his opinion, these were two goats that could do nothing but slobber. One of them looked like dark yellow poop and the other light yellow poop. They appeared just like two lumps of walking poops and seemed more disgusting than Bubbles! At the thought of walking feces, Michael frowned. Getting off the ne with Judge, Cooper said coldly, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, do you have any opinions about me having pets in my home?¡± Michael hurriedly said, ¡°No, no.¡± It was too rude for him to dislike other people¡¯s pets before he even became a part of the family. That¡¯s just insolent! Regardless, Michael was irritated by the existence of the creatures. I¡¯m certain I¡¯ll have to be the one to take care of these beasts obtained by Sophia in the future! Moreover, this pair of alpacas would probably give birth to offspring soon enough, just like when there used to be only a pair of orange cats in the house. In the blink of an eye, the number ballooned into twenty or thirty big orange cats before they knew it. If the pair of alpacas came to their household, in just a few years, the house would be full of thundering alpacas. This will really be the death of me! Linus and Cooper had personallye to pick Sophia up at the airport. At this time, Linus got off the ne, carrying a pet carrier with a new cat inside. Another cat? It was a wild cat, and Michael¡¯s frown was deeper than the depths of the ocean when he saw the color of its fur. Sophia exined, ¡°This is a precious African prairie cat. It is a hybrid offspring of an African domestic cat and a wild cat. This cat has a strong jumping ability and can jump up to eight feet high. Judge is the one who has adopted this kitten!¡± Michael stered a smile on his face, but his heart was pounding with aggravation. You silly dog, not only do you live off me, but you also got yourself a pet cat? How can I be convinced that Judge is the one that wants to raise it, not Sophia? There are now twenty to thirty cats, not to mention those eight dogs. Does she even have time to pet them all? Seeing Michael¡¯s awkward smile, Sophia mumbled, ¡°Do you not like my alpacas?¡± Michael hurriedly said, ¡°I like them! How could I not like them?¡± If Sophia wants to raise two lumps of discharge at home, I have no choice but to like it. After all, she¡¯s the goddess in my heart. The family returned home. Stanley also came to look at Judge but then left Judge at Sophia¡¯s house again. During the time when Judge was seriously injured, Stanley was greatly depressed and had turned into a workaholic. Right now, he had no time to take care of Judge in his own home. When Judge reached, he brought the wild kitten to see its vi. Sophia mysteriously took Michael to Vi No. 8 and closed the doors before quietly saying to him, ¡°I need to tell you about something important, but you can¡¯t talk about it before Judge.¡± Michael frowned and listened. What¡¯s so important that I can¡¯t say in front of that stupid dog? In a very soft voice, Sophia said, ¡°Judge used to be our top contract dog model of Pourl, but it is now disfigured¡­¡± Michael agreed very much with that. Now that silly dog is really disfigured. Its fur has been shaved, and it looks terrible. I¡¯m sure it will take a long while for it to restore its original appearance. Sophia whispered like she wasmitting a crime, ¡°So I bought Chow and Eggnt to be our models for Pourl¡¯s new products. Please don¡¯t tell Judge though. It will feel sad.¡± Solemnly, Michael nodded in agreement. But he still didn¡¯t understand, so he subconsciously lowered his voice and asked, ¡°Then why are you talking so softly?¡± Sophia lowered her voice even more. ¡°My dad installed a high-tech fake ear for Judge, so he can hear if we talk bad things about him behind his back from a distance.¡± At that, Michael became nervous. He hurriedly pulled Sophia to hide in the cloakroom to talk, making sure that Judge could not hear them bad-mouth about it. It was rare that the two of them could get together in a small, confined space and whisper to each other. Michael quickly seized the opportunity. The two of them hid in the cloakroom and kept their voices very low. ¡°Sophia, look at this.¡± Michael took out his tablet, clicked on the webpage, and pulled out many kindergarten profiles. ¡°I have been paying attention to kindergartens recently. These kindergartens have good teaching quality and great reviews in all aspects. Come and have a look.¡± Sophia also paid great attention to the first kindergarten in Carmen¡¯s life, so she quickly checked through the profiles seriously. Michael introduced the characteristics of each kindergarten. It was as if he had opened them all by himself. Clearly, he had done his research. In the end, the two settled on an international upper-ss kindergarten, which was very close to home and had a good environment. But the threshold for admission seemed a bit high. The parents and the child all had to attend an interview. This was one of the best private kindergartens in Bayside City. The level was high, and thepetition was great. The parents and child had to be examined before admission. When Sophia saw that the mother had to go for an interview, she became anxious. ¡°If I go for the interview, what will they ask me?¡± Michael was also a little nervous. After all, he didn¡¯t know what stupid questions this kindergarten would ask. This was also his first time. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let the chips fall where they may. I will go and ask around. Let¡¯s do some research in advance.¡± Michael¡¯s hand curved around and embraced Sophia¡¯s shoulder. She wasn¡¯t upset about it but instead gently leaned her head on his shoulder. It had been two or three months since she went to Africa. Michael did visit her twice, but each time he didn¡¯t stay long. For the first time, she knew how lovesickness felt. Without him around, her heart seemed to be covered by a heavyyer of yarn, and that yarn seemed to be infused with bitterness that seeped into her blood. She felt that she was slowly regaining the love she had for him. Sophia leaned her head on his shoulder and looked at his chiseled side profile with joy in her eyes. A man like Michael had a sort of aura that attracted women. Michael squeezed her hand and gently embraced her in his arms. ¡°Sophia,¡± he whispered in her ear, ¡°you and Carmen are the most beautiful gifts God has given me.¡±N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. Chapter 860 Chapter 860 To have Sophia by his side was like an exceptionally beautiful dream for Michael, one that he didn¡¯t have the courage to wake up from. The atmosphere was just right, and the love in the air was intensifying. Michael thought about it and felt it was time for a deeper exchange between the two of them, but unexpectedly, Cooper called Sophia¡¯s phone. In a cold voice, he said, ¡°Darling,e out. I¡¯ll teach you a new lesson.¡± Michael felt annoyed in his heart, deeply suspecting that Cooper had installed a camera on him. Otherwise, how could he know so quickly? Sophia hung up Cooper¡¯s phone, only to realize that she had acted a bit unmannerly just now toward Michael. Her face was slightly red as she said, ¡°I¡¯m going back first. Dad is looking for me for something.¡± Hurriedly, Michael followed her. ¡°I will send you off.¡± Just after leaving the house, Sophia saw that Cooper¡¯s car was parked at the gate of Vi No. 8, so she got into the car and followed him out. Michael was also very curious and wanted to know what kind of lesson Cooper would give Sophiater, so he went along. The car arrived at Cooper¡¯s current office building, which was where Pourl was located. Sam had gifted Sophia a few floors of the building. Cooper saw that the location was good and that his daughter¡¯s office was downstairs, so he bought the whole building and turned it into his base. After the reorganization of the energypany, the staff rapidly expanded, and thepany became larger. While entering thepany¡¯s conference room, Sophia saw many important people. Sam, Lucy, and Ian were the three important figures of the Edwards Family. They were already waiting before she even arrived. Thewyers for both parties were there, and there were many people standing in the conference room, which made it all look like a very important asion. Faced with the entourage, Sophia felt a little surprised. The Edwards Family had previously joined forces with Alex to deal with Cooper because of Faye¡¯s death. Their hatred had seemed so extreme then. Sophia had thought that a violent storm had been brewing for the past few months and that a bloody war would break out. Therefore, she did not expect that the Edwards would appear on Cooper¡¯s territory today. ¡°Sorry for making everyone wait for a long time.¡± Cooper appeared and sat down in his ce, while Sophia and Michael also found their seats and sat down. It seemed that Sam and the others had been waiting for a long time. All the tea on the table had been drunk, and the waiter was refilling the cups. It appeared that Cooper waste, but after he came back from the airport, he ate a meal at home and spent a long time stroking the alpacas in an unhurried manner before leaving. Did he perhaps forget that there was a meeting today? Cooper exined to Sophia, ¡°Today is the day when I sign the energy development partnership project with the Edwards Family. So, I deliberately let them wait for a long time.¡± Everyone was speechless, including Sophia. This was such a big project, yet he had deliberately left them waiting for a long time. Wasn¡¯t this a bit too much? He even purposely said it in front of them! But although those from the Edwards Family looked displeased, they just acted as if they heard nothing. Taking over the contract, Cooper looked at it, then said to Sophia, ¡°My darling, have you learned anything?¡± Sophia felt that she was a smart woman, but when it came to Cooper¡¯s actions, she was rather dazed by it all. She whispered, ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t seem to understand anything¡­¡± Cooper held the signature pen. The contract was opened before him, and the signature part was just under his fingers, but he was still holding the pen and would not sign. The Edwards looked at him nervously, fearing that he would not sign. Cooper held the pen but did not put it down. He said to Sophia, ¡°My darling, remember, if you have the ability, you can make those who hate you to their guts kneel down and beg you!¡± As realization dawned on Sophia, she quickly nodded. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael nodded as well. Cooper was indeed great. A lesson well learned! Before, the Edwards Family and Alex held onto Faye¡¯s death and wanted to punish Cooper for it. Even the public wished for him to be put to death, but after just casually announcing the card in his hand, the Edwards Family immediately turned into a wuss and almost knelt down to beg Cooper. After all, there were so many people around the world who wanted to cooperate with Cooper. He didn¡¯t need the Edwards Family at all, but they would benefit from coborating with him. How could the Edwards Family miss out on such a good opportunity over Faye¡¯s death? That was obviously not in line with the creed of the Edwards Family. Relying on Sam¡¯s childhood rtionship with Cooper, the Edwards Family finally won the coboration project with Cooper. Despite being humiliated on the spot, they did not dare to say anything. After the signing of the contract, the Edwards Family left with it. This was Cooper¡¯s true strength. Even if one hated him, one still had to beg him! Despite having a falling-out with him, the Edwards Family was aware of the current affairs, and so they had to force themselves to abruptly reconcile with him. They had no choice but to lick his boots and put on a smiling face while asking to partner up with Cooper on the project. After signing the partnership project, Sophia turned around and saw that thepany had many fresh faces. For example, she remembered that the former person in charge of the security department was very handsome, but she hadn¡¯t seen him recently. She heard that Michael had taken him away and intended to groom him into an actor. So, there was a new person in charge called Dimon Mitchell. Dimon was originally one of Alex¡¯s men who was almost killed on the ind. Now, he came to work for Cooper. Not only did he take away all the men under his charge, but he also used his connections to bring over many talented men from the Mitchell Family. Since Cooper¡¯s announcement about the formal establishment of an energypany, many talented people had beening to Alex one after another. In terms of employing people and winning people¡¯s hearts, Cooper¡¯s methods could be considered perfect. After understanding everything, Sophia felt very shocked, but also very frustrated. Dad and Uncle are both so powerful. One is in charge of the Michel Group, while the other is leading the Mitchell Group back to glory. But I only have one store that sells dog chains. I¡¯ve just established a foothold in the international market. I seem very weakpared to them. As the Edwards Family left Mitchell Group, Sam held the contract in his hands, feeling despondent yet very thankful for his luck. Before the battle between the Edwards Family and Cooper had even begun, Cooper had made such a big move, and the Edwards Family surrendered so pathetically. This was a true disgrace for the Edwards Family! That small ind was bought by the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family. Now, it had been bombed and sunk, and nothing from it could be taken away. People from the Edwards side had died and gotten beaten up. Their loss of assets was huge, not to mention the overnight loss of their reputation. Jordan was so upset he became very ill and was only discharged from the hospital recently. Even if the Edwards Family hated Cooper deeply, there was no way they could harm him. They had only themselves to me for picking the wrong side. From the very beginning, the Edwards Family shouldn¡¯t have supported Alex! Sam was leaning toward Cooper from the start, but most of the other family members leaned toward Alex and even set up political marriages with him. But the political marriage seemed to be aplete disaster. It was organized with such pomp and grandeur, yet it ended with them looking like a grand fool instead. Faye was dead, and the situation between Ian and Sandra was rocky as well¡­ Sam felt that he had not suffered much as a whole. After all, he grew up with Cooper and was used to thetter¡¯s unexpected ways of defeating him all the time. The more Cooper crushed him, the more excited he became. But for Lucy and Ian, today was simply the worst shame they had experienced! After all, they were young and hot-blooded. Lucy turned her head and looked at the magnificent Mitchell International Energy and Technology. One day, I will surpass Cooper and make him lower himself before me, just as he did to me today! Chapter 861 Chapter 861 After Sophia came back, Michael immediately invited her to go to the movies. ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ was in theaters for two months. With its superb production and spectacr acting, plus Michael¡¯s beer belly, it achieved a global box office of 7 billion, breaking the record set by Michael himself. After watching the movie, Sophia immediately started her own business. Previously, Pourl¡¯s reputation was affected because of Barney eating Faye. So, the business had stayed low for these two months. Now that the chaos had gradually settled down, Pourl prepared itself for another round of new product releases. Sophia took her pair of alpacas and the prairie cat to the store. In addition to customizing outfits, she also had to shoot a series of new promotional videos. The pair of alpacas were selected by Sophia at thergest alpaca breeding center in America and made for the best pets. They had been cultivated for several generations to have a gentle personality, an elegant posture, a beautiful appearance, and no slobbering. Thus, they were very photogenic and camera-friendly as well. They were truly an aristocratic pair of alpacas, so the videos would surely be great. The quality of the models would also have a huge impact on sales. Judge used to be the top dog model, but now it was disfigured. It was estimated that it would have to retire for a period of time. Hopefully, this pair of alpacas could support the sales of new products this fall. It was September now, and the kindergartens had begun to enroll new students. A few days in advance, Michael printed out a batch of test papers and came to Sophia to practice the interviews. ¡°These are all internal information that I have found out from my acquaintances. It¡¯s regarding the possible topics of this kindergarten¡¯s interview with the parents. Let¡¯s take a look at it so that we have some idea of what to expect.¡± Sophia frowned as she looked at the stack of test papers. Raising a child is really not easy! This is almost as hard as the college entrance examinations. Flipping to the first page, she nced at the questions. ¡®Parents, please introduce yourselves.¡¯ ¡®Parents, please briefly analyze the differences and simrities between family education versus school education. Also, briefly outline your views on family education, as well as the factors that affect the cultivation of children¡¯s characters through family education.¡¯ ¡®Parents, please tell us about your thoughts of an equal and friendly family rtionship with your children and suggest ways to properly guide and help your children through life.¡¯ After reading the topics, Sophia¡¯s face turned pale. Sure enough, it was an international metropolis. Even the topics for the kindergarten admission were so difficult. Africa was better, for children were just directly admitted after the parents paid the fees. This stack of topics really gave Sophia and Michael a headache, but the kindergarten was one of the best in Bayside City. If Carmen could get in, they would feel better as parents. When Cooper came back, he saw Sophia and Michael doing papers in the living room. He peered at the topics curiously and then fell into deep thought. When Linus returned and saw the test papers, he frowned and then picked up the pen to write his answers as well. The family spent a few days before finallypleting several sets of test questions. Then, they began to memorize the answers. Each question was harder and trickier than thest, and the topics were all quite strange. There were even questions on the size of the baby¡¯s diapers and the brand of form milk used. Besides, the parents were even required to list the advantages and disadvantages of the major brands of diapers and form milk! Moreover, the kindergarten also needed to know how many sets of matching pajamas there were in the family and how many hours the parents spent with their child per week. Forming an opinion on the topic, Michael exined, ¡°The current educational philosophy believes that children¡¯s growth should be apanied by their parents throughout the process and not like how we were raised before. By asking what diapers and form milk the baby had used before, it was in fact a disguised way of asking how much the parents care about their children.¡± N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. He continued, ¡°Children go to school, but parents take the opportunity to go and have fun on their own. The family environment has a great influence on the cultivation of children¡¯s acquired character. I mean, look at Nate¡­ Well, that was all my fault, so I must bring Carmen up well.¡± At the mention of Nathan Fletcher, Sophia also sighed. The boy was too cold and did not behave like a little boy at all. A child should act ording to their age. Come on, look at Carmen. She¡¯sughing and running around every day. After sighing, Sophia hurriedly asked about the diapers and form milk used by Carmen as well as what Carmen liked to eat, which cat and dog she liked most, and what were the simrities between her ex-boyfriend and her current boyfriend. All of it was written on a booklet and memorized thoroughly. In order to improve the harmony of the family and to reflect the importance of Carmen within the whole family, Cooper also went to the kindergarten interview. The family of four was dressed in the same matching outfits. The interviews were separated into two. There was a ce for the child interview and another ce for the parent interview. Everyone sat in the waiting area, queuing up for the interview. Sophia was very nervous, mulling over the questions and answers she had memorized these days. ¡°Michael, look at me. Do you think I look okay?¡± In order to show that the family was peaceful, she had deliberately put on her previous wedding ring, wore a matching family outfit, and thered some baby lotion on herself, trying to pretend to have a happy marriage and a harmonious family. Michael looked at her and said, ¡°Yeah, you look great. Rx, we¡¯ll be able to pass this.¡± ¡°Number 18! Carmen Fletcher¡¯s parents, please enter the interview room for the interview,¡± the staff called out for Sophia and Michael, who hurriedly went to the interview room. The interviewer looked at the people before him and was taken aback slightly. Then, he began to write on the booklet in front of him. The interview had begun. ¡°Parents, please introduce yourselves.¡± Michael couldpletely finish the introduction with his face alone, but still, he introduced himself. He was the two-time Oscar actor whose movies sold so many tickets that the tickets could wind around Earth several times. He was fluent in threenguages, born into a prestigious family, graduated from Bayside City University, and had a perfect resume. Sophia, too, worked hard to be calm as she bragged about how she was an international socialite who was proficient in fivenguages and was a young but sessful entrepreneur. After the introduction, the interviewer¡¯s eyes bore into theirs as he asked, ¡°So¡­ Mr. Fletcher and Ms. Edwards, your highest education are only bachelor¡¯s degrees from Bayside City University?¡± Michael and Sophia were at a loss for words. Michael went to university after retiring from the military and then started his business right after graduating. However, Sophia fared even worse. She was kidnapped after she received her university degree and had forgotten to engage in further studies these years. Nervously, Sophia replied, ¡°Y-Yes.¡± Under the table, Michael took Sophia¡¯s hand and squeezed it, giving her strength in an instant. She tried to take a deep breath and calm herself down. The interviewer lifted his sses and asked sharply, ¡°The fathers and mothers who are here for the interview today all hold postgraduate degrees. I wonder where the two of you think your advantages lie compared to the other parents?¡± Sophia became even more anxious. Trembling, she tried hard to stayposed. This was a question that was not on the test papers. Sophia took a deep breath and started to answer, ¡°Society is the best school. Although I left school, I did not stop there. My achievements are no worse than other highly educated parents. I can bring more resources to my child and let her enjoy a better education.¡± If we¡¯re not good enough, let¡¯s bring out Carmen¡¯s grandpa! She added, ¡°My father and uncle, that is, Carmen¡¯s grandfather and granduncle, have 7 doctorate degrees between the two of them, which is surely enough. As far as our whole family is concerned, there is no pressure in terms of academic qualifications.¡± Carmen¡¯s grandpa is still useful at critical moments. There were only a few people in their family. With seven doctorate degrees, it was equivalent to each of them having a doctorate. Surely that was enough. After passing the academic qualifications, the interviewer continued to ask some other questions, all of which were memorized before and were answered perfectly by Sophia and Michael. In the end, the interviewer asked thest question. ¡°Now, parents, please kiss each other affectionately to end today¡¯s interview!¡± Chapter 862 Chapter 862 The interviewer¡¯s request was totally out of Sophia¡¯s expectation. She wants me to kiss Michael in public?! How could she make such an embarrassing request? Sophia¡¯s face instantly flushed as red as an apple. Her requests aroused Cooper¡¯s suspicion as well. Could it be that this kindergarten is run by Michael, and he is using this opportunity to take advantage of Sophia? Seeing that Sophia and Michael did not respond after a while, the interviewer darted them a look in suspicion before asking, ¡°When was thest time both of you had sex?¡± S-Sex? Sophia was dumbfounded. The kindergarten¡¯s interview nowadays asks about this sort of topic? ¡°H-How is this rted to my baby attending kindergarten?¡± Upon seeing Sophia behaving like an ignorant bumpkin, the interviewer exined, ¡°The family environment is one of our assessment criteria for the child¡¯s quality. A good family environment and education is crucial to raise an excellent individual. If the parents have a bad rtionship, this will affect the child¡¯s growth. Therefore, are both of you not getting along well and have been living separately for a long time? So is Carmen currently living in a single-parent family?¡± As Sophia was afraid that this would affect Carmen¡¯s admission into the kindergarten, she immediately denied. ¡°No, no.¡± Michael frankly replied, ¡°That¡¯s not true. Thest time we had sex was this morning, and we have a strong rtionship.¡± Hearing that, Sophia¡¯s face turned redder. I don¡¯t even have a sex life, let alone had sex this morning. Did he mean that we had sex as morning workout beforeing over to attend the interview? However, all she could do now was to swallow up the embarrassment. ¡°Yes, this morning, several positions in fact¡­¡± In her mind, she was still a virgin, though she somehow had a daughter. Michael ced his arm over Sophia¡¯s shoulder and turned her face over to him. ¡°Dear,e on. Rx, although this is the first time we¡¯re doing this outside. Don¡¯t worry.¡± After he said that, he leaned his body forward and kissed her. His lips lightly wrapped around her pink, soft lips, gently taking in her taste. Sophia gave in for the sake of Carmen¡¯s future as well. She closed her eyes while experiencing his kiss. It felt gentle and real, like kes of rainbow falling onto her lips from the sky. It was soft and sweet. But¡­ aren¡¯t we only acting? Why is he sticking his tongue into my mouth? However, Sophia could not push him away when they were under the interviewer¡¯s watchful eyes. Hence, she had no choice but to allow Michael to embrace her and kiss for 30 seconds until the interviewer felt shy to continue watching. The interviewer then ticked thest item¡ªwhether the student had loving parents¡ªwith a red pen. They kissed each other so affectionately in public, as if they were alone. Anyone could tell with one nce that they were a loving couple. Only families with harmonious rtionships between the family members and loving parents would be able to raise children into optimistic and hardworking individuals. ¡°Cough!¡± As Cooper could no longer continue to watch them being affectionate with each other, he coldly coughed, which made the couple, who were immersed in the kiss, return to their senses. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia lowered her head and dared not say anything, her face as red as blood. Michael looked radiant ¡ªeven the breath he exhaled was filled with content and bliss. He asked, ¡°Are there any other questions?¡± The interviewer beamed at them. ¡°Please wait for our notice. We will notify you of the results in 3 days¡¯ time.¡± Michael replied, ¡°Thank you.¡± After the interview, Cooper wore a dark expression while Michael held Sophia¡¯s little hand when they waited for Carmen to be done with her interview. Although Cooper¡¯s expression was dark, he did not voice out and stop Michael, which made thetter feel that he had made some progress and was getting closer to having their second child. He felt that he had been testing Cooper¡¯s limits every day. When they were waiting outside, they bumped into some familiar faces¡ªfor instance, Harry and Sarah. Their child, Hope, was younger than Carmen by only a couple of days. They applied for him to attend this kindergarten as well, and they were here today to attend the interview. Besides, Hale and Gwen were here as well. They had been married for a few years and had given birth to a chubby son. They, too, had gotten the notice to attend the interview, and they were now waiting for their son toe out after the interview. Everyone was very nervous. Cold sweat appeared on their palms as they wondered if their children could impress the interviewer. Soon, Carmen came out after she was done with her interview. Upon seeing her parents and grandfather from afar, she dashed at them like a little butterfly. She was even dolled up to ensure that the interview today could go smoothly. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa!¡± Sophia embraced Carmen and asked, ¡°Darling, how was your interview?¡± Carmen was brimming with confidence. ¡°I¡¯ve passed!¡± Sophia asked her the details, ¡°How did you pass? What questions did the interviewer ask? Quickly tell me.¡± Carmen seemed delighted. ¡°I showed them the Bear Dance. Thedy interviewer praised that I can dance well and I have acted in movies before. Daddy is also the major hairholder of the kindergarten! So they allowed me to pass.¡± Upon hearing Carmen¡¯s words from the side, the smile that the high-spirited Michael had on his face instantly froze. ¡°Major hairholder? What¡¯s that?¡± Sophia contemted the word and understood the meaning in three seconds¡ªMichael was the major shareholder of this kindergarten! Why do we need to attend the interview if he is the major shareholder?! She understood the whole situation in that instant. She looked at Michael, feeling mad yet embarrassed. ¡°Michael, y-you¡­ jerk!¡± After saying that, she turned around and left in rage and embarrassment, while Cooper¡¯s expression instantly became dark as well. I can¡¯t believe that my daughter was taken advantage of right under my nose! He held her hands and kissed her! I even made an exception and allowed Sophia to go to Michael¡¯s house by herself to memorize the interview questions! Cooper left in a huff as well. Michael rose to his feet and nced at the innocent Carmen before going after Sophia. ¡°Sophia¡­ dear! Let me exin¡­¡± He left to chase after Sophia just like that. After he left, the two women, Sarah and Gwen, could not hold back themselves and burst intoughter. Even Hale, who was usually taciturn, could not suppress his smile. Harry covered his face with his hand, unsure of whether he should beughing or not right now. He lived in the same neighborhood as Michael. When he saw Michael went to look for Sophia with a stack of questions, he knew that thetter was plotting something. As expected, he was indeed trying to pull something off. Using the kindergarten interview as an excuse, he had plenty of chances to spend time alone with her¡ªit was the golden period to develop their rtionship! However, Carmen¡¯s words unexpectedly made his efforts go in vain. Looking at her parents leaving, Carmen gazed innocently at Harry with her little hands on thetter¡¯s knees while childishly asking, ¡°Godfather, why did Daddy and Mommy run away?¡± Harry replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing important. They had a little disagreement. They will make peace again in a while.¡± Sophia, who had fallen into Michael¡¯s trap, felt enraged yet mortified. She locked herself in her room when she reached home. I¡¯m utterly furious! Utterly embarrassed! He actually kissed me! In public! She could feel her face burning in embarrassment, but her heart was pounding wildly. The kiss made her heart skip a beat and caused her to feel as sweet as honey whenever she recalled the feeling. I¡¯m absolutely mortified! Chapter 863 Chapter 863 Michael followed Sophia to her house but was locked outside. The two alpacas, which seemed to have received certain orders from Cooper, spat saliva at his face when they saw him. Ptooey! Ugh, it stinks! Michael nearly passed out from that stench. He stood under her room and yelled, ¡°Sophia, dear¡­ I was wrong! Please hear me out¡­¡± Since the truth had been revealed, any sophistry would be useless¡ªthe most important thing to do now was to admit his mistake and apologize. However, no matter how hard he shouted or called, the person upstairs refused to respond to him. Only three silly dogs appeared on the first-floor balcony, sticking their heads out to look at him, as if he was a clown. Michael currently regretted his actions a lot. I shouldn¡¯t have done that this time. I¡¯m screwed. All my efforts have gone in vain, and I¡¯ll have to start all over again¡­ Not only did the flustered Michael not receive any response from Sophia, Cooper even forbade him from entering the house and ordered Shae to wallop him if he barged in, so he had no choice but to go home. At night, Carmen reached home. Michael wrote an official apology letter and asked her to pass it to her mother in secret. Carmen was put on a spot. ¡°Daddy, Grandpa said that he wanted to teach you a lesson. Otherwise, you won¡¯t remember it and won¡¯t learn to appreciate Mommy. Therefore, I can¡¯t help you!¡± Since Carmen refused to help him, Michael came up with another n, which was to have Sarah pass Sophia the letter. However, she dared not help him as well. ¡°Taylor, you know how grim Mr. Cooper¡¯s expression can be. He dislikes me because my father and step-mother have offended him, so I cannot help you with this¡­¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Nevertheless, Michael still had plenty of opportunities. ¡°Come, Snowball, my darling,e here. I¡¯m giving you this treasure. Give it to your Mommy.¡± ¡°Bubbles, you are my good baby. You must send this to your Mommy!¡± ¡°Silly dog, I¡¯ll give you 5 bucks if you give this to Sophia! Huh? You think that it¡¯s not enough? How about 50? That¡¯s the most I can offer! Alright, alright, 500! 500! Looking at the few dogs¡ªwhich he had been taking care of with blood, sweat, and tears on behalf of Sophia¡ªcarrying his gifts to her in their mouths, he inwardly eximed, All my hard work has finally paid off! However, what he did not expect was that the few silly dogs were stopped by Cooper in the living room as soon as they entered the house¡ªtherge bags in their mouths exposed their ¡®mission¡¯. Everything that they brought was confiscated, so was the 500 that Judge had just earned! Disgruntled, Judge bared its sharp teeth and started to carry out its ¡®5-million renovation n¡¯ in Cooper¡¯s house on the spot. It chewed on the couch, table, carpet, and even its own bed, refusing to stop unless it destroyed enough furniture that amounted to 5 million. Cooper gave in and returned the 500 to it, but Judge was dissatisfied. Only when Cooper gave it another 500 aspensation for its mental anguish that it finally stopped destroying his furniture. There was chaos in the house while Michael was outside feeling anxious. ¡°Tsk¡­¡± Knowing that the few silly dogs might be unreliable, Michael took the opportunity to use his old trick when Cooper was busy dealing with Judge¡ªhe took out his drone and controller. Nheless, the drone was unexpectedly mercilessly shot down after flying for only 2 seconds. Unwilling to give up, Michael carried Chrysanthemum over to Cooper¡¯s house and pointed at the balcony. ¡°Chrysanthemum, you are a cat, so you can climb up to the first floor, right? Go, climb up there! I know you can do this. I have faith in you!¡± Entrusted with this mission in such a critical moment, Chrysanthemum tried its best to climb up to the first floor while carrying Michael¡¯s gift for Sophia in its mouth, only to realize that¡­ it had failed¡ªits fat body was simply a burden! After trying different cats, none of them managed to climb up because they were too chubby¡ªthere were more than twenty orange cats, but one was fatter than the other. Sitting amidst the pile of fat cats, Michael had run out of ideas. All he could do was to pet the cats while he waited for Sophia toe out to meet him. He refused to believe that she would not leave the house. As a matter of fact, Sophia found out what happened outside by watching the security recordings from her room. She started watching when Judge was making amotion by destroying the furniture downstairs and kept watching as Michael tried his luck with the bunch of fat cats. He looked like a helpless little kid or like a regretful teenager who had had a quarrel with his girlfriend. Looking at him, Sophia could no longer hold back her smiles, but it did not mean that she was not mad ¡ªMichael had gone overboard this time. Downstairs, Michael tried to use another orange cat, attempting to initiate the next wave of attack. However, he then realized that the oue was still the same¡ªthe cats just could not climb up to the first floor. When he was in despair, he saw the grasnd cat that was recently bought by Sophia. The cat silently picked up the gift and nimbly climbed up a tree. It sat on a branch before leaping into the air with the force from its hips, drawing a swift arc through the air. It then made a perfectnding on the balcony with a light and agile movement before disappearing into Sophia¡¯s room. Michael almost gave the cat a standing ovation. The grasnd cat named ¡®Leapy¡¯ was a crossbreed between a serval and a domestic cat. It had the ability to jump 2 meters high from the ground and was an excellent climber. As expected from Leapy¡ªit can jump up to 8 feet high. Sophia was frustrated. When she was feeling mad and embarrassed in her room, she saw Leapy coming into her room through the cat door from the balcony. It then jumped onto Sophia¡¯s table, put down the thing in its mouth, and left. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Leapy brought her a small pouch. She opened it and found a tiny MP3 inside. She found her earphone and plugged it into the earphone jack before turning on the MP3. She could hear a clear male voice from the device. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m sorry. I just hope for us to spend more time together. I didn¡¯t mean to lie to you, and I didn¡¯t want Carmen to be epted into the kindergarten using my influence. I just wished to prove to everyone that we are good parents. Let me sing you a song.¡± She could hear the guitar ying and Michael¡¯s sexy, charming voice singing. ¡°You are the light in my life. Not only did you dispel the gloom of my life, you¡¯ve also alleviated the mncholy of my mundane life. Your warm light blends into my blood and flesh, your gentleness coursing through my veins with my blood. You¡¯ve immersed into my whole body, like an invisible hand caressing my bones and flesh¡­¡± It was a simple tune coupled with clich¨¦ lyrics¡ªit gave her the vibes of a young teenage girl in school uniform secretly writing childish verses in the textbook during ss under the noisy electric fan. Michael anxiously waited for a long time downstairs without any idea if Sophia saw the thing that he gave. After some time, he saw a paper ne flying down from the balcony, which Chrysanthemum obediently brought to him. He unfolded the paper ne and saw a few words on it. ¡®Who wrote the lyrics? It made me cringe.¡¯ Seeing that, he was overjoyed. Sophia is finally willing to talk to me¡ªthis means that she is not that mad anymore. He quickly took a pen to reply to her message and asked Leapy to send it upstairs. She soon saw his reply, which was only one sentence. ¡®It was from the love letter you wrote to me back then.¡¯ The message made her feel abashed. I can¡¯t believe that I actually wrote that before, but Michael composing music for it and singing it is something even more unexpected. How embarrassing! However, I can¡¯t believe that he still remembers the love letter I wrote. Wasn¡¯t that something from ages ago? The paper ne flew out from the first floor again. Michael caught the paper ne and unfolded it¡ªon it was her beautiful and bold handwriting. ¡®You lied to me.¡¯ The paper ne flew out from the room, and a whileter, Michael asked Leapy to send it back upstairs, and the process repeated. One of them was in the room while the other was downstairs outside the house, and just like that, theymunicated via the paper ne. Michael replied, ¡®Please hear me out. I just hope for us to spend more time together.¡± Sophia replied, ¡®I¡¯m not going to listen to you!¡¯ He was speechless for a moment, but he then wrote, ¡®I was wrong. I promise you that I won¡¯t do this next time.¡¯ She asked, ¡®You¡¯re saying that there will be a next time?¡¯ He was rendered speechless again. Chapter 864 Chapter 864 After the two of them had a quarrel through the paper ne and small note, Sophia did not leave home for two days because she refused to meet Michael. Whenever Michael had free time, he would sit under the balcony of her room and patiently wait for her. He would write notes on a small notebook, tear out the paper, and have Leapy send it up to her. In contrast, the bunch of fat cats were absolutely useless. ¡°It¡¯s a waste of effort rearing all of you. All my efforts had gone down the drain! All you do is eat, and you even shed fur! You guys keep shedding fur!¡± Michaelined while pinching the fats on Chrysanthemum. He grabbed a handful of its fur and blew it away like dandelion seeds. ¡°I will put you up for adoption in a few days.¡± When Harry was walking his dog, he passed by and saw Michael sitting under Sophia¡¯s balcony with the hope of meeting Sophia but to no avail. It was quite sad, but he could only me himself for being too greedy. Cooper had acquiesced in him holding her hand, but he wished to take another step further by kissing her, which then caused all his earlier efforts to go in vain. He basically dug his own grave! The kindergarten interview was real, but the questions were altered because he had someone to intervene with the interview through the kindergarten board meeting after he became the major shareholder. The reason he did all that was for the kiss at the final part of the interview! Serves him right! Michael regretted plotting this as well. Regardless of how perfect his n was, it unexpectedly completely crumbled with Carmen¡¯s one sentence¡ª¡®Daddy is the kindergarten¡¯s major hairholder¡¯. He petted the cat twice and growled, ¡°All you do is eat. Look at yourself¡ªdo you know how fat you are right now?¡± Hold on¡­ Eat? An idea came to him in a sh of inspiration. The weather was very cool in one fine evening after a downpour. Michael set up a barbeque pit at Cooper¡¯s front yard, and the aroma of the food spread into Cooper¡¯s house. A soft mat was spread out on thewn, and sitting on it was Carmen, who was drinking milk while talking to Michael. ¡°Daddy, will Mommy reallye out?¡± Michael was busy grilling food with a chef when he replied, ¡°She wille out. Your mommy used to love barbequing on the rooftop.¡± Harry came with his wife as well. As it was a weekend, Nathan was back home, while Stanley, who had come to visit his cats and dogs, brought Sean along with him too. The few of them were having a great time at the barbeque party in front of Cooper¡¯s house, making a lot of noise. Sophia was reading documents in her study when she found out that Michael was having a barbeque party in front of their house. The fragrance was so strong that it seemed to be able to prate through walls¡ªshe could still smell the aroma everywhere even though she had shut all the doors and windows. On top of that, the smell became more fragrant as time passed¡ªso fragrant that it made her drool. I wonder what delicacies they are grilling¡­ She peeked at the security recordings and saw that all the cats and dogs in their neighborhood were there, watching them as they enjoyed their barbeque party. Even the two alpacas were there. It smells wonderful¡­ There is seafood,mb and chicken wings. It¡¯s so fragrant, and I think I can hear the sound of oil sizzling. A couple of chefs were diligently grilling the food, while the few people took the food to the tables on the yard and enjoyed them with relish. Leapy went over, took a piece of ham, and ate it in front of Sophia. It enjoyed the food very much, which caused Sophia to be unable to concentrate on reading her documents. Stanley yelled at her from downstairs, ¡°Sophia,e on down. We are having a barbecue! You used to love barbecue! Come down now. Your favorite chicken wings grilled with a secret recipe is ready. If you are not going to eat them, I¡¯ll feed them all to Judge!¡± As expected, Sophia was seening down in her pyjamas. She sat down and immediately started eating without greeting anyone. Stanley admonished her. ¡°Why are you so shy? It was only a kiss with my uncle! You used to kiss him in front of me every day. It made me cringe¡­¡± Sophia continued eating with her head bowed without saying anything. Michael slowly nudged himself toward her with intention to please her. ¡°Dear, here. Eat this. It¡¯s your favorite.¡± He had prepared her favorite food¡ªshe might not have her past memories, but her taste preference would never change. She treated him coldly without giving him any response; she even moved away from him but epted the food. He inched closer to her and kept trying to please her. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. She said, ¡°Stay away from me.¡± He replied, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll stay further away.¡± And by staying further away, he meant to have a dog sitting between them. With a dog between them, Michael handed her some beverages while uttering, ¡°Tomorrow is Carmen¡¯s first day at the kindergarten. Other kids will have both parents apanying them to school¡­¡± He implied that Sophia should go as well. Sophia coldly refuted, ¡°Is this the kindergarten¡¯s major hairholder¡¯s new rule?¡± The thick-skinned Michael smiled without any hint of awkwardness. ¡°They¡¯d had this rule before the major hairholder joined the board.¡± Hearing that, she did not reply to him as she was aware that even African kids would have both parents sending them to school during their first day at kindergarten. He took her silence as an acquiesce to his request. Delighted, he announced, ¡°I¡¯lle to pick you up at 7.00AM tomorrow.¡± She just remained quiet without either agreeing or disagreeing. The delicious barbecued food probably made her happy and caused her to be willing to talk to the people around. Michael grabbed the opportunity and approached her again. ¡°Dear, I¡¯m going away to shoot for a movie with Harry. Carmen will be in your care for the time being.¡± Although Sophia did not reply, her ears were kept open. He is going away to shoot for a movie? That¡¯s not a surprise at all since he is an actor. He tends to spend more time at the filming set than at home. Carmen is going to be fatherless for some time again. After the barbecue, Sophia went home after filling her stomach. She did not talk much to Michael, which indicated that she was still mad. The next day, Michael came over to pick Sophia and Carmen up early in the morning. Carmen was well-prepared today. Carrying a bag, she was wearing a new dress with a water bottle strapped across her shoulder. She happily got into the car after Sophia with the intention to behave like a good girl in the kindergarten. As her grandfather, Cooper took her kindergarten¡¯s entrance ceremony seriously, so he tagged along as well. Sophia had always thought that Cooper doted on Carmen more since her own existence as his daughter came too suddenly to him. When he thought that he was a bachelor, a grown-up daughter in her twenties suddenly appeared out of nowhere andpletely caught him off guard. He was still stuck in the impression that a daughter, if he had one, should be small and adorable like Carmen. Therefore, he doted on and pampered Carmen to no end. Upon arriving at the kindergarten, they encountered a few familiar faces. Harry and Sarah brought their son, Hope, while Hale and Gwen brought their son, Ashton. Besides, there was also¡­ Sandra. Unexpectedly, Sandra and Ian were here as well. They brought along a two or three-year-old child, who was about the same age as Carmen. Seeing that Sophia seemed to be puzzled, Michael exined, ¡°That¡¯s Albert, Alex¡¯s second son and Sandra¡¯s younger brother.¡± Albert¡­ This name kind of matches the chubby little kid. Sandra naturally spotted Sophia as well. She let out a scoff, as if she was confident that she had something on her. It turns out that she really is Sophia. Sophia¡¯s face had be a model for the girls who wished to undergo stic surgery, which resulted in plenty of online influencers having simr faces. Therefore, when she previously had stic surgeries on her whole face, Sandra had a preconceived thought that Scarlett had undergone stic surgeries to look like Sophia, but it turned out that she was actually Sophia herself. How did she survive years ago? And how did she be Cooper¡¯s daughter? Chapter 865 Chapter 865 She has a child with her. Is that her and Michael¡¯s daughter? Although all of this seems uncanny, I will figure it all out one day. The entrance ceremony went on smoothly. After the ceremony, the parents had to leave their children to attend the Parent Association meeting organized by the kindergarten at another ce. They had to select a president for the association and form a chat group with all the parents in it. On the other hand, the kids had to follow the teacher to the ssroom to familiarize themselves with the environment and begin their first ss. Sophia and Michael arrived at the ce where the parents gathered and began their first Parent Association meeting. Sophia nced around and found that the kindergarten was quite high-end while the parents were all wealthy and powerful with extraordinary backgrounds. There were also plenty of celebrities and politicians. In other words, the children studying here could be described as apanying the royalties. The meeting started off by ying the security recordings of the ssroom. There were 15 children in the ss. As it was their first-time attending kindergarten away from their parents, the children were crying their eyes out, filling the ssroom with their cries. Those who were initially not crying were almost affected by theirpanions¡¯ cries. Luckily, the kindergarten teachers were all very experienced. They managed to stop the children from continuing to cry by coaxing them one by one. The parents repetitively nodded upon seeing the teachers¡¯ professional skills. Michael spotted his baby at first nce¡ªshe was the most beautiful child. As soon as she entered the ssroom, she put down her Husky backpack and took a sip of water while she watched other children crying. ¡°Look, our baby is not crying.¡± He sounded proud. Sophia felt proud for her as well. Even Hope and Ashton were crying, but Carmen sat meekly in a corner by herself and drank water. Finally, the children stopped crying, and the ssroom became quiet. When the teachers were going to start the ss, Carmen suddenly blurted out, ¡°I want to be the ss representative!¡± Seeing that, the parents were speechless. The teachers were taken aback by her proactiveness as well because it was extremely rare for a kid to be so brave and not cry. One of them smiled and said gently, ¡°Sure, Carmen. You will be the ss representative, then!¡± Therefore, Carmen became the ss representative on her first day at kindergarten. After school, Sophia rushed from her office to pick Carmen up from the kindergarten. ¡°Baby, how was your first day at kindergarten?¡± Carmen was confident. ¡°I¡¯m the most beautiful girl in the whole ss!¡± Such a narcissist¡­ She must have inherited it from her father! As a celebrity, as well as a star who had made a sessfuleback, Michael could not simply appear in front of the kindergarten to pick up his child, so he sat in the car and waited for her instead. He embraced Carmen and said, ¡°I¡¯m going away to shoot for a movie some timeter. You need to be a good girl. Stay at home and listen to your Mommy!¡± ¡°Sure, Daddy, I will behave myself.¡± She nodded. Carmen, who had just spent her first day in school, was excited; she kept sharing about the new friends she made in the kindergarten with her parents along the journey. ¡°Hope is so handsome, and all the girls in the ss like him! Mel¡¯s dress is the most pretty! Flo cried for the whole day. I hate Al the most. I don¡¯t like him!¡± Carmen entering kindergarten probably put Sophia in a good mood today, so she finally treated Michael slightly better. When they arrived home together, he entered her house under Cooper¡¯s cold eyes and dark expression; he even managed to have dinner together with them. I have to be thick- skinned in whatever I do¡­ If I don¡¯t have skin as thick as a wall, it would be impossible to make my ladye to me! Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Michael went home after dinner. After Sophia took a shower and changed her clothes, she thought for a while and decided to go look for Michael. When Cooper saw her heading in that direction, he coldly asked, ¡°Darling, where are you going?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°I am going to find Michael to discuss something. I can¡¯t just let this matter slide easily.¡± Hearing that, he had no choice but to let her go. Sophia reached Michael¡¯s house, and thetter warmly invited her in although her visit was sudden and unexpected. ¡°Come on in and have a seat.¡± As it was the cats¡¯ dinner time, over twenty cats gathered up at a ce in the house to eat together. It was so packed that there was almost no room to ce their feet. Besides, cats would shed a lot of fur, so rearing cats and dogs was no different from nting dandelions¡ªit might be easier to rte by imagining nting over twenty pots of dandelions in a house¡­ ¡°Why are there so many cats at home?¡± Sophia took a seat and saw that there was cat fur everywhere¡ªon the couch, floor, and even on Michael¡¯s trousers. Having a couple of robotic vacuum cleaners was totally insufficient, and Nichs nearly broke down from excessively sweeping the cat fur. On top of that, the orange cats had strong destructive power. The couch at home was reced weekly. In fact, the one that Sophia was sitting on had been reced yesterday although it was now already covered with scratches. Michael replied, ¡°These are all your cats. You didn¡¯t tell me what to do with them, so I didn¡¯t put them up for adoption or send them for neutering. Therefore, they kept breeding.¡± Sophia felt a tingling sensation on her scalp. She found the cats adorable when a few of them asionally went to her house. However, when she saw that the house was full of orange cats today, she was a little shocked at the imposing view. No wonder Carmen keepsining that her house is full of cat fur. Come to think of it, Michael may be stressed out as well. But since they are my cats, he was unwilling to put them up for adoption and so he continued keeping them. After some time, the cats filled his house. She uttered, ¡°Let¡¯s put the cats up for adoption.¡± Since she had said so, Michael would definitely listen to her. He had long been wanting to put this bunch of orange cats for adoption. Now that his wife gave the orders, it would only be natural for him to do so willingly. The two of them discussed the adoption matter and Carmen¡¯s performance in school today. Without them noticing, it was already 10.00PM. It was only when Cooper came over to urge her to go home that she finally left reluctantly. She walked all the way home but suddenly realized something. What was I going to talk to Michael about? Forget it; I¡¯ll just let that matter slide! In fact, after asking the parents of other children, she was told that all the parents who went for the interview had to kiss each other in public. Refusing to do so would show that the parents were not getting along well, and an inharmonious rtionship between family members would cause the child¡¯s assessment score to be deducted. On top of that, if Michael were to use his identity as the major shareholder and force the school to make an exception for Carmen, it would have been simply an insult to her. It would not be nice if words got out that her daughter had to make use of her father¡¯s influence to be epted into a mere kindergarten. Due to time constraints as Michael was going away to shoot for a movie soon, he asked the bodyguards to send Carmen to kindergarten the next day while he brought a booklet with him to Sophia¡¯s house to discuss with her about the matter of putting the cats up for adoption. ¡°This is the booklet I had asked people to prepare over the night. The names listed on it belong to people who are interested in adopting our cats. You can have a look.¡± The freshly prepared booklet, which Michael had had someone to prepare over the night, was sent to Sophia just like that. She nced at the names listed on it. Every single adopter had their respective resumes attached, which clearly disyed their identities and backgrounds. They were all people from reliable backgrounds; many of Sophia¡¯s old ssmates and friends were included in it too. The adopters were introduced in a concise manner. Everything about them was stated in the booklet, including their phone numbers and Messenger ount. It made her wonder if his high efficiency was due to his eagerness to get rid of the cats, or if he cared too much about this matter which was rted to her that he managed to gather so much information in just one night. Chapter 866 Chapter 866 After reading the booklet, Sophia said, ¡°Michael, do you have any timetely? If you do, can youe along with me to send the cats away? I would like to visit all the adopters.¡± Michael instantly understood what she meant¡ªshe had forgiven him! He would be going away for a few months for filming soon, so she would like him to spend hisst few days here with her! Therefore, he replied, ¡°Sure. I¡¯ll take you out to meet your old schoolmates and friends too. The network you built during your time in Bayside University can be useful to you now, so it¡¯s time for you to regain them.¡± It was indeed easier to talk to someone with high emotional intelligence. In fact, to Sophia, sending away the cats was just an excuse. More importantly, she would like to take this opportunity to visit her acquaintances from the past since she had beencking the opportunity to do so. Michael had been helping her to maintain herwork while she was away. He had been protecting all of her belongings on her behalf, and now, it was time for her to take over. When Sophia returned home from Michael¡¯s ce, she noticed that she had a guest. ¡°Sophia, you are back!¡± Sitting in the living room was a young man with a childish yet handsome face in his twenties. She knew him as Derek, who was Sandra¡¯s younger brother and Alex¡¯s illegitimate son. He had recently graduated from Bayside University this year and had been interning in Stanley¡¯s office. ¡°Derek, why are you here?¡± Sophia asked in surprise. He seemed shy. ¡°Sophia, you hadn¡¯te to thepanytely. Ourpany is coborating with Mr. Cooper for a case, so I¡¯m here to discuss the case with him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Come to think of it, it had been a long time since shest went to Plum Technology. With Stanley and Sean managing thepany, as well as Sarah in the marketing department, not only was thepany in order during her absence, it had been listed too. Now, she had be a major shareholder who was excused from all management duties, so she was now focusing on her career in luxury brands. ¡°It¡¯ste. You don¡¯t have to go home tonight; you can stay over.¡± Derek scratched his head, feeling a little shy. ¡°Alright!¡± However, he still drove home that night since he had to go for work the next day. Derek was taken in by Sophia. He could be considered an orphan as he had no home to return to, and both his mother and uncle had passed away. His sister refused to acknowledge his identity, while his father, Alex, might have even forgotten about his existence. Sophia took him in and gave him the opportunity to study in Bayside University. Therefore, he had been studying while working in Plum Technology all these years. Although he had just graduated, he was quite capable. After Derek had left, Cooper even praised him. ¡°Derek is a talented young man. His head is filled with creative ideas, and he has inherited his father¡¯s strengths. Unfortunately, he is very loyal to Stan, so I can¡¯t get him to work for me. I am nning to take him back into the Mitchell Family so that he can take ourst name.¡± Now that Cooper had returned, he imed himself as the Head of Mitchell Family. Although the elders refused to acknowledge him, he was certain that they would have to get on their knees and acknowledge him someday in the future. Therefore, his decision to allow Derek to return to the Mitchell Family was not a joke. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°But Dad, Derek is an illegitimate son. Isn¡¯t this against the Mitchell Family¡¯s rule?¡± Cooper was dismissive of the rule. ¡°The Mitchell Family has no such silly rules. We will ept any talent.¡± Nevertheless, he is still Alex¡¯s son¡­ but since dad wants to take Derek back into the family, why not? The next day, after Carmen went to the kindergarten, Michael came over in his car to pick Sophia up to send away the cats. Although Cooper was still disgruntled about the incident of the kindergarten interview, he did not stop her. She got in the car and saw seven or eight cats in it. Only Chrysanthemum and a few older cats were neutered and left at home; all the other kittens would be given away, except for one, which would be kept for breeding. On the other hand, she had decided not to give away any of the dogs for the moment since she did not have many of them to begin with. She only had the Cerebrus¡ªJudge and its two sons, Bubbles and Snowball, which were all kept as models. Michael took Sophia to go and visit the adopters. He had selected a few adopters together with Sophia years ago when they intended to give away the kittens once they were born, but the adoption matter had to be put on hold when the incident that involved Sophia unexpectedly happened. A whole day went by, and they managed to visit seven or eight houses in total. They hung out in each house to look around and get to know the people or recover their lost rtionships. Words had started to spread in Bayside City that Scarlett was actually Sophia. After she spilled the beans, she had long expected that it would only be a matter of time before the truth was exposed. She was also slowly preparing herself to ept her past and make contact with her past acquaintance as Sophia. Michael stayed together with Sophia for the whole day to apany her to give away the cats. After a few days, the cats were all given away; only a few ¡®retired¡¯ old cats thatcked the energy to make a mess were left at home to bask in the sun. It felt like the house had suddenly be spacious. After giving the cats away, Michael and Sophia¡¯s rtionship again returned to the stage where they could only hold each other¡¯s hands, which was still quite a distance away from kissing. Although she had let that incident slide, it must have left a deep impression on her. As someone who was good at managing his rtionship, Michael knew that it would only be a matter of time before she got sick of him if he kept appearing before her every day. Therefore, the better choice would be to maintain a little distance between them since absence made the heart grow fonder. Just when he was making preparations to go to the film studio, which was located thousands of miles away from here in the south, something happened. ns could never keep up with the changes in life. Michael suddenly received a call from the kindergarten teacher when he was packing his stuff. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, pleasee over to the kindergarten now. Carmen brought her dogs to the kindergarten in secret, and the dogs bit one of the kids. This is a serious matter!¡± At the same time, Sophia received a call about the incident as well. What¡¯s going on? Carmen brought the dogs to the kindergarten, and the dogs bit her ssmate? She turned and looked around. As expected, Judge and its two sons¡ªthe Cereberus¡ªwere nowhere to be found! Crap! Carmen really brought Judge to the kindergarten, and thetter actually bit someone? Judge had a history of biting, and on top of that, it had titanium fangs imnts. The child would sustain serious injuries if they were bitten! Harry and Sarah received simr calls as well, so they called Michael to understand the situation. Both of them said that they were told that Carmen had been leading Hope and Ashton, and together, they behaved in an overbearing and intractable manner¡ªthey bullied other students and even ordered the dog to bite others! Sophia and Michael immediately drove to the kindergarten. When Cooper found out about this, he rushed over to check out the situation as well. Upon arriving at the kindergarten, a lot of parents had arrived at the entrance. They blocked the entrance as they discussed the matter; they even pointed at Michael and the others when they arrived. Looks like this matter is a little serious¡­ The first thing that Sophia saw the moment they entered the kindergarten was a bunch of bodyguards wearing Alex¡¯s lineage¡¯s family crest. Why are Alex¡¯s people here? His bodyguards were confronting the workers of the kindergarten. The scene was quite intense. A child¡¯s cries and a woman¡¯s angry shrill echoed throughout the hall of the kindergarten. ¡°The Mitchell Family is one of the shareholders of thepany behind the kindergarten. Now that my younger brother was bitten, you need to hand us the culprit behind this! Otherwise, I will do it by force!¡± As expected, it was Sandra again, and the person who was bitten was her brother, Albert. The situation gave Sophia a tingling sensation on her scalp. Why is Sandra involved again? Chapter 867 Chapter 867 Out of so many people here, why is Sandra the one who¡¯s involved in this? The situation would be much simpler if we were dealing with other parents instead. Sigh, this won¡¯t be easy to resolve. It was Sophia and Michael who had sent Carmen to the kindergarten this morning, and they went home after that. When they reached home, the Cereberus were still making a mess in the house. It is true that we couldn¡¯t pay attention to them for the whole time, but how did they manage to go to the kindergarten to bite children? The kindergarten is located miles away from our house¡ªeven if one were to take a subway here from home, they would have to pass by three or four stations. Therefore, who brought the Cereberus over here? However, this was not a good time for her to contemte this when Sandra was crying her eyes out while yelling to take revenge for her younger brother. She demanded for the dogs to be beaten to death and the kids to be handed over to her for punishment. Currently, her men were trying to snatch the kids and dogs, but they were stopped by the kindergarten administrators. The security guards were confronting the people of the Mitchell Family. ¡°Sophia!¡± Upon noticing her presence, Sandra called her name so loudly that everyone in the hall could hear it clearly, which made them subconsciously look in the direction of Sophia and Michael. The rumors that Scarlett is actually Sophia is surprisingly true, but didn¡¯t she die three years ago? When Sophia and Cooper hurriedly arrived at the scene, Cooper and Michael¡¯s subordinates had already rushed into the kindergarten. At that moment, the kindergarten was full of people. The other parents were taken aback by the situation and moved to the side. Sandra confidently strode over to Sophia, her face filled with anger with a hint of pleasure. After all, she finally had something on Sophia and her daughter! ¡°You shoulde at me if you want anything, but why did you stoop so low by targeting a child? What¡¯s the point in doing that? You can¡¯t inherit the Mitchell Family even if your dogs had bitten my brother to death!¡± The more she yelled, the louder her voice became, which made her sound more intimidating and aggressive. With just a few sentences, her usations turned Sophia into a person who would harm a child to gain power. After all, Albert was the eldest young master of the Mitchell Family and Alex¡¯s only legitimate son, so there were many people who wanted him dead. Sophia nced at the little boy sobbing at the side. His thighs were bitten a few times and were now bandaged. She frowned. ¡°Your younger brother was so badly bitten¡ªwhy are you keeping him here? You should send him to the hospital now.¡± Sandra scoffed, ¡°Haha, I¡¯m keeping him here to question you, of course! What if you guys shift the me after I send him away?¡± Sophia did not bother to talk to her and asked the kindergarten teacher instead, ¡°What happened with the dogs? How did they run in and bite a child?¡± As she was speaking, she hurriedly went into the kindergarten. The teacher, who had no idea how it happened as well, replied, ¡°There were no dogs in the kindergarten, and we had security guards stationed at the main entrance. Therefore, it was impossible for threerge dogs toe in. However, during recess time today, I heard children crying and then saw the threerge dogs biting Al.¡± Al was Albert¡¯s nickname. Sophia seemed to have heard Carmen saying that she hated Albert. She wondered if she had sneaked the dogs into the kindergarten and asked them to bite him because she hated him. Since Judge and its two sons did not know how to take the subway, they couldn¡¯t have entered the kindergarten without the help from someone inside. The question now was¡ªhow did they get in? On top of that, this situation seemedplicated as it involved the internal conflicts of the Mitchell Family. Judge had also been used of eating humans before this. Why do they keep raising issues using dogs? Michael approached the teacher and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s my daughter?¡± Harry chimed in anxiously, ¡°How about Hope and Ashton?¡± Hale and Gwen arrived in a hurry as well. The three pairs of parents dashed into the kindergarten. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. The teacher seemed to be put on the spot. ¡°After the incident, the three kids were afraid that we would hit her dogs, so they took the dogs and hid in the sports equipment room. They are still inside now, and we dare not break the door for fear that we may injure the kids. Mr. Fletcher, please go and take a look. The dogs had just bitten a kid, so we are worried that they will bite again.¡± Hearing that, Michael¡¯s expression turned stern. The few of them then quickly rushed to the sports equipment room mentioned by the teacher. Sophia immediately went after them. Sandra quickly brought her brother and went along as well, for fear that Sophia and Michael would refuse to bear responsibility after taking away the kids and the dogs. She even brought along a few nosy parents so that everyone could witness how Michael and Sophia condoned the dogs that bit a child after biting a person to death. Arge group of people arrived at the sports equipment room on the ground floor. The bodyguards blocked the crowd to avoid them from getting too close and only allowed the three fathers to knock on the door. The kids, who had been hiding inside, were probably terrified. When the three anxious fathers reached the door, Michael first tried to call out to them gently. ¡°Carmen, my baby, I¡¯m here. Are you inside?¡± After a while, there was some movement inside. He heard the sound of footsteps as Carmen walked to the door. She did not immediately open the door but worriedly said, ¡°Daddy, Judgey bit someone again. They are going to beat Judgey to death.¡± Michael consoled her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve brought many people here. I won¡¯t allow them to beat Judgey. Can you open the door?¡± She was vignt. ¡°Let¡¯s make a pinky promise, then. You cannot hit Judgey.¡± He promised. ¡°Okay, but you have to open the door for us to make a pinky promise.¡± The door was finally opened. He saw six pairs of eyes staring intently at him when the door was opened. She reached out her little hand. ¡°Daddy, pinky promise.¡± Seeing that his baby was fine, he heaved a sigh of relief. He was afraid that Judge might lose control and bite them. He reached out his hand and made a pinky promise with the pink, little hand. After that, he pushed open the door widely and saw the scene inside. The three kids and the Cereberus were inside. Judge and its two kids seemed to have realized that they had made a mistake. Their earsy t while they kept quiet, but when they saw Michaeling in, they wagged their tails at him. This was the third time. He did not know what happened, but this was the third time Judge had gotten itself into trouble under Michael¡¯s care. Although the cause for this incident had yet to be known, Michael was a little tired from dealing with all the troubles caused by a mere dog. Therefore, he decided to send it away after this incident to prevent having to deal with future trouble. After Judge was beaten at that time, its hair was shaved off to treat its injuries, but it actually got itself into another trouble even before its hair had fully grown¡­ ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go home first.¡± The three fathers found their respective child. Looking at the three children, Sophia felt relieved that they were fine. Judge, who knew that it seemed to havended itself in trouble, approached Sophia with its earsying t while shaking its head and wagging its tail. It then bowed its head, waiting for Sophia to pet it. ¡°Silly dog, how much more trouble are you going to give me?¡± She gently patted its head, determined to send Judge to Stanley since thetter lived in a vi by the beach, which had plenty of space for Judge to run wild. ¡°Someone pleasee over and beat these three dogs to death!¡± Sandra roared, and the bodyguards of the Mitchell Family surrounded them. Judge barked at them. Sophia asked someone to grab on the dogs¡¯ leashes before saying to her, ¡°I won¡¯t let you do as you please. This is my dog. I¡¯ll pay for Al¡¯s medical fees!¡± Upon hearing that Sophia would pay for the fees, Sandra knew that the former was afraid of escting the matter, so she barked, ¡°Pay? How are you going to pay? My brother is the eldest young master of the Mitchell Family; your child and dogs are insignificantpared to him. Hand over your child and dogs to me! Otherwise, I won¡¯t let this matter slide!¡± Though Sandra was spewing nonsense, Sophia, who was at a disadvantage, did not bother to find fault in what she said since it was her dogs who were in the wrong in the first ce for biting another person. However, Ashton suddenly chimed in, ¡°But Judgey bit Al because he tried to take off Carmen¡¯s pants¡­¡± Chapter 868 Chapter 868 Michael was holding Carmen¡¯s hand as they were about to leave when he stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing it. He turned his head back and stared at Ashton, his eyes welled with raging fury. He was still a gentle, loving father two seconds ago before his raw furor got the better of him. ¡°Ashton¡­ what did you just say?¡± Ashton was taken aback by the sudden outburst of Michael¡¯s rage, but he hugged his father¡¯s leg and summoned the courage to speak the truth. ¡°Al had lifted Mel and Lulu¡¯s skirts before, and this time, he tried to take off Carmen¡¯s pants!¡± Hope, who was in Harry¡¯s arms, suddenly blurted out, ¡°Judgey was right to bite Al. Mommy said those who lift girls¡¯ skirts are bad people, and bad people deserve to be bitten!¡± After both toddlers spoke their minds, the room was momentarily silent. A sudden realization hit Sophia as her face turned pale and tears streamed down her face beyond control. Michael felt his body trembling before he quietly carried Carmen into the sports equipment room, leaving everyone outside. No one was allowed to enter except Sophia and Sarah. In the equipment room, Sophia held Carmen softly and asked, ¡°Baby, about what Ashton and Hope said earlier, was it true? Did Al try to take off your pants?¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen was still in shock over what happened earlier today. With a face filled with pity, she looked at her mother and nodded as she answered, ¡°He even took off other kids¡¯ pants and skirts. He tried to do the same to me yesterday, but I didn¡¯t let him, and then Hope and Ashton beat him up. Daddy said not to let others take off my skirt. Only bad people do that. I went home and told Judgey, so it brought its puppies to bite Al.¡± Sophia listened to Carmen with sighs between her breaths. She felt as if her body had frozen from the disturbing realization of what had happened. Michael, who was standing next to her, grimaced in silence. ¡°Come, Carmen. Let me see,¡± whispered Sophia as she carefully lifted Carmen¡¯s skirt with her pale, trembling hands and saw a white-colored shorts with bear prints. Carmen then raised her skirt further and revealed her stomach. She pointed at two scratch marks on her tummy and thighs, which was thankfully not deep, and said, ¡°Here, look at this, and this. Al and Daryl kept wanting me to take my pants off, but I wouldn¡¯t let them. So they kept forcing me, and I got scratched. Judgey then came in and bit Al.¡± Michael also observed the two scratch marks on Carmen¡¯s tummy and thigh. They looked shallow and were probably made by children. He kept gazing at them, not realizing that the veins on his forehead were popping out. No one had any idea how a trivial matter like this drove him to his wit¡¯s end. It might have been an innocent prank among children who did not know better, but on a serious note, it was an immoral act of perversion! Sophia shared a dark past simr to this when she was younger. The pain and trauma never left her until her adulthood. Such a painful experience sent her spiralling into a depressive episode, which took her a long time to recover from. She was this close to going back out to clobber that little monster there and then. However, she held herposure and nted a kiss on Carmen¡¯s cheeks. She then turned to Michael and uttered, ¡°Michael, please bring Carmen to get checked at the hospital. As for those that are outside¡­ I¡¯ll take care of them.¡± Michael paused for several seconds before moving over to carry Carmen from Sophia¡¯s arms. He took a couple of steps toward the door before he turned back abruptly and gave his wife a hug as he said, ¡°Wait for me toe home.¡± After that, he continued his way out as his vision got blurred by his tears. Carmen was leaning on her father¡¯s shoulders when she waved at Sophia. ¡°Bye-bye, Mommy.¡± Sophia let out a forced smile and replied, ¡°I will see you in a bit, baby.¡± The father and daughter strolled off as they chatted. ¡°Daddy, are you still angry at Judgey for biting Al?¡± ¡°No, not at all. Next time, if someone ever bullies you again, don¡¯t send Judgey¡ªtell me instead. I will come and bite them myself.¡± Outside the sports equipment room, Sandra was causing amotion. She spoke aloud to the crowd. ¡°Scarlett Mitchell is Sophia Edwards! She faked her death three years ago to scam her insurance company, and now, she¡¯se back with another identity! She weaseled her way into the Mitchell Family and took over Old Master Mitchell¡¯s fortune. She even tried to put her name into our family tree! After my father exposed both her and her father¡¯s plot, they¡¯ve started toy their hands on my brother now!¡± Although the other parents had no idea what had happened between both families, what remained everyone¡¯s concern was the fact that Sophia¡¯s dog had injured Albert. This incident had made it worse for Cooper in the midst of the civil rivalry within the Mitchell Family. Cooper stood quietly outside the sports equipment room. He no longer paid attention to all the words that Sandra was spewing to the crowd for he had seen his fair share of pointless provocations in his life. All he cared about at that moment was his beloved granddaughter. Soon after, the door from the equipment room opened, whereupon Michael walked out with Carmen in his arms. Carmen gently called out to Cooper. ¡°Grandpa.¡± Even a stoic man like Cooper could not resist Carmen¡¯s tender voice. He instantly turned in her direction and said, ¡°Carmen, baby, how are you feeling? Do you feel pain anywhere? If you do, you have to tell me, Daddy, or Mommy!¡± Carmeny on Michael¡¯s shoulder and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel pain anymore, but I¡¯m hungry.¡± Michael, whose face was still stone-cold, said to Cooper, ¡°Hey, Cooper, I¡¯ll leave this matter here to you. I¡¯m bringing Carmen to the hospital for a check-up.¡± Cooper never said another word and nodded before he ordered someone to escort Michael out. Sandra saw Michael leaving and hurriedly caught up with him. ¡°Stop right there. Hand me the child!¡± Michael sped up his steps and headed right out of the kindergarten to get into his car, which headed to the hospital without further dy. Sandra stomped her heels and cried out, ¡°Do you think you all can get away with this? You¡¯ve hurt my brother, and our family will not let this pass!¡± Sophia stood aimlessly in the equipment room. All that was in her mind was the two scratch marks on her poor baby¡¯s tummy and thighs. She could feel the pain from those scratch marks in her very own heart. Her daughter was barely three years old. How could they hurt her like that?! Sarah tried to console her and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry. Hope said he¡¯d beaten up that kid!¡± But she knew for a fact that she was unsure of how best to make her friend feel better. It was a good thing that Sophia had forgotten everything in the past. The Sophia she knew back then might have looked happy and cheerful every day, but only Sarah knew that she had been relying on antidepressants to keep herself going. Her childhood trauma had affected her life for the most part. Those who had depression always kept to themselves and battled their pain quietly on their own up until the day they could no longer keep up and would eventually break into pieces all of a sudden. Cooper rushed in and saw Sophia still in a trance. He quickly asked, ¡°Darling, are you okay?¡± His greatest fear was to see both his babies get hurt. His baby daughter had suffered greatly since childhood, and he was worried that she would recall those miserable memories and suffer everything in one go. Sophia let out a smile and reassured her father. ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t you worry.¡± She walked out of the equipment room with Sarah and saw Sandra still yelling and shouting at the entrance. ¡°Sophia, Sarah, look at what your kids have done to my brother! You owe me an exnation today!¡± Her brother was still crying beside her. He was in his summer shorts due to the warm weather, so one could see several wounds on his thighs and arms, which were bandaged. On his face, there were a few light imprints of a hand, which suggested he had gotten ps on the cheek. He was evidently frightened and wished to return home, but Sandra insisted that he stayed put. He continued to cry in fear as his sister screamed at the crowd. This time, it was Sophia¡¯s turn to direct her tear-filled eyes back at Sandra, her stare red with a beastly wrath. ¡°An exnation? I will give you an exnation now!¡± Chapter 869 Chapter 869 You want an exnation?! I¡¯ll give you one! Sophia strode toward Sandra. Sandra saw Sophia walking in her direction. Thetter¡¯s blue eyes were stone cold and filled with a murderous intent that was so strong that Sandra could sense it even before she got close. Sandra apprehensively retreated and ordered both her security guards to step in between Sophia and her to ensure her safety. But Sandra¡¯s sense of security was short-lived. Sophia gestured her hand, and the Mitchell family¡¯s henchmen pushed Sandra¡¯s guards aside before forming a human wall, covering both women in a circle. Intimidated and lost for words, Sandra kept stepping back as Sophia closed in on her. ¡°What, now? Are you scared? Didn¡¯t you ask for an exnation orpensation? Here I am now, so come and get your exnation!¡± Sophia¡¯s voice echoed over Sandra¡¯s. Her presence was overpowering as she marched closer toward Sandra, emanating a threatening sense of bloodthirsty rage. At this moment, Cooper stayed still as he observed how his daughter confronted Sandra. The Mitchell family would have to be reunited eventually, and Sophia, being the firstborn daughter of her generation in the family, would have to face Sandra one day. That day had now arrived. Realizing she was cornered, Sandra held on to the belief that she was the rightful heir to the throne and summoned the courage to face Sophia by straightening her back and doubling down on her dominating presence. She knew better than anyone else who she was facing within that man-made circle. ¡°Sophia, my brother¡¯s injury report will be out very soon. Take my advice and hand over those little sh*ts, or else¡­¡± Sophia crossed her arms as she took a step forward and said, ¡°My child was not in the wrong, and neither was my dog. Your brother deserved every single bit of it! ording to the Mitchell¡¯s family tree, my daughter is two generations ahead of you and your brother in seniority. Her beating your brother up was just her teaching him a lesson in basic manners as a grandaunt!¡± Sophia threw a nce at Sandra¡¯s brother, who had dog bites all over his limbs and a swollen face. He had lost his voice from all the crying. All children were born innocent and uncorrupted. This child was almost the same age as her daughter, so Sophia found it hard to believe that a young human being could be capable of such a malicious act. Unless it was taught to him by someone¡­ Sophia reverted her gaze back at Sandra and raised her voice. ¡°Your brother went around in the kindergarten lifting other girls¡¯ skirts and forcing them to remove their pants for him. Shouldn¡¯t he be taught a lesson? He¡¯s doing such a terrible thing at such a young age; he even has the cheek to intrude on other girls¡¯ dignity. Imagine what he would do when he grows up! Since you are doing such a poor job as a sister to educate your brother on how to be a decent human being, don¡¯t me others for doing a better job for you!¡± Upon hearing Sophia¡¯s words, all the parents at the kindergarten were startled. Those with daughters immediately held their children tight within their arms. Al was taking off girls¡¯ skirts?! Sandra let out a scoff and said nonchntly, ¡°My brother¡¯s only three. Do you expect a three-year-old to understand these things? He can¡¯t even tell if he¡¯s a boy or a girl. So what if the kids were ying and lifting each others¡¯ skirts? Kids aren¡¯t aware of these things; so what if he lifted your daughter¡¯s skirt? She probably wasn¡¯t aware of it either! Sophia, don¡¯t you try to change the topic. Tell me¡ªhow are you going topensate us for my brother¡¯s injury?¡± At this moment, Sophia was more than certain that the child¡¯s uneptable behaviour was condoned. Every time Carmen returned from school, she would tell Sophia about all the new friends she had made in the kindergarten. Yet whenever Albert¡¯s name came up, Hope and Ashton had nothing but negative things to say about him. It might bemon for a child to dislike another, but what if the entire ss expressed the same dislike for Albert? Sophia seemed to have connected the dots. She red at Sandra and uttered, ¡°Seems to me¡­ you¡¯re doing this on purpose.¡± Everything made sense under all that guise. ¡°Deep down, you know what you are and where you stand in your family. We both know how you were able to take up the position of the eldest daughter in the Mitchell family. But I know your ambitions do not stop there, not just as the eldest daughter. No¡ªyou want more than that, and this brother of yours is your biggest threat!¡± Sandra felt as if someone had dug out her little ck book and read her deepest, darkest secrets aloud to everyone. Her breath staggered as her heart raced, but she maintained a steady look and retorted, ¡°What nonsense are you spewing?! Threat? I don¡¯t even know what the hell you¡¯re going on about!¡± Sophia¡¯s deep, knowing gaze from her bright, blue eyes saw through her act instantly. Albert was Sandra¡¯s younger stepbrother. He was born after Sandra reced thete Natasha as Alex¡¯s daughter. Alex had spent much effort to groom and nurture Natasha, but she fell short of his expectations. When he managed to bear a younger son, Natasha strangled him to death. Even though heter brought Sandra in, he still needed an heir. Even if Alex had no qualms with an illegitimate child, his wife was unwilling to ept him. That was why they had to bear another son as soon as they could. Rumor had it that both Alex and his wife almost lost their lives to safely have Albert through surrogacy. When Albert was grown, Sandra would lose everything that she had and return to square one. She was just a recement after all, and everything that she was supposed to have would naturally be taken away by her stepbrother, the legitimate heir of the family. But what if this legitimate heir grew up unfit to lead the family? What if he was ¡®groomed and nurtured¡¯ from a young age to be like his sister, who was notorious for getting into constant trouble? ¡°Deny it all you want, but I think you know very well what¡¯s going on, Sandra!¡± Sophia spat as she advanced toward Sandra with a cold crooked smile. ¡°Let me tell you this¡ªI don¡¯t care how you educate your brother, but if the way you bring him up results in him harming my daughter in any way, I wille after you.¡± Sandra was exasperated. She had spent all these years climbing up the ranks in the family, but she knew how she got this opportunity handed to her in the first ce. She felt all sense of guilt when facing Sophia until a sudden thought struck her. Upon that, she let out a hystericalugh to ovee her guilt earlier and retaliated with a snide remark. ¡°Your daughter used my brother of lifting her skirt. Who is to say that she wasn¡¯t the one who shamelessly unted what¡¯s beneath her skirt in front of him?¡± She then stepped up to Sophia with a vicious smile. ¡°After all, children mimic their parents, especially since she¡¯s a three-year-old. She¡¯s probably a shameless wh*re, taking after her mother.¡± This set off a fatal trigger in Cooper, who was observing quietly among the crowd. She had been testing his patience, and this was the final straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. Sophia did not need to look back to know that her father was infuriated. She hastily turned around and stopped her father, who was about to charge into the circle, with the raise of her hand. She uttered calmly, ¡°Daddy, there are some things that I need to face on my own. You cannot protect me forever. Let me handle it this time, okay?¡± The seething anger in Cooper¡¯s eyes died down, and he silently adhered. His daughter had grown strong enough to stand up for herself. His heart ached for her. With her father¡¯s nod as a blessing, Sophia smiled and drew in a deep breath before heading back to face Sandra. Sandra thought her verbal attack had hit Sophia where it hurt most, so she gleefully amped up her provocation by saying, ¡°Sophia, do you think that, just by feigning your death, everyone would forget about your scandalous past? Everyone here knows what you are made of and what you have under all that.¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Her eyebrows danced with amusement as everyone recalled that controversial moment when Sophia¡¯s nude photos were discovered and shared all over the inte. Everyone in Cethos could clearly ¡®see¡¯ what she was made of. Sandra was probably still the same as she ever was, but Sophia was no longer the timid little girl she once was. Step by step, she marched up to Sandra with a stoic expression, while the tension surrounding her reached an all-time high. ¡°Sandra, I know very well what I¡¯m made of, without a doubt. As for what you¡¯re made of, everyone shall soon see it too!¡± Barely a second after she was done talking, Sophia darted toward Sandra in a couple of steps and grabbed her skirt by the waist. Before Sandra realized what was to ensue, Sophia pulled her skirt together with her underwear down in public! ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say there¡¯s nothing wrong with looking underneath skirts? What if I show everyone what¡¯s underneath your skirt too?¡± Chapter 870 Chapter 870 What Sophia had done was something no one sawing. Scarlett, the daughter of Cooper Mitchell, actually pulled the skirt of Sandra in public! Sandra was wearing a top to match her skirt that day. The thin fabric hugged closely to her athletic body,plementing her graceful figure. With an unexpected downward yank from Sophia, both the skirt and underwear slid down below her knees. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Sandra¡¯s shriek broke the silence that once filled the hall moments before that. She frantically reached for her skirt and pulled it up. s, that undue sight was already etched in the minds of everyone in the crowd. Be it tanned or fair, au natural or shaved, that marked the eventful day where everyone found out what Sandra of the Mitchell family was made of¡ªunder her skirt, for that matter. Sufficient to say, she had ¡®tended her garden¡¯ quite immactely. Sandra pulled her skirt up as she charged toward Sophia while bellowing, ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you! You¡¯re so dead!¡± As she pulled her skirt back onto her waist, she pounced at Sophia with clenched fists. Sophia had shamefully exposed both the front and rear of her groin and robbed her of her rational mind at that very instant. Her dignity, pride, and self-esteem were all shredded to bits in a matter of seconds. The sudden reveal of the most sacred part of her body left nothing to the imagination for the crowd. Having expected Sandra to fight back, Sophia rolled her sleeves up and lunged at her, lifting her skirt whenever it was within her reach. Michael used to remark that she never resorted to disrobing her opponent back when she engaged in a catfight with the mistress. Today, she had outdone herself. Sandra used to be an athlete, but she had retired for quite some time. The following years living under the care of the Mitchell family had been a bed of roses for her. Naturally, she no longer continued her training forpetitions, for her choice of profession as an athlete was merely a stepping stone for her to marry into a wealthy family. Since bearing the Mitchell family name, she no longer saw the need to slog her guts out at the training pool. On the other hand, Sophia had been living in a war-torn area for several recent years. She was forced to keep her vitality and physique in its best form, or she could lose her life anytime. The scale of the catfight was obviously tipped. Sophia had Sandra pinned down on the ground with her foot on her back while she yanked Sandra¡¯s skirt and tore it, including her underwear. All the parents at the scene were at a loss for words. They could do nothing except to bear witness to one of the most unusual catfights between twodies from the Mitchell family; they were rolling and tumbling on the floor while tearing clothes off of each other. In the midst of Sandra¡¯s painful and angry screams, Sophia¡¯s merciless roar cut through the commotion. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that lifting skirts was just a small matter for girls? Your brother lifted my daughter¡¯s skirt, so why shouldn¡¯t I let you have a taste of it?! Why are you crying? What are you shouting for? Look at how pathetic you are right now! Come on, Sandra Oak. Let everyone see what you¡¯re made of. We didn¡¯t have a clear picture the first time around, so let¡¯s have a rerun!¡± Sophia roared at the top of her lungs. The parents who had daughters felt vindicated. Who said little girls were naive and clueless? Who said little girls wouldn¡¯t feel bad when their skirts were lifted? Sandra¡¯s men intended to step in to rescue her from the humiliation, but they were up against a barricade of men twice their numbers from Cooper and Michael¡¯s gang. None of them were able toN?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. move in to interfere, so they could only watch the tussle helplessly. After having attempted to struggle and free herself, Sandra was gassed out to the point she could barely fight back. Her skirt was nearly destroyed as she howled while still clinging on to it for dear life. Sophia grabbed Sandra¡¯s hair and dragged her toward Albert. The three-year-old Albert was already stunned as he stared nkly at his own sister being pinned on the floor and having her skirt yanked and torn. Sophia shoved Sandra, who was crying hysterically with her face drenched in tears, in front of Albert. She grabbed the skirt which Sandra was still grasping on and gave it one final tug. Sandra then let out onest scream and descended into helpless cries of despair. ¡°You little sh*t, did you see that? Girls in skirts and dresses do not like themselves being exposed! I¡¯ll let you off this time, but you¡¯d better remember this. If you ever dare to do anything indecent like that again, I promise you I¡¯lle over and beat you up just like how I beat your sister!¡± Albert shut his mouth in fear and stopped his crying at once while nodding profusely. Since the day he was born, he had been doted on by Alex and condoned by Sandra for his spoiled behavior. That was his first taste of reality, and the incident had left him scarred for life. This was a life-changing event for Albert, for it resulted in him feeling traumatized for life when it came to removing girls¡¯ skirts. He then discovered his newfound interest in taking off mens¡¯ pants instead¡­ After she was finally done with Sandra, Sophia exhaled lightly and elegantly before she stood up to tidy her ruffled clothing. Luckily, she wore jeans that day. Sandray on the floor as she held whatever was left of her skirt and yelled in between sobs, ¡°Sophia Edwards, the Mitchell family will not forgive you for this! I will kill you! I will bury you six feet under with my own bare hands!¡± Sophia took out her mirror and checked her messy hair above her ears and noticed some sweat on her face. She nced at Sandra, who was lying on the floor in the sorriest state one could ever be in, while mockingly imitating her tone and arching her eyebrows as she said, ¡°Had you not shamelessly unted what¡¯s beneath your skirt in front of me earlier, why would I have took off your skirt?¡± Sandra raised her head and red at her. At this moment, Sandra¡¯s men finally managed to rush to her rescue. They took off their suits and wrapped them around her. As she was taken away, Sandra could be heard yelling from afar, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you! You¡¯re so, so dead!¡± Sophia scoffed and heaved. ¡°Sorry, but you cannot kill me. I¡¯ve only given you a few ps, which is nothing close to harming your vital organs. You can sue me forpensation, though. Go ahead and sue me; I¡¯ve got all the money. Tell me how much to pay you, and I¡¯ll do it. But if you ever say something to disrespect me again, this won¡¯t be thest time you get hit by me!¡± After Sandra was out of sight, Sophia turned back and gazed at Albert. Albert was Alex¡¯s boy. Having only been born when Alex was nearing the age of fifty, he was undoubtedly the apple of his eye. Upon taking a closer look, she noticed how he shared quite some resemnce with Derek. They were both Alex¡¯s sons after all. Seeing her switching her gaze into a fierce re, Albert felt his knees shaking violently as his bodyguards escorted him away. The dust had settled and the crowd had dispersed, yet they were all still discussing what had happened earlier. The event was reiterated as a domestic affair within the Mitchell family. A scoundrel of a grandniece condoned the bad behavior of another scoundrel of a grandnephew, resulting in him assaulting the modesty of his grandaunt. Consequently, the grandaunt¡¯s mother got so mad she taught said grandniece a lesson by giving her a taste of her own medicine. One would argue that it was an entertaining performance, to say the least. Since the kindergarten administration decided not to pursue this matter, Sophia strutted out of the premises scot-free. On the way to the hospital, Michael called to inform her that Carmen was fine, except for the minor scratches on her tummy and thigh. They then headed home for food as she was hungry. Sophia exhaled a sigh of relief and headed back home. Just then, Cooper picked up a phone call from Alex. From the sound of it, Alex was furious. Cooper waited for his rant to end and replied tly, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s just a trivial matter. Little kids ying with each other¡¯s clothes¡ªnothing serious really. The kids didn¡¯t know better. Your son lifted my granddaughter¡¯s skirt, so my daughter lifted your daughter¡¯s skirt. We¡¯re even now. Goodbye.¡± Sophia covered her mouth as she chuckled. She then studied the Cereberus in front of her. Judge and its two puppies were covered in grass and mud. They had probably crawled through a hole to get into the kindergarten. She could not exin how the three of them, who were stationed at home, managed to travel all the way to the kindergarten to bite Albert. Did they learn how to take the public bus? They¡¯d have to ride for at least three to four stations to get there! Even the slightest distraction would throw these three hounds from hell out of their focus. How were they able to get specifically to the kindergarten? Not to mention, the security at the establishment is quite tight. This matter had been temporarily filed as a cold case until the next day when Stanley heard about it and insisted on finding out the truth by retrieving the video yback from the camera on Judge¡¯s cor, which held the truth to all the suspense¡­ Chapter 871 Chapter 871 When Stanley found out that his furkid had gotten itself in trouble again by biting someone at the kindergarten this time, he rushed over to the Fletcher residence. Judge had been hoodwinked twice for biting people. If it scored a hat trick this time around, it would definitely drive Stanley mad. Judge¡¯s dog-walking log tracker recorded its daily activities and whereabouts. It proved to be a handy tool that helped them tremendously thest time. Inspired by Stanley, Michael also installed the same monitoring device on his pets just to keep abreast with their daily adventures. Thanks to this dog walking log tracker, Judge was once again vindicated of its assault charges that were uncalled for. They sifted through the Cereberus¡¯ tracking logs from the past few days to be analyzed, and they discovered that the trio had already been hanging around nearby the kindergarten just within days after Carmen started school. As robots, Nichs and Shae would follow a specific duration and route that was pre-programmed to complete their daily dog walking tasks. The Cereberus would need to be walked a few miles a day in order to tire them out. Otherwise, they would have made good use of that excess energy to wreak havoc at home. Linus was the one who programmed the walking route, while Nichs and Shae were the ones performing the job. No one noticed that the dog walking route had been secretly altered! All this while since the program had been tampered with, Nichs had been walking the dogs near the kindergarten. They circled around from the front entrance to the alley with a dead-end at the back. Over there was a tree with a dog hole below it, which was connected to an abandonedwn in the kindergarten! At 10.00AM every morning, Nichs would walk the dogs to the dog hole, and Carmen would call from thewn on the other side. The dogs began digging the hole for two days until they managed to make a tunnel wide enough for them to travel in and out of the kindergarten conveniently. When the three hellhounds surfaced on the other side, it could be seen that thewn was unupied, and so it became their secret base. Carmen, Hope, and Ashton would always be waiting inside; one smuggled the dogs in while the other would be in charge of the lookout, and thest one would give outmands as she coordinated the operation. As the video yback speed was sped up to 24 times, it could be observed that Carmen was smuggling the dogs in for the first few days just to y with them. Once they had their fun, the dogs would then return home. However, as time passed, other children at the kindergarten were fascinated by the humongous canines and came over to pet them as well. The dogs gained poprity within a mere two days. As more children began lining up discreetly to pet the dogs, Carmen decided to turn it into a money-making venture. She charged 1 dor for a pet on the head, 2 for petting from the head all the way to the tail, and 3 for petting all three dogs together. They¡¯d even get half price for the second petting, and 10 for a weekly pass of unlimited petting. Any banknotes above 10 were not epted, simply because the cashier could not calcte more than two digits yet. Ever since then, Carmen was in charge of the money while Hope was the dog keeper, and Ashton was responsible for maintaining order by making sure the children were lining up ordingly. Michael could not believe his eyes when he watched his daughter conscientiously counting the banknotes in the video. The children were running a high-risk business with lucrative gains, for their underground operation could have been jeopardized by the kindergarten security at any time. For a startup with next to no capital to earn a daily revenue of over 100, even their loose change was already a sizable stack of banknotes. At the end of every hard day¡¯s work, they would distribute the profits. Carmen only knew how to count up to ten as the total revenue of over 100 was clearly out of her arithmetical capabilities. Hence, she used the oldest method in the book and split everyone¡¯s share by handing out note by note until the pot was empty. Heeding her conscience, she took out a small share from hers and gave it to the dogs as a bonus. As the venture grew, Carmen began exploring different business models, such as Husky petting on odd days, Samoyed petting on even days, with the asional special appearance of the Bedlington Terrier. Even the Giant Poodle, which was toorge to pass through the dog hole, was avable for petting¡ª the clients were to make their upfront payment at the kindergarten, and Carmen would then arrange for them to pet it at her house. Meanwhile, the Giant Poodle that was sponsored by Hope had a petting fee of 3 dors, which yielded a higher premium than other dogs. The petting business continued to flourish, so Carmen stepped up to recruit specialized teams under her employment. There was the lookout team and the security team to maintain order; they would receive a certain sry by the end of each day. Watching the yback up till then, the adults froze in disbelief. No wonder Carmen¡¯s arithmetic skills had improvedtely; no wonder there had been a number of children who came over to pet the dogs; no wonder the Bedlington Terrier¡¯s hip turned bald! Everyone shifted their gaze to the three unsuspecting toddlers, who were ying with sand outside the house. How are toddlers their age capable of such business acumen? At the final part of the video yback, they had arrived at the climax. It was the day before they closed theirst petting sale and finalized their earnings for the day. Having done that enough times, Carmen had a rough idea of how much she could make. With a lollipop dangling from the corner of her mouth, she looked like a seasoned hustler as she masterfully split the cash and gave them out to her partners and employees. Not forgetting the dogs, she slipped her share and theirs into the zipped pocket in her pants with bear prints, looking like a seasoned businesswoman. Suddenly, Albert and a few of his friends came over and immediately went ahead with their prank. They lifted Carmen¡¯s skirt up and attempted to remove her pants. In a fit of anger, Carmen fought back with a hard p on his face and yelled at him, but that did not deter Albert for long. He giggled as he continued to lift her skirt and tried to remove her pants, which were filled with wads of cash. Judging from his movements, it was not his first time doing it to girls. That further escted Carmen¡¯s wrath. She grabbed Albert and gave him a good beating. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. It was unfortunate that the video yback had no audio recorded. All that could be seen was Carmen¡¯s lips wiggling as she scolded Albert, while her nimble handsnded countless ps on him, leaving him crying. At her orders, Hope and Ashton effortlessly pinned Albert and his friends down on the ground as they squirmed in pain. It was exactly the same way Sophia pinned Sandra down on the floor yesterday. When they were done, Albert retreated to a corner to cry while the three children regrouped to start a discussion. Carmen gnawed on her lollipop with a solemn contemtion on her expression, which was a contradictory look for her age. Sophia was guessing that they were formting a convincing exnation for the teachers when they found out what happened. Atst, they seemed to havee up with a solution and turned to look at the three hellhounds. Carmen then pulled Albert over while Hope held on to Judge and opened its mouth, revealing its rows of sharp teeth. He then pulled Albert¡¯s arm over into Judge¡¯s mouth and imprinted its teeth on his forearm. By repeating another bite mark on Albert¡¯s leg without breaking his skin, they effectively framed the poor canine for something it did not do. It also proved that the bandages Sandra wrapped around her brother¡¯s limbs were grossly exaggerated, with the aim to escte the drama. As they were imprinting the second round of Judge¡¯s dental marks on Albert, the teachers heard his cries and tracked it to the abandonedwn. They wasted no time in shutting down their secret base and covered up the dog hole. In a state of panic, Carmen led the dogs into the sports equipment room and waited for her parents toe. Now that the mystery was solved, everyone felt an awkward mix of feelings. Michael was dumbfounded, for it reminded him of the first time he witnessed from the control room how Sophia fought with a misfit girl in the bathroom. He recalled the pitiful expression on Carmen¡¯s face when he found her in the sports equipment room and realized he had truly fallen for his daughter¡¯s masterful acting. My goodness¡­ She really took after her mother¡ªthey¡¯re like wolves in sheeps¡¯ clothing! She¡¯s acting all nice and sweet at home, but she¡¯s behaving like a seasoned hustler at the kindergarten! Sophia, on the other hand, was filled with relief. She was d that her daughter¡¯s modesty was not compromised, and Albert got what he deserved for crossing boundaries. He had had it easy as the injuries were not as severe as they imed to be. If he ever dared repeat it again, she would send her Bedlington Terrier to break his arm! Cooper was also surprised to find his granddaughter to be such a streetwise kid. Streetwise is good; that way, she won¡¯t be easily taken advantage of. Stanley jumped up with displeasure after the video ended. ¡°Sophia, look at your daughter¡ªshe¡¯s been exploiting my furkids for her hustle! And she even framed it! Worst still, he even got the smallest share! All of you¡­ give back my son his money, right now, immediately, all of them!¡± Chapter 872 Chapter 872 The biggest concern that Linus had was searching for the person who altered the program for the dog walking route. Although it was not rocket science, all that was needed for several parameters to be reset. However, in order to do that, basic technical skills for runningputer programs were still needed as the person would need to login and search for the correct program to do so¡ªsomething that a child who struggled to add and subtractplex numbers could do. Moreover, not everyone had ess to Nichs¡¯ controls. One needed to log in with his administrator password to adjust the functions and moreover, the perpetrator even deleted all the logs recording the changes made. Nobody knew how Nichs¡¯ dog walking route had been tampered with. They shot a nce at the three children ying in the mud and broke out in cold sweat. When Stanley heard about the news, hepletely lost hisposure. ¡°This is the third time! The third f*cking time! What has my kid done to deserve your treatment? You are all animals¡ªno, worse than that!¡± His furkid had been merely minding its own business, but both Faye and the Mitchells manipted the dog to hurt others. Not only did Carmen have the nerve to frame Judge for attacking children, Sophia even made the husky model at her shop to boost the sales of her dog cors and chains. Only God knew how much revenue Judge brought in for her and all he received for his hard work was a pat on his head¡ªand nothing else. This is too much! To quell Stanley¡¯s incessant rant, the children¡¯s fathers conducted a search for the ck money from the little mob¡¯s underground business and redistributed it¡ªJudge took half the share as he was rightly deserving of it while the other half was evenly shared by the three musketeers. Carmen, who was feeling unjustified, whipped out her little book where she had recorded the dog¡¯s performance. The husky was duly paid with pets that he received on his head and the urrence of his tail wagging. She raised her fingers and counted his payout¡ªeach of them as per the pay ratio and precise to the decimal point. The sry she paid Judge was fair¡ªno more, no less! After that, Judge was fired from herpany and he was not allowed to mingle with them anymore. Stanley left with his dog¡¯s pay and brought him to his beach vi. I¡¯m angry! I¡¯m noting back! With a cold case being solved, it meant that her dog petting empire was ruined and her secret base was exposed. She was furious and even declined to drink her milk until Cooper dug up about 200 in loose change and told her that Stan had returned it out of guilt. She counted the amount and only fell asleep after she was satisfied. After seeing that Carmen had fallen asleep, Sophia gently exited the room and saw that Linus was still studying Nichs and Shae. It had perplexed him to learn that all of the logs had been eradicated and the robots¡¯ dog walking routes were changed. Even after much observation, he failed to discover the perpetrator. Cooper also took the matter seriously and personally investigated it. Linus had hacked Nichs using a backdoor method to monitor Sophia at her residence many years ago, but Cooper had since blocked that ess. However, as Cooper still held the passcode to it, the ess was not temporarily removed. It was only inactive and served as a folder for memory backups. He had almost forgotten about the backup folder and now that he did, he immediately retrieved the files from there and discovered the log change. Indeed, someone had logged in with Linus¡¯ ount and password to alter the parameters of the dog walking route beforepletely removing their trace. It was such a pity that the perpetrator was unaware of the backup function. The backup had a video recording of the perpetrator¡ªit was Carmen with her lollipop dangling from the corner of her mouth, wearing the expression of a seasoned operator as she adeptly changed Nichs¡¯ parameters. Linus had enjoyed having Carmen¡¯spany when he did maintenance work on Nichs and Shae. He even demonstrated to her how he did it, thinking that she was too young to grasp what it was all about. Little was he aware that she had secretly learned all of his methods, altered the dog walking program on her own, led the dogs to her kindergarten, and ultimately built her dog petting business. What she never expected was her perfect crime to be exposed. Carmen had roughly known that the days of her illegal venture were numbered since day one, so she made as much as she could on a daily basis. In the imminent event that she was caught, she could at least y dumb and get out of trouble scot-free. She had almost escaped unscathed with the incidents of Judge biting children and her beating Albert up, but a little girl like her had missed out on one important loophole to her wed n. Sophia felt as if she was beginning to know her daughter all over again. Beneath Carmen¡¯s sweet, innocent looks, she was already a tyrant who exploited her employees. Imagine what she would be capable of when she grows up! On the other hand, Cooper felt like Christopher Columbus when he first discovered America and developed a newfound admiration for his vicious little granddaughter. Not bad; she takes after me! Now that the mystery had been resolved, Sophia saw that Michael loitered in front of her house. He looked like he had something to tell her, but was hesitant to do so. He paced back and forth in front of Vi No. 2 as his shadow blended with and departed from the shade under the trees. The scent of tobo filled the air around him. Sophia had never recalled seeing Michael smoke in front of her and never knew that he maintained that habit. Donning her sleeping robe, she went out the door. As she arrived at the trees not far from her garden, there were mosquitoes flying around. The sweet, captivating scent of her fragrance found its way to him with the help of the evening breeze, causing him to finally stop in his tracks before he walked to her with his head hung low. The both of them faced each other, but said nothing. He had a lot on his mind, butcked the courage to voice his thoughts. Finally, Sophia broke the silence by raising her hand and pping his cheek, leaving a fresh handprint on his cheek. Michael felt a sting on his cheek, but he did not react. Instead, he lowered his head in shame and replied with guilt, ¡°I¡¯m sorry; it is my fault that I failed to protect Carmen and you. I have failed as a father and a husband.¡± He considered that he failed as a father when Carmen was almost bullied in school. If it had not been for his own negligence, Sophia could have avoided being hurt for the second time and would not be depressed. He deserved the p from Sophia! Sophia frowned and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? I was merely killing that mosquito on your face.¡± She then opened her palm to reveal the disfigured carcass of a mosquito buried in the messy puddle of Michael¡¯s blood. A stunned Michael fell into silence. Following that, they both sat down on a long bench where Sophia took her insect repellent to spray on his face. His mind was clouded by his numerous thoughts and woes that he was oblivious to the mosquito bite on his face¡ªwhere a bump had begun to rise from that bite. Stter! Sophia attentively sprayed and rubbed the repellent on Michael¡¯s face before noticing several more bumps across his body. ¡°Look at you¡ªthere are many mosquitoes flying around us. What are you doing out here and getting yourself bitten by them? There are mosquitoes and you never killed them yourself. Look here¡­ and here¡­ as well as here¡ªthere are bumps all over!¡± As she spoke, she pinched his bumps, leaving the marks of a cross. Michael gazed at her while she grumbled and reminisced about the past. After a long pause, he finally summoned the courage to speak and asked with apprehension after the lump in his throat moved. T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Sophia¡­ Did you find out what happened that time?¡± Chapter 873 Chapter 873 Naturally he referred to that matter. It was a darkness hidden in Sophia¡¯s heart and a ce which nobody could reach. No amount of sunlight and warmth could ever reach that ce. Hence, whenever somebody mentioned the darkness in her, her whole world would sink into that darkness without being able to free herself. She forgot about who she was, but the moment she epted her identity as Sophia Edwards, people recalled her past. No matter how much protection Sophia had, as long as she had to face the reality, she would learn about her past from somebody else. Yesterday, for instance, Sandra mentioned about the past while using certain words to insult and humiliate her. He thought, All those years ago, it took her a lot of courage and vigor to leave the past behind her. She moved forward in determination while gritting her teeth together. My chica has to suffer through that pain, which she has experienced before, once again. Is there anything else that is more hopeless than this situation? Therefore, it was unexpected when Sophia smiled nonchntly. ¡°Are you referring to the fact that I was molested as a child?¡± Michael¡¯s heart skipped a beat and his chest reflexively tightened while his gaze reflected the pain he felt. She knows about it after all. Since she¡¯s back, it¡¯s impossible to escape the past. However, Sophia did not seem to be bothered by it; instead, she sighed while batting her long eyshes. Under the streemps, her eyshes looked like a pair of butterflies. ¡°When I regained consciousness in Africa, Quinton told me that there¡¯s nothing to feel humiliated about in this world as long as one has a clear conscience,¡± she answered. I have forgotten all about my childhood, so I¡¯ve lost both sweet and painful memories. There can¡¯t be any pain since there¡¯s no happiness to begin with. I¡¯ve heard about my helpless and dark past from somebody else long ago. In fact, I¡¯ve read through the book that I wrote. My childhood life was extremely painful, so I wanted to change my fate. I worked hard by studying because I wanted to change my fate by doing so. I met X and Richard, who almost destroyed my education, so I did all that I could to take revenge. My methods were as cruel as the darkness I went through during my childhood. Sophia chuckled while tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. ¡°As a matter of fact, I have to thank those people who made my life hell because they trained my will and grit. Despite losing my memories, these characteristics are still within me, but I¡¯ve forgotten all about the pain and unhappiness. Come to think of it, I suppose it¡¯s a gift from God,¡± she stated. Michael stared at Sophia¡¯s side profile in a daze and the pain in his heart was reflected in the tears that started to swim in his eyes. Quinton made her lose her memories and it wasn¡¯t an easy feat to do so. On an international level, there were already psychiatrists advocating amnesia as a treatment for mental illness. However, it was a tricky matter to seed in it. Amnesia is most probably not a bad thing for her. The two of them looked up at the crescent moon in the sky. ¡°I think the weather will be great tomorrow. I have met up with Daniel to check the dates and he mentioned that the day after tomorrow is suited for me to join the team. Tomorrow, on the other hand, is perfect for traveling. Will you send me off?¡± ¡°It depends on the situation.¡± ¡­ The next day, Carmen did not go to school because she released the dog and it bit someone. Besides that, she even illegally opened a dog petting spot in the kindergarten and gathered a group of personnel to carry out unlicensed activities. As her illegal dog petting spot had been banned, it meant that the location for dogs had also been blocked, so the dogs had all been sent home. Therefore, she had to stop her business and she was not in the mood for the past few days to return to school. Upon learning that Michael was leaving soon, she was adamant on sending him off. Michael would be gone for a few months with the filming crew and it revolved around ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ that was poprized by Woody and Mark a long time ago. There were three main characters¡ªnamely Woody, Mark, and a fierce, cruel Japanese general. Michael was the producer and main actor of the film, so he had full control over the entire film. After the script had been fixed and with a thorough discussion, he confirmed that he would y the character, Mark Fletcher, for the second time whereas Harry would y the role of the fierce, cruel General Fuso. Michael initially fought hard to y Woody, but Cooper would not budge. When Michael visited Cooper¡¯s newpany, he noticed that the head of the security team was extremely handsome. Furthermore, he was only 20 years old with a height of six feet three. Michael was worried that such a handsome young man would loiter around Sophia, so he poached the man as an actor for the film. After the Mitchell Family broke up, the man had been frequently visiting Woody with Sean. Hence, he had met Woody before and he knew about thetter¡¯s past¡ªit also meant that it was easier for him to understand the character. In addition to that, the man was a talented actor and took on the role of the first male lead immediately after some training. Cooper felt better since a member of the Mitchell Family was ying the role of Woody. Sophia had brought Carmen along to send Michael off in the airport. The airport was a private facility established by him, so it was not particrlyrge because it only housed his personal aircraft. Tomorrow was the day the main characters joined the filming crew, so he conveniently dragged the head of security from the Mitchells along. His name was Drake Mitchell. Michael thought that he had exceptional looks, temperament and mannerisms, so he christened him with a stage name¡ªDraco. Nevertheless, Michael was not sure if the man could live up to the meaning of his stage name. Michael had brought along a simple luggage while making his way to the airne while Sophia followed from behind as she held Carmen¡¯s hand. ¡°Dear, I¡¯m counting on you to look after Carmen once I leave. The child is naughty, so I know it¡¯ll be hard on you,¡± Michael mentioned solemnly as a father about to embark on a long journey because he was worried about his little princess. Sophia responded, ¡°Why are you saying that? Carmen is my child too, so I¡¯ll do my best to look after her.¡± Michael was about to leave for a few months, so he was bound to miss them¡­ The ne was about to take off, so he squatted to speak with Carmen, ¡°Baby, I¡¯m leaving now. Give Daddy a kiss.¡± Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Carmen turned away swiftly. ¡°No way.¡± Previously, she acted in ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ and it was a top-grossing box office, but she did not receive any payment for it. After that, he even confiscated the earnings of her dog sales, which amounted to a few hundred. For the filming of ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, she was even promised that she would have a role, but the promise was not fulfilled in the end. She was convinced that someone had pulled some strings to secure that role through unspoken rules. Besides, ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was not being screened on the television too. Upon noting that Carmen was angry, Michael felt helpless. ¡°Are you ming me? I am feeling hopeless too, but Grandpa was the one who pulled the strings. You should take it up with him. Please, give me a hug.¡± As soon as the cabin door opened, she ran up the stairs easily and swiftly without even a moment of hesitation. ¡°Baby,e down. Daddy is leaving soon and you can¡¯t be there.¡± Sophia chased after her in a hurry. Sophia caught up to Carmen in the ne and noticed that it was extremely spacious. Carmen had a custom-made small, pink seat where she ced her small husky bag down before fastening her seatbelt in her seat. When Michael approached Carmen to hold her, she immediately burst into tears. ¡°I want to join the filming crew! I want to act on set! You are not allowed to chase me off the ne!¡± He immediately released her and patiently advised, ¡°Please, be an obedient girl and head home with Mommy for now. Don¡¯t you want to go back to kindergarten? She answered tearfully, ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± He felt helpless and surrendered by raising his arms in Sophia¡¯s direction. ¡°Since Carmen wants toe along, I guess I¡¯ll bring her along to have a look¡­ Dear, why don¡¯t youe with me to have a look at the filming set? It¡¯s our own ne after all and we can leave once we are all onboard. We don¡¯t have to buy any tickets¡­¡± Chapter 874 Chapter 874 Have a look at the set? Sophia was stunned into silence. Michael nodded sincerely. ¡°That¡¯s right; let¡¯s have a spontaneous vacation. How cool is that? It¡¯s within the country after all, so we wouldn¡¯t have to worry about sorting out our visas¡­ Do you have your ID card and cell phone with you? It doesn¡¯t matter even if you do not have your ID card with you because you don¡¯t need to buy a flight ticket.¡± ¡°Master, all the passengers have arrived. Let¡¯s go now. Let¡¯s go.¡± Michael had already answered all of Sophia¡¯s unspoken questions. By the time she snapped back to her senses, the airne was already taxiing. The bodyguards whom Cooper had assigned to Sophia were left behind and they tried to chase after the airne like madmen, but it was to no avail. She was stunned into silence and stared at her exposed toes, suddenly realizing that she still wore her flip-flops and pajamas. Today, I was nning on heading back to sleep after sending Michael off. How did I end up leaving the ce with him? Why didn¡¯t I reject or resist him earlier? Michael ced an arm around Sophia¡¯s shoulders while speaking, ¡°Here, fasten your seatbelt. It¡¯s fine; just switch your phone off because you can¡¯t use it once you¡¯re on the ne.¡± Sophia switched her phone off in a daze before fastening her seatbelt. After thinking things through, she had a feeling that something was amiss. He touched her forehead¡ªshe had merely applied a thinyer of BB cream without wearing any makeup. However, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. ¡°You are one of the film¡¯s investors too, so you should drop by the set to have a look. Don¡¯t worry because I¡¯ll make the arrangements for your daily necessities,¡± he reassured. She still felt that something was amiss because she had the feeling that he had an ulterior motive, but she suddenly wanted to tag along and settled in her seat in the end. The aircraft was rather spacious. In fact, she had her own bed space while Carmen found a bed that she liked once she was in the ne and immediately fell asleep. Hence, Sophia took a nap as well. Michael observed both mother and daughter while tucking them under the nket. ¡­ Cooper almost took a flight to chase after them in anger after learning that both of his precious girls had been taken away when they were merely supposed to send Michael off in the airport. However, Cooper threw in the end. Michael knew that he would be preupied with work, which was why he had the courage to take Sophia away. Recently, the Mitchell International Energy and Technology started to officially operate¡ªtheir facilities greatly improved the utilization rate of petroleum, so they were swamped byrge amounts of orders. There was no way Cooper could be in two ces at once, so it meant that he could not chase after Sophia despite knowing where she was. Therefore, Michael happily kidnapped Sophia and the airne flew to the faraway film studio. When the airnended in the airport, she still felt embarrassed as she had her flip-flops on the moment she stepped on the tarmac. Besides, she was still in her pajamas. Nevertheless, Michael ced an arm around her shoulders while reassuring, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; we are heading to the hotel first. I have already prepared some clothes for you.¡± Somehow, they held hands and he even intermittently kissed her cheeks. They seemed very intimate and became even closer¡ªin fact, they looked like a family of three on vacation. After all, they were getting into a car once they alighted from the ne and there was no one else in the car. Hence, Sophia was not as worried when she followed Michael to the film studio. There was quite a distance from the airport to the film studio. Since the drive would take a few hours on the highway, they had lunch midway at a service area. Sophia noticed after Michael had his lunch, he wore a mask before entering a retail store next door to purchase a few boxes of condoms. She was rendered speechless when she saw that. Upon arriving at the hotel, she entered his room. ¡°Since I always film here, I made an investment by building this hotel. This room is specifically for me, so nobody is allowed to upy this room even when I¡¯m not around. There is a specific elevator for this floor, so it¡¯s extremely clean and safe. It¡¯s just like my second home. Feel free to make yourself at home too.¡± While observing the hotel room, Sophia had someints about the area¡ªit was a suite, so it came with a workspace, study, and a kitchen. The renovations were passable, but the bed was small. In fact, the bedroom was tiny too and it did not look like a ce where Michael lived. Besides, once Michael entered the suite, he ced his clothes in the wardrobe and there were clothes prepared for him beforehand. Michael is sleeping in this room¡­ ¡°Where will Carmen and I¡­ sleep?¡± Sophia asked shyly because there were no other bedrooms or beds in the suite. Carmen started to fiddle with everything once she entered the suite¡ªshe was curiously exploring Michael¡¯s tiny room. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. Michael exined in embarrassment, ¡°It¡¯s the peak season for filming since it is autumn. The weather is great for filming too, so the hotels in the film studio aren¡¯t enough to amodate the crowd. Even this hotel is fully booked. There are no other rooms for now and I¡¯d be worried if both of you stay in another hotel. You two should stay here temporarily. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m barely here during the day and I will only take up some pillow space to sleep at night. I wouldn¡¯t bother you two much.¡± Sophia was at a loss for words. How does he say such a thing without looking embarrassed at all? He expects an unmarried young woman to share a bed with him, but did he just im that he¡¯s merely taking up some pillow space? Is this about taking up pillow space? I know that I¡¯ve been tricked. Furthermore, he bought condoms in front of me. He is telling me tantly that he¡¯s nning to have his way with me tonight. No wonder he tried to ask me about my menstruation cycle indirectly a couple days ago. Sleazy! Great. I¡¯m only wearing pajamas with a pair of slippers. None of my bodyguards are here with me and I do not even have my ID card. My phone is running out of battery and I don¡¯t even have a charger with me. I¡¯ve just borrowed Michael¡¯s charger to charge my phone, but it¡¯s not switched on yet. I walked into a lion¡¯s den, so I suppose I won¡¯t be able to get out of the situation tonight. Michael walked out of the bathroom almost naked after his shower as he only had a pair of briefs on him. If it had not been for Carmen, he would most probably have omitted that piece of garment too. Sophia noticed that he was showing off his beautifully sculpted body in front of her, so she blushed furiously while feeling shy. He is truly¡­ shameless! Carmen voiced her thoughts. ¡°Daddy, shame on you.¡± Michael was wiping his hair when he answered, ¡°There¡¯s no issue since you and Mommy aren;t strangers. It¡¯s fine if family members see me like this.¡± He deliberately made his way to Sophia¡¯s front. His eight abdominal muscles were especially prominent and alluring. Sophia was sitting on the bed, but she pretended to fiddle with her phone, which had a t battery. However, her eyes continued to nce in his direction, as if they had a mind of their own. He is the epitome of a perfect male body¡­ Look at his Adonis belt, ab muscles and chest muscles. Besides, he has such strong thigh muscles with that sculpted buttocks. Sophia swallowed involuntarily. After Michael wore his clothes, he removed the box he bought in the retail store earlier from his bag to ce it in the drawer. He even locked it in there while making sure that Sophia saw it. If it were not for the fact that there was an extrayer of innocent eyes in the room, he would have opened it up to make good use of it. Sophia knew for sure that she had walked into a lion¡¯s den. ¡°Dear, you should rest and rx in the hotel with Carmen. I¡¯ll be out for a meeting and return to take you guys out for a meal once I¡¯m done.¡± Michael took his briefcase and left. After a while, somebody sent over some toiletries and things for the child. On top of that, they even specifically sent a small bed with railings for Carmen. Sophia brought Carmen into the bathroom to have a shower. Since she did not have her own pair of pajamas, she opened the wardrobe to wear Michael¡¯s. His set of pajamas was long, so the shirt covered her bum. Therefore, she did not even need to wear any pants. However, she thought it was inappropriate to leave it at that, so she wore his boxer shorts as a pair of bottoms. Nevertheless, everything still felt loose. She merely took a couple steps forward when the boxers fell onto the ground. Just as she was bending down to pick them up, Michael was back as he opened the hotel room door¡­ Chapter 875 Chapter 875 At that moment, the air became silent. Sophia paused midway as she bent over to collect the boxer shorts while Michael froze when he opened the door. She was unsure of what to do anymore. Should I call him a ¡®hooligan¡¯ and chase him out? Or, should I just forget about the shorts? If I go along with the n, I¡¯ll have to take them offter anyway, won¡¯t I? On the other hand, he waited for her reaction because he had to n ordingly. I¡¯ll retreat if she advances, but I¡¯ll move forward if she takes a step back. I¡¯ll admit defeat if she gets angry, but I¡¯ll make my move if isn¡¯t angry! After a long and deafening silence, she calmly picked up the pair of shorts. ¡°Are you back?¡± He was stumped, but he reacted swiftly as best as he could. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back.¡± The two of them acted as if nothing happened. Michael entered the suite while closing the door behind him. Then, he ced his briefcase down on the floor while speaking, ¡°Get ready and we¡¯ll head out for dinner.¡± Carmen was also wearing Michael¡¯s pullover shirt. She was walking around the room with bare feet and her tiny feet were reddened before she grabbed her husky bag to get ready for dinner. Sophia hesitated at the mention of heading out for a meal. ¡°Are we going out now? However, I don¡¯t feel like going out. How do I head out dressed like this¡­¡± Upon paying closer attention, she sounded as if she was coyly saying that. Michael nced at her clothing and realized that she was wearing his white shirt as her pajamas, exposing her snowy-white legs. Michael took out his phone while dialing a number. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll get them to send room service,¡± he answered. He ordered their meals and demanded for a female server to deliver it to the room. It was not long before their dinner arrived and there was a kid¡¯s meal specifically for Carmen. After she delightfully had her meal, she went to the bathroom to put on toothpaste on her toothbrush and brushed her teeth. Then, she went to bed while announcing, ¡°Don¡¯t bother me now. I am going to bed.¡± Carmen was adamant on sleeping early to ensure that she had her beauty sleep. Michael prepared a child¡¯s bed for her and it even came with a mosquitoting to keep the mosquitoes out. It was also to prevent her from falling off the bed while ensuring that it was also soundproof. After observing her fall asleep, he switched off the lights and closed the door to return to the living room. Sophia had also showered after having her meal too. Upon walking out of the bathroom, she saw that Michael had asked someone to clear the meal. Furthermore, the couch in the living room had been spread out, revealing it to be a sofa bed that wasrge enough to amodate a few people. He had prepared the sofa bed and arranged some roses on it before he lit up some candles, uncorked a bottle of champagne, and yed some music. He had switched on the romantic aromatherapy diffuser and left the open box of condoms on the side. He was wearing nothing but a pair of briefs while lying almost naked on the couch to wait for her return. The moment he saw her walk out, he excitedly patted the space beside him. ¡°Come over here, dear.¡± Sophia rolled her eyes as she approached him on bare feet. Michael¡¯s boxer shorts were loose on her, making her feel extremely ufortable. She lifted the shorts before taking a seat beside him. Under the romantic candle lighting and soft music, Michael poured white wine into two champagne flutes. The two of them enjoyed some champagne while watching television to get into the mood. After having a few flutes of champagne, Sophia started to feel tipsy and her cheeks were slightly flushed. She was breathing heavily and throwing coquettish nces at Michael. He sensed that the time was right, so he made his move on her. The atmosphere was intoxicating; they were both drunk in their emotions instead of the alcohol. Michael started to kiss Sophia¡¯s small, flushed cheeks whereas she felt that she should not be proactive since women should be reserved. However, she somehow felt weakened when she tried to push him away. Then, after she moaned for a while, she stopped resisting him. In fact, she seemed as though she was merely ying hard to get. When their bodies came into contact, she felt that it was a wonderful feeling¡ªthere was a tremor in her brain as she felt a wave of heat surging in her body and giving her goosebumps. When she was in Africa, Quinton neverid a finger on her or teased her. He would hold her to sleep at night because Stanley had maimed him all those years ago. Quinton knew that he would never be able to satisfy her in that manner, so he never tried to tease her. Therefore, it was almost like Sophia¡¯s first time. Based on her memory, everything seemed new whereas her body felt that it was familiar. Her limbs automatically encircled around Michael. Michael¡¯s lips feathered kisses on her eyes, her cheeks and her lips. He was lost in the sensation of her smooth and sleek skin, but he was patient because he wanted her to have an unforgettable night. He picked up a rose and plucked its petals to scatter them over Sophia¡¯s body. After doing that, he solemnly announced, ¡°Here, chica. Allow me to introduce an old friend to you. You might have forgotten all about it, but I am sure you would find it familiar upon meeting it.¡±T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was well aware of the ¡®old friend¡¯ that he was referring to, so she rolled her eyes at him. He added, ¡°Here, please greet the old partner. After all, you two haven¡¯t met for many years.¡± She was bing impatient and rolled her eyes at him again. This is the downside of an actor. He is skilled with his lines, so he has many obscene remarks. With every remark, he adds more obscene comments to the collection. He kept spewing obscene statements without actually keeping to his words. In the end, she could no longer endure it and rose from the bed to take matters into her own hands to satisfy herself¡­ ¡­ The next morning, Sophia was still bleary from sleep. Her dreams were filled with Michael¡¯s obscene remarks and she woke up to more of it. She was lusting like the Devil before she slept, but she was now as holy as a Buddha upon waking up. Sophia was currently at the Buddha stage, so she was filled with regret the moment she opened her eyes. Michael didn¡¯t ask whether this is what I want at all! He somehow duped me to board the ne and I have been tricked into staying in this hotel. After that, somehow, I ended up sleeping with him. Did he ever ask if this is what I want? He did not; he was just thinking about himself. He has never taken into ount that I have known him for such a short period of time and we aren¡¯t even close with each other. However, I understand that Michael has been testing my limits and attitude from the get-go. He openly hinted at the service area when he was buying the box of condoms, but I merely rolled my eyes at him. If I had rejected him immediately and turned to leave, he wouldn¡¯t have continued his ns courageously. Besides, he didn¡¯t even use the box of condoms after opening it! He wasn¡¯t even nning on using it! Today was the day to get the ball rolling. Daniel predicted the best date and time¡ª9.15 AM was the perfect time for the opening ceremony, so Michael scheduled ordingly. He set his rm to go off at 6.00 AM. Upon waking up, he nned to go for a round with Sophia and it would be in time to catch a cold shower at 6.30 AM before waking Carmen up. Then, he would leave the hotel at 7.00 AM for breakfast before making his way to the film set at 7.30 AM. His makeup and clothing would start when he arrived at the set at 8.00 AM. The opening ceremony would then start at 9.15 AM¡ªit was a perfect schedule. It was 6.15 AM with traces of dawn. Sophia was still sleepy, but she was blushing. She lightly pointed at Michael¡¯s sweaty chest while reminding, ¡°Don¡¯t think that I will end up with you just because I slept with you.¡± Michael responded, ¡°No worries. There is no rush when ites to feelings. We can talk about that in the future.¡± Sophia added, ¡°I am no longer the same Sophia as before.¡± Michael replied, ¡°That¡¯s alright. Nobody can ever predict things like feelings and love. We might fall for each other over time.¡± Chapter 876 Chapter 876 There he goes with his obscenements again. Sophia was covered in sweat, so she had a shower with Michael at 6.30 AM. After she was done, a young person in bright-colored clothes appeared with a bag of newly purchased apparel. The colorfully clothed person had a smart mouth upon entering the room too. ¡°Whoa, this is as expected from Mrs. Fletcher! It has been years since west met, but you are even prettier in person!¡± Michael made the introduction. ¡°This is Danny and he is my assistant in the film crew.¡± T¨ºxt ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia rolled her eyes again. Well, I¡¯m not surprised that he¡¯s Michael¡¯s assistant. I¡¯m sure that Michael must have picked up those obscene lines from Danny. The clothes that Danny brought over had already been washed, so they were clean andfortable¡ªit was some casual and convenient clothing, but all the shoes and apparel were in Sophia¡¯s size. Therefore, she changed into her new clothes and shoes before looking for her BB cream in Carmen¡¯s small husky bag. Then, she applied a thinyer on her face while preparing to leave the hotel. Carmen¡¯s small husky bag was truly well equipped¡ªit had a tube of toothpaste, toothbrush, some snacks, BB cream, mini rubber bands, etc. Sophia thought, It looks like she was already prepared to come over to the set of her dad¡¯s film. I am sure both father and daughter have nned this beforehand. One of them is targeting the role in the film whereas the other has been targeting me. Now that Carmen was awake, Sophia helped her to wash up and brush her hair before the family of three left for the restaurant for breakfast. After that, they went to the film set for the opening ceremony. Michael had to get himself styled before showing up for the cameras. Upon arriving at the spot, Carmen swiftly turned into an obedient and adorable child who always clung onto her father¡¯s leg. On the other hand, Sophia knew what her daughter had in mind¡ªshe was trying to get more screen time while looking good in the hopes of getting a role at thest minute. Michael ced Carmen on his thigh while patiently advising, ¡°Baby, you are still young, so there¡¯s no need to rush into acting. When the time is right, I will secure a good film for you.¡± Carmen pouted because she was clearly upset due to her desire to act in the film. Sophia was afraid that she could affect his work, so she immediately picked up her daughter to take her away. Sophia wore a mask while she blended with the group of crew without exposing her identity and whenever she was tired, she would rest and sleep in his SUV. While the opening ceremony progressed smoothly, Carmen loitered around the film set for the entire day. She was unhappy because she was unable to secure any screen time. Hence, she seemed gloomy when they were headed home that night. Wasn¡¯t it promised that I will get a role if I trick Mommy to board the ne? I managed to trick Mommy onto the ne, but I didn¡¯t get my role! It was during dinner when Sophiamented, ¡°I am taking Carmen home tomorrow.¡± Michael, who was in the midst of having his meal, started to gobble as he spoke, ¡°Hurry up and eat, dear. There is no time to lose since we still need to settle our business.¡± Since she mentioned that she was leaving the next day, he was not even bothered to read the script that night. Instead, he went straight to business as if he was racing against the clock most of the night. He even set the rm clock for the next morning to have another round with her after waking up. She nned to take Carmen home to Bayside City the first thing in the morning, but somehow, the young child heard that some extras were needed in the film set to y the role of vige women during the revolutionary period. Carmen felt that she had the potential to act as one, so she urged Sophia to bring her to the set for an audition. Upon arriving at the set, Carmen ran straight to the group of extras and tried hard during the audition. Shepeted with a group of older women for the longest time and finally secured a dreary role as an extra. As Sophia watched Carmen acting with all she had despite being dressed in gray and shabby clothing, her heart went out for her daughter. Who would have thought that the daughter of the producer and male lead would have topete with a bunch of extras for a role? In the end, Carmen was delighted as she received a set of dull and shabby clothing for her role and soon filmed her scene. Today¡¯s scene was a simple one to film¡ªforeigners had entered the vige to ughter everyone and it was a cruel scene. The male lead saw smoke rising in the direction of the vige, so he led his army to rush over. However, when he saw the brutal and inhuman atrocity before him, he instantly lost his temper. As a result, he chased after the enemy for almost a hundred miles before finally avenging the vigers. Nevertheless, he fell into the enemy¡¯s trap by ident and became an easy target for them. Later, he was forced to retreat into the snowy mountain, bringing about a series of tragic and profound stories. The story was adapted from Mark and Woody¡¯s personal experiences. Therefore, it was shocking and even Sophia hoped that Michael would be able to bring out the courage and essence of the story. Carmen had two scenes¡ªthe first one was when the foreigners invaded the vige. The vigers, consisting of young and old people, scattered in various directions. Amidst the chaos, a girl was somehow separated from her family and she sat on the ground in tears. In the second scene, the little girl became one of the corpses among the pile of rocks. The film had a cruel storyline, so Sophia was reluctant to allow Carmen to act in it, but thetter¡¯s acting was superb. In fact, her performance was intense to the point where everyone was moved by her crying scene. It worried Sophia, who merely watched from the sidelines, because she thought that Carmen was crying out of fear. Hence, Sophia never expected her daughter to wipe her face and sit up when the director yelled for the filming to stop. Then, Carmen ran to the director to watch the rey while asking, ¡°Is my acting good?¡± The director was an old man who previously directed ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯. He was initially at the bottom of his career, but the film propelled him to greater heights. The moment Carmen asked the question, he immediately recognized her. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s marvellous.¡± When she had a look at her performance, she seemed satisfied. She knew that she was merely a corpse for the second scene, but she was determined to be the best corpse in it. Carmen only had two scenes, which allowed her toplete both in the morning. She seemed especially excited after that and had half an extra bowl of rice in the afternoon. Sophia did not want to stand out since there were many people around, so she kept her mask on. Although Carmen wore makeup, she looked as if she rolled across the ground in reality because her face was smeared with dirt. Hence, nobody knew that she was Michael¡¯s daughter and they adored her as they assumed that she was merely an intelligent extra. After having lunch at Michael¡¯s ce, he tried to convince Carmen. ¡°Darling, you killed it out there. It¡¯s time for you to head home with Mommy.¡± She acted in a role as promised, so it¡¯s time for her to leave. Carmen snorted. ¡°Hmph!¡± She felt that she had secured the role herself without her father¡¯s help. It¡¯s better to rely on myself instead of Daddy. I¡¯ll leave once I have my meal. If this film crew doesn¡¯t want me, I¡¯ll audition for another one. This is thergest film studio in the entire Aseanos, so there are dozens of film crews here every day. I¡¯m sure that they need many extras. If this crew doesn¡¯t want me, I¡¯m sure somebody else wants me. After lunch, she energetically approached other film crews for work whereas Sophia tagged along while carrying her small husky bag and water bottle. Michael naturally could not allow the mother and daughter to casually leave, so he sent someone to keep an eye on them. It was true that there were many film crews in need of extras in the filming studio. When Sophia walked around the studio with Carmen, thetter was able to secure a job not too long after that. In the filming studio, having a pretty face equated to having a beautiful business card. Young and good- looking actors were also in demand, so after making a round with Carmen, they received quite a number of business cards¡ªall of which were invitations for her to join their film crew as an extra. Not only did Carmen act as a random passerby, she even acted as the younger version of the main character and had roles from fashion dramas to costume ys. She even received a role in a fantasy drama series. In fact, she took up any roles which she thought were appropriate. Sophia became Carmen¡¯s agent and did her best to ept roles on thetter¡¯s behalf while arranging her schedule. Sophia had started to arrange Carmen¡¯s schedule once they returned to the hotel on her daughter¡¯s first day as an extra. Carmen, on the other hand, happily giggled while counting the money that she had earned for that day. This is all my hard-earned money! Michael asked when he saw them, ¡°Whoa, my baby has earned lots of money today! Come, let me have a look.¡± Carmen immediately hid her money. ¡°Hmph, I won¡¯t let you see it.¡± Michael imitated her tone before he pointed his pinky finger while cing his other hand on his hip. ¡°Hmph, forget it if you don¡¯t want to show me! I am not even interested! I earn much more than you do! I earn a wad of cash per day whereas you earn a piece per day!¡± he eximed while acting like a tsundere. Carmen pouted while yelling, ¡°I¡¯ll earn much more than you once I grow up!¡± Chapter 877 Chapter 877 Once Michael left, Carmen started to count her cash again while giggling. She had earned a total of 200 today¡ª100 was from Michael¡¯s filming crew whereas the other 100 was from the film crew next door from ¡®War of Resistance Against Japan¡¯. For that film, since it was only one scene and she did not show her face, her pay was only 50. Hence, she clung onto the director¡¯s leg in an adorable manner to earn herself an extra scene. In the end, the director added another 50 for her. Therefore, Sophia changed the 200 into small bills in 5 for Carmen to add them up. Michael nced at the daily schedule that Sophia nned for Carmen to check on the scenes that she had¡ªa passerby in a costume y, the female lead when she was a child in a fantasy drama, and a young girl in a costume y. For most of her roles, Carmen did not have any screen time or dialogue. She would have some screen time in those rare moments, but sadly, she did not have a dialogue for that role. She had previously shot to fame in ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯, but since there was no continuous gossip and poprity revolving around her, her fame died down soon enough. He did not want her to be famous at such a young age, so he deliberately suppressed her poprity. Thepetition in the entertainment industry was fierce, so without a certain fervor surrounding his daughter, people would merely forget about her. Therefore, she lost her momentum after a few months. Nobody would know that she had such a glorious history in her resume even if she became an actress now. Hence, she was paid as a newbie, which meant 50 a day with 200 being the maximum. As Michael looked through the schedule that Sophia nned, he noticed that she was thorough in asking for the details whenever she epted the job on their daughter¡¯s behalf. Sophia would ask questions that ranged from the kind of scene, director, cast, content, dialogue, location, and much more. Everything was recorded in detail. After looking through the schedule, he picked up a pen to scribble on the form while exining, ¡°This film crew is alright since the director is very responsible and approachable. The extras receive high pay and on time too. That series is also not bad because it is a big production and the sry will be high with lots of opportunities. On the other hand, this is a terrible filming crew and the special effects they use are a joke. The plot doesn¡¯t make sense and none of their films have premiered sessfully. They even owed the extras their pay. Don¡¯t ept them.¡± Michael had worked in the film studio for a very long time, so he was well informed about different crews andpanies. He scribbled on the schedule to filter the bad ones out for Carmen. Sophia burst out inughter as she stared at his serious side profile. Michael thought, I look like I don¡¯t care about much, but I do in reality. She is my own daughter, after all. How could I possibly not care about her? I just don¡¯t want Carmen to feel different from others and I don¡¯t want her to feel that she easily gains more attention. She should receive some hard training from a young age because being spoiled and bing famous at an early age would only bring her more harm than good. After Carmen calcted her money, she stared at her father withrge, mischievous eyes. Michael acted like a tsundere again while making a pointedment, ¡°Are you hoping to chat about the film with me? Hmph, I am angry right now. I¡¯m not telling you anything.¡± A proud Carmen looked away. ¡°Hmph, nobody needs you to do that!¡± Sophia was amused as she watched the pair of dramatic father and daughter. It is undeniable that they are biologically rted. Michael imed that he would not talk about the film, but he relented in the end and discussed it whereas she absorbed the knowledge in all seriousness. She slept early that night, but before going to bed, she ced her hard-earned 200 under her pillow. She was determined to sleep on her second pot of gold because she was afraid that he would ransack her hard-earned money like before. On the other side, Sophia and Michael went to business on the couch in the living room. After that, she rose from the bed to have some water before asking, ¡°Tell me¡ªdo you think it¡¯s a good idea for me to let Carmen work as an actress?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°Carmen enjoys acting, so we should let her try it out. She is notmitting a crime after all and I suppose it¡¯s a good thing for her to build up her resume. If she gets bored of it one day, it means that she is not suited for this industry. However, if she perseveres, it means that she is suited for this line of work and will have a bright future.¡± Nevertheless, Sophia was anxious. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll go down well with Carmen¡¯s grandpa.¡± After secretly leaving with him, she did not have the courage to phone Cooper for the past two days as she did not want to imagine how furious he was. Michael answered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll be around when troublees. I¡¯ll just tag along if father-inw truly drags Carmen back to inherit his business.¡± ¡­ Carmen woke up early the next morning and she emptied her husky bag to keep her money inside. Sophia had scheduled Carmen¡¯s working hours and they went to work on time. They returned to Michael¡¯s ce at noon for lunch. He had driven his SUV over, which had a meal cart avable with delicious food. Hale brought Fatty along so that Sophia could look after him. Hale had truly hoped that Fatty would be able to have a career in the acting industry, so she led the two children to search for jobs all over the film studio, making them have a hectic day. It was hard to work as an extra, but Carmen was determined to do so even though she was merely earning 100 to 200 a day. Whenever she had a free day, she would stay at Michael¡¯s filming set while staring wide-eyed at him acting. Her hard-earned money underneath her pillow had umted with time. In order to increase her sense of achievement, Sophia swapped Carmen¡¯s hard-earned money with 1 and 5 banknotes. Therefore, Carmen had a heavy pile of cash and would start counting her money whenever she had the time. In the blink of an eye, they had been in the film studio for a week. Cooper had phoned them a few times to urge them to return home, but Carmen had notpleted the few jobs that Sophia scheduled for her, hence they were unable to head back. Cooper lost his patience and arrived in person. That day, there was thunder and lightning in the film studio, causing a downpour that was apanied with strong wind. Therefore, most of the filming crews were forced to cease their work. There was also thunder and lightning near the hotel where Sophia and Michael stayed at. Cooper had a gloomy and grave expression while he sat on the couch of the living room. In fact, it was the same couch where Sophia and Michael did their business on a nightly basis. Cooper stared at Michael coldly whereas thetter smiled from ear to ear. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, it has been such a long time. Here, please have a smoke.¡± Cooper answered coldly, ¡°No, thanks.¡± Michael offered, ¡°Have a gum.¡± Cooper responded, ¡°No.¡± On the other side, Sophia seemed dispirited as she sat beside her father, but she did not have the courage to utter a word. Recently, she apanied Carmen to all of her scheduled jobs in the film studio during the day whereas Michael had drained her of her energy during the night. Therefore, her dark circles were obvious. The atmosphere was bing more eerie, but a rxed Michael still smiled at Cooper. Michael¡¯s acting skills were polished and it was perfect. ¡°Mr. Cooper, are you here to check on the progress of the filming? There¡¯s no need for that because Sophia has been keeping an eye on the set every day. The progress has been normal thus far!¡± ¡°Mr. Mitchell, when are you nning to get the Mitchell International Energy and Technology listed? I believe you are doing that soon.¡± ¡°The weather is wonderful.¡± Michael had an awkward monologue with Cooper for the longest time, but thetter seemed unmoved. His expression was grave when he finally spoke to Sophia, ¡°Pack your things and leave with me together with Carmen.¡± Before Sophia could reply, Carmen started to cry loudly as tears rolled down her cheeks. ¡°I still have work to do! I am not leaving!¡± Cooper was the most helpless around his granddaughter because his hands were tied whenever she started to cry. ¡°Kid, please stop crying, alright? I admit defeat to you!¡± Carmen answered, ¡°I want to act!¡± He responded, ¡°Alright, fine. You can go ahead and act.¡± She added, ¡°I want Mommy to be with me!¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. He swiftly acknowledged, ¡°Okay, your mommy will be with you!¡± ¡°Grandpa too!¡± ¡°Fine, alright. I will be here together with you.¡± In the end, Carmen stayed in the film studio to continue her work. Apart from Sophia being there, even Cooper had to keep herpany. I will always have my way! Naturally, Michael¡¯s recreational activities during the night also came to aplete stop too¡­ Chapter 878 Chapter 878 Michael knew that he would not have much time with Sophia to begin with, so he had been having his business with her as many times as he could on a daily basis. He wanted to make full use of their time together in one go¡ªit was almost as if he was making up for the time that they lost over the years. He felt that he did not suffer any loss. On the contrary, he took advantage of a beautiful bargain. With Cooper¡¯s arrival, Sophia and Carmen moved out because he reserved an entire floor of a five-star hotel for his personal use. He had initially nned to visit the film studio, but moved the date of his travel forward by a few days since Michael had already kidnapped Sophia. Mark was an important intellectual property, so there were numerous movies and series that were based on his life. There were plenty of ssic icons in the silver screen as well, but it was the first time where there was a production on Woody¡¯s life. Cooper was previously worried when he gave the rights because he was afraid that his father would not be portrayed urately. Therefore, he was adamant on having a look at the set. For the current film, Michael personally controlled the way the film was being filmed by being the lead actor and producer. In fact, he personally picked Drake to portray Woody and even trained him. It took a while for Drake to be familiar with his character, but Cooper was not convinced because the former was a newbie after all. As such, Cooper went straight to the film set to check things out the next day after arriving at the film studio. Although Drake was a newbie, he had limitless potential. Furthermore, he had rubbed shoulders with Woody in the past, so he was able to gauge the kind of man thetter was. Cooper watched over him for a few days since he had strict requirements. As for Sophia, she was still helping Carmen to ept acting jobs and it was apparent that thetter thoroughly enjoyed herself. She was delighted at the chance of being able to portray different roles on a daily basis while being in different attires. Her hard-earned money was increasing on a daily basis, leaving her pleased with herself. Each time before epting a job, Sophia would phone Michael to check with him. He had great connections, so he could almost instantly spot the reliability of a film crew. He knew that it was useless to ept shows that would turn out as a failure. If Carmen were to take on acting jobs, she should take on bigger projects that had great potential. Sophia had a hard time looking after two children while epting jobs on their behalf. In the film studio, all extras had to register for an Actor Pass. They would only be included in the Actors Union and assigned roles if they had the Pass. As Carmen and Fatty were underage, they did not have their own Actor Passes. Without that, the acting jobs that they epted were always a hit-and-miss. Most of the production or filming crew did not have such young actors as certain specific scenes would have such requirements. Fortunately, Michael had hiswork, so he introduced a reliable group leader, who worked like an agent for the extras, to Sophia. Anyway, the group leader would ask Carmen and Fatty to audition whenever any film crew in the film studio needed child actors. Carmen would almost secure every role that she auditioned for and it was obvious that she was talented. Soon, she gained fame within the film studio, so more filming crew started to invite her for auditions. Once she had her jobs, she would still rmend Fatty. Each time they were on set, she would behave like an older sister giving him some pointers. In fact, she seemed determined to yank him into the industry. Fatty was worthy of her efforts; they would act as sisters in some films and as brothers in others. They grew and gradually learned together. Since the issue of Carmen setting up an illegal dog petting spot in the kindergarten had not died down, it was not a good idea for her to return to school. Hence, it was a good chance for her to train in the film studio where Sophia and Cooper would take turns to apany the two children to take acting jobs. Sarah originally wanted to send Hope to the film studio for training, but unfortunately, her silly son was born with a stoic expression and could not muster any adorable and animated expressions. Furthermore, he seemed to scoff at the idea of acting, so she was convinced that he would not enter the entertainment industry. Harry wanted to nurture Hope to inherit the Winston Family¡¯s underworld enterprise where Sarah wanted him to continue her work as an illustrator using a graphics tablet. She had desired for him to be an exceptional master artist in elegant Yaoi painting. However, it was obvious that it was impossible because Hope also scoffed at elegant Yaoi paintings. The amount of Carmen¡¯s hard-earned money had increased daily and she bundled them in piles to keep them under her pillow. She was close to hugging her money to sleep by that stage. Her actions made her look like a greedy child. She was already practicing frugality at a young age because she knew that it was not easy for her parents to make a living. Whenever she wanted to have a popsicle and would always take the initiative to choose the cheaper one, especially if she was presented with a choice between one that was priced at 2 and 1.5 respectively. She knew the importance of saving even 0.5. Ever since Cooper arrived to take over as Carmen and Fatty¡¯s agents, Sophia was able to rx more. She even took the opportunity to hang out, get some food, and window shop when Carmen was filming her scenes. Sophia would have some barbecue, have a jelly or even a pork knuckle. Then, she would hang out at Michael¡¯s ce for a while to observe the progress of the production as an investor. Once that was done, she would return to Carmen¡¯s film set. Later, Cooper realized something frustrating when he noticed that Sophia would always mysteriously disappear after visiting Michael¡¯s filming set. She would disappear for more than thirty minutes each time and whenever the bodyguard started to kick up a fuss in search of her, she would appear from a well- hidden and heavily guarded logistics tent with a glowing, pinkish face. Since she had been repeating that for a few times, the bodyguard was able to get hold of her rhythm. He was afraid that Cooper would be worried, so he turned a blind eye to her actions instead of reporting it. Wherever she disappeared for thirty minutes every day, she would always emerge from there as long as the bodyguard waited outside the well-hidden and heavily guarded logistics tent. When Cooper learned about that, he almost lost his sanity because he knew that his pure, innocent daughter could not possibly escape from Michael and his smart mouth. I can¡¯t help Carmen with epting acting jobs anymore. We have to leave once she¡¯s fulfilled her jobs and need to return to Bayside City as soon as possible. Sophia was extremely unhappy about the turn of events. I am a 27-year-old young woman and an adult. So what if I have a s*x life? What¡¯s the problem with it? He¡¯s always trying to control everything. Is he nning to control my bathroom schedule and s*x time table? What was done cannot be undone. Not to mention, Michael had already tested the waters several times. ¡°Sophia¡¯s wedding gown has been collecting dust at home.¡± ¡°Four years ago, dear and I had scheduled a wedding photoshoot set and it¡¯s about to expire.¡± ¡°Mr. X is my mom¡¯s old friend and he has been very kind to me. He is gravely ill in the intensive care unit, and he might pass away anytime. The old man¡¯s greatest wish before his death is to see me marry Sophia.¡± ¡­ Nevertheless, every time Michael expressed his wish, Cooper would merely re in response. Michael tried his hardest to bring the wedding forward as he thought, Although I¡¯ve slept with my wife and we have a marriage certificate, something feels missing without the ceremony because I haven¡¯t announced it to the world. However, Sophia acted as if there was no rush in having a wedding because she was only slightly older than twenty years old. There was no urgency for her and the only thing she wanted to focus on was her career. As for the wedding¡­ That depends on my mood. Cooper started to visit Michael¡¯s filming set to monitor the progress while Sophia brought Carmen and Fatty to theirst few acting jobs. Carmen¡¯sst acting job was a costume y where she yed the role of a random passerby. Although there were directorsing forward to invite her to be the lead in children¡¯s films, Michael rejected them because he deduced that she was suited as an extra for the time being and she was not up to standard to y the lead role. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia brought Carmen and Fatty to the film set to wait for their scenes. They squatted among the extras while listening to the actors brag about themselves. ¡°Today, the female lead scolded the second female lead until she burst into tears. I heard that she even pped her! ¡°That¡¯s so pitiful¡­ But, the female lead has an influential backing! I heard that she is Taylor Murray¡¯s lover! Even the director has to give in to her!¡± Sophia, who was sucking on a lollipop, looked up abruptly as her eyes glinted menacingly. Who is this woman to Taylor Murray? Chapter 879 Chapter 879 Taylor Murray¡¯s¡­ mistress? Mr. Fletcher actually had a mistress behind my back? After all, Sophia had been ¡®dead¡¯ for several years. In the entertainment circle, even a year¡¯s worth of disappearance is enough to cause people to forget famous celebrities. On top of that, she was merely the wife of a celebrity. Now that she was makeup free, no one could recognize her, which led to the actors discussing Taylor¡¯s mistress in front of her. ¡°She¡¯s Taylor Murray¡¯s first love and they have been together for almost 20 years! It¡¯s an underground rtionship.¡± ¡°But Taylor Murray has a wife, hasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°His wife has already been dead for many years!¡± ¡°Apart from that, he¡¯s a rich man. It¡¯s pretty normal for him to have a few wives and mistresses. He could enjoy his time with all the mistresses, but his wife will still remain as his legal spouse.¡± After Sophia finished eating her lollipop, she asked her bodyguards to take care of Carmen before wearing her mask to see who the so-called Taylor¡¯s Murray¡¯s mistress was. Seems like Mr. Fletcher is something else! He has the energy to film during the day, deal with me at night, and look for his mistress! Looks like my performance is not enough to drain his energy. It was not difficult to look for Taylor¡¯s mistress¡ªshe was the most pompous person on set. After two steps, Sophia found the most pompous actress on set. The person was surrounded by several assistants to fan the air and touch up on her makeup. On top of that, the director bowed next to her and discussed the scenes with her. Isn¡¯t that Irene? No wonder¡­ While Irene touched up on her makeup, she arrogantly lectured the director. ¡°Director Jacques, you know very well that the remuneration for this film is low. I¡¯m only here because of Taylor. The cast and money are not good enough for my position, but look at the rest of the crew you have gathered. They don¡¯t have any acting skills and don¡¯t look presentable either. They¡¯re as stupid as idiots¡ª¡± The director did not dare to say anything to defend himself. ¡°Y-y-yes, you are absolutely right. They are still inexperienced, so I¡¯m counting on you to lead them.¡± The few young actors and actresses bit on their lips as tears welled up in their eyes. They almost burst into tears after hearing Irene¡¯s insults to the point where they did not dare to utter a word. Sophia felt that since she was already sleeping with Michael, they were technically already a couple. For her to see another woman using her boyfriend¡¯s name to lie to others while iming to be a mistress, it was definitely out of line. However, after thinking about it, Sophia decided not to confront Irene about this. She¡¯s just an insane woman. I don¡¯t have to hold grudges against a mad woman, even if¡­ she had stic surgery to make her eyes look exactly like mine. Sophia was blessed with the iconic facial features of someone who was of mixed-race. Her double eyelids could pass off as someone local and foreign¡ªeven though she looked like she was an Irish, she possessed the gentle look of a local person and radiated elegance underneath the yful vibes. Her straight nose was in the perfect shape and it stood out without contouring. After she became the campus belle of Bayside University, people wanted to have stic surgeries to look like her, so it was not surprising that Irene went under the knife to have the same eyes as her Her eyes were already beautiful. Sure enough, she¡¯s gone nuts. Sophia decided that it was not worth it for her to confront a mad woman, so she returned to look after Carmen. Right after she turned, Irene had asked two actresses to kneel before she pped them. ¡°You don¡¯t even know how to p people? Are you an idiot? See, this is the way to do it¡ªjust like this!¡± As each of her ps became harsher, it caused the supporting actress¡¯ cheeks to swell, but shecked the courage to say a word about it. Since Sophia had been on set for thest few days, she was already used to such a scene as it was not umon whatsoever. After all, the entire industry was built on supporting famous people and bashing on those who were nobodies. Soon enough, Carmen¡¯s scenes were about to begin¡ªshe was merely in the background as the focus was on Irene, but there was a scene which revealed her young face. Once they started to film, she ran around and professionally acted her scenes, but none of the takes had made the cut. Irene was extremely short-tempered that day¡ªsheshed out at people whenever she felt like it and refused to continue when she was not in the mood. After a dozen rounds, the rest of the crew started to comin, seeing that the weather was warm and it was difficult to make a living like that. Not to mention, there were even toddlers on set! ¡°Come here. I hope you guys don¡¯t suffer from heatstroke!¡± A kinddy gave her only umbre to the two toddlers. Sophia did not reject the offer and brought them to the shade while chatting with thedy, who was a supporting actress who lived in the vicinity and used to such scenes. After running around for the entire afternoon, Carmen was sweating buckets, but could not leave without receiving her pay. Underneath the protection of the umbre, she thirstily drank from the bottle, but Fatty continued to drink by the time she was done. Although the month of October was already over, the weather was still quite warm. While looking at the two toddlers sweating buckets, Sophia felt sorry for them, but since they had already epted the job, they could not leave without fulfilling their obligations. The scene could not be sessfully filmed¡ªmainly because Irene would not stop throwing tantrums. Since they could not finish filming the scenes, it meant that Carmen could not leave. She was extremely exhausted to the point where she was dozing off. With both the toddlers falling asleep as they leaned on Sophia, she could not help but feel sorry for them. Meanwhile, she also heard the rest of the crew comining, ¡°What the hell? How long is she going to continue with this?¡± ¡°We are all tired! Taylor Murray¡¯s mistress is special indeed, huh!¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Who does she think she is by just being someone else¡¯s mistress?¡± ¡°F*ck her! She¡¯s merely a mistress!¡± Even Sophia was falling asleep under the umbre when she heard everyonein about Irene. Let alone the supporting actors, even the main actors were already unhappy with Irene¡¯s behavior. As they were filming a scene that required hundreds of people each time, everyone¡¯s efforts would have gone to waste¡ªtake after take¡ªjust because of her conduct. However, since Irene was Taylor¡¯s mistress after all, there was nothing they could do about it. Even though Taylor was a retired actor, he had be famous once again. Hisst film was a box office hit, earning billions in profits and bing the number one on the chart while making it to the top 100. As he was also filming in the film studio, no one dared to offend him and begrudgingly endured her¡ªno matter what it took. Everyone suddenly stoppedining, plunging the surroundings into a state of deathly silence. Sophia felt that something did not seem right and opened her eyes to see that Irene had been standing behind the supporting actors with a dark expression on her face, but they were unaware about it. As her role today was a spy, her makeup was rather terrifying and it was entuated by the anger on her face. ring at those whomented on her behind her back, poison seemed to have leaked out from her eyes. Unfortunately, those people still had no idea what went on as they continued to bad mouth her. ¡°Can¡¯t wein about someone else¡¯s mistress instead? Look at what she¡¯s capable of¡ªeveryone in the nation knows that Taylor Murray is married, but she seems like she wants everyone to know that she is his mistress!¡± ¡°Look at how she¡¯s making this difficult for everyone. Is it even meaningful? Once his wife arrives, she probably would have to stop behaving in an arrogant manner. She¡¯s already in her forties, yet she thinks that she¡¯s a young girl¡ª¡± ¡°The wrinkles on her face are too obvious, making her look much older than Taylor. I really don¡¯t understand what he sees in her. His wife is much better-looking than her anyway.¡± Irene had been standing behind them with a cold expression on her face. They finally realized that something was amiss and stopped speaking. After they mechanically turned, they looked like they saw a ghost when they spotted her. ¡°M-M-Miss Weber¡ª¡± As her face darkened, she screamed through gritted teeth, ¡°You dare to say that I¡¯m worse than that b*tch!¡± Of course, the so-called b*tch whom Irene referred to was the person hidden among the group of supporting actors¡ªSophia. Chapter 880 Chapter 880 B*tch? Sophia frowned. Well, I definitely don¡¯t like this at all. We still don¡¯t know who the b*tch is. The few supporting actors and actresses were so shocked that they were at a loss for words, not knowing what to say as they looked at Irene. They knew very well that they could hardly survive in the filming studio after they offended her. One of them quickly waved while saying, ¡°No, we weren¡¯t talking about you!¡± Irene walked forward and held the person¡¯s throat as she gave a p. ¡°Say it again! Who am I worse than? Who?¡± Upon seeing that the situation was out of control, the group sank into chaos as the director quickly came to control the situation. What is she doing, being so nitpicky on words? Sophia quickly asked her bodyguard to send the toddlers away while she stayed behind to monitor the warzone. The director and the crew quickly rushed over to calm Irene down. She was so furious that her face reddened and her makeup faded, revealing a few deep wrinkles on her face. She was a beautiful woman who had a solo performance at the New Year Dinner G as well as the assigned performed at the Presidential Banquet when foreign politicians visited the country. Even though she had a bright future ahead of her, she still rushed to act in a movie and even had to deal with a group of actors on set. She was once an icon for everyone, but she finally descended from the throne. Sophia wanted to teach Irene a lesson, but she decided against it in the end. Since she¡¯s already so pitiful, I¡¯ll just let her continue with her arrogance for a little while. Even after the director and the crew finally separated Irene from the group of actors, she was still agitated. With a savage expression on her face, she pointed at the supporting actress and viciously said, ¡°Kneel before me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll have the names of your family members removed from the list of Actors Union. From then onward, you can forget about working in the film studio.¡± The said actress was the same woman in her forties who gave her umbre to Sophia and Carmen. The woman had bragged that her entire family of four lived in the film studio and acted in supporting roles. If they offended Irene, the entire family probably could not survive in the area where they had lived all along. Hence, she quickly kneeled before Irene and profusely apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± The woman¡¯s neck had reddened after Irene tried to strangle her. She had been frightened that she cried while profusely apologizing to Irene and giving her a kowtow. The rest of them were furious upon seeing it, but they did not dare to say anything about it. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. They were not merely supporting actors, but locals as well, so they were well-acquainted with each other as they were bound to cross paths with each other. Of course they were angry at being bullied by Irene, but since she had a powerful backing, they did not dare to say a word about it. The director also did not want to cause any more trouble and merely wanted the rest of the group to apologize to Irene before waiting for her to calm down. Once that was done, they were able to return to filming. What he never expected was that she was still not satisfied even after the actress kneeled and apologized to her. She rushed forward and pulled the woman¡¯s hair before shoving her head onto the ground. ¡°Tell me clearly! Who am I worse than? Who? Am I more beautiful or is the b*tch more beautiful?¡± While sobbing, the actress quickly said, ¡°You¡¯re beautiful! You are the most beautiful! You¡¯re more beautiful than anyone else!¡± Irene was angered to the point where it had distorted her facial features¡ªshe was no longer the most beautiful woman in the military as she stepped on the actress¡¯ hands to vent her anger. ¡°Who did you say I am? A mistress? Open your filthy eyes wide and look at me! Do I look like someone¡¯s mistress to you? Do I? How can I, Irene Weber, be someone¡¯s mistress? Taylor Murray is my man! That b*tch is a nobody! She took Taylor from me! She¡¯s the mistress, not me! Not me! Do you hear that?¡± Still at the peak of her anger, Irene hit the actress until blood oozed out from thetter¡¯s nose. It was not just that; even the actress¡¯ forehead was bleeding. With her face full of blood, it made her look pitiful. Irene has gonepletely insane! Sophia frowned as she looked at the scene. Is all of this worth it to secure a man? No, what Irene wants is not the man. She doesn¡¯t want Joel or Michael¡ªwhat she wants is the recognition from the Fletcher Family. She wants to be a part of the Fletchers and can¡¯t wait to change her last name to Fletcher. Even though she grew up with the Fletchers and Old Master Fletcher treated her better than his own granddaughter, she was still not part of them. She¡¯s still Irene Weber. She spent her entire life trying to be a part of the Fletchers. If she is unable to seed, she will deny all of her efforts and her entire life before sinking into a sea of pain, unable to help herself at all. What a pathetic woman. The director finally had everyone under control and sessfully persuaded Irene. After she calmed down, the actress who held the role of a seniordy still continued to give a kowtow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry.¡± However, Irene pointed at the woman on the ground, who looked as lowly as a dog, and viciously answered, ¡°Look into the background of this woman and remove her entire family from the Actors Union. Confiscate her Actor Pass as well.¡± Upon hearing that, the actress was stunned as she raised her head. Her entire family¡¯s livelihood depended on the work around the film studio. If they were fired, they would have nowhere to go to. ¡°Miss Weber. I realized my mistake. I really do. Please let me and my family go!¡± The director also thought that it was way out of life. After all, Irene was the one who personally admitted that she was Taylor¡¯s mistress and openly referred to herself as such in the industry. Yet she doesn¡¯t allow anyone toment on that? Unfortunately, it¡¯s an unlucky day for this actress since she asked this upon herself. The director could do nothing except to say, ¡°Sure, there¡¯s no problem. Please calm down, Miss Weber. I¡¯ll ask the group leader to handle this actress.¡± Upon hearing that, the group leader brought the actress away, but thetter suddenly rushed to hug Irene¡¯s thigh and begged while sobbing. They were both of the same age group, but one was high and mighty whereas the other was in a low position with crow¡¯s feet from all the sufferings that she endured. Just because of a fewments, she had caused her entire family to lose their jobs. Hence, shepletely broke down and begged for Irene to let them go while holding onto her thighs. The annoyed group leader quickly yanked the actress away from Irene¡¯s thighs and forcefully dragged her away. Everyone around them was furious upon that sight, but did not dare to say anything even though they were livid. After all, anyone who dared to offend Irene would end up in the same way as the actress. Everyone murmured among themselves but they did not dare to speak out. Meanwhile, the director continued to bow to Irene as he calmed her down and the only other sound they heard was the cries of the supporting actress. Finally, someone could no longer bear with it and said loudly, ¡°This is outrageous! You already im to be Taylor¡¯s mistress in the open yet you don¡¯t allow others to say the same thing? Even if she has said something wrong, she has already kneeled and apologized to you, but you still want to leave her jobless. No wonder Taylor Murray ignores you! To you, the crew¡¯s efforts for the entire afternoon are like child¡¯s y. You¡¯re already a middle-aged woman in your forties yet you still pretend to be a willful young princess? Serves you right to be abandoned and be a lonely old woman whom no one wants! Your grandchildren are already asking you to join the senior homes!¡± A deadly silence hung in the air, resembling the few seconds before a bomb was denotated or the few seconds of calm before the storm. After a few seconds of deadly silence, the bomb suddenly exploded and the storm also arrived, just as expected. ¡°Who is the one speaking? Get your *ss out here!¡± As Irene¡¯s chest heaved, she went berserk and looked like she could copse at any time due to her fury. After walking out from the group of actors, Sophia removed her face mask. ¡°That would be me, Taylor¡¯s legal wife.¡± Chapter 881 Chapter 881 No matter what was being said, Sophia was Michael¡¯s legal spouse in the household registry. Initially, she pitied Irene and decided to let her off the hook, but thetter was getting overboard. Look at how she whacked the supporting actress! The Fletchers might have owed her recognition, but both me and the actress owe her nothing! Upon seeing the youngdy who emerged, Irene¡¯s pupils contracted as she spat out the name that she hated the most through gritted teeth. ¡°Scarlett Mitchell! It¡¯s you again!¡± Sophia walked toward the group of actors and helped the actress to her feet. Even though she was nasty with her words, she was a generally kind person. Sophia did not spare a nce at Irene and instead looked at the group leader while saying, ¡°I¡¯m helping thisdy here. If anyone dares to kick her off the Actors Union, they are deliberately going against my wishes.¡± The group leader nodded weakly. After all, between Taylor¡¯s wife and mistress, it was obvious that the former had more say¡­ Irene looked at the woman approaching her¡ªthetter was blessed with fair, supple skin together with clear, beautiful eyes and a face that looked incredibly beautiful without any makeup. On the other hand, Irene could not hide her ugly, vicious expression due to her intense fury. So¡­ Scarlett is actually Sophia. I ironically thought that she went under the knife to look like Sophia. Sophia is indeed alive! No! Sophia is already dead! This person is merely a product of stic surgery and shamelessly pretends to be Sophia! Even if she¡¯s really Sophia, I will never acknowledge that fact! Sophia wore the mask again, revealing only her pair of blue eyes. With the baseball cap pressed on her fair forehead, she spoke, ¡°She¡¯s merely making remarks behind your back. Do you have to go this far? Look at you¡ªI can see your wrinkles due to your anger. They look ugly!¡± The thick makeup on Irene¡¯s face had faded by that point and clearly revealed her wrinkles due to her angry expression and agitated emotions. ¡°Huh! Do I have to go this far?¡± Ireneughed sadistically. ¡°Scarlett, do you have to ask me that question? It¡¯s all because of you! It¡¯s because of you b*tch that I¡¯m in this situation! I curse you to have a terrible death!¡± She was hysterical like a madwoman. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. ¡°Scarlett, even if you have stic surgery to resemble her, so what? You will never be able to have Taylor. The only person whom he loves is me. We are together now, but you are nothing!¡± Sophia did not want to speak another word to Irene and would not have stood up like that if she had not gone overboard by bullying the supporting actress. Not in the mood to continue the conversation with Irene, Sophia merely repeated to the group leader, ¡°Remember what I said earlier. I¡¯ll check in two dayster. Make sure that nothing happens to thisdy.¡± With that, she prepared to leave. Seems like this scene can¡¯t be filmed today. I¡¯ll bring Carmen home tomorrow since we don¡¯t need this amount of money. However, Sophia¡¯sckadaisical attitude had enraged Irene even more. Irene gave Sophia a chase without giving a thought on how her current look. ¡°Scarlett, stand right there!¡± Sophia turned to look at Irene without uttering another word. Irene said loftily, ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll be honest with you¡ªI¡¯m already in a rtionship with Taylor. You won¡¯t be able to intercept our rtionship in your entire lifetime! You have no idea how gentle he is with me. Last night, he hugged me in bed as he repeatedly said that he will care for me and love me forever! You are nothing to him!¡± Sophia snorted. Irene has really gone insane. Because of a man, she looks like she was infected with rabies. Is it even worth it? Hence, she replied, ¡°Yes, yes, yes, you are the most beautiful and Taylor is your man. I have no ns topete with you. Are you satisfied now? I¡¯m heading home for dinner now.¡± She removed Irene¡¯s hands on her shoulder and turned to leave. Sophia¡¯s indifference had once again annoyed Irene, making her feel like her attacks hadnded on cotton. As Sophia left, Irene viciously red at the senior actress. ¡°Chase this woman and her family out from the film studio and never allow them to work here again!¡± Just as the actress thought she was out of the hot soup, she fell to the ground in despair once again. Irene looked pleased with herself as Sophia stopped walking as expected. She merely wanted to make Sophia angry so they could fight until the end. The Fletcher Family owes me this. I¡¯m sure Michael will side with me after this! Sophia decided not to join the fight. With her hands in her pockets, she turned upon hearing Irene¡¯s words and calmly addressed the crowd. ¡°I have made myself clear¡ªI will ensure that nothing will happen to this actress. I¡¯m Taylor Murray¡¯s legal wife whereas this woman is merely his mistress. Who do you think has more power? I¡¯ll leave it to everyone to decide.¡± Sophia left with her hands still in her pocket. As Irene was still not satisfied, she chased after Sophia, but was stopped by thetter¡¯s two bulky bodyguards. She hated Sophia to the maximum while watching her leave. Why can she be so carefree after taking my happiness away? How shameless! ¡°You¡¯re a b*tch! B*tch, I¡¯ll never let you have Taylor! You won¡¯t get anything! You are forever a b*tch¡ª nobody!¡± Everyone thought, Damn, she¡¯s really gone crazy. She¡¯s just a mistress yet she dares to talk to the wife in an arrogant manner. Sophia was not in the mood to continue the fight with Irene. After all, it was boring to fight with an insane woman. Since Sophia mentioned that she would not let anything happen to the actress, she lived up to her word and even asked someone to inform the Actors Union. The main reason why Irene was able to call the shots was because she was Taylor¡¯s ¡®mistress¡¯ and everyone was merely respecting Taylor. Now that his wife had showed up, the crowd respected her even more since she was his legal wife. Even if Sophia was not his spouse, her background itself was rather impressive. Soon, Michael caught wind of what happened in the film studio. Irene, again! Irene had recently been showing off her position as Michael¡¯s mistress. He remembered the good deeds that her ancestors had done, so he informed his colleagues to cut her some ck so that the situation would not end badly. What happened in the end was her taking advantage of the leeway to even start a fight with Sophia. Michael had a feeling that he needed to nip the problem in the bud before it would give him hell in the future. However, his biggest trouble now was not Irene. Rather, it was his father-inw, who was difficult to appease. He was a stubborn person who was a recluse to everything, be it good or bad, making it impossible to marry his daughter. Apart from that, Sophia had no interest in marriage as well, but still slept with Michael after he personally approached her. However, as for marriage, she would only consider it after some time. After all, there was still a lot of time in the future. Good times were still waiting ahead of her. Michael felt that all his recent efforts werepletely useless¡ªhe had used all of his tactics until he was completely drained, yet he still could not convince Sophia to return to his side. For the first time in his life, he doubted his attractiveness and looks. However, he could also understand the entire situation¡ªSophia was no longer the same person as before. In the past, he was her everything, but now, she was a princess who received all of the love she could get. It also did not help that she did not have a shortage of brilliant men like Michael around her. Chapter 882 Chapter 882 Even if he offered his own flesh and body, it still would not have made a difference. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, about Sophia and I, don¡¯t you think¡­¡± Michael trailed off when he saw the needle again. Cooper gave him a distasteful look and answered, ¡°Don¡¯t you even think about it!¡± Carmen was back with them and she had wrapped herself in Cooper¡¯s arm before dozing off to sleep. Upon looking at her round face in hisp, as cute as she was, she did not have the energy to help to rally support for her father. Michael could only hasten himself. At night, Cooper brought Carmen and Sophia back to the hotel to rest while he packed his belongings to return to Bayside City the next day. As Carmen wanted to sleep with her grandpa on the same bed, Sophia, who was alone, huddled under the covers and spoke with Michael over the phone. They even chatted animatedly past midnight. Then, under the pretext of heading to have a barbecue, she sneaked out and found her way to his hotel. She wanted to give him a memorable farewell. Michael had no choice but to remain at the film studio for a while, so Sophia figured that they probably would not have time to meet up with each other once she returned to Bayside City. She figured that at the very least, she should have some fun on herst night there. After they made love, Sophia wanted to take a shower before leaving, but she never expected that Michael was adamant in not allowing her to leave. As a result, she stayed the night with him. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. She was enjoying herst round with him in bed when she suddenly heard a booming voice outside the hotel¡¯s window at dawn. It was a woman shrieking hysterically in a piercing voice. ¡°Michael, you better come out now! Come out now! If you don¡¯t, I will kill myself and I will keep to my word! I¡¯ll give you one minute¡ªif you still refuse toe out and give me an exnation, I will jump from here!¡± Upon hearing the voice, it sounded like it came from somewhere close by. Because the wee hours of the morning had always been apanied with silence, the sudden hysterical cries seemed to have traveled at a deafening volume. Michael rose to his feet and drew the blinds to peek outside. He saw a figure standing on the roof of the hotel next to his. That person was holding a loudspeaker and appeared to be hysterically shouting into it. Isn¡¯t that Irene Weber? He spotted Irene standing alone at the ledge of the building, preparing to jump at any moment as she yelled into the loudspeaker for the entire world to hear. Michael had only slightly pulled the blinks to reveal a gap, but a ray of light spilled into the hotel room and was reflected in his eyes. His eyes were as dark as ck ink as it did not have any expression. Irene arrived at the film studio and discovered that he was also in the same vicinity to film a movie. However, the film set had bodyguards there¡ªone of them even witnessed his colleagues throwing her out. She wanted to head to Michael¡¯s hotel to harass him, but only knew the name of his amodation without no knowledge on the floor he was on. The hotel had many entrances and exits, making it impossible for her to block them even if she wanted to. It was also unexpected that she would even threaten tomit suicide in the middle of the night. With one final nce, he closed the doubleyered and sound-proofed warming windows. The minute he did so, everything that happened outside no longer had anything to do with him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go on.¡± If she really wanted to kill herself, she could easily locate one of the nearby skyscrapers and make a grand departure. Instead, she deliberately arrived in the middle of the night to cause a scene. Armed with a loudspeaker, she had created such a huge fuss for the entire world to hear, which did not resemble the behavior of a suicidal person. In the end, Irene had managed to single-handedly arouse half the city from their sleep in a state of shock. Yet, Michael, who was living in the hotel opposite, was surprised to learn that she jumped from the building, much to his dismay. By then, the fire brigade had already gathered at the ground floor and was prepared with an inted air cushion, which they had conveniently prepped, to catch Irene as shended. It was a pity that she jumped from a building that was only seven to eight stories tall, so she had only suffered superficial injuries and was immediately rushed to the hospital. At dawn, media outlets had caught wind of the story and reported on the coveted love triangle. She naturally epted the invitation to be interviewed and portrayed herself as the innocent, pitiful woman who had been abandoned. She evenmented that it was Michael who had a change of heart and left her. Despite all of her pleads and cries, he never showed up to visit her at the hospital. However, the incident that happened the night before had caused Michael¡¯s reputation to be affected; one of which was the revtion of his genuine identity. Now, the world was aware of his background¡ªhe was in fact one of the Fletchers and a descendant of the military! It did not matter whether his true identity had been exposed. After all, he had already received the approval and recognition from the Fletcher Family. He shifted his name to the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral grave and arranged for a joint burial with Theo. Their marriage application had also been approved and on Ancestors¡¯ Day, Michael proved himself to the family by burning his original paperwork. He was no longer an illegitimate child, but rather a dignified and legitimate person by birth. Irene had spent the night throwing tantrums at the window which faced the direction of the hotel where Michael stayed. On the other hand, he was having a good time with Sophia in his hotel room. It was only in the morning when Cooper learned from his bodyguards that Sophia had sneaked out. He rushed to Michael¡¯s room and knocked on the door, only to find Michael in the middle of brushing his teeth. ¡°Hey, Mr. Mitchell. I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re here to look for Sophia. She¡¯s pretty bushed fromst night, so she is still asleep. Since you both are leaving on your private jet, I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re in a hurry? Come on in and take a seat,¡± he warmly greeted while holding the door open and ushering the moody Cooper inside. A half-naked Michael purposefully moved around the room within Cooper¡¯s view, so as to make it obvious that his daughter resembled cooked rice. On the other hand, Michael wanted to remind Cooper that what had been done could not be undone and Sophia was already an adult! Cooper grew up with the local influence and even instilled the same principles in Sophia. Cooked rice? That¡¯s impossible; even if rice was cooked into porridge, it would still be a bowl of sloppy, innocent mush ¡ªnothing could change that. Did Michael think that he will be able to have Sophia with him after a night of fun? He must be out of his mind! Meanwhile, Carmen found the bed that she previously slept on and retrieved the stack of hard-earned money hidden beneath the pillow. She counted all of the money in the pile and securely tied them with an stic band before shoving it into her backpack. Then, she happily carried her backpack before heading off. This is all my hard-earned money! Even before Sophia could have enough sleep, she was already woken up by Carmen and yawned while heading out the door. Michael was dressed and ready to make his way to the film set. Before he left, he pulled Sophia into an embrace and kissed her. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to call me,¡± he said. The two of them then kissed in front of Cooper. An excited Carmen also jumped up and down while she uttered, ¡°I also want a kiss, Daddy!¡± When Michael squatted and gave Carmen a peck, Cooper¡¯s exasperated expression could not help but melt away. Once that was done, Cooper led both girls to the garage where his escort car was parked. They immediately entered the car and made their way to the airport to board the private jet that would take them back to Bayside City. After Michael had said goodbye to Sophia, he felt a sense of emptiness in himself although he was pleased. At least he had ovee the important step and pushed it out of the way. Once he was done with the filming and had perfectly portrayed Cooper¡¯s father, he and Sophia could be together as long as Cooper was satisfied with the film¡¯s oue. Meanwhile, in a hospital close to the film studio, Irene had been waiting for two whole days, but Michael still did not show up. He could not even be bothered to send his representative to visit her. In an attempt to vent her frustrations toward him, she threw any bottle that she could find in her ward. ¡°Michael Fletcher! What on earth do you want me to do? Go to hell, all of you Fletchers!¡± A bottle of tonic, which the filming crew had sent, was flung across the room. The bottle rolled to the edge of the doorway of the ward before resting against the tip of a leather-pointed shoe. She instantly perked up, thinking that he had sent someone to visit her. As her gaze tracked upward from the leather-pointed shoe to the person¡¯s face, it was Sandra¡¯s face which she saw instead. Irene¡¯s beaming face instantly fell and dampened her mood. ¡°What are you doing here? Are you here tough at me too? Chapter 883 Chapter 883 Sandra wore a set of professional attire as she entered the hospital ward and removed her sunsses, revealing a set of eyes that were cold and distant. ¡°Irene Weber, you are fully aware that he doesn¡¯t care whether you are dead or alive and yet you still want to humiliate yourself. Are you stupid? Has he even showed up to visit you for a second? Look at yourself¡ªhow did you manage to allow Sophia Edwards to affect you like this? Even I find you pathetic!¡± Although she was stoic, she wanted to fan the mes and make things worse than it already was. Irene sneered in response. ¡°Sandra, please don¡¯t make the matter worse by instigating. You only want to use me to get to Sophia Edwards because she caused you to be in a situation that¡¯s worse than mine! At least my skirt wasn¡¯t pulled apart on the spot.¡± When Sandra was younger, she only loved wearing skirts¡ªregardless of whether it was the summer or winter season. She always wore skirts to show off her fit and long legs, but since Sophia had ripped her skirt off in public on time, she did not dare to wear skirts anymore; she even developed a deep aversion toward it after that. ¡°Shut up!¡± Sandra yelled, interrupting Irene as thetter recalled the story. The bluish-green vein on her forehead, which was as fair as porcin, throbbed as the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrobly. Sandra had encountered the deepest humiliation in her entire life on that day, which was having her skirt and panties ripped off by Sophia in public. On top of that, Sophia had also publicly shamed and insulted Sandra to the point where she vowed to avenge the enmity. She had already thought of a thousand ways to retaliate against Sophia, but merely needed the right timing to do so. The two women in the ward had calmed down since it was useless to expose each other¡¯s scars as they shared amon enemy¡ªSophia. Irene wanted Sophia dead¡ªthat was the only way in which she could im Michael as her own. On the other hand, Sandra not only wanted Sophia to die, but she also wanted to destroy the matrimony between the Fletcher Family and Cooper. Having Sophia dead was the best method in achieving that goal and Irene was an important piece to making it happen. Sandra sat by the edge of Irene¡¯s bed and lifted her ck-rimmed sunsses before speaking frankly, ¡°I have a n, which will definitely have Sophia out of the picture. I just need to find someone to execute it. Do you have an interest in it?¡± Irene scoffed while answering, ¡°Are you thinking of using me as an assassin?¡± ¡°What do you mean by using you as an assassin?¡± Sandra responded. ¡°I just can¡¯t get someone who¡¯ll be able to do the deed in a better manner than you. After all, you are the apple of Old Master Fletcher¡¯s eyes and he treats you like a daughter. You are favored more than his direct descendants of the Fletcher Family. If you can pull this off, I guarantee you that the oue will be twice your effort.¡± Upon hearing what Sandra said, Irene¡¯s eyebrows shot upwards as she felt pride growing within her. It was true that she was the most favored in the Fletcher Family and treated like she was one of their own, if not better. Her own parents had sacrificed their lives for the country, which made her the child of martyrs¡ªthat inadvertently meant that no matter how much trouble she caused, Mark would never fully me her. Sandra watched Irene¡¯s expression as she continued to exin, ¡°It¡¯s a foolproof n. Once it has been carried out, Sophia will die without a proper ce for her body to beid to rest. Don¡¯t you want to be the one who personally tortures her to death?¡± Irene rolled her eyes as she was hesitant. Up until that point, she was merely fooling around. If it really meant killing someone¡­ However, when she thought of Sophia and Michael being happily together, her heart felt like it was being sliced by a thousand swords. She turned towards Sandra and responded, ¡°Why don¡¯t you share with me about your foolproof n? Maybe I¡¯ll give it a thought.¡± Without missing a beat, Sandra gave voice to her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m prepared to look for someone to kidnap both you and Sophia. Then, you will act like you genuinely want to save her, but in the end, you were unable to do so. That way, she¡¯ll die and you will live life as a good person. Michael would definitely see you in a different light too.¡± A suspicious Irene asked, ¡°This n of yours¡ªwill it actually work? How can I be certain that you won¡¯t use this to undermine me?¡± Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Sandra understood where Irene wasing from, nodding and gazing at thetter with envious admiration before replying, ¡°Irene, you are nothing short of Mark¡¯s most beloved junior, so how can I possibly dare to undermine you? The person I want to eliminate is Sophia as well as destroy the matrimony between Cooper and the Fletcher Family. How can I think of possibly deceiving you? In fact, I hope that you will be able to say a few words to the Fletchers on behalf of my father and me in the near future!¡± Irene felt her own suspicions gradually dispel. As for Sandra, she had been able to convince herself due to her identity¡ªshe had grown up with the children of the Fletcher Family and was even more favored than them. As long as she had the chance to mediate for the Fletchers, then the Fletchers would eventually support Alex. The twodies hit it off andunched into a detailed discussion of their n in the ward. After the fuss and drama that Irene created, Michael spoke up about the harassment that he received from her, which resulted in her losing her role. So, she packed her belongings and returned to Bayside City to heal her broken heart. In hindsight, she did not sustain any severe injuries and merely grazed her skin, but she was deeply hurt by what she had done for him. It was the kind of grief that she felt to her bones and muscles. When Irene returned to Bayside City, more people came to visit her at the hospital. The first of them was Stanley, who had been sent by the Old Master to persuade her. ¡°Miss Irene, you shouldn¡¯t continue to persist in the matter. Uncle Michael and Uncle Joel have their families and children¡­ Besides, marriage doesn¡¯t represent your entire life and identity,¡± Stanley blurted his words in a soft voice while slicing some fruits for Irene. He did not intend toe to the hospital to visit her, but Mark was adamant with his decision. Irene¡¯s parents had gone on a high-stakes mission, risking their lives without a second thought and died as a result. In the end, after sessfullypleting the mission, they had heroically sacrificed their own lives and did so while clutching each other in a tight embrace. The martyred couple, who had saved hundreds of lives, was awarded with first-ss merit for their deeds, which was how Irene came to be adopted by Mark and brought up with much love, care, and attention. Her parents were heroes, so how did shend herself in that mess? It must have been the trauma she endured from their deaths causing her to behave in a negative manner. Ireneid on the hospital bed, but did not say a word in response. Stanley had washed his hands after cutting the fruits and was now preparing to leave since he already said what he needed to say. It was not his business to ask whether she would heed his advice or not. He returned to the room and found that she munched on the sliced fruits, noticing that her pale face was now etched with wrinkles. She went under the knife for a double-eyelid surgery a few years ago as she wanted her eyes to resemble Sophia¡¯s. However, age was catching up on Irene and her body¡¯s recovery rate evidently slowed down to the point where those surgical marks, which had been previously covered with makeup, were now obvious. Now that she had a bare face, there was nothing much to cover. In Stanley¡¯s memory of them growing up together, he recalled Irene as the honest and intelligent skrk with a melodious singing voice. She also grew into a beautiful woman who was the darling of the kids in the Fletcher Family. How many people had tried to woo her? How did it all turn out like this? ¡°You must be tired from all the talking, Stanley,¡± Irene finally spoke. ¡°Drink some water before you leave.¡± She took out a cup and poured some water into it. He also felt that his mouth was parched, so he reached out with a hand and epted the cup from her without hesitation to gulp the water. When he finished, he could not help but add, ¡°You are still young, Irene. At forty years of age, you¡¯re merely at the beginning of your youth. The road ahead is still long¡­¡± Those words were his sincere words and he had said it in the hopes that she would find her way back after losing track of the right path. The Fletcher Family had treated her like a jewel and gave her everything that she had asked for. It would not be appropriate if she became greedy at that point. She did not say a word, but only continued to eat the fruits. Stanley rose to leave, but the moment he stood up, he felt blurry, causing him to lose his bnce as he copsed next to the bed. Once he had lost consciousness, Irene, who pretended to munch on her fruits, looked up with shining eyes. There are so many men in the Fletcher Family. Why did I have to choose Joel and Michael? Young, handsome, and with a bright future ahead of him¡ªStanley is a much better choice! She dragged Stanley¡¯s body up the bed and gently unbuttoned his shirt. Back then, he could only follow other inferior boys, but now, he was already a man¡ªit was time for him to have ady! Chapter 884 Chapter 884 Irene had watched Stanley being delivered into the world and him growing up into the man he now was. That silly boy who once yed chase with his own back ten years ago had matured into an adult. She then slowly peeled off the thin fabric of his shirt and reached her hand underneath it to carelessly knead the flesh. After drinking the cup of water that Irene spiked, Stanley waspletely unaware of what happened since he was deep asleep. She straddled on his unconscious body, pressing her hands into his sturdy build, with a fierce and lewd look in her eyes. Since the men of the Fletcher Family have yed with my feelings and left me to fend for myself, what if I return the favor to them? She wondered whether Stanley would fall in love with her if she became pregnant with his child. On top of that, what could Michael and Joel do about it? Instead of vying for the two older men¡¯s attention, she should give Stanley another five¡ªno, ten¡ªyears as he would definitely be more splendid than his uncles by then! ¡­ Standing by the roadside facing the hospital building, Sean was in his formal suit and clutching a briefcase in one hand. He had been waiting for a long time; he nced at his watch before looking at the street opposite the hospital and turning to his wristwatch again. He started to be anxious because Stanley mentioned that he would only sit and have a talk with Irene for ten minutes. It was already half an hour since Stanley went up and there was still no sign of him exiting the hospital doors. His assistant was holding onto Judge, the big dog, so that it could have a walk while they waited outside. They were supposed to join Sean for a business meeting and would bete if they did not make a move soon. ¡°President Mitchell, do you want me to head up there and inform Mr. Fletcher?¡± The assistant who had brought the dog for a walk returned and asked. Judge recently returned to Stanley¡¯s ce. Although he had specially hired a nanny to look after the husky and apany it for walks and ys, the dog still seemed lonely. Stanley would asionally bring Judge to the office so that the dog could act as a bodyguard. When the humans left earlier for the business meeting today, Judge had insisted on tagging along. Sean looked at his watch for the umpteenth time and called Stanley on his cellphone, but no one answered. After a long while, Sean suggested, ¡°I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± Stanley and Sophia maintained a close rtionship; on the other hand, her and Irene¡¯s rtionship tore into pieces when the news about the film studio was exposed in the media. It was hard to say now whether Irene would do anything to him or not. On the other hand, he was an honorable gentleman who served as a soldier in the military. How could he honestly allow himself to suffer any losses at the hands of a woman? However, Sean was still worried about the situation as he led Judge into the hospital and found Irene¡¯s ward. Two of Irene¡¯s assistants stood guard at the door to her ward. When they saw Sean walking down the corridor toward their direction, they hastily stepped in front of him to bar him from further advancing. One of them said, ¡°Miss Irene is having a discussion with Young Master Stan. She specifically informed us that they are not to be disturbed.¡± A discussion? Sean thought. What sort of discussion are they having that can be more important than the business meetingter today? It had already been agreed that today would be the day that they would negotiate with the Michel Group. Although it was safe to say that they were on good terms with Linus after burying the hatchet with him, it was still not like Stanley¡¯s style to bete. Furthermore, Stanley had always been known to be highly self- disciplined and punctual. Why isn¡¯t he picking up his phone? It¡¯s not like Stanley to ignore his phone for no apparent reason. Sean wished that he could knock on the door, but Irene¡¯s assistants were determined to stop him from doing so. Judge also anxiously pawed at the door when Sean suddenly realized something. Could it be that Stanley and Irene are¡­ N-No, that¡¯s impossible. Stanley, that idiot, had secretly admired Sophia all those years, so it was impossible for him to easily have a change of heart. He was also aware that the situation between her situation with Irene was in a dangerous territory. He can¡¯t be this silly! As his thoughts ran amok, Sean decided that he would not waste any more time pointlessly talking with the assistants. He fiercely kicked the door open and released his grip on the Judge¡¯s leash, allowing the dog to be the first one to rush in. Sean and his two assistants burst in, only to notice various pieces of clothing scattered all over the floor with an almost naked Irene on top of Stanley and in the midst of removing his pants. She had seen Sean rushing in and now stared at him with hatred-filled eyes. That look in her eyes coupled with her posture made her resemble a cannibalistic old monster, leaving him and his assistants with a cold feeling when they digested the scene in the room. Sean was bbergasted when he saw what was before him. He understood that sooner orter, Stanley would eventually be married to a woman, but it was the first time he had witnessed his friend being naked and on the same bed with a woman. Sean felt that his heart was being stabbed with a thousand knives and that his lover had been rudely snatched from him. Sean stayed rooted to the grounds¡ªas if his footsteps weighed a ton. He did not move or speak and was not sure whether he should leave the room or¡­ Judge¡¯s reaction, on the other hand, was much quicker than his. As he snarled, the dog lunged toward the bed and Irene on her exposed butt. The dog with its titanium teeth took a bite of Irene¡¯s rotten skin, causing her to scream and roll off the bed. She now screamed her head off like a pig was about to be ughtered as the dog lunged after her again, wanting to take another bite of her flesh. In that instant, Sean came to his senses and immediately turned where Stanleyy on the bed. He saw that Stanley was shirtless and his pants were halfway down his thighs, but thetter was motionless on the bed. Sean realized that she could have spiked Stanley¡¯s drink since he did not react despite the commotion and her incessant yells. With the help of an assistant, Sean hurried over and pulled Stanley from the bed. Fortunately, they were in a hospital as they found a doctor right outside the ward to treat Stanley. As Sean left the room, he turned to see that the dog had managed to corner Irene. Hatred shed in his eyes. Irene Weber! Since they were dealing with an emergency, he did not have the time to deal with her, but vowed in his heart to confront her for her actions at another time! In the end, she had to be rushed to the emergency department in a bloodied mess as a result of Judge¡¯s multiple bite wounds. The husky was held down and given a rabies jab while Stanley was also sent to the emergency room after it was discovered that he had consumed the water that was spiked with a large amount of sleeping pills. The doctor assured that it was nothing serious and he would be alright as he needed sleep to recuperate from his ordeal. While Stanley was being examined in the emergency room, Sean waited in the hospital¡¯s corridor where he sat on the floor with shaky hands. The image of Irene and Stanley sleeping together on the bed continued to rey in his mind¡ªat the moment when he kicked the door to her ward open. The look on his young, handsome face was stony and unreadable. He had outgrown his childish appearance and lost some of the femininity that once signified his youthfulness in university. It was now reced by a deep, contemtive look. Judge was anxiously pacing back and forth in front of the operating theater. Not long after, Sophia and Linus appeared and rushed toward them. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡± It was less than two days since Sophia¡¯s return to Bayside City. After having lunch with Linus today, they had discussed heading for the scheduled business meeting with Stanley. However, a whileter, Sean phoned and mentioned that the meeting had been to be canceled. They learned that Stanley was admitted to the hospital and quickly rushed over to see whether he was alright. Sean regained hisposure and stood up to greet them. ¡°I don¡¯t really know. Stan will be awake soon and we¡¯ll find out then. But, don¡¯t worry, it wasn¡¯t anything serious,¡± he said. Sophia could feel that Sean was reserved and hiding something. She looked over and saw Judge wearing a muzzle, pacing in front of the doorway of the operating room. If it was wearing a muzzle, that meant it either bit someone or ate something. Stanley slept until it was night time. Not wanting his parents to worry, they did not inform his family that he was at the hospital. Instead, Sean, Sophia, Sarah, and Linus stayed by Stanley¡¯s bedside and apanied him throughout the entire afternoon as well as at night. When Derek got off work that evening, he was rushed to the hospital in a state of panic. He was in charge of thepany¡¯s management and Cooper had made an executive decision to change the former¡¯s name to Derek Mitchell. Derek¡¯s birth name did not sound pleasing to the ears¡ªhisst name had a domineering aura while his first name sounded rather in. So, Cooperbined both their parents¡¯st names and decided on the name, ¡®Derek Mitchell¡¯. At night, Stanley finally woke up from his deep, long slumber and realized that there were many people huddled around his bedside. In a state of surprise, he blurted out a series of questions, ¡°Why are you all here? What¡¯s wrong with me? What time is it? Where is this ce?¡± Chapter 885 Chapter 885 It was only when he woke up that everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Upon knowing that Stanley was no longer in any harm, those who gathered around his bed took the opportunity to catch up with each other as they chatted into the night. It had been such a long time since they had a happy gathering like that. However, after waking up, Stanley had no recollection of what happened earlier that day¡ªhe only remembered that he was talking to Irene before falling asleep. Sean did not add much except that he had found Stanley in her ward. Stanley stayed at the hospital until the next day, which gave him a much-needed relief to take a break. Ever since Judge was beaten thest time, Stanley had worked harder to improve thepany¡¯s performance at the expense of his personal time. So, he took the advantage to rest for those two days. He returned with Sean to their sea view vis in the suburbs for a short vacation¡ªboth of them had purchased a unit each for themselves and were neighbors since their vis were adjacent to each other. However, they would drop by their vis for a bit on the weekends since they either slept at the office or at the Fletcher Residence most of the time. Sophia had never been to Stanley¡¯s seaside holiday home, so she took the opportunity to take a look. She decided to host a seafood barbecue party at his ce that weekend since he had taken a day off work. The party did not have many attendees¡ªmost of them were their peers from university along with a buddy¡¯s two little critters. She even brought a reluctant Nathan along. While Sarah and Sarah ate their barbecued seafood, they chattered about their family¡¯s washed-up actors and children. ¡°Look at our family¡¯s Sour Face¡ªhe¡¯s arguablyrger in size than other kids his age. He¡¯ll surely be a one-of-a-kind, stunning mythical being when he grows up. Are you sure you¡¯re not going to consider delivering a baby doll?¡± Sarah bbered. ¡°I wanted to tell you that it¡¯s about time for you to marry and have children. Taylor¡¯s been waiting for you for such a long time that even his hair has turned white. He¡¯s still waiting for you even after you have returned. Since it¡¯s about time for you to settle down, why don¡¯t you get together with him?¡± She continued with her words. ¡°Love and marriage are not the same thing; when you¡¯re in love, you can be willful as you wish, but once you¡¯re married and have kids, things will be different. Look at me¡ªI¡¯m still fighting frequently with our family¡¯s Old Wolf. Only after marriage did I realize that great men also need to relieve themselves and their poop are equally as smelly! I waspletely disillusioned. Perfection doesn¡¯t exist in this world, but how can I leave it all behind now since I haven¡¯t done everything?¡± Whenever Sarah spoke about marriage and her kids, she always said one thing but did something else. Although she was still the samedy who had a passion for crispy duck skin and exquisite paintings and artwork, ultimately she was also a mother to her children. However, Sophia herself thought that it was still early for her to settle down. Since she was no longer that young, she wanted to continue dating for a few more years before marrying someone. It seemed that Michael was also anxious about it as he had urged that they marry after spending a night together. He was only forty years ago, so what rush was he in? Cooper was older than Michael by several years and was not even in a hurry to settle down at all. As she thought about Cooper, she was a tad bit worried. Although she had a rtionship with Michael, Cooper was still alone. The number of women who wanted to marry Fass could have formed a line around the globe, but he still kept to himself even after many years. It was hard for him to fully ovee the pain that he experienced in his younger days, rendering him unable to love another woman in the same way as he did before. ¡°By the way, what is Nicole up to these days? Every time I try to call her, her phone is always being answered by her assistants. It¡¯s as if she¡¯s busy all the time,¡± Sophia abruptly asked Sarah. Nicole had not kept in contact with Sophia for a while. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Sarah shook her head and replied, ¡°She¡¯s in the top management of Imperial Entertainment now and also one of its shareholders¡ªshe¡¯s super busy. You have to make an appointment two months in advance if you want to meet up with her.¡± Had it not been for Nicole at that time, Sophia would probably have died in Africa. It was a friendship that required no exnation. Even though Nicole did not admit it, Sophia knew that she had always loved Cooper. She had loved him for more than ten years and even yed a huge role when Sophia was searching for him. But, it was as though Cooper¡­ Meanwhile, on the other side of the party, Stanley drank one too many sses again and held onto the dog while talking nonsense. Linus and Sean were also drinking. Linus looked at the incoherent and drunk Stanley while taking a sip of wine before speaking in a crisp tone, ¡°Have you ever confessed your feelings for Stanley?¡± Sean was in the midst of sipping on his wine when he heard Linus¡¯ words and became silent while using it as an answer. He once thought that he could wish Stanley the best and bless him with happiness while watching him settle down with a family. However, when he saw Irene and Stanley in bed together, he realized that he had fooled himself all along. Maybe he was not as tough and liberal-minded as he had hoped. Still, he was not prepared to confess his feelings to Stanley because he was afraid that thetter would think that he was a pervert¡­ Although Stanley was an idiot who had not realized Sean¡¯s feelings for him, Linus had noticed it, seeing that he was not like other men. Sean gave a bitter smile before responding, ¡°Without the blessings and positive wishes from others on such matters, it¡¯s better to tuck the feelings away in one¡¯s own heart¡ªnot everyone shares the same courage as you, Linus.¡± Sean knew that he was not as mboyant and openly gay as Linus. The man loved whoever he wanted to love¡ªno matter whether the other person was a man or woman. Sean had no qualms over Linus¡¯s choices; thetter was free to do anything that he pleased. Upon hearing Sean¡¯s answer, Linus simply shook his head and poured himself another ss of wine. Then, he tipped his head back and took arge swig of the entire ss of wine. He put the ss down and turned to the other side to glimpse at Sarah and Sophia, whoughed as they chatted away. ¡°Is that so?¡± The gays were able to understand each other and Sean was keenly aware of the odd look that passed through Linus¡¯ eyes a moment ago. He seems to be watching Sophia? Without the blessings and positive wishes from others on such matters, it¡¯s better to tuck the feelings away in one¡¯s own heart¡­ That statement could have triggered a deeply buried secret in Linus¡¯ heart. Sean was startled since he seemed to have discovered something astonishing before breaking out in cold sweat. This is quite a big deal, he thought. I need to inform Michael about this as soon as possible. Something bad might happen if I push it aside! The drinking and eatingsted untilte at night before everyone gradually excused themselves for the rest of the night. Sophia slept in Sean¡¯s guest room at night. Carmen was already sound asleep when Sophia gently pulled the nket over her and allowed her to be in the safe arms of the nanny. Sophia then headed outside to feel the breeze since she was not sleepy. It was some time during midnight when she walked toward the seaside. A cool breeze swept along the beach as she hugged her jacket closer toward her body and sat by the sea. She could feel the breezy air on her skin as she admired the peaceful scenery. Farther out in the sea, she could see the vast moon steadily glowing like it floated on the surface of the sea. So, this is the so-called bright moon on the sea! ¡°Can you see the moon from your ce?¡± Sophia held the phone to her ear and spoke to the other person on the line¡ªMichael. From her cellphone, she could hear the sound of curtains being pulled before Michael¡¯s seductive voice apologizing, ¡°It¡¯s such a pity that there¡¯s no moon at my ce tonight, but that¡¯s okay. Whether there¡¯s a moon or not, it won¡¯t keep me from thinking about you. No matter whether it is windy or rainy, whether there is a moon or not, I miss you. When the sky is clear, I still miss you. When it is raining heavily, I will also be missing you. When I¡¯m feeling sad, I will think about you. When I¡¯m feeling happy, I will also be thinking about you. Without you by my side, every grain of rice that I eat is coated with the feeling of missing you dearly.¡± He was flirting again. Now that Michael used his seductive and alluring voice that he reserved for narration in films to flirt with Sophia, she felt that she had instantly turned into a heroine of an idol drama and was speaking about their love with the male protagonist. His skills in using his lines and charm had been effective to the point where she could not resist from being enchanted by those words. ¡°It¡¯s rare to hear you say sweet nothings like these to heroines in movies¡­¡± He replied, ¡°That¡¯s true. I don¡¯t fancy romance films. I like movies where things are being explored in a deeper manner, so I don¡¯t have many romantic lines. The only time when I did this was probably in that gangster film when I acted as an undercover cop.¡± Chapter 886 Chapter 886 ¡°Is it ¡®Undercover Blues¡¯?¡± The moment he described that movie, Sophia immediately knew which one it was. In that film, he yed an undercover cop where his character died afterpleting his mission. He bade hisst farewell to the female protagonist before taking hisst breath. It was one of those rare films in which he had many lines for his role. That scene in itself never failed to make her cry every time she watched it. The emotions that the lines carried were so raw when he delivered them. Upon having mentioned the film, she immediately requested, ¡°I wish to hear the lines from the final scene again. Will you recite them to me?¡± Michael recollected that scene and recited the lines to Sophia. She never used to make such requests from him. Nowadays, whenever she thought of any memorable scenes from his films, she would request him to quote them to her again. As she enjoyed herte-night conversation with him over the phone, Linus struggled to fall asleep and decided to catch some air on his balcony while staring at the moon. In the silence of the night, his alcohol had mostly worn off, leaving him alert and sober. In his head, he kept thinking about Sean¡¯s words from earlier that evening when they drank. Without the blessings and positive wishes from others on such matters, it¡¯s better to tuck the feelings away in one¡¯s own heart. Now that Linus had everything that a man could wish for, he also had the means and ability to get anything else that he wanted and do whatever he felt like doing. He no longer had to care about what others think of him or be bound by the rules of society. For example, for someone like him who fancied a person of the same gender, there was nothing to stop him from expressing his sexual orientation to others. The Michel Family was powerful enough that no one in their right frame of mind would dare to stick their noses into the affairs of its members. However, there was one thing that stopped him from going after the things that he wanted. Before meeting Sophia, he believed he had a perfect life. Now that she had appeared, he realized his life resembled a jigsaw puzzle that nearedpletion, but was short of one piece. And that piece is none other than Sophia. He felt as though they already knew each other in their past lives and reconciled in the current lifetime. His gut feeling indicated that she was the one whom he had waited for his entire life and they were meant for each other. It was just that the right time had not arrived. Unfortunately, she had found her other half¡ªnot only did she find herself a man, but she even bore him a daughter, who was now his niece. Linus let out a self-deprecating chuckle. Fate had such a twisted sense of humor that it brought Sophia into his life and caused him to fall in love with her. He took a couple more sips of wine before feeling the effects of the booze again. After quickly ncing at his surroundings, he realized that Sophia, who was strolling by the beach a while ago while on her cell phone, was nowhere in sight. Where did she go? The beach was pitch dark¡ªthemps at the vi were not bright enough to reach far enough. He scanned the beach under the faint moonlight, but still failed to catch any sight of her. Linus hurried downstairs with his cell phone in his hand and arrived at the spot where she sat earlier and noticed some footsteps on the beach. Judging by the direction of the footsteps, she did not return to her room. Instead, her footsteps looked like she was heading farther out along the beach before disappearing into the dark. He raised his cell phone and dialed for Sophia. In the midst of darkness before him, a light emanated not too far before it was followed by a familiar ringtone. He looked closely and found her ringing cell phone on the sand. A chill went down his spine as he began to call out for her name while running alongside the footprints. They eventually led him to the side of the road where it ended. Sophia is missing! After being unconscious for what seemed like an eternity, Sophia stirred from a throbbing pain behind her neck. She opened her eyes to see a ring light with her body being tied to a pir. Whoever tied those ropes and knots really wants to make sure that I won¡¯t escape. She heard the sound of high heels click-cking around the room. Before she could identify where she was, a hand reached out and pulled her hair, sending a sharp pain into her scalp as she was forced to look upward. ¡°Sophia, you deserve it today!¡± She squinted her eyes and saw that it was Irene before her. Irene had copious amounts of makeup on her; a little overdone would be an understatement since she could easily be mistaken for a zombie. There was an eerily crazed expression on her face that caused her powder-based foundation to peel and fall off. Sophia regained herposure as fast as she could and gathered her bearings. Thest thing she remembered was speaking on the phone with Michael at the beach. While listening to him reciting a scene, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck before losing consciousness. The next thing she knew, she saw Irene¡¯s face after opening her eyes. It appeared that Irene had not thrown in the towel yet. Sophia remained calm and ignored Irene¡¯s taunts as she wasted no time in scanning her surroundings¡ª it looked like she was being locked up in a basement. There was no way to tell the exact time at that moment, but she felt that the seafood she had for dinner was still being digested in her stomach, which meant that it had not been long. They were the only ones in the basement, but it did not look like Irene could pull it off on her own, so there should be someone else too. As there were two containers of gasoline in the basement, Irene grabbed Sophia¡¯s head and pointed her toward those cans before gleefully speaking, ¡°Do you see those gas containers? I¡¯m going to burn you with them! Imagine Mikey discovering your charred remains here tomorrow¡ªwill he still love you? Your pretty little face and your hourss figure will be gone. I¡¯ll see what else you will use to seduce Mikey! You are a wh*re¡ªnothing but a two-bit wh*re!¡± Irene had absolutely lost her mind and continuously yanked Sophia¡¯s hair to the point where she was numbed from the pain. As she was all tied up, Sophia could not do anything to fight back. Sophia bit her lips and refused to say a single word. Irene, who was overwhelmed with insanity, continued to pull Sophia¡¯s head up by her hair before giving several heavy ps across her face. ¡°Go ahead and cry or beg me. If you kneel down now, I might consider letting you go!¡± Irene roared in rage. Sophia finally decided to speak up. She spat a mixture of saliva and blood before responding, ¡°Do you even have the guts to kill someone? Back when I was taking someone¡¯s life, your menses had not even arrived yet!¡± After being evidently provoked by Sophia, Irene angrily reached for the gasoline and spilled it across her body. As she did it, she repeatedly yelled, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t have what it takes? You will see for yourself whether I have the guts to end your life!¡± At that moment, she behaved like she had an adrenaline boost. Her entire face twitched in exuberance as she muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t have the guts to end your life? What a piece of bullsh*t. Let me show you what I¡¯m capable of. In fact, I¡¯ll show it to you right now!¡± Before long, Sophia was fully drenched in gasoline. The nauseating fumes surrounded her as she remained tied to the pir. Irene took out a lighter and lit it up as she walked back and forth in front of Sophia. ¡°Do you see this? The moment I throw this lighter onto you, you will be burned to ashes! Getting burned to death is the worst way to die. Look at you being all tied up¡ªyou won¡¯t even get to struggle. I will make sure you suffer the worst pain possible. You¡¯ll be in so much pain till you will never be reincarnated!¡± Sophia was unusually calm and maintained a stoic expression as she lifted her eyes to gaze at Irene, saying, ¡°I¡¯ve been living in Africa for years. In a daily warzone, there is nothing that I have not seen. Nothing you do will scare me.¡± She was fully aware that if Irene ever threw the lighter at her, she would burn in mes and suffer a fiery death. Her steadyposure had greatly annoyed Irene. She not only wished for Sophia¡¯s death, but wanted her to beg for her life before dying helplessly. The me was dancing menacingly on the lighter that Irene held. It was only less than a foot away from Sophia¡ªany more closer and it would turn Sophia into a fireball. Irene then pointed at a knife nearby. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. ¡°You see that knife over there? If you beg me, I¡¯ll let you have a quick death! Come and beg me!¡± Chapter 887 Chapter 887 Sophia saw the knife too, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Irene found Sophia¡¯s cold and distant expression especially unpleasant, so she grabbed onto Sophia¡¯s hair while pping her multiple times. ¡°Beg for mercy now, you b*tch! I am asking you to beg me!¡± Sophia¡¯s face was swollen, and blood was already oozing from her especially fragile skin. Her nose was also bleeding, but she shed Irene an eerie smile. ¡°General Weber and Mrs. Weber were heroic figures. If they could see what¡¯s happening right now and learn what their daughter has be, I¡¯m afraid they would turn in their graves!¡± Irene was stumped when she heard that. General Weber is my father¡­ But there is no way back for me at this point. I have no choice but to kill Sophia. Everything will be back to normal if she dies. Besides, nobody would ever know how she died. To be honest, killing her is not my only goal because I want her to die in humiliation. I want her to beg for mercy on bent knees. I want her to kowtow to me while admitting her mistakes. Irene was blinded by fury, and she screamed hysterically. She scolded Sophia while grabbing her by her hair and beating her up. ¡°Beg me not to kill you! Beg me!¡± Sophia gritted her teeth when she retorted, ¡°Go on and hit me! I¡¯ll surrender if you are able to make me beg for mercy!¡± Irene vented her frustrations by beating Sophia. She regarded Sophia, who was bruised all over, and she felt good about herself. However, something shed through Irene¡¯s mind, and she seemed to have realized something. Then, she spat at Sophia, ¡°I almost fell for your trick! You are just stalling!¡± Sophia chuckled while she replied, ¡°It¡¯s not toote for you to realize about it¡­ Oh! I¡¯ve seeded in stalling for a few more seconds. By this point, the person must be here to rescue me. You will be dead if you don¡¯t make a move soon!¡± Irene was furious, and she took a lighter out from her bag. Just when she was about to strike the lighter, a small hand reached out swiftly to grab her wrist. The tiny and slippery hand was exceptionally strong, and there was an audible crack. Irene heard a crisp snap, and her arm felt numb. The lighter, which had not been ignited, fell onto the ground. At that moment, an intense pain came shooting from Irene¡¯s wrist. ¡°Argh!!¡± Irene held onto her limp hand, and she wailed at the top of her lungs. ¡°What did you do to me? What did you do to me?!¡± Sophia, who was bound to the pole, somehow managed to reach out with a hand. It was covered with petrol, so it was particrly slippery. Furthermore, her hand was small and thin, so she managed to release herself from the rope. Earlier, she kept chatting with Irene as a front to buy herself more time. Currently, Sophia had managed to release one hand, and so she broke Irene¡¯s wrist with precision. She still had time, and with a few more seconds, Sophia would have released her other hand too. Nevertheless, Irene realized Sophia¡¯s motive, and so she endured the horrible shooting pain from her wrist. She scrambled to snatch the lighter away from the ground because she was determined to burn Sophia to death today. However, she did not expect the sudden turn of events. Irene, who had just grabbed the lighter from the ground, wailed in agony suddenly. Then, she slumped onto the floor while moaning in pain. The lighting was poor, and so Sophia squinted while she looked behind Irene. She saw that Irene was on the ground, but there was a knife sticking out of her back. In fact, Irene had prepared that particr knife to kill Sophia. A pale and slender hand was holding onto the knife. When the perpetrator noticed that Irene was still struggling, the hand grabbed and retrieved the knife to plunge into Irene¡¯s back several times. The knife stabbed into Irene¡¯s vital points a few times until she died. Sophia stared in stunned silence at Irene, who was already dead on the floor. She then looked up at the ck figure who had barged in suddenly earlier. The figure was staring at Irene¡¯s body, as if struggling toe to terms with the fact that it had murdered somebody. After a pause, the figure approached Sophia, and she saw Sean, who was covered in blood. ¡°Sean, it¡¯s you!¡± The person who barged in was none other than Sean. He was covered with blood, and his fair face was contorted into a scary and murderous expression. However, the expression faded, and the color drained from Sean¡¯s face while he stared at Irene, who was slumped on the ground. His eyes were filled withplex emotions, including hatred and satisfaction, but it was mostly fear. However, the emotions were fleeting, and he soon pulled the knife out of Irene¡¯s body. Blood gushed out onto the floor, and Sean used the knife to cut the rope tied around Sophia. Nevertheless, the rope was tough, and it was wound around Sophia multiple times. Therefore, the knife just couldn¡¯t cut through it; even a fire couldn¡¯t get the job done. There was no way of unfastening the rope because they were nning to burn Sophia alive while she was tied to the pole. They were beyond malicious because they wanted her to suffer excruciatingly, and so they made it impossible to rescue her.N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. ¡°Why are you here? Where are my dad and uncle?¡± Sophia struggled against the rope, but it was tied so tightly around her that she could barely breathe right now. Although she was lucky to have freed a hand, it was almost impossible topletely break free. Sean seemed to be in shock because it took him some time before he finally rambled incoherently, ¡°They are on the way here. I rushed over before they did once I learned about the news.¡± Sean thought of Irene when Sophia was in trouble. Hence, he looked up Irene¡¯s car number te and searched the surveince cameras. In the end, he confirmed the location. He exined while trying his best to cut the rope to free Sophia. However, the rope was extremely sturdy. After murdering somebody for the first time, Sean was trying his best to keep his cool. Nevertheless, his trembling hands revealed his panic and fear. Since I¡¯d made it here, Irene wouldn¡¯t have been able to defeat a man my size. Besides, help was on the way, and I managed to get the knife. I shouldn¡¯t have killed Irene just now. However, when I saw Sophia being tortured, the scene from the hospital¡ªwhere Irene was on top of Stanley, ring at me deviously¡ªflooded my mind. At that moment, Irene didn¡¯t look like a woman; instead, she looked like a monster. In fact, her gaze from that time intertwined with her crazy gaze just now, and I lost control of my actions. I wanted to make this woman disappear from this world forever! I can¡¯t believe I killed Irene! By the time I snapped back to my senses, everything was toote! I know what it means for me to have killed Irene. At the same time, Sean heard a continuous re of the police siren. True enough, she had something up her sleeve! Meanwhile, Sophia thought to herself, After helping Irene catch me, they allowed the two of us to destroy each other. In the end, one of us would end up dead. Everybody would be happy if I had died, but since Irene died, I would be dragged into the situation. No matter who ended up dead, there would be a drastic change in the rtionship between Cooper and the Fletchers. Sophia knew who was the person calling the shots behind the scene because she knew that whoever benefitted the most from this would be the one pulling the strings in secret. ¡°Sean, you need to leave right now! Chapter 888 Chapter 888 Sean looked as though he did not hear her; instead, he continued cutting the rope in silence. The police siren was getting closer, and it sounded urgent, but Sean did not leave. Sophia knew that the enemy had set this trap, and Sean had murdered somebody for her. Therefore, she did not want to drag him into the situation. She advised him hastily, ¡°Sean, you need to listen to me. You have to leave right now. I know how to handle the situation!¡± Nevertheless, Sean obviously did not listen to her because he continued cutting the rope seriously. The damn rope wouldn¡¯t cut through; he won¡¯t be able to leave if he dys any longer. Sophia was panicking, and so she urged him. ¡°The enemy is trying to destroy the alliance between my father and the Fletcher Family. If I had killed Irene, it would be more of a personal grudge, but since you did it, it would mean that the Mitchells killed her, because there was no bad blood between you and Irene. Therefore, the enemy would have a reason to spread rumors.¡± Sean recollected himself, and he had already considered the consequences after killing Irene. She was the descendent of ate hero and the apple of the Fletchers¡¯ eye. Killing her meant that I would be in trouble, and the Mitchells, whom Cooper represents, would suffer too. In that case, I can¡¯t let Sophia take the hit for me. Sophia was furious because Sean wouldn¡¯t be able to escape if he refused to leave right now. Cooper would get me out of this if I get in trouble. Besides, I¡¯d been kidnapped, and Irene tried to burn me to death. Hence, killing Irene would have been self-defense. On the other hand, Sean killing her would be considered as voluntary manughter. With that, Sophia snatched the knife from Sean¡¯s hand to press it against her throat. ¡°Are you leaving or not? I¡¯ll kill myself if you refuse to leave right now!¡± Nevertheless, Sean refused to leave, and so Sophia pped him across his face while yelling at him, ¡°Leave! I¡¯m asking you to leave! Get lost! I don¡¯t want to see you! Leave!¡± Sean¡¯s eyes were brimming with tears. In the end, he gritted his teeth while turning around to escape from the scene. While watching Sean disappear through the basement door, Sophia wiped away his fingerprints from the knife in a hurry. After that, she felt exhausted, and so she ckened her body. However, the rope tied tightly around her body suffocated her, leaving her out of breath. Hence, she was still breathing heavily. The basement was humid and cold, but it was also filled with the scent of blood. Sophia gasped for air, but she was overwhelmed by the metallic stench that was nauseating. Irene was slumped dead on the ground in front of Sophia. Her body was covered with blood, which was pooling across the floor. In fact, the blood was seeping through the bottom of Sophia¡¯s feet, but she could only sit in Irene¡¯s blood since she had been rendered motionless. At that moment, Sophia¡¯s tense body finally rxed. It was then when she felt pain all over her body. There was blood on her hands, and her nosebleed was trickling down the corner of her lips. She heard some urgent footsteps, and soon, arge group of people arrived at the basement. The enemy scheduled everything to the second, because among the first group of people who came, there were swarms of reporters apart from the police. When the police set up the picket line, therge group of reporters ignored warnings from the police; they charged into the scene like maniacs to take photos of Sophia, who was tied onto the pole. She was disheveled from the beating, and her head was bowed down with blood trickling from her nose. Nevertheless, the group of reporters were still screaming at her to look up at them, just so they could get a headshot of her. Cooper witnessed that scene when he entered. His daughter was tied to the pole, covered in blood. There was blood on her, on the floor, and everywhere. Sophia was sitting in the pool of blood with her head bowed. In fact, she stayed still despite themotion. At that instance, Cooper felt as if the world was copsing around him, and even the simple act of breathing gave him heartache. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Get lost! Get lost!¡± Cooper roared while pushing aside all the reporters and police officers. He charged into the picket line, and he kneeled down on the floor with a thud before cupping Sophia¡¯s face. Her face was bruised and swollen; she was also bleeding from her nose. Then, she looked up at him weakly, and her lips parted when she called out softly, ¡°Dad.¡± Cooper¡¯s tears almost rolled down his eyes. Then, he turned and red at Irene, who was already covered with a white cloth. Soon, Cooper released Sophia as fast as he could to send her to the hospital. That day, the headline in Bayside City was ¡®Young Lady Mitchell Killed the Descendent of a Late Hero, Irene Weber¡¯. ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Wife Killed His Lover!¡¯ The news shook the entire Bayside City, and it especially affected the financial world. Everybody was specting whether the alliance between Cooper and the Fletchers would cease to exist over this matter. This wasn¡¯t the first time Irene had stirred up trouble, but the Fletcher Family had been turning a blind eye so far. Besides, they had been supporting her ever since she returned to the country. Hence, it was obvious how protective the Fletchers were over Irene. Sophia was considered the Fletchers¡¯ daughter-in- law, but her rtionship with Taylor was a mystery. Hence, at this point, nobody knew whom the Fletchers would side with¡­ Michael only managed to rush back home at noon from the film studio the next day after the incident. Currently, the Bayside City newspapers were filled with news of Sophia murdering Irene. There were a few pictures of her, showing her covered in petrol and blood while being tied to a pole, published on the front page. Stanley phoned Michael to inform him that Sophia was fine, but Michael was extremely worried. After arranging the matters involving the film crew, he took the first flight back to Bayside City. Then, he found the private hospital where Sophia was admitted to. However, he did not expect to be blocked by bodyguards when he arrived at the entrance of the hospital. ¡°I am sorry, Mr. Michael. The boss ordered that from today onward, you are not allowed to go anywhere near Miss Sophia.¡± Michael knew that Cooper would me him over this matter. That¡¯s understandable, because it was my fault. I did not expect Irene to be so insane. If something bad had truly happened, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see Sophia again today. However, I truly need to see her right now. Michael begged them. ¡°Please just let me go in to have a look at her. I¡¯m only asking for a quick nce. I will leave once I confirm that she¡¯s fine.¡± I¡¯d be happy even with just a quick nce. However, the bodyguards were unmoved, and they blocked his way into the hospital. Joel was blocked outside of the hospital too. Simr to Michael, Joel did not expect the degree of Irene¡¯s insanity. I admit that I had disappointed her, but we were both clear that she merely got together with me for the influence and power. I had always given her whatever she wanted, and I put her on a pedestal. In fact, I¡¯d given her everything she dreamed of. Did I abandon her? I never felt like I¡¯d abandoned her because Irene had always been unstable. Once upon a time, she noticed that I was more sessfulpared to a failing Michael, so she started flirting with me in secret. At that time, I was still young and immature. Besides, I was determined topete with Michael, and so I yed along. Irene was already temptedtely after she realized that Michael had seeded in life, and that he even won an Academy Award for Best Actor. In fact, she had been hinting heavily at Michael. She tried pursuing him while having control over me. She wanted whoever she could get, and she had been treating the two of us as her backup n. However, never in my wildest dreams would I expect her to make such a move! Joel and Michael were blocked outside of the hospital. Cooper¡¯s instructions were to allow only Maddie into the venue because thetter was a part of the media. Currently, all the news were revolving around stories of Sophiamitting murder intentionally, and so he needed somebody to report things in a positive light. Therefore, Joel and Michael were blocked outside of the hospital entrance while waiting for more news. Soon, Michael saw thewyer, Mr. Fields, arriving in a rush. It seemed that Sophia had admitted that she killed Irene, but it was a blurry line between justifiable and unjustifiable defense. Furthermore, Irene was the descendent of ate hero and a rapidly rising star in film, television, and music. Hence, her death shook the society, which also meant that the police were facing tremendous pressure from the public. It was vital for Sophia to have a powerfulwyer at this instance. Naturally, Cooper had already summoned the bestwyers from the get-go; Mr. Fields was just one of them. A huge crowd packed Sophia¡¯s hospital room. Some were police officers,wyers, reporters, and some were family members looking after Sophia. She was giving her statement. Apart from a mild concussion and losing some hair, the rest was just external injuries. Sophia did ording to herwyer¡¯s instructions by iming that her actions were self-defense in order to protect her life. Irene¡¯s fingerprints were on the gasoline can, lighter, and rope at the scene. It appeared as if she was trying to burn Sophia alive, but thetter somehow managed to escape. Then, Sophia must have fought back, killing Irene in the process. Chapter 889 Chapter 889 Sophia handed the rest of the issues to heryer. She would notment further because thewyers would know how to get her out of the situation. Besides, Maddie was already here, and she was reporting the news in a positive light. During the interview, a subordinate entered and whispered softly by Cooper¡¯s ears, ¡°Mr. Michael is here.¡± Cooper¡¯s expression turned frosty. ¡°Ask him to get lost.¡± He was extremely disappointed with Michael right now. If Michael had handled the situation appropriately, my daughter wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so much. It is fortunate that my daughter is fine this time. If something had happened to Sophia, I would have made sure Michael would be buried with her. Sophia seemed to have noticed something when she saw Cooper¡¯s cold and distant expression. She knew instinctively that Michael had arrived. Although she wanted to see Michael, she just didn¡¯t know how to face him right now. Irene deserved to die; even if I hadn¡¯t taken the me for Sean, and even if Sean hadn¡¯t killed Irene, I would have killed her if I had been holding the knife. If she hadn¡¯t been murdered, Irene would have used her status as the descendent of ate hero to free herself from any usations to continue with her troubled ways. The Fletcher Family had been caught in a tight spot when it came to Irene. She exhausted thest bit of love and patience from the Fletchers by unting her influence. I suppose I¡¯ve acted on behalf of God by removing the disaster from the hands of the Fletchers. If she had failed this time, Irene would have had a second attempt. I wouldn¡¯t want to wake up one day, only to again find myself tied to a pole while somebody sshed gasoline on me. Nevertheless, Irene was Michael¡¯s first love after all. Besides, she was the apple of the Fletchers¡¯ eye and the descendent of Old Master Fletcher¡¯s favorite pupil. Hence, I still feel bad for her murder, and so I just need some time alone. I suppose it¡¯s best to not see him for now. Michael and Joel waited for almost the whole day at the entrance, but Cooper refused to let them in. Maddie finally walked out of the hospital in the afternoon, and she spoke to Michael. ¡°Taylor, I interviewed Sophia just now. She is fine, and she is doing well currently. Don¡¯t worry; I will send over the interview video after I¡¯ve edited it at home.¡± She paused. ¡°I will definitely write a positive report. I would absolutely not deviate from the truth!¡± Maddie was well aware of Irene¡¯s nature. In the past, she would stir up trouble in Maddie¡¯s department every other day, and so everyone in the department was afraid of Irene. Hence, Maddie was forced to take two military dogs with her to work to get Irene to stop. However, Maddie did not expect this to blow up in such proportions. After that, Joel and Maddie left together. Just before they left, Michael asked Joel, ¡°Did Old Master Fletcher¡­ say anything?¡± We can¡¯t possibly keep something so huge from Old Master Fletcher. Joel maintained a nk expression when he replied to Michael, ¡°He is getting old¡ªhe is already 100 years old, so he probably doesn¡¯t want to get involved in issues involving the younger generation.¡± Michael asked again, ¡°What about the Fletcher Family?¡± Joel answered truthfully, ¡°We are in a society with a legal system, so we would abide by thew.¡± After all, even though Irene was stabbed to death, she was to me because she made the first move, so the Fletcher Family wouldn¡¯t make a big deal out of it. However, this matter involved the Fletchers¡¯ honor, and so Cooper had to provide them an exnation. The rtionship between the Fletchers and Cooper was delicate right now. If one were to be careless, the alliance between the two families might just be destroyed. Michael refused to leave even after watching Joel and Maddie leave. He parked his RV just around the corner of the hospital so he could observe everything going on in the hospital despite knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to see Sophia in the near future. He did not have the audacity to meet her right now anyway. On the other side, after being scolded badly by Sophia, Sean drove away in a daze. Soon after he left, police officers and reporters came rushing to the scene upon learning the news. Sean watched the news of Bayside City, where they reported that Sophia killed Irene, and he hid in a deserted ce to cry for the longest time. He hadmitted murder for the first time, and he felt extremely fearful afterward. However, the person was dead, and he had no way to turn back time. He did everything automatically at that moment, and it felt as if his actions were beyond his control. I do not know how to face Sophia or Cooper. I can¡¯t even imagine facing Stanley and the Fletcher Family. Sean stayed hidden, and he refused to answer his phone even when Stanley and Sophia phoned him countless times. After disappearing for three days, he finally showed up at the private hospital that Sophia was admitted into. Upon meeting Cooper, Sean pped himself while confessing. ¡°Uncle Cooper, it was all my fault. I stabbed Irene to death, and Sophia took the fall for me. It was my fault. I will surrender if need be to atone for my sins.¡± However, Cooper did not me Sean because he had read Irene¡¯s post-mortem report. It was stated that Irene had been stabbed to death from the back. There were seven to eight stab wounds, and the perpetrator must havemitted such a violent crime under extreme fear or anger. If Cooper had been at the scene, he could almost guarantee that he would have been angrier than Sean. In the end, he patted Sean¡¯s shoulder while helping Sean, who was kneeling, up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it is a small matter. In fact, I should thank you for saving Sophia¡¯s life. If it weren¡¯t for you, Sophia wouldn¡¯t be here with us right now.¡± Nevertheless, Sean was mentally burdened. ¡°Would Sophia end up in jail for my actions? Would you fall out with the Fletchers because of this?¡± These were small matters to Cooper at this point. ¡°It will be fine, because I have the bestwyers here. As for the Fletcher Family, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± I am the secondrgest arms dealer in the world, and I will soon be thergest. No matter what happens, the Fletcher Family will never have a fall out with me, Fass Michel. However, Sean just couldn¡¯t face Sophia, and so he observed her from outside of her hospital room before leaving. Just when he had taken a few steps forward, Sean saw Stanley rushing toward him from outside. When he saw Sean, Stanley was both furious and ted. ¡°Sean, where have you been for the past few days?! Why didn¡¯t you answer my calls? Do you know how worried I was? Can you even imagine?¡± Two days had passed, but Sean felt as if a few centuries had gone by. The guilt was crushing him. The fear and guilt for the past two days had been overwhelming for him, and so he couldn¡¯t sleep or eat well. Hence, he had lost a lot of weight. Sean mumbled something, but he finally answered Stanley, ¡°Stan, I am sorry. It¡¯s j-just that I-I¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know how to exin the situation to Stanley. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. Stop speaking. Look at yourself¡ªyou are filthy and smelly. You look so disheveled too. My guess is that you haven¡¯t had anything to eat; am I right? Let¡¯s chat after having a meal.¡± Without any furtherment, Stanley dragged Sean back to thepany, where they always slept in anyway. After a shower, Sean started gobbling up food without even being bothered to dry his hair. He hadn¡¯t really had anything to eat for the past two days, so he was famished; he finished Stanley¡¯s stash of instant noodles in no time. In fact, he wolfed down three tubs of instant noodles. ¡°Pace yourself; there is more here. Besides, food delivery has arrived.¡± Stanley had ordered a luxurious crayfish set meal, and he peeled the shells off for Sean. It was obvious that he was starving¡ªhe seemed hungry and haggard while devouring the food like a wolf. After the meal, Sean put down his chopsticks. Then, he looked up at Stanley and burst into tears suddenly. Stanley held him straight away while reassuring him, ¡°It¡¯s alright. You are okay now. Everything is in the past now, and what¡¯s done is done. Sophia is alive and well, and Uncle Cooper will not me you either. So don¡¯t worry.¡± Stanley thought that Sean was feeling guilty for he had failed to protect Sophia efficiently, resulting in her kidnapping. N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. In the end, Sean uttered between sobs, ¡°Actually, I killed Irene, and Sophia took the fall for me. I am sorry, Stan¡­ I murdered her. If the Fletchers want someone to pay for her death, just take me in!¡± Chapter 890 Chapter 890 Sean had already thought about it. If the Fletcher Family wants somebody to pay for Irene¡¯s life, I will offer myself. Sophia is the victim, but she is also the one taking the me now. I am the true murderer here, yet I¡¯m not thing but a coward. Cooper doesn¡¯t me me, nor does Sophia, and because of that, the guilt is just eating me up. I am afraid not because I¡¯ve killed a person, but because I¡¯ve killed a member of the Fletcher Family. And it so happens that Stanley is a Fletcher. I am sure that the Fletchers would look into this matter. In that case, I will be on the opposite side of Stanley. The worst fear in my life is to be on opposite sides from Stanley. After learning the truth, Stanley was stumped for a moment. Nevertheless, he chuckled bitterly. ¡°If I were at the scene, I would have most probably murdered her too.¡± Stanley had gone to the site with Cooper earlier, and he had witnessed the scene. The whole floor was covered with gasoline, and he saw a lighter there that could have easily been ignited. He also saw Sophia, who was waiting for her death, being tied to the pole. If we had arrived a momentter, we might have witnessed a charred body tied to the pole. The rope was made with a special material for military use, and only Irene would have been able to secure that. If the gasoline had been ignited, Sophia would have been burned alive because she couldn¡¯t move at all. In fact, she couldn¡¯t have struggled at all. What a cruel way to die! Stanley patted Sean¡¯s shoulder. ¡°My heart aches because I don¡¯t understand how the kind and innocent Irene I knew turned out like that. However, it is undeniable that she brought this to herself. The Fletcher Family understands this as well, and they wouldn¡¯t demand for someone to atone for her death.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Sean recalled the interview on the news he watched today. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Fletcher Family ask Uncle Cooper for an exnation?¡± Stanley chuckled in amusement when he heard that. ¡°The Fletcher Family isn¡¯t concerned about this matter at all. They are merely interested in one of Uncle Cooper¡¯s fighter jet¡¯s stealth technology, and so they just wanted to take advantage of the situation.¡± Sean was stumped when he heard that, but he didn¡¯t respond in the end. He needed time to ept the reality that he had murdered Irene. Sean felt much better after some reassurance from Stanley, and he felt relieved. Ever since he was a child, Sean would hide in the room to cry in secret whenever he was upset about something. Usually, children would cry at the top of their lungs while deliberately howling somewhere with people present. As for Sean, he would always cry in secret because he knew that nobody would console him no matter how hard he cried. But there is an exception. Stanley has attended the same kindergarten, primary school, high school, and university with me. We studied and have been working together for more than twenty years. Each time, it seemed as if Stanley would be able to guess where I was hiding while crying my eyes out. In fact, he¡¯d always seed in locating me. Then, he¡¯d offer me sweets and bring a puppy along to cheer me up, and I¡¯d stop crying then. He has never changed over the years. ¡°Here, pat the dog. Just look at our son! Look at how adorable it is!¡± Stanley led Judge over to Sean. After Judge had been beaten earlier, its fur had finally grown back, and it was back to its formal handsome self. It stuck its head out for Sean to pat it. Sean giggled while patting Judge¡¯s head. ¡°Here, son. Call me daddy!¡± Stanley was rubbing the dog¡¯s head. Judge tried its best. ¡°Woof, woof!¡± Stanley pointed at Sean while instructing the dog, ¡°Call him mommy.¡± Judge barked again. ¡°Woof, woof!¡± Sean burst outughing while saying, ¡°I am your god daddy!¡± Judge barked in response. ¡°Woof, woof!¡± It was already impressive that Judge managed to bark twice atmand, and so it honestly didn¡¯t matter whether it was calling Sean mommy or god daddy at this point. When they were children, Stanley and Sean would always y house. Stanley would always assume the role as the father, whereas Sean would be the mother, and they had gotten used to it. The two of them soon found a ce to sit down. Looking down from theirpany building through their full-length window, they could easily enjoy the night view of the busy Bayside City. The two of them and the dog were like a family of three. Stanley downed the rest of the wine bottle in his hand in one go. The floor was full with the emptied mini wine bottles. He pointed at the magnificent night view of Bayside City while speaking in a grand manner. ¡°Sean, do you see this? This is the empire that we¡¯ve built together!¡± Plum Technology had been listed and was expanding steadily. It was now involved in a variety of industries. Once upon a time, they only had one floor in the building, but now, they had purchased two buildings for their offices. There was a view of anotherrge building from the director¡¯s office. We¡¯ve built this empire¡­ Sean took a sip of the liquor while pointing at their empire. ¡°It is still too small. We have to continue expanding our territory, just like Michel Group, to all over the world.¡± Stanley opened up another bottle of alcohol, and he clinked bottles with Sean. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have been able to achieve great things without you three,¡± he said. Once upon a time, the four of them owned Plum Technology together. However, a few years ago, Phantom Wolf kidnapped Sophia, and there were only three of them left. Now that Sophia was back, she was slowly taking over responsibilities in Plum Technology. Hence, she would be back in thepany sooner orter. The two of them patted the dog as they drank the bottles of alcohol while reminiscing about the past. They were inseparable during their schooling time from kindergarten, primary school, to high school. Sean always wore women¡¯s clothing, and people would call him a weirdo. However, Stanley had never given him the cold shoulder because he knew that Sean was simply waiting for his mother to pick him up. They were still inseparable when they started attending university, started their business, and graduated¡­ Thud! Stanley was drunk, and his head lolled against Sean¡¯s chest. Sean held Stanley while having his back against the wall. He sat on the floor, surrounded by empty liquor bottles. Sean stared far ahead while mumbling quietly, ¡°I will always apany you for the rest of my life¡­¡± In the hospital. Sophia had been admitted in the hospital for a week now. Her external injuries had almost fully recovered. Michael abandoned the film crew, and he had stayed put for a week too. Nevertheless, Cooper just refused to let him in to visit Sophia. Today, Carmen came by. Michael carried Carmen in his arms when he reminded her, ¡°Good girl, once you manage to get in, convince Mommy and Grandpa to get Mommy to meet me, alright?¡± Carmen patted her chest confidently. ¡°No worries; just take a shower and wait for the good news, daddy!¡± Michael scowled at her. ¡°Why should I take a shower?¡± Carmen covered her nose. ¡°Because you stink, Daddy!¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Michael sniffed himself. True enough, he had bad body odor that was mixed with the stench of tobo. He had rushed back to see Sophia, and since he didn¡¯t get to see her, he had been worried the whole time. He didn¡¯t eat, let alone have a shower. During this time, he even became addicted to smoking, and even his teeth were a shade darker now. After watching Carmen enter the hospital, Michael immediately went off to the nearest hotel for a shower. Carmen entered the hospital, and she yed with Sophia for a while. After having a meal, she left the hospital. Michael, who had freshly showered, asked hastily, ¡°Baby, how did it go? Did Mommy and Grandpa agree to see me?¡± Carmen answered him gravely, ¡°That¡¯s a tricky one. Grandpa says that he is getting me a new daddy.¡± It was such a sticky situation this time that even Carmen couldn¡¯t handle it. Michael didn¡¯t want to burden her, and so he urged her to go to her kindergarten while he¡¯d try to figure a way out. In the afternoon, Michael received a phone call from Justin. ¡°Celie has escaped.¡± Chapter 891 Chapter 891 Justin sounded panic on the phone call, causing Michael¡¯s heart to skip a beat. Hence, he got into the car in a hurry while reassuring him, ¡°Don¡¯t panic; just get me up to speed. I¡¯ming over right now.¡± Celine had always been locked up in a secret research center established by the Fletchers in the suburbs, where there was a specific psychiatrist to diagnose her. Even though there hadn¡¯t been any results in the past three years, the research center was heavily guarded, and so it was impossible for her to escape. Michael also knew what it meant since Celine had escaped¡ªPhantom Wolf¡¯s number one assassin, Katrina, was on the loose in Bayside City. One could only imagine how many people would die. He got into the car, and the driver started driving. On the other side, Justin reiterated everything to him over the phone clearly. When I woke up today, I realized that Celine had cut her wrist tomit suicide. Over the years, Celine¡¯s mental state had been a torture for me, just as much as she was torturing herself. She had triedmitting suicide countless times. This time, I rushed in to get her out and sent her to the infirmary. However, just when the doctor was about to help Celine stop her bleeding not long after I brought her in, the knocked out Celine got up suddenly. Then, she held the doctor under duress to escape the research center. ¡°We found the doctor somewhere around the research center. He has been seriously injured, and they are still trying to rescue him. It seems like Celine has stolen a car, and she¡¯s driving into the city. I managed to take a picture of the car¡¯s number te, which I¡¯ve sent to you.¡± Soon, Michael received the coordinates of Celine¡¯s current location sent over by Justin. It turned out that it was none other than Carmen¡¯s kindergarten! Justin and some skilled masters from the Fletcher Family rushed to the site, whereas Michael desperately phoned the bodyguard who was in charge of sending and picking Carmen up from kindergarten. However, nobody answered the call. In the meantime, sses had ended in the kindergarten. The kindergarten teacher held Carmen¡¯s hand while they waited for her family¡¯s bodyguards to pick her up from school. Carmen¡¯s bodyguards would send Carmen to and pick her up from kindergarten every day on time. Therefore, the teachers in the kindergarten were familiar with them. They would only let Carmen leave if it was somebody they recognized. However, the person who showed up today wasn¡¯t somebody she expected. ¡°Eh? Mr. Michael, I saw the news reporting that you were filming out of town. Why do you have the time to pick Carmen up in person today?¡± The teacher seemed confused. A man d in ck suit got out of Carmen¡¯s family car. He had a pair of sunsses on, and he looked exactly like Michael. Nevertheless, the person did not utter a word throughout the exchange, and they left the moment he picked Carmen up. The kindergarten teacher was suspicious, but she suddenly recalled that the news reported that Carmen¡¯s mother had met with an ident. Therefore, it made sense for Michael to be in Bayside City for now. The teacher had a feeling that Michael was different from his usual self today. Maybe it¡¯s because there¡¯s a stark difference between an actor¡¯s appearancepared to when they are on screen and on television¡­. Hence, it was unexpected when seven to eight cars came to a halt in front of the kindergarten about a minute after Carmen had left. One of the car doors opened, and Michael got out of it. He asked the teacher hastily, ¡°Where¡¯s Carmen?¡± The teacher was bewildered when she answered, ¡°Didn¡¯t you pick her up earlier?¡± Michael did not answer her, and his eyes bulged in shock. It took him three to four seconds to snap back to his senses. Celine picked Carmen up. Michael didn¡¯t even remember how he got back into the car. His mind was filled with the horrible state the psychiatrist was in. Celine held the psychiatrist hostage to leave the center. Then, she demanded for the research center¡¯s security guard to open the door for her by threatening the doctor¡¯s life; she even brought the doctor along to escape, but she attempted to kill him cruelly in the end. Initially, she could have murdered him in one go, but she was wounded, and she didn¡¯t have any weapons with her. Shecked strength, and so the doctor did not die. The psychiatrist is a healthy and strong man, but he can¡¯t even defeat Celine. My daughter, Carmen, is merely 3 years old; how could she possibly escape from her?! Soon, they found the two bodyguards in charge of driving Carmen, whom Celine had wounded and hid in an alley. One of them was permanently disabled, whereas the other was unconscious and had to be sent to the emergency room. Celine was currently under the control of the cold-blooded assassin, Katrina, and so it meant that she was a homicidal maniac. Her methods were extremely cruel. The car continued chasing after Celine¡¯s car, and they drove out of the city. Throughout the journey, Michael did not utter a word, whereas Justin, who was sitting on the front passenger seat, consoled him. ¡°It will be fine. It will be fine.¡± Michael maintained a calm fa?ade, but his trembling hands revealed his anxiety. He felt as if he was back to the day three years ago, when he was stuck at the stairway. His abdomen was stabbed with a knife, and he had lost consciousness. By the time he woke up, he was already lying in a hospital, and they told him that Sophia was gone¡­ During the time Sophia was gone, Carmen was his everything in life. He looked after her from the time she was a small bundle of joy, who was eager to move around, until she grew up into a child. Michael could not even begin to imagine how his life would be if he were to lose Carmen. If I lose Carmen, all the joy in my life would be taken away. Michael shut his eyes, while tears started streaming down his face. The news of Carmen¡¯s disappearance couldn¡¯t be kept a secret. Once those in Vi No. 2 learned that Carmen didn¡¯te home, they reported the incident to Cooper and Sophia straight away. Upon receiving the news, Sophia felt as if her world was crumbling down. Hence, she rushed to the scene as soon as she could. Celine drove the car to a construction site outside of the city. She chased the workers out of the site before entering the building. When Sophia arrived at the construction site, she saw a little girl standing on the balcony of the building¡¯s tenth floor. Isn¡¯t that my Carmen? The balcony construction had yet toplete on the tenth floor of the building, whereas Carmen was standing on the balcony without a guardrail. She seemed as if she might fall off the balcony any time. Her small hands were tied together, while Celine held onto the other end of the rope. She could hear Carmen¡¯s cries from afar. ¡°Daddy, Mommy¡­¡± Upon witnessing that, Sophia had a ckout, and she fainted on the spot¡­ When she regained consciousness, she found herself lying in a SUV. She opened her eyes abruptly, and she got up to get out of the car to look for Carmen. She saw Carmen, who was still on the tenth floor¡¯s balcony, when she looked up. Carmen was sitting on the edge of the balcony without the guardrail. It was apparent that she could slip and fall any time. She was still tied with a rope, and one couldn¡¯t be sure if the rope might be able to protect her even if she were to fall off the building. There was an inted mattress on the ground floor. However, it wasn¡¯t a sure thing if such a young child would fall on the intable mattress after falling off from the tenth floor. She might get stuck on one of the scaffolding and may very well die on the spot. ¡°My baby!¡± Sophia lost her mind, and she charged toward the entrance. Carmen, who was on the tenth floor, caught sight of Sophia, and so she stood up on wobbly legs while looking at Sophia pitifully. ¡°Mommy¡­¡± She walked toward the edge of the balcony, as if she was prepared to continue moving forward. Carmen even looked over the edge to the ground, and it scared the living daylights out of everybody. Linus rushed out suddenly while yelling at Carmen, ¡°Carmen, my dear, go back in and sit down. Sit down properly, and your mommy will be there to pick you up soon. We are filming now, and you¡¯ll have to act ording to the script, Carmen. Please be an obedient girl. Go back in and sit still. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be paid!¡± Carmen nced at Sophia, and she pouted before sitting down again. Her skirt was dirty, and one of her shoes was missing. There was even a hole in her sock right now. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. She choked back a sob while convincing herself that she was filming right now. Hence, she was only allowed to head down after the director yelled ¡®cut¡¯. Sophia, who was on the ground floor, closed her mouth tightly because she was afraid that Carmen might just fall off the building if she were to make a sound. Linus rxed slightly when he saw Carmen walking back in, and he turned around to hug Sophia. Sophia was trembling uncontrobly while staring at the building. She didn¡¯t dare make a sound, and her tears kept streaming down her face. ¡°Please save my child; please rescue my Carmen¡­¡± Chapter 892 Chapter 892 At that moment, this distance that seemed not quite far was, in fact, the distance between life and death. Her child, her most precious one, was currently in this 10-storey building before her with the risk of falling at any time, but there was nothing she could do. Sophia wept desperately, but she could not make any sound for fear that the innocent Carmen would jump when she saw her. Linus hugged Sophia when she was having an emotional breakdown and quietly said in constion, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry. Michael has gone in to talk to her. Everything is going to be fine¡­¡± ¡°Linus, please save my child.¡± She grabbed him, as if she was clutching at straws. He supported her to one side to rest. At that moment, Cooper and Joel were keeping the situation under control. Many people from the Fletcher and Mitchell Families were there surrounding the building, but they hesitated to send anyone in. The police were not informed of this matter yet to prevent agitating Celine and cause her to take irrational actions on the child. They had to rescue the child as soon as possible. The situation would be more unfavorable to them as time passed¡ªCeline might lose her patience, and Carmen might lose control out of fear and fall. Linus managed to keep her emotionally stable by tricking her into believing that they were just acting, but this could only buy them some time. They were now discussing the strategies after they got hold of the building n. Joel suggested, ¡°We can send in an assault troop and some snipers to take her down as fast as possible.¡± However, Stanley immediately objected. ¡°No, this angle is the sniper¡¯s blind spot. Recklessly sending assault troops may cause unnecessary sacrifices, and Aunt Celine may harm Carmen.¡± Katrina and Celine were one now. Celine now had both of their intelligence and skills, but the one in control was Katrina. If they were to use an assault troop, they had to first consider if the assault troop was a match for her. Besides, she had a gun with her now. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Cooper suggested, ¡°We can use a drone tounch an urate attack from a close range.¡± Joel thought about it for a while and finally rejected it. ¡°If we use a drone, Celie will¡­¡± Celine will die. Joel intended to try his best to rescue both of them. Cooper was furious. ¡°Any sacrifices are worthy as long as my granddaughter can be rescued.¡± He could even go as far as to kill Celine. A mere Celine was undoubtedly insignificantpared to his grandchild. Joel wished to save both of them, but Cooper was willing to sacrifice Celine if Carmen could be saved. The conflict between their aims gave rise to an intense argument between the two parties. ¡­ A car was secretly parked at an unnoticeable spot. Upon getting out of the car, Nathan raised his head and impassively nced at Carmen, who had curled herself into a ball after being driven to the balcony at the tenth floor. Meanwhile, Michael and Justin had reached the tenth floor to negotiate with Celine. On the tenth floor, Michael first saw Carmen curling herself into a tiny ball as she squatted at the balcony without railings. Her two little hands were tied together with a rope, and the other end of the rope was stepped under Celine¡¯s foot. Celine¡¯s face was pale. She was injured in the research center; her ck suit was dyed red, but it was inconspicuous. As she lost more blood, her patience gradually thinned. Upon seeing Michael, Carmen stood up happily, her little face dirty and soiled. ¡°Daddy!¡± The moment her soft voice was heard, Celine, who was resting her eyes, abruptly opened her eyes. The gun in her hand was pointed at Carmen soundlessly. The sight shook Michael to the core. He immediately uttered to Carmen when she was going to run over to him, ¡°Baby, don¡¯t stand up. Sit down. Sit down. I¡¯m going to start reciting my script!¡± Justin added, ¡°Sit down now. Don¡¯t move no matter what happens!¡± Their voices trembled uncontrobly. Carmen quickly sat back down. Her dark, beady eyes revealed her fear as she looked at Michael while pouting. She was near tears. Seeing that she had sat down, Michael felt a little relieved. He gulped before looking at Celine. The two people had the same face but entirely different lives. Michael held back his tears and went straight to the point. ¡°Katrina, I can give you anything you want. I just hope that you won¡¯t harm my child.¡± Justin was beyond nervous when he saw Celine stepping on the rope that was tied on Carmen. She then moved her foot away from the rope, causing Carmen to lose her only protective measure. Carmen, who was squatting near the edge of the balcony, was now in the position where she would fall if she took even one step back. Frightened, Michael immediately said, ¡°I¡¯ll promise you anything. Please don¡¯t hurt the child. She¡¯s also your niece!¡± Hearing that, Celine slowly ced her foot back on the rope and sneered at him. The gun she was holding in her hand was aimed at Carmen with its safety off. A gentle pull at the trigger would kill Carmen. ¡°It¡¯s simple. I want you guys to provide me with a clear escape route. I want to leave this country as soon as possible. I will let her go after I leave Cethos¡¯ border.¡± Michael immediately replied, ¡°Alright. Give me some time. I will contact the relevant departments and make necessary arrangements now.¡± The first priority would be to pacify her. Justin had a bag in his hand. He opened it and revealed the food and medicines inside. ¡°Celie, you haven¡¯t eaten anything for 12 hours. I¡¯ve prepared some food and medicine to stop your bleeding.¡± She pointed at the cement screed floor in front of her with the gun and said, ¡°Throw them to me.¡± He ced the stuff at the spot not far in front of Celine as he knew that it would be unwise to confront her head on now¡ªCarmen might be harmed in the process. Celine used her feet and moved the stuff closer to her with the gun pointed at Carmen at all times. As a top assassin and the King of Soldiers of the special forces, Carmen would be hurt if Justin made a move now. Celine took a box of biscuits and ate a little before throwing a carton of milk at Carmen. With both hands being tied, Carmen clumsily picked the milk up, inserted the straw into it, and drank it. She had been starving for many hours as well. While being wary of Justin and Michael, she took off her clothes with one hand, revealing her injured arm, and used the other hand to skilfully stop her own bleeding and bandaged her wound. As she had been through special self-rescue training, she was able to tend to her injuries while staying vignt of her surroundings. Seeing that she had finally calmed down and Carmen was drinking milk, Michael patted Justin¡¯s shoulder before exining to her, ¡°This is a big issue. I have to go down to make some arrangements with the necessary departments. Give me some time.¡± All of a sudden, Celine grabbed Carmen into her arms and pointed the gun at her head. ¡°Someone is here!¡± she growled mercilessly. Her especially acute sense of hearing allowed her to capture sounds of someoneing over from three floors away. Therefore, Cooper and Joel dared not send many people in. Carmen burst into tears out of fear, and Michael quickly raised his hands and uttered, ¡°No, no. Only the two of us, Justin and I, are here. There is surely no one else!¡± However, when he turned around, he found Nathan, who hade up without his knowledge. He stared at Celine and Carmen, who was crying in the former¡¯s arms, with listless eyes¡ªthey were desperate to the point of numbness. Chapter 893 Chapter 893 Michael, who had been given a fright, sweated profusely. Sweat trickled down his face as he exined, ¡°Celie, this is your son. He is just here to see you. Don¡¯t worry; we won¡¯t do anything reckless.¡± Seeing that Carmen was sobbing, Michael immediately coaxed her to prevent her from agitating Celine. ¡°Carmen, we¡¯ve started filming, so you have to be a good girl. You can¡¯t cry now. I¡¯m going to start saying my lines now.¡± As a hardworking and diligent actor, Carmen tried her best to hold back her sobs, but tears kept streaming down her cheeks out of fear when she was in Celine¡¯s arm. The ck gun was aimed at her messy little head, and one of the small flowers pinned on her hair had fallen off. Michael¡¯s eyes widened, for fear that the gun would go off. At that moment, Nathan suddenly took two steps forward. ¡°Take me instead.¡± Celine roared as she raised her hand. Bang! She shot at the floor inches away in front of Nathan¡¯s feet, causing Carmen to tremble in fear, but she still forced herself to suppress her cries. The gunshot rmed the people downstairs. Cooper¡¯s flustered voice was heard from the walkie-talkie brought by Justin. ¡°What happened?¡± Justin replied, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong. Don¡¯t make any move. We can resolve this.¡± Nathan looked at the bullet hole next to his feet in a daze, his expression still numb. Michael quickly pulled him back and said to Celine, ¡°Stay calm! Stay calm! He¡¯s just a child who doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing! I¡¯ll take him away now!¡± He hurriedly dragged Nathan to the staircase and dashed down the stairs. Wiping the sweat on his face, Micheal realized that his legs were trembling, as if every step he took landed on cotton. Nathan, who was following behind him, suddenly asked, ¡°Will you guys kill her?¡± Michael¡¯s footsteps came to a sudden halt. A secondter, he quickened his pace down the stairs without replying. On the tenth floor, Justin looked at Celine from afar, the tears in his eyes unconceble. Why does fate refuse to leave us alone? Why do we have to be treated so cruelly? Justin was petrified. He was terrified that Cooper would lose his patience and kill Celine, and at the same time, he was terrified that Celine would lose her patience and hurt Carmen. Celine finally calmed down and put Carmen at one side. She treated her own wounds while being wary of Justin, who was coaxing Carmen lovingly. ¡°Good girl, your daddy has gone to the neighboring film set, but he will be back in a while. You need to sit down obediently. I¡¯ve brought you some lollipops.¡± Celine¡¯s kick earlier caused the things brought by Justin to spill everywhere, and a few lollipops were scattered all over the ce. Carmen cautiously nced at Celine before secretly picking up a lollipop from the corner and putting it into her mouth. After Celine finished bandaging her wounds, she took some syrup and leaned against the balcony to rest while remaining vignt. Justin¡¯s eyes were filled with pain as he looked at her. He sat down as well, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand to stay in contact with the people downstairs. After Michael and Nathan reached the ground floor, the former was impassive when Cooper, Joel, and Linus approached him and asked, ¡°How did it go? What did she say?¡± Michael answered, ¡°I managed to keep the situation under control for now. She wants to leave Cethos. She will release Carmen after she leaves the Cethos¡¯ border.¡± He sounded especially helpless as he was speaking. The astute Celine knew what bargaining chip she should get hold of in exchange for the things she wanted, and she had indeed selected the right one¡ªhaving Carmen alone was enough to threaten everyone. The group of people gathered to figure out a way. Joel was the first to raise an objection. ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that. That was what she said when she was in the research center before this. She kidnapped the psychologist and escaped, but she still tried to kill the hostage after she managed to escape! I won¡¯t fall for the same trick twice!¡± Cooper cast a vicious look at the tenth floor before dering, ¡°Send drones tounch a precise attack now! I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± Carmen is all I care for. As for Celine¡­ Although I feel sorry for Mark, no one isparable to my grandchild! I don¡¯t mind being selfish! Currently, Michael just remained quiet without saying anything. He sat at one side in dejection. His eyes wandered around and found Sophia, who was also sitting at one side. Sophia had a deadpan expression with fresh tears at the corner of her eyes as she wasforted by Sarah, who had rushed over for her. The two of them looked at each other from a distance. Though they were separated by the busy and anxious crowd, they felt as if all the sound in the world had quietened down at that instant. All they had in their eyes was each other as theymunicated soundlessly with their soul. The current Michael was like a helpless child, drowning in despair. On one side, he had his sister, whom he had always depended on, while on the other side was his daughter, who was his whole world. Now, he had to choose between the two of them¡ªit was a choice that was too difficult to make. He stared at Sophia impassively and finally moved away his gaze. She looked nkly at him before raising her head to look at the tenth floor. Carmen was eating lollipops up there. She tore open the wrappings and threw it down. She raised her head and lowered it while tears escaped her eyes. She then saw Nathan sitting next to Michael with his head leaned against thetter while he soundlessly wiped away his tears. Michael seemed to be consoling a sobbing Nathan in a low voice as thetter wiped away his tears and looked at everyone around with his eyes reddened. He not only had tears in his eyes, but also hatred and hope. Sophia heard their arrangements¡ªthey were definitely not going to let Celine go because Carmen would not survive if she escaped. Their priority now was to keep her under control to buy them time to arrange for more people to go and save Carmen. However, it would not be easy to save Carmen from Celine! The situation was intense. All sorts of weapons had been secretly moved to the scene. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Sophia stroked her face and realized that it had be cold and numb after her tear-soaked face was air-dried by wind. When she was taking a sip of water, an idea crossed her mind, which caused her to immediately stand up and hurry to the people who were nning for the rescue. ¡°I have an idea!¡± Everyone raised their heads and looked at her as she said to Linus, ¡°Uncle Linus, you must still have Quinton¡¯s contact details, right? If we are able to find him, he certainly will have a way, since Katrina listens to him!¡± It suddenly dawned on them that Quinton would definitely have a way to resolve this since Katrina was a personality created by Quinton himself! Everyone turned to Linus. As the ex-financial backer of Phantom Wolf, he must be able to contact Quinton. Unfortunately, Linus frowned and shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve severed all ties with Phantom Wolf¡­ Besides, even if I were able to contact him, it wouldn¡¯t bring any help. He is now far abroad, and everything would be toote when he¡¯de over. Moreover, he is not stupid, so he won¡¯t walk right into the lion¡¯s den. Even if he woulde, who knows what he¡¯d be here for? Who can guess what¡¯s in Phantom Wolf¡¯s mind?¡± After listening to Linus¡¯ analysis, Sophia, who had initially gotten her hopes a little high, felt as if a bucket of cold water was just poured on her, extinguishing all her hopes. Quinton could note over since he was too far away. The Fletcher Family hated him so much that they would kill him, so appearing now would be no different from throwing himself into a trap. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to appear for the sake of a child. Even if he came, who could guarantee that he would be able to save Carmen? Chapter 894 Chapter 894 Phantom Wolf might meet up with Katrina, and Carmen would fall into his hands by then. Since Quinton was far more cunning and cruel than Katrina, he might even make the matter worse. At that instant, despair filled everyone¡¯s heart. It waste; the sun had set, and the wind was cold at night. Carmen was given a nket to cover herself. She meekly curled herself up on the balcony while looking at Justin in a pitiful manner. ¡°Uncle Justin, why isn¡¯t Daddy here yet?¡± Justin looked at her from afar and quietly replied, ¡°Your daddy is in a meeting; he will be here soon, darling. Cover yourself properly so that you won¡¯t catch a cold.¡± She nodded as she burrowed her little face under the nket. She had been sitting on the same spot as she dared not move even an inch. Outside the building, Sophia slumped onto the ground helplessly. Raising her head and looking at the tenth floor again, she saw the red flower pinned on Carmen¡¯s hair swaying in the wind. Two rows of hot tears once again coursed down her icy, numb cheeks. No, I must find Quinton; only he will have a way to solve this. I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t have it in him to just let Carmen die! I believe there is still a shred of kindness in him. Sophia wiped away her tears and spoke to Linus again. ¡°Phantom Wolf has an email address to ept all sorts of tasks. Uncle Linus, I¡¯m sure that you know of it, right?¡± Linus nodded, whereupon she uttered, ¡°Send it to me.¡± Linus immediately sent the email address to her before she returned to the SUV with the phone in her hand. With her lips pressed, she thought and contemted for a long time but still could not figure out how to bring this up to Quinton. Looking through the window, she nced at Carmen, and then at Nathan, who was crying in Michael¡¯s arms. The sight of them caused her to feel a lump in her throat, and she failed to hold back her tears. What should I do to convince Quinton toe over? She was well aware that if he were toe, he would be walking straight into the lion¡¯s den. Also, even if he really managed to rescue Carmen, the Fletcher Family would detain him on the spot. Therefore, why should hee? I don¡¯t have any bargaining chip! I don¡¯t have anything that he wants! However, Sophia did not have much time left. She had to give it a try no matter what. She switched on her phone and opened the selfie video mode. As she looked at the lens, tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls falling from a broken ne before any words could be formed. Nevertheless, she still tried to exin the situation in a strangled voice. ¡°Hope, I¡¯m Sophia. If you can see this video, I beg for you to save my child.¡± She focused the lens on the tenth floor. Part of Carmen¡¯s little head and the red flower pinned on her hair on the balcony of the tenth floor was caught on camera. She turned the camera back at herself and murmured, ¡°Hope¡­¡± However, she could not bear to finish her sentence. After hesitating for a long time, the words seemed to have stuck in her throat, and she still could not say them in the end; she could only cry soundlessly. ¡°The address is East City Road No. 28.¡± Finally, she stopped the recording and emailed the messy video to the email address. After the email was sessfully sent, shey in the car and wept helplessly. As time went by, Justin tried his best to keep the situation under control while Celine stayed vignt of her surroundings. Meanwhile, Carmen curled herself up in the nket on the balcony with her beady eyes wandering around. She dared not fall asleep as she was afraid that she might fall. The people downstairs had prepared a rescue n. Celine¡¯s threat level had greatly exceeded everyone¡¯s expectation. ording to Cooper¡¯s n, she would not be given any chances of survival because it would be impossible for Carmen to escape this alive without killing Celine. The Fletcher Family had no choice but to reluctantly ept the n and give up on Celine. Michael went upstairs to take another look at Carmen, who was obediently curled up on the balcony with her eyes wide open. She tried to stay awake although she was at the verge of dozing off at any time. Suppressing his tears, Michael tried to make himself sound rxed as he consoled her. ¡°Good baby, I¡¯m here. We are going to shoot our night scenes soon. Carmen, be good¡ªdon¡¯t move and don¡¯t sleep!¡± Carmen seemed pitiful. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s dark. I¡¯m scared.¡± He replied, ¡°Shooting night scenes is like this. Don¡¯t be scared. After we finish shooting for this movie, you will be famous, and I will take you to go and participate in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯.¡± Upon mentioning joining the program that she had been looking forward to, she became excited. Her eyes were twinkling when she uttered, ¡°But Grandpa doesn¡¯t allow me to be an actress. He wants me to go home and rear big sheep, but I don¡¯t want to rear big sheep.¡± The father and daughter chatted with each other with a few meters¡¯ distance between them. He smiled and replied, ¡°No, it won¡¯t happen. I promise!¡± After a while, Carmen raised another question. ¡°Daddy, are you going to divorce Mommy?¡± Michael fell silent for a moment before forcing a smile on his face. ¡°This will depend on you, Carmen. If you behave yourself, your mommy won¡¯t divorce me.¡± Deep down inside, he knew that he would lose Sophia if he lost Carmen this time. He looked at her with teary eyes and uttered, ¡°You will always be my sweetest baby.¡± After that, he turned to Celine, whom he currently felt was aplete stranger! Her eyes were dangerous and cautious, resembling a snakes¡¯, as they silently watched him from the darkness. He turned around and lowered his head, warm tears on his face. He really could not make a choice between losing a child or losing his only sister¡ªhe couldn¡¯t afford to lose any of them! At the same time, Justin, who had just received the news from downstairs, uttered to Michael in disbelief, ¡°He is here.¡± Just now, Quinton had arrived at the scene. An hour ago, Sophia¡¯s email was sent out; an hourter, he showed up. Step by step, he emerged from the darkness alone as the searchlights exposed his figure. Sophia could not see his face vividly; she could only see his tall build under the strong beam of lights. As he paced closer, his face gradually became visible¡ªit was Quinton. He was wearing a ck tuxedo with a neat bow tie and a bouquet of flowers in his left hand; he resembled a gant gentleman who had returned from attending a ball. Yet it was the same gentleman who was the main reason for Phantom Wolf¡¯s notoriety¡ªunderneath the exquisite surfacey a psychotic devil. Countless guns were instantly aimed at him, but that did not make him retreat¡ªhe continued approaching them instead. But when the safeties were turned off, signaling that they were ready to open fire at him at any time, he slowly stopped his pace and raised both his hands,pletely revealing himself under the enemies¡¯ gun without any hesitation. ¡°Hope!¡± Michael dashed at him like a gust of wind and called out his real name. However, when he arrived in front of him and saw his face, which was exactly the same as his father¡¯s, he was unable to do anything to him. His fist was clenched so tightly that he nearly hurt his own palm, but he was still unable to throw him a punch. He was the only person who could save both Carmen and Celine! The two of them looked at each other from a distance¡ªone of them had indifference in his eyes, while the other one¡¯s were filled with overwhelming rage. If it weren¡¯t for him, Michael would not have been separated from Sophia for so many years; Carmen would not have almost died; Celine would not have be how she was now; and the situation tonight definitely would not have happened! All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. He was the person responsible for everything! Chapter 895 Chapter 895 Sophia suddenly rushed out and stood between Michael and Quinton, blocking the former behind her while she pleaded, ¡°Please let me talk to him, alright?¡± Michael had no choice but to release his clenched fist and step to the side while ring at Quinton. She took two steps forward and stood in front of the man who had apanied her for two years. She never thought that he would actuallye! Her throat tightened. She had thousands of words in her mind, but they were all stuck in her throat. Back then, she had cruelly abandoned him and unhesitatingly left with Cooper. But now, he was actually willing to venture into such a dangerous ce after listening to only her words. Quinton took her into his embrace without saying anything. He initially thought that he would never see her again for his whole life. When he learned of her injuries, he secretly sneaked into Cethos at great risk, but he¡¯d never thought that he would receive her request for help so soon. Looking at the two people hugging each other, Michael nearly rushed at them, but he restrained himself in the end. Quinton embraced her, greedily wishing that he could hold on to her warmth for a longer time, but he suppressed his urge to do so. After a fleeting moment, he said to her, ¡°Take me to her.¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Hearing that, she returned to her senses and brought him to the entrance of the building. Everyone gave way to them. Cooper red at Quinton, and thetter gave him a smug smile. ¡°Mr. Michel, long time no see.¡± Cooper clenched his teeth. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that his granddaughter¡¯s life was still in danger upstairs, he would have chopped him up into minced meat in a matter of minutes. Quinton strode to the building while listening to Michael exining about the situation upstairs. Justin suddenly sent them a message from above. ¡°Celie is running out of patience. I can¡¯t hold her back any longer!¡± Justin¡¯s words from the walkie talkie nearly made Sophia copse. She subconsciously gripped on Quinton¡¯s sleeve, making a crease on the immacte ck suit. He took Michael¡¯s walkie-talkie and instructed, ¡°Tell her that we have dealt with the customs at the borders. I¡¯ming up there to confirm with her the path to leave the country.¡± He then put down the walkie-talkie and spoke to Michael and Sophia behind him. ¡°I will deal with this. Don¡¯t go up there.¡± With that, he entered the building alone. Sophia looked at him disappearing into the darkness at the end of the path while aplex feeling filled her heart. Secondster, tears streamed down her face. She gently threw herself into Michael¡¯s embrace and cried desperately in his arms. With Sophia in his arms, Michael raised his head and looked at the tenth floor, where a tiny red flower was swaying in the wind. Quinton arrived at the tenth floor. He heard the sound of a child crying and adults quarrelling from afar. ¡°Don¡¯t y any tricks. I will give you ten minutes¡ªI want to see my ne!¡± ¡°Calm down, calm down, Celie. Your ne will be arriving soon. It will be here right away!¡± ¡°Sob¡ªDaddy!¡± ¡°Carmen,e over here. Don¡¯t go any further outside. Daddy will be here soon!¡± Upon hearing the childish, helpless cry, Quinton involuntarily quickened his pace and arrived on the tenth floor. He gazed around and saw that in the tiny space barely illuminated by a simple bulb, a tiny body was sitting on the balcony. A rope was stretched from the balcony into the room with the other end stepped under Celine¡¯s foot. Celine was irritably shouting at Justin, causing thetter to sweat profusely out of anxiety while his eyes were bulged. ¡°Katrina.¡± The cold, merciless voice sounded like an order, causing the agitated Celine to instantly calm down and look at him with extreme devotion. ¡°Master,¡± she uttered. Quinton rk! Upon seeing his face, Justin almost could not control his fist. Quinton slowly walked to them, as if he did not see Justin, in his clean, elegant outfit that seemed incredibly out of ce. He ordered Justin in a low voice. ¡°Back away.¡± Justin red at him. He looked at the agitated Celine, and then at Carmen, who was curled up in a ball on the balcony while crying, before deciding to silently retreat and wait in the darkness to watch the commotion from behind. The moment Quinton made an appearance, Celine instantly calmed down, as if she had found her faith. She raised her head and looked at him. As he was stepping forward, he fished out a pocket watch from his pocket and held it in front of Celine. He then spoke to her in a kind, gentle voice. ¡°Look at it.¡± Her highly tense spirit became rxed at that moment. She looked at the pocket watch without any resistance while her pupils followed the movement of the swinging pocket, which then caused her to be unconsciously hypnotized. Her eyes became ssy, and her mind turned nk. At the same time, the gun that she had been firmly holding in her hands fell to the floor. Meanwhile, Quinton impassively continued to swing the pocket watch with one hand. ¡°Look at it¡­ If you feel tired, close your eyes and take a rest.¡± His voice, which was full of magic, caused Celine to almost fall asleep with her eyes half-closed. He quietly picked up the gun with his other hand, turned off the safety, and removed the bullets. At the same time, he stepped on the rope that had been released by her. Thud! She finally fell asleep and copsed onto the ground. She seemed to be soundly asleep. Exhaling in relief, Quinton looked at the corner of the balcony, where the light could not reach, before squatting down. He then held the rope and gently pped his hands. ¡°Your name is Carmen, right? Carmen, quicklye over!¡± The small ck figure on the balcony squirmed and asked in a soft voice, ¡°Are we done shooting?¡± Quinton replied, ¡°Yes, we are done filming. You can go home now, Carmen.¡± Hearing that, the tiny figure made a move and got on her feet. She wobbled a little due to her numb legs, causing his heart to skip a beat, so he subconsciously gripped the rope tightly. A little girl was seen slowly walking to him from the darkness. Her face was soiled, but her familiar features were still clearly visible¡ªshe had inherited her mother¡¯s features and her father¡¯s temperament. As a girl with a male¡¯s features, her looks showed that she would grow into an extraordinary beauty in the future. He could still remember her, but this was not the case for her¡ªeven though he was the person who delivered her. When they were on the run with Michael and the Fletcher Family chasing after them, Sophia gave birth in the chaotic town. He delivered her baby¡ªa tiny, thin baby girl. When she was just born, she looked like a lump of filthy flesh, resembling an ugly monkey. Due to the complication during delivery, she was not breathing when she was born. However, he refused to give up on her. As a person with a doctorate in medicine, he used everything that he had learned and sessfully saved her. When the blob of dirty flesh cried loudly and started moving, his eyes felt hot with tears, as if he had attained a treasure. He had initially wanted to take her along with them, but he was aware that she would not survive for long with her poor health condition if he were to do so. In contrast, leaving her with her father would at least give her a chance to survive. Therefore, he sent her away, but he would sometimes dream of the scene where the soft, dirty lump of flesh was squirming in his palm. It was unexpected to him that he would actually meet her today in such a situation. Carmen was all dirty; her hair was messy, and she had lost a shoe. Terrified, she walked over to him, only to find a handsome man; her parents were not in sight. ¡°Where¡¯s Daddy and Mommy?¡± she asked pitifully. He untied the rope that was tying both her hands together before answering, ¡°Your Daddy and Mommy are waiting for you downstairs!¡± Chapter 896 Chapter 896 She had grown up and be prettier, looking healthy and beautiful. It was obvious that her father doted on her and had raised her well. After he untied the rope, Carmen ced her shoeless foot on the ground, but the rough surface of the brick tiles on the ground hurt her foot, so she had to lift it up. She then wobbled and fell into Quinton¡¯s arm, while thetter carried her up and uttered, ¡°Carmen, I¡¯ll bring you to your daddy and mommy.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± she replied in a childish voice as she buried her face into his fragrant embrace. He gave her the bouquet. ¡°Carmen, you have finished yourst shot for the movie. This is a little present for you as a celebration.¡± She happily epted the flowers with two rows of tear stains on her dirty face. Although she was exhausted, she carried the flowers in her arms in delight and innocently asked him, ¡°Mister, what was your role?¡± Quinton carefully went down the stairs while carrying her in his arms and answered, ¡°I used to be the bad guy, but today, I acted as the good guy!¡± Seeing that the two of them had gone down, Justin verified that Carmen was now safe and communicated the message to the people below before eagerly rushing to Celine. Celine had fallen into a deep sleep; her breathing was stable, and her face seemed rather rosy. Carrying his wife in his arms, he cried so badly that words could not be formed. Just now, he thought that the whole world had given up on her. At the ground floor, Sophia heard the sound of footsteps and Carmen¡¯s sweet voiceing from the iplete building. ¡°Mister, do you think that I¡¯d acted well?¡± Quinton replied, ¡°Yes, you were amazing. Carmen, you were born to be an actress. I look forward to working with you for my next movie too!¡± Upon hearing that voice, Sophia¡¯s body froze; tears uncontrobly streamed down her cheeks, rinsing her numb face. Quinton was seen slowly walking out from the darkness to the spot illuminated by the searchlights, carrying a small figure in his arms. He looked at the crowd that swarmed at him before slowly squatting down and cing Carmen on the ground. He helped her to put on the shoe that he had found earlier, gently stroked her head, and said, ¡°Good girl, you can go to your parents and grandpa now!¡± As soon as she was put down, she dashed at Michael and Sophia. ¡°Daddy, Mommy!¡± ¡°Baby!¡± Both of them came running at her and embraced her, as if they were embracing their entire world. As for Quinton, after he put Carmen down, he slowly rose to his full height with his hands raised. The Fletcher Family¡¯s men slowly approached him, and after confirming that he had no weapon on him, they surrounded him and caught him. When Carmen saw Quinton being captured after she left Michael¡¯s embrace, she innocently asked, ¡°Why is Uncle Joel capturing him?¡± Michael wiped away his tears of excitement and joy for getting back something that he had nearly lost. ¡°They are still shooting for the movie. That mister is acting as the bad guy! Uncle Joel is acting as the police today, so the police have to catch the bad guy.¡± She pouted and muttered, ¡°But he said that he was acting as the good guy today.¡± Sophia, who had embraced Carmen, was overwhelmed by aplex feeling when she watched as Quinton was being caught. He really came and saved Carmen. At the same time, Justin came down with Celine in his arms, and he then put her on a stretcher. Nathan ran over to take a look at his mother, then at Carmen, and finally at Quinton, who was being escorted into the car. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Quinton seemed to have noticed him as well. The former smiled at him, as if he was greeting him. Nathan watched as Quinton was captured and escorted into the military vehicle, his expression still nonchnt. His expression remained indifferent regardless of if he felt devastated or overjoyed. It might have been because he had experienced too many ups and downs in life despite his young age, causing him to be numb to the joy and sorrow in life. He was only twelve, but he had thoroughly experienced the great joy and sorrow of life, which made him unfeeling to both emotions. In the end, Quinton was captured, and Celine was caught and taken back to the research center, while Nathan and Justin followed her there. After Michael made sure that Celine was fine, he caught up with Sophia, who was seen getting into Cooper¡¯s car with Carmen in her arms. He immediately quickened his steps toward her but was suddenly stopped by Cooper, who was standing in front of him with one arm held up. Cooper turned around and faced him with his back, his voice especially cold and merciless at that moment. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, you don¡¯t need to follow us. I¡¯ll take care of my granddaughter. Don¡¯t you worry.¡± Cooper was cold and distant to him. However, Michael could feel that in the past, Cooper disliked him but had to reluctantly ept him since Sophia fancied him. But today, he was absolutely cold and harsh. Stunned, Michael stopped his hasty footsteps for he knew that it would only be natural for Cooper to treat him this way. His first love had hurt Sophia, and his sister nearly harmed Carmen. It all happened because of him. If it were not for him, Carmen and Sophia would not have suffered such harm. Holding back the heart-stabbing pain, he took out 200 from his pocket and let out a wry chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s better to follow through the entire act. This is the fees I¡¯d promised to give Carmen¡ª¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for this.¡± Cooper coldly interrupted him. He then directly got into the car and closed the door without looking back. The car of the Mitchell Family sped off. Soon, the car of the Fletcher Family and military unit left, while Harry and Sarah, who hade to help, went home as well. Only then did Michael leave and head off to the research center. In Cooper¡¯s car, Sophia was hugging her baby, who had finally returned to her, while sobbing uncontrobly. She really did not know how she would live without Carmen! She felt as if her heart was stabbed by a thousand knives when she saw Carmen held imprisoned on her own at such a high ce earlier. Linus gently cleaned Carmen¡¯s face, wrapped her in a nket, and put aside her bouquet of flowers before handing her 400. ¡°Carmen, your performance today was superb. This is your sry given by the filmingpany. You have earned 400 in total since shooting for night scenes pays better!¡± She delightfully took the money and tightly held it in her hands. ¡°Mommy, why are you crying?¡± she innocently looked at Sophia and asked. Sophia sniffled and wiped away her tears before forcing a smile on her face as she answered, ¡°It¡¯s because today was your first time shooting for a night scene, but you did a great job, so I¡¯m very happy for you.¡± Cooper hugged her and stroked her messy hair. ¡°The situation earlier is how shooting for a movie is like ¡ªyou will face all sorts of sudden events, and the actors¡¯ acting skills will be so excellent that they may startle small children, just like how you were so afraid that you cried today. Carmen, if you wish to be an actress, you will face more simr situations!¡± Carmen leaned sluggishly in Cooper¡¯s arms with the four banknotes tightly held in her hands. She wished to continue acting to earn money, but everyone¡¯s acting skills were so good that they seemed real when they acted as the viin, which made her cry out of terror. She was in a dilemma. Sophia wept soundlessly as she nced at Linus in gratitude. Linus, who was considerate in nature, acted meticulously in order to protect Carmen¡¯s tiny yet fragile mind¡ªa traumatizing experience would affect a child for a lifetime! Now, Carmen thought that she had merely acted in a police action blockbuster movie¡ªthe type of movie with amission of 400 per day. Therefore, she was able to happily count the money now. The treacherous scene today would probably remain in her memories as a mere surprise. Chapter 897 Chapter 897 As the car headed home, Cooper hugged Carmen in his arms while Sophia continued sobbing in the silence. The injuries on her face had not fully recovered. She weakly leaned on Linus¡¯ shoulder and buried her face in his arms as heforted her. As she was highly tense for the entire day, the current opportunity to rx for a split second immediately caused her to loosen up and fall asleep within seconds. Even if she fell asleep, there was a trace of tears at the corner of her eyes. His body stiffened as he was afraid that he would wake her up. Upon looking at Carmen, who was dozing off in his arms, Cooper wrapped her up tightly with the nket, causing her to fall asleep almost instantly. Even while she was asleep, she still held onto her money and refused to let anyone take it. While looking at the sleeping mother and daughter, he felt blissful yet pressured¡ªas if he owned the whole world, but had to bear the weight of it. Nevertheless, his daughter would eventually have to settle down as his granddaughter needed a father. Theo had own sons. The biological father is definitely not a choice and the other one is worse, so I definitely won¡¯t hand Sophia to any of Theo¡¯s sons. Although he loved Sophia and Carmen, where they were his everything, it was impossible for him to keep them for himself forever since his daughter would have to marry someone someday. Therefore, he was determined to find her the best man in the world! ¡­ After waiting for a day and a night in the research center outside the city, Celine finally woke up. When she regained her consciousness and found out what she had done, she broke down emotionally and hid in the corner before crying. She was still locked up in the transparent cage. Nobody had the courage to get close to her because they could not tell whether she was Katrina or Celine. Justin and Michael watched as she curled up in a corner and wept, but they could not get close to her either. Celine had always been the big sister, the female boss, and leader among their peers since she was young. She had always been stronger and more poised than most males as she never cried. However, over thest few years, she seemed to have shed all the tears that she could possibly have in her whole life. She nearly harmed Carmen with her own hands, which was something that she could not ept when she was in her right frame of mind. What terrified her the most was she still retained her original personality when Katrina appeared, so she saw how she went on a rampage to do those things that she had never wanted to do. She had almost killed Carmen and her son! A bulletproof ss had separated Justin from Celine. Tears silently escaped from his eyes as he leaned on the ss in the silence. Upon looking at his wife curling up in a corner while crying in despair, he wished that he could embrace her, but he was not even able to give her any warmth. What exactly have we done wrong? God, why are we being treated like this? They had joined the military when they were 18 and underwent training for many years before pledging a lifetime of loyalty and service to their country. They led honorable and honest lives while living up to the expectations of the country, their ancestors, future generations, as well as their own consciences, but why were their good deeds not being rewarded? Through the ss, Michael gazed at the person who had the same face as him. He wanted to me her, but he could not bear to do so. Ever since she helped Phantom Wolf to kidnap Sophia three years ago, Michael sent her to the research center and did not dare to visit her ever since. He was well aware that it was not her fault as she was also the victim, but how could he willingly ept that fact? Michael turned asrge droplets of tears fell on the floor. He found Quinton, who was also being confined in a cage made of bulletproof ss. The entire research center was now as imprable as an iron barrel with ten times more military forces than usual. It was because the institute now harbored the most dangerous man in the whole world. Phantom Wolf was responsible for countless murders and deaths and he was wanted by dozens of countries around the world. His bounty in the ck market had reached up to several billions, which also meant that numerous people from all over the world wanted him dead. He entered the lion¡¯s den by himself and was detained instead. Quinton had regained his original looks¡ªit was a face that was extremely simr to Theo¡¯s. He had fully inherited Theo¡¯s looks, character, boldness, intelligence and talent as amander. In fact, he was more simr to Theo than Michael and Celine. On the other hand, Michael and Celine were blessed with their mother¡¯s kindness and gentleness, but Quinton had inherited his father¡¯s cunning and vicious personality. Therefore, the siblings resembled angels and he resembled a devil. Both Quinton and Michael looked at each other through the ss. It was the first time that they nced at each other in that manner since they used to fight to the death without much reasoning.N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. Michael moved a chair over and sat while looking at Quinton. As Quinton was a few years younger, he looked boyish and more handsome. Theo had passed away when he was at Quinton¡¯s age, which made thetter look exactly the same as their father in Michael¡¯s memory. Quinton was still wearing his ck suit, which was so immacte that it did not have any creases. He seemed like the perfect gentleman who had returned from a ball when he raised his hand to adjust his gold-rimmed sses, causing the ring on his pinky finger to shine. He was a gant gentleman on the surface, but a scum on the inside. ¡°My dearest brother, how much longer are you going to keep watching me?¡± He slowly uttered a few words, which sounded like a casual chat between close friends. Michael went straight to the point. ¡°I want Celine to return to normal¡ªwith only her in her body and no one else.¡± Quiton smiled as he adjusted his gold-rimmed spectacles. His manner was elegant while his voice was clear and sounded handsome. ¡°She¡¯s the one keeping me alive now. Do you think that I will do it easily?¡± Michael expressed his conditions with a cold expression. ¡°I guarantee to let you go if you cure my sister.¡± Quinton lowered his head and burst into a guffaw, as if he had heard the joke of the year. ¡°Haha! haha! Guarantee? How are you going to give that guarantee? Do you think that I¡¯ll believe you? Let me tell you the truth¡ªKatrina had already merged with your sister and the boundaries between their personalities will gradually vanish. There is no one in this world who can really save her except me,¡± he uttered. A person as astute as him was well aware that Celine was the key to keep him alive. Otherwise, he would not have the courage to enter the ce. Since the Fletcher Family had saved Celine, they definitely would not give up on her. They tried everything that they could think of, including domestic and foreign psychiatrists and hypnotists, but to no avail. There were no other ways to save her unless he was willing to do so. However, Michael knew that he had no power to make such a decision. As the Phantom Wolf hadmitted many crimes, Michael would not be able to save him¡ªif he could not do so, let alone the Fletcher Family. The two of them fell silent for a while before he threw another question. ¡°Can Sophia¡¯s memory be recovered as well?¡± Upon the mention of that topic, the disdain on Quinton¡¯s face was reced by a shred of seriousness. In the end, he sighed before rising to his full height and walking to the bulletproof ss. Tilting his head to one side, he gave a contemptuous smile. ¡°Sure, I can help her to recover her memories without anything in return¡ªher entire memory¡­ With that, she will remember that she was once together with you.¡± Disdain was obvious in his tone as he spoke. Michael kept quiet for a moment before finally replying in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s fine then¡­ If she has forgotten about the past, just let it be then.¡± He sounded extremely helpless when he said those words. His voice was so low that it sounded like a mncholic sigh. Chapter 898 Chapter 898 After saying those words, he remained silent for a while before getting up to leave. As Quinton watched him leave, the sarcastic smile on his face hadpletely vanished. When Michael entered the garage and sat in his car, he took out his phone and found Sophia¡¯s contact. He looked at the profile picture that he set for her in a daze, but did not give her a ring in the end. How I wish I could trigger her past memories to return! She will immediately return to me if that happens. However, once she recovers her memories, the trauma and pain will apany her forever! She has already forgotten all of her bitter and painful past and is already living a great and blissful life now. Why do I want her to experience pain again? He clearly saw Quinton¡¯s mockery. If she experiences pain again just because I want to have her by my side, I am not worthy to receive her love! After remaining silent for the longest time, Michael still did not dial the number and went to the Fletcher Residence instead. Once Sophia and Carmen had arrived home, they headed to bed after taking a quick shower. Carmen obediently slept next to her mother and kept her hard-earned money away before saying in between yawns, ¡°Mommy¡­ Goodnight.¡± Sophia lowered her head to kiss Carmen¡¯s plump cheeks. ¡°Baby, you are tired after a day of filming today, so you should sleep earlier.¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Carmen took out her wristwatch and punched a button to directly call Michael. He was still on his way to the Fletcher Residence and after receiving a call from her, he quickly answered it. Then, Sophia heard his voice from Carmen¡¯s watch. ¡°Baby, aren¡¯t you going to sleep?¡± Carmen replied sweetly, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m sleeping soon. Goodnight, Daddy.¡± He replied, ¡°Sleep earlier and say goodnight to Mommy for me too.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After hanging up, she turned and told Sophia, who was sleeping next to her, ¡°Goodnight, missus.¡± Sophia smiled. ¡°Where did you learn this from?¡± Carmen replied, ¡°Mel¡¯s father calls her mother ¡®missus¡¯, so I presume that Daddy calls Mommy the same too. I¡¯m saying goodnight on Daddy¡¯s behalf.¡± A lump formed in Sophia¡¯s throat, but she did not say anything in the end and switched off the light, leaving only a small nightmp for Carmen. Carmen added, ¡°Sleep well, missus.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± ¡­ After Sophia woke up and got ready the next morning, she saw that people were packing things at her ce. She knew that Cooper was about to move houses. Even though he was not nning to leave Bayside City for the time being, he would still move out from the Imperial. Since everything had arrived to that stage, she felt that she did not have a choice anymore. For Carmen¡¯s sake, we have no choice but to move. Carmen did not go to kindergarten today¡ªinstead, she woke up early in the morning to prepare for the move. She emptied her little husky bag and ced her hard-earned money in it before entering the car. As it was a hasty decision to move, they still had not chosen the right ce¡ªCooper did not purchase any property in Bayside City and Sophia wanted to live in afortable ce. In order to make her life easier, she suggested to move to Riverdale The house was rather spacious, so Carmen had a ce to y and it was within a driving distance to the kindergarten and thepany. Sophia owned a house in Riverdale¡ªthe former Harper¡¯s Mansion now belonged to her. She had taken quite a liking to the garden there, so it was the right time to move. While holding her pair of alpacas and entering the car, she suddenly felt that someone was looking at her. After turning, she saw that it was Nathan holding Snowball at the entrance of Vi No. 8, looking at her wordlessly, as if he had something to tell her. ¡°Nate!¡± After cing the alpacas on the car seat, she opened the car door and walked over to Vi No. 8. However, he seemed to have left for some time. The front door of the vi was also tightly shut and she could not open it. After knocking, only Nichs replied to her from inside. ¡°Mom, are you moving away?¡± His tone sounded resentful and sad. He was so smart that he was no different from a child. Sophia bent her body and looked at Nichs through the door. ¡°I¡¯m moving to a huge house in Riverdale. You can alsoe and stay with us, Nichs.¡± However, Nichs seemed to be angered and immediately left. I¡¯m afraid Nathan feels this way too. Since Cooper was in a rush to leave, she returned to the car thoughtfully. After closing the door, the car engine was started as the driver prepared to leave. However, she saw Nathan once more after a nce at the rearview mirror. As usual, he looked indifferent in the silence¡ªhe looked numb, no matter whether he was happy or sad. Sophia had no idea how much pain he had experienced to wear a stoic expression on his face. However, she saw desire in his eyes. Nathan looked like he wanted to tell her something, but he did not know how to say it, so he could only look at her like that. The car sped away. In the end, she still did not have the chance to speak with him. ¡­ After traveling back and forth between the research center and Fletcher Residence, Michael was unable to catch forty winks for an entire day and rested on his way home. The moment he arrived, he realized that Vi No. 2 was now empty. Sophia had left with Carmen¡ªwith only a few maids cleaning up after them. While standing at the ground floor of Vi No. 2, he raised his head to look at the windows¡ªthe door on the balcony was sealed shut and no one would open it anymore. After he returned to his ce and opened the door, the living room was also quiet since the liveliness was gone. In the past, once he opened the door, a bunch of furry animals would rush over to greet him. However, only Snowball was left alone. The white ball of fur rushed to him and circled around him, but the rest had followed Sophia on her move. Nathan had also returned and quietly looked at him from a corner. Nichs walked to Michael. ¡°Dad, Mom moved to Riverdale.¡± Michael hummed in reply before heading to his room in exhaustion. After he closed the door, he did not head out again. He took a short rest. After all, he was still a human, not a robot, so he could not work the entire day without rest. However, once he closed his eyes, he started to have nightmares. He dreamed that Sophia and Carmen were in an ident and the ambnce picked up both of them, who were covered in blood. In the dream, he howled as he ran behind the ambnce for a long time, but it showed no signs of stopping. On top of that, the ambnce even howled, ¡°Meeeeeeooooooooooow!¡± A terrified Michael opened his eyes and realized that he was still on his bed. He had no idea when Chrysanthemum had entered his room and jumped on him, but it was the one meowing at him. ¡°Meeeeeeooooooooooow!¡± After ncing at it, Michael rubbed its head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave with your mom?¡± It gently snuggled toward Michael¡¯s hands. He got up from the bed with the cat in his hands and looked at the time¡ªit was already dawn and he had slept for nine full hours. However, his head felt like it was about to split into two. Nevertheless, he called Justin. Quinton still refused to reveal the way to cure Celine¡¯s dissociative identity disorder and she was in an unstable condition, attempting tomit suicide multiple times. It would spell a lot of trouble if she tried to kill herself, as they could not tell whether it was a ruse to escape her situation or if she really wanted to do that. She had once attempted suicide to escape from the research center, which almost culminated in a disaster. However, if they did not save her in time, she would die! Celine used to be a confident, strong woman in the military. However, living was a state of pain for her because she could not die as well! Chapter 899 Chapter 899 Justin could not wait to kill the mastermind behind all the mess, who was Quinton. Yet, Quinton was the only one who knew how to cure Celine¡¯s illness. Of course, Quinton would not simply reveal the cure to them as it was the only information keeping him alive. The military wanted him dead whereas the Fletchers tried their best to keep him alive. Their discussion had arrived at standstill as they could note to a consensus. On the other hand, Celine had repeatedly tried to kill herself and almost seeded in the process. Stanley had followed up on the matter and followed Michael for the entire day. He returned today to the seaside vi to bring Judge back to the Imperial. Judge wed at the door of Vi No. 2 for a long time. Upon seeing that no one came to open the door, it finally realized that Sophia had moved and howled angrily at the door. Sophia! You are such a jerk! Return my kittens! Return my son as well as my mansion and my lolita! I babysat your child for many years! You can¡¯t just leave like this! When Judge was tired of howling, it went to Michael¡¯s ce to have a sip of water before returning to continue its howls. Upon realizing that nothing would bring Sophia back, it was angered to the point where it went to Vi No. 8 to trash the ce. Its ns were to destroy the ce and bite her husband! Judge had bitten the corner of Michael¡¯s pyjamas into pieces, but it was still not satisfied. It continued to bite the couch and table in the living room¡ªand even destroyed the pillow that she made out of dog fur. As a result, the entire area was scattered with its fur and no one was able to stop the husky. Stanley initially wanted to chat with Michael for a bit. However, after Judge threw a tantrum, Stanley could only bring it home almost immediately. Before he left, he added, ¡°Uncle Michael, you can ask for Sophia¡¯s help in this. She can summon him with a sentence. If she appears, he will definitely spill the beans.¡± Michael shook his head with a vacant expression in his eyes and did not even know when Stanley left. Ask for Sophia¡¯s help? He could not bring himself to do it. She¡¯s so kind; she will definitely agree to it. What if Quinton takes this opportunity to ask for something outrageous in exchange for the information? She probably will agree to that as well. Because of me, she owes Quinton a favor. As a result, she has suffered the consequences and the pain. How can I be so selfish and cruel? Michael sat in the dark living room and smoked one cigarette after another before standing up. After quickly changing into his clothes, he rushed out of the door. Meanwhile, in the research center, a guest had surprisingly arrived¡ªit was Mark Fletcher. Mark seldom went out¡ªhe had only gone out once to meet Carmen, recognize Celine¡¯s presence in the Fletcher Family, to attend Cooper¡¯s funeral and the other time was today. In the research center, Mark met his grandson, who looked different each time he visited. At that moment, Quinton looked like a younger version of him and resembled Theo as well! Mark had carefully perused the documents about Quinton. Whenpared to Michael and Celine, Quinton was the one who resembled Mark the most and even inherited the old man¡¯s attributes. Unfortunately, Quinton took the wrong path. Thud! Quinton mmed a chess piece on the chess board, blocking his opponent¡¯s moves. ¡°Sorry, old man¡ª I¡¯ve won.¡± A chessboard was ced between both of them. Mark was also quite rxed as well. He came over to the research center and yed chess with Quinton for the entire afternoon. On top of that, they were in the same room. Apart from the handcuffs on Quinton, he had a normal range of movements while Mark sat opposite him to y chess. To quote the words that Mark once said, ¡°I have already lived for more than a century with children and grandchildren based all over the world. That in itself was enough for me, so if Quinton captures me, you don¡¯t have to save me. Just open fire immediately. If I die, I will definitely drag this unfilial grandson called Quinton down with me. He¡¯s only in his thirties while I¡¯ve already lived over a century. If we are both killed by the machine gun, he will suffer a greater loss than me.¡± However, Mark was no match for Quinton in chess. Another kill in seven moves! After a few rounds of chess, Mark had beenpletely defeated by Quinton. Unlike others who would try to go easy on Mark, Quinton immediatelyunched his attack on the chess board. If he could defeat Mark in seven moves, he would never waste another move. Unwilling to concede defeat, Mark barked, ¡°One more round!¡± Quinton frowned, but he continued to return the pieces to their original positions while saying, ¡°Old man, my time is precious. I can¡¯t y chess with you for the whole day.¡± Mark replied indignantly, ¡°I¡¯ve already lived for more than a century¡ªI don¡¯t have much time left. Your time is valuable, but that¡¯s my life ticking away with every second. So, do you think your time¡ªor mine¡ª is more valuable?¡± Quinton knew that he could never win the argument against Mark, so he continued to y chess with the old man in exasperation. After Quinton entered the research center, he waspletely stripped down. They confiscated his exquisite suit and gold-ted sses. In exchange, they gave him an attire that only a patient in hospital would wear. The flimsy outfit made him feel insecure, but his slender fingers looked clean and fair in contrast. After he took a sip of in water, he continued to y chess with Mark. Halfway through their game, Mark suddenly sighed and said meaningfully, ¡°You really look like your father.¡± Without using any ruse, it was the conclusion that Mark arrived at when he saw Quinton. However, Quinton pretended that he did not hear Mark¡¯s words and continued with the game. Mark continued, ¡°Your father is like you¡ªhe has patience, endurance, and foresight. With every step that he took, he could predict a hundred steps ahead. When I yed chess with him, I neversted more than seven moves.¡± Quinton remained silent with his head hanging low as he continued the game. Mark sighed again. ¡°How nice it would have been if you were born in the Fletcher Family instead. I bet your sess will be even greater than your father by now.¡± Thud! Quinton ced the chess piece down again, performing another kill in seven moves and left Mark with no opportunity to retreat. After doing so, Quinton slowly got up. ¡°Sorry, old man. I¡¯m taking a rest now. Please help yourself.¡± With that, he returned to his cell andy on the bed with his back facing Mark. Although Mark was furious, he left in the end. Right after he exited, the cell that detained Quinton was locked multiple times, as if he was a violent beast as they kept him locked inside. After Mark walked out, he looked at the sky and sighed. ¡°Theo, why did you have to leave so early?¡± In Riverdale, the former Harper¡¯s Residence was now the Edwards Residence. After Sophia moved over, she had selected a room that she liked and opened the windows. Immediately, she could see the beautiful view of the garden. The ce used to belong to the Harper Family and they had spent at least two centuries building the mansion. The garden was thebined effort of the Harper Family¡¯s few generations, but in one way or another, it was now Sophia¡¯s. She loved the way that the garden was designed and its view¡ªeach spot was as beautiful as a painting, radiating an artistic aura. Once she had settled down in the mansion, she peeked out from the window with flowery frames on the second floor as it was the best location to have the best scenery. The view from that particr spot was also the most beautiful. After a day of moving, she was also tired. Carmen had already climbed onto the huge flowery bed and dozed off. Before sleeping, she called Shae over while ying with her toes, insisting that she had to call her daddy to say goodnight. However, Shae replied, ¡°I don¡¯t have Daddy¡¯s contact.¡± In the past, Carmen had always asked Nichs to call Michael. However, Nichs and Chrysanthemum continued to stay back at The Imperial instead of following her and Sophia. Carmen took out her wristwatch to call Michael, but after the call went through, she heard Cooper¡¯s voice. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Darling, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± Chapter 900 Chapter 900 Carmen was extremely disappointed after she could not hear her father¡¯s voice. After she chatted with Cooper for a bit, she hung up on the call, but still could not call Michael after testing with different settings. Sophia knew that Cooper had changed the settings of the watch when Carmen was asleep. The only number that she could call now was his number. Sophia quickly calmed her down. ¡°Darling, you should sleep earlier. We can talk about it tomorrow.¡± Tears flowed out of Carmen¡¯s eyes instead. ¡°But, I can¡¯t sleep if I don¡¯t talk to Daddy.¡± Sopphia hugged her and asked in a low voice, ¡°Not even when Mommy is here?¡± Carmen was still saddened. ¡°I want Daddy¡­¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes swam with tears as she took her phone. As she looked at the nickname that she set in her list of contacts¡ª¡®Carmen¡¯s dad¡¯¡ªshe did not have the courage to call him. However, Carmen was still sobbing next to her, making her feel that she should not be selfish. She knew that it was cruel for Cooper to have separated Carmen and Michael. After Michael brought Carmen home from Africa, the little girl was on the brink of death and often fell sick. He would apany her in the hospital for the entire year as she was irreceable to him. How could he possibly ept the fact that they had to be separated? Carmen has been close to her father since she was born. How could she not have him? Hence, Sophia opened Messenger and found Michael¡ªhis profile picture was a photograph of her from three years ago, so it made it easier to spot him. She sent a word. ¡®Here?¡¯ He instantly replied, ¡®Yes.¡¯ She quickly video-called him and passed the phone to Carmen, who wiped her tears away and looked at the phone. As soon as Michael appeared, she immediately smiled and greeted in her baby voice, ¡°Daddy!¡± Michael was in a bright room, looking rather busy. After seeing the face that he was thinking about the entire day, he smiled and asked gently, ¡°Baby, did you behave yourself today?¡± Carmen replied, ¡°Yes, I was obedient. I moved into a big house with Mommy. It¡¯s very big! You have to come over to visit me soon!¡± He said, ¡°Sure. You are a good baby. Sleep soon, alright? I still have some work to do.¡± She replied, ¡°Goodnight, Daddy! I love you!¡± Carmen dly went to bed after chatting with her father. She tucked herself to sleep and said goodnight to Sophia for Michael. ¡°Good night, missus.¡± Sophia bent over to kiss her as she replied, ¡°Goodnight to you too, baby.¡± With that, she switched off the light but left the nightmp on. However, as she was not sleepy, she merely looked at Carmen. It was already midnight in the research center. After Michael hung up, he looked at his phone and stared at the wallpaper he chose in a daze¡ªit was a picture of the three of them. They took the picture at the film studio¡ªhe was filming and Carmen was one of the extras at another set. In the afternoon, Sophia took her home for lunch. He donned a military outfit during the war period while Carmen wore a traditional outfit and Sophia had a loose T-shirt with a baseball cap. The three of them looked very different from each other. Carmen tried her hardest to eat as Sophia fed her while Michael lowered his head to look at them with a mellow expression. Danny had perfectly captured the entire scene. After looking at the picture for ages, Michael finally kept his phone away and brought a bunch of documents to the ce where Quinton was locked up. Then, he ced the documents in front of Quinton with a loud thud. ¡°This is a special pardon by the military and ZF organization. You can use it in all of Cethos as long as you promise not to cause any more trouble. After you sign it, we¡¯ll arrange for you to head abroad.¡± After ncing at the special pardon, Quinton looked away coldly. ¡°It¡¯s obvious that it¡¯s fake. I don¡¯t believe you.¡± N?velDrama.Org: owner of this content. Michael did not want to beat around the bush. ¡°I can guarantee you with the Fletcher Family¡¯s name that if you can cure my sister, you can leave anytime you want.¡± Receiving the special pardon was beyond his expectation as he could not believe that the military would pardon a killing maniac like Quinton. Apart from the Fletcher Family interfering with the matter, there were also elements ofpetition among the powerful nations. Many huge powers outside the country had bribed terrorists to carry out attacks in Cethos and once they sessfully did so, they were able to escape to other countries and openly gain protection. Apart from that, those former terrorists could easily earn more money by giving speeches on their experience all around the world and publishing books on the ¡®tough experience¡¯ of being oppressed by Cethos. Some of them could even receive the Nobel Peace Prize, a very influential achievement, and be an ambassador for peace as well. How ironic and unbelievable! Although Phantom Wolf killed many people on an international spectrum, he nevermitted his crime in schools or in Cethos. To be precise, he hadnded himself in hot water thrice¡ªone was at Time Square years ago when he received an order from Ka to assassinate Sophia, but before he could do so, two people from his side had already been killed. His second time was when he tried to kidnap Mark and Sophia to bring them away, but his ns were foiled. The third time was when Phantom Wolf tried to kidnap Sophia again. Every crime that hemitted in Cethos was all rted to the grudge that he bore against the Fletcher Family. When Celine and Justin were ambushed, it was at the time of an anti-terrorist movement by the United Nations in other countries. So, the Fletcher Family did not pursue that matter and the military adopted the same approach. Since the powers abroad could openly provide sanctuary to those terrorists who killed the citizens of Cethos, the Cethos government could do the same as well. Even though Phantom Wolf was cruel, he was an assassin who would not murder innocent people as his victims only consisted of politicians and big shots. All in all, he was merely an assassin who epted money in exchange for lives. He was a tool¡ªa dog whom anyone could purchase. The people who had blood on their hands also included the politicians and big shots who wanted to use illegal methods to gain advantage. Since they were afraid of staining their hands, they thought of Phantom Wolf. The details were extremelyplicated to be discussed and Quinton had something that the Cethosian military was interested in. Phantom Wolf¡¯s crimes paled inparison with what the advantages that the country could gain. However, Quinton never cared about the special pardon. After looking away, he answered, ¡°I¡¯ve already regretted it. The special pardon is not enough. I want to see her. I want to bring my wife, Sophia, away with me.¡± All was good until he brought up that name. At the mention of Sophia, a cool and collected Michael completely lost control. He went berserk like an awakened beast and grabbed Quinton by his cor and threatened in a menacing manner, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about seeing her again!¡± Upon looking at the irate Michael, Quinton chuckled in a low voice before saying, ¡°Brother, you are still less patient than me.¡± Gritting his teeth, Michael looked at Quinton before releasing his grap. Then, he ced the special pardon in front of Quinton again. ¡°Ten dayster, both the military and the Fletcher Family will announce that you have been captured and hold a public trial. At that time, even the special pardon is useless. This is your only chance. Treasure it.¡± With that, Michael quickly left. Upon looking at the seemingly warm special pardon with the military stamp on it, Quinton suddenly raised his head and looked at Michael¡¯s direction. ¡°Actually¡ª¡± Quinton deliberately dragged his tone. Michael¡¯s flurrying steps came to an immediate stop. Then, Quinton continued, ¡°I can¡¯t recover her memories anymore. They have beenpletely erased by me.¡± Michael did not turn around. After stopping for a few seconds, he continued to head off. Chapter 901 Chapter 901 Sophia was woken up by a series of howls early in the morning. After she opened the windows, she saw a wolf howling at the sky near the river under the bridge. When the wolf howled, the two huskies that she reared also followed suit, causing the entire ce to be surrounded by howls. Upon a closer look, she realized that it was Judge. As he stood on the stone bridge on theke, he saw her opening the window opposite him and continuously howled at her, as if he was scolding her. After having a shower, Sophia asked the nanny to take care of Carmen before leaving her room to head to the living area. At that moment, Stanley was chatting with Cooper in the living room. ¡°Granduncle Cooper, I¡¯m begging you. Aunt Celine seems to be better off dead than alive thesest two days. Only Sophia can knock some sense into Phantom Wolf now. Can I just borrow her for a while¡ªjust a while?¡± ¡°Not even for a second!¡± With that, Cooper stoically sent him away. Shae opened the door of the living room before saying, ¡°Stan, you can look for the bus stop after the left turn.¡± However, right after Shae opened the door, Judge charged into the house like a madman. He never cared about its size, but it grabbed a cat in its mouth and ran away immediately. Both Stanley and Cooper were speechless at that sight. In the end, both Stanley and Judge were chased out and Cooper was able to get back his cat as well. Then, Stanley knocked on the door. ¡°Granduncle Cooper, open the door!¡± Judge also vented his frustrations by howling. There were no more movements from the red door. Stanley walked away in disappointment while Sean got out of the car to console him. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you that Uncle Cooper would never allow Sophia to talk to Phantom Wolf again.¡± Stanley was crestfallen, but there was nothing that both of them could do about it. Cooper would not allow him to meet Sophia and his calls were always cut off. She also never replied to his messages. However, apart from Sophia, no one could convince Quinton. She had once asked him to return and he immediately appeared. Stanley was sure that as long as Sophia asked Quinton for a favor, he would definitely agree. When Judge finally caught his beloved cat, he was angry that it was taken away from him in such a ruthless manner. Hence, it kept barking at the red door. It¡¯s time for them to witness the true, evil powers of a Siberian Husky! Judge angrily red its golden teeth and bit a hole in the ancient wooden door that was a century old while Sean and Stanley talked. After it entered, it immediately saw Sophia and barked at her. ¡°Alright, stop it.¡± Sophia patted its head. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of your cats.¡± She knew the reason for Stanley¡¯s arrival today and recalled Nathan¡¯s imploring gaze when she was moving yesterday. This is probably a quiet request from Nate. On the other hand, everyone now said that she was the only person who could convince Quinton. However, she did not have any courage to meet him. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Back then, she left without saying goodbye. When she asked him to save Carmen, he arrived, but was locked up in the research center instead. If he did not hold the information to Celine¡¯s full recovery and the Fletcher Family did not treat her importantly, he could have already been executed on the spot. However, Sophia was about to ask him to reveal the final information that had kept him alive all this while. It was probably too ruthless and cruel for Quinton to endure. However, it was undeniable that he hadnded himself into the current situation. It was the story of Theo Fletcher¡¯s three generations, but since it was unrted to Sophia, they hurt Carmen. When she thought of Nathan¡¯s anguished expression to the point where he was numb to everything, she couldn¡¯t help but be involved. After taking a deep breath, she opened the door to inform Stanley and Sean. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Stanley was excited to hear her words. As long as Sophia agrees, Celine can be saved. However, the excitement onlysted a second because Cooper suddenly appeared behind her and said grimly, ¡°I forbid you to do so.¡± Meanwhile, he grabbed Sophia from the door and mmed the door that had been bitten by Judge. Stanley quickly rushed forward to knock on the door. ¡°Granduncle Cooper, please allow Sophia to help Aunt Celine! She¡¯s as good as waiting to die now! Please, Granduncle Cooper! Even if you don¡¯t let Sophia out, at least return my dog!¡± The door was opened once again before a husky was thrown from inside this time. With a slight woof, Judgended in Stanley¡¯s hands. Stanley was speechless as a result. In the mansion, it was the first fight Sophia had with her father. In the past, whenever they argued with each other, Cooper wouldpromise, but he did not do so. ¡°Dad, can you just let me go? I¡¯ll end all of this! Hope came here because of me. I can¡¯t leave him alone!¡± However, Cooper had a cold look on his face as he said firmly, ¡°Someone bring the youngdy back to her room!¡± Ignoring Sophia¡¯s wishes, the bodyguards brought her back to her room and locked her in there. A stony Cooper did not soften his stance upon hearing Sophia¡¯s cries and wails in the room, even though he felt hurt. When she grew tired of crying, he finally spoke, ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s not because I¡¯m callous. I can¡¯t possibly risk losing you and Carmen anymore!¡± She merely sobbed in her room in silence. Meanwhile, Carmen was walking the alpacas and ignorant of the situation as Linus yed with her. He turned and nced at the room where Sophia was locked inside with a deep look in his eyes. As a result of being locked inside her room, she stopped eating or drinking for the entire day, making Cooper anxious. He finally obliged and apologized, ¡°Darling, please eat something, alright? What should I do if anything happens to you?¡± Before that, he was the one who locked Sophia up. However, in the span of a day, she had locked the door to prevent him from entering. Apart from that, she would not eat or speak. Cooper was pushed to his limits as a result and relentlessly knocked on the door. However, she simply refused to open the door. Linus, who was just off work, came to calm Cooper down upon knowing the situation. ¡°Let me try to talk to her.¡± Since Linus was a man of many ideas, Cooper had no choice but to allow him to try his luck. After Cooper left the scene, Linus sat by the door and spoke through it, ¡°Sophia, are you here? You should understand your father¡¯s feelings. He cares too much about you and Carmen. Everything that has happened was a huge blow for him. If you were in his shoes, what would you do?¡± There was still no reply from the room. Hence, he leaned on the door and continued with his words. ¡°When I was a toddler, I was adopted by Fass into the Michel Family. Even though he found a pair of foster parents for me, he was grooming me all along and acted like a father to me.¡± He knew that Sophia was leaning against the door like him as she silently sobbed while listening to him. Then, Linus talked about the Cooper whom he knew. ¡°Fass has adopted me for close to twenty years now. Before you appeared, he was ruthless and callous. He treats everyone including me coldly¡ªand do you know his behavior was to what extent? He was the only person in the entire world to have the cure to Virs-18, but he had no intention to release it. Even though thousands and millions of people who went to the castle to seek treatment died, he only cared about the profits that the cure could bring him. However, when you appear, do you know that he cried? For the first time in twenty years, that was the only time I saw him shedding tears.¡± Chapter 902 Chapter 902 ¡°That was when you were just rescued and the doctor said that you wouldn¡¯t be able to make it. Fass cried outside the ward for an entire day and said that he would do anything to save you. When the doctor said that you couldn¡¯t survive for more than two days, he didn¡¯t even dare to blink for the fear that you would be gone.¡± A lump formed in Linus¡¯ throat as he spoke. On the other side of the door, Sophia did not feel good either. She hugged her knees close to her chest as she sat behind the door, staring at the ground as tears rolled down from her cheeks. He sobbed for a while before he continued, ¡°When Fass saw you being tied up on the pir and drenched in gasoline as you awaited death as well as Carmen being dragged to the balcony on the tenth floor by others and about to fall to her death at any time, do you know how angry¡­ and how sad he was? Sophia, losing your mother was the most painful experience in Fass¡¯ life. He wouldn¡¯t be able to endure the pain if anything happens to you. You are now an adult and a mother yourself. So, you should know very well that he won¡¯t hurt you.¡± With that, both of them remained silent for some time. Then, he broke the silence. ¡°How about this? I have an idea¡ªFass and I will settle Quinton¡¯s side for you and end this cancerous rtionship once and for all while you listen to us this time and sever all ties with both brothers. Is that okay? Carmen will still be with you and we will stopmunicating with their family. Can you ept this? If you agree, knock twice on the door. Otherwise, just knock once.¡± After ten minutes or so, Linus heard a light knock on the door before the second knock came seconds later. Both of the knocks seemed to have reached into a spot deep in his heart. With his head lowered, he did not feel relieved whatsoever. He merely had a heavy feeling in his heart and even breathing was difficult for him. At the research center, Celine hadmitted suicide once again. Her wrist, which had stopped bleeding only moments ago, had been slit by her again. Blood in the color of a red flower oozed down her hand. Once she woke up, she could not face herself at all. As soon as she closed her eyes, she had shbacks of her pushing Carmen, who was crying loudly, to the balcony on the tenth floor without any railings. Celine saw herself aiming the gun at her husband and her son. When the shot rang, she saw the shock and pain in Nathan¡¯s eyes. She could not find any peace in herself and she could barely wait to end her life. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael stayed at the research center, taking turns with Justin to keep an eye on Celine. They were worried that if they did not pay attention for a second, she would find an opportunity to kill herself. After all, she was an experienced assassin! After enduring all of the trouble until midnight, Celine finally fell asleep after being injected with tranquilizer. However, it was not something that could be given to her all the time because her body was unable to endure the effects. A physically and mentally exhausted Michael sat on the floor in despair. Without Quinton, Celine could not be saved. Yet, he refused to spill the beans¡ªno matter how hard they tried to torture him¡ªsince he believed he could pull through. It was impossible for Michael to give up on his only sister and Justin could not bear to do that as well. However, Michael was unable to convince himself to allow Sophia to face Quinton again. Even though it was dusk, Michael was unable to sleep with a throbbing headache and Carmen called again at that hour. ¡°Daddy, why haven¡¯t you visited me?¡± Upon listening to her cute and lively voice, he felt that he had received infinite strength. His emotions improved as he answered, ¡°I¡¯ve recently been busy with work. Once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll visit you!¡± No matter what had happened and how serious the situation was, he would never allow Carmen to know about it. Her only job is to be a happy kid. However, Carmen let out a small sigh. ¡°Mommy had an argument with Grandpa. Grand-uncle Linus said that because Judgey bit the door, Grandpa asked Stan to pay for the damage. Mommy didn¡¯t like it, so she argued with him.¡± They had a fight? Michael knew that it definitely was not because of the husky biting the door. Instead, it would have been Sophia¡¯s desire to talk to Quinton to save Celine. Cooper was aware that if Sophia came, she would probably agree to Quinton¡¯s unreasonable, disgusting requests, which was why her father did not agree to her intention. If I¡¯m in the same shoes, I will also never agree to such a request. Hence, Michael said, ¡°Those are matters that adults have to deal with. You don¡¯t have to care about them. You just have to be a happy baby!¡± Carmenughed and replied in her baby voice, ¡°I¡¯ll take the money that I earned from the night scene I filmedst time to fix the door that Judgey damaged. Then, Grandpa and Mommy will stop fighting.¡± She felt as if she had done a great deed because of that. However, Michael teared up upon hearing that. ¡°You¡¯re such a sweet child, Carmen. I¡¯m so proud of you. Sleep soon!¡± ¡°Good night, Daddy. I love you!¡± ¡°I love you too, Carmen!¡± After hanging up on the call, Michael looked at the wallpaper on his phone of them as a family of three and smiled. However, tears streamed down his face as his lips twitched upward. Suddenly, the wallpaper was gone when Cooper called him. After the ident, it was the first time that Cooper took the initiative to ring. Michael looked at the phone, but hecked the courage to answer the call. Without even realizing it, the phone rang multiple times and stopped after no one picked it up. In no time, Michael received a message from Cooper. His breath stopped after he saw the content of the message. In brief words, Cooper mentioned that he could settle Quinton, but with one condition¡ªafter it was done, Sophia had to divorce Michael and she did not want anything from him except Carmen. After looking at the message, Michael remained still for a long time. In the midst of the night, he smoked one cigarette after another while quietly looking at the message for a long time. After some time, he realized that his tears had extinguished his cigarette. He gritted his teeth and replied with trembling hands, ¡®Okay.¡¯ After that, he put the phone aside and lowered his head. The night was full of his restrained, silent sobs. Cooper had always been efficient in his work and arrived with Linus the next day. Michael prepared a discussion room for Cooper and Linus with only them inside while the rest monitored the situation from the surveince room. Everyone thought Sophia would appear, but it was Cooper instead. Will it work if it¡¯s Cooper? Everyone watched them nervously. While Michael was respectful toward Cooper, Quinton was not. He had a polite smile on his face, but his tone was extremely mboyant. ¡°So, my father-inw, how are you? Are you here to negotiate on their behalf? It¡¯s useless for me, unless your daughter, who is my wife, shows up.¡± He continuously emphasized that Sophia was his wife. Although it angered Michael, it had no effect on Cooper. After he entered the room, his expression remained impassive¡ªno matter what Quinton said, as if he wore an imprable armor. Both of them gazed at each other for a long time before Cooper started to speak. ¡°When I knew that I had a daughter, she was lying on the cold, hard ground like a decaying corpse. I hugged her, but I couldn¡¯t feel any weight or warmth from her. She mustered her final strength to look at me with her rotting eye. Half of her face had been eaten up by the virus. I didn¡¯t even dare to touch her because I saw the bones underneath her skin.¡± Cooper remained indifferent, but despair and hopelessness could be heard in his cool voice. Quinton treated everyone flippantly and yfully. Even at that moment, he answered with a smile, ¡°Are you trying to y the sympathy card with me? This really seems useless to me. When I kill someone, I love to peel their skin while they are alive.¡± Chapter 903 Chapter 903 Cooper did not reply to him, but continued with his words after a short pause. ¡°I was holding her in my arms as we entered the car. Sitting inside, I looked at her¡ªher entire body was rotten. I even felt that my hand was rubbing away her fragile skin anding into contact with her bones. The parts of skin where I¡¯ve touched melted away and amidst the pus, there were even maggots in it. Then, I sent her to the ward. When I lowered my head to look at myself, all I saw was blood. At that moment, I still couldn¡¯t believe that I actually had a daughter. However, the truth was brutally in front of me¡ªI have a daughter yet I¡¯m about to watch her die.¡± Quinton was surprisingly quiet at that moment. They had no idea when his disdainful smile disappeared to the point where he was numb. Cooper did not stop there. ¡°Just like that, I watched her lie on the bed in front of me. I wanted to touch her face, but her cheeks were rotten. I didn¡¯t dare to do that. Hence, I touched her hair instead. However, after brushing it lightly, her hair fell off¡ªstrand by strand. I saw¡­ my own daughter looking like a bunch of rotten meat and even her scalp was rotten. She was just waiting to die in pain. Yet, as her father, I could only watch helplessly. Everyone said that my daughter can¡¯t survive this and some even suggested eusthanasia so that she wouldn¡¯t have to suffer any more. I didn¡¯t agree to that. Even if there was a one- in-a-million possibility that might save her, I will give it a shot! Looking at her, I didn¡¯t even dare to blink. I¡¯m afraid that she would be gone if I didn¡¯t pay attention. Her internal organs had failed to work and her heart even stopped beating for a while. Both her eyes were damaged, rendering her blind. Even so, I refused to surrender. If I did, I would lose my only daughter.¡± As Michael quietly listened to Cooper¡¯s words in the monitoring room, he did not say anything, but tears streamed down his cheeks instead. Michael thought that he was emotionally strong enough to handle the situation, but realized in that moment that he was as weak as usual. When Cooper¡¯s words reached Michael¡¯s ears, it seemed to carry magical powers that caused the latter to experience the pain again. Michael could not escape it even if he wanted to. Cooper¡¯s eyes burned with the fire of a shlight. Even though his voice was calm, it carried a weird power as it influenced others to be more emotional. ¡°Throughout my entire life, I¡¯ve treated people¡¯s lives as if they were trash. I thought I was the king; I didn¡¯t believe in karma or fate. However, after some time, I realized that life has its own arrangements indeed. My daughter was the recipient of all the karma¡ªmy poor daughter, who seems to be born to suffer for others. She¡¯s still young, yet she has suffered a lot. The people pretended that they loved her, but they pushed her into the dark abyss again and again¡ªher leg was broken, her face was ruined, and she even became blind¡ª¡± Quinton suddenly went berserk and broke the handcuffs that he had been restrained with. With reddened eyes, he fiercely looked at Cooper like a wild beast. ¡°Stop speaking! Shut up! Shut the f*ck up!¡± Before that, Quinton was patient; even though he was in hot water, he yed everyone around as if they were monkeys in a manner that hinted that he had everything under his control. However, he finally lost hisposure today¡ªhe could not even suppress his beast-like nature within him, which surfaced after Cooper¡¯s mere few sentences. Quinton¡¯s reaction hadpletely been out of everyone¡¯s expectations as it differs from his cool composure. After they returned to their senses, around five bulky men charged into the discussion room and finally held him down after much effort, like ants trying to weigh a caterpir down. At that moment, Quinton seemed to have morphed into a beast as he howled two words. ¡°Shut up! Shut the f*ck up!¡± Cooper still remained indifferent. Even though he knew that he was facing a berserk assassin, he was as cool as a cucumber while looking at Quinton, who was pressed on the table. He walked forward and pulled Quinton¡¯s hair to lift his face up so that thetter could look at him. Quinton red viciously, as if he was a wild animal. ¡°Quinon, my daughter owes you her life. But, she has already repaid you with her face, her eyes, and half of her life. From now onward, you and Michael are the ones who owe her!¡± With that, he mmed Quinton¡¯s head on the table and left. Quinton continued to re at him, but he remained silent. The negotiation seemed to have failed, but Quinton¡¯s sudden surge of strength had shocked everyone. They could not believe that he actually broke the handcuffs in such a short time! An average person simply can¡¯t break the handcuffs. It was not arduous to deduce what had happened based on Justin¡¯s earlier findings. The Phantom Wolf had used the super stimnt he invented to increase his strength and agility and yet they still underestimated his power. However, he only revealed his true strength after being provoked by Cooper earlier. After the negotiation failed, Quinton was locked in a cell with maximum security as there were many security guards around him. However, he remained quiet for the entire night as he cowered in a corner¡ªapletely different person compared to a few days ago. Before that, he was like a patient fox who kept all the cards in his hands as he confidently toyed with the Fletcher Family. However, his confidence today waspletely destroyed. The next day, when Michael went to talk to Quinton, he seemed to have changed into apletely different person. He was no longer the confident person that Michael knew. Apart from that, Quinton even took the initiative to speak. ¡°There¡¯s only one way to save your sister¡ªto wipe away her personality and her memories, rebooting her entire life.¡± Michael froze when he heard that. After all, he never expected Quinton to really admit defeat, but asked, ¡°Like how you treated Sophia?¡± Quinton raised his head. In merely twenty four hours, he had looked more haggard. He nodded and gave a bitter smile. ¡°Yes, erase all her memories. Otherwise, if and when she recalls what happened before, she would still have a nervous breakdown. Wiping away her memories is the only way.¡± All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. After a moment of silence, Michael nodded. ¡°Okay, how do we do that?¡± Quinton replied, ¡°I have a set of apparatus in Cethos¡ªit¡¯s at the lecturer¡¯s dorm in Bayside University. That area is sealed and the apparatus is confiscated, but you should be able to find it.¡± Then, Michael quietly rose to his feet and walked outside. It turns out that the only cure for Celine is for her to lose her memories. That makes sense. If I am her, if I know that I almost killed Carmen, Nate, and Sophia, how can I stop myself from breaking down? How good it is to forget everything¡­ Just like Sophia right now. In no time, he found Quinton¡¯s confiscated apparatus. No one knew what they were for, but the truth was finally out of the bag. After the apparatus was sent to the research center, Quinton personally started the treatment for Celine. Michael merely looked at everything in the ward through the ss screen. Next to him were Justin and Stanley, who looked worried. ¡°He¡¯s not going to y any games, is he?¡± Stanley asked. Michael shook his head. ¡°He won¡¯t. He cherishes his life a lot.¡± Quinton had arrived for Sophia and Carmen. So, he probably expected that such a day would arrive and already held onto his trump card¡ªthe confidential information he held¡­ and the method to cure Celine. Chapter 904 Chapter 904 Apart from Phantom Wolf himself, no one knew who his financial backer was. Normally, after he had completed the mission given, they would turn the gun in the other direction and wanted to catch him instead, making it ironic. When Quinton arrived, he knew that he would have to somehow reveal his trump card. Even so, he still acted as if he was high and mighty, thinking that it was the Fletcher Family and Sophia who owed him. He nned to borate on the fact that he was the one who saved her. However, he never expected that Cooper would break through his mental defense and made him admit defeat with ease. It was because Quinton¡¯s love for Sophia was genuine! Even Michael almost broke down after learning what had happened to Sophia for the first time. At this moment, we should stop talking about good and bad deeds. Daniel is right; she¡¯s meant to be the recipient of other people¡¯s karma. The karma which Cooper and I should receive have allnded on her. If we¡¯re talking about owing someone, it¡¯s all of us who owe her! She is the most innocent party! In the ward, Quinton wore a doctor¡¯s robe and started Celine¡¯s treatment with a few psychiatrists. At that moment, she was awake with her original personality. However, she had no idea what she was about to experience. ¡°Justin, can I really be cured?¡± Her face looked extremely haggard. Although she was of the same age as Michael, she already had wrinkles and looked ten years older than him. Apart from that, she also had gray hair. As tears swam in Justin¡¯s eyes, he forced a smile. ¡°Yes, don¡¯t worry. Once you¡¯re awake, we¡¯ll visit Nate.¡± She nodded as tears streamed down her cheeks. So what if I¡¯m cured? I hurt Carmen, Nate, and Sophia. I don¡¯t have any rights to see them again! With Justin¡¯s help, shey down on the bed where Quinton already had prepared his apparatus. Justin nced at Quinton in his white robe and face mask. He did not trust Quinton, but other than him, there was no one else who could rectify the situation. He wore a helmet for Celine¡ªthe one that could affect human¡¯s brain waves and their emotions. After Celine fell asleep, Quinton tied her limbs to the bed and started the apparatus. It was not long before Celine, who was lying in bed, seemed to have nightmares that she could not ept. As she slept, she screamed painfully while violently twitching her body. However, she could not wake up from the nightmare¡ªas it followed her around, not providing her with a respite! Justin went berserk. ¡°Stop! Stop! Let her go!¡± Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Quinton nced at Justin coldly. ¡°I¡¯m erasing her memories. Do you want everything now to go to waste?¡± Justin angrily red, but there was nothing he could do about it in the end. Quinton had already exined to them before¡ªto wipe out all of the different personalities that she had, all of her memories needed to be erased. It was an arduous effort to erase someone¡¯s memories. The so-called ¡®forget potion¡¯ in the dramas never existed in reality¡ªit was a mere confidence that when Irene fell, the doctor said that a blood clot had affected her memories. Most of the people who fell andnded head-first would die on the spot, so they could not possibly crack Celine¡¯s head open to make her lose her memories. Phantom Wolf¡¯s n had always been topletely destroy a person¡¯s will to live and hypnotize them at their weakest. With that, he would be able topletely erase their memories. At that moment, he was doing exactly that to Celine. It was a mental torture¡ªone harsher than physical torture. By influencing her brainwaves, he mechanically created nightmares so that she would be insane and unable to differentiate between dream and reality. After a day of treatment, Celine waspletely insane¡ªshe hid in a corner in the ward and screamed fearfully whenever she saw anyone. She hadpletely broken down after seeing her son, her brother, and her husband die in front of her. Thinking that it was real, she lost her mind and was unable to recognize anyone. Standing outside the transparent ward, Michael finally turned to leave after looking at Celine, who was screaming fearfully in the corner. My chica lost her memory under the same torture as well. Seeing that they were both twins, he felt that he was experiencing her helplessness and fear. He seemed to be her and went through everything with her. As soon as he closed his eyes, he could actually see Sophia. Carmen was still in Sophia¡¯s pregnant womb as she was helplessly trapped in the dark. Sophia felt extreme despair yet she could not die even if she wanted to. Michael seemed to be able to hear her soft pleas. ¡°Dear, where are you? Save me¡­¡± But I couldn¡¯t save her! Celine¡¯s painful shrieks rang in Michael¡¯s ears. No matter how far he walked, he could clearly hear it. That sound came from deep within his heart. He was suffering the same pain that Celine and Sophia had endured. The pain and the despair were etched in his memories forever. ¡°Uncle Michael! Uncle Michael! Have faith!¡± Stanley¡¯s voice rang next to Michael. Before that, everyone was worried that the magical telepathy that twins had would affect Michael. After seeing him sobbing silently in a corner and looking slightly disoriented, Stanley quickly went to shake him awake. However, Michael did not respond to him and continued to sob. Hence, Stanley and Sean quickly sent Michael to a location that was as far as possible from the research center. They arrived at the other end of Bayside City and had him live in Stanley¡¯s beach vi. Michael still looked disoriented even after being sent there. He would not respond to anyone who called him and only slept after having a few sleeping pills. When Michael managed to catch a long sleep, Stanley wanted to give Sophia a ring, but decided against it in the end to prevent her from worrying. Michael slept from afternoon to midnight before Carmen¡¯s call woke him up. He finally felt more refreshed and the hysterical shrieks that he had been hearing also disappeared. However, his head was still throbbing in pain. After taking a deep breath, he picked up her call and tried to make his tone lighter. ¡°What have you been up to, my sweet baby?¡± Carmen¡¯s happy voice rang on the other side of the phone. ¡°Daddy! I went to a new kindergarten. There are many ssmates there and I¡¯m the prettiest in the ss!¡± No matter how much pain Michael was in, he felt that he was cured as soon as he heard that voice. Then, he smiled. ¡°Good; that¡¯s good. Carmen, remember to study hard and listen to your teachers in the new kindergarten. Don¡¯t bring any dogs to bite your ssmates.¡± He even reminded her. ¡°If anyone pulls your skirt up, you must tell Daddy and Mommy!¡± She replied, ¡°Okay! Daddy, when are youing back? Grandpa said you went abroad to film a movie!¡± Michael smiled bitterly. ¡°After I finish filming my movie, I¡¯ll visit you.¡± After chatting with Carmen for a while, he hung up and looked at the picture of the three of them on his phone. Then, he got up, showered and went downstairs to the living room. In the sea view vi, the air had a slightly salty feel to it. Nathan and Judge were watching ¡®Peppa Pig¡¯ together in the living room. Nathan wanted to watch ¡®Animal World¡¯, but as soon as he changed the channel, Judge would throw a tantrum. It insisted on watching Peppa Pig; otherwise, it would destroy the television so that no one could watch programs at all. This is my house! I¡¯m the head of this house! I have the widest bed, the biggest bowl, the most food, and my dump is the smelliest. Everyone has to listen to me¡ªthey have to follow whatever channel that I want to watch! Chapter 905 Chapter 905 As a result, Nathan could only follow suit and angrily watch ¡®Peppa Pig¡¯. Judge¡¯s favorite films were ¡®Peppa Pig¡¯ and ¡®Brother Bear¡¯. Apart from that, he was picky and did not watch films where the main character was another animal. Michael walked downstairs and sat on the couch in the living room before joining them to watch ¡®Peppa Pig¡¯. As it was ratherte, Nathan was about to head upstairs to sleep. He was here to apany Michael since Stanley and Sean were still at the research center. Before Nathan went to bed, he shot a nce at Michael before finally going upstairs without saying another word. Michael slouched on the couch, but he was unable to think rationally. His head was throbbing in pain because his other twin was suffering from inhumane pain. Even after a long time, his heart still felt as though it had been ripped into pieces. He could not calm down and did not dare to allow his thoughts to drift. Since he was unable to sleep, he merely sat there in silence as he watched ¡®Peppa Pig¡¯. After watching the film, Judge took another movie and ced it in front of Michael. The husky was indicating that he wanted to watch ¡®Cats and Dogs¡¯, so Michael changed the disk for him before they watched the film together. They then continued to watch ¡®Hero Dog¡¯, ¡®Air Buddy¡¯, ¡®Eight Below¡¯, and ¡®Firehouse Dog¡¯ followed by hundreds of episodes of ¡®Tom and Jerry¡¯. Judge continued to watch those films with Michael while looking obedient and cute. Once they were done with ¡®Eight Below¡¯, it left the film¡¯s cover on Michael¡¯sp. Michael nced at it¡ªthe film was about huskies that were stranded in the South Pole and sessfully survived a snowstorm. In the end, they managed to save themselves and wait for their owners to pick them up. After looking at the box, he ced it aside. However, Judge brought the box to him again and exposed the side with a few handsome huskies. Then, the dog raised its head and looked at him. Michael¡¯s reaction was rather slow. After a while, he finally understood what was going on¡ªJudge wanted to be in a movie like those huskies in ¡®Eight Below¡¯. No wonder it¡¯s so obedient today! Seems like Judge has some ns in his mind. Idiot dog! After rubbing Judge¡¯s head and holding it in his arms, Michael continued to watch the movie with the husky. The next afternoon, he woke up in the kennel after receiving Justin¡¯s call. With a heavy tone, Justin announced, ¡°It¡¯s done.¡± Michael rose to his feet and patted the dog fur from his thighs. After having some food, he headed out the door and brought Nathan along to the research center on the other side of the city. When they approached the ce, the shredding pain Michael experienced before was gone¡ªit was reced with peace and nk confusion. In the ward, he finally saw Celine, who looked as white as a sheet of paper. She had a nk and vacant expression in her eyes as she curiously looked at Justin as if he was a stranger. Letter by letter, Justin taught, ¡°Celine Fletcher. C-e-l-i-n-e. F-l-e-t-c-h-e-r.¡± Celine had the innocent smile of a child as she repeated after him. ¡°Celine Fletcher.¡± Justin took a mirror and pointed at her reflection as he continued to patiently teach her. ¡°You are Celine Fletcher. I am Justin Mitchell.¡± She then responded, ¡°Justin Mitchell.¡± It was evident she had lost her memories. Even though all her past memories were lost, her instincts were still there and she was able to learn things quickly. After hearing her name once, she was able to understand that it was hers. Upon looking at the scene, Michael did not know whether tough or to cry. In the end, he turned to leave. Nathan walked into the ward. When Justin saw him, he asked Nathan toe closer. The younger fellow then sat right in front of his mother, who no longer recognized him, with a stony expression on his face. Justin continued to teach Celine. ¡°Nathan Fletcher. Son. Your son.¡± Celine looked at Nathan. Even though she could not recognize him, she felt that the young man in front of her looked smart and handsome while making her feelfortable and happy. Hence, she could not stop smiling as she said, ¡°My son. He¡¯s my son.¡± A crack seemed to have appeared on Nathan¡¯s cold expression as he quietly hugged his mother. It was the first time he hugged her for the past few years. As he held her in his arms, tears rolled down his cheeks when he closed his eyes. ¡­ Sophia also heard from Sean that Celine had lost her memories. With that, her past waspletely buried and a new Celine would emerge. Although she was still Celine Fletcher, she was not the same person as before, just like Sophia. In the end, Phantom Wolf decided to save Celine and ended the malicious cycle¡ªonce and for all. All the grudges he had with the Fletcher Family was finally settled. He also epted the secret pardon that the government of Cethos offered and stopped causing troubles in Cethos. The reason for Quinton¡¯s hatred toward the Fletcher Family was simply because they were not the ones who raised him up. Now that he had tortured both siblings for many siblings, it was about time to end the grudge. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. An incredulous Sean asked again for confirmation, ¡°Are you really going to divorce Uncle Michael?¡± Sophia smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯ve already promised my dad.¡± A lump formed in his throat. After all, he had witnessed how loving the couple was in the past and how Michael¡¯s hair had turned gray overnight as a result of her death. Sean had also seen the anguish and grief Michael had endured. If Uncle Michael loses her, how would he continue with the rest of his life alone? Sean could not help but ask, ¡°What about Carmen?¡± Sophia sighed and poured a cup of tea for him. The aroma of tea permeated the entire room. ¡°Carmen is still young, so I¡¯m not nning to tell her about this. For now, we¡¯re just telling her that her daddy is filming a movie interstate.¡± Sean was at a loss for words, so he took a sip of the wine while feeling sorry for the former couple. He was a part of everything that Sophia and Michael endured and also witnessed their love for many years. However, he never expected that they would end up in that manner. After Sean ced his tea cup down, he remained silent for a moment before saying, ¡°He cares about you a lot. Divorce is too cruel for him. I believe that you still love him. If you request, I¡¯m sure Uncle Cooper will agree.¡± Back then, Cooper and Annabel were also forcefully separated by others. Hence, he should be familiar with that feeling, so how could he allow his own daughter to experience the same thing? Even if Sophia lost her memories, he believed that she still loved Michael. After all, loving someone wasn¡¯t merely a part of their memory, especially when they loved with all of their heart. The same was for Celine. Even though she forgot who Justin was, she was the happiest when he saw him because she had loved so much that it became second nature to her. It was a fact that could not be changed. Unfortunately, Sophia did not reply. Ever since she was involved in that ident, she had been recuperating at home. After all, Irene¡¯s matter was still ongoing, so Sophia waited at home for more news. She had taken full responsibility for Irene¡¯s murder and the Fletcher Family wanted to use it to gain the upper hand in their battle with Cooper. However, since Celine had kidnapped Carmen, the Fletcher Family did not even dare to raise that topic. Naturally, the advantages that they wanted were forgotten. On top of that, Sophia had a powerful legal team, so nothing would happen to her once the tide has passed. Chapter 906 Chapter 906 Even after a few days, the Fletcher Family was still saddened by Irene¡¯s death. However, what happened to Celine in the subsequent dayspletely diverted their attention. After all, both Irene and Celine were the two most popr young women in the Fletcher Family. Irene used the tform that her parents hadid before her, which made her no different from a decoration. However, Celine had relied on her own abilities to be the first Young Lady of the Fletcher Family. Back then, in order to protect Celine, Joel had almost fought with Cooper since she was more important to the Fletcher Family due to her position as the genuine descendant. As the matter slowly died down, weeds started to grow on Irene¡¯s grave. After Sophia was bailed, she worked from home. At that moment, a guest had arrived at the Edwards Residence. ¡°Quinton, I¡¯ve told you this before¡ªif you continue to pester my daughter, I¡¯ll turn you into minced meat!¡± As soon as Quinton had appeared at the entrance of the Edwards Family, Cooper tied him up in the house. Sophia heard the dogs barking loudly, so she ran out in her flip-flops just in time to see Cooper punching Quinton. Upon seeing that, she quickly tried to calm her father down. ¡°Alright; that¡¯s enough. Dad, just let him off the hook for once. It¡¯s because of him that Carmen is able to safely return to us. Stop turning people into minced meat at any time you like. When Carmen returns, she¡¯s going to be shocked upon seeing you this way.¡± At the mention of his darling granddaughter, Cooper finally calmed down and released his grip on Quinton¡¯s cor. Even though Quinton was almost punched, he smoothed the wrinkles on his ck tuxedo while retaining the same expression after he was released. Then, he smiled at Cooper. ¡°Mr. Mitchell I¡¯ve just saved your granddaughter. Don¡¯t you think that your attitude is a bit uncalled for?¡± Cooper replied, ¡°Get lost.¡± Sophia knew the reason why Quinton was here. With just a video call, she was able to summon him to the ce and caused him to be behind bars, where he almost lost his life in the process. Even though he finally came out unscathed, she wanted to at least thank him and give an exnation. ¡°Dad, let me speak to Hope. After that, I¡¯ll send him away,¡± she quickly said. Cooper obviously refused to grant her request. Even though Quinton had done something good once by rescuing Carmen, Cooper did not forget that he was still Phantom Wolf¡ªthe same one who killed many people. If he wants to kill Sophia, there are at least ten different ways for him to do so with his bare hands in seconds! In the end, Cooper obliged and agreed for them to virtually bid farewell. Just like thest time in Africa, Quinton was brought into a room and faced a screen that Sophia was in. Quinton himself knew that it was reasonable for Cooper to forbid her from getting close to him, seeing how many murders he hadmitted. If there is a choice, who would want to choose the high-risk path with lots of effort but little in return? Then, the video-call with Sophia started. On the other side of the screen, she looked beautiful even though she had no makeup on. The video was in high resolution, which revealed every inch of her skin. It was obvious that her skin was now in great condition and the scars she had were also very faint. Even if she did not wear any makeup, her scars could no longer be seen. However, Quinton could never forget how she looked when her entire body was rotten to the point where her bones could be seen. It was a miracle that she could still sit there and have a word with him. Upon looking at him on the other end of the video call, Sophia had mixed feelings. Up until now, she still did not know her feelings toward Quinton. Is it hate? Or guilt? Or¡­ love? He was the one who snatched me from my family. My life had just started yet he took it away, causing me to be separated from my husband and my daughter. Carmen almost died in Africa. I should hate him, but with my mixed feelings, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m feeling. ¡°Thank you for your help this time. Unfortunately¡­ I can¡¯t return to Africa with you.¡± Sophia looked at Quinton with an earnest expression. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. He was still in his ck tuxedo, looking like a novelty who was about to attend a banquet. As he crossed his hands on the table, the ring on his pinky finger gleamed brightly. Then, he smiled bitterly at the table. It was never his intention to hear her gratitude aftering all the way. What he wanted was to bring her away with him, but unfortunately, it was no longer possible. If she followed him, she would have to travel around without a fixed house. She loved the city, the wealth, and running her own business¡ªeverything that she wanted, he did not have the means to provide her. He could not bring her way and she had no intention to leave with him as well. It was something that Quinton was well aware of. After a moment of silence, he finally asked arduously, ¡°Sophia, have you ever loved me? Please don¡¯t lie to me, alright?¡± With a forced and rigid smile on his face, he looked at her. However, Sophia hesitated for a while and did not reply. It was not because she was unsure of her feelings; it was more like she was hesitant to tell the truth. She knew very well that Quinton loved her. Otherwise, he would not have arrived alone to save Carmen. However, Sophia could not deceive him. She finally replied, ¡°Hope, when I lost all my memories, my lifepletely became nk. When you appeared and told me that you are my husband, I believed you. I also believed you when you said I loved you a lot. It was because you were the first person I met after I lost my memories and you meant the entire world to me back then. I treated you as my family, I relied on you, obeyed you, and loved you.¡± However, her tone suddenly became anguished. ¡°But, why didn¡¯t you tell me that you almost killed my child? You kidnapped me when I was pregnant and we were running around, trying to escape. You were the reason why Carmen was less than 2kg when she was born. My baby nearly died¡ªdid you know that? Do you know how much effort both Michael and I exercised just to have this child? He had stayed with her in a hospital for an entire year! She¡¯s so young, yet she has needle scars all over her body. Are you aware of that? Quinton remained silent with his head hung low, afraid to look at Sophia. At the mention of her daughter, she became agitated¡ªshe could not stop sobbing and barely spoke clearly as her rage and usation blended with each other. Sophia¡¯s family of three could have been blissful where Carmen could be delivered healthily and safely. But¡­ As soon as Sophia remembered all the scars on Carmen¡¯s flesh while giving her a bath, she could not bring herself to forgive Quinton. He brought her to many different countries since they were always on the run. Her pregnant body could not endure the stress and the malnutrition. Without a stable environment during her pregnancy, she went into an early and difficultbor. When Michael finally found Carmen, she was just a newborn who weighed less than 2kg! When Sophia calmed down, she continued to speak, ¡°Nicole was the one who found my father for me. He loved me and provided a better life for me. He also brought me to see my beautiful scenery. With my dad and my uncle, I finally understood what a home feels like. I finally know what I want, but you¡¯ve never given me that. Hope, I can tell you that I loved you, but I have been clear that my love for you is nothing more than the tonic love for my family. I used to treat you like my family, but I can¡¯t love you like how I love Michael. I¡¯m sorry. He¡¯s the only one I love.¡± It was a cruel answer for Quinton, but Sophia still replied to him since she had nothing to be guilty of. Yes, he was the one who saved me, but he ruined everything for me at the same time. I will not fall in love with him just because he has treated me well for two years. Quinton¡¯s love for Sophia was incredibly selfish. He thought that he loved her by causing her so much pain, which did not resemble love at all! It was abnormal behavior! She had used half her life to return his favor. They now owed nothing to each other! Chapter 907 Chapter 907 During their two years of rtionship, Quinton created an illusory dream for himself, making her stay by his side. He thought he had gotten her love butter found that it was all just an illusion! He had woken up from the dream and it was time for her to go. Quinton clenched his fists and trembled slightly. After getting her answer, he still couldn¡¯t help his tears. Lowering his head, his tears dripped onto the table, falling down like raindrops. She had lost her memory and forgot what she had promised him that night. She forgot that he met her first and that Michael only met herter on! She lost her memory and forgot how he patiently answered her questions when they used to study together at Bayside University. She forgot how she smiled sweetly at him when they were walking through the verdant campus, melting his heart with her beautiful smile. She had lost her memory and she had forgotten all the good things that he had done for her. Now, she only remembered his selfishness and cruelty. She only remembered that he had separated her from her husband, and that Carmen was once less than four pounds! However, he asked himself¡­ Who was the one who made her lose her memory? Wasn¡¯t it himself who caused this? Quinton cried silently, never thinking that one day he would be so vulnerable. It felt as if he was destined to be abandoned by the world and exiled in the lonely wilderness. After a long time, he choked out sadly, ¡°Sophia, I don¡¯t me you. You¡¯ve already paid off everything that you owe me but I still haven¡¯t paid back when I owe you and Carmen. Still, why did you have to fall in love with Michael? What¡¯s so good about him?¡± As he spoke of Michael, Quinton was filled with hatred. He hated everything that Michael had; even Sophia¡¯s heart belonged to Michael. Since birth, Michael had everything Quinton wanted. He had loving parents and a loving home, but what about Quinton? He had nothing! He hated him¡ªhe hated everything about him and hated him for taking away his lover! Unfortunately, all of his hatred was in vain. Time could not be reversed. If Quinton could go back in time, he would risk everything and return to the hospital as quickly as possible to pick her up before Michael could. Sophia choked on her sobs and finally said to him, ¡°Hope, be a kind person and you will meet a better woman.¡± With that, she switched off the camera. Watching her disappear from sight, Quinton remained silent for a long time before finally leaving the Edwards Residence. This time, he had decided to give up. He had now given uppletely¡­ A car stopped at the entrance of the Edwards Residence and the car door opened, revealing Michael and Carmen. It was November and the weather was getting cold. Michael was wearing a ck wool coat and Carmen was in his arms, dressed in a pink dress. She was happily holding onto Michael¡¯s neck with one hand and grasping a pink balloon with the other. Meanwhile, Michael had a cat mask on, his hair tied up into two small buns. The two of them had just come back from the yground. Although Cooper refused to let Michael see Sophia, he still allowed him to see Carmen once a week. Today was his visiting day, so he took Carmen to y with her favorite equipment in the yground. When Michael got out of the car, he saw Quinton standing at the door in despair. Obviously, Cooper must have done something to him. Quinton also saw the father daughter duo and their eyes met as they looked at each other. With a crown on her head, Carmen waved to Quinton happily. ¡°Mister!¡± She recognized Quinton at a nce; he was the mister who yed the good guy the other day. She kept struggling to get out of Michael¡¯s arms to go over to Quinton. Thus, Michael slowly took off his mask and said to Carmen, ¡°Darling, Mr. Quinton is busy filming, so let¡¯s not disturb him. Come on now; put your mask on and go show Grandpa your new mask.¡± Carmen pouted her little mouth and finally put on her kitty mask. Michael then lowered her down, letting the Mitchell Family¡¯s bodyguard take her home. Carmen waved to Michael from a distance as she shouted, ¡°Goodbye, Daddy! I hope you¡¯lle visit me after you¡¯re done filming!¡± Michael waved back at her. Then, Carmen went in and the redcquered door closed with a heavy thud. For a few moments, Michael continued to stare at the door that had been bitten by Judge and then repaired. Only Michael and Quinton were left standing at the entrance. The two stayed silent for a while before Michael finally left; he seemed to have nothing to say to Quinton. On the other hand, Quinton looked at Michael¡¯s departure, his face expressionless. In the end, he also turned around and left the Edwards Residence. Soon, the investigation results of Irene¡¯s case were revealed. Sophia was ruled to be not guilty as what she did was self defense and the victim¡¯s family had no objections either. Thus, the matter was settled. Some people wanted to make a big fuss out of this matter but they couldn¡¯t win against the wealthy Mitchell Family, so it wasn¡¯t long before other news took center stage. Meanwhile, Justin had left the research institute along with Celine and no one knew where they had gone. Michael also returned to the set to continue filming, while Carmen went to the new kindergarten to study. Sarah wanted Hope to win over Carmen as soon as possible so she hurriedly transferred him over to the same school, while Hale also transferred Ashton over to apany Carmen. Thus, the three little kids gathered again in the kindergarten. However, Carmen didn¡¯t seem to like Hope very much. She thought that Judge was more suitable to be her boyfriend. Judge was big, made her feel safe, and had soft fur. On the other hand, Hope also sneered at the thought of dating at such a young age, so the two had not made any progress in their rtionship. As for Ashton, the minute he was transferred to the new kindergarten, he secretly went and got himself a girlfriend¡­ This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. The new kindergarten was located in the south of the city and was also an international elite kindergarten. The kids in the ss were all very good looking and some of them were even descendants of celebrities. For instance, there was a little kid who had participated in the first season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with his father, propelling the kid to fame. The girls in the ss even lined up to give him love letters. Feeling jealous, Carmen would ask Michael when he would bring her to participate in the show every day after she came home. The crew of the show had begun to recruit participants for their second season so if they weren¡¯t able to make it for this year, they would only be able to participate one year later! She wanted to go on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ badly, but didn¡¯t know that her daddy and mommy were getting divorced. The divorce was a foregone conclusion; all conditions had been negotiated and the divorce agreement had been signed. Both parties did not have any objections or disputes regarding the divorce, and Cooper didn¡¯t care about Michael¡¯s money. Thus, he gave all the Kuwait and subsequent proceeds to Michael. In terms of property, Sophia only asked for the shares of Plum Technology and Pourl that she managed. She also asked for some of her own real estate investment and shops. Compared with the huge amount of wealth that Michael had, she was basically leaving the marriage with nothing. She only asked for the right to raise Carmen and did not even ask for Michael to pay for spousal support. Meanwhile, Michael was allowed to see Carmen once a week. To protect Carmen, the divorce between the two would not be announced for the time being. They married secretly back then and now they divorced in secret as well. Michael did not have any objections. After Sophia¡¯s ¡®death¡¯, all her property was transferred to Carmen. He happily signed the divorce and the divorce procedures went through quickly. On the day of the formal divorce, Michael and Sophia met at the Civil Affairs Bureau. It was the first time they had met since Carmen¡¯s ident happened. They signed the papers without a word,pleted the formalities and received the divorce certificate quietly. Then, the two left the Civil Affairs Bureau. They had entered the ce with their marriage certificate but came out with a divorce certificate. Truth was, the divorce certificate felt particrly cold to the touch. At the Civil Affairs Bureau, there were many couples who were getting a divorce. Most of them were either arguing furiously or crying sadly; only a few of them were as peaceful as the two of them. The two stayed quiet but they were even more depressed than those couples who cried or quarreled hysterically. Chapter 908 Chapter 908 Sophia was so overwhelmed by the divorce certificate that she could not breathe. However, she stood at the door and said to Michael, ¡°Mr. Michael, the divorce procedures have beenpleted. You can rest assured that I will take good care of Carmen.¡± When she said this, she did not dare to look at him and stood a few meters away. The unique smell of his made her suffocate. Keeping his calm, Michael said with a smile, ¡°Miss Sophia, I¡¯ll leave Carmen in your hands from now on.¡± However, if one were to look closely, they would be able to see the redness and tears in his eyes. The chauffeur drove her car over, thereafter Sophia lowered her head and mumbled, ¡°Right then; I¡¯ll see you when I see you.¡± With that, she got into the car. The moment she closed the door, thest bit of her sanity fell away and she curled up into a ball, crying her heart out. It turned out that she loved him more than she thought. Even if she no longer had memories of him, she had loved him all this while. Now that she had lost him, her heart felt as if it had been torn into two by a pair of invisible hands; she was in deep pain as if her whole heart was being pulled out of her chest. Why did she love him? Why did they have to go their own ways? Michael watched Sophia¡¯s car slowly leave. Wearing a mask, he stood on the side of the street with the divorce papers in his hand, only moving when her car was out of sight. Meanwhile, Harry and Stanley had been standing behind Michael, waiting for him. They were afraid that he would do something stupid or undecent because of the divorce. Hence, they kept watch on him, but saw that Michael was very calm throughout the whole process. Standing on the side of the road holding the divorce certificate, he remained there in the cool breeze for a long while. However, this unexpected silence stunned them even more. Harry sighed and patted Michael on the shoulder. ¡°You really got divorced, eh?¡± Michael didn¡¯t speak and instead took out the lighter from his pocket. Thinking he was about to have a smoke, Harry advised, ¡°You should smoke less. Are you trying to destroy your voice?¡± But to his surprise, Michael didn¡¯t smoke. Instead, he used the lighter to light the divorce certificate on fire. Michael looked at the lit divorce certificate. No one could see the expression on his face as he was wearing a mask, but Stanley saw his eyebrows twitch¡ªhe was smiling. After burning the divorce certificate, Michael stepped into the car quickly, leaving Stanley and Harry behind staring at each other. Damn; Michael has gonepletely crazy after his divorce! He¡¯s nuts! In the car, Michael took off his mask and looked out the window. Massaging his temples, he cried and laughed at the same time. Heughed with tears flowing down for a while before sobbing hysterically, alternating between the two. Back and forth he went, and no one knew what he was thinking. They had finally parted as destined. He had finally repaid all that he owed her. Everything was back to the starting point. Michael once thought that they could begin again after she came back, since she had forgotten him. But today, he suddenly understood that the starting point was the moment they received the damn divorce certificate! Michael was relieved; the grievances between Quinton and the Fletcher Family were finally settled while Sophia had lost her memory, repaying Quinton with her life and her marriage. From now on, he, Quinton, and Sophia didn¡¯t owe each other anymore! Divorce? If they could get divorced, they could get married again! Sophia loved him and she would always belong to him! When Michael returned to his senses, he found that the car had stopped. Thinking he had arrived home, he got out of the car, only to realize that he was at an unfamiliar ce. When he looked up, he saw a sign¡ªBayside Mental Hospital. Seeing this, Michael was speechless. With a dark expression, he sat back in the car and stopped crying or smiling. Stanley leaned over with a frightened expression and murmured, ¡°Uncle Michael, why don¡¯t you go in and take a look?¡± Michael gave him a cold re, making Stanley shrink back in shock. If Michael was truly mentally ill, he could strangle Stanley to death right then and there without having to go to jail! Michael then looked away and said to Gary who was driving, ¡°Go to Asco International.¡± When they reached thepany, he saw Nicole there. Nicole now held shares in Asco International and was also one of Imperial Entertainment¡¯s executives. She brought new talents along with her and she had also cultivated a group of popr artists. When she saw Michael and Harrying together, she was surprised. ¡°Taylor, you haven¡¯t left yet? How have things been recently¡­¡± She kept in touch with Sophia so she knew that Sophia and Michael were going through a rough patch in their marriage. In the past two months, Michael had abandoned the crew at the film studio in order to deal with his personal issues in Bayside City. Michael hurried over and said, ¡°Nicole, ept any recent endorsement deals that suit me and get in touch with the crew of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. I want to participate in the second season. Also, don¡¯t forget to help me negotiate for higher appearance fees.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nicole was puzzled. However, Michael had already taken his personal elevator to the upper floor without any exnation. Michael used to be very low-key and rarely epted endorsement deals, only epting those of his own dog chain store and L/K. No matter how big or popr the brand which offered him an endorsement deal was, he always refused, let alone a reality show. What¡¯s going on? Nicole got the answer from Harry. ¡°It¡¯s probably because he¡¯s divorced and some of his assets have been transferred to his ex-wife. Plus, the alimony is quite high. He has to save money to find a second wife, so he wants to earn more money.¡± Divorce? Nicole was startled, so she called Sophia after getting off work. Sophia¡¯s voice sounded very hoarse over the phone, as if she had been crying. She reassured down the line, ¡°I¡¯m fine, Nicole. We had a mutual break up, so don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Nicole didn¡¯t know what was going on with them and didn¡¯t know how tofort her. Thus, she hung up rtively quickly. Ending the call, Sophia turned her cell phone off and put it aside, crying silently as she faced the piano in front of her. After their divorce procedures werepleted, Michael had her things that she had left at The Imperial, Vi No. 8 delivered over. He sent over her custom wedding dress, her blood red diamond ring, and the piano in front of her. The piano was custom made, with her name engraved on it. Even now, the ck and white keys seemed to have her fingerprints left on it. She cried silently at the piano. She didn¡¯t understand why they divorced, but the divorce seemed to be beneficial to each other. At that moment, Linus opened the door and walked in quietly, her sad sobs covering the sound of his footsteps. Seeing her crying there secretly, his heart ached as if it had been cut with a knife. He walked over lightly, holding Garfield in his arms. Sitting beside her and putting the cat aside, he patted her on the shoulder and whispered, ¡°It¡¯s alright; don¡¯t cry. It¡¯s all over now. I will teach you to y the piano, okay?¡± Sophia nodded, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand before putting them on the keyboard. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Linus then reached out his hand to hold hers. He could feel the cold tears on the back of her hand through his palm and his heart ached slightly. Back then, Sophia probably knew how to y the piano but now that she had lost her memory, she couldn¡¯t y well no matter what. After pressing the keys for a while, she finally lost interest. Looking at Linus, tears fell down her face as she choked out, ¡°I don¡¯t want to y anymore.¡± Linus wiped her tears and said, ¡°Then I will sing a song for you.¡± Sophia nodded in response. He put his hand on the piano and pressed on the keys lightly as he started to y. He then sang the new song that he had learned. ¡°Let¡¯s hug, And pretend as if we have never been together, Alright? It¡¯s toote to exin, Forget it, It doesn¡¯t matter what I have given you, I¡¯ve forgotten to love myself, Just because I met you¡­¡± His voice was pleasant and full of emotion. Compared to Michael¡¯s singing, it touched her heart in another way. As Sophia listened to the song, she let her tears flow freely and leaned her head weakly on Linus¡¯ shoulder. Chapter 909 Chapter 909 Hearing him sing, she let her sadness turn into tears. From now on, she wouldn¡¯t cry for anyone again. Linus yed the keys lightly, looking down at her from time to time as she leaned on his shoulder. Since Carmen¡¯s ident happened, Sophia had lost a lot of weight. She was now very skinny and her chin became even sharper. This whole time, wasn¡¯t she the most innocent one? Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Yet why was it her who suffered the most? Maybe it¡¯s because Michael is her curse. I hope she can move on. In fact, if Sophia insisted on not divorcing Michael, Cooper would not really force her. She agreed to the divorce probably because of Quinton¡­ She said that she hated him, but in fact she still felt guilty toward him deep down. After so many things happened, she could no longer be with Michael without burden; she was not able to forget what had happened in a short time. Sophia and Michael¡¯s divorce had been carried out discreetly and not many people knew about it. Meanwhile, Michael also went to film in the studio after the divorce as he wanted to finish the filming of ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ before the end of the year. Carmen had also started going to the new kindergarten. The first season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was over and it had a good rating. The show had made a few of the celebrities¡¯ children famous and it was even made into a movie which managed to top one billion at the box office, shocking everyone. Taking advantage of its poprity, preparations for the filming of the second season began. In the second season, the crew wanted a new batch of dads and kids. And so, the list of the second batch of participants was announced. Because of the sess of the first season, many male stars in the entertainment industry were interested in participating in the second season. Those male celebrities who had hidden marriages and had kids all revealed that they had children, while those who did not have children also rushed to make their wives conceive. Now, anyone in the entertainment industry who had no children would probably be left behind. Michael called Carmen to tell her that he had already contacted the crew and that he had gotten the contract. After Cooper agreed, the contract could be signed immediately. The problem was that Cooper firmly opposed the matter of Carmen being on TV. Meanwhile, Sophia moved on from the divorce and focused on work and taking care of Carmen. She, too, was very concerned about the matter of Carmen appearing on TV. ¡°Dad, why can¡¯t Carmen appear on TV? Why don¡¯t we let her give it a go?¡± Sophia grumbled in dissatisfaction while holding a crying Carmen. However, Cooper¡¯s expression was cold as he argued, ¡°No! It will never happen! The entertainment industry is tooplicated and I don¡¯t want my grandchild to be negatively influenced!¡± There were too many perverts and pedophiles nowadays who specialized in tricking these little cuties. How could he rest assured to let Carmen make her debut? There were tears on Carmen¡¯s face and her little hands held Sophia¡¯s clothes as she looked at Cooper, tears in her eyes. She wanted to be on TV and she wanted to be on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. She dreamed of bing famous and she yearned to act in a TV series. Also, she wanted the boys in kindergarten to line up to give her love letters too! She dreamed of it everyday! ¡°Wah¡ª¡± Carmen cried in a low voice. Upon seeing that, Sophia took Carmen into her arms and said, ¡°Times have changed. In the past, celebrities had to sleep around to be sessful. It¡¯s not the same for idols and celebrities nowadays¡­ Plus, our family has the resources. If Carmen enters the entertainment industry, others won¡¯t look down on her! The Edwards, the Winston Family, and the Mitchell Family all have rtives who are working in the entertainment industry. Carmen¡¯s father also has his own agency. With him paving the way for her, she will not be bullied!¡± However, Cooper still had on an icy expression. It¡¯s no wonder that Michael so happily agreed to the divorce without any objections. It turns out that he had this in mind all along! Sophia would definitely have to go to supervise Carmen if she starred in a variety show and as the main lead, Michael would have many chances of hooking up with her! Dream on, sucker! Seeing Cooper deep in thought with a dark expression, Sophia knew that he was hesitating so she patted Carmen and whispered, ¡°Go and act cute in front of Grandpa.¡± Immediately, Carmen ran into Cooper¡¯s arms. She grabbed and tugged at Cooper¡¯s clothes gently with her little fingers, sobbing as she begged, ¡°Grandpa¡ª¡± Cooper simply couldn¡¯t hold on any longer after hearing her calling out to him with her soft and gentle voice. His dear daughter and granddaughter truly made him worried; he was constantly concerned about both of them. Cooper then hugged Carmen and asked seriously, ¡°Do you really want to participate in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡± Carmen pouted. ¡°Yes.¡± Cooper sighed and relented, ¡°Alright then!¡± It was only then did Carmen burst into a smile. Of course, Cooper¡¯s grandchild¡¯s debut would not be an ordinary one. The well-informed Michael soon learned that an experienced foreign agent had been poached to Cethos, even including their cleaner and driver. Rumor had it that the daughter of a Cethosian tycoon was about to make her debut and the tycoon spent a huge sum of money to poach that team to make the necessary arrangements. Michael thought that this matter might have something to do with Cooper and when he inquired about it later, he realized that he was right. Cooper set up apany specifically for Carmen and prepared a strong team to handle Carmen¡¯s debut. He must have spent an insane amount of money! Even if Carmen really made a debut, her one year ie would not be enough to pay for the wages of the staff. Sure enough, she was fortunate to be the grandchild of a tycoon! Michael and Sophia had always been in contact this whole while. Although they had not been seeing each other, they would talk a little when Carmen called Michael to say goodnight every night. Every day, they would check each other¡¯s Messenger and Twitter. When Spohia posted a photo or status on social media, Michael would always rush to be the first one to give it a like. Meanwhile, Michael began to update his IG Stories and Twitter frequently. He would post pictures of his abs and chest muscles. Sometimes, he would post a non-mainstream selfie of looking up at the sky at 45 degree angle, effectively showing off his sexy corbone. However, these photos were only visible to Sophia alone. If he tried harder, they would definitely be able to get back together in the next year! How great it was to live in this era of information technology! On the other hand, Cooper had poached an expert team to handle Carmen¡¯s debut in the variety show. Soon, a managementpany dedicated to Carmen was established. Although it was a studio in name, its scale was muchrger than that of ordinary managementpanies. The people in the studio all had resources and connections in the industry. Adding Michael¡¯s resources into the equation, Carmen would definitely act in great international blockbusters if she were to debut. In order to act in international blockbusters in the future, Carmen began to practice hernguages. During this time, her family would alternate between speaking in Russian, English, and French. Speaking in multiplenguages was as easy as pie to Linus and Cooper, but it was a bit difficult for Sophia. However, she still tried hard to keep up, not wanting to drag Carmen down. In kindergarten, Carmen also began to learn how to dance, enthusiastically preparing for her prolific debut. Cooper was the one handling Carmen¡¯s acting career, while Sophia was busy with her own business. She had to handle the dog chain store¡¯s new year products again and she had gradually taken over the affairs of Plum Technology. During the divorce from Michael, she didn¡¯t request to get his assets and had basically left the marriage with nothing. Moreover, all her Kuwait funds¡ªher biggest wealth¡ªhad been given to Carmen. However, when news that she divorced Michael and left the marriage with nothing was spread out, another version of the story came about. ¡°Sophia, I heard that you and Taylor divorced, yet you left your marriage with nothing. You and your father were also kicked out after you finally managed to move into The Imperial. Tsk¡­ What a pity! You were driven out without being given even a single property. I heard that you¡¯re now living in that slum in the south of the city?¡± The unrelenting Sandra sneered as soon as she entered Sophia¡¯s shop. Chapter 910 Chapter 910 Sandra had been keeping an eye on Sophia and Michael and she had learned the news of their divorce from others. Not only that, she even found out about the division of property during their divorce. Sophia had left the marriage with nothing! She now only had some shares and a few shops as well as Pourl. She had nothing else! Although these were already very valuable,pared with Michael¡¯s huge worth, it was nothing. At the same time, the alliance between Cooper and the Fletcher Family hadpletely copsed! Sophia killed the apple of the Fletcher Family¡¯s eye. Although he was saved in the end, how could the Fletcher Family let her go so easily? They got a divorce right away and she didn¡¯t even get any of the Fletcher Family¡¯s assets. How miserable she must be! Meanwhile, Sophia brought her pair of alpacas to the store to make a custom outfit. In the afternoon, she was about to go to the studio to shoot a new film but unexpectedly, she ran into Sandra, who came over to show off. Recently, Sophia was too upset about her divorce and about Phantom Wolf until she hadpletely forgotten Sandra¡¯s existence. Now, Sandra appeared to havee over to make fun of her after learning the news. Sophia, on the other hand, touched her alpaca and didn¡¯t even look at Sandra; she didn¡¯t want to respond to anything she said. She knew that Irene would definitely not be able to do such major things alone, so she definitely had help behind the scenes. Seeing that Sophia didn¡¯t answer her, Sandra got even more excited. She walked into the store and said loudly, ¡°You and Cooper finally got to live in The Imperial, yet you were driven out in such a shameful manner. You must be sad, huh? The Mitchell Family would love to take you and your father in as we have many more houses. We also have a two-bedroom and one-living room house in Ring Avenue and we can give it to you. Unfortunately, there is no toilet, but I think you won¡¯t mind.¡± Sophia snorted in response. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. She had just been through a divorce. Although she didn¡¯t take any money from Michael, she still had a lot of money. How dare Sandra mock her? Sophia held 17 percent of Plum Technology¡¯s shares and its market value was a few billion. She lowered her head and continued exchanging details about the design of the alpaca outfit with Ivan, not bothering to respond to Sandra. In the shop, no one paid any attention to Sandra. She kept unting and showing off, but no one took notice of her from beginning to end. Sophia was definitely going to bring down Sandra one day. She was collecting evidence now and was almost done. When the right time came, she would then release the evidence. Meanwhile, Sandra was unable to release her anger. She didn¡¯t buy that Sophia could be so indifferent, that she could be so calm after she divorced and left the marriage with nothing. She bet that Sophia probably wanted to hang herself at this time badly! She rolled her eyes, raising her voice as she said in a high-pitched tone, ¡°I already expected that you¡¯ll get a divorce since a long time ago. Taylor is our nation¡¯s idol and countless richdies want to hook up with him! Rumor has it that there were many youngdies who came to visit him while he was filming! News of his divorce has now spread in the upper ss. I heard that he recently got very close to a young lady of our Mitchell Family and they even appeared in a hotel together.¡± She carefully observed Sophia¡¯s expression as she said this and saw a trace of pain in her eyes. I knew it¡­ Sandra was overjoyed and tried to me the fans even further. ¡°They¡¯ve probably been together for quite some time. It¡¯s been more than three years since you left, so how can a man stay single just for you? I¡¯m sure that if you didn¡¯te back, they would¡¯ve gotten married a long time ago. After you appeared, they were forced to be separated. It¡¯s good that you guys got divorced. Truth is, you shouldn¡¯t havee back in the first ce.¡± Sophia remained silent. Now that they were divorced, they had no right to interfere in each other¡¯s love lives anymore. She would only wish him nothing but the best if he wanted to look for a second wife. However, this heartache¡­ It was too hard for her to bear! Perhaps she would get used to it over time. She lowered her brows, hiding all her thoughts. Sandra was still boasting about the rtionship between thedy of the Mitchell Family and Michael. She spoke as if she had experienced it herself and knew all the details clearly. However, Sophia knew that she was just bluffing. Michael was still actively contacting Sophia now and she could also see that he still wanted to win her back. She silently epted his pursuit, never rejecting him. She knew her feelings very clearly. Although she and Michael were divorced, she still loved him, so she couldn¡¯t resist his love at all. Divorce was not what she wanted. She did it just to make it up to Cooper and Quinton. She agreed to go with Quinton but in a blink of an eye, she married Michael. Although she had no other choice at the time, she still wanted to make it up to Quinton by divorcing Michael. She now hadpletely ended their doomed rtionship. As for remarriage¡­ It was up to fate. She didn¡¯t have any specific ns or expectations. She just hoped that Carmen could grow up happily. She wanted to leave everything else to destiny. Sandra, who didn¡¯t know the inside story, wanted badly to hurt Sophia and make fun of her. She tried her best to hit her sore spot, as if in this way, she could hurt Sophia and increase thepetitiveness of Alex and hispanions. Unfortunately for her, Sophia was extremely calm and indifferent from start to finish. That being said, Sophia¡¯s patience had reached its limit and she blurted out, ¡°Enough about me. What about you? Why did you suddenly break the marriage contract with Ian?¡± Sandra and the young man from the Edwards Family had broken off their marriage contract not long ago. This marriage was originally arranged by their family but now, the alliance between the Edwards Family and Alex was fragile. Under Cooper¡¯s powerful offense, the Edwards Family had long since taken Cooper¡¯s side, so it was expected that the two would break up. Sandra thought that Sophia was going to say something extreme to insult her and did not expect her to just say something like that after holding back for so long. ¡°Ha! You really are well informed!¡± Sandra sneered. ¡°I indeed broke up with Ian and the alliance between the Edwards Family and my dad is gone, but it doesn¡¯t mean we lost.¡± Sandra was very confident, as if she was holding a trump card. ¡°I now have a new boyfriend who is no weaker than the Edwards Family. The Mitchell Family will soon find a new partner. Pay attention to the news these days and you¡¯ll find out!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia¡¯s ears pricked up. Judging by Sandra¡¯s tone, Alex seemed to have found a new partner who was even better than the Edwards Family? In Bayside City, only the Fletcher Family and the Winston Family wereparable to the Edwards Family. It was unlikely that she was talking about the Fletcher Family. Cooper was now the most attractive target in the eyes of the Fletcher Family. They desperately wanted the top-secret military technology in his hands, so it was impossible for them to join forces with Alex. The Winston Family maybe? The Winston Family, on the other hand, were more mysterious. It was an underground force so it wouldn¡¯t be beneficial for them to be too high-profile. In fact, Sophia didn¡¯t know who the Winston Family consisted of right now. Seeing that Sophia seemed to be trying hard to guess who she was talking about, Sandra was overjoyed and said proudly, ¡°Then I will tell you who I am talking about. My future fiance belongs to the Michel Family of Northern Europe!¡± Chapter 911 Chapter 911 Sophia was shocked when she heard those familiar words. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. The Michel Family? She must have misheard. Puzzled, she raised her eyebrows and questioned, ¡°The Michel Family? Which Michel Family? The Michel Family in Northern Europe? How many Michel families are there in Northern Europe?¡± Sandra also knew that she should not publicize this matter too much but she didn¡¯t want to let go of the great opportunity to show off, so she lowered her voice and eximed, ¡°Which Michel Family could it be? It¡¯s obviously the Michel Family that has existed in Northern Europe for thousands of years. Now, everyputer usesponents made by the Michel Group!¡± Sandra was extremely proud as she talked about the Michel Family ¡°I can¡¯t believe you don¡¯t even know the Michel Family¡­ You are really a bumpkin. Well, people of your level are unlikely to know about such things anyway. Looks like I¡¯ll have to teach you a thing or two today!¡± Sophia kept silent and continued petting her ma while she listened to Sandra¡¯s bragging. ¡°The Michel Family is the oldest aristocratic family in Northern Europe and have been around for more than a thousand years. They are ancient and mysterious, and they have huge financial resources. They are the Northern Europe vampires! Nowadays, the electronic products produced by the Michel Group are sold all over the world and almost allputers in the world useponents produced by the Michel Group! Not just the high-tech electronics industry, they are also involved in firearms, minerals, crude oil, and even aerospace technology! My boyfriend is the vice president of the Michel Group and is now the person in charge of the group in Cethos.¡± Sophia was shocked again when she heard it. Wasn¡¯t the head of the Michel Group in Cethos Linus? Wasn¡¯t Linus gay? This was what Sarah secretly told her. She said that Linus had always been one of the important sources of inspiration for her elegant Yaoi painting career! Even Cooper knew about it but he never interfered with Linus¡¯ sexual preference. Linus didn¡¯t seem to have a girlfriend or boyfriend in recent years¡­ Perhaps he was tired of men, so he wanted to find a girlfriend? Judging from what Sandra said, they were even going to get married. Sophia was shocked to the core. Sandra, on the other hand, was very proud, thinking that Sophia was stunned by her words. She then announced proudly, ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of time before the Mitchell Family and the Michel Family join forces and we¡¯ll have to announce it. My brother Vincent and thedy of the Michel family, Princess Lucile, are very close. Their rtionship is about to be clear, and my father and the Michel Family have a strong alliance in ce¡­ I¡¯m afraid your father has no chance of winning!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia thought to herself, Damn you, Lucile Michel! No wonder Vincent had been saying from time to time that the car he had spent a lot of money on had problems. Sometimes, he would say the engine would be defective or the symbol on the seat was unreadable; other times, the automatic function was not working, or there was dog hair on the back seat. Using these excuses, he asked to speak to the seller of the car, but Sophia refused. He decisively bought the car back then but after he bought it, problems kept popping up one after another. It turned out that he had nned this long ago! Vincent didn¡¯t know who she was at all, yet Sandra dared to say that Vincent was close to her. Maybe Sandra was just exaggerating her rtionship with Linus! Sophia looked at Sandra, suddenly feeling better. This little b*tch was trulyughable; she was such a joke! Sophia suddenly burst outughing. ¡°Congrattions! The Michel Family is indeed very powerful!¡± Cooper was the head of the Michel Family, so of course they were powerful. In the past, the Mitchell Family was also a powerful existence. Under the leadership of Cooper, the Mitchell Family was full of talents and became a world-renowned electronic giant. Back then, their family¡¯sponents were used in almost all theputers all over the world. Manufacturers paid sky- high royalties to them every year. But when the Michel Family appeared, it caused the Mitchell Family¡¯s products to gradually lose their competitiveness. Now the Mitchell Family¡¯s products could only be regarded as second-rate in the international high-tech market and they were only holding on due to the foundation built by Cooper during his 20-year reign. Not only did they not think of making any sort of progress, they just thought of marrying off their daughter to curry favour with others. Come to think of it, it was quite a sad situation¡­ They only had themselves to me for their deterioration, since they were socent with living off their capital. After receiving Sophia¡¯s ¡®admiration¡¯, Sandra couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit more proud as if she had already beaten Sophia. Sandra¡¯s assistant put down her leopard cat and she said, ¡°Sophia, since I am in a good mood today, I will introduce you to an important customer. The important customer will being soon.¡± Introduce her to important customers? She was probably plotting something! Sophia sneered. Sandra petted her leopard cat and she said with her prominent orange lips, ¡°Her name¡¯s Abbie and she¡¯s my best friend. She is the heir to the Swedish royal family and the cousin of my boyfriend, thedy of the Michel Family. Remember¡ªbe nice!¡± Sophia was also interested in the woman she mentioned. She wanted to see who the best friend she was talking about was. The boyfriend Sandra mentioned should be Linus¡­ Did that mean Abbie was Linus¡¯ cousin? The Michel Family was veryrge. After Cooper found Sophia, she had not had time to meet the rtives in her home in Northern Europe yet. Cooper actually didn¡¯t want Sophia to contact the Michel Family. He wanted her to return to Cethos and be a part of the Mitchell Family so that she could be in charge of it in the future. Therefore, she only knew Cooper and Linus. Was this Abbie her rtive in Northern Europe? It wasn¡¯t long before Abbie came. She was a beautiful girl in her early twenties, decked out in jewels with a Persian cat in her arms. Sophia took a closer look and deduced that she appeared to be of mixed race, as she had both Cethosian and Western characteristics. ¡°Sophia, this is my best friend, Abbie Michel.¡± Sandra introduced the mixed-race beauty she had brought along with a bragging tone, as if she was introducing her own rich rtive. Sophia carefully observed the mixed-race beauty with bewilderment¡­ Who is this? However, the beauty spoke aggressively the moment she opened her mouth. ¡°I heard that this store sells good quality goods, so I came here specifically today! I want to customize a cor for my Persian cat!¡± Sandra curled her lips and smiled. It was obvious to Sophia that the two of them were looking for trouble. Truth was, Sandra had brought her best friend to trouble Sophia today! Sophia would never have the guts to provoke the youngdy of the Michel Family! Sophia, on the other hand, was in trouble. Damn it! I don¡¯t even know anyone from the Michel Family. If she was really a rtive from her home in Northern Europe, wouldn¡¯t it be awkward to see each other in the future if she offended her? Deciding to just bear with it for now, Sophia sat up straight and said with a smile, ¡°Wee! Pourl is the best high-end pet luxury brand in Cethos. With international cutting-edge designers, we will definitely be able to meet all your requirements!¡± Hearing Sophia¡¯s greeting, the staff in the shop naturally came over to tend to the customer. A wave of staff surrounded Sandra and Abbie, and Sophia took the opportunity to sneak away. She wanted to ask Cooper about Abbie, because it would be bad if she offended a rtive. When Sandra saw Sophia sneaking away in distress, she gloated secretly. She was determined to make Sophia¡¯s shop close down today, no matter what! Chapter 912 Chapter 912 Just as Sandra and Abbie were surrounded by the staff, Sophia took the opportunity to slip away to the washroom and made a call to Cooper. Meanwhile, Cooper was giving the dogs a bath at home. Nowadays, he stayed home to work and exercise, rarely going out to socialize. His only entertainment was to take care of his granddaughter, take a stroll in the yard, and give a shower to the four huge dogs. When he saw Sophia¡¯s iing call, he was rtively surprised. ¡°What¡¯s up, darling?¡± Lowering her voice, Sophia asked, ¡°Dad, do you know someone called Abbie Michel? I heard she is Uncle Linus¡¯ cousin.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± Cooper replied. ¡°What¡¯s up? Did she mess with you? No worries; just deal with her as you see fit. I have your back if anything happens.¡± With that, Sophia hung up and made another call to Linus. ¡°Abbie Michel? She ims that she¡¯s a sessor to the royal family? Ha! Her grandmother was indeed from the Michel Family but she got married and moved to Cethos several decades ago. She doesn¡¯t even have the right to adopt thest name of the Michels¡ªZouch is herst name. As for her title of sessor to the royal family¡­¡± Linus couldn¡¯t help butugh. ¡°Currently, the Swedish royal family has more than a hundred sessors. She¡¯s probably ranked 99th.¡± Somewhat having a rough idea of what was happening, he asked, ¡°Did Abbie Zouch mess with you? Give me a moment; I¡¯lle over now.¡± Sophia hurriedly replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s just a small matter and I can settle it.¡± Upon hanging up, Sophia regained her confidence. Even though she had not regressed to the Michel Family, she was well aware of their rules¡ªtheir bloodline was of utmost importance! Normally, neither a woman nor a man from the Michels would marry someone outside of the family. Doing so would indicate that they had forfeited their identity as a Michel, along with the lineage and glory that came with the family name. As such, their offspring were not allowed to adopt thest name of Michel too. Within the Michel Family, only those at the bottom would marry someone outside the family as they knew they were too far away from the ultimate power of the family and would rather give up the title. A real youngdy of the family would rarely marry an outsider. Even if it was someone of the same league, the man would marry into the family as a live-in son-inw. However, there was an exception. Back then, Cooper¡¯s mother¡ªBeyonc¨¦ Michel¡ªfell in love with Woody, who came from the East. He was in his fifties at that time and was the leader of a family, so it was impossible for him to marry into the Michel family. Hence, Beyonc¨¦ forfeited herst name and bowed out of the family to marry Woody. Unfortunately, she passed away not long after giving birth to Cooper. It was only when Beyonc¨¦¡¯s father was on his deathbed and missed his daughter that they discovered the existence of Beyonc¨¦¡¯s son upon investigation. It was made known to him that his grandson had inherited his talents and capabilities, and ran the Mitchell Family impressively. Hence, Beyonc¨¦¡¯s father ignored the objection of the family and recalled Cooper, making him an heir of the Michel Family despite the disapproval of the others. Those who married outsiders and had offsprings were not allowed to adopt thest name of the Michels. Nevertheless, Cooper became the first, breaking the rules with his strong capabilities. Could it be that Abbie was even more capable than Cooper? As such, Sophia decided to go meet her! Abbie Michel? It should be Abbie Zouch! Abbie is not a nice name; I think I shall call her Abby! Secretly giving her a name, Sophia then kept her phone, put on bold lipstick and left for the hall. However, she could hear an uproaring from the hall even before stepping in. Just as expected, they were stirring trouble in the few minutes she was away. Sandra¡¯s furious scream could be heard from a distance before Sophia entered the hall. ¡°Whose alpaca is this? How dare it spit on us! Beat it to death! Sophia, where are you?¡± It was then Sophia walked into the hall and saw the scene, which was in total chaos. The two graceful alpacas were being held back by Ivan. Initially, he wanted to seek an opportunity to take them away but Sandra dashed up all of a sudden and seized the alpacas¡¯ cors, preventing them from leaving. Screaming hysterically, Abby¡¯s nicely curled, crimson-colored hair was covered with stters of alpaca saliva and it was giving off a pungent odor. This pair of alpacas had been tamed as pets by their forefathers decades ago. They rarely spat, but the odor was indescribable once they did. Shrieking, tears welled up in Abby¡¯s eyes as the stink overwhelmed her. She let out an ear-piercing screech, not daring to move though she knew her hair was stained with saliva. Meanwhile, Sandra ordered her men to snatch the alpacas. Nevertheless, the moment she reached out her hand to touch the alpaca¡¯s neck, it spat in her face. Refusing to yield, the other alpaca spat in Sandra¡¯s face too, leaving her crying at the stench. On the other hand, Sophiaughed wryly upon witnessing the scene. What on earth is going on¡­ Immediately, she ordered, ¡°Ivan, send the alpacas away.¡± ¡°Andie, escort the two VIPs to wash their faces.¡± ¡°Mrs. White, incense please!¡± The two youngdies were sent to wash their faces whereas Sophia ordered the incense to be lit. Finally, the odor in the shop faded away. While the two were cleaning themselves up, Sophia quickly asked the bodyguards to send the alpacas home. Apparently, Abby was attempting to touch the alpaca¡¯s bum and it irritated the creature so much that it spat on her. Sandra was good at using animals to stir up trouble. Back then, it was Judge and Barney and now, it was these alpacas. What a sinful woman she was! By the time Sandra and Abby came out, Sophia and the alpacas had left. Instantly, Sandra red up and she kicked up a big fuss at the scene. ¡°Sophia, where are you?¡± It was a high-end consumer area with high customer flow. Soon, the uproar attracted many passersby to gather at the shop. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Ivan and the security guards stepped forward and used a distraction to prevent the two from stirring up trouble. ¡°Ms. Mitchell, your makeup is all gone!¡± The two youngdies who were prepared to kick up a fuss quickly covered their faces with their hands. Looking at the crowd who were craning their necks to watch the scene, their anger instantly extinguished. Their dignity was of utmost importance! As someone of mixed race, Abby inherited the Caucasian¡¯s freckled skin type. The freckles on her face were revealed as her makeup waspletely washed off. Covering her face in shock, she snarled, ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯ll make your shop close down in three days!¡± Ivan snorted and did not bother to give them a response. Then, the two hurried away gloomily, the complete opposite of their grand entrance just now. Sensing something might have gone wrong upon receiving Sophia¡¯s call, Linus hurried over to the shop. Though his location was not too far away from Sophia¡¯s shop, it still took him around fifteen minutes to arrive. Just within that fifteen minutes, the chaos had ended while Ivan instructed the staff to clean up the ce and burn some incense; the other customers had been pacified as well. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Where¡¯s Sophia?¡± Ivan nced up and recognized Linus. Though he didn¡¯t know what was the rtionship between Linus and Sophia, it seemed like they were pretty close since Linus visited the shop frequently. ¡°Sandra and your cousin came to stir up trouble,¡± Ivan replied. ¡°Sophia already went home.¡± Frowning, Linus mumbled, ¡°Alright; thank you.¡± With that, he spun around and made a call, thereafter heading home. Staring at Linus from behind curiously, Ivan made a wild guess about the rtionship between Linus and Sophia. Could he be Carmen¡¯s stepfather? Chapter 913 Chapter 913 He was aware of Michael and Sophia¡¯s divorce. Could Linus be Sophia¡¯s admirer? No way! I have to report it to Michael. Though Michael was divorced, he had always wanted to restore their marriage, so he asked Ivan to keep an eye on Sophia and update him on hertest situation. While Ivan was his spy in Pourl, Michael had someone watching over Sophia back in the Edwards Residence too. For instance, the nannies whom he hired for Carmen tagged along when Sophia moved back to the residence. Truth was, Michael ensured that his senses were as sharp as a bloodhound to be able to gain every information about Sophia. Even Harry thought that Michael was a pervert; he should have sent him to a psychiatric hospital when he could. While the days were getting boring, it was entertaining for Harry to see this pitiful, old divorced man breaking the silence to pursue his happiness and redeem his own life. While giving his full focus when filming ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, Harry would sit back and watch Michael¡¯s actions on his off days. Meanwhile, Michael heard from Ivan about the incidents that had ured that day. Abbie Michel? Isn¡¯t she Abbie Zouch? All this while, Abbie had been swindling those in Bayside City¡¯s socialite circle. She was the 99th sessor of the Swedish royal family and a distant rtive of the Michel Family, yet many celebrities in Bayside City had fallen for these intimidating titles. Nevertheless, those who were informed knew her true identity. Abby and Sandra, the two small potatoes, would be settled by Sophia sooner orter. However, Michael sensed something fishy about the incident. After he had hung up the call, Harry saw him taking out hisptop and started searching for keywords in the news. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Sensing something unusual was going on, Harry quickly leaned close to Michael, thinking that he might be starting to make waves. Michael typed a few keywords such as ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s divorce¡¯, ¡®Taylor Murray and Miss Edwards¡¯ in the search engine, resulting in a wide array of news appearing. He then clicked into them one after another. Sensing that something interesting was about to happen, Harry quickly pulled out his phone and keyed in some tags in the search engine, managing to find some exciting news. ording to Ivan¡¯s description, Sandra went into the store and mocked Sophia for the divorce. She then talked about Michael being close to one of the youngdies from the Mitchell Family; him visiting her at work, walking out from a hotel together, and shopping for baby and maternal products, even making an appointment together at the confinement center¡­ Sandra had announced all these in a loud voice just to embarrass Sophia. At that time, the store was packed with customers, staff and designers. Sandra deliberately raised her voice so that everyone knew Sophia was divorced and that Michael was already seeing someone else. Hence, it was totally possible that the news of the divorce had been made known to the media. Harry usually enjoyed scrolling through Twitter and looking up for news. Just as expected, the hashtags of ¡®Taylor Murray divorced¡¯, ¡®Eddie Fletcher divorced¡¯, as well as ¡®Taylor Murray and Miss Edwards¡¯ became the top trending searches the very next day. If even a dog like Judge that had something to do with Taylor Murray became viral on the inte, what more to say about a human? Reading the news, it was said that several entertainment tforms had received anonymous submissions regarding what their acquaintances had seen or heard at Pourl. By word of mouth, news about Michael and Sophia¡¯s divorce was soon spread across Bayside City. Scrolling through the news, Harry identally pressed on the like button. Within an hour, ¡®Harry Winston liked the post¡¯ became one of the top trending news too, as it was deemed a confirmation of the couple¡¯s divorce. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Reading the news, Michael wrinkled his face while Harry sighed. ¡°How did Sandra know about your divorce? Bro, Carmen is going to be so sad if she knows about this.¡± Getting divorce was a significant event. Sooner orter, the beans would be spilled no matter how hard they tried to bottle it up. Obviously, Sandra had been keeping an eye on them and was ready to pounce anytime. Looking at the news, Michael suddenly stood up and left in his costume. ¡°Ask Celie to stand in for me for the next few scenes. I have to go back to Bayside City to settle some personal matters.¡± Meanwhile, Celine, who was dozing off at the side, woke up with a start. ¡°W-Who called my name?¡± Justin quickly patted her shoulder and said, ¡°Mikey is heading back to Bayside City, so he asked you to stand in for him the next few days.¡± Celine huffed and pursed her lips as she saw Michael leave in a hurry. Ever since Celinepletely lost her memory, Justin had been guiding her to be acquainted with her surroundings. Though she could not remember a thing, she somewhat knew that there was this person who was extremely important to her. So, she followed Michael around like a kid and imitated everything he did, and had actually made a good job of emting him. Since she enjoyed imitating him, Michael allowed her to do so and even brought her to the filming crew so that she could act as his substitute. The two siblings had simr temperament and appearance; Michael would ask Celine to stand in for him whenever he wanted to sneak off, just so that she could be kept busy too. Meanwhile, Celine mumbled gloomily, ¡°Now that Mikey has left, when will he be back?¡± Staring at Michael¡¯s back as he left, Justin answered, ¡°Soon¡­¡± On the other hand, Michael returned to Bayside City in his private ne. When he arrived at Bayside City, the news had already caused an uproar. There were people who managed to take a video of Sandra¡¯s boastful attitude and uploaded it onto the web. Furthermore, the media even unearthed the Miss Mitchell that Sandra had mentioned. There was indeed a Miss Mitchell in the filming crew, and she was Drake¡¯s younger sister. The paparazzi discovered Drake¡¯s talented younger sister while doxing him. She was now ying the role of a random girl who was abused by the vige invaders. Unlike her brother who was lucky enough to y a central role in his debut, she started off as an extra and only starred in a few scenes. She was currently a final year student in Bayside University and was barely deemed as the young mistress of the Mitchells yet. Truth was, this girl and Michael were unrted at all; Michael had not even talked to her before! On that day, Carmen came back from the kindergarten with tears in her eyes and asked Sophia, ¡°Mommy, people are saying you divorced Daddy!¡± Sophia¡¯s heart melted looking at her adorable daughter who was aggrieved. ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± she murmured. ¡°Daddy and I did not have a divorce. Daddy just went for filming; those people are spouting nonsense.¡± She then added, ¡°Daddy is a celebrity. If you be a celebrity in the future, people will spout nonsense about you too, so you have to get used to it.¡± However, Carmen was already three years old. A three-year-old kid could easily be deceived at times, but they could be bright too. Having noticed something fishy long ago, Carmen asked, ¡°Then why did we move out from Daddy¡¯s ce?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Because Daddy¡¯s ce is too small and we have a bigger ce here. Mommy keeps so manyrge doggies and we even have a pair of alpacas¡ªthe baby alpacas would fall sick if they lived in a cramped ce. We have a big house and a spacious yard here, so the baby alpacas won¡¯t be sad when they¡¯re here.¡± Nevertheless, Carmen was only half-convinced. That night, while she was having her nightly call with Michael, Carmen asked worriedly, ¡°Daddy, did you and Mommy divorce?¡± Chapter 914 Chapter 914 Michaelforted her, ¡°Not at all! Don¡¯t listen to such nonsense. Daddy and Mommy are fine and we¡¯ll never get a divorce this lifetime. Next time, take down the names of those who said Daddy and Mommy divorced; I will teach them a lesson!¡± It was only then that Carmen felt relieved and hung up the call. After washing up, Sophia came back to see Carmen still ying on the bed, her big round eyes staring at Sophia. ¡°Baby, why are you still awake?¡± Sophia asked while putting on a facial mask. However, Carmen asked in a serious manner, ¡°Mommy, are you going to have more babies in the future? If you have another baby, will I still be your dearest baby?¡± Sophia knitted her brows. ¡°No matter how many babies I have in the future, you¡¯ll forever be Mommy¡¯s dearest baby!¡± Following that, Sophia asked on a whim, ¡°What kind of baby would you like Mommy to have?¡± Though she was unsure about the possibility of having a second child, Sophia thought it was a good idea so that Carmen did not have to be alone, as she seemed to be quite pitiful now. Giving it some thought, Carmen said, ¡°Mommy, can you give birth to two bunnies? I want some bunnies!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was rendered speechless. Meanwhile, Michael¡ªwho had hotfooted it to Bayside City¡ªand Cooper and were staring at each other in consternation. ¡°What did you just say, Mr. Fletcher? I beg your pardon; I¡¯m afraid I didn¡¯t catch that. Could you repeat yourself?¡± Cooper was inhospitable as always. Michael repeated his request, ¡°For the sake of Carmen¡¯s wellbeing, I hope you will agree to let me remarry Sophia. Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯ll just be a marriage in name but not a real remarriage. As you know, it is impossible to conceal a celebrity¡¯s divorce as the media will make up stories about it. You¡¯ve seen how the media exposed us just a few days after our divorce and I saw paparazzi right outside Edwards Residence when I came this morning.¡± All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Cooper blew a fuse. How dare this b*stard make such a shameless request while acting unaffected? Wishing he could tear Michael into pieces, Cooper turned down his ridiculous request instantly. ¡°In your dreams!¡± Expression changing, Michael argued, ¡°But now, we can no longer hide our divorce. Carmen will surely be heartbroken if she knows about it. This¡­¡± However, he gave in and continued, ¡°In that case, let¡¯s forget about remarriage. Sophia and I shall hold a press conference to rify and insist that we didn¡¯t get a divorce. Please allow Sophia and Carmen to visit me once in a while at the film set. Besides, I shall move from The Imperial to stay with you all. There are ample rooms here and I promise I¡¯ll stay in a room that is further from Sophia¡¯s. As such, we would be able to avoid tongues wagging. Furthermore, I won¡¯t be around often since I¡¯ll be filming outstation most of the time. Don¡¯t worry!¡± To Cooper, both were equally ridiculous requests. Nevertheless, this request appeared to be more mild and was nothing aspared to a remarriage. However, Cooper still turned Michael down ruthlessly. ¡°No way!¡± Move in to stay with us? In your wildest dreams! Again, Michael took a step back. ¡°Then, please allow Sophia and I to hold a press conference and let her visit me at the film set from time to time.¡± Cooper snarled, ¡°No way! Never!¡± Michael gave in further. ¡°We¡¯ll just do a press conference then. That¡¯s not too much to ask for, isn¡¯t it?¡± Cooper remained silent. Indeed, the request of holding a press conference was much more reasonable than his previous ridiculous requests. Pinching his nose, Cooper finally agreed, ¡°Fine!¡± Delighted, Michael was about to leave to prepare for the press conference. However, just as he walked out from the living room, something popped into his mind and he returned to where Cooper was. ¡°Mr. Cooper, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to leave tonight¡ªthe paparazzi are out there and it would be difficult to exin to them if I step out now.¡± Tomorrow¡¯s headline news would surely be ¡®Taylor Murray chased out of Edwards Residencete at night. Rumors of divorce confirmed!¡¯ After pondering for a moment, Cooper said to the housekeeping robot, ¡°Siri, bring him to the furthest guest room from Miss Sophia¡¯s.¡± The housekeeping robot followed the instruction and led Michael to a guest room. This ce had always been Sophia¡¯s residence. With an ancient garden design, the residence was splendid and upied a vast area. There was a small river in the garden, which further constructed a serene and harmonious scene. Looking glorious, the residence consisted of a bungalow, which was the main building where Cooper lived in, wing rooms which served as guest rooms, and the mistress¡¯ residence where Sophia stayed, which was the furthest from the guest rooms. Staying in the guest room, Michael couldn¡¯t see the mistress¡¯ residence from his windows. Nevertheless, he could see the many paparazzi outside the gates, who had been waiting outside the residence since they discovered this ce and saw him walking in. This mysterious residence had always been a private ce with a high level of security. The paparazzi were extremely curious and had flown numerous drones to peek into the residence. However, all the drones were detected and struck down by the robots even before they entered the residence. Cooper was very fond of the residence and had started equipping it with intelligence technology, as he had decided to stay there for good. Meanwhile, Michael was scrolling through his phone in the bed when Bubbles came in excitedly, as it knew Michael was here. Though Sophia was the one who brought Bubbles back, Michael had been taking care of it all this while, so it was more familiar with Michael and came in right away upon catching his smell. Michael took a picture with Bubbles in his arms that subtly showed off his abs, which had always been a favorite of Sophia¡¯s. Following that, he posted the picture on Twitter and made it only visible to her. Soon, Sophia liked the picture andmented, ¡®Are you back in Bayside City?¡¯ Michael knew that his figure and handsome looks were his most powerful weapons, and Sophia would not be able to resist his charm. He quickly sent her a series of selfies taken in the guest room, in some of which he subtly unted his body. With that, he replied, ¡®I just arrived. Mr. Cooper has agreed to let us hold a press conference to prove that we didn¡¯t get a divorce.¡¯ It took a while for Sophia to reply, ¡®Sleep well.¡¯ The next day. ¡°Daddy!¡± It was only seven o¡¯clock in the morning and the sun was barely out, but Carmen was already calling for her father downstairs. Michael was brushing his teeth in the washroom when he heard the crisp voice, so he quickly went to the balcony and saw Carmen and Sophia standing downstairs. Instantly, Michael beamed. ¡°Come on up, baby!¡± With his upper body naked, he bared his firm chest and sturdy abs. On his neck was the amulet that Sophia had given him, which she herself too had a simr one. Seemed like he had forgotten about the existence of the amulet and had been wearing it all this time even after their divorce. Excitedly, Carmen dashed upstairs. Meanwhile in the room, Michael applied some lotion on his body after brushing his teeth. He wanted his body to appear glistening and charming so that Sophia would be totally enchanted by his half-naked state upon seeing him. ¡°Daddy!¡± Carmen sprinted toward Michael and he carried her, throwing her into the air. ¡°Did you miss me, baby?¡± Having not seen each other for a few weeks, it seemed like his precious daughter had grown quite a lot! Swinging her feet back and forth, Carmen answered ecstatically, ¡°Yes! I¡¯ve missed you, Daddy!¡± The father daughter duo were overjoyed as Carmen gave her father a huge kiss. Standing at one side observing the two, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but smile. Sure enough, Carmen loved her Daddy more! After kissing her, Michael put her down on the ground. Suddenly, Carmen lifted up her head and stared at Sophia in a serious manner. ¡°Mommy, why didn¡¯t you give Daddy a kiss? Are you two divorced?¡± Chapter 915 Chapter 915 After catching up with Carmen, Michael put her down and walked toward Sophia as he was about to discuss some matters with her. However, Carmen blurted out the question all of a sudden. Instantly, Sophia blushed. ¡°Well¡­ Of course Mommy will give Daddy a kiss, but kids are not allowed to watch.¡± Having not seen Michael for a while, coupled with the moment she smelled his unique scent and saw his charming body, Sophia turned scarlet from embarrassment like a young girl encountering her first love. How strange! They went back from being a couple to strangers upon the divorce, but there was actually a fascinating sense of freshness and mystery. Sophia had once heard about a couple who divorced after many years of marriage because they were tired of each other. However, they became more clingy after the divorce and had even traveled across cities to meet each other and sleep together. She wondered, So this is the feeling! Upon ¡®letting go¡¯ of Michael, the once tamed was now freed and it seemed like he had be more attractive as he appeared even wilder upon being single again. Looking upset, Carmen pursed her lips and mumbled, ¡°You two must¡¯ve gotten a divorce. Are you even discussing who should get custody of me?¡± Sophia remained silent. Suddenly, Michael held onto Sophia and kissed her gently on the lips before turning to Carmen and said, ¡°See? I¡¯ve kissed Mommy and we didn¡¯t get a divorce. Don¡¯t worry!¡± Finally, Carmen was satisfied and walked away. Sophia¡¯s heart was racing as her face turned red. Meanwhile, Michael started talking business with her. ¡°Sophia, I believe your father has talked to you about the press conference.¡± Sophia was indeed aware of the press conference since she had asked Cooper about itst night. Blushing, she nodded her head and acted calm. ¡°You can decide the time and venue. I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± Michael took out the n about the press conference, which he had already drawn up before this, and handed it over to Sophia. She sat down and started perusing the details but just as she started reading the documents, Cooper came in. Upon entering the room, Cooper pulled a long face seeing Michael half-naked while flirting with Sophia. I knew it! This b*stard is up to no good! Seeing Cooper¡¯s arrival, Michael put on his shirt with a grin. ¡°Hi Mr. Cooper, how embarrassing! Sophia came in before I could even put on a shirt,¡± he exined awkwardly, sounding as if it was Sophia who did it purposely. Upon seeing Cooper, Sophia quickly left with Carmen, leaving behind the two men staring at each other in the guest room. Coldly, Cooper rebuked, ¡°Don¡¯t assume I don¡¯t know what¡¯s on your mind¡ªyou want to get back with my daughter. In your dreams!¡± His respectful attitude disappearing, Michael smirked cheekily. ¡°Mr. Cooper, imagine you were me and Sophia was Anna; what would you do?¡± Staring coldly at him, Cooper snorted. Before he started going on at him, Michael took out a file and passed it to Cooper. ¡°By the way, I was too busy recently and almost forgot about this matter. Take a look at this, Mr. Cooper. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be interested in it.¡± Cooper took the file and left frostily. ¡°Don¡¯t you fool with me; you¡¯re still too young for that!¡± Cooper warned before he left. Seeing his departure, Michael smiled mysteriously. Indeed, he was going to fool around and it was going to be subtle, so much so that Cooper wouldn¡¯t even be able to stop it. Meanwhile, Cooper looked at the file that Michael had given him. Inside was an old diary with a yellowed cover; the book must have been around for some time. Two words were written on the title page of the book¡ªAnna¡¯s Notebook. Cooper recognized the handwriting; it really was Anna¡¯s! Back then, he was the one who taught her how to write. Before this, Michael had already passed Anna¡¯s belongings to Cooper after her death. Nevertheless, Cooper did not expect that there was still this diary. Flipping the notebook open, he saw a familiar chicken scratch which resembled an elementary school kid¡¯s. Nevertheless, every word was written diligently and forcefully, as the writer was trying their best to write properly. All of a sudden, Cooper recalled those times when he taught Anna to write. Every moment was still fresh in his mind as if it had just happened yesterday and all of this was a dream, and that Anna would be back by his side once he woke up. Anna¡¯s diary was as simple as she was. There were only one or two rows of words written each day to concisely record her feelings. ¡®Coop, where are you? You¡¯re going to be a dad soon!¡¯ This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡®Coop, I¡¯ve missed you¡­¡¯ ¡®Coop¡­¡¯ He had taught her how to write ¡®Cooper¡¯ but she said the spelling was hard to remember, so she had been writing it as ¡®Coop¡¯. Reading the diary, Cooper couldn¡¯t help tearing up as he flipped through the notebook. Suddenly, he looked solemn upon reading one of the pages. There was an image of an ultrasound on that page. Anna wrote, ¡®I¡¯m pregnant with twins!¡¯ Twins¡­ Stunned, Cooper stared nkly at the two blobs on the ultrasound image. The fetus was already formed and there was a pair of them! Annabel was pregnant with twins, which meant that he still had another child! Putting down the notebook, Cooper dashed out of the room like a mad person. Meanwhile, Michael and Sophia were having lunch together. The residence was so spacious that it could even resemble an ecopark and the dining area was expansive too. Sitting in between her parents, Carmen was thrilled as her Daddy and Mommy were taking turns to feed her. Swinging her feet, the little girl thoroughly enjoyed the meal. Meanwhile, Michael was discussing with Sophia regarding the press conference and he asked about some issues regarding Carmen¡¯s reality show. ¡°Hale is hoping that Ashton could tag along with Carmen to earn a living in the showbiz, so I¡¯ll be bringing both of the kids this time round. As you know, Hale has been living on barbarous acts for the past twenty years and Gwen also retired from being a special agent; both of them are tired of life like this and they hope that Ashton will be able to get an easier job in the future. The agreement has already been signed for five episodes and I¡¯ll appear in the reality show together with the two kids. We are going to film at five different locations and the shooting will span a month or so, and will be around September. I¡¯m guessing Carmen is going to have a hard time by then.¡± With that, Michael turned to Carmen and asked, ¡°Carmen, are you scared that we¡¯re going to shoot ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ for a month?¡± Swaying her feet, Carmen eximed excitedly, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid because Daddy is around!¡± In fact, Michael didn¡¯t really want Carmen to appear on screen at such a young age. However, if one were to look at it from another perspective, it would be an excellent opportunity for her to gain some experience. After all, she had to inherit her father¡¯s career and her mother¡¯s and grandfather¡¯s businesses someday, so they shouldn¡¯t raise her like any other ordinary kid. Gulping down a mouthful of milk, Carmen crowed to Linus, who was sitting opposite to her eating, ¡°Grand-uncle Linus, I¡¯m going to appear on TV!¡± Smiling, Linus reached out his hand to tease her. ¡°Give it your best, Carmen! I¡¯m going to ask for your autograph next time!¡± Just as they were harmoniously having their meal at the table, Cooper barged in all of a sudden and hauled Michael to the side. Grasping Michael¡¯s cor, Cooper roared, ¡°Where is he? Where¡¯s Anna¡¯s other child?¡± Chapter 916 Chapter 916 This sudden turn of events startled those who were eating in the dining area. Sophia thought Michael was going to be beaten up by Cooper, but never did she think that Cooper would ask such an abrupt question. Carmen was frightened by the scene and burst into tears. Sophia quickly carried her in her arms while Linus pulled Michael away from an agitated Cooper. ¡°What happened, Fass? Calm down! You¡¯ve frightened Carmen!¡± Cooper finally controlled himself as he took a few deep breaths and pulled out the ultrasound. ¡°Anna had another child; I still have a child! Where is he? Tell me, where¡¯s my other child?¡± Michael did not expect Cooper to have such a huge reaction. Nevertheless, his n would not be affected. ¡°Please calm down, Mr. Cooper. I was made aware of this by ident too and I¡¯ve been sending people to look into it but have not heard any news yet,¡± Michael exined. Staring nkly at him, Cooper was stunned for a moment before he turned around and grunted, ¡°Mr. Michael, pleasee to my office and exin this matter in detail.¡± Michael was thrilled deep down but he still turned around and said to Sophia, who was carrying their child in her arms. ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon. Take good care of Carmen.¡± Frightened by the scene, Carmen was sobbing in Sophia¡¯s arms. Worried, Sophia asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? I have a sister?¡± Michael replied in a hurry, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve mentioned this to you before and we¡¯ve been searching for your twin this whole while.¡± With that, he left with Cooper, leaving a startled Sophia behind. She had a sibling? Goodness, what an incredible surprise! Meanwhile in Cooper¡¯s office, Cooper was staring numbly at the two shadows on the ultrasound. The two fetuses whichy next to each other were both his and Anna¡¯s children! He still had another child! ¡°We found the nurse who was quite close with Ms. Anna back then. The nurse found a family with a good background to adopt the children and managed to send away the first child, but the second child didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, there has been no news about the couple since they left the country. I couldn¡¯t trace them and the child¡¯s whereabouts remained unknown.¡± Cooper listened to Michael quietly as he exined in detail. After Michael finished speaking, Cooper asked, ¡°Is the child a boy or a girl?¡± Michael answered in all honesty, ¡°It¡¯s a boy.¡± A boy¡­ Upon hearing that, Cooper didn¡¯t know whether he should be happy or sad. He still had a son! Cooper¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple bobbed as he forced his tears back and murmured, ¡°I¡¯d like to meet this nurse. Where is she now?¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Michael hesitated before answering, ¡°She died in a car ident a year ago.¡± The nurse passed away a year ago in an ident, so there was no witness left! Instantly, a gloom fell upon Cooper as he stared nkly at the image. Secretly observing Cooper¡¯s expression, Michael had something brewing in his mind. His n was rather straightforward¡ªCooper would have to depend on him since he had on hand the information. It was a golden opportunity for him to develop a positive rtionship with his father-inw- to-be. He would be making a great contribution if the son was found. By that time, Cooper would be pleased and thereafter agree to let him remarry Sophia. However, it was a bold n to be executed because Cooper would surely tear him into pieces if Michael identally exposed his true intentions. Nevertheless, fortune favored the bold, so he had to make a bold move in order to pursue his lover too. The higher the risk, the greater the reward! Meanwhile, Cooper waspletely bbergasted at the news. He sent everyone out of the room and sat alone for a long while. Upon knowing this news, it felt like he was brought back to the time when he first found out that he still had a daughter. He proceeded to send every one of his men out to search for the child and he had asked Michael for his child¡¯s information so that he could go looking. Back then, Michael had a hard time finding the child and it was by pure luck that he bumped into Linus. Who would have thought that Sophia¡¯s biological twin brother was from a different race as her! Cooper was so carried away in finding his son that he didn¡¯t even realize Michael had been staying at his ce for days. Of course, Michael would dly let Cooper search for his son as he knew Cooper¡¯s effort would be in vain. The only lead was the nurse and even she had passed away in a car ident¡ªCooper would not be able to discover anything! Cooper waspletely focused on finding his second child. His feelings were indescribable when he found out the existence of his other child and was determined to find him no matter the cost. On the other hand, Cooper and Sophia were busy preparing for the press conference too. The reporters had their days off over the weekends, so the press conference was set to take ce on the following Monday. Meanwhile, Carmen too didn¡¯t have to attend school and stayed at home to apany her parents. The main yard was a fun ce to y at and Carmen was having a great time there. Just then, Stanley and Sean brought Judge over to hang out. In the previous kindergarten, Judge was bullied by Carmen. Though he was upset, Judge did not hold a grudge against the little girl. He stuck to Carmen as soon as he met her and apanied her to watch Peppa Pig throughout the morning. Besides, Judge even groomed Sophia¡¯s other orange cats by licking them. Truth was, he had been bored without the cats being around to y with him. Sophia was having a barbecue in the yard and the savory aroma spread out and the sizzling sound could be heard. As for Carmen and Judge, the two were sitting next to each other watching Peppa Pig while waiting for the food to be served. The scene was extremely adorable as the lolita was surrounded by a few huge dogs. Linus took out some ingredients from the house and prepared them carefully. Although Harry was still outstation filming, Sarah came along with Hope as she was bored at home. Staying at the Edwards Residence, Michael would go fishing by the pond whenever he was bored. The fish in the pond were all artificially bred and he could easily catch one in just a short while. He would let go of those which were beautiful and feed the cats with those which were unattractive. Stroking Sophia¡¯s alpaca, Stanley mumbled in a perplexed tone, ¡°Uncle Michael, what¡¯s going on between you two? What¡¯s the point of getting a divorce then? You had better not get one in the first ce since there¡¯s so much hassle!¡± Stanley simply couldn¡¯t understand the couple¡ªthey were obviously deep in love with each other, yet they got divorced. Even after getting a divorce, they were still interacting with each other on a daily basis as they didn¡¯t want the others to know about their divorce. They even liked each other¡¯s posts on Twitter. What¡¯s the point? Meanwhile, Michael caught another fish. Looking at how plump the fish was, he decided to not feed the cats with it. Putting the fish into a basket, he then said to Stanley, ¡°Kids shouldn¡¯t poke their noses in adults¡¯ matters.¡± Michael gutted the fish on his own and had even reluctantly killed the eel that he had kept for years, to be used in the barbecue. Linus prepared the ingredients together with Michael, brushing the chicken with honey and marinating the fish. As for Sarah and Sophia, they were secretly chatting at the side. ¡°So what¡¯s going on between you guys?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Did you two really get a divorce or is it a fake one?¡± Frowning, even Sophia did not know what state they were in. Let¡¯s take it one step at a time. Sean, on the other hand, was silently observing Linus. He somehow felt that the way Linus looked at Sophia was different. Chapter 917 Chapter 917 He was hesitating if he should spill the beans. Now that Michael had exposed the existence of Cooper¡¯s other son, Linus¡¯ true identity would soon be revealed too. They would soon acknowledge their true rtionship and they might be left awkward if he took the lid off now. Hence, Sean did not mention this matter to Michael. Meanwhile, Michael and Sophia were having a sweet time over the barbecue. Looking worried, Sophia mumbled, ¡°I wonder if Dad has found my brother.¡± How amazing that she still had a brother! From now on, she would have a brother and she wondered what his appearance would be like. If they were twins¡­ would he have a simr appearance to her, just like how Celine resembled Michael? Thinking someone resembling her would soon appear, Sophia became excited. ¡°I wonder where my brother has been all these years. Has he been living a good life?¡± Sophia sighed. Busy marinating the fish, Michaelforted her, ¡°Everything¡¯s going to be fine. We¡¯re living in an era of advancedmunications technology and I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to reach your brother soon.¡± Sighing, Sophia shifted her focus back to the barbecue. Just as she was grilling the food, someone called from the guardhouse. ¡°There¡¯s a group of people at the entrance stirring up trouble.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± Sophia asked curiously. The voice on the other end replied, ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but they¡¯re cursing vulgarly outside the gate. It¡¯d be better if you came and took a look.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia took off her apron and headed to the main entrance. The bungalow was as huge as a park and the distance between its North and South Gate was simr to that of two train stations. It was as if Sophia had walked the distance from one train station to another and as she reached the main entrance, she could hear the uproar from outside the gateing from a distance. ¡°Ask the b*tch Sophia toe out!¡± ¡°Shameless b*tch, show yourself!¡± ¡°The wh*re must be having an affair with another guy in this house. Show yourself!¡± Hearing the noise, Sophia frowned and peeked through the gate. There was a mob gathering outside and leading them were a few malicious-looking olddies who were cursing all sorts of vulgar words. Besides the paparazzi, those at the nearby bus station were all staring at the scene too. The olddies were ndering Sophia in an extremely spiteful manner, as if she had ruined their ancestors¡¯ tomb. People nowadays loved to gossip, especially about stories that had to do with divorced young women. They would surge in immediately like sharks attracted to blood. Sophia just got divorced and here there were people who wanted to nder her, thinking she was a pushover. In their loud voices, the olddies cursed Sophia usings all sorts of swear words, as if she was a lonely whore who lived a promiscuous life. Even the security guards couldn¡¯t do anything to them. Obviously, these olddies were hired to stir up trouble in groups and were paid by the hour. With an average age of seventy, they scammed people out of their money by pretending to be injured if they were knocked down in a fight that could possibly ur. Given the highmodity price in Bayside City, a few million could easily be their checkup fees at the hospital. Moreover, the mastermind had not shown up yet and since the motives remained unrevealed, the security guards had to first ask for Sophia¡¯s instructions before they could take further action. Sophia wasn¡¯t sure what the trap was. The bunch of silver-haired olddies were swearing at her while using crutches to support themselves. She had never even seen them before and there couldn¡¯t be any grudges between them, yet they were cursing her in such a malicious way. She knew there must be something fishy going on. Just as Sophia was standing by the entrance observing the scene through CCTV, Sandra called and announced arrogantly down the line, ¡°Sophia Edwards, I¡¯ll let you off if you kneel before me right now. Otherwise, I¡¯ll ensure your reputation is ruined in Bayside City.¡± With that, she hung up immediately. Dumbfounded, Sophia stared at the phone while Michael rushed over to her, his hands stained with chilli. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Even before Sophia replied, he could roughly tell what was going on just by seeing through the gates and the footage on the CCTV. How despicable it was to hire some olddies to nder others and make groundless usations outside the residence! How could they bully a divorced woman just like that? Sandra, the mastermind, must be hiding somewhere nearby to watch the show! Expression turning dark, Michael¡¯s ruthless personality surfaced. This woman needs to be shattered into pieces! Gathering around, the others trembled in anger too after learning what had happened. What a despicable attempt, trying to nder a divorced woman in front of her house! Was it enjoyable to bully a divorcee? Nevertheless, once they went out and identally injured the old women amidst the chaos, things would getplicated. Brushing off the chilli on his hand, Michael was ready to go confront them. ¡°Sean and I will go and drive them away. These old women are best at bullyingdies and they¡¯ll be scared once men enter the equation.¡± Everyone thought what Michael said was reasonable, except Sophia and Linus. They thought they should report it to the police since they were the ones being insulted. Linus still did not quite understand certain feudal cultures in Cethos while Sophia had been learning everything from scratch since she lost her memory, and did not have a firm grasp on such matters yet. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. It was only after Sarah¡¯s exnation then Sophia understood what was actually going on. In Cethos, gossip could be a scary thing. ndering a divorced woman like what the olddies were doing now could cause great damage to the victim. Widows were usually the weak and marginalizedmunity. Not only would they be stressed out financially, they would also be harmed by all kinds of rumors as the gossipers could be very hostile toward them. Depending on the situation, they could either be continuously cursed or to be extorted for money. If it was thetter, the mob would definitely stir up more trouble following that. Making a police report would not be a solution either, since even the police might be extorted if theye. That was how ridiculous these old women were! Just as Michael was about to step forward, Sophia stopped him. ¡°Roger, Markee, Thomson, bring a few men and throw these people out on the streets!¡± Following hermand, a few two-meter, sturdy bodyguards who were hired by the Michels showed up. They were a mix of ck and white and they headed out in a threatening manner to disperse the mob. There were two teams of security guards in the residence; one was brought over by Cooper from the Michels while the other one was dispatched from the Edwards, because Cooper thought foreign bodyguards might not be the most suitable choice. While the security guards from the Edwards were aware of the tricks and did not dare make a reckless move, the foreign guards were fearless. Meanwhile, Sophia stood by the gates as she silently observed the scene. The few olddies had attracted many spectators and arge crowd was forming at the entrance. Now that the bodyguards went out to disperse them, the olddies disyed their professional acting skills and looked aggressive as if they were ready to fight against the guards. Nevertheless, they fell down on the ground even before the guardsid their hands on them. Momentster, all the olddies had copsed on the ground and they put on miserable looks. Unaware of their tricks, the bodyguards threw the trouble seekers out onto the streets now that they were defeated. Before this, there were already groups of paparazzi outside the residence stalking the family. Now that such a big scene had been caused, they had gotten enough materials for a breaking news tomorrow. Taylor Murray¡¯s ex-wife condoned guards to beat up old women! The paparazzi snapped photographs of every detail they could. In their opinion, the news of Taylor¡¯s ex- wife letting her guards beat up people was far more attractive than news of her being insulted. Once the footage was released the next day, it would surely be trending news. Chapter 918 Chapter 918 After being thrown out onto the street, the olddiesy on the ground and acted as if they were seriously injured. Somepassionate passersby called the ambnce, and even the paramedics furrowed their brows when they saw the scene upon arrival. Given the number of injuries, the medical cost could amount to over tens of millions! Sophia sent Roger to follow up on the matter before going back to the yard and continuing with the barbecue. With that, the shocking chaos hade to an end. Nevertheless, everyone was not in the mood to have the barbecue anymore after the whole episode. Sophia had stirred up a ho¡¯s nest! If Sandra was really the one who was behind this, she would surely go after Sophia and kick up a big fuss about the incident. Though Sophia had her strong family background as her support, the incident would still have a negative impact if the public made a big deal out of it. In fact, Sophia should¡¯ve just sent Michael and Sean to scare the evil crones away. This approach would definitely work and would avoid the troubles that might follow. However, Sophia thought her method was just fine. She couldn¡¯t be leaving them to continue ndering her in front of the residence, could she? To her, throwing the mob out was the best solution as it did not make sense to let them off even after they insulted her maliciously. Damn it, you motherf*ckers! Sure enough, Roger, who tagged along to the hospital, called Sophia momentster. He reported that the few old women could barely stand up and appeared to be severely injured. Their families demanded compensation and would not let the incident pass without apensation of at least tens of millions. Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s alright; just pretend you can¡¯t understand them and slip away. You can leave the other matters alone.¡± Meanwhile, the others were rendered speechless upon hearing Sophia¡¯s response. Following that, Roger managed to vault over the hospital¡¯s wall, sessfully avoiding the old women¡¯s families who blocked the hospital¡¯s entrance. However, this matter was not settled yet. In the afternoon, police officers came to the Edwards Residence and took Roger and a few other people away. Even Sophia was asked to go back with them to assist in the investigation. At that moment, Sophia was the only house owner left in the residence as Linus had left for the office and Cooper was busy finding his son. The house owner would definitely be held ountable now that their bodyguards had beaten someone up. And so, Sophia followed Roger and the others to the police station with Michael tagging along worriedly. As expected, upon arriving at the police station, they saw the old women¡¯s families gathered around fiercely, awaiting theirpensation. On the other hand, a huge crowd arrived at the Edwards Residence within two hours after Sophia left for the police station. A posh car stopped in front of the main entrance and Sandra got down, wearing a fur coat. Taking off her sunsses, she was amazed at the magnificent building behind the wall. She had heard about the huge residence at Riverdale and that it was owned by the Harper Family, the real estate magnate in Bayside City. The residence was a masterpiece created by a few generations of the Harpers upon their meticulous design and expansion, hence its magnificent appearance today. It was extremely spacious and resembled the size of a town park; every person who walked past the building was deeply attracted to it. She had heard through the grapevine that this was Taylor Murray¡¯s property and the film crew would asionally shoot some scenes at the residence, but it was given to Sophia after the divorce. It was only until recently that Sandra became aware of the existence of this magnificent building. But all of that did not matter, because Sophia and Cooper would soon lose this glorious residence. ¡°So this is the residence that you mentioned. It looks pretty good!¡± Gorgeously dressed up, Abbie too got down from the posh car as she took off her shades and marveled at the residence. The residence was surrounded by high and thick walls which looked ancient and noble, and had probably been there for over a hundred years. Behind the walls were pavilions surrounded by greenery, which furtherplemented the majestic building. It was indeed a marvelous spectacle! Abbie was amazed by the majestic and ancient residence in front of her. ¡°The interior is even better. Come on; let¡¯s go inside and take a look!¡± They sent their bodyguards to knock on the door while the two women continued toment on the magnificent residence. ¡°Be patient and this residence will soon be yours! No one in Bayside City deserves to stay in this residence except you!¡± Sandra fawned over Abbie as she observed her fervent expression. Abbie was extremely pleased by the adtion and she said triumphantly, ¡°I haven¡¯t even told Linus about that woman offending me. I let her off easily by only aiming for her residence. If my cousin bes aware of the matter, she would have to pay more than that!¡± Sandra¡¯s scheme was finally taking ce. She was determined to snatch this residence from Sophia as a price for her alpacas spitting on them. Now that Sophia was detained at the police station, she would not be able to secure this residence anymore. Furthermore, the agents that Sandra hired to stir up trouble were from an infamouspany run by the underground forces in Bayside City. Besides its ruthlessness, thepany even had strong connections and was supported by professionalwyers, so they were highly sought after to settle businesses that remained unresolved. Since she had decided to go after Sophia, she desired to get rid of her once and for all! Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. And then, this residence would belong to Abbie! As much as Sophia would not be willing to give in, she should know her limitations. Abbie would surely not let Sophia off if she refused to hand over the residence. After all, everyone in Bayside City had to obey Abbie Michel! Though this residence was deemed aspensation from Sophia, Abbie recognized Natasha¡ªthe lackey¡ªas the main contributor in this event. Nevertheless, Natasha had her own motives too. On one hand, she wanted to make use of Abby¡¯s power to punish Sophia; on the other hand, she desired to mingle with the socialites and celebrities through Abbie. ¡°By the way, what is Linus up to recently? I haven¡¯t seen him at any events.¡± Sandra asked casually while the bodyguards were knocking on the door. Obviously, Linus was her target. Having mentioned Linus, Abbie instantly became arrogant. ¡°He¡¯s been very busytely. As you know, he¡¯s the vice CEO of the Michel Group and the sessor of the family. My eldest cousin, Fass, has left him in charge of the business, so he has always been on the go. Even I can barely meet him!¡± Listening to Abbie¡¯s response, Sandra was anxious. She had been trying to meet up with Linus but to no avail, and she knew that things would be made easier through Abbie. As long as she appeased Abbie, she would have a chance to meet Linus for sure! Meanwhile, no one opened the door even after the bodyguards knocked for a long time. Beating around the bush, Sandra tried to trick Abbie into exposing more information. ¡°This residence will soon be yours. ording to the Cethosian traditions, moving into a house is a significant event and a housewarming party is a must. By then, you can take the opportunity to invite your rtives from Northern Europe to attend the banquet.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Tilting her chin, Abbie wore an arrogant look on her face. She was extremely fond of the residence and it would be an honor to stay in such a marvelous ce. She was determined to throw a grand banquet thereupon and have the members of the Michels over so that she could boast about the residence. ¡°By the way, you¡¯ve always been wanting to meet my niece, Lucile, don¡¯t you? Though I¡¯m her aunt, we have been very close to each other since we were young. She will definitely show up at my housewarming party and by then, I¡¯ll introduce her to you!¡± Sandra was overjoyed. Many other members of the Michels would surely show up at the banquet, including Linus and Lucile. That would be a golden opportunity for her and Vincent. Their n was to send the most outstanding members from the Mitchell Family to be married into the Michel Family. As a national champion who brought glory to the country, Sandra was well-known at an international level and had been well-received by the leaders of various countries when she went overseas. Besides, many politicians and celebrities with decent qualities had been courting her upon knowing she was single. Hence, she was extremely confident that she would be able to conquer Linus as long as she was given enough chances to approach him. Meanwhile, it would be Vincent¡¯s duty to conquer Lucile. For now, all they needed was a chance to approach the Michel Family. Chapter 919 Chapter 919 I have to get this house for Abbie. That¡¯s the only way Vincent and I will stand a chance! Finally, the door opened. A few bodyguards stood at the doorway; they used to work for the Mitchell family but now they worked for Cooper. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± A person came to the door and Sandra recognized him at a nce. ¡°Dimon, it¡¯s you!¡± Sandra had ordered Dimon to stab Faye to death in the past andter med it on Sophia¡¯s lion. He was left on the ind when it was bombed but waster taken in by Cooper, so Alex scratched his name off the genealogy book. Sandra didn¡¯t expect him to be at Cooper¡¯s ce. With a cold smile, Dimon asked, ¡°I¡¯m part of the Mitchell family. Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Sandra was infuriated. ¡°Traitor! You betrayed the Mitchell family!¡± Hearing this, Dimonughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; don¡¯t you know that this is also the Mitchell family?¡± The elders and genealogy books don¡¯t matter at all! The Mitchell family will only be whole with Cooper in it. Without him, the Mitchell family will surely fall! Sandra was furious and she ordered her few bodyguards to barge in and capture the traitor, Dimon. Seeing this, Dimon quickly retreated behind the door. Sandra¡¯s bodyguards had already rushed in and Sandra and Abbie followed in behind excitedly. They were going to use this opportunity to kick Sophia and Cooper out of the house and take this house as their own. Sophia is still at the police station right now and it will be hard for her to get out. Cooper isn¡¯t home either but if he is, I¡¯ll ask Abbie to drag him out of here! I¡¯m not a robber. Since Cooper and Sophia are part of the Mitchell family, their property should be controlled by the Mitchell family! The group of people rushed in and saw that there was a screen wall with a carved dragon and phoenix in the center. Situated behind the gates, it made the whole house look imposing. The screen wall blocked the sight of outsiders. It was only after they passed through the screen wall could they see what was inside. Right in front of them was the main building, which was an ancient, Western-style vi. It looked like it was built not long ago and its style matched the whole garden. Looking over at the archway on the left, they saw a small bridge, a river, and a pavilion. On their right were several yards, rows of wings, and a small forest. Land in Bayside City was really expensive. Even though the price of thisnd was not as expensive as Riverdale¡ªwhich was in the city center¡ªthe cost of building such arge garden that resembled a park was also staggering. This garden is amazing! Abbie and Sandra were amazed by the beauty around them and at that moment, they were even more determined to take over the ce! ¡°Get everyone out of here!¡± Sandra gave the order and the dozen bodyguards that she brought over immediately began to do their work. They rushed into the vi in front of them that seemed to be the main building. Sophia and Michael had already gotten a divorce. Furthermore, Cooper¡¯s daughter killed Irene so they had a falling out with the Fletcher family. They even offended Abbie and the Michel Family, so they had no power in Bayside City. I shall be the one who gets rid of thempletely! But unexpectedly, as soon as they rushed into the ce, the gates closed with a loud bang and it was quickly locked. All of sudden, Dimon, who had disappeared without a trace a moment ago, appeared with a group of men and instantly surrounded Sandra and the others. Sandra was shocked and thought that she had fallen into a trap. However, she noticed that Dimon only brought five men while she had a dozen bodyguards, so it was impossible for them to defeat her. In order to show her loyalty toward Abbie, Sandra acted like a qualified thug. When she passed through the gates, she pointed at the vi in the center and yelled, ¡°Take over that building and drive away everyone in this house!¡± The doors are closed anyway, so nobody will know what happens here. Besides, I have Abbie supporting me so I can do whatever I want! I¡¯m going to help my father chase away Cooper, who shouldn¡¯t be here in the first ce! Themotion in the garden was so loud that Cooper, who was on the second floor of the main building, could hear them. He had just returned home less than half an hour ago after heading out to search for his son for the whole day. Cooper did everything by himself because he didn¡¯t want to miss any news about his other child. Unfortunately, he did not manage to find anything. The nurse had died and they checked all of her past rtionships and even investigated eighteen generations of her ancestors, but they still couldn¡¯t find the Moore couple that she mentioned. Perhaps those people are not her rtives, but patients she met when she was a nurse. ording to Michael¡¯s investigation, the Moore couple were infertile. After hearing this, Cooper investigated the hospital again for infertile patients they received thirty years ago, but he still couldn¡¯t find them. Twenty-eight years ago, the small hospital in the suburbs of Riverdale didn¡¯t even haveputers and all the information was handwritten. Over two decades had passed and they were long gone, which was why Cooper had taken a different approach to find the Moore couple who had immigrated twenty- eight years ago. Even though he was the mighty Cooper Mitchell, it was still very difficult to find a baby boy who was secretly taken away twenty-eight years ago! The hospital could even be called a small clinic because they only had one doctor and three nurses. The equipment they had was outdated and it was impossible that they had surveince cameras. Back then, my darling Anna gave birth to my two children under such backward and crude conditions. How desperate she must have been to ask the nurse to take her baby away¡­ When all of that happened, I was detained in the Mitchell family house for half a year because I was heartbroken after Anna¡¯s departure. When I left the house half a yearter, I was apletely different person. I became ruthless and unsympathetic because the person who taught me to be kind and gentle had died right in front of my eyes. At that time, I didn¡¯t know that my darling Anna was giving birth to my two children in despair! This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. After Cooper returned home, he hid in the study and wasn¡¯t willing to see anyone. He cried silently as he looked at Annabel¡¯s ultrasound. My child, where are you? The door of the study opened quietly and a small head appeared at the door. Standing at the doorway, Carmen asked in a sweet voice, ¡°Grandpa, can Ie in?¡± Hearing her sweet voice, Cooper felt a strong surge of warmth fill up his pained heart. Although I haven¡¯t found that child, I found Sophia and Carmen, and that is the greatest constion in my life. Cooper wiped away his tears and smiled at Carmen. ¡°Come here, Carmen. Come to Grandpa!¡± Hearing this, Carmen ran over happily, followed by Judge, who had a headful of braids. Nathan, who also had two pigtails, stood outside the door. Cooper picked Carmen up and ced her on hisp. Looking at him, Carmen said happily, ¡°Grandpa, my brother came to see me!¡± Cooper nced at Nathan, who was standing outside the door. He was as cold as ever and wasn¡¯t close to anyone. Petting Carmen¡¯s head, Cooper said in a soft and doting voice, ¡°Your mother is not here, so I¡¯m afraid you have to stay home and y with your brother.¡± Carmen smiled and looked at him. ¡°Grandpa, I want to braid your hair.¡± Upon hearing that, Cooper was rendered speechless. When Sandra¡¯s voice could be hearding from the outside, Carmen was fully focused on braiding Cooper¡¯s hair. Cooper had a pigtail on each side of his head as he read through documents, silently bearing something a grandfather shouldn¡¯t bear. Carmen was really excited and she was even humming a tune. With a head full of braids, Judgey on the carpet and snored. As for Nathan, he silently stood in front of the bookshelves and read Cooper¡¯s books. In the past, Sophia collected many out-of-print books and she brought them wherever she moved. The books followed her from Vi No.8 to Vi No.2, and to this ce. Nathan nned to borrow two books back home to read that day. When Cooper found out that there were people causing trouble outside, he felt that it wasn¡¯t suitable for him to head out with two pigtails, so he took a look at the surveince tapes. He saw that the group of people outside the door was acting very arrogant. Abbie was standing tall and proud while Sandra yelled arrogantly, ¡°This is Miss Abbie from the Michel Family! You have offended her, which means you have also offended them! Miss Abbie is the cousin of Mr. Fass, the family head of the Michel Family, and he is very fond of her! Miss Abbie is of noble birth and she likes this house, so the Mitchell Family should be honored!¡± Chapter 920 Chapter 920 ¡°Miss Abbie and Miss Lucile grew up together and they are basically sisters! The Michel Family loves this house, so all of you should move out by the end of today!¡± Hearing this, Cooper was rendered speechless. He switched off the surveince tapes, fearing that it would be an insult to his intelligence. Fortunately, the sound instion of the house was great so they couldn¡¯t hear the sound outside at all. All Cooper could hear was Carmen¡¯s sweet humming and¡­ Judge¡¯s snoring. He nced at Judge in disgust, who was sleeping on the carpet with his tongue out. This dog is here to eat for free again! All of a sudden, Carmen asked, ¡°Grandpa, do you think Judge looks like a wolf?¡± ¡°No; he doesn¡¯t,¡± Cooper muttered. Carmen pouted her lips. ¡°I promised Stanley to let Judgey y the role of a wolf in Daddy¡¯s movie.¡± Upon hearing that, Cooper frowned. He had read the script before; naturally, it was based on a true story. Back when Mark hid in the snow mountains, there were packs of wolves there. They had to deal with even more ferocious enemies after dealing with the wolves so they had to keep every single bullet to fight their enemies, which was also why they could only use bays to fight the wolves and use as little ammunition as possible. It was like hell on earth¡ªthey not only had to watch out for the enemies who might attack at any moment, they had to be careful of the man-eating wolves! Theycked food and clothing and were always surrounded by danger. It was a miracle to have survived all of that! Many people couldn¡¯t afford to wait for Woody¡¯s reinforcements to arrive. Even if they didn¡¯t die from the enemy¡¯s attack, they would be eaten by wolves. Having no energy due tock of food, they were dragged into the snowy mountains and disappeared without a trace. Naturally, they had to include this in the movie. After all, this was an extremely tragic scene. The wolf packs in the movie would be made out of real wolves and special effects. Let Judge act as a wolf¡­ Cooper nced at Judge, who was sleeping with his legs spread wide apart and mouth wide open; there was even a pool of drool nearby. Cooper refused to let Judge be in the movie! However, Carmen pouted her lips and said grumpily, ¡°Grandpa, does Judgey really not look like a wolf? But I already promised Stanley. If Judgey doesn¡¯t look like a wolf, Daddy will definitely refuse¡­¡± Cooper frowned hard. How could he disagree with her? And so, he gritted his teeth and ignored his conscience as he replied, ¡°Of course Judge looks like a wolf! Judge is actually a real wolf! He¡¯s a Siberian wolf that is famous for pulling sleds so he¡¯s really tough! All he has to do is to show his true character to y the role of a wolf!¡± Hearing this, a smile appeared on Carmen¡¯s face and she said, ¡°When Daddyes home, I¡¯ll tell him that you said Judge looks like a wolf, so he will definitely not dare to say otherwise!¡± Cooper went silent. She probably knows that Michael will definitely refuse her so she came here to ask for my help. If I say Judge is a wolf, Michael won¡¯t dare to say otherwise. She¡¯s just as slick as her father! In order to please Cooper, Carmen decided to braid more of his hair. However, at that moment, the commotion outside was still ongoing. Sandra kept talking nonsense and said that this house was cursed, as if they didn¡¯t move out of here and give up the house to Abbie Michel, they would start a war and would be sinners. ¡°You should know how powerful the Michel Family is. It¡¯s not just them, the Fletcher Family, the Winston Family, and the Edwards are no match for them too!¡± Meanwhile, Dimon was silent and wasn¡¯t afraid of Sandra¡¯s threats at all. In fact, he wanted to burst out laughing. I didn¡¯t realize that I was once loyal to a family full of fools. Sandra is a ssic example of what it means to be blind and foolish! Dimon moved into this house with Cooper and realized that Linus Michel lived here too. However, Linus was really low-key and he directly entered the house from a secret garage door every day. Nobody had ever told Dimon about Cooper¡¯s rtionship with Linus. After all, Dimon was just a security guard of the outer courtyard, so he fulfilled his duty and didn¡¯t ask about his boss¡¯ affairs. However, he knew that Linus greeted Cooper as ¡®Fass¡¯. He also knew that other than ¡®Scarlett Mitchell¡¯, Sophia went by the name ¡®Lucile Michel¡¯. Dimon suddenly understood why Sophia and Michael didn¡¯t bother about getting their names in the genealogy book at all, and realized why they were disgusted by Sandra¡¯s provocation. A true lion will naturally ignore the provocation of a barking wild dog who doesn¡¯t know its ce! In their eyes, rather than using the family name to threaten others, it is better to crush enemies using their own strength. A lion will definitely stay silent when it wants to eat a wild dog and a lion¡¯s roar is meant to deter its opponent. It¡¯s obvious that a wild dog is not worthy to be a lion¡¯s opponent! Dimon crossed his arms and watched Sandra continue to spew out threats. However, no matter how threatening she was, he didn¡¯t let her through. ¡°Sorry, but this is a private residence. If you don¡¯t leave, we¡¯ll call the police!¡± Seeing that her dignity was being challenged in front of Abbie, Sandra felt humiliated. In order to show her extraordinary position in the Mitchell Family and prove that she had the power to be friends with the young madam of the Michel Family, she stopped talking nonsense and ordered her men to attack! ¡°Capture that betrayer and beat him to death!¡± Dimon was also tired from watching Sandra bicker and was about to attack. However, at that moment, they heard a knock on the door. ¡°Is anyone home? Open the door! I¡¯m back!¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Dimon nced at the surveince and saw that it was Sophia, Roger, and the others who were taken to the police station. Among the four men¡ªwho were all two meters tall and fully dressed in ck¡ªstood Sophia, and they were waiting for someone to open the gates for them. Dimon was confused¡­ Usually, they never entered the house through the front door and always came in through the garage, taking the elevator in the garage and going straight up into the house. People who walked through the front door were mostly guests, or uninvited, shameless people like Michael. Wasn¡¯t Sophia taken to the police station? Why is she back anding in through the front door no less? Moreover, it¡¯s just the few of them; where¡¯s Michael and Sean? In the end, Dimon decided to open the door. As soon as he did so, Sophia smiled as she crossed the threshold and entered. Roger was holding a few bags in his hands, as if he had juste back from a shopping spree. Sandra was shocked when she saw Sophia who suddenly returned. ¡°Why are you back so soon?¡± She had offended the Michel Family and was even involved in a huge trouble. How is she released so quickly? Sophia walked over slowly. Her sea-blue eyes looked calm and she flipped her long ck hair as she replied, ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of diplomatic immunity? That¡¯s why we were released!¡± Diplomatic immunity? Sandra nced at the men behind Sophia. Judging from their skin color, she knew that they were not Cethosian. Foreigners whomitted crimes in Cethos could not be judged, even if they were involved in a murder. Instead, they had to be transferred back to their country and judged ording to thews of their home country. Sandra had obviously never thought about this and she looked extremely furious. So what if she has diplomatic immunity? She had offended the Michel Family! Sophia¡¯s blue eyes were looking everywhere for someone. ¡°I heard that there is a good friend of Lucile¡¯s who grew up with her. Where is she?¡± Chapter 921 Chapter 921 Sophia really wanted to know when did she suddenly have a best friend that she grew up with. Her name, Lucile Michel, was a name that Cooper hade up with when they were returning to Cethos. This meant that she appeared out of nowhere and before her appearance, Cooper had always been bachelor with no children and no wives. Even the Michel Family only knew about Cooper¡¯s daughter and few have ever seen her. How can Abby be lucky enough to have grown up with me? ¡°You probably don¡¯t know this, but Abbie was brought up by the Michel Family and she is Miss Lucile¡¯s best friend!¡± Sandra deliberately raised her voice, afraid that Sophia couldn¡¯t hear her. She was a living example of a b*tch who relied on the power of others. Sophia nced at Abbie and noticed that she didn¡¯t look guilty at all. Instead, she looked rather confident, as if she had really grown up with Lucile and was her best friend. She has pretty good acting skills. Sophia¡¯s eyes looked around as she tried to guess at Abbie¡¯s intentions. Abby is definitely a liar. I don¡¯t even know when I suddenly had a best friend. Is Sandra being deceived by her, or are they working together to ckmail people? If it¡¯s thetter, their courage is admirable but if it¡¯s the former, then it¡¯s interesting¡­ However, no matter what, this house belongs to me and it¡¯s my name on the title. How can I let these two take away what¡¯s mine? ¡°Well, I¡¯ve met her now. People who can grow up together with Miss Lucile sure are extraordinary. Dimon, see them off.¡± With that, Sophia carefully stepped on the green stones in the courtyard with the new fur boots that she had just bought and walked toward the house. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Sandra suddenly grabbed at Sophia and she said in a serious tone, ¡°Sophia, didn¡¯t you hear what I just said? Abbie fell in love with this house. If you don¡¯t give this house up, the Mitchell Family, and even Cethos, will suffer! The power that the Michel Family has is beyond your imagination!¡± Sophia wanted tough. Even Cethos will have to suffer? I know a lot about the Michel Family¡¯s power. Although they have power overseas, they don¡¯t have much influence in Cethos. In the past, Cooper had no intentions of developing the power of the Michel Family, and only began to gradually develop the company in Cethos a few days ago. Even if the Michel Family has great development in Cethos, they are just a family. How would they dare to go against the world¡¯s most populous country? Sophia sped Sandra¡¯s hand that was holding her arm tightly and pushed it away. Then, she said, ¡°I know that the Michel Family is powerful, but this is Cethos. If I don¡¯t agree to give up this house, is the Michel Family going to send an army to forcefully take it from me?¡± The left corner of Sophia¡¯s lips curled upwards as she continued, ¡°If you really want to lead an army to take over this ce, please notify me beforehand. I¡¯ll obediently move out.¡± Even though Sophia wasn¡¯t sure whether Abbie and Sandra were partners or Sandra was being fooled, she was toozy to expose them. She just watched as the two of them continued to lie. Sooner orter, I¡¯ll settle these ounts and punish them for their crimes together! After pushing away Sandra¡¯s hand, Sophia walked toward the main building. All of sudden, she remembered something and without looking back, she announced, ¡°By the way, I have already dealt with the matter. Sandra, you¡¯ll be receiving the court¡¯s subpoena soon!¡± When Sophia walked past Abbie, she saw Abbie¡¯s eyes ring at her with resentment, contempt and anger, much like a superior staring at a lowly servant. Her makeup was really thick and the blue in her contact lenses was exaggerated. Staring at Sophia, Abbie said nothing. Sophia merely nced at her for a moment before she looked away and rolled her eyes. Seeing this, Abbie red at her with her thick brows raised, which made her look a little fierce. However, Sophia only took two steps forward before she heard Sandra give an order, ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk nonsense. Guards, drive everyone in this house out of here!¡± Sandra was determined to take over the house that day. After all, Abbie liked the house and as her pet, Sandra had to do everything she could to please her. After kicking Sophia and Cooper out of the house, Abbie would be pleased and no one would hold her ountable. To go against the Michel Family is to die! The dozen men that Sandra brought over immediately rushed forward and headed to the main building. However, Dimon, Roger and the others stood still and folded their arms as they waited for a show to happen. Meanwhile, Sophia continued to walk slowly toward the main building. She was wearing a cotton bodycon dress that showed off her slender figure. Then, she slowly raised four fingers and said, ¡°Siri, they brought four cars so just let four of them go. Take care of the rest.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, it was as if the air waspressed and the atmosphere became tense. The people from the Mitchell Family all felt a great sense of danger but they didn¡¯t know where it wasing from. Suddenly, the dozens of bodyguards dressed in ck that Sandra brought over fell to the ground silently. There was no sound, no resistance, and no struggle as they fell straight to the ground. Everything happened in one second. After taking a closer look, there were needle marks on their necks. The dozen of men fell to the ground in an instant and only Sandra, Abbie, and two other bodyguards were left standing. The people from Sophia¡¯s side were all watching the excitement, none of them harmed. It was a precise strike and was extremely urate. The Siri system was a residential defense system that Cooper installed. When someone uninvited broke into the house, the system would intelligently identify the person before carrying out a precise attack. This was something Cooper installed after being provoked when Carmen was captured by Celine. After the attack, Sandra and Abbie were shocked and they stood there stunned as they nced at the dozen men that had suddenly fallen to the ground. The other two bodyguards that were standing also turned pale and they hurriedly escorted Sandra and Abby toward the door. Sophia looked back and nced at the group of men on the ground. Then, she looked at the two bodyguards standing there but didn¡¯t say a thing. All of a sudden, two huskies rushed out of the building and greeted her enthusiastically. And so, Sophia petted the two dogs and went into the main building. Only the four people who were dumbfounded were left at the scene. Sophia was kind enough to leave them with four people, and two of them were bodyguards that could drag the others into the car. Content rights belong to N?velDrama.Org. Abbie trembled in fear as she opened the door and quickly ran out. When Sandra came back to her senses, her first reaction was joy. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re in big trouble now! Big trouble!¡± Sophia¡¯s alpaca spit on Abbie¡¯s head thest time, but Abbie may let her go for the sake of the house. However, this time, not only did she not get the house, she was even humiliated by Sophia. Abbie will definitely make her pay for the consequences. With that, Sandra ran away with Abbie. She was waiting for the violent storm toe because she knew that the Michel Family would definitely punish Sophia. Chapter 922 Chapter 922 There were only two of Sandra¡¯s bodyguards left at the scene and they didn¡¯t know what to do. It wasn¡¯t right for them to leave or stay. If they left, they couldn¡¯t just leave their otherpanions on the ground; they didn¡¯t look dead and it was as if they were in deep sleep. However, if they stayed, it was possible that they may be the ones who fall next. Fortunately for them, Dimon was kind enough to tell them what to do. After all, he used to work for Sandra¡¯s side of the Mitchell Family. He told the two bodyguards to drive the car to the back door and one by one, they carried the bodyguards on the ground into the car. Moreover, he even warned them to nevere back because they couldn¡¯t afford to offend this family. In the end, they drove away in two different cars filled with bodyguards who were sound asleep. They are horrifying! As expected, Alex is no match for Cooper! After this incident, a group of people who used to side with Alex chose to side with Cooper one after another. Cooper started from scratch after he returned to Cethos but now, he gradually became equals with Alex. After Sophia entered the house, she went into the living room and saw that Michael and Sean had returned. After they left the police station, they went shopping for a while before they came home via the garage. However, when Sophia heard that Sandra was here again, she hurried to go in through the front door to watch the excitement and have a look at Abbie, who imed that she grew up with her. Cooper was also in the living room, getting ready for dinner. Carmen was in her father¡¯s arms and Judge ¡ªwho had a head full of braids¡ªsat beside her, looking at Michael sincerely. Then, Carmen asked, ¡°Daddy, does Judge look like a wolf?¡± Michael frowned and nced at Judge, who had braids all over his head, before he gave an honest reply. ¡°No.¡± Hearing this, Carmen pouted and said, ¡°You¡¯re lying, Daddy. Grandpa said that Judge is a Siberian sled wolf!¡± Michael stole a nce at Cooper, wondering what trick Carmen had up her sleeve. However, since Cooper already said that Judge looked like a wolf, he couldn¡¯t say otherwise. Hence, Michael hurriedly nodded and replied, ¡°Yes; Grandpa is right.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen was overjoyed. ¡°Then can Judge y the role of a wolf in the movie?¡± Michael had a sudden realization. So that¡¯s what she wants. There are some dramas which like to mock the audience by using Samoyeds to y the role of a fox and huskies to y the role of a wolf. However, my movie naturally won¡¯t be such an eyesore so the director decided to use real wolves and special effects¡­ If Judge enters the set, he might be shredded to pieces! In a serious tone, Michael said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it is not suitable for Judge to act as a wolf!¡± Carmen continued to pout her lips and argued, ¡°But Grandpa said yes! Are you questioning Grandpa¡¯s judgement?¡± Michael quickly nced at Cooper, only to find Cooper ring at him sternly. Seeing this, Michael hurriedly looked away. This little girl is getting good at ying tricks! She knows that I won¡¯t agree so she asked Cooper to back her up! Cooper already said that Judge is a wolf, so how can I refuse? Of course I can¡¯t! Which was why Michael had no choice but to agree. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll be heading to the set the day after tomorrow and I¡¯ll bring Judge. I¡¯ll let him be a wolf in the movie!¡± A glint instantly appeared in Carmen¡¯s eyes and she said, ¡°Then, can I get Judge¡¯s pay first?¡± Michael frowned. This girl¡­ She is doing all of this for money, isn¡¯t she? He pulled out 200 from his pocket and said, ¡°Here¡¯s Judge¡¯s pay. Carmen, you¡¯ll have to help me pay it to Judge!¡± With that, Carmen happily took the money and left with the dog. After she walked out of the door, she stuffed a 100 into her pocket and gave Judge the other 100. ¡°Judgey, the other 100 is my referral fee.¡± With his tongue out, Judge licked his bill happily and carried it to his piggy bank in his cage. Meanwhile in the living room. Michaelmented, ¡°I will take Judge to the set but I can¡¯t let that silly dog y the role of a wolf. It will ruin the movie.¡± Cooper silently agreed. Raising a granddaughter is giving me a headache. In order to earn 200 from Michael, she was willing to drag me into this. The reason she wants Judge to y the role of a wolf is definitely because of the money. Knowing her, at least half of the 200 will enter her pocket. What a corrupt and shrewd capitalist! Cooper untied the braids on his head and put the colorful little rubber bands on his wrists. However, a few seconds after Michael finished speaking, he suddenly heard a long howl filled with griefing from the doghouse. Truth was, it was as ferocious as a wolf¡¯s howl. Michael was so shocked that he hurriedly covered his mouth. Oh no! I forgot Cooper installed Judge¡¯s ears and his hearing is so good, he can hear people snacking on the third floor all the way from the first floor. Judge probably heard Michael speak ill of him and he barked non stop as he rushed over, as if he was scolding Michael. Who are you calling silly? You¡¯re the silly one! Your whole family is silly! How dare you call me a silly dog? I¡¯ll bite your wife as revenge! Sophia just happened to finish changing intofy clothes. As soon as she entered the room, Judge rushed over and bit the bottom of her pants. ¡°What are you doing, silly dog?¡± Seeing this, Michael and Cooper stood up almost at the same time, rushing over to capture Judge. Although they were really noisy, the family looked harmonious. Judge ran around, as if he wanted to demolish the 5 million house. After chasing him for a while, they finally locked him in a cage. In the end, Sophia, Michael, and Cooper were covered in dog fur. They nced at each other, feeling speechless. Michael continued to stay in the house that day. After all, Cooper¡¯s attention was focused on finding his son and had no time to care about him at all, so he could boldly eat and stay in the house. The next day, Sophia and Michael jointly held a press conference and many reporters came. sh lights shone on them from time to time and camera shutters echoed throughout the room. The cameras captured Michael dressed handsomely in a suit and leather shoes, and Sophia, who had made the effort to dress up. The two of them looked like a great match and they even had their wedding rings on their fingers. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. As soon as the press conference started, Michael began to make a few statements about the recent events. ¡°For starters, Miss Sophia Edwards and I are not divorced. We have a harmonious rtionship and a daughter. We even n to have a second child. As for the spection of Sophia¡¯s identity, I hereby announce that Miss Edwards is also Scarlett Mitchell, the daughter of Cooper Mitchell, chairman of Mitchell Energy and Technology. Three years ago, she and I were injured from being trampled by a group of crazy fans. Later on, she went abroad to find her biological father, Mr. Mitchell, and changed her name. Because of what happened back then, I retired from the entertainment industry and didn¡¯t make any statement on this matter, ignoring the widespread news on the inte that Miss Edwards and I were killed.¡± Back then, news about his death was reported everywhere, but he ignored all of them. Instead, he searched the world for his wife and had no time to deal with the fake reports. As soon as Michael finished his statement, there was an instant uproar. Even though there were rumors about Sophia and Scarlett being the same person circling around Bayside City since a long time ago, it was just a wild guess. However, at that moment, Sophia had admitted it herself. The reporters were agitated. Then, Michael began his second statement. ¡°As for Miss Sandra¡¯s irresponsible remarks, I will hold her ountable! Miss Sandra Mitchell is a former world champion. I cannot imagine that she would make such remarks. Not only did she spread rumors about my divorce, she even insulted my wife in public and colluded with underworld forces to go to our house in Riverdale and insult my wife for no reason! As Sophia¡¯s husband, I¡¯m infuriated by Miss Sandra¡¯s actions and I have great doubts about her character!¡± Chapter 923 Chapter 923 Meanwhile in the Mitchell Residence, Sandra was watching the news and when she heard what Michael said, she was so furious she flung the remote control to the ground. I didn¡¯t expect the two of them to work together to deceive the public! It was clear that they were divorced. Are they trying to get back together? After giving it some thought, Sandra called Abbie. After all, Abbie was a member of the Michel Family. The Michel Family¡¯s power used to be focused abroad but now, it was gradually seeping into Bayside City. Nobody in Bayside City will dare to disobey Abbie. As long as she gives the order, we¡¯ll definitely find proof of Sophia and Michael¡¯s divorce¡­ At the press conference, the agitated reporters asked numerous questions about their children, Sophia, and about Sandra, but Michael didn¡¯t answer any of them and left in a hurry. After the press conference, Sophia and Michael came out of the parking garage. Michael pulled the door open for Sophia and there was a shining ring on his ring finger that was part of a matching set with the ring on Sophia¡¯s ring finger, as if they were destined to be together. After they got in the car, Michael looked at the ring and said, ¡°The rumors are still spreading and Sandra will definitely find a way to get proof of our divorce, so don¡¯t take your ring off for the time being.¡± Sophia nodded and lowered her head to admire her ring. This ring suits me very well. Michael and I must¡¯ve spent a lot of effort in choosing our wedding rings back then! Now that they had divorced, not only did they have to pay attention to Carmen¡¯s feelings, they had to protect Michael¡¯s public image, which was why they couldn¡¯t disclose their divorce. I wonder how Sandra found out about it. From now on, we must pay attention to not let the news leak out. After admiring the ring, Sophia said, ¡°I will follow up with thewsuit so you can be rest assured to go to the set and shoot the movie.¡± Michael nodded in response and the two of them drove home. Cooper wasn¡¯t home because he was out looking for his son. ording to Michael¡¯s subordinate¡¯s report, they were investigating couples who emigrated out of Riverdale twenty-seven years ago, which was quite a wide range of people. Michael nned to create some obstacles for Cooper and then appear when Cooper was at his most anxious and give some clues, effectively showing Michael¡¯s importance¡­ However, this n was extremely dangerous. Michael was dipping his toes in the water and he was at risk of being chopped into pieces. If Cooper found out about this, Michael would be shredded and be made into minced meat! This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. After dinner, Michael went back to the guest room when he received a call from Harry. ¡°Hey, hurry up ande to the set. You¡¯re the male lead. If you don¡¯te back, the whole crew will be a mess!¡± Harry already knew that Michael was up to no good and he was right. Michael was eating and living in Cooper¡¯s house like a shameless person again! I¡¯m sure Cooper is dying to get rid of him! ¡°I¡¯ll be back tomorrow,¡± Michael replied. ¡°You¡¯ll have to help me handle the situation first.¡± After he hung up, Michael logged onto his Messenger to chat with Sophia. Coincidentally, as soon as he opened the application, he saw that Sophia had sent him a message. ¡®Didn¡¯t you say that you would make an announcement about bringing Carmen on a reality show? Why didn¡¯t you?¡¯ Michael typed out a response, ¡®I won¡¯t announce it for the time being. Carmen is young and inexperienced, so I¡¯m afraid that she won¡¯t get used to it. If she doesn¡¯t like it, they will delete our scenes during post production. It¡¯s written in the contract that I signed.¡¯ Sophia sent him a red heart emoji as a reply. Seeing this, Michael sent another text. ¡®Furthermore, the goal of this press conference is to sue Sandra. If we make an announcement about Carmen, the attention of the reporters will inevitably shift to her.¡¯ The two chatted and they sent voice messages, texts, and even video called each other, talking about Carmen and Sandra. Sandra¡¯s behavior this time truly offended Michael. People thought that he had abandoned his wife and there were even some small papers that spread rumors Sophia had a chaotic life, saying that she had an affair and was kicked out of the house. In the end, Sandra couldn¡¯t stand it so she came forward to criticize them. However, Sophia felt that it was not the right time to take revenge on Sandra yet. She wanted Sandra to bepletely humiliated, just like how she treated Natasha back then! Sophia wanted to make her feel ashamed and ruin her father¡¯s reputation again and again! After Sandra came to Cooper¡¯s house and made a scene yesterday, there were some people from Alex¡¯s side who secretly came over to side with Cooper. Cooper will be the one to crush them upfront and I¡¯ll be the one who will trick them behind the scenes! Sophia had hired someone to investigate Abbie and found out that she had been really active in Bayside Citytely. Sandra is probably tricked by her. In order to please Abby, she has already spent a lot of money. I have a hunch that she will do something foolish soon! The two of them chatted until ten o¡¯clock when Sophia said, ¡°Carmen is asleep. I should go to sleep now.¡± Hearing this, Michael hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving tomorrow. I want to see you.¡± There was a long silence, as if she was putting on a facial mask. Finally, she typed out a response, ¡®I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea. It¡¯s my time of the month today.¡¯ Time of the month¡­ Seeing this, Michael instantly felt enthusiastic and a glint appeared in his eyes. He hurriedly stood up and typed on his phone with one hand while he put on his clothes with the other. ¡®It¡¯s okay; I¡¯ll be careful and I won¡¯t take things too far.¡¯ Sophia replied to him with a shy emoji and sent him a text. ¡®The doors are already closed.¡¯ Although she seems to be refusing me, I have a feeling that she secretly wants me there. Michael was so happy, he was on cloud nine. He hurriedly put on a pair of sneakers and walked out briskly as he typed, ¡®No problem. Turn off Siri; I¡¯ll be there soon.¡¯ After a while, Sophia replied, ¡®I¡¯ve already turned it off. It will take ten minutes for the system to restart. Come over.¡¯ Michael almost flew out of the living room and went outside to sneak around. It seems like no one is around. The Siri system covers the whole house and it¡¯ll notice even if a mouse appears in the corner, let alone a human. However, ten minutes was all Michael needed. When he arrived outside the mistress¡¯ residence where Sophia lived, he looked over the wall and saw faint light shining in a small room. That¡¯s where Sophia is! Unfortunately, the door was locked. Michael touched the cold door and nced at the high wall. It was toote to ask someone to pick the lock, so the only option was to jump over the wall. Michael estimated the height of the wall and calcted the best distance for a run-up. He took a few steps back, sprinted, and jumped onto the wall in a few steps. His new sneakers didn¡¯t even leave any footprints on the wall. Then, he silently stood on the wall and looked around the Edwards residence under the moonlight. Michael was familiar with every corner of this house because he often came here to shoot movies and have a holiday. Later, he sneakily jumped to the ground, climbed up to the second floor from the outside of the building, and went to the small room with the light on. Standing outside on the balcony, Michael straightened his clothes and knocked gently on the door. Soon, he saw a figure moving from inside the room and he even heard someughter. Michael turned around and nced at the wall that he had just leaped over, feeling pleased with himself. Fortunately, I have had some training so walls of this height aren¡¯t hard for me to jump over! Hmm¡­ Come to think of it, jumping over a wall to meet a beautiful woman is pretty heroic and artistic! Sophia soon came and opened the door. Even though the Siri system was turned off, the surveince cameras were still on. From the surveince, she saw Michael jump and climb the wall and she was moved. I won¡¯t take things too far¡­ Chapter 924 Chapter 924 It was November and it had started to snow in Bayside City, with snowkes falling from the sky all day long. When Michael climbed over the wall, he was covered in snow. As soon as Sophia opened the door, a gush of warm air blew toward him, taking the chills away from him. After they closed the door and went into the room, it felt warm and cozy. Then, he reached out and pulled her soft, warm body into his arms. This was the first time they had intimate contact since that incident happened to Carmen. He hugged that small warm body tightly, as if it was his entire world. Then, he gently kissed her face and her forehead, feeling her skin on his lips. Atst, he gave her red lips a kiss before gradually deepening the kiss. Feeling that long-lost warmth, he felt that he was a wayward traveller who suddenly found his home. It was only after a long kiss that Sophia said, ¡°Keep it down¡­¡± Michael looked around her small room, which was decorated quaintly while an incense was burning. Meanwhile, Carmen was sleeping next door. She had her own room and would sleep with her nanny at night. Sometimes, she woulde over and sleep with Sophia. Sophia had taken a shower and changed her clothes and was waiting for him. Seeing that, Michael didn¡¯t hold back and threw her fragrant body over his shoulder. Then, heid her on the bed and gently used his weight to press her down, as if she was a precious gem. It was midnight when Cooper¡¯s voice suddenly rang from downstairs. ¡°Darling, why aren¡¯t you asleep?¡± At the second floor in Sophia¡¯s room, Sophia suddenly tensed up and she tightened her arms around Michael out of reflex, who was on top of her. He had been rubbing against her but she had resisted letting him in. Taking that opportunity, Michael rushed in and invaded, startling Sophia and causing her to moan softly. However, she quickly held herself back the next moment, because she was afraid that Cooper would notice someone was in her room. That being said, she still had to answer so she raised her voice and replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep now.¡± Then, she turned off the night light, allowing darkness to devour the room. It was only then that Cooper¡¯s footsteps receded downstairs. Listening to the fading footsteps, Michael was finally bold enough to continue his business without scruples, whereas Sophia had her heart in her mouth for the whole night. The next day before the sun rose, Michael crept out of the room. On the other hand, Sophia was paralysed on the bed like a puddle of melted snow after a whole night of vigorous exercise, trying to recover. The maid even had to send breakfast to her room. When Cooper asked about that, Sophia used the weather change and snow as an excuse, iming that she didn¡¯t feel well and needed some rest. That day, Carmen woke up early and went to the dining room to have her breakfast. In the dining room, Michael and Cooper were staring at each other. If Carmen wasn¡¯t around, Cooper would have chased Michael off. Carmen wore a pink cotton-padded jacket and a cute kitty hat, all the while sucking milk from a bottle, enjoyment written on her face. Noticing that Cooper was ring at Michael with his huge eyes, she pouted her lips and asked, ¡°Grandpa, are you hating on my daddy again?¡± Cooper immediately tried to rify the situation. ¡°Of course not. Your daddy is my son-inw, which is equivalent to my son. Why would I dislike my own son?¡± Listening to Cooper¡¯s words that were gritted out from clenched teeth, Michael suddenly felt that he was taken advantage of. Yet, there was nothing he could do about it, so Cooper took advantage of that opportunity. Michael could only bow his head and eat quietly while holding Carmen in hisp. Snow was falling and it was the right time to shoot the scene in the snowy mountain. Therefore, he had to grab the opportunity to finish filming before the new year so that he could go home. Once he thought about spending two or three months without meeting his cutie-pie and darling, his heart felt bitter. His baby was the most adorable being in the world. Every part of her was bursting with cuteness and even her breath sparkled with pink bubbles, tempting him to hold her in his arms for the whole day, giving her kisses and lifting her up in the air. Michael hugged Carmen and stroked her head. At the same time, he kissed her cheeks and couldn¡¯t help but graze his chin against her face. At the side, Cooper watched them in jealousy while Michael hugged Carmen for more than ten minutes. When it seemed like he wasn¡¯t going to stop soon, Cooper couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and muttered, ¡°Enough. You can hand me Carmen and leave now!¡± He then reached out and snatched Carmen over, causing Michael to mouth some curse words at him. After finishing his meal, Michael finally left. On the other hand, Linus was trying to suppress hisughter the whole time, amused by how childish these two were. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. After Michael packed all his things, the car was ready as well. Walking out of the guest room, he nced at the mistress¡¯ residence. Sophia must still be asleep since she almost got wounded fromst night¡¯s activities, so she probably wouldn¡¯t send him off. Anyway, he didn¡¯t want his farewell to be too saddening, so he left dejectedly by car. In the car, Michael somehow had an intuition that he had forgotten to bring something. It was snowing again today and the yard was covered with a thinyer of snow. Since Cooper was still in the midst of an important mission to search for his son, he went out after bringing Carmen for a stroll around the yard. Coincidentally, Linus was going to pass by Carmen¡¯s new kindergarten when he went to work, so he dropped her off on the way. Only Sophia slept all the way to noon. When she woke up and pulled the curtains apart to look outside, it was still snowing. She then got down from the bed on her two aching legs that she couldn¡¯t keep closed. Not only that, she had to walk carefully with her butt perked. Even worse, it was torture to put on her pants as everything was burning in pain. After she got up and had some food, she realized that everyone had left home and she felt empty. But when she finished her meal, she suddenly heard a few grievous howls of a wolf. The next second, Judge rushed in wearing a flowery dress while howling unhappily at Sophia. ¡°Oh¡ªhaven¡¯t you left? Why are you still here?¡± Sophia patted his head. Last night, Michael promised to take him to shoot a movie. By right, Judge should be with him now since he had left, so why was Judge still here? Could it be that Michael had forgotten about him? Well¡­ It might be a good thing that Michael had forgotten. She couldn¡¯t imagine how ridiculous the film would be once it was aired, showing a husky among a pack of wolves. After all, that was a serious, heroic film so it shouldn¡¯t be degraded by Judge¡¯s dumbness. ¡°Alright, alright. He¡¯s gone and will be on the ne by now. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t make it this time. How about next time? Next time, you¡¯ll surely be cast in a movie as a wolf.¡± Sophiaforted the dog by patting its head and saying, ¡°I won¡¯t work today. Instead, I¡¯ll make a video of you and post it on Twitter so you¡¯ll be famous, alright?¡± Feeling indignant, Judge howled at Sophia and gobbled up a huge bowl of dog food at noon. Sophia thought that he was stuffing himself out of sadness but to her astonishment, he was filling himself with energy toter destroy the house. Knowing that he was abandoned, Judge went berserk and started to tear apart furniture at home after his lunch. He not only ripped the table, stool, sofa and carpet, he even chewed Sophia¡¯s shoes, shirt, dog and alpaca, causing Bubbles to whine and the alpaca to flee around the house. He was so mad that he even attacked his own sons, chasing them around the house and biting them. As a result of the dogs¡¯ fight, the floor was covered with fur. Not only that, Judge even attacked his beloved kitten, Chrysanthemum, and almost pulled all its fur out. Sophia knew that she was at fault but Michael had already left, and she couldn¡¯t possibly ask him to come back because of Judge. Therefore, she locked Judge in his cage to calm him down. Unexpectedly, he managed to chew through the cage bars and escape. He was like a ferocious wolf that ran out of the mountain, digging a hole through the door with its w that was as strong as titanium. There were holes everywhere, as if a groundhog was let loose in the house. Judge even rushed into the living room and scooped out Cooper¡¯s old tortoise from the huge fish tank in the living room and threw it into the pond outside. Sophia started to panic and immediately asked someone to scoop the tortoise from the pool. However, the pond was about one or two meters deep and once the tortoise was thrown in it, it couldn¡¯t be found. That caused fear to take over Sophia since the tortoise was Cooper¡¯s darling, which he had taken care of for many years! Chapter 925 Chapter 925 That tortoise was brought back by Cooper during a camping trip with the other Fletchers when he was young, and he had since secretly kept it in the Fletcher Residence. Later on when he left, he didn¡¯t bring that tortoise with him and left it and his cat with Mark, of which Mark took care of them for years on his behalf. The cat then bore a litter of kittens, whereas that tortoise was still that tortoise. After that, Sophia inherited that tortoise and took care of it for a few years. When she was captured by Phantom Wolf, Michael took over the responsibility and pampered it for another few years. Now that Cooper had returned, he had taken back the tortoise. It was a tortoise that had experienced all vicissitudes of life and was even older than Sophia! Since the tortoise lived in the house, it never hibernated but now that it was out in the snow, it must have decided to hibernate and there was no trace of it. To make things more difficult, the water in the pond wasn¡¯t stagnant and it was so cold that it could cut through the bone. In addition, it had almost frozen to ice. This was bad. Once Cooper found that his precious darling was gone when he came home, he would surely make Judge into a stew. Judge had lost his mind and tried tomit suicide by jumping into the pond, creating huge sshes of water. Everyone worked together to scoop him out of the water but as soon as he was out, he dashed into Sophia¡¯s room like a bullet. He even jumped up onto the bed, rolled under the nket and shook out his fur in the room! Words couldn¡¯t describe how frustrated Sophia was. After half a day of work, they managed to finally scoop out the tortoise and bathe the dog. They even cleaned the room and bed, as well as reignited the incense. After giving Judge a bath, he was locked in his dog house, whining and crying because Sophia couldn¡¯t hold it in and smacked his butt. Judge was so upset that no one could cheer him up, not even his beloved kitten. Worn out both physically and mentally, Sophia called Michael. ¡°Michael, where are you now?¡± She thought that he must have reached the set by now but to her surprise, Michael muttered, ¡°I was stuck in a massive traffic jam on the way to the airport once I left the city. When I finally reached the airport, I found out that flights are restricted today due to the snow, so our ne is not allowed to take off. Therefore, I¡¯m now stuck in the traffic again, on my way back to the city. There are a few idents along the way so the road is congested.¡± Sophia gasped in astonishment and asked, ¡°What will you do? Won¡¯t it dy the shooting?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°The route that the ne applied for is banned so it¡¯s impossible to take off today. Even the flights in the airport are restricted so most of them can¡¯t depart. I¡¯ve applied for leave from the film crew and they understand the situation. Besides, Celie is doing greattely, so everything¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you shoulde back,¡± Sophia advised. ¡°Judge made a ruckus at home because you forgot about him.¡± Michael paused for a while before he murmured, ¡°If Ie back, will you allow me to have some fun? I promise I won¡¯t take things too far!¡± Instantly, Sophia¡¯s face flushed bright red. Damn it! He was flirting with her over a call. Talking with Michael on the phone was like listening to the handsome male lead in a drama, his voice so maic it was rousing her desire. ¡°I hate you!¡± Sophia hung up the phone immediately. On the other end of the line, Michael ended the call with his face glowing radiantly. Looking at his phone¡¯s wallpaper, he couldn¡¯t help but smile. Meanwhile, Daniel, who was sitting opposite him, was speechless. In reality, Michael didn¡¯t go to the airport. Instead, he went to Reverie Mountain. The mountain was covered in a vast expanse of white snow and opposite him sat Daniel, whom Michael hadn¡¯t met for a long time. One third of a year, Daniel would be in Bayside City while another one third of a year, he would be travelling around the world. As for the remaining four months, he would stay on Reverie Mountain. When he heard that Cooper came backst year, he packed all his things and fled overnight. Recently, there was a rumor that Cooper liked to chop up humans into minced meat to make eggnt with minced meat. That further forced Daniel to hide in fear. Lately, he felt that the incident was blown over so he finally had the guts to secretly appear. Even so, he only dared to hide himself in Reverie Mountain. His master passed awayst year, so he hade back to take over Reverie Mountain¡¯s business and recently, the business was reopened secretly. Yet, he didn¡¯t dare to open it publicly and had his heart in his mouth the whole time, afraid that Cooper would rush up the mountain and chop him up into a thousand strips of meat. Today, Michael purposely traveled up the mountain to meet him and exined his objective. ¡°My friend, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you but this is not an easy task!¡± It turned out that Michael, that jerk, asked him to go down the mountain and fool Cooper into marrying her daughter to him! He was already hated by Cooper for his whole life by selling his daughter for 80 thousand. Therefore, showing up in front of him would be equivalent to digging his own grave! Taking a sip of the fragrant tea, Michael said, ¡°I noticed that Cooper ced a statue of God of Wealth at home recently and he even burns incense every day. I think that he still believes in god and spirits. You¡¯re great at this and you have the highest prestige in this matter. Besides, there¡¯s history between the Levine Family and Cooper so if you take this matter into your hands, you¡¯ll get twice the result for half the effort.¡± Back when Cooper was born, he actually had a twin but that baby died prematurely. Afraid that the other baby wouldn¡¯t survive, Woody went up the mountain overnight to find Daniel¡¯s grandfather and requested for a safety amulet. He followed Old Master Levine¡¯s instructions and found Cooper a godfather that could protect his life, which turned out to be Mark. The ancestors of the Levine Family were distinguished people. During the former feudal era, they were the teachers of the states and imperial astronomers. Even after the former dynasty ended, they were still extraordinary people; even the founding ceremony date was set by Old Master Levine. The Levine Family also peacefully weathered through the few superstition abolishing activities in Cethos. If Daniel took charge of the matter, it was impossible for him to be a dish of eggnt and minced meat. After all, Cooper wore the amulet from the Levine Family in the past and he attached great importance to these superstitious matters now. Therefore, he wouldn¡¯t harm Daniel. However, Daniel rejected his request without even giving it a thought. ¡°No way. I¡¯m scared!¡± Hence, Michael had to resort to both coercion and bribery. ¡°I¡¯ll renovate your temple. Plus, I¡¯ll shoot my next movie here and advertise this ce for free. I¡¯ll also build another two cable cars up the mountain for you.¡± Unfortunately, money wasn¡¯t tempting to Daniel because he had countless sponsors for his temple. In fact, all the wealthy tycoons in Bayside City would kneel and beg him to ept their money. In the end, Michael took out his phone and opened Judge¡¯s Twitter. Then, he showed Daniel the video where Judge was ripping apart the house that was posted by Sophia. Good gracious! That dog bit everything that was in its way and even chewed through the steel cage. He was so strong when he went berserk that even a few muscr men couldn¡¯t control him. Everything in Sophia¡¯s house was broken and torn to pieces. As expected from a husky, it was like a demolishing machine. While Sophia was recording it, Judge destroyed another steel cage. Michael threatened, ¡°If you don¡¯t agree, this dog will appear in your temple tomorrow.¡± Daniel was speechless as he looked at his wooden temple, which would definitely not withstand Judge¡¯s destruction, and agreed reluctantly. After receiving Daniel¡¯s answer, Michael left the mountain and headed toward the city center. From the very beginning, he hade up with a bunch of excuses to go back and spend the night. Apparently, luck was on his side so he had a solid reason to go and spend the night, because he needed to get the dog. After going down the mountain, he went back to Riverdale and spent some time at thepany. As soon as he was done checking his endorsement progress, he went to fetch Carmen from the kindergarten and by the time he got home, it was just in time for dinner. When he reached home, Judge howled and rushed up to him. As soon as Judge pounced on him, he whined as if he suffered from great indignation. Seeing that Michael was here again, Cooper knitted his eyebrows and asked, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, why are you here again?¡± Hugging Judge, Michael smiled politely and replied, ¡°Sophia asked me to get the dog. Besides, my flight is restricted today so I can¡¯t take off, hence my presence.¡± Cooper threw an icy look at that stupid whining dog. He knew that Michael did that on purpose just to have an excuse toe back again! Michael could leave his dog behind today and tomorrow, he would forget his ID card, wallet or even himself! Regardless of anything, he wouldn¡¯t leave. When it was dinner, Michael rolled his eyes and asked calmly, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, how is the progress of finding your son?¡± Before Cooper could answer, Carmen, who was in Linus¡¯ arms, corrected him sternly, ¡°Why are you calling him Mr. Mitchell? You should call him Daddy!¡± All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Chapter 926 Chapter 926 Call Cooper his dad? How could he do such a shameful thing? However, Carmen stared at Michael vigntly, causing him to be in an awkward position. All this while, he had been trying his best to create a perfect family atmosphere for Carmen, where all family members loved and cared for each other. He felt that children would only grow happily under that harmonious atmosphere. Seeing that Michael refused to call Cooper ¡®Daddy¡¯, Carmen pouted her lips and asked, ¡°Did you and Mommy really have a divorce?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Michael immediately replied. ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± Out of anger, Carmen put her feeding bottle down and argued with Michael, ¡°Then why don¡¯t you call grandpa ¡®Daddy¡¯? Even our neighbor Luna¡¯s father calls Luna¡¯s grandfather ¡®Daddy¡¯!¡± Furrowing his eyebrows, Michael looked at Cooper while Cooper looked back at him. Atst, Michael bit the bullet and said, ¡°Dad!¡± Upon hearing that, Cooper was utterly disgusted. He refused to have such an old son! The feeling of being called a dad by someone only a few years younger than him was indescribable and absolutely disgusting! Noticing the disgust that was hidden in Cooper¡¯s eyes, Michael scolded him inwardly. How dare he feel disgusted after receiving such honor? How rude of him! Since young, he had never liked Cooper because he always set himself above the masses, suffocating his peers with his superiority. Now, he disliked him even more but because he was Sophia¡¯s father, he forced himself to grow fond of him no matter how much he hated him. Michael¡¯s acting skills were superb and it seemed like he was very willing to call Cooper dad. Seeing that, Carmen was satisfied and she continued to drink her milk. After that awkward moment, Michael and Cooper got down to business. ¡°Actually, I think that you should change your method of finding your son. Why don¡¯t you go to the mountain to burn some incense, worship gods and read your own fortune? Perhaps you¡¯ll receive some hints¡­¡± All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Annoyed, Cooper knitted his eyebrows and said, ¡°Can you pay attention to your food, Mr. Fletcher?¡± Michael shut his mouth and stopped talking, afraid that he would expose his intentions. It would be disastrous if Cooper realized what he was up to. However, Carmen got mad. She put down her bottle again and shouted angrily at Cooper, ¡°Mr. Fletcher? He¡¯s Mikey!¡± Michael was rendered speechless, and so was Cooper. Carmen continued, ¡°Even my forefather calls Daddy ¡®Mikey¡¯, so you must call Daddy ¡®Mikey¡¯ too, Grandpa!¡± Seeing that Cooper refused to obey, Carmen pouted her lips and asked, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t you love Daddy?¡± Again, Cooper gave Michael a disgusted look. Him? Mikey? He must have watched too many Mickey Mouse cartoons! Perhaps Old Goofy would suit him better! Besides, love him? That would be impossible! However, being stared at by Carmen with her sparkling eyes, Cooper had no choice but to swallow his shame and disgust while saying, ¡°Mikey Fletcher, you¡¯d better rest early after you have your meal. Tomorrow will be a good day and it¡¯ll be snowing at night, so make sure to leave early and have a safe trip.¡± He was hinting Michael to get lost as soon as he could! With that, Cooper finished his food early and left. Behind him, Michael beamed with delight when he said, ¡°Dad, you should eat more!¡± Cooper muttered, ¡°I have no appetite.¡± After worshiping his God of Wealth and checking on his darling tortoise, he went into his study. Sophia hade homete. When she rushed over from the mistress¡¯ residence, Cooper had finished his meal. Therefore, she didn¡¯t know what took ce and thought that Cooper didn¡¯t feel like eating because he hadn¡¯t found her brother. Sighing, she murmured, ¡°I wonder where my brother is and what he looks like¡­¡± Looking at her dejected face, Michael wished it could be settled soon too. He wanted them to be united as a family, siblings as well as a father and son. However, Cooper seemed to be determined to block him out of the family so he had no choice but to harden his heart and cook up a plot on this matter. Therefore, Michael quickly hinted at Sophia. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find any clue when I tried to find him for almost two years back then but I went to enquire about the future at the temple, it is said that you and your brother are destined to be reunited. So, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Sophia was interested in the temple that he mentioned. ¡°Temple? Which temple? Is it effective?¡± Michael nodded repeatedly. ¡°It¡¯s amazingly effective. If you¡¯re free someday, you may go there and burn some incense or ask about your future. Perhaps it would be helpful. Look at Dad; he¡¯s worshipping the God of Wealth every day.¡± Sophia took it to heart. She¡¯d rather believe it was true rather than the opposite. After all, it didn¡¯t hurt to say some prayers. After dinner, she bumped into Dimon on her way out, so she asked, ¡°Is there any temple around Bayside that¡¯s effective?¡± Dimon replied without hesitation, ¡°Reverie Mountain¡ªit has always attracted arge number of pilgrims. ¡± After pondering, he added, ¡°If you are looking for a temple that¡¯s further, you may visit Dragon Mountain. There¡¯s a mountain top and the Buddha in that temple is effective too, attracting many pilgrims in recent years. ¡± Dragon Mountain¡­ Sophia felt that the name rang a bell. After pondering, she realized that it was her business which she coborated with Daniel. In her work diary, the brilliant people and the strategic location of Dragon Mountain caught her fancy back then so she applied for its development rights and undertook the contract for the entire mountain top. She then developed a nursing home, a holiday vi and a rejuvenating program on the mountain top. She also renovated and expanded the temple that was once upied by only two or three monks. In these years, the business on the mountain prospered and grew enormously under her coborating partner, Daniel, as well as Michael¡¯s management. During her previous meeting with Daniel, he firmly refused to have a meal in her house. Speaking of which, Reverie Mountain belonged to him too. Perhaps she could ask him for some privilege. Sophia made a mental note and brought the topic up when everyone gathered around to watch television that night. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s visit Reverie Mountain and ask about our future. It might be useful!¡± Cooper didn¡¯t believe these superstitions in the past but after going through countless ups and downs lately, he started to think otherwise. Perhaps everything had its own destiny, just like how he got a daughter out of nowhere. It might be better to ask about it rather than not asking at all. Besides, Reverie Mountain was the Levine Family¡¯s territory and that family had always been a magical existence in Bayside. Although it wasn¡¯t as powerful as the Four Great Families, it had a mysterious prestige. The current person in charge of the Levine Family was Daniel and he was the one who sold his daughter for 80 thousand. After Sophia came back, she seemed to have had contact with Daniel but Daniel didn¡¯t dare to appear in front of Cooper. Therefore, Cooper hadn¡¯t had a chance to meet him! A fierce look appeared in Cooper¡¯s eyes as he said, ¡°Alright; we¡¯ll check it out.¡± Overjoyed, Sophia added, ¡°Oh¡ªI heard from Dimon that Dragon Mountain in the South is also effective. Plus, it¡¯s my business so we might as well visit there too. I can take this opportunity to inspect the progress of my business.¡± Looking icy, Cooper agreed. On the other hand, Michael didn¡¯t dare to say a word throughout the conversation and pretended to watch the movie. Meanwhile, Carmen was braiding his hair whereas Judge was staring at him with ring eyes. The dog even waited outside the door when Michael went to the toilet, afraid that he would abandon it. After Sophia and Cooper ended the conversation, the family continued to watch television. All of them were usually very busy but they would still gather around and watch television together every night after dinner, even if they were just around to pat their cat, dog, alpaca, or just to y with their phone. When Michael knew about their habit, he would show up on time every day, hoping that they would get used to his presence. Carmen was trying her best to braid her father¡¯s hair. After that, she started to paint Michael¡¯s nails. Michaely down while she yed with him. When he got the remote control, he deliberately changed the channel to the movies, where his old film ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ was airing. Everyone was forced to watch his good-looking figure. During themercial breaks, he changed the channel to the news, which was coincidentally reporting the financial news. ¡°Due to the series of false statements said by the daughter of Mitchell Group Sandra Mitchell, also known as the former champion of Universal Games, the shares of the Mitchell Group have been plummetingtely¡­¡± Chapter 927 Chapter 927 The screen then changed to the scene where a group of reporters besieged Sandra. ¡°Miss Mitchell, what do you think about Mr. Taylor Murray¡¯s usation of you? Do you think that he has falsely used you?¡± ¡°Miss Mitchell, you¡¯ve been reportedly summoned by the police for hiring illegal forces to insult and hurl abuses at Miss Sophia. Do you have anyments regarding this issue?¡± ¡°Do you feel guilty for causing the plummeting of the Mitchell Group¡¯s shares due to your actions?¡± ¡°What do you have to say regarding the video of you humiliating Miss Sophia at Pourl?¡± Wearing sunsses, Sandra hurried to the car under her assistant¡¯s protection and hid inside. After that, she didn¡¯t show up again. The screen showed the scene at Pourl that day. After Sandra heard that Sophia left without inheriting a penny, she came to unt her victory. She even cooked up stories about Michael dating someone and vividly described their sex postures. Then, she mercilessly mocked a divorced and penniless Sophia. Sandra¡¯s words were disgusting and heartless, which instantly tainted her reputation as a former national treasure athlete. Then, the screen smoothly transitioned to the video where Sophia and Michael coborated in a press conference for revenge. Some poprments on the inte were even shown on the screen and they were all cursing Sandra. ¡®The former champion of Universal Games, the ambassador of Cethos¡¯ Women and Children Association has always appeared as a caring and amiable public figure for the past four years. Unexpectedly, she¡¯s reeking of feudalism like an old woman from the former dynasty. I can¡¯t imagine how she could say such things as a public figure.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t forget that she¡¯s also the president of the Women¡¯s Federation, the top ten outstanding women representatives of Cethos and the ambassador of Feminist Organization. On top of that, she¡¯s a public figure that has always been active in women and children charities. It¡¯s shocking that a feminist like her would humiliate and hurl abuses at a penniless, divorced woman.¡¯ ¡®Young Lady Mitchell of the Mitchell Group? A nobledy of Bayside? It¡¯s definitely bullsh*t because she¡¯s clearly a b*tch with a foul mouth!¡¯ ¡­ Since the most interesting part was shown, Michael immediately changed the channel back to his movie. After seeing that, a smile bloomed on Sophia¡¯s lips. Not bad. That is what I was aiming for. Suing Sandra and gettingpensation from her wasn¡¯t Sophia¡¯s final motive. She wanted to ruin Sandra¡¯s image¡ªthe famous woman of Bayside and the former world champion that the Mitchell Family had invested so much in developing. Now, Alex had lost to Cooper in every aspect so he could only exploit his daughter, Sandra, who had a few halos on, such as the world champion, the national treasure athlete and the outstanding women representative of a few fields. Once Sandra¡¯s reputation was ruined, the reputation of Alex¡¯s family line would copse as well. In the past, Alex acknowledged this illegitimate daughter and directed his own show of swapping his daughters, chasing his real daughter out and swapping her with Sandra, who was a world champion. That caused the shares of the Mitchell Family to skyrocket, which in turn stabilized his position. Now that Sandra was ruined, Alex¡¯s family line would be affected too. This is a great opportunity¡­ The adult¡¯s world was tooplicated for Carmen toprehend. Hence, she was painting her father¡¯s nails seriously, though the oue was dreadful. Beside them, Judge¡¯s four paws were painted and he was lying on the floor, ashamed to meet anyone¡¯s eyes. Sophia looked at Carmen¡¯s adorable figure, her heart going soft. She then took out her phone to record a video of the small figure. In the video, only Carmen¡¯s back and Michael¡¯s red nails could be seen while she painted the nails seriously. Her face was not revealed, whereas Judge was included in the video. Since Carmen would only be officially revealed to the publicter on, her face was kept concealed at the moment. After the video was taken, Sophia happily added a beauty filter and a pair of animated cat¡¯s ears. Then, she uploaded it to Judge¡¯s Twitter. As soon as the video was uploaded, Twitter¡¯s servers exploded. Fans were shocked to see Michael with braided hair, sitting there while a little girl painted his nails diligently. Not only did he attract much online attention, the lolita also garnered much interest from the audience. It was obviously an announcement that Taylor Murray had a child; most importantly, he had a daughter. The fans were overjoyed because their idol¡¯s baby was equivalent to their baby. Soon enough, their national idol would be promoted as the national old father-inw. Sophia had been holding her phone for a long time, reading the fans¡¯ments. She realized that Michael¡¯s braid and Carmen¡¯s little back stole Judge¡¯s halo although this ount was about her cute pets. During their daily hour of family time, Cooper would usually tease his tortoise, Linus would pat the dog, Michael would have a makeover by Carmen and Sophia would y with her phone. At ten o¡¯clock, it was time to sleep so everyone was dismissed. Sophia then carried Carmen to her mistress¡¯ residence while Michael went back to his guest room. ¡°Linus,e here; I have something to say,¡± Cooper said to Linus solemnly. Linus followed Cooper to his study and the atmosphere was extremely stern and serious. Cooper spared him the suspense and got straight to the point. ¡°Linus, if my son is found, your status in the Michel Family will definitely be affected.¡± Linus was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect that Cooper would bring this up now. However, if he was being honest, he had anticipated this when he learned that Cooper had a son. He was adopted by Cooper. Although his status was Cooper¡¯s brother, he was more like his son and Cooper had been painstakingly nurturing him as his sessor. However, if Cooper¡¯s real son was found and was lucky enough to inherit his extraordinary intelligence and tricks, Cooper definitely wouldn¡¯t treat his son shabbily. Bringing back Sophia had already greatly affected Linus¡¯ status in the Michel Family. If Cooper¡¯s son was found, it would have an even greater impact on him. As an adopted brother, it was only reasonable for him to abdicate and make way for the real sessor when the time came. Although Linus felt down- hearted, that was the fact and he couldn¡¯t change it. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Patting his shoulder, Cooper said in a fatherly tone, ¡°Even so, I¡¯ve seen all your hard work and achievements in these years, Linus. Even if he¡¯s my son, I won¡¯t let him easily take over your achievements that you worked so hard for. It¡¯ll be a fairpetition between the three of you.¡± Upon hearing that, Linus¡¯ eyes became teary. Although Cooper was his brother, he had always treated him as his father. Linus was just an adopted child and wasn¡¯t rted to Cooper in any way. Yet, Cooper cared for him like his own and taught Linus everything he knew, painstakingly nurturing him. He even trusted him and allowed him to take over the Michel Family. Now that his biological children had returned, he still put Linus on the same level as his children. Linus nodded in response. Surely, he was afraid to lose all he had now but he was even more afraid that one day when that person returned, he would snatch everything from him, especially his family. Cooper sighed while looking at Linus. How nice it would be if Linus was his biological son! Yet, he knew that it was impossible. Chapter 928 Chapter 928 He had used up all his luck when his daughter appeared out of nowhere so he bet that finding his son would be impossible. Besides, Linus and Annabel didn¡¯t look the same at all and he was so much more differentpared to her. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Back then when he inadvertently saw him on the television, where he was invited by the television station to solve a ternary problem on the spot, he watched the cruellest farce in the world on the screen. A genius was made fun of on the scene and was even watched as if he was a circus monkey. Since that was a live video, Cooper rushed to the television station immediately and bought him from his parents with a few million. That poor child was sold countless times before this. After Cooper brought him back, he found him a pair of adoptive parents and gave him an identity as well as a perfect family. Gratefully, Linus didn¡¯t let him down and grew up to be a perfect sessor. He invested all his love and effort in Linus so even if his son returned, he would surely protect Linus. In his eyes, a wless sessor that he nurtured personally was as important as his long lost son. Patting Linus¡¯ shoulder, Cooper said earnestly, ¡°If Sophia and her brother return to the Michel Family, your status will surely be affected. Therefore, I hope that you¡¯ll marry Sophia.¡± Linus was shocked. ¡°Fass, this is¡­¡± Cooper knitted his eyebrows. ¡°Are you forsaking my daughter for having a past marriage and a child from her preceding marriage? ¡± Linus immediately replied, ¡°Of course not. But Sophia and Michael¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention his name!¡± Speaking of Michael, Cooper¡¯s eyes were filled with disappointment. In the past, he once thought that Michael could bring Sophia happiness but he was wrong. Michael was a troublemaker and he would only bring trouble to his two darlings. He then patted Linus¡¯ shoulder again and said solemnly, ¡°To me, you and Sophia make the perfect couple. You¡¯re the best for her and if you marry her, your status in the family can be stabilized and no one will threaten it anymore.¡± Linus was indeed tempted. Since young, he worked hard and yearned to be acknowledged by Cooper and the Michel Family and for that, he worked a hundred times harder than anyone else. He wanted to be a real Michel whom everyone acknowledged. He also wanted to be with Sophia and protect her forever so she wouldn¡¯t be hurt at all! That night, Linus was haunted with nightmares, where Sophia was crying in front of him. He would dream of the park thatte night where she was shivering in the frosty wind. Even her tears almost froze when he wrapped his arms around her body, which was as cold as ice. Sometimes, he would dream of that strange luggage that she was stuffed into and brought away. When he walked up to it and gently opened the luggage, she was curled up inside and couldn¡¯t even talk from the coldness, helplessness and desperation written all over her face. He even dreamed of the day when she was brought back from Africa. Her skin was severely infected and she was like a ball of rotten, breathing flesh. She was literally at death¡¯s door. In his sleep, Linus couldn¡¯t stop crying and grimacing in unbearable pain. Will you allow me to protect you for the rest of your life? Late at night, everyone that should be asleep had fallen asleep, yet those who were thirsty remained wide awake. After almost a night of flirting on Messenger, Michael finally received a request from Sophia to give her a ¡®rub¡¯. Hence, he immediately changed into convenient clothes and a pair of sneakers before sneaking into the dark. Sophia restarted Siri, which bought him ten minutes. ncing at the dumb husky that was sound asleep below his bed, Michael sneaked out the room. Unfortunately, Judge was surprisingly cautious that day. As soon as Michael moved, he awoke and when he noticed that Michael was secretly walking out, he thought that he was abandoning him again. Therefore, he barked loudly while running after him. His bark was so loud that it triggered the voice-controlled light outside the guest room. Damn it! Startled, Michael retreated and held Judge¡¯s snout while exining in a low voice, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯m just going to meet Carmen¡¯s mom, so stop barking!¡± Once this dumb dog barked, the entire house would be awakened! Fortunately, Judge stopped barking but he followed Michael closely. He was afraid that Michael would leave him behind and not bring him to the film studio to shoot movies. After Michael stepped out of the room, he looked around furtively. Once he made sure that no one was around and Siri was turned off, he dashed toward the mistress¡¯ residence and climbed up the wall in just three steps after a short run. He did that skillfully, swiftly flying over the wall andnded on the ground perfectly, causing a ssh of snow and dirt. However, when hended and turned back, he saw Judgee out from the dog hole, following him closely. There was a dog hole! Michael instantly felt that he wasted his energy in climbing over the wall. It was snowing tonight and the wall was slippery. Looking at the dim light on the second floor, Michael knew that Sophia must have bathed herself, waiting for him to go to her. The problem was, he couldn¡¯t make it up the wall. Ten minutes were almost up and Siri would be restarting. Once it restarted, it would immediately notice him, who had climbed over the wall. By that time, Cooper would surely rush out and kill him. No matter how anxious Michael was, he just couldn¡¯t open the door nor climb up the wall. He wanted to tell Sophia to let a rope down but it was toote. At the side, Judge saw that Michael panicked like an ant on hot bricks and Judge seemed to look down on him. Then, he turned back and easily found the dog hole. After that, he repeatedly walked in and out of the hole while intermittently ncing at Michael. Looking at the dog hole, Michael hesitated for a long time and atst, he decided to crawl through it. It sounded interesting to climb the wall for a moment of pleasure but it definitely sounded dumb to crawl through a dog hole. However, that was a better option rather than getting killed by Cooper on the spot after noticing him. Biting the bullet, Michael followed Judge and crawled through the dog hole. After Judge entered the door, he walked up the stairs openly and found Sophia¡¯s room. Then, he rudely kicked the door with his paws as if he was saying ¡°I¡¯m here. Open the door!¡± Meanwhile, Michael furtively went in, afraid that he would be caught. As soon as Sophia opened the door, he immediately squeezed through the gap and shut the door. At that exact moment, ten minutes was up and Siri was restarted and it began to scan the entire Edwards Residence. It was a 24-hour surveince system, which wouldn¡¯t miss a spot. Once it detected anything unusual, it would directly report it to the main system and inform the owner. Then, it would urately fend off the intruders ording to the owner¡¯s instruction. Once Michael went in, he closed the door and turned around. The next second, he hugged Sophia¡¯s tender body close, held onto her waist and lifted her up. Then, he pressed her onto the bed. The clock was ticking and they didn¡¯t have much time! Both of them were glued together and they rolled around on the bed. Before getting divorced, this activity could be referred to as paying taxes; after divorce, it was called an underhanded transaction. The former sounded boring but thetter sounded exciting! In the heat of the moment, Sophia opened her eyes and saw a pair of blue puppy eyes staring at her. Judge was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at them without moving an inch. His blue eyes stared at a half naked Sophia. ¡°The dog is here¡­¡± She murmured as she nudged Michael, who was on top of her. Turning to look at Judge, Michaelmented, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. He¡¯s a dumb dog that doesn¡¯t know a thing.¡± Both of them continued their erotic activities but Sophia somehow felt weird. However, she couldn¡¯t figure out what was weird in that surging pleasure until she saw Judge¡¯s cor. F*ck! There was a camera on Judge¡¯s cor and it was connected to Siri¡¯s system by Sophia out of boredom! Goodness! Perhaps Cooper was watching this scene live right now! Chapter 929 Chapter 929 Just then, Michael learned about what Sophia had done. ¡°I just thought it would be fun¡­¡± she mumbled. Who knew it would be such a big deal? Now, there was nothing they could do! Michael got up and leashed the husky to the cat¡¯s kennel,ing back to pick up where he left off. He did not believe that Cooper would reallye and beat him up! After spending the night at Sophia¡¯s, Michael got up to leave early in the morning. Before leaving, he turned to look back at Sophia who was sleeping soundly and kneeled down next to the bed. Quietly, he watched her as she slept. It would be a few months before he would see her again¡­ In the end, he lowered his head and kissed her forehead. Wait for me! In the cat¡¯s kennel, Judge realized Michael was awake and he whined. Michael quickly took it away before it destroyed Sophia¡¯s house. After getting out of the cat¡¯s kennel, Judge led Michael to the dog door and crawled out of it. The dog door at the mistress¡¯ residence was installed when Sophia got the ce. It was installed specifically to make going in or out easier for Bubbles, which was why it was designed to berge enough for a giant poodle. As such, Michael could crawl out of it easily. When he crawled out, the sky was just starting to get bright. Last night, Sophia had turned on the timer to reactivate the security system, so he had ten minutes to leave. After crawling out of the dog door, he looked back and thought it was rtively easy before crawling out of the next door. It snowed the night before and it was still snowing a little now while the sky was still dark. When Michael was crawling out, he was covered in mud and snow. The moment his head hade out of the door, Judge¡¯s rear was just a few centimetres away from his nose. Michael instantly moved back before the unthinkable happened. At that moment, Judge suddenly wailed. When Michael looked clearly, he realized the dog was being restrained by someone. Ten minutes had passed and the security system restarted. Instantly, the lights came on and the dark house was illuminated. Just then, a pair of long legs d in suit pants appeared less than three meters away from Michael. Looking up, he saw Cooper had on an ice cold expression that wasparable to the winter snow. Meanwhile, standing behind Cooper was a group of men, all of them expressionless as they watched Michael crawl through the dog door. Half of Michael¡¯s body was out of the dog door; he couldn¡¯t go back nor could he continue on forward, so he had no choice but to meet Cooper¡¯s eyes. Meanwhile, Judge was heard wailing as he was being held by Dimon. Then, Cooper turned around and coldly said in an icy voice, ¡°Shut up. Do you want me to make you into stew?¡± Sensing his murderous aura, Judge became silent. Its blue eyes focused on Michael and Cooper. Under everyone¡¯s gaze, Michael calmly crawled out and swatted the dirt off his clothes. Casually, he waved at Cooper. ¡°Hey Dad, out for a run this early?¡± At that moment, Cooper¡¯s face was as cold as a frozenke in winter as it cracked into pieces from his shock and anger. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. He refused to speak to Michael. In fact, he had nothing to say to the dog-door-crawling rat. Hale, Gary, and the others had long been captured by Cooper¡¯s men. They were all standing off to one side as they looked innocently at Michael. Slowly walking away, Cooper¡¯s ck leather shoes left heavy footprints on the snow-covered ground. ¡°Mr. Michael, I¡¯ve prepared a hearty breakfast for you. Hit the road when you¡¯re done.¡± Upon hearing this, Michael was frightened. Before he could say anything, Dimon came forward. ¡°This way.¡± It didn¡¯t matter whether he wanted to, Dimon was already escorting them to the kitchen, where breakfast had already been served. The breakfast was more sumptuous than ever. Michael, Hale and the rest sat at the table, Dimon keeping an eye on them. ¡°Mr. Michael, hurry up and finish up your food and be on your way!¡± At that moment, Michael did not dare to refuse and he quickly finished his food. After they were done, Dimon brought them to the garage, where the Mitchells had arranged a driver for them, in addition to a few Land Rovers with people to escort them on their way. Meanwhile, Judge had been following Michael closely. It¡¯s two pups tagged along when they realized that their dad was leaving, while Bubbles came over too. Once the car door was opened, Judge hopped in along with its two puppies. Bubbles wanted to join too, but was stopped by Dimon. ¡°You¡¯re a girl; you can¡¯t go.¡± When everyone had gone into the car, Dimon made a hand gesture indifferently. And so, the cars pulled out and hit the road before the sun could rise and the rush hour traffic could even start! Cooper had arranged the flights and had Michael and the rest escorted to the airport to send them off. Soon, the ne departed and Michael breathed a sigh of relief. He nced at Cereberus that was looking out the window. While the entire flight felt grim, the three of them were the only ones that were happy. At that moment, Michael gently pinched Judge¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re such a troublemaker! I give you a ce to live and food to eat, yet you still give me trouble! I was almost caught in bed because of you! I¡­ I¡¯ll whack you!¡± Meanwhile, Judge was unbothered as he stuck his tongue out and smiled. The flight was headed to the filming location. Most of the scenes had been filmed in the film studio, and the scenes on the snowy mountains would be filmed at the next location. One and a half hourter, the flightnded. It took two hours to get to the highway from the airport and another two hours on the country road before they reached the film set. The location was on the mountain and off a beaten track, so the road was inessible. After getting out of the car, they had to walk about half an hour to the set. Only this kind of location could recreate the hardship and tragedy of the olden days. After settling into the hotel, Michael immediately went up the snow-capped mountain. The film crew had been there for several days and Celie had been filming as his double while they waited for Michael, the main actor, to arrive to fill in the close-up shots. On the mountain, it was more than minus ten degrees. At that moment, the huskies were ¡®activated¡¯ as they escaped the grasps of a few strong men, instantly disappearing into the snowy mountains. When Michael arrived at the set, Celine was happily petting the dogs. ¡°Cece.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Celine skipped toward him like a child. Just then, Michael took out a bag of chicken thighs that were kept warm with his body heat. ¡°Here; it¡¯s still hot!¡± All at once, Celine was delighted. They had a tough time shooting these few days. The snow was thick and they could not drive up. They had to hike up the mountain with all the equipment, so they could not bring too much food, let alone snacks. Sometimes, the food would be too cold and they would have to starve all day. If they wanted to cook, they would have to carry the ingredients up and down the mountain, so the only viable option was to bring cup noodles. The crew¡¯s manpower was limited and the funding was tight. Celine looked like she found a treasure when she saw the chicken thighs and gobbled it up. It made Michael¡¯s heart ache. After learning about the situation of the crew, Michael suggested, ¡°We can get horses or donkeys to haul the things up, or we could find local residents to carry them manually.¡± However, Harry grimaced. ¡°There aren¡¯t any strong, young men around here; they¡¯ve all gone out to work. Horses and donkeys could also get stuck in the snow too.¡± Upon hearing this, Michael furrowed his eyebrows. How could they work without a full stomach? With a lollipop in his mouth, he casually said, ¡°It would be nice if we had someone who can run fast, adapt to the snowy environment, and has a lot of energy to run errands for us all the time.¡± All at once, everyone turned to look at Cereberus in unison. Chapter 930 Chapter 930 Up on the mountain, Harry asked Michael about his progress. Surprisingly, the signal there was quite good even though they were deep in the mountains. Harry watched the press conference and didn¡¯t expect this was what happened when Michael went back. In fact, Michael didn¡¯t need to personally attend when he could just entrust it to hiswyers. Despite that, he still rushed back. He would never do anything that he couldn¡¯t take advantage of. Also, rumor had it that when Michael returned to Bayside City, he had been staying at Cooper¡¯s house¡­ While Cooper was upied with searching for his son, he definitely didn¡¯t have it in him to care about Michael. At once, Harry knew Michael had taken advantage of the situation. He shrunk back into his military coat and read his script, which was almost frozen. ¡°I heard Cooper caught you crawling out of the dog door.¡± Michael, who was reading his script beside him, was startled. ¡°Who said that?¡± Harry only smiled mischievously and teased, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± It had been days since Michael returned and Harry had been constantly hearing about how Michael was caught crawling through the dog door. In fact, Carmen was the one who heard it when Dimon and Cooper talked, and she told Sophia, who told Sarah, who told Harry¡­ Meanwhile, Dimon told Sean, who told Justin, who told Celine, who told Harry too¡­ Passing from one person to another, the events of the incident hade out entirely different. When news reached Harry, it was said that Michael was crawling through the dog door to seduce Sophia when he was caught by Cooper, and he was stripped naked and beaten on the spot! It was said that he was beaten so badly that his skin even split open and there was footage of it too! How pitiful for a forty year old man¡­ At that moment, Michael was ring at Harry as he wondered who leaked the news. Just then, they heard bells chiming and three brawny dogs pulled a small wooden cart up the mountain. When the crew saw the wooden cart, they all let out a heartfelt cheer and praise, because in the cart were snacks for everyone. Now, whenever they wanted snacks, they would make a list and Judge would bring it down the mountain to the nearest shop in the vige. After checking the list, the shop owner would call up to quote the price and they would pay via the QR code the shop owner sent. Then, the shop owner would fill up the cart with the snacks and send them up. After eating, everyone got back to work energized. Taking their food and snacks, they each kindly gave some of their change to Judge as his tip. Judge had received many fives and tens, and it amounted to hundreds just from one trip. Before this, the crew hired some of the vige folks and paid them a thousand to carry their equipment up the mountain. Often, they would even increase the price halfway up. Now that Judge was here, it finally improved the situation. This was a good outlet for the dogs¡¯ high energy level too. Every day, Judge would go back to the hotel with the crew and after getting a bath, it would immediately sleep like a log. Hence, Judge had no energy left to destroy everything in its sight. Harry picked up his hot coffee from the cart and sipped happily. Then, Judge came to collect his tip. When Harry took out a fifty, Judge almost jumped on him and gave him a sloppy kiss. After receiving all the tips, Celine would count them diligently. After counting the money, she tied it up neatly and kept it in her bag for Judge. Celine was honest and she never stole, so Judge trusted her with the money. Judge was descended from the sled dogs; not only was it handsome, it was also very energetic. It could run several trips a day and worked on-call. It earned hundreds, almost a thousand, in a day. Without Carmen, who was the shady middle person, all the hard-earned money went straight to Judge and its pups. Even though it was not filming, it was still happy. Meanwhile, Harry thought that if Sophia and Stan found out about how their dog was being used like this, they would have killed the entire crew on the mountain. But on second thought, if that day dide, the first person who would suffer would be Michael! ¡­ Meanwhile in Bayside City, Cooper wanted to visit Reverie Mountain out of the blue, so Sophia took the initiative to invite Daniel. Back then, whenever she invited Daniel, he would ask if Cooper wasing. Knowing he was afraid of Cooper, Sophia directly told him, ¡°Master Levine, my father will being with me.¡± ¡°Oh¡ªMr. Mitchell? He¡¯s more than wee. I¡¯ll be waiting at the mountain for the both of you.¡± Since Daniel was not afraid, Sophia and Cooper went up to the mountain. They took the cable car up the snow-capped mountain and it was so foggy that they couldn¡¯t see anything. Despite that, even if it was freezing cold or if it was a busy work day, the mountain was always full of tourists as long as it wasn¡¯t closed due to the snow. When they arrived, they went to pay their respects. Then, Daniel personally came out to greet them. ¡°Wee, my guests. Please, have a chat with me in my humble abode.¡± At that moment, Cooper looked him up and down. Daniel looked very young and friendly and he had a baby face, yet his demeanour of a transcendent being would vaguely peek through. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Cooper looked at him like he was a dish of eggnts with minced meat. Despite that, Daniel looked normal as he led them to the living room. In fact, Sophia was rather grateful to him. If he hadn¡¯t taken a fancy to her and sold her to Michael, her life would have been vastly different. In his living room, Cooper sat without speaking while Sophia and Daniel chatted. ¡°Master Levine, can you let us know where my brother is now? Do we still have a chance to reunite?¡± Although Sophia didn¡¯t particrly believe that Daniel could foresee it, there was no harm done. At least they would be emotionally prepared. ncing at Cooper who had a cold expression and who had not spoken a word, Daniel said, ¡°Of course.¡± He looked at Cooper¡¯s face and counted with his fingers in a profound manner. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, you have a noble face and you have the life of a king.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Cooper scoffed. There was no difference between Daniel and all the other swindlers. Eight out of ten would tug at anyone and say that they had the life of a king. This trick was useless on Cooper. In fact, Cooper¡¯s life was better than that of a king! Then, Daniel continued, ¡°Your life is smooth, but sinful and stained with blood¡­¡± Cooper did not speak nor did he refute that statement. He was involved with the military, so how could he not be stained with blood? Then, Daniel studied Cooper¡¯s palm and murmured, ¡°Misfortune and blessings do note to us without reason, we bring them upon ourselves. The consequences of good and evil deeds are like a shadow, following the body wherever it goes. Mr. Mitchell, you have a lot of blood on your hands, which means you¡¯ve done many evil deeds. While everyone will reap what they sow, you, however, have not, which is rather odd.¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper remained silent as he felt his heart strings being tugged. Then, Daniel silently observed Cooper¡¯s expression. ¡°Whether it made sense or not, I think Mr. Mitchell knows it better than I do.¡± Although Cooper remained expressionless, he was extremely sad inside. Hadn¡¯t he already reaped what he sowed? The woman he loved the most and his beloved father had died, his own daughter had suffered since childhood, and he was separated from his son whose whereabouts were still unknown till today. Outsiders could only see his glory, but they were unaware of the mncholy and despair within him. Finally, he spoke up. ¡°Enough with this nonsense; I want to know where my son is!¡± Internally, Daniel was frightened by Cooper¡¯s grim voice, but he maintained hisposure. With a serious face, he looked at Cooper¡¯s palm and continued indifferently, ¡°Mr. Mitchell indeed has a son and your palm shows that your son is still alive. Both of you will naturally meet one day.¡± Breathing a sigh of relief, Cooper had been secretly taking Daniel¡¯s words to heart. Then, Daniel added, ¡°However, Mr. Mitchell, you still have a debt of gratitude that has not been repaid. Until you repay this debt, you will never see your son again.¡± Chapter 931 Chapter 931 ¡°Debt? What debt?¡± Cooper asked immediately. With an unfathomable expression, Daniel frowned as he silently studied Cooper¡¯s palm. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, I have made it very clear. Someone has paid your debt, but she has not paid her own debt yet! I¡¯m afraid you and her will both have to repay this debt.¡± Looking at Daniel, Cooper was inplete shock for a long time. He stared at him in a daze and couldn¡¯t even speak. His debt was repaid for him by his daughter and Annabel, but who was going to repay their debts? After a few minutes, Cooper shot up. ¡°Bullsh*t!¡± He pulled his hand away, causing Sophia to jump up. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong? Dad¡ª¡± At that point, Cooper had already stormed out. Sophia hurriedly followed while bidding farewell to Daniel. ¡°We¡¯ll be going now; I¡¯ll see you soon.¡± Watching them depart, Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. He was so close to being chopped up and made into eggnts with minced meat! On the cable car going down the mountain, Sophia was holding her two dogs. Since Michael was not home and Nathan had to go to school, Sophia had picked up Snowball, who went up the mountain with her and Bubbles. Bubbles was afraid of the cold, so it was dressed in a thick coat, it¡¯srge body curled up and shivering in Cooper¡¯s arms. Meanwhile, Snowball was not afraid of the cold at all and excitedly ran around ¡®naked¡¯ with its tongue out. Snowball¡¯s smile was so contagious that Sophia felt happy whenever she looked at its smiling face. In fact, she was smiling the whole way. Stroking the dog¡¯s head, Cooper couldn¡¯t help but touch his daughter¡¯s soft hair as well. However, because Sophia¡¯s hair follicles were dead, her hair was imnted at the cosmetic hospital. Cooper touched her hair, his heart aching unbearably. All his sins were passed on to his daughter. He thought he had conquered the world, but ultimately he found himself unable to protect his very own daughter. Looking at Cooper, Sophia couldn¡¯t quite understand why he was unhappy. She smiled andforted him, ¡°Dad, everything¡¯s going to be alright. We¡¯ll find him.¡± Upon hearing her words, Cooper forced a smile. Sophia paid off his debts, but who was going to pay hers? He understood very well what Daniel said. Sophia had returned Quinton¡¯s kindness, but what about Michael¡¯s kindness to her? In other words, it was just a way to get him to marry off his daughter to that son of a b*tch Michael! Since he caught Michael crawling through the dog door, his hatred toward him deepened even more. His son-inw should be a person like himself¡ªan excellent and fearless man. Someone who crawled through a dog door was clearly a low-life. Cooper would repay her debt! However, Michael could forget about taking his daughter! ¡­ Since Michael had left town to film and would be away for a few months, Cooper took the opportunity to n a matchmaking event for Sophia. He nned to gather Bayside City¡¯s single and talented young men for her to choose from. Although he did not really want Sophia to date anyone, he wanted to let her meet other men and set reasonable expectations for the man she would end up with. After meeting them, she would learn what type of men would be the best match for her. And so, Cooper began to secretly prepare the guest list of the matchmaking event. He was directly in charge of the list and was extremely strict with the selection process. First, he eliminated the one who crawled through the dog door. Then, he eliminated those who did not have a PhD. Next, he eliminated those who were above the age of thirty-five. Those who were divorced, had a criminal record, were ugly, and had a chaotic private life were all eliminated. On top of that, he also made a list for those who earned extra points ording to Sophia¡¯s personal preferences and he would be lenient to those who met those requirements, such as those who had pets, liked ying games, and preferred daughters. He wanted to take advantage of Michael¡¯s absence and get him out of Sophia¡¯s life forever. However, heter realized that even if Michael was gone, Sophia would still be under his influence. As the days got colder, Sophia finished work and went down to the store next door to look at hand creams and moisturizers. ¡°This hand cream is a century-old local brand and the first ever hand cream that was endorsed by Taylor Murray. It was all snatched up the moment this hand cream was made avable. And now, it¡¯s all sold out in the whole of Bayside City, but we saved this one specifically for you. Taking the bottle from the shop assistant, she saw a picture of Michael holding the hand cream on the package. ¡°Huh? When did my Tay Tay take on a hand cream endorsement?¡± Sophia waspletely unaware about this. She sat there for a while when several people came into the shop looking to buy the hand cream. The shop was an exclusive store that only sold that one specific brand of high-end cosmetics. The hand cream was worth thousands and a makeup set was worth tens of thousands. In fact, Sophia had always been using this brand. Meanwhile, Michael had endorsed the entire series of cosmetics. And so, she went home with thest set of cosmetics. When she reached home, she opened it up, only to find that everything had Michael¡¯s face on its packaging. It even came with a limited edition poster of him. After that, she put up the poster in her bedroom so that she would see him every morning when she woke up. As a matter of fact, Michael even instructed Hale to send over a truck full of cosmetics for Sophia. When Cooper found out, he ruthlessly kicked Hale out and threw all the cosmetics into the garage¡ªno one was allowed to use it. Despite that, Sophia thought it would be a waste, so she secretly sneaked it out of the garage and had a giveaway event. She also gave some to her friends, while the rest were sent to her employees as part of the employee benefit. On top of that, the supermarkets were having a sale on the twelfth of December, so Sophia and the housekeeper went to shop for sanitary pads and pet food. The promoter highly rmended a brand of sanitary pads, as it was hygienic and prevented leakage. Also, it was endorsed by Taylor Murray. Then, they also rmended an imported baked pet food endorsed by Taylor Murray. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Because it was endorsed by Michael, that brand of sanitary pads were not avable online and they were only avable in stores. Everything was on sale except the sanitary pads, which were in high demand. Sophia battled against a group of women and finally managed to grab two packs of the pads, going home happily with them. Recently, she had been stocking up on a lot of stuff such as jewellery, essories, and clothes that were endorsed by Michael. She also stocked up on Michael-endorsed sanitary pads, cosmetics, and face masks. On top of that, he also endorsed a feminine wash product, which Sophia had piled up at home and couldst her a lifetime. Even in the food and beverage section, there were drinks, snacks, and Eight-Treasure Congee that were endorsed by Michael. Meanwhile, Cooper had secretly been getting rid of those cosmetics, face masks, Eight-Treasure Congee, and sanitary pads. But then, Sophia would immediately bring back phones,ptops, as well as underwear, toothpaste, toothbrush, and stainless steel wash basins that were endorsed by Michael. When Cooper saw Michael¡¯s face on the new wash basin Sophia bought, he was instantly repulsed. Without hesitation, he threw away the basin in anger. Let¡¯s see what else Michael can endorse¡­ Cooper thought there was nothing else Michael could endorse but in reality, there was nothing that he couldn¡¯t endorse. Every time Cooper stepped out, he would see Michael¡¯s endorsements everywhere. Michael was literally everywhere¡ªfrom the big screen in the za to the television on the streets, even on the toilet lid in the public bathroom. On top of that, his endorsements and photos were all over the ces Sophia often went. Even the bus stops and subway stations near the Edwards Residence were covered in advertisements of his endorsements. Michael would also upy half of the advertisements that were broadcasted on television. To pursue his future wife, Michael gave up his dignity. He even crawled through a dog door, so what else wouldn¡¯t he do for her? Chapter 932 Chapter 932 The only ce where they would never see Michael would be the drama Sophia had been watching. The TV series was called ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯, which was broadcasted from a local unknown station and starred a group of unknown actors. The series centered around a girl who had graduated from university and returned to her vige as a vige chief, and the various incidents that she encountered. The plot was about how May, who studied journalism and graduated from a major media university, gave up her well-paying job in the city and returned to Penshaw Vige. She took over her father¡¯s role as the vige chief and led the vige to a better future. In order to follow her dreams, she went as far as to dump her beloved boyfriend from the city. After returning to the vige, she realized that it was much more difficult being the vige chief, as many of the vigers did not understand her. They were skeptical of her ability as the chief and deliberately gave her more work by creating all kinds of obstacles while they heavily criticized her the whole way. On top of that, there was a contractor who unsessfully pursued May and held a grudge against her, and Madam Linnie who was a matchmaker who repeatedly failed in setting May up with the contractor and ended up creating nasty rumours about her. Moreover, May also faced difficulties with the vige committee who were stubborn and old-fashioned, refusing to obey any of hermands¡­ May had to deal with these people as soon as she took over; it was emotional and climatic. Sophia found the series addictive and it kept her on the edge of her seat. In recent episodes, May sessfully got a resort project through her university ssmate. She nned to develop the vige and repair the roads. However, the vigers were against the idea. They deliberately made unreasonable requests just to prevent the project from starting. As such, May lost hope and wanted to give up on the entire project at one point. In the preview of the next episode, May¡¯s ex-boyfriend from the city came to see her at the vige to win her back. He even found her a stable and high-paying job in the city. It was a choice between a good life in the city with a loving boyfriend and a job in the vige that was refusing to make any progress. What would she choose? At eight o¡¯clock in the evening, Sophia sat in front of the television that was endorsed by Michael while she waited for the series to start. She waited excitedly with her popcorn and a bottle of Coke that were both endorsed by Michael too. Then, she cut up a fruit with a fruit knife¡ªendorsed by Michael¡ªand ced the cut fruit on the wooden tray, which was also endorsed by the man himself. Meanwhile, Cooper and Linus were forced to watch the show with her. Initially, they were annoyed but after watching a few episodes, they were hooked. Every night, the family would wait in front of the TV for the series to be aired. When the episode began, Sophia was eager to see May¡¯s boyfriend from the city. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. At first, Cooper was sure that Michael would never ever appear in this series. However, when May¡¯s boyfriend made his first appearance, Cooper realized that he had been too na?ve¡­ It was Michael again! He was the Academy Award winner for Best Actor, so why would he be in this local drama? He seemed to appear out of nowhere! When Michael made his first appearance, there was even a special subtitled introduction. May¡¯s ex-boyfriend, Miles, guest appearance by Taylor Murray. There were even the feminine wash, sanitary pads, and lipsticks that he endorsed. Again and again, Cooper¡¯s tolerance reached new heights. This time, Michael even guest starred in a local drama! How shameless could he be? He even crawled through the dog door! Come to think of it, Cooper should have taken Dimon¡¯s suggestion and grabbed him from the dog door, stripped him naked and beat him. He should have filmed it and destroyed Michael¡¯s reputation! At that moment, Sophia was caught off guard too. What the hell? Her idol was actually in the series! Suddenly, the whole series instantly felt like it was highly rated! But, can her idol nail this role? As winner of the Academy Award, could he manage this genre that was vastly different from all his other roles? The character that Michael yed, Miles, was born and raised in the city by his parents who were teachers. He loved May and they always talked about building a better future together. They worked in the same newspany and had saved up for the deposit for their future home. In addition, their leaders were very optimistic about them and their futures were promising but when they were close to getting married, May suddenly wanted to go back to the vige. Miles was furious and he felt that May had betrayed him and their dreams. As such, they separated when May returned to Penshaw Vige. In this episode, Miles showed up and tried to win May back. He had hoped for her to go back to the city with him and get married. However, May was torn. If she chose to go back, she would have a high- paying job with a stable life but if she chose to stay, she had to deal with all the obstacles in the vige. Clearly, she was swayed. When Miles appeared, he had glossy eyes and his face was in and pure, his skin tanned. As soon as he saw May who hade to greet him, he smiled and spoke. ¡°May, I¡¯m here!¡± ¡°Poof¡ª¡± Upon hearing this, Linus couldn¡¯t control himself and spat out the Michael-endorsed Coke that he just drank. He stared incredulously at the unpretentious Michael on the TV. Michael obviously had the face of a superstar but in the show, he seemed so in and did not stand out at all. Also, that voice was not a voice over; it was indeed Michael¡¯s voice with a country ent. ¡°May, I¡­ I missed you. Leave this ce ande back to the city with me. This ce is only holding you back¡­¡± Cooper was dumbstruck. This man was shameless to the core! In the series, Miles¡¯ family came from the countryside, hence the ent. Michael had urately grasped this and perfected his speech, portraying Miles¡¯ character perfectly and realistically, as if he had always had this country ent. Not only that, those sses he wore seemed to have a magical effect that concealed his handsome face. Now, he was just Miles. Miles and May walked through the vige as they reminisced their love and vows toward each other over the years. However, May knew they could not be together anymore. In fact, Miles¡¯ family moved to the city from the vige and their household had been relocated, so it was impossible to move back. However, May was from the countryside and her whole family was here. She wanted to build her vige into a rich vige with a GDP per capita of eighty thousand and she wanted to lead everyone in the vige to a better future. The problem was that those who were capable had all left the vige for work, leaving behind only the women and children who were conservative and backward thinking. In the end, Miles told May that he would be leaving early next morning and he told her to meet him at the dock at eight o¡¯clock if she chose to leave with him. If May went with him, they would get married as soon as they were back in the city. The house was ready and as long as she went with him, her name would definitely be on the property ownership certificate. If she refused to leave, then Miles would be under the pressure from his family to start dating as soon as he returned. His father was severely sick and wished to have grandchildren, so he wanted to fulfil his father¡¯s dying wish. When May got home, she was in a dilemma, not being able to decide between her vows with Miles and the earnest hope of her father, who implored her to stay and build up the vige. After struggling, May finally decided to stay. After all, she was the vige¡¯s only hope. The next morning, Miles waited at the dock at eight in the morning. He thought May was justte or something had cropped up and she was dyed, but she wanted to leave with him. And so, he waited and waited, missing one boat after another. He waited until nightfall, but May never showed up. Chapter 933 Chapter 933 It was thest boat to the city and the captain, who had gold teeth, grinned at him. ¡°Hey kid, are you coming?¡± Miles mumbled sullenly, ¡°Y-Yes.¡± As he wiped his tears, he willed his stiff legs to move forward as he boarded the boat. With that, the boat slowly sailed away. However, what he didn¡¯t know was that May had been standing behind the littlemissary at the dock. In fact, she had been waiting there the entire day. She watched Miles get on the boat and silently cried as she walked along the dock, following the boat that Miles was on¡­ Watching the TV, Sophia sobbed and constantly pulled out napkins that were endorsed by Michael, wiping her tears and snot. ¡°That is so sad! Why didn¡¯t May go with Miles? Why? How can they act so well?¡± Sophia huffed and puffed. After watching three episodes, almost all of the napkins were used up by her. Hurriedly, Cooper handed her another box of napkins. ¡°There, there. It¡¯s all fiction; nothing is real.¡± As Sophia cried, Carmen cried too. She was wailing miserably when Cooper wiped away her tears as he grimaced. ¡°Why are you crying? You don¡¯t even understand the series.¡± Pouting, Carmen sobbed pitifully, ¡°I¡¯m learning from Daddy on how to act in a crying scene!¡± Upon hearing this, Cooper was speechless. Undeniably, Michael¡¯s acting skills were superb. He had embodied the desperation and hopelessness that Miles was feeling as he waited for his lover that never came. He did not need to cry hysterically nor did he need artificial tears; his longing gaze was enough to touch the hearts of the viewers. He could have been extremely noble, but he was getting more and more creepy instead! Shame on him! Cooper thought. Although Cooper strongly disliked him, Michael made sure that he would always be with Sophia in a cheeky way. Even if he was away from Bayside City, Sophia was still surrounded by his presence. Initially, Cooper thought Michael¡¯s reputation would drop after his role as Miles. He had even hoped that Sophia would be reminded of Miles every time she thought of Michael and she would stop liking him. However, he did not expect she would still talk on the phone with him every single day. Not only that, she would either be on voice call or video call with him for an hour or two. During their calls, they would talk about Carmen, the dogs, the plot from ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯, and they would be analysing Miles¡¯ tragic past. Their topics of conversation were endless. Eventually, the news of Michael¡¯s appearance on the local TV drama blew up and the ratings for the series soared. The series went from the local station¡¯s entertainment channel to satellite TV. Not only that, it was also introduced on several other TV stations, causing a sensation. Michael¡¯s fans were all stunned. He really was the best actor, perfectly embodying every role he took on. On top of that, there was even a reporter who went up to the snow mountain to interview Michael, asking him the questions the fans had been dying to know. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, in ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯, how much did the producers pay you for your appearance in those three episodes?¡± At that moment, Michael had just finished filming an action scene and still had makeup on. He had transformed from Miles to Mark Fletcher and was d in a military coat for the interview. ¡°I did it for a friend for free.¡± The reporter was even more curious. ¡°So what made you try out such a role? Were you aware of the role you were casted for?¡± At that moment, Michael faintly smiled at the camera. His smile was as simple as Miles¡¯, as if he had immediately turned into Miles who loved May deeply. ¡°Because my wife likes this kind of drama!¡± Upon hearing that, the reporter was speechless. When this was broadcasted, Michael¡¯s public disy of affection was spread all across the country. This couple had just returned from years of absence from the public eye. Even if the times had changed, their love still remained. While they took advantage of every moment to disy their affection to each other, they were constantly rubbing it in the faces of all the singles out there! When Cooper saw the interview, he was at a loss of words. He took the TV remote and angrily switched from the entertainment channel to the movie channel, which was ying Michael¡¯s film ¡®War Dragon¡¯. Seeing Michael¡¯s face on the screen, Sophia happily chirped, ¡°This is a good movie; let¡¯s watch this!¡± However, Cooper pressed the remote forcefully again and changed it to the opera channel, where a female actor was singing. Finally, something that was unrted to Michael! Holding tightly onto the remote, Cooper said sternly, ¡°I want to watch this!¡± Displeased, Sophia pouted and munched on a mouthful of snacks as she was forced to watch the y. At that moment, the opera channel was ying the ssic traditional opera excerpt ¡®The Drunken Concubine¡¯. The female singer sang beautifully with a graceful posture and a melodious voice. Her performance was incredible. Coincidentally, this opera was Cooper¡¯s favourite. Back then, he used to watch this with Woody. In fact, he would constantly reminisce about it during his years abroad. As Cooper was enjoying the music, he casually pped along to the beat. Meanwhile, Sophia and Carmen were staring intently with their eyes wide open at the screen. With his eyes closed, Cooper was immersed in the song. Only the experts could tell real talent from the fake. Although Cooper could not sing, he was a connoisseur. The singer was clearly familiar with opera so she must have been in the field for a long time. ¡°This actor is really good!¡± he praised as he listened. Then, he turned to Linus, who was also listening with fascination. ¡°Linus, do you know who this actor is?¡± Linus enjoyed traditional opera, so he knew which actor from Bayside City was good. In fact, he knew who the actor was, but he did not dare to say it. ¡°The makeup is too thick so I can¡¯t recognize her.¡± Meanwhile, Sophia munched on her snacks. ¡°The credits will be shown after the performance.¡± Carefully, Cooper watched the credits roll when the y ended. He wanted to get acquainted with this actor so that he could invite her over to perform for his birthday or something in the future. Finally, he saw the credits. Taylor Murray as Concubine Yang. Upon seeing this, Cooper almost had a heart attack. Before Cooper exploded, Sophia snatched the remote control from him and switched it back to the movie channel, and continued watching Michael¡¯s film. The fact was that she had seen this movie about twenty to thirty times, but it always left her amazed. On the other hand, Carmen went to Cooper and said shyly, ¡°Grandpa, can I sing ¡®The Drunken Concubine¡¯ for you? I promise I can sing better than Daddy.¡± With an icy expression, Cooper remained silent. He was afraid he would explode if he spoke. Are we done with him yet? All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. He really wanted Michael¡¯s face to disappear from his and Sophia¡¯s lives forever! However, was it possible? Could he stop Sophia from using the sanitary pads that were endorsed by Michael? Or the stainless steel wash basin? Could he stop her from eating the snacks that he endorsed? The simple answer was no, he couldn¡¯t. He couldn¡¯t stop her at all! As soon as he got rid of the stainless steel basin, she would immediately bring home a brand new ceramic basin that Michael endorsed and it even came with a face wash with his face on it! In fact, Sophia knew Cooper hated Michael. Since he caught Michael crawling through the dog door, Cooper hated him even more. She wanted to think of a way to make them warm up to each other¡­ Meanwhile at the Mitchell Residence, Sandra Mitchell was watching the news and saw that Michael had starred in a local TV drama and also disyed his affection publicly during the interview. Being a gossipmonger, she invoked more mockery and trolling. After watching the news, Sandra panicked a little. It seemed like she had received the wrong information¡ªthey never actually divorced! The defamationwsuit was still ongoing and she had to win this case. Otherwise, her image would be ruined! Sophia and her ghostwriters would not rest until she waspletely destroyed! And so, Sandra called Abby again. In order to be in Abby¡¯s circle, she had been paying her tens of millions. As long as Abby was willing to take a shot, everything would be fine. Chapter 934 Chapter 934 Although she could not help Abby get that house in Riverdale, Sandra had paid her a lot of money to make amends and please her. Not only that, she also gifted several houses and shops to Abby. Now that their rtionship had improved, Abby would definitely help her since she had promised to. Meanwhile, Abby murmured down the line, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t let that little b*tch go. She won¡¯t even know what hit her!¡± After getting Abby¡¯s response, Sandra felt slightly better. If Abby took action, she would surely win this lawsuit. Sophia was no match for the Michel Family! Then, as they made small talk, Sandra tried hard to bring up Lucile. ¡°When is Miss Lucileing to Bayside City? If shees, you have to inform me in advance so I can prepare a gift and treat her to a wee dinner.¡± On the other end, Abby paused before her tone became serious. ¡°You should know Miss Lucile¡¯s status¡­ She is a highly respected individual and has been under the protection of the Michel Family since childhood. Even now, no one from the media nor the secret service can find any photos or information of her and Fass. Her whereabouts have always been top secret and will not be easily revealed to outsiders. You¡¯ve been asking about her a lot; what are you trying to do?¡± In an instant, Sandra was rmed by Abby¡¯s tone of voice. ¡°I¡¯m just curious; I¡¯m not trying to do anything. Abby grunted in displeasure. ¡°Miss Lucile¡¯s whereabouts must never be revealed. As the Michel Family¡¯s No. 1 Young Lady, she will be the sessor of the Michel Family in the future. Her identity is a mystery so you need to stop prying before you get yourself in trouble.¡± Upon hearing this, Sandra did not dare to pry further. Some people were so powerful that even inquiring about their identity wouldnd you in trouble. However, after a brief moment, Abby added, ¡°Actually, Miss Lucile happens to be in town. I was with her for days but I will not reveal her residence nor her photos to you.¡± Upon hearing this, Sandra was overjoyed. Lucile is in town, which means Vincent¡¯s chance is here! And so, Sandra dropped her ego and tried for a few days to persuade Abby with money, cars, and jewelry, before Abby finally agreed to let her tag along when she went to see Lucile. However, she was not allowed to sneak any photos or reveal Lucile¡¯s identity in public. No matter what, Sandra must find a way for Vincent to meet Lucile. Furthermore, she could not give up on Linus too. However, he was always busy so she simply could not get in touch with him at all. By striking up a friendship with Lucile, Sandra thought she would be a step closer to the Michel Family. As soon as Alex found out, the family celebrated. As such, he belittled Cooper even more and was prepared to use the family¡¯s connections to get Sandra and Vincent married into money. That day, Sophia went to visit the store. Recently, thepany and the store had been busy preparing for theunch of their new products for the new year. Hence, Sophia brought the dogs and alpaca to the store to monitor the progress. Looking at her two big dogs and alpaca that were all dressed up, smelled great, and were sitting next to her, she suddenly remembered Judge. She wondered how Cerberus were doing in the mountains. Lately, the house was much quieter without the three rowdy dogs. She gave a call to Michael. While asking her idol about his filming routines, she also asked about the dogs. ¡°Oh¡ªthe trio? They¡¯re doing great. Everyone is treating them well and they have high sries. There¡¯s also a little cart for them. Everyone hikes up the mountain by foot while they get pulled up by the staff. Through the video, Sophia saw the three dogs d in old, ugly cotton jackets, sitting in the wooden cart. They were resting with their tongues out and the background was a snowy scenery. Furrowing her brows, she asked, ¡°Did they lose weight?¡± ¡°Although I¡¯ve been giving them the best treatment, it¡¯s tough when we¡¯re always out early anding backte. So, it¡¯s normal for them to lose some weight.¡± ¡°Oh¡ª¡± She had nothing else to say. As a matter of fact, she knew there was something different about the dogs but she just couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. Patting the dogs¡¯ head, Michael continued, ¡°The three of them are very popr in the crew and everyone is especially fond of them.¡± Surprised, Sophia eximed, ¡°Really? I was afraid they would only be causing you trouble!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll take care of any trouble they cause. After all, they are our fur babies; of course I will spoil them!¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia¡¯s lips quirked and she smiled. Cerberus must have caused a lot of trouble for Michael and the crew but since Michael was the producer and main actor, everyone naturally endured it. Frankly, Sophia felt embarrassed for troubling him and affecting the progress of their filming. ¡°I think I shoulde and pick them up and stop troubling you with caring for them. The shooting is almost done, right?¡± Suddenly, Harry, who had been eavesdropping for a long time, couldn¡¯t help but lean over and blurted, ¡°No! Filming in the mountains is boring and they have been entertaining us. Our entire crew loves them!¡± As soon as he said this, most of the crew immediately echoed his words. ¡°Yes! The dogs are adorable!¡± ¡°Let them stay for another few days; we don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°I love them so much that I don¡¯t think I can continue filming without seeing them everyday.¡± Sophia did not expect there to be so many people eavesdropping. Was Cerberus so popr? Although Judge was handsome, his looks could not hide itsck of intelligence. Truth was, it was a miracle that he did not destroy the whole film set. But who knows, maybe the cold had automatically unlocked the husky¡¯s IQ? Meanwhile, Judge¡¯s tongue hung from its mouth and it looked happy. Any staff that walked by would pet its head. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Seeing that the dogs were popr, Sophia was relieved. ¡°Thanks for taking the trouble to care for them, Michael.¡± Petting Judge¡¯s head, Michael said warmly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Your fur baby is my fur baby; whatever¡¯s mine is yours too.¡± At once, Sophia blushed. ¡°Stop it¡ª¡± Just then, a staff member came and informed Sophia, ¡°Miss Edwards, there¡¯s someone outside who wants to see you.¡± ¡°I have to go now. Happy filming! I¡¯lle and visit when I¡¯m free. Kisses!¡± Pouting and making a kissing face to the camera, Michael repeated, ¡°Kisses!¡± After hanging up, Michael looked at his phone wallpaper, which was a photo of Sophia and Carmen. He smiled faintly before gripping his phone tightly, as if he was afraid it would spoil from the cold. When the shooting waspleted, he would be able to return home and spend the new year with the both of them. Every day, he would send her videos of the dogs and she would send him videos of their daughter. In the videos, Carmen was always so cute and she would always be smiling. In fact, she even knew her best angles. All worries would be gone whenever they saw her smile. She was such an angel! Watching Michael giggle at his phone, the crew rolled their eyes. He was oozing with the stench of love and the whole crew thought it reeked! Only a fool like Sandra would think they were divorced! Meanwhile at Pourl gship store¡¯s lobby, Sophia put away her phone and went out. Sandra Mitchell was here again and this time, she was with Abbie and a group of bodyguards. They were making a commotion, as if they hade to destroy the store. While the guards were standing, Sandra, Abbie, and a foreign woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sat there. Chapter 935 Chapter 935 As soon as they came in, they chased the customers out and drove off the staff into the office at the back. As a result, the lobby became Sandra¡¯s territory. Raising her chin, she was arrogant beyondparison as shemanded, ¡°Come here, Scarlet. I want to introduce you to a guest of honor.¡± Sandra was so respectful of that foreign woman that she did not even dare to look straight at her. ¡°This is Princess Lucile of the Michel Family.¡± At a loss for words, Sophia thought she had heard wrongly. ¡°What the hell?¡± As soon as she said that, Sandra immediately shot up and her appearance becamemanding, much like a Tibetan Mastiff. ¡°How dare you? You better watch your mouth, Sophia Edwards! How dare you disrespect Miss Lucile?¡± At that moment, Sophia was startled by Sandra¡¯s sudden shout. She flinched and looked at ¡®Lucile¡¯ incredulously with wide eyes. The woman looked to be in her twenties and about the same age as her. She had a pair of blue eyes that looked as elegant and bright as gemstones, shiny blonde hair and defined facial features. She was indeed graceful as she sat there silently. Even just slightly looking up, she was giving out a powerful aura. The moments her eyes were focused on someone, they would immediately feel the pressure of someone superior. It made breathing difficult and they would instantly be respectful. This is¡­ Princess Lucile¡­ of the Michel Family? After a long moment of eyeing her up and down, Sophia suddenly smiled. Sandra really had the guts to have someone impersonate Lucile. No¡ªit wasn¡¯t necessarily her. Sophia¡¯s sharp eyes looked at the boastful Sandra and then at Abbie before she seemed to understand something. A burst ofughter was creeping up but Sophia held it back and said in a serious and respectful manner, ¡°You must havee a long way; please make yourself at home.¡± In fact, Sophia rarely visited the store. The day she came was when Sandra coincidentally dropped by too, so this must have been nned in advance. She was interested to see what they had nned. Were they going to provoke her alpaca to spit on them again and then get rid of her using the Michel Family¡¯s name? This time, Sophia was not going to sit back; she wanted to know what these little crooks were up to. It seemed like they were taking advantage of her concealed identity. When she was in Africa, she often tagged along with Cooper to see the Michel Family¡¯s properties but because her face was ruined at that time, she was either covered with gauze or she was wearing a mask. To this day, there weren¡¯t many people who knew what she looked like. When the trio entered the shop, they just sat there and chatted with a dozen bodyguards standing behind them. Looking at the bodyguards¡¯ clothes, Sophia saw that half of them carried the Mitchell¡¯s Family crest, while others carried the Michel¡¯s Family crest. Taking a look at ¡®Lucile Michel¡¯ sitting in the middle, Sophia wondered if she was really someone from the Michel Family. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. In fact, with her aura, she looked more like Lucile than the real Lucile. Since the store was focused on pets, it was inevitable that there would be a few pets roaming around. Just then, an skan Mmute wandered before Sophia before she casually instructed someone to lead the dog away. She gazed at Sandra and the others and spoke respectfully. ¡°Is there anything specific you¡¯re looking for? We offer a series of luxury goods for pets.¡± However, the trio ignored her and spoke among themselves. They casually chatted in French, thinking Sophia would not understand and made up stories about her right in front of her. ¡°This b*tch is the daughter of an outsider. They¡¯re shamelesslymitting fraud using the Mitchell Family¡¯s name and they are extremely disrespectful to the Michel Family too,¡± Sandramented. ¡°It¡¯s outrageous; don¡¯t be fooled by her appearance. She looks respectful but she will curse you as soon as you turn around!¡± At that moment, Sophia looked nonchnt, as if she hadn¡¯t heard them bad-mouthing her. While Lucile did not speak, she looked at Sophia with an unfriendly gaze. ncing at the guards, Sophia saw that they were all carrying bags. This was a high-end consumer area and there were many luxury gship stores located nearby. It seemed like they had just gone shopping before dropping by her store. They bought a lot of things¡ªjewellery, essories, and clothes. They were all famous brands too¡­ Sophia guessed that Sandra had paid for everything. It looked like she must have spent a fortune just to trick ¡®Lucile¡¯ intoing here to show off. Surely they did not n to just sit around in her store? Finally, she heard Abbie gloating, ¡°We should teach her a lesson!¡± Upon hearing this, Sandra snickered discreetly. She had spent millions to bring Lucile around today just so she coulde to Sophia¡¯s store and show off her strong connections. Of course, it would be best if Lucile could teach her a lesson! Just then, Abbie suddenly changed her tone and spoke in Cethosian. ¡°This store of yours is filthy. Look¡ª Miss Lucile¡¯s shoes are all stained.¡± ncing at Lucile Michel¡¯s pointed diamond high heels, Sophia saw that her shoes were indeed stained. ¡°Cheryl,e and clean our guest¡¯s shoes.¡± Cheryl was an employee in the store who was responsible for assisting their guests in cleaning their shoes, carrying their bags, holding their umbres and the like. When she heard the call, she immediately came over with a warm smile. ¡°Leave it to me.¡± However, Abbie hissed, ¡°Miss Lucile is a highly respectable person. Her shoes are not to be touched by just anyone!¡± Wearing a pair of coloured contacts, her faux blue eyes nced at Sophia repeatedly. Obviously, she was implying that Sophia should be cleaning Lucile¡¯s shoes! Smiling, Sophia nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right; not just anyone should be touching Miss Lucile¡¯s shoes.¡± Then, she patted the skan Mmute¡¯s head. ¡°Go on! Lick it clean for her.¡± Understanding themand, the Mmute leapt forward and licked Lucile¡¯s shoes beforeing back to Sophia¡¯s side for its reward. Looking at her shoes that were covered in dog saliva, Lucile¡¯s eyes went wide before she could react. Then, she let out a piercing scream. ¡°Ah!¡± As soon as she screamed, Abbie and Sandra instantly stood while the bodyguards tensed up. Sandra was furious as she roared, ¡°How dare you disrespect Miss Lucile? Guards, destroy this shop!¡± Here we go again! Calmly, Sophia pressed the emergency rm button and three patrolling officers from next door came in. They came to investigate just as Sandra¡¯s men were smashing up the store. The lot of them did not even acknowledge the officers and hit anyone that was in their way. Things were getting out of hand. The officers made a call and dozens of police officers from the special forces were called in. When they arrived, the entire neighbourhood was barricaded and the girls from the Mitchell and Michel Family were all arrested and detained in the Public Security Bureau. As the victim in this incident, Sophia followed the police officers to the station to give a statement. Chapter 936 Chapter 936 In a ze of glory, Sophia went to the Public Security Bureau. Before she left, she made a call to Maddie so she could join in on the fun too. She also called Ivan and instructed him to pass the surveince footage of the store being smashed to Maddie, so that she could report this incident with the exclusive footage. At the Bureau, Sandra was still very arrogant. ¡°Sophia, if you send out the footage, you¡¯ll be offending the entire Mitchell Family and Michel Family! Think about that! By then, the whole of Cethos would suffer from the economic sanction imposed by the Michel Family!¡± Pursing her lips, Sophia looked down and yed with her phone, going home after making her statement. As soon as she got home, she got some information from Roger. The Lucile that Sandra was with today was really named Lucile, and Lucile Michel at that. Being a big family, it wasmon to reuse names. There was even an ape named Lucile. This name was casually picked by Cooper. In othernguages, this name was extremelymon. In fact, Lucile was an ordinary member of the Michel Family who lived in America and was born in an ordinary middle-ss family. With a huge family that were all over the world like the Michel¡¯s, they were divided into sses too. In fact, only a small percentage of them were in the higher ss. Clearly, Lucile did not belong to that small percentage. It looked like Lucile was persuaded by Abbie toe to Cethos. Not only that, Sophia also discovered a record of the Mitchell Family and Sandra¡¯s recent expenses. They have been spendingvishly! Jewelleries were bought in full sets, while they also paid for Lucile¡¯s amodation at a vi while she was in Bayside City. On top of that, Vincent and Lucile had gotten close. Someone reported to Sophia that they were seen dining together many times and that Vincent was very generous with Lucile. Obviously, he was bent on marrying into a rich family. Not only that, he had already gleefully announced on some asions that he would be connected to the Michel Family by marriage. Now, news was starting to spread in Bayside City. There were rumors that Vincent and Lucile¡¯s rtionship was stable and that they would be announcing it soon. ¡°No wonder Mitchell Technology¡¯s stock has been rising recently,¡± Sophia muttered as she looked at their stocks. Someone must have heard about Vincent¡¯s marriage, causing the stocks to rise. Ever since Sandra¡¯s public usation toward Sophia, the Mitchell Technology¡¯s stocks had dropped significantly. Who knew that they would be able to turn it around using Lucile Michel¡¯s name? Sophia thought about it as she said to Roger, ¡°Inform the Public Security Bureau that we ept the mediation and ask them topensate for the destroyed items. It doesn¡¯t matter if they pay or not, since it¡¯s only a small amount. But remember, you have to make it look like we are terrified of them.¡± Upon hearing this, Roger was confused, not understanding what she meant by that. Did Sophia mean climbing-over-the-hospital-wall-and-escaping terrified? Receiving instructions, he immediately went to settle everything at the bureau. Sophia then contacted Maddie, who had ruthlessly cklisted Sandra in the exclusive news. As such, the newspaper and magazine sales increased significantly. Although Sandra was released, Mitchell Technology¡¯s stock dropped again. Overnight, its market value had lost a few billion. The glorious image that Sandra had spent years building was ruined once again. However, Sandra seemed to not care about it. As long as there was enough money and she could afford a strong PR team, her image would bounce back sooner orter. Also, it didn¡¯t matter that the stock was down. As soon as they were connected to the Michel Family, Mitchell Technology would rise again. Even though Sophia made such a big deal, in the end, she still obediently begged for mercy and slipped away. This made Vincent and Sandra even more certain of their decision to ride the Michel Family¡¯s coattails. Meanwhile, Vincent and Lucile¡¯s rtionship progressed quickly. Indeed, Vincent had an attractive face. With an oriental gentleman¡¯s elegant beauty, it was especially attractive to foreign women. Once Vincenttched onto Lucile, Sandra was confident she would win over Linus! Every day, Sophia quietly watched Vincent throwing money at the pair of crooks. While being cheated of money, he was being cheated of sex too. Rumors had it that Abbie had been sleeping with several young men at the Mitchell Residence. That woman was extremely promiscuous and could not function as soon as a pretty boy appeared. Meanwhile, Cooper¡¯s business had been making significant progress, far beyond Vincent¡¯s. In fact, Sophia enjoyeding up with little tricks, even nting her own spy at Vincent¡¯s side. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Thetest news reported that Lucile had secretly moved into the Mitchell Residence. Although her identity remained confidential, everyone knew she was Vincent¡¯s girlfriend. As such, the Mitchell¡¯s treated her really well, as if she was a goddess. Not only that, Abbie moved in too. Initially, the Mitchell¡¯s thought of letting her marry into the Mitchell Family just to be safe. However, they did not expect her to be this promiscuous. She was constantly seducing and hooking up with men, partying every night and treating the Mitchell Residence as a harem. Knowing that they could never control her, the Mitchell¡¯s shot down the idea. Then, Sophia¡¯s spy reported that Vincent had spent hundreds of millions of dors on Lucile. It was more than what he had spent on Faye. Meanwhile, when Ian learned about Vincent and Lucile from various sources, he even went to hook up with Lucile; it seemed like the Edwards Family wanted a piece of the pie too. The spy also saw Ian and Lucile dining together alone and they were caught by Vincent. The two had a row and were very unhappy. Soon after, the spy came crying when he was reporting to Sophia. He had been following too closely and was unfortunately noticed by Abbie, who then forced him into bed. He wanted to quit and leave! So, Sophia arranged for him to go to Michael. The spy was good looking and would make a good living as an actor. She assured him that Michael would arrange a promising role for him. Upon learning about the spy¡¯s unfortunate encounter, Sophia felt incredibly sorry. Who knew the Mitchells would stoop to this level? They let two crooks in, cheating everything off them. In fact, they were not just cheating off of one family, they were cheating off of the Edwards Family too. Speaking of the Edwards Family, the old man Sam knew Lucile¡¯s true identity and that would end badly! Hurriedly, Sophia called him and invited him over to the Edwards Residence for a cup of tea. Not expecting Sophia would take the initiative to ask him out, Sam was surprised and happy. Despite that, he asked her in a cautious manner, ¡°Will your father be home?¡± ¡°He¡¯s away.¡± Upon hearing this, Sam was thrilled. He hung up the phone and instantly got ready before heading over to Edwards Residence. At the Edwards Residence, it had stopped snowing and the weather was sunny, but the ground was still covered in snow. Nathan came over and he was skating on the frozen pool, while Carmen was building a snowman. Meanwhile, Corrado was wearing a gaudy fluorescent pink coat as it yed with Snowball. In the teahouse, Sophia poured a cup of fragrant tea for Sam. With an awkward expression, Sam murmured, ¡°This¡­ This is bad¡­¡± This was the first time he had heard about Ian and Vincent pursuing¡­ Lucile Michel! Wasn¡¯t Lucile Michel Sophia herself? And yet, Sophia actually asked him to keep it a secret? Chapter 937 Chapter 937 Now that he knew that Ian was being cheated on, as the 9th Old Master Edwards, he could not just sit back and let it happen! It was a lot of money! Besides, the money was not as important as the reputation of the Edward Family! Compared to being cheated of money and a ruined reputation, it was worse to be cheated of sex! Although Ian and Sandra had broken off the engagement, he was still an unmarried young man. He was a popr, handsome and wealthy man, not to mention an eligible bachelor in Bayside City. If he really was cheated by that fake Lucile, then he would lose his value! Plus, this was about the reputation of the Edward Family! Clearly, Sam was very hesitant. After a whole day of having tea and chatting with Sophia only did he relent. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it when I get home. Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t say anything for now.¡± With that, Sam left. Sophia kept thinking about it and was afraid that he would identally reveal their secret, so she would often go to his shop and have lunch with him, brainstorming anding up with ideas. Coincidentally, hispany had opened a new shop next door and Sam was there almost every day. And so, Sophia would eat with him daily and chat with him while she was there. When Cooper finally found out, he personally went to the shop and ruthlessly threatened Sam. He knew that this was just a trick to coax Sophia to go to Sam, or that Sam was taking the opportunity to come to Sophia. This way, there would be many opportunities to talk to Sophia! They were overused tactics by Michael, so Cooper could see through it at a nce! Meanwhile, Sam did not expect Cooper to see through him, so he hastily obliged Sophia. Anyway, the Edwards Family were divided into factions and Ian was in Jordan¡¯s branch. His embarrassment would bring happiness to Sam. So, he watched as Ian was cheated of his money and sex. Meanwhile, Cooper took the opportunity to take away his dog. In fact, Sam was always away from Bayside City and was all over the world, so Corrado would be bored at home alone. It was more fun at Sophia¡¯s¡ªthere were cats, dogs, and a lolita there. Hence, it followed Cooper back without resisting. During this period of time, Sophia watched Sandra¡¯s movements closely and hired more spies along the way. She specifically chose those who were not good looking, in case Abbie wanted to sleep with them again. The spies then brought back a stream of news which was simply entertaining! Vincent and Ian were pursuing Lucile feverously, while Lucile was also very tactful. She had the two of them wrapped around her little finger as they willingly fought for her favor. December came and Maddie dropped by all of a sudden. Recently, Sophia would always tip Maddie off with exclusive news. As such, theirpany was earning a lot. ¡°Every year, ourpany has to work with dozens of other influential media agencies in the country to organize the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ star selection event. This is thergestpetition in our country and it¡¯s very influential.¡± Sophia looked at the promotional materials uncertainly, not knowing what Maddie was up to. Then, Maddie added quickly, ¡°Taylor was disqualified due to hisck of work in these three or four years. Back then, he and Ethan would always be in the top one and two spots but even if they won, they would never attend the award ceremony. So, I was hoping you could convince Taylor to attend the ceremony this time.¡± Skimming through the data, the award was the most influential artistpetition in Cethos and even in the Cethosiannguage world, involving many aspects of film, television and music. A few years ago, the best actor and best male actor awards were always swapped between Michael and Harry. However, ever since Sophia¡¯s ident, Michael had withdrawn from the entertainment industry, along with Harry. And so, the award was passed on to others. It was good enough that they were in the top ten spots every year. With no recent works, they were not as popr anymore. This year, they both returned to the industry together and their appeal had risen again. This time, they would surely take first ce! What Maddie meant was to let the two of them take part in thepetition and convince Michael and Harry to attend the award ceremony to increase the two over-the-hill actors¡¯ poprity. ¡°It¡¯s all been settled at Sarah¡¯s end. Now, it¡¯s just you!¡± Maddie¡¯s eyes lit up as she spoke. She knew that talking to the idols themselves would be of no use and it would be more useful to speak to their wives. In fact, she grew up watching their movies so she was a super huge fan! However, Sophia did not immediately agree. Instead, she called Michael to ask for his opinion. Their current rtionship was a mess. To call them divorced would be untrue, since they asionally slept in the same bed and would chat intimately on the phone every day. Yet, they were clearly divorced and the divorce certificate was still rtively fresh¡­ Before she slept, Sophia video called Michael. He was staying at a small town at the foot of the snowy mountain, which was an hour¡¯s drive from the film set. The hotel condition he stayed at was not bad but was not as good as those in Bayside City. Also, it must be freezing at night too. As soon as the video call connected, Michael excitedly said, ¡°Where¡¯s my daughter? Where¡¯s my little Carmen? Carmen Fletcher, let Daddy see you!¡± As soon as Carmen heard Michael¡¯s voice, she darted into view. ¡°Hi, Daddy!¡± Carmen leaped onto the bed and snuggled into Sophia¡¯s arms as she looked at Michael through the screen. Upon seeing his baby, Michael beamed with joy. Back then when Celine and Justin had an ident, Nathan¡¯s presence saved him but when Sophia¡¯s ident happened, it was Carmen who gave him the courage to live. Excitedly, Carmen told Michael about every little thing that happened at home. ¡°Corrady is here again! Grandpa even gave it a big kennel!¡± ¡°A boy from ss wrote me a love letter! I got a rose from my teacherst week too!¡± ¡°Stan came to visit again!¡± After reporting everything, Carmen went to get her beauty sleep. Then, Sophia took her phone to the study and continued talking to Michael. After seeing his beloved daughter, Sophia wanted to see her three fur babies too. Hence, Michael flipped the camera and angled it at the dog kennel. In the kennel were three dogs that were all sleeping like logs. If they weren¡¯t snoring, Sophia would have thought they were dead. That¡¯s odd. In the past, they would never sleep before eleven. It was only nine right now, yet they were sleeping so soundly. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Just then, Michael exined, ¡°Filming is tiring; everyone¡¯s exhausted, the dogs too. As soon as they come home, they would not even be able to open their eyes. Sometimes, they would even fall asleep while eating.¡± Sophia was having a hard time believing this and she kept thinking that something was off. However, she just could not pinpoint it. Then, she told him what Maddie had said. Michael was a regr winner on the show, yet he never attended the award ceremony. This was making things difficult for the organizing committee. If she could convince him to attend the ceremony, then the influence of ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ would definitely shoot up. Shamelessly, Michael said, ¡°You were the one who always canvassed for me in the past. You¡¯re the reason I¡¯ve always had the highest vote. When you were gone, I was disqualified. As for this year, if you can canvas for me, I¡¯ll give it a go.¡± Sophiaughed, knowing that he would never agree so easily. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll definitely canvas for you. If you win, you¡¯ll have to attend the ceremony. I already said yes to Maddie.¡± Thinking about it, Michael still refused. ¡°No¡­. Not unless you let me into bed.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia was speechless. Chapter 938 Chapter 938 This person was utterly shameless! In any case, she had finally persuaded Michael to attend the award ceremony of ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯. I¡¯ve finally managed to persuade Michael! He¡¯s being such a princess! Why does he have to be so difficult? In fact, as long as Sophia proposed it, he would definitely be willing to go. He just wanted to interact with Sophia more. Once filming started, they wouldn¡¯t see each other for a few months. He missed Sophia like crazy and he was already overjoyed to be able to talk to her on video call every night. After talking about ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯, Sophia again talked about Cooper. ¡°Stop doing stupid things that¡¯ll make Dad hate you even more. Dad actually liked you very much. If he really hated you, he would have killed you a long time ago. Although he says that he hates you and that he will kill you if youe back, at most he will just throw out the sanitary napkins and wash basins you endorsed. You should try to leave a better impression on him so that Dad will change his mind about you!¡± ¡­ Michael kept agreeing with her on the surface but he was cursing in his heart. If he didn¡¯t shamelessly crawl through the dog door, he couldn¡¯t have so easily gotten into Sophia¡¯s bed, could he? Of course Cooper would not actually kill him. After all, he was still his godfather¡¯s precious grandson! However, Sophia was right. He should also do something to make Cooper like him better. Although he won over Sophia by endorsing the stainless steel wash basin and appearing in local dramas, he still couldn¡¯t make Cooper like him. ¡­ Soon, the nomination of artists for the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ began again. This time, the selection was not divided into categories. Any works in the field of film, television, and music this year could be nominated. Harry was nominated for his role as the forefather of the Winston Family in the new film ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ that was released this year. He was on the list of the ¡®Most Popr Actor¡¯ and he had quickly risen to first ce. Meanwhile, Michael initially made the list with his role as Mark Fletcher. He acted as Mark in the documentary film ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ and ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, bing the actor to portray Mark the most times. However, only two days after Michael was nominated, his role as a bitter ex-boyfriend in ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯, Miles, was soon nominated as well. It beat his role as Mark Fletcher and topped the best actor list. Many popr celebrities had gotten into the list and they all looked gorgeous and beautiful in each of their photos disyed. In contrast, the photo of the simple and unadorned Miles portrayed by Michael stood out from the crowd. No matter how simple and unadorned he looked, he was still Michael Fletcher after all. He personally broke out from his elegant image and concealed his aristocratic temperament to be the ordinary Miles. In addition to Michael being nominated as the best actor, the character Miles had also been nominated as the best public image, topping the list soon thereafter. Taylor and Harry once again made into this year¡¯s list along with other popr celebrities.All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Meanwhile, Sarah taught Sophia all her unparalleled skills in canvassing that she had umted for many years. ¡°One can vote through online voting, telephone voting, hotline voting, and physical voting. One can only vote once per phone number and once a day. Thus, online voting is the most important way of voting. Let¡¯s do more lucky draws to attract theizens to share our posts on social media. We must also buy the advertising spaces of bus stops, building LEDs, andrge screens in squares.¡± ¡­ Sarah continued to speak endlessly of soliciting votes and supporting celebrities while Sophia was paying attention like a well-behaved student, even taking down notes in the process. It felt as if they had returned to the time when they were supporting their male idols back then. At that time, they were also this obsessive. Many years had passed and the celebrity-obsessed girls who were in their early twenties had also be mothers. However, they were still as passionate as before. The selection began and Sophia mobilized everyone around her to vote for Michael every day. Although he was already at the top of the list, Sophia was still very anxious, for fear that a sudden change would prevent her dear idol from winning. There were dozens of people in the Edwards Residence and everyone, including Cooper, was forced to vote on time every day. The employees in thepany were forced to vote as well. The past few days, Sophia worked tirelessly to support Michael. She even took out all the precious things endorsed by him that she had kept in the warehouse and gave them to his fan group so that they could organize voting events. She and Sarah also ced advertisements in major squares and buildings. Thus, Michael and Harry¡¯s faces were stered everywhere. Michael¡¯s face could literally be seen everywhere. Meanwhile, Cooper could only watch helplessly. What else could he do? He had no other option other than secretly throwing out the things Michael endorsed. Michael was like a persistent odour; Cooper couldn¡¯t stop him no matter what! Michael¡¯s guest appearance in a third-rate local drama for his wife still roused a lot of discussion among the public. The production team of ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯ was mediocre and the cast was not famous at all. Many actors were directly casted on the set. They were not even qualified to broadcast on satellite TV and their ratings were miserable. However, the actors were all very serious about their roles and the lead actors indeed had great acting skills. Plus, the film had a great script. However, it was a small production after all and none of the actors were well-known. No one would watch it except for the rural women and Sophia. This time, Michael yed the role of Miles, disregarding his image as a celebrity. His acting skills improved the overall level of the y slightly. This series also received attention and won awards abroad. He himself attracted a lot of middle-aged and old women in rural areas as his fans because of this role. In this ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony, he topped the list from the beginning, which everyone had expected. He had won two Academy Awards for Best Actor, after all. This time, Michael also proved to the world that he indeed deserved the title of an Academy Award-winning actor! This year, Michael cared about the results of the selection very much. He actually filmed a video to ask for votes and said that he would go to the award ceremony. The number of votes had skyrocketed and hispetitors were far behind him at this point. This was simply akin to a maximum-levelled master ughtering all the beginners in a game. This outdated male star, who faked his death and made aeback, actually managed to defeat the current popr celebrities by a huge margin. Michael also revealed that ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯ was in the pre-production stage and this three-year-old film would finally be remade. As one of the superheros, Doctor Invincible would join the Super Hero League in their fight against the cosmic bullies to protect the earth. Plus, he received a series of film contracts. Michael was undoubtedly the most sessful Cethosian actor; even Cooper admired him for that. Truth was, Michael¡¯s achievements had long surpassed his mother and he had be an important symbol of Cethosian culture worldwide. If he hadn¡¯t crawl through the dog door and did idiotic things, Cooper might have been truly impressed by him. On Christmas Eve, Carmen suddenly brought back a notice from the kindergarten. The 50th anniversary of the kindergarten was around the corner and every ss would organize cultural performances. As the most beautiful girl in ss, Carmen was eager to participate and prepare a stage y. She even wrote the script herself. Sophia nced at the script Carmen had prepared. The title of the show was ¡®Doctor Invincible vs. Pleasant Goat¡¯. Carmen would be acting as the goat, so she needed someone to act as Doctor Invincible. Sophia couldn¡¯t imagine Michael in his costume on the stage of the kindergarten, fighting Carmen in a goat costume for the school celebration. However, she was at a loss for words in the face of Carmen, who was looking at her with pleading eyes! Chapter 939 Chapter 939 Carmen looked at Sophia helplessly, causing Sophia¡¯s hair to stand on end. ¡°Why are you looking at me? I don¡¯t know how to act as Doctor Invincible!¡± Carmen said pitifully, ¡°Daddy knows. If you call him, he wille back immediately.¡± Carmen knew that Michael was busy, so he might not necessarilye back. However, she knew for sure that he would definitelye back if Sophia gave an order! As long as Michael coulde and perform this stage y with herself, she would definitely be the most popr girl in kindergarten! However, Sophia looked reluctant. Michael was already so busy with his film now, and it would take several days to prepare for the stage y. How could he leave the crew for so long? However, Carmen looked at Sophia pitifully with her pair of big, ck eyes while she grabbed her sleeves with her tiny fingers and pouted. ¡°Mommy, I am not your favorite baby girl anymore, huh?¡± This was Carmen¡¯s ace in the hole! It was very useful in persuading Cooper and Sophia, who would not be able to say no to her after hearing that. In the end, Sophia bit the bullet and called Michael to talk to him about Carmen¡¯s kindergarten anniversary celebration. After listening to her words, Michael¡¯s face scrunched up. ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able toe back. I can¡¯t ask for leave now as I have many scenes to film in the next few days.¡± Sophia also knew that Michael was in a difficult position. He had already taken several days leave during the filming of this movie. This period of time was the most critical moment during the filming, so she didn¡¯t want to insist that hee back just for Carmen¡¯s kindergarten anniversary celebration. Seeing that Carmen was on the verge of tears, Sophia couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and gave the phone to Carmen, asking Michael to coax her. When Carmen got the phone, she sobbed, ¡°¡­Daddy, am I still your favorite baby girl?¡± Michael was speechless. Michael could not resist these words, and within a few days, Michael appeared at the gates of Edwards Residence. ¡°Why are you here again?!¡± Cooper¡¯s eyes widened, looking at the travel-stained Michael. Although Michael came in a hurry, he was still well-dressed and looked neat. He was going to meet his wife, so he specially tidied up his hair. He touched his head and said, ¡°Carmen asked me toe back and help her prepare the show for her kindergarten anniversary celebration!¡± Cooper was furious. ¡°I was already nning to go to Carmen¡¯s kindergarten anniversary celebration anyway, so you shouldn¡¯t have worried about it!¡± Carmen looked up at Cooper while holding Michael¡¯s big hand, pouting. ¡°Grandpa, are you going to act with me in the stage y?¡± Cooper frowned as he obviously didn¡¯t know how to act in stage ys. He hurriedly touched Carmen¡¯s hair and said gently, ¡°My dear baby girl, your dad is busy filming these days. I will find you a better actor to act with you in the stage y, okay?¡± Carmen became even more upset. ¡°Then will the actor you hire have better acting skills than Daddy?¡± Cooper said confidently, ¡°I guarantee that they¡¯ll be better than Daddy!¡± Carmen was not convinced and said with her hips akimbo, ¡°My dad is an Oscar-winning actor. How can a random actor be better than him?!¡± Cooper was speechless. Carmen said, ¡°Grandpa, so you won¡¯te to act with me in the stage y?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡° Cooper fell silent again. ¡°But the other kids will be acting with their grandpa, daddy, or mommy¡­ Are you sure that I am still your favorite baby girl?¡± ¡°¡­¡­¡° Cooper continued to keep mum. Carmen and Sophia were Cooper¡¯s precious babies and simply the bane of his existence. Everytime he saw Carmen pout her pink lips, he would give the whole world to her. In the end, there were 4 roles in Carmen¡¯s stage y¡ªWeslie, Paddi, Slowy and Doctor Invincible. Weslie was yed by Carmen, Paddi by Nathan, Slowy by Cooper, and Doctor Invincible by Michael, of course. Michael again dauntlessly lived in Cooper¡¯s house. The kindergarten anniversary celebration was approaching, and they only had five days to prepare. Cooper frowned as he read the ¡®script¡¯ written by Carmen. What on earth is this? Carmen¡¯s vocabry size had indeed increased, but writing scripts was still too difficult for her. Her spelling was a mess, and she drew symbols in the stead of the words which she didn¡¯t know. Cooper couldn¡¯t understand the script at all, but Carmen insisted that he act as Slowy. He didn¡¯t know how to act as he didn¡¯t understand the script, and he was afraid that he would embarrass Carmen. Fortunately, the professional Michael came to the rescue. He initially worked as a drama and opera actor, and onlyter turned to acting in movies. He took Carmen¡¯s script and modified it, and then he showed it to Cooper. With that, Cooper actually understood it. Michael then quickly sent someone to prepare the background music and stage background. Everyone¡¯s costumes were prepared overnight as well and sent over. Everything was ready, and they were just waiting for the arrival of the kindergarten anniversary celebration. At this time, the difference between a professional actor and a non-professional actor was evident. Cooper really couldn¡¯t perform well in this kind of childish stage y. He often couldn¡¯t remember the lines. Meanwhile, Carmen had many years of at-home performance experience. She remembered the lines after memorizing them once, and she was very confident on stage and did not have any stage fright at all. She was great at reciting the lines, and she had a professional actor dad to help her, so she had no issues with preparing for this small stage y. This time, Carmen was determined to be the best. One of the boys in her kindergarten had participated in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ and was very popr. All her peers liked him, and Carmen herself had fewer fans than him. She was jealous, so she was even more determined to act well during the y, striving to be the best actor in her school. Sophia had prepared arge rehearsal room specially for Carmen. When she was four years old, she would hire a professional dancer to teach her dancing full-time, but now, they would use the room to prepare for the stage y. Nathan was also forced to act as well, but fortunately, he had many years of awkward acting experience as a supporting role for Carmen, so he could cope with this asion. The only person that dragged Carmen down was Cooper. Cooper wanted to escape all the time, but he couldn¡¯t leave because Carmen wouldn¡¯t let him, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue acting. The kindergarten these days was truly torturing as they often held parent-child activities and events. It seemed that all the programs for this anniversary celebration were prepared by parents and their children together as well. Truly, one could not be a parent if one didn¡¯t have any skills these days. Sophia couldn¡¯t help much in this stage y either. She really didn¡¯t have any talent for acting, but Carmen seemed to have inherited Michael¡¯s skills perfectly. She would remember her lines after reciting them once, and she would even improvise on the spot. The heater in the rehearsal room was turned on to the max, so Michael was sweating profusely. Thus, Sophia gave him some water and wiped off his sweat. Michael took the hem of his shirt and started fanning himself while talking to Sophia, revealing a bit of his abdominal muscles. When Sophia lowered her head and saw his well-defined muscles, her cheeks flushed red.Owned by N?velDrama.Org. He was covered with sweat, and a strong scent that was unique to men emanated from him. The older he got, the more handsome he was¡­ Michael looked down at her, and he looked as if he was talking to her. Then, Sophia lowered her head and pursed her lips before chuckling. Cooper was furious. He was about to go forward to separate them, but Carmen grabbed him with her little hand. ¡°Grandpa, are you going to sneak away?¡± Cooper said hurriedly, ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just going to talk to Mommy.¡± Carmen continued hugging his thigh tightly while her big, ck eyes widened and stared at Cooper vigntly. ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t leave!¡± Everyone thought that she was just an ignorant child, but in fact, she knew everything. She knew that Cooper didn¡¯t like Michael and wanted to separate her Daddy and Mommy! She had worked so hard to create opportunities for Daddy and Mommy to reconcile. After all, her job was to unite the family! Chapter 940 Chapter 940 Cooper looked down at Carmen who was hanging onto his thighs speechlessly. With no other choice, he could only watch Michael seduce his precious girl in front of him. Sure enough, a daughter would always side with her father. It was obvious that Carmen sided with Michael, not Cooper. Not only did Carmen not side with Cooper, but she even tried to help her father seduce Cooper¡¯s precious daughter. She¡¯s a traitor! Cooper had tried many times to be fierce to Carmen. However, every time Carmen stared at him adorably with her big, ck eyes and pouted her mouth, Cooper¡¯s heart would instantly soften. He didn¡¯t want to act tough anymore. His granddaughter was more important! Although Michael had low academic qualifications, he was a visiting professor of performance at Bayside University. He asionally would go to ss to instruct the students. This time, under the leadership of Michael, the show rehearsal went well. Except for the childish nature of the y, it was almost perfect. The plot of the y was nothing special. Doctor Invincible wanted to catch the goats in Goat Vige for experimentation. The goats in the vige fought back, but Slowy was caught. Weslie and Sparky must protect the whole vige and rescue the vige chief, so they fought against ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ for three hundred rounds, and finally rescued the vige chief and the whole vige. When Cooper saw the script, he was shocked. How did Carmene up with such a shameful plot? Owned by N?velDrama.Org. How could Michael seriously act it out? Cooper had very few lines, and he was just a background actor who was kept in a cage for the whole y. Nathan didn¡¯t have much to do as Sparky as well. He just followed Weslie around with no expression on his face throughout the entire y. He didn¡¯t even have a single line. At least Cooper had a line¡ªWeslie, help! ¡°Weslie, help¡ª¡± As soon as Cooper said the line, Carmen immediately looked disgusted and said, ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re saying your lines with no emotion. You have to act anxious and afraid. When you see mee to rescue you, you have to be happy!¡± The face of Cooper, who was locked in a cage, turned bitter. I have to act afraid, and then happy?! He was locked in a cage by Carmen, and he had said ¡®Weslie, help!¡¯ a dozen times, but Carmen was still not satisfied with his performance. She kept pointing out errors in his lines, totally dissatisfied. Meanwhile, Sophia had brought the strawberry popsicles she made to share with everyone. Locked in a cage, Cooper watched Michael and Sophia share one popsicle. They took turns biting and licking it, making Cooper feel extremely disgusted! He was so angry that he was about to rush out of the cage, but Carmen immediately said while licking her popsicle, ¡°Grandpa, you are now locked in a cage by Doctor Invincible. You are not allowed toe out! You¡¯ll ruin the y if youe out! Here, eat this popsicle.¡± Ignoring the popsicle, Cooper sulked in the cage. Carmen is a traitor! She¡¯s a darned traitor! As Michael was a professional and Carmen also had many years of at-home directing and acting experience, their stage y rehearsal went very smoothly. Everything was fine except for Cooper¡¯s hindrance. Cooper felt that Carmen and Michael must have deliberately arranged for him to act in such an embarrassing role. He was locked in the cage from start to finish, and they evenined that he was dragging them down. After the rehearsal was over on thest day, Carmen released Cooper from the cage. He quickly slipped away, and Carmen evenined loudly, ¡°Grandpa, please don¡¯t drag us down tomorrow!¡± Cooper turned around and red at Michael fiercely. Michael was lifting Carmen high up, his eyes full of love. Carmen is indeed the apple of my eye! I must have a few more children! Carmen had embarrassed Cooper, but Cooper would definitely not lecture his little baby girl, so he vented all his anger on Michael. Ever since he moved in, Cooper had disconnected the wifi and blocked the mobile signal in his room. Plus, he would keep an eye on him 24 hours a day, and he was never allowed to contact Sophia in private. The dog door was also sealed. The kindergarten anniversary celebration arrived in the blink of an eye, and Carmen happily took her parents and grandfather to school. In the past, when there were activities in the kindergarten that required parents to participate, Sophia or Cooper were the ones who attended. Michael would always be filming in other ces. Today, Carmen finally took her father to her kindergarten, so she was ecstatic. The security of the entire kindergarten today was tightened because this was a major event. Many parents had made time to attend this event, and there were many celebrities among them, like the handsome boy who Carmen was the most jealous of and his father, as well as Hope and his father, Harry. Lastly, there was Michael. There were also a number of lesser-known stars and celebrities appearing one after another. The kindergarten was truly star-studded. After all, it was the first aristocratic kindergarten in the south of the city, so the parents of the children were from wealthy backgrounds. Michael came here after changing into his costumes at home. He wore the original costume of Doctor Invincible, which he collected after he finished filming the movie. When he came, there was a burst of exmation at the scene. Carmen brought a bunch of children to Michael. Standing up straight, she said with great pride, ¡°This is my Daddy. My Daddy is Doctor Invincible. He¡¯s a great hero who has fought aliens and monsters!¡± The children raised their heads and looked at him with amazement. A dozen pairs of round eyes were filled with innocence and envy as they began to exim. ¡°Wow¡­ Carmen¡¯s dad is amazing!¡± With a fake smile, Michael raised his hand to greet Carmen¡¯s schoolmates. This is so embarrassing. I want to leave. Carmen raised her head and looked at Michael with pleading eyes. ¡°Daddy, my ssmates want to take a photo with you, the hero. Is that fine?¡± Michael looked at the dozen or so children standing in line and nodded silently. As a result, a dozen children lined up in an orderly manner for a photo. Hope took a Proid photo for them. After the photo came out, Ashton quickly handed a pen to Michael to sign the photo. He did this all very proficiently. Michael was surrounded by a group of kids, who regarded him as a tourist attraction. He had to take a photo with them and even sign the photo. Sophia felt that Carmen would not be so kind as to let the childrene to surround her Daddy. Later, she asked Fatty to inquire about it. Sure enough, Carmen had charged the kids. She charged them 10 for a photo, and 15 for photos where Michael was hugging them. They had to pay 5 extra if they wanted Michael to sign it. Not only did Carmen make money from her own father, but she did the same to her godfather, Harry, as well. However, she charged a cheaper fee for Harry. She charged only 5 for a photo with him, and 10 for a photo with him holding the kids. She charged a cheaper fee for Michael than for the Bedlington Terrier. If they wanted to take a photo with the terrier, they would have to pay 20. Can¡¯t believe that she¡¯s my daughter! Michael cooperated very well with Carmen¡¯s business. He took photos with the kids, even hugging them or signing the photos as requested. He had a fake smile on his face the whole time, but he generously let the group of parents take pictures of him and their kids. Today, Carmen came in the full Weslie costume. On the furry headgear of the goat costume were two horns, and she looked adorable in it. The children also found Cooper, who was sitting on the side with a gloomy face. He was also wearing a costume, and his whole body was wrapped in a sheep costume. Only his face was exposed, and he had also put on makeup. The makeup team hired by Michael were all very professional, and the makeup artists made them look exactly like the ones in the cartoon. Nathan had been dealing with Carmen for many years, so he was already familiar with such things. Thus, he had no expression on his face. Meanwhile, it was Cooper¡¯s first time being tortured by Carmen, and he was so furious that there was no expression on his face at all. The children eximed, ¡°Wow¡­ Its¡¯ Slowy!¡± Carmen was very proud. ¡°Slowy is about to be taken away by Doctor Invincible and locked up!¡± With a sullen face, Cooper kept quiet. Of course the kids also lined up to take a photo with him. Cooper would never know that it only cost 1 buck to take a photo with Snowy. Plus, his autograph was free. Chapter 941 Chapter 941 Fortunately, Cooper didn¡¯t know about it, otherwise today¡¯s stage y might not be able to go on. The theatrical performance had begun. The dean¡¯s mother and the student¡¯s parent representative would give a speech. This time, Harry was chosen to be the parent representative, and he gave an impromptu speech after going on stage. In the audience, Sophia and Michael sat together, holding hands quietly. Cooper red at them, but there was nothing that he could do. Michael was bold indeed. He knew that Cooper was staring at him but still dared to hold Sophia¡¯s hand. Come fight me if you¡¯re so angry, Cooper! Soon, the stage y began. This time round, the performances were held within the kindergarten. The individual programs were prepared jointly by the parents, students, and faculty of the kindergarten. This was Carmen¡¯s first time going on stage. In the past, she always performed by herself at home with an audience of at most 30 people, including both humans and their pets. This was a big event with hundreds of people in the audience, so the performance was very important. As soon as he learned about it, Michael put aside his filming and came to prepare the show with Carmen. His appearance fee was not cheap, but this time he came for free. Actually, the kids were charged 15 for photos with him. This was simply a bargain. His signed photos all fetched a high price on Amazon. Originally, Ashton was going to act in the y with Carmen, but Ashton also had his own ideas, so he independently prepared a martial arts performance. When Harry learned about the kindergarten anniversary celebration, he also rushed back with Michael specially to prepare for the show with Hope. Carmen prepared ¡®Doctor Invincible vs Pleasant Goat¡¯, so their family could actually prepare a y called the ¡®Cbash Brothers vs Superman¡¯, but he didn¡¯t expect that Hope would sneer at that idea. He was born with a resting b*tch face which was probably inherited from his grandparents. The moment he was born, he already had a sour face as if he was sneering at the whole world. He even sneered at his father, Harry, only to sumb to the power of Carmen because he couldn¡¯t beat her. Right after the performance started, Cooper began to doze off. What on earth are these kids doing¡­ There was not a single satisfactory program, and aach one was even more childish than thest. There were some kids who sang and forgot the lyrics. Some stood on the stage for a minute and didn¡¯t know what to do, so they simply sat on the ground and cried loudly. Frustrated, Cooper frowned. Carmen¡¯s eyes were staring at the handsome boy. He and his father had prepared a singing and dance performance. They sang the theme song of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Listening to the familiar melody, Carmen was jealous. She subconsciously tightened her grip on Michael¡¯s costume. Michael was wearing the original costume of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯. Even the makeup, as well as the actor, were original. He hugged Carmen and said, ¡°Carmen, you¡¯re the best. Rx and just do your best. Next year, I¡¯ll bring you along to participate in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯.¡± Sophia also stroked the fuzzy and furry Weslie headgear and said, ¡°Come on, my darling baby!¡± Cooper also cheered Carmen on. ¡°I will try my best not to drag you down, okay?¡± Harry, Sarah, Hale, and Gwen also hurriedly cheered her on. ¡°Come on, Carmen. You¡¯re the most beautiful girl in kindergarten. Have more confidence!¡± ¡°Good girl. You can do it!¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. A raging me was ignited in Carmen. I must do well this time. I¡¯m the most beautiful girl in kindergarten!! Soon, Carmen¡¯s performance began. First of all, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ appeared on the stage. When he appeared on the stage, he naturally the audience to exim as they were amazed by him. The authentic version of ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ and the cute Pleasant Goat were twopletely different themes, so everyone wondered how the y would unfold¡­ The parents who dozed off were all awake and stared at them with widened eyes. ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ captured Slowy, then Weslie and Sparky rushed to rescue him. When the vige chief who was trapped in the iron cage saw Weslie, he shouted, ¡°Weslie, help!¡± Weslie said, ¡°Hey, monster, let go of the vige chief!¡± The audience all kept quiet. Harry was cringing hard. This first line was already so shockingly embarrassing. With a serious expression, Michael responded to Weslie, ¡°Kid, I¡¯m not a monster. I¡¯m Doctor Invincible. The aliens on the Sikesied have secretly invaded Earth, and Slowy has been possessed by aliens. Now, I¡¯m going to take him away to study ways to eliminate aliens.¡± Harry sweated profusely. How can Michael say such embarrassing lines so confidently and seriously? Sophia was also feeling anxious, fearing that Carmen would forget her lines, or that Michael would be too embarrassed and forget his lines. Cooper, who was in the cage, was also nervous. He was so nervous that his headgear was full of sweat. He was worried for Carmen. However, fortunately, Carmen did a good job today. However, she was still a kid after all, and she still forgot a few lines in the middle. She should have said, ¡°Come at me, monsters! I will fight for the future of Goat Vige!¡± However, Carmen forgot the lines and just stood on the stage motionlessly for a few seconds. It was absolutely awkward and silent. Cooper, who was in the cage, was extremely anxious, gesturing desperately, but after all, it was Carmen¡¯s first time performing in a stage y. She was so nervous that she forgot all the lines, and looked at Michael with teary eyes. At the critical moment, ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ waved his sleeves and said coldly and unrelentingly, ¡°Weslie, aren¡¯t you fighting for the future of Goat Vige? What are you doing in a daze? Are you scared?¡± After being stupefied for a second, Carmen had a sudden sh of inspiration while she was looking at ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ and she improvised, ¡°I-I¡¯m not afraid. I¡¯m just thinking of how to defeat you!¡± However, she still sounded fearful. Her acting seemed very real and clever. The y sessfully went on! Sophia and Cooper breathed a sigh of relief. They were so nervous just now that they forgot to breathe. Carmen¡¯s performance continued, and Cooper was sessfully rescued. The stage y then ended, and the actors made the curtain call. With that, the audience burst into apuse as the y was really good. The whole style of the y was different from the others, and they were so good that they seemed like professional actors crushing amateurs. When the winners were announced, Carmen won first ce as expected. Michael took Carmen, who was overjoyed, to the stage to receive the award. He then raised her, who was holding the trophy, up high, making her the most eye-catching kid on the scene. Looking at Carmen, who had won an award for the first time and was smiling brilliantly, Cooper felt that all the embarrassment today was worthwhile. When she forgot her lines just now, he was so anxious. His eyes couldn¡¯t help but fall on Michael. For the first time today, this jerk didn¡¯t make him feel upset. As a father, Michael did a better job than Cooper. Today, he was like a hero who had descended from the sky in the eyes of Carmen. Nothing made her happier than having a hero as a father. Michael gave Carmen a happy childhood. He devoted his efforts and energy to her dreams and future, and he worked hard to build a good life for Carmen so that she could grow up happily and maintain her innocence and kindness. However, Cooper¡¯s own daughter did not have such a good father¡­ Cooper looked at Sophia, who was apuding Michael and Carmen while grinning ear to ear and shedding tears of joy. After the performance, the family returned home. The moment Carmen got out of the car, she couldn¡¯t stay still. While holding her mother with her left hand and her father with her right, she sang, ¡°¡­Although I am just a goat, the green grass has be more fragrant because of me!¡± Michael continued the song, singing, ¡°The sky has be bluer because of me, and the white clouds have be softer because of me!¡± Sophia also tried to sing along, ¡°Don¡¯t look down on me just because I¡¯m a goat. Goats are smart creatures.¡± Then, the family of three looked at Cooper in unison, waiting for him to continue the song. Cooper kept quiet because he didn¡¯t know how to sing the song. Carmen said, ¡°I¡¯m angry now. I don¡¯t want to y with Grandpa anymore.¡± Cooper looked at the family of three holding hands and entering the house, feeling very lonely. After returning home, Cooper secretly asked Carmen again when the time was right, ¡°Darling, between Daddy and Grandpa, who do you like better?¡± Carmen was drinking milk. She then wiped her mouth and replied without skipping a beat, ¡°Of course it¡¯s Daddy! Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± Hearing this, Cooper felt even more lonely. Chapter 942 Chapter 942 However, Cooper was not willing to give up and asked Carmen, ¡°Why? Am I not as good as Daddy?¡± Carmen spit out her pacifier. She put on a serious expression and gave it a thought, and her voice became solemn as she said, ¡°Grandpa, you are not allowed to ask me such questions in the future. Daddy said that this kind of question is stupid and bad¡­¡± Cooper stuttered, ¡°I¡­¡± Carmen replied, ¡°If your dad and mom were about to die, who would you choose? If Mommy and I fell into the water at the same time and you could only save one of us, who would you save? Daddy said that I should beat up anyone who dares to ask such a question to me when I grow up.¡± Cooper said, ¡°I¡­¡± Carmen continued, ¡°I¡¯ll only answer this once. Daddy and I have known each other for many, many years, but you and I have only known each other for one, two, three, four¡­ Less than thirteen months. So, I prefer Daddy!¡± Cooper was speechless. Carmen replied, ¡°If you ask this question again, I will be angry!¡± Cooper sighed, feeling a little sad. He tried hard to be a good grandfather, but found that the precious Carmen never took his side. Carmen also knew that she had hurt her grandfather, so she offered her milk to Cooper. ¡°Grandpa, drink this.¡± Cooper took Carmen¡¯s milk bottle, and saw that ¡®Carmen¡¯s milk bottle¡¯ was written with Carmen¡¯s private stamp on it. All of the ¡®royal items¡¯ of Carmen would be covered with her stamp. Her self-designed stamp was ugly and awkward-looking, but Michael treated it like treasure and still passed the stamps to the factory. All the customized things used by Carmen would be printed with her seal because she would have a sense of aplishment that way. Cooper held Carmen¡¯s milk bottle that was still warm. Carmen had always been drinking this type of milk, which was no ordinary milk as it had been specially developed for her. She was able to grow up healthily thanks to Michael¡¯s hard work. He devoted energy and effort to Carmen, and he even set up a special medical team to monitor Carmen¡¯s health. The milk she drank and the food she ate every day would all be prepared by expert nutritionists. It was no wonder that Carmen preferred Michael. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Thinking about it this way, Cooper felt better. He ruffled Carmen¡¯s hair and returned the milk bottle to her. Carmen was very clingy today. She invited Cooper to drink her exclusive milk, and took the initiative to sleep with Cooper at night. Cooper was so moved that he almost cried. The little girl was probably acting this way because Cooper had worked hard for her stage y recently. She was very grateful, so she took the initiative to show her gratitude. Carmen enthusiastically introduced Cooper to her new items today. ¡°This is my pillow! This is my bed! These are my slippers! This is my diaper. Don¡¯t tell the other children about it! Other children don¡¯t need it anymore, but I¡¯m still secretly using it.¡± Seeing that Carmen was trying hard to show her items to him, he quickly apuded very cooperatively. ¡°Wow, these are nice!¡± Although the little girl did not side with him, Cooper was already very happy that she was willing to talk to himself. Carmen often went to sleep in various rooms, so they made a small movable bed with the theme of ¡®Bla the Fairies¡¯ for her. She would ask someone to push the bed to wherever she went. After showing off her bed, Carmen said again, ¡°Daddy found someone to write a theme song for me. Do you want to listen to it?¡± Since Carmen was going to participate in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, Cooper had set up apany for her that was responsible for all her acting affairs. Michael had also found a well-known songwriter in the industry to make the theme song for Carmen. They were even going to shoot her MV in spring. Cooper was overjoyed. ¡°Great. I want to hear it.¡± Carmen was wearing pajamas with baby bears on them and she began to sing and dance. She also had a vocal teacher dedicated to teaching her in kindergarten, so she sang much better than before. Her voice was sweet and crisp, and she had begun to learn to control her breathing. She sang so beautifully that Cooper became lightheaded. He was overjoyed for the entire night. It was onlyter that he learned that he had been tricked by Carmen again. On the night that Carmen made him lightheaded, Michael swaggered into Sophia¡¯s room and bedded her all night. In the mistress¡¯ residence, Sophia turned on the night light, and the whole bedroom was enveloped in a romantic atmosphere. Clothes were strewn across the ground. A woman¡¯s underwear and man¡¯s boxer briefs were wildly entangled together. Shae sneaked in and took the clothes away, then sent them to the waterhouse. The clothes would be clean for them to wear tomorrow morning. Sophia was covered in sweat. Leaning on Michael¡¯s shoulder, she said shyly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were justing up here to chat with me?¡± Recalling the great s*x he had just now, Michael whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t hold back anymore.¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but punch his chest with her small fist and pouted. ¡°You even said that your manhood couldn¡¯t get into me, and even if it did, you wouldn¡¯t move¡­¡± Michael looked at the gorgeous Sophia in his arms and started feeling horny again. He flipped over and lay on top of Sophia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I couldn¡¯t hold back again.¡± ¡­ The night was long, but in Michael¡¯s view, his time with his lover would always be short. Tomorrow morning, he would leave again. This time round, they would not be able to see each other for another month. He wanted to give her all the love and longing he had umted during this month in one night. Although he knew it was not easy, Michael tried hard to leave behind his seed in Sophia. He hoped that it would take shape, take root and sprout. He hoped that Sophia would give birth to another child so that he would have another precious and loving baby. However, he also knew how difficult this was. Sophia had not taken care of her health ever since she was a child, and she had exhausted all her strength to give birth to Carmen. Previously, she was captured by Quinton. She had to escape while pregnant with Carmen, which had also ruined her health. Now, her body was beginning to get better, but the doctor had said that her chance of having a baby again was very small. It¡¯s fine if that¡¯s the case¡­ God already gave Carmen to me, and she¡¯s already the greatest gift. I can¡¯t be greedy. Sometimes, he felt a little empty, and that Carmen was very lonely without a sibling¡­ Still, they could just get more pets! The more pets they got, the better. In the middle of the night, Sophia got up to drink some water then came back, lying in Michael¡¯s arms while preparing to have the next round of sex. Michael¡¯s hands had been stroking Sophia¡¯s t stomach. Her stomach felt cold to touch, so Michael warmed her belly with his big palm, hoping that this would drive away the coldness. Sophia let out a contented sigh and suddenly asked, ¡°If we have a second child in the future, do you think it would be boy or a girl?¡± Before Michael could speak, Sophia already replied, ¡°I hope that it¡¯s a daughter. Look at Carmen, she¡¯s great! Daughters are great. They smell good, and they¡¯re obedient. Bubbles and Snowball are also girls, and they¡¯re very obedient. Look at Judge¡­ I wouldn¡¯t want to have a son as naughty as Judge in the future.¡± Speaking of sons, Michael thought of Nate. Unfortunately, it was also his first time being a father at that time. He was very nervous and bad at parenting, thus he had raised Nate into a person with a cold attitude. Now, he regretted it very much. He was grown up now and had gradually be sensible. Plus, he had a younger sister, and he had gradually realized that Michael had tried hard to be a good father. However, he was still very cold. Chapter 943 Chapter 943 After learning from his experience of raising Nate, he worked extra hard to raise Carmen. He took care of everything by himself and no longer made other people do the work. He changed Carmen¡¯s diapers, and he even cleaned her after she peed and pooped. He formted milk powder for her under the guidance of an expert and when she was ill, he guarded her all day and night. ¡°¡­She was very sick and in a lot of pain. The doctor even advised me to euthanize her and let her go peacefully, but Carmen was still trying very hard to continue breathing. Her heart was beating hard and I knew that she wanted to live. She was always so strong and optimistic. No matter how bad the situation was, she tried her best to live on. I stayed next to her in the hospital and watched them inject things into Carmen¡¯s thin arms again and again. She relied on a venttor to survive. asionally, she would open her eyes and look at me. As soon as I stretched out my hand, her little hand would grab my fingers hard. Although she was still ignorant and didn¡¯t know who I was, she knew that I hadn¡¯t given up on her. She was trying hard to live for me. Then, she overcame all difficulties and survived healthily.¡± When Sophia heard Michael talk about this, she couldn¡¯t help but cry. That scene felt familiar to her. Back then when she was in aa, she seemed to have heard simr words. The doctors were saying that she could not survive and would die in endless pain. They said that it would be better to euthanize her and let her pass away peacefully. However, a pair of warm and strong hands held her all the time, desperately trying to warm her. Although she was in a lot of pain and she wanted to give up so that she could be free, the warmth of those big hands had given her courage. She was in a lot of pain, but she still wanted to live. She wanted to live no matter how small the chance was! It was simply a gift from heaven that she could survive and even reunite with Carmen and her dad! ¡°You made me cry¡­¡± Sophia sobbed. Michael kissed her on the forehead and whispered in her ear, ¡°Will you promise me one thing? You and Carmen are everything to me. Don¡¯t leave me, okay¡­?¡± He tasted his own salty tears, and he heard Sophia¡¯s soft voice answering, ¡°Okay¡­¡± Early in the morning the next day, Cooper learned that Michael had slept in Sophia¡¯s building all night. His face flushed red with rage, and he kept ring at Michael during breakfast. Michael didn¡¯t back down either. Sophia knew that the two of them were at odds with each other, so she intervened and said, ¡°Okay, stop staring at each other. If you guys keep ring, you might be cross-eyed soon.¡± It was only then did Michael and Cooper finally stop. Although Cooper was angry that Michael had taken away his baby girl, as a father, he was still grateful to him. They had both watched their daughter dying in front of them before. Thinking about it this way, he had a better understanding of Michael. Still, they were still on opposite sides because Michael wanted to snatch away Cooper¡¯s baby girl. This was simply unforgivable! Bubbles came over and the huge dog looked at Michael pitifully, as if he knew that Michael was going to leave. Michael patted its head and said, ¡°Dad is going out to make a lot of money. Take care of our home and don¡¯t destroy it.¡± Bubbles stuck out her tongue, looking very cute. Carmen immediately skipped over and said, ¡°I also want you to ruffle my hair!¡±This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael freed up a hand to ruffle Carmen¡¯s hair and said to Sophia, ¡°Look, our pets are also very cute. When Carmen enters elementary school, let¡¯s get a few more pets.¡± Sophia hugged Sunset. The beautiful Ragdoll cat was full of aristocratic temperament. She finally knew why she had decided to raise so many cats and dogs¡ªit was because she couldn¡¯t have children at that time. It was said that in many feudal families in Cethos, women who could not give birth to children, especially those who could not give birth to sons, had to be hung up and beaten. Inparison, Michael truly treated her well. She had not been able to have children after so many years of marriage, but he didn¡¯t hang her up and beat her. He even raised so many pets with her. The family was enjoying themselves. Cooper, who was left out, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. After eating, he changed into his clothes and went out. His baby girl was about to be snatched away, so he felt an even more urgent need to find his son. Before leaving, he fed his tortoise and said to Dimon, ¡°Send him off in a while. Keep an eye on him.¡± When he said this, his fierce eyes were staring at Michael. Dimon was speechless. I¡¯m just sending Michael to the airport. Why does it sound like Michael is going to be killed? Geez. After eating breakfast, Linus dropped Carmen off at the kindergarten. ¡°Uncle Linus, please take good care of Carmen.¡± Sophia said goodbye to Linus at the door. Meanwhile, without Cooper around, Michael took it one step further and openly ced his arm around Sophia as her lover. Linus nced at them and said, ¡°Yeah.¡± Carmen went out wearing new clothes. She was wearing a fuschia hat with two pointy cat ears, and she was in a pink outfit. Her hands, which were in her little gloves, waved. ¡°Daddy, you can be rest assured and go off now. Make sure you earn money to buy me a floral dress!¡± After leaving the house, Linus nced at Messenger calmly and realized that he had a new message. Alice texted, ¡®Everything is ready.¡¯ ¡­ This time round, Michael didn¡¯t let Sophia send him off. The journey would take two or three hours, and he couldn¡¯t bear letting her feel tired. Michael and Harry returned to the crew together. So far, they had been on leave for five days already. They were the main male leads so if they didn¡¯te back, the crew would be in big trouble. As soon as Michael came back, he saw an extra person in the crew. She was an extremely beautiful Western woman with dazzling blond hair who stood out in the crew. This time round, the crew of ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ hired a well-known foreign photography team, and the woman was a well-known photographer. When Michael came, the woman had already be acquainted with Celine and was teaching her English. ¡°Hello, Mr. Murray. I have been a fan of yours for many years. Please call me Alice.¡± The Western women took the initiative to talk to Michael. She had long legs and a very tall figure. Even if she was wearing thick winter clothes, she still couldn¡¯t hide her beautiful curves, and she was very proud of her height of 1.7-meter. When she looked up at him, there was just the right amount of worship and pleasant surprise in her eyes. She didn¡¯t look too cold nor overly fanatical. As soon as Michael lowered his head, he saw her work tag. She was Alice Michel, an assistant photographer. Michel¡­ Michael frowned when he saw this surname. Still, he shook hands with Alice and said, ¡°Nice to meet you. Thank you for your hard work.¡± Alice smiled. She had very sharp facial features, and her eyes were as blue and as beautiful as the deep sea. She said, ¡°It is an honor for me to join this team. I¡¯d appreciate your kind guidance.¡± She was not very fluent in Cethosian, but even her ent sounded elegant, just like herself. The two talked briefly before they separated. After Michael and Harry returned, they started shooting on a tight schedule. From then onward, there was an extra employee in the crew¡ªAlice. She had a good personality, and on top of that, she was very gentle and good-looking. Thus, she was the most liked person in the crew second only to Cereberus. Michael worked overtime to finish his work faster, but he didn¡¯t expect that disaster would soon befall him. Chapter 944 Chapter 944 The mountain was like a wilderness of zombie-white and the crew could barely see anything other than the nket of snow, which was so thick that it was extremely arduous for them to trudge through it. Even their cars could easily get stuck in the snow. Carrying the hefty shooting equipment alone drained a lot of time and energy from the staff, let alone carrying the food. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Meanwhile, the Cereberus had be the gems among the filming crew as they had run back and forth several times a day to bring snacks and food for the staff. Besides being dedicated, they never slumbered and were always energetic. They would even send garbage down the mountain after every meal to maintain the cleanliness of the filming spot. On the other hand, Celine too followed Judge around everyday to serve meals for the staff since she was free and loved wandering around. Ever since she lost her memory, her old-self as the belle in military special forces hadpletely vanished. Instead, she had be a totally different person and was like a Husky in human form. In fact, she was even more yful than a Husky. Running back and forth with Celine all day, Justin barely had time to do other things. He had to look after Celine as if he was a babysitter to prevent her from getting into trouble. She was indeed like a child who was just past infancy and was now an energetic toddler who was inquisitive and eager to explore the world. Someone had to attend to her all the time to prevent her from getting injured given how vigorous she was. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re so yful that even the Husky is tired running around with you.¡± Michael gently pinched her cheeks as he lectured her. When they were young, it was Celine who took care of him; now, it was his turn to look after her. Smiling innocently, she was like a carefree, adorable child. At the same time, Michael was overwhelmed with mixed emotions looking at her features that resembled his. The girl in the past, who put her boss¡¯ dog up to eating sh*t and fought with the director¡¯s wife, no longer existed, and had now be a silly girl. Though she would not stir up trouble anymore, Michael wasn¡¯t sure if this was considered something fortunate for her. Today, Judge was led away by Celine to run all around the mountain. While Celine was still full of energy when they came back, Judge was already exhausted. Seeing that, Justin quickly pulled Michael¡¯s hand away from her face and said, ¡°She is just a naive kid.¡± Michael was rendered speechless. He had never seen a forty-year-old kid. He turned around and looked at Judge, who was lying on the ground drained. Never did he imagine that even Judge¡¯s energy could be depleted someday. These days, Judge had been following the filming crew up the mountain early in the morning and going homete at night. Being busier than a farmer, the hardworking dog had been bringing snacks for them, serving meals and cleaning garbage just for the sake of a small amount of tip. On top of that, he had to get down to run around with Celine¡ªno wonder his energy ran out. Michael took out a hundred from his pocket and gave it to Judge. Patting his head, Michael cooed him in a gentle voice that was rare, ¡°There, there. Take this money and buy me a coffee. The shooting is going to end soon, and we can go home for the new year as soon as it ends.¡± Judge howled wearily. Though he was exhausted after running around with Celine, he still pulled himself together for the sake of the money. Dragging the little trolley, Judge took the shopping list and went down the mountain with his two pups with Celine and Justin behind them. Seeing the five gradually vanishing from his sight, Michael turned around and pulled out his phone to check in on Sophia. ¡°Wow, your phone is thetest model from Michel Group¡¯s mobile phone brand!¡± Standing behind him, Alice eximed in amazement just as he took out the phone. Michael looked down at his phone. It was royal-ck in color and had a smooth screen and sleek design. In addition, its other functions and features included high tolerance to heat, long battery life, and sr-powered battery. Produced with military-grade technology, it was also bulletproof. ¡°Mm-hmm, it is one of Michel Group¡¯s products,¡± he answered. The electronics manufacturing business of Michel Group positioned themselves as providers of high-end, superior products. The price of the phone which Michael was holding was around 60,000, and it was the latest model that had yet to beunched in the market. It was notmonly seen given its extraordinarily high price. ¡°Seems like this model has not beenunched in the market yet. Can I have a look at it?¡± Alice¡¯s eyes were filled with admiration. Frowning, Michael courteously turned down her request. ¡°There¡¯s nothing special about it besides more powerful functions and a slimmer design.¡± Previously, Carmen was upset because Cooper¡¯s phone did not have a beauty mode in its camera function, thus she had refused to take pictures using his phone. Hence, Cooper immediatelymanded the research and development department to add the beauty mode in theirtest model. The beauty mode was supported by thetest technology and had a powerful function of intelligent face recognition to automatically apply the beauty effects on the user¡¯s face. Sitting down beside Michael, Alice nced at his phone and could immediately identify its features. ¡°I can see that the camera is different and I¡¯m guessing that they must have upgraded the camera function. I¡¯ve heard that this model now has a beauty mode. Is that true?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Yeah, the beauty mode is pretty good.¡± Sophia had given him two of the phones and he had been using this one ever since he came to the mountain. It was undeniable that the phones produced by Michel¡¯s Group were indeed powerful and its bulletproof function was not merely a marketing gimmick. The lock screen of his phone was the Cereberus while his wallpaper was a picture of Sophia and Carmen. Sitting beside him, Alice noticed his lock screen. Michael quickly put away his phone so that she would not see his wallpaper. ¡°Are all three of the Huskies yours?¡±Alice asked again. Focusing on the script, Michael answered shortly, ¡°Yes.¡± Alice reminded him, ¡°Though they are sled dogs, it normally takes seven to eight of them to pull a sleigh. It¡¯s too tiring for them to pull things around like this. You have to be careful.¡± Michael remained silent, but he had acknowledged her words. He felt sorry for Judge too seeing the silly dog diligently transporting food for the staff just for the sake of a little tip. Well, the shooting is going to end soon and they just have to hang in there for a few more days. I¡¯ll reward them with more good food once we are back in Bayside City. Michael was taking a chance since Sophia would not know about it, and neither would Harry nor Justin tell her. Only the silly dogs themselves would know how they had been ordered around, but little did Michael know what was going on in Bayside City¡­ ¡°Come on, Sophia! Let¡¯s go visit the filming crew! Come on¡­¡± It was early in the morning and the sky was still dark. With a sleepy face, Sophia looked out the window and saw Stanley and Sean standing outside the house waving at her. After waiting for some time, Stanley waved his hands at the window again. ¡°Come on, Sophia! Big Brother Stanley has bought a new ne. Let¡¯s take the ne and go visit the filming crew!¡± It sounds like a good idea to visit the filming crew. At the moment, Linus had gone overseas for an important meeting, Carmen was with the Fletchers and Cooper was busy finding his son. And so, Sophia brought Snowball along and slipped out of the house to visit the crew with Stanley and Sean. It was yet another month since she had met Michael. Sophia was excited to see him, so she did not inform him beforehand about her visit. She wanted to give him a huge surprise! Chapter 945 Chapter 945 Stanley and Sean pitched in and bought a private ne. Joyfully, Sophia hopped onto the ne and brought Snowball with her to visit the crew. At the same time, a few bodyguards tagged along knowing that she was going on a jaunt. Soon, they arrived at the city in which Michael was shooting. After switching from a four-wheel drive to a bus andstly, to a donkey cart, they finally reached town. Upon settling down in a hotel, Sophia left for the shooting scene with Stanley and the others. She was going to give Michael a huge surprise! The surrounding environment was pristine and there were very few residents staying around the area. The weather was fair as the group of people walked through the snowy-white pastures. Wearing a thick coat and goggles, Sophia walked excitedly at the front of the group. Suddenly, a ringing sound emerged from the front. After passing over a steep hill, they saw a team of people in the distance. It was a man and a woman with three Huskies. Both the man and the woman were wearing green coats while the Huskies were dressed in tattered clothes and looked scrawny. The three dogs were pulling a little trolley which had several big bags of goods on it. Obviously, the Huskies were extremely exhausted with their heads dropping as they were dozing off. Nevertheless, they were still pulling the trolley diligently, which made them look pitiful. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Seeing that, Stanley started to protest. ¡°This is too much! How would three Huskies be able to pull so much stuff? Though Huskies are sled dogs, they shouldn¡¯t treat them like this. I¡¯m going to teach them a lesson.¡± Sophia too thought their masters went over the line. How could they let the three small Huskies pull so many things? This was animal abuse! Sophia dressed up Snowball with a pink vest so that her furry, white body was distinguishable from the nkets of snow. All of a sudden, Snowball dashed forward. Sophia could only watch as the furball in pink sprinted toward the three Huskies. Woof! Woof! Seeing Snowball, the Huskies became extremely excited. Meanwhile, the man and the woman turned around and looked in the direction of Sophia and the others. Upon seeing each other face to face¡­ ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Instantly, Stanley recognized the two people standing in front of him. They were none other than Celine and Justin! The coats that they were wearing must have been taken from the filming crew as the coats looked shabby. At first, Stanley even thought they were locals. He stared at the three Huskies in shock. The leading dog was none other than his beloved Judge, who had lost so much weight that even he himself could barely recognize him. Howling, Judge immediately ran toward Stanley as soon as he saw him. He was like a child who had been abducted for childbor, and now his father had finally came to his rescue. ¡°Stan? Sophia¡­¡± Justin and Celine were stunned seeing the group of people who came from nowhere. Looking at the heaps of goods in the trolley, Stanley nced toward the poorly-dressed Cereberus and their harnesses, and then toward Justin and Celine who were feeling guilty. His blood boiled upon realizing what was going on. ¡°Y-You b*stards!¡± ¡­ On the other hand, it was time for lunch but the meals had not arrived yet. The crews were wondering if something had happened on the way. There was once where Judge identally overturned the trolley, spilled the snacks halfway, and came back empty-handed. Later, Celine had requested to be in-charge of transporting the crew¡¯s meals and snacks. Each time, Justin and her would follow Judge to run the errands, so there shouldn¡¯t be any idents by rights. Finally, the familiar ringing sound of the trolley¡¯s bells could be heard. Overjoyed, the staff who were idle at the moment quickly walked out awaiting their meals and snacks. However, to their surprise, they saw a big group of people approaching from the other end of the snowfield. Walking in front was Justin and Celine. With their heads down, they silently pulled the trolley in which the three exhausted Huskies were sitting. Besides, there were a few other men behind them who were carrying the food that was supposed to be transported by Judge and his pups. Something must have happened! Michael looked toward the direction of Celine as she lifted her head and looked at him, who seemed flustered and was pouting. Then, he saw Stanley and Sean walking in the troop behind. Besides, there was a Samoyed in a pink vest and a woman who was wearing a pink coat and goggles. He shuddered upon seeing the woman. Scared stiff, Michael knew that he was in trouble. The other crews who were excitedly awaiting their meals were startled by the episode too. Standing still, no one dared to utter a word as they were anticipating what was going to happen next. The woman in pink coat walked up to a spot not far away from Michael and stopped, thereafter she chucked the bags of food onto the ground. Nevertheless, nobody dared to step forward and collect the food as they looked back and forth between Michael and the woman in the pink coat. Finally, the woman took off her goggles and showed her pair of blue eyes. Staring fiercely at Michael, she snarled, ¡°Michael, you¡¯d better exin yourself! What¡¯s going on?!¡± They were in great trouble! Even the missus was here now! The crew had expected this to probably happen someday, but they never thought that it would happen so soon. Immediately, everyone excused themselves from the scene, leaving Michael alone to deal with the furious dog owner, Sophia. Michael too was scared out of his wits, and he knew it would be impossible to make up an excuse. Today, Celine had hauled Judge around the mountain to y with her since early morning. While Celine was still full of beans, Judge was already fatigued after that. Celine alone had drained the Cereberus of energy and they were even dozing off at noon. Nevertheless, the crew were still waiting for the Huskies to fetch their meals, so Michael gave Judge a hundred, thereafter the dog got up tiredly and went down the mountain to pick up lunch. Initially, Michael was thinking to order the Huskies about for onest time today, thereafter he would reward them splendidly before sending them back to celebrate the new year in Bayside City. However¡­ ¡°My dear, I was wrong! I¡¯m sorry!¡± Michael immediately wimped out and confessed in a sincere manner. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I promise it won¡¯t happen again. Please forgive me, will you?¡± Stanley almost teared up cuddling his beloved Judge, who was worn out. Back in Bayside City, Judge had always been chubby and fluffy as he fed on top-quality dog food, stayed in the finest kennel, and even wore a branded cor. However, he had lost so much weight after living with the filming crew for just a few days. Looking at Judge¡¯s shabby clothes, skinny legs and exhausted face, Stanley did not even dare to directly confront Michael. Nevertheless, Sophia was not afraid to do so. Sophia nearly blew her top and could hardly contain her anger as she was about to start fighting with Michael despite the fact that there were so many people watching. Seeing such a situation, Harry quickly distributed the meals to the staff and dispersed them for lunch. After all, it was not appropriate to meddle in others¡¯ private affairs. Everyone quickly took their food and walked away. Nheless, Sophia¡¯s hoarse roar could still be heard from afar. ¡°Michael Fletcher, what did you promise me when I handed the dogs over to you? You said you would take good care of my dogs! Is this how you take care of them?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even looking after them at all! If you¡¯re unhappy, you can send them back to me! I have been putting up with you for a long time! You used my cat as your mouse pad. You made the Persian cat that I gave you catch spiders, cockroaches, and even wild rats from the drains! You even used my dog to wipe your feet! Do you really think he is your mat?!¡± Sophia burst into tears as she got even more frustrated the more she thought about it. All the grievances that she had harbored for a long time finally exploded today. She was like a farmer who was carefully growing pots of nts and had been taking care of them diligently by giving them fertilizers, getting rid of pests and controlling the amount of light and water they got. Finally, the flowers bloomed and she was overjoyed admiring the beautiful flowers. However, Michael took her pots of nts as ashtrays and disposed of his cigarette butts in them! Chapter 946 Chapter 946 Michael was too timid to even utter a word. Of course a cat is kept to catch a mouse, isn¡¯t it? Indeed, the mouse that came out from the toilet bowlst time was a little too dirty. He had sent the exquisite Persian cat given by the Queen into the washroom and closed it in there with the mouse. Michael had expected Fiffy to unleash its power, but the cat was actually so terrified of the mouse that it wailed and curled up in the wash basin all night, not daring toe down. In the end, it was Nichs who came to Fiffy¡¯s rescue and got rid of the mouse. As for him using the dog to wipe his feet¡­ Michael thought he was innocent because whenever a furry pet passed by him, he would subconsciously rub his feet against their fur if he was barefoot. He wasn¡¯t using them to wipe his feet but was just giving them a friendly rub. Though he used the dogs as his backrest when he was watching television and used the cat as his mouse pad, he genuinely loved the pets and treated them as his own children. He was so wronged! Nevertheless, he did not expect Sophia to be so agitated, and he dared not to argue back despite his valid reasons. He said in a servile manner, ¡°I admit I was wrong. I promise I¡¯ll never use the cat as my mouse pad or send him to catch a mouse again. I¡¯m sorry. And I¡¯ll never ask Judge to fetch the goods anymore. Please stop crying, okay?¡± Wiping off her tears, Sophia pointed at the ground andmanded fiercely, ¡°You better stand still here for the next three minutes!¡± Michael quickly cooed, ¡°Okay, okay¡­ I¡¯ll stand still.¡± Sophia turned around and walked away without hesitation. As she left, she took her Samoyed and the two Husky pups with her while Stanley brought Judge away too. Meanwhile, Michael stayed where he was, not daring to move as he watched Sophia and the others walked away. Looking at him resignedly, Sean sighed and left with the group as well. Finally, Michael shot himself in the foot once again. Sophia hade merrily to give him a surprise, but s, it turned out that he was the one who gave her a ¡®surprise¡¯ first. Using sled dogs to fetch lunch boxes¡­ What an ingenious man! Three minutester, Michael was allowed to move, so he anxiously ran forward to go after Sophia. Nevertheless, Danny caught up with him and said, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go to her now as she is still in a fit of rage and won¡¯t listen to your exnations. It¡¯ste now, so she won¡¯t leave the town either. Why don¡¯t you have your meal first? We¡¯ll sort it out after you eat.¡± Looking in the direction where Sophia had gone, Michael was so worried that he lost his appetite. However, he still had to continue shooting, so he had to eat to replenish his energy for the activitiester. The filming crew¡¯s food truck could only stop by the foot of the mountain as it couldn¡¯t be driven up the mountain. The meals were prepared there and put in a thermal box to be pulled up the mountain by Judge. During that period of time, the staff had been depending on Judge to send them food. Now that he was leaving, everyone had to live with insufficient food again. Though they could simply send some men to pick up the food, a lot of manpower was needed for the filming. It would be a waste of their limited resources to use their men as such. On the other hand, Sophia and Stanley arrived at the hotel with their dogs. They found a pile of change and some one-dor coins in Judge¡¯s purse, all of which were his hard-earned money. The scrawny dogs were so tired that they could even drowse off while standing. Bathing the dogs, Stanley cursed as he wailed, ¡°You b*stard, Michael! My baby Judge¡­¡± In fact, the three dogs just ran three rounds of errands today to fetch some potato chips and lunch, and the workload was not too heavy. Given Judge¡¯s energy, he could have been full of beans even after fetching the goods, but he was drained because Celine had brought him around the mountain and to ski at the ski area. After running around all day, Judge was worn out and had no energy left to run errands. After being brought back by Stanley, Judge dozed off while Stanley was bathing him. Looking at his baby dogs who were extremely fatigued, Stanley shed tears of sympathy. Bathing Judge had always been a troublesome chore in the past but he had fallen asleep today in the shower. He must have had a hard time! It could be clearly seen that the dogs had lost weight tremendously especially after their bodies were drenched. Looking at the dead-tired Huskies who went into a deep sleep right after the bath, Sophia became seriously upset. Not only did Michael dispose of his cigarette butts in her nt pots, but he even nipped off his flowers to make more space for his cigarette butts! This was too much! ¡°We shall leave tomorrow and nevere back again!¡± Stanley said sternly. At the same time, Sophia had packed up her stuff and the dogs¡¯ essentials as she was ready to leave early in the next morning too. F*ck you, Michael! Though it was just a small matter regarding the dogs, the implication behind this incident was significant. How dare he dispose of his cigarette butts in my pots of nts? It¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t care about my feelings and he doesn¡¯t care about me! And he doesn¡¯t care about me because he doesn¡¯t really love me! This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. To abuse her dogs was no different from abusing her! At night, after work had ended, Michael quickly rushed to the hotel where Sophia was staying. Sure enough, he was blocked by Roger, who was two-meter tall. Distressed, Michael paced back and forth anxiously outside the hotel and kept calling Sophia, but she refused to pick up. He wished to just kneel down before her. He was indeed wrong, and was absurdly wrong. If he was given a chance again, he would definitely not exploit the dogs and would rather starve than asking Judge to send them food. He was really wrong¡­ Nevertheless, his apology was not heard by Sophia. After lingering around for an hour or so outside the building, he could not stand the cold anymore especially because it was midnight. So, he checked into the room beneath Sophia¡¯s and carefully listened for happenings upstairs. The hotel rooms were not soundproof and he could clearly hear Sophia when she got off her bed and walked around in the room. He could also hear the sound of her lifting the toilet seat when she went to the loo at midnight. He could even tell that the three Huskies were sleeping in her room. The dogs were snoring so loudly that Sophia could not fall asleep and was scrolling on Twitter. He knew this because he saw her new post on Twitter, and she also liked a promotional tweet by Michael¡¯s fan. A few hours earlier at half past ten, she had retweeted a post which was promoting Michael and wrote, ¡®Love y¡¯all! Thanks for supporting Taylor! {love emoji}¡¯ At 1a.m., she tweeted again and wrote, ¡®There are fifteen days more before the voting for ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ closes. Please continue to show your support for Taylor. He¡¯ll be at the award ceremony this year. {love emoji}¡¯ By 2a.m., there was already news that the couple were not on good terms, and someone had exposed the episode that happened in the afternoon on set. Immediately, Sophia retweeted the post and wrote, ¡®Please refrain from making groundless usations. Taylor and I are on good terms and we¡¯re leading a happy life. Please remove your post, thank you!¡¯ Following that, she posted another tweet with the picture of the Cereberus¡¯ ungracious sleeping postures. She applied a filter to the picture, censored the dogs¡¯ private parts, and wrote, ¡®Came to visit @Taylor Murray and @Judge and Pups. The shooting of @The Winter Breakthrough ising to an end soon. Please continue to support the movie!¡¯ After that, she logged into the ount of ¡®Judge and Pups¡¯ and retweeted the post that she had just shared using her main ount. Michael was confused upon seeing all her tweets. What¡¯s going on? Aren¡¯t we having a fight? Chapter 947 Chapter 947 Michael instantly retweeted her post and wrote, ¡®Sleep well.¡¯ However, Sophia did not reply. He thought she had forgiven him, but as usual, she did not pick up his call nor reply to his messages. It was shown on Twitter that she had already read the message, but she refused to text him back. Michael too scrolled through Twitter all night and saw numerousizens exposing their dispute in the afternoon as he searched for the keywords. To his surprise, Sophia had left ament on every post and asked the user to delete their groundless allegations. Michael thought to himself, Indeed, I can¡¯tprehend a young girl¡¯s mind. Sophie had multiple facets of personalities and he couldn¡¯t even grasp one of them. What on earth is in her mind? The next morning, Michael lingered around the hotel lobby but did not see Sophia. Due to the packed shooting schedule, he could not afford to bete, so he quickly left to the mountain. Everyone was expecting to starve on that day and had brought along some snacks from their hotel in case they would not get lunch in the afternoon. The filming spot was located at a peculiar area on the mountain as neither vehicles nor donkey carts could reach the ce. On top of that, because the filming crew had insufficient manpower, they were unable to send any staff to carry the food. As a result, many of them were frustrated. Meanwhile, Stanley was angrily confronting Sophia over the phone. ¡°Sophia, what do you think you were postingst night? Aren¡¯t you having a fight with Uncle Michael? How could you still interact with each other on Twitter? Can you take the fight in a more serious and solemn manner? He abused my baby Judge! Do you still remember what you said when you adopted Tater and Tots? Now your ex-husband is abusing them, so you have to stand up against him! Buck up, Sophia!¡± Tater and Tots were the nicknames of the two Husky pups, and their names were registered as Cash Edwards and Penny Edwards on the dog licenses. Both of the pups too had suffered this time. Nevertheless, they were in good spirits again after the sleep and started fooling around again. Sophia did not answer Stanley. She was having a headache as she had not slept well the previous night. The cold weather had somehow helped to cool her down that night, and her frustration had subsided. Though she was mad at Michael for disrespecting her, disposing of his cigarette butts in her pots of nts, and even nipping off her flowers for his own convenience, she started wavering as she recalled images of Michael in her mind. His handsome face, his beautiful abs, the half-naked body standing in front of the French window¡­ Lowering his head, he held a cigarette between his slender fingers and breathed out a swirl of alluring yet mysterious smoke as he gently lifted his sexy chin. She was very perturbed at that moment as she instantly regretted being in a cold war with Michael, even if it was just for one night. She was bad at arguing and having a cold war because she was too soft- hearted, capricious and easily shifted her ground. All text ? N?velD(r)a''ma.Org. Stanley knew it would turn out like this. Damn it! They are actually acting all lovey-dovey on Twitter even amidst a fight! ¡°I don¡¯t care! I¡¯m leaving right now anyway! I¡¯m going to bring my baby Judge back to Bayside City. Suit yourself!¡± Stanley dragged the dog away and was ready to leave with the bus. Pissed, Judge howled at Stanley as if he was saying, Don¡¯t hold me up from earning money, you idiot! Let go of me! I want to make big money! At the same time, Sean came to help Sophia with her luggages. Sophia had not been in her best state for the whole morning. With her dark circles and bleary eyes, she dragged her feet following Sean. Sean seemed to have read her mind and he said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you make a call to him now?¡± Sophia refused unhesitantly. ¡°Nope, I¡¯ll never forgive him.¡± Resigned, Sean then got ready to leave the snowy town with Sophia. Initially, they could have left the ce, but Judge and his pups ran away all of a sudden. Stanley was in despair when he realized that his dogs looked slimmer not because they had starved, but because they had gained muscles. The three muscr, aggressive sled dogs were invincible in the snow. The few servants of Stanley could not even control them, and they had disappeared from sight in the blink of an eye. Dumbfounded, Stanley quickly went after the dogs and finally caught them when it was close to noon. Everyone was hungry after such a huge hassle, so they went to a restaurant in the town to have lunch. However, just as they were about to leave, the weather forecast reported that there would be a blizzard that night, and the highways that were closed due to icy conditions would only be open the next day. Besides, the buses in the town had ceased operation given the severe weather conditions. With that, they could only return to the hotel and wait for further announcements. In the afternoon, the sky was getting increasingly gloomy as the blizzard was approaching. Worriedly, Sophia looked in the direction of the mountain where the filming crew were at, wondering if they were doing fine. The sky went dark extremely early on that day. It was only three o¡¯clock in the afternoon, but the sky was already shrouded in ck, and nobody was to be seen on the street. The hotel in which the crews were staying was not too far away from Sophia¡¯s. Later on, she saw the crew membersing back one after another as it started snowing lightly outside. They entered the hotel in brisk steps while carrying all sorts of equipment. Standing by her room window, she stalked them for some time but still did not see Michael and his gang. Finally, she could not sit back anymore and walked out from her hotel to the filming crew¡¯s hotel. There she saw Justin and Celine, whose eyes were red, sitting in the lobby as if they were waiting for someone. ¡°Where¡¯s Michael? Why isn¡¯t he back yet?¡± Sophia asked worriedly at once. Pursing her lips, Celine wiped away her tears and said, ¡°One of the staff went missing in the mountain. Mikey and the others went searching for him, but they have not returned yet.¡± They have not returned yet? Staring at the snow that was falling heavily by the minute, Sophia trembled as her mind went nk. Michael did not return that night. The other staff who went searching for the missing person had alle back, but they said they had been separated from Michael because of the heavy snow. Both Michael and the man that went missing were still somewhere out there. Sophia regretted fighting with Michael, and she dialed his number crazily but to no avail. Her heart sank each time she called him as she became increasingly perturbed. At that moment, everyone gathered in her room. Seanforted her, ¡°Everything will be fine. He might be back real soon.¡± Though Stanley was mad at Michael for asking Judge to fetch the goods for two months which had even caused his dog to gain muscles, his anger had vanished now that such a situation urred. Anxiously, he questioned Harry, ¡°Why did you let Uncle Michael go find the missing person? He is the leading actor. What if something happened to him?¡± Harry looked glum too. At first, he was with Michael, but they came across a blizzard which reduced their visibility, and Michael had disappeared in the blink of an eye. He had trudged through the thick snow for some time to search for Michael, but he still couldn¡¯t find him. When the snow got so heavy that one could hardly totter through it anymore, he left the mountain, thinking Michael could have gone down the mountain too. Never did he expect that Michael still had not returned. ncing at Sophia, Harry then told her the truth. ¡°The person who went missing was Alice Michel from the Michel Family. Mikey was worried that she was sent by Cooper on purpose, so he went in person to search for her¡­¡± Things would get out of hand if Alice was indeed sent by Cooper on purpose. Now that a member of the Michels went missing in Michael¡¯s filming crew, Cooper would have a reason to put Michael in a difficult position. That was why Michael anxiously went to look for Alice up in the mountain. There were so many people in the filming crew, but Alice was the one who went missing. I smell something fishy! Chapter 948 Chapter 948 Sophia stared vacantly at the heavy snowfalls through the windows with tears running down her face. I was wrong. Pleasee back safely, would you? ¡­ It waste at night in the mountains. Alice woke up from aa to find herself lying in a small warm area. She attempted to sit up, but immediately felt an intense pain at her waist upon moving her body. The pain was so strong that she nearly cked out, and so she had no choice but to lie down again weakly. Suddenly, a voice emerged from behind. ¡°Your waist is injured. I¡¯ve treated the wound and performed a suture. Stay still for now.¡± Upon hearing the voice, Alice lifted her eyes to see a bonfire in front of her, and Michael was sitting across it. He had taken off his ck coat and was wearing a suit of thermal underwear. The tight clothes fitted his tall and muscr body well, especially the brawny chest that he had trained for the sake of the movie. With his head lowered, he was fumbling with something. Looking at the wan ze of fire that projected on his delicately outlined face and his features which could only be half-seen, Alice sensed a mysterious and cold aura. Michael was sharpening a wooden stick with an army knife that he always carried with him, and after he was done, he jabbed the sharpened end of the stick into the ground. Though ferocious beasts should not exist in the snow mountain at night especially when their spot was near to residential areas, as a retiree from the special forces, Michael still habitually raised his vignce in the setting and had implemented all possible protective measures. Lying on a pile of dried leaves, Alice could smell blood and a pungent smell of humid decay. She struggled to lift her thermal underwear, thereafter found out that both her coat and thermal wear had been torn apart by some sharp tools. Besides, there was a wound on her waist that had already been dressed. She remembered bringing a camera and taking pictures along a track in the afternoon by herself as she was attracted by the beautiful scenery. However, the further she went, the more picturesque the view, and she was so carried away while taking pictures that she had even forgotten about going back. By the time she turned around, she found herself in a vast expanse of white snow and could not remember the direction in which she came from, and thus was lost. She then anxiously searched for the way back, but she identally stepped on something amidst the hurry and rolled down the hill. Following that, she could feel an intense pain as her waist was pierced by an object and thereafter she went into aa. Now that Alice had recalled what happened, her first response was to ask in a panic, ¡°Where¡¯s my camera?¡± Meanwhile, Michael was lowering his head and focusing on sharpening the wooden sticks. The light was dim in the cave as the bonfire was the only source of light. Alice could not see his expression clearly, nor did she hear any response from him except a snort. Not only did she nearly lose her life, but she almost cost me mine too, yet the first thing she looks for upon gaining consciousness is her camera? The cave was discovered by Michael. Few days ago, Celine went missing when she sneaked out with the dogs to go ¡®hunting¡¯, and Michael anxiously found her hiding in this cave. Since then, Michael kept in mind the location of this cave. Today when Alice went missing, he found her near the cave, so she brought her there to dress her wound as the snow was heavy. After that, there was nothing else the two of them could talk about. At the same time, Alice realized that her camera was right next to her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She looked around the cave as the wind continued to howl outside. It was indeed a great spot to take shelter from the blizzard, and the bonfire that was set up was keeping them warm. Suddenly, Michael stood up and took the wooden stick outside to jab it into the ground, and thereupon returned to the cave. After adding a few pieces of wood into the fire, hey down on afortable spot and used his backpack as a pillow. Meanwhile, Alice just came across the waste left over from dressing her wound, including a pair of sterile gloves, gauze covered with blood and stitches that were still dripping with blood. Struggling, she nudged her body, looked at Michael and said sincerely, ¡°Thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I might have already died.¡± She would have died in the blizzard or from an infected wound. By the time the others discovered her on the next day, she would have be a frozen body. Remaining silent, Michael gave her a hand gesture, signalling that she was wee. There was a warm feeling in Alice¡¯s heart, and the pain from her wound seemed to be subsiding too. All of a sudden, something crossed her mind and she said, ¡°My phone is manufactured by Michel Group too, and it is functionable under extreme weather. Let¡¯s call for help!¡± With his eyes closed, Michael murmured, ¡°I didn¡¯t see your phone.¡± It was only then did Alice recall her taking out the phone and using it as apass when she was lost. Surely, the phone had gone missing too when she slipped and rolled down the hill. Unresigned, Alice asked, ¡°Then what about yours?¡± ¡°I lost it too,¡± Michael answered in a short and concise manner. At once, there was a deadly silence again. Michael had already closed his eyes and was about to get some rest. Alice was five-feet-six-inches tall and had a typical body size of a Caucasian woman. He had depleted quite some energy dragging her into the cave, and so he had no desire to talk as he wanted to conserve his energy and stay alive. Alice was getting nervous because of the howling wind amidst the blizzard, and the more nervous she got, the more her wound hurt. She was not as calm as Michael, and her panic became increasingly overwhelming. She asked Michael, ¡°Are we going to die here?¡± A couple minutester, Michael answered with his eyes closed, ¡°Stop overthinking. I¡¯m familiar with this area and we¡¯ll leave once the blizzard is over. The nearest residential area is only two hours away from here.¡± Alice was finally relieved upon hearing these words, and the pain seemed to have alleviated as her body was rxed. Lying supine, she turned her head toward Michael and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re a kind man.¡± Michael still did not respond. Alice looked at her wound on her waist which had already been treated and stopped bleeding. Upon thinking that Michael might have taken off her shirt to dress her wound, her face blushed and a strange feeling aroused in her heart. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. There were always guys courting her, and she had dated a few decent men too. Among them included gentlemen just like Michael, and other celebrities. Nevertheless, none of them had Michael¡¯s attributes. His charm of calmness and maturity was a huge temptation to all women. She had witnessed him having a dispute with Sophia at the shooting scene yesterday too, and he was like apletely different person thenpared to now. The most attractive characteristic of this man who had gained billions of fans all over the world was not his handsome appearance, but the mysterious aura of his soul. There were only the two of them in the cave. A moment of passion aroused in Alice as the atmosphere grew uncanny. Alice stared at Michael fervently as she explicitly showed her affection toward him. Though his eyes were closed, she knew he was not asleep. ¡°What¡¯s on your mind, Taylor?¡± Michael did not answer, nor was he asleep. He was thinking of Sophia and Carmen. Carmen would call him every night before she slept, and she wouldn¡¯t go to sleep without calling her father. No matter how busy he was, Michael would always give her a call on time. And Sophia too¡­ Where is she now? Is she still mad at me? Chapter 949 Chapter 949 Alice knew that Michael was not asleep but she didn¡¯t shy away from looking at him. Her gaze was passionate and it showed her love for him very obviously. Although she indeed joined the crew because she was sent on a mission, after hanging out with Michael for a few days, she began to have an interest in Michael. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± she asked softly. Michael¡¯s eyes were closed and he tly replied, ¡°None of your concern.¡± Michael was usually very cold and even though he wasn¡¯t arrogant when he talked to people, he wouldn¡¯t get familiar with others. He always maintained a cold but not arrogant attitude, which was why nobody could hate him and hesitated to love him. The colder he was to Alice, the more Alice pursued him. She continued to look at him and in a seemingly joking tone, she said, ¡°You saved me so I should repay you. What kind of repayment do you want? Why don¡¯t I give myself to you? Isn¡¯t this a popr Cethosian way to repay kindness?¡± The two of them were alone in the room, burning with passion and desire. In such an atmosphere, Alice¡¯s words undoubtedly showed that she was hinting and teasing Michael. She had a curvy figure, beauty, and a shrewd mind. It was almost effortless for her to win a man¡¯s heart. In this world, there had never been a man that she couldn¡¯t get. However, Michael seemed to not understand what she was hinting at him. He didn¡¯t give her any reply, as if he was sound asleep. Alice knew that he wasn¡¯t asleep. He just didn¡¯t want to bother with her. Any teasing will be useless at this time. Now is not the right time. After a moment of silence, Alice asked, ¡°Taylor, are you asleep?¡± Michael didn¡¯t answer. Alice knew that he wasn¡¯t sleeping so she asked, ¡°Can you help me? I need to go to the washroom¡­¡± There was a strong sense of teasing in her sweet voice. Most men would probably lose control after hearing this. In the end, Michael spoke up but he sounded irritated. ¡°The conditions here are not great. You can pee in your pants.¡± Alice was rendered speechless. Then, Michael turned his back against Alice and went to sleep. When Alice saw that Michael was distancing himself from her, she was stunned for a moment before she shook her head and chuckled. Late at night in Bayside City, Carmen¡¯s screams and wailing could be heard from the Edwards residence. Carmen was rolling on the ground while crying, ¡°I want to see daddy! Daddy!¡± The few nannies didn¡¯t know what to do and Cooper was so anxious, he was drenched in sweat. He then picked up Carmen and held her in his arms as he tried to coax her. ¡°Your daddy is filming in the middle of the mountains and there is no signal there, so he can¡¯t call you!¡± Carmen didn¡¯t understand what Cooper was saying at all, and all she wanted was to see her father. Her cries were so loud, nobody in the house could sleep. Everyone surrounded her and tried tofort her. Linus was also anxious. He took Carmen from Cooper¡¯s arms to help coax her, but she writhed in his arms. She wouldn¡¯t go to sleep without seeing her father and she cried the whole night. She wouldn¡¯t even eat and her voice was hoarse from all the crying. Both Cooper and Linus couldn¡¯t stop her from crying. Seeing this, Nathan put on the embarrassing bear suit and tried to coax Carmen. ¡°Stop crying. I¡¯ll dance a bear dance for you, okay?¡± However, Carmen continued wailing and sobbing as she replied, ¡°I want daddy¡­¡± Seeing his granddaughter crying so hard, Cooper felt extremely anxious and he made phone calls to Michael again and again. Communication in the town was disrupted because of the storm. Fortunately, phones that were produced by the Michel Group were still working and there wasn¡¯t any problem with satellitemunication. Sean reported the situation on his side and told Cooper that Michael and Alice had disappeared into the mountains together. Moreover, there was a blizzard and the sky was dark, so they couldn¡¯t enter the mountains to search for them. They could only wait after dawn came and the snow stopped. Sophia also cried in the hotel the whole night and nobody could coax her. Two of Cooper¡¯s precious babies were crying¡ªone was crying in the hotel while the other was crying in his arms. Cooper felt so heartbroken, he was about to have a breakdown. ¡°As soon as dawn breaks, go up the mountain and dig out that b*stard! I¡¯ve already sent some men over! Also, tell him to coax my daughter well. Otherwise, I¡¯ll chop his head off!¡± Cooper had also long known about Michael making Sophia cry. I¡¯ve never seen such a shameless man who is cruel enough to use his dog as a foot cloth! And he even ordered the Persian cat sent by the queen to catch mice! As expected, people like him are insidious and indecent! Meanwhile, Sophia was so worried about Michael that she was crying hard in the hotel. Communications were disrupted and traffic was bad due to the storm, so the rescue team couldn¡¯t operate. Unable to receive a call from her father, Carmen wouldn¡¯t stop crying. Linus suddenly thought of an idea. Holding Carmen in his arms, he said, ¡°Your daddy knows that you miss him so he¡¯s busy looking for a phone to call you! Don¡¯t cry, your daddy will be calling you soon.¡±Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Soon, they received a call from Michael. Carmen grabbed the phone from Cooper and finally heard Michael¡¯s voice. ¡°Baby, I heard from grandpa that you skipped dinner today. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Hearing her father¡¯s voice, Carmen finally stopped crying. Sobbing, she pursed her lips and said, ¡°I miss you, daddy. Why didn¡¯t you call me earlier? Don¡¯t you want me anymore?¡± On the phone, Michael hurriedly replied, ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Carmen, you¡¯re the most obedient baby girl in the world and you¡¯re my precious daughter. I still have to take you to shoot ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. How is it possible that I don¡¯t want my baby daughter?¡± Hearing this, Carmen smiled and two snot bubbles appeared. However, she still felt aggrieved. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you call me?¡± Michael softly replied, ¡°There is heavy snow in the ce that I¡¯m filming and Mr. Connection was scared away. Your mom and I searched around for a long time before we found him. After discussing it for a long time, we gave him a 100 before he agreed to let me call you.¡± Carmen was amused and sheughed. Seeing this, Cooper hurriedly wiped away her snot and tears. Listening to the voice on the phone, he was extremely anxious. Then, they heard Sophia¡¯s voice on the phone. ¡°Baby, mommy¡¯s here! Your dad and I are not home but you have to eat and sleep well at home! Don¡¯t act spoiled. Look at what time it is. Why aren¡¯t you going to sleep yet? Babies who go to bedte will be ugly!¡± Carmen pursed her lips and replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep soon¡­¡± At that moment, Sophia¡¯s voice began to drift, as if the signal was not good. ¡°The signal on my end is really bad and it¡¯s very cold here. Your daddy and I will be heading back to the hotel now. Goodnight, darling!¡± After Carmen hung up the phone, she finally stopped crying and she said to Cooper, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Everyone let out a sigh of relief. After the nanny fed Carmen and helped her wash up, she carried her to bed. Cooper, Linus, and Nathan had been tortured all night so they slumped on the sofa and watched television nkly. Just then, Nichs came over. Linus waved at him and said, ¡°Nichs, you did well. You can rest now.¡± The call just now was definitely not made by Michael and Sophia, but a fake call made by Nichs after extracting and re-editing Michael and Sophia¡¯s voice that were stored inside him. Later, Nichs found a socket to recharge and he fell silent. The three of themy on the sofa, feeling exhausted, but they couldn¡¯t sleep so they silently watched television. ¡®I Am the Vige Chief¡¯ was ying again and Michael¡¯s face appeared on the screen, but Cooper couldn¡¯t be bothered to switch channels. It is so tiring! Taking care of children is exhausting! It¡¯s even more tiring than running the Michel Group! Cooper was mentally and physically exhausted and he felt as if he had aged a few years. Sophia was still crying on the set but the snow storm wouldn¡¯t stop, so the rescue team couldn¡¯t be deployed. Cooper was very upset and he couldn¡¯t sleep. Just then, Corrado came over andy down on the carpet in front of Cooper to watch television. Sitting on the sofa, Cooper stretched out his tired feet and rested them on Corrado¡¯s body, wiping the sweat on the soles of his feet on Corrado¡¯s fur. Chapter 950 Chapter 950 It is really handy to have a dog to rest your feet at tiring moments¡­ And you can also wipe your feet. Nathan saw Bubbles passing by and he instinctively wanted to rest his feet on Bubbles. However, he suddenly remembered the reason Sophia and Michael had a fight this time so he hurriedly lifted his feet up, for fear that his ¡®countryman¡¯ habit would be disgusted by the nobles from Northern Europe. But when he saw Cooper rest his feet on Corrado¡¯s back, he also stretched out his feetfortably. Linus couldn¡¯t sleep either. His eyes were half-open and his body sinked into the sofa. Then, he saw the alpaca passing by. Although he was too tired to even move a finger, he put his feet on the alpaca. Just like that, the three of themy on the sofa all night. ¡­ At dawn, the rescue team set off and marched into the mountain. After the blizzardst night, the mountain was a few meters taller. All they could see was snow and every step they took was difficult. Dozens of people went to find Michael together. Sophia had located Michael and Alice¡¯s location through technical means and everybody was heading toward that location. They walked arduously in the snow but the few sled dogs they brought were running even though they were dragging the rescue equipment. It wasn¡¯t just Cereberus who was brought down to help but also Snowball, who came for a holiday, was on a leash. After all, Samoyed was also a sled dog. At that time, Sophia no longer cared about pressing cigarette butts on flower pots anymore because the person who did it was missing! She realized that the person was more important than a pot of flowers. At that moment, she remembered that the pot of flowers that she cherished was actually gifted to her by him after he travelled through rivers and mountains for them. He knows that I like flowers so he travelled the world to collect the most beautiful and exotic nts and flowers and nted an entire garden for me, filling my life with fragrance and romance. However, I forgot about the whole garden and only focused on the cigarette butt in that one flower pot! Sophia looked incredibly calm and she didn¡¯t say anything much during the search. Everyone went to the coordinates as fast as they could. When they reached the location, all they could see was a vast expanse of white snow. The rescue team immediately started digging up the snow but they only found Michael¡¯s phone. The phone was still operating well. When they unlocked it, they saw that he had a dozen missed calls. Holding the phone, Sophia stared at the dog picture on the lockscreen nkly. Under the goggles, tears were rolling down her cheeks. They continued digging the snow but there was nothing nearby. The snow was heavyst night and one night had passed. If anything bad happened to them, all the evidence would have been buried under the snow and no one, alive or dead, would be seen. A wave of despair and sadness filled the crowd. Stanley patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder andforted her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll be fine. My uncle often did such extreme survival training when he was in the army. Situations like these won¡¯t defeat him! Just rx.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t reply to him. She put Michael¡¯s phone into her pocket and continued walking in silence. After a while, they found Alice¡¯s phone. Alice¡¯s phone was also working. Sophia took over Alice¡¯s phone and saw her wallpaper, which turned out to be a photo of her and Michael! Looking at the photo, Sophia felt her heart sink but she remained silent. Michael was smiling handsomely in the picture while Alice was secretly ncing in his direction. Her gentle smile was filled with great joy and there was a bright light in her eyes that seemed to stem from her soul, the kind of light that only appeared when you were looking at a loved one. Alice¡¯s phone was locked and it required facial identification and fingerprints to unlock it, so Sophia could only look at her lockscreen where there were a number of missed calls. Michael¡¯s number was among the missed calls and Alice had saved his number as ¡®My love¡¯. Sophia then put the phone in her pocket and continued to walk in silence. Just then, she received a call from Roger. ¡°Miss, the helicopters are ready.¡± Sophia coldly replied, ¡°Send out all the helicopters and drones to scan the mountains at the fastest speed and find him.¡± It was a differencepared tost night after they found out about the ident, where Sophia cried while she instructed the rescue force. Then, the crowd continued to move forward. The rescue force¡¯s ne was airlifted from Bayside City and landed in the small town. Communication signals gradually recovered that morning, and the news about Michael¡¯s disappearance spread like wildfire and was already reported on the news. Not long after the phone call, a few helicopters and countless drones arrived. The lineup was very powerful and it flew past their heads, heading toward the depths of the snow mountains. After a while, everyone saw smoke in the southwest direction of the mountains and they were overjoyed. They hurriedly rushed toward that direction and the helicopters hovered around the smoke. Roger then called and said, ¡°We found them.¡± Soon, Sophia received photographs captured by the drones and saw photos of Michael carrying a woman on his back as they trudged through the snow. The woman on his back had her arms wrapped around his neck and she was resting her head on his shoulder. Sophia could even see the happy smile on her face. That woman was Alice. From the looks of it, it seemed like Michael found herst night and the two of them had spent the night together. It was as if Alice was injured but she was rescued by her ¡®My love¡¯ and at that moment, the two of them were walking out of the snow, ready to embrace a new life together. Seeing this, Sophia felt upset. She turned off the screen and put her phone away. Then, she rushed toward Michael¡¯s direction. It was hard to find anding spot in the mountains so the ne could only hover nearby and pick up the injured Alice first while the ground rescue team made their way over. Unable to contain her joy, Sophia rushed to the forefront and walked briskly. Half an hourter, she finally found Michael. Among the white snow, Sophia saw him dressed in ck winter clothes and goggles, standing in the snow with his back facing her. The ne was still hovering over him and they were lowering the rescue gond. A few people got off the ne and worked together with Michael to send Alice up the ne. When Sophia arrived, Alice was in mid air and Michael was looking up at her, waving his hand slightly, as if he was saying goodbye to her. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. At that moment, Sophia stood at a distance and her whole body froze, not daring to take another step. After the ne took off with Alice, Michael heard the calls from the crowd. When he turned around, he saw Sophia, Stanley, Justin, and the others. At that moment, Michael naturally blurred out Stanley, Justin and the others and he could only see Sophia clearly. Sophia slowly took off her goggles and a tearful face appeared before him. Her bloodshot eyes were filled with tears. At that instant, Michael felt heartbroken but he couldn¡¯t help but smile. She looks really exhausted. I know she has been worried for the past two days too. Sophia hurriedly rushed toward him and stumbled as she walked up to Michael. He quickly held her in his arms and she started to wail like a child. ¡°You b*stard! Do you know how worried I was?¡± Sophia cursed as she cried. When she got tired from all the scolding, she cried in his arms. Michael let her scold him and didn¡¯t rebuke her. All he wanted was to hug her in silence. At that moment, the flower pot, cigarette butt, and sled dog didn¡¯t matter anymore. She only had eyes for him! Chapter 951 Chapter 951 After crying for a long time, Sophia seemed to smell the smell of blood on Michael¡¯s body. She quickly leaned back, turned him around and inspected him as she anxiously asked, ¡°How are you? Are you alright? Are you hurt?¡± Michael took off his goggles and his eyes were also bloodshot. He replied, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Then, he bowed his head, kissed her cheek, took her into his arms and whispered, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry that¡­ I made you worry about me.¡± Sophia wiped her tears away in his arms. ¡°I¡¯m the one at fault. I shouldn¡¯t have made an argument out of nothing and I shouldn¡¯t scold you in public. It¡¯s all my fault.¡± Michael said, ¡°Both of us did something wrong so this time we are even, okay? Let¡¯s not quarrel anymore, alright?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Okay.¡± The ne flew away with the injured Alice and they withdrew the drones. Everyone had been walking around all morning and since they had finally found Michael, they took out the pot and charcoal from the sled pulled by the dogs. Later, they started a fire and cooked some instant noodles. They rested to replenish their energy and cooked something while watching Sophia and Michael act all lovey-dovey. Everyone just looked at the two of them bickering for a while in public. They apologized to each other, then they fought to take the me. In the end, they apologized and forgave each other before they kissed. Stanley had only eaten some biscuits for breakfast and he didn¡¯t sleep muchst night. Moreover, he had started the search at the break of dawn so after a long journey, he was feeling hungry. Although the couple kissing made him feel extremely disgusted, it didn¡¯t affect his appetite in the least. He ate the instant noodles happily and even drank all of the soup. As for Harry, he ate some biscuits and drank some of the water that was just boiled. Then, he nced at the couple that was still kissing and frowned as he yelled, ¡°Can you two stop kissing? It¡¯s disgusting!¡± Michaelpletely ignored everyone¡¯sints. At that moment, he couldn¡¯t see or hear anything else other than Sophia who was in front of him. ¡°I will never ask our pets to catch mice again. They are our children. I was wrong. I will never abuse them again.¡± Sobbing, Sophia replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t me you. It¡¯s my fault. Cats are born to catch mice.¡± Michael touched her haggard face and saw that she had dark circles under her eyes. With tears in his eyes, he said, ¡°I will never ask Judge to carry anything ever again. Its paw has been injured before. It¡¯s my fault for not being considerate. I shouldn¡¯t have done that¡­¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Judge is a sled dog so letting it pull goods is absolutely justified. You did nothing wrong. I was being capricious and didn¡¯t think about it from your perspective. Celie already exined to mest night. It¡¯s my fault for scolding you before understanding the whole situation.¡± Celine had beenforting Sophiast night and told her about the situation on set. At that time, they couldn¡¯t drive the car to the set so sled dogs were the next best means of transportation. The reason the dogs were exhausted was not because of pulling goods as they usually only brought everyone lunch boxes, chips, coffee and other snacks. The reason they were exhausted was because Celine insisted on bringing them to hunt and ski. Thanks to the dogs, everybody was fed well. Without the dogs, they couldn¡¯t have guaranteed that they would be able to eat hot meals everyday. The crew staff was limited and the local residents often bullied them because they were outsiders. Thinking about this, Sophia burst into tears again. The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt. Michael hugged her tightly, as if he was holding his whole world. Then, he whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, okay? My life was unbearable during the few years you were gone. I thought you were dead and my life was nothing without you. There were many times that I thought about going to heaven with you, but Carmen is still so young. How can I be so cruel to leave her alone in this world? My mothermitted suicide because of my father¡¯s death and Tanya¡¯s threats. My sister and I were too young to understand what was going on when we lost my parents, so I know the feeling. How can I bear to let our darling Carmen live alone? Let us never be apart again, okay?¡± ¡­ Dozens of people formed a circle around them and they watched the two of them attentively with their eyes wide open, as if they were watching a TV show¡­ Because of the blizzard and Michael¡¯s ident, even though there were many scenes to shoot, they gave Michael a day off and asked him to rest in the hotel, letting the couple spend some time together. Celine sensibly ran a long way to buy condoms for them. She even bought lubricant and cooling painkillers. Poor Stanley lived next to Sophia¡¯s room and that day, he seemed to have experienced an earthquake that tore his soul apart. It was freezing cold outside and there was nothing entertaining in town. He had nowhere to go so he stayed in the hotel room and watched television. However, the room next door seemed to be using speakers to y porn at maximum volume. Hearing this, Stanley, who wasying on the bed watching television, was extremely annoyed. Meanwhile, Sean found some poker cards so he asked Celine, Justine and Stanley to y a few games together. At the end of the day, Stanley lost over 5,000. After returning from the snow mountains, Sophia didn¡¯t leave her room and spent the whole day having s*x with Michael in the hotel room. If what they did was shot into a pornographic film, it would be more than half a month¡¯s worth of content that was usually produced by a pornographic film studio. They took a short nap when they felt tired, then continued when they woke up, enjoying the energy of their youth and love in bed. The next morning when Sophia woke up, she felt a sharp pain on her butt. This is one of the bad points of having a long-distance rtionship. My butt hurts every now and then. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael woke up early and brought Sophia breakfast. He even put some cooling patches on her butt before he went to set. It was thest few days of filming, and he had to finish filming the scenes and make sure they were of good quality before he could go home for the New Year. Overworked, Sophiay on the bed, not wanting to move. In the end, she was woken up by a phone call. She nced at her phone and saw that it was at the side, not ringing. Seeing this, she got up and searched around the room before she found that it was Michael¡¯s phone that was ringing. He owned two phones¡ªone for work that was taken care of by Danny, and the other one was a private phone. He had had his private phone with him when he met with the ident, but it waster lost. Sophia had found it, but they were so busy having sex yesterday, she forgot to return his phone to him. Sophia nced at the screen and saw that it was an unknown number. After she answered the call, she heard a woman¡¯s voice. ¡°Taylor, I¡¯ve already arrived in Bayside City. I¡¯m in the hospital now and my injuries have been treated. I¡¯m doing fine so you don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± The voice was sweet and elegant, and there was even a strong sense of confidence. Judging from her tone, she seemed to be really close to Michael. Sophia knew who she was. Remembering the photo that was an eyesore on the phone, she instinctively felt threatened. With a smile, she calmly replied, ¡°Hi, my name¡¯s Sophia Edwards and I¡¯m Taylor¡¯s wife. It¡¯s good to hear that you¡¯re safe. There¡¯s no need to thank Taylor. It was the right thing to do.¡± Alice was not surprised to hear Sophia¡¯s voice. Instead, she spoke to her as if they were close. ¡°I know who you are. You¡¯re Taylor¡¯s ex-wife. There is amon saying in Cethos that goes, ¡®An honest man does not resort to insinuation¡¯. Let me make myself clear today: I like Taylor. Since you two are divorced, I¡¯m going to startpeting with you.¡± Chapter 952 Chapter 952 Sophia was dumbfounded. She had never met such a straightforward lover before, but she was not afraid of her either. ¡°Thank you for your love for Taylor. Even though he and I are divorced, we are still boyfriend and girlfriend. I won¡¯t let you ruin our rtionship.¡± Alice burst intoughter and said, ¡°Miss Edwards, they say only a foolish woman would deal with other women, and a smart woman would directly deal with the man. I¡¯m not going to engage in a meaningless verbal battle with you. The reason I¡¯mpeting with you isn¡¯t because I want to fight you, it¡¯s because I like Taylor and I want him.¡± Sophia smiled and replied, ¡°However, a wise woman should know that men who are easily seduced by other women are not reliable. If you have the ability to take him away from me, it would mean that he was not worthy of me. Either way, I would not suffer any loss.¡± After Sophia finished speaking, the two of them went silent, each in their own thoughts. Then, they quietly hung up the phone. After putting down the phone, Sophia waspletely awake. Then, it suddenly urred to her that she had forgotten to return Alice¡¯s phone to her after she found it yesterday. Alice Michel¡­ I think I¡¯ve heard of her. Sophia sprung up and found Alice¡¯s phone. It was still locked and there were a few missed calls from ¡®My love¡¯. She stared at the phone and after a long struggle, she decided to see what was in it. Sophia turned on theputer, connected Alice¡¯s phone wirelessly, and hacked into her mobile phone. Mobile phones produced by factories of Michel Communications were all military-grade. The system was very special so the security coefficient was high and viruses couldn¡¯t infect it. It was also impossible for ordinary people to crack. Alice¡¯s phone was thetest model in the market and it was highly secure. The current price of one of these phones was about 6,000 US dors. Michel mobile phones were mostly made for business purposes and they didn¡¯t consider the needs of female users when it was manufactured. Thus, the design of the phone didn¡¯t have any gender-defining characteristics. Most of the users were sessful businessmen and businesswomen. Alice is said to be a photographer so her beauty standards should be really high. I didn¡¯t expect her to use a Michel phone that looks like a brick. Even though Sophia also used this model, her phone had a screen protector and her phone case was pink with two bunny ears. Sophia usually could easily crack Michel mobile phones but Alice¡¯s phone was really special. She couldn¡¯t crack it with ordinary means. This is interesting¡­ However, Sophia wasn¡¯t willing to give up. At first, she thought it didn¡¯t matter if she didn¡¯t look at Alice¡¯s phone, but she never thought she couldn¡¯t crack a phone that was produced by her father¡¯spany. It was an embarrassment as a Michel herself. Thus, she spent the whole day sitting in front of theputer, typing on the keyboard nonstop. It took her two days to finally crack the security system of Alice¡¯s phone. After sessfully unlocking it, she turned on the phone and found her various chat records. Her eyes gleamed as she searched for clues in Alice¡¯s phone gallery. At the same time, she was having an internal moral debate.Owned by N?velDrama.Org. She already openly admitted to wanting to be Michael¡¯s lover. Taking a peek at her phone gallery probably isn¡¯t indecent¡­ Well, it isn¡¯t. As expected, there were many photographs of Michael in Alice¡¯s phone gallery, but most of them were captured by herself. Michael didn¡¯t look at the camera in almost all of the images. The only photo of them together was actually cropped from a group photo of the crew, and Alice just happened to be standing next to Michael. Her phone was oddly simple. There wasn¡¯t any chat softwares, her mailbox was empty, there were only a few saved contacts in her phone, and hermunication records were all erased. This isn¡¯t right. I probably triggered some kind of security defense system. When the system senses that somebody is forcibly cracking into the phone, it will automatically back up all information before destroying important information stored in the phone. Later, Sophia stared at a selfie in Alice¡¯s photo album in a daze. Alice Michel. Then, she turned on herputer and logged into the genealogy system. Even though the Michel family was very old and the family name was passed down from the Middle Ages to the modern age, their ancestors were really advanced! They had already set up their own family website and forum twenty years ago, and they also had an electronic version of the genealogy record book. Sophia logged into the genealogy record system and typed in ¡®Alice Michel¡¯. Many family members¡¯ data popped up. After all, the Michel family was a big family and there were over 10,000 people in the genealogy record book. It was normal to have the same name and there were dozens of family members with the name Alice. Fortunately, there were photos. However, Sophia found the Alice she was looking for among the dozens of people at a nce, because Alice¡¯s photo was really special. The other family members all used ID photos with clear facial features, but Alice¡¯s photo was just a photo of her shot from the back. Generally, people would be extremely cautious when uploading a photo to the genealogy record system. They mostly chose artistic and beautiful ID photos. However, people who were truly capable didn¡¯t care much about the genealogy record book so they were not that cautious. The more casual the photos and information the person uploaded, the higher their status. Alice¡¯s photo was a photo of her back, Linus¡¯s photo was a photo of a cat paw, Cooper didn¡¯t even bother to upload a photo, but Sophia was the most powerful as she didn¡¯t even bother to enter her name into the genealogy record book. Then, Sophia saw Alice¡¯s profile. ¡®Vice President of the Michel Group. President and Chief Engineer of Michel High-Tech Information Technology Group. One of the developers of Michel mobiles.¡¯ Her profile was really simple. The information was clear at a nce without any fancy descriptions. In that instant, Sophia already knew who she was. She was Linus¡¯s sister, the daughter of Linus¡¯s adoptive parents. After Sophia returned to the Michel family, Cooper had been protecting her so her identity had not been exposed to the outside world yet. Outsiders only knew that Cooper had a daughter named Lucile. There weren¡¯t many people who had seen her in person and Sophia had not met Alice. Both Alice and Linus had extraordinary prestige in the Michel Group and Michel family. Alice was also Linus¡¯s strongestpetitor. Fass once publicly announced that the future family head of the Michel family would only be chosen among Linus and Alice. However, Cethosian people generally believed that women were weaker than men and women shouldn¡¯t inherit the family business, which was why Cethosians regarded Linus as the future family head. However, Linus was never the only one. He was only a possible candidate. Although Cooper liked Linus and wished to pass on everything to him, if Linus was not as powerful as his sister, Cooper would still change his mind. As for Sophia¡­ Even though Cooper loved her, he would only favor the strong when it came to matters rted to family inheritance. He was now working hard toy the foundation of another family business for Sophia to inherit. If he confirmed that Sohpia didn¡¯t have the ability to inherit the business, he would probably give up on her, which was why he was also working hard to train Carmen and Sean to be Sophia¡¯s back up to ensure that he would have a sessor. If Sophia really had the ability to defeat Alice and Linus, the Michel family and Mitchell family businesses would be hers. However, if she wasn¡¯t capable enough to inherit any, she couldn¡¯t me Cooper. After Sophia found out that Alice was Linus¡¯s sister, her palms were sweaty. I didn¡¯t expect it to be her Chapter 953 Chapter 953 I¡¯ve heard stories about Linus¡¯s sister before. She seems to live a simple life and she likes to stay low- key. Furthermore, she likes photography and travelling around the world. A mysterious look suddenly appeared on Sophia¡¯s face¡­ Sophia never doubted Michael¡¯s loyalty, but she felt uneasy when there was a powerful woman trying to pursue her man. Moreover, this woman was brought up by Cooper himself so she had learned Cooper¡¯s methods and had a smart brain that wasparable to Linus. Sophia was very jealous of Alice¡¯s capabilities and she envied that Alice grew up with Cooper around. At the same time, a raging fire ignited in her heart. I can do it too. As for why Alice had appeared on set as a photographer, Sophia could pretty much guess the reason. Clearly, Cooper¡¯s wishful thinking was wrong and Michael withstood his test. A love that has gone through the test of life and death is not that fragile. I¡¯m going to prove to him that Michael and I can¡¯t be separated! In fact, Sophia understood Cooper¡¯s efforts. He mentioned to Sophia more than once that it was easy for Michael to marry Sophia Edwards and Scarlett Mitchell. However, it would be hard for him to marry Lucile Michel. Once a Western woman got married, she would take on her husband¡¯s surname and give up her maiden surname. The same rule applied to the Michel Family. The family could allow Sophia to be the family head of the Mitchell Family with her identity as Scarlett Mitchell. However, if Sophia married Michael, she would have topletely cut ties with the Michel Family just like Cooper¡¯s mother, Beyonc¨¦. She couldn¡¯t even keep in contact with Cooper and Linus. It would also be difficult for Michael to change his surname. Theo Fletcher was dead and he only had two children, so Mark and the Fletcher Family would not allow Michael to change his surname. Furthermore, Michael was part of the Fletcher Family. Even though he wasn¡¯t in the army, he was a descendant of a military family. If he got married, although he wasn¡¯t strictly required to ask Sophia to go through a political investigation like a military marriage, if he really married the daughter of the world¡¯s second largest arms dealer, the rtionship between the military and the Fletcher Family would be stretched. How could they be sure that Michael wouldn¡¯t secretly reveal Cethos¡¯s military secrets to the Michel Family? The rtionship behind this was tooplicated and profound¡­ Cooper was really cautious when it came to family inheritance matters. The family head of an aristocratic family was never hereditary. The reason Cooper became the family head of the Mitchell Family and Michel Family was not because his father and grandfather were family heads, it was because he had the ability to be a family head and he was the best candidate in the family. If Sophia didn¡¯t have the abilities to inherit the family businesses, he wouldn¡¯t force it on her because it would only bring her and the family harm. Cooper also hinted to Sophia many times that he hoped that Sophia would be recognized by the Michel Family for her abilities, and that she could make a ce for herself in the Michel Family with her own strength. However, Cooper was even more afraid of the day that he would be gone and Sophia would not be able to take care of herself. Which was why he hoped that a strong son-inw could protect her and help her gain a foothold in the Michel family. But Michael¡¯s influence was only in the East. Furthermore, he had a sensitive status of being a member of the Fletcher Family so he couldn¡¯t interfere with the Michel Family¡¯s matters. It would be best for Sophia to marry a man from the Michel family, such as Linus. Linus was really capable but he was an adopted son after all, so he didn¡¯t have the power of being from the same bloodline. Although Sophia was the first daughter of Cooper, her ability was not strong enough to convince the others. If the two of them werebined, they would benefit each other and it would be perfect. This was Cooper¡¯s n but Sophia had her own ns too. Why must I find a man to protect me?! Can¡¯t I protect myself? Give me ten years and I¡¯ll make the whole Michel family recognize my abilities! F*ck the Western concept of a family. Why should I change my surname when I get married?! My mother gave me the name of Sophia Edwards and this is the name that I will keep for this lifetime! I won¡¯t change my name no matter who I marry! I want to marry Michael but I still won¡¯t change my surname! Right now, I just need more time. I believe that I can be strong! With a few more days to go before thepletion of Michael¡¯s movie filming, Sophia simply stayed in the hotel and decided to wait for Michael to finish his job so that they could return to Bayside City together. She also understood the crew¡¯s dilemma. Eating was indeed a big problem for them. Dining cars couldn¡¯t go up the mountains and it was a waste of manpower to carry pots and pans, which was why she decided to send two helicopters to deliver food to the crew. As a result, the filming crew all gained new insights that day. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. It¡¯s nice to have a rich wife¡­ However, there was no suitable ce fornding on the mountain so they could only send the food down while hovering in the sky and it felt a little too much. When they wanted to eat some snacks, they needed to send it using helicopters so the crew felt embarrassed. One trip would probably cost more than 1,000. If they asked the bodyguards to deliver the food¡­ It still felt overwhelming so everyone was too embarrassed to ce orders. After doing some calctions, they found that letting the dogs deliver the food was the most cost- effective, the most environmentally friendly, and the cheapest way. Judge had be muscr from all the food delivery. He didn¡¯t have anything to do for the past two days, so he tore the hotel apart. Judge did so much damage that Stanley was cklisted by that hotel, along with many other hotels in the town. There was nowhere he could stay anymore so he prepared to return to Bayside City. Sophia analysed the situation and after careful consideration, she decided to let Cerberus continue to stay and deliver food. She even sent Snowball over and ordered four professionally-trained skan dogs to help. In the end, she had eight dogs specially sent over to deliver food to Michael and y with Celine. Sophia had also upgraded their dining trucks and the thermal boxes to deliver their food. She even contacted the nearest vegetable shed to deliver the freshest ingredients every day, and repaired the road up to the mountains to make it easier for the sled dogs to deliver goods. My husband¡¯s meals are more important than everything else¡­ It¡¯s okay for the dogs to be a little tired. Stanley was dumbfounded. ¡°You¡­ This¡­ I¡­¡± How can she be so shameless?! ¡°You¡¯re abusing the dogs! Do you know that?!¡± Stanley was so furious, he grabbed Judge and ran away. He was determined to not let Sophia bully his ¡®son¡¯ and was ready to leave the next day. However, Judge bit through the hotel room door and ran away that night. The next morning, he happily followed the crew to the set. Sophia had arranged four subordinates for him and all the tips would be paid to him, so only a fool would leave. Seeing this, Stanley was so angry, he directly went back to Bayside City and announced that he would sever ties with his ¡®son¡¯. Under the care of his beloved wife, Michael was full of energy. He did his best to finish filming his scenes, and everything ended smoothly. After they finished filming, Sophia delivered the skan dogs back to where they came from and sent Cereberus and Snowball back to Bayside City. She and Michael were not in a hurry to go home¡ªthey travelled around and went back just before new year celebrations. Edwards residence, which had a history of more than a hundred years, was about to wee three huskies who had developed strong muscles. Everyone in the house trembled in fear¡­ Cooper was really mad at Sophia. It¡¯s hard to keep my grown up daughter by my side and all she does is make me worry about her. She hasn¡¯t returned until now, but she sent the dogs back. Those three energetic and muscr huskies kept causing chaos. As soon as they returned home, they started to forcefully demolish the house. The house was made out of wood so it couldn¡¯t withstand their attacks. As a result, Dimon sent men to take the dogs out for walks everyday, and ordered them to only return after they were exhausted. However, the scary thing was even though the dog walker was exhausted, the dogs were still full of energy. My daughter is out ying with that b*stard, I can¡¯t find my son, my brother is busy with work, and Carmen is busy with school. Cooper was a pitiful, lonely old man, and he was even tortured by the dogs. Cooper¡¯s roars echoed in the Edwards residence everyday. ¡°Judge, let go of my slippers!¡± ¡°Snowball, do you want to be turned into mush?!!¡± ¡°Cash, get out of here!!!¡± Chapter 954 Chapter 954 In the teahouse, Cooper burst out an earth-shaking roar after seeing that his chessboard had a corner bitten off by Cash, that husky. Thatpletely ignited his rage. Startled, Cash fled like lightning. After that, Cooper finally sat down and continued the game. With the chessboard that had a corner chewed off by Cash, Cooper and Daniel yed a few rounds in which Cooper kept losing. Listening to Cooper¡¯s frustrated scream and calling out names, Daniel felt amused. ¡°Dogs protect homes so it¡¯s beneficial to have many of them.¡± Lately, Daniel had been visiting Cooper¡¯s house frequently because Sophia nned to renovate the house, so she asked him to check their feng shui. Therefore, he often dropped by to take a look and while he was here, he took the opportunity to have a few chess games and chats with Cooper as well as some tea. While collecting the chess pieces, Danielmented, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, you¡¯ve been extremely peevish and impetuoustely, which isn¡¯t how you usually are.¡± Without replying to him, Cooper pped Cash to stop him from chewing the table and only then did he answer, ¡°If you know you have a son but you can¡¯t find him, you¡¯ll be as disturbed as me, Master Levine.¡± Daniel had started to grow his hair long and he had put his hair up with a hair stick. Wearing a loose Taoist robe, he seemed divine. At that moment, he smiled and said, ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m not you and I don¡¯t have a son. So, I can¡¯t put myself in your shoes.¡± Cooper snorted in reply. Daniel continued, ¡°You and your son¡¯s fate hasn¡¯t ended so you¡¯ll meet him again. There¡¯s no need to be anxious, Mr. Mitchell.¡± Cooper snorted again. ¡°Mr. Levine, you¡¯ll eventually have a child one day and by that time, you¡¯ll understand my feelings.¡± Keeping his silence, Daniel smiled and continued to y chess with Cooper. How would he have a son when he was living a leisure and carefree life? Suddenly, Dimon came in and whispered in Cooper¡¯s ears. Then, Cooper said, ¡°Please excuse me.¡± It was afternoon now and Daniel had been at the Edwards Residence since lunch. He nned to have dinner here as well before going home. The two huskies sneaked back in again andy down under the table to take a nap. Rubbing his foot on the husky¡¯s head, Daniel found it ratherfortable. Ever since he was forced by Michael to find Cooper, he had been risking his life every day to carry out his task. If he failed, Michael might really send the Cereberus to Reverie Mountain judging from his character. Fortunately, he made some progresstely. Although Cooper hadn¡¯t given in, Daniel knew that his heart had started to waver. However, Daniel also keenly sensed that Cooper had an important reason for prohibiting Sophia to marry Michael. Nevertheless, he had promised Michael so he had to fulfil his task. Looking at the chessboard, he racked his brain, trying to figure out what that important reason was. The aroma of the tea that filled the room refreshed his mind. As Michael¡¯s think tank, Daniel always considered thingsprehensively. He felt that Cooper didn¡¯t only oppose their marriage because of Michael himself, but also his family and Sophia. In the beginning, Cooper joined the Michel Family as an outsider. Although he had secured his position in the family, Sophia hadn¡¯t. Besides, she had lost all her memories as well as her skills and tricks. Therefore, she had to start from scratch again. In this state, it would be a misnomer to introduce her to the world as the first Young Lady of the Michel Family. That was why Cooper kept dying and didn¡¯t allow her to return to the Michel Family. He was actually protecting her. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Surely, Cooper could protect her now, but what if he wasn¡¯t around one day? How would Sophia gain a foothold in the Michel Family? Therefore, Sophia¡¯s marriage was critical. If she could marry someone that would establish her in the Michel Family¡­ Obviously, Michael wasn¡¯t that person because his area of influence was in the East. To the Michel Family, he was a foreigner so they definitely wouldn¡¯t ept him. In short, Cooper was afraid that Michael couldn¡¯t protect Sophia. Besides, when Michael and Sophia got married in the past, it was only between them. The Fletcher Family didn¡¯t oppose their marriage back then since Sophia was from a clean family background but if they got married now, it would involve the Michel and Fletcher Family. In the midst of pondering, Carmen came home from kindergarten and greeted her grandpa from the yard with her sweet, lively voice. As soon as Carmen got home, she realized that there was a guest. ¡°Hey there, where did youe from?¡± In the yard stood a boy who was five or six years old with ck hair and fair skin. He was patting the alpaca when Carmen called him. Upon hearing that, he turned around, revealing his mesmerizing sapphire blue eyes and wless features. He was undoubtedly an extremely handsome boy. At that moment, Carmen felt that she was falling in love. After ncing at Carmen, the boy continued patting the alpaca before he slowly replied, ¡°I came with my mommy.¡± Carmen was overjoyed while she frolicked around him, calling him ¡®big brother¡¯ whenever she could. She was sweet and obedient and soon enough, she and the boy became friends. In the tearoom, Daniel took a nce outside and noticed that although the boy had western facial features, he had ck hair, causing Daniel to wonder if he dyed his hair. In addition, that boy¡¯s sapphire blue eyes were captivating, which was one of the Michel Family¡¯s traits. The bloodline of the Michel Family was dominant. Even if the child was mixed-race, he or she would gradually grow to have westernized features, such as Cooper. When Cooper was young, he had eastern facial features but as he grew, his features became more and more western. Even the color of his eyes started to change, which was extremely magical. Linus was even more magical because even though he only had a quarter of the Michel Family¡¯s bloodline, he had western facial features ever since he was born. When Daniel found Sophia 20 years ago, she was an ugly duckling and there wasn¡¯t a trace showing that she was a mixed-race. As she grew older, her skin became fairer and fairer while her features became deeper. Gradually, the traits of being a mixed-race person became evident. After 10 years, when she came back, her eye color had changed and she lookedpletely different. Meanwhile, Carmen and the boy happily yed with each other. She didn¡¯t even bother to put down her bag before rushing off to show her pet dogs and cats to the boy. The boy, named Casper, had brought a small robot with him. Since Nathan¡¯s university had ended the term early for winter and his parents were on a vacation, he had been staying in Edwards Residence. While staying here, he took care of the children and was responsible for fetching Carmen to and from her kindergarten. Today was thest day of ss in kindergarten and Carmen would start her winter break too. The three children yed happily together and they were watching movies while patting the cat in the living room. At the same time, Carmen was extremely eager to introduce her superhero father, who saved the world and fought aliens, to Casper, so she asked Shae to y Michael¡¯s movie in the home theatre. However, before they could even finish the movie, Carmen had impatiently brought Casper to meet Daniel as if she was about to introduce him to her parents. Chapter 955 Chapter 955 ¡°Mr. Psychic, this is my new friend, Casper. I call him Cas.¡± Carmen addressed Daniel as ¡®Mr. Psychic¡¯, which was a pet name for a protector. Having a protector was an old local custom to Bayside¡¯s aborigines. It was said that a child had poor health because he lacked something in his life, so he had to find a senior who had apatible birthdate to be his protector. Since a protector could provide safety to a child as he grew, they were something like godparents. Coincidentally, Daniel and Carmen had perfectlypatible birthdates, so he became her protector. That was why Carmen had been calling him ¡®Mr. Psychic¡¯. That name actually had a profound meaning. Even though Harry was also Carmen¡¯s godfather, he only became her godfather because of his rtionship with her parents. On the contrary, Daniel had an important reason to be her protector. Besides, he was extremely effective as a protector judging from how healthy Carmen was now compared to her condition when she was born. Although her father, Michael, was the main contributor for her good health, Daniel had also contributed as her protector. After all, contributing to a psychological effect was also a contribution. On another note, even though Mark was Cooper¡¯s godfather, a protector was actually a more appropriate role for him. However, since Cooper didn¡¯t have any other godfather, theybined the two roles into one. When it came to Carmen, godfather and protector were two separate roles. The fact that Carmen called Daniel her protector made Cooper think twice about chopping Daniel up. To be honest, Daniel loved to be called ¡®Mr. Psychic¡¯. After all, it sounded like he was someone precious too. ¡°I see Carmen has made a new friend. Come, let me give you a present for our first meeting.¡± Daniel searched all over himself only to realize that he didn¡¯t bring anything meaningful to be given as a gift. Therefore, he gave Casper his sandalwood bracelet. Casper examined the bracelet, looking smart. Then, he took it from Daniel and kept it in his pocket. At the same time, he followed how Carmen addressed Daniel and said, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Psychic.¡± He didn¡¯t know Daniel¡¯s name so he thought that his name was ¡®Mr. Psychic¡¯. Although Casper looked like he was from the west, he spoke fluent Cethosiannguage. Obviously, he learned thenguage from a young age. Of course, a child from the Michel Family wouldn¡¯t be mediocre, and his parents must have high status in the family since he was allowed in Cooper¡¯s house. Daniel didn¡¯t rectify Casper and instead, he ruffled his ck hair. Casper¡¯s parents are quite irresponsible to allow such a young child to dye his hair, he thought. After ying at Daniel¡¯s ce for some time, Carmen brought Casper to another ce. Meanwhile, Daniel continued to analyse the chess game while waiting for Cooper to return and finish this round of game. In Cooper¡¯s study, a woman was sitting gracefully on the sofa with her long, blonde hair elegantly draped over her shoulder. She was wearing a simple yet tastefulvender long dress and a nude pantyhose. Currently, she was reporting some work progress to Cooper. After a brief report, Cooper asked with care, ¡°Alice, how is your injury?¡± That woman was none other than Alice. Touching her wound, Alice replied, ¡°It¡¯s just a superficial wound so it¡¯s not a big deal. Besides, Mr. Fletcher is an expert in treating wounds and since it was treated in time, it¡¯s almost recovered now.¡± Cooper nodded and said, ¡°Sorry for troubling you this time.¡± Alice smiled heartily and replied, ¡°It¡¯s not troublesome at all. I¡¯ve always wanted to visit Cethos so this is a great opportunity to fulfil my wish. Unfortunately, I seem to have failed the task you gave me, Fass.¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Speaking of that, Alice couldn¡¯t help but sigh before continuing, ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to contact Mr. Fletcher lately, but he seems to be ignoring me.¡± Naturally, Alice only went to Michael¡¯s film set upon receiving Cooper¡¯s tacit consent and Linus¡¯s instruction. Linus was the one who told Alice to seduce Michael. Although Cooper felt that it was hical, he was eager to find out if Michael would pass the test, so he agreed to it tacitly. If Alice sessfully seduced Michael, Cooper could chase him away rightfully and without guilt. But the fact was that Michael waspletely uninterested in Alice. Cooper seemed to feel relieved but right after that came heavy-heartedness and anger. That jerk! He¡¯s so pervy to Sophia and even crawled through a dog hole for her, but in front of the other women, he became a boring, unromantic man. He even pretended to be proud and indifferent. What a hypocritical, cunning man! It seemed like he wouldn¡¯t give Sophia up. That made Cooper feel gratified and heavy-hearted at the same time. If he opposed their rtionship, he was afraid that he would fail his conscience, which he had just retrieved. But still, he had to consider this matter thoroughly since it was Sophia¡¯s marriage. Seeing that Cooper repeatedly knitted and rxed his eyebrows while remaining silent, Alice asked tentatively, ¡°Fass, should I continue with the task? I feel that I¡¯m out of the running for seducing him because Mr. Fletcher is strong-willed. Besides, I don¡¯t have any better ideas at the moment.¡± Alice had made several attempts on set, such as finding an opportunity to let Michael inadvertently nce at her phone so that he could see the photo that she set as her wallpaper, or his name that was saved in her contacts. These attempts aimed to let Michael realize her feelings toward him, which was actually fake. However, Michael had ignored them and was totally unmoved. She even started to doubt if Michael was truly a man. Otherwise, how could he bepletely unmoved at a wless woman¡¯s pursuit? Even when he was treating the wound on her waist when they were in the cave, he didn¡¯t even nce anywhere else when he took off her shirt and treated the wound with the fastest and the most expert skills. After that, he left her to survive on her own. Even worse, he¡¯d rather let her pee in her pants than help her to the toilet. When they returned to Bayside City, Alice tried again and even hinted at Sophia. Yet, she realized that all her tricks were useless and nothing, not even a strand of hair, could get in between Michael and Sophia, let alone a person. Knowing that she had failed her task, Alice immediately sought Cooper¡¯s advice. After some time, Cooper finally replied, ¡°You can stop the task. Since you¡¯re injured, you should rest.¡± In this plot, he aimed to sow discord between Sophia and Michael through Alice, whereas Linus aimed to stir trouble after testing them. In the end, they didn¡¯t find anything out of the ordinary nor manage to sow any discord. Instead, Sophia became even more inseparable from Michael. Perhaps she was stressed and felt thepetitive pressure, she sneaked out and went to travel around with Michael. Now, she even refused toe home, abandoning Carmen, who still needed to be taken care of, and him, who was waiting eagerly for her to return. Alice said, ¡°I n to expand Michel Communications in Cethos, so I¡¯ll be staying in Bayside for some time.¡± Michel mobile phones were widely favored overseas but in Cethos, its market seemed to be limited, which was actually a consequence of Michel Group not realizing the importance of Cethos¡¯s market previously. But now, even Linus had personallye to expand the market in Cethos. Naturally, Alice would give him a run for his money. There was a huge potential for this market that had a poption of more than 1 billion. Therefore, Alice had wild ambitions to conquer this market! Chapter 956 Chapter 956 Nodding, Cooper said, ¡°I¡¯ll be focusing on energy technology in this period of time, so I¡¯m entrusting the company to you and Linus.¡± Alice was ten years younger than Cooper and she had always been close to him. Besides, Cooper was a brother that she respected the most so naturally, they spoke to each other casually and cordially. As someone who didn¡¯t like to beat around the bush, Alice saved all nonsense and got straight to the point. ¡°I¡¯ll expand the phone business in Cethos and I n to find a famous celebrity in Cethos to be the ambassador. Considering that we¡¯re mainly selling business phones, I¡¯ve tentatively decided to find only male celebrities. I have high requirements for the ambassador and currently, the candidates that meet these requirements are Harry and Taylor. However¡­¡± Because of Cooper, Michel Group did not venture into the Cethos market. Therefore, their phones were popr overseas, but they didn¡¯t even have an official authorized reseller store in Cethos. Those who wanted to buy their phone had to buy it from overseas since the phone was not avable in Cethos. Alice looked at Cooper and said, ¡°After that incident, these two might not be willing to coborate with us.¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Now, Michael refused to talk to her, and so did Harry. Again, Cooper sank into silence. To be able to enter the Cethosian market, they needed to select their ambassador carefully because he or she yed an important role. As one of the oldest phone brands in the world, Michel mobile phones had history, quality and reputation. Therefore, ordinary celebrities couldn¡¯t bring out the quality and prestige of the phone. Thinking of the ambassador, Michael and Harry were also the first two people that came to Cooper¡¯s mind. These two male celebrities, who were once extremely famous, were definitely qualified as they could bring out the best of the phone. But after that incident, Michael had probably figured out who Alice was, so asking him to be their ambassador would be a rather shameless act. Besides, Michael advertised for sanitary pads and stainless steel basin in the past, so Cooper eliminated him directly and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go with Harry. Taylor epted too many advertisements, so he lost his value long ago.¡± Alice was slightly disappointed because she felt that the best move was to hire both of them. Michel had always positioned themselves in the high-end phone market but she was aiming to sell a middle-end phone now, which had a much eptable price to the majority, just like Apple products that cost a few thousand each. But since Michel targeted the high-end phone market and it cost around a few hundred thousands on average, it was only favored by the high society. Therefore, it was challenging to enter the middle-end market as it was not widely-known. She had high confidence in her phone. With a quality phone, all that was left was to find a quality ambassador. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll leave it to you, Fass. I¡¯m going home now.¡± Alice got up gracefully and left the study after bidding farewell to Cooper. Then, she walked down the stairs. Cooper sent her off since he was going to the teahouse, which was in the same direction. When Alice got to the living room, Casper dashed toward her and shouted, ¡°Mommy!¡± Holding Casper¡¯s hand, Alice looked at the two other children in the living room. She had long known who they were¡ªone was Michael¡¯s child and the other was Celine¡¯s child. ¡°Hi, Carmen!¡± She called out Carmen¡¯s name directly. Carmen was shocked. ¡°How do you know me?¡± Alice crouched down and looked closely at the adorable girl. She resembled Sophia and Michael, and the longer she looked at her, the prettier she seemed to be. Smiling gently, Alice replied, ¡°Because I¡¯m your grandfather¡¯s sister. You should call me your aunt! ¡± Carmen sweetly greeted her, ¡°Hi, Aunt!¡± Alice found herself to be very fond of Carmen. No wonder Cooper was willing to stay at Cethos for Sophia and Carmen¡¯s sake. If she had such an adorable granddaughter, she would do the same. Seeing that Casper and Carmen were getting along nicely, Alice joked, ¡°Do you think Casper is handsome? When you grow up, do you want to date him, Carmen?¡± Looking serious, Carmen knitted her eyebrows and replied hesitantly, ¡°But I already have a boyfriend. Look, that¡¯s my boyfriend!¡± Looking in the direction that Carmen was pointing, Alice saw a brown female alpaca¡­ Cooper then held Casper¡¯s hand and led him to Carmen while saying, ¡°Cas is your uncle, Carmen. From now on, you must respect him.¡± Casper was Alice¡¯s son and he was now five years old. Other than Alice, no one knew who his father was. Once he was born, he was recorded in the Michel Family¡¯s genealogy record book. As long as the mother was from the Michel Family, the Michel Family would ept the child as one of them as long as Alice didn¡¯t marry into another family. Although Alice often got into rtionships, she was undoubtedly a celibatarian. Her exes all broke up with her because of her non-marriage doctrine. Before Casper appeared in her life, she was very religious and strongly opposed to having sex before marriage. But after Casper was born, she stopped holding on to her religion. Cooper respected Alice¡¯s privacy so he never once asked about Casper¡¯s father. Even when he asked her toe and seduce Michael, she only teased Michael. Indeed, she was interested in Michael, but that was all and nothing more. She had never thought of being with Michael. Besides, her pride didn¡¯t allow her to be a third wheel in someone else¡¯s rtionship, and Michael wasn¡¯t the type she liked. Yet, no one knew what type of man Alice liked because she dated all kinds of men in the past. Therefore, no one had an inkling of what type of man Casper¡¯s father was. Ever since Alice came to Cethos, she had been staying in a hotel. It wasn¡¯t suitable for children to stay in a hotel long-term, so Casper had been staying in Edwards Residence. Afraid that she would trouble Cooper, Alice decided to stay in the hotel herself. When Linus heard that Alice failed her task, he was surprised. After all, he knew how attractive his sister was, and she had never failed to get any men she wanted. Unexpectedly, she failed this time round. Yet, this was somehow a reasonable oue because Michael was deeply in love with Sophia. Therefore, it was impossible for Alice to interfere with their rtionship. Linus had probably anticipated this oue from the beginning. The issues of the adults were tooplicated for the children. Just like that, Casper moved into Edwards Residence and yed with Carmen, who was enjoying her winter break. In this matter, Carmen was overjoyed because she gained a new friend. If Casper¡¯s identity was subjected to Cethos¡¯s feudal principles, he was an illegitimate child of an anonymous father. He would suffer the same way Sophia did, who grew up receiving criticism and mockeries from others. Fortunately, Casper had a strong mother and a family that epted him. Therefore, he enjoyed the same inheritance rights as the other legitimate children of the Michel Family. The Michel Family treated both girls and boys fairly and didn¡¯t practice the tradition where only males could inherit the family¡¯s assets. In fact, there had been numerous female family heads in the past. The Michel Family even hoped that they had more illegitimate children like Casper because in that case, outstanding female members of the family like Alice would remain unmarried, and no weird men could take the opportunity to get married into the family for their own interest. Children with the family¡¯s noble bloodline would never be abandoned, and neither would they have another surname besides Michel. Therefore, many of the sessful women in the Michel Family would remain unmarried in order to prevent issues that mighte with marriage. Chapter 957 Chapter 957 For them, marriage was a hair-pulling issue. They weren¡¯t interested in weak men while outstanding men weren¡¯t willing to marry into the women¡¯s families. Besides, if they were to marry a man, they would have to give up their surname. Therefore, many of them would either get into a rtionship but not get married, or give birth to a child with an anonymous father to inherit their family business. If the father of the child tried to stir trouble, the Michel Family¡¯s legal team would fight for the child¡¯s custody and his or her surname by all means. For example, to the Michel Family, it was absolutely uneptable for Carmen, who had the bloodline of the Michel Family, to inherit her father¡¯s surname. Therefore, it was only a matter of time for the family members in Northern Europe toe and fight against Michael for the sake of Carmen¡¯s surname. That was what Cooper worried about. Ever since the family members in Northern Europe knew about the existence of Sophia and Carmen, they had been eagerly asking them to change their surnames, but Cooper kept rejecting them with all sorts of excuses. Now, they were starting to feel annoyed. The Fletcher Family was also a huge family with a long history, so it was impossible for Michael to be married into the Michel Family, not to mention changing his surname to his wife¡¯s surname. However, Sophia and Michael were deeply in love, which made things even more difficult for Cooper. In the meantime, Daniel still frequently visited Edwards Residence to examine their feng shui. To be honest, Cooper didn¡¯t understand how feng shui worked, but it must have its own logic so he might as well ask Daniel to examine it. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, the direction of your building is not right. It should be facing 15¡ã to the East, where wealth and lucke from. Besides, you mustn¡¯t use a wooden door. You should use an alloy door because metal attracts wealth. Although your house is fine, its cement and direction indicate theck of wealth ording to feng shui. Therefore, you should find a son-inw with a strong soul to guard your wealth. I¡¯m just going to put it out there¡ªalthough your house has great feng shui, it¡¯s actually built on where an ancient tomb once was, whichter on was converted to a Yang house from a Yin house under the advice of a feng shui master. But even though it has be a Yang house, the negative energy in the ground hasn¡¯tpletely dissipated even after a few centuries. In fact, it¡¯s only being temporarily suppressed and once the feng shui is disrupted, this house will return to a Yin house, which will harm the descendants of the people that live in this house. As time passes and the world changes, the feng shui of a particr ce will also change. Did you realize that the downfall of the previous owner, the Harper Family, started when the subway was built a few years back? Due to the construction of the subway around this area, the feng shui was disrupted, which converted a Yang house to a Yin house. What¡¯s worse is that the subway had dredged a ghost path, causing the area to be filled with negative energy. Your door faces the ghost path directly, attracting all the negative spirits and ghosts to this house.¡± Holding apass and wearing a Taoist robe, Daniel walked around the house to examine its feng shui while exining what he found, which sounded like a ghost story. It made Cooper¡¯s hair stand on end. Daniel continued, ¡°The previous owner, the Harper Family, didn¡¯t find this out so his family died off. Therefore, the Harper Family either ended up with huge debts or was infected with malignant diseases. Suffering from a troubled home, unfilial descendants, invasion of ghosts and roaming evil spirits, the century-long family was destroyed and the culprit is poor feng shui. Since this is a Yin house now, it¡¯s only suitable for the deceased to stay. If humans moved in¡­ Pardon me for my unpleasant words, Mr. Mitchell, you¡¯ll meet with a dreadful misfortune sooner orter. You¡¯re safe now only because you and your family have just moved in and you have many dogs, so the evil energy is temporarily suppressed.¡± Cooper followed behind Daniel, seemingly in deep thoughts. He was frowning and calcting the date, only to realize that what Daniel said was urate. When Sophia was harmed by the Harper Family, the Harper Family was still at the heights of their power. At that time, the construction of the subway nearby had started. When the subway wasplete, Sophia had started to wreak revenge on the Harper Family and that was the time they gradually fell. It wasn¡¯t right to say that it had nothing to do with that because it somehow seemed to be rted. Otherwise, how could Sophia alone destroy a highly-respected family with centuries of history without effort? Walking beside Daniel while listening to his nonsense, Cooper was convinced by him without him realizing. Casper seemed to be interested in feng shui as well so he walked beside Daniel and quietly listened to him. At this moment, they arrived at the subway and Daniel sniffed the cold wind that was blowing from the direction of the subway. Then, he seriously exined, ¡°There¡¯s a tinge of blood smell in the wind so this route is undoubtedly a ghost path. Your house door is facing the ghost path directly, so the ghost will enter your house once they exit the ghost path. On top of that, your house is a Yin house and with the door facing the ghost path, your house is now haunted. It¡¯s pointless even if you rear countless ck dogs.¡± Looking at the bustling subway entrance, Daniel added, ¡°Ghosts wille out from the subway station and harm humans. Therefore, this route has many idents.¡± Cooper became even more convinced by him because this subway route indeed took many lives every year. Last year, a working adult pried open the safety door and tried to enter the train because he was in a rush. Unexpectedly, the train door closed and he was caught in between the train and the safety door. Tragically, he died on the spot. Another ident happened in the year before thest, where a passenger died due to a heart attack right after he got off the train. There had also been an incident where someone died on the esctor. Other than casualties, the subway often broke down because of all kinds of reasons. Therefore, many people believed that this area had poor feng shui. It seemed that he should believe it rather than not. Cooper started to panic. ¡°How do I change feng shui?¡± In a serious tone, Daniel replied, ¡°Firstly, you must change the direction of the door and move it away from the ghost path. Secondly, you should give the mythical beast guardian at the entrance a face-lift since it has lost its power to protect the house after cing it there for more than ten years. Then, you should adjust the structure of the house. Lastly, you should find a son-inw that has a strong soul to move in and suppress the negativity. The best candidate would be someone who was a soldier and killed people before. It¡¯s even better if his ancestors are soldiers. If you can find a general who has held command of an army, or a descendant of generals, that would be the best because this kind of man has a spirit of righteousness, which can suppress evil and malevolence.¡± Cooper was speechless. After so much talking, Michael was the one who fit the description. The ancestors of the Fletcher Family were all soldiers and many generals were from this family as well. In addition, Michael¡¯s father was a general with outstanding military exploits. In this peaceful era, not many soldiers fought in a war before, but Michael had taken lives when he participated in joint military operations abroad during his time as a soldier. In fact, he had killed many. ording to Daniel¡¯s description, Michael fulfilled every criteria. Seeing that Cooper was silent, Daniel continued, ¡°Deaths happened every year consecutively for a few years in this subway, but after I examined the feng shui here this year, it has been peaceful because the ghost didn¡¯t dare to make trouble. It¡¯s up to you to trust me, but don¡¯t me me for not warning you if something happens.¡± Cooper knew about that incident too. After numerous deaths happened, the leaders of the subway company became as anxious as ants on a hot pan. But no matter how wless their safety measures were, there would always be a few death cases every year. Even the subway would break down frequently. Therefore, at the beginning of this year, they hired Daniel at a high price. After they employed a group of retired soldiers as their security guards ording to Daniel¡¯s advice, the idents significantly decreased because soldiers were able to suppress negativity and evil. Daniel shocked Cooper with his nonsense, luring Cooper into believing him beyond a shadow of doubt from being sceptical in the beginning. On the other hand, Casper looked up at Daniel and his eyes were filled with amazement and admiration, eximing inwardly, Mom, this man is so impressive. He knows everything including astronomy and geography. Is he a god? Holding Casper¡¯s hand, Cooper followed Daniel and roamed further. After all, feng shui had to be examined slowly and detailly. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. Meanwhile, a man, who was selling roasted sweet potatoes at the subway entrance, stared nkly at them. He had overheard their conversation. Is that the reason for the Harper Family¡¯s fall? Just because the construction of the subway disrupted the feng shui in this area, which converted a Yang house to a Yin house that was supposedly inhabited by dead people? Heughed bitterly at the sky while tears flowed from the corner of his eyes. That man was none other than the former young master of the Harper Family, Richard Harper. Now, he was selling roasted sweet potatoes by the roadside. Chapter 958 Chapter 958 Thest time Sophia saw Richard, he was selling insurance but as his health worsened, his illness gradually got out of control and he could no longer withstand the heavy workload of working as a salesperson. Therefore, he came to Riverdale to sell roasted sweet potatoes. Knowing his character, the local government agency did not dare to chase him away so he had been selling roasted sweet potatoes for a living since a few months back. His hair had be gray, his eyes seemed murky and hisplexion was sallow. He looked like an old man in his fifties or sixties. No one knew that he was only 27, which was the same age as Sophia. Now, the Harper Family waspletely ruined and the once glorious Harper Family had its name completely removed from Bayside. Was it all because the feng shui of the house was disrupted? In fact, the Harper Family actually spent an enormous amount of money and requested to change the subway route to this ce, which in turn increased the value of the nearbynd that was developed by them. Without them realizing, they had created a ghost path! Richardughed hysterically and afterughing, he looked at the subway entrance that had more than ten steps of stairs. Then, he suddenly dashed toward it. Wasn¡¯t that a ghost path? He dared it to take his life today! Sadly, he didn¡¯t pay attention to the step under his feet so before he even reached the stairs, he tripped over it and knocked his head on the cement floor. At once, blood sshed from his head and his brain sttered all over. Tragically, he died on the spot. He wanted to die in the subway but his wish wasn¡¯t fulfilled. It was just a step away. On the other hand, Daniel was exining to Cooper, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, although you have a dog in your house and it temporarily suppressed evil, your house was converted to a Yang house because a thousand-year-old ancient tomb was demolished. That tomb shouldn¡¯t be taken trivially. Now, not only is the house packed with negative energy, but it¡¯s also facing the ghost path, so some evil beings have already entered the house. The dogs will soon lose their suppressing power against those things and if you don¡¯t find someone with a strong soul soon, I specte that someone will die in your house within ten days.¡± Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Shocked and terrified, Cooper was drenched in cold sweat. Right at that moment, someone suddenly shouted, ¡°Someone died!¡± With his hair standing on end, he turned around only to see a dead person in front of his house. It so happened that the person didn¡¯t die at the subway nor the bus station, but within the perimeters of Edwards residence. Daniel knitted his eyebrows and said, ¡°Look, someone died as I spected. The feng shui in your house must be changed and you must find a son-inw.¡± Not only did someone die outside the house, but Casper also fell ill after he moved into Edwards residence. That deepened the crease between Cooper¡¯s eyebrows while he became even more convinced that his house had bad feng shui. Under Cooper¡¯s earnest request, Daniel moved into Edwards residence so that he could improve the house¡¯s feng shui. Daniel was an expert in fooling people. Apart from fortune telling, he was also skilled in analysing one¡¯s future, palmistry, bone reading, astronomy, horoscope and even tarot-card reading. Using his expertise in every field, he sessfully fooled Cooper. Even the few bodyguards from the Michel Family couldn¡¯t stop admiring him. Casper was sick and had a fever. His body temperature didn¡¯t seem to decrease even after being hospitalized for two days, causing Cooper to be anxious. It so happened that Alice and Linus had gone abroad for business so he was reluctant to inform Alice about Casper¡¯s situation, afraid that she might be worried. Besides, Cooper felt embarrassed to tell Alice that Casper fell ill right after he moved into his house. Upon knowing this, Daniel took the initiative to visit Casper at the hospital. Upon a brief examination, he noticed that Casper¡¯s blue eyes seemed to have lost their vitality so he said, ¡°Cas must havee into contact with an evil energy. Children have weaker immune systems but it¡¯s nothing serious. He¡¯ll be fine with some ck dog¡¯s blood.¡± Without dy, Cooper sent his men to his house and collected a big bowl of his beloved dog, Corrado¡¯s blood. Then, Daniel dipped his fingers in the ck dog¡¯s blood and smeared it on Casper¡¯s face. At the same time, he said gently, ¡°Everything¡¯s going to be fine. Now that I¡¯ve applied the blood of a ck dog on you, you¡¯ll be as good as new tomorrow.¡± Looking at Daniel, Casper¡¯s sapphire blue eyes seemed to be sparkling. Casper seemed to be extremely fond of his mystical ¡®protector¡¯. Every day right after he woke up, he would search for Daniel and follow him around while witnessing how he fooled Cooper. Simrly, Daniel doted on this child, which came out of nowhere, and would always read his future whenever he was free. Knowing that Casper was sick, Daniel was heartbroken as well. Since he wasn¡¯t busy, he decided to go to the hospital to apany Casper. ¡°Cas, does it still hurt?¡± Showing his rare gentleness, Daniel tucked the nket under Casper. Casper replied, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore.¡± Since Daniel had free time now, he gave full y of his expertise, chatting with Casper while reading his palm. ¡°Cas, you have a great life. You must cherish it and in the future, you¡¯ll be sessful. It seems like you¡¯re lacking something in your life, but you¡¯ll soon find it.¡± Daniel furrowed his eyebrows. Earlier, he noticed that Casper¡¯s parents weren¡¯t with him when he was ill, so Cooper disclosed that he only had a mother, who was still abroad, and he didn¡¯t have a father. Learning about that, he generally knew what hecked in his life. Poor child. After Casper was smeared with ck dog¡¯s blood, he couldn¡¯t fall asleep and kept staring at Daniel, who was sitting beside the bed while reading Confucian ssics. Noticing Casper¡¯s gaze, he closed the book and looked at this adorable child. Then, he said, ¡°Cas, don¡¯t worry and go to sleep now. I won¡¯t leave. I¡¯ll stay here until you recover from your illness.¡± It was only then did Casper go to sleep without concern. Daniel tucked Casper in and smiled before continuing to read his book. Uncertain whether it was the intravenous drip that Casper got at the hospital or the ck dog¡¯s blood that was effective, he recovered the next day, so Daniel brought him home. Because of that, Cooper trusted Daniel even more. Since then, Daniel spoke with the airs of an expert and he seemed even more confident in criticising Cooper¡¯s house. ¡°Rearing more dogs in the house is a right move since dogs are able to chase evil away, especially ck dogs. Although a husky is not a ck dog, it represents half a ck dog. So, three huskies make a ck dog. It¡¯s not a rumor that dogs can protect houses. Pay attention to the dog and if something happens to the dog one day, it means that your house has be so haunted that even dogs can¡¯t help you. By that time, the only solution is to move out as soon as possible. Children have low tolerance toward evil energy. Carmen is safe since I¡¯m her protector and she has a safety amulet. As for Casper, he¡¯s safe too because his room is smeared with ck dog¡¯s blood, but you need to pay attention to the other children.¡± Beside him, Cooper didn¡¯t even have the courage to interrupt him. Since Daniel had nothing to do, he stayed at Cooper¡¯s housefortably while babysitting the children. Carmen turned her nose up at his tricks and never trusted his lies. However, Casper, who came from western countries, admired him a lot and followed him wherever he went. Holding Capser¡¯s hand, Daniel strolled around Edwards residence while enlightening him. ¡°Cas, feng shui is a cultural treasure that our ancestors passed down to us. It epasses vast knowledge. Come, let me exin it to you¡­¡± It was winter break. Sarah and Harry, who just finished shooting a movie, went on a vacation somewhere so naturally, they sent their children to Edwards residence. Hope, Ashton and Carmen formed a small group and they turned their nose up at Daniel¡¯s tricks. They also repeatedly warned Casper not to be taken in. However, Casper waspletely mesmerized and he spent his days learning witchcraft from Daniel. Lately, he even made some progress in palmistry. Through examining Judge¡¯s paw, he even spected that he had recently earned a bucket of gold by luck, which was confirmed by Carmen. ording to Carmen, Judge brought Michael lunch boxes and managed to earn a few thousand. Now that he was rich, he became arrogant and looked down on everyone when he got home. Casper was overjoyed and felt that he had talent in this skill. Therefore, he secretly swore that he would follow Daniel up the mountain to cultivate his skills. Chapter 959 Chapter 959 Daniel loved Casper too and felt that he was gifted. So, he said to Cooper, ¡°I feel that this child clicks with me. Why don¡¯t you let hime with me to the mountain? I¡¯ll surely teach him everything I know.¡± Overjoyed, Casper nodded repeatedly. He wanted to go to the mountain, cultivate himself and be a god. In the future, he hoped he could be like Daniel, who knew everything including astronomy and geography, ghosts and gods as well as Yin and Yang. In addition, he wanted to travel around to examine feng shui and read futures. Cooper shot daggers at Daniel. Daniel didn¡¯t stop at fooling him into agreeing to marry his daughter. Now, he even tried to fool him into sending Casper to the mountain and be his apprentice! ¡°Impossible!¡± Daniel was rejected mercilessly by Cooper but he had anticipated it. Casper¡¯s mother must have a prestigious status in the Michel Family, so Casper was probably being nurtured to be the sessor to the family. Therefore, he definitely couldn¡¯t follow him into the mountain. Feeling regret, he said to Casper, ¡°Cas, I sincerely want to bring you with me but your mother and uncle are not allowing that. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll still pass down everything I know to you.¡± He honestly loved Casper. In the past, Daniel wanted to pass all his knowledge to Carmen, Hope, Ashton and Nathan, but all of them rejected his kindness. Not only did they turn their nose up at him, but they even secretly gave him a nickname¡ªMr. Eighty Thousand, which was now deeply rooted in everyone¡¯s mind. Casper was the only one who admired him. During the winter holiday, Carmen enjoyed her life to the fullest. She had snowball fights, skied and rode on sleds every day. Fortunately, the house was huge and in order to have a ce for Carmen to y, Cooper built a small skiing park and skating rink at home. Carmen looked extremely graceful when she skated. Thus, the yard wasn¡¯t despondent and cheerless because of winter. Instead, it became even more lively because Carmen didn¡¯t have sses. When spring arrived, Carmen turned four and she had grown stronger. When she was born, she was as weak as a new-born kitten. With painstaking care, Michael had nurtured her into a lovely, cheerful angel. Of course, she got on Cooper¡¯s nerves when she behaved mischievously, driving him up the wall. Every day after work, Cooper would spend most of his time with Carmen. He didn¡¯t manage to spend time with Sophia when she grew up, so he didn¡¯t know how it felt like to take care of a daughter. Therefore, he cared for Carmen like his own daughter and it was a bittersweet experience. Usually, kids loved to y outdoors, and they couldn¡¯t even stop running around as if their butts would be burnt if they sat still on the stool for more than a second. Only Casper could remain still. He would follow Daniel around all day and listen to him exin about scriptures, Yin and Yang and the eight trigrams. Daniel would also teach him to read bones, face and fortune as well as tricks. As expected, all the Michels were geniuses. Although Casper, who just reached five this year, was still young, he already had a good grasp ofnguages. He was fluent in threenguages and recognized numerous Chinese characters. Every day, he would learn new things from Daniel and Daniel would patiently teach him. He was extremely fast in learning. Cooper counted the days every day, eagerly waiting for Sophia toe home. Now, he had epted it and as long as she came home, he would keep quiet even if she brought him a son-inw.Owned by N?velDrama.Org. On the other side, the Michel Family had been urging Sophia and Carmen to go back to the family. Cooper didn¡¯t want Sophia and Carmen to give up the Michel Family, but he couldn¡¯t ask Carmen to leave just like that either. Therefore, he was extremely stressed. A few days before the new year, Sophia finally came home. After going on a vacation, not only did she gain weight, but she also became darker too. Michael was beside her and he almost had the same skin tone as her. Carrying several bags at once, he cordially greeted Cooper as soon as he stepped into the house. ¡°Dad.¡± Cooper was almost fooled by Daniel so when he saw Michael, he had mixed feelings of love and hatred. He didn¡¯t even respond to Michael¡¯s greeting. Yet, when he looked to the side and saw Carmen looking at him sternly, he knew that she would criticize him for disliking Michael. Therefore, he quickly replied to Michael with a groan, and only then did Carmen smile. ¡°Dad, look at how many presents Mikey and I brought you!¡± Sophia disyed all the presents that she brought for Cooper. They were local specialties from all over the world, which she bought from all the ces she went during her vacation. She even calls him Mikey¡­ Cooper was even more frustrated now, but since his daughter was back, all other emotions were overtaken by happiness. When Michael saw Daniel once he came in, he winked at him. In return, Daniel raised his eyebrows at him too. That was their discreet greetings to each other. Michael knew that once Daniel got into action, no one could escape from his trick. Now that Cooper had lowered his guard, the next step would be revealing some clues about his son to him. Then, he would try his best to find his son before Tomb-Sweeping Day. After the Dragon Boat Festival, he could urge for a marriage and hopefully, he could announce his marriage to the whole world while creating hype for his works before ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ and his new movie were screened. He had even chosen the venue for the marriage and was now secretly listing the guests. Noticing Daniel and Michael¡¯s interaction, Cooper figured out that they colluded in scheming against him. Nevertheless, he had fallen into the trap and was now in a difficult situation. He didn¡¯t want to be fooled by Daniel but what he said seemed urate. What if it was actually true? Cooper was truly looped into Daniel¡¯s trick and he was stuck in a difficult position now. He even started to doubt his life for the first time. Sophia had heard about Casper for a long time and knew that he was Alice¡¯s son. Yet, she was still surprised that he had grown so much. During this period of time, she found out who Alice was as well as Cooper¡¯s plot. Therefore, she was even more curious about Alice. To be honest, Alice was an extremely cool woman. She took care of a son without a father, and she did it proudly. What was even more impressive was not only did she take great care of her son, but she also developed her career at the same time and grew to be Linus¡¯srgestpetitor. Knowing that Alice only came to test Michael and not to snatch him, Sophia became even more interested in Alice and she hoped she could meet her in person. She wanted to be a strong, sessful woman too, so Alice was her idol. Unfortunately, Alice and Linus had gone abroad for business and they hadn¡¯t returned. After that, Michael openly carried his luggage to Sophia¡¯s room. Then, he went to meet Daniel in private. Sternly, Daniel told Michael about his spection. ¡°Sophia is not the old Sophia. While nurturing her to be the future head of the Mitchell Family, Cooper also wants her to grab the interest and benefits from the Michel Family. I think that he¡¯s nning to make her the heir of the Michel Family¡¯s business too. If both of you are nning to get married, it won¡¯t be easy.¡± Michael bowed his head and sank into a deep ponder. From the beginning, he had figured that it would be extremely difficult to marry Sophia from the Michel Family, especially when Cooper was nurturing Sophia to be the head of the family. If he were to marry Sophia, it would mean marrying Scarlett Mitchell and Lucile Michel as well. Asking Sophia to follow his mother, Beyonc¨¦¡¯s footsteps to abandon the family and sever ties with them was definitely not what Michael wanted. He didn¡¯t want her to clip her wings and marry him in wounds. While he was pondering, an icy, indifferent voice rang. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Master Levine, who touches breasts and reads futures for a living at River Seine? It has been a few years since west met and you seem to be living a great life!¡± What?! Chapter 960 Chapter 960 As soon as Daniel heard that voice, he was instantly startled and lost hisposure as he spat out his tea. Holding his cup, Michael looked at the woman standing at the door. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a seductive figure. Wasn¡¯t this Alice Michel who joined the filming crew? Surely, Michael knew her identity. She was the Vice President of the Michel Group, her identity and prestige only second to Linus. Was Daniel fortune-telling by examining¡­ breasts? To Michael¡¯s knowledge, Daniel wasn¡¯t that kind of person. Although his nickname ¡®Mr. Eighty Thousand¡¯ had been firmly established, he never had any dark past. In fact, he was honest and decent, and he was a man of taste. He would never be involved in these acts, and Michael knew this. Despite that, it seemed like Daniel had be apletely different person when Alice showed up today. ¡°A-Alice?¡± He looked like he had just seen a ghost. Meanwhile, Sophia, who came with Alice, was also dumbfounded. Are there such things as fortune-telling by examining breasts? And Daniel did that? She looked at Daniel¡¯s hands before turning to look at Alice¡¯s breast. Then, she shifted her gaze to Casper¡¯s ck hair and Alice¡¯s blonde hair, before looking at Daniel¡¯s ck hair. She finally connected the dots when she associated the ¡®fortune-telling¡¯ to Casper¡¯s absent father. This information was too overwhelming, and she had to take a moment to process it. However, Michael pretty much figured it out in a few seconds. First of all, Daniel¡¯s whereabouts were always uncertain. One-third of the time, he would be at Bayside City, while other times, he would either be at Reverie Mountain or touring the world fortune-telling. ording to Sophia, Alice usually kept a low profile. Other than going to work, she travelled and did photography. On top of that, she used to be religious and a devoted worshipper, while Daniel¡¯s targets were usually those who were believers. Casper was five now, which meant that six years ago¡­ Six years ago, there was an international metaphysical convention held by the river Seine which Daniel was invited to. At that moment, Alice scoffed as she walked in. When she saw Daniel, she did not know whether to laugh or cry. ¡°Mr. Psychic, this is my Mommy.¡± Casper sat next to Daniel and proudly introduced her. Inplete disbelief, Daniel looked back and forth between Alice and Casper before he realized that Casper¡¯s hair color was natural, and not dyed! At once, his jaw dropped. ¡°Casper¡­ Alice¡­¡± His mind waspletely blown as he looked at the pair of mother and son in disbelief. In fact, he did not know what to say. Just then, Michael cleared his throat. ¡°It¡¯s warm in here, I¡¯m going to get some fresh air.¡± Then, he quickly left with Sophia, leaving Daniel alone to face Alice and Casper. Sophia, who had wanted to watch the fun, was dragged away by Michael. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. Then, there were only Alice, Daniel, and Casper left in the tea room. Lifting his head, Casper looked at the two of them as his blue eyes blinked. In fact, Alice and Linus had just returned from their business trip when they heard Casper talking about an incredible fortune teller, and that he wanted to follow him to Reverie Mountain to train as his apprentice. As such, Alice wanted to meet this fortune teller who had the ability to trick not only Cooper, but also her son. She did not expect the crook to be Daniel! Due to Alice¡¯s imposing aura, Daniel did not dare to speak nor breath too loudly. He felt extremely guilty when he recalled the incident where he had drunkenly taken advantage of Alice and then ran away after sobering up the next morning. However, it had been consensual, and none of them had expected this to happen at all. He did not actually think that Alice would get pregnant and give birth to Casper. What was more, it never urred to him that he would get involved with someone from the Michel Family during his encounter abroad. ¡°Hi¡­ Alice¡­¡± Summoning up his courage, Daniel smiled awkwardly and tried to liven up the mood. Looking at him, Alice¡¯s blue eyes were ice cold. She wasparable to an angry mother dragon, who seemed like she was going to breathe fire at Daniel and tear him to pieces at any time. The word ¡®Michel¡¯ originally meant a kind of evil dragon, and the Michel Family had always been jokingly referred to as the ¡®Evil Mitchell Family¡¯ by Daniel. True to its name, the evil dragon lived in Cooper and Alice, who both had the fury of a dragon as well. Fortunately, Alice only red at Daniel before she turned around and left, leaving Casper and Daniel behind. After Alice turned around, her expression waspletely indifferent. Six year ago, she was a faithful worshipper and devoted herself to her religion. She lived by His will, and refrained from drinking and premarital sex. But on that fateful night, she had betrayed her God and herself when shemitted the sins for an Eastern man. Who knew that when she woke up the next day, the man was already gone. Watching Alice go, Daniel finally took a deep breath. He looked down and saw that Casper was still staring at him. ¡°Mr. Psychic, do you know my Mommy?¡± Gazing at the innocent Casper, Daniel did not know whether to cry or tough. Casper was actually his son. Ruffling the child¡¯s hair that was the same color as his own, he had a lot of mixed feelings. ¡°I do. Of course I do.¡± After they exited the house, Sophia and Michael passed through the courtyard and went into the garden to have a stroll. Originally, this was an underdeveloped area in the suburbs, but the Harper Family elders had bought arge piece of thend here to build this mansion. They had also built a man-madeke, pavilions, and also a small plum blossom garden. The two walked hand in hand through the garden. ¡°Alice and Daniel together¡­ Who knew that this would be possible?¡± Sophia sighed. What a small world. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that either,¡± Michael nodded too. Now that they had found out Casper was Daniel¡¯s son, this was going to be troublesome as Casper¡¯s name was already under the Michel Family¡¯s household registry. Silently, Michael frowned. He didn¡¯t know how Daniel would react to Casper, but it would be impossible for him to take Casper away from the Michel Family. If it was Carmen, Michael would have fought ruthlessly to keep his daughter! Suddenly, Shae came and reported, ¡°Linus is back!¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia happily ran over and soon saw Linus who just came out of the garage. Recently, Linus had been travelling overseas for work, and he even went back to his home in northern Europe along the way to deal with some matters. When he came back, he was wearing a ck wool coat and a ck-and-white scarf. He looked exhausted from travelling. ¡°Linus!¡± Sophia enthusiastically greeted him. When Linus saw her, he smiled gently and went up to give her a big hug. Chapter 961 Chapter 961 After pulling away from the hug, the two of them walked out of the garageughing and saw Michael in front of them. ¡°Linus, you¡¯re back.¡± Michael spoke as if he never treated himself as an outsider at all. Looking at the matching shirts Sophia and Michael were wearing, Linus subconsciously shifted his gaze. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m back.¡± However, Michael thought there was something different about Linus today, but he could not put his finger on it. Since it was the new year¡¯s, it was great that he was back to celebrate with everyone. It would not be the same without Linus. After his return, he went to meet Cooper, who was in his study. ¡°I¡¯ve met with the Family Elders Council and told them about Sophia¡¯s situation. I managed to buy some time for her and Carmen to prepare.¡± In fact, the council was getting impatient. They wanted Sophia and Carmen to return to the Michel family as soon as possible, but Cooper had not settled their registries yet. However, the Fletcher Family certainly would not let Carmen go easily, and Cooper did not know how to tell Mark about it. As for Sophia¡­ He was more worried about her. If she returned to the family now, she would have to undergo DNA tests. She was the daughter of Fass Michel, so she would naturally be the focus of the council. They were hoping for her to be Fass¡¯s second inmand, and that she would take over the responsibilities soon. However, with Sophia¡¯s current situation, there was definitely no way she could take over the responsibilities of the Michel Family so soon. While Linus and Alice both grew up receiving elite education from the Michel Family and Cooper¡¯s guidance, Sophia was too inexperiencedpared to them. To Cooper, she was still his dog-leash-selling baby. If she returned to the Michel family now, she would have topete with Linus and Alice. She was stillcking in terms of resources, experience, and connections. This time, Linus had gone back just to buy a little more time for them. After hearing Linus¡¯s report, Cooper patted his shoulder and said sincerely, ¡°You¡¯ve done well.¡± In fact, Linus had never let him down. Although he had gone astray once, he found his way back to the right path. How Cooper wished Linus was his son. Meanwhile, Linus also asked about Cooper¡¯s son, to which Cooper replied there was no progress at all. They had investigated all the possible high-profile local couples who had left the country, but they still found nothing. His child seemed to have just disappeared. Looking at the dejected Cooper, heforted him. ¡°We¡¯ll find him.¡± Cooper smiled helplessly. He was overwhelmed by everything that was going on, and he could only feel a deep sense of helplessness. Just then, Linus was about to say something, but he hesitated and decided not to say anything, It was bizarre that Cooper¡¯s son could not be found for such a long time. With Cooper¡¯s capability, as long as his child was still alive, he could definitely find some clues. But now, other than the leads from Michael, he made no progress. Now, Cooper was hoodwinked by Daniel. He believed that everything was up to fate and that his son would just magically appear out of nowhere. However, Linus was still a little wary. This matter had not been progressing for a long time, and he suspected there was someone else behind this who was trying hard to hide something. On top of that, there weren¡¯t many people in Bayside City that could keep something hidden so well that not even Cooper could find it, and Michael was one of them. Recently, he crawled through dog doors, endorsed stainless steel basins and sanitary pads, and he appeared on a local TV drama. He was tarnishing his own reputation again and again, which caused Cooper¡¯s impression of him to be progressively worse. To Cooper, he was just a sleazy and lowly son-inw. However, Linus thought he was deliberately acting this way to lead Cooper to forget that he was Mr. Nobody¡ªwho, along with Harry, dominated Bayside City¡¯s underworld! He was a mafia boss, so how could he not be able to find Cooper¡¯s son? That was unless he was doing that on purpose. But, why? Was he afraid that the return of Cooper¡¯s son would jeopardize Sophia¡¯s position? Even so, Michael should know that Cooper would not treat Sophia poorly even if his son did return. As for Sophia¡¯s position, there was no need to worry at all. She was capable, and no one could threaten her status. If she wasn¡¯t, then it didn¡¯t matter whether Cooper¡¯s son returned, because she would be threatened by many. At that moment, Cooper noticed that Linus was hesitant to speak, but seemed to have something important to say. ¡°Is there something else, Linus?¡± Coming back to his senses, he answered, ¡°I¡¯ve told the elders about my intention to marry Sophia, and all of them approved of it.¡± At once, Cooper fell silent. At this point in time, Linus and Sophia getting married would be the simplest and the most mutually beneficial way. However¡­ A few days ago, Mark¡¯s passing was all over the news! As soon as they heard the news, the entire Edwards residence was shaken. Everyone rushed to the militarypound, only to see Mark and his friends doing Tai Chi exercises in full spirit. He mischievously said to everyone who had rushed there, ¡°Shh! Keep this a secret. Everyone is always using Mikey of using me to climb to the top, and I¡¯m starting to be a taboo to Mikey. So, I deliberately told them to spread the news. Once everyone believes that I¡¯m dead, no one will question Mikey¡¯s sess anymore.¡± ¡°Besides, the promotional period for ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ will be starting soon. With the entire country shocked by my passing, the film could ride on the wave of this news and it surely will be a box office hit!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was at a loss of words. This old man was actually quite generous in a way. He really worked hard to hype up Michael¡¯s new film. Ever since Michael imed his ancestry and his identity as Mark¡¯s grandson was revealed, all his hard work seemed to have been invalidated. When his debut film blew up, everyone assumed the Fletcher Family was behind the high box office sales, and that the good reviews of all his subsequent films were written by ghostwriters that the Fletcher Family hired. Even when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, many spected that the Fletcher Family had pressured the organizingmittee to present the award to him. Furthermore, they all thought they were behind every blockbuster that he worked on. Since he was the favored grandson of Mark Fletcher, all his achievements must have been the result of his grandfather¡¯s influence and affection! As a matter of fact, the old man was a hundred years old, and this should be the time for him to enjoy his remaining years. Instead, he was being dragged through the mud. As such, he was annoyed and thought it was best to just y dead. Realizing it was a false rm, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Since they were already there, they thought they might as well have a meal together before leaving. Before that, Michael brought Sophia and Carmen to Joel¡¯s ce while Cooper and Mark yed a game of chess. During their game, Cooper wanted to tell Mark about changing Carmen¡¯s name, but everytime he wanted to, he changed his mind. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°Is there something bothering you, Coop?¡± Mark¡¯s wise eyes were still sharp. He knew at a nce that something was stressing him out. When he was about to speak, Mark hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, don¡¯t tell me. I¡¯m already a dead man, so just pretend that I don¡¯t exist anymore. Settle your problems on your own!¡± Hearing this, Cooper was speechless. Was Mark giving him the greenlight? Chapter 962 Chapter 962 After returning from the Fletcher Residence, it was almost New Year¡¯s. Meanwhile, the news of Mark¡¯s ¡®passing¡¯ was spreading throughout the country, and it made a huge impact on the entertainment industry. In the final three hours before the voting period of ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ closed, someone¡¯s votes exceeded Michael¡¯s by several thousands and pushed him to second ce in the ¡®Best Artist¡¯ category. Some time ago, Sophia and Michael had been travelling abroad and were busy getting it on. If making love for others was rolling in the hay, then instead of rolling, Michael would be doing somersaults. What was more, he never said no to Sophia¡¯s ¡®requests¡¯. With Sophia¡¯s busy schedule, it was rare that she could even take time out to deal with work, let alone pay attention to thatpetition. Thinking that Michael had the upper hand, she never realized that someone else was catching up to him. In the final three hours, Sophia saw someone named ¡®Nichi Gates¡¯ from second ce overtake Michael and bagged the top spot of the Best Artist category. Meanwhile, Michael lost by only a few hundred votes and came in second. She was baffled. In fact, Nichi Gates was a popr pretty boy many years ago. His real name was Nichs Yates, and he was almost thirty. He was getting older, and the audience all got bored of him. Meanwhile, there were many new, young and fresh faces making their debuts. He was losing poprity, so he changed his name and went through a transformation. In a few years, he sharpened his acting skills and became a hunk. He also starred in a few blockbuster movies and became an example of an impressive transformation. Not only that, but it was also reported this year that he was married and had a child who was now four years old. He even appeared on the reality show named ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ and attracted countless fans. As such, his poprity exceeded Michael¡¯s. Once the list was confirmed, the inte was full of negativements about Michael. ¡®The ipetence of the actor who faked his death is finally exposed without his grandfather around.¡¯ ¡®Taylor Murray is only mediocre at best. I told you his acting skills aren¡¯t good at all, and he¡¯s not attractive anymore. It¡¯s a wonder that he still received that many votes. I¡¯m just waiting for ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ to flop.¡¯ ¡®What is this sleazy old man still doing acting like an idol? He¡¯s old news, and he¡¯s now endorsing stainless steel basins, how low! Hurry and retire already, and stop hurting my eyes!¡¯ ¡®He was probably just making Mark Fletcher happy. He¡¯s over thirty and he¡¯s still wearing makeup and entertaining his grandfather, how disgusting! Now that Mark Fletcher is dead, the Fletcher Family will never promote him anymore because they have long known that he¡¯s not that great. ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ may not even be released! Even Scarlett divorced him a long time ago. Now all he has left is a miserable life and stainless steel basin endorsements.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve seen him in real life, and he¡¯s ugly as h*ll. Even if he was twenty years younger, he¡¯d still be ugly. I really can¡¯tprehend how he became a national idol.¡¯ ¡­Screw you, you¡¯re ugly! Your whole family¡¯s ugly! It was just a couple days before the new year, and Sophia was so infuriated that she jumped out of her bed in the middle of the night to look for herputer. She wanted to fight those haters!How can I let you nder my beloved idol? In fact, she was so angry that she wasn¡¯t even interested when Michael tried to fool around with her. At that moment, she was sitting in front of theputer. Michael sulked while he watched Sophia having a virtual catfight with the haters, and he snuck a nce at the viciousments. Evidently, it was as if he had lost his protective shield since Mark¡¯s ¡®passing¡¯. All the dirt on him seemed to have popped up, including groundless usations that he bedded a male model from years ago. It was as if the haters had alle to life as soon as Mark was not around to protect him and wanted to punish him to death. Now that Mark was gone, Michael¡¯s protective shield was gone along with him. He was not included in the Fletcher Family¡¯s genealogy record book until he was in his thirties. On top of that, after he finally managed to marry into a rich family¡ªto Miss Scarlett Mitchell a.k.a Sophia, he was still dumped in the end. Subsequently, he resolved to endorse stainless steel basins. He was the epitome of a middle-aged, sleazy, washed-up celebrity. At that moment, Michael also felt that Taylor Murray was very pitiful. Not only that, but he also fooled around with numerous female celebrities that led to one of the female celebrities dying from miscarriage. During filming, he used special effects makeup, and he was simply bad at acting. If his acting was good, it was because he used a stand-in actor. Moreover, the ims that he performed all his own stunts were used to be fake. Even his gender was fake, and he was actually a woman. In short, everything about him was fake. After Sophia shot down the nders of Michael¡¯s acting skills and using a stand-in actor, she shot down rumours about his involvement with male models and female celebrities, box office fraud, and paedophilia. After that, a wave of false rumors about his gender surged again. Everyone was talking about Michael like they personally knew him! At this moment, Sophia was exhausted. She went from using her official ount and speaking respectfully, to creating new ounts and talking vulgarly. In the end, she decided to quit when she got tired. Pulling her onto hisp, he turned off theputer andforted her, ¡±That¡¯s enough, online arguments are boring anyway. We should go to sleep. It¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve tomorrow!¡± Sophia was so frustrated that her dark eye circles were starting to appear. She wrapped her arms around Michael¡¯s neck. ¡°Maybe you should skip the award ceremony.¡± After the news of Mark¡¯s passing, everyone was bullying him thinking that he¡¯d lost his protection. Things could get worse if he attended the ceremony! How could she tolerate anyone bullying her idol? Michael kissed the back of her hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve been in the industry for more than ten years, and there¡¯s nothing I haven¡¯t faced. Besides, if they want to insult me, they will. You can¡¯t control them.¡± Sophia was sullen for the rest of the night. The next day, Maddie came to apologize. This contest was organized by theirpany in coboration with dozens of other media agencies, and she had invited Michael to the award ceremony. She did not expect that this would happen, and now she was embarrassed. ¡°I think maybe Taylor should skip the ceremony this time round and wait for things to die down.¡± In fact, it didn¡¯t matter to Michael whether he attended or not as it all depended on Sophia. Sophia refused and snickered, ¡°No, he should go. Why shouldn¡¯t he?¡± She thought this was an extensive scandal that was organized and well thought-out as it even came all at once. Someone must be orchestrating all this. Besides, Michael had been a hit for many years, and other celebrities could never reach his level. When he finally ¡®died¡¯, they were relieved. However, he had returned and was more popr than ever. As soon as he came back, ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ was released and it was a box office sess and won many awards. Then, he immediately started filming ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, which was also a huge production. In addition, he was set to film ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯ and a whole series of Hollywood superhero movies. It was said that he had signed a contract for four movies, which caused a lot of jealousy among the male actors. How could they not hate him? This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. However, he used to have Mark as a shield, so they did not dare to be reckless. Now that Mark had ¡®died¡¯, they thought Michael no longer had protection and that it wouldn¡¯t be long before he lost his poprity. So, they revealed their true colors. It looked like his attendance at this award ceremony would be absolutely necessary. Chapter 963 Chapter 963 ¡°Make sure Mark never finds out about this. Also, I¡¯d like an invite. I want to attend this award ceremony with Taylor and see who would dare to disrespect my man in front of me!¡± Sophia said grimly. Upon hearing this, Maddie was impressed! How domineering! Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Then, she nodded hastily. Nichi Gates¡¯s team was too nasty this time round! Not long after, Sarah came by, followed by Harry who looked helpless. ¡°Sofie, did you see? It¡¯s outrageous! How dare they say my husband was ugly?¡± Sarah huffed and puffed. Her dark eye circles were prominent and it was clear that she didn¡¯t have a good night¡¯s rest. It wasn¡¯t just Michael who was dragged through the mud, but Harry too. Originally, he was in the lead in the Best Actor category, but he lost by about a hundred thousand votes in the span of a day afterward. They were saying that Harry was riding on Michael¡¯s sess, and that he ttered and buttered him up. Now that Michael was losing his poprity, Harry¡¯s poprity would go down as well. At this point, Sarah was furious. ¡°I¡¯m ready to egg some of the hater¡¯s houses!¡± The new year wasing, and this incident was attracting a lot of attention. Even Cooper thought it was a bit too much when he saw the news. In fact, Michael was used of being gay, and that he tried to seduce his handsome father-inw who was only a few years older than him. The newspaper also wrote that when his father-inw found out, he forced Michael and Sophia to get a divorce. Meanwhile, some used him of being a woman. Even though this son-inw of his was a fool, these rumors were unnecessarily vicious. When Daniel saw the well-off Nichi Gates in the news, he said, ¡°I remember him. He was a washed- up celebrity back then, and he came to see me for a fortune-telling session. He wanted to change his name so that his luck would increase. When I examined his bones, I could only feel fillers and imnts all over his face. I could hardly feel any of his bones.¡± Hearing everyone discussing among themselves, Sophia remained silent. She looked up Nichi¡¯s team on the web and found that he was under an agency called Glory Entertainment Agency. Glory Entertainment was currently owned by the Mitchell Group, which was partially managed by Sandra. Not long after Sandra made a fool of herself at King¡¯s new productunchst summer, she took over Glory Entertainment that managed a few sessful artists, including Nichi. It was Sandra again! It seemed that Sandra had been informed of Mark¡¯s ¡®death¡¯ and anticipated Michael¡¯s fall from stardom. As such, she orchestrated this series of events. All this while, Sophia had been busy with her rtionship and had not been dealing with the reports from her spies she nted in Mitchell Group. Today, when she caught up with them, she realized that Sandra had been busy. As a matter of fact, she was still being cheated by fake Lucile and Abbie. Not only did the fake Lucile cheat her family, but lots of other families too. She took the money she had cheated from Sandra and used it as capital at another family, and took the money she¡¯d cheated there and used it to gain Sandra¡¯s trust. Moreover, fake Lucile had gotten a lot of resources dishonestly for Glory Entertainment, and Sandra even gave 10% of thepany shares to her and Abbie. Upon seeing the news, Sophia¡¯s face became fierce and stern¡­ The ground work was done, and all she had to do now was wait for the perfect opportunity. Looking at Sophia who was worried for him, Michael was moved and couldn¡¯t help but kiss her cheek. It was as if they had gone back in time, when she was still a fanatic teenage girl who would be mad the whole day about any negativements about him. At that moment, he held her hand as he joined her in her online arguments and analysed the situation. ¡°Based on our previous experience, this is just the beginning. They must have other tricks up their sleeves.¡± Judging from how diligently they were in insulting Michael and Harry, there must be something else that wasing. Meanwhile, Sophia kept an eye on them as she slowlyid out her ns. On New Year¡¯s Eve, everyone gathered at Edwards residence to watch the New Year Dinner G. This year, Nichi was performing at the Dinner G with his son, who were both among the five pairs of father-daughter and father-son duos that had be famous because of their appearance in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Meanwhile, Carmen was full of envy as she watched their performance, while Hope scoffed at her and the adults who were ying mahjong. Alice and Casper were at the Edwards residence too. However, Alice and Daniel didn¡¯t even greet each other and acted like they didn¡¯t know each other. She thought that speaking to that liar would be a waste of energy. On the other hand, Casper was trying hard to tell Corrado¡¯s fortune. He examined its head, paws, and its nipples. Unfortunately, Corrado was a male and Casper struggled to find its nipples. After he was done examining Corrado and reading all the signs, he came up with the prediction that Corrado¡¯s love life would blossom next year! Who would have thought that on the first day of the new year, which was the next day, Corrado would be given three pure ck Labradors to be his wives. He was a happy dog! Upon learning this, Casper was amazed and even more convinced that he was on the right path. Sophia was also shocked to see Cooper walking four ck Labradors in the garden in the morning. ¡°Dad, where did you find so many ck dogs?¡± Cooper reached down to pat the dog. ¡°ck dogs are able to ward off evil. Since we have a big house, Corrado alone isn¡¯t enough to do that. So, I got three more ck dogs. This ought to do it.¡± Just then, Sophia wanted to say something but stopped herself. What was up with Coopertely? She brought Daniel over just to give some suggestions and evaluate their house using feng shui, but now, Cooper was convinced that this was a haunted house and became superstitious. Even when Sophia¡¯s sulent nt died, he believed it was because of negative energy from the house. Meanwhile, Michael beside her looked deep in thought on the surface, but inside, he wanted very badly to throw his head back andugh. No, don¡¯tugh. Be serious,e on¡­ As for Michael¡¯s scandal, Sophia didn¡¯t go anywhere during the new year¡¯s holiday as she was busy preparing for the award ceremony. Now that Michael was known as a washed-up celebrity who was abandoned by his rich and beautiful wife and had to resort to endorsing stainless steel basins, Sophia must look her best to support him at the ceremony! Meanwhile, she was observing Nichi to catch any signs of activities, but he had been quiet. Instead, Michael and Harry caused a stir a few dayster. Someone had been spreading the news that Harry and Taylor were joining forces to endorse an international high-end mobile phone brand¡ªMichel Group¡¯s new mobile phone. There were rumors that Michel mobile phones were officially entering the Cethosian market, and that they were releasing a special edition for Cethos. Thus, they were looking for ambassadors for the first time in the country. However, this was an extremely high-end endorsement. In an instant, the news blew up and since the negative news of Michael and Harry had been causing a wave, everyone was saying that they were too cheap and were not suited to bring out the quality and value of Michel mobile phones. They also said that their endorsements would only cause Michel mobile phones to lose their value! At once, Sophia figured out their ultimate n. It turned out that their motive was to get Michel Group to suspend Michael and Harry¡¯s endorsements for the mobile phone! Chapter 964 Chapter 964 Sophia knew very early on about Michel Group entering the Cethos mobile phone market. Michel Group used to sell high-end mobile phones that cost tens of thousands each, and their customers were gold- cor workers and sessful business people. But now, Michel mobile phones were starting to enter the Cethos market. In addition to their usual sales of high-end business phones, they were also going to release a mid-end phone globally, including in Cethos. The price was simr to those sold by Apple in the same range. At present, although their official website had pictures of the phone, details of it were still kept confidential and it was not avable for sale yet. The mobile phone¡¯s insignia was a dragon eye, and the Michel mobile phone was called ¡°Dragon Eye¡±. If one wanted to sell Dragon Eye in China, a well-known spokesperson was needed to bring in the sales. Bing the spokesperson for Dragon Eye was also beneficial for a celebrity. It could help them raise their fame and status in the entertainment world. Sophia thought of her ¡®wild husband¡¯ when she found out there was such a good opportunity. Alice had also said that the spokesperson would be selected from a pool of male artists with a particr reputation and temperament. Among this pool of artists were Michael, Harry and Nichs. But here was the problem. Cooper would not allow Michael to ept this endorsement. Both Michael and Harry would not ept the job, so Alice had to select another person from that pool of male artists. Her staff had already contacted Nichs and the other artists¡¯ agencies, but they hadn¡¯t reached a decision yet. A few dayster, another gossip appeared online, saying that the spokesperson for the Michel mobile phone had been chosen, and it was to be Nichi Gates. Taylor Murray and Harry Winston were just hearsay, or rather, these two thought that they could win the endorsement, so they had released the news in advance to build hype. Unexpectedly, thepany thought that they were not popr enough, and that as old male stars, they no longer had any appeal, so they were not good enough to be spokespersons. After it was reported that Michael and Harry were going to be the spokespersons, their poprity rose and they were often the topic of conversations. Now the winds had turned, and all of this had paved the way for Nichs to take over the endorsement! The previous news was actually released by Nichs¡¯s team deliberately. They rode on Michael and Harry¡¯s fame, but they attacked them at the same time! It was truly disgusting! ¡°Dad, just let Mikey take over this endorsement, ok? Dad¡ª¡± Sophia almost got down on her knees and begged Cooper. She behaved like a spoiled child and shook his arm. Cooper, however, was unmoved. ¡°No, he isn¡¯t suitable for the role! I won¡¯t agree to it!¡± he said. Even though Michael was sitting right there at the side, Cooper was still direct with his words. Michael had been staying over at Cooper¡¯s home for New Year celebrations. Right now, he was scratching his nose and didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Before, when he needed to go abroad for filming, he was afraid that Sophia would really forget about him, so he epted a lot of moronic endorsements. Although ying the fool seeded in making Sophia remember him, this had also caused Cooper to have quite the impression of him, and not the good kind. Does he dislike me so much? Even if he did endorse a stainless steel wash basin before, it was still a stainless steel wash basin produced by a world-renowned bathroom brand. A normal celebrity wouldn¡¯t have been able to get such an endorsement! Even the Queen of Ennd used stuff from this brand. It was a very big brand! It wasn¡¯t demeaning at all! Of course, he justined inwardly. He then looked at Carmen, and his eyes motioned to Carmen for help. After all, two was better than one. With a pitter-patter of footsteps, Carmen ran toward Cooper and started acting cute. ¡°Grandpa, please let Daddy have this endorsement. Daddy will be able to earn lots of money and buy tons of candy for me.¡± Cooper knew that Michael would send Carmen over, but this time round, Carmen had no effect on him. ¡°Come here, Carmen. Let Grandpa tell you a piece of good news!¡± Cooper hugged Carmen and said happily, ¡°Grandpa specially had a children¡¯s watch made for you. You can use it to make calls. It will be avable for sale this winter and when the timees, Grandpa will let you be a junior spokesperson!¡± Carmen was overjoyed and she said happily, ¡°Then can I bring Ashton with me?¡± Cooper nodded, and Carmen ran away happily. She wanted to share the news with her friends and had thrown Michael to the back of her head! Michael was speechless. All that effort raising her was a waste. Sophia spent a long time trying to persuade Cooper, but Cooper refused to budge, making her frustrated. She also didn¡¯t feel like going to Alice. Although the situation from before had been cleared up and it was revealed that Cooper had been behind it, talking with Alice had be awkward for Sophia, and she was too embarrassed to ask Alice directly. This was the first time she was using her identity as Lucile Michel to ask for something, but unexpectedly, it didn¡¯t go well. She could only me herself for not having any influence! Seeing Nichi Gates in the news riding on Michael¡¯s fame while ndering him, Sophia was furious! Fu*k this sh*t! I will get this endorsement no matter what! Michael just loved to watch his dear wife getting all furious for himself. She was so cute that he just wanted toy on top of her in bed and get all sweaty and passionate with her. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. After she got it out of her system, Michaelforted her. ¡°Forget about it, let me deal with this. You don¡¯t need to worry.¡± Michael had seen plenty of fiercepetition in the business. Things like using others as stepping stones were verymon, and the entertainment industry was full of fence-sitters. You could get rid of one, but there would always be more. He made movies because he liked it, and because he wanted to inherit his mother¡¯s mantle and be a sessful movie star. He always let the box office performance of his movies speak for themselves, and he never participated in scheming behind the scenes. He made movies for entertainment and epted endorsements for fun. Other people, on the other hand, did it to make a living. It was natural that others would hate him for stealing their jobs. If one wanted to make it big in the business, it was impossible to not get mixed up in some sort of struggle. The only way to not get involved in stuff like this was to get rid of all thepetition. Sophia also knew that it was impossible for a celebrity to not step on the toes of their peers in the business when trying to make it big. Some people didn¡¯t dare to do anything publicly, so they put on an anonymous mask on the Inte and made up all sorts of scandals. It was a waste of time to deal with these people. If they dealt with Nichi, another person would pop out and pick a fight with Michael. However, this time, she needed to get this endorsement for Michael! Did they think they could mess with Michael with her around? It was unforgivable! After resolving herself, Sophia started to n. On that night, everyone was watching television during family time. Sophia and Michael were sitting in a pile of wrapping paper and small gifts. They were working hard to wrap the small gifts and put bows on them. Carmen and Casper also worked hard and helped them put bows on the presents. Cooper was at the side, watching them work for a long time. He saw that they had prepared a lot of small gifts that children liked, such as dolls, Transformers figures, Lego bricks, and game console books. After they were wrapped, Sophia even wrote New Year¡¯s greetings on the presents. ¡°Baby, what are you doing?¡± Cooper finally couldn¡¯t help but ask. As she carefully wrapped the presents, Sophia replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to Nicole¡¯s orphanage tomorrow to give warmth to the children. Dad, do you want toe with me?¡± Cooper had no interest in doing something like spreading cheer, but he had been having trouble putting aside his pride and approaching Sophia after having a little fight with her because of the matter of Michael¡¯s endorsement. Giving warmth to the children seemed like a good remedy, so Cooper quickly agreed. Because they wanted to give warmth to the children, Sophia and Michael personally prepared the gifts. All of the gifts were bought ording to the children¡¯s wish list, were wrapped by them, and they even wrote the blessings. It was full of sincerity. The next day, the gifts were packed till the car was full, and off they went to Nicole¡¯s orphanage outside the city. They traveled low-key and there were no reporters to apany them, so they invited Maddie over to write an interview about the charity drive. Joel came over as well. Naturally, Harry and Sarah came too. Sean and Stanley were also summoned to help. After everyone had gathered, they set off together. Sophia, full of confidence, treated today as a team building exercise as she wanted everyone to spend some quality time with each other. Chapter 965 Chapter 965 Every year, the kids from the orphanage would write a wish list for the New Year, and Sophia and Michael would prepare gifts for them. Later, when Sophia left, Michael still continued on with this tradition every year. Harry and Sarah would also help out a bit. Last year, even Joel had joined in. The orphanage was located in the suburbs. It was not a particrly prosperous ce, so they had a large area to themselves. It used to be a dpidated ce. After making money in these years, Nicole Walker, with the support of everyone, moved the orphanage to new buildings that had better facilities. There used to be only a few volunteers, but now that there was money to pay wages, there were more full-time staff. Nicole relied on her influence and connections to find better homes for the orphans. Some people, attracted by the orphanage¡¯s reputation, came to adopt children, while others would leave their children at its doorstep. Sophia set off very early today. When she arrived at the entrance of the orphanage, there was no one nearby, but just as the car was being parked, she saw someone abandoning their child in the trash can at the entrance of the orphanage and running away. It was the New Year, but her heart turned cold at this. When everyone got out of the car, Michael hurried forward and picked up the child. The child was crying very loudly, but there was nothing wrong with it. The child was a girl. She was wearing a pair of thin socks, and her feet were red from the cold. Cooper was furious too. To think someone would throw away such an adorable child! They were less than beasts! Curses rang from the group at the doorway of the orphanage. They each picked up the child and had a good look, and unknowingly came to amon ground. They carried the child into the orphanage, and she was taken away by a staff member there. Everyone was very upset to have something like this happen just when they arrived at the orphanage, but seeing the lively and lovely appearance of the children, everyone still felt a littleforted. Nicole was usually busy with work and didn¡¯t visit the orphanage often, but she had a few days off work during the New Year and had been staying at the orphanage. Since there were some distinguished guestsing today, Nicole had been waiting for their arrival. Because it was a charity work, everyone wanted to take part in the work themselves. Michael wanted to y movies for the children and had brought all the needed equipment over. Several able-bodied men installed the equipment in a ssroom. Sophia urged Cooper to go with him and work together, hoping that maybe it could improve their rtionship. She thought of it as team building today. The women, on the other hand, went to experience making breakfast and pastries for the children. But unexpectedly, Sophia actually saw an unexpected person in the orphanage. ¡°Master Sam, what are you doing here?¡± Not long ago, Sam Edwards wanted to hook up with Sophia, but Cooper found out and chased him away. He had also snatched their dog away. Sam hadn¡¯t appeared in front of Sophia since then, and she didn¡¯t expect him to be in the orphanage today. Sam was being pestered by a few kids. They were calling him ¡°Papa Sam¡±. ¡°I¡¯m here to help,¡± Sam chuckled. Sam busied himself in the kitchen, then went to the ssroom to help install the film equipment.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Everyone in the kitchen continued to bake bread and make a nutritious breakfast. Nicole put on a facemask and had her head bowed down, preparing breakfast seriously, but Sophia could tell that she had something on her mind. Ever since Sam came, she had been keeping silent. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Nicole, what¡¯s the matter? Is it because of that abandoned baby girl just now?¡± Any humane person would be furious if they saw someone abandoning a child at the doorstep in the early morning. But Nicole shook her head. Even though she was not wearing any makeup, she still looked very young and beautiful. ¡°I¡¯m used to such things,¡± Nicole said. ¡°The orphanage picks up children every month, and the relevant departments will also send children to us that no one wants. I will work hard to find suitable families for them¡­¡± She paused for a moment, then continued, ¡°Sam and I got married a year ago.¡± As soon as the words came out of her lips, the kitchen instantly grew silent. Everyone gaped. Nicole and Sam¡­ They weren¡¯t close to each other at all! How did they get married to one another? And there had been no news of this whatsoever! Sophia was also shocked. From Nicole¡¯s words, she could hear her destion and helplessness. Although she didn¡¯t know how Nicole and Sam got together and got married, she knew that the one Nicole liked was Cooper. She had liked him for more than a decade already. After the encounter abroad that year, Cooper held a ce deep in her heart. Although she had never forgotten him even after so many years, she was now getting married. Nicole was about thirty-five years old this year. For a sessful movie star, this was still her golden age. She was also at the pinnacle of her career, so it was a bit weird that she would suddenly get married. Was she after Sam¡¯s power and influence? But Nicole was not that sort of person at all. As an Oscar winner, although she had a dark history, she was born in an orphanage and had reached where she was today through hard work. From a local drama heroine to an Oscar winner, everyone had seen the efforts she put in. She had always been low- key and had little to no scandals to her name. There were few people who would besmirch her, and she was very popr abroad and had outstanding box office performances for her movies. Many foreign blockbuster movies wanted her to y the female lead, while many domestic famous A-list celebrities could not even take a slice of it. Besides that, Nicole also had many sessful people who were not weaker than Sam who wanted to pursue her, so how did she end up getting married to Sam? It wasn¡¯t to say that Sam wasn¡¯t worthy of her. Their household and status were a match for each other, so there wasn¡¯t a problem if they got together, but it was so sudden that Sophia was caught off guard. She really wanted to ask Nicole if she was really over Cooper. But in the end, she didn¡¯t ask. The two continued to quietly bake bread. Sophia had also once thought of working hard to bring Nicole and Cooper together. Cooper was only forty-five years old this year. For a sessful man, this was also his golden age. Her mother, Annabel Johnson, only lived in his memories up till they were eighteen, which meant he had been alone for more than 20 years. He was still young and had about forty-five years to live. He shouldn¡¯t just live alone like this. But Sophia also understood in her heart that Cooper¡¯s love really only lived when he was eighteen. That year, his heart died. With her mother¡¯s departure, he had lost his ability to love. It was pointless to try to get them together, and it would only dy Nicole. It was also a good thing that Nicole had now found a harbor for herself. Once she epted the fact they were married, Sophia found that the two of them were really a good match. Their ages were not much different, and marrying an Oscar winner was also very helpful to Sam¡¯s career. It would help spread his career all over the world and not be confined only to Cethos. Nicole¡¯s fame was greater abroad than at home, and she was a leading figure among Chinese actresses in the world. The two were a powerfulbination, and they would be impable together. Nicole had a lot of dark history, but she was helpless at the time and had no other choice. Not everyone could be with who they wanted, and regrets would always exist. ¡°Congrattions on your wedding!¡± Sophia managed to say. Nicole was wearing a mask and had her head bowed as she baked bread. She didn¡¯t have the time to spare, but she still took the time to answer, ¡°Thank you, but unfortunately, we hid our marriage, and we only got the certificate. The Edwards Family hasn¡¯t been notified yet. We haven¡¯t nned for the wedding and the banquet either, but I will definitely invite you to dinner another day.¡± After she baked the bread, she went to the kitchen next door to check on the nutritional porridge. After looking around and making sure that there was no one else, Nicole raised her head. Two streams of tears that could no longer be held back flowed from the corner of her eyes. How could she have stopped loving someone whom she had loved for more than ten years in just a few days? However, she understood. Even if she continued to love, it wouldn¡¯t bear any fruit. This would be thest time she shed tears for Cooper. She didn¡¯t make a sound as she cried, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. The veins on her forehead bulged, and the pain in her heart seemed to have flowed away with her tears. Ever since seeing him at that airport more than ten years ago, this peculiar man had be her belief¡ª her belief for living. Chapter 966 Chapter 966 In that dark past, when the future looked bleak, Nicole could not find a way out, and in her most desperate moment, she thought of him. She had thought of just giving up many times, but every time she looked at that photo of him, she gained endless motivation once more. But now, she was going to abandon her belief. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. She didn¡¯t know when, but Michael was already standing at the door of the kitchen not far from her. Nicole hurriedly wiped away her tears andposed herself, then looked back at Michael with a smile. ¡°Michael, what are you doing here?¡± Michael walked toward Nicole. Looking at her, he sighed and just gave her a pat on the shoulder in the end. ¡°Congrats on your marriage,¡± Michael said. Nicole smiled, but it was very strained. ¡°Just making do. Sam said that since I saved Sophia, he would repay me in her ce. I¡¯m not married, and he¡¯s not married, so we decided to make do with each other.¡± Nicole had asked Michael about what he thought of her and Sam getting married. She only agreed to Sam¡¯s proposal after she got Michael¡¯s approval. In truth, she and Sam didn¡¯t really have deep feelings for one another and were just teaming up with each other. Michael didn¡¯t know what to talk about with Nicole. Whenever he saw Nicole, he would think of his mother. Just like Nicole, Elizabeth also had an unbearable past and had gone astray. In the end, she managed to get back on the right path with her own efforts, had her own career, and met the love of her life. One might say that Elizabeth was lucky, but that wasn¡¯t really true. She fell in love with Theo and had gained his love, but in the end, she had also given her life for him. As for Nicole, while she did not gain Cooper¡¯s love, at least she had a good life. In recent years, Nicole¡¯s ability grew more and more prominent. Not only had her acting skills greatly improved, but she also became the first actress in Cethos to win an Oscar, and her fame was well-known all over the world. She was also very good at managing apany and managed Imperial Entertainment very well. She was one of Michael¡¯s most capable people, and he also hoped that she could be happy. On the other side, Cooper and Sam bumped into each other. The two set up all the equipment for the movies together. When they were done, Cooper patted Sam¡¯s shoulder appreciatively, and said, ¡°Congrattions on your wedding.¡± Sam didn¡¯t know how to react. After all, Sam¡¯s proposal to Nicole was something orchestrated by Cooper. Cooper knew of Nicole¡¯s feelings for himself, but the number of women who had feelings for him could circle the globe multiple times if they lined up. From young maidens to mature married women, he was a heartthrob to all, but besides Nicole, he was dismissive of all of them. After all, Nicole had endured many hardships to deliver his precious baby to him. Without her, it was possible that the father and daughter would never have seen each other ever again. Cooper might never have known that he had two daughters. He owed her. He wasn¡¯t put off by her past and her job, but in his heart, he only had room for Annabel and no one else. ¡°She¡¯s a good woman. I¡¯ll take good care of her.¡± The words came from Sam¡¯s heart. He was marrying her not because she had saved Sophia, nor because Cooper had requested it. He and Nicole had known each other for a long time, and he knew her very well. She was also indeed the type of woman he liked. As for their feelings for each other, they could cultivate it slowly. Very quickly, the nutritious breakfast was ready and served to the kids. Everyone headed to the cafeteria together to eat with the kids. This orphanage had Nicole protecting it from behind the scenes, so the lives of the children were very secure. They had plenty to eat, were very healthy and lively, and had very good personalities. Children were abandoned at the orphanage every month, but every month, the orphanage had children adopted by suitable families too. In the morning, Michael yed a movie for everyone. It was a children¡¯s fantasy blockbuster in which he guest-starred as a kind-hearted fairy prince. The character was very popr among children, and Michael had even worn the costume of the fairy prince here. After the movie ended, everyone began handing the presents out to the children, who were overjoyed. In the afternoon, they did exciting activities such as rope skipping and singing. They had also prepared performances. Michael performed a martial arts routine for everyone, Harry was pushed on stage to sing the theme song of ¡®Dr. Invincible vs. Pleasant Goat¡¯ with Sarah, and Sophia performed the Fletcher Family¡¯s traditional little bear dance that she learned from Carmen. She did her best to show the dance to the children. Even Cooper was forced on stage to perform. He picked up the piano that he hadn¡¯t yed for many years. Today, there were no outsiders, and the only people there were all acquaintances, so everyone could let go. Nicole asked someone to take a photo of them with a Proid camera and then hung the group photo on the wall. While the men packed up the equipment, Sophia looked at the group photo on the photo wall and saw that it was very beautiful. Everyone in the photo was smiling sweetly, and even Cooper had a small smile on his face. Michael stood beside Cooper and had his hand on Cooper¡¯s shoulder, acting like buddies, and Cooper didn¡¯t look angry at all. It seemed that the rtionship between father and son-inw was going well. ¡°Huh? Why are so many group photos missing?¡± Sophia remembered that there were many group photos on the photo wall before, but looking at it now, half of them were missing. Even the photos of some celebrities who hade to do charity were gone. Nicole answered, ¡°In the past, many celebrities, politicians and entrepreneurs used to donate money for public welfare, but now they are all rejected, and only those we are familiar with are allowed toe in.¡± The orphanage was not a ce for some people to build hype and show off. In the past, due to many twists and turns, the orphanage became a ce where politicians and celebrities used to build or clean their image. Now, Nicole generally did not allow celebrities and politicians toe to the orphanage for activities. At most, just like today, they would get a few acquaintances toe over and make things lively. That was why so many of the group photos on the wall had been taken down, and only people who sincerely did things for charity would have their photos taken and put on the wall as a memorial. Nicole also introduced some familiar faces to Sophia. Nicole suddenly pointed to a group photo and said, ¡°Look, this is your university teacher, Quinton rk. He used toe by every month and kept at it for many years. He came even earlier than you. Later¡­¡± Later, he died and never came again. Quinton rk¡­ Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat. She looked at the group photo, on which was the face of an unfamiliar man. It was Quinton¡¯s old face. Later, he died saving people and was given a big burial. Nicole pointed to another photo and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know the name of this person. He is a Chinese medical doctor. He has been donating money to us for several years, but he has only been to the orphanage once.¡± Following her finger, Sophia saw Quinton¡¯s face again, but his current face was very simr to Theo Fletcher¡¯s. He was sitting among a bunch of children with two of them on hisp, wearing a very kind smile on his face. He didn¡¯t look like a professional killer at all. Sophia really didn¡¯t know how to react. Staring at the photo nkly, tears threatened to well up in her eyes. Quinton rk, what kind of person are you? After bidding farewell to Nicole and Sam, everyone went back to their homes. After returning home, Sophia worked hard again. Cooper was in a good mood today and finally budged. He promised not to interfere with the mobile phone endorsement, but whether Michael could win the role of spokesperson for the endorsement or not depended on his own ability. Chapter 967 Chapter 967 To be honest, Michael didn¡¯t want to take up this endorsement. The endorsement fee was not easy to determine. If he asked for too much, he would feel sorry for Sophia. After all, the Dragon Eye mobile phones were made by theirpany. If he asked for too little, he would feel sorry for himself. After all, he had the dogs and Carmen to think of. He had dozens of mouths waiting to be fed. Living sure was difficult¡­ Although he had endorsed a lot of absurd brands, his price had never been low. For the endorsement fee, Sophia would naturally get the best for Michael. When Alice learned that Cooper had finally given the okay, she immediately got in contact with Michael¡¯s agency to win the endorsement contract in the shortest possible time. But when they came back, it was already the day that Sophia and Michael had to attend the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony, so they couldn¡¯t sign the contract. Thus, they postponed the signing of the contract to the next day. Today, the annual ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony to determine the best artists was going to be held. This was an activity jointly organized by dozens of the most influential mediapanies in Cethos to determine the best artists in the country. The most veteran artists in the country served as the judges, and they would decide who was the artist of the year through a number of factors and votes. This activity had already been going on for decades, and it had a lot of authority in Cethos. This year, the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ had an unexpected winner. Nichi Gates, who was originally second, actually broke through the rankings on thest day, surpassing Taylor Murray who was in first ce and won first ce on both the ¡®Best Artist¡¯ and the ¡®Best Male Artist¡¯ lists. Everything seemed bright for him. This was the first time he made it to the top of the list, and was also the first to ce top in both lists at the same time in Cethos. In the past, these two lists were always won by either Taylor Murray or Harry Winston. Today however, Nichi Gates won them all himself. It seemed that the new generation was overthrowing the old, and that new talents were popping up and taking the helm. The era that belonged to Taylor Murray and Harry Winston was finally over. The awkward thing was, Murray and Winston had both agreed toe to the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony. Would they being today? If they didn¡¯t, wouldn¡¯t they be deceiving the public? But if they dide, it would be even more awkward as they would be shown up by a junior. The award ceremony had not yet begun. The red carpet was rolled out, and the most important media in Cethos were all there. Guests walked down the red carpet one by one, and photographers worked hard to take pictures on both sides of the carpet. The sound of shutters and the sh of cameras worked in perfect harmony, capturing the best instances of every artist. Nichi Gates appeared alone. That handsome but feminine looking boy was now a masculine man with sharp facial features. He had a cold yet mature air to him. In ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, he had sessfully created a ¡®serious and responsible, yet in over his head as a new father¡¯ warm character, which had garnered countless fans. In addition to guests from the entertainment industry, today¡¯s ceremony also included guests from the fashion industry and other industries. Those who could get invitations were all extraordinary people. Sandra and Vincent appeared together as celebrities from the fashion industry. Soon, fake Lucile and Abbie also appeared together, and they both attended as representatives from the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Ian Edwards waspeting with Vincent Mitchell for Lucile¡¯s heart, so he needed toe to this event. After all, who wouldn¡¯t want to marry Lucile Michel? Even if Lucile attended this kind of asion, she would still be extremely low-key. Except for the few of them, no one knew their identities. Everyone thought they were sponsors, so both Ian and Vincent wanted to seize this great opportunity. Recently, Sandra had raked her brains to invite Lucile to stay over at the Mitchell Residence to give Vincent a chance, but even when Lucile had moved into the Mitchell Residence, she did not get together with Vincent. Then, there was Ian who was ready to take action anytime. The two would secretly butt heads wherever they were and for today¡¯s award dinner, they even tried to outdress each other. Today was a grand ceremony for the Cethos entertainment industry and the entire popce. Many sessful people from different industries hade, such as Stanley Fletcher and Sean Mitchell. Stanley could smell something fishy. He knew that something big was going to be staged tonight, so he came with a mixed bag of crunchy seeds, worried that he would not be able to make it to the big show. At first nce, Stanley and Judge were like two peas in a pod. They were both idiots and acted like fools at home, but when they were in public, each tried to show a more domineering attitude than the other, such as Judge. He carried himself coldly outside, and his blue eyes leaked dominance like a wolf. Today, Stanley wore a ck formal suit, tailored to fit. It made him look slender and sophisticated. He was sporting a buzz cut with sharp edges and corners, and his eyes were cold. He didn¡¯t dress in his unconventional punk style, but still wore a pair of ear piercings that went against the norm. He gave off an aggressive temperament, showing what a wolfish, domineering president was like. As one of the founders of Plum Technology, Sean was inseparable from Stanley. Today, Sean wore the same ck suit as Stanley, but with a pink undershirt. Hisplexion was very soft and feminine, and he looked exquisite and gorgeous. He perfectlyplemented Stanley¡¯s temperament. As soon as they appeared, the media began taking photos of them like crazy, and there were screams from fans. They had long reced Michael and Harry as the new favorites of wives everywhere and were also main characters for half of Cethos¡¯s fan-made erotic novels, bing the hottest couple. The other half was, of course, Harry Winston¡¯s court. It was a pity that while other stars would like nothing better than to drag it out on the red carpet, the two of them walked by in a hurry and were gone in a sh, leaving few good shots for the photographers. The weather was very cold, and they were freezing. Plus, they were afraid they wouldn¡¯t make it in time for the show, so they hurried up. Soon, almost all the guests had arrived and the photographers were very satisfied with their shots, but they were still looking in the direction of the entrance frequently. After all, there were two more left. Naturally, it was Taylor Murray and Harry Winston. Those two missed the top spot of the list and they had been gued with scandals recently, so they probably wouldn¡¯t be appearing. Sandra had entered the venue of the award ceremony. At this time, the ceremony was about to begin so the staff were very busy, but Murray and Winston still did not show up. I knew that they wouldn¡¯t have the guts toe. The spokesperson for Dragon Eye was definitely Nichi Gates now. This is a great resource! It¡¯s crazy how many people want this endorsement. In order to win this endorsement, she had spent a lot of money! However, winning this endorsement could open a new chapter in Gates¡¯s career. Winning the endorsement for the low-end phones in Cethos was just the first step. Tomorrow, she wanted Gates to win the global endorsement, then, she wanted him to be a spokesperson for global high-end phones. They would promote Gates to the world and he would be the third Oscar winner in Cethos. Everything would be worth it if they could achieve this. After entering the scene, Sandra nced at how the seats were arranged. The first row of the audience was full of senior and veteran artists, well-known directors, the previous winners of the awards for the past few years and other big shots. Because the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ awards had been going on for decades, many of the previous winners were getting old. Sandra despised this row of old guys, but they were the seniors and always sat in the first row. The second row was where younger people would be seated. She took a nce and saw that Murray and Winston¡¯s names were actually in the first row, making her dissatisfied in an instant. What right did two outdated male stars with no backing have to sit in the first row? Weren¡¯t they just asking for humiliation? The team behind the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ really were blind. Didn¡¯t they know who was the boss today? Signaling a clever staff member, Sandramanded, ¡°Swap the seats of Taylor Murray and Harry Winston with mine and Nichi Gates¡¯.¡± Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 968 Chapter 968 The staff member was in a quandary. ¡°I don¡¯t think that wouldn¡¯t be proper. Our seats are all arranged in advance and we are very particr about it.¡± Sandra¡¯s expression instantly turned cold. ¡°Those two are yesterday¡¯s news. What right do they have to sit in the first row? Today, Nichi Gates owns the stage. Don¡¯t you know how things should be arranged? You¡¯re so bad at your job! To be so blind!¡± ¡°Go and call your supervisor here. If you don¡¯t change our seats, we¡¯ll refuse to ept the award today!¡± The staff was so scared he scurried off to find the director. Sandra and Nichi were already sitting in the seats of Taylor and Harry shamelessly. Many people in the second and third rows looked at them. Although they were very dissatisfied with this, they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. So, they went to take photos with Nichi instead. After all, the entertainment industry was full of cases where people praised those in favor, and those who were not were trampled on. Artists who were yesterday¡¯s news should be trampled on! They shouldn¡¯t be sitting in the first row as it would just be embarrassing! Soon, the on-site director came, fawning over and bowing down to them. He immediately changed Taylor and Harry¡¯s name to Sandra and Nichs¡¯s, and the two sat down openly. This time round, since Taylor and Harry were going to attend the award ceremony, the organizers had specially reserved seats for their wives, but now these seats had been reced with Vincent and Lucile¡¯s name. Sandra would grab any opportunity she could to create a chance for Vincent. Thus, Lucile and Vincent also sat down in the first row and whispered to each other. Lucile would asionally lower her head and giggle. Ian sat behind them instead, envious and jealous. Stanley sat next to him, watching sourly while eating melon seeds along with Sean. The seniors in the first row had note yet as they might be having a rest in the lounge. In the first row, besides Sandra and her entourage who sat triumphantly there, sat Nicole, who was the only female Oscar winner in Cethos. She wasst year¡¯s winner for the Best Female Artist. Seeing that the seats of Michael and the others were upied in this way, Nicole raised her head and nced at the few people who were acting smug, her eyespletely unreadable. Sandra had seen her early on. Before Nicole spoke, she exaggeratedly covered her mouth and nose. ¡°Oh, my goodness, why is there a stinky smell here? Do you all smell it?¡± However, she was obviously looking at Nicole. Abbie nced at Nicole, knowing what Sandra wanted to do, and deliberately covered her mouth and nose exaggeratedly as well. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s such a bad smell! It¡¯s like the stench of a public toilet!¡± Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Because Sandra was now an executive at Glory Entertainment, a group of artists quickly started to butter her up. They echoed after her and began to cover their mouths and noses, talking loudly. ¡°I heard that Richard Harper died of AIDS. Previously, he slept with plenty of female stars before! Who knows whether the person who he slept with is clean?¡± ¡°Most likely not. If one catches that sort of disease, their lives would be over!¡± ¡°I heard that people who contract AIDS will retaliate against society. Oh, I¡¯m so scared!¡± Everyone looked at Nicole while they spole. She was obviously the target of their scorn. Nicole nced at the faces of those miscreants but did not speak. She continued to look at her mobile phone, not wanting to fall into their trap. But Sandra wouldn¡¯t let her go. She felt the air getting dirty just sitting with this sort of woman. ¡°Lucile, do you know who that person is over there?¡± Sandra said purposefully to Lucile who was next to her. Lucile really didn¡¯t know. Speaking in bad Cethosian, she said, ¡°That person is¡­¡± Sandra deliberately said loudly, ¡°She¡¯s a well-known socialite who specializes in sleeping with men for favors! She managed to get the female lead role in many blockbuster films. I really don¡¯t know how such a prostitute became so famous!¡± Lucile then dawned in understanding and recognized that she was Nicole Walker. Nicole was very famous abroad. Just now, the fake Lucile really didn¡¯t recognize Nicole for a while. Nicole didn¡¯t look up nor speak. Instead, she focused on looking at her mobile phone, but even she didn¡¯t know what she was looking at. Prostitute¡­ This was probably the reason why Cooper did not ept her. Even she disliked herself, let alone Cooper. How she wished she could go back to the day when she first met Cooper. She would definitely boldly say to him, Mr. Cooper, I want to go with you. Can you please take me away? Even if she was rejected, she would still be happy. At least she would have talked with him. Furthermore, she would not have agreed to attend the agency¡¯s request for dinner because of a role in the near future, nor would she have gone astray. Seeing that Nicole was being bullied, Stanley stopped nibbling on the melon seeds and was ready to call Nicole toe sit with him, but to his surprise, an unexpected person walked in from outside. The man was dressed in a tailored ck suit. He was still handsome and looked young even though he was in his forties, and he aged like fine wine. People would let out small exmations wherever he went. ¡°It¡¯s Master Sam! The Master of the Edwards Family has arrived!¡± Sandra and the others naturally heard the exmations. They stood up and looked at the approaching Sam, their eyes full of surprise. Sam Edwards was once the youngest congressman and almost became the youngest president ever, but he abandoned politics and went into business after his defeat in the presidential election. Now, not only was he rich, but he also had industries all over the world and possessed extraordinary influence in the political world. He was also one of the most eligible bachelors in Cethos. He was handsome, tasteful, rich and powerful. He was the coveted partner of all female stars in Cethos. At this moment, seeing that Sam wasing, a group of actresses prepared themselves and swarmed up to him like bees to honey. Sandra also greeted Sam with a smile. Although she and Ian had divorced, the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family were still very friendly with each other. She thought that she waspletely different from the rest of the female stars, all of whom were hoping to get Sam¡¯s attention, and that Sam would definitely greet her. ¡°Master Sam, you came as well?¡± But unexpectedly, Sampletely disregarded her and passed by her and the group of female stars directly, not even giving them a nce. Sandra¡¯s smile stiffened on her face. When Lucile saw that such an extraordinary man had arrived, she stood up too and said hello, but she was ignored by Sam as well. On the other side, Nicole was still looking at her phone in a daze,pletely unaware of what was going on. Then, she heard a clear male voice from above her. ¡°Miss Walker, what are you doing sitting here by yourself?¡± Nicole raised her head from her phone and saw the face of Sam, her husband who she had been married to for exactly half a month in a shotgun wedding. Although it was a hidden marriage and their rtionship had not made any substantial progress, Nicole¡¯s heart still warmed that someone would take the initiative to talk to her at this time. She smiled, ¡°I came early. What are you doing here?¡± She had thought that Sam wouldn¡¯te. When they got married, Sam originally wanted to throw a grand wedding, but Nicole refused. She didn¡¯t want to embarrass Sam with her identity and past. She thought that he would avoid this type of asion and she didn¡¯t expect him toe, let alone take the initiative to talk to her. She stood up, raised her chin slightly, and looked at Sam, who was about ten centimeters taller than herself, and the two unexpectedly looked like a perfect match. Sam had not nned oning today, but when he thought of how some miscreants would talk behind her back, he came anyway. He was her husband! If he didn¡¯t protect her, who would? Chapter 969 Chapter 969 Sam stretched out his arms and said sincerely to Nicole, ¡°My seat is in the second row and it¡¯s weird to sit alone. Would you like toe with me and have some melon seeds?¡± Nicole couldn¡¯t help but smile. Taking Sam¡¯s arm, the two went to the second row, sat beside Stanley and Sean, and feasted on melon seeds while waiting for the show. Sandra¡¯s team had stepped on Michael like this, and when the Mad Hubby Protector Sophia came online, with her personality, it would be strange if she didn¡¯t tear Sandra to shreds on the spot! Ian took advantage of the opportunity that was presented to him and moved to Nicole¡¯s old seat to sit with Lucile in the first row. Helplessly, Sam looked at Ian, who after being deceived of his money was now tempted by the opposite sex. He gave an irritated tut, angry at Ian for not being better. Recently, Vincent and Ian were both miserably deceived by fake Lucile. They gave money, houses, cars, yachts and shares to her, but she still ignored them and deliberately fished for more. In truth, she had already prepared who knew how many spares behind their backs. The fake Lucile was a bit too good at this. She had deceived both the Mitchell Family and the Edwards Family and had them ying to her tune, but what could Sam do? He could do nothing but much on melon seeds and enjoy the show. Maddie was also here today as a staff member. Seeing that the first row was seated by the hateful group of people, she was so angry that she was about to rush forward. Stanley quickly pulled her to a stop. ¡°Auntie, calm down. Don¡¯t get yourself involved because there will be a good show in a short while.¡± Today, Sophia would be giving a special performance. It would not be good for them to start the show before the main lead appeared. Maddie was indignant, but she was finally persuaded by Stanley to leave in the end. Everyone could only watch as Sam and Nicole left hand-in-hand. Each and every one of them were furious and wanted nothing more than to swallow Nicole alive. Why is that slut Nicole able to talk to Master Sam and sit with him? Where did she get the guts to do so? As everyone looked at Nicole bitterly, she straightened her back and epted the many criticisms indifferently. She had be ustomed to such things. Her dark history couldn¡¯t be washed away, but she could face it! At this moment, a hand gently held her cold hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, and gently sped her hand in turn. Nicole looked at Sam who was next to her, and saw that he had his head raised and was looking at the busy podium, pretending as if he didn¡¯t know her, and asionally talked to Sean next to him. However, his hand was holding her hand the whole time. His warm palm conveyed warmth, which transmitted straight into Nicole¡¯s heart. This was the first time that she felt this kind of warmth¡­ Sandra returned to her seat, angrily engraving the memory of Sam ignoring her in her mind. How dare he humiliate me in front of Lucile and Abby? Luckily, Lucile and Abby¡¯s attention was not on Sam, but on the stage. Ian and Vincent, two young masters from aristocratic families, were following an unfamiliar foreign woman around at the same time. Many celebrities had already seen them, and someone asked about Lucile¡¯s identity through a roundabout manner. At this time, Sandra couldn¡¯t help but raise her chin, showing off iparable arrogance. She couldn¡¯t wait to tell the whole world that she was good friends with Lucile Michel, but at this moment, she still had to keep them in suspense and deliberately viciously scolded the actress who came to inquire. ¡°Don¡¯t ask about things you shouldn¡¯t. You just need to know that she is out of your league!¡± The actress shrank in fear. A group of celebrities also realized that Lucile¡¯s status was noble because she had two young masters from aristocratic families fawning over her at the same time. Naturally, her status would not be low. When Abby saw that a group of female stars were in awe of herself, she was even more smug. She deliberately took out hertest model of Dragon Eye mobile phone and prominently disyed it. The only thing she didn¡¯t do was disclose her identity. Dragon Eye had reached the sixth generation, and not just anyone could use it. The seventh generation and the affordable version of the first generation model would be released soon, but the new models had not begun sales yet. Abby and fake Lucile only had the sixth generation, and Sandra also showed off her ¡°Dragon Eye 6¡±. The female stars with keen eyes naturally could recognize that the phones were Dragon Eyes, and they immediately began to pass along the news quietly. After spreading the news around, everyone knew that the phone Sandra was using was Dragon Eye, and they also guessed thest names of the two young ladies next to her. It turned out that Sandra had such good resources, she could directly connect with the elites of the Michel Family. It seemed that the matter of Nichi Gates bing spokesperson for Michel mobile phones was now certain! At the critical moment, Gates silently took out a Dragon Eye mobile phone that no one had seen before, turned on the camera function and took a few pictures of the stage, and arranged his hair while he was at it. He was a popr star, and everyone paid attention to his every move. At this moment, just as he took out the brand-new Dragon Eye, someone immediately eximed, ¡°What kind of mobile phone is this? Sandra was waiting for this and immediately answered in ce of Nichi. ¡°What else could it be? It¡¯s thetest model of Dragon Eye, of course.¡± Everyone was amazed. Since Nichi dared to take it out openly, it must be the real deal! It seemed that this was the consumer version of the ¡®Dragon Eye¡¯ that was soon to be released in Cethos! Nichi Gates truly did get the endorsement for Dragon Eye! He even had a phone in hand. This was the first time the new version of Dragon Eye had appeared publicly in Cethos! This was big news! The female stars all vied to take photos with Nichi, who showed off his Dragon Eye appropriately and even tweeted with it. He posted today¡¯s live photos online and also deliberately exposed his phone¡¯s model on Twitter, as if he couldn¡¯t wait to tell the world that he had won the endorsement for the phone! After a while, news of this had spread all over chat groups in the circle. After finding out that Sandra and Glory Entertainment was coborating with Michel Group, and that Nichi had seeded in getting the super high-end endorsement for Dragon Eye, they all came scurrying to curry favor. ¡°Heh!¡± Stanley snorted and took out his new Dragon Eye 7 and nced at the time. Sean also took out his ck Dragon Eye 7 and took a look at the time. Nicole frowned, then took out her pink Dragon Eye 7 out as well to check the time. Looking left and right with his Dragon Eye 6 in hand, Sam was very disgruntled. ¡°Why do you all have Dragon Eye 7?¡± Stanley looked at the phone seriously and said, ¡°Master Sam, rx. It doesn¡¯t have any notable new features. Only the appearance has changed, and a Beauty Mode and pupil recognition system were added.¡± Sean smiled. ¡°You can ask Sophia for one. They have so many in their house that they are using them as table footrests. The one I have here was used just for that purpose.¡± Sam was very angry, thinking that he needed to go to Sophia¡¯s house today to grab one! N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. Meanwhile, Sandra was rolling in sess and praised by everyone. She had gotten this top resource for her artist and spread news of it in the industry in an instant. No one would dare to underestimate her ever again. But at this moment, someone sent news over. ¡°Mr. Murray and Mr. Winston have arrived with their wives.¡± Taylor Murray and Sophia Edwards are here? Chapter 970 Chapter 970 Sandra frowned, but then loosened her brows and said to everyone, ¡°Everyone, please sit down. The award ceremony is about to begin!¡± Today was Nichi¡¯s stage. Not only did he win two awards, but he also got the endorsement for the new version of Dragon Eye. What could Michael and Sophia do at this time? They were just inviting humiliation bying! Today, she was going to return all the humiliation Sophia once gave her! On the red carpet, Harry and Sarah appeared hand-in-hand. They were husband and wife, so they would definitely appear together. Today, their outfits were very well-fitted and well-matched¡ªHarry wore a ck suit while Sarah wore a fiery red dress. They walked across the red carpet at their own pace. Next to appear was Michael and Sophia, walking hand-in-hand as well. Nowadays, there were a lot of rumors that they were divorced, but it was not Sophia who was leaving without taking anything, but Michael being dumped instead. Michael was said to be miserable, but today, as he appeared on the scene, he still looked proud of his sess, and his temperament refined. He was wearing a gray suit which was luxurious yet low-key and sophisticated, and it matched well with Sophia¡¯s elegant pale yellow dress. Sophia had her chest puffed out and her abdomen sucked in, and her posture was elegant. Even after giving birth, she was still curvy in all the right ces and still bore the body of a young girl. Except for her bust that wasrger than before, she didn¡¯t seem to have changed much. Today, her makeup was elegant yet simple,pletely different from the group of actresses who were contending for supreme beauty. Even if she only applied a little makeup, it still couldn¡¯t hide her refined temperament and beauty. When she lost her memories, her temperament hadpletely changed, and the once inexperienced Sophia Edwards had transformed into a real social elite who was elegant and showed off her noble upbringing in every gesture. When the two appeared in high profile, they immediately attracted a group of photographers who started taking their pictures. Under the high-resolution camera, even without the help of a Beauty Filter, they still looked great, wless and perfect. The fans¡¯ exmations sounded, and the critics were already dumbfounded. Where was the ugly woman they heard about? Didn¡¯t the rumors say that Michael was in a rut after being dumped? The two had appeared holding hands and very tacitly stayed on the red carpet for only a moment. With their fingers interlocking, the pair of wedding rings were very conspicuous. asionally, they would exchange nces, and it was obvious that they were very in love with each other. When you loved someone, your eyes would shine, and at this moment, Sophia¡¯s eyes were full of dazzling brilliance. The two stayed on the red carpet for a while, and after earning enough looks and being photographed enough, they entered the award ceremony venue. At this moment, the Inte was going crazy! What was that about them being divorced and Michael not getting even a single penny? It was all false! The staff from the film crew of ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ all showed up on the Inte and shared with everyone what it meant to ¡°have my boss fall in love with me¡±. Have you ever seen someone get on a ne to give their spouse their lunchbox? Have you ever seen a wife who, in order to give her husband a hot meal, had flown dogs from ska to where he was working so that they could fetch the meal for him? Although Taylor no longer had Mark Fletcher to back him, he still had his wife! Stanley, who was ying on his mobile phone and munching on some melon seeds, immediately brightened up when he saw Michael and Sophia. The show was about to start! Michael and Sophia, as well as Harry and Sarah, came in one after the other. With one nce, Sarah already figured out that her seat had been switched. Sandra was sitting smugly in the first row, looking at ease and having no intention to give up the seats even though they had arrived. ¡°You¡¯ve gone too far! This isn¡¯t where all of you should be seated!¡± Sarah immediately wanted to get her seat back immediately. She strided toward Sandra, pointed at the seat and said, ¡°Get out of that seat!¡± When she lost her temper, even Harry couldn¡¯t control her. Sandra was holding a makeup kit and touching up her makeup. She didn¡¯t even give Sarah a look. ¡°Why are you asking me to get up? Is this seat yours?¡± Sarah spoke aggressively, ¡°These seats were reserved for Michael and Harry. What right do you guys have to sit in them? Get up!¡± Sandra didn¡¯t move and justzily closed her makeup kit. ¡°But ording to the seating schedule, these are our seats,¡± she said smugly. ¡°And your seats¡­ are behind.¡± She pointed her finger to the very back. She had deliberately moved the seats of Michael and the rest to thest row, where D-listers and the mistresses and sugar babies of sponsors were seated. The D-list celebrities were allughing inwardly. They were already obsolete celebrities, so instead of sitting in the front, they should just obediently sit at the very back! N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. This was just how the entertainment industry was. If you became old news today, tomorrow, you would be seated at the bench and had all your endorsements and film roles snatched away, and the day after, you would be their stunt double! People needed to know their own situation. Harry also tugged at Sarah. He didn¡¯t want her to argue with these people. During the dispute, Sophia and Michael arrived. When Sandra saw Sophiaing, she said loudly, ¡°Sorry, the seating arrangements today are very strict. ording to poprity, your seats are at the end.¡± Sophia stopped. She nced at Sandra and the others who were sitting in the first row and spoke loudly as well. ¡°Michael and Harry¡¯s ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ has earned 1 billion US dors in the box office globally. How much was yours?¡± As soon as this sentence came out, no one dared to speak up while Nichi looked extremely embarrassed. He had used ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ to reinvent himself and acted in several blockbuster movies, but only one of the so-called blockbusters barely exceeded one billion in box office sales. Even if he added up all the sales of the films he starred in over the years, it was not as high as the single film Michael and Harry made. Furthermore, the ratings for ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯ that Michael had a cameo role in surpassed all of the reality shows Nichi had guest starred in. Sandra scoffed silently. They are bragging about their box office sales, but so what? They still failed to get the endorsement for Dragon Eye. Just when she was about to retort, Sophia took Michael¡¯s arm and said softly, ¡°Hubby, you are over the hill. Let¡¯s not sit in the first row and go to the back.¡± Michael followed her lead. ¡°Let¡¯s give the first row to the popr young¡¯uns!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good you have some self-acknowledgement!¡± Sandra sneered. Under the cynical and gloating eyes of many D-listers, Michael and Sophia went to thest row, and Harry also dragged the aggrieved Sarah to thest row as well. Sandra sat in the first row, triumphant and supercilious. Stanley, who was sitting in the second row, widened his eyes in anticipation as he had a feeling that the show was about to begin. The award ceremony was about to start, and the people who were to be seated in the first row came out of the lounge one after another. The first row was supposed to only be upied by some veteran artists and leaders, but seeing that there were three youngsters who had each won an Oscar for Cethos, they made an exception and arranged for them to sit in the first row. But today, when these highly respected old artists came out, they saw a few strangers sitting in the first row. They could all ept it if the ones sitting there were Michael, Harry and Nicole. After all, not only did they win Oscars, but they also became world famous superstars. They exported Cethos culture to the world and increased Cethos¡¯s culturalpetitiveness. Furthermore, they had high morals and were skilled in their art, and they had respect for the older generation. But what about those people sitting there in the front row? An old artist summoned the director to ask what was going on. When they learned that Harry and Michael were actually sitting in thest row, the group of old artists lost their calm. If they, who were Oscar winners, were only qualified to sit in thest row, then what about them? They didn¡¯t win any Oscars, so didn¡¯t that mean that they didn¡¯t have any right to sit in front as well? The group then went to thest row regardless of the director¡¯s obstruction and dissuasion. Among them, many were cultural leaders and senior officials of the National Radio and Television Administration who were here today as the panel of judges! And so, for this year¡¯s ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony, the first row at the center beneath the stage that was supposed to be seated by the most important guests was empty, with only Sandra, Nichi and a few others sitting there. Meanwhile, the heavyweight guests were all sitting in thest row. In an instant, everyone in the audience, except for those in thest row, were all sitting on pins and needles. Chapter 971 Chapter 971 As a grand ceremony for the cultural and entertainment industry in Cethos, the ¡°Light of Cethos¡± not only had stars from the entertainment industry participate, but also seniors from the literacy world. In Cethos, the people were particr to the order of seniority, so even the entertainment industry followed this tradition. Only veteran seniors or people with outstanding achievements would dare to sit in the front, while juniors and neers could only sit in the back, no matter how excellent you were. There were almost no young artists in the first row. The ones sitting in the first row were either the older generation of artists, or the senior leaders of relevant departments. Michael, Harry and Nicole¡¯s seats had been added as an exception. Today, the seats were divided into three zones¡ªA, B and C. The B zone was in the middle, and should have been seated by the most authoritative and veteran seniors, but at this moment, the ones sitting there were Sandra, Nichi and their group. Among those people, the only familiar faces were Nichi and Sandra. One was a rookie in the film industry and the other a former world champion. Even those who were older and more aplished than them were sitting at the back, so what right did they have to sit there? The award ceremony had not yet started, and the scene was already bing awkward and difficult to control. The ceremony was about to be broadcast live on television, but the first row of the most important zone B had a long row of empty seats, and sitting in the most critical position in the middle was Sandra and her party. They were so conspicuous that the cameraman didn¡¯t even dare to pan his camera there. It was going to be a prime time live broadcast, and someone was going to be held ountable for such a huge mistake! The director went to thest row in a panic like his butt was on fire. He almost knelt down and begged the leaders and seniors to return to their seats. The leaders and senior artists were also very proud. ¡°The first row isn¡¯t somewhere where old hasbeens like us can sit. Old hasbeens like us are more suited to sit here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯ll sit right here and won¡¯t go anywhere else!¡± The director was about to cry. No matter how popr Nichi was, he was just lucky to have made it, and he was far from being a real artist. The director knew that he had messed up. He didn¡¯t think these old artists would be so prideful. He also knew where the problem was so he hurriedly said to Harry and Michael, ¡°The two of you should sit in the first row! Thest row is not suitable for you!¡± Michael stayed aloof. He raised his eyes from the phone and said in a puzzled manner, ¡°Wasn¡¯t this seat arranged by you all?¡± The director was now regretting his choice and continued, ¡°No no, we made a mistake! Your seat is in the first row.¡± He truly regretted it now. He thought it was just a matter of changing the arrangements of a few seats and he didn¡¯t expect that this would escte. Michael was also a person who was considerate. Seeing that the live broadcast was about to begin, he put his mobile phone away and said, ¡°Since it was a mistake, let¡¯s quickly change our seats.¡± As soon as he agreed, the director was relieved and hurried to the front row to pry Sandra and the others¡¯ out of their seats. At this moment, the guests and celebrities were all here, and the entire studio¡¯s seats were full. Whether they be D-listers, A-listers, the iconic stars, and even the old generation artists, all had gathered here. Currently, half of the Cethos entertainment industry was watching the joke that was the first row. Some people in the first row still had their pride to protect. This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. Ian had already secretly left long ago. Vincent could also tell this wasn¡¯t a spot to continue to stay at, and he was persuading fake Lucile to leave with him. Sandra, however, felt that she should sit in the first row as she was once a world champion. Since many politicians could sit here, why couldn¡¯t she? When she was invited to the Spring Festival G, she was always seated in the first row! Also, she had the Michel Family¡¯s backing, so why couldn¡¯t she sit in the first row? The director came to ask Sandra to change seats, but Sandra behaved very arrogantly. ¡°I won¡¯t change seats. I deserve this seat. What¡¯s the matter with you? You can¡¯t just change people¡¯s seats when it has already been arranged!¡± The director kept trying to persuade her till his mouth went dry, but Sandra still refused to change seats. Seeing that the live broadcast was about to start and after much persuasion from Michael and Harry, the older generation of artists and leaders all started to get up and moved to the first row. If Sandra and Nichi were still there, it would be awkward. The old artists had finally be amicable, and the director didn¡¯t want to mess things up. So, he called for a few security guards directly. If Sandra wouldn¡¯t move, he would ask them to just pick her up and throw her out. The rest of Sandra¡¯s group had already scurried to the back, and Sandra was the only one who didn¡¯t want to move. Especially when she saw Michael and Sophia heading toward her from the back. She grew even more resolute not to budge. ¡°I won¡¯t get up! With my qualifications and reputation, what¡¯s wrong with me sitting in the first row?¡± Sandra also gave herself a usible reason. ¡°I always sit in the first row when I am invited to the Spring Festival G. Why can¡¯t I sit in the first row at ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯?¡± ¡°Miss Mitchell, it¡¯s true you won the championship of the Universal Games once, but after that, you left the sports circle. Plus, it has already been three or four years, and the era that belonged to you has long passed!¡± Sophia walked up from behind, holding onto Michael¡¯s arm. Her exquisite eyebrows revealed ruthlessness and loftiness, and she said this to Sandra coldly. ¡°If it was in the entertainment industry, an artist who did not produce new works for three or four years would have long been forgotten. Miss Mitchell, you are a sports star who has been over the hill for three or four years. You need to be self-aware. Today¡¯s ceremony isn¡¯t somece where you can behave atrociously. Get up and sit in the back!¡± As soon as this remark came out, chuckles came one after another. Recently, Sandra had been doing what she could to tarnish Michael and Harry¡¯s name. She used the former of faking his death and thetter a star whose light had dimmed, but she didn¡¯t look at herself. She had won a gold medal but it had already been four years, yet she kept bragging about it. The Universal Games already had a new gold medalist, but Sandra still thought that it was her age¡­ The term ¡®a hasbeen sports star¡¯ perfectly described her! ¡°What right do you have to criticize me? I am¡ª¡± Sandra immediately shot back and was about to brag about winning a world championship. ¡°You were a world champion, I know.¡± Sophia¡¯s tone was calm, but it carried a very intimidating feel to it. ¡°Thetest Universal Games have ended. Many champions this year have already broken the records you set in the past, but you are still standing in ce. Miss Mitchell, one day, you will lose what little bragging rights you have left!¡± Sandra nced at the second row. Last year¡¯s Universal Games had just ended, and several Cethos Olympic champions had been invited to attend today¡¯s event as well. They were all sitting in the second row watching Sandra making a fool of herself. Among them, there were even many with better records than Sandra. Her authority as a former world champion was further weakened. At times like this, there would definitely be one or two in the crowd who would boo. ¡°Go sit in the back! This is something to do with the cultural and entertainment industries! An obsolete sports star like you shouldn¡¯t act like a boss! Get moving! The live broadcast is about to begin!¡± Stanley, who was in the second row, was waiting for this moment. ¡°Even those who have better results than you are sitting in the second row. Don¡¯t be so thick-skinned and move!¡± ¡°The live broadcast is about to start! Miss Mitchell, just suck it up and go sit in the back! When the live broadcast is over, you can sit there as long as you want!¡± A group of people followed Stanley¡¯s lead. Sandra was so angry that her chest was violently heaving, and her face was dark. Sophia looked at her coldly. ¡°Miss Mitchell, are you going to leave or not? If you don¡¯t leave, I¡¯ll ask security to throw you out!¡± Chapter 972 Chapter 972 If Sandra really didn¡¯t move, Sophia really would have her thrown out. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t do it herself. Michael had already brought arge group of old artists over. All of them surrounded Sandra, staring at her unfriendly. At this time, she didn¡¯t have any qualifications or seniority to back her up, and she was far from qualified to sit in the first row. The live broadcast was going to start any second now. The dancers on the stage were ready. The opening song and dance was about to begin, and the backstage was in turmoil. The director became so anxious that his eyes grew bloodshot. Seeing that Sandra was still motionless, he directly ordered, ¡°Take Miss Mitchell out!¡± They gave her a way out, but she was ungrateful! Sandra furiously stood up and viciously spat, ¡°I¡¯ll leave, but all of the artists from Glory Entertainment will be leaving with me!¡± This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org. After tossing out these words, she carried her bag and was about to leave. Her eyes swept across the group of artists from Glory Entertainment viciously. Now, it was the artists¡¯ turn to be in a dilemma. If they left, they would feel it was a huge loss! Not just anyone coulde to this award ceremony! But if they didn¡¯t leave, they would be offending their boss! In the end, the group of artists from Glory Entertainment really got up in twos and threes and were about to follow Sandra out. In fact, a lot of artists were from Glory Entertainment. If they left, it would really open up a lot of empty seats. Nichi also stood up and said, ¡°I feel that the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony is not very friendly to us. I have no need to stay as well.¡± After saying this, Nichs also left with Sandra and the group of artists. The director grew even more panicked. Nichi was the winner of the Best Artist and Best Male Artist awards for ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ this year! If he left, how would this award go on? The director hurried to catch up with Sandra, while Sophia had already sat down in the first row with Michael and the group of old artists. Although he was a junior withmendable achievements, Michael was still very sincere and courteous toward his seniors. After letting his seniors take their seats first, it was finally his and Harry¡¯s turn to sit down with their respective wives. As for whether Sandra and Nichi would stay or not, that was not something Sophia had to worry about. It was the director¡¯s problem as it was his fault for being a fence-sitter. That director was aplete fence-sitter. When he saw that Michael and Sophia didn¡¯t get the endorsement for Dragon Eye, that his backer had died, and that Michael¡¯s name was tarnished and he was old news, he immediately arranged for Michael to sit in thest row. However, he never expected that Michael would have such good rtions with the leaders and senior artists, and that he could also lead the group of seniors to protest, which almost caused a big mistake. Mark faking his death really made Sophia see a few things this time. As expected, the entertainment industry was all about stepping on those on the bottom and lifting those who made it. If you became old news today, they would have you sitting in thest row tomorrow. In the end, using some unknown means and promises to Sandra, the Glory Entertainment artists finally came back. Of course, Sandra and Nichi couldn¡¯t sit in the first row and were arranged to sit in the second row. Sandra sat down with a dark face. Of course she didn¡¯t want to leave as today was Glory Entertainment¡¯s big day. Several artists under herpany had won several awards, so why should she leave? The so- called leaving was just to force the director to show some sincerity and to show off her style. The director also agreed to their conditions, such as giving their artist more camera shots and deliberately filming some ugly shots of some hasbeen male celebrity. To offend the director was to offend the entire crew, including the photographer. And the consequences of offending the photographer were very severe. Sandra sat in the second row, looking bitterly at Sophia and Michael in the front row. So what if they sat in the first row? Today, she would let Sophia know who was the boss in the Cethos entertainment industry! Because this was a very important asion, Sophia and Michael, who were usually all lovey-dovey at home, did a rare thing and behaved themselves. They sat properly and in a dignified manner, and they asionally conversed softly with the people sitting next to them. Michael was having a great conversation with a bunch of senior artists. He was very proactive in inviting these artists to make guest star appearances in the uing ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯ movie. This movie had arge number of scenes in Cethos and needed some Cethosian actors to make a cameo appearance. The old artists were naturally very willing to make an appearance in the film. Nowadays, even if those international blockbusters came to Cethos to look for guest actors, they would look for actors and actresses whose fame were on the rise and didn¡¯t want old guys like them. It was rare for someone to remember them. It was not easy for Cethosians celebrities to develop their career abroad. At most, they would make it into a blockbuster film but had no prominent role. Nichi Gates was one example. He had made a cameo appearance in one of Hollywood¡¯s blockbuster films that was part of a series, where he yed a faceless corpse and only had two or three lines. His agency had actually credited the box office sales for the entire series of blockbuster films to him, but people were unconvinced even after several years. In contrast, not only had Michael starred in a few international mainstream blockbusters, but he had also entered the core circle of the international film industry and participated in the production of many blockbusters. He had even openly fought against racial discrimination and gained more opportunities for Cethosian actors. Before Nichi had even made it big internationally, he thought that the entertainment industry already belonged to him. He wished the world would know that he already had one foot in the door, while Michael was extremely low-key. Sophia didn¡¯t know when, but Stanley had already sat behind her. ¡°Do you want some melon seeds, Sophia?¡± ¡°Would you like to drink some juice, Uncle?¡± ¡°I have biscuits and Eight-Treasure Congee here.¡± As Stanley spoke while munching on some melon seeds, the award ceremony finally began. The first act was a lively dance. The host¡¯s remarks were witty and he was very cool, which drove the atmosphere of the audience to a fever pitch. The singing and dancing were also very exciting, and the guest performers were all popr, elite artists. In between the performances, the winners of awards were announced. They started awarding the least anticipated award first. For example, they announced the winner of the award for ¡®Most Positive Artist of the Year¡¯ first, which was Nichi. He won this award for donating 1 million and supplies at a disaster relief charity party this year. Amidst the apuse, Nichi went on stage to ept the award. When awarding the award, the big screen on the stage also showed some videos of blessings from family members and fans, and then it was the artist¡¯s turn to give his eptance speech. All of this was routine. Videos from fans of Nichs offering their congrattions were shown in perfect shot. They were all just short one-minute videos, but there were more than a dozen of them in the background. There were fans from America who sent congrattory messages, fans from France cheering for him, and even fans from Antarctica and the Arctic giving their idol their congrattions for winning the award. There were even some international celebrities who wished him congrattions. It seemed like he had fans all over the world. As soon as this video came out, the congrattory videos of other stars that cameter seemed dull and stingy. Sandra heard everyone¡¯s exmation and raised her chin very contentedly. Nichipletely showed what a superstar was right at this moment! Even if it was just videos from fans giving their congrattions, she wanted to be able to dominate the entire scene! ! The second award was for the Best Supporting Actor, and the winner was Taylor Murray. ¡°Congrattions to Mr. Murray for winning the award for Best Supporting Actor with his role as Miles in ¡®I Am a Vige Chief¡¯!¡± Amidst the apuse, the big screen began to y Taylor Murray¡¯s congrattory video. With Nichi¡¯s shocking and domineering video from his fans from before, everyone was very interested in Taylor¡¯s video and they opened their eyes wide in anticipation. If the video was not as exciting as Nichi¡¯s, Taylor was going to be embarrassed! These videos were also an important part of these celebrities¡¯ battles with one another. Unexpectedly, as soon as the video began, they saw a cute little girl wearing a mask and a bunny onesie standing in front of the camera, speaking in her prepubescent voice. ¡°Daddy, I heard that you won an award today. Can I do an old rabbit dance for you?¡± Chapter 973 Chapter 973 Both Michael and Sophia were shocked once they saw the video. When¡­ did Carmen film this video? They had no idea at all! The crowd eximed in surprise the moment the video was yed. It was the first time Taylor¡¯s daughter had appeared in the public eye! In the past, the most they saw was a picture of the girl¡¯s back view with her braided hair, uploaded onto Sophia or Judge¡¯s Twitter. Taylor had never publicly revealed any news about his daughter, so the crowd naturally gasped in astonishment as it was the first time they had seen her. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Amidst the crowd¡¯s cries of surprise, Carmen began to dance and sing without a hint of shyness. Her gaze followed wherever the camera went, and she appeared confident and casual despite performing for a recording. She gave a natural and expressive performance, as if she was born to perform! ¡°I¡¯m a little rabbit, a little rabbit. I¡¯m a cute rabbit, the cutest rabbit in the world. With a little shake of my tail, and a little waggle of my limbs, I¡¯ll easily catch you¡­¡± Carmen was extremely talented in dancing; her movements captured the hearts of the crowd and gave her audience a joyful sensation. She was like an angel that had descended upon Earth to bring happiness to all the sad people. It felt like any negative emotions could be erased as they listened to her sweet voice and watched her cute little dance. Carmen ended the video with a short and sweet speech. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Dad! Hurry up and bring me to go on the show, ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯! I¡¯ll always be your favorite little girl!¡± The crowd erupted into a thunderous apuse the moment the video ended. All of them could still hear the cute song ringing in their ears¡ªit was simply tooforting to listen to it. At the same time, the breaking news was announced: ¡®Taylor is going to bring his daughter to go on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯!¡¯ When Michael went up on stage to retrieve his award, Sophia could see tears forming in the corner of his eyes. She felt rather emotional herself¡ªshe hadn¡¯t expected such a surprise. My Carmen is an angel indeed! It was the first time Taylor had ever stepped on the podium of ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯, and tears streamed down his cheeks as he was too emotional. Of course, it wasn¡¯t because of the award¡ªit was because of his daughter. After receiving his award, Michael finally calmed himself down before giving an eptance speech. The words were all scripted, but the excitement he felt in him was real. To him, everything he went through that day was worth it. Just watching the video and the dance that Carmen had prepared for him was the largest surprise and award he had received that day. Once Michael finished his speech and got off the stage, Sandra¡¯s lips curled into a cold grin. She pulled her Dragon Eye 6 out before sending a message. Soon enough, harsh and negativements began to surface in thement section of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ livestream, as if all the haters had started to take action right then. ¡®He¡¯s just a has-been; does he have to get so emotional after receiving a minor award?!¡¯ ¡®That old man totally can¡¯t handle the livestream; it¡¯s no wonder he has never dared to appear on the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ livestream all these years!¡¯ Of course, the majority of these negativements eventually disappeared as they were drowned by all of thements that praised how adorable Carmen was. ¡®It¡¯s out, it¡¯s out! That Inte child celebrity, Carmen, is Taylor¡¯s daughter indeed! Ahhh! I¡¯m so excited! I can¡¯t wait for the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯!¡¯ ¡®Carmen is so adorable!¡¯ ¡®She¡¯s such an angel!¡¯ ¡­ Carmen wore a mask without revealing her actual looks throughout the performance, but she managed to attract everyone¡¯s attention just with her skills. Everyone at the award ceremony was talking about Carmen, the young girl who stole the spotlight from everyone else. Season 2 of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was a hit even before it started filming. The award ceremony went on, and it was utterly dominated by artists from Glory Entertainment. The best actor, best actress, best artist, best male artist, and best female artist awards all went to artists from Glory Entertainment. Nichs Yates won the most number of awards that night. He proudly received three awards, where he defeated two other Oscar-winning actors who had been nominated for ¡®Best Artist¡¯ and ¡®Best Male Artist¡¯ awards. Sandra felt extremely delighted herself; she nced toward Michael and Sophia every now and then in hopes that their expressions would reveal a hint of disappointment or anger. After all, Sophia had been gathering votes for Michael every single day before this just to help him get the award! They¡¯re probably really disappointed right now, but what can they do about it? We¡¯ve already snatched the endorsement for Fass¡¯ handphone, so they can only pick the crumbs that Glory Entertainment left behind! After all the awards were handed out, it was evident that Nichs had received the most number of prizes. He also got the most amount of screen-time on the livestream, and he knew how to position himself so that he looked perfect in every single shot. On the other hand, Sophia and Michael barely appeared in front of the camera; their presence was about as strong as Carmen¡¯s, or some unpopr rookie model¡¯s. Since the award-giving session was over, the audience and guests all waited for the final performance. After that, they¡¯d go on stage for a group photo before parting ways with everyone. However, to their surprise, the emcee returned to the stage after the final ¡®Best Artist¡¯ award was given out and the singing performance ended. The emcee then gave everyone a secretive and mysterious look. ¡°To all our guests, audiences, and livestream viewers, do calm down as the show isn¡¯t over yet! In fact, the most exciting moment of the entire award ceremony is about to happen right now!¡± The crowd exchanged puzzled nces. Didn¡¯t all the excitement end already? Could there be a lucky draw at the end of the show? The emcee continued with his captivating speech. ¡°The ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ event has been hosted annually for more than 10 years now. Apart from our usual 3 main categories and 15 awards, we also have another special prize. I wonder if you guys remember what it is!¡± All the younger generations in the audience continued to look at each other confusedly, while the seniors knew what the emcee was referring to. It was the most important and highly-valued award amongst all the awards an artist could receive at the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ event¡ªit was the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award itself! This was an extremely special award which the regr artist wouldn¡¯t stand a chance of getting. One had to be good in acting and singing, and must be popr and outstanding enough, to ever receive this award! Furthermore, the president and the board of directors had to go through a discussion before they came up with a list of names for this award. They would consider the political, social, and global sess of the artist, as well as the artist¡¯s morality and other individual aspects. It was no longer just a simple award within the entertainment industry. This award was handed out by the president himself, and the trophy contained a higher percentage of gold than the regr awards. The award truly lived up to its own name ¡ªthe ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯! Unfortunately, they hadn¡¯t given out this award for nearly 10 years now, and most of the audience hadpletely forgotten about its existence. Thest time this award was given out about 10 years ago, it went to an international actor known for his martial arts movies. The reason he got the prize was because he expanded his talents in acting beyond the borders of Cethos all the way to Hollywood¡ªhe became the first Cethosian face that frequently appeared in arge number of international films. It stirred the international audience¡¯s hype for Cethos. In the past, Elizabeth was another artist who had received the same award. She was one of the first original soundtrack singers that made it on a global level. Until today, her songs continued to trend across the world¡ªher songs were practically the anthem of Cethos whenever a foreigner thought about Cethosian songs. There were only a few artists who had ever received this award ever since the establishment of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯. Each of them would make history for receiving it as it only happened every 10 years or so. Does that mean that we¡¯ll be witnessing a historically significant moment tonight? The crowd was more hyped than ever. The emcee beamed as he stood in front of the anticipating crowd. ¡°That¡¯s right, everyone. Today, all of you will be witnessing a moment in history. Now, let¡¯s get our president toe on stage for the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award!¡± Chapter 974 Chapter 974 The audience gaped in awe as the president walked on stage. Meanwhile, Sophia flinched in her seat below the stage as she was surprised to see that a number of snipers had taken their positions. That exins why I¡¯ve been feeling an odd, tingling sensation under my skin this whole time, she thought. This is amazing. I wonder how many snipers and undercover agents are here; even Joel is here. Meanwhile, Stanley was so shocked that he dropped the melon seeds snack that he had been munching on. ¡°N-Never in my life have I seen such a sight!¡± The audience apuded with all their might once the president appeared. Once he got on stage, he lifted a hand up to silence the crowd before he picked the mic up. The cheers died down as everyone was waiting for the president to announce the winner of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award. ¡°He is the first Cethosian to have won an Oscar for being the Best Actor,¡± the president said. Everyone could guess the identity of the winner from the first sentence itself¡ªthe audience cheered and pped as some found the announcement shocking, while others thought that it made sense. After the first wave of cheers ended, the president continued. ¡°He is the only Cethosian actor to have won two Best Actor awards at the Oscars. He¡¯s a long-term advocate that fights for the rights of actors and actresses who are ethnic minorities, supporting his beliefs that they deserve the same jobs and sries without discrimination. He¡¯s been fighting for the revision of suchws for Cethosian artists to be able to find better workces and greater equality in their workces when they travel out of the nation! He isn¡¯t the only benefactor of his hard work and sess; our entire entertainment industry benefits from it! He is none other than Taylor Murray, the winner of our ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award!¡± The crowd apuded as Michael got on stage to receive his award for the second time. After greeting the president in a friendly manner, Michael took the most valued award of the night into his own hands¡ª the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award. At that moment, awards such as the Best Artist or Best Male Actor felt like nothing inparison to what he had received. Nichs Yates was dumbfounded as he watched Michael receiving his award on stage. The existence of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award itself blew Nichs¡¯ mind; he didn¡¯t even know that there was such a thing before that night. But it was clear that the award was an important one since the president was the one who handed it out. Sandra was probably the one who was the most stunned by this entire incident. All the confidence and pride that she had just developed within her was crushed into pieces by the blinding golden trophy of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award! No! I haven¡¯t been defeated! I¡¯m still the one who got the endorsement job for Dragon Eye! Nichs is impacting the entire world while Michael is simply getting a tiny, worthless award that allows him a chance to show off in Cethos! The director was rather shocked as well. He only found out about this award 3 days ago, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be given to Taylor! Isn¡¯t his Grandpa dead? I thought he¡¯d lost all the backup and support he had! How did he get this award, then? This isn¡¯t just any award; it isn¡¯t decided by a single individual. They have to go through meetings and discussion before handing it over to the president, who has to then make any required changes before approving it. But¡­ The director was close to copsing onto the ground once he thought of the ridiculous, silly behaviors he exhibited earlier. Michael had to give a speech after collecting his award. He stood on the podium for a while and nced at Sophia before he smiled and picked the mic up. ¡°Up until today, my greatest achievement in life isn¡¯t just receiving the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award.¡± The audience fell silent as they hadn¡¯t expected his first sentence to start off so straightforwardly. The cameras captured Michael¡¯s handsome features as he nced down the stage over to someone seated in the first row. The crowd saw how calm he appeared to be as the camera footage was projected onto the huge screens¡ªhe seemed even calmer than when he had received his tiny award earlier. ¡°Up until today, my greatest achievement is¡­ the fact that I have a perfect family. Although I¡¯d lost my parents at a young age, I still have a happy family. I have my sister, my nephew, my wife, and my beloved daughter. Getting married to my wife and having a daughter with her has been the greatest honor of my life.¡± The cameramen were alert in doing their jobs¡ªthey initially focused the shots on Michael, but they then shifted it to Sophia¡¯s face once he mentioned his wife. Sophia¡¯s face appeared on the big screen, showing tears of joy in her eyes. Michael continued his speech. ¡°I want to thank my parents. I want to thank my father for educating me, for teaching me not to give up. I want to thank my mother for blessing me with all her talents. I want to thank my wife and daughter for all the years they¡¯ve spent with me¡­ From today onward, I hope to continue striving for equality and recognition for the ethnic minorities and Cethosians. I want to create a world in which Cethosians are allowed the right to be proud of their ethnicity all across the globe. Thank you.¡± After the short eptance speech, the emcee then announced the end of the award ceremony before inviting all the guests onto the stage for a group picture. Everyone was quick to move as they wanted the opportunity to grab a picture with the president. Even theziest, most arrogant artists sped up onto the stage before they arranged themselves ording to their own socially assumed statuses. Michael, of course, took the center spot right beside the president. Nichs tried his best to get closer to the president, but Sam took his spot. Sam was, in fact, one of the people who had supported the idea of handing the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award out that year. With his influence within the scene, he managed to implement the award that Michael had just received. Michael had to thank Sam for his help in ultimately making this win possible. Once again, Nichs tried to edge over to stand beside Michael, but he was shoved away by Harry and some other seniors, so he ended up in the corner. The stage seemed to shine brighter than ever as artists filled the entire tform. It was an impressive sight to see. ¡°Come on; let¡¯s go up!¡± Sarah tugged Sophia up onto the stage, and Michael quickly waved toward her. She squeezed her way over to him and felt hisrge hand grabbing onto her small one. With a trophy in one hand, and Sophia in the other, Michael¡¯s eyes were twinkling brighter than the stars as he lowered his gaze to look at how elegant and beautiful she was. ¡°Dear guests, please look over here! The camera¡¯s here!¡± The cameraman called for everyone¡¯s attention before speedily taking a few group shots. Everyone tried their best to look at the camera, but all Michael saw at that moment was Sophia. The award ceremony came to an end, and the president was the first to leave after the group photos were taken. The event itself had indeed been one of the grandest ones to have happened in Cethos; everyone had witnessed a historical moment that night! In the end, Taylor turned out to be the biggest winner of the entire award ceremony. Glory Entertainment was too embarrassed to publish all the articles that they had drafted, and they speedily withdrew all the drafts that they had sent out previously. However, it was toote¡ªthe Inte kept records of everything that had been uploaded. It seemed like all their efforts and money spent on buying and increasing votes had gone to waste; the two awards that Nichs won were nothing whenpared to the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award. Sandra quickly left the hall with a pale, sickly expression on her face. The rest of the artists from Glory Entertainment were silent as they, too, sneaked out of the hall. ¡°Well? Were you guys surprised?!¡± Maddie cried as she hopped over excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s so rare for you guys to show up at an award ceremony, so I had to make sure that you wouldn¡¯t leave empty-handed. I talked some sense into the 9th Old Master, and I told him that you had to receive an award even if that meant that we had to create a whole new one just for you!¡± Maddie was one of Michael¡¯srgest fans. Thanks to her connections, all the nights she had stayed up gathering materials during the New Year, and all the colleagues that she had convinced to stay back to help her, they managed to gather all of Michael¡¯s achievements throughout the years into a single file. He had indeed performed a great deal of important work over the years, although he had always been low-key about it. The materials they gathered formed a huge pile. Maddie then managed to get an exclusive meeting with Sam, during which she begged him to reach out to a few of his connections and convince them toe up with this award. At the same time, Joel stood in a dark corner, dressed in his military uniform. His cold, emotionless re softened a little as he gazed at Maddie lovingly. Once the crowd cleared out of the hall, Sam walked to the backstage waiting room hand-in-hand with Nicole. Michael came with Sophia; Harry came with his little kitten; Justin and Celine had been waiting for them backstage. All of them were coupled up, each with the love of their lives. ¡°Everyone¡¯s here! Does anyone want some melon seed snacks?¡± Stanley appeared alongside Sean. The atmosphere backstage had a subtle transformation the moment they walked in. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 975 Chapter 975 Everyone else was coupled up, with wives and husbands walking hand-in-hand, but only the two of them were singles. After Sophia lost her memory, she encountered them as a gay couple from the first time she met Stanley. She naturally epted this to be a fact, and she never found it to be odd¡ªshe even thought that they looked good together! Everyone else had always treated Sean as a girl; they all assumed he was Stanley¡¯s little girlfriend. None of them seem bothered by the fact that Sean and Stanley always stuck together all the time. ¡°Do you want some seeds, Aunt Sophia?¡± Stanley asked. ¡°I still have a lot of biscuits with me,¡± she replied. ¡°Do you want some, Master Sam?¡± Stanley didn¡¯t seem to realize the subtle change in everyone¡¯s gazes as he continued to offer the melon seeds that he hadn¡¯t finished to everyone in the room. ¡°Stanley, Sean, Sarah, let¡¯s have a meetingter. I have some important stuff to tell you guys,¡± Sophia said out of nowhere. Although no one knew what she was about to tell them, they all nodded after seeing the serious expression on her face. After chit-chatting for a while longer, all of them left the room backstage. Joel left for work while Maddie stayed back to deal with the aftermath of the event. On the other hand, Sophia and Michael left the hall along with Sarah and Harry. They expected most of the news reporters to have left by then, but they were surprised to be stopped by a huge flock of reporters the moment they stepped out of the building. Being the first winner of the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award in more than 10 years, Michael was the biggest winner of the entire ceremony, and arge number of reporters therefore wanted to hear his thoughts and reflections¡ªor at least, that was what Sophia expected the reporters to have asked. Instead, their questions only grew odder and odder. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, what are your thoughts on the ims of you using others to gain fame? Your journey in the industry has been smooth-sailing ever since your initial debut; could this be due to your rtionship with the Fletchers?¡± one asked. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Mr. Taylor Murray, why did you choose to use the ¡®Dragon Eye¡¯ imitation in public?¡± another asked. Sophia found their questions to be extremely odd. What is with this talk about the Dragon Eye imitation? Using others to gain fame? Why would they ask about that?! She couldn¡¯t be bothered to reply to them, and Michael didn¡¯t want to say a single word at all, so they got the security to block all of the reporters away. All Michael wanted to do then was to rush back to give Carmen a big hug. Once they got into the car and left, Sophia finally found the time to pull her phone out and check the current news. The livestream for ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ had garnered more views than the New Year livestream, and the Inte was flooded with all thements and discussions. A number of trending posts regarding ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ appeared on Sophia¡¯s main page, and she nced through them to see that they were mostly good reviews. The ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ event was too huge of a deal; ghostwriting companies would have to re-evaluate their own capabilities if they were to consider fabricating any issues online. Despite all this, there was still a negative post on Michael that had surfaced. Sophia tapped on it to find that someone had secretly filmed and posted a video of Michael taking his phone out. Michael¡¯s phone appeared to be special in the video; it was a Dragon Eye phone, but not one that was being sold on the market. ¡®Hmm¡­ it must be an imitation!¡¯ ¡®I can¡¯t believe an Academy Award winner like him uses a fake!¡¯ ¡®He must be really poor to have done this.¡¯ ¡®He just lost his lifeline, after all. Perhaps they only gave him this ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award because of who his grandfather is.¡¯ ¡®The award is nothing more than an empty title; he doesn¡¯t even get prize money for it. It¡¯s almost as if he didn¡¯t get it at all. He¡¯s still an outdated male actor; he¡¯s fading out in the industry, and all he can do now is spend his grandfather¡¯s money.¡¯ Sophia felt increasingly confused as she went through thements. Why can a handphone spark so much interest?! What is this talk about it being an imitation?! How could my gift to him be a fake?! ¡­ The people from Maddie¡¯s department seized the opportunity to ride this trend by gathering all of Michael¡¯s achievements and uploading them onto a website. They shared it on their official page and sessfully created a hot discussion online. As Sophia went through the website, she was surprised to see the number of things that Michael had done throughout the years. Many of the movies he were in made it into the global box office¡¯s top 100 movies list; he fought the ethnic discrimination against Cethosian actors and actresses; he did a good deal of charity without announcing it to the public; he even had a number of activities during the year that he ¡®died¡¯! School of Hope branches were set up across the world, along with orphanages that helped the children. ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯s Charity Fund has been operating with a low profile. Now, they have supported over a 100 schools on a national and global level, and the number is still increasing. One of them is ¡®Sophia¡¯s School of Hope¡¯, which already has more than 50 branches¡­¡¯ Sophia¡¯s gaze lit up the moment she saw her own name. She put her phone down before turning to the man beside her. I can¡¯t believe he¡¯s donated to so many schools just for me. Michael was doing some work on hisptop when he felt Sophia¡¯s gaze burning into him. ¡°Hmm?¡± he mumbled as he looked up at her. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Don¡¯t mind me¡­¡± Sophia quickly muttered. Michael reached over to nt a gentle kiss on her red lips. She then shifted her gaze toward hisptop only to see that he had been looking at the same post that Maddie¡¯s department had uploaded online. ¡°Tsk, I can¡¯t believe Maddie dug out so much information,¡± he uttered. She even counted the number of Schools of Hope that I donated to throughout the years. She¡¯s a hardcore fan of mine indeed, huh. As Michael went through the news, he noticed that most of the pictures published were of him at the Schools of Hope that he had donated to. He wrapped his arms around Sophia¡¯s waist as he exined himself. ¡°I have been using both you and Carmen¡¯s names to donate to these schools throughout the years. I thought it¡¯d be good to perform as many charitable acts as I could; I donated funds to help with their construction fees, to build disaster relief schools, and so on. I was trying to umte virtues for Carmen in hopes that she would grow up healthy and safe, but I guess the umted virtues saved you as well.¡± ¡°You silly!¡± Sophia burst intoughter. Michael chuckled along with her before he pointed at one of the photos of a childughing in one of the schools. ¡°Look at these kids. I thought of you when I saw them. You were just like them back then; you all wanted to get into a good school to change your lives through your own hard work and effort. Unfortunately, things aren¡¯t always that easy, and they might not even get the chance toplete their studies¡­¡± Sophia no longer had any memories of that dark period in her life. However, now that she had Michael in her life, she didn¡¯t need anything more¡­ ¡­ The car stopped in front of the Crimson House Restaurant. Arge group of people were already gathered there, as they all waited for the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ to buy them a meal. Cooper brought Carmen over, while Linus and Alice were invited to the meal as well. ¡°Daddy!¡± Carmen cried. ¡°Ah, my darling!¡± Michael took Carmen over from Cooper. Carmen had given him the biggest surprise that day¡ªshe nearly made an old man like him break into tears of joy in front of a public audience. Cooper no longer seemed as cold and aloof as he was before, and he even smiled during the meal. He probably felt a little proud as a father-inw since his son-inw had just won an award. Michael was pleased to see the change in Cooper, and the both of them sat beside one another as they talked about Carmen¡¯s debut during the meal. They concluded that it was impossible for Carmen to ce all of her focus on preparing for her debut. She could take a single project each year at most, but she had to spend the remainder of her time on her studies. To Cooper, Carmen was like a substitute for Sophia. He wanted to use the same methods that he had employed with training Linus and Alice to train Carmen, so that both Sophia and Carmen could go against the family head. Carmen was a smart girl; she knew how to use her resources and funds even at such a young age. She was clearly an intellectual, and Cooper believed in her abilities¡ªacting would be nothing more than a side job for her. After filtering through the options, Cooper finally chose a magical fairy tale film for her. Her schedule was especially packed since she also had to appear on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ at the same time. Everyone was equally busy that year, Sophia included. She gathered the other 3 founders of Plum Technology into a private room to host a formal and serious meeting. She had a huge announcement to make¡­ Chapter 976 Chapter 976 ¡°What do you want to tell us, Aunt Sophia? Is it some breaking news?¡± Stanley asked as he munched on some snacks. Both Sean and Sarah perked their ears up to listen to Sophia¡¯s announcement. After organizing her words in her mind, Sophia finally spoke in a clear, concise manner. ¡°Fass is about to launch his handphones for sale in Cethos, but they segregated the workload among two teams¡ªMichel Group will only handle the sales for all the high-end, premium phones but not the low-end, cheaper phones. Instead, the product licensing for these low-end phones will be fully handed over to an agency in Cethos, who will handle all of the sales.¡± Everyone began to pay attention after they heard Sophia¡¯s words. That means that Alice will be looking for a Cethosian agency for her lower-end phones! The quality and reputation of the high-end phones produced by Fass were undoubtedly the best. The brand itself was one of the first phone brands that appeared on the global market, and it had been around for at least 10 years. The phone¡¯s technology was always one step ahead of everyone else¡¯s¡ªit already had a video recorder when other phones just started to have colored screen disys. However, it was the first time Dragon Eye produced handphones that fell into the low-end category. They were all geared up and prepared to surpass otherrge brands like Apple and Android. Furthermore, Cethos was also one of the main industries when it came to the global sales of low-end phones. Fass¡¯ phones were all military-grade, so its quality was guaranteed. Anyone who managed to be the agent for this¡­ would be really rich! Plum Technology, on the other hand, had gotten themselves involved in a variety of markets throughout the years. Stanley didn¡¯t want hispany to be limited within a certain domain, so apart from the basic online applications and games, they also produced mobile games with other digitalpanies. They even acted as the agent for gamingputers. Right then, all four of them fell silent for a moment before Stanley rolled his sleeves up and mmed the table. ¡°Damn!¡± Both Sarah and Sean agreed that it¡¯d be a waste if they didn¡¯t take the job. After all, they had simr experiences that werepleted with sess, and Sophia had her connections¡ªit wouldn¡¯t be hard for her to secure their role as the main agency. Everyone returned to work the next day, and thepany was busy preparing the materials needed for them to secure this agreement to be the agency to sell the phones. Sophia¡¯spany, Pourl, was going through a rebranding as well. They figured that luxurious goods targeting humans would earn more than those targeting animals, so Pourl was looking to release a new range of luxury goods that came in a set¡ªone for the owner and one for the pet. They nned to remain as a pet¡¯s luxury business while gradually edging themselves into the luxury industry. However, Sophia also wanted to pick up on the workload at Plum Technology, and she desperately wanted to be the sole agency for Dragon Eye¡¯s low-end phones. She didn¡¯t want this just to impress the shareholders of Plum Technology; she also wanted to prove her abilities to the Michel Family. If she seeded in doing so, it¡¯d be her first step that would create further opportunities for her to slowly work her way into the Michel Group. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Like Alice, she didn¡¯t want to be recognized as some princess of the Michel Family. Terms such as ¡®the star¡¯ or ¡®the princess¡¯ were all titles that no one would want for themselves. No one had ever called Alice any title other than ¡®vice president¡¯! Sophia no longer wanted to feed off her parents¡¯ funds; she wanted to prove her worth! ¡­ Michael and the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ ceremony remained as the trending topic for a while, but with all the ongoing news and scandals in the entertainment industry, the hype around the awards quickly died down. One of the news reports that immediately caught everyone¡¯s attention was the news of Nichs getting the endorsement rights for Dragon Eye. The low-end Dragon Eye phones weren¡¯t sold on the market yet as they were still in the stage of seeking for agents. As of then, the only contract they made was with the spokesperson¡ªthey hadn¡¯t taken any further action beyond that. However, the phone began to capture global attention the moment they uploaded a picture of it along with its specifications. It was famous before it even got released. Initially, Alice wanted to handle the sales for the low-end phones. However, since Michel Group had always dealt with high-end products, they realized that the marketing strategies used for low-end products werepletely different. After considering multiple factors and aspects of the situation, Alice finally decided to approach an agency instead. As of then, the low-end version of Dragon Eye phones weren¡¯t on the market, and there were only a few people in the whole world who owned a Dragon Eye device themselves. Nichs was the only one in the whole of Cethos to own one of them, and he shamelessly promoted this wherever he went. He even considered sticking the phone right onto his forehead just to show it off to whomever he met. On average, he would upload 1 selfie every 2 days, where he unted his delicate, wless face while also highlighting the quality of Dragon Eye¡¯s camera. He would then post about something silly or embarrassing, like how he dropped his phone into arge, boiling pot of water, and how it was still functioning after he fished it out. ¡®It¡¯s all because it¡¯s a Dragon Eye phone! If it were any other brand, I would¡¯ve had to cook the phone along with my meal.¡¯ Of course, this was all part of his job. As the spokesperson of Dragon Eye, he was required to promote the phone and start the hype around it. But how would he miss the chance to also rub salt into Michael¡¯s wounds? Every time Nichs showed his phone off, he had to follow it with some news about Michael¡¯s failure to get endorsement rights for the phone, and how he used a fake version of the phone instead! I¡¯m sick and tired of seeing this! Is there any purpose in repetitively bringing these gossips up? Sophia thought as she read thements. ¡®You¡¯re trash if you get the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award but not the endorsement rights to Dragon Eye. So what if you are the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯? You¡¯re still using a fake phone!¡¯ There was even more gossip recently, such as how Taylor¡¯s wife no longer gave him allowances after he failed to be the spokesperson; how he was so broke that he not only had a fake phone, but he even had to bring his 4-year-old daughter out to earn some money. Sophia was too busy to even go home some days, and she had no time to trouble herself with all the groundless rumors. Michael, on the other hand, was immune to all thesements, and he simply allowed them to go on. After all, thements would disappear once the ghostwriters got their sry. He continued to bring his ¡®fake¡¯ phone out wherever he went. Cooper heard about Michael¡¯s recent life through all the gossip and news reports online. He heard that Michael¡¯s rich wife was too busy for him, that she didn¡¯t pay him any allowance, that he had a child to care for and tens of thousands to be paid to the 7 or 8 caretakers at home, that Nathan¡¯s yearly fees in university cost a good sum of money, that Michael¡¯s sister was retarded and couldn¡¯t take care of herself, that his brother-inwzed around while feeding off the family¡¯s money, that Michael had no choice but to act young and lively even though he was past his forties, just to snatch a few jobs over from his juniors¡­ Cooper felt bad for Michael. He felt so bad for his son-inw that he nearly donated some money to him. Eventually, Michael managed to get Carmen into an audition for ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯ to y the role of a superhero who was stuck in a child¡¯s body forever. The role was a sidekick for the Justice League in the movie, and there were only a few scenes in which the hero would appear. They didn¡¯t n to have a stand-alone movie for this superhero either. They were hosting global auditions for child actors and actresses¡ªanyone between ages 3 to 10 were wee to join. They epted both genders and both ck and white-skinned participants initially. With a little urging from both Michael and Harry, the production team finally decided to take in Cethosians as well. This particr superhero film had been ongoing for more than 10 years and had released more than 20 blockbuster films. It practically created a cinematic universe of its own, bringing in all the most famous celebrities from across the globe. The competition was strong even for a tiny role like this. All of the child celebrities across the world were excited about the news. Michael personally brought Carmen for the auditions. He tried his best to secure her a slot in the auditions, but whether she could outshine the other hundreds of famous child celebrities that werepeting against her would depend on her own abilities. Cooper eagerly tagged along with them, while Sophia only kept herself updated on the audition through her phone as she was simply too busy with her work at Bayside City. Currently, the most important project she had on her te was to im the rights to be the only licensed agent for Dragon Eye in the whole of Cethos. However, Alice was a fair and just individual¡ªshe wouldn¡¯t just hand the rights over simply because Sophia had some influential background. It ultimately depended on Sophia¡¯s own skills. There were probably arge number ofpetitors fighting to be the licensed agent since it was such a great financial opportunity. There were a number ofpetitors that Sophia was aware of, namely Sandra, Ian, and Lucy¡­ Chapter 977 Chapter 977 In the fight to be the licensed agency, Sophia led the team in Plum Technology with great care and hard work. They put a lot of effort into their materials, and they always showed up as a group for negotiations. Apart from all the work they put in as a righteous businesspetitor, they even pulled the family card by getting Linus and Cooper to put in a few good words about them. As Casper was staying in the Edwards Residence, Sophia even asked him to throw in a few praises about them in front of Alice. They were all doing their best to get the agreement. Meanwhile, there was some renovation going on at home, and Daniel frequently showed up at the Edwards Residence to guide the process with the use of his divination techniques. Sophia therefore urged him to use his methods to convince Alice. She figured that if he could use his tricks on Cooper, Alice would definitely fall for it. Daniel was clearly troubled by her request, and he finally struck her with a series of harsh truths. ¡°Well¡­ can¡¯t you tell by the current situation? How would Alice possibly allow you to be the sole agency? Do you think she can¡¯t see how wild and ambitious you are? If anything, you¡¯d probably be the first that she¡¯d kick out inparison to your otherpetitors. Don¡¯t even think about it. You¡¯ve definitely been eliminated,¡± he uttered. Both Alice and Linus were the toppetitors to be the next family head. Sophia, on the other hand, couldn¡¯t even be considered a participant in thispetition as she wasn¡¯t involved in any of Michel Group¡¯s business yet. However, if she managed to get the position as the licensed agent, it¡¯d mean that she was starting to involve herself in Michel Group¡¯s business. Once her career in Michel Group started budding, she would surely turn more greedy with time; she¡¯d definitely find ways to climb up the hierarchy and would ultimately end up as one of Alice¡¯spetitors. Wouldn¡¯t Alice be an idiot if she chose Sophia¡¯s team? Alice would clearly be helping herpetitor to climb the ranks, then! Even an outsider like Daniel could tell that it would be impossible for Sophia to seed in bing the appointed agency. However, Sophia tirelessly insisted on fighting for her opportunity. ¡°I¡¯m working especially hard because I know how slim my chances are. It¡¯s a huge opportunity for me; my dad and my uncle are helping me, but I really need your help too!¡± she cried. Daniel waved her off. ¡°What for?! I¡¯m not your dad!¡± ¡°You sold me off for 80,000 in the past!¡± Sophia reminded him. ¡°Well, uhh¡­ It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to help you. I¡¯m not close to Alice, and things are a little awkward between us,¡± Daniel exined. ¡°You sold me off for 80,000 in the past!¡± Sophia repeated once again. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know how independent and strong of a woman Alice is. She¡¯s definitely going to smother an enemy like you while you¡¯re still in your crib. I can¡¯t do much about it.¡± Daniel ignored Sophia¡¯s protests. ¡°80,000! 80,000!¡± she cried stubbornly. Daniel simply kept his mouth shut. Eventually, Sophia seeded in convincing Daniel to get out of the house. Hence, he had no choice but to bring Casper along to visit his mother at thepany, while also acting as an advocate for Sophia. This time, Daniel felt more emotionally conflicted than ever. He¡¯d rather attempt to fool Cooper¡ªhe¡¯d be scared, but he¡¯d force himself to do it. On the other hand, he didn¡¯t feel scared to fool Alice, instead, he felt an extremely complicated mess of emotions within him. He didn¡¯t know what to feel about Alice. Had he once been attracted to her? Of course he had felt that way at some point. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Daniel wasn¡¯t one to fool around with girls. There were a countless number of richdies in Bayside City who had begged him to tell their fortune by grabbing their boobs, but he barely ever looked these women in the eye. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t enjoy the idea of fortune telling through grabbing their boobs; he simply didn¡¯t find a pair of boobs that he liked¡­ This was only true until he first met Alice, a unique and attractive Westerner that made his heart flutter with excitement. However¡­ Daniel wasn¡¯t prepared to settle down and start a family then, so he chose to avoid it. In the end, he couldn¡¯t escape his own fate, and he ended up bumping into Alice once again. They even had a child together. ¡°Casper.¡± Daniel turned to look at Casper while they were on their way to Michel Group. Casper had attempted to imitate Daniel¡¯s style of dressing, and he wore a pure white cotton sweater that was especially thick as it was made for winter. He looked like a chubby little penguin. ¡°Master!¡± Casper didn¡¯t know that Daniel was actually his father, so he addressed the older man the way he learned from the movies. Daniel didn¡¯t know what to say as he looked at the child. Casper looked mostly like a Caucasian; apart from the ck hair he inherited from Daniel, most of his features were dominated by the Michel Family¡¯s powerful genes. Daniel took Casper¡¯s tiny hand into his as they stepped into the Cethosian branch of Michel Group. Linus had opened this branch in Cethos a few years ago when he acquired a building specially to handle all the Cethosian affairs that the Michel Family had to deal with. Alice ended up working in this building. They took an elevator up to the 18th floor in search of Alice¡¯s office. Daniel felt his insides twisting and turning as they made their way there. He didn¡¯t know how to act in front of Alice, and he didn¡¯t know how to bring up anything about what Sophia had asked him to mention. When they arrived at Alice¡¯s office, he saw her standing alone as she nced out of the floor-to-ceiling window in her office to see the entire view of Bayside City from 18 floors above. As she stood facing the sun, her figure darkened into nothing more than a shadow, which made her seem lonelier than ever. No¡ªloneliness was what the regr individual experienced; someone as independent as Alice was probably used to being alone. What she experienced was probably a loneliness that only the most sessful people understood¡ªregr people would never go through such a sensation. ¡°Mommy!¡± Casper shouted affectionately. Daniel followed behind Casper as the young child tottered toward Alice. Joy spread across Alice¡¯s face as she turned around to see Casper behind her. She had been extremely busy for the past few days, and she hadn¡¯t managed to be with her son throughout that period of time. Daniel was the one who had been taking care of him. Alice rubbed her face against Casper¡¯s lovingly before she pulled her son into her arms and asked him about his day. Although Casper had recently found himself obsessed with religion, fortune telling and divination techniques, he didn¡¯t fall back on his homework. Since Carmen was overseas for an audition, Casper took her spot and attended her private tutor¡¯s sses. Alice¡¯s gaze lit up with a mother¡¯s pride as she looked at her smart and quick-witted son. Although she often portrayed herself as a strong, independent woman that was even more aggressive than some men, she allowed herself to turn gentle and soft in front of her son. After a short meeting with Casper, Alice got him to y in a corner while she sat herself down in front of her office table and began to work. Her secretary and her assistant came in every now and then to update her on work-rted stuff, while Daniel found himself totally neglected by her. As he didn¡¯t know how he could bring up the favor that Sophia had asked from him, he had no other option but to sit by a corner while acting calm and natural. He spent the entire afternoon watching Alice do her work. She was surely exhausted from having to handle so much work, but she didn¡¯t have much of a choice because of the position that she was in. If she didn¡¯t put all of her blood and sweat into her work¡ªif she didn¡¯t demonstrate her true capabilities¡ªshe could easily be reced by someone else any day. Daniel laid his gaze on her for the whole afternoon. He gradually forgot the initial reason for his visit and instead found himself mesmerized by Alice. He realized that she unconsciously pressed her hand against her waist from time to time¡ªit was the exact spot where she injured herself in the mountains. It had been more than a month since she got injured, but her wound didn¡¯t seem to be healing well, probably because she didn¡¯t get enough rest. Daniel finally gave in to the urge to speak up. ¡°You should take a break, Alice. Your wound isn¡¯t fully recovered yet.¡± She didn¡¯t even nce at him as her focus remained on the work she was doing. ¡°I don¡¯t need your concern, Master Levine. I¡¯m fine, and I have a professional medical team taking care of me.¡± Daniel felt uneasy to see her wearing herself out with work, but he didn¡¯t think he was in any position toment on it. Right as he was contemting how he could convince Alice to take a break, she abruptly halted the work that she had been doing before looking up at Daniel with a stern expression on her face. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that you¡¯re here today to lobby for Lucile, right? Well, I can tell you with certainty that Lucile and her team aren¡¯t even shortlisted for the role. I¡¯m sure you know why.¡± Chapter 978 Chapter 978 ¡°I¡¯m sure you also know, Master Levine, that I¡¯m not about to give mypetitor a chance to defeat me.¡± Alice went straight to her point. This was a huge financial opportunity for anyone who would seed in bing the sole agent¡ªwhy would Alice hand it over to someone who was her potential enemy? She¡¯d make a fool out of herself if she identally nurtured someone who wouldter turn into a strong competitor of hers. ¡°Furthermore, there¡¯re more than 10 teams who arepeting for this. There are loads of other teams who are stronger than her, so why would I pick her?¡± Daniel was left speechless after what Alice said. He realized how his methods of tricking and convincing Cooper would never work with Alice. Thest time he tried his methods of deception on Alice, she ended up with her virginity lost and her heart broken. She woke up that morning to find that the other side of the bed had gone cold, that the man who had pledged his love and loyalty for her the night before had ended up running away. Daniel no longer had the nerve to deceive Alice once again. The words he had intended to use were at the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them before he could say it. However, since he had promised Sophia to help her, he still tried his best to fulfil his promise. ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable, Alice. Sophia was the one who helped you when your request for Taylor to be your spokesperson got rejected in the past,¡± he said. With her golden-framed sses perched on her nose, Alice looked both wise and heartless as she spoke. ¡°That endorsement job benefited both parties. We came to a fair and square agreement. But this time, I¡¯m the one who gets to decide who I want as the agent for Dragon Eye. If I see a team that outshines her, it will only make sense that I pick them as they would provide me with the greatest benefit.¡± Daniel fell silent once again. He knew that there was no point in him talking anymore; he might even make things worse if he continued. He therefore kept quiet until Alice got off work. The three of them stayed in the office without disrupting each other, with Casper absorbed in his book, Daniel seated on the couch, and Alice focused on her work. That night, Alice brought Casper out for a meal while DanielMaterial ? of N?velDrama.Org. went along with them. At the restaurant, Daniel brought up the topic of the agency selection again, and Alice revealed a little more information this time. ¡°The selection process isn¡¯t just based on my personal preference. We¡¯re also looking at a variety of other factors. I¡¯ve shortlisted both the Mitchells and the Edwards as I need someone who can boost the sales of the product. I¡¯ll give the exclusive rights to the team that does a better job. I¡¯m a businesswoman, Master Levine. There¡¯s a saying in Cethos that goes, ¡®the only thing that businesswomen chase are profits¡¯! It¡¯s all about who can benefit me the most,¡± Alice exined. In the end, Daniel headed home dejectedly as he had failed to be of any help to Sophia. He didn¡¯t feel any burden or guilt after deceiving Cooper¡ªif anything, he only felt the fear of being chopped into pieces if he was exposed. However, he simply couldn¡¯t bring himself to deceive Alice. He was tongue-tied whenever he was in front of that woman. Sophiater heard about the news of Daniel¡¯s failure. Although it was surprising to hear that the all- powerful, brilliant master of deception, Daniel, had finally met with failure, Sophia somehow felt like she had expected this to be the oue. Fortunately, Daniel managed to give her some information. She now knew more about thepetitors that she had. In the Mitchell Family, both Sandra and Vincent were fighting to be the agent. Although they were from the same family, they each ran their own businesses, and they approached Alice as two separate teams that represented their ownpanies instead of the Mitchell Family. Despite Sandra, Alex, and Vincent being on different sides as Cooper, Cooper had always perceived the Michel and Mitchell Families as two separate things. If Alice really wanted to pick the Mitchells as their agent, Cooper probably wouldn¡¯t object to it. Next, both Ian and Lucy from the Edwards Family had also been split into two separate groups that were competing to be the agent. Apart from them, there was another team led by the Winston Family. There were also a few otherpanies who were about as qualified as Plum Technology was, while Sophia simply ignored the rest of the teams andpanies as they didn¡¯t seem to pose much of a threat to her. After the conversation with Daniel, Sophia hurriedly drew a table with all the information that she had retained with perfect precision. She then analyzed each of her opponent¡¯s strengths and the current situation. As Sophia ran through the information, she realized how it made sense for Alice to dismiss her team as an option. Both Linus and Cooper told Sophia the same thing after they spoke to Alice about it. Although Alice trusted Sophia enough to leave her son with her, she was a whole different person when it came to work. Even when Linus and Cooper went over to advocate for Sophia¡¯s team, Alice immediately stated that she would never choose Sophia. But Sophia wasn¡¯t ready to give up just yet. She did her research on Alice, and she knew that Alice was someone who made choices based on the amount of benefit she could obtain from anyone. If I manage to defeat all of the other teams and prove that I¡¯m the most capable one, she will definitely pick my team. However, it was hard to defeat all the teams as the Edwards, Mitchell, and Winston Families were all in the picture. Sophia was familiar with the Edwards and the Mitchells, but she found the Winstons to be the most challenging one to deal with. The inner structure of the Winston Family wasn¡¯t very stable and established, and all the members of the family were extremely devilish and vicious individuals. In the past, after Harry killed his father and siblings to overtake the Winston Family at the young age of 19, there were many family members who expressed dissatisfaction toward the situation. They would step forward to create trouble every now and then, and Sophia¡¯s opponent was precisely the group of people who were always going against Harry. Regardless, they didn¡¯t have much time yet. Sophia decided that she would defeat as many of the teams as she could. If she were to start off from the weakest team, it¡¯d be Sandra¡¯s team. Sophia had been wanting to defeat Sandra for a long while now, and her desire only grew strongertely, after Sandra spent a fortune to hire ghostwriters to create gossip and rumors about Taylor. They were the ones that kept posting about Taylor using a ¡®fake¡¯ phone after he failed to be the spokesperson for Dragon Eye. Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to confront Sandra since it was just some negative rumors and comments on the Inte. Sandra¡¯s just wasting her own money, after all, Sophia thought. Taylor wasn¡¯t using an imitation model of the phone¡ªin fact, it couldn¡¯t be any more original. It was an unreleased model of Dragon Eye, so all of these rumors would end up as a joke once the model was released. When that happened, all of Sandra¡¯s money would go to waste. Now, Sandra is stepping on Taylor¡¯s reputation in order to build Nichs¡¯ fame, but when her n backfires, she wouldn¡¯t only be losing money; Nichs¡¯ reputation might also be tarnished! I can¡¯t wait for that to happen. Sophia hadn¡¯t bothered to make a move on Sandra in the past, but now that Sandra was blocking her way to sess, Sophia decided to deal with her first! Meanwhile, Sandra had been feeling really good about herself recently. She felt like she was at the peak of her job since everything was going as she nned. Nichs, the artist under her wing, won two awards at the ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award ceremony. Although this was outshined by that final ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯ award, Sandra had made sure to destroy Taylor¡¯s reputation and public image after that. Now, he was nothing more than a poor old man who used a fake phone. The news of him being an outworn, old- time celebrity spread like wildfire. Most of the male artists under Sandra were trained ording to the example that Taylor and Harry had set. She was patiently waiting for Taylor and Harry to fade out in the industry; the artists that she trained would then take over their spot and im all the opportunities that had once belonged to them. Recently, Sandra even signed a Hollywood agreement that had Nichs as one of the key figures. He would appear for a total of 2 minutes! 2 minutes! The entire movie was 120 minutes, and her artist would get 2 minutes of screen-time! Tons of celebrities would never even dream of achieving this! He definitely isn¡¯t far from getting an Oscar! Chapter 979 Chapter 979 Recently, Nicole hade in contact with a production crew that was looking for a child celebrity to fill the role, so Nichs brought his son for the audition. Since Sandra had already pulled a few strings here and there, she wouldn¡¯t be surprised if Nichs¡¯ son got the role. After spending a huge chunk of money, Sandra finally secured her role as Lucile¡¯s best friend. Now, they were close enough to sleep on the same bed! Although Lucile hadn¡¯t offered to put in a word for Sandra, Sandra was certain that she would be the agent for Dragon Eye. All she needed now was for Lucile to say the magic words. Alice was simply one of Lucile¡¯s employees, after all. ¡­ Sandra¡¯s car had been parked outside the Michel Group¡¯s building for a long while before she finally saw Lucile and Abbie walking out of the building. Sandra threw in another fortune just to convince Lucile and Abbie to pay the Michel Group a visit, so that Lucile could put in a good word for her. As they walked out, Sandra saw that the four of them¡ªLucile, Abbie, Alice, and Linus¡ªwere walking in a group while they laughed and giggled. They seemed pretty close. Perfect! It looks like I¡¯m definitely going to be the agent this time! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Lucile had prohibited Sandra from telling Alice that they had met, Sandra might¡¯ve just walked over right then to talk to Alice about the agreement. Instead, she patiently waited and watched as Alice and Linus left thepany in different cars. She then went up to Lucile and Abbie once the other two left. ¡°Well? Did Alice agree to it?¡± Sandra asked anxiously. Lucile shed her a rather disappointed nce. ¡°Although we¡¯re all part of the Michel Family, Alice has always been the one to handle anything rted to the phone business. I can¡¯t secure a solid confirmation for you, but I heard that there¡¯s a piece of jewelry that Alice took a liking to recently. Perhaps you can find a way from there,¡± she hinted. Sandra immediately understood what Lucile meant, and she drove Lucile and Abbie to the jewelry store to purchase the piece of jewelry that Alice had shown interest in. She then got Lucile and Abbie to pass the gift to Alice. After taking the jewelry with them, Lucile and Abbie informed Sandra that they would be meeting Alice for coffee the next day. In a private room in one of the caf¨¦s in Bayside City, Lucile and Abbie sat on the table with the jewelry ced in front of them, while their bodyguards kept watch outside the room. They had been staying in the Mitchell Residence for a while now, and there were a number of things that they couldn¡¯t discuss when they were there. They therefore had to bring their conversations to a caf¨¦. Abbie picked the jewelry up and tried it on. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it. She happily kept the jewelry into her own bag. The Mitchells were simply too easy to fool. All Lucile and Abbie had to do was arrange for a meet-up with Alice and Linus; their simple acts were enough to fool all of the Mitchells. They then used the excuse of maintaining privacy in order to get the Mitchells to zip their mouths shut. Just by doing so, Lucile and Abbie had already managed to con a few feasts and presents out of them. Both Lucile and Abbie had sessfully conned other families in Bayside City in the past, and those families were still unaware of what had happened. Even if they had realized anything, they probably didn¡¯t want to make it a big deal. Although Lucile wasn¡¯t the actual Princess Lucile, she was still a part of the Michel Family. Anyone who started a fight against Lucile and Abbie would just be making themselves look bad, and they might even offend the Michel Family. Abbie was familiar with Bayside City, and the fake Lucile was familiar with the Michel Group; together, they were a perfect match. Abbie went through all the properties, jewelries, yachts, money, and cars that now belonged to her¡­ It wasn¡¯t just the Mitchells and the Edwards that they had fooled¡ªthere were other families as well. They benefited greatly from these people, and Abbie gradually realized that she had enough to take off to somece far away now. The fake Lucile took more than she did, and the two of them calcted the amounts that they had scammed before splitting it between the two of them. Abbie was ted as she looked at all the wealth she had. She wouldn¡¯t be able to finish all of it even in a few lifetimes! With the money, she could travel overseas, settle somewhere, and enjoy the rest of her life. She could sleep with a different man every night! After they split the money between them, Abbie spoke in a rather concerned tone. ¡°We¡¯ve taken quite a lot from these few families in Bayside City. For safety purposes, I think we should leave soon.¡± She felt like she had earned enough from these families; she wanted to leave before they were exposed. They could travel to another country and enjoy their lives for a while before they would target the money of another wealthy family. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. Lucy, on the other hand, had bigger ns. She wanted to have a baby with Ian or Vincent, and she wanted to get married to a rich family. She¡¯d then be able to leave the Michel Family and stay in Cethos as the grand wife of a wealthy man. Wouldn¡¯t that be better than whatever she had in the past? She had nothing to lose! Although Lucile was still part of the Michel Family, she was nothing like the actual Lucile. Through a few vague exchanges with Linus and Alice, she had gathered that Fass once had a daughter called Lucile. They were from the same family; they had the same surname and name, yet one lived the life of royalty while the other lived the life of a ve. This conflict left the fake Lucile dissatisfied, so she went out to scam others for money. She initially thought that she would use this money for her own business, but her ego only inted the more she went around fooling others. She had more than enough capital, but she had never bothered to build her own business. After all, why would she put in the effort to start a business when she was so used to getting money with easier methods? Abbie, on the other hand, was more aware of what was going on. Lucile hadn¡¯t just fooled all the people around her¡ªshe even fooled herself. Right after Abbie finished speaking, the doors to their private room unexpectedly flung open. The twodies stared at the door to see their bodyguard being restrained by someone else, looking as helpless as a baby. A Northern European man with blonde hair and blue eyes stood outside as he shot the twodies a cold re. ¡°Roger? What are you doing here?¡± Abbie didn¡¯t know who the man was, but Lucile, who had grown up in the Michel Family, quickly recognized him. Isn¡¯t he the leader of the main security team that always follows Fass around? Roger simply addressed them with an empty look on his face. ¡°Miss Lucile would like to meet you guys.¡± There was only one ¡®Miss Lucile¡¯ that Roger would refer to. Both Abbie and the fake Lucile¡¯s faces went pale as they realized that they had finally been exposed. They had never seen Lucile in their whole lives; they had never interacted with her, and they didn¡¯t even know that Fass had a daughter for the past 20 years. They couldn¡¯t imagine any other reason the real Lucile would wish to meet them apart from the fact that they had been using her name to scam others. The twodies shifted over to another private room in the caf¨¦, their limbs trembling in fear as they moved. There were already a number of Michel Family¡¯s bodyguards located outside the entrance of the room. The fake Lucile recognized all of them, and it only emphasized the identity of the person waiting for them in the room. Abbie hung her head low as her eyes darted all over her surroundings, trying to find a way to escape. I could shove all of the me onto Lucile. If anything, I can just return some of the money to them. I¡¯m not part of the Michel Family, so they can¡¯t do anything to me, she thought. When they stepped into the other private room in the caf¨¦, there was already a woman waiting for them inside. She had her back turned toward them. Her long, ck hair reached down to her waist, concealing her slim waistline. The room was oddly quiet, and the smell of coffee prated the air around them. It only made the atmosphere more tense than ever. Both Abbie and Lucile didn¡¯t even dare to lift their heads¡ªthey knew the sort of person that they were dealing with. However, Abbie then began shouting out of nowhere. ¡°It¡¯s all her! It¡¯s all Lucile¡¯s idea. She¡¯s the one that suggested using your identity to scam others. I¡¯m just her partner; she¡¯s the mastermind!¡± Lucile red at Abbie in disbelief. She hadn¡¯t expected Abbie to betray her during a crucial moment like this! But Abbie was now determined to shove all of the me onto Lucile, so she continued with her speech. ¡°Miss Lucile, she even tried to use your name to get herself married to a rich man! How shameless of her!¡± Chapter 980 Chapter 980 However, all they got in return was a long period of silence. The twodies lowered their heads as they heard the sound of high heels walking toward them, and they held their breaths with their heads hung low as the real Lucile stood right in front of them. Amidst the pin-drop silence, they could hear the sound of Lucile sipping on her coffee before cing her cup down onto its saucer. ¡°Why did you stop talking?¡± she finally asked. To their surprise, she didn¡¯t speak in English¡­ Instead, she spoke in pure Cethosian and even sounded like a native speaker. Both Abbie and the fake Lucile lifted their heads up at the same time to see a face that they hadn¡¯t been expecting. They both gasped in surprise. ¡­ After dealing with Abbie and the fake Lucile, Sophia stepped out of the caf¨¦ and got into the car before she took her Dragon Eye 7 out to make a call. ¡°Hey, Stan. How are things going at your end?¡± Stanley sounded rather upied as he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m still trying to get an appointment as the other party keeps saying that their schedule is full. Don¡¯t worry, Aunt Sophia; we won¡¯t give up until the official announcement of the results! Long live Plum Technology!¡± he chanted. That cracked Sophia up. ¡°Alright, alright; you¡¯re nearing your thirties! Can you stop acting so childishly?!¡± she sneered in a joking manner. ¡°We¡¯re in the online gaming industry, so it¡¯s important that we possess the hearts of a high-schooler! Oh, by the way, how are things going at your end?¡± Stanley asked. ¡°I¡¯ve done everything I¡¯m supposed to do. The decision hasn¡¯t been made, but even if it has, I¡¯m not about to give up just yet. I heard some news about the agency¡¯s agreement. Apparently, the Michel Group has the right to end the agreement if the selected agency fails to hit their sales target.¡± Their conversation surrounded the topic of bing the chosen agency¡ªit was too amazing of an opportunity to give up on. Furthermore, it was a huge stepping stone in Sophia¡¯s journey to get involved with the Michel Group, so they had to seed! Stanley and Sean had been trying their best to arrange for an appointment with Alice. They were trying to request for a second meeting with her, while Sophia used her connections to see if she could pull the family card. While she was at it, she also tried her best to defeat any of the opponents that came in her way. However, Stanley didn¡¯t show any progress in his work, and Sophia found herself mentally drained from all the scheming. Fortunately, the trap that she had set up went just as she hoped, and her competitors from the Mitchell Family were about to go down. Right before their conversation ended, Stanley abruptly switched the topic. ¡°By the way, my son¡¯s company is hosting a banquet to show their gratitude to all their customers. Alice is going, and a few of ourpetitors will be there as well. They¡¯re probably showing up for the sake of Alice.¡± ¡°Is it the dinner hosted by L/K? I think I got an invitation myself. See you there,¡± she uttered. ¡­ The L/K banquet happened two nightster. Sophia showed up along with her team from Plum Technology. Alice wasn¡¯t anywhere to be seen when they arrived, but they did catch a glimpse of most of theirpetitors¡ªSandra and Vincent from the Mitchell Family, Lucy and Ian from the Edwards Family, and Dana, the daughter of the Winston Family¡¯s elder. There were a number of otherpetitors, but they weren¡¯t impressive enough to deserve any attention. Sophia began to delegate tasks to the rest of her team once they got in. ¡°Sarah, you¡¯ll handle Dana. Sean and Stanley, I want you guys to hold the Edwards back and distract them. We can ignore the Mitchells as they¡¯re about to wreck themselves. I¡¯ll focus on dealing with Alice.¡± Everyone gradually approached their own targets once they got their missions. Sarah¡¯s target was Dana, the daughter of an elder in the Winston Family. The elder was the one who was in charge of the elders¡¯ council, and he often went against Harry¡¯s opinions. The elder also held a lot of power in the Winston Group¡¯s Board of Directors, and he often expressed his dissatisfaction toward Harry. However, ever since Harry forged his own path to sess at the young age of 19, his position remained secure for the past 20 years. The elder hoped for some issue to surface, but there hadn¡¯t been a chance for him to create any trouble in the past 20 years. Now, his daughter, Dana, seemed to share the same goals as his. Sarah was determined not to let Dana be the chosen agent. If Dana were to be chosen, she wouldn¡¯t just enjoy all the countless benefits of the agreement; she¡¯d also form a partnership with the Michel Group. In that case, the elder would gain more power in making demands within the Winston Family. Back then, Harry had truly been a monster who killed his siblings while attending his sses. After his mid-term exams, he killed one of hisrgest, strongestpetitors¡ªhis elder brother. In his second year of high school, he killed his sister; he then killed his other brother after hepleted his mock exams in his third year of high school. Harry¡¯s father had been preparing to kill Harry while he was studying for his college entrance exams, but he hadn¡¯t expected Harry to kill him first. From then on, Harry officially took over the Winston Family. He managed to go for his college entrance exams despite his busy schedule, and he even got 2nd ce in his entire school for the results he achieved in his humanities subjects. With his high scores, he enrolled himself into Bayside University. He thought he was invincible back then, but he soon realized that none of his ssmates even bothered to nce at him. Furthermore, he even got physically punished by his instructor just three days after he joined the military training program. His instructor began hitting him from the military camp¡¯s canteen all the way to the little forest beside the mountains. His instructor was Michael, who was the same age as he was and had fists of steel. My darling is such an amazing man, so I have to step up my game too! Sarah cheered herself on as she strode toward Dana. I have to make sure she loses this opportunity! Sophia, on the other hand,id low as she quietly waited for Alice¡¯s arrival. She had brought a helper along with her that night. Daniel had arrived before Alice, and he waved at Sophia cheerily once he saw her. He earned nearly 10 million off of Michael in the past, but after so many years, he had probably given more than that amount in return. Alice showed up right as the dinner began. She was dressed in a silver gown that revealed the bare skin on her back, and her slim, slender figure made her seem as elegant as a swan. Everyone¡¯s gazes were focused on her sexy back, but Daniel was the only one that looked at her waist area instead. I wonder if her injury is any better¡­ Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Sandra was the first to approach Alice once thetter arrived. Sandra lifted her ss of wine as she strode toward Alice. ¡°We meet again, Miss Alice.¡± Sandra was more confident than she had ever been. She was pleased to see that Alice was wearing the exact same piece of jewelry that she had asked ¡®Lucile¡¯ to send over as a gift. ¡®Lucile¡¯ finally stopped acting all secretive the night before; she finally revealed that it was confirmed¡ªAlice would most definitely choose Sandra to be the sole agent of Dragon Eye. ording to her, they had even drafted the contract. With this confirmation, Sandra was certain that she would be the agent; all that was left was their signatures on the contract. Alice is indeed nothing more than Lucile¡¯s employee, huh. ¡°Miss Mitchell.¡± Alice raised her ss politely toward Sandra. The night before the dinner, ¡®Lucile¡¯ had also told Sandra a little more about Alice. She imed that Alice was a greedy, ambitious woman despite being nothing more than an employee. ¡°In the past few years, Alice has been growing increasingly disrespectful toward me. It¡¯s a little hard for me to deal with her personally, so it¡¯d be great if you could do a little something to put Alice in her ce.¡± ¡®Lucile¡¯ told Sandra about her request. Right as Sandra was thinking about how she could embarrass Alice a little, Sophia walked toward them. Before Sophia could say anything, Alice addressed her with an icy tone. ¡°You don¡¯t have to even try, Miss Edwards. Like I¡¯ve said, you were never even shortlisted in my options for Dragon Eye¡¯s Cethosian agent.¡± Smack! Her words were like a fierce p that struck Sophia. Sandra beamed happily as she waited for Sophia¡¯s expression to turn awkward or sour. But to her surprise, Sophia remained pleasant and elegant as she raised her ss. ¡°How can we ever be sure about the way the universe works its wonders? Perhaps you¡¯ll change your mind tomorrow, Miss Alice.¡± Alice simply sipped on her cocktail without responding to Sophia. Sandra, on the other hand, quickly seized the opportunity to mock Sophia. She had already spotted the fake phone in Sophia¡¯s hand, and she quickly used it as a means of ridiculing Sophia. ¡°Do forgive my bluntness, Miss Edwards. It¡¯s fine that your husband uses an imitation of the Dragon Eye phone, but I¡¯m surprised that you¡¯d intentionally use one yourself when you know that you¡¯d be meeting Alice, the developer of Dragon Eye. You¡¯re practically viting the brand. Do you even have any respect for Miss Alice?! How could you possibly have the right to be the agent of the genuine Dragon Eye phone when you¡¯re using an imitation yourself?!¡± What? An imitation? Alice nced at Sophia¡¯s handphone. Chapter 981 Chapter 981 Alice looked at the cell phone Sophia was holding; it was equipped with a transparent case that nearly concealed the Dragon Eye logo, but one could still vaguely tell that the cell phone was a Dragon Eye model. After all, Dragon Eye cell phones were very distinctive due to their unique design. Sophia¡¯s cell phone had such a design, but it was neither the Dragon Eye 6 nor Dragon Eye 7. In fact, it looked nothing like any of the Dragon Eye cell phones currently on the market. Seeing that Alice was studying Sophia¡¯s cell phone as if she had never seen it before, Sandra became certain deep down inside that the cell phone was a knock-off. This belief instantly filled her with confidence, and she raised her voice. ¡°Even though Taylor didn¡¯tnd the endorsement deal with Dragon Eye, you two shouldn¡¯t be using knock-off phones. You and your husband¡¯s knock-offs must be manufactured by the same factory. No wonder their quality looks so cheap!¡± Michael was known across the nation for his tant use of a knock-off cell phone. As determined by several experts, the cell phone Taylor had been using was indeed a knock-off; even Amazon sold cell phones of the same model he was using, and they were selling like hotcakes since they looked identical to his. Everyone couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around this. Why would Taylor use a knock-off cell phone? Taylor could afford a Dragon Eye no matter how poor he was, so why would he use a knock-off phone instead? Nobody could figure out the reason behind it, but he used a knock-off cell phone which made headlines on news websites almost every day. Upon hearing Sandra¡¯s voice, the crowd gathered around Sophia from near and far to see what the rumored knock-off cell phone looked like. As they moved closer, they noticed that Sophia was indeed holding a cell phone that looked like a Dragon Eye, but it didn¡¯t look like any of the existing models. Moreover, the Dragon Eye logo was brazenly imprinted on it. As if that wasn¡¯t bold enough, she even showed her cell phone in front of Alice, who was the developer of the Dragon Eye¡¯s cell phone series! What on earth was Sophia doing? Wasn¡¯t she still fighting for the right to be Dragon Eye¡¯s agent? Wasn¡¯t she asking for trouble by doing so? Surrounded by the crowd, Sophia held her cell phone in one hand while holding a wine ss in the other. Taking a sip of the wine, she held the cell phone that had attracted everyone¡¯s attention between her manicured fingers with a ghost of a smile on her face. One couldn¡¯t tell the expression on Alice¡¯s face, for she looked as calm as she used to be. On the contrary, Sandra had gotten all worked up; she even started denouncing Sophia on Alice¡¯s behalf as if she had be Alice herself. ¡°Sophia, you and your husband are well-known public figures in Cethos; countless people would imitate your every move. By tantly using such knock-offs, do you know how badly you and your husband would affect Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation and intellectual property? What is intellectual property to you? By doing so, both you and your husband are advocating for piracy. People like you are the sc*m of the Mitchell Family! Why would Miss Alice consider you as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent in Cethos? Besides, you must apologize to Alice and the whole Michel Group for your use of Dragon Eye knock-offs!¡± She uttered each and every word with righteous indignation as though she viewed herself part of the Michel Family. The matter between Vincent and Lucile had almost been settled, and she was about to secure the agency contract with Dragon Eye; the only thing left to do was to sign the contract. Since there would be plenty of time for Sandra to make Linus develop feelings for her in the future, marrying into the Michel Family would only be a matter of time. Therefore, she had to put on a tough front right now so that Alice wouldn¡¯t look down on her when she married Linus in the future. Lucile once said that Alice was Linus¡¯ greatest rival¡ªAlice was constantly burning with ambition to move up the powerdder and rece Linus. Therefore, Sandra was determined to show her attitude and craftiness that day; she wanted Alice to know that she wasn¡¯t someone who could be easily bullied! Sophia still held her knock-off phone with one hand while swirling the wine ss in her other. The red wine sshed around in her ss, reflecting the faces of many who were here to look on. Vincent gloated at one side as the people around him were drawn to themotion over here. He had finally seeded in winning Alice¡¯s heart the night before, and she finally stopped vaciting and keeping him in suspense. She had given the Mitchells the right to act as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent, and Vincent agreed on acting as thepany¡¯s agent together with Sandra. Stanley and Sean had arrived as well, and they watched the spectacle while holding their respective knock-off cell phones. Lucy of the Edwards Family had an unfathomable expression, whereas Ian looked indignantly resentful upon seeing Vincent. He thought to himself, Lucile will be mine sooner orter! The otherpetitors had alsoe over to enjoy the spectacle. As they watched Sandra and Sophia bickering with each other, they hoped that these twodies would make an even bigger scene. After all, it was good for everyone to have one lesspetitor. The more Sandra spoke, the more emotional she became. Seizing upon the knock-off cell phone in Sophia¡¯s hand, she condemned Sophia vehemently. ording to her logic, Sophia had to slit her throat andmit suicide on the spot to apologize for using the knock-off cell phone. The more she spoke, the more she felt righteously indignant. She thought so highly of herself that she failed to notice the deepening furrows in Alice¡¯s brow and the trace of impatience in Alice¡¯s eyes. What background is this Sandra from? Why is she acting as if she knows me very well? Why is she so worked up when I haven¡¯t even spoken yet? Whether or not Sophia is using a knock-off cell phone is none of her business! Besides, the cell phone Sophia is using isn¡¯t a knock-off¡­ At this moment, Alice had removed Sandra from the short list of agents. Sophia held her ss of wine as she took another sip. When she finally finished listening to Sandra¡¯s reproaches, she put down her wine ss and looked at Ang with a graceful smile. ¡°Speaking of apologizing¡­¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. She continued with a sly smile, ¡°Miss Mitchell, you publicly spread rumors that my husband had an affair with a celebrity surnamed Mitchellst year, and you mentioned that we had divorced; my husband and I sued you in court because of that. From what I can remember, you seemed to have lost thewsuit, Miss Mitchell¡­ The court ruled that you had to paypensation within a set time for damaging our reputation, and you were required to apologize to me and my husband in public. Then, her voice turned chilly as she suddenly demanded in an imposing manner, ¡°Miss Mitchell, where is thepensation for our damaged reputation? Where is your public apology?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Sandra was embarrassed on the spot, for she had lost thewsuit back then. In fact, she lost thewsuit in such a humiliating manner that she didn¡¯t give any interviews and forbade every media outlet to cover this story. Also, she used a lot of big news to divert the public¡¯s attention from the news report about the lawsuit. Needless to say, she didn¡¯t pay thepensation; she didn¡¯t even apologize to Sophia and Michael either. Unwilling to ept the result, she appealed against the court¡¯s ruling, but she lost the appeal once more¡­ Having sessfully found the blot on Sandra¡¯s past and fighting back, Sophia looked at the crowd that came over to watch the spectacle. She shouted, ¡°There are quite a lot of people here today, so this should be considered a public asion. Miss Mitchell, let¡¯s not talk about money for now. Please apologize to me first.¡± With that, she raised her chin and waited calmly for Sandra to apologize to her. Of course, Sandra would never apologize to Sophia with so many eyes watching. She tugged at Alice¡¯s arm as if she hadn¡¯t heard what Sophia said just now. She said harshly, ¡°You are Dragon Eye¡¯s developer, Alice. Doesn¡¯t it concern you that this woman and her husband are tantly using Dragon Eye knock-offs in front of you?¡± Chapter 982 Chapter 982 Sophia noticed that Alice had lost her bnce momentarily when Sandra grabbed her. Sandra was determined to embarrass Sophia since thetter had brought up her embarrassing past. Filled with anger and hatred, she subconsciously exerted too much strength while grabbing Alice, causing the unprepared Alice to nearly fall over. Alice frowned as her body toppled for a moment. Despite her best efforts at exercising restraint, she still felt an excruciating pain in her waist. Her wound had yet to heal, causing her to feel severe pain when Sandra tugged at her. She felt deeply unwell, and the color gradually drained from her face. At this critical moment, a pair ofrge, warm hands suddenly reached out from behind and supported her back gently, saving her from further gaffes. Alice didn¡¯t look back, but she smelled the ssically elegant scent of sandalwood. She had been helplessly intoxicated by the exact same scent six years ago while she was by River Seine that fateful night. When she woke up in a hotel bed after that, the person had left nothing behind in the room except for the lingering scent of sandalwood. Just like that, he left without a trace. Snapping out of her memories involving the sandalwood scent, she whispered to Daniel behind her and said, ¡°Thank you.¡± Daniel kept standing behind Alice while watching the situation in the hall without saying a word. Sandra deliberately skirted the issue of apologizing as she wanted Alice to punish Sophia for using a knock-off cell phone. Seeing that Alice did not take action, she boiled over with rage and went so far as to reach her hand out again in an attempt to grab Alice. After Sandra had grabbed her earlier on, several scratches appeared on Alice¡¯s exposed arm. Being well-prepared this time, she cleverly dodged Sandra when thetter reached out to grab her again. Meanwhile, the bodyguard sensed that something was wrong and immediately stood between the two to keep Sandra away. Sandra stared at Alice in utter surprise. She was mortified after Sophia teed her off just now, so she desperately needed Alice to save her from embarrassment bying forward to give Sophia a hard time. However, she didn¡¯t expect Alice to remain silent even after she had spoken so much. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Alice? This woman is using a Dragon Eye knock-off! You¡¯re one of Dragon Eye¡¯s developers¡ªhow can you let it slide? What the hell is going on with you?!¡± Sandra¡¯s questioning tone was filled with displeasure; it was as though Dragon Eye belonged to her and Alice was a mere worker. Knowing that the Mitchell Family was finished, Sophia smiled gracefully. As expected, Alice had lost her patience; she was displeased from the very beginning when Sandra overstepped her position. Now, Sandra had even took liberties with her and leveled such nonsensical and shameless usations. Feeling a dull ache in her wound, Alice looked a bit pale; the smile on her face had long since been reced with an immeasurablymanding and impatient expression. Sandra was waiting for Alice to give Sophia a p in the face, but she didn¡¯t expect to hear something else. ¡°Miss Mitchell, the cell phone Miss Edwards is using is not a knock-off, but a genuine custom-made model produced by the Michel Group¡¯s cell phone division. Only a pair of them are avable across the globe!¡± That was right¡ªSophia certainly wouldn¡¯t use a knock-off cell phone. In reality, her cell phone was a customized Dragon Eye model made specially for her by Cooper and Linus. The cell phone ran on Dragon Eye 7¡¯stest operating system, and it was equipped with the most advanced functions. Since it had the best quality, the materials used for this custom-build cost even more than Dragon Eye¡¯s market price. Sophia thought that Dragon Eye cell phones looked ugly on the outside, so Linus redesigned the cell phone¡¯s exterior just for her. Because of that, her cell phone looked different from the ordinary Dragon Eye cell phone models. Cooper had given her a pair of these cell phones as a present, and she gave one of them to Michael. Therefore, the ¡®knock-off cell phones¡¯ they were using were actually custom-built models. Upon hearing Alice¡¯s words, everyone looked at the ¡®knock-off¡¯ cell phone in Sophia¡¯s hand. No wonder! Sophia¡¯s ¡®knock-off¡¯ cell phone felt very high-ss and expensive from the beginning¡ªit¡¯s completely different from other knock-off devices. It turns out that¡­ Ignoring Sandra¡¯s profound shock and disbelief, Alice reproved angrily with amanding look in her ocean-blue eyes and said, ¡°Mr. Murray¡¯s cell phone isn¡¯t a knock-off either. Not only is he using a genuine one, but he is also the global spokesperson for the new Dragon Eye 7 which will be announced soon. Miss Mitchell, please show some respect to Dragon Eye¡¯s spokesperson!¡± Everyone was astounded. It turned out that Taylor was also a spokesperson for Dragon Eye¡ªin fact, he was the global spokesperson for the high-end version! This revtion reminded them of previous online articles. Whenever Nichs showed off his low-end version of the Dragon Eye cell phone, what immediately followed would be nderous articles that used Taylor of using a Dragon Eye knock-off. These articles used Taylor of overrating his abilities bypeting with Nichs for the endorsement deal with Dragon Eye despite bing less handsome due to his old age. ording to these articles, Taylor issued press releases to show off even before he hadnded the endorsement deal, but he was pped in the face right away when Nichsnded the endorsement deal with Dragon Eye once again. In the eyes of anyyman, this was an entertaining drama between two male celebrities in show business. A male celebrity who was past his prime put up ast-ditch struggle after being too confident, but he didn¡¯t expect to lose face when he lost the fight against his junior in the entertainment industry over an endorsement deal. However, those familiar with show business knew that this was actually a plot hatched up by somebody so that they could rise to fame by riding on Taylor¡¯s poprity and even ndering him. The identity of the person behind the plot was obvious; whoever benefited from this had to be the mastermind behind the plot. ¡°Ah, so this is Dragon Eye 7! I must¡¯ve been blind earlier on. This looks so much better than Nichs¡¯s low-end version!¡± ¡°How could the low-end version bepared with the high-end one? They are totally different in terms of concept; the low-end version is significantly cheaper than the high-end one. There are big differences between the two models, and there are big differences between the respective spokespersons too.¡± ¡°The high-end version¡¯s global spokesperson kept such a low profile, whereas the low-end version¡¯s spokesperson in Cethos couldn¡¯t wait to y up his endorsement deal with Dragon Eye every single day. Perhaps this is the difference between a low-ss, attention-seeking idol versus a first-ss artist!¡± ¡°He ndered someone else for more than a month and showered him with all kinds of abuses, nderous remarks, and foulnguage just because of a cell phone. I wonder How Glory Entertainment is going to clear up this mess this time.¡± The crowd whispered among themselves while looking at the cell phone in Sophia¡¯s hand. Meanwhile, Sandra¡¯s face grew darker as she listened to theirments. Unwilling to stay out of the limelight, Stanley took out his Dragon Eye 7. ¡°All of you have been mistaken, people. My aunt¡¯s cell phone is custom-built, and there are only two of these cell phones in the world; my aunt has one of them, whereas my uncle has the other. Come and take a look at this¡ªthis is the Dragon Eye 7 that will soon be released to the market, and it¡¯s quite pleasant to use. Its operating system runs more smoothly than before, and it responds to the user¡¯s touch a lot more quickly. What¡¯s more, ites with portrait retouching functions¡­¡± Everyone¡¯s attention was drawn to Dragon Eye 7, but some people were still paying attention to the embarrassed Sandra. As Glory Entertainment¡¯s actual controller, not only did Sandra mock people online for using knock-off cell phones, she even humiliated someone in person at the banquet organized by L/K today. Sandra was absolutely shocked at this moment before she was consumed with towering rage. Did Dragon Eye make Michael the global spokesperson for its high-end version? She looked at Alice furiously, and her fingernails sank into her palms. Alice had turned around and left while everyone was paying attention to the Dragon Eye. She didn¡¯t want to see Sandra anymore. As expected, someone who¡¯s engaged in sports isn¡¯t fit to do business. When Alice saw Sandra for the first time, several words which could be used to describe thetter came into her mind. There must be something wrong with her mind; she failed to recognize a great person, yet she¡¯s so intoxicated by her sess and acting like a d*mn snob. She was so puffed up with pride only because one of the artists under her agency became a regional spokesperson for the low-end version of Dragon Eye cell phones. Judging by how confident she looked, was she absolutely certain that she¡¯d be Dragon Eye¡¯s agent? Who gave her the confidence to think that way?! Chapter 983 Chapter 983 Daniel immediately caught up with Alice as he noticed that she looked very unwell. It seemed that the physical contact just now had caused the wound in her waist to hurt. ¡°How are you? Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital for a checkup?¡± Daniel asked Alice if she was alright, but she was indifferent about it. To their surprise, Alice had barely taken a few steps when a woman¡¯s deep voice suddenly broke out from the crowd behind them. ¡°Stop right there!¡± Alice¡¯s footsteps faltered upon hearing the voice, and Daniel immediately followed suit. Stop right there? Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Alice paused in her tracks and nced back at Sandra stonily. Meanwhile, thetter stood among the crowd with a darkened expression on her face; it turned out that Sandra was the one who ordered Alice to stop right there just now. How dare someone order her around like that? However, Sandra was even more audacious than Alice had imagined. Making her way out of the crowd, she walked up to Alice and said viciously, ¡°We¡¯re friends, Alice. Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re making me look bad by leaving right now?¡± Sandra believed she had shown Alice much respect. She was Lucile¡¯s close friend, yet Alice dared to put on airs in front of her despite working for Lucile. She hadn¡¯t exined why Sophia and Michael¡¯s cell phones were genuine, nor had she exined why Michael became the global spokesperson for the high-end version of it. How dare she leave? Alice was so irked by Sandra¡¯s attitude that sheughed after a brief moment of dismay. What the hell is going on with this woman? Does she have a loose screw or something? Indeed, Sandra¡¯s audacity surpassed Alice¡¯s expectations of her. She said threateningly, ¡°Are you sure that Miss Edwards and her husband¡¯s cell phones are genuine, Alice? Also, is Mr. Murray the global spokesperson for Dragon Eye? My friend, Lucile, has shown me the designs before¡ªI¡¯m certain that their cell phones aren¡¯t the Dragon Eye 7, and Taylor isn¡¯t the global spokesperson at all!¡± Alice stared at Sandra dazedly for two seconds before she finally realized what was going on. She was dropping Lucile¡¯s name, forcing Alice to withdraw her previous remark on the spot. Sandra had slung mud at Michael and Sophia on the spot by using them of using knock-off cell phones, but she ended up with a p in the face by Alice¡ªafter all, she was the one who developed the cell phone series. Right now, the only way Sandra could save face was to make Alice withdraw her previous remark immediately by saying that she had made a mistake. Who gave her the nerve to do so? Who gave the blockheaded daughter of a second-rate wealthy family in Bayside City the cheek to threaten Alice? Alice nced at Sophia¡ªwho almost couldn¡¯t conceal the sinister smile on her face as she stood among the crowd¡ªbefore looking at the threatening expression on Sandra¡¯s face. She didn¡¯t know what had happened, but she figured out that Sandra must have done something unreasonable because she walked right into a trap Sophia had set up. Is she possessed as rumored? How ironic of me to have chosen her as one of my agents. Stupefied, Alice felt that she was unustomed to the people here. Alice¡¯s 170cm figure walked up to Sandra before looking down at thetter, who only stood at 160cm tall. With a look of unquestionable authority in her eyes, she uttered, ¡°The cell phone Sophia has might not look genuine, but it is a Dragon Eye cell phone¡ªit is a custom-made version that won¡¯t be officially released. As for Mr. Murray, I personally signed him on as the global spokesperson for Dragon Eye 7, and we have already signed the endorsement contract. Also, Mr. Winston will endorse Dragon Eye 7 alongside Mr. Murray. Miss Mitchell, if you think that your artist¡¯s endorsement deal is a cut below Mr. Murray¡¯s and a great insult to you, you may terminate the contract anytime. I¡¯ll consider the endorsement fee a gift to you! Besides, you¡¯ll never be the agent for Dragon Eye!¡± She turned around and left immediately, ignoring the expression on Sandra¡¯s face. Seeing that the situation seemed to have developed in a direction he hadn¡¯t expected, Vincent immediately stepped forward and stopped Sandra for fear that her conflict with Alice would escte. He urged, ¡°That¡¯s enough. Calm down a bit; we are all of the same family, so you should show some restraint when you speak.¡± Alice¡¯s attitude seems a little strange¡­ After sleeping with Lucile, Vincent managed to get much information out of her with some pillow talk. For example, Fass was still the de facto head of the Michel Family, but Lucile was the family head¡¯s rightful sessor. Linus and Alice were merely right-hand men that Fass had trained for his daughter. Alice appeared very powerful to the outsiders, but she was actually Lucile¡¯s puppet. Lucile was the actual person who had developed Dragon Eye and single-handedly supported the whole Dragon Eye series. However, she kept a low profile and didn¡¯t like to be in the limelight, so she always allowed Alice to act in her capacity. In other words, Alice was merely working for her. In reality, Lucile kept the Mitchell Family in suspense about the selection of Dragon Eye¡¯s agent because she had been testing the Mitchells the entire time. The matter had been under her control all the while; now that they were in such an intimate rtionship, the right to act as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent would definitely be given to the Mitchell Family. Vincent and Sandra never doubted Lucile¡¯s words because thetter had previously helped Nichs to secure the endorsement deal for Dragon Eye. They truly believed that Alice was merely working for Lucile whereby she had the final say in everything, and all thepetition was merely a superficial gesture to pull the wool over everyone else¡¯s eyes. Knowing that Alice would be here on this day, Sandra had deliberately used her to humiliate Sophia. However, she didn¡¯t expect Alice, a mere worker, to be so arrogant by humiliating her instead! As expected, Lucile¡¯s right¡ªAlice is disloyal to her. Burning with ambition, she¡¯s forgotten her ce and ns to overstep her position by recing Lucile thoroughly! Sandra was so furious that she trembled all over; her nostrils red, and her eyes shed fire. No longer caring about Sophia at this moment, she shoved Vincent aside and went after Alice. At that moment, she would only be humiliated by Sophia if she continued to stay here. She had to catch Alice back! Who gave this mere worker the nerve to humiliate her?! Vincent immediately went after Sandra; Alice would certainly get in his way when he married Lucile and climbed up the socialdderter on, so he had to get rid of her sooner orter. However, now wasn¡¯t the right time to do so. Meanwhile, everyone continued to gossip with great relish as they watched Vincent and Sandra going out after Alice. Sandra had spoken to Alice in such a disrespectful tone just now; it even seemed like she was talking to her subordinate. Why did this happen? Wasn¡¯t Sandra vying for the right to act as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent? What gave her the cheek to speak to Alice in that tone? In a celebratory manner, Sophia raised her ss and clinked sses with her team. Alright, the Mitchell Family is finished. Let¡¯s deal with the next one. On the other hand, Sandra had angrily caught up with Alice, Daniel, and the others outside the door. She darted toward Alice while threatening furiously, ¡°Don¡¯t be ungrateful, Alice! You¡¯re merely working for Lucile. How dare you disobey her orders? Lucile has designated me as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent, so what gives you the right to change that without her permission? She also appointed Nichs as the global spokesperson for Dragon Eye 7, so who gives you the right to decide things yourself?¡± Alice couldn¡¯t quite believe that there was such a shameless person in the world as she looked at the unreasonably hysterical Sandra. Knowing why Sandra would act like this, Daniel urged Alice to leave and said, ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up and leave this ce. This woman has been bitten by a dog and is having a bout of rabies!¡± Naturally, Alice didn¡¯t want to talk to a person with whom she couldn¡¯tmunicate. Escorted by some bodyguards, she hurriedly got into her car and left, fearing that Sandra would really bite her if it was too late. Chapter 984 Chapter 984 Alice¡¯s wound continued to ache while they were inside the car, but she asked Daniel, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with this Sandra? She doesn¡¯t seem to be in her right mind.¡± Daniel knew that Sandra had fallen into Sophia¡¯s trap, but he couldn¡¯t tell Alice about it. He answered, ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for Sandra to rise from an illegitimate daughter to the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. Sophia¡¯s return ced her position in jeopardy, so she suffered a mental breakdown and went crazy.¡± Suppressing the anger within her, Alice removed the entire Mitchell Family from consideration. Sandra ran after the car, but she failed to catch up with it. Overwhelmed with anger, she immediately dialed Lucile¡¯s number. How dare Alice-thepdog treat me like this?! I¡¯m Lucile¡¯s close friend! Now that she has disrespected me, Lucile will have the chance to denounce her! Alice was overweeningly ambitious, but she used to hide her ambition so well that one couldn¡¯t find fault with her. Now that Sandra had found an open and justified excuse, she believed that Lucile would certainly thank her this time. However, Sandra couldn¡¯t reach Lucile on her phone; she simply assumed that thetter was too busy to answer her call. Anyway, she could no longer stay at the banquet since she would certainly be humiliated if she went back inside. Therefore, Sandra decided that she¡¯d better go home and have Lucile speak up for her. When she and Vincent called home, they learned that Lucile and Abbie had gone out shopping that morning and hadn¡¯t returned yet. Sandra immediately sent her people to search for them, but after a day of looking around, the Mitchell Family¡¯s men went to the ce where Abbie and Lucile used to stay and realized that the house had already been emptied. When they arrived at Abbie¡¯s house, they learned that Abbie¡¯s family had moved out a year ago. At that moment, the Mitchell Family realized that something was wrong. Lucile and Abbie had disappeared into thin air, and the property under their names had been converted into cash and transferred a long time ago! They left without leaving any clues behind; no one knew where they had gone, nor could anyone get in touch with them. The luxury goods they left in the Mitchell Residence had been spirited away. That night, word finally came that Lucile and Abbie had left the country by ne. At this moment, Sandra and Vincent seemed to have guessed something. No! How could Lucile possibly leave like this? The daughter of the Michel Family certainly wouldn¡¯t abscond with their money! She must have left in advance because of some urgent matters. Lucile has always been mysterious; being unable to contact her is normal. Besides, she¡¯s the daughter of the Michel Family, so how could she possibly report her schedule to us in advance? This must be the case¡­ thought Sandra and Vincent as they tried tofort themselves. They knew that they would suffer a huge loss if Lucile was actually a con artist! Panic-stricken, Vincent immediately called Linus; he believed that Linus would know where Lucile was. Linus¡¯ assistant answered Vincent¡¯s phone call, telling him that Linus was booked and busy; he could only wait until next month to make an appointment with the man. However, he refused to answer him about matters regarding Miss Lucile. Vincent was as anxious as hell. He lost both Lucile and his money¡ªwhich meant that he had lost everything. Ian was equally anxious as Vincent, for he also discovered that Lucile and Abbie had gone missing. He also realized that all the property he gifted Lucile had been converted into cash, but the money couldn¡¯t be traced. They utilized various channels and even contacted the Mafia abroad to search for Lucile and Abbie. However, the two women seemed to have vanished into thin air; they couldn¡¯t even find a trace of the duo¡¯s whereabouts. Even so, they couldn¡¯t conduct arge-scale search for them. If word got out that the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family¡¯s Young Masters were swindled out of their money by the same woman¡­ Losing money wasn¡¯t the matter here, for they would lose facepletely. Moreover, Vincent had even slept with Lucile. After several days of fruitless searching, the two victims put their prejudice against each other aside and met up to discuss the matter. Ian said to Vincent, ¡°Lucile spent the night with me that day. She promised to make me the agent for Dragon Eye; she also said that she would go back to the Michel Family and seek their blessings to marry me.¡± Vincent was speechless upon hearing his words. At this moment, they realized that both of them had fallen for a romance scam. However, they didn¡¯t just fall for a romance scam; the Mitchell Family had believed Lucile¡¯s baloney and offended Alice thoroughly. Losing the contract to be Dragon Eye¡¯s agent was less important than the fact that they had offended the Michel Family! Still, they hung onto everyst bit of hope, thinking that they could recover their losses once they found Lucile. After all, everything would be fine if Lucile was real. If she was an imposter, they would take the fake Lucile to Alice¡¯s and confront the imposter in her presence; perhaps they could even get back into Alice¡¯s favor by doing so. However, the wait was endless. As Lucile and Abbie disappeared without a trace, Sandra finally realized that she had been scammed. Upon learning that Lucile had transferred all the property away, she passed out on the spot and was rushed to the hospital. On the fifth day after the incident, Linus¡¯ assistant suddenly called Vincent. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, Miss Lucile will set aside two hours from 2.00PM to 4.00PM tomorrow to meet you on the 18th floor of the Michel Group¡¯s building. She wants to discuss the quality issue you raised regarding the sports car. Please be there on time; we won¡¯t wait for you if you¡¯rete.¡± Upon learning this, the wilted Vincent came back alive at once. Previously, he had made an issue out of the sports car multiple times in hopes of luring Lucile out and meeting her in person. Unexpectedly, Sandra brought Lucile to him afterward, so he forgot about the sports car entirely. He didn¡¯t expect Lucile to make an appointment with him on this day. Although he looked forward to this meeting, he was afraid as well. He wanted to meet Lucile very soon, but he feared that the Lucile he was going to meet and the Lucile he had previously spent time with weren¡¯t the same person at all¡­ However, he had to attend the appointment no matter what! The next afternoon, Vincent set out on time before arriving at the Michel Group. I won¡¯t make a mistake this time. Even if I learn that the Lucile from before is an imposter, I¡¯ll be meeting with the real Lucile. If I can find a way to win her heart, I¡¯d be able to recover the losses I¡¯ve suffered previously! With this idea in mind, Vincent stroked his head confidently. No matter what, I mustn¡¯t be taken advantage of today! he thought to himself. At the same time, he was full of anticipation for his formal meeting with Lucile. They would be meeting at the Michel Group¡¯s building this time, and this appointment was arranged by Linus¡¯ assistant; today, the Lucile he was going to meet certainly wouldn¡¯t be an imposter. I should think positively¡ªperhaps this is all Lucile¡¯s test. Vincent seated himself in the tearoom on the 18th floor of the Michel Group¡¯s office building at 1.50PM. The 18th floor also happened to be where Linus worked, and Vincent sat in the tearoom next to Linus¡¯ office. Linus was also present; upon seeing Vincent, he spoke to thetter. ¡°Please wait for a moment, Mr. Mitchell. Lucile is taking the elevator up.¡± Vincent sat there waiting with his back straightened. At 2.00PM sharp, the sound of quick, short footsteps made by someone wearing high heels could be heard from the outside, and it was apanied by Linus¡¯ voice. ¡°Mr. Mitchell has been waiting for you in the tearoom.¡± Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Vincent¡¯s spirits rose; he looked at the tearoom¡¯s door in anticipation, listening to the sound of footsteps as it came closer and closer¡­ Atst, someone pushed the door open. Behind the door stood two big and sturdy foreign bodyguards with the Michel Family¡¯s emblem embroidered on their sleeves. Then, Linus and a youngdy walked inside under the escort of these bodyguards. The youngdy must be none other than Lucile. Vincent stood up at once. However, when he saw thedy clearly, the smile of anticipation slowly disappeared from his face before it was reced by a look of profound shock. ¡°Why are you here, Sophia?¡± Sophia took off her sunsses to reveal her smiling blue eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the second-hand sports car I sold you had some quality issues? I¡¯m here today to have a look at it.¡± The faint, scornful smirk on her face gradually broadened as she stared at him. Chapter 985 Chapter 985 Vincent stared at Sophia dazedly for about ten minutes; his surprise and bewilderment grew as he shifted his gaze multiple times between her and Linus. He was well aware of Sophia¡¯s background since he and Sophia were in the same grade at Bayside University. He knew that she was Cooper¡¯s daughter and that she grew up in Riverdale as a child; he also knew that she became who she was today because her uncle had sold her to Joe, who then sold her to Michael. Sophia took off her sunsses and asked impatiently, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the car had some issues, Mr. Mitchell? What exactly is the problem with the car?¡± Still being in aplete daze, Vincent stared at Sophia in shock and disbelief. He turned and asked, ¡°Linus, where is Lucile?¡± Knowing that Sophia had yed a prank on Vincent, Linus answered with a chuckle, ¡°Sophia is Lucile. Don¡¯t you know that, Mr. Mitchell?¡± As Vincent¡¯s face frozepletely, some muscles on his handsome face twitched slightly. He looked at Sophia and Linus with a look of shock in his eyes. Still refusing to believe this, he waved his hand repeatedly. ¡°This is impossible. This can¡¯t be true; she¡¯s Scarlett, Cooper¡¯s daughter.¡± The truth would be too horrifying if Sophia was indeed Lucile. The scheme behind the sports car that cost 100 million and thepetition for the agency¡¯s contract would be more sophisticated than one could ever imagine! Sophia frowned, but she unknitted her brows soon after that. She folded her arms across her chest and said, ¡°Mr. Mitchell, you don¡¯t really think that my father has been mining coal in Africa all these years, do you?¡± Vincent suddenly recalled that Cooper had shown up and told them about mining in Africa back when Woody passed away. Since he talked about mining, Mark assumed that he was mining coal. As word about this spread like wildfire among the Mitchell Family, the story became one about Cooper being trafficked to a coal pit to mine coal for 20 years. Vincent was also present at the time, and he recalled what Cooper had said back then about him mining in Africa. The Michel Family had been mining in Africa as well; what their family mined was not coal, but underground diamonds and rare metals used in the military and high-tech industry. Upon thinking about Fass and Cooper, Vincent suddenly realized that the two of them were strikingly simr to each other! Fass was a gifted genius who headed the Michel Family, whereas Cooper was a mind-blowing hidden talent from the Mitchell Family; they both worked in simr industries with equally outstanding achievements. Back when Cooper was present, the Mitchell Family was in its prime. Half of the world¡¯sputers had products bearing the Mitchell Family¡¯s logo and intellectual property. After Cooper ¡®died,¡¯ the Mitchell Family slowly went downhill until it was gradually reced by itster peers in the high-tech industry. On the contrary, the Michel Family had Fass, an amazing genius who led the Michel Group¡ªa conglomerate that had been leading the world in the first ce¡ªto even greater heights. Vincent thought that all geniuses were about the same, but he didn¡¯t expect this¡­ Alex touted Vincent as the genius who surpassed Cooper, but it wasn¡¯t until Vincent truly took over the Mitchell Family¡¯s business and worked in the Mitchell Group did he realize how incredible Cooper was. He missed the era when Cooper was at the helm, but he could still see how incredible Cooper was even after more than ten years had passed. As it turned out, Cooper was Fass! As it happened, Fass rose to glory after Cooper¡¯s ¡®death,¡¯ and Lucile emerged after Sophia ¡®died.¡¯ If Fass and Cooper were one and the same, so was Lucile and Sophia! As it turned out, all of this was a ruse. No, this wasn¡¯t a ruse at all¡ªit was just wishful thinking on his side. He thought he had everything under his control and was a step ahead of everyone else, but he was merely an outrageous joke in the eyes of others. Vincent thought he had gotten a great bargain after buying the second-hand sports car at 100 million comcently. However, he didn¡¯t expect to lose money and make a fool out of himself. ¡°Haha!¡± He suddenlyughed before lowering his head to wipe his tears away, looking extremely funny as heughed and cried at the same time. Sophia looked as though she couldn¡¯t bear to see him being hit badly by the truth. ¡°It seems that you aren¡¯t quite yourself today, Mr. Mitchell. I have something else to attend to, so let us talk about the car some other day.¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. With that, she turned around and left. ncing at Vincent¡ªwho cried andughed simultaneously as the truth hit him badly¡ªLinus let out a sigh and patted his shoulder whileforting him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the car, and don¡¯t be so sad about overpaying for the car. If the worstes to worst, we¡¯ll give the money back to you. You can just return the car back to us.¡± To his surprise, Vincent flopped down weakly onto the floor and cried like a child the instant Linus patted thetter¡¯s shoulder. He cried not because he was scammed out of his money, his house, and his body, nor was he crying because he got a p in the face after smugly posing as Lucile¡¯s husband in the presence of Lucile herself out of his own wishful thinking. He cried because he found that the faith he had been clinging onto the entire time had fallen to pieces. His goal had always been to surpass Cooper and be the Mitchell Family¡¯s true genius. He thought he was still young and could make it as long as he was given enough time. He even thought that he had achieved his goal and surpassed the then-of-the-same-age Cooper in several fields. He thought Cooper was already past his prime and at the end of his heyday; Vincent believed that he was now the master of a new era. Back then, Cooper invented the first-generation USB drive that could only store 32MB of information at most. Twenty yearster, Vincent produced a new-generation of USB sh drives that could store 32GB of information. Thinking that he had surpassed Cooper, he was so self-satisfied that he put Cooper out of his mind. Today, Vincent discovered that Cooper had already produced USB drives which could store up to 1024GB worth of information ten years ago. Besides, the USB drives Cooper produced were smaller than that of his, and they ran at a higher speed. His outlook on life instantly fell to pieces. It was as if Cooper had given him a p in the face, saying that he could never surpass the former. He was never a match for Cooper, for he couldn¡¯t even hold a candle to thetter; this was what drove him to despair. Vincent cried in the tearoom for a long time before he was helped away by the Mitchell Family¡¯s bodyguards. Crying as he walked out of the room, he had never cried so sadly and hopelessly as he did on this day in his 27 years of life. His agonized look drew the attention of the front deskdies as he tearfully walked to the building¡¯s lobby. However, once in the lobby, he saw someone whom he had never expected to meet. ¡°Why are you crying like that, Vincent?¡± Vincent wiped his tears and saw a familiar personing toward him. Surprised, he asked, ¡°Why are you here, Derek?¡± The person was none other than Derek, Alex¡¯s illegitimate son and Sandra¡¯s younger brother who used to bear the surname Oak. Vincent had known Derek back when they attended Bayside University; they even had meals, drunk alcohol, and discussed professional knowledge together. Vincent was already in graduate school at the time, whereas Derek was still an undergraduate. Nheless, thetter quickly rose to fame as a well-known straight-A student in the department. Back then, Vincent didn¡¯t know that Derek was Alex¡¯s illegitimate son. However, he wanted to make Derek work for him because he noticed thetter¡¯s cleverness and talent. On this day, he saw a young and handsome Derek dressing like a sessful businessman with a suit and leather shoes. Derek was no longer the baby-faced junior he was back then; he was now Plum Technology¡¯s manager. He seemed to be here on business, for he was carrying aptop and a briefcase while being followed by assistants and bodyguards. Vincent knew that Derek was in Cooper¡¯s camp, so it didn¡¯te as a surprise to see Derek here at the Michel Group¡¯s office building. ¡°Stan and I are here on business!¡± responded Derek with a smile. Vincent looked up to see Stanley and Sean. His tearful appearance was immediately met with ridicule from Stanley as he said, ¡°Hahahaha! Aren¡¯t you Vincent, the dupe who spent 100 million to buy a second-hand car from my aunt?¡± Chapter 986 Chapter 986 Stanley continued to taunt Vincent aggressively and said, ¡°What is it? Are you here to tearfully ask my aunt for a refund? It¡¯s alright¡ªit¡¯s just a car. I¡¯ll just go up right away and ask her to return the money to you. You don¡¯t have to worry since she¡¯s very fond of you. After all, she is your great-aunt.¡± The 100-million luxury car used to be the apple of his eye, but it was now a disgrace to him. He still remembered how the car¡¯s price had been driven up to an exorbitant price of 100 million! Sean knew that Vincent had suffered a blow to his pride on that day, and he found it rude to deal the latter with another blow while looking at Vincent¡¯s pitiful appearance. Heforted Vincent by saying, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Sophia has joined the Michel Family after Uncle Cooper, but she¡¯s still your great-aunt no matter what. She¡¯ll surely return the money to you since you¡¯re a younger member of the family.¡± He seemed to beforting Vincent, but the note of ridicule in his voice was evident. Vincent had been in the same grade as Sophia and the others back at Bayside University. They even went through military training in the same reinforced battalion, but Vincent wasn¡¯t on familiar terms with Sophia back then. However, Vincent was reaching for the stars back then. He kept a low profile at university, devoting himself to his studies and taking part in the Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs early on. Also, he distanced himself from Stanley and Sean, whom he viewed as two good-for-nothings who only knew how to y online games. Contrary to his expectations, everyone¡¯s circumstances had changed after so many years. In the end, Vincent left the building as he wiped the tears away from his reddened eyes. After going back, he got himself drunk. Feeling that his life had been turned upside down, he¡¯d never be able to recover from the shock. Seeing that he was hit badly, Sandra abandoned him in disgust. What a useless thing¡ªhe ended up like this just because a woman scammed him out of a bit of money! Sandra was burning with anxiety right now. Knowing that she had fallen into a scam and offended Alice, she knew that she had to make up for this. D*mn it! I was scammed out of so much money by a con artist! In the Michel Group¡¯s office building, Sean, Derek, and Stanleyughed and joked as theymented on how embarrassed Vincent looked just now while going up to the 18th floor to see Linus. Plum Technology and Michel Group were joining hands tounch a cutting-edge gamingptop, and the twopanies were now discussing the contract. On the 18th floor, Sophia was extremely pleased as she recalled how Vincent had left tearfully in deep dejection just now. Vincent had truly never suffered such a devastating setback. For a person like him, a major setback could cost him his life. Feeling happy, Sophia became mischievous all of a sudden. She raised her hand and turned toward Linus before saying, ¡°Come on, Uncle Linus¡ªlet¡¯s give each other a high five!¡± She wouldn¡¯t have reduced Vincent to tears on this day without Linus¡¯ help. Of course, most of the credit belonged to her. After catching the fake Lucile that day, she told her to con Vincent and Sandra for onest time. Not only did she have the fake Lucile sleep with Vincent, she deliberately instructed her to promise the Mitchell Family and give them rights to the Dragon Eye agency contract. Also, she had the fake Lucile describe Alice as apletely worthless person who harbored evil intentions. Wanting to disy her ability in front of the fake Lucile, Sandra foolishly confronted Alice face-to-face. That way, the Mitchell Family was no longer in the running for the agency contract with Dragon Eye. Linus shook his head while looking at her dotingly. Then, he raised his hand and gave her a high five in resignation. ¡°Yeah! Now that I have finished off twopetitors, threepetitors are left to be dealt with. I¡¯ll deal with them soon!¡± Sophia pped her hands happily like a child who had gotten some candies. Then, she tossed the handbag she was holding into Linus¡¯ arms and said, ¡°Please excuse me¡ªI¡¯ll be going to the restroom for a bit. If Stanley arrives, you can talk to him first.¡± She was already several meters away when the handbag fell into Linus¡¯ arms. Linus looked at her and laughed dotingly as she walked away happily. She¡¯s really like a kid¡­ She¡¯s the same as when she was attending university. Sophia had just left when Alice popped up behind Linus before he even realized it. Alice looked fine; she had recovered quite well after Sandra almost hurt her carelessly a few days ago. Holding her cup of coffee, she gently took a sip of it. ¡°Well? Has she given up yet?¡± Alice didn¡¯t sound surprised at all. Carrying Sophia¡¯s handbag in one hand, Linus responded with a nod, ¡°Not yet. When she sets her mind to it, she¡¯ll do whatever it takes to aplish it¡ªeven if it¡¯s something impossible.¡± Since Alice had refused to appoint Sophia¡¯spany as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent, she would finish off all the competitors with simr qualifications and force Alice toply. Alice walked away expressionlessly in her t-bottomed shoes while holding her cup of coffee. It didn¡¯t take long before those who represented Plum Technology went up. Seizing this opportunity, Daniel came with them on the excuse of inspecting the geomantic quality of the Michel Group¡¯s office building. He made his way into Alice¡¯s office as soon as he arrived, but thetter drove him out immediately. Right after leaving her office, Sophia called for Daniel. Even though she had never worked here for a day, Sophia had her own small office in the Michel Group¡¯s building. As soon as Daniel entered her office, she asked, ¡°Did you see a man running away tearfully just now?¡± Daniel frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t see a man running out tearfully, but I did catch sight of someone being carried away by the bodyguards as he cried; he sobbed so sadly as if his mother had passed away.¡± Sophia adopted a stern countenance. ¡°I¡¯ll give you three days¡¯ time. I want him to be of use to me.¡± Daniel was stunned for a moment before he retorted, ¡°Why should I work for you?¡± Sophia responded, ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the 80,000¡­¡± ¡°Alright, alright! Please don¡¯t mention the 80,000 ever again!¡± ¡­ Atst, Plum Technology¡¯s team and Linus agreed upon a contract to develop gamingptops together. Stanley took this opportunity and went to Alice¡¯s office next door whereby he continued bombarding her with another round of persuasion. Regrettably, he couldn¡¯t make Alice change her mind. Plum Technology¡¯s experience and team were pretty good, but there were even better ones here at Bayside City. For example, the Edwards Family had distribution channels, whereas the Winston Family had a wide range of contacts. Naturally, she¡¯d choose a better option. The next day, Sophia watched the news and saw that someone had photographed Vincent getting drunk in a bar; Vincent looked unusually haggard in the photo. Having been on a roll all his life, he used to be very conceited and proud¡ªhe believed that he was the fortune¡¯s favorite chosen by God. This time, however, he fell into a romance scam and was humiliated. He could never recover after encountering the biggest setback in his life. Sophia had run a background check on Vincent; he did very well in his studies, and they both graduated from the same school in the same year. Both Sophia and Vincent had been straight-A students in school, but Vincent kept a low profile and wasn¡¯t as ostentatious as Natasha. Hence, only a few people in the school knew him and were aware of his identity. He even graduated from Bayside University with a doctoral degree in economics. After joining the Mitchell Group, he made a lot of achievements. He should¡¯ve had a bright future, but it was unfortunate that he ran into Sophia. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. He wanted to buy a second-hand car, but Sophia and Michael teamed up to raise the car¡¯s price by bidding for it, forcing Vincent to brace himself as he bought the car at an exorbitant value. When he got married, his wife¡¯s nude photos were exposed by Sophia at his wedding. After he finally found himself another girlfriend, Sophia tricked him into losing both his money and the love of his life. He lost his direction, and his career fell into an abyss. On the third day, Daniel brought Vincent to Sophia. After spendingst night listening to Daniel¡¯s nonsense in a bar, he washed his face, shaved his head, and got changed this morning. Wanting to start all over again, he crossed over to Cooper and Sophia¡¯s side. Chapter 987 Chapter 987 Vincent himself knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly aplish anything great while he was on Alex¡¯s side. Everything he strived for right now might be credited to someone else in the future since Alex wanted to leave the fruits of hisbor to his own son. The Mitchell Family¡¯s members used to be judged on their merits, and the most powerful person in the family would be the family head. However, beginning with Alex, the head of the family became a position held by the previous family head¡¯s son. Many talents had been forced to leave the family and strike out on their own. Hence, Cooper drew many talents back to him when he returned recently. Moreover, Vincent had bragged to Alex and Sandra about wanting to win Lucile¡¯s heart and unite with the Michel Family through marriage back when he had fallen into the fake Lucile¡¯s romance scam. Now that he had lost both his money and the love of his life, he was too ashamed to exin himself to Alex, so he decided that it would be better to run away. He devoted his loyalty to the Mitchell Family and not Alex, so crossing over to Cooper¡¯s side wouldn¡¯t vite his life principles. Vincent openly crossed over to Cooper¡¯s side, taking his trusted subordinates and resources with him. This came as a shock to the Mitchell Family¡¯s council of elders and caused Sandra and Alex to fly into a rage. No one had expected things to turn out this way in merely two days. As a result, Vincent was openly removed from the Mitchell Family¡¯s genealogy record book. Cooper was currently concentrating on clean energy, so Vincent¡¯s resources were useless to him. Therefore, the resources were distributed to Sophia and Sean. Sophia was Plum Technology¡¯s major shareholder, whereas Sean was its founder. Ready to go all out, they absorbed Vincent and his team and reorganized their resources. Sandra could only curse in response to this. When it came to acting as an agent, Vincent had tons of experience under his belt. Alice once considered him as a potential candidate, but she removed him from the shortlist after Sandra had a bad fit of ¡®rabies¡¯ at the banquet that night. To everyone¡¯s surprise, Sophia stole Vincent and his entire team from the Mitchell Family in just a few days. In an instant, her potential had grown exponentially. Now that she had finished off the Mitchell Family, Sophia immediately turned her attention toward the next target¡ªthe Edwards Family. The siblings of the Edwards Family were also fighting separately as two teams. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to lay a hand on Lucy and Ian, but Sophia was currently on the lookout for their weaknesses like a buzzing fly. Meanwhile, Sarah¡¯s target was Dana Winston. The Winston Family belonged to the underworld, but it had its own family business which was quite sessful. The Winston Corporation was apany under the Winston Family¡¯s name; Harry didn¡¯t manage Winston Corporation¡¯s business personally, but thepany¡¯s board of directors consisted mostly of those he trusted, and they held most of thepany¡¯s shares. Still, the Winston Family¡¯s Grand Elder had quite some influence within the board of directors. Although Sarah held some shares in Winston Corporation, she didn¡¯t hold a post in thepany. To aplish the task Sophia had assigned her this time, she had to persuade thepany¡¯s board of directors to turn down Dana¡¯s request ofpeting for the right to act as an agent for Dragon Eye. The distributorship rights to the Michel Family¡¯s cell phones were lucrative, and getting the distributorship rights would benefit thepany. Therefore, it was a big challenge to persuade thepany¡¯s board of directors and convince them to give it up. Securing the distributorship rights was beneficial from the Winston Family¡¯s perspective, but from Harry¡¯s point of view, doing so would only reinforce Grand Elder and his men¡¯s threat to thepany¡ªhe was quite reluctant to see that happening. Knowing that Sarah worked in Plum Technology, the board of directors knew exactly why she was persuading them; it was likely that they would turn down her request. It was still difficult for her to persuade the board of directors even if she did so at Harry¡¯s suggestion. It wasn¡¯t until Harry had threatened them that the board of directors sluggishly gathered enough people to call a meeting. Many directors were still absent, but the number of directors had reached a quorum, enabling them to pass a resolution. Having prepared the relevant documents and presentation slides, she nervously took herptop with her to Winston Corporation¡¯s office building as Harry sent her there. When the car arrived downstairs, Sarah looked out of the car window while holding her documents. Winston Corporation¡¯s imposing building stood in front of her like a giant ck monster, making her feel breathless. She opened the car door and put her feet down, only to shrink back only a second after stretching out her legs. She looked at Harry inside the car with a troubled expression and said, ¡°Old Wolf, am I considered living off our family while secretly helping someone else by doing so?¡± As Harry¡¯s wife, she was Madam Winston; Plum Technology was considered an outsider to the Winston Family. By persuading the board of directors, it could be said that she was helping the outsiders to go against her own family. Harry looked both helpless and affectionate as he stretched out his hand to pat her head. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯ve got your back. Just live off our family and secretly help Sophia and the others.¡± Sitting between Harry and Sarah was the tiny, dark-skinned, and stony-faced Sour Face. ¡°Come on¡ªlet your Old Wolf give you some encouragement.¡± Harry stretched his neck out and cupped Sarah¡¯s face in his hands before giving her a passionate French kiss. The chauffeur wasn¡¯t surprised to see this. Sour Face wasn¡¯t surprised as well; he looked indifferent the whole time even though his parents were kissing and sucking each other¡¯s lips just a few centimeters above him. Sarah was brimming with confidence after Harry¡¯s encouragement. Cupping her son¡¯s face in her hands, she urged, ¡°Hurry up and cheer your Mommy on, Hope!¡± Sour Face knocked her hands off indifferently. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Sarah cupped his face in her hands again, to which Sour Face responded by knocking off her hands yet again. After this was repeated three to four times, Sour Face finally lost his patience. He reluctantly said to her, ¡°Good luck.¡± Bursting with joy, Sarah gave the disgusted-looking Sour Face a great big smacker before getting out of the car and striding into Winston Corporation¡¯s office building. Harry didn¡¯t go in with her, but he paid close attention to his wife by watching Winston Corporation¡¯s surveince videos all the time using hisptop. He wanted to see if his little kitten could persuade the group of big guns among the board of directors as well. Sour Face looked indifferent on the outside, but he actually cared about Sarah in secret; simrly, he kept a close eye on the surveince videos too. Sarah entered Winston Corporation¡¯s office building. As soon as the receptionists saw her, they stood up and greeted reverently, ¡°Nice to meet you, Mrs. Winston.¡± ¡°Uh-huh,¡± responded Sarah casually as she tried to give herself airs despite her girlish-looking face. Much to her dismay, she saw her worst enemy in the Winston Family soon after getting into the elevator. Standing in the elevator were three people who looked like businessmen with their suits and leather shoes. However, the tattoos peeking out from their necks and wrists asionally revealed their identity as members of the underworld. Feeling very nervous on this day, Sarah kept thinking quietly about what she was going to speak in a while, so she didn¡¯t pay much attention to the people in the elevator. Unexpectedly, right after she entered the elevator and steadied herself, a loud pnded on her butt from behind. Then, a wicked voice spoke in her ear. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this person my dear little kitten?¡± Sarah¡¯s expression changed drastically when she saw the frosty-looking person dressed in a business suit who was standing next to her. She was so furious that she jumped. ¡°I¡¯m warning you, Dana¡ªstop getting physical with me!¡± She was short, and both her voice and face had the cuteness of a young girl that existed only inics. Therefore, she didn¡¯t soundmanding at all when she spoke. The person dressed in a suit who was standing next to Sarah took off her sunsses elegantly with a flirtatious look in her attractive eyes. As she whistled at Sarah, she said, ¡°Get physical? Am I getting physical by doing so?¡± With that, she pped Sarah¡¯s butt again. Sarah covered her butt and jumped behind the bodyguards like a furious kitten. The elevator went up speedily to the top floor, but the atmosphere in the elevator was tense. Dana¡¯s 175cm body was wrapped in a slim, tailor-made suit that fit her very well. Her short hair stuck up in a ssic hairstyle, and the tip of her hair concealed her hairline as it reached her eyebrows. Her handsome eyes seemed to shine 24/7, and any woman would blush when she nced at them with her bright, sparkling eyes. Dana was raised as a boy back when she was a child, so she always dressed herself in men¡¯s clothing like a high-ss business elite. Putting her hands casually in her pockets, she had a t chest and a face that looked like the male lead of a romanceic book, making her look noble and elegant. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at Sarah while making eyes at thetter. Sarah was totally defenseless against such a face that looked like the male lead of aic book, so she got butterflies in her stomach; feeling a burning sensation in her pped butt, she tried to avoid meeting Dana¡¯s gaze. Dana was Sarah¡¯s worst enemy in Winston Corporation, for she took liberties with Sarah whenever they met. The two parties were locked in confrontation on their way up to the top floor. Chapter 988 Chapter 988 Dana and Celine were cut from the same cloth, but the difference here was that Celine was simply ying pretend; when it was time to actually step up to the te, she was useless. After all, her husband kept his eyes on her. On the other hand, Dana was the real deal. Regardless of male or female, both were eptable to her¡ªshe even had countless sugar babies under her wing. Not only that, Dana had angered several fiances into leaving her. It even enraged the Grand Elder himself to the point where white, long hairs made their way into his beard. As the elevator door opened, Sarah dashed out with the documents in her hand as she scurried away. Meanwhile, Dana followed behindnguidly as she put her sunsses on. In an instant, her aura became cold once more. With a determined smile on her lips, she strode gracefully and made her way over to the meeting room with her spectacr aura. She wanted to see what kind of trouble Sarah could stir up, wet behind the ears like she was. Dana would certainly win those rights this time! Meanwhile, the meeting had already begun inside. Dana sat down nonchntly among the directors, having already taken her sunsses off. A sinister smile hung on her lips as she steepled her fingers together in anticipation of Sarah¡¯s performance. Sarah cleared her throat, getting ready to present her findings. However, she was interrupted by a director before she could even speak. ¡°After deciding through a majority vote, we willpete for the rights to endorse the Michel Group¡¯s Dragon Eye cell phones. I do not think there is any need for you to speak anymore.¡± The other directors chimed in as well and said, ¡°Yes, yes. There¡¯s no need for that, so you shouldn¡¯t waste your breath.¡± Sarah felt ufortable after being shot down like that, but she steeled herself and steadied her trembling voice, lowering her pitch in a bid to not make herself seem cute. ¡°Please quiet down and listen to me first. I am not opposed to the partnership between the Winstons and the Michels, but I think that we can certainly gain a project that is even more beneficial to us!¡± The directors were skeptical. In their eyes, the director¡¯s wife was simply here for show. What kind of project could she get, and a better one at that? Dana had augh waiting to bubble up. Sarah nced at the directors present. As she yed her presentation slides, she spoke. ¡°As you all know, other than its illegal businesses, the Winston Group mainly deals with legal territory. While there have been sesses when we marketed major international brands on their behalf, our most sessful project to date is actually in luxury furniture¡ªour furniture line is ranked third in the world. Locally, our market shares can¡¯t go any higher. Of the wealthy families in Bayside City, two-thirds of them own furniture manufactured by us. Many international organizations and councils recognize the Winston Group¡¯s furniture, and we have thousands of official stores in over thirty countries around the world.¡± That was right. Other than its illegal businesses, the Winstons also had their fingers in the luxury furniture industry; Sophia had even pre-ordered a full set of luxury furniture from the Winstrons while her house was being remodeled. The Winstons began dabbling in the luxury furniture business generations ago, and its 200-year long history spanned across several generations altogether. Their furniture sold well internationally because of its unique charm and craftsmanship. ¡°Our strength lies in furniture. Should we wish to partner up with such a prestigiouspany like the Michel Group, I strongly believe that we should negotiate with our greatest strength instead of our weakness¡ªwe should humbly request for a partnership by offering them advantages that they don¡¯t have!¡± Dana¡¯s calmness evaporated the moment those words left Sarah¡¯s mouth. With anger shing through her eyes, she knew that Sarah was talking about her; she had negotiated for the managing rights with Alice using her background in the Winston Group¡¯s shady dealings and her vastwork. On top of that, she even offered a few extra crumbs. Sarah¡¯s words sessfully drew the attention of the board of directors. Sarah continued. ¡°Meanwhile, the Michel Group¡¯s primary businesses include military arms, jewelry, and the tech industry. If we want to partner up with them, we¡¯d have to make it a strong partnership by combining our strengths with the Michels. That is the only way we can create more benefit for ourselves, and our partners would take our requests more seriously. Ate, please give each director a copy of my proposal.¡± Ate the assistant hastily gave out Sarah¡¯s proposal. The directors and other higher-ups took the document and looked at it. The proposal¡¯s title was as clear as day¡ªProposal Regarding the Partnership With the Michel Group and Smart Furniture. Smart furniture? The directors exchanged nces as it dawned upon them. ¡°The Winstons¡¯ main advantage is our luxury furniture business, and the Michels¡¯ strength lies in the tech industry. Partnering up for a smart furniture deal is the correct way to handle this coboration with them. I¡¯ve written down aprehensive n; please take a look at it and raise any questions you have. Also, I¡¯ve already begun to negotiate the contract with Mr. Linus, who is the lead of the Michel Group¡¯s technology business. If my calctions are done right, this will be ourrgest project of the year. If we do this well, it will be a new development for both traditional craftsmanship and technology, and the Winston Group¡¯s furniture will be sure to make another leap forward. Hence, that is why I don¡¯t agree with the n to manage Dragon Eye cell phones. This is not our strength, and it will also divide our attention and manpower. I hope that the Winston Group will do their best to make this project a sess. This will be a long-term and reliable partnership.¡± Sarah was brimming with confidence as she broke down the data and listed out the statistics of markets she had studied. She even went into detail for their short-term and long-term ns, how the Winstons should go about the partnership, the division of the profits, and so on. Evidently, she had a clear direction of her ns. Sarah had been preparing for this project for a long time. Incidentally, Linus was thinking along the same lines as her. He had the best smart technology in the world, while the Winstons had the best furniture in the world. Why not form a partnership then?! Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Of course, Sarah certainly couldn¡¯t neglect her ownpany¡ªshe would fight for their benefits, and smart furniture was the way to go for the Winston Group. Even though they could insist onnding the management deal for Dragon Eye phones, Sophia was truly in need of those management rights so that she could begin taking over her duties in the Michel Group. Hence, Sarah was fine with Sophia having those rights instead. If this partnership deal went through, the Winstons would have ties with the Michel Group¡ªHarry and his family would receive the most benefits. In the end, the n was approved through a majority vote; Dana¡¯s proposal to manage the Dragon Eye phones was promptly discarded. Dana left the meeting room fuming, while Sarah received praise from the directors. By the time she walked out of thepany building, Sarah reeked of sweat. Her hands continued to tremble from nerves as she sat inside the car on her way back. Harry patted her shoulder. ¡°Calm down. Here, hold him for a bit and gather your thoughts.¡± He ced Sour Face in her arms, and Sarah rubbed her face against the boy as if she was cuddling a doll. Eventually, she calmed down. Meanwhile, Sour Face remained silent through all this. You¡¯re really treating me like a prop, aren¡¯t you?! ¡°My proposal got epted, Old Wolf!¡± Sarah still couldn¡¯t believe it. Harry patted her on the shoulder and praised her. ¡°That¡¯s right. You managed to convince the board of directors. Amazing work there¡ªyou¡¯re even more impressive than I imagined!¡± The family of three drove away in the car, but Harry still couldn¡¯t forget Dana¡¯s p inside the elevator earlier. One of these days, he would chop Dana¡¯s offensive hands off! Meanwhile, Sophia finally found Ian¡¯s weakness after circling round the Edwards¡¯ building all day. Later on, Sophia invited him out for a one-on-one meeting. The moment he saw her, Ian said coldly, ¡°If you¡¯re here to tell me to give up, I¡¯m just going to tell you this ¡ªimpossible! I will win those management rights!¡± Unbothered by his prattle, Sophia whipped out a stack of photos with Ian in the nude; they were all high- definition pictures. ¡°Here are pictures of you and the fake Lucile. I also have six videos of you with your d*ck out in all of them. Think about it; once we step out of this ce, I cannot guarantee that the videos and photos won¡¯t turn up somewhere else.¡± Ian was speechless. Chapter 989 Chapter 989 The corners of Ian¡¯s mouth spasmed as he looked at the stack of nude photos Sophia had pulled out. Indeed, they were his nudes¡ªall sorts of poses and expressions were revealed in these photos. If his guess was right, Lucile had taken those photos several nights before¡ªno, the fake Lucile was the one who took them. Things began to make sense; he hadn¡¯t been able to sessfully pursue the gorgeous woman, but she suddenly agreed to have dinner with him that day. In fact, she deliberately had some wine too. Once they were done with dinner, Lucile was clearly drunk since she had a low tolerance for alcohol. Of course, Ian did not send her back to the Mitchells like a gentleman; he booked a room at the hotel and carried her there instead. Entering the hotel room as a man and a woman, anyone could guess what came after that. Furthermore, Lucile had been absolutely certain that he would be the one to win the management rights, assuring him that he would get it. Much to his surprise, she vanished without a trace the next day. All the things he gifted her had been sold off¡ªeven the Audistin¡¯s gold member card. He hadn¡¯t been able to contact her since then, but he did not have the guts to openly look for her either. She was a scammer, no doubt! Prior to leaving, she even slept with him and enjoyed everyst bit of pleasure. Ian kicked himself out of regret as he stared at the stack of nude photos. So that¡¯s how it is¡ªSophia must be in league with that scammer! However, Ian remained calm as his fingersnguidly tapped away at the stack of photos, a condescending look on his face. ¡°Oh? In that case, you must¡¯ve seen these photos of mine too. Since you¡¯ve had a look at it, I wonder what you think about them,¡± he said nonchntly. With that, Ian even closed his eyes and pretended that this wasn¡¯t concerning to him at all; he seemed like a perverted sher who feared nothing. Sophia calmly pulled over one of his nudes; his face was clearly shown in the picture along with his privates on disy. Looking straight at it without any embarrassment, Sophia appraised it with surety. ¡°Hmm, my thoughts? I do have a lot to say about this. From what I can see, it¡¯s only 10cm¡ªwhat a huge differencepared to my husband¡¯s.¡± Ian¡¯s flippant smile slowly stiffened. ¡°Not only is it thin and short, it¡¯s not a pretty one either. It looks so ugly! Even the foreskin is a bit too long.¡± Sophia went through each of the photos one by one, airing all her criticisms about his body and his private parts. Ian¡¯s expression darkened as this went on, keeping silent all the while. Atst, he smacked the table hard and stood up. ¡°I won¡¯t let you get those management rights, Sophia. You¡¯d better give up on that notion! I will be the one to get it instead!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t continue speaking. She simply pulled out her elite, custom-made Dragon Eye 7 and began typing away after she unlocked the screen with the fingerprint scanner. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sophia continued typing. ¡°I¡¯m sending out those nudes of yours.¡± The color instantly drained from Ian¡¯s face; he instinctively grabbed her phone and realized that she was posting it on some forum with a burner ount. With the caption typed up and the photos uploaded, his nudes were taking center stage. The post had already been uploaded; even if he tapped ¡®cancel¡¯, it wouldn¡¯t be of any use now. ¡°Sophia, y-you¡­¡± Ian was so furious that his entire being shook. If those photos got out, he would never be able to live this down! Sophia giggled as she retrieved her phone. ¡°You¡¯re done for. It¡¯s an internationally renowned forum. Soon, socialites from all around the world are going to know about your thin, skinny and ugly d*ck with its long foreskin.¡± Ian¡¯s face immediately darkened in rage. ¡°Y-You¡­¡± Seeing how Ian looked like he was about to have an aneurysm any time soon, Sophia couldn¡¯t bear teasing him further. She exined to him and said, ¡°I¡¯m joking. I wasn¡¯t connected to the Wi-Fi earlier! Still, I won¡¯t leak your nudes because of Master Sam.¡± Ian finally rxed and heaved a sigh of relief, but he continued to re balefully at Sophia. ¡°Don¡¯t take things too far, Sophia. You¡­¡± Sophia lowered her head and deleted the post that she had just drafted. Since there wasn¡¯t any inte connection on her cell phone, the post was still in the midst of uploading. As she looked at her phone, she whipped her free hand out and held it in front of Ian¡¯s face. ¡°Stop! Let me delete that post first before you speak to me. If my fingers slip and that post identally gets out, it¡¯s all over for you.¡± Ian shut his mouth, deeply afraid that Sophia would actually upload his nudes. Hence, he sat there with his mouth sealed and a frosty expression on his face as he watched her delete all the photos. He only dared to speak once she put her phone down. ¡°Turns out that everything was part of your n; you arranged for that scammer to get close to me!¡± Ian eximed, his eyes on the table. Sophia none-too-hurriedly took a sip of coffee before she spoke. ¡°I arranged for that scammer, you say? Mr. Edwards, have you forgotten how you came into contact with that scammer?¡± That scammer had originally wanted to trick the Mitchells, but as the former head of the Mitchell Family, Ian still had loyalists inside; he only found out that Lucile had been in contact with Vincent when they leaked the information to him. At that point in time, he decided to get closer with Lucile so that he could compete with Vincent. Ian was rendered speechless by this. He dug his own grave by iming that Sophia had arranged for the scammer to trick him, but he continued to question her anyway. ¡°Regardless, you¡¯re still the one who arranged for that scammer. Your initial target was the Mitchell Family, and I just happened to walk into your trap. Am I right?¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Even though he knew that he couldn¡¯t get his money back, he had to get to the bottom of this! Sophia shrugged, unsure how to answer. She knew that the woman was a scammer from the very beginning, but she tolerated her the entire time. In reality, Sophia had been waiting for the scammer to finish up her antics before catching her as she escaped. That way, she could squeeze everyst bit of value out of that woman. She had instructed the fake Lucile and Abbie to speak badly of Alice in front of Sandra; Sophia even got them to help her sneak some top-secret information out of the Mitchells so that she could pass it on to Cooper. If those women didn¡¯t follow her instructions, Sophia would¡¯ve exposed them. However, Sophia never thought that Cooper wouldn¡¯t care for the confidential information she had obtained from the Mitchells. Cooper simply hadn¡¯t started his war against the Mitchell Family. If he had actually decided to make a move, the Mitchells would¡¯ve long since been decimated. Mitchell International Energy and Technology achieved a meteoric rise this year, outgrowing Alex ages ago. Meanwhile, the Mitchells would be swallowed up by the Michel Group sooner orter, which was their rival. Still, Sophia felt indignation over the fact that the Mitchells had divided up Cooper and Woody¡¯s possessions back then; she kept that indignation close to her heart all this time. Ian was the one who ran into this himself. She wasn¡¯t duty-bound to warn him about that! With Ian questioning her now, she gave him a vague answer. ¡°I guess you could say that. I realized that you were being tricked earlier on, but I just didn¡¯t call her out.¡± Ian was so furious that his eyes rolled back into his head. What difference was there between this and outright joining hands to scam him?! Seeing how he was about to speak, Sophia suddenly asked him in curiosity, ¡°Do you want to marry Lucile that much? You do know that Lucile wouldn¡¯t lower herself to marry you, right? You¡¯ll have to marry into her family instead. However, do you know the price of marrying into the Mitchells?¡± Ian¡¯s ears pricked up upon hearing that. He couldn¡¯t help paying attention to this, but he still feigned an uninterested expression on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t care about such things.¡± Sophia shrugged. ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not that high of a price¡ªyou¡¯d only have to change your family name. When you die, you won¡¯t be buried in the Edwards¡¯ ancestral graveyard; you¡¯ll have to be buried with the Mitchells.¡± Just as she expected, Ian hesitated after hearing this. An elite family that spanned generations like the Edwards had strong feelings about blood ties. Obviously, they wouldn¡¯t agree to one of their male descendants marrying into another family. Besides, women in Cethos never changed their family names upon marriage, let alone a man. To top it off, Ian stood at the top of the Edwards¡¯ hierarchy. If he changed his family name and married into the Mitchells, he would definitely anger the Edwards; they would strip everything away from him. Even if he really did marry Lucile, he would just be a son-inw who brought nothing material to his new family. Chapter 990 Chapter 990 As he lowered his gaze, Ian was utterly quiet now. Sophia deliberately taunted him and said, ¡°I do know Lucile herself, but she¡¯s already married. However, I can introduce you to other unmarrieddies in the Michel Family who are definitely worthy of your status. Just get ready to change the family name on your household registry, ID, and passport. Also, you¡¯re required to change your citizenship too. You¡¯ll have your wife¡¯s family name in the future, and you¡¯ll have to swear your loyalty to whatever country she¡¯s a citizen of. From then on, you cannot call yourself a part of the Edwards Family anymore. Don¡¯t you worry, though! Apart from changing your family name to your wife¡¯s, everything else stays the same! You can bring your wife back to your family home. With your parents¡¯ permission, you can still work in the family business¡ªyou might even be able to nab some manpower and resources from your wife¡¯s family! It¡¯s a match made in heaven! How awesome is that? While your kids won¡¯t be carrying your family name, they¡¯ll still be your kids. Here, I have a bunch of the Micheldies¡¯ numbers. Do you want them? Think of it as mypensation to you.¡± Ian¡¯s gaze was conflicted. On one hand was the Michel Family, and the Edwards were on his other. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. As a man, how could he possibly take his wife¡¯s family name? He wouldn¡¯t have the courage to look his ancestors in the eye when he died! In the end, Ian flung the coffee cup in his hand away and stood up, extremely furious. ¡°Do I look like the kind of person who would rely on his wife¡¯s family like that? Don¡¯t you look down on me, Sophia! I am not the kind of person who will betray both his nation and family because of money and status! Back in the day when the nation was suffering, us Edwards had always been at the forefront to protect it! We donated and saved as many people as you Mitchells did! If you¡¯re nning to humiliate me like this, I can tell you now that your n has failed! I will still fight for those management rights, Sophia. Even if you send those nude photos of me out, it¡¯s no use. You¡¯d better be careful¡ªdon¡¯t get yourself dragged into this too, you scammer!¡± After that rousing speech, Ian put away those eye-catching nude photos before he turned around and stormed off. Much to his surprise, he immediately caught sight of Linus standing outside the moment he pushed the door open. Ian¡¯s gaze turned respectful. ¡°Why are you here, Mr. Michel?¡± Linua smiled politely. ¡°I¡¯m here to fetch Sophia.¡± He then gestured at Sophia with his gaze and asked, ¡°How did your talk go?¡± Before Ian could reply, Sophia had alreadye out after putting her belongings away. She grinned as she walked. ¡°Our chat wasn¡¯t so bad¡ªMr. Edwards promised to back out of the bidding war for the management rights.¡± Linus nodded as he rxed, reaching out affectionately to take Sophia¡¯s hand. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back. Fass and Carmen are probably home already.¡± Cooper is back! Sophia had been so busytely that she hadn¡¯t even seen actual daylight; she nearly forgot that today was the day of Cooper and Michael¡¯s glorious return. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry up. Get the cooks to prepare some delicious food. We must have dad¡¯s favorite eggnt with minced meat and braised eel for Carmen¡¯s dad!¡± The slender fingers of Sophia¡¯s hand were soft and warm in Linus¡¯ palm. It seemed like they were boneless, and her hand felt nice to hold. Meanwhile, Ian¡¯s gaze kept flitting between Linus and Sophia. When did they get so buddy-buddy with each other? They¡¯re even holding hands¡ªis Sophia a two- timer? With Sophia¡¯s hand in his, Linus turned and spoke to Ian. ¡°Mr. Edwards, since the discussion hase to an end, Lucile and I will be leaving. Thank you for your time, and I¡¯ll take you out for a meal some other day.¡± Ian was silent. No wonder Sophia knew that Lucile was a fake! She¡¯s the actual Lucile! If Sophia is Lucile, doesn¡¯t that make Cooper¡­ At the thought of the implications behind it, a chill immediately ran up Ian¡¯s spine; goosebumps prickled over his skin. Fass is actually Cooper! That¡¯s terrifying as hell! He figured that it would be better if he gave up on getting those management rights. As for Lucy¡­ He couldn¡¯t be bothered to pursue that thought anymore. He realized that Fass¡ªno, Cooper¡ªput those rights up in order to test his daughter. It was all an inside job! Even if the rights didn¡¯t go to Sophia, they wouldn¡¯t go to any outsider! Even if some outsider won those management rights, Sophia might even sabotage them in secret. Meanwhile, Sophia followed Linus home. The moment she opened the door to the house, her darling Carmen flew over like a butterfly. ¡°Mama!¡± Sophia caught Carmen as she pounced on her and spun around happily. She lifted Carmen high in the air. ¡°Oh, Mommy¡¯s sweet little baby!¡± They had only been apart for ten days, but Sophia thought that her baby had grown a bit more during that time; the girl was also getting cuter by the day. The house was bursting with merriment today. Sarah and her husband had brought Hope over; even Justin and Celine were present with Nathan. Of course, Stanley and Sean were sure to be here too. Michael had been treating Sophia¡¯s ce like his own home recently,pletely falling into the role of a house husband. He had brazenly moved his luggage into Sophia¡¯s bedroom, and he even set up another aquarium next to Cooper¡¯s tortoise tank for his eels. He wasn¡¯t acting like a guest at all. Now that Cooper was back, Michael killed two eels for dinner. When Cooper saw the te of eggnt on the table, his face turned green. Sophia enthusiastically got him some food, plopping half the te of eggnt onto his own te. In truth, Cooper really disliked eggnt with minced meat. Nheless, the atmosphere around the table as everyone ate was nice and heartwarming. While the babysitter helped Carmen with dinner, Sophia sat next to Nathan and began interrogating him. ¡°How have your studies been recently? What¡¯s your GPA? Are there manydies sending you confession letters? Have you got a girlfriend yet? When are you bringing her back to see me?¡± Nathan kept his head lowered as he focused on his food, a nk expression on his face. He ignored Sophiapletely. Meanwhile at the dinner table, Michael told them all about Carmen¡¯s audition with the production team. As they expected, Carmen still didn¡¯t get the role. Although her acting was good and she was a bubbly girl who could also y the role of a boy, she was on the younger side; she wasn¡¯t even four yet. In the end, the production team decided on a 12 year-old child star. However, they didn¡¯t want to waste their time since they were already there. Michael and Cooper contacted several other production teams, so Carmen auditioned for a few major films too. In the end, she managed to snag a few small roles in them. After they had finished dinner and sent their guests off, it was time for family bonding. Cooper yed with Carmen, stacking building blocks with her while Sophia and Michael left hand-in-hand. Anyone could tell what they were going to do just by looking at the anticipation on their faces. The moment he shot them a re, Carmen pouted. ¡°Focus, Grandpa.¡± No matter how much Cooper hated this, he didn¡¯t have any way of stopping them. He got Nathan to y with Carmen and took the opportunity to slip away. He still had plenty of things to ask Linus. Chapter 991 Chapter 991 Cooper listened as Linus talked about the issue regarding Dragon Eye¡¯s management rights inside the study. Ian¡¯s guess had been right. From the very beginning, Cooper had already nned to give Sophia the Cethosian management rights for Dragon Eye. While Alice called the shots, Cooper was the actual ruler of the Michel Family. Despite that, Sophia never asked Cooper for the rights; she chose to fight for them herself instead. Cooper naturally had an interest in his daughter¡¯s career, especially when it came to Dragon Eye¡¯s management rights. Linus was equally invested as well. He hadn¡¯t said it himself, but he had been keeping an eye on Sophia¡¯s every action. This included the time where she had gotten someone to act as the fake Lucile in order to get the two Mitchell siblings to show themselves, as well as convincing Vincent to do her bidding. He even knew about how she had gotten Sarah to work with him over a smart furniture deal so that the Winstons would be threatened into giving up their im for the managing rights, as well as how she held Ian¡¯s nude photos over his head to make him exit thepetition. He had seen all of this, and he added a little nudge here and there whenever he could. Linua had watched as Sophia smashed all herpetitors into the ground. Cooper felt relieved and proud upon hearing this; his daughter was indeed a brave and cunning person. Even though she knew that the chance of her winning was slim, she would do her best to fight for whatever she wanted. She was someone admirable; if only his son could be like her. At the thought of his son, his heart sank. Cooper had no idea where his son actually was¡­ Daniel had assured Cooper that his son would appear out of the blue one day and show up on his household registry. All Cooper needed to do now was to take out the household records every day and wait for his son toe back. Cooper didn¡¯t quite believe Daniel¡¯s nonsense, but he didn¡¯t exactly distrust him either. Still, Cooper had already done all he could and was unable to find his son. Now, he couldn¡¯t do anything else but wait. He still felt a sense offort when he saw Linus, for thetter was more or less his son. He asked about his development with Sophia. Cooper and Michael had been busy the past few days with Carmen¡¯s auditions. With Michael out of Bayside City, it was a great opportunity for Linus. However, Cooper watched as Linus shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Fass. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s been any developments in our rtionship. Sophia treats me like a brother wholeheartedly, or perhaps even an uncle¡­¡± For some time now, Linus had sent Sophia to work and picked her up once the work day was over. Every day, he would eat his meals with her as well. He had been doing his best to get her to notice him, but Sophia always treated him like an uncle¡ªshe never saw him as a man. He didn¡¯t dare to make his thoughts known either. Sophia and Michael were so close; how could he possibly step right in between them? Cooper sighed deeply after hearing Linus¡¯ exnation. He patted him on the shoulder and said, ¡°You¡¯ve done your best, Linus¡­¡± He suddenly recalled his past. At the memory of Annabel, a thought came to him. ¡°If you like someone and you are a capable person, you must do your best to win their affection.¡± He had made a terrible mistake because he was too young back then. He knew that he didn¡¯t have the capabilities, yet he still fought for her. In the end¡­ he deeply regretted it. He shouldn¡¯t have done that in the first ce. He should have protected her properly and hid her existence well. Not only that, he should¡¯ve be powerful enough that no one would question or oppose him before bringing her back to the Mitchells; perhaps his family of four would have been living a happy life now. A truly happy one¡­ Cooper¡¯s attitude had seemingly softened. He sort of felt that¡­ Michael was still kind of a reliable son-in- law who resembled him somewhat. Furthermore, Michael knew when to exert his power on top of being cunning. He was a smart man as well. Michael knew that Cooper didn¡¯t agree with his marriage to Sophia, but he still did his best to stay with her. He was smarter than the Cooper of the past; he knew his own shorings and his own ce, as well as how to use all the advantages at his disposal to win Sophia and Cooper over. Cooper was a strong man, so going for the rough and straightforward approach wouldn¡¯t work. Michael had been ying dumb in front of Cooper while ying the lustful husband in front of Sophia. He had been utilizing Carmen as well, trying to take down the household with the three of them. Cooper did admire Michael¡¯s shameless tenacity somewhat, but on the inside, he still preferred Linus. After all, he watched as Linus grew up before his eyes! ¡°Grandpa! Where have you gone, Grandpa?!¡± Cooper felt a headacheing on when he heard Carmen¡¯s childish little voice calling him. He patted Linus¡¯ shoulder. ¡°Try your best, Linus.¡± Cooper knew that Carmen was onto him; she didn¡¯t allow him to pester her parents, doing everything in her power to stall him. Now that Carmen had stuck herself to Cooper like glue, Linus sat in his study andpsed into thought. He wanted to be together with her forever. He really did. Meanwhile, inside Sophia¡¯s bedroom, the wooden bed that had a leg bitten into by Judge the dog creaked whenever its upants shifted their weight. After creaking for half the night, the bed stopped making those sounds. Having had her fill of food and wine prior, Sophia got up and showered before returning to snuggle into Michael¡¯s arms. Michael was exhausted, having had a long flight as well as taking on a long love-making session. He had fallen asleep. Sophia curled up in his arms, but she didn¡¯t fall asleep for a long time. Her eyes were wide open as she took in Michael¡¯s handsome features, looking at the night sky. Is Michael willing to marry me and take on my family name? While Cooper hoped that Sophia would stay in Cethos, the Michels definitely wouldn¡¯t allow it. She couldn¡¯t possibly throw away the Michel Family¡¯s power and name. Sophia understood the lesson behind the story back then; Cooper had been powerless and failed to protect his beloved. She wanted to make herself so strong and powerful that no one would be able to hurt her and her loved ones. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. However, if she really did manage to stand on that mountain peak in the future and inherited her ce in the Michel Family, would Michael be willing to change his family name? Would the Fletchers allow Carmen to change her family name too? At the thought of Ian¡¯s earlier words today, Sophia felt even less confident in herself. To a Cethosian man, taking on their wife¡¯s family name and marrying into her family was a humiliating thing! She really wanted to ask him about it, but Michael was already fast asleep. She wanted to ask him the next day, but she didn¡¯t know how to phrase it well. He probably won¡¯t be able to take it¡­ After Michael returned, he began his endless work schedule once again. Other than his career in show business, he had many other things to do. Sophia had her own te full as well. Her current influence was still too weak;pared to the powerful Michel Family, she was still at the stage where she needed to rely on her father. She had to be powerful as soon as possible. If she could obtain the managing rights for the Dragon Eye phones, that would be her ticket into the Michels when she returned to them¡ªit would be a proof of honor as well. If she wanted to protect everything, she had to have power! The next day, Celine and the others held a meeting to report their progress regarding their various matters. Other than the original four, Vincent and Derek joined in as well. Vincent was a neer here, while Derek was already a higher-up in thepany. Stanley viewed him as an important person and would call for him whenever there were major projects. ¡°The Winstons have already declined Dana¡¯s project. I¡¯m done on my end,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Ian has backed out too. Stan, Sean, Derek¡ªwhat about you guys?¡± Sophia asked. Stanley was confident as he spoke. ¡°We¡¯ve got the resources sorted out already. I believe that we¡¯re the best of the bunch when ites topeting for those managing rights!¡± Celine was already the cream of the crop when it came to her efficiency. With the newly-arrived Vincent, she was not to be underestimated after they hadbined their families¡¯ resources. Having kicked two groups out of the running and swallowed one, they were even morepetitive now. ¡°There¡¯s still Lucy. We can¡¯t underestimate her,¡± Derek said anxiously. At the mention of Lucy, Sophia sighed and said, ¡°All we can do now is to let fate take its course.¡± There really weren¡¯t any chinks in Lucy¡¯s armor that they could poke at. Sophia thought of making an example of the capable Bill, but even if she managed to pull it off, it wouldn¡¯t cause much of an impact to Lucy. Lucy was a woman among women. She had no weaknesses and was a highly capable woman. If Sophia allowed her to be herpetitor, it would be difficult to win against her to say the least. A few dayster at the Michel Group, dozens of teamspeting for the management rights showed up. Everyone inside the building was tense, knowing that Alice would announce the final decisionter today. Chapter 992 Chapter 992 With all these agents gathered at the Michel Group¡¯s Cethosian headquarters today, the media had shown up in droves as well. It was the first time the Michel Group¡¯s phones entered the Cethosian market. Other than their gship Dragon Eye model, their budget range of Dragon Eye cell phones would also be making their debut in Cethos. News of Dragon Eye¡¯s first budget range stirred up a wave of mad excitement across Cethos. The average person might never get the chance to touch a Dragon Eye phone; it was to the point where many people had never actually heard of this brand before. However, this brand was an exalted one to the upper crust. As the oldest and most sessful line of high-end cell phones, people were excited for Dragon Eye¡¯s budget range. Currently, there were a few dozen vendors eyeing the managing rights for the budget range. There were known vendors among them such as Plum Technology, who had seen a meteoric rise in recent years. On top of a gaggle of other sessful people in this field, there was also Lucy from the Edwards Group and Sandra from the Mitchell Group. Just who would be the official managing agent for the phones? No one knew. Everyone was vibrating with anticipation at the press conference; the reporters had long since been there even before the vendors had shown up. The first person the reporters spotted entering the hall was Sandra. They immediately swarmed over to her, shooting all sorts of questions at her. ¡°Miss Sandra, are you confident in bing the official vendor for Dragon Eye¡¯s budget range of phones? What advantages do you have over yourpetitors? Can you talk about that?¡± Sandra¡¯s wardrobe was immacte, and her make-up meticulously painted on; she had already made the transformation from a sports star to a businesswoman. She looked into the camera and gave a polite smile. ¡°To be honest, the other vendors here are all very impressive. I¡¯m certain that I won¡¯t be able to get those managing rights, but I still want to give it a shot at the very least. That way, I won¡¯t have any regrets.¡± The reporters all nodded at her answer. Someone else asked, ¡°In that case, who do you think is most likely toe out on top among yourpetitors, Miss Sandra?¡± Sandra gave it some thought before replying, ¡°Naturally, I think that it¡¯ll be Miss Lucy from the Edwards Group.¡± She continued to sing Lucy¡¯s praises into the camera, listing many of Lucy¡¯s good qualities. Atst, she concluded by saying, ¡°I dare say that the managing rights will definitely go to Lucy this time. Other than her, no one else in Bayside City will be able to get their hands on this deal!¡± Just as Sandra was ending her tribute to Lucy, the woman herself entered. As one of Bayside City¡¯s most sessful fameddies, Lucy was sinct and decisive. Even with this press conference, her entrance was swift as she strode in with big steps. Although she was here to attend this conference, she never left her work aside. A throng of assistants and secretaries trailed behind her, discussing business deals as they did so. One could see that there was no end to their talks. The moment Lucy made her entrance, she heard Sandra praising her; anyone would have been delighted to hear that. Having spotted Lucy, the reporters once again swarmed over and dumped all their questions on her. ¡°Miss Lucy, both industry insiders and those outside of the industry have their eyes on you when ites to Dragon Eye¡¯s managing rights. I¡¯d like to ask about your thoughts on this.¡± ¡°How confident are you in thispetition for those rights?¡± Lucy was frigid. She didn¡¯t ept any of the interviews, but she was brimming with confidence. She was sure to win the managing rights for the Dragon Eye cell phones. This was a good opportunity for the Edwards and Michels to join hands! The Edwards Family had the connections and pipelines, and their influence was not confined within Cethos only. Winning the rights for Cethos was not Lucy¡¯s final goal; it was a mere starting point. What she wanted was exclusive global managing rights! Lucy found a seat inside the hall and sat down; her assistants and secretaries all took a seat behind her. On the other hand, Sandra sat next to Lucy and winked knowingly at her. ¡°Rx, Lucy¡ªyou¡¯re definitely getting those managing rights. Apart from you, no one else has the capability or the qualifications.¡± Sandra already knew that she stood no chance. There was no hope of her winning after she had offended Alice, but if Lucy could get her hands on those rights, Sandra would definitely be able to wring some benefits out of Lucy since they had a pretty close rtionship. After all, Lucy might not be able to handle it alone since it was a major business deal. Thinking about how she had been tricked, Sandra gritted her teeth hatefully; she never expected that Abbie and Lucile were actually scammers. She hadn¡¯t been able to find the pair up until today, and her money was gone. Sticking with Lucy would be a more reliable n. Unfortunately, Sandra didn¡¯t know that Lucy had long since given up any concern for her. The situation with Mitchell International Energy and Technology was clearly obvious. Never mind the threat of Cooper; within the industry, the ship that was Mitchell International would sink sooner orter, especially with the Michel Group exerting its power. Those who were smart had already invested in Cooper. Speaking of Cooper, Lucy¡¯spetitive spirit was ame. She had to surpass him! One by one, her so-called petitors¡¯ had arrived. However, Lucy didn¡¯t see them as a threat. Among the vendors present, she was most wary of Dana and Ian. Dana had the Winstons¡¯ resources behind her, and she had also been Lucy¡¯s rival for many years now. Meanwhile, Lucy was more familiar with Ian¡¯s capabilities. As for the two others from the Mitchell Family, she thought that they were nothing compared to her. She looked down even more on Sophia and herpany, Plum Technology. They¡¯re just a bunch of hacks. Even with Vincent joining their ranks, they¡¯re still a circus. Cooper¡¯s daughter is not the man himself; I don¡¯t need to worry about her. Plum Technology? Anyone who hears about them probably thinks that they¡¯re some shadypany that sells pirated disks illegally. They can¡¯t show their faces here;petition in the cell phone industry is too fierce. Evenpanies that can fool around with some electronics have made their debut. I am more experienced, more capable, and I have more connections! Alice knows who she should pick if she wants the most revenue. Ian and Dana had arrived too. While both of them had given up thepetition due to their own reasons, they still showed up. Even if it was just to watch the show, they wanted to see who among the myriad of vendors here would get the managing rights. Ian was unusually subdued today. After he picked a seat at random, he sat down and began to handle his business matters with hisptop. He even reflexively mped his legs together¡ªit turned out that he had made the decision to cut his foreskin after Sophia mocked him. He ended up being bedridden for a few days, and the area still stung hard. On the other hand, Dana was audacious. She was still dressed in her usual bespoke men¡¯s suit that clung to her straight figure; when coupled with the pair of insoles in her shoes to boost her height, she looked handsome and slender. To her left was a curvy and sexy female secretary, and behind her was a tall and handsome male assistant. The moment she sat down, the two clung onto her. Dana plucked her sunsses off with a flourish, her gazezily flitting about. She would be groping her secretary¡¯s luscious behind one moment and pinching her assistant¡¯s thigh the next. Needless to say, she was being openly lecherous. At the sight of Lucy, Dana waved a hand and greeted her. ¡°Hi there, Sweet Lucy.¡± Lucy didn¡¯t even look at her as she smacked Dana¡¯s hand away. Soon after, the reporters were in a frenzy again; Plum Technology had made their arrival. Leading them was Stanley with a cold and solemn expression on his face. His buzz cut was attention- grabbing, and there was a wolfish quality to his chiseled features. He strode in with big steps, looking rather like a terrifying king or emperor. Sean and Sarah followed behind him, their aura not as intimidating as Stanley¡¯s. Sean¡¯s face, which was prettier than even a woman¡¯s, stood out in an exceptional way. Meanwhile, Sarah and her eternally youthful face made anything she wore look like a set of children¡¯s clothes. Sarah was still baby-faced even though she was already a mother, but she did her best to show off her own ir regardless. With the pair behind Stanley, the trio looked like an emperor out on an inspection with his queen consort and his concubine. On the other hand, Sophia and Vincent brought up the rear of the entourage. N?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. Seeing that Plum Technology had arrived, Dana made her way over like a fly to a sweet piece of fruit. ¡°Hi, my little Sean! Nice seeing you here too, little kitten!¡± Chapter 993 Chapter 993 Sean and Sarah¡¯s expressions immediately shifted the moment they spotted Dana, and they instinctively took a step back. No one in Bayside City dared to talk business with Dana. She was too much of an abnormality¡ªin fact, she was practically an oddity among Bayside City¡¯s socialites. Dana¡¯s grubby hands had barely reached out before she drew them back with lightning speed as soon as she spotted Stanley. Last time, Stanley had broken her nose because she flirted with Sean; half a year ago, she got her leg broken by him because she had groped Sean¡¯s butt. A year ago, she took the advantage of working together and sent Sean a lewd picture to hit on him, but Stanley had hopped onto a ne and flew overnight to break her arm when he caught wind of this. After that, he got onto another overnight flight and continued attending to his business deals. Two years prior, she had wolf-whistled at Sean at a dinner party, causing Stanley to trap her in the washroom before smashing her face into the cover of the toilet bowl. This incident had caused shock to ripple through Bayside City. The trio had been in the same ss in kindergarten. Back then, Stanley and Sean were ying house; Stanley was the father, Sean was the mother, and they gave Dana the role of their daughter. Dana refused and insisted on being the mistress, culminating in an intense beating from Stanley. During their dance lessons in kindergarten, everyone needed a partner. Naturally, Stanley¡¯s dance partner was Sean, but Dana wanted Sean to be her partner instead. Stanley ended up cornering her in the kindergarten¡¯s mini garden to beat her up. Talking with Sean? A beating. Giving Sean some flowers or snacks? Another beating. Kissing Sean secretly? Yet another beating. In the end, Dana ended up studying abroad. It wasn¡¯t until she returned a few years ago to take over her duties at the Winstons that she saw Sean. Yet, she still couldn¡¯t control her grubby hands. Simrly, Stanley couldn¡¯t stop his own grubby hands when he saw her. One offending handnded right by Dana¡¯s neck as he grabbed her by the cor and reflexively lifted her up. Dana¡¯s toes were a few inches above the ground as she stared fearfully into the terrifying eyes of Stanley. ¡°I¡¯ve never hit a woman, Dana. Congrattions on being the first woman I want to beat up!¡± Dana was fearful to no end. ¡°My bad, Stan! It¡¯s my bad! I won¡¯t dare to do this ever again!¡± Stanley flung Dana hard to the ground and stepped over her body. ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss business today, so I won¡¯t hit you. You¡¯d better watch yourself next time!¡± Dana scrambled back to her own seat, but she continued to sneak nces at Sean every now and then. Eventually, Sean and Stanley found their seats and sat down. At the thought of Stanley¡¯s enraged re earlier, Sean couldn¡¯t help but cover his mouth and grin. ¡°She¡¯s a girl, Stan. You¡¯ve got to treat girls more gently.¡± Stanley looked at the back of Dana¡¯s head, his hands reflexively getting the urge as he did so. He gritted his teeth and replied, ¡°I would have already had her head if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that she¡¯s a woman.¡± Sophia had taken a seat as well. The moment she did so, she heard Dana¡¯s flirtatious whistles. She lifted her gaze to look at the woman who was as handsome as a man. Sophia was forced to rethink her views; with that short hair and men¡¯s suit, she couldn¡¯t see any signs indicating that Dana was a woman. The only thing shecked was an Adam¡¯s apple. Like Sean, Dana was andrgynous. She simply retracted her gaze after a nce and continued to look at her phone. While Dana didn¡¯t seem like an especially reliable person, she had been young when she took on the duty of running the Winston Group¡ªshe had even be Harry¡¯s rival. Naturally, she was not to be underestimated. Everyone else soon arrived. Stanley red at Dana, and thetter shivered as she kept whistling at handsome men and gorgeousdies in the hall. Lucy was an enigma; Sandra kept ring hard at Vincent and Derek, and Sophia¡¯s head was lowered with her eyes glued to her phone. From time to time, she would chat with Sarah. None of them were getting along with each other. Alice arrived on the dot. As she stood in the center of the tform, thepeting vendors and reporters all turned their gazes to her. Alice didn¡¯t waste any time as she gave a brief exnation about the Dragon Eye budget and the high- end ranges¡¯unch in Cethos, exining her requests for the vendors at the same time. Atst, it was time for the most important part. ¡°Dragon Eye is one of the oldest and most sessful cell phone brands in the world. Ever since I took over, our market share has been on the rise. This will be our first time selling our phones in the Cethosian market, and we¡¯ve received many love calls from so many retailers. In just a short time, over a hundred vendors from Cethos have been in contact with us. I hereby express my sincerest thanks to all those who have such trust and faith in Dragon Eye. After several rounds of decision-making, my team and I have chosen the best-suited vendor for Dragon Eye. With that, we have chosen¡­¡± She deliberately paused in the middle of her announcement; with her eyes glittering as she looked down the tform, Alice¡¯s gaze swept over the group of people below. Everyone¡¯s hearts were in their throats. With Dragon Eye entering the giant ying field that was the Cethosian market and its unreal purchasing power backed by their billion-strong poption, initial calctions indicated that they could pull in annualN?velDrama.Org owns all ? content. revenues reaching billions. Whichever vendor got the deal would be rewarded handsomely. Now, who would be getting their hands on this lovely piece of pie? Everyone including Sophia held their breaths; even she herself didn¡¯t know if she would be able to secure the managing rights. After all, Lucy was about neck-and-neck with her. Sophia had swallowed Vincent¡¯s assets and was in a slightly more advantageous position than Lucy, but when she factored in Alice herself, Sophia actually didn¡¯t have much of an advantage. Alice¡¯s gaze roved over the crowd. She spoke atst, continuing from where she left off. ¡°I hereby announce that the sole Cethosian retailer for Dragon Eye shall be Plum Technology!¡± Plum Technology! Upon hearing those words, Sophia finally let out the breath she had been holding; there was a hint of a smile on her face. This was a prize deal, but if Sophia wanted to keep it, she would have to rely on her skills. If she didn¡¯t manage this well, Alice could cancel the management rights at any moment. After heaving a sigh of relief, Sophia¡¯s tenseness returned. Alice immediately left after her announcement, uncaring of the reporters¡¯ numerous requests for an interview. The staff of Plum Technology were mad with excitement, and they all stood up to congratte themselves. Let¡¯s eat at Crimson House until they¡¯re out of food tonight! Meanwhile, Lucy only got up when the Plum Technology staff and Alice had left. Her eyes were still filled with disbelief. She had actually lost to a bunch of hacks who just p screen protectors on phones! Does Alice not have eyes at all? Lucy had managed several internationally known cell phone brands and other luxury goods before. Reasonably, she was the best choice. What edge did Plum Technology have over her? Sandra hadn¡¯t expected Sophia to snag the management rights either. Didn¡¯t Alice say that she¡¯d never pick Sophia previously? It must¡¯ve been because of Vincent. Her gaze flickered over to Lucy, whose eyes were shooting streams of fire. The gears in her mind whirred, and she deliberately added a biting touch to her voice. ¡°I really have no idea how she got it. Clearly, she doesn¡¯t measure up to you. She must have used some underhanded methods¡­¡± In her eyes, Plum Technology was more or less being hard carried by Sophia alone. However, she failed to see that Sophia had Stanley of the Fletchers; Sarah of the Winstons; Vincent of the Mitchells; as well as Cooper and Michael behind her. Sophia had it all¡ªbe it skill, connections, or channels. Without a word, Lucy stomped off. She had used her own power topete, but she still lost to those measures. Huh, let¡¯s just see how Sophia is going to choke on this slice of pie! Lucy left huffily, her expression just as distant as ever. The reporters surrounded her and promptly bombarded Lucy with a load of questions. ¡°What are your thoughts on your loss, Miss Edwards?¡± ¡°Are you feeling resentful because Plum Technology has been announced as the retailer for Dragon Eye in Cethos?¡± Chapter 994 Chapter 994 A sense of resentment? How could I, Lucy Edwards, possibly feel a sense of resentment toward those two subpar, inferior teams? They aren¡¯t worth my time; I don¡¯t care about them at all. If I harbored resentment toward nobodies like them, I¡¯d probably end up hating half of the world. My business is huge, and my ie is in the millions; I¡¯d rather spend the time earning my money than hating on losers like them. Despite this, Lucy still wanted to know the reason she had lost, so she gave Alice a call. Alice picked the phone up personally and provided Lucy with an exnation. ¡°Miss Edwards, I¡¯m sure you must be disappointed to hear the results. Objectively speaking, it¡¯s true that you are the most capable one among the rest of yourpetitors¡ªthere¡¯s no questioning that. However, there¡¯s something else that you have to understand. The Michel Group itself has a really qualified sales team, various channels of exposure, and 30 years of experience in sessful sales across the entire globe,¡± Alice said. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Lucy scoffed, ¡°So what are you trying to say here?¡± ¡°The reason we decided to find an agent for our low-end phones is because our prior sesses have always been in the field of high-end technology. We don¡¯t have any experience in marketing low-end products, and the strategies employed for these two fields differ greatly. That¡¯s why we had to find an agent that would be suitable for marketing low-end phones. You, Miss Lucy, are the same as us; your sess has been limited to the high-end markets, so it¡¯s not what we¡¯re looking for,¡± Alice exined. Lucy burst intoughter after hearing what Alice had said. ¡°You¡¯re so full of nonsense!¡± She then ended the call before hastily walking out of the Michel Group. As she left, she turned around to re at the Michel Group¡¯s logo outside. They really think too highly of themselves! They¡¯re just a bunch of cheap phones! I only came forward to fight for this agency deal for the sake of Linus. I can¡¯t believe they didn¡¯t choose me. ¡°I want you to respond to Serpent and tell them that I agree to be the sole agency for their handphones in the whole of Cethos!¡± Lucy gave her orders to her secretary through the phone in an icy tone. Serpent phones were one of the oldest brands in the market. It differed from Dragon Eye as it didn¡¯t maintain its public image as a high-end phone. Instead, it went for a more people-oriented, friendly approach that categorized itself as a mid to low-end product, and its price was about the same as Dragon Eye¡¯s low- end phones. The Serpent brand had gathered a huge amount of poprity across the globe, and it was one of the most widely sold handphones in the world. Once Dragon Eye entered the low-end market, Serpent would be one of their strongestpetitors. Coincidentally, Serpent¡¯s contract with their previous agency in Cethos had just expired, so they approached Lucy and offered her the opportunity to be their exclusive agent in Cethos. They wanted to heighten the standards of their brand with the use of the Edwards Family¡¯s connections and channels. Since Dragon Eye was starting to up their game in the market, Serpent felt threatened by it and therefore wanted to seek out a more powerful agent within the region. Lucy hadn¡¯t nned on taking the job initially, but now, she had to do it! She was about to show Alice what she was capable of doing! ¡­ Meanwhile, Alice had just moved into the Edwards Residence at Riverdale. It was inconvenient for her to stay in a hotel for long, and she wasn¡¯t nning on leaving Cethos anytime soon since the work in Cethos was far frompletion. She therefore decided to move in with the Edwards. The Edwards Residence wasrge, and she got a small lot all to herself. She liked the vintage architectural design of the building, especially because it was close to the exit from the back door¡ªit meant that she could leave every morning without having to bump into Sophia and her family. They wouldn¡¯t have to disturb one another. That day, Sophia and her team were outte. They were probably having a celebration in some restaurant in town. They called Alice to join them for a meal, but Alice was too tired to do anything but stay home. As she scrolled through the news, Alice saw the article about Lucy agreeing to be the agent for Serpent phones. She simply nced through it before throwing her phone aside. Serpent was currently the major contender in the mid and low-end phone markets; its global sales went up to four or five times more than the other brands that came behind them. Serpent was also one of Dragon Eye¡¯srgestpetitors now that Dragon Eye was entering the low-end market. The intention behind Lucy¡¯s sudden, hasty agreement with Serpent was clear. Alice felt a little troubled by this, but she didn¡¯t regret her decision. It didn¡¯t matter who Serpent¡¯s agent was; Dragon Eye would have topete against that brand regardless. Alice didn¡¯t regret her decision to give up on Lucy and pick Sophia¡¯s team instead. She was confident about her own judgement. As she was caught up in her thoughts, she didn¡¯t realize when Daniel had appeared outside her study. He leaned against the doorframe as he sipped on a cup of tea. ¡°You were clearly going for Lucy at first; why did you change your mind in the end?¡± Could it be because of me? he wondered. However, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to ask thatst question. Alice didn¡¯t seem surprised to see Daniel; she looked like she had been expecting his arrival. She didn¡¯t even take a second nce at him. Instead, she leaned back in her rattan chair while eyeing the budding nts outside her window with a rather tired gaze. ¡°Lucy¡¯s team is definitely more capable and mature, but she¡¯s only experienced with handling high-end brands. That was why I gave up on her in the end,¡± Alice muttered quietly. ¡°Lucile has more talents in her team. They have the Fletchers, the Mitchells, the Winstons, and even some other families;working won¡¯t be a problem for them. More importantly, Lucile is familiar with the key factors that drive low-end markets¡ªbombarding consumers, pestering them, and creating opportunities in regions that seem like there aren¡¯t any opportunities. That is exactly what I¡¯m looking for. High-end products thrive in a seller¡¯s market while low-end products deal with a buyer¡¯s market, and I need agents like her to handle sales in a buyer¡¯s market. She¡¯s someone who¡¯s capable of seeking opportunities to promote her own products, and she¡¯s able to lower her ego and pride in order to achieve her target! This is something that Lucy will never be able to aplish, because she takes pride in cing herself up on a pedestal. All of the people in her team aren¡¯t prepared to lower their ego and pride, and this will be extremely detrimental to Dragon Eye¡¯s sales.¡± Daniel nodded in agreement. When a brand had its own consumer market and fame, people who purchased it would feel lucky, and those who used it would gain confidence about themselves¡ªthe brand itself served as an icon of status and power in society. Not everyone could afford a handphone that was worth tens of thousands, after all. Dragon Eye phones each had their unique serial number engraved on the phone, so there was only one of each in the whole world. It was a phone, but it was also a luxury product. The low-end Dragon Eye phone, on the other hand, was nothing more than a phone. They couldn¡¯t just wait for customers to purchase them; they had to find ways to attract customers toe to them. They therefore needed a thick-skinned sales team that would do their all in order to boost the sales of the phones¡ªfor example, a sales team like Plum Technology. Although they knew that Alice didn¡¯t want to give them a chance, they still gave their all in fighting for the position. They used all their connections to pester and swamp Alice in order to convince her to choose them. If Sophia could apply the same amount of effort and passion she had for thepetition into the sales for Dragon Eye phones, the sales would definitely show impressive results. As for Sophia being a threat¡­ If Sophia truly managed to boost the sales of Dragon Eye, Alice would ultimately benefit from the sess as the lead engineer and developer of the project. Sophia was nothing more than a regional agent, so she wouldn¡¯t pose much of a threat to Alice. ¡°I¡¯m just trying things out for now. If things work out, I¡¯m nning to develop a second generation of Dragon Eye low-end phones. However, if things don¡¯t work out¡­¡± Alice¡¯s words came to a halt in the middle of her sentence. Daniel could hear the exhaustion in her voice. Alice wanted to take a rest where she sat in front of the window, but she unexpectedly fell asleep. When she woke up, she found a nket on top of her. The dogs were barking downstairs, so she assumed that Sophia had got home. ¡­ Sophia burst through the door like an excited husky as she had finally seeded in bing the agent for Dragon Eye. ¡°Dad, did you see the news? Dad, I¡¯m now the agent for Dragon Eye! Am I impressive or what?!¡± Chapter 995 Chapter 995 Cooper¡¯s hair was tied into small braids as he gave Sophia a forceful smile. ¡°You¡¯re so amazing, my darling. However, just bing their agent doesn¡¯t mean anything¡ªyou¡¯ll have to find ways to boost the sales of the phone in order to truly aplish something!¡± Although Cooper acted as if he was allowing Sophia the freedom to do whatever she wished, he still secretly kept an eye on her. ¡°Oh, by the way, Serpent just announced their new Cethosian agent today. You should take a look at it,¡± he said. Sophia lifted Carmen into her arms and spun the young girl around before she quickly washed up and went back to her own room. The minute she turned the news on, she saw the report about Lucy signing an agreement with Serpent to be their exclusive agent in Cethos. Serpent was indeed the leading company in the global mid- to low-end phone markets; it was also the most popr imported phone in Cethos. Now that Lucy was working with Serpent, thisbination would definitely be thergest competitor that Sophia¡ªas the new agent of Dragon Eye¡ªwould have to go against. Sophia¡¯s team was now the only licensed agent of Dragon Eye¡¯s low-end phones in the whole of Cethos, after all. Soon, Plum Technology met up with Alice to sign the official documents. After this was done, Sophia immediatelyunched her agency¡¯s business. She started her own project team and formed a number of work departments; she ended up taking a few floors in the entire office building. The job as Dragon Eye¡¯s agent became one of the core focuses of Plum Technology, and Sophia began to recruit new members for herpany. They would often have meetings that went on until midnight, and the team quickly bonded with one another. As the sole agent in Cethos, their first step would be to advertise their brand. They sought out dealers and distributors before starting up after-sales service centers and warehouses all across the country. Soon enough, the headquarters sent the phones over to them. However, they weren¡¯t allowed tounch it immediately as they had to go ording to the schedule of the globalunch. Sophia paid out of her own pocket to get one phone for each of her staff, so that they could run an internal test on the phone to find its unique qualities and selling points that would allow them to advertise in a more efficient manner. During that period of time, Sophia was overwhelmed with work. She spent all of her energy on the initial advertising for Dragon Eye, and she would often sleep in the office as she couldn¡¯t find the time to go home. Now, the most crucial issue they faced was the issue of poprity. Although Dragon Eye had been famous for decades on the international market and was the oldest brand in the whole world, it still wasn¡¯t as well known in Cethos. Furthermore, since it used to only sell high-end products, it was popr with celebrities. However, when it came to the general public, Serpent was still the preferred brand by arge margin. The endorsement jobs that Nichs and Michael received had boosted the fame of Dragon Eye in Cethos a little, but it still wasn¡¯t well-known enough for it to achieve the sales that they were hoping for. When a brandcked poprity, there¡¯d be fewer businesses that would coborate with it, and it would be hard for them to develop awork of retail sellers and after-sales service centers. This would subsequently reduce their sales. Serpent, on the other hand, owned a number of exclusive Serpent stores even in the smallest towns to the west of Cethos. Dragon Eye simplycked fame in the general market. When Sophia felt like she was drowning in work, she would take a look at the portrait of her family with Michael and Carmen in it. All of her hard work was for the sake of their future. The Michel Family was losing their patience, and they were probably going to bring up the matter of changing Carmen¡¯s surname soon. If Sophia could just gain a little more power, she would have more speaking power within the Michel Family in the future! The idea of that drove Sophia to flip herptop open again before she continued drafting her marketing n. A few of Dragon Eye¡¯s selling points included, firstly, a stylish, trendy design. Backed by the fame of the Michel Group, one could always purchase the low-end Dragon Eye phone if they couldn¡¯t afford the high-end one. This point itself would satisfy many young individuals and trend-followers. The next few points: the phones were sturdy; they had an efficient operating system; they were manufactured with great precision; and they were made with high-quality materials¡ªall of these were important features that would have to be pointed out. ¡­ It waste at night when Michael gave Sophia a video call. She was still busy drafting her ns. Once the call got through, Sophia saw Michael cuddling with Carmen. Both father and daughter had their cheeks pressed against each other as they edged closer to the screen. They resembled each other. Michael had vanished into his own world recently as he had been busy with his own schedules. The filming for ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯ was about to begin soon, and there were a series of follow-ups that came after that. ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ was in its promotion phase, and the production crew of ¡®I Am the Vige Chief 2¡¯ strongly requested for him to return to the show as a cameo. His schedule was completely packed. ¡°Mommy! I¡¯ve just had my lunch!¡± Carmen cried out excitedly. Michael had brought Carmen overseas for a few minor roles in various productions, so they were in a different time zone. Just the sight of Carmen¡¯s adorable face seemed to have erased all the troubles in Sophia¡¯s mind. Sophia perked her lips to kiss her daughter through the screen. ¡°Darling, tell me all about your day! What did you do?¡± Carmen began to talk about the shooting they had that morning. She yed a minor role in a magical fairy-tale movie, and the production crew absolutely loved her. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a tiring job; she only had to film for one day. We¡¯re going to the next production tomorrow, and it¡¯ll be a two- or three-day filming session. We¡¯lle back right after that,¡± Michael said. ¡°Okay,¡± Sophia muttered in a tired voice. ¡°You should go to bed earlier, darling,¡± Michael said.Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia felt her insides turning warm after hearing how he called her ¡®darling¡¯. But she then reminded herself that they were now divorced. A divorce is better, really. This way, the Michel Group won¡¯t trouble Michael anymore since we¡¯re no longer together. But Carmen¡­ After ending the call, Michael lowered his phone and turned to Carmen. ¡°You get some rest, kiddo. Don¡¯t go running around. I¡¯ll just go out to make a call.¡± Carmen nodded obediently. The film she appeared in today was a story about three good friends who ended up in an enchanted forest after they followed the instructions of a magical fairy. In the forest, the three friends sessfully saved the princess from the hands of an evil monster. Carmen yed the role of the magical fairy, and although it was only for a day, she got to dress up in a fairy¡¯s outfit. It made her look like an actual, pretty little fairy. Michael felt reluctant to leave his daughter alone even for a second, but he had no choice but to step out for the call as Hale was anxiously waiting for him. After her father left, Carmen ate some jelly while the babysitter took care of her and a hairdresser came up to tidy her hair and clothes. Carmen didn¡¯t have to put any makeup on her face since she was still young. All of a sudden, a man dressed in a ck robe appeared a distance away from Carmen, staring at her intently. The man in the robe was one of the helpers for the evil monster in the movie. All of the helpers wore ck masks, and there were more than 10 helpers that were dressed in ck robes. The man¡¯s face couldn¡¯t be seen at all as he was wearing a ck mask himself. He stood just a distance away from Carmen as he gradually reached a hand out to point his finger toward her. The pair of eyes beneath the mask gazed at Carmen in a malicious, sinister manner. Once I get the kid, I¡¯d be able to easily deal with those few security guards of hers. I can then bring her along and disappear into thin air. There¡¯s already a car waiting for us outside the filming location¡­ Upon that thought, he gradually walked toward her. Carmen didn¡¯t sense the impending threat as she continued to enjoy her jelly. She scooped tiny pieces of jelly and ced it into her mouth, her round and smooth cheeks wobbling as she munched on it. She was waiting for her father toe back. When Carmen saw the man dressed in a ck robe walking toward her, she thoughtfully lifted her jelly up to him. ¡°Do you want some jelly too, uncle? Here¡ªyou can have all of mine,¡± she uttered in an adorable, childish tone. The man in the ck robe froze on his spot. He gradually lowered his hands, which he had previously extended to reach for the child. He then tucked his hands behind his back. His fists were clenched so tightly that he nearly tore his own skin apart. ¡°That¡¯s fine. You can have it. I don¡¯t like jelly,¡± he muttered in a deep voice. ¡°I just wanted toe over and take a look at you because I thought you looked really cute.¡± After finishing his sentence, the helper in a ck robe immediately left the filming site. He stopped at a spot where there was no one else in sight and took his mask off to reveal his face. It was Quinton¡­ Chapter 996 Chapter 996 Quinton found out about Carmen¡¯s participation in this production crew as a cameo a while ago, and he wanted to kidnap the little girl so that he would be able to force Sophia to return to him! He had done such illegal acts a countless number of times, and he thought that he would be able toplete it without feeling the weight of guilt on his shoulders. However, after he saw Carmen¡¯s sweet and innocent face, all he could think about was how Sophia had cried at the top of her lungs at him back then. ¡°My little Carmen was only 4 pounds when she came out. She nearly died! And it was all your fault!!¡± He couldn¡¯t forget how Carmen had been nothing more than a small ball of flesh when she was first born. The little child even stopped breathing for a while. That was the most impactful and horrifying memory etched in Quinton¡¯s mind. Now that Carmen was all grown up¡ªnow that she was healthy, cute, and able to run and fool around like a regr child¡ªhow could he have the heart to bring any harm upon her? After some hesitation, Quinton finally gave up as he simply couldn¡¯t bear to harm Carmen. After texting his men to inform them of the aborted mission, Quinton sat himself on the ground dejectedly. All I want is for Sophia to stay with me. Why is that so hard? Why¡­ I was the one that showed up in her life first; how could Michael just barge in and take my spot? How could he? How?! If it weren¡¯t for him, I would have been the one receiving all the love and care. Sophia should¡¯ve been in love with me, and Carmen should¡¯ve been my daughter! It feels like Michael just invaded my entire life and snatched all of it away from me. Right then, one of Quinton¡¯s men rushed over to speak to him. ¡°Boss, how are we supposed to inform those at Bayside City in Cethos about this if we¡¯re aborting the mission?¡± Quinton¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I refuse toy hands on a child. Tell that person I¡¯m not doing the job, and that I will not allow anyone else to take the job. Anyone who dares toy a finger on that child would be going against my orders!¡± ¡­ Meanwhile, Sophia spent another whole night in her office at Bayside City. She only managed to get a short nap after the sun was up. At noon time, she scrambled out of her office to grab herself a meal. She then got Shae to make her a cup of coffee before she continued with her work. As it was the first time Dragon Eye was publicly selling their products in Cethos, there was no foundation set for the process. As long as they managed to put up a stable framework on their firstunch, their job would be much easier in the future. However, Sophia¡¯s assistant entered her office and surprised her with the news that very afternoon¡ª Stanley had called for a meeting. Something huge must have happened! Sophia finished the rest of her coffee before rushing over to the meeting room with her assistant. She listened to her assistant¡¯s summary as they walked there. Apparently, Nichs, the spokesperson of Dragon Eye in Cethos, posted a tweet that day itself. He wrote about how he smashed his two-month-old Dragon Eye handphone by ident, and there was a photo of the broken screen included in the tweet. His caption was a simple one. ¡®It seems like all the statements of it being bulletproof is just an advertising strategy. I even got hacked by someone a few days ago, and I lost a lot of important data. Sigh.¡¯ He had just denied the two greatest selling points of Dragon Eye phones: good quality and an imprable system. This was the first time a spokesperson had ever publicly questioned the quality of the products that he endorsed. Furthermore, since Nichs was such a famous figure, there were soon a lot ofizens who expressed their suspicion about the low-end Dragon Eye phones. Most of the people had never used a high-end Dragon Eye phone or even seen one, so they were excited to see the low-end version. But now, the phone¡¯s quality was being questioned by its own spokesperson. This was the first in history! Nichs¡¯pany, Glory Entertainment, soon made a public statement. They wanted to breach their end of the contract to terminate Nichs¡¯ partnership with Dragon Eye. They stated that they would rather pay for the contract vition fees than endorse low-quality products that would only harm their own reputation. All of this happened so quickly that Sophia¡¯s team didn¡¯t even have the time to respond to it. Nichs¡¯ tweet and Glory Entertainment¡¯s statement came out almost at the same time. By the time Sophia¡¯s team came to their senses, the Inte was already flooded with all the negativements from ghostwriters. The entire series of events urred all at once, as if it had all been well-schemed. It seemed like Glory Entertainment was getting a little more confident now that they had gathered enough funds. Hah. Why isn¡¯t anyone talking about Sunny weight-loss tea anymore? Nichs endorsed that drink, and someone died from consuming it. How dare they now talk about wanting to avoid endorsing products that would harm their reputation! Stanley quickly gathered them for a meeting, where they all began to talk over one another to formte a n. ¡°We should get the after-sales department to contact Nichs and take his phone for a quality check,¡± someone suggested. ¡°That¡¯s useless. He did it on purpose. It¡¯d be no use even if we took the phone in,¡± someone else said. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°We should get someone to boost the goodments first!¡± another one uttered. ¡°Contact Mr. Fields. We have to be prepared to go to court for the vition of our endorsement agreement and sue them for their act of nder,¡± someone added. ¡­ Going to court was a lengthy process, and the time spent on it would provide Glory Entertainment with sufficient opportunity to utterly tarnish Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation. They really gave it their all¡ªthey had sessfully forced Sophia¡¯s team into a corner. In the end, Sophia¡¯s team came up with two sets of emergency measures. n A, they would skip the legal procedures and instead, privately contact Nichs to convince him to restore the reputation of Dragon Eye. Otherwise, they would use their n B, which was a lot more brutal¡­ But Sophia immediately rejected their n A. Nichs was clearly acting the way he did because of Sandra and Lucy¡¯s orders. If they actually approached him privately, it would be giving him leverage against them¡ªhe could choose to magnify andplicate the entire issue to worsen the situation. Now that the phone¡¯s quality was being questioned even before it was sold on the market, this was indeed a disaster to Dragon Eye, but it was also an opportunity in disguise. If they managed to seize this opportunity, it would be nothing but a free publicity act, which would further increase Dragon Eye¡¯s fame. ¡°I have an idea to deal with this. First, we¡¯ll let the bulletse to us¡­¡± ¡­ Finally, Plum Technology made a statement and took legal action, but they didn¡¯t do anything else. Lawyers from both parties met up, and the agreement was dissolved. Plum Technology didn¡¯t make a fuss out of it; they simply ended the contract after they received the vition fees. Both parties didn¡¯t show any further disagreements on the matter; they didn¡¯t even go to court. Nichs¡¯pany probably wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it if they had to go to court. As expected, Nichs had already epted the offer to be the spokesperson of Serpent, and he was just waiting for his contract with Dragon Eye to be ended. He proceeded to be the spokesperson for Serpent right after he posted all the negative reviews about Dragon Eye phones¡¯ quality. What a typical example of someone who uses others to his own benefit, Sophia thought. I¡¯d never fancied Nichs as an individual, and I¡¯d always wanted to cut him off and get a new spokesperson. That was the perfect chance for us to do it. Both the Serpent and Dragon Eye phones were ced together for side-by-sideparisons once again. Serpent was known to be the best on the market, and Dragon Eye was a brand-newpetitor. However, Dragon Eye was utterly defeated by Serpent before it could even be sold on the market¡ªall the ghostwriters flooded thement and review sections with their negative criticisms. 10 marks was the full score for the products, and Dragon Eye phones received so many negative reviews that it went down to a score of 1. Both Serpent and its spokesperson took the opportunity to advance themselves by stepping on Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation. Right then, Serpent had already begun their pre-order sales. Within 5 hours, there were already 6 million pre-orders made. This broke the record of Serpent¡¯s¡ªor any other phone¡¯s¡ªsales in Cethos. 6 million pre-orders within 5 hours was an impressive number that had left the industry stunned. Dragon Eye, on the other hand¡­ didn¡¯t even have a spokesperson. The bulletproof mechanisms and the imprable systems that they had been so proud of were now denied by the public, and they hadn¡¯t even released their date for pre-orders to begin with. Plum Technology was a mess, and the office was panicking. Chaos was everywhere, and the workers didn¡¯t even have time to clean up their tables after finishing their lunch. This was the exact scene that Michael was greeted with once he got back to the country and visited thepany. Once the workers saw Michael, they all quickly spread the news. ¡°Come and take a look, guys. The boss¡¯ ¡®wife¡¯ is here!¡± Chapter 997 Chapter 997 Michael felt both embarrassed and speechless upon hearing this. Thepany¡¯s current situation reminded him of how things were when Plum Technology first started¡ªback when they were rejected by the entire Harper Family and everything was a chaotic mess. While Michael visited thepany to see how things were going, all the workers seemed more interested to see him, the boss¡¯ ¡®wife¡¯. As usual, the workers from other departments on other floors quickly rushed up to see Michael once they heard that the boss¡¯ ¡®wife¡¯ had arrived. It¡¯s the award-winning actor in person! It¡¯s really the boss¡¯ ¡®wife¡¯! That¡¯s amazing! The legendary little princess is here as well! Michael finally managed to find Sophia in her office. She was swamped with work, and his arrival caught her by surprise. ¡°What are you guys doing here? Weren¡¯t you guys overseas?¡± she asked. ¡°We came back yesterday,¡± Michael replied in a mildly annoyed tone as he ced the lunch box he had prepared on the table. Sophia simply scratched her messy hair. She was so busy that she had lost track of time and thought that Carmen wasn¡¯t back yet. Right as she reached forward to pull Carmen in for a kiss, the young girl flinched and moved away. ¡°Yucks! You¡¯re stinky, Mommy!¡± Sophia sniffed herself to find that her daughter was right. They had meetings every day, and all the workers smoked and ate cup noodles in the meeting room, so the stench was extremely strong. Although Sophia smelled bad, Carmen thoughtfully stepped forward to nt arge kiss on her mother¡¯s cheek. Michael then lifted Carmen into his arms as he shoved the lunch box toward Sophia. ¡°I purposely prepared this for you because Shae said that you hadn¡¯t had a chance to eat.¡± It was then that Sophia realized how hungry she actually was, so she began to gobble up her meal. Meanwhile, Carmen ran out of the office to put on a show for all of the workers. Everyone came from their respective floors and gathered around just to watch Carmen perform. This was the only public performance Carmen had, apart from the one she did at her kindergarten¡¯s celebration. The young girl performed a fairy dance that she had learned while she was overseas, and the crowd erupted into apuse after it ended. Carmen was indeed an angel¡ªshe managed to put a smile on everyone¡¯s faces when they had been tense and anxious for days. Sophia was eating in her office when she watched Michael pull a Serpent phone out of his bag; it was still wrapped in stic. He then took one of the brand-new Dragon Eye phones before cing both of them next to each other. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sophia asked as she munched on a drumstick made with Michael¡¯s special recipe. Michael shed her a mysterious grin. ¡°Their spokesperson belittled our handphone, so I was wondering what I could do as Dragon Eye¡¯s spokesperson.¡± He then turned to Shae. ¡°I want you to record me, Shae. I want a high-quality recording.¡± Shae moved out from a corner and started recording Michael. Sophia watched as Michael calmly unboxed the brand new Serpent phone before moving on to the new, low-end Dragon Eye phone. He held both phones in his hands and turned them on at the same time. Both of the screens lit up at the same time; their systems and functions were equally efficient. The logo for both phones appeared on the screen at the same time, and Michael then turned around and howled at the office door. ¡°Hey, stupid dog!¡± ¡°Woof?¡± A husky pushed the door open and stuck its head into the office. With both the phones in his hands, Michael then threw them out at the same time. ¡°Get it!¡± he yelled. The phones flew out with great speed before they both struck against the wall with loud clunks. They then fell into the indoor fountain in Sophia¡¯s office. Sophia waspletely speechless as she watched the entire scene y out in front of her eyes. ¡°Woof!¡± Judge charged into the fountain at the speed of light before picking both the phones up and returning them to its owner. One of the phones barely looked like a phone¡ªit fell apart after the impact it sustained upon being hurled against the wall, coupled with the water that seeped into its parts and the force of Judge¡¯s teeth against its surface. All that was left now was the back of the phone that had a logo printed on it. There were teeth marks that belonged to the dog right on top of Serpent¡¯s logo, and the phone was utterly destroyed. On the other hand, the Dragon Eye phone came back with just a few scratches on its screen, but it could still be turned on. The shining ¡®Dragon Eye¡¯ logo remained well-preserved at the back of the phone. ¡°You can upload this video onto my Twitter whenever you think the time¡¯s right,¡± Michael said. Sophia was still speechless after what she just saw. Shae quickly tidied the mess and dried the dog before sending the video over to both Michael and Sophia¡¯s phones. Sophia began to hesitate a little when she saw the notification by Shae. Isn¡¯t it a little too much since the logo there is so obvious? ¡°Is this¡­ really okay? Aren¡¯t we just tantly criticizing their brand?¡± She felt a little guilty and a little worried that Serpent might confront them for their acts. Michael simply sat himself down in front of her before staring into her eyes. He then reached out and pinched her cheeks, which had a lot less meat as she had lost weight. ¡°Is this criticism, though? I just happen to enjoy using my phones to y fetch with my dog; what¡¯s wrong with that? I¡¯m rich, after all! I like using my phones as sticks for my dog, and I can use a new phone each day! Did Serpent ever restrict their customers from using their phones as dog toys?¡± That¡¯s true. They¡¯ve never said that¡­ Sophia thought. ¡°But what if they cause you trouble after they see this video?¡± ¡°What can they do to me? Eat me up?¡± He didn¡¯t seem bothered by it at all. But Serpent is an internationalpany after all; they have their ownwork and connections. What if theye up with a plot to harm Michael after seeing him in the video? Sophia¡¯s concerns were written all over her face, so Michael reached forward to pinch her cheeks once again. ¡°They were the ones who asked for it. They used the power of a celebrity¡¯s fans and turned them against our brand, so why can¡¯t we respond withMaterial ? of N?velDrama.Org. the same tactics? They were the ones that attacked us first, and we can¡¯t just sit around and do nothing, can we?¡± Sophia quickly ced her hand over his before pressing it against her cheek, greedily taking in the warmth of his palm against her skin. It felt good to have someone fighting alongside her during her toughest periods. ¡°You¡¯re the best, darling!¡± she uttered. He leaned forward to nt a kiss on her cheek before pulling her in for a hug. Her body felt even thinner than before, probably because she had been straining herself in the past few months. After the two of them spent a little more time cuddling with one another, Sophia finally sat herself on Michael¡¯s legs before wrapping her arms around his neck. She told him about everything that had been going on. She told him about how Serpent and Lucy¡¯s consecutive attacks overwhelmed them, leaving them with no time to clear their heads and think properly. It was evident that they were trying to infuriate Sophia, but their acts didn¡¯t change the fact that the Dragon Eye phones were a good financial opportunity. Throughout this period, there were a number of investors that had approached their company to offer them support to go against Lucy¡¯s team. Those investors wanted some benefits in return, of course, but Sophia rejected all of them. Linus and Cooper also visited to check on the situation, but Sophia didn¡¯t want them to get too involved. After all, how could she have the nerve to return to the Michel Group in the future if she couldn¡¯t even handle the job of a cell phone agent by herself? With his arms tight around Sophia¡¯s waist, Michael patiently listened to all her stories. He had never interfered with her work, but he always offered his opinions whenever necessary. ¡°The cheapest Dragon Eye phone costs about 6,000, which makes it a rtively expensive phone whenpared to the average phone price. However, we can¡¯t underestimate the purchasing power of our consumers in Cethos. We shouldn¡¯t limit our users to those in the city; therger townships, the countryside areas, viges, pastoral, and desert areas all have great potential as well. This phone is suited for extreme weather, so those in the field of research may prefer it. We should find ways to promote these features to all the special organizations. As for expanding our sales into rural areas and viges, I have a rather silly idea¡­¡± The two of them continued talking in the office for a long time. Michael stayed around with Sophia until she finished work at 6.00PM. He then drove her home. Meanwhile, everyone else left work on time that day. ¡°Goodbye, misters and misses!¡± Carmen waved to the workers before she slipped her hands into her parents¡¯. All of the workers felt like they had been blessed by an angel to have Carmen visiting them, so they worked especially hard throughout the day. Finally, all three of them returned to the Edwards Residence. Michael had already treated the ce as his own house. He didn¡¯t just move in himself¡ªhe even shamelessly brought a bunch of others along with him. Nathan, Celine, Justin, and a bunch of cats, dogs and robots all lived in the Edwards Residence now. They all received great news recently: Justin, the old but vigorous guy, just got Celine pregnant! Chapter 998 Chapter 998 Mark, who was excited to hear the news, had offered to help care for Celine if she returned to the Fletcher Residence, but she preferred to live at Sophia¡¯s¡ªher house was spacious, had clean air, and there were more people around. Celine therefore decided to move in with Michael. Sophia¡¯s house had practically turned into a mini version of the Edwards Residence. A number of individuals who depended on Cooper had moved in, including Derek, Vincent, Justin, Dimon, and a few others. Cooper, as the leader of this branch of the Edwards Family, was therefore excited to hear about Celine¡¯s pregnancy. Her baby belonged to the Edwards, after all. They had even discussed the child¡¯s surname¡ªCeline¡¯s first child would be a Fletcher, while her second child would be an Edwards. Now that Celine was in her forties, it was hard for her to get pregnant. Both Justin and Michael acted as if they were preparing for a war as they hurriedly increased the number of helpers that surrounded Celine. However, Celine was still as energetic as a child¡ªshe ran all over the ce with the level of excitement that was equivalent to three huskies¡¯. Cooper couldn¡¯t help but recall the past whenever he nced at Celine. The Celine that he had met when Mark first introduced them to one another was a totally different person from the woman she was right now! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Although both Sophia and Celine had lost their memories after Phantom Wolf used their brainwashing techniques on them, Celine was still as innocent as a young baby even after being in recovery for nearly a year. Sophia, on the contrary, was maturing at a rapid pace. Cooper knew that Phantom Wolf had brought Sophia along when they were trying to avoid getting caught by the Fletchers. He knew that Sophia had been brought to dark, illegal ces that were hidden deep within society¡­ Celine was protected the entire time, but Sophia didn¡¯t have the chance to remain innocent. Cooper now felt a pang of guilt when he looked at Sophia. He sometimes wondered how much his own daughter had to suffer before she turned into the cold-blooded, vicious woman she was right then. How I wish she could just be a protected little baby forever! A while after Celine found out that she was pregnant, Sarah abruptly fainted at work one day. After Sarah got herself checked, it was revealed that she was pregnant for 4 weeks. She got a Caesarean for her previous childbirth, so she was supposed to wait for 4 years before she could get pregnant again. Fortunately, it had been 4 years when she found out about her second pregnancy. Due to all the stress she experienced at work, she had been a little more sexually active at home as a way of relieving her stress. They forgot to use protection one night, which then led to her unexpected pregnancy. Harry was overjoyed; he happily prepared a closetful of tiny clothes for the baby, and he kept pestering Daniel for him to use his divination techniques in altering his fate¡ªHarry wanted a chubby little daughter! Just a few days after Sarah found out about her pregnancy, Nicole called to pass the good news. She was pregnant as well! They only chose to reveal it after she was 3 months into her pregnancy, and Sam was excited to unt about it when he visited the Edwards Residence. Soon after that, Snowball, Bubbles, Garfield, and even the alpaca, got pregnant¡­ Everyone¡¯s gaze fell on Sophia¡¯s t stomach. Unfortunately, the doctor didn¡¯t sound too optimistic about her situation. Back when Phantom Wolf kidnapped her, Sophia had given birth in a dirty, chaotic environment; she was then forced to walk for long hours in order to escape immediately after she gave birth. She never got the chance to go through postpartum confinement, and her body was too damaged for her to get pregnant. The chances were simply too low. Carmen 2.0, or a Carmen 3.0, was nothing more than a dream to them. Sophia didn¡¯t seem to recognize how hopeful everyone else was for a Carmen 2.0 in their lives, as all she could think of was her own work. After they got rid of Nichs as their spokesperson, Sophia quickly found a recement. Since the job of being Dragon Eye¡¯s spokesperson was an amazing opportunity, she chose to benefit her own people. Hence, she got Drake to sign the agreement as their new spokesperson. ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ premiered just a while before the Dragon Eye phones were released on the market. Everything came together perfectly¡ªthey could promote Drake and boast about the movie, while Drake could promote the phone to the public. Michael was the one who recognized Drake¡¯s talents. In the past, Drake was merely a bodyguard at Mitchell International Energy and Technology, but he was immediately invited to sign a contract with a reality show after he finished filming for ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯. He then formed a duo with Ashton to go on the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Bro?¡¯ as siblings. He quickly rose to fame after that, showing great potential and chance of surpassing Nichs¡¯ fame while also providing Ashton with greater exposure. Sophia was pleased with her choice to use Drake as their spokesperson¡ªshe didn¡¯t want such a great opportunity to be left to the hands of a stranger. Furthermore, Sophia thought that Drake was a lot more suited than Nichs as their spokesperson. At least Drake¡¯s actually talented. He never had stic surgery, and his acting skills are recognized! This fits well with the image of our phone¡ªwe¡¯re ssy, skilful, and high in quality! After selecting the new spokesperson, Sophia quickly began on her n for revenge! Since Nichs was the one who started all of this, she chose to target him first. She didn¡¯t have anything against him; she knew that he was nothing more than a pawn in the game of chess they were ying. Unfortunately, since the person who guided this piece had steered him to create chaos on Sophia¡¯snd, she would have no mercy for him! It was an easy job to tarnish the reputation of a celebrity. All she had to do was move a few of her fingers around. Sophia had done this a number of times, and she was very familiar with it. ¡­ Serpent held their celebratory dinner at the Majestic Hotel on their scheduled date. Under Lucy¡¯s guidance, Serpent had managed to achieve never-before-seen numbers on their mobile phone sales in Cethos; they¡¯d even sessfully defeated one of theirrgest enemies, Dragon Eye. The Serpent¡¯s headquarters expressed their appreciation toward Lucy, and they even arranged for gifts to be presented to her during the celebratory dinner. Lastly, Serpent invited Alice to join them for their celebratory dinner as they imed that it was their manner of expressing how apologetic they felt toward her. Since Alice was still in Cethos, she attended the dinner after receiving the invitation. Daniel tagged along with her as he was rather concerned. The atmosphere in the room showed subtle changes the minute Alice appeared at Serpent¡¯s celebratory dinner. She was the developer of Dragon Eye, their arch-enemy, after all. But Alice didn¡¯t seem to be bothered as she casually sauntered in. She was dressed in an eye- catching backless evening gown that was bright red in color. She was like a bed of Higan flowers that had just bloomed all around Dragon Eye, which, although smelled good, carried the threat of death and terror. It made her seem both dangerous and mesmerizing. Alice didn¡¯t bring any attention to herself after she walked into the hall. Instead, she found herself a seat and sat down quietly. There were many individuals who were interested in building connections with her, but they were all reluctant to approach her there and then due to the rather awkward role that she yed in such a setting. Daniel was the only one that remained by her side. He had let his hair grow out for a while now, and it went just beyond his shoulders. He held it up against the back of his head with a in, ck wooden hairpin, and he was dressed in an equally in-colored robe. After using the 5-step rejuvenating skincare products that Michael had rmended to him, he didn¡¯t look old despite his age. In fact, he looked fresh and youthful, as if he was a mythical creature who had juste out from the mountains. The alcohol was the main highlight of the entire dinner. One of the waiters quickly approached Daniel and asked, ¡°What would you like to drink, Mr. Levine?¡± Daniel pulled out a packet of Cloud Mist Tea, a specialty product obtained from Reverie Mountain. ¡°Make me a pot of this,¡± he ordered. The waiter was left speechless by this. Even Alice chuckled a little. ¡°Why did you choose toe if you don¡¯t enjoy being in such environments, Master Levine?¡± she asked. Daniel fiddled with his bracelet as he replied, ¡°Casper wanted me toe because he was afraid you¡¯d get bullied.¡± Alice simplyughed without saying anything else. Soon enough, Daniel¡¯s pot of tea was brought to him, and he lifted it up to pour himself a cup. Soon, Lucy walked over to greet Alice. She brought one of Serpent¡¯s executives along with her. Serpent had always treated Dragon Eye as one of their imaginary enemies, but they had always been troubled by how Dragon Eye never seemed to have categorized themselves under the same group as Serpent, and therefore never seemed threatened by thetter. Now that Dragon Eye had finally entered the mid to low- end market with their new phones¡ªnow that Serpent¡¯s performance had surpassed their standards¡ª Serpent was overjoyed. They felt like they had finally achieved victory. ¡°So it really is you, Alice! I never expected to see you here in Cethos!¡± Serpent¡¯s executive gave Alice a warm greeting. She replied with a polite smile, ¡°Congrattions on achieving such great results with Serpent!¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. It¡¯s all thanks to ourpetitors, really!¡± said the Serpent executive. Chapter 999 Chapter 999 All thanks to ourpetitors? The Serpent executive was a smart man, and his words held a deeper meaning to it. Alice had to go through that sentence a couple of times before she finally got what it meant. ¡°Yeah. Serpent is definitely the dominant brand in the market for mid to low-end phones; there¡¯s no denying that. Neers like us will never be a match for you guys.¡± In the end, Alice pretended that she didn¡¯t get what the executive had meant by his previous sentence. The executive shed her acent grin. He had always thought of their brand as the leading brand, so he was naturally pleased now that he had managed to defend his own brand¡¯s title. However, he clearly forgot how Serpent had once attempted to enter the market for high-end phones and how it had failed terribly. Alice recognized the nasty, conceited look on his face, and she didn¡¯t wish to continue the conversation, so they talked for a while more before Alice gave a random excuse to leave. Just as Alice had picked her bag up and was about to walk out, she heard Lucy¡¯s voice from behind her. ¡°Miss Alice! If you could turn back time and make a new decision, I wonder if you¡¯d stick to the judgements you made in the past.¡± Alice froze for a while before she answered, ¡°There are surely a lot of things that I would like to change if I could turn back time. But I didn¡¯t make a mistake in my choice for the Cethosian agent, and I therefore don¡¯t see the need to change anything about that.¡± Despite the festive celebratory setting they were in, Alice¡¯s voice was just as cold and sharp as ever. There was also a hint of determination in it. The Dragon Eye¡¯s phones haven¡¯t even been released, and we haven¡¯t even started our pre-orders, so no one can tell who the winner is just yet! A glint of dissatisfaction shed across Lucy¡¯s gaze as she watched Alice walk away. The truth is right in the woman¡¯s face; she¡¯s just stubbornly insisting on her own views. The Serpent¡¯s pre-order for its new phones were a huge sess, and the pre-orders in Cethos itself had surpassed the numbers for all of the other regions by a huge margin. This wasn¡¯t just due to the fact that Serpent was a brand with over 10 years of a reputation; it was also because Lucy had worked hard for it. Dragon Eye, on the other hand, might not even manage tounch their pre-orders. Lucy was simply waiting for the day when Alice would finally return and beg her to be the agent of her phone! ¡­ A bout of spring rain soaked the entire Bayside City, and a cold moon appeared soon after that. It fitted well with the damp air in the city. Alice got out of the car at the back door of the Edwards Residence before walking toward her own living quarters. There was a short walk she had to take to get to her own room, and she passed through a little garden on the way in. Sophia was the one who had filled it with various nts and flowers¡ªthe stems of some nts now curled up around the supporting pirs. Under the guidance of a professional florist, they shaped the growth of the nts so that it formed an archway. There were colourful lights that lit the garden up, which made it seem especially dreamy. Recently, Daniel had been traveling between Reverie Mountain and Riverdale, but he mostly resided in the Edwards Residence. Right then, he was walking in front of Alice; he was going against the direction of the strong wind as the breeze struck his robe, filling the air with the scent of tea. He gradually took a few steps backward before he spoke to Alice. ¡°What would be the thing that you would want to change the most if you could turn back time?¡± he asked. Alice nced at him, the blue in her eyes more vibrant than ever under the spotlight. ¡°If I could turn back time, the thing that I would like to change the most¡­ I definitely wouldn¡¯t have gone to River Seine six years ago on that day.¡± She didn¡¯t hesitate much with her answer. The man¡¯s footsteps came to a sudden halt as he felt the gentle smile on his lips slowly withering like a dead flower. If she hadn¡¯t visited the Seine River six years ago on that day, she would¡¯ve never met Daniel. Does that mean her greatest regret is having met me? He froze on his spot, with the light shining on his back as his face was turned away from Alice. Alice simply ignored the disappointment and pain that he felt, and she brushed past him before walking to her own room and shutting the door. Daniel stood outside for a long while before he finally left quietly, disappearing into the dark ends of the colorfully lit garden. After returning to her room, Alice kept her lights off and leaned her back against the door. She stared at the darkness in front of her, the blue in her eyes drowned by the darkness of the room. Of course I¡¯d regret that day¡­ If I hadn¡¯t met Daniel that year, I wouldn¡¯t have had to spend the past 6 years missing and longing for him endlessly. Alice sincerely hoped that she had met a typical, boring soul that she would easily forget once she left that year. She wished that she had met someone she wouldn¡¯t feel attached to or nostalgic for, but instead, she came to know Daniel, who was an interesting soul trapped in a handsome body. She couldn¡¯t let go of him even until today, and although she always thought that all Cethosians had the same facial features, she would be able to recognize him anywhere in a crowd. Sadly, she knew that things would never work out between the two of them. Daniel couldn¡¯t possibly alter his surname to enter her family, since he was the one in control of the entire Levine Family. She, on the other hand, simply couldn¡¯t give up on all her hardwork and effort just for the sake of Daniel. When the lights finally came on, Casper was dressed in a blue, fluffy pajamas set as he stood in front of Alice. He looked up at her with hisrge, bright eyes. ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. Psychic, Mommy?¡± Alice finally felt some warmth and joy taking over her heavy and bitter heart once she saw her own son. She replied to him while taking her shoes off, ¡°It¡¯ste, so Mr. Psychic has gone to get some rest.¡± After Alice changed her shoes, she took a shower and went through her night-time skincare routine before she went to bed at her usual time. Casper wrapped his arms around his little pillow before he tottered over to climb in bed with Alice. She hugged him tightly and lowered her gaze to nce at her son as he slept sweetly. She, however, couldn¡¯t seem to fall asleep as all she thought of was how hurt Daniel had seemed earlier. Perhaps he won¡¯te looking for me anymore after this. That would beContent property of N?velDra/ma.Org. great, since I¡¯ll have to return to Northern Europe soon. It¡¯s better if we just never meet again for the rest of our lives. ¡°Mommy.¡± Casper, whom she assumed was fast asleep, suddenly opened his eyes and called for her softly. She edged over to nt a soft kiss on his face. ¡°What is it, Casper?¡± Her emotions were more complicated than ever as she looked at her son, whose features shared a few simrities with Daniel¡¯s. Casper hesitated a little before he finally spoke. ¡°Is Mr. Psychic my Daddy?¡± Alice was stunned to hear this. ¡°Who told you that?¡± she asked with a lightugh. ¡°Gianna told me,¡± Casper replied honestly. Gianna¡­ Alice had to think for a while before she recalled that that was Carmen¡¯s artist name. When Carmen first went overseas to participate in filming, Michael came up with an artist name for her. That way, she would be known as Carmen in Cethos, and Gianna in other overseas countries. Eventually, Alice decided not to deny her son the truth. After all, there were a number of independent women in the Michel Group who were single mothers, raising children who were abandoned by their fathers, so it was something that she would have to deal with eventually. ¡°If you like him, then he¡¯s your dad. If you don¡¯t, then he isn¡¯t,¡± she finally uttered. Casper beamed happily upon hearing this. ¡°Well, then can Ie over to visit and y with Daddy more often now?¡± He switched the way he referred to Daniel so quickly, almost as if he had been practicing it all along! Alice stroked her son¡¯s gold hair gently. ¡°You cane over anytime you want to,¡± she said. He was ted to hear this, and he immediately forced himself to sleep so that he could y with Daddy once he was awake! Alice, however, couldn¡¯t fall asleep for a long time. The next morning, when Alice woke up, she saw that Casper had already gone out to y. She checked the clock to see that it was a Saturday. She theny herself back down on the bed as she reminded herself that she would have to leave for work at the office soon. The quality of her phones had been frequently questioned by others recently, and she had to do something about it as the developer of the phone. After she napped for a while longer, she heard the sound of Sophia¡¯sughtering from the garden below. Alice pulled her curtains open to see Sophia and Michael taking pictures in the garden. She had always felt a hint of envy and respect when she saw Sophia and Michael together. How can they love one another so openly and expressively? They truly gave up on everything just to love one another! Chapter 1000 Chapter 1000 After a night of spring rain, all of the flowers bloomed in the garden; the bright petals added a ssh of colors to the greenery, and it made the whole garden seem as dreamy as a magical castle. Sophia, who was barely ever home since she usually stayed back for work at the office, was dressed in a meshed long dress with floral prints as she took a stroll in the garden. She had had her hair styled and her makeup done, and Michael tagged along behind her to snap pictures of her with an SLR camera. Carmen dashed around behind them like an excited butterfly, eager to be a part of the photo. There were a lot of people in the Edwards Residence that day, but Daniel¡­ wasn¡¯t there. Casper seemed a little dispirited as Carmen dragged him out to y. Alice kept a nk look on her face as she watched Sophia enjoying herself. Alice knew about the fact that Sophia was going to return to Michel Group soon, but she also knew that Sophia would never be able to be separated from Michael. She was aware that Cooper had been trying to mediate the situation, but it seemed like Michael would have to change his surname sooner orter. Otherwise, the Michel Group would definitely split him and Sophia up. Alice felt a sudden surge of respect toward Sophia¡ªthe woman was clearly being so independent and working so hard now because she wanted to develop a stable foundation for herself when she entered the Michel Family. On the contrary, Alice, who grew up surrounded by the culture of the Michel Family,pletely forgot what it felt like to have to fight for something. She couldn¡¯t even remember how it felt to passionately desire something¡­ As Sophia was in a good mood that day, she invited a bunch of them to head over to the farm, where they could ride horses and pick strawberries. She wanted to release some stress before the ¡®war¡¯ began ¡ªshe was going to have to fight a huge battle after that day! Alice herself was curious to see how Sophia was nning to restore the reputation of Dragon Eye, and how she was going to turn the tables when things looked so bad for Dragon Eye right then. It seemed too ambitious to hope for Dragon Eye¡¯s sales to surpass Serpent¡¯s when they had been in the Cethosian market for 10 years now. However, Alice wanted Dragon Eye to be second ce in the entire Cethosian market. On Monday, Serpent¡¯s pre-orders achieved a new record high, which ced them farther away from all their otherpetitors. Dragon Eye, who received quite an amount of public attention, also announced their new spokesperson, Drake Mitchell, but they didn¡¯t announce any uing dates for pre-orders yet. Previously, Nichs made a post on his social media ount about how his Dragon Eye phone couldn¡¯t be used after he dropped it and how the hackers had infiltrated his phone systems. This post denied two of the greatest selling points that Dragon Eye had, and some magazine seemed interested in interviewing him about this. During the interview, Nichs exined that all his data¡ªhis emails, social media ounts, and the private files he had saved in the phone¡ªwere lost and may have even been spread after his phone system got hacked. He added that it was a huge loss for Glory Entertainment, especially since he was one of the shareholders of thepany. He imed that he had already made a police report, and that the police were working on the case. Lastly, he declined any apology or after-sales services offered by Dragon Eye, and instead asked for them to repay the hefty sum that he had lost. After all, the public wasrgely forgetful¡ªNichs¡¯ phone issues could have been a hot topic a month ago, but it would definitely die down after 1 month. Nichs therefore chose to pull this public stunt right as Plum Technology was attempting to rebuild the public¡¯s trust and interest toward Dragon Eye. Now that Nichs had brought up this topic of Dragon Eye¡¯s quality once again, the topic began to trend, and the public seemed like they wouldn¡¯t let Dragon Eye off the hook until the entire brand disappeared from the market. This entire act was schemed and directed by Sandra, of course. Sandra was now the top dealer that worked directly under Lucy, the sole agent of Serpent in Cethos. All Sandra could do now was to find ways to attack Sophia with the use of Serpent as an excuse. She continuously highlighted the low quality control in Dragon Eye and repeatedly used it to generate news and gossip. This didn¡¯t just help create exposure for Nichs and the Serpent phone; it also served to crush both Sophia and Dragon Eye all at once. However, a fresh piece of news spread across Cethos on Friday. The headline: ¡®Top Male Celebrity in Cethos Got His Phone Hacked: Pornographic Images and Secret Files Leaked!¡¯ At the same time, workers in Mitchell International Energy and Technology, Glory Entertainment, and even Nichs himself, had pornographic images with their faces on itpressed into a 10GB zip file that was uploaded online and circted all around Cethos. Since Nichs had just recorded an interview about how his phone had been hacked and how there were a lot of private files and data leaked to the hacker, the public easily believed the contents of this zip file to be genuine. Everyone downloaded it as they were excited to see what could possibly be in a male celebrity¡¯s phone. Thepressed file was first uploaded by an anonymous ount onto some forum, and it trended overseas for a few days before someone in Cethos finally uploaded the file in the country. By the time Sandra and Nichs received it, it was toote¡ªthey were under the international spotlight, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to delete it even if they tried to. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. The rumors were true¡ªall of the pornographic images were included in thepressed file. Beyond that, there were also arge number of agreement contracts between Glory Entertainment¡¯s artists¡ª Nichs included¡ªand their partnerships with otherpanies. Furthermore, there were also a surprisinglyrge amount of illegal, double ¡®ve contracts¡¯ that resulted in unequal treatment of their artists. All of these, along with several confidential business contracts, were all over the Inte. There were a few million downloads just within a day. However, the details of Glory Entertainment¡¯s contracts were more shocking than the sight of the pornographic pictures. Some of the double contracts showed discrepancies between two copies that were supposedly the same contract. One of the contracts stated an artist¡¯s appearance fee to be 100,000, and thepany paid their taxes in ordance with thew by submitting these files. However, they also made another separate contract that listed 10 million for the artist¡¯s appearance fees¡ªthey paid taxes for 100,000 but secretly got an ie of 10 million! How much tax did they manage to evade that way?! Apart from these contracts, there were also several ve contracts that highlighted the unequal treatment of various artists. One artist was required to spend a specified number of nights drinking and sleeping with others. The contract even specified, in ck and white, the number of days that a female artist would get to take a leave during that time of the month! There was even a list of prices for how much each artist received after sleeping with others¡ªall of it was listed on paper! There were uses that mentioned an increase in rates if the artists performed well in bed with others! It was shocking, horrifying, and appalling! This wasn¡¯t an entertainmentpany; it was practically a prostitution center! Soon enough, the tax department received arge number of reports, and they eventuallyunched an investigation on the issue of tax evasion suspected in both Mitchell International Energy and Technology and Glory Entertainment. The public security department also received reports and finally got themselves involved in the case of Glory Entertainment pricing their artists for illegitimate services and openly using them as prostitutes. ¡­ Sandra and the whole of Glory Entertainment were dumbfounded. There hadn¡¯t actually been anything wrong with Nichs¡¯ Dragon Eye phone. The system was extremely secure. However, Nichs had chosen to lie about the system being hacked as he wanted to exaggerate the situation so that all his fans would give poor reviews to Dragon Eye. He was simply attempting to use his influential power to crush Dragon Eye. Whatever he mentioned about top secret, private files were just a bunch of lies. Furthermore, he was aware of how pornographic images could destroy an artist¡¯s entire career¡ªgetting your pictures exposed would be equivalent to social suicide, so of course he wouldn¡¯t ever be silly enough to leave such images in his phone. Yet all the confidential files and pornographic images of Nichs that were spreading on the Inte were real!! He had been over-exaggerating his words when he criticized Dragon Eye¡¯s security system; he mentioned that hackers were able to ess his information because their security system was weak. He didn¡¯t expect someone to actually leak the confidential files; it was almost as if the person was supporting his point and providing him with more concrete evidence when he faced thewsuit against Dragon Eye! At this point, he¡¯d never be able to rify himself even if he attempted to! Oh, my god! There was only one person that surfaced in Sandra¡¯s mind when she saw all the leaked files. She was certain that Vincent was the one who stole all the files from her before handing them over to Sophia. Sophia¡¯s team must have been the one who leaked it all out! ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you, Vincent! You traitor! How dare you betray the Mitchells!!¡± Sandra immediately gave Vincent a call. She greeted him with a loud scream the moment he picked up. ¡°I¡¯m going to erase your name from the Mitchell Family¡¯s family tree. You will never be able to be buried in the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave! You¡¯d be too ashamed to see your ancestors, anyway!¡± she howled. Chapter 1001 Chapter 1001 Vincent sneered. ¡°Judging by the amount of tax you¡¯ve evaded, the court will probably sentence you to a few years in jail. You¡¯d be just as ashamed to meet the ancestors of the Mitchell Family since you¡¯d be the first of the Mitchells to have ever gotten a jail sentence because of tax evasion!¡± He furiously ended her call. Other members of the Mitchell Family called him after that, but he didn¡¯t pick any of the calls up. Vincent wasn¡¯t exactly a righteous or virtuous man, but he valued his pride. He never liked watching Sandra¡¯s shameless acts of evading her taxes, and he knew that she wouldn¡¯t be the only one to bear the responsibility of the issue if she were to get caught¡ªthe entire Mitchell Family would be dragged through the mud. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Wealthy families like theirs were indeed famous and powerful, but that also made them the focus of many higher-ups and authoritative figures. If they were to offend any of those higher-ups, those people could easily find some excuse to destroy the whole Mitchell Family. However, even after years and years of Sandra¡¯s illegal tax evasion acts, Alex had never once lectured her about it. Instead, he tolerated it and told her to be careful about it. She was ying with fire, and her acts would clearly shove the Mitchell Family into the deep end someday. This time, Vincent finally decided to leave Alex and the rest of the family. He gathered all the details of Sandra¡¯s illegal tax evasion acts, and he initially thought of handing them over for Cooper to deal with it, but Cooper ordered him to do it himself. Vincent personally brought all of the files to the tax department even before the news of the leaked files were released. The tax department therefore began their secret investigation even before the publicmotion. Sandra¡¯s not going to get away this time! Meanwhile, Sophia was the one who had gathered all of the pornographic pictures from some unknown source. The pictures were extremely old, and Faye even appeared in some of them. Sophia probably found them by ident when she was doing her research on Faye¡¯s scandalous acts. Vincent felt a sharp twinge in his heart when he thought of Faye, but there was nothing he could do about it. In fact, he was lucky he hadn¡¯t actually gotten married to her back then. He would¡¯ve been much worse off if that had happened. Now, Sandra was the one that was suffering instead. ¡­ Both the public security and tax departments worked together tounch an investigation on Sandra and Glory Entertainment. They were well prepared, and it was easy for them to dig for any further information. Just the double contracts and the sum of money involved in it was enough for them to throw Sandra into jail, and all those documents were already on the Inte. Sandra, who had never felt so helpless, immediately approached the members of her think tank to begin brainstorming. Firstly, they would have to deny the fact that thepressed zip file had been released from Nichs¡¯ phone. They would have to exin that it was a misunderstanding, that the after-sales center for Dragon Eye had found no issues with the phone¡¯s system after checking¡ªbasically, that all the details were forged. This way, they would be able to avoid any legal usations, and they would also satisfy Dragon Eye¡¯s intentions. After all, what Sophia wanted was probably for them to admit that there wasn¡¯t actually anything wrong with the Dragon Eye phones. Then, they would have to destroy all of the data that had been leaked. They would have to approach all their connections; they would have to offer huge sums to get people working; they would have to use the influential power of the Mitchells to reduce the public¡¯s interest on this topic. If they had no other choice, they might have to get a few scapegoats to take the me. Ultimately, they had to resolve this issue as soon as possible. To Sandra¡¯s surprise, Lucy was the first to phone her to check if she had found any solutions. Although the scandal had mostly to do with Sandra¡¯s own matters, Lucy understood that Sophia made this move mainly because of thepetition between Serpent and Dragon Eye. Lucy therefore felt the need to check on Sandra since Sandra was one of the pawns on her chessboard. Furthermore, Nichs was still the spokesperson of Serpent. All the advertisements had been released, and the public had shown great response to it. But now that he was involved in such a huge scandal with pornographic images, tax evasion, and other illegal acts, it would definitely affect the image of Serpent. Since Lucy asked Sandra about her uing ns, Sandra gave her an honest reply. She prayed that Lucy would be able to help her out. Lucy¡¯s response came as a surprise. ¡°Well, now that all of the confidential information that was supposedly in Nichs¡¯ phone had been leaked to the public, everyone would definitely believe that Dragon Eye¡¯s phones are problematic. This news indirectly proves that there¡¯s something wrong with Dragon Eye¡¯s system. If this is truly the tactic that Sophia employed, then she might as well be digging her own grave and jumping right into it!¡± Lucy uttered with a chuckle. Cooper¡¯s daughter simply isn¡¯t as smart as he is, huh! She didn¡¯t even get 1% of Cooper¡¯s brains and brawns. How could shee up with such an idiotic solution? Now that they¡¯ve made such a huge issue out of this, they¡¯re practically giving a public announcement on how problematic their phone¡¯s system is! Their phones have caused their client¡¯s confidential details to be leaked to the public! For the past 30 years, Dragon Eye has been performing well in the international market precisely because of their quality and security. They imed to be the most secure phone that couldn¡¯t be hacked even with the advanced technology we have. Now that they did something so disadvantageous to their own brand, I¡¯m sure Alice is mentally strangling Sophia to her death! Lucy couldn¡¯t wait to see the look on Alice¡¯s face! This is what happens when she fails to recognize who the better option is! I can¡¯t wait for Alice toe begging me to clean up her mess! ¡°So¡­ what should we do now?¡± Sandra asked timidly. ¡°Since the issue is so big now, I doubt the public will believe you if you say that there had never been anything wrong with Nichs¡¯ phone,¡± Lucy quickly said. ¡°You should just remain silent about the leaked documents for now. We now have solid proof that Dragon Eye leaked their customer¡¯s information, and I¡¯ll help you out with the rest. Don¡¯t worry¡ªI¡¯ll never let you get thrown into jail! Once all of this is over, you¡¯ll be able to stand up for yourself and sue Dragon Eye.¡± Sandra thought she had heard the other woman wrongly. Lucy actually wants me to admit that those files were leaked from Nichs¡¯ phone? She might as well ask me to kill myself! Mypany is the one that is being surrounded by people from the public security and tax departments; I¡¯m the one that is being investigated here, so of course it¡¯d be easy for Lucy to say this! But Lucy continued with a determined tone that suggested that she refused to be disobeyed. ¡°We¡¯ll do this for now. I¡¯ll handle all the matters regarding yourpany. Also, all the Serpent advertisements that have Nichs in them have just been taken down. Mywyer will issue a letter for termination of contract soon, and I¡¯ve already made a public announcement about it, so I¡¯ll need your cooperation.¡± With that, Lucy mmed the phone down and ended the call. Sandra remained dumbstruck for a long while after the other end of the call fell silent. Her handphone automatically showed her the trending news. Apparently, Serpent had made the announcement of their termination of Nichs¡¯ contract almost immediately after the scandal went public. Manyizens praised them for their swift actions. Nichs¡¯ fans, on the other hand, quickly turned into his haters. Sandra thought to herself, Lucy is exactly the sort of ungrateful person that would burn the bridge after she got across the river! All she cares about is her own survival. How could she possibly care about me?! My survival, Glory Entertainment¡¯s survival, the whole Mitchell Family¡¯s survival¡­ Why would Lucy care about that at all?! She had secretly allowed all of these nasty acts to go on all along, and she¡¯d never brought it up when she was benefiting from it. Is she trying to avoid all responsibilities now that we¡¯re facing a problem?! That¡¯s not going to happen! That selfish old virgin deserves to be single forever. Linus isn¡¯t interested in her, and neither is Michael, so who does she really think she is? She¡¯s just lucky she was born into the Edwards Family. She wouldn¡¯t be worth anything otherwise! She¡¯d be worth less than a single strand of hair in my nose! Sandra gritted her teeth as tears of anger began to burn at the corner of her eyes. Her assistant, who had been standing beside her, overheard the entire conversation, so she asked gingerly, ¡°President Mitchell, should we still proceed with the n?¡± ¡°No. I have a new n!¡± Sandra smirked. Since Lucy doesn¡¯t care about me and wants to watch me die, what else do I have to lose here? Now, it¡¯s my turn to sit back and watch them fight one another! Chapter 1002 Chapter 1002 After hanging up on Sandra, Lucy kept waiting for Alice to give in to her. However, that didn¡¯t happen despite several days of waiting, so she lost her patience and called Alice instead. ¡°Miss Alice, you¡¯ll really lose the opportunity if you still don¡¯t rece the agent for Dragon Eye!¡± Alice was still in the Edwards Residence, and her personal assistant was packing her baggage. Unexpectedly, she received the swaggering phone call from Lucy. She sounded indifferent over the phone. ¡°Miss Edwards, I¡¯m in a bad mood right now, so I don¡¯t want to discuss work-rted matters with you.¡± With that, she hung up. Lucy thought Alice was worried about the hacking of Dragon Eye¡¯s operating system, so after the phone call ended, she waited with a gloating expression for thetter to give in to her. However, she didn¡¯t know that Dragon Eye wasn¡¯t the cause of Alice¡¯s agitation at all. Now that she had had everything handed over and arranged, she was ready to leave Cethos. Casper reluctantly carried his little backpack on his back while running out to pat the alpaca, the cat, and the dog. After saying goodbye to Carmen and Ashton, he sat on the porch, as if waiting for someone. However, it had been quite a few days since thest time that person showed up. Casper had been looking forward to calling the person ¡®Daddy¡¯, but he never came again. Carmenforted him like an adult, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t wait anymore. Mr. Psychic has gone back to his hometown. He¡¯ll be back when you spend your holiday here next time.¡± In the end, Casper didn¡¯t get to see Daniel. After leaving the Edwards Residence, he and Alice took a car to the airport to leave the country on a private ne. In the car, Alice worked using herptop, whereas Casper pouted his lips without saying a word while ying with the sandalwood bracelet he had brought with him. Once arriving at the airport, Alice got out of the car. Casper, led by Alice¡¯s assistant, slowly walked toward the airport in dejection. Alice looked unusually frosty on this day, for she didn¡¯t say a word and was expressionless the whole time. She indifferently and resolutely walked up the boarding stairs to board the ne. Unexpectedly, she had barely made a few steps when a loud screeching sound of car tires was heard approaching from behind. ¡°Alice!¡± Alice trembled, for she heard Daniel¡¯s voice. He came! Daniel came in a hurry. His usually neatlybed hair was utterly messy on this day, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked haggard, with dark circles bulged under his eyes. ¡°Daddy!¡± Casper happily ran up to him. This was the first time Casper called him ¡®Daddy¡¯. Daniel quickly walked up to Casper and hugged him, holding thetter tightly in his arms. This is my son! My son! The father and son reconnected atst! Tears spilled out of Daniel¡¯s eyes as he held Casper in his arms. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. He then looked at Alice, who didn¡¯t look back the whole time. She looked cold and resolute from behind, but her long, thin, and uncontrobly trembling fingers betrayed the surging emotions within her at this moment. Daniel let go of Casper and stood up before looking up at Alice, who was about to board the ne. ¡°Alice, if I could turn the clock back, I would never regret going to the River Seine that day, nor would I have chosen to run away from you. I was wrong; I was totally wrong. Can you forgive me, Alice?¡± Daniel could never put that particr night out of his mind; he couldn¡¯t forget this beautifuldy from the West for the rest of his life. But he couldn¡¯t be together with her. He was a vagabond who wandered all over the world like a seaman, unable to live a settled life. Therefore, he chose to run away from her until now. However, he acknowledged his heart¡¯s desire on this day, for he knew he couldn¡¯t run away from his feelings for Alice. Even if he buried his memory of the encounter in the depths of his mind, this memory would be conjured up one day. He couldn¡¯t control the feelings that he had suppressed for so many years once they were released. Alice still didn¡¯t look back, but her emotionless words were heard in the wind. ¡°Daniel, how is there forgiveness to speak of when there¡¯s no resentment between us?¡± With that, she walked up to the door to the airne¡¯s passenger cabin. She ced her hand on the door frame and was about to go inside, only to hear Daniel calling out affectionately and desperately from behind, ¡°Alice¡­¡± No words followed after that, though. It was as if Daniel wanted to say something and could say it with just a little effort. Still, he didn¡¯t have the courage to say it. Tears streamed uncontrobly out of his reddened eyes as he looked up in her direction. Alice paused upon hearing his voice. However, as she had expected, she didn¡¯t hear what she wanted to hear after waiting for over ten seconds. Hence, she entered the passenger cabin without a word and disappeared from sight. Daniel couldn¡¯t tell Alice¡¯s despair and agony. She was waiting for a simple sentence from him. Regrettably, she wouldn¡¯t get to hear that from him. How she wished Daniel could leave everything behind and go with her! However, she knew that Daniel couldn¡¯t do so, nor could she give up everything she had worked so hard for and stay in Cethos with him. They knew that they couldn¡¯t get over each other, but they still couldn¡¯t be together. Daniel¡¯s tears dried up from the breeze while he watched in a daze as Alice disappeared from his sight. He had never felt that the world was as full of hopelessness and helplessness as it was right now. ¡°Why are you crying, Daddy?¡± asked Casper naively. Daniel quickly wiped his tears away and crouched down to be on a level with Casper. As he looked at his son, he thought of how much he owed them over the years, and the grief within him caused tears to well up in his eyes. Suppressing the urge to cry, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m sad because you and Mommy are about to leave.¡± Casper reached his hand out to wipe the tears away from Daniel¡¯s face. As his warm little hand tickled Daniel¡¯s face, Daniel couldn¡¯t control himself for a moment, and tears streamed down his face again. Casper tried to wipe Daniel¡¯s tears away, but he couldn¡¯t do so no matter how hard he tried. Those aboard the ne urged him again, so he said to Daniel, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m leaving now. I¡¯ll call you once I get off the ne.¡± Daniel answered with a choke in his voice, ¡°Alright. Remember toe and y with me during the holidays.¡± Casper then boarded the ne before waving his little hand at Daniel. Daniel also waved at Casper before watching as the cabin door closed and the ne took off, taking Casper and Alice away from thisnd. Watching as the ne disappeared from his sight, Daniel crouched down helplessly and let himself cry. After a while, a few people came over and surrounded him. Michael had never seen the manly Daniel crying so hopelessly. He had bluffed his way through the seven continents and five oceans with his usible tongue, but there was still something that he couldn¡¯t handle. Michael also understood that what was happening to Daniel on this day would happen to himter. He and Sophia would have to face the same problem sooner orter. Family name matters, after all¡­ Cethosians were very obsessed with family names. Michael left the Fletcher Family and severed ties with them back then, giving up his family name to leave the opportunity to his sister. He roamed the world publicly under the name of Taylor Murray and secretly as an anonymous. In the end, however, he had his name listed back in the Fletcher Family¡¯s genealogy record book since he couldn¡¯t let go of his family name. Anonymous? Ha¡­ who would want to be anonymous if they were given a choice? Chapter 1003 Chapter 1003 Back when Celine and Justin went missing during the operation, the Mitchell Family wanted to take Nathan back and give him the surname Mitchell. Michael had taken a great deal of effort to forcibly snatch him back from the Mitchells. Now that Celine was pregnant with her second child, Cooper was dead set on the child bearing the surname Mitchell. Cooper himself didn¡¯t dare to go back to visit the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave on New Year¡¯s Day and other festivals. He said he didn¡¯t give a damn about doing so, but in reality, he didn¡¯t dare to visit his family¡¯s ancestral grave because he was too ashamed to face his ancestors! That was because he had given up the surname of Mitchell and registered himself as a member of the Michel Family¡¯s household. Ordinary Cethosians were extremely obsessed with their family names, not to mention the distinguished families with a legacy of a few centuries. Beyonc¨¦, Cooper¡¯s mother, abandoned her surname and family after falling in love with Woody back then. Leaving everything behind, she came to Cethos penniless and gave birth to Cooper. However, no one knew she was a member of the Michel Family and the daughter of the Michel Family¡¯s head until her death. It wasn¡¯t until more than 20 yearster that the head of the Michel Family missed his daughter while on his deathbed and sent somebody to find out about her. Now, Alice had fallen in love with Daniel, yet she chose to run away and cast aside her love for him for the sake of her career. Beyonc¨¦ chose to give up everything for love, whereas Alice chose to secure her career. She kept everything she had except for love, and this was the choice made by most of the women in the Michel Family. What about Sophia? She chose a path that had never been taken by anyone before. She chose to fight to the end together with Michael! However, nobody knew where this path would lead to¡­ As Daniel cried hopelessly, Harryforted him, saying, ¡°Alright, that¡¯s enough. You¡¯re already in your thirties; don¡¯t you feel embarrassed to cry like this? Alright, stop crying. The sky is getting dark; it¡¯s time to go home and have dinner.¡± In the end, Daniel forced himself to stop crying. He then lit a cigarette and smoked it slowly. Michael, Harry, and Justin smoked together with him, and the four men smoked cigarettes while sitting on the lawn at the private airfield. Harry said with a sigh, ¡°Now that I think of it, Justin, you¡¯re the lucky one, for you¡¯ve ovee the odds.¡± Daniel couldn¡¯t be together with the woman he loved right now, whereas Michael had an uncertain future ahead of him, leaving Justin the only person who had finally ovee all sorts of hardships. He got back together with Celine and was expecting his second child, making him a winner in life aside from the fact that Celine was a little mentally retarded right now. His eldest son was quite promising, and he would soon be a father again. He had had a rough life, for everyone had witnessed his miserable past. Justin blew a ring of smoke before chuckling foolishly and sweetly. Now that he had gotten back together with Celine, everything in the past seemed like a nightmare to him. Luckily, it was dawn, and he had woken up from the nightmare. Everything was fine, except that he broke into a sweat out of fright. The world was once again filled with sunlight when he drew the curtains. He said, ¡°I think that you¡¯re luckier than I. You¡¯re expecting your second child now.¡± Harry¡¯s rtionship with Sarah didn¡¯t seem to have many difficulties. They had never been apart from each other as Justin and Celine were, nor was their love story as heart-wrenching as that of Michael and Sophia¡¯s. Also, unlike Daniel and Alice, Harry and Sarah could be together with the person they loved, so what had happened to Harry was enviable. Harry blew a ring of smoke sadly and watched as it slowly disappeared. Then, he said, ¡°Just a while ago, Sarah¡¯s dad tried to have her kidnapped on her way home from work, but I got wind of it in advance and stopped him. This was already the fifth time he had tried toy a hand on Sarah and Sour Face. That father of hers had totally lost his mind; he harmed them again immediately after I let him off. So, in a fit of uncontroble rage, I had him thrown into the high seas to feed him to the sharks. When I went back on it and had him picked upter, a leg was all that was left of him. Sarah doesn¡¯t know this yet.¡± Everyone fell silent at his words. What a man he is! He¡¯s so ruthless as to kill his father-inw! Harry now had his heart in his mouth for fear that Sarah would find out about this. Justin said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. At the very least, your father-inw couldn¡¯t make mincemeat out of you anymore. Look at how miserable Mikey is. He¡¯s afraid of being made into minced meat every day.¡± Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael, who hadn¡¯t a hope of remarriage, and Daniel, who didn¡¯t have a hope in hell of getting a wife for himself, were silent the whole time. In the end, the four men spent half of the night smoking, using Michael¡¯s cell phone as their ashtray by stubbing out their cigarettes on its screen. ¡°Hey! This cell phone is pretty nice; it¡¯s usable even in such a state! Stay still; let me take a photo and post it on Twitter!¡± ¡­ Sophia was also aware of Alice¡¯s departure, but she was too busy to see Alice off. The presale for Dragon Eye cell phones was around the corner, so she had tons of matters to attend to. While she was busy, her assistant suddenly said happily to her, ¡°Miss Edwards, someone anonymously sent the evidence of Lucy instigating Nichs Yates to throw mud at us to your official mailbox. I have sent the evidence to yourptop separately.¡± Sophia immediately checked the folder her assistant sent over. The folder contained quite a few gigabytes of files, including the phone recording of how Lucy¡¯s assistant instructed Nichs to purposely drop and break his cell phone to smear Dragon Eye. There were also some screenshots of some text messages, including conversations and voice conversations detailing how they had orchestrated the whole incident. The assistant said happily, ¡°With these pieces of evidence, we can prove that there¡¯s no problem with the cell phones¡¯ quality, and the ratings will rise very soon!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t even finish looking at the files before she deleted them right away; she dragged them into the recycle bin and even emptied it. She said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to care about these pieces of evidence, for they¡¯re all fake. We¡¯ll be ying right into the enemy¡¯s hands if we really release these pieces of evidence.¡± The assistant was baffled. ¡°I have had these pieces of evidence verified, and they¡¯re all genuine! We¡¯ll be able to save Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation as soon as possible by releasing them right now!¡± The release of Nichs¡¯ videos lent weight to his usation that Dragon Eye cell phones had quality issues. As a result, questions andments of disappointment poured in, and Dragon Eye¡¯s anticipation scores in many online forums¡¯ surveys plummeted. The release of these files would save Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation, proving that Dragon Eye¡¯s operating system hadn¡¯t been breached into and that everything was a malicious plot by their opponents! Burying herself in work, Sophia said, ¡°We can¡¯t release them even if they¡¯re genuine. Don¡¯t worry, for someone is more anxious than us.¡± The assistant didn¡¯t understand what Sophia meant; however, since Sophia had spoken, she naturally didn¡¯t dare to decide things for herself. Therefore, she deleted the files along with the email, pretending as if this had never happened. Meanwhile, back in the Mitchell Group¡¯s office, Sandra kept waiting, but no news came. The anticipation for the low-end version of Dragon Eye cell phones was diminishing online, and Sophia should have received the files she had sent her. Why was there still nothing going on on Sophia¡¯s side? She would be able to save her cell phones¡¯ reputation as long as she released the evidence to prove that this incident was under Lucy¡¯s instigation! Nichs could also y up his pitiable persona by iming that he had been threatened and that he was forced into doing everything against his will. Everything he had imed online was false¡ªhis cell phone wasn¡¯t hacked, nor had his personal data been stolen! Sandra would then go under the radar for a while. Once this incident went out of the limelight and sank into oblivion, the matter would be yed down and trivialized into nothing, and Lucy wouldn¡¯t be able to ce the me on her. With that, she would be saved, and so would Glory Entertainment and Nichs, the money-spinner! By then, she would sit idly by and watch the dogfight between Sophia and Lucy! Sandra waited for quite a few days, but nothing happened on Sophia¡¯s side. She had enough trump cards in her hand, but she didn¡¯t use any of them. The day of Dragon Eye¡¯s global sale was drawing near, and its presale in Cethos would start soon, yet the quality issues hadn¡¯t been solved! Sandra was more anxious than Sophia. She kept waiting for Sophia to make a move ande to a face- off with Lucy so that she could seize this opportunity to find a way to survive and save her own skin. Sophia didn¡¯t make any moves, but a lot was going on with the Taxation Bureau and the police. In a fit of desperation, Sandra eventually chose to clutch at straws by having someone spread the pieces of evidence anonymously. Besides trying hard to make it look like the evidence was released by Sophia¡¯s team on purpose, she shifted all the responsibility to Lucy! Now, she shall wait for Lucy and Sophia to face off! Chapter 1004 Chapter 1004 There was a public outcry when Sandra spread the news. Gosh, how could there be such a thing? Serpent actually bribed the spokesperson for Dragon Eye in secret and threatened him to openly sling mud at Dragon Eye¡¯s cell phones! Everything he said about his cell phone being broken and his important personal information being leaked after hacking were all outright lies! Unexpectedly, theirpetitors took this opportunity to add insult to injury by releasing a mixture of genuine and false ¡®leaked data¡¯, making a big deal out of this and even drawing the attention of the police and the Taxation Bureau! It was unknown whether these pieces of evidence were released by Sandra¡¯s team to save their own skin, nor was it known if these pieces of evidence were obtained by Sophia¡¯s team, who didn¡¯t know whether Nichs threw mud at Dragon Eye of his own free will or at Lucy¡¯s coercion. Still, Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation had been saved. Sandra really clutched at straws right now to whitewash what she had done. She kept hyping up this issue to try to y down the matter about the double contracts. The nude photos and the casting couch were no big deal, but the double contracts and tax evasion would drive her to her death. She would really lose all standing and reputation if this was found out! Now that her life was at stake, she wouldn¡¯t hesitate even if she would offend Lucy! Just when everyone was talking about the incident, Harry posted a photo of a Dragon Eye cell phone being used as an ashtray, which again caused a heated public discussion about Dragon Eye cell phones¡¯ quality. Moreover, Michael rode on the wave of this incident¡¯s poprity by posting the video of him ying fetch with Judge using the cell phones of those two brands. He didn¡¯t even pixte the cell phones¡¯ logos. The photos showed how the Serpent cell phone was about to disintegrate at any minute when Judge sank its teeth into it. On the contrary, the Dragon Eye cell phone remained intact, immediately showing the contrast between the quality of the two cell phones. The public and the cell phone fans¡¯ enthusiasm for Dragon Eye cell phones was immediately rekindled. Some technology-focused influencers and celebrities also received the Dragon Eye cell phones in advance. After trying the cell phones themselves, they shared what they thought of the cell phones, arousing public anticipation toward Dragon Eye cell phones again. When Lucy saw the news, she really wished she could kill Sandra, the idiot, on the spot. Sandra thought she had hidden her tracks, but in reality, Lucy could tell at a nce that she was the culprit. She spoiled my well-hatched n just like this! Moreover, she even dared to ce all the me on me! However, after her anger subsided, Lucy decided to resign herself to this reality. She should never have worked together with Sandra in any way from the very beginning. Thatdy could get her in trouble anytime! It was indeed Lucy who had proposedpeting for the endorsement deal back then. It was very normal for a spokesperson to be reced or removed. There were even cases where the leading actors had signed the contracts to act in films, only to be removed after the filming started. This kind of thing was a common urrence. Competing for endorsement deals wasn¡¯t something new either. It wasn¡¯t Lucy¡¯s idea to discredit Dragon Eye cell phones, but she had indeed tacitly consented to this. Right now, Lucy had calmly taken the me; she decided to take it as the price she had to pay for her ignorance and tacit permission back then. What she needed to think about was how to remedy the situation. After the incident broke out, everyone was waiting for Lucy¡¯s response. Meanwhile, Sandra was gleefully waiting for her to pick a fight with Sophia. Sophia was also waiting for Lucy¡¯s next move so that she could decide what to do next. Their wait didn¡¯t take long. A few days after Sandra released the evidence and caused a wide and heated discussion, Lucy, the agent for Serpent mobile phones in Cethos, immediately held a press conference. Upon seeing the news, Sophia immediately turned on herputer to watch the live broadcast. That¡¯s so quick of her; she¡¯s actually holding the press conference on Monday! Stanley and the others also gathered around Sophia and herputer to watch how Lucy would deal with this. At the start of the press conference, Lucy bowed and apologized to the camera. ¡°As Serpent mobile phone¡¯s exclusive agent, I can find no excuse to shirk my responsibility when such an unpleasant thing has happened. Whatever has been done wrong was wrong, so I¡¯m willing to apologize to society for what my team and I have done wrong. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯d also like to apologize to the fans who have been supporting Serpent mobile phones. I¡¯m sorry to have disappointed you all. I have fired those responsible for this incident, but I don¡¯t want to shirk my responsibility. I have to take most of the me for this incident. I hereby wish that the numerous fans of Serpent mobile phones can give me another chance. I¡¯ll make sure to lead Serpent mobile phones to greater heights and create another remarkable legend.¡± With that, she bowed again and answered the reporters¡¯ questions in detail. ¡°Miss Lucy, may I ask if you signed with Nichs Yates on purpose back then?¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Lucy answered, ¡°It was Miss Sandra Mitchell, my former business partner, who proposed signing Nichs to be the spokesperson for Serpent mobile phones, and she even offered to lower the endorsement fee topete for the endorsement deal. I have terminated all coboration contracts with her after this incident.¡± ¡°Did you know about Nichs Yates¡¯ smearing of Dragon Eye cell phones in advance? Did you take part in it?¡± Lucy answered coherently, ¡°I didn¡¯t know about this until after the incident. However, I have to take responsibility for letting the incident worsen instead of informing the public in time about this. I¡¯m willing to apologize and pay thepensation fees for the unwee effects of this incident on Dragon Eye cell phones.¡± Another reporter then asked, ¡°What do you think of the incident where Mr. Taylor Murray yed fetch with a dog using a Serpent mobile phone and posted a video of it? Do you think of this as a kind of provocation toward Serpent mobile phones by Dragon Eye cell phones? Will you take legal action against Mr. Taylor Murray?¡± Lucy responded frankly, ¡°I have watched the video as well. As an internationally well-known cell phone brand, Dragon Eye has always been the benchmark in the high-end cell phone industry. The quality and operation system of its cell phones indeed surpass many simr cell phones by a great margin, so I have to admit that Serpent mobile phones are inferior to Dragon Eye cell phones. The video only illustrated the truth visually, so I don¡¯t think it is nder for Serpent mobile phones.¡± ¡­ Lucy apologized, and Dragon Eye cell phones¡¯ reputation was saved. It was all Sandra and Nichs¡¯ fault. Lucy had done wrong, but she had publicly apologized and paid thepensation fees, making her innocent instantly. This incident ended just like this by steering the public opinion a little. Everyone was satisfied since Serpent and Dragon Eye had made peace with each other. Back in Plum Technology¡¯s building, Sophia and her team finished watching the live broadcast of Lucy¡¯s press conference. She didn¡¯t shut down herputer until Lucy finished answering the reporters¡¯ questions and left. The fact that Lucy, the Young Lady of the Edwards Family, apologized so frankly truly gave her some stress¡­ This seemed so familiar, for what happened was simr to the previous incident when King¡¯s dog-abuse matter came to light. While Sandra was still making excuses for herself and threatening the people involved, Lucy had readily stepped forward to apologize and pay thepensation fees. Also, she promised to shut down King for good even though the brand had just established itself. The early-stage investment required to establish a luxury brand was huge, but the profit would be very handsome when the brand was establishedter. King was at the stage where it was about to make money after its fame and brand reputation were brought about by the huge investment, yet Lucy shut it down for good without hesitation. Currently, the domestic luxury pet supplies market was monopolized by Sophia¡¯s Pourl, whereas King had withdrawn from the marketpletely. This meant that all the money that had been invested previously had gone down the drain! Yet this was how bold and resolute Lucy was. Back then, she even cleaned up the mess Sandra had created without leaving any loose ends. Chapter 1005 Chapter 1005 Sophia didn¡¯t know whether Lucy would still save Sandra¡¯s skin this time. For now, though, she had to admit that Lucy had dealt with the incident perfectly, for everyone responsible for the incident had been held ountable. She fired the personnel involved, apologized, and paid thepensation fees immediately, winning the support of many fans of Serpent cell phones. Contrary to Sandra¡ªwho secretly had someone spread the news around¡ªshe held a press conference and apologized publicly, making her look more credible. She had really left nothing to chance! Such an enemy was the most ruthless and hardest to deal with! If it weren¡¯t for Sandra, Lucy would probably have ruined Dragon Eye cell phones¡¯ reputation for good this time. This was precisely what Sophia was certain of. She had been hoping that Sandra, Lucy¡¯s stupid partner, would stir up some trouble. As she had expected, Sandra did exactly that! Having finished watching the press conference¡¯s live broadcast, Sophia immediately called Michael¡ª who was doing some filming in another part of the country¡ªand told him to delete the video of Judge biting a Serpent mobile phone that he had previously posted. Unexpectedly, Michael acted faster than she did. Not only did he delete the video, he also issued a public apology. He also frankly admitted that it was quite reckless of him to have posted such a video. Sophia also took the initiative to get in touch with Lucy¡¯s team to discuss making peace with each other. They even purposely let the media photograph them doing so. With that, the incident was over. Serpent and Dragon Eye were now independent of each other, and they wouldpete in the future by relying solely on their strength. ¡­ Sandra was still in disbelief as she watched the news coverage about Lucy and Sophia making peace with each other just like this. How could this be possible? How could they possibly bury the hatchet when things have progressed to this point? Lucy is Michael¡¯s ex! Did Sophia really shake hands and make peace with her just like that? Now that both Lucy and Sophia pleaded ignorance while Sandra had cleared Dragon Eye¡¯s reputation single-handedly, everyone ced the me on her. Lucy had taken the responsibility upon herself for the smearing of Dragon Eye cell phones, and she fired several responsible personnel to smooth things over. However, the matter of Glory Entertainment signing double contracts could no longer be concealed. Moreover, nude photos of Nichs Yates spread widely, completely tarnishing the image of a good father that he had taken so much effort to establish! All his endorsement contracts and film contracts were terminated unterally. He could no longer appear in the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ as scheduled, and all his scenes in the two films he had acted intely were all cut and reshot directly. The money-spinner copsed just like that! Glory Entertainment¡¯s stock price plummeted all the way until it hit limit-down. It could be said that Nichs was finished as a celebrity, for he also had a hand in the double contracts. Simrly, Sandra couldn¡¯t escape the responsibility for this. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Sandra gnashed her teeth in hatred as she watched from the news how Lucy had put all the me on her. All of you are morally perfect people! All of you are right, and I am the only person who has done wrong! Sitting in her office, Sandra smashed everything within arm¡¯s reach while looking at the spectacr view of Bayside City outside the building with a malicious look in her eyes. It wasn¡¯t easy for her to work her way back then from being an unknown swimmer to being the Young Lady Mitchell that she was today. She would never allow anyone to pose a threat to her position. Suddenly, an idea that had never urred before came into her mind. With a ferocious look in her eyes, she put out the cigarette between her fingers and found herptop back. Herptop was manufactured by Michel Group. Surprisingly, it was still usable even after she had dropped it many times. Her fingers typed on the keyboard before she soon sent out an email. Then, she called Lucy. As she had expected, it was Lucy¡¯s assistant who answered the phone call, for Lucy had blocked her number on her own cell phone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss Sandra. The Edwards Group has terminated all coboration with you, so please don¡¯t call us again.¡± Sandra¡¯s lips curled into a sinister sneer as she held her cell phone. ¡°I have just sent an email to Miss Edwards¡¯ official mailbox. Take a look at it first, and then tell Lucy to call me.¡± The assistant hung up. She didn¡¯t want to pay attention to Sandra, but she still took a look at Lucy¡¯s official mailbox. Her job was to clean up Lucy¡¯s mailbox every day anyway. Finally, she saw the email Sandra had sent over. Not a word was written in the email¡ªonly a photo was attached. After the photo was downloaded, a high-definition photo that seemed to have been taken secretly in a bar showed up on the monitor. The photo showed Lucy and a man sitting in a booth in the bar. Lucy¡ªwho was usually forceful and vigorous, as if she had no femininity in her¡ªsat on the man¡¯sp with her arms wrapped around his neck while staring at him tenderly. Her red lips parted slightly, as if she was saying something to him. One could tell from the look in a woman¡¯s eyes whether she was in love with someone. Lucy¡¯s eyes were shining in the photo, so one could tell that she was truly in love with the man. Dressed in a white shirt, the man gently held Lucy¡¯s waist with his long and thin fingers while speaking cheek-to-cheek with her. His face wasn¡¯t visible since only his back was photographed, but one could still tell his rtionship with Lucy at a nce. Shocked, the assistant sent the photo to Lucy. Meanwhile, Sandra waited for Lucy to call her. Lucy must have never expected this. I even found out who the man was, and I have many photos and videos of them! Lucy had dated the man secretly for many years. They started dating as early as nearly ten years ago, which was before she started dating Michael! She openly dated Michael while going steady with the man the whole time. She even wanted to unite with the Michel Family by marriage, and she had a few other boyfriends while dating Michael! She was so disgusting! God only knew what would give her the right topete for the position of the head of the Edwards Family after their scandalous affair was exposed! As Sandra had expected, Lucy called her in person after a while. ¡°Sandra, I¡¯ll help you deal with the aftermath of your problems, but you must keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, I don¡¯t mind making you unable to speak anymore!¡± ¡­ Time really flew; it was June in the blink of an eye, and Michael had gone overseas to act in a film. Michael had wanted to have Cooper¡¯s son registered in his household before the Ancestors¡¯ Day and have himself registered in Cooper¡¯s household before the Dragon Boat Festival. Unexpectedly, Sophia secured the dealership rights for Dragon Eye, and the series of events that followed forced him to repeatedly put off his n to have Linus removed from Cooper¡¯s household registry. He decided to proceed with his n on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. He must have a son registered in Cooper¡¯s household on that day! The presale of Dragon Eye cell phones in Cethos finally started. Now that the cell phones¡¯ ratings were positive again, many businesses joined the presale. There were many authorized dealers, distributors, and retailers to ensure that the cell phones were avable for sale in big cities as much as possible. A widespread promotional campaign for the Dragon Eye cell phones had begun before the presale. The film ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ had finalized its release date, and the promotion campaign for the film had started. The key members of the film crew did roadshows in many parts of the country to promote their new film. The cell phonemercial that Drake appeared in was released with good reviews, so Sophia had him take his cell phone to the roadshows to boost Dragon Eye¡¯s poprity a little. The TV drama ¡®I Am the Vige Chief 2¡¯ also began to be broadcasted on Cethos Central Television. Due to Michael¡¯s guest appearance in this drama, the drama became a hit and established itself as a ssic local TV drama. It even won many awards and was broadcasted on local TV stations before being shown on Cethos Central Television. Now that Dragon Eye had be one of the drama¡¯s sponsors, Michael also returned for two episodes in the drama, ying the heroine¡¯s first boyfriend. Sophia took the opportunity to insert an advertisement into the TV drama. Chapter 1006 Chapter 1006 At the end of the drama¡¯s first season, the heroine finally got together with the male protagonist who was abor contractor. Together, they persuaded the vigers and sessfully developed the vige, building a resort that promoted tourism in the area. Because of that, everyone in the vige became rich and lived in happiness, causing their vige to be known far and wide as a wealthy one. At the beginning of the second season, the vige was envied by another vige. The resort was defamed by hical reporters, causing its business to ck for a period of time. Feeling extremely anxious, the heroine contacted Miles¡ªher ex-boyfriend who worked as a reporter in the city¡ªto have him write an objective news report for them. Miles had be the newspaper¡¯s editor- in-chief after a few years, so the news report he wrote would certainly be read by many. Showing up again, Miles came to the vige to uncover the actual situation. After learning of the truth, he promised to write a news report for the heroine and inform the public of the actual situation. Unexpectedly, the male protagonist stumbled upon their meeting and misunderstood them. Thinking that they still had feelings for each other, he chased after Miles with a hoe in his hand, scaring Miles into running along the river bank. All the vigers came out and watched as the male protagonist chased after Miles by the river. Frightened, Miles took out his cell phone and hurled it at the male protagonist, causing the male protagonist¡¯s head to bleed. Angered, the male protagonist smashed Miles¡¯ cell phone using his hoe before throwing Miles and his mobile device into the river. The heroine was so frightened that she jumped into the river after Miles to save him. Shocked, the male protagonist jumped into the river to save them both. In the end, Miles was out of danger after being saved from drowning; he was quickly sent to the hospital. With the heroine¡¯s exnation, the male protagonist learned about what had actually happened, so he bowed and apologized to Miles. Furthermore, he went down to the river himself and searched for ages to retrieve Miles¡¯ cell phone and camera that had fallen into the river. Unfortunately, the camera broke after being submerged in the water for too long, and all important, work- rted photos saved in it were all gone. Overwhelmed with regret, the male protagonist pped himself across the face. However, he was surprised when Miles¡¯ cell phone managed to turn on, and some of the work-rted photos Miles had taken were backed up on it. In the end, Miles forgave the male protagonist since he was moved by thetter¡¯s sincerity. Returning to the city with the photos he had taken, he wrote a favorable news report for them and had it published on the newspaper¡¯s front page, attracting the society¡¯s attention and clearing the vige of the false usations. With that, the resort was able to resume its business. The day the resort reopened for business, the male protagonist invited Miles over. Miles couldn¡¯t help taking pictures with his cell phone, expressing his wonder at the vige¡¯s changes over the past few years. As the camera zoomed in, the logo of the cell phone in Miles¡¯ hand was disyed perfectly. It was none other than the logo of Dragon Eye. Everyone in the family was speechless when they finished the advertisement. The corners of Cooper¡¯s mouth twitched. This advertisement¡­ had no traces of amercial at all! The plot was very embarrassing, but after the episodes were broadcasted, Dragon Eye cell phones instantly increased in poprity throughout the vast countryside. At the moment, Cethos was still internationally recognized as a developing and underdeveloped country. Its rural poption was three times that of its urban poption, so the market in the vast countryside, the suburbs, and the pastoral areas were huge. In fact, Cethos¡¯ GDP per capita was very high, and its citizens¡¯ purchasing power was almost as strong as a developed country¡¯s. They put on a weak front internationally, knowing that one mustn¡¯t reveal their wealth. Furthermore, Cethos¡¯ Inte censorship prevented foreigners from understanding what Cethos was actually like through the Inte. Most of the citizens from other countries still thought that Cethosians were so poor that they couldn¡¯t even afford to eat tea eggs. Therefore, many luxury brands weren¡¯t very optimistic about entering the Cethosian market. Dragon Eye had previously been afraid of entering the Cethos too; this was not only because of Cooper¡¯s apprehensions, but also because the brand was worried that Cethosians couldn¡¯t afford luxury goods. Consequently, they wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain a steady stream of sales. After touring the area, a surprised Alice realized that this country was theplete opposite of what others assumed it to be. In fact, international news coverage of this country wasn¡¯t urate at all; this country was so well-developed that one could scan QR codes to donate money while visiting a remote temple deep in the mountains. Smartphones were verymon; Serpent mobile phones were commonly used even in areas that looked impoverished. In the end, she decided to sell Dragon Eye cell phones in Cethos. Sophia didn¡¯t disappoint her either; after a week of presales, a total of 3,000,000 cell phones were sold in advance. Dragon Eye cell phones¡¯ sales volume couldn¡¯t match Serpent mobile phones, but they put themselves firmly in second ce. Besides Dragon Eye cell phones¡¯ quality and reputation, Sophia¡¯s hard work also yed a role in this. Alice had chosen her as the agent mainly because she was so utterly shameless, using every opportunity to advertise the cell phones. Cooper had been observing the presalestely. He found that Sophia¡¯s advertisements were everywhere, which was simply exhausting. Inserting advertisements into TV dramas and films was fine, and it was necessary to promote the cell phones via LED screens on various buildings andrge screens in different malls. However, Sophia also advertised Dragon Eye cell phones through TVmercials, web portals, video-streaming applications, pre-show ads, and posters at bus stops¡­ She even had the advertisement for Dragon Eye cell phones spray-painted onto the walls in the vast countryside! After watching enough episodes of ¡®I Am the Vige Chief 2¡¯ for the day, Sophia cracked and ate melon seeds in the Edwards Residence while speaking to Cooper. ¡°I¡¯ve looked at the result of this presale, Dad. The sales volume in the countryside is about the same as the sales volume in urban areas¡ªthis shows that my approach is right. Let¡¯s look at the eastern coastal areas in particr; the sales volume there is the highest, nearly exceeding that of the urban areas. Other countries always go through the process of urbanization before going through the process of deurbanization; the rich are first centered in urban areas before they leave the cities to gather in the suburbs. Cethos seems quite different from other countries, though. The purchasing power of citizens in the countryside can¡¯t be underestimated, for there are still many hidden wealthy people. The prices of our cell phones and Serpent mobile phones are quite reasonable; other people spend thousands on Serpent for the sake of their pride, but they spend thousands on our cell phones for the phones¡¯ quality. Therefore, I ced emphasis on the cell phones¡¯ quality while advertising them. We can¡¯t use the same selling points as Serpent mobile phones since we can¡¯t win against them for the time being.¡± Listening to Sophia¡¯s words, Cooper stroked the cat as he nodded repeatedly. He didn¡¯t expect Sophia to know quite well that the main buyers of Serpent cell phones were the petit bourgeoisie in the city. Since they couldn¡¯t afford Dragon Eye¡¯s high-end cell phones, they could only buy Serpent cell phones, which were the best low-end mobile devices. Evidently, Serpent did quite a good job in marketing its cell phones. Sophia was now trying to avoid the main buyers of Serpent cell phones while looking for other breakthroughs. Sophia then continued, ¡°Dad, Uncle Linus¡ªwhy don¡¯t you two think of some advertising slogans for me? The advertising slogans used in the countryside and the suburbs have to be changed from time to time. I came up with several ideas as well. How does ¡®Dragon Eye¡ªyou¡¯d only need one for life¡¯ sound? Does it sound good to you?¡± Cooper was at a loss for words. ¡°With quality as good as Dragon Eye cell phones, you¡¯re looking at your next family heirloom!¡± ¡°Dragon Eye cell phones are second to none; just wait till you hear praises from everyone.¡± Throughout the entire time, Cooper was rendered speechless. Sophia said, ¡°Dad? Uncle Linus? Say something! I¡¯m thinking of organizing a sales promotion in the countryside. Those who buy the 16GB version of Dragon Eye cell phones will get free toilet paper, whereas those who buy the 64GB version of Dragon Eye cell phones will get a bucket of peanut oil for free. Since it¡¯s the busy farming season, those who buy the 128GB version of Dragon Eye cell phones will get a packet of chemical fertilizers for free¡­¡± Cooper was still speechless. After saying so much without getting a reply from Cooper, Sophia became angry. ¡°Hmph!¡± Cooper also felt helpless. He didn¡¯t know how to respond to Sophia¡¯s words, for what she said was obviously well beyond the scope of his knowledge! Linus also frowned as he didn¡¯t know what to say in response to Sophia¡¯s words. However, Sophia turned her head away and started speaking to Michael. Michael had been filming his scenes in another part of the country recently. Still, he managed to find time toe home and take a look around every once in a while. Having juste back on this day, he immediately responded to Sophia and answered, ¡°You¡¯re right. The urban residents¡¯ purchasing power is strong, but our cell phones haven¡¯t be well-known in the country; we can¡¯t win against renowned cell phone brands like Serpent if wepete with them in terms of sales volume in urban areas. We can market our cell phones in rural areas surrounding the cities. Let¡¯s secure sales in rural areas toy the foundation first before gradually entering the cities. I think that it¡¯s okay to give those who buy Dragon Eye cell phones a block of cured meat or a link of sausages. If this is not enough, we can even distribute a packet of can seeds to whoever enters the shop!¡± Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Both Cooper and Linus were speechless. Chapter 1007 Chapter 1007 It looks like Michael¡¯s still the one who understands me the best, Sophia thought as she sat next to Michael, rubbing her cat and watching him talk. No matter how I look at him, he still looks so good because I love him¡ªhe even has so many suggestions! Michael said, ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to several reliable fertilizer factories; let¡¯s go together when we have the time and see if we can work something out with them.¡± ¡°Sure! Indeed, my hubby has the most ideas!¡± Sophia smiled. Michael continued, ¡°We can even organize a lucky draw event; people will get to enter the lucky draw by purchasing the phone, and the winner will get a tractor. I know a few tractorpanies that we can go and check out some other day.¡± Excited, Sophia eximed and said, ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll go together!¡± Meanwhile, Cooper and Linus were speechless. Michael is supposed to be an internationally renowned movie star¡ªwhy does he know these kinds of people?! Michael had taken some time off from work to see Sophia and Carmen; since Sophia wanted to survey Dragon Eye¡¯s situation in the countryside, Michael trailed along happily. Cooper joined in as well because he wanted to know if his beloved daughter was walking down the right path. They couldn¡¯t go very far because of their tight schedules, so Sophia decided to visit the suburbs of Riverdale City first¡ªthe ce where she grew up. Michael also took the opportunity to leave behind clues in Riverdale so that Cooper would notice them and locate his son! The group went over to the tractor and fertilizer factory introduced by Michael first; after visiting the actual site, they decided to sign a working contract. After the factory visit, Michael took Sophia to Riverdale City to visit the ce where she used to grow up. Riverdale City had developed well over the years; just like any typical drama, they managed to turn the ce into a tourist spot. Since this was Sophia¡¯s home, Michael had also invested in several resorts and clothing factories to boost the town¡¯s economy; he even built a highway and a railway here. The town¡¯s authorized Dragon Eye retail store was still under renovation, but Dragon Eye posters were everywhere to be seen¡ªCooper was speechless when he noticed an entire wall of cheesy advertisements about it. ¡°The Dragon Eye phone is the treasure of the vige!¡± ¡°Thetest agricultural news with the Dragon Eye in your hand!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fret when it gets wet¡ªDragon Eye is the best!¡± Dragon Eye was one of Cooper¡¯s earlier products, and he passed it over to Alice after developing the device. He created a high-end cell phone that was primarily meant for businessmen, but Sophia had managed to turn it into¡­ He couldn¡¯t even recognize the phone that he made! Being waterproof and fall-resistant, it was a magical machine that won the hearts of the vigers; the overwhelmingly positive response toward the product had exceeded Cooper¡¯s expectations. Nheless, will the theme ¡®A City Within the Vige¡¯ really work in our favor? After that, Michael took Sophia to a small hillside where she used to live. There was an old, grey house where most of the paint on the wall outside had peeled off. Hidden deep in the mountains, the house was surrounded by beautiful greenery; it looked lonely and dested, seeming as though it had been forgotten by the world. Michael took out a key and opened the door of the house. As Sophia and Cooper walked inside, they realized that the room was quite clean. In fact, it seemed like someone had cleaned the house regrly with its well-ced furniture and decorations; it was as if the house owners had just left. ¡°Look, this is where you grew up. You used to sleep here.¡± Michael pointed at a brick bed. Sophia was amazed as she sat on the brick bed and touched it gently. This was the ce where she grew up! The house belonged to Sophia¡¯s grandfather. After her two uncles had gone their separate ways, only Annabel and her parents lived there. When Annabel passed away, Sophia was sent to live with her grandparents. When both her grandparents passedter on, the young Sophia was left unattended in this empty house while she struggled to stay alive; the vigemittee and the n leaders decided to send Sophia over to her uncle¡¯s care and moved her to town. With that, the ce became deserted. Michael then inherited this house as Sophia¡¯s husband and preserved it well by hiring people to take care of it throughout the years. Sophia¡¯s school awards were still glued on the mud wall, and the tabletops were clean and dusted. Although they were old and yellowed, there were still some well- preserved photos in picture frames. Cooper saw a picture of Sophia when she was a child. She looked dark and ugly, but her clothes were clean even though they looked old and frumpy. With her hair nicelybed, she looked very lively with a red scarf and a little bag as she posed for a photograph under the persimmon tree. There were also photos of Annabel, but there were only one or two left. There was also a photograph of Annabel standing under the persimmon tree in front of their house; her head cocked to the side with a faint smile, but the picture was so old that it could no longer be restored. Cooper held the pictures in his hands as he looked at photographs of Sophia and her mother standing under the same tree; his eyes welled up with tears. I owe them both too much, too much indeed¡­ The weeds in the yard had been cleared up, but the old persimmon tree was still there. Carmen asked Linus what it was as she looked up and stood under the persimmon tree, and Cooper quickly took a picture of her. They left after taking a group photo underneath the tree. Sophia wanted to take the photos with her, but she thought better of it and used her cell phone to take some photos of it instead. Michael wanted to bring Sophia to the school she used to study at, so they took Carmen and left first. Now, the vige hadpletely transformed itself; as Michael walked through the vige, the vigers quickly rushed out to see him. Not only was he a well-known movie star, he was also recognized as the greatest son-inw in the vige. This master was so great that he opened factories, built roads and schools in the vige and gave the vigers afortable life. Most of the vigers were descendants of the Johnsons, so he had rtives everywhere he went and they treated him with such kindness¡ªit felt like he was everyone¡¯s own son-in- law. Meanwhile, Cooper decided to stay at the house. Standing alone under the persimmon tree in silence, he ced his hand where Annabel had ced hers. He looked up at the persimmon tree and remembered what Annabel had said to him 20 years ago. ¡°Coop, I nted a row of persimmon trees in front of my house using my own hands! I¡¯ll bring you along to have a look at it when I have the chance¡ªthe persimmon fruits are really delicious! Here, these are some persimmon biscuits that I¡¯ve made.¡± It felt like their conversation was just yesterday, but once he opened his eyes, only the persimmon tree remained; Annabel was gone. He raised his head as tears streamed down his face. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Cooper¡­¡± Unbeknownst to him, Linus was already at the entrance of the courtyard. On behalf of Alice, he had also followed Sophia to the vige because he needed to survey Dragon Eye¡¯s response in the vige. Cooper wiped his tears and looked back at Linus. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Some of the elders from the Johnson Family want to see you.¡± Cooper nodded his head in response. A few secondster, he slowly walked out of the small farmhouse and meticulously locked the front door and the courtyard¡¯s gate before he left. After all, this is Anna¡¯s home¡­ There were many members of the Johnson Family in the vige. As the area developed steadily over the years, their poption flourished. The ancestral hall had been refurbished, and by the time Cooper arrived, he realized that there were many people waiting for him. Linus had already inquired about them and introduced each person to Cooper. ¡°This is Sophia¡¯s second uncle, and this is her grand-uncle¡­¡± The elders sat from above and watched while the younger generations gathered around them. Cooper, whose identity was quite extraordinary, also sat down on a chair. Although they did not know who this master was, the other master had reminded them that this master in front of them was even more powerful than the other! Chapter 1008 Chapter 1008 Cooper had secretly been to the Johnson Family Vige a few times, but he never met with the members of the Johnson Family. When they learned of his arrival this time, they called Cooper over. Sophia¡¯s great-grandfather was already over a hundred years old and could hardly speak clearly anymore. He was Annabel¡¯s grandfather, and he had been living in Annabel¡¯s uncle¡¯s house. As the person with the most authority in the Johnson Family, Annabel¡¯s uncle spoke politely with Cooper and discussed the matter of moving Annabel¡¯s grave. Since Annabel was an unmarried woman when they buried her, it was very inauspicious ording to the vige¡¯s rules; it meant that she couldn¡¯t be reincarnated after her death, bringing disgrace to the family. Since Cooper hade back as Annabel¡¯s husband and was recognized by the family, he was allowed to move her grave. Cooper agreed to it and discussed the matter of moving Annabel¡¯s grave with her family, showing respect and being polite to his wife¡¯s elders. While they talked about moving her grave, Annabel¡¯s grandfather engaged in small talk with Cooper. As he looked at Cooper¡¯s eyes with a face full of curiosity, he said in amazement, ¡°Your eyes¡ªare they naturally born that way?¡± Cooper nodded. His pupils used to be ck, but they gradually turned into a shade of blue when he entered adulthood; it was most likely due to the Michel Family¡¯s strong genes! The old man cracked a smile. This was probably his first time seeing such a strange pair of eyes¡ªthey looked much more beautiful than the foreigners¡¯ eyes he had seen on television. Someone spoke up and said, ¡°Back then, Finian¡¯s aunt and her husband weren¡¯t able to conceive, so they adopted a child with blue eyes from abroad. That baby boy was very beautiful!¡± Annabel¡¯s grandfather and Cooper continued their conversation. Meanwhile, the younger generations started to talk among themselves. It seemed like the family rarely got together; they could only meet each other during big asions like this and talk, but it seemed that Finian¡¯s aunt had quite the history. Once the topic was brought up, everyone joined in eagerly. ¡°The son that Finian¡¯s aunt had adopted was really smart! Oh, I heard that he even made it onto television because he could recite sos at the tender age of three!¡± ¡°I have no idea where they adopted the boy from. Hey, Finian¡ªweren¡¯t you a driver at your aunt¡¯s unit? Tell us about it.¡± Finian, who was a guy probably in his forties, retorted angrily, ¡°How would I know?! She¡¯s not even my real aunt. We never got along well, and she was reluctant to talk to me. I was just a school bus driver around their unit, and we¡¯d only greet each other when we met. Besides, they were both university professors¡ªthey couldn¡¯t be bothered about their poor rtive who drove a school bus! I don¡¯t even remember much; my aunt has migrated for over 27 or 28 years now! They would send a few letters every once in a while during the first few years, but they haven¡¯t beenmunicating with us for the past 20 years now. Heck, I¡¯m not even sure whether they¡¯re still alive or not¡­ Back then, my aunt said that she had taken some time off to go back home, but she came back with a child instead. Tsk, a blue-eyed boy! The school teachers asked if they had adopted the child from abroad or if some international student had given the boy to my aunt because they didn¡¯t dare to raise it! Those international students have messy social lives; they can only look for their father based on their skin color¡­¡± Someone immediately rebuked his statement, ¡°Hey! You¡¯re lying! After your aunt left the vige to go to college, shepletely forgot about her poor rtives and hasn¡¯t been back for the past 40 years!¡± Finian argued loudly, ¡°Nonsense! My aunt and her husband definitely came back 20 years ago! They both took leave from the university and hurried back to the vige before going back to school. I was picking up my sry when they were at the finance department to im their ticket money! I remember clearly that she hade back; they bought the ticket back to the vige at 1.00PM and took thest bus back to the city at 8.00PM!¡± The peopleughed and continued to discuss Finian¡¯s aunt; the woman had left the vige to go to university before bing a professor. However, no one realized that their conversation had sparked Cooper¡¯s interest. After Finian¡¯s aunt visited the vige and came back to school, she brought a child with her¡ªa boy with blue eyes. A boy with blue eyes! Cooper¡¯s blood from all over his body immediately rushed toward his brain as his fingers twitched uncontrobly in excitement. A child with blue eyes! He never thought of the possibility that his child would also have blue eyes. Even though there was only a quarter of the Michel Family¡¯s bloodline in him, it was possible that the child¡­ It turned out that he had been looking at this matter the wrong way! Cooper continued to patiently discuss the matter of moving Annabel¡¯s grave with the elders of the Johnson Family before finally leaving the ancestral hall. After that, he went directly to the home of the man called Finian. Without any further dy, he asked him to recall the time his aunt brought the child back. Finian was very respectful to this new master who suddenly appeared and said, ¡°Give me a moment¡ªI¡¯ll go and look for my payslip. The time is printed on it, and I¡¯ve kept it all these years. That was my first payslip, so it was a very monumental moment for me!¡± He rummaged through his closet as he added, ¡°Huh, it¡¯s such a coincidence. Back then, I was only 19 years old when I went to the city and begged my aunt to help me out. She found me a job driving school buses. The school had withheld my sry for three months! I only received a sry of more than a hundred in the third month, but that was my first ever paycheck! Hence, I saved it!¡± Then, he took out an iron box and found a yellowed payslip on the bottom. Cooper carefully took the payslip; the machine-printed payslip was very short, and it was dated a day after Sophia was born! The day Finian received his sry was the day his aunt came back from her hometown; she was getting an reimbursement from the finance office for her bus ticket. In other words, his aunt went back to the vige at 1.00PM and returned to the city at 8.00PM that same day. Sophia and her brother were born that afternoon! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Cooper stared at the payslip and asked Finian nervously, ¡°What¡¯s the rtionship between your aunt and Angelica, a nurse from the town¡¯s medical center?¡± Finian replied, ¡°Angelica is her cousin. They are both from the same generation, so they keep in touch with each other asionally.¡± Cooper¡¯s heart was pounding in his chest. He was almost certain that the child Finian¡¯s aunt had taken away was his! He asked carefully again, ¡°That boy¡­ Have you seen him?¡± Finian answered straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯ve seen him once. My aunt resigned two months in advance and migrated a few dayster after they got the child. I borrowed the school¡¯s car to send them to the airport ¡ªI even saw my aunt holding the child! He had round blue eyes with blond hair, and he looked very beautiful! They said an international student secretly gave birth to him; it just so happened that my aunt and her husband couldn¡¯t have children, so they adopted him instead.¡± ¡­ After listening to Cooper¡¯s story, Cooper patted his shoulder and walked out of the house. He stood at the entrance of that small farmhouse and lifted his head as he looked at the sky with tears pouring out of his eyes. I¡¯m about to find my son! Do you see this, Anna? Our son ising back soon! Chapter 1009 Chapter 1009 After the whole family wandered around the countryside for a while, it was already veryte by the time they reached Riverdale City. When they arrived home, Carmen had already fallen asleep in Sophia¡¯s arms and looked adorable with her little red face. Sophia took Carmen to bed while Cooper printed out the photos he took today and ced them in his study room. Annabel, Sophia and Carmen made up three generations born in different times and spaces, yet all of them had taken a photo under that persimmon tree. Cooper couldn¡¯t help but smile as he looked at the photos. If only Annabel was still around¡­ He imagined the scene andughed to himself, but he couldn¡¯t stop himself from wiping away the tears that fell down his face. When he came out of the study room, he saw Michael and Sophia hanging a big photo in the living room ¡ªit was the group photo they had taken earlier today in front of the persimmon tree. Michael had found someone to restore Annabel¡¯s photo and photoshopped her next to Cooper. Cooper, Annabel and Linus stood alongside Sophia¡¯s family of three, and all of them looked iparably harmonious. Cooper felt tears stinging his eyes again as he stared at the group photo. After Carmen had gone to bed, a few of them were watching TV in the living room. Sophia hurriedly turned on the TV to catch today¡¯s episode of ¡®I Am The Vige Chief 2¡¯ and was relieved that they were just in time. Snowball ran over and Sophia started to rub the dog with her bare feet while catching up on the drama series, munching on some peanuts happily at the same time. At that moment, Michael realized he had learned this bad habit of using his feet to rub the dog from Sophia. Not only does she use her feet to y with the dog, she even rubs Snowball with them! Tsk¡­ Previously, Sophia had even scolded him for being rude and using his feet to touch the dog. Now, he realized that the whole family lived like noble lords who used their feet to touch their dogs. Even his father-inw and brother-inw were stretching their feet and rubbing it around the dog¡¯s fur, so he was only following the family¡¯s tradition. Michael felt like he was finally part of Cooper¡¯s family. ¡­ After returning from the Johnson Family Vige, Cooper resumed the search for his son. 30 years ago, only several women from Johnson Vige had been able to enter college. Therefore, it was easy to track down Finian¡¯s alleged aunt, the woman who took his son. Finian¡¯s aunt was a professor at a university in Bayside City. Her husband was her former ssmate; after they graduated, they stayed and worked at the school until both of them became professors. She still couldn¡¯t get pregnant at the age of 30, so they mysteriously adopted a child before resigning and emigrating to somece else. He followed this trail and personally went abroad to look for them. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the Cethosian couple who had migrated more than 20 years ago was still a mystery¡­ No matter how difficult it is, I must not give up. I have to find my son no matter what it takes! Meanwhile, both the high-end and low-end versions of Dragon Eye were officially on sale in Bayside City; Alice was in charge of the only store in Cethos that sold the high-end version of Dragon Eye. In a short period of time, dozens of retail stores selling the low-end version of Dragon Eye bloomed everywhere. With Dragon Eye stores sprouting up all around the country, they had a considerable amount of sales. Sophia had spent a lot of resources to promote Dragon Eye; she put out advertisements everywhere with sky-high marketing costs, but she managed to achieve the desired effect of Dragon Eye in the end. Michael had also gone abroad to shoot a movie, but since most of the scenes were based in Cethos, he returned to Bayside City after he was done with the foreign scenes. He shot the rest of the movie here, and he lived in Sophia¡¯s house every now and then. While Cooper was busy looking for his son, Michael became morefortable around the house; he even deliberately rubbed a few of Cooper¡¯s favorite cats with his feet. Lots of great things were happening in Sophia¡¯s household¡ªit started off with Bubbles giving birth to a litter of ck poodles! Meanwhile, Snowball had given birth to a few ck Samoyeds! ck as a shadow, they looked nothing like their father apart from the color of their fur! Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was dumbfounded when she saw the two litters of ck puppies. Then, she took a broom and walked toward the culprit, Corrado¡ªshe wanted to give it a beating first! However, Daniel managed to fool Cooper into thinking that ck dogs were an auspicious omen, asking him to descend the mountains and return to name the ck puppies once they were born. Ever since Alice left, Daniel had gone back to the mountains; this time, Cooper summoned him to rush back down and name the two litters of ck puppies. ck dogs are good since they can guard the house! The more ck dogs we have, the better we can keep evil at bay. Cooper had really been brainwashed by Daniel; not only did he raise a litter of ck dogs to watch over the house, he ced several wind chimes by the door to ward off evil spirits. He even utilized his knowledge in astrology to develop a fortune-telling app, using it every day to calcte his luck before heading out. He continued to dabble in such methods and was always on the lookout for auspicious dates to look for his son before leaving the house. He¡¯s ruined¡­ While Cooper searched for his son all over the world with his fortune-telling app, Carmen acted in a few movies abroad under the stage name ¡®Gianna¡¯ and debuted in Cethos using her own name by endorsing the children¡¯s smartwatch by Michel Digital. The managing rights to this smartwatch in Cethos was once again taken over by Sophia, and she chose Carmen as their ambassador. Recently, Carmen had been busy with her career as well. She had movies to shoot and school to attend; when everyone thought she was not serious about it, she had unexpectedly gone through with it. While Carmen went to kindergarten, she also went to acting sses during her vacation. Meanwhile, Dragon Eye had taken the digital market by storm andpletely changed the dynamics of the cell phone market in Cethos. Sophia listened to Cooper¡¯s advice and decided to n aeback banquet for herself. She had been back in Bayside City for more than a year now, but she hadn¡¯t organized a formal banquet up until this day. Since Dragon Eye¡¯s sales were doing well, she decided to hold a celebratory banquet and discussed it with Cooper. Cooper had nned a grand banquet for Sophia before, but it was put on hold due to several issues; now was the best time to bring it up again. The best option was tobine Sophia¡¯seback along with the celebratory and reciprocal banquet; after all, they were going to send the invites to the same group of people. Since that was the case, it had to be a grand banquet. Cooper personally came back to organize this banquet for Sophia. There must not be any mistakes for his beloved daughter¡¯s banquet! He had previously thought of gathering all the finest men in Bayside City and setting up blind dates for Sophia in secret, but now¡­ He pondered for a while before deciding on this n. The thought of his son-inw being only five years younger than him caused Cooper much grievance! Sophia should be engaging with talented young men more often; he did not want to let Michael, the old man, tie her down! Based on his own standards, Cooper chose a group of young and talented bachelors for Sophia to meet. Even if this fails, it would make Michael¡ªthat old guy¡ªfeel threatened at the very least! My daughter is not that easy to marry! Later that evening, Michael was spending the night at Sophia¡¯s house. He was in the midst of soaking his feet while chatting with Stanley via Messenger. ¡®Uncle, It seems that Cooper¡ªthat old man¡ªhasn¡¯t given up on the idea of getting Sophia on a blind date! Our dating circle went into a frenzy today, and they¡¯ve been talking about it for two days straight! When everyone heard that you and Sophia divorced, tons of people became excited to fight for her! Apparently, Cooper even issued a list of criteria for his son-inw! I¡¯ll send it over to you right now.¡¯ Chapter 1010 Chapter 1010 Men and women who excelled in all aspects of their lives, talented individuals like Stanley and Sean, men who had built an empire at a young age without falling in love or getting married¡ªall of them were bound to be dragged by their families into Bayside City¡¯s blind dating club for high society. People in this circle were respectable figures; most of them busied themselves with their careers and were not particrly interested in marriage or love. Some of them had been forced to join the club by their families, while some of them joined voluntarily to look for a partner they could benefit from. Needless to say, these people belonged in the inner circle of the elites. Unfortunately, Stanley was notoriously known in this circle¡ªwhenever he was forced to go on a blind date, a little girl would rush in all of a sudden before hugging him and calling him ¡®Daddy¡¯! Eventually, nobody wanted to go on blind dates with him, but he continued to stay in the circle for the latest gossip; that was how he had found out about thetest news and immediately sent it over to Michael. Michael wasn¡¯t entirely sure whether Cooper was behind this, but when he nced at the list of criteria Stanley had sent over, he could immediately tell that it was Cooper¡¯s doing. First of all, the candidate could not possess any criminal background¡ªmurder, arson, fraud, drug abuse, and crawling through a dog door were not allowed. Clearly, these rules were directed toward Michael; it seemed like that particr incident would haunt him for the rest of his life. The candidates were required to have a master¡¯s degree at the very least, and they had to be under 35 years old¡­ nothing was in his favor! He even had to take his wife¡¯s family name! If anyone fulfilled all the conditions above, they could prepare a thorough resume with their photos attached and send it to the front desk of Mitchell International Energy and Technology. His father-inw was causing problems in the dark, and Michael viciously read the information over and over again. As Michael suddenly caught sight of Chrysanthemum¡ªCooper¡¯s favorite cat¡ªwalking past him with its tail wagging, he ced his wet feet on Chrysanthemum and gave it a thorough rub. This cat was the descendant of a big, orange cat Cooper used to keep when he was younger, so it had learned its ancestral skill of fighting for attention; it let out a long meow. The cat was one of Cooper¡¯s favorites as he would kiss it and hug it while he raised the cat off the ground. Michael had often used it as a foot wipe and rubbed his feet against Chrysanthemum, and the cat would lick its own wet fur. While it meowed at Michael continuously, he picked up the phone as he stood up and replied to Stanley¡¯s message. ¡®OK.¡¯ ¡®Uncle, why don¡¯t I go and try out as well? I can be your wingman and help you get rid of all the other ugly fes!¡¯ ¡®Alright. Bring a few more people with you.¡¯ Michael agreed. ¡®OK.¡¯ Stanley messaged in response. When Michael returned to the room after washing his feet, Sophia was still ying her game. As he beat around the bush and asked Sophia about her ¡®blind dates¡¯, she seemed clueless about Cooper¡¯s ns; she only knew that Cooper was throwing a banquet for her, and he had invited several celebrities and business partners too. For example, he invited the fertilizer and tractorpany¡¯s director whom they had signed a contract with two days ago. After probing around, Michael immediately understood the situation; his father-inw was up to no good again. Michael would never allow a group of fresh, young men to parade in front of his wife, but since Cooper had sent them formal business invitations, it was hard for Michael to stir things up. Oh, my dear father-inw! Weren¡¯t fathers-inw supposed to be more fond of their sons-inw the more they got to know each other? Michael had done so much, yet Cooper still turned against him! He thought that he had be the perfect son-inw; much to his surprise, he still couldn¡¯t win over his father-inw¡¯s heart. Since my father-inw wants to y around, I¡¯ll just keep himpany! After writing his resume, Michael went over to Mitchell International Energy and Technology and submitted his application at the front desk. He wanted to see the look on his father-inw¡¯s old face when he saw his old son-inw there! When Michael arrived at the makeshift matchmaking counter of Mitchell International Energy and Technology, he did not expect to see so many people present¡ªthere were familiar faces like Ian, who had just been circumcised not too long ago. He wanted to fight for a chance as well. His d*ck was less than 10cm long, and Sophia had evenughed at it when she saw his nudes; who gave him the courage toe here? Did he think that circumcision would change the fact that his manhood was short and soft?! Sophia wouldn¡¯t even look at him! Dana, that monster, is here as well! Her assistant took her resume and went to the front desk, but she was rejected by the receptionist there. Dana protested with defiance and said, ¡°Why can¡¯t I sign up? You guys never mentioned that women weren¡¯t allowed to sign up, am I right?!¡± Unable to refute Dana¡¯s im, the receptionist flipped through Cooper¡¯s requirements. Indeed, there wasn¡¯t a rule saying that women could not participate; what mattered was the candidate¡¯s age and conduct. It seemed like Cooper had forgotten about gender¡­ It was like a chaotic circus of freaks! The atmosphere at the registration counter changed when Michael appeared. Oh, the ex-husband is here to watch the show. With Cooper¡¯s little act, Bayside City¡¯s matchmaking circle knew that they had divorced. Soon enough, this piece of news had spread far and wide. ¡°Are you here too, Uncle?!¡± Stanley looked at Michael with surprise. As Michael turned around, he saw Stanley followed by a dozen young men from the Fletcher Family; all of them had a stack of resumes in their hands¡­ Michael waspletely dumbfounded. Before he coulde back to his senses, a man wearing a ck suit with gold-rimmed sses entered the building. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Unable to stop themselves, the Fletcher Family sucked in a cold breath when they realized who it was. ¡°Why the hell are you here, Quinton?!¡± Quinton, who had disappeared for so long, appeared once more! Dressed in a business suit with a pair of gold-rimmed sses, he looked like an intelligent gentleman with a resume in his hand. He smiled when he saw Michael and the others. ¡°It¡¯s a fairpetition for everyone¡ªwhy can¡¯t I be here?¡± After that, he ced his resume on the front desk. The appearance of Quinton had the Fletcher Family¡¯s men slowly losing theirposure¡ªespecially Stanley. ¡°Damn it, you son of a b*tch!¡± The hot headed Stanley charged up to Quinton and attacked him. The Fletcher men rushed forward and joined in on the fight, whereas Michael tried desperately to pull them apart. The hatred between Quinton and the Fletcher Family could no longer be settled with just a fist fight; even though Quinton had already shook hands and made peace with Michael, Stanley still couldn¡¯t control his emotions. Quinton also recognized Stanley as the little son of a b*tch who shot him in the balls back then! When enemies met, they lost all sense of control. The two of them were engaged in such an intense scruffe that no one could pull them off each other. Meanwhile, Cooper was actually upstairs watching from the CCTV, monitoring every boy that came in. The system would automatically analyze the other party¡¯s background, and he¡¯d record their details down beforebining it with their resume for the next assessment. He was going to personally pick the right boys to attend Sophia¡¯s matchmaking banquet. However, no one expected a fight to break out! Cooper frowned and ordered the security guards who were at the scene, ¡°Throw them out.¡± The rm bell rang loudly as Dimon, the new security chief of Mitchell International Energy and Technology, led the security team and rushed out to hold down the Fletcher Family¡¯s men. In the midst of everyone¡¯s uproar, the entire Fletcher Family was thrown out together with their resumes. The Fletcher Family¡¯s members only know how to fight! At the entrance of Mitchell International Energy and Technology, Stanley and Quinton were still fighting. Finally, Michael managed to separate the two with much effort; Stanley was still cursing and kicking when Michael dragged Quinton away from him. He had a lot of mixed feelings about his brother. His birth disgusted him, but it was not his fault that he was born in Tanya¡¯s belly. Since Michael and Quinton already agreed that they were even, he wouldn¡¯t bother him. ¡°I¡¯ve warned you to never appear in Cethos again, Quinton! You know what will happen!¡± Chapter 1011 Chapter 1011 Blood trickled from the corner of Quinton¡¯s mouth as he spat out a mouthful of it. Picking up his gold- rimmed sses which had been trampled on, he raised his eyebrows and scoffed at Michael with disdain. ¡°I said that I wouldn¡¯te back to Cethos and cause trouble, but Cethos is still my home; can¡¯t Ie back to visit my family asionally?¡± Michael grabbed his cor and roughly shoved him out. ¡°Get out of here, and don¡¯t appear in front of me ever again!¡± Quinton slowly straightened his clothes as he gracefully adjusted his gold-rimmed sses. Then, he left in a taxi. Stanley was still cursing even after Quinton had left; Michael got someone to drag Stanley away as he entered Mitchell International Energy and Technology. He wanted to show his youthful face to Cooper¡ª that old man¡ªand ask him if he still had any conscience left. However, he was stopped by Dimon just before he reached the door. ¡°Mr. Cooper¡¯s appointment for today is already full, Mr. Fletcher. Next time, please make an appointment with him one month in advance.¡± Michael red at Dimon before he turned to leave. I¡¯ll go home and wait for him; that old father-inw of mine has to go back home at some point. As he turned around, he saw Stanley standing at the entrance and wiping the blood from his nose. He grabbed onto Michael and pleaded, ¡°Take me to the hospital, Uncle!¡± Michael snapped. ¡°Can¡¯t you go by yourself?!¡± Stanley stretched out his bloody hand and left a bloody handprint on his white shirt. ¡°How can you be so heartless, Uncle Michael? I¡¯m your nephew! My grandfather is your uncle! Look here¡ªI was beaten up so badly, yet you don¡¯t even care about me!¡± Michael frowned and muttered, ¡°Get in the car but don¡¯t get it dirty; I still have to pick up your aunt from work.¡± Stanley wiped the blood from his nose and told the Fletcher Family¡¯s men to head back first as he got into Michael¡¯s car. After getting into the car, Stanley checked for outsiders before his pitiful expression instantly turned into a serious look as he took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Michael. ¡°Look at this, Uncle Michael¡ªI don¡¯t know when Hope had put this in my pocket.¡± Suddenly, Quinton had turned into Hope. Michael took the note. Along with some of Stanley¡¯s blood were several neatly-written words. de has arrived in Cethos, and Sophia is his target. de! The legendary assassin who ranked second in the world! His real name was not verifiable, but Cethosians called him de. He ranked second on the ck market¡¯s killer list, and his capabilities could bepared to Phantom Wolf¡¯s. However, Phantom Wolf only killed targets; they did not harm innocent individuals and children. On the other hand, de killed and burned everything he touched¡ªhe even killed and raped women brutally! He was like a monster who devoured everything in viges. Moreover, Phantom Wolf was an organization, whereas de was a single assassin who fought alone. de had arrived in Cethos, and he was here for Sophia. Although de loved to kill, he wouldn¡¯t kill for no reason. Someone must¡¯ve put a bounty on Sophia¡¯s head! Michael fell into a deep silence¡­ Stanley said anxiously, ¡°What are we going to do, Uncle Michael? We should inform Sophia to cancel the banquet!¡± Michael remained silent as he left Stanley at the hospital and told him to wait for his phone call. Then, he drove over to Plum Technology and waited downstairs for Sophia. Since Sophia only traveled between thepany and her home, her schedule was quite fixed. With the Michel and Mitchell Family¡¯s ryed protection, the only ce where de could carry out his n was at Sophia¡¯s banquet. Did it mean that Quinton had caught wind of this in advance and came back to Cethos to inform them? Unfortunately, he did not say anything about who had hired de. In fact, someone might be monitoring Quinton¡¯s movements. Sophia had gotten off work early today. As she left thepany, she ran over to Michael¡¯s car happily and tugged his arm. ¡°Dragon Eye cell phones hit 8 million sales today, hubby. Aren¡¯t I amazing?!¡± Michael kissed her and said, ¡°Yeah, my wife is super amazing!¡± Then, he drove them back to the Edwards Residence. Cooper was already home when they got back, and Sophia rushed over excitedly as she said, ¡°We hit 8 million sales today, Dad. Aren¡¯t I amazing?!¡± Cooper nodded. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! My daughter is amazing!¡± At the same time, Carmen ran out of the house and hugged Michael¡¯s leg. ¡°Daddy, I got a little red flower in kindergarten today. Aren¡¯t I amazing?!¡± Michael also nodded his head and answered, ¡°That¡¯s amazing. My daughter is amazing!¡± ncing at Cooper, he saw that thetter was looking his way with an innocent and sincere look; it seemed like he was not guilty of anything at all. Hey, doesn¡¯t this old father-inw¡¯s conscience hurt? No, he has no conscience. Later that night, the entire family gathered around to watch some TV together as usual. Michael deliberately sat next to Cooper as he held Chrysanthemum while they watched TV in silence. Unbeknownst to Cooper, his beloved pet had be Michael¡¯s foot wipe earlier that day. Michael held two small ck dogs in his arms¡ªa Samoyed and a ck poodle. Both of them had given birth to a litter of puppies, and they were quite a handful. Michael and Cooper sat next to each other in silence, and they remained in such a state until family time came to an end. Even so, Cooper didn¡¯t mention anything about nning a matchmaking event for Sophia. After Sophia finished watching ¡®I Am The Vige Chief 2¡¯, she took a shower and went to bed with Carmen. Michael pondered for a while and decided to inform Cooper about the incident today. ¡°de?¡± Cooper and Linus¡¯ hearts trembled when they heard that name. Michael said grimly, ¡°Many people in the country are willing to pay money just to get rid of Sophia. Indeed, she has made a lot of enemies this year¡ªnot just those who lost during the fight for Dragon Eye¡¯s management rights, but also those who have a grudge against the Mitchell Family.¡± Competition inevitably existed in the business world, and enemies were made in unknown situations; there was no telling when one¡¯s enemies would strike in the dark. The identity of the de¡¯s employer was a mystery. As they talked about de¡¯s appearance, Cooper couldn¡¯t help but look at Linus. He had dealt with Phantom Wolf back then, and there was a possibility that Linus would have de¡¯s contact too. Linus shook his head. ¡°de is too difficult to grasp, and I have never dealt with him before.¡± Michael continued, ¡°I found a middleman to contact de, offering him a high price to give up his mission and inform us of his employer. However, it failed. It seems like the employer offered de a very attractive price for this mission.¡± All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned tense. Cooper was silent for a while when he suddenly went into the study room and called Linus over. After a moment of hesitation, he called Michael in too. After all, his daughter¡¯s life was the most important. That night, the three of them ran a background check to find out the identity of the employer behind the assasination. Michael eventually said, ¡°If we want to know who had hired de, we must find Quinton! He¡¯d definitely know something.¡± Cooper and Linus were already on the search for Quinton throughout the city as they hacked several traffic cameras. As soon as Quinton appeared, an alert system would be issued and he would be located immediately. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. However, Michael didn¡¯t believe in such technology; he felt like it was too much hassle. Instead, he knew of a ce where Quinton would definitely go aftering back to Cethos. Finding Quinton would naturally lead them to de¡¯s employer! Chapter 1012 Chapter 1012 During the month of June, Bayside City was a field of greenery; even the cemetery outside the city was green and lively. However, the greenery here was covered with ayer of sorrow and solemnity; buried deep under the greenery was once a vivid life. There were ck and white photos of old and young people attached to rows of tombstones. Each person had a simple epitaph summarizing their lifetime; some of them led ordinary lives, while others had magnificent ones. A man with a head full of white hair arrived with a handful of chrysanthemums. Then, he ced the flowers in front of a tombstone that neither looked old or new. The man in the photo looked very young; he had healthy ck hair with fine features and a bright, happy smile. He probably didn¡¯t know that this photo would appear on his tombstone one day. The white-haired man ced the chrysanthemums in front of the tombstone as he squatted down. He ced a hand on the tombstone and stared at the picture of the young man dazedly. The name ¡®Quinton rk¡¯ was engraved on the tombstone; there was even the story about how he had sacrificed his life to save his students who had been kidnapped by some terrorists. He died a heroic death in his thirties. The man had been squatting there for a while when he heard footsteps from behind him all of a sudden. As he stood up and turned around, he saw a young man walking toward him. The young man looked unfamiliar as he wore gold-rimmed sses that made him look like an intellectual, and he was also holding a bouquet of bright chrysanthemums. ¡°You are¡­¡± asked the old man in confusion after he wiped away the tears from his face. The young man held the flowers as he bent down and ced them in front of Quinton¡¯s tombstone. After that, he nced at the ck and white photo that would remain on the tombstone forever and gave a small smile. ¡°I was Quinton¡¯s former colleague; myst name is Fletcher.¡± The old man collected himself as he took a tissue from his assistant¡¯s hand and wiped his face. He then replied, ¡°Ah, you are Hope¡¯s colleague. I¡¯m his father.¡± The young man named Fletcher nodded respectfully at Jackson. ¡°Hello, uncle.¡± The two of them stood in front of the tombstone and stared at the picture on it. Jackson sighed. ¡°Hope¡¯s mother had brought him to me. When I first saw the child, I knew that he was destined for great things; he was smart, understanding and kind.¡± Even though his son had passed many years ago, Jackson¡¯s eyes filled with pride when he spoke about him. ¡°Hope was only fourteen when he came to my house with his mother, but he had already finished all his high school courses. He was epted into Bayside University the following year, and he became the youngest student in their ss. He was such a kind-hearted child; he would volunteer at the orphanage every month and was such a good boy, but unfortunately¡­¡± Jackson let out a deep sigh and kept quiet. Meanwhile, the young man said nothing. He merely listened to Jackson as he talked about his son with sadness in his eyes. The young man eventually left, and Jackson stared at his back dazedly. He had never met this young man before, but why did Jackson feel like they had crossed paths somewhere¡­ On the other hand, the young man had not left the cemetery as he walked over to the Fletcher Family¡¯s ancestral grave site; many chrysanthemums were ced on each tombstone. The young man came to a mausoleum, and the photo on the tombstone was also of a young man who looked unusually heroic and handsome. It was Theo¡¯s tombstone, and had been dead for more than 30 years. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. As the young man stood in front of the tombstone, he stared at the photo that resembled himself in a daze. After a while, he bent down and ced a bouquet of chrysanthemums in front of it. They had finally moved Elizabeth¡¯s grave next to Theo¡¯s tombstone. They couldn¡¯t be together when they were alive, and they couldn¡¯t be in the same grave when they were dead. After watching Theo being buried into the ground, Elizabeth bought a plot on the other side of the mountain and arranged her affairs in order beforemiting suicide; she had been watching her husband lovingly from the other side for decades. A few years back, the Fletcher Family finally got around to registering their marriage certificates and moved Elizabeth¡¯s grave from the opposite mountain. Quinton sat down in front of the grave as he took out a bottle of wine and two sses. He poured two sses of wine, putting one ss in front of the grave while he drank the other ss. With that, he drank one ss after another while sitting quietly in front of the tombstone¡­ Suddenly, he hid his face and broke into tears; as he cried, he continued to drink. All of a sudden, someone stood behind him. Since Quinton was a well-trained assassin, he had a strong sense of awareness; he already knew that someone was standing behind him, but he chose to remain silent. One was standing while the other one was sitting; the two of them had faces with the same temperament, and there were some simrities in terms of their features. They both had the same father, but each possessed apletely different fate. In the end, Michael was the one who spoke first. ¡°I knew that you¡¯d be here¡ªyou even visited the rk Family.¡± Michael felt like there was still hope for Quinton; he found out that thetter had secretly visited his stepfather when he snuck back into Cethos. After all, he always had a good rtionship with his stepfather. Quinton was quiet. He drained the wine in his ss and ced it gently in front of the tombstone. Looking at Theo¡¯s ck and white photograph, he said, ¡°You want to know about the de, right?¡± He continued in a hoarse voice, ¡°I once fought with de over a business deal. His abilities aren¡¯t weaker than mine, but his overall strength isn¡¯t as powerful as ours if he¡¯s fighting alone. I remember that business deal; I got the target¡¯s head to the client before him and obtained the reward money, but he was so mad for being a stepte that he killed the target¡¯s entire family.¡± Michael listened silently and didn¡¯t interrupt. Quinton continued, ¡°The assassins on the leaderboard aren¡¯t just based on their killing skills, but also their undercover skills. de does not know my identity; likewise, I have never seen de in person either. I don¡¯t know what sort of disguise he is wearing.¡± Michael quickly asked, ¡°Who hired de?¡± Quinton confessed, ¡°That person is as influential as Cooper. Just like Cooper, he is also good at hiding his real strength; it is far from what is simply seen.¡± Michael fell into utter silence. In Bayside City, there were only a few people who dared topare themselves as equals to Cooper; Michael had only seen one before. Quinton said, ¡°A few years back, he was the one who secretly helped me to capture Sophia. He wanted me to stall and crush you; he even guessed that you¡¯d ask Linus for help. Hence, he sent a traitor in advance to stir trouble in the Michel Family and diverted Linus¡¯ attention away from you. During the time of Sophia¡¯s incident, you couldn¡¯t contact Linus because he was being held back by the family; he couldn¡¯t even take care of himself.¡± If that person was really just as Quinton had described him, his current strength was definitely not weaker than Cooper. In fact, he even hid himself better than Cooper. That person was also Cooper¡¯s old rival. Back when Cooper was in trouble, they suspected that he and Alex had teamed up and nned it behind the scenes, but there was just no evidence. Quinton continued, ¡°Also, that person once asked me to kidnap Carmen. When I didn¡¯t obey his orders, he went to look for de. Other than that¡­¡± Quinton looked up and stared at Michael with his bloodshot eyes. ¡°de and Katrina were once a couple.¡± Chapter 1013 Chapter 1013 With that, Quinton began talking about de and Katrina¡¯s story in a heavy tone. ¡°I once sent Katrina to get close with de; I wanted her to take the opportunity to obtain his background information. I couldn¡¯t decide between recruiting him for my own use or killing him¡­ I didn¡¯t expect Katrina to fall in love with him and betray me.¡± As he delved deep into his story, both Quinton and Michael took several drags from a cigarette as they talked about this matter. The two of them put aside their differences temporarily, talking in front of their father¡¯s grave and reaching a state of cooperation. Quinton continued, ¡°In the end, I tricked Katrina and lured her back to Cethos under the pretense of dealing with you. It seems like they haven¡¯t broken up yet¡ªde once sent someone to ask about Katrina¡¯s whereabouts.¡± After that, Celine appeared in Cethos and was discovered by Michael. They brought her back for treatment, but no one expected¡­ By then, Michael had fiercely put out the cigarette in his hand. Although he still hated Quinton, he knew that all of it was already in the past. Apart from killing Sophia, de was probably here in Cethos to search for Katrina. However, both Katrina and Celine were gone; everything had gone back to square one. Now, Celine was a brand-new person who was about to give birth to her second child. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Michael and his sister grew up without their parents and had suffered many hardships. In particr, Celine had suffered the most; now that she could finally live an easy and happy life, Michael was not going to allow anyone to hurt his sister ever again. de¡¯s main purpose ofing to Cethos was Sophia; no matter it was against Sophia or Celine, Michael was determined to remove this evil and pinpoint the employer behind it. Speaking of the employer¡­ Michael lit up another cigarette and asked Quinton, ¡°How much do you know about this employer¡¯s hidden strength?¡± Quinton blew out a puff of smoke and replied with uncertainty, ¡°He¡¯s probably just as strong as Cooper and Fassbined¡­ In fact, I¡¯m not so sure myself. That person is much better than Cooper in terms of hiding his strengths. Having two identities, he manages his family¡¯s business as well as his wife¡¯s. Moreover, nobody knows about his dual identity; he started a family on both sides with very outstanding offspring.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what his other identity is, but it¡¯s certainly not weaker than Fass. His influence is so far out that he even has people in the Michel Family with substantial power to threaten Fass and Cooper¡¯s status. He wanted to recruit you in the beginning, but you refused. Hence, I was asked to destroy you. After thinking about it, the quickest way was to kidnap your wife. After going ahead with the n, you fell into despair and wallowed around for a period of time. As a result, you managed to hide yourself from his spies.¡± Soon, they became silent and quietly smoked cigarettes in the cemetery. Michael wanted to say something, but after holding it in for the entire day, he decided to forget about it. He blew out a puff of smoke and stubbed out his cigarette. As he searched all over his body for another cigarette without finding one, he stood up and said to Quinton, ¡°Leave me your number so that I can contact you.¡± Quinton silently left his phone number before walking away. On the other hand, Michael was lost in thought as he stared at Quinton¡¯s back. In terms of temperament and appearance, Quinton really resembled Theo¡­ When Theo died, he was almost the same age as Quinton and when Michael looked at Quinton; Michael felt like he was staring at his father that he remembered! He was the replica of Theo and had perfectly inherited all of his father¡¯s qualities. Theo became the God of War because he was born into the Fletcher Family, yet Quinton became a notorious assassin because he came from Tanya¡¯s belly. Needless to say, it would¡¯ve been great if Quinton was born into the Fletcher Family instead! After Quinton left, Michael was staring at his father¡¯s tombstone when Hale walked up to him and asked, ¡°What should we do next, boss?¡± Michael¡¯s heart sank when he thought about the information Quinton had left behind. ¡°If it¡¯s really like what he said, we can¡¯t fight this with our own power; we will need some help from Cooper.¡± ¡­ Michael had gone straight into Cooper¡¯s study when he returned to the Edwards Residence. After an unprecedented night-long discussion, both of them had a grim expression on their faces by the time they were done. They were almost certain of their enemy¡¯s identity, but they had no idea about his actual power. Not only that, they didn¡¯t know how much the enemy knew about them; that person¡¯s target was not only Sophia, but Cooper as well. Since Cooper had no weaknesses in the past, they couldn¡¯t do anything except to kill him. But now, Cooper¡¯s family and connections were what made him weak. Following that, several more manpower was added in the Edwards Residence to protect Sophia and Celine. Sophia knew the severity of the matter and was very cautious whenever she went out; she didn¡¯t even comin about the amount of bodyguards following her. Meanwhile, Justin decided to just stay at home and guard his wife and children. Kids at the kindergarten were on summer vacation in July, so Carmen was already back home. She didn¡¯t go out for work because she was going to attend the show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with Michael in September and wanted to settle down first. Carmen went through strict education. Not only did she have sses at home during the summer, there were professional teachersing in every day to tutor her. Sophia had even prepared a special ssroom and professional team for her daughter. As such, Carmen was very intelligent; she had inherited her parents and grandfather¡¯s qualities, and she was especially good at swimming. At just a young age, she could already dive to the bottom of the pool and pick up a set of keys. In the meantime, Sophia had almost no social life; she was simply waiting for her celebration banquet. She worked from home and led her team remotely, trying her best not to leave the house. She didn¡¯t want to be the reason the n fell through at a critical moment, so she apanied and taught Carmen different subjects every day. As for Michael, nobody knew his whereabouts as he ran around all day. He¡¯d suddenly return in the middle of the night and crawl under the sheets with Sophia; after making love to each other, he¡¯d disappear the next day. Sophia felt that Michael and Cooper were definitely nning something big, but they didn¡¯t want to let her know about it because they feared that it would bring her pressure. Hence, she decided not to ask about it. Since the weather was scorching hot, they dug a swimming pool and even built a small beach in the residence. Sophia swam in the pool and quickly jumped out to apply sunscreen. As Carmen sshed around like a fish, a personal lifeguard kept a close eye on her to prevent any idents from happening. The dogs wanted to jump into the pool as well, but there wasn¡¯t enough space to amodate everyone. It would¡¯ve gotten really cramped if all the dogs jumped in, and Carmen wouldn¡¯t have any space to swim around. Eventually, they had to limit the numbers and make a schedule. The dogs were divided into groups based on their colors. White dogs swam on Mondays; golden-haired dogs swam on Tuesdays; dogs with ck and white fur swam on Wednesdays; and pure ck dogs swam from Thursdays to Sundays. Later on, they realized that the schedule wasn¡¯t quite working out¡ªthe family¡¯s big orange cat was eager to jump in whenever it pleased. As the favored cat, Chrysanthemum was the most deviant. It didn¡¯t care whether it was his turn, and it went whenever it wanted to. On that day, it was the ck and white Husky¡¯s turn. Like a hungry wolf who managed to escape its cage, Richie ran out and paddled its paws happily in the water as it swam around Carmen. After a while, Chrysanthemum jumped in and looked like a chunk of orange fluff. Judge wanted to jump in as well, but it could only bark at the water since it was afraid. Carmen eventually grew tired of ying and ate watermelon by the poolside. Meanwhile, Sophia picked Judge up and threw it into the water as they yed happily. Celine was also swimming in the pool for a while, and Justin waited nearby to pick her up. It was always good for pregnant women to do more aerobic exercise like swimming. When Celine got out of the pool, Justin handed her a towel. She took a sip of her drink and looked behind Justin. All of a sudden, she smiled brightly and said, ¡°Daddy! Daddy! Mikey has brought Daddy here!¡± Chapter 1014 Chapter 1014 Daddy? Sophia, who was drinking some orange juice, turned around and saw Michael walking in with Quinton. Even though they were half brothers, they looked incredibly simr since they had the same features. These days, Quinton concealed the arrogance in his temperament; he appeared to have an air of elegance around him as he walked in with a smile. He looked even more like the photo of Theo that Sophia had seen. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Wait a minute¡ªwhy is Quinton in my house? Why did Michael even bring him here?! As soon as he appeared, the atmosphere in the house turned tense. When Justin saw Quinton, he was instantly filled with rage and almost charged forward, but Celine was ecstatic as she jumped up with joy like a child and screamed, ¡°Daddy!¡± Quinton was stunned. Tugging his hand happily, Celine smiled innocently and said, ¡°Daddy!¡± Michael exined hurriedly, ¡°You¡¯ve been mistaken, Celie. This is our little brother; he just looks like Daddy, but Daddy has been gone for years.¡± Celine seemed very fond of Quinton as she quickly corrected herself, but Quinton smiled awkwardly and nodded stiffly in response to her. Then, he caught sight of Sophia standing by the pool in a one-piece swimsuit. Although she was wrapped in a towel, her long legs were still exposed; under the bright sunlight, her snow-like skin together with her elegant demeanor made the water droplets on her thighs seem like crystal pearls. He felt a tug at his heartstrings and subconsciously walked toward her. But before he could take another step, a voice came from behind him. ¡°You¡¯re going in the wrong direction¡ªit¡¯s this way.¡± With that, Michael forcefully grabbed Quinton¡¯s arm and pulled him toward the other direction. As Michael dragged Quinton away, he wrapped his arm around his brother affectionately as Sophia watched in amazement. How did these two get together? Not only that, Michael even brought Quinton back with him! It couldn¡¯t have been Michael¡¯s idea. Although this was the Edwards Residence, Cooper was still the one in charge; Michael would cause a little trouble behind Cooper¡¯s back from time to time, but whenever he saw Cooper, it was like a mouse catching sight of the cat. Even though this ¡®mouse¡¯ was quite thick- skinned, he still listened to Cooper¡¯s instructions nheless. Could it have been Cooper¡¯s idea? Didn¡¯t Cooper swear that he would chop Quinton into minced meat and stuff him into an eggnt? She quickly put on her clothes and followed them into the house, curious to know what they were going to do. Cooper did not want Sophia to get involved in this matter, but he couldn¡¯t keep Sophia sheltered forever; she would have to deal with this sooner orter, so he let Sophia into the room. Sophia knew many of the people inside Cooper¡¯s study. Apart from Cooper and Linus, Harry, Daniel, and Quinton were present; even Sean had been called over. The atmosphere was serious as a drenched Sophia wore a pair of slippers and listened to them on the side. When Cooper saw Quinton, his face was even gloomierpared to when he saw Michael. He was merely dissatisfied with the fact that his son-inw was only five years younger than him; even though he always grumbled about chopping Michael into minced meat, he never really meant it. He really wanted to chop Quinton into minced meat, though! Under Michael¡¯s coaxing, Cooper put away his prejudice toward Quinton for the time being and cooperated with him. After all, thetter possessed crucial information about the matter involving his own daughter and granddaughter. During this special meeting, Quinton answered every question directed at him. He briefly talked about the man¡¯s identity and the forces he knew about. ¡°He is seldom in Bayside City. He spends most of his time abroad, and the person in the country now is just an impostor.¡± An impostor? Instantly, Michael had an epiphany. He had met that person once before; at that time, Michael didn¡¯t feel that he was a powerful figure at all. He assumed that the person was just an ordinary head of the aristocratic n, but he probably met the imposter back then. Just like Cooper, the man had influential power abroad¡ªno one knew what sort of influence he possessed. Quinton talked about that person¡¯s informant among the Michel Family and the possibility of his participation in Cooper¡¯s car ident back then. Upon hearing this, Cooper and Linus were silent; they had been aware of the matter previously, but they didn¡¯t expect¡­ Linus spoke up. ¡°When Sophia was in trouble back then, there was an internal conflict within the Michel Family and the Michel Group; Fass and I were so busy with our own affairs that we didn¡¯t receive Michael¡¯s call for help. Perhaps we did, but other news piled up like a mountain to the point where we didn¡¯t have time to process them all.¡± Having to deal with tons of information every day, his assistant and robotic butlers usually filtered and processed each document before handing it to him. Sometimes, the robotic butler even ignored information it deemed unimportant. Cooper recalled several past events and said, ¡°I¡¯ve known him since we were kids. He already had power in the Edwards Family when I was a child, but I could vaguely sense that he was cautious of me at that time. The feelings I felt made my skin crawl, and it was very strange; I had no grudges against him, but a man who was almost 30 years old gave me such a cold and sinister gaze. Not only is he intuitive and sharp, he¡¯s particrly good at reading people. With just a nce, he can tell if a person will be his future enemy¡ªhe¡¯ll kill them off before they can even grow up. Many talented individuals in Bayside City died before they reached adulthood, and he was the one behind it. He¡¯s tried to sabotage me since I was ten, but I managed to survive them all. From what I can remember, the most dangerous time was¡­¡± Suddenly, Cooper¡¯s words came to an abrupt end. The most dangerous incident was when he and Annabel escaped from the Mitchell Family; someone had tried to kill them while they eloped on a train. Since they had already lost the Mitchell Family¡¯s protection, Cooper and Annabel could only rely on themselves and hid in the bathroom. In the end, they managed to escape to the South¡­ That was truly a bittersweet memory of his! Now that he thought about it, the assassin could have been sent by that person. Cooper broke into a cold sweat as he thought about what would¡¯ve happened back then if Sam hadn¡¯t secretly leaked the information which led the Mitchell Family to them. Otherwise, he might¡¯ve died with Annabel in the South. Obviously, that person had been monitoring his movements¡ªhe even knew that Cooper was going to elope with Annabel in the South, so he sent someone to assassinate them on the way there. However, Cooper managed to dodge his attack skillfully. That person was Jordan; he was Lucy and Ian¡¯s father, as well as the current head of Edwards Family. Ever since his wife died an early death due to some illness, he had never remarried. If Quinton¡¯s information about his identity as a son-inw abroad was correct, then he must have already gotten hold of his father-inw¡¯s businesses. Internationally, there were only a few people who could match Cooper¡¯s power; it was not that difficult to locate them one by one. At the moment, Jordan¡¯s business abroad was his main focus; only a small part of the Edwards Family were aware of his second operating force overseas, so the Edward Family¡¯s business was mainly operated and managed by Lucy, Ian and Sam. However, Jordan never nned on giving up Cethos as he continued to keep a close eye on it. As part of his n, he tried to destroy Cooper since he was fearful of him, but Cooper surprised everyone with his return many yearster. Later on, he feared Michael¡¯s power and attempted to destroy his family as well, but Michael pulled through with impressive willpower and hid his strength as he slowly developed himself. But now, both of them shared amon weakness¡ªSophia and Carmen. Halfway through the meeting, Harry¡¯s expression changed drastically after he answered a call. He stood up abruptly and walked out in a haste. ¡°There¡¯s an emergency which I have to take care of first. Please excuse me.¡± Nobody had ever seen Harry look so flustered as Michael chased after him and asked about it. Harry replied anxiously, ¡°Sarah ran out alone when she found out that I fed her father to the fishes!¡± Chapter 1015 Chapter 1015 A feeling of dread came over Michael when he heard the news. After Sarah¡¯s father had repeatedly looked for trouble with Sarah and Hope, Harry caught him and reprimanded him several times. In the end, Harry had no choice but to kill him. Ever since the West Family went bankrupt, most of the family members had either died or scattered away. They had finally be rich after living poorly for nearly half of their lives, but they were suddenly back to square one; it felt worse than death. Peter had repeatedly sought trouble with Sarah and her brother. To him, his children were his property; since he had worked so hard to raise them, they should reward him back gratuitously with their lives. Sarah and her brother had secretly offered financial aid for their father¡¯s daily expenses and ensured that his family would be taken care of for life. However, once people became toofortable with their lives, they would certainly not go back to their past selves. Peter eventually got addicted to gamblingter on, and he owedrge sums of money to loan sharks¡ªhe even got his leg broken once while his debtors chased him. In order to pay back the loan sharks, Peter sold Victoria to a nightclub. Victoria was only in her early thirties; she was young and had not given birth yet. She even acted in several movies before, but her poprity slumped as her husband¡¯s family went bankrupt. Nheless, she was still sold for arge sum of money. After Peter used that money to pay off his debts, he lost the rest of the money by gambling again; he ended up owing arger amount of debt to a loan shark. Finally, he had no choice but to sell off his and Judy¡¯s youngest daughter. She was only 15 or 16 years old when she was sold to the nightclub, bing an escort shortly after. He even harassed Sarah¡¯s mother; after he was beaten up and thrown out, he went on to harass Sarah and her brother. After that, Sarah and her brother teamed up to pay off his debts before finding their youngest sister. They sent Peter out of the country for a fresh start, but he snuck back into the country without their knowledge. He then kidnapped and sold his youngest daughter again before attempting to steal Hope for money. Sarah and her brother were devastated, but he was still their father; they couldn¡¯t really do anything to him. They ended up sending him out of the country again, found their sister and paid the money back. Peter¡¯s youngest daughter had very good grades, but she had gotten depressed from Peter¡¯s antics. She became timid and was afraid to talk to people, so Sarah sent her to study abroad. In the beginning, Harry simply warned everyone in Bayside City¡¯s underground world that whoever made a deal with Peter would be killed immediately! Hence, no one dared to gamble with Peter after that; the amount of money Sarah and her brother had provided him wasn¡¯t enough to sustain his current lifestyle either. After being poor for a while, he went crazy and started to target his grandchildren. After stealing his son¡¯s two children, Peter was ready to sell them off. However, no one in Bayside City dared to take them in, and someone even secretly reported to Harry about it. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. In the end, Harry lost it. He shipped Peter off into the middle of the sea and killed him; he lied to Sarah and told her that he had sent her father out of the country. Harry knew that he could not hide this from Sarah forever, and she was bound to find out sooner orter. However, Harry had no regrets about what he had done. Peter had gonepletely mad; having sold his wife and daughter, he even tried to sell his grandchildren. Peter was helpless and had lost his sanity a long time ago¡ªhe could no longer be considered human, and Harry was the only one who could deal with him. Seeing how Harry had left in a hurry, she rushed over to ask about the situation. Upon learning about the truth from Michael, she froze in shock. Sarah¡¯s father¡­ Sophia was speechless. Although she wanted to gloat over his death, that was still someone else¡¯s father! When the meeting was over, Michael sent his men to look for Sarah; even Linus helped out as well. Before Michael dashed out, he said to Sophia, ¡°You and Sarah are close; if she contacts you, let me know immediately.¡± Sophia nodded. Feeling anxious, she waited for Sarah¡¯s call at home. Her belly is already getting bigger; where could she have possibly gone to? Sophia paced nervously around the house while she called and texted Sarah, but there was no reply. She then called up Sean, who used to be neighbors with the West Family back when he lived with the Mitchell Family. Since he had known Sarah for more than a decade, perhaps he knew where she could¡¯ve gone. Likewise, Sean and Stanley were also looking for Sarah frantically. Sean replied, ¡°Whenever Sarah was aggrieved by her stepmother, she woulde to me. We¡¯d y together, and she might¡¯ve gone to one of those ces we went during our childhood. I¡¯ll head over there and look for her first. Don¡¯t panic, Sophia. It¡¯s going to be okay.¡± After hanging up the phone, Sophia still felt anxious; there wasn¡¯t any news from Harry or Michael either. Even though Sarah¡¯s brother and mother had also sent people out to look for her, she had disappeared without a trace. Hence, Sophia quickly changed her clothes and headed out. She might not be able to help out much, but she wanted to contribute as much as she could; now that Sarah was missing while pregnant, it worried Sophia greatly. Shortly after, she met up with Stanley at West City. The West Family originated from this area, so Sarah was probably in the vicinity. Despite looking at all the ces they used to hang out at, Sean still couldn¡¯t find Sarah. Instead of giving up, Sophia decided to look for clues among Sarah¡¯s circle of friends and her Twitter. Sarah had been promoting Pourl¡¯s new products on her page yesterday, but it hadn¡¯t been updated since the incident. She scrolled through vigorously and finally found a tweet that Sarah had posted a few years ago. ¡°I happened to pass by an amusement park I used to visit today, but I didn¡¯t know that it had been abandoned for so many years. I came from a poor family, so I didn¡¯t have the luxury of visiting amusement parks before. I always dreamed of ying or walking around in one, though. My dad saved up a fortune and took the four of us there during one of my birthdays. Even though we didn¡¯t have extra money to buy food, I brought along a few buns to fill up my tummy, and we had so much fun that night. I didn¡¯t know that it had been shut down for so many years, and it looks like the set of a horror movie now. Oh, how scary.¡± Attached to her post was a photo of an abandoned amusement park that looked very eerie. After Sophia found the coordinates of the amusement park, she sent it to everyone with a message that said, ¡®Let¡¯s go and have a look¡ªmaybe we can find her there.¡¯ As all of them drove in a frenzy toward the location, they caught sight of the eerie-looking amusement park. Since it had been abandoned, weeds were growing everywhere while the facilities were covered in rust. Garbage left by filming crewsy atop the weeds; the whole park smelled of decay and obsolescence, and it chilled them to their bones. The park was so silent; one couldn¡¯t even hear the sound of insects chirping. Located far away from the city, they could only hear each other¡¯s shaky breaths in the quiet park. Green fungus covered the abandoned buildings, and the word ¡®demolished¡¯ was painted inrge, red characters on one of the walls. As it weathered through the rain, the painted words looked like bloody handprints with their own horror effects. There was obviously no one there, but the moment they entered the park, goosebumps prickled all over their skin; it felt like thousands of eyes had suddenly opened, staring at the group in the dark eerily¡­ Chapter 1016 Chapter 1016 It was getting dark as the amusement park grew more sinister. There were no lights in the area, and it was surrounded bynd that was about to be developed. Dark shadows cast by the five-or-six storey building hovered over them, and inexplicable shadows swayed together with the night breeze. Although there were more than ten of thembined, it still gave them goosebumps all over. A sudden gust of cold wind was apanied by strange sounds; no one knew if it was the sound of winding through the hall or a sound made from a strange creature, but the atmosphere turned spooky. Stanley shivered as he rubbed the goosebumps on his arm and said, ¡°We should probably leave, Sophia. Sarah is such a scaredy cat, and I don¡¯t think she wille here.¡± Stanley¡¯s voice slowly trailed off, seeming as though he was afraid of disturbing the monsters in the park. All of a sudden, the crowd fell into a deep silence and no longer dared to speak. This ce really made them ufortable; it felt as though a thousand pairs of eyes were staring at them in the dark. This ce was known to be haunted as there had been several murder cases around the vicinity. Due to the expropriation of the vast area, it had been empty for years. Since it was within uncharted territory, many murderers chose this area to dump their victims¡¯ bodies¡­ ording to rumors, there were people who were keen on developing this ce into a full-fledged haunted house. Sophia used the shlight on her cell phone and shone it along the park as goosebumps prickled all over her body. However, the faint light from her cell phone was not enough to pierce through the thick ck night. The wind blew against the weeds while it swayed against the groups¡¯ thighs. As they trudged through, it felt very weird and bizarre. Sophia¡¯s heart pounded as she touched her bag. Before she left the house earlier, Sophia had secretly brought a gun with her. A sense of security filled her heart when she touched the hard object. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°This ce is not that big; let¡¯s search carefully and leave after one round.¡± Afraid of leaving each other, they moved as one group and walked deeper into the amusement park. ¡°Ah!¡± Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream filled with immense fear and pain came from the depths of the amusement park. Upon this, bats scurried toward the sky in fright as the group of people were also shocked by the scream. ¡°That¡¯s Sarah¡¯s voice!¡± Happy to have found Sarah, Stanley eximed happily as the group quickly ran toward the sound. It was an abandoned bumper car site. After years of being abandoned, the ce was dark and cold with strange graffiti stered all over its walls. There was a strange smell in the air, and the roof was broken with a glimpse of moonlight shining down. It made the ce even more eerie and sinister. The scream earlier had amplified the dreadful atmosphere in the air, and the group rushed in as their footsteps shook the dust off the structural beams, causing ayer of dust to cover the scary, terrifying scene. The second blood-curdling scream could be heard again, which sounded absolutely terrifying and helpless. Seemingly not too far away from the group, it resonated within the empty building and masked the ce with ayer of creepiness; while everyone¡¯s nerves seemed to have torn apart, notification bells could be heard ringing continuously from someone¡¯s cell phone. The empty house fell silent once again after the screaming ended, but that scream continued to echo in their ears as their bodies tensed up in response. They held their breaths as they hurriedly ran inside. Deep in the house, the sound of something being pushed down echoed throughout the space; it felt like a drum beating on their hearts. As the group turned a corner, they saw a person standing in the middle of a corridor while the moonlight shone through the broken roof. A petite figure with long, ck hair stood there motionlessly. ¡°Sarah?¡± Sean called out first. That person moved in response to his voice; as her stiffened body turned around like a puppet, Sarah looked at them in a weird position with her torso twisted and her head cocked to one side. All of them shone their shlights on her. As the distance shortened between them, it took everyone a few seconds before they saw the situation clearly. It was the most bizzare scene they had ever seen in their lives. That person was indeed Sarah, but she was looking at them with wide, lifeless eyes; it was as empty as a puppet¡¯s eyes. She did not speak as she walked toward them in a weird pose while wearing a ck dress¡ªwait, that wasn¡¯t a ck dress. It was a white maternity dress that had been partially soaked in blood. With her left hand covering her crooked neck, she struggled to hold her neck in ce; it seemed as though her neck was about to fall off. Catching sight of them, Sarah walked lopsidedly toward the group. When her left hand loosened and fell from her neck, a stream of blood gushed out like a fountain. In mere seconds, their mindspletely turned nk. Such a scene only happened in horror movies, and the frightening atmosphere had tensed their nerves into numbness. ¡°Sarah!¡± Sean was the first to rush forward, catching Sarah as she fell helplessly to the ground. Blood was still gushing out from the wound on her neck and she could no longer speak. Sean reached out to cover her wound in a frenzied manner, but it did nothing to help. Instead, his hands were stained with Sarah¡¯s blood. As it continued to gush out like a waterfall, she would be dead in less than a minute. Sean broke down in tears as he helplessly tried to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, Stanley froze on the spot upon seeing this. As he fell onto his knees, there was a dazed and bewildered look on his face. Sophia was the one who remained calm and responded quickly. ¡°Quick, resuscitate her! Resuscitate!¡± Roger rushed over as he carried Shae in his arms. cing Sarah on the ground, the duo who had experience dealing with injuries to the throat gave Sarah all the medical help she needed. A sinking feeling of panic swept over the group. One person went to get the car while another went to turn on the lights; someone even held a gun and stood guard while a fourth person made some phone calls. Shae was a robotic bodyguard designed by both Cooper and Linus. It had been designed specially for Sophia, and it was programmed to deal with a series of emergencies that Sophia might face. In its storagepartment, there were several tools for stitching up wounds and hemostatic appliances. Roger put on a pair of sterilized gloves and quickly drew out the necessary tools for resuscitation. Although lukewarm blood sshed all over his face, he had no time to care about anything else; he had to provide first-aid as soon as possible. Wiping his tears away with his bloody hands, Sean ended up with a face full of blood. Sophia looked at Sarah¡¯s current state and trembled all over; tears flooded her eyes and spilled over her cheeks. After a round of resuscitation, Sarah¡¯s bleeding stopped temporarily. Her situation wasn¡¯t optimistic, so they had to carry her out and send her to the nearest hospital. As Sophia followed behind, she felt limp and weak all of a sudden; it seemed as though her shoes were stepping on cotton instead of the ground. It felt surreal. Who the hell harmed Sarah? We must get to the bottom of this! Sophia leaned against Stanley as they walked out, but even Sean felt feeble as he trudged on beside them. Earlier on, Roger and Shea had taken the first trip out as they escorted Sarah to the hospital; the others were waiting for the second trip. The killer might still be hanging around, so they had to leave as soon as possible. The dark night felt endlessly long, and the gloomy, rundown building seemed never-ending as they walked past bend after bend. Suddenly, a loud piercing sound rang through the air as Sophia smelled something pungent; she turned back and realized that the whole room was covered with thick, ck smoke. Along with the night breeze, it hadpletely enveloped the group in it. ¡°Protect the mis¡­¡± Chapter 1017 Chapter 1017 It was already toote by the time Sophia realized that something was amiss. Her body fell limp to the ground with a loud thud as her brain scrambled from the shock of the fall; she saw stars dancing in front of her eyes while her whole body plunged in chaos. However, she refused to pass out as she struggled to open her eyes. She watched as the others fell to the ground; just like her, they became weak and had no strength to move. Then, a pair of ck sneakers appeared from the mist with silent yet heavy steps. The owner of those shoes had a very clear target¡ªSophia! Struggling to lift her head, Sophia finally saw the man¡¯s face. He wore a ck gas mask which covered the blond-haired foreign man¡¯s features, leaving only a pair of deep set eyes as a cold, ruthless re of light shone out of his light blue eyes. He walked toward Sophia with eyes that were void of any human emotions. Just like a cold machine, he ndly stepped over a bunch of people who were unable to fight back. Sophia tried hard to retrieve her self-defense gun, but she was so weak that she couldn¡¯t even lift a finger, let alone fight back. She could only stare at the man with ck sneakers as he walked toward her. Her eyes were filled with indignation and desperation, but she was utterly helpless. This was a trap. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the man in front of me should be de¡ªthe legendary killer that¡¯s only second to Quinton, right? de never leaves any survivors¡­ Am I going to die here today? As de got closer to Sophia, she had already whipped out her gun when she sensed danger earlier. However, her body turned limp all of a sudden as she lost the strength in her hand; naturally, the gun fell out of her hand. de bent down and picked up the gun. Raising the gun without any hesitation, he aimed it at someone who was lying on the ground. Sophia closed her eyes in despair¡­ She never thought that she would die here. I still have so many dreams and revenge that I¡¯ve yet to fulfill. She still had people she needed to love and apany for the rest of her life. Carmen is not even big enough yet; I want Michael to grow old with me¡­ Meanwhile, Michael only heard a gunshot when he got out of the car; his hurried steps froze after he had heard the gunshot. Looking up at the sinister-looking amusement park that was shrouded by the night, Michael¡¯s mind went nk and he instantly lost the ability to think. He had been here before to shoot one of his crime thriller movies¡ªhe even yed a psychopathic murderer who killed and dumped bodies here. When he saw the rows of buildings, he no longer had the courage to step forward; it seemed like there was a ck dragon curled up somewhere, waiting for him to take a step forward and immediately devour him. Cooper, who was right behind him, hurriedly ran forward in big strides. There was a strange smell lingering in the air throughout the amusement park. The strong chemical gas paralyzed peoples¡¯ nerves in a very short time. Cooper held his breath as he put on a mask and walked inside. Michael quickly followed behind. Meanwhile, the poisonous fog had almost dissipated in the night breeze. There were seven or eight people lying on the building¡¯s leaky corridor¡ªall of them were Sophia¡¯s men. After sending Sarah away, they wanted to stay behind and investigate the traces of the killer who had harmed Sarah, but they lost contact with the other group all of a sudden. Just then, there was another gunshot. Cooper didn¡¯t dare to move forward. ording to Roger and Shae¡¯s report, Sarah¡¯s throat had been shed with a knife¡ªit was de¡¯s signature killing move. Nicking the artery and trachea with a cut to the throat, that person would die in mere seconds. If this really is de¡¯s doing and his target is Sophia¡­ she wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. No, it can¡¯t be¡­ Cooper¡¯s hand trembled. He had seen all sorts of things in his life; he thought that he would be able to react swiftly, but he didn¡¯t dare to step forward at that moment. He was afraid to see his precious daughter lying in front of him as a lifeless corpse with a sh on the throat. Michael quickly walked in as he nced at the people who were sprawled across the ground. To his surprise, Sophia wasn¡¯t there! ¡°She¡¯s not here! She¡¯s not here!¡± he eximed. She must still be alive if she¡¯s not here! Tears stung his eyes, but after the burst of false delight, a surge of anger and grief coursed through him. de! In the end, they still fell into de¡¯s trap! It was all because Sarah had suddenly received an anonymous call which informed her about Harry murdering her father; that was why she lost control and ran away alone. Meanwhile, Sophia left the house because of Sarah¡¯s incident and fell for the trap. Everything had been a trap, and they were all careless about it. Sophia¡¯s small and delicate gun was left on the ground. Built as a self-defense tool for women, the gun was not too heavy and looked quite nice. There were shell casings on the ground. They heard the gunshot earlier, and the bullet had been aimed¡­ at Sean. Affected by the poisonous fog, Sean was also paralyzed and couldn¡¯t move. Lying on his back with blood everywhere on the ground, it stained his light colored shirt. His eyes were shut with few traces of blood seeping out of the corners of his mouth and bullet holes in his chest. The bullet hit him squarely in the heart, and there was no way he could have survived it. Whenever de strikes, he never misses. If he didn¡¯t kill Sophia, there had to be another reason. Stanley was lying next to Sean. He watched as Sean dropped to the ground after being shot in the heart by de; not only that, he even witnessed de taking Sophia away. Although his whole body was paralyzed, his mind was clear and awake. With his face covered in tears and dust, he whimpered softly as he struggled to reach out to Cooper, but he couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. All of a sudden, Hale ran in from the outside hurriedly. When he saw Sean¡¯s body, his expression turned solemn as shock and grief filled his eyes. Who would¡¯ve thought that Sean¡­ However, he collected his emotions and spoke to Michael. ¡°Mr. Winston had a car ident on the way to the hospital. His entire car was crushed by a dump truck which went out of control, and he¡­ I¡¯m afraid he is not going to make it.¡± Michael¡¯s tall, slender body trembled slightly; it was like a big mountain had copsed. ¡°I¡¯ll head over first.¡± Michael nced at the people who were gradually being carried away and left hurriedly. Stanley was also being lifted up, but his eyes were still fixated on Sean. He watched as Sean¡¯s bloody body turned cold as he bled out, the life draining out of him. Stanley watched as Seanpletely disappeared from his life, but he couldn¡¯t do anything! Today, he watched several of the most important people in his life falling down one by one in front of him. The warm blood that spurted out of Sarah¡¯s slit throat burned his skin; Sean being shot dead in front of him; and watching helplessly as Sophia got taken away. He hated it! However, there was nothing else he could do apart from shedding some tears; he couldn¡¯t even make a single sound. This poisonous fog did not cause durative damage to people¡ªits focus was mainly instant paralysis. The group would recover once they got an IV drop in the hospital. Text content ? N?velDrama.Org. Stanley was carried into the car. He knew that once the car door was shut, he would never be able to see Sean again; he knew that this nce was eternal. The group of friends had run through Bayside University¡¯s green grass while they yearned for their future all those years ago, but not a single one was left. N-Not a single one of them! Now, he was all alone¡­ Chapter 1018 Chapter 1018 In the dark corridor, Cooper continued to stare at Sean¡¯s corpse. Sean had always been a promising young man that he liked. He was smart and strong-willed; with a little guidance, he would achieve great things. Cooper had trained him as his future heir¡ªif Sophia was not able to manage the Mitchell Family, Carmen and Sean were his second and third choice. However, no one had expected¡­ Cooper gritted his teeth and turned around in silence. He¡¯s nning to wipe out all of my heirs! Sean, Sophia, and eventually Carmen¡­ Linus was also his heir, but his identity as Fass had been well protected. In other words, the other party had not discovered it yet. After taking two steps, someone called him from behind and said, ¡°Come and take a look at this, boss!¡± As Cooper turned back and saw what was in front of him, his eyes glistened immediately¡­ Meanwhile, Michael rushed over to the hospital while Hale ryed what had happened. Harry was on his way to the hospital when he learned that his wife had been harmed; he was feeling very anxious when a dump truck skidded out of control, tipping all of its contents onto Harry¡¯s car and smashing it¡­. At that moment, he was in the hospital ward right next to Sarah¡¯s. Both husband and wife were currently being resuscitated. Michael forced himself to calm down. ¡°Hale, send someone to The Imperial; get them to pick Hope up and send him to the nearest Fletcher Family house for the time being.¡± ¡°Gary, go back to the Edwards Residence and protect Carmen well.¡± In reality, he wanted to send Hope back to the Edwards Residence. Since it was Cooper¡¯s old ce in Bayside City, it would be hard for the enemy to sneak in, but the distance between The Imperial and the Edwards Residence was too far away. What if something happened along the way? Meanwhile, the Fletcher Family¡¯s house was nearby; it was sufficient enough to protect Hope. Since Nathan had been undergoing military training in the Fletcher Family, he could keep Hopepany as well. He hadn¡¯t been thinking through things clearly¡ªthe enemy was not only fighting against Cooper himself, but also all the forces under him. Although Michael and Cooper didn¡¯t see eye to eye, they had already be one in everyone else¡¯s eyes. Cooper only had one daughter and Michael was his son-inw, which meant that he was part of Cooper¡¯s forces. Harry and Michael were partners, so they were counted as a mutualmunity. Not only that, Michael and Harry were considered a menace to that person; it was only a matter of time before he would have attacked them. Michael¡¯s cell phone rang all of a sudden, and it turned out to be a call from Quinton. He went straight to the point and said, ¡°The mission I received before was to find Sophia and kill her on the spot; de should have received the same task as I did. However, it seems like he has other ns since he took her instead. Wait for his message¡ªhe¡¯ll definitely send you one anytime soon.¡± Michael¡¯s expression turned grim after he hung up the phone. de definitely had other ns¡ªhis sister, Celine. Suddenly, he thought about one question; if a person¡¯s sister and wife fell into the water at the same time, who would they save if they could only rescue one person? One was his sister while the other was his wife; how could he give either one of them up? He¡¯d beat the son of a b*tch who pushed his wife and sister into the water! Shortly after that, Michael arrived at the busy hospital. Even though it was alreadyte at night, the hospital was filled with people as nurses bustled around the wards. Academy Award winner Harry had an ident; the news spread like wildfire all over Bayside City and shook the city to its core. The best surgeon in the city had also been called in to work overtime. Since Sarah had lost a lot of blood, it was likely that she and her child would not be able to survive. Meanwhile, Harry¡¯s whole body was fractured; his internal organs were severely injured and was still in resuscitation. Shortly after that, Sean was sent in with a gunshot to his chest. Naturally, no one thought that he¡¯d survive it¡­ This was a really long night! Michael sat on a hospital bench; no one was loitering around the hospital as everyone was trying to rescue those people who had juste in. His men came in and out while the doctor and nurses raced against time to save those four lives. Four human lives¡­ Michael¡¯s heart had gone numb from all the anxiety; everything fell apart one after the other, giving him no time to prepare at all. It was cruel, helpless, and devastating! The men he sent out had sent back an endless stream of news, but none of them was about Sophia. Some time in the middle of the night, Carmen called. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you and Mommy home yet, Daddy?¡± Carmen¡¯s sweet voice wasced with sleepiness. She was supposed to be asleep at this time, but she couldn¡¯t do so without talking to her parents. She stayed up and waited for Michael¡¯s phone call but it never came, so the slightly annoyed Carmen decided to call him herself. When he heard her voice, Michael¡¯s throat tightened as tears spilled out from his eyes. He stayed strong and replied tenderly, ¡°Mommy is still busy with her work. Daddy is with Mommy at thepany; perhaps we¡¯ll try to make a little sister or brother for youter tonight. Carmen, do you want Mommy to give you a little brother? Would you like a little sister instead?¡± Carmen pouted and snapped back impatiently. She said, ¡°You¡¯ve asked me several times and I¡¯ve answered it already! I just want an alpaca baby!¡± ¡­ After talking to Carmen, Michael hung up the phone. His heart was filled with sweetness, pain, and an endless pit of despair and suffering. Where are you, Sophia? ¡­ After a sleepless night, Cooper forwarded an anonymous message he received the next day. It was all in English, and the person wanted to meet at an abandoned factory at 12.00AM to exchange hostages; he even attached a video of Sophia being tied up. In the video, Sophia was only tied up and not injured. She was even energetic enough to kick over the mineral water beside her. Cooper and Michael both sighed in relief, but right now, they had to deal with the most important question at hand. Was it possible to exchange hostages¡ªa sister for a wife? ¡°No! I will never hand over my wife like this!¡± Justin shouted as he mmed the table emotionally! Having lost his daughter, Cooper waspletely frustrated as he tethered on the brink of erupting into a storm. ¡°Does that mean my daughter will not be saved?!¡± Justin¡¯s expression hardened. For the sake of his wife and child, he dared to face Cooper head-on even though he usually respected thetter. Even if they really handed Celine over, how could they guarantee that the other party would spare Sophia¡¯s life? The two of them mmed the table and argued loudly. They almost fought with each other, and even Linus couldn¡¯t seem to calm them down. On the other hand, Michael had been silent and didn¡¯t involve himself in their argument. He simply looked out the window and saw Carmen swimming in the pool; she was carefree and happy, while Celine pped her hands innocently by the shore. They look so happy; they deserve to be in such bliss forever¡­ Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. However, Sophia muste back! Michael¡¯s heart tightened as he made a difficult decision! That night, a car stopped near the abandoned factory. As the car door opened, Cooper dragged a person with him. It seemed to be a woman who was crying as she walked, and she looked incredibly scared and sad. Her mouth was taped shut, her hands were tied to her back, and she had messy hair with a bulging stomach, clearly indicating that she was already pregnant. When they arrived at the location, Cooper took out his phone as he received a message that read, ¡®Why is it you? Where are Justin and Michael?¡¯ de hadn¡¯t appeared yet, but he was definitely around there and had seen them. Cooper replied to the message coldly. ¡®They didn¡¯t agree to exchange hostages so I had them locked up. Where is my daughter? If I can¡¯t see my daughter, I will kill Celine right in front of you.¡¯ Without waiting for the other party¡¯s reaction, he stabbed a knife into Celine¡¯s leg as she stifled a groan; blood started pouring out and soaked her dirty, white dress. With that, Celine fell to the ground on her knees painfully¡­ Chapter 1019 Chapter 1019 The other party quickly replied, ¡®Put her down and you will be able to see your daughter.¡¯ Cooper read the string of English messages and his ocean-blue eyes shed with rage. He had guessed that the enemy never intended to let Sophia live. He put down the phone calmly while the knife in his hand was still stained with blood. Cooper pointed the knife at the abandoned factory and shouted coldly, ¡°I will give you one minute, de! I want to see my daughter now, or else I¡¯ll kill this woman! I mean every word I say!¡± Celine¡¯s soft whimpers and Cooper¡¯s voice echoed in the empty factory, each one sounding colder than the other; it felt like a gust of cold wind whistling and scraping people¡¯s faces on a snowy mountain. Unfortunately, the enemy did not respond; it seemed like he was waiting to watch something. Cooper¡¯s cold eyes nced around. It was quiet and empty; there was no Sophia and no de, but he knew that his daughter was somewhere in a corner and de was already here. Celine cried helplessly in pain, looking like a baby with her face covered in sweat and tears. Her thigh, which had been stabbed by Cooper, was still bleeding as it soaked through her pants. 15 secondster, de and Sophia still hadn¡¯t shown up. Cooper struck without warning and plunged his de into Celine¡¯s bulging belly, the entire de sinking into her flesh. Celine grunted a painful grunt as her stomach was instantly soaked red. Cooper loosened his bloodied grip on the weapon, the hilt of the sharp knifeing out of her bulging belly. It was followed by Celine¡¯s rapid breathing and painful spasms. She screamed in pain as her throat barely made a sound; her mouth was blocked with tape, and only a faint, raspy sound escaped. If Cooper continued to stab her like this, her unborn child would definitely not survive. Cooper acted as though he couldn¡¯t see Celine¡¯s pained expression while he ruthlessly drew out the knife from her stomach; the blood from her abdomen spurted out like a bloody flower all over Cooper¡¯s hand. However, Cooper had no sympathy for her pain. He was a father who had gone over the edge and just wanted his own daughter. If he had to do it for the sake of Sophia, his daughter, he would exchange the world for her life. Moreover, Celine had nothing to do with him! Cooper lifted the knife and aimed it at Celine¡¯s stomach for a second stab. Judging by the angle and the force of the knife, it meant that he didn¡¯t n on keeping Celine alive. He just wanted his own daughter! If de nned to trick him, then he would kill Celine right there and then! The second stabnded on Celine¡¯s stomach again, and a burst of blood gushed out immediately. At that moment, Cooper looked like a murderous maniac; his eyes and face were stained with bright red blood. Celine curled up in pain like a shrimp. Her hands were tied with some rope that wrapped around her neck; when she struggled, the rope at her neck would tighten. A streak of blood seeped out¡ªCeline had no idea whether it was the child¡¯s or her own. When Cooper lifted his knife for the third time, the sound of footsteps finally came from behind him. Cooper quickly grabbed Celine by the neck and pushed her in front of him as he cautiously stared at the man who came out of a corner. de wore a ck shirt with a pair of ck sneakers. His light blue eyes were less majestic but more sullenpared to Cooper¡¯s. Cooper noticed that the pair of eyes above his mask were filled with rage and murder; it seemed like a husband had witnessed his wife being tortured and abused. As de walked over quietly, he carried a petite figure who was also tied up on his shoulders. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. He ced the person in front of Cooper and revealed her face¡ªit was Sophia. She seemed to be asleep; her cheeks were rosy and her breaths were regr. Cooper was still not convinced as he choked Celine¡¯s neck and threatened, ¡°I want to see my daughter alive! If anything happens to my daughter, I will kill her!¡± Meanwhile, Celine was still bleeding; her face had gone pale as her eyes started to roll back. Her fragile neck was defenseless against Cooper¡¯s hands. de took out a spray bottle from his bag and sprayed it on Sophia¡¯s face. Secondster, her eyes suddenly opened as she woke up and looked around in a daze before finally remembering what happened before. de had killed Sean and abducted her! He even wanted to exchange her for Celine! By the time she recollected her thoughts, she saw Celine being choked by Cooper. Celine was still breathing but her face was dangerously pale¡ªeven her lips had turned white. Her whole body was covered in blood; not only were her stomach and thighs bloodied, there was even blood trickling down her pants as it soaked through her white sandals. The knife that Cooper was holding onto dripped with blood as his other hand was wrapped around Celine¡¯s neck. Obviously, the person who had hurt Celine was none other than Cooper. In that instant, Sophia waspletely stunned; it was as if she did not recognize Cooper. ¡°Dad? Why¡­¡± Her voice was strained as she looked at Cooper incredulously. Cooper had actually traded Celine in exchange for her! Sophia went silent as she stared at Celine¡¯s bloodied stomach, unable to say anything. Cooper was heartless to the whole world; he was only kind to his daughter. For her sake, he¡¯d go out of his way to hurt others. Even if that meant hurting Celine, he would not hesitate to do so. That¡¯s Michael¡¯s sister, though¡­ How could he be so heartless? Was his daughter a human being while the other person¡¯s sister wasn¡¯t? Nheless, he was Sophia¡¯s father! She finally understood Sarah¡¯s feeling of cleaning after her father¡¯s mess when he owed money from gambling. At the end of the day, he was her father! Sophiay on the ground and sobbed, not daring to look at Celine¡¯s fearful and desperate expression. It¡¯s all my fault! When Cooper saw that his daughter was fine, his hardened face finally softened. However, he still held Celine¡¯s neck with his hand and spoke to de. ¡°Put down my daughter, and I¡¯ll give you Celine.¡± de saw the puddle of blood under Celine and knew that this ruthless man in front of him would never hesitate. He silently picked Sophia up and threw her somewhere in front of Cooper. Remembering how Sean had died and Celine¡¯s appearance, she had gone weak from all the crying. However, when de loosened his grip on her, the strong desire to live gave her strength as she rolled as hard as she could toward Cooper¡¯s feet. When Cooper saw his daughter, he was secretly relieved as he threw Celine over and quickly rushed forward to pick Sophia up. Meanwhile, de dashed forward to hold Celine as they both hurriedly backed away from each other. Cooper carried Sophia and retreated. At this moment, Sophia no longer had the strength to question Cooper. Between Celine and her, Cooper would definitely choose his daughter¡ªeven if it meant exchanging Celine¡¯s life for another. Having picked Celine up, de was ready to take her away. All of a sudden, he felt something cold on his waist while he was getting ready to untie the ropes on her body; it was as if something had viciously pierced through his waist¡­ Chapter 1020 Chapter 1020 de, who was known as the world¡¯s top killer, naturally knew what it was and pulled out the small knife from his waist with trembling hands. He stared at the object with an unreadable expression; it was a pocket-sized knife, but it was also a murderous weapon that pierced through his waist instantly. de stifled a painful grunt as he looked up at ¡®Celine¡¯ incredulously and saw her staring at him coldly. ¡°Katrina¡­¡± He gave a startled cry and his voice trailed off instantly. No, that¡¯s not Katrina. This person has an Adam¡¯s apple! It¡¯s a man! de¡¯s shocksted only for a brief moment as he retreated in a sh. After all, he was an assassin; as soon as he realized that he was in danger, he retreated immediately. The person with an Adam¡¯s Apple pulled out a gun from his stomach and fired several shots at de, but as the world¡¯s top killer, he was agile enough to avoid the gunshots and like a shadow despite being injured. Soon enough, he scurried into the darkness of the night. Covered in blood, ¡®Celine¡¯ quickly chased after him. Ripping off the fake stomach and wig along the way, he finally revealed his true appearance. After using almost half of Sophia¡¯s toning cream and painting his face as pale as he could, the disguise looked quite realistic. The waterproof eyeliner¡¯s effect was simply unbelievable¡ªit made Michael look simply enchanting and feminine, and his disguise was wless. The effects of Sophia¡¯s eye shadow were even more amazing; after he casually smeared some on his face, Michael looked less manly and more womanly. Together with his superb acting skills, he looked almost identical to Celine. de, who had not seen her for years, naturally fell for it. As Michael chased after him, he made a phone call and said, ¡°He got away.¡± de disappeared into the night. Michael was very ufortable wearing a skirt and women¡¯s sandals; it slowed him down and de managed to escape. However, Michael already had numerous traps set in ce. In order to prevent Michael from ying tricks on him, de had changed the meeting ce multiple times. Finally, they agreed on this location so that Michael and Cooper¡¯s men could not set up their traps in time. However, de never imagined that Michael would have a backup n. Meanwhile, Cooper sped toward the hospital with Sophia in the car as Michael took a shortcut and followed them. Inside the vehicle, Sophia was throwing a tantrum as she cried and screamed. Cooper had reced her with Celine; how was she going to face Michael without any sense of guilt in the future?! She wouldn¡¯t listen to anything Cooper had to say and even scratched him. But when they arrived at the hospital, Sophia saw Michael standing at the entrance; he was waiting for her in a bloody skirt and a pair of slippers. When she got out of the car and saw Michael, she was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized what had happened earlier. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Instantly, Sophia burst into tears as she leaped into Michael¡¯s arms and hugged him tightly. Michael caught her in time and coaxed her. He said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s okay now. It¡¯s okay, good girl¡­¡± Cooper¡¯s face darkened when he got down from the car. Sophia had argued with him without even listening to his exnations; she med him for sending Celine to her death and even scratched his face. Although he had grown older and looks were no longer that important to him, he was scratched by his beloved daughter¡ªthe pain was not from his face, but from an old father¡¯s fragile heart! Sophia cried like a child as she touched Michael everywhere and sobbed. ¡°You¡¯re covered in blood,¡± she said. Michael quickly assured her and replied, ¡°This is fake blood from the filming crew!¡± Sophia continued to sob. ¡°I saw a big hole in your stomach, though!¡± ¡°That¡¯s fake as well¡ªit¡¯s a prop from the filming crew too. Look at this¡­¡± he answered. Hale held the fake stomach that Michael had used earlier; when he put it on his body, it looked very surreal. Since it was night time, it had been effectively disguised. The filming crew typically used this as a prop for their movies. Sophia was dumbfounded; she had probably experienced too many things in a day and her brain couldn¡¯t seem to digest all of it. She stared at Michael¡¯s pale face and asked, ¡°Your face is so pale; there¡¯s no color at all. Are you injured?¡± Michael quickly exined, ¡°I used your toning cream.¡± Sophia finally epted that Michael was alright; Cooper hadn¡¯t exchanged Celine for her, and she came back safe and sound. She wiped away her tears and turned toward Cooper before murmuring, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad. I shouldn¡¯t have scratched you.¡± Cooper could never stay mad at her. To him, Sophia was the world¡¯s most adorable daughter. When he saw his daughter fussing over her husband and not the old man, Cooper felt slightly upset. However, his dissatisfaction dissipated once he saw her cute little nose and eyes; only the relief and joy of her being alive remained. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not mad at all.¡± He reassured Sophia as he patted her shoulder. Earlier on, he was really afraid that de would harm Sophia; his hands were trembling while he held the knife. If he had taken one wrong step, he¡¯d probably be looking at a dead corpse right now. Fortunately, Sophia came back alive¡ªit was like a dream! This time, his negligence had almost caused an incalcble damage to himself. Looking at Michael who was still wearing the dress, he suddenly felt gratuitous. Michael was the one who hade up with the idea of disguising as Celine. Cooper initially thought that it was impossible, but after putting on a skirt and some makeup, Michael looked exactly like his sister. The two siblings had always looked alike, but looking identical wasn¡¯t enough; the most significant part was their gaze and temperament. The disguise was simply divine as Michael sessfully turned himself into Celine. If they were to stand opposite to each other, it waspletely impossible to tell the two siblings apart without Michael¡¯s Adam¡¯s apple¡ªeven Sophia and de didn¡¯t realize it was Michael. If he did not receive an Academy Award for his acting, who else would be qualified enough for it? Cooper used to think that his son-inw was always passive in life; he was a man who could do anything, yet he chose to sing and act in movies with heavy makeup and outfits. However, Cooper realized Michael¡¯s pure talent. If it had gone to waste, it would be a real shame¡­ Michael was still waiting for his father-inw to thank him, but after almost an entire day, Cooper said nothing. Michael eventually caved in and thought that there was no need for it. Since we¡¯re already a family, why should we say ¡®thank you¡¯ to each other? With that, Michael apanied Sophia into the hospital. Her body was covered with bruises from being tied up with a rope. Although there were only a few scratches here and there, they insisted on doing a thorough checkup. That night, the hospital was heavily guarded and imprable. After Sophia went through a full body checkup, she was lucky to have only gotten away with superficial injuries. de had no intention of letting her live after the exchange with Celine; he had a thousand ways to kill her, but he unexpectedly met with the ruthless Copper. Cooper was even more ruthless than de; his intimidation had finally forced de to hand Sophia over. Throughout the entire n, Michael¡¯s job was the hardest. Had he not acted like Celine, de would¡¯ve seen through his bluff. By then, Sophia would definitely be gone¡­ Chapter 1021 Chapter 1021 After the physical examination, Sophia took some time to rest. She had been so worried and frightened the whole day, she couldn¡¯t eat and sleep well. Exhausted, she fell asleep right after making a goodnight call to Carmen. At the same time, Cooper went to deal with other things while Michael continued to stay in contact with Justin. At that moment, Justin was chasing after de with his subordinates. I can¡¯t let that man survive. Michael gave him a fatal blow this time round, so it¡¯s the best opportunity to kill him. However, the news that Justin sent back was not good. They had lost a lot of men but after being stabbed by Michael, de became more and more courageous and he forcefully fought through the numerous men who surrounded him. The situation was simr to the hunt for Phantom Wolf years ago. Back then, they had many men hunting him down, but Phantom Wolf still managed to escape. One of them was the world¡¯s No.1 killer while the other was the world¡¯s No. 2 killer. Those who could get their names on the Killer List did not rely on unspoken rules, and it wasn¡¯t like ¡®Light of Cethos¡¯, which relied on votes from fans. That night, Michael didn¡¯t sleep. He sat next to Sophia¡¯s hospital bed and looked at her peaceful sleeping face. Then, he took a short nap in the chair. At that moment, it was still early in the morning in Bayside City, so it was extremely dark outside. Under the night sky, in a deserted suburban area, a figure galloped forward like a gust of wind and dozens of men were chasing behind him. After being stabbed by Michael in the waist, de¡¯s movements became slower and slower. Unfortunately, they were in a hurry and there were too many arrangements to make, so they didn¡¯t have the time to bring a poisoned knife. Otherwise, he would¡¯ve died a long time ago. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. However, de¡¯s running speed was not to be underestimated. Those dozen men may not even be able to catch up with him. Under the night, the great hunt began. de fled to an abandoned town that was about to be demolished, and realized that he had escaped to the ce he killed Sarah. The gloomy town was already sparsely popted in the first ce, and the buildings were in ruins. Later, when the demolition was ordered, there were even fewer people. Red warnings of demolition were stered everywhere in the town. As de ran deeper into town, the men behind continued to follow him. There were even dozens of drones flying in the sky, looking for traces of him. Under the mask that he never removed, his gaze was still unruffled. It was as if he wasn¡¯t human and had forgotten how to feel fear. de ran down the main street of the town. All of a sudden, he felt a tingling sensation. His experience as a killer told him that there was iing danger. As expected, the next second, he felt as if his calf was bitten by a poisonous snake. He looked down and saw that he was shot, and the bullet had gone through his calf. Snipers! de gritted his teeth and continued moving forward. He had amazing fitness. As he ran, he kept searching for escape points. He was fast and moved very cautiously so the snipers couldn¡¯t aim for a second shot. There was a parking lot in front that wasn¡¯t demolished yet. There was even a car that looked brand-new, and under the moonlight, he could see that the ruts on the ground were pretty fresh. The car was probably owned by residents from the nearby suburbs. When de saw the car, he quickly backed up. He didn¡¯t think of stealing the car and driving away. Instead, he ran away from it. If someone drove that car not long ago, it means that there is gasoline inside. Gasoline can cause explosions¡­ As expected, a bullet urately hit the fuel tank of the car. A few secondster, there was arge explosion and the entire parking lot was submerged in a sea of mes, including de¡­ The explosion ended one minuteter and the car¡¯s scorched parts scattered all over the ground, some of them still burning. A man carrying a gun slowly walked into the fire and with a relentless gaze in his eyes, he searched the area, but there was no trace of de. A group of men rushed over from behind and searched around, but they couldn¡¯t find anything either. There was a small river nearby so they knew that de had escaped. Not knowing whether he was alive or dead, they sent men to find him. However, everyone knew that if they couldn¡¯t find de¡¯s body, he would definitelye back in the future. Justin looked solemn while Stanley, who was standing next to him, was expressionless. It was as if Stanley had changed overnight. He used to act like a happy Husky, but just yesterday, he lost the most important partner in his life, and he could only watch as they died. At that moment, all he wanted was to get revenge! He hadpletely changed from a cute and silly Husky into a hungry wolf. I¡¯ll avenge Sean and Sarah! He didn¡¯t get the result he was hoping for, but it was not out of his expectations. de wasn¡¯t any weaker than Phantom Wolf. If they could easily kill him, the Killer List would be for nothing. The ranking within the Killer List was decided by the number of people the world¡¯s best and most brutal killers killed with their own hands. Even Michael was not able to kill Quinton after so many years, so it couldn¡¯t be easy for him to kill de. Carrying the gun, Stanley left without saying a word. His eyes were gloomy, and it seemed like something inside him was changing¡­ Justin watched Stanley leave before he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Michael. ¡®Mission failed.¡¯ When Michael received the news, he was having breakfast with Sophia in the hospital. He wasn¡¯t surprised when he learned the news. His feelings were the same as when Justin failed to hunt down Phantom Wolf when he was still known as Abel. After breakfast, Michael shaved his beard, hid in the washroom and called Quinton. Quinton was not surprised by their failure. ¡°I have been fighting him for more than ten years, but I still couldn¡¯t kill him, let alone less-skilled people like you all. Dealing with de requires careful nning and you must kill him with one shot. Otherwise, it will be harder next time. That man is scary. However, right now, you have a better chance to deal with him. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen de give up his mission for other reasons. This is a good opportunity.¡± Michael knew what he meant. de was really in love with Katrina. In order to get Katrina, he was even willing to let go of his target, Sophia. As a killer, this was a taboo. He had vited the standards and regtions of the industry. This was the first time de had made a vition, and he had received his punishment. de will be back. Michael hung up the phone and returned to the ward, only to find Sophia sitting on the bed, crying silently. ¡°Missus, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophia remembered that de shot a bullet straight into Sean¡¯s heart, so it was certain he could not be saved. She also remembered that Sarah¡¯s throat was slit by a knife. A moment ago, she heard that Harry was crushed by a truck on his way to see Sarah at the hospital, and he probably didn¡¯t survive too¡­ When they rescued her yesterday, they had kept everything a secret from her, but she received terrible, terrible news that morning. I never thought the four of us who used to study in Bayside University and went through military training together would turn out like this¡­ Sobbing, Sophia said to Michael, ¡°Let¡¯s adopt Sour Face and the dog. They can be Carmen¡¯s companions.¡± Just when Michael was about to say something, they heard a cold voiceing from the doorway. ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet! Why are you plotting to take my son and my dogs away from me¡­¡± Sophia turned around and saw Harry leaning on the door frame, looking at them with a gauze on his forehead. Chapter 1022 Chapter 1022 Harry¡¯s sudden appearance made the whole ward fall silent. Shocked, Sophia stared at Harry in a daze, then she nced at Michael, then back at Harry. Harry only had a gauze on his forehead and other parts of his body were perfectly fine. He could even walk to Sophia¡¯s ward by himself. Sitting next to the hospital bed, he red at Sophia and Michael. ¡°Tell me the truth. Have you been coveting my son and my dog for many years and are only waiting for my death so that you can adopt them?¡± Sophia hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock that Harry was still alive. With a smile, Michael patted Harry¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°How can we take them away from you? Aren¡¯t you still alive and well? Even if we were coveting your son and your dog, you would have to die first.¡± Harry instantly looked upset and he didn¡¯t say a thing. Sophia was worried so she asked what happened. Harry replied, ¡°Speaking of which, I have to thank you. If it weren¡¯t for you, I might¡¯ve died on the spot.¡± When Harry found out that Sarah was hurt, he drove a car to the hospital. He was really anxious so he drove really fast and sped through all the red lights. The car that he drove was the sports car that Sophia gave Sarah. It was fast, easy to control, and most importantly, it was military grade. Cooper had custom made a few sports cars for his daughter, and they had the same quality as the mobile phones produced by Michel Group. Not only were they beautiful, but they had good performance, looked luxurious and were bulletproof. Sophia had spent a lot of money to buy one for Vincent and gave one which was strongest in terms of preventing explosions to Sarah. It was this car that absorbed the impact for Harry in the ident yesterday. After being rammed by a muck truck, the car rolled over and all the stones and building materials the truck was carrying fell onto Harry¡¯s car. If it was another car, it would¡¯ve been squashed. Fortunately, Harry was driving the car that Cooper prepared for his daughter, and it managed to withstand the heavy pressure and protect the people inside. After the ident, the airbags were quickly released and protected Harry. Because he had suddenly braked after driving at high speed, Harry was thrown forward and he mmed his head, but he only got a concussion from the inertia. Hale had not given an urate report as he only saw that Harry was in an ident from the news. Harry was one of the best actors so shortly after his car was buried in stones, videos and photos started circting on the inte. Generally, cars would be squashed in these kinds of situations. Unexpectedly, when the traffic police moved the stones and building materials away, they saw that there were just a few dents on the car and Harry, who was inside, was still alive. At that moment, the car was even more famous than Harry himself. After hearing this, Sophia was in a daze. She couldn¡¯t believe that she had actually saved Harry¡¯s life unknowingly. Oh my god! The cars made by Michel Group are amazing! Sophia was happy but immediately afterward, she remembered Sarah and a solemn expression appeared on her face, and she couldn¡¯t help but sob. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Uncle Harry. Sarah¡­¡± Harry hurriedly raised his hand and said, ¡°Stop right there. Sarah¡¯s fine now. Fortunately, the robots and Roger did proper rescue procedures and de didn¡¯t intend to kill her immediately. He only wanted to lure you out so he didn¡¯t make a deep cut. They sent her to the hospital fast too, so she and the child are out of danger.¡± Hearing that both Sarah and the child were safe, Sophia¡¯s lips immediately curled into a smile. This was the best news she learned today. After a moment of silence, Harry bowed and said, ¡°I apologize to you two on behalf of Sarah. If it weren¡¯t for her capricious behavior, all of this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Hearing this, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but sigh and said, ¡°It¡¯s not her fault.¡± The person who is the most upset right now is probably Sarah¡­ Harry only had a slight concussion and because Sarah¡¯s injury was small and she was rescued and sent to the hospital in time, she was already out of danger and her child was miraculously saved. This was already a great miracle. However, there was one person¡­ At that moment, in the corridors of the same hospital, there were doctors and nurses rushing around. The lights in the emergency room were still on and Sean had been in there all day and night. de had shot Sean in the heart but fortunately, Sean was wearing a bulletproof vest produced by Michel Military Enterprise. The vest had passed all necessary tests, and it could withstand bullets produced by even Michel Group themselves. In fact, the production volume of bulletproof vests was low. However, because of Sophia¡¯s rtionship with Cooper, they had a dozen of these vests at home. Even though the chance to use bulletproof vests was very small in a country that prohibited guns like Cethos, Sophia still gave everyone close to her one vest each. Last night, when Michael pretended to be Katrina to kill de, the knife he brought was a telescopic knife used on set, and he also brought a fake tummy and some fake blood. Of course, he put on a bulletproof vest too. Even though the bulletproof vest could withstand bullets and knives, if one was shot at a close range, the bullet would still have a strong impact on the body and would cause internal injuries. Sean had worn the bulletproof vest, but de¡¯s shot had been too close. Even if the bullet didn¡¯t enter his body and the bulletproof vest had lessened the impact, the force he had to withstand was huge. Although he didn¡¯t immediately die on the spot¡­ After visiting Sarah, who was still sleeping, Sophia went to see Sean. They were separated by a wall. Seany inside the ward, fighting with the god of death, while Sophia could only worry from the other side. Sean is a perfect man. He has always acted like a big brother and helped me with my career. He¡¯s a good and gentle man. Why did de hurt him? Nobody had notified Sean¡¯s mother and stepfather about the incident yet, and even the Mitchell family wasn¡¯t notified. Only Shae and Dimon were guarding the corridor outside his ward. ¡°Where¡¯s Stanley?¡± Sophia looked up and asked Michael. With a sad expression, Michael solemnly replied, ¡°¡­ We haven¡¯t told him yet. Right now, he still thinks that Sean is already dead and he and Justin are searching around Bayside City for de¡¯s whereabouts.¡± Sophia wanted to call Stanley but after giving it some thought, she changed her mind. He has now epted the fact that Sean is dead. If I tell him that Sean is alive now, how would he feel if Sean still dies in the end? The cruelest thing to do is to give someone a little hope and when he reaches out to hold onto it, it snuffs out. It is too cruel for Stanley. The two of them sat outside the ward and prayed for a miracle. At the same time, Stanley was following Justin on the hunt for de. When the Fletcher family found out that someone crazy had sneaked into Cethos, they instantly sent over a group of men to follow Stanley on his chase. Meanwhile, Linus and Cooper provided technical support for them. de had been stabbed by Michael and affected by the explosion. Even though he escaped, he couldn¡¯t have run far. Moreover, the injuries on his body could only be treated in hospitals. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. The Fletcher family, Mitchell family, Harry and Mr. Nobody had groups of men searching all over Bayside City for this man. After half a day, they still had no clue where de was, which was why Michael sent someone to help Stanley. When Stanley saw the so-called helper, a cold expression appeared on his face and it was full of detest. ¡°Quinton, why are you here?!¡± With a smile, Quinton replied, ¡°My surname is also Fletcher. Why can¡¯t I be here?¡± Chapter 1023 Chapter 1023 The members of Fletcher Family stared at Quinton with ugly expressions. This man had a longstanding blood feud with the Fletchers. Although they, more or less, entered a truce and were in the process of making peace with each other, he was still a killer. Good and evil could never coexist¡ªnot since the beginning of time! Still, Quinton came and said, ¡°If you want to find where a killer is hiding, it¡¯s best to rely on another killer. You will never find him by yourselves.¡± Stanley coldly said, ¡°Are you really that nice to help us?¡± Quinton shrugged. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not that nice. It¡¯s just that de is the second-best in the world. As the best in the world, I have a lot of pressure on me. Therefore, I can¡¯t wait for him to die. Assisting you in capturing de is nothing more than getting rid of mypetition.¡± Stanley said nothing. Even so, he allowed Quinton to enter their team and cooperate temporarily. At present, he only had one wish¡ªhe wanted to kill de and avenge both Sarah and Sean! Sure enough; only a killer could find another killer¡¯s hiding spot. ¡°de is a white man. Most Cethosians can¡¯t tell a white person and a ck person apart. Knowing this, he would surely use this to his advantage.¡± When Quinton heard how Stanley had been going about searching for de, he analyzed the situation. ¡°You¡¯ve been searching in several inconspicuous ces, as well as smaller clinics and hospitals, thinking that he would be hiding in a corner licking his wounds. However, de cherishes his life very much. He will never go to such unknown clinics.¡± Stanley was silent. In their experience, most desperate people would look for shady and unmonitored small clinics nearby. No wonder we couldn¡¯t find him. It turns out we had the wrong idea all along. Quinton set the target range. ¡°Go to some of therge hospitals and high-end private clinics in the center of Bayside City. Perhaps you might find something.¡± Stanley immediately did as Quinton suggested. At this point, anything was fine as long as he could kill de. When Quinton saw Stanley epting his suggestion so easily, he was rather surprised. I thought this b*stard would act haughty for quite a while. They met nine years ago at Bayside University¡¯s military training. Back then, Stanley had left a particrly deep impression on him. Stanley was a stereotypical member of the Fletchers¡ªhe was self- righteous, smart, and capable. However, he did not choose the path his family and his natural talent had chosen for him. Despite being a rare, gold-level sniper in Bayside City, he had resolutely chosen to withdraw from the army to continue his studies. Sometimes, Quinton truly envied Stanley. Born in a powerful family, he was protected by his family and had their understanding. Even if he had chosen a career nobody liked, he would still receive his family¡¯s support¡­ Sure enough, Quinton was right. They soon discovered the location de was suspected to be hiding in. They found a ce where there were many credible suspects. A high-end private medical center in Bayside City had epted a medical doctorate who came to Cethos for inspection. He had a deep injury on his waist and just finished surgery. ¡°That¡¯s him,¡± Quinton confidently affirmed. Killers usually disguised themselves as medical doctorates¡ª just like himself. They were professional killers. To kill a person, they needed to understand the methods to kill a person in the fastest and effective way. Therefore, they needed to study all sorts of medical courses to learn about the meridian points, blood vessels, internal organs, and whatnot. By ident, they could almost receive a medical degree. Besides, they needed a public identity to hide their identity as killers. A career as a doctor was the perfect disguise as both killers and doctors had the same stench of blood around them. Thus, it was easy to disguise themselves.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Although de was injured, he was not to be underestimated. This time around, they had Quinton¡¯s assistance. Even so, Stanley was still extremely wary. He was particrly wary of Quinton. He didn¡¯t know whether Quinton would suddenly act up and do something terrible. Hence, they chose to perform their operation during the day. After all, the time when killers were most rxed and unguarded was not during the night, but during the day. Only the wealthy came in and out of that high-end clinic. Moreover, more people came and went freely in broad daylight. Thus, Stanley¡¯s actions had to be carried out in secret. They could not causerge-scale public panic nor be reported on the news. If they caused a major incident, they would be dealt with by militaryw. Fortunately, it was a high-end clinic. Although not many were at the clinic, they could not make everybody leave in advance, lest they made de suspicious of their movements. Therefore, they hacked into the clinic¡¯s system in advance, found the appointment list, and intercepted all the patients who had made appointments. Soon, everybody inside the clinic was switched with their own people¡­ Quinton simply gave some tactical guidance; he did not personally participate in the operation. Instead, he stood outside and watched as the members of the Fletcher Family gradually surrounded the entire clinic. His eyes were calm¡ªthere was no sorrow nor joy. He just watched quietly. There was no suspense during the battle this time around. The Fletchers had dispatched the elites of the family who were highly experienced inbat. Coupled with the fact that de was still recuperating in the hospital room after undergoing surgery, killing him would be easier than usual. The stab wound, followed by the explosion, then jumping into the water to escape¡ªhe sustained several injuries from these incidents and was severely wounded. Moreover, the river he jumped into was originally a dirty ditch. The water was filthy, and his injuries were deep. Thus, his wounds were badly infected. With all of thatbined, he was no match for the Fletchers. The battle ended within a short while. No more than 10 minutes after the Fletchers went in, Quinton heard a voice reporting back on the walkie-talkie: ¡°Mission aplished.¡± Putting the walkie-talkie down, he entered the clinic. In the lobby of the clinic, the members of the Fletcher Family were maintaining order. At the same time, they evacuated the doctors and the staff. Quinton entered the VIP ward on the third floor and saw de¡¯s corpse inside. de was lying on his back on the ground, next to the hospital bed. The hospital ward was extremely messy, with bullet casings and des scattered across the ground; one could tell that a fierce fight had taken ce mere minutes ago. de was killed with a clean stab to the heart, and his blood was sttered all over the floor. At that moment, the Fletchers were taking photos of the crime scene for recording purposes. Still, some of the Fletchers were wounded and had been sent to have their wounds treated. Meanwhile, Stanley silently held his knife and sat by the side while staring at de¡¯s corpse. He was the one that delivered the killing blow! de had killed Sean! And thus, Stanley killed de in the same manner! But, despite avenging Sean, he did not feel happy at all. Even if he could use Sean in exchange for the entire world, he would refuse! What he wanted wasn¡¯t de¡¯s death. Rather, all he wanted was Sean alive¡­ Stanley looked at the de in his hands that was still dripping with blood, then he nced again at de, who was dead. Recalling how Sean looked moments before his death, his tears flowed down his face like rain. While everybody was cleaning the scene of battle, Stanley¡¯s arm that was injured was also treated. Standing up, he noticed that Quinton was still staring at de and coldly said, ¡°It¡¯s just a dead man; what¡¯s there to see?¡± Quinton smiled. ¡°I was just curious. I wanted to see what my rival of so many years looked like.¡± Chapter 1024 Chapter 1024 de had an ordinary Westerner look. He was not easily recognizable in the West, but he was even more indiscernible to the Easterners. Still, he was rather handsome. Unfortunately, he was also dead. Quinton felt that he had died too easily. Although the Fletchers were rather strong, he had prepared for so long to deal with the Fletcher Family, only to seed in bombing two of them. Quinton even suspected that the man in front of him was not de. How could the man, who made Katrina betray him without any hesitation, turn out to be so ordinary? Katrina was the personality he had created from scratch and instilled into Celine¡¯s mind. She should have beenpletely loyal to him. Unexpectedly, Katrina had asked to quit the Phantom Wolf for de¡¯s sake. He thought Katrina¡¯s mind had been broken; he thought she had gone silly due to love. Who, among those that were in this line of work, was not stained with blood? Quit? Was that even possible? Moreover, she wanted to quit with de; she wanted to live an ordinary life. That was nothing more than a fantasy! However, she was stubborn in her intentions and even went so far as to break her finger. In the end, he made her take onest mission. He promised her that she was free to go if shepleted her mission. Thus, she epted the mission. She was hypnotized by him, allowing Celine¡¯s original personality to temporarily take over the body. After that, he sent her back to Cethos to remain undercover next to Michael, looking for a chance to attack. I thought de was some earth-shatteringly beautiful man, but¡­ Despite having one less rival, he was not happy. Killers were not allowed to be emotional. Katrina and de had both broken the greatest taboo! For that reason, Katrina¡¯s personality had been obliterated without mercy. Simrly, de became nothing more than a corpse lying on the ground. All of a sudden, Quinton saw that de seemed to be holding something in his hand. Putting on a pair of gloves, he tried hard to loosen de¡¯s tightly-clenched fist to take out the item in his hand. Stanley said, ¡°When he was on the verge of death, he took that out of his pocket and held it tightly.¡± When Quinton saw what it was, he couldn¡¯t help smiling bitterly. He finally understood why Katrina had betrayed him for de. ¡­ At the hospital, Sarah had awoken. However, her throat had been injured, and she temporarily couldn¡¯t move nor speak. s, she was rescued. When she saw Sophia, she wept uncontrobly, and her guilt grew stronger. Yet, she couldn¡¯t make a sound. She shakingly lifted her hand that was not connected to the intravenous drip. Thus, Sophia quickly grabbed her hand and said, ¡°I don¡¯t me you. I really don¡¯t.¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. In response, Sarah¡¯s mouth ttened into a line, and her tears rained down. Sophia hurriedly wiped Sarah¡¯s tears away. She understood¡ªafter going through Sarah¡¯s Twitter feed the other day, she understood what was going on. When Sarah was young, her family had been very poor. Her family of four had struggled to get by every single day. She couldn¡¯t even take art sses even though she wanted to. Back then, Peter and his first wife, Mrs. West, would push their cart through the streets every day to sell breakfast. Their earnings were slim, and their family was poor. That amusement park was located close to their home and it was the ce she used to dream about the most ever since she was young. Unfortunately, they needed tickets to enter the amusement park, and using the amusement park facilities required tickets too. Since they had no money, they couldn¡¯t go. One day, on her birthday, Peter suddenly took out arge sum of money and brought their family of four to go and y at the amusement park for the whole day. Even if they were so poor that they couldn¡¯t afford the food and drinks inside the amusement park, their joy on that day was genuine. That day, she yed to her heart¡¯s content. In her eyes, her father was the world¡¯s greatest father! After that, the whole family would visit the amusement park on her birthday every year. At the same time, their family¡¯s financial condition got better and better by the day¡ªto the point where they could go to the amusement park any time they wanted. However, the frequency they went became less and less. Later, Peter and Mrs. West divorced for various reasons. Mrs. West refused custody of her children, split their finances, and remarried. Meanwhile, Peter took another wife and had another daughter. Thus, he got more and more estranged from Sarah. As Sarah¡¯s brother grew up and went abroad to study, she was left all alone in the world. What kind of experience was it topletely break off all rtions with the person she once loved with all her heart? Although she once fought to regain what she lost, the results she obtained were not satisfactory¡ªher father was no longer the world¡¯s greatest father from her memories. When she learned that Harry had murdered Peter, she finally understood. The person she once loved the most had long since disappeared. She believed that her father deserved what he got. At the same time, she felt sad and bitter. All she wanted was to calm down in the ce which was filled with her beautiful memories. However¡­ Sophia understood it all. Everything that happened was not Sarah¡¯s fault. Hence, she stayed to talk with Sarah for a while before leaving quickly. She wanted Sarah to have a good rest to recuperate from her injuries. Although she returned with her life, her injuries needed time to heal. When Sarah woke up again, she kept crying without stopping. Only a small part of her tears was for her father. Rather, she even felt a sense of relief when she learned that her father was dead. The greatest father in the world she had as a child waspletely gone, and what was left was simply a monster who became evil after bing rich. Without money, he was a disaster¡ªa monster. What truly saddened her was that she nearly brought harm upon Sophia, Harry, and Sean¡­ Harry couldn¡¯t help feeling uneasy as he listened to his beloved wife weeping. Holding her ice-cold hands, he said, ¡°Please don¡¯t cry anymore. Everything will pass with time. I¡¯m fine, and our child is fine. I¡¯m sure Sean will be fine too.¡± Even so, she continued to cry. If anything were to happen to Sean, she would hate herself for the rest of her life. Lightly touching her slightly pale face, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about your father¡­ But, I had no other choice¡­ I will never let any harm befall you and Hope.¡± She said nothing, her small hands tracing several words on his palm: ¡®I don¡¯t me you.¡± He knew. How could she me him? Besides, he knew why she was in pain. s, that sort of pain was something he would never know nor experience. His mother had been a stripper who danced at nightclubs. Her life was considered worthless, and she had poor luck. Anybody could kill her, and she survived only through the lust of men. Although she looked strong, she was extremely fragile too. In the end, his father had fallen for her. In front of everybody, she became the lucky girl who was taken away by his father andter gave birth to him. However, his father had many wives and mistresses. Living together in the same manor was a secret power struggle every day. Thus, his mother passed away very early. She had been framed, raped by the gardener, and beaten to death without reason. After a hasty burial, she then vanished from the world without a trace. At that time, he was only three years old. He couldn¡¯t protect his mother; he didn¡¯t even know where she was buried. As a result, Harry grew up alone with a cold father that he rarely met¡ªhe had never known what ¡®the world¡¯s greatest father¡¯ Sarah mentioned was like. Competing with his half-brothers and half-sisters, he survived alone until today. Meanwhile, his father simply coldly watched his children fight against each other. He had never received any kindness from his father, so he had not hesitated to swing his de to take his father¡¯s head and sit on the throne as the head of the Winston Family. Having never received his father¡¯s love before, he did not feel sorrow over his father¡¯s death. However, Sarah was different. Chapter 1025 Chapter 1025 Sarah used to be like Sophia¡ªshe was once the precious princess greatly cherished by her father. However, she was thrown off her tower after her family broke apart, bing an existence no better than an orphan. As a child, she had been forced to bear thatrge gap in treatment! Harry held Sarah¡¯s hand and ced it against his cheek as he looked at her and said seriously, In response, she tearfully nodded in agreement. It doesn¡¯t matter who; we cannot lose anyone in our family. We have already lost our homes and our parents. Even so, we can now be proper parents. I¡¯m going to be the world¡¯s greatest father! Three dayster, Stanley appeared at the entrance of a certain hospital. In these three days, he felt as if he had lost the entire world. He finally realized that losing Sean was like losing all the light in the world. His world was dark and gloomy¡ªthe birds did not sing, the flowers did not bloom, and delicious food tasted like wax in his mouth. It turned out that losing Sean was so painful. It felt as if somebody had grabbed his heart and cruelly cut out a piece before cing the bleeding heart back into his chest¡ªhe experienced a soul-crushing pain with every beat of his heart. When he arrived at the hospital and saw Sarah, he felt at ease after seeing that she was recovering well. But, Sean¡­ Sitting in front of the window in Sarah¡¯s hospital ward, he lowered his head without saying anything. Over the past few days, he seemed to have turned into a different person altogether¡ªa stubble was growing on his lower jaw and his hair was a mess. He looked like a person who had his soul stolen from him. What¡¯s the point of living in a world without Sean in it? I will never get used to a world without him. Even when Sarah spoke to him, he didn¡¯t seem to hear her voice. In his daze, he heard somebody calling him from behind: ¡°Stanley! Stupid Fletcher!¡± Stiffly turning around, he saw that the door to the hospital ward opposite Sarah¡¯s was wide open. Sophia was standing there while holding Judge¡¯s leash as she beckoned him. ¡°Stanley,e here! I have good news for you!¡± Thus, he despondently stood up and walked over like a zombie. Upon entering the hospital ward on the opposite side, he saw that it was an individual room with only one bed in it. Somebody was lying on the bed with all sorts of medical equipment surrounding them. However, that person seemed to be in fairly good condition and was already able to sit up slightly. Michael was sitting next to the bed, feeding that person a liquid diet. Meanwhile, Carmen, Hope, and Nathan were sitting quietly by the side. Upon seeing Stanley walking in, the person on the bed broke into a wide smile. Despite looking pale and weak¡ªalmost as if death coulde knocking at any time¡ªthat person strived hard to say, ¡°Stan, why haven¡¯t youe to visit me before this?¡± Stanley stared at that familiar face and froze in shock¡ªhe was frozen to the spot for more than 10 seconds. The two of them stared at each other, their gazes meeting in mid-air. One looked calm and happy while the other looked absolutely stunned. Sean is still alive! With the help of the best surgeons in Bayside City, he managed to survive in the end. He looked at Stanley and tried hard to maintain control over his emotions. However, he couldn¡¯t stop the faint trembling in his arms. All of a sudden, Sophia dragged Stanley, who was stunned, out of the room and over to a corner. Then, she said to him, ¡°Sean isn¡¯t dead. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest which saved his life. I¡¯ve been searching for you for the past few days, but I couldn¡¯t get a hold of you. You didn¡¯t answer your phone nor reply to your Messenger; the Fletchers couldn¡¯t locate you either. That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t know.¡± Meanwhile, Stanley was still in shock. He stood there in a daze as Sophia reprimanded him, staring nkly at her small mouth opening and closing without hearing a single word she said. His entire head was filled with only one thought: Sean is alive¡­ He¡¯s alive¡­ All of a sudden, she grabbed him by the cor, messed up his hair, and pped his cheeks lightly. ¡°Look at yourself! Here, here, and here! Ugh, you¡¯re so filthy! How much have you been drinking and smoking over the past few days?! Also, how many days was it since youst washed your hair? Look at yourself! There are bloodstains on your scalp! Ugh, so dirty and stinky. Moreover, how could youe and visit a patient empty-handed?!¡± Opening the door to a room, she shoved him inside and said, ¡°Go inside and wash up. Make yourself presentable beforeing again. Otherwise, Sean will smell that stink on you!¡± After being shoved into the empty room, he stood there for a minute beforeing back to his senses. He steadied himself against the wall and slowly slid to the ground. Leaning his messy hair against the wall, his tears dripped down his high nose bridge and fell to the carpet. Sean is alive! He¡¯s alive! Twenty minutester, Stanley appeared again. He had washed his face, shaved his stubble,bed his hair, taken a shower, and changed his clothes. After that, he entered Sean¡¯s ward with a basket of fruits, feeling refreshed. When Sean saw Stanley, he smiled with difficulty. ¡°Stan, you¡¯re here.¡± Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Staring at Sean, Stanley nked out for several seconds again before he walked in. He sat down soundlessly next to the bed and studied Sean with bloodshot eyes. He was filled with the joy of being alive. When he fought against de, he had gotten injured in several spots. There was a two-centimeter- long cut along his cheekbone that had scabbed over. If not for his skills, that de wound would have landed on his temples. His shoulder was also injured; it was only several inches away from his heart. There were cuts on his neck too. All over his body, there were rather severe wounds near his vital spots. Although he looked rxed, these wounds could have killed him if their positions were just slightly off. Sean continued staring at him with red-rimmed eyes before saying softly, ¡°Stan, thank you.¡± However, Stanley said nothing. Despite everything he wanted to say, at this moment, he choked up and couldn¡¯t get the words out. He¡¯s still here; that¡¯s great¡­ Sarah was safe, Sean came back alive, Sophia had been rescued by Michael and Cooper, and the Fletchers had united to kill de. It felt like the storm was over, but it was only just the beginning. Cooper announced the termination of the contract with the Edwards Family and canceled all forms of cooperation with them. At that moment, the Edwards Family had yet to respond. Sarah stayed in the hospital for a few days before Harry brought her back home. The sports car that had saved his life was slightly dented, but it went on the news and became a world-famous car. Once again, Michel Manufacturing shocked the whole world with the quality of its products, and the sports car was bought by a collector at a high price. After that, Sarah and Sophia split the proceeds and donated some of them. Sophia also bought Sarah a sturdy car as a gift. When Sean¡¯s injuries stabilized, he was transferred to the Edwards Residence to recuperate. During that period, Sophia¡¯s wounds healed the fastest. Moreover, Jordan seemed to settle down after his experience with the killers¡ªat the very least, he did not dare to make such tant moves anymore. Quinton also confirmed that the kill order ced by the Assassins¡¯ Guild had been retracted by the head of the Edwards Family. As the turmoil subsided, Sophia immediately threw herself into her work again. The Dragon Eye was selling very well on the market, from the countryside all the way to the city. Although it could notpare to Serpent¡¯s umted sales over the years, it rivaled Serpent in terms of reputation. Pourl was making great progress too¡ªit was about to sign a contract with a world-renowned luxury goodspany. It was a key step in entering the international market. Hence, Sophia was being very cautious. Meanwhile, Plum Technology was still working with Michel Computers, apany controlled by Linus, to develop games. Development was in full swing, and Stanley also won the rights to host the Esports World Championship. Therefore, they were extremely busy. On the other hand, Sarah was bored of recuperating at home alone. Thus, she brought her dogs and her son with her and moved into the Edwards Residence where it was livelier since more people were around. As soon as she moved in, Harry was constantly in and out of the house, and Hope came over to apany Carmen during summer break. As usual, the swimming pool in the house was packed like sardines in a tin¡ªas soon as it was opened for use, it was immediately filled with ck dogs. Not long after the incident, Sophia was about to clock out from work one day when she received a message from Sarah: ¡®Several fierce-looking people came over to your house. They¡¯re so stern and terrifying.¡¯ Chapter 1026 Chapter 1026 Attached to the message was a snapshot. Sophia saw that a group of people had arrived at the Edwards Residence. They were blonde and blue-eyed; moreover, their blue eyes were especially blue. Looking at those blue eyes, she knew that they were bad news¡ªthe Michel Family was here! Up until now, she had onlye in contact with a small portion of the Michel Family. This family that had survived almost a thousand years was incredibly huge. Within it, there was also an existence equivalent to the elders¡¯ council that set the rules within the n, monitored the implementation of the rules, and so on. If her guess was correct, this group of people was sent by the elders¡¯ council to check on Carmen¡¯s household registration. She knew that this day woulde sooner orter. Besides, she had to face this matter at some point. She didn¡¯t want to abandon the name of the Michel Family. It was a huge power¡ªas one of the top families in the world, it owned a vast business empire. Why not fight for it if she had the ability? At the same time, she did not wish to give up on Michael either! Love and career; I want it all! Making her decision, she prepared to return home. During this period, Michael had been rather elusive. She did not know what he was busy working on. However, he continued to personally escort her to and from her work as usual. He was here again today like clockwork. Hence, the two of them matched their stories during the drive home. She was still powerless right now, having only taken her first steps¡ªall she had were the representative rights of Dragon Eye. It was still impossible to go head-to-head with the Michel Family¡¯s council of elders. Even Alice didn¡¯t dare to do so, let alone her. Therefore, she could only resort to dying tactics for now. Upon arriving at home, more than a dozen pairs of blue eyes stared at Sophia, Michael, and Carmen coldly. The group consisted of both young and old men and women. Each of them was extraordinary, distinguished, and carried the Michel Family¡¯s crest. Cooper was feeling very troubled too. The matter regarding Carmen¡¯s household registration was something they had to confront sooner orter. Although the Michel Family could tolerate him returning to Cethos and taking back the Mitchell Family in the name of Cooper Mitchell, they would never tolerate Sophia marrying into the Fletcher Family nor would they tolerate Carmen taking on the Fletcher surname. Carmen was part of the Michel Family¡ªshe was not allowed to take on any other surname! Meanwhile, Carmen pretended to be drinking milk and did not talk to them. As soon as Michael entered the house, he was targeted by the cold gazesing from a dozen pairs of blue eyes. It was clear that they were aware of his identity as the Academy Award for Best Actor winner, Michael Fletcher, and Lucile¡¯s husband. The reason for their arrival this time was to urge Michael to marry into the family and change his surname. They even had the contract ready. As soon as he signed the document, they would immediately change his surname and his household registration. To their surprise, Sophia walked in and introduced herself. ¡°Hi, everybody. I¡¯m Lucile, and this is my ex- husband. He is a famous actor and the Academy Award for Best Actor winner, Michael Fletcher. We have divorced, and our assets have been divided cleanly. Although the children are in my custody, he is still Gianna¡¯s biological father. Hence, he asionallyes over to visit her. Seeing as he is a public figure, a divorce would harm his reputation. Therefore, we have not announced our divorce to the public.¡± The Michel Family was rendered speechless by her words. The contract they prepared in advance for Michael to marry into the family and change his surname suddenly lost its weight since they were already divorced. As an ex-husband and an outsider, Michael tactfully left after a cursory greeting. Then, Sophia sat down. Carmen automatically ran into Sophia¡¯s arms, her big and wet eyes watching the blue eyes in front of her warily. At this moment, Sophia couldn¡¯t help silently admiring Cooper¡¯s intelligence back then. Cooper must have foreseen the events of today and made us divorce in advance. Now that they were divorced, Michael was just her ex-husband. How could the Michel Family ask her ex- husband to change his surname? Even so, she could continue interacting with him. It was just that they no longer had a formal rtionship. Besides, many women within the Michel Family had lovers that they lived together with all their lives. However, the men had no status. Although Michael was trying hard to earn his ce in the family, now was not the time. Since the matter of making Michael change his surname didn¡¯t work out, everybody sat down and immediately began discussing the matter of making Sophia and Carmen change their surnames. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Thus, Sophia instantly said, ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m afraid now is not the right time for that. I am currently running a business in Cethos. If I change my nationality, I will have to give up my Cethosian nationality. As you know, Cethosian nationality is one of the hardest nationalities to obtain in the world. Besides, being a Cethosian makes it easier for me to do things within the country. Therefore, before my business achieves sess, I won¡¯t consider giving up my Cethosian nationality for the time being. As for Gianna¡­¡± she patted Carmen¡¯s head and continued, ¡°she is still young. Since she has lived here since she was young, I¡¯m worried she might not adapt to a sudden change in her environment. So, I want her to study in Cethos until she is eighteen years old. Her household registration is very important for her if she wants to study in this country. Otherwise, she will not be able to enter a good school. As the household registration is very strict within the country, it will be very troublesome for her to study without a Cethosian nationality! Besides, Bayside University is famous throughout the world and ranks within the top ten universities in the world. Hence, I n to let her enter Bayside University once she grows up. It will be very difficult if she took the university entrance exams with an international student¡¯s identity. However, if she holds domestic nationality, she will need a much lower scorepared to an international student¡­¡± Meanwhile, Carmen nodded along obediently. Sophia wittily deflected the Michel Family, focusing on the matter of Carmen¡¯s studies and her household registration. In the end, she managed to gloss over the issue for now and earn several years for herself. In a few years, she was confident she could find a way to change her current situation. My daughter was named Carmen Sophia Fletcher at birth, and she will always be Carmen Sophia Fletcher! Half of her namees from me while the other halfes from Michael. It¡¯s proof that she is the baby we had together! That night, the Michel Family stayed at the Edwards Residence. Their visit this time wasn¡¯t just to check on Carmen¡¯s household registration. It was also to inspect the Cethosian market and see how well the Michel Group¡¯s products were being received in Cethos. After apanying them on their inspection for two days, she finally sent them off without any incidents. After Dragon Eye¡¯s lower-end products were officiallyunched globally, only North America and Cethos, which were the strongest economically, achieved the best sales. In fact, sales in Cethos even surpassed Europe to take second ce. Thus, Dragon Eye became an undisputed dark horse, which allowed Sophia to hand a beautiful token of allegiance to both the Michel Family and the Michel Group. Who knew that Cethos, which had previously been regarded as unpromising, would have such outstanding results. As a result, everybody gained a preliminary understanding of the strengths of the n head¡¯s daughter. Michael was Sophia¡¯s ex-husband for several days. During that period, he was very well-behaved. However, he went back to interacting with Sophia as usual after the Michel Family left. Cooper simply turned a blind eye to their actions and left them be. The wee banquet was just around the corner. As Sophia had important business to do, she had no choice but to go abroad. Simrly, Michael also suddenly offered to go with her as he had things to do as well. Their destinations were the same¡ªa developed city somewhere in North America. Hence, they departed together, and he was able to freeload and board her private ne. Sophia quickly arranged for a ne to North America and set off with Michael. Contrary to her expectations, she saw Quinton following Michael up the ne on the day of their departure. ¡°Hope? What are you doing here?¡± Chapter 1027 Chapter 1027 Sophia was shocked. She only knew that Quinton had helped Stanley take down de, but she was not aware that he was still in Cethos. Quinton replied, ¡°I can save on flight tickets if I take your ne out of the country.¡± He boarded the ne as if he still had something to say to her. However, Michael stretched out a slender arm and blocked him fiercely. ¡°Your room is on that side.¡± As he spoke, he pointed to a remote corner of the ne. He had arranged a room and a seat for Quinton. Thus, Quinton could only reluctantly take his luggage and head toward his seat. After that, he led Sophia to their room. Despite the existence of a hindrance like Quinton, it couldn¡¯t stop his long-awaited ns to join the mile high club. As the oxygen content at such a high altitude was much lower than on the surface, one¡¯s blood vessels would dte, making them more prone to arousal. For that reason, it was the best time to have sex. I¡¯m going to join the mile-high club! Sophia felt that it was rather embarrassing to be ying these tricks despite being an old married couple. Still, we¡¯re already here, and the game is set. It¡¯s a waste not to enjoy ourselves; we might as well do it. After making love for a long time, she became tired andy on the bed to rest. Getting out of bed, Michael went to get some water in his birthday suit. When he came back, he noticed a project proposal lying on her work table. It was titled ¡®Proposal to Develop Pet Luxury Goods in Cooperation With the Ronney Group¡¯. ¡°The Ronney Group? The Yard Family?¡± Upon seeing the words ¡®the Ronney Family¡¯, he scowled fiercely with a trace of disgust in his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It¡¯s the Yard Family! The world¡¯s greatest Cethosian financial conglomerate! Is there a problem with it?¡± Sophia sat up on the bed and asked. The disgusted expression on his face as he stared at the words ¡®Ronney Group¡¯ was as if he had swallowed a dead fly, and it made her even more curious. ¡°What¡¯s with your expression? Why do you have the same expression as my father?¡± The ¡®Ronney Group¡¯ was the world¡¯s greatest Cethosian financial conglomerate. Its strength was comparable to that of the Michel Group. The family behind the Ronney Group was a Cethosian family¡ª the Yard Family¡ªthat was said to be an ancient family that migrated from Cethos. They fared the best out of all the Cethosians that had migrated abroad¡ªso much so that they controlled the parliament of the country they were located in. Moreover, they operated many luxury brands. For example, L/K was one of their many assets. This time around, Kenny ir had spearheaded the efforts to bring Sophia and the Ronney Group into contact. Hence, she nned to work together with the Ronney Group to develop a series of pet luxury goods. For that reason, she was going abroad to officially discuss this business n. If the discussion went smoothly, Pourl would officially take its first steps into the international market. However, Cooper had shown a simr expression of disgust when he heard that she was going to cooperate with the Ronney Group and the Yard Family. ¡°Ugh.¡± Faced with thispany, Michael only had that one word to describe it. He lightly dropped the cooperation proposal on the table. Climbing into bed, he hugged her close and gave her a lecture on the origins of the Ronney Family and the Yard Family. ¡°The Yard Family originated from the river basin of the Lombardi River in Cethos. They im to be descendants of Lady Lombardi, who was part of the former imperial family which established imperial power and ruled over Cethos more than 700 years ago. Their regimested for more than 300 years. At the time, Cethos¡¯ borders were vast, and it was rich in natural resources. It was the richest country in the world. However, thest emperor of the Ronney Family 300 years ago was unspeakably brutal. As a result, the peasants raised an army, started a revolt, and built the previous dynasty. Before the peasant army invaded the capital, a total of 100,000 civil and military officials of the Yard Family and the imperial court entered the sea by way of the Lombardi River and escaped overseas. Back then, the Yard Family monopolized the most advanced textile and porcin technology in the world. It was the private property of the imperial family. Even now, that technology is lost to Cethos. Using these technologies, they created a stable foothold for themselves abroad, became a hegemon, and took control of the silk, porcin, and tea businesses overseas. They gradually formed a huge conglomerate, operating dozens of luxury brands.¡± She was very astonished to hear the story he was telling her. It turned out that thepany is operated by the former imperial family. No wonder all the luxury brands under the Ronney Group are so extravagant! Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Smiling coldly, he continued, ¡°The Yard Family used several hundred years to build a stable foothold overseas. 100 years ago, they took advantage of the weakening power of the previous dynasty and the declining state of Cethos. iming that they were the legitimate Cethos imperial family, they colluded with foreigners to invade Cethos in an attempt to seize the country and restore it.¡± As he spoke, his expression was full of hatred. ¡°Back when the Eight-Nation Alliance and the Eleven-Nation Alliance invaded Cethos, they were manipted by the Yard Family from the shadows. They held power in various countries¡¯ parliaments and did not hesitate to work with foreigners to regain their ruling power. How dare they think of themselves as the legitimate imperial family?! Hmph¡ª¡± The history that came after that was something she knew well. At the time, the foreigners had invaded the capital city of the previous dynasty. They even stole the Imperial Seal of Cethos. Therefore, the regime of the former dynasty copsed, and Cethos waspletely subjugated. Thinking that their chance was here, the Yard Family was about to return in force when the people rose up in resistance. The unprecedented unity of countless Cethosians formed a powerful force, which allowed them to push back the invaders, establish a new country, stabilize the society, and develop rapidly. To this day, the weak country that was looked down on by all had be a huge economic body that now stood among the greatest powers of the world. Back then, the Fletchers, the Mitchells, the Winstons, and the other families had actively participated in the national restoration and preservation movement, donated money and materials, and lost many of their family members on the front line. For example, the Fletchers were once a huge family. However, no more than 10 or so members of the Fletchers survived by the time Cethos was re-established. During Mark¡¯s generation, dozens of his brothers had died on the front line protecting the country. He was the only one who survived; to bring honor to his brothers, he participated in the founding ceremony on behalf of them. It was extremely tragic! Simrly, the Mitchells and the Winstons also suffered heavy losses. Still, that was not considered bad. At the very least, they had descendants that survived, unlike some other families that werepletely annihted! The history books only recorded that foreign coalition forces had invaded Cethos. However, both the Fletchers and the Mitchells knew that the Yard Family was greatly involved from the shadows. Later, as Cethos started over from scratch after the bloody war, the Yard Family used their economic and political influence to join forces with other powerful countries to suppress the country. Despite being under heavy oppression, Cethos did not fall to ruin. Instead, they became stronger the longer they fought¡ªuntil they grew to their present strength. Now, they no longer feared the Yard Family. In recent years, the Yard Family slowly began to re-establish contact with Cethos, bit by bit, following economic globalization. As such, several brands managed to enter the country. Retaking the country was impossible now, and the Yard Family had firmly established themselves overseas anyway. However, they were not willing to give up on the Cethosian market. By making a deal with Cethos to return some of its lost national treasures and lost technologies, they achieved a breakthrough and forged a coboration with the country. ¡°Huh?¡± Sophia had not expected the Ronney Group to have such a background. Thus, she suddenly felt awkward. ¡°Should I continue with the cooperation?¡± Michael sighed. ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s nothing much. Although history should be remembered, people still need to move forward. Back then, the Fletcher Family killed countless foreigners. Besides, am I not being equally hypocritical by working with foreigners when filming movies?¡± Despite that, she still felt slightly angry. No wonder the people working in the Ronney Group¡¯s Cethosian branch are so arrogant. From general employees to janitors, they all had a sense of superiority around them¡ªso much so that they were indifferent and haughty toward the head of the Cethosian Brand Department, Kenny ir. I thought that they had a im to the throne. It turns out that they truly have a im to the throne. Bah! They are simply an imperial family past their time; why are they putting on airs?! Calcting her options, she decided that if the other party¡¯s conditions were too harsh, she would refuse the cooperation. Still, the Yard Family held arge number of skills and craftsmanship that were lost to Cethos. Besides, they were leading in the luxury goods market around the world. It would be great if she could cooperate with them. Lying in his arms, she mulled over it for a while. All of a sudden, she asked him, ¡°Why did you want to go abroad suddenly? As far as I remember, your film set is not in North America, right?¡± Michael closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. It seemed like he wasn¡¯t willing to let Sophia know about it, but she learned about it anyway. Turning on his phone, he pulled up a photo on his phone and said, ¡°This was what de was holding tightly in his hand before he died.¡± Sophia nced at the phone. It was a blood-stained and crumpled photo. Looking at the photo, she gasped in shock. ¡°That can¡¯t be! How could that be¡ª¡±. Chapter 1028 Chapter 1028 Michael let out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking. This is tough for me too. Justin and my sister still have no clue. We¡¯ll see how things go once Hope and I have found him.¡± He often went between calling Hope by his real name and ¡®Quinton¡¯. In more public settings, he called him Quinton, but in private conversations, he still called him Hope. Perhaps, Michael already saw him as part of the Fletchers. He had inherited all of their father¡¯s fortune. It was a shame! If they had known about his existence decades ago, they would have found him at any cost and raised him in the Fletcher Family. In that case, they would not be in this situation today. When the nended, the group of people got off and headed to their destination. The object de had in his hand was a photograph; a blood-stained photograph that he carried with him all the time. At the moment of his death, he struggled to take the photograph out of his bag and held it tightly in his hand as though he wanted other people to see it. Moreover, the people who were at the scene were the Fletchers. He wanted the Fletchers to see it. There was an address on the back of the photograph which was in the city they had traveled to this time. Very quickly, they found the location. It was a serene small town in the suburbs. There were multiple detached houses aligned in a neat row and a carpet of green grass that covered the ground. asionally, people walking their dogs would pass by. It looked like a pleasant neighborhood where people were simple and sincere, and it was essentially crime-free. With that photograph in hand, they went up and knocked on the door of the house indicated in the address. ¡°Excuse me. Do you know the child in this photo?¡± Quinton asked politely. The door opened to reveal a married couple and two lively kids inside the house. The man took the photograph in Quinton¡¯s hand and had a look at it. In the photograph were a Caucasian boy and an Asian girl who was also holding a blonde, mixed-race baby girl in her arms. Undoubtedly, the two people were de and Katrina. Aside from falling in love with each other, they also secretly had a baby. The child was probably around six to seven years old by now. The arrival of the child was the reason Katrina and de chose to leave the assassination industry, but little did they know how short-sighted they had been¡ªthere was no way out of it. They did not want their child to follow in their footsteps, so they secretly left the baby in the care of this family. At the time, de knew that he was on his deathbed and Katrina was not going to show up anymore. Hence, before he died, he pulled out the photograph with the written address in hopes that the Fletchers would bring this child back. Sophia looked at the blood-stained photograph and felt a sudden ache in her heart. Looking inside the house, she noticed the family portrait in the hall and caught sight of the blonde mixed-race girl who was around six to seven years of age. She had a piercing gaze and a strong demeanor, just like Celine. That¡¯s de and Katrina¡¯s child. On the other hand, Michael felt shocked and torn over the child¡¯s existence for he still did not know how to tell Justin about this. Should I tell him that he got two-timed? That his wife had a child with another man out of wedlock? Even though Justin might not be able to ept it, Michael, as an uncle, could not walk away from it. She was part of the Fletcher Family! He could no longer leave the child with outsiders now that he knew she was their family. Old Master Fletcher was also aware of the child¡¯s existence and had urged him to take the child back so they could raise her. To their surprise, however, at the mention of the child, the owner of the house revealed that she had gotten kidnapped! A month prior, a group of people just barged in and took her. The family made a police report, but it was still not solved to this day. No one knew where the child had gone. Quinton could not help but stomp his feet after hearing everything. He was exasperated. ¡°Oh no! Those people must have found out about the child and took her away!¡± Sophia pressed, ¡°Those people?¡± She had a feeling that things were not good. Quinton was extremely annoyed now. ¡°There are people out there who deliberately abduct children like her and train them to be killers!¡± Michael and Sophia understood what he meant. Because that was how Quinton got sent to the Phantom Wolf and trained to be a killer. The children of the people in these specialized professions such as killers, soldiers, and athletes were especially in favor as they generally had good roots. There were people who ruthlessly abducted these children and chose to either raise the child on their own or sell the child to other killer organizations. These children only had one fate¡ªto be a killer! It was hell on earth. Sophia was horrified as she urged, ¡°Let¡¯s find the child quickly! Before it¡¯s toote!¡± However, a month had gone by. Who knew where this child was or what she had gone through? At the same time, Michael was ming himself for not taking action sooner. The reason he hesitated before was that he wanted to take into consideration Justin¡¯s feelings and the child¡¯s birth father. The child might be part of the Fletcher Family, but her father was de¡ªa demon who killed people in cold blood. What would the child turn out to be? After hesitating for a few days, he finally revealed everything to Old Master Fletcher. He was given an earful and several beatings from his walking cane, but Old Master Fletcher also insisted that he find the child. What did a child know? Even if her parents were demons, she was innocent. Her environment influenced the person she would be. Not to mention, she was a girl! The group of people proceeded to leave hastily just as they had arrived. Once they were in the car, Quinton said, ¡°I will make some calls to ask around the locals here. We will probably hear some news soon.¡± Michael was also anxious and filled with regret. He was mad at himself for having stalled for a few days. Earlier, Sophia had asked for the child¡¯s photographs. ording to the owner of the house, the child was delivered to them when she was just two months old. de and Katrina gave the couple arge sum of money to look after the child. They even asked the couple to send the child to the best school in the area and to treat her as their own while they continued to pay them generously. Every so often, de and Katrina would transfer money to that couple¡¯s bank ount, but they never showed up in person. They usually had the couple mail photographs of the child at given times. From the photographs the couple had given Sophia, she could tell that the child was being raised well. She was attending school now and had taken a photo with her ssmates. She was taller than the rest of them and always had a cold expression on her face. The slight smirk on the left corner of her lips whenever she smiled made her look incredibly charismatic. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. At an early age, she had already gotten a ck belt in Taekwondo. There were a lot of photographs of her participating in field days and Taekwondopetitions. She inherited Celine¡¯s athletic build and the imposing manner of a Fletcher. Most importantly, she did not look like the child of a killer. The more Sophia looked at those photographs, the more terrified she became. Please don¡¯t let this child get sold off to be a killer! Otherwise, she will be the next Quinton. Meanwhile, Quinton was also in great rm for he knew the implications of entering that underworld. Even if he had to sacrifice himself, he was not going to let this child go down that path! She can¡¯t be allowed to destroy her life just like I did. She should return to the Fletchers and live a better life! Both Michael and Quinton, the two brothers, ended up working together once again! Chapter 1029 Chapter 1029 Michael and Quinton raced against time to find the child. More than a month ago, de had gone to steal a nce of the child. Even though he lingered a distance away from the school, he was still found out. Thus, the child became a target. Although de was mysterious, powerful, and had remained on the list of top killers for over a decade, he was no longer invincible once a chink in his armor was found. If de had reallye to kill Sophia, she would be dead by now. Moreover, even if Stanley and Michael teamed up, they would not have been able to kill him. But, he hade for Celine or rather, for Katrina¡ªa part of Celine that once existed. Despite knowing that Katrina was long gone, he still came. If it weren¡¯t for Katrina, he would not have fallen for Michael¡¯s act and sustained those serious injuries. More so, he would not have died by Stanley¡¯s knife. A killer¡¯s fate was to kill or be killed. Upon returning to the hotel, Michael started to dispatch his people. He had the most extensivework of connections in North America. Several organizations and gangs were at his service, so it would not have taken long to find a child. Meanwhile, Quinton had contacted the local killer ck market to find out the whereabouts of the child. Sophia also contacted Michel Group and a few of her old friends here. Back when she was a student, she had a group of friends and ssmates at Bayside University. Some of them went overseas to study and some developed their careers abroad. Unfortunately, those connections were cut off when she lost her memories. Now that she had returned, however, she was contacting them to rekindle those connections. She could also ask her ssmates to help out. To their dismay, two days had passed but there was still no news about the child. It was not time for Sophia¡¯s appointment with the representative of Ronney Group yet, but she did not wander off and kept looking for the child with Michael. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Everyone who was looking for the child felt weary. Where on earth was the child? Regardless of where she was, she must not have been doing well. Sophia was putting in all her effort even though it was not her own family matter. However, wasn¡¯t Michael¡¯s problem her problem too? She was also part of the Fletcher Family! They had to bring that child home! After searching for two days, they finally received some news¡ªthe child was sold off to Ronney! Ronney was the name of a city because that was where the Ronney Group¡¯s headquarters was. Everyone made their way to Ronney City promptly. After the imperial Yard Family fell from power, they fled to North America. They rose to prominence there and slowly gained a foothold. Today, the south-eastern coastal region of North America belonged to them, making them the owners of the most bustling and prosperous ce in the world. After they established the Ronney Group, they slowly developed Ronney City into what it was today. Ronney City was the origin of many global luxury fashion products. It was named the capital of fashion¡ª it was the holy ground for fashion icons in the world. It was a city of addiction; no matter who went there, be it men or women, they were unable to stop shopping. For the sake of finding the child, however, Sophia suppressed her desire to shop and rushed to book amodation at a hotel. Inside the hotel, a haggard Michael went to take a shower and washed his hair. Before his hair was even dried, he was already on the phone. In the hotel suite where they were staying, there were people coming in and out of the office with various updates on the situation. Michael was also mentally drained. There was still no news on the child. After she entered Ronney, it seemed like she had disappeared into thin air. When Michael finally returned to his bedroomte at night, he found Sophia sitting on the bed and reading the hotel¡¯s fashion magazine. Seeing Michaele in, Sophia showed him the magazine in her hand. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go and ask the Yard Family? They are the local tyrant here.¡± She wanted to remind him after seeing the whole magazine filled with advertisements about Ronney Group¡¯s special luxury items. Michael put down his phone and let out a long sigh. ¡°Although I have endorsed the luxury products for Ronney Group¡¯s subsidiary before, I only did it because the assistant manager and I are good friends. But, I don¡¯t want to interact with the backbone of the Ronney Group, the Yard Family.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Sophia felt dumb after asking. Obviously, it¡¯s because they¡¯re the national enemy! Drawing the curtains open, Michael was confronted with the view of a vibrant globalized metropolis. This was one of the most prosperous cities in the world¡ªthe origin of the Ronney Group, the Yard Family¡¯s nest overseas, and the fashion capital. Even the items for sale on the side of the road were all famous luxury brands. Aside from luxury goods, there were also casinos, horse betting, and other ythings for the rich. The pornographic industry was also well-developed, and it was a bustling city for killers to carry out their business. Additionally, it was where overseas Cethosians gathered typically. Standing there at night, one could clearly see, among the multi-colored neon lights, the ancient Cethosian-styled buildings¡ªbeautiful sevenyered pagodas. It was even more authentic than those built within the country¡ªas if they were looking at a second Cethos. After letting out a sigh, Michael began speaking leisurely. ¡°During the Yard Dynasty, our ancestors were military generals and the leadingmanding officers. Throughout their reign, our family sent out over a dozen generals.¡± ¡°Nearing the end of the Yard Dynasty, the Imperial Yard Family was beyond cruel. The ruler extorted the fruits of the people¡¯sbor to live a pleasurable life on their own. At the same time, natural disasters were happening everywhere. While the rich reeked of wine and meat, the bodies of the poor were frozen at the side of the roads. The country¡¯s poption declined by a third in a short amount of time. Not long after, the farmers formed a rebellion. Our ancestors realized that the government was incapable of salvaging the desperate situation, so they decided to turn against them and join the rebellion along with other noble families to overthrow the Yard Dynasty.¡± ¡°A century ago, the Imperial Yard Family worked behind closed doors to n for a foreign entity to invade our country. The direct line of the imperial family once personally responded to the n, but their mail boat just so happened to stop in Fletcher territory.¡± ¡°That year, our family was also one of the warlord factions. My grandfather and father led their brothers and sons, and five thousand people, to sabotage that luxury mail boat, capturing the Imperial Yard Family and the foreigners they colluded with at once.¡± ¡°The Imperial Yard Family put up a strong resistance and were unwilling to surrender. But, the Fletchers wiped out all the troops of the Yard Family, except for women and children. Turning to look at Sophia with an aggrieved look, he continued, ¡°Our family destroyed the once prosperous Yard Family and left them with only one son for generations. To this day, the imperial line still has not been able to recover from the scale of that year¡¯s event and have remained with only one male descendant.¡± The story left Sophia in a daze. The Fletchers were so ruthless. But, they can¡¯t be med either; the obsolete imperial family brought it upon themselves. Nheless, their history ran quite deep. Hence, asking the Ronneys for help to find the child did not seem usible. At this point, they were already being quite gracious for not having killed the Fletchers already. Michael sat by the window and looked out at the lively city. The multi-colored neon lights were reflected in his eyes. How many crimes were happening under the guise of this bustling atmosphere? Every year, so many children were sold off to this ce. Wherever these children came from, they all disappeared once they arrived in this huge city¡ªas though they had been swallowed by a giant beast in one gulp, not leaving a single trace Chapter 1030 Chapter 1030 ¡°At the time, the Yard Family should have all been killed, but the Fletchers showed mercy and let all the women go. Over the years, they have all passed away from old age. It would not be wise to seek out the Yard Family for help.¡± Once Sophia became aware of the history of the previous dynasty, she also thought it was unreasonable and they were better off looking for the child on their own. The next day, Michael and Quinton went out together to look for the child. Originally, Sophia nned to evaluate the market to prepare to work with the Yard Family, but after finding out the situation, she decided not to anymore and went along with Michael to search for the child. Thepetition was high so it was not a loss even if she stepped out. Because this was the Ronney Group¡¯s territory, and the Ronneys and Michels werepetitors, she did not have much of an influence here. She was unable to receive a lot of information, but she still managed to gather some here and there. Michael and Quinton were also able to get some information. In the end, all their information pointed in the same direction¡ªthe ck market. The ck market was a ce where people were trafficked. It was an illegal industry that the government had no control over. They had been in existence for centuries¡ªever since the maritime period. When colonizers trafficked Cethosian workers and ck ves, it slowly gave form to the market and let it develop until it became thisrge-scale industry today. It even had aplete business chain. Behind closed doors, conglomerates and government officials continued to tacitly approve of them. Hence, they had never gotten banned. Every day, people were delivered like goods in mass quantities to be sold off. There were men, women, and children¡ªanyone that had a value. Sophia and Michael drove for an hour before they arrived at their destination. Getting out of the car, it looked like a regr shopping street. All they saw was famous international luxury brand retail stores, exclusive stores, and even the Michel Group¡¯s high-end mobile phones. It was a woman¡¯s paradise. Michael turned to Sophia and said, ¡°You can take a look around here. Hope and I will go down first. I¡¯ll come and get you once I¡¯m done.¡± But, it was not an ordinary day and Sophia was unwilling to take a step away from him. Tugging on his hand tightly, she said, ¡°I want to go with you.¡± He squeezed her hand lightly. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t go there.¡± Sophia bit her lip, and her face turned red. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to leave you.¡± Michael smiled. Holding her face in his hands, he gave her a peck and said, ¡°That ce is not suitable for you. You will regret it.¡± She quickly shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t talkter. I won¡¯t get in the way.¡± In the end, he brought her along with them. The ck market was just within the area. Even though the ce was filled with people from the underworld, no one dared to mess with the consumers. However, heinous criminals were crawling all around the ce. Even if Sophia had bodyguards, Michael still did not feel at ease, so he decided to bring her along. Quinton felt dejected as he silently watched them act lovey-dovey with each other, but he soon dismissed it from his mind. Love did not work on a firste, first served basis. People did not get to call dibs on someone just because they saw them first. The difference was only in whether love was present or not. It was clear that Sophia had never loved him. ¡­ Over a dozen people entered thergest department store. Once they all shuffled into the elevator, they went two levels down to the basement. When the elevator doors opened, they were confronted with a big door that was guarded. The man asked coldly, ¡°Did you make an appointment?¡± Michael and Sophia were wearing masks. They kept themselves hidden among therge group of bodyguards and did not say a word. Quinton took the lead and said, ¡°Yes. Number 29834. My boss and his wife are unable to bear children, so they havee to pick one.¡± A person went to look up the appointment and found a match. It was a Cethosian married couple who were unable to have children, so they came to pick a child from this ce. Once their identities were verified, the door opened. Sophia followed the rest of them in. It was a whole new world on the other side of the door; one that could overturn the world that Sophia knew. An underground bazaar was taking ce inside. It was not much different from the underground bazaars in Cethos. There were a lot of shops, the air cirction system constantly brought in fresh air, and there was no odor. It was spacious and not stuffy. Michael walked ahead silently. Holding onto Sophia¡¯s hand, he murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t act rashly no matter what happenster or things will get messy.¡± Sophia nodded. This ce was not to be taken lightly, so she did not dare to mess around. After all, no matter how powerful they were in Cethos, they could not beat the local tyrant here. Heads bobbed around in the crowd of people. Most of the stores were selling none other than people! Men, women, children, elderlies, beautiful ones, ugly ones, and even strange ones¡ªall sorts of people were being sold. A woman with heavy make-up, who looked like a procuress at first nce, was choosing beautiful young women and girls under the protection of a tattooed bodyguard. There was also a gruff and perverted old man lusting over young women through the disy window with a stack of cash in his hand. There was also a beer-bellied, wealthy-looking man who brought away young and strong men. No one knew where they were being taken. Once they entered, Sophia felt her whole body go cold as though she had just stepped into hell. This ce maintained order with its own rules. Under all that mor, a lot of heinous crimes were taking ce. Sophia acted carefully and was cautious with every step she took. Quinton said, ¡°Our people are in. They will let us know if they find anything.¡± He was familiar with these ces. ¡°This is the misceneous area where they sell all kinds of things. We have to walk further to get to the specialized area.¡± There were all sorts of people in the misceneous area. The sellers were also very strange. There were buyers for all the goods and goods for every buyer. Every day, the turnover and profit made one boil with anger. That was how this big and inhumane industry was produced. For money, people could take on the form of any monster. Sophia looked at those ¡®goods¡¯ that had a numb expression on their faces that looked like they had gone through immeasurable torment. They were sitting in a daze by the disy window waiting to be purchased. Feelings of destion and anger grew within her, but she realized how powerless she was. She could not change a thing. All of a sudden, she came to an abrupt halt and stood still where she was. Michael kept tugging her forward, but she did not budge. Sophia¡¯s eyes were fixed on one of the stores at the side. A child was up for sale by the disy window. It was a little Cethosian girl. She was very beautiful and was dressed neatly. Her glistening eyes were filled with misery and fear. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. She looked to be the same age as Carmen. She was supposed to be a little princess, spoiled and cherished by her parents, but she had been sold off to this ce and turned into one of the ¡®goods¡¯ that were up for sale. She was even wearing a wristband with a number on it. If people liked her, they could take her to the counter, pay the price, and carry her out of there. The people there could even provide legal identities and adoption procedures. Sophia felt her heart ache and could not take another step. Breathing heavily, she only kept her eyes fixed on that child. Michael knew that bringing Sophia in would cause trouble. Anyone with a conscience who entered this ce would burn with indignation. They would want more than anything for a huge fire to burn the whole ce down. Unfortunately, the reality was that cruel. That ce was not going to disappear and there was not much they could do about it. Michael tugged at Sophia, pulling her back into reality. Her weary gaze moved away from the young girl as she slowly followed Michael forward. It did not keep her from feeling terrible. Lowering her head, her tears slowly soaked through her mask. When they had just taken a couple of steps, however, she suddenly wrenched her hand out of Michael¡¯s grip and ran back. Rushing into that store, she went and carried the child out, then stood before Michael with pleading eyes. He almost expected that to happen. Chapter 1031 Chapter 1031 The child of around two to three years of age leaned pitifully in Sophia¡¯s arms. She was scared, anxious, was too afraid to speak, and had her lips pressed together tightly. Despite having suffered, she did not dare to say a word. Michael was a father himself and did not have the heart to turn the child away. ¡°Okay. If you like her, we will buy her.¡± After they paid for the child, Sophia stopped going in further and went to a rest area with the child in her arms instead. She knew that she was not fit to go in there. She feared that she would not be able to control herself and end up buying all the children in the market. Meanwhile, Michael and Quinton went into the specialized area where they were selling children and asked around for a while before they got a definite answer¡ªthe Yard Family had bought the child. ¡°D*mmit! It had to be the Yard Family!¡± Michael cursed. After finding out that it was the Yard Family, he thought it was fortunate but also a pain. At least, the child was not sold into the pornographic industry or a killer organization. She was not sold to gruff old men as a ything either. It was the most fortunate oue in that wretched ce. The Yard Family was of imperial descent and they still carried on the imperial family¡¯s traditions. Every year, they took in children of unknown origins and trained them to be bodyguards from a young age. They were simr to shadow guards in ancient times. But, why did it have to be the Yard Family? The Fletcher Family turned them from a flourishing entity to being left with only one son for generations. It was going to be a lot of work to bring that child back. Suddenly, a frown appeared on Michael¡¯s forehead and he ran out of the specialized area toward the rest area. When he got there, however, he did not see Sophia but only Hale with five to six children. Hale looked at Michael helplessly with his palms in the air in front of him. Not long after, Sophia came back with two more children. Now, there were eight of them in total. Both Michael and Quinton gaped at her. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have brought her here! She is going to buy all the children in the market at this rate! The eight children were all around the same age as Carmen. Each one of them looked pitiful. Michael felt his head start to ache at the sight. If that had been eight cats or eight dogs, or even eight alpacas, it would have been better. These were eight children! While other people splurged on bags, she splurged on children. His wife did have a very peculiar way of squandering their family fortune. ¡°Hubby¡ª¡± Sophia knew that he was mad. She simply looked at him pitifully with a child in her arms. Giving in to her, he quickly paid for the children and left that precarious ce. Once they brought all the children back to the hotel, Sophia had people buy bags of necessities for the children. The children should have been at an age where they were lively, adorable, and cheeky, but none of them uttered a single word. They listened to everything Sophia said without making a sound or crying. How much did they suffer to be so traumatized? When she bought the children, she waspletely furious and could not bear to see them in misery. Who knew what they would go through after today? Looking at them, they all seemed healthy. They probably had parents who adored them but were somehow sold off to a ce like that. The children were all of different races¡ªCaucasian, ck, and Asian. If Sophia wanted to find their parents, she would have to search the entire world, which did not seem possible. It looked like she would have to take them all in, but she did not regret it. It did not matter if she had to take them all in. She wanted to find them adoptive families once they returned home. If no one adopted them, then she would raise them. At the same time, Michael and Quinton were having a discussion in the study. ¡°We have to get the child. Let me do it instead. It won¡¯t be good for you to show up there. I¡¯ll make a deal with them as a member of the Phantom Wolf and bring the child back. The animosity between the Fletcher and Yard Families runs too deep. You shouldn¡¯t go there. I¡¯ve made a deal with the Yards before. They paid me to kill one of their enemies. I have had some history with them.¡± After a moment of hesitation, Michael decided to entrust Quinton with the matter. Even though he did not trust himpletely, he felt like he could, at least, trust Quinton on this. ¡°Okay, but I want toe along.¡± ¡­ The following day, after their visit to the ck market, the two men went to the Yard Residence to find the child. Sophia did not go with them this time. She felt like she would ruin things if she went with them again. She did not go anywhere and only stayed in the hotel to care for the children. She was looking after eight children by herself. If that had been eight Carmens, she would have been exhausted, but these eight children were unusually obedient. They ate as they were told, slept as they were told, and did not speak a word. That, in turn, left her emotionally drained. Even though she did not know the experiences they had prior to this, she knew that it had left them scarred for life. She nned to bring the children back to the country. Trying to find their biological parents did not seem possible now, so she might as well find a reliable family to adopt them. She also wanted to adopt one of them too. Last month, she went for another medical checkup at the hospital, took a lot of medicine, got multiple shots, and went through a lot of suffering. Yet, she was unable to conceive. She had almost given up completely. Because Carmen seemed lonely by herself, however, Sophia wanted a second child. If she could not conceive on her own, then she could adopt! After Michael and Quinton left to go to the Yard Residence, Sophia brought the children out to eat. There was a Crimson House branch in the area and she walked in without a second thought; she ordered children¡¯s meal sets and since there were no private rooms, they had to sit in the main dining area. But since she had the V-card, the ce they sat at was also quiet. The part of the restaurant next to the windows only had two tables. She and several bodyguards sat with the children at one table while the other was upied by a charming Cethosiandy in her thirties. She was wearing a jade ring, and her ck hair was pulled back behind her head. The traditional Cethosian dress she woreplemented her very well. She was currently reading the newspaper. There was a slight hook on her chin and her swan-like neckline was very elegant. Indeed, she was a charismatic and beautifuldy. Sophia sat down with a child in her arms and said gently, ¡°We¡¯re going to eat soon. Aren¡¯t you all excited?¡± Silence was all she got in return. The eight children were still afraid to speak or even cry. They simply had frozen expressions on their faces. Sophia felt saddened. Letting out a sigh, she held the youngest girl in her arms and spoke to her. Suddenly, thedy at the next table put down the newspaper and looked over. ¡°Excuse me, ma¡¯am. You bought those children, didn¡¯t you?¡± Sophia had eight children with her, but none of them made a sound. If she wasn¡¯t a seller, then she was someone who had just bought from a seller. However, sellers did not usually bring children to these ces where the rich wasted money or dress them in high-quality clothes. Sophia knew that she could not hide where the children hade from. Moreover, they still had the imprint on their wrists from where the wristband used to be. It would not disappear in such a short amount of time. But still, she did not know who thatdy was, and she did not want to reveal too much, so she denied it. ¡°No.¡± The Cethosiandy did not refute but simply gave her a warm smile. ¡°That is not a ce a woman should go to.¡± It seemed like she had seen through everything. Sophia did not say anything else and silently fed the child in her arms. After a while, the charming Cethosiandy put down the newspaper, picked up her bag, and left the restaurant. Suddenly, her bodyguard turned back halfway and presented a name card with both hands to Sophia. ¡°Ma¡¯am, thedy of the house is very fond of you. If you have some time, you cane see her for a chat.¡± Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Sophia took a look at the card and saw an extremely eye-catching word printed clearly on it¡ªRonney. Chapter 1032 Chapter 1032 Thedy¡¯s identity was revealed on the card¡ªAnna Yard, president of the Ronney Group. This can¡¯t be right. Did I really bump into such a significant person while having a meal? No, she must be a swindler. How was it possible that thedy Sophia had met on a casual day out was also a member of the Yard Family? Not to mention, the president of the Ronney Group? Before Michael went to the Yard Residence, he repeatedly reminded her not to let her guard down and not to trust strangers so easily, especially the Cethosians. Many Cethosians who had traveled a long distance away from home could not help but feel a sense of familiarity with other Cethosians they met here and would willingly believe everything they said. But in actuality, those swindlers were only taking advantage of this sense of familiarity to swindle Cethosians. Some of the Cethosians in this ce were atrocious. They had originally followed the Yard Family over centuries ago and were now foreigners in disguise as Cethosians. Nheless, they were still against maind Cethosians. It was possible that the numerous Cethosian children at the ck market were taken from their parents by those people. While Sophia carefully fed the child in her arms, she was also thinking of a way to bring these children back to their parents. Michael did not want to get the police involved as the police force here was also heavily corrupt and might also be part of this dark industry. If they made a report, it could ruin the business and lead those people to seek revenge for destroying their wealth. Michael and Sophia were foreigners here. They had no power in someone else¡¯s territory, so they were better offying low. Moreover, it might not be helpful to report these children here since their parents were probably no longer in the country. The local underworld was quite reasonable. They did not attract the attention of tourists and consumers. Hence, these children were probably sent in from somewhere else. Essentially, finding their parents was like finding a needle in a haystack. They could only take the children back to Cethos for now and worry about other thingster. Michael and Quinton returned at night. ¡°How did it go? Did you find the child?¡± Sophia rushed out excitedly to ask them. Unfortunately, both of them came back empty-handed; not even a strand of a child¡¯s hair was seen. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. As expected, they did not manage to bring the child back. How could it be that easy to convince the Yard Family to surrender one of their people? Even though Quinton had killed someone for them before, it was not much use. Quinton¡¯s mentor, the former Phantom Wolf, was once a security guard for the Yard Family. No, he was not just a security guard. The Yard Family came from an imperial background. The former Phantom Wolf was probably an armed guard in the pce or the chief of the pce guards. After that, for various reasons, he left the Yard Family and became a first-generation Phantom Wolf disciple; he became an assassin. To the Yard Family, however, that friendship waspletely worthless. To them, Quinton and his mentor were no more than dogs. Michael was also a bit worn out. Aftering in and taking off his coat, he asked, ¡°Where are the children?¡± Simultaneously, he went to open the bedroom door and found eight new small bedsid out with eight small children lying on each one. Bubbles and Snowball were also sleeping inside the room. There was also a Ragdoll in the cat cage. The cat was a model Sophia had brought with her when she nned to work with the Ronney Group to launch a series of pet luxury goods. Since she was not looking to work with them anymore, the cat was used to keep watch on the children. Looking at each of the children sleeping soundly, Michael felt satisfied and fulfilled. Since they had already bought those children, they might as well find them a good home. Later, Quinton stayed and the three of them had a drink and a midnight snack on the balcony. They also thought over ways to bring the child back. Sophia was grilling some meat on the barbecue in the enclosed balcony where there was an air cirction system. Quinton took a sip of beer and said, ¡°I want to find a way to meet the head of the Yard Family, Anna Yard. My mentor saved her life before; perhaps she will help us out.¡± Anna Yard? Sophia recalled the name card she received today. Was she the president of the Ronney Group or the head of the Yard Family? Michael ate a piece of meat on a skewer. The meat skewers in Ronneycked slightly in vorpared to those in Bayside City. They are probably still adhering to the taste of the Yard Dynasty. It tastes awful. He inquired, ¡°What connection does your mentor and Anna share?¡± Quinton was getting a bit tipsy. After he put down the beer bottle, he looked at Sophia who was staring at him with her big round eyes and waiting to hear the story. ¡°I think the Fletcher Family is still to me for this.¡± Michael raised an eyebrow. ¡°Oh?¡± Quinton chuckled. ¡°That year, our ancestors led troops to attack the Yard Family¡¯s mail boat. They killed the foreigners and the Imperial Yard Family!¡± He was probably a bit drunk to talk about their ancestor¡¯s feat all those years ago, but it showed that he still had some pride for being a Fletcher. ¡°That night, the Imperial Yard Family¡¯s ministers and generals held a court on the mail boat to settle state affairs. Their emperor, empress, princess, and crown prince were all present. They were nning on setting off to Bayside City under the protection of the foreigners and enter the imperial pce there to make theireback. But, the Fletcher Family rushed in unexpectedly and killed all of them.¡± ¡°That battle was truly horrendous. The Fletchers wiped out the Yard Family¡¯s direct line of descent, only letting a group of women and children go. In the end, they only had one son in their family for generations. Now, Anna Yard is the only one left. But, the branch families were growing steadily, so of course, those extended families plotted something.¡± ¡°The Yard Family had internal strife. Anna was being hunted and my mentor was the one who saved her. She has secured her ce in the Yard Family and even has two capable sons. But, without my mentor, she would have been dead by now.¡± Sophia and Michael finished hearing the whole story and could not help but feel astonished. They did not know that she had such a history. If Quinton could meet Anna, there was bound to be a solution. The problem was that he could not meet her. They could not even meet her sons, much less Anna, who was constantly attending to important matters every day. ¡°I can meet her!¡± Sophia was eating meat skewers at the side and listening to them when she interrupted, ¡°The reason I came here was to meet the Ronney¡¯s twin representatives and get a chance to work with them. The appointment is tomorrow. I can go and talk to them!¡± The two representatives of the Yard Family were twins and they turned out to be Anna¡¯s sons! Quinton and Michael thought that it was a good idea. Since they could not have a private meeting, Sophia could go and meet them under the pretense of discussing a business deal. The three of them talkedte into the night before Quinton finally went back to rest. He had a good conversation with Michael and even had a lot to drink. He was not walking straight anymore by the time he left. That was the first time the two brothers drank together. They were actually very much alike since they shared the same genes. The next day, Sophia set off to the Ronney Group. Michael and Quinton also followed along inside the car. As they drove in the city center, Sophia admired the busy streets outside. ¡°The Ronney Group has made this ce into the capital. Look over here and over there¡ªthese are all ancient imperial city ns.¡± ¡°If this were ancient times, who would dare n a city like this? Their whole n would be implicated!¡± Chapter 1033 Chapter 1033 The Ronney Group headquarters was on the northern side of Ronney City. Once they got there, Sophia did not see modern skyscrapers, but a stretch of bright yellow ptial buildings. ¡®Stretching over 150 kilometers, it covered the sun in the sky. From the north of Mount Abbey, it meandered west, reaching all the way to Islesbury. The two rivers flowing gently prated the pce walls. At every five steps there stood a storeyed building, and at each ten, there stood a pavilion with corridors winding like waving silk and projecting eaves turning up like birds? bills. Each of the structures possessed its vantage above the ground, but they were all brilliantly interlocked together, or set against one another.¡¯ This ancient passage popped up in Sophia¡¯s mind. A moat, vermilion red pce walls, and an endless stretch of ptial buildings. This is basically a pce! It was even bigger than the Imperial Pce Museum that used to be next to their house. No, it was way bigger. But, this was not an imperial pce because it did not get destroyed during the war. In fact, it had incorporated the essence of ancient traditional buildings and modern technology. This structure was huge! It looked like the Yard Family was still scheming. Were they getting ready to stage theireback? If it were not for the carsing in and out of the pce entrance and those busy workers of Ronney Group, Sophia would have thought that she had traveled through time. Outside the pce walls, there were several subway stations and several tourists taking photos. Centuries ago, the Yard Family dered that they were the legitimate Cethosians. They even brought Cethos into the United Nations. After that, however, Cethos became more developed and slowly grew in power. Eventually, they forced the Yard Family out of the United Nations. Dressed up as a bodyguard, Michael had a pair of sunsses on and a dog in his arms. When he saw the imperial pce that stretched on endlessly, he scoffed, ¡°The Yard Family¡­ They were abandoned by Cethos like a rat on the street then they rushed to pack up all their valuables and jewelry to escape to this ce. How dare they call themselves legitimate?¡± Even though he had passed the age of an angry youth, Michael, as a fellow soldier, could not stop himself from disparaging the Yard Family. ¡°They are the biggest Cethosian conglomerate in the world. Their influence on the international front is big, but they have never thought about using it to help the social position of Cethosians abroad. In fact, they colluded with foreigners to suppress Cethosians. In what way are they considered legitimate?¡± Four centuries ago, the Yard Family was a debauched monarch while the Fletcher Family was a loyal servant. When the Fletchers saw how reckless the Yards were getting, they overturned the imperial court and became rebels, chasing the Yard Family out of Cethos. A century ago, the Yard Family became traitors who colluded with foreign entities. At the time, the Fletchers were warlords. While the Yard Family was attempting to stage theireback, they were completely wiped out by the Fletcher Family. In the present day, Cethos and the Yard Family were working together again. The Fletchers and the Yards could not kill each other at first sight like they used to anymore, but they were undoubtedly unhappy about that. They drove over the moat and through the opened pce entrance. Sophia was even more amazed to see the more distinct pce buildings inside. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s even bigger than the house we had in Africa. Look at this city gate¡ªthe Michel Military Enterprise built it! Look at how they¡¯ve made it!¡± ¡°Look over there; they even have eunuchs. Wow! Pce maids in ancient clothing. They¡¯re still adhering to the style of the Yard Dynasty!¡± Sophia eximed while taking pictures on her phone. In fact, Michael had been there before. He was not like Sophia who was taking in everything for the first time, but he also could not help himself from looking around. It was funny. To prove that they were the imperial family and preserve their sense of superiority, they still maintained the ancient dynasty¡¯s ritualism and solemnity. The previous dynasty fell a century ago, and the imperial court was now a museum. Paying fifty for a ticket would allow people to walk for a whole day inside. With another fifty, they could even put on the imperial robe and take pictures on the throne. Not to mention, students paid half to enter! What were the Yards trying to do? A fallen imperial family; it was funny and sad at the same time. Michael felt his rebel intentions stir up. If he could destroy the Imperial Yard Family one day just like his ancestors did, he would rent this ce out as a filming site or sell tickets for people to visit the ce. And, he would ask for a ticket price of 150 at least. On the other hand, Sophia was so excited that it looked like it was the first time she had entered a city. Who knew Ronney City had such scenery? Once they got out of the car, she was still taking pictures on her phone. Michael and Quinton were both dressed up as bodyguards and had their hands full with dogs and cats as they followed along quietly. Judging by how much fun she was having, she probably had forgotten that they were there to look for the child. The meeting location was at the Ronney Group¡¯s lobby which was also where the Imperial Yard Family once dealt with state affairs¡ªthe Exalos Hall. Sophia had rushed to learn more about the Imperial Yard Family recently. The Yard Family had a distinct feature that set them apart from the other dynasties. Normally, if an imperial family had twins, it was seen as inauspicious, and one of the two was gotten rid of in secret. The Yard Family, however, was different. Because their founding emperor was a set of twins, they viewed twins as the chosen ones. Therefore, twins gained the right to inherit the throne. The Yard Family had passed on the throne for generations, and they always had twins seeding it. They excelled in literary and martial arts. They supervised and helped one another. During thest emperor¡¯s reign, the twins also killed each other and led to the downfall of the Yard Family. Now, the Ronney Group¡¯s representatives were also a set of twins, and Sophia was scheduled to meet with one of them. She was excited. If this were in ancient times, I would be meeting with the emperor! Once Sophia entered the ce called the Exalos Hall, she saw two golden dragon chairs ced inside. She then went to sit where the ministers sat. This doesn¡¯t feel too bad. While waiting for the Ronney Group¡¯s representative toe, she wondered, Do they still have to hold a court regrly? When the emperor¡ªno, the representativees, do I have to kneel down? The pce was actually quite modern. They even had high-speed Wi-Fi. When they walked in, they noticed the Ronney Group¡¯s workers all dressed in modern clothing. They got to work and got off work conscientiously. It was convenient that they could go straight to the subway station after getting out of the company. This pce was just an office that was built a bit bigger. The main hall was used as a ce for them to work, while the Rear Pce was used as the Yard Family¡¯s private living quarters. The Michel Family¡¯s old nest in Africa was a bit bigger than this, but it was almost on the same scale. Once Sophia sat down, her eyes darted all over the ce. Meanwhile, Michael and Quinton were hiding among the other bodyguards. When the assistant secretary instructed them to stand behind Sophia, over a dozen people went over. Finally, the representative arrived. Surrounded by a crowd of assistants and bodyguards, a man dressed in a ck suit strode over. He still had an Eastern appearance. Though, if he did not, he would not have been able to inherit the Yard Family. After living in a foreign environment for an extended period, however, it would undoubtedly influence a person¡¯s demeanor. This man might have an Eastern face, but he carried the mysterious and foreign mannerisms of a Western man. He was truly of imperial descent. Even though his family was no longer in power, he still had an unparalleled honorable presence and charisma. Sophia and the man exchanged greetings. ¡°Mr. Ronney, I¡¯ve been looking forward to meeting you!¡± The person who came to meet Sophia today was Callum Yard, the vice president in charge of the luxury goods business at the Ronney Group. Besides luxury goods, the Ronney Group also had other businesses in military arms, mineral deposits, and so on that were being taken care of by the other twin. ¡°Oh,e on. Your reputation precedes you.¡± He spoke so fluently, that Sophia even thought that he was going to speak in old Cethosian. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Once they sat down and exchanged greetings, they started to talk a bit about their coboration. Pet luxury goods was a newly emerging industry, but the Ronney Group had yet to enter the market. They probably looked down on the profit margins for that small niche, but pet luxury goods had been steadily growing over the years and they could not afford to ignore this industry any longer. Sophia talked about her business seriously. She wanted to bring up the child once she was done, but, ten minutester, someone came in from outside and said, ¡°Mrs. Yard has invited Miss Edwards to the Royal Garden for some tea.¡± Royal¡­ Garden? Her eyes exuded reluctance and shock. Chapter 1034 Chapter 1034 Royal Garden¡­ Who do they think they are? They really think they live in the imperial pce now just because they have a bigpany! Such peculiar people! When Callum was informed, he put down the coboration n in his hand and said, ¡°Since it¡¯s my mother¡¯s invitation, pleasee to the Royal Garden, Miss Edwards.¡± She had no choice but to agree now that they had invited her. When she stood up to leave, she looked back at Michael and saw him motion for her to stay calm. Following them out of the Exalos Hall, she went to meet Mrs. Anna Yard. No, she should be the empress dowager, or the empress herself. Callum and his brother are only princes now. Why did Anna want to meet me? She doesn¡¯t even know me. Unless the Cethosiandy at the restaurant yesterday was really Anna Yard? ¡­ Once they were out of the Exalos Hall, a limousine arrived before them. Callum let her in the car first then went in after her. Michael, Quinton, and the interpreter went in a different car. Several cars began moving toward the Yard Family¡¯s living quarters¡ªthe legendary Rear Pce. The Ronney Group was enormous. They did not have skyscrapers like the Michel Group did¡ªwhere there were elevators to take them to the dining hall. All the buildings here were no more than ten storeys high, and the functional departments were probably all separated. They passed by several pce doors and drove for ten minutes from the office to the Yards¡¯ living quarters before arriving at the Royal Garden; it was the Yard Family¡¯s private garden that mimicked the ancient imperial family¡¯sndscape design. Sophia also had a garden like that, but it was not as big. Michael and Quinton were kept out of the garden while Sophia went in with Callum and an assistant. In the gazebo in the middle of the pond, several girls who looked like servants were waiting on a nobledy drinking tea. The servants¡¯ clothes still had the allure of the previous dynasty, but they had been modified to adapt to modern life. Unless there was an important imperial festival, the Yard Family still kept to modern-day clothes and lifestyles. When Sophia entered the gazebo, she recognized the Cethosiandy she saw at the restaurant the day before. It really was Anna Yard! Anna was drinking tea with a young man. The young man looked so much like Callum that they were almost indiscernible. That must have been the other vice president of the Yard Group, Cade Yard. ¡°You¡¯re here. Please have a seat.¡± Anna looked up at Sophia and motioned for her to sit in the seat across. Sophia greeted them and proceeded to sit down. The four people sat at the square tea table. Sophia was feeling very nervous. After taking a sip of tea to clear her mind, she looked briefly at Michael who was being kept outside of the garden before bringing her attention back. Anna spoke in such a gentle tone that it was not apparent that she was the head of the Yard Family. But, Sophia knew that this woman was not as harmless as she seemed on the surface. ¡°The Crimson House in Cethos sells western food, but the one in Ronney City sells authentic Cethosian cuisine. It fits my taste. I go there at least once a week.¡± Sophia added, ¡°The best Cethosian dish at the Crimson House is probably the steamed garlic prawns. It¡¯s been their bestseller for over thirty years. I highly rmend that dish.¡± ¡°Yes, I once sought the recipe of that dish, but the cooks in the pce just couldn¡¯t replicate the same taste.¡± Anna also seemed enthralled by that dish. The two of them quickly found amon talking point. Sophia and Anna began to discuss the delicacies of the Crimson House. Anna was also eager to continue the conversation now that they had found a shared interest. They seemed to be having an amiable conversation, but as for how they truly felt, only they knew the answer to that. Anna had high emotional intelligence. She knew what Sophia wanted to say beforehand and quickly foundmon topics to talk about. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Once they finished talking about one thing, they started talking about something else. After taking a sip of the aromatic tea, Anna put down the cup and looked intently at Sophia. ¡°Does Mr. Taylor Murray have any uing movies?¡± As expected, Sophia and Michael¡¯s rtionship could not stay hidden. After all, he was a global celebrity. Sophia answered, ¡°He¡¯s been working on a science fiction movie recently. It¡¯s notplete yet.¡± Annaughed. ¡°Notplete yet? Then, shouldn¡¯t he be busy filming now? Why do I see him and his brother holding a dog on a leash and waiting for you outside the garden?¡± Crap! She noticed! Both Michael and Quinton were in disguise, but it was no use. Perhaps they had already seen through their act from the start. This was Ronney City, the Yard Family¡¯s territory. But, Sophia did not expect Anna to know that Quinton was also one of the Fletchers. Thinking about it, the second-generation Phantom Wolf saved her life once, so perhaps they already had a strong friendship¡ªfinding out Quinton¡¯s information was probably not a difficult task. Sophia did not act flustered from being exposed. Instead, she smiled calmly and said, ¡°He¡¯s a public figure. Every move he makes must be kept secret. If he acts hastily, it will attract the attention of fans. Things will getplicated if a mass incident were to happen.¡± Anna seemed to believe her. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Just like that, the subject was dropped. Even though the Ronneys would not do anything to Michael, it was not going to be that easy to ask for the child back. Sophia was thinking of a way to bring up the child when Anna asked, ¡°To my knowledge, the child you¡¯re looking for is a killer¡¯s child. How is she rted to you guys?¡± While she spoke, she filled Sophia¡¯s teacup with more water. Sophia¡¯s mind was racing again as she tried to think of an answer. Should I hide it? Should Ie clean? Having a conversation with the Yards was mentally draining. After pondering for a while, Sophia decided to answer honestly. ¡°That child is a descendant of the Fletcher Family.¡± It was evident that they had not discovered this. When they found out that the child was the descendant of the Fletcher rebels, Anna and her two sons showed looks of detest and unease. The Fletchers were a n of rebels who killed countless members of the Yard Family. How could they bear to have one of the Fletchers¡¯ descendants in their security team? Nheless, they would not harm the child. The Fletchers and the Yards did not impose on one another now. If they were to harm the child, then they would be dering war. This step might have been risky, but it also provided more chances. After a brief moment of shock, Anna returned to her easygoing nature and picked up her teacup. ¡°I see. It¡¯s no wonder you guys came all the way here to look for her.¡± But, Anna was unwilling to give the child up so easily. ¡°I heard that the child has good genes and will do great things in the future. We chose her very meticulously. She did note at a cheap price. You can take her back if you want, but you have to give something in return.¡± ¡°What would that be?¡± Sophia looked calm, but she was already panicking on the inside. Anna took another sip of the aromatic tea, then put the teacup down with poise. ¡°You can have her in exchange for the eight children you just bought. How does that sound? Chapter 1035 Chapter 1035 In exchange for those children? Sophia started to frown. Isn¡¯t that rather unreasonable? The Yard Family bought that child because of her good genes, but it was clear that Sophia did not buy those eight children for the same reason. The price of the eight of them did not amount to that one child; the Yard Family was suffering a loss. Sophia¡¯s eyes shifted, then she let out a smile. ¡°Mrs. Yard, you should know how much that child is worth. She will prove to be very useful in the future if you keep her. However, even if you doubled the total worth of the eight children that I bought, it is still lower than hers. Why don¡¯t we settle this in a more direct manner? I¡¯ll give any amount you want for the child.¡± At the mention of money, the Yards started tough. Money was no more than a number to them. They had long passed the stage of looking at price tags. Anna pinched the teacup in her hand and admired its exquisite jade pattern. Her long eyshes were elegant beyondparison. Callum and Cade looked around the same age as Sophia, but Anna still looked very young. She should be the same age as Cooper! ¡°Miss Edwards, I think you¡¯ve misunderstood. I don¡¯t want money. I just need you to make a choice. What if I insist that you give me those eight children in return for the one?¡± Her gaze fell on Sophia¡¯s face. Those bright eyes looked like they were piercing through Sophia¡¯s body and looking into her soul, making her feel tormented. Sophia lowered her head and did not make a choice right away. She bought those eight children and promised to find them a home. The Yard Family might lookvish and magnificent, but they were the biggest financial backer of the human trafficking ring in Ronney! If I put those eight children in their hands, who knows what will happen to them? Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. But, I must get Katrina and de¡¯s child back! Sophia was stuck between those two options. Seeing her hesitation seemed to please Anna. With a smile, she mocked, ¡°Isn¡¯t it hard to choose? One is your guilty conscience and the other is the Fletchers¡¯ child. Do you want to stand for your conscience and justice or do you want the child of the Fletchers? I think you already know the answer.¡± ¡°In your heart, the Fletchers¡¯ child is more important, isn¡¯t that right? If you leave those eight children behind, I will put them back in the human trafficking market immediately where they can find new buyers. Meanwhile, the Fletchers¡¯ child will be able to go back to the Fletcher Family with you. Those eight children have nothing to do with you. Naturally, blood is thicker than water. As for your supposed conscience, how much is it really worth?¡± Anna seemed very proud of herself as though she had managed to destroy Sophia¡¯s hypocritical altruism with just a flick of her finger. It proved that she was no different from those people who trafficked children. Was there anyone out there who wasn¡¯t selfish? Those who fought for justice were hypocritical for the most part. They were born as predators, yet they insisted on wearing a mask of good-naturedness. If they were to encounter a favorable situation for themselves, they could just as easily suppress any kindness and conscience they had in the back of their minds. Anna had personallye across many ¡®kind¡¯ people like Sophia. Suddenly, Sophia looked up and stared back at Anna with a sharp and unwavering gaze. Neither one wanted to give way. A smirk appeared on Sophia¡¯s face and a ferocity grew in her amicable eyes. ¡°I did save those eight children out of the kindness of my heart. As a mother, I couldn¡¯t watch a girl around the same age as my own child get sold off to the pornography industry and be a sex ve from such a young age.¡± She made herself clear. ¡°I¡¯m not a phnthropist. But, since I have bought those eight children, I will give them a perfect home. I will also bring home the child that belongs to our Fletcher Family! If you want to prove my true nature with this one choice, then you¡¯re sorely mistaken, Mrs. Yard. I won¡¯t choose.¡± The surface of the tea in the teacup that she was holding trembled lightly. With scorn in her eyes, she said, ¡°Mrs. Yard, don¡¯t you think that your question isn¡¯t any different from the idiotic questions that an ignorant hag teases children with in the marketces in Cethos?¡± Anna¡¯s brows raised up, but she did not respond right away and continued to listen. Sophia continued, ¡°There are people who ask my child this question too¡ªif either one of your parents must die, and you can only save one, who would you save? I didn¡¯t think a gracious entity like yourself would be the same as those ill-informed housewives to be able to ask such a distasteful and ignorant ¡®either/or question¡¯. Looks like I¡¯ve really overestimated you.¡± As soon as she said that, the twins mmed the table and stood up at the same time. ¡°Miss Edwards, please watch your words.¡± They had the exact same movements, expressions, and words. Indeed, they were twins. On the other hand, Anna was not angry. She asked the twins to sit back down and posed a question for Sophia. ¡°How would your child answer?¡± Sophia scoffed. ¡°I will tell my child that it isn¡¯t her fault whoever she chooses. No matter who she picks, the other will die, but it isn¡¯t her fault. The culprit is the person who forced her to make that choice and killed her parents. When she grows up and bes capable, she must kill that person in return!¡± Sophia¡¯s outburst left Anna dumbfounded. That was the first time she had heard such a pointed answer. Sophia might have looked young, but she had an exceptional sense of moral integrity. It did not match her delicate and weak outer appearance. Sophia stood up and gave a biting remark. ¡°Mrs. Yard, I don¡¯t have time to be answering these silly and crude either/or questions, but there is something I must say before I go.¡± Her hand was pressed against the table. ¡°If something happens to the Fletchers¡¯ child under the Yards¡¯ jurisdiction, they wille for you. They won¡¯te for me, their daughter-inw who didn¡¯t exchange those eight children for one. I hope you get the picture now.¡± Anna slowly looked up at Sophia with the same smirk on her face. ¡°You should know that because of your rash behavior, I might send that child back to the ck market. Her future will be much worse than being a guard for the Yard Family. Aren¡¯t you afraid of being condemned for it?¡± ¡°Condemned? Huh! If it doesn¡¯t hurt the conscience of the great Mrs. Yard that brutally pushed her into that hell pit, then why should I be afraid?¡± Sophia had gathered all her things and bid a merciless farewell. ¡°The Yard Family should be aware of the Fletcher Family¡¯s power in Cethos. It has only been a few years since Ronney¡¯s brand entered the country. The market has just opened up with high prospects. If you don¡¯t want sales to rely solely on surrogate buyers in the future, then you better not make an issue with the child.¡± With that, she stormed off. The Yard Family did not want to let the child go so easily. It was no use to try to be nice; they should have been brutal from the start. Once Sophia was far off into the distance, Anna stood up and casually watched them leave from the gazebo. Looking at Sophia dressed in exquisite business attire from behind, she suddenly let out a smile that reached all the way to her eyes. It was a smile that came from a genuine sense of admiration. ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Callum suddenly called. He could see that Anna was very fond of Sophia. Sophia and the others were long gone, but Anna remained standing there without moving as she looked at the scenery. The wind blew through her white chiffon blouse, making it flutter in the air. As she admired the beauty of the garden before her, she turned back to Callum and Cade and said, ¡°When you two were younger, you were once kidnapped by the extended members of the Yard Family. I went to ask them to return you, but they humiliated me. They forced me to choose between the both of you and said the other would be dropped right in front of me. Chapter 1036 Chapter 1036 At the mention of that period in their lives, Callum and Cade fell silent. There were too many incidents like that in their memories. When they were born, Anna¡¯s position in the Yard Family was still insecure and many were out to kill the three of them. ¡°How did you make your choice, Mom?¡± Cade asked. She smiled bitterly. ¡°They wanted me to choose one and they were going to kill the other. Even if I saved one of you, I would have spent the rest of my life in grief and self-me for the death of the other! They wanted to torment me and make me feel like I was better off dead!¡± That kind and gentle gaze suddenly turned icy. ¡°My choice¡­ Tsk. I didn¡¯t make a choice. Your father and I teamed up and shot the person who was going to kill you guys! Who were they to kill my child and make me suffer from the guilt afterward? They were the ones who deserved to die! Even if they were torn to pieces, they deserved it!¡± Cade and Callum were shocked. Anna glowered at the view before her. Hidden beneath that image of an honorable and delicate noble lady was a raging tyrannical soul. Over the years, they killed countless rtives and children out of wedlock to secure the Yard Family for themselves. Their resolute mindset brought them to where they were today. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Standing on her thin diamond high heels, she slowly started to walk away. Before she left, she said, ¡°I like that girl.¡± Callum and Cade looked at each other as Anna walked off. What did that mean? Was she going to let the child go? Outside, Sophia hurriedly left the ce with her people. The group of them were heading toward the parking lot. F*cking obsolete imperial family! They won¡¯t provide us with a ride now because the talks went completely south! Sophia had to walk from the Royal Garden all the way to the parking lot in her eight-centimeter high heels and even got lost along the way. Her tender feet were now rubbed raw. Since Michael¡¯s identity was already exposed, he dropped the act and took off his sunsses, revealing his handsome face. He carried Sophia on his back and the both of them slowly made their way back. With her fair and slender arms wrapped around his neck, Sophia kept spitting criticisms next to his ear about the conversation that took ce at the Royal Garden earlier. ¡°I saw Anna at the Crimson House yesterday. I thought she was some kind of extraordinary figure, but I was wrong!¡± ¡°She wants me to trade the children!¡± ¡°I told her that in the future, the Ronney Group will only be able to rely on surrogate buyers to get their products into Cethos!¡± ¡°That obsolete imperial family; just because they have that dirty money on their hands, they think they can stick their noses up in the air! The estate we have in Northern Europe is way bigger than their whole pce!¡± ¡°The previous dynasty has already crumbled. This is a new era. If they want to silence me, I will stand up stronger and fill them with rage!¡± ¡°Did you see the ce where they weed visitors? In a ce like that, did they want me to bow my head before we started talking about business? Bah!¡± Michael yed along to appease her. ¡°The Yards still believe they¡¯re an imperial family! They¡¯re such an embarrassment! It¡¯s time they got off their high horse! If the ruler wants the minister dead, then the minister will kill the ruler first!¡± Michael was impressed by Sophia¡¯s courage to talk to the president of the Yard Group in that manner. If she had actually humiliated them, then the child would be in real danger. But, on the other hand, it also put pressure on the Ronney Group. No one could mess around with the Fletchers¡¯ child so easily. Now that the Fletcher Family was aware of the child¡¯s existence, they were going to do everything they could to bring her home. They might not have as big a fortune as the Yards did, but they were not to be taken lightly either. Sophia kept criticizing them the whole way. Once they reached the parking lot, however, they found Callum standing there with a child beside him. Michael and Sophia turned serious when they saw the child. She quickly got off Michael¡¯s back and walked in Callum¡¯s direction. Callum said, ¡°We have rules in our family, and that is to not have a Fletcher work for us. So, you can take this child back.¡± Since finding out that a member of the Fletcher Family was in their domain, they did not want to keep her anymore. After saying that, Callum headed into the car with an unsatisfied look. As the car started to move, Callum lowered the car window all of a sudden and said to Sophia, ¡°We might be an ¡®obsolete imperial family¡¯, but we¡¯re still an imperial family. If we want the minister dead, and the minister doesn¡¯t want to die, then we will have to personally kill them.¡± Sophia was lost for words. Meanwhile, Michael was delighted. Who would have thought that Sophia¡¯s strategy would be so effective? He hurried over to the child and kneeled. ¡°Hello, are you L? I¡¯m your uncle. You can call me Michael. I¡¯ve been in films before.¡± L had the same cold expression as she did in the photograph. Currently, she had a numb and nk look on her face. Her eyes showed that she was on high alert toward every person in the world. She lookedpletely different from the easygoing child in the photographs that her adoptive parents had shown them. She was missing for a month. Who knew what she could have gone through during this time? Michael felt an ache in his chest. When he reached out to hold her hand, she quickly pushed him away and he spotted the bandage wrapped around her small hand. He figured that she must have gotten it after undergoing high-intensity training. In a warm tone, Sophia coaxed, ¡°It¡¯s okay, L. We will take you home. Okay?¡± Eventually, she managed to get L into the car, but L still felt uneasy. She was on high alert throughout the car ride, keeping her eyes on everyone and not uttering a word. Michael took a good look at the child. She was a mixed-race child who had already turned seven. Her eyes looked exactly the same as Celine¡¯s, but her temperament was more simr to her father¡¯s. She grew up in an ordinary family and waspletely oblivious about her birth parents¡¯ identities. She did not have a murderous look, but despite being unaware of who her parents were, she still seemed to stand out. Michael let out a sigh of relief now that they had found the child, but he was quickly met with another obstacle. L definitely had to go back to the Fletcher Family, but what would happen after that? It was only a matter of time before Justin found out about his wife¡¯s child out of wedlock. Moreover, her father was de, the most heinous killer! Stanley and a bunch of Fletchers caused the death of her biological father in a gang fight. Her mother had no idea about her existence. If the other members of the family found out about her, how would they treat her? Nheless, Quinton still believed that getting her back was better than anything else. All that mattered was that she could return to the Fletcher Family. They departed the following day and returned to the small town that L grew up in. Noticing the familiar scenery outside the car window, L went from keeping silent to suddenly bing excited and her stoic little face could not stop looking out. When they finally arrived at their destination, that pleasant small home appeared before them. L raced out as soon as Michael opened the car door and spoke for the first time. ¡°Daddy! Mommy!¡± Upon hearing her voice, her adoptive parents came out and were ecstatic to see her. While they hugged each other, L began to sob as she was finally able to let go of all the fear and desperation she felt. Sophia could not hold back her tears either when she heard the little child¡¯s cries. It looked like she had lived a good life in this ce. Sophia also wanted L to continue living here, but since her identity as de¡¯s daughter had been exposed, those people coulde back to take her again. de killed many people in his lifetime and made countless enemies. Now that he was gone, his enemies would take revenge on L; leaving her here would put that family in danger. But, seeing how happy L was, Sophia could not bear to tear them apart. L had spent seven years of her life here¡ªthis ce was her home! Chapter 1037 Chapter 1037 ¡°Let L stay here for the night with her family before we do anything else.¡± Michael did not really have a choice. That night, L¡¯s adoptive parents cordially invited Sophia and Michael to stay at their house, and they also prepared a big feast for them. L looked a lot happier and waspletely different from when they first found her. She had a smile on her stoic face as she yed happily with her adoptive parents¡¯ two children. Sophia was leaning in Michael¡¯s embrace and admiring all of it. This family of five looks so happy. ¡°Why are you so quiet?¡± Michael pulled her in gently and ced a kiss on her forehead. She snuggled up to him and said, ¡°I miss Carmen.¡± Holding her in his arms, he murmured, ¡°We¡¯ll be home soon.¡± ¡­ The next day, Michael was about to take L away. Her adoptive parents were reluctant, but they also understood the severity of the situation. They knew that they could not protect L. Moreover, they had two children of their own and did not dare to take the risk. The ce that L would be taken to was a lot more well-off than they were. She was going to have a better life from now on, so they could only send off her while holding back tears. L¡¯s sullen little face was covered in tears. She kept a tight grip on her adoptive father¡¯s hand and took one heavy step after the other. Her adoptive mother was busy telling Sophia about her daily routine and the like while Sophia nodded along as she took a mental note of everything. The moment they had to part ways, L kept wailing and was not willing to leave. Her adoptive father sent their Golden Retriever along with her, so she would not be alone and afraid in a new environment. It would make her feel better to have a familiar pet with her. However, L still did not want to go and remained crying at the front door. Biting the bullet, her adoptive parents shut the door and did note back out again. She continued to stand there and cry. No matter who tried to coax her, she wouldn¡¯t move. Michael, who was carrying L¡¯s suitcase, was also in a tough spot. If it were possible, he also wanted L to stay here. Growing up in a family like that was a blessing. Unfortunately, she could not stay there because only the Fletchers could protect her. Eventually, Sophia managed to coax L into the car, and they quickly drove off. Once the car started to move, Sophia saw, from the rearview mirror, that L¡¯s adoptive parents had come out at some point and were watching them leave. It had gotten veryte when they returned to the hotel. As soon as the door opened, a little being flew out from inside and gripped onto Sophia¡¯s leg¡ªit was the youngest Cethosian girl. That was the first time Sophia had seen her act so clingy. Sophia had named her ¡®Poppy¡¯. When she picked her up, she heard her soft cries and consoled, ¡°It¡¯s okay, good girl. Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m back now.¡± Poppy continued to cry. Afraid that she would get beaten up for being too loud, she said in a small voice, ¡°I want my mommy.¡± When Sophia did not returnst night, the children thought they were being sold off again. Now that she was back, those several pairs of eyes were trained on her. Hearing the soft sobs, she couldn¡¯t help but think of Carmen. When she was caught by Katrina and dragged upstairs to be thrown down, she also spoke very timidly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will take all of you to find your parents soon.¡± Upon returning, Sophia was busyforting and holding the children. Michael brought L inside. She was cold and distant. Even though she knew that Michael was not a bad person, she still had her guard up. Looking at the ce filled with nine children and a Golden Retriever, Michael felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck but also felt like there was not much he could do about it. Gosh, I almost went broke when we had a house full of fat orange cats. After we¡¯ve barely managed to send away a good number of them, we have a house full of children now. He prayed that Sophia would not end up adopting all of them as he would have to take responsibility for everything. After thinking over it, Sophia decided to let the children get adopted locally into families of the same race as them. In the end, they were left with three Cethosian children whom they brought home with them to look for adoptive families in Cethos. On the day that they left, Quinton sent them to the airport. He did not have a reason to return to Cethos anymore. He only went backst time because he heard the news about de¡¯s appearance and wanted to warn them. He did not expect that it would drag into so many other problems. Fortunately, his deed was done now, and L had been found. It was also time for him to leave. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Quinton held L by the hand and sent her off into the ne. He was still feeling a bit reluctant. He watched her board the ne and did not look away for a while. Michael was holding the dog on a leash. Before he went in, he patted Quinton on the shoulder and said, ¡°Goodbye. We will meet again someday.¡± Quinton waved at him casually, then saw them off into the ne. He kept watching until their ne disappeared in the sky. Turning to leave, his eyes were filled with destion. If the Fletcher Family had known about his existence back then, they would have done everything to find him just like they did for L. Sadly, that did not happen. Old Master Fletcher was extremely happy that they found the child and was urging them to hurry home so that he could meet the child. Regardless, that was still a child of the Fletcher Family. No matter how evil her parents were, it had nothing to do with her. They took the four children on board and headed back to Cethos. The first ce they went to was the Edwards Residence. As soon as they entered, Carmen climbed out of the swimming pool and was dumbfounded by the sight of Sophia and the four children. She ran to look for Cooper. ¡°Grandpa! Look! Daddy and Mommy secretly had so many little sisters when I wasn¡¯t around!¡± Cooper was sunbathing next to the swimming pool. He was in a pair of swimming trunks while his rather fit upper body was exposed. When he saw the children alongside Michael and Sophia, his brows pulled together tightly, especially when he spotted L. He automatically looked at Justin. Justin still did not know what was happening, but Celine seemed to have realized something. Her eyes were fixed on one of the children that Michael had brought home as though a strong presence was calling out to her. He had brought home a total of four children, but she could not stop looking at that one child in particr. ¡°Something feels strange¡­¡± Celine mumbled. Michael could feel Celine¡¯s gaze on them. He knew that she was looking at L. Even though they had not met before, Celine could still feel something toward her. He still did not know how to introduce the child. Putting it aside for the time being, he first went to make arrangements for her room, meals, and the like. L was nervous to be in a new environment. She kept holding her Golden Retriever and did not take a step away from it. These days, both Sarah and Sean were at the Edwards Residence recovering from their injuries, so the house was crowded with people. When they heard that Sophia hade home, everyone immediately came out to see her. She even called Nicole on the phone toe over and said she had some gifts for everyone. Sophia started by giving out the local goods she bought from Ronney¡ªsome bags, jewelry, and other luxury goods. Those were the majority of items that were sold there locally. After she finished giving out the local goods, she started giving out the children. ¡°Sarah, I bought this baby from Ronney City just for you! She¡¯s a girl; obedient and pretty! She even looks like you! You should adopt her, then Sour Face will have a younger sister. If you end up having another daughter, then it will be perfect!¡± ¡°Nicole, you should adopt a child!¡± ¡°Sean, it doesn¡¯t look like you¡¯re nning to get married any time soon. Why don¡¯t you adopt a child?¡± Sarah held the baby girl that Sophia shoved at her and asked after some hesitation, ¡°Is this also one of the ¡®local goods¡¯ that you bought in Ronney?¡± Chapter 1038 Chapter 1038 Local goods¡­ ¡°I guess you can say that¡­ ¡± Sophia looked distressed. She felt like she should just take in all those three children herself. Since she bought them, she had to raise them no matter what. Raising a child was a big deal and something that needed to be discussed at length. It was different from raising kittens or puppies that she could hand over to anyone she saw fit. Harry and Sarah discussed for a bit, then decided to adopt Poppy who would be a younger sister and friend to Sour Face. He could also learn how to be a good older brother. At the same time, Hale also adopted one of them. A long time ago, Gwen suffered an injury while working as a secret agent. She was lucky to have given birth to Ashton as the doctor made it clear that she could not bear any more children. Hale wanted to have a daughter and was thinking of going to Nicole¡¯s orphanage to adopt a child, but now that Sophia had brought those children home, it seemed like fate. On the other hand, Nicole decided not to adopt. She and Sam had already adopted three to four children from their own orphanage. Moreover, she was pregnant now and did not have the energy to adopt any more children. Sean, too, adopted a girl. He was not nning on getting married, so it was nice for him to have a daughter. There would have been some issues in the adoption process, but Sophia had taken care of everything for him, and all he had to do was take the child home. The girl he adopted was a bit over the age of three. She was na?ve, slightly fearful of people, and quiet. Since he was currently still bedridden and recuperating at the Edwards Residence, Stanley carried the child to the front of his bed. ¡°Sweetie, I¡¯m your papa now! I will protect you from now on,¡± Sean said gently as he looked at the child in Stanley¡¯s arms. The child had also gone through many hardships beforeing here. It was fate that he stumbled upon her. He was going to raise her with utmost dedication. The girl looked at him timidly and did not dare to make a sound, but he did not force her. She was a neer and needed time to get used to everything. Unexpectedly, Stanley rebuked, ¡°Why are you the father? Ever since we were little, I¡¯ve always been the father, and you¡¯ve always been the mother! I can¡¯t ept this. I want to be the father, and you can be the mother. Isn¡¯t that right, my little baby?¡± Stanley was trying to get used to the fact that he was already a father. He could no longer go back to his old ways for he had his own family now too. He watched Sophia give birth to Carmen, and Sarah give birth to Ashton, but he was still a bachelor. It was nice to have a child. Stanley adored the child in his arms. Sean did not refute his words. With a tender look in his eyes, he said, ¡°We¡¯re adults now. We can¡¯t y house anymore and I can¡¯t be the mother either. If she calls you papa, then she can call me daddy instead.¡± The both of them also decided on a name for her¡ªMaisie Mitchell. Since Sean adopted her under his name, she would take after his family name. She was Maisie for short. Sophia had Carmen, Sasha had Ashton, and now they had Maisie. Maisie also seemed to enjoy eating cornmeal mush. When they got home, she finished a big bowl of refined and nutritious cornmeal mush, even licking the bowl clean. ¡°Come, Maisie. Let¡¯s go and meet the other members of the family.¡± ¡°This is Judge, and this is Sunset. You can pat them on the head.¡± Maisie knew that she was going into a new family, so she tried her best to get used to having two fathers. The three children had now gone to their new families. Sophia was able to let out a sigh of relief. The only one left now is L. Sophia and Michael brought her back to the Fletcher Residence stealthily without letting Justin find out. He still did not know that the child was Celine¡¯s. Meanwhile, Old Master Fletcher absolutely adored the child and even gave her a name. ¡°She has nice features¡ªeven stronger than her mother¡¯s. She¡¯s going to be a public figure in the future. Why don¡¯t we call her Lorelei? Lorelei Fletcher! That will be her name!¡± L epted her name with indifference and remained aloof and unresponsive. After the meeting with Old Master Fletcher, Michael held Lorelei by the hand and brought her into the yard to look around. This would probably be her home from now on. The both of them held onto each of L¡¯s hands as they took her on a walk in the yard. They did not say a word¡ªas though they each had something on their minds. s, Sophia broke the silence. ¡°Hubby, I want¡ª¡± Michael¡¯s steps stopped abruptly, and he finished her sentence for her. ¡°You want to adopt Lorelei.¡± She stuck her tongue out in a cheeky manner. Looks like he saw right through me. From the moment she saw Lorelei, she hade up with the idea. It did not seem to make a lot of sense to let Celine and Justin raise her. They could raise her instead. Michael stretched his hand out to caress her head. ¡°I had the same thought.¡± He was also adopted into the Fletcher Family after both of his parents passed away. Even though Old Master Fletcher adored him, there were too many children in the family that they ended uppeting against one another. A child¡¯s mind was sensitive, and they did not speak up even if they were suffering. That environment might not be the best for L. He felt like keeping Lorelei by his side was the better option too. If he and Sophia could no longer have a second child of their own, then it would not be bad to have Lorelei. Lorelei grew up overseas and did not know how to speak Cethosian. She did not know what Sophia and Michael were saying, but she did not like the ce very much either. There were too many people. She only wanted to go home and be with her Golden Retriever. Suddenly, they made a turn and a wide patch of green appeared in front of her along with a rhythmic and sonorous sound. ¡°One. Two. Three. Four. One, two, three, four!¡± The military troops were training! The energy in those shouts seemed to make even the ground shake. Lorelei¡¯s eyes glimmered as she looked at the group of vigorous people. When she started running toward the field, Michael and Sophia quickly chased after her. Nathan was also undergoing summer military training at the Fletchers. He had spotted Sophia at the start. When the troops dispersed, he quickly ran over. ¡°Nate!¡± Sophia happily went up to greet him. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. It felt like he had grown taller in the few days that she did not see him. Nathan had a cold expression on his face. After he saw Sophia, he immediately caught sight of Michael holding the hand of a little girl who also had the same cold expression. The two people with simr-looking faces confronted each other. Deep inside, he felt a strange sense of fear, but he did not know where it came from. Michael introduced, ¡°Nate, this is Lorelei; she¡¯s also a member of our family. We just found her and brought her back from abroad. She doesn¡¯t know how to speak Cethosian. Do look out for her in the future.¡± Nathan nodded. When the whistle sounded for them to assemble, he turned around and walked away to carry on with his training. Lorelei did not seem to want to leave as she watched them from the side. She looked like she was itching to join them and tried her best to pull Michael to walk over to that side. Michael noticed and asked, ¡°All the children in our family have to start training like this from a young age. Do you want to join them too, L?¡± She nodded eagerly. Seeing that earnest look in her eyes, Michael could only give Sophia a look of resignation. Sophia was slightly dejected, but sheplied with it in the end. He caressed Lorelei¡¯s head then said, ¡°Go ahead.¡± As soon as he let go, she ran toward the Fletchers who were doing their summer military training and seemed desperate to join their troop. Sophia knew that she would not be able to raise Lorelei, and that the Fletchers were the best option. Looking at the lively Lorelei on the field like a fish that had returned to the water, Michael hugged a dejected Sophia andforted, ¡°It¡¯s okay. We will try our best to have another child. We will.¡± Chapter 1039 Chapter 1039 Nheless, Michael was well aware of their situation. It would be very hard for them to conceive if they wanted a child. Aside from Sophia, he also had a problem of his own. That year, when Sophia got abducted by Quinton, he was stabbed by a killer with a poisoned knife. Even though he survived, there were some consequences. But, since Sophia had returned, and Carmen was growing up healthily, what more could he ask for? If they wanted a child, they could always adopt. He did consider IVF treatments with Sophia, but it was too painful. How could he bear to let her suffer? Moreover, they did not need to have a second child as Carmen was more than enough for them. ¡­ After sending off all the four children they brought home, Sophia was pleased with herself and felt at ease. Although she did have some regret for not being able to adopt Lorelei, Lorelei was better-suited to live with the Fletchers¡ªshe belonged with them. In the end, Lorelei returned to the Fletcher Residence and was adopted by Joel and Maddie. The Fletchers settled all her legal documents¡ªcitizenship, family registry, name change, school admissions, and so forth. Since it was summer break now, she was spending her days at home and training with Nathan. Lorelei had her mother¡¯s vigorous energy that could tire out even a husky. She showed up on the field on time every day and exercised with the other Fletcher kids. It seemed like she was meant to be a soldier. Her mother was certainly not ordinary, but her father also had an impressive background. Apparently, he was the descendant of an ancient European noble family and hade from generations of soldiers. Both of his parents were well-known figures in the military. Unfortunately, he was abducted by a killer organization as a child. His family searched the whole world for him, but they could not find him. By the time they found him, he was already the most notorious cold- blooded killer, de. There was no end to de¡¯s killings. He knew that he could not return to his family, so he kept straying off. His family was extremely disappointed in him, so they never crossed paths. There were many children like de who were the descendants of soldiers and were, subsequently, abducted by killer organizations. Once they were all grown up, they would not usually return home. de died at the hands of the Fletcher Family in Cethos. When the news reached Europe, his family secretly came to ask for the return of his body. They could not acknowledge him while he was alive and could only ask for his corpse when he died. It was a pity that Lorelei had already been put in the Fletchers¡¯ family registry; they were not going to let her go. Left without a choice, de¡¯s family could only take de¡¯s body with them and leave. ¡­ When their military training ended, Nathan would often bring Lorelei back to Sophia¡¯s to y. It had gotten quite lively at the Edwards Residence in Riverdale. Sean and Sarah were recuperating there but had also brought along their whole family with them. With all the little children gathered together over summer break, the house looked like a kindergarten. Amidst all of this, Sophia also miraculously secured a partnership with the Yard Family. The two families were going to produce a series of pet luxury goods and were currently in talks for their contract. Sales for the Dragon Eye mobile phones had also stabilized. Sophia was taking out time to spend with her child. Meanwhile, the child that Hale adopted was named Audrey. The four little girls and Lorelei could potentially take over the Edwards Residence together! A few days before they teamed up, they almost rubbed the fur off all four of Sophia¡¯s orange cats. The most yful sled dogs also had to bow down before Lorelei & Co. and trembled with fear when they heard theming. In the past, Sophia¡¯s orange cats, Cooper¡¯s ck dog, and the huskies were known as the ¡®three devils¡¯ of the Edwards Residence. Now, there was an additional devil. The four devils of the Edwards Residence could make their scalps tingle. Michael felt like Sophia and her father had too much money to spend. Because she liked orange cats, she always kept dozens of them at home. Cooper liked ck dogs, so he would also bring them home by the dozens. Because of Corrado, all of Bubbles¡¯ and Snowball¡¯s offspring were born with ck fur. They had ck Samoyeds and ck poodles. Before they even realized it, the Edwards Residence was filled with more than a dozen ck dogs. With so many of them, Cooper could not bother with names anymore and started to call them ckie #1, ckie #2, ckie #3, ckie #4, all the way to ckie #19. These days, Michael was living with Sophia illegally and had even nearly moved in his entire house. Therefore, the Edwards Residence was getting expanded. Sophia wanted to build a ce just for Michael to live in. For the time being, he set up an office in that small house of hers and went in and out of the Edwards Residence as he pleased. Every time he saw Cooper¡¯s ck dogs, he had an affectionate look on his face. Today, Danny, Michael¡¯s assistant from his film crew, came over once again. The moment he entered the Edwards Residence, he saw ckie #4. Whenever Danny showed up, it meant that Michael was going away for a movie shoot again. The film crew was starting to pester him, so he had to get going. He had packed everything and was getting ready to leave while Sophia sent him off reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a month which just so happens to be in September. I¡¯ll apany Carmen to film ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ when the timees. Carmen¡¯s mom, I¡¯ll leave her in your care for now.¡± Before he left, Michael went on and on about Carmen. He also urged Sophia to wait for his return and not get lured by some strange casanova. Being in his forties now, he was feeling a bit anxious. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. If someone really came and took Sophia away one day, and he lost his fair, rich, and beautiful wife, and his adorable and loveable daughter, then he would lose everything. Linus spent all day at home today. No one seemed to have seen him, but he kept watch in the dark. He watched Michael leave in silence. His eyes were cold and unenthusiastic, but on the inside, he was going through a violent struggle. Once Michael was gone and Sophia came back out from the parking lot with Carmen¡¯s little hand in hers, he still remained standing where he was as though he had something to say but did not have the courage to. At some point, Cooper arrived behind Linus and patted him on the shoulder with his big hand. ¡°Have some courage, Linus. I will help you with this.¡± Even though he received Cooper¡¯s support, he was still timid and unsure of how to start. ¡°Cooper, I¡­¡± he hesitated. Cooper patted him on the shoulder a few more times. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. She will agree for sure.¡± Picking up his courage, Linus took a deep breath and walked straight to Sophia. Sophia came home with Carmen¡¯s small hand in hers. Carmen could not rest for even a second. Once her father left, she acted up again and got up to mischief with Lorelei & Co. She walked toward him and noticed a desperate look on his face. ¡°Uncle Linus, what¡¯s wrong?¡± He hesitated for a long while before he said, ¡°Sophia, someone from my hometown came to visit me a few days ago. They were hoping that I could find a girl to marry within the Michel Family.¡± At that, Sophia suddenly recalled Linus¡¯ life. He was an adopted son. Even though his capabilities gained everyone¡¯s approval, blood rtion and identity was still his weakness. If he did not have a solid identity, then he would not be able to inherit the position as family head. Linus certainly did not want any obstacles in his way. Marrying someone within the family and gaining the status of a son-inw wasn¡¯t too bad. Sophia was also happy for him. ¡°You found someone suitable? Congrattions, Uncle Linus!¡± He nodded and looked at her sternly. ¡°Yes¡­ that person is you.¡± Chapter 1040 Chapter 1040 Thinking that she had heard wrongly, Sophia simplyughed it off. ¡°Uncle Linus, you must be mistaken. How can I be that person? You¡¯re my uncle!¡± He wants to marry me? This must be a joke. Not to mention, he¡¯s bisexual. I heard he has a bunch of ex- boyfriends. She had even seen drawings in Sarah¡¯s pornography book of him doing various unimaginable things as the main lead like doing explicit things with an anthropomorphic Lucky. Sarah called that ¡°Cethos¡¯ Mutt Viting a North European Noble¡±. However, Linus was not joking. After hesitating briefly, he continued in a serious manner, ¡°Sophia, you know I was adopted. In this family, it doesn¡¯t matter how much more capable and outstanding I be, as I won¡¯t be epted by everyone. I need to marry a woman in the Michel Family and use my status as the Michel¡¯s son-inw to gain a foothold in the family. I came to look for you because you don¡¯t have a foothold in the family yet either. If we get married, it will be beneficial for both of us.¡± When Sophia realized that Linus was not joking, she turned serious. However, after hearing what he said, she also fell silent. Getting married to Linus was unthinkable. Linus went on, ¡°You and Mike are divorced and won¡¯t be remarrying for the time being. We can get married now, and if you want to remarry him in the future, we will get a divorce right away. Through this marriage, I can at least be a true member of the Michel Family. It won¡¯t affect your remarriage with Mike. I¡¯ve been wanting to let you take over some business here, but the board of directors still doesn¡¯t have an urate evaluation of your capabilities yet, so it couldn¡¯t happen. If you marry me, you will be able to take over as soon as possible.¡± When he finished talking, he fell silent and lowered his head as though he was afraid to look at Sophia. She was also serious and extremely hesitant. Lifting her heels, she started to walk toward the garden. She had designed the garden herself and filled it with all her favorite flowers. Currently, they were all in full bloom, making the garden look like a dreamybyrinth. Walking inside, she went to sit down on the swing that was made of rattan. She understood Linus¡¯ intentions, and she knew that their marriage would not be for love, but for mutual benefit. Even though she was approved by the Michel Family, her position was merely a symbolic family head. She was an honorable daughter in the family, but they only showed her respect because of her father. Her capabilities had yet to be recognized by the family. Hence, she was unable to take over any responsibilities at thepany for now. On the other hand, Linus was recognized for his capabilities, but he was also an adopted son. Cooper had already broken the rules when he adopted Linus back then. All these years, Linus tried hard to live up to Cooper¡¯s expectations, but it did not change the fact that he was not a Michel and was discriminated against within the family. If they could put up a fake marriage, then Linus would gain the approval of the family, and Sophia would gain some power. They were not rted by blood, so there was no issue with them getting married. Moreover, she and Michael were divorced now. A fake marriage would not be a big deal. ¡­ As the Edwards Residence was being expanded, Sophia tore down some of the houses surrounding them. She calcted the price of thend andpensated the original house owners. On average, each of them received around two to three million. She also subsidized an extra amount ording to the number of households with a standard of 100,000 for every household. In order to get more money from Sophia, the married couples who used to live in those torn-down houses got divorced and were able to getpensated 100,000 each, since a married couple only counted as one household. Instead of 100,000, Sophia had to pay double now. Once they got the money, they got remarried, and the extra 100,000 was treated as extra ie. Perhaps marriage was not meant to be that strict, especially when it involved a great benefit. After all, a marriage certificate was just a piece of paper worth nine dors. Linus wanted to use this marriage to gain more approval, and Sophia wanted to use this marriage to gain more time and opportunity for herself and Michael. She had already taken over the standard Dragon Eye mobile phone business. It was a step closer to sess. If she married Linus, then she could easily step through that big door that she had been looking forward to! However, she remained hesitant and eventually said, ¡°I can¡¯t make a decision yet. Let me think about it. I will give you an answer tomorrow.¡± He dly agreed. That night, Sophia went to Cooper to ask for his opinion, and he gave his approval right away. He even advised, ¡°Getting married to Linus will enable you to get more involved in the family business sooner. After all, you¡¯re not nning on remarrying Michael any time soon.¡± ¡°Linuscks status in the family, but he has status in thepany. Whereas you have status in the family butck status in thepany. The both of you can be of help to each other. Besides, it¡¯s a fake marriage; no more than a formal procedure. I am quite fond of Linus as well. Even though I¡¯ve always been rooting for him, blood runs deep in the family. I nned to find someone within the family for Linus to marry when he came of age, but it¡¯s been dragged out until now. To get recognized by the family, he has been down the wrong path before. He has suffered quite a bit over the years!¡± Sophia was still hesitant, so she decided to give Michael a call. She needed to get his opinion on this sort of matter. On the other side, Michael had just gotten off the ne and was probably on his way to the filming location in a mountainous region where the line was bad. If she did not call him now, then she might not be able to reach him anymore. When he picked up, they exchanged greetings for a bit, then she prepared to tell him about her fake marriage with Linus. She was decently keen to go ahead with the fake marriage. It was just a legal matter. When the opportunity came, she would divorce Linus and marry Michael again. ¡°Hubby, I think this fake marriage is worth considering. You and I can¡¯t keep living in ambiguity for the rest of our lives. If I marry Uncle Linus now, he will gain the family¡¯s approval, and I can use this opportunity to take on more responsibilities in the business. Once I get more authority in internal family affairs, I can fight for us. Hubby, don¡¯t worry. Uncle Linus isn¡¯t straight!¡± ¡­ It felt like Sophia was talking to herself the whole time while Michael remained quiet on the other end, but she could still hear the heaviness in his breathing. He will probably be quite resistant to this fake marriage. After staying silent for a while, the familiar clear and robust voice came through the phone. ¡°Sure. We had a fake divorce once. What¡¯s the big deal with a fake marriage?¡± Letting out a sigh of relief, she did not think that Michael would agree so quickly. Nheless, he was a smart person and was able to see the underlying implications. Meanwhile, in Linus¡¯ room, Lucky was sprawled on the ground and looking up at Linus who was on the phone by his desk. He had a wired telephone hooked up to hisputer and some software opened on his screen. With a nk expression on his face, he said into the microphone, ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the filming location. The line might be bad.¡± Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 1041 Chapter 1041 ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the filming location. We¡¯re entering an isted area now. The line might be bad.¡± Sophia was on the phone with Michael, but his voice kept cutting out. It looked like they were losing connection. ¡°Okay, you should focus on filming now then. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± She blew a kiss into the phone. After the call ended, however, she still felt uneasy. On the one hand, she was thinking about the advantages that a fake marriage would bring. Even though family did not equate entirely to business, the Michel Group was currently being managed by Linus and Alice. Fass¡¯ daughter did not have as much authority as Linus¡¯ wife would have. If she and Linus got married, it would be much easier to enter the company. On the other hand, her conscience was bugging her. The more she thought about it, the more the fake marriage seemed flustering and awkward. Moreover, she was going to marry her own uncle. She spent the whole night tossing and turning in bed, wondering if Michael was in the same state as she was in. On the other side of the world, Michael was filming a movie in a mountainous region. There were many developed ces overseas, but the infrastructure in some ces was just unlike Cethos¡¯, especially when it came to phone signals. All in all, they even had Wi-Fi connection in their subway stations in Cethos while many ces overseas did not even have a basic mobilework. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Once Michael arrived at the filming location, he grabbed his high-end Dragon Eye phone and searched for a signal everywhere. He eventually managed to call Sophia, but it kept indicating that her line was busy. When the call finally went through, her voice came in choppy and they were unable to say a complete sentence. Later, he gave a call to Justin that also only went through after a long while and sounded just as choppy. Some time ago, he nned to let Cooper drop the search for his son, but a flood of events urred and the matter ended up being dyed. Now that he was overseas, he entrusted Justin with the matter. On the other hand, since they found Lorelei and brought her home, Cooper feared that Justin would sense something if he had nothing better to do, so he started sending Justin out to look for his son on his behalf. ording to Michael¡¯s n, he was going to make Cooper abandon the search by the end of the month. Through their choppy conversation, Michael was able to receive an update on Sophia. Justin replied, ¡°She¡¯s been quite busytely with the partnership contract with Ronney. The line over there is bad, so video calls won¡¯t work. Carmen has no way of seeing you. These days, we¡¯ve been fooling her with fake video calls from you.¡± ¡°Fake video calls? What¡¯s that?¡± The line started to cut out again. ¡°Video¡­ with this software¡­ edited¡­ your voice¡­bined to produce a conversation and vague image¡­¡± Even with the bits of information, Michael knew what was happening, and it made him feel anxious. He could not see his precious daughter and kiss his wife, but the phone signal there was certainly not of much help. It¡¯ll be over soon. It¡¯s just slightly over a month. I¡¯ll go home right after we¡¯re done here! Taking the opportunity when there was still a connection, he quickly asked Justin about Cooper¡¯s search for his son. ording to their n, Justin should be helping him look for his son now. But there was a heaviness in Justin¡¯s choppy voice. ¡°A change in ns¡­ moved the grave¡­ the casket was empty.¡± ¡­ On the outskirts of Riverdale in Bayside City, the Johnson Family Vige¡¯s cemetery, which was usually isted except on Ancestors¡¯ Day, was crowded with people today. Today was the day they were going to move Annabel¡¯s grave. Cooper found another tomb for her. He wanted her to receive a grand burial as his wife. When they dug out the grave and opened the casket, however, they found that it was empty. ¡°What happened?¡± The Johnson Family members were ncing at one another. Cooper stared at the empty casket and did not want to believe his eyes. Annabel¡¯s casket was empty! He jumped into the grave and observed the casket. It was simple. At the time of her death, things were hectic and they had prepared the casket hastily. It was almost broken now, but it was definitely empty. There was no corpse or any burial objects. The vigers were pointing at the casket. ¡°How did that happen? Her uncle and I were the ones that buried her that year! I still remember how hot it was that day. She passed away in the afternoon, but we were unable to get an ice casket, and the morgue was too expensive. We quickly brought her home that night and buried her. I evenid the final layer of soil!¡± ¡­ While everyone was pointing and whispering, Sophia rushed forward to look and Justin jumped down to observe. ¡°Someone tried to open it. Look at the marks. It was done a long time ago¡ªat least twenty years ago.¡± Cooper did not look good. With his hands on the casket, he was looking at the empty space inside and radiating a frightening presence throughout his body. Who dared to touch his Annabel? The vigers were also making guesses. Annabel was dead, and there weren¡¯t any expensive burial objects in there. What maniac dug her body up? She had gotten pregnant before marriage. Even though people talked behind her back, no one held a grudge against her. Who could have that much hatred for her that they would dig up a dead person¡¯s body? The vigers talked among themselves when suddenly someone shrieked, ¡°I know who did this! It must be him¡ªAiden Johnson!¡± At the mention of that name, Cooper suddenly remembered that Annabel had two older brothers. One was Liam, and the other was Aiden. Liam and his family advanced abroad and had not been back in years. Meanwhile, the second brother, Aiden, was released from prison less than a year ago. The reason he served time in prison was that he stole a female corpse! A man who died before he got married was given a female corpse to be buried with him. It was said that he needed a wife; otherwise, he would wreak havoc on the whole family. The female corpse was usually purchased. These days, they were sold for thousands. The younger and fresher they were, the better. The ones who weren¡¯t married yet were the best. But, looking for a female corpse was not easy, since not everyone was willing to sell their family for money. When Annabel passed away that year, someone came to ask if they wanted to sell her corpse, but the Johnsons kicked that person out. She might have been dead, but how could they sell their own daughter? Some who could not buy a female corpse targeted females who were already buried underground. That was how it produced a group of desperate people who only stole freshly buried female corpses to sell. Aiden was sent to prison because he stole a female corpse. He went in and out of prison countless times for the same reason. At this point, he had only been out for less than a year. When Annabel¡¯s body went missing, he was the first person that came to all of their minds! The family head was fuming mad. He assumed that Aiden had stolen from other graves, but who would have thought that he would desecrate his own sister¡¯s grave? Knowing that Annabel¡¯s body could have been stolen to be a ghost bride, both Cooper and Sophia were quivering with anger. ¡°Bring Aiden to me right now!¡± the family head shouted and the people got moving. They quickly dragged a boorish and thin middle-aged man over and flung him in front of Annabel¡¯s empty casket. Chapter 1042 Chapter 1042 ¡°I¡¯m on my way to the filming location. We¡¯re entering an isted area now. The line might be bad.¡± Sophia was on the phone with Michael, but his voice kept cutting out. It looked like they were losing connection. ¡°Okay, you should focus on filming now then. I¡¯m hanging up.¡± She blew a kiss into the phone. After the call ended, however, she still felt uneasy. On the one hand, she was thinking about the advantages that a fake marriage would bring. Even though family did not equate entirely to business, the Michel Group was currently being managed by Linus and Alice. Fass¡¯ daughter did not have as much authority as Linus¡¯ wife would have. If she and Linus got married, it would be much easier to enter the company. On the other hand, her conscience was bugging her. The more she thought about it, the more the fake marriage seemed flustering and awkward. Moreover, she was going to marry her own uncle. She spent the whole night tossing and turning in bed, wondering if Michael was in the same state as she was in. On the other side of the world, Michael was filming a movie in a mountainous region. There were many developed ces overseas, but the infrastructure in some ces was just unlike Cethos¡¯, especially when it came to phone signals. All in all, they even had Wi-Fi connection in their subway stations in Cethos while many ces overseas did not even have a basic mobilework. Once Michael arrived at the filming location, he grabbed his high-end Dragon Eye phone and searched for a signal everywhere. He eventually managed to call Sophia, but it kept indicating that her line was busy. When the call finally went through, her voice came in choppy and they were unable to say a complete sentence. Later, he gave a call to Justin that also only went through after a long while and sounded just as choppy. Some time ago, he nned to let Cooper drop the search for his son, but a flood of events urred and the matter ended up being dyed. Now that he was overseas, he entrusted Justin with the matter. On the other hand, since they found Lorelei and brought her home, Cooper feared that Justin would sense something if he had nothing better to do, so he started sending Justin out to look for his son on his behalf. ording to Michael¡¯s n, he was going to make Cooper abandon the search by the end of the month. Through their choppy conversation, Michael was able to receive an update on Sophia. Justin replied, ¡°She¡¯s been quite busytely with the partnership contract with Ronney. The line over there is bad, so video calls won¡¯t work. Carmen has no way of seeing you. These days, we¡¯ve been fooling her with fake video calls from you.¡± ¡°Fake video calls? What¡¯s that?¡± The line started to cut out again. ¡°Video¡­ with this software¡­ edited¡­ your voice¡­bined to produce a conversation and vague image¡­¡± Even with the bits of information, Michael knew what was happening, and it made him feel anxious. He could not see his precious daughter and kiss his wife, but the phone signal there was certainly not of much help. It¡¯ll be over soon. It¡¯s just slightly over a month. I¡¯ll go home right after we¡¯re done here! Taking the opportunity when there was still a connection, he quickly asked Justin about Cooper¡¯s search for his son. ording to their n, Justin should be helping him look for his son now. But there was a heaviness in Justin¡¯s choppy voice. ¡°A change in ns¡­ moved the grave¡­ the casket was empty.¡± ¡­ On the outskirts of Riverdale in Bayside City, the Johnson Family Vige¡¯s cemetery, which was usually isted except on Ancestors¡¯ Day, was crowded with people today. Today was the day they were going to move Annabel¡¯s grave. Cooper found another tomb for her. He wanted her to receive a grand burial as his wife. When they dug out the grave and opened the casket, however, they found that it was empty. ¡°What happened?¡± The Johnson Family members were ncing at one another. Cooper stared at the empty casket and did not want to believe his eyes. Annabel¡¯s casket was empty! He jumped into the grave and observed the casket. It was simple. At the time of her death, things were hectic and they had prepared the casket hastily. It was almost broken now, but it was definitely empty. There was no corpse or any burial objects. The vigers were pointing at the casket. ¡°How did that happen? Her uncle and I were the ones that buried her that year! I still remember how hot it was that day. She passed away in the afternoon, but we were unable to get an ice casket, and the morgue was too expensive. We quickly brought her home that night and buried her. I evenid the final layer of soil!¡± ¡­ While everyone was pointing and whispering, Sophia rushed forward to look and Justin jumped down to observe. ¡°Someone tried to open it. Look at the marks. It was done a long time ago¡ªat least twenty years ago.¡± Cooper did not look good. With his hands on the casket, he was looking at the empty space inside and radiating a frightening presence throughout his body. Who dared to touch his Annabel? The vigers were also making guesses. Annabel was dead, and there weren¡¯t any expensive burial objects in there. What maniac dug her body up? She had gotten pregnant before marriage. Even though people talked behind her back, no one held a grudge against her. Who could have that much hatred for her that they would dig up a dead person¡¯s body? The vigers talked among themselves when suddenly someone shrieked, ¡°I know who did this! It must be him¡ªAiden Johnson!¡± At the mention of that name, Cooper suddenly remembered that Annabel had two older brothers. One was Liam, and the other was Aiden. Liam and his family advanced abroad and had not been back in years. Meanwhile, the second brother, Aiden, was released from prison less than a year ago. The reason he served time in prison was that he stole a female corpse! A man who died before he got married was given a female corpse to be buried with him. It was said that he needed a wife; otherwise, he would wreak havoc on the whole family. The female corpse was usually purchased. These days, they were sold for thousands. The younger and fresher they were, the better. The ones who weren¡¯t married yet were the best. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. But, looking for a female corpse was not easy, since not everyone was willing to sell their family for money. When Annabel passed away that year, someone came to ask if they wanted to sell her corpse, but the Johnsons kicked that person out. She might have been dead, but how could they sell their own daughter? Some who could not buy a female corpse targeted females who were already buried underground. That was how it produced a group of desperate people who only stole freshly buried female corpses to sell. Aiden was sent to prison because he stole a female corpse. He went in and out of prison countless times for the same reason. At this point, he had only been out for less than a year. When Annabel¡¯s body went missing, he was the first person that came to all of their minds! The family head was fuming mad. He assumed that Aiden had stolen from other graves, but who would have thought that he would desecrate his own sister¡¯s grave? Knowing that Annabel¡¯s body could have been stolen to be a ghost bride, both Cooper and Sophia were quivering with anger. ¡°Bring Aiden to me right now!¡± the family head shouted and the people got moving. They quickly dragged a boorish and thin middle-aged man over and flung him in front of Annabel¡¯s empty casket. Chapter 1043 Chapter 1043 That man was Aiden Johnson. Previously, Sophia had seen a photo of him at the Johnson Residence. He had wretched and shrewd inverted triangr eyes. His body was so skinny that he was all bones and skin. On the back of his hands were various needle scars of unknown origins. His entire body had a deathlike pallor, and his back was hunched. He didn¡¯t look human but more like a ghost. Cooper could not believe that Annabel had a brother like him. As the saying went ¡®spare the rod and spoil the child¡¯. Back then, Annabel sacrificed her chance to study and went to work instead. It was so that she could earn enough money to allow her two elder brothers to continue their studies. In the end, one molested a child while the other stole a corpse. How tragic it was for her to be born into such a family! Aiden copsed to the ground in horror. Before he could react to anything, arge hand reached toward him from above and fiercely grabbed him by the neck. A man looked down at him condescendingly. ¡°Tell me Anna¡¯s whereabouts in a single sentence. If you dare to lie, I will crush your throat!¡± Despite struggling like a monkey, Aiden was unable to break free of Cooper¡¯s grip. Cooper was wearing gloves. He exerted force, squeezing Aiden¡¯s hand so strongly that he broke his hand. Thus, Aiden let out a hoarse scream, trembling in fear. ¡°Have mercy! I was wrong! I did it! I dug her up! Have mercy on me! I won¡¯t dare to do it again!¡± Upon learning that the culprit was truly Aiden, Cooper stomped on Aiden in a rage. He wanted to kill this man; he did not hold any kindness for the person who couldmit such desecration against Annabel. Afraid that Cooper might lose control and trample Aiden to death, Sophia hurriedly asked somebody to drag Aiden to the side. After the severe beating, Aiden wept as he confessed. When Annabel breathed herst, the hospital asked them if they were willing to sell her corpse for money. A youngdy¡¯s corpse was worth 1000 back then. That was a lot of money! At the time, Mr. Johnson, Liam, and Aiden agreed to sell her corpse for money, hoping to have some use for their garbage. To their surprise, Mrs. Johnson invited Annabel¡¯s grandfather over, threatened the buyer in front of everybody, and chased the buyer away. In the end, the corpse was not sold. However, Aiden couldn¡¯t forget about the money. On the night Annabel was buried, he stealthily dug her corpse back up and sold her body to the hospital that offered to buy her in the first ce. Belongs ? to N?velDrama.Org. ¡°That buyer¡­ His son was about to be buried after dying in a car ident that day. But, he was not married, and his family was worried that he might haunt them after his death¡­¡± Aiden begged for mercy with tears and snot flowing down his face, prostrating himself before them. Upon hearing what he said, everybody within the family was livid at the thought that he would dare to harm his own sister! Meanwhile, Justin quickly sent people to investigate the people who bought Annabel¡¯s corpse. It was easier to search for the family, as they might have left traces behind,pared to searching for Cooper¡¯s long-lost son. After several twists and turns, they found the grave of the boy that died in the ident twelve hourster. Upon excavating the grave, they found a pair of skeletons inside¡ªthey clearly belonged to a male and a female. ¡°Anna! Anna¡­¡± Cooper sobbed uncontrobly; he finally found Annabel¡¯s corpse. Right now, he was no longer the greatly aplished and all-powerful Cooper Mitchell. He was simply a pitiful man who just learned that the corpse of his deceased lover had been stolen and sold off as a match for necrogamy¡ª an arranged marriage between the dead. He was simultaneously furious and heartbroken. As he was emotionally disturbed by the sight of Annabel¡¯s corpse, he lost part of his reasoning. Still, Sophia was very vignt as she studied the shifty-eyed Aiden. She was suspicious of him; she had the feeling that he was lying. ¡°Justin, can I ask you to do something? Can you perform a DNA test on the corpse? I suspect this man is lying.¡± Justin said, ¡°Sure. Let mepare the DNA between this man and the corpse. Since they are biological siblings, we¡¯ll get a match. If it doesn¡¯t match, I will slice his head off!¡± As he spoke, he deliberately red at Aiden fiercely. When Aiden heard that they were going to perform a DNA test on the corpse, he shuddered in fear and nearly lost control of his bowel movements. ¡°No! I swear I¡¯m speaking the truth! Anna¡­ Anna isn¡¯t my biological sister! We don¡¯t share a drop of blood between us, so you won¡¯t be able to check with my DNA!¡± Everybody was shocked by his words. Annabel was not Aiden¡¯s biological sister?! What was going on?! Lying on the ground, he wept piteously. ¡°Our entire family is so ugly. How could we possibly produce a daughter as beautiful as Anna?! When I was younger, I identally overheard a conversation between my mother and my grandmother. After my mother gave birth to my sister in the hospital, she identally lost my sister and was unable to exin it to my father when she returned. Hence, my grandmother went to the train station and stole a baby girl to rece the one my mother lost!¡± Everybody was shocked and immediately started gossiping among themselves. No wonder Annabel did not look like anybody from the Johnson Family¡ªit turned out that she was a stolen child! Staring at Annabel¡¯s bones nkly, Cooper¡­ couldn¡¯t say anything. He even lost the ability to think and could only subconsciously murmur under his breath, ¡°Anna¡­ Anna¡­¡± At this point, it was meaningless to obsess about Annabel¡¯s origins when she died so many years ago. Sophia was already 28 this year; that meant that Annabel had been dead for nearly 28 years now. Sophia kept herposure. Violently stomping on Aiden¡¯s hand and grinding her foot against his hand as hard as she could, she coldly said, ¡°I¡¯ll believe you for the time being! If you¡¯re lying, I¡¯ll make sure you wish you were dead!¡± Turning her head, she quietly whispered to Justin, ¡°I still suspect that this guy is hiding something from us. Why don¡¯t you use my DNA instead?¡± Justin nodded, temporarily forgetting about finding a signal to contact Michael. He hurriedly extracted some DNA from Sophia and the corpse to perform the DNA test. Traveling through the night, he returned to Bayside City. On the other hand, Sophia and Cooper stayed at the guesthouse in Johnson Family Vige for the time being while Aiden was locked up. Cooper had experienced a lot of emotional instability today. He was unable to remain calm anytime he came across something rted to Annabel. Losing her was a heartache that would remain for as long as he lived! For that reason, Sophia did not voice her concerns. Instead, she quietly asked Justin to return to Bayside City with the DNA samples so that he could obtain the results of the DNA test as soon as possible. It waste at night when Sophia finally called Michael. Unfortunately, she still couldn¡¯t get the call to go through. Although the call connected once, the signal was unstable¡ªso much so that she couldn¡¯t even get two sentences in before the call dropped. I wonder where they are filming the movie. Why is the signal so terrible? Upon learning that Aiden had lied, Cooper rushed toward the room where Aiden was being detained like a rampaging dragon. ¡°Where on earth is Anna?! Where is she?!¡± It seemed like Cooper hadpletely lost control of his emotions. At this point, Sophia was afraid that he might be unable to stop himself from strangling Aiden to death. If that happened, they would never be able to locate Annabel¡¯s corpse. Therefore, she quickly asked Roger and the others to drag Cooper away. Stepping on Aiden, who was bruised and battered from the beating, she coldly said, ¡°The Johnson Family was around during the day. My father did not kill you on the spot out of respect for them. But, they aren¡¯t here now. We can kill you at any time! So, are you going to talk?!¡± Chapter 1044 Chapter 1044 Aiden clutched at his head and repeated the same words. ¡°Have mercy on me! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either! I handed the body over to them myself! I don¡¯t know anything else!¡± Sophia knew that he was lying. Looking at the needle scars on his arms, she immediately had an idea. Soon, Roger brought some items over and ced them in front of Aiden. Upon seeing those items, Aiden screamed like a banshee. It was his life¡¯s blood¡ªheroin. He was a drug addict that had been injecting heroin for years. When the addiction of a drug addict red up, they were willing to say anything. Sure enough; he spilled everything. It turned out that he had just dug up Annabel¡¯s corpse on that fateful night twenty years ago when he met a man before he could even step out of the cemetery. That person bought her corpse and paid 10,000 for it. 10,000 was an incredibly large amount of money at the time. Thus, he happily sold off her corpse and dug up another random female corpse nearby for the family at the hospital. Not knowing where her body was now, he casually led them to the female corpse he sold off previously. At first, he assumed that he could fool them since all that was left after twenty years was a pile of bones. He did not expect them to be so technologically adept that they could determine whether it was Annabel just by matching her DNA. ¡°What did that person look like? What was their name? Where did theye from?¡± Sophia continued questioning. The drug Aiden craved so much was ced right in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t enjoy it. Hence, he was so anxious that he looked like he was willing to sell his soul for it. No matter what questions they asked him, he answered without fail. ¡°I don¡¯t know him. By the time I finished digging, he was already there when I turned around. I nearly died of fright when he appeared at the grave in the middle of the night like that! But, I really don¡¯t know him! Besides, it has been twenty years, and it was very dark at the time. I don¡¯t know anything else¡­ Please give it to me! Just let me take it¡­ Just a little bit¡­¡±Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Sophia could tell that there was nothing else she could get from the man in front of her, and she felt a chill in her heart. How I wish I could kick him to death! There was nothing else for her to learn from him. It was dark that night, and he only saw that person¡¯s figure. Still, so many years had passed, and he couldn¡¯t describe that person¡¯s appearance anymore. It was impossible for them to figure out who the buyer of Annabel¡¯s corpse was at this point. Snatching the heroin from them, Aiden began inhaling it frantically. At that moment, he looked more like a ghost than a human. In contrast, Cooper fell silent. He was unusually silent as he nkly sat there with bloodshot eyes. It seemed like he couldn¡¯t wake himself up from the great shock he had experienced all day. That was his beloved¡ªthe one he could never forget but had lost through a strange sequence of fated events! Yet now, he couldn¡¯t even find her! Comparatively, Sophia was a lot calmer than he was, considering that she had never experienced life with Annabel before. After all, Annabel passed away on the day she was born. For that reason, she was still much calmer than he was at the moment, even though she, too, was filled with sorrow and rage. ¡°Dad, I heard from Aiden that he sneaked out to the grave in the middle of the night and dug up Mom¡¯s body. As soon as he finished digging, he turned around and saw the person that offered to buy her corpse for 10,000. I don¡¯t believe an ordinary person would show up in a cemetery in the middle of the night, much less carry 10,000 around with them. Plus, who would go out of their way to buy a corpse for 10,000? I¡¯m guessing that that person might be an acquaintance of Mom¡¯s or somebody sent there by an acquaintance. Moreover, they were there specifically to take her body away. Even if Aiden didn¡¯t make the first move, that person would have done the same. It just so happened that Aiden was one step ahead.¡± Lightly shaking Cooper, who was about to faint, she asked, ¡°Dad, think back carefully. Back then, who, among Mom¡¯s acquaintances, could afford to spend 10,000 and might have known about her circumstances? Cooper closed his eyes, vigorously trying to recall everything he knew about Annabel in his memories. In the end, he shook his head. He actually knew little about Annabel. When he first met her, they were both very young¡ªthey were only 16. They had gotten to know each other and fallen in love in their ignorance. As a result, he had never met her family nor visited her house before despite knowing about her family circumstances. Not to mention, their rtionship had been a secret that not many knew about. Besides, she did not have many friends. Her social circles were very limited, and she generally hung out with him. The serving staff that worked with her were jealous of her beauty, so they rarely interacted with her and even teamed up to exclude her from their circles. Therefore, he had never seen her with any other friends. The only other person they both knew was Sam Edwards. Sam was 14 years old at the time. He was still studying and had yet to step into the political world. However, he was extremely talented. He took over the family business at a young age. It was his first business, and it was a restaurant that was not particrly well-run. As soon as he took over the ce, he changed its name to ¡®Crimson House¡¯. On the other hand, the 16-year-old Annabel had just dropped out of middle school and came to the city to look for work. Thus, she became one of Crimson House¡¯s earliest employees. The restaurant was located near the university. Since Cooper and Sam were very close friends, Cooper often went there to eat. At the time, she was a fair and slender beauty¡ªshe was the prettiest member of the serving staff, as well as the restaurant¡¯s unofficial mascot. She charmed many men, including him. Theyter got to know each other and fell in love. At the peak of their love, something happened and they eloped. Afterward, they were caught and a tragedy ensued¡­ Who on earth was it that took Annabel¡¯s corpse away? The willingness to pay 10,000 in exchange for a female corpse 28 years ago¡­ couldn¡¯t have been for something like necrogamy. Could it have been a medical institute that was looking for corpses to perform experiments on? Or, was a medical school nearby buying corpses to use for their teaching materials? Did somebody from the Mitchell Family take her corpse away? But, why would they do that? Anna¡­ Why did they do that to my beloved Anna?! Cooper¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, and his head felt like it was going to split apart. Even so, he couldn¡¯t think of any leads. 28 years was simply far too long ago¡­ Sophia knew that too many things had happened today, and he was still in shock. He probably couldn¡¯t recall anything more in his current state. Hence, sheforted him and told him to rest. However, she could not fall asleep. After ruminating and struggling over it all night, she finally decided to question the Johnsons. Perhaps they knew something. The next day, all members of the Johnson Family who coulde were gathered in the Johnson Family¡¯s ancestral hall. Squeezing in the yard, they gossiped about the disappearance of Annabel¡¯s corpse. Meanwhile, Sophia sat on the rattan chair in the middle of the great hall. She had an extraordinary aura around her as she watched the Johnson Family standing before her. Then, she announced loudly, ¡°Everybody, think back to the time my mother was still alive. Were there any strange or special people that she interacted with before she died? No matter how big or how small the clue you give me, or no matter good or bad, as long as you have news, I will reward you.¡± She was very straightforward. Stacking a huge pile of money on the table before her, her slender fingers tapped against the stacks of cash. When everybody saw the mountain of money, their eyes widened. There were at least several hundred thousand scattered across the table. All of a sudden, their memory became sharp as they racked their brains and started providing clues of what they knew, one after the other. A woman, who looked to be in her forties, suddenly waved her rough hands from among the crowd and yelled, ¡°I know something! I know something! After Anna dropped out of school, she worked at my noodle restaurant. One day, a bigshot came into my shop and took an interest in her. After that, he brought her to the city to work!¡± Chapter 1045 Chapter 1045 Needless to say, one¡¯s beauty would fade after 28 years. Besides, Jordan had grown older¡ªso much so that his hair was starting to grey. However, Sophiapared the two men¡¯s photos side by side and discovered that aside from their ages, both men were vastly different. 28 years ago, Jordan had a sharp aura, a steely gaze, and a towering arrogance. He had a frivolous and domineering attitude that looked down on others. However, the man she met 28 yearster was a sly and wretched little old man with arge potbelly. No matter how she looked at them, she had the feeling that they were not the same person. All things aside, Jordan owned a BMW back then. More importantly, he was also Cooper¡¯s greatest enemy. ording to Cooper, he was just an underaged boy 30 years ago. On the other hand, Jordan was already the head of the Edwards Family by then. Even so, he felt jealousy and hatred for a child 10 years younger than himself. He was the kind of man who would eradicate all his potential enemies, even if the opponent was just a child. As a result, many promising young geniuses in Bayside City met an untimely end, and he was the mastermind behind their deaths. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Although Jordan and Sam were brothers, they constantlypeted with each other. Back when Sam was still active in the political scene, he nearly became president at one time. However, he was only one step away from bing the president when he suddenly retired from politics and returned to doing business. It was rumored that Jordan was behind that incident too. Sam and Cooper were Jordan¡¯s enemies. Even if those two were just teenagers at the time, Jordan would not hesitate to take action against them. If the bigshot who had taken Annabel away from the Johnsons turned out to be Jordan¡­ Sophia suddenly felt a chill running down her back. Her heart pounded wildly, and her eyes were filled with horror and disbelief¡ªher hand holding the photos started trembling. If¡­ Annabel was already acquainted with Jordan before she started working, and Jordan was the one to introduce her to her workce¡­ Annabel was taken away by Jordan when she was 15. Upon turning 16, she appeared at Sam¡¯s first independently-run business¡ªthe restaurant known as the Crimson House¡ªas part of his first batch of employees¡­ Not only that, but she also met Sam and fell in love with Cooper through her connection with Jordan. At the time, Jordan must have begun to fear Cooper¡¯s existence. After all, Cooper was already starting to show his extraordinary talents. He was in the process of writing the world¡¯s first online game and developing the world¡¯s first USB sh disk. He was a genius with unlimited potential as well as the future head of the Mitchell Family. On the other hand, Sophia had never heard Cooper and Sam mentioning the fact that Annabel was already acquainted with Jordan before meeting them. It was highly possible that they werepletely unaware of that fact. Moreover, Cooperter gave up on his promising future, eloped with Annabel to the South, and even encountered assassins along the way¡­ The deeper Sophia dug into the matter, the more frightened she became¡ªit felt as if she was about to unravel a terrible truth. From the start to the end, it was all a conspiracy! It was a huge conspiracy! ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Justin suddenly put his hand on her shoulder when he noticed her staring at Jordan¡¯s photo in a daze. She quickly snapped back to the present and smiled stiffly. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was just taking a second look.¡± Stanley nced at Jordan¡¯s handsome picture on theputer and said in disgust, ¡°Look at you; your eyes must have gone blind after staring so hard at these handsome guys! Tsk!¡± She did not respond. Instead, she silently crossed Jordan¡¯s name from the list of suspects. She was scared. She didn¡¯t dare to question the authenticity of her parents¡¯ love¡ªshe did not have the courage to do so. If the person who took Annabel away back then turned out to be Jordan, it would be a hugely painful and shocking blow for both Cooper and her. Cooper could never ept it, and neither could I¡­ For the moment, Justin put the matter of searching for Cooper¡¯s long-lost son aside and focused all his efforts on helping Sophia locate her mother. Thus, he went back to Johnson Family Vige to look for clues. Before returning to the city, he avoided everyone else as he went to the house of the woman who once worked with Annabel at the noodle restaurant. As soon as the woman opened the door, she was very surprised to see him. However, he did not waste time on pleasantries. Taking out a photo, he showed it to the woman. ¡°The bigshot that took Annabel away back then; was it this man?¡± That woman leaned closer and studied the hooked-nosed man in the photo. The man in the photo was unusually handsome and noble. Looking at it, she thought back to the man in her memories. Finally, she said affirmatively, ¡°It¡¯s him! He was so good-looking that I still remember him now.¡± Upon hearing those words, Justin¡¯s expression suddenly became somber. Sure enough; it¡¯s him¡­ Then, he rushed back to the Edwards Residence with this information. However, he did not know how to bring this information up with Sophia. The further they looked into this matter, the more he realized that what they might discover could potentially be an uneptable truth for all the parties involved. Seeing as this matter took ce such a long time ago, and the person involved has already been dead for 28 years now¡­ Perhaps¡­ what happened back then isn¡¯t so important anymore¡­ Perhaps, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore¡­ Pondering over what he should say when he met Sophiater, he drove toward the Edwards Residence. To his surprise, he saw Linus as he walked out of the garage. It seemed like Linus had been waiting for him for a long time. He hesitated slightly upon noticing Linus. Avoiding his gaze, he did not greet Linus immediately. Although Linus was very weed at this house, he knew that Linus was not to be taken lightly. Justin had not forgotten that he once worked with the Phantom Wolf to spy on the Fletcher Family¡¯s situation. Based on Michael¡¯s progress, Linus should have joined Cooper¡¯s household registry by now. However, Justin had been helping Sophia search for Annabel over the past few days¡ªso much so that he forgot about the preparations to remove Cooper¡¯s son from the household registry. He had to be smart and careful about it throughout the process. If it was done in a way that was unnatural and was discovered by Cooper or Linus as a result, Michael would be digging his own grave. Not only would Michael be punished severely, but it would also drag Justin down with him too. Therefore, Justin had to make careful preparations to ensure everything went naturally. Still, he had been too busy these past few days and had been postponing the issue as a result. Mulling over it, he walked toward Linus. ¡°Mr. Michel, why are you here?¡± Linus stood without moving. His handsome face had an unspeakably lonely and worried expression. ¡°Recently, Fass has been extremely upset over Annabel¡¯s affairs. He haspletely copsed mentally¡­ He seems¡­ emotionless, but he¡¯s actually just the most determined. The shock he experienced this time around is too huge.¡± Justin did not understand what Linus was trying to say and chose to remain silent. Then, Linus continued, ¡°Thank you for your hard work during this period. I¡¯m very sorry that I couldn¡¯t help you with anything.¡± Cooper had given all authority to Justin and Sophia, be it in the search for Annabel or the search for his son. For some reason, Linus had not been involved in these endeavors. Perhaps he felt that he shouldn¡¯t trouble Linus with his personal matters. Thus, Justin calmly replied, ¡°Mr. Michel, you¡¯re a busy man. I can deal with these matters myself. Besides, I¡¯ve been doing tasks like these for the past few years. After the two exchanged greetings, Justin entered the Edwards Residence. He decided to keep quiet about that for now and went to meet Celine first. Celine had been very anxious recently because she couldn¡¯t get a hold of Michael. Therefore, Justin wanted to rush back to keep herpany. To his surprise, he received a phone call while he was on his way to her¡­ It was 10 PM as Sophia anxiously paced about in her room. Justin mentioned that he was heading to Johnson Family Vige today to search for other leads, but he had yet to return. Logically speaking, he should have arrived home before dark. However, it was already 10 PM, and he was nowhere to be seen. When she tried calling his phone, it was switched off. His Dragon Eye phone had been fully charged before he left the house. Even if he gamed on his phone the entire day, it should not have run out of power. Moreover, the management system did not disy any relevant prompts. Pacing about in her room, she couldn¡¯t get through to Justin¡¯s phone. When she tried Michael¡¯s phone, the signal on the other side was so terrible that it kept breaking up throughout the call. In the end, the call dropped before she could tell him about her discovery today. After hanging up the call with Michael, Sophiay on the bed and stared at the ceiling in a daze. If Justin found something during his investigation today and confirmed my suspicions¡­ won¡¯t it be extremely cruel to Cooper? Chapter 1046 Chapter 1046 Carmen had gone to bed early. She and Lorelei & Co. had been running about all day. The little rascals were so cheeky that they were about to tear the house apart. As a result, she usually went to bed early after tiring herself out. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Sophiay on her bed, tossing and turning. She was unable to fall asleep when she suddenly heard footstepsing from downstairs. ¡°Sophia, it¡¯s sote. Why are you still awake?¡± Opening the window, she saw Linus standing on thewn downstairs in his pajamas. He was looking up at her. Under the streetlight, he was enveloped in a soft yellow glow that made him seem angelic. Lifting his head, his handsome features were very dazzling. Leaning out the window, she greeted him, ¡°Uncle Linus, you¡¯re not asleep either!¡± He replied, ¡°I couldn¡¯t sleep, so I came out for a walk. Are you having trouble sleeping too? Why don¡¯t you join me for a stroll?¡± She considered it briefly, then quickly put on her shoes and went downstairs. Too many things had urred over the past two days. It felt as if her beliefs had been severely tested, and the things that she had taken pride in were on the verge of shattering into pieces. Feeling distressed and hurt, she wanted to vent her worries to somebody. Soon, the two of them took a walk together in the Edwards Residence. The cool breeze that blew across the smallke at night was veryfortable. Moreover, the insects were chirping softly. It was quiet and peaceful¡ªthe entire Edwards Residence felt warm and beautiful. They walked over to the smallke and sat down on a bench. However, she said nothing as she ate a popsicle. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something troubling happen?¡± She finished eating her popsicle and gave a small sigh. Looking at him, she hesitated to speak. In the end, she did not tell him about the matter. She had a terrifying conjecture¡ªone that she desperately hoped was simply her imagination running wild. She also hoped that Justin failed to find anything concrete. At the same time, she was also eager to know the truth, even if it was extremely horrifying. She believed that Annabel Johnson was a beautiful pawn sent by Jordan to deal with Cooper. No; to be precise, Annabel was specifically sent to target Sam. Unexpectedly, Sam and Cooper were friends, and so Cooper was dragged into the n too. At the time, Sam had just received his first business from the Edwards Group. That was the restaurant, which was now known as the world-renowned chain restaurant ¡®Crimson House¡¯. What would have happened to him if he had caused the business, which was handed over to him by his family, to fail? Everybody knew that it was a test. If he passed, he would receive even more attention and resources from the Edwards Family in the future. But, if he failed, he would have beenbeled as trash. He might have been looked down upon by his family, or worse, thrown aside. At the most critical point of his life, an exceptionally beautiful and innocent girl came to his shop. Sam, who was young and frivolous at the time, was so enchanted by her that he nearly forgot all about his business¡­ In the end, the one that waspletely smitten wasn¡¯t Sam, but Cooper. Cooper was originally a genius with limitless potential. He held a double Ph.D. at the tender age of 18. However, the future head of the Mitchell Family was willing to give up on his promising future and position as the head of the family for Annabel¡¯s sake. Eloping with her to the South, he was ready to be an anonymous person for the rest of his life. If their elopement had seeded back then, the Mitchell Family might have let them get away. If that had happened, Jordan would have sessfully gotten rid of one of his potential opponents without any bloodshed. Sophia continued to imagine the worst. Sam was the young master of the Edwards Family while Cooper was the only son of the Mitchell Family. Although they were young, they held noble statuses. They must have met countless women before, but for some reason, both of them coincidentally fell in love with Annabel, who had neither educational background nor ability. All she had was her beauty. The devil in her heart was going wild, and her head was filled with countless unruly thoughts. Could it be that my mother was not as kind and innocent as I had imagined? They were attacked when they were trying to escape. But, only the three of them knew about their elopement. So, who was it that leaked the news? Sam? Cooper? Or¡­ had Annabel tipped them off? She had an even more terrifying thought. What if Annabel and Cooper¡¯s elopement was actually a ploy to get Cooper away from the protection of the Mitchell Family? They wanted to take the opportunity to assassinate him, but before they could do anything¡­ Sam tattled on them to the Mitchell Family in a fit of jealousy, and the Mitchell Family made their move. As a result, Cooper was caught just in time while Annabel was given a death sentence¡­ On the other hand, Annabel failed toplete the mission given to her by Jordan¡ªshe failed to seduce either Cooper or Sam. Thus, she was also abandoned by Jordan and had no choice but to work under the Edwards Family. Later, Jordan visited her again for some reason when she returned home. Moreover, he appeared once more after her death. Sophia pulled her hair back softly and massaged her scalp. Her head felt like a mess. She was extremely scared that the truth would turn out to be just as she had imagined. If so, the beliefs she had firmly built up and the pride she took in them would shatter just like that. She had always believed that she was the product of the great and beautiful love between her parents. She had always believed that her parents were the best in the world. But, everything I believe in¡­ might bepletely destroyed once this riddle is solved. In the end, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to voice her concerns to Linus. Perhaps she was thinking too much into it. Perhaps, that hooked-nosed man was simply a bigshot who was lusting after Annabel. Feeling exhausted, she leaned against the strong shoulder that just happened to be beside her. When she leaned against his shoulder, she immediately felt much better. It was a veryfortable feeling. She had tossed and turned all night; she had been unable to fall asleep in her bedroom. Yet, as soon as she leaned against his shoulder, she felt her sleepiness washing over her as she vaguely felt herself falling asleep. Linus held her by the shoulder and looked down at her tired little face. Then, he gently whispered, ¡°Sleep, sleep¡­ Sleep for a while and all your worries will be gone.¡± She gazed at his sexy lips moving slightly and soon fell asleep. After that, he simply watched her quietly as she slept beside him. The tenderness in his eyes did not disappear. He wished that he could watch her for the rest of his life. No matter how much he looked at her, he would never get bored of it¡­ The next day, Sophia woke up in her room. Rolling over, it took her a long time to recall the events ofst night. No, I need to ask Justin about it. However, she couldn¡¯t find Justin anywhere no matter how much she searched. Reportedly, he received a phone call after he arrived homest night. Then, he rushed out again in a panic as if something urgent hade up. Unable to find Justin anywhere, Sophia brought the documents with her as she searched for Cooper. ¡°Dad! Dad!¡± When Linus heard her calling for Cooper, he reminded her, ¡°Fass went out for a change of pace early this morning. He¡¯s not back yet.¡± A change of pace? Cooper, that recluse, would actually take the initiative to go out for a change of pace? He normally found it troublesome just to take his dog out for a walk¡ªso much so that he specially created a robot to walk the dog on his behalf. Ever since they moved Annabel¡¯s grave, Michael¡¯s signal had been cut off, Justin had rushed off in a panic, and Cooper suddenly went out for a change of pace. Everything is so strange! Don¡¯t tell me; did moving the grave bring about bad luck?! Chapter 1047 Chapter 1047 It looks like we didn¡¯t do a good job at choosing the feng shui. We should¡¯ve hired a professional for something as major as the relocation of a grave. Unfortunately, Daniel was traveling the world, and nobody could locate him. Nobody even knew which part of the hemisphere he was in, plying his scamming trade. It waste at night. Not only did Cooper not return, but Justin did not return either. In the meantime, Sophia spent some time ying mahjong with Sarah and lost 2,000. As it was the World Cup season, she also made some bets on the games. However, whomever she betted on would lose. Thus, she lost more than 200,000 over the next few days. Even the prices of the stocks she bought fell. It feels like I¡¯m doing everything wrong these past few days. She still couldn¡¯t get through Justin¡¯s phone whenever she tried to call him. Moreover, she couldn¡¯t locate his phone either. Feeling anxious, she continued trying to call him. Just as she was about to raise a commotion and send somebody to search for him, he finally answered the phone. His voice was very gloomy. ¡°Sophia, I¡­ know about Lorelei¡­ Please give me some time; I need some time alone.¡± Her heart sank. At the end of the day, he found out anyway. The matters involving Katrina and de, as well as that child¡¯s existence¡ªhe found out everything. I knew we couldn¡¯t keep this matter hidden¡­ I¡¯m sure Justin must be suffering greatly right now. No man could ept that his wife had been in love with another man and even had a child with that man ¡ªnot even if it was something Celine had no control over. Although Katrina had been a temporary and insignificant personality that existed within her, she and Katrina werepletely different people. Even so, Lorelei had been adopted into the Fletcher Family. Moreover, she often spent time with Nathan. Needless to say, Justin probably found it difficult to ept everything that had been thrown at him. If I think about it from another perspective¡­ Supposing Michael had an illegitimate child and the Fletcher Family took the child in. Not only that, but that child also constantly spent time with Carmen in front of me¡­ I think I would die of heartbreak on the spot. Even if I know Michael never meant to betray me, and that child was an unforeseen oue¡­ something like that is still extremely difficult to ept¡­ ¡°For now, why don¡¯t you take a few days off to calm down?¡± Justin might have had trouble epting it, but Celine needed him¡ªtheir little family needed him. He couldn¡¯t keep running from reality forever. Therefore, he would surely return, sooner orter. Sophia told him to take several days off. Then, she tried calling Michael again. The call connected for a mere three seconds. ¡°Chica¡­ halfway done¡­ miss you¡­¡±. In the next moment, the call disconnected again. What a terrible signal! Sigh. She tossed her phone aside, feeling frustrated. Seeing that it was gettingte and Cooper had yet to return, she changed her clothes, rode on a Yamaha bike, and sneaked out the back door. Cooper had not returned for two days now, and she had an idea where he went. Thus, she drove there to look for him. It was veryte, and the park near Bayside University was very quiet¡ªnot a person was in sight. Under the cover of night, the crescent moon was reflected on the dark surface of theke while the calls of the insects and the frogs mixed into the gentle night breeze. It made her agitated nerves calm down instantly. Searching around, she found Cooper by thekeside, just as she expected. He was sitting quietly in a corner, watching the peaceful surface of theke. Like a stone-carved statue, he stared ahead in a daze. This park was filled with beautiful memories of the time he had spent with Annabel. 30 years had passed, and Bayside City had undergone a huge change during that time. The stone- paved road they walked on together had turned into a shopping district; the river in the vige they yed in had been ttened and covered with high-rise buildings. Everything they experienced together had disappeared among the bustling city of Bayside City, bing part of the unrecorded past and vanishing without a trace. Only this old park that had existed for 60 years remained. This ce remained the same as it had 30 years ago, but it was also facing demolition. For that reason, he had bought over the entire park so that he could maintain the park as it had always been back then. It was also his holynd. Whenever he missed Annabel, he woulde here and sit quietly, just as he was doing right now. Looking at the ces he had walked together with her, his heart was filled with a sense of satisfaction and sweetness. After arriving, Sophia said nothing as she sat down beside him. Then, both father and daughter simply sat there quietly, watching the night scenery. As they sat there, 30 minutes passed. She switched her phone off as she enjoyed the peaceful silence to her heart¡¯s content. She knew that the disappearance of Annabel¡¯s body had been a huge shock to him. Moreover, they failed to locate Annabel¡¯s remains even now. Hence, she did not disturb him and left him alone. Everybody needed some peace right now. Besides, she had no idea how to bring up that matter with him. Until now, he was unaware of the hooked-nosed man¡¯s existence. How could anybody ept something like that? Another half an hour passed when the motionless Cooper moved suddenly. He reached out, stroked Sophia¡¯s hair, and sighed. ¡°My daughter¡­¡± Turning his head, he looked at her. Even now, he believed that Sophia was a gift from the heavens¡ªa gift he obtained in exchange for all the happiness in his life. Sophia leaned her head against his shoulder, then looked up at him and said cheekily, ¡°Dad, can you tell me stories about Mom?¡± Upon hearing her request, he fell silent for a minute or so. He was organizing his words in his head, wanting to use the most beautiful words he knew to describe the love of his life. ¡°Your mother was the most wonderful person in the world. She was kind and gentle. Also, she sang beautifully. I felt like I was looking at all the good in the world whenever I looked at her.¡± Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. He asionally smiled or frowned when speaking about Annabel, just like the young man who was deeply in love back then. Despite all these years, he, who had experienced all sorts of things in life, was still the same young man he had been back then. On the other hand, Sophia listened carefully. She had never heard Cooper speaking about Annabel in such detail before. As she listened, she tried hard to look for clues hidden in his memories. Cooper said, ¡°At the time, Sam was still known as Andrea. He had just taken over a restaurant and changed its name to Crimson House. And, your mother was among the first batch of employees at Crimson House. Your mother was very intelligent and capable.¡± His eyes shone with a gentle light as if he was telling the most touching story in the world. ¡°As a business, that restaurant wasn¡¯t doing particrly well. Your mother was promoted from part of the ordinary wait staff to the head waitress, before bing the floor manager, in a short span of time. Together with Sam, they worked on the restaurant and business boomed. Thus, Sam asked me to develop a cash register system for his restaurant.¡± At this point, his eyebrows were dancing, and a smile hung from his lips. ¡°Back then, computers were rare while people who knew how to operateputers were even rarer. When I installed the cash register system in the restaurant, none of the service staff in the restaurant knew how to operate it. Hence, I spent some time every day teaching them how to log in and operate it. That was when I met your mother for the first time. She was incredibly beautiful and intelligent. I only taught her once, yet she understood it immediately. She was such a smartdy!¡± He looked at Sophia, trying to find a shadow of that person from her simr facial features. ¡°You are simr to her. Both of you are icy but intelligent. Unfortunately, her family forced her to drop out of school to work before she could finish her primary education. As a result, she worked as a salesperson and a service staff. She even sold mineral water at the train station before. Despite her youth, she suffered through all sorts of hardships. Even so, she was optimistic, determined, and filled with hope in life. She might have been young, but she was very talented. She quickly became Sam¡¯s right-hand man and worked with him to expand the Crimson House. Haha¡­ Your mother was only 17 or 18 at the time. If she were not living in that era or born into that family¡­ I¡¯m sure she would have achieved something big.¡± Sophia listened seriously, but her heart was filled with doubt. Why is the woman I¡¯m hearing about different from what I discovered during the investigation? Chapter 1048 Chapter 1048 Sophia had always thought of her mother as nothing but a kind and beautiful woman simr to those dumb blondes that sessfully tamed the heart of a domineering president in most modern romance stories. However, it turned out that her mother was a strong and independent woman. No wonder so many of her photos were hanging in Crimson House. As a result, the image of Annabel in Sophia¡¯s heart changed again and again¡ªso much so that she herself didn¡¯t know which one to believe anymore¡­ Perhaps, there was a story hidden behind what happened back then. If Annabel had truly appeared before Cooper with a malicious purpose, Cooper would have noticed it. It was Cooper after all; how could he fail to see through such tricks? If not for love, why would she be so determined to give birth to their child despite the rumors swirling around her? All of a sudden, Sophia felt extremely guilty. I shouldn¡¯t have doubted Annabel. After all, she is my mother! Besides, 30 years had passed. Stories about her mother had turned into myths. Who else would remember a pitiful young woman that had died at a young age, aside from Cooper, Sophia, and those few who cared about her? If not for Sophia making a name for herself over the years; if not for Michael, who was such an amazing husband; if not for Cooper, who returned to recognize Sophia as part of his family, Annabel would still be considered a slut that returned home pregnant after failing to be the mistress of a bigshot. Simrly, Sophia would still be an illegitimate child without a father. Besides, nobody could even clearly recall the exact date Annabel had dropped out of school. Some imed that she was never educated; others imed that she dropped out of primary school; some imed she was illiterate; and others imed that she was a top student that received a schrship and was only forced to drop out of junior high school. Perhaps stories of that hooked-nosed man that drove the BMW were stories of other people that the vigers had tacked onto her name. It had been 30 years after all! One wouldn¡¯t even be able to recall how many trees were nted in front of their house after 30 years; how could they possibly recall how old somebody else¡¯s daughter was when she dropped out of school? However, the Annabel that Cooper knew was the closest to the truth. That was because he truly cared about her¡ªso much so that even if 30 years had passed, he could still remember everything about her clearly¡­ At that thought, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief, and the gloominess that shrouded over her for the past few days dissipated. I¡¯m still the product of love between my parents. I¡¯m so d. The father and daughter pair sat at the park until midnight before they got up to return home. ¡°Dad, let¡¯s get some barbecue!¡± The father and daughter pair walked under the street lights. The streets near the park were still very lively. Many people came out for a jog or to walk their dogs in the coolness of the night, and the stalls along the streets were operating in full swing. Cooper felt slightly repulsed by the sight of the street stalls. Even so, he saw that Sophia was very excited. Thus, he went over, found a ce to sit, and took out his phone to deal with some business matters. asionally, they talked to each other too. Sophia took out her phone and tried to call Michael again. Unfortunately, the results were the same as before¡ªthe line kept breaking up. Out of 10 calls, only one would connect. Moreover, the call would only last for several seconds before it disconnected again. Still, she felt satisfied even though she only managed to exchange a few words with Michael and happily wolfed down her barbecue after ending the call. Looking at the way she was immersed in love, he couldn¡¯t help but think that she was very simr to how he was in the past. Then, she suddenly asked, ¡°Dad, if I really faked a marriage with Uncle Linus, will it be awkward in the future?¡± He replied, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s just a piece of paper. With this marriage certificate, Linus will officially be entered into the Michel Family¡¯s genealogy record book.¡± This matter was giving him a huge headache. The Michel Group was advancing with the times because it had to constantly be innovative to remain at the forefront of the times. It was the only way to maintain its dominant position in the market. However, the Michel Family remained stubbornly conservative. Despite the era they were in, it was still implementing rules from hundreds of years ago. He once tried to initiate a change in the past, but the resistance was too strong. This family that had been passed down for hundreds of years was very sensitive to change. It would never ept any changes easily. Even if he was the head of the family, even if he controlled the Michel Group, many people still stood out to oppose any changes that were proposed. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. As they ate, they chatted. ¡°Master Sam told me that he bought the first Crimson House for my mother¡ª¡± ¡°How could you believe what Sam says?! He was a jerk at the time! He had nothing but money. Everything from big to small matters was dealt with by your mother! She was the one who managed his restaurant and created a turnover of several hundred thousand for him. Yet, he only paid her a sry of 800 each month. How dare he try to woo her after doing that?! He must be dreaming!¡± ¡°The barbecue at this stall is delicious. I¡¯m going to buy some to bring home. I wonder if Uncle Linus will eat it.¡± ¡°Yeah, he will. I always see himing out for barbecued meat while walking the dog alone in the middle of the night.¡± ¡°What?! How could he eat such delicious food behind my back?!¡± ¡­ After they finished eating, Sophia tried to take out her wallet to pay only to discover that she¡­ did not have her wallet with her. All she had on her was a fiver. Thus, she said to the shopkeeper, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring any money. Can I pay by Venmo?¡± The shopkeeper was extremely busy and simply said, ¡°The totales up to 98. The QR code is on the table.¡± Wiping her mouth, she took out her phone and scanned the QR code on the table. With a soft ¡®beep¡¯, she sessfully scanned the code and keyed in ¡®98¡¯, which was the amount that was to be transferred. Just as she was about to press on the ¡®confirm¡¯ button, her hand suddenly froze mid-motion and she stared nkly at the screen¡­ Cooper noticed that something was amiss and nced at her phone. After scanning the QR code to make the payment, the name of the receiving party was disyed on her phone¡ªAnnabel Johnson. The profile picture was that of a middle-aged woman. She had her hair tied up delicately and wore a white apron. That person looked almost identical to Sophia, except that she was slightly older, had wrinkles, and her eyes were more rxed than Sophia¡¯s. When both father and daughter saw the profile picture, they werepletely taken aback. Then, the shopkeeper walked over and asked, ¡°Was your payment sessful? The Venmo ount belongs to the owner, so I can¡¯t see the notification from my side. Please show me your receipt of payment¡­¡± Cooper had taken Sophia¡¯s phone out of her hands and stared at it with an expression of disbelief. It was as if he couldn¡¯t recognize the words ¡®Annabel Johnson¡¯! Noticing that they had yet to pay and were just staring at the owner¡¯s ount, the shopkeeper immediately felt angry. He was about to speak out when he saw a woman approaching on an electric bike. The bike stopped by the side of the barbecue stall, and the woman walked over with a satchel. Her hair was tied up high, and she looked slightly aged. Her skin was rxed and wrinkled, but she still had a noble air around her. She did not seem like the owner of a barbecue stall by the roadside at all. ¡°Heath, how is business tonight?¡± The middle-aged woman spoke with a foreign ent. Upon hearing that voice, Cooper felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He stood up nkly and stared at the woman in a daze. Walking over, the woman talked to the shopkeeper for a bit. Then, the shopkeeper pointed toward them, and the woman nced over. As soon as she saw Cooper, her expression changed drastically. The calm smile on her face stiffened, then it was slowly reced by a dumbstruck look before bing one of shock and disbelief. All of a sudden, her eyes were filled with great joy as she eximed in non-standard Cethosian, ¡°Coop, is that you?!¡± Chapter 1049 Chapter 1049 She rushed toward Cooper, tears of joy running down her jubnt face. On the other hand, Cooper stared at her with trembling lips. A name was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn¡¯t dare to call out the name. He was afraid that it would turn out to be a dream. He was afraid that if he called out that name, he would wake up from the dream. Seeing that he was not saying anything, the woman wept as she threw herself into his arms. ¡°I remember you. You¡¯re Cooper! Cooper, you¡¯re alive! You¡¯re alive¡­¡± When that familiar yet unfamiliar body pressed against his, he felt like he had woken up from a dream. I¡¯m not dreaming! It¡¯s really her! It¡¯s the person I¡¯ve been thinking of all my life, yet couldn¡¯t be together with due to a stroke of fate! ¡°Anna¡­ Is that you?¡± She lifted her face and looked at him. Her wrinkled face was filled with both bitterness and delight. ¡°It¡¯s me! It¡¯s me! I¡¯m Anna! Coop, you¡¯re still alive! You¡¯re alive!¡± ¡°Anna! Oh, my Anna!¡± He fiercely pulled her into his embrace, using a lot of strength; it was almost as if he wanted to pull her into his body. Is this a dream? If this is a dream, I don¡¯t want to wake up from it. I want to keep dreaming forever! Looking at the two people crying tears of joy, Sophia felt very shocked. Is this person my mother? Annabel Johnson? She¡¯s back?! Afterward, the Edwards Residence was in an uproar as everybody came out to watch. Sure enough, they saw Cooper bringing a middle-aged woman home. Moreover, the woman looked very simr to Sophia. Thus, Cooper¡¯s family was reunited, and they celebrated happily. Sophia felt like a blessed child¡ªnot only did she get a father, but she also had a mother now. ording to what Annabel said and some guesswork to fill in the nks, Annabel did not die back then. At the time, the hospital she gave birth at was no different from a small clinic, and many facilities were limited. She gave birth in the afternoon and suffered from amniotic fluid embolism. Despite several rescue attempts, the doctors failed to rescue her and eventually announced her death. Due to the hot weather, her body could not be preserved for long. As an unmarried pregnant woman, her death was considered ¡®disgraceful¡¯. Moreover, somebody had offered to purchase her corpse. Therefore, she was hastily buried on that night itself. Even her tombstone was addedter. Unexpectedly, her remains were dug up again several hours after she was buried and sold as a match for necrogamy. However, she woke up midway and was rescued. Afterward, she was sold to a bachelor overseas and became his wife. As a result, she was imprisoned for 20 years without any means of escape! Then, she was rescued a few years earlier and finally returned to Bayside City. Unfortunately, everything had changed even though it was still the same city. Upon learning that Cooper had been dead for more than 10 years, she wanted to go home to her daughter and her family. That was when she discovered that the changes in Bayside City were greater than she imagined. Moreover, she no longer remembered where her home was nor how her hometown ent sounded¡­ Unable to locate her home and thinking that Cooper was dead, she left Bayside City. She finally returned to the city half a year ago and started this barbecue stall to earn a living. Looking at the family of three who was immersed in their joyous family reunion, everybody felt happy for them too. However, Sean couldn¡¯t help feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right. Cooper had just relocated the grave and discovered that Annabel¡¯s remains were gone. And now, she appeared before them alive and well? ncing at Linus, he noticed that Linus was standing by the side without saying anything. Moreover, the look in Linus¡¯ eyes seemed rather solemn. When their gazes met, he realized that they both harbored the same suspicions. Everything about this matter felt extremely strange. It was like a bizarre dream¡ªit felt unreal. On the second day after Annabel¡¯s return, Cooper brought both Annabel and Sophia back to the Johnson Family Vige to visit their rtives. Watching as the family of three merrily left the house, Sean finally had the opportunity to talk to Linus alone. Michael was not around, Justin was taking some time for himself, and Sean was still recuperating from his injuries. Therefore, Linus was the only one Sean could rely on to investigate this matter. The two of them silently watched as Cooper and his little family left the house. Then, Linus let out a long sigh. ¡°This is too bizarre.¡± Cooper and Sophia were giddy from the joy of their family reuniting again. However, Sean and Linus were able to look at the matter objectively as they were outsiders. Putting aside whether that person was genuinely Annabel, everything else was still too strange. ¡± They were silent for a moment. All of a sudden, Sean asked grimly, ¡°What do you n to do?¡± Linus nced out the window. The light reflected off the surface of theke shone on his face through the window, and the re hurt his eyes. Narrowing his eyes under the re of the light, he finally answered, ¡°Forget it; who cares if she is real or fake? It¡¯s been a long time since Fass was this happy.¡± Sean did not respond. Cooper was very happy right now¡­ even if the happiness was simply an illusion. He might have noticed it from the start, but he chose to ignore it, even if he knew that the other party¡¯s sudden appearance was too coincidental. ¡°I will keep an eye on her,¡± Linus said, closing the window for Sean before walking out of the room quietly. Sean was almost fully recovered after recuperating for quite some time. His face had a healthy flush to it, but he was still very weak and spent most of his time resting in bed. In the meantime, he ruminated over the recent incidents. He couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that something was amiss. It felt like the calm before a storm¡ªsomething was about to happen¡­ In contrast, Cooper seemed like the happiest man in the world. He spent all his time with Annabel. They visited all the ces they used to go to in the past, including the park and the restaurant, reminiscing all the beautiful memories they had together. Simrly, Sam was also incredibly astonished to learn that Annabel was back. At first, Sophia was very happy. However, sheter discovered that their family of three gradually began to change. Cooper constantly disappeared without saying anything. Sometimes, he was gone for several days on end withouting back to visit her even once or giving her a call. It felt like her father had been snatched away by somebody else¡­ Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. She became Cooper¡¯s one and only precious treasure since the moment he found her. Even when Carmen was added to the mixter, both she and Carmen were the treasures he greatly cherished. However, she couldn¡¯t help feeling that both she and Carmen had fallen out of his favor ever since Annabel returned. Sigh. In the past, nighttime was family time. Sophia, Cooper, Linus, and Carmen used to gather in front of the TV and chat every night. But now, only Sophia and Linus were left. Carmen had gone to bed early; Cooper wasn¡¯t around and neither was Michael. Thus, Sophia let out a long sigh again. ¡°Alright; stop sighing.¡± Linus walked over in his pajamas. Sitting down next to her, he said, ¡°This is the general event schedule for the banquet that¡¯s taking ce in two days. Have a look at it.¡± The banquet that Sophia had been nning for a long time was about to take ce in two days as scheduled. Due to several changes to the n, many extra events had been added. For example, Cooper was going to introduce Annabel, as well as¡­ the engagement between Sophia and Linus. ¡°No way¡­¡± Sophia frowned. Must we announce it during the banquet? I thought we were only going to privately and secretly obtain the marriage certificate. It¡¯s enough if we can bring back proof to fool the Michel Family, right? Shouldn¡¯t something as shameful as this be done in secret? Besides, not many people know about our intention to have a fake marriage. Not even Sean and Sarah, our best friends, are aware of it. Chapter 1050 Chapter 1050 ¡°Isn¡¯t this a little¡­¡± Sophia was starting to feel unsure. If we announce this to the public, all my friends will learn about it. How awkward will it be when we meet up to y mahjong or games? Moreover, I¡¯m going to remarry Michael in the future. If my marriage to Linus is made public, won¡¯t it seem like I¡¯m taking marriage too lightly? At the very least, I need to think about Michael¡¯s reputation! Also, Carmen is going to film ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with Michael soon. As a mother, how can I act like marriage is such a trivial matter? Can I be certain it won¡¯t affect Carmen? ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Linus frowned as he nced through the event program. She said in a troubled voice, ¡°Michael is a public figure. No matter how small a matter it is, it can turn into a huge scandal. So, I¡¯m worried things might get out of hand!¡± Although he seemed rather disappointed, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let¡¯s cancel that event.¡± She nodded in agreement. After that, they discussed other details regarding the banquet. All of a sudden, Linus asked after Carmen. ¡°I heard Carmen is sick. How is she? Did you bring her to see a doctor?¡± When the topic of Carmen came up, Sophia looked very worried. ¡°She ate something bad and had diarrhea. The doctor has examined her. He said that she¡¯ll be fine after taking some medicine and having a good rest.¡± Upon hearing that, Linus felt relief. The two of them watched some TV together before heading back to their respective bedrooms. Sarah¡¯s injuries were almost fully healed. Therefore, Harry came to bring her home. Before they left, she didn¡¯t forget to promote her well-endowed son as much as possible. ¡°Look; look! Sour Face has such a large penis! Are you sure you won¡¯t consider an arranged marriage between our children?¡± Carrying Hope, she kept pushing him in Sophia¡¯s face. The three-year-old was wearing a pair of open- crotch pants. Moreover, his face was impassive and expressionless. As a result, both his lower body and upper body were radiating murderous intent. Sophia reached out and pressed it against his stomach, diligently trying to push his looming appendage out of her face as she irritably said, ¡°Let¡¯s leave the talks about marriage between our children until they¡¯re older.¡± Carmen¡¯s rtionship status was rtively interesting recently. She was currently in a stable rtionship with the female ck giant poodle, Dusky, who was only several months old. Besides, Hope didn¡¯t seem to be her type. Rather, she seemed to regard him as her younger brother. So, it didn¡¯t matter how well- endowed he was¡ªit was meaningless. Afterward, Harry left with Sarah, Hope, and Poppy, the child they adopted not too long ago. Once her friends were gone, Sophia felt very empty inside. Feeling much better, Sean would get out of bed asionally and take his adopted daughter for walks. Meanwhile, Justin had yet to return, and Michael still couldn¡¯t be contacted. The atmosphere in the house had changed. Ever since Annabel came back, Cooper only had eyes for her. He seemed to have forgotten about his daughter and granddaughter. It was probably because he had lost her for such a long time that he cherished her even more now that she was back. Before this, he would have stayed by Carmen¡¯s side 24/7 whenever she was sick. He would have taken care of her, hugged her, and pampered her. But now, he only visited her once in a while. Even the young girl had noticed the change in him andined that her grandfather only loved her grandmother and no longer loved her. After Sophia recovered from her initial joy of having a mother, she discovered that it wasn¡¯t quite as joyous as she imagined. Once the initial delight died down, she felt extremely depressed andProperty ? of N?velDrama.Org. disappointed instead. She didn¡¯t seem to like her newfound mother very much, but she didn¡¯t know why either. It seemed like she subconsciously felt a sense of animosity toward Annabel from the beginning. Still, she was her mother; she knew she shouldn¡¯t be feeling emotions like these. Unfortunately, that feeling slowly spread and grew in her heart like creeping ivy. She couldn¡¯t control it no matter how hard she tried to conceal and suppress it. Although Annabel seemed to be trying very hard to be a good mother, and Sophia was also trying very hard to be a good daughter, it felt like the atmosphere in the house was bing more and more depressing by the day, ever since Annabel came back. Combined with the fact that Carmen was sick, Sophia became very irritable and short-tempered. As a result, she would fly into a rage from time to time. At noon that day, everybody was sitting down together for lunch. All of a sudden, Annabel tentatively asked Sophia, ¡°Sophia, when will you and Carmen move back into your husband¡¯s house?¡± As soon as Sophia heard those words, she became upset. I¡¯m living here just fine. Why should I move out? Thus, she continued eating as she answered, ¡°I have no ns to move out!¡± In an earnest voice, Annabel said, ¡°You married into the Fletcher Family and became part of their family. So, you should be living in the Fletcher Residence. It¡¯s only appropriate that you live with your husband. Besides, living with your natal family will invite gossip.¡± No matter how Sophia thought about it, those words seemed incredibly harsh. Why shouldn¡¯t I live here? Is your daughter no longer family once she gets married? Is it embarrassing for your daughter to return to her natal family after her divorce? Is this really my mother?! Forget it; she¡¯s older and more conservative. It¡¯s normal to have a generational gap between us. Thus, she grunted perfunctorily in response. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this next time.¡± However, Annabel seemed hung up on it. She continued in an exasperated voice, ¡°Listen to me; women shouldn¡¯t act so tough. You are way too career-oriented for your own good. Women should take care of the hearth and home while men are in charge of making a living. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s the reason why Michael divorced you. You should reflect on it. Besides, you need to reconcile with him as soon as possible and have a good life with him. Living with your natal family is not a permanent solution. You¡¯re an adult now; living with your natal family is embarrassing. Hurry up and give birth to a son. That¡¯s the only way to keep your husband by your side. If you have a son, the two of you can finally remarry each other as soon as possible¡­ You don¡¯t have much time left; you¡¯re already approaching your thirties. In another two years, you will be worthless since you are no longer young. It will be very hard for you to remarry then.¡± Sophia focused on eating as she frowningly thought to herself, Do all mothers talk like that? It was the first time she had a mother, so she was confused. Cooper probably felt that there was a huge illogical w in that statement too. However, he was very forgiving of Annabel. He did not object to what she said. Instead, he ced some food on her te and took the opportunity to cut her off. ¡°You should worry more about yourself. The children can worry about themselves. It¡¯s not our ce to decide for them.¡± After that, Annabel said nothing more even though she still felt very worried about Sophia. That night, Sophia opened her bedroom window and saw her parents taking a stroll by thekeside. From the distance, she heard Annabel saying to Cooper, ¡°She¡¯s already 27, yet she¡¯s still staying with her natal family after the divorce. This is not good for her; girls shouldn¡¯t act so tough. Coop, why don¡¯t we talk to the Fletchers? We should ask them to take both Sophia and Carmen back. A daughter will have to marry into another family and take on their surname, sooner orter. Coop, you¡¯ve given her so much of your assets; don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a little ill-considered? Furthermore, she was vited as a child. It¡¯s a good thing someone is even willing to marry her, yet she can¡¯t even produce a son¡ª¡± For a moment, Sophia seriously doubted her own ears. Did I really hear that?! Then, she mmed the window shut with a loud bang. Make me move out? No f*cking way! My name has been written on the land title ever since Michael bought the Edwards Residence! Why should I move out?! Is it so embarrassing for me toe back here?! This ce is my home! I¡¯m the owner! I¡¯m not going anywhere! Although it was the first time she had a mother, she quickly lost interest in a few days. All that was left was an inexplicable sense of disgust and hatred. Carmen had a specialized baby-care team and a medical team on standby at all times. All her daily necessities were taken care of by specialists. Five or six highly educated personal nannies watched her, and three nutritional experts prepared all her meals. The costs for these services every month were astronomical. However, Annabel seemed extremely dissatisfied with these services and constantly comined about them. She imed that daughters would be married out of the family, sooner orter, so there was no point in raising them so well. She also criticized Sophia for not taking better care of her body, iming that it was better if she could give birth to a son and tie a man down to herpared to spending so much effort raising Carmen. She also reprimanded Sophia for being way too career-oriented. She said that it destroyed the harmonious atmosphere between a husband and a wife. In her opinion, women should quit their jobs to focus on the children and the family. Truthfully, even Cooper felt that Annabel¡¯s views were problematic. However, he believed them to be trivial matters and was not bothered by them. He knew that Sophia would not be influenced by Annabel, so he simply ignored the issue. Unfortunately, the dissatisfaction in Sophia¡¯s heart slowly piled up, little by little. The day before the wee banquet, her patience finally snapped after enduring it for so long. She lost her temper and caused a huge ruckus in Carmen¡¯s room¡ªso much so that Carmen started crying out of fright. Chapter 1051 Chapter 1051 ¡°What¡¯s wrong?! What happened?!¡± When Cooper heard Carmen crying, he flew into her room in a hurry. Then, he saw Sophia throwing Carmen¡¯s favorite pink little bowl to the ground with a lot of force. It frightened Carmen so much that she started wailing again. However, Sophia did notfort her child and screamed at Annabel instead. ¡°No wonder Carmen has been suffering from diarrhea ever since you returned! She couldn¡¯t get well no matter what she ate; it¡¯s all because you¡¯ve been secretly feeding her this stuff! You knew Carmen has a frail constitution; how could you feed her something like this?! Is this something a child can eat?! She¡¯s your granddaughter! I warned you about this thest time you fed her an expired jelly you bought from outside! What the h*ll are you thinking?! Are you trying to kill her?!¡± Although she had an aggressive air around her, her voice was tearful, and she couldn¡¯t stop the tears from flowing down her face. On the other hand, Annabel shrank back into a corner and sobbed as she was being berated. Once in a while, she whimpered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sophia. I only wanted Carmen to get better faster. This home remedy works very well. Whenever the children back home get sick, they will take this¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes were shining bright red; she felt aggrieved yet furious at the same time. ¡°I¡¯ve warned you so many times! I¡¯ve told you again and again not to feed Carmen any of this! Why?! Why won¡¯t you listen?!¡± Cooper noticed that some sort of ck, unidentified object remained in the small bowl Sophia had thrown to the ground. Moreover, the corners of Carmen¡¯s mouth were stained by something ck. Looking back at Sophia, who was so furious that she seemed like an angry lioness, as well as Annabel, who was weeping quietly in a corner, he more or less understood what had happened. He heard from Annabelst night that she knew of a good home remedy that would surely cure children of their illnesses. It was concocted from a mix of incense ash, soot, and water. I can¡¯t believe she actually made that home remedy! At the end of the day, it¡¯s still nothing but a bowl of ashes!Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Afterward, Sophia tenderly picked Carmen up. Wiping away her tears, she simultaneously used a wet cloth to dab away the soot residue at the corners of Carmen¡¯s mouth. How dare Annabel dismiss the servants and secretly feed this home remedy to Carmen. If I was one step slower, Carmen would have finished that entire bowl¡­ Just two days ago, Annabel had bought a jelly for Carmen to eat from some random sundry shop. That jelly was nearly past its expiry date, and the stic packaging was covered in dust. Despite that, she fed it to Carmen, who was not yet four years old, inrge chunks with great gusto. Sophia had told Annabel off nicely at the time, so she had not expected that Annabel would feed Carmen something like that today. Annabel was feeling extremely wronged. Walking over to Carmen and Sophia, she seemed like she wanted to apologize. She took several steps forward and came to a sudden stop before she could even touch Carmen; she was frightened by Sophia¡¯s sudden shout. ¡°Don¡¯te over!¡± Sophia red at Annabel warily while hugging Carmen tightly. In response, Annabel felt so wronged that her tears flowed freely. Looking up at Cooper, she sobbingly said, ¡°Coop, I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± After saying that, she ran out of the room in a hurry. Following that spectacle, Cooper nced at Sophia, then at Carmen, who was crying in her arms. He chidingly said, ¡°Sophia, she is your mother. Although her methods are wrong, she did it for both your and Carmen¡¯s sake.¡± Sophia held Carmen in her arms and stared at him incredulously; it was as if she didn¡¯t recognize the man standing in front of her. On the other hand, he hurriedly rushed out of the room to chase after Annabel. For a moment, she simply stared nkly in the direction he had left, tears spilling from her red-rimmed eyes again. I can¡¯t believe Cooper said that to me. He has changed. Ever since Annabel came back, he has changed. Her chest heaved up and down violently; the rage in her heart was converted into the fiery tears that spilled out of her eyes. However, Carmen was still crying in her arms. The sound of Carmen¡¯s sobs seemed to wake Sophia out of her daze, and she loosened her grip on Carmen. ¡°Quickly! Start inducing vomiting!¡± The family doctor, who had been on standby for a long time, quickly started to induce vomiting in Carmen. After some effort, Carmen threw up some ck, unidentifiable stuff. She cried so hard that her voice became hoarse. Meanwhile, Sophia was so sad that her tears kept flowing. Wiping her tears away determinedly, she turned around and contacted the people at The Imperial. On the other side, Cooper finally calmed Annabel down after much effort. Annabel was feeling very guilty, but he did not me her. She had suffered too much pain over the years. Now that she finally had an easy life, the living conditions at the Edwards Residence were so different from what she experienced in her past that she couldn¡¯t fit in well. Thus, she constantly butted heads with Sophia over differences in opinions. She could not understand Michael and Sophia¡¯s mentality of spending almost a million on Carmen. She could not understand why Sophia, with her children in tow, was staying with her natal family despite being married. She could not understand why Cooper¡¯s vast business was being passed down to Sophia. In her opinion, Sophia should only help to manage it for several years at most. She believed that once Sophia gave birth to a son, she should step down to give way to her younger brother. Alternatively, she believed that Sophia should hand the business over to her elder brother once he returned. In spite of that, Cooper understood Annabel. At this moment, Annabel was crying while packing her bags to leave. By the time Cooper managed to calm her down, he turned around only to discover that Sophia¡¯s room was empty. After questioning Roger, he learned that Sophia had taken Carmen with her and returned to The Imperial. Moreover, she left a message before she left, saying that she would never return again since she was a married daughter that no longer belonged to the family. Additionally, Celine went with her too. Despite trying to call her again and again, his calls never went through. He was about to go and talk to her himself when he heard Annabel calling him from behind. ¡°Coop¡ª¡± Pondering it briefly, he decided against going after Sophia. She is furious right now. Once her anger fades after several days, she will surely return. Although he did not agree with most of Annabel¡¯s views, he agreed on one point¡ªa married daughter no longer belonged to the family. All this while, he had interfered in her marriage affairs. He forced her to get a divorce and break off with Michael. However, he felt as if his outlook on life had expanded now that Annabel was back. Besides, Sophia was an adult who had her own family¡ªshe could not remain as his precious child forever. After leaving the Edwards Residence in a hurry, Sophia tried to call Michael while sitting in the car. Unfortunately, there was no signal on the other end, and her calls could not get through. On the other hand, Carmen had just been forced to vomit. Her throat hurt, and she was still crying. At this moment, shey in Sophia¡¯s arms while sobbing softly. Reaching out her tiny hands, she wiped at her tears and pouted aggrievedly. Unable to contact Michael, Sophia felt anxious and sad. She nearly couldn¡¯t stop her tears from falling, but she forced them back again¡ªCarmen was here. Hanging up the phone, she put her phone aside, hugged Carmen, and asked in a gentle voice, ¡°Baby, does your tummy still hurt?¡± Carmen had been suffering from diarrhea for the past two days. No matter what she ate, it woulde back out. So, she had been wearing diapers all day long. Her entire being seemed to have shriveled, and her limbs were weak and soft. Moreover, she had been fed a bowl of soot today. Although she had been forced to vomit it up, Sophia was still worried. Carmen pouted and said aggrievedly, ¡°My tummy says it¡¯ll be fine once Daddyes home.¡± At that moment, Sophia nearly couldn¡¯t hold back her tears. She hugged Carmen tightly and said, ¡°Oh, darling¡­ eat your medicine properly, okay? When your daddyes back, he will bring you with him to film ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯.¡± Nodding obediently, Carmen¡¯s small hands gripped Sophia¡¯s shoulders. The backs of her hands still had traces of the needle marks from the intravenous drip. Soon, they arrived at Vi No. 8, The Imperial. Sophia stared at the house that looked like a castle and sighed. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m back here again. She stayed here for a long time previously, but she no longer had any recollections of her time here. This house belongs to Michael and me. This is my true home! In the future, I will stay here, lest people talk sh*t about me! Chapter 1052 Chapter 1052 When the butler of Vi No. 8 heard that Sophia was about to return, he happily cleaned up the rooms to wee her back. Sophia had no ns of returning after moving out this time. Not only did she bring Carmen, her medical team, and her team of professional educators, but she also brought all her cats, dogs, alpacas, and eels along with her. She even dug out her favorite nts and brought them along with her. Linus had been busy with the matters involving Sophia¡¯s banquet all day long. To his surprise, he received a phone call from Sophia¡¯s assistant, saying that the banquet was postponed. Only then did he learn about the events that had urred today. Thus, he anxiously rushed back to The Imperial. Celine and Sean relocated along with Sophia, lest Annabel said something hurtful again. ¡°How is Carmen?¡± Linus hastily rushed over but lowered his voice as if he was worried about disturbing Carmen. Then, Sophia led him to Carmen¡¯s room. Now that Carmen had returned to the ce she grew up in, she seemed to be in a good mood. Unfortunately, she was still feeling sick and snuggled in her bed, refusing to move. When she saw Linus entering her room, she softly called out, ¡°Uncle Linus¡­¡± Upon hearing her calling him ¡®Uncle Linus¡¯ softly, his heart melted. He sat by her bed and stroked her hair. He gently said, ¡°Good girl. But, you should be calling me Grand-uncle Linus!¡± She pursed her lips. ¡°No. Daddy said that when Grandpa isn¡¯t around, I should call you Uncle Linus.¡± He smiled and teased her, ¡°Then, did you eat your medicine properly when I¡¯m not around?¡± Cheering up, she said, ¡°I did! Mommy fed me a lot!¡± Afterward, he revealed the toys he had brought for her. He had personally gone to his studio to retrieve them. Contrary to his expectations, he discovered that Sophia had moved out as soon as he arrived home. Handing the gifts over to her, he said, ¡°Look! I prepared a new royal sweetheart cup! As well as a royal sweetheart bowl! Don¡¯t forget; there¡¯s also the stamp you designed yourself! And, your Royal Sweetheart Alpaca doll!¡± Carmen happily epted the toys from Linus. Michael treasured her very much¡ªso much so that even the small bowls and spoons she used daily were unique items. They even had the logo she designed herself on them. Sophia had smashed her royal sweetheart bowl in a rage today, and she was still feeling sad over it. So, she was pleasantly surprised to see the new bowl. However, the sight of her sickly smiling face made Sophia feel very sad. Upon learning that Carmen was sick, Lorelei & Co. quickly gathered at her house to apany her. Simrly, Nathan also joined them. However, Stanley came and brought Sean and Maisie home with him when the afternoon rolled around. The words Annabel casually uttered had probably saddened Sean too ¡ªshe imed that it was inappropriate for outsiders like Sean and Celine to be staying in their house. Meanwhile, Sophia was busy settling the issues over her sudden relocation and her work. Carmen¡¯s illness and the fight with Cooper had also left her exhausted. She worked untilte at night before she could rest. Fortunately, Linus was with her, and Sarah also came over to help her. Otherwise, she would have driven herself nuts. Recently, the atmosphere at the Edwards Residence was rather strange. Annabel seemed quite critical of Linus¡¯ presence. She believed that it was inappropriate for Cooper to let an outsider manage his assets. She believed that it should have been left to their son. Hence, Linus took advantage of the turmoil today to move back into Vi No. 2 and became neighbors with Sophia. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. It was veryte when Linus finally left Vi No. 8 after putting Carmen to bed. Sophia saw him off. Along the way, she took the chance to go out and walk her dogs. She wanted to get some air. Too many things had happened today, and she needed some time alone. ¡°Linus, thank you. It¡¯s too bad that Carmen isn¡¯t feeling well. The banquet might need to be postponed for several days.¡± She felt very apologetic. It was the first time she fought with Cooper. She felt like she had fallen from heaven to hell, all in one day, upon discovering that she and Carmen meant so little to him. Although she couldn¡¯t bear the difference in treatment, she had to remain strong and firm. Luckily, I have Linus with me. It makes me feel slightly better. But, I really don¡¯t have the mood to attend the banquet in my current state. ¡°No problem. Carmen¡¯s health is more important. You should spend some time with her over the next few days. It¡¯s not a problem if the banquet is postponed for a bit.¡± Sophia was filled with gratitude. Linus had been busy helping her with the banquet during this period. Thus, she felt bad for canceling it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will not forget about the marriage agreement. Having promised you, I will definitely help you with it.¡± It was gettingte. Therefore, Linus urged her to go back and rest. Walking Lucky, he headed back to Vi No. 2. Before he left, he said to her, ¡°It¡¯s inevitable for the younger generation and the older generation to have some conflicts in opinion. It¡¯s best if you resolve the misunderstanding. It¡¯s not like your mother nned to harm Carmen. So, you should try to be a little considerate of her perspective.¡± She did not respond to his words. Enjoying the cool night breeze blowing outside, she calmed down and reflected on what happened. The words Annabel had said were unpleasant, but she is still my mother. She gave birth to me despite the tremendous pressure she suffered back then, so she must love me. At the end of the day, it¡¯s because of our generational gap. Besides, Cooper waited for more than 20 years for Annabel to return. I shouldn¡¯t have done that to them. Taking a deep breath, she decided to call Cooper and admit to her mistakes. Cooper immediately answered on the first ring. Most likely, he had been waiting for her to call. He worriedly asked as soon as the call connected, ¡°Darling, have you settled your relocation arrangements? I heard Carmen didn¡¯t eat much for dinner. How is she feeling? Has she gone to sleep?¡± Listening to his voice nearly made her burst into tears. He still cares for me! Hence, she calmed down and answered all his questions. After listening to her answers, he finally felt relieved. He fell silent for a moment before saying. ¡°Your mother¡¯s views are somewhat more conservative than most. Don¡¯t take her words to heart. Her intentions are good, but her approach is wrong. Allow me to apologize to you on her behalf. You should know that she cried all day long out of guilt today.¡± She sniffed, suddenly feeling extremely delighted. All the unhappiness she felt before miraculously disappeared. ¡°No, it was my fault. I should be the one apologizing.¡± With that, the matter was resolved. Cooper sighed heavily and said in a solemn voice, ¡°Your mother reminded me that you are an adult now. I can¡¯t keep holding on to a daughter that has married into another family. I shouldn¡¯t have interfered with your marriage and your life. Allow me to apologize for my stubbornness and the arbitrary decisions I made in the past. I¡¯m sorry, my daughter. From now on, I will not interfere in the affairs between you and that guy. Live a good life after moving out, okay? If he bullies you,e back and let me know. My doors are always open for you.¡± Upon hearing those words, Sophia felt unbelievably happy¡ªshe was the world¡¯s most blessed child again. She lowered her head; her face was wet with tears. Then, she wiped her tears away and said, ¡°Thanks, Dad. Please tell Mom that I¡¯m sorry. Also, you have toe to my banquet.¡± ¡­ After Cooper finished talking on the phone, he felt very happy that he managed to resolve the issue with Sophia. Turning around, he saw that Annabel had fallen asleep. So, he quietly entered his study. He had been worrying about his wife and daughter all day long, and there were some work matters that he had not dealt with yet. The moment the door closed behind him, Annabel, who was ¡®sleeping¡¯, slowly opened her eyes without making a sound¡­ Ten dayster, Sophia¡¯s first banquet since returning to Bayside City was taking ce as scheduled. The event could be described as a gathering of celebrities and prominent figures, which fully demonstrated her powerfulwork and connections. The attendees included Harry Winston of the Winston Family, Joel Fletcher of the Fletcher Family and his dogs, the vice president of the Michel Group, Linus Michel, and the prominent members of the Yard Family. Last but not least, the person Sophia had been wanting to meet¡ªJordan Edwards¡ªwas here too. Chapter 1053 Chapter 1053 Cooper, Linus, and Sophia had drawn up the invitation list for the banquet together. It practically covered all the prominent figures in Bayside City. Even Alex Mitchell of the Mitchell Family had received an invitation. The Four Great Families of Bayside City, as well as the Yard Family with whom Sophia had been cooperating, had all sent representatives to attend the banquet. Among them was Jordan Edwards. Sophia had met Jordan before, but she had lost her memories of that time. Since returning to Bayside City, she had yet to meet him. He seemed to be rather mysterious and rarely showed his face; he was probably simr to Cooper¡ªan extreme recluse. Nowadays, almost everything involving the Edwards Family was managed by Lucy, Ian, Sam, and several others. Several people from the entertainment industry attended too. The second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was about to start filming in September. There were five fathers on the show, and the other four, except Michael, were here. Unfortunately, Michael could not be contacted. Even though the banquet was pushed back by ten days, he still couldn¡¯t make it to the banquet. That was the thing about filming¡ªthe filming schedule was never certain. A small incident could affect the entire filming schedule. Therefore, it wasmon for dys to ur before they finished filming. Although she felt somewhat regretful, she understood his circumstances. The banquet went on as scheduled, and an amazing performance had been prepared. The special performing guests were all internationally renowned singers that had been invited using Michael¡¯s reputation. It was a star-studded cast; even most domestic A-list celebrities were not eligible to be invited. Still, the most important guests of today were none other than the Yard Family. Although they were added to the invitation list at thest minute, they magnanimously and respectfully sent their twin presidents to attend the banquet as their representatives. The venue was bustling. Everybody was dressed morously, and the decorations Linus had prepared within the venue were extremely gorgeous. The theme tonight was fairy pce. Therefore, the entire venue was stunningly furnished like a scene from a fairytale, and the visual effects were breathtaking. It made Sophia feel very proud. Meanwhile, the siblings, Callum and Cade Yard, sat down at the area where the sofas were arranged into a square. They were more or less dressed identically, and their faces were two peas in a pod. Even their movements were simr¡ªthe act of slightly loosening their tie after sitting down was graceful and in sync. The elegant and aristocratic aura they exuded was exactly the same too. Every movement, down to their gazes, was done in unison. The twins were rumored to be test-tube babies. After choosing from the best sperm and egg collected from their parents, they were the final results formed through a series of scientific selection and careful cultivation. Needless to say, a person born with the ideal gic traits and raised with the best education avable was bound to be extraordinary, to say the least. For some, they were already leagues above their peers at the embryonic stage. The two of them had just taken a seat and were about to order something to drink when they noticed that another person had sat down on the sofa opposite. Moreover, that person was staring straight at them. At the same time, a wave of exmations rang out around them. ¡°F*ck, it¡¯s the Yard Family!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the legendary Yard Family!¡± ¡°The Yard Family that nearly went extinct after our ancestors wiped them out!¡± It only took several seconds for more than a dozen young men, who looked like they were created from the same mold, to sit down on the opposite sofa. They sported the same buzz cut, dressed in identical outfits, sat in simr postures, and had uniform, straightforward expressions. It felt like ten huskies were surrounding and eyeing two kittens hungrily. Among them, the leader of the group, Stanley, stood out fiercely with his thick eyebrows. Callum and Cade frowned in response. Sweeping their gazes across the group of Fletchers that looked like a bunch of vicious dogs, they singled out the leader, Stanley, and red back at him. Callum and Cade¡¯s gazes seemed to say: ¡®Hmph, descendants of rebels!¡¯ On the other hand, Stanley and the Fletchers¡¯ gazes seemed to say: ¡®Descendants of evil tyrants; traitors of the country!¡¯ While they were having a staring contest with each other, Sophia came over. ¡°Hey, move out of the way. These are my distinguished guests; please don¡¯t scare them away.¡± She forced Stanley to the side, then sat directly opposite Callum and Cade. Smiling, she looked at the twins and said, ¡°I¡¯m honored that you came today. Please order whatever you like. We have several rare bottles of liquor in stock today.¡± Although she didn¡¯t quite like the Yard Family, they were her business partners. For that reason, she was quite happy they coulde. A momentter, the serving staff came over with the drinks menu. Callum and Cade ordered something, then snapped their fingers to call their assistant over while saying, ¡°We have our own tableware.¡± Sophia watched as their assistant took out two boxes. Each box contained aplete set of tableware in almost the same style and color. Furthermore, the tableware had their respective names written on them. Do they have their own ¡®royal sweetheart cups¡¯ too? Soon, the items they ordered came. Callum and Cade reached out at the same time and urately picked up their ¡®royal sweetheart cups¡¯ from the tray. Gracefully holding the cups between their fingers, they daintily took several sips. After they finished drinking, they used their ¡®personal¡¯ handkerchiefs to wipe their mouths and their hands. Every action they took was sophisticated and graceful. The image they gave off was probably that of the royal family during ancient times. While speaking to them, Sophia subconsciously adopted a graceful attitude. In contrast, Stanley couldn¡¯t stand watching them anymore. He pped his palm down on the coffee table and said, ¡°Waiter, bring me a bottle of the French Cheval-nc hidden in the cer!¡± The serving staff quickly brought over a bottle of French Cheval-nc and ced several dozen sses on the table. After that, the members of the Fletcher Family gulped down the alcohol with great vigor. The aura they gave off was impressively valiant. It was a stark contrast to the Yard siblings, who seemed rather feminine inparison. It made the twins look like twodies in suits¡ªeven a eunuch was manlier than them! The two groups couldn¡¯t stand each other; they cursed and insulted each other¡¯s ancestors several times. Even so, the Yard siblings continued chatting and smiling under the imposing res of the Fletchers. There was a hidden agenda to the banquet tonight, and that was to set up a blind date with Cooper¡¯s daughter. Therefore, the number of outstanding bachelors attending the banquet was particrly high. Everybody was ready to make a move on the radiant and beautiful Sophia, especially since Michael was not around. It seemed to cement the fact that Sophia and Michael were divorced. Thus, the bachelors were even more excited than before. Unfortunately, Sophia was constantly surrounded by Stanley and a group of men from the Fletcher Family. On the surface, they were acting as her bodyguards. They were afraid that somebody like de would appear to harm her again. However, Stanley had his own personal scheme. Nobody was allowed toy their hands on a member of the Fletcher Family! Even if Sophia wanted to cheat, she was only allowed to cheat with him! Meanwhile, Cooper formally introduced Annabel to the public as he went around announcing her existence by introducing her to his acquaintances. Linus was attending the banquet too. However, his rtionship with Cooper was still a secret. So, he was attending as a normal guest. As soon as he appeared, his gaze was drawn to the most beautiful figure in the venue. He subconsciously headed toward Sophia, but he was caught by Sandra before he could take more than a few steps. ¡°I lost all my money and my house¡­ My initial estimate of my losses amounts to several hundred million!¡± Sandra sobbingly recounted the process of how she was deceived by a fake Lucile. Wailing about how miserable she was, she nearly cried so hard that she couldn¡¯t breathe as she leaned against him weakly. Despite feeling impatient and irritable, the fake Lucile was actually a member of the Michel Family, and he couldn¡¯t stay quiet. Hence, he had no choice but to entertain her. The atmosphere of the banquet was very lively. All of a sudden, Sophia, who was chatting with Callum and Cade, saw Cooper enthusiastically shaking hands with a person while chatting away happily. They were so friendly with each other that they were hugging and pping each other¡¯s backs like old friends that had not met for many years. When the man turned in her direction, she saw his face¡ªhe had a conspicuous hooked nose. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Chapter 1054 Chapter 1054 The man looked like he was slightly older than Cooper. His face was filled with the wisdom and shrewdness of the elderly, and his hooked nose seemed to have lost its sharpness over time. Sophia held her wine ss as she walked over to Cooper. Then, Cooper happily introduced her to the middle-aged man. ¡°Jordan, this is my daughter, Sophia Edwards. She takes after her mother, doesn¡¯t she?¡± As I suspected¡­ ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Edwards. My name is Sophia.¡± She greeted Jordan. He seemed like just another run-of-the-mill ordinary middle-aged man¡ªthere was nothing special about him. He was completely different from the man Cooper had described; he was also different from the person she saw in the documents. ¡°Haha, my niece has certainly inherited your temperament, Cooper! You two sure look alike!¡± The two men acted like friends who had not met each other for many years, drinking with each other as they chatted. However, when Cooper turned around after finishing his greetings, the smile on his face vanished immediately. Sure enough; it was a fa?ade. Although he had not seen Jordan for more than 20 years, he was certain the moment heid eyes on this man¡ªhe was not Jordan Edwards. On the other side, Sandra bugged Linus for a bit and finally seeded in adding him as a contact on Messenger. He also promised to take responsibility for the matter regarding Abbie and the fake Lucile. Thus, she walked away contentedly. Compensation was not her main target; her main target was adding him as a contact on Messenger. After that, she immediately started uploading some flirty selfies and photos of herself that were very sexy and revealing on her IG Stories. It was set so that only he could view them. However, she did not realize that he had blocked her on Messenger as soon as he turned around. She felt like she was reaching the pinnacle of her life upon adding him as a contact on Messenger. Therefore, she happily yed with her phone, dreaming about countless romantic encounters with him. Contrary to her expectations, she immediately caught sight of Sophia, who was talking to Lucy, the moment she looked up from her phone. Thest time she made a blunder, Sophia had exposed a series of information on various shady contracts, tax evasion, and tax fraud incidents. As a result, she lost her position as the primary distributor of the Serpent mobile phones. She initially thought she was going to die, but Lucy unexpectedly stepped up rapidly to settle the entire incident for her and allowed her to walk away safely. ¡°Miss Edwards, it looks like you and Miss Mitchell are close friends.¡± Sophia secretly made fun of Lucy. She did not understand why Lucy had taken such a huge risk to save an idiot like Sandra. Lucy knew what Sophia was referring to. However, she did not wish to delve further into that topic. Changing the subject, she said, ¡°Congrattions. The sales of the Dragon Eye mobile phones are doing really well in Cethos. If you work harder, the day you obtain the distribution rights to the high-end phones will be just around the corner.¡± Sophia pursed her lips in a smile. ¡°You tter me. It can hardlypare to how much profit the Serpent mobile phones are raking in.¡± The two of them clinked their sses together, drinking and chatting as if they had a good rtionship. In some ways, Sophia admired Lucy greatly. Not only was Lucy very intelligent, but she was also extremely capable. All of a sudden, Sandra walked over proudly. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re all here!¡± She sashayed over to them in her eight-centimeter-high stilettos. After adding Linus on Messenger, it wasn¡¯t too much to say that it was equivalent to her sleeping with him. Therefore, her confidence soared as high as the Himyan peaks, and she looked down on everybody else. Raising her eyebrow slightly, she walked over to them with a wine ss in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I was busy chatting with Linus and didn¡¯t have the time to join you girls for a toast.¡± Her words were incredibly smug. She already subconsciously regarded herself as Linus¡¯ girlfriend. In the past, Lucy had courted him and failed whereas Sophia had eagerly invited him to the banquet tonight. She was certain that Sophia was trying to find an opportunity to approach him. But, I beat them to it! These two losers! I¡¯m the one that got Linus in the end! Sophia¡¯s eyes twitched slightly in annoyance. Even so, she decided to be a bigger person. Let¡¯s not pick a fight with Sandra today. Shezily touched her ss to Sandra¡¯s and said, ¡°Please watch your behavior. I¡¯m older than you. Moreover, I¡¯m technically your grand-aunt.¡± In response, Sandra snorted without replying. As soon as Sophia turned away, Lucy heard her softly ridiculing Sophia, ¡°Old hag; Linus isn¡¯t interested in you at all¡­¡± Lucy said nothing as the corners of her lips lifted into a mocking smile. Lifting her wine ss to take a sip, she used that action to cover up the subtle change in her expression. On the other hand, Sandra seemed oblivious to the scorn Lucy felt. She even took out a mirror, studied her reflection, and dolled herself up. Touching up her lipstick, she used her fingertips to wipe off the excess. Then, she said to Lucy in a discourteous tone, ¡°Linus and I had a pleasant conversation together. In the future, I want you to help me out. It will benefit you greatly if I marry him.¡± Lucy remained silent. Instead, she turned around and left without saying anything. Sandra looked at Lucy¡¯s arrogant back and curled her lips with a look of self-satisfaction in her eyes. She was holding onto one of Lucy¡¯s weaknesses, thus, Lucy did not dare to disobey her. With Lucy¡¯s help, as well as her status and reputation, she believed that Linus was as good as hers. Soon, the Mitchell Family will be tied in marriage to the Michel Family. Cooper, what are you going to use against the Michel Family?! When that timees, I¡¯m going to make Sophia, that old hag, kneel and beg for mercy! Contrary to all her expectations, Linus not only blocked her on social media, but he was also bringing Sophia around to meet the Michel Family. Linus introduced Sophia to every member of the family. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t recognize any of them. To this day, she could not tell the Westerners apart. She could only recognize Linus and completely relied on their clothes to differentiate one from the other. Since she was going to rejoin the Michel Family sooner orter, she worked hard to create a good impression in front of several elders. Using fluent English, she described her work and its performance recently. As a result, the elders seemed satisfied with her and frequently nodded affably. The one good thing about the Michel Family was that they did not discriminate against those with mixed blood. Even if Cooper and Sophia were of mixed races, they were treated equally. If it were a family like the Yard Family, which did not tolerate the addition of foreign blood into their bloodline, those with mixed blood would forever be excluded from the center of power. Only the purest Cethosian bloodline could inherit the ¡®throne¡¯ of the Yard Family. After their short chat, the elders broached the topic of Sophia and Linus¡¯ marriage. When it came to this topic, Sophia immediately felt slightly ufortable. She kept silent; she was afraid that her stiff expression would give her away. Thus, she left all the talking to Linus. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Linus sat next to her and held her hand with a smile. He truly looked like a happy man that was about to get married as he said, ¡°Lucile and I are nning to get married in the near future. But, the wedding might be heldter.¡± She felt extremely ufortable when he held her hand. Smiling awkwardly, her entire body was covered with goosebumps. Even so, she had to pretend to be loving and affectionate with him. This feeling¡­ is very hard to describe¡­ Forget it; I¡¯m only doing this to fool the Michel Family. The people of the Michel Family looked upon their marriage favorably. When Linus first entered the Michel Family back then, they only agreed to include Linus in the genealogy record book because Fass promised that Linus would marry somebody from the family in the future. Now that Fass¡¯ long-lost daughter had been found, Linus¡¯ standing in the family would soon change from being an adopted son to a son-inw. Therefore, their marriage could not be more opportune. The people of the Michel Family also asked about the details of their marriage. Things such as the marriage certificate, the wedding ceremony, and the issue of children were questioned in detail. However, Linus answered all their questions with aplomb. It was as if he was really going to get married and had nned everything already. Finally, the conversation with the members of the Michel Family ended. As soon as it was over, Sophia ran to the toilet to relieve herself. When she went back to the banquet venue, she let out a long sigh of relief and tried to make the goosebumps all over her body disappear. That experience was nerve- racking! I hope there won¡¯t be a second time! Chapter 1055 Chapter 1055 The moment she appeared, someone came up from behind her in a fit of anger. ¡°Sophia Edwards! Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± She turned around to see Stanley storming toward her with arge group of Fletchers who all surrounded her. Stunned and confused, she looked at Stanley who was raging with anger in front of her. He came up to her and immediately jolted her by the arms like a doll. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re getting married to Linus!¡± Her eyes widened in shock, and she noticed the people at the banquet ncing her way with perplexed looks on their faces. Feeling guilty, she quickly muttered, ¡°Keep your voice down! Who told you that?¡± Stanley¡¯s eyes turned red from the anger. There was alcohol in his breath as he spat, ¡°Your mother is telling everyone she meets! Just look for yourself. Look!¡± He pointed to where Annabel was yapping away joyfully with a group ofdies. It turned out that she was telling them about Sophia and Linus¡¯ engagement. Crap! Sophia was in shock. She forgot to inform Annabel! Stanley kept shaking her. ¡°I¡¯m telling you. I firmly oppose this marriage. If you dare to marry Linus, I will turn your wedding into a bloodbath. I won¡¯t spare a single person! Try me, if you dare!¡± She was lost for words andpletely dumbfounded. Originally, she nned to lie low and just register her marriage with Linus. Who would have thought that this would happen? All of a sudden, she broke out of Stanley¡¯s grip and sprinted toward Annabel. Annabel was also a main character at the banquet. She was currently talking about her daughter with the group ofdies. ¡°Sophia¡¯s dad likes Linus too. Linus is living at our house now. I feel very optimistic about those two!¡± ¡°Sophia and her ex-husband have been divorced for so long now. The assets have all pretty much been divided. It was an amicable break-up. Our Sophia is such a good child. Wherever she goes, she¡¯s just loved by everyone.¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Sophia never would have imagined that Annabel was telling people all of that. She quickly ran out and pressed, ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t talk about things that aren¡¯t certain yet. How can that happen between me and Linus?¡± At that moment, Annabel realized that she had misspoken and her hand quickly flew to her mouth. She faced the group of people and said awkwardly, ¡°Look at me and my big mouth, talking about things that I shouldn¡¯t. Please don¡¯t believe what I said. Just take it as a joke.¡± Thediesughed half-heartedly, but they all had their own thoughts. Cooper and the Michel Family were uniting through marriage! No wonder they saw so many members of the Michel Family there. Aside from Linus, several representatives of the Michel Family also showed up. However, Annabel¡¯s words had left her mouth and spread throughout the whole banquet in a short amount of time. Numerous gazes looked in Sophia and Linus¡¯ direction. The different parties who found out showed different reactions. The big names in Bayside City were making their way over to curry favor with Cooper. Meanwhile, The Yard brothers did not show much of a reaction after hearing the news. After drinking two shots of French Cheval-nc, Stanley staggered around the venue to chase Linus down. He also wanted to call Michael and have hime back to punish Sophia. But, it suddenly urred to him that Michael was filming a movie, and he was unable to reach him. He did not know where Justin had gone to ck off, but he could not find him anywhere. Sean was recuperating at home, so he did not attend the banquet. Harry was also absent because he was taking care of the baby with Sarah. Fearing that Stanley would do something foolish, Joel quickly brought him to the lounge area to sober up. Joel looked at Sophia with concern. Is she really going to marry Linus? He could not forget how Linus helped the Phantom Wolf kidnap Mark back then. That person might look harmless on the outside, but he has many hidden intentions. Is Sophia really doing the right thing in marrying him? The person who was most in shock was none other than Sandra. After speaking to Linus briefly earlier, she added him on Messenger and started acting as though she was his girlfriend as she showed off to a group ofdies who were way below Linus¡¯ league. But, little did she know that she would soon find out about Linus and Sophia¡¯s engagement. While reapplying her lipstick, the force she had in her hand broke the lipstick in half. Her shaking hands also made it hard for her to hold the lipstick properly. What? Sophia is getting married to Linus? Who does she think she is? Wench! The group ofdies who were displeased with Sandra¡¯s arrogant behavior was now extremely content after she was humiliated on the spot. They were chortling away, leaving Sandra to fume with anger by herself. It almost seemed like there was a fire burning in Sandra¡¯s eyes. When she looked over at Linus and Sophia who were being surrounded and congratted by the crowd, sparks shot out of her eyes. On the other side, Sophia had wanted to talk to Linus when they were abruptly surrounded by people. ¡°Congrattions! You make an excellent pair. You look perfect together!¡± ¡°Truly a match made in heaven. You¡¯re so lucky, Linus!¡± Sophia felt extremely awkward and ufortable. She could only force an awkward smile because she did not know how to answer them. Michael was still a celebrity. As the ex-wife of the Academy Award winner, she was also under the spotlight, and the news about her engagement with Linus was probably all over the globe by now. After she attended to the people in the crowd, she quickly looked for Cooper to discuss a countermeasure. In the lounge area, Annabel was standing on one side with her head hung low and a repentant look on her face, but Cooper did not me her for it. He fell silent for a while, then turned to Sophia and Linus. ¡°Since word is out now, let¡¯s just make it public. We can make this banquet into an engagement banquet too. Anything that happens after this we will deal with when the timees.¡± Sophia looked at Linus with a troubled expression, but he could only look back at her helplessly. News had gotten out. If she denied it now, how was Linus going to answer to the Michel Family? Since things turned out this way, Sophia let out a sigh and said, ¡°Let¡¯s make it public then. Besides, celebrities get married and divorced all the time. Michael already knows about this, so he will understand.¡± Linus let out a sigh of relief. A slight smirk appeared at the corner of his lips; he was satisfied and happy. The banquet was still going on, but beneath the extravagance and indulgence was a threatening undercurrent. Sandra was currently hiding in a corner after getting humiliated in front of everyone. She looked at the blinding smiles on the faces of the people in the crowd and felt as though they were all laughing at her for overestimating herself. Sophia, that unfaithful hag. What right does she have to marry Linus? Linus must have been possessed to have fallen for her! He is mine. Don¡¯t even think about taking him away! Sandra decided that, no matter what, she was going to interfere in this engagement today! In the lounge area, Stanley had his phone out and was dialing a number. Miraculously, he was able to reach Michael. ¡°Stupid dog.¡± Michael¡¯s calm and attractive voice came through the phone. Finally being able to hear Michael¡¯s voice and not the static sound of an unstable connection, Stanley cried, ¡°Uncle Michael, Aunt is getting married to Linus. You have toe back now. Your wife is getting taken away!¡± That voice still remained calm andposed. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You shoulde back and stop them now! Where are you?¡± Stanley wiped away his tears. Michael seemed like he was in a hurry. A momentter, he replied, ¡°At the door.¡± Chapter 1056 Chapter 1056 At the banquet venue, Sophia was listening to Cooper and Linus talk about announcing their engagement and turning the banquet into their engagement banquet as well. After all, they were all present and members of the Michel Family had alsoe tonight. Furthermore, marriage and divorce among celebrities were amon urrence. For the time being, Sophia would be engaged to Linus. After some time, when the opportunity came, they could break off their engagement, and she and Michael could remarry. It was all the same. In the end, she would only have two marriage certificates. As for Linus, this marriage was his chance to be a real member of the Michel Family. When she watched Cooper and Linus discuss the details, however, she was suddenly seized with terror. Is marrying Linus this publicly the right thing to do? How are we going to have fun eating skewers and ying mahjong together from now on? She would have felt less burdened if they had just signed the papers, but they were making their engagement public now. It was not the same anymore! She was the main subject at the banquet tonight. Those that came today were all people that she invited and a lot of them were business partners she met through Michael. She felt so ashamed. People were whispering and giving strange looks from every corner of the venue. Sophia took a look around and saw that everyone was pointing at her. With the Michel Family present, however, she could not oppose on the spot and could only force a smile. What should I do? What should I do? They were going to make the announcement soon, but she still felt conflicted. No! I can¡¯t do this! She wanted to take it back. Having a fake marriage was fine, but making it public was not! After making her decision, she slipped away quietly. I have to stop Cooper and Linus from making the announcement! At the same time, she could not let Linus find out that she was unwilling to make it public. They had a close rtionship, so it was harder to reject him. She snuck off toward the lounge room where she saw Joel bring Stanley earlier. Close the door and let the stupid dog out so he can ruin this engagement banquet! But, before she reached the lounge area, she saw a spiteful pair of eyes ring at her from the corner. She looked in that direction and found Sandra sitting there. Her cold and deadly eyes were staring at Sophia, tantly expressing her jealousy and anger. She looked like she was just itching to pounce on Sophia. Sophia came to a halt and a light shed across her eyes. Shortly after, she was smiling brightly and skipping over to Sandra with an air of confidence. ¡°Miss Mitchell, what are you doing here by yourself? I¡¯m going to announce my engagement with Linus soon. Aren¡¯t you going to watch?¡± She hugged her arms and lifted her chin slightly with a smug smile on her face. Sandra tightened her grip on the wine ss so much that the red wine inside of it started to form ripples from the quiver in her hand. Her threatening eyes were red, making her look like a mad beast. Her teeth were clenched and she looked like she wanted to drink Sophia¡¯s blood. Once Sophia was done unting, she intentionally swayed as she left and even seductively twisted her small waist. She could not get any more arrogant. Sandra¡¯s burning jealousy had taken over her rationality. Why does she get to be engaged to Linus? He¡¯s mine! Linus can only belong to me. Marrying Linus was not just marrying him alone. It was getting the power and influence of the Michel Family too. Linus was the Vice President of the Michel Group. If nothing out of the ordinary happened, he would be the sole head of the Michel Family and Michel Group! All of that would belong to Sandra. She was not going to allow Sophia to take away everything that belonged to her! The tears in her eyes quivered as she clenched her teeth. I can¡¯t let Sophia and Linus get engaged! I have to stop this engagement banquet! Suddenly, she thought of an idea. Standing up without making a sound, she grabbed a bottle of wine and walked toward the lounge. Seeing Sandrae in, Sophia smiled. She went into the restroom and did note out for a long time, waiting for Sandra to make a move. On the other side, Linus and Cooper had finished discussing the details for the engagement banquet. This was supposed to be a celebratory banquet, but now it was changed into an engagement banquet. Hence, they did not have a lot of things prepared. Fortunately, the hotel management was experienced in that aspect, and they quickly prepared everything. They also found engagement rings in time. They rushed to get it prepared then used what they had. After all, it was just a formality. Once Linus got everything in order, however, the whole venue was suddenly filled with smoke. The fire rm rang, and the waiters ran out in a panic. ¡°Fire! Fire! Someone is stuck in the hotel room!¡± There was amotion in the venue when they heard that a fire had broken out. Cooper was busy directing people to control the venue and evacuate the guests to the swimming pool while he went to check on the situation. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. He saw that on the second floor of the hotel where the banquet was being held, there was smokeing out and a fire had started. The people staying there that night were all guests who hade to participate in the banquet. The hotel immediately evacuated the guests and sent people into the room that was on fire to save Sandra who was stuck inside. Sandra was in great shock. The moment she was saved, she started to weep as she rushed into Linus¡¯ arms. ¡°Linus, I was scared to death¡­ I thought I was going to die!¡± She looked pitiful as she shivered from head to toe in his arms. She had a death grip on his clothes. He tried to tear her away from him, but she wouldn¡¯t budge. She just cried in a miserable and aggrieved state. Under the audiences¡¯ gazes, Linus could not just kick her away, so he could only let her hug him for now. When Linus did not reject Sandra, everyone grew curious. They whispered among themselves, making guesses about their rtionship. Meanwhile, Sophia, Linus¡¯ soon-to-be fianc¨¦e, was just watching everything from the side without saying anything. The three people¡¯s rtionship was slightly unusual. Leaning in Linus¡¯ arms, Sandra looked in Sophia¡¯s direction. Her tear-filled eyes hid a smug look. Sophia smiled, then turned to leave. The sudden fire led to a temporary pause in the banquet¡¯s processions. Nheless, they were a trained seven-star hotel. They quickly put out the fire and returned order back to the banquet, but the announcement was still on pause for now. They were just dying it for a moment. By the time Cooper was done settling everything, he was going to return and continue the affair with the engagement. Sophia looked around and found Cooper. ¡°Dad, I checked the calendar and it¡¯s not a good day to get engaged today. Look; something bad will happen. Let¡¯s change to a different day.¡± Cooper looked at the fortune-telling app that he had created. It could even find an auspicious date. Today was not a good day for an engagement. Rather, it was an exceptionally good day for finding his son. ¡°Okay. Everyone was quite shocked today. We can do it another day,¡± he said. But, Annabel immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s only a small matter. That fire shows that today is a fiery day! Since we already have the banquet, it would be a waste not to get engaged now. How troublesome would it be to have to find another date to have their engagement banquet. Annabel still did not know that it was a fake wedding, so she kept egging them on. Cooper pondered on it. Since it was a fake wedding, they could set any date they wanted. Hence, he decided to continue. Sophia was in a panic, and her mind was searching for a solution. Suddenly, she turned around and saw the people in an uproar. She looked over at the source of themotion. Unexpectedly, she saw a face that she knew like the back of her hand. Hale and Justin escorted Michael over with haste. He was still dressed in his ck suit. The pure white shirt on the inside and the ck color created a shocking contrast. He looked cool and ravishing. Every step he took with his long legs was firm and strong, and he was enveloped in an ambiguous fragrance. He came in from a distance and appeared before Sophia in a blink of an eye. ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± The color drained from Linus¡¯ face when he saw Michael and Justin appear at the same time. Chapter 1057 Chapter 1057 The moment Michael appeared, Sophia started to cry. He was only gone for a month, but it felt like a lifetime had passed. During this month, she did not hear any news from him asmunication waspletely cut off at his filming location. Carmen fell ill, and a multitude of other things also happened. Seeing him appear in front of her now made her feel like she had her pir again. The strong front that she put up crumbled down in an instant. Lifting the hem of her dress, she ran straight into his arms. A pair of big hands caught her, then precisely and skillfully brought her into his embrace. He came dressed up tonight in his formal attire which made him look smart, elegant, and gentlemanly. His outfit today matched hers perfectly, easily making them the most dazzling pair in the crowd. As she sobbed in his arms, the exhaustion on his face was instantly masked over by a look of affection. He murmured next to her ear, ¡°There, there. I¡¯m back now. You¡¯re the star of the show tonight. You can¡¯t be crying.¡± Just then, she pulled away from him and wiped all the happy tears off her face. His return was better than anything else. I can¡¯t cry. That wench willugh. Sophia reced her tears with a smile. Michael took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and pulled one out to lightly dab the tears on her cheeks. He did it carefully so as not to ruin her makeup. A roar of soft murmurs sounded as the crowd watched the two of them act lovingly with each other in the middle of that big hall. What¡¯s happening now? Aren¡¯t they divorced? Wasn¡¯t she about to announce her engagement with Linus? What¡¯s the meaning of this? A frown appeared on Cooper¡¯s forehead, and he was able to figure it out from the get-go. Perhaps Michael had gone back on his words. However, the color drained from Linus¡¯ face. What is Michael doing here? ording to this n, Michael was not supposed to show up. Justin, who was beside him, was not supposed to be here either. Even though Michael was talking to Sophia with his head down, Linus could feel his gaze on him from time to time. Those eyes carried a sharpness that seemed to pierce right through a person and into their soul. Thus, Linus knew that his n had been exposed. Breaking into a cold sweat, he remained stiff and frozen in ce. He knew that he couldn¡¯t hide it anymore, but he did not dare to look at Cooper or Sophia. He knew that Michael was going to tear apart his act in the next moment. Then, he would have to face a disappointed and angry Cooper and Sophia. Feeling like the world was starting to spin, he could not evenprehend what the people next to him were saying and could only hear that extremely ear-piercing voice. It felt like he was being separated from the rest of the world by an invisible, formless membrane. He did not know anything anymore, and all he could hear was that ear-piercing yet unclear voice by his ear. Sophia was holding Michael¡¯s hand as she rushed toward Cooper and Annabel. ¡°Dad, Mikey is back! Mom, this is my hubby, Michael Fletcher. Hubby, this is my mom. Our family is finally reunited.¡± When Annabel saw Michael, she was stunned for a moment and still had an awkward smile on her face. After all, she did just brag about Linus being her son-inw without expecting that her actual old son-in- law would return that quickly. She let out a dryugh then said, ¡°It¡¯s good to have you back.¡± Despite being unhappy that Michael went missing for a month, Cooper did not treat him coldly for it was Sophia¡¯s big day. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, you should greet your mother-inw.¡± Michael¡¯s eyes went back and forth between Cooper and Annabel, then his eyes shifted slightly. Immediately putting up a shameless smile, he said, ¡°Hello, Mom. I¡¯m Michael. I didn¡¯t know what to get you for our first meeting. This is some local jewelry piece that I bought when I was filming overseas. I hope you¡¯ll like it.¡± Simultaneously, Justin took out an exquisite-looking box from behind him and opened it to reveal a full set of head essories, including a pair of hairpins, a pair of earrings, and a ring. It was carefully made with choice materials. It even had the logo for the Yard Family¡¯s luxury goods. The sight of the Yard Family¡¯s logo showed that it was not an ordinary piece of jewelry. Annabel was overjoyed and was impressed with their old son-inw. She praised, ¡°You¡¯re a good son-in- law, Mikey!¡± The family of four looked happy and harmonious together. Standing a distance away, Linus looked like an outsider. He stood there by himself with a ss of wine and did not make a sound for a long time. His eyes did not dare stumble upon that perfect family of four as it only made his heart ache. How he wished that he was the one standing in Michael¡¯s ce. With one arm around Sophia, he would stand before Cooper in a dignified manner and call him ¡®Dad¡¯. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. That way, he could be a family with Fass and Sophia. As a true member of the Michel Family, he did not have to worry about being given up on by Cooper when he was no longer good enough or the best, resulting in everything he had worked hard to gain being taken away by someone else. Ever since Cooper brought him back to the Michel Family, he lived in a way that did not disappoint Cooper. He worked harder and was better than others by a thousand-fold. Cooper found him adoptive parents and let him live a secure and happy life. He lived up to Cooper¡¯s expectations and became Michel Group¡¯s brilliant genius. He knew, however, that he was adopted and that he could never be a real member of the family. He did not share their blood. Growing up, he always had the same nightmare of Cooper sending him away. He loved Sophia. He wanted to marry her, protect her until the end, adore her, and gain true status as a member of the Michel Family. He figured that if he and Sophia got married, Cooper wouldn¡¯t chase him out so easily even if he disappointed him. Today, he missed by just one step. He blocked Michael¡¯s connection and even created fake videos and calls to bluff Sophia with. He used the issue with Lorelei to get Justin out of the picture. Once again, he lied to Sophia and took advantage of her good nature and kindness toward him. He knew that he was unworthy of Cooper¡¯s trust. Linus sat alone in the corner. His eyes were lifeless. He took a sip of the red wine, but it all tasted bitter. The other people did not know what was going on. But, seeing Michaele back and a dested Linus, they could guess what had happened. They were all trying to get some inside information. Stanley was tipsy. He was leading a group of people and ring at Linus. He knew that he couldn¡¯t change that easily. Mountains were hard to move, and natural dispositions were hard to fix. At that moment, Sandra was the happiest person there. Seeing the destion on Linus¡¯ face, and the fact that Sophia¡¯s husband had returned, she knew that the engagement would fizzle out. She walked up to him and said, ¡°Linus. Stop drinking now. Even though you can¡¯t marry her, you still have me.¡± It was as though he did not hear a word that she said. He kept drinking ss after ss. He knew that it was over. Everything was exposed now. Cooper and Sophia were disappointed in him once again. Forcing a smile, a pain was stabbing at his heart. He just wanted to stay by Cooper¡¯s side for the rest of his life. But, that was probably not possible now. He was just an adopted child, and Cooper also had his own biological son. That son was going to return one day and rece not just his position at the Michel Group, but also his position as the receiver of Cooper¡¯s attention and love. Linus was nothing to them; he waspletely worthless. Suddenly, Justin was standing next to Linus with a nk expression. ¡°Linus, Mr. Mitchell wants to see you.¡± Chapter 1058 Chapter 1058 Linus knew that he would have to face it sooner orter. He was already prepared for Cooper and Sophia to despise him. Otherwise, he would not have started this. When he made the first attack, he was already prepared for this, wasn¡¯t he? This day was going toe sooner orter. But, he did not have a way out anymore; he had to marry Sophia. He did not want to lose this family, Sophia, or Cooper. Without much thought, he started to walk toward Michael when Sandra quickly held him back and urged, ¡°Linus, you¡¯re drunk. Let me go with you.¡± She naturally pulled his arm back knowing that Sophia and Michael had called him over to ridicule him. In the name of Linus¡¯ girlfriend, she wanted to go over there and p all of them. Linus, however, waspletely out of it. He did not even know if that was a person or a dog standing next to him. He saw Justin ring at him. He also saw Stanley circling around him in an unfriendly manner. Currently, the family of four was having a splendid time with each other. Annabel was immersed in the joy of having received new jewelry. It was obvious that Michael had meticulously picked it himself. He knew exactly what middle-aged women liked and sure enough, it put a smile on Annabel¡¯s face. As long as his wife was happy, Cooper was happy too. He had also grown more fond of Michael. The more Annabel looked at him, the more she liked him. Sophia was also happy because Michael and Annabel¡¯s first meeting was going smoothly. Turning around, she saw Justin bringing Linus over along with Sandra who was holding on to Linus¡¯ arms. Sophia looked at Linus and Sandra with a puzzled look. Seeing Linus in that frightened state, though, made Sophia feel guilty. She had promised him today that she would announce their engagement in front of the Michel Family, but who would have thought that Michael woulde home so suddenly? When Sophia saw Michael standing before her, shepletely forgot about everything else. Thinking about it now, she felt conflicted inside. Not too long ago, she told the Michel Family that she was going to marry Linus, but now she was being affectionate with her ex-husband. Perhaps she was being slightly obnoxious. She did not dare to look at Linus. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Cooper also felt sorry for Linus initially. However, now that Michael was here, he probably regretted it too. Linus¡¯ engagement was ced aside for now. There was no rush; he was still young. There were many outstanding women in the Michel Family. Linus was bound to find someone well-suited for him. At the moment, Sandra was happily holding on to Nathan and looking arrogantly and contemptuously at Anna. Didn¡¯t you want to steal my man from me? Come and try. You easy woman! You can protect that outdated male star for the rest of your life. Linus was young and wealthy. Moreover, he was in charge of the important businesses at the Michel Group. The Fletchers were no good now. The head of their family, Mark Fletcher, had passed away. Without Mark, the mountain on which Michael could lean on was gone. Between Linus and Michael, it was obvious who was the better option. Linus will be mine! Sophia only felt guilt and remorse toward Linus and she did not notice Sandra sticking her nose up in the air. She was holding on to his arm, but she did not even dare to look up at him. Today, Michael was winning favor with his youthful father-inw. In hisst film, ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, he gave an exemry performance of the character Woody Mitchell. The film won an international prize just recently. Because of Michael¡¯s wonderful performance, Woody was able to gain widespread attention when he appeared on screen for the first time. His achievements became widely known due to the poprity of the film at the box office. As Woody¡¯s son, Cooper was filled with pride. When they saw Linus walk over, Michael, who had a wine ss in his hand as he chatted with Cooper, put down the ss and said, ¡°Oh, Dad, while I was filming my movie overseas, I was able to do some digging on my brother-inw¡¯s whereabouts. I¡¯ve been looking into it for years, but every time we seemed to be getting close, we woulde to a dead end.¡± At the mention of his son, Cooper¡¯s eyes lit up while Linus¡¯ eyes dimmed. Finally, Cooper¡¯s biological son wasing home. It was time for him to make his exit, too. Cooper was excited to know that there was news on his child. ¡°Did you find him?¡± Michael frowned. ¡°Unfortunately, thest clue was a dead end too.¡± The light in Cooper¡¯s eyes dimmed. Michaelmented, ¡°We found out that not long after the couple brought Sophia¡¯s brother out of the country, he was sent to a different Cethosian family for various reasons. That Cethosian family moved houses and took them with him, then that child disappeared without a trace. Some people think he was sold off at a high price.¡± ¡°The person who bought him must have connections with higher authorities because they got rid of all traces of the child¡¯s existence. We can¡¯t even find a hint now.¡± Cooper was silent. It¡¯s been twenty years. Even if there were hints, they would not be very helpful. Sophiaforted him. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t be sad now. If we¡¯re meant to meet him, we will be able to reunite as one family again. Leaning her head against him, Annabel cried into his embrace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Coop. I shouldn¡¯t have given our son away. If it wasn¡¯t for me, our family of four would beplete already.¡± Meanwhile, Linus continued to stay silent like a person about to enter the execution grounds. Looking at the state that they were in, Michael knew that he could not keep teasing them with the information. ¡°But, I acquired some new information this time.¡± He calmly took out his Dragon Eye mobile phone and yed a video in front of Cooper. ¡°I found out that the child has been on local television because he was too smart. After that, someone came to take the child away, and all his information that was released on television got erased. He can¡¯t be found on any media or website in the world.¡± ¡°The people behind this did a very neat job, but they forgot about one ce¡ªCethos. Cethos just so happened to have built a firewallwork twenty years ago. Foreign users could not use websites in Cethos. The rted video somehow entered Cethos¡¯work and could not be removed anymore. Look; I found a portion of the video.¡± Cooper quickly took Michael¡¯s phone and pressed ¡®y¡¯. The video was old and blurry, but it was still possible to see the three to four years old Caucasian boy in it. He was on some kind of program and the host was looking for someone on the scene to give him a mathematical equation. He was still at a tender age, but when he saw the equation, he picked up the pen without hesitation, propped himself up, and started writing out the solution on the board. A round of apuse was heard from the audience, but the child looked at them coldly and did not have the slightest reaction¡ªas though he was unhappy. Cooper was dumbfounded. Twenty years ago, he had watched that program before. He remembered the look in the boy¡¯s eyes. The boy was not happy; he was like a lion being raised as a cat. If he had enough money, he would be able to truly unleash his talent. Back then, Cooper had gone to the broadcasting station to take the boy away. To the best of his abilities, he got rid of all traces of the boy¡¯s existence and gave him a new name¡ªLinus Michel. Chapter 1059 Chapter 1059 Linus was the child all along! So, that was why he shared the same birthday with Sophia! It exined why, from the very moment Cooper hadid eyes on the child, he had the strangest feeling that the child was different from others, and he feltpelled to adopt the child. It also made sense as to why he had not been able to find anything on his son; he had given orders to wipe out everything that had even been remotely connected to Linus, thus effectively barring his own efforts to locate his son. It turned out that Linus Michel was his son after all! By the end of the video, Cooper¡¯s hand was shaking so badly that the phone slipped and ttered to the floor. Sophia hurriedly picked up the fallen phone and passed it back to Cooper. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Dad?¡± she asked curiously. However, Cooper stumbled backward, and if Justin had not reached out in time to steady him, he would have fallen over. ¡°Hahaha¡ª¡± Cooper burst intoughter before taking several steps back, then broke down into heaving sobs. ¡°My son, my son, my son¡­¡± he wailed. He would never have known that he had children at all if Sophia hadn¡¯t turned up two years ago. Up to a year ago, he wouldn¡¯t have even known that he had another child other than Sophia if Michael had never brought it up. It was only today when the revtion came upon him that the person he had been taking care of these past 20 years¡ªthe person whom he¡¯d thought of as his ¡®younger brother¡¯¡ªwas in fact his biological son all along! What aplete twist of fate! Everyone was shocked to see Cooper as anguished as he was now, and they began wondering if something had happened to his son. Linus had rushed over at the first instance, thinking that Cooper had found out what he¡¯d done. He knew he had let him down again. However, Cooper abruptly began pushing through the crowd surrounding him, and when he saw Linus by the sidelines, he reached out to grab hold of him. Linus had never seen this look on him before; when he tried to speak, he was so overwhelmed that he stammered. ¡°Linus¡­¡± Linus stared at him nkly, unsure as to how he should respond. Cooper was still gazing at him as he chuckled bitterly, then, unable to control himself, he began sobbing. He threw his arms around Linus; his voice was shaky and raspy as he cried out, ¡°Linus¡­ my son¡­ You¡¯re my son¡ªyou have been my son all along! Linus, I¡¯m so sorry¡­ I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± Still looking dumbfounded, Linus was no longer able toprehend what Cooper was saying. Upon seeing how overwhelmed Cooper was as he embraced Linus, the dinner guests grew curious and were nowing forward to see what themotion was. Among all the sobbing and crying, Sandra, who had been standing next to Linus when Cooper had pushed her aside, somehow managed to pick out the most important piece of information of all. What? Linus Michel is Cooper Mitchell¡¯s son? Was Sophia not Cooper¡¯s only child? How did Linus end up as his son? Seeing how his father-inw was bing unhinged, Michael ced a hand on Cooper¡¯s shoulder, then leaned in to say, ¡°Cooper, please keep it together; we¡¯re at a dinner party and everybody¡¯s watching¡ª you must get ahold of yourself.¡± Cooper was as shaken as he was on the day when Sophia had been resuscitated, but after Michael¡¯s urging, he remembered that this was Sophia¡¯s big day and he could not be seen like this. With that in mind, he hurried to the guest room. The family gathered in the guest room. ¡°What? Uncle Linus is¡­ my brother?¡± No one was more astounded than Sophia. Linus, with whom she had been about to fake a marriage announcement, was actually her brother¡ªher fraternal twin brother! Sophia felt numb with shock, and Linus was rendered speechless. The next moment, he was pulled into Cooper¡¯s arms again while thetter was ovee with emotions. Cooper looked borderline insane as heughed and cried at the same time. All this while, the son he¡¯d been searching for had been by his side¡­ for the past twenty years! How could the heavens be so cruel to him and his son? The child had been through so much hardship, and had even been on the brink of death on more than one asion! For the past twenty years, he had dedicated himself to ensuring that the child could receive the best under his care, and yet it had eluded him that the same child had been his son all along! Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Presently, Linus was finallying to terms with this newfound¡ªalbeit groundbreaking¡ªreality; he recollected himself as the numb and shock began to wear off. I¡¯m Cooper¡¯s biological son? Cooper is my father? ¡°D-Dad?¡± Linus called out, stupefied. Cooper nodded ferociously. ¡°Son, my son; my dear son¡­¡± The novelty of the situation had presented itself without warning; Linus felt as though he was dreaming, but as his tears fell uncontrobly, he realized that all of this was happening in real-time. ¡°Dad! Dad!¡± Linus pulled Cooper into a rough embrace, and the both of them began to sob painfully as they held onto each other. This was more heart-wrenching than the time Cooper had first been reunited with Sophia. After all, for twenty long years, both father and son had been within each other¡¯s orbits, but never knowing the truth. What a cruel twist of fate! Shell-shocked, Sophia stared at the scene before her with a nk look on her face. This sudden turn of events meant that Linus had been separated from her at birth, and had subsequently been given away; he had been sent abroad when Cooper had, by some inexplicable coincidence,e upon him and made the decision to adopt him. This meant that Linus had been living with his own biological father without ever knowing the truth. Sophia thought back to the time when she had asked Linus if he would try to track down his real family. He had simply answered that he would never want to find out anything about his past. He had gone on to exin how his past was a taboo¡ªhe¡¯d struggled to earn his ce in the Michel family, and even the slightest thought of trying to track down his past would cost him everything he¡¯d worked for. Who knew that he was actually Cooper¡¯s son? Michael saw how Sophia had gone still, and gently patted her shoulder. ¡°Go; he¡¯s your brother, after all,¡± he encouraged mildly. Sophia remained unmoving until Cooper lifted his hand and beckoned her over, saying, ¡°Sophie,e over here and meet your brother!¡± Slowly, she felt her feet shift beneath her, and she somehow ended up standing before Linus. She regarded him with a pained look in her eyes, as it had only been moments ago when they had almost announced their engagement. She could not believe that he had been her brother all along! Linus gazed down at her as his tears spilled over. He pulled Sophia into his arms, but no words came to him; it seemed as though the tears had drowned away whatever he had nned on saying, and he felt an overwhelming sense of guilt that threatened to suffocate him. How could he possibly exin the way he felt right now¡ªit was as if someone had clenched their fist around his heart. Sophia had been his younger sister all this time! Looking back, it was no wonder that he felt a peculiar rush of familiarity when he firstid eyes on Sophia at the film studio. Back then, he thought that perhaps they¡¯d met in their past lives, but all along, that sense of familiarity had been because they were fraternal twins who had, at one point, shared the same womb. They shared the same parents¡ªthey had grown together within their mother¡¯s womb as they waited to greet the world. Who could have predicted that they would be so cruelly separated from each other and that twenty long years would have passed before they could be reunited? Fate might have brought them back together, but Sophia could not help but think of all the times Linus had hurt her, lied to her, and manipted her for his own selfish gains. Linus held her tightly as he apologized repeatedly in her ear, ¡°I¡¯m sorry; I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± He was sorry that he had, once again, let her down. He was sorry that he hadn¡¯t lived up to the role of an older brother. As she finally came to terms with the fact that Linus was her long-lost twin, Sophia allowed the floodgates to open and burst into tears of joy. ¡°My brother¡­¡± Sophia started to cry. ¡°My brother¡ªI finally have a brother!¡± Cooper stood by the side as he watched his children, then, unable to help himself, he reached out and drew them both into his arms. ¡°Wonderful! How wonderful is it that I¡¯ve found both my children?¡± Moved by the sight of the family of four being reunited, atst, Michael felt his throat tighten. It must have been difficult for his father-inw to have gone through so much in one lifetime; now that the family was reunited once more, Cooper could finally put those days of turmoil behind him. Chapter 1060 Chapter 1060 Presently, several members of the Michel family were waiting outside; when Linus had been revealed as Cooper¡¯s long-lost son, the guests at the dinner party had descended into a frenzy, and the frantic discussions that spread through the vicinity had prompted the Michel family to enquire about the situation. What wonderful news indeed if it was true! Cooper wiped away his tears before hurriedly calling over those who were waiting outside; he wanted to make it clear to the whole Michel family that Linus was no adopted son, but the biological son of Fass Michel! ¡­ At the dinner party, the dinner guests were whispering furiously among themselves. ¡°Is Linus Michel¡ªthe Vice President of the Michel family¡¯s conglomerate¡ªreally Cooper¡¯s son?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, no¡­ isn¡¯t he actually the Michels¡¯ adopted son?¡± ¡°So, if Linus decides to return to his family, won¡¯t he be about to lose his ce in the Michel Family and Michel Group?¡± ¡°What could that possibly entail?¡± ¡°Michel Group will undergo a whole internal restructuring!¡± The dinner guests were growing restless as they continued to specte, but among them, Linus¡¯ current as well as prospective coborators wore grim expressions as they thought about how this turn of events could affect them. If the revtion turned out to be true, then it could only wreak havoc. The Yard twins were seated on the sofa while holding their wine sses; their movements were synchronized as they whispered to each other. Meanwhile, the Fletcher children had huddled up and were talking in low voices. ¡°That son of a b*tch Linus is Uncle Cooper¡¯s son? Are you kidding me? Weren¡¯t they just about to announce their engagement?¡± Equally invested in this whole affair were the Winstons, the Edwards, and the Mitchells¡ªthetter group, in particr, was now engaged in a heated discussion. As wonderful as it would be if Linus really did turn out to be part of the Mitchell family, the real issue here was whether Linus would be willing to return to his roots. Where the atmosphere had been lively before, it now died down to hushed tones and careful whispers. No one was more anxious than Sandra Mitchell. Is Linus really Cooper¡¯s son? No, how could he be? Even if he was, I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t acknowledge the Mitchells as his real family. If he did, he would lose everything he had worked for in Michel Group; he wouldn¡¯t be so stupid to throw it all away like that. I¡¯m sure he would deny all family rtions with Cooper and retain his ce within the Michel family. How could a man like Cooper even father someone as clever as Linus? He doesn¡¯t deserve to have Linus as a son! The guests were still gossiping in earnest when they saw the Michels¡ªwho were noticeably agitated¡ª hastily making their way to the exit. Without stopping, they boarded their cars and left the premises. The crowd grew louder with spection. ¡°Did the Michels seem furious to you?¡± ¡°Does this mean something else has happened?¡± Before long, the hosts of the dinner party returned to the scene. Sophia had carefully re-applied the make-up which had been ruined by all the crying, and Cooper had recollected himself from his outburst; there was only joy now where there had, only moments ago, been the bitter aftermath of the painful revtion. As for Linus, he was beaming as he walked by Cooper¡¯s side. Just like that, the family had returned. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they watched in anticipation at what the Mitchells would do next. That was because whatever was about to happen next would greatly affect the interests of many. Cooper was all smiles as he brought his son and daughter to the performance stage; he cleared his throat, and when he spoke into the microphone, his solemn voice was thick with emotion. ¡°I, Cooper Mitchell, would like to make an important announcement today.¡± He paused for dramatic effect, then lifted Linus¡¯s arm by the wrist. ¡°After twenty years, my long-lost son has finally been found! My son was Linus all along!¡± he dered to the audience. Linus remainedposed despite the wave of emotions that crashed over him, but there was no hiding the joy written all over his face. The guests turned to each other with meaningful looks; none of them could have seen this plot twist coming. Just an hour ago, Mrs. Mitchell had been boasting about Linus bing her son-inw and now, an hourter, Linus was revealed to be Cooper¡¯s long-lost son instead. It all seemed too bizarre. Nheless, apuse and cheers filled the room as everyone gave their blessings, congratting Cooper on being reunited with his long-lost son. However, as soon as they turned away, the guests began to make phone calls and send out text messages; it was only a matter of time before the news would spread like wildfire. A storm was brewing over the horizon. In light of this groundbreaking news, everyone immediately thought about how the Michels looked nerve- wracked as they hurried away from the scene, and it wasn¡¯t long before the crowd put two and two together. If Linus decided to go back to his biological family, then he would have to give up his ce in Michel Group and, by extension, leave the Michels. How could someone as brilliant as Linus make such a foolish mistake? Was his biological father, from whom he had technically been separated for twenty years, more important than the power he held as the vice president of Michel Group? Sandra glowered at the Mitchells¡¯ reunion and felt her insides knotting up in disgust; she was sickened, her lips curling as she felt the bile rise in her throat. Linus is actually Cooper¡¯s son! Everything was so surreal; it was like a fairytale, but it was the prince who had turned into a toad instead! However, Sandra knew there was no point in hating how this situation had unfolded. Linus had basically just announced that he would go back to his roots, and the Michels had already stormed off in fury¡ª everything was a mess! She had only just started to make her moves on Linus, but now, all she was left with was a toad who had given up his life as a prince. How infuriating! At once, Sandra took out her phone and blocked Linus on the spot. She would retch if she had to take one more look at him. Many among the guests today happened to be brilliant and distinguished businessmen; they were all left flustered by Linus¡¯s decision to inherit the Mitchell family name. It was an insensible move, seeing as how the Mitchells couldn¡¯t even begin topete against the Michel Family. When Cooper returned, he had been back at square one¡ªit was difficult for him to match up to the Michel Family¡¯s trajectory, and even if he did, he would not be more powerful than the Michels. In fact, even in his glory days, Cooper could not even measure up to Michel Group. Everyone knew what Linus¡¯ move entailed, and they¡¯d seen how angry the Michels had been when they left. It would only take a couple of days before the vice president of Michel Group would announce his resignation, which would inevitably lead to a massive drop in stock prices. Michel Group was in charge of many enterprises, but those of which were listed on the stock market¡ª including projects which involved the military, the insolvency department, and the hi-tech development¡ª were all under Linus¡¯ management. Once he left, the stock prices for all those enterprises would undoubtedly fall. Everyone turned to look at Linus in disbelief and confusion. Was it all worth it? As of this moment, the Mitchells were basking in the joy of their reunion; they couldn¡¯t care less about the stock market. The family was all that mattered now. The Michels had gone in a hurry so that they could get started with rectifying Linus¡¯ name in the registry. How wonderful! Linus was actually Fass¡¯ biological son! They no longer had to fear that Linus would run away! There had been a time when the Michels had found themselves bottle-necked in their business development, and they watched helplessly as other families, such as the Yards, had begun to overtake them. If the regression had gone on, the Michels would have copsed, but Cooper¡¯s return had been the curveball that they needed in order to turn the tables around. Seeing as Linus had been brought up by Cooper, the former had learned everything he needed to know from¡ªand had grown into an even more refined version of¡ªthetter. The Michels had thrived and peaked, but they had constantly been reminded of the fact that Linus was not their own. The Michel family had wanted to keep Linus, but at the same time, they were worried that Linus would leave them if he were to track down his biological father; if he had done that, it would have been a huge loss for both the family and the conglomerate. But now, everything had turned out for the better! The dinner party continued in full swing; when the dance segment came up, Cooper took hold of Annabel¡¯s hand and guided her toward the dance floor; Sophia, on the other hand, had ditched her husband, who had rushed back to make it to the dinner party, and was now enthusiastically dancing with Linus. When Michael had gotten off from his flight, he only had time to change into a new set of clothes before rushing over to the dinner party, and because this trip had been sost-minute, he had left a lot of things unattended. After resolving those at the first chance he could get, Michael had staked out a quiet corner and was now deep in conversation with Justin. Stanley paced back and forth frantically. ¡°Uncle, what happened?¡± ¡°Why did Linus want to marry Sophia all of a sudden?¡± ¡°How did Linus suddenly be Sophia¡¯s brother?¡± While answering their questions, Michael could not keep his eyes off of Cooper and Annabel. The more he looked at them, the more acutely he felt the chills running down his spine. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Chapter 1061 Chapter 1061 When it came to acting, Michael was the best of the best. He was the nation¡¯s first-rate actor, the youngest performing arts master, and an expert at micro-expressions. With just a nce, he could tell who was acting, and who was not. So, what was Cooper trying to do? He simply could not figure it out. But, no matter what Cooper wanted to do, it would eventually affect Michael and Sophia. This was because they had amon interest now; whatever happened to Cooper would happen to Michael as well. The fact that Michael had married his daughter and had given birth to his grandchild meant that he was now stuck on this path. The banquet was still going on. Despite all the things that had happened tonight, the buzz was not dying down anytime soon. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. This vanity fair was top-notch and full of life. An array of fashionably dressed men and women wandered around in search of a ce of belonging and the destination of their desires. When Sophia was tired from dancing, she left the dance floor and walked toward Michael, who was slowly sipping on his cocktail and was deep in thought. Having drunk a bottle of French Cheval-nc by himself, Stanley was getting a bit tipsy. He held onto Michael¡¯s arm and rubbed it up and down, all while speaking gibberish. He was a domineering director in his own right, but in front of Michael, he would always behave like a silly husky. ¡°What are you thinking about, hubby?¡± Sophia squeezed Stanley out of the way and sat next to Michael while pouring a ss of juice to quench her thirst. She was so happy today that she danced till she was exhausted. Michael slowly set down his ss and let out a long exhale. He stretched out his arm to pull Sophia in by the waist until she was leaning against his chest where she lifted her chin to look at him. She was breathtakingly beautiful tonight, but Michael would always remember how she used to look. At that time, she was simple and innocent. She had taken so much of fate¡¯s beatings that it seemed as if her soul was hollowed out. She was like a weak little wildflower, drooping hopelessly in a withered wastnd; the petals had wilted, but the roots were still trying to look for nutrients among the barrenness. She was the apple of his eye and he had nurtured her until she gradually blossomed into a bright and brilliant wonder. Presently, Sophia¡¯s arm was on his shoulder, and her red lips were slightly parted. Her fair, pointed chin was raised a little, and her eyes were as gentle as water, making her look captivating and lovely. Michael wrapped his arms around her shoulders, letting her lean into him. He held onto her little slender hands while listening to her talk. ¡°You found out about my brother long ago, didn¡¯t you? Why didn¡¯t you stop me when I discussed the fake marriage with you? This is so embarrassing. I almost married my own brother! I never expected that the ¡®brother¡¯ Dad has been raising for more than twenty years was actually his biological son. I really am fortune¡¯s fool. No matter how much I think about it, I wouldn¡¯t have expected Uncle Linus to be my elder brother.¡± Michael¡¯s brows furrowed slightly. Had Sophia ever discussed her fake marriage with him before? He could roughly guess what had happened. Linus had taken advantage of her again. He had deceived Cooper and everyone else. Michael could not believe that Linus would actually think of something like that. Michael had been abroad, filming by the mountains. There was no signal on set, which cut off all hismunications with the outside world. It was only until Justin found the set one day that he found out what was happening. Justin had gotten a phone call from his subordinate telling him about Lorelei. For a while, he could not take it and wanted to find somewhere to rx for two days. After taking two days to calm down, he still felt uneasy. He hurriedly contacted Michael, but he could not reach him. Having always been wary of Linus, Justin paid great attention to him at all times. In the end, he discovered Linus¡¯ n. Fortunately, Annabel returned and disrupted Linus¡¯ n, dying the dinner by ten days. Otherwise, he would have achieved his goal by now, resulting in only two possible oues. Firstly, if Michael did note back, Linus¡¯ identity would not be revealed, and he would take advantage of Sophia and Cooper¡¯s trust to take action. Even so, Michael was uncertain of what he wanted to achieve. The other possibility was that when Michael returned, they would have already announced their marriage. A marriage between the brother and sister would definitely pain Sophia. All of them had almost fallen into Linus¡¯ trap. Today, Sophia was more excited than usual. Her tiny mouth was talking non-stop, and her eyes could not conceal the excitement of finding her brother. For ten years, she had been an orphan. Having suffered hardships, she had longed for a family. Even though she had lost her memory, that longing was subconsciously hidden in her mind. Now that she had finally found her family, she felt immensely blessed. To her, all of this was as beautiful as a dream. Not to mention, Linus was her fraternal twin brother! They had been conceived together and were born together, but they were ruthlessly separated at birth. Now that they had reconciled and she was overjoyed, how could Michael have the heart to ruin her happiness? However, it was true that Linus had used her time and time again. She had forgotten about it, but Linus had once used her and Nathan to probe the Fletchers¡¯ military secrets. He had even let her fall into the hands of the Phantom Wolf! And now, he had tricked her again. Michael knew that Linus loved Sophia. This blood bond between twins was innate; just like his love for Celine, it was not something that could be abandoned. Although they never knew each other, that love would always be there. But, so what if he loved her? Ultimately, the person he loved the most was himself. He had used her to his advantage¡ªto achieve his goals! Leaning on Michael, Sophia began to tell him about everything that had happened when he was gone. She told him about Carmen falling sick, about how they had relocated Annabel¡¯s tomb, about Annabel¡¯s return¡­ She had found her father and her mother, and she had also found her brother. Her family was reunited, which made her feel like the happiest girl in the world. Michael¡¯s expression was indifferent. He was not particrly happy, but he was not solemn either; he just sat there silently and listened. At this moment, Michael suddenly patted Sophia on the shoulder and said gently, ¡°I need to find your dad to talk about something. You can y with Stanley for a while. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Michael then set down his ss and walked out of the dinner hall. Sophia sat on the couch, while Stanley, who was drunk, rubbed her arms and spoke drunkenly. ¡°Give me three thousand soldiers and horses; I want to defeat the Yard Dynasty!¡± ¡°Brothers, attack!¡± ¡°Little Yard, take this back thrust!¡± ¡­ The atmosphere of tonight¡¯s dinner was extraordinary. After all, Linus had publicly announced that he was a part of the Mitchell family. This meant that he hadpletely given up on his identity as a Michel, which resulted in him losing all control of the Michel Group. Many people were whispering at the sides, talking about how they wanted to cut ties with the Michel Group and work with the Yard Group instead. The Yard twins had been in the spotlighttely and were constantly surrounded by beautiful women and celebrities. Ian was also present today, and he was watching everything in silence. He had been deceived and swindled previously, and Sophia had even made fun of him for having a redundant prepuce. Even though his mind and wallet had suffered a blow, he dared not tell anyone such a shameful thing. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and cut off his foreskin. When he heard talk about people wanting to end their contracts with Linus and hurriedly sell off their Michel Group stocks before the news got out, he felt rather delighted. They¡¯re just a bunch of profiteering fools! Chapter 1062 Chapter 1062 Ian had to clear up his pockets as soon as possible. When they got rid of their shares of the Michel Group, he would buy however much they sold. There was going to be a change in the stock market tonight. Ian realized that other than him, quite a number of people were emptying their pockets as well; they were all waiting to purchase the Michel Group¡¯s stocks, and Michael was one of them. While everyone¡¯s focus was on the Yard twins and Linus¡¯ stocks, Linus was standing alone on the hotel rooftop, taking in the evening breeze. Summer in Bayside City was sultry during the day, but cool at night. Linus propped his hands on the rooftop railing, his head hanging low as tears began to fall. He was happy today, but he was also downhearted; he felt sad and regretful. For twenty years, he had lived with the Michel family in fear. As an adopted son, the pressure he had experienced was unlike any other. He dreamed of bing a true member of the Michel Family and did not dare to rx for even a day. The heartache he felt for those twenty years was something that only he would understand. He had only found out today that Cooper was his biological father. The pressure he felt during the past twenty years seemed ridiculous and absurd now. He had actually taken advantage of his biological sister over and over again just to gain a foothold! Now that his identity had changed, his standpoint had changed too. Looking back, he realized how repulsive he used to be; he was simply a monster who would do whatever it took to gain power. Unbeknownst to Linus, Cooper had appeared behind him. The night was dark, and the city¡¯s bright neon lights barely outlined Cooper¡¯s fuzzy figure. Linus turned back, and although he could not see his expression, he could guess how disappointed Cooper was at the moment. The man was as sharp as a tack, so it went without saying that he must have seen through all of Linus¡¯ ns by now. ¡°Linus, do you admit to your mistakes?¡± Cooper asked coldly. This time, his terrible ploy had failed once again, but Linus was not scared. Instead, he felt guilty and sad. He slowly turned back until he was facing Cooper, then with a ¡®plop¡¯, he kneeled on the ground. ¡°Dad, I was wrong¡­¡± The pair stayed like that: the father standing and the son kneeling. Cooper remained silent for a long while before taking a couple of steps forward to help Linus up. Tears were brimming in Linus¡¯ eyes, but he could clearly see Cooper¡¯s expression. There was no look of reproach on his face; instead, there was only a father¡¯s heartache. The father and son stood on the rooftop, looking at Bayview City¡¯s bright neon lights. This was their first time being together as father and son, but Linus did not feel strange because this was how they had always gotten along. Even though they did not know about their rtionship, Cooper had always treated Linus as his own and had high hopes for him. ¡°Linus, you must know that I¡¯m strict with you not because you¡¯re adopted. It doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you¡¯re my son, as ever since I adopted you, I¡¯ve taken on the responsibility of guiding you. I¡¯m strict with you because I want you to be stronger.¡± Cooper¡¯s words were grave and earnest, but his eyes were filled with sadness. ¡°Only when you have power and strength, can you protect all those that you love.¡± Linus nodded wordlessly. Cooper patted his shoulder and looked at the son that he had found with such difficulty. Sadness surged in his heart, but at the same time, he was gratified. He figured that he had never treated him poorly, and Linus had lived up to his expectations as well. This was enough. It was really enough¡­ ¡°Linus, a person strengthens themselves in order to protect everything they love. If you only gain power for yourself, you¡¯ll be lonely for life.¡± Once again, Linus nodded silently, and he could not hold back the tears that began to fall. Cooper continued, ¡°You¡¯re the child that I raised, so I know your character, and I know why you did what you¡¯ve done¡­ But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll tolerate everything that you do. There is nothing crueler than hurting the person who loves and trusts you. Once the consequences emerge, you won¡¯t even have the chance to make amends. Linus¡­ I will never be able to ask for your grandfather¡¯s forgiveness for the rest of my life, which is why I hope that you won¡¯t follow in my footsteps.¡± At this point, Linus sobbed uncontrobly and kneeled in front of Cooper again; he wasn¡¯t even able to utter a single word. He was unscrupulous because he had no sense of security, and he felt like he could be reced at any moment. He lived carefully and cautiously because he feared that he would be sent away mercilessly if he so much as took a wrong step or said something wrong. He really liked his sister, his adoptive parents, and Cooper; he did not want to leave them. But today, he realized that regardless of whether or not he was Cooper¡¯s biological son, Cooper had always treated him as his most trusted family member. ¡°Dad, I was wrong, and I won¡¯t do it again. Please don¡¯t tell Sophia; I don¡¯t want to lose her¡­¡± While Cooper might have been able to forgive him, Sophia might not. Cooper shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes. ¡°Silly child, she¡¯s your sister¡ªyour rtive. She will forgive you; after all, we¡¯re family. Linus¡­ As long as you¡¯re sincere, you don¡¯t have to be as careful as a ve is around their master. Nobody will send you away just because you¡¯re not good enough. Back then, I brought you back because I wanted to give you a home.¡± Tears were streaming down Linus¡¯ face like rain now, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke. ¡°Dad¡­¡± In the corner, Michael watched everything before quietly leaving. In the end, he did not mention anything to Sophia, so she still thought that it was all a misunderstanding. He suddenly remembered his childhood when he was adopted by the Fletchers after his parents passed away. People his age were jealous of the affection he got from Mark, so they ostracized him and isted him. Now, he knew that it was nothing more than children being children, but at that time, he felt as if it was the end of the world. Therefore, he rebelled and left the Fletcher family, not turning back for more than a decade. When he looked back now, he realized that he and Linus were the same type of people. The only difference was that Linus chose to bear everything silently and strengthened himself by any means, while he chose to turn his back on everything. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. In no time, the banquet ended, and everyone was happy. The next day, there were rumors that the Vice President of the Michel Group was adopted, but he had found his biological father and was disowned by the Michel family. He would immediately lose his position in the Michel Group, and they would carry out a reshuffling of power, which would cause internal turmoil. This had resulted in many people selling their stocks. Michael made haste to collect a lot of loose shares, saving them for Sophia and Carmen. When the time came and she really wanted to return to the Michel family, all of this would be her capital. Sophia was still staying with Michael at The Imperial, while Linus openly moved back to the Edwards Residence. After he returned home, Michael handled several trivial matters before bringing Sophia and Carmen to the Edwards Residence for dinner. This would be their first meal together ever since they acknowledged their rtionship, so it was a rather grand asion. Michael even took the liberty to bring over a few pounds of rice eels. At the dinner table, Carmen addressed Linus sweetly. ¡°Granduncle!¡± Cooper instantly corrected her. ¡°Call him uncle!¡± Carmen pouted with dissatisfaction and spoke as if she were wronged. ¡°Papa said that even though Uncle Linus is my real uncle, I¡¯ll still have to call him Granduncle when Grandpa is around.¡± Upon hearing this, Michael was shocked and nearly jumped up to cover Carmen¡¯s mouth. He was doomed! Sure enough, as soon as Carmen finished speaking, three pairs of eyes shot coldly toward Michael. Chapter 1063 Chapter 1063 Three pairs of faint blue eyes stared coldly in Michael¡¯s direction. Both Cooper and Linus had been immersed in the joy of their family reunion over the past two days, so they failed to carefully reflect on the events that had transpired. However, their niggling doubts had existed in their hearts since before. Thus, everybody immediately noticed something fishy going on as soon as Carmen mentioned it. Cooper thought to himself, No wonder Michael managed to locate Linus at such a timely moment! No wonder I always felt that somebody was muddying the waters and blocking my way from behind the scenes while I was searching for my son! No wonder Daniel told me to remain spiritual in my search for my son, iming that my long-lost son would appear if I checked the household registry! That was because Linus is already listed in the household registry! If it weren¡¯t for this incident, where Michael became anxious and desperate because I was pushing Linus and Sophia into a fake marriage, who knows how long Michael would have continued deceiving us?! That d*mn Michael! Sophia angrily put her cutlery down and red at Michael fiercely. Simrly, the expression on Linus¡¯ face was anything but kind. On the other hand, Michael didn¡¯t even flinch as he held Carmen and fed her. He even smilingly said, ¡°You¡¯re so smart! Uncle Linus became Mommy¡¯s brother a long, long time ago. So, don¡¯t call him ¡®Granduncle Linus¡¯ anymore. You should call him ¡®Uncle Linus¡¯ just like before!¡± Carmen raised her head and looked at him. Pouting, she said, ¡°Okay.¡± Adults are soplicated! Despite managing to turn the situation around, it did not change the fact that the truth had been ruthlessly exposed. Thus, Linus and Cooper were still ring daggers at him. However, he gathered all the acting skills he cultivated as an Academy Award winner to keep his expression neutral and calm. Hmph; why should I fear Cooper? He can¡¯t do anything to me! I¡¯m his son-inw! Carmen was oblivious to the storm brewing between the adults. Picking up her new bowl, she looked at Cooper and asked sweetly, ¡°Grandpa, is my ¡®royal sweetheart bowl¡¯ pretty?¡± Only then did Cooper withdraw his vicious re. By the time he turned to face her, his face was filled with pure delight. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very pretty.¡± In his opinion, Michael¡¯s greatest contribution in life was the child he had with Sophia¡ªCarmen. Feeling relieved at the sight of his expression, she held her beloved customized small bowl and ate her food. Michael used her ¡®royal sweetheart spoon¡¯ to feed her and wiped her mouth with her personalized napkin when her mouth became dirty. Hence, the meal continued under that strange atmosphere. After the meal, Cooper and Linus went into the study. They had a lot of matters to discuss. Then, Sophia hurriedly dragged Michael away with her. Returning to their original room, she asked frankly, ¡°Were you aware that Linus was my brother from the beginning?¡± Michael kept his expression stern. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t know from the start either. Justin only told me about it two days ago.¡± He did his best to push the me on Justin. ¡°Justin seems to have suspected it since the beginning, but he wasn¡¯t sure. He only managed to confirm it several days ago. To our surprise, the two of you were about to have a fake marriage. So, I rushed back to stop you. Fortunately, I arrived in time.¡± She didn¡¯t quite believe him. Observing his every action carefully, she tried to detect any ws in his expression. However, she could not find any. As expected of a Best Actor winner; he¡¯s a professional actor indeed. Who knows if he is lying to me¡­ Forget it; our little family is back together again. Let¡¯s forget about these trivial matters. Although they moved out, the room Sophia used to stay in had been kept very neat and clean. Cooper even ced some pajamas in the closet and slippers in the shoe cab so that he could wee her back anytime. At that moment, she suddenly felt the sadness of marrying out of the family. Now that she had grown up, she couldn¡¯t keep following her father around anymore. Later, the family of three decided to have dinner at the Edwards Residence before returning home. However, Michael found Carmen sitting in a corner and sulking unhappily in the afternoon. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, baby?¡± Michael hurriedly went over and asked upon noticing that his beloved daughter looked extremely aggrieved. His heart trembled at the sight of her expression. Carmen¡¯s round little face was full of grievances. She was pouting and seemed to be sniffling slightly as she looked up at him pitifully. ¡°Daddy, have I been losing money?¡± He had not expected her to ask such a nonsensical question. Quickly pulling her into his arms, he gently replied, ¡°No, you aren¡¯t. Why would you lose money? Besides, you¡¯ve been making a lot of money recently! I¡¯ve been keeping it in the bank for you!¡± She sobbed, her tears rolling down her face. Pressing her lips together, she asked, ¡°Then why¡­ Why did Grandma call me a waste of money?¡± Upon hearing those words, he froze in shock. The three words she uttered seemed to echo in his ears. Waste of money?! This is the first time anybody has ever dared to describe my precious daughter as such! When she saw Michael saying nothing, she whimpered and incoherently asked, ¡°Daddy, did I make you waste a lot of money? Grandma says I spend too much money. She says I spend hundreds of thousands every month. She says I¡¯m going to make you go bankrupt!¡± His expression immediately became overcast, and he smiled coldly. However, his teeth made a grinding sound as he gnashed them furiously. Hugging her in his arms, he gently patted her on the back to Still, she continued crying. She was about to turn four; she was no longer a three-year-old child, so she could understand what the adults were saying now. She also understood that ¡®a waste of money¡¯ was something bad. Sobbing, she lifted her head to look at him. ¡°Daddy, is it very expensive to raise me?¡± He picked her up and kissed her tear-stained face. ¡°Of course not; even Judge spends more money than you do!¡± He held her andforted her, but she kept crying without stopping. She cried all the way to the garage. cing her in the car, he put a husky doll in herp and gently said, ¡°Darling, can you sit here and watch ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ for a bit? I¡¯m going to get Mommy. Let¡¯s go home together, alright?¡± Carmen nodded while wiping away her tears. Michael took out hisputer and turned on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ for her. After that, he instructed the nanny and the driver to watch her before going to search for Sophia. The moment he turned around, the gentle and warm fatherly demeanor was gone. All that was left was a terrible ruthlessness and fury! In the living room, the family was just starting to watch TV together. Michael had yet to return after heading to the bathroom. Taking advantage of Michael¡¯s absence, Annabel rushed over to Sophia and earnestly said, ¡°My dear, you need to make haste! You have to give birth to a son as soon as possible! Only a son can keep your husband by your side!¡± Sophia was focused on the TV while using her leg to pet the dog at the same time. When she heard those words, her gaze flicked over to Annabel before flicking away again. ¡°A daughter is nice too.¡± Are all mothers like that? Why do her words sound so hateful? Unexpectedly, Annabel became exasperated at her words and sternly said, ¡°Daughters will be married off sooner orter. No matter how you raise them, they are a waste of money! You need to get yourself a son! Even if you can¡¯t give birth to one, you need to find another way! You can use a surrogate mother. In the worst case, you can secretly find a mistress. Once she gives birth to a son, you can raise him as yours, then give her some money to leave¡ª¡± Before Sophia could say a word, she saw Michael rushing into the room in a hurry. Without saying anything, he raised his hand and pped Annabel across the face heavily. p! As the loud sound echoed throughout the room, the room instantly becamepletely silent. Chapter 1064 Chapter 1064 Originally, everybody had been watching TV and chatting with each other. Cooper and Linus were talking to each other quietly in English. Meanwhile, Annabel was energetically talking to Sophia about women¡¯s issues. Needless to say, Cooper heard everything Annabel said, including ¡®waste of money¡¯, ¡®surrogate mother¡¯, and ¡®find a mistress¡¯. Although he was sick of listening to it, he said nothing. If anybody else were to say that, he would have killed them a long time ago. However, nobody could have expected Michael to p Annabel across the face as soon as he walked in. That clear sound rang out across the room, and everybody in the living room was left frozen in shock. It was the first time they witnessed a son-inw hitting his mother-inw! As swift as lightning, he pped Annabel again before anybody could react. The second hit was much harder than the first. As a result, Annabel lost her bnce, fell onto the sofa, and struggled to get up. When she lifted her head again, her face was red and swollen. Widening her eyes, it took her a long time to recover from the shock of being hit. On the other hand, he looked menacing and ferocious, and his eyes were filled with rage. Pointing at her, he warned her sternly. ¡°I¡¯m warning you right now. If you can¡¯t watch what you say, I¡¯ll make sure you can never say another word again!¡± At that moment, everybody in the living room finally came back to their senses. Sophia hurriedly got up, put on her shoes, and ran toward Michael. Grabbing at the hand he was pointing toward Annabel, she said, ¡°Hubby, what¡¯s going on? Why did you hit Mom?!¡± Annabel seemed to have gone into shock from fright. She sat on the sofa in a daze, staring at Michael in disbelief. It wasn¡¯t until Cooper hurried over to hug her that she returned to her senses and finally let out a loud wail. Burying her face in Cooper¡¯s chest, she sobbed in fear. Cooper hugged his beloved wife close. Touching her face, he saw that her face was swollen from the p! Thus, he flew into a rage and roared in a thunderous voice, ¡°Michael Fletcher! How dare you?! How dare you hit your mother-inw?!¡± When Michael heard the words ¡®mother-inw¡¯, a cold and cruel smile appeared on his enraged expression. ¡°Mother-inw? Haha. I call her ¡®mother-inw¡¯ out of respect. She is nothing but a wretched woman!¡± Even with Cooper standing right in front of him, he didn¡¯t seem inclined to be tolerant today. He pointed at Annabel and said warningly, ¡°You wretched woman! Listen well; how I raise my daughter is none of your business! More than that, it has nothing to do with you whether my daughter causes me to lose money or not! If you dare to say something rude again, I will kill you myself!¡± Sophia waspletely taken aback by his words. The way Annabel spoke was hurtful and harsh, but she simply considered Annabel¡¯s words as nonsense¡ªit entered one ear and went out the other. Hence, she did not expect Michael to react so impulsively. ¡°Hubby, calm down¡­¡± She quickly stood between Annabel and Michael. When she grabbed his arm, she could feel his arm trembling slightly. His blood was boiling with rage¡ªhe was furious. He had never been as furious as he was now. ¡°Mom¡¯s words might be a little nasty, but she has good intentions! Please calm down!¡± Annabel shrank back into Cooper¡¯s arms, crying loudly. As she sobbed, she incoherently mumbled, ¡°I did it for your sake¡­ Coop, I didn¡¯t mean to do it! I love Carmen too! She is my granddaughter¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Michael exploded in anger. She was so scared that she trembled in fear. Gripping Cooper tightly, her wails turned into terrified sobs. She looked incredibly pitiful in her current state. Michael¡¯s eyes were still filled with rage. His slender and pale hands continued to point at Annabel. ¡°I have not forgotten the time you fed Carmen that so-called talisman drink. Your life is cheap, but Carmen¡¯s status is several hundred times nobler than yours! If anything happens to her, even ten of your wretched lives won¡¯t be enough to pay the price!¡± Tears flowed down her face as she listened to him. As her husband, Cooper was so furious that he trembled in anger. Standing up, he approached Michael swiftly. He raised his fist toward Michael. Simrly, Michael raised his fist in response too. ¡°You b*stard! I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson today!¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°You old coot! I¡¯ve been tolerating you for a long time now!¡± It was a showdown between a raging dragon and a roaring tiger¡ªone was fighting for his wife while the other was fighting for his daughter. Both were livid and gritting their teeth; their eyes were scarlet with rage. They wanted to get back at each other for all the past and current hatred for each other. When Linus saw that the situation was getting out of hand, he rushed forward and stopped Cooper. Meanwhile, Sophia and Roger grabbed Michael. The situation in the living room was chaotic. It was a cacophony of sounds¡ªCooper was shouting, Michael was roaring furiously, Sophia was screaming, Annabel was wailing, and there was also the sound of tableware crashing to the ground and smashing to pieces. The entire Edwards Residence was shrouded in a tragic atmosphere like those found in soap operas. Cooper was forcefully held back by Linus. However, he continued to wave his fists about. ¡°Michael Fletcher! Do you really think you can marry my daughter?! Impossible! As long as I am alive, you will never marry her!¡± Michael was struggling against Roger¡¯s grip. ¡°Sophia and I are mutually in love! Since when do you have a say in it?!¡± Cooper¡¯s eyes were crimson with hatred. ¡°You knew about Linus from the beginning, didn¡¯t you?! You¡¯ve been hiding it from us all along!¡± In response, Michael was so furious that he burst outughing, but hisughter was bleak and despairing. ¡°That¡¯s right! I knew since the beginning! Five years ago, I was searching everywhere for you on Sophia¡¯s behalf. Where were you?! Where were you when Sophia got into trouble?! I discovered that Linus was Sophia¡¯s brother five years ago. I wanted to let the siblings get to know each other. But¡­ ask your son yourself! Just what did he do?! Why don¡¯t you ask him what he did?! What right does he have to get to know her?! He¡¯s not worthy of her!¡± Upon hearing those words, Linus froze in shock. I see¡­ Five years ago¡­ Michael already knew¡­ Five years ago, he assisted the Phantom Wolf in kidnapping Sophia. He had not meant for it to happen and later helped rescue her. However, he couldn¡¯t just write off his involvement in that matter. The scars from that time were forcefully ripped open again. Cooper¡¯s mind was filled with the memory of Sophia lying in his arms, covered incerations, and looking like she was about to die. There were too many memories in his life that he did not dare to recall, and this was one of them. It was no less painful than the time when Annabel died in his arms after being poisoned back then. All of a sudden, he let out a hoarse, angry roar. ¡°Michael Fletcher! I¡¯m going to kill you! I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± He ran about the house, looking for a gun. Even Linus couldn¡¯t hold him back. On the other hand, Sophia was crying out of fright. She shouted tearfully, ¡°Stop! Stop talking! Let¡¯s just go! We won¡¯te back again!¡± She and Roger worked together to drag the unwilling Michael outside. He was like an enraged beast, trying to snap at everybody around him. After that, he grabbed her hand and quickly dragged her to the garage. When they entered the garage, she was crying sadly when she suddenly sensed a warm andrge wall of flesh rushing toward her. The force of it was so strong that she staggered back slightly. Her back was against the wall, and she thought that the flesh wall was going to crash into her. Suddenly, a pair ofrge hands surrounded her and held the back of her head, preventing her from banging into the wall. Then, she was enveloped in a warm and soft embrace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for scaring you¡­¡± Sophia lifted her head nkly. Michael, who waspletely livid beyond words just now, had calmed down at some point. His eyes were gentle, and he seemed like apletely different personpared to the man who fought with Cooper just now¡­ Chapter 1065 Chapter 1065 Sophia looked at Michael in confusion and blinked. Her face was tear-stained, and she couldn¡¯t help choking on her tears. ¡°Weren¡¯t you fighting with my father just now¡ª¡± ¡°It was faked. Your father and I were only acting,¡± Michael quickly replied. He was afraid that if he confessed anyter, she would overthink it. ¡°Acting¡­¡± It felt like her brain wasn¡¯t working. All the brawling, quarreling, and opening old wounds¡­ All of that was just an act? Before she could work through her confusion, his hot lips pressed against hers and forced all her doubts away. The two of them kissed quietly in that secluded corner of the garage. Tenderly kissing her on the lips, he used his actions to express his love for her. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. After the kiss, she panted; she was slightly out of breath. Her small mouth opened and closed, breathing in the ambiguous air between them. A light sheen of sweat formed on her skin, and her eyes seemed to be shrouded in mist. Half-closing her eyes, her eyshes trembled slightly as if tears still clung to them. It had scared her very badly when the two men started fighting each other out of nowhere. Stuck between the two of them, she watched as the two most important men in her life tried to rip each other apart. It left her at a loss of what to do. Even now, her heart was still pounding fiercely in her chest; she was unable to calm down. However, she finally felt somewhat less worried after Michael¡¯s gentle kisses. He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as if he was reminiscing the feeling of the kisses they shared mere moments ago. Their lips were only several centimeters apart, and they could feel the heat of each other¡¯s ragged breathing. There seemed to be an invisible and alluring sense in the air, attracting them to each other. The kiss mark he ced on her neck glimmered with a familiar sense of seduction. However, he knew that now was not the time for this. She grabbed his shoulder and questioned him again in an uncertain tone. ¡°It really was just an act, right? You¡¯re not fighting with my father or my brother, right?¡± Although she knew that Michael wasn¡¯t an impulsive man, the words they exchanged just now were too harsh. Did he really need to say such hurtful words for the sake of an act? He breathed out a sigh through his nose. ¡°Yeah. Your father knew I was acting too. But, his acting skills are far too clumsy. It¡¯s difficult to fool anybody with that level of acting, so I said some hurtful stuff to agitate him and cause an outburst of emotions in him¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to hurt him, and I will apologize for itter.¡± Upon hearing those words, she couldn¡¯t helpughing a little. I knew it; Michael is a coward. How could he possibly pick a fight with Cooper? No, he¡¯s not a coward. It¡¯s only because Cooper is my father that he has to back down. Still¡­ was he really not taking the opportunity to pick a fight with Cooper to vent his hatred? Afterward, the family of three returned to Vi No.8, The Imperial. As soon as Carmen arrived home, she took out her customized ounting book and started bncing her ounts. She carried the book around with her wherever she went. Any time she made some money, she would carefully record it into the book. From the money she received from letting her friends at the kindergarten y with Judge to the sry she received from filming; she recorded everything down clearly without missing a single decimal point. One had to admit that children with strong genes always got the longer stick in life. Although Carmen was just about to turn four, she could already doplicated multiplications and divisions. Recently, she even started learning how to do multivariate quadratic equations. Although she couldn¡¯tpare to her uncle who was defying logic at the age of four, she was very advancedpared to her peers. I¡¯m going to bnce my ounts today. I need to check if I¡¯ve been losing money! Thus, she earnestly counted with her fingers, borrowing the help of a calctor once in a while. Among all the various skills she had, she was the best at math. Michael and Sophia helped her bnce her ounts too. ¡°On X day X year, Carmen endorsed a children¡¯s watch. The endorsement fee was 1 million. Daddy saved it for me! On X day X year, Carmen yed a bit-part for a show and earned 200 a day. On X day X year, the global box office sales of the movie Carmen acted in exceeded 500 million Amons, and she received a sry of 500,000 Amons for her role in the movie. On X day X year, Mommy used Carmen¡¯s social media ount to ept an advertisement contract. The advertising fee was 100,000.¡± ¡­ Carmen pouted, feeling unconvinced. After repeatedly calcting her ie over the years, she finally obtained a total amount. Then, she sprung up excitedly and proudly announced, ¡°Haha! I didn¡¯t make Daddy lose any money!¡± Michael hugged his daughter, who became cheerful all of a sudden. ¡°Look; didn¡¯t I tell you that you¡¯re good at making money? How could you be losing money?¡± Once she confirmed that she was not a ¡®waste of money¡¯, she happily took her afternoon nap. Despite finally cheering their child up, Michael and Sophia entered the study with solemn expressions. If Cooper and Michael were just putting on an act, then there must have been an audience they were acting for. At the time, only Cooper, Linus, Annabel, Sophia, and Michael were present. Since neither Sophia nor Linus was the targeted audience, it could only be Annabel! That meant that something was up with Annabel! However, that was probably thest thing Sophia wanted to hear. Cooper had waited for more than 20 years before finally reuniting with Annabel. But now, he discovered that she was a fake! Even if she were the real thing, she was here with ulterior motives. How torturous was that to him?! The worst part was that he had to act along with her. Sophia used to have her suspicions too. However, she had never spent a single day with Annabel before, and her understanding of Annabel as a person was too shallow. Besides, Cooper did not seem to have any misgivings. Thus, she kept her doubts buried in her heart and suppressed her feelings. Now, her doubts were confirmed. Thinking back on it carefully, various questionable points were everywhere. For example, Cooper once mentioned that Annabel was a stubborndy who struggled against her fate. Like mother, like daughter; they were very simr. Sophia wanted to study to change her fate. On the other hand, Annabel had been forced to drop out of school at a young age. She then entered society and struggled to earn a living, working many different jobs. In the end, she established ¡®Crimson House¡¯, a franchise restaurant, with Sam. To be honest, she was very talented and innovative. Bing a multi-millionaire in that era was just a matter of time for her. On the contrary, the current Annabel was full of conservative and rotten beliefs from the olden days. She could even go so far as to mention something like ¡®surrogate mother¡¯! Still, Sophia had not dared to investigate further into the matter. What if¡­ she found something during her investigations? For example¡­ the existence of that hooked-nosed man; what if that hooked-nosed man and Annabel were in cahoots with each other? Finally, Sophia and Michael decided to bring out the previous data they collected to analyze them again and see if they could find new clues. Inside the study, she took out all the information she had gathered in the past and ced them in front of him. ¡°This is the data I collected from some of the vigers Justin and I questioned before. And, this is a sketch of that hooked-nosed man based on their descriptions.¡± She hadpiled them into a document and printed them out. Even so, it was arge stack of documents. He flipped through the documents while instructing Maria to bring out the information he gathered several years ago. With both their materialsbined together, Michael picked up a pen and started doodling on the documents Sophia had gathered. Meanwhile, Sophia looked through the information Michael had gathered. That information waspiled from the traces of Annabel¡¯s existence and gathered into a document for safekeeping. To give Sophia a rough idea of the information, it included photos of some of Annabel¡¯s personal effects, a diary, and pictures. Comparing the two sets of information, they immediately detected many discrepancies between the information. Chapter 1066 Chapter 1066 Sophia read through the materials seriously. Both husband and wife analyzed the data together, and Justin joined them too. Michael soon finished reading through the information Sophia had gathered. Sophia also shared the results of her investigation with him. After considering it for a moment, he concluded, ¡°The results from your investigation are suspicious indeed. Although the vigers personally witnessed what happened back then, they all saw things from a different perspective. Moreover, too much time has passed. People would subjectively change what they say, so this information might not be true. Just like how Sam fooled youst time by saying that he took over the Crimson House for your mother¡­ If anyone among the vigers of the Johnson Family Vige were to lie to receive the money¡­ the rest will follow that person¡¯s lead and weave their stories around the lie.¡± He used a red pen to strike through most of the information provided by the vigers. ¡°From mother-inw¡¯s diary, we can confirm that she did not study past primary school. So, those who imed that she dropped out of middle school are unreliable. With that, we can filter out many of these testimonies.¡± Sophia was overwhelmed by the onught of information she read through today. Therefore, she simply watched as Michael analyzed the testimonies, little by little, and looked for clues. asionally, Justin would also help to cross out useless or confusing clues with a red pen. The truth behind the testimonies was unclear. It was possible that by rejecting the falsified parts of the testimony, they would identally cross out the truth hidden in them too. ¡°This middle school teacher imed that mother-inw was the top student in his ss. After she dropped out of school, she went with him to work at a noodle restaurant he owned. Moreover, he also met the man with the hooked nose¡ª¡± Michael analyzed the data with a solemn expression. Sophia immediately interrupted. ¡°Mom never went to middle school. So, he must be lying. And, there may never have been a hooked-nosed man!¡± However, Justin immediately retorted, ¡°I investigated him before. When Annabel was in primary school, this middle school teacher was still teaching at the primary school. She was also the best student in his ss. I think too much time has passed, and he forgot some of the details. So, the part about her meeting the hooked-nosed man at the noodle restaurant remains uncertain.¡± Then, she fell silent and watched the two men analyze the information. What they were sure of, they would highlight blue; what they could discern as false, they highlighted red; and what remained uncertain, they highlighted green. In the end, they basically confirmed that Annabel was a bright student. Unfortunately, she dropped out of primary school to work. Moreover, she did all sorts of jobs before working at the noodle shop owned by her primary school teacher. Later, she received a rmendation and went to the city to work on her own. All the clues they couldn¡¯t be certain about were linked to that hooked-nosed man. After they finished discussing the hooked-nosed man, Michael talked about what happened today. ¡°Your current mother is very good at acting. Her disguise is perfect, and the stic surgery on her face was done very naturally. However, I¡¯ve been dealing with actors and people with facelifts for a long time now. I can tell with a nce that her face has been surgically reconstructed before. Everything is fake. As for whether or not she is genuinely your mother, it can be verified with a DNA test. But, I believe your father has already done that in secret. When I pped her today, I took a closer look at her face. The surgery she did was rather major, but I couldn¡¯t find any traces of it. She probably removed her face entirely and underwent aplete facelift before reattaching her facial skin. Your father has been acting too. He probably knew from the start that she was a fake.¡± She had originally guessed that her mother was a fake. Cooper might have failed to notice it immediately since it had been decades since hest saw the real Annabel. However, she did not expect that he had been acting all this while. Perhaps, he already knew the moment she appeared. He was faced with a woman pretending to be the love of his life, yet he had to force a smile for such a long while. How furious must he be inside? After all, he could not stand for anybody desecrating his beloved Anna! ¡°In conclusion, something must have been going on behind the scenes back then. My father is pretending right now so that he can draw the people behind this conspiracy out of the shadows. Perhaps, it¡¯s the hooked-nosed man from back then!¡± Sophia tried analyzing the information too. However, Michael shook his head and said mysteriously, ¡°Perhaps. But, that¡¯s not the only thing he¡¯s thinking about.¡± As for what it was that his father-inw had in mind, he didn¡¯t dare to make a guess either. Still, he was certain the reason the mastermind sent this imposter to their side was to drive a wedge between Michael and Cooper. They might have disliked each other in private, but to outsiders, they were a unit with shared interests. Hence, Cooper and Michael¡¯s cooperation more or less meant that Cooper was affiliated with the Fletcher Family, Asco International, and the Winston Family. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. Michael did not know who the mastermind was trying to target. Is it me? Or, is it Cooper? But, there¡¯s only one person who considers both of us as their enemies¡­ At present, he was pretending to be at odds with Cooper. So, there was nothing else for him to do but sit back and watch the show. At the Edwards Residence, Cooper was so livid that steam was practicallying out of his nostrils after he almost got into a fight with Michael. He watched as Sophia and Michael left with Carmen, then he turned to Linus and said, ¡°Linus, call Sophia and ask her toe back right now!¡± Annabel tried to calm him down. ¡°That¡¯s enough. Coop, let¡¯s not get all hot and bothered over that b*stard! Your health is more important. Don¡¯t get angry! If your health fails because of how angry you are, what will happen to me?¡± Linus took out his phone and made a call. Then, he came back with a troubled expression and reported, ¡°Dad¡­ Sophia hung up on me.¡± Thus, Cooper gritted his teeth in fury and suddenly swept everything on the coffee table to the ground in his rage. ¡°Unbelievable! I¡¯m going to kill him!¡± Seeing that Cooper was about to get up and rush out, Linus quickly put his phone down and rushed over. ¡°Dad, calm down! Murder will not solve anything!¡± Cooper was livid. ¡°How dare he hit your mother?! Are you saying he shouldn¡¯t be killed?!¡± Linus seemed impatient and annoyed. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Dad. Stop being so impulsive. We were all at fault today! You should watch what you say!¡± Then, Cooper red at Linus before smiling coldly and cruelly. ¡°Which side are you on? Linus, you better not forget this: just who do you think raised you all these years?!¡± Linus pursed his lips in response. He remained silent, but it was obvious that he was upset. ncing around at the messy living room, Cooper stormed back to his study and did note out again. After he left, Linus snorted with a dark expression. Not long after, he left the house and drove back to The Imperial. ¡°Coop! Linus! Where are you going¡ª¡± Annabel anxiously ran after both of them, but she couldn¡¯t stop any of them from leaving. Over the next few days, Linus did not return and Sophia did not send a single letter back home. In a moment of rage, Cooper ordered Lucky, the local dog breed that Linus raised, to be killed! After that, Linus finally returned. A huge quarrel ensued in the Edwards Residence, and he moved outpletely. With that, their happy little family was broken beyond rescue. Sulking alone at home, Cooper did not allow anybody, except Annabel, to approach him. In a sh, half a month passed by without any signs of reconciliation. Finally, a mysterious and cautious message was secretly sent out of the country through Annabel¡¯s phone¡­ Chapter 1067 Chapter 1067 Nearly two months had passed since Annabel first appeared in front of Cooper. In these two months, she had been extremely careful, and her performance was perfect. Only after seeing that her ns had seeded did she cautiously send out this message. Michael, Linus, and Cooper were now at odds with each other under her instigation, and Cooper was isted and helpless. Now was the best time to strike at him! After hiding in the study and sending out the message, she nced through thetest news. The share prices of several listedpanies under the Michel Group had fallen. Moreover, Cooper¡¯s Mitchell International Energy and Technology was doing poorly recently. Thepany had consecutively lost several projects and ceased all cooperation with the Edwards Group. Currently, it was being suppressed by the Edwards Group. In the end, Cooper was only human¡ªhe had emotions too. As long as he had emotions, he had weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Back then, Annabel was his weakness. And now, his children were his weaknesses. With his weaknesses in hand, finishing him off was no trouble at all! Shemunicated with the mastermind through a special method of text messaging and received a reply not long after her initial message was sent. The response was short, containing only three words: ¡®Kill the twins¡¯. Staring at those words, she felt puzzled; she couldn¡¯t quite understand the meaning behind those words. Kill the twins? The twins are probably referring to Sophia and Linus, the fraternal twins. So, he only wants to kill Cooper¡¯s children and end the family lineage? But, from my observations during this time, Cooper isn¡¯t particrly bothered by blood ties. Aside from Sophia and Linus, he still has several backups, such as Sean and Carmen, that could inherit his will. Therefore, more than two targets exist if he wanted to eliminate Cooper¡¯s sessors. So, why only kill the twins? Annabel put her phone away and turned around. To her surprise, she discovered that the door to the study had been opened at some point without her noticing. Furthermore, several people stood at the door watching her. Standing at the forefront was Cooper, and he was apanied by Linus, Sophia, as well as his son-inw, Michael. As the four of them stood by the door, she could feel their gazes coldly and silently staring at her. Her heart skipped a beat in fear. Why are Linus and Sophia here? Aren¡¯t they at odds with Cooper? Why are they here? Even so, she reacted quickly. Without revealing her emotions on her face, she pretended to wipe down the desk in the study with the rag in her hand. She also acted pleasantly surprised as she said, ¡°Oh, my! Sophia and Linus are back! I knew it; we are a family after all. What is there¡ª¡± Before she could finish her sentence, Cooper took out a gun and swiftly aimed the nozzle at her leg. Then, he pressed the trigger without a hint of hesitation. The silenced pistol did not make a loud noise. She only heard a soft ¡®Bam!¡¯ when he pressed the trigger before a bullet went through her leg. Several seconds of silence passed before she let out a shrill cry of pain as she fell back against the desk behind her and slowly slid to the ground. She stared at her leg, which had been shot, in disbelief and her entire body trembled uncontrobly. A momentter, she let out a piercing scream, ¡°Coop, why¡ª¡± He aimed the gun nozzle to the left and fired again without batting an eye. Bam! Another bone-chilling screampletely covered the soft sound of the gunshot. That ear-splitting scream reverberated throughout the entire Edwards Residence when she was shot in her other leg. Sophia expressionlessly watched the entire scene unfold before her. Her faint blue eyes were utterly unmoved. Rather, there was a hint of delight in them. Meanwhile, Cooper lowered his hand that was holding the gun and walked into the room. Looking down at the woman in front of him expressionlessly, his gaze was as indifferent as if he were looking at an ant. ¡°The bullet to your left leg is for my daughter.¡± His sea-blue eyes were cold¡ªthere was no trace of emotion in them. ¡°My daughter is not somebody you are allowed to shame.¡± Annabel seemed to have caught on to what was going on. Leaning against the ground, she stopped screaming even though both her legs were bleeding. She was pale-faced and sweating profusely from the pain, but her trembling lips were cocked in a mocking smile. The gaze she fixed on him held a hint of pity and ridicule. It felt as if she was holding the trump card that he could only dream about acquiring. On the other hand, his expression was unreadable. ¡°The bullet to your right leg is for my granddaughter¡­ For all the things you said to her.¡± He knew she was a fake from the moment she appeared. She had disguised herself perfectly, and her imitation of Annabel¡¯s expressions and demeanor was wless. However, he knew from the first nce. Even if more than 20 years had passed, that person still appeared in his dreams daily¡ªhe remembered everything about her as if it were yesterday. How could he possibly forget? Yet, he still brought this imposter home. He simply watched as the imposter fed Carmen an expired jelly and the talisman drink; tolerated her rudeness and all her attempts at sounding him out; and tolerated the harm she brought to his family. All of it was for today! He had achieved what he wanted to know¡ªthis woman was useless to him now. However, he decided to do it himself. Looking at the cold and merciless gun nozzle pointed at her, she sneered. She knew he could not kill her. Even if he wanted to kill her, it depended on whether he had enough confidence and courage to pull it off. ¡°Haha¡­¡± She gritted her teeth, her pale lips opening and closing slightly. However, the words that came out of her mouth sent chills down their backs. ¡°I have to hand it to you, Cooper. You saw through my pretense after all. But, what else could you do? I was pregnant; I was having your children. So, you endured it and murdered your own child¡ª¡± Bam! He raised his gun and fired the third shot with a frigid expression. The bullet hit her in the stomach. ¡°This bullet is for Anna,¡± he said quietly. Despite his deep hatred, his words came out calmly and indifferently. ¡°Anna is not somebody you can spheme.¡± That shot pierced through the imposter¡¯s stomach at a close range, and the bullet lodged itself in the desk behind her. The imposter clutched at her stomach, but she couldn¡¯t stop the warm blood that gushed out without stopping. As an agent who was about to die, she suddenly felt incredibly cold. The person standing before her did not feel human¡ªit felt as if an emotionless dragon was looming before her. As expected, he truly was cold and merciless. She gritted her teeth and snarled, ¡°Cooper, you won¡¯t be able to bring yourself to kill me. I know all the answers to everything you want to know!¡± Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. In response, he lifted the gun again and fired the fourth shot without saying anything. The bullet hit her in the shoulder. ¡°This bullet is for my son. You shouldn¡¯t have tried to harm my family.¡± The imposter was shot four times, and it no longer hurt. Instead, sheughed. ¡°Hahaha¡­ Cooper, I have enough cards in my hand that you won¡¯t dare to kill me! You will never know the answers to some of the secrets if you killed me¡ª¡± Ding! A notification sound rang out from the Dragon Eye tablet Linus was holding in his hand. Then, he reported to Cooper, ¡°I¡¯ve gotten the coordinates. It¡¯s in Ronney City.¡± Cooper didn¡¯t seem to be agitated. Rather, he didn¡¯t seem to feel anything at all. Calmly putting his gun away, he walked out of the study without sparing a single nce at the imposter lying on the ground. ¡°Your mother is still alive. She¡¯s in Ronney City.¡± Chapter 1068 Chapter 1068 The smile on the imposter¡¯s face was wiped off when she heard what Cooper had said. There¡¯s no way he has found out about this! I¡¯ve prepared for this mission for more than ten years, and I¡¯ve left no traces behind. Even if they¡¯ve figured out that I had sent a message to Ronney City, there¡¯s no way¡­ Cooper never answered her question and left with Linus in a hurry. After they took a turn, Lucky ran to them as it wagged its tail. Delighted, Linus stroked the dog¡¯s head. In fact, the moment the imposter appeared, Cooper had figured out most of the things, but what he needed was the exact location. The imposter¡¯s n was impable, and she was backed by a powerful force. If Cooper pressed on, his enemies would be alerted. Therefore, he chose to be patient until this day and eventually found out the location. Of course, Lucky¡¯s death was faked. Cooper bought a chunk of pork and imed that it was Lucky¡¯s flesh so that Linus and him could pretend to fall out. During this period of time, Lucky had been staying with Sophia because she had pets herself, so she would always give proper food to the animals. Therefore, Lucky had been eating the same food as her orange cats. Now that the imposter was busted, Lucky could go back to its owner. Linus was joyful that his dog had grown fatter. Equally jolly, Cooper put on a bright smile. The real Annabel is in Ronney City. Anna, I¡¯m going to meet you! ¡­ In the study, the imposter gritted her teeth and tried to get up, even though she was soaked in blood. Cooper will never kill me because I know a secret he¡¯s dying to find out! Seeing this, Sophia strode forward and gave her a forceful p. With red finger marks on her face, the imposter red at Sophia, who thennded another p on her face. ¡°These two ps are for my daughter. After this, you shall go to hell!¡± Sophia growled. Since her identity had been exposed, the imposter, whose face was identical to Annabel, put on a hideous expression and spat out some blood. Leaning against the desk, she raised her chin in a haughty manner. ¡°Does your dad really want to kill me? Haha. I know a secret he¡¯s desperate to find out. I want him to kneel before me and beg me to tell him about this!¡± Now that her blood was still streaming out from the wounds caused by gunshots, her voice had weakened. After Cooper shot her a few times with his pistol, he directly turned to leave because there was no way she could survive. If it weren¡¯t because he had to take revenge for his kids, he wouldn¡¯t even talk to a petty person like her. However, Sophia wouldn¡¯t let this revolting woman die so easily. This woman still thinks that my dad is reluctant to kill her. She falsely believes that her death will mean a loss to my dad, so she¡¯s acting in an arrogant manner now. I have to make sure she¡¯ll die with regrets and embarrassment, Sophia thought. With her arms crossed, Sophia paced around and said in a derisive tone, ¡°You had sessfully fooled me with your impable acting skill and disguise because I had never met my mother before. It took me a long time to figure out that you¡¯re just an imposter.¡± The imposter arched her brow haughtily. ¡°But¡­¡± All of a sudden, Sophia raised her voice and said in a confident way, ¡°My dad had seen through your disguise, but he chose to y along with you. Do you know why?¡± The imposter snorted. Blood had formed a puddle around her. She was waiting for Cooper to appear at the door because she didn¡¯t believe that he would let her die. Doesn¡¯t he want to know Annabel¡¯s whereabouts? Seeing through her intentions, Sophia said in an impassive manner, ¡°Stop looking. My dad won¡¯te because he has already found out what he wants to know, so you¡¯re basically useless to us now. The reason I¡¯m still talking to you is only because I don¡¯t want to let you die so easily.¡± Naturally, the imposter didn¡¯t believe her. Since she approached Cooper, she had been very careful with her actions and never contacted her master. With such an impable n in ce, there was no way Cooper could have found out anything. Sophia then went on to break this harsh truth to her. ¡°Your imitation of my mother was perfect. Even my dad thought that you were her for a moment. However, your biggest mistake was that your imitation was too perfect.¡± Lowering her body, Sophia pinched the imposter¡¯s chin and examined her face, which was being gradually drained of blood. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the imposter was such a devious woman, she was the perfect exemplification of the kind of woman Sophia imagined her mother to be. Observing the imposter¡¯s manner of speaking and posture, for a moment, Sophia thought that her mother was just like that. Content property of N?velDra/ma.Org. ¡°If you wanted to imitate my mother perfectly, there was no way you could do this by just taking a brief look at her. So, you must have either been living with her, or you have been observing her behavior for a long time. Your appearance proves that my mother is still alive. You¡¯re a well-trained secret agent, so there¡¯s no use going hard on you. That¡¯s why we decided to y along and get more information out of you when you becamecent.¡± Hearing this, the imposter appeared to be slightly flustered, for she didn¡¯t expect that there was such a huge w in her seemingly impable n. Unresigned, she gnashed her teeth and snarled, ¡°So what if you¡¯ve found out about this? You can never locate her!¡± Sophia guffawed. ¡°It was just a guess. Now you¡¯ve confirmed it for us!¡± The imposter gulped, for she didn¡¯t expect that she had fallen into her trap. Then, sheughed hysterically and raised her chin to face Sophia so that she wouldn¡¯t appear to be weak. ¡°Yes, your mother is still alive, but it¡¯s pointless for Cooper to look for her. He¡¯s loyal to Annabel, but she doesn¡¯t love him at all! Just like myself, Annabel is just a tool that was used to go against Cooper! When he gets to the truth one day, he¡¯ll realize that Annabel is nothing more than a devious and lowly woman. By then, you and your brother will end up like the baby in my belly! Cooper dotes on the two of you because you¡¯re Annabel¡¯s kids. If he figures out that she¡¯s been making use of him, he¡¯ll kill the two of you. You and your brother are the most pitiful people on earth because you¡¯re mere tools for Annabel to threaten Cooper. If it weren¡¯t because there was a change of n, both of you would¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Enraged, Sophia pounced on her and clenched her neck. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that she was a frail woman, she would have already broken her neck on the spot. ¡°I will never allow you to defame my mother! You don¡¯t even deserve to mention her name!¡± Seeing that Sophia had lost control, Michael grabbed her wrists and pulled her away. ¡°Sophia, restrain yourself. We have to keep her alive!¡± After Sophia was lugged away, she kept kicking in the air and snarled, ¡°B*tch! I will kill you!¡± Seeing how difited Sophia was, the imposterughed arrogantly. In spite of her weakened voice, she said in an insolent manner, ¡°Sophia, do you get it now? Cooper is the cruelest man in the world. He could fake his death and abandon his father for so many years, and he could kill my child in an unfeeling manner. So, he will also kill you and your brother coldly. Both of you are pathetic!¡± Chapter 1069 Chapter 1069 While Sophia was cursing the imposter, she couldn¡¯t stop her tears from streaming down her face. It seemed that the woman¡¯s words had had a huge impact on her. ¡°Shut up! Shut up!¡± If Michael were not restraining her, she would have pounced on the woman and torn her mouth apart. Seeing that she had sessfully enraged Sophia, the imposter felt that she could die with no regrets. Even if she couldn¡¯t survive, she had to make sure that Cooper¡¯s life would be turned upside down, thereby aplishing the mission her master entrusted her. Her mean words exposed the fragility of the rtionship between Sophia and Cooper. ¡°Do you think Cooper really loves you? No! Just like Annabel, he only loves himself! Whoever gets in his way, he will kill that person, even if that person is his own kid! In his eyes, you are no more important than a pile of dust! Annabel should have been killed a long time ago. It serves her right that she¡¯s infertile! That man had done everything he could to win her heart and acquired everything she desired for her. However, she turned a blind eye when my kid was dying!¡± The imposter growled, trying to vent her resentment before she were to die. Although she had lost her mind, her hatred was real. ¡°I hate all of you! What makes you deserve the love of others? How could Annabel hurt the feelings of the man who loved her? He is such a contemptible man. He knows that Annabel has been making use of him, but he¡¯s willing to sacrifice for her over such a long period of time. What makes Annabel deserve his love? I¡¯ve sacrificed everything for him. I¡¯ve been following him since I was young. I¡¯ve squandered my youth and even imitated another woman just to win his heart! I also became a surrogate mother for that b*tch. Your mother turned a blind eye when my kid was dying. Although I¡¯d given birth to the kid, it was her child! What did I get in return? The man I love doesn¡¯t love me back, and my child didn¡¯t even know I existed. I¡¯ve sacrificed all I have, but I get nothing in return! I hate all of you!¡± As the imposter was bawling, her face was already covered in tears. She hated the fact that her life had been ruined. When she was told to imitate Annabel, she executed the order. Firstly, she went under the knife to get her face modified to look exactly like Annabel. Then, she observed her behavior and learned all about her. Also, she took the risk of bing mute by undergoing vocal cord surgeries to make her voice sound like her. When Annabel became infertile, she even offered to be her surrogate mother and bore her child. But in the end, she got nothing in return for her favors. The imposter thenughed maniacally because she felt that the man had loved the wrong woman for all his life. She was alsoughing at herself for sacrificing for a man who didn¡¯t love her back. However, she was unwilling to give up because Annabel and her met the man at the same time, but he fell in love with the other one, even though she was the more brilliant one. Noticing the silence in the room, she came to her senses and lifted her head, only to see that Sophia, who was agitated moments ago, hadposed herself. Although there were tears on the corners of her eyes, her expression was as cial as her father¡¯s. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ve learned all I want to know. You shall go to hell now.¡± With her head tilted, Sophia kept the smile on her face, but her gaze was indifferent. After helping her up, Michael gently brushed the tears off the corners of her eyes. Sophia¡¯s acting skill had improved significantly under Michael¡¯s guidance, so she easily got the information she needed out of the imposter. Startled, the imposter knew that she had unwittingly revealed all the secrets. Trying to defend herst bit of dignity, sheughed coldly. ¡°Sophia, now that you¡¯ve figured out that your mother is still alive, I do hope that you¡¯ll find her one day. By then, you¡¯ll understand how despicable your mother is. Hopefully, you¡¯ll still believe that you have thestugh when that timees.¡± With an impassive expression, Sophia gazed at the imposter without uttering a word. However, Michael noticed that her hands were cold, and her fingers were trembling. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s time for you to hit the road to hell. Siri, you may do your job now.¡± After Michael finished talking, he left the study with Sophia, after which the housekeeping robot came into the room and jabbed a needle into the imposter. A short momentter, life left her body as she hit the desk with a resounding thud. Right before she died, the memories of her life shed across her mind. She remembered the summer thirty years ago when she was a young and beautiful girl. Unfortunately, she was born into a poor family, and her parents were not well-educated. Her alluring face turned out to be a curse for herself as she was forced to marry a man in his forties in exchange for some money for her parents. Unwilling to marry that man, she fled from the house on her wedding night. Just when she was almost caught by her soon-to-be husband¡¯s family members, the man of her dreams came along. He was the most handsome, mysterious and elegant man she had ever seen. After he offered to buy her off for five thousand, she had started following him since then. Annabel and her were saved by him at roughly the same time. Since they were young, he had taught them various assasination skills. By using their beauty as weapons, they had helped the man kill countless of his opponents. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. He was her faith and the only reason she stayed alive, so she was willing to sacrifice everything for him. However, what did she get in exchange for her loyalty? She had given birth to a child of the man she loved and another woman. The child then grew up to be an adult, but never knew of her existence. The child even called another woman ¡®Mom¡¯, even though that woman was one of the cruelest people on earth. She knew that this mission would cost her life, but she still chose to take it. Therefore, she only had herself to me for her miserable ending. Her eyelids grew heavier, and her vision turned blurry. Eventually, she closed her eyes and left for the other world. In thest moments of her life, she asked herself if she ever regretted her decision, and the answer was clear¡ªshe never regretted it once. With her eyes closed, her head slumped to the side, all her love and resentment ended with her life. When she was at herst breath, she recalled the very night she came across that man. The moment sheid her eyes on him, she knew that she would be willing to sacrifice everything, including her life, for him. But Jordan Edwards¡­ will you regret it? ¡­ Seeing that the woman was dead, the housekeeping robot started spraying some liquid on her body. A momentter, the body dposed into a puddle of blood. Following that, the robot started cleaning up the floor. The woman was born with nothing, and she brought nothing with her when she left this world, as though she had never existed in this world before. On the other side, Sophia¡¯s mind was a mess. Although she had figured out everything she needed to know, she felt that the more she learned, the more she was terrified of what was ahead of her. Will Cooper kill Linus and me without hesitation? Is Annabel really a secret agent sent to Cooper to destroy him? What if Linus and I really are the tools Annabel intends to use against Cooper? At the thought of this possibility, she was gripped by fear. Chapter 1070 Chapter 1070 Previously, Sophia had this supposition that Annabel was sent to approach Sam in order to destroy him. Later on, however, Cooper became close friends with Sam, so she decided to deal with them together. Then, Annabel sessfully persuaded Cooper to leave his family with her. At the age of eighteen, he lost the protection of the Mitchell Family, and it was the best time for Annabel to kill him. Unexpectedly, Sam exposed this news to the Mitchells, after which they went all out to save Cooper before Annabel could kill him. After her mission failed, she survived the Mitchells¡¯ attempt to kill her, but she was still abandoned by her master. In order to evade the Mitchells and her master¡¯s punishment, she became a nanny at the Edwards Residence instead of going back to her hometown. Unfortunately, she was raped during her stay at the residence. At that time, she was already impregnated with Sophia and Linus, who were supposed to be the tools to threaten Cooper. However, since Annabel had lost her value, her children had be redundant as well. After that, her master came to look for her and brought her away, but he decided to abandon Sophia and Linus because they were of no value to him. After Sophia left the study, she gazed out the window at the lovely weather, but she felt cold all over her body. I¡¯m redundant¡­ Annabel gave birth to me just to deal with Cooper! The more she tried not to think about this, the more she was troubled by this thought. At the moment, her mind was restless. Just then, her legs turned to jelly, and she almost copsed to the ground. Fortunately, Michael supported her weight in time. Trapped in his strong arms, Sophia could hear him consoling her in a low voice. ¡°Forget about the past and move on.¡± For that instant, she was as helpless as a child. She recalled a time when Carmen was unfairly used of being useless to her father. Even a young kid would be sorrowful over such an usation, so what was more to say of Sophia, who was an adult. She knew that if the truth was just like her spection, it would deal a heavy blow to both Cooper and her. With her head leaning against Michael¡¯s chest, Sophia started weeping because she was terrified that she would lose her father and eventually her family. Then, Sophia recalled what happened to Sarah. In the past, she was the princess of her parents, but one day, everything turned upside down. Her parents, who swore to love her forever, abandoned her just like that. At that time, Sophia couldn¡¯t even imagine how Sarah felt after thetter lost everything in her life. Hugging her, Michael understood all her worries and sorrows, for he knew how unfeeling Cooper could be. After Cooper faked his death, Woody grew so agitated that he lost his mind. As an indifferent man, Cooper never even showed up for the next twenty years, even though he was aware of his father¡¯s condition. On the other hand, Linus did all he could to destroy Sophia. The father and son were equally ruthless. However, Sophia was different from them, for she had endured hardship in her younger days. She was overjoyed that she could finally reunite with her family members, so it was hard for her to ept the truth that her mother was a secret agent sent to destroy her father, and her brother and her were nothing more than her mother¡¯s tools. As her tears soaked Michael¡¯s white shirt, she tried to stifle her crying. Momentster, she sniffled, pouted and tipped her head back to look at her man. She decided to leave the past behind because she knew that even if everyone else in this world lied to her, the man before her eyes, whose hair had turned gray overnight because of her, had the purest heart for her. No matter what she would encounter in the future, as long as he was by her side, she would have the strength and courage to weather the storm. Seeing that she stopped crying, Michael lifted her chin, gazed at her teary eyes, and said gently, ¡°There¡¯s no need to cry. No matter what will happen, I¡¯m with you. I will always protect you and love you.¡± I¡¯m with you. That was the most beautiful thing Sophia had ever heard. Tiptoeing, she locked her lips with Michael. As long as he¡¯s with me, I¡¯m happy¡­ It was a difficult task to get information out of the imposter because she was a secret agent who had received special training. Nevertheless, Sophia was able to stir up her emotions and got the information she needed. Basically, Annabel survived. At that time, she suffered from amniotic fluid embolism, but the Johnsons never managed to save her in time. After her uterus was removed, it was toote because she had stopped breathing. Even though she probably had just fallen into a state of suspended animation, the Johnsons buried her body. Fortunately, Liam dug her out in time. She was then taken away by her master, who was a rich man who managed to revive her and eventually changed her life. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°The imposter also mentioned that my mom had a test tube baby with that man, and that imposter offered to be a surrogate mother.¡± After Sophia told Cooper the information she had gathered, she furtively observed his expression, which remained impassive. Over the years, Annabel was alive, and she certainly knew that Cooper wasn¡¯t dead. However, not only did she not look for Cooper, but she also raised a kid with another man. By now, it was apparent that she never loved Cooper. She approached Cooper and lied to him because she was on a mission. Unaware of all these, Cooper had been missing her dearly for decades. If she was really such a ruthless woman, then Cooper¡¯s love for her would beughable. With her body tensed up, Sophia gazed at her father. After a moment of silence, Cooper announced, ¡°I¡¯m exhausted from what happened today.¡± Upon finishing his words, he turned to leave in a hurry, as though he didn¡¯t want anyone to notice his true emotions underneath his imprable facade. He had always believed that Annabel was in love with him, but the truth turned out to be a p in his face. After her father left, Sophia turned to face Michael and Linus with a heavy heart. After everything that had happened on this day, everyone was taxed out. Sophia decided to stay over at the Edwards Residence instead of going back to her own home. Carmen was brought to this ce as well because she had been wanting to meet her grandfather. However, her grandfather wasn¡¯t at the residence at the moment. Just when she felt frustrated, her father told her that they were going to join the filming of the variety show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. The news cheered her up. What happened on this day had had a huge impact on everyone. Nevertheless, Carmen was ying with Corrado as she wasn¡¯t aware of what the adults had gone through. In the evening, Cooper and Linus stayed in their own rooms and never came out to have dinner. After giving it a thought, Sophia decided to go to her father¡¯s room with a tray of food. The moment she opened the door, she was stunned. The room, which used to be clean and neat, was now in a mess. All the photos and pieces of paper were torn apart, and the floor was covered with empty beer bottles. At that instant, Cooper was lying on the ground, gulping down a bottle of beer. ¡°Dad!¡± Shocked, Sophia immediately put down the tray and edged toward her father. She had never seen her father so difited and helpless before. ¡°Dad, stop it!¡± Flustered, she snatched the beer bottle from him and helped him up with difficulty. After cing him on the couch, she told the housekeeping robot to clean up the mess. Cooper had torn apart all his photos with Annabel and the diaries she had written, all of which were his collective memories with her. Chapter 1071 Chapter 1071 ¡°Dad, these are all Mom¡¯s belongings,¡± Sophiained as she picked up the photos. All of a sudden, Cooper lit up a lighter and threw it to the floor in an attempt to burn all the photos. All the items on the floor, which were soaked in alcohol, started ming immediately. A short moment later, all Annabel¡¯s belongings were burned to ashes. Sophia was bbergasted by the mes in the room. Fortunately, the housekeeping robot immediately sprayed out powder to put out the fire. In the burning room, Cooper startedughing hysterically. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s all fake. It¡¯s all fake! Anna doesn¡¯t love me. She doesn¡¯t love me¡­¡± Sophia avoided the fire and ran over to restrain her father, who was swinging his hands madly in the air. ¡°Dad! Are you okay?¡± Having lost his mind, Cooper started bawling and cursing. He had been an indifferent man for all his life, but it turned out that the only woman he loved was just an undercover to destroy him. Hearing the noise, Linus and Michael rushed over to the room, only to see that the ce was aze, and Cooper was throwing a tantrum. Michael was stunned because he had never seen his father-inw so wildly drunk before. To everyone¡¯s shock, Cooper then shoved his daughter away. ¡°All of you, go away!¡± Sophia fell backward from the impact, and her head hit the desk with a loud thud, which caused Michael to be heartbroken. ¡°Sophia!¡± Michael lunged forward and helped her up. cing her hand on her head, Sophia stared at her father in disbelief. Did he just tell me to go away? Gazing at her father in a daze, she then felt some warm liquid on her head. When she lowered her hand and took a look, she realized that her hand was covered in blood. Meanwhile, Cooper was still making a scene. Linus tried to put him under control, but he was also shoved aside. While Sophia was rooted to the spot, Michael¡¯s expression suddenly turned grave as he carried her up and stepped out of the Edwards Residence. After that, he told someone to send Carmen home. Sophia was traumatized by the fact that her father had told her to go away. For that instant, she recalled what the imposter said before her death. ¡°He could kill my child in an unfeeling manner, so he will also kill you and your brother coldly!¡± I was born to be my mother¡¯s tool. Will Cooper kill Linus and me if he finds it necessary to do so? With her head spinning and buzzing, Sophia slumped into Michael¡¯s embrace. When she awakened once again, she realized that she was in a hospital. Her head was wounded from the crash on the desk. The X-ray results showed that she suffered from a mild concussion, so the doctor advised that she should be hospitalized for two days. Inside the ward, she curled up on the bed and spaced out. Her eyes had lost their luster, looking all hollow. She was still sorrowful that her father had told her to go away. Now, she recalled that time after she regained consciousness in Africa, Cooper found her and started doting on her. At that time, she felt that she was the happiest person on earth. But¡­ Curled up under the quilt, she said in a weakened voice, ¡°Hubby, I feel cold.¡± Michael had been staying with her to keep herpany. At the moment, he was working on hisptop. Hearing what she said, he rose from the chair and took a seat beside her. Holding her hands, he said gently, ¡°Should I raise the temperature in the room? Your hands feel cold.¡± Covering her hands with his palms, he was trying to give her warmth. However, rather than feeling cold physically, what she truly felt was that her heart was frozen all over. In the past, she would jump at every chance to look for her father, but she would always be disappointed eventually. She was like a beautiful flower that bloomed to face the sunshine, but it slowly withered after countless disappointments. Her head was bandaged. Although her injury wasn¡¯t serious, she seemed to have lost her soul. It was her heart, rather than her body, that pained her. She craved familial bond, but after she reunited with her family members, she realized that her family was built on lies. Worse still, her father might kill her at any moment. How was she supposed to ept this? Having gone through all of these, she had be exhausted. Although Michael was busy with work, he would never leave her because he knew that she needed him for the time being. Holding her hand with one palm, he covered her body with a quilt with his other hand as he asked, ¡°What do you want for dinner? I¡¯ll buy it for youter.¡± Although Sophia had lost her appetite, she understood that she had to take care of her body. ¡°I want some steak and sashimi.¡± Michael replied, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll order the food for you. Take a rest now. When you wake up, we¡¯ll have dinner together.¡± Sophia nodded. After Michael adjusted the quilt for her, he rose from the chair and left the room to ce the order. Before he closed the door, he took a look at the sleeping Sophia and the dog lying beside the bed. Then, he headed for the office of the chief neurologist of the hospital. On this day, many famous neurologists and psychiatrists in Bayside City had gathered up. After examining the X-rays of Sophia¡¯s brain, they started their analysis and discussion. Eventually, one of them announced in a sympathetic tone, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I¡¯m sorry to inform you that your wife lost her memory because of permanent nerve damage, so her memory can never be restored.¡± Michael wasn¡¯t surprised to hear that. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Since Sophia¡¯s head was injured earlier, he decided to have her brain examined by neurologists as well in an attempt to restore her memories so that she couldpensate for her regrets. She didn¡¯t have a father for the past twenty plus years, so it shouldn¡¯t be hard for her to ept the fact that she might lose her father again. But¡­ Exhausted, Michael waved his hand. ¡°Thanks, gentlemen. You may leave now.¡± After the doctors left the room, he went to the corner and called Quinton. After the call was connected, he asked, ¡°Is there really no hope to restore Sophia¡¯s memory?¡± Startled for a moment, Quinton then replied in a solemn manner, ¡°My master is the second generation of the Phantom Wolf. Since young, he had been trained by the Yard Family to be a secret agent. After he left the Yard Family, he also brought with him a lot of useful information. Previously, the Yards were a royal family. They were so cruel that they had invented all sorts of torture methods to destroy their enemies. During this process, they discovered that when a person was suffering from immense pain, he would lose part of and even all his memory. My master then delved deeper into the research and even came up with a theory with the help of modern technology. When he left the Yards, he also brought his research with him. I had read the ancient books my master took from the Yard Residence and learned that this is a kind of permanent damage. No person in history has ever had their memory restored before¡­ I¡¯m sorry to break this to you.¡± Upon hearing his exnation, Michael let out a long breath. It seems that there¡¯s no other way to help her. Suddenly, he thought of something and said, ¡°Tell me about Anna Yard and the Yard twins. I want to know all the details.¡± Sophia told him before that the Yard twins were test tube babies. At the thought of this, he recalled that the imposter said that she was a surrogate mother for Annabel. Ronney City, test tube babies¡­ What¡¯s the link between all these clues? Unfortunately, thest time I went to the Yard Residence, I couldn¡¯t make out the face of Anna Yard¡­ Chapter 1072 Chapter 1072 Although Quinton had no idea why Michael would want to find out about Anna Yard and the Yard twins, he still told him what he knew. ¡°The main Yard Family was almost destroyed by the Fletchers, so only a few of them survived. My master was a servant to those surviving Yards, but due to an internal strife in the Yard Familyter on, he was forced to flee. Then, he unexpectedly found a Yard Family member, who was in exile, and he sent her back to the Yards as hisst favor for them. Anna Yard was the Yard Family member my master stumbled upon, but it waster found out that she was infertile, so she begat a pair of twins through IVF and eventually strengthened her position in the family.¡± Michael¡¯s breathing stopped when he heard this. At that instant, he finally understood why thest message the imposter¡¯s master sent to her was to tell her to kill the twins¡ªit was because only twins were eligible to be the heirs to the Imperial Yard Family. Apparently, the existence of Sophia and Linus, who were also twins, was a threat to some people¡¯s im to the throne. Then, Michael asked, ¡°Who is the father of Callum and Cade Yard?¡± Quinton replied, ¡°No one knows for sure.¡± Hearing this, Michael lit up a cigarette and then puffed out some smoke. Things are getting more complicated. When he was almost done with smoking the cigarette, he put it out and asked, ¡°Tell me more about Anna Yard. What is she like?¡± As the one who had saved Anna, Quinton¡¯s master would surely know some secrets that most people didn¡¯t. ¡°Anna Yard can only be described as ruthless and unfeeling. I heard that during the internal strife of the Yard Family, the twins were captured by those from the branch family. They demanded that Anna should give up her shares and her position as the leader of the Yard Group. Otherwise, they¡¯d kill the twins in front of her. However, Anna decided to give up her children simply for the sake of holding on to her power. She¡¯s really something.¡± Recalling what the imposter said previously, Michael had a better understanding of the whole picture now. ¡°Alright. See you soon.¡± However, the more he had figured out, the heavier his heart grew, for he wasn¡¯t sure how to exin this to Sophia. Anna Yard has to be Annabel Johnson. She had met Sophia before, but she never revealed her identity to her. Maybe she has lost her memory, since the Phantom Wolf¡¯s skill to erase a person¡¯s memoryes from the Imperial Yard Family. Or maybe, she just doesn¡¯t want to reunite with Sophia and Cooper. Whatever the case, it is going to be hard for Sophia to ept the truth. Gritting his teeth, Michael decided to hide this revtion from Sophia because he couldn¡¯t bear to see her get hurt again, even if they had to sever ties with Cooper. To hell with Cooper and Annabel! Since Sophia wants a family, I will build one for her! In this family, Carmen and I are good enough for her! When Michael returned to the ward and saw Cooper peering into the room through the window, he never uttered a word. Hearing the footsteps, Cooper turned to face Michael and ced a finger on his lips. Then, he motioned for him to enter the adjacent room with him. Seeing that, Michael followed him into the room and upied the ward that was previously empty. Standing by the window, Cooper gazed out at the fallen leaves and withered flowers, his eyes brimming with mncholy. He remained the ruthless Cooper Mitchell, as though he wasn¡¯t the one who got drunk and threw a tantrum on the previous day. A long whileter, he asked, ¡°Sophia¡­ Is she alright?¡± Michael replied mockingly, ¡°Oh, she¡¯s fine. Thanks to you, she¡¯s only suffered a mild concussion.¡± In the past, Cooper would fight back even if he was in the wrong, but on this day, he only mumbled, ¡°I¡¯m relieved that she¡¯s fine¡­¡± He sounded so pitiful, like he had realized that he was nothing but a father who had failed his daughter. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. At that instant, his expression appeared to be deste, which aroused Michael¡¯s sympathy. Before this, he had thought about how to give Cooper a piece of his mind, but for that moment, he couldn¡¯t utter any of that. Gazing at the view outside the window, the two of them remained silent, so the atmosphere was rather awkward. After giving it a thought, Michael asked probingly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you apologize to Sophia?¡± In Cethosian tradition, parents were superior beings, so even if they were in the wrong, there was no way they would apologize to their children. Therefore, Michael said this just to mock Cooper and never expected him to agree to it. To his surprise, Cooper then said yes without hesitation, as though he was looking forward to this. Turning around, Cooper said, ¡°Lead the way.¡± For that instant, Michael couldn¡¯t believe his ears, because he didn¡¯t think a man like Cooper would apologize to anyone. Nevertheless, he still brought Cooper to Sophia¡¯s ward. The steak and sashimi he ordered had been delivered and ced on the table. Carmen was also sent to this ce after school. Currently, she was having rice cereal from her favorite bowl. Sophia had awakened and was feeding the rice cereal to Carmen. Meanwhile, Linus was there as well, and his dog wagged its tail under the table when it saw Cooper. Shocked to see her father here, Sophia rose from the chair and asked, ¡°Dad, why are you here?¡± Seeing the bandage that was wrapped around her head, Cooper was heartbroken. He stretched out his hand in an attempt to touch her wound, but he suddenly recalled that he had hurt her identallyst night, so he immediately retracted his hand. On this day, the usually confident man stammered, ¡°D-Do you still feel hurt? A-Are you alright?¡± Sensing the anxiety in his voice, Sophia felt something welling up within her as her eyes became teary. Shaking her head, she replied softly, ¡°I¡¯m alright. It was no big deal.¡± Hearing that, Cooper was relieved and he gazed at his daughter, who had endured hardship in her younger days. For that moment, he was gripped by a sense of guilt, and he was feeling sorry for his daughter. Last night, he had lost his mind and pushed his daughter away. When he learned what he had done the next morning, he med himself for his insanity. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m so sorry. I was wrong to overdrink and push you away. Will you forgive me?¡± The humility in Cooper¡¯s voice stunned Michael, for he never expected that his powerful, haughty, ruthless and young-looking father-inw would ever apologize to anyone. At that moment, he felt that he never really understood Cooper. Is he really the indifferent and proud Cooper I know? Seeing that her father had apologized to her, Sophia tipped her head back as her tears streamed down her face. In a choking voice, she wailed, ¡°Dad, I feel so painful!¡± Last night, she seriously thought that her father would kill her just like how he killed the imposter¡¯s child. Hearing what his daughter said, Cooper¡¯s eyes became teary as he began to cry as well. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I shouldn¡¯t have gotten myself drunk and pushed you away. You¡¯re my daughter, so how would I have the heart to hurt you?¡± Unable to hold it back anymore, Sophia lunged forward and crashed into his arms. ¡°Dad¡­ Dad¡­¡± With his eyes soaked in tears, Cooper knew what his daughter was worried about because he had heard her conversation with the imposter after the housekeeping robot sent the footage to hisptop. ¡°You¡¯re my child. No matter how ruthless I am, I will never hurt you. I¡¯m not so cruel¡­¡± Then, he let go of her and exined in a serious manner, ¡°I had never slept with the imposter before, so there¡¯s no way she was impregnated with my child. Even if her child was mine, I would never hurt the child. Linus and you are my kids, so I will never harm the two of you.¡± Chapter 1073 Chapter 1073 Bringing Linus over, Cooper grabbed the brother and sister by the hands, looked at them, and solemnly said, ¡°No matter who your mother was and no matter what she had done, all of it has nothing to do with you. No matter what happens, you are my kids and are far more important than my life.¡± He added, ¡°Even if someone brings the entire world before me and wishes to exchange it with you, I won¡¯t agree to that.¡± Tears fell from Sophia¡¯s eyes as she nodded again and again. Linus was also very agitated. He grew up with Cooper and thus understood his character. No matter what, he would never hurt them. Michael stood aside and suddenly realized that this young-looking father-inw of his was quite adorable. When he was callous, he was absolutely callous; he treated both his enemies and himself in the same inhumanly callous way. But someone as strong as him held his dignity above everything except for his own kids. When facing his own daughter, he was just an ordinary old father. He could have people beaten into pulp, and he could also lower himself and admit to his mistakes. How could he harm his own kids? ¡°Darling, go to Grandpa. See, Grandpa is crying. Hurry up and make him feel better.¡± Michael ced Carmen into Cooper¡¯s arms. Carmen was the best at making people feel better, and she sessfully made Cooperugh in just a short while. Sophia felt that she had be the happiest girl in the world again! ¡°By the way¡­ about Ms. Anna¡ª¡± Michael couldn¡¯t help but put in a reminder. Cooper, who was still holding Carmen, interrupted him, ¡°No need to look for her. It¡¯s already a great miracle for me to be able to locate my two kids. As for Anna¡­ Well, just assume that she died twenty- eight years ago.¡± At that moment, Cooper seemed to have turned into the ruthless God-like figure again. Cooper held Carmen and looked at his two kids with eyes that were filled with happiness. He had put in so much effort for half his life, and he had obtained all the glory that could be obtained. Now, he was happy with these three treasures around. He was already extremely satisfied with their presence and had no other desires. It might be better to let things go. Thirty years of love had seeped into his bones and became one with him. Surely it would be tough for him to let go. But he was Cooper Mitchell. Since when had there been something that he couldn¡¯t let go of? The difference between the strong and the weak was that the strong treated themselves more harshly than anyone else. Even if it had assimted into his bone marrow, he would break his bones to get rid of it! Annabel¡¯s tomb was quickly moved away. Cooper had chosen a burial spot for her and himself just outside of the city. He buried everything Annabel had in it and constructed a burial mound. Looking at the lonely grave, Cooper stood facing the tombstone for a long time. His first love was buried there. From then on, the girl named Annabel Johnson remained neen years old forever. She loved Cooper and was a kindhearted girl¡­ Cooper stood there for about ten minutes, and when he finally turned around, there was no emotion in his eyes, only the calmness that came with having gone through the vicissitudes of life. The thirty years¡¯ worth of feelings hade to an end today. Wherever the real Annabel Johnson was had nothing more to do with him, and he refused to investigate anything rted to her. The person he loved had died. After getting in the car, Cooper suddenly said to Michael, ¡°Take me to meet your mother. Anna enjoyed watching your mother¡¯s movies back then, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t have the chance to meet each other.¡± Cooper sighed. Michael¡¯s mother, Elizabeth Murray, was truly an unparalleled beauty to behold. Even if she had passed away for 40 years, the legends about her were still very much alive around the world. In the past, the tickets to her movies sold for peanuts, but the box office could rack up to 100 million. She was that astounding! Up until now, she remained the number one Cethosian superstar in the eyes of the Cethosians living overseas. She was the pioneer of the Cethosian global trend, and even her son, Taylor Murray, could not rece her extraordinary position in the entertainment world. Michael agreed, and everyone went over to the Fletcher Family Cemetery, where Michael¡¯s mother, Elizabeth, was buried. Sophia followed Michael to help clear the weeds around the graves of Elizabeth Murray and Theo Fletcher. They had also brought flowers and a paper-made USB sh drive. Since the incident of Sophia burning the USB sh drive at the grave was exposed, people had started to pick up on the trend, and the funeral services nearby had begun to sell paper-made USB sh drives andputers. Holding a bunch of chrysanthemums in his hand, Cooper came to the tomb where Elizabeth Murray and Theo Fletcher were buried together. He bent forward and ced the chrysanthemums down, then looked at the magnificent ck-and-white photo on the tombstone. His voice was a little heavy as he said earnestly, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I didn¡¯t live in your era, but who knew that in the end, we would still be in- laws.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Hearing this, Michael frowned a little. Does this mean Cooper has given his blessing in a roundabout way? It seemed that Elizabeth¡¯s identity had given quite many brownie points to Michael. After all, Cooper was also one of Elizabeth¡¯s fans. Cooper happened to live during the peak of Elizabeth¡¯s career. Despite the fact that Elizabeth was already dead at that time, her work was still broadcasted widely and frequently on TV, and her influence lasted more than ten years before it slowly receded. So, it was not surprising that Cooper was also a fan of Elizabeth. Having visited the study where Cooper lived when he was a child, Michael had noticed that there were many tapes and DVDs about Elizabeth in his drawers. Cooper seemed to want to say a few more words to Elizabeth. After all, this was the first meeting with his inws, and it was an important and serious day. Therefore, he requested, ¡°Go back to the car and enjoy the air conditioning for a while. I¡¯m gonna have a few words with my inws.¡± Michael took Sophia¡¯s hand and turned to leave. Frowning, Sophia muttered, ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about?¡± Cooper suddenly became stern. ¡°Kids should be seen and not heard.¡± Sophia pouted and allowed Michael to take her away. Thettermented, ¡°The adults have important things to say, so us ¡®kids¡¯ should not intrude on them.¡± Linus grinned to one side but left as well. After the ¡®kids¡¯ all left, Cooper plopped down in front of the grave and took off his sunsses. Staring at the grave, he let out a sigh. ¡°Unfortunately, I do not have the opportunity to live in the same era with both of you, but I¡¯ve heard a lot about you and your aplishments since I was young.¡± He added, ¡°I came here specially to visit the two of you today. It isn¡¯t my intention to disturb your peace, but I just want to say that¡­¡± Cooper looked at the tombstone, and an unprecedented smile graced the corner of his mouth as he continued, ¡°Your son is a fine man, and I¡¯m very satisfied with him. Although he is a little older than I would¡¯ve liked, it¡¯s alright¡­ Anyway, we¡¯ll be inws from now on. Today is our first meeting with each other. We still need to carry out the traditional procedures. ording to tradition, the boy¡¯s parents should visit the girl¡¯s family to discuss the wedding, but clearly, it is impossible for you to visit me. So, I¡¯ve come here by myself. Since the situation is a little unusual, it¡¯s not possible to follow tradition to a tee. In any case, I¡¯ve prepared some gifts for you, and I hope the two of you will like them. I also brought tea and alcohol with me. I¡¯ll burn the offerings for you first, and we can have a chat as I burn them.¡± ¡­ After Sophia had some watermelon in Michael¡¯s RV, she turned to watch the movements over at Fletcher¡¯s ancestral grave through the car window and asked doubtfully, ¡°What is my dad doing?¡± Michael nced outside before replying, ¡°He¡¯s probably talking about ¡®adult matters¡¯ with my parents, so as kids, we should not care too much.¡± Sophia was left speechless. ¡­ Chapter 1074 Chapter 1074 For the past thirty years, Cooper had led a low-key life. Now that he had let go of that, his entire being seemed to be different all at once. He had even started to go on some social activities asionally. Moreover, he would listen to music at home and even chose a big ck dog to apany him for a walk every night. Along the way, he would grab some supper before returning home. Sometimes, he attended photography exhibitions, went to see the opera, and even took the dog to Sophia¡¯s shop and bought something for it there. He owned more than 20 ck dogs, and he was one of Sophia¡¯s biggest spending customers in the pet industry. Almost half of the sales of the Riverdale branch were credited to him alone. It was obvious that he had forgiven himself and found a new way of life, for he no longer monitored his daughter as strictly as before too. Sophia had moved to The Imperial to live with Michael, but she still went back to her family asionally to check in with Cooper. On the other hand, Cooper also asionally walked his dog over half of Bayside City just to visit her. Seeing how her father spent most of his time with animals, Sophia felt that she should begin to look around for a suitable candidate to take the role of her stepmother. I think it wouldn¡¯t do for Dad to continue living like this and spend the rest of his life with a bunch of ck dogs! However, Michael felt that his young-looking father-inw¡¯s current situation couldn¡¯t be better. It would be even more perfect if Cooper could bring a sk of wolfberry water to the park every morning and do Tai Chi there, then join the olderdies in their dance aerobics sses in tight-fitting workout pants at night. In that way, he would no longer be able to pay much attention to Michael¡¯s family of three, and Michael would be able to concentrate on asking Sophia for a second child. It was September soon, and Michael had already obtained leave from the kindergarten as Carmen was ted to shoot the TV show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with Michael. She was so excited that she kept running around like a joyful puppy every day. Celine had given birth, and Sarah from next door had given birth too. The births of their babies were just a few days apart, and they were now all in confinement. Sarah was very disappointed that she had given birth to another son whose skin was even darker than that of her firstborn. But Harry felt that it was all the same to him, whether the baby was a boy or a girl. Besides, they also had an adopted kid, Poppy. He was happy enough with the three kids. Grinning from ear to ear, Justin carried his newly acquired chubby baby daughter. He was ted that he had both a son and a daughter now. Nathan came to visit his little sister early in the morning. He was followed by two other kids, Lorelei and Drew Fletcher. ¡°L, Drew, you guys came!¡± Sophia happily weed Drew and Lorelei in. When Drew was mentioned, Nathan looked impatient and frustrated. Drew was so clingy that he followed Nathan wherever he went as long as thetter was at the Fletcher Residence. He didn¡¯t seem to have inherited his father¡¯s aloofness and wisdom at all. On the contrary, he was just like Stanley. Stanley had been this attached to Michael back then. Lorelei had arrived here for some time now. Although she was still rather distant, she obviously looked more cheerful this time. As expected, the Fletcher Residence was the most suitable ce for her. She had be friends with the other kids at the Fletcher Residence and could even speak simple words in the Cethosiannguage. Lorelei happily rushed off to see her sister. Celine, who was still in confinement, tenderly looked at her little daughter, who was sleeping in the crib, and then nced at Lorelei. For some reason, she had always felt that this girl was rather different. Since the birth of Celine¡¯s daughter, Justin had been keeping watch over her by the side. After all, Celine had given birth at an older age, and so she needed much rest. Justin had been taking care of her all the time without taking a break. Right now, he was sitting by the bedside and naturally saw Loreleiing in. The expression on his face when he saw her was extremelyplicated. It was not possible for him to wholly ept Lorelei, but he could not find it in him to harbor hatred for such an innocent kid either. With a sigh, he picked up his baby daughter and said to Celine, who was in bed, ¡°This is Lorelei from Joel¡¯s family. She¡¯s also known as L. If you like her, feel free to ask her toe and visit you often.¡± Celine smiled. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± Lorelei was eating the jelly given by Sophia. Her dark eyes were fixed on Celine as a nonchnt smile graced her lips¡­ Since the birth of Celine¡¯s daughter, there had been waves after waves of visitors from the Fletcher Family and the Mitchell Family. Sophia was overwhelmed by having so much on her te; she had to entertain guests while working from home at the same time. It was extremely tiring for her. A few days before Michael went over to the set for the reality show, Sophia was curled up in bed one morning, trying to catch some much-needed sleep. There would be no guests for the day, so it was an exceptionally pleasant day for her. Besides, Carmen had also been sent to attend cram school, so she hurriedly took advantage of the peace and quiet to get some sleep. In her drowsy state, she heard Michael say, ¡°I¡¯m going out to meet a fan, so don¡¯t wait for me for dinner. I¡¯ll be backter at night.¡± Sophia turned over in bed; her bare thighs were stretched out as she continued to sleep under the quilt, only responding to him with a mumble. It wasn¡¯t until Michael went out and closed the door gently after him did Sophia suddenly remember something and leaped up from bed. What? Michael is going to meet a fan? When it came to the issue of meeting fans, Sophia subconsciously thought of female fans who were barely 20 years old, with figures that she would kill for, and all were looking beautiful and sultry. She immediately rolled out of bed and drew the curtains. Downstairs, Michael, who was dressed to the nines, was apanied by Hale and others as they went to the garage and then drove out. His styling team was here too, and after finishing their jobs, they also left in their cars. What the hell? He usually wears shorts at home and doesn¡¯t even bother to shave his beard. How dare he call over his personal styling team just for a meeting with a fan? He only dresses up like this when attending important events, such as the movie premieres and the New Year Dinner G. Even when he visited his young-looking father-inw, I never saw him make such a fuss either! Who exactly is this fan? After Michael left, Sophia was feeling so jumpy that she appeared distracted when she went to look for Sarah next door. ¡°Look, Sour Face is really super big for his age. There won¡¯t be another boy like him! If you don¡¯t seal the deal now, I¡¯ll pair him up with that girl Maisie from Stan¡¯s family.¡± Sarah held Sour Face and pushed him vigorously toward Sophia, trying to get thetter to be interested in him. Sour Face¡¯s expression remained dark as usual. Thanks to his mother¡¯s forceful marketing efforts, the celebrities with kids in the entire Bayside City all knew about how big he was. Sophia tried her best to refuse. ¡°No, no, Carmen is still young. Let¡¯s talk more about it after she grows up.¡± Suddenly, Carmen¡¯s soft and adorable voice came from one side. ¡°Godmother, Sour Face is not my type. Just give up!¡± Sarah was extremely disappointed that she had failed to market her son again¡­ Seeing that Sophia had been frowning quite a lot today, Sarah asked her if something was up. Only did Sophia stammer, ¡°It¡¯s about M-Michael. H-He said that he¡¯s gonna meet a fan? D-Does Harry often go out to meet fans all dressed up?¡± Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. ¡°What?¡± Sarah¡¯s voice was so loud that the roof almost blew off. She sprang up and shouted, ¡°He went out all dressed up to meet a fan? How can such a thing happen? Let¡¯s go and destroy him right now!¡± Rushing upstairs, she changed her clothes and came down. Then, she pulled Sophia along and hurried out of the house. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, men will start taking things easy after they get a woman. You see, it hasn¡¯t been long since your dad agreed for you two to be together. Yet now he has overstepped his boundaries by going to meet a fan! Come, let¡¯s go and catch him red-handed. We¡¯ll see if he dares to meet any more fans in the future!¡± Sophia hesitated. Michael would definitely not wrong her, but she also wanted to know what kind of fan he had gone to meet! Chapter 1075 Chapter 1075 Although Sophia kept saying ¡®Let¡¯s not do that¡¯ and ¡®It¡¯s not appropriate¡¯, in the end, she still left quickly with Sarah and got into the car with the driver. She managed to obtain Michael¡¯s location and found that he was at the Audistin clubhouse. Audistin was a chain brand involved in many sectors. Other than fitness, dance, yoga, and spa, it was also involved in hunting, shooting, karaoke and bar. In fact, it covered almost all types of luxury entertainment the rich enjoyed and was Harry Winston and Mr. Nobody¡¯s territory. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Sophia was apprehensive, but Sarah was all fired up. Thetter almost grabbed the former into Audistin and went straight to the private room. ¡°How bold of him. Does he think you¡¯re a pushover just because you don¡¯t find fault with him all the time? How dare he meet a fan!¡± Sarah was more agitated than Sophia as she cursed all the way. As for Sophia, she didn¡¯t say a word but nervously followed Sarah closely. Her heart pounded fast as she wondered what kind of fan Michael was meeting. They finally arrived in front of Michael¡¯s private room. There were two people guarding the door. Sarah commanded her bodyguards to suppress the two men while she kicked the door open and yelled, ¡°Michael Fletcher! How dare you meet a fan!¡± Sophia also hurried into the private room to take a look. On hearing the noise, a dozen bodyguards in ck looked up, slid their hands into the pockets of their clothes, and lifted their guns simultaneously. Only when they recognized it was Sophia and Sarah did they put their guns away. The room was decorated in an old and elegant style, and a harpist was ying the harp to the side. In the center of the room were a table, a chessboard, and two people sitting on both sides of the chessboard. One of them was naturally Michael all dressed up, while the other one was an old man with a young appearance, despite the white hair on his head. The old man¡¯s face was soft and kind. His all-white beard was so long that it was tied into a pigtail and drooped in front of him. The atmosphere turned awkward all of a sudden as everyone looked at Sophia and Sarah, who had barged in. Sophia looked at the old man across from Michael incredulously¡ªthis was that ¡®sultry-looking fan with a figure that she would kill for¡¯? Things seemed to bepletely different from what she had imagined. Sarah was also extremely mortified. After standing there in a daze for two seconds, her attitude suddenly changed, and she hurriedly said to Sophia, ¡°I knew it. Michael is definitely not that kind of person! We really made a blunder, didn¡¯t we? Ah¡­ Uh¡­ I¡¯m not feeling well, so I¡¯ll go back first.¡± With that, she took her own men and hurried away, leaving Sophia to face the people in this room alone. Sophia looked at Michael with embarrassment. Should I smile or pretend to get mad at him? Wait! I think I should decide if I stay or leave now. Oh Lord! Michael looked at the two people who had suddenly appeared. As he stared at Sarah, who had left because she suddenly wasn¡¯t feeling well, he was startled for a second before seemingly understanding what was going on. Finally, he couldn¡¯t help but lower his head and smile to himself. He beckoned to Sophia. ¡°Come here, chica. What are you standing there for?¡± Sophia went over to him hesitatingly, blushing with embarrassment. In order to ¡®catch him red-handed¡¯ more easily, she had deliberately worn light clothing. She was only d in a blouse and jeans with a pair of sneakers on her feet. Her figure was petite, her look was youthful, and her skin was fair. With her adorable features that were currently trying to look as innocent as possible after doing something wrong, she lookedpletely like a teenage girl. When she came up, the old man opposite Michael lifted his reading sses and looked Sophia up and down. Then, he tsked, saying, ¡°Your daughter is all grown up now. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s a bitte for her to join the ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ show.¡± Sophia was dumbfounded at his words, after which Michael smiled and said, ¡°This is my wife.¡± Realization dawned on the old man as he eximed, ¡°Oh, the ex-wife whom you divorced¡­ I know that.¡± Michael patiently exined, ¡°My father-inw did not approve of our rtionship before, so we got a divorce temporarily to make him happy. Now that he has approved of us, we n to remarry some other day.¡± The old man became very angry. ¡°How could there be such a father-inw! Who does he like if he doesn¡¯t like such a great son-inw as you!¡± But as soon as he finished speaking, he remembered that Sophia was still there, and immediately said to her with a pleasant expression and a calm tone, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. I¡¯m not talking about you.¡± The two continued to y chess. Hale brought a chair for Sophia, so she sat next to Michael and watched them y chess. The two chatted while ying chess; all they talked about was Michael¡¯s recent schedule and projects. ¡°When are you shooting ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯? When will it be aired on TV? How many episodes are you nning to air?¡± ¡°You¡¯re done filming ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯? What are you filming next?¡± ¡°The Dragon Eye mobile phone you endorsed is really easy to use. My family only uses phones of this brand now. Oh, and the stainless steel washbasin you endorsed is of good quality!¡± ¡­ It was obvious that he was a true fan of Michael¡¯s. Michael asked Sophia in a low voice when he was ying chess, ¡°Why did you suddenlye?¡± Being called out of her behavior, Sophia was embarrassed. How could she say that she hade over to catch him red-handed with some woman? After thinking about it, she gave a foolproof yet very wholesome answer. ¡°I miss you.¡± Michael¡¯s slender fingers were holding a chess piece. Hearing this, he couldn¡¯t help but pause in his movement. After gently putting down the chess piece, he turned to look at Sophia with a gentle smile. ¡°Then sit here with me to apany Mr. Osborne.¡± He added, ¡°This is an old acquaintance of mine, Mr. Osborne. He¡¯s the world¡¯s most famous master of traditional Cethosian art. He also has many aplishments in calligraphy. Mr. Osborne has lived abroad for decades, and it¡¯s a rare asion that he¡¯s here in Cethos with us today.¡± After being reminded by Michael, Sophia suddenly remembered the name, Louis Osborne. The most well-known master of Cethosian art among the overseas Cethosians was not only a master of Cethosian art, but he was also renowned at home and abroad in his calligraphy. Recently, he was holding a private art exhibition in Bayside City. Cooper had, with much difficulty, obtained a ticket, and the exhibition would beunched in two days. Unexpectedly, the master himself was here. Cooper also liked Cethosian calligraphy very much. His own work was stunning and powerful, but the quality of his work was still far behindpared to Mr. Osborne¡¯s. In fact, he had always admired Louis Osborne very much. But who knew that Louis Osborne was actually Michael¡¯s fan! After the two of them yed chess, Louis ordered someone toy out the paper so that he could write a few words for Michael as a gift. Certainly, Master Osborne¡¯s writing was exceptional; it was priceless! Thus, Sophia also rushed forward with a reverent look. ¡°Grandpa, your brush.¡± The girl ying the harp stepped up. She had already prepared the ink for Louis. She turned out to be none other than Louis¡¯s granddaughter. As soon as Sophia entered the door, she noticed the girl, who looked delicate and very beautiful. She appeared to be about twenty years old and had very slender fingers. Sophia had thought she was a musician hired by Audistin, but who knew the girl was someone this important? Today, Louis happily wrote piece after piece of calligraphy for Michael, who also specially asked for a copy of ¡®Beyond the Border¡¯ for his young-looking father-inw. After finishing his writing, Louis took out a couple of posters and a bunch of original collector¡¯s edition DVDs, then piled them in front of Michael. ¡°Come, sign here, and here too¡­¡± Michael picked up his signing pen and signed everywhere that Louis had pointed out. Sitting to the side, Louis stroked his beard and smiled fatuously. He was thinking to himself, Oh my God, how can there be such an amazing young man in this world! The more I look at him, the more I like him! How I wish to kidnap him and lock him up so that I can look at him every day! No, the one rule of any fandom is to stay close to the idol¡¯s works and stay away from his personal life! I need to restrain myself! After the signing and gifting, Louis saw that Sophia was still empty-handed and felt guilty. He thought that he should give a little something to her as well. Looking around him, he saw that harp. ¡°Anne, give the harp to Sophia as a gift.¡± Chapter 1076 Chapter 1076 When Louis spoke of that harp, Sophia subconsciously turned to look at it. The harp looked unique and sounded very pleasing to the ears as well. But no matter how beautiful it was, it belonged to somebody else. So, she hurriedly refused. ¡°No need. I don¡¯t know how to y the harp either. This youngdy here should keep it instead.¡± While they were talking about the harp, the girl named Anne nervously nced at her harp. It was clear that she didn¡¯t want to lose her favorite instrument, and Sophia did not know how to y the harp either, so giving it to her would be pointless. Anne nced at Sophia with resentment in her eyes, as if Sophia was the one who had deliberately snatched her harp away from her. It made Sophia fidget around fretfully. But then Louis insisted again and again, ¡°It¡¯s just a harp. There are so many of them in our house. I¡¯ve decided to give it to you, so you shouldn¡¯t refuse! If you refuse, it means you look down on me.¡± Getting up, he took the brush and, with a flourish, wrote ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ on the harp, signifying that it was hers from now on. At this very moment, Sophia could no longer refuse since her name was already written on it. ¡°Grandpa, this is a Phoenix Harp that is priceless¡­¡± Anne bit her lower lip. She was obviously filled with hatred, but she couldn¡¯t express any of it. How can such a precious thing be given away! And to a random person to boot! This Sophia Edwards¡­ She is not worthy enough to own this harp! This Phoenix Harp has such an extraordinary history that she¡¯ll probably be shocked to death. Louis knew the value of this harp, and it was precisely because he knew it that he wanted to give it away. ¡°It¡¯s just a harp. You have so many harps, so you won¡¯t miss this one anyway,¡± said Louis as he put away his brush. Besides, most of these harps were not Anne¡¯s. Instead, they were part of Louis¡¯s collection, so he was free to give them to anyone he pleased. Since her name was already written, Sophia had no choice but to ept. She said, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Osborne.¡± Louis smiled and stroked his white beard, looking very satisfied. Michael spent time with his elderly fan in Audistin for the whole day and only left after dinner. When he left, he also had that harp packed up and taken away. In Louis¡¯s car, Anne remained depressed and did not speak. Louis knew that she was angry, but the harp had never been hers in the first ce. It was obtained by Louis from Anne¡¯s aunt and had been in his showroom all this time. Since Anne loved to y the harp, she had been excited about seeing this particr one and had borrowed it to y. For this visit to Cethos, apart from holding a private art exhibition, Louis had another motive too. Knowing that his idol was divorced, he had quickly brought his young and beautiful granddaughter on the trip. He thought that if he was lucky, he would be able to be a family with his idol through his granddaughter¡¯s marriage. Unexpectedly, Michael didn¡¯t get divorced, and his wife even showed up, so Louis¡¯s idea of bing a family with his idol through his granddaughter¡¯s marriage was aplete flop. Anne was good at ying the harp. At a young age, she was already much aplished. Initially, Louis was very confident in her, but now, he waspletely powerless to do anything. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t be angry. There are many good men in Cethos. I¡¯ll introduce you to better ones someday,¡± Louisforted. He had bragged about Michael before and praised his little idol to high heavens before Anne. So, the girl was also looking forward to meeting Michael, but unexpectedly¡­ Although Anne was angry, she couldn¡¯t help but be intoxicated by the thought of Michael¡¯s gorgeous looks. She had fallen in love with Michael at first sight. The man in real life was more charming than on screen. It was like a subject in a spectacr paintinging to life or a prince right out of a fairytale. He was both domineering yet tender, gentle yet strong. She especially liked his role as Leporello and was fascinated by his acting. In fact, she did not expect the real man to be more charming than the role he yed on screen. But unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t get a divorce¡­ How could that pleb Sophia Edwards be worthy of him! Sophia looked like a halfie b*stard. That woman could never match up to Anne herself, who had such an elegant charm and sweetness about her. For Sophia to be with Michael was an outrage. A man like Michael deserved to be matched with a gentle and elegant beauty like Anne herself. She had an artistic temperament and came from a great family. Together, they were a perfect match made in heaven. But now, everything was gone. Even her favorite harp was gone. However, she also knew that it was not her own harp, so Louis had the final say. She could do nothing about it other than being upset! ¡­ On the same day at the Fletcher Residence. Linus stood outside the militarypound, looking at the main entrance that was heavily guarded. He stopped in his tracks without going forward any further. ¡°Linus, why aren¡¯t you moving?¡± Today, Cooper had officially brought his son Linus to visit Mark Fletcher. However, Linus stood outside the militarypound without entering. So, Cooper had hurriedly asked him why. ¡°Dad, you go in. I¡¯ll wait for you in the car.¡± With that, Linus turned around and got back into the car. Cooper knew why his son didn¡¯t want to go in. He sighed and said, ¡°Then you wait for me in the car for a while. If you can¡¯t wait, go to your sister¡¯s house first.¡± He had nned to bring Linus to see Mark, then go to Sophia¡¯s ce to have dinner and spend the night before returning to Riverdale tomorrow morning. After all, he hadn¡¯t seen his little sweetheart for about three or four days now, and he really missed her! Since Linus didn¡¯t want to go in, Cooper didn¡¯t force him to and went in by himself. The militarypound was still the same as before with its extremely tight security. Even the ck dogs brought by Cooper had to be checked several times. There was a persistent fear that someone would attempt to steal military secrets given the chance. After all, this was a military powerhouse. But what they didn¡¯t know was that Linus had sent in his high-tech equipment before and stole some secrets of the Fletcher Family from within. That was why he was too ashamed to see Mark. In the car, Linus handled his work using aptop, while Luckyy by his feet obediently. Lucky was a stray dog that Linus had picked up when he went to a farm just outside the city to pick strawberries. It was a big and yellow dog which Linus liked very much. He even had Lucky styled by a groomer and made several beautiful cors for it. Lucky was also brilliant; it was actually the smartest dog in their family. Even the most mischievous Judge did not dare to bully Lucky. If it offended Lucky, it would only meet a tragic end. Right now, Lucky seemed to sense its owner¡¯s dejection and ced its head on Linus¡¯sp, then raised its eyes to look at him. Linus touched Lucky¡¯s head and smiled slightly. I shouldn¡¯t have done all those in the past¡­ Back then, he was too young and didn¡¯t know much. He was in his early twenties and eager for quick sess and instant gratification. Indeed, hecked control and judgment while doing things back then. Linus didn¡¯t expect that things would develop this way. He turned out to be Cooper¡¯s son and now had to face Mark with a different identity. Unfortunately, what was done was done, and there was no use crying over spilled milk. To his surprise, Linus suddenly heard Cooper calling his name outside. He raised his head and saw Cooper and Mark walking side by side. Mark was very old and was on crutches, but he was still very energetic. ¡°Little muffin, if you won¡¯te to see me, then I¡¯ll have toe to see you!¡± Mark was very enthusiastic. No wonder the young man next to Cooper has always looked very pleasing to the eye! Turns out that he¡¯s Sophia¡¯s twin brother. Such a fate! ¡°Old Master Fletcher¡­¡± Linus was rather startled, for he didn¡¯t expect that Old Master Fletcher woulde out personally to meet him. ttered, he hurriedly got out of the car to greet him. At this moment, he felt even more guilty for what he had done. Chapter 1077 Chapter 1077 Mark was very nervous. ¡°Hurry, let¡¯s get in the car. I¡¯m already ¡®dead¡¯, so I can¡¯t be seen walking around out here.¡± The group hurriedly got into the car and drove to Sophia¡¯s home, The Imperial. Although Sophia and Michael had eaten dinner with Louis today, they didn¡¯t eat much because they had already received a call saying that Cooper and Linus wereing over. Sophia hurried home and prepared for their visit; she needed to eat with them too. When they got home, Michael had already prepared a ss case and put the harp in the living room as a decoration. Sophia could not y it, but such a rare item could not be hidden away. So, it was only right that he ced it in the living room as a decoration. There was also Louis¡¯ autograph on it, which made the harp even more impressive than it already was. The ss case that contained the harp was thick, dust-proof, moisture-proof, bullet-proof, and most importantly, anti-orange-cat. If the harp was left out in the open, it would bepletely ruined by the orange cats at home within one day. Even if the orange cats didn¡¯t ruin it, Richie Edwards would try its hardest to scratch it. As Michael watched the harp being ced down in the living room, he nced around and saw the big fat cats in the room had already begun to stare at it. Frowning, he asked Sophia, ¡°Chica, why do I feel that there are more and more cats around?¡± He had neutered and given away most of themst year, keeping only those personally remembered, such as Chrysanthemum, Simba, Scorchy, Garfield, and that grasnd cat Leapy. Sunset and its babies were also taken away by Stanley. All the rest were given away to adoptive families, so only seven or eight cats were left. But today, he could count at least thirty cats in the house! There were orange cats, ck cats, tabby cats, calico cats¡­ He didn¡¯t remember that there were so many cats in his house. Could it be that the neutering was not thorough enough? Or has Sophia started collecting cats behind my back again? Oh my God, we¡¯re back to square one! With some effort, Carmen picked up an overweight calico cat and said, ¡°Daddy, this is Royal Sweetheart Aristocat!¡± Sophia was pouring cat food into bowls, which instantly caused all the cats to charge toward her in a stampede. After feeding the cats, she stroked each of them and took their pictures. ¡°These are the cats from our next-door neighbor. There are more than 300 cats there! It¡¯s amazing! They are all Inte superstars, and they oftene over to y.¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Michael was taken aback. Which ¡®next-door neighbor¡¯ of theirs had such a wealth of money? Three hundred cats! No matter how wealthy they were, they would be poor instantly. He nced down at the cat¡¯s cor and suddenly understood which neighbor it was¡ªthe ancient Imperial Pce next door. There were many wooden buildings in the ancient Imperial Pce Museum, which were precious historical sites. However, there were many rats in the ancient Imperial Pce. Just one nibble from the rats would cause distress to the archaeologists for years. Therefore, the ancient Imperial Pce raised many cats to catch the rats, and the cats were numbered. Most of those cats were descended from the favorite pet cats of the emperors and concubines of the ancient Imperial Pce, so the title ¡®Royal Sweetheart Aristocat¡¯ was really apt. Sure enough, their house attracted cats. No, it should be Sophia who attracted cats. Maybe it was because she couldn¡¯t give birth anymore that had caused her to be unable to resist little animals and kids. Michael squatted down and stroked the cat with her. Sophia grabbed his hand and ced it on a cat¡¯s head, then said, ¡°Touch this one. Its fur feels veryfortable to the touch.¡± Michael touched it for a few seconds before suddenly holding her hand instead. ¡°Nothing feels more comfortable to the touch than you.¡± ¡°Such a flir you are¡­¡± When it was getting dark, the night shift security guard of the ancient Imperial Pce came to get the cats to go back to work. How could the cats stay over at their neighbor¡¯s house for food at night when rats were most rampant? That was simply outrageous. The night security guard was familiar with the area. He entered The Imperial and went straight to No. 8 as he knew that all the cats were there for the delicious food. The night security guard was a middle-aged man rehired after retirement. He had worked in the ancient Imperial Pce all his life. Nowadays, he wore a security uniform with a shlight on his waist and pushed a cart to catch the cats and bring them back. Sophia was always a kind-hearteddy. Seeing that he was getting older, she helped him catch the cats, put them into cages one by one, and pushed them away with the cart. She also gave away a lot of homemade cat food. Unexpectedly, after the security guard took the cats, he caught a glimpse of the harp in the living room. Shocked, he quickly stepped forward, took out his shlight, and illuminated the harp closely, his eyes full of amazement and disbelief. After scrutinizing it, he turned his head, looking astounded. ¡°This is the harp? The Phoenix Harp? Where did you get it?¡± Currently, Michael was helping to cram thest stubborn calico cat into the cage. He was so busy that he was sweating profusely. On hearing the security guard¡¯s words, he recalled that Louis¡¯ granddaughter seemed to have mentioned the harp¡¯s name today, so he replied, ¡°A friend gave it to us as a gift. I think it is indeed the Phoenix Harp.¡± Sophia had always known that this security guard waspetent. He had worked in the ancient Imperial Pce Museum all his life and dealt with cultural relics every day. Even if he did not have a professional background, his knowledge was definitely better than ordinary archaeological experts. In any case, he knew at a nce which ones in Sophia¡¯s family¡¯s antique collection were authentic and which ones were fake, as well as their worth. He was superhuman in this field. ¡°Yeah, it seems to be the Phoenix Harp. What about it?¡± The security guard was so in awe that he kept taking videos and photos of it. As he did so, he introduced with excitement, ¡°This is not an ordinary harp but the Phoenix Harp that has been lost for hundreds of years! The harp is not a musical instrument that originated from Cethos. It was introduced to our country from Vestia. Later, it was favored among the royalty, and then slowly, it was made avable to the masses. However, due to various factors such as wars, many types of harps had been lost in time, including this Phoenix Harp.¡± He continued, ¡°There are ancient records of it in our museum, but no one has ever seen the real thing, nor has anyone sessfully recovered the real thing. The Phoenix Harp made its way abroad in the past, as there are relevant records and fragments disyed in the museums of Japan and other Asian countries, but the real thing has never surfaced once all over the world! I¡¯ve looked and looked at it, and this is the Phoenix Harp! I didn¡¯t expect someone to recover the real thing! It¡¯s amazing!¡± Sophia waspletely befuddled by his introduction, but she did grasp the important bit¡ªthis harp was valuable. No wonder that Anne girl was so unwilling to give it up! It turns out to be such an amazing object! But Michael discovered another key point: the Phoenix Harp was long lost and was exclusive to the royal family. It had been lost for hundreds of years, but through a Cethosian living abroad, it came back to Cethos again. At once, he thought of the Yard Family. When the Imperial Yard Family fled abroad hundreds of years ago, they brought away countless craftsmen. They still retained some long-lost Cethosian skills, so most likely, they still retained the Phoenix Harp. So, how did the Phoenix Harp fall into Louis¡¯ hands? Michael had never heard of any connection between Louis and the Yard Family. Although they were all Cethosians who lived abroad, they had never met. Interesting¡­ Michael had known Louis for decades, and he was not the kind of person who interacted with the likes of the Yard Family. Although Louis lived abroad, he was generally warm-hearted and schrly. Therefore, he would certainly despise the very existence of the Yard Family. Michael looked at that harp with aplicated expression. He had a feeling that this harp must have something to do with the Yard Family. The Yard Family is really everywhere! Chapter 1078 Chapter 1078 Meanwhile, Sophia was still listening to the ancient Imperial Pce¡¯s night guards as they spoke of the history of Phoenix Harp. ¡°The harp is a musical instrument of Cethos, but most were lostter. The harp we speak of in the modern days is actually the lyre that came in from abroad, a Western musical instrument. Never had I expected that I¡¯d have the opportunity to see Phoenix Harp with my own eyes in this lifetime! It¡¯s truly stunning!¡± ¡°Look! The craftsmanship of this Phoenix Harp is perfect! It¡¯s simply wless! No matter the material and the craftsmanship, everything is just superior! It¡¯s worthy to be a national treasure!¡± ¡°It¡¯s truly the same as written in the ancient records in our museum! Everything is the same! My life hasn¡¯t been in vain since I¡¯ve gotten to see such a perfect instrument in person during my lifetime!¡± And so they continued waxing lyrical about the harp, but Sophia was skeptical. A national treasure? Isn¡¯t that too much? Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. The night guards then insisted on borrowing the harp to study it. Sophia couldn¡¯t manage to dissuade them, so she agreed. Subsequently, they then ordered a few enthusiastic people to transport the harp and even issued a borrower¡¯s form from the ancient Imperial Pce museum. Upon seeing the infinite care and caution the Imperial Pce employees took to the point of even wearing gloves, Sophia¡¯s heart pounded. Stark regret assailed her for allowing the guards to see her harp. What if¡­ it bes a national property instead of my personal property once it¡¯s taken away? All at once, she quickly pulled Michael over, cing him front and center. ¡°Be careful!¡± she urged anxiously. ¡°This is our family¡¯s harp, given by a friend of Taylor¡¯s, so there¡¯s just this one! And his fans are all aware that this harp belongs to us. Remember that¡­¡± Earlier, Michael asked Justin about the harp. As Justin was well-read over the years, he knew quite a bit about the harp and agreed that this harp was no ordinary harp. I wonder how Sophia is so lucky to have gotten her hands on Phoenix Harp that has been lost for centuries. Thest time Phoenix Harp was ever seen was probably during thest years of the previous dynasty when battle raged tobat foreign invasion. The Imperial seal was stolen then, alongside arge number of national treasures, and among them was the final pristine Phoenix Harp in the pce. Taylor had also once hired aposer who specialized in history as an advisor when he was to film ¡®The National Treasury Action.¡¯ The expert had duplicated a harp perfectly and even asked the ancient Imperial Pce museum to duplicate a Phoenix Harp as prop, but it was not as exquisite as this harp before his eyes. Back then, the Phoenix Harp suffered a tragic end, for it was burned by invaders before it could be transported away. What a pity! ¡°Tsk-tsk. If this is truly the Phoenix Harp, then it¡¯s truly priceless! It¡¯ll fetch a king¡¯s ransom. Buddy, your fan is truly something else!¡± Justinmented while carrying his daughter, smelling like baby powder. After putting away the harp, a senior guard came over with an ingratiating expression on his face. Rubbing his hands, he said to Michael, ¡°This¡­ well¡­ you once donated the Imperial seal, Mr. Murray, so why don¡¯t you donate this harp now?¡± Sophia instantly panicked and blinked at Michael vigorously. Her eyes were shing so swiftly that Michael was almost blinded. Noticing that she liked this harp very much, Michael schooled his face into a serious expression and answered, ¡°This is different from the Imperial seal. I obtained the seal for the country, but this harp is my wife¡¯s private collection. Master Louis Osborne has even worked on it, so we¡¯re reluctant to part with it for the time being. However, you can take it back for study and duplication.¡± At this, Sophia breathed a sigh of relief though her eyes remained anxiously fixed on the harp as she fretted. Upon seeing this, Michael couldn¡¯t help stroking her hair and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll keep an eye on things. They won¡¯t dare steal it. After all, who would dare steal from the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor?¡± he murmured in a whisper. While the harp was being transported, Cooper and Linus came with Mark after learning that a wealthy fan of Michael¡¯s gave Sophia a Phoenix Harp. At a single nce, Linus who was rather famous in the collectors¡¯ world made out the worth of this Phoenix Harp and hurriedly took a photo with it for keepsake before it was carried away. As he did so, he inwardlymented, It sure is nice to have a famous husband! After the harp had been taken away, they all sat down and chatted. Michael then took out ¡®Beyond the Border¡¯ which Cooper requested today and presented it earnestly to his young-looking father-inw. As soon as the scroll was opened, the majestic and bold words manifested before Cooper¡¯s eyes¡ª¡®If the city generals were present, the barbarians¡¯ horses would never have crossed the mountains.¡¯ At the back was Louis Osborne¡¯s signature. Cooper was wholly gratified. While he still maintained an aloof expression, his surreptitiously fluttering brows betrayed the excitement within him. He couldn¡¯t reveal the slightest hint of softness before his old son-inw, so he kept up his aloofness. The reason being, he probably felt that he could only intimidate this perverted old son-inw of his if he were aloof and authoritative. Mark loved Linus, holding his little muffin¡¯s hand with his left hand and his good grandson¡¯s hand with the other. Sophia grew green with envy as she looked on, but still, she ate dinner with Cooper, Mark, and the rest. Mark only returned to Fletcher Residencete at night. Sophia then took a shower and was just about to go to bed when Maria came over and said, ¡°Madam, there¡¯s an extra cat in the house whose owner is unknown. The Imperial Pce said it isn¡¯t theirs, and I¡¯ve also asked around in the neighborhood, but no one came to collect it.¡± An extra cat? Sophia went over to the cat bed to have a look. All at once, she saw an elegant and graceful Norwegian Forest cat with long fur among the orange cats. It was an exceedingly lovely cat that was truly a feast for the eyes. As she took it out, the cat meowed in hunger, so she put out some cat food for it. However, it then looked all disdainful after lowering its head for a sniff, refusing to eat it despite meowing in hunger. She then changed it out to a more high-end cat food that she only used during New Year, but it still continued meowing, disdaining it and refusing to eat. Hey! What a snob! Chrysanthemum jumped up and pped it on the ear before gobbling down the cat food. The Norwegian Forest cat meowed hungrily as it stared at Sophia. Sophia then picked it up, glimpsing its intact cor. On a closer look, it was a foreign luxury pet cor that was sold by her biggestpetitor, so she was aware of its price. This cor costs about 800 grand! This is a cat with a rich owner! Unfortunately, there was no contact number on the cor, merely its name in Cethosiannguage¡ªGeneral. It¡¯s a bit odd for such a beautiful cat to have such a name. She then hurriedly had someone take good care of the cat since it might be her client in the future. Thereafter, she promptly phoned the shop to check whether there was a record of General having been there. General wasn¡¯t as domineering as its name, for it was very much fastidious. It refused to eat anything and continued meowing incessantly while being even better dressed than Chrysanthemum. Irritated, Chrysanthemum again boxed its ear, whereupon it quietly went silent and hid in the corner to cry. As an aristocratic cat with an 800-grand cor, it had never suffered such aggrieve, so it cried for the entire night. In the end, it was Linus who took pity on it, giving it a bath before carrying it into the guest room to sleep. The next day, the store reverted that a Norwegian Forest cat called ¡®General¡¯ had indeed been to the shop for grooming the day before. Afterparing the photos, Sophia saw that the simrity was 99%, so she quickly had them contact the owner and said that she¡¯d personally send the cat back. It¡¯ll definitely be an excellent client! The venue was set at Audistin. Since Michael hadn¡¯t yet started filming, he went with Sophia. When they arrived at Audistin and pulled open the door of the designated private room, Sophia saw someone unexpected. ¡°It¡¯s you, Mrs. Anna Yard?¡± Chapter 1079 Chapter 1079 As Michael, who apanied Sophia, walked in the door, he saw a ssydy in the private room who seemed to be in her early 30s. She was extremely beautiful, so if she were a few years younger, she¡¯d definitely be a veritable beauty, though she was also no slouch now. Judging from her aura, she was definitely from a wealthy family. Mrs. Anna Yard? And she even seems acquainted with Sophia. Anna¡­ could it be what I¡¯m thinking? It was exactly as he thought. Never had Sophia expected that the person she saw the moment she opened the door would be Anna Yard, the person who held the real power in Yard Group and the mother of Cade and Callum Yard! Upon seeing her, Anna put down the teacup in her hand and raised her head a fraction. ¡°Have a seat,¡± she murmured elegantly. Sophia was still flustered from astonishment, but a flurry of movements came from the cat carrier in the hands of Hale who came with them. As soon as the cat carrier was opened, General who was inside leaped out and flew into Anna¡¯s arm, meowing loudly. Meow! The sound was long and piercing, carrying the joy of seeing its owner while alsoining at the same time¡ªI was at amoner¡¯s house yesterday, and the cat food was horrible! They even had a litter of local breeds that batted me! Cuddling the cat, Anna stroked it lovingly for a while before having her assistant take it away. As she did so, she smilingly said to Sophia, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this cat grew up in the Yard Family, so it only eats the cat food made from the recipe passed down during the imperial times of the Yard Dynasty.¡± Sophia gave a dry chuckle before sitting down on the sofa across from Anna. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it¡¯s your cat, Mrs. Yard. No wonder it¡¯s so elegant.¡± This is also a descendant of the Imperial cat? It¡¯s very much differentpared to the ancient Imperial Pce¡¯s Imperial cat! At this time, Michael quietly sat down beside Sophia as well. Then, he scrutinized the woman in front of him. So, she¡¯s Anna Yard. He surreptitiously studied her face, but it was entirely different from the Annabel Johnson he imagined. No matter her countenance, aura, or temperament, they¡¯re two entirely different people, and she never had cosmetic surgery. The only picture left of Annabel Johnson is that of her at 18 or 19 years old. Meanwhile, a woman¡¯s countenance is wholly different when she¡¯s in her teens than when she¡¯s 45 or 46 years old. There¡¯s a 20 plus year gap, and the life experience throughout that time is sufficient to render one¡¯s temperament and countenancepletely different. So, is she Annabel Johnson? Unfortunately, I¡¯ve never really interacted with that mother-inw of mine, so Cooper may be the only who can tell. But if she¡¯s really Annabel Johnson, she already has another family. If I tell Sophia and Cooper about her, how would they be able to ept it? After mulling it over, Michael nixed the idea. If Anna Yard is truly Annabel Johnson, it¡¯s fate that they met again. Fate is in God¡¯s hands, so I don¡¯t need to do anything deliberate. They¡¯ll recognize the rtionship between them when the time is right. Anna personally poured Sophia a cup of tea, her long and slender fingers exceedingly delicate and lovely. As she did so, she remarked, ¡°I brought General to the ancient Imperial Pce yesterday, but it unexpectedly got lost. I searched for an eternity.¡± The Yard Family originated around the Lombardi River where their political power was also centralized. When their imperial power waster demolished, their pce was torched by the peasant army. The previous dynasty replicated the Yard Family¡¯s pce to the current Bayside City, turning it to the ancient Imperial Pce today that still preserved some of the structure of the Yard Family back then. If it were a few hundred years ago, she could probably enter the ancient Imperial Pce freely, but she now needed an admission ticket, so she probably felt a tad resentful. Sophia didn¡¯t know what to say to that, so she chortled. ¡°There are indeed a lot of people in the ancient Imperial Pce, so even a lost person would be difficult to find, let alone a cat.¡± Picking up the tea Anna slipped over to her, she lightly took a sip. It¡¯s sweet and fragrant. It¡¯s quality tea. The two of them chatted as they drank tea, merely talking about cats, dogs, and the magnificent view in Bayside City instead of anything serious. Michael was merely an ornament, for he rarely said a word. Anna seldom came to Cethos. This time, she was only apanying her son here. The Yard Family had long since known that there was no hope in recovering their power, so they¡¯d given up on that. As they merely wanted to make money, they¡¯d long made peace with Cethos and forged a coboration. The Yard Family now wanted to expand their business to Cethos, so both Callum and Cade had been in Bayside for some time, even having attended Sophia¡¯s banquet. ¡°Are you nning to go all out in developing the Cethos market now, Mrs. Yard?¡± Sophia asked as she poured some tea for herself. Although Anna put her cup down, her elegant countenance carried a hint of amiable smile. ¡°While the Yard Group has always been abroad all these years, the Yard Family¡¯s descendants have always known their origins. Hence, returning to Cethos has always been Yard Group¡¯s desire. Despite having made some historical blunders in the past, it¡¯s a culmination of our ancestors¡¯ wish many years ago that we get to return peacefully now.¡± Sophia nodded unceasingly though one couldn¡¯t be certain whether she¡¯d truly digested it or she was merely feigning understanding. ¡°If so, the coboration between us will definitely grow by leaps and bounds in the future,¡± she said. However, Anna was very much courteous in her reply. ¡°No, no. If Yard Group truly wants to enter the Cethos market, we still need a lot of help from you, Madam Edwards.¡± Michael had been listening quietly. He couldn¡¯t join the conversation since the two women were talking, but he kept an eye on Anna¡¯s expressions and movements. She seems extremely friendly without being distant at all when talking to Sophia, but it¡¯s not because she has a pleasant attitude. Rather, she has a high EQ. She controls the entire Yard Family and is known for being cold and merciless, so she¡¯s definitely not a simple person. After drinking tea with Anna and adding each other on Messenger, Sophia left happily. Then, she posted it to her IG Stories. Ah, I¡¯m the poorest of them all! After having met Anna, Michael went about his own business, while Sophia went for a facial. Well, Anna Yard must be 40 or 50 years old at least, but she has beautiful hair, her hair plentiful, ck, and lustrous. Even her skin is extremely supple without much wrinkles. If I could have her beauty at that age, I¡¯d be willing to shave a few years off my life! Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Unexpectedly, Sophia caught sight of someone she knew when she turned a corner. ¡°Hey, Stan! You¡¯re here for a blind date?¡± She saw Stanley at a single nce. This fe is dressed decently and ssily with a white shirt, having even shaved his beard and wearing his precious, limited-edition L/K. Usually, he wears short pants littered with dog and cat fur at home, but there isn¡¯t a single fur on him today! Judging from his dressing, he¡¯s definitely here for a blind date! Pleasant surprise filled Stanley¡¯s face at the sight of her. ¡°You¡¯re here, Aunt? Please save me!¡± Pulling her into a corner, he solemnly admitted, ¡°My father forced me here today for a blind date again. I asked Sean toe here with Maisie and mess things up, but he said he¡¯s caught in traffic, so he might not make it. You must help me, Aunt!¡± All the hairs on Sophia¡¯s arms rose. ¡°Help you? I¡¯m not going to pretend to be your girlfriend. Your uncle is here, so he might just kill you!¡± Chapter 1080 Chapter 1080 sping his hands together, Stanley almost fell to his knees before Sophia as he pleaded, ¡°Carmen is attending an acting ss nearby, so it¡¯ll just take her a few minutes to get here. I know that! Please help me, Aunt. Please.¡± It seemed that he was truly panicked. Dad and Caleb came with me today. They¡¯re all chatting happily now, so my impending marriage is about to be set in stone! I¡¯m not Caleb¡¯s match, so if no one barges in to mess things up, my life will truly be ruined! ¡°I¡¯ll kneel before you, Aunt! Sean said his cell phone died on his way here, so I can¡¯t contact him. He probably won¡¯t make it, so you must help me, Aunt!¡± Sophia was caught between a rock and a hard ce. Carmen had barged in several times when Stanley was on a blind date and messed things up. The Fletchers knew about this, but they didn¡¯t say anything since she was the apple of Michael¡¯s eye. But this time, Stan¡¯s father came personally, so he¡¯s probably taking this very seriously. Stanley was the same age as Sophia, both 28 years old. Although Stanley¡¯s family had been pressuring him to get married, it¡¯d never been this bad, nor had it even gone to the point where his father and brother came to keep an eye on the blind date. Perhaps the Fletchers are pressuring him so much because they heard some rumors. After all, he has recently moved in with Sean and adopted a child. At longst, she relented. I can¡¯t just look on as he unwillingly gets married, ruining both himself and the girl! Thus, she hurriedly made a phone call and had someone drive Carmen over. Stanley then went back to deal with the situation first. Ten minutester, Carmen arrived in a pink dress. She¡¯d started being independent ever since young, so she was shouldering her own bag as she marched in with huge strides. Before Sophia could say anything, she blurted anxiously, ¡°You don¡¯t need to teach me, Mommy. I know what to do, so just lead the way.¡± She seemed very much skilled. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Back when Sophia first returned to Bayside City and had a blind date with Stanley, she¡¯d witnessed how Carmen did her ¡®job.¡¯ At that time, even she was stunned by her performance. When Stanley was forced into Bayside City¡¯s blind date circle, he got acquainted with a group of men who were likewise disinterested in getting married yet forced to go on blind dates by their families. Thus, he often took Carmen out to earn some pocket money, barging in on other people¡¯s blind dates and messing things up. An appearance cost one grand. Carmen¡¯s skills were superb, so she even made a name for herself in that circle. When Sophia had led Carmen to the private room in which Stanley was having his blind date, she spotted two men in green military uniform guarding the door. At this, the two of them hatched out a n in hushed tones. ¡°In a while, I¡¯ll have someone restrain the men outside, and you seize the opportunity to rush in!¡± Carmen nodded. In merely five seconds, she¡¯d managed to force out some tears, her eyes filling with anguish. Sophia then had someone restrain the two guards at the door while she rushed into the private room with Carmen. Instantly spotting Stanley who sat right in the middle, Carmen let out an earth- splitting cry. ¡°Daddy!¡± She charged forward and hugged his leg, putting all her emotion into her brief yet powerful script with immense professionalism. ¡°Why¡­ Why are you going on a blind date, Daddy? Do you not want me anymore? You promised to take care of me and Mommy! I don¡¯t want a stepmother!¡± she sniffled. As expected, the atmosphere in the room stagnated for a moment before a livid woman mmed her hands on the table and sprang to her feet at once. Pointing at Stanley, shembasted, ¡°Y-You actually have a daughter this old? How dare you?¡± Then, she demanded, ¡°Dad, Grandpa, let¡¯s go!¡± Sophia had been looking down at Carmen, once again shocked by her daughter¡¯s acting. Sure enough, she¡¯s destined to be an actress! However, she suddenly found the woman¡¯s voice extremely familiar, so her head snapped up, only to be greeted by the sight of Stanley blinking at her, his eyes blinking so quickly that it was as though he¡¯d pulled a muscle. Hence, Sophia swept her gaze over the table. First, she saw Stanley¡¯s furious father and forbidding brother, Caleb. Meanwhile, the woman who mmed her hands on the table and sprang up seemed vaguely familiar. It¡¯s as though I¡¯ve seen her somewhere¡­ Isn¡¯t she Anne Osborne? Anne Osborne is having a blind date with Stan? Moving her gaze past Anne, she saw her father, followed by her grandfather, Louis, then¡­ Michael. She went speechless. Michael was also struck dumb. Having seen Carmen on the job, he covered his face with his hands in utter embarrassment. Sophia, on the other hand, was flushed bright red, and her brain whirred around for a way out. Meanwhile, Stanley was still blinking his eyes at Sophia. Who the f*ck would¡¯ve thought that Michael would make an appearance while I¡¯d gone out to figure a way out of this mess on the pretext of going to the toilet? Only then did he discover that it was Michael who arranged this blind date! He set his own nephew up! Thus, he inadvertently set Sophia and Carmen up. Furthermore, his cell phone was confiscated, so he had no way of telling Sophia about it. Hence, this situation now transpired. The entire room went as silent as the tomb; the only sounds that remained were Carmen¡¯s anguished wails. She wanted to take it even further, but the moment she lifted her head, she caught sight of her biological father who was sitting at the table. She first looked at Stanley who kept blinking in an effort to convey the situation before shifting her gaze to her father who had his hands over his face in embarrassment. All the while, her tear-stained face was filled with confusion. She¡¯d been doing this ¡®job¡¯ for many years and had scared off many blind dates. Stanley even gave her ¡®jobs¡¯ asionally since he was acquainted with many men who didn¡¯t want to get married, but this was the first time she¡¯d ever bumped into her biological father while on the job. What should I do now? My performance today is going down the drain! However, her pride as the Best Actor¡¯s daughter didn¡¯t allow her to admit defeat. No matter how awkward the situation is, I¡¯ve got to salvage it! In the next moment, she released her hold on Stanley¡¯s leg and slipped under the table, crawling on her hands and legs over to Michael who was on the opposite side. Then, she hugged his leg tightly and wailed loudly, ¡°You¡¯re here, Daddy! Why did you go on a blind date behind Mommy¡¯s back? Have you really divorced Mommy? Do you not want me anymore? Everyone is saying that you two are divorced and that you don¡¯t want me anymore!¡± Yes! The plot has been seamlessly connected, and things are now good! Following Carmen¡¯s lead, Sophia hurried over to Michael as well. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, baby. Daddy is only here to eat with his friends, not to go on a blind date. It¡¯s Stanley who¡¯s on a blind date.¡± Tugging on Michael¡¯s sleeve, she then shook it vigorously as she begged, ¡°Michael, hurry up and exin things to her. She¡¯s been crying ever since she heard that you went on a blind date!¡± I¡¯ll hand things over to him next. He won¡¯t possibly embarrass us, will he? Michael was torn between crying andughing, at a loss as to what he should do about his two precious babies. They even dare mess up the blind date I arranged. This is simply preposterous! Fortunately, I¡¯m an Academy Award winner, else this would really end up in a farce. He could only go along with their script and put on the performance of his life. Taking out his professionalism as an Academy Award winner, he scooped up his precious daughter who was about to pass out from crying. Wiping her tears and snot, he gently and touchingly reassured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m really not here to go on a blind date. I¡¯m just here to supervise Stanley¡¯s blind date. Alright, don¡¯t cry anymore, baby. I swear I¡¯m really not here for a blind date.¡± Chapter 1081 Chapter 1081 Still, Carmen continued crying as though she didn¡¯t believe Michael. Sobbing so hard that she couldn¡¯t even utter aplete sentence, she looked utterly pitiful. Her tiny hands were even grasping his sleeve tightly as if she was afraid that he¡¯d go off on a blind date once she let go of him. Such a minute action had a shockingly artistic effect, for it easily moved people¡¯s hearts. When the Fletchers, who were initially livid because she messed things up, saw her pitiful expression, they decided to let the matter go. Perhaps she has truly misunderstood. Michael is only sitting here today as the person who facilitated this blind date and the male party¡¯s uncle, but the person who¡¯s going on the blind date is still Stanley. What a poor dear! As she watched her daughter¡¯s performance, Sophia inwardly gave her a round of apuse. Good, good. Nice! My baby is simply a genius! While Michael cuddled Carmen and mollified her, he surreptitiously motioned for someone to add a chair beside him for Sophia. As he carried Carmen with a hand, he pretended as though he was smoothing her wrinkled dress for her, but in actuality, he furtively reached out and pinched Sophia¡¯s butt hard. Not to be outdone, Sophia pinched his butt as well. The two of them then proceeded to secretly pinch each other under the table. After Carmen¡¯s outburst, the atmosphere of the blind date shifted. Anne, who was red in the face with fury, sat back down. Although she knew that Carmen wasn¡¯t Stanley¡¯s daughter, she still threw Sophia a nasty look. She took my Phoenix Harp, and now, she even wants to ruin my marriage! Even if I don¡¯t like this marriage, I won¡¯t allow anyone else to mess things up! Frowning, Sophia lowered her eyes, not daring to say a single word. Never have I thought that the tricky Stanley Fletcher would actually set me up! Son of a b*tch! I wish that your blind date will end in sess, and you¡¯ll be beaten up by your wife every day after marriage, having no money to your name! Conversely, beside Michael, Louis¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw Carmen. It¡¯s my idol¡¯s baby! However, due to the blunder on the previous day, he still asked tentatively, ¡°So, this is your daughter, yes?¡± Lowering his head, Michael gazed at his daughter, who was still sniffling in his arms, absorbed in her acting. ¡°Yes, this is my daughter,¡± he replied gently. Staring at the adorable and lovely child, Louis seemed to be over the moon with delight. He extended his arms. ¡°Quick, quick, let me carry her!¡± Carmen seemed a tad shy, but still, she went over to him. When she was in his hands, Louis studied her. Her petite nose and eyes are simply too cute! As he carried her in his arms, his heart pounded wildly. She¡¯s just too adorable! She resembles both her mother and father. I like it. In fact, I love her! How I wish I could adopt all three of them¡ªthe kid and her parents ¡ªinto the family so that I can see them every day! ¡°Your name is Carmen, yes? I¡¯ve watched your movie before. I¡¯ve watched all the movies you starred in with your father! Come,e, I¡¯ll give you a gift!¡± He really took a shine to Carmen. She¡¯s truly a darling! Then, he hurriedly patted himself down for a gift since it was his first time meeting her. I met her mother yesterday and gave her the Phoenix Harp, so I¡¯ve simply got to observe the etiquette today! ¡°No, it¡¯s okay!¡± Michael and Sophia eximed in unison. It¡¯s already very much ttering that he gave us the Phoenix Harp yesterday, so if he gives us yet another astounding gift, we¡¯ll probably make it to an unsigned post on an anonymous forum¡ªTaylor Murray receives exorbitant gifts from a fan! Sophia thought. However, the elderly man still searched around, feeling that he just couldn¡¯t give this little darling nothing. Or else, he wouldn¡¯t feel settled. When he couldn¡¯t find anything good on him, something abruptly urred to him, so he called a bodyguard in before whispering into his ear. A whileter, the bodyguard brought in a square box. Upon opening the box, a uniquely-shaped porcin bowly within. The porcin bowl was delicate, the patterns exquisite. ¡°Here, here, I¡¯ll give you this bowl. In the future, eat with this bowl and grow up hale and hearty!¡± Dashing off her tears, Carmen reached out and hugged the bowl, not at all reserved. ¡°Thank you, sir! I¡¯ll definitely eat my fill and grow up hale and hearty! I¡¯ll give you a heart sign!¡± As Louis stared at the obedient girl, rapture was written all over his face. She¡¯s truly a loveable little darling! The moment Anne saw the bowl, she instantly went ballistic, her heart clenching. That bowl¡­ is even more valuable than the Phoenix Harp! It¡¯s actually meant for the President of Cethos! How could it be given to a child? ¡°Grandpa, this bowl¡­ This bowl is¡ª¡± Louis impatiently tutted. ¡°It¡¯s just a porcin bowl! It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve only got one! It¡¯s intended to be given as a gift, so why not give it to Carmen in this case?¡± he snapped. Holding Carmen, he lifted her up, pleasure shining in his eyes. Anne was so infuriated that her face turned bright red and her hands shook, fury and envy battering her. After Sophia had ced the porcin bowl back into the gift box, she nced at Anne, perplexed as to why she was so furious. It¡¯s understandable that she was angry yesterday since I took her harp, but this is just an ordinary porcin bowl gift set. Is it really necessary for her to get up in arms? Such a stingy woman isn¡¯t worthy of that stupid dog. As his aunt, I oppose this marriage! When she¡¯d put the bowl away, she puffed out her chest. I¡¯m Stan¡¯s aunt, so I¡¯ve got to exhibit my authority as an elder! Although he¡¯s silly like a husky usually, he¡¯s still very reliable when it¡¯s something serious. He¡¯s handsome, rich, and an expert sniper! Not just anyone is worthy of the most outstanding bachelor in Bayside City!Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. The blind date went on, but Louis had clearly put his own granddaughter aside. All his attention was on pleasing Carmen, and he badgered Michael with questions about her, so much so that Michael felt that he was probably going to lose a loyal fan. Meanwhile, Stanley and Anne¡¯s blind date continued, but the atmosphere was noticeably tense. With a dark expression on her face, Anne became taciturn, still enraged about the bowl. The parents on both sides were mortified since their respective children seemed to be getting along badly. Gazing at Anne¡¯s dour face, Stanley knew that he was saved for now. I¡¯ve got no idea whether it¡¯s because of Carmen or the bowl, but she doesn¡¯t like me, so I¡¯m safe! The entire meal was rather despondent, yet they still sat there and continued making awkward conversation after they¡¯d finished eating to salvage things. Sophia then went out for some fresh air, and Stanley made his escape on the pretext of taking a leak. ¡°Come here, you d*mn stupid dog! Just see whether I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± As soon as they¡¯d exited the room, Sophia was gripped by the urge to p him. He knew full well that Michael is here, yet he still asked me to get Carmen here to mess things up! It was downright humiliating! However, Stanley was also innocent. ¡°How would I know that your husband came as well? Hey, I haven¡¯t even taken you to task! Look what your husband did. He hasn¡¯t even gotten a marriage certificate with you, yet he has started butting into my affairs!¡± Just as Sophia was about to counter that, she heard the cking of high heels. Turning around, she saw that Anne had left the room. ck, ck¡­ As Anne¡¯s high heels touched the ground, they gave off a crisp and hurried sound. She strode over to Sophia quickly, her face darkened. Then, she stretched out a hand. ¡°Return the Phoenix Harp and the Mise porcin bowl to me!¡± Before Sophia could say anything in response, she turned to Stanley and sneered derisively at him. ¡°I heard from my father that you y online games?¡± Without waiting for him to reply, she proimed sternly, ¡°Stop dreaming. I¡¯m of a lofty status, so you¡¯re not worthy of me!¡± Chapter 1082 Chapter 1082 Not worthy of her? Sophia was dumbfounded for a moment. Ha! What a snob! She actually said that my nephew, Stan, isn¡¯t worthy of her? She looked Anne up and down. Is she rich? Nope. She has her mother¡¯sst name, and her father is merely an ordinary Cethosian musician. While her grandfather, Louis Osborne, enjoys a bit of fame, the Fletcher Family is more than worthy of her. If it weren¡¯t for Michael facilitating things, she wouldn¡¯t even have a chance to go on a blind date with Stan! Derisive thoughts flew across Sophia¡¯s mind. Besides, while the world knows that her grandfather is the best calligrapher and painter in Cethos, who is she, Anne Osborne? There¡¯s even more information on Judge¡¯s page on Wikipedia than her! As for looks? Well, she¡¯s in her early twenties, dressed in a ssical linen long dress, and her ck hair hangs straight to her waist. She might have bright eyes, white teeth, pale skin, and a ssical charm to her, but even though she¡¯s pretty, she¡¯s not a stunning beauty. If it weren¡¯t for her grandfather, the Fletchers probably wouldn¡¯t even spare her a look! Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. However, Anne seemed extremely snobbish, arrogance radiating off her. ¡°You can stop studying me. My identity is definitely not something you can discern. Anyway, you¡¯re not worthy of me, Stanley Fletcher!¡± Likewise, Stanley looked her up and down critically. Where did this ugly girl get her confidence from? All at once, he mocked her in disdain by saying, ¡°You think I¡¯m beneath you? I think you¡¯re the one who¡¯s beneath me! My buddy looks even more beautiful than you in a wig!¡± In reality, he wasn¡¯t all that opposed to going on blind dates. He was also interested in getting married and having children that were as cute as Carmen. Indeed, he didn¡¯t demand much in terms of the girl¡¯s personality, for he was fine as long as she wasn¡¯t a sweet and na?ve girl. Also, he didn¡¯t demand much when it came to her looks, satisfied as long as she was prettier than Sean dressed in women¡¯s clothing. There were many who fulfilled the first requirement, but there was none in the entire Bayside City who fulfilled thetter. This girl before me is obviously inferior to Sean. In fact, she has nothing on him! On the contrary, Anne felt that her status was lofty, so she disdained the Fletcher Family in the first ce. If it weren¡¯t for Michael Fletcher facilitating this and Grandpa falling for it, I wouldn¡¯t have gone on this blind date with the Fletchers! The Fletchers are nothing without Mark Fletcher, so how could they possibly be worthy of my lofty status? And this destitute Stanley Fletcher actually dared to scorn me for being ugly? ¡°Do you have any taste? There¡¯s a long line of people who pursue me, winding around the block up to France! The fact that I went on a blind date with you is your honor! My status is so lofty that it¡¯s beyond your imagination. You¡¯re not worthy of me at all. If you¡¯re smart, make it clear to your parents and ask them not to have delusions of grandeur as well. The Fletcher Family isn¡¯t worthy of me at all!¡± Sophia almost burst outughing at her words. Where did this little girl get such confidence? The Fletcher Family isn¡¯t worthy of her? But on second thought, since Louis Osborne gave me a harp without hesitation, perhaps their family truly has an identity unbeknownst to others. They have their own preferences as a schrly family, so they probably disdain the rough Fletchers who are in the military. ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s all take a step back. If you¡¯re really dissatisfied, then just tell your families so.¡± Sophia hurriedly smoothed things over. After all, it was her idol husband who facilitated this blind date, so it would be bad for things to get too tense. After that, she persuaded Stanley to leave, so he finally relented for the sake of his uncle and to avoid getting a beating from his brother instead of taking offense at a little bug who lived in her own world. As he walked away, he muttered, ¡°If you¡¯re so powerful, enter the ancient Imperial Pce without purchasing an admission ticket! Ha! Stop ying dumb in front me, hideous thing¡­¡± Fuming, Anne was just a breath away from blowing a gasket. If it were centuries ago, the ancient Imperial Pce would¡¯ve been my house! I¡¯m blue-blooded, so I naturally don¡¯t have to purchase an admission ticket to enter the Imperial Pce! Not only am I exempted from queuing, but they¡¯d even roll out the red carpet for me! In a few days, when I¡¯ve sessfully changed myst name, they¡¯ll then know how lofty my identity is! When Sophia got back to the private room where the blind date was held, she sat back at her ce. Stanley returned a few minutes after her, and Anne also returned shortly after, throwing a dark look at Stanley. Since it was Louis who¡¯d agreed to this blind date, she didn¡¯t dare oppose outright and anger him since she still needed his approval to change herst name. However, she¡¯d put things on the table with Stanley, so she believed that he¡¯d know what to do. She wanted him to voluntarily object to the match. When the meal was over and everyone had drunk a few rounds of tea, the time came for them to leave. Smiling, Stanley¡¯s father asked Stanley, ¡°Stanley, we¡¯ve eaten and even drank tea, so what do you think of Miss Osborne?¡± ncing at Anne, who had her head lowered while sipping tea but in actuality had her ears perked, waiting for him to decline the match, Stanley neutrally answered, ¡°Miss Osborne¡¯s character is admirable, and she is very knowledgeable besides having an elegant temperament. However, she¡¯s a bit too hideous, so I don¡¯t like her.¡± Then, he continued boldly, ¡°At the very least, I hope to find a wife who¡¯s as beautiful as my aunt. Anything inferior is too hideous in my opinion.¡± As soon as those words were heard, the entire room plunged into dead silence. Nheless, Stanley put down the teacup in his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ve got to take my leave. There¡¯s a lot to do at the office.¡± After saying that, he stood up and strutted away with his assistant. When Stanley¡¯s father snapped back to his senses, he almost chased after him to teach him a lesson, but since the Osborne Family was still there, he could only stay. Forcing a chuckle, hemented, ¡°How yful. He¡¯s just too mischievous. That¡¯s just how my son speaks. He¡¯s odd.¡± Anne and her father were seething, but Louis stroked his beard, finding Stanley¡¯s words rather reasonable. Anne is indeed not as beautiful as Sophia. The two of them didn¡¯t seem to suit either, so it¡¯s a good thing that it went to pieces. Sophia, however, was extremely embarrassed as she endured Anne¡¯s malevolent gaze. Stan left, yet he pushed a wave of hatred toward me! Michael, on the other hand, ruminated as he sipped his tea. Sure enough, it didn¡¯t work¡­ The blind date then concluded in awkwardness, and they all left. Sophia and Michael left in a car. In the car, Michael said nothing, his expression profound as though he was pondering something solemn as his brows drew together tightly. Thus, Sophia, who was beside him and Carmen, who was in the child car seat, kept mum as well, their eyes darting around. I just knew that he¡¯d surely be furious! Sophia felt very much remorseful. Although I dislike Anne, it was still Michael who arranged the blind date, so I¡¯d indeed embarrassed him by bringing Carmen there to mess things up. She hung her head and thought of an apology. A momentter, she stole a peek at his cold and profound profile. He¡¯s indeed worthy of being an idol when he¡¯s still so handsome despite being infuriated! She twiddled her fingers, nning to apologize when the atmosphere had eased, but it seemed impossible for the time being. Then, she nced at Carmen, who did the same, both waiting for the other to apologize. As the mother, she felt that she should take the lead. Thus, she steeled herself and tugged gently on his sleeve. Unexpectedly, Michael seemedpletely unaware of it, lost in his own thoughts. He was in an entirely different statepared to her, for he was thinking about Stanley. The Fletchers sought him out, making it clear that Stanley¡¯s parents had heard of the rumors. Some time ago, Stanley came back with a child and said that he adopted a child with Sean. This matter caused a stir in the Fletcher Family, and rumors abound for a time that it even got to him. Chapter 1083 Chapter 1083 Stanley and Sean had always been very close to each other and even lived together, but everyone merely thought that they were just business partners who lived together to make work convenient. Now, however, they weren¡¯t only living together, but they¡¯d also adopted a child. Thus, the nature of things had changed. For that reason, the Fletchers asked Michael to introduce someone to Stanley so that he¡¯d be married as soon as possible. However, Stanely didn¡¯t give me any quarter even though it was a blind date I arranged. Instead, he just had to mess things up. This is truly a headache! Having traveled extensively and came into contact with all sorts of things besides the fact that the entertainment and fashion industry housed a considerable number of LGBT individuals, he felt that sexual orientation wasn¡¯t something a person could choose on his own, so it was fine as long as it didn¡¯t cause anyone problems. However, in the Fletcher Family, it was something shocking. And that stupid dog, Stanley Fletcher, is just too stupid¡­ Upon seeing that he¡¯d been ignoring her for a long time, Sophia grew anxious and tugged at him again as she whined in a kittenish voice, ¡°Hubby, don¡¯t be angry anymore. I was wrong¡­¡± Snapping back from his thoughts, Michael couldn¡¯t help chuckling in surprise at her pouting expression. I was just lost in my thoughts. Then, he couldn¡¯t resist reaching out and caressing her hair. Her hair is still the same as ten years ago, soft and ck. Her petite face is still rosy as well, adorable as ever. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and she¡¯ll turn 28 in a few days¡­ Sophia leaned over into his arms when she saw that he wasn¡¯t angry anymore. Then, she rubbed against him and kissed him in apology. ¡°I want a kiss too, Daddy!¡± Carmen blurted, not to be left out. At this request, Michael quickly gave her a kiss. I¡¯m truly defeated by them both. He then opened the gift box given by Louis. Apart from a bowl, there was also a set of cutlery in the gift box. They look no different from the average souvenir, but the fact that Anne Osborne had such a huge reaction made it in as day that this is something extraordinary! It was actually meant for the president? It must be something else if it was meant for the president. I¡¯ll take it home first and ask the ancient Imperial Pce guards when theye over to collect their cat. When the car was still moving, something urred to Sophia, and she said, ¡°You two go home first. I¡¯ll go over and take a look at Sean.¡± She just couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that the incident on this day was rather strange. Michael usually doesn¡¯t bother about Stanley, so why did it ur to him to be a matchmaker now? I just feel that something must have happened. Then, she took another car and went to Sean¡¯s ce. To make it convenient when Maisie attended kindergarten in the future, Sean and Stanley jointly bought a house near the school district in Third Avenue, which they¡¯d now moved into. Upon arriving at Sean¡¯s new house, a maid ushered her in. This was her first time here at their new house. When she walked in, she found that the d¨¦cor was nice, very much pleasant and homey. It was a mid-rise with 200 to 300 square meters, so while it wasn¡¯t as resplendent as The Imperial, it was a first- ss mansion. To take care of Maisie, they¡¯d even hired two or three maids who kept the house tidy. However, there was still a kid here, so Judge¡¯s ball and Maisie¡¯s dolls were strewn about the ce in addition to multiple walkers. Stanley had gone back to the office after the blind date and wasn¡¯t yet home. Thus, Sean and Sophia sat in the living room to talk, while Maisie obediently yed with her dolls at the side. Meanwhile, Judgey at their feet, slumbering. It¡¯s quite cozy with a kid and a dog. Sean was still recuperating, so his countenance was a tad pale. When he heard about Stanley going on a blind date, he didn¡¯t react much, but for some inexplicable reason, Sophia seemingly saw a glimpse of disappointment and despair in his eyes. Although Sean hasn¡¯t said anything, I know he likes Stanley, and it¡¯s not the kind of like between buddies, but¡­ love. I don¡¯t know whether Stanley harbors the same feelings as him, but I do know that he went berserk back when he learned of Sean¡¯s death and risked everything to kill de. When he knew that Sean, who was recuperating at my home, suffered a wrong, he immediately came over and took him away. They¡¯re always together¡­ but what a pity! After listening to her speak of Stanley¡¯s blind date, Sean sighed. With his gaze fixed on the teacup in his hands, he admitted, ¡°Actually¡­ I wasn¡¯t nning to go at all.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Sophia promptly questioned. ¡°You knew Stan needed your help!¡± Finishing the tea in the teacup in his hands, Sean slowly refilled both their empty teacups. Then, he replied helplessly, ¡°The Fletchers came to me.¡± Sophia was instantly stunned. Never had I expected that the Fletchers would actually seek him out! Judging from their current attitude, they definitely can¡¯t ept Stan¡¯s current situation. No wonder Michael, who¡¯d never bothered about him, suddenly became a matchmaker! Looks like the Fletcher Family must have asked him to do so. While the Fletchers aren¡¯t exactly traditional, they still can¡¯t ept the possibility that Stan might one day get married with a man. Despite the poprity of homosexual fiction on the Inte, homosexuals actually led a difficult life in reality. Sean had even been once regarded as depraved by his family and was sent abroad for a so- called ¡®treatment¡¯. Sorrow flooded his gaze as he said, ¡°Stan¡­ Well, it¡¯s time for him to get married.¡± This remark was filled with helplessness and despair. ¡°But what about you?¡± Sophia subconsciously asked. Can he really look on as Stan marries another woman? Sean shed her a sad smile. Right now, he truly wanted to feign nonchnce, but his gaze had already betrayed him. ¡°What can I do? I can¡¯t stop something inevitable. Anyway, I¡¯ve got Maisie.¡± Maisie¡¯s full name was Maisie Mitchell, for he¡¯d personally intervened and listed her in the Mitchell Family¡¯s household register. He¡¯d alsopiled a family tree himself and recorded Maisie in there as well, so she was now his family. A wave of helplessness assailed Sophia. Knowing that she¡¯d only sadden him were she to pursue it further, she gave up asking. I don¡¯t seem to have any solution either. After heaving a sigh, she took a sip of fragrant tea and changed the subject. After sitting for a while, the sound of keys jingling to unlock the door sounded from outside. As soon as Maisie heard the jingling of keys, she knew that Stanley was home, so she sprinted over to the door like the wind. Opening the shoe cab, she took out his slippers and ced them before the door. Having quarrelled with his family on this day, Stanley was in a bad mood, but the moment he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Maisie standing there with arms outstretched as she called out, ¡°Papa!¡± Joy flooding him, all his worries vanished. As he changed his shoes after stepping into the house, he asked her, ¡°Did you listen to Daddy at home today, Maisie? Did you get along well with Judge?¡± ¡°Yeah, I did! I was very obedient today, and it was me who picked up Judge¡¯s poop on the carpet today!¡± Maisie replied sweetly. At this, Judge woofed. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Looks like the family of three is living happily! Sophia thought. Chapter 1084 Chapter 1084 After Stanley changed his shoes, he brought Maisie along with him. As soon as he saw Sophia, he mocked her. ¡°Hey, why are you here? Did your husband chase you out? I suppose you reap what you sow! So much for him trying to introduce me to another woman! Hmph!¡± Meanwhile, Sean was delighted when he saw that Stanley was back, and his pale face had regained some color. ¡°Stanley, you¡¯re back! Why are you wearing a face mask though?¡± Wearing a face mask that obscured most of his face, only Stanley¡¯s eyes were visible, while his mouth could be seen moving underneath the mask when he spoke. ¡°Yeah, I caught the flu, so I had to put a mask on as I don¡¯t want Maisie to get infected.¡± However, Stanley¡¯s gaze was shifty when he handed Maisie over to Sean. ¡°Maisie, you can y with Daddy while I go take a shower first.¡± He left after putting Maisie down. Sophia could sense that something was off with Stanley. Instead of exposing it, she continued to talk to Sean. After Stanley was done showering, he came out in a pair of trousers with dog fur all over it. Toweling his hair, he walked upstairs while saying, ¡°I¡¯ll be drying my hair.¡± Judge went after him, but Sophia found it weird that he was still wearing his mask after taking his shower. Although Sophia continued to chat with Sean, she couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that something wasn¡¯t right, as Stanley didn¡¯t seem okay. Finally, Sean put down his cup of tea before standing up. ¡°I¡¯ll go check on Stanley. Wait for me here, Sophia.¡± The rooms downstairs were being used as a study and as a bedroom for the nanny, so Sean went upstairs to the bedrooms. Stanley didn¡¯t close his door, so Sean snuck into his bedroom, only to see Stanley looking into the mirror, checking his swollen face that he apparently got from being pped. ¡°Stanley!¡± Shocked, Sean walked up to take a closer look at Stanley¡¯s face. He was indeed given a p, as there was an angry handprint on his face. ¡°What happened?¡± Sean asked with much worry. Upon being discovered, Stanley¡¯s eyes darted around, but he could only tell the truth. ¡°My father wants me to marry that wench, Anne Osborne, which I disagreed with, so my brother gave me a p.¡± Instantly, Sean¡¯s eyes reddened when he realized how hard the p was. On the other hand, Stanley quickly exined, ¡°It¡¯s alright! My uncle hit me even harder when I tried to go after Sophia back then, so I¡¯m already used to it. It will heal soon anyway.¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Clenching his fists, Sean had tears rolling in his eyes upon hearing what Stanley said. ¡°Stanley, it¡¯s about time that you marry someone, so maybe¡ª¡± Stanley tutted while feigning anger. ¡°You¡¯re just like my parents whose only concern is for me to produce an heir! Do I look like a brood sow? Must I attach myself to an ugly hag just for the sake of getting married?¡± Checking on his wound, he muttered, ¡°You didn¡¯t see just how ugly Anne Osborne is! She doesn¡¯t even have one-tenth of Sophia¡¯s looks! Considering how horrendous she looks, I should commend her for even having the guts to go on blind dates! Uncle Michael must be trying to mock me by introducing me to such an ugly hag! The candidates that my family introduced only get ever uglier. I was assuming that my uncle should have a better sense of beauty by now, but he¡¯s even worse than my mom! He even had the audacity to tell me to follow in the footsteps of other people of my age. Sophia¡¯s ex-boyfriend was the same age as me, so should I kill myself as well now that he¡¯s a goner?¡± Smiling bitterly, Sean listened on before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll go get some anti-inmmatory spray.¡± Stanley waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Be quick! Ouch, my brother sure did a number on me! F*ck! He will be the one at fault if nobody wants to marry me because of my disfigured face!¡± While listening to Stanley¡¯sints, tears rolled down Sean¡¯s face the moment he turned around. On the other hand, Sophia had been ying with Maisie in the living room for a while, but Sean and Stanley had yet toe downstairs. She already had quite a lot of tea, so she went to the washroom for a bit, only to return to see Maisie crouching on the floor while wiping the stain on the floor that Sophia made earlier with a piece of cloth. Aside from that, she even wiped the table and rearranged the tea set on it. Sophia could hardly believe that a three year old kid could work so deftly, as Carmen only knew to stage some silly dramas to show them to Michael when she was two years old. ¡°Maisie, what are you doing? Come, I can do that myself!¡± Taking the cloth from Maisie, Sophia wiped the floor clean herself. As soon as Sophia took the cloth away from Maisie, thetter began crying. When other kids cried, they would probably be bawling their eyes out, but Maisie was only sobbing while being careful to keep her voice low, which was not typical of a three-year-old kid at all. Sophia held Maisie in her arms while consoling her. ¡°Honey, what¡¯s wrong? Did someone bully you? Tell me, so your father and I can go teach them a lesson!¡± With her eyes all teary, Maisie looked at her in silence. It took some time before she finally opened up feebly. ¡°Papa brought me home to meet Grandpa and Grandma, but they didn¡¯t like me. They even scolded Papa and told him to send me away.¡± Sobbing, she asked while holding on to Sophia¡¯s sleeve, ¡°Aunty, I know how to do chores. Will Papa let me stay now that I know how to do chores?¡± Sophia never knew the adults¡¯ reactions would have such a profound effect on Maisie. Back then, she bought the girl off Ronney Group¡¯s ve market, so she wasn¡¯t sure what she went through, but Maisie was such a sensitive girl. As soon as she noticed a minor difference in Stanley¡¯s attitude, she knew something was off. For a three year old girl, Maisie already went through a lot; all she wanted was a home. On the verge of tears, Sophia held Maisie tightly in her arms while reassuring thetter in a hushed voice. ¡°No, nobody will send you away.¡± She brought the girl upstairs to Stanley¡¯s room, only to hear Stanley and Sean bickering with each other. ¡°Sean, do you want to kill me? Ouch! It hurts so much!¡± ¡°Hang in there. The spray is quite potent after all.¡± ¡°Ow¡­¡± Upon her arrival, Sophia saw Sean spraying something on Stanley¡¯s face carefully. Now, she noticed that Stanley¡¯s face was swollen and red, a p mark evident on it. Hence, she had an inkling of what happened. By humiliating his potential spouse, his father and brother would of course not let him leave just like that. ¡°Look, Papa is hurt, so he must be in pain. Gofort him,¡± Sophia told Maisie. Maisie scuttled toward them, which surprised both Stanley and Sean. Both of them fought to hold her in their arms. ¡°Baby, you¡¯re here! Give me a kiss! I fell down, so it hurts!¡± ¡°Come over here, Maisie. Let me hold you.¡± ¡­ It wasn¡¯t until after dinner that Sophia left, but she couldn¡¯t shake off the heavy feeling within her. Although the three of them seemed to be happy for the time being, she wasn¡¯t sure what would happen in the future. The skies were dark when Michael arrived at home, which coincidentally was when the night-shift security from the ancient Imperial Pce museum came to retrieve the cat. Taking Carmen¡¯s bowl from him, the security shone his torchlight on the bowl while examining it in a professional manner. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is a type of porcin bowl that once belonged to the ancient royals. As the techniques to make them were lost in history, these porcin wares¡ªso called ¡®Mise Porcin¡¯¡ªwere also given the name ¡®porcin of a mysterious color¡¯. The recipe for creating it is a secret that only the royals had knowledge of. There are three of these porcin wares in the ancient Imperial Pce museum. Although all of them are national treasures, none are as beautiful as this.¡± Chapter 1085 Chapter 1085 Upon hearing that, Michael could hardly suppress a frown. Why is there another item that belonged to the ancient royals? I bet this must be a present from the Yard Family! Does Louis Osborne really have secret ties to the Yards? However, none of them ever heard anything of it. Both Louis and the Yards seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Even when they arrived at Audistin, they arrived separately. Michael met Anna with Sophia before meeting Louis Osborne. If Louis really had ties with the Yards, he wouldn¡¯t have wanted his family to have marital ties with the Fletcher, as the Fletchers had killed quite a few members of the Yards. While Michael was in deep thought, Carmen only had eyes for her bowl, as her bright eyes were fixated on it. Upon noticing that the guard seemed to have finished his assessment, she blurted, ¡°Sir, can you give me back my royal sweetheart bowl?¡± Seemingly unperturbed by her request, the guard said, ¡°Okay, I will give it back to you now that I¡¯ve done my assessment. I won¡¯t be taking it, as it was made in a more recent era, so itcks the archaeological value that I seek. It isn¡¯t the bowl but the making process of it that is being considered as valuable. Besides, the ones in the museum are far more valuable in terms of historical context, as all of them had passed through the hands of ancient royals.¡± While handing the bowl back to Carmen, he gave Michael a reminder. ¡°Due to it being made in the modern era, it isn¡¯t as valuable as the ones in the museum. However, just like the Phoenix Harp, even though both were made during the modern era, they are still prized for their rarity, so using it as one would a normal bowl feels somewhat¡­ overly luxurious.¡± However, Carmen didn¡¯t think so. To her, it was but a bowl with floral prints, so Michael could only tell the nursemaid to be careful while she fed Carmen. When Carmen lost interest in it after some time, they would clean it and put it away as a collection item. Although Carmen liked the bowl a lot, her love for the bowl might notst for a long time. For all she cared, its intricate craftsmanship could hardlypare to that of a bowl printed with a picture of Peppa Pig. Meanwhile, Sophia also arrived at home. A husky slipped through the doorway as soon as she opened the door, making its way to Carmen before happily going in circles around her. Upon seeing Judge rushing in, Michael furrowed his brows. ¡°Why does the silly dog have toe?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Judge missed Carmen, so it came to visit her.¡± Although Michael verbally expressed his dislike of the dog, he ended up rubbing Judge¡¯s head, incidentally also wiping his sweat on its head. Sophia was tired after a day¡¯s work, so shey down on the sofa as soon as she got home, rubbing Judge¡¯s head as well. After some time, Michael¡¯s hand touched hers, so they held hands while using Judge¡¯s head as a cushion. Michael switched on the TV to watch the news, but he couldn¡¯t focus on it, so he asked Sophia, ¡°How is Stanley doing? He didn¡¯t go home even though his father told him to.¡± Sophia replied, ¡°No, he didn¡¯t go home. He¡¯s still at Sean¡¯s house after being pped so hard that his face was swelling.¡± With that, Michael said nothing else, nor did they dwell on the topic any longer. Stanley had always been a rebellious child. Back then, even when his family resorted to violence, he refused to go back into the army once he decided to quit, so Sophia figured she should let things unfold on their own. The Fletchers wouldn¡¯t do anything to Sean anyway, considering that he was under Cooper¡¯s protection. Sophia ended upmenting, ¡°I wonder when that idiot will realize his own feelings.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Looping an arm around her shoulders, Michael said, ¡°One will never lose what is fated for them, but if they weren¡¯t meant to be, no amount of worry will change that.¡± Seeing that Sophia was still perturbed by it, he pulled her closer into his arms before kissing her on the forehead. ¡°Look at us. We managed to get together after having gone through our ups and downs. You are mine since we are fated to be together, and nobody will be able to take you away from me. Even if we are miles apart, you are still mine. Not even your father¡¯s disapproval will change that.¡± However, someone cleared his throat at the corner of the room as soon as he said so. ¡°Ahem!¡± Surprised, Michael turned to see Cooper standing in the corner while ring at them menacingly. ¡°Dad, why are you here?¡± Michael was utterly baffled. Wearing a pair of slippers, Cooper approached them with a morose look on his face, whereas Michael cowered under his presence. ¡°There will be an exhibition of Louis Osborne¡¯s works near Bayside National Stadium tomorrow. I will be stuck in a traffic jam if Ie all the way from the south, so I decided to stay over for the night.¡± Cooper walked away after exining himself casually, but before he left, he turned to speak to Sophia while ring at Michael. ¡°You¡¯reing with me tomorrow, so you¡¯d better go to bed early.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Sophia replied while watching Cooper take the lift to the third floor where the guest rooms were, whereas Judge followed merrily behind him. Meanwhile, Michael had aplicated gaze while pondering about the situation. This old man¡­ Although Sophia moved in with me, I can¡¯t even badmouth him if he is going to constantly show up out of nowhere. He¡¯s practically haunting this ce with his presence! If I can just find someone who is able to pin him down! I must find him a wife with a dominant personality, who has an even more domineering father, so that Cooper will get a taste of his own medicine! By the next day, Cooper gave Sophia a call early on to wake her up so that they could get prepared for their trip to the exhibition. On the other hand, Michael would also be tagging along. The exhibition was a private showcase, so only invited guests were allowed entry, with most of them being from the arts or cultural scene. The exhibition wasn¡¯t only a showcase for calligraphic works and paintings, but also a gathering for cultured people, so an arms dealer like Cooper wouldn¡¯t normally be invited. Cooper liked calligraphy, and he had also been Louis¡¯ fan for a long time, but he never was invited to such an asion. Fortunately, Michael was able to get his hands on an invitation, so Cooper would of course drop by since he had the time. The exhibition was incidentally held in the same city as his anyway, so there was no reason he wouldn¡¯te. Not only did Cooper collect a lot of Louis¡¯ works, but he was also an admirer of Louis¡¯ achievements, so he was looking forward to their meeting. Cooper put in the effort to spruce himself up for the asion by applying mousse on his hair to help shape it, as well as putting on a new set of clothes. After finally gaining closure over his depressing first love, he gave off a much youthful air nowadays, so he gave off a vibe that made him seem to be around Michael¡¯s age, or even younger. Michael had his team of stylists help prepare him and Sophia for the asion. After changing his clothes, he tied up his hair using a pink hair band while applying a face mask before putting on makeup. Sophia was also doing the same, so both of their faces were covered by a ck mask, which seemed to annoy Cooper. ¡°Dad, you shoulde and get yourself spruced up too!¡± As soon as Sophia dragged Cooper to his seat in front of a mirror, Michael signaled his team of stylists to do Cooper¡¯s makeup for him. By doing that, he was hoping Cooper would attract someone during their visit to the exhibition so that he would get married as soon as possible. Seeing that Cooper was only forty five years old, not only would he still be considered as young if he were a celebrity, but he would also attract a lot of mature women in Bayside City. Chapter 1086 Chapter 1086 Because of how handsome he was, as well as because men aged slower, Cooper didn¡¯t actually need a lot of makeup as he looked young. He didn¡¯t have a lot of wrinkles on his face, so all he needed was to trim his eyebrows and style his hair. ¡°Here you go, Grandpa. Put on some baby cream.¡± Carmen presented him with some of her precious baby cream. Now, she was also dolled up, as not only would she be tagging along to experience the cultural scene, but Louis had even named her as one of the people that he wanted to meet. After putting on some baby cream, Cooper looked at himself in the mirror, feeling quite young. Meanwhile, Sophia had put on a white tight fitting dress with blue embroideries. The tailor-made outfit hugged her figure tightly, all the while entuating her fair features. After their skincare and makeup routine, both Sophia and Michael began taking selfies. They even tweaked the photos before posting them on social media. ¡°Come on, this is too much. Your brother is waiting.¡± Holding onto Carmen, Cooper looked rather impatient when Sophia and Michael were taking selfies. He was feeling indignant about the situation as it was equivalent to witnessing someone stealing his precious daughter away from him, but he couldn¡¯t even stop the thief from doing so. When Sophia finally made her way out of the mansion, Linus was alsoing out from Vi No. 2. Apparently, they didn¡¯t go back aftering overst night. After Linus settled down in Vi No. 2, Cooper went to Sophia¡¯s home, as he was worried about his only daughter. The exhibition was held in a convention center. Upon showing their invitation cards, they entered the venue, only to realize that not a lot of people were present for the asion. Louis¡¯ personal collection was already on disy. As they looked around, Sophia could only appreciate its beauty on the surface as she didn¡¯t know much about calligraphy, but both Cooper and Linus seemed to be absolutely enamored by them. Amateurs could only appreciate something superficially, whereas experts would be equipped with the necessary knowledge to delve deeper into it. Calligraphic works were a direct reflection of the artist¡¯s character, as evident in Cooper¡¯s own calligraphic works, which showed his steadfast and meticulous personality. Although Linus had the appearance of a foreigner, he was in fact a merry man with a Cethosian vibe to him, so the works he produced had an elegant and carefree feel to them. Meanwhile, Michael¡¯s works seemed garish at first nce, but every stroke indicated his deep and thoughtful personality, whereas Sophia¡¯s showed strength of character under its grace and delicacy. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. On the other hand, Louis¡¯ works were carefree yet peculiarly grandiose, with heavy strokes that spanned across the paper, establishing a domineering presence that captured everybody¡¯s attention. His paintings were even more ingenious. With the use of only two colors, he was able to create a magnificent painting through his workmanship, which was an incredible feat. His works were a true demonstration of his profound character, and he did live up to his name as one of the top Cethosian artists in the world. In the meantime, both Linus and Cooper were so engrossed in the works that they didn¡¯t notice the rest of the guests gossiping about them. It was their first time showing up together at an event. As Cooper never frequented such gatherings, it was somewhat of a sensational news. Just a month ago, Linus publicly acknowledged his rtionship with the Mitchells, which caused a fluctuation in Michel Group¡¯s shares. Everybody was observing from afar, assuming that Linus would be deemed as an outcast of the Michel Family and itspany, but nothing happened even after a month¡¯s time. They figured it might be because they needed time to ensure that tasks in thepany were handed over smoothly. After all, Linus had been entrusted with thepany¡¯s tasks since way back when he was younger. Now that more than ten years had passed, and that Linus had yed an important part in a lot of thepany¡¯s operations, if he were to quit his job, it would mean a shake up at the core foundations of thepany that would y out across a certain period of time. Rumors had it that Linus might cut ties with his biological father for the sake of power and wealth. However, judging from his seemingly harmonious rtionship with Cooper, it sure seemed that he had chosen to be a Mitchell instead of a Michel, which sounded like a foolish decision to many. In short, both of them were the center of attention due to the incident. Meanwhile, Michael introduced both Sophia and Carmen to Louis, as well as mentioning Cooper in passing. Louis was Michael¡¯s fan, while Cooper was Louis¡¯ fan, which made for a somewhat odd trio. On the other hand, it was also Carmen¡¯s first public appearance alongside her parents, so she also garnered quite some attention. ¡°Carmen, are you scared?¡± Michael asked. Carmen stood up straight while holding a firm gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid!¡± With a gentle smile on his face, Michael led her toward Louis while holding her hand. Meanwhile, there were quite a few acquaintances present for the asion. Sophia spotted Lucy Edwards chatting amicably with the Yard twins soon after she entered the venue. Why are the twins here though? Michael was curious about it, as it indicated that the Yards must¡¯ve had some connections with Louis. Thus, he scanned his surroundings, but Anna Yard was nowhere to be seen. Although feeling relieved, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little sorry when he turned around to look at Cooper, his young father-inw who was still appreciating the works of art. Because it was a private event, the host only invited a small group of people that consisted of either literati, art enthusiasts or people who were rted to Louis, such as Michael. In a subdued voice, the guests were chatting or exchanging tips on calligraphy. The atmosphere in the venue was purely intellectual, and there was music ying in the background, which Sophia quickly identified as being produced by a harp that Anne Osborne was ying. Anne was ying a melodious tune on another one of the few Phoenix Harps in the world. Upon noticing that Sophia was looking her way, she shot Sophia a re in return, as she knew Sophia as the woman who ruined both of her blind dates. She could even remember when Stanleymented on how she wasn¡¯t as pretty as Sophia. That old woman! She is nothing but an old housewife! Anne thought to herself. She saw herself as a woman of status with a long line of suitors, so she didn¡¯t think Sophia could possibly be on her level. Sophia quickly averted her gaze, as she didn¡¯t want to get into any trouble with Anne. Soon, she found Louis in a crowd. As the host of the exhibition, he was of course the center of attention. When she saw him, he was creating a new piece of work while a bunch of famous calligraphers cheered for him. Upon noticing that Sophia was moving toward him, Anne immediately stopped ying to hurry toward Louis. She called out to him in a sweet voice before Sophia could even reach him. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Louis seemed delighted to see her, as he had a loving gaze in his eyes when he put his brush down. ¡°Why did you stop ying? After all, I hosted this event just for you! Did you see anyone you like?¡± Truth be told, Louis was getting a little anxious after her two consecutive failed blind dates, but he was feeling better when he saw that there were some handsome young men among the crowd present at the exhibition. As soon as he said so, Anne blushed while tugging on his sleeve. ¡°Grandpa, how could I just do this in public?¡± Having heard what she said, Louis scanned his surroundings to see an outstanding-looking young man in the crowd, who had a fairplexion and pretty sky-blue eyes. Although he seemed to be a foreigner, he looked like he was interested in Louis¡¯ work, as he was engrossed in them. The serious expression he wore added an attractive quality to his already striking profile. ¡°What about that young man? He seems nice.¡± Louis pointed at the foreigner who was examining a piece of work closely. Chapter 1087 Chapter 1087 Anne nced at the young man shyly, deeming him to be quite handsome indeed. Blushing, she told Louis, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯m still too young for this.¡± Although Louis was well-known within Bayside City, not a lot of people had had the good fortune to meet him as he lived abroad and rarely came to Bayside City. Therefore, a lot of people never met his granddaughter, so people began inquiring about her. ¡°Is she your granddaughter? She sure looks outstanding!¡± Upon receiving thepliment, Louis announced proudly while stroking his beard, ¡°Yeah, her name is Anne Osborne! She took on my surname as my daughter only gave birth to her! She is marvelous with the harp!¡± The crowd began giving praise. ¡°She looks like someone with a bright future ahead of her! She might even get to uphold your legacy, Master Osborne!¡± Meanwhile, Anne was a little light-headed from all the praise, but she still put on a humble front. ¡°Oh no, you all tter me. I¡¯m still young, so there¡¯s still a long way to gopared to my grandfather.¡± At that moment, her honorable status as Louis¡¯ granddaughter made her shine. Taking in the admiration of the crowd, she was feeling ted. However, the glory didn¡¯tst for too long, as it was soon disrupted by a teensy voice. ¡°Mr. Louis, I¡¯m here!¡± Overjoyed upon hearing Carmen¡¯s voice, Louis hastily took a few steps forward, whereas the crowd parted to let him through. Michael had Carmen in his arms, who was wearing a pink dress and pink bow, looking all delicate and outrageously adorable. ¡°Hiya! You¡¯re finally here! I¡¯ve been waiting so long for you!¡± Louis carried Carmen in his arms after carefully taking her from Michael. Laying eyes on her cute appearance lifted his spirits, and both Sophia and Michael¡¯s presence further enraptured him. As soon as he began talking to Michael and Sophia, the people who were ttering Anne just moments ago turned to focus on Carmen. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, fancy seeing you here! So I figure this little girl is your daughter?¡± ¡°Oh gosh, she seems like an outstanding girl gifted with both good looks and talent! I bet she will rise to prominence in the future!¡± Standing at the side, Anne was feeling vexed for being left out by the crowd. She was ring at Carmen, who was in Louis¡¯ arms. As far as she could remember, she was the only one who ever received such exclusive treatment from him, so she didn¡¯t understand why Louis would dote on Carmen so much when thetter wasn¡¯t even rted to him. Clenching her fists while feelings of jealousy burned within her, Anne scrunched up the paper that was pressed under her palm, ruining the calligraphy work that Louis had justpleted. Luckily, everybody¡¯s attention was on Carmen, so she left hastily before anyone noticed her. Anne left the scene in absolute frustration, but she bumped into a blonde man unexpectedly right after taking a few steps. The tall man had his back to her, and the sight of him gave her butterflies in her stomach while her heart fluttered. Since Louis seemed to like this man, she figured she should approach him. Seeing that he was admiring a piece that was titled ¡®Wondrous Land¡¯, she cleared her throat while walking up to him. ¡°Although seemingly wless, this piece in fact contains a few imperfections.¡± Upon hearing Anne¡¯s words, the man turned around to regard her curiously. His blue eyes were as mysterious as the bright stars above, while his sharp features looked exquisite. Although Anne had emigrated to a foreign country a long time ago, she only ever dated people who were of the same ethnicity as her, as she didn¡¯t like foreigners. From her point of view, foreigners looked too rugged for her taste, but the man in front of her seemed quite delicate. Although he had the appearance of a foreigner, he had an air of schrly elegance that was unique to men in Cethos, which was mesmerizing. The man asked, ¡°Miss, how did you know about that?¡± Stepping forward, Anne stood beside him. ¡°Because my Grandpa was the one who created this piece!¡± Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Sure enough, the young man seemed impressed. ¡°So you are Master Osborne¡¯s granddaughter! No wonder I find you otherworldly!¡± His words satisfied her vanity, so she chuckled bashfully. ¡°You should drop the formalities. My name is Anne Osborne. You may address me as Anne!¡± The young man replied to her, ¡°Miss Anne, I am a member of the Edwards Family. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± After some pleasing conversation, Anne exined while pointing at a certain area on the painting, ¡°I touched the painting by ident when my Grandpa justpleted it, which nearly ruined it for good, but he salvaged it using his extraordinary skills. However, you can see a few traces left behind from the incident. Take a look at this spot, and here, and there¡­¡± On the other hand, Louis put Carmen down on the table, absolutely enchanted by her. Carmen didn¡¯t seem flustered by the attention at all as she called out to Louis repeatedly, which seemed to please him. Picking up his brush, he offered, ¡°Come, I¡¯ll present you with a piece of my calligraphic work!¡± The crowd was astonished by his decision, as Carmen was extremely fortunate to have been presented with a masterpiece by Louis. Carmen quickly replied, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Louis! I love you!¡± Upon seeing Carmen making a heart gesture to him, Louis was absolutely overjoyed. He had his assistant prepare a new piece of paper while he dipped his brush into the ink, nning on what to write for Carmen. However, just when he was about to start writing, he remembered that Anne was with him just moments ago, so he scanned his surroundings in search of her. That was when he saw her chatting amicably with a handsome young man, and the two of them were exchanging numbers. Then, he did a double take, for that young man was the one he noticed earlier. Now that looked at him again, he figured he still seemed to like thetter, so it would be great if Anne would marry him. Such thoughts delighted him, so he began writing, moving his hand deftly. After a few vigorous strokes, hepleted a calligraphic work that he presented to Carmen. On the piece of paper, the words read, ¡®To Carmen Sophia Fletcher, study hard, and always work to improve yourself.¡¯ The audience gave a round of apuse when he stamped his name on it, as his name would ensure that the piece was even more valuable. After that, Louis put his brush away while telling Carmen, ¡°Carmen, you¡¯ll have to work hard to be exemry people like your parents!¡± epting the gift from Louis cheerfully, Carmen replied, ¡°Okay, Mr. Louis! Thank you! I love you!¡± Louis was so very enchanted by her cuteness that he wanted her to demonstrate her calligraphic skills as well. Standing on a chair, Carmen didn¡¯t seem afraid at all while writing. Although young, and her skills weren¡¯t even remotely close to reaching his standards, she was still able to write neatly, which surprised Louis greatly. He figured that Carmen was already more talented than a lot of her peers despite still having a long way to go. Having learned quite a lot of words already, Carmen could write down some of the simpler ones, and her neat handwriting was a show of hertent talents. ¡°Who taught you to write?¡± Louis couldn¡¯t help but ask. After writing down another word, she said, ¡°My Uncle Linus taught me.¡± Michael quickly stepped in to make an introduction. ¡°He is my wife¡¯s twin brother. He came along with my father-inw too. They are both enthusiasts for calligraphic work, as well as fans of yours. They have a large collection of your works, and they have been wanting to meet you in person.¡± For all Michael cared, he saw that as an opening to introduce Cooper and Linus to Louis. In his mind, he figured that Cooper would be grateful toward him, so he would probably give his son-inw less of an attitude. Chapter 1088 Chapter 1088 Louis would also like to meet Linus, so he said, ¡°Alright, do invite me over for a visit someday. Your daughter sure is talented!¡± Upon hearing him say so, it dawned on Michael that Sophia¡¯s family seemed to be talented in calligraphy. Cooper¡¯s works were so impressive that it could easily be used as an example while teaching calligraphy. Although Linus grew up in a foreign environment, he liked calligraphy and was somewhat good at it. On the other hand, Sophia¡¯s calligraphy was also stunning. Despite having lost her memory, she quickly picked up the skills once again. Carmen wasn¡¯t half bad at it, seeing that she could already hold a brush. Michael knew Annabel¡¯s writing was more of a scrawl, so he figured Sophia and her family must¡¯ve inherited their skills from Cooper. Upon hearing that Louis wanted to meet Cooper and Linus, Sophia offered immediately, ¡°I¡¯ll go get them!¡± Parting the crowd, she set off to find Linus and Cooper. After going around the venue, she didn¡¯t find Cooper, but she did see Linus standing beside Anne, who he seemed to be engaged in a pleasant conversation with. Is she trying to court my brother? How dare she! How dare she do that right after she tried courting my nephew! Sophia was absolutely against their matrimony, so she hurried toward them in an attempt to stop them. However, someone else seemed to be unsettled by the idea as well, and had taken it upon themselves to step in before Sophia could. In the meantime, Linus was listening intently to Anne¡¯s exnation of the piece of work. True to her identity as Louis¡¯ granddaughter, she was aplished in her own right when it came to art. However, a mocking voice interrupted them when Linus was still engrossed in her exnation. ¡°Anne, who might you be talking to?¡± Linus turned to see Sandra, whom he hadn¡¯t met for some time, standing behind him. While she was in a gorgeous outfit, her attitude was somewhat aggressive. Anne seemed to have known Sandra as she waved her hand at thetter with much zest. ¡°Sandra,e over here!¡± She proceeded with introducing Sandra to Linus. ¡°I came to know Sandra recently. She is the heir to the Mitchell Family, who are one of the most prominent families in Bayside City. She is also the swimming champion in the Universal Games, so you must¡¯ve heard of her.¡± Upon mentioning Sandra, Anne seemed to feel delighted as if showing off a precious object of hers. It was as if knowing someone as prestigious as Sandra was the most natural thing for someone of her status, but Linus seemed to feel a little awkward about it. Meanwhile, she went on to introduce him to Sandra. ¡°This is a friend I just met. His name is Sophus Edwards.¡± She figured that Sandra might know him, as anyone who received an invitation for the exhibition had to be someone prestigious, so that had to be the case with Sophus too. Sophus Edwards? Relentless, Sandra jeered after pointing out Linus¡¯s true identity. ¡°Who the hell is Sophus Edwards? Are you sure you¡¯re not being deceived, Anne? He should be one of the Mitchells!¡± Anne was stunned for a second when she noticed Sandra¡¯s tone of voice, suggesting as if Sophus was someone whom she should shun. Mockingly, Sandra stared at Linus while heartbrokenly telling Anne, ¡°Anne, someone of your status shouldn¡¯t be associating yourself with a scoundrel like him! He is but an illegitimate child of the Mitchells! His father is a liar who tried to swindle us, only to be chased away before he seeded.¡± Crying out in surprise, Anne was dumbfounded by the revtion. Seeing that Linus, or as he called himself, Sophus, didn¡¯t refute Sandra¡¯s ims, her face fell, and she distanced herself from him unconsciously. Besides, since she didn¡¯t know about the distribution of power in Bayside City, and all she knew was that the Mitchells were one of the most prestigious families, as well as that Sandra was a world champion, she decided to believe in Sandra. Thus, her opinion of Linus shifted drastically. Going on, Sandra said, ¡°They wanted to be officially recognized as a part of the family, but my father didn¡¯t agree with it, so now, their family is nothing but an unsightly bunch struggling for survival. I don¡¯t know how they managed to sneak in, but I bet they¡¯re trying to get their hands on rich people like you, so you should stay away from them.¡± On the other hand, Linus cleared his throat awkwardly, but said nothing otherwise. His aim for visiting the exhibition was merely to appreciate the works of art, while Anne was a great tour guide as she seemed to know a lot about the works. Truth be told, he had no ns whatsoever to even date her. Seeing that Linus wasn¡¯t refuting Sandra, all the while wearing an awkward expression, Anne believed in Sandra¡¯s words of nder, and was soon ovee with feelings of disgust. So he was aiming for my status after all! He was trying to marry into riches by charming me! Pfft! What a disgusting man! In the meantime, Linus didn¡¯t react when both Sandra and Anne regarded him with disgust, but Sophia was furious upon seeing him being bullied, so she hurried over to them. ¡°Brother!¡± Brother? Anne stared at the both of them in disbelief, as they looked nothing like each other. ¡°He¡¯s your brother? Are you sure he isn¡¯t your boyfriend?¡± Utterly disgusted, Anne thought to herself, This b*tch sure is cheating on a lot of people! This is so sickening! Meanwhile, Sophia was about to drag Linus away as she already got a grasp on the situation, but as soon as sheid eyes on the look of disgust on Anne¡¯s face, she twirled her eyes before deliberately announcing, ¡°Your grandfather would like me to introduce Linus to him! You¡¯re done for! Your grandfather likes my brother a lot, so he¡¯s going to marry you to him!¡± Anne was dumbfounded by what Sophia said. What? My grandfather is trying to marry me to this scoundrel from a degenerate family? How could he possibly match my noble status? Thinking that Linus was indulging in his own fantasies, Sandra scoffed at him. ¡°You should pluck your head out of the clouds! Miss Anne Osborne is of noble birth, so you can¡¯t possibly match her status!¡± Immediately, Sophia bit back. ¡°At least my brother is a direct descendant of the Mitchells, so he is of course on her level!¡± The status of a direct descendant was a sore spot of Sandra¡¯s, as she only managed to secure her position as heir after putting in tremendous effort, so she would never allow anyone to uproot her position as thedy of the house. Pointing a finger at Sophia and Linus, she yelled, ¡°That is all wishful thinking! You guys will never be acknowledged as a Mitchell!¡± ring at Sandra, Sophia almost got into a fight with her when a hand gently dragged her away. Linus gave her a pat on the shoulder before saying, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go meet Master Osborne.¡± Sophia shot Sandra a re, deciding to ignore her for the time being. Although she wanted Sandra dead, that day wasn¡¯t the day. Anxiety kicked in when Anne saw that Sophia was indeed going to introduce Linus to Louis. ¡°Shoot, don¡¯t tell me my grandfather is going to marry me to that degenerate man!¡± While checking on Anne, Sandra probed, ¡°Miss Anne, how did youe to know them?¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Anne told her everything. Back then, Louis met up with Michael in passing when he returned to Cethos to prepare for his private exhibition. She also told Sandra of Louis¡¯ ns to introduce her to Michael, as well as when she had a blind date with Stanley. After listening to her story, Sandra cried out in surprise. ¡°Those two degenerate families are targeting you as they want to elevate their status through marital ties! You shouldn¡¯t give them the chance!¡± Then, Sandra spoke to Anne of Cooper and Linus¡¯ birth. She spoke of Cooper having ran away from home twenty years ago, only to return penniless, whereas both Linus and Sophia were his b*stard children, depicting the Fletchers as a degenerate family at the same time. Those were all being instilled to Anne as substantial information. She even reminded her, ¡°You need to tell your grandfather about this! With your status, you should be marrying either a prince or a billionaire, so you shouldn¡¯t be settling for these cheapskates!¡± Although the Osbornes weren¡¯t the wealthiest, they were famous, so Sandra came up with her own agenda upon gaining knowledge of who they were. It sure seemed that both the Fletchers and Mitchells already knew Louis Osborne and Anne Osborne¡¯s true identity, which was why they were trying to make the first move! Well, they can keep dreaming! Chapter 1089 Chapter 1089 Anne figured that they weren¡¯t on her level. While she made her way toward her grandfather due to Sandra¡¯s provocation, she bore in mind that she would never marry Linus. Despite his good looks, the knowledge of him being a lowly b*stard son made her sick. However, she recalled something that made her stop in her tracks before she got to Louis. In front of her, Louis was enamored of Linus, seeing thetter as a cut above the rest. ¡°Come, consider this a competition!¡± Louis invited Linus to join him. On the other hand, Linus was also honored to be given the chance topete against someone of Louis¡¯ magnitude, so he replied politely, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, please bear with me.¡± Dipping his brush in ink, he wrote down a few words on the paper in a flurry of movement that said: ¡®The supreme good is like water, which benefits all of creation without trying topete with it.¡¯ Uponying eyes on what he wrote, Louis was both shocked and astonished as he pped his hands. ¡°This is incredible!¡± He never expected a foreigner like Linus to be able to produce such exquisite calligraphic work. Besides, Linus¡¯ brush work was a direct portrayal of how extraordinary he was. Not only was he a noble person, but his calligraphic work also looked gorgeous. The crowd gave Linus a round of apuse too, as it was rare for a foreigner to be able to speak so fluidly in theirnguage, say less of being able to produce such exquisite calligraphic work. Meanwhile, Louis was nodding his head while checking out the work Linus produced. This is great! I must try to get him to marry Anne! From afar, Anne was watching begrudgingly as Sophia and her family were having a nice time with Louis. Those bunch of degenerates are just crazy for riches! They are being delusional for thinking that they might be able to enjoy the riches of the Osbornes just by getting on my grandfather¡¯s good side! ¡°Look! That scumbag is so eagerly showing off his skills to your grandfather! You should hurry up and tell your grandfather the truth!¡± Sandra was relentless in her provocation, as she was afraid that the senile fool might end up epting Linus as one of the Osbornes. Xena was Louis¡¯ only daughter, who gave birth to Anne, who was also an only daughter. Marrying Anne meant that one would be able to get their hands on all of Louis¡¯ riches, as well as all that he represented, so Sandra wanted to prevent Linus from marrying Anne at all costs. She already sent out a few men in an attempt to seduce Anne as she didn¡¯t want to hand her over to Linus and Sophia. Meanwhile, Louis was scanning his surroundings in search of Anne. He needed Anne in order to secure Linus¡¯ hand, as he liked the man a lot. He managed to uncover a lot of information regarding Linus. Not only was he the uncle of Michael Fletcher, who happened to be Louis¡¯ idol, but from the looks of him, Louis determined he was also a noble andpassionate man. If Anne was toote to the game, someone else might snatch him away for good. Besides, judging from the delighted expression on both of their faces when they conversed, Louis surmised that there had to be something going on between them. However, Anne was hiding from him in the meantime, which confused Sandra. Although Sandra tried to urge Anne to expose Linus, Anne refused. ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time as I need to hide. I will have my mother and aunt do it instead when theye overter. My grandfather is on cloud nine now, so he might prohibit me from reiming my surname in the future if I disobey him in public.¡± Sandra figured she was right, as Louis was a calligrapher after all. Even if he got to dine with the president, and the president hung one of his paintings in his office, Louis still didn¡¯t hold much power, nor was he rich. The nobility of the Osbornesy with their original family name, as Osborne was the name that they took onter in time. If Anne was able to reim her original surname, she would be able to rise to the top of the ranks of society, but she had to have Louis¡¯ consent to be able to do so. In the meantime, Louis was absolutely enamored for both Sophia and Linus, which far exceeded his love for Michael, whereas Carmen was on another level of her own. What an outstanding pigeon pair! He liked all of them, so much so that he had the urge to forge marital ties with their family right on the spot. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Sophia was searching for Cooper while Linus and Louis were talking about one of Louis¡¯ artwork. However, Cooper was nowhere to be found. Last seen admiring Louis¡¯ works alongside Linus, she didn¡¯t know where he went after that. Having been a fan of Louis¡¯ for years, the exhibition was a prime asion to introduce Cooper to Louis. Knowing that Cooper wouldn¡¯t get a second chance like that, Sophia excused herself to go on a search for him. Although the venue wasn¡¯t huge by any measure, Cooper was nowhere in sight, so Sophia figured he might¡¯ve gone to the lounge next door. However, Sophia was intercepted by Anne while on her way to the lounge area after exiting the venue. Anne was practically shrieking in her face. ¡°You and your brother should stop being delusional! I will never marry your brother! Scum like him doesn¡¯t deserve me, so tell him to give up on his tricks! Even if my grandfather likes him, marriage won¡¯t be possible if he doesn¡¯t have my parents¡¯ consent! We¡¯re free to love anybody we choose to, so don¡¯t assume that you guys have a chance by getting on my grandfather¡¯s good side! I have a long line of suitors, and your brother is but a lowly scum that I won¡¯t even spare a nce at!¡± Upon noticing Anne¡¯s confrontational and grim attitude, Sophia was startled, as she remembered it was Anne who initiated contact with Linus. Following that, she examined Anne from head to toe, taking in the eye-catching style of her clothing. It consisted of a tailor-made x dress that gave off an artistic air, while her waist-length hair and fairplexion made her look almost otherworldly. ncing at Sandra, who was watching expectantly from the sidelines, Sophia quickly figured out that Sandra must¡¯ve badmouthed Linus in front of Anne. It had its own merits, as it would prevent Anne from getting any closer to Linus. Therefore, Sophia put on her brightest smile while agreeing to everything that Anne said. ¡°Yes, that is true. My brother is not only a scum, but a bisexual too. He likes men, so you¡¯re way out of his league. Yes, you have a long line of suitors, so he wouldn¡¯t have a chance even if he wants to date you, as he¡¯ll never get his turn. My family is neither rich nor famous, and my husband¡¯s career is dwindling, so we wouldn¡¯t even dream of getting our hands onto your family¡¯s riches.¡± However, Anne didn¡¯t seem to appreciate Sophia¡¯s words, as she snorted beforeshing out. ¡°Did you think I have no idea what you have in mind? Don¡¯t even think about it, you sinner! I am of noble birth, so your brother can¡¯t even remotelypare to me!¡± Mention of her nobility caused her to stand proud while exuding an air of superiority. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you that I am¡ª¡± As if being reminded of something, Anne hurriedly covered her mouth, but she maintained her prideful smile. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you now, but you¡¯ll know when the timees.¡± Having said that, she turned to leave, feeling all ostentatious while calling out to Sandra. ¡°Sandra, let¡¯s go! I¡¯ll introduce you to my cousin!¡± That was the moment Sandra was waiting for, so she went after Anne delightfully. Left behind in confusion, Sophia thought, That nutjob! Even Sean would look better than her if he wore a wig! What the heck is she so proud of? Linus wouldn¡¯t even spare her a nce! Chapter 1090 Chapter 1090 Sophia trusted that her brother had better sense than to court someone as childish as Anne, so she figured she should prioritize finding Cooper. There were a few lounge rooms beside the exhibition venue, but she wasn¡¯t sure if Cooper was in any of them. She gave him a call, but he wasn¡¯t picking up, so she wondered where he went. Just when she tucked her phone away while muttering to herself, she felt someone, or rather, something, hit her on her calf. Turning around, she saw an angry Norwegian Forest cat behind her, which leaped up to hit her on her calf again once she turned around, damaging her silk dress in the process. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s you, General!¡± Sophia immediately recognized the cat as Anna¡¯s. Leaping toward Sophia, the cat gave her another p on her calf, which Sophia surmised as being a revenge of sorts. After spending a single night at her house, General was pped multiple times on the face by Chrysanthemum, so much so that its face was swollen. At seven years of age, General never suffered such a humiliation, so the cat was determined to seek revenge. ¡°You petty cat! Stand right there! I¡¯m gonna rub you so hard that all your fur falls off!¡± Sophia began chasing after the cat, all the while wondering if the cat¡¯s presence meant that Anna was around. Truth be told, Sophia liked Anna quite a lot despite thetter¡¯s snobbishness. Not only could Sophia not bring herself to hate her, but on the contrary, she respected Anna. They spoke about their respective work when they metst night, during which Anna gave her a few pointers regarding her own business. It served as an eye-opener to Sophia, so she figured she might as well meet up with her. On the other hand, walking behind Anne, Sandra was on the way to meet Anne¡¯s family, which was something she had been dreaming of. She was ted when Anne opened the door that led to one of the lounges to reveal the few people sitting on the sofa in it, with the first of them being Lucy Edwards. Lucy was surprised by their arrival. She dropped by the exhibition venue to attend a business negotiation with the Yard twins, but she wasn¡¯t expecting Sandra. To her credit, Sandra isn¡¯t half bad. She is a sweet- talker, as well as a social butterfly, whereas her identity as a former world champion allowed her to get in touch with a few nobledies. I just didn¡¯t expect her to get in touch with Anne so quickly¡­ It seems like the rtionship between the Osbornes and the Yards is now an open secret. Meanwhile, sitting beside Lucy were the Yard twins, who were savoring the tea in their royal sweetheart cups while sitting on the sofa in identical poses. Upon seeing the twins, Anne smiled before saying amicably, ¡°Hey, Callum, Cade, why do you never invite me for anything fun?¡± ¡­ In the meantime, Sophia gave General a good rub after catching it, only to realize that the cat had shed a lot of fur. It prompted her to stick some of the fur back on the cat in shock before bringing General with her while searching for Anna. Since I saw the Yard twins earlier, Anna must be around, too. She was about to give Anna a call to ask where she was, but she changed her mind as she figured it would be more polite of her to bring the cat to Anna directly since they were at the same ce. Much like a hotel, the lounge area had a lot of rooms, so she had a hard time finding anybody. While she was searching for the Yard twins, she ended up bumping into Cooper after turning a corner, who was standing behind a wall in stillness. ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡± Raising his hand, Cooper held a stern gaze as he shushed Sophia. She quickly shut her mouth while inching closer to him before asking in a hushed voice, ¡°Dad, what are you looking at?¡± Judging from how Cooper was sticking close to the wall, he seemed to either be hiding from someone or setting up an ambush in order to scare someone that would soon pass by. However, he only repeated himself in a low voice. ¡°Don¡¯t talk.¡± Therefore, Sophia obeyed, waiting behind him in silence, as she was curious about his next action. However, General kept on wiggling in her arms while meowing loudly, which soon got them the attention of someone else. ¡°General? General, is that you? Where are you?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from afar, which Cooper reacted bying out from hiding to walk toward the woman, all the while feigning coincidence. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Suddenly, Sophia knew what was going on. It seemed that Cooper was waiting for a woman to pass by in order to create a romantic encounter. Wow, Dad is finally getting to his senses! I will soon have a mother! Sophia was eager to meet her future stepmother, but was also worried that she might not want to date Cooper because he had a dependant. However, General was meowing so loudly that she had to come out from hiding. When she saw Cooper¡¯s target, she startled. Anna Yard?! She remained still when Anna approached them, who seemed to be ddened by General¡¯s presence, as a smile bloomed on her face. ¡°General, here you are! Please don¡¯t run away on your own anymore!¡± Hold on, she isn¡¯t Anna. Sophia soon realized. Although they had a simr appearance, Sophia immediately noticed the difference between Anna and the woman. As Anna was a stoic woman who would give up her own son in exchange for power and influence, she had a more domineering presence and a piercing gaze. Meanwhile, the woman before Sophia only bore semnce to Anna in terms of appearance, but had a much more gentle temperament, wearing a meek expression on her face. She donned a dress and had a string of pearls around her neck, which added a sense of antiquity and elegance to her. Looking at the woman, there was a hint of disappointment in Cooper¡¯s eyes. When he first saw her, he mistook her as someone else, only to realize she only bore semnce to the woman whom he was searching for when he took a closer look. s, she wasn¡¯t Anna. Cooper took the cat from Sophia before returning it to the woman, which she received with both hands while nodding at him appreciatively. ¡°Thank you, sir. This cat of mine really likes to run around. General, you ought not to do that anymore.¡± On the other hand, Cooper was utterly crestfallen, and his blue eyes no longer harbored any emotion. ¡°It¡¯s a piece of cake, so don¡¯t sweat it.¡± With that, he turned to leave, whereas Sophia followed suit after ncing at the woman. Since General belonged to Anna, Sophia wondered if the fact that the woman imed to own it, as well as her almost identical appearance to Anna, meant that she was Anna¡¯s sister. Rumors had it that only twins could be heir to the Yard Family, so the fact that Anna got to take over the family meant that she was a twin, but it was curious that nobody ever heard she had one. Even Michael said Anna was the only direct descendant that the Yards had, who managed to make it to the top by fighting tooth and nail to fend off the members of the branch family. Back in the private room, Sandra mingled well with the Yard twins, owing to her clever tongue; she even got their phone number and added them on Messenger. They were chatting merrily when Cade suddenly spoke. ¡°We¡¯ll have to go now that our mother has arrived.¡± Both Lucy and Sandra were ready to move when Anna¡¯s presence was announced. Lucy wanted to meet in person the legendary woman, whereas Sandra was thinking of forging a connection with Anna, but she backed out as she knew it was impolite of her to do so, seeing that the timing wasn¡¯t right. tedly, Anne and the twins left for the room next door. As soon as they opened the door, they saw two identical women sitting in there, with one of them holding a Norwegian Forest cat. Anneunched herself toward both women happily. ¡°Aunt, Mom, you¡¯re finally here!¡± Chapter 1091 Chapter 1091 Although both of thedies had simr facial features, they underwent drastically different lives that shaped them into two entirely different individuals with contrasting personalities. One of them went through a lot of hardships ever since they were young, which gave them a sharp edge in their personality as well as a piercing gaze. On the other hand, the other twin was born into riches, nor did she experience much hardship throughout life, so she grew into an even-tempered woman with a mellow personality. When they sat together, it was as if they were looking at their own reflection, but each side of the mirror contained a much different story. Putting the cat down, Anna waved at Anne to call her over, whom she gazed at for some time before putting a smile on her face. ¡°Anne, it¡¯s been a while. You¡¯re all grown up after a year¡¯s time. You¡¯re getting even prettier.¡± Smiling amicably, Anne tilted her head while ttering, ¡°That¡¯s not true. You¡¯re the one who¡¯s getting even prettier, Aunt Anna! I wish I could be half as pretty as you!¡± Anna shook her head with a smile. In the meantime, both Cade and Callum walked up to them before greeting the woman beside Anna. ¡°Aunt Xena.¡± The woman sitting beside Anna was none other than Louis Osborne¡¯s daughter, Xena Osborne, who was also Anne¡¯s mother. While the family got together merrily, Anne was being treated as the princess among the group, but she was constantly leaning against Anna. Halfway through their conversation, Anne couldn¡¯t help but keep on signaling her mother. Knowing what Anne was trying to say, Xena shook her head in resignation before seizing the chance to tell Anna, ¡°Anna, you¡¯ve finally secured your hold on the Yard Family. The past twenty years have been a tough journey! Nobody expected a family as prestigious as the Yards to fall from grace. We wouldn¡¯t havee to this if the Fletchers had not massacred our family.¡± Mention of the past made Xena all emotional and teary. The Yards went from reigning over the country a few hundred years ago to being forced into exile, which led to them dwindling in numbers. Fate hadn¡¯t been kind to them, and it wasn¡¯t until muchter that they regained their past glory. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. A hundred years ago, the Yards were nning to return to Cethos with the help of the other families. However, the Fletchers betrayed them by massacring the Yards, killing the head of the family and his brothers, so the Yards were soon taken over by the branch family. The only person left of the main family was a baby who had no means of self defense while under the threat of the branch family. In the end, the Osbornes, the loyal vassal of the Yards, smuggled the baby away. They also changed his surname to Osborne and distanced themselves from the family feud, which finally prevented the Yards from being wiped out. Unexpectedly, a pair of twins were born during Louis Osborne¡¯s generation, which alerted the branch family of their presence. As the twin daughters were the legitimate heirs of the Yard Family, the members of the branch family sent someone after the Osbornes despite the fact that it had been two generations since they left the Yards. Louis Osborne was forced to flee, finding temporary hideouts at various ces around the world, losing one of his children during the process. Finally, he was able to seek refuge from a friend in Cethos, leaving behind their life as a refugee, but the child that Louis lost was never found due to various circumstances. However, after more than twenty years, the child they lost returned as thest direct descendant of the Yard Family. The child was none other than Anna Yard. Not only did she return to the Yard Family, but she expanded her influence rapidly while murdering the members of the branch family cold-bloodedly, securing her im to the position as the head of the family. She was a true legend. Now, the worst was behind them, and they regained control of the Yard Family, so it was also finally time for them to reunite with each other. Mention of the past rendered the twins and Anne silent, as they could sense the graveness of it. However, Anna didn¡¯t seem to be as emotionally affected by memories of it, as all she did was caress her cat while heaving a sigh. ¡°I suppose the Yards were predestined to suffer such an ill fate. Although our ancestors fled thend to settle down in a foreign ce, they left amandment to never reim what was ours with the help of barbaric foreigners, as they¡¯re dishonest, inhumane, and unloyal. If we ever disobeyed themandment, we would be regarded as sinners, which meant we were practically doomed.¡± Back then, the Yards disobeyed themandment by enlisting the help of foreign troops in an attempt to reim theirnd. However, the troops were only helping the Yards to cover up their true objective of invading Cethos, as they were aiming for the country¡¯s natural resources and the hundreds of millions of people who could potentially provide freebor. And the rest was history. Cethos got invaded by the dozens of foreign troops that the Yards brought in. Other than robbing Cethos of its natural resources and cultural relics, they alsomitted murder and human trafficking, sending the young and the strong to the rest of the world to work as ves, with a lot of them eventually dying from the ordeal. From being one of the strongest countries in the world, Cethos fell from grace, bing a country that anybody could trample over. There were genocides beingmitted in multiple ces across the country, whereas the rest of the war-tornnd fell into despair. As the Yards had everything to do with bringing the enemy into the country, Anna figured that being wiped out by the Fletchers was their punishment for disobeying themandment. After that, she added, ¡°My father smuggled me and Xena back to Cethos in search of refuge, but they lost me in the process. Fortunately, with Xena by his side, my father found a friend of his who didn¡¯t look down on him for his wretched state, and even provided my father with the best protection possible. It was because of him that my father and Xena survived, and that our family was able to reunite.¡± Due to unknown reasons, Louis never told them about that friend of his, so even Xena and Anne had no idea who their savior was. However, Anna already uncovered their savior¡¯s identity. She made sure to always be fair in her treatment of people, so she bore in mind the identity of the person who saved her family. Sipping on her tea, she set the cup down on the table with a thud before dering resolutely, ¡°I came to Cethos with the intention to aplish something important. Cethos is rapidly developing, so it is a market that the Ronney Group couldn¡¯t afford to miss out on. After some negotiations with the relevant authorities, we agreed that both parties will put old feuds to rest in order to facilitate a reconciliation. Aside from that, there are also a lot of Yards who are living in Cethos after concealing their identities in order to avoid being hunted down. Therefore, I will be building an ancestral hall at Lombardi River, all the while searching for our kindred who are scattered across thend so that they can finallye home, which will also help replenish our numbers.¡± Anne was delighted upon hearing this, as she had been waiting for it. As soon as she reverted to her original surname, she would practically be considered a princess if she lived in ancient times. Even in the modern world, she would still be the object of affection among the Yards. On the other hand, Xena was also d to hear the news, as she was a Yard by blood, so she figured it would be best for her if she could revert to her original surname. However, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case with Louis, as he wanted to honor the Osbornes for raising him. Meanwhile, Cooper needed some time alone after his recent let down, so Sophia returned to the exhibition venue alone, only to once again bump into Sandra, who was regarding her in a confrontational manner. ¡°Wow, news sure travels fast. Louis hadn¡¯t even changed his surname, but you¡¯re already going all out to tter him. Scarlett, you are one hell of a woman for trying to provoke your brother into iming Anne Osborne as his own. However, you sure didn¡¯t check if she even wants to be associated with the likes of you!¡± Chapter 1092 Chapter 1092 Louis Osborne is going to change hisst name?This was the first time Sophia ever heard of this. ¡°Master Osborne is going to change hisst name? Why didn¡¯t I know about that?¡± she asked in puzzlement. Snorting, Sandra crossed her arms. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t known about it, you and your husband wouldn¡¯t have been ingratiating yourselves to him so ardently,¡± she snarled in a scathing manner. ¡°Cut this ignorant act of yours! I can tell your thoughts in and clear, so stop dreaming about other people¡¯s wealth. Sooner orter, Anne Osborne will be the daughter-inw of the Mitchells! Her status is lofty, so you¡¯re not worthy of speaking to her when you all are nothingpared to her!¡± After uttering these insulting remarks, she spun on her heels and left. Sophia, on the other hand, was mystified.What has Louis Osborne changing hisst name got to do with me? And what¡¯s all that about the daughter-inw of the Mitchells? As long as Anne Osborne isn¡¯t flirting with my brother or my nephew, I don¡¯t care who she wants to seduce! Anyway, Sandra brought a lot of handsome young men from the Mitchell Family here today, so it seems that she¡¯s determined to win Anne over. Speaking of that, she seems to be behaving these days, no longer doing anything dumb.Sophia had been collecting evidence of her crimes, and it was almost enough to have her convicted. Then, Sophia returned to the exhibition hall, only to be greeted by the sight of Michael carrying Carmen in his arms while talking to a few veterans in the art and literary industry. The previous time, he¡¯d invited a group of veterans in the art and literary industry to make a guest appearance in a Hollywood blockbuster which resulted in a huge uproar in the Cethosian art and literary circle. Thus, many veterans were now standing in line, hoping that he could help them make a debut in a blockbuster. They weren¡¯t even concerned about having any pay or lines, for they were satisfied with merely an appearance just for sensationalism¡¯s sake. Cooper wasn¡¯t back yet, but Sophia caught sight of Linus seriously studying paintings everywhere. Of course, he was a true connoisseur of art, not a dilettante. All of a sudden, something urred to Sophia, and she excitedly rushed forward to drag him toward the front. ¡°Come and have a look, Linus!¡± She dragged him into the crowd like a childish sister who wanted to share a new toy she¡¯d seen with her brother. Holding her petite hand, a wealth of warmth filled Linus¡¯ heart.It¡¯s really nice to have a sister! I once thought that this was love, but I¡¯ve finally understood that it¡¯s a bone-deep familial bond! Sophia pulled him into the crowd where a group of veterans were showcasing their artistic talents. Since this was Louis¡¯ solo exhibition, many veterans who seldom made public appearances attended to exchange ideas with each other. At this time, a painter was wielding a brush as he did a color painting of a humongous yellow dog with its tongue hanging out. The painting was vivid and lifelike since it was done by an expert. Now, it was on the verge ofpletion with just the finishing touches left. The name of the painting was Lucky, and the dog in the painting was none other than Linus¡¯ Lucky! Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. As joy flooded Linus, Sophia exined, ¡°Imissioned this painting. Look how photogenic Lucky is!¡± The painting was fabricated from the videos and photos taken by Sophia. It was undeniable that the veteran had remarkable talent, for he managed to capture the dog perfectly just after a few looks at the videos, especially the look in its eyes. He painted it on the spot, and the painting waspleted in no time. After paying for the painting, Sophia carefully took it. Meanwhile, Linus grew increasingly fond of the painting as he gazed at it, a contented smile blooming on his face. The siblings then found a ce to sit. Thereafter, a server came over with drinks and snacks. Linus sat there admiring the painting, while Sophia took a sip of juice as she scrolled through her cell phone, looking at the stock and real estate markets as she took a breather. The few stocks under Michel Group which Linus split and listed weren¡¯t doing too good recently. Michel Group was extremely stable internally, but it couldn¡¯t withstand the rumors flying around outside. Nheless, Linus didn¡¯t seem to be doing anything about it. Instead, he seized the opportunity to purchase loose stocks in bulk when people sold off Michel Group¡¯s stocks. After all, the more shares he had in hand, the greater his power in Michel Group and the Michel Family. Michael had also taken the opportunity to purchase tons of stocks. Meanwhile, Plum Technology that was jointly founded by Sophia, Stanley, and the others had also developed from apany into a corporation after its rapid development over the years. It had established many divisions and expanded into various industries, from the initial online games, applications, websites, and live streaming toputer games, movies and even agencies. Likewise, it¡¯d also been split into several subsidiaries to be listed, and a few stocks were doing pretty good. What¡¯d once been a cottage industry by a few university students was now a multi-disciplinary mammoth entity. Out of the blue, Sophia felt the air turning heavy. Raising her head, she spotted a crowd of people consisting of both males and females standing beside her and Linus, all young and bearing Alex¡¯s crest. As Sandra and the array of Mitchells stared at Sophia and Linus with stark hostility, Linus surreptitiously put away the painting in his hand before lifting his head and looking at them warily. ¡°What is it?¡± Simrly, Sophia pinned her eyes on them vigntly. Stretching out a hand, Sandra thrust it before Sophia. ¡°I want Anne Osborne¡¯s Phoenix Harp. Give it to me.¡± After learning from Anne that Sophia had taken her beloved harp, she immediately thought of getting it back from Sophia so that she could im credit before her. ¡°Oh, you want my Phoenix Harp?¡± All at once, Sophia understood her intentions. Propping her cheek with a hand, she stabbed at the pulp at the bottom of the juice with her straw. Then, she lifted her eyes to the Mitchells who were staring at them viciously. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I donated it to the ancient Imperial Pce museum. It¡¯s now national property, so do seek out the ancient Imperial Pce if you wish to have it.¡± Sandra went ballistic. ¡°You dare donate the harp Master Osborne gave you? Do you have any shame?¡±She¡¯s iming that she donated such a priceless Phoenix Harp just like that? I¡¯ll never believe that! Sophia chuckled leisurely. ¡°That¡¯s right. The harp was given to me by Master Osborne, so what has my disposal of it got to do with you?¡± At this, Sandra lost her temper and mmed her hands on the table. ¡°Give it to me! If you don¡¯t hand the harp over today, I¡¯ll dig up your father¡¯s grave!¡± The lounge area was adjacent to the exhibition area, but there were just a handful of people resting there at this time. The moment Sandra mmed her hand onto the table, the few Mitchells there spread out and blocked the people¡¯s inquisitive gazes. Thus, they could only see a group of people surrounding Sophia and Linus, but the conversation was lost to them. Upon seeing Sandra¡¯s desperation, Sophia realized that the harp was quite important to her.After all, it¡¯s a crucial element in currying favor with Anne Osborne!¡°I¡¯ve truly donated it, so it¡¯s been taken away by the ancient Imperial Pce,¡± she drawled in exasperation. In fact, she¡¯d already braced herself for the possibility of her harp bing a national cultural artifact. Sandra had long since expected that Sophia wouldn¡¯t possibly give it to her so easily. Crossing her arms, she stared at the two of them, her gaze moving back and forth between the siblings. Suddenly, she gave a bark ofughter. ¡°Are you two truly siblings? You don¡¯t resemble each other at all. Cooper is probably crazed for a son, so he simply acknowledged someone as his son.¡± Both Sophia and Linus said nary a word. They were indeed not alike in looks, so much so that even Cooper himself doubted it. He even had a test done between them, only to have the test results indicate that the possibility of them being biological siblings was 99%. The experts themselves were likewise astonished as it was the first time they¡¯d ever seen such a pair of twins since the probability of it happening was very low, scientifically speaking. Linus mostly inherited genes from his paternal grandmother, while Sophia dominantly inherited genes from the maternal side of her family. When Sandra saw that they were both ignoring her, a wave of utter humiliation swept across her. All of a sudden, she seemed to have thought of something, so shemented maliciously, ¡°I heard that you like men, Linus. You¡¯re Cooper¡¯s only son, so he¡¯ll likely¡­ die without descendants, huh?¡± Chapter 1093 Chapter 1093 Sure enough, such a subject was much more fascinating, for the rest of the Mitchells started taunting Linus viciously as soon as they heard that he favored men. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that he¡¯s a f*ggot!¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s this saying¡ªGod gave you a drill, yet you¡¯re using it to stir sh*t!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, you might be wrong there. He might be the catcher. Haha¡­¡± ¡°How I wish to yank his pants down and see whether he¡¯ll be in heat like a b*tch and spread his legs whenever he sees a man!¡± The nasty remarks that would drive even a saint to anger fell into Sophia and Linus¡¯ ears. Linus initially didn¡¯t want to make trouble here, but he could no longer stand it. Unexpectedly, before he¡¯d even made a move, Sandra, who¡¯d been all triumphant, felt a wave of intense pain shooting through her scalp. In the next instance, she felt her world turning upside down as her exquisite face was stered to the ground while she was yet unaware. To top it all, Sophia¡¯s high heel was pinning her head to the ground. Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org. Sandra opened her mouth, but before she¡¯d made a single sound, she heard Sophia¡¯s snide voice drifting into her ears. ¡°Go ahead and scream. Get everyone here to see how pathetic you are beneath my feet!¡± Sophia hadn¡¯t wanted a fight, but they actually dared to use Linus¡¯ sexual orientation to humiliate him. If it weren¡¯t for the shred of sanity left within her, she would¡¯ve long since strangled her to death. Sandra didn¡¯t dare yell for fear of losing her dignity. After all, there was a high heel on her head, and Sophia still had her hair firmly in her grip. The slightest movement had a bolt of agonyncing through her, so she could only bitterly call out for help. ¡°Come and help me, quick!¡± The rest of the Mitchells were dumbfounded. Sophia¡¯s movements earlier were simply too swift that it was mere seconds between her making a move and Sandra being pinned to the ground. It was only now that they thought of helping, but it was already toote, for a crowd had amassed behind Sophia while they were stunned silly. The ones who stood in front were Justin, Dimon, Vincent, Derek, and Drake Mitchell. Besides, there was also a drove of bodyguards, all strapping members of the Mitchell Family. As the two opposing factions confronted each other, their eyes zed with hatred. ¡°You¡¯re a traitor, Vincent Mitchell!¡± someone on the opposite side instantlymbasted while pointing a finger at Vincent. Vincent, however, gave a nonchnt chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m not a traitor of the Mitchell Family.¡± I¡¯m a Mitchell by birth, and I¡¯m loyal to Cooper, so I¡¯ve got nothing to be ashamed of! Pinned on the ground, Sandra immediately caught sight of Derek, who was standing on Sophia¡¯s side, and she grew all the more pissed. Conversely, Derek no longer gave a fig about her. Back then, Sandra ruthlessly erased her heinous past by having someone mow down her biological mother and uncle just to preserve her morous identity as the youngdy of the Mitchell Family. While her biological mother and uncle deserved their fate for using her as an ATM machine, Derek was still an Oak back then, and he wasn¡¯t even 18 years old yet. He abruptly became an orphan with no shelter and food, yet she didn¡¯t even care. If Sophia hadn¡¯t taken him home, given him a shower, fed, and even sent him to school, he would probably be on the streets now! Justin was quite powerful among the Mitchells, so he crossed his arms and said to those on the opposite side, ¡°Well? Go on and make a move. Why aren¡¯t you fighting? It¡¯s Mr. Osborne¡¯s exhibition today, so we don¡¯t mind offending him. After all, we aren¡¯t the ones interested in bing his live-in son-inw. If you all ruin his exhibition, however, you might be out of the running.¡± Snickering, Derek added, ¡°And I don¡¯t rmend calling for security. After all, if people were to know that the high and mighty Young Lady Mitchell is pinned to the ground, it¡¯ll be a great humiliation. At that time, Miss Osborne will disdain you guys!¡± The Mitchells on the other side looked at each other. On second thought, they have numbers on their side, so it¡¯ll be an embarrassment to fight, not to mention that we might not win. Justin alone can defeat us, so it¡¯ll be mortifying if we were to be pinned to the groundter. Hence, they closed ranks and blocked other people¡¯s inquisitive gazes. After all, it was better to have Sandra beaten up furtively than to have it known publicly. Sophia was very much considerate as well, pummeling Sandra within the constrained area so as not to humiliate the Mitchells. ¡°Apologize!¡± Yanking her hair mercilessly, she shoved her to the ground to have her kneel before Linus. However, Sandra was still exceedingly conceited. ¡°You want me to apologize to a disgusting gay man? Dream on! It¡¯s a real shame that the Mitchell Family has someone like you! How sickening! You embarrass the entire family! You¡¯re just as repulsive as Sean!¡± How dare she say that Linus is repulsive? Sophia found Sandra all the more repulsive. Pressing her head and face against the ground, Sophia rained punches and kicks on her. Yet, Sandra didn¡¯t dare make a single peep, afraid that she¡¯d attract attention and humiliate herself. When Sophia was done hitting her, she again smashed her face against the ground. ¡°If my memory serves me right, Miss Mitchell, you publicly expressed your support for the LGBT group a few days ago to attract fans. The little speech you gave during the interview was a pr opposite of what you¡¯re saying today, so your hypocritical and putrid attitude stinks even worse than sh*t!¡± Recently, Sandra had gone to great lengths to market herself in the industry, going wherever the wind blew; at one time, she opposed the consumption of dog meat before moving to express her support for the pride parade out of the blue, then advocated the eptance of Middle East refugees by the Cethosian government in addition to bing an ambassador for women and children. In short, she truly acted as though she was a saint! In front of the public, she put on a loving act, but behind it all, she still had a foul mouth that had an even worse stink than a decaying corpse! Sandra opened her mouth to say something else, but Sophia raised her hand and pped her mouth. ¡°You can choose not to apologize to my brother today, but I¡¯ll warn you today that God is watching you!¡± Without giving her a chance to say anything, Sophia again pped her mouth until her face grew swollen. At this time, Linus stopped her. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t hit her anymore,¡± he urged. When the others thought that he was feeling sorry for Sandra, he unexpectedly took Sophia¡¯s hand. Upon seeing that it was all red, his heart clenched. ¡°Look, your hand is all red by now, so don¡¯t hit her anymore. Shae,e here and p her on behalf of Sophia. Just make sure that she doesn¡¯t die,¡± he ordered. Then, Shae marched out from the corner and took over for Sophia, giving Sandra a few hard ps. The pain was so severe that Sandra passed out. After she fainted, the rest of the Mitchells on Sandra¡¯s side summoned their bodyguards and had her surreptitiously carried away under the watchful stares of the other Mitchells. As they gazed at the bodyguards on this side of the Mitchells¡ªDrake in particr¡ªtheir eyes brimmed with envy. In the past, when we all gorged ourselves on grilled skewers and yed poker, Drake was the one guarding the door. He also had to address everyone subserviently, but after he¡¯d gone over to Cooper Mitchell¡¯s side with his family, he¡¯s a celebrity now! Yet, we¡¯re still lowly bodyguards, one of them thought. Another Mitchell on Sandra¡¯s side thought, Look at them. Though they¡¯re just bodyguards, they¡¯re still dressed finely. Their leather belts, watches, and leather shoes are all branded! Any one of them are outfitted in full attires worth tens of thousands, yet we¡¯re wearing a uniform worth only a few thousand, courtesy of Alex Mitchell. They¡¯ve got an annual sry and are even allocated quarters in Bayside City. And rumor has it that they get to have an overseas vacation every quarter. Those who are handsome even have the opportunity to go for an audition with the family¡¯s son-inw, Michael Fletcher, and might be a celebrity like Drake! Also, their youngdy is so domineering! And their young master¡­ is much more handsome than our young master! In a nutshell, they have everything better! Chapter 1094 Chapter 1094 Comparison was the source of all discontent. Once, they¡¯d derided those who¡¯d gone over to Cooper¡¯s side as being too dumb to judge the situation, but their youngdy had now pinned theirs to the ground, yet they didn¡¯t even dare retaliate. As Sophia watched as the Mitchells carried Sandra away with their tails between their legs and disappeared into the exhibition hall, she was still feeling peeved. Upon seeing that Linus wasn¡¯t saying anything, she instantly urged, ¡°Don¡¯t take their words to heart, Linus.¡± Linus caressed her head gently. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he reassured. Grabbing his hand, Sophia tugged at it slightly. ¡°You¡¯ve always been the pride of our family, Linus. Dad is always asking me to learn from you!¡± Warmth infused Linus. Truly, I¡¯ve got the best father and sister in the world! Dad is aware of my sexual orientation, but he has never interfered. He¡¯s really open-minded. Sophia, on the other hand, has never had a problem with me liking men. In this family, no one ever thought that I¡¯m a monster. How nice¡­ This family is truly great! However, he knew that the Mitchell Family would never ept it. They¡¯ll definitely use my sexual orientation to kick up a fuss, but so what? All the Mitchells sat at a table. It was rare that everyone was sitting here today to receive some exposure to art. All of them found those few ps of Sophia impressive since Sandra indeed had a foul mouth. All of a sudden, Sophia felt a burning sensation in her back. The moment she nced over her shoulder, she noticed Lucy staring at her. Lucy was drinking alone, and she quickly averted her gaze the moment she saw Sophia looking at her. Nevertheless, Sophia still felt that her gaze earlier was brimming with sorrow. Lucy Edwards is really a tad strange these days. She helped Sandra settle the open and secret dual- priced contracts, invested a lot of money in her project, and even facilitated her meeting with Billy Kim. Besides, she also rebranded King¡ªthe luxury brand for pets Sandra previously ruined¡ªto go head-to- head with Pourl. It¡¯s truly puzzling¡­ Could it be that Sandra has some dirt on her? But she¡¯s such a strong woman, independent and outstanding. What could Sandra have on her? Because of her, it¡¯s been rather difficult for me to eliminate this signature advocate of Alex Mitchell, so I should really take some time to investigate her. As the exhibition was drawing to its end, Michael came looking for Sophia with Carmen. Carmen was pretty tired after all the exposure she¡¯d gotten today, so she was dozing off in Michael¡¯s arms. Cooper, however, had disappeared somewhere. The curtain is falling on the exhibition, yet Dad hasn¡¯t even seen Louis Osborne. If he misses him this time, it¡¯ll be a long wait before he¡¯ll get to see him next time. They then phoned Cooper, but he said he wanted some time alone and would go home by himselfter. Sophia then bid Louis farewell. She initially wanted to also bid the Yard twins and Anna farewell but found it rather abrupt to seek them without a prior appointment, so she returned home with Michael first. Meanwhile, Anne and the Yards discussed building an ancestral hall since they¡¯d returned to their homnd. In the end, they decided to have dinner together. Anne happily went in search of Louis as she contemted a name that would be worthy of her identity. No, I¡¯ve got to find myself a husband first! Stanley Fletcher, Michael Fletcher, and the likes aren¡¯t worthy of me. I want to find someone like the head of the Michel Family, Fass Michel! While rumor has it that he has a daughter who¡¯s pretty old, his brother named Linus or something will do. When I¡¯ve changed myst name in the future, I¡¯ll be able to associate with top-notch people like them. I¡¯ll definitely figure out a way to meet Linus! I¡¯m going to be a princess very soon, so I¡¯ve got to find my destined Prince Charming! Unexpectedly, her enthusiastic footsteps abruptly came to a halt at the corner as she seemingly spotted something. She saw a man standing quietly before a window in the corridor ahead. The man was tall and slim, his profile more than perfect. From his looks, he appeared to be in his early 30s. His gaze shone with profound maturity, the blue of his eyes bright and alluring as the ocean. He seemed to be of mixed blood. A fallen leaf fluttered in, upon which he stretched out a hand and caught one. He gazed at the leaf caught between his long and slender fingers, his mind wandering to thoughts unknown as his eyes teemed with grief. He merely stood there silently, forming a beautiful picture of a tragic song. It held Anne so transfixed that her steps ceased, and she stood there looking at him quietly. Has he experienced something devastating? From his back, she could see the sorrow that overflowed from the depths of his soul. He¡¯s a person with a story. Out of the blue, the man seemed to have sensed that someone was watching him furtively. All at once, his sorrowful gaze turned forbidding and domineering. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± he demanded frigidly. Anne jumped in fright. When the man¡¯s gaze shifted to her, she felt her breath catching in that instance. The man¡¯s powerful aura and shockingly handsome countenance stole her every breath, depriving her brain of oxygen that she couldn¡¯t think for a moment, merely staring at him nkly. For the first time, her usually eloquent self was rendered speechless. The man nonchntly nced at her. Upon seeing that she was a young girl, he didn¡¯t take offense to her and whirled around to leave. Anne, on the other hand, was gripped by shock. She¡¯d never seen such a unique man¡ªhandsome, mysterious, and powerful. The moment the man disappeared from sight, the powerful aura vanished as well. As a breath of fresh air entered her nostrils, she finally snapped back to her senses, only to immediately chase after the man. ¡°Sir! Sir, wait a moment¡­¡± She¡¯d never felt as bold as she did in that moment as she called out to him. She felt as though she¡¯d regret it for the rest of her life if she didn¡¯t call him back. However, never could she have known that she¡¯d suffer for the rest of her life just because she called out to him. ¡°What is it?¡± The man turned back, his gaze still as indifferent as ever. Mustering her courage, Anne stepped forward and tried her best to control the stammer in her voice. ¡°You must be here to attend the solo exhibition of my grandfather, Master Louis Osborne,¡± she noted. When she drew near to him, she suddenly felt his aura growing increasingly distinct the closer she was. At this, the man nodded slightly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and discuss the finer points of things with my grandfather?¡± she instantly blurted. The man¡¯s voice was low yet devoid of emotion. ¡°Mr. Osborne is a busy person, so I won¡¯t intrude.¡± Anne, however, immediately countered, ¡°My grandfather is free now, so I¡¯ll take you to him!¡± After saying that, she led him to Louis. I¡¯ve decided on him! I don¡¯t want any prince or rich heir. Instead, I want this man! Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Thus, the man followed her lead to Louis. Louis¡¯ private exhibition was drawing to an end, so he happened to have his head raised, looking everywhere for Anne. He¡¯d particrly asked his fellow acquaintances to bring along their unmarried descendants to this exhibition today, hoping that she¡¯d take a fancy to one of them. To his surprise, he caught sight of her approaching excitedly with a man in no time. Nudging his reading sses, he scrutinized the man. Hmm¡­ he looks pretty decent, so it seems that Anne has quite some taste. But he appears to be somewhat up in years. No matter how I look at him, he can¡¯t be any younger than 30 years old. Nheless, 30 isn¡¯t too old. After all, my idol, Michael Fletcher, is already 40 years old, and this man looks much younger than him. Bringing the man over to him, Anne exuberantly eximed, ¡°This is my new friend, Grandpa! His name is Cooper Mitchell, and he¡¯s your long-time fan!¡± Chapter 1095 Chapter 1095 ¡°Cooper Mitchell? Cooper Mitchell as alluded to in the phrase, ¡®if the city generals were present¡¯?¡± Louis hurriedly asked. Cooper nodded. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡± He didn¡¯t dare reveal himself as the arms leader, Fass, so he merely introduced himself with his real name. Louis then cordially shook hands with him. ¡°What an impressive name! It¡¯s truly remarkable!¡± I approve of this grandson-inw! His name marks him as one with sophistication and character. Besides, he looks like a gentleman at a single nce, so he¡¯s worthy of my granddaughter! But¡­ if my memory serves me, Michael had just asked me for a writing of that stanza the other day. Perhaps this Cooper Mitchell is an acquaintance of his! I¡¯ve got to inquire about him from Michael someday and ascertain his background. If his family background is fine, then Anne can just marry him! Meanwhile, Anne¡¯s face had been stained pink the entire time with the exact kind of shyness one would exhibit when bringing one¡¯s boyfriend home to meet one¡¯s family. Upon seeing that Louis seemed very much satisfied with Cooper, she swiftly advocated him, saying, ¡°Mr. Mitchell has been a fan of your writing for many years. His writing is also very impressive!¡± At this, Louis quickly ordered his assistant to get him a dip pen and inkwell. ¡°Here, here. Why don¡¯t we learn from each other? I love learning from young people like you!¡± Joy welled up within Cooper. It¡¯s a great honor to learn from a great artist like Louis Osborne! Who said that an arms leader can¡¯t pose as an arts aficionado? Picking up the pen, he wrote two lines, the two phrases from which his name originated. When he was done writing, shock inundated Louis the moment he looked at the writing. A person¡¯s writing reflects the person himself, for one¡¯s writing mirrors his inner character. He¡¯d been looking at people¡¯s writings his entire life, so he knew that this person before him was someone remarkable when he saw his writing. It¡¯s neat and tidy, the writing prating to the back of the paper itself. There¡¯s spirit and mettle. It¡¯s impressive writing, proving him to be an impressive man! Since Cooper wrote the second stanza of ¡®Beyond the Border,¡¯ he picked up the pen and wrote the first stanza: ¡®The same moon shone on the same fortress, yet hardly anyone made a return from the distant border.¡¯ The moment he was done, he stamped it with his seal and gave it to Cooper when the ink had dried. ¡°Here, here, this is a meeting gift for you.¡± Cooper epted the writing in delight. It¡¯ll be a poem when Ibine it with the one I got from Michael! ¡°Thank you, Mr. Osborne.¡± Subsequently, Louis inquired about Cooper¡¯s family background on behalf of his shy granddaughter. ¡°Young man, you must be a giant among men considering your remarkable looks. You¡¯re definitely someone, so would you mind leaving me your contact for futuremunication?¡± Cooper then asked his assistant for a business card before handing it to him with both hands. As he did so, he expounded, ¡°I¡¯m Cooper Mitchell from the Mitchell Family in Bayside City. My father is Woody Mitchell.¡± At the mention of Woody Mitchell, a light bulb went off in Louis¡¯ head. So, it¡¯s him¡­ Woody Mitchell! Sure enough, he¡¯s from an influential family. I strongly agree with this marriage! Secreting away Cooper¡¯s writing and business card, Anne daydreamed about it the entire night. Even during the family dinner, she was still smiling for no reason. When Xena noticed this, she teased her, asking, ¡°Why are you so happy today, Anne? Did you take a fancy to someone? Go on ahead and tell me!¡± Her face flushing with embarrassment, Anne refused to talk, but Louis spilled the beans in the next instance. ¡°I saw my grandson-inw today. He¡¯s from the Mitchell Family, an influential family. He seems pretty talented, a giant among men! Here, here, I¡¯ve got his photo here! I¡¯ll pass it around!¡± A photographer took pictures for him today, and he happened to snap one of Cooper. At this time, he took out the photo and passed it around the table. ¡°His writing was exceptional, too! Anne, take it out quickly and show it to the others!¡± Anne shyly took out Cooper¡¯s writing which she¡¯d already had someone secure within a scroll for safekeeping. When the others glimpsed Cooper¡¯s countenance in the photo, they all eximed, ¡°He really looks handsome! Look at his shapely brows and eyes. s, he¡¯s of mixed blood!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Mixed blood doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s the modern day now, so let¡¯s just relinquish the old customs of the past!¡± Xena, however, muttered with a frown, ¡°This man¡­ Well, I saw him a few days ago. He¡¯s indeed very handsome, but he has a daughter. His daughter can¡¯t be any younger than 17 or 18 years old, so I think he¡¯s probably married.¡± When Cade and Callum saw the picture, they both closed their mouths subtly. Isn¡¯t this Sophia Edwards¡¯ biological father? They then exchanged a look. Well, this marriage is feasible. Cooper Mitchell is very powerful, and he¡¯s practically an overlord in Bayside City, so it¡¯ll be beneficial in facilitating the Yard Family¡¯s entry into Bayside City. Besides, if this marriage goes through, we¡¯ll be Sophia¡¯s uncle, and she¡¯ll get it from us then! Thus, Callum hurriedly said, ¡°He¡¯s indeed a little old for Anne, but for men who are established in their careers like him, such is usually the golden age. He has twins, a son and a daughter, but he¡¯d been widowed for many years. If there are no objections, I can help out with this.¡± Although there was a rule forbidding intermarriage with foreigners pertaining to direct descendants of the Yard Family to maintain the purity of the bloodline, with the penalty being disinheritance, Anne had no right to inherit, so it didn¡¯t matter even if she intermarried. When Anne learned that Cooper already had a son and daughter, mild disappointment swamped her. Nheless, she immediately disregarded it. Nothing matters as long as I get to be with him. After they¡¯d all discussed it for a while, everyone agreed that Cooper was quite a good candidate. He was a superior choice in all aspects, so age didn¡¯t seem to be such a huge issue anymore when he¡¯d gone well and above every other requirement. After all, the wives of sessful men were always 20 years or so younger than their husbands. Anna was the only one who kept mum. Slowly unfurling the scroll that had been passed around, she was greeted by powerful writing that prated the back of the paper. As she brushed her fingers across the writing, she could sense the great character within. Staring at the words, she inexplicably found it exceedingly familiar, but she just couldn¡¯t remember where she¡¯d seen them. Perhaps it¡¯s because it¡¯s an ancient poem¡­ that I might have just seen it in my past life. Meanwhile, at Vi No. 8 in The Imperial¡­ Achoo! Just after Cooper had scooped some rice for himself, he sneezed loudly, feeling as though someone was speaking of him behind his back. All at once, Sophia reminded him in utmost concern, ¡°The weather is changing recently, so be careful that you don¡¯t catch a cold, Dad. Speaking of that, I don¡¯t think you should go home today. Just stay here at my ce for a few days. I¡¯ll have the kitchens prepare some nourishing soup for you.¡± Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Cooper nodded. He¡¯d been nning to stay for a few days anyway. In the past, he¡¯d felt that distance wasn¡¯t a problem with the advent of modern technology since meetings and business negotiations could be done through video via projection technology, but ever since he¡¯d found his daughter, he realized that nothing could beat talking to her in person no matter how realistic the projection might be. Thus, he was nowing over to Sophia¡¯s ce every so often when he used to be a homebody. It was quite a distance from Riverdale, so it was quite congested were he to drive here. Nevertheless, he was determined toe even if he had to cram into the subway. At times, when he couldn¡¯t get onto the subway during peak hours, he¡¯d avoid the packed subway ande over by riding a public bicycle! It was difficult for Michael to imagine his good- and young-looking father-inw being sandwiched on the subway. Perhaps there were even perverse old women who seized the opportunity to grope him! ¡°It must be a tiringmute for you, my dear father-inw. Why don¡¯t you just move in?¡± he immediately griped moodily. It was just meant as a dour retort, but Cooper unexpectedly took it seriously. ¡°Sure.¡± Immediately after, he turned his head slightly and made a call to his housekeeping robot in Riverdale through his Bluetooth headset. ¡°Siri, I¡¯ll be living at The Imperial henceforth. Make preparations to move houses at once. Pack up everything in the workroom, study, gym, bedroom, and bathroom. Then, ship them over as soon as possible.¡± Chapter 1096 Chapter 1096 After Cooper was done making the call, he then said to Sophia, ¡°Vacate a basement level for my workroom.¡± At this, Michael was a moment away from biting off his own tongue. This young-looking father-inw of mine is acting far too familiar! He¡¯d just spent a fortune to renovate his ce in Riverdale, yet he¡¯s now moving in here! Doesn¡¯t he find it wasteful? As he ate, he dourly remarked, ¡°We actually have quite a big family, so it seems that I should be taking some time to build two more floors. Otherwise, we won¡¯t all fit in here.¡± At the same time, he threw Cooper a re. He said ¡®a married daughter is like spilled water,¡¯ promising not to interfere in Sophia¡¯s affairs henceforth, but it¡¯s only been a few days now, and he¡¯s moving in! Unexpectedly, Sophia instantly countered, ¡°It¡¯s not that many of us. There are four floors here including the attic besides the few basement levels, so there¡¯s space even if Linus were to move in, let alone Dad!¡± Michael was so vexed by his beautiful yet dopey wife that he almost burst a blood vessel. Linus, on the other hand, was very much amused by the furtive antagonism between Michael and Cooper. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve still got some space at my ce, so Dad can store some of his things there if you run out of space here,¡± he offered. At the side, Celine, who was still in her confinement period, pped her hands and eximed with a beaming smile, ¡°Great, great! A family should be together!¡± Justin merely smiled without saying anything, while Nathan had a profound look on his face, and Carmen¡¯s eyes were darting around. Michael, however, was about to go ballistic. After dinner, Sophia fed the cats. The guards from the ancient Imperial Pce deliberately timed their trip, onlying over leisurely to collect their cat when she¡¯d probably fed it. This time, they also brought her harp back. At the sight of her harp, Sophia grew so enraged that she was gripped by the urge to smash something. When they took it away, they treated it with great reverence, having six or seven people moving it into a sedan with gloves as though sending off a bride who was getting married, the only exception being the setting off of firecrackers. It¡¯s only been two days, yet they¡¯re now sending it back on a cat stroller without any sedan or even gloves! ¡°There¡¯s this family known as the Yard Family. Are you familiar with the Yard Family? It¡¯s the former royal family during the previous dynasty. This time, they donated quite a number of cultural artifacts to the ancient Imperial Pce, including three Phoenix Harps. So, we¡¯re returning this harp of yours!¡± a guard from the ancient Imperial Pce drawled. Humph! So, they already have three ¡®mistresses¡¯ over there, huh? No wonder they¡¯re no longer interested in my harp. Sophia then put away the harp even as she thought, Judging from this action by the Yards, they seem to be angling for a full conciliation with Cethos. So, Ronney Group is probably going to enter Cethos on arge scale. Well, drastic changes are on the horizon for Cethos. Meanwhile, in the basement, Michael showed Cooper around. He tried his best to put himself in Cooper¡¯s shoes and consider things from his perspective. If Carmen gets married one day, I¡¯ll definitely be even clingier than him! At this thought, he felt much better. ¡°Feel free to look around, Dad. We can use any one of the basement levels you like for your workroom.¡± These few basement levels in his house were constructed with reference to the secret tunnels during the previous dynasty. In those years, the price ofnd and real estate was still very low, so all real estate developers switched over to coal mining. Thus, he seized the opportunity to secure the development rights for this ce. Basement level one housed the wine cer and storeroom, thus frequented by many. However, ess to further basement levels were restricted to the secret tunnels and hidden elevators. To that effect, some of his secret activities were conducted in the basement. He was in the same boat with Cooper now, so Michael magnanimously took him down to the basement to check things out. There were lots of innovations by Justin in the basement, such as the corpse of an assassin under the Phantom Wolf. He¡¯d been studying the miraculous stimnt used by Phantom Wolf, and his only sample was Ka¡¯s dead body that had been preserved all this while. Also, there were some bizarre collections he was reluctant to part with. For instance¡­ Cooper¡¯s coffin that was dug out furtively. Cooper was rendered speechless at this, so he hastily changed the subject after faltering briefly. ¡°Next, we¡¯ll be seeing the corpse of a young woman who¡¯d once been injected with a miraculous stimnt that can give someone a temporary burst of energy with infinite strength besides a rapid increase in muscles. The side effects are minimal. It¡¯s still in the research stage, but the efficacy is extremely miraculous. Justin has been studying the molecr form of such a stimnt all these years to replicate and further improve it.¡± ¡°Get a sample, Linus. We¡¯ll study it as well,¡± Cooper instantly dered. ¡°Justin, give Linus a copy of your research data.¡± Michael rolled his eyes. This young-looking father-inw of mine is truly skilled at taking advantage of other people¡¯s efforts! We¡¯ve been researching this for years, yet he¡¯s just butting in midway. What gives? But there hasn¡¯t been much progress even after Justin spent so many years researching this stimnt¡¯s molecr form, and Quinton rk refused to say anything even to death. I myself hadn¡¯t researched it thoroughly either, so perhaps Cooper will have a breakthrough considering the professional resources he has. We¡¯re all in the same boat, so sharing is just the norm. Since he was giving Cooper and Linus a tour of his secret den, it was tantamount to him having attained a deep strategic partnership with his young-looking father-inw. Henceforth, there wouldn¡¯t be any chasm or distinction between them. When the tour was over, a portion of Cooper¡¯s daily necessities and work supplies had been transported over from Riverdale. It was all very much efficient. Michael then started vacating a basement level for him. After all, a family should be together. As the son-inw, he couldn¡¯t be indignant. Instead, he even had to help out and contribute physically. When they were done, he suddenly blurted, ¡°My grandfather asked me to make a trip back to Fletcher Residence tomorrow, saying that he¡¯s having guests over. He specifically phoned and requested that I go back just because of that. He even insisted that you go and visit him with Linus, Dad.¡± Busy putting away his things, Cooper nodded in acquiescence. At times, he felt that this son-inw was objectionable in every aspect, but whenever they truly interacted together, he found him exceedingly agreeable in all ways. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Sure enough, the Mitchell Family phoned tombast Cooper since Sophia pinned Sandra to the ground today. The admonishment went from his son¡¯s sexual orientation to the fact that his daughter hit Sandra. To summarize, it was basically this: ¡°Cooper, you¡¯re a shame to the Mitchell Family! You¡¯re not worthy of being a Mitchell, so don¡¯t ever dream that you¡¯ll be listed in the Mitchells¡¯ family records! I¡¯m going to dig out your coffin from the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave!¡± The other person was an elderly man in his 80s, so it was truly a feat for him to be tearing into someone at the top of his voice. Without listening until the very end, Cooper snorted and hung up. I don¡¯t care if I don¡¯t get listed in the Mitchells¡¯ family records. After all, I¡¯m still a Mitchell wherever I go. Nor do I care if my coffin is dug out from the ancestral grave. In fact, my ¡®good¡¯ son-inw has already done it! The next day, Cooper¡¯s luggage was steadily transported over. While his workroom was located in the basement of Vi No. 2, he lived at Vi No. 8. Despite feeling a tad resentful about it, Michael still helped to settle him in. The day after, they all set out for Fletcher Residence. This time, Linus was finally going to step foot into Fletcher Residence in person. When they arrived, Michael and Cooper went in search of Mark. Meanwhile, Sophia and Linus took Carmen to Lorelei who was recently attending school in the military compound with the other children in the Fletcher Family, eager to know how she was doing in school, her progress in learning the Cethosiannguage, and whether she was getting along well with the other children. Upon learning that they wereing over today, Stanley also came back very early. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here, Aunt!¡± Seizing the opportunity, Sophia asked, ¡°Who¡¯s the venerable guest who¡¯sing to visit Grandpa today that he even requested your uncle¡¯s presence, Stan?¡± Stanley had no idea either, and he scratched his head. ¡°I¡¯ve got no idea. I¡¯ve juste back, and he¡¯s been keeping it on the down-low. My brother and father are still angry at me because of the incident back then, so they refused to tell me a single word. Well, you¡¯ll know when you go over for a lookter!¡± They all then made their way to visit Lorelei, but the moment Sophia turned a corner, she caught sight of someone entirely unexpected. ¡°Why are you here, Anne Osborne?¡± Chapter 1097 Chapter 1097 Anne was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Sophia¡¯s family, while Stanley¡¯s presence was especially disconcerting. After listening to what Sandra told her, she assumed that the Fletchers were but a degenerate bunch of people after Mark Fletcher¡¯s death. It was also why she assumed that Stanley wouldn¡¯t be a good match for her, but upon witnessing that Mark was in fact alive¡­ Puffing herself up, Anne replied confidently, ¡°Of course I was invited!¡± After that, she brushed past them with her head raised, even going as far as threatening Stanley. ¡°I don¡¯t like you, so I won¡¯t marry you! You should give up on the thought of it!¡± As soon as she left, Stanley muttered to himself in confusion, ¡°Why is she here? Could Louis Osborne be the VIP who the old man invited?¡± All of a sudden, a devastating possibility came to mind. ¡°Sh*t! Might this be another blind date for me? What if they decided on the date of the wedding behind my back? I need to know for certain!¡± Sophia agreed that it might be possible, as both his parents seemed to have taken a liking to Anne after the blind date that Michael set up for them a few days ago. Therefore, Louis might very well have brought Anne along for a meetup between the Osbornes and the Fletchers. There¡¯s no way in hell that¡¯ll happen! Anne tried to hook up with Linus, but belittled him as a man without morals soon after, so she isn¡¯t someone who would deserve Stanley my boy! Sophia also hurried away in search of answers. Meanwhile, Anne was taking a break from the stuffiness in the building. Today, Louis brought the entire family along to meet Mark, and they seemed to be affectionate toward each other throughout their conversation. Neither the Osbornes nor the Yards associated themselves with the Fletchers prior to that, whereas the only link between them was the prospect of Anne and Stanley¡¯s marriage, so that had to be the reason for meeting up. That won¡¯t happen! I only have eyes for Cooper! I¡¯ll definitely find a way to prevent the marriage from happening! However, Anne was stunned upon turning the corner¡ªshe saw the man of her dreams hurrying in her direction alongside Michael. The sight of Cooper made her burst with joy as she walked up to him shamelessly, all the while trying to conceal her tion by asking, ¡°It¡¯s such a coincidence to meet you here, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Mitchell!¡± Upon noticing that Cooper was looking her way, Anne¡¯s heart drummed as she wore a coy look on her face. The sight of Anne acting so shyly upon her sudden appearance reminded Michael of her possible wedding with Stanley. So is Louis Osborne the VIP who my grandfather invited? Did Stanley¡¯s parents invite Louis over to discuss Stanley and Anne¡¯s marriage? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll be required to be present during the asion as their matchmaker. Michael couldn¡¯t think of another reason aside from that. Coupled by Anne¡¯s shyness, he figured his assumptions should be correct, so he eximed, ¡°My grandfather told me we would have some VIPs today, but I didn¡¯t know he was referring to you and Master Osborne!¡± To be honest, Michael didn¡¯t know a lot about Anne, but from her looks, he assumed that she was an innocent girl and wasn¡¯t as terrible as Sophia perceived her to be. After spending thest night listening to Sophia ranting about how Anne looked down on both Stanley and Linus, he came to the conclusion that Anne was at most a vain but naive girl who Stanley should be able to handle. Therefore, he determined that the two were a good match. Meanwhile, Anne stole a nce at Michael. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, do you know Mr. Mitchell?¡± Michael frowned upon hearing her question. Without a doubt, Michael knew Cooper as thetter was his young father-inw, but it was embarrassing for him to admit to an outsider that someone who looked even younger than him was in fact his father-inw, so he muttered a vague response. ¡°He is my grandfather¡¯s godson.¡± Simultaneously, he introduced her to Cooper. ¡°She is Anne Osborne, Master Osborne¡¯s granddaughter. I was the one who yed matchmaker for Stanley and her.¡± As soon as Anne heard Michael¡¯s words, her face nched. So are we really here to talk about marrying me to Stanley? No! I don¡¯t want to marry him! Not even if it would cost me my life! I want to marry Cooper! ncing at her, Cooper recalled Sophia mentioning to him that Michael had introduced Silly Stanley to a prospective partner. He tutted upon remembering that he was the one who first approached Stanley as a prospective partner for Sophia, but Stanley ruined the opportunity by his own hands. He wouldn¡¯t have had to bear with a son-inw who was only five years his junior otherwise. However, on the flip side, he figured that Stanley wouldn¡¯t be as caring as Michael. His age aside, Michael had in fact ticked all the boxes. ¡°I see.¡± After giving an unenthusiastic response, he took the lead and headed toward Mark. Right away, Anne followed him while attempting to strike a conversation with him, but he maintained a cool facade, not uttering a single word. After Michael arrived at where Mark was, he realized they did have a few VIPs around. Much to his surprise, aside from Louis, Xena, and her husband, the Yard twins were also present for the asion. The fact that the Yards were there caught Michael unawares. He thought his eyes were ying tricks on him, as both the Fletchers and Yards were sworn enemies after each killing off multiple of the other¡¯s members. Therefore, it was a miracle that the twins were present, which was something that he was determined to get to the bottom of. In the meantime, both the Osbornes and Yards were focused on Cooper. As soon as he got in, a few people were already observing him. Wow, it¡¯s Cooper Mitchell! He¡¯s even more handsome in real life! Both him and Anne look so charming together, so much so that the age gap between them can be dly ignored! What¡¯s going on? Why is Cooper Mitchell here? Upon entering the room, Cooper greeted his godfather politely. ¡°Hello, Dad.¡± Louis was stunned by the revtion. ¡°Mr. Mark, is he your¡­¡± Proudly, Mark looked at Cooper. ¡°He¡¯s my godson, Cooper Mitchell, the only son of my dear friend, Woody Mitchell!¡± Of course, he was also the father to his granddaughter-inw, but he decided they could go into theplicated rtionship at ater time. Meanwhile, Louis was ted while shaking Cooper¡¯s hands. ¡°So you¡¯re Mr. Mark¡¯s godson! No wonder you look so extraordinary!¡± Both Xena and her husband were also delighted to learn that Cooper was Mark¡¯s godson, as it meant that he would be a good match for Anne. Therefore, they agreed immediately to the match, seeing that Mark was behind it. However, Cooper was a little weirded out by Louis¡¯ enthusiastic attitude toward him. Even Michael noticed that Xena seemed to regard Cooper as one would their own son. Besides, Louis was bombarding Mark with questions regarding Cooper incessantly. Mark was extremely proud of his godson, so he was keen to show him off to the others. ¡°My godson is such an outstanding person! He already had many achievements even during his younger years! He got a double doctorate when he was eighteen! By the way, do you know about the USB drive? He was the one who invented it! However, my godson suffered a lot of misfortune throughout his life. He lost his wife early on, andter his children went missing. It took a lot from him to find them, which finally allowed him to reunite with his family.¡± He lost his spouse early on, so he¡¯s single indeed! The Osbornes were ted, while Louis quickly followed up with an inquiry. ¡°Did you find another wife for him, then?¡± Upon hearing that, Mark shook his head in remorse. ¡°Not yet. He was busy building his career back then, so now that his career is established, his children had been asking him to find another spouse as he was still young and single. You can introduce someone to him if you have a suitable candidate.¡± The Osbornes were ecstasized, while Anne was utterly overjoyed to hear that Cooper was a man who lost his wife early on and had an established career, which made him the perfect candidate as her partner. On the other hand, Cooper maintained a stoic expression that masked his embarrassment, as he was hoping that his daughter woulde save the day so that he could leave. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Chapter 1098 Chapter 1098 Upon witnessing Mark trying to sell his godson off, Michael quickly sipped on his tea to stifle augh, as it was an oddity to see Cooper being regarded as a prospective partner. At that moment, Stanley scanned the room as soon as he snuck in. After risking his life to ask for confirmation from his family that he wasn¡¯t in fact the protagonist for the day, he decided to drop by, seeing that he no longer had a target on his back. He was curious as to how Louis managed to connect with the Yards out of the blue, all the while wondering what was the rtionship between the Yards and the Fletchers, as well as the objective of their meeting. As soon as he got in, he heard Louis say, ¡°Why don¡¯t you check out my granddaughter, Anne? I think your godson is a great match with her. Anne,e over here. Let Mark take a closer look at you.¡± Louis presented Anne to Cooper and Mark with much enthusiasm. Before Cooper could react though, Stanley let out a cry that bordered on dismal. ¡°What the f*ck?¡± At that same moment, Michael spat out his tea, whereas Mark stared daggers at them. ¡°We have some important guests here, so you¡¯d better behave!¡± Even then, Stanley was still staring at them in bafflement, whereas Michael tried his best to stifle his laugh while wiping the tea he spat out with some tissues. It was the first time ever that Michael lost his cool like that, but the situation was way too unexpected. Nobody could¡¯ve predicted that. However, he decided that he couldn¡¯t agree more to the proposition of marrying Cooper to Anne. He figured that their marriage would be a passionate affair that would soon produce multiple children, ensuring he could have some alone time with Sophia. Other than that, Cooper could no longer pick on him for his age if he were to have a young father-inw himself, more so when he might very well be older than thetter! The fact that the Osbornes had been regarding Cooper like one would their son ever since he entered the room now made more sense to Michael. Meanwhile, Cooper¡¯s lips twitched as he was at a loss of words, whereas Mark nudged his reading sses slightly to examine Anne. Although she looks decent¡­ ¡°Louis, you have a fine youngdy here, but¡­ Isn¡¯t there too much of an age gap between her and Cooper? He is already forty-five years old, whereas she is still in her early twenties.¡± Hearing that, Xena quickly replied, ¡°It¡¯s only a twenty-year age gap, so it¡¯s not that much. Besides, Mr. Mitchell is such a sessful man, so he is the perfect match for my daughter!¡± Cade quickly chimed in, ¡°Mr. Mitchell is only a little over forty, which is the prime time of his life. Most established men married wives who are in theirte teens, so this is quite a reasonable match.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. On the other hand, Callum showed his support as well. ¡°I am inclined to agree with that. Isn¡¯t Mr. Fletcher more than ten years older than his wife? With that in mind, a twenty-year age gap isn¡¯t that far-fetched.¡± Throughout their conversation, Anne was listening shyly, but she still held hope regarding the situation, expecting Cooper to make his position known. Meanwhile, Mark was gradually convinced by the rest of them. Although there was quite a huge age gap between Anne and Cooper, Cooper did have his pick of women considering how outstanding he was. After all, he was one of the most sought after bachelors in the world. Besides, Anne was born to a n of schrs, which served as a guarantee to her character and talents, but the most important of all was that her parents agreed to the union. Therefore, Mark thought the marriage was a fair deal, but he still felt the need to ask for Cooper¡¯s opinion. ¡°Cooper, what do you make of the arrangement?¡± Throughout the ordeal, Cooper had kept his silence. While he was constantlyining about the fact that Michael was only five years his junior, he would be in the same boat as him if he ever married Anne. Besides, he had no interest in her whatsoever despite the fact that Mark seemed quite keen on the idea. However, he wasn¡¯t able to find the right reasons to refute him, nor could he embarrass both Mark and Louis in public, so all he could do was to buy himself more time. ¡°I can¡¯t decide on this just yet. I¡¯ll discuss this with my children when they¡¯re here.¡± Since Sophia hated Anne so much, she would definitely be infuriated by the news, which would give him a reason to turn down the offer. Meanwhile, Mark nodded in agreement before saying, ¡°He¡¯s right. We¡¯re not in a hurry, so we can wait till Cooper¡¯s children arrive.¡± Hearing this, anxiousness pervaded Anne, but she was also determined to do her best in front of Cooper¡¯s children. She wondered who they might be, and judging from what Xena told her, they were presentst night. They were both around eighteen years old, which marked them as being a little younger than her. After that, she continued to pay close attention to what Mark was saying. Mark was telling Louis about Cooper¡¯s children. ¡°Both his son and daughter are outstanding people. His daughter graduated from Bayside University. I bet everybody knows about it, right? Bayside University, the top uni in the country, ranked among the top ten unis in the world. It¡¯s hard to even get enrolled in there, but she enrolled as the top five students of the course that she was studying! Although she only studied for a bachelor¡¯s degree, she set up her ownpany before even graduating uni, and the company is now already a listedpany! On the other hand, my grandson¡ªmy little muffin¡ªis even better! Not only did he get multiple doctorates, but he also owned his own listedpany! Both of them are as illustrious as my godson! It is as they say: like begets like!¡± Louis was ever more satisfied by his prospective grandchildren-inw. On the other hand, Anne was also looking forward to meeting Cooper¡¯s children, determined to earn their respect as well as to prove herself to be a good mother. Stanley, however, was exasperated by the development. And as for Michael, he continued to sip on his tea to disguise his smile; for the first time ever in his life, he had a hard time containing his joy. Coming back to Cooper, he was ring at Michael morosely for just standing by, watching him getting humiliated, and he silently noted that he would teach Michael a lesson when they got home. All of them waited in anticipation until Cooper¡¯s children finally arrived. ¡°Dad!¡± An animated yet graceful voice came through before any of them entered the room, whereas Cooper shot up from his seat to head in the direction of the voice. ¡°My daughter! You¡¯re finally here. Come on, meet our guests.¡± This will work out. Sophiained to me about Anne throughout dinner last night, so she will never agree to the union. Both Linus and her will definitely object to this! Mark was also waving dly at them. ¡°Lil Linas, you¡¯re finally here! Come quickly, as I have good news for you!¡± Incredulity was written all over Linus¡¯s face. My name is Linus, but that¡¯s not my surname. And neither is Linux my name nor¡­ Lil Linas. On the other hand, Anne stood up from her seat, intent on giving Cooper¡¯s children a decent first impression, only to see Sophiaing in happily while holding onto Cooper¡¯s arm. ¡°Dad, who are our guests today?¡± she asked Cooper. The room fell silent as all of the Osbornes were stunned. While they stared at Sophia in awe, Anne was shook to the core as she could only watch as Sophia and Linus entered the room, whereas Sophia was holding onto Cooper, all the while addressing him as her father. Meanwhile, Linus walked beside Cooper, showing off their identical eyes, as well as having a simr aura about them. It was apparent that Cooper¡¯s children were none other than Sophia and Linus. Anne¡¯s face was drained of color, and her voice shuddered as she stuttered, ¡°You¡­ Sophia, how could you be Cooper¡¯s daughter? Aren¡¯t you an Edward? Cooper is a Mitchell, so why did you take on another surname?¡± This is impossible! Sophia can¡¯t possibly have someone as perfect as Cooper as her father! Chapter 1099 Chapter 1099 Meanwhile, Mark assumed that things would be easier since they knew each other, so he pped his thigh while eximing in delight, ¡°It¡¯s great that you know each other! Come, Sophia, Linus! Come closer! I have some good news to tell you!¡± Anne watched on in trepidation while Sophia moved closer to Mark. On the other hand, Michael was exining their circumstances to Louis. ¡°Sophia and her brother both took on their mother¡¯s surname.¡± Linus¡¯s name in the Cethosiannguage was Sophus Edwards. It was in fact derived from a joke from years ago, but it somehow clung to his memory. Although he was still officially a Michel, he already began using his Cethosian name while in Cethos. Somehow, it felt like an arrangement by fate. Upon getting a grasp on the situation, Louis was feeling slightly abashed, as a marriage between Cooper and Anne would disrupt the familial hierarchy. Besides, he would be taking advantage of his idol if he married his granddaughter to Michael¡¯s father-inw, which was totally uneptable. On the other hand, Sophia and Linus were informed of the so-called ¡®good news¡¯. Linus was speechless after learning it, as no words could adequately describe the shock and unnerved feelings within him. Of course, he could never forget the feisty woman from two days ago who hurled insults at him, using him of being a ¡®trophy husband¡¯ despite having just recently tried to court him. Leaving her beside Cooper would be akin to keeping a ticking time bomb. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s reaction was even more intense as she stared at Anne glumly. First off, you tried to court my nephew, then my brother. How dare you f*cking try to do the same to my own father? Anne returned the re. So Cooper is Sophia¡¯s father! If the marriage works out, won¡¯t I be Sophia¡¯s stepmother? In the meantime, Louis and Mark were both looking at Sophia in anticipation, all the while asking eagerly, ¡°What do you make of this? Do you like this young stepmother of yours?¡± Although silent all this while, Cooper was in fact mentally distressed. Turning down the offer would only humiliate Mark, but if Sophia didn¡¯t agree to it, he would have every reason to walk away. In the meantime, Sophia gazed at Mark and Louis, who were both all smiles, seemingly anticipating the union. After that, she turned to look at Anne. At the moment, Anne was already feeling smug. Thinking herself to be pretty, being born into a noble and schrly family, Anne assumed that Cooper would be overjoyed by the fact that a forty-year-old like him would be marrying someone more than twenty years his junior, so she didn¡¯t think he could possibly reject the offer. Now that the grandparents of both parties as well as the rest of their families had agreed to the marriage, Sophia¡¯s objection wouldn¡¯t do sh*t to overturn the situation. Just wait till I chase you out of the house after I be your stepmother! With her eyes narrowed, Sophia exchanged a look with Anne while pondering, Don¡¯t you even think of courting my father! Either you or me; there can only be one of us in the family! Instead of giving Mark a direct reply, Sophia tugged on Cooper¡¯s arms while putting on her best puppy-dog eyes. With a soft and adorable voice, she asked, ¡°Dad, are you really nning on finding me a stepmother? Are you going to leave me and Linus behind?¡± Seeing her aggrieved expression as if she had suffered some great grievance, Cooper was feeling sorry for her despite knowing she was just putting on an act, so he dered with haste, ¡°No! How could that be possible? They¡¯re just joking, as I only have eyes for your mother! I will never remarry!¡± Upon hearing Cooper¡¯s deration, Sophia smiled sweetly before rubbing her face on his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Daddy! Don¡¯t you ever leave me and Linus!¡± The crowd was stunned into silence by the development. While Louis seemed to have something to say, he eventually bit his tongue upon seeing Sophia¡¯s reluctance regarding the matter. Well, we¡¯ll have to scratch that if she doesn¡¯t like the idea. It isn¡¯t like we absolutely need the marriage to happen anyway. On the other hand, Mark also noticed Cooper¡¯s tactful rejection, so he silenced himself over the matter, figuring that Cooper already had it hard as things were. Not only did he lose his wife early on, but he also spent so many years alone before finally reuniting with his children. It wasn¡¯t until recently that he reunited with Sophia, so he still saw her as a baby. He even went as far as moving into her house, seemingly averse to the idea of leaving her alone at all, so he wouldn¡¯t possibly want to remarry. I¡¯ll just let it go, since forcing this will only bring more trouble to Anne. After all, she is only just over twenty years old. Mark took it as an opening to switch the topic. ¡°Callum, why is your mother not here yet?¡± The man who Mark spoke to replied, ¡°Mr. Mark, I am Cade. Mom gathered up a bunch of previously lost artefacts that she would like to return to the ancient Imperial Pce museum, so the other party insisted on holding a ceremony tomemorate the donation. Meanwhile, Cethos Central Television arranged for an impromptu interview with my mother, so she got held up, but she will soon be here.¡± The exnation seemed to amuse Mark. ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± Then, he seized the opportunity to tell Michael and Cooper, ¡°Throughout the years, Mrs. Yard had been collecting artefacts that were lost to foreign countries, which she donated to the ancient Imperial Pce museum. She sure is a benevolent woman!¡± Mrs. Yard? Does he mean Anna Yard? Sophia was curious about it, but she quickly caught on to what happened upon rting it to what the security told her. It was just that the Yards¡¯ charity came as a surprise to her. With that, the topic was changed, and none of them mentioned the arranged marriage between Cooper and Anne again. Hanging her head low, Anne was trembling with anger while stealing a baleful nce at Sophia. This is disgusting! Why would she even pretend to be a baby when she¡¯s almost thirty?! She¡¯s already an old woman with her own daughter, so how dare she forbid Cooper from remarrying, especially when Cooper already agreed to this! She was on the verge of tears, so she left in a hurry after excusing herself. On the other hand, Cooper could no longer stand the awkwardness hanging thick in the air, so he was ready to leave as well, but Mark insisted that he stay. ¡°Cooper, wait till after lunch! You aren¡¯t allowed to leave since we have some important guests! You¡¯re all staying here, and none of you are allowed to leave!¡± Then, Mark added in a mysterious tone, ¡°I have a story to tellter on. We aren¡¯t allowed to pen anything down on paper, so we can only pass them down orally. I will be passing it down to you all today, and you will have to make sure that you etch the story into your minds from now on.¡± Nodding, Cooper stood to leave for the washroom after excusing himself, whereas Sophia followed behind him. Michael did the same, while Stanley literally fled the scene as he feared that the Osbornes might turn their attention to him after missing out on Cooper. Back then, Michael had lived in Mark¡¯s house for the past eighteen years. After his departure, the room was left empty, so Sophia would asionally stay over with Nathan and with Carmenter on. As soon as she got into Michael¡¯s room, Sophia red up. ¡°Anne Osborne is acting way out of line! How dare she court my father after courting both Stanley and Linus?¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. Michael quickly soothed her temper. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s all over now. As long as I am with you, I will never allow Anne to leave with our father.¡± Sophia was disgruntled at the mere thought of Anne marrying her father, so she began to bad mouth Anne unabashedly. ¡°Dad, you should be wary of Anne! She derided Linus as a ¡®trophy husband¡¯ that day!¡± However, Cooper merely kept his silence while ncing out of the window, only to see ady in an exquisite white gown and a quaint-looking umbre walking through the entrance. With the security showing her the way, she was walking toward Mark¡¯s house. Cooper was looking out of the window from the second floor, so all he could see was half of her face. She had a pointed chin and rosy lips, while her nose had an elegant curve, but her eyes were obscured by the umbre. As soon as Cooper saw the woman, his heart began to flutter. Meanwhile, Linus was holding Carmen in his arms while standing at the side. Witnessing Sophia fretting over what happened, the little girl asked, ¡°Uncle Linus, what does ¡®trophy husband¡¯ mean?¡± Linus was a person who followed the trends, so he was up to date with a lot of thetest trending terms. ¡°Well, I suppose it can mean a man who married into riches by utilizing his own good looks.¡± Nodding, Carmen announced, ¡°Dad is definitely a trophy husband!¡± The fact that Michael always went shirtless and wound up marrying into a rich family might indeed make him ¡®trophy husband¡¯ material, as per Carmen¡¯s definition, but to Michael¡¯s credit, he did work hard for it. Abruptly, Cooper turned to go downstairs in a hurry without a word, which startled Sophia before she ran behind him. ¡°Dad, what are you doing?¡± Michael shot up from his seat to look out of the window, only to see the woman with the umbre walking toward the house, which he surmised to be none other that Anna Yard. Chapter 1100 Chapter 1100 Did Cooper realize something? It seems that some secrets are destined to be uncovered! Michael and Linus went after him as well. When Sophia got downstairs, she saw Cooper standing in front of the house while watching the person with an umbre approaching them. His gaze was fixated on her as her figure gradually came into view. Slowly but surely, the woman¡¯s dainty figure took all of his attention, gradually ovepping with the figure of the woman from his memories. At that moment, Sophia tugged on his sleeve before asking in a lowered voice, ¡°Dad, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Cooper remained unresponsive to her, as if not noticing her presence at all. Looking up, Sophia noticed the woman with an umbre walking up to them from afar, immediately recognizing thetter as Anna Yard. Therefore, she quickly tugged on Cooper. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t stand in the middle of the road. You¡¯re blocking her way.¡± Upon hearing her words, Cooper moved aside, but his eyes were still fixated on Anna. While on her way to the house, Anna saw Sophia from afar. In fact, she was expecting to meet Sophia here. Meanwhile, Sophia was guessing that Anna managed to secure a truce with the government of Cethos by donating all the artefacts she collected, which was the reason why Mark invited her to the house. Thus, she quickly greeted Anna. ¡°Mrs. Yard, it¡¯s great to see you. My grandfather and I have been expecting you.¡± In the meantime, Anna put the umbre away while tucking her hair away from her face. Although she was already over forty years old, she still looked attractive and way younger than her age. Her beauty was both temperamental and physical, for despite her rtively light makeup, she was still immeasurably beautiful. \Beauty came in all shapes and forms; some would wear beauty over their physical frame, whereas some exuded it from within, and Anna was ssified as thetter. Even if the Yards were no longer royalty, their nobility and grace were embedded deeply within them; they simply oozed beauty and grace. Meanwhile, Anna said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry for beingte. I was attending an interview with Focal Point, which was produced by Cethos Central Television, so I was held up.¡± Even Michael had only been on the program once! I didn¡¯t even get the chance to be on it! Sophia was in awe of Anna. ¡°Come on in! It¡¯s searing outside.¡± In a few strides, Anna had one leg on the steps, exposing one of her calves. Every single inch of her fair skin screamed exquisiteness, and it was as if she was a princess from a long lost empire. She already saw Cooper from afar, who was standing beside Sophia in all his glory, so she asked, ¡°Who might he be?¡± Since she had seen Cooper¡¯s photos, she knew who he was, but she still chose to inquire politely on his identity regardless. Unexpectedly, Sophia began introducing her father to Anna with much pride. ¡°He is my father, Cooper Mitchell! He is the head of the Mitchell Family in Bayside City, as well as the president of Mitchell International Energy and Technology. Other than that, he is also Mark Fletcher¡¯s godson.¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. When Anna heard that, she finally realized who he was. No wonder Cooper Mitchell looks so familiar. So he is Sophia¡¯s father! They sure bear semnce to each other now that I take a closer look. ¡°Hello, I am Anna Yard, president of Ronney Group. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± She extended her fair arms toward Cooper. Meanwhile, Cooper checked on her hands to see that she was wearing a delicate ring that used to symbolize the power of the Yards back when they still ruled as ancient royals. The ring had been passed down for centuries, and while it used to be an apparel exclusive to the reigning monarch, it now belonged to the head of the Yard Family. Extending his hands stiffly, Cooper shook her hand. A shudder traveled down his spine as soon as he did so, but he maintained hisposure while speaking monotonously, ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡± They let go after exchanging a brief handshake. As Anna made her way into the house, Sophia walked alongside her, engaging with her in a friendly conversation. ¡°Why is General not with you?¡± Anna replied, ¡°I sent General to be bathed in your shop.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great! You cane pick your cat upter on, and we can spend some time together!¡± ¡­ Watching Anna¡¯s figure from behind, Cooper shuddered slightly, then he suddenlyughed. Back when he just found Sophia, and upon having the doctor tell him that she survived, heughed in the same jubnt, yet agonized and self-deprecating manner. After he did so, he turned around while tears stained his cheeks, which was something that had never happened ever since he found Sophia. He could recall in vivid detail everything regarding Annabel Johnson. Her right hand was slender and pretty, embellished with lustrous nails, but the only w on it was that the joints on her index finger were much biggerpared to her other fingers. Thus, she always made sure to wear some sort of apparel around it to cover it up. Anna Yard had a simr bone structure, which was why she could wear the huge ring around her finger. Thirty years had passed, during which the woman had been physically transformed by the circumstances that she was met with. Also, there was a drastic change in her temperament. However, instead of searching for those physical traits that resembled Annabel, Cooper could recognize her soul, which had himmenting internally, My Anna is back! She is finally back! After regaining hisposure and returning to the main hall of the house, everybody was already seated, engaging in pleasant conversation with each other, with Michael being one of them. Meanwhile, Carmen had somehow ended up on Anna¡¯sp. While holding onto Carmen, Anna looked at the child closely. She sure seems bright. She has a bright future ahead of her. The more Anna looked at Carmen, the more she took a liking to the girl, which caused her to regard Carmen with a gentle look on her face. It melted the harsh exterior she usually wore, revealing her softer side as a normal richdy. After a while, she asked Carmen a question. ¡°What¡¯s your name? How old are you?¡± Meanwhile, Carmen could sense the underlying kindness in the beautifuldy who was holding her, so she replied with all seriousness, ¡°Miss Beautiful, my name is Carmen Sophia Fletcher. People call me Carmen, and my other name is Gianna Michel. I am four years old!¡± Amused by Carmen¡¯s introduction, Anna took off the bracelet she was wearing before showing it to the latter. ¡°Can I present you with a gift?¡± Despite her longing for the bracelet, Carmen decided she had to at least show some decorum, so she turned down the offer. ¡°That won¡¯t do! Mom told me to never take other people¡¯s things without good reason, so I can¡¯t take this!¡± With a smile, Anna was somehow beginning to perceive Carmen as a sweet little girl with a radiance about her. She loved holding the girl in her arms. ¡°It¡¯s okay; I have a lot of other trinkets like this.¡± After a few more rounds, Carmen finally took the bracelet while putting up a show. Then, she said sweetly, ¡°Miss Beautiful, why don¡¯t I perform a Bear Dance that is being passed down in the Fletcher Family for you to see?¡± Seeing that Anna agreed to it, Carmen got down from thedy¡¯sp and began dancing. She was a talented performer just like her father, and her expressive moves could easily hype any situation up. With her presence, she managed to ease the awkward atmosphere between both the Fletchers and the Osbornes after their failed arrangement. Meanwhile, Anne had been sitting beside Anna, but she didn¡¯t even have the chance to speak to Anna despite the fact that it was hard for Anna to be able to make time for a gathering like this, as all of Anna¡¯s attention was focused on Carmen. While Anne was watching grimly, Carmen finished her dance, only to be pulled into Anna¡¯s arms once again. Anne took the chance to approach Anna while calling out to the latter. ¡°Aunt Anna¡ª¡± However, Mark interjected with a stern look on his face before she could say anything else. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get down to business!¡± Chapter 1101 Chapter 1101 The atmosphere suddenly got so serious that even Carmen held her tongue while she was sitting in Anna¡¯sp. She observed her surroundings wide-eyed, knowing that she wasn¡¯t allowed to interject when the grown-ups were talking about important stuff. On the other hand, Anne didn¡¯t care about that, for she still reached out to hold Anna¡¯s arm while calling out to thetter. ¡°Aunt Anna¡ª¡± However, Anna shot her a prating nce that was devoid of all her earlier gentleness. Now, the look in her eyes was one of frostiness, and she made it clear to Anne to keep silent while she said in a hushed voice, ¡°Shut up and hear what Mr. Fletcher has to say.¡± However, her sternness melted away into tenderness as soon as she turned back to Carmen. Still holding onto Carmen, she allowed Carmen to lean into her embrace, whereas Carmen sat there in silentpliance while observing her surroundings. Although Anne said nothing, she was in fact feeling aggrieved. She bit on her lip, her eyes reddening as stole nces at Carmen, who had taken Anna¡¯s bracelet. It was handed over to Sophia, who put it into her bag after wrapping it using her handkerchief. The situation left Anne feeling resentful. She didn¡¯t understand why Anna would give the bracelet to that child, nor did she understand why Carmen seemed to be liked by everyone, so much so that both Louis and Anna would present her with such expensive gifts. However, she dared not vocalize any of her intense hatred. Indeed, she could throw a hissy fit in front of Louis, but she feared Anna. She didn¡¯t have the courage to stand up against Anna, nor did she dare throw a tantrum while in Anna¡¯s presence. Meanwhile, Mark was observing the younger generation while sitting beside Louis. Although he seemed to have something to say, he eventually decided against it. ¡°Louis, I think you should be the one to divulge this.¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. Nodding his head, Louis heaved a sigh while ncing between Michael and Anna before revealing the secret that the Osbornes had kept hidden for decades. ¡°The truth is, I used to be a Yard, but my family took on the surname of Osborne starting from my father¡¯s generation.¡± So the rumors are true¡­ The crowd seemed to be anticipating that, as none of them looked too astonished. After all, Xena and Anna¡¯s identical appearance was indicative enough of their identity as twins, whereas it was widely known that the Osbornes used to be vassals to the Yards. Meanwhile, Louis began telling them the stories of the past. ¡°The whole story is in fact about the consequences of my ancestors¡¯ actions. My grandfather disobeyed the rules that his ancestors set down by colluding with foreigners in his attempt to restore the past glory of the Yards. However, he wound up leading the enemies into Cethos, which the Yards paid for dearly. My grandfather was the head of the n who made that decision back then. He paid the ultimate price for it, as he was killed on the cruise.¡± The Fletchers knew what happenedter on. While Louis¡¯ grandfather brought with him the enemies of Cethos in an attempt to return to Lombardi River to revive the Yard Dynasty, they made their way into the country on a cruise. However, Mark¡¯s father caught wind of their return beforehand, so he led the Fletchers in an assault to take over the cruise, killing Louis¡¯ grandfather and countless of his fellow kin in the process. Only children and womenfolk survived the massacre that happened on the open sea. Before he was even born, Louis¡¯ father lost his own father and all of his uncles, so he would be considered as thest remaining heir of the Yard Family when he was born. The situation meant that he would be threatened by the branch family that had been plotting to overthrow them all the while. Therefore, the Osbornes took him away. They changed his surname in order to protect him, but it also meant that the Yards lost their sole legitimate heir, which left the family in the branch family¡¯s control for decades. Neither Louis nor his father were twins, so the Yards didn¡¯t perceive them as threats, even forgetting them eventually. However, Louis himself had twin daughters, which quickly painted a target on their backs. It resulted in the Yards sending hitmen after his twin daughters, forcing Louis to flee the country to find refuge all over the world. The Yards were so powerful back then that no ce was safe from them except for Cethos. They couldn¡¯t do anything while in Cethos, as the country itself was intolerant of their presence. ¡°So, I smuggled both my daughters, namely Anna and Xena, back into Cethos in hopes of surviving the ordeal, only to lose Anna in the process.¡± Louis teared up at the mention of that particr section, but he quickly changed the topic while looking at Michael. ¡°However, the Yards weren¡¯t about to dawdle while waiting for me to find Anna. I was without money nor connections, whereas Xena was ill, but luckily for us, I was still able to secure my friend¡¯s assistance.¡± Louis was full of gratitude when he mentioned his friend. ¡°She brought me home. She treated Xena, as well as provided us with the necessary protection. We spent five years under her protection before returning to our own country.¡± Staring at Michael, Louis went on to say, ¡°The friend who offered us her protection was none other than your mother, Elizabeth Murray. Your parents saved Xena and I, which allowed us to reunite with Anna later on. Unfortunately, both your parents died an untimely death, so I never had the chance to repay them for their kindness.¡± Following Louis¡¯ story, Mark said, ¡°The Fletchers and Yards have aplicated rtionship with each other. Theo decided to protect Louis anyway even after knowing that Louis was a direct descendant of the Yards. He went as far as issuing a warning to the Yards, which served to protect Louis from further harm. Seeking revenge from each other will only result in a vicious cycle without an end in sight, so the Fletchers and Yards decided toe to a truce after all is said and done.¡± The story gave the rest of the upants in the room a lot of rity on their past. Meanwhile, Mark continued, ¡°Due to the dire circumstances back then, everything was done in secret without leaving behind any form of written documentation. Everyone who was involved was also sworn to secrecy. After all those years, I almost forgot about what happened, but now that Louis has found both his daughters and returned them to the Yard Family, it¡¯s time to make things official.¡± Anna didn¡¯t shy away from the mention of the history of the Yards. ¡°After being exiled from Cethos, the Yards settled down in a foreignnd, but they never tried to regain their status in Cethos with the help of foreigners. A hundred years ago, my ancestors broke themandment, so we were destined to suffer such a fate. Therefore, the Fletchers shouldn¡¯t be med for our downfall. In order to atone for my ancestors¡¯ past mistakes, I had been collecting the artefacts that were lost due to the war back then. Every small step is a worthwhile effort in our atonement.¡± Now that Anna was back in Cethos, she donated all of the artefacts to the country unconditionally. Upon hearing Anna¡¯s story, Sophia admired her even more for her righteousness. Meanwhile, Anna looked at Mark with gratitude. ¡°I only came to know fairly recently that it was Theo and Elizabeth who saved my family. I am grateful for their efforts, as well as yours, Mr. Fletcher.¡± With a wave of his hand, Mark said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± It wasn¡¯t until then that Sophia knew about the shared history between the Yards and the Fletchers. Seeing how righteous of a person Anna was gave Sophia an even better impression of her. On the other hand, both Michael and Cooper fell silent after that, as none of them ever knew the full extent of the story. However, there were certain parts that Cooper already knew about, so the story served to fill in some missing details, whereas Michael had made his own deductions based on what little he knew. Without a doubt, the baby whom Annabel¡¯s mother brought home from the train station was none other than Anna. After the full story was ryed, Mark had the Yards and Sophia¡¯s family stay for a meal. On the other hand, Anna seemed to have taken a great liking to Carmen as she had been holding Carmen throughout the meal, and even Sophia had to move to sit beside Anna. In the meantime, Cooper kept his silence throughout the meal, but his sharp gaze never left Anna, as he was observing her tastes and preferences, only to find them to be exactly the same as Annabel¡¯s. Even if a person were to lose their memories, their tastes and habits would be retained in their subconscious, much like Sophia who retained hers even after suffering from amnesia. Chapter 1102 Chapter 1102 Although the woman¡¯s identity, as well as her face and temperament, had changed, Cooper knew that she was Annabel Johnson. Anna, what have you gone through all these years? After the meal, the Yards decided to go home. As a centenarian, Mark did not have much energy to keep his guestspany. Before they left, Mark grabbed Cooper¡¯s sleeve and said, ¡°Cooper, I think thedy from the Yard Family is a good match for you. Why don¡¯t you discuss it with Sophia? It¡¯s time for you to look for a new partner.¡± His eyes still fixed on Anna, Cooper nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± She¡¯s indeed a gooddy, but¡­ Then, Cade rose from the couch and asked, ¡°Mom, are you going to the Imperial Pce?¡± Seeing the twins, Cooper was heartbroken, for they were Anna¡¯s sons with another man. However, the twins¡¯ faces reminded him of a man he knew. They are that man¡¯s sons! At the thought of this, he clenched his fists. Anna replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to fetch General at Sophia¡¯s shop and stay there for a while.¡± After taking a look at his wristwatch, Cade said, ¡°I need to talk to Miss Edwards about something as well. Why don¡¯t we go there together?¡± Since they had nothing else to do for the day, he decided to visit Sophia¡¯s shop. Currently, they were in partnership with Sophia¡¯s Pourl to develop a series of luxurious items for pets. The products would be equipped with Michel Group¡¯stest technology, so they would be both functional and luxurious. It was said that the prototypes were ready, but he hadn¡¯t had the time to take a look for the past few days. Pourl had been expanding aggressively in recent years, which was why Cade saw the potential in her brand. Hearing that they were going to Sophia¡¯s shop, Anne immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m going as well.¡± Then, she grabbed Anna¡¯s arm and pleaded, ¡°Please, I want to go with you.¡± Seeing this, Sophia felt disgusted because instead of talking to her own mother, Anne kept pestering Anna, as though she would rather be Anna¡¯s child. What a snob. Sophia had wanted to tell her father to go home first so that Anne wouldn¡¯t have the chance to pester him, but he was already reaching for the door. ¡°Since Corrado is in your shop as well, I¡¯m tagging along.¡± After all of them left the house, Michael carried Carmen in his arms and followed them as he talked to Louis. Eager to prove his innocence, Louis said, ¡°Taylor, I didn¡¯t mean to hide this from you, but it wasn¡¯t the right time to reveal this to you. Now that Anna has taken full control of the Yard Family, some of the secrets can be revealed.¡± With Carmen snoozing in his arms, Michael replied in a hushed voice, ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that Mrs. Yard could return to your family. Perhaps it¡¯s destined that you would meet your daughter again.¡± Thinking about his daughter, Louis sighed. As they were taking a stroll around the residence, he started rting his family history in a despondent voice. ¡°At that time, I gave Anna away intentionally.¡± Hearing that, Michael was stunned. Appearing to be dejected, Louis continued, ¡°The Yards had found out about the existence of Xena and Anna, who were a threat to them. They would never stop pursuing this matter if my daughters were not killed. Therefore, I had to give up one of them so that the other could be saved.¡± His eyes reddened as he talked about the past. ¡°After I got off the train, I passed Anna to a local farmer. She promised that she would take good care of my daughter. At that time, I was left with no choice because the Yards were trying to hunt us down. Even if I sought refuge from your parents, it would only be temporary. The only solution for us to survive was to give Anna away. Then, I told the Yards that I only had one child left, so we were not qualified topete with them for the position as the leader of the Yard Family anymore. Thanks to the help from your parents, Xena and I managed to survive.¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. Michael¡¯s heart sank after he heard his story. Worriedly, he asked, ¡°Does Mrs. Yard know the truth behind this?¡± If she knew, she probably would be resentful. His eyes teary, Louis replied, ¡°She does. By the time she was discovered by a servant from the Yard Family, she was already twenty. After she was brought home, she looked like a lunatic as she couldn¡¯t even speak, nor did she know who she was. We had to teach her how to eat and drink properly from scratch. From there, she slowly overcame all the difficulties and eventually became the leader of the Yard Family. However, as her father, I couldn¡¯t help her one bit in the process. She understood the situation I was in when I gave her up, so she wasn¡¯t resentful of me. Instead, she killed all the Yards who had tried to hunt us down. But still¡­ I was wrong to have given her away!¡± Despite the heavy feeling in his heart, Michael now had a clearer picture of what had happened in the past. Then, he took out a piece of tissue and helped Louis wipe off his tears. He was in a difficult situation as well. ¡­ When all of them reached Pourl, they took a liking to the beautiful interior. Over the past few years, Sophia managed to expand her business and became an icon in the pet fashion industry. After showing them around, she asked the brand¡¯s chief designer Ivan Snowden toe out and boasted about his achievements. All this while, Anne had been holding Anna¡¯s arm and talking incessantly beside her. On the other hand, Anna only gave her short and perfunctory replies. While walking alongside Anna, Sophia introduced her shop to her. Although Anna didn¡¯t utter a word, she kept nodding in approval. Following them, Cooper remained silent as he observed Anna secretly. Meanwhile, Anne thought that Cooper had tagged along because of her, so she was in a jolly mood. The prototypes of the luxurious items, which were made in coboration with Ronney Group, were ready. On this day, many dogs had been sent to the shop as models that would try on the new products. After the photoshoot, the photos would bepiled as magazines, which would then be sent to targeted households. As the chief model, Judge had arrived at the shop pretty early. After they were done with a set of photos, Judge could take a rest and be groomed at the same time. Wearing thetest dog chain and clothes, the dog sat still to let others watch it. ¡°These are the luxurious pet essories we¡¯ve made in coboration with Ronney Group. We have matching sets for the owners as well. This item over here is for pets, which costs about a million. It¡¯s embedded with Michel Group¡¯stest chip, which could be used for identifying the pet¡¯s location and repelling fleas.¡± Standing beside Anna, Anne asked, ¡°Aunt Anna, can you bring me to Longbeach Fort tomorrow? I heard that Princess Cemetery over there is a beautiful ce. I¡¯ve always wanted to visit those ces in Bayside. Aunt Anna, please¡­¡± Anna was annoyed because Anne was such a troublesome youngdy. In contrast, she loved how mature and intelligent Sophia was. After the tour around the shop was over, Anna had to leave with General. Seeing this, Sophia hurriedly offered to bring her to Audistin for a cup of coffee and talk about the possible coboration between Plum Technology and Ronney Group so that they could make more money together. ¡°Dad, you have toe as well.¡± Sophia wanted her father to have a discussion with Anna on the possible partnership between the two families. Upon hearing that, Cooper was ted. Even if Sophia never told him to do so, he would still tag along no matter what. However, as soon as they stepped out of Pourl, they saw a man in his fifties who was d in a ck shirt. Despite his age, he still looked elegant and handsome. By just standing outside the shop, he could attract the attention of many youngdies. Seeing the man, Cooper stopped in his tracks. ¡°Dad, why are you here?¡± Cade was shocked to see the man outside the shop. Sophia turned to look at that man, whose handsomeness hadn¡¯t been weathered by age, and his hooked nose was as pointed as ever. The real Jordan Edwards has appeared! Chapter 1103 Chapter 1103 ¡°Anna, how was the talk?¡± Jordan came over and asked Anna in a hushed voice. His expressions and manner of speaking were that of a young man, who walked over and asked her how her day was upon seeing that his girlfriend was getting off work. Seeing Jordan, Sophia turned pale in an instant. His hooked nose! He¡¯s the real Jordan Edwards! After taking over General, Jordan shed a gentle smile at Anna, who didn¡¯t appear to be joyful, but her gaze had apparently be more rxed. She replied, ¡°The talk isn¡¯t over yet. Why are you here?¡± Keeping the smile on his face, Jordan said, ¡°Because you¡¯re here.¡± Anna chuckled. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After that, all of them headed for Audistin. Sophia, who was still talkative moments ago, kept her mouth shut the moment Jordan appeared. ¡°Dad!¡± Linus shook Cooper, who was in a dazed state. Coming to his senses, Cooper followed the rest of them to Audistin, but his legs became as heavy as lead. Although his expression remained impassive, fury was rising within him. Jordan Edwards! While walking alongside Anna, Jordan turned his head around and shot Cooper a look and a smug smile. Cooper did not utter a word, but his eyes were icy-cold. After stepping into a private room in Audistin, all of them took a seat on the sectional couches in four groups: Sophia, Michael and their daughter; Linus and Cooper; Cade and Callum; Anna and Jordan. Anne sat in the middle of thest group to emphasize her special identity. On the other hand, Louis and Xena did note with them. After wine and food were served¡ªCarmen had gotten her milk in a bottle¡ªAnna introduced Jordan to all of them. ¡°This is¡ª¡± Jordan interrupted her. ¡°There¡¯s no need for an introduction. We¡¯re close friends.¡± Raising his ss of wine at Cooper, he said, ¡°Cooper, we haven¡¯t met for decades. How are you doing?¡± Cooper replied dispassionately, ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± He did not want to speak to Jordan. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Meanwhile, Linus and Michael kept staring at Jordan, for they hadn¡¯t forgotten that thetter had tried to harm Sophia before. Recently, Linus had uncovered many undercovers who were sent to work for the Michel Family, and he realized that Jordan had been secretly doing so for many years. The businesses of Michel Group and Ronney Group did not sh, but due to the fact that the Michels and the Yards were equally powerful, Jordan had been on high alert. Although Linus wasn¡¯t certain whether this was Jordan¡¯s decision, or if the Yards were involved in this as well, he had decided to keep an eye on both parties. Meanwhile, Sophia did not seem to notice the invisible warfare between the men as she was talking about Anna¡¯s umbre and clothes. ¡°Mrs. Yard, your umbre is beautiful. Is it hand-made? Your clothes look exquisite as well. The fabric and stitching are impable. Where did you buy them?¡± After warming up to Anna, Sophia started talking about business with her. Since the Yards were expected to stay in Bayside for some time, she had to get more projects from them. Halfway through the discussion, Anne suddenly disrupted their flow. ¡°Aunt Anna, can you go to the washroom with me?¡± She did not like how Sophia seemed so close to Anna. So what if Aunt Anna is willing to talk to her? I¡¯m her only niece! She doesn¡¯t have a daughter, so I¡¯m like her daughter as well! As Sophia was displeased by the disruption, her eyes darkened. What the heck! Not only does she want to pursue my dad, but she¡¯s also trying to disrupt my business discussion! Since Anna intended to use the washroom as well, she left the room with Anne. ¡°I¡¯m going too.¡± Seeing that Anna was stepping out of the room, Cooper rose from the couch and followed them. Anne was delighted, for she thought that Cooper wasing for her. Cooper and I love each other. If it weren¡¯t because of Sophia¡¯s interference, we would have gotten engaged by now. ¡°Excuse me. I need to use the washroom as well.¡± Jordan got up from the couch as well. Seeing this, Linus decided to go with them. Michael¡¯s expression turned glum, but he did not follow them. Recently, he had been investigating the background of Jordan, and he found out that the current leader of the Edwards Family was actually Jordan¡¯s illegitimate brother. Basically, the Edwards Family was run by Lucy, Ian, Sam and the substitute brother. On the other hand, the real Jordan Edwards had stayed out of the family business for a long time. So, why did he decide to appear at this point in time? Since only the men were in the male washroom, they decided to stop beating around the bush. ring at Jordan, who kept a smug smile on his face, Cooper dered, ¡°Anna Yard is Annabel Johnson.¡± It was a statement rather than a question. Looking at his own reflection in the mirror, Jordanbed his dark hair and raised his eyebrow. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯ve only discovered this fact three decadester. Aren¡¯t you a little obtuse?¡± Looking triumphant, Jordan started rting the past. ¡°After I came across Anna, I started training her to be my secret agent. Initially, I had wanted her to deal with my stupid brother, Sam, but I did not expect that you would fall for her.¡± Although Cooper had already found out about this secret, it was still unbearable to hear it from Jordan himself. Anna was really sent to me by Jordan. At this moment, their thirty years of love had ended in the cruelest way. ¡°Dad!¡± Seeing that Cooper was about to fall, Linus hurriedly supported his father¡¯s weight. Coming to his senses, Cooperughed in self-mockery. I¡¯ve known this fact for a long time. Why did I still ask Jordan about it? Seeing how dispirited Cooper was through the mirror, Jordan grinned as he washed his hands and said, ¡°What a shame. She failed in her attempt and almost lost her life. After I saved her, I discovered that she was an eligible heir to the Yard Family. Therefore, I helped her take control of her family. Now that our twin sons have grown up, the Yard Family fully belongs to us now.¡± Yeah¡­ They have a pair of twins¡­ Cooper thought. Despite being enraged by the victorious smile on Jordan¡¯s face, he remained silent and turned to leave, his expression cial. After shooting Jordan a re, Linus left the washroom as well. Jordan has to be killed. It is for the sake of my sister as well as my father! A momentter, Sophia was surprised to see that Linus had returned without their father. ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± she hurriedly asked. Linus replied, ¡°He¡¯s gone home.¡± Upon hearing the answer, Sophia quickly fished out her phone. ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell the housekeeper to start preparing dinner for him.¡± Soon, Anna and Jordan came back to the room as well, but Anne was nowhere in sight. Anne and Cooper left at the same time! rmed at Anne¡¯s disappearance, Sophia reckoned that Anne must have gone to pester her father. At this moment, at the car park of Audistin, Anne just wouldn¡¯t let Cooper go. ¡°Cooper, please don¡¯t leave. There¡¯s still a chance for the two of us. My aunt is the leader of the Yard Family. If she agrees to our marriage, the others in the family won¡¯t dare to disobey her. I¡¯ll just have to tell her about it, and she¡¯ll definitely¡ª¡± Before she could finish her words, Cooper stepped on the gas pedal in an impatient manner. Staring at his leaving car, Anne stomped her feet in frustration and snorted. If Aunt Anna agrees to it, no one else will dare to object to her decision! Chapter 1104 Chapter 1104 After Sophia called her father and made sure that he had left without being held up by Anne, she heaved a sigh of relief and went on discussing business with Anna to see if they could cooperate in other areas. Anna had been looking for a new building to be the headquarters for Ronney Group in Cethos. Also, she donated some artefacts to the museums, met the Cethosian president and went on the television show ¡®Focal Point¡¯. Now that her family had reconciled with Cethos, it was time for her to expand her business in the country. However, Ronney Group had always been involved in the manufacturing of luxury goods. On the other hand, Michel Group was involved in various industries including arms, biopharmaceuticals, mining and high-tech products. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s businesses included mobile games and luxury goods for pets. So, it was difficult for them to get into any kind of business partnerships with the Yards. Nevertheless, it did not stop Sophia from chatting happily with Anna. Even if their discussion did not lead to any partnership, Sophia had a lot to learn from this wise woman. In the past, Anna was basically helpless when she returned to the Yard Family. From there, she managed to destroy the branch families and distant rtives, eventually bing the leader of the Yards. She¡¯s really something. Anna was fond of Carmen, so she took over the kid from Michael and held her in her arms. Since Carmen was exhausted from following the adults around, she nodded off in Anna¡¯s arms. Gazing at Carmen, Anna found her to be adorable. She had never liked kids, and she did not even raise her own sons personally. However, when she was with Carmen, not only did she not loathe her, but she was also keen on carrying her in her arms. Just then, Anne came back to the room, looking frustrated. She believed that it had to be Sophia¡¯s plot to stop Cooper from getting closer to her because if she married Cooper, Sophia would inherit fewer properties in the future. What a joke. Is the Mitchells¡¯ wealth evenparable to us? It is beneath me to marry Cooper. His wealth isn¡¯t even what I¡¯m after! He should be grateful that I¡¯m even willing to marry him! Seeing that Sophia and Anna were joyfully chatting with each other, Anne shifted her attention to Jordan and said bashfully, ¡°Uncle Jordan¡­¡± Jordan was speaking to Cade when he was interrupted by Anne. Even though he was displeased, he still kept a gentle smile on his face. In fact, he had learned about what happened with Cooper and Anne. Does Anne want to marry Cooper? That sounds like a good idea. Since Anne doesn¡¯t have the right to inherit any properties and shares, it¡¯s okay to let her marry Cooper. On the other hand, Anna, who was carrying Carmen, suddenly asked the silent Linus, ¡°Mr. Michel, how do you think Ronney Group and Michel Group can coborate?¡± Linus was stroking General when he was asked this question. Having been caught off guard, he blurted, ¡°I think there¡¯s no area where we can coborate.¡± Anna hurriedly asked, ¡°Why?¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. Linus replied impassively, ¡°Michel Group is involved in developing technology, while Ronney Group is in the business of creating artworks. Sometimes, technology and art cannot be put together.¡± Without delving into this statement, Anna smiled and changed the topic. ¡°I heard that after you¡¯ve dered that Cooper is your father publicly, your position within Michel Group has been affected. Do you regret this decision?¡± Linus shook his head. ¡°Even if it affects my future, I will never regret my decision. Although I may lose my status, I can still start over on my own. However, if I did not get to find my family members, that would have been the biggest regret of my life.¡± Then, he shed a gentle smile at Sophia. Even if I will lose my duty at Michel Group for recognizing Cooper to be my father, I will never regret it. For me, my family members are the most important people in my life. I will not make the same mistake again! Hearing the answer, Anna sneered. ¡°Is familial bond even worth the risk? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you will lose all your power and prestige because of this?¡± At the moment, Linus was still stroking General¡¯s head. The cat was a proud animal. Apart from Anna, it would scratch anyone who dared to approach it. However, on this day, it stayed in Linus¡¯s arms and even rubbed its body against him. While Linus was ying with the cat, he gave Anna a look and answered curtly, ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of this because I have my own power.¡± Looking back, he found himself to be really foolish in the past. Even though he had taken full control of Michel Group, he still couldn¡¯t feel assured, for he was afraid that someone would snatch everything from him one day. With this worry in his mind, he couldn¡¯t sleep well almost every night. Now that he thought about it, he realized that rather than being afraid of losing his prestige, he was most fearful of losing Cooper and his trust. Then, he shifted his attention back to the cat and stopped talking to Anna. He knew that Anna was their biological mother, but he was also aware that she had given up on them. The reason she even wanted them to be born was that she needed to make use of them to go against Cooper. Anna might appear to be a benevolentdy, but she was in fact the tyrannical leader of Ronney Group. Linus did not want to speak to her any further nor have anything to do with her, for he was afraid that Cooper and Sophia might get harmed by her. They had a harmonious family currently, and he did not want it to be destroyed by someone else. In the end, their discussion did not lead to any partnerships, but Sophia was still d for having this talk. Anna even gave her the umbre and a few rolls of silk. In return, Sophia passed her some local specialties. Before dinner time, they bade each other farewell. Sophia and Linus left together and entered the same car. Looking at the brother and sister, Anna could feel that a strange feeling was welling up within her, but she couldn¡¯t put that feeling into words. She just felt that she would miss them. After they were gone, she got into her car and left the ce. In the morning, Cade and Callum found a suitable building to be their headquarters, so they were going to sign the contractter, and they also managed to get Anne to go home on her own. Subsequently, Anna and Jordan got into their car and returned to the hotel. As soon as Anna got into the vehicle, Jordan wrapped his arm around her waist, but she was apparently disgusted by his action. ¡°Get your hands off me!¡± In an instant, Anna¡¯s gaze turned dark, and she appeared to be as majestic as a queen. Shocked by her rage, Jordan retracted his hand and said relentlessly, ¡°Anna, so many years have passed, but I still can¡¯t touch you¡­¡± He sounded rather pitiful. Anna looked away coldly. ¡°You¡¯re well aware that I can¡¯t tolerate any man touching me.¡± Jordan had always known that she had this psychological disorder that made her unwilling to be touched by any man. In the past, she would even be flustered when she had to shake hands with another man. All this while, she had been refraining from getting into physical contact with any man, including Jordan and her sons. Furthermore, Cade and Callum were test tube babies born by another woman. When she was younger, she had gone through a traumatic ordeal. Even if she had forgotten about it, she was still left with a serious psychological disorder. However, Jordan wondered why instead of getting better, her psychological disorder seemed to have worsened after thirty years. Is it really because of her psychological disorder? Or does she think that she doesn¡¯t need me anymore? Chapter 1105 Chapter 1105 In the past, Anna was just one of the many secret agents Jordan had trained. After he discovered that she was an eligible heir to the Yard Family, he helped her return to her family, protected her and even assisted her in taking control of her family business. She was infertile, so he found her a surrogate mother, who then gave birth to their twins, Cade and Callum. The twins, who were part of the Yard Family, strengthened Anna¡¯s position within the family. Then, she started to change. Initially, she had to rely on him for her own survival, so she would do whatever she was told to do. At that time, Jordan had countless women to sleep with every night, so Anna was just one of his bedmates. She couldn¡¯t even be regarded as his woman because she was just a lowly servant who could be kicked away at any moment. After taking over the Yard Family, she remained respectful of him and never dared to disobey his orders. On the other hand, he made every business decision behind the scenes and assisted their sons to rise to power. His twin sons inherited his good genes, so they grew up to be sessful businessmen as well. With Anna, Cade and Callum in ce, the Yard Family was well within his control. Then, Anna began to change. She transformed from a timid and insignificant person into the brightest star the world had ever seen. The process was long and gradual. When Jordan noticed her transformation, she was already out of his grip. Nevertheless, he was unresigned because he firmly believed that both the Yard Family and Anna belonged to him. Not only did he want her to stay by his side, but her heart, which Cooper could only long for, was also supposed to belong to him. ¡­ When Sophia returned home with bags in her hands, dinner was ready to be served. After taking a shower in Vi No. 2, Linus, who had brought his fur kids along, came to have dinner with them. After Linus moved into Vi No. 2, Michael discovered that he had taken in more dogs, whose names were Blessing, Lucky, Happy, Cutie, Bobby and so on. Linus had never given any serious thought when naming his dogs, and his fur kids, which were mostly rescued from the streets, looked identical. Therefore, Michael seriously thought that Linus only had one dog all this while, and that he just called the same dog different names from time to time. Also, he didn¡¯t like the fact that Linus came to have free meals with his fur kids. With so many dogs with him, he should just open a pet shop! Even if we¡¯re rich, we are not supposed to spend so much money on dog food! However, he then recalled that his family had purchased some diamond mines in Africa, so they could totally spendvishly on dog food. Meanwhile, even the night-shift security guard and the cats from the Imperial Pce were here to enjoy free meals. After examining the bracelet, the rolls of silk and the umbre, which were all gifted by Anna, with the help of a shlight, the security guardmented, ¡°We have the same kind of bracelet at the museum, which was discovered when the archeologists were unearthing the royal tomb. Given its historical significance, the bracelet is worth about a few million. These rolls of silk are ¡®The Fragrant Silk¡¯ as recorded in ancient books, which was a kind of fabric exclusive to the imperial family. The weaving technique has been lost to time. Smell it and you¡¯ll discover that there¡¯s a special aromaing from the fabric. No one knows how it was made or what ingredients were used. It¡¯s stated in the ancient books that the aroma of the silk will not wear off no matter how many times you wash it. We once discovered this kind of silk from a tomb years ago, but as soon as the tomb was opened, the silk dposed within a few minutes. Until now, we haven¡¯t had any real samples of it. On the other hand, there¡¯s nothing special with this umbre. It¡¯s made using a traditional technique and modern materials. However, it¡¯s still valuable because Louis Osborne has painted on it.¡± ¡­ Sophia asked the security guard to stay for dinner because he was a knowledgeable man. Even Linus decided to bring over his collection of antiques for him to have a look. After what happened earlier, Linus had thought that Cooper would throw a tantrum just like what he previously did. However, to his surprise, Cooper didn¡¯t seem to be different from his usual self. He didn¡¯t onlye downstairs for dinner on time, but he also stayed in the living room to watch television. Worried about his father-inw, Michael went over and asked, ¡°Dad, are you really okay? You can tell us about it.¡± Cooper shot him a stern look. ¡°Do you expect something to happen to me?¡± Stunned by his grim expression, Michael hurriedly replied, ¡°No¡­¡± Feeling that something was definitely wrong with her father, Sophia asked, ¡°Dad, are you upset because of Anne? Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t let her pester you again.¡± When he heard his daughter speak, Cooper immediately changed his stern expression to a mild one. While sping her hands, he replied, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not upset about anything. After all, I have experienced countless difficulties in life.¡± Yeah, I¡¯m Cooper Mitchell, who has gone through the vicissitudes of life. Maybe I¡¯m just reading too much into this. Just like what he usually did, after watching television for a while, he washed up and went to bed. Meanwhile, Sophia returned to her bedroom and tried to coax Carmen to sleep. Carmen had to go to bed early recently because she was going to join the reality show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ soon. After that, Sophia took a seat in Carmen¡¯s Treasure Nook and wiped the bracelet clean before cing it in the drawer. Inside Carmen¡¯s spacious bedroom, there were a closet and a training room. She also had a secret space where she stored her secrets. Well, kids do have their own secrets, don¡¯t they? Sophia thought. This secret space was Carmen¡¯s Treasure Nook, where she stored the money she made from ying walk-ons and endorsing brands. The rewards given by her kindergarten and the allowances given by her family members were also kept here. For therger chunks of money, she would keep them in her bank ount. If it was a small pile of cash, she would tie it up with a rubber band until she had umted enough cash to be stashed away in her bank ount. The bowl given by Louis and the bracelet she received from Anna on this day were also deposited in this secret space. Also, Carmen had been selling autographed photos of her father and godfather at her kindergarten. Recently, the price of a photo had risen from ten to twenty. Moreover, if anyone wanted to go home with her and hug Michael, she would charge the person one hundred. In addition, she also rented out her alpacas to be stroked, and the fee for this service spiked up from time to time. This was perhaps because of Carmen¡¯s improvement in her arithmetic skills. When she could only count to ten, she would just charge ten for her products or services. Now that she could count to one hundred, she started charging her customers one hundred. For the past few days, she had earned some extra cash and ced the piles of cash in the drawer. It was Sophia who helped her sort out the cash and ced it neatly. Just then, Michael came into the room and saw Sophia counting cash. In the past, she was the champion of counting cash at her school, and she knew a multitude of cash-counting techniques. Even though she had lost her memory, she could learn it quickly upon seeing how other people did it. At the moment, she was counting Carmen¡¯s cash in a skillful manner. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Then, Michael wrapped his arms around her and recalled that when he gave her some money during the New Year celebration years ago, she would be overjoyed and start counting the cash, just like what she was doing currently. No matter how quickly time goes by, she will never change. Chapter 1106 Chapter 1106 Carmen¡¯s secret space was small but beautifully decorated. However, it was a rather cramped space for Sophia and Michael to be seated together. Currently, the room was so quiet that the sound of Sophia counting the cash could be heard clearly. Since she had nothing else to do, she decided to count all the cash for Carmen. While Michael wrapped one hand around Sophia¡¯s shoulder, he flipped through Carmen¡¯s ount book with his other hand to read the daily record of her ie. ¡®16th June ¨C Two autographed photos of Daddy. 100.¡¯ ¡®17th June ¨C Stroking the alpacas two times. 100.¡¯ ¡­ Oh wow, she¡¯s such a hardworking kid. It¡¯s reallymendable that even though her family has some diamond mines, she¡¯s still trying to make money on her own. After going through the ount book, Michael put it back and turned his head, only to see that Sophia was nodding repeatedly, and the cash was still in her hands. It seemed that she was about to fall asleep. sping her hands, he said, ¡°Go to sleep if you¡¯re tired. You have to go to work tomorrow.¡± Sophia had wanted to rub her eyes, but Michael hurriedly stopped her. ¡°Wipe your hands first.¡± Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. There was a drawer that was filled with packets of disinfectant wet tissues. Since there were lots of bacteria on cash, Michael told the nanny to put some packets of disinfectant wipes in Carmen¡¯s bag and made sure that she would wipe her hands clean after counting cash. At the moment, Michael was helping to clean Sophia¡¯s hands, which were slender and beautiful. Sophia opened her eyes slightly and watched his attentive expression. He¡¯s the most handsome man I¡¯ve ever seen. His eyes are as bright as the stars, and his temperament is as warm as summer. What have I done to deserve his love? He¡¯s like a mythical god who has descended into the human world to enchant us. Even though they had been married for a long time, Sophia was still mesmerized by just looking at his profile. Unable to hold it in anymore, Sophia pounced on him and climbed on top of him. Michael was still cleaning her hands when he was pushed to the ground, which caught him off guard. Fortunately, a rug was ced on the floor of this secret space, and there were pillows as well. It was because sometimes Carmen would fall asleep here while she was keeping her secrets in this ce. Lying on the rug, Michael rested the back of his head on his hands and tipped his head back. He gave Sophia a charming smile, and as he watched her, his Adam¡¯s apple visibly bobbed. Seeing his smile, Sophia blushed, but she immediately tried topose herself. Why would I still blush when we¡¯ve been married for such a long time? But he¡¯s looking straight into my eyes, which is quite embarrassing¡­ Then, she got on her feet and turned off the light. After that, she lowered her body and started touching her husband. Oh well, it¡¯s so much better with the lights off. Now, I¡¯m bolder to do anything I want¡­ After the intimate session, Sophia tried to retrieve Michael¡¯s pants and put them on for him before turning on the light again. Then, Michael got up and wore his pants properly. Seeing how bashful Sophia was, he was puzzled. ¡°Why are you still so shy when we already have a daughter?¡± Sophia looked away from him and put on her own clothes. Even though she was joyful, she still retorted, ¡°I was just worried that you¡¯d feel bashful!¡± Hearing her reply, Michael wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving with Carmen in two days. I will miss you.¡± Two dayster, Michael and Carmen had to go to the filming site of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. ording to the contract, they had to participate in five episodes, and every episode would take three days to film. There were ten episodes in total for one season, so it would take them about one month to finish filming the show. After that, the show would be aired every Friday until thest episode for two months. For these two months, Carmen had to stay with Michael on the filming site of the show. ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was a reality show with challenging themes. For every episode, the dads had to stay with their kids outdoors for three days, and they would be filmed by countless cameras. Since the moms couldn¡¯t tag along, the dads had to take care of their kids on their own. Not only would Michael have to keep watch on his daughter, but he also had toplete missions like catching fish, herding sheep, cooking and so on. Moreover, the filming locations would be different for every episode; fishing viges, mountain viges, deserts, snowfields were all possible locations. When Sophia learned that Carmen wanted to join the show, she objected to the idea. It was because Carmen was still too young, and she was worried that Michael wouldn¡¯t be able to take good care of her. However, she gave in eventually because Carmen kept pleading with her to join the show. Since she had agreed to it, she couldn¡¯t go back on her word. ¡°Are you sure you can take good care of Carmen? Can you help her put on her clothes,b her hair and wash her face for her?¡± Sophia was extremely worried because all their actions would be filmed, and no assistant was allowed. Can Michael really do it? Michael frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t you have trust in me? I was the one who took care of Carmen when she was a toddler.¡± However, Sophia was still reluctant to see them go, even though they woulde back three dayster to take a rest before going back to the filming site for the next episode. They had to film for a few episodes before the first episode would be ready for broadcast. Despite his assurance, Sophia was still worried because this was noughing matter. They can¡¯t bring an assistant with them. What if Carmenes down with an illness and starts crying? How will he handle this? To set her mind at ease, Michael exined that they would be followed by general practitioners and even pediatricians in case of emergencies. In fact, the pediatricians were hired by Michael. At the age of four, Carmen had already worked as a walk-on for quite many times. So, she was able to control her emotions and wouldn¡¯t throw tantrums for no reason. Although there were only a few participants in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, they were supported by more than a hundred behind-the-scenes staff members, who would ensure the kids¡¯ safety. Furthermore, Michael was experienced in raising his own kid, so there was nothing to worry about. On the first day of the filming, Michael and Carmen got into their private jet to get to the filming site. This time, they were heading for a vige in the Central Cethosian ins. The fact that Taylor Murray was joining the show had got his fans feeling excited. On the way to the airport, Sophia kept reading rted news on her phone, and she was left more worried. Hopefully, Carmen will be able to do well in this season. Before the departure, Sophia asked again, ¡°Do you really not need me to go with you? Can you do this alone?¡± Before Michael could speak, Carmen said in a serious and impatient manner, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ve said countless times that moms are not allowed to tag along! It¡¯s because moms will affect the kids¡¯ emotions and slow down the filming progress!¡± Chapter 1107 Chapter 1107 After Carmen gave Sophia advice like an adult, thetter fell silent and merely watched the father- daughter duo as they got on the ne together. However, a momentter, she rushed up and touched Carmen¡¯s little husky-shaped bag. ¡°Have you brought everything you¡¯re supposed to bring? Where are your snacks and the usual food you eat? Everything Carmen has always eaten was prepared by the chef using the finest ingredients. Will she adapt to the countryside life when she arrives there? Will she get used to the food there? Where will you guys eat? What will you eat every day? What if Carmen doesn¡¯t like to eat the food provided?¡± Her hands were digging around inside Carmen¡¯s bag, which was full of the little girl¡¯s things, such as her toothpaste and toothbrush, slippers, pajamas, toys, and so on. Upon checking what Carmen had brought with her, Sophia insisted, ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring along two more bags that you like?¡± The bags that Carmen usually used were also customized. They were all shaped like animals, and there were ones that were realistically shaped like a husky¡¯s head, while others were shaped like orange cats, alpacas, and ck dogs. After Carmen felt bored with those bags, she would sell them to her kindergarten ssmates at a low price. Carmen looked at Sophia very seriously and said, ¡°Mommy, I¡¯m going to work this time. I¡¯m not going on a tour, so one bag is fine.¡± Sophia was really anxious. Her daughter was the apple of her eye, and she had always raised her carefully in the urban city. Carmen had never been to the rural countryside, so Sophia was in a state of agitation and wished she could follow along. Michael patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder, gesturing to her to calm down. ¡°We¡¯ll only be gone for three days, so we¡¯ll be back very soon. The tasks won¡¯t be difficult either. Besides, it¡¯s a vige that¡¯s centralized and very developed. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re going to the western mountains and having to eat grass for the next three days. Besides, I will take care of Carmen. Our kid is not as she was when she was younger. Her immunity is much stronger than before, and she¡¯s no longer as delicate and fragile as you make her out to be!¡± But Sophia was still extremely nervous. ¡°But¡­¡± She felt like one of those mothers who couldn¡¯t stop nagging and worrying. Michael brought Carmen over and said, ¡°Come, give your mommy a goodbye dance.¡± Wiggling her bum, Carmen gave Sophia a goodbye dance. Then, she said, ¡°Mommy, hurry up and go home! In a few days, you¡¯ll be able to see me and Daddy on TV. I¡¯ll perform well and earn a lot of money for you!¡± Sophia was amused by her words. With a smile, she hugged Carmen and reluctantly watched them get on the ne. The ne lifted off and took the father and daughter to another city. Sophia went home sullen and unhappy. At that moment, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to do anything, and her appetite had vanished too. Although Michael had taken Carmen out for filming in the past, either Cooper or herself would follow along, and the living conditions were not as bad as this. Truth be told, she was most worried about Carmen¡¯s food. The little girl suffered from diarrhea for half a month after eating the expired jelly that the fake Annabel had sent her. In the countryside, fruits and vegetables could be found everywhere on the ground. Surely the child would not be able to control herself from picking up and eating something rotten! There were also snakes, dogs, centipedes, and poisonous insects in the countryside. What would she do if they bit her daughter? On the first day that Michael and Carmen left Sophia, she missed them very much. The next day after that, she still missed them to bits¡­ There was a rule set by the crew that during these three days of filming, the mothers were disallowed from contacting the kids. During the first season, a mother had suddenly gone to the set to see her kid, which caused the kid to cry and insist on going home. Because of this, the filming was halted for half a day, and the post-production team had to do a lot of work to salvage what was left of the filming material. Therefore, even calls were prohibited as well. Since she was banned from talking to Carmen, she refused to go to work andy on the sofa all day. Other than ying on her phone and checking the news, she also noticed that the news of Taylor Murray joining the reality show ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with his daughter had caused a national sensation. After all, he was the most famous father to ever appear on the show. Harry also went along with Michael. He had wanted to bring Hope along to try out, but his son was really unsuitable to go on this kind of reality show. Hope¡¯s face was too dark, and he wasn¡¯t outgoing enough. As Carmen insisted on dragging Ashton along, Michael had asked Harry to help out since he could not take care of two kids on his own. So, Harry also went along. Anyway, it was just for three days, and he was now the father of three. With that came all the expenses of raising three kids, so he should earn some money from this and experience how caring for a kid was like as well. So, Harry took Ashton onto the show. Today was the first day of filming. The official blog website of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ had released a behind-the-scenes clip to attract fans. In the footage, Carmen appeared wearing a small red dress and a pair of ck rain boots worn by children in rural areas. She was carrying her own husky bag and looking left and right, seemingly very excited. The father and daughter duo seemed to have just arrived on set. Michael was wiping his sweat as he carried a hiking bag with three days¡¯ worth of supplies for them both. Out of the five pairs of fathers and daughters, only three pairs showed up. Everyone was still waiting for the others to arrive at the entrance of the vige. In addition to the five pairs, there was also a well-known host filling the role of the ¡®vige chief¡¯. This role was simr to an NPC in games. His job was to issue tasks for everyone and to select the best pair of father and daughter. The vige chief took the opportunity to go up and ask Carmen, ¡°Little girl, who is your daddy?¡± Looking into the camera, Carmen waspletely at ease as she answered in an adorable voice, ¡°Taylor Murray!¡± The vige chief asked again, ¡°And who are you?¡± Carmen grinned. ¡°I¡¯m the world¡¯s best Carmen Fletcher!¡± Asughter erupted from around them, Michael could not help but smile next to her, and the camera even cut toward him in order to capture a handsome and gentle shot of him. Although the behind-the-scenes clip was very short and onlysted ten seconds or so, the number of views was extremely high. After watching the clip, Sophia rolled around on the sofa and screamed in delight, ¡°Oh, how could my darling be so cute!¡± She reyed the clip seven or eight more times, and Carmen looked cuter and cuter to her. My daughter is such a natural cutie! As soon as that clip was posted, the much-anticipated second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ immediately got into the top searches, and the poprity of the term ¡®World¡¯s Best Carmen Fletcher¡¯ shot upward. As Sophia watched the clip again, she continued crying out in joy. Then, she looked at the few seconds of the shot on Michael¡¯s handsome and gentle face and cried out again. ¡°Oh! How could my husband be so handsome?¡± Cereberus came over, and after looking at the clip in Sophia¡¯s phone, it also started howling. When Cooper heard the noise from the third floor, he went downstairs and said, ¡°Hey, stop screaming. If you really want to go, just borrow your brother¡¯s ne and go. It¡¯s still parked in¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Sophia was long gone. After packing her bags as fast as she could, she applied for a flight route, borrowed Linus¡¯s ne, and flew to the set at once. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. When she arrived, she learned that the vige had closed off the road, so she found a guest house in town to stay for the night. It was almost night by the time she arrived. After dinner, she slipped out toward the vige with a pair of binocrs, trying to see what was going on. The whole vige was closed off just for the filming of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ Even with her binocrs, she couldn¡¯t see a thing other than many people milling about. After obtaining a map of the vige, she went back to the guest house to study it for a while. The map showed that the vige was quite big and there was even a street with a mobile phone store, a caf¨¦, a few clothing stores and so on. Sophia suddenly pointed to a store and said seriously to Dimon, who had apanied her as a bodyguard, ¡°I want to see this mobile phone store turned into a licensed distributor of Dragon Eye mobile phones by tomorrow morning at nine. I¡¯ll go in as a saleswoman.¡± Dimon was speechless at her n. Chapter 1108 Chapter 1108 The next day, the only mobile phone store in the vige had quietly changed hands. All of the store¡¯s mobile phones had been reced with the Dragon Eye mobile phones. Although the store employee was still the same as before, there was an addition of a saleswoman. Sophia wore a rustic floral dress for work. She hade over very early in the morning and even ate breakfast in the store. Her face was bare without any makeup, and there were even dark circles under her eyes. While eating, her eyes swiveled around as she took in her surroundings. The vige was not that huge, so the film crew wouldn¡¯t be far away. Sophia heard that they would be filming on this streetter. Dimon came in holding a rustic signboard. He had someone change the store¡¯s signboard to the new signboard with Dragon Eye¡¯s logo on it. With this, the store instantly became a distributor of Dragon Eye mobile phones. After eating, Sophia looked around outside the entrance while waiting for the film crew toe over. By nine, there were more and more people on the street. Sophia heard everyone discussing the five kids on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ The five fathers in this season were all popr superstars. There were Harry Winston and Taylor Murray, and as for the remaining three fathers, they were either rising stars or retired celebrities. So, there were all types of dads and all kinds of cute kids for the viewers to enjoy watching. The vigers were not hardcore fans as they didn¡¯t know much about those celebrities. Even if the fathers were standing in front of them, they could barely recognize them, so they didn¡¯t even know who was present. However, even if they did not recognize the man himself, they could still recognize a face. Among those five fathers, there was a very familiar face that stood out to them. ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t Miles die a few years ago?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not dead! He¡¯s just retired.¡± ¡°Miles¡¯ daughter is extremely smart. She¡¯s living with the uncle of my sister-inw! Most kids like her are very arrogant, but she¡¯s one sweet girl!¡± ¡°This is Miles¡¯ break! If he¡¯s on such a big show, he¡¯s going to rise to the top, right? I heard that everyone who is appearing on this show will make it big!¡± ¡°Hey, Miles is already a big star! He¡¯s the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actor! Also, he¡¯s been on the New Year Dinner G, and he¡¯s been in a lot of movies! For example, he acted in the movie ¡®War Dragon¡¯ in which he fought in the war and stole the Imperial Jade Seal! All of you should stop talking nonsense; you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! He is very much popr!¡± ¡°What award?¡± ¡°Excuse me, are you sure it¡¯s about the Imperial Jade Seal? The ¡®War Dragon¡¯ movie was about fighting human traffickers in Africa! ¡®The National Treasury Action¡¯ is the one that was about stealing the Imperial Jade Seal!¡± Although the vigers did not know much about the celebrities, the vige had a small cineplex where people usually went to watch dramas and movies. They just couldn¡¯t remember the actors¡¯ names and only knew some of the main characters in TV dramas, such as Miles. Soon, they started moving the topic from the actor ¡®Miles¡¯ to the character Miles. ¡°Say, May was so beautiful, yet why didn¡¯t Miles want to live with her in the countryside? It¡¯s a pity that the contractor took advantage of the situation and got her instead.¡± ¡°What do you know? The contractor was wealthy! If I were May, I would choose the contractor too.¡± ¡°Miles was just sour grapes! He looked down on us vigers! Yuck, he was an ungrateful one.¡± In ¡®I Am The Vige Chief¡¯, Miles was Michael¡¯s cameo as the heroine¡¯s ex-boyfriend. He only appeared in a few episodes in the first and second part of the series, but his superb acting had literally brought the series to never-before-seen fame, especially in the rural parts of the country where its poprity was extremely high. Now that there was a third part to the series, the filmmakers strongly requested Michael to go back and make a guest appearance. After the filming of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, he still needed to take Carmen to the ¡®I Am The Vige Chief 3¡¯ set. As ¡®I Am The Vige Chief 2¡¯ was currently being aired, the ratings had shot up, and the rerun rate was strikingly high. Previously, the crew was just a grass-roots team where the actors were either from the local drama troupe or students who had just graduated from art colleges. After the film¡¯s poprity soared, the director became full of himself and even dared to invite popr big-name stars to make a cameo. What was even more important was that arge number of celebrities couldn¡¯t join even if they wanted to. Listening to everyone discussing the plot of ¡®I Am The Vige Chief 2¡¯, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but interject, ¡°How could you say he¡¯s sour grapes? Miles¡¯ family did not agree to him moving to the countryside, and May did not want to move to the city, so it is not their fault! Besides, when May asked him toe back to help, he came back too! So how could you criticize him?¡± A pair of vigers sat on benches with Sophia in front of the mobile phone store and started to discuss the plot of the film while snacking at the same time. A momentter, they heard someone on the street excitedly cry out, ¡°Ethan Winston is here! Peter Lee is here too!¡± Peter Lee was a biracial male celebrity. He was also very popr, and so a group of young girls and boys immediately rushed after him. However, the group of older vigers snorted at the sight as they snacked and pointed at the youngsters. ¡°Look at these girls nowadays! How crazy they are when they see their idol!¡± ¡°What a shame! How are they going to get married in the future?¡± But unexpectedly, another cry rang out a momentter, ¡°Miles is here!¡± In an instant, those older vigers threw away the snacks in their hands and aggressively swarmed around the entrance. ¡°Here hees! Miles is here!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± The street in front where the filming of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ would ur was blocked off, so the huge group of vigers pushed and yelled outside the cordon. All of the vigers had run out of their houses to watch the filming of the reality show. Among a mob of older women, Sophia was squeezed and pushed around by them. She couldn¡¯t even see anyone from the crew, let alone Michael. All she could see were the backs of the other women. ¡°Wow, look! It¡¯s Miles himself in the flesh! That¡¯s Miles¡¯ daughter. Oh my God, she looks so pretty!¡± ¡°Tsk, beautiful, she¡¯s really beautiful. Look at her! Her eyes and her mouth look so much like her father¡¯s!¡± ¡°She¡¯s too far away. I can¡¯t see clearly!¡± ¡°Miles is really handsome. Look at that nose and those eyes! If I were a few years younger, I would have married him!¡± ¡°Dream on! He¡¯s never gonna be interested in you.¡± Sophia was almost squeezed to death. No matter how she tried to look, she could only see the back of the heads of a bunch of women. Highly anxious, she tried to shove her way forward more aggressively. Unfortunately, the group of star-struck women was too strong for her. She was stuck with no way forward or backward, and the worst part was that she couldn¡¯t see a thing. Holding a selfie stick, she stretched it out haphazardly to capture a few photos. She could see in the distance that someone was filming, and arge team of people was escorting five pairs of fathers and daughters as theypleted their tasks. Coincidentally, she saw Carmen¡¯s super adorable side profile. If only I can get just a little further ahead! In the end, it was Gwen and Dimon who, with theirbined efforts, dug her out of the mob of vige women. Gwen had apanied Sophia here to see Ashton because she was anxious to be away from her son too. When Sophia came out, she instantly saw Danny. He wore a rainbow-colored suit and had also dyed his hair rainbow-colored. When he saw Sophia wearing the rustic floral clothing and her appearance that was disheveled from all that pushing and shoving, he remarked in disgust, ¡°Did you really need to do this?¡± Sophia was delighted at the sight of him. Great! He will certainly find a way to get me in. Danny said to Sophia, ¡°Keep a low profile and stay inside the store. They¡¯re going to do a task where the five kids will take a hundred and buy things in the market. They¡¯ll definitelye to your store for change later.¡± Sophia hurriedly nodded, then went back to the store and waited for Carmen toe for the change. N?velDrama.Org ? content. After waiting for a while, she saw some security guards clearing the street and the crewing this way. The five fathers brought their kids along to the market. Their task today was to buy vegetables at the market with a hundred each and then go back to their living quarters, where the five fathers would cook today¡¯s dinner. Sophia went back to the store and sat down, waiting for Carmen toe over. After some thought, she put on a face mask, as it would be awkward if they recognized herter. She wondered how her husband would react when he saw her in the store¡­ Chapter 1109 Chapter 1109 A ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ seasonsted for three days and two nights, and it would be edited into three episodes to be broadcasted across three weeks. Generally, the first day¡¯s task was allocating the living quarters, and then they were to go to the vigers¡¯ homes to borrow cooking utensils and buy ingredients so that the five fathers could make dinner. The fathers also had to take care of their kids at night. They had to feed them, bathe them and put them to sleep. Those with daughters even had to brush the girls¡¯ hair, and in order to make everything appear realistic, the film crew must not intervene unless necessary. So, the ability of the father could be seen just by judging from the kid¡¯s appearance and energy level. This season consisted of three boys and two girls. Carmen was taken care of by Michael very well. Her hair was brushed neatly, and she had gotten up early in the morning in an upbeat mood when other kids were still sleeping. After waking up, she even rushed over to wake Harry and Ashton, who were sleeping next door. The breakfast was ced at a designated location, and each father had to get it personally. Those who came early would get meat, but thete arrivals could only get some watery congee. Harry scratched his blond hair and followed Michael sleepily to get his breakfast. Fortunately for them, they were the first to arrive and so got the meat. When eating breakfast, everyone also received the task for today. Each father would receive one hundred, and they had to bring their own kid to the market to buy food ingredients. The money was to buy the rest of their food for the next two days, so they had to calcte their food costs properly. But because it was a rural area after all, the prices were not particrly high, so one hundred was still enough to buy food alone. But they still needed to calcte the costs carefully and take the kid¡¯s taste buds into ount. Besides, they had to cook for their kid as well. For many celebrity dads who never had to lift a finger to do house chores, this was a big challenge indeed. There were two kids who began to cry as soon as they arrived yesterday. Having cried the whole day, the kids and their fathers were not in the best of condition. The vige was much too rural for them, and their living quarters were small farmhouses borrowed from the vigers. They had to sleep in the dirt, and the toilet was just a hole beside the pigpen, not to mention therge number of mosquitoes buzzing about. After breakfast, Carmen held the money in one hand and dragged her father¡¯s hand with the other, then went to the market with great enthusiasm. She was always the most energetic one. The air in the vige was very fresh, and the people were nice. When they arrived here, Michael felt that every pore of his body was enjoying the fresh air, and his whole body felt refreshed and very comfortable. The morning breeze was gentle as the sun emerged from the horizon. At this time, the vigers were starting to herd cattle and sheep to the fields. Carrying Carmen¡¯s husky bag, Michael sang while walking, ¡°Ee-ya¡­¡± Carmen mimicked him with her adorable voice. ¡°Ee-ah¡­¡± Ashton tugged hard on his godfather Harry¡¯s hand. ¡°Daddy, Carmen has gone far away!¡± Harryzily yawned and tried to keep up. Holding the money in his hand, he thought to himself that he could not cook anyway, so he might as well go and buy ten packets of instant noodles, which would be enough for days. But looking at that chubby little Ashton, he felt that it would be hard to exin to Hale if the boy became thinner when he returned. So, he hurriedly took the boy to find Michael. I¡¯ll partner up with Michael! But the show doesn¡¯t seem to allow the dads to partner up. Whatever. I¡¯ll buy everything Michael buyster and then put them all together in a pot. Everything will be fine as long as it¡¯s edible. After walking for a few minutes, they arrived on the main street. Michael immediately noticed the Dragon Eye mobile phone store. Sophia¡¯s business is really booming, isn¡¯t it? Dragon Eye was the exclusive sponsor of this season¡¯s show, and this caused not only the entire crew to use the Dragon Eye mobile phones, but there were also advertisements and flyers everywhere in the vige. Now, there was even a store selling those phones. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Carmen, go get some change from that store so that it¡¯s more convenient for us to buy foodter.¡± Michael pointed to the Dragon Eye mobile phone store. Since the store allowed phone credit purchases, there must be a change there. Most of the farmers sold their own vegetables in baskets they brought with them at the market they would be going toter. Since the participants¡¯ phones were taken away, they couldn¡¯t make any mobile payment, so they needed small change to buy food. ¡°Okay!¡± Carmen sweetly replied before she pushed the door to enter the store. After locating the cash register, she asked in her best voice, ¡°Madam, may I get some change?¡± Sophia, who had been waiting at the cashier¡¯s desk for a long time, was energized. Here she is! My darling daughter is here! Wearing arge face mask, she lowered her head and nodded repeatedly. ¡°Sure, sure.¡± She opened the cash register to give Carmen the change. As she did so, she peeked at the little girl. Oh my God! My girl is the cutest in the world! Michael had also entered and was silently looking at Carmen. The child had to grow up sooner orter, so he needed to let her do some things on her own. Since arriving at the set, the father was not allowed to participate in any of the child¡¯s tasks, such as going to other people¡¯s homes to borrow utensils or to plough other people¡¯s fields for potatoes. Those were the kids¡¯ hands-on tasks that could train them to interact with others and get to know the real world. Now that Carmen was going to get the change, Michael did not help her but silently watched from the side. It was hard to move his gaze away from his daughter, but Michael finally took a nce at the cashier lady in the store who was wearing a rustic floral work dress. At that moment, he waspletely dumbfounded. On the other hand, Sophia was so excited that her hands shook. She kept avoiding Carmen¡¯s gaze as she lowered her head and put together a hundred in change for the little girl. Standing on tiptoe, Carmen put the money on the ss counter, then counted it over and over again. After counting twice, she pouted in an aggrieved manner. ¡°Madam, why did you give me less money? Look, look here, it¡¯s missing¡­¡± She recounted the money, and there was indeed less than a hundred in change. There were so many videographers and staff watching, and Sophia was afraid of being recognized by someone. Lowering her head, she hurriedly grabbed a few notes and whispered, ¡°Sorry, here you go.¡± When she got nervous, the tip of her nose became full of sweat, and her movements became even more harried. She quickly got a handful of small change for Carmen to choose herself. Carmen took the exact amount she needed. Although the encounter wasn¡¯t as smooth as she hoped, she still said very politely, ¡°Thank you, Madam!¡± Michael squatted down for Carmen to stuff all the change into her husky bag. Delighted at her sess, Carmen squealed, ¡°Daddy, I got the change!¡± Michael nodded approvingly. ¡°Did you say thank you to thedy?¡± Carmen nodded. ¡°Yes, I did.¡± ¡°And did you say goodbye to her?¡± Carmen quickly turned around and waved at Sophia. ¡°Bye Madam!¡± The salespeople were all mesmerized by Carmen as they watched her leave with Michael. Sophia kept her head down to avoid being recognized, but luckily no one seemed to recognize her. However, the truth was that Michael had long recognized her. Even if she wore a face mask, she was still his own wife, and so even if she only revealed her foot, he was sure to recognize her. But he did not expose her, as it would be bad for the entire filming session. He had heard that during the filming of the previous season, a mother suddenly came to the set, and the five kids had all started bawling their eyes out on seeing her. In the end, the filming was forced to halt for half a day. When they arrived yesterday, two of the kids had also cried all day, causing the filming to be exceptionally difficult. Fortunately, Carmen was there to support the crew. Due to her not being camera- shy and also possessing a good performing spirit, the videographer gave her more screen time. Michael thought that once Sophia had seen them, she would leave and not interfere further with the filming. Therefore, he did not expect that when they reached the market, he would immediately notice her squatting on the ground, wearing a face mask and selling sacks of potatoes. He waspletely speechless at the sight. Chapter 1110 Chapter 1110 We¡¯ve only been gone for two days! Does she really need to do this? Sophia saw the filming crew arriving, so she quickly put on a straw hat to cover even more of her face as her dark eyes swiveled around. After she changed out of the clothes she had on just now, she rode the motorcycle over. She was garbed in a dirty apron, and below her work pants that were caked with mud were her bare feet. She was pretending that she had just dug up the potatoes, and to make things even more realistic, she even swiped mud on her cheeks. The vige was a producer ofrge and mild-vored potatoes. It was potato-harvesting season now, so more than half of the market was filled with those colorful tubers. Blending in with the other farmers, Sophia remained hidden in in sight. There were many different types of potatoes, ranging from the round and golden ones to the oblong and reddish ones. The earthy smell from them wafted into the air, and most of them were still caked with mud, having just been freshly dug up from the potato fields early this morning. ¡°So many potatoes!¡± Carmen eximed and rushed into the vegetable market to choose them. Michael followed closely behind, carrying her small husky bag for her. Carmen made her way toward Sophia, who was extremely nervous as she was afraid of being recognized. Thus, she kept her head bowed. Michael walked over and squatted down next to Sophia¡¯s stall. Although he pretended to choose the potatoes in her stall very carefully, he was in fact secretly looking at his wife. Looking at the potatoes, he asked his daughter, ¡°Carmen, would you like to eat potatoes?¡± Carmen nodded. ¡°Yes!¡± Michael continued, ¡°But potatoes make one look ugly. Carmen, aren¡¯t you afraid of bing ugly?¡± The little girl became a little hesitant. Staring at the potatoes, she felt herself drooling at the thought of eating them, but she was also deathly afraid of turning ugly. After swallowing back her saliva, she decided to give up her food cravings for the sake of beauty. Tugging at Michael¡¯s sleeve, she said pitifully, ¡°Daddy, we¡¯d better go. I don¡¯t want to turn ugly.¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. Michael said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can eat less while I¡¯ll eat more. If we turn ugly, I¡¯ll be uglier than you.¡± Sophia, who was in disguise, could not help butugh. However, in the next second, she heard Michael say, ¡°Ma¡¯am, give me two pounds of potatoes.¡± Ma¡¯am? Sophia was surprised by this form of address, but she immediately got into her role and weighed the potatoes for them. Carmen squatted and watched very carefully as Sophia took out a small scale to weigh their vegetables. ¡°Daddy, look! What is this?¡± Carmen was seeing this kind of scale for the first time, which thrilled her to no end. She looked at Sophia in adoration. Sophia secretly felt ted in her heart. She deliberately took a long time to weigh the potatoes and thought to herself how fortunate it was that she had practiced using this scale before. In the past, she had often gone to the farmhouses outside the city for vacation, and during her trips, she would asionally visit the nearby towns to buy food. On one of those trips, she had learned how to use the scale. Although she was slightly rusty at using it right now, she could still do it. Michael took the opportunity to exin how the scale worked to Carmen, who listened with amazement. The two pounds of potatoes were quickly weighed out. Then, Sophia told them how much it cost. Michael looked at Sophia, who was trying hard to look professional, and couldn¡¯t help butugh. However, he did not expose her but let Carmen pay for the potatoes by herself. ¡°Here, Carmen, pay thedy yourself.¡± Carmen took a note out and looked at Sophia pitifully, saying, ¡°Ma¡¯am, do you mind charging me less?¡± Upon looking at her soft and tiny face, Sophia felt enraptured by her cuteness. I¡¯ll even give them to you for free! But several videographers were staring at them, and the director was also watching intently. So, she had to keep her act together and pretended to be unhappy. ¡°We are a small business trying to make ends meet. How about I give you a few more potatoes to make up the full amount of that note in your hand?¡± Carmen calcted the cost of the ingredients and fell silent. Wiping sweat from his forehead, Michael said, ¡°Just charge us a little bit less. It¡¯s not a big deal, and you don¡¯t have to keep so many coins.¡± Even Michael himself had started to bargain with her. Sophia pretended to mull over it for a while, then agreed. ¡°Okay, okay, here you go.¡± She quickly wrapped up the potatoes, took the note, and gave some change to Carmen. Carmen squeezed the change in her hands and looked overjoyed. Despite only saving a few coins, it was as satisfying as saving a few million. Michael left holding the potatoes while Carmen skipped along behind him, followed by the film crew. Carrying the potatoes, Michael thought to himself that Sophia probably was done by this time. He did not want to see her againter as he felt awkward negotiating prices with her. A momentter, Michael had bought everything he needed without spending too much. The ce the film crew had arranged for them to live in was without a refrigerator, so he had to eat however much he bought. The potatoes and beans couldst until tomorrow, but the leafy vegetables, tomatoes, and meat had to be finished by today, or they would spoil. Without Sophia there, he could finally feel bold enough to negotiate prices with the other sellers. Michael had decided to make a spicy stew for Carmen but using less chili. But to his surprise, when he finally went to buy the chili, he saw Sophia again. She had changed her clothes and washed her face, but she still had thatrge face mask on. Right now, she was working as a cashier in a snack cum grocery shop, and she still thought she was perfectly camouged. Michael was at a loss for words. Even if she only showed a toe, Michael could recognize her, let alone showing her whole self. As the only snack cum grocery shop in the vige, it was well stocked. From pistachios to sanitary napkins and from ice cream to cumin powder, it had everything one would need. As soon as Carmen entered, she had her gaze fixated on arge rainbow-colored lollipop. I want that¡­ But Michael nced at the price of the lollipop and touched his pocket. It¡¯s too expensive! If we buy the lollipop today, we¡¯ll have to go hungry tomorrow. Carmen turned to look at Michael, who pretended not to notice. ¡°Daddy, I want that lollipop.¡± She tugged on him so that he faced the lollipop. Staring at the big, round, rainbow-colored lollipop, it was the first time Michael felt that he couldn¡¯t afford to buy such amon item. Besides, the lollipop was so big that it would not be easy to hide it from the other kids. If they saw it, chaos would probably descend upon the entire filming team. Left with no choice, he gritted his teeth and said, ¡°You can¡¯t have the lollipop now. I¡¯ll get it for you when we go hometer.¡± Pouting, Carmen put on a sad expression as she continued to stare at the lollipop stubbornly. Sophia¡¯s heart immediately softened at that, so she hurriedly told them, ¡°It¡¯s not expensive! Only one coin per piece! Come and have one!¡± A bright smile instantly broke out on Carmen¡¯s face. Rushing over, she grabbed the candy and quickly unwrapped it. In the end, Michael had no choice but to take out a coin and said, ¡°Here, for the lollipop.¡± Carmen had sessfully bought the candy with a single coin even though it actually cost much more. Michael turned his head to the videographer and said, ¡°Discard this footageter.¡± The videographer had no response to that. Because it was the only grocery store in the vige, other fathers would alsoe in to buy ingredients. While Carmen was unwrapping the lollipop, another pair of father and son came in the door with a videographer following behind them. Seeing Carmen unwrapping the lollipop, the boy immediately jumped up and down. ¡°Daddy, I want the candy too!¡± The father was a younger man. This was probably his first time taking care of the kid by himself, and he had been so tormented by the ordeal that he had huge dark circles under his eyes. Pinching the money in between his fingers, he went up and asked, ¡°How much is the lollipop?¡± Sophia said arrogantly, ¡°Ten for a piece. No bargaining.¡± The young father gritted his teeth and turned to his son. ¡°We¡¯ll buy one when we get home. This lollipop is not for sale.¡± They only had a hundred to spend over two more days. So, they had to carefully budget for their expenses. It was way too much to spend ten percent of their total just to buy a lollipop. There were only a few seconds of silence before Sophia heard the loudest wail ever. ¡°Boo hoo¡­¡± The wailing from the boy was so loud that the ss almost shattered. His cries attracted the attention of the other three pairs of fathers and kids. When the other three kids entered and saw Carmen clutching a huge lollipop in her hand and was about to eat it, their emotions spiraled out of control on the spot. ¡°I want Mommy!¡± ¡°I want to go home!¡± ¡°I want the lollipop!¡± The whole crew was plunged into a frenzy instantly. One of the boys even dropped to the ground and rolled around, screaming. Nobody could persuade him to stop, and the director and film crew were so anxious that they were literally like cats on a hot tin roof. Upon hearing the cries and seeing the boy rolling around on the ground, his head almost exploded. The situation that they had feared the most was happening right before their eyes! Chapter 1111 Chapter 1111 Sophia looked at the boy rolling on the ground and was scared out of her wits. Oh no, I¡¯ve messed up big time! She hurriedly put away the lollipops next to the cash register. Upon hearing the kids¡¯ wailing, Michael felt his head aching. The director and the film crew were also unsure of what to do, while the several other young fathers werepletely stumped as they tried their hardest to calm the kids down. Harry and Ashton had followed Michael to buy exactly the same ingredients. Therefore, they had only arrived when Ashton began to cry. Although he was crying, his hands remained tightly clutched around the handles of the basket with the potatoes inside. Hearing Ashton¡¯s wails, Harry, who was carrying arge cabbage, was so terrified that he put down the cabbage and startedforting the boy. But when four kids were crying together, it was a terrifying situation that nobody, not even the staff or the fathers, could do to assuage. The original purpose of the show was to test and train the ability of fathers to bring up their kids. Thus, comforting crying kids was also one of the necessary skills that fathers had to possess. Yesterday, they had spent a lot of effort to calm the kids down. But now that Carmen was the only one who had a lollipop, all hell broke loose, and the kids could not be calmed, so in turn, the filming could not go on. Carmen was so scared that she didn¡¯t dare to eat the lollipop and instead hid behind Michael, gazing at everyone with a pair ofrge, unblinking eyes. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. Several fathers had no choice but to grit their teeth and shell out money to buy the lollipops in order to comfort their own kids. However, they did not expect that not only did the little kids want lollipops, but they also wanted jellies, cookies, and ice creams. If they didn¡¯t get what they wanted, they would throw tantrums and cry. The filming could not go on under this circumstance! Thus, the crew that consisted of more than a hundred people came to aplete halt. Sophia did not expect a lollipop to cause such a bigmotion. She was so petrified that she shrank into the corner of the shop. In her heart, she med herself for not remembering to put away all the snacks in advance. Several fathers anxiously got together to discuss what to do, since the crew was unable to intervene and would not pay for them to buy any snacks. After all, one of the reasons why ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was so popr to the extent of earning a billion at the box office was the great production and strict adherence to principles. All unexpected situations required the fathers to personally solve them. To produce the most realistic reality show, the crew would not easily lend a helping hand. Therefore, the challenge for the fathers tofort and teach the kids was one of the main attractions of the show. Viewers wanted to know how celebrity fathers would deal with themon problems with kids that urred in life. The four fathers were in a flummox as they put their heads together and brainstormed for ideas. Michael, too, was actively involved in the discussion, and the videographers came close to make sure they captured the fathers at their most harrowing moments of the show. On the other hand, Sophia hid herself among the crowd to eavesdrop on their discussion. ¡°The snacks are so expensive. I can¡¯t afford to buy them!¡± ¡°If we buy snacks, we won¡¯t be able to eat anything tomorrow.¡± ¡°Perhaps they¡¯ll be fine after crying for a while.¡± Michael was also nervous. ncing at Carmen, who was standing to the side and holding the lollipop she was still afraid to eat, he found her to be such an understanding angelpared to other kids. But unexpectedly, Carmen suddenly led a tiny piglet out of nowhere toward Michael. She was so ecstatic about it that she didn¡¯t even want the lollipop anymore. ¡°Daddy, can I take the piggy home with me?¡± Michael was already panicking about the whole filming situation, and when he saw that piglet, he almost exploded. He hurriedly said to Carmen, ¡°Quickly put it back from where you found it! Our house has too many animals, so we cannot raise a pig.¡± The thought of raising a pig sent shivers down his spine. But in the next moment, Carmen¡¯s face fell. She ttened her mouth and started bawling. ¡°Boo hoo¡­ I want the piggy!¡± Michael was speechless. Now, even Carmen is crying. The rest of the kids wanted snacks, while Carmen wanted a pig. When Sophia saw Carmen crying, she almost went crazy and had a sudden urge to rush up to her daughter. As for Michael, he almost broke down at the sound of Carmen crying. He held Carmen and tried tofort her but to no avail. She didn¡¯t even want lollipops anymore and only wanted pigs. So, he finally had to say, ¡°Okay. After we finish filming, we will take the piggy back! You can raise as many as you want, and we can have a house full of pigs, alright?¡± Carmen immediately stopped crying and choked out, ¡°O-Okay.¡± Then, she added, ¡°Pinky swear?¡± Michael had no choice but to bitterly make a pinky swear with her. In the next moment, Carmen slid off him and started running around trying to catch the piglet. Sophia¡¯s mind was about to explode. Oh my God, are we going to raise pigs? No, never! Our home will be a pig farm! But right now, Michael no longer cared whether their home would be turned into a pig farm or a cattle farm. The most important thing to do was to calm the kids down as fast as possible. If this continued any longer, there would not be any lunch! The fathers continued to be worried over the four crying kids. Meanwhile, Sophia checked the time and realized that it was quitete in the day now. If this dragged on any further, her daughter would not be able to eat her lunch on time. At that moment, she had no choice but to try her best to think of a solution. Taking advantage of Carmen ying with the piglet and the fact that nobody had noticed her yet, she said to her, ¡°Little girl, look at the other kids crying! Shouldn¡¯t you go andfort them?¡± Upon hearing the suggestion, Carmen looked at everyone timidly. She was a little afraid because she was the youngest. Among the five children, the oldest was seven years old, while Carmen was the youngest at only four years old. Sophia gave her a slight push and whispered encouragingly, ¡°Look, the time hase for you to shine! If you can manage tofort the others, you¡¯ll be the one in the spotlight today. Everyone will definitely look at you!¡± Carmen thought about it. She absolutely refused to let go of any opportunity to put on a show in front of the camera. So, she took out the lollipop, then led the piglet toward Ashton. After licking on the lollipop herself, she then stuffed it into Ashton¡¯s wide-open mouth. The crowd was stunned by her move. After Ashton licked the lollipop, Carmen immediately took it away. The boy immediately started crying, to which Carmen stuffed the lollipop into his mouth again and stopped his wails. After a few times, Ashton stopped crying. Carmen then said to him, ¡°Here, you can touch my piggy, but no more crying! If you cry again, you¡¯re no longer the best.¡± Touching the piglet, Ashton licked the lollipop again and finally stopped crying. Relieved, Harry hurried over to carry Ashton away. Following that, Carmen led the piglet toward the second kid. Holding out the lollipop, she did the same trick. Without a word, she stuffed the lollipop into the kid¡¯s mouth first, and whenever the kid cried, she would stuff him over and over again. Finally, the kid was allowed to touch the piglet, and then Carmen promised he was the second-best ever. In this way, all was right with the world again. In the end, Carmen¡¯s lollipop was licked by all four other kids, and she even let them touch her piglet. The kids wereforted and happily followed her and her piglet around. Now that the deafening cries were finally gone, the fathers and the filming crew were all relieved that the situation was brought under control. All of them were exhausted, as if they had fought a massive battle, but they still had to take their baskets of food and continue to buy ingredients to make lunch for the kids. The fathers bought the condiments they needed as fast as they could, then hurriedly left this horrific site. Holding Carmen and the piglet that came from nowhere, Michael also left the grocery store. Upon leaving, he took a look at Sophia, who was peeking at them from the corner of the grocery store, and thought to himself that it was highly likely that she would never appear again. ¡­ While passing by the watermelon field on the way back, Michael decided to bring Carmen to buy a small watermelon for dessert. To his shock, as soon as they walked into the perg, Sophia wasing out from it to sell them watermelons. Michael was struck speechless. Is she ever gonna stop? Chapter 1112 Chapter 1112 Michael wasn¡¯t sure how he was supposed to react. Does she have to be here and make a mess out of things? Could she not have stayed at home with the cats instead of following us all the way here? Michael gritted his teeth as he reminded himself to teach her a lesson when he got home¡ªsomeone had to rein her in or she¡¯d just keep pushing the limits! The vige was built on high terrains and now that it was September, it was the season for naturally- farmed watermelons. People would usually drive in from the city just so they could get their hands on the seasonal produce, but the number of visitors had lessened significantly ever since the road closure had been implemented for the filming of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. The watermelon field thaty before them was the best stretch of sand the vige had to offer, thereby producing the sweetest watermelons during this season. Sophia¡¯s motorcycle was parked off to one side of the field; she was wearing a sun-protective jacket that was aptly melon-colored, a giant straw hat, and a pair of sunsses that perched on the bridge of her nose. Her skin had turned a light shade of caramel under the hot sun and sweat was dripping down her temples as she squatted by the booth, much like an actual watermelon vendor. It wasn¡¯t a particrly hot day in the vige but seeing as it was nearly nine o¡¯clock in the morning, the sun had crept past the mountain tops and was now beating down mercilessly. Sophia had yed the role of a cell phone vendor, a lotus root vendor, a lollipop vendor and presently, she had assumed the role of a watermelon vendor. The switch-up had been so quick that she was probably already worn out by now. Bearing this in mind, Michael wanted to get whatever they needed from the market so they could make a move. It went without saying that Sophia was here to keep an eye on both her husband and daughter¡ªthe sooner they left, the sooner she¡¯d head back to the hotel. Michael hastily picked a small watermelon but Carmen¡¯s gaze was glued to a much bigger one. He counted the money in his hand as he thought about how much they could eat as a father-daughter duo, ¡°Come on, sweetie. We¡¯ll get the small one,¡± Michael said frantically, fearing that Carmen would be attached to the bigger watermelon. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Indeed, Carmen pointed to said watermelon and said, ¡°Daddy, I want that one.¡± ¡°But we won¡¯t be able to finish it,¡± Michael countered hurriedly. Hearing that, Carmen pouted. ¡°We can always give some to Piggy.¡± Michael nced over at the piglet that Carmen had somehow picked up along the way and cursed inwardly, Sh*t! Where the hell is the pig¡¯s owner? How could they not have noticed that they¡¯ve lost a pig? Michael didn¡¯t dare imagine what would happen if this piglet were to follow them back to Bayside City. Knowing Carmen, she would feel sorry for the lonely piglet in about two days¡¯ time and go in search of a partner for it. From then on, it would only be a matter of time before a litter of piglets came popping out, and soon after that there would be a whole family of them! If that was the case, Michael would very likely come home to not only a bunch of crap-colored ginger cats, but also a house full of pigs! No, he thought with grim determination. I can¡¯t let that happen! He¡¯d have to wait for Carmen to fall asleep before giving the piglet back to its rightful owner. Right now, he had to persuade her into giving up on the watermelon. ¡°That melon¡¯s too expensive for us. If we get it, we won¡¯t have enough money for our meals tomorrow.¡± Carmen pouted resentfully but just as she was about to give up on the watermelon, Sophia swiftly nipped the vine off said melon and beamed at the both of them. ¡°Let the kid have it! It¡¯s not expensive at all, only ten cents for a pound! We¡¯re famous for our melons¡ªif it¡¯s not sweet, we won¡¯t take your money!¡± Michael was rendered speechless as he stared nkly at his wife. Then, he turned to look at the cameraman and muttered, ¡°Cut this scene out.¡± Ten cents for a pound¡ªSophia was practically making a joke out of the watermelon and the cameraman¡¯s intelligence. After taking the watermelon and weighing it with a serious look on her face, Sophia promptly dered, ¡°Right; the big watermelon is about three pounds, so that¡¯s thirty cents.¡± Michael was rendered speechless once again. The watermelon weighs far beyond that! Carmen happily took out fifty cents and received twenty for her change. Then, as if she hadn¡¯t already butchered the melon market, Sophia gave Carmen the smaller melon that Michael had initially wanted, saying, ¡°You¡¯re the 20th customer to visit our booth today, so you get a free melon!¡± Overjoyed, Carmen held onto her change as she walked away with the melon tucked under her arm, tugging the piglet alongside her. Michael rolled his eyes in frustration. He shoved the big watermelon into a borrowed carrier bag and tightened his grip on the heavy grocery basket, traipsing after his daughter. His thin, white undershirt was soaked through with sweat as it clung onto his body and entuated his well-toned physique¡ªso much so that one could even see the deep grooves that ran over his hip bones. The filming crew was ecstatic as they hurried to capture this on camera. With footage like this, they wouldn¡¯t need to worry about the ratings for the second season at all! The director leaned in close to Michael and asked in a low voice, ¡°Do you know thedy who was selling the watermelons back there?¡± Michael focused on carrying the melon as sweat ran down his temples. ¡°No; I don¡¯t,¡± he answered tly. ¡°I think she looks like your wife.¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± ¡°That was your wife, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Cut the scene out.¡± The director said nothing more. Michael was making it far too obvious; it was most definitely his wife back there at the booth! However, the director knew better than to press on. Meanwhile, Harry, who had seen through Sophia¡¯s disguise from the get-go, had rushed over to the booth before she could leave and bought a seven to eight-pound melon at the price Sophia had set. He and Ashton could snack on the watermelon for the rest of the day. The moment they left, the watermelons resumed their original market price and the other dads who were on the show were forced to buy the melons at two for a pound. Sophia changed back into her clothes and left it to Dimon¡ªwho had only just paid for the piglet¡ªto compensate the farmers for the underpriced watermelons she had sold. As he rushed over to the booth, Sophia hurried to catch up with Michael and Carmen. By now, Michael was sweating profusely as he carried the watermelon and followed Carmen closely from behind. She looked so little as she marched on ahead, happily holding onto the melon while she tugged the piglet along on its leash. However, it wasn¡¯t long before Carmen¡¯s little steps came to a halt and she began amusing herself with the ants crawling on the side of the road. Carefully, Michael put down the carrier bag with the melon and lifted a corner of his shirt to wipe away his sweat. Squatting down, he looked at Carmen with concern and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Carmen hung her head. ¡°Piggy can¡¯t walk any further,¡± she mumbled. Michael almost let out a bitterugh because it wasn¡¯t Piggy who couldn¡¯t walk any further¡ªit was Carmen! ¡°How about I head back and get started on the cooking while you and Piggy take a break here? You can both go back after you¡¯re ready to walk again,¡± Michael suggested catingly. Carmen nodded but when she turned, the piglet had bitten off its leash. Upon discovering that Carmen had swiped a random piglet and realizing that there was no way for them to bring it along with all their groceries, Michael had fashioned a leash out of a borrowed piece of rope so that Carmen could tug the piglet along. Now that the rope was bitten off, the piglet was scampering around the market. Torn between holding onto the melon and trying to go after the piglet, Carmen looked at her father with watery eyes. ¡°Daddy, Piggy ran away¡­¡± Michael could feel the blood pounding in his ears. It was no surprise that no one came to their assistance. After all, the whole point of this reality show was to showcase how the dads dealt with unexpected situations, and everyone was interested in seeing how Michael would handle the runaway piglet. Michael wasted no time, putting down the groceries and catching the piglet deftly. Then, he took off his shirt and turned it into a makeshift sack for the watermelon so that Carmen could easily carry it with her. He passed it to her gently and said, ¡°You can make your way back home slowly with the watermelon. I¡¯ll head back to get started on the cooking.¡± Sophia had only just rushed over to where the filming crew was when she saw Michael strip off his shirt. The moment his shirt came off, his torso was bared to the crowd in all its glory¡ªthe lean muscles were defined as they coiled beneath his glistening skin. He sure was delicious to look at. Sophia swallowed and turned to see that all the cameras were focused on capturing this exact moment. No, she thought possessively. That¡¯s my husband! Get your cameras away from him! The director was in bliss as he gestured for the cameramen to keep capturing the scene. With footage like this, this season was bound to be a hit! For as long as Taylor Murray was featured, ¡®Keep Running: Sisters!¡¯ and ¡®Divas Hit the Road¡¯ would have nothing on this show! Chapter 1113 Chapter 1113 Michael carefully ced the vegetables into the carrier bag with the watermelon, relieved to find that the bag was sturdy enough to hold up the weight of today¡¯s haul. The women in the crowd watched in awe as Michael carried the bag with one hand and picked up the piglet with the other. He held the piglet over his shoulder as he quickly jogged toward his courtyard. All everyone paid attention to was his lean and long physique; they did not miss the way his biceps curled beneath the smooth skin and they stared openly at his perfect shoulder des. He was built like a model¡ªit was such a shame that he was carrying a pig! The piglet was seemingly pleased as it nestled into the crook of Michael¡¯s neck, its front trotters resting on his broad shoulders. At that moment, everybody wished they were the piglet instead. By the time Michael had reached home with the groceries and the piglet, he noticed that there were filthy marks on him, courtesy of the piglet. He rinsed those off, having little regard to how the water sshed against his trousers, then quickly proceeded to thoroughly wash the vegetables and the rice. He also did not forget to put the piglet somewhere confined so it couldn¡¯t run off while he was busy. They lived in a courtyard that was not equipped with gas or an electric rice cooker; there were only woodfire stoves, on which Michael was expected to cook their meals. Fortunately, they were given two stoves and two pots. Michael used one of the pots to make some porridge and the other for a spicy stir-fry hotpot. When Carmen finally sauntered back home at her own leisurely pace, she immediately started helping Michael with the preparation. It wasfortable as the father-daughter duo worked together to make lunch. Seeing as unauthorized persons were not allowed in the vicinity when the cameras were rolling, Sophia had had no choice but to disguise herself as part of the crew. She looked sheepish now as she took hold of a camera, angling to get closer up front as she kept her eyes on Michael¡¯s pots. Michael had never cooked or cleaned a day in his life, but he had picked up basic cooking skills from survival training during his military days. The food he made was by no means restaurant quality but it was edible, and¡ªat the very least¡ªno one had ever died after eating his cooking. His head was bowed as he focused on his task at hand but when he looked up, he saw Sophia. She was wearing her contacts and she stared at his pot with such intensity that he thought her eyeballs might fall right in. Michael resisted his urge tough. Once he was done slicing the vegetables, he asked Carmen to keep an eye on the porridge while he followed the instructions that came with the stir-fry paste. The paste turned out better than he thought it would; it was fragrant and he could tell it was vorful despite theck of chilli. It wasn¡¯t long before the aroma of stir-fry wafted through the courtyard. The fragrance prompted Carmen to abandon her post by the pot of porridge so that she could stand by her father, and she watched intently as he cooked. Michael nced up to find both mother and daughter staring at him. The pressure he felt was insurmountable. Lunch was at half-past noon and the five dads were meant to bring the dishes they made to a designated area where they could all eat together. By the end of this segment, the five babies would vote for the dad with the best dish. Sophia tailed after the crew. There were dozens of crew members surrounding the dining table, which had been set for ten. Her gaze swept over the dishesid out on the table. There were pies, dumplings and rice. Michael¡¯s stir- fry hotpot and porridge definitely looked the best out of all the dishes; plus, he had brought half of the watermelon for everyone to share too. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia found herself salivating at the sight of her husband¡¯s cooking. She then happened to turn and look into Harry¡¯s bowl, which featured a very suspicious looking ckish-green substance. Harry appeared proud as he announced, ¡°My son and I made this Eight Treasure Congee with lotus root, century egg, cucumber, pulled pork and lotus seeds.¡± Everyone stared and remained quiet. Sophia was so horrified that she quickly turned away from Harry, focusing on her husband instead. As the celebrities started to dig into their meals, the crew began to work in shifts as half of them continued working while the other half went to retrieve lunch boxes. Having taken a lunch box as well, Sophia sat in the corner and began to eat but her gaze lingered on Michael¡¯s stir-fry hotpot. I really want to try his cooking¡­ Sadly, she did not even have a chance to taste Michael¡¯s cooking because it was polished off within mere moments of being set on the dining table. When everyone was done eating, the five children had to choose the dad with the best dish. Michael came out on top, which was due to the fact that while all the other kids had voted for their own dad, Ashton had voted for Michael instead. Granted, Harry wasn¡¯t really Ashton¡¯s father but one could not deny that the affronting congee was the main reason he had not won Ashton¡¯s favor. Once they had finished the watermelon that Michael had brought to the table, everyone went back to their amodations with their bellies full; they needed to take a break before they continued filming for the rest of the afternoon. From the moment they¡¯d woken up, the dads had been kept on their feet all day long as they dealt with unexpected situations. As a result, they were all drained so after going back and cleaning up the house for a bit, they fell asleep. However, Carmen was not worn out at all. Michael had gone back for a nap after the meal but Carmen had managed to sneak out of the courtyard to meet up with Ashton, and the both of them had gone next door to see the pig inbor. By the time Michael woke up and went in search of his daughter, it was already toote. Carmen had returned with a donkey in tow and a rooster in her arms. ¡°Daddy, can I bring the chicken and the donkey back home?¡± ¡°The pig next door had her babies. Can I bring another piglet home?¡± ¡°The vige chief¡¯s buffalo is so cute¡ªcan I bring it home?¡± Michael soon found himself speechless at Carmen¡¯s string of requests. When Sophia sneaked over to the courtyardter that day to spy on Michael and Carmen, she was greeted by the sight of them in the yard, along with a rooster, donkey and arge buffalo. Michael was on the verge of insanity and when Carmen was keen on feeding their dinner to her newfound pets, he was about to have a nervous breakdown. Come dinner time, Michael had washed his undershirt and hung it to the side of the courtyard. The weather was hot so he decided to go shirtless as he made pot noodles. He added eggs and whatever amount of vegetables he had managed to salvage before Carmen fed them to her pets, then finished off the dish with a few cobs of corn. He had also given milk to Carmen, who only drank form that was customized by the family nutritionist. The form had been made into powdered form so that Michael could bring it along on this trip. Carmen was usually a picky eater but she ate her meal now without making a fuss; perhaps this had something to do with it being her dad¡¯s cooking. She polished off a small bowl of noodles and a cob of corn. Grabbing her milk bottle, she stared contentedly at Michael as she drank her milk. Both of them seemed to be crowded around the little table. Michael had found two stic stools to make up for theck of chairs but while Carmen wasfortably seated, Michael¡ªwho was tall and long- limbed¡ªhad to fold into himself as he slurped up a big bowl of noodles. He had given most of the egg and vegetables in his bowl to Carmen, so all he had left were in strings of noodles. ¡°What do you think of my cooking? Is it good?¡± Michael asked expectantly, putting down his chopsticks. ¡°Yes,¡± Carmen answered sweetly. Just then, she set down her bottle and went into the house, onlying out momentster. ¡°Don¡¯t move, Daddy.¡± Michael stayed still. Carmen then rounded him with a bottle of insect repellent in her little hand and she began spraying it onto his back. ¡°Daddy, you have mosquito bites. Let me blow them for you.¡± There were a few bumps that had formed on Michael¡¯s back due to the mosquito bites. Carmen carefully sprayed insect repellent on him before she gently blew at the bumps. At that moment, Michael was so moved he teared up. She is daddy¡¯s little girl, indeed! It was as though his hard work for the day had been worth it the moment Carmen greeted him as sweetly as she did. He would have given her anything she wanted¡ªbe it a buffalo, donkey or rooster! He would even have given her a dinosaur if she asked for it! Chapter 1114 Chapter 1114 Michael let his armor down the moment Carmen told him sweetly, ¡°Here, Daddy, I¡¯ll blow on the mosquito bites for you.¡± He had nned to sneak out at midnight so that he could secretly return all her newfound pets to their rightful owners, but he was so moved by his daughter¡¯s warm gestures that he found himself relenting instead. Michael certainly had not expected Carmen to bring amb into the courtyard while he was doing the dishes. ¡°Daddy, can I¡ª¡± Michael faltered and screamed inwardly, No, you can¡¯t. You can¡¯t! He quickly began to dissuade her but s, his painstaking attempt to do so had convinced Carmen that she wanted twombs instead. Once again, Michael was at a loss for words. By the end of the day, two babymbs were added to Carmen¡¯s collection of farm animals and Michael let out a dry sob as he heard thembs bleating in the yard. But the moment he turned to see his little girl snuggled up against him, he felt all his resentment and frustration dissipate into nothing. It had been a long day. Flipping over, Michael pulled his sweetheart into his arms and fell asleep shortly after. At midnight, a few people showed up outside of Michael¡¯s house. ¡°Alright; Dan has already led the guards away. Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be back before you know it!¡± Sophia instructed quietly as she went over to where Dimon and the others were standing. There was arge bag slung over her shoulder. Dimon watched as she dashed over to the courtyard, looking clumsy with the heavy bag in tow. Sophia had scoped out thendscape during the day and had taken note of the camera that was positioned by the front entrance. She avoided it and headed over to a hidden part of the courtyard, where she knew the dog hole would be. When she came upon this dog hole during her stake out earlier that day, Sophia had made sure that she would be able to squeeze through it without being captured by the camera. Dimon watched as Sophia found the hole and crawled through it. Once she had managed that, she reached out an arm and said, ¡°Dimon, give me the bag.¡± Cringing, he handed the bag over to her. He thought about how Cooper¡¯s actions had forced Michael into crawling through a dog hole once upon a time. How the tables had turned since, seeing as Sophia was now doing the exact same thing. After she had infiltrated the courtyard, Sophia slung the bag over her shoulder and sneaked into the kitchen. She had observed that the camera in the kitchen would be switched off during the night, but the same would not apply to the one in the courtyard. She carefully navigated her way around thetter and made her way toward the kitchen, thereafter locating the cer in which Michael stored the food. The temperature in the vige was cool by nightfall and instead of using refrigerators, the vigers would store their food in a little cer built into the ground. Sophia shone her torchlight down at the meager supply that had been stored into the cer. There was nothing left but a quarter of a lotus root, a couple of eggs, tomatoes, and a lonely cob of corn; the melons were gone and Carmen had fed the piglet whatever was left of the vegetables. Hmm¡­ Michael cooked that corn¡­ I¡¯ll take it! Sophia munched on the cob of corn as she ced her torchlight down on the floor next to her. She made sure that it still cast its light into the cer while she rummaged through her bag and began to gingerly stock up the food in the cer. She brought tomatoes, eggs, strips of pork belly and potatoes¡ªall of which she deemed as essential food items. She had also brought lollipops, jellies, choctes, a packet of cigarettes and chewing gum. Then, she lowered a sealed pack of ready-made chicken drumsticks and pig trotters into the cer before finally putting in the fruits, which included grapes, peaches and pears. Sophia had picked the fruits after sunset so they would be fresh enough for consumption tomorrow morning. The massive bag that had been filled with food items was now deted as Sophia emptied its contents into the cer. As she did so, she felt relieved knowing that Michael and Carmen wouldn¡¯t starve tomorrow. She was so distracted with her own task that she hadn¡¯t even noticed when, at some point, a figure appeared behind her. He stayed hidden in the shadows as he watched her every move. Sophia remained unaware as she happily piled junk food into the cer. Michael kept quiet as he watched her stock up the cer, which was already running out of space. Finally, sheid a packet of pig feed on top of the stockpile. Upon seeing that, Michael was utterly speechless. Sophia looked small as she crouched by the cer. She was a study in enigma, like a rare flower whose heady perfume aroused Michael in the dead of the night. A sense of urgency seized him and there was a deep hunger within him that he could no longer keep at bay. At that moment, he could feel the blood coursing through his body in heated passion and he only had one thing on his mind¡ªto ravish her with love. Impatient and testosterone-driven, Michael grabbed Sophia and pinned her against the stove. Sophia had been shaking her empty bag when someone suddenly swept her up and pinned himself against her. Arge pair of hands sped over her small ones. ¡°Shh,¡± Michael whispered softly into her ear, his breath stirring her hair in a familiar sensation. Sophia rxed upon realizing that it was Michael. ¡°Hubby¡ª¡± she called out gently, reaching her arms around his broad shoulders. Property ? of N?velDrama.Org. With her stature, she could only cling onto Michael by reaching around his torso and cing her hands on his shoulders. Michael made a sound in the back of his throat before he hungrily kissed her cheeks and earlobes. Sophia could feel her body giving in to his kisses as she melted into the strength of his arms. Michael¡¯s hand reached out, feeling for the stove. He had removed all the firewood after cooking and the heat of the stove had since died down, so he knew it wouldn¡¯t scorch Sophia if she were to sit on it. He lifted Sophia and lowered her onto the stove, then gently pushed her skirt upward as he brushed his hands along her thighs. Sophia could feel the sheen of perspiration that covered his back as her grip tightened on his shoulders. He¡¯d just showered and the faint, pleasant scent of his shower gel still lingered on his skin. She wanted so badly to leave a mark on his neck but she thought better of it; the film crew would have a field day if the mark showed up on camera tomorrow! ¡­ When everything was over, Sophia pulled on her clothes. Since Michael hade out of his room wearing only a pair of shorts earlier on, he was dressed rtively quickly. Presently, he turned on the kitchen light before going over to the stove where there was a big pot of water. cing a steam rack into the pot as the water began to boil, he efficiently warmed up a couple of eggs, two cobs of corn, and a fewrge potatoes. ¡°Have some food. You must be hungry,¡± Michael said softly, looking at Sophia with a gentle expression. With all that she had done today, from running around with the crew to gathering fruits and potatoes, Sophia had to be famished by now. Her stomach grumbled but she held back nheless as she ate two potatoes and a cob of corn, saving the eggs for Michael and Carmen. Seeing her scarf down her food like this broke Michael¡¯s heart. He and Carmen might be the ones starring on the reality show, but Sophia was the one who was truly worn out by the end of it all. Michael cleaned up the kitchen after Sophia had finished her food, but it didn¡¯t take long before he picked her up and settled her onto the stove again. Pulling down his pants, he teased in a low voice, ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re full¡ªnot just yet. Don¡¯t worry, you can go after you¡¯re done with this meal.¡± ¡­ Despite what Sophia had said earlier, it had taken two hours before she finally crawled back through the dog hole. The bag she had brought along with her was empty. ¡°So much for being quick,¡± Dimon grumbled as he killed yet another mosquito, then left quietly. The next day, Michael woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated. The crew was arriving and the drones were taking flight. At daybreak, he woke Carmen up and got her ready to start their father-daughter missions for the day. Michael stepped out of his courtyard thinking that he had already satisfied Sophiast night and he was sure that she would have gone home today. However, as he looked up, he saw her standing by the entrance, disguised as a viger as she peeked at them. Chapter 1115 Chapter 1115 On thest day of filming, it was announced that everyone could leave as soon as lunch time was over. Half a day¡ªthey only needed to get through half a day before all of them could be set free. Everyone prayed silently for things to go off without a hitch. All the five celebrity dads were physically and emotionally drained as they finally began to realize how their wives were the true pirs of the family. They only had to take care of their kids for two short days, but they felt as though they¡¯d aged a decade. Carmen was Michael¡¯s precious little girl and he had always enjoyed their father-daughter bonding time even back when she was a baby. Babysitting was hardly a challenge for him, but Sophia-sitting was¡ª there was no telling what she would be up to next. True to her nature, Sophia was now hiding in the crowd, probably waiting to make a mess out of things. She wasn¡¯t using her contacts and somehow that had drawn Carmen¡¯s gaze toward her. Carmen perked up as she picked the blue-eyed Sophia right out of the horde of vigers. ¡°Mommy!¡± she cried out happily. Carmen took off at a run and nted herself firmly in Sophia¡¯s embrace. Sophia was startled but she wrapped her arms around Carmen anyway. That one hug brought forth an astounding ripple effect. The remaining four children who witnessed this scene immediately turned toward their dads and before long¡­ ¡°Wah! I want Mommy!¡± ¡°Daddy, I want Mommy now!¡± The children were crestfallen to see that Carmen¡¯s mother had shown up but not their own. Soon, the sound of heart-wrenching sobs and incoherent wails filled the air. The celebrity dads grew flustered. Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. The kids had woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and they¡¯d spent hours trying to cate them, for heaven¡¯s sake! What are we supposed to do now? Sophia panicked as the sobbing and wailing went on, her hands clutching Carmen against her. Meanwhile, Michael winced. He had known that Sophia would mess things up one way or another. The out-of-hand situation worsened as all the dads tried to soothe their kids, all the while glowering at Sophia. Upon seeing that, the director heaved a frustrated sigh. In light of all this, Michael went over to his wife, trying to make himself look as outraged as possible. He then ordered in a low voice, ¡°Go back to the hotel and stay there. I¡¯ll see you tonight.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Sophia muttered with a pout. She knew she had messed up, so it was best if she left the set as soon as possible. But just as she was leaving, Carmen began to cry. Sophia felt a stab to her heart and she instinctively turned back, only for Michael to dismiss her as he consoled Carmen, who was sobbing fitfully in his arms. Sophia had grown anxious upon hearing Carmen¡¯s sobs and she couldn¡¯t budge at all. Dimon had to rush over and frog-march her away from the set. As she was about to leave, she thought she heard Michael coaxing Carmen out of her tantrum, his voice soothing as he murmured, ¡°You have to choose between Mommy and Piggy¡­¡± In the end, Carmen chose the pig. ¡­ The schedule had been dyed by an hour after Sophia¡¯s presence had caused a scene, but eventually the filming came to an end and everyone left in their cars after lunch. Sophia hadn¡¯t shown up ever since that morning but throughout filming, Michael had spotted at least eight more drones flying around the set. He had recognized them as the same military spy drones that were manufactured by the Michel Group. That evening, Michael and Carmen boarded Sophia¡¯s private ne that was bound for Bayside City. Sophia had been waiting for them for what felt like ages. ¡°Mommy!¡± Carmen eximed as she ran toward Sophia with her arms stretched out. Sophia happily picked up her little girl. She felt relieved to know that Carmen had not lost any weight under Michael¡¯s care. As Michael boarded the ne, Sophia noticed that his skin had a sun-kissed tinge to it. He came over and pinched her cheeks, teasing, ¡°You do underestimate me. Did you really think I¡¯d let Carmen go hungry while she was with me?¡± Sophia blushed, feeling sheepish. She had never intended to disrupt the filming process but her worries had gotten the better of her. That said, Michael did seem unhappy and he had been sulking ever since he got on the ne. One might have thought that Sophia¡¯s little stunt that morning had something to do with Michael¡¯s sour mood, but no one could have guessed that it was because there was a buffalo aboard Linus¡¯ luxurious, billion-dor private ne. An actual, real-life buffalo! There was also a pair ofmbs aboard the flight. When the crew had assigned Carmen to help the vigers tend to the sheep, they had not expected her to get attached to thembs and she had been insistent on bringing them back to Bayside City. As if thembs and the buffalo weren¡¯t enough, there was also a rooster, donkey, and piglet! Simply put, Michael was about to lose his mind. All the other children had whined for their moms and had demanded to go home. But no¡­ not his Carmen. She had wanted pigs and buffaloes! He was wrong to have conceded to her many absurd requests and he should not have been blinded by how adorable she was. Michael was deeply regretting his decision to allow Carmen to bring all these animals along with them. Even the old man in the vige had made fun of him. Before they had left the vige, the old man had pulled him aside and said, ¡°Miles, there¡¯s no use denying that your daughter is destined to be a farmer. You should go back to the vige and be with May! That contractor will never be good enough for her!¡± Michael did not know how to respond to that. It wouldn¡¯t cost much to rear these animals but Carmen¡¯s intentions were clear¡ªshe wanted to keep them as household pets! She was going to turn the entire family home into a barnyard! Harry, who was on the ne with them, wasughing hysterically. He couldn¡¯t wait to get back to Bayside City just to see how Linus would react once he discovered his private ne had been turned into a portable animal farm. Carmen, on the other hand, was the only one who was excited about any of this. She was proudly showing off her new pets to Sophia. ¡°Mommy, can we put the buffalo in the fountain out front?¡± ¡°Can we let thembs live in the gardens?¡± ¡°Can Piggy stay with me in my room?¡± ¡°The donkey would love staying on the balcony.¡± Sophia frowned as she pondered her daughter¡¯s many requests. To havembs in the gardens, a buffalo in the fountain, a pig in the bedroom and a donkey on the balcony¡­ Sophia couldn¡¯t imagine how things would turn out if these were allowed. She exchanged a knowing nce with Michael, each of them waiting for the other toe up with ways to dissuade Carmen from her ambitious ns. However, Michael immediately turned to his side and pretended to fall asleep. Gritting her teeth, Sophia set to brainstorming. She had to convince Carmen to give up on the farm animals within the two hours that it would take for this flight to arrive at Bayside City, or else the house really would be converted into a farm. She turned to Carmen and began her patient lecture, which started with a long winding introduction on humanitarian philosophies and ended with the specifics of a pig¡¯s postnatal care. Having heard all of this, Carmen gave up on the buffalo,mbs and donkey, but she was adamant on keeping the piglet and rooster. Fortunately, it wouldn¡¯t take much to feed those two animals. Sophia figured that there would be a surplus from the cat food budget to cover the cost of feeding the chicken and pig. It was dark by the time the nended in Bayside City. They stayed the night at the family farm outside the city, effectively depositing the buffalo, donkey andmbs there. The next day, they took a car back to Bayside City. The piglet had been cleaned, vinated and dewormed. Carmen held it in her arms as she happily combed through its short tufts of hair. She had also ceremoniously tied a bow around the piglet. ¡°Michael, look¡ªnow we won¡¯t have to worry about it pooping everywhere!¡± Sophia pointed out cheerily as she picked up the piglet to show her husband. Michael, on the other hand, was worn out. He had been using an eye mask as he slept but now, he lifted up a corner of it to see the piglet donning an oversize diaper. He was far too tired to protest so he merely nodded and hummed in response. The rooster was also wearing a diaper to prevent unwanted idents from happening on the way back. Truly, only the rich could rear chickens this way. However, Michael did not want to put a diaper on the chicken; he wanted to ughter it for its meat. This episode of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ hade to an end. Thest season of the show had been a hit but there were viewers who hadined that the show was slow-paced andcked content. Thus, the production team had taken the feedback into ount and had released this episode within two weeks instead of the initial three. For each episode filmed, it would be edited into two episodes which would be released on TV over the course of two weeks, after which the cast and crew would take a week off before filming the next episode. It had only taken one episode for Carmen to amass an impressive collection of farm animals; Michael and Sophia hated to think what nine more episodes could lead to. Chapter 1116 Chapter 1116 The more Michael thought about his uing schedule for the reality show, the more he regretted signing up for it in the first ce. Upon their arrival at The Imperial, they received the warmest wee the family had to offer. Cooper and Linus stood by the entrance, along with Stanley, Justin and Celine. Rtives from both sides of the family were here¡ªeven the Michels showed up with words of congrattions. Sam was present as well and he had brought a homing gift for Carmen to congratte her on starring in the reality show. Michael, Sophia and Carmen made quite an entrance with a piglet and a rooster in tow. Harry, on the other hand, had only Ashton in his care. Stanley was taken aback when he registered the diaper-wearing rooster. ¡°I guess money makes all the difference when ites to rearing chickens!¡± he mused. ¡°That¡¯s something us ordinary folks can never understand!¡± Michael¡¯s expression looked sour despite the asion. It was hard for him to muster even an ounce of a smile, especially when there was a diapered piglet and rooster waddling in front of him. Cooper, on the other hand, was in a terrific mood. Seeing Michael, he pped a hand on his son-inw¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t do too badly.¡± Cooper had dispatched countless men and drones to spy on his precious little granddaughter, so he had managed to see everything that had taken ce throughout the three days during which the episode was filmed. His old son-inw had done fairly well throughout the process but that was likely because all the other dads werepletely hopeless byparison, thereby magnifying Michael¡¯s babysitting skills. The shot of Michael carrying the piglet, in particr, had be an international sensation. After all, it was a photo that captured the very essence of fatherhood! It was not merely a pig that Michael had carried on his shoulders, but the sacred responsibilities that came with being a father! Michael grew slightly cheerful upon being praised by his father-inw. As everyone adjourned to the living room, Sophia began distributing the truckful of vige specialties that she had bought as souvenirs. It was nightfall by the time thest of the guests departed. When Sophia was done with her dinner and had taken a shower, she switched on the news. The team behind the reality show had only released a couple of teaser clips on their official channel, but there was no doubt that this season would see solid viewership ratings as it continued to gain traction among the fans. Michael had only carried the pig for all but five minutes, but apparently that was all it took for his name to make waves in the entertainment industry. All anyone could talk about was him and his piglet. Meanwhile, Carmen was ecstatic. Starring in this season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ was her dream come true and she was basking in the joy of it all as she climbed into Sophia¡¯s bed, keen on getting an early night¡¯s sleep. Having seen Carmen writing in her diary earlier, Michael became curious and decided to sneak into her room after he had washed up. As Carmen¡¯s vocabry expanded, Sophia encouraged her to keep a daily journal, even though there were words that she couldn¡¯t quite spell just yet.Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Michael¡¯s eyes gleaned over Carmen¡¯s diary. He was excited to find out what she thought of his performance for the past couple of days. ¡®My Daddy is the best superhero in the whole world. He safed the world once when he was Docter Strange.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with Daddy. This makes me really happy.¡¯ ¡®Daddy is always so busy. I¡¯m happy that I get to spend a hole day with him.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m happy that Daddy cooked for me.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m happy that Daddy got rid of mosquitoes for me.¡¯ ¡­ When he was done reading through the pages, Michael felt himself tear up. Filming over the past three days had worn him out but the joy he had gained from it was far beyond anything he could imagine. He carefully stored the diary away before retreating to his room, thereupon finding Sophia and Carmen fast asleep as they snuggled in bed; they must be tired after the past couple of days. He kissed both his girls goodnight. After all, he was the best father and husband in the world. It wasn¡¯t even daybreak the next morning when the rooster crowed loudly, startling Sophia before both her rm and biological clock went off. The voice-control lighting that was installed around the neighborhood lit up at the sound of the rooster¡¯s crow. Sophia bolted upright with her heart beating fast and she was still bleary-eyed as she turned to see that Carmen was still sound asleep. Michael, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Hmm, that¡¯s early, Sophia noted curiously. She shuffled over to the bathroom but Michael wasn¡¯t there either. Thinking that he had gone out, Sophia certainly did not expect to bump into him when she entered the kitchen. He was looking serious in an apron as he made breakfast out of the local specialties from the vige. Sophia¡¯s eyes sparkled and she was fiercely determined to try Michael¡¯s cooking. It didn¡¯t take long for the feast to be served; there were potatoes, cobs of corn, sandwiches, burgers, noodles and mac and cheese. Soon, the family gathered around. Cooper was keen on sampling the local specialties from the vige and Linus arrived early too, seeing as he always had his meals here. With the addition of Justin and his family, there was now a crowd surrounding the breakfast spread. Sophia dipped the potato into some sauce after she had peeled it, then took a bite. Meanwhile, Michael had taken off his apron and was now seated with the rest of the family. In the midst of the ongoing friendly conversation, Michael turned to address Cooper with a somber expression. ¡°Dad, is it true that Anne attempted suicide because of you?¡± Cooper was startled and he stopped peeling the potato in his grip. His face gave nothing away as he answered stoically, ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Michael suppressed a smile. He knew the truth but he pressed on nheless, ¡°So why aren¡¯t you and Louis speaking to each other?¡± Cooper did not answer but there was confirmation in his silence. Despite having everything to do with Anne¡¯s attempted suicide, Cooper had remained rtively unfazed, which infuriated Louis. In retaliation to that, Cooper had given away his collection of paintings by Louis that he kept around the house. ¡°What happened? What is it? Linus, tell me!¡± Sophia demanded after seemingly picking up on something. Upon seeing the resentful look on Cooper¡¯s face, Linus hesitated as he murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my ce to tell you the specifics¡­¡± With that, Cooper finished his meal and went upstairs without a word. He upied the entire third floor of the house and he rarely came down other than during meal times. The moment Cooper left, Linus began to spill the beans. ¡°Anne insists on marrying Dad and she dropped by the Mitchells¡¯ ce just so she could see him. The Mitchells came to us instead but they were denied entry, and Dad wouldn¡¯te out of his room at all. In order to talk things over, Louis invited Dad over for tea but Dad turned him down; after that, Louis got Anna to send Dad an invitation, but he rejected it as well. So, Anne lost her mind and she threatened to kill herself unless Dad showed up. She even got someone to send him a video of her hanging herself. She went to see the Fletchers, too!¡± Having heard all this, Sophia angrily mmed her chopsticks down on the table. This is outrageous! Anne Osborne has crossed the line. Did she somehow lose her mind when she became obsessed with the thought of marrying Dad? Sophia clenched her jaw. It is time to put that woman in her ce! Sophia had only just finished her meal when she received a very hostile phone call from Sandra. ¡°Sophia Edwards, you better bring your father over here this instant! The Osborne girl is hospitalized because of him and none of you even bothered to visit her! If anything happens to her, it¡¯ll be the end of the Mitchell Family!¡± ¡°Tell me where you are and I¡¯ll go over immediately,¡± Sophia replied swiftly. She ought to teach Anne a lessonter. Sophia cursed inwardly, How dare the woman assume that she is good enough for Cooper? How delusional can she be? He ispletely out of her league! As far as Sophia was concerned, Anne could go screw herself. Sandra was ted at the thought that Sophia agreed to show up with Cooper, but her tone was malicious as she snapped into the phone, ¡°Methodist Hospital, inpatient ward, room number eight. Be here within the hour.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia scoffed. ¡°Don¡¯t insult me. I¡¯ll be there in half an hour.¡± Sophia was feeling impatient, wanting nothing more than to teleport to Anne¡¯s hospital room and give that delusional girl a harsh p on the face! Chapter 1117 Chapter 1117 Perhaps Sophia had agreed to turn up at the hospital out of fear for Sandra, but Sandra knew it was more likely than not that they conceded out of fear of the Yard Family. The situation now was not under Sophia¡¯s or Cooper¡¯s control; it wasn¡¯t as if they could do anything about Anne¡¯s infatuation with Cooper. Cooper was left with no choice but to marry her! Anne¡¯s family longed to return to Bayside City and as Anne was about to be part of the Yards, they had hoped she would marry into the local upper-ss social scene. The Yard Family had initially set their eyes upon the Fletchers, but were let down immensely by their inability to make things work. Now was the chance for the Mitchells to rise to the asion. Sandra had thought that perhaps one of the Mitchell boys could capture Anne¡¯s heart; s, the woman had be obsessed with Cooper instead. Sandra had no intentions to make things easy for Cooper in the event Anne did marry him. While the Mitchells would be inws with the Yards, Sandra needed to make sure that Anne would always be on her side and never Sophia¡¯s. To do that, she would have to ruin both Sophia and Cooper¡¯s reputation in front of Anne¡¯s family, namely the Yards and the Osbornes. After that, she could easily use Anne as a stepping stone to get closer to Anna Yard and if Sandra could marry into the Yard Family, everything would fall into ce. If Cooper really were to marry Anne, the Yards would never allow her to move out of the family home, which meant Cooper would have to move into their ce of residence instead. This could provide the Mitchells the perfect excuse to keep all of Cooper¡¯s assets under the Mitchells¡¯ family name. For hundreds of years, it was never a concept for any son of the head of the Mitchell Family to move into their wife¡¯s ce of residence after marriage; the very idea of Cooper being forced to do so would With that, Sandra could kill three birds with one stone! Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Hanging up the call, Sandra turned to look at Anne. ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she consoled. ¡°Sophia ising over soon. I¡¯ll make sure to put her in her ce!¡± Anne broke into a small smile upon hearing this. Shey in bed as she recuperated, looking pale after her suicidal endeavors which saw her slitting her own wrists and hanging herself. ¡°You know Cooper likes you¡ª¡± Sandra started to say. ¡°¡ªbut Sophia has been getting in his way of pursuing you. She¡¯s worried that if you and Cooper have kids one day, she¡¯d lose out on the family assets. Don¡¯t worry though, because I¡¯ll stop her from ruining everything.¡± Pausing, Sandra gazed down at Anne with a serious look on her face. ¡°Remember, Anne¡ªyou¡¯ve got the looks and you¡¯re a Yard. Nobility runs in your blood. You have suitors lining up for you all the way to France! If you ask me, Cooper should be honored that you¡¯ve taken an interest in him at all. You¡¯re obviously way out of his league!¡± Anne¡¯s heart fluttered at the thought of Cooper. She had known he was the one for her from the very moment sheid eyes on him, and she would do anything to marry him. However, a surge of fury overcame her as she thought about how Sophia was trying toe between her and Cooper. How dare Sophia try to disrupt what she and Cooper had? How dare she try to stop true love in its tracks? Sandra leaned in and continued, ¡°I¡¯ll let you in on this little secret. Cooper has never been in love before but Sophia¡¯s mother¡ªwho was a young, lowly servant¡ªseduced Cooper and somehow made him fall for her. He was young and he had no idea what he was doing, but he got that b*tch pregnant. Then, she tried to use her pregnancy to force Cooper into marrying her.¡± ¡°It was a dirty move. She thought that she could use her pregnancy as leverage to marry Cooper and live her life as mistress of the family, but little did she know that the Mitchells saw right through her despicable act. In the end, they sent her packing and told her to get rid of the child!¡± Anne¡¯s eyes had widened to the size of saucers as she took all of this in. She had never heard of anything like it¡ªhow anyone could be so wicked was beyond her! She asked urgently, ¡°What happened after that?¡± ¡°Well¡ª¡± Sandra began with fervor. ¡°¡ªSophia¡¯s mother realized that there was no way she could marry into the Mitchells, so she found herself an honest man and passed off the child as his instead. The man was an Edwards, so she took on his shares and yed mistress for a couple of years. When the family discovered the truth, they cast her out.¡± ¡°What? I can¡¯t believe she did that! How shameless of her!¡± Anne gasped, affronted. Sandra did not stop with the lies¡ªshe was practically a ywright at this point. ¡°Cooper was in an ident over a decade ago and he went into hiding after that, but when he returned a couple of years ago, Sophia somehow found out that he was her biological father. She tracked him down and won him overpletely. I don¡¯t know how she did it but Cooper will do anything for her, even if it means going against the Mitchells.¡± ¡°You have to watch out for Sophia. She¡¯s no ordinary, simpering wench; she has Taylor Murray wrapped around her little finger and she made Cooper betray his own family. You can¡¯t underestimate her.¡± ¡°Also, that brother of hers is not to be overlooked. I don¡¯t know how he ended up as the adopted son of the Michel family. He was close to bing the heir to the family and the conglomerate, but thank goodness he was kicked out of the family before that happened! These siblings are as scheming as they Anne felt chills run down her spine after Sandra was done with her storytelling. She couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry for Cooper. He waspletely swindled by Sophia and her family! If she didn¡¯t get rid of Sophia and Linus, Cooper would suffer in their schemes forever! Anne was determined to rescue Cooper from this horrible fate. She had to let him see how evil Sophia and her brother were! Satisfied with how angry Anne looked, Sandra went on to add fuel to fire. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show them who¡¯s really in charge here? You¡¯re Anne Yard. They are meant to show you respect and you should make them.¡± Anne nodded fiercely at that and Sandra mirrored her. Everything was going ording to Sandra¡¯s n. Now, even if Anne did end up marrying Cooper, she would never think of Sophia and her brother as anything but a pair of wicked twins. On the other hand, Sandra could soon find herself in the Yards¡¯ good graces, seeing as she and Anne were bing such good friends. It would be even better if she could end up marrying either Callum or Cade. Eventually, Sophia turned up as expected. She had flown over in a chopper, not wanting to waste any time. She could hardly wait to give Anne two ps across the face. Sophia was fuming, unable toprehend how shameless Anne was. ¡°Miss Anne,¡± the bodyguard greeted in a low voice after rushing through the door. ¡°Miss Sophia has arrived.¡± Anne was well on her way to bing a youngdy of the Yard family and certainly that would have warranted her a royal title if they were in ancient times. She felt important as she indulged in the privilege of being escorted by the Yards¡¯ security team. She had made sure that the security team would give Sophia a hard time when she arrivedter! ¡°Right. Let her in,¡± Anne ordered in an imperative tone. She didn¡¯t like speaking this way but she was a youngdy of the Yard family now and she had to act like one in front of others. The bodyguard hurried out of the room and brought Sophia in. She had arrived with several bodyguards in her wake, all of them wearing the insignia of the Mitchell family, which was crafted during Cooper¡¯s leadership. ¡°I hear somebody has tried to kill herself because of my father, so I decided to bring a little gift to cheer her up,¡± Sophia mused. Following this, somethingnded in a thump on the headboard behind Anne; one of the bodyguards had thrown a bottle of brain health supplements and as Anne turned to nce at it, she saw that the supplements were meant for geriatrics. She red at Sophia incredulously as she brought her hand down on the table andmanded, ¡°Sophia, you b*tch! Stay away from your father! You have no right toe between us, not when we¡¯re about to be married!¡± Sophia had dressed for business today. She wore a white blouse, which was tucked into a pair of ck and white checkered pzzo trousers. She had coupled her outfit with a pair of simple stilettos and her hair had been pulled back into a no-nonsense chignon. Her look waspleted with a pair of oversize shades that covered half her face. Lifting her shades, Sophia gazed at Anne with bemusement, clearly impervious to her threats. ¡°Oh?¡± she sneered. ¡°So, you intend to marry my father, but what do you have to offer? Your long list of suitors who have lined up all the way to France?¡± Anne lifted her chin with the hope of intimidating Sophia, then retorted, ¡°I am a youngdy of the Yard Family! I have plenty to offer!¡± ¡°A youngdy of the Yard Family?¡± Sophia sputtered before she burst intoughter. She wiped away her tears as a smirk fixed itself onto her face. ¡°Tell me then, princess¡ªhow many shares do you own in the Ronney Group? Are you next in line to take over the conglomerate? Do you even matter to the rest of the Ronney Group?¡± Chapter 1118 Chapter 1118 Anne was rendered speechless by Sophia¡¯s questions. Growing defensive, she glowered at Sophia and countered, ¡°I don¡¯t own any shares now in the Ronney Group, but it¡¯s only a matter of time before I do. I am Young Lady Yard, after all. You¡¯re just a nobody!¡± Sophiaughed at Anne¡¯s remark. Standing at the foot of the hospital bed, Sophia surveyed Anne¡¯s pale face with cool appraisal. ¡°You dare call yourself Young Lady Yard when you don¡¯t even own a single share in the Ronney Group? You have no right to call yourself that at all!¡± she spat. Anne¡¯s face twisted into a grimace. Sophia is just as despicable as her low-life mother! ¡°Shares?¡± Anne wanted to retch and she snarled at Sophia in detest, ¡°People like you only care about money and power. You¡¯re just as shameless as your mother! You¡¯re nothing but a despicable low-life! How dare you assume the Yard Family would ever stoop as low as you? I didn¡¯te back to the Yards just so I could have shares in thepany¡ªI came back for honor, which is something you would never be able to understand! You¡¯re nothingpared to us!¡± At this, Sophia went still. Indeed, there was no denying that she was despicable. Shares, money and power were all she ever talked about. And yet, these were all the same things that prompted Anna Yard to eradicate her entire family! Sophia sat down on the corner of the bed and tried to appear as amiable as possible. ¡°Fine; let¡¯s not talk about money. My dear Miss Osborne, what makes you think my father would ever be interested in you?¡± However, Sandra interjected before Anne could answer, ¡°Please take note that she will no longer be called Miss Osborne. She¡¯s already part of the Yard family so she will only be addressed as Anne Yard from now on.¡± Hearing that, Sophia thought the Osborne name was better suited for Anne. Anne ought to look at herself in the mirror before deciding to take on the Yard family name. After all, it wasn¡¯t as if Anna Yard and her sons had gotten rid of the rest of their family just so they could make room for another person to mber into their ancestral hall. The thing was, it seemed as though Anne had truly deluded herself into thinking that she had suitors lining up for her all the way to France, because she began to list her many qualities. ¡°I¡¯m beautiful and young. Ie from a family of schrs. I¡¯m gentle as well as intellectual. I y eight different musical instruments and I¡¯m well-versed in everything fromw to Sanskrit.¡± Anne appeared to be pleased with herself as she eyed Sophia with disdain. ¡°Cooper and I will be the perfect couple if we end up together. We were made for each other! What we have is true love and you can nevere between us, so why don¡¯t you back off for your own good?¡± Sophia could only stare nkly at her. Is Anne trying to insinuate that Cooper is not good enough for her? Cooper had only ever met Anne on two asions¡ªthe first being an exhibition where he had spoken to her briefly and the other had been at the Fletchers¡¯. Altogether, they had barely spent more than two or three hours in each other¡¯spany, so how in the world was she convinced that they were in love? How could she even believe that they were meant for each other? Sophia couldn¡¯t be led astray by Anne¡¯s crazy talk. Composing herself, she tried to reason, ¡°Miss Osborne, please don¡¯t take this the wrong way but my father is just as much of a low-life as I am. All he cares about is money. We¡¯re a bunch of money-crazed people and as vulgar as we are, we would never be good enough to be your inws. It would be easier if you let him go.¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t wrong. After all, Cooper was vulgar enough to have be an armament magnate. He had set up a pharmaceuticalsboratory in Africa and during the cholera outbreak that nearly wiped out the continent, he refused to hand over the treatment that could otherwise save the people. The conference room had been filled to the brim with government officials from all the African countries as they demanded for the treatment, but he had denied them all. He used the treatment as leverage, refusing to give up the cure until the countries had signed over the diamond mines to him; he wanted to monopolize the diamond mining industry in the entire continent. He was nothing but a capitalist, a corrupt businessman who cared only about making a profit. If they were to turn back time and go back to the revolution, a man like Cooper would have been dragged out and flogged on the streets. But this only further infuriated Anne. She mmed a hand down on the table and snarled, ¡°You useless b*tch! How dare you stab your father in the back by saying these horrible things about him? You ought to be struck down by lightning for insulting your family like this!¡± Anne appeared to be under the belief that she was destined to be with Cooper, which inevitably led her to assume the role of Sophia¡¯s stepmother. When Anne snapped, she did so in a way that was akin to how a stepmother would put down her husband¡¯s illegitimate child. ¡°You were born out of wedlock. What right do you have to butt into your father¡¯s affairs? You¡¯re ridiculous! It doesn¡¯t even make sense for your father to spoil you the way he does, and now you think you¡¯re above everyone else? How dare you interfere with his private affairs and speak badly about him behind his back? If I were you, I¡¯d have died of shame!¡± Sandra chose that moment to chime in, ¡°Exactly! All of this is absurd! Clearly, you have no respect for your elders and you don¡¯t know your ce. You¡¯re a daughter born out of wedlock, so who gave you the right and the confidence to meddle in your father¡¯s business?¡± Anne then tilted her chin in an effort to look superior. ¡°Have you no shame? You¡¯re married with a family of your own but you and your husband continue to reside at Cooper¡¯s ce. You¡¯vepletely destroyed the Mitchells¡¯ reputation!¡± She scowled resentfully. ¡°You¡¯d better move out of Cooper¡¯s house this instant!¡± Sophia was stunned into silence. After all, Cooper was the one who was staying at her ce, not the other way round! The man loved being around them so much that he couldn¡¯t bear to stay away for more than a day. In fact, there had been times when he hadn¡¯t been able to eat or sleep without seeing his beloved grandchild, so he had decided that the best solution was to move in with Sophia. But to be fair to Anne, Sophia understood why this seemed a ridiculous notion. At this point, Sophia realized that there was no use in trying to reason with Anne. If the woman refused to listen to reason, then Sophia had no choice but to be harsh with her. She slowly put on her shades, effectively shielding the icy look in her eyes, and drawled, ¡°I have nothing more to say to you, Miss Osborne, but let me tell you this¡ªyou may be as perfect as you say you are, but my father has more than his fair share of gorgeous admirers in Bayside City. While your family may be formidable, there are others whose family names carry more weight than yours. You won¡¯t be the only youngdy of the Yard Family; it¡¯s not as if you¡¯re the first person to have adopted a different surname to get into the Yard¡¯s ancestral hall.¡± Sophia¡¯s tone grew cold as she continued, ¡°So, seeing as my father isn¡¯t short on admirers who are prettier, more capable and have better breeding than you do, what makes you think he¡¯d be interested in you in the first ce?¡± One would think that Sophia¡¯s speech would keep Anne in check, but instead, Anne remained impervious. Worse still, there was a dreamy look in her eyes as she retaliated arrogantly, ¡°Cooper would never abandon me! We are in love! There¡¯s no way that those cheap floozies out there can even begin to compete with me!¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia was at a loss for words. ¡°Pfft!¡± The bodyguards who nked Sophia began to snicker. It was as if Miss Osborne was a one-womanedy show! Sophia, on the other hand, had never been more exasperated in her life. She had been right to give Anne that bottle of brain health supplements; the woman clearly needed it more than anyone else. Sophia knew she had to switch tactics. She would go crazy if she went on like this! Chapter 1119 Chapter 1119 Sophia was also beginning to understand Anne. She was nothing more than a naive little girl who saw the world through rose-colored sses, and her delusions belied her sheltered upbringing. She¡¯d never had to endure life¡¯s many cruel punches, and she was clueless as to how vicious mankind could be¡ªshe didn¡¯t know how ruthless it was out there in the real world. Sophia hadn¡¯t wanted to be too hard on her, but as of now, she had to be cruel to be kind. ¡°So, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you¡¯re set on marrying my father.¡± Anne was determined. ¡°You have no right to interfere with our ns to get married.¡± With a low chuckle, Sophia cast a fleeting nce at Sandra, who was practically buzzing with anticipation, and sneered, ¡°Anne, I think it¡¯s time you get that brain of yours checked.¡± At this, Anne was outraged. ¡°Sophia, I suggest you watch that mouth of yours. I¡¯m older than you, and you should show me some respect! You rude little wench! Just wait till your father and I get married, I¡¯ll ¡ª¡± Sophia cut her off mercilessly, ready to burst the girl¡¯s bubbles. ¡°Oh dear, Miss Osborne, it seems as if you¡¯re far too naive to understand what¡¯s going on. You speak as if you are Young Lady Yard, and I bet you¡¯ve thought about how you¡¯d be a princess if we were in ancient times. But think about it, Anne, what happened to the rest of the Yards? The Yards were a n before this, and now look at what¡¯s left of them! Have you ever wondered why they were so desperate to im you back as their own even after you¡¯ve taken on a different surname?¡± She did not wait for Anne to respond. ¡°Are you really that stupid, Anne? Your Aunt Anna and her sons killed off the entire n! That was her whole family¡ªpeople who shared the same blood as her¡ªbut your aunt spared none of them!¡± Anne began to falter. ¡°Shut up!¡± she cried, panicked. But Sophia did not shut up in spite of Anne¡¯s obvious distress and continued sardonically, ¡°Didn¡¯t you know that your aunt is renowned as a bloodthirsty tyrant? She killed off the uncles and sisters who helped her climb up the family throne, and she spared none of those who came from the branch family¡ª that¡¯s the reason why she and her sons are the only ones left! My deardy, do you understand what I mean by ¡®branch family¡¯?¡± Anne was clearly in shock. She refused to believe in these ugly lies. She was a princess, and she wanted nothing to do with any of these, but Sophia¡¯s voice grew menacing as she went on to say, ¡°Much like yourself, the branch family consisted of those who were coteral descendants and had no rightful im on the Yard family fortune! As far as your aunt is concerned, you are not of direct descent, and that means you¡¯re worthless! She and her sons are lineal descendants of the Yard family, and only they have a rightful im to the family name. You, on the other hand, are just a nobody! Do you really think your aunt brought you back so that you could be the youngdy of the family? I¡¯m sorry to say that she only sees you as a pet dog!¡± Then, Sophia leaned forward with a malicious smirk on her face, and pointed a finger toward Anne. ¡°If these were the ancient times, you would be the type of ¡®princess¡¯ who got married off to some old fart in another reigning family, and once he died, you¡¯d be forced to marry someone else in the same family¡ª you¡¯d just be traded around from one man to another like a wh*re! Right now, you¡¯re just a lowly dog in the Yard family, and your aunt could just as easily get rid of you as she did with the others. What¡¯s sadder still is that you actually believe you have far more value than that. You thought you could fit in with the rest of them, but you can¡¯t change the fact that you are nothing more than a b*tch of coteral descent!¡± Anne was sobbing by now. She covered her ears with her hands and screamed, ¡°Go away! Stop talking! I won¡¯t hear it!¡± However, Sophia was relentless as she drove her point forward. ¡°Your aunt and her sons hold 61% altogether in Ronney Group, thereby securing control over the board of directors and gaining power within the family. The three of them hold 20% of shares each, and the remaining 1% is held by General.¡± She paused, looking at Anne with a thoughtful gaze. ¡°Do you know who General is? He¡¯s Anna Yard¡¯s cat! Her cat owns 1% of the shares in Ronney Group, and how many do you hold? None! My dear Miss Osborne, you can¡¯t even begin topete with their cat!¡± There was no use trying to block out Sophia¡¯s words. By the end of it all, Anne could feel herself fall apart in shock and despair; her dreams of bing a real-life princess were shattered before her eyes. She remembered being over the moon when she first heard that she was a long-lost rtive of the Yard family. She had thought that she was royalty! But today, Sophia had destroyed everything she fantasized about. She was no better than Anna Yard¡¯s cat. Even General was a shareholder in Ronney Group, while Anne had nothing! She had no ce in the Yard family at all! Anne sobbed piteously on the bed as she felt her pride and faith fade away. The fact that she was not of lineal descent of the Yard family had made her lose out to a cat! And Anna Yard had be the powerful woman she was by eradicating the whole branch family¡ªthe people who, like Anne, had no direct im on the Yard family fortune. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Xena Osborne had once told her to not get too close to her Aunt Anna, and had cautioned her not to go after any part of the Yards¡¯ fortune. Other than association, the Osbornes would ask for nothing more from the Yards. Sophia continued attacking Anne despite thetter¡¯s heavy sobbing. ¡°Your aunt single-handedly built the foundation for the Yard family, and your cousins are the ones benefiting from it. Can you imagine how difficult it must have been for them to eradicate the entire Yard n, and the price they had to pay in order to wield power over Ronney Group? The honor and glory are theirs, and theirs alone¡ªyou have no right to any of it. You are nothing but a tool in the Yard family¡¯s shed. You¡¯re no different from a princess in the ancient times who were married off against her own will, be it for in-breeding or intermarriage purposes. Do you really think you get to have a say on who you wish to marry? Wake up and smell the hummus, Anne Osborne!¡± Anne was trembling under the sheets, feeling as if she¡¯d just been gutted. She stammered pathetically, ¡°Stop it, stop it! I-I won¡¯t hear any of it! I¡¯m going to marry Cooper!¡± Sandra recovered from the initial shock that came with Sophia¡¯s speech and quickly came to Anne¡¯s defense as she countered Sophia fiercely, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare fill Anne¡¯s head with your filthy lies! Do you take her for a moron? How can she be from a branch of the Yard family? She is a direct descendant! You¡¯re the only one here who¡¯s not of direct descent, and outcasts like you can¡¯t stand to see our kind better off than yours ever will be! Guards, take her away immediately!¡± The bodyguards moved to usher Sophia out of the room. While Anne held no shares under her name, she was still a youngdy of the Yard family. These bodyguards were confidants to Anna Yard, and they had followed her orders to kill off many of the Yard n. Anna had to be ruthless to gain all that she had now; she had been unforgiving toward her uncles and siblings, killing all of them when they so much as disagreed with her. She had been amiable since her reconciliation with Louis Osborne, but if he or Xena were caught scheming against her, there was no doubt she would be just as merciless toward them. After all, what was kinshippared to profit and power? She¡¯d rather have her cat hold 1% of the shares than let her own father and sisters have anything to do with the conglomerate¡ªthat alone was enough to speak volumes of her character. Fortunately, Louis and Xena were both smart enough to not go after what wasn¡¯t theirs in the first ce. The Yards might be family, but Ronney Group indeed had nothing to do with the Osbornes in the slightest. Anne was still far too young and naive to understand any of this. She would survive if she chose to remain an airhead for the rest of her days as Young Lady Yard, but if she so much as even asked for shares in the conglomerate, there was a very high chance that she would end up dead the next day. Miss Edwards, on the other hand, seemed a lot sharper. As such, it was no surprise that Anna was fond of her. Chapter 1120 Chapter 1120 Bearing in mind the fact that Anna Yard was fond of Sophia, the bodyguards weren¡¯t too harsh on her when they said, ¡°Miss Edwards, this way, please.¡± Sophia got onto her stilettos-d feet and began to make her way to the door. She didn¡¯t look back at Anne as she drawled, ¡°Miss Osborne¡ªno, Miss Yard, let this be my warning to you: stay away from my father. He¡¯s a lineal descendant and the head of the Mitchell family. People like you of coteral descent will never be good enough for him!¡± Anne did not miss the cruel emphasis on thest few words. She also did not miss the mockery in Sophia¡¯s tone when she addressed her as ¡®Miss Yard¡¯. Sophia¡¯s message was as clear as day: the title was meaningless, and the novelty was lost on Anne. Anne imed to be a youngdy of the Yard family, but she did not even have one single share to her name. The door did not close all the way following Sophia¡¯s exit, so Anne could still hear her contemptuous voice resonating down the hall. ¡°My father¡¯s a busy man, so don¡¯t bother looking for him if you ever decide to kill yourself again because it has nothing to do with him! He has no time to entertain your petty life decisions! He can¡¯t be bothered to remember the faces of those he¡¯s only met once or twice, so don¡¯t even think that he knows what you look like, Anne Osborne! How dare the Yards think that I would set my father up for some twisted arranged marriage just to gain the benefit of a business deal? My father is too good for any of you, so you can go screw yourself if you think he would ever be interested in someone like you!¡± ¡­¡­ Every one of Sophia¡¯s words pierced through Anne¡¯s heart with unrelenting precision. She was struggling toe to terms with the possibility that Cooper didn¡¯t love her. Why would he keep quiet all this while if he had never loved her? And why did he go along with her to meet Louis Osborne on the day of the art exhibit? Meanwhile, Sandra tried her best to console the shell-shocked girl. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s all over now. She was only lying to you. She just wants you to think that you¡¯re not good enough so that you would back off on your own. She¡¯s jealous because she¡¯s a b*tch born out of wedlock, whereas you are a direct descendant of the Yard family. She knows her life will be ruined once you marry Cooper, so she¡¯s doing everything she can to stop that from happening! How could Cooper not love you when everybody else adores you so?¡± The words were empty lies. Sandra knew that Anne was worthless without shares in Ronney Group. The girl had neither power nor authority, and she was only coteral for the Yards to gain a powerful ally in the Mitchells. She was no better than a pawn. Sandra had managed to be a Mitchell by way of her many aplishments. She didn¡¯t want to live in fear, so she did everything she could to expand her influence. She knew that it was meaningless to have only a title to her name when what she really needed to have was power; her worth was tied to nothing else other than the shares she held in and the control she wielded over the conglomerate. Without the authority that came with being a shareholder in the conglomerate, one would find themselves in danger of being disposed of at the whim of others who were far more powerful. But now, in order for Sandra to get closer to the Yards, she needed Anne to marry into the Mitchell family. If the marriage fell through, Sandra would never have a chance like this ever again! This meant that she had to do all she could to cate Anne before the silly girl gave up on the idea of marrying Cooper! For the past two days, Sandra had done little else other than visit Anne at the hospital, and each visit wouldst for hours. Many young masters of the Mitchell family had dropped by between intervals to talk about business, but their presence had been deliberately arranged by Sandra so that she could show Anne the finest men the Mitchells had to offer. But Anne was adamant that Cooper was the only one for her, and she would not consider anyone else despite Sandra¡¯s best efforts to persuade her otherwise. Oh, Cooper. Just what did Anne see in him? He was nothing more than an obsolete figurehead¡ªan outcast in the Mitchell family who had nothing to offer. There were plenty of other men in the family who were younger and more aplished than him, but Anne could not be bothered to even spare them a nce. Anne¡¯s stubbornness had now led to Sandra¡¯s predicament. Presently, she was thinking of ways to make Anne take interest in other men in the Mitchell family while trying to console her. She knew she was racing against time, for there were others in Bayside City who had their eyes on Anne. The Yards¡¯ return was followed by their reconciliation with those who had either drifted away from the family or adopted different family names, and while it was true that such reconciliation had brought forth the emergence of many youngdies of the Yard family, it still couldn¡¯t be denied that Anne was the most important one of all. Even as she lived now without holding a single share in the conglomerate, she was still Anna Yard¡¯s niece¡ªthat alone ought to have warranted her a more favorable disposition in the family than the other youngdies! So what was Cooper trying to achieve by ying hard to get? What more could he ask for when Anne was already so far out of his league? Did the old man really think he could do any better? Meanwhile, Sophia had left the hospital. She had managed to let out a string of abusive remarks toward the bodyguards who worked for the Yards, but in reality, she had intended for Anne to hear every single disparaging word. Once she was escorted outside, Sophia had regained herposure. After all, someone had to knock Anne down from her high horse before the little wench thought she was above everybody else. Sophia scoffed in disdain as she thought about how Anne had asked to be addressed as Miss Yard. Not once had Sophia ever made the public deration that she was a youngdy of the Michel family. She was well aware that Michel Group would never have risen to the peak of its glory if it hadn¡¯t been for the efforts of those who came before her. Brick by brick, Michel Group had been built up by the likes of Cooper, Linus and Alice. These geniuses were behind the conglomerate¡¯s power and glory, whereas Sophia had contributed nothing at all. She had no right to ask to be a shareholder because she had no credit in any of the conglomerate¡¯s sess. She had no desire to be a young mistress of Michel Group¡ªshe wanted to be the president! Previously, Sophia and Michael had bought up most of the shares in the conglomerate, which had been sold off by panicking shareholders when they had first gotten word that Michel Group would be undergoing a major internal restructuring due to Linus¡¯ termination. Unlike Anne, who was going to be married off for a profitable agenda, Sophia was waiting for the right time to use these shares to enter the conglomerate so she could take her rightful ce as the young mistress of Michel Group. But not everyone shared the same sentiments.Belongs to ? n0velDrama.Org. While Sophia thought of ways to procure more useful resources, Sandra was obsessed with fortifying her position, and Anne was thinking of ways to convince Anna to give her some of the shares in Ronney Group. ¡­ Anne was discharged from the hospital the next day. She had made up her mind that there was no point in staying in the hospital any longer. After all, it seemed as if Cooper waspletely under Sophia¡¯s spell as he had never bothered to pay Anne a visit himself. However, Anne was determined to marry Cooper, and there was nothing Sophia could do to ruin her ns. She must ask the Yards to make her a shareholder. That way, Cooper would have no choice but to marry her, and no one could get in the way of that! Upon leaving the hospital, Anne hurried over to the hotel where Anna was staying. Anna was in the middle of a briefing with a property agent on the matter of purchasing the building. Seeing as the Yards were keen on returning to the country in addition to their ns of establishing Ronney Group here, they needed to purchase arge family estate in Bayside City so that the whole Yard family couldy down their roots. Anna was also looking for a mansion for her own private use. The Yard family originated from the banks of the Lombardi River, and while some had fled the country, there was still arge number of the n that remained in the country. The hundreds of years that followed had seen the continuous return of members of the Yard family, who had subsequently set up their ancestral halls along Lombardi River. Nheless, Ronney Group would have to establish their branch in Bayside City as it was the country¡¯s economic stronghold. In light of this, Anna had been perusing properties in the country. She was determined to pick the best out of a wide selection of houses, office buildings, family homes and private mansions. She was in the midst of browsing through the folders given by the property agent when Anne showed up with her unreasonable demands. Anna couldn¡¯t begin to wrap her head around what the girl was actually requesting for. ¡°Anne, what did you just say?¡± Anna lifted her head to look at her niece in askance. There were no lines that marred Anna¡¯s smooth, porcin skin; even without an ounce of make-up, the woman looked as though she had defied allws of time and physics. Anne bit her lip nervously, then stammered, ¡°Aunt Anna, I¡¯d like to have some shares in the conglomerate. Cooper thinks little of me because I have no ce in Ronney Group and won¡¯t marry me otherwise.¡± Upon saying that, she cast a resentful nce at the sleeping General. Surely, in light of the cat owning 1% of the shares, her aunt would not think she was crossing the line by asking for a mere 2% or 3% out of all the shares in Ronney Group, would she? Chapter 1121 Chapter 1121 Anna Yard had a pleasant smile on her face as she gently patted Anne¡¯s hand. ¡°My dear child, if you and Cooper are truly in love, he would not think so little of you!¡± Anne tugged at her aunt¡¯s sleeve and said coquettishly, ¡°Please just give me some of the shares, Aunt Anna. I¡¯m only asking for 2% of the shares¡ªit¡¯s not much at all! Even the cat has 1%!¡± To one side, Callum and Cade began to sputter before Anna could answer. The bodyguards had already ryed to them the details of Anne¡¯s exchange with Sophia at the hospital from the day before. It was amusing how an outsider had more perspective on this matter than Anne did. How could they give out shares in Ronney Group so easily to anybody who asked? After all, they had risked their own lives for every single one of these shares, and they had painted their hands crimson with the blood of countless others to get to where they were today, so why should they give any part of it to Anne just because she asked? Thew was clear when it stated that only a human could be a shareholder, so it wasn¡¯t as though General could enjoy shareholder rights even if it had 1% of the shares in the conglomerate. At the end of the day, it was merely a cat, and whatever shares it held would automatically belong to Anna. Anna knew she could not afford to be blunt now and ruin her rtionship with Anne because they were rted after all. Therefore, she patted the girl¡¯s hand once more as she tried to dissuade her. ¡°My dear, we can¡¯t just give out the shares on a whim. If you really want to have shares in thepany, you¡¯ll have to buy them off the stock market.¡± Ronney Group was a listedpany, so it made sense for Anna to redirect her niece toward the idea of purchasing the stocks instead of asking outright for them. Anne bit her lip at the prospect of this. She knew buying shares off the stock market required the kind of money that she simply did not have at the moment. She was only an artist, and how many artists could say that they had made it big in the industry? It wasn¡¯t as though Anne was poor, but next to the Yards, she was as good as broke. Growing desperate, Anne pressed on, ¡°Aunt Anna¡ª¡± If Anna had grown impatient and tired of her niece¡¯s whining, she didn¡¯t show it. Instead, she gently pried Anne¡¯s grip away from her sleeve and said affably, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear, but I really have to go and attend to a couple of things. We¡¯ll talkter.¡± With that, the older woman hurried off with both her sons in her wake. Anne stomped in frustration, but she knew there was nothing more she could do other than wait until later before she could resume the conversation with her aunt. She had to be a shareholder because it was the only way for her to be a true youngdy of the Yard family, and once she seeded, Cooper would surely ask for her hand in marriage. She couldn¡¯t wait to see Sophia eat her own words! By then, she would make sure to rub it in Sophia¡¯s face. How dare an illegitimate daughter be so bold to have talked down to her? Anne ought to teach her a lesson! Bayside City was beginning to see cooler temperatures now that it was September, and the weather had finally turned cool enough for Anna to begin property-hunting. Given the importance of the matter, she had personally taken on the task of surveying properties in the city. After all, her final choice would end up as the location for Ronney Group¡¯s branch in this country. There were only a handful of renowned metaphysics grandmasters in Bayside City, and Anna had invited one of them toe along with her as she visited the properties. Presently, Daniel Levine was making quite an impression on the passers-by as he arrived at the scene on a hoverboard. He looked ethereal in his robes, the sleeves of which were pping in the cool breeze, and his long, ebony hair had been pulled back into a neat ponytail. He had recently been meditating on Reverie Mountain before Anna had called upon him for his expertise. Only important clients like her could make him step away from meditation, otherwise he would never descend the mountain. ¡°Master Levine, I see you¡¯ve decided to leave your sword behind today,¡± Anna teased upon seeing him. Daniel braked, then stepped down from the hoverboard. He seemed to float with every step as he made his way toward Anna, his loafers silent against the ground. ¡°The traffic has made it impractical for me to fly here on my sword,¡± he said with deadpan humor. After he was done introducing his apprentice to Anna and herpany, he went with them to view the properties. Anna had managed to get a hold of the best real estate agent toe property-hunting with her, and it was through the rmendations of the agent that Anna had decided on the one that stood before them now. The building was nestled near Third Avenue amidst the bustling hub of the city. She thought it would be perfect as an office building for Ronney Group. However, having appraised the building upon their arrival, Daniel pointed out disagreeably, ¡°The location is not auspicious as it faces away from the dragon¡¯s vein, and neither the lighting nor the airflow is ideal. In the long run, it can be destructive for your business. No good fortune cane from buying this property.¡± Since Master Levine disapproved, Anna could only take his advice and give up on this building. Now that she had taken a second look at the building, she realized that it had looked better in pictures than it did in real life. Neither the lighting nor the location was as ideal as she had thought. Anna turned her gaze away from the building. However, just as she was about to leave, she noticed another building up ahead. She found that all aspects of the building, be it the nearby traffic condition, appearance, lighting, or location, were very much to her liking. As if hearing her thoughts, Daniel nodded with approval. ¡°The developers had me take a look at this building when it was being constructed and it is quite good in terms of geomancy. If you were to choose that location, it would undoubtedly be very auspicious for your business.¡± At this, Anna began inquiring about the office building, and it turned out that the real estate agent was familiar with it. ¡°That¡¯s the headquarters for Mitchell Energy and Technology. Cooper Mitchell is the director.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Anna couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised at the mention of Cooper Mitchell. While she had only ever encountered Cooper once, she had to admit that the man had left quite an impression. In fact, it had only been a couple of days ago when Anne had thrown a tantrum and coerced Anna into sending out a dinner invitation to him on her behalf. Unexpectedly, Cooper had turned down her good graces. It seemed as if he was far more aloof than that affable daughter of his. But Anna had taken a liking to the surrounding topography, and seeing as it was unlikely for Cooper to give up his territory, she decided that she would take a look at the building next to his instead. After all, there were still a couple of buildings nearby that she could get her hands on. Presently, she gestured to the said buildings as she turned to ask the agent, ¡°How about those ones over there? Who are the owners?¡± ¡°All of those buildings are owned by Cooper Mitchell. His daughter¡¯s store is on the lower floor of this building, so he bought up all the other buildings nearby. They¡¯re all registered under his daughter and granddaughter,¡± the agent answered dutifully. Anna¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. It seemed as if Cooper Mitchell very much adored his daughter even though she was an illegitimate child. At this point, the agent couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to gossip. ¡°The love he has for his daughter is iparable, and I don¡¯t think anyone else would disagree with me on that. Our agency handled all the transactions for these buildings. Mr. Cooper wanted to see more of his daughter, so he moved his headquarters into the floors above her shop. He has also bought up nearly all the other shop lots.¡± Now that the agent mentioned it, Anna was beginning to recall that she had been here before this. Sophia¡¯s pet essories store was indeed nearby, and there was also a pet shop next to it where Anna had once sent General for grooming. With her interest piqued, Anna suggested keenly, ¡°Why don¡¯t you help me ask Mr. Cooper if he would be interested in selling the buildings? The price wouldn¡¯t be a problem for us, and there would surely be a handsomemission if the sale goes through.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Each of the buildings were worth billions, and even if themission was only a small percentage of the proceeds, it would still be a windfall. The agent perked up at the thought of this and promised Anna that he would extend the offer to Cooper. The surrounding area was ideal in terms of geomancy, and with nearby affordable public transportation, the location was perfectly suitable for an establishment that was as esteemed as Ronney Group. Anna was certain that the buildings would be a good investment, and she was more than willing to invest in a few of them, if not all. While Anna was engaged in a fervent discussion with the agent, Daniel lifted his gaze toward the nearby Dragon Eye Tower. Sophia had been the one to persuade Linus into purchasing the building with her, which exined why the Dragon Eye Tower was in such close proximity to her shop. Daniel wondered wistfully if Alice Michel was here. There had been a time when he wanted to go searching for her in Northern Europe, but unfortunately, his hands had been tied. He knew Alice would never leave everything behind just so she could be with him, and there was no way he could abandon the Levines. More to the point, his entire family was devoted to practicing traditional metaphysics, and they would never wee a woman who was an outsider. Indeed, it was better to forget that he had ever encountered the woman of his dreams than to hold on to the false hope that they could ever be together in this lifetime. Chapter 1122 Chapter 1122 Daniel turned back and continued to look at the buildings with Anna, who was looking for a private residence. Little did he know that when he turned around, an exquisite Dragon Eye sports car would pull up to the Michel Group¡¯s building. After Michel Group entered the Cethosian market, their various products were gradually being introduced to consumers. Because Michel was a legendary dragon in the West, everyone had taken to calling Michel Group¡¯s products Dragon Eye mobile phones, Dragon Eye sports cars and Dragon Eye computers. This was why the building was referred to as the Dragon Eye Tower. At this moment, a Caucasian woman with a sexy figure stepped out of the Dragon Eye sports car. She had luscious blonde hair and she wore a pair of sunsses which diminished her sharpness. Trailing behind her was a mixed-race little boy with ck hair. ¡°Mommy, are we going to meet with Daddyter?¡± Casper yawned and asked Alice. Alice¡¯s expression was unreadable behind the sses as she replied, ¡°No, we¡¯ll go have fun after Mommy¡¯s work is done.¡± After a year and a half, Alice hade to inspect the sales of Dragon Eye mobile phones in Cethos, so she brought Casper along to visit. Saddened by the knowledge that he would not be able to meet his father, Casper pouted. ¡°Then can I go see him myself? Just for a little while.¡± Alice did not answer and proceeded to bring a reluctant Casper into the Michel Group¡¯s office. Nowadays, when it came to business affairs, she would bring Casper along as often as she could. She wanted to expose him to the Michel Group¡¯s business earlier so that he could better manage their affairs in the future. Meanwhile, Daniel was following Anna and the agent around to look for properties. Naturally, Anna¡¯s private residence had to be the best of the best. Any house that was outside of Third Avenue or had less than three hundred square feet was not considered. The agent drove them around slowly, traveling from Third Avenue to the ancient Imperial Pce. Choosing a house was a long process, especially for a major client like Anna. She had been wandering around for several days now, but she had not found any houses that she liked. The agent had shown her the best houses of Bayside City, but there were still none to her liking. Even the ancient Imperial Pce did not catch her attention as the area was actually inferior to her ce in Ronney City. These few days, Daniel wandered around with her so much that his head spun, but for the sake of money, he continued to follow her. After all, it was only a half day¡¯s work. Every day from two to six in the afternoon, he would just have to give a fewments to be able to walk away with several millions. On one of the afternoons, Daniel, who had been following Anna around for nearly half a day, saw that it was already six o¡¯clock, so he asked the driver to divert back to The Imperial so that he could get off work and go home. Sitting in the car, Anna watched as Daniel walked into The Imperial, and her eyes lit up. ¡°Are there any houses for sale in that neighborhood?¡± The agent followed the direction of her finger and saw that the neighborhood she was staring at was The Imperial! It was one of Bayside City¡¯s best neighborhoods¡ªthe transportation,nd prices, and room for appreciation was top-notch here, and it was actually befitting of Anna¡¯s status. The agent awkwardly answered, ¡°That¡¯s The Imperial. As for houses for sale¡­ The thing is¡­¡± This agency was the finest in Bayside City, and this agent was the best in thepany. He had countless resources and would not ept any business outside of Third Avenue. Moreover, he knew the owner of The Imperial. There were only a few vis in there, but they were priceless and not for sale. Previously, many people had enquired about it, and someone had even offered to pay more than thirty million, but even then, they did not manage to secure a ce there. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Anna said imposingly, ¡°As long as there are houses for sale in that neighborhood, I want it. I¡¯ll take as many as I can; money is not a problem.¡± What a wilful tyrant! The agent agreed right away. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Even though he knew he was going to be rejected again, he still had to pluck up the courage to ask. After sending Anna back, the agent immediately called Sophia. As Bayside City¡¯s most intrepid real estate agent, his client resources were superb. He was acquainted with the owner of The Imperial, so he was well aware of the situation inside. There were only a few houses in that neighborhood and most of them were upied. Only two were empty, of which one was Daniel¡¯s, but he stayed at Reverie Mountain most of the time. Thus, it was mostly vacant and the agent had tried asking him about it before, but he refused to sell it. The other house was Sophia¡¯s Vi No. 1. It might be hard to believe, but Sophia had recently started to rare pigs in the vi. ¡°Hey, Mr. rke. You¡¯re here.¡± Sophia warmly invited the agent into her house. She had worked with Mr. rke for many years, so she trusted his business insight very much. Real estates or shop lots rmended by Mr. rke were of great potential, and the prices would often skyrocket in a short time. It had gotten to the point where Sophia had left a credit card in his possession along with the password. If there were any promising real estate or shop lots, Mr. rke just had to swipe the card to make a purchase on her behalf, and Sophia would only need to pay the taxes. At present, Mr. rke and Sophia were talking about Bayside City¡¯s real estate for a while before he finally voiced his actual reason foring. ¡°Someone wants to buy Vi No. 1.¡± Sophia was troubled. ¡°It¡¯s not for sale.¡± Carmen had just gotten home from kindergarten, and she was hurrying off to Vi No. 1 to retrieve her piglet. Lately, the piglet was being raised in Vi No. 1 during the day and was only brought back at night. Their ce was quickly turning into a pigsty. Mr. rke knew that this would be the oue, but he fought on and said, ¡°The price is not an issue. Name your price and I won¡¯t even try to bargain with you.¡± Unwilling to sell off the house for the time being, Sophia refused. Meanwhile, Cooper found out that Carmen had returned and wasing downstairs to look for her when he saw that there was someone in their home. He asked, ¡°Who is it?¡± Sophia replied loudly, ¡°It¡¯s Mr. rke from the real estate agency. Someone wants to buy our pigsty, so Mr. rke came here to talk about it.¡± For a moment, Mr. rke was at a loss for words. He then hurriedly said, ¡°The buyer has an impressive background. She¡¯s the director of Ronney Group¡ªMrs. Anna Yard¡ªso her status is undoubtedly high. She saw the houses here and was determined to own one, so she asked me to make some enquiries. If she became your neighbor, it would definitely be good for your coboration with Ronney Group.¡± Upon hearing that the buyer was Anna, Cooper froze for a moment, then answered for Sophia, ¡°We¡¯re not selling.¡± When Sophia got to know that it was Anna, she refused as well. If Anna moved in, Anne would be able to come and go as she liked. They must be using the excuse of buying a house to create opportunities for Anne to pursue Cooper. Ugh, in your dreams! It seemed that they had really underestimated Anne¡¯s importance to Anna, but there was nothing Sophia could do. Even if Anna came to personally beg them, Sophia would never marry her father off for glory! Although he was rejected, the agent still dropped by Sophia¡¯s house nearly every day to try his luck. Not only did he want Vi No. 1, but he also wanted the office buildings that Cooper had bought for Sophia. Mr. rke was well aware of Sophia¡¯s family¡¯s situation. She was the one that made decisions when it came to Michael and Cooper¡¯s properties, so he just had to bother her. Eventually, Michael also got to know that Anna wanted to buy Vi No. 1 and the office buildings. Why does Anna keep targeting Cooper¡¯s properties? Does she have any ulterior motives? Is it possible that Anna wants to set up a honey-trap for my young father-inw? Chapter 1123 Chapter 1123 After being turned away by Sophia and Cooper, Mr. rke went to look for Michael, who expressed his regrets, because his father-inw had thest say in their household. Plus, his status in the family was getting lower and lower. If his father-inw did not want to sell it, he could not do anything about it. Moreover, Vi No. 1 was being used to rare pigstely. If they sold it, where were they supposed to raise the pigs? Were they supposed to raise it on their balcony? Carmen wanted to raise the pig in her bedroom, but Michael did not want his darling sleeping in a pigsty. When Anna learnt about Cooper¡¯s attitude regarding her interest, she was a little surprised. The amount she offered would make anyone intrigued. It had far exceeded the value of their house, and yet they would not sell it? Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. She had her eyes on the house and the office buildings, so she was going to get it! Anna was ready to take action on her own, so she nned to meet with Cooper to negotiate. She asked her secretary to set up a business appointment with Cooper to discuss about Ronney Group¡¯s support of Mitchell International Energy and Technology. She thought that Cooper would be willing to meet with her since it was about money, so she did not expect it when Cooper promptly replied with, ¡®Appointment declined.¡¯ However, Anna did not give up. She made another appointment, this time in Louis¡¯s name, promising that it had nothing to do with Anne, but Cooper came back with the same two words: ¡®Appointment declined.¡¯ On her third try, Anna invited Cooper to attend a private reception, only to be met with the same cold answer: ¡®Appointment declined.¡¯ Seeing that ying nice did not work, she decided it was time to do things the hard way. And so, Anna pressured Cooper¡¯s business partners to withdraw their capital, which caused a group of them to break off ties with him. She thought that Cooper would relent, but she did not expect that he would bepletely unperturbed. While the group of coborators had left, there were many others who came rushing forward. ¡°This is outrageous!¡± Anna viciously threw the information about Cooper that she had in her hands to the ground. Cooper is so stubborn! It was really rare to find someone who would reject her, let alone someone she could not do anything about! It had been a long time since shest lost her temper over someone! Callum slowly picked up the materials that Anna had thrown away which contained all the information she had found about Cooper. Thirty years ago, Cooper Mitchell was a genius who had created one legend after another. However, he was killed in an ident twenty years ago. Several years ago, he suddenly came back from the dead and gave up on Mitchell Group. Instead, he established his own business and founded Mitchell International Energy and Technology, which rose rapidly within a short period of time, proving that the old legend had returned. Nobody knew where Cooper had gone when he faked his death. Even Anna got nothing from her investigations, but there were rumors that he was in Africa digging for ck coal. Besides, he was a mysterious person to say the least. Very few media could photograph him as he kept a very low profile and rarely appeared in public. The Yard family had sent people to watch The Imperial for ten days, but they never once saw Coopere out. Callum joked, ¡°Quite the homebody, this guy is!¡± At this moment, Cade came up with an idea. ¡°It seems that Cooper has no ws, so we could take action against his daughter. If we mess with his daughter, Cooper will definitely agree to meet with us.¡± Cooper was unusually cold, but his daughter was extremely warm-hearted. Once Anna calmed down, she ordered Callum to contact Sophia to discuss the house. She was willing to cooperate and take less profits in their future business deals for the sake of the house. When Anne heard that Anna had been trying to get a meeting with Cooper recently, she got the impression that Anna wanted to talk to him about his marriage with her. She got even more excited when she heard that Callum was going to meet with Sophia because she assumed that Anna had sent Callum to pressure Sophia! Later on, she found out where they were meeting and had gone there in advance to wait for Sophia. With her invincible cousin with her, what would Sophia, that worthless b*stard, dare to say? After all, she was still working together with Callum. If she dared to refuse them, Callum would definitely cut ties with her at once. By then, she would be the one suffering the loss. Meanwhile, Sophia was getting annoyed with the agent who was pestering her everyday. On top of that, she received a dinner invitation from Callum saying that he wanted to talk about the house, but she knew that buying their house was just a front to help Anne pursue her father. It¡¯s fine, she thought. She could rify things with them today so that they would not harass her again in the future! They were going to meet at Crimson House Restaurant, so Sophia went there a little earlier after she got off work. She was prepared to eat something so that she would have enough strength for her fight with Callum. To her surprise, she found Anne already sitting inside waiting for her when she walked into the restaurant. How predictable. All that talk about buying houses and giving up parts of the business profit was just bullsh*t. They just wanted to give Anne a chance to win Cooper over! The Yard family was really doing anything they could to get Cooper! So what if they had money? The Yard family was rich, but Sophia¡¯s family had mines. Moreover, they were diamond mines and rare metal mines, so they were not inferior to the Yards at all! Sophia strode over with her head held high. ¡°Sophia!¡± As soon as she saw her, Anne called out to her, her eyes full of delight. Then, in a stepmotherly voice, she said, ¡°Oh, I bet you didn¡¯t see thising, did you? Aunt Anna loves me so much that she is personally helping me with the marriage. Today, Callum asked to meet with you to talk about my marriage with your father. I hope you won¡¯t stop us, otherwise¡ª¡± She mmed the table as she said this. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll ask Callum to stop his cooperation with you so that you¡¯ll suffer a great loss! Your brand is nothing without Ronney Group. I¡¯m advising you, stop criticizing my marriage with your father. You¡¯re not worthy!¡± Before Sophia could speak, Anne continued coldly, ¡°And don¡¯t make unwarranted assumptions about the Yard family¡¯s matters and judge us based on your malicious thoughts. You¡¯re no match for us!¡± Whew! It had only been a few days. What exactly happened? Where did Anne find the courage to speak to her like that? Sophia sat down slowly and put her bag away, her assistant and bodyguard standing to one side. Curiously, she asked, ¡°Hey, look who¡¯s talking big? You¡¯ve gotten the shares, I assume?¡± Anne answered proudly, ¡°I¡¯ll get the shares sooner orter. Aunt Anna is now busying herself with my marriage and it¡¯s obvious that she still loves me. She¡¯s not the heartless tyrant you im her to be! I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m Aunt Anna¡¯s favorite niece!¡± Haha! Sophia was skeptical of Anne¡¯s words. Could Anna be so stupid? If Anna was this stupid, it seemed that Sophia needed to reevaluate her. However, Anna¡¯s behavior had been rather contradictorytely. She was constantly eyeing Cooper¡¯s properties, acting as if she would not rest until she got them. There were so many neighborhoods and office buildings in Bayside City, so why would she keep targeting theirs? Cooper¡¯s office buildings and The Imperial¡¯s Vi No. 1 were worth several billions. If Anna really found a chance for Anne to buy the house, would it not get a lot of people involved? In addition, Anna had been attacking Mitchell International Energy and Technology for the past few days. She must have done it to force Cooper to marry Anne. Sophia could not think of any reason other than that she was trying to find opportunities for Anne. If Anna continued to spend so much money on helping Anne get Cooper without batting an eyelid, then it would make sense for them to give Anne the shares. This is strange¡­ Seeing that Sophia was deep in thought, Anne assumed that she had subdued her, so she smacked the table and said, ¡°Have I made myself clear? Be more respectful to me in the future, otherwise I¡¯ll ask Callum to terminate your cooperation agreement!¡± Sophia looked up at her, but before she could say anything, she saw Callum walking toward them, so she hurriedly asked her assistant to bring out the documents. ¡°Mr. Callum, you came at the right time. I¡¯d like to talk to you about the termination of our contract.¡± When she spoke, she looked at Anne, who appeared very haughty at this moment. ¡°It seems that Ronney Group¡­ is out of my league.¡± Chapter 1124 Chapter 1124 Callum was sent here by Anna today to talk to Sophia about buying their house, but he did not expect that Sophia would present him with a one-sided contract termination as soon as he arrived. ¡°This is the termination agreement. Take a look. If you¡¯re not satisfied with the terms, we can talk about it now. You can ask for as much money as you want, as I have plenty.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. She threw down a pen, and it was ced on the table together with the agreement. ¡°Just fill in the amount that you want.¡± Upon seeing this, Callum frowned. Aren¡¯t we just buying your house? Why do I sense some kind of deep hatred? Is it really necessary? Baffled, Callum opened his mouth to speak. ¡°This¡ª¡± ¡°Sophia!¡± Callum did not know why Anne was here, and he was even more puzzled when Anne suddenly mmed the table and shouted at Sophia. ¡°Don¡¯t be shameless! Ronney Group only cooperated with you because we think highly of you. Who do you think you are? You¡¯re a b*stard, so you don¡¯t even have the right to cooperate with the Yard family in the first ce! And yet you have the nerve to terminate the contract? A b*stard is a b*stard; you¡¯ll never amount to anything!¡± In Anne¡¯s opinion, the Yard family was the most powerful existence in the world. It was one¡¯s blessings to be able to work with Ronney Group; in fact, it was the chance of a lifetime. Not only did Sophia not kneel down to thank the Lord, but she even dared to terminate the contract! Callum¡¯s face paled. Why is Anne here? This fool! Sophia was so mad that a bitterugh escaped her. Looking at Callum, she tried to be as kind as she possibly could. ¡°Mr. Callum, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m a b*stard child, so working together has indeed been an insult to you and the Yard family¡¯s reputation. Sign this and stamp here while you¡¯re at it. Shae, bring the ink pad.¡± Shae came over and with a thud, an ink pad was thrown onto the table. Callum started, ¡°Is this¡ª¡± He just wanted to buy a house, not terminate the contract with Sophia! Through their cooperation recently, their first few products had been selling well abroad. What is this? But it seemed like it was not his turn to speak, because Anne had snatched the agreement over and was tearing it up. ¡°You can forget about terminating the contract. Ronney Group gave you a chance because we think that you¡¯re worthy. Do you think that you can terminate the contract just because you want to? Do you even have the right to bring it up? Even if the contract were to be terminated, it would be Ronney Group kicking you out instead!¡± Callum was dumbstruck. He knew that Anne was foolish, but he did not expect her foolishness to reach this extent. Sophia shed him a treacherous smile, seeming as if she had something up her sleeves, before saying, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mr. Callum. We can produce another copy of the agreement even though this one¡¯s destroyed. Name your price. It doesn¡¯t matter how much it is and just give me a number. I¡¯ll fork out the amount right now.¡± With that, she tossed out a stack of post-dated checks. ¡°Fill in the amount as you like. I¡¯m just a lowly b*stard with nothing else to offer other than some stinking money.¡± Callum hastily said, ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Today, I¡ª¡± For some reason, Sophia suddenly became angry. She mmed the table and stood up with lightning speed. ¡°Callum Yard, I only cooperated with you out of respect for the Yard family. If I didn¡¯t respect you, you¡¯d be nothing. You have no say in the termination of this contract! If you don¡¯t agree to this, I¡¯ll make sure Ronney Group leaves Bayside City! Trying to be ostentatious with me by unting your has-been royalty? In ancient times, the fall of the Yard family would make all of you social pariahs and ves for generations after. If it weren¡¯t for the revolutionary liberation that was achieved my grandfather¡¯s generation, you wouldn¡¯t even be able to get an ID card now!¡± Callum stared nkly at her, suddenly feeling trapped. In his eyes, Sophia was a young and adorable mixed-race girl, but just now, he could feel the air of arrogance bursting out of her. It was the kind of aura that came from her core, evil and cold, and it was nothing at all like her appearance. It was obvious that she was furious. She said that she would make Ronney Group leave Bayside City, and there was no doubt that she was completely capable of doing so. After all, Ronney Group was the outsider here, and they had no power in someone else¡¯s territory. Sophia, on the other hand, was the leader in this area. Her father was a Mitchell, while her husband was a Fletcher. She had a great influence in Cethos, and she even had Asco International¡ªa mighty Cethosian business. Furthermore, the Winston family also showed her respect, and the industry she created had an influence in Cethos unlike any other. If she were to lose her temper, then her statements would not just be petty talk. Seeing that Sophia dared to speak to her cousin in such a manner, Anne¡¯s anger grew. ¡°Sophia, how dare you use that tone with Callum? You¡­ Do you know who he is?¡± However, Sophia, who had sat back down, seemed as if she could not be bothered to answer. She had already put on her sunsses, just wanting to get the termination over with. Therge frames of the sses nearly covered up half of her face. Her blue eyes were like those of a predator¡¯s, lying in the dark as she fixed Callum with a cold gaze, making him feel a chill down his spine. What an imposing manner this little girl has. Callum had only seen such dominance on one other woman before, and that woman was none other than his mother¡ªAnna Yard. Callum gave a slight shudder, but his face was ice-cold. He said to his cousin, ¡°Anne, stand down.¡± Despite that, Anne refused to back down. Her face was flushed with anger as she stomped her foot. ¡°Callum, didn¡¯t you hear the way she spoke to you? She¡¯s too audacious, and she even threatened you! We must teach her a good lesson!¡± Sophia suddenly piped up, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know what the Yard family is ying at? The Yard family originated from the Lombardi River, then founded the Lombardi Dynasty thousands of years ago, but was evicted from Cethos seven hundred years ago because thest emperor was fatuous and immoral. ording to the change inws, royals like the Yard family who have been dethroned will be considered outcasts for generations toe. You¡¯ll always be the lowest of the low, doing inferior work and possessing a status that¡¯s worse than that of a pig¡¯s. Even if the Yard family established Ronney Group and managed to make a name for themselves, in Cethos, you all aren¡¯t the strongest. Globally, you¡¯re not even worth mentioning. Heh, if it wasn¡¯t for my grandpa¡¯s kindness which led to him interceding on behalf of the Yard family and covering this up, the Yard family would still be nailed firmly onto the pir of shame now. You would¡¯ve been a national sinner for eternity!¡± Callum¡¯s face was ashened, and he was too shocked to speak. Sophia then lifted her sunsses and sneered, ¡°What¡¯s the problem? You don¡¯t want to ept defeat? Believe it or not, tomorrow I¡¯ll make sure the Yard family ends up in the high school modern history textbook next semester. I¡¯ll even turn you into a subject in the college entrance examination. I¡¯ll let all of Cethos know what the Yard family did back then!¡± ¡°How dare you¡ª¡± Callum shot Sophia a fierce re. The Yard family was d that they did not make it into the history textbooks for various reasons. If they did, the entire country would learn about what they had done. At that moment, they would really be nailed to history¡¯s pir of shame, unable to get down. Naturally, the younger generations were the ones who had to take the me for what their predecessors had done. Every Cethosian would be criticizing and judging the Yard family. When the time came, Ronney Group could forget about developing their business in Cethos. Anne was enraged. She once again mmed her hand down on the table and yelled, ¡°Then what are you? You¡¯re just a b*stard, and yet you dare to speak to us like that? The Yard family is the proudest and most powerful family in the world! Where do you think youe from? You want us to be in modern history textbooks? Who do you think you are? Whether or not we¡¯re in the books is not up to you to decide!¡± Chapter 1125 Chapter 1125 Callum was ring at Sophia, but he abruptly retracted his gaze. This was his first time seeing that she could be so vicious. He restrained his emotions before barking at Anne, ¡°Stand down!¡± His tone was stern and harsh, making Anne realize that Callum was truly angry now. She pursed her lips and said nothing else, but she felt wronged, so her eyes became red-rimmed as tears began to roll down. This b*stard Sophia; she thinks too highly of herself. Callum will definitely teach her a lesson! She stared ferociously at Sophia, waiting for Callum to make her pay for her actions. To her surprise, Callum¡¯s cold demeanor from earlier vanished. He smiled and sat down, pushing away the stack of checks before saying, ¡°Sophia, there¡¯s no need to be so angry! Come, have some tea. This is a special Imperial drink that the Yard family has been drinking for generations. I brought it here today especially for you!¡± He set down his royal tea set, then had a waiter bring water over before he began brewing the tea for Sophia. Sophia¡¯s expression, however, was still cold and emotionless. Her huge sunsses concealed the fierce glint in her blue eyes. ¡°p her before you say anything more,¡± she demanded coolly. Callum stopped brewing the tea and looked up at Sophia. Undoubtedly, he knew who she had meant by ¡®her¡¯. Sophia wants to p Anne? And she wants me, her cousin, to do it? N?velDrama.Org ? content. No matter how foolish Anne was, she was still a part of the Yard family. pping her would be a p to his face! Callum hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea¡­¡± The corners of Sophia¡¯s lips curled up slightly as she turned her head toward Anne. Behind her, Dimon¡¯s hand shot out to p Anne across her small delicate face. The guy struck with no regard for gender, causing Anne¡¯s nose to bleed on the spot. At once, the whole ce fell silent. Upon seeing this, Callum¡¯s mouth twitched. No one had dared to p a member of the Yard family before, much less in front of him! For several seconds, Anne was stunned. She was dizzy from the p, and her mind was nk. It took a while for her toe back to her senses, and that was when she let out an ear-splitting scream. It was a good thing they were in a private booth, so not many people were around; otherwise, it would have caused a hugemotion. ¡°You¡­ How dare you hit me?! Sobs¡­ Callum, she hit me! She hit me!¡± In an instant, Callum¡¯s face turned sullen. Although he reckoned she deserved the beating, and he could not deny wanting to give her one himself, him doing it would have apletely different connotation as opposed to someone else hitting her. The atmosphere tensed all of a sudden, and Callum¡¯s men started to act. They reached into their suits, seemingly drawing guns, but as soon as their hands moved, those few burly bodyguards grunted and fell to the ground, sprawling out on their backs. At this moment, Callum was on high alert as cold sweat beaded his forehead. His men had fallen so suddenly! And without any resistance too! Anne was terrified as well. At this point, Callum withdrew his kind smile and said gloomily, ¡°Miss Edwards, it seems like you¡¯re shedding all pretenses of cordiality here.¡± Sophia coldly lifted her sunsses and retorted, ¡°Aren¡¯t you guys the one doing that? I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m just a b*stard, so Ronney Group¡¯spletely out of my league.¡± She pushed the checks back to him. ¡°Sign them. Then, give me a number and I¡¯ll pay. What I have is money, nothing else.¡± However, Callum refused to sign it. Veins bulging on his forehead, he fixed her with a frosty stare. ¡°Miss Edwards, do you think you¡¯re capable of going against the Ronney Group?¡± Sophia remained indifferent and expressionless. ¡°I may not have the courage or ability to go against the Ronney Group, but to stop the Ronney Group from operating in Bayside City and to turn the Yard Family into a topic in modern history textbooks so that you¡¯d all be attacked? That¡¯s something I¡¯m capable of. The Yard family has backed me into a corner, so don¡¯t me me.¡± She then gave the checks a hard tap with her fair hands and said only one word: ¡°Sign.¡± Callum red stonily at her for ten seconds or so before he finally reached out to take hold of the pen, and began to write. His delicate fingernails were coated in transparent nail polish, and it was obvious that he kept them well-maintained. At this moment, his wless hand was trembling slightly as he held the pen and wrote a ¡®0¡¯. ¡°You¡¯re really something. I don¡¯t want thepensation. Miss Edwards, you¡¯re on your own now.¡± As he said this, he was gritting his teeth. Remaining silent, Sophia tossed out the termination agreement and said, ¡°Sign.¡± Callum roughly nced through the agreement, which mostly exined the terms of the termination. Pourl¡¯s side promised to pay for all the losses, on the condition that they terminated their contract with the Yard family. Callum then signed it with shaking hands. For the second time in his life, he was being greatly humiliated. Thest time was when he nearly fell to his death but was caught by his rtives from the branch family. After she affixed her signature, Sophia gave him the other copy to sign. She had already written her own name, so all that was required now was Callum¡¯s signature. After all was done, she took back her own copy curtly. While putting it away, she said, ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s no way I¡¯m selling my house to you. My dad doesn¡¯t like Anne, so stop throwing away your money to create opportunities for her to pursue him. Even if you manage to buy the house next to mine, you¡¯d be dreaming if you think that that¡¯s going to help her get a glimpse of my dad! Your family even pressured his investors to force him to marry her. You guys are really something. You¡¯re really overestimating your capabilities, you know? Stay away from my dad. If this happens again¡­ the Yard Family can look forward to bing a test question in the college entrance examinations next year!¡± Listening to her speak, Callum found it all to be very unreal. Does Sophia think that Anna is buying her house to give Anne opportunities to meet Cooper? Anna had only pressured Mitchell International because she felt like her authority was being provoked, so she wanted to show her strength. After all, she had been ignored three times in a row; even the most unfeeling person would throw a temper. But, from Sophia¡¯s point of view, they were doing all this just to force Cooper to marry Anne. He was about to refute her ims, but Anne unexpectedly rushed forward like a little beast and cried while jumping around, ¡°You b*stard! Cooper and I really love each other, so don¡¯t even think about breaking us up! Don¡¯t you dare think about it! I will marry Cooper!¡± To her dismay, Sophia¡¯s bodyguards blocked her, and Dimon nonchntly pushed her to the ground. ¡°Ah.¡± Sophia stood up and nced at Callum; her blue eyes were filled with contempt and mockery. ¡°Did your family think that just because I sought cooperation with you, I¡¯ll have to involve my dad in a marriage of convenience? How shameless! Besides, could my dad ever be attracted to this kind of trash? After you pursued my nephew, you pursued my brother, and now you¡¯re pursuing my dad. Do you think that my family is here for you to pick on? It¡¯s no wonder the Yard Family is in the luxury products business. After dabbling in luxuries for so long, you people sure know how to blow your own trumpet and think that you¡¯re above everyone else!¡± When Callum heard this, he knew immediately that it was all a huge misunderstanding. We just want to buy Cooper¡¯s house! How did it be a matter of forcing Cooper into marriage? How did Anne¡¯s delusions turn into the Yard Family¡¯scency? Chapter 1126 Chapter 1126 But right now, there was no way to exin this misunderstanding. Callum did not feel like exining either, so he simply called out, ¡°What about my people? Aren¡¯t you going to clean up this mess?¡± Sophia did not turn back. ¡°Your people tried to pull guns on us, and it triggered my mechanical bodyguard¡¯s defense system. It calcted and analyzed that you might do something to me, so it released electronic bullets. They¡¯ve just fainted, so they¡¯ll wake up after ten minutes. By the way, I¡¯ve spoken to the real estate agent. As one of Bayside City¡¯s top real estate agents, he respects me and has agreed that he will no longer work with the Yard Family in the future!¡± With that, she disappeared. Callum sat back in his seat and looked at the termination agreement as he began to contemte his life. He just wanted to buy a nice house to live in. I really just want to buy a house! He had no interest in her dad whatsoever! No interest in her nephew or her brother either! Anne, on the other hand, was sobbing. She grabbed onto Callum¡¯s pants and cried, ¡°Callum, you have to help me! Cooper and I are truly in love¡­¡± Callum did not speak. His expression was indifferent and dejected, and they sat like that for ten minutes. Ten minutester, his people woke up at almost the same time. They drew their guns and started to make a fuss. ¡°Protect the young master!¡± ¡°What happened just now?¡± Upon seeing this, Callum stood up swiftly and kicked away Anne, who was still grabbing onto his thigh, before hurrying off. It would be a waste of time to exchange any more words with this idiot! Anne cried her heart out as she chased after Callum; even her high heels had broken. When she came out of Crimson House, she did not expect to see that Callum¡¯s car was long gone, leaving her alone by the road. Anne carried on crying, feeling extremely deste. She stood on the side of the road and wept for quite some time. Usually, her clothing, amodation, and transport were handled by an assistant or a nanny, so now, she didn¡¯t even know how to hail a taxi! Meanwhile, in the presidential suite of a six-star hotel, Anna was looking at Callum with disbelief. ¡°Did she really say that?¡± Callum nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Anna had sent Callum to persuade Sophia, so she was surprised when Callum brought back a termination agreement with a look of frustration! This was the first time in history that somebody had rejected the Yard Family. That girl has such nerves! She even wants to make the Yard Family a test question in next year¡¯s college entrance exams? Although it sounded trivial, if the Yard Family really became an examination topic, their actions from back then would be exposed, and they would be nailed onto Cethos¡¯ pir of shame for all of eternity. The Yard Family had certainly been careless to have done such a thing. At the time, foreigners hade knocking on Cethos¡¯ door, and countless people had died. The Yards were ountable for nearly half of those deaths, so it served them right that they were destroyed. Later on, after their branch family took control, the Yard Family wanted to save face, so they fought with Cethos for a long time. In the end, Cethos used the inclusion of their deeds in history textbooks as a bargaining chip to force the Yard Family to withdraw from the United Nations. Now, Anna had returned to negotiate, and she had contributed many cultural relics and investment projects. One of the conditions she proposed was to never talk about the Yard Family¡¯s dark past. They also had to sincerely admit to their wrongdoings. The Fletcher Family did not want to retaliate with injustice, so they mediated and reached a preliminary agreement. However, it was only preliminary. If anyone in Bayside City could not tolerate the Yard Family, it would only take a couple of minutes to kick them out. After all, they had no roots in Cethos. It was no wonder that the agent, Mr. rke, had called just now to say that he would no longer be working with them. Besides him, several of Bayside City¡¯s top real estate agents had been given the notice to not work with the Yard Family too. They were new to the area, and now, they could not even buy a decent house! If her guess was right, Sophia was the one giving them notices behind the scenes. She was Bayside City¡¯s local tyrant after all. Her father was a Mitchell, her husband was a Fletcher, and she had incredibly strong connections in Bayside City. After listening to the series of events, Anna was stunned for a long while. Then, sheughed helplessly. This was all just a huge misunderstanding. Thus far, she had asked to meet with Cooper a total of four times. The first time, she was indeed annoyed by Anne¡¯s constant cries andints, so she invited Cooper out to talk about their marriage as her aunt. But of course, Cooper declined. She did not care much about it but had invited him out of kinship. As for the other three times, she had only done it for the house! Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. Inadvertently, she had stepped on the local tyrant¡¯s tail. As for Cade, he was a little frustrated. Initially, they had decided to work with Sophia because her luxury pet products had potential, she had the Fletcher family¡¯s backing, and she was the local tyrant. At that time, the Yard Family had intentions of reconciling with the Fletcher Family as well. If they partnered with Sophia, it would help with the Yard Family¡¯s arrival in Bayside City. Unfortunately, all was lost now. Anna said nothing. Her young, well-maintained, and wrinkle-free hands were holding a cup of tea as she gazed thoughtfully out the window at Bayside City¡¯s magnificent view. ¡°This matter needs to be further discussed.¡± That night, Xena carried Anne, whose face was swollen from being beaten up, to Anna. As soon as they got there, Anne grabbed Anna and cried, ¡°Aunt Anna! You have to back me up! That b*astard wants to ruin my marriage with Cooper! Aunt Anna, you have to help me! My mom is going to kill me!¡± Anna nced at Anne, who was beaten up and swollen, but her eyes no longer held the love it used to. What a useless person. She can never do anything right. Xena was usually very gentle, but today, she was extremely harsh. She could only see red as sheshed out at Anne with a whip. ¡°What did I tell you in the first ce? Have you forgotten everything?! You useless girl! Sooner orter, you¡¯re going to get us all killed!¡± Although Xena and Anna grew up in different environments, when the violence in them was evoked, they were equally vicious. With one whip, Anne¡¯s skin was yed, and her exquisite cloud brocade dress was torn open, exposing her battered flesh. A few whipster, her body became badly mangled. Anne was crying so much that her voice had be hoarse, but she still did not know what she had done wrong. All she wanted was to marry Cooper! ¡°Who told you to be so delusional? Who told you to disobey me? Who do you think you are? Do you think you¡¯re a princess? You¡¯re nothing!¡± Once Xena started, there was no stopping her as she hit Anne until she was rolling on the ground. The bodyguard that was standing to one side did not look away, though he seemedpletely oblivious to what was happening. Meanwhile, Anna was intently studying the information in hand. It was as if she did not notice that someone was being beaten half to death in front of her. Xena did not want to hit her only daughter either, but she had to do it today for Anna to see. Previously, she and Louis had repeatedly urged Anne not to be carried away by her wishful thinking. Who knew that she would ask Anna for shares and even criticize Callum¡¯s business? They were twins, so how could Xena not know what kind of a person Anna was? Chapter 1127 Chapter 1127 Ever since she was recognized by the family, Xena had never mentioned anything about money to Anna. Except for their family name, Xena dared not ask for anything else! Since ancient times, all of the Yard superiors were twins. Now that Anna was the only high-ranking Yard, Xena¡¯s identity as her twin was an extremely sensitive topic. This was because she too had reasonable rights to the Yard Family¡¯s inheritance, but she knew that Anna would never give it to her. In fact, she was rather fearful of her sister¡¯s existence. Her good behavior was the only reason she was still alive right now. However, if she started to ask for shares and the rights to her inheritance, it would be a futile attempt as Anna would undoubtedly make Xena disappear without a word. Therefore, Xena had to prove herself at all costs, even if it meant killing Anne today! Standing before Anna, sheshed out viciously at Anne. However, up until now, Anne still did not know why Xena wasshing out at her. She just wanted to have a part of their shares. Was that so wrong? She grew up pampered and spoiled, so she had never suffered this badly before! All this while, she led a carefree life, and Xena had never so much as chastised her before. So why was she beating her now?! Stubbornness overtook her, and Anne suddenly got up to grab the whip that had yet tosh out. As her entire body trembled with pain, she raged against Xena. ¡°What¡¯s so wrong with me wanting shares? Ronney Group is the Yard Family¡¯s property, and I¡¯m a part of the family. I too have inheritance rights! Why can¡¯t I have some shares? Even that cat, General, has some shares! So, why can¡¯t I have some? Why not? I¡¯m obviously a direct descendant of the Yard Family, but Cooper¡¯s b*stard daughter called me an outsider to my face, all because I have no shares! If I had some shares, Cooper would already be engaged to me! I can¡¯t take it! I can¡¯t! I want Ronney Group¡¯s shares!¡± At this moment, Callum came to give Anna some documents but had unexpectedly heard Anne¡¯s words as soon as he walked into the office. He shook his head and gave a low chuckle. She¡¯s so silly that it¡¯s pathetic! He walked in and ced the stack of documents on Anna¡¯s desk. Meanwhile, Xena was stunned by Anne¡¯s remarks. She¡¯s going to bring the whole family trouble! ¡°You vile creature! I¡¯ll strangle you to death!¡± Crazed by anger, Xena rushed forward and throttled Anne, leaving her no room for escape. She choked her until her eyes rolled back into her head. Although Anne had been pampered and spoiled since young, she was only in her early twenties, so she was much stronger than Xena¡ªwho was in her forties¡ªand managed to choke her mother in return. At this moment, Anna lifted her gaze. Callum immediately understood and dragged apart the mother- daughter duo, who were still strangling each other. The world turned quiet at once. Anna silently read through the documents, flipping one page after another. After all this time, she was still more used to reading stuff on paper. The stack of documents contained all of Sophia¡¯s personal information. They had found everything they could, including details that most people would not be able to find. Previously, Anna had roughly looked up Sophia¡¯s information, but it was not as detailed as this. Sophia¡¯s life before she was eighteen was terribly tragic. She worked hard and tried to change her life through studying, but she was ill-fated and had even been molested as a child. After the age of eighteen, her destiny took a sudden change. She got into Bayside University, where she excelled in her academics and career. During her time in school, she founded Plum Technology Co. Ltd., which was the predecessor of Plum Technology Group Co. Ltd. At Bayside University, she was known as the smartest and prettiest girl, as well as the model entrepreneur on campus. Besides that, she was the daughter of the Edwards Family and the Mitchell Family, and was also a member of the champion team of the Esports World Championship. As Anna flipped through Sophia¡¯s life history, a glimmer of awe shone in her eyes. It was as if she was watching a seed in the desert desperately trying to survive even though everything was extremely dry. Using itsst bit of strength, it rolled forward; it was as insignificant as a grain of dust, but it had an unyielding soul. Even amidst all the dust, it knew that it was unique. Even though everything seemed hopeless, it still carried hope. Sophia knew that she was not insignificant, nor was she a grain of dust. Even when she was surrounded by dust, she kept her uniqueness. Until one day, the light she was waiting for appeared, and she managed to find fertile soil and water. With their nourishment, she soon took root and grew into a towering tree with luxuriant leaves and roots that ran deep. After reading Sophia¡¯s information, Anna set down her sses and was about to speak when Callum suddenly held up a picture and said, ¡°Mom, look. The girl in this picture looks a lot like you.¡± Anna studied the picture. Sophia was still young, around eighteen or neen years old, and she was dressed in Bayside University¡¯s uniform. With pearly-white teeth and bright, ck eyes, she bore some resemnce to a younger Anna. But ten years had passed, so her appearance had changed drastically. She was still a mixed-race girl, but her face had undergone surgery because of the injury she suffered. After all these years, her face had begun to look more and more westernized, but one could still vaguely see her original features. ¡°There is indeed some resemnce.¡± The world was big, so it was nothing too strange. A thought began to form in Anna¡¯s mind, and she wanted to talk about it with Callum, but at this moment, a bodyguard brought Xena in. Xena sobbed miserably. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I¡¯ve spoiled her too much since she was young, always giving her the best. Now she¡¯s developed into a person that¡¯s unaware of proprieties. Don¡¯t take the child¡¯s words to heart. I¡¯ve already taught her a severe lesson. In the future, she won¡¯t dare to have such silly notions anymore.¡± Louis hade in as well, and his heart tightened when he heard what Xena had just said. He did not want to see his own twin daughters destroy each other, and Xena never had any intentions of snatching anything from Anna anyway, so he hurried forward to mediate the situation. After all, Anne had been hospitalized by her own mother, and Anna did not wish to pursue the matter for the time being.N?velDrama.Org ? content. Fidgeting, Louis said, ¡°I heard that your business had fallen through, but it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll go talk to Mikey.¡± Anna did not want to continue cooperating with Sophia, but Sophia had gotten them stuck on square one. It was unfavorable for their development in Bayside City, so they did, in fact, need someone to act as a peacemaker. Since Louis had volunteered, they decided to let him go. Eventually, Louis met with Michael. They were having tea when Louis brought up the matter. These days, Michael was busy with his own affairs, leaving home early and returningte, but he knew about the dispute between Anne and Sophia. After the incident, Sophia¡¯s cooperation with the Yard Family waspletely wrecked. Sophia did not wish to have any contact with the Yards, but carrying on like this would not be good for either party. Therefore, Louis acting as a mediator was a way out of this mess for both parties. Now that Anne was hospitalized from being beaten up, Sophia¡¯s anger had slowly melted away, so she agreed to make a few calls. This led to several real estate agents contacting Anna to say that they would help her look for houses, but Cooper¡¯s property was off-limits. It went without saying that this misunderstanding would be impossible to resolve. Chapter 1128 Chapter 1128 Late at night, Sophia sat in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the scenery. With Bayside City¡¯sndscape reflected in her eyes, she stayed silent and dazed as her mind drifted away. It was already midnight when Michael, who was out filming, returned. He walked in to find Sophia curled up into a ball on the windowsill and still in a daze. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why aren¡¯t you asleep yet?¡± Michael whispered as he stepped forward to rub her hair. Sophia¡¯s chin lifted and motioned upstairs as she said, ¡°My dad isn¡¯t asleep yet, and neither is my brother.¡± When Michael came back, he saw that the lights on the third floor were still on, and so were the ones in Vi No. 2. It seemed that the father and son were still awake, and Sophia could not sleep either. ¡°What happened? Can you tell me about it?¡± Michael sat across from her, taking her hands in his and kneading them. Her hands were soft and seemed boneless, but by touching them, he could feel the scars and calluses that used to be on those hands. Sophia¡¯s eyebrows sank. After a while, she said, ¡°You¡¯ve all been hiding it from me, but actually, I know everything¡­ Anna¡¯s my mom, isn¡¯t she?¡± Michael remained silent. All this while, he did not tell her because he was afraid that she would be hurt. But ultimately, the truth could not be hidden from her. Sophia gently leaned her head on Michael¡¯s arms and continued, ¡°In fact, I knew about it a long time ago. I knew that she was a pawn that Jordan had ced beside my dad. I knew¡­ But I still wanted to get close to her; I thought that I could still salvage something.¡± Hearing her words made Michael¡¯s heart turn heavy. Annabel Johnson no longer remembered Cooper, nor did she know about Sophia and her siblings, but Sophia and Cooper still knew her. Sophia did not say anything more. She had destroyed her rtionship with the Yard Family because she wanted to get rid of any remaining hope. Afterward, she would not have the chance to get close to Anna anymore. She would just have to treat it as if she never knew this woman. However, she still reckoned Cooper did not deserve this. Cooper had been missing her for more than twenty years, and yet this was the result he got. Sophia had never felt the love of a mother before, and now she had lost it, but it did not feel like that great of a loss. Cooper, on the other hand, had loved her so much¡­ Michael hugged Sophia and said softly, ¡°Have a good rest. Don¡¯t think about it too much.¡± Obediently, she leaned into his arms, immersing herself in the warmth that she had gotten so used to. Even though she had lost her memory, she still remembered this warmth¡ªthe warmth that had appeared countless times in her dream. In fact, fragments of the past would asionally appear in her mind, but they could not be captured clearly as they were always muddled and would disappear in an instant. However, she knew that those memories were rted to Michael because she would always feel this familiar warmth¡ªhis warmth. On Saturday, a neighbor at The Imperial had sent an invitation to Sophia in advance as they were going to have a birthday party. Currently, Michael and Carmen were out filming ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ and had yet to return. When Sophia went there thest time, it had caused so much trouble that it was nearly impossible to shoot the reality show. This time around, Michael did not bring Sophia along no matter what. Previously, Sophia had followed him for two days. Now that she trusted Michael¡¯s ability to take care of their daughter and to deal with problems, she decided that she did not need to follow along. After all, their daughter would not starve even if she went with him. N?velDrama.Org ? content. In the afternoon, Linus arrived all dressed-up, ready to bring Sophia over to the neighbor¡¯s party. ¡°Linus, wait for me! I¡¯ll be ready in a minute!¡± Sophia had rushed back from the office to change her clothes, then hastily applied some makeup. She had been out for the whole day, so her makeup had worn off. She hurriedly retrieved her foundation to touch up her appearance. ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry. Take your time fixing your makeup.¡± Linus smiled and went to the living room where he sat and scrolled through his phone. Wagging its tail, Cash came over to him, and Linus patted the dog while he waited for Sophia. Meanwhile, Carmen¡¯s chicken, which was wrapped in a golden diaper, strutted over. The pig that was being raised in Vi No. 1, on the other hand, would only be released when Carmen returned. Tsk. I wonder what weird creature Carmen will bring back this time. Celine was chasing the chicken all over the house while Justin stood helplessly at the side. Suddenly remembering something, Linus looked upstairs and asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t Dad going?¡± While applying her makeup, Sophia answered, ¡°Dad¡¯s not going. He¡¯s staying home, but I don¡¯t know what for.¡± Nowadays, Cooper would only show up during meal times. Ding dong! The doorbell rang. Maria went to check the surveince video, then reported, ¡°Madam, Young Master Linus, a beautifuldy is at the door, and she¡¯s even carrying a cat.¡± Ady with a cat? Linus nced at the surveince video and said solemnly, ¡°It¡¯s Anna and the Yard twins.¡± Anna! Sophia went to take a look and saw that it was indeed Anna and her sons. They were dressed in morous outfits and seemed to be here for a party. Their neighbor that was hosting the party had rather impressive connections, so it was not surprising that they had invited Anna. However, Anne was not there, and neither was Jordan. What are they doing here? Thest time they met, she had destroyed Callum¡¯s dignity and had even threatened to make them a test question in the college entrance examination, so they must havee here today with ill intentions. Linus said, ¡°We¡¯ll let them in first. Maria, bring them tea. Celie, catch that chicken. I¡¯ll greet them; you go call Dad.¡± Linus was also aware of Anna¡¯s motives. After all, she was his mother! However¡­ Linus opened the door and greeted the Yards. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the distinguished Yard Family! Mrs. Yard, Mr. Yard, pleasee in.¡± Prior to this, Linus had never socialized much with the Yard Family. After all, the arts and science sectors rarely interacted with each other. The Yard Family produced luxury goods, while the Michel family was involved in technology and the military, so they had very few chances to interact. Anna nced at Linus, and a smile appeared on her face. Linus Michel. She had been looking forward to meeting him for a long time now. She had long known that there was a gifted genius in the Michel family, but she did not expect that they would end up meeting in Cethos. They were in a hurry thest time they met, so they did not manage to exchange more than a few words. Anna shook Linus¡¯ hand, then asked, ¡°Should I call you Mr. Michel or Mr. Mitchell?¡± Linus gave her a warm smile. ¡°Both are fine.¡± He then invited them in. This was Anna¡¯s first time in The Imperial, and she was satisfied with every house that she had seen thus far. She was pleased with them as she found that they were all fairly decent. Having received the invitation to the party, she took this as an opportunity to explore the ce. Usually, she would not be able to enter the neighborhood, so she could only glimpse at Vi No. 1 from afar, but even then, she found its appearance to be rather satisfactory. Daniel¡¯s traditional Garden Vi was exquisite, and Linus¡¯ refreshing little cottage was lovely as well. Vi No. 8, on the other hand, gave off a different kind of imperiousness. Anna and her sons seemed to really like their house, so Linus introduced it to them. ¡°This is my sister¡¯s house. I¡¯m staying in Vi No. 2.¡± They walked through the garden where two magnificent alpacas were being kept. Anna took one nce at the alpacas and said, ¡°I heard that your African mine has recently produced a batch of good quality diamonds. It would be great if you could sell them to the Yard Family. You have mines, and we need diamonds, so how about we talk about it in detail?¡± Sophia had always wanted to forge an alliance between Linus and the Yard Family for the diamond business, but because of the incident with Anne, that n was shelved. After all, the quality of the diamonds that Linus¡¯ mines produced was good, and they were suitable for jewelry-making, so they did not have to worry about sales. However, Linus knew that Anna was just trying to gauge his position in the Michel Family. Ever since the Michel Family got rid of the mole that the Yard Family nted, they had lost ess to a lot of important information. Linus was troubled. He did not want to go against Anna, but he did not want to get close to her either. Hence, he answered, ¡°Orders were ced for this batch as soon as they were produced. Mrs. Yard; I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re toote.¡± Linus brought the three of them in and seated them in the living room; the chicken had already been caught. Meanwhile, Sophia was bringing Cooper downstairs. Cooper saw Anna sitting in the living room when he wasing down, and Anna happened to look up at him at the same time. Chapter 1129 Chapter 1129 Prior to this, Anna and Cooper had only met briefly, and they had only spoken a few words to each other. But Cooper¡ªa cold and indifferent man¡ªhad left a deep impression in Anna¡¯s heart. During their meeting this time, their eyes met when Cooper wasing down the stairs. Anna felt as if her eyes were locked onto his as something magical lingered in the air between them. Sophia had destroyed Callum¡¯s dignity and both parties had already torn up their cooperation agreement, so she was not sure what Anna was doing in her house. But since they were here, they might as well made things clear. When Sophia talked to her dad or her brother, she spoke in a young, child-like voice. But, as soon as Anna and her sons walked in, her voice turned low and grave and waspletely different from her usual tone. ¡°Mrs. Yard, since you¡¯re here, let¡¯s rify some matters.¡± They were guests nheless, so Sophia politely greeted them and made sure they were all properly seated before she began clearing things up. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m sorry for the disagreement between me and Mr. Callum the other day. Even though we can¡¯t continue with the business, we can still be friends.¡± Sophia gave Callum a sincere apology, which he epted with a nod. After all, there were no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests. That day, Sophia was indeed offended by Anne¡¯s impertinent remarks. Being called a ¡®b*tch¡¯ had certainly touched a nerve. Sophia continued, ¡°As for the house, we currently don¡¯t have any ns of selling it. We¡¯re staying in Vi No. 1, so we¡¯re not going to sell it off. Those office buildings are being used as well, so we have no ns to sell them for the time being. Also, my dad doesn¡¯t n to remarry.¡± Thest sentence was the most important point. Cooper had no interest in Anne whatsoever, so there was no point in trying to win him over. Callum shrugged at this. What a huge misunderstanding. But, now that everything was over, he reckoned that it was better to just let it go and let it remain a misunderstanding. Anne had already been beaten into submission after all. Anna was the one to respond. ¡°That misunderstanding was a result of my ipetent teaching. It caused Anne to overstep, so I¡¯d like to express my apologies.¡± Anna was an arrogant person, but she was not blindly arrogant. Although they were speaking in a friendly manner, Sophia did not want to say anything to Anna anymore. Before this, they still had a nodding acquaintance, but now, all they had were business exchanges. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Cooper and Linus said nothing. Sophia was always the one dealing with the Yard Family anyway, so they rarely had any contact with the Yards. Even if they had dealings, it would be back-and-forth fights that were carried out in secret. Hugging General, Linus stroked the feline. Touching a cat with shares does feel different, he thought. Cooper, on the other hand, kept a stony expression on his face. He was, however, looking at Anna the whole time. This was his Anna after all! But, he knew that she was not the same Anna she once was. It did not matter whether or not she had lost her memory, or if she still remembered him¡ªthey could never return to the way they used to be. Halfway through the conversation, Cooper suddenly got up and said, ¡°You guys carry on.¡± Frostily, he turned away. He did not utter a single word since he came down, and now he was leaving after just throwing out one sentence, which just went to prove how indifferent he was. Is this the man from Bayside City that¡¯s rumored to dote fiercely on his daughter? His character and appearance do not match that description at all! Cade spat in his mind. Watching his retreating figure, Anna felt a bone-chilling sadness in the simple arc of his back. What¡¯s this man grieving about? The three of them sat there for a brief period. After rifying matters and talking a little about business, they got up to leave. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Linus got up as well as they were headed to the neighbor¡¯s house anyway. Sophia had finished touching up her makeup, so she followed them out. They then walked to the neighbor¡¯s house together. From the way they dressed to their nature, Callum and Cade were exactly the same. Unlike their father¡¯s cold temperament, they were fresh and warm. Like two delicate little cherries, their faces were tender enough to pinch. On the contrary, Sophia and her brother looked nothing alike! Due to this, Callum was dubious. ¡°Are you two really twins?¡± Linus gently took Sophia¡¯s hand, steadying her as she wobbled in her high heels. While doing so, he answered, ¡°I look like our father while she looks like our mother.¡± As he said this, Sophia nced subconsciously toward Anna. As mother and daughter, they certainly did look alike. When they walked past Sophia¡¯s Vi No. 1, the Yards could not help but peer inside. Just by looking at its appearance, one could tell that it was a decent house. Sophia and her family had more than enough space in Vi No. 8, so it was truly a waste to leave this house empty! It was simply a waste of natural resources! To their surprise, someone suddenly opened the door of the vi, and a pig joyfully scurried out. They rear¡­ pigs?! Cade¡¯s expression changed as he began to re-evaluate Sophia¡¯s worth. She¡¯s actually raising pigs in Vi No. 1, the heart of Bayside City! What a wealthy woman! By the time the neighbor¡¯s party ended, it was already the wee hours of the morning. Yawning, Sophia went home with Linus, while the Yard Family left in their car. Sitting in the car, Anna sensed a pair of eyes looking in her direction as they passed by Vi No. 8. She looked up at the vi and saw that the window on the third floor was open, and a figure was just turning away. Cooper¡­ Anna looked out the window until she could no longer see the vi. After they got back to the hotel they were temporarily staying at, Anna quickly fell asleep. She had not been asleep for long when a man came in from outside. Softly closing the door behind him, he walked into the bathroom to take a shower before changing into his pajamas and getting into Anna¡¯s bed. ¡°Annie¡­¡± Jordan slowly moved closer to her; his hands were outstretched as if he wanted to touch her. His hand approached her, but eventually stopped and hung mid-air, not reaching out atst. There was a distance between the two of them as theyy there in their clothes. He knew that Anna was not asleep, so he said softly to her, ¡°Ryan and Henry areing to Bayside City to pursue their PhDs.¡± Upon hearing those two names, Anna¡¯s eyes suddenly flew open, and a dark gleam shed across her eyes. Meanwhile, Carmen had returned, so Linus and Sophia went to the airport to fetch them. As soon as the door to the aircraft cabin was opened and the stairs were lowered, Michael brought Carmen down with a scowl on his face. Looking energetic as she was dressed in a pink dress with her hair up in pigtails, Carmen bounded happily toward Sophia and Linus. ¡°Mommy, Uncle Linus!¡± Feeling delighted, Sophia rushed forward to hug her daughter. She had only been gone for three days, but she had already grown cuter and was even more beautiful than before. She was really a little baby that grew up feeding on cuteness! After her little reunion, Sophia noticed Michael¡¯s sour face, and she had a feeling that things did not go well. Thest time he came back, he had worn the same dark expression because Carmen had brought back a huge water buffalo, two goats, a chicken, and a pig. This time¡­ Oh, no! They had gone to a vige in the desert! What animals were there in the desert? Sophia did not have to guess as they would soon find out. Dancing around with joy, Carmen beamed, ¡°Mommy, I brought back a special product!¡± Sophia¡¯s scalp tingled as soon as she mentioned ¡®special product¡¯ because she was almost always referring to something that was alive. Sure enough, in the next moment, arge camel could be seening down from the cargo hold. Chapter 1130 Chapter 1130 Sophia and Linus simultaneously sucked in a breath of cold air. Carmen, however, was still prancing around with glee. ¡°Camel! Big camel! A big, big camel!¡± It certainly was¡­ a huge camel. No wonder Michael¡¯s glowering. ¡°Let¡¯s go home first,¡± Michael said, still scowling. This time, no matter how they persuaded her, Carmen insisted on keeping the camel at home. Michael was so worried that he was sure his hair was going to turn white. Rearing a pig in Vi No. 1 was fine, but rearing a camel¡­ That would be a pain in the *ss. Raising a child was truly exhausting. Thankfully, Linus had the idea of quietly donating the camel to the zoo. They could then tell Carmen that her grandpa had bought the zoo, so she could go there to visit the camels every day if she wanted to. Michael really wanted to donate Sophia¡¯s pair of alpacas as well, but the zoo seemed to be uninterested, and Sophia would certainly disagree, so he had no choice but to give up that notion. Coincidentally, the giant pandas that Michael and Sophia adopted had been sent to Bayside City Zoo to be exhibited. Michael had been one of the people in charge of making this happen. A year ago, he managed to establish a coboration between Bayside City Zoo and Panda Foundation. Once the zoo was done with the renovations for the new panda pavilion, only then did Panda Foundation feelfortable sending the two pandas to Bayside City to ¡®work¡¯. Bayside City Zoo only had six pandas, so weing another two was not a big deal. Not to mention, Taylor¡ªa man with extraordinary poprity¡ªwas one of the adopters of these two pandas, so it had caused quite amotion throughout Bayside City. A grand opening ceremony was held, in which the president as well as Michael and Sophia, the two adopters, attended. These two ¡®working pandas¡¯ were so popr that they nearly caught up to Michael¡¯s poprity. On the first few days of their arrival, Bayside City¡¯s panda pavilion was crowded daily. Everyone came to see the pandas, and the panda pavilion would receive tens of thousands of visitors in just half a day. Upon the pandas¡¯ arrival, Asco Pictures, a subsidiary of Asco International, announced that they would launch a series of film and television projects called ¡®The Supreme Panda¡¯, in which Michael¡¯s two pandas would be used as prototypes for the production of an animated film that tells the story of a panda. They joined forces with Hollywood to create an international intellectual property that belonged to Cethos, so that it could be promoted to the world. Moreover, Taylor was responsible for the bilingual dubbing of the main characters in the movie. Michael was kept busy as soon as he returned. The panda pavilion was packed with visitors six days a week, closing for only one day a week to take a breather. On one of their days off, Michael finally managed to go over with Carmen and Sophia to see the pandas. The family of three entered the panda pavilion and watched them through the ss. The two pandas were grown-ups, and they were extremelyzy. They would sleep in their luxurious two- hundred-square-feet bedroom where they would stay spread out in tworge piles eating fresh bamboo that was shipped from out of state the night before. They paid no attention to the president, and they even dared to pee and poop in front of him. It was usually hard for anyone to enter the pavilion, as there were tons of tourists every day¡ªsometimes even hundreds of thousands. They would queue for hours, only to catch a glimpse of the pandas for several seconds. Michael¡¯s rtives and friends heard that he was visiting today, so they hurried over to catch a free ride, which was why there were many people present at this moment. After all, no one could resist the charm of the national treasure! Besides Michael and Justin¡¯s families, there were also Harry¡¯s family, Stanley and Sean¡¯s family, Sam¡¯s family, Hale¡¯s family, Joel¡¯s family, Casper and Alice, as well as other Mitchells and Fletchers. Carmen went off with Lorelei & Co., who looked impressive in their matching uniforms. Nathan had brought Lorelei with him, and although she appeared cold, she was extremely clingy, following Nathan wherever he went. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Sam and Nicole had brought the children from the orphanage to see the pandas. Everyone brought a panda hat, and all the children had panda backpacks. As they watched the pandas eating bamboo through the ss for nearly an hour, a silly smile surfaced on all their faces. Michael looked at the pandas and sighed as he thought back to when he first adopted them. He was still filming ¡®War Dragon¡¯ then, and Sophia had joined the crew. After they were done filming, they went to visit the pandas. When they adopted the pandas, one of them had just been born, and it had been a premature baby. It weighed only a few dozen grams and barely survived, but here it was, all grown up now. Oh, how time flies¡­ He wrapped his arms around Sophia, who was beside him. Times changed, but everything would be fine as long as the people next to him remained the same. Although today was the pavilion¡¯s off day, many people who had connections to Michael kept entering, and there were even some who still did not manage to get in. Less than half an hour after they entered, a new wave of his acquaintances arrived. This group of people, however, were being led in by a curator. The two households met once again. ¡°You guys again!¡± Sophia was the first to exim. The new arrivals were none other than the Yard Family! Not only that, but Anne, who had just been discharged from the hospital, was among them. When she came in and saw Sophia, her eyes lit up with delight as she searched the ce for Cooper. Sophia hurriedly blocked her father from Anne¡¯s view, but Cooper was so tall that anyone could catch a peep of him with just a nce. Cooper, on the other hand, continued looking at the pandas, and he seemed oblivious to the Yard Family¡¯s arrival. ¡°The Yards are here!¡± Stanley announced boisterously. Upon hearing this, the Fletchers stirred and eyed the Yard family, looking as if they were about to send out dozens of wolfdogs. The Yard Family felt pressured. The atmosphere changed as soon as they arrived. Anna shot a fierce re toward Anne, who stood beside Xena, not daring to move or speak. Smiling pleasantly, Anna walked toward Sophia¡¯s family and said, ¡°What a coincidence. I didn¡¯t expect to see you guys here.¡± Seeing as how she had already made peace with the Yards, and Anne was not acting rashly, Sophia returned her kind smile. ¡°It really is a coincidence. Mrs. Yard, you¡¯re here to see the pandas too?¡± Anna nodded. ¡°I haven¡¯t had the chance to see them, so I¡¯vee to meet them today. You don¡¯t really see any pandas abroad.¡± Judging from the way they were dressed, as well as the sneakers and baseball caps surrounded by pandas they had on, they looked as though they were indeed here to see the pandas. Anna¡¯s gaze, intentionally or otherwise, shifted toward Cooper, but he did not spare her a nce; his eyes were fixated on the pandas. ¡°Miss Beautiful, up, up!¡± As soon as Carmen saw Anna, she stretched her hands out and tiptoed, asking to be carried. Anna bent down to carry Carmen, then continued to hold her as she talked to Linus. When the Yard family arrived, there was a slight racket. But after a while, everyone went back to minding their own business. Although their partnership had failed, it was only right for them to exchange a couple of words upon meeting. Stanley stared at the Yards for a long time, then felt bored and walked away. The pandas are more interesting than the Yards anyway! Meanwhile, Sophia was surveying the Yard family. Quite a few of them hade today, including Anna and her sons, Xena and her daughter, and two young men that she had never seen before. The two young men looked almost identical, and one could immediately tell that they were twins. They stood slightly taller than Callum and Cade, and both pairs of twins looked fairly simr, but the taller pair had on cold expressions and seemed reluctant to speak. Are they Yards too? And they¡¯re twins? ¡°Those are my brothers, Ryan and Henry Yard.¡± Unbeknownst to Sophia, Cade hade to stand beside her. He kept his eyes focused on the pandas, and there was a cup of milk tea in his hand. Pinching the straw, he took a sip of his drink, then continued, ¡°They¡¯ve just arrived here, and are preparing to pursue their PhDs in Bayside City University. They¡¯ll be taking over several of Bayside City¡¯s market development projects, so you¡¯d better be careful.¡± Puzzled, Sophia turned to look at Cade, but he had already slipped away. Be careful? Be careful of whom? Chapter 1131 Chapter 1131 Anna has another pair of sons? Four sons¡­ How does she manage that? Is she that short on sons? Even in vitro fertilization isn¡¯t meant to be used this way! Four sons; the dowry must be very expensive! As wild thoughts ran through Sophia¡¯s mind, Anna and her family had already wandered elsewhere to look at the other pandas. However, Sophia could not help but feel as if Cade¡¯s words held a deeper meaning. Watch out for the twins? What do they have to do with me? They¡¯re not even my brothers! No, even if they were my brothers, we don¡¯t know each other. Am I supposed to be afraid that they would sneak up and snatch my family fortune? Her heart continued thumping in her chest, and she felt as if Cade was giving her a warning, However, his tone seemed to imply that he was waiting for something interesting to happen. Meanwhile, Anna and her four sons had left after they were done looking at the pandas. At the same time, Anne was trying hard to establish a rtionship with Ryan and Henry. She had never heard anything about Anna having other sons. These two sons were nothing short of remarkable. Although they were only twenty and had just publicly taken over the Yard Family¡¯s business, they had disyed exceptional levels of talent and intelligence. Pursuing their PhDs at Bayside City University was likely so that they could surpass their brothers in the future. Not to mention, they were twins, and they had the right of inheritance to the Ronney Group. This time, the direct descendants of the Yard Family were two pairs of twins, and they were all males! How very prosperous indeed! Presently, Anne walked in front with Ryan and Henry. Even though they did not seem to want to talk to her, they endured her constant chatter. When Anna had spoken to the two brothers earlier, her tone was gentle and natural, but as soon as she turned around, her expression turned sour. ¡°So, have you warned Sophia?¡± Callum suddenly asked in a low voice as he stood next to Cade, sipping on his milk tea. Cade¡¯s smile was pleasant, but he was gloating. Then again, he was probably just taking delight in his prank. ¡°I¡¯ve warned her, but she seemedpletely in the dark.¡± A simr smile appeared on the two brothers¡¯ faces as they imagined the frantic look on Sophia¡¯s face after she received their ¡®gift¡¯. Anna smiled as well, but there was no warmth in it. ¡°I don¡¯t even know if that girl canpete with those two brothers. Their methods are really¡­¡± She did not finish her sentence. They were her own ¡®sons¡¯, so naturally, she was aware of their methods. The Yard Family belonged to her. Granted that she was once Jordan¡¯s puppet, and he had used her identity as a Yard to get into the family, but decades had passed since. Now, she possessed power of her own, so it was time to break away from Jordan. The Yard Family was rightfully hers, and even if she died, it could only be passed down to her sole pair of sons; everyone else could forget about taking it. Jordan regarded himself as an emperor, and Anna was the servant who managed to be the empress. ording to the rules, the sons of a concubine needed to be raised in the name of the empress. However, Jordan seemed to have forgotten that Anna was not an empress¡­ She was the rightful ruler of the Yard Family! They were the b*stard children of Jordan and another woman, and yet she was told that they were surrogate sons who had her genes. She already had to pretend to not know that her husband had been unfaithful, and now she had to share her family¡¯s fortune with those b*stards as well? Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. Haha¡­ Anna knew that she could not break ties with Jordan now, as there were many of his people in the Ronney Group. To make matters worse, Jordan had thergest portion of Ronney Group¡¯s shares as well as the most influence in thepany. But that did not matter, as she would get rid of Jordan¡¯s trusted subordinates one by one, starting with those twins of his! When everyone else was dead, Jordan would be next. She would make him pay for the thirty years of humiliation she had had to suffer, and then she would burn him to ashes! ¡­ After they were done looking at the pandas, Jordan invited everyone to Crimson House for a feast. It would be a waste not to enjoy free food, so arge group of people followed along like an autumn breeze. Crimson House had emptied a floor today just to entertain them. Upon entering the restaurant, everyone was photographed at the photo wall, where that group shot would subsequently be disyed. After the photo was taken, Sophia stayed back to admire the wall, and she found her mother, Annabel. Annabel hade to work in Crimson House when she was fifteen or sixteen, and she was one of their first employees, so her photo had always remained there. Teenage Annabel had a smile as innocent as a sprite. No one would have thought that she was Jordan¡¯s spy. Sam was still unaware that Annabel had been sent by Jordan, so as he looked at her photo, he sighed. ¡°Your mom is truly the smartest person I¡¯ve ever met¡­¡± Cooper stood in front of the photo wall as well, gazing intently at the young girl in the photograph. Although she hade here with ill intentions, she had ultimately left him with an unforgettable memory. She had made him contemte about the meaning of life, had let him experience happiness he had never known before, and she had even brought him two children. Cooper never regretted knowing her. If time turned back to when nothing had happened yet, he was willing to get to know her all over again. Unfortunately, it was all a thing of the past now¡­ When he was done reminiscing, Cooper turned to face Sam, who had a look of fascination on his face, and said coolly, ¡°Back when you only had six employees, I remember you promising them each a 1% share when the restaurant was making profits.¡± Sam¡¯s smile gradually froze. At Cooper¡¯s request, Linus fished out a yellowing contract. ¡°This is the equity transfer agreement that you and Anna signed back then.¡± At this, Sam¡¯s smile vanishedpletely. No wonder Cooper¡ªthe infamous recluse¡ªwould rise from the dead and leave his nest. It was all for the 1% of his restaurant. At that time, Annabel had poured her heart and soul into Crimson House. Many of the current business ideas were proposed by her, and most of the corporate culture they practiced now was created by Annabel and the other earlier employees. Later, when Annabel and Cooper decided to elope, Sam had permanently transferred 1% of the shares to her as a guarantee because he was afraid that they would have no source of ie after they eloped. Who would have thought that so many things would happen after¡­ He hadpletely forgotten about it. Today, Cooper came prepared. With the contract that he found, he was determined to get that 1%. Meanwhile, Sophia was still studying the photo wall. She found a photo of Sam and his start-up team¡ªa group of only seven people. A young Sam had led his team of six employees, and they had acquired their first bucket of money thatid the ground for their aplishments today. Undoubtedly, Annabel was in the photo. She was the supervisor, so she was dressed differently from the others, and she was standing to the left of Sam. On his right-hand side stood a bright-eyed girl with pearly white teeth. Beaming like a blooming flower, she looked young and extremely sweet. Her clothes and her position were roughly the same as Annabel¡¯s, so she must have been Sam¡¯s right- hand person. Sophia had never seen this person before, but somehow, she felt a sense of familiarity. Subconsciously, she said, ¡°This is¡­¡± Sam was still arguing with Cooper, so Nicole answered her. ¡°Sam said her name is Lara Brooks, and that she used to work here with your mom. Not long after your mom left, she went back to her hometown to get married. She hasn¡¯t been in contact for decades now, so no one knows where she went.¡± She came here with Annabel! If Annabel was sent here by Jordan, then Lara was also one of Jordan¡¯s people! Upon hearing Nicole¡¯s words, Sophia suddenly remembered her identity¡ªshe was Annabel¡¯s imposter! Chapter 1132 Chapter 1132 It turned out that her name was Lara Brooks, and that was her original appearance. However, sheter underwent stic surgery to make herself look like Annabel Johnson. Then, she returned to Cethos to drive a wedge between Cooper and Michael. After her stic surgery, she looked very simr to how the real Annabel had looked when she was younger¡ªjust with some extra wrinkles on her face. On the other hand, the real Annabel Johnson waspletely different in both appearance and temperament nowadays. Lara was probably both Callum and Cade¡¯s surrogate mother. Unfortunately, the children she missed so much didn¡¯t even know who she was. She suffered through ten months of pregnancy to give birth to them. Even if she knew that they were not blood-rted to her, they were still her flesh and blood! How could she not care for them? Their biological mother didn¡¯t care for them, but this surrogate mother of theirs loved them from the bottom of her heart! I wonder what kind of feeling that is¡­ Sigh¡­ Sophia sighed before walking away. s, Cooper took the contract, which was written by Sam himself back then, to coerce Sam into giving 1% of the shares to Sophia. Although Sam was miserable, he didn¡¯t dare to object. After all, he wrote the contract himself. I can¡¯t believe Cooper still remembers that contract after so many years! After the meal at Crimson House, everybody went their separate ways. Meanwhile, Sophia headed to Pourl. Both Sophia and Sarah had been busy settling Pourl¡¯s affairs recently. Sophia had torn up the contract with the Yard Family, so the Ronney Group was withdrawing their investment, as well as the rights to use their trademarks. As a result,wyers came and went every single day with various documents for her to sign¡ªso much so that her hand hurt. After breaking off with the Yard Family, Sophia¡¯s path toward moving out of the niche business of producing pet luxury goods to producing luxury goods for the general public had been cut off again. In the first ce, the market for pet luxury goods was very small. Therefore, producing luxury goods for the use of people rather than pets was definitely more profitable. Damn it! Since the Ronney Group has withdrawn, I might as well do it on my own! Before the Ronney Group, apany specializing in crocodile skin luxury goods, could fully prate the Cethosian market, she had to recruit her personnel and establish her business. Fortunately for her, she was notcking in her design team. Her chief designer, Ivan, mainly designed luxury goods for human use. Designing pet luxury goods was just his side business and hobby. Over the years, he had built up his own design team, as well as a strong marketing team, and created a reputation for himself in the international market. The time was right for her to start her business! Hence, Sophia was extremely busy during this period. She worked untilte at night every day before returning home. By the time she reached home, Carmen was already asleep, and when she left home for work in the morning, Carmen was still sleeping. This went on for several days, and both mother and daughter didn¡¯t see each other at all. No more than two days after visiting the giant panda, Sophia suddenly received a phone call from Sandra. Nowadays, Sandra no longer dared to act presumptuously in front of Sophia. Every time she did, it would backfire. Therefore, she only dared to show off over the phone. Sophia quickly answered the call; she couldn¡¯t wait to hear what stupid things Sandra had been up to recently. As soon as the call connected, Sandra¡¯s triumphant voice sounded through the phone. ¡°Hahaha; Sophia! I heard that your contract with the Yard Family has been one-sidedly terminated by the Yard Family! You were kicked to the curb! I¡¯m sure you must be very disappointed right now!¡± One-sidedly terminated? That f*cking Callum imed that it was one-sidedly terminated to maintain his pride?! I was the one to dissolve the contract after I yed him like a fiddle! Thus, Sophia coldly snorted. ¡°Get to the point.¡± Then, she perked up her ears and listened to what Sandra said next. ¡°You must be wondering how I know about this¡­ Haha; it¡¯s because I¡¯ve just signed a contract with the young master of the Yard Family, Callum Yard! The Ronney Group is joining hands with me! King will be entering the international pet luxury goods market! Moreover, the Yard Family has formed an in-depth strategic partnership with the Mitchell Family! They are injecting a lot of capital into our businesses! The projects that are currently being managed by Glory Entertainment have also received an additional investment from the Yard Family! Hah! You must be shocked! You let such a great opportunity slip out of your grasp, and now it has greatly benefited me instead!¡± After hearing that, Sophia said in surprise, ¡°Callum is working with you? Are you sure? Did you dream it up?¡± Sophia¡¯s astonishment and envy were just what Sandra had been waiting for. She even believed that Sophia was utterly frustrated by now. ¡°The Yard Family ns to enter the Cethosian market. Naturally, they needed to find a spokesperson with a positive attitude who is well-received by the public. Obviously, that¡¯s not you. I¡¯m the only one that fits all their criteria! You probably never expected that, right?! Hahaha ¡ª¡± The way Sandraughed was extremely exaggerated. It was easy to see that she was overjoyed. After all, she was about to ride on the coattails of the Yard Family; what was there to be sad about? After that, Sophia hung up the phone decisively. Callum is investing in Sandra? The Yard Family is joining hands with the Mitchell Family? What sort of international joke is this supposed to be?! Could it be that Callum doesn¡¯t know that I¡¯ve beaten Sandra several times before? Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Callum couldn¡¯t get over the fact that I yed him? Is that why he deliberately invested in Sandra? Because he knew that the two of us held grudges against each other? But, investing in a project costs hundreds of millions! Did he really do it on a whim? That can¡¯t be it¡­ The Yard Family isn¡¯t that rich! Or perhaps, Callum was fooled by Sandra. Sandra might not have been good at anything else, but she was definitely good at fooling others. Furthermore, she was still a world champion and naturally had the air of a celebrity. It was possible that she hadpletely fooled Callum. Yeah; that must be it¡­ It looksCcontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. like Sandra is going to be my business rival. Oh, well; what can she do? I¡¯ve already brought King down once. Even if she has Callum on her side, I¡¯ll just need to deal with them both. If onees, I¡¯ll defeat one. If twoe, I¡¯ll just deal with both! Still, Sophia couldn¡¯t help feeling that something was weird about this matter. Sandra must be joking, right?! Even if Sandra could fool Callum, Cade and Anna were not that easily fooled. The mess she was involved in was not yet resolved. With the amount of dark history she had behind her, the Yard Family would definitely have investigated her. To her surprise, the newspaper and the TV started reporting about it within two days. Pictures of Sandra and Callum shaking hands as they reached an agreement were everywhere. They really are going to work with each other! I can¡¯t believe how petty the Yard Family is! They¡¯re still mad about what happened! No, the source of this entire fiasco is Cooper. The Yard Family considered themselves royalty and Anne Osborne was their princess, who was in search of a husband. In ancient times, the prospective husband¡¯s entire family would be ughtered if he spurned the princess¡¯ marriage proposal. Since they couldn¡¯t marry Cooper into the family, they probably regarded it as a blow to their pride. Hence, they were trying to get back at Sophia, who hindered their objectives from the inside. Bah! Motherf*cking outdated royalty! This is so annoying! I¡¯m going to designate them as the test centers for mid-term exams, high school entrance exams, university entrance exams, university final exams, and annual mandatory exams! The reason behind Sophia¡¯s way of thinking was that the Yard Family¡¯s sudden cooperation with the Mitchell Family was far too strange. She couldn¡¯te up with a reason for their actions. Not only did the Yard Family providerge amounts of funds to form a strong business rtionship with the Mitchell Family, but they also invested in Glory Entertainment and Sandra¡¯s business, King. Furthermore, they were fully cooperating with the Mitchell Family in all aspects. Aside from doing it out of hatred, she could think of no other reason for their behavior. Apart from that, Sophia finally found the Yard Family¡¯s residence. It was very close to Sophia¡¯s home; it was just across the road. One day, Sophia was out for a post-dinner walk when she ran into Callum and Cade. ¡°Hey, Sophia! Are you out walking your pig?¡± Chapter 1133 Chapter 1133 The house Callum bought was a three-story vi with a separate garden and garage. In Bayside City where the sky was the limit when it came to housing prices, the price of this house located next to The Imperial was definitelyparatively high. The Yard brothers were leisurely drinking flower tea in the garden when they saw Sophia passing by their gate. Even though she was wearing a mask, Callum still recognized her. In the nearby neighborhood, only one family raised a pig as a pet and even took it out for walks. Besides, the pig was wearing a fancy diaper. Even if he couldn¡¯t recognize Sophia, he would recognize the pig. The pig Carmen brought back was not meant to be a pet in the first ce. Now that it was well-fed, it grewrger andrger¡ªso much so that the Vi No. 1 was no longer big enough for it. Therefore, Sophia had prepared another ¡®pigsty¡¯ for it. Since Carmen was out filming ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ today, Sophia took the chance to send the pig over to the pigsty. Taking off her mask, she replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m walking the pig.¡± Callum held his teacup with his thumb and middle finger while the rest of his fingers were daintily raised. Standing by the gate, he leaned against the door frame and watched her. Then, he jokingly said, ¡°I guess your family owns a diamond mine somewhere! Even the diapers your pig uses are branded!¡± Cade followed Callum¡¯s lead andughed. Sophia red at them fiercely and pursed her lips without saying anything. Maria, who came with Sophia, took out a key and unlocked the gate of the vi next to Callum¡¯s house. Then, she entered the open-air garden. Dragging out the pig feed from the garage, she poured it into arge basin. After that, Sophia brought the pig inside and closed the door. The pig was separated from Callum¡¯s house by nothing more than a thin fence. Its movements were very large as it wolfed down the pig feed. Meanwhile, Callum stood by the fence, watching it with a frown. Suddenly, Sophia pointed at the three-story vi in front of her and said in a solemn voice, ¡°This was my ex-boyfriend¡¯s house.¡± ording to Michael, her ex-boyfriend had the surname ¡®Harper¡¯. His family used to deal in real estate¡ª the properties in front of them were built by his family a few years back. Moreover, the Harper Family used to live in this house. When the Harper Family copsed, all their assets were seized and frozen. Consequently, this house was forced to be auctioned by a court order. Disaster had befallen the previous owners of the house, so it was sold for a low price. Even so, nobody dared to purchase it. Most of the wealthy were rather particr about superstitions. The previous owner lost half his family to AIDs, and the family was wiped out. It was considered to be extremely inauspicious. However, Sophia did not care for superstitions back then and swiftly bought up the house. Callum did not know what Sophia wanted to say, but he had a bad feeling about it. Then, Sophia continued, ¡°Now, it¡¯s where I raise my pig.¡± Pfft! Callum spat out a mouthful of tea at her words. Sophia kept the pig there with a caretaker. The caretaker would take care of the pig and keep the ce clean. After that, she would leave. Raising a pig at her ex-boyfriend¡¯s house was the best feeling ever. However, that wasn¡¯t a good thing for the people who lived next door. Thus, Callum and his brother were dumbfounded. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Cade put his teacup down and rushed over. ¡°Hey, Sophia! Isn¡¯t this too much? Even if you hate us, you don¡¯t need to go so far as to raise a pig next to our house!¡± Sophia ignored hisints. After settling the pig next door, she got on her Segway and left. You¡¯re going against me and investing in my business rival! Raising a pig next door is already too kind of me! Cade muttered, ¡°How cruel!¡± On the other hand, Callum was standing by the fence. Picking some flowers from the garden, he threw them over the fence to feed the pig. The pig had a good appetite, eating anything and everything. He found it rather interesting and decided to find joy among the hardships. Whenever he was free, he would go over to the fence and throw something into the garden next door. He fed Sophia¡¯s pig every day. If she was truly retaliating against them over the investment, they would be recorded in modern history books by now. It wouldn¡¯t have been something as simple as raising a pig in the garden next door. With her personality, her retaliation was yet toe. Therefore, he couldn¡¯t wait to see what kind of tricks she was going to use against them¡­ Recently, one of Harry¡¯s movies had been released. Thus, Sarah hurriedly dragged Sophia to the cinema to buy tickets for the movie to support it. In the movie, Harry acted alone¡ªMichael was not in it. Moreover, he was only ying a minor role. Therefore, Sophia waszy and had no ns to go. However, Sarah was so excited that Sophia had no choice but to follow Sarah to the cinema. In any case, Sophia wanted a holiday too. Ever since destroying the contract with the Yard Family, she had been busy preparing to go at it alone. Since today was a special day, she decided to give the entire company a half-day vacation to let them rest. Plum Technology, the Cethosian branch of Michel Group, and Mitchell International Energy and Technology were also given a half-day off for the day! It was Friday today¡ªa special Friday. The first episode of the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ would be premiered at prime time tonight! It was Michael and Carmen¡¯s first reality show together. Therefore, it was a huge deal for Sophia. ording to her estimation, if she returned home for dinner after finishing the movie in the afternoon, she would be just in time to catch the news broadcast. The second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ would start at 7.30 PM, after the news broadcast. The timing of her ns was perfect! By the time she finished the movie, it was nearly 4.30 PM. Sophia and Sarah both came out holding a cup of coke and a bucket of unfinished popcorn while yawning. The movie was terribly boring! Why did Harry agree to guest star in a movie like that?! Could it be that the price of baby supplies has increased? Still, Sophia didn¡¯t dare to voice her thoughts out loud with Harry¡¯s number one fan standing next to her. It was bad! Absolutely garbage! I¡¯m so d Michael didn¡¯t tag along! However, Harry¡¯s number one fan, Sarah, felt that it was a magical work of art that could not be replicated! That¡¯s probably the power of a fan¡¯s rose-tinted sses! Unexpectedly, they saw a trailer for a random blockbuster film ying on the giant screen at the entrance of the cinema as soon as they came out of the hall. Thus, Sophia munched on her leftover popcorn as she watched the trailer. The movie was called ¡®Apollo¡¯. It was a mythical blockbuster centered around a Cethosian legend. The lead roles in the movie were yed by two Best Actor Award winners and a Best Actress Award winner. Moreover, the special effects were done by the Hollywood team that produced ¡®Avatar¡¯. It was said to have an investment of 700 million, and the estimated lowest box office earnings for the movie was 4 billion. It aimed to surpass the earnings of ¡®Avatar¡¯. After Sophia watched the trailer, she confidently dered, ¡°I¡¯m betting 50 cents. If this horrible movie can achieve 100 million in box office earnings, I¡¯ll lose the bet.¡± Before Sarah could answer, a vicious voice sounded from behind them. ¡°100 million in box office earnings? Aren¡¯t you looking down on my movie too much? During today¡¯s premiere, the earnings have already exceeded 200 million!¡± Sophia immediately bit down hard on the straw in her coke. Turning back, she saw Sandra walking into the cinema under the heavy protection of bodyguards. She nced at the banners hanging around the cinema¡ªit turned out that the movie was produced by Glory Entertainment. Moreover, there was a celebrity meeting today since it had just premiered in this particr cinema. Therefore, it was not strange to run into Sandra here. However, Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk to Sandra. She had to rush home to watch the reality show. Unfortunately, Sandra was not going to let Sophia leave so easily. The Yard Family had injectedrge amounts of capital into the Mitchell Family and her businesses. That could only mean that they were interested in her. It wasn¡¯t too much to say that she had already secured the concubine position of the Yard Family¡¯s prince! Now that she and the Mitchell Family were going to have aplete turnaround soon, Cooper and Sophia were no longer her opponents! Chapter 1134 Chapter 1134 ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve seen thetest news recently. Let me tell you honestly; ¡®Apollo¡¯ received an additional investment from the Yard Family. This movie is not only being released globally, but it¡¯s also aiming to compete for the Academy Awards! It¡¯s not a horrible movie!¡± Sophia pouted. It¡¯s a horrible movie, yet you don¡¯t allow anybody to criticize it. The trailer itself was all messed up. The actual movie is not going to be any better! This movie is a waste of time even if I watched the pirated copy! Besides, she probably paid for the pre-sale of 200 million herself! Still, she had no intention of wasting her time with Sandra today. She simply wanted to leave as soon as possible. Many people were here today, so she did not wish to cause a scene. Moreover, she noticed that Anne and Sandra were here together. The Yard Family and the Mitchell Family had been very close recently, so it was nothing strange to see Anne and Sandra together. However, Anne was standing behind Sandra and ring resentfully at Sophia. It seemed like she med Sophia for not being able to marry Cooper. Thus, Sophia hurriedly dragged Sarah with her as she left. After they walked quite a distance, Sandra and Anne finally entered the cinema together. After receiving the investment from the Yard Family, Sandra no longer considered Sophia as an opponent she needed to be wary of. She was about to expand her wings and achieve great things together with the Yard Family. She was also going to deepen their rtionship while she was at it so that she could sessfully marry into the Yard Family. When that happened, getting rid of Sophia was as easy as killing an ant. Hence, she and Anne chatted happily as they entered the cinema to attend the movie premiere. She comfortingly said to Anne, ¡°Don¡¯t take it to heart. Cooper is just being momentarily confused by her. Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll surely create chances for the two of you. Cooper genuinely loves you, but he highly cherishes his family and dotes on that illegitimate daughter of his. That¡¯s why he is being foolish!¡± Even so, Anne wasn¡¯t happy. After being hit thest time, she became more well-behaved. She no longer dared to bring up the matter regarding the shares with Anna. However, she wasn¡¯t about to give up on Cooper. If Anna refuses to help me, I¡¯ll use Sandra instead! I¡¯m definitely going to marry Cooper! He is the only husband for me! Besides, Sandra swore to help me remove all the obstacles in my way. Meanwhile, Sandra was dreaming of a bright future. This time around, the box office earnings for ¡®Apollo¡¯ are going to explode! Everything after the investment of 700 million is real profit! This movie took years to film. A lot of effort had gone into this movie¡ªfrom the novel of the same name released at the beginning to the promotion of the movie toward the end. The way the scenes were set up down to the costumes, were all exquisitely and carefully prepared. The cast was the strongest and the team was the best. Even ¡®War Dragon¡¯ could reach hundreds of millions with its low-quality special effects. It¡¯ll be a breeze for ¡®Apollo¡¯ to hit four or five billion for the domestic box office earnings! The global box office earnings will probably hit at least 1 billion Amons! By the time Sandra started watching the movie premiere, Sophia was already at home. Harry came from next door too. Then, they hurriedly turned on the projector to watch the first episode of the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Sophia was beside herself with excitement, and Michael was looking forward to it too. When he saw the edited version of the show, he had to admit that the show was very conscientious. The editing was perfect, and he was extremely satisfied with it. As soon as the first episode began, Michael and Harry were given a lot of screen time. After all, both Academy Award winners were participating in a reality show for the first time. Thus, their handsome faces shone brilliantly even though they were without makeup. Meanwhile, Carmen stuck to her Daddy¡¯s side like a little butterfly. She was a little shy yet very much looking forward to it. The sweet way she said ¡®I¡¯m the world¡¯s best Carmen Fletcher!¡¯ was incredibly adorable. While everybody was watching the show on the projector, Sophia also watched the online broadcast of the show. Real-timements were being posted when she watched it online. Whenever Michael and Carmen appeared onscreen, thements section would blow up¡ªso much so that she couldn¡¯t make out the contents. Soon, the first episode was over. The national idol was promoted to be ¡®National Daddy¡¯. The online audience ratings for the first episode of the second season reached 4.6. As a result, it was record- breaking among this year¡¯s reality shows, surpassing most of the reality shows and variety shows on the market this year. It also surpassed the previous hit ¡®Keep Running: Sisters!¡¯ and became a phenomenal reality show. Everybody couldn¡¯t help being amazed. Academy Award winners were amazing indeed! Even when filming a reality show, they didn¡¯t seem to be under pressure! At the same time, Michael gained a lot of fans from the reality show. His childcare methods might have been a little on the cold side, but he was very serious and responsible. He was clearly working hard to be a responsible father! The next day, the whole inte was heatedly discussing the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, and the popritysted for a long time. Thus, Michael invited the other fathers over to his house for a celebratory party. On the other hand, Sandra¡¯s movie was aplete disaster. Three days after the movie with an investment of 700 million first premiered, it recorded box office earnings of only 230 million ¡ª200 million of which came out of her own pocket! In other words, the movie she was so confident about only achieved 30 million in box office earnings after showing for three days! Therefore, many cinemas urgently removed the movie from their current screening lists due to the massive losses incurred. Meanwhile, the inte was filled with bad reviews of the movie. The movie had the best production team and the best cast, but when both were put together, the results were shockingly poor! The 700 million investment was a total flop! Sandra couldn¡¯t believe it. No; how is that possible?! It¡¯s an all-star team! The best-selling online novel adaptation, the best screenwriter, and the best production team! How can the box office earnings be so low?! Somebody must be sabotaging the movie! It¡¯s impossible for such a perfect movie to receive such dismal box office earnings! After doing a lot of research, she finally thought of something: it must be Sophia¡¯s doing! They must have deliberately arranged for the premiere of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ to sh with the premiere of my movie, which led to this box office fiasco! No; there must be a way to remedy this situation! Many movies flopped during their early stages but regained momentum by word of mouth during theter stages. Hence, she spent a lot of money maintaining the ranking of ¡®Apollo¡¯. At the same time, she spent money on marketing and promoting the movie, waiting for a chance to make hereback. One weekter, the box office earnings finally increased by 2 million. The total umted box office earnings were 232 million. Many of the cinemas couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. Even if Sandra offered them money, they refused to continue showing the movie and removed it from the listings in advance. Consequently, Sandra was so furious that she was hospitalized. Still, she had another chance¡ªher other TV series was about to start airing. She was very confident about this TV series too. It was adapted from the most popr online novel. Moreover, it had the most well-received celebrities and the strongest marketing team. It will definitely be a big hit! Contrary to her expectations, the first broadcast of the weekly drama that she was so confident about was chosen to be aired on Friday. Not only that, but it was also set to air at 8 PM on Friday. As a result, it directly shed with the weekly showing of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, which aired every Friday like clockwork. Moreover, there was an epic scene of Michael carrying a pig in the second episode of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Therefore, the expected ratings of Sandra¡¯s TV series were disastrous, recording a pitiful 0.5 for its first episode. On the other hand, the ratings for ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ exceeded 5. Sandra was dumbfounded. How did this happen¡­ Every night, Sophia would send somebody to bring the pig out for walks then let it roam in the vi next to Callum¡¯s house. Meanwhile, Callum sat in the garden watching the news on his tablet. asionally, he would throw some vegetable leaves over the fence, feeding Sophia¡¯s pig for her. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. ¡°Tsk. What a terrible loss. There¡¯s no hope of getting back the 700 million investment.¡± He sighed after reading the news. Cade was outside too. He said, ¡°Everybody is saying that this movie is for moneyundering purposes. They also im that it was meant to be a joke.¡± The epically terrible movie ¡®Apollo¡¯ was a huge loss of money¡ªthe losses were so heavy that the issuer¡¯s share prices had dropped significantly. The Yard Family¡¯s additional investment in the movie was included among the 700 million investment, and all of it had gone down the drain. Callum watched the news and smiled mysteriously. ¡°In any case¡­ it¡¯s not all our money.¡± Cadeughed too. After that, they both looked at Sophia¡¯s pig next door in unison. They were very satisfied with the performance shown by their useless teammates, Sandra and the Mitchell Family. Hopefully, Sophia won¡¯t disappoint us¡­ Chapter 1135 Chapter 1135 After Callum finished reading the news, he quickly clicked on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. This is quite an interesting program! ¡­ Sophia had been paying close attention to news on the Mitchell Family recently. After receiving an investment from the Yard Family, the Mitchell Family brazenly started up a rival business against her. Things were not going too well, as the movie and the TV series that the Yard Family invested in had incurred heavy losses. Even so, the Yard Family continued to increase their investment in the Mitchell Family. Within a few days, Sophia heard something shocking: Callum and Cade had given up on expanding their business into the Cethosian market. Their two younger brothers were going to take over all matters regarding Cethos. Meanwhile, Anna did not reveal herself again. It seemed like she had returned to Lombardi River to preside over the construction of the ancestral hall. Soon, Callum and Cade returned to Ronney City too. The three of them seemed to have handed all the authority over the Cethosian affairs to the inexperienced pair of twins, Ryan and Henry Yard. Ryan and Henry were tasked withpleting the cooperation with the Mitchell Family, as well as carry out a series of market expansions into the Cethosian market. Strange! This is way too strange! Could it be that they escaped after shifting the me to somebody else because of the immense losses they suffered? Forget Sophia, even Michael and Cooper could tell that something fishy was going on. In the past, the mother and son trio had seemed pretty confident about making it big in Cethos. Anna even went so far as to donate many cultural relics. The peace talks with the Fletcher Family were also to pave the way for them to expand their businesses into the Cethosian market. So, why are they just up and leaving all of a sudden? Can they really entrust such an important affair to two newbies that just stepped into society? Those siblings are only 20 years old. Moreover, they are taking their PhDs at Bayside University. Can they really take over the Cethosian market? I¡¯m sure Anna isn¡¯t that stupid¡­ It¡¯s strange! It¡¯s just way too strange! There must be a huge conspiracy going on behind the scenes! Unknowingly, Sophia seemed to have gotten herself embroiled in their schemes. She didn¡¯t know what Anna was nning. However, Sandra runched King after receiving the Yard Family¡¯s investment and Lucy¡¯s support. With the stamp of approval from the Ronney Group, King expanded aggressively intending topletely surpass Sophia¡¯s Pourl. Still, Sophia was not afraid. After all, Pourl was not what it used to be. Although the team had been established, she felt that it was still missing somebody crucial. She needed an all-rounded talent like Kenny ir. If Kenny joined my team, it would be perfect. Kenny was the head of the Cethosian branch of L/K, a major fashion brand under the Ronney Group. He was a designer and a marketing talent all rolled into one. As one of the few brands under the Ronney Group that managed to break through to the Cethosian market, L/K¡¯s journey in Cethos was full of difficulties. Despite that, it made a name for itself in the end. And, Kenny yed a huge role in achieving that sess. Sophia had always wanted to headhunt Kenny and make him work for her. However, she used to be afraid of offending the Ronney Group. Besides, she wasn¡¯t powerful enough back then. Now that she hadpletely made an enemy of the Ronney Group and made a name for herself, Kenny would probably be willing to work for her. Therefore, she hurriedly started contacting Kenny, asking him to meet with her. Unfortunately, he always replied saying that he was too busy to meet her. When the day they agreed to meet finally came, Kenny vanished mysteriously. Two dayster, news of ¡®Kenny, Representative of L/K Cethos, Killed in Car ident! Body Not Found!¡¯ spread all over the inte. Kenny was dead! Not only did Kenny die in an ident, but the head of the Cethosian branch of Ido¡ªa jewelry luxury brand under the Ronney Group¡ªwas also reced. After that, the Ronney Group joined hands with the Mitchell Family to integrate and restructure brands such as L/K and Ido. In addition, they developed King and built a series of matrices. Simultaneously, several other luxury brands under the Ronney Group entered the Cethosian market. The Ronney Group was an aggressive and menacing force as it swept into the Cethosian market. Sophia felt as if an invisible and intangible was slowly opening up. Although it seemed like it had nothing to do with her, she had a strong feeling that she was slowly being trapped by this¡­ Therefore, she was feeling rather worried. All of a sudden, Stanley came looking for her in a panic. ¡°Aunt, I know you have aboratory in your house. Judge received treatment therest time. This time, please save my son! My son is about to die!¡± His panicked tone shocked her to the core. ¡°Judge? What happened to Judge?¡± He was so anxious that he was spinning in circles. ¡°Not that son. It¡¯s my other son. It¡¯s Kenny! We used to y games together, and he was my son in the game!¡± She was stunned¡­ Kenny?! Then, she hurriedly prepared a ne to Africa, contacted theboratory there, and asked Stanley to send Kenny there in secret. When she saw Kenny, she was taken aback. His body was covered in wounds, and tubes were going in and out of his entire body. He was on the verge of death. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Stanley said, ¡°This is too cruel! We were gaming together when he disappeared suddenly. Luckily, he was using a Dragon Eye mobile phone. So, I asked Linus to search for his location and found him. By the time I arrived, he was no longer breathing. It took a lot of rescue efforts to just barely bring him back to life. He was shot seven times! Moreover, his parents and the rest of his family were being followed. For now, I¡¯ve helped him secretly move all of his family away from danger. Oh, my poor son¡­ I wonder who he offended¡­ I can only rely on you right now.¡± Michael had gone out to film again. Meanwhile, Linus had witnessed the whole thing. When he saw that Sophia was about to intervene, he warned her. ¡°This might be an internal conflict within the Yard Family. You need to consider this carefully. If you rescue him, you will be dragged into their mess.¡± Kenny¡¯s ident and the sudden change of heads for brands such as Ido were no coincidence. At present, the siblings, Ryan and Henry, were in charge of the Ronney Group¡¯s Cethosian branches. On the other hand, Kenny probably worked for Callum and Cade. Each emperor had his own officials working under him during his reign. Hence, it was only natural to remove all the previous king¡¯s aides when a new king took over¡­ Kenny was just a pitiful casualty in the grand scheme of things. Sophia hesitated for a moment. In the end, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°Let¡¯s save him!¡± We¡¯ll think about this once we save Kenny! Upon hearing those words, Linus could do nothing but follow suit. Thus, he followed her out of worry. Inside the ne, both Linus and Sophia ruminated over it for a long time. The twins, Callum and Cade, were on the same team. However, they might not have been aligned with their younger brothers, Ryan and Henry. Judging from the current situation, they seemed to be fighting for the right of inheritance. Naturally, Anna was staying out of it and simply watching the struggle from the sidelines. After Callum and Cade started a deep cooperative rtionship with the Mitchell Family, they immediately handed the entire fiasco over to their two younger brothers. They certainly did not want their younger brothers to do well in Bayside City. Ryan and Henry were currently nothing but fledglings; if they suddenly did well for themselves, it would be detrimental to Callum and Cade. But, why did Callum and Cade choose Bayside City as their battlefield? Why did they choose the Mitchell Family as their partner? Why did Cade warn me to be wary of his two younger brothers? The same idea shed across the siblings¡¯ minds suddenly, and they exchanged a nce. At that moment, they were connected by the same realization¡ªCallum and Cade were setting somebody up to do their dirty work for them. First, they chose Bayside City as their battlefield and joined hands with a lousy teammate. Then, they quickly escaped. All of that was because they not only found a lousy teammate for their younger brothers, but they also chose a troublesome opponent for them¡ªSophia! Upon figuring out the reason, Sophia cursed, ¡°F*ck your¡ª¡± She abruptly swallowed thest word. She couldn¡¯t curse their mother¡ªtheir mother was her mother too. Chapter 1136 Chapter 1136 The Mitchell Family and Sophia hated each other¡ªthey got along like cats and dogs. In the past, Sophia had been kidnapped by Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend, Irene. Due to that, she nearly lost her life and even got dragged into awsuit. She finally got away in the end, but she knew that Irene couldn¡¯t have done all of that on her own. Irene only managed to pull it off with the Mitchells backing her. Therefore, Sophia¡¯s grudges against the Mitchell Family were endless. Besides, Cooper knew that he had to get rid of Alex, sooner orter. Also, Sophia would never forgive Sandra. The only reason she was not making a move was that she was umting her strength while waiting for a chance to take down the Mitchell Family in one blow. At any rate, Alex had beenying his foundation in Bayside City for more than ten years. Moreover, those foundations had beenid into the ground by Cooper. So, it wasn¡¯t easy to bring them down in one fell swoop. Callum had forcefully intervened in the Mitchell Family¡¯s internal conflict and stirred up the ho¡¯s nest. After doing that, he quickly escaped, leaving his two younger brothers behind to take the me. As a result, the internal conflict within both the Mitchell Family and the Yard family were firmly intertwined. If I get rid of Alex and his family now, I will surely make both Ryan and Henry my enemies¡­ ¡°Ahh!¡± Sophia furiously paced about the inside of the ne. No wonder I¡¯ve been feeling uneasy recently. This is the reason! Damn you, Callum! Damn you, Cade! Damn you, Anna! Damn you, Yard Family! Damn it all! Compared to Sophia, who was extremely agitated, Linus was rtively calmer. Now that we have been dragged into this mess, it won¡¯t be easy to get out of it. We have no choice but to find a way to face the difficulties ahead! Who cares about Ryan and Henry? Bayside City is not their territory! If it only involved that pair of twins, he would not go easy on them. However, it would also anger the person behind them¡ªJordan. Do I need to further anger Jordan? Cooper and Jordan will have to face each other, sooner orter. Moreover, it¡¯s going to be a matter of life and death. But, it¡¯s not time yet. Both sides are still preparing themselves. Still, since it¡¯s only a matter of time before their battle takes ce, getting rid of Jordan now wouldn¡¯t be considered premature! Besides¡­ there¡¯s still Anna watching us hungrily¡­ He felt a chill in his heart when he thought about his mother. Is she really going to watch as her four sons fight to their deaths? What if Sophia killed off two of her sons? Will she mourn their deaths? Or perhaps, this is training to toughen up her sons. If Sophia really killed off her two sons, she might turn around to seek revenge! Anna and Jordan¡­ Also, the Yard Family¡­ What a sh*tty bunch! Luckily, Sophia and I did not recognize Anna as our mother. If we had done that, Anna would definitely be afraid of us. While Linus and Sophia were discussing how to deal with the Yard Family, Stanley watched over Kenny anxiously. By the time Stanley found Kenny, Kenny was lying on the riverbank. He had been shot seven times before he jumped into the river to escape and was eventually washed up by the riverbank. Fortunately, he had been using the phone Sophia had given him¡ªit was a high-end Dragon Eye model. The phone had stopped a bullet from hitting him in a fatal spot and waspletely soaked in water. It was practically useless at this point. However, the positioning function was separate and still worked. The positioning function of a Dragon Eye was independent of the phone¡¯s operating system. Therefore, the positioning system continued working even if the phone itself ran out of battery. It was the only reason Stanley could find Kenny in time. Unfortunately, Kenny had been on the verge of death. I hope he canst until we arrive at Sophia¡¯sboratory. After all, Sophia and Judge were rescued from the brink of death at thatboratory back then. Upon arriving at Michel Town in Africa, they entered Michel¡¯s Castle. Then, Kenny was rushed to the emergency room. Afterward, Stanley paced about anxiously. Kenny had been his friend for many years. They first met each other when he was still in school. More than ten years had passed since then. During that time, he watched as Kenny grew from a small, unknown designer to be the representative of Cethos¡¯ L/K brand. I just watched him getting married and starting a family! His kids just started going to school! Nothing can happen to him! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Kenny will be fine. He will recover,¡± Sophiaforted Stanley. Henry and Ryan were probably the ones who ordered Kenny to be killed¡­ Why did they have to be so cruel? They could have just dismissed him from his position¡­ I was about to offer him a job! Or perhaps, Ryan and Henry discovered that Sophia was close to Kenny and was suspicious of Kenny jumping ship. Did they rather kill Kenny than allow him to benefit Sophia, theirpetitor? How cruel¡­ This is Cethos; the Yard Family is going too far! After undergoing a long surgery, Kenny finally woke up. Sophia not only ordered her people to rescue his life, but she also asked them to save his hands. Fortunately, the expertspleted their mission and rescued both his life and his hands. Also, he was extremely lucky in that none of the bullets hit his vitals. Moreover, he was rescued in time. So, he woke up very quickly. ¡°Oh, my son¡ª¡± Stanley studied Kenny, who was barely alive, with red-rimmed eyes. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Then, Kenny weakly opened his eyes and saw Stanley. He weakly called out, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± Watching them, Sophia muttered, ¡°Disgusting¡­¡± After rescuing Kenny, Sophia temporarily ced him in Africa to recuperate from his injuries. Following that, she returned to Cethos with Linus. Meanwhile, Stanley stayed with Kenny for two more days until Kenny¡¯s family arrived to take care of him. Then, Stanley hurriedly went back to Cethos too. Kenny¡¯s murder had caused a great disturbance within the country; therefore, they needed to return to monitor the situation. With Kenny gone, L/K changed hands¡ªa lot of key personnel in key departments were reced. Thus, the world of luxury goods in Bayside City underwent aplete change. When Sophia returned, she gathered everybody to make ns. Although she was furious, she did not put on an act. She refused to be a victim of the internal conflict between the two pairs of Yard twins. Since Callum and Cade joined hands with the Mitchell Family to deal with me, why can¡¯t I join hands with Ryan and Henry? You think too highly of me if you believe you can use me to do your dirty work! Not long after her return to Cethos, she asked her assistant to make an appointment with the younger pair of twins. She wanted to see if she could get their cooperation. I¡¯m not going to let the Yard Family take advantage of me! Meanwhile, Michael returned from his filming. When he heard the news, he rushed to apany Sophia to her meeting with the Yard twins. Callum and Cade had a pretty good reputation, but the same could not be said of Ryan and Henry¡­ The twins were taking their PhD at Bayside University, and the vice- chancellor of Bayside University was Michael¡¯s uncle. From what the vice-chancellor said, those two were a pair of devils. Therefore, Michael would never rest easy letting Sophia meet them alone. However, he was just about to leave the house when he saw Sophia getting into Linus¡¯ car. ¡°Mike, you¡¯ve been pretty busy recently. You don¡¯t need to trouble yourself over this; I¡¯ll go with Sophia.¡± Linus was also worried about letting Sophia meet those twins alone. He made his move way before Michael had the chance to react. Tsk. My brother-inw sure moves fast. Michael was unhappy. Linus is such a siscon! Cooper couldn¡¯t go without seeing Carmen at least once a day. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, Linus was even worse! He came over to the house every day just to visit Sophia¡ªhe could not live without his sister! Seriously; marrying Sophia is equivalent to marrying her entire family! Although Michael had a lot ofints about the level of obsession his brother-inw held toward Sophia, he could onlyin under his breath. Besides, it so happened that Carmen¡¯s kindergarten was having a parent meeting today. Cooper usually attended in Michael¡¯s ce, but Michael always felt bad about it. Besides, nothing would happen to Sophia as long as Linus was around. Therefore, Michael could only watch as Linus¡¯ car drove off without him¡ªhe had a parent meeting to attend. Meanwhile, Sophia and Linus arrived at the Ronney Group with their assistants and bodyguards in tow. Chapter 1137 Chapter 1137 The current office building of Ronney Group used to be L/K¡¯s office building. After the restructuring done by Ryan and Henry, it became the Ronney Group¡¯s temporary office building. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Upon arriving at the meeting room, Sophia sat down to wait for Ryan and Henry while Linus sat beside her and yed with his phone. She was mulling over how she should negotiate with the Yard twinster. After all, she refused to be dragged into the Yard Family¡¯s struggles for no reason. Before Ryan and Henry arrived, Sandra arrogantly swaggered into the room. Then, she threw the cooperative project proposal Sophia had handed over to Henry¡¯s assistant on the table with great force. ¡°Sophia Edwards! Aren¡¯t you amazing? Are you jealous that the Yard Family is investing in the Mitchell Family?¡± Sophia was not surprised to see Sandra here. Thus, she smilingly replied, ¡°Even an idiot like you can work with the Yard Family, so why can¡¯t I?¡± These days, Sandra considered herself a sess in life. Even if she lost some money, that amount of money was nothing but pocket change to the Yard Family that was supporting her. Hugging her arms, she looked at Sophia in amusement. ¡°Your proposal for cooperation with the Yard Family has ended. The Yard Family doubts your working capabilities and will not work with you again. Just give up!¡± Meanwhile, Sophia continued smiling as she said, ¡°The Yard Family hasn¡¯t said anything yet. Who do you think you are to speak on their behalf?¡± Then, her gaze shifted downward. Seeing that Sandra was wearing a hip-hugging skirt, she smiled even wider. ¡°Wow. You¡¯ve gotten gutsy! I see you dare to wear skirts in front of me now!¡± Upon hearing those words, Sandra¡¯s expression shifted instantly. She could still recall the horror of Sophia ripping her skirt open. Thus, she subconsciously grabbed at her skirt. Frustrated, she red at Sophia and snarled, ¡°As long as I¡¯m around, you will never get the chance to work with the Yard Family!¡± Sophia was a little worried that Sandra might cause trouble. Just as she was about to speak up, the door to the meeting room opened, and two identical men walked in. No; they barely passed as men in Sophia¡¯s eyes. They were simply two big boys in their early twenties. Moreover, one of them had dyed his hair bright green¡ªit was the only thing that differentiated the two of them. ¡°Why are you here, Miss Mitchell?¡± The one with the dyed hair was the older brother, Henry. As soon as he walked in the door, he noticed Sandra¡¯s presence and directed his question at her. Sandra immediately resumed her dignified smile and said, ¡°I heard Sophia was here, so I came to take a look at her. After all, we are family¡­ President Henry, I¡¯ll be waiting for you in the office. Let¡¯s talk about the details of our contract.¡± After that, she sashayed out of the room and closed the door of the meeting room behind her. While closing the door, she revealed a mysterious smile. Sophia, do you know what it means to walk into the lion¡¯s den? Only four people were left inside the conference room. Ryan and Henry both took a seat opposite Sophia. cing the documents in his hand on the table, Henry took a sip of tea before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s skip the pleasantries. Since you came here to propose cooperation with us, Miss Edwards, why don¡¯t you try and convince us with your sincerity and ability?¡± He smiled after saying that. Meanwhile, Ryan said nothing and sipped at his tea quietly. However, his eyes kept flicking between Sophia and Linus. The look in his eyes made Sophia feel very ufortable. Calming herself, she started talking about her strengths. ¡°Mr. Callum and I have signed several cooperative projects. The first phase of the products is doing very well. It produced a huge response among the customer groups¡­ So, I hope that I can continue working with you, Mr. Henry, in ordance with the previous contract. Pourl will never let you down.¡± In response, Linus quickly brought out the cooperation contract Sophia had signed with Callum and Cade before. Needless to say, it was a brand-new copy of the contract¡ªthe original had been torn to pieces. Turning the page of the contract, she continued, ¡°This is the contract from before. You can take a good look at it, Mr. Henry.¡± Henry took the contract from her and looked through it seriously. On the other hand, Ryan continued to remain silent. Only his eyes lingered unpleasantly on her body. That gaze upset Linus greatly. It was thinly veiled and extremely vulgar. Inyman terms, it was a lecherous gaze. Before he came, he had investigated these twins. Callum and Cade had started working at the Ronney Group at the age of fifteen. After working hard for ten years, they had a strong foundation. They were regarded as geniuses since they were young; they never made any mistakes. Moreover, they were disciplined and strict when it came to their private lives. But, this pair of twins¡­ were surrounded by bad rumors. However, Linus had not had the time to investigate the truth behind those rumors. In short, Anna seemed to have raised Callum and Cade ording to a standard of perfection. She forced them to be outstanding and was extremely harsh on them. Contrarily, she left these twins to do as they wished¡­ Today, Sophia was wearing a low-cut blouse that was not particrly low, yet revealed a portion of her fair bosom. A string of diamonds draped across her chest, enhancing the crystal-clear beauty of her skin. Linus calmly stretched out his hand and pulled up the neckline of her clothes from behind, effectively covering her luscious bosom. On the other side, Henry seemed to have finished looking through the contract. Putting the contract down, he inteced his fingers as he leaned back in his chairfortably. His posture seemed to indicate that he believed he was holding the upper hand in the discussion. With a slightly troubled expression, he said, ¡°From what I see in this contract, it¡¯s not particrly advantageous toward the Ronney Group.¡± Sophia quickly said, ¡°The details of the contract can be discussed.¡± The details of the contract can change. I don¡¯t want to be Callum¡¯s tool! Ryan, who had kept silent the entire time, suddenly leaned forward. Putting his elbows on the table, his slender fingers tapped against the table as he looked Sophia up and down. ¡°Miss Edward, I heard you¡¯re married with children. From your appearance, you look like you¡¯re eighteen or neen at most. You don¡¯t look your age at all!¡± Sophia felt euphoric upon hearing those praises. She was a woman, and women were happiest when somebodyplimented them on their youthful looks. Besides, she also believed that she looked rather young with her small nose and slender face. Whenever she attended the parent meetings at Carmen¡¯s kindergarten, everybody said that she looked like Carmen¡¯s sister¡ªso much so that when Sophia stood beside Michael, they looked more like a father and daughter pair rather than husband and wife. However, Linus could tell that something was amiss about the way the words were said. Thus, he red at the twins warily. Then, Ryan continued, ¡°You are of mixed race, right? No wonder you have some exotic features.¡± After floating on cloud nine for a bit, Sophia returned to the main topic at hand. ¡°Let¡¯s continue discussing the contract¡­¡± Looking at her, Henry suddenly smiled for some reason. Meanwhile, Ryan straightforwardly said, ¡°Miss Edwards, we¡¯ve seen this contract before. To be honest, the contract is unattractive to us. Unless¡­ you y a game with us. Then, we¡¯ll agree to sign the contract.¡± A game? Perking up her ears, she asked, ¡°What game?¡± Henry slowly leaned toward Sophia, observing her from up close. He couldn¡¯t find any blemishes on her delicate facial features¡ªher skin was so smooth that he couldn¡¯t find a single pore. Her skin looked as soft and tender as tofu, and every inch of her skin seemed to be glowing. She did not look like she was approaching her thirties. Rather, she looked no different from the freshmen who just entered Bayside University. Moreover, her entire body was as fair as snow, and her figure was perfect. As a person of mixed-race, she had inherited the best of both worlds while shedding the imperfections. She had a Westerner¡¯s snow-white skin and sharp facial features, and yet she was as refined and delicate as a Cethosian. Her skin was particrly smooth and spotless; it also did not have a lot of hair nor odor. Furthermore, her skin was so thin that he could practically see the veins just beneath the surface. I want to take a bite out of her! She¡¯s such a stunner! Chapter 1138 Chapter 1138 Most that were of mixed-race would lose their figure and their beauty by the time they reached Sophia¡¯s age. However, Sophia only got younger and prettier with age. She sported the bestbination of mixed-race characteristics that Henry had ever seen before! Linus had a bad feeling. When he saw Henry approaching Sophia, he quickly leaned forward as well. He wanted to listen to what Henry was saying. A wicked smile appeared on Henry¡¯s sunny and handsome face. Leaning closer to Sophia, he whispered, ¡°Let¡¯s y the ¡®sandwich¡¯ game.¡± Sandwich? The innocent Sophia failed to catch the meaning behind his words. After a moment, she asked puzzledly, ¡°Sandwich? What sandwich? I-Is it¡­ a code for something?¡± For a moment, Linus didn¡¯t understand either. Then, Henry dipped his finger in his tea and wrote something on the table: ¡®MFM¡¯. Leaning across the table, Sophia tilted her head to read the words. As it was written from Henry¡¯s point of view, the text was upside down. Despite doing her best to read the word, she did not understand it. She could read the three different alphabets written there, but she did not understand the meaning behind them when they were written together as a word. After all, she lost her memories before and had to relearn how to read and write again after that incident. Tilting her head to read, her lower jaw was slightly lifted. Her fair and creamy neck was curved, and her sharp chin was lifted. Somehow, she looked extremely seductive. Ryan licked his somewhat dry lips. Meanwhile, Henry smiled and said, ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, we can teach you.¡± Meanwhile, Linus¡¯plexion paled considerably. He did not expect the twins to be so daring and bold! Unfortunately, Sophia still seemed to be oblivious to the twins¡¯ intentions as she asked, ¡°So, what does this stand for?¡± Henry did not answer her question. Instead, he suddenly reached out and grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand, which was lying on the table. Her soft and fragile fingers clutched in the palm of his hand felt extremely nice. Then, a wicked light shone from his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ll know once you try it!¡± While he was speaking, he leered at her skin. Her skin seemed to give off a light tantalizing scent, and he was tempted to taste that mouth- watering softness with his tongue. All of a sudden, she was hit with a realization. She finally understood what ¡®sandwich¡¯ meant. They want me to sleep with them! Before she could say anything, Ryan¡¯s leery eyes went back and forth between her and Linus before saying, ¡°Your brother is pretty handsome too. Why don¡¯t you join us? I love watching incest.¡± Ryan was still speaking when Linus stood up abruptly. Linus reached out at lightning speed and grabbed Henry¡¯s hand that was holding Sophia¡¯s. Then, he squeezed his wrist hard. Snap. A loud cracking sound rang out, followed by Henry¡¯s scream. ¡°Ah!¡± Henry¡¯s hand had been broken! Ryan was livid and got up quickly. However, Sophia was not slow to react this time. Looking at the boiling water on the tea tray, she grabbed the tea tray and overturned it. Consequently, the boiling water sshed in the direction of the twins. Ryan and Henry were so frightened that they stepped back. Taking this opportunity, Linus grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand and headed out. Unexpectedly, the door to the meeting room flew open and several Yard Family bodyguards entered. ¡°President Henry¡ª¡± Henry¡¯s wrist had been broken by Linus. Thus, he was in so much pain that he was deathly pale. His handsome face was twisted in pain as he said through gritted teeth, ¡°Capture them.¡± In a sh, seven or eight men rushed inside the meeting room. Despite that, Linus did not panic. His people were arriving soon; all he needed to do was buy some time. He subconsciously stood in front of Sophia to protect her, facing therge wave of bodyguards rushing toward them. However, Sophia didn¡¯t need his protection at all. Walking out from behind him, she faced the Yard Family bodyguards rushing toward them and sternly said, ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?! Do you know who I am?! I am the youngdy of the Mitchell Family. My father is Cooper Mitchell, my husband is Taylor Murray, my inws are the Fletchers, and Mark Fletcher is my grandfather! So, what are you trying to do?!¡± The name ¡®Mark Fletcher¡¯ scared all the Yard Family bodyguards that were about to rush at them. They were shocked to learn that this youngdy came from such an influential background. If they harmed her, the Yard Family would be stirring up a ho¡¯s nest. After all, this was Bayside City! ¡°C-Capture them!¡± Henry roared hoarsely. His hand was supported by the table. As his wrist had been broken, he could not put any strength into his arm. Next to him, Ryan was in a terrible condition too. He had been burned by the boiling water, and his pants werepletely wet. Who knows where he had been burned? As soon as the words came out of Henry¡¯s mouth, he heard a soft ¡®click¡¯. Then, he felt something cold and shiny pressing against his head. At the same time, the muzzle of a gun was pointed at him. At some point, Linus had taken out a small pistol. The muzzle of the gun was pressed against Henry¡¯s head, and the clicking sound came from the safety being released. Linus¡¯ expression was cold and impassive, and he did not say anything. However, the Yard Family froze at the sight of the gun; they did not dare to move forward. How could Linus dare to bring out a gun in Bayside City?! Cethos was a country that banned all guns within its borders, yet he was armed with one! Turning to the bodyguards, Sophia solemnly said, ¡°If you dare to take a step toward us, we will kill one of the twins!¡± The bodyguards did not dare to move. Henry and Ryan were also too scared to move. The cold, ck muzzle of the gun was not a joke. Thus, the stalemate between both parties dragged on. The Yard Family could neither stand down nor proceed, so they didn¡¯t know how to deal with the situation. Several minutes ticked by before Linus¡¯ men rushed into the room. Many, including people from the Michel Family, the Mitchell Family, and Michael¡¯s men, came. Then, Linus and Sophia walked out of the meeting room with the protection of their bodyguards. Following that, the Yard Family bodyguards returned to their senses and rushed to help Ryan and Henry. After they left, Sophia felt extremely upset. If the situation had not been so dangerous back then, she would have liked to kick Ryan and Henry a few times. I would have kicked them to death! Simrly, Linus looked murderous. How dare theyy their hands on my sister?! I¡¯m going to kill those brothers, sooner orter! Still, he felt rather doubtful. He dealt with the Yard Family before. Callum and Cade held high statuses. Moreover, they currently managed the Ronney Group. Even so, they were very disciplined when it came to their private lives. Their backgrounds were wless; there was not a single stain to their names. Even Sophia had a pleasant experience when working with them previously. It was clear that those brothers were very intelligent. Although they were not good people in the traditional sense, they were not entirely evil either. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. On the other hand, Ryan and Henry werepletely driven by lust. Despite knowing what kind of background Sophia came from, they still dared to make a move on her. Not only were they bad, but they were also stupid. Are the two pairs of twins really half-siblings? How could Callum and Cade have such stupid brothers? When Sophia and Linus were escorted out of the meeting room by the bodyguards, Sandra seemed to have already expected it. She was standing by the door and watching the spectacle. It¡¯s not that easy to deal with the Yard twins! Although such a hugemotion urred, it was still within her expectations. It wasn¡¯t easy to obtain the Yard Family¡¯s money. Fortunately, Sandra had her entertainment agency, Glory Entertainment. By now, Glory Entertainment had turned into the twins¡¯ harem. Be it a trainee or a popr celebrity, as long as the twins took an interest in that person, Sandra would hand them over to the twins immediately. In short, the twins could be summed up in a single word: perverts. They didn¡¯t care whether they were male or female, or whether they were old or young. They wanted them all. A few days after their arrival, they even tortured a male trainee to death. Consequently, Sandra had to spend a lot of money to cover up that incident. I¡¯m sure the twins wish that Linus and Sophia were dead! I can¡¯t wait to kick back and watch the show! Chapter 1139 Chapter 1139 Sophia did not want to stay at the Ronney Group for another moment. Thus, she and Linus rushed downstairs and got into the car. The moment she entered the car, Callum made an overseas call to ¡®express his sympathy¡¯. ¡°I heard that you met my younger brothers for a business discussion but the talks ended on a sour note. Moreover, both parties were at odds with each other. Allow me to extend my apologies on their behalf; my younger brothers can be a little unruly! It¡¯s all because my mother spoiled them rotten. That¡¯s why they developed such a fearless temperament. If you wish to work with them, you¡¯ll have to be very tolerant of their behavior¡­ They can be considered cruel; they will do anything to get what they want. They are sloppy and have poor taste and they love fooling around with women. Even so, they are good kids. Besides, they are only 20 years old. Being so much older than them, you should be more loving¡ªpfft! Hahaha¡­ I can¡¯t take it anymore!¡± It looks like Callum knew that things would turn out this way. He probably guessed that I would be reluctant to act as their tool and do their bidding obediently. Today¡¯s incident was within his expectations! He nned this! Sophia¡¯s expression was murderous; her hatred was so strong that it made her teeth tingle. Dealing with Ryan and Henry will only benefit Callum, but I won¡¯t be able to stomach this disgrace if I left them alone. Before she could answer, Linus snatched the phone out of her hands. He had been silent since walking out of the meeting room. When he spoke at this moment, he was eerily calm¡ªso calm that it made the back of one¡¯s head tingle. ¡°I¡¯ll give you that batch of diamonds that you wanted. Send somebody over to Africa to sign the contract. I won¡¯t wait; if you miss the chance, it¡¯s gone. Those diamonds are more than enough to buy two worthless lives from the Yard Family!¡± He angrily hung up after saying that. Despite knowing that he was being tricked into doing what they wanted, he had no other choice. I must get rid of those brothers! Even if they are my own half-brothers! After the call ended, the car was silent for quite a while. Then, he slowly calmed down and kept Sophia¡¯s phone away in her bag. Sophia studied him; her eyes seemed to scan his expression. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. His dark expression suddenly turned into a smile. In response, she hugged him out of the blue. Rubbing her face against his chest, she eximed, ¡°You¡¯re the best, Linus!¡± Upon hearing that, his heart melted with joy. This is the ultimate reward for a siscon! He rubbed her hair and said, ¡°You¡¯re my sister. As your brother, it¡¯s a given for me to protect you.¡± She smiled widely, and her eyes turned into crescents. After that, she suddenly noticed that his hand was red. ¡°Oh, my God! Linus, when did you get this burn?!¡± It¡¯s practically blistering! I must have identally burned him when I overturned the tea tray just now. While Linus didn¡¯t seem to think much of it, Sophia was extremely worried. She quickly took out the emergency medical kit in the car. There was a cooling spray in it. Thus, she sprayed his wound while blowing on it lightly. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± He could feel his wound stinging. However, the back of his hand felt cool when she blew on his wound, and it didn¡¯t hurt one bit. Nothing hurts with her around. When they arrived home, Michael and Cooper were already aware of the incident. Cooper was extremely furious, as was Michael. It seemed like the twins would not survive for long. Still, Cooper hesitated slightly¡ªthose twins were still Anna¡¯s sons, after all. On the other hand, Michael did not hesitate at all. I¡¯m going to kill them! It won¡¯t end unless they¡¯re dead! Besides, it¡¯s not like they¡¯re my half-brothers! Still, everybody was considerably well-known. It would be too brazen of them to murder somebody in Bayside City just like that. Even if they were involved in the underworld, they still had to be wary of the Besides, Anna had just donated some cultural relics to the country. She even appeared on ¡®Focal Point¡¯ and was currently the talk of the town. If her two sons, who just arrived in Cethos not long ago, died suddenly and without justifiable reasons, it would cause amotion. Therefore, getting rid of Henry and Ryan would need some time. Although Cooper felt slightly hesitant, he was forced to face reality in the end. They might be Anna¡¯s children, but they¡¯re also Jordan¡¯s sons. There¡¯s no reason for me to go easy on them! Still, we can¡¯t take their lives directly. At the very least, they cannot die in Bayside City or anywhere else within Cethos! ¡­ It had been two days since Ryan and Henry were admitted into the hospital. One had his hand broken while the other suffered burns on his thigh. They were screaming and crying when they were first brought in. ¡°Mom, it hurts so much! How dare that b*tch dare to hurt me!¡± Ryan was in so much pain that his face was twisted into a grimace. His handsome features were distorted badly, but his expression was cold as he video-called Anna. In the video call, Anna looked extremely concerned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Henry. You¡¯ll be fine after resting in the hospital for two days. I¡¯m going to Cethos in a few days to visit you. How dare they harm my sons. How insolent of them!¡± Sheforted her sons for a bit before ending the video call. When she turned back, she found Jordan standing behind her. She did not know how long he had been there. Thus, she felt shocked. Even so, her expression remained unchanged¡ªit was still the same concerned expression as before. ¡°Henry and Ryan ran into a little trouble in Cethos. They were injured by somebody.¡± Naturally, Jordan was aware of the incident. However, he keenly felt that something fishy was going on. Why were Cooper¡¯s children the ones who harmed Henry and Ryan? Although it seemed like a coincidence, he couldn¡¯t help feeling that something wasn¡¯t quite right. When the mother and son trio first left for Cethos to expand the Ronney Group¡¯s business, he noticed something strange. The people they brought along with them were not his men but their own trusted subordinates. Their actions made him vignt toward them. The three of them have ulterior motives! They n to monopolize and control the Cethosian market once they integrate themselves! Hence, he sent his other pair of sons to Cethos to rece them. Callum and Cade were too old; they were no longerpliant. However, Ryan and Henry were very obedient to him. He felt reassured with them there. Therefore, he suggested having Ryan and Henry take over the Cethosian market. Anna had agreed easily and immediately left the country. But¡­ he couldn¡¯t help feeling as if he had fallen for their trap instead. As Anna looked very worried, hefortingly said, ¡°They¡¯re already adults. Don¡¯t worry too much.¡± Still, he was afraid that Ryan and Henry would not be able to face Cooper by themselves. So, he decided to ask Lucy and Ian to lend them a hand. Ryan and Henry might not be part of the Edwards Family, but they¡¯re still my sons. In response, Anna nodded. Her expression was full of concern, but when she lowered her eyes sadly¡­ Jordan failed to notice the cold and sharp look in her eyes. Good; things are moving as I nned. That pair of b*stards must die in Cethos! From what I know of Sophia¡¯s temperament, she will definitely get her revenge against them. If that happens, nobody can me me, their mother, for their deaths. They brought it upon themselves by behaving in that uncouth manner! Needless to say, she brought her own sons up strictly and held them to a high standard from an early age. They also received the best education there was. Under her personal guidance, Callum and Cade were outstanding from a young age. They stood out among their peers as the best among the best. At fifteen, they started taking overpany affairs at the Ronney Group. However, the younger pair of twins¡­ Haha; they¡¯re not my biological sons anyway. Why should I waste any effort on them? I hate them so much I wish they were dead! Chapter 1140 Chapter 1140 Ryan and Henry inherited their father¡¯s insidious and cunning nature, as well as their biological mother¡¯s two-faced nature. Coupled with the indulgent andvish care Anna showered them with since they were young, they grew up rotten despite being talented. They became a toxic existence! Therefore, Anna was really looking forward to how Sophia would get rid of the twins on her behalf. I hope Sophia doesn¡¯t let me down! At the hospital in Cethos, Sandra was visiting the twins who were staying in the same hospital ward. As soon as she arrived, she began bad-mouthing Sophia. ¡°That sister of mine has been spoiled since she was young and became ratherwless as a result. I¡¯m sorry you had to experience that. I will surely make her apologize to you in person!¡± To be honest, she was secretly ted. The Yard Family¡¯s love is mine and mine alone! Sophia and Cooper will never have a share of it! On the other hand, the twins said nothing. They had never been so humiliated in their lives! If Sophia falls into our hands, we will kill her viciously! After Sandra finished talking, she stood up to pour Henry a cup of water. She was wearing an extremely short, hip-hugging skirt today. With her back toward Henry as she poured the water, she bent her waist slightly and exposed her slender thighs. She even exposed a small slip of her pink lingerie. Sandra seemed to be oblivious to it as she focused on pouring the water. However, Henry suddenly spoke up in a gloomy voice. ¡°Don¡¯t try to pull any seductive tricks in front of us. People like you are disgusting!¡± She stiffened at those words while in the middle of pouring the water. She certainly tried to use her body to cement the cooperative rtionship she had with the Yard Family. During this period, she watched as Henry and Ryan slept with many female celebrities under Glory Entertainment. However, the only person they never touched¡­ was her. So, it¡¯s because they¡­ find me disgusting¡­ If I can get even more investment from the Yard Family, I don¡¯t mind sleeping with them. Once I get the money, both the Mitchell Family and I can rise to the top again! I will never need to worry about the Fletcher Family, the Yard Family, Michael, Sophia, or even Cooper anymore! They will be nothing to me! I¡¯m going to be the King of Bayside City! Just like back then when I won the world championship! Besides, I n to run as president in a few years. I¡¯m going to be the first female president in Cethos! Contrary to her expectations, Henry and Ryan had quite a refined taste even though they liked to fool around. Not everybody could catch their eye. At the very least, they had no interest in Sandra. Therefore, Sandra was extremely exasperated by the twins. Moreover, they were too daring. They went around doing whatever they pleased in Bayside City¡ªso much so that they even dared toy their hands on Sophia in bright daylight! That was because they were the young masters of the Yard Family. Not only that, but they were also twins. Twins were eligible to take over the shares and the inheritance rights of the Yard Family. Coupled with the fact that they were Anna¡¯s sons, their noble lineage was extraordinary. Even if anything happened to them, the Yard Family and the Ronney Group would support them from behind! N?velDrama.Org ? content. Straightening her back calmly, Sandra came back after she finished pouring the water. She feigned ignorance to what Henry said as she asked, ¡°What do you mean, President Henry? I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t understand.¡± In response, Henry said nothing more. However, the expression on his handsome face became more and more sinister. Then, she ced all the information on Sophia in front of him so that he could look through it. Naturally, it only contained information she obtained from her investigation. She had hidden some of the more obscure information; she was afraid that the Yard Family would not deal with Sophia ording to her wishes. After all, she was more afraid of Sophia than she was of Cooper. Only I can be the sole young lady of the Mitchell Family! Sophia¡¯s name was closely linked to Sandra¡¯s tragic past¡ªSandra would never forget how she went from Sandra Oak to the youngdy of the Mitchell Family that she was today! I¡¯m going topletely erase Sophia from the face of the earth, just like how I erased my humiliating past! Then, I¡¯ll be the sole youngdy of the Mitchell Family! In the future, I¡¯m going to be the head of the Mitchell Family, and the king of Bayside City! Meanwhile, Henry sipped on his water as he read through the documents. His eyes were filled with a vicious light. The funds from the Yard Family soon arrived. With the Yard family¡¯s support, Alex and his family seemed toe back to life all of a sudden, and the scale of their businesses steadily expanded. In addition to thepany affairs of Glory Entertainment, Sandra also runched King, the pet luxury goods business. Lucy also invested arge amount of capital into Sandra¡¯s endeavors. Moreover, she even sent the former gold-rated designer, Billy Kim, over to support Sandra. In the past, Billy had been expelled from the world of designing after he was found to have giarized Ivan¡¯s creations. Now that things had cooled down, he changed his name and restarted his career. With the Yard Family, the Mitchell Family, and the Edwards Family helping Sandra, she became full of herself and looked down on Sophia and her family even more. On the other hand, Linus¡¯ vendetta was soon put into ce. The Michel Group¡¯s businesses and the Mitchell Group¡¯s businessespletely ovepped with each other. As a foreignpany, the Michel Group had been expanding into Bayside City for a long time. Now that it had sessfully built a solid foundation for itself, it could finally begin attacking the Mitchell Family, which was native to Cethos. Due to the support of the Yard Family, the Mitchell Group was at a temporary stalemate with the Michel Group. At the end of the day, the Mitchell Group was a domestic Bayside City enterprise and the top electronicspany in the country while the Michel Group was a foreign enterprise¡ªCethos would never allow the Mitchell Group to fall prey to the ws of the Michel Group to protect the interests of its domestic businesses. Hence, the Mitchell Group and the Michel Group were stuck in a deadlock. Although both were holding their own against the other, this situation could not go on forever. Soon, one of them would undoubtedly copse under the pressure! Sophia felt extremely puzzled when she saw that Lucy was providing funds to Sandra, helping Sandra runch King, and starting a rival business against her. Could it be that Jordan is forcing her to do it? But, even if Jordan was forcing her to contribute money to help her two younger brothers, she didn¡¯t need to help Sandra directly! Lucy was not a simple person¡ªshe was thest person Sophia wanted to go up against. Fortunately, they rarely shed with each other. Even if they were representatives for Serpent and Dragon Eye mobile phones respectively, they acquired sales through their own abilities. There was no malicious competition between them. Therefore, Sophia was very surprised to see Lucy wading into the fray on her own initiative. Dealing with Sandra was a piece of cake for Sophia. Unfortunately, it would be a struggle if Lucy was added to the equation. At present, Lucy held the Edwards Family in the palm of her hands¡ªeven Ian had to bow down to her! She was a difficult opponent! Therefore, Sophia secretly made ns to meet with Lucy; she wanted to have a good talk with Lucy. Jordan was now a part of the Yard Family and had delegated all matters involving the Edwards Family to Lucy. Besides, Lucy was extremely capable¡ª there was no need for her to continue functioning as his lowly underling. The two of them met at a small bar. Not many people were inside the bar, and business was very slow. Both of them sat by the bar and ordered a ss of wine each. They were seated not too far from each other, yet not too near either. Moreover, both of them were dressed in a way to avoid attention. Sophia came barefaced with two masks covering her face while Lucy wore sunsses that covered half her face. ¡°Why?¡± Sophia was the first to speak up. She was certain that Lucy was not helping Sandra out of sisterly affection. So, why does she keep helping Sandra? Now that Sophia nned to confront the Mitchell Family in an all-out war, Lucy¡¯s interference was a dangerous variable that could turn the tables on her. Therefore, she needed to get things straight between them. Lucy took a sip of wine. After a long bout of silence, she finally replied, ¡°That¡¯s my business. Don¡¯t stick your nose in it.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Sophia decided to exin since the other party wasn¡¯t being appreciative of her efforts. ¡°My father and I are nning to get rid of the Mitchell Family and the Yard twins, Ryan and Henry. I suggest you stay out of it. If you continue to interfere in the Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs, we will show you no mercy.¡± Chapter 1141 Chapter 1141 After saying that, Sophia did not wait for Lucy¡¯s response. She quickly picked up her bag and hurriedly rushed outside. It seemed as if Lucy was determined to tie her fate to Sandra¡¯s. Still, it was to be expected. When it came down to it, she was Jordan¡¯s daughter. The Yard Family belonged to Jordan now, so it was natural for her to help the Yard Family. Sophia initially had no intention of confronting the Yard Family, but they were taking things too far! Don¡¯t me me for this! After Sophia left, Lucy got up to leave too. When she walked to the door of the bar, someone was already there to pick her up. ¡°You¡¯re here!¡± When she saw that person, she smiled as brightly as a shy, young maiden that had just fallen in love. Her gaze was tender¡ªit was a tenderness no man had ever seen before¡­ On the other hand, Sandra began expanding her business and the targeted market after receiving the money. She intended topete against Sophia and persistently acted as Sophia¡¯s business rival. Since Pourl was thriving recently, it became one of her main targets. Thus, King started recruiting personnel and worked with the Ronney Group to aggressively take down Sophia¡¯s Pourl. Once that was done, she nned to target Sophia¡¯s other businesses, including Cooper¡¯spany, Mitchell International Energy and Technology. However, Mitchell International Energy and Technology was engaged in the clean energy industry¡ªit was a unique business. Neither the Mitchell Group nor the Yard Group was involved in that business. So, it wasn¡¯t easy to bring it down. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Plum Technology was also one of the businesses under Sophia. It was a listedpany operating on a large scale. After Sandra assessed her own abilities, she decided to go for an easier target for now. Thus, she decided to target Pourl, which was smaller in scale. Still, Pourl was no longer what it was in the past. It wasn¡¯t just involved in the niche pet luxury goods business; it had also created a name for itself across the world. Moreover, it had built up a stable customer base and a strong brand reputation in Bayside City¡¯s luxury goods industry. If the Yard Family¡¯s luxury brands wanted to enter the Cethosian luxury goods industry, they had to first surpass Pourl. Therefore, Sandra was racking her brains and thinking about ways to bring down Pourl. Unfortunately, she discovered that it was not as easy as it had been back then. Even if she had the money, she wasn¡¯t sure where to start. All aspects of Pourl were unimaginablyprehensive¡ªthere was no room for Sandra to take advantage. Hence, she could only continuously ¡®poach¡¯ their staff. At the same time, she continued toe up with various mandates for the departments under her. She also stipted how many tasks needed to bepleted within the specified time. Those that couldn¡¯t complete them on time were dismissed immediately. Consequently, everybody working in King was disgruntled over her mandates. Even so, the lucrative sry Sandra was offering was too attractive to turn down. Moreover, the Ronney Group sent over many designers and marketing talents¡ªso much so that it could be considered one of the businesses under the Ronney Group. As a result, it attracted many talents within the luxury goods industry to thepany in a short time. With the support of the Ronney Group, the business would not remain stagnant even if it wanted to. ¡°Billy, I brought you in to give me results! I didn¡¯t bring you here toze about! Look at this! I handed the reins of so many talented marketing personnel and designers to you, yet what did you give me in return?!¡± Sandra viciously threw thetest sales record documents in Billy¡¯s face. On the other hand, Billy did not dare to refute her words. As the director of King, he held the highest authority when Sandra wasn¡¯t around. Therefore, he answered directly to her. After the scandal, he was forced toy low for a year or two. Now that he finally returned to the design industry, he wanted to produce some results too. Sandra had ced the talents sent over by the Ronney Group under his command, and he had passionately thrown himself into his career. In particr, he wanted to defeat Pourl and Ivan. However¡­ the results of his efforts were a far cry from his expectations. Therefore, he didn¡¯t dare to say a word despite being dressed down by her. Sandra was so furious that she paced about the office while ripping into Billy. How am I supposed to bring down Cooper if I can¡¯t even take down Pourl?! ¡°I¡¯m giving you a month. I want to see results by then! If I don¡¯t see satisfactory results within a month, I will make sure you won¡¯t be able to take another step into the design industry again. I don¡¯t care whether you are part of the Edwards Family or the Mitchell Family! Even Lucy will not be able to protect you!¡± Billy nodded reluctantly before walking out of the office. Outside the office, he felt cold sweat dripping down his back. Sandra¡¯s temperament was bing more and more tyrannical by the day¡ªso much so that he was starting to regret taking this position. I shouldn¡¯t have been greedy for the sry Sandra offered me back then. The sry was truly attractive. He would not be able to find something simr anywhere else in the world. Due to that, King managed to gather arge number of talents within a short period. Even so, they still couldn¡¯t beat Pourl. Inside the office, Billy scolded the designers and marketing personnel under him. After he finished shouting at them and sent them away, he became extremely distraught. Why?! King has such a strong team, abundant funds, and a powerful backer! We even poached so many of Pourl¡¯s core members! Why are we still no match for Pourl?! He worried about it throughout the night until his eyes became bloodshot. Then, a name floated into his head¡ªIvan Snowden. That¡¯s right! Pourl has Ivan! He¡¯s the one who taught me all about designing! Even if he didn¡¯t want to admit it, he knew in his heart that Ivan¡¯s talent in designing was leagues better than his. All my designing abilities were taught to me by Ivan. I¡¯m nothing in front of him. Even the designs that made me famous back then were stolen from Ivan! Pourl is so amazing because it has Ivan! Pourl is nothing without Ivan! Suddenly, a crazy idea formed in Billy¡¯s head. This n had been implemented once, a long time ago. However, it failed. I¡¯m going to make Ivan vanish off the surface of the earth! Now that he was backed into a corner, this desperate idea began to take over his rationality! ¡­ It was Friday. As usual, Sophia gave thepany a holiday and invited some friends over to her house to celebrate. The pre-sales performance of Pourl¡¯s new product featured in its autumn/winter collection had achieved a new record. Pourl was now firmly established as the number one pet luxury goods brand in Cethos. Moreover, it was starting to emerge in the entire luxury goods industry as a dark horse. Even if the Ronney Group was entering the market, they were no longer afraid. Ivan had been invited to the party too. He was one of the oldest members of Pourl. He wasn¡¯t just the head of design, but he was a shareholder in thepany. Besides, he yed a huge role in the sess Pourl was enjoying today. Right now, he was apletely different manpared to the man Sophia had first brought back. He managed to conquer his past and move forward. His hair was kept neat and short; he shaved his beard. He finally had a rather handsome appearance again. Moreover, he had a wife and a kid that was already two years old. He also adopted a ck dog from Sophia to raise. Nowadays, he not only designed pet luxury goods but he also designed jewelry. After petting all the cats in Sophia¡¯s house, he leisurely left for home after dinner. The ce he lived in was located in a rtively remote area. He liked the quiet and enjoyed the one-hourmute to and from work every day. It gave him enough time to unwind while he was driving. Avoiding the evening rush hour, he drove along the quiet highway. Not many cars were on the road by this time. Listening to the music, he thought about the cats at Sophia¡¯s house and his two-year-old angel at home. He was in a good mood. When he entered the inner ring expressway, the number of cars on the road became even fewer. However, he failed to notice that two motorbikes were gradually approaching him¡­ Chapter 1142 Chapter 1142 Smash! An object shattered the car window as it came in. Just then, Ivan thought he could smell a pungent odor¡ªit was the smell of gas! At the same time, he saw two motorcycles closing in on him on either side and happened to spot two cigarette lighters through the rearview mirror. Sadly, it was toote. The lighters flew in, and his entire car was set on fire in an instant. Oh no! Ivan felt the scorching heat on his back as he was being enveloped in the fire. Not too far away, those motorcycles were still following behind him. He was too afraid to stop the car because the four people on the motorcycles were clearly going toe for him, and he was unable to outrun them. Meanwhile, the mes were getting bigger. He had to get out of the car soon as it could explode at any moment. There were no other cars or people in the area. Whether he stopped the car or not, it was a dead-end for him. He did not know who was trying to kill him, but he could not die! Inside his bag was an autograph from Taylor that his little angel at home had begged him for. He still had not given it to her yet. His wife and child were still waiting for him! I can¡¯t die! With that immense desire to live, he was unwilling to die just like that, but reality left him without a choice. There was a small river at the side of the road. Stepping on the gas pedal, he ran right through the railing and left his car dangling at the edge of the cliff. Once his car came to a stop, he quickly unfastened his seatbelt and opened the car door. With a leap, he threw himself into the river. Behind him, a loud explosion went off¡ªthe car had blown up! The sound of gunshots followed the explosion, stirring up the neighboring residents and garnering much fear. A number of them were calling the police on their phones to report the incident. ¡­ For some reason, Michael felt uneasy all day. He did not sleep well at night and even had a nightmare. Sitting up in bed, he looked behind him to find his wife and daughter sleeping soundly. He had a premonition, but he did not know what the problem was. Suddenly, a call from Gary came. ¡°Sir! Ivan is in trouble!¡± That was when he realized what was the source of his uneasiness. Something had happened to Ivan! Michael changed out of his clothes and left right away. The next day, Sophia went to see Ivan at the hospital and got to know the whole story. After he jumped into the water to save himself, he stayed hidden in the darkness of the night and washed up on the riverbank further down. Even after the jump, his Dragon Eye still functioned normally. He called 911 desperately and was rescued. Fortunately, his hands were spared. If his heavily insured hands had suffered damages, the designmunity would lose a major talent. Once Sophia knew that he was safe, and his hands were intact, she felt relieved but also angry. She started to investigate the person behind this immediately. At the mention of this person, Ivan scoffed. ¡°It¡¯s definitely him! Billy Kim! A few days ago, King called me personally to ask me to work for them, but I refused. Then, Billy calledter and threatened to break my hands!¡± Sophia was doubtful. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Ivan nodded firmly. ¡°I¡¯m positive.¡± He and Billy were long-time enemies. The apprentice whom he had personally taught was not just ungrateful. When a problem arose in Ivan¡¯s family, Billy took the chance to use Ivan¡¯s designs and ideas as his own, even winning many awards with his works. At the Edwards¡¯ annual meeting one year, Billy even schemed against Ivan. Later, the two had many confrontations in their line of work. Especially during the two years that Sophia was missing, Billy became even more outrageous with the financial backing from Sandra. He desperately tried to get rid of all the people at Pourl and used various unjust ways to ruin Pourl¡¯s business. Ivan was not skilled at running a business. That was also the time when Plum Technology was growing the fastest, and several big names had their eyes on thepany. Ivan was holding up Pourl all by himself when he suffered a crushing defeat to Billy. Fortunately, after Sophia returned, she was able to salvage Pourl and force King out of the pet luxury goods industry. Billy was also exposed for giarizing a dog¡¯s face. That had unexpectedly resurfaced again recently. When this happened to Ivan, Billy was also the first person that came to Sophia¡¯s mind. Even if it was not Billy himself who did it, it was definitely the people from King. Since King obtained capital from the Ronney Group, they had set aside the highest amount to poach people. They were being especially aggressive, even causing a great stir in the luxury goods industry in Bayside City. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. A number of people also resigned from Pourl, and most of them ended up working at King. It was a losing battle as King offered a generous paycheck that made it difficult for most people to refuse. But who would have thought that they were willing to physically harm someone as well? After finding out that it was Billy, Sophia was enraged but also somewhat delighted. Just when she was looking for something to use against Sandra, an opportunity hade right to her. During this time, King had been acting very aggressively. They stood on their abundant capital to suppress those in the same industry. Unfortunately, Pourl bore the brunt of it all. All this while, Sophia had been collecting evidence and loopholes in order to ruin their name, but with Ronney Group¡¯s funding, it was not going to be easy unless there was a huge w. Billy¡¯s attempt to kill Ivan was that w. Sophia did not expect Billy to make such a careless mistake. How daring! In that case, he should have the guts to own up to it too. At this moment, the power of being on home ground became evident. ¡°Sofie, I got someone to look into it. The underworld in Bayside City did not receive such a task.¡± Sarah quickly rushed in to tell Sophia. The Winston Family was in charge of the underworld. As of today, many groups were still operating in the underworld¡ªlocal groups, out-of-state groups, and even some foreign ones. It was aplicated network of power, but they were all inferior to the Winston Family. The difficulty and risk were too high for Billy to have done this himself. Letting his own people do the work would have exposed them too easily as well. Hence, their best option was to hire some people from the underworld to do it. But currently, none of the mobs admitted to it. The case even made it on the news and became the biggest security issue in Bayside City this season. The police force was also on high alert, and the pressure was ced on Harry to find the culprit. Harry had been feeling troubled, but after searching around, he confirmed that none of the people in the underworld had done it. If it was not them, could it be Billy¡¯s own people? Sophia did not think it was possible. Billy could not have been that foolish. But after some investigation, they found that it was indeed his own people! Even though Billy was considered a young master in the Edwards Group, he did not have a lot of people around him that he could order around. Following the clues, they quickly identified the person responsible and waited for the right time to make their move. Sophia wanted to seek justice for Ivan and use this to bring King down! Meanwhile, at the Edwards Residence, Billy was now terrified after finding out that Ivan survived. Ivan must know by now that I¡¯m the one behind it and is going to follow the clues that will lead to me. He could already imagine Ivaning to his door with the police. I don¡¯t want to go to prison! Quickly making his way home, he went to Lucy for advice. Chapter 1143 Chapter 1143 Lucy was shocked to hear that Billy had done such a thing. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did that during this critical time, Bill! What were you thinking?¡± The strife between Pourl and King was getting very messy and disoriented. Both Sophia and Sandra were practically looking at each other through a magnifying ss in order to find and exploit any ws that the other might have, but Billy had just handed it to them on a silver tter now. Callum and Cade have really seeded in choosing a group of useless brats for their brothers! Sophia was certainly going to use this to bring King down and ensure that King vanished from the fashion world in Bayside City for good. Neither the Mitchell Family nor the Yard Family could save them! Billy was also filled with regret. Kneeling in front of Lucy, he wept and begged, ¡°Lucy, you have to help me. We¡¯re family. You can¡¯t forsake me!¡± Lucy took a sip of tea, and a glimmer of light shed across her eyes. She had no intention of getting in the middle of Sandra and Sophia¡¯s fight. This time, however, she did not have a choice as Jordan would force her to take action even if she did not want to. After staying silent for a moment, she said, ¡°Turn yourself in before the police get to you.¡± Billy was stunned. She wants me to turn myself in? As if she hadn¡¯t seen the shock in his eyes, she continued, ¡°Once you¡¯ve turned yourself in, take responsibility for everything. Emphasize that you did it in the spur of the moment because of a personal grudge. Tell them that you felt immense regret after doing it. You haven¡¯t acquired citizenship yet, and it was attempted murder. If you behave well, you¡¯ll be released with a bit of money. I¡¯ll send you abroad for a few years, and things will die down after that.¡± That was the best solution she could think of. It protected both Billy and King. She figured that Sophia had probably already discovered something. After all, Sophia had Michael behind her while Michael had the Winston Family. The Winston Family was in charge of the underworld. How could they be unaware of something that happened in Bayside City? Since it was already noon, and the incident took cest night, they would have gotten the gist of things by now. In spite of that, they were not doing anything. That meant that Sophia was waiting for a chance. Lucy emphasized, ¡°Go right now. You have to hurry. The sooner, the better. You just have to confess to everything once you¡¯re in there, and remember to put on your best behavior. I¡¯ll find a capablewyer, so getting you out won¡¯t be a problem.¡± Billy stepped out of the Edwards Residence, but he looked back one more time with spite. She wants me to turn myself in? Huh! She clearly has a way to shield me from this, but she¡¯s not willing to do it! She even wants me to go abroad toy low? He had already spent a year overseas in hiding which was the same as being dead for a year. He did not want to leave Bayside City. He had put in his utmost effort to set up his business here. How could he leave now? Since Lucy was unwilling to help him, he decided to go to Sandra. King still needs me! Sandra will protect me! ¡­ At the Mitchell Group, when Sandra found out that Bill had failed to finish off Ivan, she was so infuriated that she kicked him a couple of times. ¡°All you do is create more problems! You couldn¡¯t even handle this small matter?¡± He cried, ¡°I didn¡¯t think he would survive. Miss Mitchell, you have to help me. Lucy is adamant about abandoning me. You¡¯re the only one I can count on now! King can¡¯t go on without me!¡± He was grasping onto her leg as he sobbed. Sandra was furious. This moron can¡¯t even kill one person. How useless! Sophia was going to find out his whereabouts in no time. But, he was the chief designer at King. They could not do without him! Sandra was pacing around the room anxiously with a gloomy expression on her face. ¡°What did Lucy say?¡± she asked suddenly. Billy ranted, ¡°She wants me to turn myself in. Isn¡¯t that sending me to my death?¡± Telling me to turn myself in is just absurd! Once Billy was exposed, King would be exposed too! When the time came, the power of public opinion would certainly affect both King and Sandra¡¯s reputations. Sophia was going to take advantage and make a big issue out of it. It took a minute for Sandra to make her decision. She stared straight at Billy and asked, ¡°Where are the people you sent out to do the job?¡± Wiping his tears, he answered, ¡°I already arranged to send them on the earliest flight out of the country. They should be on their way to the airport now.¡± She said decisively, ¡°At this point, the best thing to do is to silence them for good. Only a dead person can keep a secret!¡± Billy was startled, but he still epted it. As long as those few people were dead, all the me could be ced on them. The dead could not bear witness. He would be able to free himself! ¡­ In the early morning, an unassuming Santana was on the highway heading toward the airport. Inside the car, there were four men of foreign nationalities with nk expressions on their faces. They were all blonde. The Santana was going at full speed; it was almost flying in a straight line on the empty highway. A whileter, a pop went off and the car started to jolt. The man who was driving felt it and cursed, ¡°Sh*t!¡± They burst a tire! The driver tried to stabilize the car, then brought it to the side of the road. When he went down to look, he saw that the front tire had burst. The four of them got out of the car to retrieve the spare tire and car jack from the trunk, and quickly changed the tire. Just then, in the darkness of the night, a Jeep pulled over silently and stopped right next to them. The guy who was fixing the tire looked back. He found a gun poking out of the window and aimed right between his eyebrows. Bang! Once he fell to the ground, a trickle of blood flowed out from between his eyebrows. The other three people were dumbfounded. They quickly tried to run for cover, but it was toote. Consecutive gunshots were heard and two more people fell. Thest guy managed to hide behind the car where he also hurriedly pulled out his gun to counter their attack. Four to five people in ck came out of the Jeep. Each of them carried a gun. Splitting themselves up, they surrounded the guy and made it impossible for him to escape. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. The guy was cursing on the inside, knowing that he had been betrayed. Only Billy knew their location! He wants to shut us up! Very well. When the dayes, I¡¯m going to kill him with my own hands! The foreigner had his gun out and was ready to attack when all of a sudden, police sirens closed in on them from a distance. A big police force came out of nowhere and surrounded the ce in an instant with several roadblocks set up and countless guns pointed in their direction. ¡°We are the Cethos Police. Please put down your weapons and raise your hands above your heads if you want to seek clemency.¡± When thest remaining foreigner saw the police, he couldn¡¯t be more relieved. He immediately tossed his gun aside and lifted his hands. The other people in ck were startled. They turned around swiftly to get back into their car and drove off, running through the roadblocks to escape. Several police cars began chasing after them. The sound of police sirens filled the night. Because they were armed, it put the special forces team on high alert. Finally, the police were able to take down all of them with four dead and one sustaining light injuries. Joel personally came to investigate the situation. When he heard about everything, anger rose up within him and made the veins on his head pop. When Sophia looked for him to report the incident, he still could not believe that someone would do something so atrocious on hisnd. How dare they cause a ruckus in Bayside City? I don¡¯t care who the Yard Family or the Mitchell Family is. They better not fall into my hands! Chapter 1144 Chapter 1144 Early in the morning, Kingpany headquarters had begun business operations. Since King partnered with the Ronney Group, their office was also located inside the Ronney Group¡¯s headquarters in Cethos. The previously well-known L/K and Ido were also running their businesses there. As soon as they started their work day, however, a swarm of police arrived downstairs and surrounded the entire building. They sealed off the scene and stopped anyone from entering or leaving while a group of police officers rushed in. Sandra had gone to work early that day and was not expecting to see so many police officers. No, don¡¯t tell me¡­ This can¡¯t be! Everything was done seamlessly. They could not have gotten exposed! The twins were not at the Yard Group today, so Sandra hurried to the lobby to greet the police. Billy also rushed out to observe the situation. When they got to the lobby, they did not expect to see Sophia with a group of police officersing onto them aggressively. The police also had a young foreigner in their hands. It was one of the hitmen Billy had sent out to kill Ivan. The moment Sophia saw Billy and Sandra, she yelled, ¡°It¡¯s him, Mr. Policeman! He¡¯s Billy, the one who hired the hitmen!¡± The foreigner also became worked up when he saw Billy. Thest surviving person in ck fromst night would not open his mouth in spite of everything. He kept insisting that it was done out of a personal grudge. But, the person standing in front of them now was the mastermind behind everything. Since none of them were free from guilt, the foreigner nned to drag Billy down with him and force Billy to tell them the truth about the attempted murder. Billy was scared out of his wits when he caught sight of the guy. Once the police spotted him, they took him away in handcuffs in front of everyone. In an instant, the police cleared off and left without a trace. Flustered, Sandra quickly followed after them. ¡°Idiot,¡± Sophia cursed from behind her. Turning around, Sandra red at Sophia, who had her hands crossed in front of her chest. Sandra did not think that she would get caught this time. Still, she kept her nose in the air. ¡°Sophia, do you think you can take me down by targeting Billy? In your dreams!¡± She was the one who hired those people. She was not as foolish as Billy to use her own people. Those people were part of a foreign killer gang. They charged a high price and were very tight-lipped. Even if they got caught, they would not expose their clients and would rather have their people go to prison. Moreover, they were of foreign nationality. If things went wrong, it would lead to an international dispute. The Bayside City Police would not dare to touch them either. Nheless, it was a losing battle for Billy this time. What¡¯s the big deal with losing Billy? We still have millions of other Billys! Sandra stormed off. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as she watched her from behind. Back at the Edwards Residence, Lucy had just received news on the matter. Billy¡­ That idiot! At this point, it was certain that he hired those hitmen. It was not going to be easy to get him out now, and Lucy did not want to either. No, there¡¯s still a way to get him out. But, those two gangs were very daring to draw out their guns on Bayside City¡¯s airport highway. Were they eager to get themselves killed? A standoff that involved firearms was often seen overseas, but in Bayside City, it would cause a major security issue; one that was enough to garner the attention of the higher ups. Apparently, Joel was personally handling this matter. How interesting¡­ All of a sudden, it dawned on Lucy that they had still fallen into Sophia¡¯s trap. She had kept watch on them in the dark all this time and waited for their reaction. If Billy had listened to Lucy and turned himself in voluntarily, it would not have been as easy for Sophia to send him to prison. But that idiot still had the guts to kill off those hitmen to shut them up! Trying to free himself from this is out of the question now. Sophia must still have more cards under the table. She is definitely not going to stop here. As expected, the moment Billy was arrested, the inte started to fill with short video clips of the day Ivan¡¯s car exploded, and the killing on the airport highway. Those two events were enough to instill fear in the citizens of Bayside City and lead to countlessints being poured into the police station. The official news was also broadcasted very quickly. The revtion that the chief designer of King, Billy Kim, hired hitmen over a dispute in his line of work spread like wildfire. The person behind the scenes controlling public opinion was very capable. At every mention, they did not fail to include ¡®the chief designer of King¡¯ behind Billy¡¯s name, and ¡®the chief designer of Pourl¡¯ behind Ivan¡¯s name. The wording roughly implied that King wanted to kill the chief designer of Pourl. It was no longer a simple personal grudge, but an underhanded and unjustified industry dispute. Out of nowhere, someone brought up the time when the Ronney Group first came into Cethos, and how the head of Ido was changed immediately. The head of the L/K branch in Cethos, Kenny, happened to get into a car ident and was still missing to this day. Thinking of these events was very disturbing. This year, many of the heads of fashion brands or designers in Bayside City had either been killed or had to step down for some reason. Was it a coincidence? Or, was there someone behind all of it? To contain those in the same industry, they were willing to murder their opponent¡¯s designers. The public and the fashion industry were all looking at the giant Ronney Group. Everything started when they barged into Cethos! However, there was no evidence. People were only specting and having anonymous discussions about it online. Because the Ronney Group was too powerful, it would not be good to cross them. At the height of it all, another big issue surfaced. The previous head of L/K, Kenny, who was nearly dered dead after he went missing in the ident, suddenly came back alive. He even personally went to the police to report that Henry and Ryan Yard of Ronney Group were the ones who tried to murder him! Undoubtedly, that caused a great stir in the fashion industry. The Yard Family had attacked him! A victim had spoken up. Because public opinion already had time to brew, everyone automatically tied the cases involving harm inflicted on designers, including Ivan¡¯s case, to the Ronney Group. The Ronney Group wanted to establish themselves in Cethos. The local fashion brands in Cethos were unstable to start with and were on guard all the time. Now, word had gone out that the Ronney Group tried to murder the chief designer of theirpetitor! At once, everyone in the fashion industry in Bayside City became nervous. Every big designer of local street wear kept looking over their shoulder for fear that they would be next. Terror seized both the fashion industry and the public. ¡­ In front of a police station in Bayside City, Sophia, as the head of Pourl, apanied Ivan and Kenny to give their statements. They were very cooperative with the investigation. But, Billy continued to deny that he hired those hitmen, and even brought awyer to reverse the verdict. He also pulled out his foreign citizenship and requested diplomatic immunity. At the same time, there was even less proof of Kenny¡¯s usation against the Yard Family. The Yards also had a capable team ofwyers which made his usation against Henry and Ryan useless. All in all, things were not going very well. Ivan was exceptionally furious when he met Billy at the police station, but there was no other alternative. They pressed him all day but got nothing out of him. As Sophiaforted Ivan, she came out to find Sandra waiting for her. Sandra was very proud of herself. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Sophia, did you waste your time again?¡± She watched Sophia running in there constantly, and leaving empty handed each time. Such a stupid woman for daring to go against the Yard Family! Chapter 1145 Chapter 1145 A sports car was parked next to Sandra, and the two brothers were sitting inside. ¡°Hey, doll. Do you want to y a game with us? It¡¯s a sandwich game. You¡¯re wee to join anytime!¡± Henry whistled softly at Sophia, but she did not even spare them a nce. They were still too immature. One of them thought he could live off the title of world champion for the rest of his life while the other thought he could do as he pleased because he was part of the Yard Family. With a turn, Sophia went straight into her car. On the other hand, Kenny was burning with indignation. He almost lost his life. Because Callum and Cade were the ones who promoted him, and Callum had appointed him as the main representative in Cethos, the first thing that Henry and Ryan did when they took over was to get rid of all of Henry¡¯s people, which included Kenny. Kenny had built the foundations of L/K in Cethos from the ground up and was unwilling to simply hand everything over. Little did he know, though, that he would get into an ident right after he refused them. Henry even took a step further by threatening and harassing his family. Fortunately, Stanley heard about it and immediately moved his family somewhere else before anything could have happened! Henry still seemed relentless. Getting down from the car, he leered at Sophia. ¡°I heard that a designer of yours almost died. Tsk. Tsk. That¡¯s unfortunate.¡± Ignoring him, she said to the driver, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± With that, her car quickly left the area. Then, Sandra also left along with the Yards. Sandra was beyond pleased to see how defeated Sophia looked this time. She had not expected things to go that well. It¡¯s so nice to have the sturdy Yard Family behind my back. In all sectors of Bayside City, whether it was the underworld, the police, the military, the government, or the business world, people had to give them the upper hand. It was said that the Yard Family nearly caused Cethos to perish one year. Over the years, the power of one family made it difficult for Cethos to advance forward on the international tform. Since having the Yards behind her back, she became invincible, not just in Bayside City, but in all of Cethos! Inside Sophia¡¯s car, Michael was currently reading the news beside her. Pictures of the killing that took ce on the airport highway were stered all over the inte. Ivan and Kenny¡¯s assault and the killings that took ce on the airport highway were not just confined to the fashion industry. They also stirred up the general public, easily gaining the attention of the higher authorities in Cethos. This was Cethos¡¯ capital after all! Cethos was a country that banned guns and drugs. In terms of security, they ranked in the top ten in the world. If they caught anyone who dealt with drugs and illegal firearms, they would execute those people by shooting without hesitation. The underworld controlled by the Winston Family of Bayside City also acted under the control of higher authorities. The person at the top tacitly consented to the existence of the underworld, but he did not allow them to meddle in the lives of citizens or create fear in the city. Most of the time, they tied up loose ends that the police were unable to. All these years, the Winston Family had worked conscientiously in the underworld of Bayside City, which was essentially Cethos¡¯ underworld. People still had to sleep with their doors locked at night, but with the combined efforts of those on both sides of thew, heinous crimes rarely happened in the city. Thest time a major incident had happened was when Quinton held Mark hostage. It was hard to believe that someone actually had the audacity to firearms and injure others repeatedly in the capital of Cethos, leading to a security issue and instilling terror. It was a silent deration of war, not just against Bayside City, but against the entire nation. The higher authorities were enraged. The Yard Family had an intricate rtionship with Cethos. Their capital gave them the means to be a tyrant in the world. In the past, they had tried to suppress Cethos several times by stopping them from joining the United Nations and World Trade Organization. They even banned Cethosian athletes from participating in the Universal Games. In economy and politics, Cethos and the Yards locked horns with each other numerous times before. But, following Cethos¡¯ power and the rise of economic globalization, the Yards and Cethos slowly began working with each other. Cethos also allowed one or two of the Ronney Group¡¯s brands to enter the country¡¯s market. It was only when Anna personally went to Cethos that the prolonged enmity was put to an end. The rtionship between the two parties was always a sensitive one. Undoubtedly, the higher authorities in Cethos were infuriated by the mess that the fool from the Yard Family had created. They had no control over the Ronney Group¡¯s actions overseas, but they were in Cethos now! This was the only ce where the Yards would not dare to act out! Nheless, Anna had just donated a substantial amount of cultural artifacts and even participated in a focus interview. With the attention that she had gained, Cethos could not mess with the Ronney Group that easily either. They were not allowed to take official measures, but Michael was already instructed by higher authorities to allow civil forces to attack the Ronney Group. The government could not controlmercialpetition, but they still gave their tacit consent. After Michael finished looking through all the information from various outlets, heughed and looked over at Sophia. She might have looked adorable on the outside, but there was a darkness inside of her. Not only did she have her father¡¯s finesse, but she also had her mother¡¯s malignancy. This time, it seemed like she was set on kicking the Yard Family out of Cethos. Sophia and Michael returned home together. After making the fruitless trip to the police station and rushing home, they had gotten a sip of water to drink and were feeling famished, so they went out to look for something to eat. The Ronney Group did, indeed, prove themselves. They had hired globally knownwyers who were well-versed with thew and who applied it wherever they could in this case. Since Billy and the Yard twins were of foreign nationality, there was surely a way for them to escape. Calvin Fields, thewyer Michael hired, waspletely beaten. Nheless, Calvin was not to me. Sophia now understood why the protagonists in Hollywood blockbusters always told the antagonists to pray that they can find a betterwyer. With a goodwyer, they could even get away with murder. As long as they had money, like the capitalistic Yard Family did, they had the license to kill. As long as they had money, they could control the country¡¯s economic lifeline. Not to mention, the only currency being used nationwide came from the private bank that they founded. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Apart from currency, the electricity, public transport, and others in many countries were all run by private companies. It was no wonder capitalists were so aggressive overseas. While Cooper was in Africa, a number of presidents were at his mercy because he had control over the mines, electricity, munitions, medicine, and other livelihood resources. Several of the main roads were financially sponsored by the Michel Group. Because they were private property, he could have decided to close off the roads and y golf if he was not happy. In turn, that would cause chaos in the whole country. Cooper was equivalent to an uncrowned king in Africa since he owned all the mines and resources there, but he did carry out the work that the king of a nation was responsible for¡ªbuilding roads and cities and maintaining public order. He even provided a few docile countries with thetest special vines for free. No matter how great he was overseas, however, he still had toy low in Cethos. He did his best to form amicable rtionships with anyone he met, paid his taxes on time without making any careless mistakes, and never dyed in his disaster relief funds. He was so well-behaved that it was unlike him. Aside from having a hundred-year-old godfather still watching over him, he also understood that every country had its own conditions andws¡ªeven an underdog could win on home ground. The use of marijuana was legal in some countries, but in Cethos, the penalty for drug trafficking was death. In some countries, munitions were being sold at vendors, but such a tant move would also result in death in Cethos. Overseas, money was issued by private enterprises, but in Cethos that was not allowed. In some countries, the rich controlled everything and were the rulers, but that was also met with death in Cethos. But, it seemed like the Yard Family still did not understand that yet. Chapter 1146 Chapter 1146 Most of the wealthy people in Cethos had migrated out of the country. The rich had no say in official matters as rights were ced above capital, but in some foreign countries, capital was ced above rights. Naturally, the rich knew where paradise was. Anna, Callum, and Cade had a firm understanding, but the two newbies did not seem to have grasped the idea yet. Thinking that they were above everyone else, they caused trouble as soon as they arrived. Even though Sophia had a part to y in blowing up the issue, and they were not fully responsible for it, all the me would still be put on the Yard Family. Suffering a loss to capitalism, Sophia had another fruitless day and was starving by the end of it. After grabbing something to eat, she looked at the time and saw that it was almost time for Carmen toe home from kindergarten. Michael had the kitchen staff prepare smander today to help Sophia replenish her energy. Meanwhile, Sophia quickly sent someone to the Harper Residence to bring their pig home and clean it up before Carmen returned. Raising a child was a struggle. Every time Michael brought Carmen to film ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, she insisted on bringing a memento home, and it was usually a living creature. They were about to run out of space at home. Thest time they went up northeast, they brought several Siberian roe deers back to raise at their farm outside of the city. These days, Carmen had even been begging Michael to bring back the water buffalo from the farm to raise at home. Sitting there, he felt the hairs stand on the back of his neck as he watched a rooster in diapers walk across his magnificent golden living room. Suddenly, Sophia cried out, ¡°Oh no! Our pig is gone!¡± Michael almost wanted to p with joy, but he still put on a concerned face and asked, ¡°How did it go missing? Did you forget to lock the door before leaving the ce?¡± The pig was kept at the house that the Harper Family used to live in. They sent the pig there every morning and brought it back every night. Someone would go there to clean the ce every day. No one was stationed there permanently, but the door was always kept locked. To their dismay, when they went to pick the pig up today, they found that the door had been pried open, and the pig was gone. Cooper frowned. ¡°How did it just disappear?¡± It was just wrong for someone to steal a pig in broad daylight! Sophia was in a panic. When Carmen doesn¡¯t see the pigter, she is going to be devastated. Even after Carmen got home, however, they were unable to find the pig. Looking at the surveince footage, they found that someone had pried open the door and abducted the pig in a car, but the car had vanished. Because it was just a pig, Sophia did not take great steps to search for it. She thought it was a bit much to start a search party for a missing pig, and that it was better for them to justy low. Nheless, Carmen began crying when she realized that the pig was gone, and Sophia had to spend quite some time consoling her. By nighttime, Carmen had stopped crying. Sophia was now famished and began gobbling down all the food on the table. At the same time, Michael was holding Carmen in his arms as he fed her. The loss of her beloved pig put her in a depressed mood today. While she ate, she looked sad and anguished with tear stains still on her cheeks. In the end, the case of the missing pig came to naught. They discussed all night, but still had no clues to pick up from. The pig was still missing. However, the next day, Sophia received an unexpected video call from Callum. ¡°Hi, Sophia!¡± He greeted her in the video call. The background showed that he was in the Yard Family¡¯s garden. Cade also appeared in the frame and was seen petting a pig. The pig was clothed extravagantly and had a presumptuous look on its face¡ªeven the diaper it was wearing was golden. It was currently ying with Anna¡¯s cat, the cat that had its own shares in the Ronney Group. It was Carmen¡¯s pig! ¡°You¡­ really stole my pig!¡± Sophia was so angry that the veins in her head were popping out. Callum was carried away by his own sess. With a bright grin, he said, ¡°That¡¯s right. I stole your pig! I even sent a private ne out just to bring the pig here. Are you mad? Come and beat me up then! Hahaha!¡± Cade added, ¡°Sophia, don¡¯t you think you¡¯ve been raising your pig too poorly? Look. I even put Pourl¡¯s jewelry on it and it looks so good!¡± Oink! The Yard Family was filthy rich and also had a cat for the pig to y with. Surely, it was not going to leave their ce now. On the other side of the video call, Sophia was about to burst. How bold of them to steal my pig right under my nose! ¡°Return the pig to me!¡± She stamped her foot. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Petting the pig on the head, Callum provoked, ¡°Return it to you? Stop joking around, Sophia. We took a big risk stealing this pig. We can¡¯t give it back!¡± Sophia was boiling with rage. Callum and Cade were trying to infuriate her. They wanted to use her as a marksman to attack their two younger brothers! She took a deep breath. ¡°You will pay for the consequences of your actions one day. I¡¯m going to kick your whole family out of Cethos!¡± Callum put a hand on his chest and pulled his brows together. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so scared. Aren¡¯t you scared, Cade? Sophia wants to kick us out of Cethos! Haha!¡± Cade was grinning and was even more brazen. ¡°We¡¯ve taken over all the markets in the world. Losing the Cethosian market won¡¯t affect us! What is Cethos inparison to the whole world?¡± Callum added, ¡°Keep an eye on your pets, Sophia. I might send someone to steal them again!¡± Sophia hung up the call out of anger. The pig was a small matter, but their provocation was apparent. The Yard Family really went too far in pushing people. But, it seemed like she was able to gather some clues from their conversation¡ªto destroy their younger brothers, they were willing to lose the big Cethosian market! It looks like they have a rather big grudge against their brothers. They were not up to any big schemes. They only wanted to steal some irrelevant animals to provoke Sophia. Callum continued to send pictures to her every day to unt thevish lifestyle the pig had at the Yard Residence. Even though Sophia was boiling with rage, there was nothing she could do. Moreover, she had to be a marksman for them to destroy their younger brothers who were threatening their share of the inheritance. Once Michael knew about Callum and Cade¡¯s infuriating actions, he urged, ¡°We have to keep a close eye on the livestock at the farm and the pets at home to stop the Yards from stealing from us again!¡± It was not just an animal-theft issue now; their pride was also at stake. Even though Michael kept watch and increased manpower, many of the livestock that Carmen had at the farm was stolen¡ªthe cows, sheep, deer, and most importantly, the water buffalo. Sophia had promised a heartbroken Carmen that they would bring the water buffalo home and raise it in the fountain to make her happy. She did not think that it would get stolen right after the promise was made. The workers at the farm called to inform them. They had never seen someone steal such a big draft animal before. ¡°They came in a helicopter to steal the animal! Goodness! They made such a big scene just to steal a buffalo!¡± When Carmen heard about it, she was upset for several days. Sophia was so exasperated that she did not have an appetite for a while. The Yards are too atrocious! ¡°Just wait until I catch those twins. I will strangle them to death!¡± Chapter 1148 Chapter 1148 After the first year, it was so unrefined that they could not continue because ofints from people. Then, they rushed through toplete the second one before they stopped altogether. Sophia was only someone that sold dog cors and yet she dared to host a fashion week; it was an embarrassment. ¡°Since they want to outdo us at the fashion week, let¡¯s just wait and see!¡± Henryughed. Shortly after, the Ronney Group announced that the world-renowned Ronney Fashion Week fall/winter exhibition would be held in Cethos next year. Bayside Fashion Week, hosted by JNS Group, was going to take ce in February next year. Their fashion week was also going to happen in the same month! The announcement that Ronney Fashion Week was going to take ce in Cethos shook the global fashion industry. It was the first time in a hundred years that the Ronney Fashion Week was going to happen outside of Ronney City! It seemed like the Ronney Group had their eyes on the Cethosian market and were set on taking over it. After all, it was a country that took up one-fifth of the world¡¯s poption. Who wouldn¡¯t covet it? The news of the Ronney Fashion Group taking ce in Cethos buried news of the Bayside Fashion Week in an instant. Thetter did not stand a chance against the former. A sense of fear grew in the Cethosian fashion industry. Fashion was a hobby for the rich. Cethos overcame poverty less than three decades ago and had just begun developing its fashion industry and luxury goods. They startedte and were slow to advance. Their fashion industry was still considered a newborn baby. How could theypare to the Ronney Group¡¯s two-century-old fashion empire? Wasn¡¯t Bayside Fashion Week just asking to be made fun of? Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. They had been around for two centuries. While they were already in fashion, Cethos was still being bombarded by foreign countries. Innocent people were massacred, the people could never fill up their tummies, and it was hard to survive. Fashion was far from a priority! Cooper was very doubtful. ¡°Darling, do you really want to participate in fashion week?¡± Sophia was so deeply buried in work these days that he only ever saw her at the dinner table. When she returned home that day, he decided to ask her right away. ¡°Yes, Dad. Why?¡± she replied as she was stuffing food in her mouth. Cooper frowned. He was not opposed to it, but neither the Mitchell Family nor the Michel Family had the talent for fashion. The Mitchells used to work as diplomats, then they ventured into electronicster on. On the other hand, the Michel Family worked in creating thetest technologies, munitions, medicine, as well as dabbled in the mining industry, but they had never done fashion before. They did produce a couple of luxury goods. Did the gold phone count? If Sophia had chosen one of the fields that Cooper was familiar with, he could still help her out when she needed it, but fashion was not a field that Linus or Cooper was familiar with. Not to mention, she was facing the Yard Family in their expertise. She was really overestimating her own strength! Michael was also doubtful. He had the resources for fashion, but even if he brought them over, would Sophia know what to do with them? She had even set the scale this big. If she failed in surpassing the Ronney Group, wouldn¡¯t she end up making a fool of herself? Money was a minor issue. Her family had mineral deposits which were the source of their financial ie. Once they used all their money, they simply had to dig out some more. They were just worried that she would be depressed if she lost. If she was unhappy, then the whole family would be too. She did not have to take it upon herself to bring them down as the Cethosian government was already going to destroy the Ronney Group, and so were Cooper and Linus. She could just focus on making her dog cors, ying with the pets, and raising her child. Now that she formed the JNS Group and wanted to dabble in the fashion week, Michael was worried that she would be exhausted from it all. But, Sophia did not want to remain idle. She swore to cook up something great with Kenny and did not care about being exhausted. Michael was unable to stop her. Who gave her such a burning passion? The only thing her family could do for her was provide money and power to support her. Clink! In another small unknown bar at midnight, Sophia and Lucy brought their wine sses together. ¡°You¡¯re not going to join in anymore?¡± Sophia took a sip of wine before slowly putting the ss back down. The fragrance of the martini still lingered in her mouth and gave out a sweet scent when she spoke. She was asking Lucy out for a drink pretty often these days, and it was because she wanted to get Lucy to join her. Lucy was not someone who liked being under someone else¡¯s control, even if that someone was her father. Therefore, Sophia had been actively trying to get her on board, but Lucy was even tougher than she had expected. If she had Lucy with her, she could also save herself a lot of trouble. When she founded the JNS Group, she received a lot of valuable advice from Lucy. Still, Lucy rejected her. ¡°No, I¡¯ve been spreading myself too thintely, so I won¡¯t join you. You should do it yourself. I don¡¯t know much about the fashion industry, but I do have some knowledge. I have invested in several brands before. If you need references, I can give them to you.¡± Sophia was not surprised to hear a rejection from Lucy. Even though she did not know why Lucy was still so wary, she did not want to get into a fight with her. After that, the two started talking about other things. ¡°The three brands I rmended to youst time are all well-known in Cethos. They have top-notch quality, good reputations, good backgrounds, and are capable. They all have the potential to enter the international market for luxury goods, but their weakness is in their packaging. Luxury goods need to be wrapped up. Some brands are just helpless when ites to packaging. It all depends on you. I¡¯m only giving you suggestions. Working in fashion not only requires a lot of money, but it also requires a sharp sense of fashion that is umted over time; it¡¯s not something that can be gathered overnight.¡± Sophia nodded. ¡°I bought two of the three brands that you rmendedst time. We¡¯re in the process of discussing contracts.¡± She smiled. ¡°I have money. My fashion sense may becking, but I have a talented individual in that department.¡± At the mention of that individual, Lucy thought of Kenny right away. ¡°Kenny is not bad. He has a business mindset and an extremely sharp fashion sense. A lot of brands under the Ronney Group wanted to enter Cethos, but only two shone through. One is L/K, the brand that Kenny single-handedly brought up, and the other is Ido.¡± ¡°I have the heads of both of those brands with me,¡± Sophia quickly added. They smiled at each other briefly, then continued to talk about business. Lucy also mentioned the Mitchell Family and Sandra. ¡°Taking down the Mitchell Family and Sandra won¡¯t be easy. The Michel Group is an aggressive force. No one in the local electronics industry can beat them. There was no way Cethos would let a foreign- investedpany monopolize the whole Cethosian electronics industry. When Cethos imposed restrictions on them, they inevitably had to support a local electronics enterprise. The Mitchell Family had the foundation that Cooper had built. It was a no-brainer. The higher authorities in Cethos won¡¯t let the Mitchell Family fall from power anytime soon.¡± Sophia nodded. She was already aware of all of this. The Mitchell Family was living off of Cooper¡¯s past merits, but they still could not beat the Michel Group. The Michel Group could get rid of the Mitchell Family easily. Nheless, they were in Cethos. The higher authorities would not let Michel Group overpower the Mitchell Family and the whole electronics industry. Thus, the Mitchell Family was still around to this day. The higher authorities gave them various subsidies and green lights in order to keep thempetitive in the industry against the Michel Group. Chapter 1149 Chapter 1149 Sophia replied, ¡°The Michel Group¡¯s business in Cethos is already saturated and my brother isn¡¯t going to expand it any further. This slows down the strike against the Mitchell Family. Since the country only wants to keep apany in the high-tech electronics industry topete with the Michel Group, it doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be the Mitchells. As long as it canpete with the Michels, anyone will do, like¡­ Plum Technology.¡± Lucy nodded in response. Plum Technology started thepany developing online games, so it had long since begun to involve itself in the high-tech electronics industry. It had also released a series of gamingputers and office computers, and owned a number of independent high-tech intellectual property rights. The market response toward their electronic products was good. The Mitchell Family had a lot of shares in the company, and that was why those talented in this field, who had left Alex¡¯spany to join Cooper¡¯s, were arranged to work in Plum Technology. The Mitchells, including Sean, Vincent, and Derek, were all working for Plum Technology. Thepany even paid a lot of staff from Alex¡¯spany to work for them, threatening Alex¡¯s status one step at a time. If the Mitchell Family was taken down, Plum Technology would act as a backup to support the high- tech electronic industry of Bayside City. By then, the existence of the Mitchells would be greatly threatened. But, it really didn¡¯t matter whether the Mitchell Family was taken down or not because the country was very much looking forward to Plum Technology taking over as the top local brand. This was the best opportunity for Plum Technology to take over the national market. ¡°You¡¯ve made a good move. What about Sandra? How are you going to deal with her? After all, she¡¯s the pride of Cethos; she created many world records in the past. No one has been able to break her records up till today,¡± said Lucy with concern. Sophia had already thought about this problem. ¡°It¡¯s true that Sandra is difficult to handle. I¡¯ve tried a few times before, but the ns did not go well. She¡¯s too famous in Cethos and has long be the face of the country. Even the relevant department doesn¡¯t want her to be overthrown. So, we have to give the matter some more thought and discuss it later. If we fail this time, we might screw up the n. But, I was the one who put her up to the ce she¡¯s sitting now, so I can also take her down.¡± Sophia knew a lot about Sandra¡¯s dark history. However, the point was that Sandra had many achievements and had a good reputation. The records she set when she participated in the Universal Games as a swimmer had never been broken. She was the pride of Cethos. Although she was quite foolish, to take her down would be disgracing the face of Cethos, and the country would not allow them to do so. No one should wash their dirty linen in public. And that was why Lucy settled the issue with the dual contract without making a fuss. She was not the only one who had lent a hand in settling the matter. It was naturally because someone else had given her the green light to do so in order to protect Sandra¡¯s, the pride of Cethos, reputation. Sophia retired from the discussion after it ended early in the morning. When she was out at the entrance of the pub, she was feeling tipsy. But, somehow, she saw a car parking in front of the entrance, and a familiar form was standing by the car smoking. With a staggered pace, she walked toward the car. When she came near the figure, she noticed that the person had a slender figure and they were wearing casual men¡¯s clothes. The person had one of their hands in their pocket while the other was lighting a cigarette. The sky was still dark, but the person still wore sunsses. Even so, the drunken Sophia could still recognize the person. ¡°What the hell¡­ Aren¡¯t you the one from the Winston Family¡­ Dana Winston? What are you doing here?¡± Sophia was a little drunk and she couldn¡¯t speak eloquently. Stepping onto the cigarette, Dana threw Sophia a nce and said harshly, ¡°What are you looking at? Have you never seen people pick up bodies in front of the pub?¡± To pick up bodies in front of the pub was an argot that meant taking advantage of drunk girls who were leaving the pub. ¡°Ugh! How disgusting!¡± Sophia was drunk to the point that she was flushing. Gemma helped her into the car and sent her back home. Back at home, because Sophia had been out all night, Michael was sleepless the whole night. He was watching ¡®My Fair Princess¡¯ in the living room. Cooper and Linus couldn¡¯t fall asleep either. Even Carmen, who had just lost her pig and buffalo, was restless. Sitting by the side, she was braiding the dog¡¯s fur to relieve her boredom. Feeling bored, Michael held Carmen high up in the air. As he looked at her, he said, ¡°Tell me, Carmen. Your dad, your mother, and your grandpa are twins. Howe there is only one of you?¡± When Michael found out that there was only one child back when Sophia took her first ultrasound scan, he was disappointed for a few days. Even now, he still couldn¡¯t figure out why there was only one. Pouting her lips, Carmen was annoyed. Due to the earlier trip she took to the northeast for the shoot of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, she had picked up a mouthful of northeastern ent. ¡°I¡¯m your one and only precious little daughter. How can you despise me?¡± Immediately, Michael denied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare.¡± Carrying Carmen upstairs, Michael put her to sleep. When he came down, Sophia had alreadye home. Her face was painted red from the alcohol and she was eating the noodles she had told the kitchen to prepare for her when she came homeining that she was hungry. Cooper and Linus were sitting on both sides, watching as she consumed the food. They looked like they were intoxicated with satisfaction¡ªas if watching Sophia eating noodles was way more interesting than watching a panda eating bamboo. One was a siscon. Another one was a daughter addict. Disgusting! Psycho! Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Joining them, Michael took a seat by the dining table and watched Sophia as she ate the noodles. How pretty! Why does she look so good even when she¡¯s eating noodles? Oh! How I wish I was the noodles she¡¯s eating right now. Subconsciously, he also started looking at her with a mesmerizing gaze. Seeing that Sophia had finished her meal, Linus handed her a cup of water and said gently, ¡°Eat slowly. There¡¯s more if this isn¡¯t enough.¡± Michael was annoyed looking at Linus¡¯ behavior. Linus¡¯ business in Cethos was saturated. If he were to continue with the developments, the relevant department would start checking his fire control, taxes, and business license every now and then. Thus, Linus decided to stop expanding his business in the Cethos market. He should have returned to Africa as nned, but he had been hanging around in Bayside City and was unwilling to leave. Looking at the situation now, it seemed like he was ready to settle down here. Not only did he not want to leave, but he was even residing in Vi No. 2. As long as it was Sophia¡¯s mealtime, he would make sure toe over and visit her, and even have his meal with her. Is he afraid of me treating Sophia poorly and not giving her a full meal? Why is heing over to watch her at every meal? Michael had never seen such an arrogant brother-inw before! Cleaning her mouth, Sophia started reporting the results of her talk with Lucy excitedly. After the talk, everyone fell into their own thoughts. They really needed time to take down Sandra, the sports hero of Cethos¡­ However, they would not know if they could take her down until they actually tried. The following day, Sophia went out and brought someone back. The moment Cooper, who was feeding his rooster in the living room, saw the person she had brought home, something cold shed before his eyes. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Master Levine?¡± Thest time they met, Daniel was trying hard to fool Cooper to take Michael as his son-inw. Even though Cooper was smart, it took him a while to realize that he had been fooled. When Daniel saw Cooper, he smiled. Sophia was very excited as she said, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m going to ask Master Levine to change the Feng Shui of the Ronney Group! I¡¯m not only going to strike them economically but also metaphysically! I¡¯m turning the headquarters of the Ronney Group in Cethos into stigmatized property!¡± Chapter 1150 Chapter 1150 Knitting his brows, Cooper felt that things weren¡¯t as simple as Sophia described. Is she trying to get this demon Daniel Levine to curse the twins to death? As Sophia continued talking, she was very excited. ¡°Master Levine was the one that suggested I build the seafood market next to the Yard Family¡¯s ancestral hall. The Yards¡¯ reputation is so bad right now and my next move is to kick them out from Cethos!¡± Cooper was rendered speechless. I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ve been fooled, darling! Shamelessly, Danielughed and said, ¡°Still, Feng Shui is very important. Many people in Bayside City hire me to look for the best date for them to move into their new property. I¡¯m quite proficient in this kind of thing.¡± But, Cooper found it hard to believe Daniel¡¯s words. He still remembered thest time Daniel told him to open his household registry and wait for his son to fall from the sky. Yet, all this while, his son was by his side. What nonsense was he saying when he said that his son would fall from the sky! Daniel was simply conspiring with Michael to trick his daughter! However, Cooper had to admit that Daniel was really good at fooling people. It was no wonder that he could be the head of the Levine Family. The Levines had mastered the art of bamboozling since the previous dynasty. Even their enormous family business was a product of the tricks they yed. Cooper was also fooled by himst year. He was indeed the first one who could fool Cooper to that extent. And there was no way Daniel could hide the fact that he had fooled Alice into giving birth to a baby for him. Indeed, he was a talented man. But, how would these tactics be useful against the Yard Family? After an afternoon of discussion with Sophia in the study, Daniel promised that as long as he was paid handsomely, he could make sure that the Yard Family would be ruined. In the evening, Cooper tore open a tiny hole in the study¡¯s door and he saw that they had started to draw up a contract. They talked about the price Sophia would pay if Daniel could overthrow the Yard Family. Cooper had never seen anyone sign a contract for a shady deal like that. They were even talking about taxes and wanted to transfer funds via thepany¡¯s ount. After Daniel epted the money from Sophia, he left. A whileter, Cooper was looking at Sophia as if he wanted to say something to her. He felt that she had been cheated. Although they had enough money for her to spend, they could not afford to be fooled by Daniel too! But, because Sophia seemed very happy throughout dinner, Cooper couldn¡¯t get himself to say anything to her. After dinner, Sophia went up to Cooper. Mysteriously, she announced, ¡°Dad, Carmen¡¯s dad and I have big news to tell you!¡± Cooper¡¯s brows tensed up and loosened within seconds. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. They have happy news? Could it be that Carmen is going to have a younger sibling? Both Cooper and Linus were thrilled! Suddenly, Sophia let out a chuckle. ¡°Haha! Michael and I got into graduate school at Bayside University!¡± The smile on Cooper and Linus¡¯s faces froze in unison. When did Sophia take the graduate school entrance exams? ¡°You¡¯re already so busy and you¡¯re still trying to further your studies? Do you have the time?¡± Linus was very skeptical. But, Sophia was very satisfied and content with herself. She said, ¡°We have to make the time, don¡¯t we? Michael and I will go to campus together and we can keep Natepany. Am I right, Nate?¡± Nathan, who was still eating, grimaced. He was enrolled into Bayside University when he was five and it had been almost ten years since then. Meanwhile, he had started working in Plum Technology and was already well-known as a genius of the campus. He even represented the university to participate in a number of basketball tournaments due to his impressive skills in the sport. Carmen was petting the alpaca after finishing her dinner while Justin was holding his daughter as he fed her with a bottle of milk. However, Celine was shocked and she called out, ¡°Graduate entrance exam?¡± Since thest time Sophia was looked down on due to her educational background when she went to an interview for Carmen¡¯s kindergarten, she realized that her bachelor¡¯s degree alone did not cut it. The parents at the kindergarten were all graduate students, and even all of Sophia¡¯s staff had at least a master¡¯s degree. So, she had spent the year studying and finally passed Bayside University¡¯s graduate entrance exams. ¡°We¡¯re both majoring in financial management!¡± Knowing that she would be ssmates with Michael soon, Sophia felt extremely happy. But, Copper¡¯s frown deepened. Are the two of them trying to experience the youthfulness of university life that they had missed out on? They are entering their thirties and forties! What youth is it that they are still trying to experience? However, since this was still considered good news for Sophia, the family decided to celebrate it with some alcohol. The news of Sophia getting into graduate school soon spread abroad. Even Callum had made a video call to ¡®congratte¡¯ her. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve passed your graduate entrance exams. Congrats!¡± Sophia stared at Callum, who was on the other side of the phone, viciously. It looked like Callum was on a beach vacation because she could see chilled red wine, beach babes, and a pig in the background. The pig was walking around in silver and gold, and there was even someone over there giving it a manicure! Why would a pig need a manicure? However, Callum seemed to have missed out on the vicious gaze Sophia was giving him, and said, ¡°I heard that you are holding a fashion week in Bayside City. Sis, mind telling me where you found the courage to go head to head with the Ronney Group in fashion?¡± Cade, who was in a pair of pink swim trunks, seemed to be ready to go underwater as he held the pig, who was done with the manicure. When he saw Sophia video-calling Callum, he raised his sunsses and greeted her from afar, ¡°Hey there, Sophia!¡± With orchid fingers, Callum raised his chilled red wine and took a sip. Lyingfortably on the recliner, he said, ¡°Sophia, what were you thinking when you decided topete against my two little brothers in the fashion industry? Do you think that your Bayside Fashion Week will be able to rival Ronney Fashion Week? Our Yard Family has been in the luxury fashion industry for over two hundred years!¡± There was no doubt that Callum had called to keep himself up with Sophia¡¯s progress. It seemed like Callum and Cade were eager for Sophia to take down their two little brothers as soon as possible. Gloomily, Sophia answered, ¡°Yeah. It seems like I¡¯m iparable to your brothers. I¡¯m about to be overthrown by them! What do I do now? I¡¯m so scared! If your brothers were to take over the Cethos market, they would be able to use that as a springboard to join the Ronney Group officially andpete with the two of you, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Your father and brother won¡¯t let them do that to you,¡± chuckled Callum. Sophia hung up the phone angrily. What the hell is wrong with Callum? Is he trying to let my family deal with his two little brothers on their behalf? Now that there was still time before she officially started graduate school, Sophia wanted to take down the Yard Family as soon as possible. Soon, she took Daniel to a ce near the Ronney Group. Daniel was dressed in a priest¡¯s robe, looking like a wise man. Under the lead of Sophia, he marched into the Ronney Group and gestured around the building while holding apass. In the president¡¯s office located on the 32nd floor of the Ronney Group building, Henry had been notified that Sophia had brought over a man, who was dressed as a priest. Observing via binocrs, his brows knitted as he handed the binocrs back to Ryan. ¡°I know this man. He¡¯s Daniel Levine, a fraudster who has been running rampant in the celebrity circle in Bayside City for years! He¡¯s merely a joker!¡± said Sandra. She had been in the Ronney Group all this time preparing for the Ronney Fashion Week with the Yard brothers. This was a global fashion event. After the grand ceremony, Ronney Group¡¯s business in Cethos would be unstoppable. As soon as the Cethos market stabilized, the brothers would take the opportunity to join the Ronney Group with the reputation they established¡ªtopete with their older brothers. By then, Sandra would be promoted to be the director of their branch in Cethos. What a sight that would be! Chapter 1151 Chapter 1151 Therefore, Sandra had been putting all her effort into the Ronney Group and was extremely attentive to every little matter of thepany. The moment Sophia showed up, she immediately got someone to inquire into her intentions. ¡°I found out from a friend that the reason Sophia asked Daniel toe is to destroy the Feng Shui of our headquarters so that they can take down the Ronney Group.¡± When Ryan heard her, heughed. ¡°Feudal superstition. Not really a concern for us.¡± They had originally thought that Sophia¡¯s act was superstitious, but they did not expect Daniel to set up an altar openly in the Ronney Group¡¯s building on the following night. He looked like he really wanted to destroy their Feng Shui. Henry was startled. Feeling like something was strange, he brought someone over to help him. But, by the time help arrived, Daniel had left, leaving only a ground full of animal sacrifices and hell money that hadn¡¯t beenpletely burned. Nothing in the Ronney Group¡¯s building had been changed, but Henry felt that something was off, and he wasn¡¯t sure whether that was just psychological or something else¡­ Although he said he did not believe it, he felt nervous in his heart, especially after learning of Daniel¡¯s fame in Bayside City. The news had spread between the celebrities in Bayside City that Daniel was going against the Ronney Group publicly and that their Feng Shui had been altered by him. The Ronney Group was doomed! Indeed, after Daniel¡¯s visit to change their Feng Shui, things started to go wrong for the Ronney Group. Soon, there was a subway being constructed near the Ronney Group¡¯s building. Although this should have been considered good news, the construction period was long and the road would be closed down. The original fournes were turned into a one-way street and it was extremely congested for almost eighteen hours every day. It was not easy to get into the building¡ªeven staff members had to park their cars in the nearby parking lot and walk in on foot. After more people were forced to walk, the street in front of the Ronney Group almost turned into a pedestrian street. With people on the street, some started to open up stalls. After city inspectors got off from work in the evening, the street turned into a night market. No one knew where all the barbecue and food stalls came from, but the business was really good and they were visited by a lot of people. In the end, the traffic became even worse. The traffic congestion during the day and the barbecue stalls at night worsened the businesses nearby. But, the Ronney Group was the one that suffered the most. Their reputation had beenrgely affected because to have barbecue stalls in front of thepany of a big fashion brand sounded odd to the public. When thepany finally noticed the oddity, the security guards came out to chase the people away when the night market began one day. Yet, they had not expected this to turn into a group fight. After the matter became serious, police officers were involved. Soon, the security guards and the stall owners at the night market were arrested for further investigation. This matter had even made it to the headlines in Bayside City. Although the stall owners were at fault for setting up their businesses in front of thepany, Rooney Group was a Forbes 500pany. To beat up the stall owners at the night market made them look like someone who bullied the weak. Besides, the Yard Family would soon be included in history textbooks, so naturally, the public stood on the stall owners¡¯ side. ¡®Yards, Get Out of Cethos!¡¯ became one of the major online keywords by the end of the year. Not even a few days after the fight, someone had exposed that one of thepany¡¯s luxury products was made from ivory. Instantly, people from the Wildlife Protection Association came blocking their entrance with banners to protest against the use of ivory, demanding that they take down all their ivory products immediately. Two dayster, a women¡¯s rights association was protesting downstairs that they paid men and women differently for equal work; that their female designers were treated less favorably than male designers; and that they fired pregnant female designers at will. No one knew why the Ronney Group was having so much trouble recently. Different government departments had been finding problems with them, checking their taxes, fire control, and insurance. Officers came to inspect all the time and they would bring random people along as if they were on a field trip. Ryan was forced to meet up with officers of unknown origins for tea every day. And they were even required to set up random party branches and league branches within specific times¡­ There were also the Wildlife Protection Association, Traditional Culture Protection Association, and women¡¯s rights groups protesting downstairs at a whim. Henry was tired of dealing with these matters. He felt like he had to split himself in half to handle everything. No, he already was split into half since he had Ryan, but it was still not enough. They weren¡¯t ready with the party branches; their fire control had not reached the standard; and even their fashion week¡¯s ns had not been approved yet. The reason given by the authorities was that the event was huge and it would bring pressure to the security of the neighborhood, so they had to pass the authorization process to the relevant department. The procedures were innumerable. Once it was rejected, they had to start everything all over again. No one could help them even after Sandra sought help from acquaintances. Just when Henry and Ryan were worried about the venue of the fashion week, their assistant came in anxiously again and said, ¡°Things are getting worse! The migrant workers havee to the top floor asking for wages!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Henry didn¡¯t even know that the Ronney Group still owed migrant workers their wages. And how did those people get up here? Where did the security guards go? At noon, a group of migrant workers came up to the top floor of the Ronney Group¡¯s building without the company¡¯s knowledge. They put up a banner asking for their wages. Because the neighborhood was a high-ssmercial area and the road was blocked, people could only walk, resulting in a huge flow of pedestrians. The moment the banner was set up, it attracted the attention of a lot of people. The entrance to the Ronney Group was crowded by people who stopped by to check out the two big, red banners that were put down from the top of the building with ¡®Return Me My Sry¡¯ written in red and ck. ¡°Oh my god! Does the Ronney Group actually owe their migrant workers wages? I¡¯m exposing them online!¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to believe they belong to the Forbes 500! And in the luxury products business no less? I finally see through them now!¡± ¡°They even discriminate against women during recruitment!¡± Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. ¡°Damn the Yard Family. Theymitted treason against the country hundreds of years ago and killed so many people in Cethos. How shameless of them toe back and default on the wages of migrant workers!¡± A group of people was criticizing thepany at the entrance. When Henry went personally to the scene to fix the problem, he saw a bunch of migrant workers protesting on the roof of the building. No one was allowed to approach the scene when the police officers arrived. ¡°Everyone, we can talk properly once you calm down. Tell us how much thepany owes you and I will transfer the money to you immediately!¡± The leader of the migrant workers came out and said with a sense of outrage, ¡°The Ronney Group does not owe us any wages! Move!¡± Henry was infuriated. ¡°Then, why are you up here?¡± ¡°Someone told us that your building is the tallest and you have the biggest crowd downstairs! That¡¯s why we came! Noah Hayes, you son of a b*tch! Give us our sry; otherwise, we will jump down from here!¡± protested the leader. Henry was speechless. s, the migrant workers left after Noah Hayes came with cash under the escort of a police car to pay them their wages. The moment Henry returned to his office, he was about to explode from anger! He didn¡¯t expect that the reason the migrant workers came to their building was that they had the highest building! But, he quickly noticed that this was a scheme someone had plotted against them. Someone must have told the migrant workers that our building is the highest. There must be a traitor within the security team; otherwise, how did they manage to get to the top floor? Chapter 1152 Chapter 1152 After the fight between the security guards and the stall owners, Rooney Group fired the guards who had be involved due to the pressure of public opinion and had to recruit a new group to thepany. Henry was sure that the people behind the plot had gotten the current group to work for them. After the incident, it turned out that two of their security guards had vanished without a trace and their personal information waspletely fake. It was only then that Henry realized that someone had been ying him! But, it was already toote. News of the Ronney Group defaulting on the wages of migrant workers had already be headline news on social media and had been forwarded over a hundred thousand times. On the other hand, the official rification post was only read by less than a hundred users. The company could not clear the me that had been wrongly ced on them. A Forbes 500pany and the king of luxury products had actually defaulted on the wages of its migrant workers! It was indeed true that behind the vermillion gates, meat and wine went to waste, while out on the roady the bones of the frozen! ¡®Yards, Get Out of Cethos!¡¯ had been added to the New Year¡¯s wishlist of many of the citizens of Bayside City. Both Henry and Ryan knew that the Ronney Group had been bamboozled and the culprit had a lot of people working for them. There was no way that only one person or a single family was behind everything. It must be a huge organization! Could it be that we¡¯re not destined to take over the Cethos market? No, that¡¯s impossible! Recently, the Ronney Group had been the topic of a lot of negative news. They beat up stall owners; defaulted on migrant workers¡¯ wages; were called out for discriminating against women; and their fashion week venue got rejected. There were rumors among celebrities in Bayside City that the Ronney Group had fallen prey to Daniel. Master Levine¡¯s skill was indeed extraordinary. He was capable of altering the Feng Shui within minutes, turning a highly demandednd into stigmatized property! It was also said that after Daniel¡¯s strike, even the price of property near thepany had fallen. Who was Daniel? He was a well-known metaphysics grandmaster! The highest priest of the country! It was their family who had hosted the promation ceremony of the country! When the incident went viral, someone found Daniel and asked for his opinion. But, all he did was act innocent. ¡°What? Changing the Feng Shui of the Ronney Group? I didn¡¯t do it! It was the subway constructionpany who had hired me to find them a lucky day before they started their construction work!¡± However, no matter what he said, the series of inauspicious events thepany had been experiencing had been med on Daniel. Nevertheless, Daniel knew in his own heart that he really did not do anything and was indeed there to find the best day for the construction of the subway line. The traffic congestion was just a coincidence. However, every road was a road to wealth. If one wanted to be rich, one needed to repair the road. Now that the road in front of the Ronney Group had been blocked, their fortune had been blocked too, so naturally, they would not have any good fortune. As to why thepany could not pass the procedures, one would have to find out from the Yard Family themselves. They were a foreignpany that caused a ruckus right after they entered the Cethosian market and offended a lot of people. It was their fault that they had failed to keep a low profile. Even Daniel had never seen such an arrogant foreignpany before! Comparatively, the Michel Group was much smarter. They followed every instruction given by the higher authorities and kept a low profile. With what happened to the Ronney Group, Sophia¡¯s Bayside Fashion Week progressed even smoother. The higher authorities funded them and gave them all the necessary permissions. She had also decided on the venue of the fashion week and held it in the name of promoting domestic fashion. She was determined to promote Cethos¡¯ luxury fashion brands to the world and create a bio-chain in the fashion industry of Cethos. One could see that she was very ambitious and a person who wanted to do great things! Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. When the Ronney Group first entered the local market, they were undefeatable. The country was eagerly in need of someone who couldpete against thepany. Sophia also didn¡¯t fail to speak her mind as to the matter of the migrant workers. ¡°Those migrant workers came to work in the city for a whole year. They carried steel bars every day, earning money with their own blood and sweat. It was so hard for them and how dare the contractor default on their payment! Now that the new year is around the corner, it would be miserable and pitiful for them to go back home empty-handed when their wives and children are waiting for them! So, I told them that I know the security guards at the Ronney Group and that they are allowed to put up a banner on the rooftop. The building is tall and anyone would be able to see it from afar. I was sure that the contractor would see it. That was why they went there! Can¡¯t you guys see that I¡¯m just trying to be nice? Look! The wages that had been defaulted for months were finally paid. The migrant workers also had no choice. They could only make a big deal out of things to get back their money. This society¡­¡± With righteous indignation, Sophia talked about the difficult life of the migrant workers and the stall owners in the night market. She then criticized the idea of capitalism and ended her talk with the conclusion that an evil capitalist like the Ronney Group should leave Cethos! Meanwhile, the head of the world¡¯s secondrgest weapons supplier, Cooper, sat on the side and did not dare to speak. However, it was also the first time he saw what a blow from the field of metaphysics was all about. In fact, the so-called metaphysics was just a disguise Daniel presented to the public. He majored in psychology and engineering surveying, and even had a doctoral degree in psychology. Psychological warfare was the best of tactics. From what Michael observed, Sophia was extremely brilliant. As expected from the daughter-inw of my family! After the move taken by Daniel, the staff of the Ronney Group were like cats on a hot tin roof. Many had resigned from their posts because thepany had offended someone akin to the highest priest of the country. If they didn¡¯t leave now, it would be toote. Besides, there were also various rumors within thepany. Some said that the utility room was haunted; some said that they heard weird noises in the cafeteria. Most of these rumors were just things that the staff made up to scare themselves, but because many people believed in those rumors, it naturally caused panic among them. Furthermore, Kenny used his connections in L/K and the Ronney Group to bring over a lot of these staff to the JNS Group, pushing the whole Ronney Group to the edge. The JNS Group was still in the middle of integration and they had only recently moved their building. Now that the Ronney Group was stuck by various procedures and had not yet applied for the venue, bothpanies could be considered to be neck to neck in Cethos. It was certain that Sophia¡¯s fashion week would be able to go on smoothly. But, as to whether it could be a sess or an embarrassment, it depended on her capabilities. After all, the Ronney Group had many years of experience in the fashion industry. The moment they struck, it would undoubtedly be a sess. Therefore¡­ they couldn¡¯t let thepany run their show! The Yard Family was caught off guard by this mysterious force from the East, and with the recent rumors within thepany, Henry could no longer keep his cool and finally decided to make use of his own metaphysical powers to resist. The Yard Family used to be a royal family. Back when they first left the country, they took all the civil and military officials with them. And amongst them was their psychic grandmaster. All this while, the grandmaster had been living with the Yard Family, passing his name from generation to generation. Henry used to look down on them in the past. But, at this moment, they suddenly came to his mind and he quickly invited the grandmaster over. The grandmaster had finally arrived. Under broad daylight, he began with his rituals. He was determined to force back the evil metaphysical power Daniel had attracted over. All of Ronney Group¡¯s staff came out to watch. There were even a bunch of pedestrians blocking the za in front of the Ronney Group. They were talking about the grandmaster¡¯s ritual and taking videos of it, sharing it on all sorts of social media tforms like IG Stories, Tiktok, and Twitter. Henry and his brother had to be present at the scene because the grandmaster would use their blood as the direct lineage of the royal Yards¡¯ descendants to defeat the evil spirits freed by Daniel. Both of them felt ashamed by the ritual, but they could not stop the process once the ceremony started. They even had to give their blood out in public. Unexpectedly, after the bloodletting, the police officers and city inspectors came. They then confiscated their ceremonial instruments and clothing, and also arrested their grandmaster. The reason they gave was that they had created panic amongst the public by promoting feudal superstition! Chapter 1153 Chapter 1153 s, Sandra had to bail the grandmaster out through her own means, but it was already toote as the news about the ritual had been spread all over Bayside City. They became theughing stock of the citizens and the video was spread all over the inte. ¡°Did you guys watch the video? The Yard Family got their grandmaster to practice magic and was caught by the police officers!¡± ¡°Haha! The grandmaster of the previous dynasty is not as good as our high priest. At least ours hasn¡¯t been caught by the police yet!¡± ¡°Indeed, our high priest is better. Haha!¡± They were both high priests of the country, but the one from the previous dynasty had been arrested while the one from the present dynasty attended the National Summit of Religious Orders two days ago and had lunch with the president. As expected, the present was better than the past. After Daniel screwed over the Ronney Group and got them fined quite a few times, thepany finally lay low for a while. Sandra used her connections again to handle the rest of the matters, and they finally came out with a n. What awaited them was a great n to be executed! And whether they could seed would depend on their capabilities. The fashion week led by Sophia was divided into several sections. There were catwalks held by various fashionpanies,petitions, fashion forums, auctions, and so on, promoting both business and the art industries. She also acquired some of the old fashion brands that were not doing well these days and formed her ownpany. After the many catastrophes that Cethos had gone through, its fashion industry had also experienced a lot of shorings. Now that the country was rich and strong, it was the best time for them to develop the fashion industry. Sophia took the lead and integrated the Bayside City¡¯s Jewelry Association, High Fashion Association, Model Association, Designer Association, and others into a brand new organization¡ªBayside City Fashion Association. She served as the president and had convened the fashion industries in the city to hold a fashion week event. The aim was not only to overthrow the Ronney Group but also to introduce domestic fashion brands to the world. Once the framework was set up, Sophia began to work on the content. First, she needed money. No one would be able to engage in the fashion industry without money. Fortunately, Sophia was rich. She had contributed a lot of money; otherwise, she would not be able to scale it up. The fashion industries worked together and even the government was very supportive. Everyone was determined to make the event as big as possible. Since the Ronney Group entered the Cethosian market, not only had they overthrown meritorious people like Kenny who had expanded the market, but they also got rid of dissidents and fired arge number of people. In addition to the staff brought over by the Yard Family, all designers and important personnel of the current Ronney Group were mostly foreigners. They only recruited Cethosians for positions like security guards and cleaners. It was unprecedented discrimination of nationality. A group of talented local designers joined the JNS Group because they were rejected by the Ronney Group. ¡°I¡¯m leaving the guest invitation to you, Michael. Oh, right! About the Cethos Fashion Design Competition and Miss Cethos Competition; can you please use your connections and move the dates to our fashion week. Sponsorship is not a problem; we aren¡¯t short of money. You can also invite some Oscar best actors or actresses.¡± ¡°Little Kitten, can you please ask Mr. Blond to use his power in the underworld to make sure that our fashion week is safe? And also ask him to invite the fashionista from your Winston Family from abroad to attend please.¡± ¡°Linus, where is the Cethosian fashion godfather you mentionedst time? Give me his address. I¡¯m going abroad in the next few days. I¡¯ll go look for him in the meantime.¡± Sophia was like a leader when she assigned tasks to the others. Knowing that she was about to do something big, everyone was very understanding by contributing money and effort. The Winstons, Michels, and the Fletchers were also very supportive as well. On the other hand, Sophia would be looking for talents overseas personally. Cethos was not short of talented people in the fashion industry, but due to the domestic market downturn and other reasons, a lot of Cethosian had gone overseas for further career development. Many Cethosians were active in the fashion industry and Sophia had had her eyes on some of them; she was now ready to meet them in person. Thinking that he could help her out, Michael was very enthusiastic about going abroad with her. And as expected, bringing Michael was a good decision because when they couldn¡¯t get someone over the phone, once Michael visited them personally, all of them agreed to sign the contract immediately. As the first Cethosian to get the Best Actor award, Michael had been using his reputation to fight for the status and rights of Cethosians internationally. He had contributed not only to the film industry but also to the fashion industry. After sessfully signing a stack of contracts, Sophia was extremely thrilled and was walking as if she was floating in the air. All of a sudden, she jumped and climbed onto Michael¡¯s back. ¡°Hubby! You¡¯re the best!¡± Michael smiled affectionately in response as he carried her and walked for a long time. But, Linus, who was beside him, was feeling lost in his heart. I¡¯ve also apanied her for so many days¡­ I envy him. My sister doesn¡¯t love me anymore. Originally, it was only Michael and Cooper who weren¡¯t on good terms. But, Linus and Michael could no longer stand each other now too. Michael was very annoyed by the fact that his brother-inw had been third-wheeling them like their shadows. Under the escort of Linus and Michael, Sophia had recruited a lot of talents. Thest stop was, however, the most difficult stop. She needed to persuade the fashion godfather of the Cethosianmunity! For the past two years, Sophia had engaged herself in the fashion industry and she heard about his reputation. As the fashion godfather of the Cethosianmunity, he went abroad to advance his career in his early years. Being a fashion designer himself, everything he wore became the trend.Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. He operated his own fashion brand,bining the ways of the east and the west. His designsbined both Cethosian-style and the lively Western-style perfectly. There had been manypanies like the Ronney Group who tried to recruit him, but he had rejected all of them. This time, Sophia had high hopes of inviting the fashion godfather to showcase his designs during the Bayside Fashion Week. If he agreed with the n, her fashion week would be brought to a different level. Her fashion week focused on the local Cethosian brands, but she also invited some overseas Cethosians involved in the fashion industries. ¡°I¡¯ve watched a show with him before. He might be able to recognize me.¡± When they arrived at the entrance of the fashion godfather¡¯s manor, Linus started to speak as he got out of the car. This time, Michael did not say anything. He had nevere into contact with the fashion godfather in the past, so he was probably of no use at the moment. Looking up, Sophia observed the design of the manor. It was arge house designed with abination of eastern and western styles. It was built like a castle, but it was not at all weird. Everything about it was beautiful. He¡¯s indeed the fashion godfather. Even his residence is unique. ¡°I heard that the Ronney Group is also inviting the fashion godfather to Cethos. We have to move fast before they seed.¡± However, right after Linus said that, several cars pulled up at the entrance of the manor. A few people got out of the car, and Sandra and Billy were amongst them. After Billy hired a murderer and Sandra spent a lot of money to bail him out, he had been appointed a minor leader of the Ronney Group¡¯s branch in Cethos; he was considerably appreciated by thepany. He was living the life now, but Ivan, who had been hurt by the murderer he hired, had not fully recovered from his injuries. In order to take down Billy, Ivan insisted on remaining in his post with his injured body, as he was determined to surpass Billy in his career. Thinking about that, something cold shed before Sophia¡¯s eyes. This isn¡¯t Cethos. Perhaps, no one can find me guilty if I were to kill someone here¡­ Chapter 1154 Chapter 1154 Arrogantly, Sandra walked toward them on her heels as she took off her sunsses slowly. The moment she saw Sophia and the others, she immediately knew what they were here for. ¡°Huh! Looks like you guys found out about our n. You¡¯ve been following right behind our asses after finding out that we¡¯re here to find Russell Simmons.¡± Mockery was evident in her tone as soon as she opened her mouth and spoke. Taking two steps forward, Sophia gazed down and said, ¡°Wow! You¡¯re wearing a skirt again.¡± When Sandra heard the word ¡®skirt¡¯, she was so frightened that she took two steps back subconsciously, remembering the fear of being stripped by Sophia in public. With anger and hatred, she gritted her teeth and said, ¡°A country bumpkin like you also wants to join the fashion industry? What a joke! You better go back and y with your dog!¡± Not willing to lose the fight, Sophia replied, ¡°If even a swimmer can do it, why can¡¯t I?¡± After she said that, she turned around on her heels and walked toward the manor, not wanting to continue the conversation with Sandra. Her heart sank when she saw the arrival of Sandra and the others. She didn¡¯t expect that the Ronney Group would think so highly of the fashion godfather by sending Sandra to negotiate. She wondered if Ryan and Henry were here¡­ If they¡¯re here, and since this isn¡¯t Cethos¡¯ territory, isn¡¯t this the best time to strike? Frostiness appeared before Sophia¡¯s eyes. Silently, she notified Roger, who was standing beside her, and he left to make a phone call. If anyone found Ryan and Henry outside the borders of Cethos, they had to hunt them down and kill them! At that moment, two groups of people entered the manor. The door to the manor was opened, and a trained servant led them into the manor. An enormous house unfolded before their eyes. It was gorgeous and spectacr even though it was aged. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, wee to the Simmons Residence.¡± The servant was a Cethosian and she spoke thenguage fluently. With an inviting gesture, she continued, ¡°Mr. Simmons has prepared a gift for all of you. Please enjoy it.¡± With high self-esteem, Sandra waved her hands and said, ¡°Forget about the gift. I¡¯ve brought the contract with me. If Mr. Simmons is willing to bring his team and designs to participate in our fashion week, it will be beneficial for both of us. Just open the door and let me in. We shouldn¡¯t dy the signing of the contract.¡± However, Sophia¡¯s guard was raised. The hair on her body stood in an instant. Something¡¯s wrong. Didn¡¯t Michael and Linus say that the fashion godfather is very cold and that we can only meet him because of Linus? Howe there¡¯s a meeting gift? Subconsciously, Sophia started to back off. Noticing that something was wrong, Linus and Michael formed a protection circle around Sophia. However, it seemed like Sandra had failed to notice the abnormality of the situation. Simr to Sophia, she had been spending her time finding talents and inviting well-known fashionistas around the globe to join the Ronney Fashion Week. She was weed by a sea of people everywhere she went and that was why she didn¡¯t find the meeting gift strange. If Henry did not tell her that Russell was quite a troublesome man, she wouldn¡¯t have wasted her time to come here personally and would have just instructed her assistant toe on her behalf. ¡°Enough. Can you please ask Mr. Simmons toe out now?¡± Sandra was getting impatient. Lifting her foot, she marched forward. She didn¡¯t want to waste her time here, but to settle everything so that she could go home earlier. But, she didn¡¯t see the cold smile that appeared momentarily at the corners of the servant¡¯s mouth. The moment Sandra walked up the steps and came to the door located just before her eyes, the door opened all of a sudden. From the inside, something small flew out, hitting her face with a bang. It was a rotten egg! The rotten egg shattered on her face and it was so stinky that she was forced to take a few steps back, barely managing to keep herself steady instead of fainting right on the spot. Right after that, countless rotten eggs flew at them from all directions. Both of the groups were standing within range of the attack and the eggs fell like raindrops, soaking them with a stinky smell. Being protected by Linus and Michael in the middle, Sophia was not hit by the eggs. But, she was holding her head down out of fear. She could only pick up the sound of bullets being loaded and Sandra¡¯s screams. After the attack of rotten eggs, the servant from earlier reappeared. She had a gun in her hand and a bunch of men in ck suits appeared in the manor. In the blink of an eye, the groups were surrounded and countless gun muzzles were pointed at them. The servant, who was smiling at them earlier, had changed her expression. With the gun pointing at them, she said coldly, ¡°Get out! All of you get lost! I don¡¯t care whether you are the Yard Family or the Michel Family, get out at once!¡± ¡°Mr. Simmons invited you here just to let you have a taste of these rotten eggs. If you ever dare toe again, you¡¯ll be tasting bullets!¡± As soon as she finished speaking, the dozens of ck holes moved closer. Gradually, the groups were being forced out from the manor by the cold muzzles of the guns. Covered in rotten eggs, Sandra was extremely stinky. As she cried and cursed, she was being pushed into the car by her assistant, who was equally smelly. Their car drove away in a hurry. Sophia had been protected from the rotten eggs, but Michael and Linus were hit by them. The rotten smell of the eggs emanated from their bodies. On their way back to the city, no one spoke. Dragging their stinky bodies back to the hotel, each of them went back to their rooms to take a shower. Once they cleaned themselves up and made sure that they wouldn¡¯t transfer the smell to Sophia, they went to Sophia for a talk. At the same time, Roger had also returned to Sophia with a message. Henry and Ryan did not leave Cethos. They merely sent Sandra and Billy out on behalf of them. Judging from Russells¡¯ attitude, it looked like he had a deep hatred toward the Michel Family and the Yard Family. Otherwise, there was no reason he would attack them with rotten eggs. Sophia sent Roger to look out for other news again. But, before they received any further news, Linus was in doubt. ¡°How can it be? I even went to a show with Russell four years ago¡­¡± Michael was also diving deep into his thoughts as he frowned. Could it be that something had happened within these four years? ¡°Daddy! Mommy! Uncle Linus!¡± Carmen suddenly popped out from nowhere and plunged herself into Michael¡¯s arms. When Carmen learned that Sophia was going abroad, she decided toe along too. She probably wanted to skip cram school and get some air, hoping that she would be able to check out lions with Sophia. After all, they had to go back to Africa for their final stop. Immediately, Michael tightened his arms around his daughter so that he could transfer some of her scent to him. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Soon, Roger found the information everyone had been waiting for. Russell Simmons¡¯ ancestors used to be the royal tailor of the department that was responsible for the royal attire during the time when the Yard Family ruled the country. They were in charge of the family¡¯s attire and fled overseas with the family. When it was found that they were involved in the infighting between the Yards, many of them were killed. His ancestors then fled back to Cethos. Decades ago, Russell went overseas again to expand his career, but he had never cooperated with the Ronney Group before. And that was also the reason why he hated the Yard Family. Besides, Russell had a daughter. She went on a trip to Africa three years ago and encountered a rampant virus outbreak. Infected by Virs-18, she died on her way to Michel Town when she went there to find a cure. His wife went blind crying for the painful loss of their daughter. Linus was tongue-tied after listening to the report. No wonder Russell threw rotten eggs at me. I guess I deserve it. It seems like my poprity is the reason why we failed this time. Chapter 1155 Chapter 1155 For several years, Cooper and Linus¡¯ team had been researching the Virs-18, spending billions and failing countless times before they finally came out with the cure. As a businessman, the main reason Cooper tried to develop the antidote was, of course, to make profits. But, poor countries in Africa were reluctant to contribute money or any mineral resources. They refused to pay for anything, thinking that Cooper would be kind enough to be their savior and provide them with a free cure and vines. They even condoned the armed forces to rob hospitals that were under the Michel Medical Group. In a fit of anger, Cooper shut down all the channels for the sale of the cure. Africa had always been suffering from a variety of epidemics, and the Virs-18 was just one of the more ferocious ones. It had the highest death rate and the lowest chance of recovery. One would die very quickly after being infected and only Cooper had the cure to it. So, why would anyone think that he would be willing to give out the cure? It was true that he did nothing to save the others from danger, but the cause was Virs-18, not him. He was just a businessman who sold medicine. If it were not for the fact that his daughter was infected, he would not have been willing to invest such a great amount to research the cure. However, Russell seemed to have med the Michel Group for his daughter¡¯s death and decided to egg them today. ¡°In my opinion, we should give up on Russell¡­¡± said Michael as he frowned, finding the whole situation complicated. If they were to visit him once again, they would probably be beaten to death. But, Sophia was stubborn. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I have to go! If I can¡¯t get Russell, I¡¯m not going back home!¡± Upon hearing that, Linus threw her a weary nce. Now that Russell had decided to me his daughter¡¯s death on Cooper and Linus, although he did not know Sophia, it was sufficient for him to know that Linus was one of the Michels. And looking at his attitude, he seemed to hate them more than the Yard Family. Things are gettingplicated now. Still, Sophia was extremely stubborn. She was under the opinion that since Russell hated the Yard Family too, they would not be able tond a contract with him. And thus, it would be the perfect chance for her to get him! If Russell could join her Bayside Fashion Week, he would bring the event to a whole new level. Recalling what happened with Russell, Sophia¡¯s eyes twinkled suddenly and she asked, ¡°Did you say that there¡¯s something wrong with his wife¡¯s eyes?¡± ¡­ The next day, Sophia went to the Simmons Residence again. She stopped 500 meters away from the manor, as she was afraid that she would be attacked by another wave of rotten eggs. He¡¯s not answering the phone, and I¡¯m so far away from him now. How do I get him to talk to me? ¡°Say it as I told you to,¡± said Sophia to Hale, who was standing next to her. With a loathsome expression, Hale took the loudspeaker out from the car and turned it on. Clearing his throat, Hale took a deep breath and said, ¡°Mr. Simmons, I can heal your wife¡¯s eyes! Mr. Simmons, I can heal your wife¡¯s eyes! Mr. Simmons, I can heal your wife¡¯s eyes!¡± Hale¡¯s amplified voice was spread across a 5-kilometer radius from where they stood, and it was as loud as the wet market in Bayside City at 6 AM. The sound scared the neighbors, leading them toe out to see what was going on. The driver drove the car around the Simmons Residence again and again in order to make sure that Russell could hear them from all directions. Michael and Linus were at a loss of words by the method. From between them, Carmen¡¯s little figure popped out. ¡°Daddy, what is Uncle Hale doing?¡± Putting a pair of noise-canceling headphones over her head, Linus said, ¡°Baby, don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen pouted her lips and yed with her dog. To make sure that she was entertained, Sophia even brought the giant poodle over to keep herpany. After a morning of harassing the Simmons Residence, Russell finally called them. ¡°Come on in.¡± Sophia hurriedly went inside. She found out from the others that Russell¡¯s wife had the same eye condition as her. They lost their vision from crying non-stop and they needed a cornea recement to be able to see again. Russell had been searching for a suitable cornea, but this depended on fate. The Michel Medical Group developed the artificial cornea technology and Sophia had relied on that to see again. This time, knowing what the main problem was, Sophia was finally freed from the barrage of rotten eggs and could meet with the legendary Russell Simmons. Although his ancestors escaped from Cethos along with the Yard Family, they went back after that. Decades ago, Cethos suffered from a lot of disasters, and many had run overseas in order to survive. The Simmons Family was one of those. Their family had probably only wanted to find a ce to settle down. Russell and Michael were of the same age, but as the fashion godfather, he dressed up very fashionably. Wearing the trendiest pajama design and sporting highlights on a few hair strands, he had a mysterious charm and looked like a handsome and sexy middle-aged man. ¡°Tell me. What are you going to do to cure my wife¡¯s eyes?¡± said Russell coldly as he red at Linus, who was standing by the side. With the sentences she had prepared earlier, Sophia answered, ¡°Hi, Mr. Simmons. I¡¯m Sophia Edwards from Bayside City. I¡¯ve introduced myself previously. About the eyes¡ª¡± ¡°Two little babies on the phone! Hello! Hello! Hello! What are you doing¡­¡± Suddenly, a light and pleasant children¡¯s song interrupted Sophia¡¯s words, breaking the serious atmosphere of the conversation. What was worse was that the sound originated from her purse. Sophia realized that she had not put her phone to silent mode and someone was calling her. The ringtone was a children¡¯s song sung by Carmen. As expected, Russell¡¯s expression got uglier than before. With an apologetic face, Sophia said, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± Clumsily, she fumbled through her purse to find her phone. Seeing that it was Maria who was calling, she hung up without thinking, cutting off the sweet song sung by Carmen. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. Let¡¯s get back to business.¡± As she kept her phone back in her purse, she turned it to silent mode and decided to only talk to Maria after finishing with the big deal that was going on now. She then proceeded, ¡°About what happened with Mrs. Simmons¡¯ eyes. To be honest, I¡ª¡± ¡°Under the bridge in front of the door, swims a raft of ducks. Let¡¯s count together, 34678¡­¡± This time, the same loli voice was heard from Michael¡¯s trouser. His expression changed immediately, noticing that Russell¡¯s expression had sunk to its limit. Instantly, he took out his phone and had a look. It was Maria again. Quickly, he hung up the phone. However, no one expected that after he hung up the phone and Sophia was about to say something, Carmen¡¯s voice came out from Linus¡¯ trousers too. ¡°Daddy, Daddy, where are you going now¡­¡± Linus¡¯ expression darkened. Under the ring gaze of Russell, he reached out and took his phone out. It was Maria. He hung up immediately and said, ¡°Please continue with the¡ª¡± With a bang, Russell stood up from his seat and sted, ¡°I see that you guys are simply looking down on me. Someone, please send them out!¡± ¡°Mr. Simmons, please listen to me. I really came here to talk to you. I can cure your wife¡¯s eyes,¡± said Sophia urgently. But, Russell only wanted to send them away. He had not expected a gentle woman¡¯s voice toe from the other side. ¡°Russell, I think I heard a child singing earlier. Did a childe to our house?¡± Looking behind her shoulder, Sophia found the voice, and her eyes met with the woman who was being pushed over in a wheelchair by a servant. A woman about the age of thirty was sitting in a wheelchair. Her eyes were empty, but she spoke very gently. The woman had a very pale face and sadness overflowed her face. She said, ¡°That was nice¡­ Is there more?¡± Chapter 1156 Chapter 1156 That must be Russell¡¯s wife. Walking over with concern, Russell said gently, ¡°They¡¯re just a few random people. I¡¯m kicking them out now and I¡¯ll take you to the backyard for a walk in a minute.¡± When facing his wife, Russell had a warm expression, but the moment he turned to the others, he became harsh and cold again. Immediately, he shooed them away. ¡°Leave now. I don¡¯t have the time to entertain you.¡± Sophia was about to say something, but she was interrupted by the pleasant sounding from Hale¡¯s trouser pocket. ¡°Little swallows in flowery clothes, visiting here every spring¡­¡± Taking his phone out, Hale saw that it was Maria again. Just when he was going to hang up, Sophia stopped him. The phone continued to ring, and Carmen¡¯s sweet voice spread throughout the house. Her voice was like the sound of ark, as well as a gentle, sweet wind, which made anyone feel refreshed listening to it. The ringtone was recorded by Sophia when Carmen was singing it live. It was not tuned, presenting a very genuine and original sound¡ªas if she was singing in their ears. It was like some kind of magic that could heal any wound. Everyone seemed to like it when Sophia used Carmen¡¯s song as her ringtone, so they set theirs too to listen to it at any time. When Mrs. Simmons heard Carmen¡¯s voice, her tensed brows rxed¡ªas if all of her worries were gone at that moment. There was even a hint of satisfaction in her smile and she was pping along with the tempo. The call went on for a while, but Maria hung up after finding that no one was picking up; the sweet voice was gone as well. When Carmen finished singing the song, she even called out, ¡°Mommy, did I sing well?¡± The moment Mrs. Simmons heard the sweet little voice saying ¡®mommy¡¯, she smiled softly. ¡°That was so nice. Just like our Chloe¡­¡± Although she was smiling, there was no hint of happiness in her eyes. Her tears that were mixed with blood hung in the corners of her eyes. Looking at her bloody tears, Sophia¡¯s heart flinched. She felt like someone was strangling her throat. For a moment, she could not breathe smoothly. Their daughter was dead in that catastrophe. Sophia had experienced the virus outbreak herself. It was like the end of the world. When she walked her way down the path, there were only dead men. She saw white people, ck people, and even Asians. There were those from prominent families, poor people, the elderly, and even children. She was lucky toe across Nicole and Cooper and it was Cooper, who had saved her life. But, there were a lot of people who had turned into decaying corpses on the street¡­ Feeling upset, Sophia lowered her head and did not speak. Seeing that his wife was crying again, Russell immediately ordered, ¡°Send the madam back.¡± However, Mrs. Simmons reached out and grabbed his hands. She said, ¡°Russell, I still want to listen again!¡± Russell¡¯s eyes were full of sorrow. Losing his child hurt him more than ever. And, now that his beloved wife had be like this, he felt like his heart had been cut by a knife. He pulled his wife into his arms and said, ¡°Chloe¡­ has been gone for a long time.¡± Chloe was their daughter. She grew up fond of thrilling activities. Three years ago, she went on an adventure with her friends in Africa. But, they had not expected that she would be infected by the Virs-18 and die over there. Her body was picked up by the local anti-epidemic organization and was burned to prevent the spread of the disease. Until now, they had not even seen her body. Smiling bitterly, Mrs. Simmons said, ¡°I know¡­ I know. It¡¯s just that I think the song earlier was very nice. I want to listen to it again.¡± As if she was praying, she requested, ¡°Where is the child? Can you ask her to sing it again for me, please?¡± Russell seemed to have sobbed for a second. He remembered his daughter, who had not been found until now, and when he looked at Sophia, his eyes were blurred with tears. ¡°I agree with your deal¡­ Just let my wife listen to her voice again.¡± ¡­ Twenty minutester, in the garden of the Simmons Residence, Carmen¡¯s sweet voice was heard again. This time, it wasn¡¯t the ringtone ying from the phone, but her in person. ¡°I¡¯m a painter; I¡¯m good at painting¡­¡± Carmen was singing and dancing in the garden. Mrs. Simmons was seated in the wheelchair next to her and her face was full of satisfaction. She looked extremely content and her slender fingers were tapping along against the wheelchair. She waspletely immersed in the song. Now that someone was willing to listen to her, Carmen sang with all her might. She loved dancing and singing and often held ¡®concerts¡¯ back home. She was even selling her ¡®concert¡¯ tickets in the kindergarten, which were pretty expensive¡ªit was five Amons per seat. Seeing that his beloved wife was finally happy after such a long time, Russell¡¯s eyes were still full of tears. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. ¡°If my daughter was still alive, she would be 21 years old now. Since young, she had been very rebellious and loved to seek excitement. Even though her mother and I were against her decision to visit the uninhabited valley in Africa, she went anyway. We did not expect her to never return since then. I knew very well that Africa was suffering from diseases at that time and there was a war going on, but I couldn¡¯t stop her.¡± As he spoke, he couldn¡¯t stop himself from sobbing and choking on his tears. Michael, who was standing next to him, patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s all in the past.¡± As a father, Michael understood that no ordinary man would be able to put this kind of grief behind. However, Linus, who was standing on the other side, did not dare to speak even though this matter had nothing to do with him and the Michel Group. To donate the cure was not the obligation of thepany. The worst they did was deciding not to save the people in need¡­ Still, he felt sore in his heart. Russell wiped his tears away and he looked like he was a few years older than Michael, though they were almost of the same age. Recalling the experience, Sophia had a lot more to talk about. ¡°Back then, I survived that catastrophe¡­¡± That was a memory that she didn¡¯t want to remember. Until today, she still did not know how she got through it. Perhaps, it was fate. Cooper gave away the cure he had invested billions in after he found Sophia. Not only had he emptied his stock, but he also sent experts to all major pharmaceutical factories to guide the production of the cure without charging them. He had even disclosed the form of the cure and vines to the public. He spent billions to find the cure, but he got nothing in return. However, he was still very happy because he got his daughter back. Billions were nothingpared to his daughter. Wiping his tears, Russell sobbed. ¡°All these years, I¡¯ve put the me on others. But, the fault¡­ was actually mine. I¡¯m an ipetent father¡ªa coward who tried to avoid responsibility.¡± Perhaps, it was the end of the fate between the father-daughter pair. Chloe Simmons was at the time when she was the most rebellious. She wanted to explore Africa and, unable to stop her, Russell locked her up. But, he didn¡¯t know that the uncontroble Chloe would climb out from the window and fly to Africa with her friends. They went in a group of seven and none had returned. A few days after the death of Chloe, Michel Group publicized the form of the cure to Virs-18. If they had done it a few days earlier, Chloe might not have died. And that was why he had put the me on the Michel Group! However, deep down in his heart, Russell knew that if he had been apetent father and talked to his daughter in time, things would not have turned out that way. Chapter 1157 Chapter 1157 The fault was his, but he did not dare to look into his heart. ¡°Daddy!¡± whispered Carmen as she ran toward Michael and plunged herself into his arms. ¡°Auntie fell asleep!¡± Upon hearing that, Russell turned around and checked on his wife, only to see her fast asleep with a satisfied smile on her face. She was sleeping soundly and looked quitefortable. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Since their daughter had left them, he had never seen his wife sleep so peacefully before. As he looked at her, Russell tried hard to keep his tears from falling. Perhaps, the time between them and their daughter had already ended¡­ It had been three years. They had to let go of the past now. In the end, Russell agreed to be part of Sophia¡¯s Bayside Fashion Week. Besides, he wanted to expand his fashion business in the Cethosian market. He then sent Sophia and the others to the front door. Waving at him, Sophia said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving for Africa tomorrow and I¡¯ll send someone to pick up Mrs. Simmons.¡± Carmen followed suit and waved at Russell. ¡°Goodbye, uncle.¡± He waved goodbye to them. The group went back with satisfaction, especially Sophia, who was filled with a sense of aplishment. Now that she had sealed the deal with Russell, her fashion week was on a whole different level. The following day, Russell brought his wife to meet up with Sophia before following her to Africa. On the second day after theynded in Africa, Sophia was very busy dealing with Mrs. Simmons¡¯ cornea recement surgery. On the other hand, Michael went into a secretboratory with Linus. After a series of examinations and a discussion between seven to eight experts, the experts informed Linus with regret, ¡°The toxin in Mr. Michael¡¯s body is very strong. With the current technology, there is no way to remove it. All we can do is inject him every now and then with a detoxification drug to temporarily suppress the toxicity.¡± The result was within Michael¡¯s expectations. When the pregnant Sophia was kidnapped by the Phantom Wolf, Michael was cut by a poisoned knife. If it were not for Hale injecting him with a detoxification drug on time and sending him to the hospital, the toxin would have killed him right on the spot. His determination had also saved him from danger, but the toxin had already entered his blood cirction. Within the past few years, there was no way for them to remove the toxin from his body. So, he could only receive injections from time to time to ease the situation. Even Quinton had told him that there was no cure for this kind of toxin. At the moment, he could only take a shot every month to suppress the toxicity. However, after a month, the poison would attack again and ruin his immune system. If he refused to take the shot, he would die from variousplications and infections. He didn¡¯t know when the detoxification drug would lose its effect, or when he would give in and copse. He was afraid of being sick and getting injured. If something went wrong with his body, it was very likely that his body would lose its bnce and he might¡­ If he was down, what would happen to his wife and daughter? For several years, he had been looking for ways, but unfortunately, there was no cure at all. Even Cooper didn¡¯t have any idea. Sitting on the surgery table, Michael was deep in contemtion with his head held low. Linus patted his shoulder and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. Dad personally ordered his staff to make sure that you¡¯re cured. Give them a few more years. You¡¯ll definitely be treated. Don¡¯t forget; it was ourb that came up with the cure to Virs-18. We might need some time, but please have some faith.¡± Although Michael didn¡¯t tell Sophia, he didn¡¯t conceal it from Linus and Cooper. Cooper also did not want his daughter to live the rest of her life in sorrow, so he specially asked Linus to bring Michael over for a body checkup. Michael nodded in response. Even if there was no hope, he wanted to try. There was no way now, but it might not be the same in the next few years. Cooper¡¯s team hade up with the cure and vines for Virs-18, so of course, they would be able to treat this little illness. Linus then leaned in to check on Michael¡¯s shoulder. He had been receiving injections recently, but to make sure that it went unnoticed by Sophia, the needles used were so small that the entry point would bepletely undetectable. ¡°Why did you take so many jabs?¡± Michael exined, ¡°The detoxification drug needs to be injected seven to eight times each time. I also had a contraceptive injection because I¡¯m not fit to have kids now. I have to be responsible for the lives of chica and our future child. I kept my sperm in the sperm bank a few years ago. If things don¡¯t work out in the future, we can only try IVF. Even chica had her ovum stored there too.¡± Observing the needle scars on Michael¡¯s arms, Linus was startled. Michael relies on these injections to sustain his life. What if one day his body developed resistance to these drugs? All of sudden, Sophia came out from nowhere. ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Her sudden appearance startled both Linus and Michael. With a shocking expression on her face, Sophia marched toward them. ¡°Linus, why are you touching my hubby¡¯s chest?¡± It was only then that Linus realized his hand was resting on Michael¡¯s chest. Like lightning, he withdrew his hand immediately. He was only checking out the scars on his chest! Unfortunately, there had already been a misunderstanding. Sophia had never expected to find her husband being touched on his chest by Linus when she could not find them anywhere! Caution filled her eyes in an instant because Linus was bisexual! He liked women, but he also liked men! ¡°It¡¯s a misunderstanding, Sophia. Please don¡¯t overthink.¡± Linus continued to exin, ¡°Michael has been filming for many years and has left many scars behind. We¡¯re just trying to find a way to get rid of them.¡± Michael removed his shirt earlier when he was undergoing the body checkup. Immediately, he put his clothes back on and said, ¡°Linus was just looking at my scars.¡± However, Sophia was skeptical. She felt like they were hiding something. Linus and Michael finally persuaded her after a session of heated exnations. When Mr.and Mrs. Simmons arrived at Michel Town, the medical department set up a special team to treat Mrs. Simmons¡¯ eyes. Her condition was simr to Sophia¡¯s, so they could only imnt an artificial cornea as a temporary solution. When Mrs. Simmons was sent into the ward after a sessful operation, Russell leaned against the wall of Michel Town, looking at the world outside of the walls. This was once a deadnd. The neighborhood was filled with batches of dead men. When most people came to know about the cure created by the Michel Group, they walked here on foot to ask for the cure, but unfortunately, most of them died on the way. Only some of them were lucky enough to get here, though they were greeted by a closed gate and the ruthless employees of Michel Group. Perhaps, his daughter hade here too¡­ He heard that Fass disclosed the form of the cure in order to save his infected daughter and finally, his daughter survived. Yet, as a father himself, he could not do anything. After the incident, he wanted toe to Africa. But, he could not even rent a ne. Africa had been locked down and by the time he finally arrived, he could not even find his daughter¡¯s body¡­ Holding onto the wall, Russell knelt down slowly. He lowered his face and his tears dropped onto the cold ground. Chloe, Dad is here again. Where are you? Chapter 1158 Chapter 1158 The area outside Michel Town had been rebuilt. The fertilend was covered with farnd and gardens. It looked very vibrant¡ªas if nothing had ever happened here before. Suddenly, someone came up to Russell. Turning around, he saw a man standing behind him. The man had a slender figure and his eyes were cold and sharp. He had a pair of mysterious blue eyes. Although he looked about the same age as Russell, his eyes were so deep and mysterious that they looked like an imprable mountain. ¡°Are you Mr. Simmons? I¡¯m Fass.¡± Fass! Russell did not expect the person in front of him to be the legendary Fass Michel, the head of the Michel Family, though he looked exactly like what he imagined him to look like. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Without waiting for Russell to answer, Cooper continued, ¡°Pleasee with me, Mr. Simmons. There¡¯s someone you might want to meet.¡± Not knowing the meaning behind Fass¡¯ sudden appearance and who the person he was going to meet was, Russell followed suit. Leading Russell down the twisting road in Michel Town, both of them came to the corner of the company¡¯s garden. There was a girl inside trimming the branches of the nts. Her hands were rough and there were centipede-like scars snaking around her exposed arm. Russell didn¡¯t know why Cooper brought him here, but he heard Cooper call the girl, ¡°Emily.¡± Emily turned around upon hearing Cooper¡¯s voice. Her disfigured face unfolded before them. Half of her face was covered with scars. Her appearance was deformed to the point that no one would be able to recognize her, although one would still be able to see that she was Asian judging from her ck hair, ck eyes, and yellow skin. The girl froze at the sight of Russell. Her eyes hidden under the scars widened, and tears streamed down her cheeks. However, within seconds, she turned around and darted away, fleeing into the depths of the garden and vanishing. The moment Russell saw the girl, he was also dumbstruck. His muscles stopped moving for a second and he could not say anything. All he did was watch the girl escape before his eyes. After a long time, he finally came back to his senses. ¡°Chloe! That¡¯s my daughter, Chloe!¡± Tugging Cooper¡¯s sleeve frantically, Russell asked in disbelief, ¡°Is that¡­ my daughter? Am I right? My daughter; my daughter isn¡¯t dead¡­ She¡¯s not dead¡­¡± He was so excited that he could not speak coherently. Yet, Cooper¡¯s expression remained indifferent as he said, ¡°When I decided to disclose the form of the cure to Virs-18, I took in the infected people around the town who had not been attended to the hospital for treatment. ording to the file, when the child was found, she was amongst a group of seven people. But, only her life was saved. They came to explore Africa with her as their leader. She felt responsible for the death of the other six who ended up being buried in a foreignnd. She was ashamed of facing her family and friends, so she refused to disclose any of her personal information and refused to be deported. Because we couldn¡¯t find her passport and any information about her, we could only let her stay in the town. All these years, she has been working in thendscaping department to support herself. Since she¡¯s your daughter, you should bring her away with you.¡± After listening to what Cooper said, Russell was dumbfounded. That was his daughter; his Chloe¡­ ¡°Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much!¡± Russell thanked Cooper repeatedly. Patting his shoulder, Cooperforted him, ¡°There¡¯s no enmity between father and daughter. Go ahead and talk to her.¡± Wiping away his tears, Russell went after his daughter. Chloe, Dad finally found you. As Cooper looked at the disappearing figure in the distance, a trace of a smile appeared on his cold face. It was as if he had seen himself in Russell. Back then, when he saw Sophia regaining her consciousness, he acted exactly like Russell. He thought he was having a beautiful dream that he never wanted to wake up from. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re so kind!¡± Sophia suddenly popped out and jumped onto Cooper¡¯s back, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Cooper was also equally content. Picking up his daughter on his back, he spun around happily. Carmen, who was standing beside them, stretched her arms and yelled, ¡°Me too! Me too!¡± Putting Sophia down, Cooper took Carmen in his arms and made a few more turns. He always felt that Sophia was all grown up and it was weird for him to spin her around while holding her. However, it was different when it came to Carmen. So, he decided to give her a few more spins. While he was holding onto Carmen, Sophia jumped up from behind and wrapped her arms around his neck. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re the best father in the world!¡± When Nicole brought her to Michel Town looking for a cure, she was delirious throughout the whole journey. Every time she opened her eyes, all she saw were dead people. She felt like she hade to the end of the world, no longer able to differentiate whether she was on earth or hell. She was unsure if she was dead or alive. When she was infected and went into aa, she was fighting to stay alive. Cooper, who was desperate, published the form of the cure to the public and even took in the people around the town. The hospital in the town was only enough to serve the daily illnesses of their staff. When it was crowded by so many people all of a sudden, the town was in chaos. Linus told her that the castle was upied by the infected people. Every day, batches of bodies were carried out, and batches more were taken in for treatment. Although many people still died, many more survived due to Cooper¡¯s actions. However, what Cooper did resulted in a huge loss for the Michel Medical Group. Not to mention that there were no profits in regards to the billions of investment made, Cooper also had to subsidize a lot of money personally for the production of the cure that he sent out for free. He took in homeless people like Chloe for treatment and sent them away once they were cured. At that time, the family and thepany were hugely affected. It was only now that Cooper and Linus had finally managed to make up for the loss. For Cooper, nothing was more important than his little princess waking up from thea even if it meant it would take everything he had! And now, he had two little princesses! Back then, Cooper spent a lot of money to do good deeds in order to umte blessings for his daughter. He did not expect himself to be rewarded so soon. The Simmons Family was reunited¡ªMrs. Simmons would be able to see her daughter right after she opened her eyes. Two happy events came to the family at the same time. And, at Sophia¡¯s suggestion, Russell decided to bring Chloe to the cosmetic hospital in Bayside City to treat her face. At the same time, he had decided to shift his work focus to Cethos. Russell had absolute influence and appeal in the overseas Cethosian fashionmunity. The moment he made a move, he was like a signal attracting all overseas Cethosian fashionistas to start expanding their career in Cethos. And the Bayside Fashion Week was the best opportunity for them to do so. Sophia was not afraid that these Cethosian fashion brands would affect her business once they entered the Cethosian market. As long as she could expand the influence of Cethos¡¯ luxury products, she could lead her products to the world too. After staying in Africa for a while to take care of Russell¡¯s affairs, she had sessfully signed a lot of contracts and was prepared to return to Cethos. At this moment, Hale came over and brought her shocking news. Her pair of alpacas had been stolen. Chapter 1159 Chapter 1159 ¡°What?! The alpacas were stolen?! When did this happen?! Why wasn¡¯t I informed about this?!¡± Sophia became distraught when she heard that her alpacas had been stolen. Hale replied, ¡°It happened on the day we went to see Russell Simmons. Maria called in a panic to inform us that the alpacas had been stolen. The alpacas were at the shop for their photoshoot, shooting promotional photos of the new products. However, they were stolen in broad daylight as soon as they stepped out of the shop.¡± Michael hurriedly asked in a worried tone, ¡°What about Pleiades? Wasn¡¯t Pleiades with the alpacas that day?¡± Pleiades was the rooster Carmen was raising. Since they were raising it at home, they couldn¡¯t just keep calling it ¡®the rooster¡¯. Therefore, Cooper named it ¡®Pleiades¡¯. The name ¡®Pleiades¡¯ came from one of the constetions in the 28 Mansions, which were part of the Cethosian constetion system. Depicted as a rooster, the constetion was famous for pecking a centipede to death in Aesop¡¯s Fables. Pleiades had made its debut among the pet owners¡¯ social circles in Bayside City on Twitter. Sophia even made a series of outfits for it. She also highly rmended raising a rooster in the pet luxury goods magazine she created. As a result, there was a sudden chicken-raising boom in Bayside City, and the price of roosters soared because of her. If I remember correctly, the rooster joined the alpacas for themercial photo shoot. The Gods must have heard my prayers, Michael thought to himself. Hale nced at Michael. Despite the worried look on Michael¡¯s face, the slight upward curve of his eyes told Hale that he was very excited. Thus, Hale regretfully reported, ¡°Due to Pleiades¡¯ strong survival instincts, it put up a fierce struggle, broke free of its diapers, and flew up to the roof to escape. It has returned home and seems to have calmed down. It¡¯s doing rtively well.¡± Michael was extremely disappointed when he heard those words. Useless! The Yard Family is so useless! They can¡¯t even steal a chicken! Good-for-nothings! Trash! On the other hand, Sophia was livid. ¡°The Yard Family! Why is it the Yard Family again?!¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. She had been busy over the past few days¡ªso much so that she didn¡¯t pay attention to the Yard Family. Now that she was less busy, she immediately video-called Callum. Callum was working in his office. However, he answered her call despite his hectic schedule. Sure enough; the video showed a pair of alpacas in the background. No, there was a baby alpaca too¡ªthe pair of alpacas had given birth to a cria. I can¡¯t believe the Yard Family went so far as to steal the cria too! The three alpacas seemed to be doing quite well. They had their own nest in his office, wore gold- colored bow ties, and even had servants giving them massages. Their fur was shiny and smooth¡ªthey looked much more refined than before! ¡°How could you¡­ You couldn¡¯t even spare a child! You beast!¡± She was so furious that she jumped to her feet. He patted the baby alpaca on the head and proudly said, ¡°A family should stay together.¡± Sticking his little finger up as he patted the alpaca, he said, ¡°By the way, I heard you won Russell Simmons over to your side. That¡¯s amazing! Russell isn¡¯t bad; he¡¯s very capable. I tried to acquire his brand many times in the past, but my attempts never seeded. I can¡¯t believe he agreed to work with you so readily!¡± She sneered, ¡°The Yard Family murdered his entire family, yet you expect them to work with you? How ridiculous!¡± Acting as if he did not hear her cursing at him, he took out a gold baby bottle, picked the baby alpaca up, and carefully fed it with the bottle. At the same time, he pretended to be sad. ¡°My two younger brothers are trying to surpass us. For that reason, they¡¯ve always wanted to bring Russell over to their side. This time, Russell not only snubbed them, but he also joined hands with you. With my two younger brothers¡¯ temperament, they will go to the extremes to get their revenge. You need to be careful.¡± Her expression darkened. As expected, Callum is here to fan the mes. He is afraid that things will get swept under the rug without much fuss. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If they dare to harm me, then I will retaliate in kind.¡± After he finished feeding the baby alpaca, he skillfully patted it so that it burped. Then, he pretended to be worried about her as he said, ¡°They won¡¯t do anything in Cethos. The risks are too great since you are a Cethosian. They will probably strike before you return to Cethos.¡± She said, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± In response, he hastily said, ¡°Wait! I have another important thing to tell you!¡± She coldly replied, ¡°If you have something to say, say it quickly.¡± Callum smiled slightly. ¡°I stole your three huskies too!¡± Sophia did not answer. Not long after that, Maria called. As expected, the dogs had been kidnapped. Cereberus had been stolen! It had been snowing in Bayside City recently. Therefore, Stanley took the three huskies out to enjoy the snow. While walking the three dogs, he walked in front while the three dogs followed behind him. The leashes were stretched tightly when they suddenly loosened without warning. By the time he looked back, only the leashes were left¡ªthe dogs were gone. Then, he burst into tears with a loud wail at the sight¡­ Sophia decided that she was going to kill the two Yard Family members. Since ancient times, many factions fought against each other in the royal family. Since Callum is forcing my hand, he can¡¯t me me for this! I can¡¯t believe we have the same blood running through our veins. If I don¡¯t kill those two younger brothers, I won¡¯t be able to live down the shame! When Michael heard that the huskies had been stolen, he was so pleased that he nearly jumped for joy. Hurray for the Yard Family! They finally did something right! Don¡¯t give up! Next time, steal the chicken too! Soon, the family prepared to return home. On the way to the airport, several ck cars silently approached their car. Sure enough, the Yard Family wasn¡¯t going to let them leave so easily. The Yard Family¡¯s movements were restricted in Cethos, but this wasn¡¯t Cethos and the journey to the airport was the best time to strike. Inside the car, Cooper took out a pair of noise-canceling headphones and put them on for Carmen. Then, he lovingly said, ¡°Carmen, can you sing a song for me, please?¡± Carmen was not in a good mood today. Before she left the country, she had decided to marry Cash, the husky. However, Sophia told her yesterday that Judge had fallen in love with a female husky and eloped along with its two sons. They were noting back anymore. Hence, her mood was heavy, and the songs she sang were not as lively as they were before. She sang, ¡°He must love you very much; more than he loves me.¡± Next, she sang, ¡°Memories of us bring tears to my eyes; it¡¯s too lonely to be alone.¡± Lastly, she sang, ¡°Breakups should be graceful; no need for apologies.¡± Cooper was rendered speechless by the songs she sang. While Carmen was singing those songs, several missiles flew by from out of nowhere. The ck cars that were following them were hit by the missiles and went up in mes¡­ The Yard Family forgot that this was Africa and the highway to the airport belonged to the Michel Group. ¡­ On the other side, Sandra was anxiously waiting for news while feeling excited and guilty at the same time. This time, it was somebody Billy hired. He guaranteed that nothing could go wrong¡ªSophia and her family would never return alive. Unfortunately, they had not received word about the oue even though it was already midnight. Thus, Sandra was so anxious that she couldn¡¯t sleep. She had a feeling that things weren¡¯t as simple as they thought. The men they sent out had not reported back to them, and she did not know if their attempt had seeded. Unable to sleep, she walked out of the house. Her trip overseas was for work, and she had been going all over the ce during this period. As she was going to be in Ronney City for the next few days, she stayed at an exquisite vi in the suburbs outside Ronney City with Billy. However, she was feeling nervous for some reason. Walking around the streets in the middle of the night, she saw a ball of fire falling from the sky andnding on the house she was temporarily staying in. Boom. The entire room burst into mes. Billy, who had been sleeping on the second floor, jumped out of the second-floor window. His entire body was covered in mes as he rolled on the ground, screaming in pain. Meanwhile, Sandra was utterly dumbstruck by the sight¡­ Chapter 1160 Chapter 1160 By the time the fire brigade came, the whole house had been burnt to the ground. Fate was on Sandra¡¯s side¡ªshe survived with only some light injuries. However, Billy was burnt so badly that not even his bones were left. That fire left one dead and one injured, shaking up the entire Yard Family. The next day, Anna heard the news about the incident. She knew who was behind it. After all, she had been watching the fight between Sophia, Ryan, and Henry. However, she did not expect Sophia to be so bold as to kill somebody from the Ronney Group right under the Yard Family¡¯s nose. Moreover, it was done in such a shy way. Sophia was the first person ever to dare to stir up trouble in Ronney City. As that thought shed through Anna¡¯s mind, she smiled¡­ Good; Sophia is not letting me down. Simrly, Callum had heard about Billy¡¯s death. He had intercepted the news Billy sent to Henry. ording to that information, Billy had hired men to ambush Sophia along the highway to the airport and launch incendiaries at the car she was in. He wanted the entire family to be sted until not even their ashes could be found. However, he was the one to die instead. Picking up the phone, Callum prepared to call Sophia and ¡®express his condolences¡¯. All of a sudden, he heard a ¡®crunch¡¯ sound. The huskies that had been locked up in cages had bitten through the bars of the cage and escaped their prison. The evil forces of Siberia instantly descended upon the entire Ronney Pce, a series of crunching noises following in their wake. They crunched their way through the doors that blocked their path and bit the people who stood in their way. Callum was dumbfounded by the sight. These aren¡¯t huskies; these are iron-eating monsters! The three huskies ate their way through everything, including slippers, watches, tables, chairs, door handles, and toilet lids. Their appetites were sorge that it made them seem like three pigs instead. At the same time, they were also like three groundhogs, digging holes all over the ce. Only two days had passed since they were first captured, but the Royal Garden was already littered with pits and holes everywhere. Ronney Pce was almost constructed entirely out of wood. Therefore, the best preventive measures had been taken against fire, insects, and moisture. In that way, the buildings had been maintained perfectly for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, protective measures against huskies had not been developed yet. The three huskies kept up a record of breaking through five doors a day; even dog leashes, metal chains, and cages could not stop them! They even dug two holes in the walls of the Ronney Pce! I finally know why Sophia affectionately dubbed them the ¡®Cereberus¡¯! They eat a lot. They also have monstrous strength and boundless energy. Moreover, their sh*t stinks! They are monsters! It wasn¡¯t easy to capture them and lock them up in cages today. However, no more than one hour had passed when there was a loud ¡®crunch¡¯. Then, the three dogs speedily headed inside the Ronney Pce. They were headed toward the Exalos Hall! When Cade realized where they were going, he was so scared that his soul nearly jumped out of his body. ¡°Stop them! Stop them!¡± Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. That was the ce where the imperial court was held during the Yard Dynasty! The Emperor¡¯s throne passed down through their ancestors was ced inside! Thus, the entire Ronney Pce fell into a state of panic¡­ Callum was just about to chase after them to check on the situation. To his surprise, Sophia took the initiative to video call him at that moment. He nced at Cade and the others chasing the dogs, then nced back at his phone. In the end, he found a suitable spot to answer the call. He even checked his surroundings for any abnormalities before he took the call. As soon as the video call connected, he saw Sophia in her pajamas. She seemed to be at home and must have just washed her hair as her hair was still dripping wet. On the other hand, she was peering at the video screen and searching for something. ¡°Where is Cereberus?¡± Putting on a rxed air, he replied, ¡°Oh, your dogs? Naturally, I¡¯m taking good care of them. What¡¯s wrong? Do you want to see them? Later, I¡¯ll show you just howvishly they are spending their days while in my care¡­¡± Pfft! She stifled herugh as she said, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know how my dogs are? Your house must have been demolished to the point where it¡¯s unrecognizable by now, right? I¡¯m guessing there are countless pits littered across the Royal Garden too. Besides, isn¡¯t the Ronney Pce mainly constructed out of wood? What drove you to kidnap my dogs?!¡± Since his cover was blown, he decided to change the subject instead. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re pretty amazing! I can¡¯t believe you dared to kill somebody from the Ronney Group in the Yard Family¡¯s own territory! The incident with Billy won¡¯t end so simply.¡± At the mention of Billy¡¯s name, sheughed. ¡°Yes, I killed him. So what? Are you upset?¡± She had no intention of hiding the fact that she killed Billy. Billy tried to burn her to death, so she retaliated in kind. It¡¯s such a pity that Sandra did not burn to death too. I guess she¡¯s not fated to die yet. Finally, she added, ¡°My huskies are well-trained. The Yard Family won¡¯t be able to handle them.¡± After saying that, she hung up. At Ronney City, a group of people finally captured the three dogs. Unfortunately, the dragon head made of pure gold sitting on top of the ancestral throne sported several bite marks. This is the Emperor¡¯s throne passed down through our ancestors! Callum was so pained by the sight that he grabbed the leader of the huskies and yelled at it. ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?! I endured it when you bit the tables, chairs, and doors. But, why did you have to bite the Emperor¡¯s throne?! Do you know how valuable that is?! The Yard Family brought it here from Cethos a long time ago! It has nearly a thousand years of history! Even if I sold off your entire family, it wouldn¡¯t be able topensate for the damage you caused! Is it because you want to bite people?! Well,e on then! Bite me! Go on!¡± Then, Judge opened its mouth wide and chomped down on Callum. With a ¡®crunch¡¯, it bit down on his watch. The gold-and-diamond-encrusted watch worth hundreds of millions instantly fell apart under the strength of the dog¡¯s titanic alloy teeth. It shattered all over the floor, covering the ground in tiny parts. He was utterly dumbfounded by what just happened. Crunch. Judge broke the stick the Yard Family used to discipline the dogs. Crunch. Cash bit through the walls of their cage and escaped again. ¡­ Inside The Imperial, Michael, who had apanied Sophia overseas for half a month, finally returned to Bayside City. He nned to rest at home for a few days before continuing work. First, he decided to fill up all the holes in the garden that were dug up by the dogs with his own hands. I can loosen the soil and nt some flowers, vegetables, or grapes. Or, I can build a swimming pool for Carmen to y in during the summer. Not too long ago, he learned how to plow the earth while filming ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. Therefore, he quickly leveled the ground before he forgot how to do it. A thinyer of snow nketed the entire Bayside City. The garden was also covered in ayer of snow. Still, he was extremely happy today. He was full of energy, humming while he tilled the ground. ¡°Today is a good day. Everything¡¯s going my way¡ª¡± Carmen was wearing a frog padded jacket that Nathan used to wear and a matching frog hat. Watching Michael, she curiously asked, ¡°Daddy, why are you so happy today?¡± Using a towel to wipe away his sweat, he answered, ¡°Because Mommy¡¯s business negotiation went well!¡± Mainly, it¡¯s because the huskies had been stolen. Without the huskies around, even the air smells sweet and life is so peaceful. A blissful future is waving at me! I¡¯m so impressed with what Callum and Cade did. Carmen didn¡¯t know what was going on, but she understood that Michael was in a great mood recently. Michael filled up all the pits in the garden that had been dug up by the huskies, preparing to rebuild the garden. Thetest batch of premium luxury smart home furniture ordered by the Winston Family had arrived too. So, he changed out all the furniture that was riddled with husky teeth marks. He only managed to live in bliss for two days when the security guards came to report, ¡°A car passed by the entrance to the residential area this morning and dumped three huskies out of the car.¡± Chapter 1161 Chapter 1161 Michael was lying on the new sofa, enjoying his life as Carmen painted his nails red. When he heard the report, he felt his heart clench in fear. Cold sweat dripped down his back as he hurriedly asked, ¡°Are you sure?! Are you sure it¡¯s three¡ª¡± ncing at Carmen, he changed his question. ¡°What happened to the car?¡± The security guard replied, ¡°The car drove off after kicking the dogs out. After that, the dogs chased after the car for half an hour. And, we chased after the dogs for half an hour too.¡± Michael nearly cussed out loud. ¡°So, where is the car now?¡± The security guard said, ¡°It ran a red light and disappeared.¡± ¡°And the dogs?¡± ¡°I brought them back!¡± Michael nearly threw up blood. ¡°Why did you bring them back?! Send them away! Hurry and send them away!¡± The security guard replied, ¡°I passed by the madam just now. She took the dogs, saying that they were hers.¡± At the same time, Sophia¡¯s bright voice sounded from outside the door. ¡°Carmen, my baby! Come and see who just came home!¡± Carmen happily went to open the door. As soon as the door opened, three muscr huskies flew in like a whirlwind. The ground seemed to shake as they rushed toward Michael. He was instantly surrounded by the dogs as they enthusiastically licked him all over. Howl. After licking his face, Cash howled piteously as if it had suffered the greatest grievance in the world. Burying its face in Michael¡¯s arms, its body trembled slightly as it wept. Covered in dog spit, Michael was dumbfounded. What¡¯s going on? Who am I? Where am I? Sophia put her bag down and picked Cash up. Smoothing out its fur and wiping away its tears, she comforted it. ¡°There; there. That¡¯s a good boy. Don¡¯t cry. I¡¯m d you made it back home¡­¡± The dog wept sadly, but Michael felt sadder than the dogs. Damn it, Yard Family! Useless pieces of trash! Damn you! Despite all the businesses under the Yard Family, they couldn¡¯t afford to raise three huskies. Therefore, they hastily returned the dogs to their owner. Probably only somebody like Sophia, who had an endless supply of money, could afford to raise three huskies. That night, Callum called again. ¡°Did you receive my express delivery?¡± It was nighttime at Bayside City, but it was still morning at Ronney City. Callum was leisurely drinking a cup of coffee while three alpacas and a pig strolled about in the background. ¡°Yeah, I received it.¡± Sophia was applying a y mask, which made her face look ck. Her face swayed left and right on the screen as she applied the mask. Meanwhile, Michael rolled his eyes while reading the newspaper on the bed. Callum put his cup of coffee down and said very seriously, ¡°My two younger brothers seemed to have be rather intelligent recently. They sessfully passed the event registration and even recruited a large number of big names from the fashion industry! I¡¯m so worried about you!¡± Sophia coldly pointed out his true intentions. ¡°You¡¯re just worried about yourself. If your younger brothers manage to take hold of the Cethosian market, they will be an even greater threat to you.¡± She suddenly felt slightly suspicious. ¡°You know; I¡¯ve interacted with your two younger brothers. Are you sure you share the same mother?¡± Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. She could tell that the two pairs of twins had apletely different approach in how they did things. Callum and Cade might be hateful, but they were not the universally hated type. For example, even though they kidnapped her dogs, they returned the dogs to her when they couldn¡¯t handle them anymore. Moreover, the dogs were also much heavier than before when they came back. Although they were not good people in the traditional sense, they did not do anything truly hateful either. Ryan and Henry, on the other hand, werepletely evil. Their methods were outrageously brutal, and they utterly disregarded the development of their peers. They only cared about their own rampant growth. Callum smiled. It felt like there was a hidden nuance behind his smile. ¡°That¡¯s because they¡¯re my younger brothers! Mom has always taught us to be nice to our younger brothers. We have to give them all the nice things for free. We also have to satisfy them no matter what. Even if they made a mistake, it was never their intention.¡± However, Sophia couldn¡¯t help thinking that those words had a lot of strange points to them. Why did Anna raise them like that? Is she not afraid of spoiling them rotten? Although she herself acquiesced to many of Carmen¡¯s bizarre wishes, it was only within an eptable range. Whether it was raising a dog or a pig or a chicken, Carmen had to take care of them herself. She had to participate in trivial everyday chores such as feeding the chickens or grooming and feeding the dogs. That¡¯s why she did not dare to say anything about raising more dogs when the three huskies went missing. She knew that dog feces were extremely stinky! As a mother, Sophia couldn¡¯t help feeling that there was something fundamentally wrong with the way Anna raised her sons. Could it be that she was trying to emte the Jar of Poison technique where only the strongest survives? Did she want her sons to kill each other off and make thest surviving son the head of the Yard Family? ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Sophia prepared to hang up. Callum immediately said, ¡°No, don¡¯t! I have something serious to ask you¡­ I can¡¯t beat the ¡®Forgotten Valley¡¯ dungeon in ¡®Swordsman Game¡¯. How did you beat that dungeon?¡± She frowned. ¡°You¡¯re still ying online games?¡± He said, ¡°Why? Can¡¯t I?¡± Normally, only blue-cor and white-cor workers, or students yed online games. I can¡¯t believe Callum ys online games too. He¡¯s a ¡®diamond-cor worker¡¯! I¡¯m sure he¡¯s busy with work all day long! How can such a delicate boy like him y such a violent game? ¡°I can¡¯t exin it well. Since I¡¯m going to go online in a bit, why don¡¯t I show you instead?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± A short whileter, Sophia and Callum were ying games together. When Michael came back after washing the facial mask off his face, he saw her cursing over the mike while she was gaming. ¡°You noob! Even my son can y better than you! I told you to hide behind me until your mana recovers to 70% before joining the fight again! Why are you so stupid?!¡± Michael was puzzled. How is she ying games with Callum so happily? Didn¡¯t she say she wanted to strangle those twins to death? Still, he understood her feelings. She had too many things on her te recently, so she was under a lot of stress. When her stress level increased, she needed to find something exciting to vent out her stress. Lying on the bed, he teased her coquettishly. He wanted to do something more exciting and entertaining than gaming. However, she didn¡¯t even spare him a nce as she focused on her game. Besides, he had spent the entire morning filling up all the holes in the garden today. Unfortunately, the three dumb huskies dug up all the holes again the moment they came back. He was quite tired afterboring the day away. He initially wanted to tease and seduce Sophia but inadvertently fell asleep. Sophia was ying the game while yelling insults. After a while, she turned around and saw that Michael had fallen asleep. Thus, she hurriedly grabbed herptop and went to her study to continue ying. Inside the game, Callum suddenly said, ¡°After you and Daniel taught my two younger brothers a lesson, the psychic grandmaster was detained for a few days. They have been preparing to cast a curse on you for the past two days.¡± A curse? She nearly diedughing. ¡°What era is the Yard Family living in? A curse? Are they going to draw circles to curse me?¡± Callum felt that it was rather crazy too. However, his men had reported that Ryan and Henry were nning to set up an altar tonight and use dark magic to cast a curse on Sophia. The Yard Family¡¯s psychic grandmaster was carrying out a ritual on the rooftop of the Ronney Group¡¯s office building in Cethos. A strand of Sophia¡¯s hair had been ced on the altar. Meanwhile, Ryan and Henry dripped a bit of their blood on the spell. The grandmaster wanted to use the Dragon Blood flowing in their veins to control Sophia while casting a curse on her to suck away at her life and vitality until she dropped dead. To be honest, Henry did not believe in such hocus pocus. However, now that Billy had died in a foreign country, the employees at thepany were panicking and iming that they were being haunted. Therefore, he had no choice but to do something to calm them down. He had invited most of the core staff within thepany to witness the ritual. Thepany¡¯s core staff mostly consisted of foreigners, including some Cethosians that were born and raised overseas. Almost none of them were recruited locally from Bayside City. Hence, the only Cethosians present were Sandra and the crew she brought with her. Everybody watched as the Yard Family¡¯s grandmaster sang and danced in front of the altar like a shaman. Their hearts were pounding wildly as they wondered: Will this really work? Chapter 1162 Chapter 1162 Henry had been bragging about the psychic grandmaster and praising the grandmaster to the moon and back. He also imed that the grandmaster could be traced back to the Yard Dynasty thousands of years ago. The ¡®grandmaster¡¯ title had been passed down from generation to generation, and the grandmaster¡¯s powers were boundless. As long as the grandmaster used his powers, Sophia and her party members would bepletely wiped out, all the ghosts and monsters would have to retreat, and the Ronney Group would quickly return to normal. However, the employees were very doubtful. Will this really work? Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. The ritual went smoothly. Using Sophia¡¯s hair as a guide, the grandmaster used the Yard Family¡¯s Dragon Blood to write a magic spell that would suppress her vitality. In the future, she would never threaten the Ronney Group again! ¡°Bow to the heavens!¡± The psychic grandmaster¡¯s voice rang out like a huge bell. He took the lead and knelt on the ground, bowing in the direction of the altar. The Yard twins followed suit, and the rest of the employees followed their example. The core staff of the Ronney Group, as well as several other employees, paid their respects in unison. It was quite a spectacr affair. ¡°Again!¡± Everybody bowed again. ¡°Again!¡± They bowed again. The employees that did not understand Cethosian culture seemed to be confused while those that understood were feeling ashamed. All of a sudden, they smelled gunpowder in the air. A firecracker flew from somewhere andnded on the altar. Boom! The firecracker blew up on the altar. The animal offerings, the spell, and everything else on the altar exploded. Pork and beef were scattered everywhere, and the Ronney Group¡¯s employees were so scared that they fled while screaming. Shocked, Henry left the rooftop under the protection of his bodyguards. He had wanted to calm the people¡¯s hearts, but they were now more distraught than before. It seemed as if Sophia and the JNS Group had reached a point where they could no longer be suppressed by the Dragon Blood. After this fiasco, the entirepany was shrouded in greater panic. The Ronney Group was going down! Even the psychic grandmaster could do nothing! The ritual had failed and the rooftop was aplete mess. Subsequently, the psychic grandmaster was caught and dragged to Henry for questioning. ¡°Speak! Were you the one who secretly sabotaged the ritual?!¡± Somebody had thrown a firecracker at the altar while everybody was kneeling, which led to the ensuing commotion. Standing in front of the altar, the grandmaster was in the perfect position to do that! Looking at Henry¡¯s savage expression, the grandmaster began to tremble. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, Young Master Henry!¡± Henry interrupted him furiously, ¡°Who else, if not you?!¡± The grandmaster was so scared that he prostrated himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­ It was perfect! Something must have gone wrong! Somebody must have sabotaged the ritual!¡± ¡°Believe me; I¡¯m going to throw you off the roof! I¡¯ll make sure you die painfully!¡± Henry exploded violently. His emotions were out of control, and he was like a wild beast. The ritual had failed. Contrary to his intentions, it terrified the people in thepany even more. Henry dragged the fifty-year-old psychic grandmaster to the window and held him out of the window. It was a steep drop to the ground from the ss window. Therefore, the grandmaster was so scared that he cried and begged. ¡°It really wasn¡¯t me!¡± Unfortunately, Henry did not believe those words. Gripping the grandmaster¡¯s neck tightly, his nails tore into the grandmaster¡¯s skin. His eyes were bulging out of his sockets, and he hadpletely lost control of himself. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Ryan stopped Henry in the nick of time. ¡°There are surveince cameras on the rooftop. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll catch the culprit!¡± Unfortunately, the surveince cameras on the rooftop had been turned off. As this was supposed to be a superstitious activity, Henry did not want to leave any evidence of the ritual that could make people¡¯s tongues wag. Therefore, he had turned the surveince cameras off. I can¡¯t believe that somebody took advantage of that loophole! He was so furious that his veins were bulging. It felt as if there was a cannibalistic beast inside him that could jump out at any time. Then, he suddenly thought of somebody. ¡°It must be his doing!¡± At that moment, Sophia was battling inside the Swordsman Game. She was carrying Callum and Cade while fighting monsters. These two areplete noobs! I¡¯ve never met such noobs before! All of a sudden, Callum said, ¡°Excuse me, I need to answer this call.¡± He paused his game and answered the call. However, he did not turn off his mike. Moreover, he left his phone on loudspeaker¡­ as if he deliberately wanted Sophia to listen in on the conversation. Thus, Sophia perked up her ears and listened to the soundsing from his side. The first thing she heard was an angry roar; that person had lost all control of his emotions. ¡°You were behind the firecracker thrown at the altar, right?! You did it on purpose! You¡¯re afraid that I might take hold of the Cethosian market and affect your standing in the Yard Family! You¡­ are such a schemer!¡± Sophia could not tell whether it was Henry or Ryan. Aside from the color of their hair, she could not find another aspect to differentiate between the two of them. Based on voice alone, they were even more indistinguishable. Callum seemed extremely surprised after listening to the rant. Then, he looked worried and confused. ¡°Altar? Firecracker? Henry, what are you talking about?¡± Sophia nearly burst intoughter. So, Henry really did set up an altar to cast a curse on me! Moreover, Callum threw a firecracker at the altar?! Not bad; not bad. If it were me, I would have done the same thing! Henry sneered and nearly grounded his teeth to dust. ¡°Who else could it be but you?! My beloved elder brother¡­ do you think I wouldn¡¯t know about what you did?¡± Callum clicked his tongue and pretentiously said, ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what happened, it seems like you did something you shouldn¡¯t have done, Henry. How many times have I told you before? Cethos is different from other countries. If you want to integrate yourself into Cethos, you must first understand theirws and regtions¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Henry coldly cut off his sentence. ¡°I don¡¯t need advice from you. Who do you think you are?!¡± In return, Callum pretended to be angry. ¡°Since you won¡¯t listen to my advice, then I can only give you a stern warning as your elder brother. Back when you vowed to take control of the Cethosian market, Cade and I provided you with the resources and money that you wanted. I gave you everything you wanted! If you still can¡¯t produce results, then go back to school and study for a few more years.¡± After that, he rudely hung up and continued ying his game. On the other side of the phone, Sophia finally spoke up. ¡°Wow; are you not going to confess to your crime?¡± He continued ying his game as he replied, ¡°What crime? All I did was ask somebody to throw a firecracker.¡± Listening to him, she found it rather strange. It seemed like Callum had ced many of his men around his two younger brothers to act as his eyes and ears. ¡°You¡¯re pretty amazing to ce spies among Henry¡¯s men. So, why won¡¯t you make a move yourself? Could it be that you can¡¯t bear to do it yourself?¡± His smile stiffened slightly. A long while passed before he quietly replied, ¡°Mom has taught me this since I was young: ¡®On the path to greatness, even family can be sacrificed¡¯. What are two younger brothers?¡± The main reason is that we still don¡¯t haveplete control over the Yard Family right now¡­ Sophia hurriedly interjected, ¡°Shh. Don¡¯t say that out loud; Cade is listening!¡± However, Callum didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s what Mom taught him too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re weird.¡± Sophia could not understand their family and the way they did things at all. After she finished ying her game, she left her study and went back to the bedroom to sleep. When Carmen heard Sophia moving about, she ran out of her room. Hugging a small frog plushie, she pouted cutely and said, ¡°Mommy, I want to sleep with you.¡± Sophia happily picked Carmen up and went into the bedroom. Then, she ced Carmen on the bed between her and Michael. Michael was sleeping deeply. Even so, he noticed the two of theming in. Rolling over, he held Carmen in his arms as he slept. Sophia studied her husband and her daughter, a tender and loving emotion washing over her. On the path to greatness, even family can be sacrificed? Bah! Some people might be willing to sacrifice their families for the sake of power and wealth. But, I only want my family and the people I love to be safe and sound. I have to forge ahead bravely and fearlessly for the sake of my happiness! Chapter 1163 Chapter 1163 In the middle of the night, the psychic grandmaster and his two sons were cleaning up the mess at the altar on the rooftop of the Ronney Group¡¯s office building. Now that the grandmaster had messed up the ritual, Henry was sure to kick them out of the Yard Family. However, the grandmaster was not convinced that he was at fault. My n has always acted as the Yard Family¡¯s psychic grandmasters. We were extremely powerful in the past, so why are my powers not working? Then, he searched for the leftover blood from Ryan and Henry that had yet to be used as well as a strand of Sophia¡¯s hair. He wanted to redo the ritual. Preparing the altar again, he stood before it like a madman with disheveled hair. If it fails again this time¡­ That can only mean that the end of the Yard Family is nigh! Nothing can save them anymore. If so, the meaning behind my existence as their psychic grandmaster will be gone too¡­ On the 32nd floor of the Ronney Group¡¯s office building, Henry was pacing about anxiously. It waste at night, yet even the 32nd floor was not spared the pervasive smell of barbecueing from downstairs¡ª the magnificent Ronney Group building smelled of barbecue. Was it Callum and Cade? To be honest, Henry wasn¡¯t sure either. Still, he was very familiar with his two elder brothers¡¯ capabilities and methods. All four of them were twins, and he too wanted to be the head of the Yard Family. Therefore, he had always beenpeting against them as rivals. Since we were young, Ryan and I have considered Callum and Cade to be enemies we needed to surpass. Would they let us breathe easy? While he was mulling over those thoughts, the smell of barbecueing from downstairs prated his senses. It seriously impacted his ability to think. ¡°Why is the barbecue stand downstairs still open?!¡± Ryan replied, ¡°We can¡¯t chase them off. The city management authorities have gone off work. If we mobilize our private forces and things get out of hand, it will reflect very badly on us.¡± Not long ago, they sent their security guards out to chase those people away. The incident unexpectedly turned into arge-scale security incident, and nearly forced thepany to close its doors for self- inspection. If only this were not Cethos¡­ and this was my private turf; who would dare to set up a stall on my private territory?! ¡°One day, I¡¯m going to make it so that they can never run wild within my territory again!¡± Henry said viciously. At that moment, something ck fell from above. It flew past the 32nd-floor window where he was standing like a shooting star and continued hurtling down toward the ground without pause¡ªthe psychic grandmaster hadmitted suicide by jumping off the building! Moreover, he fell directly onto the barbecue stand and died on the spot. The dead grandmaster lying in a pool of blood frightened the barbecue stall so badly that they fled several miles away. After that incident, nobody dared to set up a stall near the Ronney Group¡¯s building for quite some time. Before the sun rose again the next day, the suicide incident at the Ronney Group¡¯s office building had spread across the entire Bayside City. Various short video clips were circting on the inte. In the age of the inte, the suicide at the Ronney Group could not be kept under wraps no matter how hard they tried to sweep it under the rug. Once again, Henry and Ryan were taken to the police station to aid in the investigation. The entrance of the Ronney Group¡¯s office building was cordoned off by the police, and thepany was forced to shut down for several days. Somebody had died in the building; combined with the rumors from a while back, none of the employees dared to turn up for work. Besides, the employees were already feeling uneasy in the first ce. That was why Henry had brought in the grandmaster to soothe their fears. Contrary to his expectations, the grandmaster had killed himself instead. The Ronney Group was finished! Even the psychic grandmaster was dead! In Ronney City, Callum had just finished his lunch. He was preparing to attend a meeting after ying with the pig. To his surprise, his spy hidden in the Ronney Group sent him a message: ¡®The psychic grandmaster fell to his death. No idea who the perpetrator is.¡¯ He frowned. The grandmaster is dead? Could it be Sophia? Killing the grandmaster now will certainly muddy the waters. I wonder if Henry can remain in control of the situation and keep it under wraps now that somebody from the Ronney Group, a foreign enterprise, has died. I¡¯m guessing he won¡¯t be able to hold on for long. Sophia will probably take the chance to strike again and get rid of those twins while she¡¯s at it! Callum held no affection for the psychic grandmaster. However, that grandmaster had devoted his entire life to the Yard Family. Even if he did not produce results, he still worked hard for them¡­ Callum felt that the grandmaster¡¯s death was a shame, but he had nothing much to say about it aside from that. In the struggle for power, human lives are nothing but cannon fodder. In Bayside City, Sophia heard the news about the death of the Ronney Group¡¯s grandmaster in the morning. The office building of the Ronney Group¡¯s headquarters must be at least forty stories. Falling to one¡¯s death from the rooftop¡­ That¡¯s really cruel¡­ I wonder who did it? Did the Yard twins throw the grandmaster off the building in a fit of rage because the ritual failed and they couldn¡¯t cast a lethal curse on me? Or, did Callum take the opportunity to frame his younger brothers? In any case, Henry and Ryan are goners. Somebody died. Moreover, it happened during the busiest time of the night. I wonder how much panic the sudden death caused? Later, Sophia asked somebody to go to the police station to ask about the incident and soon received an answer. ording to the statements given by the grandmaster¡¯s sons, the grandmaster reportedly committed suicide by jumping off the building. That night, they were undoubtedly performing a ritual to cast a lethal curse on Sophia at the rooftop of the building. During the first attempt, somebody had thrown a firecracker at the altar and disrupted the ritual. During the second attempt, the grandmaster carried out the ritual again before going insane all of a sudden. Crying andughing at the same time, he yelled, ¡°The heavens have abandoned the Yard Family!¡± Then, he jumped off the building. The police were rather doubtful about the grandmaster¡¯s ¡®suicide¡¯ incident. There were no witnesses, videos, or audio recordings of the incident. Moreover, the grandmaster¡¯s neck was bruised from being strangled. Based on the marks, they were made by Henry. On the other hand, Henry said nothing whatsoever while waiting for hiswyer to arrive. At present, there was no evidence of him murdering the grandmaster. In the same vein, there was no evidence to prove his innocence either. Therefore, the police couldn¡¯t do anything to him. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Callum had been paying close attention to the news in Cethos. After he caught up on thetest news, he immediately called Sophia. ¡°This trick of yours is truly wonderful! Using the death of the grandmaster, youpletely destroyed the favorability Henry had built up with great difficulty. There¡¯s no evidence to prove him guilty, but there¡¯s no evidence to prove him innocent either. That¡¯s the most amazing part of it all! Despite knowing that he is the murderer, the police can do nothing! Not bad; they will definitely suffer in the future.¡± On the contrary, Sophia became puzzled. ¡°Weren¡¯t you behind the grandmaster¡¯s death?¡± He frowned. ¡°I thought it was you.¡± Thus, both of them were bewildered. If neither one of us did it, then who did? Could it be Michael or Cooper? But, they would have told me if they were the ones behind it. In the end, this incident turned into an unresolved case. However, Sophia couldn¡¯t be bothered to investigate the incident since it had nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, Callum was very sensitive about the issue. If it wasn¡¯t Sophia¡¯s doing, then that could mean that a fourth party had entered the fray and was secretly stirring up the waters. Therefore, he quickly obtained a surveince recording of the incident. Since Henry was afraid that somebody would gain ammunition against him for doing something like that, he did not dare to set up any surveince cameras. Unfortunately, he could not prevent Callum from gathering evidence of the incident; Callum had sent somebody to secretly set up a pinhole camera in advance to record the entire incident. In the video, the grandmaster¡¯s hair was in disarray, and he looked like a lunatic. He was using Henry and Ryan¡¯s blood as ink as he drew a magic spell on some nk talismans. He wanted to use the strength of the Dragon Blood to curse Sophia to death. However, the soul-suppressing charm spontaneously burst into mes mid-way through the ritual! Looking at the soul-suppressing charm in disbelief, he suddenly burst out into insaneughter. ¡°The heavens have abandoned the Yard Family! The heavens have abandoned the Yard Family!¡± After saying that, he dashed out of the pinhole camera¡¯s view, and his sons immediately ran after him. What happened after that remained unknown. Callum did not know if the grandmaster hadmitted suicide or if his sons had pushed him off the building¡­ Chapter 1164 Chapter 1164 Scowling fiercely, Callum stared at the soul-suppressing charm that spontaneously burst into mes in the video. He did not believe in the existence of supernatural powers. He was certain that somebody had done something to the talisman. For example, it could have been dusted with white phosphorus, which would spontaneouslybust when it came into contact with air. That would create a supernatural atmosphere to fool others into believing it. But, why would that person do that? Do they want the ritual to fail in front of everybody? However, they probably did not expect me to hire somebody to throw a firecracker at the altar. Did that disrupt and foil their ns? Is that why they killed the grandmaster? To make the incident bigger? Besides, who could it be? It¡¯s obvious that they have infiltrated the Ronney Group. What is their purpose? Is it Sophia? Callum could not figure it out. Still, a death had urred at the Ronney Group. As a consequence of that incident, the Ronney Fashion Week that finally received approval from the authorities became a pipe dream again. The authorities rescinded the event application, and the Ronney Group was forced to shut down for several days to rectify and improve theirpany policies. In the end, Henry finally managed to get himself out of the mess with the help of his bestwyer. However, this incident hade as a huge and unexpected blow to him¡ªso much so that even the event had been bungled. For some reason, he med it all on Sophia. If it¡¯s not Sophia, then it¡¯s Callum and Cade! It¡¯s also possible that they¡¯re working together! Damn it; Callum and Cade should just die! They are only a few years older anyway! What¡¯s so great about being the eldest son?! Mom promised Ryan and me that the entire Ronney Group would belong to us! Callum and Cade are just temporary ceholders working on our behalf! Ryan and I are the true future kings of the Ronney Group! Anna was holding General in her arms as she watched the snow in the Royal Garden of the Ronney Pce. Looking at the scenery in front of her, she felt extremely mncholic. The Yard Family had brought their entire heritage over to Ronney City¡ªeven this Royal Garden was an exact copy of the Royal Garden of the Imperial Pce. Still, she couldn¡¯t help feeling that the scenery here was not as beautiful as the one in Bayside City. After going back to Cethos, she finally understood what homesickness felt like. The Yard Family originated from Cethos. Moreover, she grew up in Cethos until she was found and taken back into the family at the age of 20. Although she had lost all her memories from before she was 20, she subconsciously resisted trying to recall those memories¡­ It was probably very painful and filled with sad memories. Since it¡¯s painful, I should just forget them. Over the years, she had subconsciously avoided thinking about those suppressed memories. However, she started dreaming about something this year. She dreamt that she was in terrible pain as something tore through her body and slid out of her. There were two of them. They felt soft and hot, and they were moving too¡­ It felt like two babies! Unfortunately, the doctor told her that she suffered from stunted growth. Although she had her ovaries, she did not have a womb. So, it was impossible for her to bear children. Even her biological sons were birthed through a surrogate mother. Having never experienced the feeling of giving birth before, she always felt iplete as a mother. But, in that dream¡­ it felt like I was giving birth. Moreover, it felt very realistic¡ªit felt like it really happened! Could those dreams be due to my yearning? All of a sudden, she wanted to go back to Cethos again. She wanted to see the scenery in Cethos, eat her fill of Cethosian dishes, and meet somebody in Cethos. But, I don¡¯t even know who it is that I want to meet. She had never felt this feeling before. It appeared suddenly after her return to Cethos and had been growing stronger and stronger ever since. ¡°Mother.¡± All of a sudden, Callum walked over to the pavilion Anna was sitting at as she watched the snow. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Anna wearily opened her eyes and said, ¡°Drop the formalities; nobody else is here.¡± He nced about his surroundings, then the dignified mask disappeared instantly. He walked over briskly and sat down. Just like how a normal son would act when he came home, he called out, ¡°Mom!¡± Her gaze was soft as she studied her son with gentle eyes. Then, she replied softly, ¡°Hmm.¡± He happily said, ¡°As expected, Henry and Ryan have messed up the Fashion Week. It looks like we won¡¯t be able to hold the Ronney Fashion Week in Cethos. I should take over the Fashion Week again. The spring/summer collection cannot be dyed because of them.¡± She smiled coldly. ¡°It¡¯s only for one season. No matter how heavy the losses, we¡¯ll be able to bear it. Leave it to your two younger brothers; let them act as freely as they want. The bigger the losses they incur, the better.¡± The worse those two idiots are, the brighter my sons shine inparison. They truly are that b*tch¡¯s children. Their despicable and disgusting nature cannot be concealed. They will never be able topare with my sons! A baby alpaca yfully pranced around Anna. Afraid that it might be cold, Callum had put a pink padded jacket on it. Then, Anna patted its head and said, ¡°They belong to other people. You should return them after ying with them for a few days.¡± Callum smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll send them back after the New Year¡¯s.¡± The New Year¡¯s¡­ Those words shed across her mind. They sounded very familiar yet very strange at the same time¡ªit felt both cold yet warm. Although Ronney City celebrated New Year¡¯s every year, it was far from the festive atmosphere found in Cethos. She suddenly wanted to return to Cethos to celebrate New Year¡¯s; she wanted to see the neon lights that covered the sky¡­ It was rather busy before New Year¡¯s. Therefore, Sophia would y games to destress whenever she had some free time. Callum and Cade were always online too. ¡°Hey, my hubby is going to be featured in my self-published pets luxury goods magazine soon. Hurry up and send my pig back to me. You can steal it back after the photo shoot.¡± I can steal it back after the photoshoot? Callum found her words rather amusing. So, he deliberately teased her. ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t it a pet magazine? Why would your husband be featured in it?¡± She sounded upset as she said, ¡°Everybody who watched ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ knows that we raise a pig at home. Besides, I started many social media ounts in its name, which garnered over a million followers. Since you f*cking stole my pig, I have not been able to update those social media ounts in quite a while now¡ªso much so that the fans are starting to wonder if I butchered it for the New Year¡¯s. Since my husband is going to be featured in the magazine, the pig will be too. So, hurry up and return it to me. I¡¯ll give you a god-tier sword in return.¡± Callum was rendered speechless by her words. Simrly, Michael rolled his eyes while ying games with her. The pig was stolen; why would they return it? Unexpectedly, the Yard Family actually returned the pig. On one early morning, a pig cage appeared at the entrance to the residential area. Inside the cage was a noble and graceful pig wearing a pair of golden pants. When Sophia received the ¡®express delivery¡¯ from the Yard Family, she called Callum and said, ¡°I¡¯ve received the pig. It¡¯ll be at the magazine studio the day after tomorrow for the photoshoot. Estimate the time yourself. You can secretly steal the pig back once we¡¯re done with the photoshoot.¡± Callum said, ¡°Okay!¡± Michael was speechless. discovered that the Yard Family had kept it so well-groomed that it was a peerless beauty¡ªso much so that it could go to the studio directly without her doing anything. Wow; the Yard Family even made my pig beautiful for me! During this time, Sophia reorganized the various domestic fashion influences and established the Bayside City Fashion Association. She also sessively acquired several fashion brands and fashion magazines. At the same time, she designed cosmetics, clothing, perfumes, jewelry, and pet luxury goods. She had Kenny, a big shot in the fashion industry, on her side. Meanwhile, Russell, who brought his business back to Cethos recently, had formed a deep cooperative partnership with her. Moreover, the Yard Family¡¯s Fashion Week was ruined by the death of the grandmaster. Everything was going well for her. Thus, she was ready to put on a great show. Chapter 1165 Chapter 1165 Michael, who hated appearing in magazines, was caught and forced to appear in magazines recently. Moreover, he had to suffer through a variety of topless and seductive poses for the cover page photos. However, Sophia¡¯s request was even more outrageous this time¡ªhe had to bring the pig along with him too. After the second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ aired, the whole country knew that he had adopted the pig chosen by God. In one episode of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, they even filmed him in his house. As a result, everybody discovered how many pets he had at home, and he was instantly labeled as the ¡®Rich Zookeeper¡¯. As New Year¡¯s was just around the corner, everybody was preparing their knives to butcher their pigs. On that note, Sophia¡¯s plump and healthy pig had been missing for some time. The fans were starting to worry and would check in on the pig¡¯s whereabouts from time to time. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Therefore, Michael not only had to take a photo with the pig but also receive an interview about his experience raising a pig. My experience?! Do you want me to talk about postpartum care for sows?! What do you mean by caring for the pig? Justin will personally butcher the pig as soon as it¡¯s brought back! I would rather tell the fans about my experience in making cured meat and sausages! However, this was a pet luxury goods magazine¡ªhe did not dare to do that. I feel aggrieved! Extremely aggrieved! Unfortunately, Sophia was watching him intently. He had no choice but to awkwardly finish the interview with the reporter. Fortunately, he somehow bluffed his way through it. After the interview, he and the pig took a rest while she hurriedly went to check the results of the interview. He was emotionally exhausted at this point. Marrying my wife is equivalent to marrying a zoo! I shouldn¡¯t have listened to Daniel¡¯s deceitful words back then. I shouldn¡¯t have gotten greedy just because Sophia was beautiful. What was I thinking¡­ High quality but cheap? A one-off purchase thates with no baggage? Can be returned at any time? Lies! My wife and my daughter are great. However, my father-in- law is too troublesome. She also has a whole bunch of meddling rtives and a hostile younger brother. Although the pig was back, Michael couldn¡¯t wait for it to be stolen away again. Sure enough; it was stolen again two days after it was returned. In Ronney City, Callum sent the pig back to Cethos for its magazine interview then quickly brought it back again. It was going to be the New Year¡¯s in two months, so he gave the pig a new hairstyle and dyed its fur in an auspicious color. He nned to spend the New Year¡¯s with it. Having grown up in the Yard Family, Calum and Cade had to deal with suspicion and betrayal all the time. They went through a lot and bore too many burdens just to survive to this day. Therefore, they no longer believed in humans and would rather raise a pet. Raising a pig was great¡ªat the very least, it would never lie. They were having a lot of fun as they dyed its fur with their own hands. All of a sudden, a servant came over and reported, ¡°Mr. Edwards is here.¡± Upon hearing those words, the siblings¡¯ expressions changed drastically. Why is Jordan here? Jordan was a mysterious existence within the Yard Family. He was the real power holder of the Yard Family and held full control over the authority the Yard Family wielded. Anna was nothing but his spokesperson. Under normal circumstances, he rarely appeared at the Ronney Pce as Anna was only a small part of his harem. He had many other women and children besides her. Despite his many children, Callum and Cade, as well as Henry and Ryan, were the only twins. They had the right to the inheritance of the Yard Family and were highly favored by him. Naturally, there were others among Jordan¡¯s many wives that had also given birth to twins before. Wanting to receive a share of the pie, they all ended up dead. Anna would never allow anybody else¡¯s children to threaten her territory. Unfortunately, Henry and Ryan were loved by Jordan and well-protected by their mother¡ªso much so that she had never had the opportunity to get rid of them. But, it was different now. Callum and Cade soon appeared in front of Jordan. They were neatly dressed as they respectfully greeted him. ¡°Father.¡± Mere moments ago, they were dressed in shorts and slippers while ying with the pig in the back garden. Upon hearing that their father was here, they became neatly and meticulously dressed in a blink of an eye. It was as if they were going to meet a superior, rather than their father. Jordan went straight to the point as soon as he arrived. ¡°Were you behind the grandmaster¡¯s death?¡± His gaze was sharp and he studied his two sons. At some point, these two sons of his had gotten more and more difficult to control. It made him keenly aware that he was old. He was approaching 60. On the other hand, these two were at their prime. They wouldpletely rece him soon. When he learned of the grandmaster¡¯s death, he immediately knew that it was their doing. In response, Callum and Cade exchanged a nce with each other. Then, they replied bemusedly, ¡°Father, we don¡¯t know about it either. We only received the news about the grandmaster¡¯s death two days ago.¡± Jordan stared at them while they spoke. His sharp gaze felt as if he was trying to pierce right into their souls; it carried such a powerful aura that it made one feel as if they were suffocating. However, Callum and Cade endured many simr gazes since they were young. They could now remain calm and impassive under that gaze. Besides, they truly did not do anything to the grandmaster. They were innocent. ¡°Was it really not your doing?¡± Jordan expressed his doubts. He did not trust anybody, not even his own sons. Needless to say, his sons were notpletely aligned with him either. Callum suddenly spoke up in a slightly profound tone. ¡°The grandmaster used Henry and Ryan¡¯s blood to make a soul-suppressing charm. I wonder if something went wrong with the ritual. It might have shocked the grandmaster so badly that he jumped off the building. After all, the grandmaster¡¯s two sons imed that he jumped down by himself.¡± Although he did not believe in the metaphysical, it was no secret that Jordan¡¯s other two sons were not part of the Imperial Yard Family lineage. From a metaphysical perspective, they were fake dragons and fake Dragon Blood would surely have failed to suppress demons. Cade alsozily joined in, saying, ¡°The grandmaster had some scratch marks on his neck. Perhaps, they failed to control themselves and pushed him down the building when the ritual failed. It¡¯s just one person anyway. They only need to use some money to cover it up, just like they always have in the past.¡± In the past, Henry and Ryan had behaved in the same way, running wild and doing as they pleased. They were regrs of the Devil Ind, a ce said to be outside thew¡ªa hunting ground for the powerful. Moreover, what they hunted were not beasts but humans. Many people, who were about to die, would go to Devil Ind and volunteer themselves as prey, receiving arge sum of money in return. As prey, they would be hunted by the nobles for entertainment. If they managed to evade for a period, they would receive another sum of money and obtain their freedom. If they died, they died. More importantly, their deaths werepletely legal¡ªone could pay to kill legally on Devil Ind. At the tender age of 20, Henry and Ryan were not just regrs at the Devil Ind, but they were already VIP tinum members¡­ Even now, Callum and Cade could not figure out who was behind the grandmaster¡¯s death. Perhaps, it truly was Henry or Ryan who lost control of themselves and killed the grandmaster in a fit of rage. After all, murder was nothing to them. Jordan was silent. He probably believed what they said. Compared to his elder sons, his younger sons were far toowless. I can¡¯t believe they dared to kill in Bayside City. Bayside City is not a ce they can run wild in! Sigh; I can only me myself for spoiling them when they were younger. That¡¯s why they grew up so aloof. After that, Jordan finally left in a hurry. Callum got up to send him off, the warmth in his eyes disappearing as soon as Jordan left. What is he going to do? Don¡¯t tell me; is he going to Cethos to help Ryan and Henry take over the Cethosian market himself? If that¡¯s the case, he¡¯s going to leave Ronney City¡­ Chapter 1166 Chapter 1166 If Jordan left for Cethos, Ronney City would be under Anna¡¯s control. If so, Anna and her two sons would have the opportunity to do many things¡­ In Bayside city, Linus was trying to investigate who was behind the grandmaster¡¯s death. This is just too strange. It wasn¡¯t me and it wasn¡¯t Sophia. Callum did not admit to it; Cooper would never use such means; and Michael would have said something if it was him. So, who on earth did it? At present, Callum and Cade were the most likely culprits. Only they could ce spies among Henry¡¯s men, but Callum did not admit to doing it. Could it really be caused by some metaphysical reason? Could it be that they wanted to use the Dragon Blood flowing within the Yard Family¡¯s direct descendants to cast a spell on Sophia, but her genes turned out to be stronger than theirs? Henry and Ryan had stepped on so many toes that countless people were waiting for a chance to kick them when they were down. Now that the Ronney Fashion Week was a wreck, Bayside City¡¯s fashion industry was jumping for joy. Everybody was working together to promote Bayside City¡¯s fashion brands. They wanted the Fashion Week to seed so that they could drive the Ronney Group out of Cethos, once and for all. Still, Linus couldn¡¯t rest easy until he got to the bottom of this matter. ¡°Siri, bring up all the surveince data from the Ronney Group¡¯s vicinity, three days before and after the incident, and analyze them for any suspicious individuals.¡± The housekeeping robot immediately did as was instructed. It downloaded all the surveince footage from the Ronney Group¡¯s vicinity from three days before to three days after the incident. Then, it ran a facial analysis and matched them to the criminal database. The analysis waspleted quickly, and it reported, ¡°The wanted criminal, Quinton rk, was discovered at 9 AM, one day after the incident.¡± Linus was shocked. Bringing up the surveince feed, he saw a man in a security guard¡¯s uniform cockily leaving through the Ronney Group¡¯s main entrance, one day after the incident. That man even looked straight into the camera while he was on his way out. Quinton?! Why is he back here again?! What¡¯s he up to now?! ¡­ During this period, Sophia seemed to be extremely busy. She was busier than Michael. She left the house early in the morning and came backte at night, every day. If that wasn¡¯t bad enough, she also brought her pets with her to work. Sometimes, they were used for filming purposes; sometimes, they modeled for a fashion show. In short, it was hectic. Carmen was still very young, and Sophia did not want her to be involved in the entertainment circle at such a young age. Therefore, her acting career was rather intermittent. Instead, she spent most of her time in school, only appearing on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ or shooting the asional advertisement for the Michel Group¡¯s range of children watches. Once in a while, she would also take on a cameo role in certain international movies. However, Sophia did not hold the same concern for her pets. There was nothing wrong with them following her to work. Besides, those who didn¡¯t work, didn¡¯t get to eat. As the trailzer for pet luxury goods in Bayside City, Sophia felt that she had to own several pets at the very least. When the fans recently learned that Taylor had nearly thirty pets at home, they mored about stealing his pets from his house. However, nobody actually took any action except for Callum. Due to the frequent fashion shows, the pets were always going in and out of the house. That gave Callum more opportunities to make his move. He constantly sent people over to steal the pets, kidnaping a cat here or a dog there. Finally, Pleiades was sessfully stolen too. Michael was secretly celebrating Callum¡¯s sess in stealing the chicken. Unexpectedly, he heard Sophia calling Callum. ¡°Return my chicken. In five days, it¡¯s going to y a guest role in a movie.¡± Callum said, ¡°Sure.¡± Two dayster, a well-fed rooster appeared at the entrance of the residential area. At the same time, the giant poodle that was out for work was kidnapped. At first, Michael was speechless. In the end, he got used to it. Callum would kidnap anything he took a fancy to. Meanwhile, Sophia would make a phone call to urge him to return the pets she needed. Two dayster, the stolen pet would be dumped in front of their residence. Moreover, they were fed until they were plump and tender. Callum stole everything, except for the three huskies. Damn retards! What¡¯s the point of stealing the pets here and there? Besides, every stolen pet is shipped internationally! Are the delivery costs free?! Why don¡¯t we just generously hand them all over to Callum?! Naturally, Michael could onlyin under his breath. He had been paying close attention to his wife¡¯s career recently. The fashion business was in full swing. After bringing Russell over to her side, things developed even more rapidly. The Remote Mountains Health Club Project she established in partnership with Daniel was expanding in scale. Plum Technology was gradually growing too. Those that supported Cooper had left Mitchell Group to work in Plum Technology¡ªit was bing the next ¡®Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡¯. At the start of the New Year¡¯s, Plum Technology, a techpany started up by four university students to develop online games, finally surpassed Mitchell¡¯s Technology in its own field. Plum Technology upied a rtivelyrge portion of the market share. It wasparable to that of the Michel Group¡¯s Cethosian branch. Mitchell¡¯s Technology was once Cethos¡¯ greatest pride as a national industry. It was Cethos¡¯ calling card. Whenever foreign dignitaries visited the country, they fervently hoped to be invited to Mitchell¡¯s Technology for an inspection. Bayside University and Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡ªone represented the country¡¯s education while the other represented the country¡¯s economy, However, since the start of the New Year¡¯s, no foreign dignitaries were sent to Mitchell¡¯s Technology for inspection anymore. That was a huge sign of what was toe. Now, Mitchell¡¯s Technology was declining at a rapid rate. It used to be a powerful dragon, brilliantly soaring in the skies. It used to shock the world with its innovations. But now, it was a withered and ailing dragon that could no longer move. It had lost its brilliance. It was just a matter of time before it died. Even if the Mitchell Family had the backing of the Yard Family, it would be to no avail. The Mitchell Family¡¯s annual family meeting was held as usual. The chairman, Alex, furiously threw the financial statements of the year on the table. Then, he gave a thunderous roar. ¡°The share prices are falling! Our market share is shrinking! Mitchell¡¯s Technology is growing weaker and weaker by the day! Who can exin this to me?!¡± Nobody dared to say a word. They barely even dared to breathe. Ever since Cooper came back, Mitchell¡¯s Technology began to weaken. Although Alex and everybody else understood the reason for its decline, they refused to admit it. Therefore, everybody starteding up with various excuses. ¡°The marketing department should take responsibility. Our marketing methods are still too old-fashioned. It¡¯s a new era after all¡­¡± ¡°The product development department has the greatest responsibility. Our products have too many defects.¡± ¡­ Pushing the me around, nobody dared to admit that they had benefited from Cooper¡¯s original technology for more than 20 years. And now, those original technologies were no longer relevant. Feeling guilty, they could only push the me around. In the end, Sandra stood up. She had remained quiet all this while but now said, ¡°Many reasons led to Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡¯s decline. Not only are there external factors, but we also have many internal factors to me.¡± Stepping forward, she nced at the Mitchell Family¡¯s senior executives before sternly continuing, ¡°Right now, the entire world is developing rapidly, especially in the high-tech industry. It has reached a point where it¡¯s rapidly evolving. Every other country has been developing quickly, but Cethos is the only country where progress has slowed down. This isn¡¯t solely the Mitchell Family¡¯s fault. N?velDrama.Org ? content. Rather, it¡¯s because the entire high-tech industry in Cethos has be stagnant. The Mitchell Family is still number one in the country. Aside from us, no other families cane up with products that are highly distinguished in the international market. As the entire industry is suffering from this stagnant development, we are no exception.¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody nodded. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not solely the Mitchell Family¡¯s fault. The me lies with Cethos¡¯ slow development and poverty, which is dragging us down. Chapter 1167 Chapter 1167 Look at America and Germany. In the Mitchell Family¡¯s opinion, the high-tech industry of both these countries boomed muchter than Cethos. However, because these two countries progressed rapidly, it drove the high-tech industry to develop just as quickly as a result. These countries surpassed the Mitchell Family a long time ago, but it was mainly due to the strength of their countries which provided better conditions and foundations for the development of the high-tech industry. On the other hand, the main reason the Mitchell Family was slowly declining was that Cethos did not ce much importance on them. Moreover, they had to pay all sorts of exorbitant taxes and levies to the country, which gradually made the high-tech industry within the country into what it was today. In short, the country did not protect its national industry and even allowed a rival like Michel Tech to enter the market. Everybody seemed to have found a reasonable excuse, and the atmosphere of the meeting immediately eased up. Then, Sandra continued, ¡°Naturally, we suffer from internal problems too. Firstly, we are suffering from a huge brain drain. As you all know, we have been losing many of our talents over the past two years. Therefore, the top priority is to bring back all the outflowing talents.¡± Everybody nodded in agreement. Plum Technology had poached too many of Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡¯s employees. Those were the talents that Mitchell¡¯s Technology had trained and cultivated. The loss of those employees had been a huge blow to thepany. Afterward, Sandra took out her proposal and passed it around. She was going to save the Mitchell Family. A copy of the proposal soon fell into Sophia¡¯s hands. ¡°The carrot-and-stick method? Bringing back the outflowing talents? Vigorously recruit talents within the high-tech industry¡­ Regardless of their origins, those that perform exceptionally will be allowed to take on the Mitchell surname.¡± Sophia was amused by Sandra¡¯s creativity. God damn! Those that perform exceptionally will be allowed to take on the Mitchell surname?! Isn¡¯t that just like in ancient times where the great heroes of the country are given a royal surname?! When Cooper saw that, his entire expression darkened considerably. How dare they make excuses for their inaptitude?! The biggest issue with Mitchell¡¯s Technology is that it isn¡¯t making any progress! The entire world is moving forward, but they¡¯re still fixated on the original but outdated creations! The high- tech industry has always been changing. Mitchell¡¯s Technology is part of the high-tech industry. However, it continues using fingerprint attendance systems to clock in when even normalpanies are starting to use mobile phone apps to clock in! It¡¯s so backward that it doesn¡¯t even seem to be part of the high-tech industry! Still, he was relieved that not all of the Mitchell Family was gone. During the New Year¡¯s, Plum Technology also announced that it was undergoing major changes. It was going to split out the high-tech business from the mainpany and establish ¡®Dragon Technology Corporation¡¯. Dragon Technology was more or lessposed of the people that followed Cooper when he left the Mitchell Family. More importantly, it was mainly led by the Mitchell Family although Plum Technology held arge portion of its shares too. Cooper was a director at Dragon Technology Corporation. However, the main operation of thepany was led by Sean, Derek, and Vincent. Besides, arge number of talents were flooding in from Mitchell¡¯s Technology. They nned to focus on the high-tech industry and vowed to bring back the glory days of the past. As such, Cooper was merely a name on the director¡¯s board. He practically left everything in thepany to the youngsters. He felt at ease with them around¡ªwith them around, the Mitchell Family would never copse. Although Linus did not take on the Mitchell name, he was still Cooper¡¯s son and everybody considered him as part of the Mitchell Family. As a result, Michel Tech and Dragon Technology signed a series of cooperative contracts with each other. The authorities were also paying close attention to Dragon Technology, which seemed to be advancing aggressively. Cethos used to be a backward country. However, the high-tech industry developed rapidly and the country became known for it. Unfortunately, Cethos¡¯ high-tech industry had declined over the past 20 years. It had long been overtaken by other countries. Hence, the authorities had high hopes for Dragon Technology. They hoped that it would advance to the top, bringing the country with it too. Needless to say, Mitchell Energy and Technology under Cooper¡¯s direct guidance was not to be ignored either. It had only been established for a year or two, but it was already the country¡¯s pride and joy. Whenever foreign dignitaries came to visit, they were brought to Mitchell Energy and Technology for inspection. The children from the Mitchell Family that had an interest in clean energy went with Cooper; those that were engaged in electronics went to Dragon Technology. Those interested in fashion went to Sophia and those in the entertainment industry came looking for Michael. It was a perfect arrangement. In that way, the new Mitchell Family had created something of its own. They were slowly overwhelming the Mitchell Family of the past and were gaining a reputation as a trustworthy party among the powerful of Bayside City. During the New Year¡¯s, Mitchell Energy and Technology made another major breakthrough. They took another step forward in the clean energy industry, bringing mankind closer to the future. After all, clean energy was the future! Cooper was truly the dragon of Cethos and the hope of mankind! In the past, Cethos remained one of the leading countries in the electronics industry for more than ten years because of Cooper. And now, he was going to make Cethos one of the top leading countries in clean energy for the next ten years! As a result, the household became rather lively. Sophia quipped, ¡°Dad, reporters from the News Bulletin and Focal Point have been camping out at the residential area¡¯s entrance for a few days now. They are requesting to interview you.¡± Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. Cooper replied, ¡°Not interested.¡± Michael said, ¡°Dad, the invitation to the New Year Dinner G has been ced in your study. Whether you go or not, you should give them a response.¡± Cooper replied, ¡°Not free.¡± Linus asked, ¡°Dad, this is an invitation for a party at the presidential pce¡ª¡± Cooper replied, ¡°Next time.¡± Everybody came back with various invitations, but they were all rejected. It was as expected. Whether he was Fass Michel or Cooper Mitchell, he remained as cold as ever. Then, Carmen came back carrying a pink and fragrant invitation too. ¡°Grandpa, the kindergarten is having a New Year¡¯s performance. The teacher says that Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, and Uncle Linus have to attend together!¡± Thus, the cold and distant Cooper finally took the invitation and read it. However, he did not realize that his worth among the kindergarteners would not change much just because of all the amazing things he did. After appearing on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, Michael became very well-received among the kindergarteners. The price of a photo with him had risen to 50 apiece, and the price was even higher if they were hugging in the photo. The business was booming recently, so Carmenunched a ¡®Buy 1 Get 1 Free¡¯ activity for New Year¡¯s. And, Cooper was the ¡®free¡¯ part of the deal. However, Cooper¡¯s existence was akin to a god among the adults. Even Callum, who was located far away in another country, couldn¡¯t help talking about Cooper when he called Sophia to chat. ¡°Your dad is amazing!¡± Sophia was extremely proud. ¡°Of course! My dad is the world¡¯s most amazing father!¡± He jealously answered, ¡°Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Look at you¡­ By the way, I¡¯m going back to Cethos in a few days. Can you help me clean my house please?¡± She was puzzled. ¡°Why are youing back? Are you here to clean up your brothers¡¯ mess?¡± He replied, ¡°I¡¯ming back to celebrate the new year.¡± ¡­ Every newspaper and magazine was trying to get an interview with Cooper. However, Cooper was extremely indifferent. Aside from the invitation from Carmen¡¯s kindergarten, nobody could get him to attend their event. Even Maddie, who was rted to Joel, came over to request an interview with Cooper several times. Combined with Sophia¡¯s mediation, Cooper finally agreed to leave the house for an interview. Sophia felt that he had to go out more. She did not want him to keep himself locked up in his studio all the time. After all, he was still decently young. She wished that he could fall in love again and give her more younger siblings. Cooper appeared for the interview at the newspaper office where Maddie worked at. He was dressed very neatly, but his face was expressionless. Moreover, he was extremely cold and aloof. Although he answered every single question Maddie threw at him, his words were curt and his replies were short. On the other hand, Sophia was very talkative. ¡°My dad is single and unmarried. He has no bad habits and no family history of diseases. He is very healthy. Moreover, he has a gentle nature and is verymitted. Also, he has no history of being in a rtionship. This is very important! Besides, the picture on the cover should be refined. Don¡¯t forget to edit the photo to enhance his appearance!¡± Maddie nodded frequently in response. Meanwhile, Cooper felt speechless. He felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu¡ªit felt like the get-rich-quick scams all over again. Chapter 1168 Chapter 1168 Once the interview was over, Sophia and Cooper prepared to leave the ce. Cooper calcted and figured they would arrive right on time to pick up Carmen from the kindergarten. As they walked over to the main lobby of the newspaper office, however, they happened to see the editor-in-chief weing several people into the building respectfully. Suddenly, a familiar face was reflected in Cooper¡¯s bleary eyes, stirring up a great reaction. ¡°Sophia! What a coincidence?¡± Callum had spotted Sophia right away and called out to her in a friendly manner. Beside him, Anna was also looking over at Sophia and Cooper. But, Cooper did not look at her once as though he had not registered her at all. Sophia felt both mad and perplexed to see the three of them, but she still kept herposure as she gave them a greeting in return. ¡°Mrs. Yard, Callum, Cade. What brings the three of you to Cethos?¡± Could they havee to spend New Years¡¯ here? In a mild tone, Anna answered, ¡°We came here today to visit an old friend. I wasn¡¯t expecting to see both of you here as well. This is such a coincidence!¡± Sophia suddenly recalled that the head of that newspaper office was also a Yard. ¡°Indeed.¡± The two shook hands. Anna also stretched a hand out to Cooper. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, it¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡± Cooper had recently invented a miracle that shocked the world. It wasbeled as a ray of hope for humans by foreign media. After Anna heard about it, she started to see him in a different light. There were only a couple of men in this world whom Anna truly respected. One of them was the mysterious Fass Michel who held the reigns of power in Michel Group, and the other was Cooper. To save his daughter, Fass publicly revealed the form to the cure for Virs-18, shocking everyone. Unfortunately, Anna never got a chance to see him. Unexpectedly, Cooper acted as if he did not see her and walked right off, leaving her hand awkwardly suspended in the air. To relieve the awkward tension, the editor-in-chief quickly came forward and grabbed her hand. ¡°It¡¯s great to have you here at our newspaper office, Mrs. Yard. Pleasee this way.¡± A hint of disappointment grew in her eyes, but she did not let it show. As she followed the staff at the newspaper office inside, Sophia followed Cooper out promptly. Concerned that Cooper would be saddened by Anna¡¯s appearance, Sophia nced at him with a concerned look, but Cooper did not seem bothered and still maintained an indifferent attitude. When they arrived at Carmen¡¯s kindergarten to pick her up, however, a piece of news hit them like a bolt out of the blue. ¡°We¡¯re so sorry, Mrs. Fletcher, but Carmen has gone missing!¡± Sophia¡¯s mind went nk in an instant. My daughter is missing? ¡°How did this happen?¡± Cooper kept calm, but there was a slight quiver in his voice; he was staggering slightly as he held Sophia. The security guard at the kindergarten admitted, ¡°We failed to do our job. An unknown person came in here and took Carmen away!¡± Since there was a history of Carmen getting kidnapped at her kindergarten, Michael felt uneasy and had ced someone there to watch over her. The abductor, however, had boldly knocked her bodyguard out cold today and abducted her. When the staff at the kindergarten could not find her, they made a report to the police right away. Sophia lost strength in her whole body. It felt like someone had dug out a piece of her; she felt scared and helpless. Who would kidnap Carmen? Could it be the Yard Family? ¡°Send people to the Yard Residence and Mitchell Residence now!¡± shemanded, but her body and hands were still shaking uncontrobly. My baby, please be okay! Currently, it seemed like the Yard Family had the biggest grudge against them. After Sophia wiped her tears away, she clenched down on her teeth and wanted to go to the Yard Family to ask them personally when she received a picture from an unknown number. The picture showed Carmen¡¯s cute and smiling face. She was happily eating a skewer while sitting on a seesaw. Under her tiger hat, her small face had turned bright pink from the cold. Below the picture was a message that read, ¡®Lunaville Children¡¯s Amusement Park. Come alone.¡¯ The sight of the picture inevitably sent tears rushing down Sophia¡¯s face. Cooper became enraged when he saw the picture and message. ¡°I don¡¯t care who it is. I¡¯m going to cut them up into pieces!¡± Sophia yanked him back. ¡°Dad, Carmen is still in their hands. Let me go and see how things are.¡± Despite Cooper¡¯s attempt to stop her, she hopped in the car and drove off to that amusement park alone. Enraged, Cooper quickly followed after her from behind. Soon, Michael and Linus also received news about Carmen¡¯s disappearance and rushed people to the amusement park immediately. When Sophia got to the ce, she noticed that it was very remote with outdated equipment. Because they were at an outdoor amusement park on a weekday during wintertime, it was rather isted and gloomy. She only saw a middle-ageddy who was knitting and collecting the entrance fee at the gate. Sophia took out some money to buy a ticket and asked, ¡°Did you see a little girl with a tiger hate in here today?¡± The middle-ageddy was very upied with knitting, receiving the payment, and watching ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ on her phone. In the midst of everything, she answered, ¡°A little girl went in there with her uncle earlier. She was very pretty, just like this girl on television.¡± They¡¯re really here! As Sophia made her way inside, she stuck a hand into her coat where she had hidden a stun gun. Carefully taking steps forward, she started to hear Carmen singing happily somewhere deep inside the spacious ce. ¡°La,,, nting a sun. La,,, nting a sun. La,,¡­¡± Sophia held her breath. She walked with even more caution and was incredibly nervous. Every sound she heard was amplified when it reached her ears. As she continued to move forward, she quickly caught sight of Carmen. Carmen was wearing the tiger hat that was a family heirloom and squatting on the snow making snowballs. Sophia felt her heart rise up to her throat. When she was about to call out to Carmen, she saw Carmen stand up and run forward with the snowball in her outstretched hands. ¡°Mister, I made this little kitty for you!¡± A bare, pale, and big hand reached out to receive Carmen¡¯s gift while the other fell on her tiger hat to adjust it. In a gentle tone, he asked, ¡°Can you sing another song for me, Carmen?¡± She chirped, ¡°Sure!¡± With that, she was off bouncing around and singing again. ¡°Grow quickly, little pine tree. Green leaves and new sprouts. Let the sunshine and rain nurture you. Grow quickly; grow quickly!¡± Sophia also caught a glimpse of the man. It¡¯s him again¡ªQuinton rk! Standing still in ce, she was too afraid to move or take another step. She might not have known the reason for Quinton¡¯s return, but she knew that he was very dangerous. Carmen finished her song and went back to stand in front of Quinton. In a child-like voice, she asked, ¡°Mister, can I have another skewer?¡± N?velDrama.Org ? content. Quinton pulled his brows together. ¡°You can¡¯t eat anymore. Look; your mom is here to take you home.¡± Carmen saw Sophia right away and started running happily toward her. ¡°Mommy!¡± Quinton stood up from the bench he was sitting on for the first time and looked at Sophia with a smile in his eyes. He took a couple of steps forward, but before he could say anything, arge troop rushed in and pressed him down on the spot. Chapter 1169 Chapter 1169 In the end, Quinton was not charged for kidnapping. Carmen told them that he had brought her out to y. Hence, he was simply released. Quinton was on the wanted list in many countries around the globe, but he did not have a criminal record in Cethos. After he came to an agreement with the Fletchers, he was granted a pardon and his te was wiped clean. The whole world had scores to settle with him, except for Cethos. s, Quinton was dragged down to Michael¡¯s basement to get interrogated. Confronting the half-brother with whom he had a love-hate rtionship for many years made Michael feel very conflicted. He did not know how to approach the situation. I can¡¯t hit him, yell at him, or kill him, but he¡¯s getting into mischief all the time. ¡°Why did youe back? Didn¡¯t we tell you to stay away?¡± Quinton was sitting cross-legged in front of him with a nonchnt attitude and a milk lollipop that Carmen had given him hanging out of his mouth. ¡°What else? It¡¯s the New Year¡¯s. I came back to visit the family and spend New Year¡¯s here. I thought I¡¯d drop by to see your wife and daughter too!¡± Michael wanted to hit him, but he knew that throwing a few punches now was no use. ¡°Were you the one who pushed the Yard Family¡¯s high priest?¡± Quinton attested, ¡°Yes, it was me! I pushed him by ident. He was annoying me.¡± Killing people was a trivial matter to him and did not make him feel guilty. Even though Michael did not want to spend another second talking to him, he knew that Quinton would not have returned for no reason and that he surely had a motive. ¡°Tell me; what are you nning to do here?¡± Quinton continued to suck on the lollipop in his mouth. ¡°I really dide back to see your wife.¡± Standing up, Michael left the room and did not bother with Quinton anymore. He locked Quinton in the basement and had people keep watch on him 24 hours a day. ¡°I¡¯ll find a good time for you to leave the country.¡± Quinton urged, ¡°At least let me spend the New Year¡¯s here before leaving!¡± ¡°You wish.¡± Quinton was put in a confinement room with bulletproof ss in the basement. All four walls were clear which did not give him an ounce of privacy. He was also kept on a 24-hour watch where a sensor would go off if any movement was detected. When Michael left, he settled down and silently watched the elevator go up. He was back again. Even if he only got to see her from a distance, he was content. Back in the living room, Cooper was going ballistic. He was ready to kill both Quinton and Michael. Michael sat quietly in the corner¡ªtoo afraid to utter a single word. Sophia was also silent but was grateful to be holding Carmen in her arms. Thank goodness Quinton was the one who took her. If it had been someone else, I might not ever see her again. Still oblivious to the situation, Carmen asked, ¡°Why does Grandpa want to kill Uncle Quinton?¡± Sophia exined, ¡°This is a grown-up matter. You won¡¯t understand! Sweetie, don¡¯t ever go off with strangers again, even if it¡¯s Uncle Quinton.¡± Carmen pouted. ¡°Okay.¡± But Uncle Quinton is a nice person¡­ At midnight, someone made a sudden visit to see Quinton. ¡°Linus? What are you doing here? Are you here to seek revenge for your dear sister?¡± Quinton mocked as soon as he saw Linus walk in. ¡°Between the both of us, I know everything that you¡¯ve done. Who would have thought that she was your biological sister? Let me guess. You must feel both remorse and resentment. Are you afraid that she will distance herself from you once she finds out your true nature?¡± Linus watched him in silence. When Quinton finished ridiculing him, he asked, ¡°Why did youe back this time?¡± Quinton was still indifferent. ¡°Nothing really. I just wanted to spend the New Year¡¯s here, and see Carmen and your sister while I¡¯m at it.¡± Letting out a scoff, Linus stood up and walked toward Linus. With a piece of bulletproof ss between them, they locked eyes with each other and stayed that way for a long time, each seemingly analyzing the other¡¯s intention with their gaze. s, Quinton spoke first. ¡°Stop looking. Even if you keep staring at me, I won¡¯t like you. I only like your sister.¡± Linus shook his head helplessly and lectured, ¡°Stop pretending, Quinton. You know that you don¡¯t have much time left. You were injected with an excessive amount of stimnts. These stimnts were never developed sessfully, and they have strong side effects. Right now, the side effects are slowly showing up. Your body has started to deteriorate.¡± Quinton continued to feign ignorance. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°When you came in, I ran some tests on your blood and examined your whole body. I¡¯m also looking into the stimnts that you¡¯ve been using. The exceptional abilities that you have are all because of the stimnts. The effects of the stimnts might be degenerating now, but the side effects are slowly starting to appear. Both Celie and Sophia lost their memories after you brainwashed them. Sophia is back to normal now, but Celie has the mental age of a toddler. That¡¯s because you only used the stimnts on Celie and not on Sophia. Celie ended up this way because of the side effects of the stimnts!¡± Quinton fell silent. He was no longer sluggish like he was before, and there was even a bitter smile on his face. Yes, he was already aware. Those stimnts were developed decades ago in the Golden Triangle during Tanya¡¯s time. It fell into the Phantom Wolf¡¯s possessionter and continued to undergo improvements. Ever since Quinton was a young boy, he had been subject to the administration of these stimnts to change his body. On top of the extreme training methods, he was able to develop superhuman strength and abilities that eventually made him the king of killers. Nheless, it was not a fully-developed drug and was still being worked on. Both Quinton and Celine were simplyb mice. The side effects were something that had not been predicted. Over the years, the effects of the stimnts had begun to wear off, and Quinton could feel the side effects slowlying to the surface. His intention for returning to Cethos this time was to observe Celine¡¯s condition as she also had those stimnts in her system. ¡°Are you saying my intelligence will slowly decline just like Celine¡¯s? Will I be a boy in a middle- aged man¡¯s body?¡± He quickly went back to his previous self and joked, ¡°Well, that would be rather unsightly!¡± With a stoic expression, Linus remarked, ¡°Not necessarily. Each body reacts differently. I don¡¯t know what will happen to you, either. I came here today just to tell you that you brothers deserve to die.¡± All of a sudden, the look in his eyes turned cold and piercing almost as if he could freeze Quinton with his gaze. Through gritted teeth, he seethed, ¡°At the end of your strife with your brother, the only person who will be sad is my sister. I want more than anything to be able to cut you two up into pieces right now and get rid of your existence in this world forever!¡± Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. Four years ago, Quinton stabbed Michael with a poisoned knife. The poison had traveled into his bone marrow and was impossible to treat. All they could do was try to prolong his life. His death was not going to make Linus sad, but it would be worse than death for Sophia. As Quinton looked at a capricious Linus, he seemed to have seen something funny and broke into a guffaw. ¡°Linus, don¡¯t forget who was the one that gave me money to let me experiment with those things! Your money funded those drugs! How many killers have I helped you raise over the years? Plus all those nonconformists that I helped you weed out! How did we do it? Wasn¡¯t it with the help of those viruses and stimnts? Why? After you went from being an adopted son to a biological son, and secured your position in the family, are you choosing to forget all the great things you did in the past? Linus Michel¡ª¡± He pointed a finger at the ss at the same position as Linus¡¯ chest and sneered, ¡°If she ever bes sad one day, it will be on you too.¡± Chapter 1170 Chapter 1170 Every word pierced through Linus¡¯ heart. He¡¯s right. It will be on me too! Because he wanted to kill someone he did not like without leaving a trace, he gave Quinton money to experiment on those drugs. I¡¯m an aplice. Falling into a deep silence, he turned around and left with haste. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about leaving any time soon¡ªnot until I find a cure for Michael.¡± Linus went back up the elevator. Once the doors shut, Quinton returned to a calm state and continued to sit there in a daze. It waste in the night. Ever since Quinton showed up, aside from Carmen and Celine, no one else could really sleep. Sophia went to bed with Carmen in her arms. Carmen thought that she had only gone out to y with Quinton today, but Sophia looked like she had been to hell. She was traumatized by the event and had nightmares all night long. In her nightmare, she was sobbing in agony after someone took Carmen away, and Michael left her. When she woke up, she still felt unbearable pain in her chest. Meanwhile, Carmen was sleeping soundly next to her and even kicking her legs. Suddenly, Sophia noticed that Michael was not there. His side of the bed had gone cold. ¡°Hubby?¡± Rubbing her eyes while sitting up in bed, she looked around and found him sitting on the sealed-off balcony. It was currently 2 AM. Very discreetly, she slipped out of bed and walked over to the balcony where Michael was drinking some wolfberry water. When he saw that she had woken up, he asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She buried herself in his embrace and hid her face in his chest. ¡°I had a nightmare.¡± Michael held her and murmured, ¡°Dreams are always the opposite of reality. It¡¯s okay.¡± Hopefully¡­ There was nothing simple about Quinton¡¯s arrival this time. Something definitely happened. The anxiousness Michael felt was keeping him from falling asleep. ¡°Hubby.¡± She grazed her hand over his chest and said coquettishly, ¡°Am I a burden to you?¡± He let out a dry chuckle. ¡°Don¡¯t be absurd!¡± Even without her, he and Quinton would still have this internal strife. She was just a victim. Cooper was so furious today that Michael did not dare to speak up. He knew that Cooper was not mad that Quinton had kidnapped Carmen, but that Quinton had put Michael on his deathbed while the two were fighting. At the present moment, there was no progress at thebs in Africa. They had spent several years and underwent countless failures before finally conquering Virs-18. It was the same in this case. They did not know how many failures they would have to go through before they would seed in clearing the poison in Michael¡¯s body. They were even less sure of whether he could make it until then. If Michael died, Cooper would not be sad¡ªhe would probably even catch a smander to cook and celebrate¡ªbut Sophia and Carmen would be devastated. Cooper would do anything to cross through space and time, and return to thirty years ago. I would hold Annabel back and protect my children, then kill Michael and Quinton on the spot. His daughter was innocent. Ever since she was little, she had suffered through a lot. Now that she had finally stumbled upon her ipetent father, she also met a doomed fate with Michael. Michael knew that he was dying, yet he still did not want to let Sophia go! If Michael had let her go back then, the two could have lived as though they were strangers, and Sophia would not be sad over his death. Michael also felt remorseful. If he had known that his body would deteriorate this much, he might have chosen not to cross paths with Sophia in the first ce. But, who had a say when it came to fate? Cooper searched his own heart for answers. Can I really forget about Annabel? Of course not! ¡­ Sophia noticed that the people at home were acting strange ever since Quinton arrived. She did not know what was wrong, but the atmosphere just did not feel right. For example, Linus had note over to eat in days. At dinner that night, people were rather quiet. Once the meal was over, they went off to watch television. Since Linus did not show up, Sophia packed some food to bring to him in Vi No. 2. In the basement, Linus was in a video conference with experts at theb in Africa. Linus had funded the research on the poison that was in Michael¡¯s body. Not only did he support it financially, but he also provided technical support. When they were first studying this poison, they never thought that anyone could survive it. The fact that Michael was still alive was a miracle on its own. Moreover, he did not ever think that this poison would end up being used on Michael. ¡°Linus, we need time. This task is too hurried,¡± the experts on the other end of the call repeated for the umpteenth time. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Linus was losing patience, but he still stressed, ¡°I know. I know. I just hope you can pick up the pace. I¡¯ll give you as much money as you need.¡± With that, he ended the video conference and flopped on the ground dispiritedly. How did this happen? All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Through the surveince camera, he saw Sophia standing outside with food in her hands. The frosty cold had turned her face bright red. Composing himself again, he got up and went to let Sophia in. As soon as she entered the living room and saw Linus, she spotted a difference in him. ¡°Ew! Why didn¡¯t you shave, Linus?¡± Reaching up to feel his chin, he realized that his stubble had grown all over. His beard started growing extremely fast over the past few years that even just a few days without shaving made him look like Tarzan. He let out an awkwardugh, but Sophia did not mind. ¡°Come and eat. I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± Once sheid the dishes down on the table, the sweet aroma filled the entire dining room in an instant. Because Linus had been living off of meal recements and biscuits over the past few days, he felt hungry immediately and began gobbling down the food. Sophia sat and watched him at the side. She probably thought that he looked interesting with the beard. He was eating under her watchful gaze, but when he thought about the consequences she would bear because of his wrongdoings, the food became harder to swallow. Despite being born at the same time, Linus was lucky enough to have met Cooper earlier on, but it was not the case for Sophia. Midway through, hot tears started to sting his eyes, and he embraced Sophia at once. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry,¡± he apologized in a weak, tearful voice. He wanted to apologize to her a thousand, or even ten thousand times over. But, he knew that no matter how many times he apologized, she probably would never forgive him; he could not forgive himself either. Sophia knew why he was apologizing. Michael once gave her a brief ount of what had happened. He told her that Linus worked with Quinton and almost abducted her. Fortunately, he came around in time and helped to bring her home. ¡°Okay, okay, Linus. I forgive you. Hurry and eat your food!¡± Suppressing the despair and pain he felt, he forced the food down his throat. I will cure Michael, even if it costs me my life! Chapter 1171 Chapter 1171 After Linus finished eating, he returned to his workshop where he spent some time in his own thoughts. At midnight, he got up abruptly and went to Vi No. 8. Since he had the entry card to the ce, and his fingerprint was also recorded, he was able to enter the house easily. Going down to the basement, he found Quinton who was not yet asleep either. How could he have fallen asleep like this? Linus grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Quinton with the ss between them. Quinton¡¯s hair fell messily above his eyebrows, making him look rather unkempt. The two locked eyes and neither said a word for several minutes. Another few minutes passed before Linus softened his gaze and let out a sigh. ¡°You used to study medicine. Why don¡¯t you try to find a way? I don¡¯t want Sophia to be alone in the future, nor do I want to see Carmen lose her father.¡± Quinton ruffled his disheveled hair. His face, which was very simr to Theo¡¯s, revealed the weariness of a turbulent life. He was silent for a long time, then he finally spoke. ¡°I was told that when my biological father passed away, he had suffered injuries that were past the point of saving. Before he passed away, though, the hospital wanted to freeze his body and send him back to Bayside City so he could be saved when better medical equipment existed. But, because local technology was not well-developed at the time, the freezing failed, and my father never made it back.¡± A realization dawned on Linus. With a glimmer in his eyes, he prompted, ¡°Are you saying we should freeze Michael now, then take him outter when we find a cure?¡± This method was probably the best solution for Michael right now. They could freeze his body to preserve its current physical condition, then take him outter when they had more developed technology. Quinton went on. ¡°To my understanding, many influential people now choose to freeze themselves when they¡¯re at the brink of death with the hope that they can be brought back to life when technological advancements permit it. I assume you¡¯re also aware of this.¡± Undoubtedly, Linus knew about this technology. The demand for freezing bodies among aristocrats was gettingrger. Many of them had lived a life of glory and wealth, and were not willing to let it end so quickly. They wanted to prolong their lives over many more generations. In part due to its necessity in space exploration, the technology for low-temperature dormancy used in freezing bodies was being developed rapidly. This technology was known as cryopreservation. Standing up abruptly, Linus turned around and started to leave with haste. Just then, Quinton called from behind, ¡°Hey, I have something for your dad. He is definitely going to like it.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Linus felt perplexed as he turned back around. After Quinton was captured and taken there, he was stripped of his clothes and was only given an undershirt to wear. Lifting the corner of his shirt, he removed the ster that was attached to his waist and revealed a QR code that had been tattooed into his skin. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know once you scan it.¡± Linus scanned the QR code and found a download page for a zip file. Quinton insisted, ¡°You must give it to your father. He will love me to death. If my brother dies one day, your father might be my father too.¡± With a scoff, Linus downloaded the file to hisputer as he was heading back out. ¡°In a few days, I will find a good time to send you back to Africa. You have also contributed to the research and development of this virus, so perhaps you can provide some help.¡± Linus and the experts in Africa spent all night in an intensive discussion. After two days, they were able to give Linus a definite answer¡ªcryopreservation was possible, but it naturally also depended on Michael¡¯s willingness. Not everyone was willing to freeze themselves. s, Linus mustered up the courage to tell Michael about his idea. ¡°Cryopreservation¡­¡± It sounded like a term that he would only ever hear in science fiction movies. He did not think that it would have anything to do with him. Michael gave a bitter smile. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about thister. It¡¯s not time yet.¡± There was still a multitude of things left to be done. How could he feel at ease being frozen during this time? Carmen was still young, and Sophia had not achieved her dreams yet. He could not be absent from their lives now. Linus was filled with self-me. He felt a wave of helplessness and despair wash over him. If only we could turn back time¡­ Sadly, time will only ever move forward. Over those few days, Linus grew haggard trying to find a cure for Michael. Quinton¡¯s arrival instilled a sense of urgency within him. He had to pay for his sins, but unfortunately, Michael did not want to carry on with the procedure now. Who knew what would happen after his body was frozen? What if a mishap urred midway? If he closed his eyes now, who knew when would be the next time he would open them again? Would the people he loved still be around? ¡°Ha! So you guys were here!¡± Sophia jumped out of nowhere and saw both Linus and Michael in a serious mood. I wonder what they were talking about. Michael and Linus quickly changed the subject. For the time being, they still had to keep this a secret from Sophia to keep her happy. Sophia seemed to have just gotten off work. She came home today with an unfamiliar corgi. cing it in Michael¡¯s arms, she announced, ¡°This is our new dog. I¡¯m going to call it Peach. Peach, meet your new dad.¡± Michael frowned. B*tch? Why did she give it such a vulgar name? He pulled a long face and asked, ¡°Where did ite from?¡± ¡°I stole it!¡± She gloated, ¡°I passed by the Yard Residence on my way home today and noticed that no one was home except for this dog, so I took it.¡± She¡¯s proud of herself for stealing a dog! While Sophia was in the shower, Michael held the dog, and the two looked at each other. It looks exactly like a loaf of bread. How ugly. At that moment, Linus stood up. ¡°I n to send Quinton back to theb in Africa. You should bid him farewell when you can.¡± With his head lowered, Michael kept petting the dog and did not say anything. When Sophia came out of the shower shortly after, she turned the whole ce upside down trying to find Carmen. ¡°Where is Carmen? Where did my baby go?¡± Michael had been deep in thought. When he snapped out of it, he also realized that Carmen, who had been ying beside him the whole time, was no longer in sight. The nanny said that she had slipped away in a blink of an eye. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. In a short moment, the entire house was in chaos as they searched everywhere for Carmen. Fortunately, they were able to find her within a few minutes. She must have wandered off while ying. Michael let out the breath he had been holding. When the new dog was brought home, Carmen had gotten more than excited and evenid her little snacks out to feed it. While no one was looking, Michael headed down to the basement to talk about the idea of cryopreservation with Quinton. As soon as he went to the basement and saw Quinton, however, he eximed, ¡°Carmen came by here?!¡± Quinton responded, ¡°No, not even a single fly came through.¡± Michael lowered his gaze. ¡°Then, who did your nails for you?¡± Quinton was in sandals. His toenails that were poking out the front were painted pink. It was obvious that it was Carmen¡¯s work! She even stuck crystals on them! I¡¯ve never gotten such special treatment before. Hmph! Chapter 1172 Chapter 1172 Quinton was locked up inside, but a gap had been left underneath so food could be given to him easily. Earlier, Carmen had gone down to the basement and asked him to stick his feet out of the gap so she could paint his nails. Pulling his feet in, he asked, ¡°Why are you here? Are you inviting me to eat dinner with you guys?¡± ¡°Nice try,¡± Michael answered. If he were to show up now, Cooper would tear him into pieces right away. Moreover, Sophia was not too keen to see him either. But Quinton was not expecting to receive her forgiveness; his main priority in returning this time was to check up on Celine. The people who had used those stimnts at the same time were all exhibiting side effects, but each person had different symptoms, and he wanted to see the state that Celine was in. Another reason he had returned was that he wanted to give Cooper the thing he had on hand. For some reason, he was very interested in Cooper even though thetter was not his own father. It¡¯s probably because he¡¯s her father. On the other hand, Michael also had conflicting feelings toward Quinton. Looking at the carbon copy of Theo, he realized that even the lines and edges on Quinton¡¯s face were exactly the same as the Theo in Michael¡¯s memories. Michael¡¯s eyes filled with pain as he let out yet another sigh. How great would things have been if Quinton had been born into the Fletcher Family? After taking a good, long look at Quinton, Michael eventually got up to leave. Before he left, he asserted, ¡°In two days, I will send you to Michel Town in Africa.¡± Once Michael was gone, the small space returned to being dead silent. Looking down at his feet while still in his seat, Quinton stared nkly at the pink on his toes. Meanwhile, the whole family had dinner together in the dining room. They were having smander soup again tonight. Celine was excitedly scooping out some soup to give to Quinton. Carmen also handed Justin some jelly and chocte to give to him. On the other hand, Sophia kept acting as though she did not know Quinton was locked up in their basement. After dinner, she simply went to pet the new dog. Once Michael was done with his meal, he saw that Sophia was still in the living room with the dog and went to join her. While petting the dog, he also petted her. Even though she did not talk, he knew that she was not happy. In fact, she had not been happy ever since Quinton returned. Grasping her shoulder, he murmured, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t look happy.¡± She shook her head. Ever since Quinton returned, she kept having this premonition that something had gone wrong, but she did not know what. Michael continued, ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the spa on the weekend?¡± She nodded. The spa sounded pleasant. Her period had also ended just in time. Looking up, she kissed the corner of his mouth while her arms were wrapped around him tightly. Although she did not know what was going to happen, she just wanted to hold him tightly in her arms now and in the future. In the basement, the moment Justin left after giving Quinton his food, Carmen came in. While Quinton was eating inside that confined space, Carmen sat outside and drank her milk. Watching her drinking her milk made Quinton feel like he could easily eat two more bowls of rice. When she was halfway through her milk bottle, she asked, ¡°Uncle Quinton, why did Daddy lock you up in here?¡± Quinton drank everyst drop of the smander soup. As the thought of how delicious the food was crossed his mind, he answered, ¡°Because I didn¡¯t listen to him and did something bad. That¡¯s why I got locked up in here. You can¡¯t be like me, Carmen. You have to listen to your dad, mom, and grandpa.¡± Carmen nodded as if she understood his words. After that, she asked him to watch ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with her again. Before they reached the end of one episode, however, Sophia came down to look for Carmen. ¡°That¡¯s enough. You can continue tomorrow. It¡¯s time for bed now. You still have to go to school tomorrow.¡± Taking Carmen¡¯s small hand in hers, Sophia walked out of the basement as though she did not see Quinton locked up right next to her. Carmen waved at him. ¡°Bye, Uncle Quinton.¡± She left the tablet behind and said, ¡°I want to leave this for Uncle Quinton to watch.¡± Sophia did not say no. Besides, the tablet was not connected to the inte, and it only contained some of Carmen¡¯s films. From the moment Sophia stepped in until she brought Carmen out with her, she did not utter a single word to Quinton. There was nothing left to be said between them. She got a divorce because of him, and she also lost her sight because of him. Any animosity between them had been settled, so they were better off as strangers. Quinton did not speak to her either. Indeed, there was nothing more they could say to each other. They were practically strangers now. He knew that she was not his and that he was always just being forceful. The fruit that he attained by force was not only tasteless, but it was also bitter¡ªso bitter that it was hard to swallow and even filled him with regret. He could not face her anymore. Even though Sophia was oblivious, the truth woulde out one day, and she was going to find out about everything. When the timees, she might just kill me. In the living room, Michael was ying with the new dog while Cooper and Linus were watching television on the couch. The second season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ concludedst week. From this week onward, they would not get to see their adorable Carmen on television anymore. Cooper, in particr, was a bit disappointed. Linus picked up the dog that looked like a loaf of bread from Michael¡¯s embrace andmented, ¡°This dog looks rather familiar¡­¡± Suddenly, Maria rushed in. ¡°Mrs. Yard is at the gate. She says her dog is here and hase to pick it up. She also wanted to drop in to pay her greetings to Mr. Cooper.¡± Dog? They all turned to look at the corgi. Sophia had just ced Carmen down to sleep when she heard that Anna hade to their front gate. In a fit of anger, she called Callum right away. ¡°Wow, you ratted on me just because I stole your dog?¡± Callum retorted, ¡°Sophia, maybe look before you steal next time? That was my mom¡¯s dog! It was a gift from the Queen of the United Kingdom.¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Sophia hung up the phone. She looked at the surveince footage and saw Anna¡¯s car parked at their entrance. Her bodyguard was currently having a talk with their security guard. When Cooper heard about Anna¡¯s arrival, he started heading up the stairs. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep.¡± Sophia did not want Cooper to have any more to do with Anna, either. Turning to Maria, she instructed, ¡°I didn¡¯t see a dog. Tell her to go look somewhere else.¡± After the security guard passed on the message, the surveince camera showed Anna¡¯s car driving away. Once Anna was gone, Sophia let out a sigh of relief but she also felt rather guilty. Thinking about it, however, Callum had stolen all their pets while she only took one of their dogs. It¡¯s give and take. Yes, that¡¯s how it¡¯s gonna be. ¡­ Anna left in low spirits. As the car drove off, she kept looking back in the direction of The Imperial¡¯s Vi No. 8. There were two reasons she came by today. The first was to get her dog, and the second was to see Cooper. She did not know why she wanted to see him. Was it because of his influence? If she got to work with him, he could help her get out from under Jordan¡¯s control sooner. For some reason, his image kept surfacing in her mind. On the third floor of the vi, Cooper only closed the curtains after watching Anna¡¯s car leave. Sitting back down at this table, he tried his best to erase Anna¡¯s shadow in his mind before turning on his computer. His mailbox showed that he had received a new email. It was from Linus and read, ¡®Dad, this is very important. You have to look through all of it.¡¯ Chapter 1173 Chapter 1173 Very important? Does it have something to do with the business? When Cooper opened the document, he saw that it was an unnamed zip file with arge video file that was more than ten gigabytes. He proceeded to download the file. Since Sophia often yed games, the inte at Michael¡¯s ce was very fast, and therge file finished downloading in an instant. With a cup of coffee in his hand, he looked over some work documents while the video was being yed. When the video started, the quality was very poor. It looked like it was taken on a camera from decades ago. Judging by the background, the ce seemed like aboratory of some sort. The subtitle read, ¡®February, 199X¡¯. That was how Cooper used to record dates. For example, ¡®Invented USB sh disk, age 18, 198X¡¯. He still used the same format now. ¡®Carmen Sophia Fletcher, age XX, 200X¡¯. ncing at the timestamp, he instinctively tranted it as: ¡®When Sophia was 5 months old.¡¯ In the video, a man in a whiteb coat was talking to the camera. Because the video was recorded a long time ago, the audio was not very clear. Cooper had to turn the volume up all the way to be able to get several audible sentences out of it. ¡°¡­mindwiping can cultivatepletely loyal soldiers. After they lose their memories, we can mold a new personality into them as we please. It produces faster and more effective resultspared to traditional methods. Traditional mindwiping techniques use torture to make people forget, which will inevitably cause physical damage to the test subject. My method, on the other hand, uses electric currents to damage memory nerves in the brain and cause permanent damage in order to achieve memory loss and reconstruct personality.¡± ¡°But, the experiment is notplete yet. We still need arge number of test subjects to carry out clinical trials.¡± Cooper¡¯s eyes narrowed. This person is Quinton¡¯s mentor, the previous Phantom Wolf. During that time, he had only met him once. He was the person who invented those mindwiping techniques that caused Sophia, Celine, and Annabel to lose their memories. After that, the video cut to two blond men who were bringing a thin girl into the frame. On the screen, the subtitle read, ¡®Test Subject #19, female, age 19¡¯. The thin girl had her back against Cooper. She had ck hair and looked Cethosian. The moment the girl turned around, he was able to see her face. It¡¯s her! It¡¯s Annabel! He felt as though he had just fallen into an ice cer. All the hairs on his body were standing on their ends. It¡¯s my Annabel! It was exactly the same girl in his memories, except she looked skinnier, the bones on her face were protruding, and the color on her face had turned ashen. From watching the video, he immediately knew what was happening¡ªPhantom Wolf was about to brainwash her. She¡¯s going to lose her memories! At that point, Cooper almost mmed hisptop shut. He could not get himself to watch that scene. He knew that it was, undoubtedly, a very painful process. Especially since both his daughter and the woman he loved had endured that pain! Right before hisptop closed, however, he heard a pristine voice. ¡°Leon¡­ Did you meet Coop in Cethos?¡± Cooper¡¯s hands stopped moving. What was that? Annabel just called me! Coop¡­ That name sounded like a name from a previous life. He thought he would never hear it again. Slowly opening theptop back up, he saw the face that now only existed in his memories on the screen, and his eyes welled up with tears. Annabel, did youe and look for me? That person called Leon must have been the previous Phantom Wolf. He was the confidant of the Yard Family and was bestowed the Yards¡¯ family name by the ancestors. Phantom Wolf¡¯s voice was heard in the video, but he did not appear on screen again. ¡°Yes, I saw himst month in Cethos.¡± That was true. That year, Phantom Wolf hade to Cethos and met Cooper once. He wanted to seek technical assistance from Cooper in his attempt to create terror in Cethos and engage in the illegal arms trade, but Cooper rejected him. They met several more times after that, but Cooper continued to reject him firmly. When Annabel heard that Leon met with Cooper, she burst into a radiant smile, and her eyes filled with happiness¡ªjust like how he remembered her. Looking at that smile put him in the depths of misery. Who would have known that she would be the cold and heartless Anna Yard today? Annabel inquired, ¡°Is Coop doing okay? Did you exin my situation to him? Even though I lurked around him to bring him harm at first, I really do love him, and I¡¯ve never actually hurt him before. He will understand. He wille back and get me!¡± She became delighted. ¡°I am a descendant of the Imperial Yard Family. We are a great match. No one will oppose our rtionship again! Is the Mitchell Family also aware of my identity? Did they approve of me and Coop being together?¡± Suddenly, her eyes darted around cautiously, and she whispered, ¡°Did you find my children? I have twins; a boy and a girl. The older twin was born twenty minutes earlier. I gave my son to a nurse at the hospital so she could take him away discreetly. My daughter must be with her father now. I¡¯m afraid that Jordan will do something to my children. I want to send them away secretly. You have to inform Coop so he can find and bring our children home!¡± She kept asking about her children and Cooper repeatedly¡ªas if Leon was herst resort. Leon gave her ambiguous replies while he was busy preparing the machines to brainwash her with. At that moment, she was probably still under Jordan¡¯s control. She did not know that she was just one of Leon¡¯s test subjects. It looked like she had trusted Leon as she even begged him to send word to Cooper in Cethos. She thought that Leon would help her. It was all just wishful thinking. She thought that because she was a descendant of the direct line of the Imperial Yard Family and the sessor of the Ronney Group, she was a good match for Cooper, the future head of the Mitchell Family. Once Cooper hears that I¡¯m alive, he will look for our children, ande to get me. The Mitchells will not stop us from being together anymore. I can spend the rest of my life being happy with Coop. But in reality, when Phantom Wolf met Cooper, he did not tell him anything about Annabel. Annabel was deceived! Unfortunately, she had no idea what she was about to face and was still waiting for Cooper like a fool. Staring at the screen, Cooper felt like his heart was being stabbed over and over again. Annabel looked very weak. Leon had to support her to the operating table and attach various devices to her. They shaved off a part of her head and stuck on numerous electrode pads. Looking at the machines with fascination, she asked, ¡°Leon, will my uterus really be fixed after this procedure?¡± He lowered his head to hide his expression, but his voice came out eloquently. ¡°Yes, this uterus can be transnted wlessly. I guarantee it will be a sess.¡± She smiled again. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Leon.¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. His head was still lowered, but he did not say another word. Then, he promptly began the operation for Annabel¡¯s ¡®uterus transnt¡¯. Chapter 1174 Chapter 1174 Annabel was never going to know that the perfect future Leon had promised her was all a lie¡ªwhat with giving her a uterus transnt or bringing Cooper to her. Sadly, she would never know that she was deceived because she lost all her memories after that. Everything she knew¡ªCooper, her children, Leon, Jordan¡ªwas going to disappear from her mind. She would turn into someone that even she, herself, did not recognize. From then on, there was no more Annabel, only Anna Yard! Lying on the operating table, Annabel dreamt of the perfect future she longed to have. Once the operation was over, her dear Coop woulde and get her with their two children, then they would live happily ever after. All the while, she waspletely unaware of the ordeal she was about to go through. Cooper closed theptop gently and the video got cut off. He could not bear to watch any more of it. He already knew what happened next. After theputer shut down, the world became quiet in an instant. Hanging his head down, he realized that his face was already covered in tears¡ªtears that had turned cold and were falling onto hisptop, droplet by droplet. It¡¯s all my fault, Annabel. It¡¯s my fault. What was I doing the whole time? Going back to that point in time, he believed that Annabel had died. He was even less aware of the existence of his two children. Gathering up a great amount of strength within him, he swallowed the pain that Annabel¡¯s death brought him bit by bit. He closed himself off and trained himself to be stronger. Seeing the world again through a pair of stone-cold eyes, he realized that the world had always been callous. Everything true, good, and beautiful was no more than an illusion that people used to fool one another. Almost overnight, he went from the lighthearted and untroubled young Cooper to the future head of the Mitchell Family. His wisdom, foresight, and extraordinary boldness allowed him to be a perfect leader. He guided the Mitchell Family to conquer one peak after the other, but he stepped down at the prime of his life and faded away. Henceforth, there was no more Cooper Mitchell in the world, only a Fass Michel. ¡­ At ten at night, Carmen was fast asleep, but the lights in the living room were still on. Sophia was watching television while petting the new dog and making out with Michael¡ªher hands were full. Out of nowhere, Cooper rushed into the family¡¯s elevator and headed downstairs. He walked past the living room and out the door as though he did not see the two people who were entangled in each other¡¯s embrace. Normally, he would have red at them if he caught them being intimate in front of him. ¡°Dad!¡± Jumping up in surprise, Sophia quickly chased after him. ¡°Dad! Where are you going at this hour?¡± Cooper did not answer her. After he put on his shoes and opened the door, however, he found Linus already standing outside. It looked like he had been there for quite a while from the snow that had piled up on his hair. The moment the door opened, their eyes met and Cooper froze momentarily. In a grave tone, Linus asked, ¡°Are you sure, Dad? Are you really going to go look for her?¡± Linus had seen that video so he knew what was in it. Cooper was silent as he stood in the doorway. His eyes shone in the night, but it seemed like he was harboring a great uncertainty in his unwavering body. He was also aware of what would happen once he revealed himself to Anna. Meanwhile, Sophia hade running out after putting on her coat. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She saw the both of them standing at the main entrance with the same grim look on their faces. Something must have happened, but what could make Dad this serious? After a brief silence, Cooper turned to Sophia and said, ¡°Darling, bring that corgi to me.¡± Sophia was baffled, but she still went to get the corgi. With the corgi in his arms, Cooper forged ahead into the snowy night. She stared at him from behind for a while before it dawned on her. He¡¯s going to look for her. Is he going to reveal himself to Anna? But, if he tells her, she will know that Linus and I exist. Will she go against us like she has against her two younger sons? After all, we will also have the right to inherit the Ronney Group. However, Sophia had not even begun to consider a mother-daughter rtionship with Anna. Michael also watched Cooper leave in silence and did not say anything. Linus patted Sophia on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Dad knows what he¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Cooper? What are you doing here?¡± At the Yard Residence, the whole family had heard the doorbell ring. Both Callum and Cade came running out of their rooms when they heard that Cooper had dropped byte at night. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Callum had bought the house next to the pigsty and was living there with Anna and Cade. Their two younger brothers lived in another big house. The two struggled with each other as they went to take a look at the surveince video where they saw a man standing at their front door. Even though he was dressed in a long down coat that was in an awkward shade of blue, he still stood out and looked like a model. Beneath his hat was a cold and stoic face that showed no emotions. He even had a corgi in his arms. Callum and Cade looked at each other. They had gone to look for Cooper before, but they were always rejected without exception. Other than thest time at the Fletcher Residence, it was impossible to meet him any other time. Even if it was Anna, she could only dream of it. Why did hee here in the middle of the night? He even imed it was to bring the dog back. Did he reallye here to return the dog in the middle of this heavy snowfall? Anna had not gone to bed yet and was also extremely taken aback by Cooper¡¯s arrival. Even though she did not know the reason for his visit, he had alreadye up to their door; they could not leave him waiting there. She had the servants escort Cooper to the parlor room first while she went to change her clothes before going downstairs. Without realizing it, she changed into a prettier outfit and evenbed her hair. ¡°I¡¯ll get it!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go! I¡¯ll go!¡± Callum and Cade fought each other as they raced to open the door for Cooper. The both of them wanted to meet the distant and legendary figure again. The more they found out about him, the more they worshipped him. Two decades ago, he made Bayside City surrender at his feet. Two decadester, he came back and was still able to make Bayside City sumb to him. Ten minutester, Cooper and the Yards were all seated in the living room while the corgi was back in Anna¡¯s embrace. There was nothing unusual about Cooper. He was still the same with his standoffish tone, but he was not pushing people away like he used to anymore. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting such ate visit from you, Mr. Cooper. It¡¯s a pleasure to have you here. Please drink some tea.¡± Anna greeted him. Cooper took a sip of tea. ¡°I returnedte today. On my way home, I saw this dog running around outside. When I found out that it was yours, I thought I¡¯d drop by to bring it back.¡± He did not sound too nonchnt or eager, and his gaze remainedposed. It did not give off the impression that there was anything different about him. Callum had a thought. Sophia was the one who stole this dog. How did it end up running around outside? If Cooper came all the way here to return the dog in the middle of the night, could it be because he wants to¡­ bed my mom? Chapter 1175 Chapter 1175 The brothers looked at each other in horror. Because Jordan¡¯s identity had never been made public, and both Callum and Cade were test-tube babies, the public had always thought that Anna was single. Many intended to be the Yards¡¯ live-in son-inw, so there were many people that wanted to go out with her. Maybe Cooper is trying to court Anna too? Maybe everything he did in the past was just a trick he pulled to attract her attention¡ªby pretending to be cold and then taking the initiative to approach Anna? If this is the case, then Cooper is indeed a master! Callum¡¯s expression was iprehensible. Secretly, Cade fished his phone out and sent Sophia a text message. ¡®Is your dad trying to bed my mom?¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Bed your ass!¡± Cade: ¡®Sophia, you might be my sister tomorrow. Watch your words.¡¯ Sophia: ¡®F*ck off!¡¯ Cade put his phone away and took a sip of tea as he pricked his ears up to focus on the conversation between Cooper and Anna. There was nothing unusual about the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s just a dog, and I still have to bother you to send it back in the middle of the night. I¡¯m really sorry. Why don¡¯t¡­¡± Anna let out a chuckle and continued, ¡°I treat you to a meal tomorrow.¡± After all, Anna had always wanted to talk about thepany¡¯s business with Cooper. But, the most important reason was that she wanted to get to know him better. There was something about him that made her feel like having a meal with him would be interesting. Unexpectedly, Cooper rejected her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have an appointment tomorrow.¡± Checking the time, Cooper found that he had been staying for almost fifteen minutes. Quickly, he got up to his feet and said, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. I should stop bothering you now. Goodbye.¡± This was what Cooper was supposed to be like. Now that Cooper had decided to leave, Anna didn¡¯t try to keep him. Standing up, she sent him to the door. The moment she opened the door, a gust of snowy wind came rushing into the house. Subconsciously, Cooper went to the front and protected Anna, who was thinly dressed, from the biting cold wind. ¡°There¡¯s no need to send me out. It¡¯s cold; you should go back.¡± He did not turn around and merely stood by the door as he said that. As soon as he finished speaking, he walked into the night quietly. Piece by piece, the snowkes that fell gradually made the night colder. They fell onto Cooper¡¯s eyebrows and the tip of his hairs, but he didn¡¯t seem to have noticed it. He walked alone under the light of the lonely streetmps. His shoulders were covered with snow and dim lights, but his heart was a mixture of cold and warm. As he walked, he found his face turning numb from the coldness, and he felt cold tears all over his face when he touched it. Looking at the inky night sky above, he observed the never-ending snow that fell from the sky. They landed on his face like a knife cut. Every snowke was like cuts on his skin, but he could only feel the pain in his heart. He recalled the short meeting with Anna earlier. He remembered every word she said to him, and her smile was engraved in his heart. Countless times, he felt like he could not resist confessing at the very next second. He had forgiven everything about her. She was just a lonely, weak woman. She did not want to live under the control of others, and she had her own hardships. Suddenly, he remembered that night that was as cold as today. The both of them ran away from Bayside City to the south. While they were inside the green train, he noticed that something was wrong. Someone seemed to be watching them. Anna took him away and they hid inside the train¡¯s bathroom. Inside the cold and dirty bathroom, they held onto each other tightly to keep one another warm. They did not dare to sleep throughout the night. Anna was determined to find a seat close to the bathroom because she knew that the killer wasing. The killer was there to kill Cooper. In the middle of their trip, they decided to change their ns and went to a ce that was not part of their initial n: the Ancient Town of Scarlett. That was because Anna had leaked their n to Jordan in advance. Therefore, no matter where they went, the killer would have found them. So, Anna had to change their ns. They thought that once they reached that ce, no one would be able to find them. They had not expected that a postcard to check in with their family would expose their whereabouts¡ªit was a terrible mistake in hindsight. It¡¯s all fate¡­ Cooper looked up into the sky. His boiling tears turned extremely cold the moment they fell from his eyes. Anna, are we not destined to be together in this lifetime? The floor-to-ceiling window in the balcony separated the world into two. Standing inside the warm room, Anna¡¯s eyes were fixated on Cooper as he left in the snowy night. She stared straight at his back¡ªas if the sight would never bore her. After he left, she felt like he had left with a piece of her heart. The farther he went, the more intense the pain became. After the agony had reached its maximum, with a thud, Anna¡¯s heart went numb, and she could not feel anything else. She watched as he left, and when she finally came back to her senses, she found her face damp with tears. What¡­ What is happening? While Anna wiped her tears away, she looked at the gradually whitening street in a daze¡­ The snow was getting heavier and a whileter, they would cover up the footprints left behind by Cooper. Sophia had been waiting for her father at home for a while now. Just when she was about to go out searching for him, he came back covered in snow. His limbs were freezing, and his eyes were dull and empty¡ªas if something shocking had happened. ¡°Dad, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Looking at the state of her father, Sophia was shocked. She quickly gestured Cooper into the living room. After removing his damp jacket, she found him a dry nket to keep him warm before holding his cold hands to warm him up. However, Cooper just held the nket and went into the elevator to return to the third floor. With an emotionless face, he said, ¡°Just leave me be. I need some time alone.¡± Staring at the closing elevator door, Sophia was so anxious that she felt like a cat was scratching her heart, and her tears couldn¡¯t help but fall. Dad looks like he¡¯s overwhelmed. Did something happen? Did Anna hurt him? Did something happen just now? Immediately, Michael held her in his embrace andforted her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Everything will be fine.¡± When he stared at Cooper, he felt like he saw the person he once was. The person who once loved him no longer remembers him. And he was the only one with that painful memory engraved in his heart. He could meet her, but could not hold her; he loved her, but she had forgotten him¡­ After a sentimental moment, Michael was pleased all of a sudden. You deserve it, Cooper! Haha! After the meeting with Anna, Cooper seemed to have returned to normal. He went to his studio at Vi No. 2 every morning, came home for dinner, and slept at night. He petted his dog and cat, and yed with his grandchildren like he always did¡ªit was as if that night had never happened. However, Sophia knew that his heart had been cut countless times. However, no one could help him. It was a dead knot. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. During the weekend, Michael brought the whole family to a spa resort on Reverie Mountain to take a hot spring bath as nned. Before leaving, he went to check on Cooper. ¡°Dad, are youing with us?¡± Judging from his look during these past few days, he might not want to go. However, unexpectedly, Cooper threw him a cold nce. ¡°Am I not weed?¡± Instantly, Michael chickened out. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re wee to join us.¡± The family departed to the spa resort on Reverie Mountain and was weed by Daniel with open arms. The business of the spa resort had been particrly good. It was making good profits. It became a ce where all the rich people in Bayside City visited during the winter. There were even natural sulfur springs that were very popr amongst the customers. The fact that Daniel had booked them one of the empty pools was considered to be very generous of him. What Sophia didn¡¯t expect was that the moment she stepped into the resort, she saw Callum, who was wearing an underwear with frog motifs, eating ice cream. If Callum is here, Anna would be here too¡­ Chapter 1176 Chapter 1176 The reason Sophia brought Cooper here today was to let him take a break and forget about Anna. She did not expect that they would be here too! ¡°Why are you here?¡± asked Sophia as she rushed toward Callum. The spa resort was indeed quite hot. Eating his ice cream, Callum answered, ¡°Sophia, this spa resort does not belong to you. Leave me alone!¡± Daniel quickly came forward and exined, ¡°The Yards made their appointmentst month. Stay cool. Everyone¡¯s just here for a hot spring bath.¡± Because the ce was owned by Daniel, and the Yards had made an early appointment, Sophia did not make a scene. After all, they were not going to share the same pool. But, to her surprise, she noticed that the giant poodle held by Callum was the one that had been stolen away from themst week. How dare he bring it out here! This is unbelievable! ¡°Bubbles. Come here. Come to Mommy!¡± Upon hearing that, Bubbles went to Sophia in an instant. Before she left, she did not forget to mock Callum. ¡°Your underwear is ugly!¡± Callum looked at his frog swimming trunks and said with dissatisfaction, ¡°Sophia, what¡¯s wrong with your eyes? These are swimming trunks!¡± While he said that, Stanley came over. When he saw Callum and Cade, he threw them a single re. When Nathan came by with Lorelei, he also gave them a vicious stare. Soon, Carmen joined in with her friends. The moment Callum saw her, he reached out and smiled. ¡°Come here, kiddo. Let me hug you.¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± replied Carmen. Justin, Celine, Harry, and Sarah then came in pairs while Derek and Sean followed behind Stanley. They came in a huge group. Michael joined themst as he dragged Quinton there with him. The whole family met up for a hot spring bath, and Michael felt sorry locking Quinton alone in the basement, so he decided to bring him along. The family rented a pool, but they were separated ording to their gender and seniority. As soon as the doors closed, they got to enjoy the hot springfortably. This is so warm! However, Sophia could not rx at the thought of sharing the pool with Anna. Now that Anna can no longer remember Dad, Linus, and me, what¡¯s the point of confessing to her? What happens if she uses Dad? She can even go against her own son. How will it be different with a man she loved thirty years ago? Celine was sitting next to her as she yed with the water. Looking at her, Sophia was jealous. How carefree! Recently, Justin only wanted to stay home and do nothing. Refusing to go to work, he stayed home with his kid and wife, passing his days leisurely. Sometimes, he even went out to pick up Carmen from school. They finally went through all the hardships¡­ On the other side, Sarah started promoting her son, Hope, again. ¡°Celie,e on. Let¡¯s arrange a marriage for our kids. My son has a giant penis!¡± ¡°Sofie, what do you think about an arranged marriage? My son¡¯s penis is massive!¡± She then stopped Ashton¡¯s mom, Gwen, and said, ¡°Gwen, let¡¯s engage our kids!¡± ¡­¡­ On the other side where the male guests were, Quinton had joined them in the pool wearing an extremely ugly pair of swimming trunks. Justin, who was resting by the side, red at him viciously. He was ready to take Quinton down if he decided to do something. There were more people in the pool over here. The guys talked about work stuff as they enjoyed the hot spring. These days, Sophia¡¯s JNS Group; Dragon Technology formed by Sean, Derek, and the others; as well as Mitchell International Energy and Technology that was managed by Cooper, were thriving. All of these companies were actually under the Mitchell Family. But, when they advertised thepanies to the public, they included Linus in them as well. Looking at the situation as a whole, their family was growing bigger. Cooper only worked with capable people. He never judged anyone based on their family background. Even though Derek was an illegitimate child, and Drake had once been a security guard, as long as they were talented, Cooper was willing to support them in expanding their career. What he did had greatly impacted the other branch of the Mitchell Family. Many unappreciated talents had decided to join them. Cooper rearranged their genealogy record book and added all Mitchells into the record. He even bought thend next to the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral grave, turning the whole ce into the Mitchell Family¡¯s cemetery. There was no need for them to earn Alex¡¯s acknowledgment. There was also no point in making a show to tell the world which was the legitimate bloodline of the Mitchells. As long as they were capable, there would be people rushing to introduce them to the world. For instance, the Mitchell Family led by Cooper had had a great say in the world of politics, business, and the military. It was just a matter of time before they were recognized as the true bloodline of the Mitchell Family. The youngsters were looking forward to the future, but Cooper was enjoying the hot spring in the corner without saying a word. Since long ago, Linus had already noticed Cooper¡¯s loneliness. Nudging Michael, he said, ¡°Go talk to my dad.¡± Feeling reluctant, Michael furrowed his brows. However, when it came to this kind of thing, Michael had the most experience out of the both of them, and he would be able to understand Cooper¡¯s emotions. Although he was unwilling to do it, he swam toward Cooper. ¡°Dad,¡± greeted Michael. With his eyes closed, Cooper hummed in response. This was followed by a ten-minute long silence. The silence forced goosebumps all over Michael, and he wanted to leave. Yet, he felt like he should say something¡­ Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. After a while, Cooper spoke first. ¡°Do you think I should confess to her? Should I tell her everything that has happened?¡± Judging from what Cooper said, Michael knew that he was very distressed¡ªwhich was why he had no choice but to ask his experienced, old son-inw for advice. After all, he was so thick-skinned that he had sessfully gotten back together with Sophia, who had lost her memory, under Cooper¡¯s watch. At this moment, Michael could no longer gloat at Cooper. He had been trying to talk about this matter with Cooper, and now that Cooper was the one who took the initiative, he decided to pour his heart out. ¡°Looking from your perspective, I think you should try.¡± What followed next was the advice that came from the bottom of Michael¡¯s heart. ¡°We love someone with our heart, not our memories. If you¡¯re sure that she¡¯s still in love with you, even though she has lost her memory, she will never forget you. The second she sees you, she might feel strange, but she still loves you. If you confess to her now, perhaps you guys will be able to get back together.¡± When Michael was saying that, he looked at Sophia, who was in the pool not far away. She was ying around in the water happily, and her joyful face was wet. Michael let out a chuckle at the sight of her. But, as soon as he smiled, he immediately put on a solemn expression and stared at Cooper. With a serious tone, he said, ¡°Speaking from the perspective of your son-inw, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea for you to confess. Once you do, it will no longer be a matter between just the two of you. This is going to be a problem between two families! Sophia and Linus¡¯ fates might be affected as a result! Back then, the reason I was daring enough to bring Carmen back to you and Sophia was that I knew she only left me for a very short while. She had not been influenced by the outside world yet. She was still kind, and would never hurt Carmen. I knew the same applied to you. But, Dad¡­¡± Michael looked into Cooper¡¯s stony eyes and continued, ¡°your Anna has been away from you for almost thirty years. She lives in aplicated environment. How are you going to make sure that she¡¯s still kind? Can you be sure that she will never hurt you and your family?¡± Chapter 1177 Chapter 1177 After listening to Michael¡¯s words, Cooper was silent. If he were to confess, and Anna hurt him, he could still forgive her. But, what if she hurt Carmen and Sophia? What if the harm was irreversible? Annabel Johnson was kind. Even to the veryst moment, she was still waiting for Cooper. However, all that weed her was deception. But, what about Anna Yard? Although she was the same person, she was actually someone else. For thirty years, she grew from nothing to the woman behind the Yard Family. No one knew what she had actually gone through. She was like a pure, innocent child that was ¡®brought up¡¯ by Jordan. Jordan would have passed on all his treachery and connivance to her. After Michael finished speaking, he shut up and looked at Cooper. He was afraid that Cooper would do something stupid at this critical moment. It would not matter if only Cooper had been cheated. But, Michael did not want Sophia and Carmen to be hurt as well. At the moment, Sophia was dealing with the youngest siblings of the Yard Family. If Cooper were to confess to Anna, it would have a huge impact on the current situation. Seeing that Cooper was silent, Michael did not say anything. When he was about to say something, Cooper wiped his face and left. Michael saw that he had just burst into tears. His cold, young-looking father-inw was in tears. Other than being upset, Michael could no longer gloat at the situation anymore. He knew it had not been easy for Cooper. It cost him so much to find his lost children. He now had his children by his side, but he could not get back together with his lover. All living creatures suffered. But, Cooper¡¯s pain was something Michael would never understand. It had been almost thirty years, and Cooper was still in love with his previous lover. He never got married because of her. His love for her is so deep! Both Sophia and Cooper were quite simr. When they were in love, theymitted themselves with everything they had¡ªit was as if their partners were their life. Once you owned her heart, you wouldn¡¯t lose it easily. But, in the event that you lost it, you would never get it back. They would retaliate against those who betrayed them with the cruelest means. Unfortunately, that stupid Richard lost her, and he even wanted to destroy her. s, he died in front of his house. Cooper and Annabel¡­ could only me their fates. Perhaps, they were not destined to be together in this lifetime. After all, from Michael¡¯s perspective, he and Sophia were strongly against Cooper and Anna¡¯s reunion. This was how fate worked. Last year, Cooper was still bad-mouthing Michael to Sophia to try to stop them from getting back together. Now, Michael was the one who was bad-mouthing Anna to Sophia to prevent their family from reuniting. What goes aroundes around. But, thinking about it, he felt that he had to suppress his delight now that his father-inw was already shedding tears. The family was going to stay in the resort until tomorrow. When night came, they sat together for dinner. They arrived in the afternoon and had been enjoying the hot spring bath since then. Besides, because the pools were separated ording to gender, Michael had not seen his pretty young wife for the whole afternoon. He only got to meet her during dinner, and he found himself missing her too much. A single day apart felt like many years. It was just half a day, but he already felt like half a year had passed. When everyone was eating dinner in the restaurant, Michael sat beside Sophia while Cooper sat opposite them. After the hot spring bath, Sophia was in her pajamas, revealing her fair corbone. It seemed like the long bath had brightened her skin¡ªeven her face looked more hydrated. Despite his thoughts, Michael sat beside Sophia and ate his meal. The moment he saw Cooper lower his head to eat, he quickly stole a kiss from her. By the time Cooper looked up, everything went back to normal. Noticing the change in the atmosphere, Cooper red at Michael sternly. As he gave Sophia arge chicken drumstick, he said in amanding tone, ¡°Eat more. You¡¯re too skinny.¡± Immediately, Sophia pouted her lips. Sometimes, only one¡¯s father would think that one was too skinny. Sophia noticed that her weight had been increasing. If this situation were to go on, she figured that she would probably not be able to fit into her pants anymore. Peeling off some meat from the chicken drumstick Cooper had given to her, Sophia took a few bites to entertain him before she gave the rest to Michael. ¡°Hubby, you¡¯re too skinny. Eat the chicken drumstick.¡± Cooper¡¯s gaze became even more stern. Just like Sophia, Michael peeled some of the meat off and took a few bites. He then gave the rest to Quinton. ¡°Eat it. You¡¯re too skinny.¡± Quinton just rolled his eyes at him. Quinton felt like he was the family¡¯s trash can, eating whatever was left over by them. The snacks that Celine couldn¡¯t finish and the jelly leftover by Carmen were all given to him. Following suit, Quinton took a few bites and left the chicken drumstick for Judge, who was beside him. He said, ¡°Come on. Eat it, so you can mess up the house again.¡± Judge let out a howl and ate it. Cooper threw a nce at every one of them, and he stood up to get himself some chicken soup they brought from home. Taking the opportunity, Michael gave Sophia another peck on her lips. Cooper came back with the soup after a while. When he finished the soup and ate the meat off the bones, three huskies on the side were looking at him earnestly. Turning his head, Cooper nced at the dogs. The moment he looked away, Michael kissed Sophia again. Everyone at the table rolled their eyes in unison, but they said nothing. Only Carmen, who was the bravest, pushed her milk bottle away andined, ¡°Grandpa, Daddy¡¯s stealing kisses from Mommy!¡± Something cold shed before Cooper¡¯s eyes. He looked at Michael and Sophia before giving Michael a fierce re. His old son-inw was getting more and more rebellious. Michael conceded for a moment, but the second Cooper¡¯s attention was off to somewhere else, he kissed Sophia again. Even Sophia couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes now. Because Michael was only kissing Sophia and not her, Carmen was irritated. After she finished her meal, she sneaked out and yed with her friends. The spa resort was huge and it was divided into different courtyards. There were no public baths. Every pool was divided into sections for the privacy of the rich, so the price was not cheap. The weather was cold and snowy outside, but inside the spa resort, it was as warm as spring. Leading Bubbles, Carmen was having fun by herself, but she was naturally followed by her bodyguards and her nanny. There was no way Sophia would allow her to wander around alone. She always made sure that there were people around to ensure Carmen¡¯s safety. Bubbles led Carmen to Callum and Cade. After all, it had been living with them for a few days, and it could not forget the Royal Canin dog feed they fed it. When Carmen saw Anna, she was pleased and called out, ¡°Miss Beautiful!¡± Noticing Carmen, Anna pped her hands and said, ¡°Come here, Carmen. Come to me.¡± Carmen ran to her happily, and Anna held her in her arms. Carmen was light and tiny, and she smelled good. It was extremelyfortable to hold her. Anna carried Carmen around the resort. She seemed to be very fond of her and was unwilling Looking at Carmen, who behaved herself very well, Cade was excited and wanted to hold her too. ¡°Mom, quick. I want to hug her! I want to hug the lolita too!¡± But, Carmen quickly responded, ¡°No. I only want Miss Beautiful to hug me!¡± Wrapping her arms around Anna¡¯s neck, Carmen refused to let go. Smiling gently, Anna said, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll hug you.¡± What a lovely child! It¡¯s like there is some kind of magic that is stopping me from letting go. This is strange. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Perhaps it¡¯s because I never had a daughter before? If I had a daughter, what would she look like? As soon as she thought about that, unbeknownst to her, the first image that appeared in Anna¡¯s mind was Sophia. She knew she would probably only be content if her daughter grew up to be like Sophia. Chapter 1178 Chapter 1178 ¡°Miss Beautiful!¡± Carmen suddenly called out, drawing Anna¡¯s attention. ¡°Can we take a photo together? Please?¡± Carmen looked at her with glistening eyes. Anna was, of course, willing to do so. Happily, she answered, ¡°Sure!¡± Cade, who was standing beside them, quickly said, ¡°Come; I¡¯ll take it for you.¡± He had long wanted to take a picture of this cute lolita. However, Carmen seemed to dislike him a lot. ¡°I have my own photographer.¡± With a clear voice, she shouted, ¡°Shae!¡± A robot dexterously came over at hermand. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± ¡°Take a picture of Miss Beautiful and me!¡± instructed Carmen. ¡°Okay!¡± Shae replied. With a bubbly expression, Carmen posed for the robot. Anna was puzzled by her action, but she quickly readied herself with a pose. The robot quickly took a picture of them with a ¡®click¡¯. Callum, who heard the news, came and joined the selfie session. Click! Click! Click! Carmen and the Yards had been taking pictures for a while now. They went to the pavilion and even in the water, shooting dozens of pictures. When Carmen was not paying attention, Callum finally took the opportunity to hold her in his arms. When Carmen pouted, he pouted; when she red at him, he red at her too. He even requested special effects and filters. After they were finally done with the pictures, Shae printed all of the photos. As always, Carmen picked out a few of the ugliest ones to give away, and she kept all the good ones for herself. Finally, she tidied up her things and left in satisfaction. Before she left, she even said, ¡°Goodbye, Miss Beautiful.¡± With a stack of photos in her palm, Anna waved goodbye to her. ¡°Bye.¡± On the other hand, Callum and Cade were dividing the photos. The longer they stared at the photos, the cuter Carmen seemed. Oh, how I wish I could hug her again. When Carmen went back, everyone was busy ying cards, mahjong, and video games. Cooper was the only one who had returned to his room. He did not want to y mahjong nor cards. With nothing to do, he could only go back and deal with his work. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Carmen went in and called sweetly. Cooper knew where she had gone earlier, but since they had people following her, he wasn¡¯t afraid to let her go. After all, the Yard Family wouldn¡¯t dare to do something to her here. ¡°Where did you go just now?¡± asked Cooper as he held Carmen in his arms even though he already knew the answer. Excitedly, Carmen said, ¡°I went to y with Miss Beautiful. Look. We even took pictures together.¡± Sheid out the pictures, and Cooper saw Anna in it. With a gentle and lovely smile, Anna was sitting next to Carmen. Even though thirty years had passed, her smile was still as lovely as it had been; her smile could radiate straight into the deepest and softest part of one¡¯s heart. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. She was clearly still the same woman. Nothing about her had changed. Looking at the photo, Cooper couldn¡¯t help but cry. Noticing her crying grandpa, Carmen said with guilt, ¡°Grandpa, am I so ugly that you have to cry¡­¡± Quickly, Cooper wiped his tears away and said, ¡°No way. How is that possible? Carmen is the prettiest! Grandpa is just happy.¡± Only then Carmen was satisfied. Wrapping her arms around Cooper¡¯s neck, she said softly, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a kiss, Grandpa!¡± Cooper held her tight and held back his tears. I¡¯m satisfied with the two little sweethearts of mine¡­ Since Carmen was with him, Cooper did not want to continue with his work anymore. Putting his work aside, he started building blocks with her. As they yed, they chatted. ¡°Grandpa, why don¡¯t you find yourself a girlfriend?¡± asked Carmen like she was a little adult. Dumbstruck for a moment, Cooperughed bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m getting old. I don¡¯t want one anymore.¡± Carmen did not continue this line of questioning. However, she was secretly vowing to set Cooper up with someone. I must find someone like Miss Beautiful for him! Probably attracted by the loud noises of mahjong, Callum and Cade came over. ¡°Hey, Sophia. No wonder you¡¯re not online; it turns out you¡¯re ying mahjong here!¡± The brothers came excitedly, and they even brought their wallets and phones. It seemed like they wanted to y with them too. ¡°Go away. Your underwear is so disgusting!¡± Sophia was disgusted by their arrival, but they were allowed to stay anyway. Although Ryan, Henry, Callum, and Cade were her little brothers from the same mother, she did not know why she hated Ryan and Henry so much but found that Callum and Cade were adorable even though they stole her pig, cow, and rooster. It was probably the same feeling Michael had toward Quinton. He obviously hated Quinton, but they were biological brothers after all¡­ It¡¯s just mahjong; I should let them stay. Sophia and Linus yed against Callum and Cade. It was a match between twins. They werepletely immersed in the game, ying until early in the morning. Sophia finally went back to her room after Michael came looking for her numerous times. In the end, Stanley took her ce and continued with the match. Quinton wanted to y too, but he didn¡¯t have money with him since Michael didn¡¯t give him anything. He also didn¡¯t have his phone either. Now that Michael had gone back to his room, Celine gave him one hundred secretly. It so happened that Linus left too, so Quinton quickly joined the game with the money Celine gave him. Feeling confident, Stanley mmed his palms onto the mahjong table and announced, ¡°Tonight, we, the Fletchers, are going to make you Yards leave with nothing left. Not even your underwear!¡± Upon hearing that, Callum snorted, ¡°You Fletchers love to brag. No one knows who¡¯s going to win yet!¡± Although Quinton did not say anything, he had automatically regarded himself as a Fletcher. He should have been one of them since the beginning¡­ The final result was that Stanley, Callum, and Cade lost their underwear. The trio left in a hurry in their towel. On the other hand, Quinton was staring at the pile of cash and the three pairs of underwear in front of him. But, Michael suddenly came out the moment he finished counting the money. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s a lot of money! I¡¯m confiscating all of it!¡± Michael grabbed the money. ¡°You can have the underwear. They are way better than the one you¡¯re wearing.¡± Rolling his eyes, Quinton went back to his room to get some rest. However, he found it hard to fall asleep. He opened the window to get some fresh air and took out the tablet Carmen gave him. As he was watching ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, Michael appeared outside of the window. Coldly, he reached out and took the tablet away. ¡°You¡¯re only staring at screens all day. Don¡¯t you care about your eyes anymore? Sleep!¡± Quinton was rendered speechless by Michael¡¯s action. Putting the tablet away, Michael did not leave. Instead, he came into his room. He left the tablet by the side and said to Quinton who was on the bed, ¡°Get up. I have something to tell you.¡± But, Quinton did not get up. Instead, he covered his head with his nket, pretending to have fallen asleep. Michael came inside. He closed the window and shut the door before he asked Hale to stand guard at the door. The light in the room was off. It was so quiet that one could only hear the sounds of their breathing. After some hesitation, Michael finally said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to go to Africa with Linus, you can stay in Cethos. Just promise me that you won¡¯t be a killer anymore. I can give you a new identity. It would be better if you were to be a teacher at Bayside University. You¡¯re suitable to be a teacher, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be a great one. You have warrants all over the world, but not in Cethos. Just settle down here.¡± He looked like someone who made sure that their family was taken care of before leaving for a long trip. ¡°Justin will be taking care of Celie. Sophia¡­ Linus and Cooper will be looking after her. I¡¯m not even worried about them. The only person I can¡¯t stop worrying about is you.¡± Quinton, who was hiding inside the nket, did not make a sound. However, hot air filled the inside of the nket, and streaming tears soaked his pillow. The tears were bitter, and it tasted like ¡®regret¡¯. Chapter 1179 Chapter 1179 Quinton knew Michael was settling his affairs. Sitting at the corner of the bed, Michael went on and on. He talked about Lorelei¡¯s recent situation and the time when they were in military training at university. Quinton did not know when he left. After his departure, Quinton¡¯s uncontroble tears continued to fall down his cheeks. He bit onto his nket, trying hard not to cry out. He wanted to swallow all his pain and grievances. Everything he longed for, except for death, could no longer be obtained easily! He once longed for Theo and the Fletchers to bring him home. He didn¡¯t want to kill people; he didn¡¯t want to live that kind of life. But, after his hands were stained with blood, there was no turning back. He knew he could never return to the Fletcher Family again. He once hoped that Sophia could belong to him, but when he erased all her memories, there was still only Michael in her heart. However, all he wished for right now, was that nothing of that had ever happened. He was destined to part ways with the Fletchers. He should have just remained a ruthless killer and not have anything to do with the Fletchers¡­ Yet, time could not be turned back. Early the following morning, Carmen led Bubbles to Anna after she finished her breakfast. They started with a selfie session, and she then invited Anna to y with her dolls and eat some jellies. Once she felt like they had gotten to know each other better, she started pumping Anna for details. ¡°Miss Beautiful, are you married?¡± Married? The word felt strange to Anna. She was not married to Jordan. There was no ceremony and registration. He sat up high in a leading position. Why would he marry her? But, she also did not want to marry him either. Every time she saw him, she was disgusted. ¡£ Jordan was only trying to use her status as the direct descendant of the Yard Family, so that he could take over the Yards without ying tricks. Although they looked like they were only here in Cethos to celebrate the new year, they were actually trying to ay Jordan¡¯s suspicions toward them. Recently, he had begun to suspect that they were plotting against Ryan and Henry. Thus, it was better for them to walk away without leaving a trace Anna let out a chuckle in response. ¡°No!¡± Feeling overjoyed, Carmen asked again, ¡°Then, do you have a boyfriend?¡± Boyfriend? This word sounded even more unusual to Anna. She shook her head. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Are you going to find a boyfriend in the future?¡± Carmen proceeded. Find a boyfriend? Anna had never thought about that question before. When she could finally kick Jordan out of the Yard Family and made sure that he was dead, she wanted to start a new life. She was supposed to be the master of the Yard Family. By the time she sat in that ce, she would be more careful when it came to marriage. Once she got married, her enormous assets would be an issue. She had to be cautious. If she wanted a rtionship, her partner had to be someone that could match up to her in regard to his wealth, his outlook, and even his capabilities. Single men like that were rare¡­ But, for some reason, Cooper came into her mind. He was the kind of man who exuded coldness and mystery from his bones. He was handsome and particrly capable. Indeed, he was a fascinating man. Although his worth is probably not phenomenal right now, I trust that he will surprise the world one day. Carmen was waiting for Anna to answer. If she wanted a boyfriend, Carmen would take the chance to show her Cooper¡¯s picture and set them up. Before Anna could even answer, Callum came out from nowhere and mocked, ¡°Kiddo, are you trying to set your grandpa up with my mom?¡± Her intention was so obvious that even he could see it. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Carmen, who had been read like a book, pouted and said, ¡°Grandpa doesn¡¯t need me to set him up with someone. There are so many people out there who are trying to ask him out! I¡¯m just simply asking. Hmph!¡± She would never admit that she was trying to promote her own grandpa. Angrily, she stomped away. Callum let out a heartyugh. When he was done, he looked at Anna. Anna seemed to have fallen deep into her thoughts. Lights were radiating from her eyes¡ªas if she was a girl who had just fallen in love. There was an unusual emanating from her. He was shocked. Did Mom fall in love with Cooper? He turned and looked at Cade, who was beside him. There was the same kind of horror in his brother¡¯s eyes. If it had to be Cooper, both of them would be able to handle him. But, there had been rumors in the underworld saying that Cooper was actually Fass Michel¡­ If Fass was going to be their stepfather, wouldn¡¯t it be terrifying? In the morning, Michael found a private pool and brought Sophia there to make out. The others were ying games and mahjong. All of them were enjoying themselves since they were on vacation. While Callum and Cade were enjoying the hot spring, they started boasting. They had a heated debate on whether it was possible for Cooper to be their stepfather. The more they talked, the more they thought that the n could work out. Cooper was indeed good-looking, and he was a perfect match for Anna in every way. There was no one else in the world that was as well-matched for Anna. So, it was possible that Anna was attracted to him. They could even work together with Cooper to fight Jordan. Once they became Cooper¡¯s stepchildren, they could even get a share of his assets and annoy the sh*t out of Sophia. The main point was not the assets, but to irritate Sophia. This is doable. Perfectly doable. And, it must be done as soon as possible! When they reached a preliminary agreement, Cooper arrived with Carmen out of the blue. Carmen was more anxious than them. ¡°Where are we going?¡± Cooper, who was being dragged forward by Carmen, was confused. But, Carmen continued to tug him forward and said, ¡°I¡¯m taking you on a blind date!¡± Blind date! Cooper was so frightened that he tried to escape. Based on Carmen¡¯s personality, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would see a human or a dog when they arrived at the location of the blind date. Carmen continued to pull him as she walked. ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re not allowed to leave. If you leave, I¡¯ll cry and you¡¯ll never be able to stop me!¡± She threatened him solemnly. ¡°And, I¡¯ll roll around on the ground as I cry. Aren¡¯t you afraid of that?¡± What? Rolling on the ground as she cries? Cooper¡¯s scalp prickled just at the thought of it. Maybe I should just go. It might just be a dog. They arrived at the entrance of a pavilion. It was surrounded by hot springs, and the inside of the pavilion was enveloped by steam. Although it was blurry, Cooper could see that there was someone inside the pavilion, and it seemed to be a woman, who was talking. Grimacing, Cooper was determined to scare her away. When they entered the pavilion, Carmen became excited and shouted, ¡°Miss Beautiful, I¡¯m here!¡± Miss Beautiful! The moment Cooper heard those two words, his expression changed. Carmen only knew one Miss Beautiful, and she even told him yesterday that they took a picture together. Is Carmen trying to set me up with Anna? Finding out the identity of the woman, Cooper halted his movements. He was afraid to take another step even if it meant that Carmen would cry. He wanted to turn around and leave. But, when he knew that she was just ahead, he could no longer move. He could not move forward, yet he did not want to leave; he could only stand there. However, a girl in a swimsuit, who had a towel draped over her, came out from the pavilion. The moment she saw Cooper, her eyes brightened¡ªthey were full of fascination and surprise. ¡°It¡¯s you, Cooper!¡± Cooper then noticed that there were two people inside the pavilion. One was Anna, and the other was Anne. At that moment, he felt like he was surrounded by a gust of cold wind even though he was standing in the middle of pools of hot springs. It looks like Carmen was trying to set me up with Anne. Anna probably suggested this¡­ Cooper did not know how to describe his feelings. Perhaps, this is what a broken heart feels like! On the other side, Callum, who was hiding to watch the event, was startled. What the hell! What is that ugly Anne doing here? Chapter 1180 Chapter 1180 Oh no! This is bad! As expected by Callum, the moment Cooper saw Anne, his expression changed. He probably misunderstood something and immediately turned around to leave. Our stepfather is running away! Cade quickly came out and stopped him. ¡°Mr. Cooper, why are you here? Since you¡¯re here,e in and have a cup of tea!¡± Quickly, Callum joined in and said, ¡°That¡¯s right. My mom wants to talk business with you.¡± When Anna heard the noise, she came out. The moment she saw Carmening with Cooper, she immediately recalled the thing Carmen told her, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile. What a cheeky little girl. Since Cooper was here, and she had something to talk to him about, she said, ¡°You¡¯re here, Mr. Mitchell. Pleasee in.¡± Anne then shyly leaned next to Cooper. She was so excited as she thought that he was here for her. Immediately, Cooper backtracked. ¡°I was just passing by.¡± But Carmen continued to tug Cooper toward Anna. ¡°Grandpa, since we¡¯re here,e in and take a seat.¡± Both Cade and Callum pushed and tugged him in with excitement. ¡°Come on. Take a seat before you leave.¡± Just when Cooper was wondering what he should do, Sophia suddenly appeared. The moment she saw the Yards pulling Cooper toward Anne, she was infuriated, and she marched toward them. ¡°What are you doing? Huh! What are you doing to my dad?!¡± Seeing Sophia, Callum immediately said, ¡°Hey! Sophia! You¡¯re here! We didn¡¯t do anything. We¡¯re just trying to talk to your dad! We will be a family soon after the talk!¡± Now that Sophia was here too, they wanted to talk it out in order to settle everything down quickly. However, they did not expect Sophia to stride forward and grab Cooper, not allowing them to bring him away. ¡°No way! No way! There¡¯s no way you¡¯re getting together with my dad!¡± She quickly gestured. ¡°Roger! Come and help me! They are trying to set my dad up with Anne again!¡± Upon hearing her call, Roger and the others came. They pulled Callum away from Cooper and separated the group of people. When they finally pulled Cooper away, Sophia held Carmen up and said viciously to the Yards, ¡°I¡¯ll never let you set my dad up with that ugly Anne! Never!¡± She turned around and marched away with Cooper following behind her quietly. ¡°Sophia, listen to me!¡± Callum knew that Sophia had misunderstood the situation. He ran after her but failed to keep up. Stomping his feet in irritation, he turned around and looked at Anne, who was sobbing with her head held low; his eyes shed with coldness. Anna did not say anything. She went back to the pavilion, but her eyes carried a hint of sadness. Cooper¡­ This was a name that attracted her so much every time she heard it! On the other hand, Sophia sessfully saved Cooper. She was originally making out with Michael in the hot spring pool, but the moment she learned that Anne and Sandra were here, she was so worried that Anne would annoy Cooper again. s, she decided to rescue him from them. The Yard Family was so close to taking Cooper away. Cooper seemed to be very upset when he went back to his room. Taking the opportunity, Sophia scolded Carmen. ¡°Never help the Yards to set your grandpa up. Do you understand?¡± Carmen pouted in response as if she was wronged by Sophia and replied with an ¡®oh¡¯. Finally feeling relieved, Sophia went back to Michael. Seeing that Sophia had finally left, and Cooper was back in his room, Carmen snuck out to y again. There had been many new visitors at Anna¡¯s ce and Carmen did not like them. So, she went to Daniel¡¯s ce instead. Daniel had been visiting to enjoy the hot spring every now and then recently. Sitting beside the pool, Carmen sshed his head with the spring water; her little feet kicked the surface of the water excitedly. ¡°Mr. Psychic, when did Case?¡± When Carmen arrived at Daniel¡¯s ce, she did not only see him, but she also saw Casper. Casper was swimming in the pool; his inky ck hair was as lively as an aquatic weed. Proudly, Daniel announced, ¡°Cas came for his winter vacation.¡± Although Alice and Daniel were no longer in touch, she did not stop Casper from visiting Daniel. Even though she could provide the best environment for Cas to grow up in, she could not give him a father¡ªa child would always need a father. Popping out from the water, Cas shouted at Daniel, ¡°Daddy!¡± There was happiness and sorrow in Daniel¡¯s eyes¡­ The Yard Family had been visited by a group of uninvited guests, and their arrival interrupted Anna¡¯s rxing hot spring trip. ¡°Mother, you know very well that it was Daniel who had framed my brother and me. Why are you still associating with him?¡± Henry had long known that Anna and his two older brothers were here in Bayside City, and he had sent people to keep a close eye on them. He did not notice anything wrong with them, and they truly seemed to be here to celebrate New Year¡¯s. But, he had not expected that she would actuallye to Daniel¡¯s ce for a vacation since Daniel had screwed things up for them not long ago, causing them to close their building for a few days to fix the mess. She¡¯s probably doing it on purpose! Standing by the side, both Callum and Cade did not say a word. However, mockery was evident in their eyes. To them, their little brothers looked like two angry chimpanzees. Looking at her two sons, Anna seemed sad. She said, ¡°I¡¯m only here for a vacation. It¡¯s not as serious as you think. What are you doing? Are you doubting me? I¡¯veid down the groundwork for you guys in the Cethosian market and handed it over to you guyspletely. I¡¯ve never intervened with thepany since then. How can you guys still be so suspicious of me?¡± Henry and Ryan exchanged a nce with each other. They had been keeping a close eye on Anna and their older brothers. Since their retirement from the Cethosian market, they seemed to have not done anything after. Softening his tone, Henry said, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare. I was just a little anxious earlier.¡± Upon hearing that, Anna smiled affectionately. ¡°I know you guys must have been tiredtely. Let¡¯s not talk about business now. Since you guys are here, try to rx a little and enjoy yourselves.¡± Henry did not say anything. The reason he was here was to see what Callum and Sophia were up to. He did not expect Callum to offend Sophia again. Callum was even rejected by her when he wanted to join her in mahjong. Those that came with Sophia had been enjoying the time of their lives. They yed mahjong and cards all day long, spending almost ten thousand every day. None of them ever talked about anything business-rted. And after that night when Quinton had won himself three pairs of underwear, no one dared to y with him anymore, except for the silly Celine. Nathan did not want to y card games, but he was forced to join them in order to make up a group of three to y ckjack. The three could only bet on snacks, dog food, or cat food because Quinton¡¯s money had been confiscated by Michael. Within one morning, Celine lost all of Chrysanthemum¡¯s cat food to Quinton, earning Chrysanthemum¡¯s groan. Nathan had also lost a lot of snacks. However, Quinton had all kinds of snacks piled up in front of him. Kids were gathering around him and as he held a random kid in his arms, he dozed off. Taking the opportunity, Derek took a bag of potato chips from Quinton. While he was enjoying it and going off to buy some ice cream, someone called him from behind. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. ¡°Stop right there, Derek Oak!¡± Derek Oak! That was a name that sounded so strange to him right now! Turning around, he saw Sandra, who was standing not far away from him. She was wearing a bikini. As an athlete, she had a perfect streamlined body. Although she was here to enjoy the hot spring baths, she had her full makeup on, so it was obvious that she was just trying to hunt for rich guys. ¡°You traitor!¡± Sandra darted toward Derek and pped him hard across his face. Chapter 1181 Chapter 1181 p! Sandra mmed her palm hard across Derek¡¯s cheek, leaving behind a scarlet mark. Instead of fighting back, Derek only touched his face and let out a sigh. ¡°Huh. That was harsh.¡± Not only was it harsh, but Sandra probably wanted to hit him to death. Both of them were illegitimate children, but she was being restrained and was struggling with her life right now. Yet, Derek had gone up in the world! On what grounds? A p was not enough to express the wrath in Sandra¡¯s heart. Pointing at Derek¡¯s nose, she cursed, ¡°Don¡¯t forget your identity, Derek. Your father is Alex, not Cooper. How can you betray your own father for a traitor? Aren¡¯t you afraid you¡¯d be struck by lightning?¡± However, Derek did not want to talk about that with Sandra. After all these years, all that should be said had been said. Whether he was Derek Oak or Derek Mitchell, he had nothing to do with Sandra and Alex. He turned around and wanted to leave the scene. But, Sandra caught up and stopped him from leaving. Taking out a sh drive from nowhere, she handed it to Derek. Arrogantly, she said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Make a copy of all the confidential info of Dragon Technology. I want all the personal information of the customers, the marketing strategies, and the systems. After you¡¯ve done that, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re inside the Mitchell Family¡¯s genealogy record book! I¡¯ll also ask Dad to acknowledge you in public so that you can return to the family.¡± Derek took the sh drive and smiled. ¡°Sure.¡± Instantly, Sandra was thrilled. As she had expected, no one would be able to resist the temptation of being added into the genealogy record book of the family. Derek was her biological brother, and they were both illegitimate children. Naturally, she knew what Derek wanted. She would wait for Derek to give her a copy of all the information she requested. However, there was no way he would be added to the genealogy record book! The Mitchell Family belonged to her. If Derek returned to them, there would be one morepetitor. His existence was like a reminder to her that she was just an illegitimate child. No matter how hard she tried, she would never be able to get rid of that pathetic status! However, at this point, Derek, an illegitimate child like herself, was actually bing more and more sessful. Although he only graduated from university not long ago, he was already sitting in the executive position of Dragon Technology. Who gave him the right? Just like how she had gotten rid of her uncle and mother, she would get rid of Derek sooner orter. Now that he was still somewhat useful to her, she would not do anything to him yet. To make sure that Derek was appeased, Sandra even patted his shoulder and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. When we finally take over Dragon Technology, I won¡¯t mistreat you.¡± Staring at the sh drive in his palm, Derek turned it over and over again as he observed it. He then noticed the logo of Mitchell¡¯s Technology on it, realizing that it was the new product of thepany. Feeling its texture with his palm, he frowned and said, ¡°The core technology of this sh drive was left by Uncle Cooper thirty years ago. It has been so many years since then, and you guys never thought of improving it? I¡¯m starting to wonder how Mitchell¡¯s Technology survived with such old technology.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sandra did not understand what he was trying to say. Derek continued, ¡°Is this sh drive waterproof?¡± Not knowing why he asked that, Sandra answered, ¡°Not yet¡ª¡± Derek hummed in response before she could finish and threw the sh drive into the water. When it fell into the water, it only made a small ssh because it was so small. Staring at the sh drive that sank into the hot spring pool, Derekughed heartlessly. ¡°How dare you fool around with technology created thirty years ago? It seems like the Mitchell Family is only basking on Uncle Cooper¡¯s past glory and did nothing to improve at all!¡± No, in fact, Mitchell¡¯s Technology did improve themselves, butpared to Cooper¡¯s extraordinary insight and business acumen, the Mitchells were nothing. Although they did have some talents, they did not know how to appreciate them. Instead of their employees¡¯ capabilities, the Mitchells focused on their connections. That was why they could not make their talents stay. At this very moment, Sandra finally realized that she had been fooled by Derek. How dare a petty bastard like him provoke me? ¡°Don¡¯t forget who you are, Derek! You¡¯re just an illegitimate child. Do you think Cooper will ever appreciate you? You¡¯re as petty as a dog in front of him!¡± Yet, as if he did not hear her, Derek walked away casually. ¡°You¡¯re just an illegitimate child! A bastard! You¡¯ll only seed in life when Dad acknowledges you. Do you hear me?¡± Sandra was like a repeater repeating those few words, reminding Derek of his identity over and over again. ¡°Cooper and Alex are at odds, and you¡¯re Dad¡¯s illegitimate son. It¡¯s a matter of time before Cooper gets rid of you!¡± cursed Sandra viciously. However, Derek had not heard all those words. He was already enjoying the ice cream he bought from the convenience store. Illegitimate son? He had never forgotten that he was an illegitimate son, and he had never forgotten who his parents were. No one could choose their own birth. Yet, everyone could choose their own future. He used to surrender to his destiny as an illegitimate son who was invisible and who would be useless for the rest of his life. But, someone told him that there was nothing wrong with being an illegitimate son. He was not born with one limb less than others, and neither was he dumber than the others. He was perfectly fine! Sophia encouraged him to go back to school and even helped enroll him into Bayside University, where he had learned a great deal alongside Stanley and Sean. By the time he graduated, he was packed with knowledge and skills. His outstanding ability had been acknowledged by everyone, and he had been directly appointed as a senior executive when Dragon Technology was established. Even Cooper valued him a lot by entrusting him with important responsibilities; he said that he saw his past self in Derek, who had the talent and drive to do things. Sophia was fond of him, and everyone else liked him too. He served in Dragon Technology, and everyone in thepany saw what he was capable of; nobody cared who his parents were. It was too bad that Sandra would never understand that. Since young, she worked hard just to make sure that Alex would notice her and acknowledge her. Staring in the direction where Derek left, Sandra was so infuriated that her fingertips had gone pale. Very well. Since you¡¯re useless to me, then there¡¯s no reason you should stay alive! While Derek was enjoying his ice cream, Sophia came. They looked content and there was a lot of physical interaction between them as they were talking. Unbeknownst to them, a camera lens was filming them from afar in secret¡­ When Derek and Sophia were ying around, they felt like high school students again. Back then, they would study together all afternoon after school. Derek recalled the days when Sophia wanted to practice speaking with real foreigners. He found a high- end restaurant for Sophia to work part-time serving dishes because most of the customers were foreigners. When Sophia found out, she was overjoyed and went to work several weekends in a row. Apart from that, he bought some textbooks on purpose and gave them to Sophia, and even pretended that those were scraps he collected from back home. As Sophia was eating her ice cream, she let out a sigh. ¡°I wish we could go back to that time!¡± Unfortunately, she had forgotten all of it. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. When Derek remembered what Sandra said to him earlier, he was worried. ¡°I have a hunch that Sandra mighty a hand on me soon. Dragon Technology is like a thorn in the flesh for the Mitchells. They must be trying to find a way to tear us up from within. I¡¯m probably the pawn they want to use.¡± Chapter 1183 Chapter 1183 ¡°Someone¡¯s here,¡± stated Quinton. Derek was still switching on hisputer since he was about to carry on with his work. Not taking Quinton¡¯s words seriously, he replied, ¡°It could be the security guards who are keeping watch at night.¡± However, Quinton¡¯s professional instinct told him that the people outside weren¡¯t security guards. Security guards wouldn¡¯t walk so carefully. He quietly got up and burrowed himself into a corner without making a sound, cautiously blending in with the night, like a cat lurking in the dark. Then, the lights were silently switched off. Even Derek noticed that something was strange. He figured that Sandra would certainlyy a hand on him these days. Is she going to do so in the office building? Isn¡¯t this a little too bold of her? Upon that thought, Derek stood up as well. To his surprise, the door to his office was suddenly banged open before three burly men barged in from the outside; all of them had scars on their faces and were holding machetes. Derek¡¯s heart skipped a beat, but he put up a brave front by yelling, ¡°Who are you guys?!¡± He knew that these men came for him. As expected, Sandra made a move. The strong desire to survive caused Derek¡¯s physical strength and reflexes to reach their peak. He subconsciously picked up the chair on the floor to fight off the machete-wielding men, yelling, ¡°What are you waiting for? Save me!¡± Unfortunately, Quinton had disappeared without a trace amid the chaos. As expected, this guy isn¡¯t reliable at all! These burly men hade well-prepared; their attacks were ruthless and by no means sloppy, for they never spoke from the moment they showed up until the moment they struck. One could tell at a nce from their expressionless faces and the chillingly frosty looks in their eyes that they were a bunch of desperadoes. After fighting against them a few times, Derek was forced to step back to the front of the French window that was dozens of stories high above the ground. Dragon Technology¡¯s office building was very tall and good-looking. It had a unique architecture, for several floors at the top level were designed to shape like a mushroom. Stanley hadined more than once that their office building looked like a cock, with Derek¡¯s office located at its ¡®tip¡¯. The window had been smashed using the chair during the fight just now, creating a hole where cold air gusted through from a high altitude. As a result, the temperature in the office dropped drastically to below zero degrees Celsius. Derek trembled all over, knowing that there was no escape for him. No, I won¡¯t be resigned to this! I¡¯m about to realize my ambition, and my ideal life is about toe true. My wonderful life has just started, so I can¡¯t die! But with the three machete-wielding men closing in on him, he would either be shed to death or fall to his death on this day. He refused to resign himself to such a fate! Unfortunately, he already had no time left, for the three men suddenly closed in on him simultaneously. He backed away step by step until he was in front of the holed French window. Cold air gusted in through the hole, making Derek feel as if his blood was frozen. Suddenly, someone pushed his shoulders forcefully, causing him to lose his footing, and he fell into the darkness at high altitude. ¡°Aaaaah¡ª¡± Derek let out a blood-curdling scream. Suddenly, he felt his hands being grasped firmly by something. He thought that he must be dreaming. He must have been as dead as a doornail after falling from a building that was dozens of stories high¡­ The three ouws looked everywhere after pushing Derek off the building. Someone else seemed to have been in this room just now, but they went missing in the blink of an eye. They hurried to the first floor to avoid unnecessaryplications, only to see that the floor was very clean¡ªDerek¡¯s remains were nowhere to be seen. What¡¯s going on? He couldn¡¯t have survived after falling from such a tall building, so where are his remains? Perhaps the bodynded somewhere else since it¡¯s so dark and windy. The ouws decided to just forget it; they had seen Derek falling off the building with their own eyes, so they thought he couldn¡¯t possibly have survived. One of them took out his cell phone and made a phone call. ¡°Hello? The deed was done, but we didn¡¯t find the remains. Just rest assured, for our work is surely reliable. I have sent the surveince footage of the scene to your email, so you may watch it. Make sure to pay the remaining bnce after watching the surveince footage.¡± As expected, they received a 7-digit payment in their bank ount after a while, then they immediately set out to leave the city without dy. But right after they got on the beltway, an oil tanker rammed into their vehicle, breaking their car into pieces on the spot. Boom! The oil tanker then exploded, reducing several human lives to ashes at once. When Sophia woke up the next day, she learned of a piece of earth-shattering news. ¡°What? Ourpany was burrized? Derek fell off the building and went missing?¡± Sophia was shocked upon hearing the details told by the person on the other end of the line. She subconsciously uttered, ¡°What about Quinton? What? He went missing as well?¡± Michael, who was sleeping next to her, suddenly awoke with a start upon hearing the three names. He sat up and listened to what was being told over the phone. Dragon Technology was burrized? Quinton and Derek both went missing, and the surveince footage showed Derek falling off the building? So they died together? How could that be possible? Quinton couldn¡¯t even be killed with a missile! Michael and Sophia hurried to Dragon Technology together, and Cooper also hurried there upon learning about the news. Michael called Quinton on the way; only he and Derek knew Quinton¡¯s phone number. The call was put through. ¡°Where are you?¡± he asked. Quinton answered, ¡°Reverie Mountain.¡± ¡°What are you doing there?!¡± Quinton replied, ¡°Enjoying the hot spring.¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. He actually went to Reverie Mountain! Michael was shocked, but Quinton indeed coulde and go like a shadow. Michael hurriedly asked, ¡°Where¡¯s the other one?¡± Quinton replied, ¡°He was a little in shock, so he went to sleep the moment we arrived.¡± Since Quinton said so, Michael was naturally relieved. As expected, Derek wouldn¡¯t die when Quinton is present. When they reached thepany, they found that the door to the building was indeed forced open. The police had evene to cordon off the scene. Originally built by Michael, the mushroom-shaped building where Dragon Technology Corporation was located overlooked the buildings around it with its height of tens of stories. Its lower levels had been rented out to a six-star hotel, whereas the higher levels were where Dragon Technology Corporation was located. Thepany was veryrge in size since it upied dozens of floors in the building. However, it was founded very recently, so many of its subsidiaries hadn¡¯t moved in. There were still some imperfections in its internal management, resulting in many loopholes. Sophia went to the scene of the incident to take a look. The security guards in charge of keeping watch at night had been sent to the hospital after being knocked unconscious. The police were watching the surveince footage, and Derek¡¯s office had been cordoned off. Many signs of struggle were found at the scene of the incident; the window was smashed into pieces, and a broken chair was even found downstairs. Luckily, no one was near the scene at that time. The surveince videos showed three fierce-looking burly men going up using the hotel¡¯s elevator and purposefully heading for Derek¡¯s office. They fought with Derek in the office for less than one minute before pushing him off the building. Michael eximed with an unctuous sigh, ¡°Oh, my god! Who did this?¡± A police officer responded. ¡°There was a car ident on the inner ring expressway early this morning. It was preliminarily determined that the three suspects had died in the car crash, and all three of them were wanted criminals.¡± Chapter 1184 Chapter 1184 Manypanies in the building were closed then, but the surveince system was still operating normally. The three suspects swaggered their way in and tantlymitted the crime; they even made a copy of the surveince footage for some unknown reason before leaving. However, Derek¡ªor his remains¡ªwas missing. The surveince footage showed that he had been pushed off the building, but his remains were never found. No remains were found even after the search area was widened to a few kilometers within the radius. This incident wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed. Michael kept watching the surveince videos. As expected, he couldn¡¯t spot Quinton, who was very mindful of surveince cameras. The first thing he did upon entering a room was always to look for surveince blind spots. Suddenly, someone could be hearding in hurriedly wearing high heels. ¡°Oh, Derek, my brother! What has happened to my brother?¡± Sophia looked back to see Sandra, who looked incredibly anxious as she came in and grabbed the arm of one of the police officers. She said, ¡°I¡¯m Sandra Mitchell, and Derek is my younger brother. I received a call from himst night, and he said someone wanted to kill him. Where is my brother? Has anyone seen my brother?¡± The police officer replied regretfully, ¡°Your brother, Derek, has gone missing after falling off the building last night. We¡¯re still searching for him right now.¡± Sandra seemed devastated by the police officer¡¯s words. She slumped back against the wall and was in a daze for a moment before suddenly bursting into floods of tears. She wailed so pitifully that even the police officer couldn¡¯t stand seeing her like this and gave her a few words offort. As the victim¡¯s sister, she reluctantly started to have her testimony recorded. ¡°My brother and I were very close. He was more of a low-key person, so he never made his identity public. He started working from the bottom and was a very down-to-earth and hardworking kid. He was always busy, but we still kept in touch, and we often traveled together. I have no idea what on earth has happened. He usually treated people very nicely, and he never incurred anyone¡¯s hatred. Why would someone want to kill him¡­¡± Sophia breathed out through her nostrils as she watched from the sidelines. What she says is so full of high-sounding words, she thought to herself. Wanting to see what Sandra wanted to do, she continued listening patiently. Suddenly, Sandra seemed to have recalled something; she jumped and pointed at Sophia, shouting, ¡°She must have been the one who killed my brother!¡± She seemed to have figured everything out at once, for she spoke sternly. ¡°My brother told me that this woman had designs on him, for she wanted to make him her kept man. After he refused her, she even threatened him, saying that she would give him a hard time if he didn¡¯t submit to her. It must be her!¡± The assistant quickly grabbed her, but she yelled, as if being possessed, ¡°Sophia, you must have been the one who killed my brother! You¡¯re so cruel! Just you wait; I¡¯ll definitely avenge my brother! I want you to pay with your life!¡± Sophia retorted in a poised manner, ¡°Miss Mitchell, your brother¡¯s remains haven¡¯t been found yet! How could you assert categorically that he¡¯s dead?¡± Sandra let out a few sobs while crying with grief. ¡°You all must have hidden my brother¡¯s remains away! You all are so cruel! My brother was also a Mitchell, so why would you harm him like this?¡± She was devastated. ¡°Just you wait; I must make you all pay the price! I¡¯ll definitely avenge Derek!¡± she growled viciously. With that, she wiped her tears and left in a hurry. Sophia let out another sneer. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. The sun rosete in winter, so it was just 9.00AM when Sophia came downstairs after she hurried to Dragon Technology Corporation and finished dealing with the matters. It seemed that nothing had happened at Dragon Technology¡¯s premises as the office workers hurried in and out of thepany. Even though there was a suspected homicide, only the floor where the incident happened was sealed off for rectification. Merely a few people worked on that floor, anyway. It wasbeled a homicide, but the victim was never found, which was truly strange. It was cold in winter, so Michael and Sophia walked downstairs with their face masks put on to maintain a low profile and keep themselves warm. Still, Sophia smelled the savory aroma of steamed buns through the face mask. Seeing that her little nose wiggled, Michael immediately bought a few steamed meat buns and walked over. ¡°Come; have some buns.¡± Sophia took off her face mask and was about to eat the bun when Michael sank his teeth into it and bit off a huge chunk of it before she did so. He ate a mouthful of the bun with relish before saying, ¡°I¡¯ve tested it for poison. It¡¯s very tasty.¡± Sophia smiled shyly and pounded his chest with her small fists. The two then got into the car affectionately. Sophia had been working at the JNS Group these days, so she drove there straight away. Cooper, who was behind them, looked lonely; it was as if he was transparent. My daughter has grown up, and she doesn¡¯t need me anymore¡­ Sophia then went to the JNS Group. She had her hands full with the approaching fashion week, so she was under a lot of stress. She had drawn several big names in the fashion world to her side, and Ivan, whom she had trained herself, could now take care of things by himself. Even so, she still felt that she was at her wits¡¯ end. After all, this was the first time she held a fashion week event, so everybody was looking forward to it. Her goal wasn¡¯t for Bayside Fashion Week to influence the global fashion world like the four major fashion week events when it debuted on Monday. At the very least, though, she didn¡¯t want the event to turn out to be too unsightly. She had to worry about everything, including the venue, guests, and funds. The fashion week event cost a huge amount of money and would be held on an unprecedented scale. As the founder of this fashion week event, she often felt as if she was going to be out of breath. When she went home exhausted after a busy day, she saw that everyone was watching TV in the living room. Alex was shown bursting into tears in front of the interview camera on TV. ¡°Derek was my son even though I never disclosed his existence to the public. He had been rebellious since childhood, so he was unwilling to ept everything that I had arranged for him. He had always been working and living alone outside independently, but I never expected my son to¡­¡± A surveince video was inserted in the newscast, and it was none other than the one that showed Derek being forced to jump off the window. The video showed him being hemmed in by three burly men before they pushed him off the building. The video was the surveince footage of his office. Due to the camera¡¯s limited angle of view, he could only be seen jumping out of the window. It couldn¡¯t be seen whether he had fallen off the building, but in general, he would undoubtedly die under such circumstances. Sandra was then shown weeping pitifully. ¡°My brother and I were on the best terms with each other. We even nned to go to the seaside for a holiday a few days ago, but I never expected him to¡­ Oh, my poor brother! I¡¯ll certainly find out who your murderer was!¡± This clip was included in every news channel, so Sandra and Alex¡¯s faces were shown everywhere during prime time. The Mitchells made a big fuss by pressuring the police to determine Derek¡¯s cause of death as soon as possible. The police soon found out Derek¡¯s cause of death. Unfortunately, the three murderers got into a car crash while escaping in their car aftermitting the crime, causing them to be burned to death together. The video of Derek falling off the building was circted all over the Inte. The three murderers¡¯ faces appeared in the video, so it wasn¡¯t difficult to find out who they were. The police issued the announcement and closed the case within two days. The only questionable thing about this case was that Derek¡¯s remains were never found. The Mitchells seized upon this questionable point and yed it up, demanding an exnation. Chapter 1185 Chapter 1185 At the same time, the Inte was in an uproar. There had been some media hype about Derek and Sophia having an affair before, but Michael had forcefully banned these news reports. Now that both Derek and his murderers had died and the victim¡¯s remains were never found, theizens let their imaginations run wild. ¡®Taylor Murray must have hired Derek¡¯s murderers. Who could stand being cuckolded? He dared noty a hand on his wife since his father-inw is very powerful. Hence, he could only get back at Derek!¡¯ ¡®I have a friend who is working at Dragon Technology. He said that Derek and Eddie were on intimate terms, and they seemed to have quarreled on the day of the incident. It must have been Eddie who killed him; she must have been afraid that Taylor found out about her affair with Derek!¡¯ ¡®Where are the remains? The more I think about where the remains have gone, the more scared I get!¡¯ ¡®The remains must have been hidden away to lower the risks of the culprit being found. What a bunch of disgusting capitalists!¡¯ ¡®There were too many inside stories behind the scenes. We can¡¯t talk about them; otherwise, what we say will probably be censored. Taylor Murray had forced a bunch of truth-telling newspapers and magazines to close down with a snap of his fingers¡­ We can only say that human lives are too worthless.¡¯ Sophia was really impressed by theseizens¡¯ imagination. It wasn¡¯t difficult to figure out Sandra¡¯s intentions when one thought back carefully about the whole incident. She yed up scandalous gossip about Derek, making him famous by using Michael¡¯s reputation. Then, she killed him when spections about the gossip reached their peak. Since the murderers were dead, there was no witness testimony to prove Michael and Sophia¡¯s innocence. Therefore, everyone would certainly point the finger at Michael, Sophia, and even Cooper. The kept man was dead, so who killed him? It must have been either Michael or Sophia. Thanks to Sandra¡¯s maniption, Derek¡¯s death was sensationalized on a scale so spectacr that the story couldn¡¯t be yed down at all. Sandra, the victim¡¯s sister, wept out her grief on her social media ounts almost every day, detailing tearfully how miserable the loss of her younger brother had made her, and how close she and Derek used to be. It was indeed weird that Alex was suddenly revealed to have a son, and the fact that Sandra was his illegitimate daughter could be exposed by ident any time. However, Derek¡¯s death was the focus here, and they were very good at obscuring the focus¡­ Now that Derek had died like that, Cooper couldn¡¯t escape the responsibility. Even if the previous scandalous gossip about Derek and Sophia were set aside, Dragon Technology was, after all, Cooper¡¯s turf. Now that someone had died on his turf, he couldn¡¯t escape the responsibility, of course. This incident caused a huge stir thanks to Taylor¡¯s poprity. Unfortunately, Derek didn¡¯t fall from the sky and ended up being reduced to a pulp like the Yard Family¡¯s grandmaster. Otherwise, this incident would have be far moreplicated than this. Perhaps they had purposely attacked Derek in his office to make him die the same way the Yard Family¡¯s grandmaster did. The death of the Yard Family¡¯s grandmaster back then caused such a great stir that the entire Ronney Group was closed down for a few days for a reorganization. The sensation caused by Derek¡¯s death this time wasn¡¯t as huge as the one caused by the grandmaster¡¯s deathst time. At the very least, it didn¡¯t cause Dragon Technology to be closed down for several days for a reorganization. Still, they could ckmail Cooper by seizing upon the fact that the remains weren¡¯t found. They fished for sympathy as much as they could on the media, stirring up public opinion by demanding to have Alex¡¯s son¡¯s death avenged. When the public opinion was stirred up, the departments concerned would certainly take action. They would pretend to do some investigations even for the sake of calming down the public outcry. This kind of thing was the trickiest since nothing could be found out by investigating Sophia. After all, she wasn¡¯t the one who killed Derek. However, everyone was influenced by public opinion, so they all thought that there must have been something fishy behind this incident. They were certain that someone must have been behind the scenes, and the authorities couldn¡¯t find out the culprit simply because the culprit was shielded. There must be something behind the scenes! Oh, my god! God only knows how many inside stories are behind this, for even the injustice of the death of the Mitchell Group¡¯s Chairman¡¯s son couldn¡¯t be redressed! What everyone saw was perhaps just the tip of the iceberg. Some people even went to Dragon Technology¡¯s premises to stage a protest downstairs. Derek had made a public appearance during the founding of Dragon Technology, and he attracted many fans with his innocent puppy-like looks and his status as a high-handedpany president. Now that their Prince Charming died a mysterious death, the fans certainly could no longer sit still. In the end, the recently established Dragon Technology was sessfully closed down for a few days for a reorganization. Sophia and Michael were frequently taken to the police station to cooperate with the investigation, and Cooper was certainly no exception. His business was really so strikingly sessful that too many people wanted to take a share of the spoils, making this a good opportunity. It seemed that the Mitchells wanted to seize this opportunity to destroy Cooper for good, for they kept pulling strings behind the scenes. Even the fashion week event for which Sophia was working hard to prepare was forced to be held up for a few days since she waa involved in a homicide. Both Sophia and Michael nevermented on Derek¡¯s death as well as the nderous usations made by Sandra and the others. At this moment, they might bring trouble on themselves if they talked too much. Just then, a piece of breaking news suddenly came¡ªLucy publicly joined Ronney Fashion Week! Ronney Fashion Week immediately took on an entirely new look with Lucy¡¯s participation. Sophia received inside information that Lucy had joined hands with the Yard Family to hold Ronney Fashion Week this time. She also started to cozy up to the local fashion brands in Bayside City that the Yard Family treated with contempt by promising to promote their brands at Ronney Fashion Week. Many fashion brands and designers dreamed of appearing at Ronney Fashion Week, so it was obviously very cool to receive a letter of invitation to the event! Inparison, Sophia¡¯s Bayside Fashion Week was embarrassingly countrified, resembling a farm produce fair. If it weren¡¯t for the pressure from the Yard Family, they wouldn¡¯t have chosen to take part in Bayside Fashion Week. The fact that the Yard Family relented and reached an ice-breaking coboration with Bayside City¡¯s local fashion world came as a piece of great news to some people. But this wasn¡¯t a good thing for Sophia, for Lucy was thest person she wanted to set herself against. However, since Lucy had shown her hand, she would never show the white feather. It wasn¡¯t certain who would win or lose yet! Meanwhile, at the hot springs resort on Reverie Mountain¡­ ¡°My younger brother, Derek, and I had always been close. He was rebellious, but he never made me cry¡­¡± ¡°This son of mine resembled me too much, for he was unwilling to give in to anyone since childhood¡­ It really never urred to me that I¡¯d see my son dying earlier than myself.¡± ¡­ Derek watched expressionlessly as the news was broadcasted at loud volume. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Ha! Son? Ha! Younger brother? Had anyone ever acknowledged me as their son and younger brother back when I lived on the streets without a penny after my rtives took my property from me upon my mother and uncle¡¯s death? After theptop was shut down, the news clip stopped ying, and the entire world fell silent. Derek¡¯s mind was in turmoil as he hung his head and pulled his hair. He often wondered why life was so unfair to him by having him being born into such a family. He would rather be born in a family that was a little poorer and more ordinary. At the very least, his parents would love him dearly, and he would live a simple life. Wouldn¡¯t that be better? He was also Alex¡¯s biological child; even though he was born illegitimate, he was Alex¡¯s own flesh and blood. Could they really kill him without feeling guilty just to make an issue of his death? Cooper spoiled her daughter so much that everyone in the world knew about it. He was also one of the Mitchells, so why couldn¡¯t Alex pay him even the slightest bit of attention? Did they finally know that I¡¯m their younger brother and son after I ¡®died¡¯? Ha! Since this is the case¡­ Chapter 1186 Chapter 1186 Suddenly, a cone of ice cream was put in front of him. ¡°Would you like to have some ice cream?¡± Derek looked up to find that the corners of his mouth tasted salty; only then did hee to his senses and realize that his face was wet with tears. He wiped his tears away, saying, ¡°Thank you.¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Derek nced at Quinton without saying a word as they ate ice cream silently. His mind seemed to have recovered its bnce when he looked at Quinton. At the very least, he didn¡¯t go astray, and somebody was still caring about him. After eating the ice cream, Derek pulled himself together. Having a decision in mind, he looked firmly at Quinton before saying, ¡°Let¡¯s leave the mountain tomorrow.¡± Quinton had lied down after eating his ice cream. ying with his cell phone, he replied, ¡°Okay.¡± It had been seven days since Derek ¡®died¡¯. Over thest seven days, Sandra and Alex yed up Derek¡¯s death as much as possible. They seemed to have concluded that Derek must have been killed by either Sophia or Michael. Sit-in protests had been staged downstairs at Dragon Technology¡¯s premises from time to time, for many urged the relevant departments to find the actual murderer to avenge Derek. The police repeatedly asserted that the murderers had been found, and Sophia actually had nothing to do with the homicide. Even so, the public refused to believe this. To them, even the victim¡¯s family couldn¡¯t be fooled by this story, let alone the outsiders. Moreover, Dragon Technology hadn¡¯t handed over Derek¡¯s remains even now, so there must be something terribly wrong behind this! There were huge crowds of people downstairs at Dragon Technology¡¯s premises on the seventh day after Derek¡¯s death. Sandra and Alex showed up downstairs together; leading many of the Mitchells, they upied the entrance and burned offerings for Derek. As they burned the offerings, they cried with great sadness. Sandra knew that the longer the matter dragged on, the worse it would be for her. She must make a big deal out of this incident as soon as possible to benefit from this. ¡°My poor brother, pleasee out and meet me if you can see us. Tell Dad and me who killed you! Don¡¯t be afraid, for Dad and I will certainly speak up for you. You have the entire Mitchell Family at your back! Oh, my brother! My poor, poor brother¡­¡± Not only Sandra and Alex were wailing downstairs; a group of Mitchells who ranked as Derek¡¯s junior in the family hierarchy were even forced to wear deep mourning and kneel downstairs; they wailed for the dead while burning offerings. Standing in the mushroom-shaped building, Cooper couldn¡¯t help going ballistic at the sight of the scene. ¡°This is so embarrassing! What a shame this is!¡± However, this scene wasn¡¯t embarrassing in Alex¡¯s eyes. To him, this was the golden opportunity to make Cooper fall from power, so he had to continue what he was doing no matter how embarrassing this was. Since people were wailing for the dead downstairs and sitting in from time to time, the hotel¡¯s business was seriously affected, so even the hotel received manyints. Cooper didn¡¯t expect to witness such a spectacle in his lifetime. He simply pulled the curtains and stopped looking at the scene, for he really didn¡¯t want to spare a nce at these people. It never urred to him that the Mitchells had sunk to such a level 20 years after he left. Such a way of doing things was no different from that of the upstarts who shouted abuses in public! They couldn¡¯t care less about the honor and dignity of the nobility. Holding Derek¡¯s ck-and-white photo in her arms, Sandra stood downstairs while wailing as the reporters pointed their cameras at her. Her face was streaming with tears as she cried pitifully while saying, ¡°We don¡¯t want to stir up trouble; I just want to get my younger brother¡¯s remains back! Today is the seventh day after his death, yet I can¡¯t even find his remains! Oh, God! How could you treat my brother like this? My poor brother!¡± Sandra Mitchell, the former Universal Games champion, publicly demanded to redress the wrong done to her younger brother, creating a great stir. Derek died, but his remains went missing. What an utter injustice! There must be some secrets behind Derek¡¯s death. Sophia was also watching them in the building, for she wanted to see when they would stop making a scene. Sandra seemed to be certain that Derek had died and that Sophia had hidden his remains away. If Sophia handed over his remains, it could then be determined that she had murdered him; if she couldn¡¯t hand over his remains, it would be proven that something was wrong with Dragon Technology, and they were the ones who killed Derek! Derek had gone missing, and the people involved were dead. The three murderers who killed him had died, and the oil tanker that rammed into their car had exploded on the spot, killing the oil tanker¡¯s driver. Since there were no witnesses to testify, Sophia and Cooper were caught in a no-win situation, and both of them could never turn the tables. Some even made Michael the target of their attack; they forcibly dragged him into the case by seeing him as an aplice. It¡¯s really impressive of them to raise such a ruckus from early in the morning until noon! It¡¯s such a cold day, and it¡¯s snowing. Aren¡¯t they bothered by the cold? thought Sophia to herself. It was already noon, and the reporters had left for lunch, but the Mitchells still refused to leave. They kneeled on the floor and warmed their hands with their breaths while shivering, whereas Sandra and Alex had returned to their van to have lunch. Sophia uttered, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just let them make trouble while we have lunch first. I shall treat everyone to lunch today.¡± They had to eat their fill to have the strength to confront these people. Cooper didn¡¯t want to go out because he thought that this scene was too embarrassing. Sophia, however, was seething with rage; for Derek¡¯s sake, she must go downstairs and raise merry hell with the Mitchells on this day! Michael sneaked into the building from the parking lot at noon to deliver saut¨¦ed lobster and nourishing mutton soup to her. Celine, who came with him as well, was carrying a few boxes carefully. The instant she entered the company, she searched everywhere for Quinton. ¡°Where¡¯s my brother? Where¡¯s my little brother?¡± After finding Quinton¡ªwho was sleeping in a corner¡ªshe pulled at him like a kid, urging, ¡°Get up and have lunch, Quinton!¡± Quinton rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up to have lunch. Seeing Quinton¡¯s decadent appearance, Michael was exasperated, for the former failed to meet his expectations. He reproved with amanding look, ¡°Just look at you! You never change your clothes, wash your pants, shave your beard,b your hair, or even smarten yourself up! All you do every day is eat and sleep, and you never tidy your room. Do you think it¡¯s cool to only know to y games and y with your cell phone every day¡­¡± Quinton¡¯s eyes were heavy with sleep, and his unkempt hair hung above his eyebrows, making him look a bit wild and uninhibited. He opened the lunchbox Celine gave him while Michael rattled on in exasperation. Celine loved him dearly, though. She kept picking up food for him, saying, ¡°Here, Quinton, eat this. This is delicious.¡± Michael stared at Quinton with a look of exasperation in his eyes, but he could do nothing else with the latter. He couldn¡¯t help thinking to himself, What¡¯s the point of the existence of something inhuman like a younger brother? Quinton thought to himself, This brother of mine is so annoying. The Mitchells had intended to hold their annual year-end meeting here on this day, so there were many people in thepany. The Mitchells were all here, and even Linus¡ªwho didn¡¯t have the surname Mitchell¡ªwas present. Everyone didn¡¯t expect Alex toe and make trouble, so they were prepared to go out and put up a vigorous fight with him after eating their fill. It could be said that this day was the first time they would rip each other in public like this ever since the Mitchells were split up, so everyone really looked forward to it. Family scandals shouldn¡¯t be made public. Since someone as famous as Sandra could risk losing face by putting up a fight in public, they could only fulfil her wish! Everyone had spent the entire morning having the meeting. As the head of the Mitchell Family, Cooper made a speech and voiced his ns for the new year. Filled with enthusiasm, everyone was ready to roll up their sleeves under Cooper¡¯s leadership. Everyone then had lunch after the meeting ended. The sight of the current size of this branch family of the Mitchells filled Cooper with gratification. Currently, the branch family owned many properties of different sizes apart from Dragon Technology and Mitchell International Energy and Technology. Thesepanies had expanded to a very considerable scale over the past two years, which was even faster than he had expected. The younger generation is to be regarded with respect! Cooper waved his hand after lunch, saying, ¡°I hereby dere this meeting adjourned.¡± Everyone gave a cheer and gathered up their stuff before going downstairs, ready to fight with Alex and his men. Cooper shook his head in resignation while looking at the group of high-spirited young people. Chapter 1187 Chapter 1187 After finishing her lunch and resting downstairs for a while, Sandra came out and bawled tearlessly again while holding Derek¡¯s ck-and-white photo with both hands. ¡°Oh, my poor brother! If you¡¯re in heaven, please open your eyes and look at me! Who killed you? Say something!¡± She had decided to stay here for the whole day. Sophia and Cooper could run away, but theirpany couldn¡¯t disappear overnight, so they would eventually have toe out and give her an exnation! She didn¡¯t believe that they could keep hiding like this. As expected, after she uttered a few cries, she saw a group of people marching down the building. They were led by none other than Sophia, who yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t you know who killed your younger brother better than anyone else, Sandra Mitchell?¡± Sophia¡¯s cold voice sounded so dignified that it drowned out the noise at the scene. Striding up toward Sandra with a steely expression, she asked several questions in a row, as if not giving Sandra any chance to interrupt. ¡°I¡¯d like to ask where Derek¡¯s father and sister were when he lived all by himself as a child. Where were his father and sister when he dropped out of school and nearly went astray by being initiated into a gang? I¡¯d also like to ask where his father and sister were when he lived on the streets alone after his rtives took the opportunity of his family tragedy to seize his family¡¯s property!¡± She truly felt that Derek didn¡¯t deserve this as she shifted her gaze back and forth between Sandra and Alex. ¡°Let me answer these questions for you!¡± Sophia continued sarcastically. ¡°You both were living in glory back when he was forced to live on the streets. One of you covered yourself in glory as a world champion, whereas the other enjoyed a high position and great wealth as the Mitchell Group¡¯s president. You two never cared about his fate. You both don¡¯t deserve to be his family!¡± However, Sandra didn¡¯t take Sophia¡¯s words to heart at all. Seeing that Sophia had arrived, she threw Derek¡¯s photo aside and stepped forward to grab Sophia, yelling, ¡°Give me my brother back! It was you who killed my brother!¡± Then, overestimating herself, she even rushed at Sophia and exchanged blows with her! Something is wrong! thought Sophia to herself. She had beaten Sandra up so many times before, during which thetter never gained the upper hand. Sandra must know that she was no match for her when it came to exchanging blows. Something is amiss! This time was different from usual. Since people wereing and going downstairs at thepany, Sophia couldn¡¯t exchange blows with Sandra like delinquent teenagers, so she immediately backed away when she saw Sandra lunging at her. As she had expected, she smelled a familiar smell as soon as she got close to Sandra. She had often smelled this on Michael; it was the smell of fake blood. If she got too close to Sandra, the blood packet would burst, and the next day¡¯s headlines would read, ¡®Ex-World Champion Had Her Face Covered In Blood After Being Beaten up in Public for Demanding Justice for Her Deceased Brother¡¯. ¡°Stay clear of her, everyone! She¡¯s going to feign injury!¡± Sophia shouted. Those who belonged to the Mitchells¡¯ branch family immediately dispersed, and Sophia herself ran away with lightning speed. Sandra chased after her with her hair in disarray. She looked very crazy, which was very consistent with the image of a sister who was driven to despair by the loss of her younger brother. However, her eyes were flickering despite her unkempt hair. She was determined to make Sophia unable to clear her name on this day!Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. However, she couldn¡¯t catch up with Sophia, who ran faster than anyone else. Hence, she changed her target and lunged at one of the Mitchells instead. Vincent, the traitor! I¡¯ll choose him! Unfortunately, Vincent immediately ran away when he saw hering at him. Sandra then spotted Drake. She remembered this damned security guard, who wasn¡¯t even qualified to clean the toilet for her back in the Mitchell Family. Unexpectedly, he rode Michael¡¯s coattails and became a person who seemed to be of some worth. He made his debut in a blockbuster and was even described as Taylor Murray¡¯s sessor! Unfortunately, Drake also ran away very quickly, preventing her from jumping on him. As recorded by the cell phone cameras of countless passersby, Sandra, the world champion, really made a fool of herself by lunging at people everywhere with her hair in disarray on this day, looking like an evil spirit. This didn¡¯t matter to her, though. As long as she managed to jump on any of these people, she would immediately bring Sophia and Cooper down, so it no longer mattered even if she would lose face. Justin, Sean, Dimon, and the others fled at the sight of her. Finally, she managed to jump on someone as she wished. Pressing herself against the person, she then broke the fake blood packet in her arms that she had prepared long ago. ¡°Aaaaah!¡± she screamed on the spot while falling into the person¡¯s arms to rub the fake blood all over him. Finally getting what she wished for, she covered her belly with her hand and staggered a few steps back before copsing weakly. ¡°There¡¯s a puddle of blood on the floor!¡± ¡°Oh, my God!¡± ¡°She¡¯s bleeding!¡± At the sight of the scene, Alex instantly rushed up to Sandra and held her in his arms. ¡°Oh, my God! What¡¯s happened to you, Sandra? Oh, darling! Somebody help! Someone¡¯s killed my daughter! Are you alright, darling? Don¡¯t die! You all killed my daughter in public after murdering my son! Do you all still have respect for thew?¡± More and more onlookers gathered around the scene when they saw that someone was getting killed. Upon themotion, the group of Mitchells who were dressed in mourning immediately rushed to the scene and hurled abuses at those on Sophia¡¯s side, creating an extremely noisy scene. Cooper could even hear the noise upstairs, so he lifted a corner of the curtain and looked at the scene. What a disgrace! he thought to himself. The Mitchells had indeed lost face right now, but they had no other alternatives. Cooper seemed to be keeping himself out of the affair the whole time, but he had been mping down on the Mitchells. He didn¡¯t have to deliberately crack down on them at all. He could restrict the Mitchells¡¯ space for development bit by bit simply by expanding his business. Therefore, bringing Alex down was only a matter of time. The Mitchells had little time left even if they secured the investment from the Yard Family. The more frenzied they were right now, the more it proved that they had been driven into a corner. They were now counting on seizing this opportunity to drag Cooper into the mire. ¡°What a shame they¡¯ve brought to themselves,¡± mumbled Cooper. Still, he decided to go downstairs and take a look after thinking for a moment. Meanwhile, the Mitchells had gone totally crazy downstairs. Alex wailed while holding Sandra in his arms, whereas the Mitchells cried and hurled abuses behind them, making a huge scene. Sophia stood aside and watched the spectacle, for she wanted to see how shameful Sandra and Alex could be. ¡°Barf!¡± Sandra spat a mouthful of blood at Alex while looking more dead than alive. Alex also looked half- dead as he held his daughter in his arms. ¡°Oh, my darling daughter! Open your eyes and look at me! Don¡¯t die!¡± A group of aged elders stepped forward and hurled abuses at Sophia. ¡°How could you kill a member of your family in public as a descendant of the Mitchell Family? I must report this to our ancestors! They are watching from heaven, so they would certainly¡ª¡± Pointing at the other side, Sophia interrupted, ¡°You¡¯re mistaken. The one who killed her wasn¡¯t me, but him!¡± The Elders immediately changed their target and pointed the finger at the young man whom Sandra was trying to extort. The man seemed very young, and he was dressed in a cream-colored winter coat that carried the emblem of Cooper¡¯s branch of the family. There was a horrifying patch of blood on his chest, and his hands were covered in blood. He was the one who had ¡®killed¡¯ Sandra just now. He could never run away, and neither could Cooper! The Mitchells¡¯ Elders condemned the young man, saying, ¡°You¡¯re a murderer! You all killed Derek before killing Sandra in public, thereby bringing disgrace upon the family and our ancestors. You all won¡¯t be able to die a natural death! Don¡¯t you ever think of escaping the Mitchells¡¯ punishment even if you all can avoid being punished ording to thew!¡± Bursting into floods of tears, Alex came forward and barked at the young man, ¡°Give my son and my daughter back to me! Oh, my poor Derek, I have let you down!¡± However, he failed to notice the sardonic grin on the face of the young man dressed in the white winter coat. Chapter 1188 Chapter 1188 Looking aloof and indifferent, the young man pressed his lips together without saying a word. He took a few steps forward and made his way to the midst of the crowd of the Mitchells¡¯ elders, who then surrounded and scolded him. Alex even demanded his life, thinking that he was the murderer who had killed his son, Derek. The passersby also looked at the young man. Wait a minute. Isn¡¯t the man none other than¡­ Suspecting that they had made a mistake, the onlooking crowd took out their cell phones and searched for the news photos topare the person in the photos with the man before them. As expected, they¡¯re exactly alike! That¡¯s him! The young man wearing a white winter coat didn¡¯t speak, as if he could say nothing in his defense. He simply looked at Alex, who cried so hard that he almost copsed. Alex was almost 70 years old, and he was greying at the temples. Yet, he lost his son in his old age, which was indeed a tragedy in his life. He cried so sorrowfully that his hair seemed to have grayed a little. He beat the young man, looking as if he was hanging from thetter¡¯s body. ¡°Give my son and daughter back to me, you bunch of murderers!¡± He even raised his hand and pped the young man in a fit of grief. The young man looked coldly at Alex and the Mitchells just like that, without saying a word from beginning to end. His face still had the fake blood Sandra had rubbed on him, making him look very wretched. The Mitchells¡¯ elders seemed to have their eyes on the young man. They dragged him to the front of Derek¡¯s memorial tablet, demanding him to kneel down before Derek¡¯s grave. The young man didn¡¯t resist despite being pushed around and yelled at. He walked up to Derek¡¯s memorial tablet before being forced to kneel down. They seemed to believe that the young man was the murderer who had killed Derek, so they were incredibly excited. They felt as if they had gotten something on Cooper and could bring him down very soon. ¡°Come out, Cooper! Now that your men killed someone in public, what else can you say?!¡± ¡°Cooper, you disrespected your elders and betrayed the Mitchells back then; now, you even ordered one of your men to kill someone in public. Come out and give us an exnation!¡± ¡°Come out! Don¡¯t think that you can hide for the rest of your life!¡± The Mitchells held down the young man as he kneeled on the floor. Even so, the young man still straightened his back and looked straight at Derek¡¯s memorial tablet as well as the ck-and-white photo on it. The Mitchells were so excited that they didn¡¯t notice something was wrong, nor did they notice that the onlooking crowd¡¯s mood had changed. Sandra was still lying on the floor and ying dead as fake blood was sttered all over the floor. Alex cried so hard that he wore himself out and was supported by those next to him. The younger generation of the Mitchells wore deep mourning and kneeled on the floor while the Mitchells¡¯ aged elders shouted abuses downstairs. Everyone seemed very excited as they stared at Sophia and the top of the building, where Cooper was at. ¡°Cooper, if you still don¡¯te down, we¡¯ll go up and catch you to make you pay for Derek¡¯s death with your life.¡± No one cared about the young man in the white winter coat, who was kneeling on the floor. Their target was Cooper, not him. He couldn¡¯t helpughing as he rubbed the fake blood covering his hands on his white winter coat. The onlooking crowd held their cell phones while taking videos of the scene. Still kneeling on the floor, the younger Mitchells who dressed in deep mourning looked up asionally to see the young man¡¯s face and the ck-and-white photo on Derek¡¯s memorial tablet. Afterparing the two faces, they were immediately bbergasted. The young man in the white winter coat is Derek! Derek didn¡¯t die at all! At this moment, Derek couldn¡¯t helpughing as he kneeled on his knees with his back straightened. The onlooking outsiders and some of the Mitchells had apparently discovered his identity. However, the Mitchells were very immersed in the atmosphere, and Alex and Sandra had just been brought into their characters, so it wasn¡¯t convenient for them to disturb these people. Some Mitchells, who still wanted to save face, had quietly torn off their family emblem and sneaked away. The onlooking crowd stood idly by and continued watching the spectacle. None of them reminded the Mitchells since what was happening in front of them wasn¡¯t of their personal interest. Some people, including Sophia, stood aside and watched the spectacle quietly to see when the Mitchells would finally realize something was wrong. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. Alex and Sandra were obviously unaware that they had madeughing stocks out of themselves. They were still hamming it up, thinking that they had dragged Cooper into the mire. The Mitchells even started to spit at the entrance! They are truly incredible. Finally, Cooper showed up amid the Mitchells¡¯ elders¡¯ curses. Cooper dressed very formally on this day since he was here for the meeting. Wearing a scrupulous ck business suit under a ck windbreaker to keep warm, he still looked incredibly young and was still at the peak of his handsomeness with his incredibly youthful looks. He looked cool, charming, and mysterious as he strode toward the crowd. Compared to the old and doddering Alex, who had made a spectacle of himself, Cooper was divinely handsome. Cooper showed up with Michael on his left and Linus on his right. Their handsome looks caused screams of excitement to be heard among the crowd the instant they appeared. Michael felt that he looked less imposing when he was walking beside his young-looking father-inw. Cooper rarely showed himself in public since he consistently kept a low profile and was secretive. During the second episode of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, the filming crew came to their home to film the changes at their home after they joined the show. Cooper and the piglet appeared on-screen for only two seconds, and the episode¡¯s viewership skyrocketed. Because of that, Cooper was called ¡®Cethos¡¯ most handsome grandfather¡¯ and ¡®the grandfather whom every Cethosian dreamed of having¡¯! Seeing that Cooper showed up, Alex pounced on him at once. ¡°Give my son back to me, Cooper!¡± Cooper looked at Alex expressionlessly with a flicker in his eyes. Just when Alex wasing at him, Dimon kicked him on the spot and sent him flying. This could be considered an act of revenge for what had happened on Edwards Ind. ¡°Wow!¡± Everyone was shocked. Alex was kicked so hard that he fell onto the floor and couldn¡¯t get up for a long time. Also, he naturally began to bawl, ¡°Help me, please! Someone¡¯s trying to kill me!¡± The few elders wanted to stop Cooper, but they didn¡¯t expect him to be surrounded by many expert fighters. After being red at, they dared not move forward, for they were truly scared that Cooper would have them kicked and sent flying. Cooper walked into the center of themotion before ncing at the younger Mitchells, who wore deep mourning and pretended to mourn for the dead. After that, he turned his gaze first to Sandra¡ªwho was ying dead¡ªthen to Alex, who was bawling tearlessly while lying on the floor. Then, he looked at the so-called elders, who prided themselves on their seniority and were sharp-tongued but didn¡¯t look like elders at all. The sight of the scene grieved him so much that he heaved a long sigh. After looking around the scene, he said, ¡°The glory that the Mitchells enjoy today is the result of our forefathers¡¯ sacrifices. Back when our country was faced with a crisis, everyone was fighting against foreign intruders. The Mitchells never fell behind anyone else in donating money and volunteering themselves. They¡¯d rather die on the battlefield to defend our country¡¯s borders or perish under the intruding foreigners¡¯ tyrannical rule than die in exile like a coward! How many members of the Mitchells¡¯ older generations have died for us to enjoy our glory today? If they learned that you all trampled on the honor they fought for using their own lives just like this¡­¡± He could no longer continue his speech at this point, and some younger Mitchells who had a sense of shame hung their heads. Cooper swiftly and sternly strode past the fake-bawling Alex, who suddenly reached out and grabbed Cooper¡¯s leg. ¡°You killed my son, so give me back my son!¡± Seeing the way Alex looked, Cooper fiercely stepped on his hand. It disgusted him to even take a nce at this man! Alex grabbed his hand and rolled on the ground after being stepped on. ¡°Help! Someone¡¯s trying to kill me!¡± Meanwhile, Sean and Sophia had helped up the kneeling Derek. Derek felt rxed all over after kneeling this time. From this day onward, Derek, the son of Alex, had died for good. Now, he was no longer rted to Alex! Chapter 1189 Chapter 1189 Sandra was still ying dead on the floor when she suddenly heard a voice ringing in her ear. ¡°Stop pretending. Get up.¡± It was Derek¡¯s voice! Sandra opened her eyes to see Derek standing in front of her with his face covered in blood. After being stunned for a few seconds, she cried out in shock, ¡°Aah!¡± Sandra, who had been more dead than alive just a moment ago, was so frightened that she instantly sat up. Summoning all her strength at once, she no longer seemed to be dying as she was just now while she dragged her bloodied feet backward as fast as possible. ¡°Help! It wasn¡¯t me who killed you! It wasn¡¯t me who killed you!¡± Sandra¡¯s arms iled around. Her body was covered in blood, making her look no different from a crazy woman. ¡°Help me, please! There¡¯s a ghost here!¡± Derek stepped forward with a wicked smile on his bloodied face before saying sinisterly, ¡°Weren¡¯t you trying to evoke my spirit from the dead? Today is the seventh day since I died, and I¡¯m back to visit you.¡± He approached her step by step, looking really like an evil spirit with a ferocious expression on his face, which was covered in the blood she had rubbed on him. Sandra was really frightened. She kept moving backward while saying incoherently, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it wasn¡¯t me; I didn¡¯t kill you!¡± Derekughed in destion before purposely speaking in a cold voice. ¡°The three people who killed me told me everything. My death was so unjust¡­¡± Sandra was scared to death. She kept moving backward with her arms iling around, as though there was a spider web before her. She cried and screamed at the top of her lungs, ¡°Help! Help¡­¡± As she screamed, she knocked over Derek¡¯s memorial tablet, scattering the offerings all over the floor. She picked up the offerings and hurled them at Derek hysterically, screaming, ¡°Help! There¡¯s a ghost here!¡± No longer paying attention to her, Derek turned to Alex, who was wailing on the floor. Alex had felt that Derek looked familiar when he saw thetter. However, he didn¡¯t know where he had seen Derek even though he had spent the entire morning crying while holding his ck-and-white photo in his arms. This was also the first time Derek came face-to-face with his biological father in so many years. As he remembered, Alex rarely came to visit him, so he couldn¡¯t remember what Alex looked like at all, and they never had a chance to meet after he grew up. Unexpectedly, this was where he was meeting his father for the first time in his adulthood. Upon seeing Alex, Derek didn¡¯t speak immediately. Instead, he fell to his knees and kowtowed twice in the snow. After that, he said, ¡°Dad, this is thest time I¡¯m calling you ¡®dad¡¯.¡± He looked up at Alex with a bitter smile. Alex carefully made out what Derek looked like for a moment before looking at thetter¡¯s photo. Only then did hee to his senses, eximing, ¡°Y-You are Derek!¡± However, he couldn¡¯t admit this, so he immediately took a few steps back and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re not my son, Derek! Who the hell are you?!¡± He turned to the crowd, looking desperate. ¡°He¡¯s not my son! He¡¯s an imposter! My son is dead, so who the hell is he? Why is he pretending to be my son? Guys, this man is disguising himself as my son; hurry up and catch him!¡± Derek had stood up; looking at Alex with an incredibly calm look in his eyes, he said, ¡°Thank you for giving me the gift of life. But from today onward, Mr. Alex Mitchell, you and I are no longer rted.¡± With that, he turned around and walked up to Cooper without the slightest reluctance. Patting him on the shoulder, Cooper assured him sincerely, ¡°You¡¯ll always be a good son of the Mitchell Family.¡± Derek smiled as he got into the car after Cooper. After that, the car drove off into the distance. Ccontent ? exclusive by N?/vel(D)ra/ma.Org. Only then did Sandra realize that Derek didn¡¯t die at all. She looked around and saw that so many people around her were watching her make a fool of herself. ¡°Ha! Derek isn¡¯t dead at all, yet this good sister couldn¡¯t recognize her younger brother when they were face-to-face. What a ¡®close¡¯ rtionship between the siblings!¡± ¡°Even Alex couldn¡¯t recognize his son, who was right before him, let alone his sister! I really wonder how Alex is as a father!¡± Sandra had be theughing stock of the whole Bayside City and even Cethos from the moment she extorted Derek. Right now, the ground outside Dragon Technology¡¯s premises was littered with misceneous items, joss papers, and unimed mourning clothes that had been thrown away. Alex, Sandra, and Alex¡¯s branch of the family were pointed at and gossiped about. They were still shouting abuses, but what they said sounded even more vulgar than that of a shrew; they didn¡¯t look like members of the nobility at all. Meanwhile, Cooper¡¯s branch of the family had finished their meeting and was about to have a gathering and rx at Audistin nearby before their evening feast. Since it was rare for the whole family to gather together and speak their minds freely, everyone was very happy; they talked andughed along the way. Since they were here on this day for the meeting, all of them were very well-dressed. The men were impressive in appearance with their suits and leather shoes, whereas thedies were dressed in formal attire. Each of them, dressed exquisitely, had a charm of their own. They talked andughed as they walked past the mess created by Alex¡¯s branch of the family in twos and threes. Not only were they elegant in appearance, their spirits also set them apart from the others. It was perhaps because they were members of the nobility that every single one of them looked extraordinarily outstanding. Compared to these good-lookingdies and gentlemen, Alex¡¯s branch of the family had made real fools of themselves by acting like buffoons. People kept tearing off Alex¡¯s emblem on themselves quietly before sneaking away with Cooper¡¯s branch of the family. Sandra was covered in blood; judging from the amount of blood she had lost, it seemed that she was close to death. Unexpectedly, she sprang to her feet, jumped about, and even threw offerings at people just now. Having made a fool out of herself, she looked totally unlike an injured person with her rosy cheeks and energetic appearance right now. Numerous cameras were aimed at Sandra as the onlooking crowd took pictures of her, eager to take photos of her buffoonery. Only then did Sandra realize that she had been tricked from the very beginning. Looking at the crowd who were photographing her with their cell phones, she knew that a disaster was imminent, so she kept knocking off the cell phones, yelling, ¡°Don¡¯t take pictures! Don¡¯t take pictures!¡± As she kept making threatening gestures and knocking off the onlookers¡¯ cell phones with a ferocious expression, she suddenly sensed something. She couldn¡¯t help looking back to see Sophia standing among the crowd consisting of members of Cooper¡¯s branch of the family. While she was striding off, she suddenly nced back at Sandra. Having exquisite makeup, she wore a professional-looking business dress under a camel-colored jacket. She looked at Sandra¡ªwho was acting like a buffoon¡ªwith a look of ridicule in her eyes. After curling her lip, she turned around and left while holding Michael¡¯s hand. Her sardonic smile seemed to rey in slow motion endless times in Sandra¡¯s mind. Sandra really hated Sophia¡¯s guts. She must have had everything nned out, aiming for me to make a spectacle of myself! She had put in so much more effort than anyone else since she was a child to be the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. This grand title should belong to her, and no one could snatch it away from her! Alex¡¯s branch of the family waspletely reduced to aughing stock after this incident. Countless videos of Sandra knocking into her younger brother, Derek, to extort him circted online, and so did the videos of Alex, who failed to recognize his son, who was standing right in front of him, despite him wailing with his son¡¯s photo in his arms. There were also videos of the sanctimonious elders of the Mitchells, who spat in public and forced Derek to kneel down before the memorial tablet that had his own photo on it. The Mitchells had yed up the incident themselves. Now that they had made such a huge scene, they could no longer wind things up. Thest time the Mitchells brought such a shame upon themselves was when Natasha and Taylor Murray used their stage names to get their marriage license overseas. Everyone said that the Mitchells must have been cursed. Right on this day, the Mitchell Family were thoroughly mortified, and many Mitchells crossed over to Cooper¡¯s side overnight. They had wanted to make a big issue of Alex¡¯s son¡¯s death, but they didn¡¯t expect to make themselves theughing stock of Bayside City! Chapter 1190 Chapter 1190 The live coverage of Alex and his family¡¯s extortion attempt flew in the face of their noble image, causing the Sports Federation to be very displeased with Sandra. After all, she was originally a sports figure, and it could be said now that she had ruined her own image. This incident, coupled with the previous dog abuse incident and other issues, hadpletely ruined her public persona. Knowing that she had been tricked, Sandra went into hiding for a while. The Mitchells kept a low profile after this, but they wouldn¡¯t do that for too long, for the founding of Dragon Technology Corporation was a devastating blow to them. Dragon Technology Corporation outssed the Mitchell Group both in terms of resources and technical talents. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the Mitchell Group was outdone. The fact that Alex had be hysterical along with Sandra this time filled the Mitchells¡¯ inner circle and the Mitchell Group¡¯s shareholders with intense displeasure. It seemed that Alex had really be old and senile, so it was time for him to step down. Meanwhile, Sandra was busy doing charity work everywhere. She held a press conference and apologized publicly, saying that she and her father had been out of their minds because they were devastated by her younger brother¡¯s ¡®passing¡¯. She had a psychiatrist write up medical case reports to gloss over the incident this time as much as possible to reduce the impact to a minimum. The public wasn¡¯t blind, but they had a short memory. In the era of information explosion, new trending issues would constantly emerge and rece the old ones, and everyone would soon forget what they had done. For instance, the Winter Universal Games wasing soon, so everyone¡¯s attention was shifted to this. The Summer Universal Games and Winter Universal Games were held separately, but both events would draw worldwide attention. Sandra had enjoyed a meteoric rise by bing the world champion in the Summer Universal Games¡¯ swimming event years ago. Several athletes with the surname Mitchell also took part in the Winter Universal Games this time. An 18- year-olddy even made it to the women¡¯s singles final of the figure skating event. On the day of the finals, Sophia called her whole family over to watch the live broadcast together at home. The Mitchell Family was very gifted in sports since it had produced many sports figures in the past. In addition to sports figures and domineeringpany presidents, the Mitchells also nurtured many well- known diplomats, artists, scientists, and others. One could find a figure from the Mitchell Family in almost every field. Cooper attached great importance to the nurturing of talents. Talents didn¡¯t fall from the sky; instead, they took a long time to be cultivated. When it came to nurturing talents, Cooper¡¯s principle was to spare no effort in cultivating talents regardless of their background and social status, so the Mitchells spent a lot of money and effort on this. For instance, the parents of thedy who took part in the women¡¯s singles of the figure skating event were ordinary workers who were coteral descendants of the Mitchell Family. Still, she disyed a talent for sports since childhood. While she had a gift for ice skating, her brother had a gift for ying ser, and both of them had won many prizes. However, it cost a huge amount of money to nurture their talents. Their parents had a hard time since they were ready to spend all the money they had to pay for their training. They had applied to the family for help, but their requests were rejected with no exception. The justification for the rejection of their application was that it was enough for the Mitchells to have a world champion like Sandra, so another world champion wasn¡¯t needed. In other words, coteral descendants could never dream of standing out among others. This family followed Cooper when he returned afterward. After Cooper started a new Mitchell Family here, thedy¡¯s parents had a shot at applying to the family, and they soon received aid. Over thest two years, the family had spent a lot of money to hire the best coaches and provide the best training grounds, equipment, and resources. Finally, the siblings were sessfully trained, and they had won many world titles. Right now, the brother was undergoing training to prepare for the World Cup next year, whereas the sister was standing in the venue of the Winter Universal Games¡¯ finals. Since the whole family was very nervous, Cooper took the trouble to watch the finals with them, and many of the Mitchells came as well. Quinton had been protecting Derek these days, so he came along with thetter on this day. He just wanted to be a good-for-nothing loafer who spent his day lying down and ying with his cell phone. However, the instant he arrived at Michael¡¯s home, he was kept busy all the time. ¡°Quinton, hold the baby for me. I want to y hide-and-seek with Judge.¡± ¡°May I braid your hair, Uncle Quinton?¡± Right after he sat down, he had a baby girl in his arms; it was Celine¡¯s daughter. The small ball of meat quietly slept in his embrace. Quinton¡ªwho had shoulder-length hair because he hadn¡¯t had a haircut for a long time¡ªnow had Carmen braiding his hair. Quinton pulled a long face since he was in no mood to speak. Nathan, who was sitting next to him, also pulled a long face; he had had a crew cut like Stanley to prevent Carmen from ruining his hair. Michael also sat next to Quinton, asking, ¡°How did you escape death that day?¡± Quinton was silent. Michael then asked, ¡°I heard that you brought a parachute with you. So did you stay alive by parachuting from the ne back then?¡± Quinton was still silent. Michael was itching to p him as he looked at his idleness. Derek said that he, in fact, didn¡¯t slide down the window immediately when he was pushed out of the window. His office was located on the ¡®tip¡¯ of the mushroom-shaped building, so when he fell out of the window, he slid down the ¡®mushroom cap¡¯ for a few seconds. Just then, Quinton caught him and fell off the building together with him. Then, Quinton opened the parachute within five seconds, and they glided along with the wind beforending quite a distance away with minor injuries. Quinton was averse to skyscrapers because he felt extremely insecure in such buildings. Therefore, he always brought a parachute with him whenever he was in a high-rise building. Since Quinton answered neither of his questions, Michael stopped speaking to him and took the baby girl in his arms away. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. The whole family watched the live broadcast of the figure skating finals. Ady named Haley Mitchell made it to the finals and became the world champion for women¡¯s singles in figure skating with her nearly perfect performance. The entire nation was shocked at that moment! Cethos¡¯ figure skating events had always been in a slump because their athletes were weak at figure skating. Therefore, Haley¡¯s winning of the world title this time was of great significance to Cethos. When the reporters interviewed Haley after the game, she said excitedly to the camera, ¡°I have to thank my parents and my brother for my achievements today. In particr, I¡¯d like to thank Cooper for his support.¡± Cooper smiled in gratification as he watched the live broadcast. Sandra naturally paid close attention to the women¡¯s figure skating event as well, and she didn¡¯t expect the Mitchells to produce another world champion. Having learned figure skating since childhood, Haley was elegant and graceful, and her youth and beauty made her stand out among the rest. Moreover, she was a member of the Mitchell Family, so she immediately drew the attention of the Cethosian media, with news stories about her soon spreading everywhere. Even though she was young, she had constantly been breaking her personal record. Moreover, she had won many awards, so she was already a big name in the sports world, but she didn¡¯t really make a name for herself until the Winter Universal Games this time. Some evenpared her with Sandra by saying that she was more outstanding than thetter. The pretty face disyed in the TV news program stung Sandra¡¯s eyes. ¡°She won? She¡¯s just the daughter of someone who cleans toilets!¡± Her eyes were bloodshot as she went mad with jealousy. I never expected that someone who cleans toilets dared topare with me. Who does she think she is? This Haley Mitchelldy simply copied my sess! ¡°Guys, have someone break her leg!¡± Chapter 1191 Chapter 1191 Sandra desperately wanted to destroy that girl who was imitating her. She¡¯s a copycat! She¡¯s just trying to copy my own sess and my status! It is d¨¦j¨¤ vu all over again! Sandra had seen this before. Back then, Sophia had used such a method to take down Natasha; she spent a fortune to cultivate the perfect Miss Sandra Mitchell and caused Natasha to fall from grace, which led to her abandonment by the Mitchell Family and eventually, Natasha dying shamefully. And now, she was doing the same thing again. Don¡¯t even think about it! While the Mitchell Family¡¯s stock market was dropping rapidly, the products were unsble as investors withdrew their capitals, and the shareholders and directors were extremely dissatisfied with the current situation. The Mitchell group was in a state of chaos as resignation letters were raining down like snowkes, but Sandra felt that none of these were as important as getting rid of Haley. The Mitchell Family can only have me as their Young Lady. I can¡¯t get rid of Sophia, but I can definitely get rid of Haley! She had sent people to keep an eye on Haley for a few days, but Haley lived in a big property that Cooper had bought for the Mitchell Family. It was almost as big as a town, but it was so heavily guarded that there was just no chance for her to strike. Haley had kept a low profile after she won the championship; she usually stayed in the training center and didn¡¯t even attendmercial activities, unless she had to go for some necessary activities. Hence, it was hard to target her. Sandra waited a few days before finally finding out that Haley had received an endorsement and had to rush over to sign the contract. This was the best time to strike. I can¡¯t wait to go to the scene and see how Haley gets destroyed. Ha! I only got 8 million when I won the championship, so why should this b*tch get an endorsement that¡¯s worth more than 10 million? She wanted to see with her own eyes how Haley would howl in pain when her legs were broken; she wanted Haley to know that this was the consequences of having dreams! A b*tch will always be a b*tch. You shouldn¡¯t dream of bing what you¡¯re not! It was already quitete when Haley came over to sign the endorsement contract after she finished her training. Haley didn¡¯t really want the endorsement, but she felt that she shouldn¡¯t keep asking the family for money. She felt that it was time for her to earn some money in return, so she decided to ept the endorsement agreement. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. It was already dark and snowing by the time Haley had signed the contract. She was dressed in a very low-profile manner with winter clothing and a mask over her face as she waited for the car alone by the roadside. In a car by the roadside, Sandra barked out an order to the men around her. ¡°Go.¡± Two muscr men got out of the car with bats hidden in their coats as they charged toward Haley, who was standing alone on the street. There were not many people outside, and Sandra was not afraid to be seen, so she followed behind the two men. No one in the Mitchell Family is allowed to be more famous than I am! Sandra would never have dared to attack the real famous people in the Mitchell Family. Nevertheless, she would be merciless for someone like Haley, who was a descendant of a lowly servant. The two men blocked Haley¡¯s way by surrounding her from the front and back before they swiftly took out the bats to break her legs. Let¡¯s see how she¡¯s going to skate after I break her legs! ¡°Who are you people? What are you doing?¡± Haley sensed that something was wrong as she retreated back in fear. One of the men grabbed Haley, while the other one raised his bat high in the air. A malicious glint shed through Sandra¡¯s eyes when she saw the men grab Haley. She even ignored the people that were drawn over by thetter¡¯s desperate screams. ¡°Beat her to death!¡± In the midst of Haley¡¯s screams, the bat was aimed at her legs. It would have ended her career immediately, but the bat didn¡¯tnd on her legs as a big palm suddenly appeared and grabbed the bat tightly. All of a sudden, Dimon had appeared from nowhere and subdued the two men in a sh. Shortly after, several men in ck surrounded the area while a nanny van was parked by the curb. Then, the car¡¯s door opened, and Sophia, who was dressed in a mink coat, walked out, apanied by three bodyguards. When Haley saw her, she felt relieved and d as she ran toward Sophia. ¡°Sophia!¡± Haley was just a young eighteen-year-old girl that had never seen the ugly side of the world, so she was scared to tears. Sophia patted her shoulders and said gently, ¡°You should get in the car first.¡± As soon as Haley got into the car, the tender look in Sophia¡¯s eyes vanished without a trace. ¡°How amazing! The Young Lady of the Mitchell Family actually uses these kinds of tactics to deal with an eighteen-year-old. It¡¯s truly impressive!¡± she sneered sarcastically with a stoic face. I really didn¡¯t expect Sandra to be this crazy that she can¡¯t have anyone surpass her! Sophia was the one who had introduced Haley to the endorsement contract. She had bought over a company that sold mink products and also an artificial breeding mink factory, covering the whole production line. Therefore, Haley¡¯s first endorsement had to be from their ownpany. But she never expected something like this to happen as soon as she left. Sandra stepped back as most of her men were taken down while Sophia¡¯s men were still inrge numbers. ¡°What do you want? I am a world champion! Stoping near me, or I¡¯ll call the police!¡± As the number of onlookers grew, Sandra took off her mask and revealed her face. At that moment, she knew that with her reputation, Sophia wouldn¡¯t dare to make a move on her. But it had also allowed the passersby to notice her face as they took out their phones to film and criticize her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Sandra, who ckmailed Cooper Mitchell? How did she find the courage toe outside?¡± ¡°So embarrassing!¡± ¡°I saw her order someone to beat Haley with a bat just now! She¡¯s so cruel!¡± ¡°Wow, Haley? Where is Haley? I want to take a picture with her. My whole family loves her!¡± Sandra hastily covered her face as she stepped back and tried to escape, but Sophia¡¯s men quickly blocked her way. Sandra was busy evading and dodging while Sophia looked elegant and noble with a mink coat around her. The light makeup she had on showed off her exquisite looks, and her outstanding aura dazzled everyone around her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you ashamed?¡± She slowly approached Sandra as thetter covered her face and stepped back with a look of fear and embarrassment, yet she revealed no trace of guilt from being caught. Sophia stopped her advances a few meters away from her when she was sure that Sandra could hear her words clearly. She said loudly, ¡°Sandra, let me tell you this¡ªI have sponsored a lot of people other than Haley, and now, not only do I want to groom Haley, I want to groom a millions more of Haleys to rece you! Even if I don¡¯t groom them, there will be countless more Haleys that will appear and surpass you. How many of them can you beat?¡± Sandra was silent as she red at Sophia with a deep hatred in her eyes, as if Sophia had taken away everything from her. Sophia didn¡¯t n to do anything to her because she thought that beating Sandra to death in a random alley seemed too easy for thetter. I will take back everything that I have given her! Chapter 1192 Chapter 1192 I had nned to use Sandra to get back at Natasha, but I didn¡¯t expect Sandra to develop so well over the years and even try to take advantage of me. I didn¡¯t expect her to return the favor, but now she seems so ashamed of my support back then that she would do everything in her power to erase it from her life. Since you want to erase it, it¡¯s fine¡­ Sandra had no idea how she had gotten back to the Mitchell Family. When she got back home, she found out that the Mitchell Family had held a meeting today to urgently reverse the current situation. Other than using money to retain some of their staff, they also wanted to punish some of the Mitchell Family members that fled by publicly removing their names from the Mitchell Family; they even gave them a deadline to move away the graves of their rtives from the ancestral grave mountain of the Mitchell Family. Finally, they had decided to put an end to things. Moreover, they unanimously agreed that Sandra was topete in swimmingpetitions again and had already signed her up for an uing swimmingpetition. She was to continue to participate in competitions to maintain her favorability from the public. Since Cooper had decided to groom Haley to rece Sandra, then they had to prove that thetter was much more outstanding than Haley. When Sandra learned of the news, she was filled with dismay. Heh, I¡¯ve retired for so many years¡ª how can I still swim? I don¡¯t want to swim at all! Not at all! If swimming hadn¡¯t gotten me famous and got Alex to notice me, I wouldn¡¯t have even wanted to swim! I have suffered through so much in order to leave that swimming pool and worked so hard to get where I am today, so what gives them the right to make me go back now? Isn¡¯t it better to be the high and mighty Young Lady of the Mitchell Family than an athlete? It¡¯s so tiring to be an athlete¡ªwho would really want to be one? Haley, who is desperately trying to achieve sess, is just doing it to win a good reputation and attract the attention of Cooper so that he would support her to be a Young Lady of the Mitchell Family! She¡¯s just pretending to have a dream to be an athlete! Since the Mitchell Family wants me to swim, then I¡¯ll show them, Sophia, and Cooper what a real world champion really looks like! But before Sandra was to go back to swimming, they had a more pressing matter¡ªrelocating the graves. Alex had always thought that the two trump cards he had¡ªthe ancestral graves and the family genealogy¡ªwas enough to force Cooper to submit to him, but thetter had managed to rebuild the family genealogy himself and even get a piece ofnd outside the city to locate the family¡¯s ancestral graves. How treacherous! But Alex still had onest trump card, and that was the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain. As the Head of the Mitchell Family, Alex had the right to order those who had deserted from the Mitchell Family to move their ancestors¡¯ graves out from the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain! They no longer belonged to the Mitchell Family and were not qualified to be on the genealogy or the ancestral graves mountain. That piece ofnd belonged to the Mitchells, so unless Cooper handed over all his properties, any other negotiations were useless. That ancestral graves mountain was thest piece of territory that Alex owned and was also hisst hand to y against Cooper. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Cooper never wanted to disturbed the ancestors¡¯ peace, so he opened a new ancestral graves mountain. But because thend was already filled with the Mitchell Family¡¯s graves, he had to find another ancestral graves mountain. But Alex was so desperate that he gave Cooper an ultimatum¡ªhe could either hand over his properties if he didn¡¯t want the graves to be removed, or he could move all the graves from the ancestral tomb mountain within the deadline. Once the deadline was over, he would destroy all the graves! Destroying the ancestral graves? ¡°Are they really nning to do this?¡± Sophia thought that regardless of how crazy they were, they would never do such a thing as destroying the ancestral graves, because that kind of thing was known as a form of sphemy. However, Alex had already hired an excavator team to the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain and was getting ready to dig out the graves. Dimon replied anxiously, ¡°Yes. The excavator convoy is already on its way, and we have sent some people to stop it. Young Lady¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Sophia had rushed out in a flurry. Unbelievable! How dare they dig up my ancestors¡¯ graves! Coincidentally, Cooper had gone abroad as the new representative for the Global Energy Summit Congress while Linus had a meeting about a new big project halfway across the world. Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain was far in the suburbs, and the journey there from Bayside City without traffic required at least 4 hours. Hence, Sophia immediately sent her people there after learning of the news. Several cars departed from The Imperial, and by the time they had left the city, a vast convoy was formed. They only had one destination¡ªthe Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain. The Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain was located in the far suburbs of Bayside City. Since the Mitchell Family was not originally from there, their ancestral graves mountain was only moved there after the establishment of the new Cethos, upying the whole mountain. For the past hundred years, many ancestors of the Mitchell Family were buried here, and most of them were martyrs who died for the country. Alex had decided to dig out the graves within the three generations from his so-called list of traitors and wasn¡¯t bothered about their merits or aplishments. The excavator had arrived at the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain with Sandra inmand, while Alex and a few Mitchell Family members slowly arrived. Although everyone felt quite guilty about digging up the ancestral graves, Alex and Sandra seemed to have lost their minds, so everyone had no choice but to obey their decision. ¡°Dig up Cooper¡¯s grave!¡± Sandra felt as if she was a general who was mobilizing troops on a battlefield when she waved her hand with great enthusiasm, and then the excavator moved in response. The shovel bucket went down and dug up Cooper¡¯s grave, but it was empty. Michael had sent Justin to dig out his grave before Sean came and did the same, so there was nothing left. If there were a coffin here with Cooper inside, his remains would have been scattered everywhere anyway. After they dug up Cooper¡¯s grave, Sandra felt powerful. It was as if she had taken control over Cooper¡¯s life since he couldn¡¯t even protect his own grave. King of Bayside City, Head of Mitchell Family ¡ªthose mean nothing to me! Alex also felt exhrated. They said he was the best among his peers, but twenty years ago, I was able to force Cooper to fake his own death and leave Bayside City. Now, twenty yearster, I can still make him lose everything again! As if she was not satisfied with Cooper¡¯s grave, Sandra looked at the grave next to Cooper¡¯s; it belonged to Woody. ¡°Dig up Woody¡¯s grave!¡± This time, even the person who drove the excavator hesitated. Taylor Murray¡¯s movie, ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯, was listed in the top ten box office movies in Cethos, and the whole country had learned about what Woody had secretly done for the country. Were they really going to dig up Woody¡¯s grave? ¡°What are you waiting for? Dig it now!¡± Sandra snapped viciously. The excavator slowly approached the grave as it raised its shovel bucket above the grave and was ready to dig immediately. Suddenly, a row of cars arrived along with a helicopter. The ck chopper hovered next to the graves as a woman descended from a let-down rope nimbly. Her cold, ck military bootsnded firmly on the ground, leaving two thick footprints on the snow. ¡°We, from the Mitchell Family, are here. I¡¯d like to see who dares to disrespect my ancestors¡¯ grave!¡± Sophia warned gravely as she pulled out a gun and aimed it in the direction of the excavator. Chapter 1193 Chapter 1193 Meanwhile, a few more people came down the rope from the helicopter and surrounded the mountain with the convoy members of the Mitchell Family. Their huge numbers had instantly suppressed the people from Alex¡¯s lineage. When they heard that someone dared to move their family¡¯s ancestral graves today, the Mitchells from Bayside City and all over the country were mobilized as they rushed to the mountain. The sea of people instantly surrounded the mountain. Some of the Mitchell Family members protected their ancestors¡¯ buried ce while some ran over to the excavator and drove the driver away. Sandra and Alex were frightened by the crowd as they retreated. Upon that, the people from Cooper¡¯s lineage charged in and drove them out of the graveyard site. Sophia looked cold and stern. When she saw that the danger on Woody¡¯s grave had passed, she sheathed her gun and pulled her mink coat tighter around her body as she covered her hands that had gone pale from the cold weather. She nced over at Cooper¡¯s wreaked grave. The whole grave waspletely dug up, and the tombstone, together with its epitaph and effigy, had been shattered into several pieces. Although it was just a fake grave that even Cooper had nned to dig up, when it was destroyed, it was still an outright insult regardless of whether the owner of the grave was alive or dead. ¡°Grab those unworthy descendants now!¡± Sophia was so enraged that she had almost lost her senses while she recklessly ordered her men to surround all of Alex and Sandra¡¯s people. In terms of numbers, Sophia had the advantage, and she also had firepower; the people from Alex¡¯s lineage were no match for her as Cooper¡¯s members surrounded them. ¡°How dare you! I¡¯m the Head of the Mitchell Family! You all will be known as traitors if you dare to touch me!¡± As Cooper¡¯s members were getting closer to them, Alex still tried his best to hold onto thest trace of his dignity. Sophia pointed at Alex and Sandra while ordering sternly, ¡°Bring Alex and Sandra over to me!¡± Dimon, who was the present-day security chief of the Mitchell Family, had been waiting for this day for a long time. Back then, he couldn¡¯t disobey the orders from Sandra and Alex, so he had followed their orders and killed Faye on the beach. But after the incident, Alex had left two dozen of his brothers on that ind, which was about to be sunk by a bomb. I always remember that incident. And this year, I finally have the opportunity to avenge them! Dimon led his men and charged past Alex¡¯s bodyguards as he grabbed Alex, while the others grabbed Sandra and the so-called elders before bringing them before Sophia. The group of people were cursing and yelling, especially the elders, who used to boss people around all the time and manipted the future and status of the Mitchell Family. They were used to being the people in charge and had never thought that anyone would dare to treat them with such disrespect. The Mitchell Family elders used to be highly respected people and were voted into their positions by the whole family ording to their merit and seniority rank. The elders even possessed a greater power than the Head of the Mitchell Family, which allowed them the power to judge the authority and to even sack the Head of the Mitchell Family. Unfortunately, the elders had been controlled by Alex as they were elected by favoritism. With the suppression from the elders, it was deemed to be traitorous and impossible for the lower rank of the Mitchell Family members to advance. There was always an order for the younger generation to respect the elders, so a subtle rule was formed toply with their interests, and the former family rules were reced. For lower ranked family members like Dimon, who had been suppressed and not promoted all these years, they had long been dissatisfied with the elders; they were merciless as they caught and beat up every other elders that disobeyed. The scene was lively with cries and curses everywhere. Sandra, Alex, and a dozen elders were dragged out and pressed down to kneel in front of the ancestral graves. ¡°You are disrespectful to your elders and your ancestors! You will be struck by lightning for this!¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°I am the elder of the Mitchell Family; don¡¯t you kids dare to touch me!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed of your actions in front of your ancestors? You will all go to hell for this! You will be known as the eternal sinners of the Mitchell Family! Don¡¯t ever think that you will ever be able to have a ce at our ancestral graves or the family genealogy! You are all traitors! Traitors!¡± ¡°Cooper is the biggest traitor of the Mitchell Family!¡± Sophia wasn¡¯t bothered by their angry screams while she had the group of people pressed down to kneel on the ground. Then, she turned toward the ancestral graves and said, ¡°Kneel.¡± Even though the cold icy snow hurt her knees, Sophia was the first to kneel down and kowtow three times at the ancestral graves. The Mitchell Family members then proceeded to follow Sophia¡¯s lead as they kneeled in front of the ancestral graves and kowtowed three times. After that, she faced the ancestral graves and said aloud, ¡°Dear ancestors, today, I, Sophia, the unworthy granddaughter of the Mitchell Family, am sorry for disturbing your peace. Nevertheless, the current situation is too urgent and hopeless, so I hope you all may forgive me.¡± She looked in the direction of the ancestral graves with an earnest expression as her voice had a strong layer of respect and awe. ¡°Over the years, the Mitchell Family has developed many outstanding descendants, but also some rats and scums. So, as the unworthy granddaughter of the Mitchell Family, I would like all of you to be my witness today. On behalf of my father, Cooper Mitchell, as the Head of the Mitchell family, I will officially remove the names of the group of scums from the family genealogy in order to retrieve our family¡¯s good name.¡± Sophia¡¯s words immediately caused an uproar. Sandra was the first to voice out her displease. During this solemn moment, Sandra suddenly pushed the people away, rushed forward to Sophia, and yelled out righteously, ¡°Haha! Sophia Edwards, who do you think you are? Who gave you the authority to do this? Sophia Edwards, you don¡¯t even carry the Mitchell Family name! You¡¯re just an illegitimate daughter that is not even qualified to be in the family genealogy and ancestral grave. How dare you possess the authority and power to interfere with the internal affairs of the Mitchell Family!¡± Sophia remained silent as she slowly stood up and stared at Sandra nkly. It was true that she didn¡¯t carry the Mitchell Family name, and legally speaking, she was not a legitimate child because she was born out of wedlock as the illegitimate daughter of Cooper and Annabel. She never nned to change her name to Scarlett Mitchell, or even Lucile Michel¡ªthose were just aliases for her convenience. She was born as Sophia Edwards and would always be called by that name for the rest of her life! Because that was the name that Annabel had given her, and it was the only thing that was left by her mother¡­ Sandra finally had an excuse when she realized Sophia hadn¡¯t replied to her, as if she stood on a moral high ground and had easily suppressed Sophia and her people. ¡°How dare an outsider named Edwards meddle in the Mitchell Family¡¯s affairs! Sophia, you are just an illegitimate daughter who is not even qualified to enter the Mitchell Family, let alone have the right to speak out here! When did the Mitchell Family reduce to letting an illegitimate daughter tell us what to do? You¡¯re an illegitimate daughter, and you should just go back to her gutter and stay there! Don¡¯te out and make a fool out of yourself!¡± Sandra said those words with such righteous indignation, as though an illegitimate child was such an unbearable existence that shouldn¡¯t even exist in this world and was born to be trampled on by society. Upon this, even the people from Alex¡¯s lineage were filled with confidence as they straightened their backs. Alex pointed at Sophia and ordered, ¡°Someone chase this treacherous illegitimate daughter out of here!¡± Chapter 1194 Chapter 1194 Upon learning that Sophia was just a worthless illegitimate daughter, the group of elders chipped in and started to verbally attack Sophia¡¯s status, acting as though she was some kind of unseemly existence. ¡°She¡¯s just Cooper¡¯s illegitimate daughter! How arrogant!¡± ¡°It looks like Cooper is really at his wits¡¯ end by sending his illegitimate daughter out to cause trouble! Throw this woman out! What a disgrace to our ancestors!¡± ¡°His illegitimate daughter, haha¡­ How dare the traitor¡¯s illegitimate daughter act so cocky!¡± They could only throw cheap, harsh words at Sophia because she had brought more people than them. The crowd silently watched as these elders criticised and used obscene words to insult Sophia¡¯s status as an illegitimate daughter; it was as if being an illegitimate daughter gave everyone the right to legally trample all over her. Everyone watched the scene in silence as the entire graveyard was filled with their nasty remarks. In the end, even Alex¡¯s lineage ran out of words to curse Sophia, and they could only repeat the same words over and over again. Sophia hade all the way here via helicopter; even though it was very cool to drop down from the sky, it almost froze her into a popsicle. She sat down calmly on a portable chair that Sean had brought over while she listened to Alex and the others¡¯ insults. She drank some hot coffee to warm herself up, building enough strength to deliver her bigeback. Their ugly, obscene words even enraged Sean so much that he was about tomand his men to tear their mouths, but Sophia quickly stopped him. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just let them continue. Film this properly; I¡¯ll soon invest and build a Mitchell Family museum, and today¡¯s historic asion must be recorded as part of the family¡¯s history. We will ce it in the museum for future descendants to watch.¡± Alex and his men were too busy cursing Sophia, not noticing that someone had been recording them the entire time. At that moment, they finally realized their ugly nature had been exposed as Sandra quickly yelled, ¡°Stop filming right now! No filming!¡± Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t even get close to Sophia, let alone stop the people around her from filming. All family meetings had to be filmed for their archives, so today¡¯s asion was not an exception. Sophia stood high above as she elegantly held a cup of hot coffee and sipped on it slowly. Dressed exquisitely, Sophia had perfectly inherited her strong and stern features from Cooper; it even seemed like a second Cooper had appeared. An illegitimate daughter? She is actually Cooper¡¯s beloved illegitimate daughter! Nevertheless, there was now stating that an illegitimate daughter was inferior to a legitimate daughter. Moreover, Sophia was already on the newly revised Mitchell Family genealogy which clearly stated that she was Cooper¡¯s daughter and Woody¡¯s grandchild. A real leader would not be affected by a few vicious words. Alex and Sandra could only helplessly grasp the fact that she was an illegitimate daughter and repeatedly insulted her with their foul obscenities; there was a clear difference in power between both sides. Sophia had almost lost her senses when she saw them digging Woody¡¯s grave earlier, but her thoughts began to calm down as the warmth from the hot coffee spread throughout her body. Meanwhile, Sandra was determined to dig up Woody¡¯s grave that day; she had to prove her authority to the Mitchell Family! Sandra proimed righteously and said, ¡°Sophia, today¡¯s matter concerns only the Mitchell Family members. Right now, you¡¯re stepping on a mountain hosting the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves. Whether the ancestral graves are to be dug or not is entirely up to the members of the Mitchell Family! Although you im to be the rightful members of the Mitchell Family, our family is still the only one recognized by the aristocrats of Bayside City. This is still the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves mountain, so we have the right to handle things as we see fit!¡± Suddenly, Alex saw the opportunity to recover his dignity as the Head of Mitchell Family. He was the only Head of the Mitchell Family and the chairman of the National Mitchell n Cultural Research Association, so he had absolute authority over the Mitchells. He even controlled the council of elders, so he had the final say in the decision to dig up their ancestral graves. ¡°The ancestral graves belong to the Mitchell Family. Only the words of the head of the Mitchell Family counts¡ªnot yours! Whoever disobeys my orders will be considered as traitors of the family!¡± Everyone stared at Alex¡¯s lineage, disgusted by their actions. Who cares about his position? Everyone is here today, and there is no way we¡¯re letting them dig up the graves! ¡°Huh, do you think you can dig it up as you wish?¡± Putting down her coffee slowly, Sophia let out a warm breath of air as she folded her arms. She looked at the disgruntled Alex and his lineage in an arrogant manner. ¡°Even if I didn¡¯te here on behalf of my father today, allow me to remind you of this.¡± She turned toward the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral graves, her eyes filled with respect. ¡°Many heroes and martyrs havee from our Mitchell Family, and it just so happened that the ¡®Heroes And Martyrs Protection Law¡¯ was introduced by our country this year. ording to this neww, digging up the graves of martyrs will be subjected to imprisonment¡ªyou¡¯d have to ask the authorities for approval first!¡± Upon hearing that, Sandra and Alex didn¡¯t dare to speak. ¡°As for the rightful heir of the Mitchell Family, do I really need to remind you again? Mitchell Family¡¯s glory today only exists because of my grandfather¡¯s generation, and it was carried forward by my father¡¯s generation. All of you are just leeching off of my grandfather and father¡¯s inheritance.¡± Sophia had a lot of things to say, and she was going to take that opportunity today. She spoke every word with a clear and firm voice. ¡°How many of the properties you own today were earned through your own hard work? The inventions and research results from Mitchell¡¯s Technology that all of you take pride in were left behind by my father! Even the ancestral house and office building that all of you are living in right now were snatched away from my father! My father left the Mitchell Family 20 years ago, but you guys haven¡¯t grown since then! The Mitchell Family used to be one of the most prestigious families in Bayside City, but after my father left, did you protect this glory? No, you didn¡¯t! All of you have done nothing but leech off the inheritance and fight against each other to eliminate those with real talents! Ever since my father returned, he created a new Mitchell Family within two years; he¡¯s now leading the Mitchell Family out to the world. Along with Mitchell Energy and Technology, my father is holding an energy conference abroad; he¡¯s already on equal footing with the world¡¯s energy bigwigs. He is solidifying the Mitchell Family¡¯s status in Cethos and the world, yet you¡¯re here using the ancestral graves to prove your pathetic authority. Tell me, who do you think is the rightful owner now?¡± Her words had shamed the whole Mitchell Family. Indeed, Mitchell¡¯s Technology hadn¡¯t been doing well ever since Cooper¡¯s death and when Alex became the head of the family and the chairman of the company. Both the family andpany were deteriorating, but no one wanted to admit the cruel truth. On the other hand, once Cooper came back, he led the Mitchell Family to numerous achievements in major fields with a growing number of its family members; that was the truth everyone could see. In these two years, the Mitchell Family had made more achievements than the past twenty years. Who was the rightful heir? It was silent as everyone fell into deep thought and lowered their heads in shame. Then, Sophia turned toward the ancestral graves on the mountain and said, ¡°The ancestors have seen the faces of these ungrateful scums of the Mitchell Family, so I¡¯m sure that you will also agree with my decision. Now, on behalf of my father, I will announce the names of members who will be banished from the Mitchell Family¡­¡± She grabbed a list that had beenpiled on the scene and registered every one of Alex¡¯s lineage as aplices who dug the ancestral graves into the book. She was going to erase them from the family genealogypletely! Nheless, Sandra didn¡¯t give up as she jumped out and yelled ferociously, ¡°You¡¯re just a woman¡ª what right do you have to control the Mitchell Family?! Since when did the Mitchell Family allow shameful women to dictate its members?!¡± Chapter 1195 Chapter 1195 Sandra quickly came up with another reason. ¡°A woman¡¯s job is to stay at home and take care of the kids ¡ªyou have no right to meddle with a man¡¯s business!¡± Sophia gave her the side-eye in response to her words. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a woman as well?¡± Sophia asked coldly. To Sophia¡¯s surprise, Sandra still had aeback for that. ¡°I¡¯m the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. Not only that, I¡¯m also a world champion¡ªof course I can¡¯t bepared to you!¡± Everyone burst intoughter upon hearing this. They clearly recalled how Sandra wasst year¡¯s ambassador for the Women and Children Association! She was also the ambassador of Cethos¡¯ Women Empowerment Association, which imed that ¡®women held up half of the sky¡¯. However, she drew a clear distinction between males and females in the Mitchell Family and theirpany! In other words, she was iming that all women were useless and helpless apart from her! Alex began toe up with more reasons. ¡°Go away! What do you know about anything, you housewife? Even if you¡¯re Cooper¡¯s daughter, you¡¯re no longer part of the Mitchell Family since you¡¯ve gotten married. You can get a man from your household to speak up; your words have no power here!¡± he uttered. Sophia then nced toward Alex. As expected, what she saw was an old, hideous man; he was an elderly who did not have a woman by his side. Furthermore, there were barely any females in his company; the percentage of female employees in Mitchell Group dropped steadily ever since Alex took over. Under his orders, many of the talented and capable females had been forced out of thepany, and he even drew up rules to restrict females from visiting the family grave to pay their respectster on. Ever since Alex brought up a ¡®useless brat¡¯ like Natasha, his assumptions were further confirmed that all women were trash and only ruined things around them. In the past few years, Mitchell Group fired a great number of females, especially those who held higher positions in thepany. They¡¯re the joke of the century! Sophia threw Sandra¡ªthe woman who had brought up the topic and got the old man started on his lecture¡ªanother long re. She simply felt sorry for Sandra. ¡°That¡¯s right. Women shouldn¡¯t put themselves out there; they don¡¯t deserve to be the heir of a family. Everyone should bring their daughters up the way you brought Sandra up; she gets fancy clothes, gourmet meals and lives a luxurious life, but she¡¯ll never dream of getting anypany shares or the chance to be an heir! A daughter should just work hard to suck up all your resources before she¡¯s sent off to marry another man! How atrocious it is for my father to give me money, shares and the right to be the sessor of his business!¡± Sophia¡¯s words were filled with sarcasm¡ªshe sounded as though she was belittling herself, but Sandra could tell that Sophia was mocking her. After all, Sandra was practically left with nothing. She didn¡¯t have any shares, and Alex had already nned for her brother, Albert, to be his sessor. Even though Alex had turned her from an illegitimate daughter into the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, she stood no chance of getting any rights or shares to thepany. Because of that, Sandra did everything in her power to get into others¡¯ good books; it was the only way she could get married to a rich family and have the whole Mitchell Family kneeling by her feet. When Sandra saw thecent look on Sophia¡¯s face and thought of how great Sophia¡¯s life was, she felt her heart bursting with jealousy! Sophia¡¯s brother, her father and her husband all gave her shares and inheritances¡ªthey even gave her the money to help her purchasepanies and start the JNS Group! We¡¯re both illegitimate daughters; I sacrificed so much just to get here today, but how did Sophia get so many things despitezing around without putting in any effort? It¡¯s all because she got married to a good husband. It¡¯s all fate and luck! Sandra sneaked behind a bunch of old men right then, watching as they lectured and criticized Sophia¡¯s role as a woman. Sandra was pleased, but she was still jealous¡ªafter all, Sophia wasn¡¯t about to lose all of her inheritance and shares just because Sandra got a few men to lecture her. Meanwhile, Alex felt like he was at a dead end right then; thepany was struggling, and hisst bit of pride as the family head was being tested. Therefore, he found every single way to pick on Sophia¡ªshe was nothing more than a worthless, illegitimate daughter. How dare a mere illegitimate daughter like her challenge the authority of a family head like me! ¡°I don¡¯t speak to women. Get a man from your family to speak up instead! Get lost!¡± he shouted. ¡°Women like you shouldn¡¯t show up in a ce like this. This isn¡¯t a ce for you! Get lost before we physically chase you out!¡± The group of self-centered old men began to shout at Sophia, while Sandra stood behind them as she snickered at the sight of Sophia¡¯s struggles. However, Sophia simply felt sorry for all of them. Staying silent, she watched as they hurled malicious, hurtful words at her to express the anger they held toward their own helplessness. There were a number of females from the Mitchell Family who were present that day; they were active in various career fields, and their performances were just as outstanding as their male counterparts. Sophia felt angry for them, but she also realized the irony of the situation. This is precisely the cause of the Mitchell Family¡¯s downfall! They¡¯re stubborn, old-fashioned and unmodernized; they discriminate against those who are different from them. Sophia simply watched as Alex continued to lecture her. After all, they couldn¡¯t do much apart from shouting at her. Sophia had recorded the entire scene and was about to send them away once she collected sufficient footage of these people. Not only was she going to kick all of them out of the event, she was even nning to erase them off the genealogy record book. Michael told Sophia that she came up with this huge aspiration years ago. After learning about her own history and how Cooper had been harmed, she developed a goal of erasing the names of all the people who had harmed her father off of the genealogy record book. She wanted to restore justice, and she wanted to make a grand entrance back into the Mitchell Family as the family head on Cooper¡¯s behalf; she wanted to prove her father¡¯s innocence and reim her mother¡¯s status. Lastly, she wanted both Michael and herself to visit the graves of her ancestors of the Mitchell Family as the new generation of the Mitchells. She had been constantly working toward this goal, and Michael¡ªher loving husband¡ªhad always been supportive of her pursuits. Unfortunately, Michael wasn¡¯t present at the monumental event that day; he had to attend a script-reading session and seemed extremely busy. However, to Sophia¡¯s surprise, a series of cars pulled up outside right then. Michael¡¯s car was the first to arrive, and he got out of his car with his men behind him. He looked especially well-dressed and elegant as he strode in. His lengthy figure was wrapped in a ck suit, its sharp tones contrasting with the white shirt he wore inside. With his cool, mysterious aura and his picture-perfect facial features, all of the Mitchell Family¡¯s men quickly stepped aside once they saw him. They all gave him, the most well-respected son-inw of the Mitchell Family, a warm wee! All of the Mitchells thought highly of him, for he was the only man who had sessfully captured the heart of Cooper¡¯s precious little daughter. ¡°You¡¯re here, Hubby!¡± Sophia quickly ran over once she saw Michael. He gave her a nce before he replied in a quiet voice, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m here.¡± It was necessary for him, as one of the older sons-inw, to show up at an asion like this. He was already on the way to work when he first received the news, but he quickly rushed home after he heard about it. He thought he would be able to arrive along with Sophia, but she was as quick as lightning; he only arrived a whileter. Alex and the rest of the men immediately fell silent after Michael appeared. Michael nced at all of them. ¡°Well, what¡¯s going on now?¡± he asked. Sophia eyed all of the looks on the men¡¯s faces¡ªthey had been fierce and aggressive earlier, but they miraculously wore pathetic and meek expressions now. ¡°They were saying that I should stay at home and care for the kids since I¡¯m a woman. They also said that a woman¡¯s words don¡¯t count; I¡¯d have to wait for a man to arrive,¡± said Sophia. Content rights by N?velDr//ama.Org. ¡°Ah, I see.¡± Michael nodded before he turned to Alex and the rest. ¡°Well, the man¡¯s here now. What other excuses do you guys have?¡± Alex quickly came up with a reason as he red at Michael. ¡°This is the Mitchell Family¡¯s personal matters. You¡¯re a Fletcher; what has this got to do with you?!¡± Michael smirked as he kicked a pebble on the ground beside his feet. ¡°Well, I have to get involved since you guys are bullying my wife. What are you going to do about that?¡± Chapter 1196 Chapter 1196 Alex, who had just cursed and scolded Michael¡¯s wife moments ago, was now reluctant to say much since Michael had arrived. He quickly changed the topic and said, ¡°Michael, the Fletchers and the Mitchells are family friends. I hope you don¡¯t ruin the rtionship between our families just for the sake of a traitor. You won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences if you were to alter the dynamics of our families¡¯ rtionship!¡± ¡°Hah. The friendship between our families was built during Old Master Mitchell and my grandfather¡¯s generation. Since you¡¯re trying to dig up Old Master Mitchell¡¯s grave now¡­ you¡¯re the one that¡¯s ruining the rtionship between our families!¡± Michael replied in an easygoing tone. Alex fell speechless. ¡°Alright, the weather¡¯s pretty cold. Guards, chase these uninvited people out¡ªwe should go pay our respects now!¡± Michael continued to speak. Upon his orders, a bunch of men in ck who worked under the Mitchell Family quickly rushed over to drag Alex and his men away. Everyone else apuded as this happened. While Alex cursed and thrashed about as he was dragged by his shirt and thrown out, Michael turned to look at Sophia; she was all he saw at that moment. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go pay our respects.¡± Since they were already there, they decided to pay their respects and clean up Woody¡¯s gravestone before leaving. Sophia happily slid her hand into Michael¡¯s before they walked over to the gravestones. The rather unusual family meeting of the day came to an end, and Sophia finally fulfilled her long- desired wish from years ago. While she was feeling content, another determined voice sounded from the crowd right then. ¡°No! I refuse to let this happen. Cooper is a traitor of the Mitchell Family. He has no right to be the family head of the Mitchell Family! He has no right to be in the genealogy record book and no right to be buried in the ancestral grave!¡± Sophia¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as she suddenly realized something. That¡¯s right. Cooper has been known as a traitor for so long¡­ Although he did betray the Mitchells, it was because they wronged him first. This isn¡¯t over just yet! ¡°Hold on.¡± Sophia spoke in a stern voice as she asked for Alex and the rest to be brought back to her. Her impression of Alex had always been a strict and domineering elderly, but after revealing his true colors, he looked like nothing but a hideous old man filled with ill-intentions. Sophia nced at Alex and the other elderlies behind him first; then, she turned to look at the rest of the Mitchells who were present. This could be considered as the family¡¯s first-ever special meeting. Although there were some members who weren¡¯t present, all the Mitchells in Bayside City who could make it stood among the crowd. The hill around the grave was tightly packed with people¡ªwomen, men, girls and boys¡ªwho all had their eyes on Cooper¡¯s daughter. Coincidentally, she was also the female family head and the first Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Right then, Sophia looked over at Michael. His head was lowered, but he gave her a supportive nce before he whispered to her and said, ¡°Let¡¯s reveal everything that should be revealed now.¡± She nodded before turning back to the crowd and the bunch of people who were strongly against Cooper. Alex thought that he had sessfully brought up some old wounds between Sophia and Cooper, and he assumed this meant victory for him. ¡°Cooper¡¯s a traitor of the Mitchell Family; everyone knows that! We¡¯ve seen it with our own eyes. He has no right to be the family head of the Mitchells! He¡¯s ourrgest traitor! Traitor!¡± he shouted toward the crowd. His words got Sandra all hyped up to speak. ¡°You should tell us about your background, Sophia. Tell everyone who you¡ªthe mighty and elegantdy of the Mitchell Family¡ªactually are!¡± She¡¯s an illegitimate daughter; her very identity is a sob story! Sandra felt better about herself just then. After all, regardless of how great Sophia was, she was still an illegitimate daughter and nothing more than that! Cooper had never once changed her name because she was a filthy, illegitimate daughter! The crowd turned their gaze over to Sophia as they waited for her response. They were all curious. What happened in the past? Why did Coopere back alive after years of his ¡®death¡¯? Where did he go all these years? Is he really a traitor of the Mitchell Family? Sophia never intended on concealing this part of their history; she never felt the need to hide her own past. Before she began to speak, Michael brought her a ss of warm water and a microphone. ¡°Here, here. Use this¡ªdon¡¯t hurt your throat,¡± he said. There were too many people in the crowd, and it¡¯d be hard for her to get everyone to hear her clearly; her throat was already burning from the few sentences she had said earlier. After sipping on some water, she picked the microphone up and readied herself to exin everything to the Mitchells. Cooper never thought of concealing the truth either, and people were going to find out sooner orter; hence, Sophia thought it¡¯d be better for her to tell the story herself. Cooper wasn¡¯t a petty man, and he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be bothered about such things as he wasn¡¯t one to cling onto the past. However, Sophia felt like she had to reveal this entire story for the sake of both of them; it would also provide closure to herself, Linus and Annabel. She wanted everyone to know that the Mitchells were the ones who were indebted to Cooper and his family! Even though Cooper despised the Mitchells, he still gave them an opportunity to redeem themselves after he left! If he was a traitor, it was only because the Mitchells forced him to be one! ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m my father¡¯s illegitimate daughter, but I¡¯ve never attempted to hide this fact,¡± Sophia answered without any hesitation. Sandra was pleased to see this, and she hopped forward like a clown before she pointed at Sophia. ¡°Hahaha, you guys were surprised, right?! The elegant and ssy Young Lady of the Mitchell Family had been molested by her own uncle from a young age; her nudes were spread to everyone; she dated men and had abortions during high school¡­ She has really been an elegant, graceful woman ever since she was conceived! Hahaha¡­¡± The crowd¡¯s gazes were all fixed upon Sophia after they found out about her role as Cooper¡¯s daughter and her history. Some of their gazes were filled with shock, while others with pity, confusion and embarrassment¡­ Sophia felt a gust of cold air from her side just then. She turned to see Michael with his head lowered, but his entire body was tense¡ªit was as if sharp icicles were growing out of his skin. She could feel her goosebumps forming as she felt the chilly sensation that he was giving off. Meanwhile, Sandra continued to bber about Sophia¡¯s terrible past. Right then, Michael¡¯s feet jerked as he was about to charge forward. He looked like he was ready to kill Sandra, but he then felt a warm little hand on his skin the moment he made a move. Sophia looked at him and shook her head. There was no hurt or embarrassment in her eyes; her clear gaze was confident and genuine, as if what Sandra was bbering about wasn¡¯t what Sophia had been through. Sophia had forgotten all about it, after all¡­ In the past, Quinton¡¯s main reason for erasing Sophia¡¯s memories was because he wanted her for himself. The second reason was because she was extremely depressed back then. It was like she had fallen into a deep, dark hole and couldn¡¯t get herself out of it; she was barely clinging on to her own life. Although she had a child, a new life that gave her hope, she was still unable to escape the traumatic past that was already deeply rooted within her¡­ Forgetting about it was the best cure for her. Right then, Michael¡¯s eyes shined with tears as he nced at Sophia. He hated himself for failing to protect her and only meeting her so muchter. Meanwhile, Sandra was still talking about Sophia¡¯s past. She made sure to exaggerate and dramatize all the stories before announcing them. ¡°She was born in Riverdale¡¯s Johnson Family Vige. There, her whole family were just a bunch of filthy, low-level vigers who sold groceries in the market! Her mother was a restaurant waitress who clung onto every rich man she met, and her uncle was a perverted teacher who looked at all his female students. In fact, shemitted incest by hooking up with her uncle at a young age! In high school, she was expelled after she got an abortion, and the baby was a child of incestuous matings! She¡¯s disgusting! She¡¯s filthy! It¡¯s an utter disrespect to our ancestors to have a person like her in the Mitchell Family!¡± Chapter 1197 Chapter 1197 Everyone in the crowd fell silent as they shifted their focus onto Sophia after Sandra finally finished rambling. Although Sophia¡¯s old scars and wounds had just been dug out, she didn¡¯t feel any sadness or anger in her. She simplymented the fact that she used to have such a tough and bitter life, having been criticized so badly in the past. After Sandra finished speaking, Sophia gently lifted her microphone up and nced at the crowd before her. ¡°Well? Does it sound like I had a really tough and hard life as a child?¡± she asked in a light-hearted tone. The crowd fell silent. The story of her being molested was a huge issue in the past, but the Harperster admitted that the story of her getting an abortion in high school was a rumor they had created. They compensated her for it, but still, there was no denying that the girl who stood in front of the crowd right then had gone through a lot of struggles. Sophia nced at the silent crowd before she continued her speech slowly. ¡°The Mitchell Family gave me all of this¡­¡± Her voice was filled with grief and a hint of distaste. ¡°That¡¯s right. My mother was a waitress. She was born into a poor family and didn¡¯t have any academic qualifications. She was a nobody inparison to my father, but the love they had for each other was abstract and inexplicable; she was the one that my father chose to fall for in the end. Although they got together at a young age, their love had always burned with passion. My father has loved my mother for his entire life, and it hasn¡¯t changed in the past 30 years. He¡¯s still deeply in love with her now! For the sake of my mother, my father has chosen to remain a widower throughout all these years. How many of you here can do that?¡± Sophia sighed gently before she said, ¡°Because of the differences in their status, the Mitchell Family was against my father and mother¡¯s rtionship. Some of you here might have witnessed this with your own eyes. I¡¯m not here to me anyone for anything, but I would just like to ask for those witnesses to step forward. I¡¯d like you guys to tell the rest of the family what the Mitchells did to my parents in the past!¡± The crowd fell silent. Some of the people seemed at an utter loss; some began to turn left and right to whisper to others, while some lowered their heads in shame. The Mitchell Family agreed to keep the past events a secret, but those who had witnessed it would certainly know of it. Sophia knew that there were a few of them in the crowd who had even experienced it first-handedly. Meanwhile, Alex and his men were confused. They didn¡¯t know anything that happened in the past; if they did, they would¡¯ve used these stories to drag Cooper down. ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic, Sophia!¡± Sandra reminded her. However, Sophia simply turned back to the crowd, her voice now chilly as she spoke. ¡°Would you like me to say it myself, or would someone like to step forward and do it instead? My father clearly remembers everything you guys did to him in the past¡ª he recalls each and every one of your faces and names. Just because he refuses to take revenge doesn¡¯t mean that he¡¯s forgotten about it! Well? You guys had the guts to do it in the past, but no guts to step forward and admit your faults now?¡± Sophia¡¯s powerful voice sent the question out to all of the Mitchells in the crowd, and it rang loud even in the ancestors¡¯ graves. Everyone looked left and right, hoping for someone to step forward and exin what the Mitchells did to Cooper. After a while of silence, a frail, trembling hand went up as an elderly man spoke from within the crowd. ¡°Let me talk about it¡­¡± The crowd stepped aside to reveal an old man who was supported by both his cane and his grandchildren. He slowly walked toward Sophia. ¡°Andrew!¡± Someone recognized the old man. He was one of the elders of the Mitchell Family, and he was probably more than a hundred years old then; naturally, it was shocking to see him present. Andrew lowered his face guiltily as he took the microphone over and nced at the crowd. Several other members of the Mitchell Family were even watching this livestream from other countries. With that, he began to talk about the forbidden past of the Mitchell Family that had been concealed for 30 years. ¡°In the past¡­ Cooper fell in love with a waitress. We advised them to break up, but he refused to listen to us. The council of elders took a vote and decided that we had to get rid of the woman in order to make him give up on his dreams of being with her.¡± The old man was honest and open about the past. After all, the woman survived and returned, so they¡¯d only be fooling themselves if they continued to hide this secret. ¡°Therefore¡­ we burned Cooper¡¯s lover into ashes right in front of his eyes,¡± he uttered. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. The crowd eximed in shock. I can¡¯t believe something like that happened in the past! How torturous it must¡¯ve been for Cooper to witness the death of his own lover; how hateful he must have felt after not being able to see her dead body! The Mitchells are too much! Even Alex and his men were shocked to hear this. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s great! Cooper, the son of a family head, was fooling around with a cheap and lowly woman. What an embarrassment to the family! It¡¯s embarrassing to call him a member of the Mitchell Family!¡± Alex was furious that they had concealed this story for so long! Sophia only managed to grow up peacefully because of how well they hid this story. Andrew lowered his head to Sophia guiltily. ¡°It¡¯s true that the Mitchells owe an apology to Cooper after what happened in the past. Here, I sincerely apologize to Cooper on behalf of the Mitchells¡­ The Mitchells need him, and I hope he doesn¡¯t leave after he returns.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Andrew. Dad won¡¯t leave this time,¡± Sophia answered the old man politely. Thisforted Andrew a little, and he hobbled away with his cane. The crowd began to chatter and discuss what they just heard. Sophia continued to speak then. ¡°That waitress was my mother, but she didn¡¯t die that year. Instead, Old Master Mitchell had switched someone to take my mother¡¯s spot in the fire. He let my mother go, and that is the only reason why my brother and I exist today. During that time, my mother was already pregnant with Linus and me; she went through a lot just to give birth to us, but my brother was carried away during birth, and my mother passed away after giving birth to us. My father, Cooper, didn¡¯t even know about our existence. Our family had been separated for more than 20 years before we finally reunited. It wasn¡¯t an easy journey,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°The Mitchell Family owes my father too much! The Mitchells owe my brother and I an apology, but they should feel especially apologetic toward my father and mother! Yet, my father has repeatedly extended his grace to the Mitchells!¡± The crowd went quiet once again as they all stared at Sophia. She was supposed to be the most precious princess of the Mitchell Family, but she ended up suffering on the streets all because of the Mitchell Family¡¯s immoral scheme. Ultimately, she was Cooper¡¯s daughter; she still shined as bright as a pearl even though ayer of dirt had masked her spark for a while. Her hard work paid off eventually, and she gained the opportunity to impact the world with her overflowing charms¡ªjust like what she was doing right now! Who could¡¯ve imagined that the Mitchell Family was the one who tore Cooper¡¯s family apart and caused so much suffering to his wife and children? Yet, he had always been thoughtful and caring toward the Mitchells. He came back to them even after leaving for 20 years. ¡°20 years ago, my father staged a car ident as an excuse to leave the Mitchell Family after he had everything all nned out for the family. He chose to abandon his identity as Cooper, but he eventually returned 20 yearster. He wanted to bring Linus and I back to meet our ancestors, for he was still proud to be a child of the Mitchell Family. My brother and I are proud that we share that same blood as Cooper. Our whole family has a clear conscience!¡± As Sophia dered, the audience broke into apuse. Of course she was Cooper¡¯s child! They were all d to recognize Sophia as the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family only because of the amazing woman she was! No one ever brought up the story of Cooper leaving home for the past 20 years, but they hadn¡¯t expected to hear such a heart-wrenching story behind his departure. It turned out that the powerful, godlike man had once struggled with a great deal of despair and pain. The audience¡¯s ps drowned out all of Sandra¡¯s curses. Sandra was dumbstruck right then; she couldn¡¯t believe what she saw. Why are all of them treating Sophia like a precious treasure? What gives her the right to be the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family?! At that moment, Sophia pivoted the direction of her speech as she gave Alex a cold re. ¡°Well, Alex. Let¡¯s talk about how you staged that car ident for my father now¡­¡± Chapter 1198 Chapter 1198 Alex was the one who caused Cooper¡¯s ident all those years ago? The crowd¡¯s reaction was huge when they heard this shocking news, and they all turned toward Alex immediately. Cooper was known to have passed away due to a car ident back then, but they never found his dead body. After his death, Woody was diagnosed with Alzheimer¡¯s disease, and the role of the family head fell upon Alex. Alex had allegedly confiscated all of Cooper and Woody¡¯s personal funds and properties back then, but no one could truly tell if he had actually taken it for his own personal use. In hindsight, it made total sense for Alex to be the culprit in Cooper¡¯s ident! After all, he got the most benefit out of it! Although Cooper hadn¡¯t actually died back then, Alex had to be punished for attempting to harm him. However, Alex appeared to be calm andposed in the face of Sophia¡¯s usations. ¡°nder! You¡¯re just giving me a bad name here! Do you have any proof of it? Any witnesses or physical evidence? Even your father wouldn¡¯t dare to use me of harming him. This is considered defamation if you don¡¯t have any proof. I want to sue you for this!¡± Sophia let out a long sigh through her nostrils before she smiled faintly. She hadn¡¯t nned on looking any further into this issue; she simply wanted to inform the Mitchells of what had happened in the past. It had been 20 years since the ident, and it was a little toote to do anything about it. The court probably wouldn¡¯t hear the case, and Cooper was still alive. However, Alex was practically asking for it right then. ¡°Since you¡¯ve brought this topic up, I¡¯d like to ask Cooper a question now that I¡¯m standing right in front of Old Master Mitchell¡¯s grave¡­¡± Alex pointed a finger toward Woody¡¯s grave before he questioned Sophia in a formal tone. ¡°Where was your father, Cooper, when Old Master Mitchell was drowning in his sorrows after his son¡¯s death? Where was his only son, Cooper, when Old Master Mitchell suffered from Alzheimer¡¯s disease throughout those 10 years? Where was Cooper?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t respond to this. It was true that Cooper was heartless in the past; he certainly knew about Woody¡¯s Alzheimer¡¯s disease, but he still managed to stay away from home for a whopping 20 years. 20 long years¡­ The amount of love Cooper had for Annabel was equivalent to the amount of hatred he had for the Mitchell family. Once Alex saw that Sophia had no response to his words, he was certain that she felt guilty; he had once again reimed his higher moral ground. ¡°That year, Cooper intentionally staged an ident to escape from the Mitchell Family. He betrayed his biological parents and the family that nurtured him. Instead, he chose to start anew in a different ce¡ªthat¡¯s an extremely irresponsible act to perform as the family head. He just left as he wished! He¡¯s thergest traitor in the Mitchell Family! I¡¯d like to ask Cooper if he has the guts to visit our ancestral grave and tell our ancestors about how he developed his n to leave the Mitchells in the past! He¡¯d never dare to do that! Never! That¡¯s because he knows that he¡¯s a traitor himself! He¡¯s probably hiding in a corner somewhere now; the most he¡¯d dare to do is to send his illegitimate daughter over to confuse us with her words! You should step forward if you think you¡¯re that great, Cooper! If you really think you¡¯re guilty, you should stand in front of our ancestors and exin yourself clearly!¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t stop herself from rolling her eyes in response to Alex¡¯s words. The man was brave enough to cause a ruckus that day only because he knew both Cooper and Linus were in a meeting overseas. Would he have dared toe over and dig Woody¡¯s grave if Cooper was in Bayside City today? Sophia no longer wished to waste her time talking to Alex. She was certain that the other members of the Mitchell Family could see what Alex had really done for them in the past 20 years. ¡°Drag him out. I¡¯ll be taking over my father¡¯s role as the family head for today, and I will remove all of your names from the Mitchell Family. You will not live to see your name in our genealogy record book, and you will not find your dead body in our ancestral grave!¡± Sophia sent her orders out immediately. However, Alex wasn¡¯t about to give up just yet. He thrashed around as he shouted at the top of his lungs and bellowed, ¡°Get out here, Cooper! You should fight me directly if you have the guts! You should step forward and admit your sins in front of our ancestors if you¡¯re really that great! You don¡¯t have the b*lls to do that because you¡¯re a coward! You traitor! You coward! It¡¯s a shame that you¡¯re the family head of the Mitchell Family!¡± Although most of the people agreed that Cooper was much more capable than Alex and felt sorry for his entire family, it was still a fact that he had faked his death for 20 years without showing up even when his father had Alzheimer¡¯s disease. He should¡¯ve visited or sent a message at the very least. However, Cooper didn¡¯t appear at all. That guy is really a heartless man¡­ Alex still shouted and iled his arms around with all his might. ¡°Get out here, Cooper! Come out! Are you too afraid to exin yourself to your ancestors?! Cooper! You traitor! You coward!¡± It had been a while since everyone found out about Alex¡¯s n to move the ancestral grave that day, and many of the Mitchell Family members had rushed over. Most of those in Bayside City were present, and some members from the nearby towns had just arrived as well. nes and cars continued to enter the area, and all the aircraft ramps and parking lots were fully packed. This was the first time Sophia had seen so many of the Mitchell Family members. They were an extremely diversified group of people; ck, white, yellow, brown and mixed individuals were all present. Arriving in nes, luxurious cars, and bikes, these people were celebrities, politicians, businessmen, regr workers, and farmers¡­ There were people of all social sses in the crowd. The entire piece ofnd across the mountains was filled with people, and more of Alex¡¯s supporters came over to protest. They insisted for Cooper to appear and exin himself, iming that he would have to be present if they were to host a public vote to choose their family head. Many of the audience arrived to watch the scene of Alex and his supporters shouting and screaming; those who missed the first half of the incident were therefore more inclined toward Alex¡¯s views. ¡°Hahaha, Cooper! You¡¯re too afraid toe out! You¡¯re thergest traitor of the Mitchell Family!¡± Alex burst intoughter as he was increasingly certain that Cooper was not going to show up. He didn¡¯t pay any attention to most of the younger generations of the family, and he thought the illegitimate daughter, Sophia, was the most worthless one among them all; he wanted to crush her like an ant between his fingertips. ¡°Come out and admit your sins, Cooper! Come out and exin yourself, Cooper!¡± Alex gestured for his supporters to chant along with him. Meanwhile, Sophia wasn¡¯t the slightest bit bothered by Alex¡¯s acts as she knew that he didn¡¯t stand a chance with his pathetic acts. He¡¯d need to create more sparks if he wished to publicly punish Cooper. To everyone¡¯s surprise, their ¡®wish¡¯ for Cooper¡¯s appearance came true right then. A shining, gold helicopter landed on the helipad. Soon enough, the crowd parted aside to form a single passageway for a group of people that were walking toward them. Naturally, at the front of the group was Cooper. Linus followed behind him with a stern look on his face. Cooper was dressed in a formal suit, and he looked as if he had just gotten out of his business meeting. He had the aura of a high-achieving intellectual, and his cold, mature demeanor shushed the crowd immediately. Everyone felt as if they had to hold their breaths when they saw him. Perhaps this is what it feels like to be visited by the king, they thought to themselves. ¡°Cooper¡¯s here!¡± someone shouted. ¡°Is that his son, Linus, beside him?¡± another one asked. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°I saw him 20 years ago. He still looks so young after 20 years; it¡¯s almost as if he hadn¡¯t aged at all!¡± Most of the people in the crowdst saw Cooper 20 years ago, and they finally got to catch a glimpse of the legendary, powerful man himself that day. They all shoved one another to get a better view of the man, and their breaths slowed down as they watched him walk past them. The aggressive group of people¡ªAlex included¡ªwho had been calling for Cooper to show up were now dumbstruck. Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be attending the Global Energy Summit in another country? He was supposed to be there with other presidents; how did he just leave ande back here? Alex only got the idea to make a move on the ancestral grave because he knew that Cooper had left the country. He hadn¡¯t expected Cooper to return! All of Alex¡¯s supporters fell silent under the influence of Cooper¡¯s powerful aura. Although Alex lost his courage for a moment, he then recalled how he had sessfully defeated Cooper 20 years ago. He felt his insides inting with confidence. I can sessfully kick Cooper out right now too! The Mitchell Family is no longer the same group of people that was present during Cooper¡¯s generation. I¡¯ve put in so much effort into it for the past 20 years, and I have a firm base now. Cooper has only been back for such a short while! He won¡¯t be able to rattle my sturdy foundation! Chapter 1199 Chapter 1199 Alex felt a boost in his energy once he saw an increasing amount of his supporters swarming in. Now that he had leverage over Cooper, he felt an unlimited amount of confidence within him and called the latter out the moment he saw Cooper walking toward them. ¡°You¡¯re finally here, Cooper!¡± However, Cooper barely noticed Alex¡¯s presence as he walked straight toward Sophia. ¡°Daddy!¡± Sophia was both surprised and d to see Cooper. ¡°Why did youe back?¡± Cooper¡¯s gaze was fixed upon Sophia¡¯s clothes as he walked toward her and tugged lightly at her leopard-print jacket. ¡°Are you cold? Do you need another jacket?¡± he asked. Someone from the Mitchell Family had uploaded a livestream of the incident, and those who weren¡¯t able to be physically there could watch it online. Cooper saw his little sweetheart getting out of a helicopter in the cold weather, and he was worried that she would freeze to death in her clothes. His words gave Sophia a warm, fuzzy feeling. ¡°I¡¯m fine. My clothes are thick,¡± she replied. Once Cooper was certain that his precious baby wasn¡¯t too cold, he patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Go and wait in the car. I¡¯lle join you in a bit,¡± he said. With a swift gesture, Cooper then turned and headed toward Woody¡¯s grave. Both him and Linus began paying their respects to Woody. However, Sophia didn¡¯t leave just yet. She wanted to watch Cooper reim his role as the family head of the Mitchell Family. On the other hand, Michael led Sophia aside. Cooper was supposed to be the one handling this issue today, and Michael was freezing¡ªall he wanted to do was go home. Meanwhile, Alex wore a pleased expression on his face as he watched Cooper and Linus paying their respects. ¡°You¡¯re finally here, Cooper! You¡¯ve been hiding in your shell for 20 years now! Now that you¡¯re here, I believe you owe the rest of the Mitchell Family members an exnation for what you¡¯ve done! You should exin where you¡¯ve been for the past 20 years in front of our ancestors! Where were you when your father developed Alzheimer¡¯s disease because of your disappearance? Where were you when your father was bedridden with his illness?¡± Alex sent a stream of questions directly into Cooper¡¯s face, but thetter maintained his solemn expression; Cooper and Linus continued to bow and showed their respects to Woody and Beyonc¨¦¡¯s gravestones. Woody¡¯s wife, Beyonc¨¦, had her gravestone ced right next to Woody¡¯s. She was the youngest daughter of the Michel Group¡¯s family head, but she had changed her surname after getting married to Woody. There was no picture of her on the tombstone; only her married name was carved on it. ¡°Cooper, you must be keeping quiet because you have something to hide, huh? Haha! How can a cowardly scoundrel like you ever be the family head of the Mitchell Family?¡± Alex¡¯s men continued to chant, stirring up a ruckus. Their voices were louder amidst the silence of the mountains, and everyone could hear their cries. ¡°Cooper is a traitor!¡± However, Cooper continued to keep his mouth shut. He kneeled down in front of Woody¡¯s grave quietly, only standing up after thest piece of joss paper waspletely burned. He then gave Woody¡¯s tombstone a long, deep stare before he turned around and walked down the hill from the ancestral grave. Shortly after, he came to a halt in front of all the members of the Mitchell Family. There was a huge crowd that day; about 8,000 to 10,000 pairs of eyes stared at Cooper and Linus as they waited for him to provide an exnation. Alex, on the other hand, was beaming with joy as he felt like he had already achieved victory. After today, Cooper will definitely be known as the most unfaithful and ungrateful child after today! I¡¯ll force him to kneel in front of the ancestral graveter¡ªthat way, he can ask for forgiveness from our ancestors! I¡¯ll make him utterly embarrassed by forcing him to confess all of his sins! ¡°Hahaha! I bet you¡¯re speechless now, Cooper! You¡¯re just a coward and a traitor,¡± Alex shouted. To his surprise, Cooper took the microphone from Michael before he began to address the crowd. ¡°Dear members of the Mitchell Family, I, Cooper Mitchell, have a few things to say today.¡± Alex quickly interrupted him. ¡°Stop trying to find excuses for yourself, Cooper. Just admit it¡­¡± ¡°I am indeed at fault,¡± Cooper uttered. The crowd eximed in shock as they hadn¡¯t expected him to be so straightforward. He was very forting about it, which was a rare sight in well-known individuals like him¡ªeven Alex found himself dumbstruck by Cooper¡¯s words. This is an insufferably arrogant man who has always ced himself above everyone throughout his entire life. Why is he admitting his faults so easily? ¡°I once felt a great deal of resentment toward the family that nurtured and brought me up. I hate that this family snatched my lover away from me; I hate that it forced me apart from my own beloved children; I hate that it tortured my lover and caused my children to suffer from a young age,¡± Cooper said as he nced at his own children, his gaze filled with nothing but warmth. However, his voice was stern and firm as he continued speaking. ¡°I never attempted to deny my faults. I made a mistake because I was too young and immature back then. I feel extremely apologetic toward my father and my family. I, Cooper Mitchell, would like to ask my ancestors for forgiveness. I hope that my wise ancestors can give me¡ª their disgraceful grandchild¡ªan opportunity to right my wrongs.¡± The crowd fell silent after his speech. Both supporters of Alex and Cooper were equally dumbfounded. This influential man was just chit-chatting with the foreign presidents and politicians yesterday; how can he just openly admit his faults in public now? Doesn¡¯t he feel burdened by his role as a famous man? Everyone didn¡¯t know what to say at that point. Cooper had admitted his mistakes in such a quick and simple way; Alex didn¡¯t even have the time to construct a sentence to attack Cooper in return. ¡°Now, I¡¯ve returned topensate for all the mistakes that I made when I was younger. I¡¯d also like to make it up¡­¡± Cooper turned and took a long nce at Woody¡¯s grave. ¡°I¡¯d like to make it up to my father and my children.¡± The weather was brutally cold; although Cooper didn¡¯t mind catching a cold himself, he surely couldn¡¯t have his little sweetheart falling ill in this weather. Sophia¡¯s face is turning red because of the cold! My heart hurts just seeing it. Therefore, he made his speech short. ¡°I hereby announce my official eptance of the role as the Mitchell Family¡¯s family head. Those who are willing to walk by my side as we lead the Mitchell Group toward glory and sess once again can now leave with me!¡± With that said, Cooper hastily left the crowd with Sophia and Linus following behind him. Once he left, Sean, Justin, Derek, Vincent, Dimon, Drake and the rest of the men quickly tagged along behind him. A large crowd followed them unhesitatingly. Right then, everyone could clearly tell who the winner was between Alex and Cooper. There were a few members who hesitated for a while, but they finally went along with Cooper. Arge group of people strode off behind Cooper, and some of the supporters who were initially on Alex¡¯s side even sneaked off quietly once they saw that the bigger party had left; they quickly tore off the emblem identifying themselves as Alex¡¯s supporters. Once again, Alex was left dumbfounded as he watched his supporters leaving his side. He couldn¡¯t help but cry out loud when he saw that his number of men were decreasing. ¡°You guys need toe back now! All of you are traitors! Traitors!¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Simrly, Sandra was losing her mind. If Cooper is now the official family head of the Mitchell Family and Alex is no longer in power, what does that make me now? She had just been officially removed from the Mitchell Family! How is this even possible? I was the one who saved this entire family when Natasha ruined the Mitchell Family¡¯s reputation. I was the one who worked so hard to rebuild a healthy image for the Mitchells just so that they could uphold their reputation. My very existence is the reason why the Mitchell Group¡¯s shares went up in price. I am the actual hero of the Mitchell Family. I should be the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family! She simply couldn¡¯t allow Cooper to leave just like that. Right then, Sandra was struck by a sudden sh of inspiration as she recalled something. She immediately charged forward to snatch the microphone into her own hands and broadcasted her voice to all of the Mitchell Family members present that day. ¡°Cooper, your only son is a disgusting, gay man. How can you be the head of the family when you¡¯re going to die without any descendants?!¡± Chapter 1200 Chapter 1200 Her words had sessfully caught everyone¡¯s attention, and heads immediately spun around to stare at Sandra. She was overjoyed to have all the attention on her, and she delightedly began to expose the ¡®true colors¡¯ of Cooper¡¯s son. ¡°Cooper¡¯s only son, Linus, is a gay man. He has been dating men for a while now¡ªhow disgusting, perverted and dirty of him! He is an embarrassment to our ancestors, and we¡¯d have to consider if our ancestors would ever allow such behavior!¡± In response to her words, the crowd began to buzz with excitement once again as they all turned to look at Linus, who stood beside Cooper. They couldn¡¯t believe that the clean, well-groomed man they saw was gay! Some of the people wore expressions of shock on their faces; some nced at him understandingly; some looked at him pitifully while others simply seemed confused¡­ Cooper hadn¡¯t remarried, and he was unlikely to have any other children. Now, he only had a son and a daughter; his daughter was married and had already given birth to a little girl named Carmen, but Carmen probably shared her surname with the Fletchers. In that case, Linus was Cooper¡¯s only son, yet he was gay! In ordance with Cethos¡¯ traditional beliefs, Cooper¡¯s bloodline had practicallye to an end in such a situation. ¡°Dad.¡± Linus stood behind Cooper, and his head lowered with guilt. Linus never once thought that this was his fault, but he couldn¡¯t help ming himself now that his sexual preferences had caused trouble for Cooper. Linus believed that the power of love was sufficient to break through all barriers¡ªhe didn¡¯t care if the other person was male or female as long as he liked the person. He would consider getting married and having children if he ever found a woman he liked, but he didn¡¯t wish to get married or have children just yet. In fact, he felt content with everything he had in life right now; Linus had a younger sister and little Carmen to take care of, so he had no desire to start his own family yet. He didn¡¯t want to force himself into anything, but he also didn¡¯t want to make Cooper sad. Dad probably thinks that there is no one to continue his bloodline anymore¡­ To his surprise, Cooper simply patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll always be proud of you, my son.¡± Linus broke into a grin right then as he felt his insides bursting with joy. Indeed, Cooper was always supportive of him. Right then, Cooper¡¯s footsteps came to a halt as he nced at Sophia, Linus, Michael and all of his other supporters before he spoke. ¡°As long as I have you guys with me, I¡¯m sure my name will be passed down. Regardless of whether you guys are my inheritors, I will try my best to nurture and support all of you. You guys have to work hard¡ªthe Mitchell Family¡¯s future is going to depend on all of you!¡± All of his men nodded firmly. Cooper had told them the same thing from the very beginning¡ªany capable man stood a chance to be the next family head of the Mitchells, and it didn¡¯t have to be passed down to another family member. In the future, it could either be Linus, Sophia, Sean, Derek or Justin; anyone who could bring the Mitchells to a whole new level and obtain support from the members would be the next family head! The Mitchell Family was arge family with international members based outside of Cethos. They were a good mix of many cultures; Cethosian values and beliefs were no longer the main drive of the whole family. Cooper¡¯s bloodline wasn¡¯t about to end, and the Mitchell Family didn¡¯t have ack of inheritors! Some individuals believed in an outdated, feudal system and hoped to stick to it, but others quickly brushed it aside as they didn¡¯t believe in it. Cooper was one of the ones who got rid of such outdated beliefs. He never forced Linus and Sophia to give birth to males; he never insisted that their children would have to take his surname. They could give birth to kids as they wished, and they could get married if they wanted to¡ªit was all up to them. Although Carmen didn¡¯t take Cooper¡¯s surname, he still considered her as part of the Mitchell Family¡¯s new generation. Therefore, he did have inheritors and a granddaughter. How could they im that his bloodline was about to end? Cooper continued to walk out of the area, and arge group of people firmly tagged along behind him. Another group nced around hesitatingly before they followed the crowd as well, and Alex was furious to see this. ¡°You¡­ How dare you guys choose a traitor whose bloodline is about to end?!¡± He simply couldn¡¯t understand it. Why would these people go along with Cooper even though they know that his bloodline is ending? He has no inheritor; his son is a disgusting gay man, whereas his daughter got married and changed her surname. What¡¯s so great about him?! Unfortunately,rge groups of people continued to leave with Cooper; there were only a few of them who stayed with Alex. All of a sudden, Dimon turned around and strode toward them. Alex thought that he had finallye to his senses, but Dimon simply stepped forward and gave Sandra a cold re. ¡°The youngdy asked me to pass you a message.¡± He then gave Sandra a tight p across the cheek¡ª Sophia was the one who asked Dimon for this favor. The sudden p left Sandra dumbfounded, but Dimon continued to speak. ¡°The youngdy told me to inform you that she recorded everything you said earlier, and it¡¯s all on the Inte now. Good luck, Miss Mitchell.¡± Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Sandra was too shocked by the p to even say anything; she only came to her senses after Dimon left. What did I even say just now? She felt like her soul had left her body when she realized what she said in the video earlier. ¡°No! Please don¡¯t post it! I¡¯ll never let you go if you share all those videos!¡± she cried as she quickly grabbed onto Dimon¡¯s arm. He heartlessly shook her off before he chuckled and left. Although Dimon had always thought that gay men were rather disgusting, that was none of his own business. Since Linus wasn¡¯t a criminal, it didn¡¯t matter if he liked males or females. Sandra, on the other hand, was a lot more disgusting inparison. She advocated for justice, feminism and the innocence of LGBT individuals in public, but the two-faced woman proceeded to use another person¡¯s sexual preferences to create scandals and gossip in private. She¡¯s too disgusting! As he watched Cooper and hisrge group of supporters leaving the ce, Alex fell onto the ground weakly. On the other hand, Sandra¡¯s gaze was burning with fury as she watched them leave. The rest of the Mitchell Family members had left by themselves, and only the few of them remained there. Sandra¡¯s eyes were tearing up. I¡¯ve done so much for the Mitchell Family, yet they kicked me away just like that! They cut all ties with me! They¡¯re so heartless! She then dried her tears before standing up. No! I haven¡¯t lost yet! Although I¡¯ve been kicked out of the Mitchell Family, I¡¯m still the person-in-charge for Mitchell¡¯s Technology; many of the Mitchell Family¡¯s production and control rights of their businesses are still being handled by Alex too! I¡¯m Sandra, the world champion. I¡¯ve broken so many world records that still remain undefeated right now. I¡¯m the pride of Cethos; I¡¯m the national treasure of Cethos in sports; and I¡¯m the only athlete that Cethos can ce out there in my field. I¡¯ve worked so hard for the sake of Cethos, and I¡¯ve defeated so many unbreakable records. Even if Sophia wants to ruin me, we¡¯d have to see if the Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation will allow her to do that! I haven¡¯t lost yet! Sandra immediately rushed back to Bayside City on the same day, but she found out that a few of her videos were already spreading like wildfire on the Inte. ¡°Cooper¡¯s only son is a gay man. He has been dating men for a while now; how disgusting, perverted and dirty of him!¡± she said in one clip. ¡°Women should stay home and care for the kids; they shouldn¡¯t meddle with a man¡¯s business!¡± she said in another. ¡°Your elegant and ssy Young Lady of the Mitchell Family had been molested by her own uncle from a young age; her nudes were spread to everyone; she dated men and had abortions during high school¡­ She¡¯s certainly been an elegant, graceful woman ever since she was conceived!¡± Sandra¡¯s words sounded more and more ridiculous in each clip, and it gained a huge wave of responses from netizens. After thements she made were exposed to the public, Sandra was publicly denounced by feminist and LGBT associations; usations were also made toward Mitchell¡¯s Technology for being biased against female workers. Furthermore, all of the fake charity donations that Sandra had made in the past were dug out and posted online. Soon enough, letters ofints flooded the Sports Federation and other rted associations like a snowstorm, most of them requesting to strip Sandra off her title. An ambassador of Cethos¡¯ Women and Children Association? An ambassador of the Feminist Organization? Cancel all of it! Previously, Sandra had made public appearances at parades; she did charity work with the children under Cethos¡¯ Women and Children Association; she gave speeches about feminism¡­ All of that turned into a huge joke now. The public would rather have a dog on stage than have someone as two-faced as Sandra! Chapter 1201 Chapter 1201 Throughout the years, Sandra had always taken great care of her public image. She tried her best to publicize her acts of charity, but now, she was criticized for exaggerating her charitable acts. She was caught faking a number of donations, and there were several charities and events where she simply showed up so that the press and media could snap images to prove her presence¡ªshe even took back the funds she had donated after the event. Sandra was one who enjoyed chasing after trends; her actions were dependent on all of the hottest topics and trends. She was eager to portray herself as a thoughtful intellectual and a generous, loving public figure. However, her n ended up backfiring on her. The videos of her cursing Linus and shouting for women to stay home and care for their kids had sessfully angered all of the citizens in the country; both her past and new scandals surfaced on the Inte all within a day. This time, her entire image was truly copsing. Sandra was extremely displeased by this, and she quickly performed a series of acts in order to mend the issue¡ªshe got her connections to remove the online posts and posted a quick apology video on the Inte, sobbing pitifully in the video as she gave a speech apologizing for her mistakes. She then paid a number of Inte ghostwriters to clear her name. They started rumors about how there were unknown reasons for the controversial things that Sandra had said, but they never specified the details of it. They made it seem as though Sandra had no other choice but to give the speech, and they created the illusion of her being unable to clear her own name after being wrongfully used by the public. They even left a few stories hanging so that otherizens could form their own guesses, and theyter announced that Sandra was about to reappear in the field of sports and participate in a swimmingpetition. Sooner or later, Sandra was definitely going to get cklisted and canceled by the public. Sophia was well- prepared for this to happen, and she was just waiting for the right opportunity to expose all of Sandra¡¯s acts and destroy her once and for all. However, another incident surfaced before this scandal came to an end. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Winter had arrived, and it was that time of the year when all northeastern Cethosians began to dress in mink and fur coats. The annual debate between luxurious fashion brands and environmental protection associations began once again. In recent years, Cethosians who were slightly well off were quick to hop on the trend of dressing up in mink and fur coats. While there were more people dressing up in it, there were also more people going against it. As usual, there were activities being organized to encourage Cethosians to go fur-free. These campaigns kicked off slightlyter this winter, but they were also a lot more aggressive. Once again, Sandra was quick to be a part of the craze. She supported the act of saying no to fur products, and she led the group by being the first one to ruin all of the mink and fur products she owned. She promised that she would never dress in any such products in the future, eager to use these acts to restore her righteous image in the eyes of the public. There were a number of supporters for the anti-mink and fur activities that year; even the Ronney Group and several other fashion brands in Bayside City responded to it. Globally, an increased number of luxurious brands began to announce their usage of artificial fur. They swore to stop using materials made from actual animals, and many celebrities began to take part and show support in these acts against mink and fur. The anti-fur movements were crazier than ever that year; it came to a point where an individual¡¯s entire family would be viewed as criminals if they were found guilty of dressing in fur clothing. Famous celebrities and public figures who didn¡¯t step forward to show their support even had their names thrown into a long list made by some passionate individuals. They were then called out and criticized as the list went viral on the Inte. Some of the public figures were forced to step down, but a few well-respected and god-tier individuals like Taylor and Harry remained unharmed. One outdated male celebrity¡¯s wife was caught and brutally criticized by environmental activists after she purchased factories that manufactured luxury mink and fur products; she was even criticized for being the wife of an unknown male actor. There were banners and posters stuck all over the outsides of her new factory, eventually forcing her to apologize and shut down. They even asked her to donate all the products that the factory had manufactured. ¡°That¡¯s f*cking insane.¡± Sophia had picked the paper up on her way home, and she saw her husband¡¯s name being listed on the news as one of the celebrities who deserved to be criticized. They even included a picture of Sophia showing herself off in a luxurious leather and fur coat without blurring her face out. Meanwhile, Cooper felt a little confused to see the whole trend in the newspaper. Aren¡¯t these people eating meat sliced off of animals while they restrict others from wearing animal skin? Humans are weird. However, Linus didn¡¯t find this odd at all as there were a bunch of protesters who lingered outside the Michel Group¡¯s office all year round. They protested against the Michel Group¡¯s meticulous and advanced developments of artificial intelligence as they were afraid that the Michel Group¡¯s robots would someday surpass the abilities of mankind. In other words, they were afraid that humans were going to turn into the ves of robots. The fur factory farm that Sophia had purchased was located in the northeastern region. The factory itself bred its own minks and sables; it was an old factory that provided fur for arge number of luxurious brands. It was a legal organization doing legal work, and there were no acts of abuse, skinning the animals alive or anything of that sort. Sophia had no idea what the people were protesting against; regr farms killed chickens and pigs as well, and some evil humans even used fertilized chicken eggs as food, facial products and other things. Wasn¡¯t that just as terrible? In general, humans were the ones who deserved to be boycotted, and Sophia couldn¡¯t care less about the protests that were going on. The minute she got home, she threw her bag aside and ran to the kitchen. She wrapped her arms around Michael, who was busy cooking. ¡°Hubby!¡± She used her nasal voice to ask for affection as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his, taking two steps whenever he moved. Ever since Michael went on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, he learned a few skills so that Carmen wouldn¡¯t get hungry on the show. Recently, he had been tinkering around in the kitchen to cook up a few mouth-watering meals. ¡°I¡¯m running out of handbags, hubby. Buy me a new one¡­¡± Sophia urged. Michael was busy cooking when he felt a sweet burden clinging onto him from behind. However, he couldn¡¯t help but frown when he heard what she said. ¡°It¡¯s enough. You already have so many bags.¡± Her wardrobe was stacked with bags, and all of them were branded items. The Ronney Group had given her a huge number of bags during their previous coboration, and the bags Sophia purchased herself were worth enough to feed her an entire year of meals. However, Sophia continued to cling onto her husband as she acted cute in front of him. ¡°Buy me a bag, hubby¡­¡± Receiving a bag from my husband has a different feeling to it; buying bags for myself is nothing inparison to that amazing feeling of receiving a gift! Once Carmen saw this going on, the young girl quickly ran over to cling onto Michael¡¯s leg. ¡°Buy me a bag too, Daddy!¡± Despite their demands, Michael felt a surge of warmth within him as his wife and daughter held onto him. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go shopping tomorrow.¡± Michael finally gave in in the end. However, Sophia wasn¡¯t done yet. ¡°I also want clothes, shoes and a skirt!¡± She continued to cling onto him. ¡°I want a new dog, Daddy! I want a corgi!¡± Carmen seized the opportunity to ask for more stuff as well. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pick up your own dog poop, then!¡± Michael surprised her with his stern voice. Carmen was dumbstruck, and she fell silent for a second before she quickly ran away. Sophia continued to pester Michael in the kitchen, and Cooper could hear her sweet voice all the way from the living room where he was reading his paper. He felt loneliness creeping into him. My little sweetheart has been snatched away from me. She¡¯s gone now¡­ If my daughter is a warm, padded jacket, my son is a reliable pair of small leather boots. I can¡¯t lose either one of them; I¡¯d feel insecure without my boots and cold without my jacket. I want both of them! ¡°Why are you so greedy?¡± Michael asked Sophia in the kitchen. After dinner, Michael watched as Carmen pestered Cooper to bring her out. Cooper took a nce outside and rejected her after he saw how cold and dark it was. Michael knew where Carmen wanted to go; she had repeatedly expressed her desire for a corgi, but she had been afraid to deal with corgi poop. Hence, she enjoyed going to other houses to y with their corgis. There was anotherrge family near them that had loads of animals; they had 17 dogs, and 12 of these were corgis. They also had more than 10 cats, and it was clear to see that they were a rich family. They were the Yards, and the house belonged to Anna. The assumption that interests and hobbies were inherited had to be true, for both theserge families inherited traits of being animal lovers. Chapter 1202 Chapter 1202 Carmen walked over to Anna¡¯s house almost every day. The young girl often spent her time hanging out there¡ªit was probably because she had the intention of adopting a corgi once she got closer to the family. That day, she dragged Cooper along with her. ¡°Come on, Grandpa. We can invite Miss Beautiful over to my kindergarten¡¯s year-end performance.¡± Cooper frowned at this before he turned around and forcefully edged himself away from the exit. He didn¡¯t want to have any interactions with Anna; he didn¡¯t want Carmen talking to Anna either, but Carmen insisted on visiting her house almost every day. Seeing that Cooper refused to go along with her, Carmen stuck her lips out into a pout. ¡°I¡¯m going to start rolling on the ground and throw a tantrum, Grandpa. Are you scared yet?¡± Ah, she¡¯s going to throw a tantrum. How scary. Cooper unwillingly followed behind Carmen as the young girl dragged him over to Anna¡¯s house. She was familiar with the route heading toward their ce, and she knocked on the door upon her arrival. Both Callum and Cade were home, and they fought to open the door once they realized that Cooper was paying them a visit. In the end, Callum was the one who greeted Cooper with a wide grin on his face. ¡°Doe in, Mr. Mitchell.¡± Cooper didn¡¯t want to go in, but Carmen dragged him inside nheless. She walked around as if it were her own house, and she quickly went over to the shoe cab before pulling out a pair of pink indoor slippers for herself. Then, she got one for Cooper as well. ¡°Miss Beautiful!¡± Carmen excitedly ran around in search of Anna. She ran around the ce as if she had lived there all her life, and she even brought a corgi into her arms before showing it to Cooper. ¡°Look, Grandpa. Its name is Buns! Look at how adorable its butt is.¡± Carmen turned the dog around and faced its butt toward Cooper, extending an invitation for Cooper to admire the corgi¡¯s butt with her. Cooper furrowed his brows as he wasn¡¯t interested in looking at a corgi¡¯s butt. He didn¡¯t want to sit around either, but Cade had already walked over with a cup of tea for him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Mitchell. Anne isn¡¯t here today.¡± Indeed, Anne wasn¡¯t around that day as she had learned her lesson after getting beaten thest time; she no longer dared to pester Anna any longer. Soon enough, Anna came down from the second floor in a pearl-white long gown that suited her elegant aura. She was dressed in a casual and simple outfit, but it made her look ssy and chic at the same time. ¡°Carry me, Miss Beautiful.¡± Carmen reached her arms out, and Anna lovingly lifted her up before she walked toward Cooper and sat down beside him on the couch. ¡°Mr. Mitchell.¡± Anna felt an inexplicable sense of joy within her when she saw that Cooper hade to visit. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you, Mrs. Yard,¡± replied Cooper as he nodded without forgetting his manners. After sitting around for a while, Anna made the first move to initiate random topics of conversation with Cooper. Meanwhile, Carmen¡¯s babysitter pulled a small, delicate little basket out. There was a pink cloth draped over the basket, and there were bacon slices wrapped in paper underneath the pink cloth. Oddly enough, there was a ribbon tied around the basket of bacon strips, and there were two odd roses ced in the basket¡ªthe roses were even pleasantly scented. What is this oddbination of bacon and roses all about? Cooper wondered. Carmen slowly ced the cloth over the basket and covered it after she took a peek. She then turned to Cooper before blinking at him with herrge, watery eyes. Cooper was a little slow, and he widened his eyes to indicate that he didn¡¯t understand what the young girl meant by that. Carmen responded by looking beside him before winking twice. Cooper got it then¡ªCarmen wanted him to present the bacon as a gift for Anna. He was shocked. How can this young brat steal all the bacon from our house just to give it to someone else?! However, Anna already saw the pink cane basket in the room, and she eyed it curiously. ¡°Did you bring something delicious over for me again, Carmen?¡± Carmen dropped by to y with the dogs every once in a while, and she always brought some snacks as a token of appreciation for allowing her to y with the dogs. Since Cooper didn¡¯t make a move, Carmen personally ced the basket on the coffee table. ¡°This is freshly made bacon from our house. My Grandpa came here just to give this to you, Miss Beautiful,¡± Carmen said in a sweet voice. Cooper felt the muscles in his face twitching as color filled his cheeks. Now that the bacon is already in Anna¡¯s hands, I can¡¯t take it back anymore, can I? Furthermore, she seems pretty d to see the gift. Despite living a life of luxury, she had never tried it before. ¡°Bacon?¡± she asked curiously. However, she was even more surprised to see the two roses in the basket when she uncovered the gift. She froze for a moment as she felt her heart fluttering in her chest. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said gently as she picked the roses up. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Cooper looked extremely embarrassed right then. He abruptly got onto his feet. ¡°Sorry for disturbing,¡± he muttered as he picked Carmen up and walked out of the house hastily. Carmen acted quickly and picked up one of Anna¡¯s corgis, refusing to let go of it even as her grandfather picked her up. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, you should leave after having some food!¡± Callum quickly ran toward the door, but Cooper had already disappeared onto the streets at that point. There seemed to be a huge, dramatic story hidden behind the man¡¯s hasty footsteps. Coincidentally, the Yards hadn¡¯t had their meal yet, so they washed the bacon and prepared a simple dish of fried bacon. Although the Yards were extremely rich, they had always enjoyed eating simple meals. It was an odd sight for them to see a dish of bacon ced on the middle of the table. None of them had ever tried eating bacon, but Anna felt an oddly familiar sensation as she nced at the slices of red, salted meat. The bacon melted in her mouth and gave off an extremely special taste. The taste of it felt familiar; it felt like it had awakened something deep within her. She felt like she had tasted it somewhere, but she simply couldn¡¯t remember where. Could I have tasted this in my past life? This texture and taste¡­ Even the saltiness of this bacon feels familiar. ¡°Mom!¡± Cade called for his mother and snapped her out of her daydream as he realized that she was acting in a rather odd manner. Anna only realized that her cheeks were soaking wet with tears when she came back to her senses. ¡°Sorry. I forgot my manners.¡± She quickly dried her tears. While she usually didn¡¯t have much of an appetite, she surprisingly wolfed down two bowls of rice before she quietly went up to her room after that. Callum and Cade exchanged nces with one another after watching her leave the table. Just by looking into each other¡¯s eyes, they both knew what the other was thinking. Their mother was acting really weird as ofte; she had been daydreaming a lot, and she even had nightmares from time to time. What¡¯s going on? She always acts a little strange after seeing that guy, Cooper. Meanwhile, Cooper was acting odd as well after he arrived home. Sophia gave him a warm greeting when he first entered. ¡°Come over and watch some TV with me, Daddy. This channel is showing ¡®The Winter Breakthrough¡¯ again.¡± Everyone was huddled in front of the TV just then, but Cooper remained silent as he ced Carmen down. He then walked up to his room and stayed inside for a long time. Sophia found this odd, and she soon found out that Carmen had brought Cooper over to Anna¡¯s house. This infuriated Sophia, and she immediately gave Carmen a harsh scolding. ¡°No more ying at the Yard Residence from now on! Look at you¡ªyou even brought their dog home! Take it back!¡± Carmen put on the most innocent expression she had. ¡°Why? Miss Beautiful is so nice to me. I want to y with her!¡± Sophia gave it some thought before she responded to Carmen¡¯s words by saying, ¡°That¡¯s because¡­ Miss Beautiful is an angel, and you¡¯re just a normal human. Humans can¡¯t be friends with angels!¡± Michael, who had been patting Celine¡¯s baby¡¯s back for her to burp, burst intoughter when he heard Sophia¡¯s sorry excuse. To their surprise, Carmen was dissatisfied with this excuse. ¡°Daddy said that Mommy¡¯s an angel too! I¡¯m Mommy¡¯s baby, so I¡¯m an angel too! Angels and angels can be friends!¡± she cried indignantly. Sophia¡¯s eyes widened as she realized that she had no way to argue against this. Meanwhile, Carmen began to tear up in a pitiful manner. ¡°Mommy, you used to call me an angel too¡­ Have you been lying to me this whole time? Does that mean I¡¯m not an angel?¡± Sophia was utterly speechless. Chapter 1203 Chapter 1203 Sophia had initially nned on teaching Carmen a lesson, but the little girl turned the situation around and made herself the victim first. ¡°Alright, my good girl. Who said you aren¡¯t an angel? You¡¯re still the princess of angels; you¡¯re the prettiest angel among the thousands of angels in the sky.¡± Carmen finally stopped crying after Sophia coaxed her for a little while more. The young girl then picked the corgi up and invited everyone to admire its butt with her. Once Carmen fell asleep, Sophia got her babysitter to send the dog back. She nced up toward the third floor wearily, which remained silent the whole time. Cooper must be feeling terrible right now. He really wants to see Anna, but he¡¯s also afraid of seeing her¡ªafter all, she haspletely lost all memories of him. She¡¯s now the wife of another man, and she even has four sons¡­ Michael might be the only person who can understand this torturous experience¡­ ¡­ Meanwhile, it was past midnight in the Yard Residence when Anna found herself caught in a hypnagogic state. She had a really odd dream which had been troubling her ever since she returned to Cethos. In the dream, she felt a splitting pain in her belly. Amidst all the suffering she was in, she felt the emergence of new lives as two babies tore themselves away from her flesh and wiggled their way out of her body. She barely caught a glimpse of the two newborn babies before someone picked them up and raised the babies toward the sky. ¡°You¡¯d better hand the right of session and all your shares over. Otherwise, I¡¯ll drop your son onto the ground right now!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Anna woke up from her nightmare and felt someone¡¯s arms around her. ¡°What is it, Annie?¡± A man¡¯s deep voice came from beside her. She felt his strong arms curling around her, but for some reason, that only made her feel more afraid than ever. ¡°Ah!¡± Right then, Anna lost control of all her emotions. She threw away all the things that she couldy her hands on; all she wanted to do right then was to throw out the person who had just wrapped his arms around her. ¡°Go away! Get out!¡± The man caught everything that Anna had been throwing as he exined himself and said, ¡°Annie, it¡¯s me¡­¡± However, Anna couldn¡¯t hear anything he said right then. The disgusting scent of a male body lingered in her nostrils; it was a repulsive scent that triggered her desire to break everything that she could grab onto. She threw her belongings onto the ground as she screamed like a crazy woman. Her loud screams caught the attention of Callum and Cade, and Callum turned the lights on to see the room in an utter mess. The pillows, vases and Anna¡¯s cell phone were on the ground, and her hair was an utter mess as she continued to throw things out. Meanwhile, Jordan pathetically took a few steps back to avoid getting hit by something. ¡°Mom!¡± Callum cried out in surprise before he quickly ran forward to hold his mother in his arms. Anna began to thrash around in his arms, looking like a pitiful woman who couldn¡¯t seem to escape from her own nightmare. When Anna saw Jordan trying to edge closer to her, she lost her mind even more than before. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± she shrieked at the top of her lungs. This came as a shock to Jordan; he took a few steps back, his eyes filled with hurt and terror. ¡°Dad, Mom¡¯s having a rpse of her illness. Please go out for a while,¡± Cade quickly said. ¡°Annie¡­¡± Jordan tried to call his wife, but Anna waspletely out of control. He had no choice but to bitterly step out of the room. Callum continued to tighten his grip around his mother in the room. She was crying and wailing as if she had just experienced the most traumatic incident in her life, and her face was soaked with tears of terror. ¡°It¡¯s Callum, Mom! I¡¯m your son!¡± The look on Anna¡¯s face flickered for a moment as she seemed to regain some consciousness after seeing Callum¡¯s face. She quickly threw her arms around Callum. ¡°My son¡­ My son, my darling Callum¡­ My son¡­ Don¡¯t hurt my son! No! No!¡± She clung onto Callum tightly, as if she was afraid that someone would snatch him away from her. He returned the hug and began to tear up as he listened to her muffled sobs and incoherent sentences. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m here now, and no one¡¯s going to hurt me. We¡¯re all grown up, so we can protect ourselves now!¡± However, Anna was still extremely emotional. She couldn¡¯t seem to detach herself from the nightmare she had, and she was having aplete mental breakdown. Eventually, she began to quiet down a little after Callum soothed her emotions. She then moved to the guest room for the night while the maid tidied the messy room. Cade picked the two roses up from the shards of ss that had once been a vase. The roses were a gift from Cooper, and Anna had carefully ced them in the vase earlier that night. She threw the vase onto the ground and it shattered into pieces when she lost her mind moments ago, so the roses were left in a puddle of water on the floor. Cade picked them up and ced them into a new vase before gently putting it by Anna¡¯s bedside once again. After taking two sleeping pills, Anna went back to sleep. Callum tucked her into bed and gazed at her tear-stricken cheeks as she slept. The public only saw how great their lives were, but they had never seen all the pain and struggles that the mother and her two sons had to go through. Callum and Cade¡¯s childhood were filled with fear and terror; everyone wanted them dead back then. Direct and distant rtives of the Yard Family wanted them dead, and all of Jordan¡¯s other women wanted them dead too. The survival of Anna and her two sons had a huge impact on the potential benefits of others around them, so everyone wanted them gone! On the outside, they were threatened by the Yard Family; on the inside, they were controlled by Jordan. They never once had the freedom and right to direct their own lives, and it felt like they were constantly living under the shadow of everyone else¡¯s power. Callum and Cade could never forget the day they had been kidnapped while they were still asleep. Those menughed heartily as they tortured Anna and forced her to kneel in front of them. They found joy in hearing her bitter cries; they wanted her to pick a son to fall to his death so that she could live the rest of her life ming herself for what she had done. Callum always remembered how helpless Anna¡¯s cries sounded back then. She continuously bowed down and pressed her head onto the ground; sheN?velDrama.Org owns ? this. kept begging until the skin around her forehead split apart. Her face was covered in her blood and tears, but she still didn¡¯t manage to get her son back. Callum felt like he was forced to grow up after that night. Although they were eventually savedter, Anna became extremely anxious over everything. Every night, she would wrap her arms around her sons tightly, using her frail and skinny body to protect them. Anna would coax them to go to bed by singing them to sleep and trying her best to provide them a sense of security. However, once they fell asleep, she would stay awake for the entire night. Her bloodshot eyes were alert to every tiny movement around her, and she was afraid that someone woulde and snatch her children away from her. Even until today, Anna would asionally have such nightmares of the worst night of her life. No one knew how the mother and her two sons had managed to survive until today. Some people were born into a world where they were given all the greatest pleasures of life, while some others had to sacrifice everything just to keep themselves alive. The very fact of life was a luxury to them. Despite their struggles, they insisted on surviving; they wanted to be the happiest people on earth. ¡°Callum.¡± Callum only came to his senses when he heard Cade calling for him. Callum turned the lights off and quietly shut the door behind him before he wiped his tears and calmed himself down. When he walked to the living room, Jordan had already been sitting there for a while. ¡°How¡¯s your mother?¡± Jordan asked. Callum put on a rxed expression. ¡°She¡¯s the same as before. It¡¯s just an old habit; she can¡¯t be triggered, and she can¡¯t have any men near her. This also happens when she sleeps with me or Cade beside her sometimes.¡± Jordan seemed a little dejected to hear this, but he quickly changed the topic. ¡°When are you and Cade going to return to Ronney City?¡± Chapter 1204 Chapter 1204 ¡°Mom wants to recuperate in Bayside City for a while, but the Yard Family wants to amend the family tree and shift the ancestral grave, so there are quite a number of things to be done. We thought we¡¯d stay around and help out since Mom isn¡¯t emotionally stable, so we might not be returning so soon,¡± Callum replied. He spoke in a respectful and meticulous manner, as if he was reporting to his supervisor; there wasn¡¯t a hint of intimacy in his tone. To the boys, Jordan was practically a stranger. Apart from the contribution of his sperm, he had never given them anything more. During the toughest periods of their lives when they were younger, Jordan would disappear and leave them with their mother. Furthermore, Jordan had other women and children outside that often bullied them. Callum lowered his gaze after answering to Jordan to conceal any hint of distaste in his eyes. Jordan seemed a little disappointed by Callum¡¯s reply. ¡°We still need you boys to handle the matters over at Ronney City.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with everything before I left. I left Henry and Ryan in charge of the fashion week, and there haven¡¯t been any otherrge events happening recently. We can handle the rest of it remotely, so you don¡¯t have to worry about it, Dad,¡± Callum uttered. It seemed like Jordan had begun to grow suspicious of Anna and the twins recently, and they decided that they¡¯d simply leave him behind and let him continue being suspicious if that were the case. But Jordan didn¡¯t notice anything then, as he simply nodded before he went up to rest in another guest room. After a restless night, Anna was extremely weak the next morning. Their personal doctor dropped by to check on her before prescribing medication for her. Her sickness wasn¡¯t a physical one but a mental one; she was easily triggered, and her mental health was deteriorating. This left her susceptible to all sorts of mental illnesses, so she had to depend on long-term medications to stabilize her emotions. The doctor said that such cases like hers were due to a traumatic incident that urred in the past, but this illness had been with Anna for her whole life, even before she gave birth to Callum and Cade. She couldn¡¯t recall anything from her past, and she didn¡¯t know what she had been through then. The doctor had a long discussion with Jordan before they both left. Jordan didn¡¯t return after that, and no one knew when he¡¯d ever reappear again. They didn¡¯t look forward to his visits, anyway. Carmen dropped by again that afternoon, with a basket carrying some food and two nearly frozen roses. The roses were from her grandfather, and the food was her way of showing her appreciation to them for allowing her to y with the dogs. Carmen was shocked to see Anna with an IV drip the moment she stepped into the house. ¡°Are you sick, Miss Beautiful?¡± ¡°Miss Beautiful¡¯s sick, so she can¡¯t y with you today,¡± Callum quickly said. ¡°Well, should I sing her a song, then? I have a great voice!¡± Carmen offered. Callum was worried that the young girl might be disturbing Anna, but Anna gestured for him to allow it. Although she wasn¡¯t feeling too well, she was still pleased to see Carmen around. ¡°Come over here and sing me a song,¡± she uttered. Carmen ced her basket down before she began to sing and dance cheerily. ¡°The fields are soaked and the rain¡¯s over¡­ The trees are growing faster than ever¡­ La, I¡¯m a little boss who sells the newspaper¡­¡± Callum leaned his body against the doorframe with a cup in his hand as he listened to the young girl¡¯s song. He was surprised to hear how great her voice sounded; it felt like his ears were filled with honey when he listened to her sing. Carmen¡¯s grandmother, Elizabeth, had a voice that had left a mark on the last two generations of Cethosians, and Carmen¡¯s father had an amazing voice himself; hence, it made sense that this young girl inherited the same talents. Her voice was like some sort of ma that attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Since God had blessed her with such wonderful talents, it¡¯d be a shame if she didn¡¯t grow up to be a star. But conversely, it¡¯d also be a shame if she became a star¡ªshe had such a huge family business that she could take over if she wished to. Anna beamed happily as Carmen hopped and pranced around the room while singing. The splitting headache that had been bothering Anna the entire day miraculously disappeared; she felt like she finally found peace as all the anxiety and fear seemed to have left her body. Right then, Sophia knocked on the front door of the Yards Residence. She was furious after she found out about Carmen walking over here, and she paid them a visit to drag her daughter back home. Cade was the one who opened the door. ¡°Where¡¯s my daughter?¡± Sophia asked as she stuck her head inside. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. ¡°Shh.¡± Cade pointed up to the second floor, and they both heard Carmen¡¯s sweet voiceing from the room. ¡°Sophia, my mother has been sick for the past two days. Your daughter¡¯s voice is really helping to cure her headaches! Can I beg you to leave your daughter here for a while more? Just a while more; I¡¯ll send her back to you by noon.¡± Cade¡¯s eyes were filled with sincerity. ¡°Your mother¡¯s sick?¡± Sophia felt her heart aching upon hearing that Anna had fallen sick. She nced up to the second floor and lowered her voice without even realizing it herself. ¡°What¡­ illness is it? Is it serious?¡± she asked in a whisper. When she looked into the house, she caught a glimpse of someone who looked like a doctor gathering his medical equipment. ¡°It¡¯s nothing; just an old illness that she¡¯s been dealing with for a long while. She just needs a lot of rest,¡± Cade exined. ¡°I see.¡± Sophia no longer seemed interested in dragging her daughter home, and she absent-mindedly walked away. She didn¡¯t even turn around when Cade called out for her. Should I tell Cooper that Anna¡¯s sick? Sophia went straight to Vi No. 2 after going home, as Cooper¡¯s office was located there. Cooper and Linus would often have their meetings and do their work there before they would return to Sophia¡¯s to eat and rest. When Sophia went in, Cooper was having an online conference call with people from the Michel Group. She exchanged nces with Linus outside the meeting room, and he threw her a warning stare while gesturing for her not to enter the room. She didn¡¯t push the door open, but instead stood outside and listened to the contents of discussion between Cooper and an elder of Michel Group. ¡°She¡¯s the fianc¨¦e your ancestors had picked for you. If it weren¡¯t for her help, you wouldn¡¯t have managed to obtain your position here so easily. Like the old Cethosian saying goes, don¡¯t bite the hand that feeds you,¡± the elder uttered. Cooper has a fianc¨¦e?! And he relied on her to obtain his position? Sophia perked up her ears as she was shocked to hear this. The elder spoke in a stern tone, and he had a thick and posh British ent that was hard to understand. ¡°She¡¯s on the way now. You have to be well-prepared; I hope you can get married to her as soon as possible.¡± Get married? Does that mean Cooper is going to get married soon? Am I going to have a stepmother? But Cooper didn¡¯t seem interested. ¡°I have no ns of doing so,¡± he muttered. Sophia felt a rollercoaster of emotions within her after listening to their conversation. Is Cooper really thinking about marriage? Will I have a stepmother? No! I don¡¯t want a stepmother! The elders lost their temper and began to criticize Cooper on breaking his promise. Unconcerned by this, Cooper casually hung up on them before he walked out of the room with a cold expression. He was surprised to see Sophia outside. ¡°What are you doing here, my darling?¡± Sophia felt a little uneasy. She previously hoped for Cooper to find himself a wife, but she now felt a little unhappy to hear that he was about to marry someone. I have a mother now¡­ ¡°She¡¯s¡­ sick. Carmen¡¯s visiting her now,¡± Sophia muttered. Once Cooper heard that ¡®the woman¡¯ was sick, the cold expression he wore quickly fell apart to reveal the anxiety between his brows. He patted Sophia on the shoulder before he rushed off without saying anything more. He clearly hadn¡¯t let go of her. They were together for 30 long years, after all; he couldn¡¯t just let go even if he wanted to. They were deeply in love, but they simply weren¡¯t fated to be together¡­ Chapter 1205 Chapter 1205 A loud sigh came from behind Sophia as Linus patted her shoulder before resting his arm on it. ¡°Dad still can¡¯t forget about her,¡± he stated. He saw the video himself, and he knew how cruel fate had been toward their mother. Her memories had been stolen from her. Sophia nced toward the direction where Cooper had walked off and zoned out for a while before she turned back to Linus. ¡°That fianc¨¦e of Dad¡¯s that they were talking about on the call earlier¡­ What was that all about?¡± Linus maintained his neutral expression upon the mention of Cooper¡¯s fianc¨¦e. ¡°You know how it is. Dad¡¯s handsome, rich, and tall; the women who are interested in him could probably form a whole line all the way from here to the Eiffel Tower. It¡¯s prettymon for there to be a few women who are a little more aggressive.¡± The siblingster walked out of Vi No. 2 and headed toward Vi No. 8 for lunch while Linus continued to talk about Cooper¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Apparently, 20 years ago, the family head of the Michel Group found out that he was ill and realized that he didn¡¯t have long to live. The old man then thought of his daughter, Beyonc¨¦, who had gotten married to an Easterner and hadn¡¯t kept in contact with him since. He ordered for someone to hunt her down, only to find out that his daughter had been dead for years. He also found out that he had a grandson, Cooper, who was practically a carbon copy of him¡ªthey shared the same skills and boldness. Back then, the Michel Group still appeared to be grand and impressive, but the old family head found out that they were deep in debt after he fell ill. The family members were all scheming against one another, and the Michel Family, which had existed for thousands of years, was at risk of falling apart. There were several other financial groups back then that were equally powerful; they could have taken over the Michel Group anytime. The old family head didn¡¯t manage to find a suitable sessor back then, as he simply couldn¡¯t see anyone in the family having enough power to turn the tides to get them out of their predicament. His grandson, Cooper, was therefore the perfect heir. Furthermore, as a dying man himself, the old family head longed to take a look at his Easterner grandson. He therefore invited Cooper over to the Michel Group for a secret meetup. Coincidentally, Cooper was nning to leave the Mitchell Family right then, so he agreed to abandon his identity as a part of the Mitchell Family after he found out about his mother¡¯s family and his grandfather¡¯s identity. Cooper then took over the role as the family head of the Michel Group and began to work there. Thepany was saved from its near demise after Cooper took over, and it began to reim its position at the peak of its field. Cooper managed to deal with all the internal affairs of the family while also saving the entire business. He ran around ying two roles back then¡ªhe had just begun to take over the Michel Group while he was also nning his great disappearance from the Mitchell Family. That was also when he found out about Linus and adopted him as a son. Back then, the old family head was concerned as Cooper didn¡¯t seem to have established stable foundations in both the Michel Group and Michel Family. The old man was afraid that Cooper wouldn¡¯t be able to go against all the greedy, ferocious enemies that were fighting for his spot once the old man passed away. The old man decided that Cooper needed a stronger support system, so he found him a fianc¨¦e with great talent and an impressive background to help support him. Cooper didn¡¯t actually need anyone¡¯s support, but the old man¡¯s judgements were a little off since he was on his deathbed. He imed that he wouldn¡¯t be able to die in peace if he didn¡¯t get to see Cooper getting married, so Cooper made an agreement with the fianc¨¦e that the old man had chosen. They agreed to put on a show in front of the old man, just so that he could die in peace. The woman agreed to it, so they ended up faking their engagement in front of the old man¡¯s sickbed. The old man died with a smile on his face after they exchanged their wedding rings. After that, Cooper thought everything was over as he had clearly stated that he wasn¡¯t interested in getting married to his ¡®fianc¨¦e¡¯. Unfortunately, the woman fell in love with him and continued to pester him after their fake marriage. This went on for the past 20 years¡ªthe woman waited for Cooper from her early adulthood all the way until she was past 40. ¡°How loyal of her.¡± Sophia hesitated and let out a sigh after listening to the story. Quinton, who had been ying his handphone on the couch, perked up his ears when he heard Linus talking about Cooper¡¯s fianc¨¦e. Sophia thought about it for a while more. Well, I guess Anna and Cooper no longer have a chance with one another. That fianc¨¦e of his has already waited for 20 years; I guess it¡¯d be worth a try if she is truly a decent woman. When Sophia expressed her views, Linus simply sniggered in response. ¡°That woman is a crazy person who doesn¡¯t care about anything else. She doesn¡¯t truly love Daddy; she¡¯s just fixated on him because she can¡¯t get him. If she weren¡¯t afraid of our father¡¯s status and position in society, she might just kidnap him and force him to get married to her.¡± Linus then threw Quinton a nce. ¡°That woman¡¯s the same type of person as the man who¡¯s ying with his phone on the couch now,¡± he muttered. Quinton stared at him speechlessly. Sophia couldn¡¯t properly picture how crazy the woman was at first, but when Linus made theparison with Quinton, Sophia felt her skin crawling with goosebumps simply at the thought of it. ¡°Eeeek!¡± That¡¯s how abnormal and crazy she is?! ¡°What¡¯s her name? Where¡¯s she from?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°She got married once in the past, but her husband then passed away. Her ex-husband was a count, so she¡¯smonly known as ¡®The Countess¡¯. She¡¯s a bigshot in the field of insurance and has some rtions to the Western armies,¡± Linus replied. Thunk! Quinton was so shocked that he dropped his phone on his face. He didn¡¯t even cry out in pain; he was too surprised to do anything else. The Countess! Sophia had been learning more about the circles of Western aristocrats, and she had heard of this woman as well. That woman is Cooper¡¯s fianc¨¦e?! ¡­ Meanwhile, Carmen was drinking some milk during her break; she had justpleted the first half of her singing performance. She sucked on her milk while having a chat with Anna on the bed. ¡°Grandpa said that being a performer isn¡¯t a proper job for me. Daddy promised Grandpa that I¡¯ll have to take over the family business if I don¡¯t show any career sess in this field.¡± Carmen was sharing her own life ns and struggles with Anna. Anna felt a lot better after listening to Carmen¡¯s voice. The young girl had a beautiful voice that sounded likerks chirping by her ears. It was magical¡ªall of Anna¡¯s pain and worries evaporated into thin air after listening to Carmen¡¯s voice. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Well, what do you want to do, Carmen?¡± Anna asked cheerily. The older woman was genuinely envious of the young girl. Carmen is loved, and she isn¡¯t pressured to do anything that she doesn¡¯t want to do. She could sing if she wanted to, and she could run a business if she wanted to. Although most people might think that taking over the family business is a better option, you can also earn huge sums of money as a performer! Carmen gave Anna¡¯s question some serious thought. ¡°I want to sing, act, and earn money, all at the same time!¡± Anna stroked the young girl¡¯s hair lovingly upon that. ¡°You should do whatever you enjoy the most, darling. Your future depends on the hard work you put in now. I¡¯ll support you no matter what you pick!¡± she uttered gently. Carmen nodded firmly in response to this. She¡¯s really a wless little angel! Anna thought as she nced at the young girl. Right then, the maid ced the fresh roses that Carmen had brought into the vase, and the petals fluttered in front of Anna¡¯s eyes. ¡°Grandpa picked these up specially for you, Miss Beautiful! I saw him picking them out with my own eyes! We have more roses that are blooming in the greenhouse. You can tell me if you like them, then I¡¯ll get my Grandpa to send some over every day!¡± Carmen said sweetly. Anna was aware that the roses weren¡¯t from Cooper, but she felt happier whenever she imagined that he was actually the one gifting them to her. Someone knocked on the door right then. Cade was the closest to the door, and he nced at the surveince cameras to see Cooper standing outside. What? Chapter 1206 Chapter 1206 Is he here to look for Carmen? Cade opened the door and invited Cooper in. ¡°Are you here to pick Carmen up, Mr. Mitchell? My mom¡¯s sick, and Carmen¡¯s talking to her now!¡± Cade said in a pleasant tone of voice. Cooper was dressed in a ck winter jacket that highlighted his long and lean figure. His face was as cold as the weather outside, and his voice as monotonous as ever. ¡°I heard that Annie¡¯s sick, so I¡¯m here to pay her a visit,¡± he replied as he stepped into the house. Carmen excitedly came over to take a pair of shoes for her grandfather once she realized he hade over. The young girl then brought him upstairs to see Anna. ¡°Grandpa¡¯s here to see you, Miss Beautiful!¡± Carmen cried. It was then that Cade realized the few stalks of roses that Cooper held in the hand that was ced behind his back. Woah, what? Is Cooper actually here to give Mom flowers? He wasn¡¯t tricked by Carmen! He called Mom by her nickname¡ªAnnie¡ªwhen he came in just now. Annie? Annie! Something must be up! Since when did they get so intimate with one another?! Cade felt like he had to go up and take a look for himself to investigate the situation and check on their progress. But the moment he went up the stairs, he saw Carmen dragging Callum down. When she saw Cade, she spoke to him sternly. ¡°Grandpa is too big-sized, and the house is too squishy. There¡¯s no space for a third person there.¡± Wait a minute¡­ Carmen¡¯s words had surprised Cade once again. This young girl is in our house, and she tantly allowed her grandfather to flirt with my mother, yet she wouldn¡¯t even let us go take a look?! Cade seized this opportunity to get Carmen to follow his orders. ¡°Well, let me carry you; otherwise, I¡¯m going up there,¡± he uttered. Carmen gave him an awkward stare before she finally lifted her arms up miserably. ¡°Do it, then,¡± she muttered before Cade happily lifted her up into the air. The three of them went downstairs, and Callum looked up to nce at Anna¡¯s bedroom on the second floor. It¡¯d be amazing if Anna and Cooper got together, but it¡¯s not going to be easy for them to be a proper couple. Dad isn¡¯t dead yet, after all. Meanwhile, Anna was the first to speak in her room. ¡°Thank you foring over, Mr. Mitchell. It¡¯s just an old illness that I have; it¡¯s no big deal.¡± Anna seemed extremely d to see Cooper. She sounded rather excited, but her voice was still a little weak as she was feeling sickly. Cooper nced at her as he stepped into the room. Although she seemed pale, her eyes were twinkling, and she didn¡¯t seem to be that ill. This made him feel better, but he quickly averted his gaze as he thought that it was rude to stare. ¡°Carmen asked me toe over and visit you,¡± he exined. With his gaze avoiding hers, he looked around the room to see the cup that Anna had just drank from and the corgi that was running around on the floor. He was too nervous to know what to say or do, so he brought out the few roses that he had plucked earlier and began to arrange them into the vase. So Cooper is really the one who has been giving me roses. Anna¡¯s eyes gleamed with joy as she grinned. ¡°Thank you for the flowers. They¡¯re pretty. I really like them.¡± Cooper had his back turned against her, but he wore a bittersweet smile on his lips as he nced at the flowers. ¡°As long as you like them.¡± ¡­ Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. In the meantime, Michael was in Vi No. 8 at The Imperial. It was the weekend, and Michael finally managed to catch Harry red-handed for stealing all the roses in the greenhouse. With a flyswatter, Michael smacked Harry as he shouted. Smack! Smack! Smack! ¡°I nted these roses for my lovely wife, and they just f*cking bloomed! My wife hasn¡¯t even had the chance to see it, and you guys have already stolen most of it! Carmen stole some; Celie stole some; even my father-inw stole some! I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re stealing some too! Do you guys think I¡¯m dead?!¡± Harry received a good beating from the flyswatter, but he insisted on protecting the roses that he had just plucked as he tried to defend himself. ¡°Do you think I wanted to do this?! My wife wants some roses too!¡± Michael continued to smack him. ¡°You should nt some roses yourself if your wife wants some! These nts took me 6 full months to grow; I had to pluck the weeds, fertilize them, and even pick the bugs out of them! I didn¡¯t even want to put any pesticides as I was too emotionally attached to these flowers! How f*cking good must it be for you to just pick them up once they¡¯ve bloomed, huh! Get out of here!¡± Harry scurried out of their greenhouse with his arms still around the roses as he threatened Michael. ¡°I¡¯m warning you; you can hit me, but not my face!¡± This only angered Michael more as he began to aim for Harry¡¯s face with his flyswatter. ¡°Do you still have ¡®face¡¯? I thought you wouldn¡¯t know how to spell the word ¡®face¡¯ after your shameless act! Anyway, look at all the terrible films that you¡¯ve been acting in recently. Your average rating on Rotten Tomatoes is probably just 2 out of 5 stars now! You¡¯re really saying yes to every film deal! How many ¡®naked loans¡¯ do you have to repay?!¡± Harry had epted a number of odd and peculiar films recently. He had really lowered his own standards as an Academy Award-winning actor. It¡¯s fine if he doesn¡¯t take blockbuster films, but how can he appear in those terrible, low-quality web series?! Furthermore, all of them are web series about gay romance! Michael sincerely suspected that the scripts for those films were written by their gaffer, that the makeup was done by their logistics team, that the director filmed the entire thing on his phone before editing it in some cybercafe. What the hell are those series all about?! ¡°Do you think I wanted to do it? Sarah was the one who forced me to ept those offers!¡± Harry spoke up for himself indignantly as he covered his face and continued to run away. Nathan quietly held the door open for them and watched as Michael continued to chase after Harry with his flyswatter. Smack! Smack! Smack! Michael spoke as he continued hitting Harry. ¡°How could you ept a movie offer that pays you 70 million when its total funds invested were only 80 million?! You¡¯re really something¡­¡± Sophia watched their interactions and nodded when she heard what Michael said. I agree! Ipletely agree! Following the recent growth in trends of intellectual property, many of the novels were being remade into films. Even some of the gay male romance, smut, and Yaoi books that Sarah were addicted to in the past had revealed the news of their uing film adaptations. As a master artist in elegant Yaoi painting, Sarah would produce new content regardless of how busy she was. She produced more in the recent years; she was still one of the most famous artists as she drew graphics of all the most popr novels, with Harry¡¯s face as the main character of each novel. Harry was the man who practically upheld the livelihood of Cethos¡¯ coborative content creators. A few of the novels that Sarah had been following were making ns for a film adaptation recently; Sarah and her fans agreed that they wouldn¡¯t be satisfied unless Harry was the main character of the movie. She therefore used her own resources to ept a few offers on Harry¡¯s behalf, so that he could appear in the film adaptations of those novels. The filming process for these shows were simple¡ªmost of them were done indoors while all the naked and fighting scenes were done by their stunt doubles; Harry simply had to show up every now and then to fake a few actions. He even had a stunt double for the kissing scenes. The seriessted 10 episodes, but hepleted his filming within 1 or 2 months without having to memorize his script. The voice actors were to do that job after the filming was over, so Harry dazedlypleted his filming without even taking a nce at the script. In the past, whenever Harry had a filming for a movie, he would have to memorize his own scripts and personally appear in all of the action scenes. He would stay up for days without sleep, and it was the norm for a movie to take up to a year of meticulous production toplete. Inparison, the web series he filmed felt like retirement to him. Furthermore, the web series invested millions into it, and 80% of the investments went straight to Harry¡¯s paycheck. It was amazing to feel like money had just fallen out of the sky into his pocket. More importantly, his wife loved the films; she would binge the entire series right after he finished filming it, and she¡¯d then pester him to film another one. After all, he wasn¡¯t the one investing in the films. He could just finish his job, take the money, and leave. But when the films were aired¡­ That was the reason everyone had been criticizing Harry for losing his mind recently. They thought he had been forced into this because of the ¡®naked loans¡¯ he owed. Chapter 1207 Chapter 1207 Sophia could understand the situation that Harry was in. For the past two years, both Harry and Michael had begun to shift their focus toward their own personal businesses. Michael was slowly starting to disappear from the spotlight, and he was extremely picky about the movies that he agreed to film. He¡¯d never say yes to some weird films just for the sake of earning some quick money. Harry, inparison, was losing himself and agreeing to every single job! However, it was also true that those rubbish films didn¡¯t require much effort. Harry didn¡¯t even have to work on his expressions throughout the films; any extra effort would go to waste. He didn¡¯t have to read or memorize his scripts, and he could just show up at the filming set every now and then when he was needed. He could finish filming a whole series just with a single expression on his face, and he¡¯d still get his pay in the millions. It was really as if money were falling out of the sky, so it made sense that he¡¯d take it. But what is it with all the series that he has been filming recently?! It¡¯s fine if he lets go of himself and loses his integrity, but he has to think about our feelings too! Every time Harry appeared in some weird film, Sarah would invite me to the movies not once, not twice, but thrice! She¡¯d even invite everyone over to watch it at home after it was no longer screened in the cinemas. And she would never take ¡®no¡¯ for an answer! Those are clearly terrible films, but she would think of any one of them as the most amazing film simply because her husband¡¯s in it. The distorted lenses through which a fan sees her idol is truly thicker than a concrete wall! Sophia had considered giving her a reminder for a while now; she wanted to remind Sarah that this wasn¡¯t what an Academy Award-winning actor should be doing. Normally, the popr artists who gained fame after acting in those idiotic web series would mber and w their way up into the making appearances in proper movies. Harry, on the other hand, was doing theplete opposite! As his wife, Sarah didn¡¯t stop him from doing this; she even supported him instead! Sophia wanted to say something about it, but she was afraid that her cherished friendship with Sarah would turn sour over a man, so she didn¡¯t do anything. Harry mainly focused on appearing in the film adaptations of the most popr novels, and his handsome looks made him well-suited to be the main character of these films. A good number of fans of the novels had also turned into fans of his. Although the quality of the film adaptations was so low that they hurt his heart and chased his older fans away, he still had a lot of new, crazy fans that were willing to spend on him. The films that only had a total investment of 80 million still managed to get a profit, and some films even broke the records to be the most-viewed web series. There was therefore an increase in the number of invites for him. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. His fans were extremely aggressive. Anyone who dared to post a negativement about Harry would soon find themselves being hunted down as Harry¡¯s fans would find their IDs and crush their reputation. His fans were known to be the most powerful cult among the four evil cults in the entertainment industry, and no other fans dared to mess with them. It was also one of the reasons that Sophia had kept quiet for so long. She was therefore overjoyed to watch Michael pping Harry on the face! He can¡¯t me others for smacking him on the face if he¡¯s embarrassing himself out there anyway! Eventually, Harry managed to escape, leaving nothing but his footprints and a few rose petals in the snow. ¡°I¡¯m going to let the dogs out to attack you if youe here again!¡± Michael growled while Sophia nodded in agreement. As they watched Harry running off frantically, Michael couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. It must be hard to pretend to be young and go against all the fresh-faced 20-year-olds in the industry when he¡¯s already so old! Michael turned back and nced at his own dear wife before realizing how lovable she seemed then. At least Sophia doesn¡¯t force me to film some weird movies. I¡¯d end up in the same position as Harry otherwise. After the effortful encounter with Michael, Harry managed to steal 3 roses home. He wrapped the flowers up nicely, sprayed some perfume, and sprinkled gold powder on the petals before he hid therge diamond ring in the flowers. The diamond was the size of a pigeon¡¯s egg. It was Harry and Sarah¡¯s wedding anniversary that day. After he got the roses, Harry ordered the babysitter to dress 3 of his children up as he decorated the living room. He was prepared to give Sarah the surprise of her lifetime when she came back. Sarah had been upied with her own work recently. While Sophia was busy with her own business in the field of luxury items, Sarah insisted on doing something herself as well, so she started the ¡®Little Kitten¡¯s Cultural Channel¡¯. Harry had no idea what herpany did, and he wasn¡¯t interested in finding out as it probably had to do with things that he didn¡¯t want to know. It was the weekend, but Sarah had some business to deal with, so she rushed out in the morning. Harry cuddled with his babies as they watched the TV and waited for Sarah to return. They had 3 babies now; 2 big-built sons and Poppy, the adorable daughter that they had adopted from Sophia. As Harry flicked through the channels, he identally turned on one of the terrible ¡®blockbuster films¡¯ that he had appeared in. The expressions on all four of them quickly changed as they all gasped in horror. Harry immediately switched the channel as he felt all his hair stand on end. Oh, my God. This feels like me sticking my head into the toilet bowl to stare at my shit after I¡¯m done doing my business. I¡¯m disgusted, shocked and utterly speechless¡­ Harry thought. Back in Vi No. 8, Sophia was anxiously waiting for Cooper¡¯s return. She felt conflicted¡ªshe wanted Cooper and Anna¡¯s rtionship to go somewhere, but she was also afraid that Anna would hurt him. However, she was also afraid that he would end up getting married to The Countess, or that he would end up all by himself. Her mind was a mess from all her conflicting thoughts. Sophia stood by the side of the road as she waited for her father. Right then, Sarah¡¯s car passed by and slowed down once she saw Sophia. Sarah wound down her ss window before she excitedly greeted Sophia. ¡°Sofie, I have huge news to tell you!¡± Sophia edged closer to the car curiously. ¡°That novel, ¡®The Memoir of a Tomb Raider¡¯ that we went crazy over during high school, is finally going to be made into a movie! Ah! I¡¯d been waiting for years, and the day has finallye!¡± Sarah cried excitedly. Sophia had a bad feeling when Sarah continued the rest of her sentence. ¡°Well, guess who¡¯s going to be the lead male actor for the role of Hanson Raider in the movie? You¡¯d never be able to guess who it is!¡± Sophia could imagine what her soul would do right then. It would take a few steps back before waving its hands frantically while shouting, ¡°No, no, no! I don¡¯t want to know! Don¡¯t tell me! Don¡¯t invite me to watch it either!¡± Before Sophia could actually respond, Sarah replied to her own question. ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s our very own Lord Winston!¡± Of course it is¡­ Sophia thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone else on earth would be more suited for the role of Hanson Raider! Harry is the most perfect person to take this role. He¡¯s just like Hanson in the story; Harry looks exactly like how I would imagine Hanson to look like! This film is going to be so famous. Look, I just signed an agreement with the production team. I went out today just to get this done!¡± Sarah looked as if she was drunk on love as she continued to ramble. Sophia kept silent. ¡°The production crew got a special effects team all the way from Hollywood! The total budget for this grand production is 1 billion, and I managed to ask for 90 million as Harry¡¯s pay!¡± Sarah continued. Sophia didn¡¯t know what to say. Eventually, Sarah headed home with the contract to tell her husband about this amazing surprise that she had for him. Michael, who had been listening to their conversation from afar, simply took a long, deep breath. She really shouldn¡¯t do this to an Academy Award-winning actor! I feel nervous for my good old partner. Soon enough, Cooper returned to the house with his usual emotionless expression on; no one could ever tell if he was happy or sad. ¡°Daddy! How was it?¡± Sophia asked as she ran over to greet him excitedly. Cooper nced at Sophia¡¯s face. Her petite face was turning red from the cold, and her features resembled that of someone he used to know. The realization of it made his heart ache, and he felt like his entire being was falling into an endless hole of despair. ¡°It was fine. Let¡¯s go inside.¡± His voice didn¡¯t reveal the slightest hint of any emotions. He then simply stepped into the house and went up to his room after he replied to his daughter. Carmen was just behind the old man, and she pranced around excitedly as she got home. ¡°What did Grandpa do earlier?¡± Sophia quickly asked. ¡°Miss Beautiful fell sick, so Grandpa brought some flowers over to visit her. They¡¯re getting along well!¡± Carmen replied. Getting along well¡­ But what does that mean? Sophia wondered. Chapter 1208 Chapter 1208 Sophia gave Callum a call to ask about it. ¡°You should pack your things up and make some space for us; your dad¡¯s about to get himself two more sons. Cade and I are probably going to snatch your role as the sessor soon,¡± he said. ¡°F*ck off!¡± Sophia ended the call. She was now certain that Cooper and Anna had indeed made some progress. But for some reason, she still felt an uneasy feeling in her chest after learning about this¡­ ¡­ Wednesday was the day of Sandra¡¯s public swimmingpetition. She sent an invitation over to Sophia before the day itself. It was Sandra¡¯s big day¡ªshe wanted Sophia to feel helpless as thetter watched her rising to power once again. Sandra did a lot of self-promotion before thepetition day itself, for she wanted to show everyone what being the world champion looked like! She also remembered to include Sophia in the advertisements and promotions for herpetition¡ªshe mentioned something about Sophiaing to support her as they were close friends. As a result, the animal and environmental protection workers all camped outside the swimming pool stadium on that day itself as they wanted to force Sophia to give a statement on her actions. The inside of the stadium was filled with reporters and the press although the event itself was merely a national-levelpetition that didn¡¯t gain international attention. The size of thepetition was far from international ones like the Universal Games, and it might be overshadowed by the Winter Universal Games, which had just ended. Regardless, there was still arge audience, for it was a rtively popr local event. Furthermore, Sandra¡¯s acts had been one of the hottest topics recently. Apart from all the previous remarks that she had made, her public act of destroying all her personal fur products had also attracted a lot of attention from the public. The Mitchell Group had undergone arge number of changes as well. Ever since they had therge meeting at their ancestral grave, many of the senior workers in Mitchell¡¯s Technology had quit their jobs there and went over to Cooper¡¯s side. There were only a few Mitchells who remained in senior positions, but a skinny camel was stillrger than a horse; thepany managed to survive despite their loss of workers. Sandra was certain that she would be able to reim her fame and positive image on the day of thepetition. Then, she would be able to save the Mitchells again, just like how she had saved them all those years ago. Most of the participants of the swimmingpetition were unknown individuals, so Sandra wasn¡¯t bothered by them at all. All the cameras were turned toward Sandra; they practically broadcasted her entire warmup routine. Every now and then, the shing lights of the cameras would strike against her delicate face, which was covered in waterproof makeup. A bunch of articles titled ¡®The Water Lotus¡¯ and ¡®A Natural Beauty¡¯ had been drafted about two weeks ago. ¡°Sophia¡¯s here!¡± someone shouted. All of the cameras quickly turned and went after Sophia. The Young Lady of the Mitchell Family, whose surname wasn¡¯t even Mitchell, had just obtained her position in the family for a short while. She had also just purchased a factory that manufactured mink products and anotherpany that sold luxurious fur items¡ªmany people had criticized her for this. The protests of environmental and animal protection activists against fur products had been growing in recent years, so her acts of purchasing these factories and brands were definitely going against the trend. This had gained her a lot of negative attention. Sophia didn¡¯t just show up to thepetition that day; she had also put on a huge fur coat and brought a fur handbag along with her customized sunsses from one of her own fashion brands. She wore her ck hair in a slicked-back hairstyle that made her seem more elegant than ever. All the reporters and activists surrounded her the moment she showed up, and her security guards struggled to shoo the bunch of people away from her. ¡°Miss Edwards, what are yourments on the public anti-fur movements?¡± one asked. ¡°There are many ways to protect the animals, and stopping the usage of fur is one of them. The protection of mother nature starts with you and me!¡± another eximed. The reporters¡¯ microphones were virtually pressing against Sophia¡¯s face, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered to reply to any of them. Herrge sunsses concealed any annoyance that she felt for the reporters. However, the reports and activists continued to block her way. The environmental activists were especially passionate that day; one of them, a skinny man in sses, swiftly passed through the crowd of reporters and stopped right in front of Sophia¡¯s face. ¡°Sophia, if our Earth is destroyed one day¡ªif all of the living creatures go extinct one day¡ªyou¡¯ll definitely have to take some of the me! As a public figure, your words and actions have a great impact on many other people. You¡¯re going to pay for this someday!¡± he cried. Sophia frowned upon hearing this before she nced at the shabby-looking young man through her tinted sunsses. His face was pale, and his hair was a mess, but his eyes were burning with intense passion¡ªit almost made him seem like he was going crazy. Sophia didn¡¯t wish to respond to him, but the young man continued to pester her. ¡°Primates only used fur products in the past because they had no other ways of keeping themselves warm. Now that humans are living in a modern society, we no longer have to live brutal and ferocious lives like our ancestors used to. The sole usage of fur products is a sign of degeneration in our society; it highlights the return of our barbarity! We¡¯d be worse than animals if we continue to use fur products. Animals only eat meat to fill their bellies, yet humans use fur products simply as a pointless tool to enhance their appearances. There is no deeper meaning or beauty to such an act of killing for the sake of your own looks. All I see underneath your dressing is bags of bones belonging to animals that have died in vain. Sophia, your selfishness will ruin mankind forever.¡± The young man¡¯s words received a great deal of praise from the people around him. Sophia looked like a coward as she quickly scurried away from them; her very act of wearing fur products was seen as the most sinful and ungodly deed right then. Quinton, camouged in the group of bodyguards, was dressed in a suit and sunsses as he gave an unimpressed yawn. Justin, who was dressed in an identical suit, quickly hissed at him. ¡°No yawning onOwned by N?velDrama.Org. the job.¡± Quinton secretly rolled his eyes at him. Linus had nted a tracking device into Quinton, so he couldn¡¯t go anywhere else even if he wanted to. He hadn¡¯t wanted toe to work today, nor did he wish to go back to being a teacher; he simply wanted to stay home on the couch, where he could watch his TV series and y with dogs and cats all day. But now, he was forced to be a bodyguard; he and Justin either had to follow Carmen or Sophia around the whole day. Sophia and herrge group of bodyguards simply treated the reports and activists as if they were invisible; they walked straight toward the entrance and headed over to the swimmingpetition. Sandra obviously knew about the passionate activists who were waiting at the entrance¡ªshe was the one who paid them to appear at thepetition, her sole intention being to embarrass Sophia. Sh*t. Why is Sophia so shameless?! Fine, I can stille up with articles even though Sophia didn¡¯t respond to anything. I was the one that hired all the reporters, anyway. JNS Fashion Group? Hah! She clearly thought too highly of herself! I¡¯m going to make her lose a fortune this time! Once Sophia got into the stadium, she quickly found the spot that Sandra had reserved for her. There were heaters in the indoor stadium, so the ce was warm. Sophia took her fur coat off to reveal a comfortable-looking cotton bodycon dress. Quinton broke his back just to find a seat beside Sophia; he quickly took her fur coat from her and covered himself with it once she took it off. Why would anyone swim during the winter? It¡¯s so cold! It feels the best to have some fur covering me! Quinton had used too many stimnts when he was younger, and the side effects were showing in recent years¡ªhe often felt a chilly sensation in his bones. He would long for a fur coat even in his dreams. ¡°Move aside.¡± Justin shoved Quinton away and was about to take the fur coat from him when the competition began, so he quickly sat down to watch the match. I¡¯d love to see how Sandra¡¯s going to make aeback today! Chapter 1209 Chapter 1209 Sandra was glowing with confidence that day although she hadn¡¯t been swimming for ages. She didn¡¯t have much time to train before thepetition, but she appeared to be in tip-top condition regardless. Thementator often mentioned Sandra during the event. ¡°The women¡¯s 200-meter freestyle match is about to begin, everyone! You guys can now see contestant number 8, Sandra, securing her lead at the very start of the match! She¡¯s in first ce once again! She¡¯s the world champion indeed! Miss Sandra¡¯s current score for today is the same as her previous record from a few years ago. I wonder if she will be able to break the world record that she has maintained for all these years! We¡¯ll have to wait and see!¡± Sandra outshone the rest of the swimmers in the crystal-clear pool; she extended her limbs like a beautiful mermaid in the water. Her figure was lean and proportionate, her muscles clear and defined after years of exercise. Everyone was excited and in awe to catch a glimpse of her every time her head surfaced above the water. Right then, the crowd felt like they had been brought back in time to the Universal Games that was aired globally all those years ago. That girl was as beautiful as a water lily whenever she emerged from the water. Her pretty features and strong skills took the world by surprise. Back then, she was still known as Sandra Oak. But now, it was Sandra Mitchell¡¯s eye-catching performance that was broadcasted across the country, and it received huge feedback from the entire nation. She¡¯s the world champion indeed! She¡¯s as perfect as a mermaid princess! At the peak of Sandra¡¯s career, she had left the field of sports and used her role as the Young Lady of the Mitchell Family to enter the business world. Everyone was shocked to see how skillful she was now that she reappeared after years of being away from the pool. Alex, who was watching it live in the stadium, was more surprised than everyone else. My daughter¡¯s really full of surprises! Mitchell¡¯s Technology is never going to copse with her around! The crowd was extremely excited as they all chanted Sandra¡¯s name. She was clearly in the lead with her scores; the rest of the new swimmers couldn¡¯t put up a fight against her as they were merely background objects that made her stand out even more. Sandra was the greatest winner of the day! In the end, she managed to break her own world record that she had held for the past few years, just by a few milliseconds. The entire nation rejoiced at that very moment. Our world champion, Sandra, is back! She¡¯s definitely going to bring back some medals in the swimming category for the next Universal Games! Once thepetition was over, the live audience was heated up as they all stood up to cheer for Sandra. Right then, it felt like the entire nation of Cethos was cheering for her. All the news articles about her were filled with nothing but positivements. Sophia was the only one who remained calm and collected; she merely pped her hands a few times after the results were announced. Apart from that, she simply watched Sandra¡¯s performance emotionlessly. When the medals were handed out, Sandra no longer sobbed and thanked her family like she did a few years ago. With the trophy in her hands, she now gave off an elegant and ssy aura. ¡°I¡¯m thankful that I haven¡¯t given up after all these years. I would also like to thank my family members, my supporters, and all the people who have hurt me. I will continue to fulfill my mission on this battlefield!¡± Upon her mention of people who have hurt her, everyone naturally turned toward Sophia. Both of the girls were known as the youngdies from the Mitchell Family, and they were known to have conflicts with one another. There were rumors about Sophia ying Judas and backstabbing Sandra just to secure her own spot in the Mitchell Family. Sophia¡¯s even dressed in a fur coat for thispetition! That disgusting, wicked and heartless nouveau-riche! Meanwhile, Sandra¡ªthergest winner of the day¡ªfelt like she was back on the peak of the mountain once again. She was certain that she would be able to lead the Mitchell Family back to their days of glory. Sophia? She¡¯s no match for me! After receiving her trophies, Sandra found herself surrounded by reporters. She gracefully did her interviews with a towel draped over her body. Since thepetition had ended, Sophia stood up and got ready to leave. All of a sudden, she heard Sandra calling for her. ¡°Hey, Big Sis, are you leaving already? Come here! It¡¯s my big day; don¡¯t you have anything to say to me?¡± Sophia had already put her big sunsses on, and Justin had already snatched her fur coat away from Quinton before handing it over for her to put on. Upon hearing Sandra¡¯s words, Sophia simply pushed her sunsses up on the bridge of her nose before she walked away without even looking at Sandra. Sandra¡¯s clearly older than me; how can she shamelessly call me her big sister¡­ Sophia then nced at her watch. ¡°It¡¯s about time,¡± she mumbled. Sandra felt extremely good to see Sophia ¡®gloomily¡¯ leaving the stadium. From today onward, the Mitchell Family is going to grow and flourish once again! Sandra continued to respond to the reporters, and she even faked ament about Sophia. ¡°That woman¡¯s always like that¡ª¡± But before she could finish her sentence, her expression quickly faltered as the muscles around her face began to twitch in an odd manner. She then copsed onto the ground as her entire body jerked. Foaming at her mouth, she iled her arms around weakly, looking as if she just had an epileptic seizure. This sudden episode left the audience dumbfounded, but the media outlets and reporters were quick. Snap! Snap! They took shots of Sandra¡¯s every move and expression. By the time the Mitchells¡¯ bodyguards arrived to carry Sandra away, there were already countless images of her foaming at the mouth on the Inte. The edge of Sophia¡¯s lips curled into a mysterious smile when she heard the hugemotion happening behind her. You have to pay for your own sins, Sandra. You should¡¯ve been more careful with your use of stimnts. The reporters outside were shoving one another to get into the stadium once they heard that Sandra had a seizure. They were all rushing to get pictures for their ¡®breaking news¡¯ article, while Sophia was the only one who went against the flow of the crowd as she stepped out of the stadium.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. The reporters who had initially blocked the front door to wait for Sophia¡¯s exit had now rushed into the stadium, but there were a few media outlets who stayed outside for Sophia as they knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get an interview on the situation inside the stadium. Sandra clearly hadn¡¯t expected that the media outlets she had paid to attend would end up being the ones that revealed the ugliest side of her. Sophia found herself stopped by reporters when she walked out. They wanted to interview her, and the environmental and animal activists still got in her way. The skinny guy with sses from earlier appeared once again as he shouted, ¡°You¡¯re an evil woman, Sophia. You¡¯re going to be responsible for the extinction of our animals. One day, you¡¯re going to have to pay for your actions. All of mankind is going to have to pay for their actions. Stop using fur! Get everyone to use artificial fur instead! Animals won¡¯t be killed if no one wants to buy them!¡± Since Sophia was in a good mood, she finally decided to respond to the man. ¡°Sir, you¡¯re wearing clothes made of fiber and shoes made of faux leather; the manufacturing of these products causes great pollution to our water. Residents have to live miles away from these factories because of the pollution! Before you talk about the environment, why don¡¯t you take off all your clothes since they cause such heavy pollution?¡± The man in sses red at Sophia as he went speechless for a second. He unconsciously took a nce at his shoes and clothes. ¡°Have you ever calcted the amount of pollution caused by the manufacturing of artificial fur that you people always advocate for? My natural fur is biodegradable; its materials are all from the minks that we breed; the factory is a legal business that obtained its license through proper procedures. Everyone is wee to visit the factory if you have any questions. Also, my husband, Taylor, is a huge contributor to the protection work of giant pandas, Tibetan antelopes, and other animals that are about to go extinct. You¡¯re not allowed to say anything bad about my husband.¡± Herst sentence was a statement that an obsessed fan would say about their idol. Chapter 1210 Chapter 1210 Sophia didn¡¯t initially n on talking to these so-called environmental and animal activists at all, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from speaking after she thought about how they had tainted Michael¡¯s reputation by cklisting him as an anti-environmentally friendly person. My husband is the best! Anyone around me who dares to talk bad about him will have to watch out! Michael did a great deal of charity work, but he simply didn¡¯t announce and publicize all his acts of charity the way Sandra did. Sandra would write a tweet, make a Facebook post, send an announcement to all her groups of friends, and publish articles all over the Inte every time she donated a small sum of money to some charity. Everyone else got tired of her pretentious acts. Michael, on the other hand, secretly donated some funds to the School of Hope, legitimate animal protection organizations, old war veterans, and so on. He performed these acts in a hushed manner, as if he was afraid of others finding out about it. Sophia got into her car and made her grand departure, while the news reporters and animal and environmental activists were left exchanging awkward nces with one another. They released her statements exactly the way she had phrased them, and although there were still people who disagreed and criticized her, there were also a lot of people who supported her views. Since the Ronney Group had previously promised to switch from natural to artificial fur, Sophia took this opportunity to dominate her area of the market. She expanded the size of her fur factories and made a few agreements with other meat and pharmaceutical factories, so that her factory¡¯s discarded mink could be sent off for use in other producing meat and medicine. Of course, the news about Sophia was minor inparison to therge headlines that talked about Sandra. She only enjoyed the spotlight for less than 30 minutes before she ended up foaming at the mouth and getting her limp body carried away in an unsophisticated manner. The reporters captured images and videos of all of this. The Inte had been full of her pretty, charismatic pictures in the swimming pool just moments ago, but it was then covered by all the shocking, high-definition pictures of her spitting foam and losing control of her dder in front of the public. The entire process of her foaming at the mouth was uploaded as a full video. This attracted a great deal of attention, and the public were all concerned about the issue of her illness. That night, Sophia went home and had her dinner before she went online to look for articles about Sandra. She only had to scroll for a while to find a huge number of videos showing Sandra jerking, twitching, and spitting white foam out of her mouth. None of the articles revealed the actual cause of her illness, and most of theizens agreed that her symptoms seemed like she had suffered from an epileptic seizure. Right then, an ount with the nickname ¡®Eddie Fletcher¡¯ that was certified as the ¡®President of JNS Group¡¯ made a post on Twitter to diss Sandra. ¡®Epilepsy? A neurological disease? It seems more like you didn¡¯t handle your use of stimnts well, @Sandra!¡¯ Sandra used stimnts?! The whole country was shocked to hear this. Every athlete that gets addicted to stimnts will surely end up in a terrible state! If Sandra really used stimnts before her match, all her hard work and achievements would no longer be recognized! But did she really use those stimnts? Most of the public suspected that this might be true. It was rare to see a swimmer that could return to her peak performance in apetition after years of being away from the pool, so that made things rather fishy. That was also the reason why many people ended up believing that Sandra used stimnts to enhance her performance. Sophia scrolled through her Twitter in the living room while she reached one leg out to stroke her pet dog, and every now and then, she patted the cat that was sleeping in her arms. Life is good, she thought. During the nighttime, Cooper would often head over to the living room to spend some time with his little sweetheart before he went to bed. That day, as usual, he sat beside Sophia as he watched the TV. When he switched the channel, a video of Sandra foaming at her mouth appeared on the screen. Cooper frowned at the rather disgusting image as it made him feel nauseous. He quickly switched the channel, only to find Sandra foaming at the mouth filmed from another angle. When he switched it again, the cheap web-series that Harry starred in appeared on the screen. This burns my eyes! Cooper couldn¡¯t find anything better to watch on the TV. It was the peak hour then, so most of the channels were either filled with the news of Sandra¡¯s seizure, or some TV dramas about family fights, love triangles, cheating spouses, and other shows that had Harry in it. Cooper jabbed on the remote for a while longer until he finally arrived at the opera channel to see a rebroadcast of the Spring Festival opera show. It showed Michael¡¯s performance of ¡®Mn Joins the Army¡¯. Finally, something that I can actually bear to watch. Everyone else was on their phones while Cooper listened to the performance. Sophia received a huge response after dissing Sandra on the Inte, and she soon obtained over 10,000 retweets. Now that she was trending on Twitter, most of her good friends came forward to show their support. Michael: ¡®She could have used expired stimnts.¡¯ Harry: ¡®Society is getting worse and worse nowadays. First, they make fake vines, and now, they even have fake stimnts! Sigh.¡¯ When Sandra regained consciousness, she found herself in the hospital. Upon turning the TV on, all she saw were pictures and videos of her foaming at her mouth. The news anchor announced, ¡°For now, we do not have any confirmed information regarding the cause of the world champion, Sandra¡¯s, sudden seizure. However, there have beenizens who pointed out that the injection or consumption of expired stimnts may result in such a bodily reaction. Reporters have not gotten a response or statement from Miss Sandra after contacting her.¡± Thud! Sandra angrily threw the TV remote across the room. Her assistant and nurses were shocked to see this, but they only quietly tidied the room up as they were too afraid to speak. ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Sandra began to throw things around the room furiously. She had been informed of her condition the moment she woke up¡ªher muscles had suffered permanent damage, and she wouldn¡¯t be able to do strenuous exercises in the future. This, of course, meant that she wouldn¡¯t be able to go back to swimming. Her legs still felt numb right then. How did all of this happen? Sandra searched around for her phone like a madwoman. She made a call right after she found it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The number you¡¯ve dialed is unavable,¡± the machine said. Sandra dialed the same number again, checking that it was the right number before she rang it. To her surprise, the number was still unavable. How¡¯s that possible? I just called this number yesterday! Right then, someone knocked on the door. As soon as Alex and Mrs. Mitchell stepped in, Sandra immediately cut her crazy act and began to sob softly. They entered the room andforted Sandra for a while before they exchanged nces with one another. ¡°Sandra, did you really use stimnts?¡± Alex asked carefully. Sandra responded with an innocent, helpless stare when she saw the suspicion in his gaze. ¡°I¡¯m your daughter, Dad. I¡¯d never use those stimnts. You have to trust me¡­¡± Alex still suspected that Sandra had used them, but he withheld his suspicions andforted his daughter for a while more. The entire incident was rather odd, but the Mitchell Family would have to conceal this whole issue, regardless if Sandra had actually used stimnts. Ultimately, Sandra had to appear as the perfect world champion to the rest of the public! Perhaps she actually had an epileptic seizure. While Sandra continued to fake her sobs, she actually knew the truth deep down. Of course I used those stimnts. I hadn¡¯t swam in ages; how else could I have achieved my peak performance without using those drugs? She had her own connections that helped her to get the stimnts, and they indeed increased her strength and stamina by a significant amount. It even allowed her to break her past records. Furthermore, the buyer informed her that there might be side effects, but the buyer also assured her that the contents of the medication wouldn¡¯t show up in any tests. At most, the doctor would think that she had an epileptic seizure. But I didn¡¯t expect myself to have the seizure during the interview itself! When it came to urine and blood tests, however, Sandra was certain that she¡¯d be able to pass them without any issues. The drugs she used weren¡¯t just regr drugs; she obtained them through someOwned by N?velDrama.Org. connections she had with an extremely mysterious terrorist organization in Africa. It was thetest, most refined stimnt. The head of that terrorist organization was widely known as ¡®Phantom Wolf¡¯. Chapter 1211 Chapter 1211 Sandra had been on the drugs for a while now. It was administered through injections, and 7 injections made up a single course of treatment. Progressively, the injections allowed one to feel more energetic and recharged; it helped Sandra to regain the stamina and strength that she had during her peak. The drug provided instant results, and Sandra had tested it a few times to make sure that she wouldn¡¯t have any problems with it. She checked to ensure that medical tests wouldn¡¯t show any oddities and that the drugs wouldn¡¯t cause any other side effects apart from the asional epileptic seizure. Sandra was extremely pleased to find out about this miraculous drug, so she spent millions on purchasing 7 or 8 boxes of the drug all at once. As long as I have these drugs, I won¡¯t have to worry anymore! I can be the champion for the rest of my life! However, she hadn¡¯t expected the side effects to kick in during the most crucial moment¡ªher press interviews. Regardless, she was still the champion. From now on, I¡¯m going to return to my days of glory as a swimmer; those newbies are nothing inparison to me! After feigning her sobs, Sandra spoke in an innocent tone. ¡°Daddy, you have to believe what I say. I really didn¡¯t take any stimnts!¡± Alex still didn¡¯t seem to trust her. ¡°Should we do a urine test, then?¡± He was trying to test his daughter to see if she had actually used any stimnts, but to his surprise, Sandra was quick to agree to this. ¡°Yes, Daddy! Sure! You have to clear my name!¡± He immediately followed through with his promise and arranged for Sandra to get a urine test. There have been so many rumors about Sandra being on stimnts. I have to find out if she¡¯s actually on stimnts, so that I can proceed with my ns. Soon enough, Alex received Sandra¡¯s urine and blood test reports. Ah, Sandra¡¯s amazing! She really didn¡¯t use any stimnts; all her urine test reports are normal. ¡°Haha. We can now embarrass Cooper and his daughter with this report!¡± Alex brought the report to Sandra excitedly. Sandra secretly felt rather excited herself. These drugs are really reliable! I didn¡¯t waste my money on it! Once Alex was certain of Sandra¡¯s innocence, he immediately started on his cruel n to sue Sophia for defamation. After the urine test results were out, Alex immediately sent a lawyer¡¯s letter over to Sophia. He wanted to make a big deal out of this, so that Sophia would have to pay them a huge sum aspensation. My daughter¡¯s the world champion after all; I can¡¯t have her reputation being tainted just like that! Soon enough, Sandra got discharged from the hospital. Reporters filled the entire area outside the hospital, and they buzzed around her like a swarm of bees once she walked out. ¡°I relied on my own abilities to win myself that gold medal. I¡¯ve even represented my country in the past. I simply can¡¯t have anyone insulting me just like that, so I definitely won¡¯t go easy in response to Miss Edwards¡¯ unfounded usations held toward me. I have already sent her a subpoena,¡± Sandra told the reporters confidently. The reporters wanted to do an interview on Sophia as well, but they found it hard as Sophia was too sneaky, and no one really knew her whereabouts. However, she did post a tweet on her personal social media ount. ¡®Aww, you¡¯re so amazing! If you¡¯re that great, you should join a few morepetitions. Let¡¯s see what happens when you run out of stimnts to use!¡¯ She phrased her words in a rather childish and girly tone, which quickly went viral on the Inte. Theizens gave mixed responses¡ª some thought that she was simply acting in an odd and weird manner, while others insisted that she was being genuine. They thought that she might actually have proof in her hands. Being the overly-protective husband that he was, Taylor quickly made another post on Twitter minutes after Sophia¡¯s post. ¡®Aww, I think you¡¯re the one that¡¯s the most amazing @EddieFletcher.¡¯ Harry: ¡®Aww, both of you are equally amazing, alright?¡¯ Little Kitten: ¡®Aww, am I not amazing? @HarryWinston¡¯ Stanley: ¡®Aww, you guys are so disgusting!¡¯ Sean: ¡®Aww, why is everyone saying ¡®aww¡¯?¡¯ ¡­ Sandra felt a little uneasy after reading the short post that Sophia had made on her Twitter ount. However, once Sandra thought about how she had purchased the drugs from an African terrorist organization that she had known through her international contacts, she felt much safer. Sophia can¡¯t possibly know the terrorist organization as well, right? It¡¯s Phantom Wolf! Phantom Wolf, who can easily kill a person without even batting an eyelid! How could Sophia possibly know them? She must just be trying to fool me. I bet she¡¯s surprised to see how impressive I am. Under the influence of the stimnts, Sandra felt almost as if she was an omnipotent creature. Sophia is just a nobody to me, for I am the world champion! N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. In order to highlight the inuracy of Sophia¡¯s usations, Sandra made a few announcements after she sent thewyer¡¯s letter over to Sophia. Sandra announced that she would be participating in a few consecutive swimming tournaments soon, just to prove her true abilities. In Sandra¡¯s opinion, the stimnts weren¡¯t actually the reason for her skills. She believed that she was truly talented and that she would eventually achieve the same level ofpetency if she just put in a little more practice. The stimnts simply enhance the skills that I already have within me, so I don¡¯t really need to depend on it that much. Soon after Sandra released the news about her uingpetitions, Sophia made another sarcastic post. ¡®Aww, how impressive! I¡¯m so afraid!¡¯ Sandra barely paid any attention to the post. It just looks like Sophia is just running out of bullets to fight me with. ¡­ That day, Sandra was back in Mitchell¡¯s Technology. After she managed to rebuild her reputation and retrieve her good name, she also managed to improve the public¡¯s impression of Mitchell¡¯s Technology. Thepany began to receive more and more orders; their factories had to rush for production, and product sales were seeing arge improvement. After supervising the situation at Mitchell¡¯s Technology, Sandra then rushed over to the Ronney Group. Under Lucy¡¯s guidance, the Ronney Group sessfully received approval to proceed with their fashion week. They managed to rent a location for the event, and many of the staff were busy with their preparations for it. Great. Everything looks like it¡¯s going smoothly, Sandra thought. ¡­ Meanwhile, in The Imperial, Sophia realized that Michael hadn¡¯t made any posts after she posted her own tweet. In the past, he would always write a post to diss someone immediately after she dissed that person. When she walked out of her study, she went downstairs to find Michael chasing after Quinton with a flyswatter. ¡°You¡¯re so great, huh! How dare you sell fake drugs! I¡¯m going to beat the f*ck out of you! Tell me; how many more fake drugs do you have?!¡± Michael shouted as he smacked Quinton. Quinton quickly slipped into his room and shut the door behind him without replying to Michael¡¯s question. He was initially supposed to be sent over to theboratory in Africa, but the new year wasing, and they felt bad to have Quinton traveling all by himself, so they allowed him to sleep under the same roof as Cash for a while longer. Michael only found out about Quinton¡¯s acts of selling fake drugs and earning a fortune after he saw the latter walking around the house with a huge fur coat that he had never seen in the past. If it weren¡¯t for that fur coat, Michael wouldn¡¯t have found out about Quinton¡¯s secret business. He¡¯s really good at hiding! Michael managed to learn a little more about Quinton through his personal connections recently. He learned that Quinton¡¯s team of killers was on the verge of shutting down by the time Quinton showed up, because many of the killers under him were using the stimnts to modify their bodies. They had been continuously improving and evolving after 30 years of using the stimnts, but it was hard for them to determine the risks that these stimnts might pose to their health. They had been fine for the past 30 years and they thought they were safe, but they couldn¡¯t escape their fate in the end. Chapter 1212 Chapter 1212 Over the years, the killers under him had various aftereffects. Some of them became paralyzed; some of them had an epileptic fit like Sandra, and some of the others¡¯ brains had slowly deteriorated to a primal state. Others even had red rashes erupting all over their bodies before they died without any warning. Since no one knew what their aftereffects were, things spiraled out of control. Fear and panic spread like wildfire in Phantom Wolf. Ever since the disappearance of their boss, Quinton, Phantom Wolf had no choice but to disband; its remaining members were scattered everywhere. There was also arge number of unused stimnts that were divided among the members of Phantom Wolf. The sports world loved these stimnts¡ªnot only was it undetectable during urine tests, but it also enhanced the body¡¯s ability to its highest potential. Since their useless boss had run away, Phantom Wolf members sold off several million boxes of the stimnts at a discounted price for their retirement fund. No one knew what their next fate would be, so this group of heartless assassins finally got what they deserved. When Quinton ran away to Cethos, he also secretly brought along a batch of medicine and hid it in his secret hideout. He wanted to show them to Linus to see if the medicine could relieve his symptoms. However, the sales of the stimnt were doing so well that all the sportsmen from different countries were demanding for it; there were even some buyers in Cethos. Quinton also wanted to buy a mink coat for himself¡ªsince he didn¡¯t have much money on him and Michael wouldn¡¯t buy it for him, he¡­ ¡°How dare you sell the stimnts in Bayside City! Are you out of your mind?!¡± Michael was furious as he questioned and banged Quinton¡¯s door, but there was no reply from the inside. Michael never expected Quinton tomit crimes right under his nose. By the time he arrived at Quinton¡¯s secret hideout, the stimnts had beenpletely sold out. Since he couldn¡¯t find any traces of the fake drugs, he couldn¡¯t figure out if Quinton had any other aplices too. There must be another aplice. Otherwise, he couldn¡¯t have sold the medicine to Sandra! However, Quinton wouldn¡¯t confess the whereabouts of his aplice, nor would he exin where the rest of the stolen money had gone to. A box of stimnts cost several hundred thousand at the very least; since he had sold seven or eight boxes, he should have a few million by now. Did he spend all that on a mink coat? He doesn¡¯t even have a bank card; where else can all that money go? Celine huffed and said, ¡°Don¡¯t hit Quinton! Quinton said that he was cold and he wanted to wear a mink coat! You didn¡¯t even buy him one!¡± Michael was so angry that his face had turned red. Is it my fault for not buying him a mink coat? Since he couldn¡¯t hit Quinton anymore, Michael fell into deep thought as he tried to calm himself down. Suddenly, he lifted his head and saw Sophia giving him a pointed look as she stood on top of the stairs. Her big round eyes looked at him warily with a tinge of guilt. Realization dawned upon Michael¡ªthere was a crooked middleman! He used several million from the stolen money in exchange for a mink coat¡ªthe rest was swallowed by the middleman! Carmen used to bring Judge to her kindergarten and ¡®sold its body¡¯ for five bucks. In just a single day, she had earned more than a hundred and only shared a small amount with Judge, giving him a piece of ham sausage as payment. It¡¯s in their genes! Sophia was afraid to speak, so she quietly disappeared and left the depressed Michael alone in the living room. Quinton was already bankrupt; the man who once had millions was now penniless. He also knew that he hade to the end of the road, so he returned to Cethos and joined Michael. Although Quinton had the goods in his hands, he had no way of selling them. Coincidentally, Sophia had learned of Sandra¡¯s movements through her own connections and decided to team up with Quinton to sell the drugs. After deducting various middleman costs, the two people shared the profit from the goods. In reality, Sophia had deducted at least 90 percent from Quinton¡¯s share and only gave him money enough for a mink coat. Quinton hadn¡¯t seen the actual amount of money as Sophia just sent him a mink coat that she had allegedly bought with the money. That was payback for him being a jerk back then! He was heading to Africa anyway, so the coat was to be reused. Since Sophia had sold the medicine herself, she would know if something were to happen to Sandra. In the past, Quinton only took the stimnts once a month to slowly transform his body. That amount was more than sufficient, but Sandra used one every day; even without Sophia doing anything, Sandra was already doomed. Though Michael was furious with Sophia, he still had to clean after her mess. Much to his surprise, he didn¡¯t have to do so¡ªher tracks were clean as she didn¡¯t use any local channels to sell the drug. Instead, she issued it from Bayside City and sent it around Europe and Africa before arriving in Bayside City once again. After going through so many different hands, she finally exported it back to the country. Quinton, too, was incredibly tight-lipped even after arge amount of money had been swindled from him. Truthfully, Michael knew that Quinton¡¯s bodily functions were deteriorating; his superhuman strength and agility that came from the stimnts were slowing down. Soon, he would be worse than an ordinary person. Who knew what was going to happen to him? He could be mentally retarded or demented. Perhaps, he¡¯d leave silently one day¡­ Quinton oftenined he was coldtely, and he even had to wrap himself up in a coat with a heater at home; it was probably the aftereffects of the medicine. In the end, Michael decided to forgive him for the time being¡ªhe even bought him a new coat and phone so that he wouldn¡¯t fight with Carmen for her tablet and phone all the time. Ever since getting his new phone, Quinton spent most of his time watching movies and dramas every day. He had recently taken a liking to Harry and watched all of his movies, including the drama Harry was currently acting in; he finished the whole series without missing a single episode. Quinton was still using Michael¡¯s ount to watch these movies, so Michael could see what he had been doing. ¡®War Dragon: What a trashy film! I wouldn¡¯t even rate this with half a star.¡¯ ¡®Doctor Invincible: Trashy film. Give me back my wasted time.¡¯ ¡®The Winter Breakthrough: Cheap special effects. I heard that they used dyed huskies to impersonate wolves. Trash.¡¯ ¡®The National Treasury Action: The male lead is too ugly. I refuse to look at ugly things.¡¯ After reading the reviews Quinton had left on his movies, Michael was furious as he picked up the fly swatter again and gave Quinton a good beating. There were pping sounds apanied by Michael¡¯s roar. ¡°How dare you rate all the movies I¡¯ve starred in so poorly?!¡± Celine jumped out to protect Quinton. ¡°Don¡¯t hit Quinton! Don¡¯t hit him! He is still young, so you can¡¯t hit him!¡± Michael was so angry he almost had a stroke. Ever since Quinton came to the house, several fly swatters had been smashed. How could such an unbelievable existence like him exist?! Maybe the stimnts have messed with his brain too. The fuming Michael went back to his study. When Celine saw him leave, she smiled andforted Quinton. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Quinton. I will protect you!¡± Quinton seemed unfazed as hey down on the sofa and tinkered with his phone, his legs crossed in the air. Just then, Cooper came back with his children; he saw Quinton sprawled on the sofa while ying with his phone. Strange sounds wereing out from the device, though. ¡°Let¡¯s learn how to sound like a cat and meow together¡­¡± ¡°I have crossed mountains and seas, I have also crossed mountains of people¡­¡± ¡°I want to take you to the romantd of Turkey¡­¡± Apart from Sophia, everyone else in the family treated Cooper with respect; Quinton was the only one who dared to sit crossed-legged in front of Cooper. ¡°You just can¡¯t use mud to hold the wall,¡± Cooper said in disgust. Linus smiled. ¡°It¡¯s better to be a puddle of mud than for him to go out and kill people.¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Sophia nodded. Quinton¡¯s current situation was better now; he stayed at home to watch Tiktok videos and read blogs, which was better than him going out to harm society. Whenever Sophia came back home, the first thing she¡¯d do was to plop on the sofa and turn the television on. There was another live broadcast of Sandra¡¯spetition today. Sandra had used that medicine to enhance her physique, but the adverse effects were also quite severe; any kind of emotional outburst would induce a variety of adverse effects. She was foaming at the mouth previously; what will happen this time round? Chapter 1213 Chapter 1213 Before watching the broadcast, Sophia decided to send out a tweet so that the drama wouldn¡¯t die down. She pondered for a while before name-dropping the person in her tweet. ¡®How will our Mermaid Princess perform today? Let¡¯s wait and see what happens!¡¯ Soon enough, the Inte blew up once her tweet was posted. Everyone knew that Sophia had been sued by Sandra ever since she dissed thetter, and their lawsuit was just around the corner. People thought that she would keep a low profile for a while, yet she sent out another tweet. After posting it, Sophia ignored her phone and focused on watching television. As it turned on, the game was already in full swing. ¡°Allow me toment on the game for our viewers at home. As you can see, our world champion¡ªMiss Sandra Mitchell¡ªis already in first ce at the beginning of the match, putting her in an absolute advantage once again.¡± In the live broadcast, Sandra was swimming in the water like a mermaid. This was a big international event held abroad, and Sandra came in first ce once again with absolute advantage. Fans from inside and outside the television gasped in astonishment. Sandra came out of the water and waved happily at the audience, her exquisite and waterproof makeup making her look as though she had a beauty filter on. Thementator sounded excited. ¡°Congrattions to Miss Mitchell, who has broken her own world record! Let¡¯s cheer for Miss Mitchell!¡± Sophia stared at the television quietly. Quinton, who had been lying down while ying with his phone earlier, sat up to watch the live broadcast attentively. Cooper had found out from Michael about Quinton and Sophia¡¯s recent partnership which involved selling stolen goods. He lectured Quinton with a cold and stern look while saying, ¡°Stay away from my daughter! If I see you leading my daughter astray again, I will kill you!¡± Quinton rolled his eyes. Why would your daughter need me to lead her astray? She¡¯s already bad to her bones. Even though he was also selling illegal drugs, he still had some conscience in him; he¡¯d instruct his buyers to control their dosage. After all, half a dosage taken once a month was more than enough for women. Instead, Sophia had informed Sandra to take one every day. Not only is she taking her money, she¡¯s also taking her life. What a scary businesswoman. Since Michael didn¡¯t dare to reprimand Sophia, he told Cooper about it and hoped that thetter would teach her a lesson. True enough, Cooper tried his best to lecture Sophia as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t associate yourself with this person so much in the future!¡± Sophia was busy watching the live broadcast as she waved a hand and snapped impatiently. ¡°Okay, okay! I understand.¡± It was obvious she wasn¡¯t really paying attention. Cooper gently reprimanded Sophia because he was afraid that if he came off too strong, she would get too upset. During the live broadcast, Sandra waved excitedly at the audience from the pool. The high definition camera seemed to only capture her as it zoomed toward her face without missing any of her expressions. Although the second and third ce winners were also Cethosians, they seemed to have be completely invisible to the crowd. All of a sudden, a shudder passed through Sandra¡¯s body as she climbed out of the pool in a panic, looking as though something was about to happen. However, it was toote. As soon as she came out of the water, an indescribable color slowly spread out from where she had been positioned before. There were still two athletes in the pool; when they saw the indescribable colors rippling toward them, they fled the pool like they had just seen a ghost. The whole scene was in chaos. The camera hurriedly switched scenes, but the audience still saw the circle of indescribable colors spreading out with Sandra in the center. The family in front of the television were absolutely dumbfounded. It seems like Sandra wasn¡¯t able to contain her bowel movements in the pool! As a result, Sandra could not bring herself to receive her trophy and had long fled the scene. Meanwhile, the audience remained stunned by the indescribable scene in front of them. It was the first time a swimmer had experienced incontinence in the pool during an international competition. Even though Cethos¡¯ national team won all the winning titles in thepetition, they had also be the nationalughing stock. That night, no one ate dinner. The moment anyone closed their eyes, all they could see was the indescribable scene; they might even vomit yesterday¡¯s meal. Likewise, Quinton had no appetite as he went back to his room and yed with his phone. All of a sudden, Michael came in and threw a packet of diapers at him. ¡°These are Pleiades¡¯ leftovers¡ªyou can use it as you like.¡± Quinton was speechless. After Michael left, Quinton stared at the diaper for a long time and decided that it was better to secretly stock it up. Just in case¡­ Ever since this incident, Sandra became globally famous. After all, she was the first national athlete to experience incontinence in the pool. She had an epilepsy episode thest time, and it was incontinence now. What was going to happen next time? After the incident, the Mitchell Family waspletely silent. Sandra immediately left thepetition and had someone else collect her trophy. She came back to the country with humiliation, not daring to watch the news or even read thements left on the Inte. Instead, she locked herself in the room as soon as she got back to the Mitchell Family. That day was the most humiliating day of her life¡ªshe had embarrassed herself in front of the world! Although she won the championship, she still ended up as a globalughing stock. The reputation that I¡¯ve worked so hard for! There were many discussions about Sandra being infected with a strange disease. As Sophia had imed, was it an adverse reaction from the stimnts that Sandra was taking? In the face of skepticism, the national team publicized Sandra¡¯s urine and blood tests. Soon, everything returned to normal again. Since the Mitchell Family and national team didn¡¯t rify what was wrong with Sandra, the public spected that she had caught a strange disease. However, her hospital results indicated that everything was normal. Nheless, the impact of that particr incident in the pool was so great that the national team was forced to suspend all of Sandra¡¯s uing events. In just a few days, everything turned upside down once more. The news of her suspension and the discrediting of her status caused Cethos¡¯ mainstream media to shun her as newspapers and magazines published photos of her incontinence during the sports event. When she heard that Alex had returned, Sandra rushed to Alex¡¯s study to talk to him. She needed to go back to thepetition; after all, she had the magic medicine which would allow her to win the championship. The previous two times were just minor idents, and she was certain that she would not make the same mistake for the third time. Much to her surprise, she saw a helper leading Alex¡¯swyer into his office. What is he doing here?Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Sandra hid outside the door and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation inside. Suddenly, she heard the lawyer¡¯s voice. ¡°I have revised your will ording to your wishes, Mr. Mitchell. All the shares and properties are now at the disposal of your son, Albert. Miss Mitchell¡¯s five percent of shares are under Albert¡¯s name as well. Once you have confirmed it, please sign here.¡± Alex proceeded to sign the will,ining as he said, ¡°She really is a shameful and illegitimate daughter. What a useless thing! She only brings disgrace to this family.¡± That wasn¡¯t a father feeling exasperated for his daughter, but rather a person¡¯s disgust and annoyance toward a useless tool. When Sandra heard those words, her whole world turned upside down. She was filled with hatred as she clenched her fists tightly, but there was nothing she could do. I have done so much for the Mitchell Family. Yet, all I¡¯ve gotten in return is being called a ¡®useless tool¡¯! Since you¡¯ve decided to be so heartless, don¡¯t me me for my disloyalty, Alex! If you won¡¯t give me the inheritance, then I will take it myself! I won¡¯t be a fool and act upon it myself, though¡­ I heard that Albert¡¯s kindergarten will have its year-end performance soon; since Sophia¡¯s daughter also studies at that kindergarten, I¡¯ll just appear at that time! Chapter 1214 Chapter 1214 The kindergarten¡¯s final year performance was approaching, so Carmen dragged Cooper over to the Yard Family. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Grandpa! Let¡¯s go get Miss Beautiful toe and see my performance.¡± Carmen was known as the prettiest and most ambitious kindergartener. Her whole family would naturally come and watch her performance, but she really wanted to invite Anna over as well. As Carmen dragged him along, Cooper didn¡¯t seem too enthusiastic about the idea. Nheless, his feet moved uncontrobly. He knew that he still couldn¡¯t forget Anna, but he also knew that they could no longer be together like before. Yet, he wasn¡¯t able to control the love he felt for her. Thest time Anna was sick, he visited her briefly before he stopped going over. However, he didn¡¯t stop Carmen from stealing her father¡¯s roses and sending them to Anna every day under Cooper¡¯s name. Meanwhile, Anna had been recuperating and rarely went out of the house; her face brightened up when she saw that Cooper hade to visit her. ¡°You¡¯re here, Mr. Mitchell. Pleasee and have a seat.¡± Anna invited Cooper into the living room as thetter sat down silently while Carmen jumped into Anna¡¯s arms. ¡°Grandpa and I havee to see you, Miss Beautiful!¡± Anna kissed Carmen on the cheeks and replied affectionately, ¡°You¡¯re so sweet, Carmen. That is why I like you the most.¡± After greeting Anna, Carmen kept winking at Cooper, who was sulking on the sofa. Cooper felt reluctant but there was a tug at his heartstrings¡ªhe wanted to be with Anna and spend time with her. Finally, he mustered the courage to pull out a pink invitation and handed it to Anna. ¡°Mrs. Yard, this is an invitation to Carmen¡¯s year-end performance at her kindergarten. Carmen hopes that you can go and see her performance.¡± Anna took the invitation and read it; it clearly stated that Carmen¡¯s parents were invited to the kindergarten. Anna teased Carmen and said, ¡°The invitation is for Carmen¡¯s parents and grandparents, so I can¡¯t go.¡± Carmen replied innocently, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll just tell the teacher that Miss Beautiful is my grandmother.¡± Anna froze for a while, but she smiled as she nced over and saw Cooper¡¯s embarrassed face. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡± Cooper scolded, but his heart was thumping fast. Anna hugged Carmen andughed. ¡°I¡¯ll be Carmen¡¯s grandmother for a day, okay?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± Carmen eximed. Anna hugged and kissed Carmen again with an unusual feeling of happiness in her heart. ¡­ When Carmen came home, Sophia gave her a long lecture. ¡°How can Miss Beautiful be your grandmother? Don¡¯t talk nonsense! Don¡¯t simply call her names!¡± Carmed pouted. ¡°Miss Beautiful has already agreed toe, so you can¡¯t stop her froming to the kindergarten!¡± Sophia was speechless. She wanted to say something bad about Anna so that Carmen would stop ying with her, but as soon as the words came to mind, she swallowed them back. What an ill-fated rtionship! At the end of the day, Anna is still my mother. She was more worried about Cooper. Many years ago, Annabel had already cheated him once; there was bound to be a second time¡­ Who knows if she has an ulterior motive now? Is there a hidden purpose foring back? She was Anna Yard, the President of the Ronney Group! She was no longer Annabel Johnson! Despite Sophia¡¯s objections, Anna had arrived together with Callum and Cade. Other kindergarteners only had one or two parents, but Carmen¡¯s family members came in three cars. Because they were a star-studded family with Carmen¡¯s famous parents, uncle and grandfather, they were seated in the front row. Sophia saw many of her acquaintances with their children; Harry and Sarah hade with Hope and Poppy, who were supposed to perform together with Carmen. There was also Hale and Gwen together with Ashton and Audrey. The one who stole the show was Maisie, the only kindergartener with two dads. The three babies Sophia had bought back then settled in with their families and were all attending this kindergarten together. The four kids had rehearsed their programs and were ready to go on stage. Carmen was very happy as she brought over arge group of kindergarteners to show off her parents. ¡°This is my Daddy. Don¡¯t be fooled by his ordinary appearance¡ªhis real identity is actually Superman! He has fought monsters and aliens, so the earth depends on him to protect it!¡± Michael was speechless. ¡°This is my Mommy, and she is a bossy president! She¡¯s a super bossy president of apany!¡± Sophia was also speechless. After that, she introduced Linus and Cooper. ¡°This is my uncle and my grandpa!¡± Then when she saw Anna, she proudly introduced her and said, ¡°This is my future grandma!¡± Anna pursed her lips and smiled gently. Although she didn¡¯t correct Carmen, Cooper felt quite embarrassed. Callum and Cade, who were not introduced, protested in defiance. ¡°What about me, eh?¡± Carmen pouted and introduced reluctantly, ¡°These two want to be my uncle, but I haven¡¯t agreed to it yet.¡± Since the year-end performance hadn¡¯t started yet, children were running around the venue while the parents who arrived sat in the kindergarten auditorium and whispered amongst themselves. Sophia met a few of her business partners and started to talk with them. Meanwhile, Carmen led a group of children and surrounded Michael; they wanted to take group photos and get hugs from him. Ever since Michael had appeared on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, he had be the most popr dad of the year, transitioning from the national husband into the national father of Cethos. He was popr among children, and everyone wanted to be the baby of Taylor Murray¡¯s family. Sophia spotted a familiar child who had fifty dors in his hand. The kid probably wanted to take a picture with Michael, but he didn¡¯t dare to go forward because the price of a picture had gone up. Hence, he paced around at a slight distance. ¡°Aha! It¡¯s you!¡± She grabbed the child swiftly, and the child was almost scared to death when he saw her¡ªhe even struggled to run away. ¡°I don¡¯t lift Carmen¡¯s skirt anymore!¡± The terrified Albert cried out as he backed away. Last year, Albert was a bully in the kindergarten. He lifted Carmen¡¯s skirt and was beaten up by her, and Sophia taught him a lesson when she found out about it. Since then, he has been quite a good boy. Carmen transferred to Riverdale for a while and had juste back this semester. They were attending the same kindergarten together again, but Sophia was more worried about Carmen bullying him than the other way around. She nced at the space next to him. As she grabbed onto him, no one was there to stop her. Sophia asked curiously, ¡°Where are your parents and your sister?¡± Albert¡¯s little face was covered with sadness. ¡°They¡¯re busy, so they can¡¯t make it.¡± Sophia¡¯s heart clenched. Her child was pampered by everyone, yet he didn¡¯t even have a parent there. All of a sudden, Derek came over and Albert ran up happily toward him. ¡°Derek!¡± Derek exined, ¡°I saw him thest time I came to help pick Stanley¡¯s child up; whenever his parents can¡¯t make it, I¡¯d step in during his parent-teacher conference.¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Albert seemed to be close with Derek as they held hands and left together. Although Derek had completely cut off all ties with his father, he wouldn¡¯t hold a grudge from a previous generation against an innocent child. ¡°Albert, do you want to take a picture together with Carmen¡¯s dad?¡± ¡°Will Carmen beat me?¡± ¡°No she won¡¯t.¡± Chapter 1215 Chapter 1215 Meanwhile, Carmen was using Michael for ¡®business¡¯ while children were lining up for a photo with him; each photo op cost 50 bucks. Michael was reluctant to show his face for ¡®business¡¯, but Carmen had be so good at it that her little bag was bulging with all the money she was collecting in secret. Hope was recording ounts; Ashton was in charge of maintaining order; and Maisie was in charge of taking pictures since she had a good eye for it. This tenacious yet illegal team continued to grow stronger even though they had been banned a few times¡ªthey even managed to hire several new employees with very clear internal division of responsibilities. The kindergarten had turned a blind eye toward their illegal activities since Carmen was the ss representative and was very authoritative; ever since her popr dad went on ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯, her poprity grew tremendously. Now, everyone called him ¡®Daddy Taylor¡¯. Hence, no one dared to cause trouble in front of Carmen; they were worried that once they were on her list of troublemakers, they would no longer be able to take pictures with ¡®Daddy Taylor¡¯. The kindergarten teachers had repeatedly told Sophia that her daughter had the potential to be a leader ¡ªshe was especially good at managing people, and her role as the ss representative had the children behaving very obediently. Evidently, she had some strong genes. Cooper realized that the children woulde over to his side after they were done with Michael. He knew the t fee for a picture was 50 bucks; he thought that he¡¯d be worth 25 bucks at the very least, but he was actually a freebie. Derek brought the nervous, skittish Albert to Michael as the young boy excitedly asked for a photo with ¡®Daddy Taylor¡¯. He even dreamed of having a father like Taylor; his parents were always so busy with their work that they rarely talked to Albert. When Carmen saw Albert, she pouted and said disapprovingly, ¡°I don¡¯t like him because he lifted my friends¡¯ skirt! Daddy, don¡¯t take pictures with naughty children!¡± Albert scurried behind Derek and felt upset. Meanwhile, Sophia quickly chipped in and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, let him take a picture just this once! Look, Al has already changed and doesn¡¯t lift peoples¡¯ skirts anymore. In the future, you can¡¯t bully Al!¡± Albert quickly nodded. He was a good boy and hadn¡¯t caused any troubletely. Carmen pouted and said reluctantly, ¡°Well¡­ I won¡¯t give you a discount, though!¡± She took Albert¡¯s 50 bucks into her pocket and glowered at him, looking as though Albert had defiled her father. ¡°Go on.¡± Derek picked up Albert and ced him into Michael¡¯s arms while Maisie took their photo. As soon as the picture was taken, Carmen urged hastily and said, ¡°Hurry down once you are done. There¡¯s extra charges for extra time.¡± Albert jumped up in excitement as Derek carried him to Cooper. Cooper felt that the child seemed familiar when he saw Albert. He asked Derek, ¡°Whose child is this?¡± Derek replied straightforwardly, ¡°This is Alex¡¯s only son, Albert.¡± He knew that Cooper would never take out his anger on Albert because of who his father was. Sure enough, Cooper did not and even carried Albert into his arms for a photo. After getting his photo taken with Cooper, he left happily together with Derek. Meanwhile, Cooper stared at Albert and sighed. ¡°What are you sighing about?¡± All of a sudden, Anna spoke up as she sat beside Cooper. Cooper replied, ¡°I¡¯m justmenting at how the once glorious Mitchell Family has fallen apart and I¡¯m mostly responsible for it.¡± If he hadn¡¯t faked his death to escape, the Michell Family wouldn¡¯t be in this current state. That fateful year, he didn¡¯t leave because the Michel Family was rich¡ªit was just a way for him to escape reality. Now, the decision he regretted twenty years ago had finallye back to haunt him; he suddenly realized that he had missed out on so many things. Anna smiled and kept quiet. She was dressed in a low-profile manner with sunsses and a scarf as she sat beside Cooper in silence. She knew what Cooper was worried about; she had heard about the downfall of the Mitchell Family, but what did Cooper have to do with it? It was all fate! However, she admired Cooper¡¯smitment and sense of responsibility. The closer she got to Cooper, the more she realized that this man was a treasure. There were countless glittering lights around him, looking like fireflies that couldn¡¯t be captured. Callum and Cade were sitting behind them as they watched Cooper and Anna whispering to each other; it seemed like things were looking pretty good for them. Callum seemed to be in a deep thought as his eyes took on a faraway look. The three of them were dependent on each other. To the public, Anna seemed to be cold and distant; she looked like a mother who didn¡¯t care for her own sons. Truthfully, Anna cared about them more than anyone. She was actually a gentle and loving mother! Although they did note from her body, they were her own flesh and blood. Her cold, distant demeanor was just a camouge to protect them and herself. She was still young and had a life of her own, so the Yard brothers hoped that she would find her true love. Cooper seemed to be a great choice¡­ Soon, Carmen¡¯s performance began. She was dressed up as a flower fairy as she sang and danced on stage. Her performance was very sessful, and she even gave a speech as the most outstanding student of the kindergarten at the end. After the performance ended, everyone wanted to take their families over to Michael¡¯s house for a big meal. Stanley asked around and found out that Michael had prepared several big fishes¡ªthey were going to have a feast. Carmen¡¯s performance was sessful and she even received flowers from the kindergarten. She jumped around in joy and said, ¡°Miss Beautiful,e to our home for dinner tonight!¡± Sophia was about to discourage her but Anna immediately agreed. ¡°That sounds great. Let¡¯s go to Carmen¡¯s house for dinner tonight!¡± Cooper didn¡¯t say anything but smiled gently. Then, Sophia turned to look at Michael. Michael also felt that it was dangerous to let Anna close to his house, but Carmen just liked her company. What a sinful fate¡­ Anna was certainly noting alone and would bring her sons. Stanley, Harry and their families all seemed like they were harped on eating Michael¡¯s supply of food. Michael frowned. He bred a few fishes that were only taken out during big events¡ªthese people were too shameless. While the group of people drove away from the kindergarten, they saw Derek and Albert at the entrance of the kindergarten, looking as though they were waiting for someone. Sophia stopped the car and rolled down the window. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Derek. Come over to my house and have some fish!¡± Derek looked embarrassed. ¡°I will wait for someone to pick Albert up before I head over.¡± Sophia nced over at Albert¡¯s sad face as he carried his small school bag while waiting under the rain and getting soaked all over. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. ¡°Why don¡¯t youe over and have a meal at our house, Al? Get Derek to leave a phone number for the kindergarten teacher. When your family arrives, they cane to our house to pick you up.¡± Although tension between them and Alex were high, she could not be so cold-hearted to such a young child. Albert was overjoyed as he nodded. ¡°Alright!¡± Derek carried him into Sophia¡¯s car and left his phone number with the kindergarten teacher. An expressionless man in ck was in the car across the street. He dialed a number. ¡°The Young Master has gone to the Mitchell Family¡¯s house. The n was sessful.¡± Chapter 1216 Chapter 1216 Shortly after, they arrived at Vi No. 8 of The Imperial. ¡°Wow, only big families would have so much cured meat!¡± Whenever Stanley came to visit during this time each year, he¡¯dment about the amount of cured meat in Sophia¡¯s house¡ªthey could practically eat it as rice. Anna had also arrived; it was her second visit, but she hadn¡¯t expected Sophia to make so much cured meat at home. She felt an unusual sense of familiarity in this ce as she looked up at the bright red meat that hung above her. Then, she closed her eyes and smelled the air as her mind was filled with this unknown familiarity. What a strange feeling¡­ She opened her eyes. With aposed demeanor, she smiled and asked, ¡°Why does your family make so much cured meat?¡± Cooper replied, ¡°When my wife was alive, cured meat was her favorite.¡± After that, he looked up at the hung cured meat and smiled, looking as if he had seen the person who lived in his memory through the cured meat in front of him. Anna turned to look at Cooper. There was a soft glow that outlined the side of his face, making him look like a gentle soul. She knew that Cooper had been widowed for many years and was still nostalgic about histe wife. There is rarely such an infatuation in this world¡­. As the group walked in the door, Michael felt a throbbing headache. They¡¯re all here for the free food! Thest time Anna came to Cooper¡¯s house, she hadn¡¯t had the time to look around. This time, she decided to take a good look. ¡°Have you always lived here?¡± she asked Cooper. Copper replied, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been living with my daughter and son-inw.¡± Cooper took Anna around the house and even brought her to visit her favorite Vi No. 1. Meanwhile, in order to stall the Yard brothers from disturbing them, Carmen was making small talk with them. ¡°This is my own royal cup. It has my name on it.¡± She took out her own cups, tes and bottles and shared them with Callum and Cade. Callum also took out his own ¡®royal¡¯ cup enthusiastically. ¡°This is my royal cup. Look, it has my name on it too.¡± ¡°Your cup is so ugly!¡± Carmen pouted and said discontentedly. Suddenly, she caught sight of something and rushed over like a little beast. ¡°Daddy, don¡¯t hug Al! Al is a naughty boy!¡± It turned out that Michael was carrying Albert. Even though he was Alex¡¯s son, he was nothing simr to his father. As soon as they reached home, Albert ran after Michael and asked Daddy Taylor for a hug. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. Michael had just carried him before he was discovered by Carmen. Michael frowned. Why weren¡¯t you this protective earlier on when it was 50 bucks for a hug? Where has the gusto to betray me for 50 bucks gone? ¡°Al is our guest, so let him stay for a little longer,¡± answered Michael. Meanwhile, Albert cowered fearfully in Michael¡¯s arms as his big round eyes stared at Carmen; it reminded him of the fear he felt when he was beaten to the ground by Carmen. He used to be a three-year-old child that did some inappropriate things, but he had changed for the better. I¡¯m a good boy now, and Daddy Taylor likes to hug good boys. Carmen burst into tears all of a sudden, so Michael hastily put Albert down to coax her. But when he put Albert down, thetter also burst into tears. Hearing the cries of both children, Harry¡¯s daughter¡ªPoppy¡ªalso started crying. This triggered Maisie and Audrey as they cried; even Celine¡¯s daughter, who had just fallen asleep, woke up crying. The children were crying, the dogs and cats were howling, and even the big rooster was roaring outside the door. The living room felt like it was going to explode. Quinton rolled his eyes. Damn, it¡¯s noisy! The kids cried so loud that they almost blew the roof off. Seeing this, the parents rushed over to console their kids. While Sophiaforted Carmen, she realized that Carmen wouldn¡¯t let Albert hug Michael even if the latter wanted to pay for it. Albert tried to ask for a hug again and the two kids started to cry¡ªit seemed as though they wanted topare who could cry louder. ¡°Alright,e to me.¡± Linus reached out to hug Albert. Although Linus¡¯ reputation was not as famous as Michael¡¯s, the show hade to the house and showed a few scenes with his face. The Inte loved him so much that the third season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ had been asking him toe on the show with Carmen, but he refused. He didn¡¯t mind hugging Albert. Unexpectedly, Carmen rushed over again as she wailed loudly and said, ¡°Albert is not allowed to hug you, uncle!¡± Linus quickly withdrew his hands. Soon, Cooper and Anna came back from their walk to find that the house was in chaos. Cooper quickly rushed over and carried the crying Albert. When she noticed that Carmen was about to cry again, Sophia took out her phone and pretended to take a picture of Carmen. ¡°If you cry again, I¡¯ll post a picture of your face without makeup on Twitter!¡± Carmen immediately stopped crying and looked over at Sophia¡¯s phone. ¡°Where is it?¡± Sophia threatened her and said, ¡°You can¡¯t bully Al! If you bully him again, I won¡¯t delete the picture!¡± Carmen was forced to agree as she pouted with tears flowing from her eyes. As Sophia carried her away, the rest of the crying children were alsoforted by their own parents. Soon, the world was finally quiet; the adults were rubbing their ears to soothe their eardrums. Raising a child is like raising a group of ducklings¡ªany time they get upset, they will start quacking together¡­ After the chaos finally died down, Sophia separated Albert and Carmen from each other. Albert was left alone, but he was satisfied that he had Cooper carrying him. Cooper seemed to enjoy carrying Albert. He actually liked all of the children in the Mitchell Family; no matter how they were born or who their parents were, they were still a part of the Mitchell Family and represented the hope of the family¡¯s future. The nature of a human being had always been good in the beginning, and Albert was still such a young boy. Albert sat in Cooper¡¯s arms and didn¡¯t want to leave. His small hands clung tightly on Cooper¡¯s shoulder as he nced at him with his wide eyes. Albert giggled happily when Cooper held his little hands to touch the husky, and the man watched the young boy with a tender smile. Anna shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never met someone like you.¡± Someone who is able to treat his enemy¡¯s son with such kindness. Cooper rubbed Albert¡¯s head and said, ¡°They are all children from the Mitchell Family, they¡¯re all the same¡­¡± To Cooper, children of the Mitchell Family like Sophia and Linus ranked first; the ones who had unknown origins always came in second. Derek kept checking his phone and even called the kindergarten several times, but there was no news of the Mitchell Family picking Albert up. What¡¯s going on? Even though the Mitchell Family had fallen from its former glory, Alex was still a billionaire and the president of Mitchell¡¯s Technology. Albert is his only son, so why is no one picking him up? Derek felt uneasy and just wanted to quickly send Albert back to Alex after dinner. Chapter 1217 Chapter 1217 After everyone had finished their meal, Carmen and Albert finally decided to reconcile with each other. ¡°Come here and shake hands with Al. From now on, both of you are good friends, so you can¡¯t bully Al at the kindergarten anymore!¡± Sophia carried Carmen over and made her shake hands with Albert. Carmen pouted while she shook Albert¡¯s hand. ¡°I am your leader now. In the future, you¡¯ll have to listen to me and not be a naughty boy anymore! Otherwise, I will never befriend you.¡± Albert nodded shyly. He had always wanted to be friends with Carmen, but he was afraid of her little fists; he was excited that he was now Carmen¡¯s friend. When Derek saw that they had reconciled, he picked Albert up and was prepared to send him back home. But as soon as he carried Albert, the little boy suddenly started coughing violently. ¡°Al, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Derek was startled. Albert¡¯s cute little face crumpled in pain as he couldn¡¯t speak from all the coughing; it seemed as though his lungs were about to be coughed out. Albert cried loudly as he opened his mouth and looked at Derek with a pained expression. He looked like he wanted to say something, but a gurgling sound came from his throat. Derek was terrified. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Al? Don¡¯t freak me out!¡± Albert¡¯s mouth opened wide as his legs stiffened and his fingernails dug deeply onto Derek¡¯s neck and drew blood. Tears kept streaming down from his face when all of a sudden, Albert spat a mouthful of blood all over Derek¡¯s clothes. Albert is vomiting blood! Everyone was taken aback by the sudden scene as Michael urged Sophia to take the children away. Meanwhile, Carmen nced back with concern. ¡°Get the doctor and Quinton!¡± Michael yelled at Linus while carrying Albert. Linus rushed toward the doghouse to get Quinton, who was busy ying with his phone. Cooper watched Michael carry Albert into the infirmary as he and Derek paced anxiously in front of the door. When Sophia left the children inside the house and came out, she saw the private doctor rushing in and out of the infirmary. On the other hand, Cooper was walking the Yard Family out. Anna looked at Cooper worriedly and said, ¡°It¡¯s not a coincidence that something happened to this child in your house. You have to be careful.¡± Cooper¡¯s face was expressionless. ¡°I know.¡± That would exin why no one was there to pick up the president of Mitchell Technology¡¯s son from kindergarten¡ªthey were waiting for him here. If Alex¡¯s only son died on Cooper¡¯s turf, there was no way he would be able to get away with it. ¡°I will take care of it,¡± Cooper replied calmly. He sent Anna to the entrance and hastily went back. With that, Anna left with her sons. On the way, Callum spoke up. ¡°If Alex really intended to drag Cooper down, this move is particrly dangerous.¡± He actually risked his own son¡¯s life! Anna remained silent. Owned by N?velDrama.Org. No matter what, Cooper is more than capable of solving this matter. At Vi No. 8, Quinton came out of the infirmary that was filled with a lot of basic equipment and was able to run some tests. Although Quinton had a doctorate in medicine, he was a physician. Obviously, Albert was experiencing an internal medical issue. He took off his mask with hands covered in blood and said gruffly, ¡°Multiple internal organs are bleeding profusely and multiple organs are going into failure. I conclude that he has only less than two hours to live.¡± Everyone was shocked. This child was just here for a meal; how did it be like this? Albert was fine when he was eating earlier¡ªhe could even talk, dance and cry loudly. He also seemed fine when he was in the kindergarten for a whole day, so why would he suddenly vomit blood and die? Everyone was in deep thought as Derek yelled out anxiously, ¡°Send him to the hospital now!¡± Quinton shook his head. ¡°He was injected with a deadly kind of acute toxin which is causing his internal organs to corrode very quickly. Moreover, in order to cover up the symptoms, they even injected a stimnt so that Albert wouldn¡¯t feel any different. Once he starts to vomit blood, the chances of saving him are very slim. Even if you send him to the hospital now, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s toote.¡± Everyone took in a sharp breath. What a cruel way to inflict harm on such a young child! What kind of person would do this?! The veins on Cooper¡¯s forehead twitched as he quivered with anger. All of a sudden, Maria ran over anxiously. ¡°This is bad¡ªmany of the Mitchell Family members are in front of the gate asking for the child.¡± A cold shiver ran down their backs as realization dawned over them. The Mitchell Family were not there to pick up the child earlier, but they had coincidentally picked such a time to take Albert home. However, Albert¡¯s situation was not optimistic and there was a possibility that Cooper would be carrying a dead child back to Alex¡­ Alex¡¯s only son hade over to Cooper¡¯s house to y and ended up dead¡ªthat would further complicate the hostile rtionship between Alex and Cooper! Derek looked nkly at Albert through the half-opened infirmary door and sat down helplessly on the ground. Although the boy had fallen into aa, he was still coughing up blood. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s all my fault, it¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± He was too naive and thought that the battle between adults wouldn¡¯t involve the children; he thought that Alex would just give him a call and reprimand him after finding out. He didn¡¯t expect that they would treat a child like this¡ªAlbert was only four years old! Regardless if Cooper ended up with a murder charge or Albert dying in a tragic death, he could never forgive himself. Derek was filled with sadness, regret and anger as he cried. Meanwhile, Sean patted his shoulder and tried tofort him. Albert¡¯s life was withering away, and there was nothing the doctor could do. On the surveince video, Alex and the Mitchell Family were banging against the gate, threatening to call the police. The white-haired Alex was like a red-eyed beast as he bellowed, ¡°Give me back my son, Cooper! Give me back my son!¡± His voice wasced with grief; no one knew whether he was truly anxious or faking his anger. On the contrary, Cooperughed instead of being angry when he saw that scene. No matter what happens to Albert today, his father is the most guilty of them all! Sophia, on the other hand, started to tremble when she saw the bright red blood. How can this happen¡­ Michael held her when a sudden thought came to his mind. He yelled at Quinton, ¡°Quick¡ªfreeze Albert now!¡± Everyone regained their senses as they hurriedly pushed Albert to the basement. There was a special machine which could freeze people, and it had just been shipped from Africa two days ago. Although they had only tested it a few times, it seemed as though Albert was not fated to die. At least, the freezing process could buy him some time. Albert was moved to the basement and kept frozen in the machine. Cooper took one look at the poor child and left the basement. At the entrance, Alex and the Mitchell Family were still banging the gate and tried to force their way in. The police brought Alex over to the door and asked Cooper to hand over the child. Cooper turned to Alex and the police. ¡°Get out.¡± Chapter 1218 Chapter 1218 Alex charged forward with bloodshot eyes and grabbed Cooper¡¯s cor. ¡°Give me back my son! Give me back my son!¡± Cooper instantly punched Alex in front of the police. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve to have a son!¡± How could you, as a father, not know that your son was fed with such a deadly drug? Why didn¡¯t you ask questions when no one was there to pick up the child? Did you only remember you had a son at such a late hour? Every child of the Mitchell Family was the future of the family, so that was why Cooper never gave up on any child. Even though Alex and his lineage had been removed from the family¡¯s genealogy, he made a rule that this did not apply to any child until they were eighteen, and they were weed to return if they wanted to return to the Mitchell Family. Alex had gone mad as he jumped on Cooper and tried to wrestle thetter. His hair had turned white from worrying about the poor performance of the Mitchell Family¡¯s business. By the time he had gotten back to the Mitchell Family, he learned that Albert was missing. The person who was sent to pick up the child came back and reported that Albert had been snatched by Cooper, and there were already people on the way to take the child back. He grew more anxious when he realized the child had note home, so he personally came to ask for his son. Alex¡¯s suspicions were confirmed when he saw Cooper¡¯s attitude. He knew that Cooper had taken Albert to ckmail him! ¡°Give me back my son! My son!¡± Alex yelled out raspily. He was like an enraged monster who had just lost his only son. Meanwhile, both Sandra and Mrs. Mitchell were screaming and crying by the side. ¡°Give me back my brother!¡± She cried sadly, but it just seemed false and malicious in Sophia¡¯s eyes. Judging by Alex¡¯s reaction, it probably wasn¡¯t him. After all, Albert was his only direct descendant, so Alex would never harm him. Cooper and Sophia unanimously nced toward Sandra, who was desperately crying on the side¡­ Some people have a history with such incidents¡­ The policemen also felt that Cooper was at fault, but Cooper was a powerful man in the spotlight and in the field of energy, so it would seem inappropriate to arrest him directly. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, about this¡­¡± Cooper nced at the police officer and said considerately, ¡°This is a matter of the Mitchell Family.¡± The policeman felt goosebumps all over him. He was afraid to deal with rich families and their inner conflicts. Sandra jumped out and yelled, ¡°This is no longer considered a family matter¡ªhe kidnapped my brother!¡± Sophia immediately snapped back and said, ¡°Why are you so sure that it was my dad who kidnapped your brother and not your brother who came over to y by himself?¡± It was as though she knew that her n had worked; Sandra replied with confidence, ¡°In that case, you should just hand my brother over!¡± Albert had been transported out of the house through the back door by Quinton and Derek, so it was impossible to bring him out now. Sandra was even more certain that Albert was dead and that there was no way Cooper could get away with it. Sophia said, ¡°What are you nervous about? Don¡¯t worry, your brother is fine. Derek took him out to y, so they should be back in a couple of days.¡± Sandra clearly knew whether Albert was fine or not. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. That medicine was more poisonous than paraquat, so Albert must be dead by now. As long as Albert¡¯s dead body was carried out, there was no way Cooper could escape from this. ¡°I¡¯d know if my brother is okay or not if you just let him out!¡± Sandra knew that they couldn¡¯t hand over Albert, so she said gloomily, ¡°You¡¯re not handing over my brother¡­ Did you guys kill him?!¡± Mrs. Mitchell fainted as soon as she heard that. After all, a son from a woman of her age was considered to be their treasure. Meanwhile, Sophia rolled her eyes and snickered. ¡°That¡¯s right, we¡¯ve poisoned your brother. What are you going to do about it?¡± She nced at Alex and Sandra. ¡°Are you going to do what you did thest time and pose with your brother¡¯s urn under the office¡¯s building for us to pay with our lives?¡± All of a sudden, everyone remembered clearly; previously, Sandra and Alex had bombarded the downstairs of the office building with their prayers. Back then, the live broadcast clearly showed that Derek was standing outside the crowd as he watched Sandra and Alex holding some prayers for him; Sandra even tried to ckmail Derek. This time, it was the same recipe with the same vor¡ªthe plot was pretty much the same. Even the police grew suspicious about it. Sandra and Alex might be doing the same thing again! The police had given high priority to thatst case because it caused a big stir on the Inte and everyone was waiting for the truth. The group of police officers stayed upte working overtime to investigate the case and didn¡¯t find anything from it. After that, Alex even made a big fuss at the police station and ended up as aughing stock. The police closed the case byparing Derek¡¯s DNA and confirmed that he was indeed Alex¡¯s son¡ªhe wasn¡¯t dead at all. However, Sandra and Alex refused to admit it and imed that it was all Cooper¡¯s conspiracy. They insisted that Derek had long been killed by them. The police were so exasperated that they wanted to throw the DNA samples at their faces! Not wanting to get involved with the matter this time, the police felt that rich families were really complicated. However, Sandra knew that this was different than thest time. She was humiliated when she had missed thest time and let Derek slip away. This time, she had fed the medicine herself! She had personally controlled every aspect of the n. This n was designated like this because she knew that Derek visited Albert often. She picked the right time to feed Albert and sent the person who was supposed to fetch him away. Hence, Albert could only go with Derek. She had calcted everything perfectly; by the time they realized Albert had been poisoned, it was already toote. If everything goes ording to n, Albert has be a corpse. We just need to see the corpse, and Cooper will not be able to escape this! Sandra said with conviction, ¡°We will know how he is if you hand him over right now! If you can¡¯t hand over my brother, that only means that you have harmed him!¡± Sophiaughed. ¡°Unfortunately, your brother is really not with me! He¡¯s been taken away by Derek! We really can¡¯t hand him over even if we wanted to! You should just look for Derek if you need anything!¡± They would never be able to find Derek anyway. Sandra cried as she stomped her feet and looked like a desperate sister. ¡°You¡¯re lying! Derek is one of you¡ªeven the surveince cameras in the kindergarten showed that Derek took Albert into your car!¡± Then, she pointed at Cooper and cried. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯re the head of the Mitchell Family! If something happens to my brother, you¡¯ll be held responsible!¡± Cooper hadn¡¯t spoken for a while, but at that moment, he looked at Sandra and replied, ¡°Since I am the head of the Mitchell Family, I have to be responsible for the family members. Albert is also a member of the Mitchell Family; if something happens on my turf, I will not shrink from any responsibility.¡± Sandra was secretly overjoyed. With Cooper¡¯s words, there was no way he could wiggle his way out of this one! She said coldly, ¡°I hope that you will do as you say! I want all the Mitchell Family members to witness your words!¡± She didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with her words until Cooper turned to Alex and said coldly, ¡°Since you have acknowledged me as the head of the Mitchell Family, let me put down this order today¡ª Alex, you have been deprived of Albert¡¯s guardianship. From now on, I will raise him with the Mitchell Family!¡± Chapter 1219 Chapter 1219 Alex froze and spoke through gritted teeth, ¡°Don¡¯t you even dare think about it¡ªI will never give you my son! I won¡¯t let you take away my son and leave me without a sessor!¡± He thought that Cooper was trying to steal his son so that he would be left without a sessor. However, Cooper had already seen through everything. Alex is unable to protect his son because someone around him wants that young boy dead! He didn¡¯t care about Alex¡¯s family matters, but he definitely wanted to protect Albert. After Cooper finished, he said coldly without waiting for Alex¡¯s response, ¡°It¡¯ste at night, so please leave now.¡± Sophia chipped in and said, ¡°The child was taken away by Derek. You should go and look for him instead. Goodbye, officers!¡± The policemen felt embarrassed as they quickly dragged Alex¡¯s family out. Meanwhile, Alex was still wailing and Sandra was still cursing. There was no peace at The Imperial that night. Sophia had dumped everything on Derek and temporarily held off Alex¡¯s lineage. However, she and Cooper both knew that if Albert was really dead, they wouldn¡¯t run away from their responsibilities. Although it waste at night, all the lights were still on at Vi No. 8; Derek, Michael, Linus and Quinton had not returned from the hospital. Meanwhile, Sean and Stanley stayed behind to wait for news. In the middle of the night, Carmen suddenly came downstairs and sat down quietly next to Sophia, looking at her pitifully. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, darling? Why aren¡¯t you sleeping?¡± Sophia hugged her and whispered. Carmen started to me herself. ¡°Mommy, is it because of the fight I had with Al that caused him to bleed?¡± Albert¡¯s sudden episode today had frightened the children to tears. Sophia quickly reassured her. ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Albert was sick¡ªthat¡¯s why he was bleeding earlier. Now, he¡¯s gone to the hospital.¡± Carmen curled up in Sophia¡¯s arms as she looked around sluggishly before she asked, ¡°Mommy, is Albert going to die?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t answer and had no idea how to. He¡¯s just a four-year-old boy¡­ Sean, who was also sitting next to them, gently said, ¡°Al will be fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± Carmen¡¯s eyes were wide open; she was so worried that she couldn¡¯t sleep. Sophia held her as theyy down on the sofa. Eventually, Carmen fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Sophia carried Carmen upstairs and came back down to find Stanley and Sean huddled on the sofa. Sean was still awake while Stanley was sleeping soundly with Cash in his arms. ¡°You should get some sleep in the guest room, Sean.¡± Sean opened his eyes and said, ¡°I can¡¯t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is Albert vomiting blood.¡± Sophia sighed and sat next to him. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t brought him back, maybe none of this would¡¯ve happened.¡± Seanughed at her strange thoughts. ¡°You should stop ming yourself. You weren¡¯t the one who harmed him.¡± However, Sophia could neitherugh nor sleep; whenever she closed her eyes, all she could see was Albert vomiting blood¡­ It was almost dawn when Michael got home. Since Albert¡¯s situation was too serious and many hospitals were afraid to ept him, Linus had to send him to Michel Town in Africa. Fortunately, the freezing process had prevented his body from deteriorating any further, so there was a ray of hope for Albert. Now, it all depended on Albert¡¯s personal will power. The special ne departed early in the morning with Linus, Quinton and Derek. Meanwhile, Sophia was so worried about them that she had no energy to work. Sandra had begun to cause trouble by spreading rumors about how Sophia and Cooper had harmed her brother all over the Inte. Seeing Sandra on the Inte as she neared the point of madness, Sophia¡¯s face darkened. She sent out the live broadcast of when Sandra tried to ckmail them by carrying out prayers for Derek to annoy the woman. After that, she made a phone call to Gemma. ¡°How is the informationing along?¡± Gemma replied, ¡°There¡¯s still an interesting part that hasn¡¯t been collected.¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Send it to me.¡± Gemma quickly sent the information over. Sophia looked at it and went to Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation the next day to make a report with the information. She had started to collect evidence of Sandra¡¯s previous usage of stimnts. After Sandra had won the championship back then, she was so engrossed in making money from the endorsements that she neglected training and her performance declined. In order to maintain her position, she used the stimnts. Soon, Sophia¡¯s report regarding Sandra¡ªthe world champion¡ªwas pushed to frontline news. When Sandra learned about it, she was taken by surprise. However, she wasn¡¯t bothered by it when she realized that it had happened a few years ago. Since they couldn¡¯t find anything about it back then, it was even more impossible now! Besides, what can they possibly do about it if it¡¯s true? I am a holder of several world records¡ªsomeone is bound to step in and protect me! Furthermore, Sophia¡¯s move had further confirmed her suspicions that Albert was already dead; Sophia was trying to divert attention. I have to step up my game and put the me on Albert¡¯s death on Sophia and Cooper as soon as possible. Just like thest time, I want Cooper and Sophia to pay with their lives! Alex, on the other hand, wanted nothing like that. After the loss of his son, Alex seemed to have aged ten more years. His hair had gone all white, and even Mrs. Mitchell was bedridden. Alex had three children¡ªNatasha, Albert and a son who had been strangled by that ungrateful b*tch, Natasha. Now, Alex could no longer bear the loss of hisst son. All of a sudden, Alex arrived downstairs at Mitchell Energy and Technology. He found Copper and kneeled down in front of him. ¡°Cooper, I beg you¡ªplease let my son go. I¡¯m almost 60 years old and I only have one son! Please, I¡¯m begging you! No matter what conditions you want, I will fulfil them! If you want my property, I will give it to you!¡± He knew Cooper¡¯s nature. He wouldn¡¯t harm a child for no reason, and he just wanted to use Albert to force Alex into submission. However, Cooper didn¡¯t even spare him a nce and walked away from him. Alex chased after him and said, ¡°I know you hate me for hurting you! The car ident back then was actually orchestrated by Jordan!¡± However, Cooper pretended not to hear him despite uncovering the fact that Jordan was the actual mastermind back then. Alex watched Cooper walk away as he was covered in tears. ¡°My son¡­ Where are you, Albert¡­¡± When Sandra found out that Alex had gone to Cooper and even kneeled in front of thetter, she felt angry and humiliated with a burning sense of jealousy. Alex had actually gone to kneel for someone else just for the sake of Albert! It seems that this son is really important to him! At least, he¡¯s more important than his illegitimate daughter who is not getting any of his inheritance! However, Alex doesn¡¯t know that his precious son is already dead! All the riches from the Mitchell Family will belong to me! I will even use Albert¡¯s death to drag Cooper down! After three days of resuscitation, Albert finally woke up in Michel Town, Africa. However, his kidneys were damaged and he needed a kidney transnt as soon as possible. It was as though he was fated to survive, for there was an organ that he could be paired with it. The transnt would start as soon as his body recovered. Carmen had brought along her friends as they came all the way to visit him. She saw Albert through the window with tubes all over his body. Carmen leaned against the window and said, ¡°Al, hurry up and get better. The next time I won¡¯t charge you money when you take a picture with my dad.¡± Albert suddenly tried to open his eyes with great difficulty as they were half closed, but he looked toward Sophia and smiled. ¡°I want Daddy Taylor.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Sophia¡¯s heart sank. He didn¡¯t want his real father when he woke up, but rather someone else¡¯s father from the television. How neglectful has his father been to him! Chapter 1220 Chapter 1220 Michael¡ªwho was also here on this day to visit Albert¡ªwas saddened to see the 1-meter tall boy lying in the intensive care unit with tubes all over his body. Upon hearing Albert¡¯s words, heforted him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll hug you every day once you get well, alright?¡± Albert blinked his eyes as if he were nodding. Even though he had barely escaped death, he suffered severe damage to many organs, especially his digestive system. It would take him a long time to be slowly nursed back to health. He wouldn¡¯t be able to look after himself for a long time. Not only was he required to be on a venttor at all times, he also needed the help of medical equipment to fulfill his basic needs. Albert couldn¡¯t move at all, and his voice was faint and hoarse because his vocal cords were hurt by the poison. He was fed a new type of pesticide that wasparable to paraquat due to its acute toxicity. Luckily, he was put into cryogenic sleep in time, which saved his life. His eyes rolled about as he looked at everyone before his gaze settled on Derek, who was standing to one side. His lips quivered for a moment before tears welled up in his round eyes; he then whispered, ¡°I¡¯m in pain, Derek¡­¡± Holding back his tears, Derek leaned on the ss, hoping to get even closer to Derek. He clenched his teeth and said tearfully, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Al¡­ You¡¯ll get well very soon if you don¡¯t cry.¡± Albert blinked his eyes slightly, and tears streamed down his face. Just then, Quinton came out to chase the visitors out of the ward. ¡°Alright, visiting hours are over. He has just been out of danger, so let¡¯s visit him a few dayster.¡± Having visited Albert, everyone left with a heavy heart, and none of them spoke. Even Carmen, who was usually the most talkative, also hung her head and looked at her feet. Michael held Carmen in one hand and Sophia in the other, wrapping hisrge hand around hers to pass on his warmth to her. With a heavy heart, Michael said nothing as well. It wasn¡¯t until they left the inpatient ward that Sophia saw the bright sunshine outside. As a gentle breeze blew in her face, her mood improved a little. Suddenly recalling something, she asked Michael next to her, ¡°By the way¡­ What¡¯s that cryogenic chamber for? Why do we have it in our basement?¡± She didn¡¯t notice the hint of sadness and sorrow that shed across Michael¡¯s lowered eyes when she asked the question. Not daring to look Sophia in the eye, he pretended to subconsciously look somewhere else and answered, ¡°That¡¯s for Quinton.¡± Sophia stopped asking questions upon hearing this. Quinton¡¯s health problems were very obvious, and nobody knew what would happen to him in the future. What if he suddenly copsed like Albert one day? No one had expected the cryogenic equipment toe in handy only a few days after its arrival this time. After a soul-stirring fight against death, the equipment finally gained some time for Albert, so it seemed that this cryogenic equipment was quite useful. Perhaps it could be used to extend Quinton¡¯s life as much as possible when Quinton was at death¡¯s door! Sophia couldn¡¯t describe what she felt about Quinton; she couldn¡¯t say that she hated him since he had repented. However, she couldn¡¯t say that she didn¡¯t hate him, for the best years of her life¡ªincluding all the sadness and sweetness¡ªwere gone just like that because of him. She couldn¡¯t say that she would be happy when he died, but she probably wouldn¡¯t be too sad¡­ After all, he deserved his punishment; God wouldn¡¯t forgive him once and for all just because he repented. However, what was on Michael¡¯s mind waspletely different from Sophia¡¯s. In reality, the cryogenic equipment had been prepared for him. He never expected the equipment to come in handy this time, so he felt gratified and sad at the same time. He was afraid that he would be the next person to be put into cryogenic sleep one day. However, he also feared that it might be toote for him by then¡­ Meanwhile, Sophia had already let go of his hand and took Carmen out for a sunbath before he even realized it. Then, he put his hand on his heart. This drug-maintained heartbeat and body temperature worried him to the core! No one knew when his heart would suddenly stop beating for good. The little house in his chest was dancing on a rhythm that sounded so peaceful. How nice would it be if it could keep dancing like this? He and Sophia would spend the rest of their lives together, and they still had a long way ahead of them¡­ Albert was settled in Africa, whereas Derek stayed behind to look after him. Quinton also stayed behind since he was already here; he had wanted toe to Africa, and the original n was for him toe after celebrating the New Year in Cethos.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Sophia took a bunch of kids home on the day of her departure. This time, Lorelei & Co. came along to visit Albert before Sophia took them back to the country to celebrate the New Year. Sophia and Michael took the kids to board the ne as Quinton and Derek saw them off. Sophia asked again, ¡°Are you really not going to take Quinton back with you? At the very least, you should let hime after the New Year celebrations!¡± Boarding the ne with Carmen in his arms, Michael replied without looking back, ¡°We¡¯re not taking him with us. Let him stay here to conduct research on how to treat his health problems.¡± Sophia looked confused as she followed Michael closely with Poppy in her arms. After entering the passenger cabin, she saw Michael sitting quietly with Carmen in his arms; he seemed to be contemting something while looking out of the window. Quinton, who was here to see them off, had already driven off. The car slowly receded from Michael¡¯s sight until it disappeared; only then did he withdraw his gaze. Quinton had a feeling that his time was running out. He was aware of his health condition, and his aversion to cold wasn¡¯t his only health problem. Instead of living out thest days of his life peacefully in the bustling Bayside City, he chose to stay in Michel Town. He was nning to enter theboratory and develop the antidote for Michael as soon as possible. If everything went ording to n, he would spend the rest of his life here. He didn¡¯t know where else he could go if Michael was cured. On the other hand, if Michael was incurable and passed away before he did, he would stay here and live as a ¡®widower¡¯ for Michael¡¯s sake! The ne had taken off, but Michael still looked out of the window alone with tons of things weighing on his mind. Meanwhile, Carmen had dozed off in his arms. He held Carmen in his arms, yet his mind was preupied with what Quinton said to him before he departed. ¡°I was the one who spotted her first, so I¡¯ve always thought that she should be my woman. Also, I delivered Carmen myself; she wasn¡¯t breathing when she was born, and I was the one who saved her life. I think I¡¯m more cut out to be her father than you. Both of them are mine, but I¡¯m now leaving them in your care, Michael. You must take good care of them for me!¡± ¡­ Now that things hade to this point, Michael didn¡¯t even have the strength to refute him. At this moment, it was no longer necessary to look into all the rights and wrongs. All he wanted was to stay alive and live on! He took a breath despite his heavy heart as he looked at his wife and daughter. He must live well! It was already evening when Sophia reached her home in Bayside City. Many came to her home to pick up their children. Cooper and Linus had gone overseas for a meeting; they wanted to finish thest meeting before the New Year. Carmen went to Anna¡¯s home to give her some local specialties she had dug up in Africa. Before Sophia could sit down and catch her breath, she learned that Sandra and Alex were holding a memorial service down at Dragon Technology¡¯s premises again. This day was the seventh day since Albert¡¯s ¡®death¡¯. Albert¡¯s family impatiently held a memorial service for him when he had just been out of danger! This time, Sophia¡¯s decision was extremely simple. ¡°Guys, catch the father and daughter!¡± Chapter 1221 Chapter 1221 After drinking a gulp of water, Sophia immediately stormed out of her home with her men. Since it was the weekend, no one was working in the building; this allowed Alex and his family to stir up trouble downstairs again. In fact, the show they put on this time was as exaggerated as thest. People were forced to dress up in mourning clothes as they kneeled on the ground and wailed at the top of their voices. Alex and Sandra¡ªwho were crying with grief and despair while holding Albert¡¯s memorial tablet with both hands¡ªsat among the crowd, and the whole street was littered with joss papers. This time, Alex was crying from the bottom of his heart; it was unlike thest time where he tried hard to squeeze out tears. Both Derek and Albert were his sons, but the son he lost this time was totally different from the son he lost previously. Derek, the son who ¡®died¡¯st time, was only a human developed from a chromosome he shot out. In contrast, Albert¡ªthe son who ¡®died¡¯ this time¡ªwas his son! His biological son! He had tried every way possible to get his son back, but Cooper refused to meet him. He was even willing to give up his family¡¯s fortune in exchange for his son, but Cooper was adamant on not returning his son back to Alex. It wasn¡¯t until the seven-day search for Albert turned out fruitless did he realize Cooper wanted him to die heirless. Cooper had trained his illegitimate son to be one of his underlings so that thetter wouldn¡¯t even acknowledge him as his biological father. Now, Cooper even killed his biological son! He¡¯s such a vicious man! ¡°Give me back my son, Cooper!¡± Alex cried so hard that his voice became hoarse. The heavy snow in severe winter couldn¡¯t impede his determination to demand justice for his son. The young people shivered with cold, and Alex, who was about 60 years old, was no exception. He finally understood what it was like to feel helpless and hopeless! His son had died, and his enemy was right in front of him. Even so, he wasn¡¯t powerful enough to fight against his enemy because thetter had connections both in the government and in the underworld. He could only watch helplessly as his only son died with injustice unredressed while the murderer went unpunished. Not only did he have to see his son die earlier than himself, he couldn¡¯t even find his son¡¯s dead body. As the Mitchell Group¡¯s president, he used to be a powerful big shot in Bayside City. However, he was now reduced to kneeling in the snow and acting like a buffoon to redress the injustice done to his deceased only son! As Alex looked up at the sky, the ice-cold and pure white snowkes fell on his face; even his tears froze. Is this karma? He had kneeled herest time to ¡®demand justice¡¯ for his ¡®son¡¯, but he never expected to kneel here once again on this day. This time, though, he must seek justice for his son even if he had to sacrifice his life for it! Now that his son was gone, it could be said that he would die heirless; he¡¯d rather fight against Cooper at the risk of mutual destruction! He would never resign himself to fate. Were the authorities going to turn a blind eye to such a serious homicide that happened right in Bayside City? ¡°My brother! My poor brother!¡± Sandra wailed at the top of her voice. Holding Albert¡¯s memorial tablet downstairs, she swore tearfully, ¡°Sophia! Cooper! You two will get what you deserve for killing my brother! You two tried to deceive everyone by concealing the truth from those above and below yourselves, but do you think you can cover up your sins forever? You all are a bunch of murderers, and the people have sharp eyes!¡± Some passersby gathered around them and quickly took out their cell phones to start a live coverage on ¡®The Ex-world Champion Sandra Mitchell¡¯s Daily Show Of Mourning For Her Brother¡¯. However, the weather was too cold, so the passersby didn¡¯t really want to linger around too much. Most of them left, leaving only a few who were hanging on. Meanwhile, a police car was parked at one side the entire time. The police officers drank hot coffee to warm themselves up while looking at the Mitchells with impatience written all over their faces. The Mitchells had really be aughing stock. They had contacted Derek¡ªAlbert¡¯s biological brother¡ªand confirmed that Albert was still alive and undergoing surgery in Africa. They didn¡¯t know what exactly happened, but this was apparently a family matter, so it was inappropriate for the police to step in. However, Sandra and Alex insisted that Albert had died, and the story about him undergoing surgery in Africa was a lie. They insisted on making a scene downstairs no matter how hard the police tried to persuade and stop them. It¡¯s so cold today! They must be crazy! Sandra insisted on stirring up trouble here; she was certain that Albert had died long ago. She found the poison herself and had it tested multiple times to confirm its toxicity before feeding it to Albert herself. Alex didn¡¯t quite believe her at first, but he couldn¡¯t help being convinced by the ¡®pieces of evidence¡¯ Sandra had shown him. Now, he believed that Albert had died as well. Sophia and Cooper would never clear themselves of the murder charge. She would harass them to the end¡ªeven if they had Derek bearing the me for them! There were many secrets within the distinguished and wealthy families. With Cooper¡¯s power and influence, perhaps no one dared to care when he killed someone, but she was Sandra¡ªthe world champion! Her reputation was well known to everyone in Cethos, and her influence spanned across the entire globe! Owned by N?velDrama.Org. She had to make a big fuss out of this story until the entire world learned about it! By then, Cethos¡¯ government would have to do something with Cooper for the sake of Cethos¡¯ reputation no matter how high his status was! Once Cooper was gone at that time, Alex would be able to take Cooper¡¯s property as his own as the family head. If Cooper¡¯s family refused to surrender his property, they would go through legal proceedings so that Cooper¡¯s side had to pay a huge amount of money for Albert¡¯s death. Since Albert was gone, she would be Alex¡¯s only heiress¡ªthose properties would be hers! No one would be able to snatch them away from her! She already had everything nned out; she even contacted the overseas media to amplify the coverage of this story. She didn¡¯t believe that she couldn¡¯t make a big deal out of this story with her reputation as a world champion! The Mitchell Group¡¯s only sessor was killed, but his murderer went unpunished. What a sensational piece of news this was! This story would certainly make a huge ssh! However, the police thought that this family was simply nuts. They didn¡¯t want to care about them at first, but since so many people were here, they¡¯d have to work overtime lest there was a public security incident, so they could only follow them the whole time. While Sandra was wailing, an onlooking passerbyined and said, ¡°I really have no idea what they¡¯re trying to do. They¡¯re a degenerate noble family, and she¡¯s an over-the-hill sports figure who is mourning the loss of her younger brother every day¡­¡± ¡°Cooper even appeared on the news bulletin for attending a meeting overseas. They are really far from being a match for him!¡± A degenerate noble family? An over-the-hill sports figure? The vicious words stabbed the haughty and fragile Sandra in the heart, causing the weakest and most sensitive part of her heart to shudder! Suddenly tossing Albert¡¯s memorial tablet aside, Sandra rushed at the onlooking passerby with bloodshot eyes and a malicious expression. She choked the onlooking passerby right away and yelled, ¡°Shut up, you lowly beast! I¡¯m the noble Young Lady of the Mitchell Family. How dare a humble person like you nder me?¡± At the sight of the scene, the police officers immediately came forward to stop Sandra. However, her strength was so great that she rendered the 1.8-meter burly man totally defenseless. The burly man even started rolling his eyes, and two of the police officers that came to his rescue were knocked over. The scene was chaotic since Sandra couldn¡¯t even be held down by the few police officers. The police were stupefied, for she was like a beast with inexhaustible strength; even a few strong men were no match for her. She was indeed a world champion! Suddenly, a group of people in ck came and raced into the chaotic crowd, separating the crowd and pinning down Sandra, who was choking the burly man in a state of frenzy. Sandra saw a car parked at the roadside parking space, and Sophia stormed out of the car. Sandra¡¯s eyes instantly shed fire when she saw Sophia. Losing her ability to reason, she growled like a beast. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you, Sophia!¡± Sophia didn¡¯t even look at her, though. She simply uttered, ¡°Beat her!¡± The group of people in ck went ahead seemingly to stop Sandra, but they actually beat her into submission before doing anything else. Sophia, on the other hand, clutched Alex¡¯s cor and dragged him to his feet before saying sternly, ¡°Let me repeat this for thest time, old man¡ªyour son is still alive! My Dad is at least 100 times wealthier than you; do you think he¡¯d have designs on that scanty family fortune of yours? You should look at yourself in the mirror! Scram!¡± Chapter 1222 Chapter 1222 With that, Sophia immediately threw Alex to the ground. She had lost her sympathy for this old man; he had conspired with Sandra to make an attempt on Derek¡¯s lifest time, and now, he almost got Albert killed. Wasn¡¯t he tired of pulling the same trick twice? Were his sons so worthless in his eyes? Wasn¡¯t it enough to kill one of them? ¡°Son! My son! You guys killed my son, so give my son back to me! Give him back to me!¡± Alex wailed indistinctly. He reached out his hand and tried to grab Sophia, but Dimon¡ªwho was next to her¡ªkicked him aside. Sophia looked at Alex as he rolled about on the ground. She found him to be both wretched and detestable, so she decided not to care about him anymore. As a parent, she couldn¡¯t understand why someone would be so cruel as to inflict harm on his son again and again. She didn¡¯t know if Alex had a hand in the attempt on Albert¡¯s life this time, but Alex had done so before. Even if he didn¡¯t do this himself, he probably had acquiesced in this. Walking up to the police car, she thanked the police officers on duty. ¡°Thank you for your hard work, comrades. I¡¯ll send these people back. I¡¯m so sorry for troubling you guys to keep watch here in such cold weather.¡± The police officers were already freezing for a long time. Seeing how Sophia¡¯s attitude was so nice and that Sandra and Alex were such a pain in the backside, they got ready to withdraw from the scene. The sky was dark, and it was snowing; the weather was so cold that the passersby didn¡¯t want to stay any longer. They had watched the spectacle the Mitchells put onst time, so they were bored when the Mitchells pulled the same trick this time. After the onlooking crowd slowly dispersed, Sophia had her people stuff Alex and the Mitchells into the cars before sending them back to the Mitchell Residence. Sandra was so strong on this day that she was barely held down by three to four burly men before being escorted into the car with her hair in disarray. While she was getting into the car, she swore and said, ¡°Guys! Someone¡¯s killed! Cooper Mitchell, the president of Dragon Technology, killed my younger brother Albert! You guys are colluding withw enforcers and treating human lives as if they¡¯re worthless; you all won¡¯t be able to die a natural death!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Sophia picked her ear while ncing at Sandra, who was behaving like a lunatic. She looked quite scary with her unkempt hair and ferocious expression. Sophia had no idea whether this was because she had injected herself with a high dose of stimnts or because this was her nature. Seeing how her wailing didn¡¯t work at all, Sandra suddenly let out a scream and struggled with all her might. Surprisingly, she broke free of everyone¡¯s grasp and burst out of the car like a wild beast before running around all over the ce with threatening gestures. Dimon and the others were stupefied. This chick is strong! Several other burly men rushed toward Sandra but failed to subdue her. She was so incredibly strong! The passersby and police officers who were about to leave were drawn back to the scene. Upon seeing what had happened, they were also at a loss for what to do; it wasn¡¯t until a dozen police officers and citizens worked together that the mad Sandra was finally held down. Several innocent passersby were injured to varying degrees. ¡°Inject her with some tranquilizers!¡± reminded Sophia loudly. Only then did Dimon remember that he had brought tranquilizers with him; he immediately gave the subdued Sandra a shot of tranquilizers, but it didn¡¯t work at all. Instead, Sandra became even stronger. She burst out of the crowd and pounced on Sophia, who was away from the crowd. Sophia was so frightened at the sight of the lunatic Sandra that she turned around and got into her car. Her car was a sports car custom-built for her by Michel Automobile Manufacturing; made by a military enterprise, the car was bulletproof. After Sophia got into the car, Sandra went around it and wed at it like a wild beast, but she couldn¡¯t leave a trace on it no matter how sharp her fingernails were. Sophia looked at Sandra through the car window with a horrified expression. She really looks like a zombie! she thought to herself. Even so, she didn¡¯t regret selling the drug to Sandra; thetter only had herself to thank for what she had be today! ¡°Aaaaah!¡± Sandra let out an animal-like scream that made one¡¯s hair stand on its end. Dimon caught up with her from behind and gave her two consecutive shots of tranquilizers. Surprisingly, the shots didn¡¯t work as well. The police officers had never seen such a violent person before; they took out their stun batons and gave Sandra a few shocks. However, instead of being knocked out, Sandra became even stronger as if she had been recharged. She turned around and wed at a police officer, causing thetter¡¯s face to be covered with blood in the blink of an eye. The situation had taken a drastic turn! In the end, the police officers and the Mitchells worked together to put handcuffs on Sandra. Then, they stuffed her into the police car and sent her to the hospital right away. The passersby and Alex¡¯s family were stupefied as they looked on! Finally, Sophia sent Alex and his family back; she even dropped by the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home. After all, this ce was not only where the Mitchells lived for a century but also where Cooper grew up. The house next to the Mitchell Residence was where Sarah¡¯s family used to reside. After the West Family fell into decline, Sarah¡¯s brother bought this ce back with Harry¡¯s help. The family currently lived here, and Sarah often visited them. There were many people in the Mitchell Residence, but Sophia still openly walked into the ancestral home to look at its conditions. The Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home was really huge; it was a rtively ssic courtyard house with fiveyers ofrge courtyards. The fact that the Mitchell Family could build such arge residentialpound in downtown Bayside City served as proof of its financial resources at that time. Sophia, too, had a big house, but it wasn¡¯t as big as this one. Moreover, the two houses¡¯ prices were totally different. They¡¯re so d*mn rich¡­ God only knows how much such a huge ancestral home is worth! Sophia¡¯s appearance drew discussions from everyone in the Mitchell Family, but they could do nothing with her since Cooper, her father, was even more formidable! Sophia was here only to take a look. She left after walking around the house and checking it out, leaving Alex behind. Alex seemed more dead than alive as hey around at home, looking as though he had be ten years older after the ruckus. He was no longer in the mood to manage hispany¡¯s business after losing his son. Mrs. Mitchell was ill in bed, whereas Sandra didn¡¯t have time to manage thepany¡¯s affairs. Alex had trained several trusted right-hand men before, but he didn¡¯t expect Vincent¡ªwho was one of these men¡ªto run away and take all the people Alex had trained with him. Everyone in Mitchell¡¯s Technology was in a state of anxiety, for all the senior executives were frantically recruiting people while getting ready to run away any moment now. Therge enterprise that stood for many years was finally bing a thing of the past. Meanwhile, word quickly spread all over Bayside City about the ruckus Sandra had raised this evening. All kinds of videos circted on IG stories, and her incredibly strong and zombie-like appearance threw the public into a panic. Soon after that, the hospital issued a notice on the results of Sandra¡¯s physical examination, proiming that Sandra was suspected of doping. This was the first time the hospital had seen such a stimnt which couldn¡¯t be detected via urine and blood tests. Not only did it give its user Herculean strength, it also made them incredibly agile, violent, and irascible. However, no one knew why Sandra had taken so many doses of the stimnt after her suspension. As for what kind of stimnts Sandra used, she refused to admit to taking them; she was very confident that those stimnts couldn¡¯t be traced! She had asked her personal physician to issue a medical record in an attempt to bluff her way out of her predicament on the excuse that she had a mental illness. Having regained her senses, she repeatedly called the police to ask for Albert¡¯s death certificate. She couldn¡¯t inherit Alex¡¯s wealth unless Albert was confirmed to be dead. On the other hand, she publicly went in and out of the Anti-Doping Center to do physical checkups to clear her name. I haven¡¯t lost yet! Chapter 1223 Chapter 1223 Sandra kept making moves over the past few days and was busy appearing on the news all the time. ¡°Miss Mitchell, what do you think of your public gaffe that day?¡± ¡°Do you have any further ns regarding the doubts voiced on the Inte? Are you going to take any further measures?¡± Sandra was surrounded by reporters at the entrance to the Anti-Doping Center in Bayside City right after she came out. Reporters from all major newspapers and magazines came and tried to be the first to interview this newsmaker. Facing the reporters withposure, Sandra replied, ¡°I¡¯ve never taken any stimnts. I lost control of myself that day because the loss of my only brother left me heartbroken, which led to minor mental issues that can be proved with the medical record issued by the hospital. I¡¯ll definitely go after those who nder me to the end. Also, I¡¯ll never put my brother¡¯s death to rest. I must seek justice for my younger brother so that he can rest in peace.¡± After answering these questions, Sandra opened the car door and entered the car while her assistant helped to keep the reporters at bay. Suddenly, the reporters seemed to have caught sight of someone important. After amotion, they frantically ran in the same direction, instantly causing Sandra¡¯s side to fall silent. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Sandra looked in that direction to see the reporters surrounding a person. The person entered the Anti- Doping Center without saying a word as Sandra¡¯s car drove off. Sandra looked at the entrance to the Anti-Doping Center¡­ That person looks like Sophia! What is she doing here? Is she here to report me to the center? However, Sandra was confident that the stimnts she took would never be discovered, and it was useless even if Sophia reported it to the authorities. After pondering for a moment, she suddenly asked her assistant, ¡°When will the few reporters arrive?¡± Her assistant replied, ¡°The reporters are already in your office.¡± ¡°Go to thepany right away.¡± With that, Sandra¡¯s car sped toward Mitchell¡¯s Technology. She had made an appointment with several influential foreign journalists to give them an interview. What these foreign journalists liked best was to seize some negative stories about Cethos and report them overseas. Therefore, they were very interested in the news about a Cethosian world champion who had no way of pressing charges against the unpunished murderer of her younger brother, who died a tragic death. There were journalists who liked to dig up some cracking stories about developing countries like Cethos and publish them on international tforms since these stories would certainly cause a sensation. The only younger brother of Sandra Mitchell, the Cethosian world champion who held many world records, died a tragic death. However, Cethosian police ignored his family¡¯s tearful pleas despite knowing who the murderer was! How dark this country, its society, and its legal system must be! Many countries that were hostile to Cethos would certainly like this news story since they could seize this opportunity to find fault with Cethos again. This news story would certainly make a huge ssh once it was published! Presenting herself as one of the weak, Sandra rted her version of how her younger brother died a tragic death, how vicious the murderer was, and how the police shielded her enemy. She felt incredibly smug as she looked at the reporters, who were recording her story with great speed. This incident would certainly have a huge impact on Cethos¡¯ international reputation once it was made into a big issue. She was a world champion with a global reputation; countless people would definitely side with her! She wanted to see how the police in Bayside City would shield Cooper when the public outcry escted. He could hide the truth from the masses in Bayside City, Cethos, but he was nobody once he was abroad! All these reporters came from overseas, and they were intent on searching for sensational news. Meanwhile, Cethosian police couldn¡¯t do anything even if they knew that these reporters were writing news stories on this incident. These news reports would create an influence once they were published. By then, it would be possible for Cethos to deal with Cooper under pressure. After all, Cooper was nothingpared to the country¡¯s dignity! She already had everything nned. The interviewsted for half a day. In the end, the reporters left happily after getting satisfying dirt. Sandra wiped her tears away and had them sent to the airport in a special vehicle; she couldn¡¯t rx until she confirmed that they had left the country smoothly. As long as they left the country, whatever they wrote would be beyond the control of Cethosian and Bayside City¡¯s police departments! By then, the whole world would know the story about Cooper, the murderer who killed Albert but was shielded by the Cethosian government! Unbeknownst to her, the reporters were caught at the airport right after the ne they tooknded abroad¡­ Indeed, the Cethosian authorities could do nothing with the foreign journalists who liked to throw mud at Cethos in a bid to make themselves more popr. They could only look on in despair as these reporters wrote up irresponsible stories about the country. They dared not punish or arrest these reporters, but thetter wouldn¡¯t acknowledge their rifications; these reporters could make an issue of whatever moves they made. To them, it didn¡¯t matter whether the news stories were true or false, for their purpose was to sling mud at Cethos. In their eyes, whatever a low-ss country and nation like Cethos did was wrong, for its existence itself was the biggest mistake. A hundred years ago, their ancestors would have invaded Cethos to kill Cethosians, burn the Cethosian pce, and rob the country of its imperial seal. They no longer dared to enter Cethos and rob the country brazenly, but the thought that the small and weak country their ancestors used to trample underfoot had be powerful filled them with bitterness. Since they could neither war against nor rob the country, they would nder the country and discredit it indirectly! They were overseas anyway, so the Cethosian authorities couldn¡¯t arrest them. Just then, a foreign magnate who didn¡¯t wish to be named took the initiative to cozy up to the Cethosian authorities, saying that they were willing to stop a few journalists and solve this matter perfectly. After sending the journalists away, Sandra waited for the news reports to be published. To her surprise, the news reports remained unpublished despite her pressing them a few times. Instead, the results of her dope test were out. The Anti-Doping Center quickly announced that Sandra had been confirmed to be using a new type of stimnt. Miss Edwards, a concerned citizen who was unwilling to disclose her real name, provided the sample of this new type of stimnt. After someparative tests, it was confirmed beyond doubt that Sandra was taking stimnts. At the same time, Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation, Universal Games Organizing Committee, and some other organizations made a joint announcement; they had received a tip-off from a concerned citizen who was unwilling to disclose their true name that Sandra had taken stimnts in many major sports events, including the Universal Games. It was verified that Sandra¡¯s use of stimnts was true. After several discussions, these organizations decided to annul all her achievements, including her achievements in the Universal Games. Also, a lifetime ban would be imposed on her. These organizations also demanded that she hand over the Universal Games gold medals that Sandra had won back then to the athlete who came in second ce. The athlete who won second ce was also a Cethosian, so the world title still belonged to Cethos! Right then, Sandra had be the target of everyone¡¯s hatred. The journalists Sandra had invited over finally published their news reports as well. However, the news reports weren¡¯t about a Cethosian world champion who had no way to press charges against the unpunished murderer of her younger brother¡¯s tragic death. Instead, they were about the annulment of Sandra¡¯s achievements in the Universal Games due to her long-term use of stimnts. This was also good stuff for these journalists since Cethos was at fault anyway! Sandra was stunned, for the news reports were published too quickly. Before she could learn about anything, she was caught unprepared by the change of her identity from a world champion to a liar whom everyone hated! How is this possible? I¡¯m a world champion! She had achieved her results in the Universal Games with her own ability¡­ It was true that she took some drugs after that, but she never cheated during the Universal Games! Why would her achievements in the Universal Games be annulled as well? This is unfair! There must be an inside story! Sandra immediately went to Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation to seek justice for herself, but she gained nothing after a few days of negotiation with them. Her champion title was revoked, and the Sports Federation demanded that she hand over the gold medal that was awarded to her back then at once. She had brought back two gold medals for Cethos by taking part in the Universal Games that year. The two gold medals were disyed in the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral hall, so she must keep them! The next day, someone came knocking at her door to ask for the gold medals themselves. ¡°Hand over the gold medals, Sandra!¡± Many visited her to ask for the gold medals, and they were all headed by Sophia. Chapter 1224 Chapter 1224 Sandra caught sight of Sophia from behind the door. ¡°It¡¯s you again, Sophia!¡± There were indeed numerous people here on this day, and their lineup could bepared to enforcers of forced eviction. Besides those from Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation and the Universal Games Organizing Committee, the police, emergency services and the Mitchell Family were also present. Meanwhile, a large crowd looked on while holding their cell phones. This was thest day Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation had given Sandra to hand over her gold medals, but she simply refused to hand them over. She had won these gold medals with her own ability, yet all her achievements and hard work were denied because she was reported to be taking stimnts! This is unfair! Upon seeing Sophia outside the door, Sandra suddenly recalled seeing her at the Anti-Doping Center that day. She¡¯s the one who gave the tip-off and provided the sample of the super stimnt! She¡¯s the one who plotted everything! She even wants to snatch the two gold medals away from me! However, Sophia looked very unperturbed outside the door. She replied, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m here today to ask you for the gold medals.¡± The Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home was arge courtyard house. Its door was closely shut; huge crowds of people were outside the door, whereas Sandra and some of the Mitchells were behind it. Sandra was so consumed with anger and hatred that her eyes seemed like they were about to pop out at any moment. She scowled at Sophia through the door crack. This woman is giving me trouble yet again! ¡°I won these two gold medals with my own ability¡ªdon¡¯t you guys even think of taking them away!¡± Sandra growled behind the door. Sophia was in no mood to say another word as she stood outside the door, feeling bitterly disappointed. In reality, she knew that Sandra had won the two gold medals with her own ability; she was at her prime during the Universal Games that year. Her use of stimnts happened after the Universal Games; even if her achievements were to be annulled, only the achievements she acquired after the Universal Games should be taken into ount. Those two gold medals were rightfully hers since she was still a Universal Games world champion. However, she only had herself to me for digging her own grave. It was Sandra¡¯s fault for conspiring with foreign anti-Cethos journalists in a foolish attempt to nder Cethos; she had even threatened the country by jointly fabricating news stories and stretching the facts. What an incredibledy she is! Who else should be punished if not her? The authorities were out of patience with thisdy who didn¡¯t know good from bad! Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation had repeatedly demanded Sandra to hand over the gold medals. Even though she refused to do so, they couldn¡¯t possibly snatch the medals away from her using brute force, right? Without a doubt, the gold medals had to be taken back. Since Sandra refused to hand them over on her own initiative, the authorities needed people who had ways of obtaining the gold medals¡ªthe Mitchells. Alex and his family had been removed from the Mitchell Family¡¯s genealogy record book, but in reality, they still belonged to the same family as Sophia and the rest in everyone else¡¯s eyes. Even if the Mitchells came to blows with Sandra and her people while trying to seize the gold medals from her, this was still considered a family matter. Sophia had been waiting for this day for a long time. She bestowed the two gold medals on Sandra; everything thetter had was all thanks to her. Right now, she was going to take everything back! ¡°Guys, knock down the door and take the gold medals,¡± she ordered casually. With that, Dimon and Justin started to break the door down with their men. Meanwhile, many of the Mitchells were looking on from the side; even Sean and Vincent were here to watch the spectacle. Much to everyone¡¯s surprise, the day where the Mitchells got what they deserved hade! Sandra, who was standing behind the door, was so frightened at the sight of people banging on the door that she backed away steadily. All of a sudden, a dizzy spell hit Sandra and she felt weak all over; it even felt very difficult for her to walk. She hurriedly ran into her room and grabbed a box of ampules from the fridge in a fluster. Then, she quickly gave herself a shot. The blue liquid medicine was slowly injected into her veins. It gave her body inexhaustible strength like a miraculous drug, making her feel that she was full of strength instantly. Feeling much better, she tossed the emptied ampule away and steadied her nerves for a while before beginning to think quickly with a clear and calm mind. This is indeed a miraculous drug. Whenever I use it, I feel so incredibly strong that no one can be a match for me! When she looked out of the window, she could see that many were gathering outside and banging on the door, which would be knocked down very soon. I must keep these two gold medals! They¡¯re mine, and no one can take them away from me! Sandra had hidden the gold medals away; even if they managed to break in, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get their hands on her gold medals today! However, she couldn¡¯t remain at a disadvantage like this. During such a critical moment, Sandra gave Lucy a call. ¡°That b*tch, Sophia, got several people to bang my door from the outside. She wants me to return the gold medals, and I need you to think of a way for me!¡± Lucy was silent for a while on the other end of the line. She then replied, ¡°It is all toote now; your achievements and championship titles have been revoked, and the two gold medals are just decorations without much value. Open the door and hand over the gold medals. You¡¯ll no longer be a world champion after this, so keep a low profile for some time before finding a way to build up yourpany. Whitewash yourself only when the hype surrounding this incident dies down a few yearster. By then, you¡¯ll still be the elegant and honorable Young Lady Mitchell.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Furious, Sandra cut Lucy short in exasperation. ¡°You must find a way for me. Otherwise, we¡¯ll die together!¡± Bursting with impatience, Lucy drawled, ¡°Miss Mitchell, I¡¯ve advised you before that your brother¡¯s death wouldn¡¯t have any impact on Cooper. He¡¯s be much more powerful and influential than you and your father, so you two are no match for him! By murdering your younger brother, you can only inherit your father¡¯s wealth. I have also advised you not to foolishly conspire with foreign journalists to expand your sphere of influence. Cooper also has great influence overseas, so this wouldn¡¯t work at all. Not only wouldn¡¯t it work, but you¡¯d also get your fingers burned because doing so will arouse the authorities¡¯ disgust. However, you rejected all my suggestions, which have led you to the situation you¡¯re in today. I¡¯m no longer in a position to deal with this.¡± With that, Lucy hung up the phone. ¡°Bitch!¡± Furious, Sandra hurled her cell phone away and scratched her head with anxiety in the room like a hot-tempered monkey. She felt as though a fire was burning within her and would soon spread all over her body. Her hands trembled unstoppably; she wanted to do something to vent the frustration within her, and she smashed everything in sight as if she couldn¡¯t control her limbs. ¡°They¡¯re all going against me! That lowly servant! I¡¯m a world champion¡ªno one can ever take the gold medals away from me!¡± Her heartbeat was incredibly fast as she ran an adrenaline high. As Sandra growled, she smashed everything in her room hysterically. Suddenly, the door to the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home was knocked down. Dimon, who was the first one to burst through the door, purposefully led his people toward the direction of the ancestral hall, and those remaining in the Mitchell Residence couldn¡¯t stop them at all. Soon, Sandra dashed downstairs with vigorous strides. She had the gold medals transferred away long ago, so they would never find them. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. However, the ancestral hall was the most sacred ce of the Mitchell Residence; only legitimate lineal descendants of the Mitchells could enter the hall. Lowly servants like Sophia aren¡¯t qualified to enter the ancestral hall at all! Sandra would never allow them to enter the ce. The incredibly powerful Sandra knocked over many people as she jostled and elbowed her way to the ancestral hall. When she arrived, she saw many people guarding outside of it; Cooper and Alex¡¯s branch of the family were standing on one side as they looked on. ¡°Stop! You guys aren¡¯t allowed to enter the ancestral hall!¡± At the sight of Sandra, who looked like a wild beast with her ferocious features and bloodshot eyes, Justin immediately gave her an injection, causing her to feel weak all over as she copsed to the ground like a deted balloon within seconds. As the crowd split up, it allowed her to see Sophia; she was standing at the end of the crowd while paying her respects to the ancestral memorial tablets in the ancestral hall. The two gold medals that Sandra took pride in and should have been hidden away were disyed in the ancestral hall; they were ced together with the ancestral memorial tablets as proof of the meritorious deeds by a member of the Mitchell Family. Sophia took the gold medals away after paying her respects to the Mitchells¡¯ ancestors. ¡°No! My gold medals¡­¡± Chapter 1225 Chapter 1225 Gold medals? Why would the gold medals that I¡¯ve hidden away be here? Sandra looked at the two gold medals in disbelief. They were indeed the two most valuable gold medals she had won in her sports career¡ªher bite marks were still on them! At this moment, the gold medals were disyed together with the ancestral memorial tablets on one side of the ancestral hall. They were still shining with glory; she had worked hard and struggled many years for it, yet Sophia was about to take them away! ¡°My gold medals! Don¡¯t ever touch them! Don¡¯t you even think of touching them!¡± Sandra bellowed and screamed. It seemed that she was about to make a dart for them, but after Justin gave her the injection, Sandra felt that the miraculous drug she had injected herself with didn¡¯t seem to work anymore¡ªshe was feeling weak all over. The sight of her response filled Justin with pride; ever since he learned that Phantom Wolf had a super stimnt in his possession, he started researching this kind of tranquilizer. Even though it couldn¡¯t reverse the long-term changes that the stimnt brought to the user¡¯s body, it could cancel out the superhuman strength and agility caused by the drug in a short time. Sandray t on the floor and was held down like a dead dog; she could only stare helplessly at Sophia, who was only a few meters away from the gold medals and could take them away any moment now. ¡°Aaaah! Aaaaah!¡± She let out an inhuman scream, but she couldn¡¯t stop anything; all she got in return was Sophia¡¯s cold voice. ¡°What an impudent person! It¡¯s prohibited to make noises in the ancestral hall!¡± Justin proceeded to stuff a towel into Sandra¡¯s mouth. With that, the world fell silent. Everyone in the ancestral hall looked solemn. After all, this ce belonged to their ancestors whom everyone looked up to with nothing else but great reverence despite that the Mitchell Family had broken up. This was also Sophia¡¯s first time here. After paying her respects to the ancestral memorial tablets, she looked up at the tablets containing the names of all the ancestors of the Mitchell Family. The Mitchell Family truly was a huge family with many stories! Sophia left after paying her respects and taking Sandra¡¯s two gold medals away. Before she left, she turned toward Alex¡¯s branch of the family who were standing outside the door. She then said, ¡°The ancestral home is a property shared by the Mitchells, so we¡¯ll be back to reim it after some time. Don¡¯t worry, though¡ªwe¡¯ll give all of you a ce to live. We won¡¯t leave you all homeless even though our family has broken up. However, we won¡¯t allow you guys to have the ancestral home and ancestral hall all to yourselves.¡± Feeling fearful toward Sophia, everyone kept quiet and didn¡¯t even dare to speak. Many of the Mitchells had moved out of here since the family officially broke up. Therefore, the residence seemed a little spacious since Alex¡¯s branch of the family were the only ones staying here. Besides therge ancestral home, there was also an upscale neighborhood at the back which was resided mostly by the Mitchells. The considerably extensive area¡ªincluding the bus stops and the subway station¡ªwere collectively named the Mitchells¡¯ Compound. Funded by the Mitchell Family itself, the infrastructure couldn¡¯t be regarded as anyone¡¯s private property. Cooper had purchased arge mansion somewhere else to resettle the Mitchells, but Sophia took a liking to this ce when she came in and took a look at it a few days ago. She must have such a nice house to herself! Naturally, someone was unwilling to let Sophia have the house to herself just like that. Right after the towel in Sandra¡¯s mouth was taken away, she growled and said, ¡°This property belongs to my family¡ª don¡¯t you all dare to have it to yourselves!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. On the other hand, Sophia responded with a smile and said, ¡°The ancestral home and the properties nearby are the family¡¯smon property belonging to the Mitchells. A total of 85 percent of the Mitchells are on our side; ording to the majority rule, this ancestral home should belong to us. You all have been banished from the Mitchells, so you should move out of here! Also, from a legal point of view, the ancestral home has always been under the name of the family head, who is in charge of renovating and erging it before passing it down to the next generation. Your father¡¯s name is currently written on the property ownership certificate, but he actually got the certificate from my Dad. In fact, he inherited this house after attempting to take my Dad¡¯s life back then. Now that my Dad is back and alive, your father has to return all my Dad¡¯s property ording to thew. Yet, your father has lost almost all of it. Since it isn¡¯t possible to make you all return the property, my Dad no longer wants to pursue the matter. However, since this house is still here, just vacate it for me.¡± Surrounded by the Mitchells, she then strode off like a winner with her hands sped behind her back. Those belonging to Alex¡¯s branch of the family still didn¡¯t dare to speak. Cooper was a million times more fierce and powerful than Alex. He founded Mitchell International Energy and Technology and Dragon Technology only two years after his return, quickly surpassing Alex in all aspects. All the tricks Alex yed were what Cooper had grown tired of pulling back then, so how could he bepared with thetter? With Cooper¡¯s current ability and means, taking back the ancestral home and banishing Alex from the Mitchells were really a piece of cake, but he never acted upon it¡­ This was probably because he held the ancestral home in contempt. After all, he was so wealthy. Those belonging to Alex¡¯s branch of the family didn¡¯t dare to stop Sophia at all; they split up and made way for Sophia and her people to leave. Still wanting to catch up with Sophia, Sandra got up from the floor, but she went weak all over and fell onto the floor after taking a few steps. ¡°Give the gold medals back to me! Return the gold medals to me! Guys, seize my gold medals back!¡± Those belonging to Alex¡¯s branch of the family didn¡¯t dare to speak or move. After all, they were grossly outnumbered, and Alex¡¯s branch of the family was nearing its fated end. Perhaps Sophia and her people would drive all of them away once they made her unhappy¡­ Sandra could only watch her gold medals being snatched away like that since she didn¡¯t even have the strength to stop it, and she let out a helpless scream in vain. ¡°Aaaaah! Aaaah!¡± Seeing that she could rely on no one as Sophia was about to take the gold medals away, Sandra went mad with rage. She immediately struggled back to her room, searched for her miraculous drug, and gave herself anotherplete injection. Fully revived at once, she was filled with strength once again. Tossing the emptied ampule away, she immediately rushed downstairs and tried to stop Sophia. On the other hand, Sophia handed the gold medals back to the president of Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation the instant she walked out of the door. The two even shook hands in a friendly manner and had a group photo taken as the reporters clicked away. Congrattions to Miss Edwards, a concerned citizen, for obtaining two Universal Games gold medals! The gold medals came into Sophia¡¯s hands only for a while, but she still found it very satisfying to touch them. After all, these two gold medals were partly a result of her hard work. She wondered if her past self ever realized that the ingrate she had spent a lot of money bringing to fame wanted to bite back at the hand that fed her many yearster. Sophia got into her car and went home after having the group photos taken, leaving only a group of reporters when Sandra rushed out to snatch the gold medals. Sophia had left, whereas those from Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation were putting the gold medals into an exquisitely made box. They were preparing to choose an auspicious date to return the gold medals to the Universal Games Organizing Committee, who would then choose another auspicious date to award them to the athlete who gained second ce back then. Regardless, the gold medals would return to Cethos anyway. Seeing that her gold medals were being snatched away just like that, Sandra immediately went insane. She dashed toward the gold medals and attempted to snatch them away, causing another ruckus in front of the entrance at Mitchell Residence. Those from Cethos¡¯ Sports Federation were so frightened that they got into their cars and fled. ¡°Give the gold medals back to me!¡± What happened the other night happened once again as Sandra single-handedly knocked over a few police officers. She beat up each of the police officers, the Mitchells, and the concerned onlooking citizens, knocking all of them to the ground. As a result, people were lying all over the ground in front of the door. Everyone was stunned. They wondered what f*cking kind of drug she was on, for she was so incredibly strong! Chapter 1226 Chapter 1226 Sophia, who had already left the scene, watched a live coverage of what was happening. ¡°What an idiot,¡± she said. She even has the audacity to buy drugs from the Phantom Wolf. However, these drugs are really amazing! It is no wonder some countries and government officials have registered alternate ounts to purchase the drugs in batches. In the end, the inexhaustibly strong Sandra was finally sent back to her room and locked up; it was thanks to the collective effort of the police, the Mitchells, and several concerned citizens. With that, the farce was finally quelled. Back in the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home, Sandra¡ªwho was locked in her room¡ªjumped up and down before smashing everything in the room again like an infuriated monkey. The scene was quite creepy as she let out hysterical shrieks from time to time. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Around nightfall, the door to Sandra¡¯s room opened all of a sudden. Someone came in and said, ¡°Boss wants to see you.¡± Sandra was bursting with rage to the point where her hands were trembling slightly; even her skin was numb as she was still in an extremely excited state. She walked into Alex¡¯s study with bloodshot eyes. Alex had never left the room on this day. He had witnessed everything that happened with his own eyes, but he didn¡¯t show himself. The door was closed, leaving only the two of them in the study. Alex sat on the chair while looking peacefully at the sky outside the window. The room was a bit dark since the lights weren¡¯t switched on, but the ancient-styled round window was open, allowing a little light to shine in. Alex¡¯s lonely figure and the patch of white light on the round window seemed to blend well together. After a moment of silence, Alex suddenly turned to look at Sandra. The sight of her presently disheveled appearance filled him with disappointment and disgust. A ss bottle was tossed onto the desk as Alex looked at Sandra expressionlessly. ¡°Tell me what this is.¡± Sandra lowered her gaze and looked at the item, which was the exact bottle containing the poison she had fed to Albert. Since she had fed him an entire bottle of it, not even an immortal could save him. Naturally, she had thrown the bottle away after emptying it out, but she didn¡¯t expect this bottle to fall into Alex¡¯s hands. It looks like he has learned the truth. What can he do about it? Albert is already dead anyway! Sandra was no longer afraid of anything now. Taking a few steps forward, she picked up the empty bottle and looked at it for a moment; the bottle was indeed the one that she had thrown away. Instead of being afraid, she retorted with a maniacalugh, ¡°Don¡¯t you know about everything already?¡± Seeing that she admitted it so readily, Alex felt a gush of blood surging up his throat, but he forcibly suppressed the urge to spit it out. Albert was his son! Albert was his only son, yet he was fed such a malicious poison; it was a new type of pesticide that wasparable to paraquat! Not only that, the person who did it was an illegitimate daughter of extremely humble birth¡ªan illegitimate daughter whose life wasn¡¯t even as valuable as a strand of his son¡¯s hair! ¡°You b*stard! I really regret bringing you back in the beginning! Are you worthy of the guidance that I¡¯ve given you? You¡¯ll be punished by God for poisoning your own younger brother!¡± Punished by God? Sandra gave augh before suddenly hurling the ss bottle away. At the same time, she stretched out her hand with lightning speed, taking Alex by the throat. They had been separated by a desk in the middle. Her slim hand had extraordinary strength; Alex still had some strength despite his old age, but he was totally defenseless against the hand that made him unable to breathe. He tried desperately to call for help, but all he could let out was some weird squalls. He could only scratch Sandra¡¯s hand in vain. Sandra¡¯s twisted and ferocious-looking face then moved closer to him. Staring at the way Alex was struggling right now, she felt so perversely smug deep down inside that she totally forgot about restraining herself as she vented all the resentment she had harbored over the past few years. ¡°What else did you contribute to my birth back then other than sperm? Do you know what kind of life I lived as a child? Do you know how hard my life was back when everyone said that I was an illegitimate daughter raised by a mistress? Do you know how many disdainful looks and gossip I have been subjected to? As a father, where were you back then? Why did you have me if you didn¡¯t want to give me a normal family? I hate you¡ªI sincerely wish death upon you!¡± Perversion, destion, and defiance showed in Sandra¡¯s eyes as she thought of her childhood. Why are some people willing to give up everything for their illegitimate daughters? Cooper, for instance, really spoils his daughter rotten. I am Alex¡¯s daughter, but what has he given me?! Tears sprang to Sandra¡¯s eyes as she thought of this. The more grieved she was in her childhood, the more resentful she felt right now! ¡°What an¡­ unfilial daughter! You¡­¡± Alex got a chance to catch his breath, but Sandra immediately seized him by the throat, choking him so hard that his face looked as reddish brown as pork liver. He struggled with all his might but was unable to break free of her grip. Sandra continued to exert more and more strength on her hand. ¡°I worked so hard to get into the Mitchell Family and be a Young Lady of the family. Didn¡¯t you notice all the contributions I¡¯ve made to the Mitchells over these years? Are you going to deny all my achievements now that I¡¯m useless? Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m unaware of the contents in your will; you took away everything that belonged to me and left everything to your son! Albert is your child, but aren¡¯t I a child of yours too? What did I get after working like a ve for the Mitchells over these years? I can¡¯t even match that four-year-old kid!¡± Sandra¡¯s face was wet with tears as she cried and screamed; the only expression remaining on her face was that of uncontrolled ferocity. ¡°I¡¯m worse than pigs or dogs, and my life is worth nothing just because I¡¯m an illegitimate daughter! I can¡¯t ept this! I¡¯ll never ept this! What makes Albert qualified to inherit all your wealth without doing anything? The Mitchell Family is mine, and I am the Mitchell Family¡¯s only daughter. I¡¯ll even be the head of the Mitchell Family in the future, and no one can stop me! Hahaha¡­¡± Sandra looked up and roared withughter before bursting into tears. Nobody knew how much work she had put in for the two gold medals! She started learning how to swim when she was six years old. She spent more than ten hours in the swimming pool every single day to the point where her skin turned pale all over, yet she didn¡¯t dare to leave the swimming pool. While other kids were enjoying their happy childhood, she had to practice and take part in sports competitions again and again. She hated the fact that she was born from a woman who was kept as a mistress. Who wanted to be born with the reputation of being an illegitimate daughter? In her opinion, she should have been a legitimate daughter of the Mitchell Family since she was so outstanding. She had lofty aspirations, yet her fate was miserable! She knew that she could only change her destiny by constantly making breakthroughs and bing more outstanding. After countless days of hard work and countless times of despair, she spent more than ten years of blood and tears in exchange for her current sess. However, she never expected that she was but a laughing stock from beginning to end. She thought that she had be the noble Young Lady Mitchell, but she was always an unpresentable illegitimate daughter in Alex¡¯s eyes! ¡°Hahahahaha¡­¡± Sandraughed both furiously and sadly. When she came to her senses, she found that Alex had stopped struggling and was rolling his eyes. When she subconsciously loosened her grip, Alex immediately copsed and fell onto the floor. He no longer moved; he was very, very dead. He had passed away. Sandra¡¯s mind wentpletely nk as she stared nkly at Alex¡¯s dead body. She actually choked Alex to death. When the effects of the stimnt had subsided, Sandra felt a chill running down her spine; only then did she realize that she had brought serious trouble upon herself. She had killed someone! Chapter 1227 Chapter 1227 Flustered, Sandra immediately called Lucy to ask thetter for advice. Lucy was the first person she thought of at this moment. When Lucy learned of Sandra¡¯s current situation, she let out a sneer and swore inwardly, What an idiot. ¡°Your father is dead, whereas your mother is still lyingatose in the intensive care unit right now. Since you have poisoned your younger brother to death, you are the onlywful heir to your father¡¯s property. Congrattions on bing the head of the Mitchell Family. As for the murder you¡¯ve committed¡­ Now that you¡¯ve be the head of your family, who would have the nerve to question you if you im that your father fell to his death by ident?¡± Sandra waspletely stunned for a long time before she finally came back to her senses. She¡¯s right¡ª now that Alex and Albert are dead, I¡¯m the only heir to the Mitchell Family! Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. After hanging up the phone, Sandra looked at Alex¡ªwho was very dead¡ªbefore getting up to leave the room. That night, the president of Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡ªwho was subject to an endless stream of scandals and the loss of his beloved son¡ªpassed away due to a broken heart. His death was briefly reported on the news, but it was quickly drowned out by breaking news stories of Ethan Winston being cast for the role of Hansen Raider. After all, photos of Alex¡¯s dead body couldn¡¯t be as good-looking as the film stills that featured Ethan no matter what. Just like that, Sandra became the head of Alex¡¯s branch of the family. There seemed to be no suspicions regarding Alex¡¯s death. After all, Alex¡¯s family branch was already in a state of disunity, so no one could care less about his fate. Soon after that, Sandra officially took over as the president of Mitchell¡¯s Technology; she thenid off a group of people that she found to be an eyesore a long time ago. The changes in the top management caused panic among thepany¡¯s staff. Resignation letters flooded thepany like a snowstorm, causing Mitchell¡¯s Technology to go further into decline. In fact, Mitchell¡¯s Technology might not have been able to hold out for such a long time if it weren¡¯t for the fact that Dragon Technology was in its early stage of restructuring and needed some time to gel. After all, nearly all of those who used to be Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡¯s elites had crossed over to Dragon Technology¡¯s side. The authorities also attached iparably great importance to Dragon Technology. They often sent out government officials to inspect thepany on the grounds of conducting investigation and research, so thepany had to attend to these officials almost on a daily basis. The authorities also provided Dragon Technology with whatever resources or anything else thetter needed; they still counted on the latter to have a tough fight with the world¡¯s top technologypanies such as Michel Group and Serpent Group. After all, Mitchell¡¯s Technology, the predecessor of Dragon Technology, had been very powerful 20 years ago. It could be said that thepany was a giant in the world¡¯s electronic technology industry since its products were distributed all over the world. Half of the world¡¯sputers were its products, whereas the Michel Group and the Serpent Group hadn¡¯te to prominence back then. Of course, the government officials also visited JNS Group¡ªwho were located next door¡ªafter finishing up their investigation and research tour at Dragon Technology¡¯s premises. Bayside Fashion Week was around the corner; this event was an attempt topete with the Ronney Group, so the authorities had high hopes for it. In order to prepare for the uing fashion week, Sophia didn¡¯t manage to spend the end of the year in leisure; she had to ensure that the event ran smoothly. She had to keep a check on the quality and publicize the event to make it a grand asion. The exhibitors were all fashion brands of Bayside City and even Cethos; the brands that were being featured included cosmetics, handbags, fashionable clothing, wristwatches, leather shoes, pet luxury goods, and even children¡¯s wear. The exhibition was about to start, yet it was beset with difficulties. ¡°Miss Edwards, the few supermodels we invited declined our invitation and are joining Ronney Fashion Week instead.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, another three local fashion brands announced their withdrawal from our fashion week; they are all joining Ronney Fashion Week.¡± ¡°Miss Edwards, Bayside City Museum of Natural History¡ªwho originally agreed to rent out an exhibition hall to us¡ªunterally tore up the lease agreement and rented out the exhibition hall to Ronney Fashion Week instead.¡± ¡­ Sophia¡¯s assistant, secretary, and subordinates went in and out of her office, bringing pieces of bad news with them. The Ronney Group seemed to have its ideas straightened out. It previously made a high-profile and aggressive entry into the Cethosian market as if wanting to wipe out all its Bayside City counterparts, leading to a boycott by all its rivals in Bayside City. But now, it miraculously humbled itself and cozied up to Bayside City¡¯s fashion world. Some people couldn¡¯t resist its temptation, so they joined Ronney Fashion Week instead. After all, it was an honor to be able to appear at the event. Furthermore, the Ronney Group started to actively speak with the government, managing to gain many resources for themselves. Soon enough, the event was put on record without a hitch. Not only were their models and exhibitors snatched away by the Ronney Group, they even snatched the exhibition venue from them. ¡°D*mn it!¡± Sophia tossed a stack of terminated contracts onto the desk angrily. She knew that the Ronney Group didn¡¯t get enlightened all of a sudden; Lucy definitely had a hand in this. Lucy was not only Jordan¡¯s daughter, but also Ryan and Henry¡¯s biological sister. Seeing that his two sons were about to lose control of the situation, Jordan immediately sent out his capable eldest daughter to join them. As expected, everything was different with Lucy¡¯s participation. She removed all obstacles in a very short time, enabling Ronney Fashion week to make a fresh start. Furthermore, she roped in many rude and unreasonable sponsors, thus securing the few most impressive exhibition halls in Bayside City. Sophia had taken great pains to rent exhibition halls in these ces, including Wapefield Hotel and Bayside City National Museum of Natural History. But now, Lucy had snatched these exhibition halls away; she even stole a group of supermodels that Sophia had a hard time signing up with. The Ronney Group also headhunted many employees from JNS Group. It even pestered Russell, but he didn¡¯t jump ship no matter how tempting its offer was since Cooper had saved his life. Kenny and Ivan were both Sophia¡¯s most trusted men, so the Ronney Group couldn¡¯t headhunt them as well. However, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case for other people. Soon after that, Lucy had poached Bayside Fashion Week¡¯s chief nner, whom Sophia finally hired after many difficulties. All the while, Sophia knew that Bayside Fashion Week was no match for Ronney Fashion Week. Ronney Fashion Week had a history of 100 years, whereas this event of hers was very new. She wanted to deal with the Ronney Group by taking advantage of Ronney Fashion Week¡¯s failed adaptation to Bayside City so that thepany couldn¡¯tunch their event smoothly. However, she didn¡¯t expect thepany to hire a capable local guide. This was no longer a fight between Sophia and the Ronney Group. Instead, this was a duel between Sophia and Lucy. Lucy was thest person Sophia wanted to cross, for this woman was simply invincible. She had no weaknesses and left nothing to chance. Therefore, it made one¡¯s hair stand on its end to simply imagine bing her enemy. Now that Sophia was really setting herself against Lucy, she felt extremely powerless as she had no idea where to start¡ªLucy was superior to her in every way. Wait a minute¡­ Lucy does have a weakness! I don¡¯t know what it is, but someone surely does! The scene then turned to the Mitchell Family¡¯s ancestral home. Pinning Sandra to the ground, Justin pulled her by the hair and lifted her face, forcing her to look at Sophia. Sophia was standing in front of Sandra¡ªwho looked like a useless slob¡ªwhile looking down at the latter. No one in the Mitchell Residence dared to utter a sound even when Sandra, their Young Lady¡­ no, their master was pinned to the floor. Instead, they walked away tacitly. ¡°Are you going to say it?¡± Sophia asked fiercely once again. Sandra clenched her teeth with all her might. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare think¡­¡± Lucy¡¯s secret was her strongest card, so she would never disclose it to Sophia. Chapter 1228 Chapter 1228 Sophia looked at Sandra¡ªwho was still stubbornly resisting¡ªwith a sneer. Taking a box from Dimon, she opened it to see that it was a box of ampules, and there were only nine ampules left. These were none other than the miraculous drug that was closest to Sandra¡¯s heart! Sandra¡¯s expression changed drastically. Sophia picked up an ampule and eyed it up and down. She even clicked her tongue to express her amazement and said, ¡°This is serious¡ªthese are super stimnts manufactured by the pharmaceutical factory that¡¯s a subsidiary of Phantom Wolf, the terrorist organization! I heard that it can¡¯t be detected via urine tests and blood tests. Furthermore, it can gradually improve human bodies and draw out human bodies¡¯ potential to the full. It¡¯s indeed a miraculous drug! Currently, many countries want to get the form for this kind of stimnt, but¡­ unbeknownst to them, Phantom Wolf had already been wiped out a long time ago, so this kind of drug is already out of stock. I didn¡¯t expect to find nine ampules here. Tsk, tsk. You¡¯d lose one ampule with each injection!¡± After finishing her speech with regret, she dropped one ampule to the floor. The ss ampule dropped to the floor and smashed into pieces, spilling the blue liquid medicine all over the floor. Sandra went crazy on the spot. ¡°No! Don¡¯t! Don¡¯t touch my drug!¡± However, Sophia picked up the second ampule and was seriously enjoying the sight of it. Unable to hold back any longer, Sandra confessed and said, ¡°Lucy is a disgusting lesbian who has been dating a woman for more than ten years. If the Edwards Family learns about this, she will immediately lose her position as the heir and Vice President of the Edwards Group!¡± Sophia was startled; it never urred to her that this was Lucy¡¯s weakness! It suddenly struck her that Lucy seemed to be involved in a rumor with the scion of arge foreign consortiumtely. The two families seemed like they were preparing to unite through marriage, but the nuptial league would definitely fall through if word spread around about this. As someone who mixed with those from the fashion world, Sophia knew that many in the fashion world were homosexuals or bisexuals. It seemed that one couldn¡¯t enter the fashion world without an umon sexual orientation, but this waspletely prohibited in an old family. The Mitchell Family was an example; even though the family¡¯s council of elders were set up under Cooper¡¯s leadership, the council was still very displeased with Linus¡¯ sexual orientation. However, the elders didn¡¯t dare to voice their objections; not only was it due to Cooper¡¯s pressure on them, but also because Linus himself was very powerful. As for the Fletcher Family, Stanley and Sean were now living together as business partners. However, the Fletchers were extremely displeased with this, causing the rtionship between Stanley and his family to be strained. The Winstons were also very unhappy about the presence of an intersex like Dana in the family. However, they were gangsters in the first ce, so they could even kill their own fathers. They could even beat themselves up in a fit of rage, and they cared nothing about ethics or moral principles. The Winston Family¡¯s council of elders had even called a special meeting to educate Dana. Unexpectedly, Dana took out her machete on the spot and shed four elders to death, so no one dared to say anything anymore. After all, this was the style and tradition of the Winston Family. Bayside City was a cosmopolitan city, but these old families were still very conservative¡­ Sophia said nothing as she silently put the drugs down and left with her people. After getting her drugs, Sandra held onto it as if it was a rare treasure; it was as though she was afraid that someone else woulde and snatch them away from her. These drugs were her life! Moreover, the broken ampule on the floor tore her apart. Luckily, the floor was covered with tiles, and there was no carpet. Since the liquid medicine was still there, Sandra immediately took out an empty syringe and frantically drew up the spilled liquid on the floor. Sophia nced back at her. Thisdy is already finished. Sophia felt depressed when she returned home. After having her meal, she sat alone in the study in a trance. She thought about the precarious situation on one hand and Lucy¡¯s secret on the other. If she made Lucy¡¯s secret known to the public right now, thetter might be hit hard and detested by the Edwards Group. She would soon lose her current position, and Ronney Fashion Week would fall through, making her the winner this year. However¡­ Sophia thought that it might be a little too wicked to attack Lucy by making an issue of the latter¡¯s sexual orientation. Sophia felt that she wasn¡¯t a good person, for she sold the stimnts that nearly finished Sandra. Also, she had killed people back in Africa back then in order to survive. However, she had her own bottom line, and it was apparent that this matter had crossed it. Feeling anxious, Sophia drank several cups of coffee and stroked one cat after another as she was in a dilemma. She had her bottom line on one hand and Bayside Fashion Week on the other¡­ This was the first time she was so confused in her life. Meanwhile, Michael and Carmen were blowing up balloons and hanging up coloredmps to usher in the New Year. Cooper¡ªwho hade from Vi No. 2¡ªwas about to ask questions when he didn¡¯t see his daughter anywhere. Before he could do so, Carmen spoke first. ¡°Grandpa, something has been weighing on your daughter¡¯s mind today. She only ate half a bowl of rice and has been in her study since then. Hurry up and give her some advice.¡± Learning of this, Cooper immediately went upstairs into the study to take a look. Michael let out a sigh as he watched Cooper rushing upstairs; he also knew what Sophia was worrying about. The fact that his ex-girlfriend and current wife were having a fight made him feel very hopeless too. However, he really was no expert at what was happening in the fashion world¡­ Meanwhile, Sophia was stroking the cats in her study dazedly. ¡°Sophia.¡± Cooper suddenly opened the door and came in. Seeing that he was here, Sophia greeted softly, ¡°Hey, Dad.¡± Cooper was very worried when he saw the expression on Sophia¡¯s face. Dragging a chair over, he seated himself next to her and asked gently, ¡°Do you have something on your mind, Sophia? Can you share it with me? Is it something about your work?¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. He also knew that the preparations for Bayside Fashion Week hadn¡¯t been going smoothly these days, so he guessed that Sophia was probably worried about the fashion week. Sophia bent over the desk while looking at Cooper with a tender look in her eyes. She asked, ¡°Dad, which do you think is more important: sess or bottom line? Can someone ignore their bottom line appropriately for the sake of sess?¡± Cooper was weighed down by his memories as they talked about this. He used to think about the conflict between his bottom line and achieving sess. Someone had once hurt him deeply without ever considering what the bottom line was. However, those who ignored their bottom line weren¡¯t punished at all. Therefore, he also became someone who stopped at nothing. As expected, he became sessful; standing at the top of the world, he looked down at the struggling nobodies, but he had be unmoved by any circumstances. However, everything changed when his daughter showed up in front of him surprisingly. Staring at his daughter, Cooper advised in all sincerity and said, ¡°I used to believe in neither supernatural beings nor the story about heaven and hell. I also had no idea what my bottom line was, for all I wanted was to expand my sphere of influence. Once I had money, power, and influence in my hands, I¡¯d have the final say in thew. I never cared about my bottom line, but ever since you showed up in front of me with cuts and bruises all over your body¡­¡± Cooper looked grieved as he spoke of this. One could still notice several tiny, irremovable scars on Sophia¡¯s face if one looked closely when she was bare-faced. It was as if these scars were reminding Cooper of the sufferings his daughter had experienced. ¡°Sophia, one¡¯s bottom line can¡¯t be crossed until there is no other choice¡ªunless there¡¯s something more valuable than your bottom line that needs your protection. Nobody knows if one will be punished for doing something against their conscience, but everything is predestined, and no one can be certain about the future.¡± Chapter 1229 Chapter 1229 Upon hearing what Cooper had to say, Sophia asked herself, If I use Lucy¡¯s secret against her and force her to step down, will it really make me happy? The sessful oue was extremely important to Sophia, but was it important enough for her to go against her morals? No¡­ Even if I lose, I would want to do so without feeling any guilt. If I lose, I can always try again! Cooper then saw Sophia, who was clearly in distress, smile suddenly. She didn¡¯t need to use those tactics to win against Lucy. In fact, she would do it fair and square. If she lost, then she would ept it wholeheartedly! ¡°I got it. Thanks, Dad!¡± At once, Sophia jumped up and wrapped her arms around Cooper¡¯s neck, affectionately rubbing her cheek against his. He smiled happily as he thought there was nothing more fulfilling than the joy of his sweetheart. Then, Sophia ate a little more before starting work again. I¡¯m not afraid of Lucy Edwards! In fact, Sophia thought she was pretty powerful. Her parents, her brother, and her husband were powerful, so she was determined to not be the one to drag them down. She was set on organizing this year¡¯s Bayside Fashion Week. If she failed, then she would still get the opportunity in the future¡ªit wasn¡¯t going to be the end of the world. Now, however, she must seize this opportunity! At the Yard Residence, Carmen came to visit with the roses from ¡®Cooper¡¯ and some homemade snacks. After she left, the Yard Family began to decorate their home in preparation for the New Year. Callum was setting up colorful lights and he even had some balloons. Meanwhile, Anna transferred the roses from Cooper to a petri dish for it to grow some roots before transnting them to arger pot to bring it back to Ronney City. These days, Cooper would asionally grab any opportunity to visit whenever he came to pick Carmen up. However, he would only have a brief conversation with Anna before leaving shortly. Truth was, Anna noticed the way he looked at her and she felt the same way. Yet, Cooper had met Jordan and he knew about their rtionship. She felt her heart sink at that thought. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. Thinking it was Carmen again, Anna happily went to answer the door. She was caught off guard when she saw it was Jordan who appeared on the monitor. ¡°What is he doing here?¡± shemented. Jordan is supposed to be in Ronney City. Calmly opening the door, Anna let him in before asking him indifferently, ¡°Why are you here?¡± At that moment, Callum and Cade, who were just setting up the lights, came over and said respectfully, ¡°Father, you¡¯re here.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. As soon as he arrived, the atmosphere in the house changedpletely. Jordan hummed and said, ¡°I came to visit.¡± As if his visit is the greatest blessing ever. Indeed, Jordan¡¯s visit¡ªin his opinion¡ªwas in fact a blessing to them. He had many wives, mistresses and lovers. In fact, his illegitimate children were all over the world. He could hardly find the time to visit them all. Aside from the Edwards and Yard families, Jordan had other properties, albeit not as big as these two. ¡°Go about your business. I need to speak to your mother.¡± Callum and Cade obediently went back to their rooms. With Anna, they could asionally monkey about like ordinary sons. In contrast, they were fullypliant and robot-like when it came to Jordan. That left the two of them in the living room. ncing at the pot of roses that Anna had ced there, Jordan asked with a nk expression, ¡°Who gave you those roses?¡± ¡°A friend,¡± Anna replied. ¡°Cooper?¡± Jordan asked again doubtfully. Although he sounded doubtful, it was clear in his tone that he was certain. In reality, he got wind of this and deliberately came by to interrogate her. Upon hearing that, Anna curled her lips upward into what was supposed to be a smile and said frankly, ¡°I¡¯m the president of the Ronney Group. Is it such a big deal for me to have a friend?¡± Before Jordan could respond, she continued in a fierce tone, ¡°Are you really that distrustful of us? Back in Ronney City, you use us of having ill intentions of taking over your power. When we came to venture into the Cethosian market, you used us once again of scheming, which was why I handed over all of the affairs of Cethos to your favorite sons and returned to Ronney City. Still, you couldn¡¯t trust us so we could only leave Ronney City ande to Cethos again. During this period, I¡¯ve never once asked about any work matters. What more do you want? Is it such a crime for us to have friends? Or would you rather if we asked for your permission on who to be friends with, what we eat, and what we do?¡± Sheughed sarcastically as her aura became increasingly stronger. With a darkening expression, Jordan nced at the roses that were an eyesore to him. He would know if she was unfaithful. Despite that, this woman was too clever. Even Jordan thought he was losing control over her. Back then, he found her and took her in. He nurtured and guided her, watching as she blossomed and thrived in his palm. Her beauty was unparalleled but he could only keep it to himself. Then, he realized that unknowingly, her roots grew and she evolved from a harmless little flower to a poisonous one, full of thorns. Her roots had prated into his veins, feeding on his blood as nourishment. Meanwhile, her poison spread and it seeped into his blood vessels. By the time he tried to remove her, he discovered that they had merged into one. If he wanted to get rid of her, he would have to remove his arm or even his own internal organs. In fact, her roots had long since infiltrated his whole body; on top of that, even his heartbeat was under her control. At that moment, Jordan said in a voice that was much softer than Anna¡¯s, ¡°Annie, that¡¯s not what I meant. I¡¯m just worried about you¡­¡± His gaze was deep beyond measure and it was as if there was an ice-cold current that was surging when he looked at her. ¡°Cooper is an unpredictable person. You¡¯re no match for him so you need to steer clear of him. You may not know this, but he is Fass Michel and he¡¯s going to marry the Duchess. Any interactions with him will only invite trouble.¡± Although Anna was silent and her demeanor did not change, she was devastated deep down. Jordan then left, knowing that he wasn¡¯t weed here at all. Before leaving, he added, ¡°There should be a limit for your reckless actions. Come back to Ronney City after the new year¡¯s; you¡¯re still needed there to call the shots.¡± However, Anna did not respond. When he stepped out, it was already snowing heavily outside. Jordan walked on the street, d in normal winter clothing. He had raven-colored hair and his facial features did not reveal any signs of aging. In fact, he still looked like he was in his prime. His car was parked on the side of the road but he did not get in. Instead, he reached his hand out and caught a snowke. Just then, it brought back the memory of one snowy day when he was in the countryside where his car had broken down. There was a small noodle shop just across the street, so he went in to keep warm. There, he found a peculiar girl¡ªshe must have been only twelve or thirteen¡ªwho was working as a runner in the store. asionally, there were customers who would make things difficult for her but she easily overcame the obstacles; her brilliance was beyond that of any other teens. As soon as heid eyes on her, he knew instantly that she was not an ordinary person. Even if she was born ordinary, her future was going to be unquestionably the opposite. Chapter 1230 Chapter 1230 So, Jordan took her in and nurtured her. Unfortunately, she betrayed him for a teenage boy who was good at photography and ying the piano. Without hesitating, Jordan erased all her memories. Even though he knew that this memory-erasing surgery was still in the experimental stage and she could possibly die, he still proceeded with it; he could not tolerate her betrayal at all. When she did survive the surgery, all her memories were wiped out and it was like she was a nk canvas again. Jordan then sent someone to care for her, who was caring and attentive to her every need. When she had gotten used to this person, they suddenly tried to harm her. Just as she was close to being killed, Jordan deliberately appeared at that precise moment to rescue her. All he was trying to do was to show her that he was the only person who was good for her and that everyone and everything else was fake. Since then, she no longer trusted anyone else. She became cold and ruthless, and she would only obey him. At that point, she hadpletely forgotten about that boy who yed the piano and took really nice photographs. Jordan was very pleased, until she changed¡­ As always, she was cold, but no longer obedient. She had no recollection of the teenage boy and no longer believed in true love. She was cautious of the whole world, including Jordan¡­ When Jordan left, Anna was still enraged. Meanwhile, when Callum, who was in the study, learned that Cooper was Fass Michel, he was so impressed that he hastily did an online search to find out more information. However¡­ ¡°Mom, take a look at this!¡± At that moment, Anna was still shocked at the fact that Cooper was Fass and that he was about to marry the Duchess. In a trance, she saw the tablet that was handed to her by Callum. There was a young woman on the screen. The photo was old and blurry but it was still vaguely visible; thedy in the photograph was beautiful and lovely. In fact, her features were very simr to a young Anna¡¯s! Her name was Annabel Johnson. She was Cooper¡¯ste wife and their daughter was Sophia Edwards. All at once, Anna was thunderstruck. It took a while before she came back to her senses. ¡°Mom, no wonder Cooper always chokes up whenever he calls you ¡®Anna¡¯. It was because you look a lot like his wife!¡± Callum was outraged. ¡°Now I know why he is always at a loss for words whenever he sees you!¡± Through the screen, Anna gazed at the face that looked exactly like her when she was younger, bing even more shaken up. At that moment, she felt like she had been stabbed in her heart. No wonder Cooper was always looking at her with deep affection¡­ Anna chuckled emotionlessly. It turned out that it was only because she looked like histe wife. Meanwhile, he was Fass Michel, who was about to marry the Duchess. Everything was just her own imagination! Suddenly, Anna stood up and said hastily, ¡°Since Jordan invited us back, we¡¯ll return to Ronney City immediately. It seems like he can¡¯t hold up anymore.¡± Although they left, Anna developed her own confidant over the years. When she left, the confidant stayed there and deliberately caused trouble at Ronney¡¯s, ruining business after business and making a mess of things. Jordan had no choice but to rush back to deal with the mess when he had other businesses to attend to. Hence, his schedule was always very hectic. Sure enough, Ronney City just couldn¡¯t leave her alone. Back then, Jordan was only training her to be his puppet and he didn¡¯t expect those thoughts to be ingrained in her mind. As for Cooper, Anna never wanted to think about this person ever again. That night, they packed up and left immediately. Anna thought that in Cooper¡¯s eyes, she was just a substitute for a dead person! Just then, Callum looked at the pigs, dogs, cats, chickens, and alpacas. Damn it! I¡¯ve been taking care of Sophia¡¯s pets for free for so long! And so, Sophia received a text message from Callum, ¡®We¡¯re leaving. We left your pets at your door; go get them yourself. If they freeze to death, then they deserve it!¡¯ Before Sophia could understand what was going on, she learned that Anna and the others had packed up and left for Ronney City, and that her pets were left shivering in the snow in front of the entrance. Although Sophia had repeatedly confirmed that Anna was gone, Carmen still insisted on visiting her as soon as she woke up the next morning. ¡°But I promised Miss Beautiful that I was going to y Snow White!¡± Carmen pleaded. She was wearing a Snow White costume and she had plucked the roses that Michael had grown to give them to Anna. ¡°Miss Beautiful leftst night,¡± Sophia hurriedly exined. ¡°She couldn¡¯t stand the cold here so she went back to heaven. Don¡¯t worry; she¡¯ll be back next year!¡± Unconvinced, Carmen carried her little basket and she was bent on going to Anna¡¯s residence. ¡°Miss Beautiful won¡¯t leave. We made a promise yesterday! If she was going to leave, she would definitely inform me!¡± Left with no choice, Sophia took Carmen to the Yard Residence to see for herself. Indeed, the Yard Family was gone. The pets that they stole were abandoned at the doorst night. They packed up everything and left overnight; it seemed like something happened that resulted in their abrupt departure. Although Sophia did not want to contact Anna, she was worried and wondered if something bad had happened to her. There must be a reason for leaving in such a hurry¡­ When Sophia and Carmen were leaving, Cooper came with them. Upon seeing him, Sophia tried to convince him, ¡°Dad, you don¡¯t have toe. I¡¯ll take her there.¡± However, Cooper still tagged along without saying anything. Hence, Sophia had no choice but to let him come with them. When they arrived at the Yard Residence, they saw the thick snow fromst night that umted at the door. It seemed like they were rushing to leave before the heavy snowfall. There was a pot of roses ced right at the entrance. Unfortunately, they werepletely frozen after a night of snowfall. The petals were withered and the roses were dead. At that moment, Cooper was staring nkly at the pot of roses that had been discarded outside¡­ Carmen must have given them to Anna. Just then, Carmen walked to the entrance, leaving tiny footprints in the snow behind her. She knocked on the door and shouted, ¡°Open the door, Miss Beautiful! It¡¯s me, Carmen! I¡¯m here to y Snow White for you!¡± Sadly, there was no movement inside. Standing on her tiptoes, Carmen rang the doorbell several times but there was still no response. When she finally came to terms that there was no one home, she stood at the door dejectedly and sobbed, her head hanging low. Hastily, Sophia hugged her close and wiped away her tears. ¡°Miss Beautiful went back to heaven to celebrate the new year¡¯s. She¡¯s not here anymore. Let¡¯s go home, alright?¡± Looking up at Sophia, Carmen sniffled sadly, ¡°Is it because Miss Beautiful doesn¡¯t like me anymore so she secretly went away?¡± Realizing how sad Carmen was, Sophia was heartbroken. ¡°Of course not! It¡¯s because the Heavenly Court ordered Miss Beautiful to return immediately, so she had to rush to leave. She didn¡¯t have the time to inform you but she did call mest night! You were asleep, so I didn¡¯t want to wake you.¡± Still, Carmen was incredibly distraught. She sobbed and her tears were uncontrobly streaming down her cheeks. ¡°Is she going to call me?¡±Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°Of course she will. Let¡¯s go home; maybe she has called!¡± Sophia cooed as she wiped Carmen¡¯s tears. It was only then did Carmen leave sadly with Sophia. As they were leaving, Sophia turned to look back at Cooper, who was still standing there motionless. It was as if his leather shoes had taken root in the snow while he silently stared at the pot of abandoned roses. Chapter 1231 Chapter 1231 Cooper had seen how attentive Anna had been in growing and caring for the flower pot. Yet, it was now abandoned by her. ¡°Dad!¡± Sophia called out to him twice before he finally hummed in response. She nced at the frozen roses and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go home; it¡¯s getting cold.¡± However, Cooper didn¡¯t move. ¡°You guys go ahead¡­ I want to stay here a little longer.¡± His voice was filled with sadness. Just a few days ago, he woulde and chat with Anna anytime he could. Although it was only for brief moments, Sophia noticed that he would be in a particrly good mood that day. In fact, it wasn¡¯t like any other days when he was in a good mood. Sadly, Anna was gone just like that. She is such a ruthless person. Meanwhile, Carmen walked away while she cried. Sophia turned around to see Cooper still standing there motionless as he gazed sadly at the pot of roses. When Sophia turned back around, Cooper realized that his face was wet from tears that had rolled down; the warm liquid streamed down his face and froze. Cooper knew he was going to get hurt, yet he still recklessly lunged toward it. Anna, how can you be so cruel? When they came home, Carmen burst into tears as soon as she saw her father. Then, the same thing happened with her uncle and Poppy came over. ¡°Miss Beautiful will definitely call you; don¡¯t worry!¡± Sophia promised. In the midst of her cries, Anna finally called. Carmen picked up and instantly stopped wailing. Sitting next to her, Sophia listened to the phone call and heard that it was indeed Anna¡¯s voiceing from the other end. Not only that, even her tone was exactly the same. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Meanwhile, Carmen dried her tears and sobbed as she spoke on the phone. ¡°Don¡¯t cry, Carmen. I¡¯lle and visit when I¡¯m done with work. Have a good new year! Don¡¯t cry anymore, alright?¡± Anna¡¯s voice was extremely gentle. Drying her tears, Carmen blubbered, ¡°Okay;e visit soon!¡± ¡°Good girl. Wait for me,¡± Anna replied. After hanging up, Carmen was still depressed. Even though she knew that Anna left because of an emergency and that it wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t like her anymore, Carmen still wept whenever she thought about the fact that she wasn¡¯t going to see Anna for a long time. In the study upstairs, Michael hung up the phone and nced at Linus. The atmosphere was eerie. As a matter of fact, Anna could not have called Carmen. Clearly, the call was made by Michael. With Linus¡¯s special voice-changing device and Michael¡¯s acting skills, the two cooperated seamlessly and imitated Anna perfectly. After the call, Linus silently put away the device. In fact, he once used this device to imitate Michael¡¯s voice to deceive Sophia. Michael and Cooper both knew about it, but they never brought it up to her. ¡°Linus!¡± Sophia pushed open the door and came in happily. ¡°Linus, you¡¯re amazing foring up with this idea. You¡¯re the best brother ever!¡± Upon hearing that, Linus immediately smiled. ¡°Of course. After all, I¡¯m the brother of Sophia Edwards!¡± However, Michael had mixed feelings upon seeing the closeness between the siblings. Later, Sophia was still a little concerned. ¡°But I still feel guilty for lying to Carmen. What if she asks Anna about it the next time they meet?¡± Meanwhile, Linus was putting away the device and assured her, ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll forget about it in a few days! Sometimes¡­ lying is necessary and a form of kindness.¡± Michael remained silent. Linus was right. Sometimes, a lie was well-intentioned¡­ It was the same when it came to Sophia and Carmen. Yet, Sophia seemed to be unaware of the tension between the two and she was still worrying about how to continue with this act further down the road. Even though Linus and Michael teamed up to create a beautiful lie for Carmen to temporarily deceive her, Carmen was still wept and sulked all morning. During lunch, she wasn¡¯t interested in her food at all. She just yed around with her food in the bowl with a little spoon, unwilling to eat. ¡°Darling, Stan and Maisie will be here soon. They wouldn¡¯t want to see you cry, so cheer up!¡± In order to lift Carmen¡¯s mood, Sophia invited Stan and Sean to bring their child over for a feast. At that moment, Carmen was still in her Snow White costume and so, Sophia took the opportunity to ask, ¡°When Stan is here, could you perform Snow White for everyone?¡± Pouting, Carmen nodded in agreement before she forced herself to eat in order to put on a good performanceter. Just yesterday, Carmen had spent half a day in preparation for her performance as Snow White. When Anna left without a word, it was a huge blow to her. After only eating half of her food, she didn¡¯t want to eat anymore. Upon seeing that, Sophia became anxious as Carmen¡¯s food intake and diet n were created by professional child nutrition experts, and she had to eat a fixed amount to ensure adequate nutrition. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating? Be a good girl and eat a little more!¡± Sophia took a spoonful and ced it right in front of her mouth. Tilting her head, Carmen whined, ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡± Even when Michael and Cooper came to coax her, she still refused to eat. Finally, when Linus came and she still refused to eat, he said, ¡°If you finish your food, I¡¯ll go on ¡®Let¡¯s go, Uncle!¡¯ with you, alright?¡± Ever since ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ became popr, arge number of simr shows surged. Now, there was a new one called ¡®Let¡¯s Go, Uncle!¡¯, where the participants were uncles from celebrity families and the content was simr to that of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯. It was bing quite popr too. Quickly, this show became Carmen¡¯s second favorite. In fact, she would watch every single episode. By the end of each episode, she would stare straight at Linus, who would be instantly terrified. Pouting, Carmen looked at Linus and said, ¡°I don¡¯t believe you unless you sign the contract.¡± Meanwhile, Michael rolled his eyes while he carried Justin¡¯s second child and fed him. His kid was taking advantage of the situation again! Since Linus suggested it, then he would surelymit to it. As one of the most famous uncles in Bayside City, the director of ¡®Let¡¯s Go, Uncle!¡¯ had long noticed Linus. Before this, Linus had rejected every time he tried to invite him on the show. Now, after giving him a call, the director practically skipped over with a contract. On top of that, Carmen also happily performed Snow White for the director. After signing the contract, the director then left happily. Staring at the contract, Linus felt his skin crawl; he was practically forced into this. In the afternoon, Stan and Sean came over with Maisie, as did Harry and his family. Everyone had a meal before sitting down to watch TV together and chat. On TV, the recent parent-child reality shows were booming, such as ¡®My Brother and I¡¯ that was ying right now. The participants were naturally siblings from celebrity families and the age difference was more than a dozen years. Not only that, handsome big brothers with their delicate little sisters attracted a huge audience, making it another pretty popr show. After an episode of ¡®My Brother and I¡¯, Carmen stared at Nathan. Although Nathan had on a calm expression, he was in fact panicking on the inside and a shiver crept down his spine. ¡°Nate, I want¡ª¡± Carmen finally plucked up the courage to ask in a honeyed voice. ¡°No; you don¡¯t!¡± Chapter 1232 Chapter 1232 Immediately, Nathan stuffed a jelly in her mouth and ran away. After that, Carmen quietly stood next to Stanley, who stiffened and was afraid to move or even make eye contact. She then tugged at his sleeve. ¡°Stan, I want¡ª¡± Pretending to be serious, Stanley scolded sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it!¡± After being silent for a few seconds, Carmen started to bawl. All at once, Stanley panicked and backtracked, ¡°Wait; please don¡¯t cry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± While everyone wasforting her, Cooper quickly switched to a different channel to keep Carmen from seeing another one of those reality shows. To their surprise, a loud voice came on the TV as soon as the channel was switched. ¡°Thank you for tuning in to watch thergest parent-child reality TV show ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯! Please wee Grandpa No. 1 to the stage!¡± Instantly, Cooper¡¯s hairs stood on end and he felt his skin crawl. The entire room became eerily silent before Carmen, who had just been throwing a tantrum, was now standing behind Cooper silently and looking up at him with innocent puppy eyes. With a sweet voice, she asked, ¡°Grandpa, am I still your favorite little baby?¡± At that point, Cooper had broken into cold sweat and it started to roll down his skin. Under Carmen¡¯s intense gaze, he was terrified of making a sudden movement, or any movement for that matter. ¡­ At Ronney City, Anna and the rest had safely arrived from Bayside City after more than a forty-hour bumpy ride. In fact, it had been some time since Anna was away. Hence, she was swamped with work and could only get three or four hours of sleep every night. She would often overwork herself to the point where she would fall asleep instantly as soon as her head hit the pillow. She was afraid that her mind would wander endlessly if she had even a second of free time. Despite that, she hadn¡¯t been well-rested since she returned because she kept having nightmares. At one moment, she would dream that her body was torn open and something crawled out. Then, she would see her two sons being lifted up high before being thrown onto the ground. ¡°Miss Beautiful, where did you go?¡± Carmen¡¯s cries would echo in her ear from time to time and the dream would center around Cooper¡¯s deep, yet emotionless gaze. ¡°Anna, Annabel¡ª¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Screaming, Anna woke from her dream, only to realize she was still in her bedroom without Cooper, Carmen, or her sons. Her body was still in one piece and not torn apart. When her hand reached up to touch her face, she realized she had been crying. What is going on? She was anxious all night and couldn¡¯t fall back asleep although it was only three o¡¯clock in the morning. Suddenly, she shot up and turned on herputer. She found the surveince footage of her residence at Bayside City and yed it from the morning after they had left. She watched Carmen, who was wearing a Snow White costume,ing over with Sophia early in the morning. Gazing at the adorable dress, she suddenly remembered the promise she made with Carmen the day before and realized she had broken her promise¡­ Carmen¡¯s cries were like a pair of invisible hands that were tugging at Anna¡¯s heart strings. Her heart ached so much that she could barely breathe. Cooper, on the other hand, remained silent the whole time. He was just looking down at the discarded pot of roses. In the footage, his face wasn¡¯t visible but Anna knew he was heartbroken too. She couldn¡¯t bear to watch the footage any longer so she shut herputer. However, her tears were still rolling down uncontrobly. Even after all these years of fighting her own emotions and being able to control it, she still felt like she was going to break down anytime soon. She couldn¡¯t help but want to have a good cry and let out all her feelings of helplessness and sorrow. What the hell is going on? Meanwhile, Callum and Cade were in the study. After they were done with what they were doing, they watched the surveince footage at the Yard Residence too and found that Carmen hade by early in the morning. When they heard her sobs, they both felt unhappy as well. This kid was too cute and they couldn¡¯t bear to be the reason for her sorrow. However, they thought Cooper was acting strangely. Initially, they thought he was only using Anna as a recement for histe wife but they realized that when Anna was gone, he would stille and stand by the door for an hour or two. Every day, he would just wander around the residence, as if he was waiting for someone. What is Cooper thinking? Both Callum and Cade thought it was too peculiar and assumed that something must have happened that they were unaware about. The simplest and most straightforward way to find out was to ask Sophia herself. ¡°Hey, Sophia. What¡¯s going on with your dad?¡± Cade asked as soon as the call was picked up. However, Sophia shouted down the line, ¡°Get lost!¡± Then, she added, ¡°Sorry our family isn¡¯t good enough for the Yard Family. Carmen won¡¯t be visiting you anymore!¡± After hanging up, Callum and Cade were baffled. It was clearly her father who was acting like a yboy and making Anna sad, yet Sophia scolded them. So what if your family has a mine? So what if you¡¯re from the Michel Family? And so, both families had decided to not stay in touch for a while. In reality, Callum was eager to win Cooper over. If he and Anna worked together, they would definitely be able to get rid of Jordan. In fact, the mother and sons were fed up with their current lives; they had to seed, or else they would definitely be done for. However, the rtionship was now destroyed and they could only rely on themselves or look for stronger allies. Back in Bayside City, Cooper went out every day to walk the dogs and would always end uping to the ce where Anna used to stay. He would wander around the area before going home. Although Anna and Annabel were actually two different people, Cooper still couldn¡¯t let it go. The way Sophia saw it, there was no other way than to find something for Cooper to do so that his mind wouldn¡¯t wander. He should go on that ¡®My Grandpa in Shining Armor¡¯ show. At that point, the agreement had been signed and Carmen¡¯s schedule for the next year was almost full. She was going to be the lead actress for a western children¡¯s fantasy film and would be appearing on two reality shows¡ª¡®Let¡¯s Go Uncle!¡¯ and ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯. That was enough activities for her; anything more than that was going to affect her studies. However, Carmen was still not satisfied. She wanted to go on ¡®My Brother and I¡¯ too but since that day, her brothers had fled and went into hiding. Nathan slipped back to the Fletcher Residence and Stanley never came to visit again. Not long after, there was another reality TV show called ¡®Mommy¡¯s Hugs¡¯, where attractive mothers participated with their cute kids. The ratings for that reality show were incredibly high too. Then, Carmen went into the study where Sophia was busy with work and stared at her. Carmen dawdled and tried to speak to Sophia shyly, but didn¡¯t know where to start. Meanwhile, Michael watched her from the side and snickered to himself. After a long while, Carmen finally gathered all her courage and set up a trap to initiate the conversation. ¡°Mommy, am I still the family¡¯s favorite baby?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± Sophia pointed to herself and said confidently, ¡°I¡¯m the family¡¯s favorite baby. I was here first; you came second.¡± Upon hearing this, Michael tried hard to hold in hisughter. On the other hand, Carmen pouted and ran away unhappily. Bemused, Sophia shook her head before going back to looking at her schedules and realized that Nathan¡¯s basketball game was tomorrow. The next day, the family showed up on time at Bayside University¡¯s gymnasium to watch the Men¡¯s Basketball Finals. Although Nathan was only fifteen, he stood at five foot seven. Not only did he participate in the basketball match this year, he even made it to the finals. At the arena, Sophia nced at the court after finding a seat and immediately found Nathan. Then, her eyes scanned through his opponents and found two unexpected people¡ªHenry and Ryan Yard. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. At once, the atmosphere became a little tense. Chapter 1233 Chapter 1233 Not knowing why, Sophia felt unusually tense to see Nathan up against Ryan and Henry, and she got goosebumps all over. Michael wasn¡¯t there. It was just her, Justin and Celine who hade to watch the game. Soon, Sophia¡¯s suspicions were confirmed. When the game started, something felt off. Although Nathan was five foot seven, he was still smallpared to his teammates. Despite that, he was still strong; after all, he was one of the Fletchers. He joined Bayside University¡¯s military training year after year and on top of that, he would also join the Fletcher Family¡¯s military training whenever he had the time. In fact, he was great at basketball and he was granted special admission and sessfully got into the university¡¯s team. As soon as the game started, Nathan caught the ball and the red team was in the lead. Suddenly, one of the team yers from the blue team leapt toward Nathan, seemingly trying to grab the ball. However, the six feet tall body mmed right into him. Bang! Caught off guard, the impact sent Nathan flying as he kept his hold on the ball. Right away, the coach blew his whistle and the blue team was then given warning for a foul. At that moment, poor Nathanid there for a while before getting up. He did not look good and he was holding his stomach when he stood up. Despite that, he still made a gesture toward his family in the audience, signaling he was alright. Upon seeing this, Celine was on the verge of bursting into tears as her face contorted. She tugged at Justin and said, ¡°Our son got beaten.¡± Worried, Justin watched while heforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; idents happen.¡± On the other hand, Sophia remained silent as her gaze was fixed on the pair of brothers. As a matter of fact, she caught them exchanging looks when Nathan was knocked down. It almost looked like a smug look. At that point, Stanley came to watch the game with a few members of the Fletcher Family. ¡°Sorry we¡¯rete! How¡¯s Nate-Tan doing?¡± The past few years, Nathan had been practicing his basketball skills at the Fletcher Residence. It was inevitable that he would be tan like the Fletchers, so Stan affectionately nicknamed him Nate-Tan. At that moment, Sophia stood up from the crowd and left the audience seating area, going to stand by the court. She wasn¡¯t interfering with the game; she just stood and watched from the sidelines. At that moment, the game had already resumed. Watching closer, Sophia realized the problem was that they weren¡¯t actually ying basketball. Instead, they were deliberately hitting people. One instance was when the match first started, Ryan caught the ball and quickly passed it. However, the ball wasn¡¯t passed to his teammate. Instead, it was sent flying toward Nathan¡¯s back. At once, Nathan was hit and he lunged forward as a result, almost falling onto the ground. The scene was an uproar, yet the initiator was smiling smugly. They were doing it on purpose. In fact, they were pretending to hit him unintentionally. In just the first half of the game, Nathan was hit several times. He would either be hit by someone or tripped when he ran, or even suddenly getting hit in the head with the ball. Fortunately, he became aware of what was happening and began to consciously dodge every hit. After all, he was a child of the Fletcher Family. After a few hits, he got smart and even shot a few three- pointers. And so, the red team was in the lead during the first half of the game. Just then, Justin also noticed the situation and he came down to the court angrily. However, he was stopped by Sophia. ¡°Calm down,¡± she advised. At halftime, Nathan left the court to rest. When Sophia approached him, she realized there were bruises forming on his face and abrasions on his head. ¡°Darling, how are you holding up? Does it hurt?¡± Justin asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m alright; I can continue,¡± Nathan said, his eyes full of determination. In fact, he had already won half of the game. I just have to hold out until the end of the second half! Unexpectedly, Sophia said, ¡°Let the substitute yer go up for the second half. You should go to the infirmary.¡± It was clear that the opposing team was deliberately injuring people. ¡°No; I¡¯m going up. I have to win this match!¡± Nathan immediately objected. Suddenly, Sophia became stern as she said, ¡°Are you not going to listen to your aunt? You¡¯re out of this game!¡± Justin too advised, ¡°Look at your face¡ªit¡¯s swollen. You can¡¯t y anymore!¡± Meanwhile, Celine hugged her big baby and sobbed bitterly, ¡°Oh, my son!¡± Whether or not Nathan was willing, Justin had already made the decision and dragged a very reluctant Nathan away. As the blue team and the cheerleaders of the blue team watched Nathan leave, they all cheered mockingly. Meanwhile, the red team was evidently disappointed and expressed their regrets. ¡°Trash!¡± ¡°Yeah! Run home to your Mommy, you coward!¡± Upon hearing that, Nathan was infuriated. Sadly, he couldn¡¯t win against his father so he could only be escorted away. He was filled with resentment and he could still hear the mocking cheers of the blue team echoing in his ears. In fact, the sound got progressively sharper every time it reyed in his head. At that moment, Sophia turned around to look at the pair of brothers and saw that they were winking and making suggestive facial expressions at her. Not understanding what was going on, Stanley asked in disbelief, ¡°How could you just leave like that? Look how arrogant the Yard Family is!¡± With a dark expression, Sophia said, ¡°This is not the ce for a fight.¡± Stanley narrowed his eyes, seemingly understanding herment. Then, the group left the gymnasium. After Nathan left, the match resumed and a substitute took his ce. In the end, the blue team won the match. When the game ended, it was already noon. Henry and Ryan showered and changed in their own personal locker rooms before leaving the gymnasium, heading to the parking lot. Because it was noon and there was no cafeteria near the gymnasium, there weren¡¯t many people around. asionally, there would only be a few people who were just passing by. At that moment, Henry felt his hair stand up and he suddenly felt uneasy. Indeed, the street in front of them was suddenly filled with a row of people. Instantly, the brothers recognized them. Isn¡¯t that Sophia and her minions? There were four of them¡ªSophia, Nathan, Justin, and Celine. A kid, two women, and only one man who could actually fight. As such, they did not take them seriously, as there were seven or eight of them on their side. ¡°What? Did you finally change your mind about having fun with us?¡± Henry walked toward Sophia, his eyes wandering up and down her slender figure that not even her winter clothes could cover. Despite that, the corner of Sophia¡¯s lips curled upward as she remained silent. Meanwhile, the others who were standing beside her also stayed silent; even the silly Celine had a look of bitterness and hatred on her face. Seeing as nobody was saying anything, Henry continued to tease Sophia, ¡°Are you shy? Would you prefer to do it one-on-one? Come on then!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. As soon as he said that, a loud and synchronized thumping suddenly filled the surrounding silence as footsteps approached. Looking around, Henry saw that there was a huge crowding from all directions. There were men and women with various heights; it seemed like they were all students of Bayside University. At once, the crowd swarmed toward them. Everyone had a serious expression and they were all silent. Looking at the number of people, there were no less than a hundred of them. In a blink of an eye, the Yard Family was surrounded by the crowd. At that point, the Yard twins realized that something was wrong. Unfortunately for them, it was toote. On top of that, Stanley had also called over the Fletchers, while Sean called the Mitchell Family. On the other hand, when the Winston Family got wind of the fight with the Yards, they rushed here to join in the fun. As a matter of fact, they loved to watch fights. Recently, the Yard twins had been spending a lot of time in Bayside University and caused trouble from time to time. However, the school couldn¡¯t do anything about them. When the students heard that they were going to get beat up, all of them were hyped up and rushed over to watch. There were constantly peopleing and adding onto the crowd. If the school couldn¡¯t control them, the students would do it! Chapter 1234 Chapter 1234 Looking at that vast sea of people, Henry took a few steps backward as he said in a trembling voice, ¡°What are you trying to do? I¡¯ll have you know that this is Bayside University¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Celine cut him off by saying, ¡°Beat up those Yard b*stards!¡± As soon as she said that, she personally got into action and dashed past the bodyguards of the Yard Family like a bullet. Stopping in front of Henry and Ryan, she demonstrated a traditional kick¡ªScissor Step¡ªthat was handed down by the ancestors. Her long slender legs moved so fast that they became shadows and in a blink of an eye, she clutched the two brothers¡¯ throats. The stimnt that was produced by Phantom Wolf was special. It had bizarre side effects, causing some to have disabilities, death, deterioration of physical ability but with a functioning brain or deterioration of the brain with a functioning body. Celine suffered from thetter effect. Although she became dim, her exceptional physical strength remained. In a mor of shouts and shes, the Yard Family drowned in the sea of people. The two jerks were showered with punches and kicks, which even the Yard Family¡¯s bodyguards couldn¡¯t shield them from. Ten minutester, the crowd formed a circle around the Yard brothers¡ªwho were pinned to the ground¡ª and stared at them. The two were beaten into pulp and were being held on the ground in an extremely humiliating way. At the same time, they were covered in footprints because all of the Bayside University students couldn¡¯t help but kick them. After all, the brothers had been recklessly bullying students in the university and even harassed a female student from the film academy a few days ago, causing her and her family to move out of Bayside overnight; even her boyfriend was forced to drop out of school. In addition, one of the students also quickly discontinued his studies because his results were better than theirs. Not only that, a few students who publicly talked bad about them in the cafeteria received different levels of revenge. The university tried to deal with them but they couldn¡¯t find any evidence. Finally, someone did a good deed and taught them a lesson today. If no one stopped the students, they would¡¯ve kicked those two b*stards to death. A pair of leather boots strolled back and forth in front of them, producing a heavy rhythm. ¡°I heard that both of you are acting extremely imperious in the university recently. You even bullied the students, didn¡¯t you?¡± Gritting his teeth, Henry muttered, ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away with¡ª¡± Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Smack! Taking a step forward, Celine pped Henry hard, causing him to have a concussion while blood dripped through his nose and mouth. On the other hand, Sophia looked down at them and chuckled coldly. She too mocked, ¡°You¡¯re the Cethos regional person in charge of the Ronney Group after all. Why did you ignore your standards and start bullying students in Bayside University? What losers!¡± Tone dripping with sarcasm, Celine added, ¡°Please! They¡¯re no longer the person in charge. Now, Lucy is the Cethos regional general acting director of the Ronney Group. Ironically, she¡¯s their half-sister. They were fired from the Ronney Group for cking in their work so they had no choice but to study in the university. Since they failed to defeat their sister, they could only vent their anger on themoners and students. What cowards!¡± It seemed like Sophia only came to know about that now and sheughed after hearing Celine¡¯s exnation. ¡°I see¡­ Tsk; they¡¯re indeed losers!¡± Continuing from where they left off, Sean added, ¡°Before this, the Ronney Group was a mess because of them but after their sister took over the job, thepany immediately gained the upper hand. Ha! If they were one tenth as clever as Lucy, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up this way. Now, all they can do is bully the students in the university, who haven¡¯t stepped out into society.¡± For the Yard brothers, nothing felt more humiliating than being criticized; not even being beaten up could compare to that. One day, Jordan brought Lucy to the Ronney Group and told them that she was their sister whom they had never met before. On top of that, she would be recing them as the Cethos regional person in charge of the Ronney Group. If she was one of Jordan¡¯s other children, they would¡¯ve made a fuss about it, even if it was Callum or Cade. After all, the Yard brothers were spoiled since young and were told that they were the kings of the world. Anna had never scolded them and their two elder brothers doted on them too. Unexpectedly, their sister, who appeared out of nowhere, took them under control and caught them off guard without considering their pride. As a result, the princes¡ªwho were born with silver spoons in their mouths¡ªwere suddenly struck by the cruel reality. As soon as Lucy came, she overturned all their ways of working and thoughts; she even dismissed their ns and fired their men. The Yard brothers tried to fight her but to their dismay, they lost. Soon, Cethos headquarters of the Ronney Group waspletely taken over by Lucy. She even stopped all their activities and prohibited them from interfering in any of Ronney Group¡¯s management until Jordan gave them his word. In addition, she forced them to study in the university. This was utterly humiliating to the Yard brothers. In the past 20 years, they had been the apple of everyone¡¯s eyes and they were spoiled. However, Lucy stepped on them and Jordan even supported her. Now, Sophia was rubbing salt in their wounds and humiliating them even more. ¡°You mean these two fools? As useless cowards, the both of you shouldn¡¯t have fought against Lucy. It¡¯s like kicking against the pricks. Don¡¯t you know how useless you are? You¡¯re pathetic! You were not only defeated by Lucy in the Yard Family, you can¡¯t even win against your other two brothers.¡± While Ryan was lost for words, Henry struggled like a trapped beast. He started to burn in anger while his veins popped. He then shouted ferociously, ¡°Shut up! Shut up, all of you!¡± However, his anger roused even more humiliation from the crowd. ¡°Look¡ªhe¡¯s angry. Oh no; he¡¯s going to cry!¡± ¡°We¡¯d better let him go quickly. Otherwise, he might run back home and cry in his sister¡¯s arms. By that time, we¡¯ll be doomed if his sisteres to seek revenge.¡± ¡°Look at these two losers. Hrious!¡± Henry struggled desperately while hatred took over his face. His pride was repeatedly mocked by everyone and he hated them all, including Lucy. Suddenly, Sophia grabbed his colorful hair and lifted his face. She looked at him in curiosity with her brows knitted and scorned, ¡°People always say that outstanding people will have outstanding children. Your parents and siblings are extraordinary geniuses, but why are you so different from them?¡± Beside them, someone mocked, ¡°Perhaps they were found in the dumpster! Ha!¡± ¡°Perhaps the nurse in the obstetrics was blind and made a mistake. She must¡¯ve thrown the baby and cultivated the centa instead. What¡¯s more¡ªshe grew two centas!¡± Suddenly, someone said, ¡°Security is here!¡± Instantly, the onlookers scattered like fleeing birds, leaving behind those of the Yard Family, who were lying on the ground like dogs. While walking away from Bayside University, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but turn back and look. Who said that Lucy didn¡¯t have other shorings? Since Anna wanted Sophia to deal with the pair of losers for her, why couldn¡¯t she instruct the two losers to deal with Lucy instead? Although they were losers, they attached great importance to their pride. In the past, they were suppressed by Callum and Cade and now, they were suppressed by Lucy. How would the two mischievous jerks resign themselves to that fact? Chapter 1235 Chapter 1235 Meanwhile at the Ronney Group, Lucy was informed that Henry and Ryan were beaten up. It wasn¡¯t until recently that she knew Jordan was Ronney Group¡¯s live-in son-inw. At the same time, she found out that his illegitimate children were scattered all over the world. She had always known that Jordan was powerful but she didn¡¯t expect him to be powerful to the extent of suffocating her. That meant her sess would be a thing of the distant future. Although Lucy had be the Young Lady of the Yard Family, she knew her situation very well. She desperately wanted to grow stronger because she wanted her long-desired freedom¡ªthe freedom that broke her off from everyone¡¯s control. As a sister, she did her part and visited the Yard brothers in the hospital although she was already informed of the situation. The Edwards Family was among the people who protected Ryan and Henry. While protecting them, they also monitored them. How dare this pair of fools mess with the Fletcher Family? Even worse, they picked fights with one of Mark¡¯s most beloved great-grandsons, Theo¡¯s grandson and Michael¡¯s nephew! How could they attack Mark¡¯s grandson in Bayside City? Lucy didn¡¯t expect them to act so stupidly but the reality proved that she had underestimated their foolishness. They not only indulged in gluttony and pleasure, they even tortured models to death and acted recklessly in Bayside University, disturbing the order. As their sister, she visited Bayside University several times for her brothers¡¯ sake and frequently cleared up the mess they made. ¡°This will serve as a lesson to both of you. Remember this¡ªyou can¡¯t beat the local forces no matter how powerful you are.¡± Lucy didn¡¯t even spare a nce at the brothers, who were lying on the bed, and expressed her disdain and contempt toward them in her face without trying to conceal it. She was obviously thinking, Looking at losers like the two of you will only make me sick! Indeed, she was disgusted by just looking at them. What fools! Since a long time ago, she knew the other pair of brothers, Callum and Cade, were more astute. Do these two pairs of twinse from the same parents? Could it be that the real babies were thrown away and they were cultivated from centas? After giving them a brief warning, Lucy grabbed her bag and walked away while saying, ¡°I¡¯m going to Bayside University.¡± Ryan was severely injured from the beatings and he was moaning on the bed. On the other hand, Henry was in a better condition and he could still sit. ncing at Ryan, who was moaning in pain, he could barely conceal the hatred on his swollen face which was beyond recognition. ¡°You must capture whoever attacked us today and bring them to us!¡± Giving him a contemptuous look, Lucy murmured, ¡°I¡¯m going there to apologize on behalf of the both of you.¡± Upon hearing that humiliating word, Henry¡¯s eyes became even more ferocious. At the same time, he clenched his bruised and wounded fists. ¡°We¡¯re the ones who were attacked! Why should you apologize on our behalf?¡± They never had such a rude and humiliating experience. Lucy, however, refused to waste her time on them. She had an appointment with the vice chancellor of Bayside University, who was one of the Fletchers. If she could convince him, this incident could be settled easily. The moment she and her assistant were about to leave and close the ward door, Henry suddenly said, ¡°I want you to kill Sophia Edwards for me.¡± That woman offended us several times and we¡¯ve had enough of it! As long as Lucy takes care of this matter, she can surely kill Sophia. It all depends on Lucy¡¯s decision now. As expected, when Lucy heard that, she turned back to nce at Henry with a contemptuous smile, mocking his puffed-up pride, ¡°My task is to clean up the mess you made and smoothen your path. Other than that, I¡¯m not obliged to do anything. When the fashion week ends, I¡¯ll withdrawpletely. Also¡ª¡± She grabbed the door knob while warning them in an icy tone, ¡°¡ªbehave yourself for this period of time and don¡¯t let anyone get anything on you again. Before the fashion week ends sessfully, don¡¯t you dare cause any trouble and definitely don¡¯t think of killing anyone. I don¡¯t know who you are in Ronney City but in Bayside City, you¡¯re nothing!¡± With that, she mmed the door and left. Kill Sophia? They¡¯re fools! Before Lucy left, she instructed someone to keep an eye on the brothers. Knowing them, they might send someone to kill Sophia because they never considered the consequences of their actions. The moment the door was shut, Henry angrily smashed the cup that was on the small table in front of him. I knew that Lucy would not kill Sophia! Henry knew that Lucy had coborated with Sophia ever since a long time ago. From the start, Lucy looked down on the pair of them. Disgusting old woman! Just because she is our sister and has a few more years of experience, she acts ording to her will and disrespects us. She must be dreaming! When the Yard brothers found out that Jordan was the secret master of the Edwards Family, they not only aimed for the Yard Family, they also wanted the Edwards Family! Since they had the blood of the two families, why couldn¡¯t they do that? By that time, they would surely make that old woman grovel before them! ¡­ ¡°I hope that you can keep your daughter under control and prohibit her from fighting in the university. She¡¯s almost 30 and it¡¯s totally absurd for her to hit her juniors. Even if she has to, she should¡¯ve done so in secret. However, since there¡¯s a few million in student grants, I¡¯ll let this pass. Besides, the Yard and the Edwards Family came and said they will forgive her.¡± In Vi No. 8, the vice chancellor of Bayside University came to have a word with Sophia¡¯s parent regarding the group fight that she, a postgraduate student, started. In the living room sat a row of people who took part in the fight today, including Sophia, Stanley, Justin, Nathan and Celine. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. After Cooper promised to give a talk at Bayside University, the vice chancellor left happily. He was d that this incident was settled peacefully after Lucy came to clean up the mess that her brothers made by giving him money, whereas Cooper did the same for his daughter by giving a talk on top of giving a sum of money. Not only that, the pair of jerks¡ªthe Yard brothers¡ªwere given a lesson. After sending the vice chancellor away, Cooper stared darkly at those who joined the fight. He wanted to lecture them but didn¡¯t know where to start. He also wanted to scold Nathan but Nathan was a victim, whose face was covered with bruises from the attack. Sophia was on his list of getting a lecture too but once he saw her aggrieved face, he couldn¡¯t harden his heart to do so. In the end, he red at an innocent Michael and scolded, ¡°Keep an eye on your wife!¡± Michael rolled his eyes, feeling speechless. After that, that incident passed without any further consequences and Sophia decided to behave herself for some time. Meanwhile, she would focus on her fashion week. Before this, the Ronney Group deliberately set their fashion week¡¯s date on the same date as theirs in order to suppress them. Yet, they wereter defeated by Sophia, causing their fashion week to be almost ruined. Lucy had now reorganized Ronney Fashion Week. Sophia knew that she couldn¡¯t make the fashion week as extravagant as the Ronney Group in all aspects, so she changed her n and postponed Bayside Fashion Week so that both fashion weeks could be carried out on different dates. When Sophia¡¯s models were bought off by the other party, she wasn¡¯t angry. She found new models and rearranged the schedule without altering the pay. Anyway, they couldn¡¯t leave on the same day even if their work in Bayside City was done. Therefore, they might as well stay back and take up another job. When the sellers were snatched, she asked others to politely invite them back. By changing the time, their fashion show could be continued. Even if the venue was snatched, it wasn¡¯t a big deal for her. She would just change the time again without arguing with the Ronney Group, so that they could carry out the event after they finished theirs. Bit by bit, Sophia reorganized Bayside Fashion Week and even signed a batch of famous designers and brands from Ronney Fashion Week to participate in Bayside Fashion Week. She acted strategically, countering the opponent¡¯s move. In the Yard brothers¡¯ ward, Henry rudely questioned Lucy, who had just stepped into the ward, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take any action when that b*tch, Sophia, secretly works on that event? She even hired our staff and snatched our venue as well as our models!¡± Chapter 1236 Chapter 1236 Sophia not only set a different time to hold Bayside Fashion Week, she even bought over their sellers and models. Other than promoting their own brand, the Ronney Group would be promoting other famous brands from all over the world during the Ronney Fashion Week. These famous brands came to Bayside for a show because they respected the Ronney Group. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Unexpectedly, that disgusting b*tch took the opportunity to buy over our sellers to participate in their imitated fashion week. Other than that, Sophia even took advantage of our poprity! Their imitated fashion week was held right after the Ronney Fashion Week and at a simr venue. They were going to start almost immediately after the Yard Family ended their event. Even the scale was simr, causing the fashion industry to be confused, thinking that this year¡¯s Ronney Fashion Week had been extended to twice the duration. There were even rumors saying that Ronney Fashion Week got its name because it had always been held in Ronney City. Now that they suddenly changed their venue to Bayside City in Cethos, it was renamed as Bayside Fashion Week. After all, the four greatest fashion weeks from all over the world were named after the cities that it was held at. Many of the people, who didn¡¯t know the truth, would think that Ronney Fashion Week and Bayside Fashion Week were organized by the Yard Family in coboration with Bayside¡¯s fashion industry. What was even more surprising was that some of them thought that it was the same fashion show. That b*tch Sophia not only didn¡¯t rify that rumor, she even took advantage of the Ronney Group¡¯s fame. Many fashion celebrities came for the Ronney Group¡¯s fame but it was now benefiting the others! It¡¯s rude, mean, cheap and dirty! Lucy couldn¡¯t help rolling her eyes. Is that the reason this pair of losers asked my assistant to call me and demand Ie over immediately for an urgent discussion? After ncing at Henry, Lucy questioned, ¡°What do you want to do then?¡± Ryan replied angrily, ¡°Firstly, we must rify that Bayside Fashion Week has nothing to do with our fashion week.¡± Henry then continued, ¡°We¡¯ll also list out those sellers that signed with Bayside Fashion Week and give them warnings. Anyone who attended Ronney Fashion Week mustn¡¯t attend Bayside Fashion Week. Period!¡± ¡°The same applies to models, designers and other fashion-rted workers!¡± ¡°We must sue them!¡± ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t let Bayside Fashion Week go on sessfully. In Bayside¡¯s fashion industry, there¡¯ll be no ce for Sophia and her nonentities to stand.¡± Upon hearing the Yard brothers¡¯ n, Lucy rolled her eyes at them again. She understood what they wereining about. Since Ronney Fashion Week got back on tracktely, Sophia knew that she wasn¡¯t the Ronney Group¡¯s match so she changed her tactics from suppressing them to taking advantage of their fame. In fact, she took every opportunity to benefit from their fame and strived to mix up the two fashion weeks by deliberately fixing the date and venue closely. With that, she sessfully deceived many people. However, Lucy didn¡¯t say anything about that. Her task was to make the fashion week sessful and since Sophia¡¯s actions didn¡¯t affect Ronney Fashion Week, even if she took advantage of their fame, why would she attack her? Hence, Lucy told Henry and Ryan, ¡°We should have a leeway for everything. If the Ronney Group ns to survive in Cethos, we have to build a rapport with the local fashion industry and provide them benefits if we wish to have a smoother development in the future. In order for an enterprise to survive, it¡¯s not only about suppressing thepetitors rudely; it should be about freepetitions, endless improvisation and sharing resources. Must we get rid of the local fashion industry in Bayside so that the Ronney Group is the only one remaining? Would you be satisfied with that?¡± Henry wanted to say something but Lucy cut him off. ¡°What do you want me to do? Prohibit all the models and sellers from participating in Bayside Fashion Week? For the next step, are you nning to prohibit anyone from renting the show venue that we used for Ronney Fashion Week?¡± Henry and Ryan knew they couldn¡¯t win against Lucy in that argument but they weren¡¯t happy to let Sophia, who suppressed them previously, take advantage of the Ronney Group¡¯s fame now. Besides, Lucy was obviously taking Sophia¡¯s side! Under Henry¡¯s re, Lucy announced, ¡°My next step is coborating with Bayside Fashion Week.¡± She had this idea since the beginning¡ªrather than suppressing each other as opponents, they might as well unite the two forces as one! In that case, as a foreign force, the Ronney Group could enter Bayside market with the help of the local fashion forces. Besides, Sophia¡¯s backings were the Mitchell and the Fletcher Families, which were both strong forces that they should be cautious of, who might even cause trouble at any time. Instead of putting up their guard, they might as well show their friendliness at suitable times and coborate with them. In return, the local fashion industry could enter into the international market with the help of the Ronney Group¡¯s global influence. With that, everyone would have a slice of the pie. Then, she would sessfullyplete the task given by Jordan and step out of everything as soon as it ended. She really didn¡¯t want to get involved with this pair of fools any longer than necessary! Naturally, Lucy¡¯s idea was strongly opposed by Henry and Ryan. ¡°You n to coborate with Sophia?¡± Henry shouted angrily and his astonishment was indescribable. Even Ryan was stunned. ¡°Lucy, are you doing this on purpose? You¡¯re on the same side with Sophia!¡± Lucy nced at them contemptuously before instructing the bodyguards on both sides, ¡°Keep an eye on them. Before the fashion week ends, I don¡¯t want them to doubt my work and n.¡± With that, she left without considering their opposition. Henry and Ryan were forced to stay at the hospital. Since their legs were broken, they couldn¡¯t go out and stir up trouble. In the ward, both of them trembled in anger. It turned out that it was Sophia and Lucy¡¯s scheme all along. Their n must be asking the Fletcher and the Mitchell Families to break their legs and trap them in the hospital. Then, Lucy would coborate with Sophia. That cunning old woman! Meanwhile, Lucy had an appointment with Bayside Fashion Week so she headed straight to JNS Group right after she left the hospital. That day, many people went over to JNS Group. Sophia was the host and she invited the Bayside City Fashion Association to carry out the official signing of the agreement for the coboration between the two fashion weeks. Lawyers of the two parties came and they negotiated the contents. Then, both parties signed the agreement smoothly, looking forward to earning a fortune peacefully and sharing their fashion resources. Sophia was overjoyed too. She knew that she couldn¡¯t oupete Ronney Fashion Week that was organized by Lucy, so she would rather take advantage of their fame. Even better, she would just coborate with them. Unexpectedly, as soon as the idea of having a coboration hit Sophia, Lucy had taken the initiative to contact Sophia and suggested a coboration. Both of them hit it off immediately and decided to abandon their prejudice temporarily and make a fortune together. The scale, date and venue would remain the same but Ronney Fashion Week incorporated a Bayside special introduction show, which was originally Bayside Fashion Week. After the coboration was announced, it caused a huge ssh. In the hospital, the Yard brothers almost exploded from rage, yet they couldn¡¯t do anything since they were locked up in the hospital. Even worse, their legs were broken so they even needed help to go to the bathroom, not to mention stopping Lucy. Therefore, they could only watch helplessly as Lucy ruined their n. Even Cooper was shocked at how things ended up. After all, Lucy and Sophia were hostile toward each other previously but all of a sudden, they coborated. However, that made sense from a business point of view, which was benefit-oriented. There was no enemy that was forever but there were forever friends. His darling was clever and that was as expected, with her being his descendent. And so, Bayside Fashion Week rejoiced. Chapter 1237 Chapter 1237 The news soon spread to Ronney City. ¡°These two youngsters have shocking ideas!¡± Anna was the first to know the news and she was surprised. Beside her, Callum was sipping tea; he remained ratherposed and only sighed. ¡°ns always fall behind changes!¡± Initially, they nned to make Sophia fight against the useless brothers. They had to get rid of them even if it cost the entire Bayside City market. Unexpectedly, Jordan sent his eldest daughter from the Edwards Family, Lucy, to interfere in the matters of Bayside City just to support that pair of brothers. Even more surprising, Lucy ended up coborating with Sophia! That oue was truly not what they had expected. Sophia wasn¡¯t happy about getting rid of that pair of brothers for Anna to begin with. She was only interested in developing her career but that pair of brothers were in her way, so she had to deal with the Ronney Group even if she wasn¡¯t willing to. On the other hand, Lucy was only aiming toplete Jordan¡¯s task, so coboration was a great solution for both of them. Looking at the report from Bayside, Anna suddenly asked Cade, ¡°What about Jordan?¡± Jordan didn¡¯t trust anyone but surprisingly, he sent the eldest daughter of the Edwards Family to interfere in the Yard Family¡¯s issues. Now that his daughter made such a shocking decision, it was impossible that he stayed calm. Cade murmured in response, ¡°Until now, he hasn¡¯t given a response.¡± However, Jordan surely knew about what took ce. Therefore, he must have tacitly agreed to it since he didn¡¯t say anything. He knew that the coboration between Lucy and Sophia would only bring benefit to his sons in expanding Bayside City¡¯s market. Callum sighed. ¡°I¡¯m really unhappy with this oue. I didn¡¯t expect that Lucy would interfere in this matter.¡± Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. However, Anna didn¡¯t think that it was a big deal. Jordan would never allow Lucy to control Ronney Group¡¯s market in Cethos, so she would have to return the power to that pair of brothers sooner orter. Therefore, it was still uncertain if they could hold onto their achievement even if they had established their foundation. ¡°The best is yet toe!¡± Callum smiled cunningly while clenching the tea cup in his hand. Anna looked at the photo in the documents, where Lucy and Sophia were signing the agreement. They were shaking hands while smiling brightly; although they had their own ns, they knew that coborating with each other was a win-win solution. However, would that pair of brothers think the same way? Yet, Anna¡¯s focus was on their smiles. Lucy indeed took after her father, Jordan¡¯s temperament. Judging from her looks, she was obviously not an ordinary person. After all, she was Jordan¡¯s eldest daughter and it was only natural that she was extremely outstanding. On the other hand, Sophia resembled Cooper when she smiled. Looking at her, Anna thought about Cooper. When he spoke to her, he would sometimes show the same gentle and charming smile. At the same time, it was mysterious and enchanting. What a pity that his smile will only bloom for that one person¡­ On the other hand, Henry and Ryan had called Anna several times to vent their grievances. Yet, Anna glossed it over every time. They knew that the Ronney Group was controlled by Jordan and Lucy was appointed by him, so Anna didn¡¯t have any true authority. Anna also did not care about how Jordanforted them. In Bayside City, Cooper heard about what had happened in the Ronney Grouptely. It turned out that there was an issue in their business and that was why Anna rushed back. Cooper knew Anna¡¯s phone number and her current whereabouts. Every night, he would stare nkly at his phone for some time but he had never dialed that number. Yet, that number was deeply engraved in his memory. Hesitating, he wanted to call her and ask about her situation but he didn¡¯t know where to start. Besides, he didn¡¯t know who he was to call her and the reason for seeking her out. After all, she had her own family. Once Cooper recalled that Anna had been married to Jordan for years and even gave birth to so many children, his heart bleed in pain. He wondered why fate had to torture them heartlessly. He wanted to take a step forward but his conscience told him that nothing would work out now. The love and affection were in the past and since fate mistakenly cut off the string that bonded them together many years ago, it could never be reconnected. Soon, Sophia and Lucy¡¯s coboration was reported in the newspapers. Jordan didn¡¯t respond to that so he must have tacitly agreed to it. Meanwhile, Ryan and Henry were still lying in the hospital due to the injuries from the fight, so the one who couldn¡¯t ept their coboration the most was naturally Sandra. ¡°How could you coborate with Sophia? Who gave you the courage to do so, Lucy?¡± Lately, Sandra had been extremely busy with taking over the entire Mitchell¡¯s Technology. Unexpectedly, Lucy betrayed her and coborated with Sophia when Sandra wasn¡¯t paying attention. Before this, the Ronney Group was caught off guard by Sophia¡¯s attack; even their fashion week was almost put to a stop. In order to save the event, Sandra threatened Lucy to help her because she had something against her. Without any choice, Lucy obediently came to her rescue. I did not expect that this b*tch, who runs errands for me, would coborate with Sophia! ¡°I invited you over so that you can ruin Sophia, not coborate with her! You¡¯d better cancel this coboration right now!¡± Looking at Sandra, who shouted and yelled at her as soon as she came in, Lucy snorted. If Jordan hadn¡¯t appeared suddenly and asked her toe, she wouldn¡¯t have interfered in the Ronney Group¡¯s matters. However, Lucy didn¡¯t want to reveal her rtionship with Jordan so even until now, Sandra thought that Lucy came because of her. ¡°My task is to ensure the smooth and sessful operation of the fashion week. Other than that, it¡¯s none of my business!¡± Sandra rushed toward Lucy and mmed her office table angrily while cursing rudely, ¡°So you coborated with that b*tch? Do you want to die?¡± Lucy gave Sandra another contemptuous nce while sneering inwardly. Sandra was never the one she was afraid of; it was Jordan. Who does Sandra think she is? Coldly, Lucymanded, ¡°Get out. This is my office and my work. I don¡¯t need your input.¡± Receiving such a rude response from Lucy, Sandra mmed the table again. Ever since she took those drugs, her temper had worsened. ¡°Lucy, aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll expose your secrets immediately? I¡¯ll make you lose your right to inherit the Edwards Group!¡± Without lifting her head, Lucy countered, ¡°I know you don¡¯t dare to do so now because once you expose it, I can instantly make you go bankrupt. On the other hand, I¡¯ll immediately regain my rights as an heir as long as I apologize to the Edwards Family and marry someone.¡± Choking on her words, Sandra was rendered speechless. Lucy added, ¡°Get out. You¡¯ve been fired. In the future, don¡¯t evere to the Ronney Group again!¡± Those fools, Henry and Ryan, thought that Sandra was a local force and they could take over Bayside Fashion Week with her help; little did they know that they were just three fools that were birds of a feather and all they did was mess up a supposedly great business. Sandra refused to leave but the bodyguards started to chase her away. Before she left, Sandra threatened Lucy viciously, ¡°Just you wait and see. You won¡¯t be smug for long!¡± Sandra knew that it wasn¡¯t the time to expose Lucy¡¯s secret now because once her secret was exposed, she wouldn¡¯t obey her anymore. Lucy and Sophia¡­ Damn it! I won¡¯t let you two live happily for long! Looking at Sandra¡¯s receding figure, Lucy massaged her temples. After working several hours at a stretch, she waspletely worn out. Suddenly, her assistant brought a basket over. Inside the basket were a rose, a note and a heat instion lunch box containing pork rib soup. On the note, there was a neatly written sentence. ¡®No matter how busy you are, don¡¯t forget to eat. Come home early; I¡¯ll be waiting for you.¡¯ Looking at that sentence, Lucy¡¯s eyes smiled. Chapter 1238 Chapter 1238 Sandra wanted to ask Ryan and Henry for their help ande up with a solution, but she found out that they had been ced under house arrest at the hospital, so it was difficult for her to see them. Sophia crippled them and Lucy took the opportunity to put them under house arrest in the hospital. They had indeed orchestrated a great n! In fact, apart from wanting to denounce Lucy, Sandra¡¯s biggest purpose in going to the Yard Family was to borrow a sum of money. Mitchell¡¯s Technology was in shambles. Their products were unseble and the investors had withdrawn their capital. Meanwhile, their stock prices had fallen and their source of capital was unstable. Their executives had all changed jobs, even poaching some of their employees. Thus, they had received resignation letters one after another. Sandra had many issues to solve before she could even rejoice in her role as the newly appointed president. Mitchell¡¯s Technology was in many industries, from retailing and banking to high-tech currently. They were constantly adapting to the changes of the times, as well as regrly transforming and expanding. Mitchell¡¯s Technology had operated for a hundred years but when it was passed on to Sandra, it was already half ruined. If anything happened in Bayside City, thepany would copse immediately. The sum of money invested by the Yard Family had long since been emptied. At the end of the year, they could not pay the wages of the workshop workers and they only had a small amount of cash. They were struggling and on the verge of bankruptcy, and they could copse at any time. In the face of this situation, Sandra was at aplete loss. First, she did not have the ability to turn things around. Second, Mitchell¡¯s Technology could not be saved. She needed a lot of money! And so, she began to secretly sell Mitchell¡¯s Technology¡¯s assets and equity to collect money. For example, the shares of the most valuable Glory Entertainment Company were sold by her and they were all bought by Sarah. Sarah received arge number of shares in Glory Entertainment and directly became a top executive, concentrating on supporting her husband¡¯s career. But no matter how much money they had, it was futile because very soon, they ran out of funds again. Plus, the Yard Family and Lucy refused to lend them money. Thus, Sandra then changed her target to the Mitchell Residence¡­ It wasn¡¯t long before Sophia learned that Sandra was selling her ancestral home. The ancestral house was indeed valuable. That piece ofnd was worth no less than a few billion, not to mention the house itself! However, Sophia was after that piece ofnd. As the owner of countless Bayside City real estate, Sophia was the favorite of Bayside City¡¯s real estate agents. The moment she gave out the order, no real estate agent in Bayside City dared to help Sandra sell the ancestral house. Of course, no one in Bayside City dared to buy the ancestral home of the Mitchell Family! Sandra and Mitchell¡¯s Technology were on the verge of copse, so Sophia didn¡¯t want to waste time on her. Her main task now was to do a good job during the fashion week. If she did a good job, the fashion industry in Cethos would usher in a new decade. The fashion week would be held after the new year because all work in Cethos had to be put off for a period of time due to the new year celebrations. Even the bad guys wouldn¡¯t want to cause trouble during the new year; after all, everyone wanted to celebrate and wee the new year. On December 27, ¡®Anna¡¯ called again. During the phone call, Carmen sweetly said to Anna, ¡°Miss Beautiful, I hope you¡¯re doing well in heaven! I love you!¡± ¡®Anna¡¯ also said gently, ¡°Carmen, you¡¯re the best. I hope you do well in school too next year! Happy New Year!¡± After making small talk, Carmen said, ¡°Miss Beautiful, I¡¯m off to y with my neighbors. Grandpa said he misses you very much. Would you like to have a few words with Grandpa?¡± After Carmen finished speaking, she gave Cooper the phone and slipped out to y, wearing her Snow White costume. Seeing her leave, Cooper pretended to say a few words to the phone and hung up. In the study, Michael, who pretended to be Anna again, was simply exhausted. However, he didn¡¯t know that at this time, Carmen had already sneaked out to the Winston Residence next door to have fun. When Sarah saw her, she hugged her and raised her up high. After lifting her up high, Sarah watched Harry¡¯s drama in the living room while Carmen, Poppy and Hope entered the room together. After entering Hope¡¯s room, Carmen diverted the babysitter away. She and Hope then pressed the buttons on Nichs while Poppy asked ignorantly, ¡°What are you guys doing?¡± Hope looked serious as he answered, ¡°Go and guard the door.¡± And so, Poppy went to guard the door rather aggrievedly. Together, Hope and Carmen dismantled Nichs and turned off its system, leaving only the communication system on. Now, this robot was just arge phone and could only make calls. Plus, their call history would not be recorded. Turning off the robot, Carmen sucked on a lollipop in her mouth with a serious look. Then, she took out a business card¡ªwhich she had stolen from her mother¡¯s office¡ªfrom her pocket and dialed Anna¡¯s private number. The whole family fooled her, thinking that she was just a three-year-old kid! However, everyone forgot that she was already four years old! N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. She was not a three-year-old kid anymore. How could they lie to her and say that Miss Beautiful was going back to heaven? She had seen the set of equipment that Linus hid in the study before. Every time before ¡®Anna¡¯ called, she would see Michael sneak into the study. It was too obvious! Everyone was already a member of the society, so they should have acted more maturely! In order to cooperate with everyone, Carmen had been pretending to be ignorant for several days and she finally couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore. After dialing Anna¡¯s number for a video call, Anna¡¯s face was soon projected onto the wall through Nichs¡¯ projection system. ¡°Carmen?¡± It was already getting dark where Anna was at. Thus, she didn¡¯t expect to suddenly get a video call from an unfamiliar number as it was rare for her to receive calls on her private phone number. To her surprise, she saw Carmen as soon as the call was connected. Anna was taken aback but she was delighted deep down. She thought it was Cooper who made Carmen call, but unexpectedly, Cooper wasn¡¯t in the call at all. There was only Carmen, Hope and a lolita guarding the door, secretly peeking over from time to time. ¡°Miss Beautiful!¡± When Carmen saw her, she jumped up happily, looking extremely cute in her Snow White costume. When Anna saw her, her eyes teared up. She had made an agreement with Carmen but she didn¡¯t keep her word. Seeing the little Snow White dress Carmen was wearing, Anna felt upset. ¡°Carmen, what¡¯s with the sudden call? Where are your parents and grandpa?¡± Anna looked around but didn¡¯t see anyone else; it seemed that Carmen was calling her without them around. Carmen said sweetly, ¡°Mommy is busy with work and has not returned home. Grandpa and Daddy are at home making preparations for the new year!¡± Looking at Carmen in the video call, Anna was filled with adoration. She really wanted to rush over and hug Carmen. ¡°Carmen, why are you looking for me?¡± Carmen said happily, ¡°I¡¯m going to perform Snow White for you, Miss Beautiful!¡± Anna¡¯s brows, which had long been knitted tightly together, finally rxed. Feeling both sad and joyful, she murmured, ¡°Okay!¡± Carmen had a strong desire to perform. She had been thinking about it all these years and she insisted on performing for Anna. Thus, she sang and danced in the small dark room, performing for Anna. Hope had a sour expression the whole while. After the performance was over, Carmen sat down and chatted with Anna while petting Hope¡¯s dog. ¡°After you left, Grandpa and I were very sad. Grandpa is so handsome; why don¡¯t you like my Grandpa, Miss Beautiful? I¡¯m going to be on ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯ with my Grandpa so he¡¯ll soon be a celebrity. There will be many, many people who want to be my grandmother. You have to seize the opportunity, Miss Beautiful!¡± Hearing this, Anna did not know whether to cry orugh. She really didn¡¯t know how to answer Carmen. Is Cooper sad about my departure? No¡­ He¡¯s only sad about Annabel¡¯s departure¡­ After Carmen and Anna chatted harmoniously for a while and became more familiar with each other, Carmen finally revealed her true purpose. ¡°Miss Beautiful, will youe to our house for the new year?¡± Chapter 1239 Chapter 1239 Celebrate the new year in Cethos? Anna¡¯s smile suddenly stiffened. Carmen also knew that this request was over the line, so she changed the topic and said, ¡°Miss Beautiful, you muste and y with me when you have the time. I¡¯ll go home first.¡± Anna had mixed feelings in her heart when she said softly, ¡°Okay. I will definitelye and y with you, Carmen.¡± Hearing that, Carmen then went home joyfully. At home, Michael was picking roses in the garden while humming a song, nning to make a bouquet for Sophia. Ever since Anna left, Carmen had finally stopped stealing the roses, but Celine and Harry still asionally sneaked in to steal them. Harry not only stole roses, but also the bacon and dried fish hanging outside their house. How annoying. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Seeing Carmene back, Michael asked while wrapping up the roses, ¡°Baby, where did you go?¡± ¡°I went to y at my godmother¡¯s house!¡± Carmen murmured. Michael was wary that Harry woulde to steal roses and bacon again, so he asked, ¡°Is your godfather at home?¡± Carmen shook her head. Harry is not there? It¡¯s already December 27 and that guy is still filming? However, Harry still hadn¡¯t returned the next morning. As such, Michael found it strange. When he went out in the morning, he nced at the Winston Residence and found that it was strangely quiet over there. He then left curiously. The new year was around the corner so he was going out to deal with some things. After that, he would finally be able to celebrate the new year at ease. Meanwhile, Sophia was already preparing for the new year. She stayed at home and watched TV in the living room after breakfast, while Cooper took Carmen and the dogs out for a walk. Suddenly, Sarah came over crying. ¡°Sofie!¡± Seeing Sarah crying, Sophia was startled. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± When Sarah saw her, she broke into sobs. ¡°Old Wolf is c-cheating on me!¡± Cheating? Sophia thought that Sarah had some misunderstanding so she hurriedly said, ¡°Are you sure? Your Old Wolf treats you so well.¡± Sarah took out her mobile phone while choking intermittently. ¡°He went out to film yesterday and didn¡¯t come back all night. It turned out that he went to the hotel with someone else. That woman even sent photos of them in bed in the middle of the night to show off!¡± There are even photos of them in bed? Sophia took the phone and saw an unsightly photo sent by someone. In the photo, Harry was naked and his chest was covered in lipstick marks. Meanwhile, a naked foreign woman was wrapped around him like a snake. Her G-cups weren¡¯t even censored! He really cheated! The woman also sent the hotel room number; how arrogant of her! ¡°How could he?¡± Sophia mmed the table and stood up. ¡°Damn it! How can you bear this?¡± she roared. ¡°Let¡¯s go! I want to see what the hell the disgusting man and woman are going to do!¡± Sarah wailed helplessly. She only saw this photo this morning and she didn¡¯t dare to cry in front of the three children at home. She wanted to catch them red-handed, but she was too afraid to do so. Sophia gathered her men together hurriedly, even deliberately bringing along a few fierce-looking dogs to catch them red-handed. ¡°Come along! Follow me!¡± Sophia dragged a crying Sarah into the car. Then, the group of cars quickly gathered and went to the hotel where the incident urred. Sophia never thought that she would catch Harry cheating red-handed in her lifetime and she was huffing and puffing with anger. Men are all the same. They¡¯re all disloyal and lustful! I¡¯m going to skin Harry and that woman alive! ¡­ When Michael received Justin¡¯s call, the hotel was already in chaos. Michael hurried to the scene of the incident and saw that the hotel had been closed due to the frightening chaos; he could hear people screaming and yelling from a distance away. There were many cars parked at the entrance. They were cars from the Winston Family, the Mitchells, the Michel Family, and even Justin. Michael¡¯s hair stood on end. He didn¡¯t expect to encounter this situation in his lifetime. He didn¡¯t know who he should help when he arrived at the scene. He hurriedly entered the hotel lobby and saw Dimon standing at the gate with a group of people squatting beside him. They all had the Winston Family crest on their bodies. Their leader, Dana, was being tied up. ¡°Why is she here?¡± Michael was startled when he saw Dana. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Dimon replied. ¡°She was sneaking around outside the door when we came in, so we tied her up.¡± Michael was about to rush upstairs anxiously to check the situation, so he ordered, ¡°Tie her up first; we¡¯ll interrogate her when the matter is over.¡± He then hurriedly entered the elevator with Hale and the others and they went up to the eighth floor. The elevator opened with a ding. As soon as the door opened, Michael saw that the golden corridor of the hotel was already filled with people. Several people were fighting with each other without weapons; they were fighting barehanded in groups. The men from the Winston Family, the Mitchells, the Michel family, and Michael¡¯s men were fighting against a group of blonde and blue-eyed foreign martial artists. In the chaos, there were three huskies leading a few ck Labradors to bite humans. What the f*ck¡­ When Justin saw Michaeling, he shouted to him from a distance, ¡°They are in the room.¡± He then led his men to stop the foreign bodyguard who tried to rush into the room, so no one could enter the room. Michael nced at the clothes of the foreign bodyguards. There were familiar-looking uniforms with symbols on the sleeves. Meanwhile, Hale had already taken out his mobile phone and scanned it. ¡°This is the emblem of the Adams Family. Their family business is the Western European insurance giant Adams Insurance.¡± Adams Insurance? Isn¡¯t that the property of Cooper¡¯s fianc¨¦e? Why are they involved in this? Soon, Michael broke through the crowd and reached the door of the room; the door was closed and a woman¡¯s scream sounded from within. The people of the Adams Family were tyrannical as well. Even if they were having a hard time fighting the group of men, they still managed to stop anyone from entering. Michael knocked down a few people one after another as he said to Hale, ¡°Bring the robots up here and attack them precisely. Everyone with the Adams Family emblem must be brought down.¡± Hearing his orders, Hale quickly sent someone to bring Nichs and Shae up. They still had to rely on illegal technology during critical times. Finally, Michael rushed into the room. Unexpectedly, when he entered the door, he saw four women fighting fiercely with each other in groups of two. Sophia and Sarah were beating up two foreign women. Sophia brought all the equipment Michael had prepared for her to fight high school students. She wore a ck nano-polymer battle suit, brass knuckles, imprable armor, and a helmet. She was armed from head to toe and she was scratching the foreign woman¡¯s face bloody. Sarah was also well-equipped and fought with a tall woman with voluptuous buttocks. The woman didn¡¯t wear a single piece of clothing and her big bosom dangled and shook around. If Sarah hadn¡¯t worn a helmet, the woman would probably be able to knock her out with her bosom. What an eyesore. Michael turned his head away and looked left and right. He didn¡¯t see the adulterer, Harry. Coincidentally, Judge came in to support them in their fight. With its expert dog¡¯s nose, Judge managed to sniff Harry out. It then used its paws to push open the door of the master bedroom. What greeted them was the sight of Harry being tied to the big bed, a BDSM butt plug stuffed in his mouth. There was also a full set of BDSM equipment on one side. Upon seeing that, Michael gasped. Chapter 1240 Chapter 1240 Michael did not expect Harry to be into such kink! Poor Harry! With tooth marks all over his body, he wore only a pair of underwear; even said underwear was covered with an obscene lipstick mark. Harry knew that someone hade to rescue him when he heard noises outside but unfortunately for him, he couldn¡¯t move from the bed. Plus, his mouth was gagged, so he couldn¡¯t speak. He could only hum and grunt, which went unheard for a long time. Last night was simply one of the darkest nights of his life¡­ He was busy filming on set. After taking a sip from a drink, he immediately cked out. When he woke up, he saw the cow riding on him with a whip! How terrifying! Upon seeing Michael¡¯s arrival, Harry was ecstatic. He kicked his feet around and his eyes widened while he mumbled vigorously. Michael stepped forward and saw that there were leather whips, candles, and all kinds of props on one side, and was promptly reminded of the woman with the huge bosom. Michael made a sound of disgust and untied Harry. As soon as Harry was free, he pulled the gag out of his mouth and stroked his numb tongue. Quickly, he found his own clothes and put them on. ¡°What the hell is going on? Aren¡¯t you into lolitas? Why did you hook up with a G-cup mature woman?¡± Michael asked hurriedly. This is not good at all. ¡°Bah! What do you mean I¡¯m into lolitas?¡± Harry took a sip and muttered darkly as he put on his pants, ¡°I was tricked by the b*tch, Dana! That b*tch colluded with Betsy, that cow, kidnapping me and tying me up!¡± When Michael heard the story, he hurriedly said to Hale, ¡°Tie Dana up tightly.¡± When Harry heard that Dana had been tied up, his eyes became bloodthirsty. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. I was almost raped by that cow! If it was not for Dana, how could that cow sessfully kidnap me? Fortunately for Harry, he stubbornly resisted for half a night and managed to wait until someone rescued him. Dana! This time, I will skin her alive! Harry put on his pants while Sarah rolled in with the G-cup woman in her arms. The two people were fighting each other. Sarah, who was much smaller, was weaker than the muscr woman. However, Sarah had the upper hand as she had better equipment, not to mention a husky to assist her in the fight. However, Sarah was so shocked when she saw a lipstick covered Harry that her fists froze in the air and she looked at Harry motionlessly. And the woman under her actually took this opportunity to fight back, pressing Sarah under her body and even trying to pull off her helmet. Upon seeing that, Harry was furious. He walked over and kicked the woman away before stepping on her with one foot. However, when doing so, he identally stepped on her ample bosom. Terrified, he quickly retracted his foot. He wanted to teach this lewd cow a vicious lesson, but Justin and the people from the Adams Group rushed in at that moment. This isn¡¯t good. There was a sudden chaos in the room and the crowd that rushed over dispersed the few people inside. Michael saw that G-cup woman being surrounded by the crowd and she was rescued after a while. He then worked hard to separate the crowd and when he found Sophia, he picked her up. ¡°Let go of me! I¡¯m going to tear that b*tch apart!¡± Sophia was having fun scratching the woman when she was suddenly picked up by Michael. Hence, she kicked in dissatisfaction and shouted, ¡°Let go!¡± The situation was chaotic and Michael couldn¡¯t care less anymore. He picked Sophia up and walked out of the room. Then, he saw that there was still chaos outside. The two robots had already entered the ce and they immediately carried out precise strikes to knock down the people there. Meanwhile, the cow had already vanished. ¡°Let¡¯s withdraw first.¡± They had caused a huge scene and it would be difficult for them to give an exnationter on. Harry also quickly picked Sarah up and left. After they reached home, Sarah walked in very calmly like never before. She said to Sophia with a cold expression, ¡°Sofie, please send the children to your home. I will pick them upter.¡± Seeing this, Sophia hurriedly sent the three children away so that they would not be traumatized when the adults started quarrelingter. Seeing her walking away with the three children, Sarah cried loudly. ¡°Winston, you b*stard! I gave birth to your kids and this is how you treat me? Tell me, what is the rtionship between you and that b*tch?¡± Sarah cried as she smashed things around. Harry wanted to exin but she refused to listen. He was at a loss and felt as if he would never be able to clear his name no matter what. I am the victim here and I was almost raped by that cow! He then said to Michael, ¡°Bring me that b*tch Dana!¡± Michael¡¯s hair stood on end as he asked Justin to send Dana in, who was still tied up. They made her kneel on the ground before tearing off the tape from her mouth, letting her exin. ¡°Tell everyone what happened!¡± Harry roared viciously. ¡°That woman is Betsy Adams,¡± Dana muttered. ¡°Her family is very rich and she has already been in an affair with Harry for a long time¡ª¡± When Sarah heard this, she started to cry again. Harry was furious and kicked Dana in her face viciously. ¡°If you don¡¯t f*cking exin things clearly today, I will f*cking beat you up!¡± After being punched and kicked, Dana started to sob loudly. Yet, she still insisted, ¡°Harry, I¡¯m helping you. Although that cow is kinky, she is rich. You can have as much money as you want after you are with her! You took naked loans after all, so let¡¯s find a way together to repay your debts, alright? Why bother to act in some crappy drama and ruin yourself? You¡¯ll just be an eyesore! What¡¯s so bad about that cow? She has a big bosom and is a freak in the sheets; even I want to sleep with her! The moment you bed her, your naked loans will be paid off in minutes!¡± ¡­ Upon hearing that, Michaelughed¡ªhe actuallyughed on such a serious asion. Sarah cried again, ¡°So you think I¡¯m too poor for you?¡± Harry was about to go crazy. Dana had been rebellious since she was a child and she always liked to bber nonsense. Although Harry took on some crappy dramas that didn¡¯t even have a script, he really wasn¡¯t short of money! He only epted those dramas because his wife liked them! This b*tch Dana just wants to take the opportunity to trick me! Furiously, Harry went over and began beating Dana up again. ¡°This is what you get for trying to trick me! You b*tch! You¡¯re so capable, eh? How dare you drug me on the set! You even tied me to that cow¡¯s bed! You b*tch!¡± Beaten up, Dana cried and begged for mercy, ¡°Harry, I was wrong. Stop beating me. I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Harry kicked her hard twice and finally stopped. This b*tch! She¡¯ll never change even if I beat her to death! ¡°Kneel down before Sarah and tell her what you did!¡± It was only then that an aggrieved Dana kneeled in front of Sarah and blubbered, ¡°Sarah, I know your family is struggling financially recently, so I introduced my brother to a profitable job, which is sleeping with the rich cow. The cow promised to pay off all the naked loans that Harry owed. Harry refused and kept resisting, so I drugged him. He is really innocent¡ªhe was forced into it.¡± Chapter 1241 Chapter 1241 Upon hearing that, Sarah cried again. Harry was so angry that he threw his slippers at Dana, fury coursing through his veins. This b*tch is truly infuriating! The Winston Family¡¯s council of elders would surely be angered to no end by Dana. She was a mistake that God made when He created human beings! N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. ¡°Leave!¡± Harry kicked her out and she ran away desperately, nodding and bowing the whole time. ¡°Thank you, Harry. I hope you will be able to provide an early repayment of your naked loan. Happy New Year!¡± ¡°You f*cking¡ª¡± Harry threw a slipper at Dana viciously, causing her to hold her head while running away. Then, the world fell quiet. After driving Dana away, Harry hugged Sarah, who was sobbing her heart out. ¡°Hush; stop crying. I didn¡¯t cheat¡­ I really didn¡¯t. This is all Dana¡¯s doing!¡± Sarah hugged Harry while she cried and blubbered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ Even if you were raped, you would still be pure and wless in my heart.¡± Upon hearing that, Harry was speechless. Fortunately, Sarah was not an unreasonable person. After knowing the truth, she stopped causing a scene. Seeing that the both of them resolved their misunderstandings and had started to be lovey dovey with each other, Michael quickly slipped away. When Michael went home, he saw that Sophia was babysitting Sarah¡¯s three children. On the other hand, Justin had already investigated what had happened the day before. That woman with the ample bosom was the only daughter of Tiffany Adams, the head of Adams Group. Her name was Betsy Adams. She somehow colluded with Dana and even joined forces with her to bring Harry down! Betsy had pursued Harry for a long time and she had been an obsessive fan of his for many years. In the past, she would give flowers, houses, and inds to Harry to win him over, but Harry just dismissed her. Although the Adams Group was very powerful abroad, they were just average in Bayside City. How could Betsy act so arrogantly in Bayside City and try to bring down Harry this time? No¡­ This is not the main point. What¡¯s important is that the Duchess, Tiffany Adams, is here. ¡°Check where the Duchess and the people of the Adams Family are, and what actions have been taken lately. Thank you!¡± Michael said and patted Justin on the shoulder. Naturally, Justin worked hard to help with the investigation. It was not because of the trivial matter that Harry was almost raped. It was due to the fact that Cooper was about to sleep with that woman! This was a big deal; besides, the woman¡­ ¡°The Duchess?¡± Sophia was surprised when she heard their conversation. ¡°Isn¡¯t my dad¡¯s fianc¨¦e the Countess? When did she get an upgrade?¡± Michael¡¯s expression was very dark. ¡°The Countess and the Duchess are the same person. She married a duke some years ago and took away half of his property after the divorce.¡± Sophia was shocked to hear that. Michael continued, ¡°Not only that, she has also married a president, a politician, and a member of the royal family. Her ex-husband is an influential bigwig. That woman is indeed quite capable¡ªin the past two decades, she has been married several times, divorced several times, and widowed twice. She gets half of her ex-husband¡¯s property when she gets a divorce and she¡¯ll get all of their property if they pass away. She is a powerful person and has her way of dealing with men. There is probably no man she can¡¯t win over in this world.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia¡¯s eyes widened. She¡¯s that capable, eh? ¡°Didn¡¯t she say that she¡¯s crazy in love with my dad? She was actually¡­ married? Is there anyone else willing to marry her?¡± Half of one¡¯s property will be divided and given away when one gets married. Yet, there are so many men willing to take the bait? Michael shook his head as he murmured, ¡°That is her strength.¡± Michael then gently pulled away a stray hair from Sophia¡¯s temple. She ran out early in the morning to catch Harry red-handed and her hair was in a mess after fighting with that woman. Although she didn¡¯t lose, Michael still felt strangely distressed when looking at Sophia. ¡°Even if everyone knows that her heart belongs to someone else, there are still arge number of powerful men rushing forward to pursue her. Plus, she epts any man who does so and she gets half of their property when they get a divorce. Even so, the men are like moths to a me.¡± Sophia¡¯s hair stood on end when she heard it. She thought that the Duchess was just a pervert like Quinton. Unexpectedly, the woman in question was even more clever than him¡­ At least no one would pounce on Quinton! Plus, she¡ªthe Countess, the Duchess, and the firstdy¡ªhad nowe to Bayside City for Cooper! Sophia shuddered. This is bad. If she manages to seduce Cooper, half of his property will inevitably be hers when they get a divorce. That¡¯s not the worst case scenario. It would be terrible if he died. This won¡¯t do¡­ I have to let him know as soon as possible! Meanwhile, Cooper had already returned after taking Carmen for a walk and he was reading the newspaper in the study. ¡°Tiffany Adams is here?¡± He didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by it and he didn¡¯t care at all. ¡°Whatever. I won¡¯t marry her anyway.¡± Although Cooper could not fully control his own destiny and did not dare to approach the person he loved who was right in front of him, he still had his autonomy. It waspletely impossible for him to be forced into marriage. ¡°Dad, you really have to stay strong. If you marry Tiffany, your property will be divided into half and given to her. You might even die!¡± Sophia hurriedly reminded him. Upon hearing that, Cooper was baffled. ¡°Tiffany is not a monster,¡± he murmured. ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s impossible for me to marry her. She¡¯s just an ordinary friend.¡± Just an ordinary friend¡­ He¡¯s in danger¡­ A great danger! Cooper didn¡¯t seem to realize that the danger was imminent but Sophia was so anxious that her heart started racing. What should I do? If Dad really marries Tiffany, won¡¯t that cow be my sister? Half of my dad¡¯s fortune will be snatched away by her! Losing half of the fortune was a trivial matter, but it would be a serious issue if Cooper was raped by her! Seeing that Sophia was so anxious, Michaelforted her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry; if Dad really wanted to marry Tiffany, he would have done so long ago. He wouldn¡¯t have waited so many years.¡± He does have a point¡­ However, Sophia was still inexplicably anxious. Finally, she muttered, ¡°That b*tch better not even think of forcing my dad into marriage!¡± Carmen, meanwhile, was ying with her huskies while secretly listening to the two of them talking. After hearing that, she entered the room, took out a small mobile phone and dialed a number. ¡°Hi Miss Beautiful! My grandfather is going to be forced to marry a woman and half of his fortune will be given away! You have toe and save Grandpa! Yes¡­ Yes¡ªmy grandfather really doesn¡¯t want to get married. He is going to be tied up and forced to get married. Come and save him! That woman is really strong. I¡¯m very scared!¡± ¡­ Michael had been busy during thest few days of December. The incident of the G-cup woman was not just about Harry but also about Cooper. Hence, Michael had to investigate the other party¡¯s intentions. Unexpectedly, when Michael got home after settling this matter for the whole day, he found the roses in the greenhouse that he had nted for more than half a year were stolen. Michael stared at the big fresh hole in a daze. Celine then exined, ¡°The blond man next door said that he wanted to borrow your roses but it was too troublesome to pick them one by one. So, he dug out the whole plot ofnd and he¡¯ll return them when he sessfully cheers up his wife.¡± Upon hearing that, Michael was speechless. He decided then and there to ignore their family affairs from now on. Harry deserved to be raped if there ever was a next time! Chapter 1242 Chapter 1242 On December 29, Sophia said she had something to do after dinner, so Michael followed along. They went to a bar in the West Valley of Bayside City and since it was already the end of December, there were very few people in the bar. And so, Lucy and Sophia sat in the corner of the bar, chatting. ¡°Happy New Year!¡± The two clicked sses lightly and took a sip of the cocktail. Putting down her ss, Sophia smiled and said, ¡°I have to thank you foring to this fashion week, otherwise I would¡¯ve been in deep trouble.¡± She originally intended to cooperate with the Ronney Group and had even negotiated with Callum about this. Pourl was going to Ronney Fashion Week but to Sophia¡¯s dismay, Anna wanted her to deal with the trash. Sophia was just a small fry in the fashion industry so she was under a lot of pressure when she was suddenly confronted by a giant corporation like the Ronneys. It was fine if she just continued to work in Bayside City but it would be bad if she wanted to go international in the future. She just wanted to do her business well but the other party kept pressuring her, so she had no choice but to fight back. Fortunately, Lucy came and saved her from the situation, so she could concentrate on making money. She was a little grateful that she didn¡¯t threaten Lucy with her little secret at the time. Lucy inhaled a mouthful of thedy¡¯s electronic cigarette and said, ¡°I just took on this task temporarily. I¡¯m just responsible for handling this event well. After the fashion week is over, I will naturally withdraw from thepany.¡± She puffed out a swirl of smoke and continued, ¡°After I withdraw, you will have to rely on yourself in the future.¡± Lucy just wanted toplete the task. She only chose to cooperate with Sophia as she knew that Sophia would make trouble if she did not, and that it would affect her ability toplete the task. Still, Sophia was very grateful to Lucy so she murmured, ¡°In that case, I hope our fashion week will be a complete sess. Aren¡¯t you d that I asked you to get involved in this profitable event?¡± Lucy smiled reluctantly. Lucy and Sophia were not friends, but they were not enemies either¡ªthey werepetitors. There was competition between King and Pourl and they hadpeted to be the agent of the Dragon Eye in Cethos. They had fought many times, both taking turns winning and losing. However, Lucy didn¡¯t really hate Sophia either. That was because every time she lost to Sophia, she would summarize and deduce that, in fact, most of the failures were caused by herself and had nothing to do with the strength of her opponent. Moreover, they miraculously had amon topic of conversation. ¡°I am envious of you¡ªyou have a perfect family.¡± Lucy looked at Sophia, sincerely envious of her. Sophia had a loving father, brother and lover, as well as an adorable daughter and a group of like- minded friends. Comparatively, Lucy felt that she had nothing. Fate has me suffocated. Sophiaughed self-deprecatingly. ¡°In fact, the person I admire most is you. You have your own business and have taken the entire Edwards Family down at a young age. Back then, you used to be my role model!¡± N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Sophia had flipped through her previous work diary and she saw that her goal was to be as powerful as Lucy. Sophia wanted to own hundreds of billions of assets, as well as to be a domineering and powerful female president! The two smiled at each other tacitly. Sometimes, what you don¡¯t take notice of is what others are chasing after for their lifetime! Meanwhile, two cars were parked at the entrance of the bar. A battered looking Dana was wearing low-key ck cold-proof clothes. Even if her mouth was swollen after being beaten up, she still smoked a cigarette fiercely and puffed out a swirl of smoke under the dim yellow streetmp. Michael, who was in the other car, was huddled around the heater while he looked at Dana from time to time. Dana and Lucy? Both of them have totally different styles. How did they get together? Plus, they have been together for more than ten years? Lucy was also Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend. Come to think of it, he was truly speechless in his own taste in women. In recent years, Lucy was involved in multiple scandals and she had changed multiple boyfriends. All her ex-boyfriends were extraordinary figures. Each time when they were about to get married, something would happen and the marriage would be canceled. After a while, she would immediately get into another scandal and the whole process would repeat itself. It gave off a sense that she was ¡®selling¡¯ her marriage very urgently, as if she was trading her marriage publicly. Recently, she was dating a foreign tycoon and seemed to be nning to get married again. Michael had also been with her for a period of time. In the past few years, they had been in contact from time to time but he still didn¡¯t find out about it¡­ Perhaps appearances were a disguise¡ªshe hid her true self, just to protect the people she really cared about in her heart. Dana¡¯s promiscuous character was probably also just a disguise. Lucy was unlikely to fancy a bisexual promisicous woman after all. Michael stared at Dana silently for a long time. He saw her smoking under themp, her slender fingers holding the cigarette. Her movements and demeanor really didn¡¯t look like a woman at all. Although her face was swollen, Michael could still feel the unconceble manliness from her. She had no Adam¡¯s apple nor bosom, and her face was so exquisite that she looked androgynous. Her features and figure looked like a handsome woman and also a little like a feminine man. Truth was, she looked like a beautiful and cute boy. Michael did not have any rtionship with her before, which meant that it was the first time that he dared to look at her so unscrupulously while he waited for Sophia. So, is this person a man or a woman? Michael stared at Dana intensely¡ªhe stared at her Adam¡¯s apple and her crotch, but unfortunately her clothes were too thick, so he couldn¡¯t see anything. In the bar, Sophia was a little drunk and her cheeks were flushed. Looking at Lucy, she suddenly wanted to ask her what was going on between her and Dana. However, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask that question. After all, this was their private matter. All of a sudden, Lucy picked up a phone call. After she hung up, she murmured to Sophia, ¡°My partner just called; I have to leave.¡± Partner¡­ Upon hearing that, it suddenly dawned on Sophia. Lucy indeed had a public partner but unfortunately, it was not Dana. With that, the two went out of the bar one after another. When Sophia came out, Dana and Lucy had already left. The more Sophia looked at this pair, the more she felt that something was off. The two of them were simply not from the same world, so how did they end up together? However, if people nowadays could even ship Voldemort and Hermione, it was entirely possible that Dana and Lucy would be together! On New Year¡¯s Eve, Michael was making preparations to spend the new year at home. This year¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve dinner would be a potluck with homemade dishes¡ªit was more vorful after all. In the end, many came to his home to celebrate the new year. ¡°Uncle, we¡¯re here!¡± ¡°Hello Uncle Michael!¡± Stanley and Sean brought Maisie over. Because these two adopted the child, their rtionship with the Fletcher Family was very tense. Thus, Stanley refused to go back home, which was why he came to celebrate the new year at Michael¡¯s ce. Maisie was growing up into a good kid. She was very lively and she was a sweet talker, always calling Michael ¡®Uncle Michael¡¯ sweetly when she saw him. Upon seeing Maisie, Michael carried her and gave her a kiss. Today, the children that Sophia bought from abroad were all gathered here. Cooper and Linus were also here today. Meanwhile, Dana had dropped by in the morning and kneeled in front of Harry and Sarah to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Harry, I was wrong. I¡¯ll kowtow to you.¡± When Sarah saw Dana, anger coursed through her veins. Harry then threw his slipper directly at her and shouted, ¡°Get out!¡± And so, Dana left disheartenedly. After she left, Harry sighed. ¡°I knew it! I should have stopped her back then; maybe this kind of tragedy wouldn¡¯t have happened¡­¡± Chapter 1243 Chapter 1243 Michael happened toe over and asked Harry to kill the fish. He didn¡¯t expect to hear Harry say this, so he asked curiously, ¡°What the hell is going on with that woman?¡± Is she a man or a woman? Moreover, Michael also discovered that Harry¡¯s attitude toward Dana was a little different. If someone tied Harry down to that cow¡¯s bed, he would have killed that person long ago. What was more, that monster Dana often harassed Sarah, but Harry never harmed her. Harry sighed unusually a few times and said, ¡°Dana¡­ ¡®She¡¯ is probably a man.¡± He then lit a cigarette and talked about Dana. That was the secret of the Winston Family. After all, it was not a glorious thing. ¡°When Dana was born, she was diagnosed and confirmed to be an androgynous intersex person with both male and female characteristics.¡± Sophia, who came over with Carmen, also happened to hear these words. When Harry saw her, he did not stop talking and instead continued, ¡°Her chromosomes are also veryplicated. It is impossible to tell whether she is a male or a female. She has both mature male and female organs and has two perfect reproductive systems, so the Winston Family does not know whether she is a female or a male.¡± Harry¡¯s brows knitted tightly together. ¡°She was neither male nor female since she was a child, but her father already had three sons and wanted a daughter very eagerly, so he raised her as a daughter and sent her for an operation when she was 18 years old.¡± Having said that, he sighed again. ¡°At that time, I was busy killing my brothers and sisters and didn¡¯t pay attention to her. Later, I learned that she actually wanted to be a man and asked for the removal of female organs, but her father bribed the doctor and turned her into a woman.¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia suddenly felt cold all over and she suddenly couldn¡¯t breathe for a second. She thought of Dana, who obviously looked like a man. At that time, she probably already had a lover of her own and thought of herself as a man, but¡­ As Harry spoke of her, no¡ªhim, he felt pangs of regret in his heart. ¡°She should have been a man but she was turned into a woman without knowing it. She even triedmitting suicide multiple times. After that, she became who she is now. She used to be a very awesome person but now¡­ What a pity! It¡¯s toote now. Her male reproductive organs have been cut off and she is now aplete woman. It is impossible to transnt anything onto her right now. Even if she did, it would be like an empty gun without bullets.¡± Sarah and Sophia, who were standing off to one side, were speechless. Although Harry sounded calm and collected on the surface, only the person concerned would know the grief and despair involved in the matter. Although they weren¡¯t involved in this matter and it was someone else¡¯s life, they were still in disbelief when they heard it for the first time. Dana was obviously a man but he was turned into a woman¡­ They used to think that he was quite annoying but now they suddenly pitied him. Lucy and him had been together for many years. Judging from the length of their rtionship, Dana probably hadn¡¯t had an operation at the time they started dating, and Lucy was definitely waiting for his good news. Unfortunately¡­ But even if the man she loved became a woman, Lucy still stayed with him for many years. Lucy seemed as if she was strong enough to control everything she wanted but behind the glorious strength and sess, she unexpectedly had such an embarrassing past. Every person had their own suffering. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. Others just didn¡¯t get to witness the suffering of the powerful because they would surely not want others to see their fragile side. Meanwhile, Michael was also silent. He thought of his poor brother who was now castrated, having to squat while peeing. Quinton deserves it, right? But what about Dana¡­ Seeing that the atmosphere had suddenly be tense, Harry said hurriedly, ¡°We¡¯re celebrating the new year, so let¡¯s not think about these unhappy things. That b*tch deserves more than death! Come on ¡ªlet¡¯s kill the chickens and fish for the new year celebration!¡± The people from different families agreed to spend the new year together and each family provided different ingredients. Harry prepared a lot of fish and killed them at home before bringing them along to Michael¡¯s house. Although Harry said he hoped Dana would die, he still didn¡¯t do anything to harm her. Everyone looked at the red paper cutting decorations and the bignterns which were hung up. Today was new year¡¯s eve, so they didn¡¯t want to care about anything today; they wanted to celebrate the new year happily. After Dana left The Imperial, she saw that a car was parked at the door. He then got into the passenger seat. Lucy, who was in the driver¡¯s seat, was dressed up very low-key. Her hair was put up into a bun and she didn¡¯t have an ounce of makeup on her face; she even wore a huge pair of sses. She looked completely different from the strong, domineering woman she was usually. Dana got in the car and looked at the small pendant in front of him very quietly. It seemed as if he was daydreaming as he thought about something. Instead of his usual unruly and rxed appearance, he looked very serious, so serious that it was totally unlike him. He had seen Harry¡¯s children at Harry¡¯s house just now. How cute the children are. They have small hands and tiny bodies, and softly call Harry and Sarah ¡®Mom¡¯ and ¡®Dad¡¯. Dana could have been a father too. Before the age of eighteen, he was raised as a girl. Everyone said he was a girl but he knew that he was a man. When he saw Lucy, he became even more certain that he was a man but because of his abnormal body and for various reasons, his rtionship with Lucy could not be made public. He originally thought that after the age of eighteen, he would usher in a new life and transformation, but he did not expect it to be a nightmare that he would never wake up from. Otherwise, he and Lucy¡¯s children would probably be going to kindergarten now¡­ ¡°Well, don¡¯t do such silly things in the future. Buckle your seat belt. There¡¯s a camera up ahead.¡± It was Lucy who spoke and only then did Danae around and quickly buckle the seat belt before looking away. He was pretending to look at the scenery in order to hide his loneliness. Lucy didn¡¯t seem to notice Dana¡¯s bad mood and chirped happily, ¡°It¡¯s the new year, so cheer up! I will cook your favorite garlic crayfish tonight.¡± Lucy had just shifted the gear but before she could take her hand away, Dana suddenly grabbed her with one hand. He continued to look out the window but still held her tightly. Lucyughed. ¡°Alright, alright; stop throwing a tantrum. This is a lesson for you. Remember to not cause any more trouble in the future. Even if you are dissatisfied, don¡¯t cause trouble like this.¡± However, Dana still did not speak. He was still looking out the window but he pulled his hand back this time. Lucy then drove away. Although it was New Year¡¯s Eve, there were still some cars on the road so Lucy drove cautiously. Suddenly, Dana said, ¡°I contacted a doctor abroad and the doctor said that I can¡ª¡± Before he could finish speaking, Lucy interrupted, ¡°The surgery is risky. You¡¯re fine as you are now.¡± Hearing this, Dana shut up. The car turned a corner and he suddenly said, ¡°I want to adopt a child. Would a son or a daughter be better?¡± Chapter 1244 Chapter 1244 Lucy was driving attentively but she suddenly reached over and grabbed his hand. Even though Dana had a man¡¯s bone structure, his skin was really fair and soft like a woman¡¯s. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to wait a little longer. Soon, I¡¯ll be the head of the Edwards Family and nobody will be able to stop us. When that timees, you can have as many children as you want.¡± Hearing this, Dana smiled bitterly. She¡¯s right; we are not in a position to adopt a child yet! He then looked at Lucy and for the upteemth time, wanting to break up with her. But we have been together for over ten years and she never gave up, so how can I give up on us? Moreover, I have been dragging her down for more than ten years. Asking for a break up now would mean that the years that she had spent with me had been in vain. That¡¯s too cruel and heartless! I can¡¯t believe that it has been more than ten years since we met and fell in love when we were teenagers. Time flies so fast¡­ In his eyes, Lucy would always be the little nerd with thick sses but in reality, she was already over 30. From her teens to her early thirties, she had given the best years of her life to him. In the past, Dana was neither man nor woman but Lucy did not abandon him. Later, after he had completely be a woman, Lucy still didn¡¯t give up, even if it meant they couldn¡¯t get married and have children like an ordinary couple. Being together with him meant that she was putting her future at risk, but Lucy was still determined. However, Dana couldn¡¯t bear to watch Lucy struggle to no avail. Truth was, he didn¡¯t see any hope for their future and had a feeling that they would never find a way out. She could have lived happily without me. Lucy, on the other hand, seemedpletely unaware about Dana¡¯s worries. ¡°There is not much that can stop us now. Once I take control of the Edwards Family, we will go abroad and get married.¡± Now, the Edwards Family was generally divided into three teams¡ªLucy, Ian and Sam. Ian was just a scum so Lucy wasn¡¯t afraid of him. As for Sam, he wasn¡¯t an ambitious man; he was self-reliant and didn¡¯t intervene with the management of the Edwards Group. The biggest threat was Jordan. He and his stand-in seemed to have delegated power to the younger generation, but there were still many people who were loyal to him on the board. He was still controlling the Edwards Group and Lucy from behind the scenes. Lucy was well aware of the current situation and had an urate assessment of her abilities, so she knew that she was no match for Jordan. With Cooper as an example, she knew that she couldn¡¯t give up the Edwards family¡¯s wealth and power for love. If she did that, Dana would be killed, just like Annabel. And so, Lucy only had one option¡ªshe had to make herself strong enough to take control of her destiny to protect her loved ones! That day is not far away. ¡­¡­ After Lucy left, several cars stopped at the Imperial. Bodyguards then got out of the car and negotiated with the security at the entrance. Meanwhile, Sophia was kneading dough with Cooper to make cinnamon rolls. ¡°Your mother is the best at making cinnamon rolls. Even though I¡¯m not as good at making cinnamon rolls as your mother, I have learned a skill or two. Come here, Linus. Have a good look and learn how to make cinnamon rolls so that you can make some for your sister in the future,¡± Cooper said as he kneaded the dough. Annabel was very virtuous and it was she who showed Cooper a whole new world. After meeting her, Cooper learned that MSG could be used to enhance the taste and soy sauce could be used to add color to food. Before Cooper met Annabel, he was a noble young master who didn¡¯t do any rough work and was oblivious to others¡¯ plight. Linus was trying hard to keep up with Cooper, studying Cooper¡¯s actions very seriously so he could make cinnamon rolls for Carmen and Sophia in the future. Sophia also learned the steps so that she could make cinnamon rolls for Carmen and her father. Meanwhile, Michael was killing and cooking fish at Harry¡¯s house, while Stanley and Sean were cutting vegetables and making soup off to one side. All in all, everyone was really busy. Daniel too hade but unfortunately, he was alone. Alice had gone home so he had no choice but to lay on the sofa and apany his son while waiting for the food to be ready. As for Quinton and Derek, they were still in Africa so they were absent. All of a sudden, Cooper¡¯s phone rang. However, he was kneading dough so he couldn¡¯t answer the phone. Furthermore, it was a personal phone call so Carmen ran to answer the phone. ¡°Hi! Who are you looking for?¡± The person on the other end of the line had a sweet feminine voice and she spoke in a fluent Bayside City ent. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m looking for Fass.¡± Hearing this, Carmen asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± The womanughed charmingly and replied, ¡°My name is Tiffany Adams and I¡¯m Fass¡¯ fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there is no one here by the name Fass!¡± Carmen replied. ¡°You have the wrong number!¡± With that, she hung up. Daniel saw the whole thing and he was speechless. After Carmen hung up the phone, she sat down and watched cartoons, not bothering to notify her grandfather. It was as if nothing had happened. A short whileter, Cooper¡¯s phone started ringing again. Carmen answered the phone again, and it was the same voice. ¡°You are Gianna, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m your future grandmother. Ask your grandfather, Cooper, to answer the phone. I¡¯m already at the gates of yourmunity.¡± Carmen replied, ¡°I¡¯m sorry but there is no one here by the name Cooper, and my name is not Gianna¡ª it¡¯s Cas.¡± Daniel was once again rendered speechless. He stood up, took a look at the surveince and saw a few luxury cars with the Adams Family crests parked at the gates. Daniel knew about Michael¡¯stest family troubles. Tiffany actually came to visit during New Year¡¯s Eve? How can she be so inconsiderate toe here uninvited on New Year¡¯s Eve of all days? Is she here because she wants to have some New Year¡¯s fun with Cooper? That¡¯s disgusting! Even though Carmen tried to hide it, everyone soon found out that Tiffany was at the door. ¡°Let her in.¡± The rtionship between Cooper and Tiffany was neither cold nor hot. However, at the very least, she was his fianc¨¦e that his grandfather entrusted to him before his death. Moreover, she had helped Cooper a lot in the past. Now that she was here during New Year¡¯s Eve, Cooper thought that it was best to invite her in. After all, it was really cold outside and it was strange to let a group of people stand outside. However, as soon as he finished speaking, two people looked at him with extremely upset expressions. ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t like her!¡± Sophia muttered, while Carmen yelled, ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ll throw a fit!¡± Cooper was in a tough spot but he quickly withdrew his order. ¡°Forget it; let them leave. Besides, it¡¯s a little rude for her toe uninvited on New Year¡¯s Eve. I¡¯ll just pretend that I¡¯m not here.¡± It was only then did Sophia smile again. She hurriedly ran to take a look at the surveince monitors, curiously to see what Tiffany looked like. Although Sophia asionally saw her in newspapers and magazines, she never met Tiffany in person. It was said that Tiffany was really beautiful, with a stunning figure and an angelic face that was comparable with any celebrity. Even though Tiffany was in her forties, she was rated by foreign media to be one of the sexiest women in the world. Cethosians even called her the Marilyn Monroe of the new generation! Arge number of celebrities and powerful people courted her even though they knew marrying and divorcing her would make them lose half of their wealth. Unfortunately, Sophia could only see the cars while the people inside them were not visible at all. When Sarah heard about the situation, she threw a fit. ¡°That cow is here? F*ck! I want to kick her in the ass!¡± Harry was killing fish but he hurriedly held Sarah back and said, ¡°Forget it; it¡¯s New Year¡¯s Eve. We¡¯ll teach her a lesson tomorrow, okay?¡± Sarah was furious but she didn¡¯t resist. Just then, the security at the gates called again. ¡°Mrs. Yard and her two sons are here to visit Mr. Cooper and they are already at the door.¡± Chapter 1245 Chapter 1245 It was Maria who answered the call and delivered the message. After hearing Maria¡¯s words, Cooper walked out of the kitchen, frowning as he dried his hands. ¡°Mrs. Yard? Which¡ª¡± Halfway through his question, he suddenly stopped. Cooper took a look at the surveince and saw another car at the gates of themunity. Three people got out of the car and even though they were dressed very simply, Cooper recognized them at once. Anna Yard is here and she even brought her two sons. Why is she here? The whole family nced at each other in confusion. They left silently two days ago so they should be in Ronney City right now. Why did they suddenlye to Bayside City today? Nobody knew what tricks Anna had up her sleeve and even Cooper couldn¡¯t figure her out. Only Carmen rushed out excitedly to greet her. However, Sophia realized that something was wrong so she immediately chased after her in a hurry. It was extremely lively at the gates of themunity that day as there were many people standing around. Sophia held Carmen¡¯s hand and took her to the gates, where she soon saw the people from the Adams Family, Anna, and her sons. Is Anna really here? As soon as Carmen walked out of the gates, she rushed toward Anna. It seems like she really likes Miss Beautiful. Anna was dressed really casually that day. She wore a camel-colored coat, a hat, and a mask that covered half of her face. Her two sons standing next to her were feeling so cold that their noses had turned red, but they looked really excited as they followed behind Anna. Sophia was about to speak to Anna when two people suddenly got out of the Adams¡¯ Family car. Sophia had her back against them so she only heard the crisp sounds of heels clicking, which made the person sound really alluring. Before she even saw who it was, Sophia could already smell a sweet fragrance. It was a very enchanting fragrance, not a floral scent nor an artificially extracted synthetic scent. Sophia knew about fragrances but she couldn¡¯t figure out what smell it was. All she knew was that she found it attractive and she couldn¡¯t help but turn and sniff around. It smells amazing. It was then only she saw the woman who had many identities. She was a blonde foreigner with mysterious and unique emerald eyes that were deep, like two brilliant pearls. She was wearing a fur coat that was produced by the fur coat factory Sophia bought. From top to bottom, her outfit was made out of products that were rted to Sophia. It seemed like she did her homework. The coat covered her enchanting figure but it couldn¡¯t hide her sexy and charming aura. The woman walked up to Sophia and before she spoke, Sophia could already smell her sweet fragrance. ¡°You¡¯re Sophia, aren¡¯t you? I¡¯m Tiffany,¡± she said with a friendly smile. Her facial features were impable. She has the face of an angel and a unique voice that is low and a little hoarse. The more she speaks, the more enchanting it feels. Women of every age want to meet the beauty standards of their age group. An 18-year-old wants to look like a beautiful teenager and a 48-year-old has a different kind of beauty standard. However, even though many female stars in Cethos are 48-years-old, they are not willing to ept reality and try to look as young as possible. The current mainstream aesthetics is also based on not looking old. However, Tiffany doesn¡¯t seem to try to hide her age at all. There are fine lines in the corner of her eyes and some spots on her cheeks but she is still gorgeous. Age seems to be her makeup that makes her look even more elegant. There is probably only one word to describe her¡ªangelic. Sophia couldn¡¯t help but stare. It was after she came back to her senses that she realized she was being rude. She hurriedly pretended to stay calm as she said, ¡°Yes; I¡¯m Sophia.¡± Tiffany reached out to shake Sophia¡¯s hand. Sophia then looked behind her and saw a woman that had the same body and temperament as Tiffany. The woman was wearing a mask that covered half of her face. However, after seeing her emerald eyes and ample bosom, Sophia recognized her. She was wearing a mask because Sophia and Sarah scratched her face when they caught her yesterday. How dare this cow f*ckinge here? Sophia couldn¡¯t help but stand tall, trying to make her C-cup look like a G-cup but she noticed the disdain in the cow¡¯s eyes. Shaking her G-cup boobs, the cow instantly defeated Sophia. After shaking Tiffany¡¯s hand, Sophia gently replied, ¡°I know you are here to see my father but he can¡¯t see any guests today. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Tiffany didn¡¯t say anything in response. Instead, she reached out and tucked the strands of hair in front of Sophia¡¯s face behind her ear. Holding Sophia¡¯s face, Tiffany looked at her with a motherly expression and said, ¡°Fass has never told me about you before so I only found out that he has a daughter not long ago. I never had the chance to meet you. Now that I¡¯ve met you, I realize that you and Fass really do look alike.¡± Sophia had goosebumps all over her body and she had a feeling that she was the prey of a vicious monster. She didn¡¯t dare to look directly at the eyes of the gorgeous woman in front of her. A beautiful woman would still look gorgeous even if she grew old; plus, Tiffany wasn¡¯t old yet. This woman is powerful. She is really good at dealing with people, albeit men or women. After all, she is a grown and mature woman. I¡¯m basically just a ¡®newborn¡¯ who has ¡®lived¡¯ a few years. I feel like a baby in front of her. Sophia held her breath and said, ¡°He¡¯s my father; of course we look alike.¡± Tiffany stared at Sophia¡¯s face attentively. A few secondster, Tiffany bent her knees slightly and reached her hand out to Carmen. In a gentle voice, she murmured, ¡°Everybody calls you Carmen, right? Come here, Carmen. I have a present for you.¡± Carmen held onto Anna¡¯s hand and with an arrogant expression, she pouted and replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know you. Daddy said children can¡¯t take things from strangers.¡± With a smile, Tiffanymented, ¡°How am I considered a stranger? I¡¯m your grandfather¡¯s fianc¨¦e!¡± Carmen ignored her as she tugged on Anna¡¯s hand and said, ¡°Miss Beautiful, let¡¯s go.¡± It was only then that Tiffany seemed to notice Anna. Tiffany nced at the woman in front of her and saw that she was wearing really simple and casual clothes. Meanwhile, Anna was talking to Carmen with her head lowered and she was wearing a mask that covered her face. The Ronneys were from North America and the Adams Family was from Western Europe. The two families rarely met each other so Tiffany didn¡¯t recognize Anna. Seeing that Carmen was leading Anna into themunity, Tiffany hurriedly asked, ¡°Who is this?¡± Feeling impatient, Carmen replied, ¡°This is Grandpa¡¯s girlfriend.¡±This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. When Carmen said that, she stood tall and looked proud. Seeing that Anna smiled and didn¡¯t deny that remark, Sophia quickly stood tall too. With a serious expression, Carmen said determinedly, ¡°Grandpa¡¯s rtionship with her is really stable and they are nning to get married and have children after the new year¡¯s celebrations! The engagement ring is bigger than a crab!¡± Sophia nodded profusely but she nced at Anna with a guilty conscience. Meanwhile, Anna just kept smiling and they could hear a sweet chuckle from under her mask. After Carmen finished speaking, she led Anna into themunity. Sophia hurriedly followed behind, having mixed feelings about Anna¡¯s appearance. The best match for Dad is probably Anna. The reason Tiffany wants to be with him is likely because she wants half of his wealth but Anna¡­ probably wants his life. However, Sophia felt that she couldn¡¯t let Tiffany be with Cooper, even if it meant that Cooper had to get back together with Anna. After taking a few steps, they suddenly heard Tiffany chuckle softly. ¡°Is Fass afraid to see me?¡± Chapter 1246 Chapter 1246 Tiffany¡¯s tone was full of confidence, as if she was implying that Sophia was not letting her meet Cooper because Sophia was afraid he would fall in love the moment he set his eyes on Tiffany. Sophia stopped in her tracks but she didn¡¯t rebuke Tiffany. Fine! I admit that this woman is so gorgeous she is dangerous. I really am scared that Dad won¡¯t be able to stay calm. Even I, a woman, can¡¯t help but want to stare at her beauty. Moreover, everyone is gathered in the house to celebrate New Year¡¯s Eve today. There are many men and women, and my husband¡­ More importantly, today is supposed to be a happy day filled with celebrations. I don¡¯t want someone who will ruin the mood to enter the house. Anna is probably not someone who will ruin the mood¡­ After all, she is my biological mother. However, Tiffany and Betsy are not allowed to step foot in the house! ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s freezing outside,¡± Callum urged as he thought to himself, I heard that their family cooks a giant smander every New Year¡¯s Eve. It is a luxury and I really want to try it out! Cade, on the other hand, was carrying a bag in his hand. Even though it was a little impolite to visit on New Year¡¯s Eve, Carmen said that there was something really urgent on the phone so Anna actually came and she brought some food over. The reason she came this time was also for business. The group of people was about to head in. Sophia was toozy to bother with Tiffany and her group so she directly put on a cold expression from the beginning, hoping to mess up their rtionship. Don¡¯t even think about sleeping with my dad! Tiffany stood by the roadside and her charming European eyes were filled with disdain and contempt. ¡°It seems that Fass¡­ is really scared to see me.¡± She purposely raised her voice as she spoke. It was as if she was reminding Sophia but at the same time, Tiffany sounded like she was boasting. She was confident that as long as she did a little seducing, any man would fall for her beauty. Hearing this, Sophia stopped in her tracks. Then, she suddenly turned her head around and said tactfully, ¡°Miss Tiffany, you probably don¡¯t know the customs in Cethos. We celebrate New Year¡¯s Eve so it is not convenient for us to receive visitors. Please leave.¡± Tiffany didn¡¯t seem to pay attention at all as she countered, ¡°Doesn¡¯t Cethos have a saying that goes, ¡®it¡¯s a pleasure to have friendsing from afar¡¯? Besides, I¡¯m not a visitor; I¡¯m Fass¡¯s fianc¨¦e. We will be family soon.¡± When Tiffany said this, she gave Anna a provocative nce. In her eyes, Anna¡ªwho was casually dressed¡ªwas nopetition at all. Unexpectedly, Sophia immediately retorted, ¡°Cethos also has another saying, ¡®the uninvited are not weed¡¯. You seem to not realize that your behavior is really rude. Furthermore, my father has already broken off the engagement with you. He already has a new girlfriend and they are in a stable rtionship. There¡¯s another famous ancient quote in Cethos¡ª¡®it is better to tear down ten temples than destroy one marriage¡¯!¡± Upon hearing that, Tiffany stroked her fur coat with her slightly wrinkled fingers and said, ¡°Cethosians really treasure filial piety and pay attention to promises of marriage arrangements by parents. I am the woman that your great grandfather chose to marry your father. If Fass doesn¡¯t marry me, he will be unfilial.¡±N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Wow! Is this f*cking foreigner deliberately discussing traditional Cethosian culture with me? Sophia was intrigued and she chuckled. Stepping forward, she said loudly, ¡°Well, my father didn¡¯t break his promise but you, Miss Tiffany¡­ From what I heard, less than a year after your engagement with my father, you broke off the engagement and rushed into a new life. You got married to a politician, which means you broke the promise yourself.¡± However, Tiffany didn¡¯t think that she did anything wrong. ¡°Back then, Fass personally promised me that I¡¯m free to marry whoever I want. I helped him a lot in his early years and he is grateful to me. Now that I¡¯m single, he should marry me.¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t help but scoff and she realized that she was worried for nothing. My dad hasn¡¯t been tempted for the past twenty years so Tiffany¡¯s appearance won¡¯t change a thing. I really can¡¯t understand what the old generation of Michel family were thinking! They literally invited a fox into the house! Do they want her to marry and divorce Dad in a sh so that she can take half of his wealth? Even Carmen couldn¡¯t stand it any more. With her hands on her waist, she said, ¡°Stop trying to hit on Grandpa! He has already given me all of his wealth, so you won¡¯t be able to have a share of his assets even if you marry him, not even a dog!¡± Looking at Carmen, Tiffany tilted her head and smiled. ¡°Sweetie, you don¡¯t understand adult matters. Your grandfather and I love each other. I want to marry him and I¡¯m willing to do the notarization of pre- marital property and promise not to take any of his money.¡± There was a shrewd flicker in her eyes as she slowly spoke with her sensual red lips. ¡°All I want is him and his heart.¡± Hearing this, Sophia secretly snorted. She probably says that to all of her ex-husbands! ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what you say,¡± Sophia argued. ¡°My dad¡¯s grandfather is dead and the Michel family is under my dad¡¯s control. Even if you have an engagement, what can you do? If you are capable, you can try kidnapping my dad¡ªthe world¡¯s second arms dealer¡ªand force him to marry you. Oh¡ªand one more thing¡­¡± She purposely nced at Tiffany in contempt and continued, ¡°You should have a little more self- awareness. My father has known you for twenty years yet you have failed to seduce him. You won¡¯t seed even if I give you another twenty years.¡± Sure enough, Sophia saw the veins on Tiffany¡¯s forehead bulge. I knew Tiffany would care about that a lot! Seems like Dad really is super strong. Twenty years have passed and he still hasn¡¯t fallen into this woman¡¯s trap! Even Anna, who was standing at the side, couldn¡¯t help but purse her lips and chuckle. Tiffany scoffed and murmured, ¡°Little girl, you really are clever. Unfortunately, you don¡¯t understand. I¡¯m the only person in the world who can match your father in wealth, influence, and beauty. Are you willing to let your father find a woman who isn¡¯tpatible with him in every aspect?¡± When Tiffany said this, she nced at Anna. It was obvious that she wasn¡¯t bothered about her. Sophia scoffed deep down. It was New Year¡¯s Eve so she didn¡¯t want to scoff out loud. And so, she deliberately held Anna¡¯s arm as she announced loudly, ¡°Mom, let¡¯s go. It¡¯s the New Year¡¯s and everyone is waiting for you!¡± Upon hearing that, Anna was stunned but she soon yed along. In a gentle voice, she replied, ¡°Okay. Your father is probably getting anxious.¡± I have never thought being called ¡®mom¡¯ by Sophia would make me happy. It seems to be some kind of strange magic. It was Carmen who invited Anna over. Seeing that Sophia had agreed, Carmen felt more confident and she dragged Anna into the house. ¡°Come on, Grandma; let¡¯s go! Just ignore them!¡± As Tiffany watched them, there was a dark look in her eyes. Back then, she spent a lot of effort to win Cooper¡¯s heart. Not only did she give him wealth, manpower, and power itself, in order to speak the samenguage as him, she became fluent in the Cethosiannguage. At that instant, her superbnguage proficiency made her find the perfect description to urately express the situation at the moment. ¡°You¡¯re just a toad who wants to marry a swan!¡± There was a sudden silence. It wasn¡¯t until Callum¡ªwho continued to stay and watch themotion even though he was shivering from the cold¡ªbroke the silence because he couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. Her Cethosiannguage skills are pretty amazing! Chapter 1247 Chapter 1247 Anna turned her head and looked at Tiffany. Even though Tiffany had an appearance of a noble and morous Westerner, the words she said didn¡¯t match her identity. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a look in the mirror and see how hideous you look right now?¡± Sophia was stunned. I didn¡¯t expect her to be so skilled at talking back! Tiffany was about to refute but Anna unexpectedly chuckled. With a twinkle in her eye, she took off her mask and revealed her face, which had aged with the passing of time but still looked stunning and intellectual. ¡°I am Anna Yard from the Ronney Group. Nice to meet you.¡± Anna Yard? This name was enough to shock Tiffany. Tiffany thought that the reason Cooper was single was because he couldn¡¯t find a woman that was better than her. She was happy about it and confident that she could win Cooper¡¯s heart but at that moment, the name ¡®Anna Yard¡¯pletely smashed her hopes into pieces. The name ¡®Anna Yard¡¯ was enough for Tiffany to admire and look up to. Anna Yard was thest descendant of the Yard family, the president of the Ronney Group, and the woman who controlled the Ronney luxury empire. She had everything every woman in the world wanted and she was also the nightmare and goddess of every woman! She was also the woman that Tiffany always wanted to surpass! That woman is Anna Yard? Anna is dating Cooper? How dare she steal my man? Meanwhile, Anna had put her mask back on and covered her face that had turned red from the cold. Then, she turned around and walked into the residential area. Sophia was overjoyed and she couldn¡¯t help but praise her, ¡°What you said just now was so powerful!¡± ¡®I am Anna Yard from the Ronney Group. Nice to meet you.¡¯ These words are so domineering. A truly powerful person can defeat someone with just a name. At that moment, Sophia even forgot to let go of Anna¡¯s arm. As for Anna, she smiled in self-mockery. My name is indeed useful to deal with people in public. However, who can understand the bitterness I feel under my bright appearance? The real person in control works behind the scenes. I¡¯m nothing more than a puppet and a spokesperson. However, I, Anna Yard, will not be a puppet that is controlled by others! Carmen was jumping with joy and she said, ¡°Miss Beautiful, have you agreed to celebrate New Year¡¯s with us?¡± Anna touched the bridge of Carmen¡¯s nose and said affectionately, ¡°Yes. I just happen to have something to discuss with your grandpa!¡± With that, the few of them walked toward the vi. Tiffany, who was left at the gates, was still in shock. How did Cooper and Anna get together? ¡°This is truly unexpected! Anna Yard¡­¡± Tiffany clenched her fists tightly and muttered, ¡°I will make sure you lose everything!¡± Betsy admired her mother a lot but she didn¡¯t understand what they were talking about just now. What is she going on about? She really is skilled in the Cethosiannguage! ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tiffany was extremely confident in her charm and she couldn¡¯t wait any longer. I have waited for twenty years. This time, I must marry Cooper! Looking at the rooftop of the towering Vi No.8, Tiffany murmured, ¡°We still have a long road ahead. Just you wait and see; let¡¯s see who will have thestugh!¡± Betsy finally couldn¡¯t hold back her curiosity so she asked, ¡°Mom, what does ¡®thestugh¡¯ mean? Why will youugh?¡± Tiffany red at Betsy fiercely. This daughter of mine really worries me. Even though she has inherited my bosom, she inherited the brains of her shabby noble father! She¡¯s the ssic example of beauty with no brains. When Tiffany was about to get in the car, she suddenly realized that the streets that were lively a moment ago were quiet; even the Imperial¡¯s security guards had hurriedly closed the doors and hid. There¡¯s an ambush! Tiffany subconsciously wanted to pull out her gun but she suddenly remembered that guns were prohibited in Cethos and hers were confiscated at the customs. Hence, they hurriedly got into the car and wanted to drive away as soon as possible, but it was toote. Over a hundred people rushed out from both sides of the road and they were dressed in uniforms. They wore white shirts with ck zers, coupled with ck leather shoes. There were men and women, and all of them looked murderous. They were holding steel bars in their hands and some even ced roadblocks on the streets beforehand to trap Tiffany and her men on the road. A sea of ck and white figures instantly filled the streets and there weren¡¯t any other cars around. The group of people slowly closed in on those from the Adams Family from both directions and in a blink of an eye, they formed a circle around them. It was only then did Tiffany realize that the matter was serious. The Imperial is next to the ancient Imperial Pce. These people dared to openly gather together at the gates of the Imperial Pce and set roadblocks on the streets. They definitelye from a powerful background. Furthermore, they look aggressive and they are dressed in uniforms, which means they came prepared. I didn¡¯t even n toe here initially and made the decision at thest minute. Who is powerful enough to have the means to predict my whereabouts? ¡°Mom, what should we do?¡± Betsy was the first to panic because she saw the crest on their suits. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. It¡¯s the Winston Family crest! The Winston Family is the head of Bayside City¡¯s underworld! Betsy naturally knew them. After all, she almost slept with the young master of the Winston Family, Harry Winston, yesterday. Hasn¡¯t the Winston Family fallen? Dana even said that they had fallen so badly that they sent their family head, Harry Winston, to act in bad films to earn money so that they can maintain the appearance of being sessful! Betsy was Harry¡¯s fan so she was naturally very concerned about his acting career. The films that he has been acting intely are terrible. With his fame, why would he ept such roles if he weren¡¯t out of money? If I didn¡¯t find out that the Winston Family is poor and if Dana had not been so confident, I wouldn¡¯t have dared toy my hands on Harry. Tiffany also knew what happened with Betsy and Harry yesterday¡­ Useless girl. She can¡¯t even handle a man. She didn¡¯t manage to sleep with him even though he was tied to the bed for most of the night! ¡°They won¡¯t dare to hurt us,¡± Tiffany said calmly. After the men from the Winston Family surrounded them, they formed an imprable circle. With a ng, a chair that symbolized status in the underworld was ced before the cars from the Adams Family. Then, a small woman sat in the seat. Everyone was standing while she was seated, so it was obvious that she was the leader. A sturdy man with a loud voice stood next to her. With a solemn expression, he pointed at the people from the Adams Family and shouted, ¡°Those who kill their parents, adulterate their wives and daughters, chop off people¡¯s hands and legs and sleep with other people¡¯s husbands are all transgressors. ording to the rules of the world, what should we do?¡± The crowd behind him yelled in unison, ¡°Kill them!¡± Countless steel bars were raised and everyone was furious. This scene frightened Betsy, who was sitting in the car. Tiffany hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. All they have is steel pipes. They don¡¯t have any weapons. Our car is produced by the Michel Group so there¡¯s no need to feel scared at all.¡± After all, it was a car that could block bullets so they didn¡¯t have to fear steel pipes. After yelling ¡®kill them¡¯ in unison, there was a strange silence. It was so quiet that there wasn¡¯t even a cough. The power and restraint really made people shiver in fear. The woman on the chair raised her hand slightly and pointed at Tiffany¡¯s car before she said, ¡°Kill them!¡± With that, arge group of people headed to the three cars aggressively but Tiffany wasn¡¯t afraid at all. We¡¯re at the gates of the ancient Imperial Pce. Even though they are from the underworld, they won¡¯t dare toy a finger on us. Tiffany stared straight at the woman in the crowd who gavemands from inside the car. She was also wearing a ck suit, ck sunsses, and leather shoes. Although she was short, she had a strong and domineering aura. The attacksted for a few minutes. Everyone from the Adams Family was inside the cars so there was nothing they could do. Moreover, the crowd couldn¡¯t block the roads for too long and they soon left. Like a tide, they came and left in a short time. ¡°What a bunch of gangsters.¡± Tiffanymented but unexpectedly¡­ ¡°Oh sh*t! They punctured the tires and released all the gasoline!¡± Without gasoline, the air-conditioning soon stopped working and the temperature in the car dropped below zero¡­ Chapter 1248 Chapter 1248 Feeling the temperature slowly drop, Tiffany hurriedly wrapped her fur coat tightly around her body. Then, with her great Cethosiannguage skills, she soon thought of the best word to describe her current situation. ¡°F*ck!¡± Meanwhile, Betsy, whose bosom was revealed, was already shivering from the cold. Meanwhile in the Imperial, Harry looked at Sarah in disbelief. ¡°I¡­ I asked you to buy some soy sauce. Why did you bring men over to surround the Adams Family?¡± With a proud expression, Sarah said, ¡°The Winston Family was having a New Year¡¯s party nearby so I asked them toe over. I scratched their tires and let out their gasoline! They must be freezing in the snow right now but they deserve it!¡± Harry red at her but he was speechless. Fine. If today wasn¡¯t New Year¡¯s Eve, I would¡¯ve gone out there and kicked her myself! But it is the New Year¡¯s, and New Year¡¯s celebrations are really important. Next door, Anna and her sons had already entered the house. After chasing Tiffany away, Sophia suddenly felt embarrassed. Anna came on New Year¡¯s Eve and it was Carmen who invited her. This is a little awkward¡­ Carmen even said that her engagement ring is bigger than a crab, which makes it more embarrassing! When they walked in, the atmosphere in the house was strange. Everybody turned to look at Anna and her family withplicated looks on their faces. Carmen was the only one who was thrilled. As soon as Carmen entered the house, she rushed to the kitchen. ¡°Grandpa¡­ Grandpa! Miss Beautiful is here!¡± Cooper had already known that she wasing and he was really happy that she was here, but he wanted to back down. I want to see her but I¡¯m afraid that I will fall for her. I¡¯m also scared that she might secretly leave someday¡­ However, Anna was already in the house so Cooper had no choice but to meet her but before he could go out, Carmen already happily dragged Anna into the kitchen. It was as if she was really eager to sell her grandpa out. Anna was dressed really low-key that day with her hair tied up, revealing her fair neck. The skin on her neck was well maintained so there weren¡¯t any fine lines. She had already taken off her winter coat, revealing a sweater underneath. Seeing that Anna was walking over, Cooper was a little excited but he pretended to stay calm. He stepped forward and said, ¡°Hi, Anna.¡± He reached out to shake Anna¡¯s hand but it was only then that he realized his hand was covered in flour, so he hurriedly withdrew his hand in embarrassment. Anna also noticed Cooper drawing his hand back so she murmured, ¡°Carmen said that there is something you need my help with so I came over. Am I intruding?¡± Cooper nced at the clever Carmen and smiled helplessly. ¡°No, you¡¯re not. You¡¯re a distinguished guest.¡± Hence, Anna entered the kitchen and looked around. The kitchen in their house was pretty huge and they had several stoves. The whole family was cooking that day so everybody was extremely busy. Then, she saw that Cooper¡¯s family was kneading dough so she asked curiously, ¡°Are you preparing to bake cinnamon rolls? I¡¯d like to give it a try; can I join you?¡± Linus and Sophia nced at Cooper. Cooper wanted to refuse but in the end, he changed his mind. ¡°Sure.¡± Anna chuckled. Then, she pulled up her sleeves and washed her hands. Without putting gloves on, she started kneading the dough. There were many peopleing for the party so they had to bake many cinnamon rolls, which was why every member of Cooper¡¯s family was in the kitchen kneading dough. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Anna put on the mask that Maria gave her, covered her face and tied up her hair. She stood next to Cooper and her skills seemed rusty but after she nced at the way Cooper kneaded dough, she soon got to work. Also wearing a mask, Cooper himself was really rusty too. He seldom baked and only baked a little during the New Year¡¯s. However, with Anna at his side, memories from thirty years ago became clearer. He seemed to remember everything that Anna said, even those that he had forgotten long ago. ¡°Coop, you have to put pressure when you¡¯re kneading dough. Just knead until your hands and the bowl be clean.¡± ¡°You have to add water gradually. Only add a little each time.¡± ¡­ And so, he returned the knacks for kneading dough back to her. Anna hadn¡¯t done any rough work before and it was her first time making cinnamon rolls and kneading dough, so she was rtively amused. Cooper guided her the whole way, from beating eggs, adding water to kneading dough. Throughout, his instructions were really clear. Anna also listened seriously. Perhaps she had lost her memories but her body seemed to remember so she soon got the hang of it. As she concentrated on kneading the dough, sweat soon rolled down her forehead but she was really happy. Later, she said, ¡°It¡¯s strange. I have never baked cinnamon rolls before but the moment I touch flour, I feel really familiar with it.¡± Cooper was wearing a mask so she couldn¡¯t see the bitter smile on his face. In the past, Annabel used to work at Crimson House. At first, she worked as a chef¡¯s assistant. Due to her outstanding appearance, sheter served as a waiter and worked her way up to foreman step by step. At that time, she was still underage. Meanwhile, Linus was also kneading dough at the side. Seeing the two of them knead dough together, he moved aside and made space for them. Sophia was already making the cinnamon roll filling and Cooper carefully guided her. Seeing his serious and professional appearance, Anna couldn¡¯t help but smile and murmured, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the famous Fass Michel to be a househusband at home.¡± She was used to seeing Cooper in suits and a professional attire, looking really formal and elite. However, seeing Cooper today, he looked more like an ordinary father. He was wearing ordinary household clothes and his hands and face were covered in flour¡ªthe contrast was really huge. Cooper didn¡¯t dare to look at her, afraid that he couldn¡¯t hide the sadness and destion he was feeling. ¡°It is only during the New Year¡¯s that I have time to cook some food for my children to eat,¡± he replied. Cook some food for my children to eat¡­ It really is a wonderful thing! Unfortunately, I am so busy protecting myself and my children that I don¡¯t have the interest and energy to do something like this. After kneading the dough, they had to wait for the dough to rise. During this time, Cooper started to prepare the cinnamon filling. Whether the cinnamon rolls were delicious or not also depended on the cinnamon filling. Everybody had been busy for the whole day. Michael was preparing fish, chicken, and eels next door. Meanwhile, the people on this side of the kitchen were in charge of cooking the vegetables, boiling the soup and baking cinnamon rolls. While they were busy, the children ran around happily. Callum and Cade had nothing to do so they yed with the dogs in the living room. And so, Daniel approached them and gave them a palm reading. ¡°Wow, your fate is amazing! You have the destiny to be king¡­ If we were in ancient times, the two of you would be kings!¡± Hearing that, Callum and Cade were rendered speechless. Celine ran out to take the husky for a walk while Justin walked around with his daughter in his arms. When he heard Daniel¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. He really uses the same trick on everyone. With everyone¡¯s effort and hardwork, the New Year¡¯s Eve dinner was finally served. Everyone sat around a long table and turned on the TV to listen to New Year¡¯s Eve celebrations in the background. As an elder, Cooper sat at the head of the table. Linus and Michael were supposed to sit next to him, but Linus wittily gave his seat to Anna. Cooper looked at the table full of delicacies and then at the people around him. A few years ago, I wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of such a moment. I never thought that there would be a time that I could see my daughter, sons and my loved ones all alive in my lifetime. Chapter 1249 Chapter 1249 While they were eating, Cooper helped Sophia to the food and filled her te as usual. He even resembled the way Sophia coaxed Carmen and cooed, ¡°Have more, darling.¡± Knowing that all the others at the dining table were looking at them, Sophia blushed. ¡°Pfft¡­¡± Amused, Stanley turned away as he couldn¡¯t helpughing and Cooper immediately gave him a fierce stare. With that, Stanley quickly lowered his head and pretended to be eating in a serious manner, but he was in fact chuckling. Cooper continued to fill Sophia¡¯s te as he said, ¡°Come on; have this. It¡¯s your favorite!¡± In contrast, Linus only had an empty te and was not treated the same way as Sophia. Indeed, a daughter was more precious than a son. It was a splendid dinner that consisted of harvests from their own farm together with Daniel¡¯s delicacies and Harry¡¯s seafood. Besides, the Yards brought some food too while Michael opened a few bottles of premium wine that he had been collecting. Anna had never experienced such a festive new year before, and she too ate quite a lot. Worried that his darling would not have enough food, Cooper was busy filling Sophia¡¯s te with delicacies. Following that, he took another spoonful of food and was about to serve Anna. However, he hesitated for a moment, thinking that they were not that close after all and that she might not like being served, so he ended up putting the food onto his own te. Little did Cooper know that Anna had noticed his movements as she sat next to him. She saw Cooper scoop the food and move toward her, and she had even subconsciously held her te out, ready to receive the food. Well, it seems like I¡¯ve got it wrong. Nevertheless, with the lively surroundings, it did not affect Anna¡¯s mood. Meanwhile, Sophia took out some wine that she brewed. Seeing that, Stanley instantly held up his ss and said, ¡°Quickly, Aunt Sophia¡ªI can¡¯t wait to try the ancestral wine of the Edwards!¡± At the same time, Anna caught a whiff of the aroma as Sophia poured a ss for Stanley. ¡°What wine is that? Can I try some?¡± she asked. And so, Sophia served some for Anna too. Looking downward, she did noty eyes on Anna and only dared to stare at the wine ss as the clear and aromatic wine flowed out from the bottle. ¡°This is plum wine,¡± Sophia exined. Anna thanked her and thereafter took a sip of it. Instantly, Anna¡¯s mouth was filled with the aroma of the wine. What a wonderful taste! As the fruity liquor enveloped her tongue, it felt as if she was standing amidst a forest full of plum trees in blossom, the scent lingering on her pte even after she swallowed the wine. After tasting the wine, Anna eximed in admiration, ¡°Did you brew this? It¡¯s amazing!¡± Still not daring to look at Anna, Sophia answered, ¡°Yes, I did.¡± It was an ancestral recipe that her grandmother had passed down to her, which she had jotted down in her notebook. Following her abduction by the Phantom Wolf, Michael had conserved her belongings, including the recipes. Upon her return, Sophia had tried to pick up the recipes again. Nevertheless, she would probably be able to brew even more refined wine if Annabel was still around. After finishing the ss, Anna intended to drink more and so she stretched her hand toward the wine bottle. However, just as she reached the wine bottle, another palmnded on her hand. It was Cooper, who was facing the other side while talking to Linus. He was distracted from the conversation and wanted to reach out for the bottle of wine but to his surprise, he touched a warm, soft hand. Stunned, Cooper was instantly at a loss while his hand remained on Anna¡¯s. On the other side, Callum was a bundle of nerves at once when he saw this. All the while, Anna had a sore point¡ªshe abhorred having close contact with any men. Once she came into contact with them, she would involuntarily experience a mental breakdown. For that, she was forced to lead a simple life and forgo her career while she devoted all her energy to grooming her two sons so that they could take over the business. Both Callum and Cade nearly stood up. However, they were surprised to see Anna behaving absolutely normal and she had remained calm until Cooper took off his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cooper apologized in a low tone. Smiling, Anna took her hand off the wine bottle too. She could feel the warmth on the back of her hand where Cooper touched. Her heart was racing as she was shocked and surprised. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t feel the slightest tinge of fear. That feeling was amazing. Back then when Anna¡¯s anxiety was at its peak, she would panic and feel disgusted, subconsciously getting goosebumps when a man was a few meters away from her. Even after she slowly practiced to control herself and prevent herself from overreacting, she still couldn¡¯t ept any man approaching her. By forcing herself, she could at most remain a calm countenance while approaching men, but the horror and aversion had be an automatic reaction; only her two sons were the exceptions. And now, Cooper was the third exception. What is going on? Even the Yards brothers thought it was unbelievable. Could it be fate that has brought them together? Nheless, the little episode between Cooper and Anna passed just like this, and no one seemed to notice it. Meanwhile, Michael took the wine bottle and poured some for Sophia and thereafter poured for everyone else. The reunion dinner ended on a harmonious note. ording to the traditions, they had to stay up all night on New Year¡¯s Eve. Everyone was caught up in their respective activities¡ªsome were ying mahjong and poker, while the others apanied the children. Meanwhile, Anna followed Cooper to his study room on the third floor as she had some matters to discuss with him. Over the mahjong table, Callum shuffled the tiles and asked Sophia, ¡°Your father is Fass Michel? How does it feel like being Fass¡¯ daughter?¡± Frowning, Sophia could not focus as she was thinking of Cooper and Anna. In the study room, Cooper was seated in front of the tea table. ¡°So, what deal do you want to propose to me?¡± he asked as he brewed a pot of tea. Some tea would be good for digestion after a heavy meal. After all, both of them had more or less taken some wine and the tea would sober them up, making it easier to discuss business. Anna did not beat around the bush and cut straight to the point. ¡°I would like to work with you to tackle Jordan.¡± Upon hearing her proposal, Cooper paused as doubt and surprise arose in him. Despite that, he remained alert and continued brewing tea as he looked downward. Concealing his feelings, he did not even look at Anna as he asked, ¡°Jordan is your husband. Why do you want to fight against him?¡± Husband? This word was extremely disgusting to Anna. ¡°Mr. Mitchell¡ªoh wait, perhaps I should address you as Fass. To prove my sincerity, I¡¯ve brought with me a list of spies that Jordan has ced in the Michel Group and the family. Please take a look at it.¡± With that, she took out a tiny memory card from her handbag which contained information that she had gathered. ¡°Jordan is not my husband. Twenty years ago, he helped me return to the Yards Family merely because he was eyeing the Ronney Group for a very long time. He wanted to take advantage of my identity to enter the group. I¡¯m just his puppet and have been carefully seeking to survive within the tense rtionship between Jordan and the Yards. Even up to today, I¡¯m living under the control of Jordan and have not had much actual power in the Ronney Group. I intended to go after Ryan and Henry because they are not my offspring. The two are twins and are one of Jordan¡¯s many illegitimate children. Since Jordan has started guarding against me and my two sons, he intends to let the twins join Ronney Group so they can undermine our power.¡± She then added, ¡°Jordan has many other undercovers in the Ronney Group. Besides, he has numerous mistresses around the world, including politicians, celebrities and businesswomen. The power that this man and his mistresses possess is beyond our imagination.¡± As she was talking about Jordan, Anna did not notice that Cooper¡¯s hands were mildly trembling. He assumed she was leading a happy life, hence did not want to interrupt her. He thought she had a complete family and a sessful career, and it was impossible for them to be connected once more. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Never once did he think¡­ Chapter 1250 Chapter 1250 There was no business opportunity between Cooper and the Ronney Group, so they had never crossed paths. Besides, Cooper rarely showed up in public and there was nowhere he could encounter Anna. Even after knowing Anna¡¯s existence and her identity as Annabel, Cooper had no intention of disturbing her nor prying into her private life. However, never did he imagine the sufferings that his Anna had been through all these years. It seemed as if Cooper was pondering but in fact, he was crying deep down. His dear Anna should not be living a life like this. Seeing Cooper contemting without making his stance known, Anna was determined that she would not give up on this potential ally. He was the only help that she could currently think of. If she could sessfully persuade Cooper, she and her sons would soon be free. That was the real reason she came to Cethos this time. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, if you¡¯re doubtful of Jordan and I ganging up against you, please be assured. There is a death feud between him and I.¡± With that, she presented her bargain, ¡°Of course; I would not ask you to help me for nothing. If we manage to bring Jordan down, I promise that the Ronney Group will retreat from the Cethos market forever.¡± However, Cooper still remained silent as he concentrated on brewing tea. He looked extremely calm and it seemed like no one would be able to read his mind. Understanding that he needed time to contemte, Anna stopped speaking. And so, the two of them sipped their tea quietly. The serene atmosphere was filled with the aroma of the tea. There were only two of them in the room, breathing the aromatic tea scent and hearing the lively noises in the neighborhood, while both were having simmering thoughts beneath the surface. In fact, Cooper had been taking actions to tackle Jordon all this while. He had noticed an underground force eyeing the Michel Family and the Michel Group even before this. The force had concealed itself very well and it had not just existed recently, but for more than a decade. It had emerged since his grandfather¡¯s generation and had started undermining the Michel Group when his grandfather was gravely ill. Right at that time, Cooper returned. Not only did he sessfully turn the tide, he evenpletely changed the history of the Michel Group. As a result, the underground force had retreated. Nevertheless, it was still waiting for an opportunity to pounce on the Michel Group all these years. The troublemakers never showed up but would create conflicts within the family and thepany. Their tactic was to divide the internal departments and destroy the Michel Group from there. The most severe internal dispute happened several years ago, and that episode nearly ruined the foundation of the business which was built by Cooper after years of toil. It was the same year when Sophia got into the ident. During that time, Michael had attempted to ry the message to Linus, hoping that Linus could help them. s, both Linus and Cooper were caught up in sustaining the Michel Family back then. Otherwise, the many troubles which followed would not have happened. Having briefly investigated Anna, Cooper knew that she returned to the Yard Family by herself at that time. Nheless, she still miraculously established her influence in the family. Within the Yard Family, there were the main family, branch family, old followers and several other forces, and each of them had disputes with one another. The method she used was exactly to cause internal division and she had leveraged the forces of different parties to tackle the family. As a result, she gradually knocked down the forces one after another, expanding her influence and eventually conquering the entire Yard Family. Cooper had noticed something fishy earlier on because he was very familiar with the tactic. It involved grooming and supporting a representative, thereafter taking advantage of the representative to intrude into a particr party, conceal their power and eventually conquer the entire party after knocking down its elements one after another. Back when Cooper was still in the Mitchell Family, Alex and his gang too were supported by some unknown forces to cause internal dispute within the family. In the end, Cooper was so disappointed that he left the family and it had resulted in the Mitchells¡¯ downfall. It seemed like there was a mastermind behind the internal disputes of the Mitchells, the Yards and the Michels, with the identity of the mastermind bing extremely obvious. After enjoying two cups of tea, Cooper and Anna gradually became sober. Cooper would definitely go after Jordan as he had been executing it all the while. Jordan had harmed Sophia multiple times so Cooper would never let him off the hook. In addition, Jordan¡¯s existence was a threat at all times. Hence, they had to develop aprehensive n in order to tackle Jordan. As Jordan¡¯s close confidant, Anna had revealed some top secrets which outsiders would not be aware of. ¡°Jordan is very good at dealing with women and manipting them. Besides the Edwards Group, he has expanded numerous ¡®mistress businesses¡¯ overseas over the years. There are countless women who are willing toy down their lives for him. Though the business of the Edwards and the Yards are his major career, they are not the only ones.¡± ¡°He has several identities in the upper ss society and he is the one supporting many single, outstanding business women in the socialite circles. I have alreadypiled a list of their names.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to doubt my sincerity. I¡¯m just another representative backed by Jordan to be sent into the Yard Family and he merely used me as a tool to invade the Yards. I¡¯m asking to cooperate with you because I can¡¯t reconcile myself to continuing being his tool¡ªI want to control my own destiny.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve certainly started going after Jordan and I¡¯ve never questioned your ability. But trust me, we can surely defeat him within a shorter time if we work together.¡± Nevertheless, Cooper still remained silent. Thinking that he was still pondering and hesitating, Anna raised her end of the bargain once again. ¡°Besides Ronney Group¡¯s retreat from Cethos¡¯ market, are there any other benefits that you would like? I will agree to any request as long as I can afford them.¡± Finally, Cooper put down his cup and lifted his head to look at Anna with his eyes tinged with a mysterious ck mist. He did not respond to her invitation to coborate but abruptly murmured, ¡°You must have been suffering all these years¡­¡± Stunned, Anna had obviously not expected Cooper to be concerned about this point. There was never someone who could tug at her heartstrings with such a short statement. Did I suffer? Definitely. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Unfortunately, there was no one whom she could share her agony with and she was the only one who knew the sufferings she had been through. After all, tribtions and disasters were not meant to be unted or disyed. With a rueful smile, she answered, ¡°All the suffering would be worthwhile if Jordan can be brought down.¡± She then picked up the tea pot and refilled Cooper¡¯s cup. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, please don¡¯t feel pressured. Jordan¡¯s businesses are vast and he will inevitably run out of sessors. Given my current power, overthrowing him is just a matter of time. Even if you decide to not coborate with us, my sons and I will still be able to achieve it.¡± With that, she served Cooper a cup of tea. He let out a subtleugh and took the cup unhesitantly. ¡°Happy New Year. It¡¯s a pleasure to work with you, my ally.¡± So¡­ does this mean he agrees? Anna was increasingly confused by Cooper. Nevertheless, it was good news he had agreed to form an alliance with her. Lifting her cup, Anna made a gesture and murmured, ¡°Happy New Year.¡± With that, they had officially be allies. Laying down his cup, Cooper nced at the clock on the wall. Following that, he stood up all of a sudden and drew the curtains at the French window open. It was already 12 o¡¯clock. As the clock ticked toward midnight, Bayside City had entered another new year. When the countdown was over, dazzling fireworks spiraled into the pitch ck sky and lit up the entire city. Many stepped out from their houses to admire numerous firework disys while the youngsters yed with firecrackers; everyone seemed to be over the moon. Cooper lifted his head as he watched the fireworks. He was clearly smiling, yet tears rolled down his face. Chapter 1251 Chapter 1251 It was past midnight and a new year had arrived. Anna gazed at the morous fireworks, a garish disy of intense colors reflected in her eyes. With the new yeares a new fight. Sooner orter, I willpletely break off from Jordan¡¯s control and achieve freedom! Now that her sons had grown up and did not need her protection anymore, she desired to live for herself as there was still plenty of time to enjoy life. Two of them stood by the window and marveled at the fireworks outside. Every firework that exploded in the sky would light up Cooper¡¯s facial features, and it seemed like different stories of Cooper were reflected through the glow each time. Anna was extremely curious about Cooper. She hade across too many men¡ªthe domineering ones, the gentle ones, the wise ones, the foolish ones, even the obscene ones¡­ Nevertheless, she had never met someone as infatuated as Cooper. She had noticed the photos on his bookshelves the moment she entered the study room. Browsing through them, she realized many were the pictures of him and Annabel. True enough, this man remained lonely for the past thirty years for the sake of one woman. ¡°I guess your prompt agreement to my request is very much due to my resemnce to your Anna,¡± she murmured. Anna seemed to be talking to Cooper but at the same time it seemed like she was talking to herself. Cooper maintained his silence. You are my Anna¡­ Meanwhile, Carmen was fast asleep when Michael carried her back to the room. He tucked her in bed and left a night light on for her. Sleeping soundly, Carmen had no idea that she dozed off while petting the dogs just now. What a cutie! Michael gave her a kiss on her forehead and left the room softly. It was past twelve and it was time for Anna to leave. As Cooper sent her off, the two chattered buoyantly and their rtionship seemed to be much better than before. No one knew what their discussion was about, but they could figure that it must be some serious business. With that, Callum and his brother left with Anna. On the other hand, Stanley intended to y mahjong all night while Sean carried the children into the guest room, putting them to bed. After sorting out the sleeping arrangements for everyone, Sophia too was ready to y mahjong throughout the night. Nevertheless, she was caught by Cooper who came back from sending off Anna. Coopermanded in a serious manner, ¡°You should go to bed early. Tomorrow we¡¯re going to visit the ancestors¡¯ graves.¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Sophia muttered as she pursed her lips pitifully. She then added resentfully, ¡°Dad, please stop calling me ¡®darling¡¯ in front of outsiders next time. It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± Knowing the outsider Sophia was referring to, Cooper said in an even stern tone, ¡°She¡¯s not an outsider. She¡¯s your mother.¡± Immediately, Sophia was on the alert as she stared at Cooper in surprise. He actually said that out loud? Is he going to get back together with Anna? ¡°Dad, what did the both of you talk about just now?¡± she quickly asked. However, Cooper refused to reveal their conversation. ¡°Kids shouldn¡¯t meddle with adults¡¯ affairs,¡± he asserted. A little while ago, Anna and him had chewed over ns to deal with Jordan, and Cooper was made known to a lot of things that he had not thought of before that. The more he knew, the heavier his heart became. This time, he would not sit by anymore regardless of Anna¡¯s real motive. Never had he imagined that she had gone through so many sufferings in the past twenty years. The hard times had molded her to be apletely different person. Nheless, Cooper still felt that his responsibility was the greatest. If he was not blinded by hatred back then and could think from more perspectives, perhaps¡­ Looking at his daughter who had gone through many tribtions, Cooper softened his voice and his eyes filled with gentleness. ¡°Stop asking, dear. Have a good night.¡± With that, he patted Sophia¡¯s shoulder and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Thereafter, he went upstairs without turning back and entered his study room on the third floor. His face remained solemn the whole while. On the other hand, Michael witnessed the scene in which Cooper kissed Sophia. While kissing was a common etiquette in the Western culture, it seemed awkward in the current setting. ¡°Ew¡­¡± With goosebumps all over his body, Michael felt a sense of disgust. It felt like he would be indirectly kissing Cooper the next time he kissed Sophia¡¯s forehead. It was three o¡¯clock in the morning when Anna arrived at her home in Bayside City from Michael¡¯s ce. Tossing and turning, she could not fall asleep. She couldn¡¯t help but think of Cooper and the pictures of him and Annabel in the study room. Both of them looked young in the picture, probably around eighteen years old. Despite their youth, their love was real and evesting. Finally, drowsiness hit her. However, right after Anna fell asleep, all kinds of turbulent dreams arose and the feeling of agony surfaced again. She had always dreamed of a miserable pain followed by somethinging out from her stomach. Besides, there were many scenes that shed through, which felt a lot like d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Waking up to a chaotic mind the next morning, Anna had a terrible headache. She knew she had dreamt of something last night and she seemed to have grasped some crucial information. Though she could barely remember bits and pieces of it when she first woke up, everything faded momentster. What a gloomy feeling¡­ After breakfast, Anna went to visit Louis, who was delighted to see his daughter, as she was often caught up with work and rarely showed up. After returning to Cethos, Louis had not left since then. He had obtained a Cethosian citizenship and was living permanently in Cethos. Having brought Xena and Anne with him, they were currently staying at the Yard Residence. Anna had purchased a mansion in Bayside City and settled the Yards descendents down. Though Louis had not changed hisst name, he still lived with them. All the members of the Yards gathered for a meal except for Henry and Ryan, who were in the hospital. After lunch, Anna followed Louis into the study room and there were only two of them left. All of a sudden, Anna asked, ¡°Dad, do you still remember the location in which I went missing in Bayside City at that time? Who adopted me and how did Ie back?¡± Louis was baffled at her sudden question. Nheless, he tried his best to recall the facts. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. ¡°At that time, I took you and Xena with me to Bayside City to seek help. Back then, it was still the era of green-skinned trains and the train station was extremely disordered and crowded. I was buying something and when I turned around, I saw you being carried away by a countrywoman.¡± ¡°I caught up with her to confront her. She told me her daughter gave birth to a child in the hospital but the child went missing, and her daughter could not clear things up with the husband. And so, she had no choice but to steal a child as a substitute for her daughter¡¯s. I followed her to the hospital and saw her daughter. It was only then that I believed her. ¡°At that point, you and your sister were crying and I had no milk for you. The kind woman offered to breastfeed you girls. We were in a critical situation back then and I thought they were being kind, so I gave you to them.¡± Louis teared up as he took a trip down the memoryne. ¡°They promised to keep yourst name so we might still have a chance to reunite in the future¡­ Oh¡ªby the way, the train station is Bayside South Station, which is located at Bayside South.¡± Chapter 1252 Chapter 1252 Bayside City, Riverdale, Bayside South Train Station¡­ Pondering over these locations, Anna remained silent. Meanwhile, Louis added, ¡°After that, I thought you would be better off staying with that family rather than following me since Xena and I moved around all the time and we did not know when we could settle down. And so, I did not return to look for you anymore. Never did I expect that after twenty years, you came back all of a sudden at the age of twenty.¡± ¡°Besides, we were very astonished upon realizing that Jordan was the one who helped you return to the Yard Family. We had no idea what you had been through in that twenty years, nor did you remember them.¡± At that instant, Louis paused and asked, ¡°Why did you suddenly bring this up today? Before this, you refused to talk about anything regarding the twenty years.¡± Anna smiled ruefully. She also didn¡¯t know what she had experienced in the past as there were only some blurry memories in her mind. One thing was for sure, she knew she had existed during the twenty years, and that she did note from nowhere. During those years, she must have had parents too, and she had certainly been through ups and downs in life. However, the twenty years were like a dream to her and she only had some vague memories of it. It felt as if she was gazing into a well at midnight. She could see the water glinting in the well from afar but it was not vivid, and all she knew was there was a light in it. Once, she had attempted to force herself into the water to reach the light. Yet, everytime when she probed it by force, the light would shatter and its shape would be distorted. Moments after she withdrew in panic, the light would be restored as the water became still once again, and the gleam remained bright and mysterious. Whenever she tried to probe the light, it would shatter, and this repeated again and again. Anna knew she must have been through a horrible catastrophe in the past. Though she could not remember anything, there was a weird feeling that lingered in her heart. She was clueless about the reason she lost the memories for that period. Jordan once revealed bits and pieces of her past, and he imed that her subconscious had chosen to forget those things as a means to protect herself after experiencing too much trauma. As a result of her profound and painful past, Anna had suffered severe mental illnesses. Nevertheless, she hade to a sudden realization that there was a need for her to look into it now even though she was unsure about what a twenty-year-old youngster could have been through back then. In the present setting, a twenty-year-old chick would probably be a university student at this age. As they were talking, Louis looked around but did not see anyone else. He asked out of curiosity, ¡°Where¡¯s Jordan? Why didn¡¯t hee with you? What about the two brothers?¡± The two brothers that Louis was referring to were obviously the twins. Anna had never intended to implicate Louis and the family in the dispute of the Yards. Staying outside the circle, Louis and his family were considered extremely blessed. As such, Louis was unaware of Anna¡¯s actual situation. All he knew was that Anna had dominated the Yard Family and was leading a happy life after her return. ¡°Henry and Ryan are hospitalized because they are not feeling well. Jordan is caught up with his work,¡± Anna replied in a perfunctory manner. Even after Anna and her sons had returned to the Yard Family, Jordan did not let his guard down and had been keeping an eye on them as he was worried that they would y tricks behind his back. However, Anna did exactly the opposite. She left behind her work and brought along her two sons to celebrate the new year in Cethos. Since Jordan was so suspicious of them, she would let him be. Staring at his daughter, Louis was grieved deep down. At that time, he had no choice but to abandon her. Though they had reunited now, he could tell that Anna was not happy. After hesitating for a few moments, Louis asked, ¡°Are you and Jordan not on good terms?¡± All this while, Louis had not been too happy with Jordan, his ¡®son-inw¡¯. Putting aside his old age, Jordan¡¯s solemn personality often got the people around him on pins and needles. Besides, he did not show up often and Louis had only met him a few times in the past twenty years. Back then, Anna was only twenty years old, but Jordan was already in his thirties. Nheless, Louis dared not to doubt him due to his powerful background. Currently, Anna was still young and possessed a great deal of power. Seeing that neither Jordan nor any outsiders were around, Louis secretly egged Anna on and said, ¡°I can tell that there¡¯s no feelings between you and Jordan. If that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t force it. You are still young and you can just do whatever you wish to do.¡± Hearing that, Anna broke intoughter. Even Louis could tell. He is right. I¡¯m still young and I should do whatever I wish to do! After having lunch with the Osbornes, Anna stood up and took her leave. Seeing that, Callum and Cade quickly caught up with their mother. Initially, they were nning to stay at Louis¡¯ ce for a couple days and in the afternoon, hypocritically pay a visit to the twins who were hospitalized after being beaten up. Nevertheless, Anna had already put her coat on and was about to leave. ¡°Mom, where are you going?¡± ¡°Riverdale,¡± Anna replied without even turning back. ¡­ It was the first day of the new year. Sophia and her family had a packed schedule to pay respects to their ancestors at the graveyards and visit the other rtives. The ancestral graveyards of the Fletchers, the Mitchells, the Winstons and the Edwards were located close to one another, and so the crowd departed together in a few cars. Cooper and Michael headed toward the Mitchells¡¯ graveyard and the Fletchers¡¯ graveyard respectively. On the other hand, Sophia was as busy as a bee as she had to visit the graveyards of the Mitchells, the Fletchers, andstly the Edwards. Coming out from the Fletchers¡¯ ancestral graveyard, Michael saw Elizabeth Murray¡¯s stone statue which was standing tall from a distance, and so he asked the chauffeur to drive around it. Elizabeth¡¯s grave had been secretly relocated long ago. However, her fans were not aware of it and were still visiting her old graveyard after so many years. That ce was no longer meaningful to Michael, and so he merely watched from inside his car and did not get out to sweep the tomb. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Sticking her head out of the car window, Celine stared at the tall statue in a daze. All of a sudden, she noticed something and eximed excitedly, ¡°Mikey, look! Quinton is over there!¡± Quinton? ncing toward Elizabeth¡¯s grave, Michael saw a man in ck standing amidst a group of fans who came to visit the grave. Standing still, the man was gazing at Elizabeth¡¯s grave. He was as solemn as a ck statue. As the car drove by, Michael indeed saw a side face which resembled Quiton¡¯s. Quinton would certainly not be here. Perhaps it¡¯s just someone who looks like him¡­ Just as Michael was about to look closer, the car was already driving them further and further away and he could only see a blurry, ck silhouette of the man. Due to their packed schedule, Michael had no time to stay longer and so had left thereafter. After the first round of tomb sweeping, Stanley, Sean, Harry and the others went back home. On the other hand, Cooper, Linus, Sophia, and Michael brought along Carmen to visit the Johnsons¡¯ graveyard. It was getting dark by the time they were done, and so they decided to stay overnight at the ce. Meanwhile in Riverdale, Anna had arrived at the location of the old Bayside South Train Station, but the train station was nowhere to be found. The old station had been demolished ten years ago when the government built subway stations. Even the rusty tracks around the bends had popped out of its ce. There was nothing else left in the area besides some photographers who would visit the ce once in a while to take photos. Standing on the railway tracks, Anna stared ahead and thereafter walked involuntarily forward. It seemed as if there was something in the direction which was summoning her. Or rather, it felt like her legs had matched a mysterious frequency and had started moving on their own. Chapter 1253 Chapter 1253 ¡°Mom, where are you going?¡± Cade asked as Anna strode toward a specific direction in a daze before he chased after her. Following closely behind him was Callum, who realized something was wrong. ¡°Mom, did you remember something?¡± Callum asked. The truth was, she used to live here, but then forgot all about it for some reason. Anna didn¡¯t say a word. She didn¡¯t know what had gotten into her. She just had a strong feeling that this street was awfully familiar. She must have been here before. Now that she was standing there, she felt like she recognized the surroundings. At that moment, she was terrified of making a sound. She thought it would drive away the familiar feeling in her mind, so she kept her mouth shut and kept walking. There was a small area that was covered by a thinyer of snow. Before she came here, Anna already checked and discovered that this was a train station that was demolished about a decade ago. The neighborhood wasn¡¯t popr, and many people had moved away. The property value was incredibly low, so this area was never developed. As such, the houses were old and still maintained the same appearance it had about twenty to thirty years ago. Then, Anna and her two sons, along with a few of her trusted subordinates, left the train station together. Not knowing where she was going, Anna could only follow her senses. ¡°This way is leading us toward the town.¡± Callum checked the navigations. Shuddering, Anna realized he was right. There was a town just further down! She remembered! There was a voice speaking to her in her head, but Anna just couldn¡¯t put her finger on who that person was. Without using the GPS, Anna followed her senses and led everyone through a few paths. The surrounding houses were all abandoned and crumbling. Some of the houses had even copsed a long time ago. There were several roads that looked like it had not been used for years, but she could still urately navigate through it. At that point, her heart was beating out of her chest, as if she was about to discover some big secret. From the train station, it would have only taken ten minutes to reach the town if they had taken the new road using the GPS. However, Anna took the route that no one had taken in many years and reached the town after thirty minutes of walking. When they arrived, they noticed the town was bustling. There were even factories nearby. It was New Year¡¯s Day, so there were many people and open shops on the streets. Although it wasn¡¯t as busy as the city center, there were a couple of towering office buildings while the rest were storied houses. In the distance, there was an upscale vi area. Nearby, there was a train station and a newly built subway station. Stepping on the thinyer of snow, Anna walked aimlessly while not knowing where she was going. ¡°Mom¡ª¡± Cade called out again before Callum immediately stopped him. Perhaps, she could really remember something if she just walked around. Then, they followed her without making a sound or interrupting her. Not long after, Anna arrived outside a school¡ªFrostford Town Central School. On New Year¡¯s, there was nobody in school, and only a few sparrows were hopping on the snow- covered field. The iron gate was locked, so Anna just stood outside the gate as she stared nkly at the school. Clearly, the school had been renovated recently. Despite that, Anna stared as she thought it didn¡¯t look the way she remembered. It should have looked a little more run down¡­ ¡°Callum, look. Isn¡¯t that Taylor Murray?¡± Cade suddenly pointed at arge photo on the school gate. Everyone looked toward it in unison and saw the photo. In the picture, Michael was seen wearing a red scarf and standing together with a bunch of children for the group photo. The background of the photo was this particr school gate. Then, Callum pulled out his phone and searched the inte before he found out that Michael indeed had a connection to this town. ¡°This school was originally the only school in town. A few years ago, Taylor Murray came to fund the renovations. He also built many factories nearby and drove up the economy here. The vis over there were developed by him under the name of ¡®Asco International Real Estate¡¯. It was also stated that Taylor Murray¡¯s wife was born in Johnson Family Vige which was right next to this town, and she used to go to school here.¡± ¡­¡­ Nodding, Cade looked toward Anna in concern as he wondered why she came here. While she stared vacantly at the photo of Michael, she heard the sound of a caring from behind and was startled. When she turned around, there was an old green bus parked at the bus stop right across the street. ¡°Wait!¡± Before Anna knew it, she unconsciously ran toward the bus in a panic. When she realized what she was doing, she had already gotten onto the bus. Then, the rest of them rushed onto the bus as well. After paying for the tickets, the bus departed. At that point, Anna did not know where she was headed to, but when she saw the bus, she subconsciously wanted to take it. It was as if there was an imperceptible voice telling her that this was the bus that would take her home. On the bus, she sat by the window. Looking at the scenery, she watched as the bus left town and drove into the farnds area. But now, thend was covered in snow. asionally, she would see a few hills surrounded by viges and houses. Although it was a distant suburb of Bayside City, it was still densely popted. The younger generations who worked in the city had returned to spend the New Year¡¯s back home. In Bayside City, it was a tradition to visit the ancestral graves on New Year¡¯s. As such, they could hear firecrackers near the graveyards. Then, Anna got off at the next station even though she didn¡¯t know why. She nced at the name of the station, which read ¡®Johnson Family Vige¡¯. Naturally, this was where Sophia grew up. When she got off the bus, she walked toward a particr direction with clear intent. In fact, she didn¡¯t even have to think, as long as her legs knew where they were going. At once, her breathing became rapid and heavy. As her heart started to beat faster, her steps sped up as well. Soon, they hiked up a little hill. In the valley, there was a family staying there, but the doors were shut. As such, they could only peek in from outside the yard. At that moment, Anna stood firmly outside the house. In her eyes, the image of the house gradually became clearer before it blurred again like a reflection on water. With the ripples, the image broke into pieces before attaching themselves back again. Finally, it becamepletely clear. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. When she saw the house, Anna became calm instead as she stared in a daze. To her, everything in the yard had a breathtaking familiarity. It was as if she had stood here before, and even lived here many years ago. It seemed like she had touched that tree, that house, that fence, and even that wall with her own hands before. She must have lived here in the past, but, why couldn¡¯t she remember it at all? It was because Jordan had wiped out all of her memories! What exactly was hidden in that memory? As her mind raced, Anna suddenly had a headache. Her body swayed before she unconsciously supported herself by cing her hand on Callum. ¡°Mom, are you okay?¡± Callum was shocked and hurriedly helped her down the hill. The bus had stopped at the bottom of the hill along with many other cars. It was probably because many people had driven here to spend the New Year¡¯s and there wasn¡¯t enough parking space for them. To their surprise, as soon as they came down and before they could get on the bus, an unbelievably enthusiastic husky burst out of the snow and pounced on Anna to give her a kiss when it saw her. ¡°Cash Edwards,e back here right now!¡± Suddenly, Sophia appeared out of nowhere and chased after the dog. Sophia¡¯s family was there too. They were getting out of the car with incense, candles, paper money and other things that they needed for their visit to their ancestor¡¯s graves. Just then, the two groups of people unexpectedly met¡­ Chapter 1254 Chapter 1254 As a matter of fact, Cooper came to visit the graves of Annabel and the Johnson Family ancestors. Although Annabel¡¯s grave had been moved, as a son-inw of the family, Cooper still insisted on coming to visit every year. He didn¡¯t expect to see Anna and her sons right after getting out of the car. ¡°Anna¡­ What are you guys doing here?¡± At that moment, Michael was also shocked to see them. What was Anna doing here? Seeing the strange turn of events, Callumughed awkwardly. ¡°What a coincidence. We were just surveying the area to see if we can invest in building a factory here or something.¡± Cooper stared at them and realized that something was wrong. When he saw how pale Anna¡¯s face was, he asked with concern, ¡°Anna, are you alright? You don¡¯t look well.¡± Shaking her head slightly, Anna said, ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s just a little motion sickness.¡± Upon hearing that, he didn¡¯t ask anymore and said, ¡°We¡¯re here to visit the graves of my parents-inw. They used to live in the valley, and they were the only residents there.¡± As he spoke, he also gestured with his head in the direction of the very ce she had just visited. Without showing any change of expression, she responded, ¡°What a coincidence.¡± At that moment , Carmen hopped over and hugged Anna. ¡°Miss Beautiful!¡± Then, the two groups of people exchanged greetings before they went their separate ways. While Anna and the rest drove back to the city, Sophia and her family went up to the hill to visit and clean the graves of Annabel¡¯s parents. As a matter of fact, the old Johnson couple¡¯s graves were rarely cleaned. It was impossible that their two sons woulde, so Cooper woulde by once a year to visit and clean the gravesite. When they wereing down from the hill, Cooper had a grim expression on his face as he nced at Michael beside him, who seemed like there was something he wanted to say as well. At that moment, the both of them made a wild guess that Anna¡¯s memories hade back. Sophia was also brainwashed and no longer remembered anything at all from her past, but this might not necessarily be the case for Anna. Clearly, she didn¡¯t show up here because she wanted to run a factory. Rather, she must have remembered something from her past and came over to take a look. This was her hometown where she had lived for years after all. Phantom Wolf¡¯s master, Leon Yard, was the one who experimented with the Yard Family¡¯s Brainwashing theory and wiped out Annabel¡¯s memories thirty years ago. However, at that time, his theories weren¡¯t well-developed yet and the equipment he used wasn¡¯t advanced enough. To make a bold assumption, it was very likely that the effects had rebounded! With this assumption, Cooper secretly rejoiced. His Anna wasing back! However, Anna, on the other hand, felt rather odd. Everything that came to her mind didn¡¯t just appear out of thin air. If anything, she must have lived in Johnson Family Vige thirty years ago. Callum was the first to connect the dots. He knew that what Anna was experiencing was absolutely no ident. Without missing a beat, he searched and gathered information about Cooper and histe wife Annabel. However, Cooper did a good job of keeping Annabel¡¯s information confidential. The most Callum could find was a couple of blurry photos from the inte, while Cade only found Annabel¡¯s birth year. Despite that, it was enough data to discover important information. ¡°Cooper and Annabel were born in the same year, and they became parents at eighteen!¡± Cade eximed in disbelief. Usually, sessful figures like Cooper generally marriedter in life. He was in his forties now, and others like him were still single. Who would have expected that not only did he find love so early in his life, but he also became a parent at such a young age! Based on calctions, Sophia was actually older than they thought. All along, Cade had assumed that she was younger than them. At that moment, Callum stared at the numbers that seemed to have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, there were secrets hidden between the lines. About twenty or thirty years ago, Cooper and Annabel fell in love. Sheter gave birth to a pair of twin boys and died of amniotic fluid embolism. Before her death, her uterus was surgically removed. Not long after her death, Jordan informed Louis that his daughter, Anna, had been found but for various reasons, she had lost twenty years of her memories. He also told him that she was born without a uterus and as such, was unable to conceive. When Anna was younger, she looked very simr to Annabel. While Annabel was born in the Johnson Family Vige, Anna was given away to the local vigers to raise at the nearby train station. In other words¡­ At once, Callum and Cade exchanged looks and saw pure shock in each other¡¯s eyes. If Anna really was Annabel, then this wasn¡¯t just between Cooper and her anymore. Among the Yard descendants, there were another pair of twin boys. On top of that, Sophia and Linus had the Michel Group, Mitchell Family, and Fletcher Family to back them. If they were to take over¡­ No, don¡¯t even think about it! They haven¡¯t even gotten rid of Jordan yet, and now a pair of twins had entered the picture. The situation just became more chaotic. They realized that Cooper must have known too. That would exin why he always choked up whenever he saw Anna¡ªit was because she was Annabel herself! Despite that, Cooper never pointed it out. Meanwhile, Callum and Cade didn¡¯t want to expose it themselves either. After all, this concerned the inheritance of the Yard Family properties. ording to the rules, mixed-raced children did not have the rights to any of the inheritance. However, Cooper, Linus, or Sophia could intervene and take over just like Jordan did back then. In fact, they were very curious about what happened back then. ¡­¡­ That night, Cooper gathered his son and son-inw and had a discussion. Michael and Linus also agreed that there was a possibility that Anna could have really remembered something. After all, the facilities from twenty to thirty years ago were indeed not advanced enough for that type of procedure. As such, there was a good chance that the effect had rebounded. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Now, they could only y by ear. Whether Anna¡¯s memories came back or not, Michael remained alert. Even if she did remember everything, it had been close to thirty years after all. In such a long period of time, it was enough to change a person. Certainly, it would be foolish to deny the fact that a kind person could be ruthless and cruel in thirty years. That night, they stayed in town before returning to the city center the next day. After arriving home and having lunch, they left again shortly to the Fletcher Residence. As soon as they stepped in, Michael sensed the odd atmosphere, as if everyone was looking at him and Celine in a peculiar way. Stanley had alsoe back yesterday and brought Maisie along with him. When he bumped into the Fletcher Family while visiting their ancestors¡¯ graves yesterday, he came back with them. He also brought Maisie with him to introduce her to them. After a hugemotion, the Fletcher family finally epted him again. When Stanley saw Michael and the rest, he had an indescribably strange look too. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your eyes, Stanley? What are you smoking?¡± Sophia went up and patted his shoulder. With an awkward expression, Stanley didn¡¯t know how to tell her but Maisie babbled, ¡°Uncle Michael, they¡¯re saying your Daddy came back.¡± Michael¡¯s Daddy? Theo Fletcher? Hasn¡¯t he been dead for years? Sophia was puzzled. After letting out a strangeugh, Stanley quickly ran away with Maisie. Michael fell silent, looking stern. Then, he saw Mark, who was sighing deeply with his eyebrows tightly knitted. Although he was already over a hundred years old, he looked like he had gotten much older. Upon seeing Michael and Celine, he sighed again. ¡°Go and talk to him, both of you. I¡¯m running out of ideas, and only you would know how to cheer him up.¡± Just then, Michael had an ominous premonition. ¡°Who?¡± To which, Mark looked out the window. At a garden pavilion that wasn¡¯t too far from them, there was a man wearing a military coat. Everyone had seen him when he came, and he had been sitting there motionlessly for a long time. Michael went out to take a look. When his gazended on that man, he couldn¡¯t look away. As Michael slowly approached him, his heart raced and he was afraid to even breathe. With widened eyes, he looked closely at the man in the military coat. He looked rather young, about thirty years old or less, but he had a handsome face that looked exactly like Theo Fletcher! Chapter 1255 Chapter 1255 When he saw that face, Michael felt his heart jump into his throat. As he stared nkly at that face that until now only existed in his deepest memories, it was as if he had forgotten to breathe or speak. ¡°Who are you¡ª¡± He took a few steps back in fear. When he spoke, his voice sounded shaky and he could feel his teeth chatter. In addition to that, his entire body was trembling from the overwhelming emotions. ¡®Theo¡¯ didn¡¯t speak, nor did he even bat an eyelid. Instead, he was just staring nkly ahead. If not for the heaving in his chest and the asional blinks, he would have been mistaken for a statue. This is my father, Theo Fletcher? A person whom he believed to have been dead for almost forty years, was sitting right before him without even the slightest sign of old age? ¡°No, you¡¯re not my father!¡± Michael couldn¡¯t ept it at all and slowly backed away. His mother had taken her own life because she loved him, and yet he was still alive? Michael didn¡¯t remember much about his father. He was a soldier, while Elizabeth Murray was a celebrity. At that time, their rtionship had to be kept private. Not only did the Fletcher Family disapprove of them, but Elizabeth was also at the peak of her career which did not allow her to marry and have children either. What was more, they did not even have a marriage certificate. Since Theo was always away, they hardly met each other. In fact, they spent more time away from each other than together. Naturally, Michael was never close to his father. Those days, there were countless famous and powerful people pursuing Elizabeth¡ªpeople who were much more powerful than Theo. Despite that, she only had eyes for him. Even though there were many obstacles she had to ovee when she was with him, she persisted for years, hoping for a miracle. That year, he took an important assignment out of town. He made a promise to her that they would get married once he returned. She had waited for an entire year, only to receive news of his death. When Tanya came to her pregnant, it was thest straw for Elizabeth who was already overwhelmed with despair, and she took her own life. Yet, here he was! Although everything seemed like a dream, Michael realized that this was reality, and a rather absurd one at that. Finally epting this fact, he held the fence as he took a seat. ¡°Ha¡ª¡± He looked at Theo and suddenly let out a menacing and mockingugh, which gradually became louder until he started tough hysterically. When he could no longer continue, he realized that his face was already covered in tears. He had wanted to cry, but for some reason, his cries turned intoughter as soon as it left his mouth. Why would something so preposterous happen to him? After letting go of his emotions, Michael became numb. Then, he went to sit next to Theo without a word. After a long pause, he said softly, ¡°Dad.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± Theo responded. Then, the both of them sat there like two sculptures with the exact same posture and demeanor, staring nkly at the snow. Meanwhile, everyone else stood at a distance and did not bother them. Markmented and sighed. He was over the moon when he learned that his son was still alive, but he couldn¡¯t help but want to cry as well. ¡°It was cryonics.¡± Joel came over, holding his son in his arms as he exined to everyone about what had happened. ¡°Thirty years ago, Uncle Theo was seriously wounded on the frontlines of the southwest drug war. My father, who was themander of the backup reinforcements, found Uncle Theo, but he didn¡¯t look like he was going to make it. Certainly, the best ce for a soldier to die is on the battlefield, and Uncle Theo fulfilled his life duty as a soldier when he died there. Back then, my father wanted to cryogenically preserve Uncle Theo and bring him back to Bayside City so that Old Master Fletcher could see him one last time. But unexpectedly, when he learnt about Uncle Theo¡¯s sacrifice, his sickness got worse and he was admitted to the hospital. When my father came back, he never brought it up in fear of shocking him again. He thought of thawing him and letting him go in peace. But at that time, Uncle Theo¡¯s heart was still beating. If he were to be thawed, he would certainly die. As such, my father hesitated. He couldn¡¯t do it, so he swept it under the rug and secretly kept Uncle Theo under cryogenic sleep. Old Master Fletcher and I never knew about it untilst year. It was only when my father was on his dying bed did he reveal it to me.¡± Joel¡¯s father was Mark¡¯s eldest son and had achievements that surpassed Theo¡¯s. After the passing of the Fletcher¡¯s family head, Joel¡¯s father had stepped up, lived up to the expectations of everyone and outperformed his contemporaries to be the new family head of Fletcher Family. Before his father revealed this secret to him, only a handful of people knew about it. Although many people had heard that Theo was put under cryogenic sleep but couldn¡¯t be saved in the end, not many knew that the Fletcher Family had been secretly keeping him. That year, Joel¡¯s father reluctantly announced the news of Theo¡¯s death, organized a funeral and sent him to the ancestral grave. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t bear thawing him. He was in a dilemma and couldn¡¯t make a decision, so he ended up keeping this secret for thirty years! ¡°As soon as I learned about this, I found Uncle Theo¡¯s preserved body. After making a few calls, I found a hospital abroad that had a 30% chance of saving him. Then, I spoke to Grandpa and got his permission to send Uncle Theo over. Seventy-two hours of surgeryter¡­¡± He trailed off and looked out the window at Michael and Theo who were still sitting together like a couple of statues¡ªspeechless and motionless. Then, he continued speaking to everyone, who all had their hair standing on end. ¡°Although Uncle Theo survived, he couldn¡¯t ept the fact that he was cryogenically preserved for more than thirty years, and that Elizabeth had taken her own life for him. He hadn¡¯t spoken a word since and even psychologists couldn¡¯t get him to speak.¡± When he finished, everyone fell silent. At that moment, Sophia looked at Theo¡¯s silhouette and saw the sadness and destion in him. It must have been such a huge blow to him that he woke up after thirty years and realized the world had changed, and that his lover had died! She thought that if she was in the same situation, she would choose not to be preserved either and spend herst days with her family and everyone she loved. No one would know what they would wake up to after being cryogenically preserved. It was one thing to be preserved for a day or two just to buy some time to be saved like how Albert was saved. However, it was another to wake up and realize that thirty years had passed like Theo did. If she was in his shoes, she would definitely have had a breakdown. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Aliens might havee to earth and humans might have been extinct when one woke up! Perhaps, everyone she once loved would all be gone, and no one in the world would know her. To the world, she would have been like someone who had died for many years, and there would be no ce for her in society. What would be the point of living, then? Indeed, Theo was alive, but it didn¡¯t make a difference to him. Everyone had thought he was dead, including himself. His household registry was gone, and his lover hadmitted suicide for him. The world no longer had a ce for him and his¡­ lover. To him, every second of living was nothing but torture! Chapter 1256 Chapter 1256 Everyone looked at each other before averting their gazes to Joel. Simultaneously, a politically incorrect thought formed in their minds. Saving him had actually hurt him! Perhaps it would have been best for him to die 30 years ago. Elizabeth gave up her life to meet him again on the other side. Yet, he hid himself in a ce secretly, causing her toe away empty handed. However, that wasn¡¯t his fault. It was their bitter fate. Under everyone¡¯splicated gaze, Joel¡¯s hair stood on end. He was desperate too, but he couldn¡¯t possibly shoot Theo so that he could reunite with Elizabeth on the other side, could he? Since he was still alive, it would be a murder! Besides, the current surgical technology had saved him. Therefore, he was a living being! Not only didn¡¯t Joel have the guts to be a murderer, but the entire Fletcher Family didn¡¯t dare to bear the responsibility either. Therefore, Joel had ced hisst hope on that hospital. Since Theo had only less than one third possibility of surviving, Joel wouldn¡¯t be held ountable if heaven took Theo¡¯s life. Yet, heaven didn¡¯t take his life. It was snowing outside again but Theo didn¡¯t feel like moving. Suddenly, he stood up and stared at the fluttering snow from the sky while mumbling to himself, ¡°After I woke up, they told me that I¡¯ve been asleep for many years. I thought that they meant only a few years¡­¡± He even thought that Elizabeth was still waiting for him. Unexpectedly, it had been 30 years and Elizabeth was long gone. He lifted his head and looked up at the sky, ayer of snow on his eyshes. After being in aa for over 30 years, he still looked the same. In fact, he looked even younger, but his eyes showed that he had experienced the vicissitudes of life. Extending his hand, he caught a snowke, which then melted in his palm. He exhaled and there was no expression on his face, but his eyes were dim and deste. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. He continued mumbling, ¡°I wonder what she did when she couldn¡¯t find me in that world.¡± Behind him, Michael couldn¡¯t even speak a word while tears gushed out of his eyes. He hated Theo and wished that he could strangle him to death, which might help him end his torture of being in living hell so that he could apany Elizabeth. But he was his father! Michael knew very well that he had to follow Theo¡¯s footsteps sooner orter. The toxin had prated into his bones and was slowly corroding his organs. With the current medical technology, he could only inject medicines to detoxify it and slowly nurse his body to slow down the spread of the toxin. Yet, his body was hanging on a thread which could be broken anytime. Justin and Linus had urged him several times to undergo cryopreservation as soon as possible because his body was still functioning and it might recover earlier and faster. If his body was cryopreservedter on after it waspletely destroyed, they might need to wait for a long time, at least until the medical technology had advanced to a stage where he could be treated. Before that, he could only wait in his deep sleep. How long would they have to wait? It was uncertain. Perhaps a month. Perhaps a decade. Or he might be the same as Theo. When he woke up, Sophia might have already grown old, or she might even have passed away in loneliness while spending her whole life waiting for him to wake up. He could imagine how she would hold onto the slim hope and bitterly waited for him to wake up, only for her to grow old and die before her dream came true. The mere thought of it made him feel like he was an unforgivable sinner. Because of Theo¡¯s sudden resurrection, the entire Fletcher Family sank into a weird atmosphere. Although Theo survived, he seemed more like a walking dead. His soul had probably already left with Elizabeth a long time ago. At night, everyone gathered to eat but none of them seemed to have an appetite. After dinner, Old Master Fletcher went to sleep early. Cooper and Linus wereden with anxiety so they didn¡¯t eat much. They turned to look at Michael who didn¡¯t eat much during dinner either, and he was staring nkly at the television while sitting on the sofa in the living room. Judging from the current situation, he would sooner orter be in the same situation as his father. Sadly, this pair of father and son had the same fate. Why must they go through the same tragedy as the previous generation? Sophia and Anna lost their memories whereas Michael had to be cryopreserved just like his father. It was all Quinton¡¯s fault! Theo should be med too! If he hadn¡¯t borne a child with Tanya in the past and killed her entire family, she wouldn¡¯t have hated him and cultivated Quinton into a killer to get rid of Theo¡¯s descendants. In addition, Quinton wouldn¡¯t have poisoned Michael and he wouldn¡¯t have to suffer like this either! At the same time, Linus felt that he should be med too. After all, he was the one who provided the equipment and fund for Quinton to study the poison back then. Cooper felt that he had also contributed to this tragedy. If he hade back earlier, he could have protected Sophia and she wouldn¡¯t have had to suffer so much. After giving it some thought, he felt that Daniel was at fault too since he was the one who sold Sophia to Michael in the past. But in the end, he felt that he was still the main culprit because he couldn¡¯t even protect his child. Everyone in the room had their own thoughts but Sophia and Michael weren¡¯t the least bit affected. Noticing that Theo wasn¡¯t eating, Carmen brought her bowl over and fed him food that she didn¡¯t want anymore. ¡°Here, grandpa. This is my favorite food, corn gruel. I love you the most, grandpa, so I¡¯ll give it all to you. You have to eat it all!¡± With a poker face, Theo ate a bit of it even though it was tasteless to him. ¡°Daddy, hehehe¡­ Daddy¡­¡± Celine giggled while holding Theo¡¯s arm and swinging it. ¡°Daddy, look. This is a phone and this is a tablet. They¡¯re extremely easy to use. Come, let me teach you how to use it.¡± Sophia tried to help Theo in adapting to modern society. To her, being alive was the best thing that could happen and there was nothing that couldn¡¯t be ovee. It was better to be alive than dead! Even ants strived to survive. Since heaven didn¡¯t take his life, he should live happily. Theo took the tablet and inspected it. He still had no idea how all these gadgets worked. Meanwhile, Carmen warmly invited Theo to watch the reality show, ¡®Stylish Grandpa¡¯, with her. It was about how fashionable grandfathers babysat adorable toddlers. After the show, she stared at Theo, who looked even more handsome and younger than her father, and asked expectantly, ¡°Grandpa, what do you think?¡± Theo was lost for words. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have anyments. Holding Carmen in his arms, he looked at her affectionately. At the same time, he felt disconste. He was probably feeling the same as Cooper when he found that he had a daughter and a granddaughter. Even until now, he was still tensed up since he was injured in the frontline. He kept feeling like the enemy would seize an opportunity tounch a counterattack any time. Unexpectedly, the world had changed after he woke up from a sleep. When he left Elizabeth and went southwest, Michael and his sister were only three or four. But after he woke up, both of them were already in their forties, which was even older than him. Carmen felt more like his daughter so he couldn¡¯t resist hugging her. To his disappointment, Cooper took Carmen from him a few minutester. ¡°Enough. You can¡¯t have her all to yourself.¡± From the beginning, Cooper disliked Theo, especially when Sophia called him ¡®dad¡¯ just now. He thought that she was calling him but when he lifted his head, he realized that she was actually calling Theo. That made him drown in jealousy. He felt that many people were trying to steal his sweetheart from him. Chapter 1257 Chapter 1257 Staring at his empty arms, Theo seemed dested. Upon seeing that, Justin immediately carried his daughter to Theo and ced her in his arms. ¡°Come, you may hug her. They¡¯re the same.¡± Theo looked up at Justin and recognized that he was Celine¡¯s husband. He had also met Nathan in the past. Now, his son and daughter had grown up and had their own families. Sadly, Elizabeth couldn¡¯t see that. Elizabeth, are you seeing this? Elizabeth, it¡¯s all my fault¡­ Michael stayed at Fletcher Residence untilte night before going home. It had been two extremely heavy-hearted days. At night, he went back to his room after washing himself up, only to find Carmen upying his space. She had washed up too and was rolling on the bed. Looking at his sweetheart, Michael felt that his heart was immersed in honey. Yet, he pretended to be stern while lecturing her, ¡°You¡¯re a grown baby now so you can¡¯t sleep with mom and dad anymore.¡± Carmen sat up and requested to be held. ¡°Daddy, hug me!¡± A smile bloomed on Michael¡¯s face while he got onto the bed and hugged her, but when he tried to kiss her cheek, she immediately pointed to her left cheek and said, ¡°Grandpa kissed me here just now.¡± Then, she pointed to her right cheek. ¡°Daddy, kiss me here instead. Mommy kissed me here just now too.¡± At the side, Sophia burst outughing. Michael pinched her chubby face and kissed her without minding which side of her face it was. After a kiss, Carmen was ted. She theny in between her father and mother, snuggling up to Sophia. ¡°Goodnight, Daddy. I love you!¡± Michaely beside her as well. Looking at his wife and daughter, he felt that he could ovee everything in this world. Their safety and happiness were all he cared about. It was a hectic day and Sophia felt sleepy in no time. Burying her head in the pillow, she soon dozed off. Knowing that Carmen had fallen asleep too, Michael turned off all the lights except the night light. Under the dim light, he could barely see the outline of his wife and daughter¡¯s face. It waste at night and everything was quiet. However, Michael couldn¡¯t sleep. It seemed like he had made a decision. Theo hade back secretly like an invisible man and he was protected by the Fletcher Family. Not many people knew that he now existed in this world. Waking up 30 yearster, Theo found that time had brought drastic changes to the world. ¡°Dad, here¡¯s your ID card, passport and phone. Here, keep it. I¡¯ll pop them in your bag.¡± On the way to the airport, Sophia enthusiastically put Theo¡¯s ID card and several other things into his bag. On the ID card, his name was still Theo Fletcher, but his birthdate had changed. Theo still hadn¡¯t gotten used to this society and he didn¡¯t even dare to sleep soundly at night. During his era, Cethos had only been lifted out of poverty. It didn¡¯t have any economic support and the citizens were still very poor. When there was a natural disaster, the entire Fletcher Family had to survive on corn. Besides, the national border would be invaded by foreign enemies at that time so as a soldier, he often had to carry out tasks to protect the country at the border. Therefore, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to sleep soundly at night. But when he woke up, the country had be stronger and even had nuclear weapons. With that, he finally could sleep soundly at night and that overjoyed him. Yet, he felt empty at the same time as if this world didn¡¯t need him anymore. In order to stop Theo from overthinking, Old Master Fletcher arranged several trips for him to visit a munitions factory for the past two days. As expected, he was ecstatic because it was something that he liked. On the ne, Carmen would talk to him relentlessly and asionally, he would talk to Nathan, so he was rather busy. The ne was heading to Africa because they were nning to visit Quinton. When they arrived at Michel Town, the first thing Sophia did was pay a visit to Albert. He was recovering well but he couldn¡¯t leave since he still had to undergo an organ transnt surgery. Derek had been staying beside him to apany him. Upon meeting Sophia and Carmen, Albert asked curiously, ¡°Aunt Sophia, why didn¡¯t my dade to visit me?¡± Sophia didn¡¯t know how to answer him because the truth was his sister had strangled his father to death while his mother had passed away shortly after that too. ¡°Well, they¡¯re busy working!¡± She could only make up an excuse. Fortunately, her reply didn¡¯t seem to upset Albert much. There were many people and children here. Although all of them had different shades of skin, he couldn¡¯t recognize them. Yet, he tried his best to befriend them. ¡°Let¡¯s go see the lions!¡± Carmen suggested excitedly. Sophia then brought Albert out for a stroll. He was rather pitiful because he could only sit in the wheelchair now and still had a long way to go on his road to recovery. On the other hand, Theo finally met his other son. That man, who resembled him, looked even older than him. He had a crew cut but his eyes seemed graceful. In addition, his features seemed gentler and more charming. Meanwhile, Quinton was in theboratory room, working with the experts without resting. They were painstakingly researching for a medicine that could save Michael. ¡°Ever since he came here, he has been spending all his time in theboratory including eating and sleeping. He has never left theb and only has three or four hours of sleep every day,¡± at the side, Linus said. Quinton had been researching day and night just so that Michael could recover as soon as possible and regain his health. Theo looked expressionless and no one knew what he thought about his son. He didn¡¯t expect that so many things would happen while he slept for 30 years. Not only did he have a son borne by Tanya, that son even became a killer and hurt his other son and daughter. Theo had always been heartless toward Tanya. When he was captured by Tanya and brought to the drug lord¡¯sir, he could have escaped but he chose to stay and secretly gathered information so that he could coborate with his partners who were outside. In the end, they destroyed the drug lord¡¯sir, which had been standing for a hundred years, in one shot. The only thing that surprised him was Tanya¡¯s survival. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. After looking at Quinton from afar, Theo walked away. ¡°Dad, don¡¯t you want to visit him?¡± Michael asked. Theo replied, ¡°There¡¯s no point in doing that.¡± Indeed, their meeting wouldn¡¯t mean anything now. After visiting Quinton, Michael brought Theo to walk around the ce. Michel¡¯s military business was also at this ce and Theo would definitely love it. While they were walking on Michel Town¡¯s city wall, Theo suddenly asked Michael solemnly, ¡°Michael, are you really going to cryopreserve yourself?¡± Michael didn¡¯t reply to him. Actually, the answer was obvious¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to be cryopreserved. Instead of going into a cryogenic sleep to wait for an antidote, he¡¯d rather spend his time with his loved ones. With his current condition, he could live for ten more years as long as he didn¡¯t fall critically ill or was severely injured. Once the internal harmony of his body was disrupted, he would definitely die. Theo wasn¡¯t waiting for his answer either because as soon as he asked that, he smiled to himself before turning back to look at his son, who was older than him. He asked again in a solemn tone, ¡°If I could go back in time, do you know what is the first thing that I would do?¡± Michael had been immersed in his own thoughts so he was slightly confused and asked, ¡°What would you do?¡± Theo smiled bitterly. ¡°I would break up with your mother.¡± Break up? Michael had thought about that countless times as well. To him, Elizabeth should¡¯ve broken up with Theo a long time ago because that man couldn¡¯t give her anything, not even a marriage certificate. Without him, she would have lived a better life. Undoubtedly, he had been a burden to her for her whole life! Suddenly, sadness overtook Michael¡¯s face so he turned away and put his hand on the city wall. He then bowed his head and refused to talk. Was Theo hinting to him that he was a burden to Sophia now? Chapter 1258 Chapter 1258 If they failed toe up with a solution to treat Michael, he would only have two options¡ªeither be cryopreserved or wait for his death. He once thought of staying beside Sophia in thest few years of his life but wouldn¡¯t that be too cruel to Sophia? N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. She would have to send him off and watch as her beloved one slowly died from an incurable illness. If she had to go through that, she would live in the deepest abyss for the rest of her life. Or should he ask her to wait? For ten years, or a hundred years? Her precious life and her youth should bloom like a stunning flower but she would only wither in the endless waiting. Regardless of what he chose, it would be too cruel to her. But if her loving husband suddenly had an affair just like how Richard did in the past, who suddenly abandoned her for another woman, she would stay strong and ovee it. She knew that a jerk wasn¡¯t worth her sadness. She would grow stronger and get a grip of herself. Not only would she work harder and earn more money, but she would also take good care of Carmen and find a man who was better than her father to marry him. On the other hand, Michael would only need to disappear from her world and she would gradually forget him. By that time, he would just be an insignificant ex-boyfriend. Then, he could die off slowly while she continued to live happily. Even better, another perfect man would love her on his behalf. Michael bowed his head while tears trickled down his face. He felt desperate and helpless. Looking at him, Theo understood his sadness and despair but there was nothing he could do. ¡°Son, it¡¯s your life, so you have to make your own decision.¡± After saying that, Theo walked away without looking back. He didn¡¯t go back to Cethos and ude came to fetch him. After all, the African Peacekeeping Force was where he felt like he was home. Cooper knew about their brief conversation and he had long been wanting to tell Michael the same thing too. He had felt that it would be too heartless for him to say that. Fortunately, Theo took the responsibility to tell him and it served as a reminder to Michael. Actually, everyone knew the best solution was to separate them as soon as possible. It would be the best situation for everyone if they broke up, or more precisely, it would be the best for Sophia. As for Michael, he could wait for his death somewhere else. Although that was too heartless and cruel, Cooper didn¡¯t want Sophia to live the rest of her life in sorrow. Though, Michael was a perfect match for her. Yet, it was still better to suffer now rather than prolong the agony. Sophia still wasn¡¯t aware of what had happened and was bringing Carmen and Albert to see the lion that she was rearing in the park here in Africa. Initially, she nned to stay in Africa for a few days but unexpectedly, Alice called her. The Michel Family¡¯s Elders Council was on the way here to force Cooper to marry Tiffany. On top of that, they wanted to bring Carmen back to their hometown so that she could return to the family and change her surname. Cooper wasn¡¯t willing to deal with the Elders Council at the moment. He had gone through the list of spies that Anna gave him and was busy nning how to eliminate the spies. Undeniably, Jordan was great in keeping secrets. Even he and Linus didn¡¯t suspect that some of the people on the list were spies. It seemed like Jordan had been monitoring Michel Group for a long time. Unfortunately, Cooper wouldn¡¯t allow things to go as he nned. Everyone only stayed here for two days before leaving hastily. Theo didn¡¯t go back with them and Quinton didn¡¯t find out about Theo either. Through Theo¡¯s resurrection, everyone realized the possibility and significance of cryopreserving. Undeniably, it had great potential, but it was a gamble since one had to freeze his life at one moment and resume it many yearster. There were too many uncertainties in between. Before this, cryopreserving was a secret among the wealthy people. Until now, only Theo and Albert had received the benefits. Sophia felt that it was a huge business opportunity so she took over the project before Linus could and started to n tomercialize cryopreservation. For the next few years, this would be a huge project in Michel Medical Technology Group anyway. Sophia didn¡¯t see any problem in taking the initiative to be the person in charge of this project and she nned to set up headquarters in Africa. That would be the start of her intervening in the management of Michel Group. Of course, that would only happen in a few years¡¯ time. Now, she had to focus on developing her company and organizing the fashion week was the utmost important task. Only if she grew her business would she earn the right to speak. After Michael found out that Sophia was nning to step into the cryopreserving business, he was speechless. What an irony! Some regretted being alive in this world after they were resurrected from being cryopreserved whereas some went on a wild good chase for this technique. If this technique wasmercialized, he could foresee that the wealthy people would scramble to make appointments. After all, these people had everything in their lives, including wealth, prestige, status and power, so they feared death the most. In this world, there were too many injustices which left everyone helpless, but death was probably the fairest treatment that heaven bestowed upon humans. Everyone was equal in front of death, but these people would try to be immortals! What a bunch of shrewd yet corrupted capitalists, Michael mocked inwardly. Since Sophia was enthusiastic about this business idea, he didn¡¯t dare to say this to her and could only grumble softly. He felt that it must be Cooper¡¯s fault that Sophia and him were ill-fated. In the past, he was prestigious in Africa and lived like an uncrowned king. He operated the second largest munitions corporation in the world, mining Africa¡¯s coals while trafficking his weapons in huge amounts by taking advantage of Africa¡¯s demand for arms due to their wars. He made his money through conflict and didn¡¯t care about how many people were killed in the process. Now, karma was biting him in his a*s! It was all his fault. Of course, he only dared to grumble to himself. On the flight back to the country, Carmen pestered Michael by asking, ¡°Daddy, why didn¡¯t grandpa come home with us?¡± Michael kissed her chubby face and replied, ¡°He¡¯ll be on vacation in Africa for some time.¡± Discreetly, Carmen asked again, ¡°Daddy, they say that grandpa is a bad guy who killed many people. Is grandpa really a bad guy?¡± Fortunately, Cooper wasn¡¯t here so he didn¡¯t hear that. Without answering her question, Michael asked her back, ¡°What do you think, Carmen?¡± Carmen smiled sweetly and replied, ¡°Grandpa is definitely a good guy. He¡¯s the kindest man in the whole world.¡± ¡°Alright, darling. You should go to sleep now. I¡¯ll hold you while you sleep and when you wake up, we¡¯ll have arrived home.¡± Michael took a nket to cover Carmen, whom he held in his arms. She was still angry about not being able to travel around Africa for a few more days so even in her sleep, she pouted her lips. Seeing that, Michael gently poked his finger on her face. What an adorable princess! But once he recalled that he would have to leave her sooner orter, his heart hurt like it was being stabbed a thousand times. After they returned to Bayside City, they rested shortly at home before continuing to work. Once Sophia got home, she didn¡¯t even dy a second to continue working on the fashion week. After the fashion week ended, Edwards Group would take off by riding on the coattails of Ronney Group. Of course, sess would depend on her ability. Cooper earned men¡¯s money by trading arms while she earned women¡¯s money by selling luxury items. When her career stabilized, she wouldmercialize cryopreservation and earn money from the old and ill but wealthy people. Money could be earned everywhere and she couldn¡¯t stop earning it! After the new year, Sophia indulged herself in money-making and she became extremely busy. On the other hand, Michael made preparations for his new work, feeling positive. Unexpectedly, when everyone was busy working, the Michel Family and Adams Group teamed up and paid them a visit. It seemed like Tiffany was determined to carry on with Cooper this time. Chapter 1259 Chapter 1259 They almost caught me in Africa, but I didn¡¯t expect them toe to Cethos. ¡°Oh my goodness, my head hurts.¡± Early in the morning, Sophia, who just finished her breakfast and had a facial mask on, walked around the house with a cat in her arms. When she nced at the surveince monitors and saw the group of cars at the entrance, she felt goosebumps all over her body. The Michel family and people from Adams Group were here. Cooper calmly put on his shoes and as he headed out, he said, ¡°Tell them I¡¯m not home.¡± After he finished speaking, he went to the basement of Vi No. 2, which was Linus¡¯s house, and stayed there. Sophia was speechless. Cooper had slipped away really quickly because he had nothing to say to those people. Then, Linus said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just leave them standing at the gates. After not seeing anyone for a while, they¡¯ll leave.¡± At that moment, Michael also came downstairs with a facial mask on. He nced at the surveince monitors and saw that there were several cars parked outside. I don¡¯t think avoiding them all the time is a good idea. Why don¡¯t we invite them in and have a proper discussion? Besides, the matter between the Winston family and Betsy muste to an end. Do they really think that they have solved it? We have been busy with New Year¡¯s celebrations for the past few days but since they havee here personally today, we should solve everything all in one go. ¡°Let them in and notify Ethan.¡± Maria made the call and not long after, Sarah rushed into the house angrily with a knife in her hand. ¡°That cow is here??¡± Harry nced at the surveince and saw that cars from the Michel family and the Adams family were parked in the open-air parking lot of the residential area. The security guards had only allowed a few people to enter. However, he didn¡¯t see Tiffany and Betsy. There are three people from the Adams family, two tall and sturdy bodyguards and a¡­ child? Soon, the visitors arrived at the house. Sophia had already changed her clothes and was downstairs. She sat together with Michael, and on the opposite side of the sofa were members from the Michel family. The four elders were pretty old and Sophia didn¡¯t know any of them, so she named them Elder A, Elder B, Elder C, and Elder D. Meanwhile, there were three people from the Adams family. The two adults were standing while the child sat on the chair. Sophia nced at the child several times. He was a foreign teenager with enchanting emerald eyes who was around Nathan¡¯s age. He was wearing a professional ck suit that didn¡¯t match his age, and he had on a cold expression. Cooper and Linus slipped away so Sophia was the only one left behind to deal with them. ¡°Why is this man in your house?¡± Elder A from the Michel family asked as he looked at Michael with a serious expression. Without any hesitation, Sophia quickly made up a lie. ¡°Oh, after we got divorced, we couldn¡¯t agree on dividing this property so we are staying together for the time being. After all, this is one of the best properties in Bayside City. Both of us can¡¯t give it up.¡± Hearing this, Michael tried to hold back hisugh. Elder B asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Gianna?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°She¡¯s out ying.¡± Michael did not respond and pretended to read the newspaper. Then, Elder A made some introductions. ¡°This is Bailey, the CEO of Adams Group.¡± Sohpia saw that Elder A was looking at the teenager who was sitting on the sofa when he was making the introduction. Wait, what?! Sophia and Michael nced at each other and didn¡¯t dare to speak. That child¡­ is the CEO?! Unexpectedly, the teenager suddenly spoke in fluent Cethosian with a Bayside City ng. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m Bailey. Nice to meet you.¡± His assistant handed over his name card and sure enough, it wrote ¡®CEO of Adams Group, Bailey Adams¡¯. Michael looked at the photo on the namecard, then nced at the teenager in front of him. The CEO is really¡­ Bailey? In Cethos, the director and the CEO were often the same person. However, in other countries, the CEO and the director were sometimes two different people. The director of Adams Group was Tiffany but the CEO was her uncle, Bailey. ording to the reports, he had only been the CEO for four years, but he was already a big shot. Tiffany is already over forty this year. Her uncle should be at least sixty years old¡­ While Michael was in doubt, Bailey already coldly handed out a report. ¡°Regarding the marriage, here is a survey report I prepared based on the current situation of Michel Group and Adams Group. I have also rified my views on the marriage and benefits of the marriage for both families. Please take a look.¡± Sophia took over the report and read through it. To her surprise, it turned out to be a serious market research report that expounded the benefits of the marriage for two families. It was well written and really persuasive. ¡°Adams Group and Michel Group have been working together for a long time. If your father agrees to marry my useless niece, it will be extremely beneficial for both families,¡± Bailey said. Sophia looked at the report and the more she read, the more goosebumps she felt on her body. Indeed, Bailey did do his research as his analysis is very thorough. Adams Group works with the military and they also own their own mercenary so they will need a lot of ammunition. Moreover, they have strong connections so they can be the middleman to help Michel Group sell their products. However, Cooper doesn¡¯t want to have too much contact with Tiffany, so the business cooperation has not been initiated. In terms of feelings, even though Tiffany has gotten married and divorced several times over the years, she never forgot about Cooper and has always been proactively getting close to him, hoping that he would change his mind. Furthermore, in the past twenty years, whenever there was a trade problem between Adams Group and Michel Group, Tiffany always took the initiative to avoid it and never crossed the line. The more Sophia looked at it, the more persuaded she was. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Tiffany would be the most suitable woman for Cooper if it weren¡¯t for Anna, but now, Anna has returned and she seems to be slowly getting her memories back¡­ After Sophia finished reading the report, she put it down and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Even though your report is great, my father has someone he likes.¡± Bailey didn¡¯t reply to her. Instead, he pulled out another report. Sophia took it and after reading it, she felt her hair stand on end. It was a report filled with Anna¡¯s dark history. Sophia had always known that Anna must have spent a lot of effort to secure her position in the Yard Group in a short time. Furthermore, she knew that Anna must have done some things that crossed the line but she didn¡¯t expect that she would be so low¡­ After looking through a few pages, she couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. This woman is terrible. I don¡¯t know whether letting her get close to Cooper is a blessing or a curse. Perhaps the reason that she is getting close to Cooper right now is so that Cooper will help her go against Jordan. After everything is settled, she might even leave Cooper straight away. With a cold expression, Bailey said, ¡°I¡¯m sure you have already made a decision on whether or not Anna is suitable for your father. Please take my name card and feel free to contact me any time.¡± After he finished speaking, he got up expressionlessly and left. He didn¡¯t say any nonsense and there was a deep maturity and calmness in his emerald eyes. After Bailey left, Sophia fell into deep thought. Seeing this, Elder A, B, C, and D hurriedly surrounded her. ¡°When is Gianna going to change herst name?¡± ¡°We cannot tolerate Gianna¡¯s acting career. If you continue to let her show her face in public, we will consider directly depriving you from custody.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t reply to their questions. Instead, she said, ¡°Well, I know you havee a long way. Please sit and drink some tea. I have a project to share with you. Shae, bring me the documents.¡± After a while, Sophia started to share about the cryogenic sleep project with the elders. This group of elders were really old men anddies. When they heard that there was really someone who came back to life after being in cryogenic sleep for thirty years, they quickly leaned close and listened intently. Michael, who seemed to be pretty invisible at that moment, took a sip of his coffee and whispered, ¡°She looks like a liar who goes to the countryside to sell health care products to the elderly.¡± Chapter 1260 Chapter 1260 When Cooper heard that they had let the group of visitors into the house and one of the visitors was Bailey, he was afraid that Sophia couldn¡¯t handle him so he rushed back home to see what was going on. Unexpectedly, everyone had already left. The Adams family left themselves while the visitors from the Michel family were tricked to leave by Sophia. She had given each of them a free trial to experience cryogenic sleep and a bag of eggs. Sure enough, old people were the same. After they received the eggs and the free trial, they left happily. They were no different from the old man and olddies from the countryside who were keen on health care products. The only difference was that Sophia¡¯s health care product was more advanced. I managed to fool them again but I wonder if everything will go this smoothly the next time? I can¡¯t believe that the group of elders want to interfere with Carmen¡¯s acting career! Why are they so nosy?! In fact, Sophia also opposed letting Carmen act in movies and reality shows. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Look at Bailey! He¡¯s a teenager but he is already a CEO! Linus also started to carry big responsibilities when he was really young. Nathan has also started working in Stanley¡¯spany. Carmen should learn from them and start apany early in the future! However, she likes acting and nothing I say can persuade her. I¡¯ll let her decide after she grows into an adult! Sarah was hiding in the kitchen at first, waiting for the moment for Betsy to appear so that she could rush out and attack her by surprise. Unexpectedly, Betsy didn¡¯te. Instead, a teenager had shown up, so she went back home with her kitchen knife upsettingly. As for Michael, he was reading the brochure of the cryogenic sleep project that Sophia printed. I didn¡¯t expect her to print out these brochures so soon. Looks like she is determined to do this cryogenic sleep business. In the residential area, after Bailey and the others left the house, he was on the phone as he walked toward the car. He walked at a fast pace, as if he was in a hurry. This 14-year-old teenage entrepreneur had already gained fame and was way ahead of his peers. He had a dazzling appearance, an iparable mind, high IQ and experience that was iparable to his peers. At 1.7 meters tall, he looked shortpared to his two tall and sturdy bodyguards. However, his domineering aura was inferior to no one. Adams Group was fully prepared to enter Cethos, so they asked Tiffany and Betsy toe and explore the market. Unexpectedly, Betsy had offended the Winston family, the king of the underworld, which made Bailey really annoyed. ¡°Tiffany, send Betsy my way. I¡¯m going to use her to negotiate with the Winston family. Don¡¯t try to reason with me, and I don¡¯t want to repeat myself.¡± With that, Bailey hung up the phone and his face was filled with irritation. However, unexpectedly, as soon as he hung up the phone, he suddenly heard a cry. He stopped walking, turned his head around, and saw a little girl crying by the roadside. There was a little snowman in front of her and it had toppled over. Its head and body were separated and the body of the snowman in a floral dress was rolling away. Bailey lowered his head and nced at his leather shoes. He was really focused when he was talking on the phone a moment ago and seemed to have kicked something. To his surprise, it was the snowman. Half of the snowman¡¯s head was still under his feet. Bailey already saw her building a snowman when he entered the residential area so he knew that his kick had ruined the little girl¡¯s half-day¡¯s work. He ignored it and walked a few steps forward, but the little girl¡¯s crying was like a poor kitten meowing and it irritated him. Feeling impatient, he continued walking but he soon turned back and saw the little girl crying very sadly. Tears were rolling down her face and her fair face was filled with grievance. She was even holding half of the snowman¡¯s head in her hands. ¡°Okay, stop crying. I ruined your snowman so I¡¯ll fix it for you, okay?¡± Bailey squatted down and said to the little girl. He was not good with children so he tried his best to soften his tone. He even carried her up and wiped her tears with a tissue. However, unexpectedly, the little girl didn¡¯t appreciate it at all. Sobbing, she replied, ¡°No!¡± Bailey tried hard to be patient. ¡°Well, what do you want?¡± The little girl replied, ¡°Money!¡± Hearing this, Bailey asked his bodyguard to take out his wallet and opened it. There was a stack of Cethosian dors that he had just exchanged. ¡°How much do you want?¡± The little girl took a few nces at the insides of his wallet. Her big round eyes were still teary and her face was still filled with grievance when she replied, ¡°I want money that looks pretty!¡± Bailey was stunned. Then, he chuckled and the tense expression that he wore for a long time suddenly rxed. He took out a stack of money and said, ¡°Here, choose yourself.¡± The little girl took his money and picked them out one by one. Her chubby hands were really skillful as she picked out the crisp banknotes and stuffed them into her pocket. She didn¡¯t take the ones that looked old. Bailey watched her pick the banknotes in interest. The corners of his lips curled upward and his emerald eyes looked at her softly. The little girl counted the money very quickly. Not long after, she pulled out around twenty banknotes and happily put them in her pocket. However, she continued to pout even after taking the money and she still looked aggrieved. Bailey put the wallet away and asked, ¡°Is that enough?¡± The little girl replied, ¡°No!¡± Feeling helpless, he asked, ¡°What else do you want?¡± Those who could live in The Imperial were definitely not ordinary. Betsy had just offended the Winston family, and Bailey didn¡¯t want to offend the little girl¡¯s family. The little girl thought about it for a moment before she shamelessly said, ¡°I¡¯ll let you go if you let me kiss you!¡± The two bodyguards behind Bailey were startled. She already cheated him out of his money, and now she wants to steal a kiss?! Bailey was taken aback. He never thought that this little girl would make such a rude request and didn¡¯t respond for a long time. The little girl stared at him and she was about to break into tears again. Bailey had no choice. He couldn¡¯t be angry at the little child so he squatted down, pointed at his cheek and said, ¡°Only one kiss.¡± The little girl leaned forward and gave him a big, loud kiss on the cheek. After she was done, she said, ¡°Okay, you can leave now.¡± Bailey was stunned for a moment before he got up, turned around, and left without another word, as if he was afraid that she might suddenly change her mind. He could feel a tingling sensation on the spot that the little girl had kissed, and it seemed to have a sweet smell too. In the cold winter, he felt his face burn all of a sudden. Bailey nkly wiped away the saliva and snot on his cheek with a tissue. When he arrived at the community gates, he turned around subconsciously and saw that the little girl was gone. She probably went home. He looked at the fallen snowman and thought about the soft kiss just now, and his mind wandered for a moment. ¡°Young master, it¡¯s time to leave,¡± Bailey¡¯s bodyguard said. ¡°Okay,¡± Bailey replied. With that, they drove away¡­ ¡°Where did you get the money?!¡± After Sophia sent the people from the Michel family away, Nathan and Carmen returned from outside. She saw the huge stack of money in Carmen¡¯s pocket, a total of more than twenty banknotes, so she hurriedly asked her where she got it from. Carmen replied, ¡°I found it outside!¡± Sophia was doubtful so she asked Nathan. Nathan replied, ¡°She really did find them outside!¡± He was building a snowman with Carmen just now but he had gone to the bathroom for a moment. However, when he returned, the snowman had fallen and Carmen had an extra stack of money in her pockets. She told him that she had found them on the ground. Even though Sophia was puzzled, she didn¡¯t ask anymore questions. She told Carmen that she shouldn¡¯t take what wasn¡¯t hers and let go of the matter. Cooper went to Anna¡¯s house again, but he realized that she already left. She only stayed a few days when she came back this time. He had been looking for opportunities to deal with Jordan and the force backing him, but he found out that the man was much scarier than he imagined. Cooper felt unprecedented excitement and was ready to take on this challenge. I wonder if my darling Anna will return to me after we finish dealing with Jordan? Chapter 1261 Chapter 1261 Sophia went out to walk the dogs and have a morning run after breakfast the next day. Unexpectedly, as soon as she left the house, she saw the cold young master that came yesterday. He hade to The Imperial again but this time, he wasn¡¯t walking to Sophia¡¯s house, but to the Winston Residence next door. There were a few people behind Bailey who were dragging a woman with big breasts. After living in Cethos for a long time, Sophia started to find it hard to differentiate foreigners. However, due to the woman¡¯s unique G-cup sized breasts, she recognized her immediately. It was Betsy who had asked Dana to drug Harry with a bottle of water. Most of the scratches on her face were inflicted by Sophia. The two groups of people passed by each other. Bailey recognized Sophia and slightly nodded at her as a greeting. However, Betsy, who was behind him, red at Sophia coldly and didn¡¯t take her seriously. She was being held by Bailey¡¯s men. What are they going to do? Sophia walked the two huskies and followed them to the Winston Residence. As soon as they entered the house, she heard two loud and crisp ps. Betsy was fiercely pped across the face twice in front of Harry and Sarah. In an instant, her face became swollen. Betsy red at the person who had pped her then nced at the person who gave themand, but she didn¡¯t dare to speak. It was because the person who gave themand was Bailey. This b*stard! He has no respect for me just because he is capable. Does he really think he¡¯s that powerful?! Sooner orter, I¡¯ll get my revenge! I¡¯m going to kill this b*stard! Standing opposite them, Harry and Sarah were wearing matching ck suits that made them look domineering. Even though Harry felt that a true big shot would still look powerful in pajamas, Sarah felt that having a domineering appearance was important. After Betsy was pped twice, Sarah saw that she was still unwilling to admit fault. With a sinister grin, she said, ¡°I think Miss Betsy is still unwilling to admit her mistakes¡­ Mr. Bailey, it seems that your grandniece doesn¡¯t follow your advice.¡± Bailey nkly raised his hand and said, ¡°Hit her again.¡± Under Betsy¡¯s resentful re, the bodyguard raised his hand and pped Betsy without any hesitation until blood flowed out of her nose. It was then that Sarah felt satisfied. She hurriedly said, ¡°Enough. She¡¯s ignorant but she is still a child after all. Mr. Bailey, you don¡¯t have to be so cruel to a child.¡± Hearing this, Bailey replied, ¡°There is an old saying in Cethos that goes, ¡®spare the rod and spoil the child¡¯.¡± Sarah was liking the teenager more and more. The fact that he can hit Tiffany¡¯s daughter proves how powerful he is. Betsy is stupid, but Tiffany and Bailey are not foolish. They want to sell insurance in Bayside City, but they offended the king of the underworld. It was a dumb decision. Harry, who was standing at the side, felt his hair stand on end. Everyone always talks about how great Tiffany is for taking away half of her ex-husbands¡¯s assets every time she gets a divorce, but this young CEO is the one who is truly powerful! However, Betsy was still unwilling to admit defeat. After being pped a few times, she still secretly sent signals to Harry and even charmingly revealed her G-cup breasts even more to show her eye- catching cleavage. They¡¯re doing this to please the Winston family and win their hearts so that they will give us business benefits. Why don¡¯t they just let me sleep with Harry? After sleeping with Harry, I¡¯ll be his wife and be part of the Winston family. In that case, the Winston family and Adams Group will be bound by our marriage and we will be protected by them. Isn¡¯t that easier? This b*stard doesn¡¯t know anything. How dare he tell my mother and I what to do? What a fool! Betsy thought. Harry was discussing matters with Bailey and he had long noticed Betsy, who was secretly sending him signals, trying to seduce him. A cold expression appeared on his face and just when he was about to speak¡­ ¡°Guards, take Miss Betsy out to ¡®cool down¡¯.¡± Bailey already spoke before him, as if he knew what Harry was thinking. It looks like it is so hot indoors that she had to reveal her breasts to cool off. After the guards heard themand, they grabbed Betsy and threw her out of the house to let her cool off. Betsy was shivering from the cold outside. She was dressed like a show model and half of her breasts were exposed. As soon as she was outside, she was faced with the brutal cold breeze and her nude stockings werepletely useless. Stepping on the snow in her leather stilettos, she started shivering from the cold less than ten seconds after she was thrown out. No matter how heavy her makeup was, it couldn¡¯t cover her lips that were turning purple. At once, Betsy ran to hit on the door. ¡°Let me in.¡± The bodyguards in ck suits behind her ruthlessly grabbed her and forced her to stand in the snow. What a troublesome woman. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Betsy was so cold, she burst into tears. Then, she saw Sophia, who was watching her from the side, and the fur coat on her body. Her whole body was wrapped inside the fur coat and she looked really warm. Even the huskies were wearing clothes that were thicker than hers. ¡°Take your coat off and give it to me!¡± Betsy suddenly ran up to Sophia and reached over to grab her coat. Sophia was furious. She immediately freed one hand and pped Betsy on the face. The p was really loud so Sophia thought she would get in trouble. However, the bodyguards at the side pretended that they didn¡¯t see it and allowed her to p Betsy. Betsy was already shivering from the cold but after she was pped by Sophia, her body trembled even harder. Seeing that the two bodyguards were doing nothing after she was pped, she furiously yelled, ¡°Take her coat off and give it to me!¡± The two bodyguards didn¡¯t respond. Betsy was so cold that she couldn¡¯t even speak properly. She rushed forward to steal Sophia¡¯s coat again. Whenever Sophia came out to walk the dogs, she would bring a doggy stick to prevent her dogs from fighting other dogs. When she saw Betsye close, she pulled out the doggy stick and hit her with it twice. Seeing that the bodyguards weren¡¯t interfering, she hit her even harder and Betsy cried in pain. However, Betsy was really cold. Seeing that she couldn¡¯t grab Sophia¡¯s fur coat, she frantically pulled off Cash¡¯s pink vest and desperately wrapped it around her body. Cash was furious and he tried to snatch his beloved vest back. When Sophia saw that the two bodyguards continued to ignore Betsy even though she already squatted down and wrapped the vest tightly around her chest to try to warm herself up from the cold, she decided to let her be. The residents of The Imperial came out of their houses one after another and they all saw a woman shivering in the cold outside the Winston Residence while the two bodyguards beside her turned a blind eye. ¡°So cruel,¡± Sophia muttered. Then, she continued walking the dogs. When Sophia returned a whileter, she realized that Betsy had already moved to another spot. She was squatting in front of Sophia¡¯s house with snot and tears all over her face, and her eyshes were covered with frost. The two bodyguards were still standing beside her, expressionless. Is Bailey in our house again? Sophia entered the house and saw that Bailey was sitting in the living room, talking to Cooper. ¡°The Adams family and the Michel family don¡¯t necessarily have to be bound by marriage to have business cooperation¡­ ¡± Bailey said. Are they talking about working together? Sophia knew that Cooper was fighting against Jordan, but Jordan¡¯s foundation was even stronger than his. He had powerful forces around the nation and even abroad. Furthermore, he had many allies, so Cooper naturally needed to find allies too. The Adams family was undoubtedly one of the best and most suitable allies. Sophia was ready to hear what they were going to say next when Cooper spoke. ¡°Hi darling, wee home. Come and say hi to Uncle Bailey.¡± Sophia was rendered speechless. Chapter 1262 Chapter 1262 Sophia nced at the mature and sophisticated Bailey, who was sitting on the sofa, and for some reason, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to call him ¡®uncle¡¯. It¡¯s a little shameful to call a little boy ¡®uncle¡¯! ¡°There¡¯s no need, Fass. We have already met yesterday. Your daughter is really capable and promising, and I think you¡¯re really lucky. As expected, a great father will have amazing children,¡± Bailey said with a smile. He spoke more maturely than Sophia. Cooper smiled humbly and said, ¡°You¡¯re too kind. She¡¯s not as good as you, Bailey!¡± Sophia was speechless. She felt really ashamed and the situation looked strange so she hurriedly slipped away. It was easy to see that Cooper really liked Bailey. There weren¡¯t many people in the world who could speak to Cooper casually, and Bailey was one of them. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Geniuses sympathized with each other, and they had many things inmon. Cooper and Linus had started working when they were young, but they had no pressure. They also had people to lead and teach them while they gained experience. However, Bailey was forced to take over the family business at a very young age because both of his parents were dead, and he was the only one left. If he didn¡¯t work hard to strengthen his capabilities, he would have been eaten and swallowed up alive a long time ago. Even though Tiffany obeyed him, she was probably secretly looking for an opportunity to ruin him. Forced by the situation, he must be strong enough and step forward to face it all. In this environment, he still managed to fight and keep his position in the Adams family as well as protect everything that his parents worked hard for to leave him. Needless to say, he was a ruthless character. Although he was only 14, Cooper never dared to underestimate him. He even modestly said that when Bailey grew to be an adult, he would be a great man in the future and he himself, Linus, Michael, and Sophia wouldn¡¯t be as good as him. However, Sophia couldn¡¯t understand why Cooper would want to cooperate with a child. He¡¯s only a child. Is he really reliable? Or is father just so desperate, he is grasping at straws? She peered out the French window and saw that Betsy was still shivering in the snow. It was as if Bailey didn¡¯t seem to know this. If this continues, she¡¯ll probably freeze to death! However, Bailey continued to chat happily with Cooper in the living room. If Betsy freezes to death, there is no need to discuss business cooperation. Just as Sophia was secretly getting anxious, the door of the Winston Residence suddenly opened and a coat was thrown out. Sarah even threw a hot water bottle out. Seeing this, Betsy rushed over like a dog, hurriedly put on the coat, and took the hot water bottle into her arms. Sarah nced at Betsy and her gaze was filled with contempt. She¡¯s acting like a dog! Forget it, she¡¯s a mess and she has suffered enough. I¡¯ll forgive her this time, but if she does something like that again, I¡¯ll let her freeze to death! Later, Sarah closed the door with satisfaction. It was then only Sophia suddenly understood that the reason Bailey left Betsy at the door to freeze was to deliberately show it to the Winston family. The Winston family also knew that if Betsy froze to death in front of their house, it wouldn¡¯t look good for the both families. After they calmed down, they naturally woulde out and help Betsy. After watching the whole thing, Sophia felt a chill run down her spine¡­ All of this is probably under the child¡¯s control, because after he found out the Winston family had given Betsy a coat, he got up and said goodbye. He only came to make peace with the Winston family today, not to talk to Cooper about business cooperation. If he wants to discuss business, he must make some preparations beforehand. Cooper wanted to ask him to stay for lunch, but Bailey insisted on leaving so he didn¡¯t force him. When Bailey walked out of Sophia¡¯s house, he saw Betsy, who was wrapped in a winter coat and hugging a hot water bottle in her arms, and his expression instantly turned cold. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After he gave the order, Betsy followed behind him resentfully. Deep down, she secretly swore to get Harry and kill Bailey. Seeing that they had left, Sophia went out to pick up Cash¡¯s pink vest and took the chance to nce at the Adams family, who were walking away in a hurry. What a crazy little kid! Bailey had been on the phone since he walked out of the house and the person on the other end of the line was Tiffany. ¡°Since when do I need you to tell me what to do?¡± When Tiffany found out that her only daughter was left to freeze in the snow, she went mad and kept calling Bailey to question him. Bailey didn¡¯t want to talk to her so he expressed his reason in a few words and hung up. He kept walking and moving forward. All of a sudden, he heard a burst ofughter. Bailey turned his head around and saw a few children having a snowball fight at the side. He stopped walking and saw the little girl who cheated 2000 out of him yesterday was having a snowball fight. After making a little snowball, she threw it at another girl who was older than her. She looked about eight years old and in order to avoid the snowball, she ran past Bailey. Bailey caught a nce of a pair of emerald eyes that were exactly the same as him. He thought that he was mistaken but after staring at the child for a while, he realized that she was a mixed-race child with emerald eyes¡ªthe same emerald eyes as his. ¡°L!¡± Bailey suddenly heard someone call out the girl¡¯s name. Hearing her name, the girl turned around and her emerald eyes flickered with excitement. At that moment, Bailey already knew the girl¡¯s identity. It¡¯s her! Tiffany was actually not an only child. She had a brother who was born powerful and had perfectly inherited his grandfather¡¯s military gene. However, unexpectedly, the child was abducted when he was one and went missing. Even though he had a grandfather who had military power, they couldn¡¯t find the child after searching for more than 20 years. About 30 yearster, Tiffany¡¯s brother was finally found, but he had already be a notorious and brutal killer. He was ranked third in the Killer List and had a lot of blood on his hands. He was known as ¡®de¡¯! It was impossible for him to return to the family because the family had given up on him. Later, de died and Bailey heard that he had a child. The Adams family and de¡¯s maternal family were really interested in that child, so they sent people to find her. However, they discovered that the child was taken away by her own mother¡¯s family and was living with the Fletcher family in Cethos. The child was L, also known as Lorelei Fletcher. ¡°L,¡± Bailey suddenly called out. L heard him so she walked up to him and looked at him in confusion. The two pairs of emerald eyes looked at each other. Staring at her, Bailey was filled with emotion. She is a bloodline of the Adams family who was left outside! Bailey didn¡¯t say a word and left in a hurry. Watching him leave, L¡¯s eyes were full of confusion. ¡­ Cooper didn¡¯t want Sophia to intervene with his fight against Jordan. Her most important task at the moment was to deal with fashion week. Fashion week wasing up and some people were more anxious than Sophia. In a private hospital. ¡°Sophia is going to partner with Lucy. We must find a way to stop them!¡± Sandra yelled hysterically when she finally met Henry and Ryan. We have to stop fashion week! I won¡¯t allow Sophia to reap the benefits, even if it means that I have to ruin fashion week! Chapter 1263 Chapter 1263 Henry and Ryan spent all of their annual leaves on staying in the hospital, unable to escape. Now, Ronney Group in Cethos waspletely under Lucy¡¯s control and they couldn¡¯t interfere with any matters at all. All they could do was feel anxious as they watched the evil Sophia ride on Ronney Fashion Week¡¯s poprity, and they worried that it would affect the future fashion weeks. Once Lucy left, Sophia would definitely deal with them immediately. As expected, Lucy had evil intentions. She had been working with Sophia all along and unfortunately, Jordan and Anna were both deceived by her! The three of them discussed how to deal with Lucy and Sophia. Even if they had to ruin fashion week, they would do anything they could. Sandra wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them herself, so she needed Henry and Ryan¡¯s help. Although their power to control Ronney Group was temporarily removed, they were still wealthy and could just pay people like Sandra to run errands. Mitchell¡¯s Technology was about to go bankrupt and Sandra had alreadypletely given up. She med Mitchell Technology¡¯s bankruptcy on Sophia and Cooper. The main reason behind Mitchell Technology¡¯s bankruptcy was because Alex was ipetent. Moreover, after Cooper returned, he had poached all of the elites in Mitchell Technology. Therefore, the culprit of thepany¡¯s bankruptcy was probably Cooper, but Sandra hated Sophia the most because she had a strange obsession with the position of the youngdy of the Mitchell family. Cooper only snatched the position of the Mitchell family head, but Sophia had taken away the position of the young lady of the Mitchell family which originally belonged to Sandra. It was simply unforgivable! She hated Sophia way more than she hated Cooper. After all, it was wiser to pick on the weaker enemy. Otherwise, if the enemy was too powerful, it would be difficult to persuade yourself to continue to hate them. If we mess up this fashion week, not only will it hurt Sophia and her fans, but we will also make Lucy look ipetent for not doing a good job. She is the general director of Ronney Fashion Week this year. If the fashion week is ruined, she will be kicked out of thepany! With fashion weeking up, Sophia and Lucy¡¯s team often met up with each other. It was the first time Sophia and her team were engaged in such arge-scale fashion week, so they didn¡¯t feel really confident. However, Lucy¡¯s team was very experienced. Simrly, as a local, Sophia had special advantages. For example, with her identity, they could hire the best security team from the best private securitypany. Thergest private securitypany in Bayside City was Eye in the Sky Security, which was owned by Michael and Harry. Because of the Fletcher family¡¯s connections, Fletcher Security had recruited a large number of elite forces who were retired from the military along with the Winston family¡¯s men in the underworld. Michael and Harry had direct holdings in Fletcher Security while Stanley and the others had shares of thepany. They provided security services locally, private escort services and other services in Cethos, and it was a bigpany. They also had branches abroad with even more offerings. The person in charge of thepany was actually Justin. Since he had brought his whole family to live in Michael¡¯s house, he felt embarrassed. Coincidentally, he had some resources at hand and Harry felt that it would be best for the underworld to start a securitypany. The two of them hit it off and opened this securitypany in the end. Justin personally took charge of security for fashion week. Other than the strength from the ex-military, they had men from the underworld to help make sure the event went smoothly. This fashion week was a huge event, so senior management was paying a lot of attention to it. A month before the fashion week, the high-end hotels in Bayside City were already fully-booked as the world¡¯s famous fashion brands, designers, and celebrities gathered in Bayside City. The turnout was absolutely unprecedented. If it weren¡¯t for Ronney Group¡¯s reputation, Sophia definitely would not have been able to attract so much attention. She was also really excited for the fashion week. I used to watch fashion shows a lot, but I didn¡¯t expect to have my turn at being in charge of an event! From security to the guest list, she had confirmed everything again and again. There must be no mistakes. I must make sure that this show goes perfectly! In these two weeks, there would be dozens of fashion shows and exhibitions as well as somerge forums. Among them were shows by Sophia¡¯s own brands under JNS Fashion Group, and as a businesswoman, she could invite celebrities and superstars over to watch the show. For a show to seed, the models and guests were the top priority. Models and guests needed to attend fashion shows to increase their exposure. Besides that, it showed their status and elevated their value. At the same time, brands needed famous models and guests to enhance their reputation and style, so the two of them benefitted each other. Sophia had her husband be the model for her brand¡¯s fashion shows, so her brands weren¡¯t short of exposure. The people on the guestlist were either wealthy or powerful, and her models were the best. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. Before the fashion week, Sophia suddenly added a few more people onto her guest list, such as Tiffany, Betsy and Bailey from the Adams family. If they coulde, it would certainly expand the influence of fashion week. Cooper was going to attend fashion week to watch the shows, so Tiffany naturally agreed without any hesitation. In fact, it was actually Cooper¡¯s idea. Since they had reconciled on Betsy¡¯s drugging incident, they naturally had to put their interests first. Inviting Tiffany over would certainly benefit fashion week. Tiffany thought that Cooper had changed his mind about her, so she excitedly got dressed to watch the show together with him. However, she didn¡¯t know that several fashion week invites had flown across the sea to the far-away city, Ronney City, and into Anna¡¯s hands. Anna opened the invitation and saw that it was all handwritten by Cooper. His strong and powerful handwriting resembled little soldiers that were standing straight and full of strength. His writing tone was formal but sincere at the same time. The letter still had a faint smell of ink that was mixed with the smell of roses. I didn¡¯t know an invitation letter could be so romantic. Ronney Fashion Week was actually a major event for the Ronney Group. Anna was already nning to head to Bayside City, but after receiving Cooper¡¯s invitation, she felt that she had more reasons to go. Anna had a premonition that the Ronney Fashion Week this year would be extremely exciting. At a five-star hotel, a few agents from the real-estate agency hade to service Tiffany and he disyed the best listings in Bayside City for her to choose. Cethos was getting stronger and stronger. Manyrgepanies that weren¡¯t optimistic with the market in Cethos in the past were now entering the market one by one. There was Michel Group, Ronney Group and now, even Adams Group had rushed over to have a share of the market. Even though Tiffany wouldn¡¯t stay here for too long, she woulde and visit often, which was why other than an office, she wanted to choose a private residence for herself. ¡°Are there any avable listings near The Imperial?¡± It is best if I can live near Cooper¡¯s house, preferably in the same residential area. However, there is no house on sale in that area, and the only courtyard house that is empty is also not for sale because the owner would rather use it to raise pigs. After looking for a while, Tiffany chose a house that was really near to Cooper¡¯s house. At that moment, the real estate agent suddenly said, ¡°You have a good eye! There are many famous people who live in that residential area. For example, you would be living right next to Mrs. Yard from Ronney Group.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Tiffany was shocked. No wonder Anna walked over to Cooper¡¯s house during the New Year¡¯s celebrations. Turns out that she lives really near him! ¡°Great! That¡¯s the one!¡± Tiffany wanted to move there right away to see what Anna was nning. Just then, her assistant suddenly came over and said, ¡°Miss Tiffany, you have a visitor.¡± Tiffany immediately refused. ¡°I¡¯m not meeting anyone who didn¡¯t make an appointment.¡± Her assistant replied, ¡°The visitor ims to be Jordan Edwards and he said that he is the husband of Anna Yard, the president of Ronney Group.¡± Chapter 1264 Chapter 1264 Anna¡¯s husband? She actually has a husband? Immediately, Tiffany stood up and said, ¡°Please ask him to wait for me in the living room.¡± She was keen to meet Anna¡¯s husband. How could she seduce Cooper when she already has a husband? After sending off the real estate agent, Tiffany dolled herself up and went to the living room. On the sofa sat a man who was reading a newspaper, and one couldn¡¯t tell his age from his appearance. Nevertheless, he had a pair of striking, glistening eyes and an eye-catching aquiline nose. He would be the perfectly handsome and mature middle-aged man to many girls, be it young chicks or married women. ¡°You¡¯re Anna¡¯s husband? Why have I never heard of you before?¡± Tiffany cut to the chase. Lifting his eyes, Jordan nced at Tiffany and thereafter courteously gave her a kiss on her hand. Being an expert in observing men, Tiffany sized up the gent without batting an eye. This was a remarkable man. Though he was a little old, the trace of age allowed him to give off a deep and elegant aura from the inside out. With a mature and humble demeanor, he possessed a noble mien. As such, women of all ages would be enchanted by his charm, yet Tiffany turned a blind eye to his charisma as she had seen countless men. Saving the polite remarks, Jordan too cut straight to the point and answered, ¡°Yes, truly. Anna and I have four sons.¡± Tiffany remained prudent. Anna¡¯s marital status had been a mystery for a long time as most rumors asserted that she was single. Some even said that her sons were test tube babies, and so there were increasingly more rumors about her being a maiden. However, the man standing in front of her seemed to be extraordinary. If he was truly Anna¡¯s husband, why would he conceal himself, and for such a long time? Now that even his sons were in their twenties, this man had at least hidden himself for twenty years. How strange was that? ¡°How can I believe you¡¯re Anna¡¯s husband just because you said so?¡± Obviously, Tiffany did not buy it. Jordan did not answer her question but directly revealed the motive of his visit. ¡°I¡¯m here today because of Annie. I¡¯m sure you know my Annie and your Fass have been getting close to each other recently. Both of us desire to retain our lovers, so why don¡¯t we engage in a cooperation?¡± Nheless, Tiffany still couldn¡¯t trust him. She said coldly, ¡°I¡¯m very interested in your proposal, but why should I cooperate with you when you can¡¯t even prove your identity?¡± What if he¡¯s an undercover agent sent by Anna? Standing up, Jordan put on his hat politely and was ready to take his leave. ¡°See you at the fashion week.¡± Snorting in a dismissive manner, Tiffany raised her guard inwardly. After Jordan had left, she quickly sent someone to look up Jordan¡¯s background. ¡°Head of the Edwards n?¡± Tiffany was puzzled. Why would this man be Anna¡¯s husband? Meanwhile, Anna was getting ready to attend the fashion week in Bayside City too. Though she had not achieved absolute freedom, Anna owned a kingdom of luxury brands which every woman in the world would die for. There were countless luxury brands under Ronney Group, and they epassed a wide array of cosmetics, handbags and apparels. upying an entire floor, Anna¡¯s dressing room contained the dream of every woman in the world. Outfits and essories were the most important elements for Anna to attend Ronney Fashion Week this time, and she had started getting her hands on them since half a year ago. Before departing, Anna stood in the dressing room and noticed something was missing despite her morous outfit. It was only then did she realize that she was missing a partner. What was the point of possessing all the luxuries if she had to remain lonely for the rest of her life? Truth was, it wasn¡¯t the attire which had lost its attractiveness, but nothing could beat having a partner who could journey through life with her. With that, Anna pulled out her phone and sent a message. On the other hand, Cooper too was excitedly preparing his outfit that he was going to wear to the fashion week. Given his identity as the iconic representative of middle and old-aged men in Bayside City¡¯s socialite circle, Cooper¡¯s outfit had always been imitated by the other rich and greasy middle- aged men. So, Sophia had prepared a lot of outfits for Cooper and hired professional stylists to touch up his appearance. In the past, Cooper disliked dolling himself up. However, this time round, he requested the stylists to spruce him up to a greater extent, and he had even started applying facial masks a few days ago. ¡°Look at this, Dad. This mask is very effective and Mikey is using it too. It moisturizes the skin and reduces fine lines,¡± Sophia said as she mixed the substances and applied it onto Cooper¡¯s face. ¡°Your skin condition is simr to Mikey¡¯s. This mask would suit you well too.¡± With his eyes closed, Cooper allowed Sophia to put the mask onto his face as he answered her with a grunt. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. All of a sudden, a notification sound emerged from his phone. Taking up his phone, a mysterious smile spread across his face as he read the message, and he quickly replied to it. ¡°Dad, what are you reading?¡± Sophia came closer to him to peek at his phone, but Cooper quickly moved it away. ¡°It¡¯s not for you, kid!¡± Cooper said as he locked the phone screen. Sophia pursed her lips and continued mixing the mask. She knew Cooper must be messaging Anna. Sophia had no idea what to do with her mother either, and she intended to leave it to Cooper as he would have his ns. Lately, Cooper had been scrolling his phone whenever he was free, and he would giggle at the phone as if he was a youngd who had just started a romantic rtionship. Meanwhile in Ronney City, Anna had received Cooper¡¯s message which contained his height and other body measurements that were needed to tailor an outfit. She passed Cooper¡¯s body measurements together with hers to the assistant andmanded, ¡°Pick ten sets of clothes ording to these measurements, and choose some other essories that fit.¡± Her subordinates quickly started working on it since it was their boss¡¯s order. But the next moment, Anna said, ¡°Forget about it. I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± ¡­ Soon, Cooper received several huge parcels shipped from overseas. Upon unboxing them, he found a collection of men¡¯s apparels, which included watches, tailcoats, blouses, hats, scarves and all kinds of essories.There were ten boxes in total, each containing aplete set of matched outfits. All of them were limited and exclusively customized editions which couldn¡¯t be bought even if you wanted to. Cooper took out the outfits delightedly and gazed at them. At once, Sophia noticed the top-notcher among the items. ¡°Oh my god, that¡¯s Bulgari¡¯s limited edition watch. There are only five of them in this world!¡± she eximed. ¡°There¡¯s a zebra leather belt too!¡± ¡°Wow, could this be the leather shoes from Ronney¡¯s collector edition? I¡¯ve heard through the grapevine that they are going tounch this design during the fashion week.¡± With that, Sophia reached out her hand to grab the shoes but Cooper gently hit her hand. ¡°Not now.¡± Pouting her lips, Sophia withdrew her hand as she felt a tinge of jealousy arising. She watched Cooper as he carefully moved the boxes upstairs and locked the door. He even refrained Carmen and Nate from entering his room. On the other hand, Michael was green with envy. Hmph, how great it is to have a girlfriend who runs luxury brands business! Look at these outfits. They are all f*cking limited editions, exclusively customized collections, and designs that are not avable in the market. Even an ordinary rich man might not recognize them. With that, Michael nced toward Sophia pitifully. This time, Michael had to wear outfits from their own brand to the fashion week, yet his young father-in- law was going to wear outfits from Ronney Group. Though he had no intention of discouraging Sophia, it was a fact that her JNS Group was merely a petty fleapared to the superior, ssic brand of Ronney Group. After all, they were the tycoon of the fashion industry. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not going to be the most handsome guy at fashion week anymore. Chapter 1265 Chapter 1265 Now, Cooper was actively nning for his schedule for the fashion week. He locked himself up in the study room everyday trying on the outfits, and he didn¡¯t even allow anyone to peek. Tsk! No one wants to peek at you anyway, at least not me! Michael thought to himself. He was not jealous of Cooper at all! Since they were running a business of fashion apparels, them as the owners together with other family members would have to show up at fashion week to represent their own brands. There were a few fashion brands under JNS Group, and the group was consistently increasing its market share. Besides Pourl, a pet luxury brand that was established by Sophia herself, there were a few other personal care brands and clothing brands. In addition, Sophia had specially acquired a kids clothing brand for the sake of Carmen. A few days prior to the fashion week, Sophia hired a team of stylists to their ce to help everyone choose their outfits and set their styles. Carmen was on cloud nine as she had been waiting for this day for a long time. Even the new year celebration was not as exciting as showing up at a fashion week or filming as she loved dolling herself up. In addition, there was going to be a special kidswear show during the fashion week, and Carmen would undoubtedly be the leading runway model for that show. Lately, Michael had gotten some cameo roles for Carmen in a few blockbuster movies where she was cast as the younger version of the protagonists. Ever since Carmen¡¯s first appearance on the screen, many film productionpanies had approached her to y the child version of a character, and she had be the go-to child actor. As the deputy security manager, Hale too was given a few sets of outfits. Since it was fashion week, they wanted to ensure that the whole team was stylish and presentable, including the staff. At the same time, Hale had sent Ashton over as Ashton was going to be one of the runway models too. ¡°Nate, what do you think of this shirt? I think it suits you the most. Come and try on it,¡± Sophia said as she diligently sought a suitable outfit for Nate. With a cold look, Nate intended to turn her down because she actually gave him an outfit from the kidswear brand. Obviously, she had not considered Nate¡¯s feelings. The fifteen-year-old boy was already five-feet-six- inches tall and at the phase of exponential growth. How was it appropriate to give him kidswear? ¡°Nate, wear this!¡± Meanwhile, Celine was busy selecting an outfit for her son too. Nate nced at the clothing that Celine chose. It was a pink princess dress. This is too much! Putting on a kidswear is terrible enough, and now they¡¯re asking me to wear a dress? On the other hand, Michael had brought Judge over from Stanley¡¯s ce. As the chief model of Pourl, Judge¡¯s presence was essential in the event. Upon entering the house, Michael asked Sophia, ¡°You sent Bailey an invitation to attend the kidswear show?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with sending an invitation to a child to attend a kidswear show?¡± Sophia answered while she was busy sorting things out. With that, Michael was rendered speechless.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. He cast a pitiful nce toward Nate who was being forced to try on the kidswear, thereafter he quietly put the dog down. Stanley and Sean were here too. Initially, they only came to drop off the dog, but Sophia had dragged them along to try on the outfits as soon as they arrived. ¡°Com¡¯on, Stan, try this on.¡± Sophia excitedly rmended a few pieces to Stanley. Stanley had not groomed himself that day, and he looked rather sloppy with the stubble on his chin. In contrast, Sean had shaved and dressed himself up. His skin seemed to be in good condition as a result of regr skincare. Compared to Sean, Stanley was totally a rough man. Sean had intended to pick a few outfits from Sophia¡¯s ce to wear them to the fashion week. Originally, he wanted to pick some stylish spring clothes for men, but he was instantly attracted by a red dress upon entering the house. Meanwhile, Linus was enthusiastically picking his attires too. Of course he had to support his sister¡¯s event. ording to the rules of the fashion industry, the fashion week this time was meant to present the latest fall/winter wear which would lead the fashion trends for the year. Sophia picked a few clothes from the fall collection for Stanley, and he started shivering the moment he saw them. ¡°Oh my goodness, aren¡¯t you fashion people afraid of the cold? I¡¯m going to die wearing so little during winter.¡± At the same time, Michael picked a few outfits for himself, all of which were the products of the fashion brands under JNS Group. Though Sophia did not have the best fashion taste, she was good at discovering talents and she had the money to employ these experts. Among these talents were Kenny and Ivan, who were currently the chief designers. In addition, Sophia had been negotiating a cooperation with Russell Simmons recently as she intended to headhunt him back to Bayside City. Russell¡¯s daughter was disfigured, and she had been staying in Bayside City for the past few years to undergo surgeries. After experiencing the life-threatening situation, Russell had been taking things easy, and his daughter became his only focus as he realized nothing else could beat being united with his family. As such, he had decided to stay in Bayside City, and Sophia was eager to get him to join her team. She was devoted to a wide array of businesses. Besides its engagement in the fashion industry, JNS Group even owned an investmentpany. And so, Sophia was forever busy exploring business opportunities. Michael thought to himself that Sophia would be able to lead a decent life even without him. Finally, the fashion week in which Sophia had poured all her efforts and energy was happening. As the person-in-charge of Ronney Fashion Week¡¯s subvenue in Bayside City, Sophia had to ensure the high standard of the event. The fashion week wouldst for a week. The first day was reserved for Ronney Group¡¯s main show, where Ronney¡¯s in-house and contract designers would focus on disying their collections and introducing thetest designs. This was the most important show for the entire fashion week, and many socialites and celebrities had been fighting for an invitation to that show. Sophia had received Lucy¡¯s invitation and was going to show up at the event to support her. Early in the morning, Sophia had started dressing up. The outfit that she was wearing was her own brand¡¯stest fall/winter design which had yet to beunched in the market. It was designed by their chief designer, Kenny, and he had adopted his usual luxurious style in the design. The gown was made of mink skin and was embellished with diamonds as the designer was determined to delineate the essence of fur clothing through this masterpiece. On the other hand, Micheal wore a fall/winter menswear. Besides keeping him warm, the fitting suit enhanced his body shape, and it was a perfect match with Sophia¡¯s gown. True enough, Kenny had outstanding taste. Back then, he alone carried the entire L/K brand in the Cethos market, yet he was fired by Ronney Group. It was indeed their loss. In contrast, Sophia had acquired a gem when Kenny joined herpany. Just then, Harry and Sarah from the next door came over as they had also received an invitation from Ronney Group. Dashingly dressed, Linus showed up too. Last but not least, Nate came down from his room. Sophia finally gave up on the idea of forcing him to put on kidswear, and he was very happy with his customized ck suit, which gave him an elegant and dignified look. Even Justin had dolled himself up early in the morning before leaving. He wanted to look good though his role was just a security guard. Everyone gathered in the living room and admired each other¡¯s attire. Meanwhile, wearing a frog-print pyjamas which was passed down from her mother, Carmen stood angrily at the corner facing the wall. Sophia thought it was inappropriate to bring a child to the show. Carmen¡¯s kidswear show was only happening in another two days, and so she had to go to school while the others attended fashion week. ¡°Come here, darling. Say goodbye to Daddy and Mommy,¡± Sophia said as she attempted to hug Carmen. Carmen reacted hugely and squealed, ¡°Don¡¯t touch me! I¡¯m mad!¡± Holding back hisughter, Michael caressed her hair and cooed, ¡°There, there. Daddy will bring you some nice food when wee back, alright?¡± By then, the stylists had arrived and started putting on makeup for the family and set their hairstyles. Atst, Cooper came down from his room and everyone could finally catch a glimpse of the precious outfit that he had been hiding. Everything he wore from head to toe was exclusively customized. On top of that, each detail of his attire was exquisitely crafted to depict to the extreme his status as the most attractive and richest man in the city. Cooper looked like a million bucks today, and everyone else seemed to pale inparison. Chapter 1266 Chapter 1266 Looking at his watch, belt, wallet and outfit, Cooper¡¯s attire was indeed too ostentatious today. Nevertheless, his outfit conformed to his aura, as it greatly disyed the virtues of a middle-aged handsome man. With this attire, people would hardly notice his age and only focused on his charm. To someone who was good-looking, age was merely an add-on. Cooper even requested for a styling, which made him more dazzling. His presence would surely leave his fellow males speechless and cause the females to fight to take pictures with him. Before departing, Harry wanted to give Carmen a cuddle. However, Carmen was still mad and refused to be hugged. After finishing dolling up, the family hopped into their respective cars and left to the venue. Sophia and Michael were in one car, Harry and Sarah were in the other while Linus, Cooper and Nate were in thest car. The happening of Ronney Fashion Week in Bayside City, Cethos was an event that was highly anticipated, especially by the fashionmunities around the world. Today, the entire Bayside City was star-studded. The eminent state guesthouse in Bayside City, which was used to receive foreign dignitaries in the past, was now opened up in conjunction with the fashion week to receive the socialites and celebrities in Bayside City. The guests who were invited to the event were truly the cream of Bayside society. Meanwhile, the cars had arrived at the state guesthouse and were waiting for the event to start. Sophia took out her phone to read the news, and she noticed some newsshes had already been published on the web. Indeed, there were a number of big shots who were going to show up today. A few members from Adams Family, including Bailey, Betsy and Tiffany, were present too, whereas Callum and Cade represented the Yards. Sophia nced toward the outside of the building. Though it was the dead of winter, there were still a number of fashionistas who wore very fewyers and were posing in the snow so that the photographers could take pictures of them. Other influencers and fashion bloggers who did not receive an invitation would pretend to walk around the entrance to attract those photographers who were simrly not invited. Everyone attempted to ride on the fashion week¡¯s coattails, hoping to grab a chance to be famous overnight. Well, there were indeed some individuals who went viral by doing so. Nheless, this group of influencers were truly dedicated as they were wearing very fewyers even in such cold weather. These fashionistas were indeed not scared of the cold! Even with the winter wear that she was dressed in, Sophia would not be able to resist the frost, and the thought of it was enough to leave her shivering. In fact, most winter clothes by the luxury brands were not designed to allow the wearer to be exposed in the cold for a prolonged period. After all, those who could afford these clothes would be those from the upper ss. As such, these winter clothes would be thinner than the usual ones as they were designed for the purpose of attending social events such as dances and meetings. After getting out of the car, the guests would still have to walk the red carpet before they could enter the building, after which they would not feel cold anymore. Even with the heating facilities at the red carpet area, it did not change the fact that it was freezing cold at the start of the year, and the snow had yet to melt. Soon, Sophia¡¯s car had arrived at the entrance of the venue. The red carpet had been rolled out and countless cameras were ready to capture the scene as Sophia was about to get out of the car. Comparing her stockings and high heels to the down jackets which the photographers were wearing, Sophia couldn¡¯t help but shiver. She was even getting a runny nose. It was indeed impressive that some female celebrities, despite being dressed provocatively, were still able to smile naturally at the photographers in coats. All of a sudden, a down jacket wasid on Sophia¡¯s shoulder as she felt a touch of warmth. ¡°Hubby, where did you get this from?¡± Putting on the coat, Sophia rubbed her nose as she stared at Michael with teary eyes. Michael tucked her in the coat and zipped it up. ¡°We¡¯ll walk straight into the building after leaving the car,¡± Michael said as he got out of the car. Sophia mumbled, ¡°How am I supposed to walk the red carpet with this down jacket?¡± But still, she did not want to remove the coat. Michael cooed, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± With that, he alighted from the car. ¡°Taylor Murray is here!¡± His appearance caused an uproar within the photographers as they quickly directed their cameras at Michael and took a series of snapshots of him. Besides being the only Cethosian actor who won the Oscar twice, he was also the husband of Sophia, one of the organizers of this fashion week at Bayside City. As such, everyone had expected him to show up at the event. After that, the crowd witnessed Taylor walking to the other side of the car, opening the door and reaching out his hand. Then, a fair and tender hand stretched out to take his. On both hands, there was a sparkling ring on the fourth finger. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Murray appeared together! Time to snap pictures! However, to their surprise, they only captured Sophia in her down jacket. Standing beside Taylor, this puffydy did not seem to match him. Sophia¡¯s stiletto heelsnded on the red carpet firmly after she got out of the car. An icy st of air hit her face while her legs were numb with cold. Nevertheless, she resisted the cold and put a warm smile on her face as she would not allow anyone to capture an unmorous picture of her. It wasn¡¯t that the fashionistas were unafraid of the cold, but they stood against it. All that the audience could see were the appealing pictures of these celebrities, but not the snot that was dripping out of their noses. The weather was so frigid that the bitter wind sneaked beneath Sophia¡¯s down jacket, and it felt as if countless icy-cold hands were caressing her body. Nheless, she could not show the slightest tinge of difort, and she disyed the perfect smile which she had been practicing for a long time. From head to toe, her entire body was freezing cold. This year, the winter in Bayside City was extraordinarily harsh, and it was negative ten degrees Celsius even after new year. With that, Sophia could barely feel her ears anymore. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She felt Michael¡¯s warm breath on her ears. It was so chilly that even Sophia¡¯s brain was nearly frozen as she prepared herself to walk against the piercing wind. ¡°Huh?¡± Before she could realize what had happened, her body fell backward into a pair of warm arms all of a sudden. Following that, she was lifted from the ground and could thereafter hear the howling wind and the crowd¡¯s exmation. When her feet touched the ground again, she was already in the building. With sufficient heating facilities, it was lively and warm inside the building. Sophia hade back to life the moment Michael took off her down jacket. It was only then did she realize that Michael had carried her into the building with lighting speed. On the first day of Ronney Fashion Week, no one managed to capture a perfect full-face picture of Taylor Murray, the best actor. All they had were blurry snapshots and pictures of him striding away with a woman in a coat in his arms. Conventionally, the red carpet was the celebrities¡¯ favourite spot and they would attempt to linger at that area until the security guards came to usher them into the venue. Michael was the only one who carried his wife and sprinted across the red carpet. ¡°It¡¯s so embarrassing!¡± N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Clenching her fist, Sophia hit Michael in his shoulder and thereafter buried her face into his chest. Michael gently cuddled her and gave her a reminder. ¡°There, there. Everyone¡¯s watching us!¡± Despite being avid for the warmth from Michael¡¯s body, Sophia was aware that they were public figures and excessive public disys of affection would be inappropriate. With that, she held Michael¡¯s hand and entered the show hall. Outside the building, Harry got out of the car and was left gaping when he saw Michael carrying Sophia and entering the venue in a hurry. What on earth is that? ¡°Old Wolf¡­¡± Tugging at his shirt, Sarah stared at Harry eagerly. ¡°Dad, we¡¯re going in first.¡± Linus said as he and Nate strided toward the building. Nate walked the red carpet in aposed manner. Despite his young age, he had been taking part in the family¡¯s business management and was gradually rising to fame. On the other hand, Cooper did not walk the red carpet and enter the building upon getting out of the car. Instead, he was waiting for someone¡­ Chapter 1267 Chapter 1267 Stanley came alone and found Cooper standing aside waiting for someone the moment he got out of the car. ¡°Grandpa Cooper, you¡¯re waiting for someone, huh?¡± Cooper casted a nce at Stanley. Dressed in a customized suit supplied by his godson, Stanley gave off an aura of a professional businessman. The suit was not evenunched in the market yet. Nevertheless, the beanie, which he wore to cover his frozen bald head inherited from the Fletchers, was an eyesore; he looked rather antic in it. ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Noticing that Sean was absent, Cooper subconsciously asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Sean?¡± Stanley shivered in the cold as he replied, ¡°He left early in the morning to get his hair done.¡± With that, he rushed into the building. His body trembled again when he saw the female celebrities walking the red carpet in provocative dresses. Indeed, these fashionistas are unafraid of the cold at all. Almost freezing to death, Stanley quickly crouched down and sneaked off while the other photographers were busy taking pictures of the celebrities¡¯ sexy boobs. As he was scurrying away, he identally stepped on a celebrity¡¯s dress and caused thedy to wail in shock. ¡°My apologies. I¡¯m sorry!¡± He made a casual remark and left without turning back. All of a sudden, he heard someone calling him from behind. ¡°Snow Fox!¡± Stanley turned around and caught a glimpse of a stunning face. However, the face disappeared instantly as the scene was too crowded and chaotic. The show had not started when he entered the show hall. Normally, these events would reserve some time for the guests to greet and take pictures with each other, and the actual show would onlyst around half an hour. There, Stanley bumped into several acquaintances. As one of the organizers, Sophia had deliberately arranged the seats in such a way that the guests could sit close to their acquaintances. After all, they were all from simr circles. Being in good spirits, Stanley was about to go greet his friends when someone tapped him on his shoulder from behind. ¡°Snow Fox!¡± He turned around and saw a beautiful, adorable girl calling out to him. She was probably an actress who was cast in some random shows as Stanley thought she looked rather familiar. Nevertheless, he could not recall her name. ¡°You are¡­ ?¡± Pleasantly, the girl introduced herself, ¡°Hi! My name is Christine Bishop. I¡¯m an actress, and I¡¯m a fan of yours!¡± Christine was stirred up as she met her idol. ¡°I used to be a gamingpetitionmentator in the past. I¡¯m an avid gamer of Swordsman Game and I¡¯ve been ying it for ten years! I once participated in your team audition, but s, after passing the technical tests and adding each other on Skype, you said I¡¯m not a suitable candidate because I was too young back then and I had to sit for my midterms, so I was eliminated.¡± ¡°Later when my college entrance exam ended, I represented Swordsman Game in the Esports World Championship and was awarded the first prize in the grouppetition.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an expert yer in the gamesunched by Plum Technology. Besides, I¡¯m currently the official streamer and spokesperson of several other games.¡± She rattled on about her background. A few momentster, Stanley finally recalled her. ¡°You¡¯re Chrissy!¡± He wouldn¡¯t know who Christine Bishop was but he had heard of the name ¡®Chrissy¡¯. She was a popr game streamer turned influencer due to herpetent skills and lovely appearance. As the spokesperson of numerous games, she was even invited to act in some TV series which were based on video games, and the shows had eventually achieved high ratings. As such, she had gone viral beyond the gamingmunity and was now a pretty well-known celebrity. Stanley had once yed against her in a game, and he had recognized her extraordinary skills. But unfortunately, he had not seen her in person before. Staring at her in shock, Stanley eximed, ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re doing pretty well! You¡¯ve even gotten an invitation to Ronney Fashion Week. Good job!¡± Cheeks flushing, Christine smiled bashfully. ¡°I¡¯m just lucky.¡± Then, she pulled out her phone and said, ¡°Mr. Snow Fox, let¡¯s take a picture together!¡± ¡°Sure! Also, let¡¯s meet online in the game if you¡¯re free tonight. It has been awhile since I yed against someone,¡± Stanley replied. ¡°Alright!¡± Just as the two had finished taking a couple of pictures, Sophia walked past them from the back and yanked off Stanley¡¯s beanie, which was a real eyesore. ¡°The beanie is too ugly. You should retake the pictures!¡± Seeing that Stanley was finally engaged in a talk with another girl, Sophia had no intention of interrupting them, but she just couldn¡¯t stand him being this old-fashioned. How could he take a picture wearing a beanie? ¡°Give it back to me!¡± Stanley yelled as he ran after Sophia for his knit cap. Nevertheless, he still turned around and said to Christine, ¡°I¡¯m going to my seat now! I¡¯ll see you tonight in the game!¡± Nodding, Christine blushed in excitement after having met her idol. Meanwhile, Stanley caught up with Sophia and snatched back his beanie. ¡°Give it back to me. Sean bought this for me! You¡¯re going to spoil it!¡± He grumbled while beating the dust off the beanie dearly as if its thread was going toe loose. Speechless, Sophia stared at him. What¡¯s wrong with this stupid dog? What¡¯s going on between him and Sean? Sean¡¯s lips are sealed while this guy here is ying dumb. They have even adopted a child and are staying together now. Why haven¡¯t they made any progress yet? Minutes ago, he was chatting enthusiastically with a girl but now, he is holding Sean¡¯s beanie so dearly. What on earth is on his mind?! ¡°Don¡¯t bother about this stupid dog anymore. Let¡¯s take a seat first,¡± Michael said as he gave Stanley a strange nce, then walked away with Sophia with his arm around her waist. Thinking that Sophia was being ridiculous, Stanley sat down and started scrolling on his phone. He texted Sean to ask when he was arriving but did not receive a reply even after a while. Scrolling through Twitter, Stanley searched for ¡®Chrissy¡¯ on a whim and found out that she just posted their selfie. Christine was among one of the few who expanded their career beyond the gamingmunity and had sessfully risen to fame in both fields. She was a popr star at the moment, and her fans activelymented on her Twitter posts. Without hesitating, Stanley liked their picture and followed her ount. It was only then did he realize she had started following his ount long ago. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. On the other hand, Michael received multiple calls moments after Stanley liked the post. ¡°Mikey, who is the girl in the picture with Stan?¡± ¡°How old is she? What is her job? What do her parents work as? Which stage are they at now? Have they kissed?¡± Michael was left speechless. He nced at Stanley who was sitting in the row behind him. Looking down at his phone, Stanley was totally unaware that the Fletchers were keeping him under close observation. Meanwhile, Michael looked around for Christine and found her near thest row. It seemed like she was just an insignificant celebrity and was not that well-known after all. Tickets for Ronney Fashion Week¡¯s productunching show were non-existent. One could only attend the event via invitations from the media, merchants, organizers or designers. An ordinary person would not be able to receive an invitation. Even so, there was a clearly established pecking order among the guests. The closer they sat to the stage, the greater was their status. Seated in the first row would be the bigshots in showbiz such as Nicole Walker, who was also an honorable patron of the luxury brands. The fashion industry¡¯s top designers like Russell Simmons and Kenny ir would secure their seats in the first row too. Besides, affluentdies in Bayside City, such as Sophia and Sarah, who could easily afford a whole collection of luxury items, would also be arranged to sit in the VIP row. Last but not least, the handbag carriers in human form, namely Michael and Harry, who apanied these affluentdies to the show, were also seated in the same row. Chapter 1268 Chapter 1268 The rows behind the VIP row consisted of celebrities, actors, buyers, fashion bloggers and magazine editors in all levels of fame. In the veryst row were famous inte influencers and self-media who fought their way in to take advantage of the exposure the red carpet would give to them. Their main tasks were posing for streetwear photos and hyping themselves up on social media, as well as shamelessly taking photos with famous fashion stars. By doing that, they could enhance their fashion image and increase their worth so that their endorsement fees would increase too. After boasting to Old Master Fletcher, Michael ended the call. He wondered if someone had told the girl that she was wearing a knockoff design. Christine was still immersed in the joy of meeting her idol, so she didn¡¯t realize that the atmosphere around her had be weirder. It had been difficult for her to get an invitation and as an actress who was far from being an A-list celebrity, she could only sit in thest row and even had to cooperate to pose for photos. Most importantly, not only did she have to shamelessly request to take photos with the people in the first row, but she also had to boast about her rtionship with that famous person online after she got back although she was reluctant. To be honest, it was extremely exhausting, but this trip was worth it since she met her idol whom she had admired for many years. Unexpectedly, she found that Stanley followed her back on Twitter shortly after she posted the selfie. She was over the moon that all her dreams came true today. Beside her sat many D-list celebrities like her, who were also here to take advantage of the benefits of attending the red carpet. Those who were fluent in English and had great professional skills alreadyThis belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. went to get a photo with famous figures in the first row while the rest of them, who didn¡¯t know English, were left in thest row to stare at them in jealousy. Seeing that Christine was giggling at her phone, they couldn¡¯t be more jealous that she managed to get a photo with Stanley, who was the CEO of Plum Technology. They thought that she was punching above her weight. ¡°What a courageous woman. She should¡¯ve looked at herself in the mirror first!¡± ¡°A wealthy dandy like Mr. Fletcher must have countless people chasing him. If he were to marry a celebrity, an A-lister like Miss Bethany would be a good choice. Why would he be interested in an inte celebrity who is not even that famous?¡± ¡°After all, he¡¯s the president of a listedpany, and I heard that he¡¯s also Taylor¡¯s nephew. That means he is a legitimate Fletcher. How can a mere online influencer be a match for him?¡± Christine knew that they were gossiping about her and it ruined her mood. Bowing her head, she pretended to scroll on her phone but the truth was, she felt extremely down-hearted. But the next second, she cast all her negative emotions aside and thought, Geez, I mustn¡¯t get beyond myself and overthink just because my idol took a picture with me! Suddenly, the group of D-list celebrities looked in a certain direction simultaneously and gasped, ¡°Wow, look at that woman. She¡¯s so tall!¡± ¡°She also has an extraordinary temperament!¡± ¡°She must be one of the models that will walk the runway tonight. Look!¡± Christine looked in that direction eagerly as well and saw a tall woman in a red dress walk in from outside. They could only see a slender and graceful back, but not her front. With her height of 1.8 meters, those eye-catching long legs were probably at least 1.2 meters, which was incredible. Even her back seemed so alluring, so she must be even more charming if they saw her from the front! When the woman in the red dress appeared, everyone was amazed. Even many of the famous figures in the front rows turned to look at her. However, that woman walked straight to the second row and gently ced her hand on Stanley¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It turns out she¡¯s Mr. Fletcher¡¯s partner!¡± ¡°Look at her graceful bearings! How amazing. She¡¯s obviously not from our profession and she must be a youngdy from a wealthy family or a top-notch international model, at least!¡± ¡°A handsome and rich man like Mr. Fletcher should indeed have a nobledy like her as a partner.¡± The group of D-list celebrities started to gossip in jealousy again. On the other hand, Christine pursed her lips while looking at the woman in the red dress while a tinge of envy and gloominess could be seen in her eyes. In the front row, Stanley, who felt down-hearted because Sean hadn¡¯t appeared, suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder. Looking up in surprise, his sadness and anxiousness disappeared in a split second when he saw the tall woman in the red dress standing in front of him. She had fiery red lips and a pair of mesmerizing deep-set eyes, and she looked alluring and sexy. Stanley was first confused but the next second, he gasped in astonishment. ¡°Sean!¡± In a woman¡¯s dress, Sean tilted his head to the side and smiled while saying, ¡°Stan, excuse me, please!¡± It was only then did Stanleye back to his senses and move to the side, freeing up a seat so that Sean could sit beside him. At the same time, he couldn¡¯t stop gawking at Sean. He didn¡¯t expect that Sean would dress up in a woman¡¯s attire today! In the front row, Sophia kept turning back too, amazed at how beautiful that dress looked on Sean. After Sean and Stanley settled down, Stanley got his hands all over him while praising, ¡°You¡¯re so daring to wear such a thin dress. Bro, you¡¯re impressive! By the way, how did you squeeze into such a tiny dress? That¡¯s so cool!¡± Sophia rolled her eyes. Oh lord, what an unromantic fool! Sean had dressed up splendidly today, but he didn¡¯t expect to receive such brotherly praise from Stanley, which left him disappointed and depressed. Since the show hadn¡¯t started, he took out his phone and scrolled through Twitter. Suddenly, he came across a photo posted by an influencer that Stanley had liked. In that photo, Stanley was with the girl from earlier. Noticing that Sean was looking at that photo, Stanley bragged proudly, ¡°A girl struck up a conversation with me just now. How cool is that? Look, that girl is sitting behind us. She¡¯s an actress who was once an Esports streamer. In the past, we¡¯ve even yed against her in games. Look, that¡¯s her! She must have over-edited her photo because she doesn¡¯t look like that in real life. She¡¯s much prettier in real life! In the past when she was still a streamer, she requested topete against me. I thought she was a guy so Ipletely knocked her out in the game. I heard that she cried during her streams because of that! Besides that, she¡¯s the ambassador of a few games from ourpany and even sang a game theme song. Isn¡¯t she impressive? She can act, sing and y games. I¡¯ll introduce her to youter!¡± Seemingly to have realized something, Sean stared nkly ahead for a few seconds before slowly turning his head to nce at the girl, whom Stanley couldn¡¯t stop talking about. She had big eyes and white teeth. Undeniably, she was stunning. When he turned back around, the dejection in his eyes seemed to have disappeared and he forced a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s invite her to y games together at night then!¡± Upon hearing their conversation, Sophia had the urge to take out a bunch of lipsticks from her bag and throw it at that fool! She also couldn¡¯t help but turn back to look at that girl from time to time. Indeed, she was pretty with her big, cheerful eyes. She thought, It might be good if Stanley, that fool, got together with the girl. By that time, Sean would give up and leave that idiot. He¡¯ll surely find a better person in the future. They had always been by each other ever since they were young. In the past, Sean grew up wearing female attires with Stanley. When they became adults, he changed into a suit and worked hard with Stanley to build their business. They had been together as they changed from wearing nappies to school uniforms, and from school uniforms to suits. It had been so many years. Sean couldn¡¯t stop turning back to look at that girl too. In his mind, he questioned, Why am I not a girl? Chapter 1269 Chapter 1269 The show hadn¡¯t started and guests were arriving one after another. Soon, a famous actress dressed in branded clothes came in and she sat in the first row. Judging from her fluent English, she seemed to have a powerful public rtion force as her backing. In addition, she seemed to have great professional skills since she got along with the top-notch celebrities and took photos with them as soon as she arrived. However, that actress didn¡¯t dare to approach Michael and to even give him a nce. At the side, Sarah saw that actress and whispered in Sophia¡¯s ear, ¡°That¡¯s Bethany, the current superstar. She¡¯s extremely wicked and in the past, she fabricated stories about Taylor molesting her during the filming of a movie. When the truth came out, she didn¡¯t even apologize, causing Taylor to be criticized for a long time. Now, someone decided to make her famous, so she rose to fame in just the blink of an eye. Even without any acting skills, she became an A-lister. Besides, her fans are just as wicked. They¡¯ll pick fights with Harry¡¯s fans whenever their opinions sh.¡± Sophia gave the actress who was sitting beside Nicole a few nces. Yet, she didn¡¯t dare to talk to her. She indeed looked alluring, but she had ordinary features that weremonly seen on televisions. Compared to Nicole¡¯s outstanding features, she waspletely outshone. That¡¯s her? Michael wouldn¡¯t even be the least bit interested in molesting her! N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Suddenly, Sophia felt that her clothes seemed familiar. Upon closer observation, she realized that she was wearing the exact same dress as the girl who talked to Stanley earlier. They were wearing the same outfit! Wearing the same outfit at this kind of big-scale fashion event would definitely be extremely embarrassing to both parties, especially to the one who wore it worse. Obviously, that girl from earlier didn¡¯t look as stunning as Bethany. Sophia prayed for that girl to remain unnoticed by Bethany. However, things didn¡¯t turn out ording to her wish because the next second, the group of D-list celebrities who were sitting in thest row swarmed up to tter Bethany. Among them, the girl wearing the same clothes was pushed toward Bethany too and she looked horrified. It seemed like she had realized what would happen next. Christine had been pushed by the others toward Bethany. They wore the same outfit but obviously, Bethany wore it better and looked more majestic. After all, she had been put through the mill in the entertainment industry for years so naturally, she had cultivated her confidence and could control her aura perfectly. Therefore, a newbie like Christine was no match for Bethany. Besides, Bethany was the ambassador in Cethos of a luxury brand under Ronney Group, so she was seated in the first row today. On top of that, several famous figures had asked for selfies with her as soon as she arrived, so she definitely had the confidence. When Sophia got nearer to them, she realized that Christine wasn¡¯t wearing genuine branded clothes. There were traces of alterations and the quality was a far cry from the genuine ones. In the usual days, it could deceive the eyes ofymen, but when it was worn in front of the experts today, it was only natural that everyone noticed it was a knock-off, not to mention when it was worn next to a genuine one. Evidently, Christine looked horrible like a bumpkin standing in front of a princess. On the other hand, Bethany showed no signs of surprise and even questioned loudly, ¡°Christine, your clothes must be a knock-off, aren¡¯t they? How can you wear a fake Ronney dress when it¡¯s Ronney¡¯s press conference today? How ridiculous!¡± As a newbie, Christine had never experienced this kind of situation, so she waspletely stunned. Bowing her head and looking at her clothes, she finally realized that she was wearing a knock-off. No wonder it had an unpleasant smell when it was handed to her and didn¡¯t fit her. Everyone stared at Christine in suspicion and contempt, and this was the exact moment that the other D-list celebrities were waiting for. At this moment, they wereughing smugly as Christine made a fool of herself. ¡°I-I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± Terrified, Christine took a few steps backward. ¡°The dress was given to me by the company. I didn¡¯t know that it was a knock-off. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± With great disgust, Bethany sized her up. ¡°What an embarrassment. You should excuse yourself from here!¡± However, Christine didn¡¯t dare to leave now because this was a task from herpany. She had to watch the entire show and get a few photos with the famous figures so that she could be hired in many blockbuster films in the future. The group of D-list celebrities then shouted at Christine, ¡°Get out now. Didn¡¯t you hear what Bethany said? Don¡¯t make a fool of yourself here anymore!¡± ¡°This is Ronney¡¯s new productunching ceremony. How can you wear a fake Ronney dress? What are you trying to do? Are you trying to ruin this event?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the security? Someone, chase this woman out! She¡¯s wearing a fake!¡± The group of people were pushing and shoving her. At the same time, someone even shouted for the security. On the other hand, the other people from the fashion industry turned a blind eye to this commotion and no one tried to stop it. After all, wearing a fake was one of the biggest taboos in the fashion industry. Being pressured, Christine choked up and tears rolled down her face. Some media even took the opportunity to snap ugly photos of her. At fashion week, which was crowded by a legion of fashion figures, wearing imitation clothes was a crime that was the most detested by fashion figures and the offender might be shut out from the fashion industry forever. She wouldn¡¯t receive any endorsement jobs from now on and might even be thrown out of this venue a momentter. Michael witnessed this incident from the side but he wasn¡¯t nning to interfere. He knew that this was amon trick in the entertainment industry and it seemed like Christine had offended Bethany, so Bethany was deliberating picking fights with her. Since the start of this industry, all kinds of cunning tricks had appeared one after another. Evidently, Christine was deceived because normally, these not-so-famous celebrities couldn¡¯t afford high-quality, tailor-made branded gowns, which could only be worn one time. Their agency definitely wouldn¡¯t buy it for them either. After all, a dress like that would cost over a hundred thousand to ten million. While famous actors could rent it from the brands, the D-listers didn¡¯t have that privilege and could only rent it from costumepanies. Sophia once sold a rack of gowns which she wore in the past to earn money. To her surprise, just a few dayster, she saw a group of female celebrities repeatedly wearing her gowns to all kinds of events. It was only then did she realize that the gowns were highly sought after. Previously, an actress was reported to be utterly embarrassed for wearing a high-quality imitation. Truth was, she was fooled by the costumepany. By now, many people had noticed themotion, including Sean. He witnessed how Christine was besieged by the crowd and how helpless she was as she cried. Since they had yed games together in the past, he didn¡¯t want to turn a blind eye. Therefore, he deliberately nudged Stanley, who was scrolling on his phone beside him, and said, ¡°Stan, look. Christine is being bullied. You should save her.¡± Stanley lifted his head and looked in that direction. It¡¯s Bethany, that b*tch, again! Stanley was extremely annoyed at Bethany, who had poor acting skills and horrible temper but demanded a high pay. In the past, when she was invited to be the ambassador of their game, she even acted arrogantly and unreasonably at the scene. During prime time, she and Harry would appear in every channel on the television. Stanley also knew that she had made up the story of being molested on the film set, which caused Michael to be criticized and cursed. In the end, she even pretended to be cute and innocent in order to dodge the me. Since Sophia hated Bethany the most, she became Bethany¡¯s professional hater and even specially created another ount on social media to curse Bethany every day. Sometimes, when she wasn¡¯t satisfied with cursing Bethany alone, she would instruct Stanley and Sean to join her and this went on for many years. How dare Bethany bully an introverted gamer? This is unforgivable! Christine was a newbie but since she had umted a lot of fans from being a streamer in the past and was even a champion in the international teampetition, her fame skyrocketed when she debuted as an actress in a drama. On top of that, she had once reced Bethany in an endorsement, which Bethany was looking forward to. Since then, she was hated by many and countless people tried to suppress her. Step by step, Christine shrank backward but the taunts and mockeries didn¡¯t stop. At that moment, she wished she could stay at home and y games. She should¡¯ve continued her career as a skillful Esports streamer. In the games, she was the king and she could even make a living by ying games while streaming. Most importantly, she would be living a carefree life. If she hadn¡¯te to Bayside City to develop her career, she wouldn¡¯t have had to experience these frustrating and cunning fights. Moving her feet backward, she nned to flee. Unexpectedly, a man¡¯s voice suddenly rang. ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn¡¯t Miss Bethany who was molested a few years ago!¡± Chapter 1270 Chapter 1270 Stanley didn¡¯t want to scold a woman, but this woman was getting on his nerves so he decided to publicly bully her. Upon hearing the word ¡®molested¡¯, Bethany¡¯s smugness immediately disappeared. That was her taboo, which involved her embarrassing past that even she found it hard to talk about. N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Stanley deliberately raised his voice while saying, ¡°A few years ago, Bethany was molested. I wonder if the culprit has been captured after so many years. Do you need me to report that incident to the police for you?¡± Those who knew the truth showed an intriguing smile, including Michael who was at the side. Even Sophia smiled cheerfully because she knew what had happened back then. As someone who bore grudges, not only did she remember it, but she even specially recorded her grudges in a notebook. In that notebook, she listed down all the celebrities that had secretly criticized Michael. Back then when Bethany said that she was being threatened and led everyone to believe that Michael was the culprit, it caused a huge ssh. Half of the celebrities in the entertainment industry stood out to support her, moring to fight against evil forces and thetent rules involving sex. As a result, Michael was criticised and cursed for a long time. In the end, she glossed over that incident by saying it wasn¡¯t Michael. She didn¡¯t even apologize nor rify it. Hence, up till now, some people on the inte were still insinuating that Michael had molested a new actress before, and some even said that he had forced Bethany to rify the incident. After all, Michael was a significant figure whereas she was just a newbie with a weak foundation back then. Therefore, she didn¡¯t dare to oppose the evil forces. Even worse, her fans described Michael as an unmentionable devil from an evil force. These few years, Bethany was doing great and even became Ronney¡¯s new ambassador this year. She managed to clear her past records but those who remembered it would engrave it in their mind. When that incident was brought up now, Bethany¡¯s expression turned grave. She then fiercely shot daggers at Stanley, who had poked his nose in her business, before averting her gaze to Michael subconsciously. Coincidently, Michael nced back at her at the same time and at that moment, an icy beam appeared in his eyes, which immediately made Bethany shrink. Even so, she was determined to make a fuss today because if she failed to make a hugemotion, she wouldn¡¯t be rewarded! ¡°Mr. Fletcher, this incident has nothing to do with you. I advise you not to interfere in this matter.¡± Bethany forced a smile. When Stanley stood up for her, Christine seemed like she had finally found her backing and subconsciously hid behind him. Stanley replied, ¡°Why is it none of my business? She¡¯s my friend, whom I have yed games with for many years. I will definitely interfere in this matter since you¡¯re bullying my friend!¡± He was actually answering perfunctorily but little did he know, his words instantly lit up Christine¡¯ s eyes, who was hiding behind him. At the same time, a string in her heart was strummed. With a snort, Bethany raised her voice and said, ¡°So she¡¯s your friend! Mr. Stanley, you must be extremely proud to have a friend who wears fake designer dresses to fashion week. Doesn¡¯t she know that wearing high-quality imitations to this kind of event is a humiliation to the entire fashion industry? May I ask all of you toment on this? Does someone who wears a fake designer dress deserve to attend fashion week?¡± Christine couldn¡¯t stop sobbing and her tears even messed up her makeup. Obviously, Stanley was no match for Bethany in a woman¡¯s fight. Therefore, Christine said softly to him from behind, ¡°Mr. Snow Fox, forget it. It¡¯s my fault anyway. Let¡¯s not make a fuss¡­¡± She had decided to leave even if she had to abandon the task given to her by herpany. Even so, she was over the moon that Stanley supported her this time, and she would cherish it for years. Seeing that Stanley lost the argument, Sophia, who was at the side, stood up and approached Christine to inspect her clothes. She then came to a conclusion that it was indeed a high-quality imitation, which waspletely outshone by the genuine one. However, this event was the fruit of her and Lucy¡¯s painstaking effort, so she didn¡¯t want any unpleasant incident to ruin it. Therefore, she tried to mediate the dispute. ¡°Judging from the quality of the clothes¡­ Hmm¡­ I know! This is made by a studio that specially produces high-quality imitations. Not only are their products high-quality, but it even costs the same as the genuine one. Most importantly, it has a receipt so it can easily be confused with the real one. Young girl, you should be more careful when you buy clothes next time. Even if they cost the same, they might not be genuine.¡± Christine was stunned for a while before it dawned on her that Sophia was saving her from an awkward situation. Her clothes were actually rented by her agency from a costumepany. Naturally, she wasn¡¯t the one who picked the clothes, but when her agency rented a high-quality imitation, she was the one who would be publicly humiliated. Sadly, she didn¡¯t have the chance to exin herself so she could only swallow her grievance. She sobbed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know. My agency picked these clothes for me¡­¡± Sophia took the opportunity to say, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Don¡¯t be sad. Nowadays, high-quality imitations are everywhere, and you were just a victim.¡± Upon hearing Sophia¡¯s words, the other people in the fashion industry chimed in to express their disappointment and destest toward high-quality imitations. They even began to pity this young girl since she was just a victim, who wasn¡¯t aware that her clothes were imitations and wore it to this event. Finally, this dispute was settled. Bethany shot daggers at Sophia, only to receive a re from Sophia in return. For some reason, Sophia felt that there was something fishy in Bethany¡¯s re. Is it such a big deal that I ruined her act of suppressing herpetitor? Does she have to feel so angry that her eyes be bloodshot? She¡¯s acting like her parents were murdered and her loved ones were abused! Perhaps there was an inside story to that which she wasn¡¯t aware of, and it so happened that she got involved. However, she had put in a lot of effort to bring about today¡¯s fashion week, so she wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to ruin the cheerful atmosphere. Even if there was an inside story, she had to ruin it because she wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to make a ruckus during her event! No matter how unhappy Bethany was, the act came to a close so she could only return to her seat and continue requesting for a photo with those significant figures from the first row. On the other hand, the other D-list celebrities retreated as well after Edwards Group and Plum Technology interfered in this matter because they didn¡¯t dare to get involved in thatmotion. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Christine repeatedly thanked Sophia. Seeing that Christine¡¯s clothes were imitations and her makeup was ruined, Sophia was worried that someone would take photos of her, which might taint her event¡¯s reputation. Therefore, she suggested, ¡°Your clothes are indeed unsightly. Why don¡¯t you follow my assistant backstage? She¡¯ll get a dress for you to change into and you can fix your makeup.¡± Today, the state guesthouse was rented by Ronney Group for the morning while Edwards Group rented the venue for the evening. Since all the clothes had arrived at the venue, they had plenty of clothes. Christine immediately waved her hands and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll be going now!¡± Sophia bet that it must be extremely tough for a young girl like Christine to achieve what she had today by ying games. Besides, she must have gone through hardships to get the invitation and since someone gave her the invitation, there must be numerous tasks that she needed toplete. It would be bad if she left just like that. Besides, she was such a punctilious girl. Therefore, Sophia said, ¡°You were probably not invited by the brands. Well, that¡¯s actually a good thing because we have some clothes from Edwards that aren¡¯t avable yet in the market. I¡¯m sure you understand that since we¡¯re a local brand that has just been established, we¡¯re not as famous as Ronney Group. We aren¡¯t well- known so we hope that celebrities like you can help us advertise our brand. I know that we need to pay the celebrities for their endorsement fee, but I¡¯m hoping that you¡¯ll wear our clothes to take some photos and post it on Twitter to advertise it as an appreciation to me since I got you out of a fix just now. In return, I¡¯ll give you the clothes for free as your endorsement fee.¡± Considering that, Christine felt that Sophia¡¯s suggestion was reasonable. By doing that, she could help Sophia and repay her kindness. Therefore, she stopped standing on ceremony and agreed enthusiastically. After that, she followed Sophia¡¯s assistant backstage so that she could change her clothes. Finally, themotion was settled so Sophia sat down and talked to Michael while waiting for the show to begin. Suddenly, she noticed Callum, who was not far away, winking at her. Therefore, she took out her phone from her bag, only to find a message from Callum. ¡®Bethany ate ¡®sandwiches¡¯ with my brother so you should put your guard up.¡¯ Chapter 1271 Chapter 1271 After reading the message, Sophia took a peep at Bethany. Bethany and that pair of no good perverts have done the ¡®sandwich¡¯ before? She remembered what Sarah just said about Bethany being favored, and that she had signed a contract with Ryan and Henry to be a spokesperson for Ronney Group. So, was she both Ryan and Henry¡¯s woman? A sense of foreboding filled her heart and she felt that something bad was about to happen! Thinking closely of what had happened earlier, she felt that there were a lot of things that weren¡¯t right. If it was just a matter of a senior wanting to kick their junior off their pedestal, there were plenty of chances, so why choose to do it today? On an asion like today, she didn¡¯t even have enough time to take photos, yet an A-lister like her would waste her time on a personal catfight with a minor Inte celebrity? Sophia wasn¡¯t sure if she was on the right track, but this was still weird. Michael, who was beside her, noticed that something was off too. He quickly contacted Hale. ¡°Send two people over here and have them keep an eye on Bethany. Watch her every move.¡± ¡°Have Christine watched closely as well,¡± Sophia added. That youngdy looked so innocent, but who knew what she had up her sleeves? After Hale received the order, he immediately sent people to watch them. Meanwhile, Bethany took the chance to take pictures with everyone everywhere before the show started. She looked very busy. Backstage, Hale personally kept a watch on Christine himself. A tiny drone carrying a pinhole camera was flying around, sending the surveince data obtained to the main console in real time. There were people watching the influencer¡¯s every move from behind her too. The clothes under the JNS Group¡¯s brands and the materials needed for the show had been delivered in advance to the venue, and it filled up quite a few rooms. After Ronney¡¯s show was over, it would be their turn to go on stage. Sophia¡¯s assistant brought Christine to meet Russell Simmons¡¯s daughter, Chloe Simmons, to let her pick a fitted dress for Christine, then sent her to a guest room to get changed. The assistant instructed her to quickly get ready before the opening of the fashion show before leaving. Hale wasn¡¯t interested in watching her get changed, but not long after Christine entered the room and the assistant left, someone went to the door sneakily¡­ Soon, Michael received a call from Hale. After answering the call, Michael¡¯s expression changed. With a grim look, he tapped on the Bluetooth earphone and ended the call. ¡°What did he say?¡± Seeing the heavy look on Michael¡¯s face, Sophia felt her heart skip a beat and she quickly asked him. Don¡¯t tell me something bad really did happen! Michael seemed to sneer and said, ¡°If you and Stan didn¡¯t intervene earlier, Christine would have been chased out of the venue by the fashionistas because of the knock-off gown she was wearing. Humiliated, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to ept the grievance in her heart and would have climbed to the top of the state guesthouse andmitted suicide, falling to her death on the red carpet right before everyone.¡± Sophia¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief after hearing this. An icy chill rushed through her body. Christine wore a knock-off here today. If no one had intervened, she might really have been kicked out and the news would soon spread. She might really have jumped off the building because she couldn¡¯t bear the results¡­ Actually, it didn¡¯t matter if she could handle it or not because the other party needed her to die during fashion week. It would be best if she jumped off from the state guesthouse and fell to her death on the red carpet. At that moment, celebrities from all over the world and Bayside City would be walking on the red carpet. Various stars and models would be duking it out on the red carpet while the camera lenses of countless media would be aimed toward that space. And when the event was at its peak, suddenly, a girl would fall from the sky andnd right on the red carpet. Her body would break like a watermelon and blood would stter everywhere on the ground¡­ Sophia didn¡¯t dare to picture that scene. Content ? provided by N?velDrama.Org. The fashion week would definitely be discontinued, and the guests would surely be frightened to death. Who would still dare toe and watch the show? Although the venue was warm, she felt like she was being sshed by a bucket of ice cold water. If Stanley just stood by and watched earlier and she didn¡¯t poke her nose in, by now, Christine would¡¯ve jumped off the building andmitted suicide because she was chased out of the event! Michael held her and said, ¡°Alright, it¡¯s okay now. Thanks to you and Stan, their n was disrupted. Christine wasn¡¯t chased out, so they had to send someone to her room to continue their n, but they were caught by Hale. God is looking after you, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± It was only then that Sophia got over her fear, and she red viciously at Bethany. Sophia knew that Bethany definitely wasn¡¯t the person behind all this. She was just a star who wished she could go to as many fashion weeks as possible to be in the spotlight. It seemed that this was nned by Ryan and Henry. They would rather ruin the whole fashion week than to have Sophia ride their wave. She clenched her fists so tightly under her sleeves that she broke the fake fingernails she had attached to her nails. ¡°Hand that person over to Lucy and send two more people over to watch Christine. We can¡¯t let them get another chance to try something.¡± At that moment, Lucy had her hands full backstage. Unexpectedly, when Lucy learned of this news, she became so angry that she almost exploded in rage. That pair of trash had really gone insane trying to ruin fashion week! ¡°Lock him up temporarily. We¡¯ll hand them together to Ronney Group and let them deal with this themselves!¡± Lucy ordered viciously. She really didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with Ronney Group. The same went for that pair of b*stards too! It was going to be over very soon. After shepleted her mission for this fashion week, everything woulde to an end. Ronney Group would have to solve their problems on their own! After a while, Christine came back in a change of clothes. Her dress was picked by Russell¡¯s daughter, Chloe. As expected from the daughter of a fashionista, she had great fashion sense. The dress she picked suited Christine perfectly. It was a refreshing one- piece dress in pink which was mboyant but not without elegance, yet had the cuteness of a young girl and suited Christine¡¯s sweet temperament well. The dress was designed by Kenny¡¯s team and was this year¡¯stest trend. It looked gorgeous on her. Christine had also touched up her make-up. When she walked out, the dress caught the attention of many grande dames and fashion bloggers at once. They all inquired about the designer of this dress. When they learned it was Kenny¡¯s work, they paid even closer attention to it. Sophia was very surprised by this oue too. After a while, Sean learnt about the rming things that had happened. Seeing Christine walk out again, he watched as she shined with envious eyes. How great it is to be a girl. They can wear whatever clothes they like! He looked over to Stanley who was talking to Nate, then looked at Christine who was all dressed up and reminded Stanley, ¡°Look, Chrissy is out again. There¡¯s definitely going to be people who will try to harm her and ruin fashion week. You should keep an eye on her.¡± Stanley immediately grew alert. Sean continued, ¡°Let¡¯s take her to have some photos with the crowd. We can promote Aunt¡¯s dress at the same time.¡± Stanley thought it was a great idea too and agreed immediately. He took the initiative to help Christine take pictures with a few famous fashionistas. Sophia turned around to look at Sean. Behind his perfect smile, she saw sadness. Was he ready to let go of Stanleypletely and find the right girl for him? Chapter 1272 Chapter 1272 When Christine found out that her idol actually took the initiative to bring her to take photos with the heavy hitters, she was so excited that her speech became incoherent. ¡°R-Really? That would trouble you too much! I-I can do it on my own.¡± Herpany had asked her to take more pictures with big shots during the event and post them on Twitter to raise her poprity, but she didn¡¯t know even a single one of them and had no one to take her around to get to know them. She also had no assistant that could help her to take the pictures. Besides that, they had even sent her a knock-off dress. It seemed that they purposely wanted to take her down. Stanley didn¡¯t mind. ¡°Oh, we are all loser otakus who y games. We should help each other out. Come, I¡¯ll introduce you to them.¡± Sean watched as they both walked in front of him. He followed them behind with a camera and even gave Stanley a reminder. ¡°Stan, you two should exchange phone numbers and add each other on Messenger so it¡¯ll be easier to send pictures.¡± Stanley was a little slow on the uptake. Catching on, he quickly exchanged phone numbers with Christine and added each other on Messenger. After they exchanged contacts, Stanley brought Christine along to take pictures with someone and introduce her to some big shots along the way. ¡°Uncle Michael, Aunt,e here and take a picture together. Uncle Harry,e closer. Right, leave the center to the miss.¡± ¡°Nate,e here. Take a picture with this young miss. You need to hold hands and look like you guys are close.¡± ¡°Nicole, Uncle Sam, Linus! Come take a picture!¡± ¡­¡­ When Bethany and the other D-listers saw that Christine was able to chat and take pictures with a group of fashionistas and had Stanley by her side, they were all extremely jealous. Bethany was fuming. Sh*t, why is nothing happening yet? Isn¡¯t this b*tch supposed to be dead by now?! She had always wanted to get rid of Christine, and it so happened that her financial backer wanted her to make a scene at fashion week. She was nning to use the opportunity to get rid of her and cause some trouble at the same time. They could have killed two birds with one stone if the n had not been messed up by someone else unexpectedly! After the photo session, Christine was overjoyed. She had also used the opportunity to get to know a lot of fashionistas and added them on Messenger too. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Snow Fox!¡± Christine blushed. She was still used to calling his username in the game. Stanley didn¡¯t mind and replied, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s no big deal, so don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll send you the pictures as soon as possible so that you can report back.¡± He really didn¡¯t mind it at all and forgot about it after a while, but Christine¡¯s eyes were shining and she had butterflies in her belly. Sean, who was not far away, looked at them. There was sadness in his eyes, but it was filled with blessings too¡­ Sophia had added Christine on Messenger too and used the opportunity to check on her circle of friends. Sophia saw the bunch of beautiful photos she just posted that she took with her phone earlier. Because both parties didn¡¯t interact much before, they didn¡¯t have many mutual friends. Besides, Messenger only allowed the likes andments of mutual friends to be seen, so she couldn¡¯t see her likes. She swiped her finger and took a few more looks, thinking that maybe she and Stanley could develop their rtionship. As his aunt, she went through her profile and inspected it closely. Unexpectedly, she saw a like andment. She clicked it and found that it was actually from Maddie. Maddie and Christine actually knew each other! She quickly sent Maddie an inquiry and Maddie replied very quickly. ¡°Oh, she is a distant cousin of mine from my hometown. She came to Bayside City to pursue her career alone and she didn¡¯t know anyone, so my rtives back home asked me to take care of her. Her invitation for this fashion week was from mypany too! You don¡¯t have to mind her, just let her explore on her own. She¡¯s already all grown up and isn¡¯t a kid anymore.¡± Sophia was left speechless. Christine was actually Maddie¡¯s distant rtive, yet she had never heard Maddie mention about her before. But Maddie sure was punctilious. She never told her rtives back in her hometown about life with her husband in Bayside City, and she had never brought her rtives to the Fletcher Residence too. Her family really thought that she had married a paratrooper and lived in a basement in Beijing. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. It wasn¡¯t because she thought that her rtives were embarrassing, but because if her rtives knew about the Fletcher Family, they would start to ask Joel for help with all of their family matters, such as helping an older brother, uncle or younger brother get married, or helping them look for a job. They would definitely bother Joel and she didn¡¯t want to cause him trouble. Even though she knew that Sophia and Michael had a lot of resources at their fingertips, and that they could arrange everything for her if she asked for it, she still stayed silent. However, that was in line with Maddie¡¯s style. She started off as an intern editor in a newspaper and worked there for many years. She had worked her way up, not letting Joel put in a good word for her and without using any of the Fletcher Family¡¯s resources either. Seeing how Christine wore a knock-off dress to the fashion show, it seemed that she was being ostracized by herpany. Her team also didn¡¯t seem to care about her at all. Maddie really was careless, letting a youngdy wander in Beijing by herself without worrying. What was more, she was letting her wander in the ruthless and cruel world of entertainment. If she hadn¡¯t intervened out of kindness, Christine would have been a dead person by now! Sophia looked at Christine and said to her assistant, ¡°Contact Christine¡¯s agency. She has a good temperament. She will be our spokesperson for the next season.¡± A storm was prevented just like that, but Sophia still kept her guard up. This matter wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed. If they wanted to make such a big scene, they would need a lot of manpower and would have needed to start nning a long time ago. If she hadn¡¯t intervened today, they probably would have seeded already. She really didn¡¯t expect the other party to be so bold that they would kill someone at such a grand fashion show. But that fitted the style of that pair of twin brothers who weren¡¯t afraid of anything. After handling the matter, Sophia lifted her head and started looking everywhere for Cooper. ¡°Huh, where¡¯s dad?¡± Cooper still hadn¡¯t appeared, and Anna didn¡¯t show up either. He was probably waiting for Anna outside. Sophia looked over to Callum and saw him staring at his phone. It seemed that he had received some grim news. Outside the venue, Cooper had already been waiting for quite a while. He checked on his watch from time to time. The show is about to start. Why is Anna not here yet? Did something happen? Just then, a car stopped and Daniel got out of it gracefully. He immediately saw Cooper who was still waiting foolishly and greeted him. ¡°Hey, Mr. Cooper! Are you waiting for someone?¡± Cooper responded with a grunt. Daniel presented his invitation while saying, ¡°I think I saw Ronney¡¯s car right behind me just now.¡± Cooper perked up immediately. He pulled himself together, tidied up his attire and prepared to wee Anna in his best condition. Daniel smiled. Geez¡­ The cold Cooper was no different to a little boy when he fell in love. Daniel walked over to the red carpet and entered the venue. Just when he was about to greet an acquaintance, he suddenly saw a blue dress shing past him. In that instant, Daniel¡¯s eyes widened. An attractive figure was reflected in his eyes. ¡°Alice, is that you¡­?¡± Alice turned her head and looked back. Her eyes were calm, as was her smile. She controlled her emotions perfectly. ¡°Daddy!¡± Casper suddenly appeared and ran toward Daniel joyfully. ¡­¡­ Cooper, who was at the door, finally saw Ronney Group¡¯s car arrive. He happily took two steps forward, ready to wee Anna, but he didn¡¯t expect that when the car door opened, the first thing to step on the ground would be a pair of leather shoes for men¡­ Chapter 1273 Chapter 1273 Cooper, who was in high spirits, paused when he saw that pair of men¡¯s leather shoes. Taken completely aback, his pupils shrank when he saw Jordan get out of the car. Jordan was dressed in a men¡¯s custom fall/winter outfit, looking domineering and unfathomable. After he got out of the car, he instantly turned around, bent down slightly and grabbed Anna¡¯s hand, helping her out of the car. Anna was wearing a pair of white gloves. She wore a creamy white outfit today, almost bing one with the snow around her. She would¡¯ve been the perfect match with Cooper, who was wearing all ck. She had picked the outfit for him, but she came with Jordan. With a calm smile, she held Jordan¡¯s arm with one hand and gently lifted her dress with the other. Walking toward the red carpet, it was as if she didn¡¯t see Cooper, who had been waiting for her for a long time. Throughout the whole time, she didn¡¯t even give Cooper a nce at all. She just walked on the red carpet alongside Jordan and entered the media¡¯s view, a warm smile on her face. They were even wearing couple rings. Anna was the president of Ronney Group. Today was theunch of Ronney¡¯s new product, so naturally, she was to be today¡¯s finale. Countless lenses were pointed their way while lights shed continuously, perfectly capturing her every smile. Most of the time, she appeared alone. She would sometimes appear with her son, but tonight, she had shown up with a man. Everyone was surprised and someone took the opportunity to ask, ¡°President Anna, the one beside you is¡ª¡± Cooper looked over too, his eyes wide opened, waiting for Anna¡¯s reply. Facing the media¡¯s cameras, Anna smiled impably and said, ¡°This is my husband, Jordan.¡± Cooper¡¯s heart, which was already in his throat, felt like it was smashed to the ground hard and shattered into pieces¡­ So Anna had a husband! That man seemed like he was¡­ the head of the Edwards n, Jordan Edwards! This was exclusive news! The media took pictures frantically, a cacophony of camera shutters sounding. Jordan and Anna stood arm in arm, generously letting the media take their pictures. They asionally looked at each other and smiled. They seemed to be truly affectionate with one another and looked a perfect match. Cooper just watched as they walked down the red carpet and into the venue. He took in a deep breath, but that breath affected his whole body. He then realized that the pain had sunk into his organs. Justin, who was at the side, looked at Cooper who was badly shaken. He quickly called out, ¡°Cooper¡ª¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. Cooper waved his hand and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± It seemed that the situation had changed. Anna definitely wouldn¡¯t have changed her mind on a whim. Jordan had been in hiding for decades, so him showing up and revealing his identity so suddenly was weird. Except for the Edwards Family and the Yard Family, he had mistresses all around the world and also countless businesses, but he only ever revealed his rtionship with the Yard Family. It must be because Jordan had noticed something. His Anna was being forced! She didn¡¯t like having bodily contact with men. She must be in terrible pain right now, but yet she had to force herself to smile! He straightened his clothes and walked into the venue. In this battle without gunpowder, he would never let his Anna fight alone! Justin was very helpless and texted Sophia, asking them to be prepared. Just when Cooper was about to enter the venue, he saw Tiffany who was already waiting for him at the entrance. ¡°Fass, you¡¯re here!¡± Tiffany¡¯s outfit today could not be ignored. Her low-cut dress was very eye-catching, and with her long legs, willowy waist and wide hips, her figure was as good as a supermodel¡¯s. She had seen the whole thing too. She didn¡¯t expect that Jordan was really Anna¡¯s husband. That b*tch! Seems like she is eyeing what¡¯s in the pot as she eats from the bowl! She must think that Cooper is an honest man and wanted him to be her lover! Poor Cooper. He¡¯s probably still kept in the dark, not expecting that her real husband would appear! Everything is exposed! This is great! ¡°Hmm,¡± Cooper answered shortly. He didn¡¯t stop Tiffany from grabbing his arm. Tiffany held his arm happily and walked into the venue. Sophia, who was inside, saw Anna and Jordane in. Callum and Cade suddenly acted dignified and went to sit with Jordan. They seemed to be chatting away happily in a low tone. The family of four were having a good time, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, Cooper also entered the venue with Tiffany, who took the advantage to sit beside Cooper. Her exposed breasts were like basketballs that almost hid half of Cooper¡¯s torso. Sophia looked at him in distress. Cooper¡¯s heart was probably bleeding badly right now. The first show hadn¡¯t started yet, and most of the guests had arrived. Anyone who camete to such a grand fashion show would likely be cklisted. Besides, Ronney¡¯s fashion show had always been on time, so even the famous fashionistas didn¡¯t dare to bete. There were practically no cars left outside. But there was still one car which camete. A girl in an outrageous dress got out of the car, followed by two men who looked exactly alike and were dressed in the same outfit. The two men came limping and wanted to enter the venue without invitations. Why are they here? Justin personally came forward and blocked the entrance. ¡°Hello, please present your invitation!¡± Henry, who was limping, still acted arrogant. ¡°Me? Are you asking for an invitation? Don¡¯t you know who I am?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know who you are,¡± Justin replied. ¡°I only recognize invitations!¡± Henry was furious and stepped forward on his crutches. He knew of Justin, who was in cahoots with Sophia. As it happened, his leg was broken by that fierce and stupid wife of Justin¡¯s. ¡°Open your damn eyes and take a look. I¡¯m Henry, the general manager of Ronney Group in Cethos! My surname is Yard!¡± Justin still looked indifferent. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ll still need your invitations!¡± He had thought that Lucy would watch them closely, but they still managed to escape from the hospital. Sandra, who came with the twins, was even more arrogant. ¡°Mitchell, look closely! These two are Ryan and Henry Yard, the heads of Ronney Group. How are you doing your job? Don¡¯t look down on people!¡± Justin was very cold. Just when he was about to have them thrown out, a person unexpectedly came running over and whispered into his ear. Justin suddenly changed his mind and waved his hand. ¡°Fine, you guys can head inside!¡± Sandra then proudly followed the limping brothers inside. But unexpectedly, just as the brothers entered the venue, they were called to a room backstage by Lucy. In the room were Anna, Callum, Cade and Jordan. Lucy had sent people to bring over two big men who were tied up and threw the men in front of them, then exined what had happened. ¡°Dad, you deal with it. I don¡¯t want to get involved in the Yard Family¡¯s business.¡± After Lucy finished what she had to say, she opened the door and left. ¡°I have work to do.¡± Jordan looked at the mess his sons had caused, seething. He never expected his sons to be so foolish. To think they would even do something like this! But the Yard brothers who were exposed didn¡¯t think that they were wrong and were even trying to defend themselves in a righteous manner! ¡°Dad, Lucy is looking down on us. She orchestrated this whole thing herself! This has nothing to do with us!¡± ¡°The way I see it, she wants to take over the Yard Family¡¯s assets! Dad, you can¡¯t fall for it!¡± ¡°Besides, nothing happened. How could she say that it was us? We didn¡¯t do anything and were even kept prisoners in the hospital by her! We finally managed to escape today!¡± Chapter 1274 Chapter 1274 Jordan wasn¡¯t so easy to fool and from what Lucy had exined, he already knew everything. He knew his sons well enough; they were spoiled ever since they were young and were capable of anything. They didn¡¯t know how to see the big picture at all. But actually, he also had his guard up against Lucy. His eldest daughter was very much like him and wasn¡¯t one who was easy to fool too. She might really be coveting Ronney¡¯s assets. Meanwhile, Anna hugged Ryan and Henry in distress, not ming them at all. She even thought that they were ones who were wronged. ¡°Good heavens, how could this happen? Jordan, as I¡¯ve kept warning you, Lucy can¡¯t be trusted!¡± ¡°Yes, she is your daughter and you trust her, but to her, my sons and I are outsiders. She would never care about us!¡± ¡°My poor sons¡­¡± Callum took the opportunity and said, ¡°Dad, I too think that entrusting such an important matter to an outsider is somewhat biased. She said that Ryan and Henry did something bad, but it might just be her putting on a show!¡± Cade didn¡¯t say a word, but he must be smiling inside. Jordan was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Let¡¯s end the matter here. Ronney¡¯s Fashion Week is a major event of the Ronney Group. Mistakes aren¡¯t allowed to be made. After this fashion week is over, Lucy will step down and leave.¡± The twins were discontented. They always felt that Jordan favored Lucy and thought they should¡¯ve chased that old woman away sooner! However, Lucy was Jordan¡¯s eldest daughter after all. She had the surname of Edwards, while they were both Yards. They absolutely would not let Lucy and Sophia have their way. Meanwhile, Callum and Jordan began chatting. ¡°Dad, weren¡¯t you supposed to be overseas these few days? Why did youe over so suddenly?¡± Jordan looked at Anna and seemed to be smiling. ¡°Because I¡¯m a citizen here. Anna and I want to get married, and we n to hold the wedding banquet in Bayside City this year.¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Get married? Hold a wedding banquet? This news took Callum by surprise, then he congratted Jordan. ¡°That¡¯s great news! Congrattions to both of you!¡± Anna smiled impably, looking like a woman who was in love and immersed in happiness, but no one knew how she really felt inside¡­ After a while, Lucy saw her familye out, chatting and smiling. As expected, the twins were both fine and she understood what was going on at once. ¡°Hmph!¡± Seemed like Jordan and Anna thought it wasn¡¯t a big deal. Ronney Fashion Week wasn¡¯t even as important as their sons! The struggle between the Yard Family was none of her business. All she wanted was toplete this mission and leave. The show had already begun. As one of the staff behind the scenes, she was focused on the show so she didn¡¯t notice a palm going for her butt. p! A familiar palm pped her on her butt and her whole body shook. She turned around and saw a tall man walk past behind her. He was dressed in a frivolous manner, his hair was dyed in many colors, and he even had an ear piercing, looking like a non-mainstream from a decade ago. Lucy rolled her eyes at him. ¡°How immature.¡± Dana was here today as a security guard. When she learned that someone was nning to cause a scene, she had been patrolling vigntly. She was the one who caught the two people who were up to no good just now. While she was patrolling, she also took the opportunity to tease people. When she went to tease Sean just now, she was given a harsh p by Stanley. The fashion show had already started, and all the guests went inside the venue to watch the show. The slender models were wearing gorgeous clothes and walked professionally on the runway in the splendid venue. The atmosphere was harmonious, and one climax came after the other. Ronney¡¯s new collection this year was once again a smash hit. They were sure to get tons of orders after the show. Dana looked over to Lucy who was not far away from her and saw that she was frowning while watching the models nervously. Other people might think that she was enjoying the show, but to her, this was work. She looked at her, forgetting all the glitz in front of her. The only thing left in her eyes was Lucy, timeless and unforgettable. At this moment, water was poured onto the dry ice near the stage, and white fog started to float in the air. Gradually, she lost sight of her, so she left, her interest gone. Jordan was dealing with a sudden situation. When he turned around, he saw Dana¡¯s slender and attractive figure disappearing in the fog¡­ A show might need months of preparation, but the actual show only took about half an hour to finish. Soon, the Ronney¡¯s fashion show ended. The afternoon would belong to JNS Group. A magnificent show had ended and everyone was satisfied. The celebrities had raised their poprity, buyers found new clothes to buy, fashion bloggers and editors had their drafts ready, and the rich ladies had already started to ce their orders. Sophia also had a few items that she liked, and Michael had already ced an order for them. Anything that his wife took photos frantically with her phone must mean that she liked them, so buying them would not be a wrong move. He had bought a few pieces for himself too. Ronney Group was indeed the overlords of the fashion industry. They had a royal aesthetic and style of their own, and most of their contract designers were the descendants of former tailors of the monarch. Later on, they hired lots of well-known designers who were recognized internationally, so how could they not be famous? Ronney and many other brands had their own fashion shows, so more than a dozen of fashion shows were lined up for the next seven days. The guests could pick the shows they were interested in to watch. After the show ended, the main creative team went on stage to everyone¡¯s apuse. Anna and Jordan were on the stage too. As Ronney Group¡¯s president, she gave a short speech about the idea of the design and the inspiration behind this year¡¯s fall/winter collection. Atst, she said, ¡°Today, I have another important announcement to make.¡± Everyone perked up their ears. Meanwhile, Jordan was already standing beside Anna and looking at the audience calmly. Anna¡¯s gaze swept across the venue, but she missed a certain corner. Finally, she said with a dignified and elegant smile, ¡°The one beside me is my boyfriend who has been with me for many years. He is also the father of my four children. Tonight, in this hotel, our engagement ceremony will start at eight o¡¯clock on the dot. Everyone is wee.¡± Everyone was shocked, then they started apuding to give their blessings. This was Ronney Group and the Edwards Family from Bayside City they were talking about! They were a perfect match! And they even had four sons. It must have not been easy for them to finally get married after they had been in love with each other for such a long time. Engagement ceremony! Sophia¡¯s heart trembled after hearing these words. She looked over to Cooper, whose face was calm, not showing any signs of happiness and sadness. There was nothing at all. He was like a statue with no emotions. But Sophia could still see the sadness spreading beneath his calm expression, which was tearing him up from the inside like a devil. He was suffering, but he couldn¡¯t express it. Chapter 1275 Chapter 1275 Ronney¡¯s fashion show came to an end today and the guests left one after another, but Cooper still sat in ce, not moving. He held his position and stared nkly in the direction of the runway. Sophia went to sit beside Cooper and nudged him gently. ¡°Dad?¡± After nudging him a few times, Cooper finally came back to his senses and replied, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Dad, let¡¯s go get something to eat,¡± Linus said softly. Cooper didn¡¯t reply. He got up and felt like his whole body was boneless. Ha had experienced countless despairs in his life, and this time, as always, he hated himself for not being capable enough to protect the ones he loved. ¡°Let¡¯s go have a meal together,¡± Sam said energetically. ¡°The room and table have already been reserved. It will be my treat today.¡± After saying that, he patted Cooper on his shoulder. Tiffany didn¡¯t let go of Cooper¡¯s arm the whole time, as if she was already Cooper¡¯s wife. She was enjoying holding onto his arm, and she was so excited that her huge breasts jiggled up and down. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go together.¡± Of course, Tiffany wanted nothing more than to be together with Cooper. ¡°Fass, let¡¯s continue chatting after the meal.¡± JNS Group¡¯s fashion show was in the afternoon, and Cooper was definitely going to be there. Tiffany had received an invitation too, and she was nning to use the opportunity to interact more with Cooper. Since Tiffany wasing, her daughter would definitelye too. As such, Sarah grabbed her husband tightly, ring fiercely at Betsy¡¯s G-cup breast. Bailey, however, walked out without saying a word. It seemed like he didn¡¯t want to eat with them. Sarah quickly stopped him. ¡°Huh? Kid, don¡¯t go! Let¡¯s eat together!¡± With a cold face, Bailey left without hesitation. ¡°Not interested.¡± Sarah pouted. As expected from Adams Group; all the women had big breasts and all the men had long faces. What was with that attitude? Later when I get home, I¡¯ll draw you into an erotic manga and pair you up with Judge! While Bailey had already left by himself, Cooper, Sophia and the others headed to the Crimson House for a meal. They had to rush back for the second show in the afternoon, but unexpectedly, just when they turned around and had taken only a few steps, someone stopped Cooper. ¡°Cooper!¡± Cooper paused and turned his neck around stiffly. He saw Jordan walking toward him, with Anna taking his arm and their four sons following behind them. Lucy and Sandra were with them too. Jordan strode toward him proudly inrge strides, his entire demeanor ted. He came up, patted Cooper on his shoulder and said, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Let¡¯s have lunch together!¡± Cooper coldly pushed Jordan¡¯s hand off his shoulder and said, ¡°Unfortunately, we¡¯ve already made a reservation.¡± Jordan didn¡¯t seem to not notice that anything was wrong and extended his invitation kindly, ¡°Tonight will be Anna and mine¡¯s engagement ceremony. You muste!¡± Everyone could see that he was only here to show off and knock Cooper down a peg. Anna, who was beside him, kept smiling and didn¡¯t say a word, but Sophia could see a hint of unnaturalness and reluctance in her eyes. Cooper, however, didn¡¯t have the courage to nce at them. As he turned around, he said, ¡°I will be there.¡± As he left the group, his figure from behind looked so lonely and sad. Anna felt as if her heart was stabbed by a knife, and as she took a breath, she felt her heart bleed. While she looked at Cooper, her smile seemed to grow teary and her eyes grew moist. Everything had been perfect. She had personally picked the creation she was most proud of for him. Then, she would show up with Cooper, and they would appear like a pair made in heaven. But this morning, Jordan had suddenly appeared and proposed to her to get engaged and married all of a sudden. Besides being shocked, she realized she had no reason or excuse whatsoever to refuse¡­ but she didn¡¯t want to marry Jordan. Just being under the same sky as him already made her feel disgusted, and breathing the same air as him made her feel nauseous. Every breath made her feel like all her organs were burning. However, tonight, she had to attend the engagement ceremony. Since Jordan dared to marry her, she dared to ept it. All these years, Jordan had never dared to marry any woman, because once married, it would involve the division of assets. He would never let anyone have his assets. Since he took the initiative to put this out, she would ept it! However, she couldn¡¯t face Cooper. As for Cooper, he had already left sadly. Tonight, he would be attending the engagement ceremony of the love of his life and another man¡¯s, but he wouldn¡¯t back down. He absolutely would not let Anna face Jordan by herself. She still had him! Right now, Tiffany was feeling very smug. ying the role of Cooper¡¯s woman and supporting him, she said, ¡°We will definitely attend the ceremony.¡± With that, she quickly chased after Cooper. After she caught up with him, she took Cooper¡¯s arm tightly and pressed her chest against his arm, making it seem like they were very affectionate. After Cooper left, Jordan, who knew exactly how Copper was feeling, pretended to be concerned. ¡°Is Cooper okay?¡± Linus replied with a smile, ¡°Perhaps he¡¯s tired. After all, he just finished watching a show and there will be another one in the afternoon. Also, he still has to attend your engagement ceremony tonight.¡± Jordan then seemed to understand and replied, ¡°Cooper really is a busy man, but I sincerely hope that everyone can attend tonight¡¯s ceremony!¡± Anna looked at Sophia and smiled. ¡°Since I have to get ready for tonight¡¯s ceremony, I won¡¯t be able to attend your show in the afternoon. However, I will send Callum and Cade over to cheer you on.¡± Sophia could see that her smile was soulless and there wasn¡¯t a tinge of happiness in it. Feeling bad, she said, ¡°You go ahead, I will definitely attend tonight¡¯s ceremony.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard,¡± Anna replied warmly. Then, Jordan and Anna left, along with the four Yard brothers, Lucy and Sandra. Following that, Sophia rushed out and chased after Cooper. When she got out, she saw that Cooper and Tiffany had already left by car, and that the others were waiting for their rides by the road. As she thought back about what had just happened, Sophia felt very upset. Michael saw her sighing and patted her gently. ¡°It¡¯s alright, things will eventually be better. It¡¯s just an engagement ceremony.¡± Sophia remained silent. She wasn¡¯t in the mood to speak at all but then a thought appeared in her mind. If the ceremony was ruined¡­ Jordan and Anna getting married would bring about a great impact. There must be someone who didn¡¯t want them to get married! She needed to stop tonight¡¯s engagement ceremony without anyone catching on! ¡°Alright,e and pose. There are photographers taking pictures on the streets!¡± Michael reminded her. It was only then did Sophia realize that there were photographers taking pictures on the side, so she quickly stuck closer to Michael and did her best to pose. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. The show in the morning had ended, but there were still many models and Inte celebrities wandering around the entrance, not wanting to leave. They were pretending to wait for someone but made sure to pose fashionably to make it more convenient for those who were taking pictures. Bethany was also being photographed by a lot of photographers. She looked very chic in her tailored Ronney dress, posing at the perfect angle for the cameras and was enjoying being in the spotlight proudly. But unexpectedly, she heard a suddenmotion, and all the photographers and media went over there. It turned out that Christine was here. Chapter 1276 Chapter 1276 Christine Bishop became infamous in both the fashion and entertainment industries after crashing the fashion week today while wearing a high quality counterfeit evening gown. Initially, she was nothing but a joke, so nobody expected her to gain traction due to the incident. On the contrary, she caught the attention of the director of JNS Group and she was confirmed as the spokesperson for the next season on the spot. At that moment, Christine was wearing one of the unreleased pieces from the JNS Group¡¯s brand for its fall and winter collection. The attire made her look sweet and pretty while she radiated an exceptional aura. Hence, the media tried their best to fish for gossip that surrounded her and they came over to take photos of her. She cooperated without missing a beat and posed for them while working hard to promote the clothing line for Sophia. Although Bethany maintained her perfect smile while observing Christine, who looked especially pleased with herself, the former was especially frustrated with the situation. Does she think she¡¯s awesome just because she is the spokesperson of a national fashion brand?! I am the only spokesperson for the Ronney Group in the whole Cethos region! My next step is to be the international spokesperson! After Christinepleted her task today, she was satisfied and happy. She only left after the media had finished taking her photos. Sean was waiting by the roadside. Once he saw her walking out, he nced at Stanley, who had lowered his head to look at his phone, while reminding, ¡°Stan, look! Chrissy is taking photos by the street over there. You should go ahead and take a picture with her.¡± Stanley waved his hand to reject him. ¡°It¡¯s too cold. Forget it, I¡¯m not going.¡± Upon seeing Stanley¡¯s reaction, Sean did not press on. On the other side, Sophia wanted nothing more than to strangle Stanley, the silly man! Christine waited for a while by the roadside before a Lamborghini soon stopped beside her. A chauffeur in a ck suit and white tie came out of the car to politely open the car door for her. Then, Christine smiled courteously while bidding the media goodbye before entering the luxurious car to leave in a dignified manner. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she has a luxurious car!¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. A group of starlets now seemed anxious. Many artists were from the samepany as Christine and they were even more unsettled by the turn of events. We can forget that the vige bumpkin received the spokesperson contract, but I just can¡¯t believe that thepany provided her with a luxurious car! We don¡¯t even have that benefit, so what makes her so special? It seems that she must have a financial backer! The luxurious car sped off while everybody red at it with envy. Sophia was waiting for her ride, but she caught sight of her family¡¯s car approaching unexpectedly. The car was parked in front of her for a while and Maddie was seated on the driver¡¯s seat. She wore a gorgeous ck suit while Christine was sitting on the front passenger seat. Chapter 1277 Chapter 1277 The car moved at a slower speed, so when he looked out of the window, he saw the child wearing a fluffy, lush green, puffy frog jumpsuit. The child was securely wrapped in their attire from top to bottom in the jumpsuit while revealing only a small face. The child was now approaching in the direction of his car. He recognized her upon seeing her. Bailey nced through the window a few times and saw her carrying a small bag on her back. The child was scuttling outside without the supervision of an adult. Nevertheless, there was another child who was about her height walking beside her¡ªhe also wore fluffy clothes with a tiger-head hat on his head. The two children were walking along the roadside. Bailey nced out of his car window several times. Initially, he did not want to be involved, but then he saw a few suspicious guys surrounding the two children and took charge in the end. ¡°Stop the car.¡± The car came to a halt and he alighted from the car. He saw a few people blocking the way of the small figure in a frog jumpsuit. He was unsure whether they had any ill intentions, but he knew the child¡¯s home address, so he just could not stand by and do nothing. ¡°Hey, you are so adorable!¡± ¡°You truly resemble Carmen from ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯!¡± ¡°Kiddo, where are you going alone? Where are your parents?¡± A group of people was now surrounding the child who wore the frog jumpsuit while picking her up to toss her around. However, once the people from the Adams Family arrived, they managed to chase that group of would-be kidnappers away. ¡°Come over here. I¡¯ll send the two of you home.¡± Bailey squatted down while opening his arms and tried his best to appear as friendly as possible. However, the lolita was especially fierce in an adorable manner. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go home! I want to search for Daddy and Mommy!¡± With that, she turned to run away. He had already lost his patience by then, so he strode ahead to pick her up. Then, he pushed her into the car whereas his assistant ced the other child into the car too. Then, they sped away without wasting any time. The lolita was fuming in the car. Therefore, she refused to speak while facing her back toward him. Bailey saw her bag, which had her name written across it, and guessed that she could have escaped from her kindergarten because only preschools would have their students¡¯ names written across their bags. ¡°Are you Carmen Fletcher? Are you usually addressed as Carmen? Who are your parents? Can I call your parents on your behalf?¡± Carmen paused before answering, ¡°Daddy is at Crimson House. I want to head to the restaurant in Crimson House! Here, look¡ªit¡¯s right here!¡± She took out a small phone and there was a set of coordinates in there. The predetermined location was a nearby restaurant named ¡®Crimson House¡¯. Bailey took the opportunity to take away her phone, which caused her to burst in anger. She threw herself forward while yelling, ¡°Return it to me!¡± He blocked her with a hand while using the other to take her phone away. Usually, that type of children¡¯s phones would have the emergency call function installed. After switching it on, one should directly be able to make a phone call via speed-dial. With that, he phoned the number registered as ¡®Father¡¯. On the other hand, in the western restaurant in Crimson House, Sophia and Sarah were watching the surveince footage from the kindergarten. It was currently lunch break, so all the children were having their naps. ¡°Look! Sour Face is sound asleep! Carmen also looks super adorable when she¡¯s asleep! Oh my, my babies are so cute!¡± Sarah watched her baby through the video as her eyes were as bright as the stars. However, Sophia was staring at Carmen¡­ Why hasn¡¯t she tossed around after such a long time? She seems to be deep asleep while having a nket covering her face. After staring for a few minutes, Carmen still had not tossed and turned. Michael approached them in curiosity; he felt weird at the situation and was about to give the kindergarten teacher a ring when he suddenly received a phone call from Carmen. He stared at the video screen while ncing at the number disyed on his phone screen before he answered the call. He was then greeted with a cold and distant male voice, ¡°Are you Carmen Fletcher¡¯s father? I picked your daughter up from the streets and we are on our way to Crimson House now.¡± After that, the person hung up on the call. Soon, it was the end of the lunch break and the other children started to wake up. Carmen was the only one still asleep, so the teacher was startled to see a¡­ doll after removing her nket. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Michael was at a loss for words when he saw that. Fortunately, a few minutester, he and Sophia weed Carmen into their arms on the ground floor. ¡°Daddy! Mommy!¡± Carmen was like a nymph when she charged toward them whereas Sophia held her tightly. ¡°Where did you go? You gave me a scare! You aren¡¯t allowed to head out alone in the future! Daddy and Mommy will be heartbroken if we lose you!¡± Sophia held Carmen tightly; she was angry, but her heart also ached because she was still recovering from her initial fear. I would be lost if something bad were to happen to Carmen! Carmen answered, ¡°Nichs is with me, so I will not get lost!¡± Sophia nced at Nichs who was just behind Carmen. Fine, nobody would have recognized it as a robot. Carmen must have been worried that it might be cold, so she put a cotton-padded jacket on it with a tiger-head hat. That attire makes it look like a child. Michael was feeling troubled. His eyes widened in shock and he almost fainted the moment he caught sight of the doll when the nket was removed in the video. Did she dig the dog hole in the kindergarten again? My baby is intelligent and it¡¯s difficult to raise children once they can move around on their own ord! He pretended to maintain a furious expression and refused to speak with Carmen. On one hand, she knew that he was angry, so she nced at him with pitiful eyes. Soon, tears streamed down her cheeks. ¡°Daddy, it¡¯s my mistake. I won¡¯t dare to escape from the kindergarten in secret in the future.¡± Michael maintained his fierce expression. ¡°Did you know that because of you, both the kindergarten director and your mother were so worried that they were on the verge of tears? Have you thought about the consequences when you ran out of the kindergarten?¡± Sophia added from the side, ¡°Look, even Daddy is angry. You must not run away in secret in the future, do you understand?¡± Both parents were ying good cop and bad cop. In the end, Cooper picked Carmen up to take her inside the restaurant. Bailey, who was observing the exchange from behind, was rendered speechless. Earlier, she had a fierce, but adorable expression in the car. However, she turned into an innocent and cute child the moment she exited the car. The little girl is indeed two-faced. Michael did not expect Bailey to be the one to pick Carmen up, so he eagerly invited the man to have lunch together inside the restaurant. Bailey was preparing to head to another restaurant, but did not reject the offer since he had brought the little girl over¡ªand it so happened that he had matters to discuss with Cooper. Therefore, Bailey entered the building with them. ¡°Huh, Bailey, what happened to your face?¡± Michael saw a gash across Bailey¡¯s chin and it was bleeding. Bailey answered, ¡°I fell by ident.¡± He thought, Your daughter, Carmen Fletcher, bit me! The little girl is extremely fierce. I merely patted her head under the frog jumpsuit and she bit my chin instead. Carmen buried her face against Sophia¡¯s embrace. The young girl was still sobbing; she still yed the victim by looking wronged and cute. It was Master Sam¡¯s treat today, so he invited everybody to order what they fancied. After the meal, they still had to rush to the afternoon show, so everybody was as busy as a bee. Nevertheless, it was his treat. Hence, it was still an amazing meal even though it was a casual one. During the meal, everybody sat at a round table. Bailey and Cooper had matters to discuss with each other, so they sat together. Michael held Carmen in his arms while he continued to lecture her, ¡°You can¡¯t be disobedient just because you are adorable. Looking pretty doesn¡¯t mean that you have the permission to do as you please!¡± ¡°A disobedient baby will be a bad baby and a bad baby will gradually be ugly!¡± She pouted while listening to her father scolding her. The dishes had not been served, so everybody was either chatting or using their phones. Sarah noticed that Betsy was constantly batting her eyshes in a flirtatious manner at Harry whereas he had his head bowed down. He was focused on his phone while ignoring Betsy. B*tch! It looks like you haven¡¯t learned your lesson from thest incident! Chapter 1278 Chapter 1278 Previously, I threw Betsy out to freeze and I assumed that she would have learned her lesson. Who would have guessed that she would have the audacity to flirt with Harry right in front of me? She is a filthy b*tch! Sarah stood up abruptly and said, ¡°I need to use the washroom.¡± With that, she immediately left and allowed Betsy to be bolder¡ªno, she was already bold when Sarah was around to the point and she even extended her leg under the table to tease Harry. ¡°Come over here, Carmen. Let me hold you.¡± Cooper took Carmen in his arms while bending down to kiss her petite face. By that point, she had already removed the hood and coincidentally, her ponytails could support the eyelids of the frog hoodie. ¡°Do not ever run away from the kindergarten in secret next time, do you understand me? Today, if Bailey wasn¡¯t the one who picked you up, you could have been sold into the mountains to herd sheep! They might even beat you up every day!¡± She responded quietly, ¡°Oh.¡± Cooper ced her in his arms while introducing Bailey, who sat across from him, ¡°Here¡ªlet me introduce you to him. He is Bailey. Bailey Adams. He is a close friend of mine.¡± Sophia, who was sitting beside them, was indignant. Bailey? Why must I address him as Mr. Bailey whereas Carmen addresses him as Bailey? Carmen greeted sweetly, ¡°Bailey!¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. After that, Cooper introduced Betsy and Tiffany. ¡°This is Miss Tiffany whereas she is Betsy.¡± Carmen greeted them politely, ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Tiffany and Betsy.¡± Sophia was still in a daze. Does this mean my father has no sense of seniority in his family? Bailey nced at Carmen. I didn¡¯t expect her to be Cooper¡¯s granddaughter. No wonder she looks especially familiar. Cooper continued the discussion with Bailey in a hushed tone while she ended up in Linus¡¯ arms. The dishes were soon served and everybody started to enjoy the meal. Linus was also looking after Carmen while simultaneously eating his dish. Tiffany did not eat much; she went to the washroom after barely touching her meal. In the washroom, she took out Jordan¡¯s name card and rang his number. ¡°Not bad at all. It turns out you are truly Anna¡¯s husband. Tell me, how would you like to work with me?¡± Jordan answered in a gravelly and ruthless tone from the other end of the line, ¡°It¡¯s simple¡ªyou just have to work with me to suppress Cooper¡¯s business. The only reason why you can¡¯t get married with Cooper is because he is more powerful than you are. However, when Michel Group is pped with a financial crisis, his only choice is to be married to you to weather through the challenges. With that, you two will naturally end up together.¡± Tiffany chuckled upon hearing that. ¡°Huh! I think your goal is to defeat Cooper by using me, isn¡¯t it?¡± Jordan¡¯s goal is most probably not just to work together with me tond Cooper into a financial crisis. I¡¯m sure he wants to destroy Cooper! He answered vaguely, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what it takes as long as you achieve your goal to marry Cooper, does it?¡± She responded, ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± With that, she hung up on the call. Jordan has been able to acknowledge Anna as his wife, which made Cooper give up on her. I would say that in itself had caused my goal to be achieved. However, it seems like Cooper isn¡¯t the type to forget a woman easily. What is so great about Anna? Is she on par with me? She has many sons. Marrying her is equivalent to taking her four sons under his wing. Wouldn¡¯t Cooper worry for his own children? In any case, why is Jordan adamant that I will work with him to drive Cooper into bankruptcy? How is he confident that Cooper would be left with nothing, but the option of getting married to me in the end? Do I look like a profiteering person? It is clear that I am truly in love with Cooper¡­ Why does everybody think that I am eyeing his money? ¡­ At the same time, Sarah had already quietly crawled under the table. Since the tablecloth was thick, nobody had noticed the petite Sarah, who was underneath the table and crawling toward Harry¡¯s direction. Underneath the tablecloth, she noticed that everybody was behaving differently. Sophia had already removed her high heels in silence and allowed her small feet to rest after sustaining torture earlier. After scratching her right leg with her left, she quietly extended her feet on Michael¡¯sp before hisrge hands started to caress her beautiful legs in silk pantyhose. Huh! They seem serious on the surface. Who would have guessed that they are already caressing each other¡¯s legs in private? Then, Sarah continued to crawl forward and spotted Betsy, who was sitting across from Harry, slithering her feet from her high heels and actively rubbing his legs. Harry repeatedly moved backward, but he could not afford to lose his temper because he was in a business meeting with Cooper and the representative from the Adams Family. Hence, Harry could only retreat several times. Sarah lost her temper and quickly crawled toward them in a hurry. Damn you, wench! You, b*tch! Just you wait for me! Sarah removed Betsy¡¯s shoes upon getting nearer to them. Betsy was still busy teasing Harry with her leg, so she had no idea that her shoes had been taken away. Nevertheless, Sarah was not satisfied with merely removing Betsy¡¯s shoes, especially when she had brought a bottle of cooking oil with her. As Sarah poured the whole bottle of oil under Betsy¡¯s legs, she could hear the sound it produced¡ªglug, glug, glug. Who gave you the permission to seduce my man? After a while, Sarah returned to the table and she sat beside him. She had learned a thing or two, so she turned slightly to face Harry. In reality, she extended her leg onto hisp. Hmm? This is ratherfortable! After all, nobody can see me. If Betsy reaches her leg over again, I¡¯ll kick it back to where it belongs! Betsy tried to reach out with her leg a few times, but Sarah viciously kicked it back instead. Hence, Betsy had no choice, but to retreat sheepishly. However, she could not locate her shoes, but was embarrassed to lift the tablecloth up to search for her high heels since everybody was watching. Hence, she had to be temporarily barefoot. I will not give up. As long as I am around, I¡¯m sure that Harry will nuzzle against my ample G-cup bosom. Since there were many people sitting at the round table, it so happened that she was seated across from Harry and Sarah. It was undeniable that Betsy was continuously seducing Harry and even took the initiative to have a small chat with him. ¡°Mr. Ethan, do you have any new films premiering? I can¡¯t wait to watch it!¡± He lowered his head to enjoy his meal while ignoring her. Sarah removed a box of cooked snacks from her bag and opened it up to pick up a chicken w. Then, she opened it up to pick up a chicken w. She had a bite of it and alternated it with a sip of red wine; it was obvious that she was immensely enjoying herself. There was a nearby restaurant called ¡®Golden w¡¯, which specialized in selling a variety of cooked snacks, such as chicken ws, pork feet, duck fins, duck neck, duck intestines, century eggs, and so on. She ced the snacks on the table and the delicious scent filled the entire private room. The Cethosian folks seated at the table reflexively swallowed. It smells delicious! Sophia grabbed a chicken w in a hurry too. The chicken w tastes delicious! Its flesh is juicy, tasty, spicy and chewy too. ¡°Whoa, chicken ws! Give me one of those!¡± Stanley rushed over to grab a w before dipping it in the chili sauce that he brought from home. However, the foreigners at the table¡ªthe three family members of the Adams Family¡ªpaled at the sight of the dishes in front of them. Betsy, especially, seemed as if she was about to puke. Oh, my God! Help! They are eating innards and ws! As foreigners, we struggle the most with the fact that the Cethonians eat innards! They are now even munching on animal ws! Tiffany and Bailey turned as white as a sheet before losing their appetite. They could only watch as the others continued eating. That was the reason why Bailey did not want to have a meal with Cooper. I truly do not enjoy eating with Cethonians. From their point of view, everything on earth is categorized into threerge groups¡ªedible and delicious, edible, but not delicious, and non-edible and non- ptable items. Delicious foods are cooking ingredients whereas not tasty items are medicinal herbs. As for those non-edible stuff¡­ That would be hardware and construction materials. Chapter 1279 Chapter 1279 Betsy could no longer endure it. In fact, she was staring at them as if they were eating sh*t! Sarah ate two chicken ws. Then, she used her chopsticks to pick some duck intestine topliment her rice. Betsy, who was seated across from her, had a drastic change in her expression¡ªshe could not even be bothered to search for her high heels and rose to her full height while being barefoot. However, she never expected to lose her bnce and fall the moment she stood up. She realized in horror that the floor was covered with oil! ¡°Argh!¡± Betsy, who had fallen onto the ground, screamed in agony. She grabbed onto the tablecloth reflexively, but unexpectedly¡ª Clink, nk, ssh! She dragged all of the itemsid on the table down together with the tablecloth. Luckily, the tablecloth was rather thick, so everybody had time to respond because it was dragged across the table at a slower speed. ¡°Oh, sh*t!¡± Stanley reacted swiftly by snatching the te of pork¡¯srge intestine that he had his eyes on. Betsy, who had fallen on all fours, took a lot of effort to stand up. However, she slipped on the oil again andnded on the ground with a loud thud. She had dragged the table cloth along with her this time and all of the dishes fell on her, causing her to be covered with duck intestines, chicken ws, preserved eggs and such. It was not difficult to imagine how disgusted she felt. Tiffany stood up while mming the table. ¡°You, fool! Get lost in this instance!¡± She is nothing like I am. She is truly beyond stupid! She noticed that Cooper was slightly scowling. To prevent his impression of her from being affected, she ordered her underlings to carry the barefoot Betsy out. After witnessing the entire event, Master Sam broke the silence. ¡°Let¡¯s switch rooms.¡± Harry immediately held onto the te of Sarah¡¯s chicken ws to head over to the new room to continue with his meal. After their meal, everybody left together. They were ready to return to their hotel rooms for a rest while getting ready for the fashion showter that afternoon. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Michael sent someone to drive Carmen back to the kindergarten to continue with her lessons, but he did not expect her to cling onto his legs while refusing to leave. Kindergarten sses were also ending for the day, so he had no choice but to take her along. I suppose it¡¯s good to broaden her horizons! Earlier that morning, Sophia saw many child actors in attendance at the venue. Another guest, who appeared in ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ with Michael, brought his child along as well. It turned out that it was normal to bring children along during fashion week. Michael received a job today, which was to model for theunch of a new men¡¯s clothing line under the JNS Group. Carmen left with him while looking pleased with herself. After arriving in the hotel room, she opened her bag. Then, she changed into a fashionable piece of clothing that she prepared beforehand. She even asked Nichs to help her with a new hairstyle. Michael, who was applying his makeup, turned to look at her. True enough, she had nned this a long time ago! Sophia still had other matters to attend to, so she vanished the moment she returned to the venue. She still needed to check on the venue and the progress of its preparation. Since Lucy was the director of the entire fashion week, she also came to inspect the show. Therefore, it was not long before the two of them bumped into each other. The staff was busy with their allocated tasks since the show was about to start, so everybody was anxiously working on site. After making sure that nobody was around them, the two persons in charge started to chat despite the packed schedule. ¡°Jordan and Anna¡¯s marriage won¡¯t be favorable for you,¡± Sophia said to Lucy. Jordan might as well announce and admit to the whole world that there are four young masters in the Edwards Group and it has caused an internal uproar in the family. It was unfavorable for Lucy to have four legal heirs suddenlypeting with her for the inheritance. Besides, she had been unable to settle down for such a long time, so the higher-ups from the JNS Group were unsatisfied with her. After all, she was already past 30 years old. She did not reveal much. ¡°That is my problem, so you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± Sophia nced around before adding, ¡°Well, that naturally has nothing to do with me. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve seen you support the Edwards Family for many years. I just find it unfair for you because there are a few peoplepeting with you for inheritance suddenly!¡± Jordan had already been busy with his other businesses a long time ago. He was merely a puppet in the Edwards Family and was rather useless in his position. From the beginning, Lucy had been involved in the administration within the Edwards Group. She had reformed the Edwards Group in such a way that it allowed thepany to further improve itself. Hence, she deserved the most credit within the Edwards Group. However, Jordan and Anna have now announced the news of their marriage. That means that he has admitted that the four brothers from the Yard Family will embrace their status as the heirs of the Edwards Group. ording to the Cethonian¡¯s tradition, the inheritance is usually passed down to sons within the family¡­ Lucy was extremely unsatisfied with the turn of events. Nobody can snatch the empire that I have built with my bare hands! In the deluxe suite of the State Hotel, Henry wore a dark expression when he spoke to Ryan, ¡°I will never allow the two of them to get married!¡± Although Anna was their mother, they did not want her to be married to Jordan. It doesn¡¯t matter whether we are Jordan¡¯s legitimate children or not. As long as we are Jordan¡¯s descendants, we will have the right to inherit the Edwards¡¯ assets. However, it¡¯s different for Anna. If she doesn¡¯t get married to Jordan, it means that she¡¯s not his legal wife and will not have the right to inherit anything. In reality, the Yards and the Edwards are Jordan¡¯s descendants. Both of us are the true heirs of both families¡¯ inheritance. Anna and Callum¡¯s siblings do not have the right to inherit that massive sum of inheritance. Furthermore, once the Ronneys and Edwards are acquainted by marriage, Lucy will also have the right to inherit the Ronney Group! She might not have the Yard family name, but she is Jordan¡¯s only daughter. What would happen if Jordan supported her by interfering in matters within the Ronney Group? Wouldn¡¯t there be another personpeting with us for the family inheritance?! Sandra took a lot of effort to get both of us discharged from the hospital. She is now our follower; as long as we tightly cling onto the Yard Group, we don¡¯t have to worry that the Mitchell Group can¡¯t rise again! Sandra also knew about Jordan and Anna¡¯s wedding. That matter was not rted to her, but now that she was closely associated with Henry and Ryan, it only made sense for her to be in their shoes¡ªshe had to be their loyal follower. Hence, she immediately suggested, ¡°Our initial n was to ruin the fashion week to ensure that Lucy and Sophia wouldn¡¯t get what they wanted. Why don¡¯t we follow our original n to cause chaos at the engagement party? Let¡¯s discuss the rest of it at another time.¡± Both Henry and Ryan thought that it was a great n. The two of them are about to get engaged soon, so we cannot allow the engagement party to go ahead as nned. ¡°You shall be in charge of this matter. You need to handle this well!¡± She answered immediately, ¡°Yes!¡± Since the morning session did not go as nned, I will personally attend to the matter this time. I have to ruin their engagement ceremony! Meanwhile, in Anna¡¯s lounge, there was no denying that it was Jordan¡¯sst minute decision because nobody was informed beforehand. Therefore, both the Edwards Family and the organizer of the fashion week were caught by surprise because it was not in line with Jordan¡¯s usual cautious style. Jordan was anxiously preparing for the engagement ceremony. The originally nned fashion party for the Ronney Fashion Week was switched to an engagement ceremony at the eleventh hour. Nevertheless, the lineup remained unchanged. Callum and Cade had already changed their clothes, which gave them a new look. They came over to bid adieu for the show. ¡°Mother, we are leaving for the show.¡± The afternoon session belonged to the JNS Group as they were hosting their fashion news conference. Anna was originally supposed to attend the event with Cooper, but Jordan¡¯s appearance had disrupted all of her ns. Hence, she had no choice, but to allow Callum and Cade to attend the show. She sat by the window and stared out of it. The evening gown for the engagement ceremony was hanging on one side, but she did not feel like changing into it despite the long dy. She was still wearing the clothes that she was in from the morning show. It was a shame that even the most gorgeous clothes could not conceal the loneliness deep down in her heart. She sat by the window while staring at the dark, gloomy sky outside. The lounge was dark because she did not switch on the lights. Her figure seemed to have been glued to the window frame, appearing as though the darkness could engulf her anytime soon. I am not happy at all. I don¡¯t want to get engaged, let alone be engaged to Jordan¡­ Chapter 1280 Chapter 1280 Upon hearing Callum¡¯s voice, Anna turned her head to look and gave a gentle smile. ¡°Go ahead. Don¡¯t bete.¡± After that, she turned again and stared outside the window in a daze. As Callum gave Cade a nce, the worried brothers approached her and saw her lifeless eyes staring outside the window with a stoic face. Cade hesitated before uttering quietly, ¡°Mom, do you want me to exin to him?¡± They had watched her preparing clothes for Cooper in advance, but¡­ With a tired face, she gave a mock smile. ¡°You don¡¯t need to exin to him. He knows that my goal will never change, regardless of whether I¡¯m married to Jordan or not.¡± She wanted to defeat Jordan, so the marriage was only a temporary concession for the bigger picture. I know it and he knows it too. ¡°No.¡± Callum went over to Anna and squatted while holding her hand. ¡°I want to tell him that you actually don¡¯t want to marry Jordan.¡± He had known all along that Anna was Annabel¡ªCooper¡¯s deceased wife, whom he loved all those years! Jordan was the one who took her by force from Cooper! Cooper still loves her and the feelings are mutual for her too! Callum felt that Cooper was someone whom she could rely on. Only with him can she truly be happy! Upon looking at her son, Anna felt the tears swimming in her eyes. She thought that she could endure the situation and even look forward to her marriage with Jordan because with the marriage, she would achieve more and upy a more powerful position. However, at that point, she did not want to marry him at all. But¡­ Do I have a choice? After she took a deep breath, she forced her tears back and smiled. ¡°Alright. You don¡¯t need to be concerned about us. Both of you just need to take care of those people below and suppress our men. That will be better than anything else.¡± As Callum gazed at her saddened face, he knew that even he himself could never escape their conflict. We can only hope for the best by staying as one! Both Callum and Cade then left Anna¡¯s lounge and walked out. Even though they would benefit from Anna and Jordan¡¯s marriage, they did not want to see her attending an engagement ceremony that she resented. However, at the same time, all parties were rallying their forces and making preparations for themselves. In the evening, the press conference for a newlyunched autumn-winter product of a fashion line under the JNS Group officially started. It was the first productunch since the group was founded, so it also drew many attention in the industry. In the afternoon show, there were guests who showed up in the group¡¯s new product, including Christine, who attended the event in that attire. At the moment, someone had posted pictures of the eye-catching design on the inte, causing a sensation throughout the fashion industry. If it was a solo show, they would probably be unable to invite many sessful celebrities, but due to Ronneys¡¯ fame, many celebrities whom they could not invite earlier still came to attend. The guests had already arrived during the show and there were three representatives from the Adams Group¡ªCallum and his brother from the Yard Family, Nicole, and other entertainment celebrities. Other than that, there were also arge number of elites, buyers and reporters. In the evening, everyone was required to walk the red carpet and it stirred the crowd when Cooper showed up while holding Carmen. Carmen was happily in her children¡¯s attire that she stole from home. As she walked on the red carpet, she posed familiarly in front of the cameras, enjoying her happiness in the limelight. She was practically a little princess who was loved by everyone since she was hugged by her father, brother, uncle and grandfather from time to time. She felt ted that she did not want to leave the red carpet because she really wanted all the photographers to capture her beautiful self. Only she was capable of doing such things. If it had been any other celebrities, Justin would have sent someone to hurl that person out of the scene. What an attention-seeking baby! After entering the venue, Carmen brought her assistant, Nichs, around to take pictures with other celebrities, resembling a fish in water. As Michael walked down the red carpet, Sophia presided over the entire show while Cooper and Bailey continued to be engaged in profound conversations, and Linus brought Carmen around to meet people. Everyone was busy with their own affairs. ¡°Come, Lolita. Come and give me a hug!¡± When Cade saw Carmen, he pped his hands to call her over. Anna is Annabel, which means Sophia is our elder sister. If that¡¯s the case, this lolita is our niece. No wonder the more I see her, the more I¡¯m starting to like her! Carmen left coldly after ncing at them. ¡°Hmph!¡± However, a whileter, she returned and took a picture with the two brothers before wanting to leave, but Callum had hugged her. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. In the meantime, Cooper and Bailey continued with their discussion. Bailey wore a serious look. ¡°Fass, you should know that the Adams Group has no obligations to help you to bring Jordan down. What good is it for us to help you to defeat him?¡± Cooper remained silent. If I want to take down Jordan, I must be fully prepared. I can¡¯t fight a battle without any certainty. At the moment, the safest way is to coborate with the Adams Group. However, he also understood what Bailey wanted¡ªthe two families needed an alliance, so both parties were eagerly hoping that Cooper and Tiffany would be married. That¡¯s impossible! Meanwhile, Carmen had already taken pictures with everybody, so she quietly returned to Cooper¡¯s side. Then, he grabbed her and held her in his arms. Upon seeing her, he seemed to forget all of his worries for the time being, but she continued to stare at Bailey. She probably wants to take a photo with him for her collection, but she has ckmailed him for 2000 thest time and took advantage of him. This is a little awkward. At the same time, her stare was making Bailey anxious, so he intentionally diverted his gaze. A momentter, he turned again and saw that her face was buried inside Cooper¡¯s arms as she fell asleep. While looking at her with a resigned face, Cooper could not help but soften his voice. ¡°She really is a naughty little devil!¡± She actually ganged up with Nichs to hack the kindergarten¡¯s monitoring system so that she could escape and plot her way in here. However, in the end, she fell asleep before the show even started. Carmen finally woke up moments before the show started. After waking up, she continued to stare directly at Bailey, leaving him with no choice but to head to the washroom. After taking only two steps, he suddenly heard her sweet voiceing from behind. ¡°Grandpa, why doesn¡¯t Mr. Bailey smile?¡± Bailey immediately halted in his footsteps. That is why she kept staring at me earlier. Is she trying to see when I will smile? He could not help but smile before shaking his head. A secondter, he instantly returned to his cold face and quickly left. While holding Carmen, Cooper gently answered, ¡°It¡¯s because Mr. Bailey just doesn¡¯t like to smile. If he sees someone whom he likes, he¡¯ll eventually smile.¡± After that, he took a long look at Bailey. The sudden changes in his family, the death of his parents and the betrayal from his rtives have already taken away his right to smile long ago. He is only a 14- year-old boy. If Carmen is 14 years old, she will still remain in the loving arms of her parents, but Bailey has long been thrown into the cruel games of adults where the strong prey on the weak to survive¡­ When Bailey returned, she continued to maintain her stare on him. Chapter 1281 Chapter 1281 Since it was the first productunch since the establishment of the JNS Group, the fashion show was organized in a morous manner and held in Bayside City¡¯s most luxurious State Hotel. Thevish show was evenparable to what the Ronney Group had nned¡ªdue to Kenny and his team of designers exhibiting a series of new items. As a highly regarded national luxury brand, the JNS Group had presented a stunning disy this time and achieved a great oue through its fashion show. It stirred up conversations in the fashion industry and reconsolidated the status of Cethos¡¯ fashion on the international stage. Also, it sessfully brought the attention of the international fashion industry to Bayside City¡¯s fashion. The show ended perfectly in the end, but Sophia did not dare to let her guard down at all because there were two other events tonight¡ªthe Ronney Group¡¯s fashion party as Anna and Jordan¡¯s engagement ceremony. My own mother¡¯s engagement ceremony with another man¡­Just the thought of it saddens me. She then looked toward Cooper and saw him leaving with Carmen in his arms. In the meantime, Carmen had wrapped her hands around Cooper¡¯s neck as she asked, ¡°Grandpa, are you unhappy?¡± While listening to her sweet voice, Cooper forced a smile. ¡°No, I¡¯m very happy.¡± However, she saw through him. ¡°Grandpa, you¡¯re lying. You¡¯re not happy at all.¡± He remained speechless as he ced her in the car that was returning home and addressed Sophia, ¡°You and Carmen should head home first. Don¡¯t attend the ceremony tonight.¡± Sophia felt something was wrong inside when she heard his words, so she quickly asked, ¡°Dad, what are you going to do?¡± Cooper did not answer her and sent them home first instead. She thought, Listening to his tone, it seems like he¡¯s thinking of causing trouble tonight! He¡¯s afraid that if the situation turns sour, Carmen and I will be hurt. In short, there won¡¯t be peace tonight! As he watched her enter the car, he uttered to Michael and Linus, ¡°You two should head off too.¡± ¡°Dad, let me go with you!¡± Linus eximed. On the other hand, Michael had nothing to say. It looks like my young-looking father-inw is going to cause a hugemotion tonight. It¡¯s better for me to not be involved in this. He then brought Sophia and Carmen home, but Linus did not want to leave. ¡°Dad, have you thought this through? Are you really going to do this?¡± Linus asked. Is he really going to lay his hands on Jordan openly during the engagement ceremony tonight? Even if he kills Jordan now, there would still be endless troubles ahead! This n seems to becking some consideration! It¡¯s definitely not the right time now! Nheless, Cooper smiled and patted Linus¡¯ shoulder. ¡°What are you thinking about? How can I kill him today? I just don¡¯t want her to face everything alone.¡± Linus became more determined. ¡°Then, I¡¯ming along!¡± However, Cooper did not stop him, so the father and son attended the Ronney Group¡¯s fashion party together. At the same time, Tiffany also quickly followed them. As Cooper¡¯s date for today¡¯s engagement ceremony, she felt that he needed her. Stanley and Sean also left the scene to return home. When they returned, Stanley hugged his daughter and changed his outfit as he prepared to head out the door again. Before leaving, he even invited Sean toe along with him. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Sean. Let¡¯s go out and have some fun! I¡¯ll take you to a fun ce!¡± Sean was feeding Maisie in his arms when he noticed that Stanley was heading out. He was aware as to where Stanley was going. He has a date with Christine to y games together tonight. It¡¯s rare for him to meet a girl who has the same wavelength as him. I feel that I should congratte him, but there is a stabbing pain in my heart. ¡°You should go on your own, Stan. I¡¯ll stay at home with Maisie.¡± As he spoke, hecked the courage to look at Stanley. However, Stanley did not insist on Seaning along, so he said his goodbye to Maisie. ¡°Darling, I¡¯m going out to have some fun. I¡¯ll be back in a while. Don¡¯t miss me!¡± Maisie blinked as she watched Stanley walk out the door. After he was gone, she turned and profoundly stared at Sean. Stanley did not drive after leaving the house and instead took the subway to the location of his date. Just thinking about it made him a tad bit excited. Sure enough, he saw Christine when he arrived at the ce. She had already changed her attire, but she was still wearing an adorable winter outfit with a pink scarf. As soon as she saw Stanley, she immediately rushed over with a flushed face. ¡°Mr. Snow Fox, you¡¯re here!¡± He initially invited her to y games with him tonight, but he surprisingly changed the location at the last minute, saying that he wanted to bring her to an interesting ce. Naturally, she eagerly came when her idol gave her a ring. On the other hand, he was particrly excited. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a surprise tonight. Let me bring you to a fun ce!¡± After that, he brought her to the side of the street. It was a pedestrian street, so there were many people nearby. She was now a little celebrity, so she needed toy low whenever she headed outdoors. At that moment, she did not wear any makeup and even wore a huge mask to cover her face, but her heart was restless as she followed him. Where are we going? Christine was extremely excited. Does this count as a date? Where are we going later on? It¡¯s already night time in winter. The two of them had walked for about ten minutes before they turned a corner and saw a brightly lit building that was several stories high ahead of them. It looks like a¡­ little motel. A motel? She was dumbfounded. Isn¡¯t this going rapidly? N-No. The steps are all wrong. We should be eating first, shop around and watch a movie before sitting on the carousel in the amusement park. After getting dizzy, we should sit on the highest point of the ferris wheel and affectionately talk to each other to make things official. After a few quarrels and reconciliation, our love for each other will be deeper, and naturally, we¡¯ll be regr VIP customers in hotels. Sadly, before she even had the chance to think things through, Stanley had already gleefully walked toward the building. He opened the door first and there were many people at the entrance. The hall was designed to be morous and futuristic with bright lights, like a nightclub. There was also a grand dog head ornament as decoration in the hall. She even eximed the moment she entered the building. Wow, what a unique hotel lobby.This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. After a few words with the receptionist, he joyfully walked through the lobby while Christine nced at the name of the hotel. Dominant Network Club? Is this an cybercaf¨¦? She hurriedly followed Stanley inside. After passing through a corridor, the space in front of her suddenly became as wide as a stadium. Her eyes widened as they were filled with curiosity. ¡°What a huge cybercaf¨¦!¡± The magnificent nest-like ce in front of her was actually an cybercaf¨¦¡ªthe entire hall was extremely spacious and theputers were arranged in an organized fashion. There wereputers everywhere as far as the eye could see. With just a simple nce, Christine saw that all the configurations of theputers were extremely high-end, based on her years of experience in live stream gaming. Even the chairs are professional gaming chairs! These are very expensive! The cybercaf¨¦ had not been opened for business yet, so there were only a handful of employees nervously cleaning the ce for its final test. In the meantime, Stanely had his hands behind his back, as if he was a king watching over his own empire. Then, he walked to the front of Christine and took her on a tour inside. Upon looking at the magnificent venue, his eyes were full of pride. ¡°This cybercaf¨¦ was opened by me and my partner, Sean. There are 25,000puters, which can amodate 25,000 people while entertaining them at the same time! There is also a lounge, a grocery store, a gym, a restaurant, a bathroom and other facilities. It can even hold a massive esports event! It has the best configuration, the fastest inte speed, the most luxurious environment, the best location and an awesome experience! All six floors are cybercaf¨¦s. It is the biggest in the world! There has been nothing else like this ever!¡± Chapter 1282 Chapter 1282 As Christine gazed at the magnificent cybercaf¨¦, her eyes were full of surprise and shock to the point where it seemed like her eyeballs were falling off its sockets. The configuration inside the hall was already considered high-end, but what she never expected was for it to be divided into the general area, the member area, the VIP area and the women¡¯s area. Theputers that were located further inside the cybercaf¨¦ had a higher-end configuration. ¡°Wow. This is the gaming keyboard that I¡¯ve always wanted to buy, but I¡¯ve never been able to buy one! I can¡¯t believe there are so many of them here! Oh wow! Oh my God! Is this the legendary monitor¡­ This is the women¡¯s area. Oh my! The decorations are beautiful! Wow, this ce is practically heaven! I want to stay here for a whole day¡ªno, I want to stay here forever! I want to take some photos and post them on Twitter!¡± Upon looking at her astonished expression, Stanley felt extremely proud. ¡°You can take and post any photos you want. This ce isn¡¯t open yet, but it will be in a few days. I want the whole world to know that the best gaming experience in the world is in Cethos, Bayside City!¡± In the meantime, Christine quickly took a photo and posted it on Twitter while Stanley stood behind her to inspect her post. What else will I bring her here for? Christine is really famous in the esports, live streaming and gaming community. Her Twitter post will definitely bring good publicity for me. Since the cybercaf¨¦ will be opening in a few days, I can make use of her fame to boost my name. While looking at the esports empire he created, he could not help but sigh inside. When he was a young kid, he was in the same ss with Sean and the two of them skipped school on a daily basis to y games in cybercaf¨¦s. Every time the school sent someone to the cybercaf¨¦ to apprehend students who skipped sses, for every eight out of ten times, it would be them who were caught. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. The teacher had one day asked everyone to share their dream and his goal was to create the world¡¯s biggest gamingpany. Not only did he intend to produce the world¡¯s best game, he even wanted to open the world¡¯srgest cybercaf¨¦! Everyone in the ss, including the teacher, had mocked his dream and he was even punished for it. However, when it was Sean¡¯s turn, he said, ¡°My dream is to work together with Stan and create the world¡¯s biggest gamingpany so that we can produce the world¡¯s best games and open the world¡¯s largest cybercaf¨¦.¡± In the end, the whole ssughed at both of them. Yet, it was not merely in words. That was Stanley¡¯s dream for many years and he worked tirelessly to achieve it. Now, his dream was about to be realized. Sadly, Sean refused to follow him here today. Half of this cybercaf¨¦ belongs to him. The cybercaf¨¦ had been renovating for many months and they had already asked Daniel to choose a perfect day for the opening. Now, they were waiting for that auspicious day to arrive. ¡°Come, let me take you to enjoy the coolest and fastest prime gaming experience!¡± Stanley excitedly mentioned. Christine quickly nodded. ¡°Yes, please. Lead the way, Snow Fox!¡± After that, he brought her to the best private room which only had two seats inside, but they were able to see everyputer in the hall. Anyone who sat there would have the illusion that they were a king looking over the world. In the private room, those two seats were intended for Stanley and Sean. I¡¯ll let Christine have a feel first and I¡¯ll adjust it if it isn¡¯t suitable. ¡°Come, let us try the world¡¯s best prime gaming experience!¡± He switched on theputer and started the game in just two seconds. The inte speed had reached an extreme point because the software and hardware that he used were among the best in the world. ¡°Alright, Mr. Snow Fox. Wait for me. Okay, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s fight! Don¡¯t pull back on your punches. I¡¯m actually good at this!¡± Therefore, Stanley yed games with Christine in the cybercaf¨¦ for the whole night¡­ While they yed their games, Sean was still at home and quietly switched on hisputer. Initially, he wanted to open the game, but he gave up in the end. Stanley said that he went out to y games with Christine, but who knows whether they are actually ying games¡­ They probably aren¡¯t ying any games, right? He was afraid that if he opened the game, he would not see Stanley in it¡­ At the same time, in the Imperial, Sophia took a bath and changed her clothes after sending Carmen home. Yet, after much consideration, she did not feelfortable in her heart, so she changed her clothes and was about to head out the door without informing Michael. However, as soon as she walked out the door, she could see him driving the car out of the garage. He happened to open the car door the moment he saw hering out. ¡°Hubby? Where are you going?¡± It was snowing outside, so Sophia wore a mink skin coat on top of her evening dress and exited with a pair of snow boots with her high heels in her bag. On the other hand, Michael had already changed into his formal attire. ¡°Of course I¡¯m heading to the Ronney Group¡¯s fashion party. Hurry up ande on in since the party is almost starting.¡± For a moment, she was startled, but she immediately understood what he meant and quickly went into the car. The car drove through the early spring¡¯s chill as it headed toward the Ronney Group¡¯s fashion party. He understood Cooper well, so he knew that thetter would not do anything to harm Jordan today. Besides, the engagement was beneficial for them to bring Jordan down. However, Michael was also oblivious to what Jordan was nning. He has had countless women beside him for the past few years and has not settled down, so why would he suddenly agree to marry Anna? Can¡¯t he sense that something is wrong with her? Without the marriage, he is merely her superior. He is the master and Anna is just the servant. If he marries her, everything will change. No matter what, Michael needed to have a look because even if he did not, Sophia would head there herself. In the banquet room on the third floor of the State Hotel, Anna and Jordan¡¯s engagement ceremony was underway. There were many guests at the scene, including many elites from Bayside City and from all over the world. As the heads of the Ronney Group and the Edwards Group respectively, the union of Jordan and Anna was a perfect match made in heaven. Although it was something unexpected, it was still reasonable. At the ceremony, she wore an engagement dress as she held a ss of wine and followed him around the Vanity Fair. Among the elites who came from all over the globe, she looked like a fish in water, as if she was a little girlpletely immersed in happiness. Nobody would be able to suspect anything unusual about her at all. But, who else can understand the sorrow buried in my heart? Anna¡¯s four sons were also present at the scene. Two of them looked elegant, handsome and eye- catching while the other two held onto their canes as they limped into the scene. The engagement ceremony had caught everyone by surprise¡ªeven the Edwards were only notified about the situation at the eleventh hour. Before today, it seemed that only Jordan was aware of the event. As a result, his actions left them feeling dissatisfied. After all, this is a union between the heads of two families. How can this be done in a sloppy manner? Moreover, they were surprised that Jordan was acquainted with the Ronney Group and that he had four sons outside the family. Even though Sam and Nicole had shown up at the ceremony together, they still kept their marriage a secret for the time being. After delivering their childst year, she publicly imed that she had epted a role behind the scenes when she was in fact pregnant. She regained her former hourss figure this year and prepared to return to her work; the fashion week was her first appearance after ¡®disappearing¡¯ for a few months. That was the reason why they stayed far away from each other. As he lifted his ss toward her direction, she also reciprocated with her actions. In an outsider¡¯s eyes, they were merely two strangers who did not have anything to do with each other. He was the 9th Old Master of the Edwards Family whereas she was only a scandalous nobody who sessfully climbed up the socialdder. However, she was satisfied with the current situation. Actually, this is also quite nice. Chapter 1283 Chapter 1283 Sophia and Michael attended the ceremony together. As soon as they entered, they looked around for Cooper and saw him drinking liquor while Linus apanied him at a corner. ¡°Dad!¡± She quickly ran over to him. However, Cooper did not seem to drink much liquor, so his eyes were still clear. When he saw her coming with Michael toward him, he answered in a t tone, ¡°Hello.¡± At the same time, Tiffany continued to persuade Cooper to drink more. ¡°Here you go. I know you are upset, so you should have some liquor.¡± She shook her huge breast while her whole body was almost resting on hisp, but he pushed the red wine that she gave him away. ¡°I can¡¯t drink any more of this. Why don¡¯t you drink it yourself?¡± However, she pushed the wine over to him again. ¡°It¡¯s fine. This wine has a low alcohol percentage. You can drink more of it.¡± Even though he still refused to drink it, he could not bring himself to say no to her. Maybe the only thing that can save me now is wine. The moment the wine reaches my stomach, the cold liquid seems to temporarily numb all the pain. This is fair enough¡­ On the other hand, Tiffany could not wait for Cooper to down a few more sses of wine since she could only make her move when he was drunk. I¡¯ve stayed by his side for 20 years, but I never had the chance to see what kind of a man he is. I must seed this time! She was really excited when Cooper¡¯s face started to redden after two sses of wine, so she pressed her huge breast on his shoulder and murmured sweetly, ¡°Fass, how do you feel?¡± Despite her efforts, his words were still lucid. ¡°Tiffany, your breast weighs a ton and it¡¯s pressing on my shoulder.¡± Instantly, she was rendered speechless. Looks like he hasn¡¯t been drinking enough. Therefore, she wanted to give him more wine, but Sophia could not stand it anymore and immediately snatched the ss from his hand before being cold toward Tiffany. ¡°That¡¯s enough. My dad can¡¯t drink anymore. Are you trying to embarrass him in front of everyone by making him drunk?¡± Tiffany smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If he¡¯s drunk, we can let him rest in a hotel room.¡± Her lust was written all over her face to the point where she almost screamed that she wanted to bed Cooper. However, Sophia was well aware of Tiffany¡¯s intentions, so she would not allow thetter to get away with it! She needs Cooper¡¯s consent if she wants to bed him! ¡°Come, hubby. Lend me a hand since we need to send Dad home.¡± Sophia did not want Cooper to stay any longer and suffer the pain of watching Anna with another man, so she asked Michael for help. After that, Michael also came to support Cooper. My young-looking father-inw is really torturing himself. If it was me in my younger years and the woman I love is forced to be engaged to another man, I would have gathered thousands of soldiers from the Fletcher Family. Everyone involved in the marriage won¡¯t escape my grasp as I will include them on my list of executions. Of course, Irene doesn¡¯t count because she¡¯s not worth it. However, one has topromise in this world. The older you be, the more you think about your actions. Cooper and I know that it¡¯s for the best if we don¡¯t interfere with the engagement ceremony. The painful part is when emotions and rationality cross with each other. Now, he can only watch everything happen in front of his eyes while being unable to stop it. However, Cooper pushed them away. ¡°Leave me alone. I¡¯m not that weak.¡± I¡¯m not leaving. No matter how deep the pain is, I¡¯m not leaving her alone. Not far away, Anna was surrounded by everyone like a celebrity who was with her husband and sons beside her. She had a happy family, a satisfying career, and she was loved by everyone, but not many could feel the anger and helplessness in her heart. asionally, her eyes wouldnd at a certain corner when other people were not noticing. Everytime, she could find that man and gaze into his eyes. For a moment, she felt as though she had infinite strength and courage to face everything. I¡¯m not alone because I still have him¡­ He was unwilling to leave because he wanted to stay for the engagement ceremony, so Sophia had no choice but to apany him. She thought, Sigh¡­ Why is God so merciless toward our family? Sitting in between Cooper and Tiffany had allowed Sophia to prevent the other woman from giving him any more wine. With Linus and Sophia sitting on each side of Cooper, Tiffany knew that she had no chance to make her move tonight because Michael was still looking at her from the side. Even if Cooper became drunk, Tiffany would not be able to drag him away, so she left with little interest. Afterward, Sam came over with some wine and touched Cooper¡¯s ss. ¡°Coop, are you alright?¡± Cooper already had some anti-hangover drugs, so he looked as awake as usual, but his face was still slightly red. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just thinking of something.¡± Sam did not seem topletely understand what was happening and left with his wine after exchanging a few words with Cooper. However, Sam was curious about Jordan¡¯s second wife, Anna. Even though the two of them had met before, it was merely a greeting and they never had the chance to speak. She was surrounded by many elites today, so Sam did not have the opportunity to speak with her. Upon seeing that Jordan had left and there were not many people around her, he took the chance to greet her. ¡°Hello, Anna. I¡¯m Sam. I¡¯m the ninth child in the Edwards Family. You can just call me Sam.¡± Sam went up and politely greeted her. Upon hearing his voice, Anna turned and saw him. The two of them nced at each other and felt that the other person was oddly familiar. When Sam saw Anna, he felt that her eyebrows were extremely familiar to him, but her mannerism was much different from the person whom he had in mind. Also, their background was vastly different. On the other hand, she also felt particrly familiar when she saw him. Somehow, she felt that his name was not Sam, but in the end, she managed to suppress her doubts and touched his ss. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m Anna.¡± After a few words, the two of them parted ways. As Anna gazed at Sam¡¯s leaving back, she still felt that it should not be his name. His name should have been Andrea or something else¡­ Why did this weird namee up in my mind? The more he looked at her, he also felt that she seemed familiar¡­ When he turned to look at her again, she was already surrounded by a crowd. Maybe she is someone whom I once met, but I¡¯ve already forgotten where and when. The engagement ceremony was about to begin and Sophia was getting anxious as she quietly tightened her fists. Suddenly, she rose to her full height and carried her bag before saying, ¡°I need to head to the washroom.¡± Michael quickly replied, ¡°I¡¯lle with you.¡± The married couple left, but unexpectedly saw Sandra and Lucy together after a few steps. The two of them seemed to be discussing something. Sandra should have ran out of her medicine long ago, so how is she still able to move around freely¡­ Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Phantom Wolf¡¯s fake drugs had stopped production a long time ago. When Phantom Wolf was disbanded, someone had tried to snatch the form and its production line, but since everyone wanted it, an intense war broke out in the end and destroyed the entire production line. Even if someone had the form, it would be difficult for them to produce it anywhere else. Did Sandrand her hands on some fake drugs again? At that moment, Lucy and Sandra were talking about something¡ªone had a cold and indifferent face while the other had a distorted face, which reflected all of her evil intentions. ¡°If you don¡¯t carry out this task, I will tell everyone, including the Edwards, about your scandal! Now that you have four younger brothers, do you still think you can hold onto your position as the heir if everyone knows about your scandal?¡± Chapter 1284 Chapter 1284 Sandra forcefully lowered her voice to threaten Lucy. She had actively volunteered to help Henry to spoil the engagement ceremony, so she could only threaten Lucy to assist her. However, Lucy did not seem to be affected at all. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether they dare to be engaged or not. As long as their true identity is exposed, they will still be the heir to the Edwards Group even if they are b*stards. Besides¡­¡± She red at the delusional Sandra. ¡°If Ie out and ruin the engagement ceremony, they will have another one the next time. Also, my father will punish me afterward. I¡¯m not that stupid. Who cares if you¡¯ll expose me? No one believes you!¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Sandra was extremely short-tempered and whenever she was irritated, her face would flush aggressively. ¡°Lucy Edwards, don¡¯t forget who you are! If you dare to defy me, I¡¯ll expose your scandals!¡± Lucypletely ignored Sandra, but the people who were near them repeatedly nced at their direction. Lately, Sandra had been involved in lots of drama¡ªincluding the swimming pool incontinence incident and the exposure of her drug use. There was also news from the Mitchell Group that they were on the brink of copse, so none of the elites in Bayside City dared to approach her. I wonder how she managed to join the fashion party today. Upon seeing Lucy¡¯s disdain toward herself, Sandra was frustrated, but she could not afford to fail the mission! Without Lucy¡¯s help, she could only rely on herself. Luckily, I came prepared! Then, Sandra grabbed her bag and went into the washroom. In the cubicle, she took out a lighter from her bag and a huge firecracker¡­ At the banquet, the atmosphere was buzzing. Since the time was up, Jordan and Anna held their hands as they were about to be engaged. After the engagement, they quickly received their marriage certificate and the wedding was already being prepared. He officially revealed his position in the Yard Group and she as the matriarch of the Edwards Family. Many strong women around the world would soon realize that they had the same type of husbands as Anna¡­ In the meantime, Sophia and Michael returned before sitting beside Cooper, who was currently discussing something with Bailey. She repeatedly nced at Bailey. Oh my, this brat is really something! If only Carmen can be as brilliant as him at that age. But, I think it¡¯s better for her to focus on school and exams at the age of 14. Just as she was about to say something to Linus, a huge explosion suddenly came from the washroom. The whole State Hotel shook while the sses fell to the floor, causing the guests to panic and screams from female guests could be heard at the same time. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia swiftly stood up. The guests looked at each other while the smell of gunpowder overpowered the scent of wine. Amidst the silence, someone screamed in horror, ¡°There¡¯s a bomb! Someone is trying to kill us all! Run!¡± There¡¯s a bomb! There¡¯s actually a bomb! Tonight, all the top elites from around the world are gathered here. If the bomb is detonated, the whole Bayside City will plunge into chaos! The sudden panic threw the entire banquet into chaos as the screaming guests fled the scene. As the commander-in-chief of the scene, Lucy was also shocked. Without her orders, the on-site emergency team had already made their move to escort all the guests out in an orderly fashion. There was also a bomb squad that entered the washroom and discovered that a cubicle was blown up. The scene was now a mess as the guests frantically rushed toward the emergency exit. In the crowd, all the furniture had been flipped over and tes were smashed on the floor. Someone even fell to the floor before being trampled by countless feet. Amidst the chaos, Sophia, who was sitting in the corner, was not involved in the crowd as Michael quickly protected her. ¡°Let¡¯s go. I know where the emergency elevator is.¡± No matter whether there is a bomb or not, it¡¯s not safe to stay here! ¡°Dad, let¡¯s go!¡± Cooper nced at Sophia and murmured, ¡°Linus, take good care of your sister.¡± Without saying anything, he rushed into the crowd and ran toward Anna. I can¡¯t leave her! ¡°Dad¡ª¡± Sophia yelled, but he was instantly engulfed by the crowd. Michael quickly dragged her to the emergency elevator and left. In the chaos, she saw the two brothers with their cane. It was difficult for them to move around as they squeezed in the crowd, so they were on the verge of falling down. Upon seeing them, she instinctively moved her foot. ¡°Go to hell!¡± She kicked Henry down and he happened to fall on Ryan. As soon as the two brothers fell together, she took the chance to ruthlessly step on them before escaping. For convenience sake, she removed her high heels so that she could run faster while being barefoot. Soon after, she arrived at the front of the emergency elevator and prepared to leave. Linus had also caught up to them, but sadly¡­ Cooper was not beside him. Inside the elevator, she felt relieved yet worried. Looks like this engagement party is ruined, but I¡¯m worried about Cooper and Anna. At the banquet, Anna was not prepared for the sudden incident at all. At first, she was surrounded by many people who wanted to talk while Jordan happened to leave all of a sudden. Not far away from her, Callum and Cade were talking with a few guests. When someone screamed ¡®there¡¯s a bomb¡¯ at the banquet, the crowd went wild and Anna, who wore high heels, was squeezed to one side by the crowd. Her feet were not rooted to the floor, so she was terrified that she could fall at any time. She instinctively called out to her sons, ¡°Son!¡± However, Callum and Cade were being squeezed to another side as they desperately moved toward her. ¡°Mom! MOMMMM!¡± They shouted loudly, but they were unable to get closer toward her. As they were pushed further away, they could only watch her disappear into the crowd. If she falls and gets trampled, the consequences will be devastating! ¡°Mom¡ª¡± At the moment, Callum felt anxious and flustered, but he suddenly saw a figure rushing toward her. That stalwart and profound figure in the chaotic crowd seemed to be filled with strength as he squeezed through the crowd and quickly disappeared in the sea of people¡ªjust like Anna¡­ ¡°Son! Aaaah¡ª¡± In the crowd, Anna called out for her son as her whole body fell backward. She had no control of her body and there was nothing for her to grab onto. Coupled with the turbulent crowd, she thought that she would be trampled into pieces if she fell backward, but surprisingly, she fell into a pair of warm arms. It was a powerful hand supporting her. As soon as she turned, she could see Cooper¡¯s worried looks. At that moment, tears flowed from her eyes like rain. ¡°Cooper¡­¡± Without saying anything, he carried her and entered a room in the State Hotel, which had an emergency elevator inside, instead of following the crowd to the main exit. She remained in his arms as he ran forward. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and heard his breath and heartbeat. Her heart seemed to start beating in a strange manner. It¡¯s great to have you¡­ Chapter 1285 Chapter 1285 Cooper did not say a word as he carried Anna into the corridor. After he ced her down for a while, he quickly pressed the elevator button. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll bring you out of here,¡± he eventually spoke. As she sat on the floor, she finally felt a gruesome pain on her foot. When she flipped her dress over, she realized that someone had identally stepped on her earlier in the crowd. Now, her entire foot felt painful and numb. Her face was distorted with pain as it was covered in a film of perspiration. He examined her foot and murmured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll get out of here soon.¡± As his face came closer, she could see a trace of blood on his forehead¡ªit was already bleeding. When he rushed over while carrying her earlier, he had collided with many people on the way, but he could not protect himself since both his arms were holding her. Therefore, he could only brace himself and run forward. He did not even know when he injured his head. ¡°You¡¯re bleeding!¡± Anna screamed with unspeakable distress. If it weren¡¯t for me, he wouldn¡¯t have¡­ However, Cooper¡¯s expression remained calm and indifferent because he was not even concerned about his wound. After the elevator arrived with a ¡®ding¡¯ behind him, the door opened and he hurriedly carried her inside. He pushed the button for the garage before the door quickly closed again. The moment the door closed, she suddenly kissed his lips¡­ Her kiss carried her tears, which made it soft and salty. As soon as the two lips connected, he seemed to return to 30 years ago when they were still teenagers. During those youthful times, they were carefree and innocent. They foolishly thought that as long as they loved each other deeply, they would spend the rest of their lives together¡­ Time seemed to stop at that moment where they were the only ones left in the world. Their souls combined into one and they only wanted to stay in that world of theirs forever¡­ Ding! The door opened, revealing that they were now at the parking lot. Michael and Sophia were already in the car and prepared to leave before the huge crowd arrived. Unexpectedly, they saw Cooper and Anna in the elevator. The two of them looked like a mess and his head was stained with blood. Her face also looked devastated because of the tears that smudged her makeup on her face. Upon seeing the blood on Cooper¡¯s face, Sophia could suddenly feel tears swimming in her eyes. ¡°Dad!¡± She quickly ran over to him, but he still remained calm. He uttered calmly when Linus came over, ¡°Linus, help your mom.¡± Therefore, Linus swiftly took Anna from Cooper. After the heavy burden was lifted from Cooper, his body softened and he almost copsed on the floor, but luckily, Michael and Sophia were there to support him. ¡°Cooper!¡± This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. ¡°Dad!¡± She held onto him while tears flowed out of her eyes. Michael immediately helped Cooper into the car. After everyone was seated in the car, Michael quickly drove the car away to leave the chaotic ce before the crowd rushed down. In the car, Cooper removed his shoes and realized that he had stepped on an inverted ss earlier and it pierced the sole of his leather shoe. After he took off his shoe, they could see that his sock was soaked in blood. ¡°Dad. Sobs¡­¡± Sophia was so terrified that she started to cry. When he saw his little sweetheart crying, Cooper hurriedly hugged andforted her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a minor injury.¡± Due to the pain, he did not dare to speak in a loud voice, so he could only whisper. She did not expect something like that to happen. As she stared at his bloody foot, her tears continued to flow. Even though he wasforting her, his eyes were still gazing at Anna. He looked at her and smiled. She also smiled at him, but it was a teary smile¡­ Anna could not stop her tears from flowing. I can¡¯t believe he continued to carry me after sustaining such a serious injury. Cooper suddenly reached out to her, so she ced her hand on his. Instantly, she pounced at him and hugged him while avoiding his wounds. Then, she gave him another long kiss, causing everyone to be startled. Soon after, they arrived at a hospital and the two victims were sent in to treat their wounds. After escaping the building, Callum and Cade immediately called Sophia because they knew that Cooper was the one who saved Anna from the ce. As soon as they received the location, they immediately went to the hospital and saw Anna, who was getting her wounds treated. She had experienced shock, so her face was a little pale and she could not move her feet. Other than that, everything else was fine. ¡°Mom!¡± Callum and Cade were overjoyed as they approached her to talk to her. ¡°I¡¯m fine, all thanks to Cooper.¡± Although her face was pale and distorted, it was filled with gentleness when she gazed at Cooper. He had two wounds on his head and leg, causing him to lose a significant amount of blood. At that moment, he was undergoing a blood transfusion, but his other hand reached out to hold Anna¡¯s hand tightly. Upon looking at Anna and Cooper¡¯s hands tightly holding each other, Callum felt really relieved inside. This is the first time that she has forgotten her deepest fears to engage with this man after many years. It¡¯s because he is Cooper, the man she has loved for many years¡­ As they hold their hands together, their fate seems to be intertwining too. After this incident, they¡¯ve probably seen through each other and found true love. Even though Callum was happy for Anna, he still dampened her spirits. ¡°Mom, we should be leaving. He¡¯ll definitelye to find youter on.¡± However, she refused to release Cooper¡¯s hand. ¡°You two can head off. Just pretend that you didn¡¯t see me tonight. I¡¯m¡­ not going anywhere tonight.¡± Callum was dumbfounded as he nced at both her and Cooper. After a quick exchange of nces with Cade, they immediately left the hospital, as if their memories of thest 10 minutes were erased from their minds. At the banquet of the engagement ceremony, Jordan, who was at the back of the venue discussing the details with the emcee, finally noticed that something had happened. He anxiously returned to the scene and saw that everyone was fleeing, but Anna was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Annie!¡± he shouted. There was fear and panic everywhere as her lost heel was mixed with the shattered tes. ¡°Annie! Where are you?¡± He anxiously looked around for her, but he only found Henry and Ryan hugging each other on the floor with shoe marks on their faces as they grunted. Then, they were carried away. ¡°Mr. Edwards, please leave immediately!¡± Someone came to protect Jordan, but he was still anxious and wanted to look for Anna at the scene. In the end, he only found one of her heels. At that moment, his whole body copsed. The bomb squad entered the washroom where the explosion happened, but they realized it was merely a firecracker. Although there was no bomb at all, they still evacuated the whole State Hotel for safety reasons to exclude the possibility of other bombs. Sure enough, the engagement ceremony waspletely ruined. The escaped guests gathered on the square outside the State Hotel before being transferred in groups. The incident had also rmed the fire brigade as they entered the scene to check for bombs while there was an ambnce nearby to treat the injured. ¡°Alice, wake up. Wake up! Don¡¯t go to sleep, okay¡­¡± Upon hearing someone calling her name, Alice regained consciousness and saw Daniel¡¯s worried face. She then touched her head and felt a bruise. ¡°What¡­ happened to me?¡± She was confused. When Daniel saw her regaining consciousness, he grinned. ¡°You passed out.¡± Alice finally remembered that she attended Jordan and Anna¡¯s engagement ceremony. When she heard someone screaming about a bomb, she instinctively tried to leave, but she did not expect to be engulfed by the crowd. In the end, someone pushed her, causing her to fall backward. She seemed to hit her head on something before passing out. ¡°Daniel!¡± Suddenly, she grabbed hold of him. It was Daniel who carried her out of the scene when she was unconscious. He hugged her tightly and responded, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Alright¡ª¡± Just as he held Alice tightly in his arms, Sam¡¯s voice was suddenly heard. ¡°Nicole! Nicole! Where are you?¡± Chapter 1286 Chapter 1286 Sam was anxiously looking around for Nicole. Earlier at the banquet, the two of them did not stand together to avoid any rumors being created. After the incident, he waspletely pushed out by the crowd, so he could not see her at all. As soon as he came out of the hotel, he continued to call her phone, but no one answered. Although his assistant had already asked him to leave multiple times due to the possibility of another explosion, he still insisted on searching for Nicole. However, he could not locate her outside the hotel, so he risked everything and returned to the banquet for her. It was when he lost her in the face of danger that he finally realized that she already had a ce deep in his heart. In fact, he had once gotten together with her because of Cooper¡¯s instruction. Cooper knew that Nicole admired him and he understood that without her, he would never have had the chance to reunite with Sophia. However, he could never bring himself to love a woman other than Annabel. He could not repay Nicole¡¯s favor and her love for him was for nothing. Sam understood his frustration, so he actively approached Nicole. In the end, he started both a rtionship and family with her. Now that he had a family, he supported her so that she would not have to work hard anymore, but he also realized that during their everyday interaction, he seemed to have forgotten about his initial intentions. In his mind, he only wanted to spend the rest of his life with her¡ªnot because of what others wanted, but because of her and their child! Unable to locate her, he started to be anxious, so he continued to call her while ignoring the people telling him not to go inside. Finally, his assistant grabbed him and whispered, ¡°Ms. Walker is already out of the building and she is safe. She just¡­ doesn¡¯t want others to discover about your rtionship with her and disturb you¡­¡± For a moment, Sam was startled as he nced at his assistant in disbelief and saw that she was unconsciously looking somewhere. He looked in that direction and saw Nicole¡¯s sore and panicked face as she was being interviewed by some reporters. She seemed to have suffered a minor injury, but she did her best to calm herself and answer the reporters¡¯ straightforward questions. When Nicole saw that Sam was about to walk toward her, she gave him a shake of her head from afar, informing him not toe over. She did not want her scandalous past to affect his reputation, but he was now rushing toward her even with the knowledge that their rtionship would be exposed. Upon seeing him approach her, she shook her head again at him with tears in her eyes. However, at the moment, Sam no longer cared about anything because he knew that she was scared and needed him. He wanted to give her a family and an identity as the 9th Madam of the Edwards Family! I also want the whole world to know that I, Sam Edwards, am married to Nicole Walker! F*ck those scandals! F*ck reputation! All I want now is to hold onto her! ¡°Ms. Walker, what happened inside?¡± ¡°What do you think about this sudden incident? Do you think the sudden timing will affect the continuation of the fashion week?¡± ¡°Regarding the recent online rumors about the ominous identity of your secret child¡¯s father, what do you think? Can you tell us who the child¡¯s father is?¡± ¡°Do you even know who the father is?¡± The reporters surrounding Nicole took the chance to ask her burning questions since her assistant and bodyguards were not there. With nowhere to go, she had no choice but to directly face those questions. Lately, manyizens caught pictures of her with a pregnant belly and there were even rumors circting that her private life was a mess. In order to gain a higher position, she slept with many celebrities in the movie industry¡ªincluding Taylor and Ethan, who were the ones that promoted her, giving her the status she had today. She herself did not even know who the child¡¯s father was. Unfortunately, Nicole and the Imperial Management Studio who supported her did notpletely dismiss those rumors as she was undergoing an intense training session after epting a main female protagonist in a Hollywood blockbuster for hereback. Therefore, her silence was interpreted by the media as an admission to those rumors. At that moment, the reporters asked more embarrassing and tricky questions right on her face. ¡°Ms. Walker, are these rumors true? Your private life is so messed up that you don¡¯t even know who the father of your own child is! Please rify this, Ms. Walker!¡± ¡°You have many fans around the globe. Don¡¯t you think they deserve an answer from you?¡± However, Nicole could not hear or see anything else because she only had the approaching man in her eyes. He came toward her with no hesitation, even though he knew that it would be bad for him if everything was exposed. Yet, he still came over without turning back. Tears blurred her vision and at that moment, she wished she could return to the days when she was 17 years old. I would never have chosen to be a celebrity. Instead, I would always wait for him! Obviously, the reporters also noticed that Sam was approaching them. The name of the 9th Master of the Edwards Family was a famous one since it was once a step away from having the same power as the president. To this day, the business talent, who owned the Crimson House franchise, was certainly familiar to their ears. Just as they were about to interview Sam, the most unexpected thing happened¡ªhe strode forward and pulled Nicole into his arms without hesitation. He buried her teary face into his chest and used his body to block those frivolous shots focusing on her embarrassing looks. Then, he bellowed, ¡°Nicole¡¯s child is mine. We have already registered our marriage, so we are a legal couple. If these media outlets who falsely used and insulted her don¡¯t issue a formal apology tonight, I¡¯ll personally arrive at your doorstep and fight for my woman.¡± The elites¡ªincluding the Edwards¡ªwho remained at the scene quickly nced at him. The shutter sounds and camera shes engulfed the two of them, masking Nicole¡¯s joyful sobs. Actually, he doesn¡¯t need to do this¡­ However, Sam continued to hold her as she buried her face in his arms. Then, he removed his clothes to cover her head so that the reporters could not take pictures of her embarrassing looks. He was using his own method to protect and love her¡­ From afar, Lucy gazed at Sam and Nicole, who were surrounded by the crowd, with eyes that were full of shock. I can¡¯t believe Sam actually married a scandalous celebrity like Nicole. As the young master of the Edwards Group, this will definitely draw strong opposition from the Edwards Family because his actions will directly tarnish their reputation. However, at the moment, she was a little envious of him because he was able to openly admit about his marriage with Nicole at the expense of the Edwards Family. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. It was because Sam had the backing to say those words. He had built his business from scratch after being alienated from the Edwards Family¡¯s enterprise long ago, so he did not need to be concerned because he had nothing to lose. As for Lucy¡­ she started to take over the family business when she was a teen. It had now been more than ten years and since then, she had devoted her life to the company. If she merely left, she would lose everything. She swore in her heart as she stared at Dana, who was evacuating the guests, I can only hate myself for not being strong enough! That day¡­ isn¡¯t far away. Chapter 1287 Chapter 1287 The city tonight was filled with breaking news. The news of Nicole and Sam¡¯s secret marriage overwhelmed the reports about fashion week¡ªhalf of the news headlines in Bayside City were about the bombing incident during the fashion week while the other half were about her secret marriage. Sam knew what he would soon have to face, but he was not afraid of it. The worst case scenario would be him turning his back on the Edwards Family and he did not mind giving up thest name of ¡®Edwards¡¯ to rece it with ¡®Walker¡¯. For the sake of their child, Nicole, and his family, he had to put up a fight. Everyone was busy tonight. A lot of things recently happened in the Edwards Family¡ªon one hand, it was the marriage of the head of Edwards Family, Jordan, and on the other hand, there was the exposure of Sam¡¯s secret marriage. Jordan currently did not have the time to deal with all those matters as he only had Anna in his head. ¡°Annie! Has anyone seen Annie?¡± He frantically looked everywhere for her. Unfortunately, there was no sign of her either inside or outside the hall. Lucy had not left yet¡ªshe had been dealing with the aftermath of the incident and watched as the ambnces took the injured guests away. The Yard brothers were stupefied by the trampling. Their faces were full of shoe prints as they moaned in pain while being carried into the ambnce. Sandra was in a simr situation as well¡ªshe was hit on her face when the crowd swarmed in her direction. Lucy had to keep track of the injured people¡¯s conditions. All the guests who attended Jordan¡¯s engagement were all influential people from wealthy families, politicians, or celebrities. Every single one of them was not an ordinary person. Therefore, she needed to follow up on their conditions and comfort them. He had not been managing the Edwards Family¡¯s matters in recent years and Sam did not have any intention to intervene with all those as well while Ian, who had been spiritless after the blow of having to undergo a circumcision,cked the capability to do so. Hence, she was the one managing the Edwards Family¡¯s matters all along. At that moment, Jordan was busy looking for Anna, which resulted in Lucy having to clean up the mess. She already had her hands full¡ªappeasing the media,forting the guests, and calcting their losses. After attending two consecutive fashion shows in a day, she now had to deal with that matter without having the chance to have any rest. On top of that, she had been having so manyte nights before the fashion week. Therefore, she was so exhausted that she found it hard to keep her eyes open. What troubled her the most was the fact that it was only the first day of the fashion week and with six more days to go. Today¡¯s incident had scared many guests off, so she had to make sure that everything went well in the subsequent days. When she was exhausted to the point where she struggled to keep her eyes open, she raised her head and saw Dana, who was not far away. Lucy found that no matter when she nced at her, thetter would always pretend that she happened to be about 10 meters away and did not know her. Just like that, Dana had protected and apanied Lucy in secret. Tonight, Lucy¡¯s nominal fianc¨¦e was at the scene as well. However, as soon as the explosion urred, he fled without leaving any trace. Hmmm¡­ That¡¯s another reason to get rid of him. After that, the Edwards Family would choose another fianc¨¦e for her and she would approach that person, attract his attention, and pretend to fall in love with him. She could not stop; she had to feign that she was actively searching for a fianc¨¦e to prevent the Edwards Family from discovering her rtionship with Dana. Although the Winston and Edwards Family had matching family backgrounds and Dana¡¯s father was the most authoritative elder in the former besides Harry, the outsiders still knew Dana as a youngdy of the Winston Family despite her having a frivolous character! However, she was not ady¡ªshe was a man and had been since young. She had a man¡¯s sense of responsibility, a man¡¯s courage, and a man¡¯s masculinity. In fact, she was way better than any other man¡ªshe had never been a woman! ¡­ Jordan ignored the chaotic situation before him; all he had in mind was Anna. He found Callum and Cade, who told him that they had not seen her since they were separated by the crowd. Nobody had seen Anna. Jordan ran into the security room to find her through the surveince tape. Unfortunately, there were blind spots that were not caught on camera. The recordings only captured the part where Anna and Callum were separated by the flow of the crowd and could not locate where she had been brought to. Where has she gone? All of a sudden, a name crossed his mind¡ªCooper. As he did not have Cooper¡¯s contact number, he directly called Tiffany while getting his men to search for the area where Michael and the others had gone. She had left the scene, but she was still in shock. ¡°Jordan, why are you looking for me?¡± Jordan immediately uttered, ¡°Cooper and Anna have disappeared together! I want to know where he is!¡± Tiffany was shocked. ¡°What? Cooper and Anna have disappeared? What were you doing when you were supposed to keep an eye on your wife?¡± Bailey, who was resting his eyes next to Tiffany, abruptly opened his eyes, feigning disinterest, but in fact was eavesdropping on their conversation. ¡°Okay, okay. I¡¯ll notify you when I get an update.¡± After exchanging some words, she hung up on the call while feeling edgy. ¡°Damn it, where the hell did Cooper go?¡± An anxious Tiffany repeatedly gave Cooper a ring, but he had switched his phone off after that incident. They did not return to the Imperial or the Edwards Residence at Riverdale, so she had no idea where he went. Bailey, who was beside her, suddenly said, ¡°Michael opened a private hospital with a good surgical department. You can try to ask there.¡± Before he dealt with anyone, he would always investigate the person¡¯s background in advance. In addition to retail, Michael had a few private hospitals under hispany, Asco International, and the nearest one was just around the corner. Tiffany immediately went to the hospital. Sure enough, she saw Michel and Mitchell¡¯s family¡¯s vehicles coming in and out of the building. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. She intended to head in to look for Cooper, but when she thought of him being together with Anna, she felt really upset. Also, he would not allow her to enter as well. After some contemtion, she dialed Jordan¡¯s number. Soon, his car arrived at the hospital and he actually brought along with him a number of people. Tiffany parked her car at a hidden spot opposite the hospital, secretly watching everything that happened in front of the hospital. Jordan came in an aggressive aura¡ªhe could not bear to see Anna and Cooper together! Upon seeing the people from the Edwards Family appearing with ferocity, many bodyguards, from both the Mitchell and Michel¡¯s Families, soon exited the hospital. Without saying a word, he immediately ordered his men to barge in. ¡°Mr. Edwards, what are you doing?¡± Linus and Sophia suddenly appeared at the lobby behind all of the bodyguards and Michael stood next to her. Jordan wore a cold expression. ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up my fianc¨¦e.¡± Sophia pretended to be confused. ¡°Fianc¨¦e? Mr. Edwards, shouldn¡¯t you be watching after your own fianc¨¦e? Why would she be here?¡± He refused to beat around the bush. ¡°Move to the side. I know that Anna is here.¡± Upon hearing that, her expression turned cold. ¡°That¡¯s too bad; my father is injured and he has taken his rest. Please don¡¯t behave presumptuously here. We haven¡¯t seen your fianc¨¦e either.¡± She took a step back into the realm of the bodyguards¡¯ protection. The people from the Michel and Mitchell¡¯s Families formed a human wall, blocking Jordan¡¯s people from entering. As they were at the hospital, the ce was equipped with all necessary facilities¡ª except guns¡ªto prevent people from causing trouble. The human wall was imprable, preventing Jordan from entering. This situation further affirms that Anna is here! Chapter 1288 Chapter 1288 Jordan radiated a cold aura when he fiercely red at the direction where Sophia and Linus were leaving. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting here!¡± The people of the Edwards Family surrounded the hospital from outside, guarding all the entrances and exits of the hospital and ensuring that their besiegement was imprable. In the ward, Anna knew that Jordan had arrived, but she was reluctant to leave. I¡¯m not going anywhere today since I belong to Cooper. She threw herself into Cooper¡¯s arms without any reluctance or regret and indulged herself in his warmth and presence tonight. Sinking deep in his embrace on the bed, his guidance led her to drop all of her vignce and wariness to be one with him as she enjoyed the unprecedented pleasure of lovemaking. When her pleasure climaxed, all that was left in her mind was nothing but splendor. She felt the kind of love and warmth that she had never felt before and felt good to be a human for the first time in her life¡­ Since it waste at night, Sophia, who had stayed in the hospital to look after Cooper, did not dare to leave. However, his room had been locked, preventing anyone from entering. She slept in the neighboring ward for the night while Michael and Linus took their turns to rest while being vignt of Jordan¡¯s people¡ªin the event that they suddenly rushed in. There were a few vehicles parked at the entrance and his men had been guarding outside the hospital. They guarded all entrances and exits; they were determined to wait there until they found Anna. Tiffany parked her car outside the door to watch the situation as well. She waited until midnight and finally could not wait any longer. She then stood at the entrance gorgeously, attempting to slip past the crowd to visit Cooper. However, she was stopped outside the entrance¡ªshe was even not allowed to visit him, which obviously made the situation seem fishy! Anna must be in the hospital then! It was now midnight, but Jordan did not head to sleep. He kept loitering around the entrance, waiting for Anna to appear. At that moment, he seemed to have the most sensitive sense of smell in the world and picked up on the fragrance that she had left there. I¡¯m sure that she must be here. Representatives from both parties were in a standoff throughout the night and soon enough, it was daybreak. After pacing back and forth for the whole night, Jordan¡¯s eyes had reddened, but he still raised his head and looked in the direction of the hospital ward. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. The sun roseter in winter and it was the first time in Anna¡¯s life to wake up after a full sleep. She had slept well without any signs of insomnia or nightmares; it brought peace to her mind, as if there was an unprecedented sense of security that shrouded her with the feeling of never being thatfortable for the past 30 years. She woke up in Cooper¡¯s embrace, raising her eyes and looking at him. His sharply-defined features still looked enticing even after many years had passed. Cooper had already woken up a long time ago, but he did not rise to his full height; he merely stared at her asleep and feeling content. I never thought that in this life, I would still be able to embrace the love of my life. ¡°Morning.¡± Anna pecked him on his lips while carefully avoiding his injury. ¡°Good morning.¡± His leg was injured, but he was reluctant to get up. With her in his arms, it was as if their hearts were glued together through thinyers of flesh. After the floodgate of love was opened overnight, their love, which they held back for 30 years, went out of control like a raging flood. At that instant, all they wanted was to tightly hold each other and cherish every second that they had together. Unfortunately, they still had to separate from each other. Since their time had yet toe, they were unable to be together. Soon, Sophia¡¯s voice was heard from outside the door. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s almost time for Mrs. Yard to leave. Everything is ready at Callum¡¯s side as well.¡± The two people, who were in each other¡¯s embraces, pretended not to hear her voice. After a few seconds, Anna reluctantly uttered, ¡°I have to go.¡± Cooper nted a kiss on her ck hair. ¡°Okay, please be careful.¡± Although they were unwilling to do so, they had to temporarily part from each other. She got out of bed, wore her clothes, and tidied herself before opening the door. When the door was suddenly pulled open, Sophia, who had her ear glued on the door, stumbled into the ward. As a result, all three of them were rendered speechless. She awkwardly chuckled and fled the scene with her tail between her legs. Anna left with her as well. Although Jordan was guarding the entrance, the ce was Michael¡¯s territory and it was impossible not to have a secret exit. Sophia was now guiding Anna to leave through that exact route. She furtively peeked at Anna and noticed that thetter¡¯s face was flushed red while it shone in a glow that she had never seen before. It was as if Anna had changed into a different person. Looks like they had a wonderful night together¡­ Sophia felt troubled as she did not know how to face her mother, so she acted indifferently. She led Anna to the secret exit and said, ¡°Head into the car. Someone will pick you up after a while.¡± Anna smiled. ¡°I will take care of myself.¡± She then got on an electric bike and traveled in the carpark for a few minutes. When it came to a stop, she was then led to a door. Then, she pushed open the door and took a few steps before the view suddenly became clear¡ªshe had arrived at a subway station. In the ward, Cooper felt empty after sending her off, as if someone had dug a hole in his heart. After Sophia sent Anna off, she returned and sat opposite him while staring at him in the silence. Hehe! As expected from my dad! He sure is impressive! He managed to get her in his bed at such speed! Sophia¡¯s stare made Cooper embarrassed. He then stroked her hair and uttered, ¡°Darling, we should have our breakfast.¡± Linus, who had asked for their breakfast to be served in the ward, helped Cooper up as he took his meal. The family of three quietly ate. Sophia had to head to the venue of the fashion week after breakfast because JNS Group had two more fashion shows to host. She had to be at the scene to supervise everything. She gobbled up the food. As the millet porridge was still hot, she perspired a lot while eating it. ¡°Darling, why don¡¯t you eat slower?¡± Cooper asked. While looking at his two children, his eyes twinkled with amazement. They are Annabel¡¯s children¡ªthe products of our love and the babies that we had together! The more I look at my babies, the more I find them adorable! They look like two cute piglets when they are eating¡ªone seems quieter while the other seems livelier. I hope that we can have another two simr piglets¡ªno, I can ept having as many as I can¡­ Sophia loudly ate her breakfast, totally unaware of Cooper¡¯s intent and fatherly stare, while the same stare numbed Linus. He thought, What¡¯s wrong with Cooper today? Maybe Anna has reminded him of the past? After having breakfast, Cooper sat on the bed. Medicine had been applied on the injury on his leg, so his movements were restricted. ¡°Invite the guests outside in and let¡¯s have a meeting with them,¡± he said to Linus. Linus nodded and their people at the entrance retreated a whileter. After that, Jordan entered with an aggressive aura while Tiffany poked her head into the room before entering. Upon seeing Cooper in the ward, she was shocked. ¡°Oh, my God! Fass! You are injured!¡± He replied, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just some superficial injuries and a little concussion.¡± The moment Jordan came in, he looked around to look for Anna. He had asked his men to guard all the entrances and exits of the hospital and carefully checked every single person who entered and exited the premise, but she was nowhere to be found. No, I know that Anna must have been herest night¡ª this room is filled with her scent and I can sense her breath in the air. She must have been here! Chapter 1289 Chapter 1289 Linus, who was standing on one side, impatiently uttered to Jordan, ¡°Anna really isn¡¯t here¡­¡± Jordan nced at Cooper, who was on the bed and raising his head to look at the former. They exchanged menacing res with each other¡ªone was as steady as rock while the other as fiery as a volcano, causing invisible sparks to flicker in the air. ¡°Jordan, who are you looking for?¡± Cooper knowingly asked. Jordan¡¯s phone suddenly rang at that moment. He answered the call and immediately heard Callum¡¯s anxious voice. ¡°Father, we found Mother in Laguna Hospital. She sprained her ankle and it seems quite severe!¡± After hanging up on the call, he gave Cooper a vicious re before turning to leave. He then drove to a hospital, which was located 5km away and close to the State Hotel. ¡°Annie!¡± He pushed the door to the ward open and immediately found Anna lying on the bed with a pale face and bandaged ankle; it seemed like she was in a bad condition. ¡°Oh, Annie!¡± He anxiously approached her to check on her injuries. Fortunately, she only had a few minor abrasions and a sprained ankle with medicine having been applied on all her injuries. Anna said, ¡°I was sent to this hospital by someone and I lost my phone.¡± Jordan did not seem to suspect anything, but only God would know whether he bought her exnation. He left in a hurry after paying her a visit. As the head of the Edwards Family, he had many things to deal with after the incidentst night. ¡°Send Mrs. Yard back to the ancestral home.¡± He instructed someone beside him before leaving. The ancestral home he meant was, in fact, the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home. His action meant that she had been officially epted as the matriarch of the Edwards Family, which would then greatly impact both the Yard and Edwards Families. Upon seeing that Jordan had left and there were no outsiders in the ward, Callum worriedly asked, ¡°Mom, are you really going to the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home?¡± Anna¡¯s expression fell. ¡°Since he wants me to go there, I will do so.¡± What is he trying to do? Feeling me out? Or, is there any other purpose? Callum unintentionally noticed a hickey hidden under her clothes¡ªit seemed like a bruise, but¡­ there were quite many of them! She used to fear men¡ªeven Jordan was forbidden from getting close to her, but now it seemed like she had found the love of her life. No, that person had always been her beloved, but he had been stolen from her. A lot of things had happened over the night. The Edwards Family was in aplete mess¡ªfirstly, there was Jordan¡¯s sudden engagement followed by the exposure of Sam¡¯s secret marriages. Thebined ages of those two big shots could be totaled up to a century, but their wayward behaviors had managed to turn the world upside down, causing their family to be in hell. In contrast, the Fletcher Family was overjoyed because of what someone said¡ª¡®Stan is dating someone!¡¯ The children of the Fletcher Family ran around the yard, delivering the great news to everyone. Everyone in the family was delighted to learn about it. The fact that he was dating someone became a topic that all of them discussed whenever they met one another. The number one bachelor of the Fletcher Family¡ªthe gigantic baby who was never in a rtionship despite being almost 30 years old¡ªwas finally dating someone! It felt as if the hog that they had reared for years finally learned how to graze flowers! ¡°Stan did not return home yesterday night!¡± ¡°He went out with a girl!¡± ¡°Sean told us himself, so it must be true!¡± ¡°What? Is the adopted child really his biological child?¡± ¡­ Stanley, who had yed games for the entire night, exited the cybercaf¨¦ with two dark circles. After he bade goodbye to Christine, he returned to the house that he shared with Sean, washed his face, and went to lie on the bed, looking as though he had spent his whole night with ady under the sheets. I think I am getting old. I¡¯m now almost 30 years old, so I can¡¯t act perversely like how I used to. I used to be able to energetically head to ss after ying games for the whole night, but now I can¡¯t¡ªI feel weakened after a few rounds of games. After Stanley went home, he threw himself on the bed and started to catch up on his sleep. He had given his all in an attempt to convince her to promote his cybercaf¨¦ on Twitter. When Stanley thought about it, Christine was a celebrity with a few millions fans, which mostly consisted of gamers. If she helped him to advertise his cybercaf¨¦, the conversion rate from her fans would be high. ording to the normal business procedure, he had to spend a five to six-figure advertising fee to ce advertisements on Twitter, but he only spent a night ying games with her and treated her to a piece of bread with a can of coke¡ªall for the total cost of only 6! I used 6 to do something that usually cost five to six figures! I¡¯ve saved loads of money! Other people yed business card games, but he yed ¡®business games¡¯. No, I won¡¯t admit that it was because Christine has good skills and she aroused my fighting spirit, causing me to unknowingly y with her throughout the night. I was working¡ªand really hard at itst night. Thepany had recently branched out of the technology sector and established Dragon Technology. Cooper joined thepany and was in charge of the shares while Stanley and Sean continued to focus on game development and game merchandise. To fulfill his own dream, Stanley even opened a large cybercaf¨¦, so he had spent a lot of moneytely. The cybercaf¨¦ had more than 20,000puters equipped with top configurations to provide the most comfortable experience for its users. Therefore, the world¡¯srgest cybercaf¨¦ was established using money! Upon listening to the most recent financial report, Sean furrowed his brows. Recently, we have had to save as much money as possible; every penny counts¡­ ¡°Sean, I¡¯m not heading to the office today. Stand in for me; I have to catch up on some sleep.¡± Stanley took a shower andy on the bed to sleep, holding a cat in his arms to use it as his bolster. With a thud, Maisie ran over and tugged him. ¡°Papa, is it true that you went on a datest night?¡± He mumbled, ¡°Go away. A kid like you knows nothing. Let me sleep for a while and I will y with you later.¡±Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Okay,¡± Sean responded to Stanley before wearing his clothes and preparing to head to work like usual. I have to deal withpany matters and watch a fashion show tomorrow. The sleepy Stanley did not see Sean¡¯s deste expression. As expected, he didn¡¯t return homest night. Sean knew where Stanley went and did not hide the truth from the Fletcher Family when they came to ask. Everyone from the Fletcher Family was overjoyed. Even if Stanley was only meeting a live streaming host and actor, they were satisfied as long as the person was a woman. Stanley will eventually take the right path, get married, and have kids. ¡°Maisie, I¡¯m going to work. Be a good girl and get along well with Carmen, Hope and Poppy in the kindergarten. I¡¯ll take you out to have some fun tomorrow!¡± Sean could not help but hug Maisie before leaving. Maisie seemed to have noticed something¡ªalthough Sean still looked the same, his eyes seemed to be filled with destion. Although she was at a tender age of three, she had experienced many tough situations in life. She was kidnapped from her parents and brought to Ronney City as a merchandise, where Sophia eventually brought her home and ced her under Sean¡¯s care. As the young child was beaten a lot, she was a sensitive child since young and especially good at reading people¡¯s bodynguage. Even though she now had two fathers who treated her well, she was still a considerate child and one who was more sensible than her peers. While looking at him, she held his hand and asked, ¡°Daddy, Papa is dating someone. Does this mean that he doesn¡¯t want us anymore?¡± Her words seemed to give a huge blow to Sean¡¯s heart. If Stanley is in a rtionship, he will surely have his own family and children soon and it won¡¯t be suitable for Maisie to follow him since it can be inconvenient for him¡­ Simrly, if he gets married, it won¡¯t be convenient for him to continue to stay with me¡­ Chapter 1290 Chapter 1290 Sean patiently exined to her, ¡°When your Papa is in a rtionship, you will have a mommy to love you and maybe you will have many little brothers and little sisters! Won¡¯t you be happy, Maisie?¡± Maisie finally smiled and replied, ¡°Are we still going to stay together then?¡± He forced a smile on his face. ¡°Of course.¡± Only then did she feel relieved to head to the kindergarten. She also hugged Judge as her way of saying goodbye. As a matter of fact, she seemed to understand that Stanley, who was now in a rtionship, would soon form his own family and have his own kids. So, it was a matter of time before he would leave Sean and her. However, she still feigned happiness as she knew that he was upset. If she was upset, he would feel even more depressed. Therefore, she had to be ted to make him happy. The sun roseter in Bayside City¡ªit was 8.00AM when the day was finally bright. Casper nuzzled Daniel in his arms and woke thetter up. Daniel opened his eyes and noticed that Alice was already dressed and doing her makeup; it seemed like she was about to leave. He suddenly sat up. ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Alice was applying lipstick while holding thepact mirror as she replied, ¡°Yeah.¡± She pressed her lips as destion filled her eyes. Daniel rose to his full height and gently wrapped his arms around her waist. ¡°Can¡¯t you stay with me for another day?¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t,¡± she adamantly replied. Her reply left him in dejection. As always, career is more important than a man since thetter means nothing to her. He knew where he stood. Love was not the only thing in her eyes and neither was he. Sarah had woken up early to see Hope and Poppy off before they entered the car to head to the kindergarten. After that, when she was yawning in her pink, tender pajamas, she suddenly saw Daniel driving Alice and Casper out. Cooper, who happened to return home, saw Alice leaving in Daniel¡¯s car. When Michael arrived home after sending Carmen to the kindergarten, he finally took a breather after being busy for the entire night. He switched on his phone and saw that the Fletcher Family¡¯s group chat was extremely active with notifications that he had received messages. In the blink of an eye, the notification showed that there were ¡®99+¡¯ unread messages. The Fletcher Family¡¯s group chat consisted of the old and young family members. It was usually the older ones who were more active since they would share motivational quotes and passages by unknown experts every day. While the young ones were usually quieter and less active, they were behaving in the opposite manner today. ¡®Ah, Stan is in a rtionship! That¡¯s not bad!¡¯ ¡®Stan is finally dating someone! It¡¯s something that we have been waiting for!¡¯ ¡®This child, Stan, is almost 30 years old, and he finally understands the importance of rtionships! Congrattions! Try to get two kids in three years, yeah! The Fletcher Family will have new members next year!¡¯ Besides that, there was also another family group chat, which consisted of the younger generation that ranged from 15 to 35 years old. That particr group was even more active with new messages being sent day and night. He secretly opened that chat group, which was currently livelier than normal. ¡®Stan, congrattions for popping the cherry!¡¯ ¡®A warm congrattion to Mr. Stanley for stepping down from his title as a bachelor and nailing a pretty, rich, and fair girlfriend!¡¯ ¡®Now, let¡¯s wee Mr. Stanley to give a speech for popping his cherry! Give a round of apuse to Stanley! Stanley¡¯ ¡®Ah, it looks like Mr. Stanley has overworked himselfst night. In my view, he is still sleeping with his beauty. He didn¡¯t even ept the money that I sent to him. Let¡¯s not disturb him.¡¯ Michael swiped downward to read the previous messages. Hey, that number one silly dog of the Fletcher Family has actually learned to date a girl and stayed out for the whole night? This is even rarer than Judge behaving in the house! Whenever the topic of Stanley, the idiot dog, was mentioned, everyone from the Fletcher Family had a headache. Judge even did better than him¡ªit had at least three or five girlfriends although it failed to mate with any one of them. Now, the silly dog had finally enlightened. When Stanley¡¯s parents were about to ept the fact that his son was not interested in girls but preferred boys, it was out of their expectation to encounter such a surprise. They had been so delighted that they started to give money in the family group chat early in the morning. It seemed like the Fletcher Family took the youngdy seriously. Even though she only met Stanley yesterday, her details had been spread among the Fletchers today, including her Wikipedia, profile, Twitter ount,ments, works, live streaming ount and so on. Everything about her was revealed to his family. Michael took the opportunity to read more about her. She was a hardworking youngdy who did not have a tainted past andpletely relied on her skills to be famous, leading her team to be the champion for the International E-sports Tournament. Although she was still a newbie in the entertainment industry, she had a great future ahead¡ªa good match for Stanley, that silly dog. However, as a newbie who had recently made her debut, being in a rtionship was the same as ending her own career. So, her agency would probably forbid her from doing so as well. Luckily, the fact that she spent the night with Stanely was only circted within the Fletcher Family. Otherwise, they would have appeared in the news. The headlines today were all about the secret marriage of the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress, Nicole, causing her news to be published all over the media. Sophia had left earlier to head to the venue to personally supervise the two uing big fashion shows. The fashion shows were arranged to be held in a certain hotel and museum to ensure that the events looked imposing and beautiful. Amidst her busy schedule, she took a nce at her phone. As she had also joined the Fletcher Family¡¯s group chat, she discovered that it was filled with discussions about Stanley and Christine staying out for the night. It appears that Stanley has encountered his true love, but how about Sean? Sophia initially wanted to console Sean, but she did not know how to do so. Perhaps he has already mentally prepared himself for this. It had already been more than ten years, but Stanley had continuously overlooked Sean¡¯s feelings. It could have been because Stanley was straight¡ªthe kind where he would not swing in that way. Therefore, his rtionship with Sean only remained as brothers. Rtionships are not something that can be forced. She came across the incident about Sam and Nicole again. They had hid their secret marriage so well that even the Edwards Family had no idea about the identity of his child. However, he unexpectedly exposed their marriage on his own ord during the chaosst night. As the only winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress in Cethos, Nicole had long evolved from an actress of a local TV drama to a renowned actress of box office movies. The exposure of her marriage last night had attracted great attention from the media, which resulted in the news bing the headlines this morning. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. It was inevitable that her past dark history would be exposed as well, causing theizens to mock and make fun of him to the extent where they even photoshopped him into memes. The guys were jealous of Sam, the rich man who married Nicole, a sexy beauty with an angelic aura. She was one of the few Cethos celebrities who managed to enter the international mainstream filming industry. The films that she starred in were not only famous in Cethos, but they were just as popr in other countries too. Those people, who were sour grapes, even maliciously posted the indecent photos that were taken of her before. On the other hand, women were jealous that despite Nicole being a female celebrity with plenty of indecent history, she was able to marry Sam, who was a bachelor of the finest quality in Cethos. So, they also posted and shared her indecent photos online as well. Below the news were all nastyments and the public had unfriendly opinions toward them¡ªthose comments were none other than the traditional scenario of a female celebrity seducing a rich man. After thinking about it, Sophia texted Nicole, ¡®Goddess, are you alright?¡¯ It was the first time that Nicole entered the Edwards Residence¡ªSam had brought her home to meet the Edwards Family. He refused to continue to hide his rtionship with her from the Edwards Family, media, and the public. He wanted to announce to his family that he had married her and bring her back to the ancestral hall to pay respect to his ancestors in order to acknowledge her identity. At that moment, she now sat in the living room of the Edwards residence, but members of the Edwards Family seemed unfriendly toward her. Meanwhile, he was quarreling with the elders of the Edwards Family in the adjacent meeting room. The quarrel was obstreperous to the point where Nicole heard it even though she had no intention to do so. When she held her phone to reply to Sophia¡¯s text, she suddenly raised her head and saw that Anna was being weed in¡­ Chapter 1291 Chapter 1291 Naturally, Anna and Nicole were treated very differently. Thetter could only be sidelined as she sat all by herself on the sofa in the living room in a state of restlessness. Nobody from the Edwards Family weed her¡ªnot even the dog lying in the living room peeped a look at her. Anna, on the other hand, received a very warm wee. They invited her with the most heartfelt hugs. Tea was served as soon as she and her two sons sat on the sofa while the elders politely weed her in person. ¡°Mrs. Yard, young masters, your rooms are ready,¡± said one of the servants. Anna nodded. She was then led to the madam¡¯s room in the mansion by the servants. The two newly- arrived young masters had their own rooms as well. This belongs to N?velDrama.Org: ?. They were only furious about the sudden announcement of the marriage and the fact that Jordan had kept hidden his rtionship with Anna all these years. However, they had nothing other than an extreme fondness for her and the young masters. Anna was probably the only one who¡¯d match up to Jordan so perfectly, and the young masters made them even more than satisfied. Finally, here came some presentable young masters for the Edwards Group. Everyone from the Edwards Group warmly weed Anna as the head. A lot of the group¡¯s followers came specially to greet her. The crowd passed by cheerfully. Everybody seemed to intentionally ignore Nicole in the living room; as it seemed, only Anna saw her and smiled at her from a distance. They joined a banquet once together, so it could be said that Anna and Nicole kind of knew each other. Anna already entered the inner mansion with the elders, and the discussions in the living room went on fervently. Many followers of the Edwards Group kept on talking about this Madam, who held the world¡¯s luxury empire in her hand. They wondered why she had to hide for so many years. Oh, the Yard Family! A truly exquisite n from the royal lineage! Although that was in the past, they were still royal blood. The crowd continued chatting. Even then, none of them paid any attention to Nicole, who was still sitting on the sofa in the living room. She came with a nanny, who was cradling a kid of hers and Sam¡¯s. Today was the first time that Sam brought the kid back and would like to introduce him to the family. Their son was a cute boy named Shawn Edwards. Anna took a look at her room before she went back to the hall again with the servants. In a few moments, she would, as the head of the Yard Family, meet with the elders of the Edwards Family and others. At that very moment, Jordan and the elders were arguing loudly with Sam in the meeting room. Anna and her two sons, therefore, rested on the sofa in the living room while they waited for the bickering in the other room toe to an end. People surrounded Anna and served her attentively. ¡°Ms. Walker,¡± said Anna as she greeted Nicole. Nicole answered, ¡°Mrs. Yard.¡± The two were considered greeted. Anna seemed to want to say something more, but the meeting room¡¯s door opened suddenly while Sam stepped out gloomily. The elders were rebuking behind him, ¡°Traitor! You wicked son! You are a shame to the Edwards Family. You are no longer an Edwards from this day on!¡± Jordan followed the elders with a somber expression on his face. Meanwhile, Sam walked directly toward Nicole, who was being ignored by the crowd. He took her hand and wanted to leave. Nicole said nothing and left with Sam. It was obvious that the negotiation did not go well. Sam left without hesitation. Together with his wife and son, he left with his head held high while the elders kept scolding him from behind. ¡°Sam, make sure you understand what you are doing. Once you leave this house today, there will be no space for you to set foot in the Edwards Family ever again! Your descendants will therefore be entirely disqualified for the genealogy record book!¡± Sam held his son, turned, and nced at the elders as he sniggered. ¡°I am leaving the Edwards Family today! Please take out my name from the genealogy record book right now.¡± He then left with his son without a second thought. A few bodyguards came out from the main mansion with several suitcases and Corrado; they even took Sam¡¯s favorite pot of orchid. Cats, dogs, clothing, and stationery¡ªall his personal stuff were gone. Even Corrado¡¯s mattress was taken away. He left sopletely and clearly, as if he had never existed in the Edwards Family. ¡°You¡­¡± The grand elder, who was Sam¡¯s uncle in blood, was livid. They did not want to let Sam go either. After all, he was the 9th Old Master Edwards¡ªthe one with greatworks and who almost became the youngest president ever. His enormous power in political circles was still effective, and the current president was even once his secretary. He was, at the same time, the only owner of the Crimson House chain. Wherever stood the Crimson House was where his power was extended to. The Edwards Family really did not want to let him go, but they, on the other hand, could not stand that he lowered himself that much to marry an actress. Everyone from the entertainment circle was dirty; exceptions might only be people like Michael or Harry, who acted as a cover of their real identity. How could someone like Nicole, who climbed all the way up thedder from a trainee to the best actress, still be pure and innocent? It was not impossible for Sam to be together with Nicole, since all the sessful people nowadays had several mistresses. It was also not a problem for them to have children and to record the children in the genealogy record book of Edwards¡ªbut it was out of the question that Nicole could enter Edwards Family and be the official wife of the 9th Old Master! Sam¡¯s official wife must be ady like Anna. Even though she would only be a pretty face for decoration, she had to be noble! However, for Sam, it was not negotiable either. He not only wanted to be with Nicole, but he also insisted on marrying her openly and naming her officially as his wife! Both parties were calm in the beginning as they presented their viewpoints and reasonable requests. But it eventually turned into a fight. Sam went far away, yet the grand elder was still yelling, ¡°You little b*stard. Watch out, you traitor¡­ I will make you unable to show your face in Bayside City!¡± Nevertheless, his threat did not make Sam stop. Sam¡¯s business had separated from the Edwards Group¡¯s for a long time. He built Crimson House from the ground up, and it had nothing to do with the Edwards Group anyway. As forworks¡­ Edwards Family¡¯sworks in the political circle were actually established by him. For the past years, he mainly worked in his own name instead of under the family¡¯s shelter. The Edwards Group could not do anything about him anyway. After Cooper left, he knew that he had to be strong enough to escape the Group¡¯s grip. He had nned for so many years before he could sessfully leave today. He was finally strong enough to leave now. Otherwise, he would end up the same way as Cooper back in the days¡ªhe¡¯d had to watch his loved ones die in front of him! Anna saw Sam off silently. He carried his son with one hand and held Nicole with the other as he walked out of the Edwards¡¯ residence. Memories kepting back into her mind. She saw an image of a young boy, who yed the piano, jumping onto the green train recklessly with little money in his pocket as he eloped with his darling. He was as certain as how Sam was today. They thought nothing would be a problem as long as they were in love. But eventually¡­ After Sam left, Anna put on her perfect pretense and was invited warmly by the elders into the meeting room. Chapter 1292 Chapter 1292 Whilst being entirely cold toward Nicole, the Edwards Family cheerfully weed Anna, Callum, and Cade. The followers of the Group were also very curious about Mrs. Yard, so they followed and entered the room. On the other hand, Sam unloaded the invisible burden when he stepped out the main gate of the Edwards Family, feeling that everything was worth it! He held his child as he walked toward his car with pride. Nicole had settled the cat and dog in the car already. Sam left the family because of her. She was terrified and confused, but at the same time, overjoyed¡­ She lowered her head to hide the glow of joy that gleamed all over her face. We do not need the Edwards¡¯ support to prosper. The future is ours to take control! Lucy¡¯s car arrived right then. She had had a restless night and a busy morning. She did not even take a nap for two to three days in a row, yet the family urged her toe and greet Mrs. Yard. Hence, she took some time out from her busy schedule just to show up. Sam¡¯s servants were loading his luggage onto his car at the gate. When Lucy saw them, she poked her head out and asked,¡°Uncle Sam, are you leaving?¡± She already got the news about what happened today on her way back. Sam¡¯s choice did not surprise her at all because he was powerful enough to go against the Edwards Family. His affection toward Nicole amazed her. Who would have imagined that Nicole would be the reason he left the Edwards Family. What a man, full of emotion and affection¡ªit was something very rare in the Edwards Family! Sam approached Lucy, tapped on her shoulder, and uttered, ¡°I am leaving. From now on, I am not an Edwards. Lucy, I cannot protect you any longer, so take care.¡± He earnestly looked at her again and left eventually. Lucy understood what he meant. Sam¡¯s worries and concerns about her were clearly expressed through his gaze. Lucy was Jordan¡¯s only child. As she was the youngdy of the Edwards Group, Jordan handed over everything to her with confidence. Sam liked Lucy as well. She was an extremely intelligent and capable woman who had inherited her father¡¯s courage and vision entirely. She was well considered as the head of the family, with the Edwards Group¡¯s future in her hand. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. However, now that Anna hade into the Edwards Family with her sons, the Edwards now had four more young masters. Two of them were dumb*sses, but the twins, Callum and Cade, were no ordinary people. They would be a great challenge for Lucy. Besides, Anna was not a simpleton either. Once she moved into the Edwards Residence, this stepmother would regard Lucy, the only child from Jordan¡¯s ex-wife, as a thorn in the flesh. Together with the inheritance issue, things would get even moreplicated. And now that even Sam had left, Lucy had no support anymore. She would definitely struggle to survive in the Edwards Family in the future. Jordan had left the Edwards Group when Lucy was still young. Honestly, Lucy had not much affection toward her father, while her mother died at an early age as well. The rtionship between Lucy and Sam, who was more than 10 years older than her, was surprisingly good. Sam often took care of her since her childhood, so she was closest to him among the whole family. When Lucy had a conflict with Cooper before, it was Sam who interceded. At this point, Lucy still kept the bright spirit as she said, ¡°Uncle Sam, don¡¯t worry. I am no longer a child, so I could take good care of myself.¡± Sam smiled as he rubbed his niece¡¯s head, like when she was little. He then got in the car and drove away from the Edwards Residence. Sam no longer belonged to the family. Lucy saw him off as she waited until his car disappeared from sight. Then, she took a deep breath and entered the mansion. The gate of the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home was wide open, like a dark and gloomy cave to the underworld, while eerie winds were blowing through. Outsiders found it magnificent, but they had no idea that it went straight to theher. Outsiders also envied the luxurious side of the Edwards Group. They fought hard to get in, whereas people on the inside were struggling for a way out. Old families that sustained for hundreds of years, such as the Edwards, were particrly feudal on the inside. Outside the family, theirpanies prospered and thrived at the peak of the world while they clutched tons of wealth to establish their business empire. However, internally, it was very possible that women were still not allowed to sit at the table during the family banquet. The most terrifying part was, the feud, which had existed for hundreds of years, promoted the collective concept of a n that prioritized the benefit of the family over individuals¡ªindividual pursuit and belief must make way for the family. In the long run, this induced unmeasurable suppression of one¡¯s mind and belief. Most of them could never leave the family. Whoever made their decision to actually leave the family must possess enormous courage and perseverance. For example, Cooper, who eloped with Annabel years before, came back eventually. Or Michael, who left the Fletchers and established his own business, had to return to the family after all these years. Perhaps not long in the future, Sam would reconcile with the Edwards Family as well, for he was taught and brought up with such a n mindset. It was rooted so deep in his life, so could that bepletely renounced that easily? Certainly, the Edwards Family was not that extreme in banning women from sitting at the table. However, the arrival of Anna would undoubtedly induce outrageous changes within the Edwards Group, which would put Lucy in danger. Lucy entered the main hall of the Edwards¡¯ ancestral home, noticing that quite a few elders and the Edwards Group¡¯s followers hade. She then saw a group that was encircled by the crowd. Like the moon surrounded by stars, in the middle of the crowd sat Jordan and the glowing Anna; on the side of her were Callum and Cade. The grand elder, who was pissed by Sam just moments ago, was now showing his loving care toward the twins. ¡°Who could imagine that these young masters belong to the Edwards¡¯ bloodline! God is smiling on us. We finally have descendants!¡± ¡°Young masters, are you interested in working in the Edwards Group?¡± ¡°The Edwards Group is now run by your sister, but as a girl, she would get married at some point and change her surname anyway. The Edwards Group¡¯s future still counts on you two. With your great abilities, the Group will certainly have a bright future and achieve great heights!¡± Upon hearing their conversation from the side, Lucy shivered. Are they nning to deprive all my effort and achievement gained in the Edwards Group in the past 10- plus years simply by saying that I would get married at some point and change my surname anyway? Before Callum and Cade answered, Lucy suddenly said, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m home.¡± Earlier, Jordan was smiling, but when he saw Lucy, he put on a serious expression and asked, ¡°How is the fashion week going?¡± Lucy answered, ¡°Everything that needs to be done is done. Nothing critical happened in the showrooms.¡± ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Jordan acknowledged with satisfaction. ¡°Come. Let me introduce you¡ªthis is your stepmother, Anna, and these are your two brothers.¡± Lucy uttered politely, ¡°Mrs. Yard, brothers. Nice to meet you.¡± Anna smiled gently. ¡°We have met.¡± Jordan waspletely satisfied with his daughter. ¡°This daughter or mine has outstanding abilities. Without her, the Edwards Group would not be where it is now. Callum, Cade, you should learn from your sister.¡± On the surface, Callum and Cade nodded and humbly agreed, but in reality, they had other ns in mind. Lucy was Jordan¡¯s greatest asset in the Edwards Family, so before one could bring Jordan down, it was absolutely necessary to get rid of Lucy! Chapter 1293 Chapter 1293 Lucy sat down and talked to Jordan for a while. All five family members seemed to be enjoying themselves, but only they knew what they were actually thinking about. ¡°Dad, I broke up with Dwayne already.¡± Lucy said it so suddenly with a t and unemotional tone that it sounded almost as if she was reporting about work to her superior, when in reality, Dwayne was Lucy¡¯s fianc¨¦. Jordan and all the elders were surprised by Lucy¡¯s update. She and her boyfriend had been in a stable rtionship for a few weeks and had broken up right when they were about to get married. Not wanting to exin further, Lucy said, ¡°Dad, I am a little tired, so I¡¯ll head upstairs and rest.¡± She stood up and left without saying anything else. From a third person¡¯s perspective, it appeared as if Jordan and Anna were family while Lucy was just an outsider. Everyone else just thought that she was emotional because of the breakup and didn¡¯t think too much about it. Anna¡¯s family of three moved into the Edwards Residence, but the two other brothers who were injured stayed back in the hospital, bound to live a life dependent on another¡¯s assistance. As the fashion week was still ongoing after Anna and Jordan became public, the emcee position for Ronney Fashion Week was reasonably passed on to Lucy. At this moment, Stanley, who had slept for the whole morning, woke up in the afternoon, not knowing that the Fletcher family was in a huge mess due to his love affairs. The Fletcher Family was very disciplined; in order not to disturb Stanley¡¯s dating life, they were tight- lipped. Since the rtionship had just been revealed, they kicked him out of the family group overnight and discussed openly about his love affairs in the group chat. So when Stanley woke up, he realized he had been kicked out from a few family group chats. ¡°What the hell?¡± He brushed his teeth and pet the dog while looking at his phone. It was only after checking with a few people did he learn that there was a new family group chat, which they then added him into again. No one told Stanley that the Fletchers were still talking about his love life in the old group chat. Stanley took a look at the time; it seemed that there was a kids¡¯ fashion show in the afternoon that was hosted by a children¡¯s clothing brand owned by Sophia. He quickly picked himself up, and when it was about time for the kindergarten¡¯s pick-up, he called Sean, who went to the kindergarten to pick up Maisie. The family of three gathered at the gate of the show and found that everyone was already there with their children. Michael brought Ashton and Carmen; Harry brought Hope and Poppy; Justin brought Nathan and Lorelei; and Tiffany brought Bailey. What seems to be wrong here? All the other kids were happy, but Justin and Bailey had a long face; they didn¡¯t seem to be too happy. Sophia had spentvishly on today¡¯s show. Not only did she bring the whole family, she had also invited many celebrity families who got popr with parent-children shows as well as popr child stars and youth groups to help out. Almost all of Cethosian¡¯s child stars were in the show, including a few from overseas. She wanted her kids¡¯ clothing brand to be globalized. Bailey really didn¡¯t want toe today, but he had to since he had gotten the invitation letter. Bailey naturally sat with Cooper and was discussing something important with him while Tiffany sat on the other side of Cooper, trying hard to get close to him. ¡°Coop¡­¡± Tiffany had a long tone and clear artiction; she had sessfully mastered the essence of being flirtatious while speaking in Cethosiannguage. She was wearing a v-neck dress with a low-cut¡ª which was so revealing that her are was about to be seen¡ªas her pair of big boobs hung on Cooper¡¯s shoulders. Cooper looked at Tiffany and then at her chest before asking, ¡°Tiffany, don¡¯t you feel cold wearing this?¡± While still leaning on him, Tiffany simply replied, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s so cold, Coop. Hug me.¡± Cooper frowned and found a down jacket to cover her chest. ¡°Please don¡¯t let your chest catch a cold.¡± ¡°Hey¡­¡± she purred flirtatiously. Stanley, who was sitting next to them, whispered to Sean, ¡°Look at these women, wearing super thin socks in the winter with half of their boobs hanging outside their clothes. What is it that they want? Don¡¯t they feel cold?¡± Sean smiled and didn¡¯t respond. It seemed that Sean and Cooper were both from the same group¡ªstraight men who knew nothing about the act of seduction. Seeing that Sean didn¡¯t talk to him, Stanley went to annoy Michael. ¡°Uncle, will youe to my cybercaf¨¦¡¯s opening?¡± he asked innocently. ¡°I will treat you to barbecue skewers if youe. I promise! Everyone from your family is in for the treat! Just order anything you want, since I am not short of money!¡± Michaelughed grimly and didn¡¯t want to talk to the silly and stingy Stanley. Previously, he acted cute and rode Michael¡¯s coattails, asking thetter to advertise for hispany¡¯s new game. He then just took two photos of them in their cosy suits. When everything was done, Stanley didn¡¯t even pay a single cent to Michael; instead, he invited his whole family to eat mutton skewers by the roadside without air conditioning in the summer. When they reached the venue, Cooper¡¯s face immediately turned ashen. He had thought that the Fletcher Family would, at the very least, treat them to eat in a restaurant, and so he wore his haute couture men¡¯s suit that cost 500,000 to eat mutton skewers that cost around 40 per head. Luckily, he didn¡¯t betroth his daughter to him; otherwise, his daughter might only get to eat instant noodles for every meal. With Michael, he at least had a farm and still got to eat so many delicacies that he felt sick. Michael would remember this matter for the rest of his life. So now, when Stanley mentioned the grand opening of his cybercaf¨¦, Michael just pretended to not hear him. He was guessing that the pay he¡¯d get would most likely be a free one-day pass for him to y with the newestputer in the cybercaf¨¦. Eventually, Stanley stopped addressing him. It didn¡¯t matter if he hadn¡¯t heard it, since his wife held shares in the cybercaf¨¦ anyway, so she would most certainly go on the opening. Would he be absent if his wife wasing? ¡°Grandpa!¡± Suddenly, a bell-like sound rang before Carmen jumped into Cooper¡¯s arms. Cooper was originally in a serious discussion about something important with Bailey. When Carmen came, he immediately beamed with joy. Carmen was the lead model who would be wearing thetest autumn and winter children¡¯s clothing on the catwalk today. Her parents bought this children¡¯s clothing brand for her; Cooper even paid a lot of money to invite many foreign children¡¯s clothing designers toe over. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. ¡°Good girl. Let me hug you.¡± Cooper hugged Carmen and took some candies out for her. She then enjoyed her candies with satisfaction. Carmen was well dressed that day and looked super adorable. She was having her candy while sitting quietly without interrupting Bailey and Cooper¡¯s discussion. Tiffany tried to tease her, as if she wanted to give her a hug, but Carmen rejected it. Bailey had always wanted to help in match-making Cooper and Tiffany. He then said, ¡°Mr. Cooper, the unity in marriage will be an agreement between our two families. Hopefully, you can consider and think through it carefully.¡± Before Cooper started talking, Carmen asked, ¡°Grandpa, what does ¡®unity in marriage¡¯ mean?¡± Cooper didn¡¯t know how to exin, so he just gave an example. ¡°If one day, you get married to Bailey, our family will merge with his family. That is called ¡®unity in marriage¡¯.¡± Shocked, Carmen replied, ¡°Grandpa, do I have to get married at this young age? ¡± Cooper then quickly rified, ¡°I was just giving you an example.¡± Although Cooper was just making an example, Bailey took it for real. Getting married to this little girl? Chapter 1294 Chapter 1294 Having a unity in marriage with the Michel Family is something that has to be done. The elders and everyone in my family have been looking forward to this, but unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any good fit. This adorable kid in front of me is Cooper¡¯s granddaughter, who is undeniably a member of the Michels. Hence, if I get to marry her, it would also be considered that the unity in marriage mission isplete. Whatmore, this little girl is very adorable. Sadly, everything Cooper said was just to give Carmen an idea of what unity in marriage meant. Apart from that, there was really nothing more to it. She was his dear sweetheart. If it were up to him, he wouldn¡¯t want her to get married at all¡ªmuch less for a unity in marriage. My grandson-inw has to marry into the family and live with us. Their age difference should not be greater than ten years old, but if my future grandson-inw is ten years younger than she will be at that point, then that will be okay regardless of whether he is in his twenties or thirties. If Carmen followed in her mother¡¯s footsteps and got married to an older man, that would mean that he would be getting an old grandson-inw. No way am I letting history repeat itself. He was going to see to it that things would go his way this time around. If Carmen ended up having kids with the man, like Sophia and Michael did, he would not be able to stop things. Bailey was thinking way too much, and Cooper was holding Carmen, not wanting to let her go¡ªnot even when Michael had repeatedly urged him to pass Carmen into his arms. However, in the end, Carmen eventually found herself in Michael¡¯s embrace. Carmen was in Michael¡¯s arms when she said, ¡°Dad, grandpa said that, when I grow up, I will marry Bailey!¡± Michael looked at Bailey, who was wearing a nice suit with his hair neatlybed over, sitting not far away. He then turned to Carman and said loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll never marry you off!¡± He then gave Bailey a death stare. This 14-year-old ¡®uncle¡¯ wants to marry my Carmen? Not even in his wildest dreams! He should know his ce, for God¡¯s sake! How old is Carmen and how old is he? Does he not know? His wife, Sophia, already had a history of marrying an old man, so there was no way he was going to let his daughter follow in her mother¡¯s footsteps! Absolutely not! He hugged Carmen a little more tightly, just in case Bailey got to even catch a glimpse of her. Bailey seemed to have also sensed Michael¡¯s evil eyes ring at him. It was just an example, okay? And Cooper was the one stating it as an example! Originally, Cooper was just giving an example, but as it spread, it became a rumor with a twisted meaning. Eventually, it turned out that Carmen would be getting married to Bailey once she turned sixteen, which was the minimum legal age for marriage overseas. There was no knowing how things turned out to be like this, but Bailey and Carmen¡¯s unity in marriage news spread like wildfire. It could have been Tiffany spreading the rumor, but then again, it could actually be Carmen herself doing it. Bailey realized that the atmosphere in the venue was getting more and more tense with Carmen¡¯s dad, her godfather, brother, uncle, and even their dog all staring at him with a fierce look. We aren¡¯t even getting married! It is merely an idea! Even if he were to get married to Carmen, it would be at least ten years from now! And so many changes could happen within the years¡ªTiffany and Cooper could be married by then! Sophia, who was initially busy working backstage, came out excitedly after she found out about the rumor, and she went over to Bailey with Sarah. My, oh my. The longer I look at this ¡®old son-inw¡¯ of mine, the cuter he looks! How cute! He had amazing skin and a handsome face to match it, along with a pair of beautiful eyes and straight, smooth hair. He also had super long eyshes, a sweet voice, and a good sense of fashion; everything about him was perfect. The longer she looked at him, the more she liked him. Bailey was dumbfounded. In the weird and strange atmosphere, the kid¡¯s fashion show had begun, and Carmen walked onto the stage. During the catwalk, Michael tried to distract Bailey by talking to him while thetter was trying to watch the show. Hence, in the end, he didn¡¯t really get to see Carmen at the catwalk at all. Finally, when the show ended, Michael quickly ran backstage and took Carmen away. He was definitely not going to let the 14-year-old ¡®old man¡¯ take a peek at his little girl. The show was a huge sess, and Sophia was so happy that she invited everyone toe over to her house for a meal. ¡°Lucy, pleasee over and join us!¡± Sophia invited Lucy warmly. But Lucy seemed like she had something on; she ran out quickly with her phone, saying, ¡°I have something going on today. Maybe some other time.¡± Sophia then went over and invited Bailey. ¡°Bailey, would you like to join us for a meal at our ce?¡± Bailey did not know what to say. Tiffany, on the other hand, wasted no time in seizing the opportunity that had presented itself and replied, ¡°Oh, sure!¡± She happily followed Cooper to Sophia¡¯s house, so Bailey had no choice but to follow. Stanley was busy hugging the kids as he followed the crowd for a free meal too. Their family was having a feast again! N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. The Imperial Vi No. 8. Tiffany was glued to Cooper, as usual. It seemed like she was trying to bury her chest on his face, but Cooper was unbothered and seemed to be ignoring her. Carmen changed her clothes and came downstairs in a hand-me-down one-piece pajamas. Almost all of her pajamas were passed down from Nathan; clothes worn by others were less irritating to children¡¯s skin. Sophia kept surrounding her ¡®old son-inw¡¯ and constantly checking on his food preference. ¡°Bailey, what type of food do you like most? I will order it for you! We have all sorts of delicacies at home, and we even rear animals; take some home with you if you wish!¡± Cooper, who was at the side, couldn¡¯t stand it anymore and scoffed coldly, ¡°Call me ¡®uncle¡¯!¡± Sophia changed a new topic¡ªshe started introducing her family members to Bailey enthusiastically. ¡°These are Carmen¡¯s cousins, Nathan and Stanley! This is Uncle Linus. There¡¯s Uncle Justin, Aunt Celine, and those are her cousins and uncles.¡± Bailey looked blurred and unsure of what to do. He was probably in despair trying to distinguish between the Cethosian family hierarchy and how to address each and every one of them. What is this? Am I being introduced to the parents officially? Bailey and Cooper were talking about the business cooperation issues, while Michael walked far away with Carmen in his arms. ¡°Sean, look¡ªthis is Sour Face¡¯s penis. It¡¯s so big already; do you really not want to set him up with Maisie?¡± Sarah was hugging Hope while trying to squeeze to Sean¡¯s front. She will never get tired of it, huh? Sean thought to himself. Is it that interesting to invite people toe over to look at her son¡¯s penis? Stanley was holding Maisie while ying cards in his arms. Meanwhile, in the chess room, Linus, Nathan, and three others were ying card games when halfway through the game, Stanley took out his mobile phone and was shocked as he eximed, ¡°Today is the 31st of the month!¡± Linus put out a King poker card and said, ¡°Yes, today is the 31st.¡± Stanley, who was getting anxious, said, ¡° Oh, dear. I still have a few minutes left for my phone n. I have to finish them!¡± After he was done speaking, he quickly put on the Bluetooth headset and dialed a number. Linus had also heard about his rumor; it seemed like Stanley had started dating, so he figured he must be calling his girlfriend. Everyone was paying extra attention subconsciously, but they didn¡¯t expect the first thing that Stanley said was: ¡°Hey, Sean.¡± Everyone went speechless. Sean was just right in the living room, just one wall away, and the door wasn¡¯t even shut. He could¡¯ve just shouted at him instead of calling him. He could have given a call to his little girlfriend or the Fletcher Residence, right? But it seemed that Sean was used to this; he was talking about Hope¡¯s penis with Sarah, and at the same time, responding to Stanley¡¯s phone call. ¡°Stan, is your phone n expiring soon? How many minutes do you have left?¡± It seemed like this wasn¡¯t the first time they had yed this stupid game. Chapter 1295 Chapter 1295 With a lollipop in his mouth, Stanley said while holding a stack of cards in his hands, ¡°Uh, there¡¯s ten more minutes left. Let¡¯s think of some topics for a conversation and use up the phone package.¡± Stanley had a separate phone for his work life and his private life. His work phone was with his assistant, while he held his private phone himself. He registered the phone card after he finished his military training and went back to university. Hence, he had been subscribed to the student phone package that still remained until now. After thinking about it, Sean suggested, ¡°Why don¡¯t you livestream your card game?¡± Hence, Stanley began doing that. ¡°Linus just yed a pair of Kings. Nate-tan passed, and I yed a pair of Aces. Now, the ball is passed to Linus, who passed his turn. Then, I yed a full house and a flush. Ah, Nate-tan actually hid a four-of-a-kind! Oh, Linus also hid a pair of Kings. Damn! I lost 10 bucks!¡± Everyone was speechless after hearing that. After they finished this round of game, Stanley realized that a few minutes were left in the phone package, so he quickly brought up another topic of conversation. ¡°Sean, what did you have for dinnerst night? Oh, I forgot. I had it with you. What about Maisie¡ªwhat did she have? Oh, no. Time¡¯s up! We¡¯ve even exceeded for a minute! Bye!¡± Everyone was speechless again after seeing this. Sean was probably the only person who could stand this. If it were another person, they would have been beyond furious conversing with an idiot like Stanley. Meanwhile, Sophia, who came over to peek at them some time ago, suddenly had a realization. This idiotic game actually seems pretty fun! In the evening, after dinner, Tiffany deliberately drank a lot of wine and flirted with Cooper drunkenly. ¡°Coop, I think I¡¯m slightly drunk¡­¡± Sophia red at her angrily, but she still arranged a room for her. However, she arranged for Tiffany to stay in a room on the first floor so that it would be quite far from Cooper¡¯s room on the third floor. Tiffany didn¡¯t seem like she had ns to leave, while Bailey prepared to leave after the dinner, but Sophia warmly asked him to stay back. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. ¡°Bailey, stay for a night before leaving! I noticed during dinner that you like chicken soup. There¡¯s still a lot left; if you¡¯d like, bring some back home.¡± However, Michael¡¯s face darkened after hearing that. Bring some, my *ss! I won¡¯t give a drop of the soup to you, old man! Bailey rejected Sophia¡¯s offer. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take my leave first. I have some errands to run at work.¡± Apart from Sophia, no one wees me here! After Bailey left, Tiffany continued to pester Cooper while pretending to be drunk. Everyone else went back home after dinner, and Linus also went back to his Vi No. 4. Sophia went back to her room, but she hid in the bathroom withouting out. Meanwhile, Michaely on the bed, waiting for her to send herself to him. Even though they had been married for a long time, they still had to maintain an active sex life. Some time ago, he was quite busy with work, so they didn¡¯t have time to do anything of the sort. Hence, it was the perfect timing to ¡®pay in full¡¯ today. After all, Michael¡¯s desires had been pent up for a few days, just waiting to erupt today. He flipped through a fashion magazine while waiting for Sophia. However, at this moment, his phone that was by his bed rang. Not many people knew his private number¡ªonly a few close friends and family members. After he nced at it, he was surprised to find that Sophia was the caller. Isn¡¯t she just in the bathroom? There¡¯s only a wall between us. Why is she calling me? Michael picked the phone up and said, ¡°Chica, what are you doing? I¡¯ve already cleaned myself up. Come here!¡± On the other end, Sophia started speaking, but the wall of the bathroom was not quite soundproofed, so Michael could still hear her speaking through the wall. ¡°Michael, my phone package has 20 minutes left. Chat with me here.¡± Michael knew that her phone n was still the student package that she registered when she was in university. Michael still kept her phone and phone card after all this while, and he also topped up the fees monthly so that the line would not be terminated. Hence, she had been using the same number until now with the same phone package. Seems like she¡¯s interested in the idiotic game that Sean and Stanley yed today. After putting down the magazine, he started a proper conversation with her on the phone. ¡°What would you like to talk about?¡± After thinking about it for a while, Sophia asked, ¡°What are you doing now, dear?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Lying on the bed, waiting for you to sleep with me.¡± After a pause, Sophia asked, ¡°What would you like to do most right now?¡± ¡°Sleep with you.¡± After another pause, Sophia uttered, ¡°What about in the future? What ns do you have?¡± Michael replied, ¡°Sleep with you everyday.¡± Sophia felt a great difficulty in continuing this conversation. ¡°Why do you think about sex all the time? Can¡¯t you have more noble aspirations? Like filming another two blockbusters movies, go for reality tv shows, get on forbes list, or even go into politics in the future.¡± Michael smiled like a young university student who was calling his girlfriend secretly after his roommate had fallen asleep. ¡°If I can¡¯t sleep with you for the rest of my life, what¡¯s the point?¡± On the other side of the phone, Sophia¡¯s face was still flushed red. Through the phone, Michael¡¯s crisp and clear voice had a secretive and sexy edge to it. ¡°You are not serious at all. All you know is sex, sex, sex!¡± Sophiained before changing to a new topic. ¡°By the way, if Carmen marries Bailey in the future, what should we prepare for the dowry?¡± Speaking about this, Michael red up immediately. ¡°In his dreams! That old man had better not think of marrying my daughter!¡± Sophia pouted. ¡°He¡¯s obviously cute. I think he¡¯s quite suitable to date Carmen. She just told me that she liked Bailey today! Also, look at how good looking he is! His family background is also very powerful. At this moment, many of the men who are powerful and capable are mostly bald middle-aged men. Good-looking guys, however, don¡¯t have the capabilities that match Carmen¡¯s. Bailey is only 14 this year. In a few years, he will be very popr, so by the time Carmen grows up, he might already have his own family. Hence, I¡¯m thinking about setting up their marriage when they are still kids.¡± With a cold look on his face, Michael said, ¡°No. If that old man has any inappropriate thoughts about Carmen, I¡¯ll castrate him immediately!¡± Still pouting, Sophia stopped speaking. With that, this topic finally ended. Michael asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Sophia replied, ¡°I¡¯m taking a bath. My phone is safely in the waterproof bag that we bought by the beachst time. It¡¯s actually very useful.¡± Upon hearing that, Michael immediately got up and took his pants off while he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m joining you.¡± ¡°No! We haven¡¯t spoken for a full 20 minutes. You cane in here after that!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stand waiting a second longer.¡± Hence, he quickly walked into the washroom. Upon seeing the beauty in the bathtub, Michael joined her immediately. Sophia¡¯s bath water had a nice smell that mixed with her body fragrance. Michael was so aroused that he even felt like drinking her bath water. ¡°Come here. It¡¯s time to fulfil my duties.¡± Michael was already well-prepared to start. However, Sophia used her feet to push his waist away coquettishly. ¡°There¡¯s 10 more minutes left. We¡¯ll begin in 10 minutes!¡± Hence, both of them continue to speak through the phone in the bathtub, even though they were right in front of each other. They could hear every word each other said clearly, and they could even see the other person¡¯s moles clearly. Perhaps calling in front of each other had a different kind of appeal. However, Sophia suddenly sighed without any reason. ¡°Dear, my dad is dealing with Jordan right now. What about Lucy? Should we get rid of her as well?¡± Even though it was between Cooper and Jordan, Michael knew what was going on. After all, he was also involved with the n to deal with him this time. Both him and Cooper were on the same boat; they would win and lose together. For the time being, Lucy was not involved. However, as long as the grudges were still there, a fight was bound to happen with her! Chapter 1296 Chapter 1296 But no matter what¡­ Lucy was Michael¡¯s ex-girlfriend after all. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to treat her harshly because of how simr she looked to Elizabeth. She seemed to be a living shadow of Elizabeth. With her around, Michael felt relieved, as if Elizabeth were still alive. Hence, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to destroy this mirage. However, reality was cruel¡ªshe was Jordan¡¯s daughter, so she would side with him naturally. While holding the phone in his hand, he said, ¡°What wille, wille. Don¡¯t get too caught up on this.¡± Sophia seemed to heave a long, unhappy sigh. ¡°Nothing is perfect in this world indeed!¡± Then, she turned her back to Michael and spoke. ¡°Dear, scrub my back for me.¡± While holding the phone in one of his hands, he used the other to scrub her back. The scars left behind from her rotten flesh because of Virs-18 were still there. On top of that, much of the skin on her face was transnted from her back. Hence, she had many scars on her back. She was very careful when she wore outfits that would reveal her back, for fear that the scars would be revealed. There were also some scars on her waist that were left behind from giving birth to Carmen. While gently stroking these scars, the skin beneath his fingers seemed like the growth ring of a tree, recording all the hardships she had been through all these years. It was simply unfortunate that he wasn¡¯t by her side when she was most helpless and desperate. Michael leaned forward and kissed her wet back. Then, he hugged her from behind, as if he was hugging an invaluable treasure. If there¡¯s a next life, are you willing to wait for me there? Michael knew his health condition very well¡ªthe virus in his body had been corroding his internal organs and his bones. It would be better for him to enter cryogenic sleep earlier, but he simply couldn¡¯t bear to part with her. He couldn¡¯t bear to leave Sophia, Carmen, Celine, and this entire family¡­N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Since they hadn¡¯t fully utilized the 10-minutes talk time, Sophia continued to speak her mind. ¡°Do you think that Sean haspletely given up on Stanley this time around? Is my mom using my dad? I¡¯m so worried for him!¡± Michael shook his head. ¡°You have nothing to worry about.¡± ¡­ At the Edwards Residence, because of the incident that happened to Jordan, he was forced to postpone his wedding with Anna, so he rescheduled the date. On top of that, after the news of their wedding was spread, all his mistresses were furious at him and called him all day long. Hence, Jordan disappeared all the time because he had been busy pacifying these women. Truth be told, Jordan was a pretty impressive man. Even though he was already in his fifties, he was still quite chivalrous. Countless women¡ªranging from their twenties to fifties¡ªhad fallen for him, many of whom were even famous and powerful figures. He also had many illegitimate children. He thought that he was showing his love by marrying Anna officially, and that this was a blessing that she had hoped for a long time. However, he was unaware that she hated him to the core since day one. One of Jordan¡¯s mistresses was a youngdy of the branch of the Yard Family who appeared before Anna. She had her own power within the Yard Family, and she had been plotting to kill Anna¡¯s sons to obtain Jordan¡¯s love all to herself. In fact, she was the mastermind who hired people to kidnap both of Anna¡¯s sons to force her to death. Anna and Jordan managed to save Cade and Callum together. However, Jordan only punished this woman lightly; in no time, she went back to her old ways and continued to plot against them. Men like Jordan didn¡¯t even care about such incidents. He was like an emperor who was merely watching both of his concubines fight for his favor. Instead of getting angry, he was delighted to see this. To him, they were fighting among each other because they loved him. On top of that, it was only a small internal fight between the women. Since they were not trying to take over the ¡®throne¡¯ and his sons weren¡¯t injured, the ¡®special concubine¡¯ who attacked actually gained his love more. Hence, the entire incident was over just like that. However, because of this, Anna couldn¡¯t even sleep well for years after that, for fear that her sons would be kidnapped again when she was asleep. Hence, she started plotting ways to get Jordan¡¯s full attention and nned to annihte all the women who had been nning to hurt her and her sons. Not just them¡ªshe also wanted to kill all their children as well. By stepping on their corpses, she would be the head of the Yard Family. The final person to be killed was Jordan himself. At this moment, Jordan had been busy pacifying all his mistresses. After all, for the past 30 years, he had never officially announced his wife. Since the rest of them were not presentable, they were fighting to be his official wife. However, everything was different now after he had officially announced his rtionship with Anna. Furious, many of the women plotted against her. It was no problem for Jordan to appease them, but he had to visit them one by one, so he couldn¡¯t return for the time being. Hence, to Anna, this was the perfect opportunity to deal with Jordan. Now that Anna and both her sons were at the Edwards Residence, with Jordan away and Sam being estranged, she was only slightly wary of Lucy. She had long heard of this daughter of Jordan¡¯s. Lucy was a powerful character who had been taking charge of the Edwards Group when Jordan was away. Her first step was to use Cooper to send out their wedding invitation to all his mistresses. I just want to show off and anger them, so Jordan would be in trouble! And then¡­ the second step is to get rid of Lucy! After she¡¯s gone, both my sons could rece her officially and take care of the affairs of the Edwards Group and slowly prate them. However, Lucy is still an unknown variable. ¡°Cooper, I¡¯m still at Edwards Residence now, so I can¡¯t move about freely. I still have to depend on you to get rid of Lucy for me.¡± Anna secretly called Cooper, who nodded. ¡°Alright. You have to be careful there.¡± He softened his tone when he spoke to her. In fact, Cooper was very worried about Anna, who was alone at the Edwards Residence with no one to take care of her. He didn¡¯t even know how she had been doing there. Anna also sensed the worry in his voice, so she reassured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m doing well here. We are on our way to sess.¡± I¡¯ve been waiting for this day for many years¡­ After Lucy is gone, we can take advantage of Jordan¡¯s preupation and prate the Edwards Group while slowly leaving the Yards Family. I have the patience to do that. I¡¯m about to regain my freedom and return to Cooper officially! At the Imperial, Cooper¡¯s heart felt heavy after he hung up the phone. At this moment, he was at the breaking point where he had to fight till the death with Jordan. I have to get rid of Lucy. Sam probably knows that I¡¯m about to attack Jordan soon, hence why he abruptly decided to leave the Edwards Family because he doesn¡¯t want to get caught up in the middle. However, he felt pressured to get rid of Lucy as well. Sophia seems to be quite close with her¡­ Sure enough, in no time, Sophia opened a small slit in the door and poked her head in. ¡°Dad¡­ are you going to attack Lucy soon?¡± she asked hesitantly. Chapter 1297 Chapter 1297 Cooper denied. ¡°No. Who did you hear it from?¡± Sophia walked into the room and sat in front of Cooper with a cat on herp. Looking unhappy, she said, ¡°Stop lying to me. I know everything.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t tell her anything and didn¡¯t involve her in the matter, Sophia had already heard the news and figured it out herself about what had been going on. If Cooper was about tounch an attack on Jordan, he would implicate Lucy as well. After all, she was his capable assistant. Knowing that he couldn¡¯t hide it from Sophia anymore, Cooper merely said, ¡°You¡¯re just a kid, so don¡¯t interfere in adults¡¯ business.¡± Even if Sophia had many descendants, she would always be a little girl to Cooper. Sophia knew very well that Cooper was about to deal with Lucy as well. She suddenly stood up and told him seriously, ¡°Dad, we can actually work with Lucy!¡± However, Cooper shook his head helplessly. After all, Sophia is still quite young. She wouldn¡¯t know the insides of this matter. Hence, Cooper exined everything to her patiently. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Lucy is Jordan¡¯s daughter, so they are on the same boat. It¡¯s impossible for Lucy to betray her father and work with us. Alright. I think this is enough for today. Darling, why don¡¯t you take a rest first? I still have to work.¡± With that, he pushed Sophia out of his study and continued working. After all, he still had a lot of work to tend to. Anna gave a namelist that consisted of Jordan¡¯s mistresses all over the world to Cooper. Like Tiffany, Jordan was quite a capable person indeed. He could make so many women serve him willingly. What has my Anna gone through all these years? No matter what, I have to get rid of Jordan for myself, for Sophia, and for Anna. Even if she is just using me, I have no regrets. ¡­ After she walked out of Cooper¡¯s study, Sophia hugged her cat morosely. Even though Lucy and her weren¡¯t purely friends¡ªthey used to bepetitors, and they had some skirmishes in the past¡ªthey had also helped each other before. Unknowingly, they had developed a certain kind of revolutionary friendship, so Sophia simply couldn¡¯t bring herself to attack Lucy. On top of that, her face closely resembled Elizabeth¡¯s. However, reality was most often cruel. One often had no choice in their circumstances. Slowly and gradually, they had be adversaries. Why is she Jordan¡¯s daughter? However, Michael was already numb to this. If they really had to get rid of Lucy for the big picture¡ªif his help was needed in this¡ªhe would definitely personally tear apart this woman who looked like Elizabeth. However, Sophia would still like to try to convince Lucy before Cooper made his move. On the sixth day of the fashion week, a subsidiary of the JNS Group, Pourl, organized a fashion show. Initially, Pourl was just manufacturing some pets¡¯ luxury items. Now, they had slowly entered the jewelry industry while remaining their original business. The show today was still to showcase their pets¡¯ luxury items. It was held in a high-ss hotel that gathered everyone in the family, including all their pets. This time around, Anna had also arrived. However, throughout the entire show, she didn¡¯t interact with Cooper and kept a far distance from him with a corgi in her arms. Cooper was holding Sophia¡¯s pair of huskies as usual. Meanwhile, Harry and Sarah brought their poodle. Jordan also came there to support them, and he even brought Corrado. In fact, Corrado had be a dog that was shared by both Jordan and Cooper; it would take turns to stay in each of their houses for a few days. As the main model of today, Judge also arrived early and sniffed its son, Corrado, and the alpaca. Stanley brought Christine to Sophia and said, ¡°Sophia, Christine¡¯s agency has arranged for her to attend some events at the fashion week show here. Since you didn¡¯t send her the invitation card, I brought her here myself. To repay me, she¡¯s going to let my husky grandchildren mate with her Money for free.¡± N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Christine smiled awkwardly behind Stanley. Usually, celebrities would have some tasks when they attended fashion week shows¡ªthey would have to take some pictures and post them online to brag about it so that their worth would increase. Usually, A-list celebrities would get the invitation. On top of that, they could sit in the first row. However, the lesser-known celebrities couldn¡¯t do anything about this since theirpanies didn¡¯t provide them any resources at all. Apart from that, they even asked their celebrities to get their hands on the invitation themselves. For those who had connections, they would be able to get the invitation themselves; on the other hand, for those without connections and rtions, they would have to sleep their way in. Christine didn¡¯t want to do that, but she didn¡¯t have any connections either, so she had no way in. Previously, Maddie managed to forcefully produce an invitation card. However, she couldn¡¯t get her hands on it this time no matter how hard she tried. Since she had to perform her tasks, Christine forcefully agreed to the deal between her and Stanley¡¯s dogs so that she could follow him to this show. After a nce at Christine¡¯s dog, Sophia noticed that it was a beautiful female husky that looked quite ordinary. Inparison with the pets with luxury items, it actually looked quite poor. Christine felt embarrassed, but she uttered, ¡°Sophia, my dog has its own Twitter ount with hundreds of thousands of followers.¡± Sophia was speechless when she looked at them. Stanley is an idiot. He doesn¡¯t even know how to take care of his girlfriend. Since she was quite busy, she said, ¡°Stan, bring Christine to find a spot to sit down. Apart from that, also find some suitable outfit backstage for this¡­ uh¡­ Money. And remember to post about it on Twitter to market it.¡± Stanley replied, ¡°Sure thing!¡± With that, he brought Christine backstage and picked a beautiful cor for the female husky in the fitting room. Sure enough, after putting it on, the husky was immediately glowing. Stanley cared about the most about his own husky grandchildren after all, so he quickly fetched Cash and Penny over before bringing them to an empty room to familiarize themselves and mate with Money. Whoever liked to mate, they would just go for it. Even if it was two-on-one, he didn¡¯t care anyway. He was just monitoring Christine to post the pictures on Twitter and Instagram to promote Pourl. After all, they had agreed on this before, so no one could back out of this deal. After knowing that Christine was Chrissy, Stanley also found out that her house had a few gorgeous female huskies which had hundreds of thousands of fans online. At that moment, he already had his eyes on them. This was the main reason why he agreed to bring her to this show in exchange for her huskies to ¡®pleasure¡¯ his huskies grandchildren. Money was at a fertile age. It had a healthy and delicate glow, looking cute and gentle. On the other hand, Cash and Penny had also reached an energetic age. After they saw the beautiful Money, they were immediately sexually aroused. Hence, they were fighting to mate her. It was some pretty intense threesome. Meanwhile, Stanley already started discussing the puppies allocation with Christine. ¡°After Money gives birth to the puppies, remember to give me half of them!¡± ¡­ Sophia was busy with her work backstage, but after she watched Stanley and Christine enter the room, she thought, Ah, it¡¯s so good to be young! They can be so wilful and do anything they want anytime¡­ However, she had never thought that for all the time they stayed in the room, both of them only watched their huskies mate with each other. After the deed was done, Stanley came out of the room with his two huskies. Initially, he had nned to bring Judge along so that they could have foursome¡ªhe could get more value out of this¡ªbut Judge was already sterilized, so there was no point in doing so. Once he thought of having his great-grandhuskies, Stanley was over the moon. Because of that, he overlooked the subtle gaze everyone was throwing at him. They also thought, Ah, it¡¯s so good to be young! They can be so wilful and do anything they want anytime¡­ Chapter 1298 Chapter 1298 Seems like Stanley is at his sexual prime! Even if it¡¯s only such a short period, he also made full use of it to have a quickie. After Stanley came out and sat on his seat, Christine sat beside him. He patted Money¡¯s butt expectantly as he said, ¡°Buck up and have a few more kids! Next year, I¡¯ll send you an entire set of Pourl¡¯s items.¡± Michael was listening to their conversation intently, but it was too noisy there, so he only heard ¡®a few more kids¡¯. With that, he quickly sent a message in the Fletcher Family¡¯s group chat. ¡®Stan is nning to have kids next year, and he even wants a few of them.¡¯ After he finished typing, he raised his head and looked around, but he didn¡¯t see Sean. He already sent an invitation to him, but he was not here. In the end, Christine was the one who sat in Sean¡¯s seat. Sigh! That idiot¡­ After Sean has stayed around him for around 20 years, there have been no improvements whatsoever in their rtionship at all. Even if another 20 years passed, the situation would probably remain the same. It would be better for Sean to give up on him. ¡­ On the other hand, Sarah stroked the dogs as she watched the show. She already brought out both the huge poodles that belong to her and Sophia. The two dogs looked as huge as two weightlifters as they sat on the ground, and she took turns in petting them. Harry was also enjoying the show next to her. After a while, Betsy appeared again. She had been lingering around Harry all the time, but this time around, she was scared off by the two huge dogs. Tiffany continued to pester Cooper by lingering by his side. To an outsider, she was a sexy and mysterious beauty, but in front of Cooper, she was just a lowly servant who was willing to do anything for him. Cooper was very annoyed at her. The seats are limited, and her bosoms are so big! They almost need another seat on their own. This space is cramped enough! Hence, he ced Cash between him and Tiffany to make her stop sticking herself to him for a while. However, she continued to stay beside him, and she even threw asional nces at Anna, as if she was trying to show off. In the end, I¡¯ll be the one who will get Cooper¡¯s love. Anna is already married, yet she still wants to be his mistress! That old b*tch! The show was over in no time, but many people didn¡¯t seem to want to leave, so they stayed to chat with the founders. Surrounded by a group of rich women who had dogs as pets, Sophia could only watch as Lucy left. After all, she herself was unable to leave. I was nning to discuss working together with her¡­. Unexpectedly, she received Lucy¡¯s message the next morning. ¡°Since the fashion week ends today, let¡¯s chill and rx. I¡¯ll meet you at the same spot tonight.¡± The next evening, there were not many people in front of a little bar that was located in the suburbs. It was a quiet and secluded spot. Even though the bar looked tattered, it was well-decorated inside. No matter how daring the gangsters were, they wouldn¡¯t dare to make a scene here as the ce was owned by Lucy and Dana, who lived close by. This bar had be the spot for Lucy and Sophia to asionally drink at. At this moment, Michael was having a staredown contest with Dana, who parked opposite to him. Parked close to each other, they had no other method of entertainment apart from that. Dana smoked a cigarette while Michael took out hisptop to y some games. Stanley¡¯spany had rolled out another new game, so he took this time to y it and test it internally while waiting for the people in the bar to finish their meeting. ¡°Cheers!¡± Two cocktail sses clinked into each other, making a crisp and clear sound. After both of them drank a little, they put down the sses. In the dark corner, the lights were beautiful yet dim, making Sophia unable to see Lucy¡¯s expression. She was thinking about the ideal way to tell Lucy about teaming up to deal with Jordan. However, after a long time, she had no idea how to breach the topic. How should I put this? My dad and your stepmom have a fling, and he wants to kill your dad to take over all his assets. Do you want to join us to kill him? Cooper probably wouldn¡¯t want the money from the Edwards Family, but based on Anna¡¯s personality, after they killed Jordan, she would definitely make both her sons the legitimate inheritors of the Edwards Family and take over the Edwards Group. Meanwhile, she would also try to get rid of Lucy. On top of that, Sophia couldn¡¯t guarantee what would happen if Lucy actually teamed up with Cooper. Perhaps Anna might kill her in the end. After thinking about it, Sophia still didn¡¯t utter a word. However, she knew she must give it a try in case Lucy was interested. In the end, she would definitely speak for Lucy so that they would distribute the assets of the Edwards Family equally. As the first child of the family, Sophia¡¯s words still had some weight. Unexpectedly, before she even started speaking, Lucy suddenly said, ¡°I might resign and leave Edwards Group this year.¡± Though Sophia was shocked, she was happy to hear that, yet she quickly asked, ¡°Why?¡± Lucy shrugged and said helplessly, ¡°Well, you can see it yourself¡ªwith the addition of four ambitious brothers and the old practice of Edwards Group of passing legacies down to males¡­ When I was the only child, they could only pass it to me. However, everything is different now.¡± When she was saying this, Sophia, who was sitting close to her, could feel her grievances. It was as if she was holding all her emotions in when she said that. When Lucy was in her teens, she had already started taking part in their family business. She started from the foundation and slowly rose through the ranks through umted hard work and effort before she reached her current position. The Edwards Group business grew with her and became better as time passed. She was one of the reasons for the sess that the Edwards Group had achieved today. However, she now had to leave just like that, while the decades of effort that she had put in were all for others. How would Lucy be satisfied with this? N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. She took a sip of the cocktail and swallowed it along with her grievances. Sophia didn¡¯t expect that Edwards Group would still practice the patriarchal culture. In fact, it was not just them¡ªmany traditional businesses in Cethos also retained the old traditions. Forget Cethos¡ªeven the Michel Family requested for women to retain theirst names if they got married, even if they were the top in the military, medicine, and technology industry. However, Sophia still felt d when she heard this news. Once Lucy left the Edwards Group, she wouldn¡¯t have topete with Anna. On the other hand, Sophia also felt unfair for her to retreat from this feud just like this. ¡°What are your future ns?¡± she asked. Lucy was slightly tipsy at this point, but she exuded a different type of attractiveness. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave the Edwards Group, but I understand their ambitions. Rather than fighting with them formally or secretly, it¡¯s better to resign and leave with the shares.¡± She suddenly smiled at Sophia. ¡°I¡¯m nning to be like Sam¡ªI want to start another business from scratch myself.¡± She had a blissful smile as she looked forward to the future. ¡°Dana and I n to get married abroad; we want to invest and migrate to another country. Then, we will start our business there. Dana also mentioned that she wants to expand Winston Corporation abroad, and I¡¯m also nning to help her out¡­¡± She had never been so talkative like she was today as she talked about her future ns with Sophia. Initially, she had nned to officially announce her rtionship with Dana after she had stabilized the Edwards Family so that no one could object. However, Jordan suddenly announced that he was going to marry Anna. The sudden arrival of a powerful stepmother and four capable step brothers had caught her off guard. If she wanted to be with Dana, it would be her alone versus six of them, which would make it too difficult for her to fulfil her dreams. Apart from that, Jordan¡¯s departure had also inspired her. I can leave the Edwards Family as well! Even though I¡¯d have to give away my effort all these years to others, I have the money, resources, and connections¡ªI have everything I need to start my own business and not be restricted by anyone else! I don¡¯t want to be the sessor of the Edwards Family anymore! Chapter 1299 Chapter 1299 Lucy was already preparing to move abroad with Dana, who also voluntarily took on a business task to expand the Winston Furniture to the markets abroad. Apart from that, the securitypany that Dana had just invested in also needed to be expanded abroad. Dana volunteered to take charge of that, but it was actually because she wanted to marry Lucy in another country. When they moved abroad, they would find a country that supported same sex marriage and get married there. Then, they would buy sperm or adopt a child there. Lucy would continue her old business since she already had the connections. The Winston Family also had some connections abroad, so it wouldn¡¯t be any problem for them to restart their businesses there. Right now, the only argument was¡ªwho would be the one giving birth? N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Lucy wanted to give birth to her own child, but Dana felt that childbirth was too terrifying, so she should be responsible for that. Since she had the body parts to give birth to a child, she thought she should do it. Lucy smiled with bliss in her eyes as she told Sophia about this. Seeing her smile, Sophia also felt quite warm inside. It¡¯s the best oue for Lucy to leave Edwards Group and break off the dispute with Anna. ¡°Dana and I are nning to hold a wedding on a small ind. We n to only invite 30 people. I¡¯ll invite you and Michael when the timees.¡± Lucy smiled as she looked forward to the amazing future ahead of her. Sophia toasted to her. ¡°Sure thing. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± ¡­. They only came out of the bar when it was quitete, but they seemed to have had a great time. With their arms around each other, both of them chatted andughed, but they couldn¡¯t even walk in a straight line anymore. ¡°Tsk!¡± Michael went to pick his wife up and smelled her alcohol-infused breath. ¡°How many drinks have you had?¡± Sophia wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled in a daze. ¡°Hehe! Why do you have two heads? Which should I kiss now? I don¡¯t care anymore! Muah!¡± She pursed her lips and kissed him, but Michael almost passed out from the stench of alcohol in her breath, so he quickly hugged her in his arms and put her in the car before leaving hastily. Meanwhile, Dana drove away with Lucy, who was also drunk. However, she didn¡¯t speak nonsense like Sophia did. Instead, she had been quite quiet all the way as she closed her eyes to sleep. When she reached home, she suddenly opened her eyes and said, ¡°I think we should find a surrogate mother! Surrogation is better¡­¡± After switching off the air-conditioner, Dana removed the safety belt for her while saying, ¡°Sure.¡± She got out of the car and helped Lucy out. She was quite drunk¡ªher burgundy hair covered half her face as she tried to hold onto Dana¡¯s necks while huffingzily with a dazed look in her eyes. They lived in an individual mansion in the countryside with a huge garden. When spring came, the nts that Dana had nted for Lucy would blossom. However, as it was still early spring, nothing bloomed yet. When they reached the front door, Dana dug out her keys to open the door. Suddenly, her hair raised as she held her breath. After years of experience working in the underworld, she could tell the subtle changes in the air. In just two seconds, she already took her gun out of her suit and pointed it at the dark. However, she was already toote¡ªone of the bullets had already reached her thigh. It¡¯s a gun with a silencer! Both Dana and Lucy stumbled and fell at the same time. At this moment, the door opened from inside, and many people gushed out. A few cars even drove to them from the dark. ¡°Dana!¡± Lucy was suddenly jolted to her senses from her drunken state. However, she saw Dana sink to the ground as she held her thigh. Blood had already dampened her ck trousers. Gritting her teeth, Dana picked up her phone that had dropped to the ground, thinking of getting help first. However, just as she stretched her hand, a gunshot sounded lightly. Initially, it was aiming for her hand, but the shotnded on the ground, hitting the phone away from her hand. As footsteps rang in their ears, they were surrounded by countless people. Lucy raised her head and saw Jordan¡¯s morose face. Meanwhile, Sandra and the twins¡ªRyan and Henry¡ªwere standing triumphantly next to Jordan. In that instant, Lucy seemed to have understood everything. Jordan did not utter another word to Lucy. Instead, he walked to her and gave her two hard ps, immediately rendering her dizzy. After that, blood flowed from her nose. Seeing the way Lucy and Dana hugged each other, Jordan had a tinge of disgust and hatred in his eyes that had never existed before. ¡°Lucy, I never would have thought that you were so disgusting! I was wrong about you!¡± Since everything hade to this point, Lucy stopped hiding and defending herself anymore. She stood up and barked at Jordan loudly, ¡°What have I done wrong? I just love Dana¡ªthat¡¯s all! Throughout the years you had left Edwards Group, I¡¯d been the one supporting us all along! So what if I love Dana? If you think that it¡¯s disgusting, I can leave the Edwards Family forever so that you won¡¯t be disgraced by me!¡± With that, she stretched out her hand and threw the ring that represented the position of the head of the Edwards Family back at Jordan. ¡°Here! I give this back to you! With this, I will leave the Edwards Family forever!¡± Back then, the ring was given to her by Jordan when he asked her to rece him to take care of the Edwards Family before he left. At this moment, he stepped on the ring harshly and pointed at Lucy as he berated, ¡°You are an utter disappointment!¡± At the same time, he also red at Dana, who was beside her. I know Dana¡ªthe freak from the Winston Family, the weirdo who¡¯s neither a man nor a woman. I really can¡¯t imagine that my daughter has been fooling around with someone like this! Jordan raised his gun once more and shot Dana harshly a few more times. When he pressed on the trigger, there was no hesitation or pause at all. Dana, who already couldn¡¯t get up, grunted andy back on the ground convulsing as blood oozed out of her body profusely. When Jordan pulled the trigger, Lucy was so shocked that she was stunned. She thought that even if they got exposed, she would bear most of the consequences. After all, Dana belonged to the Winston Family, so no matter what, the Edwards Family would still respect them. When Danay in the puddle of blood after receiving a few shots, Lucy finally returned to her senses. They are nning to kill Dana! ¡°Dana!¡± After hugging her, Lucy realized that she was full of wounds, with blood flowing continuously from her body. While pressing on Dana¡¯s wounds, Lucy yelled at Jordan, ¡°Are you mad? She¡¯s from the Winson Family! If you kill her, the Winston Family won¡¯t let you go!¡± She thought this would be enough to scare Jordan off. However, he merely gave her a cold smile and pulled the trigger again, firing another shot on Dana. She grunted again and faintedpletely. Her hands fell limply on the ground, but her eyes were still open. Nevertheless, her breathing slowly became weaker¡­ ¡°No! Don¡¯t!¡± Lucy pressed on her wounds anxiously. Unfortunately, Dana did not respond to her anymore. ¡°No!¡± We still have a bright future ahead; we still have many unfulfilled dreams, and we are nning to have many kids! Amidst the frantic situation, Lucy took the gun that Dana had just taken out and pointed it at Jordan with her bloody hands, a firm look gleaming in her eyes. ¡°Let us go!¡± When Jordan saw the gun pointing at himself, he was beyond furious. ¡°How dare you point a gun at me! I¡¯m your father!¡± With that, a gunshot sounded. Lucy had fired a shot decisively, but she was too agitated, and she had hesitated for too long. After firing the shot with trembling fingers, the bullet slipped past Jordan¡¯s shoulders and hit the shoulders of Ryan, who was eyeing the entire situation gleefully. Meanwhile, a few other strong men came from behind and held Lucy back as they took her gun away. Chapter 1300 Chapter 1300 ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Ryan screamed. Ever since he arrived at Cethos, he had never had a day of peace. Last year, he was hit by a group of people led by Sophia until he had to be admitted to the hospital. During the fashion week, he fell to the ground after being kicked and stepped on by a group of people. Today, he limped over here just to enjoy seeing Lucy¡¯s hardship, yet he was shot by her even though he was just on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Lucy was pressed to the ground by others. Jordan looked at his most trusted daughter incredulously. She was his only daughter in the Edwards Family, so he had spent all his resources to groom her to be his perfect sessor. On top of that, he even handed Edwards Group for her to take over earlier than they had nned. In the future, she would be the head of the Edwards Group. But he had never expected that she would actually fire a shot at him. His eyes were full of painful regret, as if the precious treasure he had been carefully sculpting suddenly stabbed him deliberately one day. ¡°You evil daughter! How dare you!¡± Jordan was so furious that he stomped his feet on the ground. Henry shot a nce at Ryan, who had been shot. Even though he hated the fact that his brother was shot, his eyes were filled with glee and excitement as he watched Lucy¡¯s misfortunes. I can¡¯t believe that Lucy is actually in love with another woman! How disgusting and freakish! If Sandra hadn¡¯t told us this secret, I would never have imagined that this sister of mine, who usually looks business-like and serious, is actually so dirty in private! Unable to hold his anger in, Jordan walked forward and pped Lucy harshly again. However, he treasured this daughter after all, as she was his perfect sessor. Hence, he still wanted to give her another chance. ¡°Lucy, do you admit your mistake?¡± Jordan tried to calm himself down. At this moment, Lucy could only think of Dana, who was half-dying with her eyes open. Even though half of Lucy¡¯s face had turned pink because of Jordan¡¯s p, as tears streamed down her cheeks along with her nosebleed, she gritted her teeth and raised her head to stare at Jordan stubbornly. She said with trembling pale lips, ¡°I haven¡¯t done anything wrong! I love Dana! There¡¯s nothing wrong with that! Even if you kill me, I still love her!¡± If Dana dies, I don¡¯t want to live anymore! It was only at this moment that she realized that she had been terribly wrong¡ªshe thought everything would be solved once she left the Edwards Family. Unexpectedly, it was difficult to escape from fate after all. In the end, she still took Cooper¡¯s path and saw her beloved die in front of her. I¡¯m the reason for Dana¡¯s death! I just want to die right now! After receiving this reply from Lucy, Jordan was so angry that he kicked her. He had never expected that this daughter of his was actually in love with another woman. If this news is spread out, what would be of our reputation? On the other hand, Henry looked at Dana, who was lying on the ground with her face facing upwards after being shot several times. Her breathing gradually weakened as blood oozed profusely from her body, leaving a puddle of blood underneath her body. ¡°I heard Dana is an intersex. I¡¯ve never seen one before¡­¡± With that, he actually crouched to try to take off Dana¡¯s clothes to see how an intersex looked like. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Lucy suddenly went berserk and ran to him like a strong beast with red eyes. She immediately held Henry back and bit his ears harshly with great determination, as if she was nning to drag him down to die with her. ¡°Aaaah!¡± With a crack, Lucy bit off the bones in his ears, making him scream loudly. Jordan immediately asked his men to pull them apart, as Lucy hadpletely gone mad because of Dana¡¯s death. She struggled violently as she tried to dash toward Dana, as if she wanted to die together with her. The twin brothers, Ryan and Henry, were hurt. The former was shot in his shoulder, while thetter¡¯s ear was bitten off. They rolled on the ground because of the pain before they were carried away by others. Jordan shook his head with pain in his eyes. She was my perfect sessor! Initially, she could have been the head of Edwards Group, yet because of an intersex freak¡­ ¡°Mr. Edwards, perhaps Lucy has never had the sensual experience from men. If you let her have a taste of it, she might change her mind,¡± Sandra suggested sarcastically. Jordan heaved a sigh, but he thought this might work. Hence, he looked at a few sturdy members of the Edwards Group and picked a few good-looking ones. ¡°The youngdy is in your hands tonight. Do let her experience how amazing men could make her feel.¡± With that, Jordan turned around and left angrily. This time around, Sandra had done a good job by reporting this case, so she immediately gained his approval. She quickly followed behind him after turning around to nce at Lucy, who was hugging Dana¡¯s body as she sobbed her heart out. Hmph! Look at you now! B*tch! After Jordan left, the few men pointed out by him exchanged embarrassed looks. Finally, they made up their minds firmly and walked to Lucy. She seemed to have realized what was about to happen, so she roared at the few men who were closing in on her, ¡°If you dare to touch me, you are going to die horribly!¡± Unfortunately, her words had no power anymore as she was not the youngdy of the Edwards Family anymore. Instead, she had be the sinner of the Edwards Family. Heavy rain with thunder and lightning had fallen in the middle of the night. Screams from Lucy could be heard from the house that was exquisitely decorated by Dana and Lucy. However, since there weren¡¯t anyone living nearby, the thunder in the dark night had covered her tragic cries. Dana was left at the front door with rain gushing down on her, washing away the blood underneath her and leaving her soaked in rainwater, which had also entered her mouth. At the verge of death, Dana frowned slightly; with her eyelids shut, her eyeballs seemed to be moving. Even though she couldn¡¯t open her eyes, her lips were saying something. ¡°Lucy¡­ Lucy¡­¡± She could hear Lucy¡¯s wails and the sinisterughter from the men around them. She knew that her dear Lucy was suffering, but her body acted as though it had been blocked from all functions, unable to move an inch. She couldn¡¯t even feel her anger. Like falling into a deep abyss, she slowly sank into the endless darkness and coldness, unable to feel light and warmth again. In that instant, even though she was barely conscious, she still used her final breath to mutter, ¡°Lucy¡­¡± Suddenly, a beeping sound rang from her pocket as a mechanical female voice rang. ¡°I¡¯m here. How may I help you?¡± With that, a square block lit up in her pocket. It was another phone of hers. During the New Year, Harry gave her a Dragon Eye mobile phone with the highest specs¡ªit was waterproof and bulletproof. It was quite impressive that it could still be used in such a heavy rain. A smart voice recognition system like Siri was installed in the Dragon Eye phone, and Dana had named it Lucy. Unintentionally, she had activated it. Using herst breath, Dana tried to say loudly, ¡°Lucy, call my brother¡­¡± With that, she sank into the infinite darkness entirely, along with her consciousness. The Dragon Eye phone was still lit as it automatically called a contact named ¡®Brother¡¯. In the dark night, Lucy¡¯s screams were overpowered by the roars of thunder, while Dana slept outside the door in the rainy night, her body gradually bing colder. Chapter 1301 Chapter 1301 In the middle of the night, Michael was nning to go to bed after he took some pills. Because of the alcohol, Sophia had already fallen in a deep slumber. As she was also one of the organizers of the fashion week this time, she had been busy for months. Finally, she could have some proper rest this time around. As thunder roared outside, Carmen suddenly came running into their room, asking to sleep with them while crying because she was afraid of the thunder. Michael hugged her in his arms and told her some bedtime stories to put her to sleep. With the thunder roaring outside, Michael felt ufortable, as if something bad was happening. Carmen and Sophia were just sleeping beside him; Celine was sleeping in the opposite room; and Nathan had gone to school. However, his heartbeat was still quite fast as an ominous feeling took over him. Suddenly, Sophia¡¯s private phone that was by the bed vibrated. Initially, Michael didn¡¯t want to touch her phone, but someone seemed to be constantly messaging her. Since nobody read the messages, the phone kept on vibrating. Just as he got up and was about to touch her phone, he heard somemotion outside. He then walked to the window and saw Harry leading a few people outside. Sarah was following behind him, and their dogs were barking loudly. Michael took Sophia¡¯s phone and unlocked it with her fingerprint. Then, he saw a message from someone called ¡®Your Past Royal Family A¡¯. ¡°Sophia, your husband¡¯s ex is in trouble!¡± After sending the message, they shared a location that was quite near the bar that Sophia and Lucy had just visited. Dana and Lucy¡¯s secret house seems to be located somewhere near there too. This must be from either Callum or Cade. Hence, Michael quickly asked the nanny to take Carmen away. Without even changing out of his pyjamas, he went downstairs and walked out of the door, just in time to see Harry getting into the car and leaving. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Michael quickly asked. With a stony look on his face, Harry said, ¡°That fellow, Dana, called me but didn¡¯t say anything.¡± Then, he ced the phone that was still connected to the call to Michael¡¯s ear. Lucy¡¯s wails and screams rang from within. Michael¡¯s expression fell immediately as soon as he heard that. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Lucy¡¯s in trouble! ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± With that, Michael got into the car. After Justin was also awoken by them, he, too, brought a few people over. Fortunately, there was no traffic at midnight, so they drove fast. Their men who were located in the suburbs reached the ce first. Then, gunshots, angry roars, and terrifying screams were heard from Harry¡¯s phone. Finally, his men picked up the phone and reported that both Lucy and Dana had been sent to the best hospital nearby. Hence, Harry and Michael went to the hospital immediately. Sophia was probably the only person who slept the most soundly on this night. It was already noon when she woke up and heard the news. Immediately, she sped to the hospital. Harry, Sarah, and Michael had stayed at the hospital for the entire night. ¡°How¡¯s everything?¡± Sophia asked anxiously. With a dead look on his face, Michael shook his head. ¡°Both of them are still undergoing emergency operations.¡± Sophia looked incredulously at the operating room sign that was still lit as well as the doctors and nurses who had been walking in and out with blood on them. Sitting outside the operating room, Sophia recalled the way Lucy told her about her future ns during their drinking sessionst night. I can¡¯t believe that¡­ this just happened overnight! Sophia was so angry and frustrated until tears streamed down her face. Sam also arrived early in the morning. ¡°How¡¯s Lucy doing?¡± After he found out what had happened, the entire world spun around him. The medical professionals were still trying to save Dana, whose life was half gone. However, she was a tough person who hung in there until someone arrived to save them. On the other hand, Lucy wasn¡¯t doing that well. The few men that Jordan had ordered to give her the ¡®sensual experience¡¯ had torn her female parts¡ªeven her uterus had sustained serious damages. Even if she was saved, she could not get pregnant anymore. After knowing this result, Sam¡¯s mind went nk. Fortunately, Nicole, who was next to him, held him steadily to support his body. ¡°How could this have happened¡­¡± Sam muttered to himself as he sat down helplessly, still unable to ept this fact. The few people sat in the corridor silently. As Sophia wept quietly, she suddenly remembered something and wiped her tears away before going outside with a phone in her hand. Michael, however, hadn¡¯t spoken another word. Lucy was special to him. Even though he had thought of attacking her in the future if they met with conflicts in their businesses, he still felt the pain after he imagined her expression when she was being tortured. After all, her face was exactly the same as Elizabeth¡¯s! When Lucy was born, it was exactly the same time as when Elizabeth gave up her life for love. Michael felt that this was not a coincidence. Elizabeth thought she was able to meet Theo after she died. However, she didn¡¯t know that he had been in cryogenic sleep all this while. Hence, they couldn¡¯t see each other regardless if they were alive or dead. After her lonely soul wandered around in the world, unable to find Theo¡¯s soul, she chose to move on to the next life in despair. Michael was sure that Elizabeth had retained the same looks as her previous life so that Theo would recognize her, and then they would continue their love story. However, their fate hade to an end¡ª Elizabeth died alone, while Theo woke up from sleep in solitude. Then, he went to join the African Peacekeeping Force, and in this life, Elizabeth had already fallen in love with a woman named Dana. Tears flowed down silently on Michael¡¯s face as he felt a stab of pain in his heart, not knowing whether it was because of Elizabeth or Lucy¡­ On the balcony, Sophia called ¡®Your Past Royal Family A¡¯. After the call went through, Callum¡¯szy voice rang. ¡°Hey, Sophia! Morning!¡± Immediately, Sophia questioned him. ¡°You guys did this to Lucy, didn¡¯t you?¡± Sophia knew that once the trio of mother and sons entered the Edwards Family, they would do something to Lucy, the sessor of the Edwards Group. Unexpectedly, they had used such a dirty tactic. Lucy was about to resign from the Edwards Group anyway! Callum saidzily, ¡°This had nothing to do with me. If I wanted to deal with this elder sister of mine, based on my and Cade¡¯s abilities, we could have defeated her fair and square based on our capabilities. Apart from that, we are so good-looking and ostentatious. Once we entered the Edwards Group, the elders who value men more than women would¡¯ve asked her to give us the shares and the management rights after we simply asked for it. I¡¯m not afraid to tell you that the shareholders of the Edwards Group actually strongly asked us to join the management of the Edwards Group, and they even wanted us tobine our business with the Ronney Group. We would¡¯ve been the chairman and CEO, while Lucy just had to find a good man to get married. Hence, she¡¯s not a threat to us at all. Don¡¯t think of us as such despicable people! We still have our principles!¡± Sophia smiled coldly. ¡°Sure¡ªyou guys weren¡¯t behind this. You just got the news beforehand and watched everything from the sidelines.¡± Callum seemed to be brushing his teeth as he replied, ¡°Yeah. After all, that¡¯s our father¡¯s orders. What can I do? I¡¯ve already sent a message to tell you about this, haven¡¯t I¡­¡± Sophia hung up the phone after knowing the entire story. Sandra, Ryan, and Henry did this. Anna and her sons knew about this beforehand, and they knew that Jordan would punish Lucy if he found out. However, they didn¡¯t have the obligation to let the Edwards Family know. In fact, they were quite happy about this. Since the Edwards Family simply couldn¡¯t ept that Lucy is gay, they would take away all her rights. Then, Anna and her sons wouldn¡¯t even have to do anything to get rid of Lucy. Because of this case, Jordan had also offended the Winston Family. Damn it! Sophia felt furious yet helpless at the same time. Her thoughts were in a mess right now. It seems that everyone just wants Lucy to die as soon as possible! Chapter 1302 Chapter 1302 Everyone waited at the hospital for an entire day. Even Dana¡¯s parents arrived after they got wind of what happened to Dana and Lucy, and the entire Winston Family was also shocked to hear that. ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± The head of the Winston Family banged his head on the wall with his face full of regrets. He was too unreasonable back then. Most of the Winston Family members were actually like that as they were used to the working style of the underworld¡ªselfish and arrogant. Because I wanted a daughter, I made Dana, who was originally a man, be a woman. I said that if he didn¡¯t oblige, I would cut his male parts off. Unexpectedly, he actually hid this for more than 10 years! Harry also berated, ¡°That b*tch! After she wakes up, I¡¯ll definitely strangle her!¡± It¡¯s such a huge surprise that Dana has been together with Lucy for more than 10 years! In order to protect Lucy, she pretended to be a yboy for so long! Harry felt sorry and angry whenever he thought about this younger ¡®sister¡¯ of his. Since young, they had been constantly fighting. Even though their rtionship was not that close, they were still able to work together whenever a serious issue popped up. In her phone, she had set Harry¡¯s contact name as ¡®Brother¡¯. After she was attacked, she called him when she was on the verge of death. After all, Harry had always been Dana¡¯s role model. She actually respected him a lot, but she was mean in her words and actions. After all, this was her nature¡ªshe just wanted to take revenge on the entire society. Only when everyone hated her could she experience the perverted pleasure. Even though she slept with the youngdy of the Edwards Family, so what? Dana is the daughter of the head of the Winston Family! Is she not good enough for Lucy? N?velDrama.Org owns all content. So what if they are lesbians? Dana wasn¡¯t f*cking around with Jordan¡¯s mother anyway! Why did he have to kill her? On the other hand, Jordan didn¡¯t want Dana to stay alive at all. The few gunshots that he fired had made Dana¡¯s body full of holes. If they applied some medicine on top of the wounds, it would leak out, and if they transfused blood from one end, it would just flow out of the other. How dare Jordan attack someone from the Winston Family! Harry clenched his fists angrily, his eyes bloodshot. It was not just an angry puff that came out of his breath¡ªit was immense fury. In the afternoon, Dana¡¯s emergency operation waspleted, and she was now in the observation stage. Whether or not she could stay alive depended on how she fought against the grim reaper. The Winston Family had transferred her away and were nning to send her to some hospital abroad for better treatments. However, Lucy still remained unconscious. She slept in the ICU with oxygen supplied directly to her, yet her heartbeat was quite slow. Even though she had also sustained some serious injuries, they were considered lighter than Dana¡¯s. The probability of her waking up was actually higher than Dana. Dana was unwilling to die, so she had been fighting against it. She gritted her teeth and held onto her final breath without relinquishing it. Lucy, however, seemed to not want to wake up. Since the person she loved dearly had already left her, she would be alone and helpless in this whole wide world. It had been a tiring life for her. She had always been looking for ways to free herself, so she had been trying her best to fight back and strengthen herself. However, all the efforts she had made were futile. Hence, it was better to just give up. Death was probably the only way for her to be free. In the blink of an eye, Lucy was already in aa for two days, and Dana had also been sent abroad. The Winston Family didn¡¯t borate on Dana¡¯s condition after that, but they would definitely forbid Dana and Lucy to contact each other again. Sophia secretly asked Sarah about it, but she looked quite conflicted as she replied, ¡°Just think of her as if she¡¯s dead.¡± Since Sarah¡¯s reply was such, Sophia didn¡¯t continue to ask her. Lucy was secretly ced in a private hospital that was under Michael¡¯s name. Sam visited her everyday and chatted with her even though she was unconscious. No one from the Edwards Family came. They probably did not know that Lucy was here as Michael had deliberately covered up the news. They had already discussed with Sam to send her abroad after she woke up. If she still couldn¡¯t wake up, they could only prepare her funeral. Lucy¡¯s sexual orientation was now known by the entire Edwards Family. Apart from that, someone even posted it online and spreaded it all over Bayside City. Of course, the culprit did this deliberately. They couldn¡¯t wait for Lucy¡¯s scandal to be known by everyone. With that, the Edwards Family would definitely chase her away. Theizens had different opinions on Lucy¡¯s case. One party said that there was no crime in loving someone and that lesbians should not be discriminated against. The other party condemned Lucy simply because she kept changing boyfriends even though she was a lesbian. One of her boyfriends was the Oscar-winning actor, Taylor Murray. In their eyes, she had lied to them. When gay men cheated other women into marriage, everyone bashed on them. Hence, there was no reason to let lesbians off the hook as well. After a few of Lucy¡¯s ex-fianc¨¦ found out about this, they were repulsed by it too. Regardless of the reactions online, the Edwards Family felt the immense disgrace. For prestigious families that had been inherited by generations after generations for a few centuries, their internal workings were very conservative. Dana, from the Winston Family, was already theughing stock of all the other families. Since Stanley, from the Fletcher Family, started ¡®dating¡¯ Christine, the entire family rejoiced in this fact as they were worried that their reputation would be ruined once Stanley really hooked up with Sean. Under the pressure, the Edwards Group publicly removed Lucy¡¯s position in their family business and stripped her of all duties. They were anxious to steer clear from her, thinking that with her around, their reputation would be ruined. There were rumors about the Yard twins entering the Edwards Group as legitimate sessors, taking over all of Lucy¡¯s responsibilities. The previous 9th Old Master Edwards, Sam, supported Lucy publicly. Unfortunately, he had left the Edwards Family, so his words no longer bore weight. While the outside world was in chaos, Lucy stayed in the hospital without waking up. It had been 5 days, yet Lucy still showed no signs of waking up. It was as if she had been deserted here. Only Sam, her 9th uncle, and Michael, her ex-boyfriend who brought his wife along, visited her. Her previous family members and friends had never appeared. The longer she was unconscious, the more unlikely she would be able to wake up. ¡°Sigh!¡± Sophia came here to visit Lucy again. However, thetter was still deeply unconscious with her eyes closed shut without even moving her eyeballs. On the other hand, there was no news from Dana because the Winston Family had kept her matters top secret. While Sophia sighed as she looked at Lucy, Sarah sighed next to her as well. Sophia treats her husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend so well, even though this is the Edwards Family¡¯s affairs. She¡¯s just too kind, Sarah thought. Sophia knew very well that this was not rted to her, but she still felt very concerned for Lucy simply because they were friends. For the past few days, she had also gotten some news from Callum. Jordan had asked a few men to ¡®serve¡¯ Lucy, but after all, she was his only daughter, so he didn¡¯t want them to hurt her. However, unexpectedly, after he left, someone put a potent aphrodisiac in the room, making all the men go berserk. They carried on until the people from the Winston Family reached the house and killed all of them. Once she thought of this, tears welled up in Sophia¡¯s eyes. If only we had drunk a bit longer, or if I had invited her to visit other ces¡­ As for who was the culprit, Callum gave Sophia a name list full of the Edwards Family members. He couldn¡¯t wait for Sophia to take a gun and charge into the Edwards Residence to kill all of them to take revenge for Lucy. They would be really d to see that and witness Sophia get killed by the Edwards Family. Suddenly, Cooper and Linus arrived too. After Cooper heard that his son-inw¡¯s ex-girlfriend was unconscious in the hospital after getting into some troubles, they thought it would be better to pay her a visit, even though the logic was slightly weird. ¡°Dad!¡± Sophia stood up after wiping her tears off. Cooper sat down beside her and nodded before looking at the unconscious Lucy. When he saw her, he seemed to see himself from 30 years ago. A long time ago, he also saw his beloved die in front of him, and he also wanted to fall into a deep sleep forever. Cooper sat by the bed for a while before he suddenly moved forward and crouched by Lucy¡¯s ears to speak to her. With that, he got up and left quietly. However, Lucy¡¯s peaceful heartbeat suddenly quickened like the strong beats of a war drum. With the increase in her heart rate, she quietly opened her eyes. Chapter 1303 Chapter 1303 No one knew what Cooper had told Lucy. Perhaps he gave her some words of encouragement, as someone who had been through simr pain. Anyway, Lucy woke up quietly, just like that. After she was up, Sophia was beyond shocked. However, Lucy was extraordinarily calm. She merely told Sophia that she wanted to go to the washroom and that she wanted some food as she was hungry. She seemed to have forgotten Dana and the rainy night, looking as though she was just an injured car ident victim who had been reborn. Nevertheless, Sophia knew that she had changed. Lucy happily epted the treatment to recover her body. Even though she knew that she couldn¡¯t reproduce anymore, she didn¡¯t seem to care about it. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. She also didn¡¯t ask about Dana, probably knowing that they couldn¡¯t meet again whether thetter was alive or not. Dana could either be dead, or the Winston Family had forbidden her from meeting Lucy. Lucy was also clear that she wouldnd Dana in trouble if they got together. I¡¯ll just treat her as if she¡¯s dead. Everyone tentatively avoided speaking about Dana in front of her. In fact, they stopped talking about the rainy night altogether. Sophia visited her in the hospital everyday, and Michael also paid her a visit once every few days. Lying on the bed, Lucy told the visiting Michael straightforwardly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry about lying to you back then. I¡¯d always loved Dana since I was in my teens. She was my first love. All the boyfriends I had throughout these years were just to cover up her existence.¡± Michael smiled and shook his head. ¡°Back then, I dated you only because you look like my mother.¡± As they exchanged smiles, Sophia felt as though she had been cheated on. However, she knew very well that it was impossible for Lucy and Michael to be together again. Hence, she just drank the chicken soup quietly. Sophia asked their nanny back home to make plenty of soups¡ªchicken soup, duck soup, mushroom soup, vegetable soup, and corn soup¡ªto bring it over for Lucy. She would bring over a huge pot each time. Lucy couldn¡¯t finish it most of the time¡ªshe could only finish half of it. Hence, Sophia also brought a bowl and would help her drink the other half. Lucy was the one recuperating, yet Sophia was the one who was putting on weight. At this moment, Lucy had a rosy glow on her cheeks. It was obvious that her body had been recovering well, and she seemed to be smiling. However, Sophia was the only person who could see the pain in her eyes. Every time Lucy smiled, the darkness was visible in her irises. She didn¡¯t feel pleasure or happiness at all. Sophia found Lucy¡¯s phone and purse, and she even gave her aptop. Lucy insisted on working while recuperating, even though no one knew what she had been working on, since she had already been fired by the Edwards Group. Nevertheless, everyone was sure that she was preparing for something. Sam also visited her often. After seeing that Lucy was making progress in her recovery, he took the opportunity and said, ¡°Lucy, why don¡¯t I arrange for you to migrate abroad? The Crimson House needs someone to take charge in the Europe region. I¡¯ll let you be the person in charge there.¡± However, Lucy shook her head and smiled. Upon seeing that, Sam added, ¡°You don¡¯t like to work for me, is it? That¡¯s fine. I can lend you some money for you tounch your own business abroad. You can go to some faraway ces and leave the Edwards Family behind.¡± Lucy still shook her head with a sarcastic smile on her face. After she was removed from the Edwards Group, they even froze her personal bank ount. This was their management style¡ªa very traditional and authoritarian way of running their business. Usually, something like this was deemed a family private matter, so she couldn¡¯t do anything about it even if she wanted to sue them. The entire incident was rather absurd¡ªjust because Lucy was a lesbian, her savings for more than a decade had been forcefully confiscated by her family. They even killed her lover and raped her as they liked. These were all criminal offences, yet the Edwards Family carried out all of these like it was just a regr day. To them, everything was normal. At this moment, Lucy had no money on her because all her private assets had been taken away by the Edwards Family. She got her phone and purse back just because Sophia had sent someone to secretly retrieve it from her house in the suburb that was guarded by the members of the Edwards Family. After all, quite many people from the Edwards Family had also died¡ªthey were the ones who defiled Lucy. It was highly probable that Jordan had already wanted them dead after they did such a thing to Lucy, so he didn¡¯t care about them anyway. He also stopped caring about Lucy and treated her as though she was dead. However, the Edwards Family still sent people to patrol around her house to secretly look for her. That probably wasn¡¯t Jordan¡¯s doing. He only thought of her as a disgrace and wanted her to get lost. On the other hand, someone else wanted her to be dead, and they wouldn¡¯t rest unless they saw her corpse. ¡°Sam, I don¡¯t need your help.¡± Lucy stood up firmly. Because she had sustained some serious injuries at herdy parts, there was a period of time when she had lost control of her bodily functions. She had only gotten better recently. Looking out the window, she thought, It¡¯s going to rain soon¡ªjust as heavy as the rain that night. As the rain was reflected in her empty eyes, she uttered, ¡°I have my own ns.¡± After hearing her words, Sam¡¯s heart felt heavy. He finally knew her decision. ¡°Lucy, are you really going to¡ª¡± ¡°Sam, this is my decision. I hope you don¡¯t meddle in this,¡± she interrupted him. Sam saw determination and mes of revenge burning in her eyes. She already had nothing left, so the only motivation for her to stay alive was to take revenge. Sam¡¯s heart was hurting for her. She could totally leave her past behind and go to a ce where no one knows her to start afresh. But once she¡¯s taken this route, there¡¯s no turning back anymore¡­ Sophia still went to the hospital everyday. However, the hospital was quite far away from her house and herpany. Hence, she made a noble decision¡ªto fetch Lucy back to her home to recuperate. After hearing about this, Sarah was dumbfounded. ¡°You fetched your husband¡¯s ex-girlfriend back to your own ce? You¡¯re incredible!¡± Sophia also thought she was too noble, but Lucy seemed to be quite weed by her family. Celine, especially, had taken a liking to her. She would go to Lucy¡¯s room to chat with her everyday. ¡°Mom, this is you. This is dad, and that¡¯s Mikey,¡± Celine took out their family photo and introduced everyone to Lucy innocently. ¡°I¡¯m not your mom.¡± Lucy had lost count how many times she had told Celine this. ¡°Mikey said our mom has reincarnated as you.¡± Celine was quite stubborn in believing that Lucy was her mother¡¯s reincarnation. Lucy remained quiet and stopped arguing with her. Indeed, she looked like Elizabeth, but there were many celebrity look-alikes in the entertainment industry nowadays, so it was nothing special. Then, Celine introduced all the kids and pets in the house to her. ¡°This is my big baby; this is my little baby; this is Chrysanthemum; this is Snowball; this is Cash¡­¡± Lucy also conversed with her patiently. It¡¯s actually quite nice to speak to Celine. She is an innocent person who has no ulterior motives, though she is slightly silly. After Sophia returned from work, she nned to check on Lucy. However, Michael suddenly had a wild idea to cook something for dinner because Carmen was about to return today, so he had been busy in the kitchen. ¡°Mommy, we¡¯re home!¡± Carmen ran into the house excitedly. She had been away to shoot the reality TV show, ¡®My Uncle¡¯s Babysitting Diary¡¯. It was only today that they had finished the shoot. Apart from that, Linus also returned home with her while holding bags of presents and local specialities. Cooper was worried about the both of them going away just like that, so he specially went to the filming set to monitor the situation there. After all, both Linus and Carmen were his big baby and his small baby, and he was not confident that Linus could take good care of Carmen. Meanwhile, he could also have some experience in modern reality TV shows, so he could be starred next time around. Unexpectedly, when Cooper returned, two more people were standing behind him. Sophia looked at them in surprise. ¡°Father?¡± Cooper replied happily, ¡°Hey, my darling. I¡¯m back!¡± However, Sophia walked to Theo, who was standing next to Cooper, and asked in amazement, ¡°Father, why are you back?¡± Cooper was speechless upon seeing that. Chapter 1304 Chapter 1304 Theo wore a perfectly straight army green jacket that made him look simr to his old photos. With a solemn expression that exuded indifference, he held a simple army luggage that was also in green. Quinton, who was behind him, wore a simr outfit. Both the father and son looked equally solemn. No one knew how both of them met nor the reason for their sudden return. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant surprise for Michael, who came out to help Theo carry his luggage. ¡°Father, weren¡¯t you going to stay in Africa? Why are you back?¡± Theo replied, ¡°I changed my mind. I¡¯m not going to Africa anymore.¡± Then, Michael brought Theo¡¯s luggage to the room he once stayed in before, while Quinton also self- consciously brought his luggage to Cash¡¯s room. It was only at this moment that Sophia returned to her senses from being shocked by Theo¡¯s appearance and spoke to Cooper. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re back too!¡± Cooper replied, ¡°Hmph!¡± Angered, he walked upstairs without even turning back. Then, he stayed there until dinner. As Theo and Quinton had suddenly returned, the vi was bustling. Apart from that, Nathan had also returned from school. Michael still thought that it was too peculiar for both of them to suddenly return, so he figured something must have happened. Theo had once said that he wouldn¡¯t look for Quinton nor let thetter know that he was still alive. Why did both of them return together? Michael had a hunch that something had happened. After dinner, the entire family gathered together to watch the TV. Now that the entire family was around, the atmosphere was quite lively. Cooper was still angry that Sophia didn¡¯t greet him first when he returned, so he merely looked at Theo coldly. When Sophia served fruits from the kitchen just now, she put them before Theo first. Even though Theo was sitting closer to the kitchen, Cooper still felt that he had taken his daughter away. Hence, he hugged Carmen tightly, determined not to let others take her away. Sophia also knew that Cooper was angry, so she sat beside him and cuddled a huge cat while watching the news channel¡ªTheo¡¯s favorite channel. Cooper sat on one end with Carmen on hisp, while Nathan sat on the other as he watched TV with a cold expression. Meanwhile, Celine was quite clingy¡ªshe took turns in harassing Quinton and Theo. ¡°Quinton, do you want some melon? Dad! Quinton doesn¡¯t want to eat my melon! Does he hate me?¡± Both Theo and Quinton didn¡¯t say another word as they paid attention to the TV. To be precise, they were merely zoning out as they watched the show. The atmosphere was quite peculiar indeed. Michael finally asked tentatively, ¡°Father, why did you suddenly change your mind?¡± Theo replied, ¡°I couldn¡¯t get used to it. All Africans look simr¡ªI couldn¡¯t tell them apart, so it wasn¡¯t easy carrying out the peacekeeper job.¡± After a pause, Michael asked again, ¡°What are your future ns, then?¡± He thought that Theo¡¯s excuse was quite far-fetched to the point that it was probably made up. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Theo replied, ¡°Justin asked me to work at the securitypany.¡± With that, Michael realized that something was definitely off. Something must have happened. Theo is someone who has given his entire life to the military. He wouldn¡¯t say something like this! Looking at Theo, Michael felt that thetter must be hiding something. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t return just like this. Not long after they finished dinner, Maisie¡¯s voice rang when they were watching the TV. ¡°Uncle Michael, we¡¯re here again!¡± Once he opened the door, he saw Stanley with Maisie in his arms, and Sean was right behind them. Once Stanley entered and saw that everyone was watching the TV after dinner, he said regretfully, ¡°Oh, no! We¡¯rete! Why didn¡¯t you wait for us?¡± After putting Maisie down, he opened the refrigerator door and saw a few leftovers. ¡°What soup is this? Let me try. What dish is this? I¡¯ll take two bites. What herbal soup is this? I¡¯ll just take a few sips.¡± ¡­ Stanley brought his entire family over to eat the leftovers and cleared everything in the fridge in no time. Even the herbal soup that they made for Lucy was not exempted¡ªhe had to take a few sips. After dinner, Stanley sat down and greeted everyone with Maisie in his arms. After waiting for a while, Sophia didn¡¯t see Christineing over with Stanley. What is this idiot doing? Why didn¡¯t he bring his girlfriend over for us to have a look? He just knows to eat our food. After taking a few bites of the melon, Stanley wiped his mouth since he had had his fill. Then, he told Theo, ¡°Great-uncle Theo, I¡¯ve already reported what you mentioned before to Old Master Fletcher, and he said¡ª¡± Theo suddenly interrupted him. ¡°Don¡¯t advise me anymore on my retirement. I don¡¯t want to be a soldier anymore because the country doesn¡¯t need so many soldiers. The main focus right now is construction and economy. I want to train myself in the corporate world and work in offices.¡± Stanley was stunned. He was actually about to reveal something important, but after shooting a nce at Michael and Sophia, he swallowed it and said instead, ¡°Oh, Old Master Fletcher just wanted me to tell you that you could do whatever you want. He doesn¡¯t care anymore.¡± Michael nced at Stanley, who looked elsewhere guiltily. What Stanley was about to say was definitely unrted to Theo¡¯s retirement from the army. Instead, it was something else that they did not intend to let Michael know. However, they didn¡¯t team up with Stanley earlier, so he almost let it slip. After watching the news, Theo got up and said, ¡°I¡¯m tired, so I¡¯m going back to rest first.¡± With that, he left. Quinton also went back to his room without another word. Michael looked at their leaving figures before looking at Linus and Justin, who didn¡¯t dare to look at him. Stanley, who had been secretly ncing at him, turned away as soon as Michael locked eyes with him. Apart from that, Cooper looked rather secretive as well. Panic rose within him. Something must have happened! Something that is rted to me and Theo! Michael suddenly got up and waved. ¡°Come on, Stan. Let¡¯s go to the washroom.¡± Stanley quickly rejected him. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Come, Maisie. It¡¯s gettingte. We¡¯ll take our leave now. Say goodbye to Great-uncle Michael!¡± Right after he finished speaking, he didn¡¯t even wait for Maisie to say goodbye before he immediately wrapped her in a scarf and escaped frantically. Sean also followed behind him as they left. Everyone found different excuses to leave. In an instant, only Sophia and Michael were left in the living room. Sophia munched on the melon that Linus brought as she saw everyone leaving. With only Michael and her left, she also felt that something had happened. Theo walked to his room on the second floor. But on his way, he saw someone sitting on the sealed balcony on the second floor. She merely sat there alone, looking at the neon-lit cityscape in a daze as her body was engulfed in darkness. When Theo saw her, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He then looked nkly at the familiar figure. That person seemed to have heard him approaching, so she stood up and slowly walked to him. Her face gradually emerged from the dark and became illuminated by the light. After Theo looked at her face, he widened his eyes in surprise, looking incredulously at the familiar face. ¡°Elizabeth¡­¡± To Michael, Elizabeth had been dead for almost 3 decades. However, to Theo, she seemed to be alive just yesterday. He could still remember every expression of hers. Apart from that, he even remembered the taste of the kiss she gave him before he left. However, when the person walked closer to him, he realized that she was not Elizabeth¡ªthey merely looked alike. Chapter 1305 Chapter 1305 The woman in front of him had maroon-colored hair, whereas Elizabeth always seemed to have a head of ck hair, which was the most fashionable hairstyle from their time. At times, Elizabeth had her hair tied up in a bun while wearing a traditional outfit, looking like a fairy straight out of a painting. ¡°My name is Lucy, and I am here to recuperate temporarily. Thank you for your hospitality.¡± Lucy felt that the man in front of her looked very familiar. I feel as though I¡¯ve met him somewhere before, but I just can¡¯t recall where¡­ I must have met him in my past life. He looks slightly simr to Michael. Besides, he is currently in Michael¡¯s house, so he¡¯s most probably a rtive of his. Theo snapped back to his senses when he heard the unfamiliar voice. ¡°I am also just a passerby.¡± With that, he returned to his room. Soon, Michael knocked on his door from outside, but Theo pretended not to hear him. After knocking for a few times, Michael gave up and left. Theo came back this time for Michael because Quinton and his organs perfectly matched those of Michael¡¯s. Even though the poison in Michael¡¯s body was temporarily under control, it had yet to be purged entirely. Without an antidote, the toxins would corrode his organs gradually. The longer the dy, the less likely he would be cured. Even if Michael were to remove the poison in the future, he would still have to transnt the non-functional organs and rece them with healthy ones. Both Theo and Quinton¡¯s organs matched his, and so they were tasked to eat and rest well because they were on standby to provide Michael with the necessary organs. Theo had no regrets because his life was long gone, and he only received a second chance in life unexpectedly. Initially, he had thought that this was God¡¯s punishment by letting him live a lonely life, but it turned out that it was a chance for him to make amendments. I am Michael¡¯s father, and so I have the mostpatible organs for him. Besides, my organs are healthy and young¡ªafter thirty years of cryogenic sleep, my organs have been preserved in perfect condition. In fact, they are very healthy and ready to be transnted at any moment. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. As for Quinton, he took the initiative to be here. He was the initiator of all the evil that caused the situation today. Quinton volunteered, but he isn¡¯t sure how many body parts of his are still functional. I suppose he just wants to offer whatever he can. We have asked Mark¡¯s opinion before returning this time. After all, our parents blessed us with our physical bodies, and so I had to get Mark¡¯s permission. It seems like Mark has agreed now. Theo and Quinton had decided to sacrifice both their lives in exchange for Michael¡¯s! Although it was cruel to exchange a life for another, it was a form of relief from Theo¡¯s point of view. He seemed to havee to terms with his calling and task upon being resurrected unexpectedly. Afterpleting my mission, I¡¯d like to return to the afterlife in search of the eternal moon of my heart¡­ I hope that she¡¯s still waiting for me. Michael and Sophia appeared stumped when Theo returned out of the blue. However, Theo seemed to have started adapting to his current life. He would go to work at the securitypany with Justin every day. Therefore, he had gradually familiarized himself with the business, and he even started to get the hang of usingputers and mobile phones. Theo lived a very healthy lifestyle. He would watch the news bulletin at home before and after work. After waking up in the mornings, he would work out and walk the dog; during the weekends, he would rest at home, read a book, or even head out for some exercise and basketball. He worked hard to thrive for his passion in life while contributing as a part in building the society. With Carmen¡¯s encouragement, he was even prepared to go on a parent-child reality TV show. Nevertheless, he was removed from the show because he looked too young. After all, nobody had ever seen such a young ¡®grandpa¡¯. This daily routine was a norm for any 30-year-old, but it was abnormal for Theo. In the beginning, Quinton had nned to spend most of his time watching drama series at home while lazing in bed, but Theo urged him to go to work together. They even walked the dog after work. Quinton also started working out diligently to make sure that his body parts were healthy and functional. Quinton couldn¡¯t take it anymore after keeping it up for a month. Both father and son chatted discreetly. Quinton suggested, ¡°Just put me to cryogenic sleep, and they can take whatever body parts they need when the timees.¡± Theo replied, ¡°I¡¯d like that too.¡± Quinton was at a loss of words when he heard that. Theo wasn¡¯t the kind of person to be content with things as they were because he felt that he couldn¡¯t go on with life in this manner. It wasn¡¯t interesting, and it was as boring as drinking in water. I simply don¡¯t understand how my inw, Cooper, manages to stay in a small study for the whole day. An otaku is simply the most inconceivable creature in the world. I might end up dead if I were to stay in a room for the whole day. Justin doesn¡¯t even have the heart to pass on dangerous missions to me when I¡¯m at thepany. I¡¯m just like an entrance guard because I¡¯m patrolling thepany every day with two German Shepherds with me. And after I get home everyday, I walk the two huskies; life is too boring. Justin noticed that the two of them were bored out of their kinds, and so he made a suggestion. ¡°Why don¡¯t¡­ you two go ahead and beat up senior high school students? Recently, these hooligans have been going rampant, and they have been trying to get school students to join their gang. Many senior high school students dropped out of high school to be mixed up with the wrong sort in society. Previously, whenever Celie had the time, she would specifically beat up these hooligans who were at odds with society. In fact, she¡¯d beat up whoever dared to enter the school to drag senior high school students into the gang¡­¡± Theo nodded in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s a good suggestion; please lead the way.¡± Justin was rendered speechless when he heard that. That was just a random suggestion! Is it appropriate for a 70-year-old old man to start beating up senior high school students? With that, Theo and Quinton quit their jobs at the securitypany. They started leaving the house early in the morning and returningte at night. Every day, they would go to locations in Riverdale with rtively poor public security to fight against senior high school students who were mixed up with hooligans in society. They even brought Celine, who was idling at home, along. Harry kept receivingints that the powerful group from years ago had returned and were still targeting senior high school students who were mixed up in society. Furthermore, it seemed that there had been an upgrade in the martial forces of the group of people. They came in unarmed, and they specifically attacked the hooligans. In the past, the group of people consisted of a master-level individual leading four amateurs, but now, three masters were out together. With thebined forces of the three of them, they managed to beat people up so badly that the area was at peace, and it was safe enough to leave the doors unbolted at night. Small-time hooligans did not dare to show up anymore, whereas the senior high school students, who dropped out of school to join the society, returned to school obediently. The three musketeers managed to increase the average scores of the underperforming high schools in Riverdale. Since Theo had run out of people to beat up, he had no choice but to go back to the couch at home. He searched the past thirty years¡¯ worth of news bulletins and binged-watch them. ¡°I¡¯m getting beyond bored¡­¡± There¡¯s nothing else to look forward to apart from the finale of the news bulletin. Sophia was stunned to silence upon learning about what they had been doing recently. I finally understand whom Celine took after. Cooper was extremely unhappy with Theo¡¯s arrival because he found Theo too raucous. He disliked Theo¡¯s old-fashioned dressing sense since thetter maintained a style from thirty years ago. Cooper was also unhappy that Theo took over the television in the living room for the whole day to watch ¡®News Bulletin¡¯. Furthermore, Cooper hated that Theo had snatched away his precious daughter¡­ Theo led Quinton and Celine on an adventurous lifestyle¡ªthey were always jumping from one thing to the next before charging toward something else. Cooper was unhappy about all that; in fact, he was extremely dissatisfied with the situation. Isn¡¯t it nice to sit down to read a book, or listen to some music, or head out for a drawing exhibition, or even to watch an opera performance? Can¡¯t he be a middle-aged gentleman, who is elegant and quiet, just like myself? The dark expression across Cooper¡¯s aged face was bing more obvious with time. It wasn¡¯t until Michael had to start filming ¡®Doctor Invincible 3¡¯ that Cooper finally got to take a breather. That was because there were many fighting scenes in the film, and so the three musketeers of the Fletcher Family finally had a reason to leave the house to work as martial arts stunt doubles for Michael. On the other hand, Lucy, who had also recovered, was prepared to leave. Before leaving, Lucy had a long chat alone with Cooper. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, thank you for waking me up.¡± Lucy was grateful toward Cooper from the bottom of her heart. Just when she was about to give uppletely, she heard a voice right beside her ear, saying, ¡°Lucy, the person who¡¯s hurt you is still alive. Are you willing to just leave now?¡± Amidst the darkness, she opened her eyes suddenly, and her gaze was filled with hatred. The person who has hurt Dana and me are still alive, so how could I die? ¡°But¡­¡± Lucy spoke. ¡°I won¡¯t consider your suggestion to work together to destroy my father for now.¡± I do not want to coborate with Cooper because I want to shred Jordan into pieces and feed him to the dogs with my own abilities. I want him to experience all the sufferings I had to go through! Chapter 1306 Chapter 1306 Cooper did not try anything further after Lucy told him her decision. On the contrary, he merely stated, ¡°I respect your choice, and you don¡¯t have to feel burdened by it.¡± With that, Lucy stood up to bid him farewell. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Cooper looked at her while he sent her off with a steady gaze. I know that this girl willplete her calling because we are the same type of people. We have both experienced simr pain and hopelessness, and others have ripped our happiness away from us. Hence, we both know that it takes much more courage and resolution than usual to stand up again. In return, we will be able to achieve unprecedented transformation. Meanwhile, Lucy thought to herself, I will never work with Cooper because I will not cooperate with an outsider to take down my father. After all, Jordan is my biological father, and he is my mentor in life. In fact, he¡¯s taught me everything I know. Nevertheless, Jordan has also taught me that it¡¯s fine to sacrifice your kin to achieve great things. I will not live off my family while secretly helping an outsider. I must kill him myself and take over the position as family head to clean house. It so happened that Michael hadn¡¯t joined the film crew yet. He saw that Lucy was about to leave, and so he rushed forward to walk her out. ¡°Are you leaving?¡± Lucy turned around to look at him while ncing at the three musketeers of the Fletcher Family. They were packing, ready to tag along with Michael to join the film crew. She answered while smiling at him, ¡°Yes. Thank you very much for taking me in and taking good care of me. It is time for me to leave.¡± After walking out the door, she realized that the sun was bright today, and everything was fresh and alive. There wasn¡¯t a trace of smog in the air; such a thing was rare at Bayside City, especially at the end of spring. On the contrary, the air was pleasantly refreshing, and the feeling made Lucy feel as if she was in another life. It was almost as if a ray of sunlight had shone through in the purgatory she was in, but it vanished in the blink of an eye. Her heart and soul were still engulfed within the endless darkness. Walking her out, Michael said to her after a moment of hesitation, ¡°To be honest, I can help you find out about Dana¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary.¡± Lucy cut him off, her gaze shining with determination. ¡°Do not tell me if she¡¯s dead, but if she isn¡¯t dead, you have to tell her¡­¡± She paused for a moment before speaking again. Her tone was final and ruthless, like a sharp knife swinging downward without any hesitation to sever the bond tying their fate together. ¡°To please¡­ stop slowing me down.¡± Michael was stunned into silence, but he knew what she meant straight away. Stop slowing me down¡­ Their ten-year rtionship seemed to have ended because of what she said. It might appear ruthless, but it was the expression of her most sincere love toward Dana. I am tired. We have fought for our love for more than a decade. In the end, it was all for nothing. On the contrary, we ended up hurting each other. Therefore, we might as well break up and go our separate ways. This is to give each other another chance to move forward. It doesn¡¯t matter if Dana is still alive or not¡ªas long as I¡¯m not with her, I am sure that she will live a better life. I, on the other hand, have to aplish what I¡¯ve set out to do. This journey is filled with danger and risk, and so I don¡¯t need her to come along with me. The Edwards have cut me out of the family, and I have rejected help from Sam and Cooper. Besides, Michael has no idea where I¡¯m going alone. ¡°What are your ns after today?¡± Unfortunately, Lucy was already far away, and she did not answer him. She merely waved at him while keeping her back to him. Sophia waved at Lucy. ¡°Do you¡­ want to take some food for your journey? You should at least take some water with you¡­¡± Lucy did not answer her, and so Sophia waved her arm earnestly while eximing, ¡°Send me a text on Messenger when you¡¯ve arrived at your destination!¡± Lucy walked toward the entrance of the residential area, and she left after boarding a public bus. She looked like a warrior with a sword who was embarking on a journey where she couldn¡¯t look back. She wasn¡¯t sure if she¡¯d survive this time, but she¡¯d have no regrets. From her point of view, she¡¯d just end up dead in the worst-case scenario. I¡¯ve experienced the worst suffering in life and returned from hell, so death doesn¡¯t faze me. Michael watched as Lucy left, whereas Sophia was still worrying about what Lucy would have to eat or drink on the road. Judging by Lucy¡¯s current state, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s nning to leave the country. After all, there is no ce for her at the Edwards Group and Bayside City¡­ Michael noticed the conflicted expression across Sophia¡¯s face and found her utterly adorable. He wanted nothing more than to press her against the wall while doing some non-gentlemanly things to her. She is such a kind and adorable little thing. I can¡¯t believe she actually invited my ex-girlfriend back to our house. She is truly generous. Michael caressed Sophia¡¯s hair, as though they were back to the time when they were still young. Well, that wasn¡¯t quite true because they were still considered young right now. Nevertheless, they did not expect toe face-to-face with Theo when they turned around. Theo was standing behind them in silence, whereas Cooper was leaning against the door frame while sipping his afternoon tea elegantly, seemingly observing the situation in a discreet manner. ¡°Is that girl gone?¡± Theo suddenly appeared as if he was very concerned about Lucy despite their limited exchange. Michael nodded while answering him, ¡°She¡¯s gone.¡± Theo replied to him, ¡°Let¡¯s go too.¡± He led the way first. I know where that girl is from; she truly resembles Elizabeth! Maybe Lucy is my Elizabeth. She must have realized that I haven¡¯t joined her on the other side, and so she must have been reincarnated out of desperation¡­ No matter what the situation is, our lives will not be entangled within this lifetime anymore. Maybe I should have set her free a long time ago. If I hadn¡¯t shown up in her life, I¡¯m sure she would have had a better life. Dressed colorfully, Danny came to pick Michael up. This time, Theo stood on Michael¡¯s left side, whereas Quinton was on his right, and Celine was standing just behind him. Everybody¡¯s hands were full with stuff, except Michael, making him seem especially like a spoiled prince. Theo even turned around before leaving to nce at Cooper, who was sipping on his afternoon tea. For some reason, I just have a feeling that my inw doesn¡¯t see eye-to-eye with me. In fact, I think we hate each other. He has the feminine and fussy side of a capitalist. Furthermore, I always have to read between the lines while chatting with him, and it seems like he bears a sense of hostility toward me. There¡¯s just something wrong with him in general. To conclude it¡ªit is god-damned troublesome living with an intellectual under the same roof! It¡¯s best that I leave right now. On the other side, Cooper was scrutinizing Theo too. I¡¯ve heard that in somerge families, daughters- inw are expected to wake up early in the morning to prepare tea for their parents-inw, and they even have to wash their parents-inw¡¯s feet in the evening too. Furthermore, I¡¯ve heard rumors that daughters-inw are expected to greet their parents-inw twice a day, in the morning and at night, and they¡¯d be criticized if they fail to give birth to a male heir. I would like to see which b*stard would have the audacity to demand my dearest darling to serve them water to wash their feet. I¡¯d like to see who would be bold enough to evenment about her not having a second child! I will make sure that whoever dares to instruct my daughter to wash their feet would lose their feet the very next day! In any case, fortunately, after observing discreetly for such a long time, I¡¯ve found Theo to be mindful and decent. He has never demanded for Sophia to wash his feet, nor has he evermented about her not giving birth to a son. Michael kissed Sophia on her cheeks while bidding her farewell. It would be the end of the agreement after finishing filming the third ¡®Doctor Invincible¡¯ film. It would be a form of relief for Michael too. It¡¯s the last movie, and so I have to do a good job in the film. On the same day, Carmen left the house together with her uncle to film a new reality show. Cooper left for abroad to attend a meeting, whereas Justin went overseas for an investigation. Therefore, Sophia and Justin¡¯s baby were the only ones left at home. ¡°Sophia, I am here! Serve me the best liquor and dishes you have! I¡¯ll tell you some earth-shattering gossip!¡± Stanley brought his whole family along to hang out and spend time with her. He heard that all the men in Sophia¡¯s home had left. Hence, he knew that this was the best time to feast at her home for free. ¡°Great-aunt Sophia! We are here to feast!¡± Maisie was here too since she was tagging along with both her fathers sheepishly for a free meal. Chapter 1307 Chapter 1307 Stanley was demanding, whereas Maisie was adorable. They managed to get Sophia to instruct the kitchen to prepare a lot of delicious food to serve them. During the meal, Stanley keptining, ¡°Sophia, you won¡¯t believe the quality of our family¡¯s cook. Oh, my God! Her cooking skills¡­ I am sure she used to cook at a high school canteen for the masses. Even her way of simply boiling a pot of water is dubious. You can¡¯t even begin to imagine the type of life the three of us have to endure at home! It¡¯s better to have instant noodles every meal! She is very old, and so I just can¡¯t fire her. I¡¯ve bought the all-inclusive insurance funds for her too, and I¡¯m just waiting for her insurance to mature next year. With that, she¡¯ll be able to retire and return to her hometown, while I will switch to a great cook immediately.¡± Sophia listened attentively, but she noticed that he did not mention anything about that little girlfriend of his. Nevertheless, Sean was around, and so she was embarrassed to ask further. Sophia kept serving Maisie different dishes. On the other hand, Stanley was busy stuffing his face, but he did serve Sean some dishes too. ¡°Sean, eat more. We can¡¯t even be sure when¡¯s the next meal after this!¡± Sophia scowled while thinking to herself. Stupid Fletcher. What is he talking about? Stanley kept cing a variety of food on Sean¡¯s te. Being well-versed with Sean¡¯s favorite dishes, he was precise in picking the dishes thetter loved. With Stanley around, Sophia watched him as he snatched away the food. It inadvertently formed a sense ofpetition during the meal, causing Sophia to feel the pressure. She was afraid that she might lose out on the food she enjoyed. Therefore, she started snatching some dishes too, and without noticing it, she had gobbled down three bowls of rice. Judge approached them too; it ate Sophia¡¯s home-baked dog food underneath the table, wolfing down the food like a pig. Tonight¡¯s meal was exceptionally delicious, and so they polished everything off. After dinner, they sat in the living room to watch ¡®News Bulletin¡¯. Stanley went down to the wine cer for two bottles of red wine to pair with the stewed dishes he had brought along. He did that while chatting with Sophia about thetest gossip. ¡°My cybercaf¨¦ has started its operation. Are you dropping by? Is your husband visiting? Will Nicole come along? In any case, Sarah and Mr. Harry are going, and so all of you have toe too! By the way, how¡¯s the progress of getting your dad to officiate the opening ceremony of my cybercaf¨¦?¡± Sophia wrapped her arms around Justin¡¯s baby while mumbling to Stanley in acknowledgement. They had opened thergest cybercaf¨¦ in the world together, and it was a big deal in the world of e- sports. They had invited many famous e-sports yers for the opening day, and they even went out of the way to invite Cooper to cut the ribbon during the opening ceremony. After all, he was considered the Grandmaster in the gaming industry. Soon, Stanley mentioned the gossip he had promised to share with Sophia. ¡°Do you know Lucy? She¡¯s from the Edwards Family. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard that two months ago, she¡¯s been exposed as a homosexual, and she¡¯s been trying to create a fake marriage. Therefore, the Edwards relieved her of her administrative power of the family business¡­¡± Sophia paid attention right away while straightening her back automatically. ¡°What happened to her?¡± she asked. Since Sophia had rescued Lucy secretly and allowed her to recuperate at home, Stanley had no idea about Lucy all along. Therefore, he was especially boastful when he bragged about this piece of gossip. ¡°Oh, my! She was chased out of the Edwards Family! After that, there has been no news of her for two months. Rumors have it that she must have left the Edwards Family for abroad, butst night¡­ she showed up suddenly at the main entrance of the Edwards Residence. She kneeled down at the door to beg her father and family to forgive her. She was on her knees the whole ofst night and today¡ªin fact, she¡¯s still kneeling there right now!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia stood up abruptly with a whoosh before she noticed that it was pouring heavily outside. During springtime, the temperatures would fluctuate constantly¡ªthe sky might be clear in the day, but it might be drizzling in the night. For example, it had been raining heavilyst night and tonight. Lucy has been kneeling at the entrance of the Edwards Residence for a day and a night¡­ Even an ordinary person might not survive such circumstances, not to mention Lucy, whose health has yet to recover fully. How could she possibly survive this?! She mentioned that it was imperative that shepleted a task. She said that she had to go because there was no turning back. However, I did not expect that she¡¯d be returning to the Edwards Residence! Suddenly, Sophia felt extremely unsettled. There is no ce for her in the Edwards Family anymore. Why did she go back there? Jordan is suspicious by nature, and so he will kill her if she returns. Furthermore, will Anna and her son ept her return? Sophia handed the baby in her arms to the nanny before she picked her bag to leave the house. However, Sophia had merely taken a few steps when she realized that she was in no position to help Lucy. I might worsen the situation if I go there¡­ Lucy is such a proud person, and she is the pride of the Edwards Group. Currently, she¡¯s kneeling in front of the main entrance of the Edwards Residence while being criticized by all the Edwards Family members, whereas onlookers, who are passing by the Edwards Residence, must be talking about her behind her back. It must have taken a lot of determination to do that! Furthermore, I¡¯m sure Anna wouldn¡¯t allow Lucy to return to the Edwards Family smoothly. Sophia sat down again, looking especially anxious. However, she wasn¡¯t sure why she was so anxious about this matter. Stanley was eating a chicken feet dish while sipping some red wine. ¡°Sophia, I know that you are close with Lucy, but this is the Edwards Family¡¯s matter. Why would you stick your nose into it when you¡¯re an outsider?¡± he asked. Sean added, ¡°The Edwards Family will sort it out themselves.¡± The Edwards had embarrassed themselves horribly among the great families this time because the eldest daughter of the current family head was actually a homosexual. In all honesty, it was one thing that the Edwards Family couldn¡¯t ept her sexual orientation, but they just couldn¡¯t ept the lies involved too. Therefore, they were furious with Lucy. Sean had a gulp of red wine too. After all, they weren¡¯t heading home tonight because they were nning on staying here over the weekend for free meals and a free stay. Sean did not have to drive, and so he let his guard down by drinking more liquor. Nevertheless, even the most delicious red wine tasted bitter upon swallowing at such a moment. As children of old and well-known families, we are shackled to the idea of feudalism the moment we arrive in this world. We can¡¯t live freely, and so I understand Lucy. I thought that she would be able to change everything¡­ but who would have thought that it was just an absurd farce. In the end, she returned to the Edwards Family to admit her mistakes. To be honest, there have been people setting new norms in life even before Lucy¡ªtake Linus, for example. Among all the children of the old and well-known families within Bayside City, Linus stays true to his principled nonconformity. He is never afraid of others¡¯ opinions or criticisms. There are still plenty of forces adhering to the old ways within the Mitchell Family, but Cooper suppressed them all. Hence, the other well-known and old families can only darement in secret because they are afraid of the consequences if the overprotective Cooper finds out. This is the reason I am adamant on working with Cooper. Within the Mitchell Family, he is fair, and everybody is respected. Cooper will promote anyone with talent, no matter what their background is¡­ In the past, the Mitchell Family used to make me feel suffocated. However, I am fond of the Mitchells now because this is my first time experiencing the happiness and pride of being a part of the Mitchell Family! Besides, there¡¯s the Fletcher Family too. Dana is an oddball, but she is still openly involved in the administrative work in the Fletcher Family. Furthermore, she is known as the infamous Mr. Dana in Bayside City¡¯s underworld. She would shoot anyone who has the audacity to drop ament on the spot. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. The Fletchers find Dana extremely troublesome. But although they find her embarrassing, they would not let anyone who made a negativement about her off the hook. In fact, they would punish someone directly if they were to make any criticism! However, when the news involving Lucy was revealed, it seems that her family has be the ones to hurt her the most. Her ¡®family members¡¯¡­ Chapter 1308 Chapter 1308 The Edwards Family was the first group of people to attack and humiliate Lucy, and they were also the ones to condemn her in the most cruel way. When people noticed that the family members of the Edwards Family had started condemning Lucy, outsiders started humiliating and insulting her openly too. Many people knew that Lucy was kneeling at the entrance of the Edwards Residence, so countless filthyments were hurled at this clearly innocent woman in an attempt to humiliate her soul and personality. Since the Edwards Family refused to protect her, others started humiliating her even more. It seemed almost as though she had be a pile of mud for others to trudge on. It was clear that she had worked hard for more than a decade for the Edwards Group, and she had had great achievements. One couldn¡¯t even be sure if it was the sorrow of the Edwards Group or Lucy herself that she ended up like this¡­ Upon noticing Sophia¡¯s upset expression, Stanleymented drunkenly, ¡°I think that no matter who Lucy loves, it¡¯s her business. The Edwards are utterly unkind. If this were to happen within our Fletcher Family, the worst thing that could happen would be a horrible beating, but there¡¯d be no consequences after the beating; in fact, you¡¯d be free to do as you please! Tsk, they¡¯ve made her kneel at the entrance for two nights now¡ªthey are simply too cruel. If I were in her shoes, I¡¯d have turned and walked away. I honestly do not understand why she went back there! This is too despicable no matter how rich the Edwards are!¡± Nevertheless, they had no idea that the Edwards Family had hurt Lucy far worse than they could ever imagine, but she chose to return to them despite that. ¡­ After dinner, Sarah dropped by Sophia¡¯s house. They yed poker together, but Sophia was clearly depressed, and she lost tens of thousands. Furthermore, she just couldn¡¯t fall asleep soundly upon returning to her bedroom. Lucy¡¯s injuries have yet to recover fully. Now that she has been caught in the rain for two whole nights¡­ who knows how Lucy is now. It was in the wee hours, and the Bayside City was trapped in an exceptionally violent storm. Sophia heard the stter of the rain against the window while she tossed and turned in bed without being able to fall asleep. She couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, and so she opened the friend list in her Messenger. After that, Sophia spaced out while staring at two profile pictures¡ªone of them was ¡®Your Past Royal Family A¡¯, whereas the other was ¡®Your Past Royal Family B¡¯. After weighing her options, she sent a text via Messenger to ¡®A¡¯. ¡®What happened to Lucy?¡¯ It so happened that the other party was online, and so the reply was swift. ¡®Apologies, but the user you are summoning is still sulky because your dad slept with the user¡¯s mom. Hence, the user is temporarily refusing all advisory services unless you transfer 8,888.¡¯ ¡®Damn it. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still angry¡­¡± Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Sophia mumbled to herself, but she transferred 8,888 anyway. The person confirmed the transfer and replied to her. ¡®Please transfer 1,111 for a text description and 2,222 for a voice description, 3,333 for a photo description, and 8,888 for a video. For the full package, please transfer 111,111.¡¯ Sophia was fuming by then. ¡®Why are the fees so expensive? That¡¯s extortion!¡¯ She received a reply. ¡®Thousand apologies, but it is gettingte now. Customer service No. 1 is about to go offline. Kindly transfer 8,888 to continue with the advisory services. Please hang up if this is the end of the session.¡¯ Sophia noted that she had already transferred 8,888, and so she figured she would most probably lose the amount if she stopped asking about Lucy¡¯s news. Hence, she transferred an additional 8,888 together with an extra 111,111. Soon, Callum sent her a video, and so Sophia opened the video to watch it. In the video, Callum and Cade were having some liquor while enjoying some foie gras at the balcony. They even had the alpaca they stole from Sophia with them. In any case, it was pouring outside the full-length window. The scenery was not visible through the downpour. However, when lightning struck, it lit up everything temporarily. Sophia noticed that the main entrance of the Edwards Residence was across the garden outside of the window. There was a figure visible for a moment at the entrance¡ªit was none other than Lucy. She was kneeling in the rain at night; she was soaked through, but she stood her ground without giving up as she continued kneeling in front of the entrance of the Edwards Residence. asionally, somebody would walk past while criticizing her openly. Lucy kept her head bowed while maintaining her position. One couldn¡¯t be sure if she was just being stubborn or she had already passed out. One could only imagine the courage needed to support such a physically weak woman to get through kneeling the entire day and night! Callum introduced her through the video. ¡°Look, she¡¯s there! She has been rooted to the spot sincest night until now. She just wouldn¡¯t budge, and nobody from the Edwards Family even tried going out to help her.¡± Sophia panicked, and so she texted back. ¡®She is your older sister. Aren¡¯t you going to save her?! She will end up dying if this goes on.¡¯ Callum replied to her. ¡®Please transfer 1,111 to send an umbre; please transfer 2,222 to send an umbre and a small camp chair; please transfer 3,333 to send an umbre, a small camp chair and some clothes; please transfer 4,444 to send an umbre, a small camp chair, some clothes, and hot water; please transfer 8,888 to send words of concern to her; please transfer 18,888 to send her to the hospital or please transfer 88,888 to beg for mercy on her behalf.¡¯ Their fees are rather pricey! After pondering her options, Sophia transferred 18,888. She isn¡¯t in an optimum condition. It¡¯s imperative to send her to the hospital right now. Since Lucy is kneeling there, I suppose it¡¯s not something too troublesome for her brother, Callum, to send her to the hospital¡­ However, after transferring 18,888, the recipient epted the amount immediately and wrote: ¡®Apologies. Server error. Customer service No. 1 has gone offline.¡¯ Sophia replied to him. ¡®Son of a b*tch.¡¯ He doesn¡¯t want to help at all. In fact, he just wants to cheat my money! ¡®Damn you! You had better remember this because I¡¯ll beat you up into a pulp sooner orter.¡¯ Sophia tossed her phone away. I should sleep now¡­ The Edwards Family would never let Lucy die just like that. Lucy has worked many years within the Edwards Group, and so she has established her forces within thepany. Although it is nothingpared to Jordan¡¯s forces, it¡¯s impossible to avoid inner chaos within the Edwards Group because she left out of the blue without any preparation after working there for more than a decade. At the Edwards Residence. ¡°Hahaha¡­ she actually transferred the money to me!¡± Callum was guffawing while holding onto his mobile phone. Although the meager sum was merely enough for a facial spa, he was especially satisfied for having sessfully fooled Sophia. On the other hand, Cade was looking at the main entrance. Right now, Lucy is truly in a horrible state! Callum and I have analyzed our older sister, Lucy. She is powerful enough, but simr to Jordan, they are both too powerful. That is why they are overly conceited, and they feel that they have the whole world in their hands. Being overly conceited is also their weakness. Currently, Jordan is still submerged within the sense of being the most powerful person in the world. However, this older sister of mine has removed her pride and honorable spine. She has bowed down to reality and her failures. In fact, she has no qualms inpromising while putting herself in a humble state. She is perfect at that moment. She will be a super scary existence if she were to return to the Edwards Group! After Lucy left, the family suggested for Callum and I to join the Edwards Group, but we rejected them because we didn¡¯t want toe off as too pushy. However, the younger twins were impatient, and so they joined thepany in a rush. Lucy has just left not long ago, but they¡¯ve entered the Edwards Group to take over all her responsibilities. Jordan has left to run errands, whereas the Edwards Group is in a mess, thanks to the siblings, Ryan and Henry. Everybody in the family andpany find it annoying and troublesome, so they want Callum and me to salvage the situation. Initially, we were about to make our move, but Lucy returned out of the blue! Our ns have been disrupted; this is not ideal for our n to seize the Edwards Group! At the entrance. Ryan and Henry, whom one of them was shot in the shoulder while the other had a chunk of ear bitten off by Lucy, had recovered from their injuries. They were watching Lucy at the entrance while gloating at her misfortune. ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t our beloved older sister. What happened? Did you manage to savor the sensual wonders of men that night? Will you prefer women or men in the future?¡± ¡°Hahahaha! Just look at how embarrassing you are right now!¡± ¡°Do you believe that you can still return to the Edwards Group? Never! You are just an abandoned dog of the Edwards Family! You are no longer Miss Edwards, and we own the future of the Edwards Group. I need to thank you forying the foundation for us, Lucy, hahaha!¡± Chapter 1309 Chapter 1309 Nevertheless, Lucy did not respond to their insults. It seemed as if her kneecaps were stuck to the ground. She had her head bowed, and her shock of maroon hair that was soaked throughid matted against her forehead. She had stopped seeing and hearing her surroundings because the anger deep down in her heart was the only thing fueling her to live on. I am betting my life on this! I am betting that Jordan wouldn¡¯t have the heart to let me die for real! Seeing as Lucy refused to answer him, Ryan kicked her suddenly, causing her to topple to the ground. She was already at the brink of her limit for the longest time, but she had been enduring it with thest breath she had. Now that Ryan had kicked her down, Lucy simply did not have the strength to support herself. In the end, she slumped onto the ground, motionless. However, Ryan was still unsatisfied, so he approached her to kick her a few more times. ¡°Wake up! Stop ying dead. Even if you die, our father will not even pay any attention to you.¡± His rain boot with a thick sole trampled on Lucy¡¯s soft and fragile body; one could almost hear her bones cracking and breaking. Nevertheless, Lucy refused to make a sound¡ªmaybe she no longer had the energy to utter anything. Nobody in the Edwards Residence had the courage to say anything while they watched the two of them beating Lucy up at the main entrance. In reality, the elders of the Edwards Family were all sitting in the living room, and that included Jordan too. Therge living room was so quiet one could hear a pin drip, whereas all the elders were gazing at each other in speechless despair. The atmosphere was especially depressing, and everybody turned to look at Jordan, who had a dark and eerie expression. They started having second thoughts ever since Lucy started kneeling at the entrance. In all honesty, it wasn¡¯t a huge issue that Lucy was a lesbian because there were plenty of dirty secrets within rich and powerful families. Many people posed as characters with high morals on the surface, but some men might start fooling around with other men after getting bored with women. When they got bored with men, some of them might even get involved with dogs. In reality, the Edwards were furious that Lucy had lied to them. They were also angry that she hadn¡¯t gotten married for more than a decade because of a woman. Besides, since the embarrassing family news had been exposed to the public, they had no choice but to make their stand by chasing Lucy out of the house. As long as she returned and admitted her mistakes, Lucy just had to get married with a man with the right social status to bring benefits to the family. Everything would be okay as long as she stayed as a passable Miss Edwards. When Lucy was gone for the past two months, the pair of clueless twins wreaked havoc in the Edwards Group¡­ They were newbies after all, and so the pair of amateurs just couldn¡¯t handle such arge enterprise like Edwards Group. At that moment, the Edwards finally recalled Lucy¡¯s achievements. When she was around, she handled affairs in a vigorous manner, and she was decisive and swift. In fact, she managed the Edwards Family¡¯s matters perfectly, so their business performances were ascending steadily. On the other hand, the twins started eliminating people who had different opinions to theirs the moment they entered the Edwards Group. They actually arranged for people from the Yard Family to enter the company, and they even chased away the core elite members within the Edwards Group. Their actions were clearly challenging the limits and patience of the Edwards Group. The Edwards wanted the two families to unite, but in reality, they wanted the Edwards Group to take over the Yard Group, and so they were naturally wary of thetter. Previously, after the initial delight of the four young masters suddenly joining the Edwards Group, everybody within the Edwards Family was on high alert. They were afraid that in the end, the Edwards wouldn¡¯t swallow the Yard Group whole, but would instead be taken over by thetter. Jordan hardly interfered with the administrations of the family businesses. He merely sent a substitute to fool outsiders, but nobody knew where he truly went. In the end, he might just quietly watch the Yard Family take over the Edwards Family. After all, both forces belonged to him, and he didn¡¯t care about his family name. However, this was a big deal for the Edwards Family. Therefore, the Edwards needed Lucy to stay on to fight the Yard Group! In the end, the most powerful Grand Elder stepped forward to break the silence. ¡°I suggest we wee Miss Edwards home. She might have made lots of mistakes, but I can tell that she¡¯s truly remorseful.¡± After the announcement from the Grand Elder, the rest of the elders started voicing out too. ¡°Currently, she is a part of the Edwards Group. Therefore, I want to make myself clear¡ªthe Edwards Group cannot afford to lose Miss Edwards!¡± ¡°The four young masters might be part of the Edwards Group, but we aren¡¯t even sure when they will change their surnames. Hence, they can¡¯t be considered as true Edwards.¡± ¡°My wife¡¯s family is also very invested in this matter! They have sent their people over a few times to check on Miss Edwards¡¯ situation!¡± The elders were very opinionated, but the younger generation in the Edwards Family had much more to say.From N?velDrama.Org. Who do the Yards think they are? Who gave them the right to call the shots in the Edwards Group? How dare they tantly bring in people from the Yard Family to join important departments within the company! The Yards were traitors a hundred years ago, but they are nning to return as kings now! For that, the Edwards have paid a lot of money and sacrificed many people! We haven¡¯t even settled that score, and so why are we even allowing them to enter the Edwards Group? Does the current Edwards Family carry the surname Yard or Edwards? So what if Lucy is a lesbian? It¡¯s not an issue as long as she returns to the family and gets married with a man! Who could possibly be worse than those twins in regards to being disgusting while corrupting public morals?! They are always involved in a hedonistic lifestyle every night, and having threesomes is just part of their routine. Furthermore, they enjoy both men and women, but this hasn¡¯t been made public yet! Everybody was discussing it earnestly, and the crowd was exceptionally agitated. Nevertheless, they expressed amon idea, which was to wee Lucy home! However, as the family head, Jordan remained silent, and so nobody dared to actually do anything. Suddenly, somebody barged in from outside. The person, who was soaked through, eximed in horror, ¡°Bad news! Young Master Henry and Young Master Ryan have beaten Miss Edwards to death, and they are about to toss her into the river!¡± Everybody stood up abruptly with a whoosh. Members of the older generation were furious, whereas the younger generation, who were livid, charged out without waiting for Jordan¡¯s instructions. Jordan let out a long sigh at that moment. I should let her return if she survives this. After all, she is my eldest daughter and the only descendent of my legal wife. At the entrance, the rain had washed off Lucy¡¯s blood; she was soaking wet, covered with rain and blood. Holding her by her limbs, Henry¡¯s subordinates were prepared to toss her into the nearby river. Lucy was motionless by then. Henry¡¯s subordinates saw Henry and Ryan turning to head back to the Edwards Residence, and so they reached out for Lucy¡¯s chest. They seemed as if they were nning to take her somewhere to¡­ Suddenly, a group of Edwards Family members came charging out like a sudden surge of tidal waves. They saw Henry¡¯s subordinates carrying Lucy out, and they were reaching underneath her clothes for her chest with their filthy hands. ¡°F*ck you!¡± The Edwards were raging at this point. How dare they harm Miss Edwards within the Edwards Family¡¯s territory! Therge group charged at them and soon took Lucy away. Amidst the chaos, Henry and Ryan were shoved onto the ground before they were trampled all over¡­ ¡°Tsk!¡± Callum clucked his tongue loudly while he watched his younger brothers slumped on the ground. The twins have lived up to our ¡®affection and love¡¯ from childhood up until now, indeed. They¡¯ve inherited Jordan¡¯s arrogance, but they do not have his abilities. They are used to beingwless, as if they owned the whole world. Therefore, it is expected that they¡¯ve earned a real beating. They arrived barely two months ago, but they¡¯ve seeded in making the entire Edwards Family hate them. Besides, the timing is perfect, because somehow, they¡¯d always choose the most critical time to make the worst blunder. Initially, the next steps involved Cade and I descending from the Heavens, like dazzling angels, to sort out the mess that our younger brothers caused. We were supposed to bring the Edwards Family hope and love before joining the Edwards Group without a hitch, but Lucy is back now¡­ ¡°Mom, when did you arrive?¡± eximed Cade in surprise. Since an unknown point in time, Anna had been standing by the full-length window. She suddenly chuckled eerily while watching Lucy being carried away¡­ Chapter 1310 Chapter 1310 Three dayster, Lucy woke up in a hospital ward and the first thing that she saw was Jordan¡¯s back. ¡°Dad.¡± Her voice was as light as air. When he heard her voice, he was standing in front of the window and turned to look at her, but his expression was still strict. ¡°As long as you are awake, it is okay. From now on, don¡¯t be so reckless.¡± With tears in her eyes, she shouted, ¡°Dad, I was wrong!¡± ¡­ At home, Sophia would ask someone to inquire about the Edwards Family from time to time, but there was no news at all. Ever since that night, Lucy seemed to have disappeared. I wonder if she has returned to the Edwards Family or has been kicked out. When she asked Callum, he replied, ¡®Please transfer 8888 for text description, 18888 for voice description, 28888 for a photo description, or 38888 for a video description.¡¯ Therefore, she transferred 18888 to him. Then, he responded, ¡®Beep! System overload. Customer service no.1 has been disconnected and is unable to provide any service. To reactivate, please transfer 8888.¡¯ Sophia: ¡®Go to hell!¡± Even the reliable Stanley was oblivious to the situation. He was added into a group meant for blind dates that consisted of the aristocratic bachelors in Bayside City. He was a mainstay in the group and unintentionally met a lot of people after organizing dates for them batch after batch. Other than the news of Lucy¡¯s grandfather heading to the Edwards Family, he ispletely oblivious to the situation. I guess this counts as good news¡­ Recently, she was also very busy with work. After the fashion week, JNS Group had sessfully drawn the attention of the fashion industry. Since then, orders started to build up, causing her to have her hands full. Not only did she need tounch many new products, she also needed to deal with shop rental and the hiring of marketers, designers and more¡­ The entirepany would often work overtime until past midnight. She had stayed upte into the night that her hair was in disarray and her face was pallid. A few days after returning from a reality show, Carmen and Linus traveled with Cooper again to film another reality show. Lately, she was busy with her career because she wanted to earn a bit of money before enrolling in primary school next year and focusing on her studies. The reality show was held in Northern Europe this time. Cooper also took the opportunity to attend a meeting there, so they would stay there for a while before returning home. On the other hand, Michael was filming a movie abroad, but that would not take a long time because he needed to return to Bayside City for a scene. Every night, he would send a video to Sophia on time. However, when it was noon at her ce, it was already night time at his end. ¡°Hubby, you only need to focus on your movie. Everything at home is fine.¡± It so happened that it was the weekend and she was rxing on the sofa while eating fruits at home. In the video, he was wearing his costume with three people standing next to him in the same attire. Of course, they were his three stunt doubles. Even though he was the only one filming, all four of them were needed. Now, he was acting in the dramatic scenes while all the dangerous action scenes were left to the stunt doubles. Upon looking behind Sophia in the video, Michael could see the two huskies jumping around in their vests as if they were able to head out for a walk. However, when she was speaking with him through the video call, the impatient dogs continued to bark, urging her to immediately bring them out. ¡°Hey, they have new vests!¡± At first nce, he noticed that the two dogs now wore new neon green vests with five shiny golden words¡ª¡®The Dog Version of Taylor.¡¯ He was instantly rendered speechless. It was the newlyunched luxurious limited edition pet vest by Pourl with each piece being well over five digits. The expensive parts of the vest were the brand name ¡®Pourl¡¯ and the name ¡®Taylor Murray¡¯. After all, it was the only brand in the world who had the official copyright of Taylor¡¯s name to produce dog vests as his merchandise. There were only a thousand models in the world and when it was sold out, it would not be reproduced. Every model even came with its own identification number and certificate. At first, Michael thought that no one would buy that sort of item, but he never expected that the rich would quickly pre-order a thousand models the moment the idea was released. Huh, rich people¡­ ¡°Come and say hello to your daddy. After this, I¡¯ll bring you guys out to have fun.¡± Sophia grabbed one of the dogs over and showed the phone screen to it. As soon as the dog saw the dashing Michael in the video, it immediately licked the phone screen, leaving lots of saliva on the device. Amidst her rage, the video call ended. The moment the call ended, he smiled at his screen. Even if it was merely a few words with her, it felt as though his whole body was strengthened. After she had changed to a sports attire, she prepared to head to a nearbymunity to walk the two ¡®dog versions of Taylor¡¯. However, as soon as she walked out the door, she could see Sarah exiting her home with her ¡®dog version of Ethan¡¯. While Sophia walked her dogs, she suddenly received a phone call from Sean. ¡°Sophia, where are you? You need to immediatelye to the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house. Sandra has gone insane and wants to sell the ancestral house!¡± She was shocked to hear the news. ¡°Who would dare to buy our ancestral house?¡± He replied, ¡°It¡¯s Henry and Ryan. They want to demolish the ancestral house to build an office building.¡± What the hell! One dares to sell and the other has the courage to purchase! Sophia rushed home with the dogs and hurriedly drove from the garage without even entering the house. On the way to the ancestral house, she called someone. From N?velDrama.Org. At the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house, the ancestral hall lost its true purpose with only a few ques left as Cooper had already built a bigger hall at his ce. He had also taken the incense and the ancestral grave, so the only thing left in the Mitchell Residence was the ancestral house. Sandra brought Ryan and Henry over to check out the house today. Sophia always tried to suppress Sandra so that no one in Bayside City would dare to buy the ancestral house, but the city did not belong to the former, so there would still be willing purchasers¡ªlike the Yards. If Sandra sold the house, she would receive a huge sum of money that would instantly allow Mitchell¡¯s Technology to operate again. ¡°This house was once a pce. Back then, only the prince could live in such a huge and spacious ce. In Bayside City, only this house is worthy to amodate the Yards, except for the ancient Imperial Pce. Other than this house, there is also a smallmunity at the back where we have been living. Themunity includes old historic houses and courtyards, but we still hold the property rights. If you demolish everything and develop it, you¡¯ll definitely make a profit out of it.¡± Sandra proudly introduced the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house, enjoying thest glory that she could receive from the Mitchell Family. After selling the house, her only connection with the Mitchell Family would probably be herst name. Upon hearing that she wanted to sell the ancestral house and themunity behind it, many members of the Mitchell Family were enraged, but they did not dare to speak out. Many of them were unwilling to leave the Mitchell residence because they had lived their entire life there. Once they decided to live at Cooper¡¯s ce, they needed to move away and some refused to do so. I can¡¯t believe Sandra is trying to demolish thismunity and the ancestral house. Where will we live if this ce is demolished? As the family head, there were many things to consider to support a big family. Most importantly, every member of the family must be provided with amodation and work¡ªlike a state-owned enterprise providing sub-unit housing. Many of the Mitchells spent their lives working in the Mitchell Group and living at the ancestral house, but now, not only were they fired from thepany, but they were also forced to move out of the ancestral house! The house had been finalized to be sold to the Yard Family for them to build office buildings and commercial houses. The many cars parked in front of the entrance were the remaining members of the Mitchell Family moving out and although some of them lived there for generations, they had no other choice. Everyone at the entrance scolded and cried while reluctantly looking back at the house they had lived in for many years. Chapter 1311 Chapter 1311 The Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house was once a previous king¡¯s residence, so it was painted with red paint that only royalties could use. Not only was the roof made of beast-shaped tile, the beams, interlocking wooden brackets and ledges were all decorated with green paint. There werendscapes and pavilions inside the house. Throughout the generations of the Mitchell Family, they had always preserved and maintained the house with care since it was still valuable for research. That was why everyone was saddened to know that it was going to be demolished, but they had no other option. Suddenly, a few cars stopped at the entrance. As soon as the car doors opened, Sophia, Sean, Justin, Vincent, Derek and the others exited at the same time before walking toward the gates. Everyone cheered. ¡°Miss Sophia and the others are here!¡± In some people¡¯s eyes, Cooper and Alex¡¯s fight for the family was like a battle between two Gods. Some minor characters felt that it was better to continue with their lives and not be involved in it while some hot-headed ones chose to side with Cooper, but there were still some who decided to stay at the old Mitchell residence. Even though the entire family was divided, they were still rted by blood, so they had privately contacted each other. Theirst home was now being taken from them and they were powerless to do anything, so when they saw Sophia arrive, everyone instinctively cleared a path for her. Before entering the house, she shouted, ¡°Let us see who is the one daring enough toe after our ancestral house!¡± Everyone quickly went up and pushed the door open. The moment the door was opened, they saw many people from the Yard and Edwards Family standing inside. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. In front, Henry and Ryan were still limping around with their legs. After being whacked by Sophia, they were kicked to the floor and stepped on during Anna and Jordan¡¯s engagement ceremony, which showed their disastrous luck recently. That night, when Lucy kneeled at the door of the Edwards residence, they were about to throw her out, but were unexpectedly knocked down by the members of the Edwards Family swarming out and someone even beat them up during the chaos. After the incident, they caught many people in the Edwards Family for questioning and even killed two members, but they still could not figure out who the mastermind was. That was the reason why both of them still limped around at that point. One of them had his left leg broken while the other had his right leg broken, but it did not seem to stop them from being arrogant at all. No one dared to say a word when the two of them killed two people in the Edwards Family, so buying an ancestral house from Sandra was nothing to them. Upon seeing Sophia and the others furiously charging toward them, Henry slowly walked down the steps with his cane. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s toote. The ancestral house no longer belongs to the Mitchell Family. It now belongs to us, the Yard Family.¡± Now that Sandra had be the Yard brothers¡¯pdog, she took advantage of their support and sneered, ¡°We¡¯ve already transferred the housest week. We received the property deed this afternoon.¡± Then, Ryan arrogantly asked his secretary to throw a stack of copies of the property deed around. After picking them up, Sophia could see the two names written on the column indicating ownership in ck and white¡ªHenry Yard and Ryan Yard. They¡¯ve really transferred it to their names¡­ When Henry saw her upset face, he could feel his arrogance rising through the roof, so he yelled, ¡°Open your f*cking eyes to take a good look¡ªI¡¯m the owner now. From now on, I want the Mitchells out of here!¡± He even rudely pointed his cane at members of the Mitchell Family who were present at the scene. The Mitchells were filled with rage as they directed their hatred toward Henry and Ryan, but they hated Sandra more for selling the ancestral house for fortune, so they hoped that Sophia would be able to snatch the house from them. However, Ryan mocked. ¡°Looks like they still won¡¯t give up! Someonee and hang our new sign!¡± A sign was then carried over by someone with the immature words ¡®Mitchells and dogs are forbidden from entering¡¯ written clearly on it. ¡°Come and ce this sign at the entrance. From now on, if you see any dogs or the Mitchellsing in, just kick them out!¡± Henry sounded so arrogant that his once dashing face now became distorted and perverted. Every one of the Mitchells who were at the scene was filled with anger and humiliation. The two huskies also started to bark fiercely to vent their frustration. However, Sophia calmly epted the copy of the property deed that was given by Henry and Ryan before handing it to a member of the Mitchells standing next to her. ¡°Take care of this evidence for me. Today, we¡¯re going to report the Yard Family, Sandra and the property management office. We can¡¯t let any one of them go scot free.¡± Henry and Ryan were left dumbfounded as they did not know what she was talking about. Maybe she is scaring us. Besides, the property deed is already in our hands. Why should we be afraid of them? Unexpectedly, Sophia added, ¡°I bet you two aren¡¯t registered as a Cethosian yet, right? Cethos isn¡¯t a country for immigrants and we rarely ept foreigners as our citizens, so it¡¯s difficult for anyone to gain Cethosian citizenship.¡± Henry did not know what she meant, but someone from the Mitchell Family got the gist. ¡°The two of you don¡¯t have citizenship in Cethos, which means you are foreigners. ording to thew, foreigners must fulfill a few conditions before buying a property in Bayside City. One of the conditions requires you to stay in the country for more than a year. Do you think you¡¯ve been here for a year, my foreign friends?¡± Actually, he knew all along that they did not have the legal right to buy properties in Bayside City because of that condition, but it did not matter. What can¡¯t be done with money? The property deed is already on my hands, which means I¡¯m now the legal owner of the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house! ¡°So what? The deed is now in our hands, so what can you do to us? Are you going to file awsuit? I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡± He stood on top of the steps while looking down at everyone below him with arrogance. What an arrogant idiot. They actually think that they can get away with anything in Bayside City with the Edwards Family backing them. The city doesn¡¯t belong to the Edwards Family! Sophia gave a cold smile before preparing to leave. They won¡¯t be able to take this house away. Sandra doesn¡¯t have the right to sell and the Yard Family doesn¡¯t have the right to buy either. ¡°I¡¯ll see you in court.¡± She waved her hand as her back faced the two brothers. Yet, Henry was unfazed by her at all. I¡¯ll bring the excavator here tomorrow and demolish all of this to build my office building! However, just as she was about to leave, she saw a sports car arriving before it stopped at the entrance. It was a seductive silver sports car, giving the aura that the owner of the car was not someone ordinary. At first, Sophia thought it was a member of the Mitchell Family who waste, but surprisingly, the person who alighted was a woman dressed in a ck hip skirt and wearing a pair of big ck-rimmed sses. With her ck hair tucked behind her head, she stoically walked over while three to five bodyguards followed her from behind. It¡¯s Lucy! She haspletely changed her style by coloring her hair ck. Even her mannerism and looks seem to be drastically different than before. Lucy walked straight toward Henry and the others, treating as if she did not see Sophia there. He whistled frivolously while perversely staring at Lucy¡¯s slim body. ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you my affectionate sister?¡± With an emotionless face, she received a document from her secretary and threw it indifferently in front of him. ¡°On behalf of the Edwards Group¡¯s board of directors, I hereby announce that the board has rejected your ns to develop the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house as amercial area.¡± After that, she turned and left like an emotionless machine, but there was a powerful strength hidden in her tiny body. Chapter 1312 Chapter 1312 Upon hearing their conversation, Sohpia immediately understood the situation. The Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house was situated at the center of Bayside City¡¯s old city area. Back then, it was a pce for the prince due to its close distance to the royal pce, so that piece ofnd and the community behind it had a high value. Even if Henry and Ryan wanted to develop thend, they definitely did not have the financial affordability. Therefore, they could only do it through apany by presenting a n for real estate development to buy the house. However, the Yard Group was a foreign-registeredpany, so it was troublesome for them to transfer the funds over. It would be faster to retrieve the funds from the Edwards Group since they had already reced Lucy as the person in charge. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. That also meant that after transferring ownership of the house to Henry, Sandra would not necessarily receive a penny for the payment. If their n was rejected, they would not be able to collect the money. The moment Henry realized that his n was rejected, his smug face instantly turned furious to the point where Sophia felt that his facial muscles easily cramped. ¡°Lucy, stop! How dare you reject my n! You and this b*tch, Sophia, must be working together!¡± By then, Lucy had already entered her car, but when she heard Henry¡¯s words, she coldly returned and continuously threw a few documents and newspapers at him. Her voice was rather calm, but every word of hers sounded like a sharp de that no one dared to refute. ¡°The board and I rejected your n because thisnd was once Bayside City¡¯s old city area. There are a few pces from the ancient empire nearby and due to the many cultural relics here, it poses a higher research value. Thisnd and a few nearby streets has long been forbidden from being demolished and developed. The pce in front of you here is the private residence of the politically powerful Prince rd. It is the most preserved pce in Bayside City at the moment, so it has long been included in the national culture protection list. Even though it is the private residence of the Mitchell Family, it is still an important relic that is protected under the official seal of the Bayside City Cultural Department. This is why your development n isn¡¯t profitable at all. You are only spending money to buy a first ss national relic that can¡¯t bemercially developed. If you don¡¯t believe me, here are the relevant documents and news reports.¡± Sophia was shocked by Lucy¡¯s exnation. Looks like I need to quickly brush up on my knowledge of history. I only think that the house looks good, but I¡¯m surprised that it has such a colorful background! Members of the Mitchell Family continued to speak out and shared the history during that period with everyone ¡°She¡¯s right. There are now only a dozen pces in Bayside City¡ªmost of which are nationalized as the office for functional departments. However, our ancestral house was given special permission by the country back then to be owned privately.¡± ¡°Back when the Yard Family colluded with outsiders to invade Bayside City, you upied all the pces and even deliberately bombarded them using artillery. You took whatever you could and smashed the ones you couldn¡¯t. This pce belonged to the Mitchell Family since then because our ancestors fought hard to defend our home from the rampaging outsiders. That¡¯s why the house is the most perfectly preserved pce in the entire Bayside City!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been living here for a century. Back then, you couldn¡¯t snatch it away from us, so don¡¯t even try doing it now. If you dare to demolish our house, we¡¯ll head to the cultural department and sue you!¡± Upon hearing all the points, Sophia suddenly had a newfound respect. I can¡¯t believe that this ce has such a glorious past! However, Henry, Sandra and the others looked more upset. I can¡¯t believe this sh*tty house is a relic! No wonder it was so difficult for us to transfer it! We¡¯ve used a lot of money to bribe our way so that it could work! Of course, the money mostly came agonizingly from Sandra. Initially, she thought that after the development n for the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house was epted, the funds woulde and she would soon receive the payment. I just never expected¡­ However, nobody cared where it was really a relic or not because in Henry and Ryan¡¯s eyes, it was just a matter of time before they bought it! Sure enough, the two of them were having none of it. If Lucy won¡¯t let us buy it, we¡¯ll still buy it! ¡°Do you really think you can stop me from buying the ce? Lucy, who do you think you are?¡± However, Lucy was not in the mood to quarrel with them as she had only swung by today to take a look. She turned and returned to her car while ignoring what Henry said. Withouting out again, the car immediately left. Upon hearing that the Yard Family were nning to buy the ancestral house to build an office building, many of the Mitchells gathered, causing the entrance to be flooded with people. However, the sign with the words ¡®Mitchells and dogs are forbidden from entering¡¯ was so hurtful to the eyes that someone went up and trampled it. As soon as Lucy was gone, the Mitchells swarmed into the house. Inside the house, Henry and Ryan had only brought a few dozen men who resembled chickens because they were not a match against the Mitchells in terms of numbers. As soon as Henry realized the numbers of the opposition, he finally threw in the towel and stepped backward while his whole body started to perspire. Then, Sophia strode in and waved her hand. ¡°Come and throw these things out!¡± Everyone from the Mitchell Family roared and rushed forward. In a blink of an eye, they surrounded the others. Although Sandra¡¯s expression had drastically changed, she still managed to maintain herst dignity as she shouted, ¡°What are you all doing? I¡¯m still the head of the Mitchell Family and the president of Mitchell¡¯s Technology, which makes me someone with a higher status. If you dare to touch me, I¡¯ll call the police. There are now rules in society and what you are doing is illegal!¡± However, Sophia sneered coldly. ¡°Not only did you try to illegally sell a first ss national relic, you even tried to poison your own younger brother. Where were your so-called rules then?¡± The moment Sophia mentioned about a younger brother being poisoned, Sandra suddenly found an excuse to buy her way out and yelled, ¡°You killed my little brother, Al. Now, we can¡¯t even locate his body. I want to sue you and send you to prison!¡± As soon as she finished her words, a childish voice was suddenly heard from the crowd. ¡°You are lying. I¡¯m not dead. I¡¯m actually quite alive!¡± Albert walked out and tried his best to be strict with a straight back. ¡°Dad left this house for me. You don¡¯t have the right to sell it!¡± After that, the pump of air in his chest seemed to have disappeared as he turned and hid behind Derek. Not only did Alex¡¯s will state that the house was reserved for Albert and the Mitchell Family, but the ancestors even set a rule saying that the house could never be sold. Yet, it did not stop Sandra from being greedy, so she forged Albert¡¯s death certificate, making her as Alex¡¯s only heir. After she received the house, she secretly sold it to Henry. Of course, since Henry and Ryan were not capable of buying the house, all of the documents were also forged. Even though the entire procedure was illegal, she was confident that no one would dare to question it as long as the house was in the hands of the Yard Family. What else can Cooper and Sophia do? Steal the house from the Yard Family? However, the moment she saw Albert, she was so scared that she stepped back and almost fell onto the ground. I fed him the poison myself. It¡¯s impossible for him to be alive! But now, he¡¯s alive and well! I¡¯ve seen a ghost! ¡°I-It¡¯s impossible.¡± Sandra muttered. ¡°He is not Albert!¡± When Sophia gazed at Sandra¡¯s pale face, she lost the desire to kick thetter. She wanted to leave Sandra to someone who had a stronger desire to kill her. Chapter 1313 Chapter 1313 Everyone surrounded the members from the Yard Family as they tried to hurl thetter out. With bloodshot eyes, Henry was forced to retreat to a corner. ¡°What are you doing? Do you know who I am? My father is the head of the Edwards Family and my mother is the president of the Ronney Group. If you dare to take one more step, I¡¯ll incinerate the whole Mitchell Family tomorrow!¡± The defeated Sandra also seemed to gain some courage as she rushed in front of him courageously like apdog, and shouted, ¡°What are you doing? These two are the Young Masters of the Yard Family and the Ronney Group is influential around the world. In their eyes, they can easily crush the tiny Mitchell Family like ants!¡± Everyone looked at each other, but some actually backed off slowly. The Ronney Group isn¡¯t someone whom we can mess with. The Ronney Group was a huge corporation that expanded around the globe, so the ¡®newly born¡¯ Dragon Corporation by the Mitchells was not their match at all. Even if Cooper was back, they still needed time to defeat the Ronney Group. Furthermore, the union between the Ronney and Edwards Groups made it harder for the Mitchells to deal with them. If we actually throw them out, we may never get our ancestral house back. It¡¯s better toy low and not go overboard¡­ Among the crowd, Linus rushed forward as he waste, so he was unable to see what had happened beforehand. Now, he felt that he had something to say, so he walked out, but before he could even open his mouth, Sandra mmed him with harsh words. ¡°What are you trying to say? Do you still think you are the Young Master of the Michel Family? You are nothing; you are merely an adopted son who likes to speak nonsense! You have betrayed the Mitchell Family by working for the Michel Group. Do you really think you have any value in thatpany? They are just treating you as apdog!¡± Linus wanted to say something, but she continued to shout at him. ¡°Go away! You are a traitor in the eyes of the Mitchell Family. Go back and be the Michel Family¡¯s personal dog. We don¡¯t need you!¡± After that, he furrowed his brows. I knew I shouldn¡¯te out. Everytime I make my presence known in the Mitchell Family, they will always mention my refusal to change myst name. Sure enough, the moment she saw him, she brought up his matters again. ¡°This is your young master ¡ªan infertile homosexual who is willing to be the Michel Family¡¯spdog instead of returning to the Mitchell Family to be a man! Without any sons, there is no hope in following Cooper. Not only that; he doesn¡¯t even have apetent heir to inherit the Dragon Corporation!¡± Everyone stared at Linus. He has been working for Michel Group all this time. However, it is a bit strange for him to be working in other people¡¯spany when he himself has a corporation of his own. Many of the Mitchells were unaware of Cooper¡¯s true identity, so in their eyes, Linus¡¯ actions seemed a bit weird to them. Usually, no one dared to doubt him, but after Sandra mentioned it, everyone started to whisper among themselves. ¡°I¡¯m also curious as to why he didn¡¯t return to the Dragon Corporation since he is one of the Mitchell Family. Instead, he keeps on working for the Michel Group.¡± ¡°Even though he is an adopted son, he should side with his biological father instead of his adoptive father. Could it be that¡­¡± Everyone had a rough guess in their minds, but no one dared to voice it out loud. Upon hearing everyone¡¯s discussion, Sandra¡¯s smile turned even more menacing as she used harsh words to answer everyone¡¯s doubts.N?velDrama.Org owns all content. ¡°Can¡¯t you see? Haha, Michel Group is the world¡¯s secondrgest military weapons dealer and a giant in the digital electronics industry, so their market value is many times the value of the Mitchell Family. For Linus Michel, being apdog in the Michel Group gives him more status than being a Mitchell. Do you want to know why Cooper didn¡¯t let him officially be a Mitchell? Haha, although he is just an adopted son, his status will still increase if he sends his son to the Michel Group. No matter what, it is still better than being a poor Young Master in the Mitchell Group! Not only did Cooper fail to educate his son, but he even turned him into a disgusting homosexual and used him to gain more fortune! They are no different from each other!¡± After that, Sandraughed maniacally, as if she suddenly had the advantage of standing on a moral high ground. All of the sudden, everyone remained silent as their eyes turned toward Linus and Sophia, waiting for them to provide an exnation. Does Linus want to be the Michel Family¡¯s adopted son or return and be the Mitchell Family¡¯s true heir? Just as he was about to exin while rubbing his temple, she suddenly gave Sandra a p on the face. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business whether my brother likes boys or girls!¡± He immediately grabbed Sophia¡¯s hand. After Sandra was pped, her face had reddened as well as Sophia¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not waste our time with her.¡± After that, he held Sophia¡¯s palm in his hand and gently rubbed it. Sandracked the courage to stand on the frontline after being pped because she was afraid of landing herself in trouble if both parties fought, so she gloomily hid behind the Yards. Henry also suddenly remembered the ¡®unbearable¡¯ situation that Linus was still working in the Michel Group even though thetter was merely an adopted son, so he strode forward. When he was about to push Sophia aside, her eyes widened as she red at him. He followed suit and threatened, ¡°My father is Jordan Edwards, who is the chief behind the Yard Group and Edwards Group. If you dare to hit me, I¡¯ll go home and tell my father.¡± She could feel a tingle under her foot and just as she was about to raise it, Linus had surprisingly raised his limb and kicked Henry on his stomach, which sent him to the floor. ¡°How dare you criticize my father¡­¡± Linus elegantly stretched his leg and said to Sophia, ¡°Girls shouldn¡¯t hit people all the time.¡± When ites to hitting people, leave it to me. After being kicked by Linus, Henry coughed as his face paled. ¡°Y-You wait and see. My father is Jordan Edwards!¡± Linus elegantly swept the dust away on his pants before replying, ¡°My father is Fass Michel.¡± However, he felt that it was meaningless topare fathers with Henry. Ryanughed loudly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve gone insane! Are you even worthy to be Fass¡¯ son? Are you worthy to have thest name of ¡®Michel¡¯?¡± He ridiculed Linus¡¯ status as an adopted son. ¡°Why would Fass have a son like you? He only has a daughter named Lucile and I¡¯ve slept with her before! Sooner orter, Fass will be my father-inw and by then, I¡¯ll mercilessly kill you, the little adopted son, like an ant!¡± In Ryan¡¯s mind, all of the women he had outside were for fun because he had already intended to marry someone a long time ago¡ªFass¡¯ daughter, Lucile. She was his only daughter, which meant that the whole Michel Group would belong to Ryan if he married her. He felt that with his charm and background, winning Lucile¡¯s heart would be a piece of cake. As a result, he was arrogant with his words¡ªeven though he had never met her and Fass before. However, the moment he finished his words, Linus sent another fist in his direction and it was stronger this time. Blood immediately spilled as two teeth fell out with veins still attached to it. A moment ago, Linus still looked indifferent toward theirments, but his face was now filled with rage and murderous intent as his blue eyes started to burn with fury. ¡°If you have the guts, I dare you to say those words one more time!¡± Chapter 1314 Chapter 1314 Ryan grunted and rose from the floor, but he still refused to admit defeat. ¡° I¡¯ve slept with the Young Lady of the Michel Family. Haha, what is it? Do you n to sleep with her too? Are you even qualified? You are just an insignificant adopted son, who isn¡¯t even better than a dog¡ª¡± N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. Before Ryan could even finish his sentence, Linus immediately lifted his foot and stepped on his hand. After Linus gave a few hard stomp, Ryan yelled in pain as the two brothers were kicked aside. Linus was weirdly violent at that moment and even Sophia, who stood beside him, felt goosebumps all over her body. She called him softly, ¡°Linus¡­¡± His face was as dark as charcoal as he kicked Ryan¡¯s tooth out of his mouth. ¡°If you ever disrespect my little sister, I won¡¯t let you walk out of Bayside City.¡± However, Ryan spat a mouthful of blood andughed. ¡°Haha, your little sister? Lucile is Fass¡¯ only daughter. What makes you think that she is your younger sister? Stop giving yourself so much credit! When I said that I want to have s*x with her, I will do so. You are just a powerless adopted son who does not have the authority!¡± Unexpectedly, the deep voice of a man, like arge bell, exploded in the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll be the authority.¡± The voice came from the crowd as everyone took the initiative to clear a path to the entrance. The moment the door was opened, a group was seen standing outside, but no one knew when they had arrived. Their presence would have been obvious because they had a different feature, aspared to the locals, and wore the same uniform that bore the Michel Family¡¯s sigil on their sleeves. Cooper stood in front of the group with a weary expression, but his eyes were filled with a profound energy. ¡°Dad! You¡¯re back!¡± Sophia happily weed him. His face was cold and strict, but he still reached out to caress her head before striding inside the house. As he walked toward the corner where the Yard brothers were forced to retreat to, he saw the two defeated men feigning strength even though they were hugging each other as their bodies shivered. Chapter 1315 Chapter 1315 The Mitchells can continue to live here. This is our ancestral house and no one can take it away from us. Everyone cheered when they heard his words. As Cooper gazed at the crowd, he continued, ¡°As for my first born, Linus, I want to make it clear here that I am Cooper of the Mitchell Family as well as Fass of the Michel Family, which makes my son, Linus, a member of the Mitchell Family and the future heir to the Michel Group. Bothpanies are not in conflict with each other. I have the blood of both families in my veins, which belongs to my father and mother. As for Linus¡¯ future aspirations, he doesn¡¯t intend to leave Michel Group and I fully respect his choice. He has his own ns and wants to live his own life, so I don¡¯t want to interfere much. On the other hand, my daughter, Lucile, has the blood of two families, but they don¡¯te into conflict with each other. Concerning herst name, I also fully respect her choice. Before she was born, her mother¡ªwho is my wife, a Johnson¡ªchristened her as ¡®Sophia Edwards¡¯ and she chose to retain the name.¡± Even though both his children did not have thest name of ¡®Mitchell¡¯, everyone felt that anything he said at that moment was correct because he was Cooper Mitchell. After everyone had cheered, they moved their luggages back into the house while he entered to have a look. The house had belonged to the Mitchells for a century and it needed people to preserve its structure. As it was under maintenance every year, it was really well-preserved. After walking around the house, Cooper went to the neighborhood to check around and realized that it seemed to retain the same appearance that it had when he was a child. After all, it was a protected area designated by the government to preserve the historical buildings, so there were no office buildings nearby. The houses looked the same as before and the only thing that changed was the people living in it. Time¡­ As for the Edwards, Henry and Ryan had been crying for their parents in the hospital for days because they had been badly beaten up. Due to Ryan¡¯s arrogance, he lost three teeth and there were a few of them being infected with pulpitis or fractured. Half of his teeth were also almost knocked out. ¡°Mom, Cooper hit me. He hit me¡­ He caused me to be in this shape! Look at me now¡ªI want you to send someone to kill him now!¡± Half of Ryan¡¯s teeth were forcefully knocked out, so he was talking like a blowing pipe while crying like a 20-year-old manchild. Anna¡¯s face was filled with distress as she panicked. ¡°But¡­ Cooper has arge influence in the local areas. Your mother is just a woman and a foreigner. I can¡¯t do anything about it. We can only wait for your father to return home.¡± ¡°Where did Dad go?¡± Anna replied, ¡°Your dad is having a meeting abroad!¡± What meeting? Cooper has just set fire on Jordan¡¯s territory, so he is personally heading there to put it out himself. However, Ryan and Henry were still moaning on their beds. ¡°I want to kill them! I also want Lucy to die!¡± She quicklyforted, ¡°Alright. After your father returns, he¡¯ll definitely kill all of them!¡± After leaving the hospital, she dropped her pretense of cowardice and love as her eyes were filled with a deep sense of hatred and disdain. She nced at her phone and saw a text that was sent by an anonymous number. ¡®He¡¯ll return to the country the day after tomorrow. We need to be quick.¡¯ Although it was only a few words, it was still enough to give her strength. I¡¯m not fighting alone. She replied, ¡®Lucy is back. Things have changed.¡¯ Cooper responded, ¡®Let her be.¡¯ Alright¡­ Anna also felt that Jordan¡¯s daughter was not someone easy to deal with. Lucy isn¡¯t on the same side as us, but she isn¡¯t Jordan¡¯s supporter either. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. She wrote again, ¡®I¡¯ll meet you at the same ce.¡¯ She kept her phone away and tidied her hair before applying some lipstick. Callum knew that she was about to meet Cooper. Usually, she would apply a light-colored red on her lips, but whenever she was going to meet Cooper, she chose a pink lipstick instead. Although they were almost the same, it made a huge difference inside her. Naturally, Callum would help his mother to keep an eye around whenever she went on a date. For the past few years, she started from nothing and was slowly escaping from Jordan¡¯s control, so the folks around her were people whom she could trust with her secrets. However, Jordan was extremely suspicious of them. On the surface, he brought Anna and her two sons to the Edwards residence because he was prepared to marry her in Bayside City, but actually¡­ he was separating them from the Ronney Group while removing their power at the same time. With the three of them gone, he could restructure the wholepany and ce his own people in crucial positions. If shepletely lost the Yard Group, she would forever be a flower in his palm. For the rest of her life, she would never escape his control. Even so, she did not n to wait and die! She and Cooper had ns of their own too. While Jordan was gone, she would secretly go on a date with Cooper once every few days. She told everyone that she was heading out for a drink and spa treatment, but only she knew what she was actually doing¡­ Her recent rosy cheeks¡­ must have been a result of the spa. However, Jordan was back a day earlier than what he originally nned. Initially, he went abroad to seize the Ronney Group, but several problems urred to his business, so he quickly returned to Bayside City as he seemed to realize something. As soon as he returned, Ryan and Henry, who just returned from the hospital, came crying to him. ¡°Dad, this woman¡­ She is a spy and working with Cooper!¡± Henry shouted while pointing at Lucy, who was standing next to Jordan. N?velDrama.Org exclusive content. She was wearing a pair of ck-rimmed sses that covered her lifeless eyes while she pressed her cold lips. She did not seem to be affected by their words while Jordan did not look like he believed his sons at all. In an attempt to be more convincing, Henry added, ¡°She must be living in Cooper¡¯s house during those two months.¡± At that point, Jordan found Henry¡¯s words unbelievable because for the past two months, it was clear that Sam and Lucy¡¯s grandmother¡¯s family were the ones who kept her behind closed doors. Regarding that night¡¯s event, the three families agreed to pretend that nothing had happened and Jordan agreed not to hold them ountable for that mass murder too, but those people insulted had insulted Lucy, so he did not n to let them live for long. She was living in Cooper¡¯s house? That¡¯s even more impossible. Why would Cooper allow his son-in- law¡¯s ex-girlfriend to stay in his house? Jordan was confident that he knew the daughter whom he raised by himself. She has been working hard in the Edwards Group for years. If she leaves, it means that those years of hard work will be in vain, so she won¡¯t bring herself to leave the family. This is why I knew that she would return. He never treated Lucy as his daughter. Instead, he raised her like his son. I know my daughter well. In her heart, it is never just about family love, but the benefit of the entire Edwards Family. Judging by her temperament, she would never coborate with Cooper. Jordan was very clear and certain about that. Not only that, but Henry and Ryan¡¯s performancestely had massively disappointed him. Ever since they arranged positions for the Yards in the Edwards Group, it drew dissatisfaction from both families, but the moment Lucy came back, she was able to stabilize the situation, which was a stark difference from the one before her return. Jordan was also questioning why a genius like him, who had talented children, would produce two useless bums like them. He interrupted them, ¡°Alright. Stop it. You two need to rest!¡± Henry instantly lost his cool and started to smash everything in his sight. ¡°Dad, why won¡¯t you believe us? The Mitchells¡¯ ancestral house was already in our grasp, but she rejected our development n and even watched while Cooper took the house back! She definitely has other intentions in mind. She wants to sabotage us! Dad, can you bear to see her treat us like that? We are your children too!¡± Chapter 1316 Chapter 1316 At that moment, Lucy, who was standing next to Jordan, spoke. ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about sabotaging you two. All my thoughts and actions are based on thepany¡¯s benefit. If you want to buy that house, you can always use your own money. However, if you¡¯re nning on using ourpany¡¯s fund to buy a private residence that you can¡¯t even develop for your vacation, I¡¯m sorry, but I won¡¯t let that happen! I¡¯m directly responsible to the Edwards Group board of directors and the shareholders meeting. What I¡¯m doing is absolutely correct and I¡¯ve already exined it to Dad.¡± Jordan nodded his head because he did not see anything wrong in her decision. Not only was thend forbidden for demolition and development, the value was also ridiculously expensive, which made it a terrible decision to purchase that property. Both the Edwards and the Yard Families had their own mansions for their people, so it was meaningless for them to buy such a house. If he was at the meeting, he would also reject it. Henry knew that Lucy¡¯s intention of returning home this time was not simple. Even if she did not have any other intentions, they needed to use her of something unfavorable because she was the biggest hurdle to face if they nned to stage a takeover of the Edwards Group. We must kick her out of thepany! ¡°Dad, you need to wake up. She helped Cooper to beat us and kick us. Look what we¡¯ve be! She is taking revenge on us and you too!¡± Upon hearing that, Jordan was even more enraged. What a bunch of morons. The Yard Group has long been a sensitive subject that the government in Bayside City are concerned with. They are a foreign investmentpany with previous convictions, so it¡¯s natural for the government to pay close attention to them. However, at such a critical moment, these two actually bribed government agencies to forge documents so that they could buy a first ss national relic and turn it into an office building without authorization. Even though this seems to be nothing wrong during normal times because that¡¯s one of the perks of being rich, the timing is still wrong and they didn¡¯t find the right partner. They don¡¯t know the rules in Cethos at all. From a young age, they have always looked down on thew and acted recklessly without having any abilities themselves, which will ultimately cost them. I¡¯ve taught them multiple times that the rich shouldn¡¯t be involved with politicians, but they still wouldn¡¯t listen. Luckily, Lucy¡¯s here to quickly settle everything. The house is returned to the Mitchell Family, calming them down, so they wouldn¡¯t make a big deal out of this, but the consequences of this matter are severe. If it went drastically wrong, this might be the downfall of the Edwards Family. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. As Lucy settled the situation in a fast and excellent manner by killing a huge trouble at its source, he was very pleased with her. ¡°Alright. Shut up!¡± Although they were his two favorite sons, he still could not help but speak harshly. ¡°I want you two to stay at home and think about your mistakes! Stop wasting your time thinking about that house! If only you two are half as good as your brothers and sister, then I won¡¯t have to worry about you so much!¡± When he heard Jordan¡¯s words, Henry was furious again as his eyes and nose were filled with rage. ¡°What¡¯s good about that b*tch? She has been concealing her evil intentions all along. Now that she is back, she will kill us all sooner orter. Dad, my brother and I won¡¯t be able to live that long!¡± Jordan was exasperated that he was rendered speechless, so he raised his hand and wanted to p his son. However, Anna was there in the nick of time to separate the father and son. ¡°Alright. Alright. Everyone, calm down. It¡¯s just a house¡­¡± Afterward, Jordan angrily left with Lucy following him. Before she left, she even heard Anna whispering to Henry while wiping his tears away. ¡°My dear child, it¡¯s fine. If your dad won¡¯t buy it for you, then I¡¯ll buy it. If the Edwards Family won¡¯t provide the funds, the Yard Family has plenty of it¡­¡± In Lucy¡¯s ears, Anna¡¯s words felt particrly strange. This isn¡¯t some normal love. Anna¡¯s practically raising troublemakers! Of course, she had no idea about Anna¡¯s rtionship with Cooper. She purely felt that if Anna continued to spoil them, the two brothers would cause trouble sooner orter. However, Lucy was looking forward to seeing something happen to them! Sure enough, after Anna¡¯sforting, Henry and Ryan felt that they were unstoppable again. What¡¯s wrong with buying a house? We are the heirs to the Yard Group and Edwards Group, so we are worth billions. Not only will we be able to buy a pce in Bayside City, we can even turn the Forbidden City into our golf course. All of Bayside City, the Mitchell Family and Fass will be nothing to us! Who cares if Fass has nuclear weapons? We are now living in Bayside City, so let¡¯s see if he dares to drop a nuclear bomb here. What does he think the Bayside City¡¯s national defense does for a living? From a young age, she had brainwashed Henry and Ryan to the point where they thought they were specially chosen by the heavens. In their minds, the Yard Group and Edwards Group would be theirs sooner orter. As for Callum and Cade, they would only be worthy to work for Henry and Ryan because of their inabilities, so the position as heirs must be left to thetter. Under those circumstances, it was not a surprise that they had such personalities. A few days after Jordan returned, something happened in Europe again, which forced him to leave for a while. However, his confidant remained in Bayside City to monitor Anna and her sons¡¯ whereabouts. Lately, he had been keeping a close eye on them. Amidst the pressure, she and her sons hardly interfered with the matters of Yard Group and Edwards Group. Every day, they remained in the Edwards residence to greet guests and drink some tea¡ªthere was nothing odd about them. Henry and Ryan stayed at home to treat their injuries while Lucy obeyed Jordan¡¯s order to keep them at bay to prevent them from causing any more trouble. She was doing her job well, but in their eyes, her action was equivalent to house arrest. She won¡¯t even let us interfere with the Edwards Group¡¯s business. This is tant oppression! Since they were in house arrest and could not leave home, they became even more arrogant in the Edwards residence. Without their mother and Jordan there to control them, they were simply unbearable. Both Henry and Ryan were maddened by the beating they received that night, so they went around the house to look for the culprit. They even preserved their clothes that night, which had a few shoe prints on it. With the logo and size of the shoe, they searched for the culprit based on the shoe prints. We must take our revenge! A few days ago, they had caught two people and whacked them to death alive, but they were nobodies, so it did not cause a fuss. Today, they found another matching shoe print¡ªthe owner of the shoe was Ian Edwards. His shoe print was found on Henry¡¯s crotch, which meant that he almost rendered the latter impotent for the rest of his life. Ian worked in the Edwards Group and lived in the Edwards residence. Therefore, Henry and Ryan pushed the door to his room open and hid inside to ambush him. However, Ian was not at home and his newly-wed wife returned home alone. When she opened the door, she realized that the lock was broken, but she thought that it could have just been a coincidence. We are all living in the Edwards residence, so many members of the Edwards are here. Besides, it¡¯s open daylight and Ian is the family¡¯s direct line of descendant. Who would dare to pry open the door of our wedding room? Therefore, she opened the door and went in alone¡­ At the same time, at Pourl¡¯s store, Callum and Cade took the alpaca that they stole from Sophia¡¯s home to the store for a bath and makeover. Other than selling luxurious pet merchandise, the store also offered multiple pet services. While the alpaca was in the midst of undergoing the chosen services, Callum and Cade waited in the VIP lounge and listened to music while reading a magazine that was published by Pourl. In the meantime, Anna had also brought her dog and cat for styling. A few people from the Edwards and Yard Family stared at them and did not let anything out of their sight. Anna carefully selected a few essories for her pets such as nail polish, cors and vest. After that, she felt tired, so she went to have a full body massage next door and specifically reminded her bodyguard. ¡°No matter what, do not interrupt me.¡± Callum and Cade also grew tired of waiting for the alpaca¡¯s services to bepleted, so theyy down comfortably and enjoyed the music. With a fragrant scent in the air, they eventually took a nap while wearing an eye mask. Just then, the bodyguard¡¯s phone continued to ring. ¡°Where are Mrs. Yard and the other two Young Masters? Quickly inform them toe back. Something big has happened!¡± After answering the call, the bodyguard nced at the three of them who were sound asleep, as if they were having a beautiful dream. They even specifically told me not to disturb them earlier¡­ Chapter 1317 Chapter 1317 The bodyguard gritted his teeth and replied to the voice at the end of the line, ¡°Madam and the Young Master are still busy. Try to hang in there first.¡± After that, a few of them returned to help while the rest continued to guard Anna and the two sons of the Yard Family. The three of them were sound asleep until night time, so they missed a lot of happenings. At the Edwards residence, a tragic cry startled everyone in the house. ¡°Aaaah! Ian, helppp! Help meeee¡ª¡± Everyone was dumbfounded at the knowledge that Henry and Ryan actually broke into the room of Ian ¡ªthe Young Master of the Edwards Family and its direct descendant. To make matters worse, the two brothers took turns to defile Ian¡¯s newlywed wife under everyone¡¯s nose and did it in the Edwards residence! It was unprecedented and none of the Edwards could believe it! When the Edwards arrived at the scene, they found Henry and Ryan¡¯s men blocking the door by forming many lines of human wall. Ian, who had learned of the news and hurried over, was continuously battered by the same group of people until he was covered in blood. He copsed on the floor after being beaten, but continued to get up. Upon hearing his newlywed wife¡¯s tragic screams while looking at the wedding wreath that was hung on the door of his wedding room, his eyes became crimson. As the legitimate Young Master of the Edwards Family, it was utterly unimaginable to him that his newlywed wife would be vited under his nose! With red eyes, Ian was on his feet over and over again, but ended up being on the receiving end of repeated punches from them. His wife¡¯s scream that came from within the room sounded like sharp ws that were tearing his heart! The door was finally opened. Henry limped out from the room while lifting his pants up. While looking at Ian, who had already been beaten to a pulp, Henry guffawed. ¡°Haha, weren¡¯t you strong when you were beating my brother and I back then¡­¡± ¡°You bunch of b*stards! B*stards!¡± The elders arrived and saw what happened, which caused two of them to have heart attacks in extreme fury on the spot. As the Edwards were no pushovers, they dashed forward in an attempt to fight with Henry and his groups. However, the other party suddenly drew their guns before dozens of the weapons were aimed at the Edwards Family, scaring them to the point where they started to flee. They actually have guns! Henry yanked Ian¡¯s cor and lifted him. ¡°Your wife is having a great time there. Listen to her moans¡ªit sounds like your wife feels pleased since she makes such sexy moans! But, all you can do is watch!¡± Ian red at Henry and trembled in fury, but with the gun trained at his head, he would still be helpless ¡ªeven if his hatred toward thetter made him shed tears of blood. If I have the chance, I will definitely make sure that these two sinful b*stards die by strangling them! Henry intentionally called a few more people to enter the room, which resulted in the woman¡¯s shriek bing more tragic¡ªeven her voice became hoarse. ¡°Ian, save meeeee¡ª¡± As he listened to her cries, Ian red at Henry in indignation with both blood and tears in his eyes. All they could do was to watch helplessly when the Yards vited the Young Mistress of the Edwards Family in their territory. ¡°Where is Mrs. Yard? Quickly call Mrs. Yard over to control them!¡± The people of the Edwards Family shuddered at the guns being aimed at them andcked the courage to approach. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Elder, Mrs. Yard and the two Young Masters are busy with their business negotiations elsewhere. They can¡¯t make it here on time!¡± ¡°How about the Young Lady? Ask her to return to deal with this situation! The Edwards Family will be destroyed by these people from the Yard Family!¡± While the person spoke, another elder in his nies suffered from a heart attack. It was on that day when the entire Edwards Family had a taste of how extreme humiliation felt like. Crack! They suddenly heard the sound of sses being shattered in the room followed by argemotion in the room; the woman¡¯s scream was mixed with a man¡¯s roar before everything miraculously became quiet all of a sudden. Only the woman¡¯s cry was heard. At the same time, sounds of footsteps, which were in an orderly manner, were heard from all directions. The security guards of the Edwards Family appeared in ck and dragged away all the old and weak individuals as well as those who died from heart attacks. They cleaned the scene and, in the blink of an eye,pletely surrounded the area where the incident happened. Henry and Ryan, who still had their feet on Ian¡¯s face, had been asking him to listen to his wife¡¯s moans when they were suddenly surrounded by the security guards. Looking at the Edwards Family surrounding them, the Yard brothers were still fearless. ¡°We have guns! If you guys dare toe closer, do so at your own risk!¡± Lucy scoffed. ¡°What a coincidence. We have guns too.¡± Click! It was the sound of bullets being loaded into the gun. Everyone from the Edwards Family held a gun in their hands¡ªit was the Michel Industries¡¯ most recent product with great impact, high uracy and zero rate of misfire. At the same time, countless red dots appeared and were trained on Henry and Ryan¡¯s heads¡ªsnipers! When more of Lucy¡¯s men appeared, it was only then were Henry and Ryan afraid. Her men broke into the wedding room by breaking the window and saving Ian¡¯s newlywed wife. They even gained control of the room in an attempt tounch an attack from within, causing Henry to be surrounded from both directions. Lucy saw that his subordinates had consisted of a number of people from the Edwards Family¡ªthey were Jordan¡¯s direct subordinates which he assigned to Henry ¡°Members of the Edwards Family, pleasee here. I cannot guarantee your safety if we have a fight in a moment.¡± The few members of the Edwards Family opposite them exchanged nces with one another. However, as Jordan¡¯s subordinates, they now had to listen to his son, so they did not dare to easily rebel against Henry. Henryughed with arrogance. ¡°Haha, they won¡¯t dare to go over because they listen to my orders!¡± Lucy dered in a cold and merciless manner, ¡°I¡¯m counting from three to one and we willunch an attack after that.¡± Before they managed to give any response, she started to count. ¡°Three.¡± In fact, there were a few members of the Edwards Family who immediately ran over to Lucy, but the Yard brothers still did not budge. She cast a cold nce at Henry and Ryan as well as their people before turning to leave in a vigorous manner. She then made a turn and went downstairs while instructing, ¡°Convey my orders¡ªkill everyone besides Henry and Ryan.¡± Kill everyone. Henry and Ryan were dumbfounded by her words. Does Lucy really have the courage to launch a massacre in her own territory? Unexpectedly, the moment her figure disappeared around the corner, the snipers immediately pulled the triggers, shooting many people down in that instant. At the same time, members of the Edwards Family started to open fire. In the blink of an eye, the Edwards residence became their battlefield. Meanwhile, other members of the Edwards Family hid far away from the scene outside the residence as they heard gunshots from the building and saw reinforcements constantly entering. On top of that, the injured people were being carried out with blood all over them. Again, everyone was dumbfounded¡ªthey were actually having a gunfight in their own house! This is something that the Edwards have never experienced before in our lives. However, they were especially excited since they shared amon goal¡ªtake down every member of the Yards! Amidst the hail of bullets, Henry and Ryan were practically stupefied as they never expected Lucy to mean what she said. She really ordered a massacre where real guns are being used to kill all of us and turning the Edwards residence into a bloody battlefield. Henry immediately gave Jordan a ring. ¡°Dad, help us! Lucy is going to kill us! Save us, Dad! We are at home, but Lucy is going to kill us!¡± ¡°What? What¡¯s going on! Don¡¯t be afraid; I will send someone over now!¡± Jordan knew that something went wrong when he heard the sound of gunshots. Nevertheless, he was now abroad, so by the time he returned, even their corpses would have been frozen. They rushed into a room to temporarily keep themselves alive, but it would not be long before her men barged in. Ryan hastily gave Anna a call. ¡°Quickly ask my mother to answer the phone now! Help! Lucy is going to kill us!¡± In Pourl, the bodyguard nced at Anna, who was sound asleep, and the Yard twins. The few bodyguards were reluctant to wake them up. In the end, they yed rock-paper-scissors to select the one with the worst luck. The person then mustered the courage to wake Anna up. ¡°Mrs. Yard¡ª¡± Anna, who was suddenly woken up, had an unpleasant mood. She opened her eyes and gave that man a p. ¡°Get lost!¡± That man ran away as he was frightened by her bad temper. Chapter 1318 Chapter 1318 ¡°Young Master, Mrs. Yard is attending a conference. She really can¡¯t leave!¡± The person¡¯s reply infuriated Ryan. Upon seeing that Lucy¡¯s men were about to barge into the room, he forced himself to call the cops. As soon as the call was the connected, he yelled, ¡°F*ck you! I thought Cethos is a country that forbids the use of firearms! I have two gangs fighting with guns here! You f*cking police, why aren¡¯t you guys here to take care of this?¡± The person on the other side of the phone immediately hung up on the call. At the same time, the door was kicked down. Members of the Edwards Family burst in and caught Henry and Ryan while the rest of the Yard Family were killed. That day, there was bloodshed in the Edward residence as both parties fought to their heart¡¯s content behind closed doors. The injured members of the Edwards Family were sent to the hospital for treatment while those from the Yard Family were carried to the side and given another bullet in their heads. Those timid ones had all escaped. Lucy calmly sat at one side while drinking coffee and asionally cast a nce at the piles of bodies with eyes that were void of emotions and colors. The entire garden was soaked in blood as its stench shrouded the ce. Under the nourishment of the blood, all the nts in the Edwards residence would produce beguiling fragrance for the next several years. ¡°Youngdy, the cops are here.¡± A subordinate came to report to Lucy. She replied, ¡°That¡¯s not an issue. Someone will help me to stop them.¡± The fight did notst for a long time. Henry and Ryan were covered in blood when they were taken out while dozens of their men, who emanated aggressive aura, all fell asleep at one side. If it was not for Lucy, who spared their lives, even the two brothers would have been killed too. Everyone from the Edwards Family currently wished that they could kick the two of them. On the other hand, Lucy did not even look at the two pathetic guys and calmly instructed, ¡°Remove the bodies and clean the floor. Send the Yard brothers to the Yard Residence.¡± Henry and Ryan were roughly thrown into the car. Before they left, Henry intractably threatened, ¡°You killed members of the Yard Family. Dad will not let you off the hook!¡± N?velDrama.Org owns all content. She was still impassive and unaffected by his threats. After they were sent off, the enraged Edwards Family broke into their rooms and threw all of their belongings. They then kicked everyone with the family name of ¡®Yard¡¯ out of the Edwards residence, regardless of age and gender. All the things in the rooms belonging to Anna and her two sons were also thrown out. It was a fortunate thing that she had taken her pets with her; otherwise, they would have been skinned alive! From now on, the Edwards and the Yards were sworn enemies! Anna, who woke up in the pet store, was informed of the shocking news the moment she opened her eyes. ¡°What? Lucy actuallyunched a massacre in the Edwards residence and killed more than twenty people from the Yard Family? How dare she¡ª¡± While she was beyond furious, Callum pretended to be frightened as he stood on the side. ¡°That¡¯s bad! She will definitely being to kill us! Mother, let¡¯s leave Bayside City for now!¡± She carried the dog in her arms and agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The three of them took their cat, dog and alpacas and hurried to the airport to escape to the Ronney Group. If the mother and her two sons continued to stay after the Edwards Family had killed many members of the Yard Family, they would probably be the next targets. They hastily boarded their private ne and left overnight. It was only when Anna¡¯s most trusted people were around her that she dropped her frantic expression and looked at the gradually fadingnd of Cethos outside the window with a stern look. She suddenly grinned. ¡°Looks like I have underestimated Jordan¡¯s eldest daughter¡ªshe is surely courageous. I wonder how Jordan is going to handle this situation!¡± It was indeed an impressive move by Lucy! By escting the matter, it would cause the rtionship between the Edwards and Yard Family to bepletely broken and made it impossible for Anna and her two sons to be part of the Edwards. Lucy could establish her authority while severing all possibilities for the Yard Family toy their hands on the Edwards Family. Her move has killed multiple birds with one stone! Her marriage to Jordan would most likely be called off since the Yard Family was dissatisfied with the Edwards Family as well. At the Imperial, Stanley said to Sophia the moment he entered, ¡°Sophia, give me 100 and I¡¯ll tell you an extremely huge gossip! It¡¯s exciting! I promise to return you the money if it is not exciting!¡± Michael would be returning from abroad today after finishing the scenes that he filmed abroad. The subsequent ones would be in Bayside City, enabling him to return home often. They had made delicious food to wee him home, so Stanley also popped by. Sophia replied, ¡°I will give you 5 at most!¡± Stanley pleaded, ¡°Come on! I think this news is worth at least 80!¡± ¡°10!¡± ¡°No, at least 50!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give at most 20!¡± ¡°Fine! Give me the money!¡± She gave him 20. He then took the money and announced, ¡°Something big has happened in the Edwards Family!¡± He dramatically exined about the incident in the Edwards residence that day. Although the news had been sealed and Lucy had done an awesome job in handling the aftermath of the matter, he still learned about it. It would be impossible for the government to overlook the matter since an open gunfight happened in a country that forbade the use of firearms. They turned a blind eye to that incident since it was a fight that happened between their own family members and she managed to keep the situation under control without drawing the public¡¯s attention. However, the Fletcher Family were aware of the incident, but they ignored it since it was merely a fight within the Edwards Family, which posed no threat to the society. As a matter of fact, Sophia had learned about the incident some time ago, but she still forced herself to listen to Stanley¡¯s exnation since he knew more of the inside story. ¡°After the incident that befell the Edwards Family, Anna and the others fled the country¡ªI bet that they were frantic and panicked! I heard that the Edwards Family chased after them until the airport, but failed to catch them! If they actually managed to catch Anna and her folks, they might have lost their lives in Bayside City!¡± Sophia chuckled. It is impossible for Anna not to be aware of what her sons did. She intentionally allowed them to have their way. As Jordan had confined Anna in Bayside City, she would not have had a reason to return to Ronney City if her sons did not do something outrageous. It was perfect timing¡ªshe was able to return to Ronney City with her two sons and even took Sophia¡¯s alpacas with her. Sophia initially worried that Lucy would not be able to handle Anna upon returning to the Edwards residence. Seems like I was overthinking the issue. Theoy on the couch after returning home today. After only being home for half a day, he felt bored. He actually disliked the house¡ªthe vibes of capitalism and intellectualism made him feel suffocated. It was impossible for him to live with Cooper because he found it uneptable that an intellectual family under the influence of capitalism actually reared a pig in their house. In fact, the pig that Carmen brought homest year was one that was bred for its meat and it had been neutered. As it was well-fed, it speedily grew. Now, the pig grew pudgy that it had long exceeded the optimum ughter weight¡ªit happened to weigh 300 poundsst week. In the past when resources were scarce, the military troops could not eat meat even if they wanted to, so they had to rear the animals themselves. When Theo first joined the military, he was in charge of rearing pigs in the logistics unit. At that time, he diligently learnt about ¡®Postpartum Care of Sows¡¯, ¡®Scientific Feed Mix for Piglets¡¯, and other subjects. After some hard work, he managed to rear four fat pigs with the average weight of 280 pounds, which earned him a Third-ss Meritorious Service Medal and a promotion. Currently, the pig, which was nudging his trouser legs, was wearing a strange diaper, while she was chasing it from behind with excitement. While looking at the pig¡¯s fat body, he gulped and wondered how the animal, which was kept as a pet, would taste like¡­ Chapter 1319 Chapter 1319 After the pig nudged his pants for a while, ity on the floor and fell asleep¡ªprobably due to the animal exercising too much. In fact, all it did in an entire day was sleeping and eating while living its best life. When it was a piglet, they would bring it out for walks every day. But now that the hog weighed more than 300 pounds, it could no longer go on walks and all it did was sleep at home, causing it to expand like a balloon. Theo patted the pig¡¯s belly and pinched its ear while praising, ¡°Look at this pig¡ªthe coat, skin color, body, meat¡­¡± ughtering this pig can definitely provide meat for the family for quite some time. Before he could finish appraising the pig, a big rooster passed by him. The rooster made Theo recall the days when resources were scarce and even government servants could only afford to eat steam cornbread. The military troops had to eat meat forbat, so they not only reared pigs, but many chickens. Therefore, when he had to watch a live pork belly and chicken pot swaggering past him every day, he found it difficult to continue staying there and hoped to leave the house as soon as possible. I wonder if they will ughter the pig during the New Year, but considering the fact that this pig is wearing a pink dress and living an enjoyable life, it seems like it won¡¯t be ughtered any time soon. Cooper, who was standing at one side, had long noticed Theo¡¯s hungry gaze. Although he also found the pig unbearable, he could not help but mutter when he saw Theo having the courage to tantly stare at the pig, ¡°It¡¯s vulgar.¡± Theo, who seemed to have ignored what Cooper said, continued to eagerly stare at the pig while contemting the cooking methods for different parts of the animal. He and Cooper, who had never been able to see eye to eye on matters, preferred not to speak or disturb each other. The next day after Michael had returned, Stanley¡¯s cybercaf¨¦ officially opened. In the era where cybercaf¨¦ business was sluggish with the risk of being bankrupt at any time and meeting real estate agents for the procedures to transfer estates, Stanley¡¯s action of investing loads of money to open arge cybercaf¨¦ and even applying for Guinness World Records had started a trend, resulting in the non-gamers to join in the fun. On the day that his cybercaf¨¦ was opened, he managed to invite many famous celebrities of the esport industry and game production teams to his opening ceremony. Michael naturally went and so did Sophia. Cooper, who was the founder of online games, also tagged along since he had to appear for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. It was an incredibly lively and merry scene that day¡ªthe number of people who showed up on the opening day of the cybercaf¨¦ was at an all-time high since there were gaming fans who intentionally flew in from abroad for the event. Therge cybercaf¨¦ was not only equipped withputers, but also a gym, lounge, caf¨¦, mall, and over a thousand employees as well as over 100work administrators. There were even announcements that major esports events were scheduled to be held there. Many members of the Fletcher Family also turned up at the venue¡ªthey stood together in arge group with shining eyes and scanned the ce like searchlights. Suddenly, there was amotion. ¡°She¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Over there!¡± ¡°Calm down and restrain yourselves. Don¡¯t let the girl notice us.¡± Sophia looked in the direction of their gazes¡ªit turned out that Christine had arrived. After she became the spokesperson for JNS Group¡¯s new line of products, her outstanding performance in the fashion week significantly increased her social status. She received a lot of gigs and epted a few offers to be spokesperson for otherpanies. Thanks to that, she was finally able to throw out the replicas and appear in front of the public in a genuine Mori girl dress, looking like an eye-candy. She happily greeted Stanley, ¡°Mr. Snow Fox!¡± ¡°Chrissy, you are here. Have a seat anywhere you like. It¡¯s full house today, so pardon me for the poor hospitality.¡± Stanley was on the go for the entire day, but he carved some time out to greet her. ¡°I understand. Just do what you need to do. I¡¯ll get myself a seat.¡± The two of them went their separate ways after greeting each other. The Fletcher Family were excited¡ªplenty of videos were taken from different angles and uploaded into their family group chat. ¡°Look at this¡ªStan is really in a rtionship this time! Look at how sweet his smile was!¡± ¡°His girlfriend looks stunning! They look good together!¡± ¡°It seems like they might have kids next year!¡± Christine saw Sophia, so she went over to greet, ¡°Sophia!¡± ¡°Hello.¡± Sophia subconsciously looked in the direction where Sean was and found him in the midst of greeting guests while keeping the scene under control. The guests who were invited today were all from the same industry¡ªbig shots from the esport and gaming industries; they even made special arrangements to host an esport performance game to make the event more interesting. Therefore, he was extremely busy. He most likely had given up on rtionships since his unrequited love has caused him pain. Sophia took the initiative to invite her to a match. ¡°Let¡¯s have a matchter!¡± Christine was surprised. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve always wanted to have a match with Sirius!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia felt extremely awkward. Ever since she learned about the dark history in her younger years, she wished the ground would bury her. After the opening ceremony, the cybercaf¨¦ officially began its operation. The ted Stanley did not invite everyone to have fun in his cybercaf¨¦ for the entire night, but rather for a meal instead. As he was usually stingy, he was generous enough to treat everyone to a feast that time. Those who were invited were his close friends, Sophia and her family, as well as Harry and his n. Christine also came along. Thatrge group of people had reserved the entire restaurant. After dinner, Stanley and his friends intended to head to the cybercaf¨¦ with their arms on each other¡¯s shoulders to y games throughout the night. ¡°Sophia, Uncle Michael, let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s y all night!¡± Sophia was tempted by his offer, but her father was beside her, so she did not dare to agree¡ª although she really wanted to experience the feeling of ying games in the cybercaf¨¦ throughout the night! Cooper red at Stanley, which caused thetter to suddenly lose his courage to invite her and watched as they drove away.Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. After Sophia left, Stanley stopped Christine, who was also about to leave. ¡°Chrissy, let¡¯s go. Let¡¯s y all night!¡± She seemed to be in a dilemma. ¡°Stan, I need to head to the dance room in the afternoon tomorrow. I think I¡¯ll have to pass.¡± He replied, ¡°Hey, what are you afraid of? Let¡¯s go; don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll bear the consequences if something really happens.¡± In the end, she was unable to resist the temptation and went to the cybercaf¨¦ to y games all night long. As Sophia¡¯s car had not driven far away, she saw the two of them entering the cybercaf¨¦ together and thought, Stanley is rather smart to use the tactic of ying games as an excuse to bring himself closer to Christine. A man and a woman, both in their prime of life, and the cybercaf¨¦ had dedicated rooms for that¡­ However, when Sophia returned home with excitement, switched on theputer, and logged into the game, she realized that¡­ They were really going to y games all night. They reserved a VIP room and Stanley had even defeated Christine in the game. This idiot fellow¡­ Is he really dating Christine? Is this how he dates ady? If he has even half of his uncle Michael¡¯s dating skills, he would have a kid old enough to attend elementary school now! Sophiazily killed mobs and gained experience together with them in the game. As she expected, ying games at home was not as fun as ying in the cybercaf¨¦. Something just doesn¡¯t feel right! Sean also nonchntly yed video games while privately chatting with her. She texted, ¡®Hey, do you think that idiot actually knows how to date someone? What kind of dating method is this?¡¯ He replied, ¡®They are not in a rtionship; they are asionally ying video games together. That night during the fashion week when they did not return home, they spent the entire night ying video games. In his words, it was merely ¡®business games¡¯¡ªhe yed games with Christine for the whole night to convince her to promote the cybercaf¨¦ for him. He managed to save a hefty amount of advertising fees through this method.¡¯ She was rendered speechless; in fact, she was dumbfounded! A young man and woman went out just to y games for the whole night? This might sound unbelievable if it involves other people, but if Stanley is involved, it would definitely be possible. Sean added, ¡®Sigh, with Stan¡¯s idiocy, I wonder how long I will have to wait for him to be in a rtionship with someone.¡¯ No, Stanley has actually once taken the initiative to chase a woman¡ªSophia. However, it turned out to be a mess since it¡¯s the reason why the punches that he has received from Michael is more than the amount of food he has ever eaten. Chapter 1320 Chapter 1320 After he failed to woo Sophia, it seemed like he lost the ability and instinct to fall in love with a woman. As a result of the Fletcher Family¡¯s influence, she was incredibly concerned about Stanley¡¯s rtionship matters. The idiot dog should get lost with another girl! If he is not going to date anyone for his entire life, Sean will stay by him for the rest of his life. Therefore, he should hurry up and date someone so that Sean can give up and take Maisie to a ce far away. Christine seems like a good choice since there aren¡¯t many women who can get along well with him¡ªit¡¯s now or never! She replied, ¡®Christine is quite a good choice for him. She is Maddie¡¯s rtive from her hometown. We know her background¡ªshe is quite hard working, which makes her a good match for that stupid dog.¡¯ Sean fell silent for a moment, which made her think that she could have said something wrong as she thought, I knew that he¡­ Sigh, rtionships are not something easy to deal with. He suddenly replied after a while, ¡®In that case, why don¡¯t you try to set them up? With his dense brain, I wonder when he will be able to have a partner.¡¯ Meanwhile, in the game, Stanley threw Christine on the ground again and whacked her while arrogantly saying over the mic, ¡°Hahaha, call me Daddy!¡± Sophia hesitatingly replied, ¡®Sure¡­ I¡¯ll give it a try.¡¯ She thought that she should try to look for Maddie since after all, thetter was Christine¡¯s cousin and his elder. Maddie would be the perfect candidate to bring them together as a couple. It was a coincidence that she wanted to interview Linus, so Sophia intended to discuss with her in person. After ying for the entire night, Christine ate her breakfast in the bistro of the inte caf¨¦ before sleepily heading home. As a celebrity attached to an agency, she was spared from living in basements like other people who came to Bayside City to make a living. She was currently living in a considerably decent property at the heart of the city center¡ªthepany had rented a unit with two rooms and a living room for her. She used to live alone in the two-room unit, but her cousin from her hometown recently arrived in Bayside City. So, she ced a bed in the extra room, which was modified into her closet, and asked her cousin to stay in it. She even arranged a job for her cousin, which was to do odd jobs in her agency. Christine slept until noon and took a few sips of coffee, wore her makeup, and dressed before heading to the talent agency for an afternoon dance training in the dance room. When she opened her closet, she discovered that her clothes and shoes were left in a mess. The clothes and shoes, which the brandpany had given to her when she became the spokesperson for JNS Group¡¯s new line, were scattered on the bed. Even her two best outfits, which still had its price tags intact since she was saving for grandeur events due to her reluctance to wear them on normal days, were unexpectedly worn by her cousin, Tawny Bishop. Christine felt that her heart ached. Tawny has her own clothes, so why did she wear mine? To make matters worse, they are my best clothes! I can¡¯t afford to buy such expensive clothes, so I wouldn¡¯t have owned them if the brandpany didn¡¯t give them to me! Tawny¡¯s job of doing odd tasks in the agency was the result of Christine¡¯s continuous effort of begging herpany. Even though she was now 18 to 19 years old, Tawny, who dropped out of junior high school and started to work since then, still had aplished nothing. She even underwent an abortion when she was still a minor, ruining her reputation in her hometown and unable to marry anyone. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. When Christine¡¯s rtives from her hometown learned that she was quite sessful in Bayside City, they hoped that she could take care of Tawny and make her a celebrity as well to enable her to marry into a rich family¡ªsince there were wealthy people in Bayside City¡ªand follow in Christine¡¯s footsteps, which was to earn millions to support her family and helped her brothers to buy properties and settle down. Christine and Maddie were both from a small county in the southwest; they were considered famous people in their hometown who sessfully made it big as a celebrity. One person¡¯s sess could bring glory to the entire family. Although Maddie¡¯s husband was poor, he was a permanent resident of Bayside City and Maddie was able to be a resident after her marriage. Even though their family was poor and unable to afford anything expensive, being a permanent resident of Bayside City in itself was already something to be proud of. Therefore, a lot of her rtives from her hometown would ask her to help them to look for jobs whenever they visited Bayside City. However, those rtives would criticize her husband that he was merely a paratrooper when they returned home. As Maddie and her husband lived in a windowless basement unit, they did not have any extra rooms to amodate her visiting rtives, who had to stay in hotels each time they came. Nevertheless, a poor man like him was still able to earn money. He managed to earn more than 100,000 annually, so she was able to send tens of thousands to her family and even financially supported her younger brother¡¯s university studies. Although she was not leading a sessful life in Bayside City, she was an extremely filial daughter who would save all of her earnings and send it back to her family. Inparison to Maddie, Christine was more sessful. As a famous celebrity, she was able to make a few millions a year. As a result, her two elder brothers and younger brother could afford to purchase houses in Provincial City and ones that were the best high-rise properties in luxurious neighborhoods. Therefore, her rtives from her hometown all swarmed into the city to earn money. When they arrived in the unfamiliar city, they would ask her to help them to look for jobs and even asked her to support their amodation and food when they were unable to work. Once Christine¡¯s rtives caught wind of her sess, they came to visit her more often and she would try her best to assist them with securing jobs. Fortunately, she had already established connections in Bayside City. When she was ying games with Stanleyst night, she told him that her uncle was looking for a job. She grumbled as she tidied her clothes. After that, she picked her outfit and applied her makeup, but found that it was in a messy state as well. A few of her favorite lipsticks and foundations had been stolen. Needless to say, this must be Tawny¡¯s doing since she keeps using my foundation while wearing my clothes and shoes to work. Christine knew what Tawny had in mind¡ªthere were celebrities, film producers, and famous directors walking in and out of the agency every day. Since Tawny did not want to do odd jobs for the rest of her life, she intended to look for an alternative¡ªif she managed to catch a big shot¡¯s attention, she would be as morous as Christine. However, Tawny was unaware of where she currently stood¡ªshe physicallycked the condition to stand out and since the entertainment circle nevercked beauties of all shapes and sizes, it was rather impossible for things to work out as she wished. Although she was merely doing odd jobs, her monthly sry was around six to seven thousand despite it being an easy job. It was way higher than the usual sry of two to three thousand per month that she would receive for jobs in her hometown. On top of that, based on her physical condition, it would be difficult for her to even get a job that paid two or three thousand per month. A frustrated Christine, who had already done her makeup, made a call as she left home. ¡°Hello? Uncle, I have a friend who has just opened an inte caf¨¦. He is hiring someone to do some odd jobs. The pay is six thousand per month and is inclusive of food and amodation¡­ Sure, sure, I¡¯ll go and pick you up at the hotel tomorrow.¡± After making the call, she sighed. Her uncle had been staying in Bayside City for more than ten days. Not only was his hotel amodation fees and food paid by her, she had to arrange for him to stay in luxurious hotels while ensuring that he was well-treated. If she did not treat him well, he would definitely comin about her when he returned to her hometown, humiliating her parents and brothers. After all, she was the ¡®hope of the family¡¯, so she could not afford to disgrace her family. Immediately after she left home, her father in her hometown gave her a ring. ¡°Christine, your cousin¡¯s flight is arriving tomorrow afternoon. Make arrangements for his amodation and job.¡± She felt so annoyed that she wanted to smash her phone, but she agreed in the end. ¡°Alright, send me the flight details then. I will go and pick him up from the airport tomorrow.¡± Mr. Bishop, who was on the other side of the phone, then added, ¡°Your brother wishes to open a company in the city, but hecks the capital. Transfer 1 million to him.¡± 1 million! Christine was shocked. When did I ever have 1 million?! She had recently spent her entire savings for her brothers to purchase properties in Provincial City. Although the properties there were not as expensive as in Bayside City, it still exhausted the money that she had saved all those years. How on earth am I going to look for 1 million? ¡°Dad, I recently purchased a house for my brother, so I don¡¯t have 1 million!¡± Mr. Bishop¡¯s tone instantly became stern. ¡°You are a celebrity, so it¡¯s easy for you to earn money. Even if you don¡¯t have it now, you will have it in a couple of days¡¯ time. Don¡¯t worry; it¡¯s not urgent. It¡¯s merely a n that your brother has, so just transfer to us when you have the 1 million. Christine, your brother is our family¡¯s hope and image. If your brother wishes to start a business, our whole family has to try our best to help him!¡± ¡°But¡ª¡± Christine felt anxious. My brother represents our family¡¯s image, but what about me? On top of that, he wants 1 million? Where am I going to get 1 million from? He was impatient. ¡°Look at your cousin¡ªMaddie from the Evans Family, who married a paratrooper. She only spent around 100,000 when her family purchased a house and it was not even enough to buy a toilet in Provincial City! As a result, she has be such a loser that she is embarrassed to return to her hometown. It serves her right!¡± Chapter 1321 Chapter 1321 ¡°But, you are much stronger than her inparison. Everyone looks up to you and often praises your capabilities now. If your brother can¡¯t open his ownpany, our family will be embarrassed to even continue living in our hometown. I¡¯ve told our rtives that you have given your brother a lump sum of a few millions to open apany. Tsk, you haven¡¯t seen Uncle Evans¡¯s gaze¡ªit was filled with envy, jealousy and resentment! What can he do since his daughter is not as capable as you? Hahaha!¡± Mr. Bishop was so full of himself when he talked about the incident. Christine¡¯s sess had earned him some respect from the locals, which also caused all of his friends and rtives to speak to him in a humble and careful manner since their children were not as capable as his daughter! In particr, the Evans Family tried not to anger Mr. Bishop¡ªMaddie¡¯s father did not dare to confront him head-on! Christine was beyond furious upon hearing that and immediately refuted, ¡°Maddie is a reporter in Bayside City with a sry of barely 10,000 per month, which is basically nothing in Bayside City. She has a child whom she needs to raise and her husband¡¯s sry is not high as well. They can¡¯t even afford to buy a house, so giving 150,000 when Uncle Evans wanted to buy a house is already all that they can afford to give! Living in Bayside City is not easy for the two of them, but her family keeps asking her for money. She has to raise a child, and it¡¯s not cheap to do that in Bayside City!¡± However, Mr. Bishop fiercely went against her. ¡°That¡¯s because she is weak!¡± Christine was at a loss for words. They only knew how to ask her for money and for her help to arrange their jobs and amodation,pletely ignoring the fact that she was struggling to make a living in the Bayside City without any backing. She had to start everything from scratch, which made earning money more arduous than eating sh*t. When her rtives from her hometown came, she had to take care of their food, living quarters and jobs¡ªthey would not ept anything less for the food and amodation provided. If she failed to treat them well, they would return andin about her, which would then embarrass her parents. She was slightly better off than Maddie¡ªsince she was living a carefree life as a singledy, without a spouse or child to care for and she could earn money from live streaming video games. However, that was not the case for Maddie. She was married with a child and her husband was in the army. Their combined sries were not exactly high and they had a child to raise while living in a house that was allocated by the military units, and whenever Christine asked whether she could pay a visit, she would always be tactfully rejected. Knowing that Maddie¡¯s financial condition was weak, Christine stopped mentioning about her ns to visit her and her husband. Instead, she even tried to help Maddie whenever she had extra cash in hand. The two of them had helped each other while trying their best to make a living in Bayside City, but their rtives from their hometowns kept using the hard-earned money that they sent home to brag to one another. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m hanging up. I will figure out a way to get that money.¡± ¡°This is my good daughter!¡± ¡­ Christine arrived at her agency in fury. The agency that she worked with rapidly rose in thest few years and now had a status which was almost on par with the megapanies of the olden days, such as Glory Entertainment and Imperial Entertainment. Thepany had a main star, Bethany, with a few rising stars including Christine. When she arrived at thepany today, she noticed that everyone there looked at her with a weird expression. Her assistant hurried over and said, ¡°Christine, why did you arrive sote? Something has happened! Your cousin brother and Tawny are in trouble! He peeked at Mia when she was changing clothes and Tawny was caught red-handed while stealing Bethany¡¯s ne. They are now being punished in the dance room!¡± Upon hearing that news, Christine almost lost her vision. They were only here for a few days, but they already started to cause trouble for her. Her cousin brother and Tawny were two peas in a pod¡ªthey were both kicked to Bayside City from their hometown and had spent a lot of Christine¡¯s money, but they refused to earn an honest living. Sure enough, they finallynded themselves into trouble. When Christine arrived at the dance room, she immediately spotted her two cousins kneeling on the floor in tears while a bunch of artists giggled at one side as they watched themotion. Bethany sat on a stool at one side and yed with her phone, as if she was waiting for Christine to show up since thetter would have arrived by that time. Upon seeing Tawny kneeling on the floor in her best outfit, Christine felt bad for the outfit while being furious at her. These two idiots are doing stupid things. I shouldn¡¯t have agreed to help them with job- hunting! Christine knew that Bethany would definitely not let the matter slide; she heard that Bethany was fighting hard to receive the few brand spokesperson projects that were ultimately given to her. The enraged Christine took a broom and whacked her cousins, who were kneeling on the floor. ¡°I really underestimate your abilities! You even have the courage to steal things and be a pervert! You guys are just amazing!¡± No one had expected her cousins to be strong¡ªthey grabbed on her broom and the man even gave her a tight p. ¡°How dare you hit me! Even my parents have neverid a hand on me before! Who are you to hit me?¡± Hecked courage to directly confront Bethany, but he had the audacity to do anything in front of Christine. Upon seeing Christine being hit by her cousin, everyone burst intoughter as more people came to watch the drama, but nobody stepped forward to help. They were all newbies in the industry, but only Christine was the one receiving the benefits and progressed well with her career with spokesperson contractsing to her non-stop. Therefore, they had been displeased with her, so all of them came to watch her in trouble. His attitude had made Christine so mad that she nearly passed out as her tears kept rolling down her cheeks. ¡°Why can¡¯t I hit you? You actually spied at someone changing their clothes! Such a despicable act! I will tell your father and you will have to leave immediately!¡± He did not feel embarrassed and felt that he did not do anything wrong. ¡°Fine, I can leave! My father asked you to get me a job, but you actually asked me to be a security guard!¡± Christine roared, ¡°What else do you want?! Ourpany only hires security guards with high-school education, but you don¡¯t even have that! You are already lucky to be able to work here!¡± From N?velDrama.Org. He was even more furious. ¡°Do you think you are being reasonable for giving me a job as a security guard? You are wealthy with so many connections, so it¡¯s easy for you to get me an easy job that pays 10 thousand per month. You just want to watch me suffer here!¡± She never expected that after trying her best andnding him a job as a security guard, which paid 7,000 to 8,000 per month with food and amodation included, he still found it a pain. ¡°If you are so capable, go and find a job yourself! Get lost!¡± Her cousin brother was still arrogant. ¡°I¡¯m going to leave anyway!¡± The sneaky Tawny wanted to take advantage of the situation and escape as well while pushing the crime of stealing the ne to Christine alone. Tawny did not expect that after taking only two steps, Bethany, who had been watching the show in silence, suddenly and coldly uttered, ¡°Leaving so soon? Where do you think you are going?¡± A few security guards caught the Bishop siblings, who attempted to escape, and made them kneel before Bethany. ¡°Kneel down!¡± Even Christine was forced to be on her knees. She was reluctant to do so, but it was actually quitemon for seniors to bully their juniors in the industry. All she could do now was to lower her head and pray that Bethany would cool down after she kneeled for a while. While holding a pearl ne in her hands, Bethany said, ¡°This ne is the uing new release of the jewelry brand under the Ronney Group and costs 3 million.¡± Upon hearing 3 million, Christine¡¯s heart skipped a beat. As expected, Bethany threw the ne on the floor in front of her the next moment. It caused the ne to be broken while top-notch golden pearls rolled all over the floor. ¡°Christine, your cousin broke my ne. You were the one who introduced her into thepany, so do as you see fit!¡± Christine broke in perspiration due to anxiety and stammered. ¡°I-I will look for a store to fix this. You still can wear it after it has been repaired.¡± However, she knew that Bethany had intentionally taken the opportunity to give her hell today¡ªit was all the fault of those two idiots! Meanwhile, upon hearing that Bethany was going to push the me to Christine, the Bishop siblings instantly heaved a sigh of relief. Tawny, who suddenly thought of something, raised her head and loudly dered, ¡°It was Christine who asked me to steal the ne! It has nothing to do with me, Bethany! It was all her fault!¡± She crawled to Bethany¡¯s feet and pointed at Christine while taking the chance toin. ¡°She stayed out all night yesterday. She wasn¡¯t home all day and night! I don¡¯t know who she hooked up with!¡± Chapter 1322 Chapter 1322 Christine looked at Tawny in disbelief. ¡°Tawny, what are you babbling about? I was at an event and it was reported on the news. After that, I was ying games at an inte cafe all night long.¡± But, no one really cared where she had gone. ¡°Christine stayed out all night long ying games? Who would even believe such a lie? I think she must have found herself a sugar daddy! Nobody from our line of work would stay out all night merely to y games. She must be lying!¡± Christine found it hard to defend herself with everyone gossiping about her. In their industry, if one stayed out all night, it was akin to having a sugar daddy. She felt so much rage that she started to pant heavily as she did not expect her cousins to be ungrateful after she had been treating them well enough all the while. Bethany snorted arrogantly and added, ¡°Since you have found yourself a sugar daddy, be sure to repair my ne.¡± She rose to her feet and swayed her hips as she walked about in her high heels. In no time, a bunch of her followers rushed after her. Christine cluelessly looked in the direction that Bethany was heading toward. She had to hold back her tears the moment she saw the set of pearl ne that Bethany held in her hand. Three million! Where am I going to get three million? I¡¯m barely scraping by to feed myself as it is. Both her cousins were also kicked out. It was not long until her family learned about it. ¡°Christine, what have you done? You couldn¡¯t even handle such a small matter, could you? How am I supposed to deal with this when it blows up in our family? Word has been spreading like wildfire from other families. I am so embarrassed,¡± her father said. Christine burst into angry tears as she replied, ¡°Was it my fault that Tawny stole things and Jay peeped on the artist who was changing clothes in thepany? He was the one who did all of that, yet the fault is being pinned on me!¡± Her father boiled in anger. ¡°Well, if you had introduced a girl to be his girlfriend, he wouldn¡¯t be bothering others now, would he? He merely stole a few trivial items. Could you just settle this somehow? Do you even realize how much embarrassment you have brought upon me? Now, everyone says that you and I are ipetent,¡± he stated in a fit of rage. She felt sad and whimpered, ¡°So, it¡¯s my fault again? Everything is my fault, huh! All of you have never thought about me and how I struggled alone in a strange ce. They treated me like a bank card, expecting me to cover their expenses and sought after me for employment. Why can¡¯t they get a job by themselves?¡± Mr. Bishop grunted. ¡°I don¡¯t care. You have to resolve this. You have to take care of them! I am going to hang up now.¡± Christine was in the midst of sorting out the paperwork of departure for the siblings at thepany¡¯s entrance. Unexpectedly, her cousin had overheard Christine¡¯s conversation with her dad and decided to start an argument with her at the entrance. ¡°We came to Bayside City to make money¡ªand just look at the kind of job you have arranged for me. Not to mention, you even gave a ce with horrible living conditions!¡± her cousin said usibly. ¡°While you are enjoying your good life, we are working hard in thepany and staying in a dormitory!¡± Tawny felt aggrieved. ¡°I stayed in your closet and had to settle with your hand-me-downs. I didn¡¯t make any money in thepany. In fact, I was abused everyday. All the dirty jobs were done by me. I shouldn¡¯t have listened to you and let myself be influenced by you toe to Bayside City in the beginning. Back in my hometown, I was doing just fine.¡± Christine finally knew their true colors and replied angrily, ¡°Was I the one who pestered the two of you toe here? If it wasn¡¯t for your family who sent you both to me, I wouldn¡¯t have taken you both in! If the jobs I¡¯ve gotten for you are not enough, why don¡¯t you find yourself a job instead? You both did not even graduate from junior high school. What type of job did you both expect to get? Even the cleaners in ourpany are high school graduates.¡± Tawny felt insulted and snarled on the spot, ¡°You made us do dirty, lowly jobs just because we don¡¯t have any qualifications!¡± Christine found that it was impossible to reason with them anymore. She realized that she, an artist, was quarreling with someone in front of the agency and had caused quite a scene. A crowd of onlookers had gathered and started to take out their mobile phones to snap pictures of the gaffes she had made. She then rushed to take out a mask to cover herself in hopes of avoiding any scandals. However, her cousin ripped off her mask unexpectedly then shouted, ¡°Well, exin yourself then, Christine Bishop! Say it as you mean it! Just because you are richer than us, you are looking down on us! You look down on my family! How did your parents raise you to be cunning?¡± From N?velDrama.Org. Christine felt the sh of the camera shine on her face as she looked at the camera. She quickly covered her face with her hands and yelled, ¡°Let me go!¡± Her cousin clearly wanted to humiliate her as he deliberately grabbed her to reveal her face in an attempt to give the chance for others to intimidate her. At that point, she felt extremely helpless. A car suddenly pulled up in front of the office¡ªit was Maddie Evans. She barged her way through the crowd towards Christine. Maddie then removed her coat right away to cover Christine¡¯s head before the both of them immediately left. Both siblings chased after them with the clear intention of wanting to say something. Maddie, who was ahead of them, yelled, ¡°Get the f*ck out of the way! You both broke thew, stole things, and on top of that, peeped on an actress who was bathing. I will call the police if you both dare to challenge me any further.¡± The both of them knew better than to push Maddie¡¯s buttons any further. Maddie immediately took Christine to the car and they left in a haste. In the car, Christine wept uncontrobly to the point where Maddie felt sorry for her. She had to drive carefully while concurrentlyforting Christine. Soon afterward, word had spread amongst Christine¡¯s rtives and cousins in her hometown and caused them to mock her while they gloated about the incident. The Bishop family has been showing off all this time! Now that things have gone south, there is absolutely no way they can get out of this! Instead of feeling embarrassed by the actions of the two offenders, the Bishop family is embarrassed with Christine¡¯s ipetence to cover up the matter. Christine, who is always praised so extravagantly by her father, can¡¯t even handle such a small issue. She has failed to live up to her status as a superstar! Maddie knew her family well enough and how society worked. Hence, she continuously pretended that she was poor. She painted a picture that exemplified that she did not have any money¡ªa simple working-ss pauper with a grass-root paratrooper husband whose house that was allocated by the unit was nothing more than just a basement. They did not have a house of their own and they also had a son to raise on a $10,000 sry per month that she received from her work as an editor at a press. If someone from her hometown asked her to arrange for a job, she would make it clear to them that they had to attend the interviews themselves. As for the amodation and money, they needed to find their own ways to source and manage them. Maddie was terrified at the thought of family membersing to her like how Christine¡¯s family, including some rtives, had done countless times in the past. Now if it was just a favor to help them find jobs, I¡¯d be okay with that. If it is to cover up the troubles that they have caused? That¡¯s a big no no. What a mess to deal with! They didn¡¯t even think of Christine, who is merely a youngdy in her twenties! Yet, Christine¡¯s avaricious brothers back at her hometown still greedily demanded money from her from time to time to buy houses. They truly were the epitome of the saying, ¡®give them an inch and they will take a mile¡¯. Maddie was also aware of what her own circle of rtives in her hometown said about her and Her dad would scold both her and her husband for being losers, unlike Christine, who was sessful. She said nothing because she was happy to be poor. Chapter 1323 Chapter 1323 Christine was a fool since she would naivelyply each time her family asked for money. It was the same if someone from her hometown asked her to help them to find a job¡ªshe would provide them with food and amodation while taking the trouble to go around to look for a job for them. All her rtives needed to do was just rest at a fancy hotel while waiting for the jobs to knock on their doorstep. In no time, her good reputation had spread far and wide through word of mouth. People from her hometown came to look for her andplimented her father for having raised his daughter into who she was. But, on the flip side, no one thought of how she struggled in Bayside City on her own. Maddieforted Christine as they drove to thetter¡¯s house. At home, Christine continued to cry as calls from her family members kepting in with each one taking turns to berate her. Maddie resented the thought of returning to her hometown and she vouched never to return. She did not want to have anything with the people back home. But then, it¡¯s still my home and where my roots are. She had to simply evade them for Christine¡¯s sake. Christine cried for a while. Then, Maddie advised her to take a day off and return to work the next day. Maddie then headed home as she thought about what had happened. Shortly after, she opened her jewelry box. Normally, she would make an effort to wear the same attire as her colleagues and try not to stand out from the crowd. But, at the same time, she did not want to appear shabby while disliking luxury items. However, as the youngest Madam Fletcher in the family, she definitely had a few presentable pieces of jewelry. She dug through the box and found a string of pearl nes that were more expensive than what Bethany owned. Maddie never had the chance to wear it or even remove it from its packaging. She knew that having broken Bethany¡¯s ne, Christine had caused quite a ruckus because of what she earned. In their industry, it sounded exaggerated that an endorsement would pay up to millions. However, only one-tenth of the amount would be in the artist¡¯s pocket, provided that the agency was reliable. Christine was not even an A-list celebrity¡ªshe was merely a newbie and ranked as a D-list celebrity at best. By putting two and two together, it was certain that she could not afford to pay three million as she just gave several million to her family to purchase a house and did not have any money left. On the other hand, Maddie did not have the time or opportunity to wear it. I might as well let Christine have it since she is in a dire need of a ne. Since Joel never checks my jewelry box, he will never discover it anyway. Yet, she was unwilling to give it away and allow other women to wear it since it was a gift from Joel. She carefully put it back and nned to bring it with her the next day. By the time Joel returned home at night, she had already cooked dinner. Drew and Lorelei were also home too. From the day she arrived, Lorelei had always been a mischievous child. When Joel first adopted her, she could not speak even a word of Cethosian, and since the former was rather busy with work, Maddie, as the child¡¯s mother, had to teach her to speak thenguage from scratch, all the while learning it herself. Over time, L had learned to speak Cethosian while Maddie¡¯s fluency in thenguage tremendously improved¡ªso much so that she could interview dignitaries with ease. ¡°Papa, Mommy,¡± L suddenly greeted in fluent Cethosian. ¡°Hey!¡± Joel eximed aloud as he reached out for her. Both father and daughter were about to practice martial arts with each other. Maddie carried Drew over and ced him down. ¡°Drew will be as good as Papa and his sister in the future!¡± she said. Although he looked aloof, he was actually clingier than anyone else. As her family had a happy and harmonious home, she felt that her life was perfect. She even vowed to hold onto it and would not allow those from their hometown to cause her trouble. Just as she had expected, Christine¡¯s father rang her. ¡°What are you doing? Your uncle¡¯s daughter, Tawny has gone missing. You should help them to look for her.¡± After hanging up on the phone, Maddie murmured, ¡°My a*s! She should just get lost for good.¡± However, she knew that she had no choice but to look for Tawny. She quickly gave Christine a ring and ryed the news to her. ¡°Chrissy, Tawny has not returned. I can¡¯t get her through the phone¡ª¡± she revealed in a worried tone. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Don¡¯t worry, I aming to your ce right now. Wait for me at home; let¡¯s look for her together,¡± Christine replied. Since Tawny is missing, they will surely look for Christine and thrash it out with her. Maddie would be worried to death if Christine went missingte at night, but not Tawny. After Maddie hung up, she immediately changed her clothes and informed Joel. ¡°Dear, I have to be at the office as I have to report on a piece of breaking news. I¡¯ll be working throughout the night. Do not wait for me and rest early.¡± While she was changing her clothes, he silently made his way behind her as he asked, ¡°What is the news about?¡± ¡°There are two African countries at war again. The editorial department has to ensure that the script is ready on time for tomorrow morning,¡± she lied. She lowered her head and searched for her purse as she dared not look into his eyes. However, Joel was not easily deceived as he suddenly grabbed her and stared at her. ¡°Which countries in Africa are at war? Who is involved with the crossfire? Where is the location?¡± Damn it! Maddie suddenly recalled her husband¡¯s profession. He will definitely be the first person to know of such news. She then babbled, ¡°How would I know? My boss asked all of us to be there immediately.¡± Joel knew she lied¡ªshe was clearly being bothered by something earlier that was not work-rted. He never poked his nose in her work and she never fancied it for him to do so either. Something has happened. Maddie also never shared about the happenings of her hometown with him. On top of that, she never allowed her family to return to Bayside City either. Joel had barely contacted the Evans Family. When he proposed to Maddie, they had only spent a day in the city to meet the parents and register their marriage. He did not even reveal his identity during that trip. So, in the eyes of the Evans Family, he was merely a senior soldier who was also a bachelor. The Evans Family knew that Joel was a registered resident of Bayside City, which resulted in a generous betrothal gift. They had asked for one hundred thousand and he gave the exact amount without any hesitation. After giving the betrothal gift, Maddie merely left with him. He did not contact the Evans Family since then as he was always on the move. Each time he nned to visit them, it so happened that he was posted on a mission, leaving him with no choice but to abort the n. It was Maddie who continuously kept in touch with the Evans Family. As she started to break out in sweat at the sight of his piercing eyes, she feared that he would know she lied. Unexpectedly, he stroked her hair and gently asked, ¡°Are your rtives in trouble? I heard someone calling you cousin over the phone.¡± She continued to lie and replied, ¡°No, it was just my colleague.¡± He knew she hadnded herself in a mess, but upon realizing that she refused to divulge anything, he then added, ¡°Go and get dressed. I will drive you there. It¡¯ste at night; I am not going to let you go out alone.¡± Maddie was taken aback and instinctively held onto Joel, who turned and was about to drive his car. She stammered, ¡°S-S-Something did happen. I have a cousin who went out alone and went missing because of a little setback at work. Now, she is not contactable.¡± He was speechless. Such a little fool! Joel wanted to be the one to take her, but in the end, he firmly bit his lips and responded, ¡°You should have told me; this is a serious matter.¡± She murmured, ¡°If I tell you this and you end up escting things, the situation would really be bad. What if others use you of abusing your power?¡± She was a news writer and well aware that reporters fancied a good scoop to pen their headlines. From N?velDrama.Org. Joel wore some casual clothes while saying, ¡°There won¡¯t be any issues. Today, I am not Joel. I am just Maddie¡¯s husband. Your cousin is missing and as an inw, I ought to help to look for her, right?¡± It warmed Maddie¡¯s heart. My hubby is simply a gem of a person. Chapter 1324 Chapter 1324 Christine was desperately waiting in her house for Joel and Maddie to drive over to the point where she burst in tears. When she opened the door, she was startled by the sight of a handsome and elegant man following behind Maddie and asked, ¡°Maddie, who is he?¡± A little embarrassed by the question, Maddie blushed as she introduced, ¡°This is my husband, Joel.¡± She had always kept Joel a secret. Her colleagues and family did not even know of his existence. So, it was actually the first time that she had introduced him to anyone. Christine was shocked to see Joel because she had often heard from her family¡¯s rumor mill about Maddie¡¯s husband. Rumors had it that he was a 40-year-old loner who could not find any maiden to marry in Bayside City. How embarrassing is that? In fact, she had almost reckoned that Maddie¡¯s family wanted to marry Maddie off for Joel¡¯s extravagant betrothal gift of one hundred thousand. I can¡¯t believe Maddie¡¯s husband turns out to be this outstanding. Joel was surprised as well when he saw her. Maddie had briefly informed him about the incident on the way. I didn¡¯t even know that Christine¡¯s actually a cousin of Maddie¡¯s? Isn¡¯t Christine Stanley¡¯s girlfriend? She is also Maddie¡¯s cousin! This is so unbelievable. Wait. Why isn¡¯t Stanley here when Christine needs help? For God¡¯s sake, he¡¯s terrible at rtionships! Let¡¯s forget about that; we should find Tawny first. The three of them headed out in the dark and drove around in search of Tawny. She would not be able to go far since she was here for less than a month and did not have any friends while being unfamiliar with the surroundings. Her brother was nowhere to be found too as he did not give a damn about his own sister. Instead, Christine and Maddie were the ones worried. Joel figured that aimlessly driving around was not a good idea to look for Tawny, so he went to make a phone call and within a few minutes, he found out where Tawny was. ¡°She¡¯s at the Royal Oak pub.¡± Therefore, the three of them hurried to the pub. Finally, they found Tawny hanging out at the corner of the pub. Christine approached and gave her a p. ¡°Is running away all you know? Do you have any idea how worried we are?¡± she bellowed. Tawny was dumbstruck by the sudden attack. She stood up furiously and raised her hand in an attempt to return the p, but froze at the sight of Maddie and a handsome man standing behind Christine. ¡°Since we have found her, let¡¯s leave then,¡± Joel urgently prompted. This pub is especially not safe. It is a good thing that we arrived when we did; otherwise, who knows what will happen to Tawny? Tawny, who was arrogant a minute ago, seemed to be enticed at once by Joel as she followed them back to their car. When Joel drove, it was quiet in the car as no one spoke. Maddie was in the shotgun seat while Tawny and Christine were both in the backseat. Tawny nced around the car, but no one knew what she was looking at. When Joel stopped by the roadside to drop the Bishop sisters off, he specially offered, ¡°I¡¯m pretty familiar with the Bayside City. Come and look for me if you ever need help.¡± ¡°Maddie, Joel, thank you so much!¡± Christine gratefully said. ¡°It¡¯s getting dark; you guys should head home now!¡± Joel nodded before driving off. Tawny was still staring at the car even after Joel and Maddie had left a long time ago. ¡°That¡¯s an expensive Range Rover. I bet it costs at least a few millions!¡± shemented. Christine pped Tawny¡¯s shoulder in disgust. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business!¡± How pathetic! She has already been here for some time but what has she learned? Nothing! Instead, she¡¯s more interested in fawning over luxury goods and spends her days ogling over fancy cars, jewelry, and branded items. I bet she knows more about those luxury brands than their own staff! All she has ever done is fantasize that one day she could marry a rich CEO who would take care of her. For God¡¯s sake, she should know her own standards! Does she not know how ipetent she is? Christine had lost all of her patience with Tawny and her brother ever since that incident happened. All she hoped now was for them to leave. It no longer mattered what their family had to say because she had firmly made her decision not to help them anymore. What she never expected was Tawny¡¯s insistence to work in Maddie¡¯spany the next day and even sought her family¡¯s help with the persistent demand. Their family also felt that since Christine had decided not to help her siblings find a job, they should ask Maddie instead. When Maddie heard about it, she felt helpless. Fine! Whatever! Since mypany is recently recruiting a cleaner with amodation provided, I should just readily agree. She hurriedly brought over that box of jewelry to Christine, who refused to ept the gift. ¡°Maddie, this is too valuable; I can¡¯t ept it! You should keep it! I have already thought of a solution for the ne.¡± ¡°Let me tell you something,¡± Maddie whispered while pretending to be mysterious. ¡°These kinds of jewelry are a form of fake hype that is specifically used to trick wealthy people. Their manufacturing cost is actually less than one percent of the market price.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. ¡°Well, since we¡¯re in the media industry, those jewelers always give us presents,¡± she continued speaking. ¡°Take a look at this piece¡ªit costs at least a few million in the market, but its manufacturing cost is actually only within the tens of thousands. The branding is what makes it expensive. I¡¯m not using them anyway. You can keep it and pay your debt to Bethany. When you earn more in the future, you can pay me back then.¡± Christine seemed to be persuaded by Maddie¡¯s exnation. However, she still wanted to write a receipt for Maddie based on the internal manufacturing cost. ¡°Don¡¯t you shoulder this debt alone!¡± Maddie warned Christine as she kept the receipt. ¡°Get it back from whoever is responsible!¡± Christine nodded. However, when she asked her father to get the money back from Tawny¡¯s family, Tawny did not pay up. Christine cannot believe that her father had forgiven Tawny¡¯s debt just to prove how big-hearted he was. When Tawny moved to Maddie¡¯spany dormitory, Christine was angered to the point where she changed the house lock and swore that she would never help her family again. If Maddie had not brought the jewelry to her, Christine would not have been able to pay the debts. Tawny and her brother went on to work in Maddie¡¯spany. Sure enough, the moment they arrived, they were up to their dishonest antics. When they learned that Maddie was actually the editor-in-chief and herpany was much bigger than Christine¡¯s as it was a conglomerate with a whole building, Tawny asked around about Maddie¡¯s sry and family background. Maddie knew about their behaviors. I already know how untrustworthy and deceitful these two are. After seeing how they have caused trouble for Christine, I have been cautious with them. As thepany¡¯s sry was a confidential matter, Tawny was unable to know anything even if she wanted to. Maddie had kept her family background well-hidden¡ªno one in thepany knew anything except the fact that she was married to a soldier. Her husband¡¯s rank was also kept a secret so that no one would ask questions about him. In Bayside City, no one truly knew anyone¡¯s background. Never judge even thepany¡¯s janitor. You never know that they might even be from a wealthy family! Tawny had always licked Maddie¡¯s boots at every chance she had and tried everything in her power to move into thetter¡¯s house. However, Maddie had used various kinds of reasons to reject her, either by repeating that her house was tiny or that it was inconvenient. Does she want to live in my house? No way! Tawny changed her approach when she saw how firm Maddie was. In the end, Maddie received a call from her own father. ¡°I heard that you have arranged for Tawny to work in yourpany, right?¡± Maddie¡¯s father interrogated her when she answered his call. ¡°And you even let her stay in the dorm?¡± ¡°Yeap, the cleaner¡¯s sry is about four to five thousand,¡± Maddie replied in a t tone. ¡°Only the amodation is provided with a living arrangement of about 8 people to a unit dormitory.¡± Mr. Evans snapped. ¡°Is this how you treat your cousin? Christine gave them a job thates with amodation and food with a sry of seven to eight thousand! Learn from Christine, will you?¡± Her father continued to hiss. ¡°Do you know how they would gossip about you and about me behind our backs? They¡¯reughing at your inability!¡± Maddie was enraged by her father¡¯s words. Of course! Those ipetent fools just have to talk nonsense about me! Ever since both she and Joel were promoted, she could not stand verbal abuses any longer. Hence, she yelled, ¡°This is how I am! If she dislikes what I have arranged for her, she¡¯s free to leave! We¡¯re not wealthy, okay? We live in a house that is given by the military. I still need to take care of my child, you know? I don¡¯t even have what it takes to take care of myself and you want me to do everything for them? Yes, I am useless with no ability! So what? What can you do about it?¡± Mr. Evans retaliated. ¡°You should at least find a better ce for her to live in! How can you let her stay in that dormitory hall? She¡¯s her family¡¯s princess; don¡¯t you know that? How about this¡ªlet her stay at your house, alright? I¡¯m sure you have at least two bedrooms¡­¡± Chapter 1325 Chapter 1325 Maddie immediately rebuked her father¡¯s suggestion. ¡°No. Joel is just a low-level soldier. He still has a long way to go before receiving a promotion. Being allocated a house is pretty generous in and of itself, yet you expect a two-bedroom apartment?! I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re being way too idealistic about Bayside City! We don¡¯t even have a one-bedroom apartment! All we have is a studio apartment. The kitchen is right next to our bed, and my son sleeps on the sofa! That¡¯s my current living situation! If shees, she can sleep in the corridor!¡± Mr. Evans was so furious that he could barely speak. In the end, he exasperatedly said, ¡°Maddie, you need to work harder in Bayside City. If only you were half as good as Christine¡­ Everybody is talking about you behind your back! No matter what, you are still a resident of Bayside City. If you don¡¯t make a name for yourself, you¡¯ll be ashamed. Simrly, I¡¯ll be ashamed too!¡± She replied, ¡°I want to make a name for myself too! But, 70,000 to 80,000 is cheap considering the housing prices in Bayside City! It wasn¡¯t easy for Joel and me to save up that money. Where are we going to get that money again if we use it all to buy a house for my elder brother?! Look; this is as far as I¡¯ll get in life. Put your hopes in my brothers instead!¡± After saying that, she hung up the phone and immediately went to greet the logistics department.Please treat those two well; give them the most difficult and tiring tasks! If they can¡¯t take it, they can scram! Thepany will not employzy workers! When Tawny learned about this, she was extremely annoyed. She thought that she would be able to move into Maddie¡¯s house if her family spoke up on her behalf; she believed that she could instantly create a spark between her and her cousin¡¯s aristocratic husband. Unfortunately, Tawny had been working in thepany for half a month now. Even so, Maddie never once spoke about her husband during that period. Her husband never came to pick her up from work either¡ªshe drove herself to and from work every single day. Simrly, that Range Rover did not appear again since then. Besides, Maddie¡¯s department was located very far from Tawny¡¯s department. It was practically impossible to run into each other, and Maddie never bothered to call Tawny to ask after her. Therefore, Tawny visited Maddie¡¯s office from time to time and deliberately made small talk with Maddie. ¡°Maddie, it¡¯s Saturday tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you bring me out to eat? It¡¯s so boring to eat alone. Besides, Joel hasn¡¯t been introduced to our family yet. My dad and the rest of the family are really looking forward to meeting him!¡± Maddie answered the questions, one by one. ¡°I¡¯m working overtime this weekend, so I¡¯m not free. Joel works in the army¡ªthey¡¯re not allowed to use their phones!¡± Tawny rolled her eyes in response. ¡°Maddie, can you let me drive that Range Rover of yours? My brother and I want to drive to Longbeach Fort to go sightseeing!¡± Maddie lowered her head to work on her manuscript. ¡°I borrowed that car from my unit leader. If you want to use the car, you can ask my unit leader yourself.¡± Then, Tawny sweetly said, ¡°Come on; let¡¯s eat together during the weekend. Ask Joel to join us so that the rest of the family can meet him. My brother has not met Joel yet!¡± Maddie pushed her sses up her nose. ¡°Joel is on duty. He won¡¯t be able to make it since he is outstation. You can eat on your own; don¡¯t mind us.¡± All of a sudden, Tawny noticed that Maddie seemed to be using thetest Dragon Eye mobile phone. That model was very popr right now. When she was still studying, all her ssmates bought Serpent and Dragon Eye mobile phones¡ªit was a status symbol among them. Hence, she quickly said, ¡°Maddie, can you lend me some money? I want to buy a new Dragon Eye.¡± Maddie replied, ¡°Thetest model is more than 10,000 each. Where would I find that money?! This phone was provided by thepany.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you give me one? You have several of them!¡± Tawny cajoled with a bright smile. Maddie replied without even lifting her head, ¡°These phones are supplied by thepany so that I can carry out my work. Besides, all of them are being used.¡± Unable to persuade Maddie, Tawny stomped her feet in anger before going back to continue cleaning the toilet.Stingy grouch! Thispany has more work than Christine¡¯spany! It¡¯s more tiring too! It¡¯s not easy to ck off during work, the pay is not high, and there are no independent amodations! Moreover, it¡¯s not asfortable as staying with Christine. Christine even allowed me to freely take her lipstick and clothes! Unbeknownst to her, Maddie immediately called the logistics department as soon as Tawny left. ¡°Tawny Bishop left her workstation without authorization. Deduct her wages as you see fit.¡± Initially, Tawny came here to work thinking that she could take the opportunity to move into Maddie¡¯s house. She wanted the opportunity to create a little something between Joel and her. Contrary to her expectations, Maddie¡¯s family turned out to be so poor!Broke b*tch! Therefore, she called home every day, making up stories about how poor Maddie was while comining about how bad the job Maddie introduced to her was. She wanted the entire county to know how poor Maddie was and how useless Maddie¡¯s husband was. As a result, Maddie¡¯s family called Maddie every day too. Theyined that people were talking badly about them. Thus, they wanted Maddie to arrange better amodations for Tawny and her brother. Their reason was that Maddie took them in, so she had to do that for them. In response, Maddie thought to herself,Go f*ck yourselves. One day, Linus and Sophia came to Maddie¡¯s unit. Under normal circumstances, Linus would never come over on his own even if he agreed to an interview with them. However, he happened to be havingFrom N?velDrama.Org. a meeting nearby and decided to drop by on his own. Coincidentally, Sophia had business with Maddie and followed along. As soon as they entered the door, they saw a youngdy in heavy makeup sweeping the floor in the lobby. When Linus brushed by her, the youngdy suddenly passed out for some reason and copsed next to him. Shocked by thedy¡¯s sudden fainting spell, Linus quickly picked her up and prepared to send her to the hospital. The moment Maddie heard that Linus and Sophia were here, she hurried out to greet them. However, she was greeted with the sight of Linus carrying Tawny. She¡¯s up to her tricks again!¡°Linus, put her down. We¡¯ll take care of her.¡± Linus¡¯ blue eyes were filled with uncertainty when he heard those words. Looking at the youngdy¡¯s condition, she seemed to be in a terrible state! Thus, Maddie assured him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s my cousin. Her chronic disease is ring up. She faints whenever her blood sugar levels drop. She¡¯ll be fine with some rest. Your time is precious; let¡¯s proceed with the interview. ¡± Upon hearing those words, Linus put Tawny down and went with Maddie for his interview. On the other hand, Tawny was sent to the hospital. The hospital ran a blood test on her, which racked up a medical bill of over 1,000. Since she did not have any medical insurance, she could not im a single penny and had to pay out of her pocket. As a result, she felt extremely aggrieved and furious. The only reason she turned on the cleaning robot in the lobby every day was so that she could catch a rich husband for herself. After all, rich and influential people constantly came and went from Maddie¡¯s unit. She knew a rich man had arrived as soon as she saw Linus. However, Maddie ruined her ns just as she was about to seed. Thus, she called home toin again. This time around, that wasn¡¯t enough to appease her anger, and she made another phone call to an uncle of hers that was working in Bayside City. Soon, private calls blew up Maddie¡¯s phone, one after the other, while she was interviewing Linus¡ªso much so that she decided to turn off her phone. She had seen through what Tawny was thinking at a nce.She has gone crazy trying to lure a rich husband into her grasp. Seriously; why doesn¡¯t she take a look at herself in the mirror first? After Linus finished his interview, he rested by the side. Then, Sophia took the chance to talk to Maddie. ¡°Maddie, that cousin of yours, Christine Bishop¡­ She¡¯s not in a rtionship, right?¡± Maddie sorted out her manuscript as she replied, ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Sophia continued asking, ¡°What do you think of her and Stan as a couple?¡± Maddie fell silent for a moment. She was also aware of the recent rumors flying around among the Fletc Maddie immediately rebuked her father¡¯s suggestion. ¡°No. Joel is just a low-level soldier. He still has a long way to go before receiving a promotion. Being allocated a house is pretty generous in and of itself, yet you expect a two-bedroom apartment?! I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re being way too idealistic about Bayside City! We don¡¯t even have a one-bedroom apartment! All we have is a studio apartment. The kitchen is right next to our bed, and my son sleeps on the sofa! That¡¯s my current living situation! If shees, she can sleep in the corridor!¡± Mr. Evans was so furious that he could barely speak. In the end, he exasperatedly said, ¡°Maddie, you need to work harder in Bayside City. If only you were half as good as Christine¡­ Everybody is talking about you behind your back! No matter what, you are still a resident of Bayside City. If you don¡¯t make a name for yourself, you¡¯ll be ashamed. Simrly, I¡¯ll be ashamed too!¡± She replied, ¡°I want to make a name for myself too! But, 70,000 to 80,000 is cheap considering the housing prices in Bayside City! It wasn¡¯t easy for Joel and me to save up that money. Where are we going to get that money again if we use it all to buy a house for my elder brother?! Look; this is as far as I¡¯ll get in life. Put your hopes in my brothers instead!¡± After saying that, she hung up the phone and immediately went to greet the logistics department.Please treat those two well; give them the most difficult and tiring tasks! If they can¡¯t take it, they can scram! Thepany will not employzy workers! When Tawny learned about this, she was extremely annoyed. She thought that she would be able to move into Maddie¡¯s house if her family spoke up on her behalf; she believed that she could instantly create a spark between her and her cousin¡¯s aristocratic husband. Unfortunately, Tawny had been working in thepany for half a month now. Even so, Maddie never once spoke about her husband during that period. Her husband never came to pick her up from work either¡ªshe drove herself to and from work every single day. Simrly, that Range Rover did not appear again since then. Besides, Maddie¡¯s department was located very far from Tawny¡¯s department. It was practically impossible to run into each other, and Maddie never bothered to call Tawny to ask after her. Therefore, Tawny visited Maddie¡¯s office from time to time and deliberately made small talk with Maddie. ¡°Maddie, it¡¯s Saturday tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you bring me out to eat? It¡¯s so boring to eat alone. Besides, Joel hasn¡¯t been introduced to our family yet. My dad and the rest of the family are really looking forward to meeting him!¡± Maddie answered the questions, one by one. ¡°I¡¯m working overtime this weekend, so I¡¯m not free. Joel works in the army¡ªthey¡¯re not allowed to use their phones!¡± Tawny rolled her eyes in response. ¡°Maddie, can you let me drive that Range Rover of yours? My brother and I want to drive to Longbeach Fort to go sightseeing!¡± Maddie lowered her head to work on her manuscript. ¡°I borrowed that car from my unit leader. If you want to use the car, you can ask my unit leader yourself.¡± Then, Tawny sweetly said, ¡°Come on; let¡¯s eat together during the weekend. Ask Joel to join us so that the rest of the family can meet him. My brother has not met Joel yet!¡± Maddie pushed her sses up her nose. ¡°Joel is on duty. He won¡¯t be able to make it since he is outstation. You can eat on your own; don¡¯t mind us.¡± INTERESTING FOR YOU 822 All of a sudden, Tawny noticed that Maddie seemed to be using thetest Dragon Eye mobile phone. That model was very popr right now. When she was still studying, all her ssmates bought Serpent and Dragon Eye mobile phones¡ªit was a status symbol among them. Hence, she quickly said, ¡°Maddie, can you lend me some money? I want to buy a new Dragon Eye.¡± Maddie replied, ¡°Thetest model is more than 10,000 each. Where would I find that money?! This phone was provided by thepany.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you give me one? You have several of them!¡± Tawny cajoled with a bright smile. Maddie replied without even lifting her head, ¡°These phones are supplied by thepany so that I can carry out my work. Besides, all of them are being used.¡± Unable to persuade Maddie, Tawny stomped her feet in anger before going back to continue cleaning the toilet.Stingy grouch! Thispany has more work than Christine¡¯spany! It¡¯s more tiring too! It¡¯s not easy to ck off during work, the pay is not high, and there are no independent amodations! Moreover, it¡¯s not asfortable as staying with Christine. Christine even allowed me to freely take her lipstick and clothes! Unbeknownst to her, Maddie immediately called the logistics department as soon as Tawny left. ¡°Tawny Bishop left her workstation without authorization. Deduct her wages as you see fit.¡± Initially, Tawny came here to work thinking that she could take the opportunity to move into Maddie¡¯s house. She wanted the opportunity to create a little something between Joel and her. Contrary to her expectations, Maddie¡¯s family turned out to be so poor!Broke b*tch! Therefore, she called home every day, making up stories about how poor Maddie was while comining about how bad the job Maddie introduced to her was. She wanted the entire county to know how poor Maddie was and how useless Maddie¡¯s husband was. As a result, Maddie¡¯s family called Maddie every day too. Theyined that people were talking badly about them. Thus, they wanted Maddie to arrange better amodations for Tawny and her brother. Their reason was that Maddie took them in, so she had to do that for them. In response, Maddie thought to herself,Go f*ck yourselves. One day, Linus and Sophia came to Maddie¡¯s unit. Under normal circumstances, Linus would never come over on his own even if he agreed to an interview with them. However, he happened to be having a meeting nearby and decided to drop by on his own. Coincidentally, Sophia had business with Maddie and followed along. As soon as they entered the door, they saw a youngdy in heavy makeup sweeping the floor in the lobby. When Linus brushed by her, the youngdy suddenly passed out for some reason and copsed next to him. Shocked by thedy¡¯s sudden fainting spell, Linus quickly picked her up and prepared to send her to the hospital. The moment Maddie heard that Linus and Sophia were here, she hurried out to greet them. However, she was greeted with the sight of Linus carrying Tawny. She¡¯s up to her tricks again!¡°Linus, put her down. We¡¯ll take care of her.¡± Linus¡¯ blue eyes were filled with uncertainty when he heard those words. Looking at the youngdy¡¯s condition, she seemed to be in a terrible state! Thus, Maddie assured him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s my cousin. Her chronic disease is ring up. She faints whenever her blood sugar levels drop. She¡¯ll be fine with some rest. Your time is precious; let¡¯s proceed with the interview. ¡± Upon hearing those words, Linus put Tawny down and went with Maddie for his interview. On the other hand, Tawny was sent to the hospital. The hospital ran a blood test on her, which racked up a medical bill of over 1,000. Since she did not have any medical insurance, she could not im a single penny and had to pay out of her pocket. As a result, she felt extremely aggrieved and furious. The only reason she turned on the cleaning robot in the lobby every day was so that she could catch a rich husband for herself. After all, rich and influential people constantly came and went from Maddie¡¯s unit. She knew a rich man had arrived as soon as she saw Linus. However, Maddie ruined her ns just as she was about to seed. Thus, she called home toin again. This time around, that wasn¡¯t enough to appease her anger, and she made another phone call to an uncle of hers that was working in Bayside City. Soon, private calls blew up Maddie¡¯s phone, one after the other, while she was interviewing Linus¡ªso much so that she decided to turn off her phone. She had seen through what Tawny was thinking at a nce.She has gone crazy trying to lure a rich husband into her grasp. Seriously; why doesn¡¯t she take a look at herself in the mirror first? After Linus finished his interview, he rested by the side. Then, Sophia took the chance to talk to Maddie. ¡°Maddie, that cousin of yours, Christine Bishop¡­ She¡¯s not in a rtionship, right?¡± Maddie sorted out her manuscript as she replied, ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± Sophia continued asking, ¡°What do you think of her and Stan as a couple?¡± Maddie fell silent for a moment. She was also aware of the recent rumors flying around among the Fletchers about how Christine and Stanley were in a rtionship. She questioned Christine about it and confirmed that they were not in a rtionship. Moreover, she had warned Christine not to go beyond her station. Fortunately, Christine was not Tawny. She was sensible and not prone to dreaming. Maddie hurriedly answered, ¡°No way; no way. Christine and Stanley?! They have different ranks!¡± ¡°Tsk. Why are you still talking about ranks in this day and age?! They look well-matched to me. Besides, it¡¯s so rare for Stan to have a woman he can talk to!¡± Sophia continued saying. Even so, Maddie continued to wave her hand dismissively.If Stanley and Christine were to get together, the Bishop Family would learn about the Fletcher Family¡¯s existence. If that happens, they will get carried away! They won¡¯t just be asking for jobs by then! It¡¯s quite possible that they will ask for a house for their preparations. They might even use the Fletcher Family¡¯s name to y tyrant in their hometown! hers about how Christine and Stanley were in a rtionship. She questioned Christine about it and confirmed that they were not in a rtionship. Moreover, she had warned Christine not to go beyond her station. Fortunately, Christine was not Tawny. She was sensible and not prone to dreaming. Maddie hurriedly answered, ¡°No way; no way. Christine and Stanley?! They have different ranks!¡± ¡°Tsk. Why are you still talking about ranks in this day and age?! They look well-matched to me. Besides, it¡¯s so rare for Stan to have a woman he can talk to!¡± Sophia continued saying. Even so, Maddie continued to wave her hand dismissively.If Stanley and Christine were to get together, the Bishop Family would learn about the Fletcher Family¡¯s existence. If that happens, they will get carried away! They won¡¯t just be asking for jobs by then! It¡¯s quite possible that they will ask for a house for their preparations. They might even use the Fletcher Family¡¯s name to y tyrant in their hometown! Chapter 1326 Chapter 1326 ¡°No way; no way. There¡¯s a huge social gap between them¡­ It¡¯s just not right.¡± Maddie vigorously waved her hand in dismissal. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. Marriage needs to be between people of the same social standing too. The difference between their social standing is too vast; it¡¯s not eptable.¡± Sophia hurriedly said, ¡°Come on! What era are you living in? Why are you bothered by social standing in this day and age? Look at you and themanding general! Didn¡¯t you two break through the social gap too? I believe Stan and Christine will make a great pair. They look so good together! Besides, they seem to be getting along very well recently!¡± Sophia believed that Stanley was finally going to graduate from singlehood. After all, he came to Sophia with all the hopes of the Fletcher Family riding on his shoulders, asking her to matchmake him with Christine. Contrary to her expectations, Maddie vigorously dismissed the notion. ¡°No way; no way. Our family is very conservative. We don¡¯t dream of marrying above our station. Even now, my marriage with Joel can be considered marrying above my station.¡± No matter how Sophia tried to persuade her, she refused to change her stance. She wished from the bottom of her heart for Stanley to find himself a good wife. She also wished that Christine could find a husband that would share her burdens with her. At the very least, it wouldn¡¯t be as tiring as struggling alone. More importantly, she felt that the two of them were a great match too. But¡­ there¡¯s a reason why the saying ¡®a good match is between families of equal standing¡¯ has existed for thousands of years. It¡¯s not just about financial standings; it¡¯s also about one¡¯s values and beliefs¡ªthose aspects have to match too. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Look at Sophia; her father is Cooper Mitchell while her brother is Linus Michel. They¡¯re both highly influential figures, which match Michael Fletcher¡¯s status perfectly as they all stand on the same social ss. There is a world of difference between people of different social sses. Unfortunately, Christine¡¯s family is¡­ Christine and Maddie¡¯s families came from a small country town located deep in the countryside. It was a remote and conservative ce. When Maddie was studying in high school, she was an elite student with excellent grades. She was originally supposed to enter the elite ss. However, she had a cousin that was studying in the same school and the same grade as her. He failed to make it into the elite ss due to his low scores. As a result, her family seeded in negotiating with the school and transferred her cement over to her cousin. From the school to the Evans Family, everybody believed that the spot should have been given to her cousin; even Maddie herself believed that. They believed that boys were the hope of the family while girls were not. She was considered extremely blessed in their society that her family could even afford to send her to high school as most girls only studied until junior high school. That was themon mindset among her society and her entire family. People who came from that little society held values and beliefs that were surprisingly consistent. Later, Maddie was admitted into a first-tier university at Provincial City with excellent scores despite being in the ordinary ss. Meanwhile, her cousin that had taken her ce in the elite ss could only be admitted into an inferior second-tier university with his scores. Unfortunately, the tuition fees for a first-tier university were too high, and her family could not afford it. Therefore, she had no choice but to reject the offer and seek another option. s, she entered a third-tier university with much lower tuition fees despite her high scores. When I think back on it now, that must have been the stupidest choice in my life. But, growing up in that environment¡­ I didn¡¯t think that there was anything wrong with my decision at the time. Even though Maddie chose to study in a third-tier university, her family felt that she shouldn¡¯t have furthered her studies in university and refused to pay for her tuition fees. She had to pay for them herself by taking up a part-time job writing manuscripts. During her internship in her junior year, she went back to the country town and worked at a small newspaper office. Moreover, she had to hand over a portion of her sry to her cousin who was studying in the second-tier university for his living expenses. Afterward, her cousin took her money and went on avish graduation trip while she worked at the newspaper office until she had low blood sugar levels. Even so, she felt that it was only right for her to do so. The feudalistic social norms of the past remained strong in a closed-off society like theirs, and the entire society was enveloped in a strange culture. They believed that girls were born only to contribute to their families. As such, women did not deserve to study. They should only study until junior high school before dropping out to work and earn money for their brothers to go to school. More importantly, they had to earn money so that they could buy houses for their brothers¡¯ marriages. Once the houses were bought, their families would then introduce a local unmarried man to them. Discussions on the dowry generally began after several meetings, and the dowry usually started from a minimum of 100,000. Not surprisingly, the dowries they received would be used to supplement their brothers¡¯ marriages. Even after getting married, they were still expected to continue supporting their natal family while giving birth to children. Specifically, they had to give birth to sons. If they couldn¡¯t produce sons, both their in- laws and their natal family would me them for being useless. Aside from that, women were not allowed to be seated at the table during banquets nor enter the ancestral graves. Even when the family receivedpensation ording to headcount for forced relocation, only men were considered. Every family practiced these customs throughout the generations. Naturally, Maddie and Christine were not an exception. Unexpectedly, an earthquakepletely changed Maddie¡¯s life. Back then, the building of the newspaper office she was working in copsed after the earthquake. She was buried under the building; she was stuck in a small crack under the rubble. Despite desperately screaming for help, she only heard more screams and crying soundsing from everywhere. Nobody came to save her, and her phone was not working. When she lifted her head among the rubble, she could only see a despairingly small sky. At that moment, a man descended from the sky in a military green parachute andnded next to the rubble. He removed the panels pressing down on her and rescued her from among the rubble. At the same time, he rescued her from a gray and gloomy period of her life. When she followed Joel back to the Fletcher Residence, she discovered apletely different world. In their world, not only could the women study, but they were also allowed to eat at the table and enter the ancestral graves. They also fought in wars! A new chapter opened up in Maddie¡¯s life from that moment on. Therefore, she encouraged her cousin, Christine, to never give up on her dreams during high school. She also supported Christine in pursuing e-sports and taking her university entrance exams by paying for whatever Christine could not afford. Afterward, she even encouraged Christine to move to Bayside City for her personal growth. Looking back on her life, she realized that her original family was extremely different from the Fletchers ¡ªthey were living inpletely different worlds. It¡¯s because I know just how great the gaps are between them that I absolutely refuse to agree to the marriage between Stanley and Christine! Marriage isn¡¯t only about two people¡ªit¡¯s an issue between two families. If both families are unable to get along with each other, that marriage will never be a happy one! While Sophia was trying to convince Maddie, Linus was resting in another lounge, reading the newspaper and drinking some tea. Since it was still early, it didn¡¯t hurt to let them have a chat among themselves. Besides, everybody knew who he was and did not dare to harass him. However, not long after he sat down, a middle-aged man suddenly entered the lounge while nodding and bowing. ¡°Hi, mister! Are you resting here?¡± A voice speaking broken Cethosian in a heavy southern ent rang out. Even so, Linus understood what the man was saying. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Where did youe from?¡± That man let himself in. Behind him stood another man and a woman, who were very young. Somehow, Linus could help thinking that the woman seemed strangely familiar. Ah; she¡¯s thedy that passed out in the lobby just now. Then, the man sat down next to Linus, acting like they were very close. He enthusiastically began to introduce himself. ¡°You must be Maddie¡¯s friend, right? I¡¯m her second uncle on her mother¡¯s side, Byron Evans.¡± Maddie¡¯s uncle on her mother¡¯s side? Thus, Linus greeted him politely. ¡°Nice to meet you, Uncle Byron. My name is Linus¡ª¡± Byron was being overly friendly toward Linus. At the same time, he surreptitiously asked about Linus¡¯ background while making small talk. ¡°Wow! Young man, you must be a foreigner! You¡¯re more fluent in the Cethosiannguage than I am! You must have settled down in Bayside City for many years now, right? Have you bought a house here?¡± Linus thought to himself, No matter what, this man is Maddie¡¯s uncle and she¡¯s now the matriarch of the Fletcher Family. I can¡¯t be discourteous. Thus, he answered patiently, ¡°I¡¯ve been in Bayside City for many years now. I live with my father and my sister.¡± ¡°Have you bought a house? Do you have a car? What do you do for a living? How much is your sry? Are you registered in the household registry of Bayside City? Are you married?¡± Upon hearing those questions, Linus was rendered speechless. Chapter 1327 Chapter 1327 Despite how hard Sophia tried persuading Maddie, Maddie refused to budge. I wonder what¡¯s making Maddie so resolute? Sophia decided that she still had many chances in the future and ended things for today, nning to try again in another two days. Afterward, Maddie decided to see Linus and Sophia on their way. Walking into the lounge with Sophia to look for Linus, she saw her second uncle that had just arrived at Bayside City to work. He was surrounding Linus with Tawny and her brother behind him. I can¡¯t believe Tawny called him over! Byron had a grimace on his face as he leaned close to Linus while saying, ¡°Look; this is my niece. She is 19 years old. Isn¡¯t she quite the pretty one? Her family conditions are great too. Why don¡¯t you exchange contact numbers or add each other on Messenger? You should chat with each other a little¡­¡± Tawny pulled up her Messenger on her phone. Then, she blushingly stepped forward to add Linus on Messenger. Linus looked troubled. ¡°Uncle Byron, I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t really use Messenger.¡± Any discerning person would know with a single nce that Linus was rejecting them. However, Byron did not know what it meant to be reserved and even went so far as to enthusiastically reach out to take Linus¡¯ phone. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll teach you. Come¡ª¡± Maddie stared at the scene in front of her with her mouth agape¡­ Feeling confused, Sophia stepped forward and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Linus immediately stood up as soon as he saw that she was here and eagerly said, ¡°Sofie, you¡¯re here! Let¡¯s go back now.¡± On the other hand, Byron¡¯s face brightened up when he saw Sophia. He excitedly said, ¡°Hello! You must be Mr. Linus¡¯ younger sister! I¡¯m Byron Evans, Maddie¡¯s second uncle on her mother¡¯s side!¡± Oh, it¡¯s Maddie¡¯s uncle! Thus, she greeted him. ¡°Nice to meet you, Uncle Byron¡­¡± Listening to the way he talked, she realized that he mistakenly thought that ¡®Linus¡¯ was their surname. Thus, she was just about to correct his misconception when he dragged the young man standing next to him into the conversation. ¡°Come;e here. Miss Linus, this is my nephew. He¡¯s 21 this year. Besides, he hasn¡¯t gotten a partner yet. Why don¡¯t you guys get to know each other?¡± She couldn¡¯t help feeling weird. Looking at the young man, he didn¡¯t look like much. Rather, he had a shifty look. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s no good. Still, it was Maddie¡¯s rtive. She did not want to put Maddie in a difficult position, so she politely replied, ¡°Hi, nice to meet you.¡± The young man had never seen such a young and beautiful woman before. Thus, he was so charmed that he couldn¡¯t move anymore. Swallowing nervously, he said, ¡°Hello, my name is¡ª¡± All of a sudden, Maddie spoke up with a smile. ¡°Oh, my; look at the time. We talked so much that we lost track of time. Sophia, Linus, your car is waiting downstairs. Why don¡¯t you leave first? Otherwise, the elevator will be jam-packed with people soon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Linus swiftly said. He was certain that Byron was up to something. Since just now, this man has been trying his best to inquire about my financial situation while introducing me to that girl. Her entire face is caked with a thickyer of makeup¡ªit reminds me of a monkey¡¯s butt. Thus, he hurriedly dragged Sophia away. Simrly, Maddie looked extremely upset as she hastily led Linus and Sophia away. Upon seeing that, Byron became anxious and quickly rushed after them. ¡°Mr. Linus! Why don¡¯t you leave your contact number with us?!¡± In response, Linus sullenly dragged Sophia away with him. Maddie, who was leading the way, shot a re at her assistant when she saw her family members chasing after them. Following that, her assistant immediately stepped forward and stopped the Evans Family from approaching the siblings. ¡°This is the VIP elevator; you are not allowed to enter.¡± They¡¯ve been irritating me for a while now. How dare they harass a VIP?! As a result, Byron, Tawny, and her brother could only watch as Maddie led Linus and Sophia into the elevator. They were so anxious that they nearly hopped about in anxiety. Argh! We nearly became the rtives of somebody in Bayside City! Inside the elevator, Maddie stood in a corner. She felt cold all over; there was an indescribable emotion in her heart¡ªa mix of both disgust and fury at the same time. This is what I¡¯ve been worried about! I was scared that one day, my rtives would approach the Fletcher Family. They will surely try to weasel their way into an influential family without any inhibitions just to raise their status¡­ Just look at the two siblings from the Bishop Family! Don¡¯t they ever look in the mirror?! She felt the utter humiliation brought to her by her natal family. It made her all the more aware that she, Sophia, and the Fletcher Family were inpletely different social sses. That realization left her feeling inferior and furious. Meanwhile, Sophia seemed to realize something btedly. That old man was probably trying to matchmake me with that guy. Tsk; just looking at his shifty-eyed expression tells me that he¡¯s not a good person. If it were any other person, I would have pped them without hesitation¡­ This is probably why Maddie refuses to let Christine and Stanley get together, as well as why I¡¯ve never heard her mention her natal family before. They soon arrived on the first floor. Maddie could tell that Linus was in a bad mood and realized that Byron must have greatly offended him. Hence, she did not dare to say a word. She simply forced a smile on her face while seeing them off. To her surprise, she saw Christine rushing over as soon as she opened the door. ¡°Maddie, I heard from my mother that Tawny fainted suddenly. She asked me toe and check on her.¡± When Christine noticed Sophia and Linus, she immediately respectfully said, ¡°Sophia, Mr. Michel! Why are you here too?¡± From N?velDrama.Org. However, Linus was in a terrible mood. He simply nodded before getting into the car with Sophia. Before Sophia got into the car, she turned to Maddie and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Linus is not in a good mood today. Please don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Maddie smiled bitterly in response. After Linus and Sophia left, she felt tears swimming in her eyes. ¡°Maddie, what¡¯s wrong?! Please don¡¯t scare me!¡± Christine lightly tugged at Maddie¡¯s arm. Wiping away tears, Maddie said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Then, they both went upstairs and returned to the lounge just now. Sure enough; the atmosphere inside waspletely different now. Byron was solemnly sitting on a chair with a majestic and imposing expression¡ªhe was like a guardian. Simrly, the Bishop siblings were standing next to Byron. They were practically spitting fire from their eyes. As soon as Byron saw Maddie approaching, he pointed to the ground in front of him. ¡°Kneel, now!¡± However, Maddie did not move. Aftering to Bayside City for so many years, these words no longer worked on her. In the remote country town that was their hometown, those words were an absolute command when spoken by a male elder to a female younger than them. Therefore, Byron was livid when he saw that Maddie refused to kneel. He felt that his authority was greatly challenged. Taking out his phone, he furiously threatened, ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯m going to call your father right now! And, your grandfather too! They will know about this!¡± Upon hearing those words, the Bishop siblings became happy. Their reactions made it seem like informing Maddie¡¯s parents about her digressions was akin to a death sentence. How dare she ruin our marriage prospects?! If it wasn¡¯t for hering to cause trouble, we might have gotten the contact information of the Linus siblings! We could have quickly gotten close to them! When Christine heard those words, she became anxious. This is such a trivial matter; how can they immediately raise the issue with the family?! ¡°Uncle Byron, what on earth happened¡ª¡± Seeing that Maddie refused to kneel and admit her mistake, Byron took out his phone and pretended to dial a number. ¡°I¡¯m really going to make the call! Don¡¯t think I won¡¯t dare to do it!¡± Maddie scoffed. However, her reddened eyes were filled with tears. Then, he dialed the number while berating her in a loud voice. ¡°You rebellious girl! Your parents have wasted their efforts raising you! Just you wait!¡± He was already displeased with her long before she ruined the Bishop siblings¡¯ ¡®marriages¡¯. Seeing that his rtives and friends were heading to Bayside City to work, he hurriedly called Maddie and told her to arrange a job for him. Contrary to his expectations, she made him attend the interview himself, saying that it depended on his own abilities as to whether he could get the job. Moreover, she made him look for his own ce to stay too. I don¡¯t know anybody in Bayside City. Where am I supposed to find a ce to stay?! She is obviously trying to make things difficult for me! She doesn¡¯t respect me at all! In the end, he called the Bishop Family instead. Without another word, they immediately asked Christine to book his flight tickets to Bayside City. It was his first time flying in a ne. When he got off the ne, Christine even sent her assistant to pick him up and send him to a hotel. All he needed to do was stay there. Several dayster, Christine told him that she found him a job at a cybercaf¨¦. Not only was the job easy, but it also paid well. Maddie is nothingpared to Christine! Chapter 1328 Chapter 1328 Byron called Maddie¡¯s father on the spot, deliberately making the call right in front of Maddie and turning on the loudspeaker. As soon as the call connected, he said, ¡°Oh, Maxton! This daughter of yours is such a worthless good-for-nothing!¡± Following that, he immediately poured his heart out about all the ¡®wrongs¡¯ he suffered to Mr. Evans, detailing everything from his job-hunting incident to the ¡®marriage¡¯ incident between the Bishop siblings. ¡°I already heard all I needed about them. Their surname is Linus. They have a household registry in Bayside City, a stable career, a car, and a house! Aren¡¯t they the perfect match for the Bishop siblings?! Moreover, they¡¯re brothers and sisters too, just like the Bishop siblings! We could have be one big family in the future! It would have been a piece of cake to discuss the dowry! But, Maddie, this useless child¡­ Not only did she refuse to introduce her family to such great partners, but she also ruined the marriage discussions! Do you know what she did?! When she saw that the children were getting along so well, she went and chased them away! Maxton, I¡¯m not one to hold grudges, but Maddie truly went overboard this time¡ª¡± Christine pieced together a general idea of what was going on from what she heard and finally understood why Maddie felt so humiliated. Meanwhile, Tawny and her brother were standing there looking triumphant. Christine nced at them and thought to herself, How dare these two¡­ even think about approaching Linus and Sophia?! She blurted out loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t even think about trying to get close to them!¡± To her surprise, Byron reacted strongly to her outburst. ¡°Shut up! The adults are talking! This is no ce for children!¡± ring hard at Maddie, who was crying silently by the side, Byron couldn¡¯t help feeling that he had already won half the battle. Maddie¡¯s shameful actions will soon be spread throughout the family. Her life will be a living hell! If she¡¯s unable to hold her head up high back home¡­ that¡¯s no better than death! Hence, he raised his voice on purpose and said, ¡°Tawny and her brother have such great qualities! Their family is not poor. Besides, they have a car and a house too. Why are they not a good match for each other? Even Maddie managed to marry over to Bayside City. Why can¡¯t Tawny do the same?!¡± Upon hearing those words, Christine stared at Byron in disbelief. For the first time in her life, she wondered, Is everybody back home this stupid? Sophia and Linus are top students of Bayside University! What¡¯s more, they each own hugepanies despite their youth! Theye from the highest ss of aristocrats! The siblings are celebrities worth billions¡ªnot somebody Maddie¡¯s company can invite over just as they please! Seriously; the Bishop siblings are nothing inparison! Don¡¯t they have any self-awareness?! Do they think of themselves as kings just because they own several settlements back in our hometown?! How dare they even think about approaching Sophia and Linus?! ¡°Fine, fine¡­ I¡¯ll shut up; I¡¯ll shut up¡­¡± While saying that, sheforted Maddie. At this point, Maddie was so furious that she couldn¡¯t utter a single word anymore. Her entire body was trembling slightly, and tears fell from her eyes continuously as she red savagely at Byron. Byron was sitting with his leg crossed over his knee while calling home with his phone on loudspeaker. He made several phone calls right in front of Maddie, talking for more than an hour straight. The more he talked, the angrier he got. He wanted both the Evans Family and the Bishop Family to know all about Maddie¡¯s ¡®scandalous acts¡¯. A short whileter, everybody in their hometown knew about Maddie¡¯s ¡®scandalous acts¡¯. From the way Byron told the story, the truth waspletely twisted to be a tale where Tawny and her brother were in marriage discussions with a pair of siblings that were quite desirable. However, Maddie appeared and arbitrarily ruined the marriage discussions out of spite and malice. Not wanting the Bishop siblings to settle down in the city, she deliberately ruined their marriages! Meanwhile, Maddie couldn¡¯t stop her tears from falling. She said nothing, simply listening to how they distorted the facts and blew their own trumpets. She cried not because Byron was bad-mouthing her to her face but because she hated herself for being born into such a family. It made her feel like she was covered in filth; it made her feel like she was not worthy of Joel. Mr. Evans¡¯ furious roar came from the phone that was on loudspeaker. ¡°Maddie Evans! Kneel right now! Kneel! Kneel and beg for forgiveness! Otherwise, I will disown you! You better think of a way to make things right after destroying their marriages! Immediately arrange a blind date for the siblings! Do it immediately! Immediately!¡± At that moment, Maddie finally wiped away her tears and swallowed her anger. She cryingly said in a heartfelt yet trembling voice, ¡°Those siblings hold degrees from Bayside University. Besides, they are worth billions. They live in apletely different world from us. It¡¯s not a suitable match¡ª¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®not a suitable match¡¯?!¡± Mr. Evans furiously yelled. ¡°How dare you look down on us country folks just because you worked in Bayside City for some time?!¡± Meanwhile, Byron sat with his leg over his knee. ¡°So what? Didn¡¯t the daughter of the county magistrate marry aborer from a construction site back in our hometown? That man could make his woman eat out of the palm of his hand. When she got pregnant, even the county magistrate had to recognize their marriage!¡± Mr. Evans fervently agreed with Byron as he said, ¡°That¡¯s right; that¡¯s right! Maddie, can¡¯t you act a little smarter? Even if your cousin is not as financially sound as the other party, you should create more opportunities for him to shine! Why don¡¯t you invite Miss Linus out alone so that your cousin will have more opportunities to woo her? Your cousin is such a smart boy. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s easy for him to get her pregnant! We¡¯ll see how the Linus Family reacts once she is pregnant. Their unmarried daughter got herself pregnant; who else would want damaged goods like her? If they are still stubborn¡­ Aren¡¯t you a reporter? Why don¡¯t you just write an article, make it a huge scandal, and ruin their reputation! We¡¯ll see if they continue to remain stubborn! Seriously, why are you so dumb? How did I raise such a useless daughter?!¡± Byron hurriedly added on. ¡°Tawny should grab the opportunity to get herself pregnant with that man¡¯s seed as soon as possible too! When the timees, we¡¯ll cause a huge ruckus. This family is wealthy; they will surely need to maintain their reputation! Therefore, they won¡¯t dare to not marry you! With that, both of you will be registered in Bayside City¡¯s household registry! Not only that, but you¡¯ll also marry into a wealthy family! I¡¯m afraid this old man won¡¯t be able to enter through your doors the next time I come to visit you!¡± Tawny immediately ttered him by saying, ¡°That will never happen! We will always remember your kindness! We won¡¯t be like Maddie!¡± When she said that, she threw a scornful look at Maddie. At this point, Christine was absolutely livid. Dream on! They will send you all to hell! Maddie did not know how she managed to finish listening to everything they said. Their words felt like sharp des stabbing into the most vulnerable part of her heart. Every word stabbed into her painfully. Then, she quietly closed her eyes and forcefully squeezed out everyst drop of tears in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her anger. All the grievances she experienced throughout her life and buried deep in her heart now bubbled up to the surface as she shouted at the top of her voice, ¡°Security! Drag these three out of here! Throw them out as far as possible!¡± Everybody had been waiting for those words for a long time now. Several security guards immediately rushed forward and subdued those three before dragging them away. The three of them were driven away by car and thrown out on the street somewhere far away. ¡°Maddie Evans, you scum!¡± Byron screamed in front of her while Mr. Evans screamed through the phone. Maddie savagely snatched the phone over and yelled at the person on the other end of the phone. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with all of you! You¡¯re not worthy of those siblings! Don¡¯t even dream about it! I will never help you with this marriage discussion! Don¡¯t crave for what you are not worthy of! How dare you try to trick a youngdy?! Go to hell! Let me tell you this: your despicable, contemptible, and inferior genes should never be passed down!¡±N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Chapter 1329 Chapter 1329 Mr. Evans was so furious that he could barely hold his phone securely. He did not expect that his daughter would say something as ridiculous as that. ¡°Maddie Evans, I no longer have a daughter like you!¡± It was just what Maddie wanted. ¡°Fine; just think of me as dead! In any case, I am ipetent! I disgraced the family! Goodbye!¡± After saying that, Maddie fiercely threw Byron¡¯s phone to the ground. The phone smashed into the ground and broke into pieces. Following that, Byron and the Bishop siblings were dragged away. Peace returned to the world with their departure. Then, Maddie slumped to the ground weakly all of a sudden, burying her face in her hands as she wept¡­ It waste at night. Everybody else had left thepany, except Maddie. She remained at the office, working overtime without saying anything. She had not eaten anything all day long, and her personal phone had been turned off. Christine had apanied her the entire day out of worry. At that moment, she walked in carrying a box meal in her hands. ¡°Maddie, I brought you dinner. Here, have some.¡± Maddie lowered her head and wrote her manuscript. Sniffing slightly, she replied, ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating.¡± Christine said, ¡°It¡¯ste. Why don¡¯t you go home? I¡¯m sure Joel is getting worried since it¡¯s sote.¡± Maddie said, ¡°I¡¯m not done with work.¡± Christine was extremely worried. After what happened today, Byron had given Maddie a severe tongueshing. Moreover, the news had quickly spread across their hometown, and Maddie was now the target of the hatred and loathing back in their hometown. Christine also constantly received phone calls from the Evans Family; they called simply to insult and scream at Maddie. Walking out of the office, she paced about anxiously. She wanted to call Joel and ask him toe and pick Maddie up from work. However, she did not know his contact number. None of Maddie¡¯s colleagues, who were working overtime, knew his contact number either. Thus, she did not know who had his contact number. She did not know anything about Maddie¡¯s inws or her personal social circles. Mulling over it, she decided to try and call Sophia. She saw that Maddie and Sophia were friends on Messenger, so she thought Sophia might know, or at the very least, have some clue. Inside The Imperial, Linus was still fuming over what happened during the day. Every time he closed his eyes, that face that reminded him of a monkey¡¯s butt filled his mind. Thus, he hurriedly looked at his sister¡¯s cute face¡ªit was an instant cure for his ailment. Unfortunately, he would soon remember that monkey¡¯s butt of a face again¡ªso much so that he lost his appetite for dinner. On the other hand, Sophia was no longer angry. Rather, she was worried since Maddie seemed unhappy today. She was tempted to call Maddie and talk to her, but she was worried about disturbing Maddie¡¯s rest. While she was agonizing over it, a call from Christine came. Christine was not aware that Sophia and Maddie were sisters-inw. However, she was certain that Byron had offended Linus and Sophia today. Putting aside the fact that Maddie had broken all ties with her family today, she had also been scolded by the head of the newspaper office for upsetting the young master of the Michel Group. The head of the newspaper office imed that Linus was somebody their small newspaper office could not afford to offend. Therefore, Christine cautiously apologized to Sophia, seemingly scared that Sophia was still angry about it. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯m sorry about what happened today. It¡¯s the first time Uncle Byron came to the city, so he is not familiar with the rules here. Maddie has berated them for their behavior. Furthermore, she had a big fight with her family because of this. She also got scolded by the head of the newspaper office too. I really hope you don¡¯t take it to heart. Maddie wille and personally apologize to you on another day.¡± Sophia had not expected things to turn out this way. Hence, she quickly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m not bothered by it. Why don¡¯t you bring Maddie home? It¡¯s sote!¡± Upon hearing how polite Sophia was, Christine felt even more uneasy. Sophia had to coax her for quite a while before she finally got over her uneasiness and said, ¡°Maddie refuses to leave. I wanted to ask Joel toe and pick her up but¡­ I don¡¯t have his contact number¡­¡± Unfortunately, Sophia did not know either. Thus, she hurriedly asked Michael to call and ask Joel to go and pick Maddie up from her workce. After ending the call with Christine, she let out a long sigh. Just then, Michael finished his call with Joel, turned around, and asked her about the events that transpired today. Sophia managed to glean some information from her call with Christine just now. Combining what she heard from Linus today, she more or less had an idea of the overall situation. When I recall the looks those siblings gave me and Linus¡­ Ugh; her makeup reminds me of a monkey¡¯s butt. And, she had a pretentious expression too! It¡¯s as terrifying as it could get! When Michael heard the story from Sophia, he was immediately reminded of his pitiful mother. Back when she married Theo, she had concealed her family from him too. She never allowed him toe into contact with the Murray Family. Even now, Michael and his siblings had never met Elizabeth¡¯s natal family. Maddie probablyes from a simr kind of family¡­ Back then, many factors had contributed to Elizabeth¡¯s suicide, including Theo¡¯s death, Tanya¡¯s persecution, and herplete disappointment in her natal family. It waste at night by the time Joel drove to Maddie¡¯s workce in a rush. Christine had waited at the entrance for a long time. When she saw Joel, her eyes were slightly red. ¡°Joel, please go and check on Maddie. She has been crying all day long. Moreover, she hasn¡¯t taken a single bite since lunch.¡± Therefore, Joel rushed upstairs after hearing those words. Inside the office, Maddie was finishing up that day¡¯s manuscripts while crying non-stop. Her dinner sat beside her untouched¡ªshe couldn¡¯t bring herself to take a bite. Sinceing to Bayside City, she had been exposed to apletely new way of thinking and a brand-new culture. Only then did she realize just how unbearable and unsightly her family was. They were openly plotting against my friend right in front of me today. I¡¯m sure that they will also be plotting against Joel and the Fletchers in the future. But, what can I do? I didn¡¯t choose to be born into such a family! All of a sudden, the door to the office opened. She lifted her head only to see Joel¡¯s tall andrge figure standing in the doorframe. Surprised, she hurriedly wiped away her tears. ¡°Joel?! Why are you here?¡± Joel walked over. His deep eyes were filled only with the sight of her and her teary visage as he said in a low voice, ¡°I came to pick you up.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Maddie regrly worked overtime, especially if she encountered breaking news. She constantly had to drag herself out of bed in the middle of the night to work on her manuscripts. As a result, Joel was used to it and did not realize something was wrong when she did note home today. It wasn¡¯t until he received a call from Michael that he learned about the incident that had taken ce today. At this moment, he did not say anything else and simply pulled her into his arms quietly. Lightly patting her on the back, he said, ¡°It¡¯s okay; it¡¯s okay¡­ I¡¯m right here; don¡¯t be scared¡­¡± She buried her face in his chest, rubbing against him piteously and weeping softly. Then, he kissed her face lightly. ¡°It¡¯s alright; it¡¯s over. It¡¯s no big deal. In the future, we won¡¯t contact anybody from your hometown anymore, okay?¡± From what Michael and Christine told me, that family sounds like trouble. They are not worthy of my wife. She had long since lost all patience for her family. However, she still felt empty inside when the time came to cut them off. She couldn¡¯t tell if she felt empty or relieved. In any case, it was an ufortable feeling. ¡°Joel, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m worthy of you¡­¡± Maddie did not know how many times this thought had crossed her head. Even so, Joel fiercely kept those thoughts at bay, every single time. ¡°Maddie Evans, how many times have I told you this? Marrying you is the best thing that has ever happened to me!¡± Chapter 1330 Chapter 1330 Whenever she hugged him, it felt like she gained infinite strength and courage. Then, he held her face and said to her in all seriousness, ¡°I am your husband. Promise me; the next time something like this happens, you have to tell me. Okay?¡± She nodded vigorously as tears overflowed from her eyes again. Turning on her phone, she saw that there were numerous missed calls and text messages as well as messages on Messenger. They were all scolding her in one way or another. Some of the family group chats were also berating her for being inhumane and unfilial, and ruining the Bishop siblings¡¯ ¡®marriages¡¯. As soon as Maddie¡¯s phone was turned on again, Mr. Evans¡¯ call came through. she was just about to hang up on him when Joel suddenly took the phone from her and answered the call. Mr. Evan¡¯s voice immediately sounded from the other side of the phone, blowing up at her at the top of his voice. ¡°Maddie Evans, do you still regard me as your father?! Look at how angry you¡¯ve made Uncle Byron! Did you think I won¡¯t be able to do anything to you since you¡¯ve settled down in Bayside City?! I¡¯m telling you; I have many ways to deal with you! I¡¯m giving you two days toe home and beg for forgiveness!¡± Upon hearing that voice, Maddie froze for a moment. It felt as if a bucket of ice water came pouring down on her head, filling her heart with sorrow and disappointment. Squeezing her hand slightly, Joel spoke to the other person on the phone. ¡°Nice to meet you, father-inw. I am Maddie¡¯s lover, Joel Fletcher. I do not believe Maddie did anything wrong during today¡¯s incident. If you have any objections, you can find me in Bayside City at any time. I will exin it to you myself.¡± When Mr. Evans heard his son-inw¡¯s voice, he became even ruder than before. ¡°You b*stard! What sort of ck magic did you cast on my daughter that made her so mesmerized?! How dare she no longer obey me?!¡± Joel continued in a calm voice, ¡°Maddie is an independent individual. She has no obligation to do anything for your family.¡± After saying that, he hung up. It was nearly 9 PM. Christine was still waiting outside Maddie¡¯s office. Calcting the time, she had to rush home as soon as Maddie left for home, lest she was criticized for going homete again. As expected, Joel had the means to cheer Maddie up. Not long after he arrived, Maddie came out with a smile on her face. She was all rxed now. Since the Evans Family no longer considered her as their daughter, there was no need for her to continue keeping in contact with them. They only contact me to ask for money anyway. I might as well cut off all contact with them. I¡¯m not scared of anything as long as Joel is here for me! Joel was carrying Maddie¡¯s bag. When he saw that Christine was still waiting at the entrance, he said, ¡°Christine, it¡¯s sote. Why don¡¯t youe and stay over at our ce for the night? It¡¯s not convenient for you to go back alone at this hour. Besides, you¡¯ve never been to our house before, right?¡± Christine hurriedly replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I need to hurry back home!¡± At this moment, Maddie felt liberated. Since I no longer need to interact with the Evans Family again, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Thus, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s go; you¡¯ve kept mepany all day long today. I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t had dinner either. Come on; let¡¯s go to my house for supper.¡± Christine¡¯s stomach was rumbling out of hunger. Besides, it wasn¡¯t easy to catch a bus at this hour and it was very expensive to take a taxi home. I might as well follow Maddie to her house to have a look. Joel drove his Land Rover as usual. Therefore, they arrived home in less than 20 minutes. When Christine saw the imposing residential area with military gs flying at the gate, as well as people standing guard at the entrance, she knew that it was probably where Maddie lived. After all, they were living in a house allocated to them by the military. Joel drove in and handed over his credentials. Then, the sentry saluted to Joel. It was the first time Christine had ever entered this ce. It felt like everything was military green everywhere she looked, and everybody inside themunity had a stocky build. It was a little intimidating. After the car came to a stop, they came out of the garage. Christine followed behind Maddie. Everything looked extremely interesting to her. However, she felt a little scared to look around. She was scared that she might identally witness some sort of military secret and get killed for it. As a result, she walked with her head down and did not dare to look around. The tinkling sound of a bell came from in front, then she suddenly heard a familiar voice. ¡°Hey, Uncle Joel! Did you go out for supper in the middle of the night?¡± Christine lifted her head abruptly. She did not expect to see Stanley here. Stanley was walking his dog in a pair of slippers, and there was a bell hanging from the cor of his husky. Joel looked at Stanley as he said, ¡°Stan, why don¡¯t you join us?¡± For a moment, Stanley thought he heard wrongly. Did Joel just invite me over to his house to eat?! This is interesting! He quickly turned his dog around and eagerly said, ¡°Sure! What are we having?¡± To his surprise, he suddenly noticed Christine standing next to Maddie. The sight of her gave him a shock. ¡°Hey, is that Christine? Why are you here?¡± Christine was shocked too. She looked at Joel, then looked at Stanley before looking back at Maddie. Maddie did not bother hiding the fact anymore and exined, ¡°Stan is Joel¡¯s nephew!¡± It was the first time Stanley heard of that too. ¡°Wow! Is Christine your younger sister, Aunt Maddie?¡± Maddie embarrassedly replied, ¡°She is my cousin on my mother¡¯s side.¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Meanwhile, Christine was so shocked that she was at a loss for what to say¡­ It was her first time coming to Bayside City. Therefore, she waspletely unaware of the situation between the powerful factions in Bayside City. After the Fashion Week, she heard from some well-informed seniors that both Stanley and Taylor were part of the Fletcher Family. Only then did she vaguely learn about the existence of the Fletcher Family. It was reportedly a military family which produced many generals. Even the God of War, Mark Fletcher, that everybody knew about was part of the Fletcher Family. She heard that the Fletcher Family was very prominent. Many female celebrities from the entertainment circles desperately wanted to marry into the Fletcher Family. However, the Fletcher Family was an existence that even the bigshots in the entertainment industry could not hope to join. She heard that Taylor was crowned the Academy Award for Best Actor winner twice. Moreover, he was thergest shareholder of The Imperial. Even though he was standing at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, he was nothing special within the Fletcher Family. I can¡¯t believe Maddie is married to Stanley¡¯s uncle! Wow! Looks like this paratrooper is quite something! Maybe he¡¯s the best among all the other paratroopers! By the time they arrived at Joel¡¯s ce, the kitchen was already cooking up something delicious. Christine noticed that Maddie¡¯s house was quite spacious after she entered. The houses allocated by the military are quiterge. If each household lives in a one-bedroom apartment, this building probably holds several dozen households! Joel asked Stanley to keep Christinepany for a while as he apanied Maddie upstairs to change her clothes. Then, Christine saw many pictures adorning the walls of the living room. Curious, she went over to take a look at them. There were photos of Maddie and Joel¡¯s wedding, family photos, as well as photos of Joel in his military uniform with various people. ¡°Hmm? Isn¡¯t this the legendary Old Master Fletcher? Joel is standing right next to him! Wow! That¡¯s the president! Why is Joel standing next to the president?! This person standing next to Joel¡­ isn¡¯t he the one that¡¯s always in the news¡ª¡± The more Christine looked, the more shocked she became. Just who on earth is Joel?! Chapter 1331 Chapter 1331 In any case, it was obvious that Joel did note from an ordinary background. However, Christine vaguely understood why Maddie concealed it from her family after experiencing everything over thest two days. If our family back home learned about this¡­ the consequences would be disastrous¡­ Soon, Maddie came back downstairs after changing her clothes. She was prepared to exin everything to Christine. Unexpectedly, Christine covered her ears and shook her head while saying, ¡°I don¡¯t want to know! I don¡¯t want to know! I don¡¯t know anything! I¡¯ve never met Joel before! Don¡¯t tell me anything!¡± Maddie replied, ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± It¡¯s better if she doesn¡¯t know anything. Therefore, Maddie never brought the topic up again. Simrly, Christine refused to ask about it. She tried her best not to say anything, vowing in her heart that she would never reveal anything. Our rtives back home are already bad enough right now! For a long time after that incident, the rtives back home continued to discuss how the Bishop siblings could win over the ¡®Linus siblings¡¯. Once the Bishop siblings obtained their household registry in Bayside City, they nned to bring all their rtives over to Bayside City. And that wasn¡¯t all; they were determined to sink their ws into the ¡®Linus siblings¡¯. They imed that if the Bishop siblings failed to woo them, they would send another two over to court the ¡®Linus siblings¡¯. If they knew that Joel¡¯s family was so prestigious, they would certainly try to reach for the skies! Soon, dinner was served. It was quitete, so everybody ate it as supper instead. It was the first time Joel invited Stanley over for dinner, so Stanley was ted to be there. While eating, he said, ¡°Don¡¯t be such a stranger, Aunt Maddie. Your sister is my sister. In the future, Christine and I will be a family. Just tell me if you need anything!¡± Christine still felt as if she was dreaming. It felt like she was walking on clouds¡ªit didn¡¯t feel real. Not knowing what to say, she lowered her head and ate quietly. Then, Maddie replied, ¡°I¡¯ll definitely let you know if anythinges up in the future!¡± Joel said nothing as he observed Christine secretly. After all, Stanley was still his nephew. Stanley had left the army, and his marriage no longer needed to be reviewed by the government. Even so, as his uncle, Joel felt the need to perform preliminary background checks on Stanley¡¯s potential partners. When news of Christineing to the militarypound to ¡®visit the parents¡¯ went around, the Fletcher Family became very excited. As a result, many people soon came to crowd around for a glimpse of the future ¡®Stan¡¯s wife¡¯. It was quitete by the time they finished dinner. Stanley went home while picking his teeth. It wasn¡¯t easy for him toe back for a visit, and he did not imagine he would be invited to Joel¡¯s house for dinner. That was enough for him to brag about within the Fletcher Family for quite some time. After all, not everybody got a chance to eat at Joel¡¯s house. On the other hand, Maddie arranged for Christine to be ced in a guest room. Joel said to Stanley, who was walking out the door, ¡°Stan, you¡¯ll be in charge of sending Christine to work tomorrow morning.¡± Upon hearing that, Stanley turned around and saluted Joel. ¡°I willplete my duty without fail!¡± However, Joel¡¯s expression became cold after everybody left the house. He made a phone call and said, ¡°Monitor Christine Bishop¡¯smunications around the clock.¡± Although governmental approval was no longer needed, he was still very cautious. On the night Christine slept over at Maddie¡¯s house, the calls from her rtives back home rang incessantly. Every call that came in was another demand for her to teach Maddie a lesson. They wanted Maddie to quit her job, bring her husband back home, and beg for forgiveness. Therefore, Christine waged war with her rtives from back home over the phone. ¡°The ¡®Linus siblings¡¯ are major clients of Maddie¡¯spany. Uncle Byron¡¯s actions nearly caused her distinguished clients to walk out on her in anger! Maddie is just an ordinary worker. She doesn¡¯t have the influence you¡¯re talking about! Besides, one needs to make an appointment in advance just to meet thepany¡¯s major clients. Do you really think Maddie can ask them out just because she wanted to? You¡¯re causing so much trouble for her! She nearly lost her job! What?! Ipetent?! You caused so much trouble that she nearly lost her job, yet you call her ipetent?! Joel may be a paratrooper, but he is a paratrooper in Bayside City! I won¡¯t allow you to insult Maddie and her husband like that!¡± Unfortunately, their hometown was in a remote area. It was a closed-off society with outdated cultures. Ever since the earthquake several years back, the entire country town had been remodeled. Many large enterprises came to assist with the re-construction, including building houses and factories, relocating families, constructing highways and high-speed train stations, and developing the tourism industry. As a result, many became rich and started to think highly of themselves. In their opinion, Bayside City was just a slightlyrger country town. In other words, people like them, who were worth millions, were part of the ¡®wealthy¡¯ that had the final say over everything else. How much richer can those ¡®Linus siblings¡¯ be? They are probably worth several tens of millions at most. In extreme cases, they may be worth hundreds of millions. Still, we are the Evans Family and the Bishop Family! Who among us are not part of the ¡®wealthy¡¯ with several settlements under our names? How do we not match up to the ¡®Linus siblings¡¯?! The only reason we are inferior to them is that they have a household registry in Bayside City! Christine definitely knows who they are too. She better invite them out for a meeting soon! How can she not introduce such a great resource to her own family?! How outrageous! Christine tried to convince them for a long time. She talked so much that her voice became hoarse. The more she talked, the angrier she got. In the end, she decided to hang up and go to bed. The next day, Stanley came to send Christine to work as he was ordered. Recently, he had ordered a super cool car from the car production factory owned by Sophia that was personally customized for him. The custom-made car had Judge¡¯s face embossed on the car doors. It looked very imposing as he shily drove his car to Joel¡¯s house. ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, Maddie, Joel. I¡¯m going to work now.¡± Christine said her goodbyes to Maddie and Joel. Joel was already dressed in his military uniform. His shoulders were decorated with many stars and stripes¡ªChristine found it hard to breathe just looking at them. Therefore, she wanted to leave as soon as possible. Joel said, ¡°My identity limits what I can do. I know it¡¯s not easy for you to work in Bayside City alone. So, look for Stan if you need anything. He has a widework. Besides, it¡¯s easier for him to do things.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. She nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Now that Maddie was liberated from her constraints, she wanted Stanley and Christine to get together too. Thus, she said to Stanley, ¡°You better send Christine to work properly!¡± Stanley said, ¡°Okay! Your sister is my sister! Don¡¯t worry!¡± Afterward, Christine carried her bag and got into the passenger seat. To her surprise, Judge¡¯s head popped out of the passenger seat suddenly. At the same time, Stanley said, ¡°The passenger seat is for the dog. You can sit in the back!¡± In response, Joel and Maddie rolled their eyes at Stanley in unison¡­ At one of the private hospitals under the Edwards Group, Ian was visiting his newly-married wife, I Wace, who was recuperating in the hospital after being raped. ¡°Dear, will you find me disgusting and abandon me?¡± I asked with tears in her eyes as she sat on the hospital bed. He patted her on the shoulder and said, ¡°How is that possible? Silly girl!¡± His newly-married wife hailed from another prominent family from Bayside City¡ªthe Wace Family. Although her family background was not as prominent as the Yard Family, she was still quite rich. Back then, he was miserably deceived by the fake Lucile and lost everything. Then, he waster ridiculed by the real Lucile for having phimosis. After that, he suffered a setback as the spokesperson in the competition for Dragon Eye. As a result, the Edwards Group was severely suppressed by Lucy, and things became very sluggish for a while. In the end, he married the youngdy of the Wace Company in a sh marriage through his family¡¯s introduction. They were a beautiful couple and could be considered a great match for each other. Following their marriage, I brought her luxurious dowry into the Edwards Group, solidifying her position as the young mistress. Moreover, she was very smart and capable. Working with Ian, they intervened in the management of the Edwards Group together. Hence, both husband and wife began to have more and more influence within the Edwards Group. I can¡¯t believe something like this happened¡­ Bang! All of a sudden, a loud noise broke through his reverie. The door was kicked open, and Lucy walked in with a group of people. ¡°Lucy, why are you here?!¡± When Ian saw the people that just came in through the doors, he subconsciously felt that something was wrong. Thus, he hurriedly stood up. Lucy¡¯s expression was cold and indifferent. Herrge-rimmed sses concealed the emotion in her eyes, making her seem like an emotionless robot. Without saying anything, she threw a bunch of documents on I¡¯s bed. ¡°The Wacepany has long been acquired by Ryan and Henry. I Wace, you were sent by the Yard Family.¡± It was not a question; it was a statement. Chapter 1332 Chapter 1332 Ian stared at his newly-married wife in disbelief. The Wace Company was acquired by the Yard Group? I was sent by the Yard Family? I didn¡¯t seem to understand what was going on, asking with a puzzled expression, ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t understand.¡± Lucy stared at I¡¯s fake expression intently. ¡°From the beginning, the Yard Group nned to take over the Edwards Group. Aside from the surface interference by the Yard siblings, another group of people infiltrated the Edwards Group in advance. And, you¡¯re one of them.¡± Lucy had investigated everything a long time ago. The Yard Family sent many people into the Edwards Group. There were two groups in total¡ªone was sent by Callum and Cade while the other was sent by Henry and Ryan. Whilst both groups were slowly eroding the Edwards Group from the inside, they were simultaneously fighting against each other too. Henry and Ryan¡¯s methods were the most obvious. After they got rid of Lucy, they openly entered the Edwards Group. Most of their people had infiltrated the key departments within the Edwards Group by then. I Wace, the young mistress of the Edwards Group, was a prime example. Contrary to Henry and Ryan¡¯s expectations, Callum¡¯s men began creating strife as soon as they took over. It brought chaos to the Edwards Group, causing the board of directors and the shareholders to be extremely dissatisfied with Henry and Ryan. That was when Callum and Cade were supposed to step in, under the guise of cleaning up after the mess caused by their younger brothers. At the same time, they took the opportunity to kick their younger brothers out of thepany. However, they did not ount for Lucy¡¯s return. The fight between the four Yard brothers benefited her, in the end. After her return, she started removing and weakening the Yard Family¡¯s spies, one by one. The first to go was Ian¡¯s wife, I Wace. Lucy was willing to use any means to kick I out of her key position. As I was not very sessful at her job, Henry and Ryan were very dissatisfied with her. Still, nobody could have expected that they would be willing to sabotage their own people during their fits of insanity. Just because Ian kicked them once, they decided to rape I as a consequence. Lucy exined everything right in front of Ian. ¡°I, I know you are not happy working under the Yard Family. You only wanted to get rid of me through Henry. Then, you wanted to gain control over the Edwards Group through Ian. Unfortunately, you did not expect me to survive. Too bad, because I¡¯m here today to take your life for both private and work reasons. So, just stop struggling.¡± Ian waspletely taken aback. He could never have imagined that his icy and intelligent wife would have such intentions! Even so, I continued to y dumb. Grabbing onto Ian¡¯s sleeve, she begged him piteously, ¡°Ian, I have no idea what she is saying. She must hate me for interfering in the Edward Group¡¯s matters previously. But, I have washed my hands off the Edwards Group!¡± He looked at his wife, then looked at Lucy. Hesitating, he did not know who to believe. After all, one was his wife while the other was Lucy. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. On the other hand, Lucy threw a length of rope and a bottle of poison onto I¡¯s hospital bed. ¡°Choose one!¡± She condescendingly added, ¡°It¡¯s a good rope. It¡¯s a good poison too¡ªit¡¯s the extract of the Arrow Poison Tree. After you die, you will still maintain a ruddyplexion and a beautiful appearance. It¡¯s a decent way to die.¡± Both I and Ian stared at Lucy incredulously. She wants I dead! Lucy continued, ¡°I have talked to the Family Elders Council and the Wace Family. The young mistress of the Edwards Group, I Wace, was too ashamed to look her husband in the eye after being raped. Therefore, shemitted suicide in her hospital ward today. Shocked, the Edwards Family held a grand funeral for their young mistress and extended their deepest condolences to the Wace Family, their inws.¡± I nced at the closed hospital door. She could hear heavy footstepsing from the corridor outside. It was filled with Lucy¡¯s men. Thus, she finally seemed terrified. Clinging to Ian, she shouted, ¡°Save me, Ian! Save me! They are going to kill me!¡± Ian stared at the poison and the rope in front of him, and the words ¡®honorable death¡¯ shed through his head. Lucy wants I dead. She came here to tie up loose ends. After all, it would be humiliating for the Edwards Family if word got out about this. Therefore, the simplest way to protect their honor is for I to die. He hugged his wife tightly and angrily reprimanded Lucy, ¡°No! You can¡¯t kill her! She¡¯s a victim too!¡± Lucy smiled coldly but did not refute him. Then, he seemed to recall something and shouted loudly, ¡°You are afraid of I, right?! I is more capable than you are! That¡¯s why you¡¯re afraid that she might threaten your position by participating in the management of the Edwards Group¡¯s affairs! You¡¯re taking this chance to exact your personal revenge! You just want to kill I so that you can eradicate this threat! Am I right?!¡± The more he spoke, the more furious he became as thousands of extreme and dark spections spouted in his heart. Lucy burst outughing. ¡°That¡¯s right! I am indeed carrying out my personal vendetta! I am going to annihte everybody who stands in my way. Therefore¡­ I must die today!¡± Having said that, several people stepped forward from behind her. They pried Ian away and pressed I down against the hospital bed. Wrapping the thick rope around I¡¯s neck, two burly men pulled hard on both ends of the rope. Thus, the rope dug into her neck and hindered her breathing. I struggled desperately while screaming, ¡°Save me, dear! Save me!¡± Ian desperately tried to rescue his wife. However, he was subdued by several burly men in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they lifted his head so that he could watch as his wife was strangled to death in front of him. ¡°Save me, dear¡ª¡± I screamed. Her cries were as heartbreaking as the other day. He felt as if the little world in his heart was breaking apart, again and again. However, he was held back, again and again. It was just like the other day. Last time, he watched his woman get raped. This time around, he watched as she was strangled to death. ¡°Lucy, what are you trying to do?! Ah¡ªI¡¯m going to kill you! Let go of I!¡± Unfortunately, his two fists were no match for the four arms holding him. In front of Lucy, he was always powerless. When I saw that Ian couldn¡¯t do anything to help her, she suddenly became sweet. ¡°Lucy, I was wrong. I beg you; please let me live. I will never interfere in the Edwards Group¡¯s matters ever again. I just want to live incognito in a remote area with Ian. I was wrong. Please forgive me; I¡¯m begging you.¡± Lucy expressionlessly sat down opposite I. Her expression remained unchanged whether I begged for mercy or tried to curry favor with her. Regardless of heaven or hell, her heart no longer wavered. I saw that Ian couldn¡¯t save her and begging was getting her nowhere. Consequently, she finally revealed her true colors as she shouted, ¡°Lucy, you d*mn b*tch! You should have been raped to death back then! I was the one who investigated where you and Dana were having your affair! I was the one who told Henry about it! I was the one who brought them there! Hahaha! It was all me! What can you do to me?! Even if I died, it will never change the fact that you were raped! I stuffed several dozen men in there and threw several bottles of gaseous aphrodisiacs in there! You should have died back then! Why didn¡¯t you die?! Ian is the real future head of the Edwards Family! And, I am the matriarch of the Edwards Family! The Edwards Group is mine! You will regret this! Even if I turn into a ghost, I will never forgive you! Lucy simply watched as I cursed at her. Meanwhile, I went from alive and kicking to a lifeless corpse, her expression remaining hideously savage even after her death. On the other hand, Ian watched as his docile and adorable wife turned into a savage and hideous devil in the blink of an eye. He waspletely stunned by the sight. What just happened¡­ Chapter 1333 Chapter 1333 Lucy watched expressionlessly as I was strangled to death on the bed. She continued watching as her men hung I¡¯s body up, creating the illusion that she hadmitted suicide. She had finished her discussions with the Wace Family. As such, they were waiting for news of I¡¯s suicide. When everything was done and over with, she got up and left without sparing a single nce at Ian, who was sitting on the floor in a daze. Ian was staring at I¡¯s corpse; his eyes werepletely nk after suffering the shock. All of a sudden, he saw that the documents Lucy brought with her were still lying around. During his struggles just now, he had kicked the documents off the bed and scattered them all over the floor. As a result, a pile of photos was strewn about in front of him. He randomly picked up two photos. The photos depicted an unsightly scene. His icy, intelligent, and considerate wife was entangled with Henry and Ryan. She was licking and sucking, busying herself in all directions. She looked like a b*tch in heat, desperately trying to satisfy her urges. Looking at her expression, she didn¡¯t look like she was being forced to do those actions. It doesn¡¯t look like the day she was raped either¡­ Each photo had a time stamp. Moreover, each location was especially marked with a pen too. Various locations were listed, including a hotel, the Edwards Group, and a karaoke bar¡­ There was also a photo depicting I, Henry, and Ryan indulging in a wedding dress roley, in a ce Ian did not know about, on the very day Ian got married. One hour before our wedding, she was kneeling and giving the twins blowjobs in her wedding dress. Then, she vowed to be with me for the rest of her life using that very same mouth during our wedding one hourter! ¡°Hahahaha¡ª¡± Looking at those photos, Ian suddenly burst outughing instead. Amidst hisughter, he frantically tore the photos to pieces and scattered the pieces all over the hospital ward. So¡­ everything was a lie. What a joke. Lucy once mentioned to me that I can never be the head of the Edwards Family because I am easily deceived by women. At the time, I scoffed at her words. But now¡­ I was fooled by the fake Lucile and deceived by I¡­ Despite being cheated on, I was so smug¡­ thinking that I could finally take on Lucy with help from my other half¡­ He stood up indifferently, stepping on the pieces of the photos as he walked out of the hospital ward. Not once did he turn back to look at his wife that had mitted suicide by hanging¡¯. Standing at the door to the hospital ward, he numbly lit up a cigarette and smoked on his cigarette. As the cigarette smoke filled his nasal cavity, it felt like a miraculous cure that relieved his tense and broken mind at this point. After a while, he tossed the windproof lighter in his hand into the hospital room behind him, and a large fire ignited almost immediately. However, he simply walked away calmly¡­ With that, arge fire and dozens of lives covered up the shame of the Edwards Family. Unfortunately, the perpetrator was still atrge. At the Edwards Group. ¡°Father, I don¡¯t believe I did anything wrong. I was protecting the Edwards Family! If you believe that I did something wrong, then please remove my name from the Edwards Family!¡± When Jordan heard the news, he rushed back only to discover that Lucy had finished clearing up the mess by then. I was dead; Henry and Ryan were ced under house arrest at the Yard Residence; and Anna, Callum, and Cade had fled back to Ronney City. As a result, all of his ns had been disrupted. ¡°Lucy, you¡ª¡± Lifting his hand, he wanted to p her fiercely in punishment. However, he realized that she had dealt with the matter perfectly¡ªhe could not find fault in anything she did. If he were looking at it from the Edwards Family¡¯s point of view, that was exactly what he would have done. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Unfortunately, he was no longer just part of the Edwards Family now¡ªhe had various powers under him. And now, shepletely separated the Edwards Family from the Yard Family by doing this! The Edwards Family loathed the Yard Family. Simrly, the Yard Family detested the Edwards Family. With several dozen lives lost between them, it would not be easy for the two families to reconcile with each other. Looking at it from the big picture, it was very dangerous for the powers under him to be in conflict with each other. After all, an internal conflict would make it easier for his defenses to be broken through. In the end, Jordan withdrew his hand. Clenching his fists tightly under his sleeves, he said, ¡°Now that you¡¯ve finished cleaning up the mess, don¡¯t pursue this matter any further. Don¡¯t cause more trouble for your younger brothers. I will send somebody to take them away.¡± Lucy replied, ¡°Okay.¡± Jordan came and went in a rush, only staying for two days during his return. Afterforting his two sons, he immediately flew back to Ronney City. Anna had fled back to Ronney City ¡®with her tail between her legs¡¯ after being frightened by the murderous Lucy. Therefore, he needed to deal with the matters there¡­ ¡°This is the list of I¡¯s people within the Edwards Group.¡± Ian took the initiative to hand over some of I¡¯s work materials. When I married into the Edwards Family, the two of them had certainly been plotting to use the Wace Family¡¯s wealth to strengthen their position. Later, Ian brought her into the Edwards Group to help him. After a while, she brought in a group of her own people, seemingly to help him fight for the position as head of the Edwards Family. At that time, I felt so smug about it¡­ I can¡¯t believe what happened after! Knowing that he was not capable of going against Lucy, he decided he might as well serve under her as the second-inmand of the Edwards Group. For that reason, he handed over all the information he had on his own initiative. Lucy silently took the information from him before leaving in a hurry. From then onward, Ian chose to serve under her as the second-inmand of the Edwards Group¡­ None of the people who contributed to what happened that night will get away with it! After getting rid of I and the rest who posed a hidden threat to the Edwards Group, the Edwards Group finally stabilized. Then, her next target became clear. Meanwhile, Mitchell¡¯s Technology had long been on the verge of dying. The capital and supply chains were broken, the products could not sell, the workers were on strike, the executives had resigned, and their debt was staggering. Finally, the moment everybody had been waiting for came¡ªCooper officially announced the acquisition of Mitchell¡¯s Technology. Following that, a major management overhaul took ce. Naturally, Sandra was kicked out of thepany and vanished suddenly after facing multiple usations from all directions. In a simple rental house out in the countryside, Sandra spent thest of her money to buy a dose of drugs and injected it into her veins. At that moment, she felt as if her life was full of hope again. She was the wonderful youngdy of the Mitchell Family all over again. I will soon be able to regain the Mitchell Group! The drugs she purchased from the Phantom Wolf had long been used up. Without those drugs, she felt as if she didn¡¯t have any strength in her body at all and couldn¡¯t do anything right. Moreover, she was drowsy, panicky, and especially prone to losing control over her emotions. Fortunately, she soon found another more direct way of cheering herself up again. Needless to say, that was through the use of a product most people tended to avoid¡ªdrugs. Many people would start with small doses during their first attempt. Although she just started using the drugs, the dosage she needed was higher than that of a long-time drug user. Any other drug addict would have died from an overdose from the amount she was using. However, she waspletely dissatisfied with that amount and practicallypped the drugs up like an unsatisfied dog. Sandra enjoyed herself for a while, feeling as if she had ascended into immortality. Both her hearing and her sense of smell were very well-developed. It felt like both heaven and earth were under her control. However, she suddenly heard a rush of footsteps among the insect cries in the middle of the night. At present, she was living in the countryside surrounded by farnd. Practically nobody lived nearby. Therefore, so many people appearing without any warning in the middle of the night indicated that the situation was dire. Opening the door, she saw that the road on the other side of the farnd was filled with people and cars. Two women stood on the road, chatting under the heavy protection of their bodyguards. Lucy was smoking a cigarette. She was wearing a leather jacket, and her ming red lips left a vivid red mark on the cigarette butt. Turning to Sophia, who was standing next to her, she suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know of Devil Ind?¡± Chapter 1334 Chapter 1334 Standing beside Lucy, Sophia blew a smoke ring and said, ¡°Of course, I know of it. It¡¯s a mysterious ind located outside any national borders in Europe and belongs to no country. Moreover, the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes is aplete mystery. I heard it is a paradise for the wealthy where they can do anything they want there even if it is prohibited byw.¡± For instance, the killing of humans, cannibalism, and the hunting of humans as prey¡­ Anything that will shock an ordinary person can be the bloody way the rich and powerful entertain themselves daily. She continued, ¡°I heard that my uncle and his family are working on the ind now.¡± That was something that happened many years ago. I wonder if they are still alive after Linus sent them there. I¡¯m sure Michael and Cooper are aware that Linus was one of the masterminds behind Devil Ind. Despite Linus¡¯ cute and handsome appearance, his heart is as dark as can be! Lucy blew another smoke ring, her deep gaze studying Sandra, who had stuck her head out of the rental house just now. ¡°How much do you think I can sell Sandra for?¡± Sophia frowned. ¡°She won¡¯t be worth much. Look at her; she¡¯s all skin and bones.¡± When Sandra popped her head out of the house just now, Sophia could barely recognize her. She looked like a walking skeleton covered in skin. Her recent drug addiction had been unexpectedly strong. It had reached a point where she was taking the drugs constantly¡ªso much so that it quickly depleted all the wealth she had and she was now penniless. As she was now, she was the very epitome of the saying ¡®drugs kill¡¯. On the other hand, Sandra was so terrified that she ran back inside when she saw Lucy and Sophia. She used the tables and chairs to block the entrance before hiding behind the door and trembling in fear. Even so, she could still hear the conversation between the twodies outside. She could hear Lucy¡¯s voice loud and clear. ¡°Since she¡¯s not worth much, I might as well feed her to my wolves. I am raising two in my manor that feed on human flesh. Don¡¯t worry; I will let her die a painless death. I will inject her with an anesthetic in advance so that her entire body will not be able to feel anything. But, her brain will remain alert when I throw her into the wolves¡¯ den. She can watch as she gets eaten by the wolves, bit by bit. She will witness the entire process clearly. Her heart will beat slowly, so her death wille slow. Did you know? Wolves feed on the meatiest part of the body first. The headesst. Therefore, she will be forced to watch as she gets eaten but bepletely helpless against it.¡± Inside the house, Sandra covered her ears. I don¡¯t want to hear it! I don¡¯t want to hear it! She was terrified beyond anything she ever felt before. As she tried to look for a way to escape, she heard Sophia¡¯s voiceing from the outside. ¡°Eek! That sounds terrifying! I¡¯m leaving.¡± Then, Sophia headed in the direction of her car. Lucy seemed to recall something and suddenly spoke up. ¡°Tell your father to be more careful these days. Proceed cautiously; don¡¯t leave any traces.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sophia drove away in her car. It looks like Jordan is looking for a weakness to deal with Cooper. We better be more careful. After Sophia left, Lucy put out her cigarette, led her men, and slowly surrounded the small little rental house¡­ N?velDrama.Org owns all content. From then, Sophia never saw nor heard about Sandra again. Sandra disappeared from the surface of the earth without a trace. Sophia didn¡¯t know whether Sandra had been sent to Devil Ind or fed to the wolves. In any case, Lucy would never let Sandra see the light of day ever again. Meanwhile, Mitchell¡¯s Technology was officially acquired and merged into Dragon Technology Corporation, bing Cooper¡¯s property once again. The Mitchell Group underwent a series of divisions and reorganizations and was finally restructured under Cooper¡¯s control. With that, it was bound to progress toward a bright future. Nobody knew if it was because Linus was the mastermind behind Devil Ind; Theo¡¯s resurrection was against thews of nature; Cooper sold most of the military ammunition; or that Sophia killed too many minks. In any case, the pet pig died suddenly. By the time they discovered it, the entire pig had gone cold. Even so, Sophia hurriedly sent it to the vet. After the autopsy, the results indicated that it was too fat. It also had poor sleeping posture, which caused it to suffer from difficulty in breathing and resulted in death by suffocation. In other words, it died because it was obese. The pig used to be very popr. It once made its debut as a fashion model. However, it retired because its body was getting out of shape, and now, its glorious life finally ended on a calm note. The pig waster taken back home and temporarily ced in the backyard. When Carmen returned from school, she cried sorrowfully after learning that the pig was dead. Due to how young she was, it was her first timeing face-to-face with the word ¡®death¡¯. Upon learning the news, Michael rushed home only to see Carmen crying by the side. The sight of her crying distressed him greatly. Thus, he hugged her andforted her by saying, ¡°Sweetie, everything will die eventually, whether they are man or pig. You¡¯re still young. You will understand once you grow older.¡± Carmen looked at him with tears in her eyes. Then, she anxiously grabbed his hand suddenly. ¡°Daddy, will you die too?¡± He did not know how to answer her question. Reaching out, he wiped away the tears on her face. ¡°Death is not the ending. It¡¯s simply part of a journey. Piggy might have died, but the truth is that it simply changed the way it stays beside you. Even if I die one day, I won¡¯t actually leave you. I will still be by your side. You will still feel my presence beside you whenever you close your eyes.¡± She didn¡¯t quite understand the meaning behind his words and continued to sob. Afterward, he carried her and walked around the garden, kissing her small face as he did so. How could I bear to leave you, my little princess? Still, I will have to leave soon. No matter how reluctant I am, I cannot control the strings of my fate. ¡°Daddy, why are you crying?¡± She suddenly lifted her head to look at him and was surprised to see tears at the corners of his eyes. Wiping his tears, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m also feeling a little sad because Piggy died.¡± She quickly hugged him in response andfortingly said to him, ¡°I¡¯ll hug you, Daddy. That way, you won¡¯t be sad,¡± Those small and tender arms wrapping around him felt like the chains of destiny that would never allow him to die peacefully¡­ Following the death of the pig, grief enveloped the entire household. Nobody was in a good mood as they sat in the living room discussing how to deal with the pig. In the end, they decided to hold a funeral for it. They would choose a burial spot and hold a majestic funeral for it! To their surprise, Stanley and Sean rushed over with their children in tow while everybody else was still discussing their ns. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Michael eximed in surprise when he saw Stanley appearing all of a sudden. Stanley replied, ¡°I heard from Grand-uncle Theo that you are butchering a pig today. So, I came over to lend a hand!¡± Everybody was rendered speechless by those words. While everybody was discussing how best to carry out the pig¡¯s funeral, Theo had dragged the pig to the kitchen at the back and butchered it cleanly. The intestines, fatty meat, and lean meat had been neatly processed¡ªso much so that it looked professionally done. That night, everybody ate pork stew for dinner. Theo also made arge pot of braised pork belly. They didn¡¯t know how he made it but it was especially delicious. Therefore, Michael ced some of the braised pork belly on Carmen¡¯s te and said, ¡°Eat more, sweetie. Eat and grow up well. Piggy will be part of your body and stay with you forever.¡± In response, Carmen ate heartily, converting her grief into appetite. Cooper also ced several slices of pork on Sophia¡¯s te. ¡°Eat more, sweetie. You¡¯ve be thin recently.¡± Sophia frowned. ¡°Dad, it wasn¡¯t easy for me to lose that weight!¡± After eating and drinking their fill, Stanley and Sean went home. Stanley was holding his child by hand while Sean carried two pieces of fresh pork. Before they left, they said, ¡°Come over to the cybercaf¨¦ whenever you¡¯re free!¡± Unexpectedly, an angry expression immediately came over Cooper¡¯s face. It was a standard Cethosian father¡¯s angry expression. ¡°You are not allowed to go to the cybercaf¨¦!¡± Chapter 1335 Chapter 1335 Unexpectedly, Sophia visited the cybercaf¨¦ the next day in secret. In this era of decline for cybercaf¨¦s, Stanley set up a huge cybercaf¨¦. Originally, everyone thought he would lose a lot of money. However, after the business went on for a while, it was surprisingly good. It became an established brand and quickly became the must-visitndmark amongst the inte celebrities in Bayside City. The business was roaring and it was visited by fans and media from all around the world every day. Sophia came when she went out to walk her dog. She wanted to book a separate private room to try the supreme gaming experience Stanley offered. The package came with a professional gaming desk and chair. Just the thought of the setup made her satisfied. Usually, Cooper wouldn¡¯t allow her to visit the cybercaf¨¦. So, she had to sneak over while walking the dog. I have to y two rounds before going home. Nevertheless, she did not expect Stanley to notice her the moment she stepped foot into the cybercaf¨¦. He came forward and patted her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pay me one hundred, Sophia! Otherwise, I¡¯m telling your dad that you snuck out here to y games!¡± ¡°Hmph! If youin to my dad, I¡¯ll withdraw my money and let your illegal business go bankrupt!¡± she retaliated. With an annoyed expression, Stanley protested, ¡°What a ruthless, cold-blooded capitalist!¡± While Stanley said that, Sophia saw Christine, who was standing next to Stanley. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re here to y games too?¡± Christine greeted her. Sophia eyed the pair and said, ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m here to have some fun.¡± Arching his brows, Stanley said to Sophia, ¡°Aha! Guess what! Christine is Aunt Maddie¡¯s younger cousin. Aunt Maddie said that Christine is not familiar with Bayside City, and she¡¯s alone here. So, she asked me to bring her around when I¡¯m free to enjoy the scenery of Bayside City.¡± So¡­ you brought her to the cybercaf¨¦ to enjoy the scenery? Sophia rolled her eyes. What a typical Stanley way of doing things. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go and y games together!¡± Stanley ushered her. Yet, Sophia was aware of the situation. She knew this was an opportunity Maddie created for them, so she decided not to join them and said, ¡°You guys y on your own. I want to y by myself.¡± Patting her shoulder, Stanley did not argue. ¡°Fine, then. You can find a room and have fun, Aunt Sophia!¡± Seeing that the pair were talking andughing as they looked for aputer to y games on, Sophia was sure that there would be something between them. It looks like the reason God made Stanley into someone who would go on a date at a cybercaf¨¦ was that he reserved him a girl who would be willing to have a date in a cybercaf¨¦! Carrying her dog, Sophia found a private single room and began to yputer games. In the meantime, Christine and Stanley went into a private room as they chatted. Neither of them knew that a security guard was watching them from the other side. After a while, Christine went out to the bathroom and she saw her uncle, Byron. He pulled her to the corner with a serious face and asked, ¡°The guy from earlier; is he the owner of this cybercaf¨¦?¡± It was only a few days since he had been here, but he already found out that the owner was someone called Stanley Fletcher, and it was the man from earlier. Instantly, Christine grew cautious. Yet, she affirmed, ¡°Yes.¡± Byron¡¯s eyes immediately shone. ¡°Then, you should tie him down quickly!¡± In response, Christine quickly shook her head and said, ¡°How could I? Look at his family background! And, look at mine! Nothing is going to happen between us.¡± In all honesty¡­ it would be the happiest thing that could happen to her if she could get together with Stanley. Unfortunately, she could only dream about it. She knew her ce, and she knew his status. She was already satisfied just to y games with him asionally. Unlike her, Byron¡¯s face sank. ¡°What¡¯s so bad about your family background? Look at Maddie. She¡¯s not as pretty as you and she can¡¯t earn as much money as you, but she got married to someone from Bayside City. With your capabilities, you can even marry the president.¡± Upon hearing that, Christine let out a chuckle and said, ¡°Uncle Byron, you should be content working here. The benefits are good and the wage is high.¡± Byron noticed her reluctance, but after he thought for a moment, he decided to forget about the idea. Their family wanted Christine to make more money. If she were to get married now, the money they got would be less when her husband¡¯s family was in charge. Taking the opportunity, he said, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to, I¡¯ll ask Tawny to do it. Find a time and ask him out. We can create a chance for Tawny!¡± Why is it Tawny again? After the Bishop siblings were kicked out of Maddie¡¯spany, they had been loafing around doing nothing. They stopped workingpletely and yed games at the cybercaf¨¦ every day. They basically ate and lived there; even Christine was reluctant to care about them. Once Christine found out about Byron¡¯s intention, she no longer wanted to talk to him. Pretending that she had a phone call, she said, ¡°Uncle Byron, I have a phone call. I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Hurrying back to the private room where she yed games with Stanley, she saw Tawny, whose face was painted like a baboon¡¯s bottom. She was greeting Stanley. The weather was slightly cool in early May. However, Tawny had already put on short pants, exposing her fair thighs which were covered by goosebumps that were triggered by the cold. ¡°What are you doing, Tawny Bishop?¡± Christine rushed over quickly. Because Tawny had a guilty conscience, she ran away as soon as she heard Christine¡¯s call. Out of confusion, Stanley inquired, ¡°You know that baboon¡¯s a**?¡± Forcing out a smile, Christine admitted, ¡°She¡¯s my cousin back from my hometown¡­¡± Baboon¡¯s a**¡­ What an awful analogy. Although Stanley wasn¡¯t referring to Christine, those words pierced through her ears as if he was talking about her. Fine. Tawny¡¯s makeup style has always been like that. She really does resemble a monkey¡¯s bottom. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Recalling Byron¡¯s words, Christine bad-mouthed Tawny intentionally. ¡°She¡¯s a bad girl. When she was in junior high school, she fooled around and had an abortion! The next time you see her, please avoid her.¡± Christine was not the one who had an abortion, but right now, she found it hard to say those words. It was as if she was the one who did it. After she said that, she looked down to the ground. She knew Stanley would despise her because her rtive was so humiliating. Surprisingly, it seemed like Stanley did not take it seriously at all. Seeing Christine¡¯s embarrassed expression, he quickly added, ¡°So, she¡¯s your cousin¡­ Hey, who doesn¡¯t have a disgraceful rtive in their family?¡± Mysteriously, he continued, ¡°I have an uncle¡ªmy biological uncle, in fact! He¡¯s a killer on the global Killer List, and he¡¯s taken countless lives. There¡¯s no crime he would notmit, including raping and piging!¡± This time, Christine was shocked. ¡°Whoa, you have such a person as a rtive?!¡± As if it was something worth bragging about, Stanley boasted, ¡°Of course! My family sent a lot of people to catch him, but they failed every time. Afterward, I shot him in his balls and he has to squat to pee now. Your cousin having an abortion is nothingpared to this¡­¡± ¡°Achoo!¡± At the Imperial, Quinton was reading a novel as hey on the sofa. Suddenly, he let out an explosive sneeze. Subconsciously, he tightened the nket around his body and continued with the novel while cuddling the dog in his arms. Michael hadn¡¯te home as he was rushing his work at the film set. Since Quinton fell sick, Michael had asked him to go home and rest for two days. Recently, he had been getting sick very easily, and his health was getting worse. Meanwhile, Carmen¡¯s piano teacher came and was giving her lessons. As for Sophia, she had said she wanted to walk the dog and hadn¡¯t returned. However, it was already raining outside. Cooper was reading the newspaper, but he kept on looking at the rain outside with concern. Millions of scenes of ¡®Darling Encountering a Horrible Event While Walking Her Dog in the Rain¡¯ were ying in the theater in his heart. It¡¯s so dark outside and the rain is so heavy. What if she falls? What if she runs into a bad guy? What if she¡¯s abducted by an alien? Chapter 1336 Chapter 1336 Noticing Cooper, who was frequently looking outside, Quinton sniffled and said, ¡°Your daughter went to the cybercaf¨¦. She told me not to let you know.¡± Immediately, Cooper was fed up. He put on a jacket and took an umbre before he went out. Looking at his reaction, Quinton guessed he must have gone out to find Sophia who had sneaked out to y games. ¡°Dad, wait for me!¡± Linus also took an umbre and followed. Quinton knew he had nothing else to do since he had finished reading thetest chapter of the novel and the writer was still dying the updates. Thus, he thought it would be better to y games at the cybercaf¨¦. So, he went out with them too. In the meantime, Sophia was ying games excitedly in the single private room of the cybercaf¨¦. Suddenly, the two huskies that were dozing off as theyy beside her barked. She immediately took her headphones off when she heard them. Her eyes met with a shifty-eyed young man with pimples all over his face. He came into her room and closed the door. ¡°Who are you?¡± scolded Sophia loudly. However, the young man came forward with a goofy smile and said, ¡°Miss Linus, we met the other day. I¡¯m Christine¡¯s brother, Clive¡ª¡± ¡°Get out! Who let you in?¡± Without waiting for him to finish introducing himself, Sophia pointed at the door and yelled. ¡°Miss Linus, don¡¯t be so serious. I just want to make friends with you. My sister is a celebrity! You probably know her!¡± said the young man as he shed her a smile. So, he¡¯s Christine¡¯s brother! Suddenly, Sophia remembered that his sister was the monkey¡¯s butt that frightened Linus the other day. Although Christine and Maddie were cousins, she shooed him away without giving face. ¡°Let me repeat. Get out!¡± Clive still didn¡¯t leave. Instead, he came closer with a wretched look. ¡°Miss Linus, what¡¯s your name¡ª¡± p! Knowing that he was approaching with ulterior motives, Sophia mmed her palm across his face. ¡°Get out!¡± Being hit in the face, Clive grimaced in an instant. He covered the part of his face that was burning and yelled angrily, ¡°What the f*ck! B*tch! How dare you hit me?¡± Seeing that there were only the two of them in the room, he remembered what the elders had taught him: he had to sleep with her and make a scene, so she would have no choice but to marry him! As a result, Clive, who was overpowered by lust, plunged himself toward Sophia. After he was fired from Christine¡¯spany and ended up in the same situation after two days at Maddie¡¯spany, his family rented a house for him and his younger sister since they had the money to do so. Both of them visited the cybercaf¨¦ every day. But, to meet ¡®Miss Linus¡¯ here was something out of his expectation. When he first saw Sophia, he felt that this woman belonged to him. His ¡®love¡¯ for a woman had never been so deep before. He was determined to get her! ¡°Come here, my little beauty! I¡¯ll satisfy you!¡± Sophia was infuriated when she saw him lunging toward her. Once again, she smashed her fist toward him¡­ Inside the private room, Christine, who was ying games with Stanley, felt that something was off. It was as if she knew something was happening right now, but she did not know what it was exactly. Her heart was beating fast. Hurriedly, she said to Stanley, ¡°Mr. Snow Fox, I think something is about to happen. We should go.¡± However, Stanley was killing monsters with headphones on. He couldn¡¯t hear her at all. Still, Christine was not at ease. She tried to remember everything that happened today in order to find out the source of her uneasiness. After Tawny and her brother were fired by Maddie¡¯spany, Byron took the siblings and made a scene in front of thepanyter. There was no need for Maddie to handle them personally because the staff at thepany reported to the police the moment they saw them. Once they were caught by the police officers, they started behaving themselves and did not harass Maddie anymore. Recently, Byron started working at the cybercaf¨¦. The siblings¡¯ family rented a house for them and they were idling all day long, spending their time in the cybercaf¨¦ instead of finding trouble with Christine and Maddie. No, wait¡­ Christine seemed to know what was off. She stood up in an instant and removed Stanley¡¯s headphones. Raising her voice, she shouted, ¡°Mr. Snow Fox, we better go check on Sophia. I think something has happened to her!¡± If Tawny is at the cybercaf¨¦ today, her brother must be here too! Ever since the Bishop Family found out about the ¡®Linus siblings¡¯, they had designs on them, but they couldn¡¯t find them anywhere. Now that Sophia was ying games at the cybercaf¨¦ today too¡­ ¡°What? Something is happening to my aunt?¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. The moment Stanley knew something might have happened to Sophia, he was so frightened that he couldn¡¯t hold his mouse anymore. ¡°Who dares to hurt my aunt in my ce?¡± Aggravated, Stanley went out in a hurry. The backers behind the cybercaf¨¦ were the Winston Family, the Mitchell Family, the Fletcher Family, and the Michel Family. Every one of them had shares in the business! Who dares to find trouble here? After checking the system, Stanley found the private room Sophia was in. Rushing over with Christine, they found Christine¡¯s uncle mopping the floor at the door. Byron was the oldest security guard at the cybercaf¨¦, so he was iparable with the others. He was only employed to do some chores, and his wage was less than a quarterpared to the others. When he saw Christine¡¯s arrival, he beamed and said, ¡°Hey, where are you guys heading to?¡± However, Christine¡¯s gaze darted between her uncle and the tightly closed door. Her heartbeat skipped. Could it be that Tawny¡¯s stupid brother had gone into the room? Quickly, she marched forward and pushed the door open. But, Byron hurriedly blocked the door with his body and blinked at Christine. ¡°Christine, your brother is inside. How can you not know better?¡± As soon as he said that, Christine knew what was up in his mind. She rushed up again, mming and kicking the door. ¡°Sophia! Sophia! Open the door!¡± As she knocked on the door, she cried in horror. They will eventually screw up the Bishop Family and the Evans Family! It doesn¡¯t matter if I were to die alone. If this incident is exposed, Maddie¡¯s inws will surely know about it! And maybe the Fletchers will be involved too! How am I going to survive when I¡¯m at my inw¡¯s ce? Looking at Byron and Christine, who was crying and kicking the door, Stanley seemed to have figured out the situation. All of a sudden, he went up and kicked the door open. Both of them rushed into the room immediately. Byron stomped his feet in annoyance from behind. ¡°Hey, what are you doing? The pair is inside there¡­¡± When the door opened, Stanley¡¯s eyes met with theputer first. This was the best private room in the cybercaf¨¦. There was an all-in-oneputer, a full package of high-end gaming experience, a bed, and even a bathroom. Theputer was on, and the Swordsman Game was still running. However, Sophia was nowhere to be seen. He looked around and saw a man¡¯s buttocks moving on the bed. The lights were off, and nothing was visible except for the buttocks. The moment Stanley and Christine saw the buttocks, their hearts sank. With a thump in their hearts, they felt as if the sky was spinning. On the other hand, Byron was ushering them out of the room. ¡°Get out! We shouldn¡¯t interrupt them at a time like this!¡± Staring at the buttocks, Christine¡¯s tears started streaming down her cheeks. How dare they do this! Do they think that this is our county town? How dare they do something like this? Do they think that the trouble they caused in Bayside City will be settled when they go back to the county town and that¡¯s why they are acting so recklessly? Chapter 1337 Chapter 1337 Stanley was dumbstruck. Fortunately, he came back to his senses quickly. Pushing Byron out of the room, he closed the door and turned on the lights. God knew how nervous he was in that brief period; even his hands were trembling. When the lights were on, there was indeed a man groaning in the bed with his buttocks exposed in the air. However, Stanley did not expect to see a massive husky biting and tearing the man¡¯s pants down. Rip! With the sharp teeth of the husky, the pants were torn down directly. The man¡¯s buttocks and thighs were exposed. In the meantime, another husky, which wasrger than the earlier one, parted its mouth and bit the round and tender flesh in one bite. An obvious bite mark appeared on his buttocks. The man in the bed howled again. Yet, he could not make aplete sound. Something seemed to be blocking his mouth. At this moment, the sound of the toilet flushing came from the bathroom. Sophia opened the door and came out. ¡°What happened?¡± Stanley and Christine¡¯s gazes sprinted from the man that was groaning on the bed to Sophia, who had juste out from the bathroom, to the pair of dogs again. They both let out a sigh of relief. It¡¯s fine as long as she¡¯s okay. ¡°A petty thief came in just now and said something weird to me. So, I tied him to the bed,¡± exined Sophia. She then looked toward the bed and saw the round buttocks immediately. Two huskies were jumping around on the bed. They looked like they were about to tear the man apart. Infuriated, she picked her slipper up and pretended as if she wanted to hit them. ¡°Cash! Close your mouth! You cannot bite someone else¡¯s buttocks! If you continue, I¡¯ll hit you!¡± However, Cash didn¡¯t care. It continued to bite on Clive¡¯s clothes and tore them apart with all its might. It was only then that Stanley returned to his senses. He quickly turned to look at the man on the bed. Christine¡¯s brother had been tied to the bed with a power cord. There were palm marks and footprints all over his face, and his mouth was stuffed by a stinky shoe. Sophia had stuffed the tip of the sneaker into his mouth, and hey on the bed groaning and crying. The dogs had even removed his pants and bit his buttocks. Tsk! Stanley ended up walking up to put his pants back on for him. However, the pants were torn. No matter how he adjusted it, Clive¡¯s buttocks were still exposed. After Stanley finally put his pants back on, Byron came in. Seeing the situation, he was puzzled. ¡°Clive, what¡¯s wrong with you? Oh crap! Something¡¯s wrong! Hey! Christine, what are you doing standing over there? Go and bring your brother to the hospital! What¡¯s wrong with you¡­¡± Wiping away her tears, Christine went up and helped. As she did that, she noticed her brother¡¯s mouth that was stuffed by the sneaker. Never in her life had she ever seen him beaten up like this before. Almostughing out loud, she quickly held herughter back and carried him out. Pretending as if she had just found out that this was Christine¡¯s brother, Sophia eximed, ¡°Oh! So, this is your brother, Christine! I¡¯m sorry. I thought he was a thief, so I hit him hard. I shouldpensate you with some money¡­¡± Christine stared at the floor. She was afraid to look up and her eyes were full of shame. Listening to what Sophia said, she quickly rejected her. ¡°No, you don¡¯t have to. My brother was confused. I¡­ I¡¯ll make sure he kneels and apologizes to you!¡± However, Byron was swollen with arrogance. Looking at Sophia, he said, ¡°How dare you beat my nephew into this! You better wait and see!¡± He was clueless as to what had happened earlier. He thought Clive had slept with Sophia and Stanley came in to hit him. After all, there were only Clive and Sophia in the room. Sophia is so slim and weak. There¡¯s no way she would be able to do that. Stanley must be the one who hit him! ¡°Just keep quiet!¡± Suddenly, Christine¡¯s voice hardened. Both of them carried Clive out and decided to go to the hospital first. ¡°What the¡ª¡± Stanley was furious. He finally figured out the situation. No wonder Christine had been bad-mouthing the siblings just now. It turns out that they really are trash! Meanwhile, Sophia was about to say something, but she suddenly heard Cooper¡¯s thunderous roar coming from behind. ¡°Stanley Fletcher! How dare you bring my daughter to y games at the cybercaf¨¦ again!¡± Startled, Stanley¡¯s soul and body shivered at the same time. Looking behind his shoulder, he saw Cooper. With Linus standing on his left and Quinton on his right, the group looked extremely imposing. When Stanley saw Cooper marching toward him, he was tongue-tied. ¡°Grandpa Cooper, I¡¯m sure you understand the situation. Your daughter came by herself. This is none of my business!¡± After he said that, he let out a weird scream and escaped. On the other hand, when Sophia saw Cooper, she didn¡¯t feel bad for being caught sneaking into the cybercaf¨¦. Instead, she grabbed Cooper. ¡°Dad, we haven¡¯t yed games together for so long. Carry me and let¡¯s kill monsters together. I have double experience today!¡± With his face cold, Cooper rejected, ¡°No way!¡± He sounded intolerable. Tugging on his sleeve, Sophia continued to act cute and said, ¡°Dad, let¡¯s y one round!¡± However, Cooper¡¯s expression was still hard. He looked like he refused to discuss any further. ¡°Let¡¯s go home!¡± I must teach her a lesson this time! I cannot be shaken! Yet, ten minutester¡­ Fourputers were turned on. Sophia, Cooper, Linus, and Quinton sat in a row, logging into the game. Inside the game server, Sophia said, ¡®Bayside Second District, server 39, PK mode. We¡¯re missing four for the team battle. ++++ if you want to join.¡¯ Immediately, Stanley popped in. ¡®I¡¯m in!¡¯ There were five people from the local server and three people from the online server. Eight of them formed a team and they started ying the game happily. During the time they were ying games, they did not know that a major event was in the nning somewhere they couldn¡¯t see. ¡°What? My son has been hit?¡± ¡°Clive was hit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true! Clive was hit. He slept with the girl and was caught by her family. They beat him up!¡± ¡°How dare they do that? Does she think that she¡¯s still a virgin after sleeping with my son? How dare she hit her husband?¡± Christine, who sent Clive to the hospital, was stunned when she saw her family chatting with resentment in the group chat. Clive was the one who tried to rape Sophia and was beaten up by her. How did things turn into him being beaten up by her family after they slept together? What was even more frightening was the elders from the Bishop Family and Evans Family were here in Bayside City after Maddie scolded Clive and kicked the Bishop siblings out of thepany. They were here today to deal with Maddie, and none of them had expected something like this to happen. They were excited, yet angry at the same time. They were excited because Clive was brilliant enough to sleep with the girl. As long as they had slept together, things would be easy for them. The girl could no longer escape. What could she do after he slept with her? No matter how powerful she was, there was no way she could run away! Yet, they were angry. How dare that Linus b*tch hit her own husband? They had to teach her a lesson today! They had to let her know how the world worked! Or else, she would act like a princess when she was married into their family! The Bishop Family and Evans Family were on their way to the cybercaf¨¦. Material ? of N?velDrama.Org. Christine was shocked when she saw their chat. Do they want to die? We¡¯re doomed. I can¡¯t take this anymore! Chapter 1338 Chapter 1338 If the Evans Family and Bishop Family make a big deal out of this, not only will I suffer, but Maddie will get involved too! In a hurry, Christine quickly called Maddie. She had to stop the Evans Family and the Bishop Family before they made it to the cybercaf¨¦. When Maddie received the call from Christine and was informed about the incident, she knew immediately that it was the Bishop siblings. After Tawny ran out in the middle of the nightst time, Joel came and helped to find her. She did not expect Tawny to fall for Joel since then. From time to time, Tawny would find excuses to meet Joel, and she even tried to move into their house. Maddie had long known about her intention. She stood strong on her ground and refused to give Tawny any chance. Yet, Tawny tried the same trick a few days ago and sneaked outte at night. Christine and Byron went after her, but they couldn¡¯t find her. s, they could only call Maddie. This time, she refused to let Joel go out and look for Tawny again. Instead, she called the Winston Family¡¯s men from the underworld. In the end, they found Tawny in a small bar. After that, Tawny was not content with what happened. She was not satisfied because Joel didn¡¯te looking for her in his Range Rover. If that happened again, Maddie swore she would beat her up so bad before sending her home! All in all, she didn¡¯t want to send help if the siblings got themselves into trouble. However, she didn¡¯t expect them to cause trouble so soon again. ¡°What? How dare they do something to Sophia?¡±N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Maddie was so fed up that she almost smashed the phone. ¡°How dare theye here to make a fuss?¡± People would find this kind of thing unbelievable. Nevertheless, this waspletely possible when it came to the Evans Family and the Bishop Family! A few years ago, Tawny was only fourteen years old, and she got pregnant. The man was an unemployed gangster, who wandered around at the cybercaf¨¦ and pool room all year long. Knowing that the man was quite rich, the Bishop Family went to his house and made a scene. The reason behind their action was not to seek justice for Tawny, who had been deceived at a young age, but to get the man to marry Tawny. They even asked for fifty thousand as a betrothal gift. The man was shocked. Yet, because Tawny was pregnant, and she was not from a prestigious family, he was not afraid at all. He didn¡¯t want to pay anything at all. In short, things went way over the line, and they became theughing stock amongst the people for many years in their small county town. Later, nothing had been agreed on in rtion to the betrothal gift, and Tawny had to undergo an abortion. Although Tawny¡¯s reputation had never been good, she was just a fourteen-year-old child. It was natural to make mistakes, but without her parents¡¯ guidance, she ended up getting worse. Back then, Maddie witnessed the situation with her own eyes. The two families were utterly shameless, showing the despicable side of human nature to the fullest. ¡°Wait there. I¡¯ming now!¡± Hanging up, she called her father, intending to stop them from making a scene. After all, they were her family; she didn¡¯t want them to get themselves killed. However, her father was riled up. ¡°Maddie Evans, you¡¯re worse than pigs and dogs. Where did you find the courage to call me? You want me to leave? No way! Just wait for me! I¡¯ming to yourpany tomorrow and show everyone what kind of a b*tch you are!¡± ¡°What? That woman¡¯s family is powerful? How powerful can they be? Aren¡¯t they just an ordinary rich family? Clive slept with her. If she doesn¡¯t marry him, who would dare to marry her?¡± ¡°She has a husband? How dare she cheat on her husband? Ask her brother to marry Tawny, then!¡± ¡°They won¡¯t have the courage to kill us in broad daylight!¡± Maddie waspletely at a loss for words. At the same time, Joel had already driven his car out and was honking at her from outside. As a son-inw, Joel couldn¡¯t sit out the situation. Besides, this was something he had to deal with personally. After Maddie got into the car, Joel quickly drove toward the cybercaf¨¦. The Evans Family and Bishop Family were almost at the cybercaf¨¦; it was impossible to stop them now. On the way to the cybercaf¨¦, Maddie was unexpectedly silent. She grabbed her phone in a daze. Although there were phone callsing in, it seemed like she didn¡¯t hear them and was staring straight out the window. Everything happened so suddenly and she had not expected them at all. She originally thought she had the time to change her family¡¯s mindset. All these years, she entertained her family with hospitality whenever they visited and helped them find jobs. She did that hoping that they could live a better life in Bayside City. She hoped they could see the world and abandon the traditional worldview passed down from generation to generation. Yet, she did not expect that they really just came to earn money. No matter how much money they earned, there was no way they would change. Slowly, she gave up. She discovered that they refused tomunicate, and she could not change them at all. Finally, here came the day Joel was going to have a head-on fight with her family. And, it was an asion that was way more serious than she had ever thought. She couldn¡¯t imagine how Joel would feel after meeting her narrow-minded family, who thought that they were on the right side. It was only a matter of time before the whole Fletcher Family would find out how embarrassing her family was. Joel will be ashamed, and the whole Fletcher Family will be ashamed too. I¡¯m a sinner! The Fletcher Family of Bayside City was so influential that it was as if they could summon wind and call for rain. However, the matriarch of the family had a bunch of unbearable rtives! What would the Mitchell Family, Winston Family, and Edwards Family think? At the thought of that, Maddie¡¯s tears welled up in her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Joel, who was driving, reached out and held her hand. Immediately, he noticed that her hand was cold. Forcing her tears back, she said, ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m fine.¡± She quickly put his hand back to the steering wheel. ¡°Concentrate on driving. I¡¯m really fine.¡± But, Joel could see tears rolling in her eyes. He knew what she was worried about. She always felt inferior and sensitive. To prove that she could be his woman, she worked like there was no tomorrow. Nheless, she always found that no matter how hard she worked, he was like a mountain she could never conquer. They would never be equal. The marriage of the wealthy as she knew it had to be between families of equal social rank. She and Joel were like earth and sky. However, Joel had never thought about it in that way. He knew a good woman like her was out of his league. He was lucky to marry her. In the past, he was immature and did a lot of rebellious things. It was a childish past that he didn¡¯t want to remember. When Maddie appeared, she exposed him to a whole new world. She also gave him a new mindset, slowly maturing his thinking and letting him reflect on his life. She was the love of his life. The only regret was that he came to the world twenty years earlier than her, so he would be leaving twenty years earlier than her. He was willing to wait another twenty years for her by the River Lethe. ¡°Actually¡­¡± Joel¡¯s voice rose in the car. ¡°No matter whether it was the Fletcher Family, the Bishop Family, or the Winston Family, we are all humans. As long as we are human, we make mistakes. There is no such thing as a perfect existence. ¡°Every family has skeletons in the closet, and the Fletchers couldn¡¯t avoid it too.¡± He continued, ¡°I have a rtive. He¡¯s the son of an uncle. He became a killer and killed a lot of people. He was even on the Killer List. Our family sent people out to catch him many times, but no one ever seeded. In the end, he was shot in his groin, and he lost his fertility. You see; we even have people committing murders and arson in the Fletcher Family¡­¡± Achoo! Somewhere in the cybercaf¨¦, Quinton sneezed again. Chapter 1339 Chapter 1339 Quinton sniffled. After cleaning his nose with some tissue, he threw the tissue into the trash can, which was already full of tissue papers he had thrown earlier. ¡°Look at you. Why did you be a killer? Now karma is hitting you back!¡± mocked Stanley from the side. However, Quinton did not say anything. He knew best about his own body. The season was transitioningtely, and the weather became cool and warm alternately. After lying on the sofa for the whole afternoon, he caught a cold and started sneezing every day. Blocking his nostrils with tissues, he went on with the game. N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Suddenly, a group of elderly women and men came in from the front door of the cybercaf¨¦. Their eyes were like searchlights, looking around. Noticing their presence, Stanley joked, ¡°They must havee here to catch their sons! Unfortunately, we¡¯re a legal cybercaf¨¦, so we only wee adults.¡± As he said that, he saw someone stopping the group and asking them why they were there. He initially thought that they were just ordinary parents who came looking for their children, yet someone sneaked toward Stanley and nced at Sophia and her family. All of a sudden, a middle- aged woman darted across the room toward Sophia. ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± The middle-aged woman marched forward and reached out, looking like she wanted to grab Sophia¡¯s hair. However, when her hand was just a few centimeters away from Sophia, a hand stretched out like lightning and grabbed her wrist. No one knew when Quinton had turned around. He red at the woman coldly and let go of her wrist. At the same time, Sophia also stood up and looked at the woman with curious eyes. The woman dressed like she had lots of money: golden earrings, a golden ne, golden rings, and even a golden tooth. Yet, she had a brutal expression. Pointing at Sophia, she shouted to everyone behind her, ¡°It¡¯s her! She¡¯s the one who hit my son!¡± In a blink of an eye, the group of people swarmed over and surrounded the five of them. However, the staff in the cybercaf¨¦ quickly came over and stopped them. The two groups of people stood on each side separately. Shocked, Stanley yelled, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What¡¯s happening?¡± Instantly, Cooper shoved his daughter behind him and stared at the group of people of unknown identity warily. Christine made her way through the crowd in a panic and persuaded, ¡°Uncle, Aunt. Didn¡¯t I tell you that Clive is the guilty party? This has nothing to do with the others. Stop messing around and go home!¡± Unexpectedly, a middle-aged man, who looked quite imposing, walked out from the crowd. With a surprisingly loud voice, he yelled at her sternly, ¡°Adults are speaking. How dare you interrupt us. Move!¡± It was apparent that Christine was very afraid of that man. When he came out and spoke, her body was trembling. Those in the crowd included Byron and Clive, who had been beaten up earlier and was gauzed up. Stanley¡¯s eyes darted between Clive, Byron, and the group of people. Instantly, he knew what was happening. Taking the opportunity, heined to Cooper, ¡°Grandpa Cooper, that was the gangster that bullied my aunt earlier. He was beaten by my aunt and now he¡¯sing at us with his family!¡± Earlier, Sophia knew if she ever told Cooper about a small matter like this, he would only be anxious. Besides, she was afraid that she would not be able toe to the cybercaf¨¦ anymore, and that was why she did not mention it to him. So, it was only now that Cooper found out about this. Someone hurt my darling behind my back? An identical cold light shed in Cooper and Linus¡¯s eyes. Before Cooper could say something, a middle-aged woman from the other side marched forward aggressively. She pointed at Sophia, who was hiding behind Cooper, and cursed, ¡°Linus, consider it a blessing that my son has his eyes on you. You¡¯re already his woman; how dare you act so arrogantly! Come here! Come! I¡¯m going to teach you a lesson today! Look at what you did to my son!¡± Hiding behind Cooper and Linus, Sophia did note out; she continued to watch them from behind. That middle-aged woman was Clive and Tawny¡¯s mother. When she saw Sophia hiding from her, she rolled her sleeves up and was about to show her what she was capable of. My son has already slept with you; how dare you still act like an innocent saint! Back then, her daughter had also slept with someone else. Holding that fact against them, the man refused to pay a betrothal gift. The Bishop Family couldn¡¯t lift their heads for years in the county town, and Tawny was not even married until now. Now that her son was the one who slept with someone else¡¯s daughter, she wanted to vent out the anger she suffered in the past! However, after she rolled her sleeves up and took two steps to the front, two foreign bodyguards that were taller than two meters stood in her way and looked down at her. Their biceps were so toned that even the ck overalls could not cover them up. Mrs. Bishop dared not move any further. She heard that the Linus Family was quite powerful. But, she remembered that her son had slept with their daughter. If they don¡¯t beg us to take their daughter in, she would be a fallen woman. Instantly, Mrs. Bishop found her confidence. ¡°Hmph; you already slept with my son. How dare you still act so arrogantly!¡± Clive, who was standing behind his parents, did not speak. He knew he did not sleep with Sophia. When he went into the private room and was about to do something, Sophia pressed him into the bed and beat him up. She even stuffed a sneaker into his mouth, and he was bitten in his buttocks by her dogs. However, he would never admit that he was beaten up by a woman! He insisted to his family that he had slept with Sophia, so the whole family thought that was the truth. She had seen his buttocks; this basically meant that they had slept together! He wanted to make a scene so that he could embarrass them! As a result, he was watching the show from behind happily. When he finally married Sophia, he would definitely let her know how capable her husband was! The cybercaf¨¦ was still operating as usual. Because business was booming, many spectators had gathered around. Cooper and Linus were individuals who were going to go on reality shows, and most of them were decent people. Knowing that they would be shaming themselves if they were to pick a fight on such an asion, Stanley, as the owner of the cybercaf¨¦, quickly said, ¡°Guys, let¡¯s not stand here. We can talk in the meeting room.¡± ncing at the spectators, Cooper went into the meeting room with a gloomy face. This was the cybercaf¨¦ his daughter invested in. Every piece of equipment cost up to several thousand. If they really fought, the loss would be huge. He had to find an open area to do that. Thinking that Cooper had ¡®chickened out¡¯, the Bishop Family was relieved. Seems like this is a family that cares about their reputation. This kind of family is determined to save face, and they are the easiest to deal with! The Bishop Family and the Evans Family went into the meeting room aggressively. After that, Stanley instructed his staff to dismiss the crowd and operate the cybercaf¨¦ as usual. On the way to the meeting room, Cooper had almost figured out what had happened earlier. His gloomy eyes were vicious. Unlike him, the Bishops were pleased. They thought they would be able to discuss Clive and Tawny¡¯s marriage at the same time. ¡°Be smartter! Let¡¯s not forget about Tawny¡¯s marriage!¡± ¡°If the Linus Family doesn¡¯t give us at least eighty million for Tawny¡¯s dowry, we won¡¯t agree to Clive marrying their daughter!¡± Chapter 1340 Chapter 1340 While listening to the n her family was putting together, Christine¡¯s tears streamed down her cheeks. She grabbed her father, who was walking with the crowd excitedly. ¡°Dad, please go home! This family is out of our league!¡± However, her father shook off her hand and said, ¡°Kids know nothing!¡± Several people from the Bishop Family came, and the Evans Family sent out some ¡®witnesses¡¯. After they were done dealing with the problem here, they still had to go get even with Maddie. Both families went into the meeting room enthusiastically. Outside the meeting room, a few bulky bodyguards closed the door from the outside and guarded it. Wiping away her tears, Christine was extremely desperate. Shivering, she did not know what to do. Her family was walking into a death trap, yet there was nothing she could do to stop them. The Bishop Family and the Evans Family had never been to Bayside City. They didn¡¯t know how big the world was, not even how scary the powers of Bayside City were! They were doomed, and she was doomed too. Stanley came and patted her shoulder. Heforted her, ¡°It¡¯s okay, my aunt won¡¯t me you for what happened.¡± As he said that, he sneaked into the room to take a look at the situation. It looked like the Bishops wanted to ckmail Cooper with what happened earlier. He had to go inside and remind Cooper about something. Christine told him that Maddie¡¯s parents were in there too. It wouldn¡¯t be good if they started fighting. The atmosphere in the meeting room was solemn. Clive, who had a swollen nose and face, and Tawny, who was still looking like a monkey¡¯s butt, stood behind the elders. From their perspective, the elders were like the heavens. They had to listen to the elders in everything they did, and the elders had to be the ones that came forward in every major event. From N?velDrama.Org. The elders could do anything. The word ¡®elder¡¯ was very striking for the family, and it should have been the same to the outsiders. Clive¡¯s parents, Christine¡¯s parents, and the others sat on one side. Behind them were the rtives and elders from the Evans and Bishop Family. The scene was grandiose. It was as if they were celebrating New Year¡¯s. Opposite them were Cooper and Linus sitting on both sides of Sophia. The two men had the same murderous expression. Behind them were Quinton, Dimon, and Roger. Two groups of people were divided into two sides. Like a peacemaker, Byron came up and said, ¡°Brothers from the Bishop Family, master of the Linus Family. This was what happened earlier today. Clive has known Miss Linus for a long time and they have a very good rtionship. However, they got into a fight over a small thing today. It was just a fight between a young couple and it went overboard identally. It¡¯s not good to make a scene from a small issue like this. I suggest that since both parents are here today, we can discuss the marriage of the kids.¡± After he said that, Cooper and Linus, both with identical solemn expressions, did not answer. The dozens of pairs of dark brown, green, and blue eyes behind them widened. They sized up Clive, who had been beaten up with a swollen face. This guy? Couple? But, the Bishops were arrogant. With confidence, they crossed their arms across their chests. Instead of noticing that something was wrong, Byron thought that the other party¡¯s silence was because they couldn¡¯t ept the fact that their daughter had slept with someone. Yet, what had been done could not be undone. They had to ept the reality! He continued, ¡°About the dowry, what do you think, Mr. Linus? Why don¡¯t we do it like this? Clive¡¯s sister, Tawny, isn¡¯t married yet! Since Linus is single too, let¡¯s cement our ties by marriage and get the both of them together too. Now that Clive has done it with Miss Linus, ording to our customs, we won¡¯t give a betrothal gift. But, you still have to prepare the dowry, which will be one million following our traditions!¡± However, Cooper and Linus still had a simr grimace. Softly, Stanley whispered to Cooper from the side, ¡°Grandpa Cooper, they are the inws of Uncle Joel. Please don¡¯t get fed up. My uncle will be here in a moment.¡± Cooper continued to remain silent and stared at the other party coldly. Meanwhile, the Bishops were not content with Cooper¡¯s attitude. His daughter had been bedded by their son. Why wasn¡¯t he begging them to marry his daughter? ¡°What kind of person is this? You beat my son up, and now you¡¯re keeping silent? How rude!¡± mumbled Clive¡¯s mother with dissatisfaction. Stanley quickly entertained her, ¡°Haha. ¡®Mr. Linus¡¯ is a foreigner. He doesn¡¯t understand what you guys are talking about!¡± Instantly, the Bishops and the Evans were stunned. If he couldn¡¯t understand the Cethosiannguage, there was no point for them to talk! The families came up with their final n: foreigners were better because it would be easier to trick them! There would be foreign rtives in their household soon! With respect, Byron said to Stanley, ¡°Mr. Stanley, can you please act as a trantor for us? Tell them that this is our custom, and they should follow the tradition¡ª¡± However, before he could finish saying that, Stanley waved his hand and eximed, ¡°You know what? I actually don¡¯t speak English at all!¡± In the end, Byron grinned at Linus and said, ¡°Linus, I spoke to you earlier that day. You must know the Cethosiannguage, right? Please trante to your family that we¡¯ll be a family in the future!¡± Smiling faintly, Linus did not say a word. The corners of his mouth curved up like a sharp de. Seeing that the family of three were all ¡®foreigners¡¯, the Bishop Family and the Evans Family were anxious. They gathered around and started whispering in their dialect. ¡°It seems like these foreigners really don¡¯t understand what we¡¯re saying. What should we do now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. After all, they hit my son. If they don¡¯t marry their daughter to my son, I¡¯m not leaving. I¡¯m going to make a big deal out of this!¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a virgin anymore. Why is she still so arrogant?¡± ¡°I heard that foreigners mess around a lot¡­ I¡¯m afraid that the girl was probably never a virgin, to begin with!¡± ¡°If she¡¯s not a virgin, it will be better for us because we can ask for more dowry. We want a car and a property in Bayside City! Their family has gained a huge advantage if my son is willing to marry her!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia rolled her eyes and was rendered speechless. At the same time, Linus and Cooper still had the same cold expressions on their faces. Luckily, before Cooper could start sting at them, Maddie made it to the scene. The moment Maddie came into the room, the meeting room fell into silence for a second. Maddie nced at the Bishops and the Evans before she quickly apologized to Cooper and Sophia, ¡°Sophia, Mr. Mitchell; I¡¯m so sorry you had to experience this. You guys should leave first; I¡¯ll handle the rest on my own.¡± In response, Cooper threw her a nce and left. Both Linus and Sophia followed suit. If they weren¡¯t Maddie¡¯s rtives, Cooper would probably have struck out. Still, he had to consider Maddie¡¯s face; after all, those were the family members of the Fletchers¡¯ matriarch. When Byron saw them leaving like that, he tried to stop them. ¡°Please don¡¯t go, Mr. Linus.¡± We are not done with the matter yet! You have to tell us your opinion on the dowry and the betrothal gift!¡± The Bishops, who were standing in the back, intentionally yelled, ¡°Let them go! It¡¯s better if they go! Other than my son, who else will marry their sullied daughter!¡± Immediately, Cooper¡¯s movements halted. Turning back, he red at them coldly. His gaze fixated on Maddie and then darted between the Bishops and the Evans. In the end, he left without saying a word. Seeing that Cooper was actually leaving the meeting room, the Bishops screamed even louder, ¡°Your daughter will never marry!¡± Chapter 1341 Chapter 1341 In the end, they failed to convince Cooper to stay. During this whole time, Maddie did not dare look up once. She figured these thoughts must have gone through Cooper¡¯s mind: How can Joel¡¯s father-inw be this crude? Why did Joel marry a woman of such a background? Was this how the matriarch of the Fletcher Family was brought up? The Fletchers are such a disgrace! Sophia announced, ¡°We¡¯re leaving now!¡± There was nothing much she could do in this situation either, but the damage had been done. She did not n on apologizing or paying for his medical bills; not even for a rabies shot. Just then, Joel walked through the door. He had already heard of what happened. Seeing the somber look on Cooper¡¯s face, he gave a sincere apology. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry you had to see this.¡± Cooper did not answer him and simply stormed off. The situation left Joel feeling both frustrated and embarrassed. Inside the conference room, Maddie felt even more ashamed to face Joel and the Fletcher Family. She kept her head down and let her tears continue to fall. Before she had a chance to speak, a fiery pnded on her cheek, making half of her face go numb. A voice exploded like thunder by her ear. ¡°Maddie Evans! The nerve you have to show up here!¡± Seeing how she let the ¡®Linus Family¡¯ slip away with just a few words, and how she ruined Clive and Tawny¡¯s marriage once again, Mr. Evans pointed at her and bellowed, ¡°Get down on your knees! Now!¡± But, she remained where she was and only continued to weep in silence. She was not crying because she had gotten reprimanded, but because she brought shame onto Joel. When Mr. Evans saw that she did not budge, he raised his hand to p her again. This time, however, another hand stretched out from beside Maddie and caught Mr. Evans¡¯ arm with strength so exceptional that it sent a sharp pain through his bones. ¡°Ow! That hurts!¡± At some point, a man dressed in military uniform had walked up right behind Mr. Evans. He had a chilling gaze that carried no emotions. Mr. Evans¡¯ eyes widened as soon as he recognized the man. ¡°Joel! It¡¯s you. Let go of my hand! I¡¯m your father-inw. How dare you treat me this way?¡± As it turned out, it was Maddie¡¯s husband who was in the military! The Evans filled with rage and went to surround him. ¡°So, you¡¯re Joel Fletcher!¡± Byron came up to Joel with his fist clenched tightly. Just as he was about to punch him, Joel pulled out a gun at the speed of light and pointed it at Byron¡¯s head. A gun! At the same time, the sound of neat footsteps came from outside. A group of armed soldiers in green military uniform shuffled in immediately with countless guns pointed at the Evans and Bishops. Joel pulled back his hand from Mr. Evans¡¯ arm and retracted his gun. He directed his ruthless gaze at everyone. ¡°The guest house has made arrangements for everyone to leave on a flight tomorrow morning. They will take you to Fischer Municipal Airport.¡± The two families were rather frightened to see the military troops, but Mr. Evans put up a strong front when he realized that Joel was trying to send them away. ¡°What¡¯s so great about being a soldier? Kill me if you can! Go ahead and kill me!¡± It¡¯s not like we¡¯ve never seen soldiers before! The Minister of the County Armed Forces is my rtive! Joel looked at Mr. Evans who was fuming with anger and spoke to him with a straight face. ¡°I sent the county magistrate and mayor to await all of you at the airport.¡± The mention of the mayor did not scare them, but hearing that Joel was able to call out the county magistrate made them scared out of their wits. Even though they often ridiculed the county magistrate¡¯s daughter among themselves for marrying a construction worker, the county magistrate was equivalent to a god in their small county. They were like mice stumbling upon a cat when they encountered the county magistrate. Mr. Evans still did not believe him. ¡°Are you saying you gave orders to the county magistrate? Who do you think you are?¡± N?velDrama.Org owns all content. Joel had taken Maddie by the hand and turned to leave the conference room. With his back toward Mr. Evans, he said, ¡°Because we¡¯re family, I pulled some strings this time to stop charges from being brought against Clive for raping Sophia and the rest of you for extortion. From now on, don¡¯te to Bayside City anymore.¡± Mr. Evans was upset. ¡°Stop right there. I¡¯m going to call the reporters right now and expose you. I¡¯ll make sure you face disciplinary action. You won¡¯t even get to be a paratrooper!¡± While he said that, he even brought out his phone to show that he was going to make the call. Joel, however, did not waste another second there and took Maddie out of the room by the hand. Maddie did not know how she left the ce. All she could hear were the insults the Evans and Bishops had thrown at her. By the time she came back to her senses, she was already in the car with Joel beside her. It was then that she let out a sorrowful wail and began sobbing in his embrace. Holding her in his arms, Joelforted, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s over now. He has ordered all of them to return. They won¡¯t dare to step foot here again.¡± That was Maddie¡¯s family. Joel was also as torn as she was, but if they wanted to punish them, there was still a way¡ªthey were sent back to their county town and the locals would keep watch on them. People who came from rural areas were not afraid of anything except for their local government. In a small county, the county magistrate was like God. They could block the resettlement quota, get rid of some jobs, and create a false impression that this family had wronged a big figure, then family and friends would distance themselves from them. The people¡¯s judgment in that sealed-off society would be the same as giving them the death penalty. It was enough to make them live in anxiety and suffer each day. Currently, Maddie was still crying. Joel knew that she was not going to get over this any time soon. Although he had already told her repeatedly, she still felt inferior and sensitive. Since being together, he had never thought of them as being unequal. They were equal human beings who loved each other equally. They stood on the same ground in their rtionship and neither was above the other. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to bring up the ¡®rtive¡¯ that had always been hard to talk about.¡°There, there. Did you see my rtive who was there earlier? He killed so many people before, but he is still able to live brazenly now. Don¡¯t take it too hard. Cooper doesn¡¯t hold on to petty grudges. I know him. He won¡¯t hold this against you. If it makes you feel better, we can bring some gifts to him and apologize when we get back.¡± She wiped off her tears and managed to give him a nod. The Bishops and Evans would probably be too afraid toe again this time around. Since Maddie had grown up in that ce, she knew the survival rules and social conduct there. Someone once wronged one of the chiefs in the county. Later, all the buildings, except for that family¡¯s house, in the neighborhood got torn down. To that family, it was practically putting them in exile. Because the ce was only so big, news that they had wronged the chief quickly spread. Soon, they were no longer able to live in their hometown and were forced to relocate. Hopefully, this will serve as a reminder for the Evans and the Bishops! Christine was worried sick all day as she watched the Bishops and the Evans get escorted to the guest house to await their flight the next day. Inside the guest house, people were infuriated and were urging Christine to call the newspaper office. They wanted to send in a report that Joel had beaten up his father-inw so that he would be removed from the army for good! Chapter 1342 Chapter 1342 While Christine was left baffled by that family, Tawny¡¯s father received a call from a prestigious elderly from the Bishop Family. He had prestige because he held a public office position in their county. Despite it being a small role, to them, he was equivalent to a high-ranking official to whom they had to bow down. Without warning, the small-time public officer started to shout over the phone. ¡°What on earth did you guys do in Bayside City? The county magistrate came to ask me personally today. He said you¡¯ve offended a high-ranking official. You¡¯re all done for!¡± After that, several more phone calls came. ¡°Your son¡¯s admittance into the top ss was nullified. There¡¯s not enough space. We¡¯ve reached the maximum quota.¡± ¡°Mr. Bishop, can you find some time to move out of the public housing? The authorities found a house under your name. You don¡¯t qualify to live in public housing anymore!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to inform you, Mr. Evans, but your son¡¯s performance at work is very poor, so thepany has fired him.¡± It was at that moment that the Bishops and the Evans felt afraid. The series of events was enough to make them see their world crumble before their eyes. One after the other, they were urging Christine to call Maddie and have her remedy the situation. Upon returning to The Imperial, Cooper was still in a sullen mood. ¡°That¡¯s enough, Dad. Don¡¯t brood over this. Those people don¡¯t know much about the world. They don¡¯t understand how it works!¡± Sophia appeased. Once she was done with Cooper, she was busy trying to cate Linus. She was worried that they might act rashly. At this crucial point when Jordan was watching over them like a hawk, they could not afford a slip-up. If it were up to Cooper, he would have made mincemeat out of the Bishops by now. When Michael came to know about the situation, he quickly rushed home from his filming site. The matter was settled; Joel was going to bring some gifts over to apologize to Cooper the next day. Cooper also suppressed his anger for the sake of Michael and Joel. Since it was not a big issue, he did not want toplicate things further. Both Joel and Maddie also called to apologize; Cooper epted it and the problem was resolved. After all, Joel was the head of the Fletcher Family now. Even though Cooper lost his temper over petty things sometimes, most of the time, he was quite magnanimous. Thus, the matter was simply going to blow over. When Sophia arrived at work the next day, however, she saw everyone huddled together to watch the news. ¡°Oh my god! That¡¯s so cruel!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t watch anymore!¡± ¡°How can something so gruesome happen in Bayside City?¡± Taking out her phone, Sophia saw that a headline was being circted in the news media. A 21-year- old foreign man with thest name Bishop was found dead at a guest house. His body was dismembered into twenty to thirty pieces that it was impossible to piece him back together. ording to investigations, Bishop was the cousin of the popr youngdy, Christine Bishop! Christine¡¯s cousin! A shadow shed before Sophia¡¯s eyes. This person called Bishop can¡¯t be the same person I kicked in the face yesterday, can it? Unfortunately, all the pictures on the inte were covered with a mosaic so the person was not identifiable. She hurriedly gave Maddie a call and found out that the deceased person was indeed Clive! When Sophia arrived at the scene soon after, she saw police officers surrounding the whole guest house with police cordons put up everywhere. The crowd of bystanders that had gathered and reporters who were trying to conduct interviews were all held off. The forensics team was already in the guest house inspecting the scene. Meanwhile, members of the Evans and Bishop Family had been taken away by the police. They were so terrified that they did not say a word. Last night, Joel¡¯s people had brought them to the guest house. Because Joel was the one who arranged everything, there were no shorings. Everyone got a room to themselves in that extravagant ce. When bad news came to them one after the other, it was like the end of the world for them. They had all gathered in one room to discuss a countermeasure while Clive stayed in his own room to rest. Early this morning, Christine had called for a car to take them to the airport, but Clive was the only one who did not show up. When they went to knock on his room door, they found that the door was locked. They tried calling his phone but only heard the continuous ringing inside his room. Eventually, a worker went to open the door and revealed the most horrifying sight that they would ever see in their lives. Christine was sobbing uncontrobly while a pale-faced Maddie tried to console her. Joel also arrived at the scene and had a deep frown on his face when he went inside to look. He was the one who had sent Clive there, but now Clive was dead. He had to get to the bottom of it! Additionally, this incident created a huge fear in Bayside City. He had to find out what happened before the situation got out of hand. From N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Stanley rushed over to the site with the feeling that this case had something to do with him. When he saw Joel, he inquired, ¡°What happened? Did you find the culprit?¡± With his brows knitted together, Joel answered, ¡°There¡¯s not much to go on. The culprit did this in a very professional and wless way. The incisions were made very neatly, and each cut was fatal. It didn¡¯t take long for him to finish the task. There are no footprints or useful evidence at the scene. Surveince footage isn¡¯t much help either.¡± ¡°The culprit is extremely violent. His sole reason for the killing was to vent his anger. He¡¯s also a repeated offender who knows how to avoid forensic detection. I wouldn¡¯t eliminate the possibility of this being the work of a professional killer.¡± Suddenly, a thought seemed to have crossed their minds, making them fall into a deep silence. While they remained silent, Maddie looked around warily then stealthily tugged on Joel¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Joel, didn¡¯t you say that one of our rtives worked in this field? Maybe you can ask him for help. He might be able to catch something.¡± When Joel heard what Maddie said, he looked even more troubled. Sophia froze momentarily, then came to know who the murderer was right away. Clive might have deserved to die, but killing him was going overboard. Nheless, to that particr person, killing a person was nothing out of the ordinary. It¡¯s Quinton! The moment she realized that it was Quinton¡¯s doing, she felt extremely torn for she knew that he had done it for her. In a fit of anger, she pulled out her phone to call him when she saw Joel return from answering a call with an even more distraught look on his face than when they realized Quinton was the culprit. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Joel?¡± He turned to Sophia. ¡°Something happened to Mr. Mitchell and Linus.¡± At the entrance of The Imperial, arge crowd of police officers had surrounded the area. A number of police cars were parked along the way while the rest of the neighborhood was infiltrated by reporters and bystanders. Both Cooper and Linus, the father-and-son pair, had deadpan expressions as they were being escorted out of the neighborhood by the police. Their hands were put together in front of them and covered with some clothing, but everyone knew that they had been handcuffed. Today, someone reported that the father and son duo were suspected of murder. They imed that the two had killed the man at the guesthouse and that they had strong motives for carrying out such an act. Suddenly, the news that Cooper was Fass Michel quickly spread. In a country that was free of guns, the people naturally developed a fear toward an arms dealer like Fass. Furthermore, the day before the incident, Cooper had a conflict with the deceased. There was the possibility that he had done the killing himself or hired someone to do it. For a long time, this incident just happened to be a convenient exnation. Chapter 1343 Chapter 1343 Cooper remained calm. He was the one who killed Clive! He didn¡¯t think his actions were unjust. He wouldn¡¯t cover up if he wanted to kill someone, but he was not willing to be arrested so easily! Neither he nor Linus said a word. They were not afraid of being under everyone¡¯s gaze, but they chose not to speak and left all the talking to theirwyer. All of a sudden, Sophia rushed out from the crowd. ¡°Dad! Linus!¡± Her tearful voice crushed Cooper¡¯s heart. A sobbing Sophia ran over and held onto him with worry and fear all over her face because he had been handcuffed. He quickly consoled, ¡°Don¡¯t cry, darling. Don¡¯t be scared. I will be fine. It¡¯s just a small problem, but it will be resolved soon.¡± ¡°Dad¡­¡± She felt the icy handcuffs on his wrist; it was so cold that it pierced through her bones. Cooper was taken into the police car, but he was still smiling at her. ¡°It¡¯s okay, darling. I¡¯ll be back before you know it.¡± Beside him, Linus was even moreposed. He reassured, ¡°It¡¯s okay. Dad and I will be back soon.¡± However, Sophia only continued to sob. There was nothing she could do except watch Cooper and Linus get taken away in front of her. She knew that Cooper¡¯s sudden arrest was not solely because of the recent incident and that many other things were also at y. Lucy had once reminded her. It looked like Jordan¡¯s n had been long premeditated. Even if it wasn¡¯t for the incident this time, he would have found something else to frame Cooper for. Furthermore, he had found and teamed up with a number of forces to oppose Cooper. It was not that simple this time around. A person had silently gone up to stand beside Sophia and was watching her cry. She looked so helpless and weak. It reminded him of himself in the past; he was once that helpless too. During that cold night on Salvador Ind, both of them held onto each other for warmth. He longed to hold her just like he did back then, but it was no longer possible now. At that moment, a car stopped at the entrance and Michael rushed out of it. When Sophia saw him, she let out a wail and buried herself in his arms. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It won¡¯t be for long. Dad and Linus wille home soon. Thewyers are already there.¡± Michael looked at Quinton who was standing not too far behind Sophia. While he was working overtime at the filming sitest night, no one told him about what had happened. Sophia must have figured that it was a small matter and that it was not worth bothering him with. Quinton is quite skilled, but I don¡¯t me him for this. Even if this incident had not happened, Jordan would have thought of other ways to bring Cooper and Linus down. Not to mention, that fe deserved to die. Nheless, things were not looking up for them. The other party was being very aggressive. Michael also knew that this was not going to be that simple. ¡°We have the bestwyer. Dad and Linus will be out soon.¡± As he wasforting Sophia, he also made a call on his phone. As if Jordan wanted to prove his determination to crush Cooper, bad news continued to pour in in the following days. Firstly, problems kepting one after the other at the Michel Group. In Africa, the Michel Industries¡¯ headquarters were ambushed repeatedly and several people in charge were killed. Some projects were left without a leader, causing chaos within thepany. Additionally, several of their business partners canceled their partnerships all of a sudden which onlyplicated things further. At the Michel Family¡¯s home in Europe, an urgent elders¡¯ council was convened to find various reasons to dismiss Cooper from his post in the family and in the business. The family sent someone to take charge of the business in Africa. It seemed like they wanted to take this chance to remove the father and son duo from thepany for good. In Cethos, both Dragon Technology Corporation and JNS Group fell into the midst of a tax turmoil. Someone had reported them for tax evasion, putting the audit department under investigation. Furthermore, Asco International was also reported. The other party wanted to eradicate Cooper and the forces working behind him as well! Because predicaments in Africa, Europe, and Cethos were all happening at the same time, it was undoubtedly driving Sophia insane. After attacking them from the economical and legal side of things, the other party began to attack them with public opinion. The Bishops participated in various interviews as the victim¡¯s family. Filled with tears in front of the camera, theymented over their son¡¯s tragic death, how cruel Cooper was, the injustice of their son¡¯s death, and the darkness of this world. It almost seemed as though the media received the same press release at the same time and began attacking Cooper and Linus all over their websites. They described him as a ¡®war criminal¡¯ and a ¡®warlord with fresh blood on his hands¡¯. They even went as far as to put him next to truly infamous war criminals in history with the intention of writing him down in history so that future generations would also be aware of his wrongdoings. The public exploded with rage. Everywhere they looked, be it on their phones or in the newspaper, people were only talking bad about Cooper. Indeed, Cooper didmit a number of improper acts in the past. For example, he took part in supporting upheavals and took the chance to sell munitions during wartime. In ces that were gued with epidemics, he deliberately sold special drugs at a higher cost. But, among arms dealers, there was not a person who had truly clean hands as they would have gotten some blood on their hands at some point. In just a short time, everyone was talking about Cooper. Whenever they did, it also seemed like they wanted tosh out at the sinful and violent arms boss. Sophia was copsing under all the work she had to do. Every day, she had to deal with all sorts of inspections. Cooper and Linus had been in there for two days now, and it felt like the whole world was turned upside down. But, even if they were in there for an hour, the other party would also cause a multitude of disruptions within that hour. Michael was also buried deep in work that his shadow was nowhere in sight. The sudden turn of events left the both of them at a loss for what to do. They were working around the clock every day. On the third day since Cooper and Linus were arrested, Sophia hurried over to Maddie¡¯s unit. Using public opinion to attack Cooper was simply a way for the other party to use the pressure from people¡¯s opinions as leverage, but Sophia could not just sit by and let that happen. She also had an idea for dealing with the media, but she had to have a discussion about it with Maddie first. To her surprise, when she arrived at the entrance of Maddie¡¯s unit and got out of the car, she saw several familiar faces walk out of the ce. The two parties happened to run into each other. Her haggardplexion suddenly turned cold. But, she quickly unted a smile and greeted him politely. ¡°It¡¯s such a coincidence to see you here, Mr. Edwards.¡± Jordan had seemingly just noticed her and also had the same surprised look on his face. ¡°Oh, look; it¡¯s Cooper¡¯s daughter. What a coincidence. What brings you here?¡± Sophia pushed her sses up. ¡°I¡¯m here to see a friend.¡± ¡°Oh! I heard your dad and brother are in a bit of a bindtely. How is that going? Do you need my help?¡± Shaking her head, she let out a modest and respectful smile. ¡°It¡¯s a minor problem. I don¡¯t want to bother you with it, Mr. Edwards.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good. I still have somewhere to be, so I will get going now.¡± After the two rows of people brushed past her, the smile on her face immediately disappeared. Jordan, don¡¯t think you can run away unscathed this time! Chapter 1344 Chapter 1344 Henry and Ryan, the identical twins, were also with Jordan. They shot Sophia a smug look as they walked by. After Lucy¡¯s people killed everyst one of the twins¡¯ people, they were sent back to the Yard Family and put under house arrest on their property in Bayside City. Now that they were back out again, they had been following Jordan around and had even changed theirst names. By changing theirst names to Edwards, they were able to seed their father and also inherit their mother¡¯s property. They were not going to give up their right to inherit the Edwards Group either as they were determined to destroy Lucy. Sophia brushed past their provocation and quickly made her way into the elevator. When she got to Maddie¡¯s office, she saw that Joel and his military troop were also there. They were all dressed in in clothes to disguise themselves as ordinary people, but the way people in the military walked and talked were clearly different. The truth was that, apart from Maddie, Sophia had alsoe here today to see the military troops. Unrted staff in the office were kept away. Maddie also went outside to stand guard by the door while a tense discussion took ce inside. Once the two parties exchanged greetings with each other, they sat down on opposite sides of each other. A middle-aged man who was on equal footing with Joel hade from the military. He must have had a strong backing. If Joel hadn¡¯t rmended him, Sophia would never have met someone like him. She had the assistant hand over the relevant documents. ¡°These are the rted research information on the camouge feature. The results we¡¯ve gotten over the years are all in there.¡± The other party received the documents with a smile. After the brief meeting, they took the documents with them and left through the secret passageway. Because they left just as discreetly as they had arrived, the people at the newspaper office werepletely unaware that several big figures had dropped by. When Nichs went to save Sophia after Quinton abducted her a few years ago, he unintentionally exhibited Michel Military Technology¡¯stest camouge feature. It allowed one to change colors ording to their environment in order to stay hidden and avoid radar detectors. It was a feature that the military was very interested in. At the time, it was still in its early stages and not fully developed yet. Later on, the Fletcher Family managed to attain the materials and rted technical information from Linus for the Cethosian military to begin their own research. Unfortunately, several years had passed and they were still unable to produce any results. The technology in the state-owned arms factories in Cethos was just not up to par with the Michel Group¡¯s, which were the secondrgest arms dealer in the world. Since the Michel Group upgraded this technology and started putting it into practical use, the Cethosian military was especially keen. Sophia had willingly contributed to itstest sess. The forces against Cooper this time were terrifyingly powerful and involved too many things. Even if the Fletcher Family stepped in, Sophia felt the need to find more power for protection. ¡°The Fletcher Family won¡¯t just sit back and let this happen,¡± Joel said in a stern voice before leaving. He felt an inescapable responsibility for this matter. Even if the people attacking Cooper did not take advantage of the current situation, they were going to find another way in the future. The spark that set things off this time, however, was that Clive had raped Sophia. He was from Maddie¡¯s maternal side of the family, and the person who killed him was Quinton¡ªone of the Fletchers¡¯ people. As the head of the Fletcher Family, Joel was not going to run away from his responsibilities. ¡°Thank you.¡± Sophia stood up and bade him farewell. She did not forget to remind him. ¡°Don¡¯t startle Old Master.¡± He nodded then went on his way. He was determined to do this right and not put Mark in shock. Mark was already over a hundred years old. Joel was not going to trouble him with these things. Despite knowing that the Fletcher Family was going to take action this time, Sophia did not want to wait for someone to save her. As the second-leadingpany in the global arms industry, the Michel Military Enterprise always dominated with thetest technology. Cethos might have banned guns in the country, but several of their state-owned arms factories were the top in the world. Nheless, they were also envious of Michel Military that was ahead of them. Since Sophia had shared some of their resources with them, the Cethos military was very pleased and were not going to let Cooper get destroyed so easily. After the meeting with Joel ended, Sophia had a talk with Maddie. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I will take over the media. Let me write the press release!¡± Maddie reassured. She also felt a strong sense of responsibility for this issue. Because she couldn¡¯t hide from it, she was determined to do her best. Once the discussion with Maddie ended, Sophia headed to Michel Group¡¯s Cethosian branch. In the past, it used to be Linus¡¯ territory. Although Sophia also held a title at Michel Group, she rarely came to thepany. But today, she was there as the emergency person-in-charge during that critical time. Strictly speaking, the Michel Group was a family corporation. People were caught off guard by her sudden arrival, but they did not stop her. Inside a conference room, Sophia started a video conference with the people in Africa. They reported the sudden events that had happened over the past two days. Several of the heads working in the branch in Africa were attacked¡ªsome died on the spot while some were sent to the hospital. Their business partners were also pulling out at thest minute. Currently, they were all left without leaders. There were many people who wanted to take the opportunity to get promoted. Some of them wanted to step up to save the desperate situation, some probably wanted to make money, and some had other hidden motives. On the other side of the video call, the executives at the African branch gave a report on their situation. As they were reporting, the meeting started to get heated. Theypletely disregarded Sophia, the daughter whom Fass had brought out of nowhere. She had never participated in theirpany¡¯s management before, and she did not even know who was who. While they were arguing, Sophia looked up from the documents and instructed, ¡°Wilson, I am appointing you as the acting person-in-charge of the Michel Group headquarters in Africa. You must clear everything up within three days. Everyone else must assist Wilson inpleting this task. If you do well, you won¡¯t just be the acting person-in-charge anymore.¡± The people who had been arguing were taken aback. She knows us? Someone immediately objected, ¡°Miss Lucile, I don¡¯t understand why you would pick Wilson.¡± Looking away, Sophia took a sip of coffee then looked back up at the screen and identified the person who had just raised an objection. ¡°Mr. Watson, I might not have directly participated in Michel Group¡¯s internal management, but my father has nurtured me this whole time with the hope that I could return to thepany someday. I¡¯ve been watching all of you and have a good understanding of each person. Of course, I have my own reasons for choosing Wilson.¡± They had stopped arguing now and were all doubting the capability of the young woman. From N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Sophia ended the conference and quickly rushed off to deal with other things. She was confident in the person she had chosen for this role. Since she kept an eye on them all this time, she was familiar with their day-to-day work. Wilson, the person she picked, was someone that both Cooper and Linus were fond of. He would certainly get the job done. A sessful decision-maker had to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the people working under him, and be able to use them during critical times. He did not use those he had doubts over while those he did use did not give him any doubts. As for the list of moles in the Michel Group, Anna had already handed that over to Cooper. Cooper wanted to find an opportunity to get rid of those people, but he still had not done so for fear that it might alert the enemy. Now, Sophia was going to take this chance to get rid of them! Chapter 1345 Chapter 1345 Despite not being in Africa, Sophia already had everything set up there. During this time, Tiffany called countless times to ask about the situation and whether they needed her help. Sophia did not want Cooper to be in Tiffany¡¯s debt because of this, so she declined her offer. Unexpectedly, Anna also called. ¡°Sophia, I heard about what happened with your father and brother. Don¡¯t worry. Your father has a n.¡± In fact, Sophia already knew that Cooper and Linus were not people who would go down without a fight. She was certain that they had their own ns but simply did not reveal them. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just trying my best to help Linus and Dad as much as I can.¡± Following that, the two fell silent as if they were each waiting for the other to speak first. Sophia and Anna were once very amicable with each other, but because of their positions, they slowly drifted apart. Nheless, they understood each other; neither of them had it easy. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. s, Sophia murmured, ¡°I¡¯m hanging up now. Take care.¡± Anna seemed pleasantly surprised. ¡°I will.¡± After the call ended, Anna found Callum and Cade standing behind her. Callum saw the soft smile she had on her face. It looks like she had a good conversation with Sophia. ¡°Mom, it looks like your talk with big sis went quite well!¡± Cade smiled. Even though no one brought it out into the open, they all knew that Anna was Annabel Johnson, Cooper¡¯s wife who was presumed dead all those years ago. Jordan was the one who had taken her and erased her memories. Sophia and Linus were both Anna¡¯s children. She had given birth to them. To Anna, they were of immense importance. Altogether, she had four children¡ªa daughter and three sons. Sophia was her only daughter. Retracting the smile on her face, she looked at her two sons and said in a stern voice, ¡°Jordan is currently putting in all his effort to bring Cooper down. It¡¯s a disaster to us but also an opportunity. Are you guys ready?¡± Callum loosened his bow tie and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Mom, have you forgotten? We¡¯ve been preparing for this for over a decade now. Anna let out another smile, but it was filled with a burning desire. We¡¯ve been preparing for over a decade! After Sophia met with the military technology team, she began another meeting with the medical technology team right away. ¡°Email me all the information on projects at thepany now,¡± she instructed the person-in-charge from across the screen. The person hesitated. ¡°Everything?¡± She nodded. ¡°Including all the projects that were started in secret. I need to know everything.¡± The person was still hesitant, but they were at a critical point right now, so it was best to send all the information to Sophia. While the tremendous amount of information was being sent to her, she also made known her strategy. ¡°The sessful development of the specialized drug to cure ALS can be released to the public now.¡± Sophia did not pay much attention to Michel Medical Technology Company before, but looking at it now, she found that they had developed a special drug to cure ALS. A few years ago, the Ice Bucket Challenge became a trend in the entertainment circle, wealthy circle, and many others. Famous people called on society to pay more attention to ALS patients who had severe symptoms when their illnesses were triggered. Because profit was low and the cost for research was high, none of the manufacturers were willing to invest in the research and development for a cure. Hence, the Ice Bucket Challenge began. After all these years, some manufacturers did start to make investments to find a cure for ALS. In the present moment, however, a definite cure still had not surfaced and many were still suffering from ALS. Cooper only invested in the Michel Medical Technology Company to find a cure for this disease after he found Sophia. It was a project that he started on his own since he found out that Sophia once donated to an ALS research institute under the guise of Michael¡¯s number one fan, Eddie Fletcher. Because his precious daughter¡¯s wish was also his wish, he got the project registered and authorized right away. The specialized drug was still undergoing clinical trials, so they did not announce it. But, if they were to announce it now, it would at least redirect some of the pressure from public opinion and help them gain leverage. After the meeting with the medical technology team ended, she called Alice. Although Alice and Linus competed with each other, Alice knew that someone in the family had an ulterior motive. She also knew that Michel Group needed Cooper and Linus during this time. A while ago, she had already received the list of moles in thepany so she could get rid of some of them when the opportunity came. Hanging up the call, Sophia returned home and spent the whole night looking through all the information in her study. Michael had also been extremely busy these few days and was nowhere in sight. Jordan extended the battle line a bit further this time; he attacked everything from the Michel Group to Asco International, which Michael was in charge of. However, Cooper and Michael were not going to let him have his way. Sophia skimmed over the Michel Medical Technology Company¡¯s projects that had taken ce over the years. They had only undertaken big projects, and the funding for one project easily amounted to tens of billions of Amons. Some of the projects would look like fiction to people now. For example, ¡®Brain Transnt¡¯, ¡®Cure for AIDS¡¯, ¡®Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Organ Reconstruction¡¯, and so on. They were all big projects that pertained to the future of mankind. Suddenly, she found a project that had no name or a clear indication of the research fund, but it was ranked as thepany¡¯s most prioritized project over the next ten years. Both Cooper and Linus had signed off for approval, and all resources were first directed toward this project. She clicked to look further into it, but the file was password protected; she was not authorized to look at it. ¡°What project is this? How mysterious¡­¡± she mumbled to herself. Giving up on trying to open the file, she busied herself with the other projects. While she was looking at one project, the door opened slightly and a pair of sparkling eyes peered in to watch Sophia through the crack. ¡°Carmen Fletcher, I see you! Come out of there.¡± Dressed in her pajamas, Carmen gently pushed open the door and came in with a puppy in her arms. Sophia felt her heart warm up when she saw her adorable and bright little angel. Spreading her arms, she urged, ¡°Come here, sweetie. Let Mommy give you a hug.¡± Carmen ran over with quick footsteps and let Sophia carry her up into her arms. In a blink of an eye, Carmen was already five years old. Sophia remembered the first time she met Carmen¡ªshe was only slightly over two. I remember holding her tiny body in my arms; she smelled so sweet and felt so soft. Now that she¡¯s five, she¡¯s also bigger and heavier. Sadly, Sophia had forgotten what it felt like when Carmen was in her belly, and how she and Michael awaited the arrival of their little princess. She also forgot how heart-wrenching parting ways was. Kissing Carmen, she noticed that Carmen seemed a bit sleepy already. After letting out a yawn, Carmen asked in a tired voice, ¡°Mommy, why doesn¡¯t Daddye home anymore?¡± Sophia answered warmly, ¡°Daddy has been busy working these past two days. He wille back once he¡¯s done.¡± Carmen was still upset as shey sprawled out in Sophia¡¯s arms. Even though she was sleepy, she kept her eyes wide open like something was bothering her. ¡°Sweetie, is something bothering you? Can you tell me about it?¡± After a moment of hesitation, the little girl murmured, ¡°Risa at kindergarten says Grandpa and Uncle Linus are bad people because they killed someone.¡± Chapter 1346 Chapter 1346 Sophia was in shock. Now that Cooper was being castigated everywhere, the little children at kindergarten knew about it too. When Sophia did not answer her, Carmen asked timidly, ¡°Mommy, are Grandpa and Uncle Linus really bad people?¡± Smiling back at her, Sophia asked, ¡°Carmen, do you remember when you and Grandpa went to film ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯?¡± In this year¡¯s season of ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯, the grandfathers and grandchildren from celebrity families went to participate in it. Cooper joined the show with Carmen as a distinguished guest. The show¡¯s main topic was family rtions and popr science. It showed grandfathers looking after their grandchildren. Their first filming location was at the ancient Imperial Pce, but because it was still under post- production, it had yet to be released. It would have shown the grandfathers taking their grandchildren inside the pce to look around while helping the children learn and expand their knowledge. Carmen was watching Sophia talk with her big and round eyes. In a gentle voice, Sophia said, ¡°When you went into the pce, you must have seen a lot of cultural artifacts. A lot of those cultural artifacts had been stolen by bad people before. After they stole our artifacts, they even sold it at a marked-up price.¡± ¡°Your grandpa and uncle bought many of those artifacts before and donated them to museums.¡± ¡°When Grandpa released the form for the Virs-18 antidote back then, he saved countless lives. Uncle Linus also often donates to little children who can¡¯t afford an education, so that they can study happily.¡± As Carmen listened, wonder and amazement filled her eyes. Sophia kissed her round and chubby cheeks. ¡°Do you think Grandpa and Uncle Linus are bad people, Carmen?¡± She shook her head with conviction. ¡°Grandpa and Uncle Linus are so heroic. When I grow up, I want to save the world just like them!¡± While Sophia brushed across her forehead, Carmen took the chance to pose her other concerns. ¡°Mommy, they also said that you and Daddy are divorced now, that Daddy already got married and has a baby somewhere else, and that he doesn¡¯t want us anymore.¡± Sophiaughed once more. Do they have nothing better to do thane up with these absurd stories? ¡°How can Daddy not want us anymore? When you fell ill as a baby, he stayed up for days to look after you. You¡¯re Daddy and Mommy¡¯s little angel. Daddy has all the love in the world for you!¡± Carmen still felt uneasy as though there were more things bothering her. After Sophia cajoled her a bit, she finally let out her troubles with a cry then revealed, ¡°Mommy, my tooth is about to fall out. Here¡ª look at it. Here.¡± She opened her mouth through sobs and showed off her shaky tooth. Sophia had gotten frightened when she started to cry but chuckled when she realized that it was because of a loose tooth. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Your teeth are supposed to fall out when you¡¯re this big.¡± Losing her baby teeth at five was a bit early, but there was nothing wrong with it. Suddenly, Sophia recalled the data she was looking at earlier. Michel Medical Technology Company had a project titled ¡®Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Organ Reconstruction¡¯. Through research, scientists found that baby teeth contained dental pulp stem cells that could effectively treat over two hundred diseases including Parkinson¡¯s, Alzheimer¡¯s, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and more. It could even repair damaged organs. More importantly, it was still being researched. Nheless, it was generally acknowledged in the medical profession and was one of the biggest discoveries of mankind. Experts at Michel Medical Technology Company even proposed that dental pulp stem cells could be used in organ reconstruction in the future. Sophia was looking at the project details. This is not science fiction but a big project that Michel Group has invested in. Carmen¡¯s baby tooth is worth millions now! All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. If the baby tooth was stored through a specialized method, the stem cells inside of it could be preserved for decades. In the future, close rtives who needed it could use it without worrying about finding a match. Who would have thought that Carmen would start losing her baby teeth now? After looking through the information, Sophia found out that once the baby tooth fell out, it was no longer useful. It had to be pulled out when it was still loose in order to preserve the stem cells in it. ¡°Can you bear with it for a bit, sweetie? I¡¯m going to take you to the hospital.¡± Despite it being the middle of the night, she brought Carmen to Michel Group right away. The medical technology team also had a branch there. They could pull out her baby tooth and use a specialized method to store the dental pulp stem cells. By the time Michael got therete at night, Carmen¡¯s tooth had already been pulled out. She was crying in Sophia¡¯s arms. When she saw Michael, she wailed, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m deformed.¡± Michael couldn¡¯t help butugh when she opened her mouth to reveal the little ck hole. On the way home, Sophia went on and on about the project data she saw today to Michael. She also talked about the miraculous stem cells found in baby teeth. Michael remained quiet the whole time, but he also felt a surge of hope by the end of it. I¡¯ll be able to use Carmen¡¯s dental pulp stem cells! However, he knew that it would take a very long time before that idea came to fruition. He would probably not live until then. Once they got home, Sophia urged the nanny who was looking after Carmen to pay more attention whenever Carmen had a loose tooth. They could not waste a single one. It was an investment in the health of their family in the future. One day, this technology might turn into reality. What if there was someone in their family who needed it? After they got home, Carmen continued to sob softly to herself. ¡°Okay, okay. It¡¯s my bad. Can you put up with it a bit more, sweetie?¡± Sophia was trying to put Carmen to sleep, but she was still sobbing in misery and could not fall asleep. A fallen baby tooth was useless. It had to be pulled out while it was still loose and quickly stored in a specialized way in order for the dental pulp stem cells to be viable for future use. Moreover, one baby tooth was not enough; they needed several. Carmen still had to get her teeth pulled out several more times in the future. That is a bit cruel¡­ After Michael took a shower, he carried Carmen into his arms. Lying there, she cried, ¡°Daddy, I lost my tooth.¡± He looked at the hole in her mouth and coaxed, ¡°I will reward you with letting you sleep with Daddy and Mommy tonight. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± She was already five and had begun sleeping on her own very early on, but she still likeding over to sleep with Sophia. The three of them were in one bed¡ªCarmen slept in the center with Michael on her left and Sophia on her right. It was pure bliss for her. Turning on her side to face Sophia, she asked, ¡°Mommy, why did you have to pull out my tooth?¡± Sophia looked at her with a warm gaze. ¡°Because there is a little elf inside of your tooth. If Daddy and Mommy fall ill in the future and the doctors can¡¯t treat us, that little elf will make us better again! It can treat Grandpa and Uncle Linus¡¯ illnesses, too.¡± Carmen was delighted to hear that and fell asleep shortly after. Sophia was watching her sleep with a content gaze when weariness washed over her like a tidal wave. Meanwhile, once the both of them were asleep, Michael snuck off to Sophia¡¯s study. He turned on her computer and looked over the project titled ¡®Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Organ Reconstruction¡¯. Chapter 1347 Chapter 1347 Linus was directly in charge of the Michel Medical Technology Company. The projects he worked on were important to the future of mankind. The dental stem cells project had been underway for several years now with good progress. After Michael finished looking at the project details, he skimmed through and found the project that was heavily encrypted. He knew that it was a project for him. It was not for his sake, but Sophia¡¯s. The opposing party made a surprise attack. Their attack against Linus and Cooper this time was too vicious, and it also involved forces from multiple parties. Indeed, they had nned this for a long time. Jordan had a deep understanding of the rules of survival in Cethos. On thisnd, the people needed to be wise and y safe; even richer and more influential families did not dare to be enemies with machines in the country. Otherwise, the aftermath would be devastating. Even a homicide with insufficient evidence was enough to get Cooper and Linus arrested and destroyed. Furthermore, Jordan had deep connections in the political world. One year, Sam almost became the president, but Jordan dragged him down through various means. Cooper was also someone who instilled fear in people; hence, the higher authorities were probably going to take this opportunity to get something out of him. Sophia, however, was not giving up that easily and had been going from ce to ce. She had her own connections in the political world. There might have been a lot of people who wanted to see Cooper¡¯s downfall, but there were just as many who wanted to protect him. Jordan had merely used some power to go against Cooper, but now, it was no longer just a fight between the two of them; there was also aplexwork of forces working in the background. They might have wanted Cooper¡¯s clean energy technology or taken some of Michel Medical Technology Company¡¯s proprietary technologies for national use. In recent years, Michel Medical Technology Company was always known to have the most cutting-edge technology globally. They owned many patented drugs that could effectively cure terminal illnesses and that were impossible to replicate. The enormous profit they made from being the only one in the entire world with the technology made everyone envious. Meanwhile, the media was still tarnishing Cooper and Linus. They would go as far as to dig up the ants they stepped on a few years ago and blow things out of proportion. It was a dangerous sign; it meant that someone was releasing the news beforehand to paint them as heinous criminals. It was to make any sentences made against them in the future seem just. People in Cethos and the rest of the world all assumed that Cooper was never getting out again, but any news about them waspletely sealed off from the public. There was not a single reliable update on them; even Sophia did not know what was happening to them. Nheless, the higher authorities would not be so cruel as to make them vanish without a trace. After all, the issue had grown so big. If they made them disappear without giving a sentence, the Cethosian court would not be able to answer to the people. Those interested in this matter were eagerly looking at Sophia and Michael¡¯s IG Stories and Twitter ounts to await thetest news. But Michael remained very calm. He hadn¡¯t tweeted anything in ages or posted anything in his IG stories. Moreover, he did not have any other social media ounts. Sophia also stopped posting on social media, especially during this sensitive period. On the fifth day since Cooper and Linus got arrested, good news poured in from various outlets. The Michel headquarters in Africa was under control now, and thepany was operating as usual. The few moles were also taken care of. In Europe, Alice had taken control of the Michel headquarters, family, andpany. Currently, Sophia was put in charge of the Michel Group headquarters in Cethos. There was even less of a need to worry about Dragon Technology as Sean, Derek, and Vincent already brought the situation under control. Cooper and Linus constantly had several capable and expert ¡®contingencies¡¯ who stepped up and kept thepany from crumbling whenever they weren¡¯t around. At the moment, outsiders were guessing that Cooper was in prison already. Some internal personnel also received this news. A group of celebrities who usually seemed close to Michael had kept silent about Taylor Murray. That only stirred people¡¯s curiosity even more and made them wonder if Taylor would also be dragged into the downfall of Cooper and Linus. They were bound together for good or ill, so Taylor was going to fade away soon. Taylor and Sophia might also get divorced because he would want to sever all ties with Sophia¡¯s family as quickly as he could. Other questions started to follow like who had custody of the child? Who kept the dogs, cats, and the Bedlington Terrier? N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. What about their rooster? That pig of theirs hadn¡¯t made an appearance for a while. Rumors imed that it didn¡¯t make it past News Year¡¯s Eve. The people¡¯s attention was directed to those areas as if it was no longer important whether Cooper killed the man or not¡ªTaylor¡¯s divorce was the real breaking news. During this time, however, Michael suddenly shared a new tweet on his Twitter ount. It was an announcement of the Michel Medical Technology Company¡¯s breakthrough in their research for a cure for ALS. The drug was expected to officially go on the market within three years. Shortly after that announcement was made, the reality show ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯ that was rumored to have flopped because of Cooper, announced its release date for episode one of season two. This reality show failed because of Cooper¡¯s participation in it. When the initial announcement was made, it was all that people talked about. After that, it simply disappeared without a trace. The announcement of the release date caught everyone by surprise, but the point that baffled them more was that the show was not going to be aired on its scheduled variety channel. Instead, it was going to be on Cethos¡¯rgest military channel. This measly reality show is going to be aired on a military channel? However, the show actually did air on the military channel. The first filming location was at the ancient Imperial Pce. A few grandfathers were seen taking their grandchildren into the pce where they listened to the exnations of the cultural artifacts andpleted some tasks. Out of all the grandfathers, Cooper shone the brightest for having the best looks, being the most educated, and being the youngest. He had a profound knowledge of the pce and artifacts. Wherever they pointed, they saw rows of cultural artifacts that he had donated. Moreover, he adored Carmen very much. Every time he gazed at her, his eyes were filled with affection for his granddaughter. He did not pamper her with his love but guided her withposure. His parenting method was also very modern and progressive. Once the show aired, Cooper immediately garnered a group of fans and became known as the Nation¡¯s First Grandpa. On that same day, Carmen came home happily and shed the hole in her mouth as she smiled. ¡°Mommy, all my friends at kindergarten say I have the best grandpa in the world!¡± She could even increase the cost of an autograph at this point. As usual, Sophia was still upied with many things. Sam sent news saying that there were a number of forces that wanted to destroy Cooper, but also a number of them that wanted to protect him. Some people were just too envious of Cooper. Perhaps they only wanted him to hand over some of his technologies, but they weren¡¯t trying to kill him. However, some of them were trying to take this chance to kill him! Presently, no one was interested in who killed Clive anymore. He had long be a pawn in this political game. ¡°Miss Edwards, is that your new bodyguard?¡± her secretary in the office suddenly asked curiously. The secretary was looking in a particr direction where an exceptional-looking bodyguard was sitting. He had a tall, sturdy figure, a chilly presence, and was wearing ck sunsses. His appearance was very simr to Taylor¡¯s, but he was a lot colder. Chapter 1348 Chapter 1348 Taylor¡¯s looks were magnificent, but this man¡¯s demeanor was cold and unruly. Sophia nced at the person sitting in the corner and said, ¡°Yes.¡± A group of people hade to the office today to check on thepany¡¯s taxes, so Sophia came to keep an eye on them. Fortunately, all of thepany¡¯s procedures were legal, and the tax benefits they received were within legal limits. Therefore, no loopholes could be found. Nowadays, Sophia went everywhere with bodyguards, and it was a sight to behold. It didn¡¯t matter who she brought with her, as all of them had the aura and figure of a male model. However, one of the bodyguards on duty today was particrly eye-catching, so everyone was quietly discussing him. Today, plenty of people came to the office as usual to inspect. The employees were on edge because they knew that all the investigations were rted to Cooper murdering someone. Sophia, on the other hand, went to work daily as if nothing had happened, so everyone gradually rxed and all the departments went back to their normal operations. By around four o¡¯clock, the inspection team left. Sophia got ready to leave to attend to other matters and her car was already waiting at the office entrance. As soon as she stepped out of the building, a middle-aged woman came scuttling over from the side. ¡°Give me back my son!¡± With her hands outstretched, the woman lunged at Sophia. Her eyes were red, and she seemed to have lost her mind, but she was strangely fast. If it weren¡¯t for Sophia¡¯s bodyguard, who blocked her in time, the woman would have already pounced on Sophia. Sophia took a closer look at her. Isn¡¯t she Clive¡¯s mother? The woman snarled ferociously at Sophia. Her hair was disheveled, but she managed to appear considerably imposing. After losing her only son and watching as the murderer got caught, she had no way to avenge her son¡¯s death, so she took all her anger out on Sophia. If it wasn¡¯t for Sophia, her son wouldn¡¯t have died! ¡°Give me back my son!¡± Mrs. Bishop yelled in a hoarse voice. The bodyguard held her back, and Sophia took this chance to hurry toward the car. Countless people were going in and out of the office, so she couldn¡¯t risk having any contact with Mrs. Bishop whatsoever, as even the slightest conflict with her would have an impact on Cooper¡¯s release. From N?velDrama.Org. A burly bodyguard approached Mrs. Bishop and attempted to fend her off, but to their surprise, Mrs. Bishop simply screamed and pushed forward. Her stout body had a sudden surge of strength, and she mmed the bodyguard to one side, who fell t on his face. She seemed immensely powerful, and in the blink of an eye, she was behind Sophia. It was as if the wind had transported her. Upon hearing sounds, Sophia quickened her pace in panic. When she got to the car, she turned around, only to see Mrs. Bishop charging wildly toward her¡ªthe look on her face was terrifyingly sinister. Two foreign bodyguards stepped forward to stop her, but she pushed them away with just one arm. She¡¯s too strong! Those strong bodyguards were no match for her, let alone Sophia. The woman was about to pounce on her when a hand suddenly shoved Sophia into the car. ¡°Hurry up and go. She¡¯s not normal,¡± Quinton said solemnly. With that, he closed the car door with one hand. Sophia scrambled to settle down, but an unexpected ¡®bang¡¯ sounded. Quinton was being choked by Mrs. Bishop, and his whole body was pressed against the window. ¡°Give me back my son! Give me back my son!¡± Mrs. Bishop had gonepletely insane. She was strangling Quinton, clearly intent on killing him. Quinton¡¯s face instantly flushed red, but he didn¡¯t resist her. Instead, he waited for the two bodyguards who had been previously knocked to the ground to yank Mrs. Bishop away. ¡°Oh, God help me!¡± Sophia eximed, anxiously trying to open the car door, but Mrs. Bishop had Quinton pressed firmly against the car. No matter how hard she tried, the door wouldn¡¯t budge. ¡°Hurry¡­ go!¡± Quinton strained to twist his neck, and the side of his face was reflected on the ss window. Sophia saw that there were red marks on his neck from being choked, and blue veins were bulging on his forehead. Malevolence was painted all across Mrs. Bishop¡¯s face, and she no longer seemed human. Quinton showed no sign of resistance. With his strength, he could easily break free, but he knew that if he fought back, the old woman would most likely lose her life. By then, the news of one of Cooper¡¯s daughter¡¯s bodyguards murdering someone in broad daylight would immediately be the next day¡¯s headlines. This would only make things harder for Cooper. However, Sophia could tell that this woman wasn¡¯t the original Mrs. Bishop. The current her had unlimited strength, and she seemed to have lost all sense of humanity. Her mind was just filled with the resentment of losing her son, and all she wanted to do was strangle Sophia to get revenge. But, she should be incapable of doing so¡­ At this moment, a thought shed across Sophia¡¯s mind, and she remembered the drug that she once sold to Sandra. That drug would make its user extremely powerful, but it would also cause them to lose their minds. Afterward, neither a urine test nor a blood test could detect it! Hence, it was evident that Mrs. Bishop had been drugged. At this moment, she rushed forward. There were only two possible oues today. The first one was that Quinton would publicly end her life, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to find the cause of Mrs. Bishop¡¯s strangeness. All anyone would see was Quinton killing a poor mother who only wanted to avenge her son. The second possibility was that she would sprint forward and strangle Sophia to death. Quinton knew of her intentions, so he didn¡¯t try to fight back. Behind them, the two bodyguards were trying to pry Mrs. Bishop away from him, but she was unmoving. It was as if she had a huge car jack inside her. The hand on Quinton¡¯s neck seemed to be exerting more and more force¡ªso much so that Quinton¡¯s eyes had begun to roll back into his head. However, he still refused to struggle. Sophia was undoubtedly safe in the car. No matter how strong Mrs. Bishop was, she would not be able to scratch her way through this sports car that was built by Michel Military Enterprise. However, she couldn¡¯t bear to just sit there and watch or drive away! In the heat of the moment, Sophia opened the other door and patted the car roof. Facing Mrs. Bishop, who was on the opposite side, she yelled in a deliberately loud voice, ¡°Your son is a b*stard! He deserves to die! Come and kill me!¡± Her words enraged Mrs. Bishop. ¡°Shut up, b*tch!¡± Seemingly insane, Mrs. Bishop roared at Sophia from the other side of the car. Letting go of Quinton, she dashed toward Sophia like a gust of wind. While she came around to the other side from the front of the car, Sophia used this chance to open the driver¡¯s door and slip in. The moment the car door closed, Mrs. Bishop¡¯s bloody, withered hands began to w at the door. ¡°You took my son¡¯s life! Give me back my son!¡± Mrs. Bishop scratched at the window. Her fingernails were bleeding from the friction, covering the window with streaks of blood. Sophia kicked off her high heels and saw in the rearview mirror that Quinton had been dragged away by the bodyguards, so she hurriedly started the car. As soon as she stepped on the gas, the car sped off and fled to somewhere far away. If she had known what was going to happen today, she would have finished Clive off in the cybercaf¨¦! It would have saved them so much trouble! But, she knew that even without the Clive situation, Cooper would still be charged with awsuit. Their ancestors were right when they said that wealth would be the cause of an innocent man¡¯s downfall. The car had driven off quite a distance, and Mrs. Bishop had chased her for several hundred meters before she failed to catch up. In a craze, she ran back to strangle Quinton, but he and the few other bodyguards had already gone to hide in the security booth¡ªthe door was already shut tightly. Mrs. Bishop wed at the booth like a wild beast as she let out an inhumane cry. Quinton knew that Mrs. Bishop had been injected with a drug¡ªa drug that could give someone immense strength for a period. They would be unaware of pain, but they would gopletely insane. The Phantom Wolf developed this drug, and it was a half-finished product. Quinton had once used it on Richard¡¯s sister, Ka. To his knowledge, Jordan had possession of this drug. Chapter 1349 Chapter 1349 They couldn¡¯t go out. If they took action against Mrs. Bishop and something happened to her, it would be a strike against Cooper. The safest thing to do right now was to call the police. Quinton had been knocked out by the outrageously strong Mrs. Bishop for several seconds. He woke up to find Mrs. Bishop scratching and kicking at the security booth like a wild beast while Sophia had already driven away. Watching Mrs. Bishop continue with her insane quest, panic began to well up in his heart. He hastily gave Sophia a call. ¡°Sophia, where are you? Come back quickly. Don¡¯t go too far.¡± Sophia answered, ¡°I¡¯m at¡ª¡± Before she could finish, a scream and a loud crash could be heard. ¡°Sophia!¡± Quinton shouted. The sounds on the other side were garbled, but he could still hear Sophia¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯ll be at the junction of Third Avenue soon. Two people are tailing me, but don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll get rid of them.¡± He could hear that her voice was calm, but crashing sounds could be heard from time to time, so Quinton still felt that something was not quite right. His heart thumped violently in his chest. It seemed that the other party¡¯s target was Sophia, and they wanted her dead! Losing his beloved daughter would be a fatal blow to Cooper! ¡°Cover me!¡± Quinton suddenly said to the two people next to him. At the same time, he opened the door of the security booth with lightning speed and the three of them ran out. Upon seeing them, Mrs. Bishop charged toward them like a lunatic to strangle them, but the two bodyguards stepped forward to block her. Quinton sprinted toward a motorbike at the side and left the ce without stopping for even a second. By the time Mrs. Bishop broke away from the two bodyguards, he had already gone far. At this point, the effects of the drug were wearing off, causing Mrs. Bishop to slump listlessly to the ground. It was at this moment that the police car arrived. Meanwhile, Sophia was being chased by several cars. Her hair stood on end, and her mind was tense as she looked warily from side to side. It wasn¡¯t just two; there were countless cars on her tail. It wasn¡¯t rush hour, but there were still many cars on the threene highway. Two of the cars, in particr, kept close behind her, trying to knock into her. She stepped on the elerator and drove to the front, and after continuously overtaking other drivers, she managed to lose them. Before she could catch her breath, she caught sight of tworge trucks moving side by side, one on the left and the other on the right. Sophia had no choice but to pass through the middlene. At this moment, the car in front of her slowed down, forcing Sophia to slow down as well to maintain a safe distance. Before she knew it, the tworge trucks were nking her. The car in front drove on at a leisurely speed, and the car behind had also chased up to her. The trucks on her sides prevented her from changingnes. In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded by four vehicles. Looking at the tworge trucks on her left and right, with wheelsrger than that of her own, Sophia felt her blood run cold¡ªas if she was in an illusion where she would be crushed at any second. No, it¡¯s not just an illusion. Almost simultaneously, the two trucks slowly moved toward the middlene. If nothing unexpected happened, in less than a minute, Sophia would be crushed together with her car! Sophia¡¯s hands trembled at the thought of this. The car behind her had gotten out of harm¡¯s way where it wouldn¡¯t be crushed by the trucks, but it was still following closely behind. The car in front was still moving slowly, not allowing Sophia to overtake it. There wasn¡¯t any way out; not from the front and not from the back either. With trembling hands, Sophia clutched the steering wheel tightly. She didn¡¯t think that she would die like this. Daniel had said that she would live a long life despite being ill-fated. Carmen hasn¡¯t grown up, and Michael hasn¡¯t grown old yet. I can¡¯t die now! In less than a second, countless reasons why Sophia couldn¡¯t die shed across her mind. Then, her bare, tender foot mmed on the elerator and her car lurched forward at maximum speed. The two trucks were slowly approaching her, causing the road to grow narrower. To make matters worse, an SUV was in front of her, blocking the way. Sophia gritted her teeth and stepped all the way down on the elerator, speeding forward until she was side-by-side with the truck heads. They converged toward her, and the three of them advanced simultaneously, the two trucks crushing her in the middle. If it were any normal car, it would¡¯ve been squashed by now. But, her car was produced by Michel Military Enterprise, so it could still withstand it for a while. Even so, Sophia could hear the sound of metal being scraped. The three vehicles were neck and neck now. With the car in front blocking the way ahead, she was close to being crushed to pieces. She chose this moment to step on the elerator once again, and her car sped forward. Even though the car was streamlined and appeared elegant, Dragon Eye elements were hidden in its core. The car was filled with a sudden burst of power and it broke free of the two trucks nking her, and her car drew nearer to the vehicle in front. From N?velDrama.Org. The SUV ahead of her was slowing down, trying to push her back, but it simply couldn¡¯t resist the power of Dragon Eye, and could only be forced to move forward. The trucks behind were still upying twones, advancing on the yellow line and ready to crush her. Crashes sounded one after another. The car in front was blocking her, and the one behind was pushing. At any moment now, she would be ttened. Seeing that the car behind was advancing again, Sophia stepped on the elerator once more and mmed into the car in front. The rear end of the car was dented, and it instantly caught fire, but the car didn¡¯t stop. It wouldn¡¯t rest until she was dead. Since it wouldn¡¯t relent, Sophia continued to plow into it. The tough tank-like Dragon Eye car rammed into the SUV, letting loose shes of sparks. Eventually, Sophia managed to squeeze out from between the two cars. She quickly turned the steering wheel and slipped into the emergencyne without a second thought. The emergencyne was unimpeded. She raced forward, not caring if she would get caught for speeding. In just a few moments, she had left them behind. There was still a long way ahead, and Sophia didn¡¯t know what else awaited her. The other party had been prepared to take her life no matter the costs, so it was obvious the battle wouldn¡¯t end so simply. Nevertheless, she wasn¡¯t going to sit back and wait. Unbeknownst to her, two vehicles were chasing her in the emergencyne. The tworge trucks had caught up again. ¡°You f*cking¡­¡± Sophia was halfway through cursing them when she suddenly heard the traffic report: ¡°The right side of the bypass up ahead is under maintenance. Please keep to the left and take an alternative route.¡± Her eyes lit up. That¡¯s right; it¡¯s under maintenance! She looked in the rearview mirror and saw that several cars were rushing up to surround her. She swerved left and right, switching between the fastne and the emergencyne in an attempt to get rid of her pursuers. At some point, the rear end of her car veered left, and the front to the right. After rotating in a perfect circle, her car stopped on the side of the road. A new bypass had been built there, but it wasn¡¯t officially opened for use yet. Despite that, many drivers would still use it for convenience¡¯s sake. After several idents, two police cars were stationed there to block the road. From then on, no one dared to use the bypass anymore. At this moment, two officers got out of the police car and watched as Sophia¡¯s car, its front full of scratches, approached them. Thinking that she was pulling over because she was involved in a collision and was waiting for the insurancepany, they called out, ¡°Move in a little. You¡¯ll affect the traffic!¡± Sophia replied, ¡°Okay!¡± She slowly adjusted her car, moving until she was behind the two police cars and until she was well away from the main road. When she got down, she caught a glimpse of her pursuers driving away. Killing her on the highway could be easily covered up as a traffic ident, and the authorities could turn a blind eye, but not if they ended up killing the police as well. Jordan, show yourself if you have the guts! Chapter 1350 Chapter 1350 Riding his motorbike, Quinton got onto the highway, but there was traffic along the way. Fire engines and police cars drove past, obstructing the entire viaduct. There was smoke rising up ahead, and it was said that there was a car ident. He was extremely anxious. Lucky for him, he was on a motorbike, so other than the traffic police, he didn¡¯t have anyone else to fear. He sped his way through the congested road, and in just a split second, he saw Sophia¡¯s car parked on the roadside while she spoke to the two officers. Fortunately, she¡¯s fine. Quinton got down from his bike and wanted to rush up and give her a hug, only to find that a car had stopped next to Sophia in the unopened bypass. The car door opened, and Michael got down in a hurry. ¡°Hubby!¡± Sophia saw him and ran barefoot toward him. Michael opened his arms wide and picked her up, then spun her around with the fierce joy of seeing his loved one survive a disaster. Even the two traffic police couldn¡¯t help but smile. Look at the two of them! Quinton paused for a moment, then suppressed the frustration he felt in his heart and slowly walked toward them. As Michael studied Sophia, his heart was still beating fast. When he knew that something had befallen her, he nearly fell apart. Sophia, however, didn¡¯t dare to rx. All of a sudden, she asked, ¡°Has Carmen been dismissed from school?¡± Michael and Quinton¡¯s hearts plunged. If Jordan wanted to hurt Sophia to deal with Cooper, he wouldn¡¯t let Carmen go! At the entrance of the kindergarten, sses were about to end. A group of people was waiting at the entrance to pick up their children. The parents that sent their children to this kindergarten were wealthy and respectable people, so the parents seldom came to pick up their children as drivers and nannies were assigned instead. Standing amidst the drivers and nannies, the dashing Theo stood out from the crowd. An older woman who was waiting beside him asked curiously, ¡°Are you here to pick up your child? How old are they? Are they from the senior ss or the junior ss?¡± Theo nced at the woman emotionlessly, then answered in a cold and noble manner, ¡°I¡¯m here for my granddaughter.¡± The woman was silent for a moment, then she looked at his handsome features several times before letting out a low, enigmatic chuckle. He¡¯s young, but his mind doesn¡¯t seem to be working well. As soon as the school bell rang and the kindergarten door opened, everyone rushed in like a tidal wave to pick up their kids. Theo was the first one in, and he got to Carmen immediately. Carmen walked out carrying a school bag and a half-full,rge water bottle. Recently, she had been trying to be an independent little girl, so she was insistent on not letting Theo take her schoolbag as she believed that she should carry her own belongings. However, Theo still took the water bottle from her, conveniently unscrewing the lid and drinking water while he walked. Holding Theo¡¯s hand, she tried her best to recount what happened in the kindergarten today in a lisped tone. ¡°I¡¯m the first in my ss to change teeth! How awesome is that? Sour Face has a secret girlfriend now, and he even gave me 5 bucks to keep it a secret! Also, Poppy and I both got little red flowers!¡± When they arrived at the entrance of the kindergarten, the car was already parked there. Theo took Carmen¡¯s hand to help her into the car, but she said, ¡°Grandpa, don¡¯t worry. I can go in on my own.¡± As soon as Theo let go of her hand, an expressionless woman came scurrying over, aiming straight for Carmen. Her hands were outstretched to grab hold of Carmen, and at the same time, a hoard of parents carrying their children appeared out of nowhere and began squeezing their way around Theo as if trying to separate him from Carmen. The woman almost had Carmen in her grasp, but Carmen didn¡¯t seem to notice what was happening and was still trying to get into the car. Theo panicked and hurriedly threw the water bottle he was holding at the woman, causing her to stumble. Theo used this chance to bump his way through the crowd of parents and children, then rushed forward as swiftly as the wind and kicked the woman on the back, sending her hurtling through the opened car door. ¡°Close your eyes,¡± Theo said immediately. From N?velDrama.Org. Carmen hurriedly closed her eyes and covered them with her tiny hands. Theo swooped into the car and held the woman down. Something gleamed in the woman¡¯s hand, and he realized that it was a small knife. She shed at Theo several times, then realized that the man before her didn¡¯t seem like any impressive bodyguard, but his reactions were unusually fast. To Theo, the woman¡¯s attempts at shing him just made her look like a kitten trying to w at someone. Theo avoided her attacks with iparable agility and easily snapped the woman¡¯s neck. With a loud ¡®crack¡¯, she took herst breath. The car had started to move, and Carmen sat obediently to one side, hugging her school bag with her eyes still closed. ¡°Don¡¯t open your eyes until we reach home, ¡± Theo said. Carmen nodded. Theo shoved the lifeless woman to one side and used the carpet to cover her up. He ced Carmen in the car seat and hastily told the driver, ¡°Take the nine o¡¯clock turn.¡± The driver obliged and turned the steering wheel, driving into the corner where they then saw a dirty station wagon parked on the roadside. As military personnel, Theo already knew the nearby areas inside out after picking Carmen up for the past few days. Since the woman earlier wanted to kidnap Carmen, she would definitely have a car parked at the nine o¡¯clock turning as it was the fastest way to leave the scene. Theo knew that she would have aplices. If he were the oneing to nab a child, he would n four evacuation routes based on the areas nearby. He would have identified where was the best ce to change vehicles, how many people were needed for each scheme, and how many cars were needed. He would have had it all figured out. The station wagon must have left after knowing that their n had fallen through, but Theo remembered the number on the license te. Despite that, he didn¡¯t want to chase after them because Carmen was still in the car. However, he already had a three-dimensional strategic map of the surrounding areas in his mind. Picturing the enemy¡¯s speed, the road conditions, and the traffic, he understood the other party¡¯s actions like the back of his hand. After instructing Carmen not to peek, he made a phone call. ¡°Everyone,e over immediately. Guard intersections Z, H, Y, and R. Look out for the license te D357X, but do not intercept; just tail them discreetly. Be careful not to alert them. Also, send me the surveince footage of the several nearby blocks and report to me if there¡¯s a situation. ¡°Harry, I¡¯m sending you a license te. Find out which monster it belongs to.¡± ¡°Joel, something has happened on my side. I¡¯ll need you toe and handle it.¡± After getting word of the incident at the kindergarten, Michael and Sophia hurried back. Carmen was already home; she was oblivious to what had happened earlier as she happily told Sophia about her day at the kindergarten. Sophia hugged her, the joy of surviving a close brush with death still lingering in her heart. This time, she wouldn¡¯t let the matter rest! She would not! As for Theo, he had yet to return. After learning about the attack on Sophia, he went to look for the surveince footage at that time and discovered the whereabouts of her pursuers. After connecting the two incidents, he decided to go after them personally with the aid of Michael and Quinton. In the middle of the night, just after Sophia put Carmen to bed, Michael called her to say that the Fletchers, the Winstons, and the Mitchells had joined forces to take out all of the perpetrators. Chapter 1351 Chapter 1351 The people who were sent to kill Sophia and kidnap Carmen didn¡¯t seem to have any connections with each other, but Theo knew that they were aplices. After consecutively settling two groups of people, Theo figured that the matter wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed. With his sharp intuition, he quickly discovered that they were part of a gang that had resided in Bayside City for many years. But, there was no evidence to prove that this matter was rted to Jordan, nor was there any proof that these people were connected to him. In the past, no one knew about the rtionship between these two parties, but now that they were aware, they could use the excuse of cracking down on these criminals to end them once and for all. Theo personally led the team, and after a whole day¡¯s work of uncovering one crime after another, they managed to remove thempletely from Bayside City, making sure to leave no trace behind. It affected nearly half the city, but from then on, that gang became history. Over the course of this entire day, ordinary citizens seemed to have noticed that something was going on. Riverdale was crawling with soldiers and police, and manypanies had let their employees off early. At midnight, Sophia received an overseas call from Callum. As soon as she picked up, Callum eximed, ¡°Wow, Sophia, you¡¯re amazing! You¡¯ve actually managed to get rid of one of Jordan¡¯s support systems. That gang is one that he¡¯s been secretly operating in Bayside City for many years now! You¡¯re awesome!¡± After Cooper and Linus were caught, Callum reckoned that they were going to be finished off by Jordan, one by one! To their surprise, they were informed early in the morning that one of Jordan¡¯s support systems had been destroyed. If it wasn¡¯t because he was quick to cut ties with them, he would¡¯ve been implicated by now. Unsurprisingly, that gang belonged to Jordan, and it was one of his strongest support systems. In fact, in Bayside City, they were considered a part of the Edwards Group. Hence, he didn¡¯t expect that Sophia would manage to find a way to eradicate his biggest support system! It was incredible! Upon hearing this, Sophia let out a coldugh before hanging up. In her mind, she was registering the secret information that had just been uncovered. Since Jordan and that secret society were rted and they were one of his support systems, they must have been operating for many years. His support system would be like his limbs¡ªattached to him in some way. As bones were attached to the tendons, it would be impossible to perform a clean break in just one day. Early the next day, Taylor made a post on his Twitter. There were only two videos with no text captioning them. The first video was footage taken from the highway¡¯s surveince camera of Sophia nearly being crushed by the two trucks. Four vehicles could be seen trying to enclose a small sports car, potentially crushing it at any moment. In the end, the tiny Dragon Eye sports car managed to escape. The second video was of Carmen nearly being taken away at the kindergarten entrance. As soon as the videos were posted, they became a hot topic, and it evoked a sense of panic in the public. They never expected that there were people in Bayside City who would try to nab a child and murder someone in broad daylight! Did thew even exist anymore? The relevant authorities made official announcements stating that they had eliminated the gang behind this and that the case was currently under investigation. At noon, a massive group of police and soldiers surrounded Edwards Group Tower, blocking off all the passages and entryways. Edwards Group was having a board meeting, so every director was present as well as certain shareholders. They rushed in and arrested several of Edwards Groups¡¯ people based on the leads they had received, whisking them away without any questioning. By the time Jordan arrived at the scene, numerous Edwards Group employees had already been handcuffed and were being stuffed into the cars. Jordan had arrived with awyer. All along, he had been calm and collected as if he was the head of the Edwards Family that had everything in the palm of his hands. But today, he was unexpectedly anxious. Only he knew the pain of losing an entire support system. To make matters worse, the Fletchers were going after the Edwards Group as well! At first, he figured that although the situation had gotten awry, they would not be able to ce the me on him. But, he had to admit that this time, he had truly underestimated his opponents. However, it was no use for them to go after him as they didn¡¯t have any evidence. When he took notice of Jordan¡¯s arrival, Joel said, ¡°Mr. Edwards, I know what you want to say, but your subordinates are suspected of being involved in gang matters, murder, and child abduction. You and yourwyer should follow us to the station.¡± Jordan shot Joel a fierce re before getting into the police car. This time, he was truly faced with a huge setback. Concerned, Lucy said from outside the car, ¡°Dad, be careful.¡± Jordan chuckled coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± The car left, and many of Edwards Group¡¯s employees were carted away for investigation, grumbling, and swearing along the way. Eventually, news channels began to report about the Edwards Group being involved with gangs, and how a number of their senior executives were captured. As she watched the line of cars drive off, Lucy had a look of worry stered on her face, but it was just an act, as her eyes seemed to gleam with an evil light. Behind her, Ian asked worriedly, ¡°What do we do about those few executives that held high positions?¡± Lucy hid away her false look of concern and smiled. ¡°Thepany has to continue operating as usual. We won¡¯t stop because of the departure of those few people. It seems that those directors won¡¯t be able toe back to the office for the time being, so I reckon we let our people take their ces.¡± Lucy turned and walked into the Edwards Group, satisfied with the situation. She didn¡¯t expect that Jordan would find himself in such a mishap this time. It seemed that the man was failing miserably at every turn. He wanted to mess with Cooper by tackling Sophia and Carmen but faced a counter-attack instead. Jordan had ways to free himself, but the case was different for the other employees of Edwards Group. After all, the Fletchers had to kill a few people to get revenge. The Fletchers couldn¡¯ty a finger on Jordan for the time being, but they could undoubtedly finish off a few of hisckeys. Besides, Michael was a well-known public figure, so the effect that the attempted murder on his wife had on the public was not something to be ignored. Ultimately, they had to get rid of several people to set things straight in the eyes of the public. Naturally, the name list was given by Lucy. On it were the names of Jordan¡¯s most trusted subordinates in Edwards Group. After getting rid of them, the chance to unravel Edwards Group would be just around the corner. This time, Jordan had formed a wless n: kill Sophia in an ident and if the higher-ups tried to investigate, it would just appear as a normal car ident; at the same time, someone would kidnap Carmen at the kindergarten. The consequence for killing a child was severe, so he originally nned to keep her for twelve hours before letting the police find her. These twelve hours would be enough to let Cooper lose his head. It would certainly be a critical blow to him. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. However, he didn¡¯t expect that Sophia would survive and that they would use the kidnappers as a means of getting to the root of the situation. The most aggravating thing was that they had even gotten the Edwards Group involved, and plenty of his most trusted subordinates had been arrested. It seemed that those people were destined to be pawns to quell the wrath of the Fletchers and the public. This was a delicate moment for Jordan. One wrong move would lead to another, and everything would be screwed up. At the same time, Jordan received word that something had happened in Europe, so he went there in a hurry. Before he got on the ne, he learned that Cooper and Linus had been acquitted. With the dramatic growth of Cooper and his son¡¯s reputations over this time, as well as the pressure from multiple parties, the authorities gave up on the notion of tormenting Cooper and allowed them to return home. Chapter 1352 Chapter 1352 After being taken away for a week to be investigated, Cooper and Linus finally returned home. ¡°Dad! Linus!¡± Sophia gleefully went to wee the two of them. Upon seeing Sophia sprinting toward him, Cooper opened his arms to catch her. At this moment, Cooper was filled with a lingering sense of fear. He had watched the video and had seen his darling daughter stuck in that tiny car, nearly getting crushed by those two trucks. ¡°All right. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m back,¡± Cooper said softly, hugging Sophia before scooping Carmen up. For the past week, he had appeared to be at a disadvantage on the surface, but he and Linus had actually been using this opportunity toy out their ns. Jordan had invested all of his energy in Bayside City, so it had caught him by surprise when conflict arose in his territories in Europe. It seemed that the pawn that Cooper had ced there finally proved themself useful. So, at this very moment, Jordan was in Europe trying to settle the issue. When he returned home, Cooper saw Theo spread out on the sofa watching ¡®The Bright Sword¡¯. Although Cooper didn¡¯t like it when Theoy on the sofa all day drinking liquor while watching action films, this time, Theo had done the unexpected by throwing Jordan into the gutter. He had certainly done well. Coopermended him. ¡°Theo, you¡¯ve really outdone yourself this time.¡± Concentrating on watching Landon McNeil fight against Peace County, Theo answered, ¡°It was nothing. We should support each other after all.¡± It was worth mentioning that the young, dashing man before Cooper was none other than Theo Fletcher! Thirty years ago, Theo had taken out the drug lord¡¯s base that had been entrenched in the southwest border for decades! When he and Tanya got married, he had invited two-thirds of the world¡¯s greatest drug lords to his wedding, and he had annihted all of them. He was the one who had turned the Golden Triangle from a poppy farm into a fragrant tea farm. From N?velDrama.Org. Later, he had ¡®sacrificed¡¯ himself to prevent people from seeking vengeance against his family. Up until now, he had not revealed his identity, so no one knew about this historical moment and the existence of Theo Fletcher. All they knew was that the central government had sent a general to wipe out the Golden Triangle, which many forces had failed to defeat. And, it went without saying that no one was aware that this general was being intentionally concealed from the public. Not to mention, no one would¡¯ve imagined that Mark¡¯s most beloved son, who was once a battle- hardened general, was currently sitting at home and living a leisurely life picking up his grandchild and taking his dog on daily walks. Now, everything was in the past. Of course, it was unknown whether Quinton had personally killed Clive, or if Cooper had instructed him to do so. Either way, the matter had been dealt with, and the ¡®murderer¡¯¡ªwho was a habitual offender and a serial murder suspect¡ªhad been caught. Sophia didn¡¯t know how things ended for the Bishop family as it was handled by the Fletchers. In any case, Sophia would asionally see news about the Bishop family. After stirring up trouble so often, the public¡¯s initial sympathy for them had started to wane. Word of them exploiting their daughter to support their son had gotten out. Their son had died, but the Bishops¡¯ nasty nature had made the public lose theirpassion for them. After the return of Cooper and his son, the part of Europe that had been constantly giving them trouble had quietened down. The African headquarters were under control, and Dragon Technology Corporation continued to operate as usual. Even the officials who hade to inspect thepany¡¯s taxes, fire protection system, and boiler room had stoppeding. They were finally clear of suspicion. As for Jordan, not only did he lose an entire support system, Lucy had also gotten rid of many of his most trusted subordinates, further eliminating his influence in the Edwards Group. However, Jordan was the person who had caused Sam to lose his chance at the presidency. The power he held was unthinkable. Even Anna had failed to seed at the n that she had worked on for two decades. Getting rid of him was not something that could be aplished overnight, but Lucy was confident that she would witness Jordan¡¯s death someday. Upon returning, Cooper apanied Carmen to shoot a reality show, but the script of the next few episodes had been changed from a parent-child science ss to a parent-child national defense ss. The shooting location had been switched to a military camp, and it was still being broadcasted on the military channel. Michael continued to film his new movie at the shooting site while Sophia had begun to work on JNS Group¡¯s new products for the next season. Everyone was kept busy. Besides going to work, Sophia was also attending graduate school, so her hands were considerably full, but everyone followed suit. They started to work while pursuing a graduate degree on the side, attending sses every week. This small group of friends had started their respective businesses when they were still in school. On the day they were supposed to take their graduation photo, Sophia had disappeared. Shortly after, Sarah had given birth to Hope. Meanwhile, Stanley and Sean had started a business together. Needless to say, each of them had encountered their fair share of ups and downs in life. After so many years had passed, all of their businesses had grown stable, so they all decided to go back to school to continue with their education. ¡°Sophia, you can continue to f*cking dawdle. I¡¯m not waiting for you!¡± Walking on the campus of Bayside University, Sophia suddenly heard Stanley¡¯s voice. Then, she saw him whizzing past on a rented ofo¡ªa yellow bicycle that was part of a bicycle-sharing system¡ªas he flew into the depths of the university. Sean rode behind him, the two of them speeding off in tandem. Having traded their business suits with student uniforms, they seemed to appear several years younger. ¡°Hmph, fine! Don¡¯t wait up!¡± Sarah muttered beside Sophia. When Sophia first made the decision to sit for the graduate entrance examination, she had gotten a vast number of positive responses from her fellow friends. Now that everyone was getting together to continue their education, Sarah too had decided to pursue a master¡¯s degree in management. Dressed in in student uniforms and walking around in ts, they were no different from the other students. It was as if they had gone back to the way they looked in the graduation photo from many years ago. It was a pity that Sophia hadpletely lost her memory from that time. She had forgotten how she grew up and how she struggled but refused to give up hope. Sarah presented herself like how she used to. With round cheeks framing her face, her features were made up of double eyelids, huge eyes, a small mouth, and a tiny nose. Dressed in Lolita fashion, she looked like aic character in real life. Walking amongst the students, she fit right in. Sophia, on the other hand, looked nothing like her old self. She was a mixed-race child, and she looked like her mother when she was young. Now, she bore more resemnce to her father; even her temperament had changed drastically. Her big blue eyes were likerge cosmetic contact lenses. Sarah stared at those eyes. ¡°Are you going to stick to the same pair of eyes for your entire life? In the future, do you n to change to the¡­ cornea made out of human flesh?¡± A cornea made out of human flesh¡­ Sophia blinked several times. Her eyes were artificial, as her original ones had long been destroyed. If not for this pair of artificial corneas, she would be blind now. ¡°I¡¯ll change if there¡¯s a suitable recement.¡± Over the years, she seemed to have gotten ustomed to the artificial corneas in her eyes. It would feel strange to suddenly change to the ¡®cornea made out of human flesh¡¯. The two walked around the campus, slowly heading toward their sses. Just the act of roaming around the campus lifted their spirits. Suddenly, Harry pulled up next to them on an ofo. He was wearing a mask, but they could still tell that it was him. ¡°Hey, Old Wolf, what are you doing here?¡± Sarah hopped onto the bicycle, clearly pleased to see him. Harry responded, ¡°I¡¯m here to see if you¡¯re cutting sses.¡± As he spoke, he turned back to see if Sarah was properly seated before riding off. ¡°We¡¯ll see you in ss, Sofie!¡± Sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, Sarah waved happily at Sophia. Sophia shook her head. They¡¯re so affectionate, even at this age! Chapter 1353 Chapter 1353 Sophia strolled around the campus on her own. It was still early, so she decided to walk around and explore the ce. Her meal card had just been topped up with cash, so she was about to go to the cafeteria to grab a bite when a bicycle suddenly came to a halt beside her. Its rider had the Fletchers¡¯ signature crew cut. Without turning back, he parked the bike to one side and said, ¡°Get on.¡± Delighted to see him, Sophia mounted the bike while asking, ¡°Nate, are you here for your sses too?¡± Focused on riding his bike, Nathan answered, ¡°Yeah.¡± He had been raised in the manor since he was young and was taught by the best private tutors who provided him with the finest education. But, because Michael didn¡¯t have time to look after him, he was distant and cold. Having refused to go to kindergarten, he began his studies at Bayside University when he was five years old after Michael donated a building. Just like that, he had already been at Bayside University for ten years. A few years ago, Sophia had brought him from the East Entrance to the South Entrance on her Yamaha bike. She had brought him to the cafeteria to grab a meal, held him while he performed a m dunk, and even brought him to the cybercaf¨¦ to y games. She had even brought him to eat kebabs and to the night market to y ring toss. Those memories were filled with a riot of colors. After all these years, he was now the one carrying her on his bicycle. From N?velDrama.Org. Sitting in the back seat, Sophia was smiling as brightly as the sun. As she enjoyed the early summer breeze, she caught a whiff of the fresh smell that had appeared in her dreams. Perhaps it was from one of the memories that she had lost. Eyes, a shade of green, and the smell of books. No, something seems to be missing¡­ All of a sudden, she saw a bicycle catching up to them on the tree-lined path that was covered by ovepping greenery. Warm sunlight shone down on the man, making him appear radiant. He seemed to emit a faint milky white halo and was as ethereal as a light feather. Every pore on his body was exuding the fresh aura of sunlight as if he was a God who had just descended into the mortal world from the heavens. He looked like he was once d in golden armor and divine clothing but was now dressed in a white shirt. The colorful clouds he used to step on had transformed into a rented ofo. In Sophia¡¯s eyes, he would always be the unparalleled deity who arrived on colorful clouds. He was her hero, and he belonged to her alone. Michael chased them from behind, closing the distance between him and Sophia. She seemed to be able to glimpse theyer of sweat on his head rising, forming a faint fog. ¡°Michael!¡± Sophia called out. Michael grinned, his eternally young face still full of vigor. Sitting in front, Nathan nced at Michael, who was catching up on his ofo, and scoffed. Oh, you old man. He didn¡¯t know what Sophia saw in this old man back then. How nice would it have been if she had gotten with ude instead! With this thought in mind, Nathan pedaled harder. His bike was far ahead, and the gap between them widened. Michael frowned. Brat! Now that your wings have hardened, not only do you want to fly, but you¡¯re even trying to swat me away. He exerted more strength and the two bicycles advanced together. Soon, they caught up to Harry, who was up front, as well as Stanley and Sean who were at the concession stand buying water and snacks. ¡°Hey, wait for us!¡± Stanley quickly threw the snacks and water into his basket before rushing to catch up. Sophia waved at them. ¡°Come on, stupid dog!¡± They were no longer teenagers, but the lot of themughed and joked around as they sped off toward the warm sunlight. Quinton was riding an ofo as well, but he didn¡¯t join them for sses. Instead, he rode toward the concession stand. After returning the bike, he went in to buy a coffee, then realized that he could only pay with a meal card, not cash. He opened his wallet to search for it, then found the teacher¡¯s meal card he had used years ago, which still happened to have several thousand in it. He bought a cup of coffee, then walked into the school. He got to the university¡¯s alumni corridor where photos and information of the most decorated students that Bayside University had for the past century since their establishment was posted. There was Michael, Harry, Sophia, Cooper, Linus, and of course, himself. Unfortunately, his was a ck-and-white portrait. A few years ago, his identity was exposed, and he was ready to capture Sophia, but everything ended up in smoke. Afterward, he disappeared from the world. ording to the news, he had volunteered to be taken hostage in order to save the students that had been kidnapped by a terrorist group. After getting them out, he had sacrificed himself. Bayside University had hung his picture in the alumni corridor where freshmen would get to know him at the start of every school year. Every student knew that there used to be a handsome and charming teacher at Bayside University who taught economicw and financial ounting. He was the second son of the distinguished rk Family and Bayside University¡¯s youngest teacher. Every year during summer break, he would go to Africa to do volunteer work, as his biggest dream was to leave everything behind and go teach in the remote mountainous areas. He was supposedly buried in the cemetery outside the city, and every year during Ancestors¡¯ Day, the students of Bayside University would visit his grave and pay their respects. Tilting his head, Quinton looked up at his former face smiling back at him in the ck and white frame. When the photo was taken, his smile had been serious and genuine. Looking back on the past thirty years, he was happiest when he was studying and working at Bayside University. Following Tanya¡¯s advice, he married into the rk Family. All they knew was that he came from abroad, his grades were excellent, and that he had sessfully gotten into Bayside University. He continued his studies abroad after graduating, then upon returning, he went back to Bayside University to be a teacher. He would go overseas from time to time to participate in academic seminars as well as travel during the holidays. His stepfather treated him well and regarded Quinton as his own. He was proud of him, and would often boast about how outstanding his second son was. Quinton would call him ¡®Dad¡¯, and their rtionship was genuine. Everything was obviously splendid, but he still managed to ruin everything with his own hands. No one knew that at the age of fourteen, he was already the leader of the Phantom Wolf and he had countless blood debts on his hands. His past had been filled with lies and illusions. Tanya had helped him remarry so that he could have a new identity that would facilitate his movements in Bayside City. However, their ultimate goal was to take revenge on the Fletchers. Nevertheless, even in that illusion, everyone had been sincerely good to him, but he had pushed them all away, tearing up this perfect but real illusion with his bare hands. The thought of living in this fantasy forever had, in fact, crossed his mind often. Oh, how great it would¡¯ve been! Looking at his former self, Quinton took a sip of coffee and a faint smile yed on his lips. He exhaled a cocoa-infused breath, then turned around to throw away the cup. Unknowingly, his eyes had gotten moist with tears. Sophia was in ss, so Michael wandered around to enjoy a breath of fresh air. At some point, he saw Quinton sitting on the grass, basking in the sun. Surrounded by several students, he held a book as he exined a topic to a student. ¡°The answer to this question is notplete. This question covers four main points, and ording to the case materials, there is a trap here¡­¡± In a serious manner, he exined the question with ease. Michael waited for the group of students to leave before walking up to him and asking, ¡°How about youe back to continue teaching?¡± Chapter 1354 Chapter 1354 Since Michael was rarely home, he was constantly worried about leaving someone who had once shown interest in his wife in his house. But Quinton stayed home every day, seemingly not wanting to go anywhere. Thest time he was asked toe back and teach, he had refused, so he would probably refuse this time as well. However, Michael felt that he needed to be ¡®kicked¡¯ out of the house. As if he understood where Michael¡¯s pettiness wasing from, Quinton drank the yogurt that the student had given while agreeing. ¡°Okay.¡± That was fast¡­ If it weren¡¯t because Michael could provide him with biologically engineered spare organs, he didn¡¯t want to live in Michael¡¯s house all the time either. He had long wanted to move out to be a teacher at Bayside University. Michael was taken aback by Quinton¡¯s quick agreement. Patting him on the shoulder, Michael said, ¡°Get ready then. I¡¯ll go speak to the vice-chancellor; you can register as a teacher under the Fletcher name.¡± He made a mental note to assign him the best apartment unit that was preferably fully furnished so that he could move in immediately. In the ssroom, the lecturer was full of energy, delivering his lesson while the students listened intently. All of a sudden, a high-pitched chime resounded through the room. Awoooo¡ª After the wolf¡¯s howling ended, the ssroom fell silent for a second, then a flurry of snickers erupted. Flustered, Stanley hurriedly fished out his mobile phone, only to find that Christine was calling him. His ringtone was a wolf¡¯s howl, and the volume had been set too high, which was why the entire ssroom had just been filled with a sad, high-pitched cry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± He quickly hung up the phone, then set it to vibrate. He sent a message to Christine saying that he would return her callter before putting his phone to one side. Sophia, who was sitting next to him, felt embarrassed. This stupid dog is always doing stupid things. After ss was dismissed, everyone talked andughed as they left the school. Harry came to pick Sarah up on his bicycle while Sophia waited for Michael, who had gone to speak with the vice- chancellor. Stanley tried to return Christine¡¯s call, but no one picked up. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What happened? She¡¯s not picking up, and she¡¯s not replying on Messenger,¡± he muttered, looking like a lovesick teenager who was being snubbed by his girlfriend. Seanughed and reasoned, ¡°Perhaps she¡¯s at work!¡± Stanley simply looked down at his phone and said nothing. Apanied by Stanley and Sean, Sophia sat next to the Teaching Building while she waited for Michael. In a rather dissatisfied tone, she said, ¡°What are you guys waiting for? Go home by yourselves!¡± Stanley eximed, ¡°Don¡¯t think that we don¡¯t know that your family is preparing a delicious meal tonight. You want to get rid of us? In your dreams! Grand-uncle Theo has already picked Maisie up. Tonight, the three of us will go and exploit your hospitality!¡± Sean chimed in, ¡°We¡¯ll exploit you!¡± Sophia pursed her lips. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m so terrified!¡± After a while, Nathan was also done with his sses. As his bicycle came to a stop in front of Sophia, he said coldly, ¡°Get on.¡± Sophia was about to speak when she saw Michael and Quinton riding over on their ofos. Michael parked his bicycle between Nathan and Sophia, then said, ¡°Get on.¡± Sophia smiled at Nathan before jumping onto the back seat of Michael¡¯s bicycle. He rode away as Nathan chased after them in a huff. When they arrived home, Sarah and Harry were already waiting. Theo had also returned from picking up the children, and they were chattering like a flock of sparrows. Rumors about Hope getting himself a girlfriend at the kindergarten had gotten to Sarah, and once Sarah knew something, everyone else would too. ¡°Hope, what¡¯s your girlfriend¡¯s name? Is she pretty? Why don¡¯t you bring her back and show Mommy? Is it Be? Lily? It¡¯s Little Marsha, isn¡¯t it?¡± No matter how many questions she peppered him with, Hope refused to say anything. The expression on his face showed that he was truly living up to his nickname¡ªSour Face. Since she couldn¡¯t get an answer out of Hope, Sarah tried to ask Carmen, but she imed not to know anything. Afterward, Sarah had a chat with Sophia. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you concerned about Carmen? Maybe she¡¯s also gotten herself a boyfriend in kindergarten. Kids nowadays grow up so fast!¡± Watching Carmen, Sophia feltpletely at ease. She knew that Carmen would not start dating in kindergarten. Supposedly, she had had plenty of ¡®experience¡¯ with dating. Her ex-boyfriend had saved up enough money for a pet shop, so it was obvious that she wouldn¡¯t settle for just any ordinary boy. As they waited for dinner to be served, everyone happily chatted away. Theo watched the news broadcast as usual, and Cooper was forced to watch it with him. Michael and Quinton talked about Quinton returning to school as a teacher, but Stanley kept his head low and his eyes peeled on his phone. He felt agitated¡ªas if he sensed that something was about to happen. After Christine called him, she hadn¡¯t picked up his calls, nor did she reply to his messages. This behavior was very unlike her. Sophia moved closer to him with a nosy look on her face. ¡°Stupid dog, are you really in a rtionship?¡± But Stanley continued to frown, not answering her. His heart was heavy; even the joy of scrounging a free meal had disappeared. Sophia took his silence as tacit admission. Soon, the food was served, and therge family gathered together. There was the Western food that Cooper and Linus liked as well as the smander soup that everyone knew and loved. Stanley, who would usually pounce on food like a predator attacking its prey and would want to have a sip or two of everything including medicine, was acting out of character today; he was constantly stuck in a daze. Sean had taken several pieces of tofu for him, but he didn¡¯t eat much and was just ying with his food instead. He took only a few bites of his food, staring at his phone the whole time. When dinner was over, Sophia contentedly drank her chicken soup. Suddenly, Stanley¡¯s phone rang with the familiar wolf¡¯s howl, and he hurriedly picked it up. They didn¡¯t know what the person on the other side had said. All they saw was the abrupt change in Stanley¡¯s demeanor after just listening to a few words. He stood up and walked out without saying a word. ¡°Stan, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Sean asked as he chased after him. Stanley had already put on his shoes when he answered, ¡°Something happened to Christine.¡± With that, he opened the door and left. Sean was stunned for a moment, then he turned around and called out, ¡°Sophia, Maisie will need to stay at your house for a while tonight.¡± He rushed off without another word. Sophia then set down her bowl to catch up to them, wanting to get a grasp of the situation. Judging from Stanley¡¯s expression, it seemed that something serious had happened, so she had to go and take a look. The three of them left the neighborhood. Stanley drove his car and peeled down the road as fast as he could, running numerous red lights along the way. Throughout the entire drive, Stanley¡¯s face was gloomy. He didn¡¯t say a word and was solely focused on turning the steering wheel non-stop. Seated in the passenger seat, Sean was silent as well. Sophia, who was in the back seat, took out her phone and ran a search on the name ¡®Christine Bishop¡¯. Many news articles began popping up. Tonight¡¯s headline: ¡®Christine Bishop Falls to Her Death¡¯. Upon seeing the words ¡®fall¡¯ and ¡®death¡¯, Sophia¡¯s mind went nk. She quickly clicked into the news article and saw that a video was being widely circted by many media outlets. A girl in a white dress was sitting outside the window of the eighth floor of a hotel, shouting herself hoarse. Unfortunately, no one could understand her, as it seemed to be drunken gibberish. Several secondster, amidst the shouts of the bystanders, she fell to the ground like a snowke, sshing blood everywhere. Chapter 1355 Chapter 1355 The video ended there. Sophia¡¯s screen was then filled with news of Christine¡¯s death. Soon, the car arrived at the hospital where reporters were crowding the entrance. When they spotted Stanley, they instantly recognized him, and countless microphones were shoved into his face. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, were you and Miss Bishop in a rtionship?¡± ¡°Is it true that Miss Bishop had died on the spot?¡± ¡°What do you think of Miss Bishop¡¯s death?¡± Stanley ignored all their questions. With a somber expression, he walked into the hospital while the security guards blocked the reporters from entering. The signage above the emergency room was still lit. In the corridor, blood-covered doctors and nurses were constantly walking around. Joel had his arms around Maddie as he whispered words offort. ¡°Joel, it¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have let here to Amstead. It¡¯s all my fault¡ª¡± Maddie sobbed. The look on Joel¡¯s face was extremely unpleasant. ¡°How¡¯s Christine?¡± Stanley hurried over. Joel nced at Sean, who was behind him, then answered, ¡°Still having surgery. She¡¯s not out of danger yet.¡± When Stanley heard this, he felt hollowed out for a moment, and his mind turned nk. Something bad had happened to Christine; no wonder he was fidgety all afternoon and evening. He demanded abruptly, ¡°What the hell happened?¡± ¡°A few stars were drinking and celebrating in the hotel room. Christine got drunk and jumped down from the window on the eighth floor. The police are investigating it right now,¡± Joel exined. Sophia¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Is that really the case? During midnight, Sophia sat in the hospital corridor, repeatedly watching the video of Christine that was being circted online. Christine had been sitting on the eighth-floor window, shouting and yelling as if she really had too much to drink. Sophia looked at the time the video was taken. It was around the time she had given Stanley a call. She then noticed the name of the hotel¡ªChamps-Elysee Hotel. Champs-Elysee Hotel¡­ Where have I heard that name before? Meanwhile, Joel was pacing up and down the corridor. Sean had bought several bottles of water and was giving one to Stanley. He wordlessly epted it, then held it in his hands, making no move to drink it. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the emergency room light. Sean patted Stanley¡¯s shoulder and reassured him, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Christine¡¯s going to be fine.¡± Still, Stanley remained silent. He had a feeling that Christine¡¯s jump had something to do with him not picking up her call. Her phone call hade just one minute before her jumping incident. Christine was still being rescued, but several reporters already had news about her death prepared. Evenizens had started to im that she was dead. A manager from Christine¡¯s agency hade to wait for updates. The Bishops and the Evans were still in Bayside City, but they only showed up in the middle of the night. Upon arriving, they kneeled on the ground and began to weep. ¡°Oh, my darling girl ¡ª¡± Maddie¡¯s usual gentle demeanor disappeared as she coldly reproached them. ¡°Shut up! This is a hospital. Quit making a racket!¡± As soon as they caught sight of Maddie, the Bishops and the Evans advanced aggressively on her. ¡°Maddie, you evil creature!¡± Before Maddie could speak, Joel was already shooting them a fierce re, effectively shutting both families up. They were no longer ignorant of his capabilities. They now knew that there was someone out there who could get them kicked out of their public housing with just a phone call. Therefore, they dared not find trouble with Maddie, but they continued to curse her silently. For the past few days, the Bishops and the Evans had been hit with tremendous changes. They had spent more than a hundred thousand to purchase public housing, but they promptly lost the rights to buy it. They had spent two hundred thousand to acquire a job within the system, but they lost that too. They lost their ce in the elite ss that they had spent a hundred thousand to obtain, and their relocation ns had also been wrecked. All of these happenings were a catastrophe to them. It was equivalent to killing their whole family. Sometime before dawn, a blood-covered doctor approached them and asked, ¡°Is Christine Bishop¡¯s family here?¡± Mr. Bishop hurried forward. ¡°Me! I¡¯m Christine¡¯s father! Doctor, how¡¯s my daughter?¡± The doctor said gravely, ¡°Mr. Bishop, your daughter has suffered fractures all over her body, as well as severe brain trauma, brain stem injury, and multiple organ damage. She¡¯s out of danger for now, but she will be unconscious for a while. Do be prepared for the possibility of amputation.¡± Mr. Bishop¡¯s mind turned nk at once. The doctor continued, ¡°You can go and settle the bill first. My advice is to gather more money, as follow-up treatments, rehabilitation, and other necessities may require more than three million in total.¡± At the mention of three million, Mr. Bishop grew anxious. Eventually, he announced ruthlessly, ¡°Then, we won¡¯t go through with the treatment! We don¡¯t have that much money!¡± In tears, Mrs. Bishop wailed, ¡°Her brother still needs to start hispany, and we just paid for a house in full! Where are we supposed to get so much money?¡± The other rtives added, ¡°This hospital is a scam! Just like every other hospital in Bayside City! It¡¯s just a fall! We should bring her home to receive treatment!¡± The doctor said nothing, but he understood that in a situation like Christine¡¯s, resuscitation would be a problem. Even if she was sessfully brought back to life, she would probably end up in a vegetative state, or suffer from hemiplegia or paraplegia. Saving her would require a huge amount of money, and if she was resuscitated, the cost for her rehabilitation would be enough to cause the copse of their family in an instant. Hence, many people simply gave up on letting Christine receive treatment. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Gritting her teeth, Maddie darted forward and pushed Mr. Bishop away. To the doctor, she said, ¡°You must treat her! Get her the best doctors and the best ward. No matter how much it costs, I¡¯ll pay!¡± With that, she hurried off with the nurse to pay the bill. Joel went with Maddie, and neither the Bishops nor the Evans stopped them. Instead, they remained in the corridor exchanging whispers. ¡°It¡¯s better not to get her treated. Let the child go in peace!¡± ¡°Even if she could be treated, she would suffer. Paraplegia means that she will have to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. Plus, you¡¯ll need to hire someone to clean after her. Not only would she be unable to earn a living, but she would drag the family down. She won¡¯t be able to marry either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Charles, you¡¯ve got to think this through. Two of your sons just got married, and their marriage can¡¯t be affected¡ª¡± Feeling detached, Sophia took in the scene and she was suddenly ovee with the urge to vomit. These days, the Bishop Family was making frequent appearances on major newspapers and television stations. They wanted to kill Cooper to avenge their son and had sustained financial losses. No one had expected that the media would turn their family upside down, opening the public¡¯s eyes to just how shameless the Bishops were. All of Christine¡¯s hard-earned money had been used by her family to buy houses, cars, and even to fund her brother¡¯s weddings. The betrothal gifts, the bridal chamber, the decorations, and other works were paid for using her money. They were just exploiting Christine, squeezing her dry as if they were wringing a towel. Now that Christine was in trouble, the first thing on their mind was to give up on her treatment? Obviously, selling off a house in Provincial City alone could save her! The Bishops had undoubtedly seen Sophia, and they were aware that she was Cooper¡¯s daughter. They wanted to mess with her but dared not approach her when they saw the few burly men standing beside her, so they could only silently call her a ¡®slutty b*tch¡¯. Chapter 1356 Chapter 1356 Clive was dead, and the murderer had been caught, but the Bishops didn¡¯t get anypensation whatsoever. Indignant, they wanted to make a big deal out of things to humiliate Cooper, hinder his daughter from marrying, and make them pay for their losses. To their dismay, the citizens of Bayside City didn¡¯t buy their stunt. Not only did the Bishops create unnecessary trouble, but Mrs. Bishop had also gone insane, running around scratching people. s, she was arrested and now, they were the topic of mostizens¡¯ condemnations. They viewed the wealthy people of Bayside City as having no sense of empathy. Although the Bishops¡¯ son was dead, no one sympathized with them. The Bishops and the Evans were aggrieved, but Stanley remained silent as he sat there all night. It was evident that he cared a lot about Christine, so this incident was a fatal blow to him. After the doctors spent all day and all night rescuing Christine, she was finally free of danger, but she was still in aa and was probably in a vegetative state. Unwilling to give up, Maddie brought her to a better hospital and got her admitted to the most expensive ward, which cost more than ten thousand a day. Fortunately, the Fletchers were a prominent family with a number of big businesses, so this amount wasn¡¯t that big of a deal to them. At some point, Sophia went home, but the scene of Christine jumping off the building kept reying in her mind. Champs-Elysee Hotel¡­ She must¡¯ve heard someone mention it before because she had never been to this hotel. After pondering it for a while, she looked through her phone for any relevant information, and finally found a text message: ¡®If you want to save your father, dress seductively, thene to room 808 at Champs-Elysee Hotel. I¡¯ll be waiting.¡¯Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. The message was from an unknown number, and it was sent during the two days that Cooper and Linus were taken away. Sophia had ignored it, thinking that it was a spam message. However, she now had an idea of who the sender was. She quickly got on the web to search for relevant information. Over the course of one night, news about the star¡¯s death was everywhere, and even the police had released an official statement about this incident, including the location, the names of the celebrities who were with her, and videos of the scene. As Sophia had suspected, the location of the incident where Christine had jumped was Presidential Suite No. 808 in Champs-Elysee Hotel! Simultaneously, other rted videos of the incident had been posted online. One of the videos was more than ten seconds long, and it showed Christine sitting at the window. Someone was beside her, trying to pull her down, but she broke free all of a sudden and jumped down. The video was taken by a fellow star who was present, and several of them had testified that Christine had indeed gotten crazy drunk. She then ran to the balcony where she proceeded to open the window before jumping down. Moreover, the surveince footage given by the hotel served as proof that the group of celebrities was indeed staying in room 808. They started drinking after they arrived. For some reason, Sophia was dubious. Why was it so coincidental that the incident took ce in room 808? And, why didn¡¯t Christine¡¯s face show up in any of the surveince footage and videos taken by eyewitnesses? Before the incident took ce, she had given Stanley a call, so why was that action not seen in those videos? Sophia had heavy suspicions about this matter. After a little digging, she found out that Champs-Elysee Hotel had been bought by the Yard Family. This bit of informationbined with the message she had received just made the situation even more unusual. She figured that this incident was connected to the Yard Family in some way. Christine jumping off the building was definitely not as simple a case as it seemed! If it truly has something to do with the Yards¡­ Sophia made up her mind and went to look for Stanley. It was the third day after Christine¡¯s fall, but she still showed no signs of waking up. She stayed in the expensive ward and there was an oxygen cylinder by her side helping her breathe. Every day, Stanley would go to the hospital to visit her; he still seemed to be in shock. Perhaps he truly loved Christine. Sean apanied him every day, and Maddie would drop by for daily visits, but no one from the Bishop family came to see her, not until yesterday. Upon learning that the ward cost more than ten thousand a day, they were afraid that Maddie would leave without settling the bill¡ªin which case the Bishops would have to pay¡ªso they hade over to discuss the possibilities of extubation with the doctor. Fortunately, Maddie had hired a care worker to stay in the hospital and take care of Christine. The care worker managed to stop them and contact Maddie in time. Otherwise, the doctor would¡¯ve extubated her already. Today, none of the Bishops came. They had fled far away, as they were worried that they would have to bear the cost of the ward of ten thousand a day. Meanwhile, Sophia had given Stanley all the information she had gathered. She was an outsider in this matter, so she couldn¡¯t take charge of the situation. Stanley, on the other hand, was Christine¡¯s boyfriend, so it was best for him to handle it. If the Yard Family were indeed involved, it would be a great opportunity! It would also be a chance to avenge Christine! After going through all the information Sophia had given him, Stanley grew solemn. The happenings of that day were certainly not like how the media, the hotel, and the eye-witnesses imed it to be. Just the fact that Christine had gone to a hotel to celebrate with the other celebrities was enough to raise suspicions. Thinking back to the moment before Christine jumped off the building, a lump formed in Stanley¡¯s throat. He began, ¡°I also think that the matter isn¡¯t as simple as it seems. The day before, we had agreed to y games together on the night two days after, and she said that she would be free. She said that she wasn¡¯t busy as there was no job to carry out, no announcements to make, and no dinner parties to attend.¡± Stanley choked on his sobs. He was certain that something had urred that day! For all he knew, the call that he had hung up on was Christine asking him for help! Sean patted Stanley¡¯s shoulder in an attempt to console him. ¡°Stan¡ª¡± He knew that Stanley was having the hardest time coping with Christine¡¯s ident. All of a sudden, Stanley stood up. With Sophia¡¯s information in hand, he proimed, ¡°I¡¯m going to get to the bottom of this! I will find out exactly what went down that night!¡± Bustling with energy, Stanley assigned Sophia a task. ¡°Sophia, I¡¯ll go look at the hotel¡¯s surveince footage from that night and speak to the eye-witnesses. I¡¯ll need you to find out where they¡¯re keeping Christine¡¯s phone. It was a gift from me¡ªthe Dragon Eye phone that you gave me during New Year¡¯s. I gave it to her, but after the incident, I couldn¡¯t find it anywhere. Help me find it. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll provide us with a clue.¡± Sophia nodded steadily, and Stanley and Sean left in a haste. Sean had once decided that he would leave silently after Stanley and Christine made it official that they were together, but now, he simply couldn¡¯t leave. The least he could do was stay by his side, give him support, and help him find Christine¡¯s attacker. Unfortunately, the surveince footage and eye-witnesses proved to be of no use. All of the evidence added up perfectly and were able to withstand close scrutiny. Meanwhile, Sophia had rushed to Michel Group and was using thepany¡¯s central operating system to find out the current location of Christine¡¯s phone. Dragon Eye phones had a built-in navigation system; during emergencies, the phone¡¯s serial number could be used to determine the coordinates of the device. In just a short time, Linus managed to unearth the coordinates of the phone, but it was powered on and still in motion. The phone number had been changed, and it was slowly moving around a strip mall on Third Avenue. Upon learning this, Sophia left immediately. Linus was worried about her, so he followed as well. The two siblings rushed to the mall on Third Avenue. After checking, Linus said, ¡°The phone is still here. It¡¯s currently at the Dragon Eye chain store!¡± Chapter 1357 Chapter 1357 There were six outlets in Bayside City selling Dragon Eye phones. The outlet at Third Avenue was one of them, and business was booming when Linus and Sophia arrived on-site. They traced the coordinates and matched it to a girl looking at mobile phones under the enthusiastic guidance of a salesperson. Thetest Dragon Eye mobile phone wasunched globally only a few days ago. It was also simultaneouslyunched in Cethos. As a result, the new product was being sold in the store, and that girl was looking at the new product. Linus and Sophia stood outside the outlet and observed the girl through the window. When the girl turned around, that familiar face that looked like a monkey¡¯s butt came into view. It was Tawny Bishop! It wasn¡¯t strange for Christine¡¯s phone to be in Tawny¡¯s hands. After all, Christine could have reced her old phone with a newer model and handed her old phone over to Tawny. However, Sophia was keenly aware of the difference in Tawny¡¯s appearance. Tawny had the same monkey¡¯s butt makeup as usual¡ªwhat with her extremely exaggerated blush and eyeshadow¡ªbut the quality of her makeup products was obviously much better than before. Moreover, she was carrying seven or eight shopping bags in her hand. Looking at the logos printed on the shopping bags, they looked to be branded luxury products. Although they were not considered top-of-the-line luxury products, they amounted to several hundreds of millions worth of clothes, bags, and shoes. Furthermore, the handbag she was carrying was thetest product by JNS Group. It was a genuine product with a market value of over 60,000. The ring she was wearing on her finger was also worth several tens of thousands. Just then, she seemed to have chosen the new mobile phone she wanted. Reaching into her bag, she took out two other phones to pay for her purchase. Among the two phones she took out, one probably belonged to Christine. The other phone was thetest Serpent mobile phone model, which was worth over 10,000. The Bishop Family just lost their son recently. Despite causing a ruckus, they have yet to receive a single penny aspensation. Moreover, so many things urred back in their hometown. Where did Tawny receive so much money for her to spend sovishly? When Sophia saw that Tawny had picked out one of thetest Dragon Eye models and was preparing to pay for it, she hurriedly made a phone call. Inside the shop, Tawny pretentiously took out a lipstick worth several thousand and touched up her makeup while scanning the QR code to pay for her new phone. All of a sudden, the cashier congenially said, ¡°Miss, we are having a special event to trade in older Dragon Eye models. If you have an older Dragon Eye model with you, you can convert it into an instant cash rebate.¡± Tawny nced at the Dragon Eye phone in her hand. It was the model that wasunched during New Year¡¯s and was no longer in fashion. Therefore, she traded it in for a rebate of 1,800. After backing up the existing data, she took her new phone and left in satisfaction. Soon, Linus obtained that phone and recovered the data in it through technical means. Using the history log within the phone, he logged into Christine¡¯s Messenger ount and found something fishy going on. On the day of the incident, one hour before the incident urred, Tawny made a call to Christine. Itsted no longer than a minute. Afterward, Tawny sent a location to Christine via Messenger¡ªit was the Champs-Elysee Hotel! Tawny was the one who called Christine out to the hotel! Sophia felt her heart pounding violently in her chest. As I suspected, Tawny is involved in this! However, there was no other clue aside from that. Recalling Tawny¡¯s unusual spending power, she immediately made another phone call to investigate the purchase records of Tawny¡¯s credit cards recently. Then, she discovered that Tawny had been spending a lot of money in Bayside City over the past two days. How did she get so much money suddenly? Moreover, she only started spending wildly after what happened to Christine. Something is definitely up! Following that, she found somebody to check the credited transactions into the ounts under Tawny¡¯s name recently. As expected, she found an unidentified transfer of 200,000 from an ount of unknown origins. A check on the ount number revealed that it was an overseas ount. The transfer was done very secretively, flowing through dozens of ounts before ending up in Tawny¡¯s ount. Now that I¡¯ve found the root, I¡¯ll have to try my best to dig deeper. When Linus saw Sophia putting in so much effort, he decided to personally help in her investigation. In less than half a day, he discovered the original source of that money¡ªit came from the assistant of Bethany Nicole, a rising celebrity! Sophia felt a headacheing on upon learning that Bethany was behind this. Could it be Bethany¡¯s attempt to suppress her juniors? Did she ask Tawny to lure Christine there to push her off the building? Did she also invite that group of lesser-known celebrities over to shoot a fake video in an attempt to conceal the truth? There are many rumors about Bethany suppressing her juniors. It is entirely usible. Besides, the Champs-Elysee Hotel originally belonged to the Yard Family. If she is working under Henry and Ryan, then she will have a greater chance of sess if she carried it out within the premises of the Champs-Elysee Hotel. It all makes sense. But, I can¡¯t help but think that this is not as simple as it seems! Meanwhile, Stanley also found out about Bethany from his investigation. She was also present at the hotel that night, but the media kept quiet about it. Several of them met up to share the results of their investigations. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this matter is as simple as Bethany making her move!¡± Stanley dered decisively. Even he could tell that something fishy was going on. ording to the information Sophia obtained, Bethany, Henry, and Ryan continued to maintain a threesome rtionship. Perhaps, Henry and Ryan had participated in this incident too. Now that Bethany received support from Henry and Ryan, she became the major shareholder and one of the executives of her agency. In other words, she practically turned the entirepany into Henry and Ryan¡¯s harem. All the various female idols, young models, and popr actresses in thepany were now their ythings! Even so, those were simply the rumors flying around Bayside City. Even the people within thepany were not aware of it. Still, that information was something Sophia obtained from various sources a long time ago. The truth was that Christine had wanted to leave thepany for a long time now but couldn¡¯t due to her contract with thepany. ¡°If this incident is rted to those two brothers¡ª¡± Stanley clenched his fists. His eyes were red as he said through gritted teeth, ¡°I will never let them off!¡± Sophia¡¯s expression was dark. If it¡¯s true that those two brothers are behind this incident, I¡¯m going to uproot their entire family! Sean went out to bring back some food. cing the food in front of Stanley, he said, ¡°Stan, you haven¡¯t eaten anything all day. Why don¡¯t you continue your discussion after you¡¯ve eaten something?¡± Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Stanley kept quiet. He had been running about all day long, investigating what happened to Christine. Now that he found the culprit behind the incident, he needed to eat so that he had the energy to get revenge on Christine¡¯s behalf. Linus decided to eat some too. So, all four of them ate while continuing their discussion. Linus was quite concerned about this matter too. He never forgot about what Jordan did to Sophia. Breaking his leg was too light a punishment for him! He used Clive as an excuse to cause trouble for Cooper previously. Now, I¡¯m going to see just how he ns to exin away his two sons¡¯ affairs! ¡°They have done a good job covering their tracks. It¡¯s very hard to catch them without any evidence. If news of this leaks out to them, they will surely throw Bethany under the bus instead,¡± Sean expressed his concerns. ¡°Weck concrete evidence. Besides, we cannot be certain that this was done by Henry and Ryan.¡± Stanley did not say anything, but his expression was solemn. If Henry and Ryan were truly behind this incident, things will be moreplicated. With just us, we will probably be unable to do anything. Still, I will never give up! Chapter 1358 Chapter 1358 ¡°Oh!¡± Sophia suddenly remembered something. ¡°You should have received an invitation to the wedding of the Willemzen Family¡¯s young master, right? I heard that Henry and Ryan will be attending too.¡± The Willemzen Family was another prominent family in Bayside City. Almost half of the dignitaries within their circles would be attending the wedding of the Willemzen Family¡¯s young master. Therefore, Stanley, Sean, and Linus also received invitations to the wedding. Even though Henry and Ryan changed their surnames recently, the Edwards Group refused to ept them. Hence, they remained with the Ronney Group and frequently attended events hosted by the celebrity circles in Bayside City¡ª the wedding held by the Willemzen Family was no exception. Sophia nced at the people before her and sneered suddenly. ¡°If we want to find out whether they are behind this incident, we can just ask them about it directly.¡± Soon, it was the day of the Willemzen Family¡¯s young master¡¯s wedding. The young master of the Willemzen Family was one of Sophia¡¯s university ssmates. He was one of the few boys in her ss, and on the day of his wedding, many of her ssmates attended as did many celebrities and famous figures. Sophia was wearing a new product from one of the brands under the JNS Group today. It was a new style of woman¡¯s dress that had yet to beunched. It was also the first product debut she made after what happened to Cooper. It attracted a lot of attention, and she advertised her clothing line while she was at it. Linus arrived with her, but they moved about separately after they entered the venue. Sophia was surrounded by arge crowd of people. On the other hand, Stanley and Sean were standing on the other side. All of them were waiting for the twins to appear. Sean was wearing an alluring female outfit today. Working in the fashion industry, Sophia had met many agender people. She also came across many cross-dressers. However, she honestly felt that most men did not look good in female clothing. Men and women were physically different. Most men had a more muscr framepared to women. Therefore, it was easy to tell that they were transvestites when they put on female clothing. In the entertainment industry nowadays, there were many photos of male celebrities cross-dressing in female clothing. Those photos were very disturbing; one could immediately tell that it was a man in women¡¯s clothes. They didn¡¯t even look like women, let alone look pretty. Even so, their fans continued to blindly praise them for it. Among all the cross-dressing men Sophia had ever met, only two looked good. One was Michael and the other was Sean. When Michael dressed as a woman, his slightly feminine frame and good looks were part of the reason why he looked good. However, the most important points were the ever- important gaze and the charming posture that were unique to women. Those were not something most men could copy. On the other hand, Sean seemed like a natural in women¡¯s clothing and a wig¡ªthere were no ws in the way he acted. His gaze was enchanting, his eyes were gentle, and his frame was not too muscr. He was quite beautiful in women¡¯s clothing. Henry and Ryan had yet to appear. Thus, Sophia slipped through the crowd of men trying to flirt with Sean and struck up a conversation with him. ¡°Why have you been cross-dressing recently?¡± Sean seemed to be appearing in women¡¯s clothing more frequently recently. Especially this year, as he attended almost all the events on various asions in women¡¯s clothing¡ªsome of their newer business partners actually thought that he was a woman. Sipping his red wine, he slyly said, ¡°I also learned how to fake my voice!¡± His fake voice was low with a hint of sexy hoarseness to it. He had been learning how to fake his voice and cross-dress ever since he was young. However, he shaved his head and switched back to men¡¯s clothing due to the pressure his family exerted on him. Later, he gradually broke away from his family and built up his strength. Cooper was very open-minded and would never interfere with his private life or the way he dressed. Thus, he began cross-dressing again. For him, he was probably his truest self when he was cross-dressing. The wedding banquet had yet to start. Sitting next to Sean, Sophia chatted with him in a low voice. She nced at Stanley, who was standing not too far away. ¡°Stan is catching feelings for Christine. It¡¯s time for you to let go. You shouldn¡¯t waste your life away because of that stupid dog.¡± I can¡¯t stand watching the two of them. Stanley is not a good partner for Sean. Sean will surely meet a much better person in the future. Patting him on the shoulder, she said, ¡°You should leave him as soon as possible.¡± Sean smiled with some difficulty and nonchntly dered, ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be taking custody of the children and the pets!¡± He smiled like a courageous woman about to face a divorcewsuit. However, she knew that he was feeling very sad inside. Later, the twins finally arrived. When Sophia came back from the restroom, she noticed that the twins had arrived at some point. Moreover, they were flirting with a sexy blonde. And, that sexy blonde was none other than Sean. It was obvious that they did not recognize Sean in women¡¯s clothing. It wasn¡¯t surprising; Sean was his real self when he was cross-dressing¡ªhis charismatic charm was at its strongest. Sophia was just about to go over when Linus stopped her. ¡°It was Sean¡¯s initiative to talk to the twins.¡± Due to the supermodel-like temperament and height that Sean had, Henry and Ryan were looking at him with gleaming eyes as they surrounded him. Still, Sean had them wrapped around his finger. He charmed them so well that they failed to notice that he was not a woman. Stanley finally wed his way out of therge crowd surrounding him. Then, he saw the sight of Sean flirting with the twins and nearly exploded from anger. How dare Sean try to seduce those pieces of trash?! Disregarding whatever strategy they had, he rushed over inrge strides and pushed Henry away from Sean. Henry was practically drooling over Sean at that point. ¡°You f*cking stay away from my woman!¡± Henry staggered after being shoved aside, feeling angry. Turning around, he saw that it was Stanley, and his temper red even higher. He insultingly said, ¡°I was wondering why it stank. It¡¯s because the Fletcher Family is here.¡± Stanley looked livid. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me! If you know what¡¯s good for you, f*ck off! Don¡¯t let me see you again!¡± Sean had been trying to get the twins to talk. He did not expect Stanley toe over and kick up a fuss. Hence, he hurriedly tried to stop Stanley. ¡°Stan, calm down!¡± However, Stanley could no longer remain calm at this point. He simply wanted to punch these beasts in the face. It took a lot of effort for Linus and Sean to stop him from attacking the twins. At that moment, Henry and Ryan became smug. They arrogantly pointed at themselves while saying, ¡°Go on; hit us! Go ahead and try!¡± Stanley raised his fists but did not attack them. He was being held back by Sean. Sean might have looked pretty, but he was very strong. Shaking his head at Stanley, he pleaded, ¡°Don¡¯t do it, Stan.¡± In response, Stanley clenched his fists tightly. Trembling slightly, he finally unclenched his fists. Both Henry and Ryan knew that Stanley did not dare to hit them right now. If he made a move, they would send him to jail immediately! On the other hand, Sophia suddenly came up with an idea. She stepped forward and said to Stanley in a persuading tone, ¡°Stan, don¡¯t be so impulsive. You need to think of Christine, who is still lying unconscious in the hospital. You are her boyfriend; you know she needs you¡ª¡± All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Christine? When Henry and Ryan heard that name, they exchanged a nce. Confirming that they did not hear wrongly, their eyes gleamed with delight. Henry seemed to have discovered something that made him extremely happy. He asked, ¡°Did you say that Christine Bishop is your woman?¡± Stanley red at them with a grim expression. Sophia was talking to Stanley with her back to them. However, her eyes were gleaming brightly. Meanwhile, Linus and Sean also pricked up their ears. Sure enough, the twins triumphantly bragged, ¡°So, that wench is your woman? She¡¯s quite pretty. It¡¯s a pity she refused to cooperate with us. She would¡¯ve rather jumped from the eighth floor than obey us. What a pity¡ª¡± Chapter 1359 Chapter 1359 It truly was them, after all! Sophia knew that the twins were incredibly arrogant. They would not conceal their wrongdoings. Instead, they would be proud of what they did! After confirming that the twins were behind the incident, Stanley¡¯s fist, which rxed slightly just now, clenched tightly again. He looked like he could attack them at any time. His eyes were bloodshot and filled with hostility. He more or less understood what had happened the other day. After receiving money from Bethany, Tawny must have tricked Christine into the hotel room. Then, Christine tried to call him for help when she realized that something was wrong. However, he hung up on her. With no other means of escape, she desperately opened the window and jumped out¡­ All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Stanley did notsh out with his fists. Instead, he turned around and left. Every step he took felt as heavy as a mountain of lead. Just how desperate must she have been that day?! Henry was stillughing behind him. ¡°The next time you get another girlfriend, let us know. We will inspect the goods on your behalf.¡± ¡°Hahahaha¡ª¡± The twinsughed without inhibition, impudently mocking Stanley to his face. Stanley did not know how he managed to leave the wedding banquet. It felt as if every step he took was a stab to his heart and he felt incredibly helpless for the first time in his life. The people who harmed Christine were standing right in front of me, yet I don¡¯t have the means to bring them to justice¡­ By the time he returned to his senses, he was standing outside. If only I had answered that phone call¡­ He knew that nothing would change even if he had answered that phone call. At the end of the day, they would still try to harm her, and she would still jump off the eighth floor out of despair. Nheless, he was racked with guilt. Sophia was on the phone while Linus and Sean were talking in a low voice. They seemed to be discussing their countermeasures. Now that they knew the Yard twins were behind the incident, they would never let the twins get away with it. First of all, they needed to start collecting evidence. Jordan and Cooper had faced off against each other recently. Although Jordan lost the battle, it also revealed the extent of his influence in Bayside City. It would not be easy to bring the twins down. After all, they were the sons of Jordan and Anna. Even concrete evidence might not be enough to take the twins down. Besides, Cooper and Jordan were at a truce while they recuperated after their fight. Neither of them was prepared for a war at the moment, and neither of them would fight a war without preparations. It would be great if the Fletcher Family made a move. However, Christine did not have any substantial rtionship with the Fletcher Family. There was no justifiable reason for the Fletcher Family to take action¡­ While they were discussing their options, Sophia hung up the phone suddenly and anxiously said, ¡°This is bad! The Bishop Family brought the police and the reporters to the hospital! They are nning to snatch Christine away!¡± Upon hearing those words, everybody drove to the hospital in a rush. Inside the hospital lobby, Mr. Bishop brought the police and the reporters along as he surrounded the hospital ward. He was about to push through the security guards and the nurses, enter the hospital ward, and bring Christine away. ¡°Why can¡¯t I take her away?! That¡¯s my daughter! I¡¯m going to take her away! I¡¯m her father!¡± The Fletcher Family had assigned some people to guard Christine too. At the moment, both the hospital¡¯s security guards and the Fletchers¡¯ men were put in a difficult spot. After all, Christine was not part of the Fletcher Family. She was simply Maddie¡¯s cousin. If the Bishop Family insisted on taking Christine away, they were well within their rights to do so. The police and the reporters were here too. Thus, Mr. Bishop shouted in front of all the reporters, ¡°My daughter is about to die! How can they kidnap my daughter and refuse to let me meet her for thest time?! My daughter is already in critical condition! Please, stop making things difficult! Let me take her away! You kidnapped my daughter! Return my daughter to me! Let me go inside!¡± When Stanley, Sophia, and the rest rushed over, they saw a luxury car parked on the road opposite the hospital. It was an incredibly ostentatious car with the Edward Family¡¯s logo on it. Thus, Sophia could recognize that it was Henry and Ryan¡¯s car. Why is their car here? By the time they rushed into the hospital lobby, the whole ce was a chaotic mess. The reporters, the police, and the hospital patients were crowding about in the lobby. Moreover, Mr. Bishop had managed to sessfully get his hands on Christine. Christine had been living in the intensive care unit for the past nine days. Maddie had not only spent all her hard-earned personal savings on Christine, but she also used the Fletcher Family¡¯s money for the first time. She ced Christine in the best hospital in Bayside City, hired the most expensive doctor, brought in the best equipment, and utilized thetest technology. As a result, Christine¡¯s condition became better¡ªso much so that she could wake up at any moment now. As the Fletcher Family had invited the world¡¯s best doctor to treat her, she had a high chance of returning to a normal life after she regained consciousness. However, the medical costs were astronomical. Fortunately, tens of millions were just numbers to the Fletcher Family. If she were to be taken away by the Bishop Family, the Bishop Family would not have the resources to continue with her treatment. Besides, they would probably refuse to continue providing treatment for her and she would most likely die! Even if she survived, she would be disabled forever! Maddie arrived in the nick of time. She grabbed onto Christine¡¯s hospital bed with a death grip as soon as she arrived, refusing to allow Mr. Bishop to take Christine away. ¡°Uncle Charles, you can¡¯t take Christine away! Bayside City has the best doctors and the best facilities! If you take her away, the rest of her life will be ruined!¡± Mr. Bishop became furious upon hearing those words. He looked at Maddie as if he was looking at his worst enemy. Then, he shoved her aside unreasonably. ¡°Get lost! If it wasn¡¯t for you, Christine would not be in this condition!¡± He pointed at her and screamed, ¡°It¡¯s all your fault! You jinx! You were the one who tricked her intoing to Bayside City! It¡¯s all your fault! I will not let you harm Christine ever again!¡± At the same time, the Bishop Family also started criticizing her as if she was the one that pushed Christine off the building. She burst into tears on the spot. Even so, she continued clinging to the bed Christine was lying on despite her tears. Weeping, she shouted through her tears, ¡°She will die if you take her away! I brought her to Bayside City; I will take full responsibility for her now that she is in this condition! I¡¯m going to save her!¡± He pped her away, cursing at her in a rage. ¡°Bah! You worthless scum!¡± Both sides were in a stalemate. Maddie clung tightly to the bed, refusing to let them take Christine away. Thus, Mr. Bishop yelled, ¡°Police! Why are you just standing there?! This person is trying to kidnap my daughter!¡± At this point, everybody felt that Maddie ought to let go. After all, Christine was just her cousin. As a cousin, what right did she have to interfere in the Bishop Family¡¯s matters? Maddie had rushed to the hospital alone. When the Bishops saw that she was alone, they tried to hit her. Two young adults stepped forward and grabbed her, forcefully prying her hands off the bed. ¡°Let go of her!¡± A roar rang out from among the crowd. Stanley suddenly pushed his way through the crowd and rushed over. Then, he grabbed the two people holding onto Maddie and pulled them away, one person in each hand. ¡°Aunt Maddie, are you alright?!¡± Stanley helped Maddie up from the ground. Now that Maddie had somebody on her side, she immediately grabbed Christine¡¯s hospital bed as soon as she got up. At the same time, she yelled at Stanley, ¡°Stan, don¡¯t let them take Christine away! If they take her back, only death will await her!¡± Stanley nced at Christine, who remained unconscious on the hospital bed. The Bishop Family had dragged her out of the hospital ward, causing her to bounce around on the hospital bed. As a result, she looked very restless and her eyebrows were slightly furrowed together. If she had obeyed the Yard twins back then, she would be swimming in sess by now. She would have received all sorts of benefits and resources¡­ She wouldn¡¯t have needed to suffer so much. But, she rejected them. She would rather give up her life than bow down to their unspoken rules! I will not let her die! Chapter 1360 Chapter 1360 Stanley hurriedly walked over to Mr. Bishop and loudly said, ¡°I will not allow you to take Christine away!¡± When Mr. Bishop saw that the newly-arrived person was just a young man, hepletely disregarded Stanley and even went so far as to unapologeticallysh out at Stanley, ¡°Who are you?! What right do you have to interfere with the Bishop Family¡¯s matters?! Christine is my daughter! I am free to take her wherever I want! It¡¯s none of your business!¡± Stanley was about to say something when Mr. Bishop roared in his face and covered his face in spit. ¡°Get lost! This is the Bishop Family¡¯s matters! You are not allowed to interfere!¡± Then, the Bishops tried to shove him aside. However, he refused to budge. Even if he were used of kidnapping, he refused to move aside. Christine seemed to be extremely ufortable on the bed and asionally groaned in pain. She had recovered very well¡ªso much so that she could regain consciousness at any time. Moreover, the experts even said that she had a high chance of making a full recovery. She was still alive, but she would die if the Bishop Family took her away! Meanwhile, Sophia rushed inside to protect Christine too. At this point, the Bishop Family was going crazy. They were determined to take Christine away even though Maddie promised to pay for everything. This doesn¡¯t make any sense! When Clive died, the Bishop Family changed their tune quickly and went around seeking justice for their son! So, why are they not causing trouble for the hotel and the parties involved now that Christine is in this condition? Why are they trying to take Christine away despite the condition she¡¯s in? Oh, right! It¡¯s aboutpensation! When Clive died back then, the Bishop Family did not receive a single penny in reparation! That¡¯s why they remained in Bayside City, petitioning for money. But, they seem pretty content this time around. The only possibility is that they have received their Both parties were stuck in a stalemate. In the meantime, Linus and Sean also came over to help protect Christine. After a while, the people waiting in the luxury car parked outside started to be impatient and came over to check on the situation themselves. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Didn¡¯t I tell you to take her away as soon as possible? Are you thinking of asking for more money now?¡± Henry said unhappily as he took off his sunsses. He was still wearing the clothes he wore to the wedding banquet. The Bishop Family spoke very rudely to Maddie, but they looked like they were meeting somebody great when they saw Henry. They nodded and bowed to him while saying, ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, Mr. Edwards. We will not cause more trouble for you.¡± Henry and Ryan were now part of the Edwards Family. Therefore, they brought people from the Edwards Family with them. When they saw Stanley and the others, who were blocking the way, they deliberately asked, ¡°Who are all these people?!¡± Mr. Bishop red at Stanley and Maddie fiercely before showing a ttering smile to Henry. ¡°Just a bunch of outsiders.¡± These people were no better than beasts! As the owner of the Champs-Elysee Hotel, these two ¡®Mr. Edwards¡¯ had already given the Bishop Family apensation of 10 million. Aside from that, they also provided the Bishop Family with a vi in Provincial City and a car, which added up to 15 million in total. 15 million! That amount of money was enough to make the Bishop Family bow down to them. However, they had one condition: the Bishop Family had to get rid of Christine and not cause a ruckus over this incident. With 15 million on the table, the Bishop Family obediently did as they were told. Although they knew that their actions would result in Christine¡¯s death, the temptation of the 15 million was too great. Besides, Christine waspletely broken. Even if it was extremely distressing, she was about to die. She would die no matter what they did. In that case, they might as well take the money and leave. Pointing at Stanley and the rest, who were blocking the way, Henry issued an order to his men. ¡°Chase these people away.¡± He was smiling as he did so. He loved watching how Stanley looked¡ªit was an expression where Stanley wished to strangle them to death yet was unable to do anything. Stanley red at the people from the Edwards Family and furiously roared, ¡°Try me!¡± However, the people from the Edwards Family were not afraid of him and continued to approach him. In the end, he took them on, fighting two guys at once. In the meantime, the Bishop Family tried several times to snatch Christine away. 10 million, plus a vi and a luxury car, was on the line! The lobby was a chaotic mess, and the police were at a loss for what to do. Even if they wanted to help, it was a family affair. Christine¡¯s survival rate was extremely low; it was not unreasonable for her family to give up on the treatment due to ack of funds. Soon, the forces of the Mitchell and Fletcher families arrived. They rushed in like a tidal wave and chased away the Edwards Family and the Bishop Family. The Bishop Family red at the Fletcher Family that stood in their way, feeling livid. They are here to snatch our 10 million away! It¡¯s 10 million! That¡¯s enough for us to do a lot of things, legal or illegal! Fortunately, the Bishop Family had another hidden weapon. ¡°Help! Help! My daughter is being kidnapped!¡± Mr. Bishop yelled at the top of his voice while pointing at Stanley and the rest. The reporters were frantically taking photos. Henry was highly expectant, hoping that news about the Fletcher Family illegally imprisoning an individual would make the headlines tomorrow. Stanley and Maddie knew that they were being unreasonable, but they couldn¡¯t bring themselves to let go. They were stuck at an impasse. All of a sudden, Stanley seemed to hear a weak voiceing from behind him. ¡°Maddie¡­ Stan, save me¡ª¡± Christine was awake! Despite being in aa, she knew what was happening around her¡ªshe could hear and sense touch but could not open her eyes. She knew that if her family took her away, she would not survive the ordeal. Even so, her survival instincts gave her enough strength at this critical juncture to force open her eyes and beg for help. Maddie held Christine¡¯s cold hands in hers and resolutely assured her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will never abandon you!¡± Christine¡¯s voice was very soft, and the breath in her chest felt as if it could dissipate at any time. Still, she gritted her teeth and held on. I don¡¯t want to die! No matter how much money it¡¯ll cost, I want to live! I will work hard to pay off my debts! Unfortunately, the Bishop Family seemed to have decided that she would not survive. They simply wanted the 10 million and the luxurious house. Christine looked at the people protecting her and felt tears spilling from her eyes¡­ Despite knowing that Christine had regained consciousness, they refused to let her go. Compared to the 15 million they would receive inpensation, their disabled daughter was nothing. Thus, they tried to grab Christine again with the help of the Edwards Family. Meanwhile, the Yard twins were watching the entire farce in amusement. All of a sudden, Sophia seemed to think of something and yelled, ¡°Stop! You are not allowed to take Christine away! She is married to Stan! She is already part of the Fletcher Family!¡± All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. When Maddie heard those words, she immediately caught on to Sophia¡¯s intention. If Christine is married into the Fletcher Family, we have a reason to protect her! Thus, she wiped her tears away, brought out her most imposing aura as the matriarch of the Fletcher Family, and sternly said, ¡°Christine is part of the Fletcher Family now. The Bishop Family is not allowed to take her away!¡± On the other hand, Stanley seemed stunned. Sophia hurriedly nudged at him in response, and he finally understood what was going on. He turned to the Bishop Family and said, ¡°Christine is my wife. Who dares to snatch her away from me?!¡± The truth was that Stanley and Christine were just normal friends that often yed games together. They were not even lovers. That was something he understood very clearly. But, she is my friend! I¡¯m going to protect her! If only I answered that phone call! At the very least, I could have deterred the Yard twins from harming her! Upon hearing that Stanley and Christine were married, the Bishops were the first to deny it. ¡°Bullsh*t! I¡¯m her father! Why don¡¯t I know about this?! I don¡¯t agree with this! It doesn¡¯t count even if you¡¯re married!¡± Stanley smiled coldly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you disagree with it; all that matters is thew agrees with me!¡± Chapter 1361 Chapter 1361 Mr. Bishop decided to go for blood and took out a fruit knife. ¡°Scram! Otherwise, I¡¯m going to slice you open!¡± Stanley did not budge. ¡°Come at me if you dare!¡± At this point, Mr. Bishop waspletely seeing red. He believed that Stanley was acting in this manner to snatch his 15 million away. ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t dare!¡± It looked like a fight was about to break out. Both parties were extremely furious, and bloodshed could happen at any time. As usual, Henry and Ryan were watching the exciting development from afar. How could Stanley marry such a small-time celebrity? What a joke! As if the Fletcher Family would agree to the marriage! Still, it will be even more fun if they really start fighting! Fortunately, Stanley was agitated but he had not lost his reasoning. He knew that now was not the time to start a fight. While the Fletcher Family and the Edwards Family were facing off against each other, many cars arrived outside the hospital. A tidy series of footsteps approached like the roaring tide, and the hospital was a sea of military green in the blink of an eye. Among the ovepping sea of military green, Joel walked out from the crowd. He looked cold and ruthless in his military uniform. However, a hint of tenderness shed across his face when he saw Maddie. ¡°Joel.¡± Maddie wiped away her tears and threw herself into his arms when she saw him. Joel nced at the Edwards Family and the Bishop Family, who were here to snatch Christine away. Then, he nced at Henry and Ryan before looking at Christine, who was lying weakly on the hospital bed. ¡°Christine is part of the Fletcher Family. The Fletcher Family will not stand idly by in this matter.¡± Mr. Bishop jumped up in anger. ¡°Joel, why is it you again?! I¡¯m telling you; if you dare to have any ideas about Christine, I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± He gestured about wildly with his knife. Contrary to his expectations, he was knocked to the ground and his knife was taken away after he waved it about several times. He screamed, ¡°Help! Murder! Save me!¡± Joel didn¡¯t even bother looking at the Bishop Family, who were squealing like pigs, or the Yard twins, who were cursing at him. He walked over to the hospital bed and saw that Christine¡¯s eyes were open. She was struggling to survive. Therefore, he solemnly said to her, ¡°The Fletcher Family will not abandon you.¡± Christine nodded, tears sliding out of the corner of her eyes. Sophia took the opportunity to speak up. ¡°Christine, take a good look around. Where are the people who tried to harm you? Point them out; we will avenge you!¡± Christine choked back a sob, raised a trembling finger, and pointed at the Yard twins. ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± It¡¯s them! She remembered the events of that day clearly. Tawny called her up iming that her mother was trying tomit suicide in the hotel. Thus, she rushed over to the hotel. However, she did not see her mother anywhere. Instead, she came face to face with the twins. They locked her in the room and got handsy with her. At first, she sought Stanley for help but it was to no avail. In her desperation, she was forced to jump out of the building! The reporters were frantically snapping away with their cameras. Joel had brought the police with him. When he saw Christine giving her testimony, he shot a nce at the police. Although the police were hesitant, they went straight to the twins and said, ¡°You are suspected of intentionally causing harm to a person. Please cooperate with our investigation.¡±Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. When the Yard twins saw that the police dared to detain them, they fearlessly said, ¡°F*ck off! Who do you think you are?!¡± The police had no choice but to use force as the Yard twins were not being cooperative. However, the Yard twins brought their men with them too. Showingplete disregard for thew, their men subdued the police in the blink of an eye. The Yard twins were so conceited that they dared to attack the police! The reporters, who were invited there by the Bishop Family, were dumbfounded by the sight. They had never met anybody so fearlessly cocky before! Since the men from the Yard Family and the Edwards Family had attacked the police, the police were forced to draw their guns in a warning. They were undaunted even when the police took out their guns. After all, they themselves had guns too. By the time both sides took out their guns, the situation had escted beyond control. Therefore, Sophia hurriedly hid somewhere while Christine was quickly wheeled back to the hospital ward for treatment. Several gunshots rang out and everybody in the hospital fled in all directions. The Yard Family, the Edwards Family, the police, and the military were mixed among each other as gunfire broke out. Sophia was in hiding and didn¡¯t know what was going on. However, she heard gunfireing from the lobby downstairs, followed by police sirens. Since they were at a hospital, no ambnce came. After the scuffle, the men from the Edwards Family and the Yard Family were lying on the ground. A bloodbath had urred in the lobby of the hospital. Meanwhile, Joel was standing in the middle of the lobby with a cold expression, counting the casualties. The arrogance disyed by the Yard twins exceeded his expectations¡ªthey actually dared to openly bring out their guns and go head-to-head with the military and the police, in the middle of Bayside City. It was the first time in more than ten years since something like that happened. Moreover, the oue was terrible. All their men had been annihted, and the Yard twins were captured alive when they tried to escape by car. When the chaos ended, Stanley strode over inrge strides and kicked Henry. ¡°Weren¡¯t you acting all cocky just now? Huh? You b*stard!¡± Henry still seemed unaware of his situation as he shouted, ¡°Just you wait! I¡¯m going to get the world¡¯s bestwyer and bring the Fletcher Family to ruins!¡± Sean hurriedly dragged Stanley away. They could not afford to let their enemy grab hold of any weaknesses at this point. Even after being dragged away, Stanley continued cursing and swearing at the Yard twins. Meanwhile, Henry and Ryan still believed that they were untouchable. Despite bing dizzy after being kicked by Stanley or being subdued to the ground and handcuffed, they still shouted at Joel arrogantly. ¡°What do you think the Fletcher Family can do to us?! Come at us if you¡¯re so amazing! Go on; kill me!¡± Naturally, Joel would never hit him. On the other hand, Sophia, who was passing by, kindly reminded them, ¡°You might be sentenced to death for your crimes! Cethos has not abolished the death penalty!¡± Henry red at her fiercely. He was about to say something but he was taken away by the police. Their crimes this time were greater than intentionally causing harm. The battle was over, and Christine¡¯s condition was under control. She was in good condition after regaining consciousness. Joel arranged for her to be transferred to a military nursing home to continue with her treatment. On the other hand, Maddie rushed back to her workce, calling up the editors and reporters and dragging them back to work in the middle of the night. She was going to use her own methods to make the Yard twins pay for what they did. That day, the entire press industry in Bayside City worked overtime all night. The news of Henry and Ryan attacking the police with guns swiftly spread across Bayside City. It was the first incident of this sort in decades. Maddie obtained a live video of the incident as soon as possible and released it online. Many reporters were present during the incident. Since it was the first armed attack on the police in decades, the reporters went crazy after obtaining on-scene photos and videos. They immediately started writing their articles as soon as they got back. In the span of a night, news of Henry and Ryan attacking the police with guns caused a sensation across the entire Bayside City. Moreover, Christine had regained consciousness and personally identified the Yard twins as her attacker. Coupled with the involvement of a famous celebrity, Bethany, the incident started trending like never before. Afterward, Bethany, Tawny, and the others were detained by the police for questioning. The Bishop Family had received half of the 10 million inpensation money promised by the Yard twins. They were supposed to receive the other half once they removed Christine. When they saw that the Yard twins were detained by the police, they realized that they couldn¡¯t get the rest of their money anymore. Hence, they fled back to their hometown with the 5 million they obtained. Cade also called to express his sympathies. ¡°Wow; I can¡¯t believe you sent my little brother to jail, Sophia. Still, I have to tell you that you will never keep them in jail with just this crime alone.¡± Sophia said nothing in response. Although this incident was a huge affair, Jordan would not compromise easily. After all, those were his sons. With the power he held in Cethos, it was easy for him to get them out of the country¡ªeven if the ruckus his sons caused this time was no different from a direct provocation toward the police and the public security of Bayside City, as well as the entire country of Cethos. Chapter 1362 Chapter 1362 Jordan quickly took action and hiswyers rushed over. At the same time, hemenced public rtions activities, removing the articles and suppressing the poprity of the news. He secretly exerted pressure on the media, and many media outlets were forced to delete all news involving the Edwards Group. Even so, some media outlets refused to sumb to the power of the Yard Family. They continued to monitor the situation every day and resolutely refused to delete their articles. The third day after the incident, the situation changed. The Edwards Group used their public rtions authority and asked all media outlets to remove their posts, citing preventing panic from spreading among the citizens of Bayside City as a reason. Simultaneously, they obscured the main topic by throwing Bethany under the bus instead. That way, they reduced the attention to the Yard Family to a minimum. Maddie¡¯s workce was the only exception that withstood the pressure from the top. They were not afraid of the secret threats and public requests from various departments and continued to report on the incident. That was because the Fletcher Family was supporting Maddie from behind. Meanwhile, Stanley obtained his marriage certificate with Christine. That was something Joel specially sent his men to formally obtain after the incident. With this marriage certificate in hand, the Fletcher Family had a justifiable reason to meddle in Christine¡¯s affairs. Joel¡¯s main purpose was to use this matter to confront the Yard twins. However, he also wanted to take care of the matter between Stanley and Christine while he was at it. Christiney on the hospital bed without waking up. Although she was out of danger, she continued to sleep through most of the day. She was unable to move and had to rely on the medical equipment to keep her alive, but she was slowly recovering. Stanley stared at Christine, who was sleeping deeply, then nced at the marriage certificate in his hand. For a moment, he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. At the time, I just wanted a reason to protect her. But, everybody seems to have taken it seriously. Maddie, Joel, and even Christine believe that it¡¯s real. Just like that, I became Christine¡¯s husband¡­ He felt like he was in a dream; he was completely unprepared for it. ¡°Stan, you should take care of Christine at the hospital. I¡¯ll take care of matters at thepany for you.¡± From N?velDrama.Org. He couldn¡¯t recover from the shock and befuddlement that he was actually married. When he heard Sean¡¯s voice, he nkly made a nonmittal sound in response while staring at the marriage certificate in a daze. Sean nced at Christine, who was lying on the hospital bed, then he nced at Stanley, who was in a daze. After that, he walked out silently. When he left the nursing home, Sophia was waiting for him outside. His eyes were red as if he had cried. However, he hid his tears and prevented anybody from seeing them. He was wearing the same outfit as Stanley, had the same buzzcut as Stanley, and used the same phone model as Stanley. All his clothes, shoes, and bags were the exact same as Stanley¡¯s. He lived like he was Stanley¡¯s shadow. For more than 20 years, he stuck by Stanley¡¯s side and spent all his time together with Stanley. Unfortunately, Stanley got married in the end. And, it was not with him. ¡°Sean!¡± Sophia called out to him. Smiling, he followed her into her car, and the car soon left the hospital. He said nothing throughout the journey and simply sat in a daze as if he had lost his soul. She didn¡¯t know how tofort him. Thus, she concentrated on her driving. She was going to help him move out today¡­ Stanley remained at the hospital, taking care of Christine. He had not returned to thepany nor went home for several days. He finally returned home today, as he nned to pack some clothes. However, he noticed that something seemed to be missing as soon as he stepped into the house. At the entranceway, the slippers belonging to Sean and Maisie were gone. On the TV cab in the living room, the photos they had taken together were gone. On the coffee table in the living room, Sean¡¯s favorite potted nt was gone. Maisie, the cats, and the dogs were gone. The entire house was empty and lifeless¡ªeverything belonging to Sean was gone. He seemed to realize something and hurried to the second floor. Pushing open the door to Sean¡¯s bedroom, he saw that it was empty inside. The mattress and the nkets remained, but the bedsheets and the nket covers had been taken away. Moreover, Sean¡¯s clothes, books, work material, daily necessities, and everything else werepletely gone¡ªnot a single thing was left. Stanley stared at the room nkly, feeling like there was a huge hole in his heart. He suddenly realized that he was married. In the future, he would be living a married life with Christine. Therefore, Sean took Maisie and left¡­ He knew that it was something that was bound to happen, sooner orter. After all, he couldn¡¯t live with Sean forever. It was simply a matter of time before they had to build their own families separately. Now that the day had arrived, he realized that he was unable to ept it. When he left, he took my heart with him¡­ Sean knew that this day woulde, but he did not expect it toe so suddenly¡ªthus, he had yet to find another ce to stay. He had no ns of marrying for the rest of his life. So, he adopted Maisie a long time ago. Both father and daughter were now dependent on each other. They couldn¡¯t continue renting a house all the time, so he left Maisie at Sophia¡¯s house for several days. After spending several days searching for a house, he decided to return to the Mitchells¡¯ ancestral home. There were many other children there, and Maisie would have more friends. Thus, he came to pick up Maisie upon deciding on where to stay. When Maisie saw that Sean was alone, she knew that Stanley would not being anymore and felt extremely disappointed. Even so, Maisie was a considerate child. She understood that her papa was marrying somebody else. In the future, Daddy and I will only have each other. I cannot be sad, because Daddy is already sad enough. I need to be a good girl and make him happy. Sean took Maisie and the cats with him. However, he left the dog behind. Judge probably knew that Sean and Stanley had broken up. It would be living alone with Stanley again and it might have to spend its days eating instant noodles for every meal again. Judge would have a cold and lonely life with no cat and no girl¡ªlife was going to be dull and nd. Judge was already eleven years old. In husky years, it was over a hundred years old. It could not withstand the suffering of living alone with Stanley. Thus, it was determined to stay at Michael¡¯s house to live out its elderly years. Sophia watched as Sean left with Maisie. She felt unspeakably sad for them. They have known each other since they were young¡ªfrom the time they were in their diapers, to their school years, to their adult life. In the end, they still had to separate. It seems like their separation was predetermined¡­ Lucy secretly came out to meet with Sophia again inside a small bar at midnight. Unfortunately, Sophia no longer saw Dana¡¯s car parked outside the small bar again. After the incident, Dana vanished without a trace. Harry probably knows where Dana went, but he refuses to say. On the other hand, Lucy didn¡¯t seem all that different from before following her return. Her career was reaching greater heights. Seizing the opportunity created by the fight between Cooper and Jordan, she got rid of a group of Jordan¡¯s subordinates and reced them with her own loyal subordinates. As a result, she quietly weakened Jordan¡¯s influence and authority within the Edwards Family. The battle between Cooper and Jordan had just begun, and she was already secretly profiting from it. This time around, Henry and Ryan had caused a ruckus again, and it was giving Jordan a headache. Since he was overseas, he couldn¡¯t take care of it. Therefore, he handed all authority over to her to handle this matter. Sipping on her tequ, she leisurely said, ¡°Although it looks very serious this time, it¡¯s still possible for me to get them out of trouble. You can¡¯t stop it. Jordan has a strong influence over various dominant yers in Cethos¡¯ political, military, and business worlds.¡± Sophia didn¡¯t reply. She had her own thoughts on the issue. Besides, both of them came out just to have a drink and rx. In the meantime, they also talked about some work matters. However, they carefully avoided a certain topic and a certain family. They did not mention what happened on that rainy night ever again. Before they parted, Lucy took out an invitation from her handbag and ced it in front of Sophia. ¡°You muste.¡± After saying that, she picked up her handbag and left. Sophia nced at the invitation. It was an invitation to Lucy¡¯s engagement party. Her fianc¨¦ was the head of an overseas consortium. He was 52 years old, and it was his second marriage. Chapter 1363 Chapter 1363 Lucy took over the follow-up matters involving the Yard twins. Sure enough, it was just as Sophia had expected¡ªthey were released from custody. In the end, Bethany, Tawny, and the employees of the hotel were charged with the crime of intentionally causing harm to others. Bethany was deemed the mastermind behind the incident while Tawny and the employees of the hotel were aplices. Consequently, Bethany was given a suspended death sentence, and the rest were sentenced to prison. Meanwhile, the Yard twins were treated as foreigners since they were not naturalized. Not only were they backed by a powerful force, but theirwyers were also very good at their jobs. In the end, both of them were diagnosed with severe mental illnesses. They were deported and extradited back to their home country. Their case would be heard in their home country. Ronney City was their territory. As they were diagnosed as mentally ill, the death penalty was quickly rescinded. It was equivalent to letting everything go back to how it was before¡ªnothing happened to them whatsoever. The Fletcher Family could only watch as they escaped without a scratch because the other party was too powerful. It wasn¡¯t a simple murder case. Rather, it was a power struggle between two families. It was clear that the authorities did not want the situation to escte further. Besides, the Yard Family lost many people. Hence, they decided to let this incident slide. When Maddie heard the news, she was so furious that she cried all night. At present, Christine was still lying in the nursing home. Although her life was no longer in danger, she had a long road ahead of her before she could fully recover. Even so, the real culprit behind the incident was atrge! ¡°No! We can¡¯t let those two b*stards get away with this!¡± Joel seemed to have known that things would turn out in this manner. epting the fact that the Yard twins were beyond the reach of thew, he soughtpensation of 100 million for Christine¡¯s follow-up treatment and rehabilitation costs. Lucy came over to settle the matter and added a detached vi in Bayside City on top of the 100 million. Later, Christine learned that even the Fletcher Family could do nothing to the other party. Moreover, she might end up in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Thus, she couldn¡¯t help feeling that she was a burden on everybody. The Fletcher Family had already spent millions on her, and she did not want to drag them down anymore. Therefore, she reluctantly epted thepensation from the other party. Finally, the focus of the public was turned toward the headline news of ¡®Popr A-List Female Celebrity Receive a Suspended Death Sentence for Murder¡¯. With that, the matter came to an end. Afterward, the Ronney Group¡¯s Cethosian branch announced that it waspletely pulling out of the Cethosian market. It sold all its assets and withdrew from Bayside City. The Fletcher Family was humiliated, and the Yard Familypletely withdrew from Cethos. All in all, Lucy handled this matter beautifully. She received Jordan¡¯s trust and simultaneously drove the Yard Family out of Cethos. She could be said to be the biggest winner among them. Stanley no longer needed toe and visit Christine every day. Even so, he dropped by after work every single day to visit her and eat dinner with her, diligently trying to adapt to his status as her husband. The Fletcher Family was starting to prepare for the wedding. Meanwhile, he found a new house and prepared to renovate it into their marital home. Since he decided to get married, he had to be a responsible husband. However, he was not happy. He was not the slightest bit happy; he felt burdened instead. It felt like a huge rock was weighing down on his heart and crushing him. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Ever since Sean moved out, he felt as if something was wrong. Even when he saw Sean at the company, he felt as if there was an invisible river flowing between them, drawing a line between them and blocking them from each other. Even when they brought Maisie out to y together during the weekends, it was no longer like how it was before. Nheless, he understood that some things were utterly different now, and it would never be the same again. ¡°Stan!¡± Christine called out to Stanley suddenly. Only then did Stanleye back to his senses and realize that he had been sitting by her bedside nkly. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s the matter?¡± he hurriedly asked. She seemed to be in good condition. Herplexion was starting to be ruddy again, Unfortunately, she was still unable to walk. It was still unknown whether she could ever recover her mobility. Biting on her lower lip, she seemed to make up her mind about something important. She said, ¡°Let¡¯s get divorced!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He was shocked, widening his eyes to stare at her. He had not expected her to bring up divorce. She embarrassedly said, ¡°You only married me so that the Fletcher Family could intervene and rescue me during that incident. I am aware of that. So, now that things have settled and I received the compensation¡­ it¡¯s time for us to get divorced! Besides¡­ there¡¯s somebody else that I love¡­¡± After a brief period of surprise, he felt a wave of relief and happiness wash over him. He hurriedly said, ¡°Sure, no problem! We¡¯ll go through with the procedures once you¡¯re all better. Gosh; why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? Look at me; I nearly caused trouble for you!¡± She seemed to be very anxious. ¡°Let¡¯s do it tomorrow then. The person I love has been wanting to visit me, but I¡¯m scared he might learn that I¡¯m married if he came. So¡­¡± He was anxious too. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier? I will make an appointment immediately!¡± Afterward, he rushed to make an appointment for their divorce, feeling happier than he was when celebrating New Year¡¯s. The next day, Maddie pushed Christine in her wheelchair as they went with Stanley to go through the divorce procedures. The divorce went very smoothly as there were no property disputes. Thus, they received their divorce certificate very quickly. As Stanley had been Christine¡¯s husband for a short period, He wanted to give her alimony or something aspensation. However, Christine wanted nothing. Finally, he decided to pull some strings and resolved her contract with her previous agency that required her to sell her body. Then, he helped her sign a contract with Imperial Entertainment. That company was more suitable for her as they trained their employees. After receiving the certificate, she breathed a sigh of relief. She seemed very happy as she turned to him and said, ¡°Thank you, Stan. You don¡¯t need to worry about me anymore. I¡¯m a multi-millionaire now. I even own a vi! I will surely recover well. Once I¡¯m fully recovered, let¡¯s y games together again!¡± Holding the divorce certificate, he seemed as eager as a husky that escaped from its leash. ¡°Sure. The next time something happens again, you have to call me. I promise I will never hang up on you again!¡± Stanley briskly walked out of the Civil Affairs Bureau with a light heart after separating from Christine. Breathing in the smog-filled air outside, it even tasted sweet to him. The heavy weight pressing down on his heart was gone as he hurriedly made a phone call to Sean. ¡°Hey! What are you doing? Come on; why are you working? Come out and y. Let me tell you; I¡¯m divorced! Come and drink with me to celebrate! Tsk. Christine has somebody she loves. I can¡¯t hold her back now, can I? Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m not that kind of person. We divorced amicably. She doesn¡¯t have feelings for me and asked for the divorce herself. I even got her a brand-new contract! I¡¯lle and pick you up at thepany¡ª¡± Christine watched as Stanley walked away happily, then she turned her gaze to the thin and green divorce certificate in her hands. At the same time, her tears fell silently. The person I love is none other than Stanley! When they got married, the Fletcher Family tacitly epted that they got married out of love. In the future, she would be part of the Fletcher Family; she was Stanley¡¯s wife. She even met his parents and his brother! I love the Fletchers, and I love Stanley even more¡­ Chapter 1364 Chapter 1364 Stanley himself had tacitly epted the marriage. He was preparing himself to officially marry Christine ¡ªso much so that he was beginning to renovate their marital house. However, Christine knew that he was not happy. He didn¡¯t love her; he only saw her as a friend. The truth was that he didn¡¯t even want to get married. He simply chose to ept it out of a sense of responsibility. She could have pretended not to know and sessfully married him. Even so, she chose to back out of their marriage. She even went so far as to create a reason so that he could divorce her without any guilt. Maddie wiped Christine¡¯s tears away as she said, ¡°Silly girl, why did you do that?¡± Christine smiled, but her tears slid down her face. ¡°I don¡¯t even know if I can get better. I can¡¯t tie him down.¡± Upon hearing those words, Maddie did not force the topic anymore. She simply pushed Christine into the car and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The military¡¯s nursing home has a lot of experience in this area. You will surely get better. Have some confidence in yourself.¡± ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t worry, Maddie. I will do my best to recover. After all, I¡¯m a multi-millionaire now!¡± Sophia was not surprised to hear that the Yard twins were returning to their home country. Jordan¡¯s power was at its peak right now. As long as he stood strong, his two sons would not be punished so easily either. Still, she had her own ns. I¡¯m going to make them wish they were dead. The weather during the early summer was neither hot nor cold¡ªit was the perfect time to go on a trip. ¡°Cash Edwards! Spit out my slippers, now!¡± Michael furiously pped Cash¡¯s butt with a slipper. Then, it ran away after yelping in pain. Ever since Judge decided to live out his elderly life here, Cereberus had gathered together again, and the three dogs ran wild at home every single day. Putting on the slippers that were covered in dog saliva, Michael packed a bag for Carmen. Every year, the Fletcher Family held several activities for their children to ¡®experience the countryside¡¯. Children from the Fletcher Family were sent to a farming vige outside the city to experience life in the countryside. It was a chance for them to experience the hardships of a farmer¡¯s life and learn about how precious food was. In other words, the Fletcher Family¡¯s farm out in the countryside required manpower. So, the Fletcher Family send some childbor over to help. However, that was definitely something all the children in the Fletcher Family looked forward to. They could visit the farnd outside the city to harvest vegetables, till the soil, catch worms, feed the pigs, harvest grains, and scatter manure for fertilizer. They were also allowed to catch fish and shrimp in the streams or pick up mineral water bottles from the nearby towns to sell for money. Michael recalled that when he was younger, he and the other children of the Fletcher Family would go outside the city and challenge each other while harvesting wheat. The group of 10-year-olds would rush through the fields like a bunch of overexcited huskies, working energetically to obtain achievements. Celine would almost alwayse out on top since she harvested the wheat neatly and swiftly. Meanwhile, Joel and Michael would snatch for the second and third spots. The three of them constantly fought over the top spots until they were red in the face. Ah, what a beautiful memory that is ¡ª ¡°Oh, is Carmen going to the farm outside the city?¡± Cooper felt quite moved when he heard about it. He could be regarded as part of the Fletcher Family. After all, Mark had specially allowed him to join the other Fletcher children on their trips to the countryside when he was younger. They normally went during the autumn harvest when the farmers were at their busiest. The older children would be used for physicalbor while the younger children got to y or do some simple chores. It was very fun. Adults were not allowed to tag along, and it was Carmen¡¯s first time going there. Therefore, Michael was incredibly worried. After packing Carmen¡¯s bag, he saw her out the door while nagging her. ¡°Be a good girl when you¡¯re there. You¡¯re five years old now. You need to wear your own clothes, shower on your own, and put on your own shoes. Don¡¯t run about wildly but be quick during mealtimes. Nobody will wait for you! Mummy and Daddy won¡¯t be by your side, so you¡¯ll have to learn how to take care of yourself.¡± He didn¡¯t know why he felt so worried. Back then, they followed the older children down to the farnd to y when they were just a bunch of cheeky kids in open-crotch pants. They were very happy, and all the adults left them to their own devices. But now, he couldn¡¯t help worrying himself to death when he had to send Carmen there. I wonder how other parents could harden their hearts and send such young children there. Although it¡¯s only for two days during the weekend, it feels like two centuries to me. Unfortunately, Carmen was starting to lose patience with him. ¡°Come on; I¡¯m only going to watch. Besides, it¡¯s not my turn to scatter manure yet.¡± This time, the children were going to harvest wheat, scatter manure for fertilizer, and nt corn. Although mechanizedrge-scale farming had been implemented a long time ago, the Fletcher Family¡¯s farms retained the tradition of scattering manure as fertilizer. The reason was that scattering manure was one of the mostborious tasks that challenged one¡¯s courage and endurance. Along with cleaning out the pigsty, it was among the farm work that had a difficulty index of five stars. As a consequence, the children of the Fletcher Family would rush to volunteer for the task of scattering the manure and cleaning out the pigsty to demonstrate how amazing they were. In short, it was a way to prove that they were better than others. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Every year, the one to scatter the most manure in the shortest time would be the king among the children of the same age group. Moreover, they would receive a prize when they got home. Every single child from the Fletcher Family would have to scatter the manure at least once before they reached eighteen years old. Joel, Stanley, Michael, Celine, and the others were no exception. It was a ritual. Since the Fletcher Family was a military family, most of their children would grow up to be part of the army. They did not want weaklings that could not withstand the harsh realities of life. They wanted fighters who went through all sorts of challenges in life, understood the country¡¯s citizens, and were able to protect their country from danger! Michael was unable to imagine his beautiful little baby scattering manure in the future¡­ It was still too early for Carmen right now. She was only five years old. She couldn¡¯t even pick up the bucket of manure even if she wanted to. She would only be watching and experiencing the atmosphere at most. Even so, that day woulde, sooner orter. Thus, he specifically instructed Nathan. ¡°Nate, take good care of your sisters.¡± Nathan nodded before leading Carmen away. He did itst year and wanted to go earlier this year. Otherwise, he would not have the chance to do it again this year. Everybody seemed to be particrly keen on the task of scattering manure. It was the best chance to prove their strength. Hence, the one who grabbed first ce in scattering manure was the king in everybody else¡¯s eyes. Sophia sent Carmen off. Watching as the car drove away, she suddenly turned to Michael and asked, ¡°Did you really scatter manure before?¡± Michael nodded. ¡°I did.¡± Back then, he fought with Joel just to snatch the first bucket of manure. They ended up in a brawl next to the dung pit, fighting from the dung pit to the pigsty to the ce they dried the wheat. By the time they returned after determining the winner among them, Celine had taken the first spot. She finished scattering the manure and came back as the king of the year. Back then, Irene had followed along too. However, she refused to lower her pride and scatter manure. Consequently, the seed of discord was nted¡ªfrom then on, nobody truly considered her as part of the Fletcher Family. Now that I think about it¡­ that¡¯s just weird. Why would everybody have such a strange mentality? Then, she asked Cooper. ¡°Dad, did you do it?¡± Cooper shuddered slightly. Lowering his head to read the newspaper, he replied, ¡°Nope.¡± Theo leisurely said, ¡°The first time your father went there, he was so scared of the pigs that he cried for two days. He begged me to send him home in the middle of the night and refused to do the task of scattering manure.¡± Cooper said nothing. When he was around Carmen¡¯s age, he followed the children of the Fletcher Family down to the farnd. At the time, Theo was still with the Fletcher Family, and he was in charge of taking care of the children. To Cooper, that was something that happened decades ago. However, it was only something that happened several years ago to Theo. Then, Theo strongly emphasized, ¡°Among those children, your father was the most squeamish!¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Cooper snorted before walking away in a huff. Sophia stifled herughter at the sight. Chapter 1365 Chapter 1365 The farm was located in a rtively remote area far from the city. It was closer to the military farm. On the first night, several videos were circted among the Fletcher Family¡¯s chat groups. Sophia excitedly clicked on the videos and watched as the Fletcher Family drove the children to the farm in several cars. The children were dressed in the same military green uniform. The eldest was 17 years old while the youngest was 5 years old. Then, the group of young children ran into the farm like a bunch of excited huskies. They were ced in a dormitory for the duration of the trip. Each of the older children had to watch over a younger child. Moreover, the older children were in charge of cooking while the younger children were in charge of harvesting the vegetables. Although Carmen did her best to run after the older children, her short legs could not keep up with theirrger builds. Even Lorelei quickly ran ahead of her. In the end, she was left far behind. As Nathan had to take care of her this year, he failed to snatch the king¡¯s position. In the video, the children of the Fletcher Family ran like the wind to the dung pit to fight for the position of the king. After some struggle, they finally saw the winner happily picking up the bucket of fertilizer and heading toward the cornfield. This year¡¯s ¡®king¡¯ wore a triumphant smile as he walked by the camera in his military uniform. A face simr to that of Theo¡¯s sessfully attracted everybody¡¯s attention. Thus, everybody started discussing inside the family chat group. ¡°Whose kid is that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve never seen him before!¡± ¡°Wow! That child looks a little ¡®old¡¯!¡± Sophia eximed in surprise, ¡°Wow! When did Professor rk sneak inside?!¡± Quinton was working as a lecturer at Bayside University and moved into the teacher¡¯s apartment. Nobody expected him to appear at the Fletcher Family¡¯s farm or fight with the children for the king¡¯s position, much less win the fight! Michael rolled his eyes. I don¡¯t know when Quinton sneaked in. But, he can help take care of Carmen while he¡¯s there. Besides, Quinton seemed to be having a lot of fun. Not only did he snatch the king¡¯s position, but he was also the fastest at harvesting the wheat. He also cooked dinner for everybody. The older children were in charge of cooking in the kitchen and the younger children went out to harvest the vegetables. There were tomatoes, eggnts, and cucumbers on the farm. They were all pesticide-free and could be eaten directly after being harvested. Therefore, the younger children secretly snacked on the vegetables as they harvested them. Carmen picked arge tomato and ate it heartily. Then, she ate a cucumber. She picked the cucumber, briefly rubbed it against her clothes, and bit into it. ¡°Ah! Worms!¡± There was a big, fat caterpir on the leaves of the tomato nt, causing many of the children to cry in fright. Hearing their cries, Lorelei swiftly flew over, kicked the worm away, and stomped on the worm. Simrly, Carmen bravely ran over and stomped on it again for good measure. Lorelei was the most outstanding child this year. She ran the fastest and climbed the highest. There was no tree she could not climb, and no fruit she could not pick. Moreover, she could ride a horse. She was practically a God in their eyes. Therefore, Carmen simply followed behind her with nothing to worry about. It seemed like Carmen was clinging to Lorelei and fitting in with the other children like a fish in water. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. At first, Sophia was worried that Carmen might not adapt well to life over there but she soon changed her mind. After all, Carmen had filmed an entire season of ¡®Where Are We Going, Dad?¡¯ before. During the filming process, she followed Michael to various farming viges across the country and had experience living in the countryside. The children were carefully and lovingly raised at home. Therefore, most were extremely happy to visit the farm despite being dirty all over. Naturally, some were squeamish too and cried as soon as they arrived. Whenever Theo saw them crying inside the video, he would criticize them. ¡°Tsk. They cry just like Cooper.¡± Cooper was speechless. On the farm, Quinton was happily busying himself with farm work. He had entered Bayside University as a lecturer under his identity as ¡®Hope Fletcher¡¯. After all, he always dreamed of being part of the Fletcher Family when he was younger. Contrary to his belief, his dream finally came true. Harvesting the winter wheat, eating from the same pot, and fighting for the king¡¯s position together with the children of the Fletcher Family, he finally felt as if he had truly be part of the Fletcher Family. In two days, they finished harvesting all the winter wheat and fertilized the entire cornfield. Quinton was feeling very satisfied with the experience. Coincidentally, he found Carmen picking tomatoes in the tomato field nearby, looking dirty and sweaty. Leaning closer, he sniffed her several times before eximing in disgust, ¡°Eek! You stink!¡± In response, Carmen sniffed him and looked even more disgusted than him. ¡°Uncle Quinton, you stink too.¡± Many types of fruit trees were growing on the farm. In this season, the peaches, plums, and cherries were bing ripe. Thus, Quinton and Lorelei climbed up the trees to pick some cherries while a group of children surrounded the tree to catch the falling cherries. Quinton sat on the tree, shaking the branches and causing the cherries to rain down on the children. The children were extremely excited by the sight, chattering away noisily as they gathered the fallen cherries under the tree. At the same time, he picked a cherry and put it in his mouth. It was very sweet¡ªit seemed sweeter than all the cherries he had ever eaten before. Meanwhile, Lorelei¡¯s mouth was full of cherries while she simultaneously tossed the cherries she picked to the ground. Carmen was picking up the fallen cherries and stuffing them in her bag. On the other hand, Nathan stood there, ncing between his sister under the tree and his other sister sitting in the tree; he felt emotionally exhausted watching over them. Quinton wasughing from where he sat in the tree, feeling as if he had never been this rxed and joyful before. Then, he climbed onto a higher tree branch and saw several cars driving over in the distance. The cars stopped near the gate of the farm, and several people dressed in all ck got out of the cars. Looking at them made him uneasy. However, it was broad daylight right now, over a dozen adults were guarding the farm, many towns were located nearby, and a military camp was located less than 5 km away. Nothing could happen here. As he continued to watch, he saw the group of men in cking out of the car with guns in their hands¡­ It happened to be the weekend when Carmen went down to the farm. Sophia suddenly received a phone call from Stanley, inviting her over to celebrate his divorce. He also asked her to bring Judge over. It turned out that he asked Sean and Maisie toe back after his divorce. Therefore, they were living under the same roof again. When Sophia heard the news, she was tempted to blow up at Stanley through the phone. That stupid dog! She could tell that Sean had been nning to leave Stanley for a long time now. Unfortunately, he could not bring himself to do it. This time around, he finally decided to give up and move on since Stanley was getting married. Unexpectedly, Stanley got divorced only a few days after he got married. It only took one sentence from him, and Sean, who had finally made up his mind to move out, immediately moved back in again! When Sophia and Linus arrived at the ce they agreed upon, the first thing they saw was Sean and Stanley drinking next to each other as soon as they walked in through the door. Sean generally lived delicately like a princess whenever Stanley was not around. However, he would match his lifestyle to Stanley¡¯s and live a rough life like a masculine man whenever Stanley was around. Sarah and Derek had arrived too. Everybody gathered together cheerfully, eating the buffet that cost Stanley an average of 59 per pax. After a ss of wine, Stanley began to whine. ¡°Marriage is such a pain! I needed to prepare to have children, prepare the marital house, and the wedding banquet too! It¡¯s so much work! Luckily, I managed to escape in the nick of time! Come; drink with me! I¡¯m never getting married again!¡± Sophia took a sip of yogurt and rolled her eyes. Go to hell, you stupid dog! All of a sudden, her phone rang and she answered it. Before she could speak, Stanley¡¯s phone rang too. She answered the call and listened to what was being said on the other side of the phone. Midway through the call, she started trembling uncontrobly, and her phone fell to the ground. At the same time, Stanley seemed to have received shocking news too. He seemedpletely taken aback for a moment. Hanging up, he stood up and left in a hurry. When Linus saw Sophia¡¯s reaction, he hurriedly supported her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophia¡¯s hands were trembling faintly. Looking at Linus with tears flowing down her face, she said, ¡°Carmen is gone!¡± Chapter 1366 Chapter 1366 That day, a tragic event urred that shocked the Fletcher Family and the entire celebrity circle in Bayside City. A group of criminals had barged into the Fletcher Family¡¯srge farnd outside the city in broad daylight. They blocked the gate and entered the farm armed with AKs, indiscriminately firing at everybody regardless of whether they were adults or children. Most of the people on the farm were children with only a few adults there to watch over them¡­ The Fletcher Family¡¯s tradition of sending their children to the farm had been upheld for hundreds of years. Nobody had ever expected such a terrible tragedy to happen one day. The entire Fletcher Family waspletely shaken by the incident, and multiple helicopters immediately began flying toward the farm out in the countryside. When Sophia and Michael arrived at the farm, they discovered that the once beautiful and bountiful farnd had turned into a wastnd. Arge fire had burned down the barracks. Although the fire had been extinguished, they could see the bullet holes that prated the walls as well as the empty bullet shells covering the ground. The smell of blood and the charred remnants of the fire irritated their noses and their nerves. It was not hard to imagine what had happened here. A group of heavily armed thugs had opened fire against a group of helpless children! Moreover, it was the children of the Fletcher Family, the top military family in Cethos! The Fletchers soon arrived, one after another, looking for their children. The entire scene was filled with crying sounds and the smell of gunpowder. What was once a beautiful wheat field was now a piece of scorched earth. Dead bodies and the wounded were being carried away as military doctors navigated the scene. Meanwhile, Joel expressionlessly took in the sight before him. Every corpse he came across filled him with an unspeakable rage. Everything happened so suddenly. A group of people drove through the gates and forced their way in. They showed no mercy upon entry, attacking anything and anyone. The children tried to hide in the fields while the adults tried to fight back. Unfortunately, there were too few of them against the assants. Who could have foreseen an attack on a group of children in broad daylight, much less an indiscriminate shooting by people with guns on a scorching summer¡¯s day? The military camp located nearby quickly came to provide support, but the group of thugs had already escaped by then. When Sophia and Michael arrived, they saw the wreckage and the empty bullet shells scattered across the ground. A group of dirty children was running around, crying for their parents. But, they did not see Carmen anywhere¡­ ¡°Darling! Carmen! Carmen Sophia Fletcher! Where are you?! Carmen!¡± Sophia shouted her daughter¡¯s name at the top of her voice. Unfortunately, Carmen was no longer among the crowd. Even though Sophia screamed until her voice was hoarse, Carmen did note running out to meet her. Then, she slumped to the ground in despair. ¡°My daughter¡ª¡± Michael looked at everything in front of him. A fog of despair seemed to block his vision as he felt like a de was stabbing into his heart. Our child¡­ is gone¡­ Meanwhile, Joel quickly received information on the number of casualties. Everything had happened so fast that there was no time to escape. Who could have thought that somebody would dare to murder the members of the Fletcher Family so close to the military camp? During the incident, the adults did their best to protect the children. Most of the adults lost their lives as a result. Fortunately, the children managed to survive although some sustained injuries. Joel looked at the corpses that were being carried out, remembering every face in his heart. At thest moment of their lives, only the courage to sacrifice their lives for the children was reflected on their faces. The children were taken away to safety as they took a headcount of all those that remained. Seven or eight children had been injured, but two children were missing. One of them was Lorelei Fletcher, and the other was Carmen Fletcher. ording to the surviving children, the thugs had rushed in and grabbed Carmen. Lorelei immediately chased after them and ran into the car. After that, the cars drove away. Justinter found his son, Nathan, lying by the side of the road. Nathan had been injured during the incident. Despite bleeding profusely, he ran out and chased after the cars that had taken his two younger sisters for a long time. He ran until he passed out by the side of the road due to too much blood loss. When Justin discovered him, he was on the verge of death. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Simrly, Quinton was carried out on a stretcher too. He was severely injured with gunshots all over his body. When the tragedy urred, he had hidden the children in the fields and led the adults against their assants. Unfortunately, they were greatly outnumbered by the assants. The thugs split in several directions and rushed in to kidnap the children. Theo nced at Quinton, who had fallen unconscious. He had extremelyplicated feelings toward this son of his. He even thought of Quinton as his eldest son¡¯s spare weapon. Even so, he was fully aware that this was his son. My biological son¡­ My son who suffered all sorts of hardships since he was young; my son that I have never shown any care or love toward¡­ Quintonyatose after being badly injured, and the thugs had evacuated without a trace, going so far as to take their corpses with them too. Despite all that, Quinton was holding a piece of cloth in his hand in a death grip. It was a piece of cloth he had torn off from the other party¡¯s clothes at the risk of his life. Moreover, that piece of cloth had a logo on it. It was a logo Michael knew very well¡ªit belonged to the Yard Family. It¡¯s the Yard Family again! Only a few days ago, Henry and Ryan had publicly attacked the police with guns, causing a huge uproar among the ruling government and opposition party of Cethos. It was a tant provocation to the basic order of the country. That incident ended with the deaths of many Yard Family members and caused the two young masters of the Yard Family to be deported back to their home country after they were diagnosed with severe mental illness due to trauma. Even so, Jordan knew that that incident was way more serious than pushing Christine down the building. Hence, he warned his two sons to be careful. Contrary to his expectations, what his two sons were capable of far exceeded his imagination. Rather, it surpassed everybody¡¯s expectations! Sophia¡¯s hoarse weeping was mixed into the sobbing of all the other parents at the scene. Today was one of the darkest days in the history of the Fletcher Family. Even Michael could not stop his tears from overflowing. In just a few hours, he felt as if he had lost everything. My child¡­ is gone¡­ ¡°The Yard Family!¡± Michael gritted his teeth, turned around, and got onto the helicopter. They were heading toward the main city district. Sophia wiped away her tears, picked up a gun, and followed him into the helicopter. Simrly, Joel threw the Yard family¡¯s logo to the ground fiercely, turned around, and got onto the helicopter. After that, several helicopters took off toward the main city district. Their destination was the Yard Residence! The Yard Residence in the main city district of Bayside City was a mansion that Anna had bought when she came back to search for her roots. It was specially meant for housing the members of the Yard Family within Bayside City. Louis and his family were staying here. Recently, Henry and Ryan had been staying here too after being sentenced to trial back in their home country. They were nning to board the ne back to their home country today. Today, the Yard Residence was enveloped in a strange atmosphere. A car drove in from the back gate and parked by the garden. Then, the car door opened and arge man carried Lorelei out of the car by the back of her neck; he looked like he was carrying a baby chick. She was held by the scruff of her neck and dragged away without her feet touching the ground. Throughout the entire process, she was screaming and kicking but to no avail. Following that, Carmen came out of the car too. However, she was carried out of the car by another large man. Therge man put her down on the ground after they got out of the car. She lifted her head and said to him, ¡°Mister, I need to pee.¡± Therge man impatiently replied, ¡°No!¡± She pouted, and her dirty little face looked incredibly aggrieved. ¡°But¡­ I can¡¯t hold it in¡­¡± Therge man looked at her pitiful little face and felt a wave ofpassion for her. Pointing at the small garden nearby, he said, ¡°You have one minute.¡± Carmen turned and nced at the small garden before saying in a pitiful voice, ¡°I¡¯m scared of peeing alone. I want to go with L!¡± Upon hearing that, therge man looked annoyed. Even so, he waved his hand and allowed it. Thus, Lorelei was freed too. The two sisters held hands as they walked to the small garden together. ¡°Mister, you can¡¯t peek, okay?¡± Chapter 1367 Chapter 1367 Carmen¡¯s voice came from the small garden. A small head wearing a military hat popped out, watching the tworge men warily. The men assumed that the two girls would not be able to do anything to escape since they were already at the Yard Residence. Besides, Henry and Ryan were packing their stuff right now. They were about to head to the airport and leave Cethos. They were also going to bring these two children along with them. Once they boarded the ne, nobody knew what would happen to the two girls. However, one thing was certain¡ªonce they left the country, neither the Fletcher Family, Mitchell Family, nor the Michel Family would be able to rescue the two girls anymore. What pitiful children; they are so adorable too¡­ The tworge men waited for a minute before turning around to check on the girls. Seeing that the two hats were still there, they continued chatting leisurely for a bit. Another three or four minutes passed without any movement, and the two military green hats were still in sight. By the time the tworge men noticed that something was wrong and ran over to check, the two girls were gone. Only two hats were left, hanging from a tree branch. ¡°They are still within the vi! Find them!¡± Therge man panicked as he rushed about searching for the girls. Lorelei and Carmen squeezed through a small hole in the small garden and ran next door. At first, they thought they managed to escape outside only to realize that they were still within the Yard Residence. Therefore, they ran inside the vi, avoiding people as they did so. Twisting and turning, they saw a door that was slightly ajar, ran into the room, and locked the door behind them. To their horror, they immediately came face-to-face with the person inside. A young girl wearing a bathrobe came out with wet hair. ¡°Mrs. Lynde, what took you so long¡ª¡± That person thought that it was Mrs. Lynde, who had gone out of the room to grab something. To her surprise, she was greeted with two dirty little children. She immediately recognized Carmen at a nce. ¡°Carmen! Why are you here?!¡± Anne could recognize Carmen instantly despite how dirty she looked. Carmen had appeared on a reality show with Cooper, and Anne watched every episode over and over again. It was only natural that she could recognize Carmen. Carmen looked very pitiful. Before she could say anything, a rush of footsteps, as well as many different voices, sounded outside the door. ¡°You three, head to the left. Search upstairs carefully too. It¡¯s only two little girls; they can¡¯t have gotten far!¡± N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Anne might not know what was going on, but it was no ident for these two girls to appear in the Yard Residence. Before she could say anything, she heard a violent series of raps on the door. Thus, she hurriedly said, ¡°Hide!¡± Opening the door to the dressing room, she pushed the two girls inside and whispered urgently, ¡°Don¡¯te out no matter what happenster. And, don¡¯t make any noise either!¡± The person outside the door was getting very impatient. ¡°Open the door, Anne Osborne! What are you doing inside?!¡± It¡¯s Ryan¡¯s voice! I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I do know that the two girls will be discovered immediately if I open the door. It¡¯s over if the girls are discovered! Henry and Ryan have been up to some crazy things recently. They won¡¯t show mercy toward children! Hence, she hurriedly said coyly, ¡°Ryan, I just finished my bath. Wait a moment, will you? I¡¯lle out after putting on some clothes¡ª¡± As soon as Ryan heard that Anne had just finished taking her bath, he immediately started having dirty ideas. I¡¯ve been wanting to sleep with her for a while now. Since I¡¯m leaving today, I might as well have a taste of her before I leave. She might have been his cousin, but that did not deter him from lusting after her. After all, she was certainly good-looking and young. Anna won¡¯t scold me even if I raped Anne. It¡¯s not as if the Osborne Family has any power. Well, even if they were powerful, I¡¯d still have my way with her anyway. I¡¯d ravage Fass¡¯ daughter if I could! It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t get the opportunity to do so yet. Then, he knocked on the door hard. ¡°Open the door. I just want to take a peek. I¡¯ll leave after that.¡± Anne quickly replied shyly, ¡°Wait a moment, Ryan. I¡¯m putting on my clothes.¡± Unfortunately, he kept pestering her impatiently. She didn¡¯t even have the time to make a phone call and ask for help. In the end, she gave up on calling for help. ncing at the closed dressing room door, she then looked down at the clothes she was wearing. She had just gotten out of the bath, and all she had on was a bathrobe. She knew that Ryan had been having ideas about her, so she had been extremely cautious recently¡­ Outside the door, Ryan hammered his fist against the door urgently. After a while, the door finally opened, and Anne stood behind the door. She was very petite; she didn¡¯t even reach 160 cm in height and only weighed around 40 kg or so. Thatbination made her look very small and slender. Moreover, her skin was as white as snow. With the white bathrobe wrapped around her delicate body, she gave off the fragrant scent of her shower gel. ¡°What¡¯s going on, Ryan?¡± She looked at him warily with herrge, ck eyes while she held on to her bathrobe tightly. Her face looked particrly clean and beautiful after removing all her makeup. There was no unevenness in her skin tone nor did she have any e. Rather, her skin was soft and fair. She looked like the kind of woman he liked. For a moment, he forgot the reason he came as he smiled widely. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I was about to leave, so I dropped by to visit you, my darling cousin!¡± As he spoke, he took a step forward and entered her room. Then, he closed the door behind him. The people behind him tactfully went elsewhere to continue their search. Inside the room, his gleaming eyes slowly approached her, step by step. Terrified, she kept retreating. Her tender feet shuffled across the grey carpet on the floor. She was so scared that she trembled in fear while gripping a corner of her bathrobe tightly. ¡°W-What are you doing, Ryan?¡± He revealed his true colors, rushing forward abruptly and hugging her fragrant body. ¡°What am I doing? I¡¯m doing you!¡± Amid her screaming and struggling, he threw himself at her while his hands groped her body. The more she resisted, the stronger he became. He loved the feeling of forcefully conquering his prey. Anxious and afraid, she suddenly found a vase nearby. She picked it up and desperately threw it at his head. Following the sound of ss breaking, he staggered backward suddenly and supported himself with the table. He touched his head and discovered that it was bleeding profusely. ¡°You b*tch¡ª¡± When he saw the blood on his hands, he gritted his teeth and stalked toward her. Meanwhile, she backed away in fear, screaming and throwing everything she could find around her in his direction. Still, he came closer and closer with a savage expression. I¡¯m not just going to rape her today. I¡¯m going to rape her to death! He finally grabbed her with some difficulty. Taking advantage of the situation, he pressed her body under him, lifted his hand, and pped her hard across the face. He wanted to hit her until her screams and her resistance stopped. In his fury, Ryan failed to notice what was going on behind him. He only vaguely felt something nimbly jumping on him and grabbing at his throat. A pair of hands wrapped around his throat firmly and ruthlessly. Before he could react, he heard a ¡®crack¡¯ sounding from his neck. Then, the world returned to a state of tranquility and eternal darkness. Chapter 1368 Chapter 1368 ¡°Ah! Go away! Go away!¡± Anne was still throwing things in a panic. All of a sudden, Ryan slumped to the ground and copsed in her direction. Falling to the ground in a twisted position, he did not move again¡ªhe wasn¡¯t even breathing anymore. Anne was so terrified that her brain nked out, causing her to lose her ability to think. It took a long while for her to notice the girl that looked to be roughly ten years old standing behind Ryan. The girl was much taller than other children of the same age. Moreover, she seemed to be of mixed race¡ªshe had a very special pair of green eyes. It was this girl that had leaped out suddenly, performed a sneak attack from behind, and broke his neck. The whole world became quiet with Ryan¡¯s death. However, Lorelei¡¯s hands were trembling. She was scared; extremely scared. At that moment, she felt as if she had returned to the time when she was sold at the ve market in Ronney City. Back then, she had been trained by the Yard Family to complete many unspeakable acts. Under the Yard Family¡¯s training, she, along with many other children, had been taught various techniques to kill. Since their opponents were adults, they were forced to learn how to disguise themselves and how to kill in one hit. After all, adults were physically much stronger than they were. If they failed to kill their target in a sneak attack, they would be the ones to die instead. They also fought and killed each other over the meager amount of food given to them. If they didn¡¯t kill, they would starve. Therefore, she had to kill to survive. That was her life until Sophia and Michael found her and brought her back to the Fletcher Family. That was also the moment she finally escaped from that kind of life. Looking down at Ryan, who seemed to be lying peacefully on the ground, she realized that she had killed again. Her eyes filled with horror following her realization. She was scared of going to jail, she was scared that Joel would despise her for killing again, and she was scared that her friends would abandon her because she murdered someone! On the other hand, Anne recovered from her shock. Grabbing a nket, she covered Ryan with it and beckoned to Lorelei. ¡°Come; I¡¯ll take you to somebody who can help.¡± Upon hearing that, Lorelei snapped back to attention and led Carmen out of the dressing room. In the meantime, Anne checked the situation outside the room. When she saw that nobody was around, she hurriedly brought the girls next door to where Louis was staying. Louis had been wandering abroad for several decades. Finally, he decided to return to Cethos in his elderly years and live out his retirement life at the Yard Residence in Bayside City. He met with his friends daily to drink tea and y chess together. Today was no different. However, Anne suddenly barged into his study and disrupted the pleasant chess game he was having with his friend. Moreover, she was dressed in nothing but a bathrobe. Her clothing was disheveled and her hair was a mess. He was just about to scold her when Carmen ran inside without warning. Carmen finally met somebody she was acquainted with. Thus, she ran into his arms in fright. ¡°Mr. Louis, the bad guys are trying to catch me!¡± Lorelei rushed inside too. The first thing she noticed was not Louis but the young man he was ying chess with. That young man also had a pair of green eyes that were simr to hers. Louis was a great artist among the Cethosians. For that reason, Bailey, who had a love for Cethosian traditional culture, was acquainted with him and happened to be here for a game of chess today. To their surprise, two unkempt girls, Carmen and Lorelei, suddenly intruded on them halfway through their chess game. Louis hugged Carmen in shock as she wept. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Carmen wiped her tears and sobbed, ¡°Sob. The bad guys are trying to catch L and me!¡± All of a sudden, Bailey stood up without warning. At the same time, somebody kicked the door from outside, and the door flew open. Henry led his men inside with a savage expression. He immediately saw Carmen, who was being held in Louis¡¯ arms, and his expression became delighted. ¡°This is where you brats were! I¡¯m going to skin you alive!¡± Carmen was so scared that she hid under the table. Meanwhile, Louis shouted in a rage, ¡°You lowlife! What do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Louis might be Henry¡¯s grandfather, but neither Henry nor Ryan had ever held any respect for him before. Thus, Henry rudely retorted, ¡°Stay out of my business, you old coot! Get out of my way!¡± It went without saying that he had noticed Bailey standing by the side. Even so, hepletely disregarded the young man. After all, Bailey was just a fifteen-year-old brat. He even threatened Bailey by saying, ¡°This is the Yard Family¡¯s business. It has nothing to do with you! Stay out of it!¡± Bailey said nothing as he stepped aside. Then, Henry barged inside arrogantly to grab Carmen, who was hiding under the table. In response, Louis desperately picked up a vase and threateningly said, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you if you dare toe near, you beast!¡± He did not understand why Anna¡¯s elder sons were so humble, courteous, and knowledgeable, yet her younger sons turned out to be suchwless lowlifes. Today, I¡¯m going to teach them a lesson! Unfortunately, he was no match for Henry. Before he could even throw the vase in his hands, he was mmed against the ground by Henry¡¯s men. Hitting his head against the chessboard, his head immediately started bleeding. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Anne ran over in a fright to help Louis. On the other hand, Henry walked toward the table Carmen was hiding under. ¡°Little brat, where are you running¡ª¡± He reached out. As long as I have Cooper¡¯s granddaughter in my hands, that entire family will be under my control! If Cooper refuses to obey me, I will kill this little brat! I¡¯ll cook her up and serve her to Cooper for tea! Contrary to his expectations, his hands had yet to touch Carmen when a strong arm suddenly wrapped around his neck and held him in ce firmly. Immediately after that, he felt a cold ck muzzle pointed against his temple. Bailey took a step back and stood behind Henry. In the meantime, one of his bodyguards subdued Henry and pointed a gun at Henry¡¯s head. At this point, Henry was only one step away from having his brains blown out. ¡°Move aside or I¡¯ll shoot.¡± A gun had appeared in Bailey¡¯s hands at some point. Standing behind Henry, he pressed his gun against Henry¡¯s waist. Things happened so quickly. Nobody expected Bailey to make a move without any warning. Therefore, the people of the Yard Family nervously took several steps back. In response, Henry roared in anger and gritted his teeth. ¡°What the f*ck do you think you¡¯re doing, Bailey?!¡± He was certain that Bailey would not dare to harm him. Thus, he confidently instructed his men, ¡°He won¡¯t dare to harm me. Grab that brat!¡± Several of the Yard Family¡¯s subordinates started to go after Carmen again. On the other hand, Bailey calmly pointed his gun downward and swiftly shot Henry in the leg without any hesitation. The bullet went through Henry¡¯s heel, causing blood to stter in all directions. Then, Henry howled in pain. Even so, Bailey¡¯s expression remained impassive. Smoke was stilling out of the muzzle of his gun as he pressed it against Henry¡¯s waist again and repeated coldly, ¡°Move aside!¡± Henry was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t say anything anymore. The only sounds thate out of his throat were searing screams of pain. His subordinates nced at each other confusedly and decided to step aside in the end. Bailey watched the crowd warily while beckoning toward Carmen, who was hiding under the table. ¡°Come here.¡± Carmen swiftly crawled out from under the table and clung to Bailey tightly. She looked terrified as she grabbed his pants but did not dare to say a word. Bailey lowered his head and nced at her. She was wearing a small military uniform and carrying a small bag. Her entire body was dirty and smelly. Her face was smeared with dirt with two clean lines forming where her tears ran down her face. ¡°Close your eyes.¡±N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Chapter 1369 Chapter 1369 Bailey held a gun in his hand while being wary of the crowd in front of him. Meanwhile, Carmen obediently closed her eyes. With one hand holding a gun, he picked her up with his other and turned to look at Lorelei. In response, Lorelei immediately ran over to him. The reason he came to visit Louis today was simply out of literary purposes. While he was at it, he yed a game of chess and enjoyed a leisurely chat. Therefore, he only brought two bodyguards with him. At present, one of them was using Henry as a meat shield as they pressed forward while the other was watching their rear. He walked between his two bodyguards, holding Carmen in his arms and cautiously leading Lorelei out of the door. Throughout it all, Carmen did not cry. Instead, she obediently kept her mouth shut and her eyes closed as shey in his arms. They walked out of the Yard Residence, step by step, with Henry as their hostage. Everywhere they went, the people of the Yard Family did not dare to step forward out of fear. Restrained by them, Henry cursed endlessly but did not dare to act rashly with a gun pressed against his head. Besides, his body was weak from all the alcohol and other vices he indulged in although he was only in his twenties. As it was, he was no match for Bailey. At that moment, the Fletcher Family and the Mitchell family¡¯s troops had arrived outside of the Yard Residence. The entire Yard Residence was surrounded by a wall of military green¡ªeven the wind could not pass through this airtightyer. They even brought out the heavy artillery. Fully armed with real guns and live ammunition, the riot squad was in position. Joel had already received authorization from the higher-ups to shoot to kill if they faced any resistance. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Sophia came along with Michael. She stared at the closed gates, feeling extremely worried. It felt like an invisible pair of hands was squeezing her throat, and she barely dared to breathe. Meanwhile, Michael held her pale and frail hands the entire time while whispering, ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. Nothing will happen to our baby.¡± She was trembling all over. She knew that Henry and Ryan were lunatics that never considered the consequences of their actions. People like them were the scariest. Therefore, she was afraid that she might never see her daughter again. Holding each other tightly, Sophia and Michael stared at the gates of the Yard Residence. They looked like they were trying to prate the walls of the building where Carmen and Lorelei were being held captive with their gazes. The situation right now was very tense. Not only were they afraid of the Yard twins flying out of the country with Carmen, but they were also afraid that the Yard twins would take desperate measures to escape. Consequently, they only dared toy siege against the Yard Residence but did not dare to rush in. They wanted to negotiate with the other party instead since Carmen and Lorelei were still in the hands of the enemy. Joel was sweating profusely even though it was not midsummer yet. They had no way of predicting what the Yard twins might do throughmon sense and logic. After all, those two were monsters! While Jordan considered the pros and cons of his actions before doing anything, the same could not be said of the Yard twins. They acted on their whims, regardless of the consequences. Nobody knew what could happen to Carmen and Lorelei with every passing second, and everybody had sweaty palms as a result. Naturally, Cooper came along too. He gazed at the Yard Residence, mes dancing in his solemn gaze. Meanwhile, Theo had prepared several rescue ns. Unfortunately, even those ns could not guarantee the lives of Carmen and Lorelei under the current circumstances. The safest method was to contact and negotiate with Jordan. Even if the Yard twins wereplete lunatics, Jordan was not. He fully understood the consequences of harming Lorelei and Carmen. Simrly, Jordan also arrived very quickly. He was learning a little more of what his two youngest sons were capable of. I can¡¯t believe they dare to do something like this! In his original n, the Yard twins would be deported from the country; they would safely and soundly return to Ronney City without further consequences. Contrary to his expectations, they kidnapped the Fletcher Family¡¯s children instead. This isn¡¯t just about testing the Fletcher Family¡¯s limits anymore. Lives are at stake now! The first time the Yard twins openly attacked the police with guns, he had to use his connections and sacrifice a group of people to get them out of trouble. At the time, he imed that they were simply two unruly children. I can¡¯t believe they did it again! Annoyed, he studied the army surrounding the Yard Residence, as well as theyers andyers of people crowding the vicinity. The Fletcher Family, the Mitchell Family, the Michel Family, the Winston Family, and the Edwards Family had all gathered there. Even the blind could tell that this chaotic situation had ruined his ns once again. I don¡¯t think I can save my two rebellious sons again this time! When Joel saw that Jordan had arrived, he stepped forward expressionlessly to begin negotiations. ¡°Mr. Edwards, I¡¯m sure you understand the current situation. I don¡¯t want to waste more time. Hand over our children and I will let your sons leave the country.¡± Jordan might have been holding hostages, but he knew that it was not beneficial to him right now. If I force the Fletcher Family any further, they might take desperate measures! Unlike other families, the Fletcher Family holds military power within the country. Jordan looked at the people standing next to Joel, including Michael, Cooper, and another unfamiliar young man. He did not know who that young man was, but he could tell that the young man was not an ordinary person based on the aura he gave off. ¡°Of course.¡± He was about to ask Henry and Ryan to release the children of the Fletcher Family. However, he saw the Yard Family¡¯s men backing out as soon as he entered the gates. People from the Adams Family were present too. Although there were only three of them, they managed to take Henry hostage and were slowly walking out of the Yard Family¡¯s encirclement. Henry¡¯s leg was bleeding. Moreover, he was cursing and screaming despite the cold and merciless gun pressed against his head. When he saw Jordan, he brightened up immediately and shouted, ¡°Dad, save me! They want to kill me!¡± However, Jordan only felt a deep sense of disappointment. Useless fools. You have my courage, but you don¡¯t have my abilities! You can¡¯t even capture a child properly! ¡°Carmen!¡± Sophia saw Carmen huddling in Bailey¡¯s arms. That small body seemed like it could break at any moment. She instantly felt her spirits lifting. Still, she did not dare to make any loud sounds. She was afraid that Carmen might start crying upon hearing her voice and disrupt the overall situation. Thus, she only dared to let her tears flow down her face. On the other hand, Bailey was still as expressionless as ever. His expression barely changed even when he saw that the Fletcher Family and the Mitchell Family were here. With one hand holding the gun and the other hand holding a child, the fifteen-year-old seemed unnaturally used to situations like these. Meanwhile, the Yard Family understood that they had lost the battle when they saw the army surrounding the Yard Residence in a neat andpact formation. Joel red at the Yard Family¡¯s men and coldlymanded, ¡°Put down your guns!¡± Jordan knew that this battle was a lost cause. Thus, he gestured slightly and all of the Yard Family¡¯s men put down their guns. Seeing that, Henry yelled angrily, ¡°Dad¡ª¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Jordan cut him off fiercely, and Henry did not dare to say another word again. Once the Yard Family¡¯s men put down their guns, Bailey carefully put down his gun too. At the same time, his bodyguard kicked Henry back to the Yard Family while he cautiously walked toward Sophia. Bending down, he ced Carmen down on the ground. Carmen saw her parents as soon as she opened her eyes. Then, she threw herself into Sophia¡¯s arms with a loud cry like a pitiful cat. Sophia hugged her as her tears flowed down uncontrobly. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, darling. Mommy and Daddy are here! The bad guys can¡¯t hurt you anymore!¡± In response, Carmen wailed even louder than before and incoherently said, ¡°The bad guys captured me and L. They said they were going to turn us into dumplings for Grandpa¡¯s breakfast! They hit Nate until he cried! They trampled on the tomato I picked!¡± Chapter 1370 Chapter 1370 Chapter 1370 Thank You When Carmen burst into tears, so did Sophia. Michael hugged the both of them, tears gathering in his eyes. Just moments ago, he had been paralyzed by an unimaginable fear that he would never see Carmen alive again. He was still consumed by the fear even now. Turning toward Bailey, who was about to leave, he said, ¡°Thank you.¡± This fourteen-year-old¡ªno, he was already a fifteen-year-old man¡ªsuddenly became more favorable in Michael¡¯s eyes. If it were not for Bailey, rescuing Lorelei and Carmen would have required far more effort. I¡¯m sure Carmen and Lorelei had a hard time with those crazy twins around. Bailey didn¡¯t even bother to turn around as he condescendingly answered, ¡°I don¡¯t talk to youngsters. Let the elders in your familye to me.¡± If it wasn¡¯t for the circumstances preventing Michael from hitting Bailey, he would have done so in a heartbeat. Meanwhile, Lorelei threw herself into Joel¡¯s arms. Although she wasn¡¯t crying as hard as Carmen, he could tell that she had experienced a huge scare. Her entire body trembled as she fearfully told him, ¡°Daddy, I killed somebody!¡± She was afraid that she would be sent away because she killed somebody. She thought she would be sent back to that gloomy ce where the sun could not reach¡ªthe ce where she had to kill just to survive each day. I love the Fletcher Family. I don¡¯t want to leave. I love my daddy and mommy; I love my brother. I don¡¯t want to leave. She grasped the corner of Joel¡¯s clothes tightly. At the same time, Ryan was carried out of the Yard Residence. They probably wanted to send him for emergency treatment. Unfortunately, his body had gone cold a long time ago. His neck had been broken, and he died on the spot. Jordan stepped forward and lifted the bed sheet covering Ryan¡¯s body. Ryan¡¯s eyes were gazing nkly into the sky. The savage and triumphant expression on his face had yet to disappear from when he was killed. Jordan¡¯s hands shook and he lost grip of the bedsheet. My son! The son I devoted all my efforts into raising! Why is he nothing but a corpse now?! Who did this?! The look in his eyes looked like a volcano that was about to erupt. Sweeping his gaze across the venue, he saw that everybody else seemed to be happy about the news of Ryan¡¯s death. When Sophia saw the corpse, she hurriedly buried Carmen¡¯s face in her chest. She did not want Carmen to see that terrifying scene. Fortunately, Carmen was still crying. She experienced the greatest scare of her life when Bailey was carrying her out of the Yard Residence. Even so, she desperately stopped herself from crying at the time. It had not been easy for her. On the other hand, Joel nced at Ryan¡¯s corpse before ncing back at Lorelei, who looked extremely nervous. He seemed to understand the situation. Ruffling Lorelei¡¯s messy hair, he said in a low voice, ¡°L, he deserved to die. You protected your sister. You did a great job!¡± Despite his reassurance, Lorelei had an expression of horror on her face as she was taken away by Maddie, who had rushed over to the scene. Afterward, Joel confiscated all of the Yard Family¡¯s guns. He turned to Jordan and said, ¡°Mr. Edwards, I will honor my promise with you since the children have been returned. I have prepared the transportation for your sons to the airport. Please,e this way.¡± After saying that, he drove a military truck over. Regardless of whether Jordan was willing or not, he stuffed all the Yard Family¡¯s men into the truck. Even Ryan, who was dead, was carried into the truck without further ado. Jordan smiled mechanically. ¡°I don¡¯t think the weather today is suitable for flying. Why not postpone it until tomorrow instead?¡± He had a feeling that the Fletcher Family was not going to let them leave Cethos that easily. Joel lifted his head to look at the sky. ¡°On the contrary, the weather seems great to me. Besides, it¡¯s a good day for traveling ording to the almanac of the day.¡± Following that, he ¡®invited¡¯ all the men of the Yard Family, including Henry, into the car without any regard for whether Jordan was willing to comply or not. Henry was still screaming. Jordan was about to say something when Joel turned around with a gun in his hands. The gun was aimed directly at Jordan, and his finger was on the trigger. He continued to smile as he said, ¡°Your son is about to travel to a far-offnd. It¡¯s a very long journey; I wonder if you have anything to say to your son, Mr. Edwards?¡± Jordan seemed to understand the meaning behind those words. He red at Joel as well as the rest of the men standing beside him. Still, ring was a meaningless gesture. He knew that everything was in the Fletcher Family¡¯s hands now. At the very least, he could do nothing to them today as his side was in the wrong. ring at Joel fiercely, his eyes were filled with hostility. He smiled coldly. ¡°Thank you for the reminder.¡± Then, he walked over to Henry. He first nced at Ryan, who was dead, before turning to look at Henry. Henry had not received any treatment despite being shot in the leg. Therefore, blood was still gushing out. It hurt so much that he was grinning maniacally. When he saw Jordan walking over to him, he roared in tears, ¡°Dad, it hurts so bad! They killed Ryan!¡± After losing his son, Jordan seemed to have aged overnight. Looking at his son, he quietly said, ¡°I know; I know. Take good care of yourself when you arrive. I¡¯m getting old. I can¡¯t take care of you forever.¡± Henry continued to scream and cry. ¡°I will never forgive you! The Fletcher Family and the Mitchell Family can all go to hell! I¡¯m going to kill all of you!¡±Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Jordan shook his head and hardened his heart. ¡°Get into the car.¡± After that, Henry was helped into the military truck while Jordan watched. All of a sudden, a gunshot rang out and a bullet prated Henry¡¯s thigh. Henry copsed to the ground after being shot in the thigh and prostrated himself in Michael¡¯s direction. Hey on the ground screaming and crying as blood sttered everywhere. Standing in front of him, Michael put his gun away and smiled darkly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My gun misfired.¡± However, Sophia, who was standing next to him, had already covered Carmen¡¯s ears in advance. Henry¡¯s blood spilled all over the ground. Following that, he was carried into the truck, and everybody in the truck was hauled away. It was a grand procession as military vehicles cleared the road in advance and sealed the road to the airport for their special use. Joel delivered the Yard Family to the airport and ensured that they boarded the ne heading toward Ronney City. After the incident, the army surrounding the Yard Residence gradually withdrew. Meanwhile, Jordan took Ryan¡¯s corpse away for disposal. When Anne learned that Cooper had arrived, she got dressed and came out to see. However, she only caught a glimpse of his solemn figure. He had already gotten into his car and left in a hurry. Even so, she smiled in satisfaction. I protected Cooper¡¯s granddaughter! Even if he will never know about it¡­ Carmen continued crying even after she arrived home. She sobbinglyined about the bad guys that kidnapped her, as well as her uncle and her brother that had been beaten so badly that they cried. While wiping away her tears, she opened her little bag and took out everything inside. She had thrown out all her daily necessities and filled it up with souvenirs from the farm. ¡°This eggnt is for Mommy! These are the cherries I brought back for Grandpa¡­ but they¡¯ve been smashed¡­ Sob.¡± Everybody felt their hearts breaking as they watched Carmen crying while handing out souvenirs. After she finished handing out the souvenirs, she quietly set aside some of the most beautiful apricots. She was reluctant to eat them and nobody knew who she nned to give them to. Chapter 1371 Chapter 1371 Sophia tirelessly took care of Carmen all night long and even slept beside Carmen that night. Michael didn¡¯t go home until veryte at night. By the time he returned home, he saw Sophia and Carmen sleeping together. After suffering a huge scare, Carmen was clutching her mother¡¯s arm tightly as she slept. Moreover, there seemed to be tears in the corner of her eyes. He initially thought she was asleep. Unexpectedly, her eyes flew open abruptly upon hearing him coming back. ¡°Daddy!¡± Taking off his jacket, he whisperingly asked, ¡°Sweetie, why are you still awake?¡± She secretly took out a tomato from her pocket and delightedly said, ¡°I wanted to give you this tomato, Daddy! Hurry and eat it while it¡¯s still hot!¡± When he saw the tomato, he felt a warmth only a father would experience stinging his eyes. ¡°Thanks, sweetie.¡± Then, he took the tomato from her. She held it for so long that it had gotten warm from her body heat. It looks like she was holding on to it all day long, waiting for me toe home and eat it. He heard that she had handed out souvenirs to everybody when she got home earlier today. As he had been settling matters outside and only came homete at night, he thought he missed the chance to receive some of the souvenirs she handed out. To his surprise, she had saved something for him. Thus, he hurriedly ate it while it was still hot. The tomato still held her body warmth, and he ate the entire tomato, including the calyx. Carmen watched as he finished eating the tomato. She smiled excitedly at the sight. A new tooth was already growing from where her previous tooth had fallen out not long ago. After Michael finished eating the tomato, he wiped his mouth and spread open his arms. ¡°Come here; give me a hug. Hurry and go to bed after that, okay?¡± Thus, she rushed over and gave him a big hug. After that, shey back down and pulled her nket over her. Meanwhile, he looked at his wife and his daughter. He couldn¡¯t help feeling that they were both incredibly adorable. Leaning down, he kissed her on her small face before kissing Sophia too. At first, he had made ns to leave. He had left all his assets to his wife, his daughter, and Celine. He wanted to go to a ce where they could never find him and face his predetermined fate. He was going to officially start entering a cryogenic sleep. When the medical treatment services became better in the future, he would resurrect again. Whether or not I can reunite with Sophia again will be up to fate. However, every time he nned to leave, all sorts of issues woulde up. It¡¯s truly a test for our little family of three. How can I leave in peace? After he finished taking a look at them, he walked out of the room and went into the living room. To his surprise, everybody else was still awake. Today, both Cooper and Linus had been so quiet that it was terrifying. It was shocking that they allowed Henry to leave without saying anything at all. Usually, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference even if Ryan died in the hands of Lorelei, and Michael shot Henry in the knee. With Cooper¡¯s personality, he would never allow things to end so easily. Sure enough¡­ That night, a piece of international news swept through Bayside City in the middle of the night. A private luxury jet departing from Cethos crashed into an 8,000-meter-high snow-capped mountain not long after it left Cethos¡¯ airspace. The ne waspletely destroyed, killing over 30 people in it. There were no survivors. ording to the news report, the dead included the two young masters of the Ronney Group. Some spected that a timed bomb had been installed in the ne, some imed that the private jet had been shot down by surface-to-air missiles, and some believed that the captain of the ne deliberately drove it into the 8,000-meter-high snow-capped mountain. In any case, the people were dead and the ne was destroyed. It had crashed into the rugged snow-capped mountains. Moreover, it so happened that a heavy snowstorm raged across the mountains that night so it was difficult to even retrieve the corpses. As the people on board the ne held distinguished statuses and the number of casualties was high, this incident shocked the entire internationalmunity. Still, no individuals or organizations stood out to im responsibility for the incident even after a day had passed. Some imed that the Fletcher Family was behind it while others imed that it was the Michel Family. In the end, nobody could confirm the rumors. The news was reported domestically for a bit before it disappeared without further updates. The news of those deaths made headlines for a few days. However, it was soon overshadowed by the news of Bethany¡¯s imprisonment. It was true that the pictures of their deaths were not as attractive as Bethany¡¯s handcuffed and bare-faced photos. As for how the bodies would be retrieved, nobody knew. It was located on an 8,000-meter-high snow-capped mountain ravaged by blizzards. Furthermore, it belonged to a small Central Asian country. There were too many difficulties surrounding the issue. Hence, it was most likely that those 30 or so people would forever remain frozen on top of the mountain. Back at the hospital, Nathan and Quinton woke up. This time around, everybody within the Fletcher Family got to know Quinton. They only knew him as ¡®Hope Fletcher¡¯, a child of the Fletcher Family. He had always lived abroad and only came back to the country recently. At present, he was a lecturer at Bayside University. During the incident the other day, he blocked the fanatics, killed many people, and saved many children. While Quinton recuperated in the hospital, many people visited him every day and brought fruits, gifts, and flowers with them. As a result, a bunch of gifts were piled up next to his bed. In contrast, Nathan¡¯s bedside, which was located in the same hospital ward, was much more barren. There were only several packs of strawberries and apples. He didn¡¯t even get any flowers. After all, he had lost consciousness after losing too much blood due to his injuries. On the other hand, Quinton suffered several gunshot wounds that fortunately did not hit any of his vital spots. Their injuries could not bepared. Carmen dropped by after school every day to visit both Quinton and Nathan. When she arrived today, she unwrapped all the presents sitting beside Quinton¡¯s bed. She also ate all his fruits and supplements, enjoying them to their fullest. Then, she proudly said, ¡°Uncle Quinton, they called you a great hero!¡± N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Quinton had never imagined that he, who had killed throughout his life, could ever earn the title of a great hero. The world truly is unpredictable. Still, he had never caused any trouble at school nor killed any minors despite being a killer. Even if he was a killer, he had his own principles. At the moment, he was still hooked up to the intravenous drip. He proudly said, ¡°I¡¯m a great hero now! Are you proud of me?¡± She happily replied, ¡°I¡¯m very proud of you!¡± Looking at how many presents Quinton received, Stanley snorted in dissatisfaction. Sophia was sitting in front of his hospital bed while slicing some fruits for him. Celine also came over with her daughter. Meanwhile, Stanley brought over arge portion of pork knuckles during his visit. He made it look extremely delicious as he ate it by the bed. Unfortunately, Nathan was not allowed to eat them due to his injuries. Thus, he gritted his teeth in resentment. For that reason, Stanley deliberately teased him. ¡°Here; Nate-Tan! Do you want some? If youe back to work for me, I¡¯ll let you have some.¡± Nathan snorted and turned his face away. He once worked at Stanley¡¯spany during his summer vacation when he was much younger. Afterward, Justin established a new securitypany. Refusing to continue working under Stanley, he quickly joined Justin¡¯spany instead. Back when he was younger, he had been fair and chubby. Later, he often returned to the Fletcher Residence for military training. As time went on, he slowly tanned until he took on the Fletcher family¡¯s traditional bronze-toned skin. Furthermore, Carmen liked to braid his hair into pigtails at home. So, he changed his hairstyle to a buzzcut. Following the changes to his appearance, his nickname went from ¡®Nate¡¯ to ¡®Nate-Tan¡¯. Simrly, Quinton was also gradually developing the Fletcher Family¡¯s traditional look of a buzzcut and bronze-toned skin. It seemed that Michael was the fairest in the Fletcher Family. He probably took after his mother, or it could also be due to his constant skincare regime. Cooper also stopped by for a visit. After his visit, he said to Sophia, ¡°I¡¯m heading to the Adams Group.¡± ¡°The Adams Group?¡± Sophia immediately understood his intentions. ¡°Dad, are you going to meet Bailey?¡± At the mention of Bailey¡¯s name, Carmen and Michael pricked up their ears in attention. Chapter 1372 Chapter 1372 Cooper nodded. ¡°Bailey rescued Carmen during thest incident. I must go and give my thanks to him in person.¡± N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Sophia hurriedly said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you invite him to our house? I¡¯ll ask the chefs to prepare something delicious for him.¡± Invite him home? No way! Definitely not! Even so, Michael did not openly express his opinions. On the other hand, Stanley hurriedly encouraged them by saying, ¡°That¡¯s right! Make something delicious, and make sure you make tons of it. You should make lots of that smander dish for our guest¡­ All the delicacies that you can imagine! We have to make it a huge affair! After all, it¡¯s Carmen¡¯s savior we¡¯re talking about!¡± If Bailey had not helped them that day, it would have taken a much longer time to rescue Lorelei and Carmen from the Yard Residence. Besides, guns did not discriminate. It was questionable whether Carmen and Lorelei could have walked out of there alive without his help. Originally, Cooper wanted to visit with some gifts to show his sincerity. However, he decided he might as well invite Bailey over for dinner after giving it some thought. It was Cethosian tradition to interact with each other over a meal. Therefore, treating Bailey to a meal would seem more formal. All of a sudden, Michael was reminded of the old-fashioned words that that fifteen-year-old ¡®old man¡¯ had uttered the other day: ¡®I don¡¯t interact with youngsters.¡¯ That probably meant that Cooper had to go and thank him himself. Pfft. Old man. Still, Bailey¡¯s existence made his skin crawl. Bailey took over the family¡¯s business at a young age and had been working hard ever since. Moreover, he already had various achievements under his belt. Geniuses like him were absolutely terrifying! Despite his youth, his level of sophistry was so deep that even an adult could no longer understand him. How could my cute and na?ve Carmen be a match for the wily and conniving Bailey Adams? Although Cooper wanted to invite Bailey over for dinner, he still felt that he shouldn¡¯t skimp on the gift of gratitude. Hence, he brought some gifts with him to the Adams Group during his visit to thank Bailey in person. ¡°I¡¯ll go too!¡± Carmen had been acting cute in Michael¡¯s arms. When she saw that Cooper was leaving, she immediately chased after him. ¡°Carmen Fletcher! Come back here right now!¡± Michael hurriedly chased after her. Unfortunately, she ran as swiftly as the wind and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Sigh. My daughter is growing up! She¡¯s just like her mother! She¡¯s going to be caught in that old man¡¯s hands eventually! She¡¯s only five years old. It feels like it wasn¡¯t all that long since she was born yet it already feels like somebody is going to take her away from me. In the meantime, Sophia called Carmen to specially remind her, ¡°Sweetie, don¡¯t forget to invite Mr. Bailey over to our house for dinner, okay?¡± Michael couldn¡¯t see eye-to-eye with Bailey, but Sophia felt that Bailey was perfect. Bailey was handsome with his long eyshes and unique green eyes. His legs were long and slender, his skin was smooth, and his facial features were good. Moreover, his family background matched theirs too. He is the perfect match for Carmen. He is smart and courageous. Even though he is only 15 years old, he is already so outstanding! I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be even more amazing in the future! It would be great if Carmen and Bailey got to know each other better. That way, they will be childhood friends when they grow up, and it will be easier to make a move on him. Still, everything depends on whether they are fated to be together. On the other hand, Michael believed that girls needed to have their own careers nowadays. Carmen came from an extraordinary family. Her grandfather was a president of apany as were her father and her mother. Even her uncles and brothers were presidents of their ownpanies. In the future, Carmen would no doubt be a domineering female president too. In that case, 30 or 40 or 50 would still be considered too early for marriage. Besides, she is only five years old right now! What is there to be anxious about? When she gets married when she¡¯s around 40 or 50 years old, she should find a younger husband that is around 20 or 30 years old. Wouldn¡¯t that be great? Why would she want an old man?! Inside the president¡¯s office at the Adams Group. The Adams Insurance Group had been operating in Cethos for some time now, and the branch company was almost ready to begin operations. Bailey was here for an inspection. Thus, he decided to visit his friends and family while he was at it. He had not expected to run into any incidents when he visited Louis. He constantly paid close attention to what that pair of Yard twins did. Not only did the Yard twins publicly attack the police with guns, but they also openly kidnapped and harmed others with guns. Fortunately for them, their father, Jordan Edwards, had enough power and influence to clean up the troubles they caused. Jordan ultimately managed to gloss over the issues, but it undoubtedly made the higher-ups in Cethos wary of him. As a result, he didn¡¯t even dare to make a sound in protest when the Yard Family¡¯s private jet crashed and killed around 30 people, including his two sons. That was how serious the problem was. This time around, he had been dragged down by his two sons to the point where he nearly lost everything. When Bailey made his move, he had already considered the pros and cons of his actions. He was simply taking advantage of the situation to his own benefit. After all, Cooper would never forgive the Yard twins after what they did. Even if Bailey took action and injured somebody in the process, Jordan would still put all the me on Cooper. ¡°Bailey, thank you very much for your help this time. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t know what might have happened to the two girls,¡± Cooper solemnly said. Bailey was extremely humble. ¡°It was nothing.¡± There was a tea table installed in the office. Bailey liked to brew his own tea whenever he had the time and was in the middle of preparing some tea for Cooper. Cethosian southerners liked to drink tea¡ªso much so that they had tea sets everywhere. It was said that the aroma of tea increased one¡¯s rity and awareness. Therefore, southerners liked to drink tea while discussing business. They believed that the more they drank, the more alert they became; the more they drank, the smarter they became. Bailey poured a cup of tea for Cooper. Then, Cooper stretched out his hand to hold the empty teacup. It was part of their tea etiquette. Bailey also poured a cup of tea for Carmen. To his surprise, her small hand immediately stretched out to hold her cup too. She was smart and quickly copied what her grandfather did. How polite. Bailey felt his heart melting slightly and expressly warned her in a soft voice, ¡°Careful; it¡¯s hot. You should take your hand away.¡± Upon hearing that, Carmen quickly took her hand away. While the adults were talking, she obediently sat by the side without saying anything while watching Bailey with herrge, ck eyes. She is probably trying to see if I will smile. Bailey nced at her cool and intelligent appearance. Then, an unprecedented smile graced his lips. It was a gentle smile that was barely perceptible. In Cethos, there was an inevitable custom when two or more adults were talking with a child present. ¡°Come, sweetie. Why don¡¯t you perform something for Mr. Bailey?¡± At Cooper¡¯s behest, Carmen hurriedly stood up. She danced and sang for the two of them with a voice as sweet as a nightingale¡¯s. It felt like a pair of slender and gentle hands were gently caressing their ears and their hearts. Meanwhile, Bailey felt as if a gurgling stream was flowing in his heart. At the same time, it felt as if a warm breeze was blowing in his ears. He felt his entire being bing calm. This long-lost sense of peace¡­ It felt like Carmen had only just started singing. To his surprise, Carmen had already finished her song and returned to her seat beside her grandfather. However, he had not gotten enough yet. Cooper couldn¡¯t help but praise Carmen. When he was done praising her, they continued drinking tea. Carmen listened to their conversation, but she drowsily nodded off as time went on. Thus, Bailey brought her into his lounge to rest. Afterward, only Bailey and Cooper remained by the tea-table. They felt more energized after drinking several cups of tea. Then, Bailey finally spoke up. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, I¡¯m sure you know what I want. I hope you will marry Tiffany.¡± Cooper said nothing in response. He owed Bailey a huge favor. That debt of gratitude was something he needed to return eventually. Unfortunately, this debt was not something that could be settled via money or gifts¡ªBailey wanted him to pay it back with his body. Chapter 1373 Chapter 1373 Cooper knew something about the rtionship between the Adams Family: Tiffany didn¡¯t like Bailey, so Bailey wanted to get rid of Tiffany and her daughter too. However, both parties had reached an agreement when it came to the marriage between Tiffany and Cooper. Tiffany wanted to marry Cooper; Bailey, too, wanted them to get married. If she got together with Cooper, her power would be greatly increased, which would be detrimental to Bailey. Yet, this might not be the case too. Tiffany¡¯s love for Cooper was genuine. If she got married to him, she would definitely change her surname to Michel. Once she changed it, Bailey would immediately hold a meeting between the board of directors to remove Tiffany from the board. Therefore, Bailey wanted to help to tie the knot. A daughter who was married was like spilled water. The easiest way to weaken Tiffany¡¯s influence within the Adams Family was to find her a man she adored. After she got married, she would be blinded by love and happiness. Nheless, there was no way Cooper would marry Tiffany. But, what he owed should be paid. As to how he should pay it back, it depended on the situation. Still, it was impossible for him to repay her with his body¡­ ¡°Be sure toe to my house for dinner tomorrow night. Joel will be there too. You guys can talk about L¡¯s matter during dinner.¡± Before Cooper left, he didn¡¯t forget to remind Bailey about the dinner at his ce. Bailey nodded as he watched them leave. Carmen had been carried out before she even woke up. She was dozing off in Cooper¡¯s arms; drowsiness was evident on her baby-soft face. When they finally left, Bailey went back to the lounge. Inside the room, he found a in-looking little box lying beside a pillow. The box was decorated with floral motif stickers. As soon as he opened it, he found three unattractive apricots inside the box. The apricots were of high quality, and they werepletely ripe. However, these apricots appeared to have been left for a few days, so they had gone bad. Thus, they were no longer edible. Bailey squeezed one of the apricots with his fingers, and the apricot broke apart easily; the juices sshed out and stained his fingers. After he cleaned his hand, he simply threw the box and the apricots into the trash can. Yet, when he turned around and took a few steps forward, his mind was still preupied with the horrible packaging. Although the wrapping was ugly, it was delicately ugly in some way. Perhaps, the one who wrapped it poured their heart into the packaging. Unfortunately, their skills are limited¡­ On the following night, Bailey dressed himself up and went to Cooper¡¯s house for dinner. When Sophia came to the door, she praised him the moment she saw him. ¡°Hello, Bailey! Come on; there was no need to bring a gift! Wow, your outfit is unique! Even your bracelet looks extraordinary!¡± There seemed to be three apricot kernels stranded on Bailey¡¯s bracelet. Sophia wondered why he wore three apricot kernels on the bracelet. Those were just three ordinary apricot seeds, and there was nothing special about them. Why did he wear them on his wrist? Is this the new trend amongst old men in Bayside City? To string apricot kernels on bracelets? Hmm¡­ I have to remember this. Maybe, I can make two limited-edition custom-made apricot kernels bracelets and sell them to old men. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Bailey didn¡¯t want to exin himself. Instead, he acted like an elder and said to Sophia coldly, ¡°I¡¯m here to visit your father.¡± Immediately, Sophia weed him into the house. Carmen had already returned from kindergarten. She wore the frog pajamas her brother used to wear in the past and was ying with the cat inside the living room. Bailey took a seat in the living room. The moment Michael saw him, he carried Carmen and the cat back upstairs, refusing to let this ¡®old man¡¯ look at his daughter. Unexpectedly, the moment he headed downstairs, Sophia brought Carmen back down excitedly again. ¡°Come on, Carmen. Say hello to Bailey.¡± Obediently, Carmen greeted, ¡°Hello, Bailey!¡± However, Bailey remained unperturbed. His expression was calm, and he nodded to her greeting. To him, Sophia and Carmen were from the younger generation, and he was an elder. Thus, he had to keep hisposure. After the greeting, Michael was eager to bring Carmen away again. Despite his intention, Sophia, once again, put Carmen next to Bailey and said, ¡°Go on. Talk to Bailey.¡± Looking at his wife, Michael was rendered speechless. Does she really think that she¡¯s Bailey¡¯s mother-inw? There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll marry my daughter to this old man! ¡°Come here. Come to Daddy.¡± Michael went over and lifted Carmen into his arms. Naturally, he sat next to Bailey, keeping his eyes on Bailey at all times. After a while, Stanley and Sean came. As soon as they walked in, Stanley put his kid down and rushed into the kitchen. ¡°Aunt, what are we eating tonight?¡± Soon, Joel, who was dressed in casual clothes, arrived with his family too. L saw Bailey the moment she came through the door. When Bailey looked up, his eyes met with hers. Sarah, who was living next door, hurried over when she heard that Sophia¡¯s old son-inw was here. The house was crowded, and the atmosphere was lively. Kids were running around as they pleased. They appeared not to be aware of the conflicts between the adults. Today, apart from Stanley¡¯s family, who was here to get a free meal, and Harry¡¯s family that dropped by, no one seemed to be in a good mood. After Michael learned that Bailey robbed them in broad daylight and wanted something in return, he was very upset. Bailey probably wanted Cooper to marry Tiffany. However, it was obvious that Cooper didn¡¯t want to do it. ording to custom, a child had to pay for their father¡¯s debt. Yet, Linus led a carefree life. There was no way he would agree to the arranged marriage and sacrifice himself. Moreover, Sophia was married to him. All that was left was Carmen. This basically meant that Bailey wanted to marry Carmen. What an evil old man! Joel was not in a good mood. Cooper invited him today so that he could discuss L¡¯s future with Bailey in person. He had not expected that L¡¯s biological father, de¡ªthe killer that was killed by the Fletcher Family¡ªwas rted to the Adams Family. And Bailey wanted to take L with him. Other than Cooper and Joel, Justin was not happy too. Subconsciously, he nced at Celine. She was still as silly as always. Like a child, she was sharing jellies with L excitedly. ¡°Here is a strawberry jelly for you, L.¡± L took the jelly and ate it happily while Celine stared at her with her silly smile. She didn¡¯t know that L was her daughter, and no one was willing to tell her. Still, she was very fond of L; after all, L was her own daughter. In order to spare Justin¡¯s feelings, Michael and the Fletchers decided not to disclose L¡¯s identity. Although they only told him that L was the lost child of the Fletcher Family, Justin knew the truth. The existence of L was a torment for Justin. However, the Fletcher Family couldn¡¯t ignore her. Besides, L¡¯s own father was killed by the Fletchers. The murderer was right by her side. What would L and the others think when they found out in the future? What would the Fletchers think? Would L hate the Fletchers for killing her father? Would the Fletchers be cautious of L because her father was a killer? Those were the reasons Joel was persuaded by Bailey and was sitting right here. The kids ran around happily, yet the adults were very moody. Bailey had made himself clear. Even if L returned to the Adams Family, he would not treat her shabbily. Back then, her father was showered by love and affection in the family, but he was kidnapped when he was young. The Adams Family flipped the world upside down to search for him, but still, there was no sign of him. Now that they learned about her existence, the rtives from her father¡¯s side wanted to get her back. The moment she returned to the family, there would be immeasurable assets waiting for her to inherit. Chapter 1374 Chapter 1374 It took a while before Joel finally decided to meet Bailey. Before this, Tiffany had contacted him, but he refused to meet her. He stared at L, who was ying with the kids happily. She was different from all of them. The Fletchers were a military family, and they were extremely sensitive when it came to marriage. Traditionally, they would not marry a foreigner, so mixed-race children were rare in the family. At the moment, L was one of the most unique children amongst the Fletchers. Her green eyes were too eye-catching. Besides, her father was killed by the Fletchers. They desired for this secret to stay hidden forever. If it couldn¡¯t be kept secret¡­ Joel looked at Michael. Celine had be retarded, so regarding L¡¯s future, Michael, as her uncle, should have a say. However, Michael was struggling to handle L too. He thought it would be better if L stayed with the Fletcher Family. Yet, he was afraid that Bailey would visit them every day using L as an excuse, and disturb his daughter¡­ Joel turned to look at Justin. He¡­ could be considered a stepfather. As a stepfather, he should have an opinion too. But, Justin chose to avoid his gaze. L¡¯s existence was his greatest pain. He believed he was extremely generous to allow L to visit them so often. In the end, Joel announced solemnly, ¡°L is already ten years old. She gets to call the shot sometimes.¡± In response, Bailey nodded. Standing up, he walked toward L. ¡°L, I¡¯m Bailey. I¡¯m your great-uncle. Come here. I have something to tell you.¡± L stared at the young-looking great-uncle in surprise. She turned around, seeking Joel, but she saw Joel smiling at her. ¡°This is your biological father¡¯s rtive. He has something to tell you.¡± As if she had noticed something, L followed Bailey in a daze. On the balcony on the second floor, Bailey and L sat down face to face under the dim light. Starting from L¡¯s identity, Bailey began, ¡°Your biological father, de, was one of the Adams. He was a lost child and had you when he was outside. You are the blood of the Adam Family, and I want to bring you back.¡± Upon hearing that, L was puzzled. She had no memory of her biological father. No, there were still some vague memories. She knew when she was very young that there was always an uncle who woulde and visit her. He always brought her a lot of delicious food. He told her to study hard, so she wouldn¡¯t end up like him. Apart from that, she remembered nothing about her own father and mother. Seeing that L wasn¡¯t speaking, Bailey asked again, ¡°Do you want toe with me, L?¡± L stared at him and shook her head. She said, ¡°I like the Fletchers. Is it okay if I don¡¯t go with you?¡± Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. At that moment, Bailey¡¯s gaze froze. His gaze was fixated on her and he couldn¡¯t move his eyes away. As if she was a little worried, L exined, ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave my parents and my brother.¡± She didn¡¯t want to leave the Fletcher Family at all. In fact, she liked it here a lot. She loved the atmosphere; she loved Joel, Maddie, Drew, and every friend she had around her. The air fell silent for a short moment. In the end, Bailey could only ruffle her hair and nodded. ¡°Of course. It¡¯s your own choice. If you want to go with me one day, you can call me anytime.¡± Turning around, L ran away without looking back. Bailey, who was standing on the balcony on the second floor, could see L running into the garden. Joel was waiting for her inside the garden. He had been eavesdropping on their conversation from downstairs, afraid that Bailey would tell L something he shouldn¡¯t have said. However, Bailey didn¡¯t say anything out of the ordinary. Although he knew about everything, he didn¡¯t mention them to L. She deserved to have a healthy personality. She deserved to live in a blissful family and grow up happily. For the time being, some things were better left unsaid. ¡°Daddy!¡± L rushed toward Joel. Although Joel looked like a hard father, there was something about him that inadvertently showed his love for L. He said, ¡°L, you¡¯re still young. You can go anywhere you want. I will not stop you.¡± Gleefully, L eximed, ¡°I want to stay with Daddy and Mommy!¡± When she first joined the Fletchers Family, she wanted to go back to her previous home. However, they said she could never go back. Thus, she could only stay. Slowly, she adapted to life at the Fletchers. Every day, she woke up to the noise of the army¡¯s morning training. She would quickly get up, make her bed, and brush her teeth. Before leaving for school, she joined the training to keep up with her health. She loved that kind of life, she loved the Fletcher Family, and she loved her current parents and brother. She would never go anywhere else! From the second floor, Bailey remained expressionless as he stared at the happy father-daughter pair. The reason he wanted to adopt L was simply that she was the heir to an inheritance. Anyone who adopted her would be her guardian, and they would be able to take control of the money. However, he felt that L would be more content to have a happy family rather than a cold inheritance. Once upon a time, he had a happy family too. His parents were his role models and were strict in educating him. From a young age, he was involved in the family business, learning to be a decision-maker. His parents had high hopes for him, but they never forced him to do the things he didn¡¯t like. Unfortunately, that year, his parents died in an ident and everything changed. His house became an empty shell. Like a tornado, it swept away everything from his world. Later, there were a bunch of kind-hearted rtives who wanted to take him in. Just like L¡¯s case, once they adopted him, they would be able to control the inheritance left over by his parents, and they would be able to take away everything that once belonged to his family. Back then, he didn¡¯t want to be adopted. Instead, he took over everything left by his parents. Clenching his jaws, he propped up a piece of his own sky and found himself a bright future in the gloom. That year, he was probably about ten years old, just like L. When Bailey was diving deep into his thoughts, the young Carmen was already quietly seated on the chair where L had sat earlier. Staring at him with her bright eyes, she suddenly asked, ¡°Bailey, are you unhappy?¡± Although Bailey knew she was there, he continued to look outside the balcony, staring at the night view of the Imperial in a daze. ¡°Happy? What does it mean to be happy? What does it mean to be¡­ unhappy?¡± As he blinked, his long, curly eyshes fluttered. With a deep voice, he went on, ¡°Happiness means nothing to me.¡± Yet, Carmen continued to look at him nkly. She probably didn¡¯t get what he was trying to say. Turning around, Bailey observed her adorable expression. There was ayer of softness rippling in his heart and an unprecedented smile crawled onto his face. ¡°You¡¯ll understand that when you grow up.¡± He was very jealous of Carmen. She was loved by her parents, grandfather, and uncle. She even had the love and support given by the other three families. Isn¡¯t it good to live carefreely and happily? He lifted his head from hell to look at her, who was in heaven. He saw the shining halo on her head and jealousy flowed through his eyes. Meanwhile, Michael was looking for his daughter. She had gone missing in a blink of an eye. As if by coincidence, he went upstairs and saw Carmen talking to Bailey. Damn you, old man! Why are you staring at my daughter with that sketchy look? Why are you acting like there are a lot of regrets in your life? Chapter 1375 Chapter 1375 Just when Michael was about to greet them, Carmen took out her personal baby bottle and put it in Bailey¡¯s arm. She said, ¡°Here you go. This is my happy milk. You¡¯ll be happy if you drink it.¡± When Michael saw her actions, he almost went mad. That was the milk specially formted by a nutritionist ording to Carmen¡¯s physical development. How dare she give it to someone else so easily! And her personal baby bottle too! Staring at the warm bottle of milk in his hand, Bailey was stunned for a moment. In the end, he gave it back. ¡°Drink it on your own. I don¡¯t drink milk anymore.¡± Beside them, Michael quickly called out, ¡°Baby,e here. Dinner¡¯s ready.¡± Carmen ran to her father. Although Michael had carried her away, Bailey could still hear her talking. ¡°Bailey doesn¡¯t want to drink my happy milk.¡± ¡°Then, give it to Daddy,¡± said Michael. ¡°But, you¡¯re already happy without drinking the milk. Bailey needs to drink it because he¡¯s not happy,¡± argued Carmen. Bailey sat on the balcony alone, enjoying the darkness that was enveloping him. His time alone ended when Sophia came looking for him for dinner. Sophia always had delicious dishes prepared at home. The family¡¯s chef was a retired chef from a five- star restaurant. His cooking skills were exceptional. Besides, Michael was willing to pay big bucks for good food, and the ingredients at home came from their own farm. Therefore, everyone was looking forward to the dinner. Even Harry, who lived next door, often visited with his family to mooch free meals. Since there were guests today, they prepared even more dishes. Thergest and longest dining table had been moved out in order to cater to the number of dishes. There were all kinds of nice dishes; it was a mixture of Western and Cethosian cuisine. Sophia¡¯s family, Joel¡¯s family, Harry¡¯s family, Stanley¡¯s family, Justin¡¯s family, and Bailey barely fit on the dining table; it was still slightly packed. Bailey sat between Cooper and Sophia. Sophia, who was very fond of her old son-inw, had been enthusiastically helping him with his food. ¡°Try this, Bailey. This replenishes your body, so you can grow taller.¡± ¡°Here, try some soup.¡± ¡°Just tell me what you like to eat. I¡¯ll get the chef to prepare them next time.¡± She took care of him as if he was really her son-inw, yet Bailey treated her like she was his niece. On the other hand, Michael was watching them bitterly. Sophia had never treated him with such passion before¡­ In the meantime, Stanley was slurping food like a pig; Sarah was taking pictures of the food with her phone; Justin was helping Celine with the dishes and giving Nathan some vegetables at the same time. When the kids were done eating, they sat aside to chat. While Poppy was drinking her milk, she asked, ¡°Is that your boyfriend?¡± She had also seen Bailey. Hmm¡­ He looks quite handsome. Yet, Carmen was still staring at Bailey, who was sitting beside Cooper, with light in her eyes. She didn¡¯t answer Poppy¡¯s question. Maisie took a nce at Bailey. Frowning, she said, ¡°He looks kind of old.¡± This time, Audrey joined in andmented, ¡°Sour Face looks better than him.¡± ¡°Hmph, all men are pigs. They are the same no matter how they look, especially old men with no baby fat,¡± snorted Poppy. Discontented, Maisie pouted and said, ¡°But, I think Nate is pretty good. He¡¯s not a pig.¡± As if she was a victim of love, Poppy took a deep breath and said, ¡°Carmen, you cannot take the rtionship too seriously. Men are liars. The reason they go out with you is to take your toys away from you!¡± Recently, Maisie just got dumped in the kindergarten. For several days, the boy took away her snacks and her toys. When he found another girl with more toys, he broke up with her unterally. For that reason, she was in her post-breakup depression period. Every time she saw a boy, she felt disgusted. Now, after learning that Carmen was in a rtionship, she wanted to stop her. ¡°There is nothing good about men! You have to keep your eyes open.¡± Unfortunately, it seemed like Carmen was utterly immersed in the ocean of love; she could not ept Maisie¡¯s words of advice. All of a sudden, she heard Sophia say, ¡°Are you leaving already, Bailey? Why don¡¯t you stay a little longer?¡± Like lightning, Carmen darted toward the door and saw Bailey, who had finished his meal, walking toward the door. Sophia was there to send him out. Immediately, Carmen said in a hurry, ¡°Goodbye, Bailey.¡± Bailey nodded at her and marched toward the door. Meanwhile, Sophia got someone to pack a lot of things from the kitchen. Enthusiastically, she said, ¡°Here. Bring some souvenirs with you!¡± Helplessly, Bailey epted the bags of snacks and local specialties from her. Along with Carmen, Sophia went to send him out. When they came back, they saw Michael standing by the door. Nonchntly, he asked, ¡°Did he leave already?¡± Before Sophia could say anything, Carmen answered first, ¡°Yeah! Bailey left already!¡± Michael still had a grimace on his face. Daughters and dead fish are no keeping wares! On the other hand, after thanking Bailey, Cooper thought he should express his gratitude to Louis and Anne too. Although Henry and Ryan were Louis¡¯ grandsons in name only, Cooper knew that the twins weren¡¯t Anna¡¯s children from the beginning. However, something like this had happened, and Louis was pushed and bumped his head. He was old and was admitted into the hospital. Considering the circumstances, Cooper felt like he should visit him. Cooper and Michael took Carmen to the hospital when they went to visit Louis. Louis had also learned about Ryan¡¯s death at the Yard Residence and Henry¡¯s death on the ne. Jordan had sent people to search for his body on the mountain, but it was nowhere to be found. He would not have survived, but his body would be difficult to find. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. As the grandfather of the twins, Louis wasn¡¯t wretched at all. All he wanted to say was that they deserved it. He really didn¡¯t understand how Anna brought up such a pair of evil kids. Jordan would not let the one behind the twins¡¯ death off the hook. However, the government had already made its final decision. The Yard twins fled after they confronted the military and police; they deserved to die. As to the identity of the person who made the move, no one had any idea. Cethos did not want to carry out further investigations because the twins were not Cethosian. The ne had left Cethos¡¯ airspace, so Cethos had no say in the matter anymore. Moreover, the Yard Family in Bayside City was not dragged into the matter. As someone who was perfectly clear who his friends and foes were, Cooper felt that this was the least he could do to thank the old man since he would have done the same for them. During the afternoon, Anne brought food for Louis at the hospital. She was told that Cooper was there. It was unfortunate that Cooper had left with his family before she rushed into Louis¡¯ ward. What was left in the ward was the supplements and flowers that he brought. There seemed to be some of his scent lingering in the air, yet he was no longer there. He came and left in a hurry. In the end, Anne missed him. Secretly, she was hurt. Louis knew what Anne was thinking. Ever since she first met Cooper, he always found her sitting alone in a daze. Even so, it was clear that Cooper was not interested in her. At first, he thought Anne would stop thinking about Cooper and be cheerful again. Unexpectedly, Anne was attached to Cooper. No man had ever drawn her attention since then. Earlier today, Cooper had made an appointment via phone call before he came over. Louis had deliberately told Anne to deliver his mealter than usual because he wanted to prevent her from running into Cooper. He was afraid that her love for Cooper would bog her down. Unfortunately, her love was so deep that she could no longer withdraw from it. Chapter 1376 Chapter 1376 The fact that Anne had missed Cooper and couldn¡¯t meet him made her blue all day. Just like yesterday, she didn¡¯t speak much; even the food she consumed was less than usual. After thinking about it, Louis made up his mind and pulled open the drawer of the bedside table. From inside, he took out a gracefully packed tiny gift box and said, ¡°Cooper¡­ told me to give this to you. I forgot about it yesterday.¡± Cooper left this for me? Instantly, Anne¡¯s eyes were shining. Taking over the gift box, she opened it and saw a spoiled apricot. It¡¯s an apricot from Cooper! Although she did not know the meaning behind this little apricot, it was still a gift from Cooper. Therefore, it had remarkable value. Staring at Anne, who was extremely content, Louis was sad. That apricot was indeed a gift from Cooper. However, it was something Cooper gave on behalf of Carmen. It was a gift from Carmen, who wanted to thank Anne for hiding her inside the dressing room. Forget it. It¡¯s fine as long as she¡¯s happy¡­ In the past two days, Michael had been running around. Jordan¡¯s strike on Cooper this time was also an attack on him. Both of them had worked together to fight back. Furthermore, Jordan¡¯s two sons had committed a serious crime. Even though the two bastards were dead and had dragged more than twenty people along with them, the incident still shook the people of Cethos. The Fletcher Family knew who shot the ne down. Cethos and Jordan knew it too. Yet, there was no further investigation. Hence, the incident was considered solved. Jordan did not have the courage to fight for his sons. The government had concluded that it was a serious terrorist attack. Now that it had crossed the limits of the higher-ups in Cethos, it was hard for Jordan to deny responsibility. However, he was influential and had connections. Therefore, even if his two sons and dozens of lives had been sacrificed, he managed to avoid culpability. Nheless, he would not be able to escape for long because this incident had alerted the higher-ups. He really did raise two ¡®good¡¯ sons! Recently, Michael was extremely busy. The film set was located in the valley. Although it was convenient for him tomute to work and go home every day, he had to work with Cooper to deal with Jordan and worry about Carmen¡¯s love life. Carmen brought bags of local specialties from the farm, and Michael knew exactly who the local specialties were given to, including where each cherry had gone. However, the four apricots¡¯ whereabouts remained unknown. Before they went to visit Louis, Carmen wrapped one of the apricots. The packaging was so ugly, yet she insisted on giving it to Anne. Sophia had to repackage it and add some floral motif stickers before they could just about give it out. But, where were the other three apricots? He made an inquiry behind Carmen¡¯s back, but there was no answer. When Sophia identally revealed that Bailey had a very unique bracelet that was strung with three apricot kernels, he finally knew where those apricots went. The reason Sophia initiated the conversation was to ask Michael to endorse a limited-edition bracelet with apricot kernel carvings she had decided tounch. After discovering the answer, Michael¡¯s heart sank. Shit! Sure enough; I knew that the old man had an ulterior motive. They even started exchanging tokens of love?! Carmen gave him three apricot kernels. What did he give her, then? Since then, Michael began to keep an eye on Carmen¡¯s every action. He knew everything about her like the palm of his hand. If he saw something unfamiliar within the clothes and toys she had, he would inquire about the origin. As expected, he found an unfamiliar pendant on Carmen¡¯s bag one day. Alerted, Michael asked cautiously, ¡°Who gave that to you? Was it Bailey?¡± Unlike Michael, Sophia was extremely pleased. ¡°Oh, did Bailey give it to you? Let Mommy take a look. Oh my god! How beautiful! Bailey really has good taste!¡± Looking at his wife¡¯s reaction, Michael was speechless. ¡°It¡¯s a gift from the kindergarten teacher to the most disciplined kid!¡± said Carmen as she pouted. Michael was once again dumbfounded. Whenever he saw toys, bracelets, and shoes that he had never seen before around Carmen, he would interrogate carefully, fearing that Bailey would snatch his daughter away behind his back. He even tried to find two spies that would check on Carmen on behalf of him. ¡°Poppy,e here. Come to Godfather.¡± He lured Poppy to his side with a toy. Solemnly, he said, ¡°Men are pigs. If Carmen falls in love with any boy in the kindergarten, you have to tell me, okay?¡± Poppy nodded seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Godfather. I¡¯ll never let any boy get close to Carmen!¡± ¡°Okay, go. From now on, it is your responsibility to protect Carmen!¡± Poppy, who was broken by love, kept an eye on Carmen every day in the kindergarten. She was determined to protect her from boys and had been sending photos of different boys to Michael every day. Unfortunately, none of them looked like Bailey. Coward, you¡¯re pretty good at hiding! How dare you y games with me?! Like a searchlight, Michael became even more attentive to Carmen. He was determined not to let her fall in love at such an early age. In his opinion, to fall in love under the age of forty was considered puppy love. Nevertheless, Sophia had a different opinion. She thought it would be better if Carmen could give it a try earlier. From her perspective, she thought Michael was too sensitive. During the day, Carmen won a prize for her crayon drawing. Enthusiastically, she went home and showed her family the drawing. ¡°This is Daddy, Mommy, Grandpa, Uncle Linus, Aunt Celine, Uncle Justin, Uncle Quinton¡­¡± Holding her drawing up, she showed it to everyone. It was a family portrait, and she was introducing the characters one by one. ¡°There is also Cash, Penny, Chrysanthemum¡­¡± With sharp eyes, Michael immediately noticed a green-eyed character with long eyshes in the drawing. Solemnly, he asked, ¡°Who is this?¡± It was too obvious. The drawing almost summarized all of Bailey¡¯s characteristics: green eyes, long eyshes, and long legs. Although the drawing was very abstract, Michael could recognize him with just one nce. Upon hearing her father¡¯s question, Carmen¡¯s face flushed, and she blinked. Instead of answering him, she buried her face into Sophia¡¯s arms. Letting out a chuckle, Sophia said, ¡°This is Bailey, right? See how smart Mommy is! I could tell who it was at one nce!¡± Shyly, Carmen nodded. However, Michael felt like his world was copsing. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. How dare she include that green-eyed man with long eyshes into the drawing? How dare she draw him in the same picture with her own father? His sky copsed. Michael almost went frantic. Yet, Carmen felt aggrieved and pouted. ¡°Daddy, do you¡­ not like Bailey?¡± Of course, I don¡¯t like him! He couldn¡¯t wait to let Bailey experience what it was like to be forced to eat eggnt with minced pork! However, when Carmen stared at him with aggrieved eyes, he couldn¡¯t speak the truth even when he felt wronged. So, I can¡¯t even hate Bailey now? Luckily, Sophia quickly came and mediated the situation. ¡°Our darling has grown up and has her own little secret! You must tell us when this kind of thing happens again! Mommy can give you some advice.¡± Carmen nodded shyly. Michael almost exploded out of rage. Give her advice? Oh, how I want to turn him into barbecue! In the end, before the couple went to bed, they had an extensive bedtime chat to summarize the rtionship between Carmen and Bailey. Michael went first to express his opinion. ¡°Carmen is too young. Besides, she¡¯s so na?ve and cute. Bailey¡¯s a deep one. Our darling is not his opponent. She will never beat him. So, I¡¯ll never agree to their rtionship.¡± Chapter 1377 Chapter 1377 However, Sophia felt that Michael was overthinking. ¡°Carmen is still young. I just want her to make more friends. What are you thinking? Besides, it¡¯s normal for girls to have feelings for boys¡­¡± Still, Michael stood his ground. ¡°That ¡®old man¡¯ Bailey¡¯s intention isn¡¯t right. Look at his eyes. He always looks sketchy.¡± Lying in Michael¡¯s arms, Sophia adjusted into afortable position. Resting her foot on his leg, she rubbed up and down. ¡°Hubby, if it weren¡¯t for Bailey, Carmen might not have been able toe back. I think he¡¯s brave and daring. He¡¯s not bad.¡± Instantly, Michael protested, ¡°Huh; he has already seen through the situation. He knew the Yard twins were pushing themselves against the wall and that was why he took action. If it was under normal circumstances, he would never have done that because he would¡¯ve been afraid of offending the Yard Family and the Edwards Family.¡± Staring at Michael¡¯s anxious expression, Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh. She reached out and caressed his furrowed brows. ¡°Look at how worried you are. Your wrinkles areing out¡­¡± She turned over andy on top of Michael¡¯s body. ¡°Look at you. Why are you in such a hurry? Aren¡¯t we here by your side?¡± She thought Bailey was a decent boy. And, that it was good if he were to develop an interest in Carmen in the future. He had a bright future. Although he was indeed sharp-witted, if he was fond of Carmen, his intelligence would be the best weapon he could wield to protect Carmen. She also hoped her son-inw would be someone clever so that Carmen wouldn¡¯t have to suffer too much. Michael nced at Sophia. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words and said nothing. He was afraid that he would leave them one day. What would happen if the mother-daughter pair were secretly fooled by others? He couldn¡¯t consider Bailey as a fifteen-year-old boy. He was a deep and unpredictable one. When he passed away, Sophia and Carmen would definitely be no match for Bailey. True love? True love is bullsh*t! The reason Bailey is trying to get close to Carmen is definitely because of money! Quickly, Michael said, ¡°Anyway, I really don¡¯t like Bailey. He¡¯s too calctive at such a young age and that makes my scalp prickly. You have to be careful. He¡¯s not that simple. You can¡¯t consider him a kid anymore.¡± Yet, as he turned over, Sophia had already fallen asleep. She remained lying on him with her hands still on his neck. Michael gently turned her body to position her face upward so that she could sleep morefortably. Immediately, Sophia clung to him like a cat. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest; she proceeded to sleep like a baby. Unlike her, Michael couldn¡¯t sleep for a long time as he stared at her. It was as if the thought of losing her would materialize as soon as he closed his eyes. In her dream, Sophia dreamed of a beautiful and juicy cherry growing on her meat nket¡­ The incident of the Yard twins had been forgotten by the public. Jordan was afraid to make a big deal on behalf of them even though he knew the ne was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. If it wasn¡¯t the Michel Family who had done it, it was definitely the Fletcher Family. However, he was afraid to argue and had to keep his grievances to himself. Besides that, the dispute between Jordan and the Fletcher Family had alsoe to an end. Christine was rehabilitating in the military hospital. Since she was now rich, she got herself the best doctor and paid for the best facilities she could get. Her condition was getting better. The Bishop Family and the Evans Family had been sent away. After being intimidated by power, they finally knew how big the world was. In the end, they went back to their rural hometown and behaved themselves. The Fletcher Family was disappointed by Stanley¡¯s sh marriage. The fact that Stanley continued to live with Sean upset the Fletchers even more. Nevertheless, they could not do anything even if they were upset. They had already beaten and scolded him. Still, he was their precious child. There was no way they would beat him into a fool. Stanley¡¯s parents were ready to have a male daughter-inw. Yet, there was no news of that from Stanley¡¯s side for a long time. They were so worried for him. Soon, the news about Nicole¡¯s marriage spread out to the public like wildfire. It quickly reced the news of the Yard twins as the new headline. Everyone knew about Nicole¡¯s dark history. After she went public with Sam, everyone started to count down to the date they would break up. However, they didn¡¯t break up. Instead, they kept a low profile and got married. By the time the public found out about it, their wedding ceremony had long ended. The public even thought that the wedding was fake and that they had divorced a long time ago. Every celebrity in their right mind would want to hold their wedding ceremony in a grandiose fashion. It would be even better if they could invite everyone from the entertainment industry. On top of that, to be able to marry someone like Sam, their guests would have included the big shots from the political and business worlds. This was the perfect opportunity for her to show off. If it were someone else, they would have broadcasted every aspect of the event including when they changed their undergarments. Yet, Nicole had been lying low. No media was present at the scene, and no one was showing off their invitation letters. Later, Nicole¡¯s marriage became a legend. Many people heard about it, but none actually saw it. ¡®Insiders¡¯ even revealed that the pair had already broken up a long time ago. A celebrity like Nicole, who had won Oscars on numerous asions, was still just a mere actress. She was just a ything amongst the elite. They believed that Sam was just messing around with her. There was no way they would get married because their families were not of equal social rank. They would not get together since Sam wasn¡¯t stupid. The wedding ceremony was just a rumor Nicole¡¯s team spread out in order to save face. However, Sophia knew that the pair had indeed tied the knot with each other. Nicole and Sam¡¯s wedding ceremony was held on a private ind in international waters; only thirty invitation letters were sent out. The Edwards Family sent out Lucy; Harry represented the Winston Family; Michael represented the Fletcher Family; and Cooper went on behalf of the Mitchell Family. They were some of the closest friends of the couple. Sam¡¯s parents died when he was young while Nicole was an orphan. Thus, only her younger sister attended the wedding. Apart from those people, there were no more extra seats. They held a Western-style wedding ceremony, and Nicole¡¯s wedding dress came from a brand under the JNS Group. She coborated with a designer toe up with the dress. Carmen and Hope attended the ceremony as a flower girl and a page boy respectively. On the first day of the ceremony, Michael had brought the whole family to the ind so that Carmen could join the rehearsal. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Carmen was dressed in her finest clothes. With a gand on her crown, she looked like an elf. She had to carry a flower basket, sprinkle flower petals, and hand the rings out to the couple. Michael and Sophia stayed and watched the rehearsal. Although it was only a small ceremony, Nicole and Sam took it very seriously. They rehearsed several times for every step of the way, striving for perfection. Sam was so nervous that he got his line wrong a few times. This old man in his forties was a little nervous since he was getting married for the first time. However, Michael¡¯s attention was only on Carmen. She was dressed in a flower embroidered bubble dress, and she had a gand on her crown. Her dark hair draped around her like a waterfall, and she wore a pair of white boots. She looked just like a flower fairy in her gorgeous outfit. She was indeed a pretty little baby who grew up adorably. Nheless, after the rehearsal started, a helicopternded on the ind. Bailey, who was dressed in a ck trench coat, walked out from the airport with a cold and charming face. On his way to the guest room, he happened to pass by the wedding scene and saw the crowd who were rehearsing. At just one nce, his eyes found Carmen, who was glowing dazzlingly in the garden. His gaze seemed to be attracted by the faint light¡­ ¡°Shit!¡± Taking two steps forward, Michael quickly pulled little Carmen into his arms and hid her with his body from Bailey¡¯s ¡®leering¡¯ eyes. Why is this old man here? Chapter 1378 Chapter 1378 On the other hand, Sam had already begun talking to Bailey. Sam and Bailey¡¯s parents had known each other for a very long time, and Crimson House and Adams Group were long-term partners. When Sam knew Bailey was in Bayside City, he also sent him an invitation letter. ¡°You¡¯re here, Bailey. Wee.¡± From what he remembered, Bailey was still the little kid hiding in his parents¡¯ embrace. His parents had always been strict with him and raised him as their heir. He was excellent, yet carefree at the same time; there was always a smile hanging on his face. However, only a few years had passed, and he was no longer that same little kid. At the age of fifteen, he was considered very mature and sophisticated. He wasparable to a fifty-year-old elite. He dressed in an adult¡¯s suit, spotted an adult¡¯s hairstyle, and acted like an adult. Yet, he was only fifteen years old. He was a victim of his circumstances. If he didn¡¯t live as a fifty-year-old man, an immature kid like him would be tormented by society. Except for a sigh, Sam had nothing else to say to Bailey. He then sent someone to bring Bailey to his guest room and continued with the rehearsal. The moment he turned around, he saw that Michael was already removing the gand from Carmen¡¯s head. ¡°From how I see it, Carmen doesn¡¯t seem to be suitable to act as your flower girl,¡± said Michael in a serious tone. Sam then quickly asked, ¡°Then, what about the performance?¡± Nowadays, flower girls did not only have to sprinkle flower petals, but they also had to be talented. Carmen had volunteered to sing at the wedding and, of course, Sam had agreed. Pretending he was making another prediction, Michael went on, ¡°She cannot sing too.¡± Carmen, who had been deprived of the gand, cried out loud when she heard her father and knew that she had lost her chance to perform. ¡°You lied to me, Daddy! You broke your promise!¡± As soon as Carmen cried, Sophia instantly put the gand back onto her crown andforted her, ¡°Daddy is only joking with you!¡± Even Cooper was frowning at his old son-inw for going back on his words. Didn¡¯t he agree for Carmen to be the flower girl at the wedding ceremony? She has been preparing for the performance excitedly for days at home. Why did he change his mind so suddenly during the rehearsal? Immediately, Cooper joined in and said, ¡°Hey, if anyone dares to stop you from bing a flower girl, I¡¯ll chop them and mince them with eggnt.¡± When he said that, he didn¡¯t forget to re at Michael. In response, Michael was dumbfounded. During the wedding ceremony on the following day, Nicole had her wedding dress on her. The kid she adopted along with Sam would be carrying her wedding dress train. As for Carmen and Hope, they were dressed like a match made in heaven and were sprinkling flower petals from the front. However, Michael had long forgotten about the event. There was only Carmen¡­ and the fifteen-year- old old man, in his eyes. Throughout the whole ceremony, Bailey had been whispering to Lucy. It seemed like they were talking about the cooperation between theirpanies. Nheless, Michael kept on staring at him like a wolf. He was afraid that Bailey would be targeting Carmen the moment he missed him from his sight. Bailey couldn¡¯t understand why Michael was ring at him. ¡°You ask how deeply I love you, and just how great my love is¡­¡± Carmen¡¯s clear and crispy voice was heard. Although she was only five, she had been taking vocal lessons. Her vocal skills had improved a lot. By the time the ceremony ended, she went onto the stage and performed ¡®The Moon Represents My Heart¡¯. Yet, Michael continued to keep his eyes on Carmen and Bailey. He was afraid to lose either of them from his vision. As Sam¡¯s pet dog, Corrado had also dolled itself up for the event. It showed up with a pretty gand. The ceremony ended sessfully amidst Carmen¡¯s sweet voice. From now on, Sam and Nicole had officially be a couple recognized byw. Regardless of the rumors, he would always be her warm haven. He would shelter her from wind and rain, and prop up a warm sky for her. They would have a home of their own and begin a new life together. Finally, it was time to toss the bouquet. In a pure white wedding dress, Nicole held onto her bouquet. With her back facing the crowd, she was ready to throw it. Simultaneously, the host announced, ¡°The bride will be tossing her bouquet in a moment. Every single woman at the scene, please be ready. Whoever catches the bouquet will be the next to marry!¡± Sarah, who was already married, rushed up in an instant. Believing that it would be a waste if she didn¡¯t take the chance to fight for the bouquet, she prepared herself and was eager to try. There were already so few guests present at the scene today, and there were almost no single women. She had to join in to gather enough people. Otherwise, this session would go to waste. Initially, Sophia was trying to keep herposure. Yet, the moment she saw Sarah rushing up there, she joined in too. Sarah was already married, but she wasn¡¯t! She was still a single youngdy on the record of the Civil Affairs Bureau! She was considered to be living together with Michael illegally. Therefore, she could still catch the bouquet. ¡°Move! Let me try!¡± Stanley, who was 180cm tall, marched forward and also tried to catch the bouquet. ¡°Get out, stupid dog. This is against the rules!¡± Sarah, who was only 150cm tall, would not stand a chance as she stood in the shadow of Stanley. ¡°Linus!¡± N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Unlike Sarah, Sophia found herself an assistant. ¡°Come and help me!¡± Shaking his head helplessly, Linus hurried forward and joined the group that was trying to catch the bouquet. He was slightly taller than Stanley. Therefore, he had more of an advantage. Stanley refused to give in. ¡°Sean, they¡¯re bullying me!¡± Immediately, Sean also hurried over. The five of them squeezed with one another behind Nicole with their hands thrown up in the air. Everyone wanted to catch the bouquet. The scene was filled with joy. Staring at them, Nicole wasughing so hard that she couldn¡¯t stand up straight. In the end, the bouquet was tossed. While everyone was screaming, they reached out and tried to grab the tiny bouquet. Finally, it was Sophia, who suddenly jumped up two meters into the air, that caught the bouquet. Linus held her high up in the air and spun her around. Holding the bouquet, Sophia was beaming like a happy kid. ¡°Foul! You cheated!¡± As if she was an irritated cat, Sarah turned around andined to Harry. Harry¡¯s face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum. He felt like he was raising four children, and it was extremely tiring. Fortunately, there were a lot of flowers on the ind. So, he made her a bouquet on the spot to satisfy her. Sophia, who had caught the bouquet, came back excitedly. ¡°Hubby, look! I caught the bouquet!¡± Michael was speechless as he looked at her. Why is she still acting like a kid when she is already all grown up? However, there was nothing he could say. In the end, he could only say, ¡°I hope you will get married next year.¡± Blinking, Sophia grinned slyly and said, ¡°I¡¯ll try to make it happen next year.¡± Both of them had not registered themselves yet! After the problems with the Michel Family were settled, they would remarry immediately. Or else, mold would start growing on her wedding dress soon. She also wanted to hold a grand wedding ceremony and invite all her friends to the event; even her enemies would be invited too. No matter how much she despised them, she wanted all of them to witness how happy she was. She wanted to wear the most beautiful wedding dress in the world and be the most beautiful bride! Taking over the bouquet from Sophia, Michael stared at the charming flowers with concern. He owed her a wedding. A wedding that had been dragged on for ten years¡­ Chapter 1379 Chapter 1379 Originally, they had nned to have the wedding after she graduated, but she got pregnant and the wedding was postponed. Then, when she left, the wedding was postponed indefinitely. She never got to wear her dream wedding dress that they had worked on for two years. It remained locked inside the closet at home all these years. Their wedding rings were already beginning to discolor, and the wedding dress was slowly being covered in dust. Between the both of them, the only thing that was missing was a wedding. After the wedding ceremony, everyone went off happily to take photos. An excited Cooper also held a DSLR in his hand as he dragged Carmen along to go take photos. The small ind they were on was a ce that Sam had bought for Nicole. Flowers had bloomed all over the ind, covering it with a dreamlike vibrance and colors that made the ce feel surreal. Nicole was standing among the flowers in her wedding dress. When she nced back slightly, her beauty put all the flowers to shame. Entering the industry at a young age put her through many ups and downs over the years. She had once gone off on the wrong path and even anticipated a rtionship that eventually came to naught. After everything, she did not expect to meet Sam, the man who was willing to grow old with her. Looking back, she felt as though everything was disappearing like a cloud of smoke. The things that happened in the past were turning into a blur while the only person standing before her now was bing clearer. Sophia was strolling in the field of flowers with the hem of her pink dress lifted slightly. This ind was essentially a huge garden filled with green grass and fresh flowers. The mountains that surrounded the ind blocked off the sea breeze, allowing those delicate flowers to thrive and produce such beautiful fragrance. She and Sarah were both walking carefully among the flowers as they waited for the photographer to take their photos. As it turned out, all women enjoyed getting their photos taken. They seemed to forget who they were when they were in front of the camera. Behind them, Michael and Harry were following along reluctantly. They watched the five friends who graduated from Bayside University having the time of their lives taking group photos that also included their young children. Michael also took some photos of Sophia on his phone. With a dazzling smile on her face, she looked beautiful standing among the flowers in her light pink dress. While he was taking photos of Sophia, Poppy came over suddenly and tugged at his trousers. In a stern voice, she said, ¡°Carmen is taking photos with a pig!¡± ¡°What?¡± Following Poppy¡¯s lead, Michael quickly found Carmen, who was getting her photos taken by Cooper. Carmen was extremely photogenic and was skilled at finding the right angles. Each photo seemed good enough to be on the front cover of a magazine. When Bailey came over unexpectedly earlier, Cooper urged, ¡°Come. You two should take a photo together.¡± After that, Carmen took two photos with him. She looked adorable dolled up as a flower girl. The flower crown on her head was made on the spot from the flowers that were there, and the floral fairy dress she was wearing swayed in the wind. Bailey was wearing a ssy, all-ck suit that gave him a cold and mysterious presence. He seemed to have a depth and knowledge that a young child usually did not possess. Cooper thought theyplemented each other and that it would have been a waste if they did not take a photo together. ¡°Come,e. Pay attention to the lighting, Sean.¡± ¡°Stanley, move aside. You¡¯re in the frame.¡± In his younger days, Cooper was a big shot who won many big awards in photography. He used to enjoy taking photos of Annabel the most. These days, he would casually take photos of Sophia and Carmen when he did not have anything else to do. He was very impressed with the model in front of him now, so he captured dozens of photos in one go. Even though Bailey wanted to leave, he did not think it was polite to decline when Cooper looked so excited. ¡°Smile, Bailey. Don¡¯t just stick to one expression. Carmen, lean into Bailey a bit and hold his hand. Yes! That¡¯s it! Stay there!¡± All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. When Michael arrived, the scene that greeted him was Bailey holding Carmen¡¯s hand with a sly smile on his face. All hell was about to break loose. Michael, the grey-haired old father, almost exploded with anger. Cooper finished taking another round of photos as he enjoyed himself to the fullest. While he was looking through the photos, Michael hurried over and pulled Carmen away from Bailey. ¡°Take a couple of pictures with Daddy, too.¡± Meanwhile, Bailey stepped out and left on his own. When Sophia spotted Carmen and Michael taking photos, she quickly rushed over. ¡°Wait for me! I want to join too!¡± She hopped onto Michael¡¯s back with a leap. Michael supported her with one hand and held Carmen¡¯s hand in the other. Right then, Cooper pressed down on the shutter and captured that perfect moment¡ª a happy family of three with a vast sea of flowers behind them. Later that night, Sophia went over to Cooper¡¯s ce to look at the photos. He had taken heaps that day; most of which were of Carmen and the main stars, Sam and Nicole. Taking plenty of copies with her, she brought them back to look over them with Michael. There were also a number of photos of Carmen and Bailey together. Michael simply could not bear to look at them anymore. They look like wedding photos! The more he looked at them, the angrier he felt. In the end, he decided to stop looking. Lying down in bed with a huff, he turned to his side and hugged Carmen¡ªshe was sleeping with them tonight. It looked like she had too much fun today for she fell asleep as soon as shey down. Meanwhile, Sophia was still looking at the photos and smiling to herself as she went through them. Michael could not fall asleep for a long time. Regardless of how much he tossed and turned, he could not keep his eyes shut. He looked out the window at the bright moon above the surface of the water. It was tranquil and beautiful; so beautiful that it seemed surreal. Is this a dream or am I awake? Sophia had already removed her make-up and went to bed. After a whole day of activity, they even went to the beach to have a seafood barbecue for dinner. Her energy waspletely depleted. He turned around and watched her sleep soundly. Ten years had flown by. Over this time, she had changed a lot, but he still saw her the same way¡ªas the na?ve and kind young girl. The only thing that changed was this world. After all the suffering she went through, she could finally wee spring. There were many days left ahead for her, but Michael felt like he was reaching his end. The world was just that cruel. They were still in love with each other, but they could not be together. Those who were able to stay together in marriage until they were old were the lucky ones. Michael gently removed her fingers around her phone. When he got her phone out, he saw that her screensaver was Nicole¡¯s wedding dress. The focus was not on Nicole but on the dress. The snowy white wedding dress was made from selected materials and had a customized fit. It fit Nicole perfectly as if they were one and the same. The photo of that dress was now Sophia¡¯s screensaver. While Michael was looking at the photo, he also imagined what Sophia looked like in a wedding dress. Sadly, no matter how much he thought about it, he could not reproduce the image in his mind. Chapter 1380 Chapter 1380 Michael thought of the day they went to try on wedding dresses. It seemed like something that happened many, many years ago. But in his mind, the days he spent with Sophia were all real. He still remembered that she had tried on several dresses that day, but his mind was upied elsewhere. That same day, the Murray Family hade over to make a fuss and were unwilling to leave. He was worried about Nathan who was at home at the time. All of his focus was on Nathan that he forgot about Sophia who was trying on wedding dresses in front of him. Therefore, regardless of how he tried, he could not remember how she looked in a wedding dress that day. He only remembered that she had picked a dress and submitted her order. A yearter, the manufacturer sent the dress to them. Unfortunately, she never got to put it on before Quinton abducted her. He tried to picture her in that dress, but he realized he could not put the two together no matter how hard he tried. If I can see her in a wedding dress again before I die, how nice would that be? The next day, everyone went by the original n to spend a few more days on the ind. There were plenty of activities to do, but Sophia still found having seafood barbecue more meaningful. Early in the morning, however, people were looking at her in an unusual way. The wedding was already over, but a bunch of new faces appeared on the ind. By noon, Theo and Quinton came, and so did Celine and Justin. Nathan also showed up in a new suit and tie. Joel had brought the whole family over. Something about the situation did not feel right. Moreover, Carmen was in her flower girl attire again and was rehearsing with Hope. They imed that they were preparing for the wedding tomorrow. Wedding? Tomorrow? Whose wedding? It looked like another wedding was about to take ce on the ind and everyone was busy preparing for it. When Sophia asked, though, no one gave her an answer. She was dumbfounded. Nevertheless, she was already there. They could not hide it from her forever. While it was bright out, she went to the beach for a sunbath. I don¡¯t know why so many people overseas enjoy sleeping exposed under the scorching sun all day without applying even a bit of sunscreen, she wondered. They¡¯re practically frying themselves. Being under the sun for a while, however, was making her feel like a roasted duck, and she couldn¡¯t take it any longer. Instead, she went for a swim with Sarah. When they got tired, they got out of the water and ate some seafood barbecue, then went back in again to swim some more. She enjoyed herself to the fullest, treating their stay there as a vacation. After spending all day on the beach, she was now several shades tanner. She returned to her room that night, took a shower, and applied a face mask. Once that was done, she faced the mirror and proceeded to apply some skincare products. She had spent years paying special attention to her face and prioritizing self-care. Throughout the day, she always looked after her skin like it was a religious ritual. The scar had faded and her skin was tender again, but after getting tanned from being under the sun all day, all her efforts were in vain. I can¡¯t suntan anymore. I will start to age at this rate. How do foreigners tan under the sun all day without putting on any sunscreen? She grumbled as she continued to apply products on her face. Meanwhile, Michael and Carmen were nudging each other at the side as though they had something to say but were pushing the burden onto the other person. ¡°You should go, sweetie. You¡¯re a baby. You can afford to be a bit forting. My happiness from now on is in your hands.¡± ¡°Go on your own, Daddy. This is your business. You were the one who taught me to take responsibility for myself ever since I was little.¡± ¡°Just this once, please?¡± The father and daughter pair had a long discussion together but did not manage to reach a conclusion. s, Sophia finished applying her skincare products and came out of the bathroom. Seeing her daughter sitting on the bed in her pajamas, she went to give her a bear hug right away. ¡°Sweetie! Let Mommy give you a kiss!¡± Carmen let Sophia kiss her cheeks, then gathered her courage and announced, ¡°Mommy, Daddy says he has something big to discuss with you.¡± Something big? Looking over at the balcony, she found Michael¡¯s shadow swaying back and forth under the dim lights. He looked hesitant and unsettled. ¡°Hubby?¡± She went over to the balcony. With the lights turned off, only the soft glow from the moonlight illuminated the area. A bright moon had risen above the sea, and they were sharing this beautiful moment. It set off a mysterious and romantic atmosphere. Initially, Michael was pacing back and forth on the balcony. When he looked back and saw Sophia, he finally mustered his courage and walked toward her. Under the moonlight, his whole body seemed aze. Sophia tilted her head up slightly to look at him. The moonlight seemed to entuate his looks. In her eyes, he was always going to be the unparalleled Academy Award Best Actor winner, Taylor Murray, and the love of her life. The atmosphere tonight was just right. With the light breeze blowing against her face, she could smell the saltiness in the air. Feeling a slight chill, she tugged at her pajamas around her. ¡°What is it?¡± she finally asked when she saw Michael staring at her without saying a word. He lowered his head a little and studied her face. It¡¯s been ten years, but she hasn¡¯t changed one bit. She¡¯s still the same as the girl in my memories. Sighing softly, he put his arms around her, tightening his grip when he realized her body felt cold. How I wish I could hold her like this and never let go¡­ Separation was the biggest punishment for those who did not know how to appreciate their significant other. Some people had to experience an unforgettable separation in order to learn how valuable reuniting was. But, no matter how much he appreciated her, he still felt more than his fair share of pain from having to separate from her. He also knew how valuable it was to reunite, but he still had to leave her. If only time could stop at this moment! Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. He answered, ¡°Nothing really.¡± When he blinked, he realized that his eyes were already slightly damp. He let her go and took her icy cold hand in his. ¡°Come with me. I have something to show you.¡± He brought her out and into the room next door. Sophia was extremely uneasy. She kept feeling like he was acting strange today, so she patiently went into the next room with him. The moment she entered, the lights were turned off and everything was pitch-ck. She grabbed Michael¡¯s hand instinctively. With a snap, the lights came back on and brightened the whole room in an instant. The sudden brightness had frightened her and made her jump in shock. When she gradually got used to her surroundings, she only saw a mannequin in front of her with a beautiful wedding dress on. The dress was made from selected materials and designed by a famous foreign designer. It took one year for the dress to be made. The hemline of the dress was adorned with dazzling diamonds that looked like the stars in the gxy. Nevertheless, theyplemented each other and did not take away the uniqueness of one another. Many years ago, this dress cost tens of millions, but she did not know much it was worth now. ¡°What is my wedding dress doing here?¡± Chapter 1381 Chapter 1381 Sophia recognized her own wedding dress right away. It had been kept at home for years. Michael told her that she had tried it on herself, and the designer designed it ording to her request. It was the only one of its kind in the world. Unfortunately, for various reasons, she never got to wear the dress. After she returned, the opportunity only slipped further away. She never imagined that he would bring the dress along. In high spirits, she walked up and admired it. Personally, she thought her dress was much nicer than Nicole¡¯s, and that it was even nicer once she put it on. If I wear this, I will be the most beautiful bride in the world! ¡°What is the dress doing here?¡± She was extremely excited. Michael had diligently maintained the quality of the dress after all these years. Even now, it looked brand new. The innovative design and one-of-a-kind charm of the dress did not make it look old-fashioned after all these years. Even the gemstones on it looked like they were just attached recently. When he saw how happy she was, a smile also grew on his face. Looking at the dress, he felt like he was being brought back to the day it first arrived. The dress came, but the bride had left. He had kept the dress in the deepest corner of their walk-in closet. Whenever he missed her, he would put himself in the closet with the dress and try to picture her in it. He would get himself dead drunk and hoped that he could see the image of her in the wedding dress in his dreams. Lifting a finger, he wiped the slight vapor forming at the corner of his eyes. ¡°What do you think? Do you want to try it on? Everything is already avable on this ind. Once you put on the dress, we can borrow what they have and rehearse for our future wedding.¡± After hearing those words, she finally knew why everyone seemed unusual today. No wonder Theo came today, and so did Joel. No wonder Carmen said there was going to be a wedding tomorrow. So, this was the reason¡­ Indeed, the only thing they had missed out on was a wedding. She gazed at the dress with hot tears in her eyes, but she did not want to give him an answer that easily. Besides a wedding, something else was still missing. Looking back at him, she smiled warmly and batted her eyshes at him. ¡°Are you going to give me a ceremony now? But, it¡¯s not something that one wedding dress can make up for.¡± He quickly asserted, ¡°Master Sam agreed to lend us the venue. I have people working on decorating all night. The guests have arrived. The bridesmaid, best man, and makeup artist are all here too. I¡¯ve got everything ready for the wedding.¡± He was worried that she would be unhappy with the ¡®casual¡¯ wedding. The truth was that he also wanted to hold a grand wedding for her and tell the whole world that Michael Fletcher and Sophia Edwards were getting married. At least not here at a second-hand wedding venue where everything was borrowed. To his dismay, he did not have much time left. Sophia couldn¡¯t help butugh at his panicked reaction. She didn¡¯t prepare to have a wedding there, either. A wedding ceremony was cumbersome and there were too many things to prepare. It was better to keep things simple. Holding a small-scale wedding on this small ind did not seem like a bad option. Moreover, they already had everything ready. A small wedding sounds nice. The big wedding can wait until we¡¯ve crushed all the obstacles before us! We can treat this as a rehearsal wedding. Sticking her nose in the air, she objected, ¡°No. Even though we¡¯re doing thisst minute, we still can¡¯t leave anything out. We can¡¯t miss a single step!¡± He mused, What step are we missing? We¡¯re borrowing everything from Sam. We¡¯re not¡ª Suddenly, a thought shed across his mind, and he understood what she meant. Grabbing her hand without another word, he pulled her out of the room and ran toward the beach. At the beach, the waves were gently washing up the shore, and the bright moon was high above the water. It was peaceful as the rest of the world was fast asleep. The two of them were standing on the sand with the sea breeze blowing through their hair. All of a sudden, Michael got down on one knee in front of her and looked up with a passionate gaze. ¡°Sophia Edwards, will you marry me?¡± She had not expected a proposal from him when he dragged her out there. But, quite so, they were also missing a proposal. When he bought her ten years ago, she still had problems eating. Being with him was her only option, so she simply got married to him. Fast forward ten yearster, she was no longer the dependent and pitiful young girl that was sold for only eighty thousand. She was the youngdy of the Mitchell Family and the apple of Fass Michel¡¯s eye. With her father¡¯s love and her own business, she no longercked anything, and her value was unfathomable. Eighty thousand was not enough to marry her anymore. If he wanted to marry her, he had to give his all. Sophia was so excited and happy that she forgot to answer him. ¡°Why did you choose this ce to propose?¡± Still on one knee, he answered, ¡°Since it¡¯s a proposal, it needs to be meaningful. Look at the sky, the moon, and this body of water; they have been in existence for thousands of years. It¡¯s only right that they bear witness to my love for you. At this moment, my love is one with the sky and this ocean. However long they exist for, that is how long our love willst. To me, it feels ritualistic.¡± He looked up at her with glimmering eyes and vowed that no matter what happened and no matter how drastically things would change, he was not going to change. One could not outlive their time, but his love for her had already manifested in his being. Even if he died and returned to the ground one day, he would produce a flower on his grave for her with the roots attached to his bones. The more radiant the flower, the deeper his love for her was. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. When that time came, the fragrance of their love would travel with the wind out into the open to touch the senses of those who admired flowers. Their love would stay in the hearts of those people. The world woulde to know that there was once a man and a woman who were bound to each other by the love they shared. Even though they were separated for various reasons and never got to grow old together, their love would still lead to the blooming of beautiful flowers. Sophia was immensely touched by his sweet words and could not help but tear up. It had been a while since shest saw him look so serious. Wiping away the tears in her eyes, she only felt pure happiness. Each day that she spent with Michael made her feel like she was in a drama. He was still looking up at her. His eyes were glistening with tears, and his voice was getting shaky. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to marry me, I will give you all the love in this world. If you¡¯re willing to marry me, I will¡­¡± He choked back tears. ¡°I will love you forever; until the end of time and until I take myst breath. For as long as I can still think, my only thought will be to love you.¡± After getting the proposal she had longed for all these years, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and eximed, ¡°I will! I will!¡± Chapter 1382 Chapter 1382 In a burst of joy, Michael held her in his arms and spun twice on top of the sand. The sound of Sophia¡¯s laughter covered the surging waves. He pressed his damp lips softly against her forehead. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes, then turned to the ocean and yelled, ¡°Sophia Edwards and Michael Fletcher will be spending the rest of their lives together!¡± He looked at how excited she was but remained unmoved. He only wished that he could yell along with her and inform the whole world about their vow to stay together forever. But, he knew that he could not stay with her for long. The only thing he could give her was a wedding, yet Sophia had believed in all of it. She genuinely believed that they would be together for eternity. The next day, their wedding ceremony began. Michael was extremely nervous. He did not know where to put his hands; putting them in his pocket did not seem right but neither did just letting them hang at his sides. Moreover, his nerves were making his palms sweat. With sweaty palms, he continued to pace back and forth at the venue. It had been a while since hest felt this nervous. He was not acting now; this was live. At a wedding, there was no such thing as a retake. Everything had to be done in one take and no mistakes were allowed. Even though the wedding was small and rushed, it still had to be spectacr. To strive for perfection, he purposely put on some powder and trimmed his eyebrows. Otherwise, he might not have been able to match up to his beautiful bride. Standing at the side, Quinton chided, ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. Stop being so nervous. You¡¯re breaking into a sweat. Watch out for your makeup.¡± There were only a handful of guests. Sam and Nicole, who had gotten married two days ago, were now guests themselves. There were also a few people from the Fletchers and the Mitchells, as well as Bailey from the Adams Family. The Michel Family did not receive word. Because Michael and Sophia did not want outsiders to find out, they only invited several close friends and family they met on a regr basis. They had only gone through a swift rehearsal early in the morning. Michael was so nervous that he kept going over the steps to make sure that he would not make a mistake. Just yesterday, he was teasing Sam for being nervous even though he was already in his forties. Who would have thought that it would be Michael¡¯s turn today? Meanwhile, Theo did not imagine that he would ever be able to participate in his son¡¯s wedding during his lifetime. He was always preparing for it, although he did not know much about it. Back then, he and Elizabeth failed to get married. When Celine got married, he was still frozen. He had made it just in time for Michael¡¯s wedding, but he felt like it was a pity that Elizabeth could not be here to see it. He also owed her a wedding. At the time, they did not even receive their marriage certificate. I¡¯ve never gotten married myself¡­ No, I did get married once. The only time he got married was with Tanya at the drug dealers¡¯ den. At the time, however, he was locked up in his room most of the time and did not have to worry about much. Tanya got everything prepared. After that, Theo simply followed along and became an obedient son-in- law. In actuality, he was stillmunicating with the outside world. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. The day before the wedding, he gathered his men and weapons¡ªrifles, cannons, and heavy weapons. Before the time came, heunched an attack at his own wedding and blew up his ¡®father-inw¡¯ and many distinguished guests who had joined the wedding. Dressed in his wedding attire, he held a submachine gun and fired in all directions, turning the wedding venue into a pool of blood. He was not a good husband. In modern terms, he was a scumbag. Because Elizabeth loved him, she was willing to be with him unofficially and raise his children. In the end, he still fell into her debt. Whenever he thought about that, he couldn¡¯t help but tear up. How nice would it be if you were still here, Elizabeth? There were a number of people who wanted to cry today. It wasmon to see newlyweds smiling, but it was rare to see the elderly in tears. Cooper had red-rimmed eyes. Although his grandchild was already five, he still insisted on living with Sophia until now because he just could not bear to let her go. They had lost each other when she was little. While he was all-powerful and standing at the peak, his daughter was being trampled on by people and struggling to survive in the dirt. It had only been a few years since they found each other. Before he could even adore her to his heart¡¯s content, she was going to leave to some ce far away with an unknown man. She was leaving him to go build her own little family. How could Cooper ept it? He still owed her too much. Despite wanting to keep her by his side forever, he knew that she was going to get married sooner orter. Once she started to build her own family, she inevitably had to leave. He still lived with her and was able to see his beloved daughter every day, and he also knew that this wedding was just a formality for her and Michael, as they were already married a long time ago and already had a child who was this big. Yet, he could not help but feel like this ceremony was a defeat for him. Michael was taking his daughter away from him, but he could not do anything to stop it. The more Cooper thought about it, the more saddened he became. While the two elderly fathers wept, the rest of the crowd was extremely excited. As the matchmaker, Daniel had deliberately taken time out of his metaphysics lecture tour to join the wedding. Michael¡¯s notice of the wedding hade too suddenly. The moment Daniel received the news, he booked a ne ticket right away and after a long journey he finally arrived; anyter and he would not have made it. He was the one who sent Sophia¡¯s photo to Michael all those years ago and matchmade them. Undoubtedly, he was the most significant matchmaker. On the other hand, Cooper was still wiping at his tears discreetly and growing sadder with each passing moment. Suddenly, another private ne arrived on the ind. When itnded on the apron, a shuttle bus quickly went to pick up the guests to drive them over. Through tear-filled eyes, Cooper saw a tall and elegant figure slowlying into focus before him. ¡°Anna¡­¡± Anna walked up to him with a smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± It would not have been right if she did not show up today. She hade right as the ceremony was about to start. Previously, Sam had invited a professional band to the ind. This band was being ¡®reused¡¯ now as they began to y the pure and romantic ¡®Wedding March¡¯. When the ceremony started, the bride finally appeared at the end of the red carpet in the garden with her hand on Linus¡¯ arm. Originally, Cooper was supposed to escort Sophia to Michael, but Cooper was in too much sorrow to hand his little girl over to his son-inw. Thus, Linus stepped up to do the job. Linus was trying his best to keep a smile on his face, but he just could not suppress the ache swelling in his chest and stop his eyes from turning red. The bride of the day, Sophia, was wearing a white wedding dress that made her look pure and beautiful. The veil was covering her face as she slowly walked down the red carpet. Carmen and Hope were in front of her while a few other children held her dress from behind. Wearing her wedding dress, the usually bright Sophia seemed to have a peculiar charm about her today. A professional makeup artist did her makeup for her and made it look like there was a light, filter- like halo around her face. It made her glow and her beauty was overwhelming. The thin white veil was not enough to mask her beauty. As soon as Michael saw her, tears began to well up in his eyes. It was his wedding day. He did not want to let his tears ruin this perfect moment, but seeing how beautiful she looked, the joy he felt made the tears gush out and stain his cheeks. He felt like he had the most beautiful bride in the world. He was so happy that he only wanted to cry. Chapter 1383 Chapter 1383 When the bride appeared, it was as though all the light in the world was shining down on her and making her dazzle. She had entered arm in arm with Linus. Originally, the two siblings lookedpletely different from each other; one was European and the other was Cethosian. Over the years, however, they started to grow more and more alike. Linus began to adopt some Cethosian characteristics while Sophia began to adopt some European characteristics. They slowly began to resemble each other. One was like a zing sun, and the other was like a white lotus. They had inherited their parents¡¯ good looks and temperament. When they stood together, they were each remarkable in their own way. Looking at his two children, Cooper suddenly felt proud of his perfect family. It would have been better if his daughter was not getting married. Nheless, she was already grown up; she had to get married and build her own family. As her elderly father, he would eventually fade out of her life and go from being the most important person to one of the least important people to her. The thought of that was truly painful. Once again, he felt miserable. Today, both Callum and Cade had followed Anna along to the wedding. Since their sister was getting married, they felt inclined to be there as the family members of the bride. Callum even turned the money he stole from Sophia into a big red packet to give to her. After Ryan and Henry were killed, Jordan became devastated. It gave them the chance to slip out and attend Sophia¡¯s wedding. The wedding ceremony was rather shabby and only around thirty guests were invited. Michael still made a special invitation to Anna because she was Sophia¡¯s biological mother, and she could not miss out on this wedding. Currently, Anna was taking pictures on her phone. On the other side, Linus had given Sophia to Michael. Even though the two had gotten married a long time ago, Linus still felt reluctant at this moment. While the wedding song was being yed, Michael held Sophia¡¯s hands gently and looked at her with a profound gaze. Beaming with a clear brilliance, Sophia also looked up and smiled softly at him. A peculiar yet contented look reflected in her bright eyes. They were just looking at each other, but he could already feel the pleasantness and happiness in her eyes. A surge of warmth reached his eyes and forced their way out as tears. He was just like most grooms who were seeing their beautiful brides for the first time. The rush of emotions caused them to tear up and made them unable to suppress the strong yet aching feeling in their chest. Sophia smiled at him; her almond-shaped eyes crinkled into luminous half-moons. This became one of the images that would be forever etched in Michael¡¯s mind. They continued to gaze at each other in silence as though time had already paused on that day, at that very second, forever. In that second, they seemed to have found the true meaning of love and the entrance to eternity. ¡°Is the groom ready?¡± The sound of the officiant¡¯s voice reminded Michael that they were still at their wedding and had rituals toplete. He quickly pulled his focus back and became extremely nervous. The next step was most likely the exchange of the wedding rings. He reached into his pocket to retrieve them. Because he was so nervous, his palms werepletely covered in sweat. To his surprise, however, he could not find the ring box anymore. They had worn their rings for years, but since it was their wedding day, they could not leave out the exchange of wedding rings. He had intentionally put the ring box in his pocket so he could present them at this moment. Before he could find it, the officiate announced enthusiastically, ¡°It is time now. Bride, groom, bow before the heavens.¡± Michael was dumbfounded, and so was the rest of the audience. Wait, isn¡¯t this a modern wedding? Why are we praying? This is totally off script! Michael was the dumbest he had ever been in his life today. While he was acting, even if his colleague improvised at thest minute, he was able to adapt and y along smoothly. But, encountering this sudden change in ns today, he suddenly found himself at a loss for what to do. Seeing the frozen look on his face, Sophia quickly tugged at him and exined, ¡°I made a few small changes. It¡¯s nothing really. Come; let¡¯s pray.¡± She felt like offering prayer was ritualistic and would make it feel more like an actual wedding. Michael was even more baffled now. This is a small change? It changed the style of the whole wedding! With dozens of eyes trained on them, though, he could not spend all day in a daze. Quickly kneeling next to Sophia who was in her wedding dress, he started to offer a prayer alongside her. Despite looking calm on the surface, he was still perplexed and flustered on the inside. This does not only change the style of the wedding, but also the whole atmosphere! If this had been a traditional Cethosian wedding, the bride would not be in white, and the groom would not be in ck. Taking the current atmosphere into consideration, this wedding just looked preposterous. Regardless of what Michael thought, the officiate continued to cry out, ¡°Second bow to the parents!¡± Michael was flustered again. He quickly followed Sophia and went to bow down before Theo and Cooper. Cooper burst into tears while Theo¡¯s eyes reddened. ¡°Now, bow to each other!¡± The two of them faced each other and bowed. Since they had made three bows, they were now officially a married couple. Sophia was content with her wedding day tradition. If it wasn¡¯t hard to find and if her makeup artist wasn¡¯t in such strong opposition, she would have put a red veil over her head. Abination of tradition and fashion was perfect. The officiate¡¯s merry voice resounded once again. ¡°The ceremony is over!¡± When he apuded, the rest of the audience also began to apud and cheer. After that, parents from each side went up the stage to give speeches. Theo did not have much to say, but Cooper was eager to speak. Walking up on stage, Cooper wiped away the warm tears in his eyes and took in the audience. In an instant, he upied the stage with a strong presence. A moment ago, he was a father who was shedding tears at his daughter¡¯s wedding. Now, he was like a fierce beast who had been waiting in hiding for a chance to attack. Even though he had his ws hidden, his powerful presence was still exposed from time to time. The audience couldn¡¯t help but shudder. Even the warm wind from the tropics could not drive out the sudden chill that came so suddenly. Finally, Cooper began his speech. ¡°I¡¯m Cooper Mitchell, also known as Fass Michel. I am widely acknowledged as the secondrgest entity in the arms industry; second because I kept a portion of the business hidden to not attract attention.¡± Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. The people at the venue were trembling slightly under the mention of the arms industry. ¡°The business that I run can easily destroy this world. If I want someone dead, no matter where this person runs off to, I will still be able to find them. Even if they escape the Earth, I can still hunt them down!¡± It was Michael¡¯s turn to tremble now. Why does he have to talk about this on our wedding day? Cooper continued, ¡°I also run the most advanced medical technologypany in the world. I can easily save a person, but I can just as easily bring a person to his death.¡± When he emphasized the word ¡®death¡¯, the ferocious and grim tone in his voice managed to make Michael cower in fear once again. Chapter 1384 Chapter 1384 Even though Michael felt terrified, he still tried to keep a smile on his face. Yes, yes. You¡¯re awesome! You¡¯re the best! Everyone looked in Michael¡¯s direction, then back at Cooper. They all felt afraid for Michael. One could only imagine the pressure he must have felt as the husband of the only daughter of the world¡¯s secondrgest arms dealer. If a son-inw from another family made a mistake, the worst that would happen was that he would be removed from the family with no possessions in his hands. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. If Michael made a mistake, he would be lucky if he only ended up paralyzed. s, Cooper concluded his speech. ¡°I, Cooper Mitchell, havemitted many murders before. People are like ants to me. I can easily kill someone if I want to.¡± Rolling his eyes, Quinton thought, Tsk. You can¡¯t even get rid of Jordan. Still, he could not refute it at a ce like that. If Michael ever made Sophia suffer one day, Cooper would definitely cripple him. Cooper managed to get everyone¡¯s attention with just three sentences. They might not have been Cooper¡¯s son-inw, but they could all feel the terror and could not help but look at Michael with empathy. Feeling tremendous pressure, Michael watched as Cooper came over to hug Sophia and re at him at the same time. He simply smiled along and even started pping pretentiously to keep the atmosphere alive. At least they were done with the formalities now. Cooper had gotten off the stage after the brief speech. Sophia grasped Michael¡¯s hand and murmured, ¡°He¡¯s just scaring you. He would never let you die!¡± Upon hearing that, Michael only gave an insincereugh. When Cooper was done talking, Michael looked at Theo like a lost and helpless child hoping that his father could also say a few things to save him. Theo, however, did not have a lot of experience. He was just a young man in his thirties, making him even younger than Michael and even more incapable of taking charge of the situation. All the formalities were over, and it was now time for the awaited bouquet toss. Sophia caught the bouquet two days ago, and now she was married¡ªit was a cursed bouquet. Since very few young unmarried women had attended the wedding, the young unmarried men and young married women came forward to scramble for the bouquet. With her back toward them, Sophia was anticipating tossing the bouquet. Moreover, it was a bouquet that Michael had put together himself. ¡°Are you ready?¡± She held the bouquet in her hands in preparation as she looked back at the unsettled crowd. ¡°We¡¯re ready! Toss it!¡± Stanley was standing on his tiptoes with his hands high up in the air. ¡°No one is allowed to fight with me!¡± Sarah was over two meters high in the air among the crowd. Looking closely, she was riding on Harry¡¯s shoulders. Harry had a look of resignation on his face. What¡¯s so great about catching the bouquet? Does she want her second marriage to fail too? Aside from the few who were present at the bouquet toss two days ago, Callum and Cade also joined in this time. Since Sophia got married right after catching the bouquet, perhaps, whoever caught it next would also be able to find someone. ¡°Here I go!¡± She tossed the bouquet behind her with all her might. While they made a fuss and fought over the bouquet, the elders were shaking their heads and smiling at the side. Unexpectedly, Sophia was terrible at tossing the bouquet because she did not have any prior experience. The bouquet flew over to where the elders were. They were busy talking to each other and did not notice the bouquet. Only a pair of small hands reached up and caught it. ¡°I caught Mommy¡¯s flowers!¡± Carmen shook the bouquet happily as she grinned at the crowd. They all became quiet. Michael was feeling touched just a moment ago, but he turned angry when he saw that Carmen had caught the bouquet. He started to take a couple of steps toward her when he saw Sophia lift her up in the air effortlessly and even caressed her forehead. ¡°Those who manage to catch the bouquet are the lucky ones. You have to be happy in the future, Carmen!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Carmen hugged the bouquet delightedly. Seeing the happiness on her face, Michael could not bring himself to intervene. But, my little girl is only five¡­ No, I can¡¯t ept this! He could not ept the truth that Carmen was going to get married one day. If she got married, Michael would cry buckets just like Cooper did today. Following that, it was time to take photos. ¡°Anna, let¡¯s take a family photo,¡± Cooper suggested to Anna all of a sudden. A family photo¡­ Those three words were filled with immense warmth. She was Annabel; she knew it, and so did Cooper. Although she wanted to agree, her gaze naturally went to her twin sons who were not too far away. Callum and Cade were also her children¡ªher sessors. She might not have been blessed enough to give birth to them, but that had never affected her love for them. Nheless, they were not Cooper¡¯s children. Their biological father was Jordan, and that would never change. Even if they joined hands and got rid of Jordan in the future, it would not change the fact that the twins were Jordan¡¯s children. Anna loved Cooper, but she was not blinded by love. Most women could notpare to her outlook on life. She was already thinking of the distant future. Once Jordan was gone and they could be together without any obstructions, would Cooper be able to ept her two sons? When Cooper invited her to take photos, he had intentionally left the twins out. He knew that Anna loved them, but he did not like them because of who their father was. Simr to how L was a source of pain for Justin, the twins were also a thorn in Cooper¡¯s heart. That problem needed to be dealt with sooner orter, but, at least, it did not have to be dealt with now. Today was Sophia¡¯s big day. Anna did not want to be a bother to her, so she simply walked over with Cooper and stood beside Sophia. When the mother and daughter pair were next to each other, it was as though a mold had been carved out. Anna was incredibly young. Since she had Sophia when she was eighteen, they did not have a huge age gap between them and looked very alike. Sophia and Michael were standing together with a little Carmen between them. On either side of them were their parents, Theo, Cooper, and Anna, and also the other family members, Linus, Celine, Justin, and Nathan. Standing away from everyone else, Quinton was like an invisible person watching them take a family photo. Sophia was breathtakingly beautiful standing in the center. Sadly, her beauty was not for him. It was the afternoon, but he felt cold on the inside as if he should not have shown up. Suddenly, Celine shouted, ¡°Wait! Quinton isn¡¯t here yet. We can only say ¡®cheese¡¯ once he¡¯s here!¡± Theo looked over at Quinton and beckoned him. ¡°Hope! Come and take a photo!¡± Quinton¡¯s existence was a pain in the head for him, but Quinton was also a victim. Sophia pressed, ¡°Hurry! You¡¯re the only one missing!¡± I¡¯m the only one missing¡­ Those simple words warmed his heart. He quickly walked over, stood next to Celine, and smiled. They took the photo as one happy family. The deep affection they had seemed to overflow into the camera lens. However, Sophia noticed that Anna did not look too happy. At that moment, she could feel the wall that had already been erected between her parents that made it impossible for them to be as close as they used to be. She knew what the problem was. Looking in the direction Callum and Cade were in, she noticed that the identical twins also seemed to be avoiding them. Chapter 1385 Chapter 1385 Letting out an inward sigh, Sophia knew that nothing could be done about this problem. Just like how Justin could not bring himself to ept L, Cooper could not ept Callum and Cade. As such, Sophia, who was leading a happy life, started to worry about Cooper. After the big group photo, the younger people wanted to take more photos. Thus, Cooper, Theo, and the other elders took their cue to leave. The siblings, Sophia and Linus, stood next to each other to take a photo. Once that was done, Sophia nudged Carmen and whispered, ¡°Can you bring those two simr-looking guys over to take a photo with Mommy?¡± Carmen did as she was told. Running over to them, she looked at Callum and said sweetly, ¡°Mister, Mommy wants to take a photo with you.¡± The brothers were talking to each other in a low murmur. When they heard Carmen, they automatically looked at each other. ¡°Your mom really wants to take a photo with us?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Despite feeling perplexed, they still went over. After all, Callum had stolen tens of thousands from Sophia. He did not think that they would be able to be on good terms again, so when she took the initiative to invite them, they went over right away. Seeing them approach her, Sophia moved slightly to the side. The four siblings stood in a row with Linus and Sophia on one side, and Callum and Cade on the other. Meanwhile, Carmen remained in the middle as usual. Sophia could not help but marvel at her twin brothers. Even though she did not like their father, they were still her brothers who had the same mother as she did. Anna was having a conversation with Cooper outside of the crowd when a glimpse of her four children standing together caught her attention. They might have had different fathers, but they were all her children. They had her features and carried her genes. She could not help but gaze at them with a great amount of tender love in her eyes. ¡°Look at how beautiful my children are!¡± Cooper was also aware that they were taking a photo together. He did not respond and changed the topic instead. Still, he did not stop them from taking a group photo. He did not like Anna¡¯s sons, but he did not stop Sophia from associating with them. Even though Cooper had nothing to do with them, they were still Sophia¡¯s half-brothers. After the photo, Carmen asked enthusiastically, ¡°Mommy, why do those two misters look exactly the same?¡± Sophia answered, ¡°Because they¡¯re twins! Mommy and Uncle Linus, and Daddy and Aunt Celine are twins too!¡± Carmen pondered with pursed lips, then asked, ¡°If both Daddy and Mommy have a twin, then why don¡¯t I have one?¡± When she brought that up, Michael felt heavyhearted. He had imagined over and over again that Sophia would have twins. After all, both of them carried the genes for it. However, Sophia only had one child. During her pregnancy, the examinations only found one child. And later, she also only came home with one child. Quinton imed that there was only one during the delivery too. Michael felt depressed as though someone had hidden his other child somewhere else. At the same time, Sophia was already bent over and talking to Carmen in a gentle tone. ¡°You won¡¯t understand some of these things, sweetie. You¡¯ll know when you¡¯re all grown up.¡± She added, ¡°They¡¯re my brothers, so you can call them uncle from now on.¡± Looking back at them, Carmen called, ¡°Uncles!¡± They returned a smile. Hearing the word ¡®uncle¡¯ left them deeply moved. The perfect wedding eventually came to a close. Although Sophia and Michael were still engaged in uwful cohabitation, their state of mind changed after the wedding. Cooper still lived with Sophia, and Linus still came over to eat every day. There was not much of a difference in their livespared to before, except that Cooper was even meaner to Michael now. In the past, Michael often ndered his father-inw. But, once he put himself in Cooper¡¯s shoes and thought of the apricot beaded bracelet on Bailey¡¯s wrist, he could not help but squirm in anguish. He asked Cooper to take that bracelet back from Bailey countless times, but Cooper did not seem bothered. He even looked pleased whenever he talked to Bailey! Since his daughter was not the one being taken away by Bailey, he did not feel the pain! In contrast, Cooper thought that Michael was being too sensitive. Carmen is still a child. What does she know? It¡¯spletely normal for friends to exchange gifts with each other! He¡¯s too paranoid! But now, Michael was so frightened that he was about to get a heart attack. Soon, he was not going to be around anymore, but the three apricot seeds on Bailey¡¯s hand only filled him with overwhelming concern. He feared that when he woke up from his cryogenic sleep in a few years, Carmen would already have her own child while she was still young. Every day, he had nightmares of Carmen giving birth to a baby as a teenager, and that the baby looked exactly like Bailey. In order to fulfill his own dying wishes, he started to monitor Bailey¡¯s every move in secret to find an opportunity to get the bracelet back. Otherwise, he would feel unsettled even when he was frozen. It was too dangerous for Bailey to have that bracelet in his possession. Every time he saw the bracelet, it would possibly remind him of Carmen. Without the bracelet, he would forget about Carmen in just a few days. Even though everyone felt like Bailey was a great figure, to Michael, he was just a deadbeat who sold insurance. Bailey had alsoe to Bayside City to establish a branch of Adams Enterprise here. Like the Michels, they wanted to have a share of the market in Bayside City. In this big nation with over a billion people, they could make tons even if they sold insurance casually. s, Michael found out that Bailey got a membership at Audistin and was working out there. At the same time, he also frequented the indoor basketball court at Bayside University that was open to outsiders. Michael sent Nathan over to keep watch. Nathan had been associated with Bayside University for a decade and was well-connected with the people. Since he often went there to y basketball, he was familiar with the ce. ¡°That¡¯s him! The green-eyed goblin who has Carmen on his mind! If you see him around campus, make sure to teach him a lesson. Also, remember to get that bracelet back to me.¡± Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Nathan nced over the picture that Michael had sent to him and the bracelet strung with apricot kernels. He could not believe that someone had their eyes on his baby sister who was still a child! They even have a token of love! This is unforgivable! Nathan was also fuming with anger. That green-eyed goblin better not show up in front of me. In just a few days, however, Michael received a sudden call from Nathan. ¡°Come here now. I¡¯ve caught the green-eyed goblin.¡± Michael exhorted, ¡°Beat him up!¡± But Nathan sounded hesitant. ¡°We have an unexpected situation. I think you shoulde and take a look.¡± Chapter 1386 Chapter 1386 By the time Michael got to Bayside University, Sophia and Carmen were already basking on thewn of the school¡¯s ser field. A mat filled with delicious food had beenid out; it seemed as if they were camping on the field. Due to a recent spell of wet weather, Bayside City had been awash for nearly half a month. Today was a rare sunny day, so the ser field was upied by people sunbathing. There were people everywhereying on mats, basking in the sun. Surprisingly, Bailey was there too. There was a basketball court next to the ser field, and he would come and y basketball every weekend. s, he¡¯s still a child and still finds pleasure in such activities. Right now, Bailey was there, and so were Sophia and Carmen. Even Celine hade along. They had originally nned to go to the park to rx and enjoy the breeze, but somehow, Sophia had wanted to come to Bayside University, saying something along the lines of wanting to let Carmen experience the university¡¯s atmosphere early on. When Michael arrived, Sophia had already invited Bailey over to eat. She had brought heaps of food from home and was currently sharing them with everyone. When Michael saw Carmen give Bailey a red apple, his eyes darkened and he nearly sprinted over. Oh! My daughter! Michael strode briskly toward them. After taking the apple from Carmen, Bailey took a bite and found that it tasted good. He wanted to take another bite but saw a murderous-looking Michael stalking over. He hurriedly put down the apple and watched Michael warily. He could clearly feel the strong sense of hostility emanating off of Michael¡¯s body. I really don¡¯t understand these youngsters. They¡¯re simply incapable of being polite. If they weren¡¯t overly enthusiastic, they were oddly hostile toward him. He hade to Bayside University today to y basketball just as he did every weekend. The court was open to the public, and it was always lively because there were many people around, making it a good ce to y ball and loosen up. Most of the yers at Bayside University¡¯s basketball court were students. He enjoyed this kind of environment and had soon met Nathan, who also happened to y basketball there. But, for some reason that he wasn¡¯t aware of, Nathan seemed weirdly hostile toward him as well. It just so happened that Sophia was here today and had invited him over for a bite. The youngsters are certainly overenthusiastic. ¡°Daddy!¡± When she caught sight of Michael, Carmen waved happily at him. Michael had been on set before he hurried over to the university. As soon as he arrived, he saw Carmen all dressed up as beautiful as a flower. She even had a small hat with cat ears perched on her head, looking utterly adorable! Why did she have to dress up so nicely? He chided her gravely, ¡°Why are you all dressed up when you¡¯re just here to y? Next time, don¡¯t dress so nicely!¡± Carmen had been eating an apple when Michael said this. Dissatisfied, she immediately stopped and pointed out, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m not all dressed up. I¡¯m just good-looking, so I look good in everything I wear.¡± Michael was speechless. Surprised by his sudden appearance, Sophia asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be filming today? Why are you here all of a sudden?¡± Michael sat down on their mat and grabbed something to eat while saying, ¡°My dad is filling in for me, so I came to see you all.¡± His main purpose was actually to reprimand that green-eyed goblin! Michael¡¯s arrival had everyone bustling with excitement. Sophia quickly distributed the food she brought. ¡°Nate, Bailey, try these roasted chicken wings that I made before I left this morning. Here, eat them while it¡¯s still hot.¡± She brought out her roasted chicken wings and passed them around for everyone to try. Bailey took one and ate it daintily. As soon as the chicken entered his mouth, he knew that it was no ordinary bird. It had the aroma of grain, so it must have grown up on a pure-grain diet. It tastedpletely different from one that was fed with normal chicken feed. Nathan had one, Bailey had one, and even Carmen had one. Everyone had a chicken wing, except for Michael. He peered into the self-heating lunch box that Sophia had brought. ¡°Where¡¯s mine?¡± Sophia frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t even like chicken wings. Besides, you didn¡¯t tell me that you wereing, so I didn¡¯t prepare a portion for you!¡± Michael shot Bailey a nce before muttering, ¡°Then, why does Bailey have one?¡± Sophia handed Michael a drumstick. ¡°I made this for Professor rk, but he didn¡¯t show up. So, here, you can have it.¡± Michael was furious, but he could only swallow his anger. While eating the drumstick, he stole a peek at Bailey¡¯s wrist. Sure enough, there was the apricot seed bracelet on his wrist. How dare he unt that in front of me? Filled with pent-up anger, Michael thought of ways to take the bracelet away from him. All of a sudden, a dog¡¯s head popped up and snatched away the drumstick that he was about to eat. Cereberus was here as well. Michael nearly exploded with rage. Today was certainly not going well for him! After a while, Quinton rushed over in a hurry. Luckily for him, he made it in time for thest piece of chicken. A momentter, Stanley and Sean appeared with their daughter in tow. They had brought food as well, and all of them gathered around together to have a share. ¡°Papa! Daddy!¡± Maisie walked between her two fathers, happy as can be. Nathan unzipped his bag, then began to shake its contents onto the mat. Several books dropped out, followed by a stream of snacks, jellies, and a little gift box decorated with pink gands. Celine was pleasantly surprised. ¡°Nate, where¡¯d you get all these?¡± Nathan¡¯s signature scowl remained on his face. ¡°Someone from the high school next door gave it to me.¡± They could tell at once that it was from a girl. Sophia picked up a box of jelly, then ripped it open and ate it. It was obvious that it was the handiwork of a girl. She said merrily, ¡°It¡¯s no doubt that someone like our Nate is the school jock. If I were a young schoolgirl, I¡¯d fall for him too.¡± ¡°Ugh, that¡¯s disgusting!¡± Stanley eximed. Sean, on the other hand, was nodding in agreement. Nathan bore a strong resemnce to his uncle, but he was tanned to a shade of copper, and he was more cute than handsome. Since young, plenty of casting agents wanted to recruit him as a child actor but were unfortunate enough to meet with Nathan and Michael¡¯s dirty looks and rejections. He was good-looking, his uncle was a famous celebrity, and his father had recently started a new company. To top it all off, he was a highly intelligent student and a gifted athlete. In the eyes of schoolgirls, his existence itself was a godsend. Simply appearing would be enough to cause a traffic jam. Aside from the girls from the high school next door who would often sneak over to watch him in ss, even older girls from the university drooled over him. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. As if witnessing his own flesh and blood grow up before his very eyes, Michael was gratified and proud. Patting Nathan on the shoulder, he praised, ¡°That¡¯s great, Nate! You have a bright future!¡± Still scowling, Nathan pushed his hand away. Quinton too unzipped his backpack and gave it a good shake. Out came heart-shaped choctes, fresh flowers, cakes, and other small trinkets. All of the items were exquisite and lovely, and they knew with absolute certainty that they were made by girls. They were more wonderful than the snacks that Nathan had poured out. Quinton tore open a packet of chocte and was chewing on it¡ªminding his own business¡ªwhen suddenly, Michael gave him a gentle p on the back of his head. ¡°Did I bring you to Bayside University to seduce female students?¡± Quinton rolled his eyes while silently enjoying the chocte. Double standard much? Chapter 1387 Chapter 1387 The students wanted to give him gifts, so what could he do? Every day, whenever he left his seat for a moment, he woulde back to find his office full of snacks. He couldn¡¯t possibly throw them away. Everyone proceeded to evenly divide Quinton and Nathan¡¯s trophies. Carmen picked a bar of chocte out of the pile of snacks and gave it to Bailey. ¡°Bailey, for you!¡± Bailey hesitated for a moment, but when he saw the smile on Carmen¡¯s adorable and gentle face, he couldn¡¯t bear to upset her, so he epted it. Upon seeing this, a dark gleam shed across Michael¡¯s eyes once again as he restrained the urge to lunge at him. That chocte is obviously used for courtship! Why did she give it to Bailey?! Michael tried his best to force a smile onto his face, then said to Carmen, ¡°Carmen, honey, Daddy wants a snack too.¡± Still rather disgruntled, Carmen retorted, ¡°If Daddy wants one, Mommy can feed you! Aren¡¯t you guys always feeding each other at home?¡± Michael was dumbfounded. How could his own daughter say such a thing? His heart fell to the ground with a ¡®crash¡¯, shattering into pieces. He felt as if he was watching the seedling that he had worked hard to cultivate being invaded by a fat and ugly insurance-selling rodent. Sensing Michael¡¯s despair, Sophia unwrapped a piece of chocte and fed it to him. To his dismay, the chocte filled his entire mouth with bitterness. He thought back to the song that he had sung many years back: ¡®The cold wind drifted over and caressed my face; my child¡¯s rebellion is giving me a heartache¡¯. Meanwhile, Bailey was taking the first bite out of his chocte. His arm was raised, and the muscles underneath that were beginning to take shape bulged slightly. His tanned, wheatish skin made him appear healthy, young, and powerful¡ªjust like a rising sun. The three apricot kernels that hung on his wrist exuded a special sort of extravagance and strangeness. Sophia had a fondness for his light brownplexion. Nowadays, fair skin was no longer mainstream in foreign countries; healthy, wheatish skin like his was favored instead. Plenty of people enjoyed sunbathing because they wanted their skin to achieve this shade of brown. N?velDrama.Org holds ? this. Certain people even had the mentality that a person¡¯s skin tone and figure determined their social ss. Foreign eateries mainly served what Cethosians considered to be junk food¡ªhigh-calorie fried chicken and hamburgers were their staples. As the average person couldn¡¯t afford to hire a private trainer, the foreigners were usually plump and overweight. Not to mention, they worked long hours and had no time for vacation, so their skin wasparably fairer. Hence, if a person had fair skin and was fat, they were undoubtedly from the lower sses. Conversely, the rich could hire professional dieticians and private trainers to keep them in shape. With the money they possessed, they could go on vacations to get tanned. Thus, one could tell Bailey¡¯s financial status and social standing just by looking at his figure and complexion. Wow, he¡¯s only fifteen, but he already has muscles, Sophia thought as she ogled him. Michael, on the other hand, was figuring out ways to get the bracelet back. Bailey suddenly stood up and said, ¡°I¡¯m done eating. Thank you for the hospitality.¡± With that, he picked up his belongings and turned around to go to the court. ¡°You only ate an apple and a chicken wing; you should eat more! I still have pork trotters and some lamb shoulder!¡± Sophia called after him in a hurried tone. Bailey replied, ¡°I¡¯m going to y basketball, so I can¡¯t eat too much!¡± Seeing as Bailey didn¡¯t want it, Stanley gave a ¡®whoop¡¯ and pounced on the chance to take it. Chewing on a pork trotter, he eximed, ¡°Since the foreigner doesn¡¯t know how to eat your pork trotters, you can give them all to me!¡± Michael took a piece of pork trotter as well and tore fiercely into it, all the while thinking to himself, He¡¯s the pig that should be turned into a dish! Bailey had arrived at the court and was already active. His agile body darted left and right, and he could even shoot perfect three-pointers. He was only fifteen years old, but he was already a little taller than Nathan. At an estimated height of nearly 1.8 meters, he was almost capable of performing a m- dunk. Sophia watched him y as she nibbled on one of the choctes. If she was a few years younger, and if she hadn¡¯t met Michael, she would have pursued Bailey. He¡¯s so cute with those long eyshes, long legs, and that beautiful face¡­ She had the sudden desire to ce him under her household register. Michael noticed that Bailey had taken off his bracelet as soon as he got on the court and that he had passed it to a bodyguard, who was standing to one side. Michael¡¯s eyes lit up. He cast Nathan a meaningful nce, and the two of them went up to the court. They couldn¡¯t publicly grab it, and they couldn¡¯t steal it either. Their only choice was to stay near him, then wait for a chance to take back the bracelet. On the court, Michael immediately made his way toward Bailey. He and Nathan converged on Bailey from both sides. As long as they managed to snatch the ball from him, they would take turns shoving him. Bailey could obviously feel the malice they felt toward him. He didn¡¯t know why these two ¡®youngsters¡¯ resented him so much, but since they were here, he wouldn¡¯t back down. He would meet their attacks with calmness; it was two against one. The courage and tranquility he showed were unlike that of a fifteen-year-old kid. Stanley, who was by the sidelines watching the game, could tell that something was up. He said, ¡°Aunt Sophia, look at my uncle. Why¡¯s he being so hard on the kid?¡± Shaking her head, Sophia reckoned Michael had a short fuse. All Bailey did was eat one of their chicken wings! Did he have to be so hateful? Carmen tugged anxiously at Quinton. ¡°Uncle Quinton, look! Daddy is bullying Mr. Bailey; go and help him!¡± Quinton too felt that Michael had gone too far to pick on a kid. He rubbed his mouth, then rushed up to the court with excitement. He hadn¡¯t yed ball with Michael before, so this was his chance to see if he could beat him! Quinton joined in and quickly snatched the ball from Michael¡¯s grasp before passing it to Bailey. Michael started, ¡°Quinton, you¡ª¡± Quinton gave him a sly smile. With Quinton stirring up trouble, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to mess with Bailey anymore. ¡°How could my uncle pick on a kid? That¡¯s bullying! I can¡¯t stand it anymore,¡± Stanley mumbled as he tightened his shoces before hurrying over to provide support. Just now, Bailey was alone against the two of them; now, it was three against two. Michael was so angry that he nearly ran forward to kick the two of them who were in the way. Turning toward the people on the mat, he shouted, ¡°Is no oneing over to help?¡± Sean didn¡¯t much enjoy ying basketball, and he was toozy to wash his hands every time, but Michael seemed to be sending out a distress call. Sean could tell that Carmen liked Bailey very much, while Michael didn¡¯t. He always looked like he wanted to beat the kid up. Sean got up reluctantly, preparing to go into battle. All of a sudden, Celine popped up like a husky, then ran over. ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming!¡± Turns out he was asking for Celine¡¯s help! With Celine in the mix, Michael¡¯s team was further strengthened. His superiority was restored as the game evened out into a three-on-three match. He had wanted to use this chance to retrieve the bracelet; who knew that he would be so shamelessly defeated by Bailey? Although Michael had the heart and face of an eighteen-year-old, his body was nearly in its forties. He was simply no match for this fifteen-year-old boy. But his wife and his daughter were still watching, so he couldn¡¯t give in! Right now, bringing Bailey to his knees was more important than getting the bracelet back. Everyone on the court was brimming with energy. Stanley, Quinton, and Bailey were up against Michael, Celine, and Nathan. All of them were full of vigor and vitality. A momentter, Harry and Sarah turned up with their son. ¡°Hey! Why didn¡¯t anyone call us out to y?¡± Harry joined them as soon as he arrived. In the end, Sean, listless as he was, was dragged into the game. With the addition of two more people, they could finally form two groups and have a real match. Chapter 1388 Chapter 1388 Since a group of idols was ying basketball, it was not strange that they had attracted plenty of onlookers. Bayside University was Michael and Harry¡¯s alma mater, so the two of them were often seen in school ¡ªup to the point where the students were no longer surprised to see them. At this moment, students who had nothing to do had gathered around to watch the game. The two teams yed with all they had. Sitting to one side, Sophia ate jellies, choctes, and roasted seeds as she watched them battle it out. During half-time, Michael quickly gathered his teammates to discuss strategies to defeat their opponent. The score was currently tied, so they had to be more aggressive than they were in the first half. ¡°All of you, take on the other three; leave Bailey to me!¡± As they talked about the tactics they would use, Michael turned and saw the other team huddled together, discussing strategies as well. To his horror, he watched as Carmen scampered over with a bottle of water in hand. Giving the bottle to Bailey, she said sweetly, ¡°Bailey, have some water!¡± Bailey thanked her before epting the bottle and taking a few small sips. Boom, boom, boom! In just a split second, thunderbolts struck Michael¡¯s world. For the third time today, his eyes darkened, and he barely restrained himself from unleashing fury on Bailey. Everyone understood right away. No wonder Michael wanted to have a go at Bailey so badly today! Fortunately, Sophia had the good sense to bring Michael water, and she even gave him wet wipes to clean his face. ¡°That¡¯s quite enough. It¡¯s highly inappropriate to mistreat a kid and glower at him like this. Many people are watching!¡± Gritting his teeth, Michael¡¯s gaze was fixed on Bailey as he said in a low voice, ¡°Stay out of this.¡± Just watch; I¡¯m going to end him today! The second half of the game began. Michael had gone mad and focused on Bailey alone. With no consideration for his teammates¡¯ assistance, they constantly lost possession of the ball. In the end, they lost to their opponent by several points. When they summed up their experience, everyone med Michael for being blinded by hatred. He didn¡¯t care for teamwork, and hepletely ignored the strategies they had decided to use, choosing to focus on Bailey instead. When the match was over, it was already time for dinner. Sophia suggested, ¡°Let¡¯s go to Crimson House! It¡¯s Uncle Taylor¡¯s treat!¡± Michael had lost a battle today; he didn¡¯t manage to get the bracelet back and had caused his team to lose instead, so he was more than willing to pay for this meal. That was until Sophia enthusiastically beckoned Bailey over. ¡°Bailey, let¡¯s go eat together! The world¡¯s best actor is buying!¡± Bailey¡¯s expression was cool as he responded, ¡°That¡¯s fine. I still have other ns¡ª¡± Before he could finish, Sarah cut in, ¡°What other ns could you have at this hour? Come on; let¡¯s go. Someone¡¯s paying for it; it¡¯ll be a waste if you don¡¯t join us!¡± Carmen chimed in excitedly, ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go, Bailey! It¡¯s Daddy¡¯s treat, so eat as much as you want!¡± With Sophia tugging from in front and Sarah pushing from behind, this second-generation ¡®old son-in- law¡¯ was sessfully persuaded to follow. Michael glowered, and for the fourth time today, he wanted to pounce on Bailey. When they reached Crimson House, Sophia intentionally sat beside Bailey, pampering him and showering him with warmth. Knowing that he wasn¡¯t used to Cethosian food, everyone chose his country¡¯s cuisine; Sophia even went so far as to order Crimson House¡¯s most expensive dish. They ordered more than a dozen dishes as Michael watched on unblinkingly. She wasn¡¯t even this generous when she treated me to a meal! At the end of the day, Michael was the one who had to pick up the bill. He was quickly beginning to see stars. This day couldn¡¯t get any worse. As Sophia had invited the ¡®old son-inw¡¯ to dinner, everything was considerably more ostentatious, and she treated him with extreme generosity. It was truly a rare sight to behold, as she was usually stingy and it was nearly impossible to get her to have a sumptuous meal outside. It was hard to believe that she was willing to fork out so much for Bailey today. Everyone just couldn¡¯t help but adore Bailey, the old son-inw. It was as if Sophia had forgotten that Michael was paying for the meal. Everyone was in a jolly mood during tonight¡¯s meal, and even Bailey was infected by the bubbly atmosphere, asionally speaking up. Michael was the only one who ate with a sour feeling in his gut. After saying their farewells, Michael was too enraged to speak on the way home. As for Sophia and her daughter, they simply leaned on him and dozed off. When they arrived home, the mother and daughter pair seemed to be in good spirits as soon as they stepped into the house. Cooper, who was already in his pajamas, was in the living room watching television. Theo was once again watching ¡®The Bright Sword¡¯; this was his third time watching the show. Cooper had a sudden interest in the show as well, so he watched it together with Theo. ¡°Grandpa Cooper! Grandpa Theo!¡± Carmen ran in as soon as they got home. Cooper caught her and gave her a kiss, then asked, ¡°Where did you go today, sweetie? Why are you so happy?¡± Carmen answered gleefully, ¡°We went to Daddy and Mommy¡¯s school to y today!¡± Sophia added delightedly, ¡°Everyone had a great time today! Mikey even yed ball the whole afternoon!¡± The mother and daughter pair happily recounted the day¡¯s events¡ªit was warm out today, the food they brought was delicious, and the basketball match was utterly intense; at the end of the day, Michael even treated everyone to a big meal! It seemed that both mother and daughter¡¯s experience today had beenpletely different from what Michael had gone through. At this moment, Michael felt some of his tension vanish. He realized that his wife and daughter¡¯s happiness was more important than getting back those three apricot kernels. Even though he didn¡¯t manage to reim the apricot kernels, everyone seemed to have had a good time today. Sadly for him, his reliefsted less than twelve hours. When he started work on set early the next morning, everyone came over to congratte him, leaving him baffled. He turned on his phone, only to see the day¡¯s headline: ¡®Shocker! Taylor Murray¡¯s five-year-old daughter¡¯s love affair exposed! The Academy Award winner¡¯s son-inw turned out to be the young president of the Adams Group!¡¯ Clicking on the news article, he saw pictures of scenes from yesterday at Bayside University. There were pictures of Carmen smiling as she handed an apple to Bailey, Carmen smiling as she gave Bailey water, and Carmen smiling as she looked up at Bailey. She was beaming from ear to ear in every picture and her entire face was as sweet as honey¡ªshe looked like she was truly in love. As he scrolled through the article, Michael¡¯s expression darkened. While he seethed with anger toward Bailey, Lucy¡¯s engagement party was in the works. Looking at the invitation, Sophia felt hesitant. The big day was approaching, but she didn¡¯t know if she should go. Lucy didn¡¯t agree to the wedding in the first ce, and to make matters worse, Jordan would probably be there. Jordan had even sent an invitation specifically for Cooper. No matter how Sophia looked at it, it seemed like a trap, but perhaps she was overthinking it. It was unlikely that Jordan would create trouble at Lucy¡¯s engagement party. The party pretty much signified a marriage alliance for the Edwards Group, so it was unlikely that he would mess it up. After pondering over it, Sophia decided not to go. Unexpectedly, on the day before the party, Callum suddenly sent her a message: ¡®Sophia, are you coming to tomorrow¡¯s engagement party? You should!¡¯ Sophia replied: ¡®The user you are looking for is dormant. Please transfer 8888 to wake them up.¡¯ ¡®Yikes!¡¯ Callum sent. A momentter, 8888 was transferred to her ount. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Wow!¡± He¡¯s rich, all right! Sophia hurriedly epted the money, then following Callum¡¯s previous ploy, she typed, ¡®For text consultation, please transfer 1111. For voice consultation, please transfer 2222. For video consultation, please transfer 3333.¡¯ Callum proceeded to transfer her 1111. Sophia responded: ¡®Sorry, the user you are looking for has failed to wake up. Please transfer 8888.¡¯ Callum transferred another 8888 to her ount. Speechless, Sophia replied: ¡®I don¡¯t want to go. What¡¯s wrong?¡¯ Callum replied: ¡®There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, but did you know that there¡¯s gonna be serious drama tomorrow? If you don¡¯te, you¡¯ll regret it for the rest of your life!¡¯ Serious drama? Chapter 1389 Chapter 1389 Could it be that Jordan is nning to deal with Cooper at the engagement ceremony? Or did Cooper and Lucy join forces to tackle Jordan? Maybe Cooper and Anna are the ones who want to go after Jordan? ¡°What¡¯s so significant about the event?¡± ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s not a trap,¡± Callum answered. ¡°You¡¯ll know after you arrive. Juste and watch the show ¡ªit¡¯s going to be a big one!¡± A big show? The next day, the stylists arrived on time and dolled Cooper and Linus up. When they left for the banquet, Sophia quickly tagged along to find out what the ¡®big show¡¯ was about. The public was aware that today was the engagement day of the Edwards¡¯ youngdy, Lucy Edwards and her fianc¨¦, a CEO from an overseas corporation. The bridegroom was a sessful and mature man in his fifties. Everyone deemed the couple as a perfect match and that their marriage was a blessing from above. The nosy media couldn¡¯tvish enough praise on the couple, asserting that they were a match made in heaven and the perfectbination. However, none of them dared to publish a picture of the couple. After arriving at the engagement banquet, Sophia finally got to see the ¡®perfect¡¯ fianc¨¦. Oh well, I guess I have to redefine the media¡¯s descriptions¡­ The fianc¨¦ was much older than Jordan. Lucy had now established her influence in the Edwards Group and had conquered every department. Ever since Henry and his twin brother passed away, Callum and Cade seemed to have ceased taking action against the Edwards Group. As such, Lucy would be the future owner of the corporation if everything went well. Numerous big shots from the military, political and business circles showed up at Lucy¡¯s engagement ceremony today. The event was held with great pomp and there were many guests from the bridegroom¡¯s end as well. After years of giving up on keeping his body in good shape, Lucy¡¯s fianc¨¦ had a pot belly which resembled that of a pregnant woman. Standing beside Lucy, he was like a huge barrel whose size was twice as big as hers. Upon seeing that, Sophia murmured inwardly, A toad marrying a swan! However, Lucy had on an affectionate smile. As the fianc¨¦e, she stood beside the toad and chattered delightfully with the guests. With a sweet and happy smile on her face, she looked no different than any other bride. Michael had not shown up on that day because he was caught up with his shooting while the Winston couple was not invited. As such, only Cooper, Linus and Sophia attended the ceremony; it seemed like Cooper had known the toad for some time as thetter had grabbed him and started chattering heartily the moment he saw Cooper arrive. Cooper introduced his children to the toad and the man gave Sophia a kiss on her hand, as per western etiquette. Those few seconds were the most terrible moment of the day for Sophia as she felt like she was being kissed by a pig. After the kiss, the toad continued his friendly chat with Cooper. Much like a frightened cat, Sophia freaked out as she could feel her hand burning and goosebumps erupting all around her body. She then sneaked away and went around to look for a washroom but before she managed to find one, someone patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Hi, Aunt Sophia!¡± Turning around, Sophia saw the inseparable couple¡ªStanley and Sean. They were almost at the same height and even their outfits were identical. Stanley was ipetent at taking care of himself, so Sean had been the one running the household. He was in charge of meals and purchasing essentials, and even Stanley¡¯s outfits were chosen by him. Hence, they often wore identical attires like a pair of twins. Sophia hummed as she rubbed the back of her hand against Stanley¡¯s shirt. Nevertheless, she still felt disgusted. Just as three of them were chatting, Stanley suddenly eximed, ¡°Aunt Sophia, your old son-inw is here!¡± Sophia turned around and saw that Bailey had arrived. Despite his skinny figure, he looked dashing dressed in a ck suit, his dignified and mature auraplementing the look. ¡°Bailey! Over here!¡± Sophia waved at him enthusiastically. However, Bailey furrowed his brows upon seeing her and thereafter ignored her, pretending to not see her. He didn¡¯t even go up to Cooper and greet him. This was because he had read the news and finally knew the reason behind Michael¡¯s unusual hostility toward him. Oh my goodness! I¡¯m not a pedophile; why would I be interested in a five-year-old? On the other hand, the Adams Family seemed to have read the news too and they were overjoyed. Back then, the Adams had rendered assistance to Fass and thetter had agreed to unite the two families in marriage. However, twenty years had passed and they had not heard from him. It turned out that he was nning to marry his granddaughter to Bailey. With that, the marriage between the Adams Family and Michel Family had finally been established. Besides Bailey, Tiffany and Betsy were here too. Tiffany was mad upon knowing Bailey was targeting Cooper¡¯s granddaughter. Never did she expect this brat to have devised such a n! Nheless, she would not easily allow Bailey to marry Cooper¡¯s granddaughter. Hence, she had shown up at the event today and had been looking for Cooper the minute she arrived. Meanwhile, Jordan was here too. Everyone has appeared one after another. It seems like today¡¯s great show is going to¡­ Oh wait¡ª there¡¯s still another family. On a hunch, Sophia looked toward the entrance and saw Callum and Cade arriving right at that moment. They were Lucy¡¯s biological brothers; of course they would attend the event. Thereafter, Anna showed up too. Today, she was dressed in a crescent-colored gown; the fine lines on her face were not signs of aging but further enhanced her mature aura. In fact, changes in her appearance did not affect her elegant qualities as she gave off a mien of dignity and nobility from the inside out. There was a moment of silence at the scene when Anna appeared. As the only woman whom Jordan had made known to the public, she would naturally be the main mistress of Edwards Family in the future, besides her identity as Lucy¡¯s stepmother. As such, everyone was eager to curry favor with her. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Meanwhile, Sophia quickly walked over to Cooper, who was busy talking to Tiffany. He seemed to have not noticed Anna¡¯s arrival but the truth was, he knew she was there. Cooper could immediately sense Anna¡¯s presence as long as they were at the same ce. However, he did not nce toward Anna as it was inappropriate for them to talk to each other at today¡¯s event. Moreover, Jordan was present. Meanwhile, Tiffany was stuck close to Cooper, her bosom right in his face. ¡°Coop, are you really going to let Carmen marry Bailey? She is still so young. You can¡¯t be this cruel,¡± Tiffany murmured in a coquettish manner. Hearing that, Cooper frowned. This woman always talks to the others in a distinct and direct way but will change her tone every time she talks with me; it really makes me ufortable. Can¡¯t she just talk properly? ¡°Where did you hear that from? Carmen is still so young. Of course I won¡¯t let her marry now.¡± With that, Tiffany was finally relieved. Nevertheless, seeing that Anna was here, she continued sticking around Cooper and held him by the arm as she behaved in a flirtatious manner. Even though Tiffany was in her forties, her coquettish behavior seemed extremely natural. She knew Anna must have been looking at them. s, Cooper was not Anna¡¯s; she could not do anything besides peek at him. On the other hand, Anna had long understood Tiffany¡¯s triumphant look. She felt a tinge of dismay as the smile on her face gradually turned stiff. At the same time, Jordan had spotted her and was walking toward her. The two lovers could not be together and they couldn¡¯t even look directly into each other¡¯s eyes; neither were the ones standing beside them the ones they loved. However, this was only temporary to Cooper! Chapter 1390 Chapter 1390 ¡°Dad.¡± Knowing Cooper must have felt depressed, Sophia quickly walked over to him. His little sweetheart wanted to lighten up his mood. However, Cooper seemed to be unperturbed as he smiled at her. ¡°I¡¯m fine, darling. Go talk to your friends. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Nevertheless, the tinge of disappointment and dismay in his eyes was unmistakable. That being said, Cooper already had a n. Sophia knew he was sad and it made her want to stay by his side all the more to keep him entertained. Tiffany too quickly came to fawn over Sophia and it turned to be a harmonious chat among the ¡®family¡¯ of three. Even so, there were some who simply would not allow Cooper to be this lighthearted. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯re here!¡± Jordan¡¯s ardent voice emerged from the crowd as he held Anna¡¯s hand and walked spiritedly toward Cooper. It seemed like he had recovered from the grief of losing his sons. Looking calm and indifferent, Cooper greeted him, ¡°Hi, Jordan. How are you?¡± Greeting each other enthusiastically, the two men were like brothers who had not met each other for years even though thest time they met, Jordan¡¯s son had abducted Carmen and they were at daggers drawn. Back then, Cooper really wanted to take Jordan¡¯s life on the spot. Even so, he would not kill Jordan in a self-destructive manner no matter how much he wished for Jordan to die. He knew he would be in deep water if Jordan had died back then. Cooper didn¡¯t want to get himself into trouble just because of a wretched man. Moreover, his family and loved ones would be implicated too. Till now, the cause of Henry and Ryan¡¯s ne crash remained unknown. Cethos had shirked their responsibility. After all, the ident happened beyond their territory, so the government had no intention to bother with it. The ne crashed in a small country in West Asia and the Michel Military Group happened to be the largest weapons manufacturer for said country. Investigations revealed that there was a malfunction in the ne engine, causing it to crash into a snow mountain. However, Jordan knew the ne was shot down by a missile and the mastermind was either the Fletcher Family or Cooper. To him, there was no difference between the two. The hatred Jordan had toward them for killing his sons was irreconcble and a blood feud had started to rage between them. Holding Anna¡¯s hand, Jordan walked toward Cooper while he guffawed. ¡°Annie and I are so d that you¡¯re here, Cooper!¡± With her hand being clutched by Jordan, Anna greeted Cooper with a smile. On the other hand, Tiffany leaned closer to Cooper. She felt sorry for him and didn¡¯t want him to be embarrassed. She thought she looked much more attractive than Anna, and that she was a better match for Cooper. Besides, Tiffany wanted to make Anna realize who was the one qualified to stand beside Cooper. And so, the four of them greeted each other with a grin on their faces. Nevertheless, only they themselves knew what was on their minds. Just as Sophia was depressed to see her parents forcing a smile on their faces, she saw Callum and Cade, who were standing behind Jordan, wink at her. It seemed like they were signaling something big was going to happen and were asking her to get ready for the show. Cheering up, Sophia gazed back and forth to seek the ¡®big show¡¯. However, before she could spot anything special, Jordan held Anna¡¯s hand joyfully and announced to Cooper, ¡°Today is Lucy¡¯s wedding ceremony. After this, Annie and I are going to ren our engagement banquet too.¡± Cooper¡¯s smile faltered upon hearing these words, though he had made every effort to resist his disappointment and distress deep down. Jordan seemed to have not noticed it as he looked at Anna affectionately and murmured, ¡°Last time, our engagement ceremony was interrupted due to an ident. I¡¯ll definitely not allow anyone to disrupt our ceremony this time.¡± Before Anna could say anything, a crisp voice emerged behind Jordan. ¡°Jordan¡ª¡± There was a sudden change in Jordan and Anna¡¯s expression upon hearing that voice. While both of them seemed surprised, Jordan¡¯s expression wasplicated¡ªa mix of shock, anger, astonishment, and even awkwardness. Secretly ncing at Cooper, Anna noticed his lips subtly curving upward into acent smile. Anna seemed to have perceived something as she gave Cooper a mysterious, quick smile while the others¡¯ attention was attracted toward the voice. ¡°I¡¯m here, Jordan!¡± The appealing female voice most probably belonged to a woman in her twenties. While Jordan turned around to look for the youngdy, Anna quickly stood aside and pulled out her arm from Jordan¡¯s hold, thereafter keeping a distance from him. Herees the big show! Holding her breath, Sophia could see from the gap between Jordan and Anna that a youngdy, who seemed to be in her twenties, was walking toward Jordan with a sweet smile on her face. Looking noble and gorgeous, thedy had fair skin and beautiful eyes, looking extraordinarily angelic. With a pair of dimples in her cheek when she smiled, she gave off an extremely pleasant aura. Thedy glided toward Jordan. From where Sophia was standing, she could see thedy standing in between Jordan and Anna, and was moving closer to him. She then swiftly held Jordan¡¯s arm and with that, she had delicately separated Anna and him. Though it appeared to be just a casual posture, Sophia could sense thedy¡¯s aggressiveness. ¡°Jordaine, what brings you here?¡± Jordan was surprised to see the woman with a pair of dimples. Thedy named Jordaine answered, ¡°I came for a business talk and decided to drop by.¡± It seemed like she was an unexpected guest who came without receiving an invitation. Nevertheless, not only was Jordaine not ashamed of turning up uninvited, she even obtrusively stood in between Jordan and Anna, recing Anna as she introduced herself to Cooper in a self-assured manner. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hi, you must be Cooper! I¡¯ve seen you on the parent-child show. I¡¯m Jordaine Marks from Marks Real Estates. This is my card.¡± Cooper, Tiffany and Sophia each received a card from the woman. Sophia nced at her name and position written on the card, Jordaine Marks, Regional President of Marks Real Estates. Jordaine¡­ Jordan¡­ What a cringy name! As such, Ms. Jordaine¡¯s identity was bing increasingly obvious. ¡°I¡¯m Jordan¡¯s lover.¡± Pleasantly introducing herself, Jordaine pretended to have not seen Anna¡ªwho stood next to her¡ª and was the only official fianc¨¦e dered by Jordan. In contrast, the woman arrogantly presented herself and usurped the hostess¡¯ role while Anna was left aside and deemed invisible by Jordaine. Sophia stood off to one side, her eyes wide. So this is the big show Callum was asking me to watch¡ªto see Jordan getting into trouble! Right after Jordan announced his engagement with Anna, here came a mistress. This had caught him off guard and he looked extremely awkward. Obviously, Jordaine¡¯s status was not ordinary. As the person-in-charge of an overseas prominent Cethosian conglomerate, she was probably one among Jordan¡¯s many mistresses who could be deemed to be in the same league as Anna. Even Jordan was reluctant to fall out with her. At the same time, Jordaine clearly intended to stir up trouble by showing up unexpectedly today. This is getting interesting! Sophia eximed to herself excitedly. Meanwhile, Cooper had started shooting the breeze with Jordaine. After introducing themselves, they exchanged their cards and even introduced their children to each other. ¡°This is my daughter, Sophia, and my son, Linus.¡± Cooper presented Linus and Cooper to Jordaine. Standing behind Jordaine was an adorable man who had a baby face and a pair of dimples, which was simr to Jordaine¡¯s. Taller than Jordaine, the man appeared to be in his twenties and he seemed to be Jordaine¡¯s older brother. After all, a brother should show up in this kind of setting to back his sister up. ¡°This is Jordan and my eldest son, Moore Edwards.¡± Jordaine introduced the youngd standing behind her. With that, Sophia was rendered speechless. Chapter 1391 Chapter 1391 Sophia nced at Jordaine. Though Jordaine was a graceful, poised young mistress, at the very most she looked thirty years old, her eyes filled with vigor resembling that of a youngdy. There were barely any fine lines on her face and neck, so how could her son possibly be in his twenties? Did this woman drink some sort of magical concoction? Perhaps it was her baby face that made her look youthful. Sarah had a baby face too, and even until now she looked like an eighteen-year-old lolita. ording to Sophia¡¯s estimation, Jordaine should be at least in her forties, yet she was such a great beauty. She must be one of the most gorgeous and outstanding women in Jordan¡¯s harem. Sophia reckoned her level would resemble that of a noble consort, or even an imperial noble consort. Jordaine even dared to show up without being invited and take Anna¡¯s ce. At that moment, the atmosphere became rather awkward. Initially, Jordan was nning to bring Anna along to torture Cooper; never did he expect that Jordaine would appear all of a sudden and mess up his n. Meanwhile, Anna pretended to be upset and left the scene in ¡®dismay¡¯. Jordan wanted to chase after her but Jordaine held his arm and said pitifully, ¡°Jordan, do you think I¡¯ve embarrassed you by showing up uninvited?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Jordan quickly cooed. ¡°I¡¯m d you are here.¡± The others could tell that Jordan wished to chase after Anna, but Jordaine did not want him to stay close to her. Since Jordaine had shown up today, she was determined to have Jordan all to herself. Soon, Lucy walked over and Jordaine immediately introduced herself. ¡°You must be Lucy. I¡¯m Jordaine. Come over here, Moore; meet your elder sister.¡± Apparently, Lucy had not expected this scene to happen. Where on earth did Jordainee from? Oh well¡ªshe must be another mistress of Jordan¡¯s. Lucy greeted Jordaine and her son cordially. Moore did not seem to be as rebellious and disruptive as Ryan and his twin brother, nor did his character resemble that of Callum and Cade¡¯s. Nevertheless, he was not an ordinary man either. With that, the family met each other harmoniously. Momentster, the two groups of people parted ways. As the bride¡¯s father, Jordan would naturally have to go greet the guests. Along with his old, ugly son-inw and his angelic, adorable baby-face lover, Jordan chattered with guests from all walks of life. Cooper looked at Jordan¡¯s hideous pig-like old son-inw and thought of his very own. For the first time, he thought Michael¡¯s appearance was indeed quite pleasant. Holding Jordan¡¯s arm, Jordainepletely deemed herself as the hostess as she introduced herself and their son to everyone they met. Both Jordan and the guests looked awkward. It seems like this isn¡¯t the woman who was standing by him just now; he has switched his partner after just a few minutes! Nheless, no one dared to dish the dirt and they were forced to act along. Enjoying the big scene, Sophia started to suspect that Jordaine and Cooper had ganged up. Meanwhile, Anna and her two sons were chatting with the guests at another spot. She seemed to have deliberately kept a distance from Jordaine, while Jordaine too deemed Anna and her two sons invisible. Soon, every guest at the engagement ceremony became aware of Jordaine¡¯s existence and that she was Jordan¡¯s lover. Though it was normal for wealthy families to have plenty of illicit affairs, it was rare to see the hostess and the mistress showing up at the same ce like today, and both women¡¯s status were not ordinary. Everyone was secretly gossiping among themselves and Stanley the busybody was one of them. ¡°Sophia, did you see that? Jordan changed his wife again! Jordaine¡­ What a cringy name!¡± Even Stanley could tell that Jordaine was here to stir up trouble; she became even more dazzling than the bride-to-be the moment she appeared. Carrying herself as Mrs. Edwards, Jordainepletely deemed Anna the fianc¨¦e invisible, and Anna was left out in the cold. Meanwhile, Sean stared at the card from Jordaine. Never had he expected that Jordaine was one of Jordan¡¯s mistresses too. Jordaine¡¯s father was the ex-owner of Marks Real Estates¡ªa Cethosian conglomerate¡ªand she was the youngest daughter of her father¡¯s second wife. Given her identity as the second wife¡¯s youngest daughter, she was destined to be out of the league to be the sessor of Marks Real Estates because she had a few elder brothers; on top of that, she was an illegitimate child. However, she managed to defeat her elder siblings and sessfully ventured into Marks Real Estates when she was twenty-one years old. She even managed to secure a key position and became the owner of the corporation a few yearster. On the other hand, herpetitors passed on one after another in different idents. Jordaine was not married throughout the years and only had a son whose father was unknown. In recent years, her son had started making his mark in Marks Real Estates but he had been using another nickname. And so, it was the first time Sean was made known to Moore¡¯s actual name, and the fact that Moore was Jordan¡¯s son. It was worth noting that her name wasn¡¯t originally Jordaine, and that she had changed her name to Jordaine at the age of twenty-one following an expert¡¯s advice. From then on, there was a twist of fate and Jordaine got her way from being the insignificant young daughter to bing the person-in- charge of Marks Real Estates. Everyone said that she had made the right pick of her new name. Well, it seems like Jordan must be the expert then. The rise of Jordaine was extremely simr to that of Anna¡¯s. Both of them started off as an insignificant nobody and gradually conquered the top position. They would not be able to attain such great achievements by themselves. There must be some powerful force backing them up, which was none other than Jordan. As such, the actual controller of Marks Real Estates now should be Jordan. Without revealing his real identity, Jordan sessfully made use of two women and ruled over two largest overseas Cethosian corporations. Sean was indeed impressed at his ability. There were always a few geniuses in this world. Anna and Jordaine were the two most powerful women among Jordan¡¯s other mistresses. Before this, they were on good terms as Jordan had not appointed an official ¡®queen¡¯, and both of them were of the same level. Besides, the two women were geographically distant from each other and rarely had time to meet up, so there were no disputes between them. However, Jordan had now announced to the public that he was going to marry Anna and they even held an engagement banquet, though it was eventually ruined by an ident. As such, Jordan was deemed to have already appointed the ¡®queen¡¯. Naturally, the other mistresses would be unhappy. With her supreme status, Jordaine was in the same league as Anna. And so, she became the first one to stand out and cause a scene in public. Obviously, Jordan was put in a difficult position. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. In fact, he had skimmed through the guest list for Lucy¡¯s engagement banquet. Since he had invited Anna, he would surely not invite Jordaine. No one would be able to enter the banquet hall without an invitation letter. So how did Jordaine and her son manage toe in without an invitation letter? Hmm, this is really interesting¡­ Just then, Sophia felt her phone vibrate in her purse. Taking it out, she saw a message from Callum. ¡®How¡¯s the show, Sophia? Isn¡¯t it fantastic? Let me give you a heads-up;ing up next is something even more exciting.¡¯ With her gossipy side triggered, Sophia hurriedly typed, ¡®Please give me a spoiler!¡¯ Callum replied, ¡®My father is going to propose to my mother tonight. All the props are ready and it is meant to be a huge surprise. He prepared the mostvish marriage proposal of all in Bayside City for my mother. He even spent tens of millions on it.¡¯ ¡®Oh my goodness! LOL!¡¯ Sophia replied. Callum continued with his narration. ¡®The drones are prepared to present the diamond ring and engagement gifts. There are up to a hundred kilograms of flowers and all of them were freshly plucked today.¡¯ ¡®They¡¯ve invited the most popr band and dance group from Europe, who are now getting ready backstage.¡¯ ¡®Also, there¡¯s going to be a humongous firework show which will light up half of Bayside City. The cost of the fireworks is on average a hundred thousand per second and the show willst for half an hour. It will be more exciting than celebrating the new year!¡¯ ¡®Actually, fireworks have now been prohibited in Bayside City, so Jordan had to visit many government departments to obtain permission for this firework show.¡¯ Chapter 1392 Chapter 1392 ording to Callum¡¯s description, Sophia could tell that the unprecedented proposal would certainly leave everyone astonished. Even if Jordaine did not show up today, Lucy would still y the deuteragonist while Anna became the focus. Apanied by the performances and magnificent firework show, Jordan would then present to Anna the grandest proposal and put a diamond ring on her ring finger, which was a symbol of love. On the other hand, Cooper could do nothing but watch helplessly as another man proposed to his precious woman. This was Jordan¡¯s motive when he sent Cooper an invitation. s, Jordaine appeared. Gaining the upper hand, she followed Jordan around like a shadow and regarded herself as Jordan¡¯s legitimate partner while casting out Anna. Looking at Jordaine who was sticking to Jordan, Sophia couldn¡¯t hold back herughter as she thought of the proposal which Jordan had exquisitely prepared. I wonder how Jordan is going to sort this out. Soon, Lucy¡¯s engagement ceremony began. What happened next was the typical procedures, such as reciting vows and exchanging rings. Lucy and the toad were even moved to tears as they hugged and vowed to stay by each other¡¯s sides for a lifetime. Romeo and Juliet finally lived happily ever after, yada yada. All these were just meaningless clich¨¦. Toward the end of the ceremony, everyone raised a toast and thereafter the performers were invited onto the stage. With her eyes wide open, Sophia was eager to witness Jordan¡¯s proposal. Unfortunately, Jordaine¡¯s presence implied that thevish proposal was destined to not take ce today. Obviously, Jordan was now on pins and needles but he couldn¡¯t excuse himself at all, as Jordaine was holding his arm the whole time. Sophia kept staring at Jordan, wondering when he would take out the ring. As such, she did not notice that Cooper was gone. ¡°Where¡¯s Dad?¡± Sophia asked Linus. However, Linus merely put on a mysterious smile. Sophia nced around the hall. True enough, Anna had disappeared too. Meanwhile, being held down by Jordaine, Jordan was surrounded by the crowd and he seemed to be clueless about Cooper and Anna¡¯s disappearance. It was chaos and Jordan had not been able to keep an eye on Anna. Moreover, neither would Jordaine allow him to nce toward Anna, not even for the slightest bit. On the other hand, Sophia had found a spot to sit down and have a chat with Sean. Possessing both a man¡¯s boldness and a woman¡¯s delicacy, Sean was an observant person and he would always have a unique perception regarding matters. ¡°It is definitely a risky move for Jordan to announce his rtionship with Anna to the public. Jordaine is just his first problem,¡± Sean murmured. Jordan could easily publish a book on methods to handle women. There were not just sweet and pretty girls within his harem, there were extremely capable businesswomen too. Nheless, he managed all of them in a harmonious and orderly manner and it had not blown up in his face for the past twenty years¡ªhe was indeed something. However, the public announcement of him getting engaged with Anna had undoubtedly dropped a bomb among his concubines. With that, the harmony that had been established for the past twenty years was going to be shattered. Recently, many issues were arising within Jordan¡¯s harem. Besides the fact that there were outsiders who deliberately stirred up trouble, internal problems existed too because his other women were unhappy about him devoting all his love toward Anna alone. Sophia could understand. She had onlye across three of Jordan¡¯s mistresses, yet all three were not easy to deal with. One of them was the woman who impersonated Annabel. Though she knew she would eventually lose her life, the woman still went ahead. She even volunteered to be a surrogate mother for the sake of Anna and had undergone multiple stic surgeries to achieve an appearance which resembled Annabel. Her fanaticism had freaked Sophia out. Then there was Jordaine and Anna, who were both big shots. Those were the three women that Sophia knew. Dealing with so many scheming, ambitious women, isn¡¯t Jordan afraid that someday the peaceful ocean will suddenly turn into a threatening tsunami and engulf him? So, why did he announce his marriage with Anna and break the peace with his own hands? Is it because of love? Or he merely wants to deal a blow to Cooper by deliberately marrying Anna to break Cooper¡¯s heart? Or has he noticed Anna¡¯s betrayal and wants to tie her down with the marriage? No matter which reason it is, the price that Jordan has to pay is tremendous. Jordan was a wise man and he would not make such a mistake. From Sean¡¯s perspective, Jordan would rather give equal attention to all mistresses, allowing them to live in harmony. He would definitely not devote all his love toward one person and cause a turbulence within his harem, because the consequences would be dire if that happened. Now, Jordan had turned his harem into a ticking time bomb though he could have absolutely removed it given his ability. Nevertheless, Cooper¡¯s interference had posed the greatest threat, so Cooper had be Jordan¡¯s main enemy at the moment. If Cooper didn¡¯t meddle with his affairs, Jordan would be confident in handling the women. However, in contrast, Jordan had now introduced Anna to the public and disrupted the original harmony within his harem. And yet, he didn¡¯t seem to be concerned if Cooper would stir up more trouble. As such, Sean inferred that Jordan must be holding a trump card in his hands which he could use to deal with Cooper. With that, Sean felt faintly disturbed. What could be the trump card that Jordan is holding? In the past, Cooper was a malicious and ruthless beast. It was as if his whole body was covered with back scales, thus it was impossible to hurt him because there was nowhere one couldy a finger on him. However, he had weaknesses now; his enemy just had to go after his weaknesses if they wanted to destroy him. Sean subconsciously nced toward Sophia, who stared at Jordan eagerly as she was looking forward to seeing him pulling out the engagement ring. Sean too casted his eyes toward Jordan and thereafter lost himself in thought. He could no longer specte Jordan¡¯s mind from the perspective of a normal person. It hade to a point where at times, Jordan did not act against humans in order to achieve an objective but he merely did it for pleasure. As Cooper¡¯s close confidant, Sean was aware of much insider information because Cooper would often turn to him for advice in making decisions. As such, he was conversant with the issues regarding Jordan, Cooper and Anna. Recently, Sean had been pondering why Jordan had not gotten rid of Cooper and Annabel¡¯s two kids when he took Annabel away back then. Cooper was only eighteen that year. Having noticed him for some time, Jordan had nted Annabel beside Cooper when he was only sixteen years old. At that time, there was no enmity between Cooper and Jordan nor was there any actual conflict of interest. The Mitchells and the Edwards had always established a cordial rtionship between the two families via marriages and business partnerships. However, Jordan turned out to have nned several years in advance to tackle Cooper, and his ultimate scheme was to use a woman to ruin Cooper. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Jordan hated Cooper to the core and he would definitely not want Cooper¡¯s offspring to stay alive. Sean and Cooper once spent a long time mulling over this issue and toward the end, their only exnation was that Jordan deliberately allowed Cooper¡¯s children to be homeless so they would suffer. Indeed, Cooper was heartbroken after being made known to the truth yearster. Cooper was not even familiar with Jordan as they were only on nodding terms, yet Jordan did everything possible to ruin him. Is this man a psychopath? Clueless of Jordan¡¯s scheme, Sean became increasingly perturbed. ¡°Oh¡ªI just thought of something¡­¡± Standing beside Sean, Sophia suddenly eximed enthusiastically, ¡°My father¡¯s drug manufacturing company has recentlyunched a sperm bank. We¡¯re now having an opening promotion and you can freeze your second batch of sperm for free! Come for sperm freezing, guys!¡± Pfft! Wine spurted out of a few guests¡¯ mouths in unison. Chapter 1393 Chapter 1393 Recently, the Michel Medical Technology Company had established a cryobank and their branch in Cethos had caused an uproar in Bayside City. Stanley wiped his mouth and nced around. True enough, the people surrounding them were giving them weird looks. He nearly wanted to pounce on Sophia and cover her mouth. ¡°Aunt, can you keep a low profile on this kind of matters? It¡¯s so embarrassing to promote it!¡± Puzzled, Sophia answered, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal. I¡¯ve frozen a few eggs too; it¡¯s just an insurance for my n of having a second child in the future.¡± Stanley wanted to retort but Sophia had already started lecturing him. ¡°Mr. Stanley, please allow me to give you a gentle reminder¡ªyou¡¯re almost thirty years old and the quality of your sperm will decline if you don¡¯t freeze them now. When that happens, it will be toote to freeze them.¡± Stanley instantly blushed when Sophia brought up this matter. ¡°Aunt, I¡¯m begging you! Can you please keep a low profile on this? Even if I want to freeze my sperm, I will do it secretly. Have you seen anyone pleasantly announcing to the public about them freezing their sperm?¡± Sophia stared at Stanley disgustedly. Nowadays, sessful individuals from the upper ss regarded their career as their utmost priority when they were young, and many would still not have a child in their thirties and forties as they wished to establish a rewarding career before having children. However, when they had finally achieved career stability in their forties, many were not able to conceive a child anymore. Hence, the cryobank was founded in the perfect era. People could save their best quality genes when their bodies were in the healthiest state. Later on when they were ready to have kids at an older age, they could retrieve the sperm and eggs to be fertilized and transferred back to the wife¡¯s uterus, so the baby could be born naturally. This had be good news to many. Back then, Sophia and Michael too struggled for a long time before sessfully conceiving their child. Besides Sophia¡¯s health issues caused by malnutrition since young, Michael was facing problems too. After all, he was already in his thirties at that time and the quality of his sperm was not as satisfactory as before. They had even frozen their sperm and eggs back then, thinking that a test tube baby would be theirst resort if they still failed to get a child in the future. To Sophia, freezing sperms was just like how she saved Carmen¡¯s milk teeth; both acted as an insurance for the future. Nowadays, many unmarried people from the upper ss had saved their sperm in a cryobank and it became just as normal as saving money in a bank. There was nothing to be embarrassed about! While Linus thought it was not a big deal, Sean smiled awkwardly as Stanley blushed in embarrassment. ¡°Do help me to promote the cryobank in your blind dating group chat. There are many older people in the group who are not married. I¡¯m sure they need this service urgently.¡± Rattling on, Sophia even started advertising the cryobank. ¡°We¡¯re the first private cryobank to obtain a business license in Cethos. Besides sperm freezing, we provide egg freezing services too. Anyone who volunteers to freeze his sperms can even get a discount. If you¡¯re nning to have a baby but don¡¯t want to get married, we can provide top quality sperms or eggs. Our standards for selection are pretty high, so all the gametes are of superior quality. The business just started not long ago and it¡¯s doing great. Many white and gold-cor workers havee to purchase premium gametes from us. You can ask my brother if you¡¯re not convinced.¡± Linus hummed in response. Sophia continued, ¡°Come on, Stan! Your sperm is normally wasted anyway. Why don¡¯t you donate them to me for some money? The Fletchers¡¯ genes are extremely good. We should establish a steady cooperation in the long term and you¡¯ll have kids all around the world when you get older.¡± Her words left Stanley bbergasted. All these corrupted, depraved capitalists! They¡¯re even trading gametes; how is that different from human trafficking? ¡°In your dreams! I¡¯ll never donate the chromosomes passed down from my ancestors!¡± Sophia frowned at Stanley¡¯s huge reaction. ¡°They¡¯re going to be wasted anyway. There¡¯s no harm in donating them and what¡¯s more, you can even get some money.¡± Stanley was again dumbfounded. What is she prattling on about? Frightened by Sophia, Stanley hurriedly fled. On the other hand, Sean thought he could actually give it a try as a n for the future. After all, it was undesirable for Maisie to be alone. He didn¡¯t want to get married but he wished to have his own child. Meanwhile, Jordan had finally realized the disappearance of Cooper and Anna after quite some time. Silently, he shoved Jordaine¡¯s hand away, which was holding tightly onto him, and went to the lounge. Anna and Cooper are together! Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. He could sense a hint of betrayal and adultery. There were multiple individual rooms in the lounge. Many guests came here to catch up with friends while the attendants served them. One by one, Jordan flung the doors open but Anna was nowhere to be seen even after checking several rooms. Jordan, who was normally a calm person, had be flustered at this moment as his rage had ovee his rationality. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Jordan?¡± Jordaine caught up to him and asked. Ignoring her question, Jordan continued searching for Anna through the rooms. His footsteps and breathing became increasingly ragged and he was at the verge of breaking down, his rationality torn apart. He could not withstand Anna being together with another man, not even for a second. Atst, Jordan found Anna. He opened the door and saw Anna sitting on the sofa, gracefully sipping tea while Callum and Cade sat on the other end of the sofa. Three of them seemed to be having a good conversation. Seeing Jordan¡¯s arrival, Anna put down the tea cup and stared at him in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jordan nced around the room suspiciously. There were three people in the room but four cups on the tea tray. To whom does the fourth cup belong to? Who has been here? Jordan seemed to know the answer. This lounge was not too spacious and one could cover the entire room at one nce; there were no other hiding spots besides the washroom. Without uttering a word, Jordan vigntly walked toward the washroom, wishing he could pierce through the door with his sharp and ruthless sight. Approaching the door, Jordan thenid his hand on the handle. He had a strong feeling that Cooper was inside the washroom. He could even hear Cooper breathing. He must havee here to have a secret date with Anna. The rest of them remained silent as they watched Jordan¡¯s actions. Jordaine too seemed to have understood that Jordan came to catch them cheating in the act, so she kept silent and waited for the show. Meanwhile, Callum and Cade too mmed up as they silently watched Jordan. Callum even put on a puzzled expression and asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Father? Do you need to use the washroom?¡± Sitting elegantly on the sofa, Anna remained quiet with a subtle smirk on her delicate features as she watched Jordan attempting to catch them red-handed. cing his hand on the washroom door handle, Jordan hesitated to push open the door because he knew that as soon as he did, there would be an unrestorable fissure between him and Anna. However, he had to lift the veil! Shuddering, his hand pressed on the handle. However, the door did not swing open as it was locked from the inside. Furiously, Jordan knocked at the door and roared, ¡°Come on out, Cooper!¡± Nevertheless, there was no response behind the locked door. Why are Anna and Cooper together? Jordan had devoted his heart toward her in the past thirty years and had given her everything that he deemed was the best. He even assisted her to be the master of Yard Family. Why did she still choose to betray him? And why must it be with Cooper? Jordan kicked madly at the door, his rationalitypletely engulfed by his wrath. Chapter 1394 Chapter 1394 Unexpectedly, he suddenly heard a woman¡¯s scream of horror. ¡°Please give me a moment!¡± Immediately after, there came the sound of the toilet flushing and ady opened the door. As soon as she pushed the door open, she saw Jordan, who looked enraged. Startled, she stuttered, ¡°M-Mr. Edwards!¡± At the same time, Anna stood up and grabbed her bag. ¡°I have a meeting tonight,¡± she murmured coldly. ¡°Callum and Cade, let¡¯s go.¡± Hearing this, the twins grabbed their bags and the three of them left in a hurry. It was only then that Jordan came back to his senses. He was afraid that the person in the toilet was Cooper but at the same time, he was also scared that it wasn¡¯t Cooper. However, it turned out to be thetter¡ªthe person in the toilet was not Cooper. ¡°Annie!¡± When Jordan ran out of the room, Anna had already walked past a corner and in the blink of an eye, she entered the elevator. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Annie!¡± Jordan called out to her again but he didn¡¯t hear any response. All he heard was the sound of the elevator ding before the doors closed, covering Anna¡¯s nk expression. Watching the elevator doors close, Jordan realized that he acted like an angry fool a moment ago. Anger filled his mind and at that time, his insight that he was once proud ofpletely disappeared. Just then, Jordaine ran up to him from behind. ¡°Jordan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She knew what had happened but she could only y dumb. Anna is really wise! She made Jordan think that he misunderstood her. I¡¯m sure he will definitely go apany her tonight. Anna can¡¯t give birth and she won¡¯t even let men touch her, yet Jordan couldn¡¯t forget about her for twenty years. It¡¯s all because of her tricks of ying hard to get. Jordan has many women and all of them are devoted to him, all except Anna, who ignores him and treats him coldly. However, it is her cold attitude that makes Jordan reluctant to let her go. She has great ways to deal with him but I will not let her be his wife! Never! After all, I still have something over her! Even if she has two sons, it will be of no use! At that moment, Lucy walked over and asked, ¡°Dad, the gift that you prepared¡­¡± Naturally, she was talking about the big present that he prepared to give Anna. Unfortunately, Anna had just left in anger a while ago. It seems that the present won¡¯t be of much use now. However, I exchanged tens of millions for it. I shouldn¡¯t just let it go to waste. I must think of some way to deal with it. It was only then that Jordan calmed down slightly and realized that he waspletely carried away by his anger. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t do something like that. Pressing the elevator button, Jordan said, ¡°I don¡¯t need it anymore. You can have it.¡± Later, the elevator doors opened and Jordan entered the elevators. Jordaine naturally followed behind him. Now that I¡¯m here today, I¡¯ll make sure he forgets about Anna! As for Lucy, she went to deal with the present Jordan left behind. After they all left, the toilet door of the lounge that Anna was in a moment ago suddenly opened. Anna wasn¡¯t there, Jordan wasn¡¯t there, and the strange woman that appeared out of nowhere wasn¡¯t there either¡­ Meanwhile, Cooper returned to the engagement banquet and saw that the singing and dancing had begun. It was a session that Jordan had prepared for Anna but now, it had be an engagement gift that Cooper gave Jordan. Lucy also took over the huge diamond ring that Jordan wanted to give Anna as an engagement ring. Cooper looked around for his son and daughter but he suddenly saw Stanley rushing toward him. Cheeks blushing, Stanley yelled, ¡°Your daughter keeps teasing me!¡± From a distance, Cooper could already hear Sophia¡¯s cheekyughter. He leaned closer and heard that they were talking about the sperm bank. It seems that this program is really poprtely. Many young women and men got their eggs and sperm frozen when they were young and now that they want children, they realize that their health is not as good as before. Hence, they found the sperms and eggs that they had frozen back then and sessfully had children. This program started more than twenty years ago and now that twenty years have passed, people who had invested in it can now see the results and it is really promising, so business has been great. Cethos had slow development in this aspect and there were only a few state-owned cryobanks, but Cooper received approval and opened the first private cryobank. As they spoke about this, Cooper suddenly remembered that when he was young, saving frozen samples in the cryobank had just entered the public eye and he seemed to have saved some. Back then, Annable was dead and it made him feel like he had lost everything. He seemed to have changed overnight and he focused all of his energy on work. He didn¡¯t want to get married, he couldn¡¯t have any feelings for another woman more than admiration and he knew that he wouldn¡¯t build a family for the rest of his life. However, he didn¡¯t have a child and at that time, he wasn¡¯t Fass and he hadn¡¯t nned to leave the Mitchell family yet, so he froze his sperm for future ns. Cooper remembered that he had paid the fees for 70 years all in one go. Almost 30 years have passed; I wonder what has happened to my sperm that I saved in the cryobank abroad? I can¡¯t remember the name of the cryobank and I¡¯m sure that the receipt is long gone. If Sophia didn¡¯t bring this up, I would¡¯vepletely forgotten about this. I froze my sperm with my identity as Cooper Mitchell but I didn¡¯t tell the Mitchell Family. Fortunately I didn¡¯t; otherwise, if the Mitchell family knew about this, I might havee back to a few babies. Technology is thest resort. The best babies are born through natural methods. To me, Linus and Sophia are like a pair of angels! At the end of the engagement ceremony, the guests were invited to the balcony to watch the fireworks. After a loud bang, dazzling fireworks shot into the night sky one after another, creating a magnificent scene. Half of Bayside City could see the fireworks. Everyone looked up to admire the amazing sky and some people were reminded of the best years of their lives. Cooper thought of Anna, his children, and his grandchildren. Sophia also thought of her family. Lucy, who was standing next to her fianc¨¦, only had the picture of a naughty rascal in her mind. That year, she was already in university but an underage boy from a nearby high school pursued her madly. Of course she rejected him, but he didn¡¯t give up. He pestered her non-stop like a pest. Even though he was foolish, he was determined and nothing could stop him. In the end, Lucy developed feelings for him. ¡°You are still underage so we can¡¯t date each other,¡± she told him, to which he replied, ¡°Are you willing to be with me after I be an adult?¡± She murmured, ¡°We can try.¡± He was about to turn 18 that year so the two of them patiently waited until he became an adult. However, when he finally turned 18, he suddenly disappeared. Lucy searched for him hysterically and she found him at the hospital after he tried tomit suicide countless of times. Turned out that he had be a she. The fireworks went on. At that moment, tears welled up in Lucy¡¯s eyes as thoughts of Dana buried deep under her mind and soul resurfaced; reflection of the lights from the fireworks and his figure could be seen in her eyes. When another firework shot into the sky, Lucy¡¯s cheeks were already covered in tears. He was hidden deep in every single teardrop. Dana, are you okay? Dana, where are you? ¡°Dana, it¡¯s time to leave.¡± Meanwhile, Jordaine had left early. Moore rushed out to the balcony and saw that his new assistant was looking up, admiring the fireworks. ¡°Understood, Mr. Edwards.¡± Chapter 1395 Chapter 1395 After the fireworks show ended, Dana turned around and followed Moore into the luxury van. Soon, the car disappeared into the darkness. ¡°Wait? Is that Dana?¡± Sophia¡¯s head was spinning and she couldn¡¯t even walk in a straight line. Her vision was blurry but she seemed to have heard someone mention Dana¡¯s name. However, after looking around, she only saw a figure of a man walking away. She continued searching around for a while but she couldn¡¯t find anything. I must have misheard the man. Why would Dana be here? Later, all of them returned home. Under Sophia¡¯s strong persuasion, Sean decided to freeze his sperms in their private cryobank. Stanley followed them and when he heard that Sean wanted to store his sperm, he blushed in embarrassment and yelled, ¡°That¡¯s disgusting! You guys are sick!¡± ¡°Why is it disgusting?¡± Sophia countered, disdain evident in her tone. ¡°We operate ording to the regtions. It¡¯s great technology! Come on; I¡¯ll take you to see our equipment.¡± When Stanley heard that Sophia was taking him to see the equipment, he hurriedly grabbed the doorknob in horror and struggled hard. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to! Please don¡¯t!¡± Meanwhile, Michael had joined them; he was also there to have a tour. He and Sophia had frozen their genes long ago but now that they had a cryobank, it was better to move their genes here, so they brought them over that day. On the other hand, Cooper went home to look for his old work diaries and finally found the receipt from the sperm bank. He made a call and fortunately, the sperm bank didn¡¯t close down so he managed to get his sperm that he had kept there for 30 years. His sperm was really healthy because they were extracted when he was in his best shape. The rate of sessful thawing was high so it was possible that he could have healthy offsprings. Unfortunately, Anna didn¡¯t freeze her eggs. She was already in her forties and her body was not as strong as before. Even if they had an IVF child, it would be bad for Anna¡¯s health so Anna was unwilling to give birth to any more children, which was why Cooper felt that his sperms were unnecessary. He didn¡¯t want any offspring running around in the future either, so he donated them to science research. At that time, there was a new project in the medical science field. They were conducting gic research on ordinary and talented people to test that apart from upbringing, where the earliest differences would appear and whether the genes of an average person could be gically engineered to create prodigies. It would be great if a remarkable person like Cooper could donate his genes for research. They had already gotten Linus¡¯ genes and were already researching it. After Cooper handed his genes over to the research team, he suddenly patted Michael¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°You should extract some of your spermter for extra precaution.¡± He probably won¡¯t be healthy forever. He can leave but he must leave a sample of his genes behind! Cooper thought that his own genes were perfect. He was wise and calm but hecked a little on the physical aspect. Cooper had a great mind but weak limbs. He was great at academics but he sucked at sports. In fact, there were very few members of the Mitchell Family who were athletic and most of them were elegant academics like Cooper, which was why Justin was the odd one for being in the army. The Fletcher Family¡¯s genes fill this gap. Michael and Sophia¡¯s child, Carmen, not only had the brains of the Mitchell Family, she also had the physical agility of the Fletchers too. Carmen had been practicing taekwondotely and she was really talented. Even though Michael looked a little soft, he used to work in the special forces during his earlier years, which was why Cooper thought if Michael would be gone in the future, at least they had some of his sperm in the cryobank. Although Michael was over his prime, if they extracted more, they would at least have some that they could use. Even though Michael knew that his father-inw had good intentions, as he listened to Cooper¡¯s tone, he felt that he had bad intentions deep down. Why do I have a feeling that he¡¯s treating me like a goose whoys golden eggs? ¡°Come on,¡± Sophia urged. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the extraction room.¡± With that, the two of them went into the allocated sperm collection room. As soon as they entered the room, Michael immediately closed the door and with a devilish smile, he said, ¡°I want you to ¡®personally¡¯ collect it!¡± Hearing this, Sophia instantly blushed and she punched him softly in the chest. ¡°You disgusting pervert!¡± Sean soon finished the collection process and he filled up the forms for registration records. After he came out from the collection room, the way Stanley looked at him was radically different. For some reason, Stanley felt that there was something wrong with Sean and he was no longer the person he used to know, hence his strange look. As for Michael, he didn¡¯te out of the room. After agreeing to tour around the Michel Cryobank together, the couple had asked Stanley to promote the cryobank on his single friends¡¯ chat groups and promised that they would treat him to dinner, which was why even though they hadn¡¯te out, Stanley and Sean didn¡¯t leave. As for Cooper, after he handed his genes to the research department, he sat outside waiting for his daughter. Half an hourter, everyone was still waiting outside. Sophia, who went in to ¡®personally¡¯ collect Michael¡¯s sample, wasn¡¯t out yet and neither was Michael. Sitting outside waiting, Cooper¡¯s expression darkened and he looked really gloomy. Seeing this, Linus tried to hold back hisughter. Meanwhile, Sean closed his eyes and rested while Stanleyid down and fell asleep. One hourter, they still didn¡¯t hear anything. All of a sudden, Cooper jumped up from his seat, clenched his fists and got ready to knock on their door. Linus hurriedly stopped him. ¡°Dad, we cannot disturb the collection process¡­ What if they can¡¯t ¡®extract¡¯ it?¡± With a grim expression, Cooper sat back down and continued to wait. It was only after two hourster, when the sky was about to turn dark and the cryobank was about to close, that they saw the door open. Sophia, who had personally gone in to help with the collection process, was as red as a tomato. Meanwhile, Michael seemed to be in a good mood as they walked out hand in hand. Sophia then turned to Cooper, who looked mad, and said, ¡°Dad, our work here is done!¡± Cooper was obviously furious. He silently stood up and was about to leave but right at that moment, a researcher ran over in a hurry and whispered something to Linus. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. After listening to him, a look of disbelief appeared on Linus¡¯ face. ¡°Linus, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophia hurriedly asked. Linus didn¡¯t reply; instead, he whispered something into Cooper¡¯s ear. After hearing what Linus said, Cooper looked shocked. In a doubtful tone, he asked, ¡°Is that even possible?¡± Then, he turned his head and said to Sophia, ¡°You should go and have dinner. I have some things to deal with.¡± With that, he and Linus followed the researcher to the research center. Hearing that, Sophia was puzzled but she chose to leave. Everyone worked hard today, especially Michael. He should be well rewarded. When they arrived home, dinner was ready and Theo brought Carmen and Maisie home, while the staff in the kitchen were busy preparing the dishes. However, Cooper and Linus had not returned. They called to urge them to hurry home but Linus told them that they would be backte. After dinner, everyone watched television in the living room while waiting for the two to return home. Judging from Cooper¡¯s stern expression, they knew that something bad had happened. It was around 10 at night when Cooper and Linus finally came home, and the former seemed to be in a bad mood. After dinner, Cooper hugged Carmen for a moment and went to his room. ¡°What happened, Linus?¡± Sophia asked her brother anxiously. Hearing this, everyone hurriedly leaned in close. It looks like something serious has happened! With a look of sadness and disgust, Linus solemnly replied, ¡°Dad¡¯s sperm that he kept in a cryobank was switched!¡± Chapter 1396 Chapter 1396 Everyone was stunned but when they wanted to ask questions, Linus told them he was exhausted and left. They knew that it was a tiring day for him so they didn¡¯t pressure him. Cooper also did not bring up this matter, probably because he didn¡¯t want to drag Sophia into it. However, as one of Cooper¡¯s favorites, Sean seemed to know something and he told Sophia. ¡°It¡¯s not an ident or a mistake. Cooper¡¯s sperm was switched long ago on purpose. Twenty years ago, the cryobank that he stored his sperm in was owned by Marks Real Estates. At that time, the Marks family already belonged to Jordan, which means Cooper had stored his sperm in Jordan¡¯s territory. After conducting a test, it is confirmed that the sperm that he retrieved belongs to Jordan.¡± Hearing this, Sophia broke into cold sweat. This kind of attack made people ufortable both physically and psychologically. ¡°Is Jordan Edwards mentally ill?¡± Sophia shouted in anger. Sean shook his head. ¡°It seems so.¡± Jordan is seriously mentally ill! Twenty years ago, Cooper was still a young man and had no grudges against him. However, not only did he want to destroy Cooper, he even messed with his genes. If it weren¡¯t for the changes that happened, many yearster in the future when Cooper couldn¡¯t have children, he might have headed to the cryobank to retrieve his sperm and look for another high-quality gene to have a child. Then, Cooper will teach the child everything he knows and give him the power to handle all of his fortune, all the whilepletely clueless that the child isn¡¯t his. That is just sick and disgusting! Fortunately, they had found out in time. This incident also made Cooper have a better understanding of how cruel Jordan was. I really cannot imagine what other tricks Jordan wille up with to destroy Cooper. Jordan is downright ruthless and cruel¡ªhe doesn¡¯t care aboutw or reason at all. From a certain perspective, Ryan and Henry are more like him. They are barbaric and dirty, and they inherited Jordan¡¯s inhumane character. They can do all kinds of harm but as they don¡¯t have Jordan¡¯s brains, they died at an early age. However, Sean was worried about something. ¡°They have Cooper¡¯s genes now and I¡¯m afraid that they might use it for bad intentions.¡± Sophia was worried about the same thing. She didn¡¯t want to see some evil brothers and sisters suddenly appear out of nowhere. Sophia didn¡¯t really care if they fought for Cooper¡¯s inheritance but she was afraid that they might hurt him¡­ Meanwhile, Tiffany had been really clingy to Cooper as ofte. She often made excuses to visit his house to harass him, so Sophia often saw a pair of meatballs bouncing around the house. Tiffany was so shameless that it was disgusting. She wore revealing clothes every time she visited and the whole family was angry about this, especially Sarah who lived next door. Every time Tiffany came, her daughter Betsy would wander around maliciously. ¡°Coop, my birthday ising up so I¡¯ll be having a special birthday party. Would you like to attend?¡± Tiffany was wearing a low-cut blouse again and she rubbed against Cooper with herrge bosom. Cooper was reading the newspaper and he was really annoyed by her so he murmured, ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡± Sitting at the side, Carmen was eating fruits and she secretly asked Sophia, ¡°Mommy, why is that old woman wearing so little clothes?¡± Hearing this, Sophia nced at Tiffany. She is wearing so little she might as well run around naked. ¡°Only adults can wear clothes like that,¡± Sophia hurriedly replied. ¡°Children are not allowed to.¡± Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Carmen nodded. ¡°Mommy, why don¡¯t you wear clothes like that?¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia nced at her small chest in dismay. I think that my assets are quite big butpared to Tiffany, mine looks really small. If I have boobs like Tiffany, I would show them off everyday too! Unfortunately, I don¡¯t. Sophia looked at Tiffany in jealousy and thought of an excuse. ¡°Mommy is a fairy. Fairies do not grow up so we don¡¯t wear clothes like that.¡± Carmen nodded in reply. Tiffany indeed had the ability to make men go crazy over her and women feel jealous of her. Not only did she have a great figure, she was born with a charming personality that flowed within her body. Furthermore, she had a strange sweet fragrance that was alluring. In short, Tiffany was an exotic beauty. Even though Sophia said that she didn¡¯t want to see Tiffany, everyone¡ªalbeit men or women, or even animals¡ªwould subconsciously be attracted by beauty. Even the dogs in the Fletcher Residence would rush over to Tiffany and admire her beauty, smell her sweet fragrance and rub against her leg, let alone Michael. However, Cooper was an exception. He seemed to bepletely unbothered by Tiffany¡¯s charm as he sat there calmly and felt nothing at all. That day, Tiffany, who tried to stay overnight at the house but failed, left unwillingly. Although she was shameless and often came over to join them for meals, she would keep her actions to a certain degree and make sure Cooper didn¡¯t feel disgusted. She only annoyed Cooper to a certain degree that he could tolerate. After all, she was great at figuring out a man¡¯s thoughts and she knew when to y hard to get. Tiffany knew that she had to use different strategies to deal with different men, and she knew a lot of them. No wonder she has dated all sorts of men over the years; she is really skillful at seducing them. Combined with her identity and status, all men will fall for her¡ªall except Cooper. Twenty years had passed and Cooper had grown from a young man to a handsome middle-aged man, while Tiffany had grown from a beautiful girl to a charming woman. However, she still could not make Cooper fall for her. If Tiffany¡¯s skill was to make all men fall for her, Cooper¡¯s talent would be his ability to resist temptation from all women. The two of them were different sides of the coin. However, now that Cooper had agreed to join Tiffany¡¯s birthday party, in her eyes, this was a great step forward. I will sleep with Cooper no matter what! Not long after Tiffany left, Stanley brought a female husky over in the middle of the night. ¡°Sophia, this dog belongs to my ex-wife. She¡¯s pregnant and due soon. I¡¯m putting her here,¡± Stanley said as he carried the dog¡¯s clothes, food and bed from the trunk. Sophia scoffed and asked, ¡°Why are you leaving your ex-wife¡¯s dog at my house? Why can¡¯t you take care of her yourself?¡± Moving the things into the house, Stanley replied, ¡°Summer holidays areing soon so Sean and I are going to bring the kids out for a short trip. My ex-wife is still in the hospital for rehabilitation so there¡¯s no one to take care of the dog. If I leave her alone at home when we¡¯re out on the trip, she will get bored. I¡¯m worried that she might get prenatal depression and I suddenly remembered how lively your house is, so I decided to send her over.¡± Sophia frowned. This b*stard really thinks that this is his house! Christine was still recovering in the hospital and she was really strong. She cooperated with all the given treatments and she was financially capable. Her recovery had been going well and she even took the opportunity to hire a private tutor to improve her vocational skills. Christine¡¯s dog soon got pregnant after mating with Sophia¡¯s dog. After Christine got hurt, there was no one to take care of the dog so the poor dog didn¡¯t even have someone to feed it daily. Sean kind- heartedly took the dog in and took care of it so when he sent it over to Sophia¡¯s house, the dog had a big and round belly, and was about to give birth. After Stanley sent the dog over, he went home and the dog was left in Sophia¡¯s house temporarily. Fortune and Richie didn¡¯t know who was the father of the puppies and they came over to sniff the female husky one after another. Then, they even tried to ride her. Seeing this, Sophia immediately grabbed a slipper and hit them on the head. With that, the two dogs left with their tails between their legs. As expected, the female dog was more well-behaved and she didn¡¯t destroy the house. She just quietly waited to deliver her babies. The next day, Sophia took the dog to the pet hospital for a birth check-up and saw that the five babies in her belly were healthy. After the check up, Sophia grabbed some nutrients that a pregnant dog needed and got ready to head home. However, as soon as she walked out of the pet hospital, she saw Tiffany walk straight into the obstetrics and gynecology department in the hospital. This was a private hospital under Michael¡¯s name. The pet hospital was just a part of it and the obstetrics and gynecology department in this hospital had a great reputation. Chapter 1397 Chapter 1397 ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Sophia wondered out loud, surprised written all over her face. Then, she hurriedly ced the dog in the car and followed Tiffany into the obstetrics and gynecology department. That b*tch is pregnant? When did she get pregnant? Isn¡¯t she pursuing Cooper? How can she be pregnant? Is she pursuing Cooper because she is pregnant and wants him to raise her child, or is it possible that the baby belongs to Cooper? Oh my goodness; Cooper slept with her! Sophia observed Tiffany discreetly. After Tiffany left, Sophia immediately ran over to see her files, which revealed that Tiffany was three months pregnant with twins. Three months¡­ Tiffany is three months pregnant. Who is the father? I remember that she wasn¡¯t in Bayside City three months ago so I¡¯m sure that Cooper is not the father. However, she pursues Cooper like crazy. The babies don¡¯t belong to him but she chases after him everyday. Moreover, Cooper seems to have changed his mind about her. I¡¯m guessing Tiffany is definitely nning to let Cooper take care of her children! Sophia rushed home in a hurry to stop Cooper from going to Tiffany¡¯s birthday party, wanting to warn him to stay away from her. However, as soon as she entered the house, she heard Cooper say to Linus, ¡°Linus, Tiffany¡¯s birthday party is in a few days but I have some things to deal with so I can¡¯t go. Looks like you¡¯ll have to attend the party on my behalf.¡± Linus, who just came home from the office, was stunned when he heard this. ¡°Dad, where are you going?¡± ¡°Your sister told me that the husky is about to give birth soon and she has never helped a dog give birth before, so she¡¯s a little nervous,¡± Cooper murmured. ¡°I have to stay by her side and help her.¡± Hearing this, Linus was silent for a moment before he murmured, ¡°Fine; I¡¯ll go on your behalf.¡± This matter is indeed more important than Tiffany¡¯s birthday party. Standing at the door, Sophia felt speechless. I think I may have been overthinking things. In Cooper¡¯s eyes, Tiffany is just a business partner and a friend but from an emotional level, Tiffany is even less important than my dog. Come to think of it, Cooper is really cold and cruel. The day of Tiffany¡¯s birthday party finally arrived and the dog started to show signs of giving birth. Seeing that it was about to give birth soon, Cooper decided not to attend the celebrations. New lives were about to enter their family so it was really important to him¡ªhe couldn¡¯t leave. It was probably an excuse to not go to Tiffany¡¯s birthday party. However, Sophia didn¡¯t want Linus to go either. For some reason, she felt that Tiffany had hidden intentions. On Tiffany¡¯s birthday, when Tiffany, who was dressed extremely sexy that day, heard the knock on the door, she opened the door in excitement. However, she didn¡¯t see Cooper, who she was expecting; instead, she saw Linus and Sophia standing outside the door. Before her grin of joy could fully turn into a beaming smile, it froze. Tiffany was living in a hotel suite and it was really expensive. She told Cooper that she was hosting a birthday party but when she opened the door, Sophia noticed that the lively party that she described wasn¡¯t there. Sophia nced into the room and only saw the maid setting the table. A candlelight dinner had been set on the square table and the red wine was chilled, while an alluring and charming aroma wafted out of the room; a sniff of the fragrance could make a man fall head over heels. Judging by the situation, if Cooper really came, he would be in great danger. Sophia knew that Tiffany was in a bad mood after she saw them but Sophia still smiled and said, ¡°Miss Tiffany, my dad has ast minute important meeting he needs to attend today so he can¡¯te. He says that he¡¯s sorry.¡± Linus presented her the gift that they prepared; he opened it and revealed a skincare set. However, Tiffany didn¡¯t even take a look at Cooper¡¯s gift. In her gaze, there was a mix of disappointment and anger. She coldly nced at Sophia and Linus before her lips curled into her usual polite smile. ¡°Oh¡ªhe¡¯s busy?¡± As she spoke, she made way for them and murmured, ¡°Come in.¡± Linus and Sophia both knew that Tiffany wasn¡¯t happy but they shrugged off goosebumps and followed her into the room. Tiffany was wearing a sexy pajama set underneath a silk robe. Her slender and fair legs were vaguely visible and it was really attractive. The candlelight dinner, red wine and enchanting aroma, coupled with the ambiguous atmosphere in the room was easy to get someone in the mood¡ªthere were hints all over. Seeing this, Linus felt extremely awkward. Meanwhile, Sophia¡¯s gaze was focused on Tiffany¡¯s belly. She¡¯s three months pregnant but it¡¯s not quite obvious. Staring at Tiffany¡¯s stomach, Sophia felt an inexplicable hostility toward the twins in Tiffany¡¯s belly whose father was unknown. However, she had nothing to do with those two babies. After Sophia and Linus went in, they exchanged pleasantries with Tiffany. A short whileter, they excused themselves; Tiffany obviously didn¡¯t want them around either. After sending them off, the hostess mmed the door with an ear-piercing bang. Linus and Sophia nced at each other before they left in a hurry. When they arrived home, it was chaotic. Cooper anxiously went in and out of the dog¡¯s room and he was wearing gloves for delivery, which had some blood on it. He looked really busy. It turned out that the dog was in the midst of giving birth but unfortunately, there were a fewplications. Fortunately for them, Theo had a lot of experience in delivering pigs so he was the one in charge of the complicated delivery. After they entered the dog¡¯s room, they saw a few men standing around the dog¡¯s bed looking really worried. Theo cheered the husky on as he tried to deliver her babies. ¡°Come on! Breathe in¡­ Harder! There¡¯s two more babies left!¡± Michael was standing at the side and he had gloves on too. In a stern tone, Theo said, ¡°Sons, the two of you are all grown up now. You are both stronger and more capable than me so there¡¯s nothing much I can teach you. The skill of helping animals deliver babies is the only thing I can teach you. Take a closer look¡ªthe hardest part ising.¡± Michael looked helpless. He didn¡¯t want to learn this ancestral trade but Theo was really eager to teach him. Theo owed them too much in this life so he felt that he would feel better if he taught Michael this trade. Quinton rolled his eyes as he watched by the side. Theo also wanted to teach him this trade but Quinton was a doctor of medicine. Furthermore, he was also the one who delivered Carmen¡­ ¡°I brought the nutrition cream!¡± Cooper ran into the room, panic written all over his face. He had brought over the dog¡¯s favorite nutrition cream, which Theo then ced next to the dog¡¯s mouth. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. ¡°Come and eat some yummy food. We¡¯ll continue after you¡¯re full.¡± The dog struggled to eat the nutrition cream and after it was done, it obediently continued to give birth. ¡°Harder! Push harder! Oh no¡ªI¡¯m not asking you to shit!¡± ¡°Son, clean up the dog poop.¡± Sophia entered the dog¡¯s delivery room and asked, ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Theo frowned and quickly replied, ¡°We don¡¯t have any more sterilized gloves. You can¡¯t help us.¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia left the room. When she returned, she was wearing a pair of gloves that were meant for food. She poked her head in and asked, ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Seeing that, everyone was speechless. In the end, it wasn¡¯t untilte at night that the five puppies were finally born. Michael put a cor on each dog ording to the order they were born to distinguish them before carefully cing them next to their mother. Sophia held a puppy and stared at it. The newborn puppy was just born so it was soft and small. ¡°Hubby, look! It¡¯s so pretty,¡± Sophia cooed in admiration. Michael immediately frowned. It¡¯s not strange for her to think the puppy is pretty, but when she said it while she¡¯s wearing food grade gloves, I can¡¯t help but think that she¡¯s actually hungry¡­ Chapter 1398 Chapter 1398 Sophia held the puppy in her hands and she gazed at it. It was covered in only a thinyer of fur and its pink skin was still visible; it was light as a feather in her hands. ¡°Hubby, look at its little ws and paws. How cute!¡± In her hands, the newborn puppy looked like a little ball of flesh. At that moment, Sophia had on a pair of gloves that looked like the ones she would usually wear when she had barbequed meat. As such, the father of the puppy leapt forward and started to whine at her. And so, Sophia unhappily ced the puppy back to the litter before she huffed at Cash, ¡°Alright, alright. I was just looking so stop barking at me.¡± As soon as Cash saw the puppy had returned safely to the litter, it rested on its stomach and watched Sophia warily. It was worried that she would do something strange to that puppy with that pair of gloves again. Meanwhile, another husky¡ªPenny¡ªcame over to sniff it for a brief moment and left, leaving Cash who stayed to guard the litter and the mother. Now, they knew for sure who was the father of the litter. However, Sophia still couldn¡¯t help but feel a little ache as she saw the puppies; they were just too cute! She wondered if Carmen also looked like a tiny ball of flesh back when she gave birth to her¡­ It was too bad that she had forgotten all about it. Sophia loved kids. In fact, she yearned to have another child but her health had not been in the best condition and she kept failing to conceive. As such, she had been tending to her health but unfortunately, her body was too weak and it would be difficult for her to conceive again. When she was younger, she lived a tough life and that was when her illness started. Now, it would not be easy for her to have a baby. Even if she did, there would beplications during birth. Sophia had considered going overseas to find a legal surrogate but she felt that it would be strange to have her babying out of someone else¡¯s body, even though it had her genes. She also wanted to try IVF but she heard that it was very painful, and that it was better not to take that step unless it was absolutely necessary. In the end, Sophia decided it was best to conceive naturally. However, there had been no changes in her body. She felt like there was nothing she was missing in life except a second child. Other families already had their second or third child, while she only had Carmen. Now that Cethos had ended the one-child policy, she thought her belly should end its ¡®policy¡¯ too. Though, she wasn¡¯t even thirty yet so she was in no hurry. Meanwhile, Tiffany was in her forties and she was still pregnant. Speaking of her¡­ For some reason, Sophia felt disturbed at the thought of Tiffany¡¯s child. She wondered what was the deal with that. Since they knew about her pregnancy, things were quiet for a couple of days. However, on the third day, Tiffany came again early in the morning. She was only three months along, so there had not been major changes to her body yet and it still remained in shape. Sophia stole a few nces at Tiffany from the side. She was already in her forties, yet she was pregnant. Moreover, the risks ofte pregnancy were huge. She must know that. So, who exactly did she conceive this child with? As if she had forgotten about her birthday party a few days ago when she was stood up by Cooper, Tiffany came prancing over again today for a business meeting with Cooper. Although it was a business meeting, she was wearing a low-cut dress as always. On this day, it just so happened that Stanley and Sean were here to see the puppies with Maisie and they would be staying for lunch. As such, the atmosphere at their home instantly became lively. With that said, everyone who was there saw how Tiffany¡¯s huge breasts bounced. What an eyesore! As a matter of fact, Michael had a dislike for those whose surname was Adams. The younger one was trying to hit on his daughter while the older one was trying to hit on his father-in- law. Neither of them were better than the other. These Goddamn insurance people! After sticking around for lunch, Tiffany tagged along with Cooper¡ªwho happened to have some things to do¡ªand they left together. Not long after, Michael left too. As soon as Tiffany was gone, Sean stressed, ¡°You need to be careful around Tiffany. She¡¯s not as innocent as she seems.¡± Naturally, Sophia was aware of this. She knew that Tiffany was almost as sick as Quinton. On top of that, Sophia was definitely going to wait for the opportunity to confront Cooper and stop him from being a dad of a child that wasn¡¯t his! On a rxing weekend afternoon, everyone was chatting in the living room, discussing where the dogs were going. Upon learning that they were dividing the puppies, Sarah rushed over to pick one for herself. When she picked hers, she left a mark on it and was gazing at the dogs happily. Suddenly, her phone lit up in her pocket and she pulled it out to look. As soon as she took a nce, her happy and youthful face instantly turned dark. ¡°F*cking b*tch!¡± she cursed before rushing out again. ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia asked and followed Sarah; she had a feeling things weren¡¯t as simple as it seemed. Judging from Sarah¡¯s demeanor, it looked like something serious had happened. As Sarah stormed out, she growled, ¡°That f*cking b*tch, I¡¯m going to kill her! I¡¯ll kill her!¡± Her youthful face was full of rage. Even though she had been Mrs. Winston for a long time, she never behaved calmly like a grown woman should. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. F*cking b*tch? Is Harry messing around with other women? No; that can¡¯t be. It is usually the man-eaters who will grab any opportunity to pounce on him. Just then, Sarah went home and changed her shoes before leaving. Upon seeing that she was not in the right state, Sophia went after her and got into the car with her. In the car, Sarah had a sullen expression and did not speak a word. Grabbing Sarah¡¯s phone, Sophia saw that someone had sent a photo to her anonymously. In that photo was Hope, who had recently been sent to join a painting ss. It turned out that Sarah really wanted him to pick up drawing as a skill and be an elegant artist in the future. Much to Sophia¡¯s surprise, on Hope¡¯s little face was a huge lipstick stain. In the photo, Hope was carrying his backpack as he looked icily at the camera. Next to him was a person in ck who was holding him. It looked like Hope had been kidnapped! All at once, Sophia was outraged and disgusted. ¡°Who is this? How dare they¡­¡± They kissed Hope¡¯s cheek and deliberately left a lipstick stain! At that point, Sarah was grim. Pressing her lips together, she spat through gritted teeth, ¡°Betsy.¡± Sure enough, it was her again. She was Harry¡¯s die-hard fan and Tiffany¡¯s daughter¡ªit was clear the apple didn¡¯t fall far from the tree! She had deliberately sent the photo to provoke Sarah. ¡°Hurry up and call Mr. Blond!¡± Sophia urged. However, Sarah remained silent. In the email, Betsy specifically instructed Sarah to go over. When Sarah left, she did not contact Harry, who was away shooting for a film, because she knew that Betsy wanted to negotiate with her again. Furthermore, Sarah knew that she was who Betsy wanted. Once she was there, Betsy would release Hope. The easiest way for Betsy to rece Sarah as Harry¡¯s wife was to get Sarah to leave. Since Betsy wanted to negotiate, then Sarah was going to make sure they settle this once and for all! Seeing that Sarah did not respond, Sophia kept an eye on her and discreetly texted Michael and Sean. Soon, they arrived at a high-ss hotel and went to the room Betsy specified. At the entrance, there were already people who had been waiting for their arrival. Upon entering the room, there was a romantic candlelight dinner set up in the room and the food smelled delicious. At that moment, Betsy was feeding Hope, who was sitting across from her. While feeding him, she cooed, ¡°Say ¡®Mommy¡¯!¡± Meanwhile, Hope looked indifferent. On his tender little face was an eye-catching lipstick stain which was the same color as the one Betsy had on her lips. Chapter 1399 Chapter 1399 Betsy was wearing a full face of makeup, and a short, low-cut dress that showed off her long legs. At that moment, she was trying to feed Hope, who refused to open his mouth. His tiny face had an icy cold expression. ¡°Hope!¡± At once, Sarah appeared at the door and called out anxiously. Hope, who had his back toward the door, turned around and eyed her and the people with her. He wasparing the strengths of his mother and Betsy, contemting whether to run to his mother, or continuing acting like he didn¡¯t know her. When he saw Sarah, he realized she only brought Sophia and two littleckeys with her. As such, he suppressed the urge of running over to his mother and remained seated without any expression. Upon seeing no response from Hope, Sarah was baffled. ¡°Hope, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Regardless, Hope was still silent and the atmosphere became tense. On his face, the bright red lipstick stain looked like it had be more distinctive. Sarah assumed something had happened to her son so she lunged forward while hissing, ¡°F*ck you, b*tch! What have you done to my son?¡± However, Betsy deliberately went to sit next to Hope and gave him a kiss on his other cheek, leaving another lipstick stain that matched the first one. ¡°Your son? Soon, he won¡¯t be yours anymore¡­ Right, Sour Face? You¡¯re my good boy,¡± She lifted his chin and puckered her lips before leaving yet another lipstick stain on his forehead. Meanwhile, Hope was indifferent and remained silent. He did not show any emotions, nor did he respond or object. Thinking he was just shaken up, Betsy rubbed his cheeks and continued, ¡°Come on, son. Call me ¡®Mommy¡¯. Say, ¡®Mommy¡¯.¡± However, Hope remained still and kept mum. No matter what the opponent did, he would remain motionless. Who knew Betsy would be this shameless. Sophia was baffled yet again by the shamelessness of this pair of mother and daughter duo. Just then, she fumed, ¡°Betsy, let go of Hope. Are you trying to start a war between the Adams and Winston Family?¡± Meanwhile, Betsy was holding an emotionless Hope as if she was holding her own son. She curled her lips and giggled, ¡°Start a war? Do I look like I¡¯m starting a war? I¡¯m clearly trying to unite the Winston and Adams Family!¡± Looking at Sarah whose face was flushing with anger, she smirked. ¡°Well? Have you considered my proposal, Sarah?¡± Sarah snapped, ¡°If you think I¡¯ll leave my husband and son and let you rece me, you can dream on! It¡¯s not going to happen, so just give up!¡± In fact, Betsy had been trying to seduce Harry more times than she could count. She would attach herself onto Harry whenever there was an opportunity, and that caused Harry to be at his wit¡¯s end. He would avoid her like she was AIDS. Now, Betsy hardly had the chance to see him. As such, she turned her attention to Sarah. As long as this pretty young thing was gone and the spot was vacant, she would have a higher chance with Harry. Previously, she used many excuses to force Sarah to negotiate, but this time, she actually kidnapped her son! Holding Hope in her arms, Betsy crossed her legs before her enchanting red lips spat out each syble in a sing-song voice, ¡°Fine, then the both of us will carry on with this.¡± She was not afraid and did not care that she was a homewrecker. In fact, it seemed like this homewrecker was trying to wreck everything with a wrecking ball! In a smug manner, Betsy challenged, ¡°There¡¯s an old saying in Cethos that goes, ¡®When there is a will, there is a way¡¯. Right now, I have a strong will to steal Harry¡¯s heart, and I wille up with many ways to take it. I will grab even the smallest opportunities to get what I want. He can run, but he¡¯ll never be able to hide from me. As long as I¡¯m still around, both of you will never have peace. One day, Harry will be mine!¡± She spoke with great pride, as if she was doing something truly honorable. ¡°You!¡± At that point, Sarah was shaking with anger. Her tiny figure looked like it was about to explode anytime. Indeed, even if Harry was unwavering, it would still be extremely annoying to have her linger around like a fly. Recently, they had gotten sick and tired of Betsy. Not only did she harass Sarah and Harry, she even went as far as to kidnap Hope. Sarah was contemting leaping forward to fight this foul woman, but since Hope was still in her hands, she couldn¡¯t act recklessly. She had to get the child to safety before doing anything else. Settling down, Sarah took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself as best as she could. With a calmer voice, she said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you would let him go if I came? Well, I¡¯m here now. If you have any problems with me,e to me. Leave my son out of it!¡± Betsy had already poured herself a ss of red wine and was sipping it slowly. She ced the ss before Hope and said, ¡°Here, son. Have a sip, you¡¯ll like it.¡± Hope, whose face was covered with lipstick stains, nced at Sarah and remained motionless. Despite being ignored by Hope, Betsy was not angered at all. Instead, she smiled devilishly and held him closer to her. ¡°Yes, I did say I would give him to you, but didn¡¯t I ask you to bring Harry along? When the three of us are done with our dinner as a family, I¡¯ll return Hope to you temporarily.¡± What? Temporarily? Every word she spoke was dripping with arrogance. Sarah tried very hard to hold back her screams of frustration and said through gritted teeth, ¡°I will never let you see my husband!¡± There is no way I¡¯m going to step down! Betsy can dream on if she thinks she can sleep with my husband! Yet, Betsy still had that emboldened demeanor. She had one hand around an indifferent Hope while she delightfully ate with her other hand. It seemed like she was waiting for Harry. As long as Harry wasn¡¯t here, she would not let go of Hope. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. What a b*tch! Sophia cursed internally. At the same time, she was worried for poor Hope who was being held hostage. It¡¯s okay, Harry and Michael will be here soon. They were stalling while waiting for their arrival. Sophia peeked at her phone and saw that Michael had shared their real-time coordinates, and that they were already on their way over. On top of that, Michael also sent a message that said ¡®Harry is furious. Protect the child and yourselves.¡¯ Harry is furious. Protect the child and yourselves? The message behind this sentence meant that¡­ Harry was going to kill her! It seemed like Harry¡¯s patience had reached its limit! At once, Sophia nced at the frenzied Betsy and the child who was trapped in her arms before shifting her gaze to Sarah, whose tears were welling up from anger. Her mind raced. No matter what, I have to get the child away from Betsy before the fight breaks out! As such, Sophia suggested, ¡°How about this? Let¡¯s each take a step back, okay? Sarah, think about it. There really isn¡¯t any issue with lending your husband to someone else to sleep with, right? Come one, let¡¯s sit down and talk.¡± Upon hearing this, Sarah gaped at her in surprise. Meanwhile, Sophia was already tugging her to sit at the other side of the table and acted like a peacemaker. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can¡¯t negotiate, right? Come on, let¡¯s negotiate. How about this¡ªon Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Harry belongs to Betsy, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, you get to have Harry. On Sundays, you¡¯ll both share him.¡± Share him? Over my dead body! Sarah was foaming at the mouth. When Betsy saw that they seemed to have given in, she smiled proudly and gave amand to the bodyguards in the room. ¡°You may leave us.¡± As instructed, they left the room, leaving the four of them at the table. Sophia and Sarah were sitting on one side while Betsy was sitting on the other side with Hope in her arms. At that moment, a n was forming in Sophia¡¯s head¡­ Chapter 1400 Chapter 1400 As a matter of fact, the Adams family had been in the insurance industry for several generations. As such, they had be giants in the industry. Moreover, those who were in this industry were relentless, had great patience, and not to mention thick skin. Thus, Betsy was determined to win over Harry aftering back to Cethos this time. The Adams family was the king of the insurance industry, and there was no insurance that they couldn¡¯t sell. Nor were there any men that she couldn¡¯t get. Of course, they were also kings ofing up with various reasons for not settling ims. As expected, Sarah gave in. At that moment, the three women sat together to negotiate while Hope was still in Betsy¡¯s arms with a sour face, which was littered with lipstick stains. Betsyid out her conditions. ¡°Since you¡¯ve given in, I¡¯lly out my terms. I want Harry.¡± Her tone was firm, as if she was saying, ¡®You will buy this insurance from me¡¯. At once, Sarah mmed the table and shot up from her seat. ¡°Dream on, you b*tch!¡± Hastily, Sophia pulled her back down to her seat and advised, ¡°I know what you¡¯re feeling, Sarah, but we can work this out calmly. Let¡¯s all sit and talk it out like grownups, alright?¡± She held Sarah¡¯s hand and subtly hinted at her while tugging her back down to sit. When she calmed down, Sophia took the opportunity to continue, ¡°As for you, it¡¯s rude toe and grab someone else¡¯s husband like that. How about both of you take a step back and have a discussion on how you¡¯re going to share him. You could each take him on specific days like I said earlier, and let Harry rest on Sundays. After all, he¡¯s not young anymore and his body isn¡¯t as strong as before. If anything happens to him, nothing good wille to the both of you, right? How about a one-month trial? When the time is up, Harry will decide who stays.¡± F*ck you, Sarah thought. Without saying a word, she scoffed and turned away. Meanwhile, Betsy had a look in her eyes that looked like she was considering this idea. Naturally, she was unwilling to share Harry with Sarah. However, if Sarah took one step back, she would be one step closer to Harry. Of course, stepping forward wasn¡¯t her biggest difficulty, but getting rid of Sarah was. As long as Harry was willing to sleep with her for a night, she would be able to keep him by her side for the rest of his life. Finally, Betsy raised her eyebrow and insisted, ¡°Three days is too little. Harry should be with me on Sundays too!¡± Upon hearing this, Sarah almost lunged forward to give her a hard p. Meanwhile, Sophia said in a business-like tone, ¡°But Harry is already in his forties and he can¡¯t possibly withstand all the action. Perhaps Sarah could also share her son with you, like his father.¡± Hope remained emotionless, whereas Sarah was on the verge of exploding. Pausing for a moment to think, Betsy then decided, ¡°The childes with me on weekends too.¡± Sophia was already holding down Sarah, whose blood was boiling. ¡°Alright, alright. Well, there¡¯s no use in just talking, so you¡¯ll both have to sign a contract.¡± Betsy nced at Sarah and jeered, ¡°What do you think, dwarf?¡± Sarah, who almost exploded with curses, pressed her lips together and swallowed the insults before mming the table again. ¡°Let¡¯s sign it!¡± Suspiciously, Betsy gazed at them for a moment before dropping her guard and smirking. Sarah is no match for me! At that moment, Betsy put down Hope to go get a pen and paper¡­ Now! Sophia was about to grab the child when he instantly slid under the table to hide. Right then, there was silence between the trio. ¡°F*ck you, and f*ck your mom too!¡± Without missing a beat, Sarah leapt toward Betsy like a predator and grabbed a handful of her hair before beating her. It was only then Betsy realized she had been tricked before wing at Sarah furiously. ¡°My mom is Tiffany Adams, so f*ck her if you want to!¡± The two women wrestled on the floor. Meanwhile, Sophia heard someone approaching the door, who clearly heard themotion going on in the room. She frantically rushed to lock the door before going over to the table, lifting the table cloth and picking Hope up from under the table. ¡°Hope, go hide in the bathroom. Don¡¯te out unless Mommy or Godmommy says you can, alright?¡± Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Without saying a word, Hope went to hide in the bathroom. Meanwhile, there were poundings on the door from the outside, but Michael and Harry weren¡¯t here yet. Now, the only way to contain the situation was to restrain Betsy. Unfortunately, even if Sarah was feisty, she could barely hold herself up against Betsy who stood at five foot five and hadrge breasts. At that moment, Sarah was being held down by Betsy while herrge breasts hung over Sarah¡¯s face, almost suffocating her. Sophia grabbed a steak knife from the table and went over to try and restrain Betsy. She did not learn the skill of single-handedly snapping a person¡¯s back from Quinton, so she could only hold a knife to Betsy¡¯s neck to make sure they could leave the room safely. However, when she rushed over with the knife, Sarah, who was pinned to the ground, suddenly gathered all her strength and managed to push Betsy off of her. ¡°I¡¯ll f*ck your dad too!¡± Then, they went back to fiercely wrestling again. When Sophia rushed to help, the knife in her hand was somehow thrusted into Betsy¡¯s back. At once, Betsy let out a muffled grunt and lowered her head in disbelief as she felt a sharp pain on her back. Then, she felt a warm liquid gradually flowing down¡ªshe was losing blood along with her life. When she reached to touch her back, she realized there was a knife sticking out of it. When she fell limp on the ground, Sarah saw the knife. Curling up on the carpet, Betsy cried in pain as a pool of blood started to form around her. She screamed for help, and even Sarah and Sophia were shocked. Just then, there was a scuffle outside the door and someone was desperately trying to kick the door open. ncing at Sophia¡¯s bloody hand, Sarah instantly lunged forward, pulled out the knife from Betsy¡¯s back and rubbed it on her clothes to get rid of the fingerprints before stabbing Betsy again. ¡°F*ck you, b*tch!¡± Betsy cried for help as she crawled around the room with a trail of blood behind her. Clutching the knife in her hand, Sarah followed her and stabbed her a few more times. Each stab was deep and merciless. After a few moments, Betsy¡¯s screams became weaker and weaker, until she was finally lying motionless on the ground and became a battered corpse. Her blood and some of her insides were all over the floor, while Sarah was still ruthlessly impaling her with the knife in her hand. She had had enough! Since Betsy was already stabbed, the Adams Family would not let them off easily anyway! She might as well kill her! While Betsy thought that she waspetent enough to pry Harry away, Sarah thought she was competent enough to kill this little b*tch! On the other hand, Sophia was so frightened that she had goosebumps all over her body. Shivers were running down her spine as the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. In fact, she had never seen this murderous side of Sarah before. Indeed, Betsy deserved it, but for Sophia who was witnessing Sarah¡¯s ruthlessness for the first time, she was horrified. Despite that, she still had a clear mind. Knowing that the Adams family would not spare them because they had killed Betsy, they had to quicklye up with a strategy. ¡°That¡¯s enough. She¡¯s dead. Calm down.¡± At that moment, Sarah¡¯s eyes were zing murderously. Presumably, she had been with Harry for a long time and the Winstons¡¯ habits had rubbed off on her. In fact, Sarah was merciless when it came to her own parents and uncle, let alone a shameless b*tch! When Sophia went over to pull Sarah away, blood was sshed onto her face. At that moment, the door swung open. By the door stood Harry and Michael. Upon learning the news, Cooper and Linus came as well, and so did Tiffany and Bailey. As soon as Tiffany saw Betsy¡¯s battered corpse in a puddle of blood, she almost fainted. Chapter 1401 Chapter 1401 ¡°Betsy, wake up! Look at me!¡± Tiffany rushed over and knelt in the puddle of blood. She held Betsy up and frantically shook her, but unfortunately, she was already gone. Her blood was still spurting from her limp and battered body. In fact, Sarah had been truly ruthless. If the knife was any longer than it was, the carpet beneath Betsy would have had several holes in it. ¡°Betsy!¡± Tiffany shrieked miserably as she continued shaking the limp body vigorously. However, Betsy no longer responded. Her lifeless eyes were directed at the ceiling, while her blood continued spurting like a fountain. Tiffany looked down at her shaky hands that were covered with her daughter¡¯s blood. It was only then did she ept the reality that her daughter had been killed! ¡°Betsy! Who killed her? Who killed my daughter?¡± She turned around abruptly and red at Sarah who was still clutching the knife. It was her! She killed Betsy! At that moment, Sarah was still in her murderous state. Her eyes were still bloodshot and her hand that was holding the knife was still trembling. Fresh blood was dripping from the tip of the knife, still she red menacingly at Betsy. Even when Tiffany gazed intently at her, Sarah shot back another piercing stare without the slightest trace of fear or guilt in her eyes formitting murder. Instead, she looked frightening and full of hostility. In fact, she had wanted to kill Betsy a long time ago and just didn¡¯t have the courage. When Sophia had identally stabbed Betsy with the knife, the sight of her blood gave Sarah the push she needed. These days, not only did Betsy constantly pester Harry by stalking him, she even snuck into the film crew and drugged him. However, he couldn¡¯t do anything because of the rtionship between Cooper and the Adams Family. In fact, Harry was worried that he would make things difficult for Michael if he retaliated against Betsy. As such, he never took any action against her and treated her as just another diehard fan. Thest time, Betsy was forced to squat in the snow for half a day by Bailey as a form of punishment. Despite that, she did not learn her lesson at all. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Instead, she became worse. When she couldn¡¯t physically harass Harry, she would shamelessly send her masturbation videos and nude photos to him. As it happened, Sarah caught her red-handed several times. After harassing Harry, she turned her focus to Sarah. She stalked Sarah, deliberately crashed her car, caused trouble at her workce, and even tried to kidnap her. On top of that, she often called her to harass her and used the Adams family¡¯s name to obstruct her work. And on this day, she went too far and kidnapped Hope. Needless to say, this person¡¯s behavior had reached a point of no return. Furthermore, Sarah even used the Winston Family¡¯s name to intimidate her, but to no avail. She had nned to kill Betsy for a long time. Just then, Sophia frantically went to the bathroom and brought Hope out. Hope kept his indifferent expression on when he came out and saw his cool and awesome father, his domineering, elegant and invincible godfather, and about twenty to thirty powerful guards with firearms. In addition, Cooper and Linus were there as well with the Mitchell and Winston family. His thoughts raced in his little head as he analyzed the strengths of his side and the opponent¡¯s side, and contemted between ying it cool or crying in his father¡¯s arms. After a couple of seconds of silence, Hope burst out in tears and cried painfully while he hugged Harry¡¯s leg. ¡°Daddy!¡± Upon hearing his son¡¯s cries, anger and heartache appeared on Harry¡¯s handsome face as he caressed Hope¡¯s tiny face. Undeniably, his eldest son had a cold attitude and more often than not, had an unfriendly face that was inherited from his grandfather. Harry rarely saw him cry. In fact, thest time he cried was on his first day of kindergarten. This was also the first time Harry had seen him cry in such a helpless and frightened manner. ¡°There, there. Don¡¯t cry.¡± Harry rubbed his face and it instantly became smeared with the mixture of his tears and the lipstick stain that Betsy had left. Sophia hurriedly carried Hope away. Meanwhile, Harry walked toward the bloodied Sarah. The person who had a small frame and was much shorter than him was still trembling, the knife remained clutched in her hand. Through the thin fabric of her shirt, the muscles in her arms were still visibly tense. At that moment, Harry¡¯s hand found hers that still had the knife in it before he whispered in her ear, ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here now¡­¡± Despite that, Sarah¡¯s tensed up muscles seemed to have a mind of its own, whereas her body was still slightly shuddering from her emotions. When she and Tiffany stared at each other across the room, two pairs of scarlet eyes conveyed their hatred for each other. With the painful loss of her beloved daughter, Tiffany mourned as her delicate body shivered helplessly. In an instant, she turned from a stunning beauty into an ordinary mother. The despair and anger of losing her descendant almost made her lose her mind. She red viciously at Sarah and the knife in her hand that was covered in Betsy¡¯s blood. After the fight, Sarah¡¯s voice became a little hoarse. When she met Tiffany¡¯s death re, she snarled, ¡°What are you looking at, b*tch? Keep looking and I¡¯ll chop you up too!¡± Despite that, Harry did not stop her. When he first heard the news, his first thought was also to chop up Betsy. He couldn¡¯t tolerate her any longer. In fact, he put up with her every time she harassed him. Since the Adams family and the Michel family were family friends and Michael wanted very badly to marry into the powerful Michel family, he let Betsy off the hook time and time again in order to help his good friend sessfully marry into the family. When Betsy was up to no good, he would approach Tiffany, but she didn¡¯t seem to care much. In fact, Betsy¡¯s values and character were influenced by Tiffany. However Tiffany acted, Betsy would act the same way. In the past, Tiffany was a ¡®professional¡¯ mistress and wrecked countless homes. To her, there was nothing more satisfying than stealing a married man. As such, not only did she discourage Betsy, she even supported her! When she harassed Sarah, Sarah had always held back in fear of implicating Sophia. However, Betsy had started to target Hope. Surely, her actionpletely destroyed Harry¡¯sst shred of tolerance for her. Before arriving, he had already spoken to Michael and told him that he might be an obstacle for Michael to marry into a wealthy family. Since Tiffany had always told Betsy while she was growing up that it was a skill to be able to steal a married man, she should have also told Betsy what would happen if she failed. On their way over, Harry had decided that he was going to rip Betsy into pieces, and his team of lawyers were already on standby. As Harry held Sarah¡¯s hand, she felt a sense of security in an instant, and it was only then did she slowly release the knife. It fell into Harry¡¯s hand. Then, Harry shot a warning re at Tiffany, who was holding her daughter¡¯s bloody corpse, before snarling at her, ¡°B*tch, this is ourst warning to you. If anyone from the Adams Family tries to intrude on the Winston Family again, what happened to your daughter will happen to you too!¡± Meanwhile, Tiffany remained silent and motionless as she held her daughter. Just then, the corners of her lips curled up into a sinister smile, but two streams of tears were flowing down her face. Pointing the knife with Betsy¡¯s blood at her, Harry warned, ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll chop you and that brat up.¡± As he spoke, he pointed the knife at Bailey as well, who was watching the whole thing. Just like that, Bailey, an innocent bystander, was caught in the crossfire. Chapter 1402 Chapter 1402 As soon as Cooper came in, he was instantly overwhelmed by what he saw. In fact, he already warned Tiffany long before that something terrible would happen to her daughter if she didn¡¯t control her. As expected, things had gone terribly wrong. Tiffany was in her forties and only had one daughter. Now, her only child was lying motionlessly on the ground. Cooper couldn¡¯t help but to be reminded of back then when he held his daughter in the same way. The feeling of desperation, helplessness, and heartbreak was still fresh in his memory. ¡°Quickly, get a doctor here!¡± Soon, doctors came and took away Betsy, who had been stabbed into a messy pile of flesh. Tiffany staggered as she followed closely behind them. In fact, Tiffany was a good friend of Cooper¡¯s. At this point in time, she had just lost her only descendant, so this was surely a huge blow to her. Cooper couldn¡¯t leave her, so he followed her to examine the situation and take care of her along the way. After Cooper and Tiffany left, Sarah seemed to have let go of her anger before she leapt into Harry¡¯s arms, ignoring the fact that she was soaked in blood. ¡°Holy sh*t, I was scared to death!¡± As Harry held andforted her, he led her out the door while the people of Winston and Adams Family stayed behind to clear the area. When Sophia stared at the blood on the floor, she knew that she was the one who had killed Betsy, and Sarah was just taking the me for her. Even though she had stabbed Betsy by ident and Harry would have still killed Betsy when he arrived, she still felt uneasy to let someone else take the me for her. In fact, Hope might have been injured along the way too. When Michael held her hand, he realized it was also covered in blood. ¡°What happened?¡± Sophia gazed at Cooper as he hurried away, then shook her head and remained silent before going home with Michael. Before they left, Michael realized Bailey was still there surveying the murder scene in the room. As Bailey stared at the blood that was all over the ce, Michael seemed to have caught a sinister glow in his eyes. It looked like excitement and pleasure¡­ With Betsy¡¯s death, Tiffany must be devastated from her loss. Sure enough, the biggest beneficiary was Bailey at this moment. Even though the root cause of this matter wasn¡¯t him and his excitement seemed normal from his perspective, Michael couldn¡¯t help but shudder at the sight of that look on a fifteen-year-old¡¯s face. In his hands, he was still holding the three apricot seeds that were given to him by Carmen. When they got home, Sophia couldn¡¯t sit still. Meanwhile, Harry was worried about Sarah and had sent her to the hospital. Luckily, she only had minor injuries after fighting with Betsy and Hope was unharmed. He was smart enough to know that he was going to be kidnapped and he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape, so he pretended to be submissive. The only thing he suffered from was being kissed in the face and being covered in lipstick. Soon, Linus received an update: Betsy was pronounced dead. In reality, she had long been stabbed to death by Sarah. Sending her to the hospital was just ast attempt at saving her life. At once, Tiffany broke down at the loss of her beloved daughter. As her best good and because he empathized with her, Cooper stayed at the hospital with Tiffany. Cooper knew and understood what Tiffany was feeling right now. Even though Betsy deserved it, Tiffany still lost her daughter¡ªher only child. On the other hand, Sophia was restless and had no appetite at all. Michael assumed she was just frightened from watching Sarah kill a person, so he specially had vegetarian dishes made for dinner. That evening, there were fewer people at their residence. Justin had gone abroad for a meeting while Celine had brought her daughter to stay at the Fletcher residence. Meanwhile, Carmen had gone to y with the other kids next door and Cooper was keeping Tiffanypany. As for Linus, he was busy with work at the office. Sophia was gazing at the table full of vegetarian dishes and still couldn¡¯t eat. Staring nkly at her food, she poked at it with her fork. ¡°Alright, stop thinking about it. It had nothing to do with you. Here, have some vegetables,¡± Michael scooped a spoonful of vegetables and ced it on her te. Still, Sophia thought it was tasteless and couldn¡¯t even swallow. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to tell Michael the whole story of what happened today. ¡°¡­ I wasn¡¯t trying to kill her at all. I just wanted to use the knife to restrain her, and I didn¡¯t know¡­¡± She didn¡¯t know how the knife had ended up in Betsy. She didn¡¯t know if Betsy had identally crashed into her or if she had subconsciously stabbed her. Either way, she was also responsible for her death even though if she hadn¡¯t killed her today, Harry would have. Betsy lost her life. She had killed someone, and she couldn¡¯t possibly pretend to forget about it. Upon hearing the whole story, Michael was very calm and did not show any expression. When Sophia was done speaking, heforted her, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it was my fault. I should have gone with you guys.¡± In fact, he was also home at that time. When Sophia and Sarah went out, he had left not long after. When he arrived at the filming set, he received the news and rushed over to the scene immediately. If he had been more attentive and asked, the women wouldn¡¯t have had to experience this. Furthermore, Hope was his godson. He, as a godfather, should have done something. These things should have been done by the men. In fact, the reason Michael and Harry rushed over was to kill Betsy. To hell with the Adams Family! They were only tolerant toward the Adam Family on Cooper¡¯s ount. Now, they had crossed the line and the young-looking father-inw was at his limits too. In fact, Cooper was a person who knew right from wrong. Even if Michael knew he was going to offend him, he would still willingly help Harry to kill Betsy. Michael had also been worried that the child would be frightened and had informed Sophia in advance to protect the child. To his surprise, the both of them had killed Betsy themselves. If anything, that saved some time and lessened the risks. Upon seeing Sophia¡¯s frown, Michael tried to persuade her. ¡°Come on, you have to eat something. Even if you didn¡¯t kill her, she was still going to die today.¡± Of course, Sophia knew that, but she still felt grim about it. After all, Tiffany was Cooper¡¯s good friend, and she had lost her daughter¡­ No, she still had a child in her belly. Her daughter deserved to die anyway! Thinking about it this way, Sophia felt better. Kidnapping Hope was already a vition of thew, so their actions could be considered self-defense. At the end of the day, however, she still killed someone. As such, she ate more vegetarian dishes to feel better about not having any animals harmed for this meal of hers. At that moment, the little twinge in her heart was almost gone. Sean and Stanley had heard the news and came over to visit Sarah in the evening, and Sophia tagged along. Sarah had been medicated while Hope¡¯s face had been cleaned. As a matter of fact, the child seemed to be used to this and was emotionally stable. He was doing his homework calmly as usual. As a sessor of the Winston Family, he was already prepared to deal with the devastations of a storm at any time. Harry also knew that Sophia was the one who stabbed Betsy first, but this didn¡¯t matter anymore because he would be taking the me for everything. After all, he was supposed to be the one who stabbed her. ¡°Old friend, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be marrying into a rich family soon.¡± Chapter 1403 Chapter 1403 Harry sighed as he patted Michael¡¯s shoulder with immense regret. Michael was already in his forties, yet he was still living together with Sophia illegally as their remarriage kept being dyed. Originally, he was expected to marry into the big and powerful Michel Family. However, now that Harry had ughtered his father-inw¡¯s lover¡¯s daughter in one fell swoop, his dream of marrying into a powerful family was shattered. Just then, Michael pushed Harry¡¯s hand off his shoulder andforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m also rich and powerful.¡± Naturally, Michael knew the Adams Family was not going to let this go easily. Not only would they not let go of the Winston¡¯s, but they might also smear his name. After all, Sophia was the one who had stabbed Betsy first. Then again, Michael and Harry had been working together for many years. In Bayside City, they were the mafias whereas the Adams family were neers. As such, they weren¡¯t afraid of the Adams Family at all. Now, it all depended on Cooper¡¯s stance¡­ After all, Sophia was involved in this as well. Would Cooper want his little darling to pay for what she did? No, that was out of the question. Betsy deserved what happened to her. Harry and the Winston Family were fearless. To them, this was just another small matter. For the most part, that person had iting to be killed by Madam Winston for kidnapping the young master of the Winston family. Frankly, they even held a feast to celebrate and congratte Madam little kitten on her first kill. At first, the Winston Family did not approve of Sarah. She was short and cute, which didn¡¯t match Harry¡¯s domineering aura at all. In the underworld, they were all about ruthlessness. However, Sarah¡¯s sweet face couldn¡¯t look ruthless at all even if she tried. But this time, she sessfully won over the entire Winston Family when she tore apart the insurance lady from the Adams Family. Atst, their Madam Winston finally became ruthless! N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. While the Winston Family were in a celebratory mood, Tiffany, on the other hand, was devastated. She had been in a daze ever since she watched the doctors fail to resuscitate her daughter, whose corpse would soon be transferred to the morgue. Just a few hours ago, my daughter was still alive. How could she be gone just like that? Truthfully, she couldn¡¯t ept the fact that her daughter who was alive and well, and who she had raised for over twenty years, was gone. Tiffany looked at Betsy¡¯s corpse, whose skin was ghastly pale from the excessive loss of blood. It was only after she was cleaned up did Tiffany clearly see the wounds that were littered all over the body. Every sh was deep, and each of them seemed to have stabbed Tiffany in the heart. Her daughter¡ªher only daughter¡ªhad been so brutally tortured and killed. She loved Harry, and all she wanted was to be with him! She didn¡¯t harm anyone. All she did was invite Harry¡¯s son over as a guest. How could they kill her? ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Cooper hurriedly held Tiffany and let the hospital staff take Betsy¡¯s body away. Undoubtedly, he deeply regretted Betsy¡¯s death even though she had brought it upon herself. Despite that, he knew better than to make any remarks. ¡°Tiffany, she¡¯s gone. Don¡¯t be too sad. You need to take care of your body.¡± Don¡¯t be too sad¡­ How could she not be sad? Tiffany was smiling bitterly when her vision blurred, and she passed out. Amidst the haziness, she seemed to hear someone speaking¡­ ¡°Ms. Tiffany is three months pregnant. It looks like she suffered an emotional shock and fainted. No worries, all she needs is plenty of rest. Older mothers are not advised to do anything strenuous¡­¡± ¡°Ms. Betsy¡¯s body is still in the morgue.¡± ¡°The police are gone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already gone to the Winston Family to apologize. Harry is a sensible person and they agreed to not hold the Adams Family ountable.¡± Upon hearing Harry¡¯s name, Tiffany, who was lying in the hospital bed, fought hard to open her eyes and listened to Bailey and Cooper¡¯s conversation by the door of the ward. ¡°I¡¯ll leave Tiffany to you for the time being. I have just reached an agreement with the Winston Family. We¡¯ll leave this incident behind us and Betsy¡¯s death will not affect anything. I won¡¯t make things difficult for you either,¡± Bailey said to Cooper. Deep down, Cooper felt responsible for this incident. Betsy had been harassing Harry for a long time, yet Harry had never once taken any action because he was Michael¡¯s close friend and neighbor, whereas the Adams Family and Michel Family were family friends. Moreover, Harry respected Cooper, which was why he let Betsy get away with what she did over and over again. Otherwise, he would have chopped her up himself long ago. Furthermore, he had advised Tiffany and Bailey many times to restrain Betsy. Unfortunately, Betsy never once took Bailey seriously while Tiffany condoned her behavior. Ultimately, this was their family affair, and Cooper could only do so much without straining any of the rtionships. At that moment, Cooper thought that he should have been more assertive then. If he had been, perhaps this situation would not have happened. ¡°I¡¯m also responsible for this incident. As for the Winston Family, I¡¯ll be sure to put in a good word for you,¡± Cooper replied. The Adams Family were considered outsiders. Although they were a world-renowned insurance giant and they were powerful abroad, even more so than the Winston Family, thetter ruled the underworld in Bayside City. In fact, it was Betsy herself who started this mess, so she deserved what happened to her. Meanwhile, Bailey was worried that the Winston Family would take their anger out on the Adams Group. If the insurance industry wanted to survive, they had to be on good terms with the underworld. If the mafias started any trouble at all, the insurancepany would be losing money to the point of bankruptcy. Therefore, immediately after the incident, the first thing Bailey did was go to the Winston¡¯s to apologize and vowed to restrain Tiffany to prevent simr incidents from happening again. Cooper didn¡¯t want the two families to be against each other either, and he thought that Bailey¡¯s approach was wise. As the two were discussing, they realized Tiffany had woken and was sitting up on the hospital bed, quietly watching them. Her green eyes shone brightly as if resentment had lit them up. Turning around, Cooper saw that she was awake and hurried to her side. ¡°You¡¯re awake? You need to lie down, you¡¯re pregnant. You need to be careful and take care of the baby.¡± Instead, Tiffany stared straight at Bailey, who was standing at the doorway. Bailey was fifteen. He was dressed in a ck formal suit and looked like he had juste from a business meeting. His green eyes, identical to Tiffany¡¯s, were also staring back at her. With a smirk, Tiffany sneered, ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that my daughter¡¯s death was her own fault, while the Winston Family is innocent? You even approached the Winston Family and thanked them for getting rid of yourpetitor?¡± Other than the Winston Family, the person who would be happy about Betsy¡¯s death was this brat before her. With an indifferent expression, Bailey spoke in a business-like tone. ¡°Tiffany, I¡¯m deeply sorry about Betsy¡¯s death, but the Adams family¡¯s business in Cethos cannot be affected by her death. I¡¯ve appeased the Winston¡¯s, and they have promised they wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± At once, Tiffany interrupted Bailey with a miserable and sarcasticugh. ¡°In other words, you won¡¯t be avenging my daughter¡¯s death, and instead, you¡¯re going to beg the murderers for mercy?¡± With a perpetually emotionless face, Bailey kept his true thoughts as usual in the deepest corners of his tender fifteen-year-old mind. Nodding, he answered, ¡°Yes. While you were unconscious, I had a video conference with the board of directors and the elder¡¯s council. They have unanimously agreed to drop the charges for Betsy¡¯s death in exchange for the Winston Family¡¯s forgiveness.¡± Chapter 1404 Chapter 1404 ¡°Besides¡­¡± Tiffany could see Bailey¡¯s lips subtly curving upward into a smug smile as he continued, ¡°Due to your unstable emotion, your poor health condition, the fact that you are having an advanced maternal age pregnancy and have just undergone a great hit, we¡¯re concerned that you will be affected by your emotions and lead to suboptimal business decision making. As such, more than two third shareholders in the shareholders meeting just now have voted to temporarily revoke your management rights in the company. We¡¯ll restore your position after you¡¯re physically and emotionally recovered to ensure that you¡¯ll be able to workpetently.¡± Cooper remained silent sitting beside her. Though this was disgusting and cruel news to Tiffany, he thought it was best for her to take a break at this moment especially after the major incident. On top of her pregnancy at an advanced maternal age, she had suffered a severe blow and could lose her child anytime. Moreover, she might not be able to hold herself back from seeking revenge against the Winstons. In Bayside City, the Adams Family was no match for Winston Family, the local tycoon. The Adams would be greatly undermined if the Winstons gained the upper hand; even if the Winstons failed to prevail, Cethos would not allow them to be defeated and might directly interfere by imposing sanctions against Adams Family. One was an insurancepany from overseas while the other was the local ruler of the underworld who maintained the order of Bayside City¡¯s underworld. Cethos would certainly preserve thetter. With that, Cooper quickly cooed, ¡°It¡¯s okay, Tiffany. Lie down. Your health is of utmost importance and you can still go back to thepany after you¡¯ve recovered.¡± However, Tiffany merely put on a bitter, vile, and hateful smile. ¡°Bailey, so you¡¯re implying that I¡¯m not allowed to seek revenge for my daughter, and you¡¯re even revoking my authority!¡± The Winstons had helped Bailey to get rid of Betsy and caused a huge blow to Tiffany. Then, Bailey had grasped the opportunity to quickly call for an urgent shareholders meeting and revoked her authority. True enough, this was Bailey¡¯s typical approach. This fifteen-year-old youngd was extremely scheming and vicious, and he was an expert in exploiting opportunities and twisting the knife in one¡¯s wound. Tiffany even suspected that this was a trap set up by Bailey and the Winstons. Besides suffering a huge blow from Betsy¡¯s death, even her recent pregnancy, which she intended to keep a secret, was made known to Bailey. As such, Tiffany was in a precarious situation. In contrast to Tiffany¡¯s distress and madness, Bailey remained calm and clear-headed. ¡°Tiffany, I understand how you feel, but I have to take into consideration Adams Family and Adams Group as a whole too. Betsy has got only herself to me for her death, and the Winstons are already kind enough for not holding you ountable. In fact, you hold the greatest responsibility for Betsy¡¯s incident. If you had listened to me earlier and kept her within bounds, she would not have been so bold to go after Harry¡¯s son.¡± ¡°Then, Adams Family and Adams Group would not have to pay for the consequences of your ipetence in disciplining your child. If you insist on demanding an exnation for Betsy¡¯s death, please make a clean break with Adams Family and the group, and use your personal wealth to hire a lawyer for legal advice. The group and the family too will make an announcement as soon as possible to dere that we¡¯re no longer connected to you anymore, and that we will not bear the consequence of your actions.¡± Nodding at the side, Cooper admired Bailey¡¯sposure. He had totally put aside his personal emotions and acted in the best interest of thepany and the overall situation to reduce the damage to a minimum. His decision and judgement were precise to stop loss before it was toote. Besides, his thoughts were logical and coherent. Though he was indeed rubbing salt into the wound, he presented it in an imposing manner. However, Tiffany had a totally different point of view. Bailey did not do this for the sake of the family and thepany. He merely wanted to take this opportunity to permanently cast her out from her position of power in Adams Group. After speaking those words, Bailey turned around as he was ready to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll make a move first. The trouble that Betsy stirred up has caused a big mess in thepany, and I still have to go back to the company to give an exnation to numerous officers from the Cethosian government. After all, thest people who were as arrogant as Betsy are still on the snow mountain, and it is hard to even retrieve their bodies.¡± Obviously, he was referring to the twins from the Yard Family. It was confirmed that the two had perished but it was an arduous task to retrieve their bodies, which had yet to be brought back until now. The twins had abducted a child of the Fletchers while Betsy had abducted a child of the Winstons. While the Fletchers were a military family and owned military power, neither were the Winstons an impotent group. After exiting the ward, Bailey turned around and looked in Tiffany¡¯s direction. She thought no one knew how the child was conceived, but in fact, Bailey was aware of everything. She wanted to deliver the child in secret. There was probably no one else on the earth, including Bailey Adams, who would desire the child to be born except Tiffany herself. There were only a few lineages left from the Adams¡¯ direct family branch. The lineage of de had suffered a setback upon losing their only son, and their only offspring, L, was left to fend for herself. Now, Tiffany had lost her only daughter. The current situation was a golden opportunity for Bailey, and he would certainly not let it go. Walking out from the hospital, Bailey got into the car and made a call after pondering for a moment. ¡°Hi, is this Lucile?¡± On the other end of the line, Sophia couldn¡¯t believe her ears and looked at the number again to confirm it was Bailey. This is strange. Bailey actually called me? ¡°Hey Bailey, who are you looking for? Carmen is not around today. She went to Winston¡¯s.¡± All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Having no intention to beat around the bush, Bailey got straight to the point. ¡°Don¡¯t you wish to know how Tiffany got pregnant with her child?¡± Meanwhile, in the hospital, Tiffany finally realized that her current situation was fraught with danger. After Betsy died, Tiffany was admitted to the hospital. Due to the huge blow and her advanced maternal age pregnancy, her condition was unpleasant and could have a miscarriage anytime. Hence, she had to stay in bed and get sufficient rest. This was the perfect timing for Bailey toe after her. He would definitely take the chance to kill her andpletely wipe out her lineage. Feeling bitter, Tiffany subconsciously stroked her abdomen. I shouldn¡¯t have forced myself to conceive this child. She was clearly aware of the risk associated with giving birth to this child at her age. Nevertheless, she had ignored the objection of the others and insisted on bing pregnant. Now that Betsy had died, this baby became her only child. However, she knew that Bailey would not allow this child to be born! Thinking of the child in her belly, Tiffany was reminded of Betsy¡¯s horrific death. Blood boiling, she gnashed her teeth as she was filled with hatred and rage. With that, she could feel her abdomen throb with pain. All of a sudden, she grabbed Cooper¡¯s arm who was sitting beside her as if she was clutching at a straw. ¡°Cooper, my daughter has died just like that. You can¡¯t just sit on your hands!¡± Though the Winston Family was powerful in Bayside City, Adams Family was not a pushover either. Tiffany was determined to take revenge on behalf of Betsy even at the cost of sacrificing the entire Cethos market. It would be a piece of cake to defeat the Winstons if Cooper was willing to assist her. Nheless, Cooper furrowed his brow as hepletely disagreed with Tiffany¡¯s idea. ¡°Tiffany, Betsy has already passed away. It was her fault after all. She shouldn¡¯t have gone after a kid. Please stop thinking about taking revenge. Just take good care of yourself and the baby.¡± Staring at Cooper in shock and disappointment, Tiffany felt as if she had never known him. Even Cooper sided with the Winstons! Did her daughter deserve death then? Chapter 1405 Chapter 1405 Feeling hateful and disgusted, Tiffany smiled coldly as she had finally seen his true colors. She could vividly remember seeing Sarah and Sophia at the scene when she opened the door. Cooper¡¯s daughter too contributed to Betsy¡¯s death, so of course he would side with his daughter! Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Tiffany felt like her infatuation with him for the past twenty years had been for nothing. Cooper was just another heartless man! She had devoted her heart to him, but he did not care for her at all! Tiffany was already in deep water herself, let alone be able to seek revenge for Betsy. Bailey had seized the chance to sabotage her and had probably gotten rid of her confidants. Being in an isted and helpless state, she might even have a miscarriage anytime now. Cooper was the only person in Bayside City who could help her. Though Cooper was an outsider, he was aware of the internal dispute within the Adams Family. Now that Tiffany had lost her daughter, he would certainly not sit on his hands. ¡°Tiffany, I¡¯ll arrange a safe location for you and send some men to protect you. Deliver the baby safely and take good care of yourself, and only then you can repossess your power.¡± With that, Cooper left in a hurry. It was dinner time, and his two darlings were still waiting for him at home to have dinner together. He was indeed kind and kept his word to send some men to look after Tiffany. He was sure that Bailey would go after her. As a friend and an outsider, that was the most that he could do, and he had already fulfilled his responsibility as a friend. As for the incident of Betsy abducting Hope, if it hadn¡¯t been for Cooper who mediated in between, and Bailey who had been wise enough to go meet the Winstons in person to apologize, the Winstons would definitely not have let the matter drop just like that. This time, Betsy had only herself to me. The Winstons had pulled strings with the rted officers and effortlessly, it had been ruled that they were acting in self-defense. The Adams Family was unaffected by Betsy¡¯s death at all while their insurancepany operated as usual. They had even made a fuss about Betsy¡¯s death and demandedpensation from the Winstons. Sharp-witted, Bailey had taken the opportunity to eliminate Tiffany after Betsy¡¯s death and had profited from Betsy¡¯s misfortune. On the other hand, Tiffany had lost everything overnight and had to live under Cooper¡¯s protection. Cooper¡¯s implication had been very clear. He would not meddle with the Adams Family¡¯s internal dispute, but he was determined to protect Tiffany¡¯s unborn child. By rights, Bailey shouldn¡¯t be so unsensible to provoke Cooper at this moment. However, he actually had the nerve to do so. He was determined to not let the child be born. Meanwhile, at The Imperial¡­ ¡°No more dogs in this house!¡± Cooper had been busy helping Tiffany to settle down these few days. When he went home, he was surprised to see another bunch of Huskies. Stanley had sent all his ex-wife¡¯s dogs to Sophia¡¯s ce, and so there were six more Huskies in the house all of a sudden. Together with the three existing Huskies, they became a nona-Cereberus. The house was all taken up by the dogs! Sophia mumbled resentfully, ¡°I¡¯ll keep just one pup and will send the others away once they¡¯ve grown up.¡± Nevertheless, Cooper still rebuked her sternly, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you keep any more dogs. We already have many at home.¡± Sophia pouted her lips. Indeed, they already had many dogs. There were a bunch of ck dogs in their mansion at Riverdale in addition to the six dogs at their current ce. Well, you just need extra dog bowls for the new dogs. That¡¯s no big deal. Though Cooper blew a fuse every time, he would still dly walk the dogs the next day. He had even ced the new pups in Carmen¡¯s stroller which she used when she was younger and took them out for a walk. Walking the dogs, Cooper felt as if he was walking his grandchildren. Actually, Cooper was a loving person. Though he looked grim in normal days, he loved cats and dogs, and he loved children even more. He would asionally visit the temple to pray to the god of childbirth for Sophia to have another child. Sophia was aware that Cooper had put Tiffany under protection, and Tiffany would have born her second child the next time Sophia met her. A child whose father was unknown. Sophia knew she shouldn¡¯t stay put anymore as things would be even moreplicated if she continued sitting back. One day, she finally grabbed the chance to ask Cooper after he came home from walking the new puppies. ¡°Dad, do you know who is the father of Tiffany¡¯s unborn child?¡± Cooper knew Sophia had participated in the incident the other day too, but he acted dumb and had not talked about Betsy¡¯s death with Sophia at all. This was Cooper¡¯s first time hearing Sophia bringing up Tiffany and Betsy at home. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either,¡± he answered. Then, he exhorted Sophia earnestly, ¡°Tiffany lost her husband when she was only in her twenties, and now she has lost her only daughter in her forties. Don¡¯t meddle with her affairs anymore in the future, alright?¡± All the while, Cooper had merely deemed Tiffany as a friend and a business partner. Ever since Annabel left, there were only three kinds of women in this world to Cooper¡ªthe living ones, the dead ones, and Annabel. Obviously, Tiffany belonged to the category of the living ones. He was not interested in her, but neither did he want to see Sophia driving her into a corner because of Betsy. As such, he said those words as a reminder to Sophia. Sure enough, Sophia stopped asking thereafter. It seemed like Cooper was totally unconcerned of the identity of the unborn child¡¯s father. To him, there was no difference no matter who the father was. He only wished to protect his old friend¡¯s only child. After all, Tiffany had rendered him great assistance in the past. Nevertheless, Sophia knew there must be something fishy about Tiffany¡¯s unborn child, though she was aware that Bailey didn¡¯t make the call to remind her out of kindness, but to make use of her to get rid of Tiffany¡¯s child. The child was Tiffany¡¯s final hope, and it would definitely be a huge blow to her if the child was killed. What was more, she might never be able to turn the corner anymore. Bailey recognized that since Cooper was determined to keep the child, anyone who went after the child would get on his nerves, except Sophia. On the other hand, since Sophia was already aware of the child¡¯s origin, she would certainly not allow the child to be born. Even if Cooper attempted to stop her, she would not back out. Chapter 1406 Chapter 1406 Finally, Sophia secretly met up with Tiffany. It had been a month since Betsy passed away, and Tiffany seemed to have recovered from the grief of losing her daughter. Protected by Cooper and her confidants, she stayed in a bungalow in the outskirts of town for recuperation. At four months pregnant, Tiffany¡¯s belly had not started showing yet. Looking in the pink, she appeared to be in good spirits and was hopeful about the future. She would be able to turn the corner as long as the child was safely born. Meanwhile, Sophia had revealed her motive straight away. ¡°Abort this child.¡± She stared deadly at Tiffany¡¯s belly while saying that. It was as if she could look through the skin and see the 4-month-old fetus gradually being formed. His small, tender limbs were no different from other ordinary fetuses. The blood flowing in this child was from Tiffany and Cooper. He was an offspring of the lineage of the Adams Family and Michel Family, and he would be born as the sessor to his parents¡¯ wealth. This child who came along to Cooper in his autumn years would be an opportunity to help Tiffany soar again. Tiffany had chased after Cooper for twenty years yet he remained moved, so he would not possibly have a child with her. The source of the unborn child¡¯s gene was unknown. However, ording to Bailey¡¯s intelligence, the child was Cooper¡¯s. Sophia stared fiercely at Tiffany¡¯s belly with abination of disgust, hatred and jealousy in her eyes. She failed to conceive a child, yet this old woman had seeded. What was worse, that was her father¡¯s child! If the child was born, Sophia would have a brother. The thought of it already ticked her off. She found it rather eptable if Anna was her little brother¡¯s mother because after all, Cooper and Anna loved each other. But what the heck was Tiffany¡¯s child? He was merely a tool used by Tiffany to tie Cooper up and to return to the Adams Family. Content is ? by N?velDrama.Org. Stunned, Tiffany had not expected Sophia to be aware of the truth. Nevertheless, she continued acting dumb. ¡°Abort this child? Why should I?¡± Sophia did not beat around the bush either and cut straight to the point. ¡°I dislike the child in your stomach, and I won¡¯t allow him to be born. If you refuse to give him up voluntarily, I¡¯ll help you to get rid of him in person.¡± With that, she stood up and left without saying a word more to Tiffany. Leaving aside how Tiffany obtained Cooper¡¯s gene, Sophia would definitely not allow the child to be born into this world. Things would only get moreplicated if she was to dig into it. She was well aware of Tiffany¡¯s personality. If the child was born, he might grow up to be a second Betsy and would even rob her of Cooper¡¯s heritage and favor. At the thought of Cooper being the father to Tiffany¡¯s child, Sophia felt disgusted as if she had swallowed a dead fly as she could picture someone like Betsy sticking around Cooper and calling him ¡®dad¡¯. Watching Sophia taking her leave resolutely, Tiffany pondered who could have leaked out the news. It seems like Sophia knows something. She had conducted everything in utmost secrecy, and by right, no one would be aware of it besides that few people. Truth was, her unborn child belonged to Cooper. She had frozen her ovum twenty years ago, whereas Jordan had provided the sperm. He had stolen Cooper¡¯s sperm from the cryobank at which Cooper had stored at a younger age. Cooper¡¯s gene had been given by Jordan to Tiffany as a present. Tiffany knew Jordan wouldn¡¯t be this kind and merely made use of her to destroy Cooper and Anna¡¯s rtionship. Obviously, Jordan knew Anna was two-timing him, but because he was crazily in love with her, he still gritted his teeth hoping that she would change her mind though he knew she had betrayed him. If a child of Cooper and Tiffany was born at this moment, Anna would certainly give up on Cooper. On the other hand, Tiffany would achieve her motive too by making use of this child to approach Cooper. Cooper was already in his forties and he loved children. As such, he would surely dote on this child and Tiffany. There was a Cethosian saying which went, ¡®if you truly loved someone, you would love everything rted to them¡¯. Now that Tiffany was pregnant with Cooper¡¯s child, it was likely that she would be even more important to Cooper. However, Tiffany dared not to tell Cooper because she couldn¡¯t guarantee that Cooper wouldn¡¯t ask her to abort the child upon knowing the truth. Even if Cooper had no intention of doing so, many others would have¡ªfor instance, Sophia and Linus because the birth of this child would pose a threat to them. So, Tiffany didn¡¯t dare to reveal the truth. As long as the child was born into this world, there would be no reason for Cooper to not love him and protect him, and with that, Cooper would naturally care more for Tiffany too. Likewise, Sophia would not bring up the matter to Cooper too regardless of how the secret was made known to her because she shared the same concern as Tiffany¡ªshe couldn¡¯t predict Cooper¡¯s reaction. While Sophia was worried that Cooper would want to keep this child, Tiffany was worried that Cooper would want to abort this child. Hence, Sophia wished to get rid of the child before Cooper became aware of the truth, whereas Tiffany too wanted to give birth to this child before Cooper discovered it. Sure enough, Sophia did not mention anything to Cooper aftering home. She was certain that Cooper would agree to keep this child due to various reasons. She was displeased and didn¡¯t like how things looked at the moment. Sophia had always been the apple of her father¡¯s eyes. Nevertheless, she was selfish and wicked. Besides detesting Betsy, she hated Tiffany who had raised Betsy to be who she was, and she hated the child of Tiffany and Cooper even more. Though the child was innocent, Sophia was dying to kill the child in person as the evil side of her expanded infinitely. She had always been a beautifuldy with dark personalities. ¡°Mommy!¡± Dressed in a new outfit, Carmen suddenly popped out from nowhere. Giving off a sweet aura, the little girl looked extremely adorable with her kitten ears headband. Disying her new dress, she asked, ¡°Look at me. Am I pretty?¡± Sophia gazed at her from head to toe and praised, ¡°Absolutely. My darling looks gorgeous!¡± Carmen nodded in contentment. ¡°Daddy got this dress specially for me. Grandpa and I are going to shoot again tomorrow. Mommy, you have toe visit us, okay?¡± It was only then that Sophia was reminded that the shooting for ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯ had not ended yet. Earlier on, they had agreed to be cast in several episodes, and the shooting and broadcasting of the show had been proceeding on and off. Aired on the military channel, the show had received high poprity. Although Carmen was supposed to concentrate on school, every year, she would still make some cameo appearances asionally. For instance, she had taken up a cameo role in ¡®I Am The Vige Chief (Season 5)¡¯, and she would make a cameo appearance in the series together with her father. In fact, Michael too had not expected the vige romance series produced by an amateur filming crew, in which he yed a cameo role on a whim back then, to achieve such outstanding results today. It had broken the box office records and became one of the most conventional themes. The series was a great hit and even the fifth season was in production now. Previously, Michael would y a cameo role in every season and now, Carmen would be joining him. Carmen¡¯s happiest moment was every time when she knew she was going to appear on the TV again. Having starred in ¡®I Am The Vige Chief (Season 5)¡¯ and ¡®My Grandpa In Shining Armor¡¯ recently, Carmen felt she was the luckiest child to have both her father and grandfather taking turns to appear on-screen with her. It would be perfect if Sophia could star in ¡®Where Are We Going, Mom?¡¯ with her. ¡°Mommy, I¡¯ll be staying with the filming crew for a few days. Don¡¯t miss me, okay? I¡¯m going to earn some money and buy you candies.¡± Looking at Carmen¡¯s joyful appearance, Sophia had mixed feelings. Every child was a darling to their parents. Her child was precious, and so was Tiffany¡¯s child. Not only did she just kill Betsy, but she was even going after Tiffany¡¯s unborn child now. Sophia felt as though she was a demon. How then was she different from people like Jordan? There would be a reckoning¡­ Chapter 1407 Chapter 1407 Wearing a matching outfit with Carmen, Michael looked at Carmen delightedly as she chattered like a joyfulrk. However, he turned around to find Sophia wearing a long face. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Michael asked concernedly. Sophia forced a rueful smile and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± She had not brought up the matter to Michael because she didn¡¯t want him to be aware of it, nor did she want Carmen and the other family members to discover it. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. However, she had told Sean about it. ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± Sean furrowed his brows upon hearing her n. Sophia would alwayse to Sean whenever she had a problem. He was like a walking encyclopedia for emotional issues. He would be able to provide extraordinary solutions and clear analysis for all kinds of troubles including rtionship disputes, psychological issues or even irregr menstruation. Even so, there was no progress between him and Stanley yet. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve made up my mind,¡± Sophia answered determinedly. Sean heaved a sigh. It seemed like neither were there other solutions at the moment. Actually, it was better to get rid of the child earlier since things might get moreplicated if the child was born. Sean even provided Sophia with counselling services. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The Cethosian Law does not acknowledge fetal rights. Technically speaking, it is still a fetus now. Killing a fetus does not count as murder. I¡¯ll help you.¡± The n to destroy Tiffany¡¯s unborn child became much easier with Sean¡¯s assistance. At least, Sophia had ovee the emotional hurdle. In order to eliminate all feelings of guilt, that very night, Sophia traveled to Reverie Mountain where Daniel Levine was to offer incense, donate some money, and fast. Thereafter, she quickly went home to get down to business. However, she had not expected Tiffany to have made a move before her. Rushing back from Reverie Mountain, she spotted Carmen ying in the yard even before she entered the house. ¡°The olddy with big boobs is here again. She¡¯s crying to Grandpa in the house and Grandpa sent me out,¡± Carmen muttered in a displeased manner. The olddy with big boobs? Tiffany the b*tch hase to our ce! The door was closed. Sophia gently pushed it open and heard Tiffany wailing miserably in the living room. ¡°Cooper, I know you detest this child, but he is my only offspring now. Your daughter has already killed Betsy. Are you going to kill my second child now?¡± Tiffany had actually confessed to Cooper first to gain the upper hand! It seemed like Sophia had to burn her bridges now to go after Tiffany¡¯s unborn child. A cold shiver ran down Sophia¡¯s spine but the next second, she boiled with rage. What a shameless b*tch! Tiffany was kneeling in front of Cooper in the living room. Holding tightly onto his thigh, she cried her eyes out in despair as she begged Cooper in a low voice while sobbing incessantly. ¡°I¡¯m already forty-something this year. I¡¯ve taken out all my frozen ovum from the bank and this is the only one that was fertilized sessfully. Cooper, do you know how much I¡¯ve suffered to get this child? And do you know how risky it was for me to conceive this child?¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re the only one in my heart and I¡¯ve been waiting for you all these years! Though I was married a few times, I didn¡¯t want to bear children for any other men because my only wish is for you to be the father of my next child. I had no choice but to turn to thisst resort after waiting for so many years.¡± ¡°How could you be so heartless? Your daughter already killed my daughter, yet you want to kill our child next? He is innocent!¡± Sure enough, Cooper was put in a difficult position upon knowing the truth about Tiffany¡¯s pregnancy. His greatest worry had eventuallye to pass. His genes had fallen into the hands of Jordan, and Jordan had actually given it to Tiffany. And now, Tiffany was pregnant with his child. Back then, Jordan had sent someone who perfectly imitated Annabel to seduce Cooper, and Cooper had been acting along with the woman to lure her into exposing information about Annabel. In order to put on a seamless act, he even had to sleep with the woman. Cooper had been extra vignt every night to prevent the impostor from getting pregnant with his child. He would use hypnotic fragrance together with a high-tech instrument which could manipte human¡¯s brain waves to induce hallucination upon the impostor. As such, the impostor thought she had already slept with Cooper and even pretended to have conceived his child so that she could threaten him. Cooper would definitely not harm children. Every child was an angel and innocent, but how could he ept that Tiffany was pregnant with his child? What would Anna think of this child? As a result of technological advancement, the development of organ transntation, test tube babies, and even clones had gradually emerged. Such technologies constantly challenged human¡¯s ethical principles and so, there would always be a group of schrs protesting outside the headquarter of Michel Group from time to time. They would remonstrate against issues such as thepany¡¯s overly innovative robots, their engagement in cloning technology research, and their unduly advancement in artificial intelligence technology which was causing the degeneration of the human race. Cooper had not expected the repercussions to hit him this soon. He wasn¡¯t the one who got her pregnant, but the child was indeed his. Was he really going to kill his own child? No, he couldn¡¯t bear to. Though the child was still a fetus now, he was part of him. Later, this fetus would grow into a child of Cooper¡¯s. Moreover, it was a fact that Sophia had killed Betsy. Even if Cooper could find thousands of excuses to run away from his responsibility, the fact would not change. Meanwhile, Theo and his three children stayed away from the living room as they had no intention to meddle with Cooper¡¯s affairs, though they still peeked at him out of curiosity. On the other hand, the bunch of dogs had actually gathered around to watch the scene. Subconsciously, Cooper nced toward Sophia who had just entered the house and Linus who had rushed back home too. The two siblings stared at Cooper with mixed emotions as they awaited his response. Looking downward at Tiffany who was crying in despair and thereafter gazing toward Sophia and Linus, Cooper felt extremely conflicted. Sophia and Linus would undoubtedly still be his most precious children, but Tiffany¡¯s unborn baby was his child too. How could he bear to annihte the child when he was already a four-month-old fetus? Tiffany was still weeping. ¡°Bailey won¡¯t allow my child to be born. Cooper, I¡¯ve once had the thought of using this child to tie you down. However, now that Betsy is gone, I¡¯ve lost all my kin. All I want is this child and nothing else.¡± ¡°I need this child. He is my only hope to stay alive and I can¡¯t afford to lose him! For the sake of our many years of friendship, please, I¡¯m begging you to save my child and I.¡± Feeling extremely afflicted, Cooper closed his eyes. He knew whatever he said now would be useless because he couldn¡¯t possibly ignore the child after he was born. After all, the child was his offspring too, just like Sophia and Linus. Though it was not a fruit of love between him and the woman he loved, it did not change the fact that the child belonged to him. He couldn¡¯t remain apathetic. Tiffany¡¯s sobbing mixed with the sound of Celine munching on sunflower seeds and watermelon was making the atmosphere in the living room be increasingly bizarre. Chapter 1408 Chapter 1408 ¡°Wee home.¡± Michael came home early today and saw that Sophia had arrived home too. ¡°How was the trip to the temple on the mountain?¡± he asked. Michael walked up to hold Sophia¡¯s hands but realized that her hands were extraordinarily cold. He wrapped his big hands around hers, hoping to bring her warmth. He could totally understand Sophia¡¯s feelings. Back then when he first found out that Quinton was his younger brother, he couldn¡¯t ept it too even though it wasn¡¯t Theo¡¯s fault. At that time, Tanya had abducted Theo back to her drug nest and tortured and insulted him in every way possible. She even drugged and r*ped him in order to make him surrender. Theo could have gritted his teeth and fought back, but he had chosen to endure so that his identity would not be exposed. So, he yed along, pretending to have no power to resist and surrendered. At the same time, he secretly passed on information about the drug nest and arranged tactical ns. With that, he eventually demolished the drug nest and put an end to the turmoil in Golden Triangle which hadsted for a few decades. Now, the citizens in that area stayed away from drugs and were living a peaceful life. Theo was not to be med for the incident which happened at that time. Nevertheless, Michael¡¯s feeling upon discovering the existence of a younger brother was indeed indescribable. And now, Sophia was going through exactly what he had experienced before. However, Cooper¡¯s case was more exceptional than Quinton¡¯s. Who would have expected Tiffany to have gotten Cooper¡¯s gene and used it for herself? Michael had never seen such a shameless woman. In fact, his father-inw was the most distressed because he was innocent. He had merely stored his sperm, yet it had been stolen. Now, someone was pregnant with his child and hade to pester him. ¡°Everything will be fine,¡± Michael cooed at Sophia in a low voice. With aplicated look, he nced toward Cooper. ording to his understanding toward his father-inw, it was very likely that¡­ ¡°Get well soon, Tiffany. We¡¯ll talk about the restter on.¡± Eventually, Cooper heaved a sigh and said, ¡°I¡¯ll protect you and the child.¡± With that, Cooper plodded up the stairs and went into his room. Wiping off her tears, Tiffany stood up, thereafter staggered toward the door under her bodyguard¡¯s support. She seemed to not have noticed Sophia when she passed by her at the entrance. Sobbing and sniffing, Tiffany got into the car and left under the bodyguards¡¯ extensive protection. Nevertheless, Sophia knew that Tiffany was extremely ted. She would be able to tie Cooper down once the child was born. This b*tch has indeed gone all-in. She even forced herself to conceive a child at this age. At that moment, Sophia¡¯s thoughts were extremely dark and evil. Michael too had noticed that her hands were getting increasingly cold. Michael shared Sophia¡¯s stance and they were of the same opinion. This child can nevere to this world. It was not just a matter of a fight over Cooper¡¯s heritage and love. If that was the case, Michael would be pleased to see his father-inw having more children, especially daughters, because then he would not devote all his attention to Sophia all the time, and Michael would be less pressured as his son-in- law. But the problem was that the child¡¯s mother was Tiffany, who was someone as wicked as Quinton. After the child was born, she would surely strive for more wealth on behalf of him, and might even go after Sophia and Linus. At the moment, the family was pretty harmonious. Though there were often some minor disputes between Michael and Cooper, generally, the home environment was very decent. Cooper treated his son well, Linus and Sophia were close with each other, and there were neither intrigues nor conflicts of interest within the family. However, things would be different once Tiffany¡¯s child was born. Since Cooper is soft-hearted and can¡¯t bear to get rid of the child himself, as his son-inw, I should give him a hand! And so, Michael secretly made a call to Anna. The call had caught Anna off guard because she rarely crossed paths with Michael and only knew him mainly through his movies. She was aware of this son-inw¡¯s backgrounds and achievements. As a mother-inw, she was extremely satisfied with him. Anna remained silent for a moment after Michael had finished narrating, and then answered, ¡°I believe Cooper will handle this matter well.¡± ¡°What if he fails?¡± Michael asked. Smiling faintly, Anna said, ¡°Then he doesn¡¯t deserve my love.¡± With that, Michael was rendered speechless. Then, they made some small talk before hanging up. He wondered how his father-inw would settle the issue this time. In fact, many rtionship issues between men and women were self-induced as a result of their indecisiveness and ambivalence, and there was no one else to me. If there were any ambiguities at all, then the cause would either be that the love between the two wasn¡¯t genuine, or that one party was deliberately running away from problems. An illustration was that there would always be an ignorant man behind every bad rtionship between his mother and wife. There were never any ambiguities between him and Sophia even though they had been separated in the past, and they had encountered exes who seeked to stir up trouble too. It would be disappointing if Cooper still remained indecisive this time round. This kind of matters must be handled in a firm and urate manner, or else the consequences would be dire. Irene Weber was the perfect example. Back then, Michael failed to settle with her as soon as possible and it had nearly caused Sophia to be harmed. No one had an idea about how Cooper would handle this matter. Nevertheless, Cooper seemed to have not changed since Tiffany¡¯s visit. He worked from home every day and would stay in his study room untilte night. After dinner, he would spend some time with the family watching TV, fight over the TV remote control, and have a chat with Theo. Besides, he would sternly exhort Sophia to quickly get rid of the dogs at home, yet still joyfully walked the dogs the next morning. On the other hand, Sophia had been racking her brains thinking of ways to get rid of Tiffany¡¯s unborn child. Cooper was determined to keep Tiffany¡¯s unborn child, and Tiffany too had been extra vignt since this was her only chance to turn the corner. As such, it was not an easy task to kill the child. Michael watched as Sophia diligently prepared a proposal. n A: Drug her. The pros are simple execution and high effectiveness whereas the cons is that we might get caught. n B: Lure her out and beat her up. n C: Hire an assassin. P.S. Quinton will not take up the task but he can be the middleman to refer other assassins to us. He¡¯ll earn a 20%mission. n D: Bribe Tiffany¡¯s private doctor to cause a medical ident. Michael became speechless. She actually ced the proposal tantly on the bedside table. Isn¡¯t she afraid of being exposed? Sophia had secretly taken action too besides writing the proposal. Tiffany stayed in a bungalow arranged by Cooper in the outskirts of town. He had sent a dozen staff including chauffeurs, chefs, servants, and bodyguards to look after Tiffany. As such, Tiffany was well- protected, and her diets were strictly controlled. It was indeed arduous to defeat her. Since Cooper was having Tiffany¡¯s back, the child would definitely be safe unless Tiffany decided to give up the child. Cheesed off, Sophia even wrote curses about Tiffany¡¯s child in her room and ced her writings at the common area visible to Cooper. Though Cooper knew Sophia detested the child, he pretended to not have seen the curses. Failing to cause Tiffany to have a miscarriage, Sophiained about having chest tightness these few days so Michael apanied her to the hospital for a checkup, and they dropped by to visit the gyenecologist. She was experiencing breast swelling but was still not pregnant. Truth was, her health had been severely affected in the early years and it was already a great blessing to have been able to conceive her first child. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Upon recognizing that it was hard for Sophia to get pregnant, both Sophia and Michael were disappointed. However, they did not expect that they would bump into Tiffany, who was here for a prenatal checkup, as they walked out from the hospital distraughtly. Tiffany¡¯s face was glowing. Looking at Tiffany¡¯s belly which had barely increased in size, Sophia became extremely jealous at that instant. Not only is she pregnant, but she is even pregnant with twins! Chapter 1409 Chapter 1409 Tiffany was four months pregnant, but her belly had not started showing yet. Arriving at the hospital under the bodyguards¡¯ careful protection, Tiffany was extra vignt and did not greet Sophia and Michael even after she saw them. Any ordinary antagonist would have taken the opportunity to jeer at Sophia at such a moment. However, Tiffany did not even spare Sophia a nce after bumping into her although she knew Sophia was looking for every possible chance to kill her unborn child. Well, I guess that¡¯s the difference between a normal antagonist and the ultimate boss, Michael marveled inwardly. In fact, he had been looking for opportunities to harm Tiffany the past few days too but to no avail because Tiffany was extremely cautious. Besides, Copper had given her the highest level of protection, and Michael couldn¡¯t even seize a good timing toy a hand on Tiffany though the hospital where she went for prenatal checkups was actually under his management. My old father-inw is totally acting against his usual calm and rational persona! Michael knew there was not much time left for him. How could he leave with a peace of mind if even Cooper was unreliable? He had originally intended to leave Sophia and Carmen in Cooper¡¯s hand. Regarding that, Cooper had also made his statement. If Michael as Sophia¡¯s husband who was thirteen years older than her was able to take care of the twodies for a lifetime, then him as the father who was eighteen years older than Sophia would be able to do the same too. However, Michael became perplexed at this moment. For the first time in his life, he started doubting Cooper who had always been powerful. Meanwhile, Sophia was still annoyed after leaving the hospital, and she was cursing Tiffany non-stop on the way back. ¡°Look at that old woman. She¡¯s so arrogant! What¡¯s so great about being pregnant? Just you wait, I¡¯m going to do IVF and I¡¯ll get a pair of twins too!¡± Michael furrowed his brows. Earlier on, he had already learned about the process of IVF. It was indeed grueling and torturing from the stage of fertilization to conception andbor. He couldn¡¯t even bear to let Sophia suffer the process though she was only in herte twenties. Yet, that old woman was seeking all these troubles when she was almost fifty years old. Does she really love Cooper so much? Moreover, it had probably not been easy for her to get pregnant at this age, and she might miscarry anytime when Sophia started taking action. During the weekend, Sophia secretly asked Lucy out again to the bar where they usually went. Recently, two of them would meet up for a drink from time to time. There weren¡¯t many customers at midnight. The bunny girl on the stage was singing out of tune while several drunk meny disorderly over the tables. There were only very few who remained sober. After two sses of wine, Sophia gradually lost control over her emotions. ¡°Who is that old woman to bear my dad¡¯s child? My dad¡¯s totally out of her league!¡± Sipping her wine quietly, Lucy did not chime in and only spoke up after Sophia finished ranting. ¡°ording to my understanding of your father, he¡¯ll definitely not do so. He must have some other ns.¡± Sophia smirked and remained silent. Cooper was a calm and rational man in her opinion. Putting aside the way he treated his children and Carmen, Cooper was almost like a robot. Nheless, this matter concerned his offspring. Would he treat that child the same way he treated Sophia? Back then when Virs-18 hit the country, Sophia was on the verge of death. In order to umte merit on behalf of Sophia so that she could quickly regain consciousness, Cooper had desperately released the cure and caused the money which he had invested over the years to go down the drain. That was the day when Cooper was the least calm and rational throughout his life. In fact, Sophia too had reckoned that Cooper might have some other ns, but she still couldn¡¯t stand seeing Tiffany being this arrogant. All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Sophia¡¯s car was parked at the same old spot outside the bar. Sitting shotgun, Michael was scrolling through his phone while asionally lifting his head to nce at the parking lot across the street, where Lucy¡¯s car was parked. It was still the same original model. Actually, this ex-girlfriend of his was a nostalgic person. She had been using this car for many years, and she was already using it when Michael started dating her. The car had gone under repair several times, and it was amazing that she was still using this old manual car after so many years. In the past, Michael could always see Dana sitting in the car waiting for Lucy. But s, now that Lucy was engaged to that toad, Dana was unlikely to appear anymore. Michael felt sorry for his ex-girlfriend for marrying such an ugly man. He couldn¡¯t imagine making out with someone who had a face as hideous as his. Michael kept ncing toward Lucy¡¯s car. It was dark inside the car and it seemed like no one was in there, but Michael knew there was someone in the car. Perhaps he was staring at the car so frequently that even the person in the car had noticed him. The car door was opened all of a sudden, thereafter a man in ck suit who looked like a bodyguard got out of the car and came to knock on Michael¡¯s car window. ¡°Hey dude, let¡¯s get a drink!¡± Holding a bag of peanuts and Cokes, the man took off his obstructive sunsses and revealed his face. It was Dana! Michael had no idea why Dana was here, and they had started drinking even before Michael could realize. Sitting outside the bar, two of them had some snacks and Coke but dared not to take alcohol because they still had to driveter. Michael did not ask Dana where she had been. Silently sipping his Coke, Michael looked toward the bar. While they were drinking, Dana gave a burp out of the blue and said, ¡°Just stay out of Cooper¡¯s affairs.¡± Michael put down his can of Coke and asked in astonishment, ¡°Even you¡¯re aware of that?¡± Has the news about Cooper¡¯s child traveled so far already? Even Dana who popped out from nowhere knows about that. Smiling smugly, Dana did not answer the question. Suddenly, Michael recalled that on the day of Lucy¡¯s engagement, Sophia came home and said that she had seen Dana at the ceremony, and that Dana was standing beside Jordaine¡¯s son, Moore. At that time, Michael thought Sophia was drunk. Ever since Dana¡¯s incident, the Winstons had not revealed her whereabouts. Even Harry had not answered Michael when he asked him, and so Michael actually thought Dana had died. But she turned out to be alive! In other words, the person whom Sophia suspected as Dana that night was indeed her. Is her current condition so abject that she needs to work under Moore? That¡¯s impossible! She must have approached Moore as an undercover agent. Lost in thought, Michael reckoned Dana had actually perceived something but remained silent. It seemed like she had gotten back together with Lucy again and was helping Lucy to deal with Jordan, and the first step of her n was to lurk around Moore. Moore was one of the most capable sons whom Jordan loved the most. As such, Moore and his mother must have participated in many schemes of Jordan. For instance, Jordaine must have contributed to stealing Cooper¡¯s frozen sperm. Just as Michael¡¯s thoughts were running wild, Dana stood up and said, ¡°My dder is having some issue and I¡¯ve been urinating quite frequently.¡± With that, she swayed to the nearby bushes to pee. It was already midnight anyway and there was barely anyone in this remote area. A few drunkards too hade out from the bar to pee in the bushes. That exined the extraordinarily lush greenery outside the bars. Meanwhile, Michael was roasting Dana inwardly. How can a girl just pull down her pants and pee by the roadside? He secretly peeked at her, wondering if she would squat down. However, little did he expect to see Dana unzipping her pants and pulling out a penis. Instantly, Michael was knocked down with a feather as he stared at the huge pecker with his eyes wide open. What a long, thick, scary d*ck! Chapter 1410 Chapter 1410 Dana¡¯s masculine mien was revealed the moment he showed his penis. The drunkards who were peeking at him in a teasing manner thinking he looked rather feminine, were instantly stunned that they even peed on their pants. Oh my goodness, this is horrifying! We shouldn¡¯t have judged the book by its cover! This man has such a sweet appearance yet his d*ck is so freaking huge! No girls would be able to handle this! Scared out of their wits, the drunkards had all run off the next second. In fact, any other guys would be too embarrassed to take off their pants and show their penis in front of Dana. Dana realized that Michael was still staring at him after he had finished peeing, and so he turned around and disyed his penis to Michael. ¡°Surprise! It¡¯s so awesome and powerful, isn¡¯t it? I underwent the operation overseas. Though it¡¯s not an original one, it¡¯s quite handy to use,¡± Dana eximed proudly. Rendered speechless, Michael nodded silently as he felt sorry for his ex-girlfriend. Well, it¡¯s indeed awesome and powerful¡­ Michael thought to himself as he was green with envy. Momentster, Sophia and Lucy walked out from the bar feeling tipsy. Meanwhile, Dana had already gone back to the car and so Sophia had not met him. At that instance, Michael stared at Lucy with a totally different look. A few days had passed, yet Michael still had not recovered from the shock of the tremendous penis. Oh my Lord! On the other hand, Quinton became aware of Dana¡¯s huge artificial penis and had specially visited Dana to take a look at it. Then he immediately went to borrow money from Michael and had even epted the task to help Sophia kill Tiffany¡¯s child. It seemed like Quinton wanted to save some money to get one too. Before Michael could recover from Dana¡¯s episode, he received another shocking news¡ªTiffany miscarried! This was extremely great news to Sophia. However, it was the total opposite to Quinton. Currently, he was as poor as a church mouse. As a tutor in a university, he had yet to pass his probation and was barely scraping by with his modest sry. Yet, he would need millions to instal a gear like Dana¡¯s, and he even had to look for a man-made penis on his own. While Michael refused to lend him money, he could not take on other assassination tasks too lest Michael raked him over the coals. Just as he was ted to receive Sophia¡¯s assignment, the target victim had already miscarried even before Sophia paid him hismission. Sigh. Upon receiving the news, Sophia quickly rushed to the hospital to check the scene out. ording to her surface understanding of Tiffany, the woman might have deliberately put up a bluff to pretend to miscarry. Then, she would show up with her newborn child a few monthster after Sophia had let down her guard, and Cooper would suddenly have another child again. ¡°Ouch¡ª¡± Tiffany¡¯s miserable wail emerged from the ward. Meanwhile, Sophia disguised herself as a nurse and sneaked into the emergency room. There was blood all over Tiffany¡¯s body and her bleeding had not stopped ever since she was pushed into the emergency room. There were blood stains everywhere¡ªthe floor, the operating table, and even the doctor¡¯s scrubs. Still, Sophia thought the scene could have been faked, so she walked up to Tiffany and lifted her patient gown to take a look while the other staff were in a chaos. Sure enough, Tiffany was bleeding. Lying on the operation table, she wailed and screamed in despair as her blood-stained hand clung tightly onto the doctor¡¯s white coat. ¡°Please save my children! Please!¡± ¡°Cooper, save my children!¡± Atst, her energy was depleted as her hands hung down weakly, thereafter she went into aa as a result of excessive bleeding. The intense operation was still ongoing. Sophia looked at Tiffany apathetically as thetter miscarried. Amidst the mixture of blood and water, Sophia could see two fetuses which were almost fully formed being extracted from Tiffany¡¯s body; it was a pair of twins. Sophia was not the one who caused the miscarriage this time because all her previous ns did not work out. ording to the doctor, the miscarriage was due to Tiffany¡¯s weak health status. She had merely taken a short walk and miscarried. After all, she was in her forties and it was strenuous to bear a child at that age. After this miscarriage, Tiffany would not be able to conceive a child anymore. In fact, her pregnancy would have failed anyway, and the risk had be even higher because she was having a pair of twins. She might even lose her life. Meanwhile, Cooper was waiting anxiously outside the operating room. He was caught between feeling depressed and relieved upon knowing Tiffany had lost her children. On the other hand, Sophia had sneaked out from the ward and went back home. Lying on the bed, her mind was filled with the image of the fetuses extracted from Tiffany¡¯s body and Tiffany¡¯s dreadful wail. Filled withplicated, indescribable emotions, Sophia felt as if she was the culprit even though she wasn¡¯t the one who had caused the miscarriage. Later, Michael came back home to find Sophia lying on the bed dressed in a nurse uniform. He quickly closed the door and rubbed his hands as he approached Sophia excitedly. We¡¯ve been married for so long, yet this woman is still seducing me in uniforms! For the next few days, the scene of Tiffany¡¯s miscarriage kept lingering in Sophia¡¯s mind while Michael was constantly haunted by the thought of Dana¡¯s huge penis. Struggling with their own issues, none of them had realized that Cooper had been staying out quite often. Upon her miscarriage, Tiffany seened to have lost her will to live. She was extremely depressed and didn¡¯t have much appetite. Because of that, Cooper had attempted to counsel her several times and even stayed by her side at the hospital for a few days. Besides, he had promised to protect Tiffany and help her retrieve her power in the Adams Family after she had fully recovered. Indeed, she had supported him greatly when he first entered the Michel Family, and so he couldn¡¯t turn his back on her at this moment. Though Tiffany had miscarried, Cooper still cared for Tiffany and often came homete, which annoyed Sophia. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. However, at the same time, Sophia was distressed whenever she was reminded of the dead fetuses and Tiffany¡¯s miserable cry on the operating table. For that reason, Sophia had abstained from meat in her diet for several days, and the whole family had followed suit. Actually, Quinton was the most distressed person of all. After seeing Dana¡¯s artificial penis, he had been desperately wanting to get one of those powerful ¡®weapons¡¯ which everyone else would marvel at. But s, Michael refused to lend him money, nor did Sophia entertain him as she was fasting those few days. Cooper and Linus were loaded, but Quinton was too embarrassed to go to them. While Theo was penniless, Celine was too feeble-minded to manage money, so Justin was the one holding the purse strings. He had been holding a grudge against Quinton ever since Quinton caused his wife to lose her sound mind. Not only was he unwilling to lend money to Quinton, he even wished to beat him up. As such, Quinton could only turn to Nate in the end. Though Nate was only fifteen years old, he already had a worth of over ten million. Besides the money given by his family and rtives during festival celebrations, he himself had earned some money, and Justin too had given him some shares in thepany. As such, Nate actually had a great deal of savings and was rich. He had dly agreed to Quinton¡¯s request with one condition, which was that Quinton had to help him teach the green-eyed goblin a lesson and snatch back Carmen¡¯s three apricot seeds. The three apricot seeds were like three needles pricking Michael and Nate, causing them affliction. So, they had to take the seeds back! Sure enough, Quinton readily agreed. Actually, Quinton was a traditional person. Even eunuchs in the ancient times would bring along their most precious belongings before they died. Quinton had lost his most precious belonging ever since Stanley shot it down, and he desperately wanted to get a penis back so that he wouldn¡¯t have to die with a physical defect. Hence, every time when Bailey came to y sports at Bayside University, Nate would call Quinton over to bully him together. Funnily enough, not only did they fail to snatch back the three apricot seeds, but Quinton had even be Bailey¡¯s personal bodyguard after a few encounters. Chapter 1411 Chapter 1411 ¡°Are you actually going to be a bodyguard for the green-eyed boy with the long eyshes?¡± All content is ? N0velDrama.Org. Quinton just received thebor contract from Bailey, but the well-informed Michael already found out and immediately questioned him face-to-face. Quinton replied, ¡°I¡¯m working undercover next to Bailey to find the three apricot seeds.¡± Michael looked at him suspiciously. Then, he took a look at hisbor contract. Wow, that¡¯s a pretty high pay for a part-time bodyguard. Are you sure you¡¯re not being Bailey¡¯s bodyguard for the sake of making money and adding a d*ck to your body like Dana? Michael knew him well. The Phantom Wolf has gone bankrupt long ago and all the members have left the organization. They were the organization with the most brutal killers because of stimnts. But also because of stimnts, the organizationpletely crumbled to the ground. They no longer have fake drugs to sell and I have confisticated all their illegal gains. Quinton is now broke. The sry of a teacher in Bayside University who is still under probation is pretty low. He is now conducting live lectures online and he even borrows my car to drive people around to earn money. He is pretty hardworking and pitiful. Compared to online lectures and driving people around, the sry of being Bailey¡¯s bodyguard is indeed higher. Well, I should just let him be. ording to his ie, he will probably need a few years to earn the amount of money needed for the operation. For the next few years, he will be busy earning money the honest way. It is better for him to have a decent job than idle around. With that, Quinton became Bailey¡¯s personal bodyguard. He would go to work after he finished teaching at Bayside University every day. Quinton even had to conduct live online lectures on holidays, so he was an extremely busy man. After the summer vacation of Bayside University started, Quinton started working at the Adams Group full time. Ever since Tiffany was kicked out by Bailey, almost all of the board of directors were controlled by this 15 year-old president. The pressure he faced was unprecedented. While Bailey¡¯s peers were anxious about high school, he was already in charge of a bigpany and the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. Naturally, more and more people wanted him dead. Bailey knew this so he had increased the number of bodyguards; Quinton was one of them. In Bailey¡¯s eyes, Quinton was the perfect bodyguard. After all, the Fletcher family had a reputation in Bayside City. Moreover, Quinton was a retired killer who had turned good, so most killers wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him. Quinton also asionally returned to Michael¡¯s ce to bring him thetest news of the Adams Group. With Cooper¡¯s help, Tiffany had a chance to take control of the Adams Group again. There were rumors that Tiffany had an abortion for Cooper¡¯s sake and that in order to repay her, Cooper promised to help her regain her position in Adams Group. However, there was no news about the three apricot seeds. Bailey hid it well. A few dayster, Quinton told Michael that Tiffany had fully recovered and Cooper had appeared with her at a branch of Adams Group. Tiffany was still on the board of directors and a shareholder. Her grand return had caused a huge sensation in Adams Group, but Quinton still had no news about the three apricot seeds. Two monthsters, Quinton came over again. He told Michael that there were rumors circting in the Adams Group that Cooper and Tiffany were engaged. Furthermore, with Cooper¡¯s help, Tiffany was working hard and gradually taking back control of the Adams Group. She was also secretly lobbying the support of other senior executives. Because of this, Bailey was under a lot of pressure and only slept two to three hours a day. He was so anxious that his eyshes were falling out. ¡°What about the apricot seeds?¡± Michael didn¡¯t care whether the green-eyed boy was losing his eyshes. He was only concerned about the apricot seeds. Quinton helplessly said, ¡°Your father-inw and his fianc¨¦e are making your future son-inw so anxious that he is about to go bald. How can you only be concerned about those three apricot seeds?!¡± Michael was so furious, his face darkened. Seeing this, Quinton trembled in fear and left in a hurry. Sophia, who was standing at the side, had the same expression as Michael. She was not mad about the three apricot seeds. After all, it was not a big deal for children to exchange small gifts with each other. She was mad about the fact that Cooper and Tiffany were probably going to announce to the public that they were a couple. Sophia was also furious that Cooper was cheating on Anna. It seems that I have underestimated that scheming old hag. Being pregnant with Cooper¡¯s children was not her ultimate goal. If she really did it because she wanted to have Cooper¡¯s children, she could have just hired a surrogate. With her age and body, she couldn¡¯t give birth at all, let alone give birth to a pair of twins. She was doomed to lose her babies from the beginning, but she still did it without any hesitation. That is because her goal is not to be pregnant, but to obtain Cooper¡¯s attention and pity through miscarriage. Sure enough, she seeded. Right now, Cooper visits Tiffany from time to time and even appears in Adams Group together with her. This means that he is on her side and he is showing the people at Adams Group that he will support Tiffany and help her win. Moreover, he lent her a lot of money. That old hag!!! Sophia was so enraged, she stomped around the room. Meanwhile, Michael was also walking around anxiously. Cooper and that old hag won¡¯t be able to build a family anyways. Tiffany can¡¯t give birth anymore and she¡¯s old. At most, she probably wants to use Cooper¡¯s influence to regain her position in Adams Group. Cooper is a wise man. He wasn¡¯t tricked into sleeping with Tiffany even after twenty years, so it will be the same for the next twenty years. However, those three apricot seeds¡­ Quinton said that other than taking a shower and exercising, Bailey carries those three apricot seeds everywhere with him. Even when taking a shower and ying basketball, he would leave the apricot seeds with the person he trusts the most for safekeeping. Bailey values those three apricot seeds so much, he treats it like a precious treasure. He even cleans them regrly. It seems like a serious problem! Oh no¡­ I will not let Carmen marry that green-eyed boy with longshes who looks sad all the time! Sophia and Michael were in two different worlds, worrying about two different things. Sophia had been in contact with Callum. ¡®Is your dad in love with someone else?¡¯ ¡®My mom is in a bad mood. I asked her yesterday and she told me that she hasn¡¯t been in contact with your father for more than three months. I¡¯m positive that your father doesn¡¯t love her anymore.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s over. Your father and mother are about to break up. You are going to be an orphan that nobody wants.¡¯ Sophia read through Callum¡¯s messages repeatedly and her face darkened. Cooper visits Tiffany every day, takes care of her and goes out in public with her like a couple. He even publicly sides with her. It¡¯s natural for Anna to be upset after finding out about this. Perhaps this is the reason Jordan willingly gave Cooper¡¯s sperm to Tiffany. He wanted her to use her to tear Anna and Cooper apart. After all, Anna¡¯s publicly-known fianc¨¦ is Jordan and Cooper is just a man she is having an affair with. However, Jordan has wives from all over the world; whether or not Anna has an affair doesn¡¯t matter anymore. The weird love triangle that they¡¯re in has too much hatred involved, and they can no longer be judged by general ethics. Late at night, Cooper returned home, looking extremely exhausted. ¡°Dad.¡± As soon as he entered the house, he saw Sophia sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. It waste autumn so it was chilly in the room. Sophia was already wearing velvet pajamas. Cooper nodded as he removed his jacket and hung it on the clothes rack. He sounded tired as he spoke. Cooper seemed to be really busytely, but he still walked over to show his concern for Sophia. ¡°The temperature has dropped today. Are you cold? Are your clothes thick enough to keep you warm?¡± As he spoke, he squeezed her pajamas and felt rest assured after he made sure it was thick. Then, he continued to nag at her. ¡°What about long johns? You have to remember to wear long johns too!¡± He was both a father and a mother to Sophia. Other than giving Sophia care and advice at work, he also took care and gave attention to Sophia¡¯s daily life. Whether or not Sophia wore long johns was also under his jurisdiction. With an upset expression, Sophia asked, ¡°Dad, are you going to marry Tiffany?¡± Chapter 1412 Chapter 1412 Cooper replied, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t interfere with adults¡¯ affairs. I know what to do.¡± He knows what to do? Perhaps dad really has his own arrangements. ¡°Then what about mom? Are you going to continue to make her feel wronged?¡± Sophia hurriedly asked. It¡¯s like a scene in a romance drama. The male lead has to pair up with the second female lead for many reasons and has to deliberately show affection in front of the female lead, making the female lead feel sad. The two lead characters love each other but they have no choice but to hurt one another. Right now, Cooper is the male lead, Anna is the female lead, and naturally, the vicious second female lead is Tiffany. Anna must be really upset right now. I never thought that Cooper would get involved in this sort of thing. With a smile, Cooper replied, ¡°Darling, you won¡¯t understand how adults do things.¡± N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. How could I bear to see the woman I love suffer? Perhaps Cooper is nning something and doesn¡¯t want to tell me and drag me into it. After Tiffany came out of confinement, she went back to Europe a few times. Then, she stayed in Bayside City and even settled in the Edwards residence in Riverdale. There used to be a ce Sophia would visit during the holidays, but after Cooper¡¯s return, some members of the Mitchell family started to live there. Riverdale had developed rapidly over the years and many members of the Mitchell family set up companies there. They used to live in the suburbs which were full of alleys. It was inconvenient for them to get in and out of work, which was why many Mitchell family members moved to the Edwards residence in Riverdale. Tiffany also moved into Edwards residence recently and she even slept in the room that used to belong to Cooper. Even some of the members in the Mitchell family said that Cooper and Tiffany were about to get married soon. After all, Tiffany had a miscarriage because of Cooper. The word ¡®miscarriage¡¯ seemed to have a power to suggest a beautiful and charming story, as if Cooper had done something to Tiffany. But in reality, he had done nothing of the sort. Even though Sophia didn¡¯t know what was going on between Cooper and Tiffany, she could tell that Tiffany was confident. If Tiffany really got together with Cooper, she would make sure that Sophia suffered. After giving it some thought, Sophia called Anna. She almost never took the initiative to call her, but at that moment, she felt that something must have happened between Anna and Cooper. As their concerned daughter, I must find out what¡¯s going on. After retrieving Anna¡¯s private number from Cooper¡¯s phone, she soon made the call. ¡°Hello?¡± Hearing Anna¡¯s gentle voice from the other end of the phone, Sophia suddenly felt nervous and didn¡¯t know what to say. Although she was almost thirty, she still longed for maternal love and wished that she could have a mother that cared for her. However, whenever she faced Anna, she didn¡¯t know how to express her longing and didn¡¯t know how tomunicate with her. Sophia used to really like Anna, but then various things had happened that made her feelings for Annaplicated. She indeed is the perfect mother. Not only is she gentle and kind, but she also has wisdom and ambition that is not inferior to men. Sophia stayed silent for a long time but Anna could already guess who it was. ¡°Sophia, is that you?¡± Sophia briefly replied, ¡°Hi¡­ Mom¡­¡± After dating Cooper, Anna found out that she used to be Annabel. It was the first time Sophia called her ¡®mom¡¯. Sophia felt awkward but was also afraid that Anna would think she was rude. Anna sounded like she was smiling as she replied, ¡°I have something to deal with right now. We¡¯ll talk later.¡± She seemed to be really busy and she was walking in a hurry while she was on the phone. Sophia could even hear the short and rapid sounds of her heels clicking on the ground. As soon as Anna finished talking, she hung up the phone. After a long silence on the phone, Sophia was still in a daze. I wanted to tell her that Cooper didn¡¯t betray her¡­ However, Anna seems to not care at all. It seems that they have a bigger n but Tiffany has already moved into Riverdale. Living in the Edwards residence is definitely not her goal. Her ultimate goal is to slowly move into Cooper¡¯s bedroom in The Imperial, and into his heart. As for Cooper, it seems that his rtionship with Tiffany has improved because of the child. Tiffany has even started to visit The Imperial from time to time. Every time she comes, she walks around freely, as if she is the owner of the house. Tiffany came again that day. They made some good food to entertain their friends to celebrate Plum Technology¡¯s new achievements, but they didn¡¯t expect Tiffany toe. Things got a little awkward and everyone at the table felt ufortable, except for Tiffany, of course. She was the mostfortable. Sitting next to Cooper, she spoke to him lovingly and leaned close to him, just like she used to. Even Stanley, who was usually really chatty and never shut up, was quiet. Probably because she felt that she had been pregnant with Cooper¡¯s child, she felt closer to him and was even more brazen than before. Tiffany even asionally wiped Cooper¡¯s lips intimately. Quinton had alsoe over that day. During the meal, he looked down at his food as he ate and didn¡¯t look up even once. He didn¡¯t want to take a single look at the disgusting couple. Quinton nned to leave as soon as he finished dinner, but Carmen suddenly hugged his thigh and refused to let him leave. Seeing this, Quinton chose to stay for the night. His work schedule was really full recently not because he had a lot of sses to teach at the university, but because he spent most of his time working for Bailey. Unexpectedly, after he finished dinner and went outside to smoke, he heard Tiffany¡¯s voice from behind him. ¡°I heard that you have been working as Bailey¡¯s bodyguardtely.¡± Quinton blew a smoke ring before he turned around to nce at Tiffany. Tiffany knew about his identity. After hearing her words, Quinton replied with a nod. When he was a killer, his biggest financiers were owners of big organizations like Tiffany. Tiffany pulled out a check and said, ¡°Fill in any amount you want. I want you¡­ to kill that kid for me.¡± When Tiffany spoke, there was a sinister look on her face. It¡¯s easier to hire one of Bailey¡¯s men to kill him. However, Quinton didn¡¯t even take a nce at the cheque. He casually blew another smoke ring and said, ¡°Find someone else. I have given up that life. I now teach people and work as a bodyguard for a living. I don¡¯t ept tasks like that anymore.¡± Tiffany chuckled and said sarcastically, ¡°Are you telling me that Phantom Wolf, the number one killer in the world, has retired from killing? What a joke.¡± Holding a cigarette between his fingers, Quinton took a puff lightly and with a calm expression, he replied, ¡°I¡¯m sure that you already know that the Phantom Wolf is gone. I¡¯m just an ordinary man with an ordinary life now. I don¡¯t kill anymore.¡± Tiffany snorted and put the check back into her pocket. ¡°You want to lead an ordinary life? Have you asked the dead souls that you killed?¡± Quinton didn¡¯t say anything. Tiffany knew that a killer would always be a killer, and it was impossible for them to stop killing. She turned around but unexpectedly, before the sarcastic smile on her face disappeared, she heard Quinton¡¯s voice from behind her. ¡°Miss Tiffany, shouldn¡¯t you ask yourself the same question? The people you have killed are no less than me, but you can still sleep peacefully. You even want to pursue a happy life. Why can¡¯t I?¡± Tiffany seemed to dismiss it until she heard Quinton say, ¡°Have you ever dreamt about the couple that was burned alive by a killer you hired every night before you fell asleep? Not only do you have to see them in your dreams, but every day after you wake up, you have to face their 15 year-old son¡­ Tiffany, you¡¯re almost fifty, and your time is running out. I suggest you save your energy to do some yoga, b*tch!¡± Chapter 1413 Chapter 1413 B*tch?! When Tiffany heard this, she clenched her teeth and turned around to re at Quinton. She saw that Quinton was still smoking. Under the dim light, the smoke in the air swirled around him, looking as if a thin veil was covering his face. In the end, Tiffany chose not to argue with him. So what if he doesn¡¯t want to take the job? There are plenty of other assassins in Bayside City that will take it. Tiffany slept in the guest room that night. Naturally, Cooper wasn¡¯t in the same room as her. Cooper was the only one sleeping on the third floor, and there was only one elevator and one secret stairwell to ess the third floor. Sophia had set a passcode for the elevator and she wouldn¡¯t tell Tiffany about it. She was determined to not let her go upstairs to disturb Cooper. At 10 at night, Sophiay in bed and thought about Anna and Cooper. All of a sudden, she turned around and asked Michael, who was lying next to her, and asked, ¡°If dad really married Tiffany, what should I do?¡± Michael¡¯s eyes were wide open and he was awake. If Cooper really marries Tiffany, I will be pretty happy about it because Cooper will definitely help Tiffany regain control of Adams Group and kick that green-eyed boy away. In that case, Bailey won¡¯t be able to disturb Carmen¡­ But there is only one benefit. The rest is all bad. My original mother-inw is better than Tiffany but she is not easy to deal with either¡­ The recent events are making me doubt Cooper. Is he really reliable? I have to leave soon. Sophia has the ability to take care of herself, but I¡¯m still worried. If I can¡¯t rely on Cooper to care for her, who else can I trust? Who will take care of my wife and daughter when I¡¯m gone? I have made the decision to leave, but these matters are holding me back. The injection that I had still hurts a little. I had another dose of the detoxification antidote today. It seems that I have been getting injections more frequentlytely. The health of my body is slowly deteriorating. I don¡¯t even know how long I can hold on¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go to sleep. Stop overthinking things,¡± he replied as he rolled over and hugged her. Sophia was still dissatisfied and she rambled on, but Michael didn¡¯t say anything. He just held her in his arms and enjoyed the alone time the two of them had. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. A whileter, Sophia didn¡¯t hear any noise so she thought that Michael had fallen asleep. She slowly got out of bed and went to Carmen¡¯s room. Carmen went to sleep early every day. Even though she was young, she already learned the importance of having beauty sleep and was determined to not go to bedte. Sophia tucked the quilt for her and took away the puppy that was sleeping on her bed. Carmen seems to really like this puppytely. She even hugs it to sleep. Later, Sophia left the room with the puppy in her arms. She lightly closed Carmen¡¯s bedroom door when she suddenly heard Tiffany¡¯s voice. ¡°Sophia, you¡¯re still awake.¡± She turned her head around and saw that Tiffany was standing not far away behind her. She was wearing sexy pajamas. No matter what she wears, no clothing can hide the curvy figure she was born with. After Tiffany had a miscarriage, she started chasing after Cooper again, and her rtionship with Sophia seemed to be less tensed. She even started to try to get close to Sophia. However, Sophia was not interested in chatting. She coldly replied, ¡°Yes. I¡¯m here to check on my child.¡± When she said this, she looked at Tiffany vigntly. As expected, when she mentioned the word ¡®child¡¯, Tiffany immediately froze. She used to have three children¡ªher first child, Betsy, had been stabbed by Sophia, and Sophia had watched her have a miscarriage and lose her other two children. As a mother, Tiffany¡¯s experience could be regarded as the most tragic in the world, but she only had herself to me. Tiffany soon came back to her senses and with a smile, she said to Sophia, ¡°We¡¯re going to be a family soon. You¡¯re going to be my child. You should be happy about it.¡± Then, she suddenly waved her hand and Sophia saw that there was a strange bracelet on her wrist. It looked like a tiny remote control. ¡°When Cooper and I get married, I¡¯ll send you a great gift. You¡¯ll definitely like it.¡± Marry Cooper? Why is she so confident? Cooper doesn¡¯t have feelings for her at all. Sophia pouted her lips. She didn¡¯t care about the gift at all and she replied, ¡°Thanks.¡± With that, she turned around and entered her bedroom. Her handsome husband was waiting for her to get in bed and she didn¡¯t want to waste time talking to Tiffany. The next day, Tiffany left after eating lunch at Sophia¡¯s house. Even though she wanted to stick close to Cooper all day, she had a lot of matters to deal with. Tiffany wanted to regain control of Adams Group and everything that belonged to her. During the time she was grieving for her daughter and her time in confinement after her miscarriage, Bailey had taken the opportunity to frantically remove the people in Adams Group who worked for her. He had done it quickly and ruthlessly, and it had lowered Tiffany¡¯s status in the family business. She had to regain her power as soon as possible and Cooper was there to help her. Quinton came back often and he brought them thetest news. Every time Sophia heard the updates, she got a little worried about Bailey. Tiffany and Cooper are both adults. Is it really fair for both of them to go against a 15-year-old child together? It is an internal matter of Adams Group, so is it appropriate for an outsider like him to interfere? Oh well, children do not understand grown-up matters. Winter had passed and autumn came. The air was crisp and the sun shone bright. Sophia hurriedly gathered the whole family to go for a short trip but unexpectedly, for many reasons, the luxury weekend farm tour turned into a half-day tour of the Bayside University football stadium. The sunlight was warm that day. Sophia spread out the mat andid out the food with her husband and child. At first, she thought Michael wouldn¡¯t be able to join them, but he came. Lately, he would apany Sophia and Carmen whenever he had free time and didn¡¯t go anywhere else. Michael even started to let Sophia participate in Asco International¡¯s business affairs. It seemed as if he wanted to enjoy a taste of retirement. It¡¯s time for me to slow down. I have worked too hard and too fast when I was young. I should take a break before getting back to work. Michael grabbed a swivel peeler and peeled an apple for Carmen. As soon as he finished peeling the apple and handed it to Carmen, Quinton and Bailey appeared out of the blue. Michael was surprised. Then, he saw Sophia wave at them. ¡°We¡¯re here! Both of you are two minutes late.¡± Hearing this, Michael was stunned. Bailey is here because Sophia invited him? I can¡¯t believe she secretly invited Bailey! Bailey was wearing a cold expression and he was dressed in a sweatshirt. Even though it was autumn, he was only wearing oneyer of clothes and his hair was pulled back with a sports headband. Quinton, who was walking behind him, was also dressed in sportswear with a basketball in his hand. When Carmen saw Bailey, she raised the apple that Michael had peeled for her and yelled, ¡°Bailey, have an apple!¡± Michael once again hovered over the both of them. Bailey declined the apple that Carmen gave him because he could already sense Michael¡¯s sullen gaze. After all, Bailey was an observant boy. Sophia had invited him over today to talk about things. Seeing that Tiffany and Cooper were about to get married, Sophia couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, and neither could Bailey. The two of them had to discuss how to stop Cooper and Tiffany. In the end, Bailey epted the fruit that Sophia peeled and under Michael¡¯s vicious re, he calmly took a bite. While eating, the two of them started talking. ¡°Knowing Tiffany, this is definitely not her only option. I¡¯m sure she has other backup ns,¡± Bailey said with a solemn expression. Tiffany actually took a great risk to get pregnant this time and it was out of my expectations. This b*tch is much more cunning than I thought¡­ Chapter 1414 Chapter 1414 The fight between Bailey and Tiffany had been going on for a long time, so Bailey knew Tiffany very well. Knowing Tiffany, she would never forcefully give birth to Cooper¡¯s children. The risks were too high, even if she really loves Cooper to the degree that can be considered perverted. She might be willing to risk her life for him, but it only applies to critical moments. Giving birth to Cooper¡¯s children is not crucial. Furthermore, Cooper already has children of his own. Tiffany knows that she can¡¯t give birth, yet she still got herself pregnant anyway. I can¡¯t figure out what she is nning. Is it possible that she did it because she lost her patience from waiting for over twenty years and wants to go all out? Bailey made a list of Tiffany¡¯s possible intentions in his head as he gradually tried to guess her n. One of them was¡­ ¡°You should be extra careful of Tiffany. See if she¡¯s doing anything strange. That b*tch will never give up so easily.¡± Bailey was still wearing a solemn expression on his face and he was frowning hard. Meanwhile, Michael was peeking at his eyshes. Didn¡¯t Quinton say that Bailey is so stressed that his eyshes are falling out? Bullsh*t. Michael hurriedly hugged Carmen tight as he tried his best to distance Carmen and Bailey. However, Carmen leaned close to Bailey and stared straight at the three apricot seeds that Bailey was wearing. All of a sudden, Carmen asked, ¡°Daddy, what does b*tch mean?¡± After giving it some thought, Michael replied, ¡°That¡¯s a bad word. Children shouldn¡¯t say things like that.¡± I didn¡¯t expect Bailey, a foreigner, to be able to speak Bayside City¡¯s ng fluently. The Adams family members probably share a Cethosian teacher. Unexpectedly, Carmen said to Bailey. ¡°Bailey, dad said that b*tch is a bad word. You shouldn¡¯t say that.¡± Hearing this, Bailey was speechless. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Ever since he arrived, he had been trying his best to not speak to Carmen. Michael¡¯s vicious re really scared him. Furthermore, he was a child too. He didn¡¯t want to date and he wasn¡¯t a lolicon, but Carmen kept trying to have a conversation with him. ¡°Bailey, do you want some oranges?¡± ¡°Bailey, are you thirsty?¡± ¡°Do you want to pet my dog?¡± However, Bailey kept ignoring her. Later, Carmen puffed in anger and looked aggrieved. Meanwhile, Sophia was thinking about what Bailey just said. That b*tch definitely has something up her sleeves! After they returned home, Sophia contacted Sean. ¡°Sean, find out what you can about that b*tch Tiffany. I¡¯m positive that she has other ns.¡± Sean soon replied to her. Unfortunately, Tiffany hid her intentions very well and it was hard for him to find out what she was nning. Tiffany was really active. She had rejoined the Adams family and Cooper was helping her. Meanwhile, Sophia and Michael secretly helped Bailey. After all, they were all in Cethos. This brand new market was the main battlefield of their fight, which was why the both of them started contesting for this market. The both of them each found their own allies and it was hard to tell who was winning. Lately, Cooper was often gone and nobody knew where he went. It was as if he was nning something huge. As for Michael, he was making preparations for his departure. He knew his health best so he knew that his body was approaching a critical point. The sooner he entered cryogenic sleep, the better. However, there were things holding him back and he couldn¡¯t bear to leave. Tiffany is pushing to be Cooper¡¯s wife right now. If she really gets married to Cooper, she will make sure Sophia and Carmen¡¯s lives be a living hell. I¡¯m afraid that Cooper will be deceived and chooses to neglect his daughter and granddaughter. Cooper may have another child in the future and Linus will build his own family. They will focus their attention on their families. When that happens, who will take care of Sophia and Carmen? On the day Michael was leaving, Sophia was working in the office and Carmen was in kindergarten. He packed a small luggage and headed to the airport. There would be a special ne to take him to Africa and he would enter cryogenic sleep there. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t see Sophia for onest time. I don¡¯t know when I¡¯ll see her again. I don¡¯t even know whether I will wake up and see Sophia and Carmen again. Everything is unknown. Perhaps I¡¯ll be like Theo. When I wake up, the world would have changed and the people I love may already be long gone. This seems to be my destiny. There is no other way. Cooper and Linus were there to send him off. Michael nced around his house reluctantly, hugged Celine¡¯s child, and petted the dogs. Judge seemed to sense that he was leaving. His ears drooped because of the sad atmosphere. After all, Michael had been taking care of Judge for many years so Judge bit Michael¡¯s trouser leg, not willing to let him go. Michael looked at the people around him but unfortunately, the person he wanted to see the most wasn¡¯t there. Nobody told Sophia about the fact that Michael was about to enter cryogenic sleep, and Carmen didn¡¯t know either. All they knew was that Michael would be abroad for a long time. A while later, there would be rumors that he was dating a female star and they would have a divorce. He had made all the arrangements. Sophia would be disappointed in Michael, but she would forget about him and go on with her life with Carmen. Gradually, Michael wouldpletely disappear from her world. She would find someone new and continue to be a carefree girl. It was Cooper who decided Michael¡¯s time of departure. He knew Michael¡¯s situation, and if they continued dying it, his health would worsen. At that moment, he had no choice but to be the bad guy. He didn¡¯t even give Michael and Sophia a chance to say their goodbyes. ¡°Hurry up, it¡¯s time to leave. After you arrive, enter cryogenic sleep as soon as possible. I will take good care of Sophia and Carmen on your behalf.¡± It was rare for Cooper to be soft on Michael. Michael looked at the people around him onest time but unfortunately, Carmen and Sophia weren¡¯t there. Only Celine¡¯s daughter was crying with her arms around his thigh. Celine thought that Michael was just leaving for work. With a smile, she said, ¡°Mikey, remember to bring back some souvenirs!¡± Michael nodded with tears in his eyes. In the end, he turned around and left. Theo and him were headed to Michel Medical Technology Company¡¯s headquarters in Africa. Michael had left in the afternoon so when Sophia returned home at night, it was almost time for him to get on the ne. The atmosphere around the dinner table was pretty depressing but Sophia and Carmen didn¡¯t seem to notice. Carmen even wanted to call Michael, but she gave up when she found out that he couldn¡¯t talk on the phone in the ne. The others didn¡¯t say much. Everyone knew that they were gone forever, except Sophia herself. However, she would find out about everything sooner orter. Before she finished her dinner, Sophia suddenly got a call from Sean. Nobody knew what Sean said but after Sophia finished listening to him, she jumped out of her seat in shock. ¡°What the f*ck?!¡± At the same time, Cooper also received the news. Tiffany had given birth to a son whose father was Cooper, and that boy had arrived in Bayside City! Chapter 1415 Chapter 1415 ¡°How is it possible that my father had a baby with Tiffany? Didn¡¯t she have a miscarriage?¡± Sophia asked Sean. In a panicked tone, Sean hurriedly exined everything to her. After hearing what he said, Sophia became really solemn. At the same time, Cooper received a simr call. He was much more upset than Sophia was. I can¡¯t believe Tiffany gave birth to my baby! No, to be exact, she didn¡¯t give birth to my children. She did the IVF and found a surrogate while also getting herself pregnant. She knew that she wouldn¡¯t be able to give birth, but she still got pregnant to distract everyone¡¯s attention. Tiffany knew that as long as her children were still fetuses, even Cooper would be unreliable. Perhaps he would have even secretly make her have a miscarriage, so she had prepared a backup n. She had gotten pregnant to distract everyone while secretly engaging a surrogate. Now, the surrogate had delivered a healthy baby boy to her. The baby had arrived in Bayside City and Tiffany was about to take the child to meet Cooper. Cooper suddenly had a son. In the end, he still became a father to a newborn baby. A lively baby boy was different from a fetus. Sophia could do everything to make Tiffany have a miscarriage, but she couldn¡¯ty hands on a child. Just then, the doorbell rang. ¡°It¡¯s Tiffany!¡± Sophia immediately threw her phone onto the couch in anger. That b*tch is shameless. How can she do such a thing? Now that she¡¯s bringing the baby to meet Cooper, Cooper once again bes a father. I¡¯m afraid that old hag has Cooper trapped. So this was what she had been nning all along. ¡°I¡¯ll go meet that old hag!¡± Sophia stood up furiously and stormed to the door. Doesn¡¯t she feel shame?! That b*tch! Unexpectedly, when she opened the door, she realized it wasn¡¯t Tiffany at the door, but Theo and Michael. ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t you leave?¡± Sophia asked in surprise, but no one answered. Instead, she was greeted with a passionate kiss. From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Mmhh¡­¡± The unexpected fierce kiss made her dizzy. Cooper also thought Tiffany hade but when he went out, he saw Theo enter the house with a suitcase in hand and a nk expression. Michael, who was supposed to be on the ne, was kissing Sophia. Seeing this, Cooper thought that it was unexpected but reasonable. It was as if he had foreseen it. He came back after all. ¡°Why are you back?¡± As the couple kissed passionately in the background, the two old men exchanged a few words. When Theo entered the house, Carmen hurriedly grabbed a pair of slippers for her grandfather while Justin took the suitcase from Theo. Rubbing Carmen¡¯s head, Theo replied, ¡°Air traffic control reported that the fog is too thick and the wind is too fierce today, so we came back.¡± The ne could still fly if they wanted to leave, but Michael didn¡¯t want to leave. The research and development progress of the antidote had reached 80%, and clinical trials were under way. They had invested a lot of money in the dental stem cells project and it was developing rapidly. Moreover, Quinton and Theo were two healthy, living organ banks that were on standby. There were infinite dangers in the future and nobody knew how things would go, but they already had several backup ns to deal with countless possibilities. Even though cryogenic sleep was the safest bet and nobody would die or lose an organ, it was not the only thing that mattered. Cryogenic sleep would cause Michael to suffer the greatest loss. For Michael, every second he couldn¡¯t be with Sophia under the same blue sky was a great loss. Cryogenic sleep would be a waste of his life. Even if his health was deteriorating, he would rather spend the limited time he had to give her all of his love. After Michael was done kissing his wife, he let go of her. Sophia was so dizzy from the kiss, she could hardly think and was seeing stars. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you were going abroad for a business trip? Why are you back?¡± Even though Sophia seemed to have vaguely heard Theo say the reason, she asked again. Changing his shoes, Michael said, ¡°Air traffic control stopped us from flying, so we couldn¡¯t leave.¡± After answering Sophia hastily, Michael held her warm hand and walked into the living room. In this world, the coldest thing was ice and the warmest thing was her hands. The trip to the airport had been the hardest moment of Michael¡¯s life. It felt even worse than waiting for an execution. He was afraid that time would fly by so quickly that he wouldn¡¯t have enough time to reminisce about his short past before he had to face his unknown fate. At the same time, he was afraid that time would pass too slowly, and that every second for him would be pure torture. On the way to his unknown fate, Michael had thought about his life. He was scared and terrified, but death was not what he feared. It was the separation of life and death instead. In the end, he had decided to go home. Holding Sophia¡¯s warm hand, all of his fear and horror instantly disappeared. With her by his side, he felt endless courage and drive. If he had to make a choice between his life and Sophia, he was willing to use the rest of his life to be with her! Theo was very supportive of Michael¡¯s choice. If Michael¡¯s health can¡¯t fully recover and his organs fail, I¡¯ll give him mine. He can take all of it if he wants. I don¡¯t need them anyway. If any of his organs fail, we¡¯ll find new ones to rece them. Michael is wealthy anyways. If my organs don¡¯t work, we¡¯ll search the world to find a suitable match. We¡¯ll definitely find one! Cryogenic sleep is the safest bet, but it is also the riskiest. Although he can stay alive, the biggest risk is the unknown. Nobody knows what he¡¯ll lose while he¡¯s in cryogenic sleep, and nobody knows what he¡¯ll see when he walks out from the cryosleep chamber¡­ Which was why the two of them came back. Sophia had no idea that she had just gone through a possible separation. After Michael entered the house, she peeked out of the door and nced at the surveince monitors to make sure that Tiffany wasn¡¯t there. ¡°That shameless old hag!¡± Sophia continued cursing as she ate her dinner. She was even more agitated than Cooper. After all, she had seen how Tiffany raised her children. When her son grows up, he will certainly be like Betsy. I can stab Betsy with a knife, but that child is hard to deal with. Sophia rambled on indignantly. Linus asionally threw in somements while Michael remained silent the whole time. His eyes kept wandering between the dinner table and Sophia¡¯s bowl. As soon as he saw that it was empty, he immediately added some food into her bowl. Sitting next to her and listening to her talk, Michael felt that even her breathing sounded sweet. The atmosphere around the table that night was unusually somber. One reason was because Cooper had a newborn child, and the other was because Michael had made his decision. After dinner, Cooper asked Michael to head to the study. ¡°Why did you change your mind?¡± Cooper asked. Michael sat down and Cooper poured him a cup of tea. The two of them usually bickered with each other and rarely sat down to discuss things in such a calm manner. Michael took a sip of tea before he replied, ¡°After giving it some thought, I realized that it wasn¡¯t the best choice for her.¡± Chapter 1416 Chapter 1416 Cooper was silent for a moment. In his opinion, this was the safest course of action. They will be separated because of a misunderstanding and Michael will be a man who betrays his wife. He¡¯ll be gone and Sophia will hate him so much that she¡¯ll take his wealth and his child, and Michael will be left with nothing. Then, she will be a rich divorced woman who will live with resentment toward Michael for a while. But in a few days, she might fall in love with a twenty year-old man and be together with him. After a while, Sophia will break up with that young man and meet another one. She¡¯llpletely forget about Michael, the old man who betrayed her. Decadester when Sophia turns eighty, Michael will wake up from his sleep and be a forty year-old ¡®young man¡¯. The misunderstanding between them will be resolved and they will be together. However, that is just the ideal situation. Ideals are amazing but reality is often cruel. There is a heart- breaking case right in front of us¡ªTanya. Her family died horribly, like they deserved. It was their punishment. The fact that she survived was a blessing from God. She could have let go of her resentment and start a new life, but she chose to take revenge. She hated Theo, so she trained her son to be a brutal killer. But what did she get from a lifetime of resentment? All she did was hurt herself and the child she had with Theo. Quinton could have had a better and more brilliant life¡­ Who knows which path Sophia might take after being ¡®abandoned¡¯ by Michael? Perhaps she will hate him forever. Or she might take revenge, kill someone and live a life full of hatred and pain from the separation. Sophia might turn into a soulless being, and it might even affect Carmen. Thinking it from another perspective, if Michael dies one day, at least he¡¯ll die in Sophia¡¯s arms. He¡¯ll show Sophia that even in hisst moments, all he thinks about is her. Michael¡¯s love for her is apanied by breath and blood. The moment he stops loving her is the moment he stops breathing and his blood turns cold. Michael won¡¯t be leaving. He¡¯ll just apany her in a different way. He¡¯ll turn into the air around her, into the warm sunlight and gentle breeze. There will be traces of him everywhere she goes. Sophia will remember his love and live happily. Carmen will also grow up happily. That is their perfect ending. At that moment, Michael just wanted to be with Sophia and Carmen. Even if he didn¡¯t have much time left, it didn¡¯t matter as long as they were happy. In the study, the two of them were silent. After a few rounds of tea, Michael said, ¡°What about Tiffany¡¯s child? Father-inw, how are you nning to deal with her?¡± An upset expression immediately appeared on Cooper¡¯s face when he heard Tiffany¡¯s name. ¡°Keep the child alive.¡± These four words were enough to express Cooper¡¯s attitude toward the matter. Michael said nothing but he had mixed feelings¡­ The next day after everyone headed off to work, Michael went to the basement and asked Justin to give him an injection. At that moment, his organs were starting to fail. The poison that Quinton gave him back then was gradually losing control and slowly eroding his internal organs. The antidote could only slow it temporarily. There was also news from Linus that the molecr form for the antidote was under animal testing and initial results showed that it was working. However, it couldn¡¯t be used on humans. If the antidote could be used now, after the toxins were cleared and with recuperation, Michael could fully recover. However, he would still be weakened and he wouldn¡¯t be able to live long. For now, Michael had a few options. He could sit and wait for death. Perhaps in a few years, his internal organs wouldpletely shut down and he would die painfully. The other option was to ask Theo or Quinton to donate their organs and he would change all of them. Michael would live a few more years, but Theo and Quinton might die. The third option was to wait for the research team at Michel Medical Technology Group to have advances with the dental stem cells project that could repair and regenerate organs. However, Michael may not be able to wait that long. Thest option was to enter cryogenic sleep and wake up when everything was ready. It was the safest bet with the least risk. However, Michael chose to sit and wait for death. The tiny needle tip pierced into Michael¡¯s skin and the antidote was injected into his blood, which temporarily relieved the poison inside him. However, the antidote was just something that could prolong his life a little longer. It could stop the pain but it wasn¡¯t a cure. At that instant, Justin had mixed feelings. After the injection, Michael pressed on the cotton to stop the bleeding and he looked at Justin. All of a sudden, he smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s been an honor to have worked with you all these years.¡± When Justin heard this, he felt that it sounded like Michael¡¯sst words. He turned his face away. His mask covered half of his face, leaving only his eyes visible. ¡°There¡¯s no time for us to be sentimental.¡± Michael looked at Justin and couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Actually, Justin is the one who had the hardest life. He joined the army when he was eighteen and back then, he was undefeatable and famous. Unfortunately, he was born in a family that didn¡¯t support him. As the youngest child, he was asked by his parents to ¡®hand over¡¯ his lover to his big brother. When he was badly wounded and on the hospital bed, all he heard was his family discussing whether to stop his life support or not. Later, Justinpletely disappeared and became Abel. He abandoned his first andst name, and was busy with revenge day and night. In order to get revenge, he forced himself to be strong with a superhuman will. Justin learned how to make poison, perform autopsy, dispose of bombs and many other professional skills. He could even do complex surgical operations on his own. He lived just for revenge. However, he was considered to have a happy ending. Celine came back and he let go of the hatred. He even resolved everything with Quinton even though they bickered with each other all the time. Justin then started his ownpany. Abel, who couldn¡¯t be who he really was, suddenly turned into the president of the biggest securitypany in Bayside City. He made money to raise his children and his silly wife. He was now living a happy life. The family that he was greatly disappointed in became great again and he took back the name that he abandoned. His life was now perfect. The only thing that he was still worried about was probably Michael and Sophia. Michael was Justin¡¯s friend, confidant, family member, and best friend while Sophia was his sister and family. Justin watched them get together and love each other, and he had also seen them part and reunite again. Now he had to watch them part again. Unfortunately, the hard work that he had done over the years still couldn¡¯t change the situation around. He could only watch as Michael slowly turned weak. From N?velDrama.Org. Michael said, ¡°Even though Asco International was established by Ethan and I, you have a lot of credit. I have already signed the papers. In the future, you¡¯ll have some of thepany¡¯s shares.¡± Justin¡¯s face was stiff from all the stic surgery he had done. With a nk expression, he said, ¡°There will be a way. Don¡¯t overthink things.¡± Even though he was not as good as the Michel Group¡¯s research and development team in medicine, he would not give up on Michael. Michael pulled down his sleeves to cover his elbow that was full of needle marks while Justin cleaned up. All of a sudden, Michael¡¯s phone rang. ¡°Tiffany is here with Mr. Mitchell¡¯s child. They are at the gates. Should I let them in?¡± Chapter 1417 Chapter 1417 Michael nced at the surveince monitor and saw that Tiffany¡¯s car was at the gates with other cars. That¡¯s a lot of people. It seems that she has gathered her whole family to directly move into The Imperial. However, Cooper, Sophia, and Linus were all not home. Only Michael, the son-inw, was left at home. At that moment, Michael didn¡¯t know what to do. Should I let them in? If I do, Tiffany will definitely grab the opportunity to stay here. However, the baby in Tiffany¡¯s arms is Cooper¡¯s child. What if something happened to him outside? This old hag is really cunning. She¡¯s purposely making things difficult for me. They are still waiting outside. I¡¯m sure that Tiffany hasn¡¯t discussed it with Cooper before she came over. Moreover, she specially chose toe when Cooper and his family are not home. She predicted that I wouldn¡¯t dare to offend her. Michael hurriedly made a call. ¡°What?! That old hag is there with the child?!¡± Judging from Sophia¡¯s tone, Michael could tell how furious she was at the other end of the phone. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. ¡°No, you can¡¯t let her in. Once she enters the house, it would be impossible to get her out. You can¡¯t let her in. Just tell her that you¡¯re not home!¡± Sophia said hurriedly. However, all of a sudden, Michael heard another voice. ¡°Let her in.¡± It was Cooper¡¯s voice and he sounded helpless and dejected. ¡°Dad!¡± Sophia was extremely dissatisfied. Cooper sounded unsure but his tone also seemed to be irrefutable. ¡°Just do what I say¡­¡± With that, the call ended. Michael told the guards to open themunity gates. A short whileter, Tiffany entered the house with four nannies behind her. There was even a group of people carrying her luggage, and all of them marched in as if Tiffany was married into the family. Seeing that only Michael was alone at home, even though it was within Tiffany¡¯s expectations, she said, ¡°Mike, it seems that you¡¯re the only one here. It looks like I came at the wrong time.¡± Mike? Tiffany already regarded herself as Cooper¡¯s wife and spoke to Michael as if she was his mother-inw. Furthermore, there was a strong sense of maternal love as she gazed at Michael, as if her love for her son-inw would grow the more she looked at him. Michael nced at the baby in the nanny¡¯s arms. Except for his eyes, the baby didn¡¯t look like Tiffany in any other way. He could tell that the baby was mixed race, but it wasn¡¯t really obvious. Cooper was a second-generation mixed race and two generationster, Carmen¡¯s mixed race features were also far less obviouspared to her mother. That¡¯s my father-inw¡¯s son! Michael had goosebumps but he still forced a smile and said, ¡°Cooper already got the news and he¡¯s on his way here.¡± Tiffany entered the living room and the group of people followed behind her. Tiffany picked up the child she had with Cooper and walked toward the elevator. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know that elevator passcode so she asked Michael, ¡°Mike, I¡¯m holding a baby in my hands and I can¡¯t press the elevator button. Can you help?¡± Michael secretly grumbled. Naturally, he knew what Tiffany wanted him to do¡ªshe wanted to move into Cooper¡¯s room. At that moment, she was holding Cooper¡¯s child, so she had absolute advantage. She¡¯s simply forcing herself in! Michael had no choice. Can I refuse her? I can¡¯t, right? So he replied, ¡°No problem.¡± He entered the passcode and got into the elevator. Tiffany smiled triumphantly as they took the elevator to the third floor. Then, she directly moved all her things into Cooper¡¯s bedroom. As the only owner of the house left at home, Michael had to check up on her and he watched as Tiffany¡¯s men put down her luggage. Tiffany¡¯s face was all smiles as she held the baby in her arms. Then, Michael saw the strange bracelet on her wrist that looked like a tiny remote. With a smile, Tiffany said to Michael, ¡°From now on, we¡¯re family. When I get married to Cooper, I¡¯ll definitely give you and Sophia a present.¡± A present? It doesn¡¯t sound good. Perhaps she is going to kill Sophia, Linus, and Carmen on her wedding day. That way, she¡¯ll be the only winner. Tiffany is a terrible person. If it weren¡¯t because Cooper was strong enough, she might have just kidnapped him and r*ped him, just like what Tanya did to Theo. Since Cooper was too strong, she changed tactics. He stole his sperm and inserted it into her body instead. Michael didn¡¯t dare to imagine any further so he nodded in response. When Sophia returned home, it was already toote. Tiffany¡¯s child had already moved in and he was using what Carmen had used when she was a baby. He was even sleeping in the ¡®royal crib¡¯ that once belonged to Carmen. Celine¡¯s daughter had started walking on her own and everyone called her Bianca. Carmen and Bianca leaned over the crib and watched Tiffany¡¯s son with the cats and dogs that had gathered around. The little baby rolled around in the crib, celebrating his hard-earned life. When he saw Judge¡¯s head lean close, he smiled and tried to grab Judge¡¯s head with his tiny hands. Nathan, Quinton, and Michael came over and nced at the child, and all of them felt goosebumps all over their bodies. In the living room, Sophia and Cooper had solemn expressions on their faces. The two pairs of eyes were gloomy as they emitted a cold aura. Meanwhile, Tiffany was sobbing at the side. ¡°Coop, I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s my fault. All I wanted was to have a child with you. I had a miscarriage and lost the twins. I can¡¯t lose this child. Coop¡­¡± Cooper didn¡¯t say anything. Sophia was silent too, but she really wanted to give Tiffany a kick. Seeing that Cooper wasn¡¯t saying anything, Tiffany gestured at the nanny and the nanny immediately brought the child over. Then, Tiffany carried the child to Cooper and said, ¡°Coop, look at our baby. Why don¡¯t you give him a name?¡± Cooper stayed silent but it was obvious he was furious. He nced at the baby and said, ¡°You can name him.¡± With that, he got up, put on a jacket, opened the door and left. ¡°I have some business to deal with, so I won¡¯t being home tonight.¡± Soon, his figure disappeared into the darkness. Cooper was gone just like that. Tiffany¡¯s tactic had caught him off guard and he needed time to ept it. Even though Cooper left, Tiffany didn¡¯t chase after him. Instead, she carried the baby around as she tried to coax him. She knew that Cooper would never give up on this child. It¡¯s good to have one of your own in an important position. ¡°Dear,e and meet your uncle.¡± Tiffany called Carmen toe over. Carmen was fascinated and she looked at her uncle who was in Tiffany¡¯s arms. Then, she nced at Linus. Bianca babbled at the side, seeming like she was weing her new uncle. Meanwhile, Sophia snorted and went back to her room. Their evening family time was canceled because of Tiffany¡¯s arrival. Tiffany was not surprised by Sophia¡¯s attitude. It¡¯s okay. She¡¯ll definitely love me in a few days. If I enter the family like this, they won¡¯t treat me as their own, so I have to be Cooper¡¯s wife. Not only do I want to live here, but I also want Sophia to recognize me as her mother! I want the whole family to recognize my position! Tiffany nced at the ornament on her bracelet and there was great confidence in her gaze. And this is my trump card! Chapter 1418 Chapter 1418 Just like that, Tiffany moved in with them, which Sophia was quite upset about. Even though she didn¡¯t care about her, someone had to. As such, this task had been ¡®assigned¡¯ to the son-inw, Michael. He specially prepared a nursery for Cooper¡¯s newborn child and treated him really well. Meanwhile, Tiffany stayed in Cooper¡¯s bedroom as she wished. At the same time, Cooper had fled as expected. In the past, he couldn¡¯t go a day without seeing his three darlings. This time, his escapested a few days. These few days, he never came home, nor did he miss his darlings. In fact, if this happened to anyone else, they would have run too, even for someone who had experienced this like Theo. However, at the end of the day, Cooper still had to face that child whether he liked it or not. Even though he didn¡¯t get her pregnant, that child was still his. Meanwhile, Tiffany, who had just made her way up to an advantageous position, appeared to be iparably calm. After all, she and her child had already moved in to live with Cooper. Where else could he run to? He may be able to run from her, but he would never be able to run from this huge family fortune. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t be able to run forever! Content held by N?velDrama.Org. All she had to do was wait for Cooper toe back after he had calmed down. On the other hand, the Adams family had received news about the newborn child of Tiffany and Cooper, while the Michel Family were ecstatic that the two families had finally joined forces through marriage. Whether Cooper was willing or not, the two families had begun preparing for the wedding. The Michel family was already rushing here to seize the opportunity to im the naming rights for the child before the Mitchell family could. As it happened, Carmen¡¯s naming rights had been under the grips of the Fletcher family. Every time the Michel family came to get Carmen to change her name, Sophia woulde up with all kinds of reasons to put it off. As such, the Michel family couldn¡¯t stand to let the naming rights of this child be taken away from them again. As for the Adams Group, their attitude toward Tiffany changed solely because of the fact that she was the future Mrs. Michel. Finally, Tiffany had realized her dream. Cooper could run from her, but his family couldn¡¯t. Frankly, Sophia disliked Tiffany and nned to move to the Edwards residence at Riverdale, or even the Mitchell¡¯s ancestral home¡ªshe wanted to be anywhere else but here. However, on second thought, The Imperial¡¯s Vi No.8 was Michael¡¯s property, and her name was on the house property certificate as well. In other words, she was the owner, so she shouldn¡¯t have to run. Even if Tiffany shamelessly refused to leave, Sophia wouldn¡¯t leave too. Therefore, she could only live under the same roof as Tiffany, no matter how reluctant she was. To top it off, Tiffany was absurdly thick-skinned and refused to leave their house. No matter how much Sophia rolled her eyes at her every day, pointed at the mulberry and abused the locust, or sarcastically hinted at her, Tiffany would just act stupid. A sensitive person would never be able to sell insurance, which was why the Adams Family was the king of the insurance industry, and the king of having thick skin! Now that Tiffany had moved in, she didn¡¯t have to care for the child herself. She would go to work as usual, and she would be swamped with work. While Bailey had the upper hand for now, Tiffany was relying on this child to get acquainted with the Michel Family and gain ess to outside help. Her career was starting to take off and she would be reiming her position in no time. When Bailey heard the news from Quinton, he was starting to feel the heat. Even an outsider could sense the pressure and burden that this fifteen-year-old child was carrying. Sophia was concerned for this little ¡®son-inw¡¯ as well. Ever since Tiffany moved in, the Adams Family and Michel Family often came to visit. For the sake of the child¡¯s naming rights, the two families would criticize each other. While the Adams Family felt the baby was theirs and he should be named Adams, the Michel Family disagreed and thought he should be named Michel. By the end of it, the two families decided to move in as well while they waited for Cooper¡¯s return to call the shots. In fact, they would not leave until Cooper returned. After criticizing Cooper¡¯s child, they started to shift their attention to Sophia and Carmen. They wanted Sophia and Carmen to change their surnames, which forced Sophia to flee as well, and she would onlye home to Michael at night. Recently, Michael had been in Bayside City. After filming ¡®Doctor Invincible 2¡¯, he was voice-acting for ¡®The Supreme Panda¡¯. ¡®The Supreme Panda¡¯ was an animated movie produced by Michael, inspired by his two adopted pandas. The movie told a story of two panda warriors saving the world. It was a Cethosian story with a Cethosian cast, while Michael and Harry were voicing the protagonists in both the localnguage and English. Even Carmen had a small role in the movie. Every morning, he would bring along a cup of wolfberry water and take Sophia¡¯s car to work, and after work, he would pick Sophia up at her unit before picking up Carmen to go home together. He devoted his remaining time to his beloved career and family. This September, five-year-old Carmen finally started elementary school. Like a young pioneer, she worked hard to score every exam. On weekends, she would not rest and urged Michael to give her more work. In fact, she was starting to umte capital to start her own business. She was attending a prestigious international school¡ªthe kind that parents would struggle to get their children into. To be epted, both parents and child were required to go through a few rounds of interviews. Fortunately, Sophia and Michael did their homework and did not be a hindrance for Carmen. After about five or six stages, Carmen was sessfully enrolled and became a member of the Arts Committee. However, when Michael attended the parent-teacher conference for the first time, he realized that the Cethosian headquarters of the Adams Group was located right next to the school¡­ As such, Michaelined and wanted Carmen to transfer schools, but after a while of making a fuss about it, things didn¡¯t work out for him in the end. Since attending elementary school, Carmen seemed to have grown smarter than before. While she was full of confidence and talent, she was also lively and cheerful. Her teachers, principal, and even other parents were fond of her. Frankly, Michael was extremely proud of her. On the other hand, Sophia was working overtime at the office. There was a batch of new products that were going to beunched soon, and everyone at the office was swamped with work and stayed back. When Micahel finished work, he went to pick Carmen up. She was carrying a small backpack, and she had on a red scarf. As soon as got into the car, she started to babble away. ¡°Daddy, I got a ny-nine on mynguage test. I lost a point from the essay section!¡± ¡°I got a ny-five for my math test. The teacher said thest question was just ordinary addition and subtraction, and that I had to use the baby method of answering, and not the method Uncle Linus taught me. She said only adults could use that method!¡± When he inspected her test, he thought that she should have gotten a full mark for her math test, but she had lost five points for using the decimal point incorrectly. At the end of the day, she was only in first grade. If she used a decimal point in her test, her points would be deducted. As such, not only did they deduct five points from her test, but the school also almost called them as well. They suspected she was cheating because she was doing too well for her age. After all, when a first grader used advanced forms to answer a first grade exam, anyone would think that she was cheating. In truth, it was usually Linus who tutored her at home. Linus, who was a prodigy who could already solveplex equations at the age of three, kept solving a simple math problem withplex methods, and it greatly affected Carmen¡¯s way of doing math as well. On another note, although Carmen¡¯s handwriting was still crooked, it looked much better than before. After all, she had a calligrapher on her side¡ªLouis. Not only that, Cooper also had impressive penmanship, and so did Carmen¡¯s parents. As such, even if she inherited a little of those genes, it was already more than enough. In the first semester, she was elected as a member of the Arts Committee, and she was working with her teacher to prepare for this year¡¯s Christmas party performance. As for her physical education, she was already able to dive to the bottom of the pool to retrieve a key at the age of three. Now, she had her own pony and was great at horseback riding. On top of that, she was especially good at roller skating and had even gotten a yellow belt in Taekwondo. Clearly, she had inherited the Fletcher Family¡¯s athletic genes. Overall, she had an all-around development in morality, intelligence, fitness and arts. She was also awarded the most outstanding student of the whole school, hence she was selected as a representative to apany the president overseas for an international academic exchange in two days. Chapter 1419 Chapter 1419 ¡°Alright, sweetie. I¡¯ll have a word with your teacher soon,¡± Michael promised. To Carmen, the first grader¡¯s tests were too easy. Usually when Linus tutored her at home, he would be teaching her high school and college-level math knowledge, which she had no difficulty in understanding. Perhaps, they could let her skip a grade. As a first grader in elementary school, Carmen started to develop a sense of awareness and was no longer a baby who sat around and did nothing. Back in kindergarten, she was already selling pet dogs and her father¡¯s autograph even though it was only a small-scale business that operated offline. Granted, it was a no-cost business, but sales were slow and it carried high risks. Now that she was in elementary school, her horizons had widened and she began to learn the basics of the inte from her Uncle Linus. As such, she opened up her own online store that sold her father¡¯s autographed posters, and merchandise made of the fur that the family pets had shed. She operated the online store all by herself¡ªshe was the manager as well as the customer service officer. Meanwhile, the shipping of the sold goods was assigned to Hale. Recently, she had been gathering her pets¡¯ fur and had them made into pillows and keychain charms by Nichs to be sold on her online store. In fact, it was being sold at a rather high price¡ªa pillow would cost about a hundred. With the help of Linus, she also modified Nichs¡¯s program and added an extra function of embroidery and sewing. Since then, Nichs had been working overtime for Carmen and doing odd jobs for her every day. Meanwhile, a national children¡¯s operapetition was alsoing up, and the winner would walk away with a prize of 500,000. She signed up for it enthusiastically and was aiming to win first ce. Looking at Carmen¡¯s achievements so far, Michael was content and proud. With the way things were going, he would have nothing to worry about. Even if she didn¡¯t have a father, Carmen would still growN?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. up healthy and happy. She was a business-minded child who would grow up to have a career and great aplishments of her own, just like her grandfather, uncle, and mother. When they arrived home, Michael held Carmen¡¯s hand and spoke in a firm manner, ¡°Carmen, you¡¯re a big girl attending elementary school now. You¡¯ll have to leave Mommy and Daddy to live on your own in the future, so you have to learn to be independent, okay?¡± Nodding confidently, Carmen assured, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Daddy. I can take care of myself now.¡± After arriving home, Carmen ate andpleted her homework before she started to work. She wore a face mask and a pair of pet deshedding gloves to collect the fur of their pet cats, dogs, and alpacas. She also plucked the feathers from the rooster¡¯s tail to make shuttlecocks. Meanwhile, Maria disinfected the fur and feathers before passing them to Nichs to work on. Furthermore, the ¡®double eleven¡¯ shopping festival was just around the corner, and there would be a promotion at the store. As such, Carmen¡¯s schedule was expected to be full for theing period. She took her job seriously and worked overtime. Recently, her little store received too many orders, and she was being put to the test. As such, she hired many tiny workers of her age. As soon as school was over, Poppy and Hope woulde over from next door to work. Meanwhile, a stack of posters was ced before Michael, who was carefully signing them with a pen. He strived to help Carmen in increasing sales and inventory. In fact, his signed posters were a hit, and the demands werergely exceeding the supply. At that point, Carmen¡¯s illegal home-based workshop was fully equipped and staffed. Soon, Sophia also returned from work. JNS Group was also in the midst of preparing for the ¡®double eleven¡¯ shopping festival, so she had been busy with work untilte at night recently. Even when she came home, she would be working for Carmen at her illegal workshop. As a matter of fact, everyone in the family was supportive of Carmen¡¯s first ever business. Even Cooper who had fled would often call to encourage her to be persistent in her business. On top of that, the entire family was happy to provide her with whatever resources she needed. With plenty of encouragement, Carmen was full of confidence and worked even harder to the point where the family pets were going to be bald soon. Fortunately, they had many pets at home, so they could afford to be deshedded to this extent. After the fur was collected and disinfected, Sophia would wear a face mask and a pair of gloves to stuff the fur into pillows and keychain charms before sending them to Nichs for sewing works. Then, the items would be disinfected again and marked with the storebel before being sold. After signing a hundred posters and a hundred addressed postcards, Michael woulde to help as well. The family of three were busy making little keychain charms and pillows while they discussed bringing home the dogs that were being kept at the Edwards residence at Riverdale for Carmen to collect their fur as raw material. After the ¡®double eleven¡¯ shopping festival, new year¡¯s was around the corner. This year, they would be making more cured meat to be sold on the online store. At the same time, Carmen could also learn to make cured meat and carry on the Johnson family recipe. Sophia picked up a model of the keychain charms. All of them were designed by Carmen and sent to JNS Group to be produced by a specialist. After the items were delivered to them, they only had to stuff it with fur and sew them shut toplete them. The keychain charms were sold in aplete set as well as in separate units. The designs were dog figures, baby girl figures, and even parent figures. The whole set would be figures of a happy family of three, with a bunch of cats, dogs, alpacas, and rooster figures. At that moment, Sophia had made a whole set of keychain charms. She had stitched them and was going to keep them for herself. ¡°This is for Daddy, this is for Mommy, and this is for you¡­¡± As Sophia spoke, she put the little keychain charms on her and Michael¡¯s sets of keys, while Carmen¡¯s was hooked onto her backpack. When she was done, she smiled with content. ¡°There, the three of us will always be together.¡± At which Michael smiled but rather ruefully. Carmen had also made a baby boy charm and brought it to Sophia before saying sternly, ¡°Mommy, look. Doesn¡¯t this look like the baby brother you promised to give me, but didn¡¯t?¡± She needed a lot more child workers at her illegal shop, and a little brother or sister would be able to help her in managing her little business. Amused, Michael reached out and patted the top of her head with a smile while he subconsciously nced at Sophia¡¯s belly. Their second child seemed to be out of their reach now. Truthfully, he didn¡¯t want his child to be born without a father. Michael clutched the keychain charm that Sophia made for him, on which her smell and warmth seemed to have lingered. Meanwhile, Sophia had started to make a baby boy charm and put together a family of four. While doing so, she was thinking that she would begin to prepare for IVF once JNS Group became stable. She didn¡¯t mind the pain as she would be able to tolerate it. In fact, she had been through surgeries before and had been pricked by countless needles, and even her face had been reconstructed entirely. Now, the pain that came with IVF seemed insignificant. She wanted to give birth naturally! Soon, the baby boy charm was done and Sophia hung it on Michael¡¯s shirt. Staring at the charm, he felt infinitely heartbroken. Out of the blue, the door opened and Tiffany came into the workshop. Perplexed, she asked, ¡°What are you doing? Do you need help?¡± At once, Sophia hastily put everything away and grunted coldly, ¡°No.¡± Then, Carmen added, ¡°Miss Tiffany, you¡¯re toote. We¡¯re all wrapped up for the day.¡± Tiffany had been wanting to join their illegal workshop as well and be assigned a task in hopes of strengthening their rtionship. However, she did not pass the interview with Carmen. She wasn¡¯t epted because she was too old to be able to adapt to the intensity of the workload. However, the marketing tasks were outsourced to her. Just then, Tiffany backed away sensibly, while Carmen pondered as she watched her departure. When Michael went to pick Carmen up the next day, she said with seriousness, ¡°Daddy, we need to make a stop. I have a business meeting with someone.¡± Puzzled, Michael wanted to see who Carmen was meeting, so he sent her to a nearby caf¨¦ where they had agreed to meet. Upon arriving, Michael spotted the green-eyed goblin he despised¡ªBailey Adams. Looking up from the documents, Bailey peered at Carmen in wonder. ¡°You mentioned on the phone that¡­ you wanted to insure your online store?¡± Chapter 1420 Chapter 1420 With a stern expression on her adorable face, Carmen tried very hard to look like a business owner and went into negotiation mode by nodding firmly. ¡°Yes.¡± Then, she took out a proposal she had drawn up herself from her backpack. At once, Bailey and Michael were at a loss for words. What does this tiny child know about business? She isn¡¯t here to take advantage of the opportunity to flirt with this boy, is she? It must have been Bailey who seduced Carmen again! This b*stard! She¡¯s just a child! Michael¡¯s eyes were glowing red as he red at Bailey. In fact, he was on the verge of swinging his fists at him, but he managed to control himself. He didn¡¯t want to ruin Carmen¡¯s business meeting. Meanwhile, Bailey was also feeling the pressure. It was Sophia who called him and said that she wanted to cooperate with him on a big project, and this so-called big project was to insure Carmen¡¯s little workshop and online store. Under Sophia¡¯s guidance, Carmen had written a proposal regarding the insurance of the property of her workshop. At that moment, Bailey was struggling to keep a straight face while he studied the proposal¡­ Although there were many misspelled words, her risk awareness was quite strong. Quinton, who had been standing on the side as a bodyguard, leaned over to take a look as well. After skimming through, he realized how much Bailey was actually struggling. How could he look at this and still maintain a straight face? Just then, Bailey put down the proposal after reading and spoke in a monotonous and business-like tone, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but your workshop does not meet our requirements. As such, we cannot provide insurance service for your workshop.¡± With a simr tone, Carmen pointed out, ¡°But ording to your operational procedures, you should only make the decision after a field survey.¡± She continued sternly, ¡°Besides, my business has the highest revenue among others under the same category. May I ask what it is that does not meet your requirements?¡± At that point, Bailey was about to roll his eyes at her. Everything! Of course, he couldn¡¯t say that out loud. ¡°You have to have a business license, at least.¡± Thud! Without missing a beat, Carmen mmed her business license on the table. Bailey nced at it. The license read, ¡®Carmen Fletcher¡¯s Pet essory Creative Studio¡¯ Michael was the legal person, and the registered capital was 100,000. The location registered was the basement of The Imperial¡¯s Vi No. 8. The required documents and procedures wereplete, and it seemed like this was a serious matter. However, Bailey was reluctant to provide insurance for her illegal workshop. At that moment, he was put in a difficult position. ncing at Michael, he was hoping that he would say something as he father. However, he didn¡¯t look like he was going to make a move. He remained silent so that Carmen could learn to fight for herself. She had to learn to be independent, especially when he was no longer here. Upon sensing Bailey¡¯s hesitation, she pressed, ¡°Is there anything else? Otherwise, you may send someone over to my studio for a site visit and evaluation.¡± At that point, Bailey felt helpless. He was considered to be an ally to Sophia now, and if he refused Carmen, then he would be disrespecting Sophia. However, providing insurance for her illegal workshop seemed to be against his work policy and ethics. After a long pause, he finally decided to make a trip to their home. He couldn¡¯t refuse her seeing how serious she looked. Under Michael¡¯s scrutinizing stare, Bailey went to their residence. After all, it was Sophia who personally contacted him to talk business. As such, he had to agree, and he would also visit Tiffany along the way and find out what that olddy was up to. As soon as they arrived, Carmen led Bailey to her workshop. Pointing toward a room in the basement, she said, ¡°This is our regr work space.¡± Then, she pointed at a few kids. ¡°These are our staff.¡± N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Next, she turned toward the family pets. ¡°These are our raw materials.¡± Lastly, she pointed at Tiffany. ¡°And this is our partner.¡± Bailey was tongue-tied. After that, Carmen brought him to see their products, production line, warehouse, shipping process and everything else. It looked like she had made preparations for this. Even though she had fought hard in good faith, her application for insurance was still rejected for the sole reason that the illegal employment of childbor was inherently risky for this business. Therefore, they would not insure her illegal workshop. But in reality, he simply did not want to take on this deal because it was too childish. After her business proposal was denied, Carmen burst out in tears. Quickly, Michael rushed to coax her and crooned, ¡°It¡¯s okay. This is how business meetings are. You¡¯ll fail many times in the future, and you¡¯ll have to find a way to solve it. Crying isn¡¯t going to help.¡± It was unfortunate that her first meeting had been with Bailey, who was unmalleable and cold. Carmen¡¯s confidence had been shattered instantly and she felt defeated, so much so that she cried all night. Even her neighbors, friends and family were rmed and came over. Then again, Bailey was a man of principles. At the first nce, he knew taking on this deal would be equivalent to digging himself into a hole. Hence, he stood firm in his decision as the deal was not in line with his work policy. Even when Micahel and Sophia came to persuade him, he remained unmoved. At the end of the day, the insurance deal didn¡¯t work out. Despite that, Sophia still kindly invited Bailey to stay for dinner. While waiting for dinner, Carmen was still weeping. All of a sudden, she left and came back not long after with a bunch of whimpering children behind her. They each had a piece of paper in their hands. With teary eyes, Carmen mewled, ¡°I have terminated all the illegally employed child workers. Look, we have all signed the termination contract. Now, will you insure my store?¡± Without any option, Bailey nced at the crying children behind her who had all lost their jobs, and a strong sense of guilt washed over him. He really didn¡¯t want to at all! With glistening eyes, Carmen stared at him and waited for his response. She looked pitiful and distressed. On top of that, her entire family was also watching him as they waited for him to take a stand as if he was the hope of the entire family. Being put on the spot, Bailey¡¯s eyes darted to Tiffany, who was watching with amusement. Eventually, Bailey reluctantly agreed, ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± In an instant, a bright smile stretched across Carmen¡¯s face. With tears still on her face, she grinned, revealing a row of tiny white teeth with two ck holes where two of her front teeth should be. At that moment, she looked like she had just been given the tastiest candy in the world. In fact, everyone in the room could feel her sweet joy. ¡°How impressive! Our Carmen just closed her first ever business deal!¡± Linus enthusiastically picked her up and lifted her into the air, causing her to let out a giggle that sounded like silver bells. She looked like a cheerful little angel that was pping her wings and flying around happily. Meanwhile, Michael finally rxed his facial muscles that had been tensed up for a long time. He took Carmen from Linus and lifted her up again. In fact, even Cooper, who had run away, was watching everything in real time through a screen. He even called and checked on Carmen regarding her business deal. Even though it was just insurance, the family was so thrilled that they nearly threw a party to celebrate as if it was a huge deal. Seemingly being influenced by this heartwarming atmosphere, Bailey smiled meekly as well. This was probably what bliss felt like¡ªto have unwavering support and care from the people around, no matter how insignificant the issue was. In contrast, he had to bear everything in silence alone no matter what happened. He had to carry the weight of the world on his young yet already calloused shoulders. Otherwise, it would be the end for him. Chapter 1421 Chapter 1421 Sophia then pecked Carmen on the cheek before consoling the children who had just been terminated. Then, she suggested, ¡°We¡¯re going to celebrate tonight. Bailey, do stay with us for dinner!¡± Meanwhile, Michael had already brought out his treasured champagne from the cer just to celebrate Carmen¡¯s achievement. The family was clearly over the moon. On the other hand, Bailey watched the warm and harmonious scene before him and gazed at Carmen who was being showered with love like a little princess. At that moment, he felt something hot and wet in his eyes as memories of his past flooded his mind. He used to have a family too¡ªhe had parents and two elder brothers. That year, he received his first ever prize in his whole life. Even though it was only a smallpetition, his parents and brothers threw him a celebration with great enthusiasm. His mother even cooked specially for him that day. When he felt this atmosphere and joy, it was d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Because he was also someone who was loved dearly by his family. They ced great importance on everything he did. Tragically, a fire took away everything. On that fateful day, the family of five were in the family car. His parents and brothers all put their own lives at risk to save him, yet none of them managed to survive¡­ Everything he had was destroyed by that fire. In the end, he was the only one left in what used to be a happy household. At such a young age, he had been through so much. All the pain he experienced had piled on top of each other, which resulted in who he was today. After all that he had gone through, he became numb to everything. Still, Bailey stayed for dinner. Even Tiffany joined them and sat next to Cooper¡¯s usual spot. After Cooper left, his spot had been empty and everyone was sensible enough to leave the spot alone. When he called to check on Carmen earlier, he hung up as soon as he heard Tiffany¡¯s voice. Meanwhile, Tiffany remained as thick-skinned as ever. Now, she considered herself a member of the family. She even spoke to Bailey as if she was the owner of the house. ¡°You shoulde more often. We¡¯re all family here, so you don¡¯t have to be shy.¡± Upon hearing this, Bailey looked up at her without any emotions. At that moment, he was probably thinking the same thought as everyone else in the room. You don¡¯t even belong here! Admittedly, Tiffany made a smart move by using her child to draw the Michel Family closer to her. As a result, the Adams Family also favored her and instantly turned things around, considering that she was the mother of Cooper¡¯s son and the future matron of the Michel Family. Although Cooper escaped, he couldn¡¯t run forever. Sooner orter, he would have to return to deal with this matter. Despite that, Bailey believed that a person like Cooper would never settle with being tied down by Tiffany just like that. What would Cooper do? Bailey was looking forward to his next move. ¡°Carmen,e sit next to Bailey.¡± Under Michael¡¯s zing gaze, Sophia ushered Carmen to the seat next to Bailey. Obediently, Carmen sat down and ate next to him. As an elementary school student, Carmen was about to face even tougher challenges. As such, she had to eat more and grow taller. This way, she would be able to ovee the obstacles in the future. ¡°You should learn more from Bailey. He¡¯s older than you by ten years, and he¡¯s already a powerful president. You should ask him for advice!¡± Sophia encouraged Carmen while gazing at Bailey with fondness. Just then, Carmen chirped sweetly, ¡°We¡¯re partners from now on, Bailey. I look forward to your guidance.¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. At once, Bailey¡¯s hair stood as he avoided making any eye contact with Michael, whose murderous re was boring into him. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best¡ª¡± quavered Bailey. Terrified, he nced at Quinton, who was on duty as his bodyguard at that moment. Quinton took the hint and bravely stood between Michael and Bailey to shield him from Michael¡¯s re, fulfilling his duties as a bodyguard. After dinner, Bailey went home under the protection of Quinton with mixed feelings. As a matter of fact, this was the strangest deal he had taken since he took over the family business. However, since he had promised to provide insurance for Carmen¡¯s online store, they would naturally need an official contract. Swiftly, he drew up a contract and notified Michael to sign it since he was the legal person. Since Carmen was the actual person-in-charge and they were only using Michael¡¯s name for legal purposes, Michael brought Carmen along to sign the contract. That way, she could observe and familiarize herself with the procedures. After signing the contract, Carmen¡¯s illegal workshop was officially insured. Although the insurance package wasn¡¯t expensive, she was very satisfied. After all, she did fight for it herself. Besides, she also knew that it would be impossible to get insurance from otherpanies. Clearly, no insurance company would be willing to provide insurance for her illegal workshop. After sessfully obtaining insurance, Carmen rehired the children and started working overtime every day aftering home from school andpleting her homework. Right before the ¡®Double Eleven¡¯ shopping festival, she doubled the price of the keychain charms in her store, and on the day of the shopping festival, she lowered it back to the previous price. Even after discounts, it still cost more than before. Despite this, she still made a lot of money from this shopping festival. There were deliveriesing in and out every day, which proved how well her business was doing. Later on, Michael brought her to meet with the courierpanies so that she could learn to deal with them. All in all, Michael was working hard to train Carmen to be strong and independent. Even though she was just a five-year-old, he didn¡¯t have the time to wait for her to grow up, nor could he watch her grow into an adult. As a matter of fact, he wasn¡¯t that worried about Sophia. Instead, he was worried for Carmen the most. As Carmen gradually became more exposed, she began having a feel for the market. For example, she had cut down the production of her father¡¯s autographed posters, considering that the supply should not exceed the demand. This way, the value of the posters would not depreciate. On top of that, she would also often learn from Cooper. Although he had fled to god-knew-where, nothing stopped him from making video calls. Of course, Carmen would only call Cooper after Tiffany had gone to bed. In the video call, Cooper would listen intently to Carmen¡¯s report on the progress of her recent work, and he would affirm her and also give her relevant feedback. In addition, Linus would also give more thorough exnations while Michael asionally interjected. At the same time, Sophia would be responsible for taking minutes of the meeting. Amusingly, the presidents of Dragon Technology Corporation and JNS Group, the vice president of the Michel Group, and the boss behind Asco International were all on edge over the survival of a tiny store that sold dog pillows. To Cooper, whether it was Sophia¡¯s dog cor store or Carmen¡¯s dog pillow store, those were their careers they were fighting for. In fact, they were as important as his career in nuclear bombs, and they must be held in high regard. ¡°Sweetie, you did the right thing. Selling your father¡¯s autographed posters can only earn you quick money, and it isn¡¯t a good long-term n. You need toe up with another n. Grandpa has a few humble suggestions, and you must listen carefully¡ª¡± Hastily, Carmen leaned closer and listened attentively. In the video call, Cooper was stern and serious. As soon as he was about to speak, they heard a little cough from Maria who was on the lookout by the door. Tiffany ising. At once, everyone frantically ended the video call and pretended that they were helping Carmen with her homework. Just then, Tiffany came in with her baby in her arms to take a look before leaving again. She must have sensed Cooper¡¯s ¡®presence¡¯ through the phone. After she left, the video call resumed immediately. Cooper appeared on the screen once again and he continued giving Carmen lessons. On the other end of the call, Cooper wasn¡¯t alone. Anna was bare-faced and d in lounge wear, yet she still looked sophisticated. With a pair of sses sitting on the bridge of her nose, she paid close attention. Meanwhile, Callum and Cade were seated behind Cooper as well. Chapter 1422 Chapter 1422 When Fass Michel offered lessons, it would only be a loss for those who didn¡¯t pay attention. Every now and then, there would be discussions between both sides of the call. It was only midday on Cooper¡¯s side. Likely, it was azy afternoon where the sun was shining brightly, which made him look sluggish as well. Ever since Tiffany came with the baby in her arms, he fled. Where did he go? To the woman he loved, of course. When Jordan gave Cooper¡¯s genes to Tiffany, he certainly didn¡¯t do that for Cooper¡¯s name to be carried on. Rather, he was plotting to split Cooper and Anna up using Tiffany¡¯s child. He was going to take advantage of the split and take Cooper out at his lowest. But to his surprise, Cooper actually came prancing to Ronney City and stayed with Anna. At that moment, everyone on either side was having a heated discussion through the screen. They were all getting worked up about Carmen¡¯s little store. On another note, Cooper¡¯s lectures were endless, and he was itching to get on the next ne home to take Carmen by the hand to guide her. He went on and on until she could barely keep her eyes open before letting her rest. However, the adults were still going at it. Everyone on each side of the screen was enthusiastically chattering away. ¡°Dad, when are youing back to kick that old hag out? She¡¯s getting more and more arrogant, and she even thinks so highly of herself now!¡± Sophia criticized Tiffany as usual. On the other end, Cooper assured, ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a few more days, so bear with me a little longer.¡± Upon hearing this, Sophia mumbled to herself, He probably loves Ronney City and can¡¯t bring himself to leave! He never even came back to check on us at all. Granted, she would only mutter under her breath. After all, Anna was still there. They appeared to be getting ready for lunch soon. Cooper seemed to be getting along with Callum and Cade, and they all looked like a family now. After hanging up, while Sophia went to bed, Cooper had just started having his lunch. He had been at Ronney City for a while and was secretly staying with Anna. The days they spent together were so wonderful that it seemed like they were in a dream. However, it was too bad that their rtionship was a secret and they could not be seen together. Despite that, it wouldn¡¯t be long until they could openly admit their rtionship. By that time, no one would ever be able to stop them from being together. ¡°Mom, Mr. Cooper, it¡¯s time to eat,¡± Cade called out. Hand in hand, Cooper and Anna went to the dining hall, where the dishes had already been served. Among the dishes were Cooper and Anna¡¯s favorites. Their preferences seemed to be stuck in time and remained the same even after decades. He preferred savory food, while she loved sweet food. At the dining table, they would make small talk about their family, but rarely about work. They would eat together like a normal family. Lately, their topics were mostly about the progress of Carmen¡¯s business. Meanwhile, Callum and Cade idolized Cooper. Ever since they were young, they had a tough life, and their biggest dream was to take control and change their lives with their own efforts. They particrly admired powerful and influential people, and Fass Michel was one of the figures that they worshipped the most. Now that this person was sitting right across them, the brothers were overjoyed and they took the opportunity to seek advice from Cooper on various issues. In contrast, Cooper was actually disgusted by their existence because their father was Jordan after all. However, after spending time with them, he realized they weren¡¯t as bad as he thought. In fact, this pair of sons werepletely different from the other pair of sons. They were raised by Anna, and they were extremely intelligent, courteous, and observed proper restraint in everything they did. At a young age, they already worked alongside Anna and had achieved their own sess. Together, they were the Yard Power Trio. Without the hard work and contribution from her sons, Anna would not be where she was now. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. In addition, the brothers¡¯ rtionship was also harmonious, and they never seemed to have any disagreements. Since they had managed to climb up to their current status, they must have had blood on their hands. However, they were not as crazed as their father. Either way, Cooper was close to epting them. Although he told himself that he would not be treating them as his own and give them everything he had, he certainly would not treat them poorly since he would be with Anna in the future. At the very least, he would include them in his inheritance. Overall, the family was getting along with each other very well. While eating, Roger suddenly came over and whispered to Cooper, who then nodded and revealed a knowing expression. As he expected, Tiffany¡¯s child was not his. Instead, it was Jordan¡¯s. Considering the fact that he wanted Cooper to be thest of his line, Jordan surely would not easily hand over Cooper¡¯s genes and carry on his bloodline for no reason! Soon, everything would be over. While Cooper was living well, Sophia¡¯s life, on the other hand, was a living hell. Every day, she would be bickering with Tiffany, who had thick skin and enough patience. She really didn¡¯t intend to leave at all. Every day, everyone would see a pair of big breasts swinging from one end to the other. Not only did she touch Sophia¡¯s cat, but her son was also sleeping on Carmen¡¯s bed, wearing Carmen¡¯s clothes, and drinking Carmen¡¯s baby form. Still, Cooper did not return, nor did he answer his phone. While the Mitchell¡¯s were managing Dragon Technology, the Michel Group had Linus and Alice. Cooper had trained his sessors well that even when he wasn¡¯t around, the businesses would still run smoothly. In the blink of an eye, New Year¡¯s was around the corner. Carmen¡¯s store was already starting to put up the cured meat on sale, but there was still no sign of Cooper¡¯s return. As a matter of fact, Cethosian New Year¡¯s was an obstruction. Every year, there would be a week where Cethosian factories would shut down and stores would close. The streets would be empty, and even the subway that was usually packed during rush hour would be empty. No one would be working, and children would be seen going from door to door to beg for money to survive. The economy would copse and the GDP would drop significantly. But at this time of year, the people who had gone far to work would return to their homes and reunite with their families. In the past, Cooper would make sure toe home to be with his little sweetheart every New Year¡¯s. But this year, he didn¡¯t. During New Year¡¯s Eve, Michael brought everyone to the Fletcher Residence and even intentionally gave the nannies, drivers, chefs and other workers the week off. Instantly, the Imperial¡¯s Vi No. 8 turned from lively to quiet in no time. No one was home, and Tiffany could only eat takeout every day. It was New Year¡¯s Eve, yet she was sitting alone in front of the TV watching the New Year Dinner G. Day by day, Tiffany¡¯s demeanor grew colder. Meanwhile, Cooper was still in hiding. He didn¡¯t even care about thepany, nor did he answer his phone. She simply had no idea where he had gone. How much longer are you going to hide, Cooper? Meanwhile, Michael, who should have gone to the Fletcher Residence for New Year¡¯s Eve, had gone to the farmhouse outside of town instead. In fact, the entire family was staying in the vi on the farm for the New Year¡¯s. There, a thick nket of snow had covered the ground. Happily, Carmen ran around with Nathan and a bunch of children. The kids were ying with fireworks and firecrackers, and they were all enjoying themselves. In the kitchen, Michael and Harry, both d in aprons, were busy preparing the chicken and fish, while Linus and Justin were helping them. Stanley had just brought in chopped up firewood, whereas Sean plucked the feathers of the chicken and sent it to the kitchen to make firewood roast chicken. Everyone was as busy as a bee. On the other hand, Sophia, Sarah, Celine and the other women were enjoying the heater and eating snacks in the living room while urging the men in the kitchen to hurry up and finish preparing the meal. Chapter 1423 Chapter 1423 ¡°Gwennie, look at my baby face¡¯s not-so-teenie weenie. How about an arranged marriage?¡± Sarah held her second-born son and began her daily routine of promoting her infant son to potential inws. Now that Hope was a lost cause, she was trying hard to set her second child up for marriage. With no hesitation, Gwen refused. Then, Sarah approached Celine and started to aggressively push ¡®sales¡¯. Meanwhile, Sophia was busy ying mahjong. Without stopping to rest, she managed to win several thousand from Nicole in no time. ¡°Come on, Sophia. You can¡¯t be winning every time! If this goes on, I¡¯ll be starving before the Lantern Festival!¡± Derek muttered bitterly with a pout on his baby face, while Lucy calmly paid up. At the same time, Theo was being dragged into a fortune-telling session by Daniel. ¡°Daddy!¡± Casper darted into Daniel¡¯s arms cheerfully. Just then, Sam took a look at him and huffed, ¡°Tsk. Your kid is too young to be dyeing his hair. This is too much.¡± On the other side of the room, Dana, who was drinking beer alone, stood up and stretched. ¡°Anyone want to use the bathroom? Come on, let¡¯s go together.¡± As he spoke, he scanned the room with a certain unmistakable pride on his face. At once, every male being in the building became deathly quiet. No one dared to respond, nor was anyone brave enough to make eye contact with him. Meanwhile, the female beings had no idea what was going on except Lucy, who became flustered in an instant. On the other hand, Michael was hard at work in the kitchen. To be frank, this might be thest New Year¡¯s of his life, which was why he invited every one of his friends. He wanted to spend his remaining time with his friends, family, ex-girlfriends, and even his pets. He had already visited the Fletcher Family this morning, and now he was spending New Year¡¯s Eve with this group of people. At this moment, he was content. At that point, he was in the middle of ughtering ducks by the entrance when he saw a car that belonged to Adams Group. At first, he thought Tiffany had caught their ¡®scent¡¯ and followed them here, but to his surprise, when the car stopped, it was Bailey who got out. Since school holidays started, Quinton had been on duty as Bailey¡¯s bodyguard every day. Even now, he was following closely behind him. Michael was ughtering ducks, and he was covered in blood and holding a butcher¡¯s knife. With a disdainful gaze, he watched as Bailey approached them. Sensing the murderous aura, Bailey stopped in his tracks as he observed Michael cautiously. Just as Michael was about to ask what he was doing here, Sophia dashed out to greet him warmly. ¡°Bailey, you¡¯re here! Come in, everyone¡¯s waiting!¡± Sophia enthusiastically weed him. Under her protection, Bailey managed to sessfully move past Michael and entered the holiday vi. As soon as he was inside, Sophiained to Michael, ¡°Bailey must be exhausted. I heard that the foreign employees of theirpany aren¡¯t given any holidays for the New Year¡¯s. How miserable! So, I invited him for dinner and to discuss a long-term partnership between JNS Group and him.¡± Without saying a word, Michael then swung the knife and ruthlessly cut off the duck¡¯s head as he pretended that it was Bailey¡¯s. He looked disheveled from ughtering the livestock and cooking, while Sophia was squeaky clean. She was wearing a sophisticated red cotton sweater with Ragdoll in her arms. She then went into the living room with the cat to enjoy the heater. Ever since Bailey partnered up with Sophia, a Bayside City mafia, he had sessfully taken on several major deals. He was outperforming Tiffany to arge extent and when Sophia invited him over for dinner today, he arranged his schedule and came on time. It¡¯ll be like a business meal. However, as soon as poor Bailey walked in, he was surrounded by a bunch of women. They all went up to him and started pinching his cheek, rubbing his head, and even stroking his eyshes. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. ¡°Oh, my! You¡¯re so young, and your skin is so soft!¡± ¡°Look at these eyshes, they¡¯re so long and pretty!¡± ¡°How cute!¡± Do it for the business. Bailey unwillingly endured it. Still, Bailey feltpletely out of ce. He realized everyone was divided into several cliques of their own. The children¡¯s group, which was led by Nathan and Carmen, were outside having snowball fights, ying with dogs and fireworks, and making snowmen. Bailey thought he had long passed that age and he was not going to fit in. Then, there was a gambling group which was led by Sophia. They were ying mahjong, poker, and ckjack, and they were willingly burning holes in their pockets. Bailey thought it was too wasteful, and he was too afraid to join them. Next, there was a middle-aged group led by Theo and Sam. The men gathered for tea and fortune- telling, which Bailey thought was too superstitious and scoffed. Thest group consisted of Michael, Harry, Linus and Justin, who were the cooks. Bailey felt even more out of ce there, considering that he knew nothing about Cethosian food. As such, he ended up in the clutches of the women and was tormented there. Unfortunately, no one came to his rescue. Finally, he saw Dana, who had been drinking alone, stand upzily and announced, ¡°Bathroom! Anyone?¡± In fact, this was the third time he had asked this today. He knew no one wanted to go with him, but he still insisted on asking anyway. On top of that, he would ask loudly as well like he had something to show off. He wanted the feeling of being worshipped by everyone. To everyone¡¯s surprise, someone responded right away this time. ¡°Me.¡± Bailey shot up and walked to Dana. However, he was oblivious to the sudden draws of breath from every man in the room, who were watching him in amusement and smugness. Surprised, Dana looked this fifteen-year-old teenager up and down. Huh, he must be new here and doesn¡¯t know about my nickname in the group, much less my ¡®length¡¯! With evil intentions in his mind, Dana brought Bailey with him and went to the bathroom. Because Bailey was anxious to be away from the women, he hurriedly followed Dana to the bathroom and failed to notice the eyes that were all focused on him. Not long after, under everyone¡¯s amused gazes, Dana came back with his arm around Bailey. Out of everyone¡¯s expectation, Dana came back with a look of triumph that seemed like he had met his match, while Bailey wasn¡¯t as embarrassed, shocked or self-abased as everyone imagined. Rather, he was calm and collected, as if he had not seen anything earlier. Everyone was trying to connect the dots in their heads as they stared back and forth between the two. Then, everyone drew a sharp breath in unison¡­ You really can¡¯t judge a book by its cover! But he¡¯s only fifteen! Since then, Bailey seemed to have found his own group. He sat with Dana, who tried to pour him a drink. Bailey waved his hand to refuse, but Dana wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer. At that point. Carmen ran over and protested, ¡°Bailey isn¡¯t eighteen yet, so he¡¯s not allowed to drink. I¡¯ll tell Goddaddy if Mr. Dana forces Bailey to drink again!¡± Afraid of Harry¡¯s fist, Dana sheepishly retrieved his ss and gave Bailey a can of soda before they drank together. Just like that, they formed a small group of two. Other than them, no one was brave enough to join this little clique. After all, no one was confident about their lengths to be sitting with them. Meanwhile, Carmen, who was worried that Dana would force Bailey to drink again, sat next to them vigntly. With her big doe-eyes, she watched closely as Bailey drank his soda. Initially, Dana wanted to discuss men¡¯s philosophical issues with Bailey, but he was too embarrassed by the living and breathing surveince camera sitting there and decided to change the subject. At the same time, he noticed the three apricot seeds that Bailey was wearing on his wrist. ¡°What an interesting bracelet! Where did you get them?¡± Bailey held his drink in one hand, and the other subconsciously stroked the apricot seeds. He replied indifferently, ¡°A friend gave it to me.¡± Chapter 1424 Chapter 1424 Bailey stared at the three apricot kernels that adorned his bracelet; there was more to those kernels than met the eye. The bracelet was a valuable gift, and it meant a lot to Bailey, which exined why he wore it all the time. From N?velDrama.Org. Dana, on the other hand, reached out and ruffled Carmen¡¯s hair. What a delightful little girl, he thought affectionately. He couldn¡¯t help but think about what could have been if he and Lucy had a child of their own; the child might have even been older than Carmen was right now. But it¡¯s all toote now, he lamented. Dana knew he couldn¡¯t turn back time. When all this ended, he would be ready to start a family with Lucy, and seeing as they could have no children of their own, they would have to adopt. They¡¯d made arrangements with Nicole¡¯s orphanage, and once everything was set, they would head over to adopt a child. While gently rubbing Carmen¡¯s head, Dana turned to look around, and his gaze softened when he saw Lucy ying mahjong with Sophia not too far away. Just then, Michael emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron, and he sauntered over to the mahjong table to check up on Sophia, who was engrossed in the game. Upon seeing Michael, Sophia shoved a handful of snacks into his mouth despite being busy with her mahjong tiles. Michael chewed happily and ced an appreciative kiss on Sophia¡¯s cheek, leaving crumbs on her face. Unfazed, Sophia merely wiped those away with a piece of tissue, and when she found arger crumb, she popped it into her mouth. At this, everyone cringed in disgust, rendered speechless by Sophia¡¯s gesture. She remained oblivious to the apprehension of others; after all, how else was a married couple supposed to behave? Now that everyone had arrived, save for Cooper, who had escaped¡ªor rather, strategically retreated¡ª Michael began making a headcount. When he was done, he announced, ¡°Everyone please stop what you¡¯re doing and get ready to take a group photo!¡± Hearing this, the crowd made their way out, chattering along the way. It was bright, seeing as the lights had been switched on. Once everyone had gathered before the camera and a photo had been taken, reunion dinnermenced. The reunion dinner featured a homemade feast, which consisted of food that were either grown on the farm or shipped over from the south. Even though it was the men in the family who had been in charge of the cooking, everyone enjoyed the dishes nheless. It was probably because no one here had ever celebrated New Year¡¯s Day with a reunion dinner like this one. When dinner was finished, everyone decided to head outdoors for fireworks, which had been brought over by Lucy. Jordan hadmissioned tens of thousands of crates of them for his proposal to Anna, but Jordaine had interfered along the way, and the fireworks had somehow ended up as a surprise feature during Lucy¡¯s engagement party instead. They hadn¡¯t used up all the fireworks, however, and more than half of the supply had been leftover from the party. Given Lucy¡¯s thriftiness, she had kept the remaining fireworks into storage and had them delivered today to celebrate the new year. After she¡¯d gotten engaged to her former pig-headed fianc¨¦, she¡¯d worked on a project with him, but she¡¯d called off the engagement as soon as the project had fallen apart. After all, the project had been the only reason why she¡¯d gotten engaged to that boorish man in the first ce. As of right now, Dana was all Lucy could think about. All along, the only person she had only ever truly loved was Dana. She would be with Dana when the time was right. Regardless of what others might say, and even if the whole world was against them, Lucy was determined that they would be together. Presently, the fireworks were set off, brightening up the countryside. The fireworks seemed to dwarf those that were being set off in the nearby city. Everyone watched with awe as the fireworks lit up the night sky with festive, brilliant colors. The look on everyone¡¯s face was that of pure and unadulterated joy. It was a new year, and all grievances were meant to be cast aside in these couple of days as everyone happily celebrated new beginnings. Dana and Lucy were standing hand-in-hand, looking effortlesslypatible, where one was dark and charismatic, the other was sharp and capable. They couldn¡¯t be more different, but as they stood together, they looked as if they were made for each other. They watched as the children scampered about, remarking on each of the little ones. ¡°We could adopt a kid that¡¯s as cute as Carmen, or a kid that¡¯s as sour-faced as Hope.¡± ¡°And maybe we could get a dog, too!¡± The both of them discussed fervently, picturing their future together. Like fireworks, all that had happened in the past would dissipate into thin air and leave nothing behind. There was no point in reminiscing on the fireworks that had already been set off when one could look forward to the next round. After all, life was all about moving forward. Meanwhile, Harry held Sarah close to him. They¡¯d never had to go through any hardship together as a couple, and because of this, Harry cherished her even more. As he watched Dana and Lucy, the pair of star-crossed lovers who seemed to have the world against them, Harry knew he had to count his blessings. He had to stand guard over the happiness he had with Sarah, for there seemed little else in the world that coulde close to the perfection that was their rtionship. Sean nced over at Stanley. They weren¡¯t a couple, but at least they were staying together, and it was more than enough for him to be able to see thetter every day. The perpetually-single Linus remained indifferent despite being surrounded by couples. The eventuality of marriage, or the non-existence thereof, was a card that could only be dealt by fate and fate alone¡ª Linus knew full well that there was nothing he could do about it. Sophia, on the other hand, was staring up at the night sky, her eyes lighting up as the fireworks blossomed over the countryscape. The beauty of the fireworks was short-lived, but breathtaking all the same. While everyone was admiring the fireworks, Michael kept his eyes on Sophia. He thought of all the hardship they¡¯d been through to get to where they were. He thought of all the times he¡¯d been determined to leave her¡ªto pack up all the love he had for her so that he could spare her the agony of being with him¡ªin order for Sophia and Carmen to live their lives in peace. But by the end of it all, he realized that he couldn¡¯t do it. It was as though there was ayer of industrial glue between Sophia and himself, making it impossible for them to be detached from one another. Michael stared at her, as if he was memorizing everything about her face, from the way her lips tipped up in the smallest of smiles, to the way her eyes sparkled in wonder. He thought there was nothing in this world that could be more beautiful than Sophia. He could spend his whole life staring at her like this and never tire of it. He felt as though he was the happiest man on Earth. When the time woulde for him to leave this world, Michael knew that his heart and soul would forever stay with her. Everyone stayed on the farm for a week after New Year¡¯s Day, and on thest day, everyone stuffed themselves before leaving for home. The festivities had meant that the chefs, chauffeurs, and assistants would not return to work until the next morning. Nheless, Sophia and the others only left the farm after dinner on thest day, determined that they would not dine with Tiffany upon their return. When they arrived home, Tiffany greeted them with a sour expression, leaving no room for even the slightest niceties. She was infuriated because they had left her all alone for a whole week! It was bad enough that they weren¡¯t home on Christmas night, and now, they¡¯d practically abandoned her during the new year festivities! They were obviously trying to make her feel like an outcast so that she¡¯d leave on her own ord. The joke was on them, though, because Tiffany had only grown more resolute on staying¡ªshe would not budge under pressure! Sophia and Michael hade home empty-handed. Usually, a trip to the farm would warrant bags of souvenirs¡ªmost of which wouldprise local produce¡ªbut this time, they hadn¡¯t even made the effort to bring back a single morsel of food. Carmen, on the other hand, remained her generous self. She had picked strawberries from the farm and had carefully packed them into a box, along with a couple of eggs she¡¯d taken from the chicken coup. She tied a ribbon over the box and had tucked it into her suitcase, hoping to give Tiffany a New Year¡¯s Day present in light of their partnership. Receiving the gift from Carmen appeased Tiffany, who returned the favor by giving Carmen a red envelope that contained no small amount of money. Carmen was overjoyed, but s, she was also the one who devoured all the strawberries and eggs. However, it was clear now that Tiffany¡¯s patience had run thin. The Adams and the Michels had expected Cooper toe home for the new year, and had, over the course of the week, dropped by everyday with the hope of seeing him. Unfortunately, Cooper hadn¡¯t been home at all. In Cethos, it was considered groundbreaking for anyone to not be home to celebrate the new year. Michel Group resumed business on the eighth day following the week-long festivities; they might be a foreign conglomerate, but all their employees, whether Cethosian or not, were entitled to a break over the new year. On this same day, however, Tiffany showed up at Michel Group without prior notice, and she¡¯d brought her son along as well. Chapter 1425 Chapter 1425 The receptionist at the front desk of the office building was taken aback when she saw the arrival of the entourage before her, but she maintained a perfunctory smile as she greeted them, ¡°Hi, how may I help you today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to see Fass,¡± Tiffany replied in her thick Bayside ent. ¡°Do you have an appointment?¡± the receptionist asked. Tiffany scoffed, then said primly, ¡°An appointment? I¡¯m Fass¡¯ wife, and I¡¯m here with my son to see my husband. Why would I need to make an appointment?¡± Those in the lobby who were within earshot now turned to look at Tiffany curiously, and their gazes fell upon the child, as well as the nanny who was carrying him. Fass¡¯ son¡­ Since when did he have another son? It seemed as if the rumors that had been going around thepany were true¡ªFass must be getting married soon with Tiffany, director of the Adams Group, since they already have a child together! This meant that the woman standing at the front desk right now was the soon-to-be Mrs. Michel! Upon making the connection, the receptionist¡¯s expression shifted, and¡ªnot wanting to offend the woman¡ªshe immediately allowed Tiffany to pass through, then said, ¡°Mr. Fass isn¡¯t in right now¡ª¡± ¡°I know.¡± Tiffany cut her off as she strode into the lobby. She took the elevator, which was meant for executives, and began to make her rounds in thepany. Those who saw her whispered to each other excitedly as she passed by. It had been a while since the rumor of Fass¡¯ engagement to Tiffany had first started, but seeing Tiffany here in thepany today was a different kind of validation altogether. Furthermore, Cooper was a renowned figure all over Cethos upon having skyrocketed to fame after appearing on ¡®My Grandpa in Shining Armor¡¯. He was well-versed in firearms, and he had single-handedly built an armament empire. He disyed a prowess forputers, and half of the world¡¯s supply forputer parts was manufactured by the subsidiaries under hispany. He was also the first person who hade up with the programming algorithm for video games, and it was in his name that all esports yers gathered in collective prayer before the start of each gaming competition. With his dashing looks and ageless mixed-race features, coupled with the gentleness thaty beneath his cold facade, Cooper had sessfully won over the hearts of viewers as ¡®The Nation¡¯s Grandpa¡¯. The ratings for ¡®My Grandpa in Shining Armor¡¯ had gone through the roof, surpassing the records of simr shows that had been filmed in the past. In fact, in terms of reality shows, the poprity of Cooper was only second to that of Taylor Murray carrying a piglet. Many had grown curious as to the marital and family life of Cooper, a grandpa whose armor shone brighter than others. From the looks of it now, he was likely engaged to Tiffany. One could only imagine the heartbreak that would seize the nation¡¯s many hopeful damsels who were pining over Cooper. When Linus found out that Tiffany was here in thepany, he was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do about it. Cooper was still being evasive with his so-called ¡®strategic retreat¡¯, thus leaving Linus and Sophia to clear up the mess he¡¯d left behind, which was the size of Bayside City. ¡°Let her be,¡± was all Linus could say, resigned. As such, Tiffany spent the better half of the day surveying each and every part of Michel Group, making her presence known to everyone in the building. She wanted them to know that she was Mrs. Michel¡ª stepmother to Sophia, mother-inw to Taylor, and grandmother to Carmen. Once she was done making waves in Michel Group, she headed over to Dragon Technology Corporation, which was another one of Cooper¡¯s old nests. Cooper had ns to consolidate Mitchell Energy and Technology with Dragon Technology this year, which meant the business development would surely progress on a muchrger scale. Tiffany saw her child as ammunition; in order for her to wield authority, she needed to dere to the world that she and Cooper were soon to be married, and that they had a son together. Other than that, she¡¯d also set up her own Twitter ount, on which featured the many details of her life in Sophia¡¯s home. She¡¯d even tweeted about the strawberries that Carmen had given her for New Year¡¯s, eager to show off in cyberspace that she¡¯d been well-integrated into the Mitchell family. Linus might be tolerant enough to turn a blind eye on all of Tiffany¡¯s antics, but Sophia was not¡ªto say she was furious at Tiffany would be an understatement. That piece of trash! Sophia cursed inwardly. Tiffany, that sly, old b*tch! Property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Hey, Sophia, what¡¯s going on between your dad and Tiffany? The head of our department had me rush over to Dragon Technology for the scoop!¡± Maddie eximed over the phone presently. That was when Sophia found out that Tiffany had tipped off the journalists and reporters in advance. When Tiffany was done making her rounds in Dragon Technology and was heading out of the building with her child on her hip, it came as no surprise that she was surrounded by a horde of reporters, who had been waiting for her outside. The moment the reporters caught sight of her, they swarmed forward and began drowning her in a flurry of questions. ¡°Miss Tiffany, is it true that Cooper Mitchell is the father of your child?¡± Tiffany gloated, ¡°Yes. This is our child, Asher Mitchell, named after the blessing that he¡¯s been since he came into our lives.¡± Meanwhile, Sophia was typing away furiously on her keyboard as she penned a rather scandalous article on Tiffany. Tiffany was intent on dropping by JNS Group, but Sophia had given prior notice to the security team to keep the doors closed to anyone who was affiliated with the Adams. There was no way Sophia was going to allow that old b*tch to take advantage of her the way she had with Cooper. Over the next few days, Tiffany was oddly high-profile as she brought her child around the city and gave interviews to reporters who asked for them. Sophia, on the other hand, was busy working on the article that would expose Tiffany for the wretched woman that she truly was. Uponpleting the article, Sophia handed it to Maddie for proofreading, and when that was done, she put it up on the inte under an anonymous handle, thereafter calling up a marketing agency to publicize the piece. After all, Sophia was a top student in Bayside University who had had books published under her name, in addition to her years of experience as a groupie. There had been a time when she was in charge of publishing articles for the Taylor Murray fanclub, and she¡¯d spent years warring with Taylor¡¯s anti-fans in cyberspace. Indeed, with Sophia¡¯s skills in writing expos¨¦s as well as apology statements, coming up with a piece on Tiffany was something she could do in her sleep. In order for Sophia¡¯s article to achieve a high click-through rate, she¡¯d turned the article over to Maddie ¡ªwho had majored in journalism¡ªfor it to be touched up before it was published. It had only taken a couple of days after Tiffany made rounds in the Mitchell¡¯spanies when the expos¨¦ started circting around the inte. Michael was at home, watching Sophia type away on herputer, when he noticed the article that was trending on his social media, which was titled: ¡®How These Celebrity Women Bagged Their Men¡¯. He clicked into the article, which started off with brief introductions on the man-catching tactics which had been employed by socialites and celebrity women, but the biggest scandal to have been revealed by this piece was none other than Tiffany¡¯s. The readers were left shocked by the level of maniption that had led to her engagement to Cooper. After all, it wasn¡¯t ordinarily expected for a woman to steal a man¡¯s gic sample from the cryobank to conceive his child, albeit through surrogacy, in order to force her way into a marriage with him. It turned out that one really could buy their way into marriage as long as one had money. A sci-fi trope like this could only be pulled off by Tiffany, the director of Adams Group¡ªapany that was otherwise known as the King of Insurance in the industry. The sperm might have been stolen, and the child might have been conceived via surrogacy, but Tiffany had managed to reap the full benefit of her ploy anyway. The element of scandal that had been injected into this expos¨¦ was twofold: one, it concerned two well- known figures, namely Cooper and Tiffany; two, it raised the controversial question as to whether men whose sperm had been stolen would need to assume responsibility if a child was conceived through the insemination of said stolen sperm. By extension, would that child therefore be entitled to the estate of his or her biological father? As humanist arguments shed against the effects of technological advancement, the controversy which resulted therein had spread like wildfire as everyone grew eager to put forth their thoughts on the matter. This was also likely the reason why Cethos had yet to legalize surrogacy¡ªsituations like these were bound to arise once the floodgates were opened. Sophia continued topose more articles pertaining to the matter that was Tiffany¡¯s scandalous engagement to Cooper; she was giving an insider scoop on the sequence of events that had culminated in this moment, including the fact that Cooper¡¯s gic sample had been swiped from the cryobank a decade ago and had been illegally sold off as someone else¡¯s. This had all been done in order to take advantage of Sophia and her family. She knew that Cooper had hidden away with bigger ns in mind; she needed to create a diversion while he executed the ns, and what better way to do that than to create controversy? While others might have chosen to keep quiet about things as scandalous as these, Sophia couldn¡¯t do the same¡ªnot while things were already going out of hand. It wasn¡¯t even a scandal to begin with; it was a deliberate scheme to ruin the Mitchells! As such, she¡¯d make sure that Tiffany¡¯s sperm-stealing ruse was broadcasted all over Bayside City. That said, Sophia did not intend to spare Marks Real Estate from her wrath. She would not sit by and do nothing while her family was being ripped off! Chapter 1426 Chapter 1426 The cryobank that was a subsidiary of Marks Real Estate was one of the world¡¯s first and foremost commercial cryobanks. To date, the cryobank had amassed an impressive clientele made up of aristocrats as well as those in the upper-social ss. These clients had chosen to cryogenically preserve their gic samples in order to ensure the continuation of their bloodlines, but they certainly had not expected Marks Real Estate to use their gic samples for shady backdoor deals. Sophia was engrossed in her typing, her eyes burning with a dark fire as she brainstormed on the details of her next expos¨¦. If things didn¡¯t work out for her as the director of apany, Sophia could rest easy knowing that she might just make it in journalism. Just as she was amusing herself with the thought of this, a knock came from the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°It¡¯s me,¡± Tiffany answered from the other side of the door as Sophia hurriedly closed the lid of her laptop. Her again? ¡°What do you want?¡± Sophia demanded, raising her voice. Tiffany did not sound friendly when she said, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when you open the door.¡± Sophia bristled. The woman had probably caught wind of the expos¨¦ and was now here to confront Sophia, who was the most likely suspect behind the scandalous narrative. ¡°I¡¯m not dressed,¡± Sophia snapped. ¡°Well, then, get dressed and open the door.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m making love to my husband right now!¡± ¡°I can wait.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only just started! It¡¯ll take at least two hours before we¡¯re done, and Michael hates being interrupted halfway!¡± Sophia yelled. Tiffany gritted her teeth. ¡°I can wait. I don¡¯t even mind waiting till morning!¡± Letting out an exasperated sound, Sophia shut off herptop and undressed herself, thereafter straddling Michael. She pulled off his shirt as she called out to Tiffany, ¡°Then we¡¯ll just take our time!¡± Michael, on the other hand, was withoutint as he allowed his wife to take her liberties with him. Before long, Tiffany could hear the sound of skin pping against skining from within the room. That night, she stood out in the hallway for close to two hours, and by the end of it, she asked loudly, ¡°It¡¯s been two hours. Are you ready to talk now?¡± There was no reply from Sophia. Instead, it was Michael who answered hoarsely, ¡°She¡¯s fallen asleep.¡± Infuriated by this, Tiffany stormed off. Barely two days had passed before Sophia handed the article over to Maddie for editing, and when everything had been finalized, the piece was published in the paper anonymously. The news had garnered the public¡¯s attention and had sent a wave of panic crashing over the upper-side. After all, the elite had opted to cryogenically freeze their gic samples in order to preserve their bloodline. If the cryobank had indeed swapped their samples with others for its own corporate greed, then it was no different from killing off their next generation! Upon the publication of the article, the clients of Marks Cryobank hastened to withdraw their gic samples. If Marks Cryobank had a Cethosian branch, then it would have suffered a major bacsh from the local elite scene, too. However, Tiffany had nothing to fear despite knowing Sophia was the one behind all this. At the end of the day, Sophia could do nothing more than y up the controversy that she¡¯d started. Asher remained Cooper¡¯s son nevertheless; even if thew dictated that Cooper had no responsibility over this little boy, would the man really be so heartless as to abandon his own flesh and blood? He would not! Tiffany thought smugly. It¡¯s only a matter of time before Cooperes home. Tiffany knew that there was no way Cooper would turn a blind eye on this child. On the other hand, Sophia was extremely pleased with the results of her efforts. She wouldn¡¯t allow Cooper to bear the brunt of Tiffany¡¯s schemes. However, just as she was stoking the fire on this scandal, there was a text message on her phone from an unknown number, which read: ¡®Jordaine is going after your mother.¡± Jordaine is going after Anna? Frowning, Sophia typed out, ¡®Who are you?¡¯ ¡®The Roc,¡¯ the other replied. Rolling her eyes, Sophia saved the contact under ¡®Dana¡¯. Ever since it had been revealed that Dana had an impressive manhood, he couldn¡¯t help but gloat about it. He even changed his Messenger icon so that it was now a picture of a massive bird¡ª specifically, the mythical Roc. Given that he was Moore¡¯s personal assistant and right-hand man, Dana must have discovered something. Unfortunately, Dana knew nothing about Jordaine¡¯s ns for Anna. From what he had gathered on the inside, Jordaine had a way to deal with Anna once and for all, and she was going to strike soon, now that her patience had run out. Dana and Anna shared a rtionship that could not be described by words alone. Anna had been the one who¡¯d arranged for Dana to get closer to Moore. In other words, Dana was Anna¡¯s spy. This was because Dana¡¯s mother used to be a Yard before she changed her family name to Greene. If what Dana said was true, then it would make sense for Anna to have known about this, too. This was the reason why Cooper had strategically retreated to Anna¡¯s side; it was so that he could secretly help her when the time came for Jordaine to deal her final blow. So what is Jordaine ying at? Cooper might have strategically retreated from themotion that had seized upon his family in the real world, but he was with Carmen in spirit. Now that it was a new year, he was showing utmost concern over Carmen¡¯s online store, which had officially been in business for a year. Carmen had drafted her business ns for the year, and she¡¯d gone into details, too. Once she had Nichs print out the ns, she sent a copy of it to Cooper for it to be reviewed. Cooper, who was tucked away overseas, winced upon having read through the ns. ording to Carmen¡¯s ns, she was going to start selling posters and postcards, all of which would feature Cooper¡¯s face as well as his signature. She was also venturing into the elementary school homework-writing business, which seemed like a questionable expansion. Clutching the ns that were riddled with spelling mistakes, Cooper found himself rendered speechless, but he had toe up with something soon because Carmen was waiting for him to respond while staring at him through the screen. He wanted to tell her the truth, but he realized that it might be too harsh for a little girl of her age. There was only so much that a tender child like her could take, and he was worried that if he couldn¡¯t let her down gently enough, she¡¯d be discouraged altogether from continuing her business. Just as he was trying to think of ways to humor Carmen¡¯s efforts, Anna came and called for him. Relieved, Cooper took this chance to escape from having a difficult conversation with Carmen. ¡°Carmen, be a good girl and study hard. I have to go now,¡± Cooper said, then he quickly ended the video call. He and Anna were going out of town today for a business trip, along with Cade. They departed early in the morning, and because their destination wasn¡¯t far away, they decided to take the highway. However, none of them had expected to drive straight into a crossfire between two rival Mafia gangs. A bone-shattering explosion went off next to their fleet, and the shockwaves rattled their car; they were lucky that the car had not toppled over from the impact. Anna let out a scream upon hearing the explosion, and Cooper instinctively reached out to hold her. The driver stepped on the elerator and drove away from the melee. Cade, on the other hand, had taken a separate car in order to give Anna and Cooper some privacy. While the rest of the fleet had passed through the crossfire unharmed, the car in which Cade was sitting had been hit by a stray bullet. At a hospital nearby the scene of the crossfire, Cooper rushed alongside the transfer trolley, which was currently being wheeled down the hospital corridor. ¡°Move!¡± Cooper roared at those who were standing in their way. Cade was currently being wheeled down the corridor in a transfer trolley. His features were twisted in pain, and an oxygen mask had been strapped over the lower half of his face; he was bleeding profusely from the gunshot wound in his abdomen. Anna was running after the trolley. For the past twenty years, she might be a force to be reckoned with in the business world, but now, she was nothing more than a worried mother. She watched the blood flow from Cade¡¯s wound, and she felt as though she was walking on knives with every step that she took. The pain seemed to stab through her entire body, as if she was bleeding just as badly as Cade was. From N?velDrama.Org. The Mafia thrived in this locality, and seeing as there was another crossfire nearby, more casualties had been ferried to the hospital. The corridors were packed with people, but Cooper and Anna were racing against time; they couldn¡¯t make it to a hospital much further away than this one. Cooper could feel his heart racing in fear as he watched Cade being wheeled further down the hallway and into the emergency room. The doors closed, effectively barring Cooper from seeing anything else. He was frantic even though Cade was not his biological son. But he was Anna¡¯s son nheless, and that meant he was Cooper¡¯s son, too. Chapter 1427 Chapter 1427 Anna tried her best to keep herself from falling apart, but she was still shaking all over. Her trembling hands were stained with Cade¡¯s blood, which still felt warm on her skin. She thought about the time when Cade was kidnapped as a child. The men who had taken him wanted to throw him down to his death right before her eyes. Anna remembered distinctly the fear that gripped her when she saw Cade¡¯s little body being lifted high above the ground, about to be brought down to his death at any given moment. She could still picture the scene clearly, as if it had been ingrained into the deepest recesses of her mind. The memory still haunted her to this day. Just then, a strong pair of arms encircled her, pulling her into aforting embrace. Cooper held her close and murmured, ¡°It¡¯s okay. He¡¯ll be alright. Nothing¡¯s going to happen to him.¡± There was an intense ringing in her ears. Her lips trembled, and she found herself unable to word out whatever it was that she was thinking. Then, an urgent voice resonated next to her, saying, ¡°We¡¯ve removed the bullet and he¡¯s no longer in danger, but he¡¯s lost a lot of blood. He needs a transfusion immediately, but we¡¯ve received too many patients today, and right now, we¡¯re short on supply for blood type A.¡± Cooper answered hurriedly, ¡°That¡¯s my blood type. Let me do the transfusion.¡± ¡°Are you rted to him? Do you have any contagious diseases?¡± ¡°I¡¯m his stepfather. We¡¯re not rted by blood, and I have no contagious diseases.¡± ¡°Then follow me, please.¡± Without a second thought, Cooper hastily traipsed after the nurse. It didn¡¯t take long for the transfusion to be done, and after Cade woke up, the three of them made their way back to Ronney City. Cade recovered well enough upon their return. There was color in his cheeks now, and he looked happy, too. Cooper had given him a blood transfusion. He beamed at the thought¡ªCooper¡¯s blood now runs in my veins! This means that I¡¯m practically rted to Cooper by blood. He couldn¡¯t be happier or more honored about this. However, he couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed at the same time. It would be perfect if Cooper were my biological father. If Callum finds out about this, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll turn green with envy. It was as if Cooper¡¯s blood had done something magical to him¡ªlike it had brought forth an incandescent glow from within Cade. Meanwhile, it seemed as if Cooper and the Yard twins had grown closer after the incident. He realized that he had taken the twins to be his own, albeit subconsciously. He felt protective of them at the brink of a crisis, just as he did when Sophia was in danger. More to the point, the line ¡®I¡¯m his stepfather¡¯ felt like a deration that was long overdue. Anna, on the other hand, was equally overjoyed to know that Cooper had epted her sons as his own. She had been worried all this while that Cooper might dislike them, knowing that the twins had Jordan¡¯s genes in them. Love might be an important aspect in Anna¡¯s life, but so were her sons. Her mind was at ease. Cooper wouldn¡¯t hurt her kids, and instead saw them as his own. However, no one could have foreseen what happened next. A week after the transfusion, Cade began to experience inexplicable symptoms. He¡¯d been resting in the hospital when he came down with a fever, and he had a rash over his skin. These were followed by symptoms of gastrointestinal inmmation two dayster, and when the medical report came back, it showed that Cade¡¯s total blood count was dropping dangerously. At this, Anna panicked and began to consult medical experts. It didn¡¯t take long before the root cause of Cade¡¯s condition came to light; his medical report returned with a diagnosis for Graft versus Host Disease, otherwise known as GvHD. The probability of this happening was 0.01%, but when it did happen, the fatality rate was at 90%. Upon seeing the fatality rate of this disease, Anna grew faint. She stumbled and copsed into Cooper¡¯s arms. Meanwhile, Cooper was in utter disbelief as he stared at words ¡®Graft versus Host Disease¡¯. The disease was extremely rare, and the cause of it remained uncertain, but there was medical evidence to suggest that blood rtion between the donor and the recipient could increase the risk of thetter developing GvHD. It was the reason why hospitals refused to allow patients to receive blood transfusions from those who were directly rted to them. Cooper was crestfallen as his gaze fell upon Cade, who had be unconscious in the hospital room. His eyes then turned to the papers clutched in his hand, and he read the report once more in bewilderment. His mind waspletely nk, save for the snippet of the conversation from the hospital the other day. ¡°Are you rted to him? Do you have any contagious diseases?¡± ¡°I¡¯m his stepfather. We¡¯re not rted by blood, and I have no contagious diseases.¡± Cooper felt his body sway, and he would have buckled under his own weight had Anna not reached out to steady him. Anna¡¯s pained expression mirrored that of Cooper¡¯s. The both of them had a likely guess in mind, though it was bold for even either of them to have thought of it in the first ce. If this had been the past, Cooper and Anna would have been overjoyed if whatever they¡¯d guessed turned out to be true. But now, they feared it. A couple of hourster, the DNA test results were ready. It turned out that Callum and Cade were indeed Cooper¡¯s biological children. In fact, they were Cooper and Anna¡¯s biological children. Cooper didn¡¯t know the cause behind this mishap, but what he did know was that Cade was his biological son, which was why he had developed chronic GvHD after the blood transfusion. Having uncovered the truth, Cooper felt as if he was transported back to the nightmarish moment when he watched Sophia rot away in his arms. He crumpled up the DNA test results and bent his head, letting the tears roll down his cheeks. Callum and Cade were his biological sons all along! He had only just reconciled with them, and now, he was going to have to say goodbye to one of them. To one side, Callum and Anna had tears spilling down their faces. Just then, a sudden thought seized Anna; her eyes were rimmed red as she thought about Dana¡¯s text message, and her mind began to put the pieces together. So this was what Jordaine meant when she said she was going to deal with Anna once and for all! Jordaine must have been the one who swapped Jordan¡¯s gic sample with Cooper¡¯s, and Anna was then inseminated with thetter in order to conceive the twins. If Jordan ever were to find out that the kids were not his own, Anna might be able toe up with a couple of scapegoats to save herself, but there was no way Jordan would spare the twins. Anna would be forced to watch her sons die in Jordan¡¯s hands. However, seeing as Anna had retained a special ce in Jordan¡¯s heart all these years, Jordaine knew that the n would not work out quite as well as she¡¯d hoped. As such, she decided to wait for the right moment, and she¡¯d remained waiting for over twenty years. Now, the time was near. If Jordan were to discover that Callum and Cade were not his biological sons, he would undoubtedly be outraged, thereafter killing them. Anna would be left all alone, and Jordaine could easily take away everything that the mother-and-sons trio had worked for all of these years. How cruel of her! Anna was ovee with a mixture of feelings, unsure as to whether she should be happy or devastated. She was supposed to be happy, seeing as Cade was her and Cooper¡¯s son. But she was devastated all the same, because Cade was dying, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. A 90% fatality rate offered little room for optimism. Then, Cooper stood up abruptly and wiped away his tears as he said through gritted teeth, ¡°There has to be a way.¡± He had once saved Sophia, and now, he would do the same for Cade. He would not allow his son to die like this! Growing grim with determination, Cooper made a call. ¡°Find every person in this world who is researching GvHD. I have a new project in mind; the money and resources I¡¯ll be pouring into it do not concern me in the slightest, as long as I¡¯m able to save my kid!¡± he barked into his phone. Callum watched as Cooper strode away. He felt his heart wrench with emotions, but he was happy all the same. It was the first time he¡¯d ever been grateful for having a father. Meanwhile, Jordan was over at Jordaine¡¯s ce. He had initially nned on visiting Cade when he first heard about the injury, but upon finding out that it wasn¡¯t fatal, Jordan shrugged off the visit. After all, Cade was not his biological son. As a matter of fact, it wouldn¡¯t have made much of a difference even if he was.From N?velDrama.Org. In the meantime, Cooper and Anna wasted no time as they transferred Cade out of the hospital. They told everyone else that he was receiving medical treatment overseas. Cooper¡¯s n was to have Cade settled in Michel Medical Group so that he could receive medical treatment from the world¡¯s best doctor. Should all treatment fail, Cade would be put into cryogenic sleep until Cooper and the rest of the medical team coulde up with a cure to save him. Chapter 1428 Chapter 1428 Fate was unpredictable; Cooper certainly did not think that he¡¯d have to go through a separation like this twice in this lifetime. Cade¡¯s condition had taken a turn for the worse. There were no medical treatments or procedures that had proven effective thus far, and since GvHD was a rare disease, there was only a 0.01% risk of anyone developing it, but when they did, it was almost always fatal. Cooper tried tofort himself. He had money, and he would invest billions into research and development if it meant he coulde up with a miracle cure. He didn¡¯t mind investing any amount of money if it meant he could save his son. In the meantime, Cade had arrived in Africa, whereupon he would be put to cryogenic sleep. It was uncertain as to whaty ahead of him. No one could tell what would happen after the cryopreservation. It would be ideal if he turned out to be the second Theo Fletcher, who had been put into a thirty-year-long cryogenic sleep, thereafter resurrected once they¡¯d achieved technological advancement. Theo was living his best life now, and he experienced no side effects following the cryopreservation. But what was considered to be an ideal situation was now only wishful thinking. Upon hearing the news, Sophia and Linus flew over to Africa. They were surprised to find out that Callum and Cade were also Cooper¡¯s biological children. In retrospect, Sophia understood why she could never hate the both of them, even though they¡¯d stolen her baby alpaca and refused to return it. The family was now gathered in Michel Town in Africa. Sophia, Linus, Michael, and Carmen were all there, and they¡¯d brought Louis along with them. This was the first time that Louis learned the truth behind Anna¡¯s past, and along with that knowledge, he learned that Anna had another set of twins¡ªa boy and a girl. However, he also discovered that Cade was about to be put into cryogenic sleep. Louis had further been informed that Cade¡¯s condition was deteriorating, and it seemed that nothing could stop it from worsening. All medical treatments proved futile, and in the absence of a miracle drug, Cade didn¡¯t have much time left. Cryopreservation was the only way to buy him time while they looked for a cure. Despair hung thick in the air as everyone staked out a spot in the treatment room. Carmen had pulled up a seat next to the bed, and her tiny hand sped around Cade¡¯s big one, which had been poked through with needles. ¡°I¡¯m here to tell you that you¡¯re qualified to be my uncle, and you will be my Uncle Cade from now onward. Promise me you¡¯ll spoil me and go on ¡®Let¡¯s Go, Uncle!¡¯ with me,¡± she said before she turned around and nced at Callum briefly. ¡°Uncle Callum has promised me, so now, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Cade nodded weakly. Over the course of a few days, he¡¯d lost a significant amount of weight, and there was a green tinge to his skin. The disease was at its worst now, and the gunshot wound that Cade had sustained previously was now infected. It had only been a couple of days, but it was as though a skyscraper hade crashing down without warning, and no one saw iting. ¡°I¡¯ll go on the show with you when I recover.¡± Cade promised in abored voice. He sounded as if he barely had enough breath in him. ¡°Pinky swear!¡± Carmen reached out and wrapped her pinky around Cade¡¯s, her little face looking solemn, as if she was signing a very important contract. ¡°Pinky swear. No going back.¡± Cade recited the words as he gazed at Carmen lovingly. Later, Michael brought Carmen out of the room after she¡¯d given her Uncle Cade a hug. She was still far too young to learn about life and death. Before Michael left the room, he cast a nce toward Cade. There was a deep sadness in Cade¡¯s eyes. He was still so young, in his mid twenties. He had yet to settle down with a family of his own, and he had so many more milestones to achieve in his career. All it took was an ident to rip all of these possibilities away from him. He had so many sentiments toward the world and his family. He didn¡¯t want to die¡ªhe wanted to live, but he was only too aware of the fickleness of mortality. After Michael had left with Carmen, Sophia sidled up to the bed where Carmen had sat and began talking to Cade. It had been a while since Sophia found out that the Yard twins were her brothers, but what she didn¡¯t know was that she shared the same pair of biological parents with them, too. ¡°Sophia,¡± Cade called out. He was so weakened by the disease that he barely had enough strength to lift his hand. Sophia wrapped her hand around his, surprised to find that he had lost so much weight. It hadn¡¯t been that long since theyst saw each other, but Sophia could feel his bones through the thin layer of skin. At this, she felt as if she¡¯d been gutted. She nodded with tears in her eyes, saying, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Cade gazed at her with fondness and teased weakly, ¡°I¡¯ll give you back the alpaca I stole.¡± Sophia¡¯s tears streamed past her cheekbones, and she choked as she spoke. ¡°You don¡¯t have to. You can keep the alpaca. It¡¯s a gift.¡± She thought back to the time when she first met the twins. They shone so brightly then¡ªa painfully stark contrast to how they were presently. Cade then turned his eyes to Linus and called out, ¡°Linus.¡± Linus nodded in acknowledgment as tears filled his eyes. It turned out that they¡¯d been brothers all along; it was no wonder that he had never been able to dislike the twins, and he had always felt drawn to them even back when he thought of them as Jordan¡¯s kids. ¡°Callum,¡± Cade called out now as his gaze fell upon his twin. Callum was his twin brother, and he felt what Cade felt. The pain and desperation that overcame him were those of Cade¡¯s as well. He nodded in response, unable to say anything coherent as he sobbed silently. Finally, Cade turned to look at Anna and Cooper. ¡°Mom, Dad¡­¡± he called out. Cooper walked over to the bedside and gently took Cade¡¯s hand in his. ¡°My boy, don¡¯t be afraid. You¡¯ll make it. I won¡¯t give up on you.¡± He promised. This was more than enough to put a smile on Cade¡¯s face. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Cooper¡¯s throat tightened. Cade had be so weak that even when he mustered all his strength to hold Cooper¡¯s hand, thetter still felt nothing. Tears were streaming down from the corners of Cade¡¯s eyes as hey in bed, and as Anna wiped her son¡¯s tears away, she felt as though someone had stabbed through her heart with a knife. She put up a brave front nheless, for she had to remain strong. ¡°Dad, Mom, Sophia, Linus, Callum, Grandpa¡­¡± Cade uttered as he looked at every single one of them and managed a weak smile. ¡°Promise me that you¡¯ll all still be here when I wake up, okay?¡± Atst, Cade was transferred into the cryogenic chamber. Anaesthesia was used to put Cade into a deep sleep, followed by a special preservation procedure. The procedure would put a halt to his heartbeat, and the blood would stop circting in his body. He would be cryogenically suspended, but he would not die. By the end of it all, Cade was sessfully cryopreserved. The thought of this was heart-wrenching. Presently, Sophia sat with her brothers, all of them looking mournful, while Anna and Cooper went to find out if there had been any breakthrough with the cure. Theo had shown up as well, and was now carrying Carmen on his hip as he conversed with Louis. Louis had only just discovered the things that Anna had had to go through since her arrival at Johnson Family Vige. Much to his surprise, Linus and Sophia turned out to be Anna¡¯s descendants; he was even more surprised to learn that Theo was still alive. Years ago, Louis visited Elizabeth, whereupon he met Theo for the first time. He was in his thirties, and decades had passed since then, but Theo still looked the same. Louis, on the other hand, was sporting a head full of grey hair. Time was a curious thing, indeed. Louis drew a long sigh while gazing at Theo, who looked much younger than Michael. He didn¡¯t know what to say. Meanwhile, Carmen decided to call out for him sweetly. ¡°Forefather!¡± ¡°Hello, little one,¡± Louis responded affectionately while holding her little hand. Who could have thought that he and Theo would end up as inws? His granddaughter was married to Theo¡¯s son, which meant he was now Carmen¡¯s great-grandfather. He mused at the fact that Michael was his grandson-inw. Finally, his idol had be an official part of his family; this was too good to be true. Cade¡¯s disease had brought this family together for the first time, but unfortunately, Cooper and Anna had made themselves scarce for the next couple of days. After all, saving Cade was their first priority. Sophia still hadn¡¯t managed to get a word in with Anna, even on the day when she and Michael were about to return to Cethos. Having returned to Bayside City, Sophia was furious when she saw that Tiffany was still around. She was about to give the woman a piece of her mind when shocking news arrived. ¡°What? Jordan found out that the Yard twins are not his biological sons? And he¡¯s sent someone to go after them?¡± Chapter 1429 Chapter 1429 Cooper personally initiated the project following Cade¡¯s cryopreservation, determined to find a cure for him as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Anna and Callum had gone back to Ronney Town. As of this moment, they were about to go through the most important stage of their ns. Even if Cade¡¯s cryopreservation meant he would be absent from all this, Anna and Callum knew they had to soldier through somehow. They knew that their freedom was at stake, and they had to seed no matter what. They had been fighting and toiling hard for over twenty years just so they could see this through to the end. All the work they¡¯d put in for the past two decades now boiled down to the moment when they could finish this once and for all. Cooper went along with them to lend his support. Furthermore, the spies that had been nted around Jordaine had gotten first-hand intel with regards to thetter¡¯s every move, and had reported the same to Anna. It turned out that Jordaine had decided to deal her final blow after all. Back then, upon discovering that Cooper¡¯s gic sample was stored within Marks Cryobank, Jordan instructed Jordaine to swap Cooper¡¯s sample with his instead. If everything had gone as nned, Cooper would have taken out Jordan¡¯s sample instead when the time came for him to want children of his own. He¡¯d bepletely oblivious to the fact that he would be raising not his biological children, but Jordan¡¯s. By then, Jordan¡¯s children would be the ones who stood to inherit Cooper¡¯s estate. The entire scheme was devious and disgusting. Thankfully, the ident that ured after that had ¡®killed¡¯ Cooper, and the gic sample remained unimed. Jordaine had done everything as she was told. She¡¯d taken out Cooper¡¯s gic sample from the cryobank and reced it with Jordan¡¯s. She kept Cooper¡¯s sample afterward. Jordan had nned to use Cooper¡¯s gic sample for more of his wicked schemes; he¡¯d even nned to make millions of clones out of the sample, thereby cultivating a Cooper Mitchell army at his own disposal. However, the technology for DNA-cloning had not advanced much further since then, and so they had encountered many failures along the way. Seeing as making an army out of Cooper¡¯s clones had made no headway, Jordaine stored away the gic sample. But while Jordaine was doing that, something else happened: Jordan brought another woman home. Jordaine had long resented Jordan¡¯s incorrigible womanizing habits, but she had also been resigned to that aspect of him. After all, she loved him so much that she was willing to change her name for him. She¡¯d been well aware of the fact that Jordan was akin to an emperor. He adored her the most, and all the other women were just meaningless flings. All Jordaine needed was time to prove that she was his one true love, and that she was different from all the other women. While the other women lusted after Jordan¡¯s power and money, Jordaine loved him for who he truly was. She make him realize that she was the only one with whom he could spend the rest of his life with. But that was before that wretched woman showed up. Jordaine was wary of her instantly, and for the first time, she felt threatened, because Jordan was different when he was with the woman. The woman had lost her memory, and Jordan had been with her every step of the way as he taught her about the workings of mankind and the rest of the world. He treated her as though she was his own child. The woman was wary and skittish in the presence of men, to the point that it warranted psychiatric help ¡ªJordan was the one who went around looking for a therapist in order to help the woman ovee her fears. When it was discovered that the woman had no uterus and was thus unable to conceive, Jordan asked Jordaine to take out his gic sample from the cryobank. He wanted to undergo IVF so that they could conceive a child of their own through surrogacy. That woman was Anna Yard. Jordaine grew dangerously jealous upon seeing Jordan treating Anna with the kind of love and care that he¡¯d extended to no one else. As a result, Jordaine swapped out Jordan¡¯s gic sample for Cooper¡¯s before the former underwent IVF with Anna. The Yard twins who wereter on conceived through surrogacy were not Jordan¡¯s biological sons at all. Jordaine had been driven insane by her own jealousy and anger. She wanted to take revenge on Jordan. She¡¯d been devoted to him and had convinced herself that only she had ever truly loved him. Yet Jordan did not appreciate her and cheated on her practically every night with countless other women. Jordaine was infuriated, but she had no choice but to ede to this state of affairs. In vengeful spirit, she decided to let Jordan get a taste of his own medicine. She also wanted to get rid of Anna once and for all. Presently, the perfect opportunity had delivered itself to her doorstep. After the news of Marks Cryobank swapping their clients¡¯ gic samples had broken out all over Cethos, it caused an outrage overseas. Many clients came forward to withdraw their gic samples, and Jordaine, in turn, had managed to rouse up a couple of scapegoats. Marks Group issued an official apology and exined that the employees had swapped the gic samples by mistake. As such, they were more than willing topensate the clients and would close down the cryobank for good. After all, the cryobank hadn¡¯t been making arge profit, and it hadn¡¯t been the main source of revenue for Marks Group. Upon seeing how things had panned out, Jordaine went along with the flow and investigated the matter. She then ¡®stumbled upon¡¯ the discovery that the Yard twins weren¡¯t really Jordan¡¯s biological children; they¡¯d been conceived out of swapped samples. She figured Jordan would surely be furious if he were to find out about this! As expected, when he heard the news that his kids were not really his own, Jordan lost his mind. His eyes went red, and he wrecked a lot of furniture in a fit of rage¡ªit was Jordaine¡¯s first time seeing him like this. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jordan. This is my fault¡ªall of it. Take it out on me. I deserve it.¡± Jordaine was sobbing dramatically, looking pitiful, while Moore held her in his arms as he cried, ¡°No, Mom. This wasn¡¯t your fault. You¡¯d only just taken over Marks Group back then, and I was so young¡ª you had far too much on your te. You couldn¡¯t have prevented it.¡± Jordan grew even more frustrated as Jordaine continued to whine and wail; he knew that she might have had something to do with this, but he was so ovee with anger that he couldn¡¯t be bothered about it. All these years, and all he¡¯d done was raise Cooper¡¯s children as his own! He gritted his teeth. For twenty years, he¡¯d raised and loved the twins, thinking that they were his and Anna¡¯s sons. It turned out that they¡¯d been Cooper¡¯s all along! Jordan had poured out his heart and soul into grooming his sons so that they could take over his business one day, but as fate would have it, they had never been his sons in the first ce! He thought about the wicked scheme he wanted to pull off with Cooper¡¯s gic samples. How the tables had turned! Jordan left for the airport after hastily giving Jordaine a couple of words of sce. He would not live this down. He wanted to wrap his hands around Cooper¡¯s neck and strangle the man to death! Meanwhile, after knowing that Jordan had boarded the ne, Jordaine wiped away her crocodile tears and made coffee for herself. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Her heart tightened as she tried to work out her own emotions. What made her devote herself entirely to Jordan out of the millions of other men in the world? Moore, on the other hand, was filled with glee. It was only a matter of time before there would be news on Callum and Cade¡¯s death. However, it was unlikely that Jordan would put the me on Anna. After all, she had a special ce in his heart. There was even a chance of him staying by her side forever. Anna, however, might just have to watch both her sons die. Anna¡¯s sons were an extension of her, so killing them would have the same effect as cutting off her limbs¡ªshe might not even be able to function as a person after they were gone. Even if Jordan spared the twins this time, there was no way he¡¯d let them off the hook for long. He might even use the two b*stards to ckmail Cooper. While Jordaine and Moore began discussing how they could take over Yard Group after Anna¡¯s inevitable defeat following the death of her sons, Dana, who was working undercover as Moore¡¯s assistant, was already sending out the intel she¡¯d gathered. Jordaine had spent all these years nting her spies around Anna, and naturally, thetter had returned the favor. Dana had been deliberately arranged to work for Moore, and Jordan would never have realized that the person he thought he¡¯d killed off was hiding right under his nose. In Ronney Town, Anna and Cooper received an update from Dana. He informed them that Jordan was already on his way. It would take a seven- or eight-hour flight for him to get from Jordaine¡¯s ce to Ronney Town. Anna was calm upon receiving the news. In fact, she could feel herself getting excited, as though she¡¯d been waiting for this moment for the longest of time. Cooper and Callum were nking her. The three of them looked as if they were witnessing a pending storming from beyond the horizon. They felt neither fear nor panic¡ªonly adrenaline. They¡¯d waited for over twenty years for this. ¡°Attack!¡± Chapter 1430 Chapter 1430 It was morning in Bayside City, and Sophia had woken up to Callum¡¯s news. All had been done! Last night, Ronney Group had crumbled. All of Jordan¡¯s men in Ronney Group had been defeated. There were those who had resigned from the conglomerate, and there were those who had been killed when they refused to back down. Within a few short hours, there had been aplete upheaval of the internal organization of Ronney Group. Anna reenacted her bloodthirsty past, sparing no mercy as she killed off every single person who got in her wayst night. Only this time, she had Callum and Cooper to back her up. Anna and her son now reigned over the board in Ronney Group. Fass, on the other hand, had be thergest shareholder in the conglomerate, second only to Anna and her son. Fass¡ªwho was Cooper¡¯s alter ego¡ªhad also officially announced his rtionship with Anna, along with the news that Callum and Cade were his biological sons. In addition to that, the Michels and Yards had partnered up for a new project. There had also been an explosion at Ronney International Airport, which had led to dozens of casualties. ¡°It¡¯s too bad that Jordan got away. The ne was about tond when it took on a different direction; otherwise, Jordan would have been dead.¡± There was a wistful tone in Callum¡¯s voice as he said this, but he couldn¡¯t say he was surprised. It was difficult to kill off people like Jordan, much like it had been with Quinton, who had managed to dodge a missile. Nheless, Ronney Group was free once more. Anna and her son could bask in this newfound freedom. The twins had also gained a real father along the way, and Jordan was now but a distant memory. Their sessst night was mostly due to their years of intricate nning and scheming, but with Cooper¡¯s aid, they managed to see their n through to the end much earlier than expected. Now that they had triumphantly taken over Ronney Group, there was nothing much Jordan could do about it for now. The spies he¡¯d nted in both the conglomerate and the family had been eradicated by Anna over the years. Some had switched over to her side, and countless others were killed off. ¡°What a grand usurpation! All of you did so well, but aren¡¯t you worried that Jordan might file awsuit against you?¡± Sophia asked now in bemusement as she loungedzily in bed, unwilling to get up to start the day. Callum appeared to be busy on the other end. After a pause, he chortled as he answered Sophia, ¡°Given the number of wives he has, do you really think he¡¯d turn to thew for help?¡± The country in which Ronney Town was established had aw against bigamy, which¡ªas the Yards had predicted¡ªresulted from amendments to the country¡¯s Marital Act. As far as thew was concerned, Jordan had no case against the Yards. Sophia said nheless, ¡°Even so, you wouldn¡¯t know what tricks he has up his sleeve.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Callum said casually, unfazed by anything Jordan might or might not do. ¡°My dad¡¯s rich, and he has nuclear bombs. I have nothing to be afraid of.¡± For the first time in his life, Callum felt proud to have a father as capable as Cooper. The nuclear weapons alone were more than enough to let others know that they were a force to be reckoned with. After Sophia had gotten all the details on everything, she hung up the call with Callum and got out of bed. She headed out after getting dressed. With her lips pressed into a thin line and her shoulders squared, Sophia knew that now was time for her to make her move. Meanwhile, Tiffany was in the living room, clutching the DNA test results in her hands as she read through them in disbelief. The results showed her that the child in her arms was not Cooper¡¯s son, but Jordan¡¯s! It turned out that the sample that Jordan had given her from the cryobank was his own instead of Cooper¡¯s. Now that she¡¯d taken a careful look at the child¡¯s features, she realized that he looked nothing like Cooper at all. Last night, Sophia had published all relevant information on this fact, and now, the entire Bayside City was aware that Tiffany¡¯s son was no biological child of Cooper¡¯s. To add insult to injury, Cooper¡¯s recent announcement of his rtionship with Anna, followed by the deration that Callum and Cade were his biological sons, had been made known throughout Cethos. No. This is impossible! Tiffany¡¯s eyes widened as she grew frantic. She made a call to Jordan, but it was his assistant who answered instead. He¡¯d been so overwhelmed with whatever had happened over the past few days that he hadn¡¯t been able to pick up any of her calls. Everything was clear as day now¡ªJordan had yed her for a fool! He wanted her to give birth to a child so as to ruin Anna and Cooper¡¯s rtionship. He wanted Cooper to raise the child as his own! Infuriated, Tiffany gave Cooper a call, which he answered without hesitation. ¡°Cooper, you¡¯ve been with Anna all this while, haven¡¯t you?¡± she barked the instant he picked up; her using and confrontational tone was simr to that of a scorned wife¡¯s. Upon hearing this the moment she came downstairs, Sophia scoffed as she thought dryly, Do you even have to ask? Sophia had sent someone to pack Anna¡¯s bags, and she¡¯d picked up the test results that Tiffany had discarded on the floor. After taking a photo of it, she sent it to Maddie. The photo was the final embellishment that would prove the contents of the article Sophia had written. Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Cooper feltpelled to give Tiffany an exnation despite everything that had happened. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been with Anna all this time,¡± he stated inly. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Tiffany rolled her eyes in exasperation. He needn¡¯t be so tant with his answer! Cooper added, ¡°Seeing as you colluded with Jordan to plot against me, I simply yed along and came over to Ronney Town to help Anna.¡± Tiffany could feel smokeing out of her ears, and she was about to retort when Cooper continued, ¡°Take it from me, Tiffany: Jordan is a crook, and you¡¯re only going to set yourself up for betrayal if you choose to work with him.¡± You don¡¯t say, Tiffany thought bitterly. The amount of work she¡¯d put in just so she could have Cooper¡¯s child and force him to take her as his wife had now been reduced to nothing. As of now, she could feel her emotions bursting at the seam as she roared into the phone, ¡°So you¡¯ve been putting on a show for Jordan all along? The times when you¡¯d been nice to me, and when you got into an argument with Anna¡ªthose were all just for show?¡± Cooper sounded deadpan as he answered, ¡°Yes.¡± At this, Tiffany felt as though she¡¯d just been punched in the gut. Cooper said, ¡°Tiffany, I¡¯m very sorry to have used you, but you have to understand that it was you and Jordan who decided to go against me in the first ce. Tiffany, you knew what you were getting into, and because of that, I don¡¯t owe you anything at all.¡± Indeed, she did know what she was getting into. Cooper knew, too. There was no use denying that she¡¯d helped Jordan plot against Cooper. She loved Cooper, but he was a powerful man who bowed to no one; the only way to subdue him was to cut off his wings altogether. If Jordan¡¯s n had worked out, Cooper would have stayed by Tiffany¡¯s side, and they would have raised Asher together. Cooper would have been hers and hers alone. ¡°I hate you, Cooper Mitchell!¡± Tiffany yelled into the phone, but Cooper had already hung up. At one side, Sophia mused scathingly, ¡°Save your breath. Everything is over now, so why don¡¯t you get the hell out of my house?¡± Tiffany glowered at Sophia, hatred and rage burning in her eyes. Sophia must have known the truth all along. She¡¯d known that the child was not Cooper¡¯s, and she¡¯d known that Cooper had been with Anna all this while. She¡¯d been putting up a show while causing a diversion in Bayside City, all so she could distract Tiffany and Jordan from whatever it was that Cooper had been nning! At the end of the day, both Jordan and Cooper¡¯s family had made a fool out of her! ¡°How dare you look at me like that!¡± Sophia snapped icily when she noticed Tiffany ring at her. ¡°You colluded with Jordan and plotted against my father, and now you¡¯re acting up because my parents decided to go against you? You have some nerve!¡± She¡¯d only just finished her sentence when the Michels arrived at the house. They were hostile as they said, ¡°Tiffany, our families go way back, but we are utterly disappointed with you and what you¡¯ve done. Please leave as soon as possible.¡± They had only just found out today that the kid Tiffany had brought over to thepany the other day was not Cooper¡¯s biological son at all. Everyone in Michel Group was this close to getting duped by her. But more to the point, the Michels were overjoyed to find out that Cooper had two new additions to his family. Tiffany¡¯s presence here would only be a hindrance, and they wanted nothing more but to throw her out of the house so that Anna could move in with both her sons. Tiffany red at Sophia and the Michels. It wasn¡¯t long before the Adams found out about this recent turn of events, following which they¡¯d expressed their dissatisfaction toward Tiffany. They were embarrassed by the role she¡¯d yed throughout all this. In fact, they werepletely humiliated. Those in Adams Group who had caught wind of the news turned in their resignation notices; they no longer wanted to have anything to do with the likes of Tiffany. Chapter 1431 Chapter 1431 While throwing Tiffany¡¯s heavy luggage into the living room, Sophia coldly stared at the dissatisfied Tiffany as she roared in fury, ¡°You should hurry up and leave now. If everything goes well, Bailey is going to hold another board meeting to dismiss you once again. You should leave now; otherwise, you might not make it on time.¡± It¡¯s Bailey, that b*stard, again! It appeared that Bailey had long known about that incident, so he merely yed along with Cooper and Sophia to distract Tiffany¡¯s attention. That jerk. All he does is take advantage of the situation for his own benefits! Tiffany left in a huff, so Sophia took the opportunity and threw all her luggage out of the house. Tiffany¡¯s men then took the luggage away. The nanny was carrying Tiffany and Jordan¡¯s son in her arms as she asked, ¡°What do we do about him?¡± Tiffany cast a nce at the son, as if she was able to see Jordan¡¯s disgusting face through him. Jordan¡¯s child! Even looking at his face disgusts me! Even though this child was also Tiffany¡¯s son, she felt that his father was beyond disgusting. She found the fact of her actually having Jordan¡¯s son extremely unbearable, which made her unable to even look at the child¡ªit disgusted her whenever she set her eyes on him. It might have been part of Jordan¡¯s scheme to use the child toy his hands on the Adams Family¡¯s fortune. It made her feel as if she had been raped by Jordan, causing her to transfer all her hatred toward him to the child. She muttered through greeting teeth. ¡°Throw him away!¡± The nanny was hesitant as the child was, after all, a descendant of the Adams Family. The child, who might have sensed his uing fate, struggled and cried in the nanny¡¯s arm. His miserable cries annoyed Tiffany even more, causing her to grab the child from the nanny¡¯s arm and throw him into the trash can without even giving him a nce. The child was thrown into the trash can with a thud. Tiffany then hurried over to the Adams Group in an attempt to stop Bailey. That wretched man! After Tiffany had left, Sophia, who seemed to hear a child¡¯s criesing from outside her house, went outside to check out the sound, only to find a tiny flesh ball, which was red in color due to the freezing temperature outside, in the trash can. Subconsciously, she picked the child up. Oh, my! Such a scumbag! She actually abandoned her own child! Though she had no idea what to do now, she knew that she could not leave the child in the trash can, so she took him back home. She kept the child in the house, but she did not know what to do with him. After all, the child was Jordan and Tiffany¡¯s son, so keeping him around would be a threat. However, the child was innocent¡ª they should not drag a child into the adults¡¯ matters. After some contemtion, she informed Lucy so that thetter coulde to get the child. Soon, Harry arrived to check out the child. He said that Dana had asked him toe and take a look at the child. Although Dana¡¯s gigantic penis waspletely functional, he was infertile, so he and Lucy could not have a child. Since the child¡¯s parents had abandoned him, they could adopt the baby. It was Dana¡¯s n to have Jordan¡¯s son call him ¡®dad¡¯! The situation rendered Sophia speechless. Since Lucy and Dana had requested to adopt the child, she had no choice but to temporarily keep the child at home so that it would be convenient for them to come and pick the child up after some time. Celine, who was quite fond of the child, would carry and feed him in her arms whenever she had free time. This child was insignificant to Tiffany¡ªshe still had other ova, which allowed her to have other children whenever she wanted. In her eyes, the child was merely a product, which was why she found nothing regrettable in abandoning him. Therefore, she was determined to not raise Jordan¡¯s child. She rushed to the Adams Group in a hurry and was informed that Bailey was indeed holding a board meeting. She then entered the VIP elevator, attempting to stop everything. However, just when the elevator had risen two floors up, the elevator suddenly stopped moving, and a strange fragrance suddenly entered the elevator, catching her off guard. She inhaled the fragrance and fainted. Later, Tiffany was woken up by a bucket of cold water. When she regained consciousness, she found that she was tied to a chair with both her arms and legs bound, unable to move even a muscle. There was a person, who had a face mask on, pouring gasoline around her. She was confined in a room. Opposite her was a window, and the view outside showed that it was already night time. It was extremely quiet around, so she figured that they were in a remote ce. Amidst the darkness outside the open window stood a man. Although she could not clearly see, she knew that that man was Bailey. She saw that there were plenty of mmable items in the room, and there was a person pouring gasoline around her, while Bailey was standing outside the window watching everything. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. At that instant, she knew that her time was up, and she had nowhere to escape. Ever since the beginning, Cooper had joined forces with Bailey to take her down. She, on the other hand, had held on to her fantasy about Cooper, thinking that a child could keep him with her, but she ended up falling into their trap. She stopped struggling and calmly asked Bailey, who was standing outside the window, ¡°Are you going to burn me to death, just like how I burned your parents and family to death?¡± Standing outside the window, Bailey seemed indifferent, as if he was emotionless, but the night breeze sent in his short reply. ¡°Yes.¡± It seemed like he had long known about the incident. However, Tiffany seemed to not feel indignant or fear, as if she had long predicted this day. On that day, Bailey¡¯s parents and brothers, all four of them, were trapped in the car when they were engulfed by the mes. From the video, she saw the tragic scene of his family struggling in the fire and burning to death. The scene was still fresh in her memory till now. ¡°Hahaha!¡± She suddenly burst intoughter. ¡°Looks like you have long known about it.¡± She could have stopped Bailey from escaping back then, but she did not do so as she wanted to keep him alive, adopt him, and even legally acquire his parents and brothers¡¯ inheritance. Unfortunately, she was wrong to have underestimated the ten-year-old kid at that time. Facing the crazy Tiffany, Bailey was as impassive as ever; he was as cold as an emotionless iceberg amidst the darkness of the night. After going through hell, he had be numb to everything, even though his heart was bleeding at that moment. The scene of his parents and brothers¡¯ tragic death had been torturing him almost every night. In his dreams, he saw himself helplessly standing in front of that ferocious fire. He cried in despair until his voice became hoarse, but all he could do was to watch as his family was burned to death. His family¡¯s hoarse and desperate screams were still vivid in his memories to this day. Tiffany finally stoppedughing. Knowing that she would not be able to escape today, she felt lighthearted instead. When her eyesy on the peculiar essory on her wrist, she said to Bailey. ¡°Give me my phone. I want to give Cooper a call before I die.¡± Bailey did not reply to her, which probably meant that he had rejected her request. Without pressing on, she burst into a guffaw again. ¡°Hahaha! Cooper has long known that you were going to take action on me, right? You guys have had everything nned out and have been waiting for this day.¡± He did not reply as well, so she assumed that he had acquiesced to her assumptions. She continued to cackle, but herughter gradually turned into cries. She loved him so much, but in the end, she would die under his schemes. However, she was well aware that she was the one who started scheming in the first ce, so everything that happened now was what she deserved! Afterughing and crying, she calmed down a little. The gasoline had been poured around her, and there was a person sealing up the window and all the exits¡ªit seemed like they nned to suffocate her to death before disposing of her body to get rid of the evidence. This way of dying was actually much better than what Bailey¡¯s parents had gone through years ago. Bailey personally lit a fire and threw it into the room. Arge fire instantly swallowed up the whole room, together with Tiffany in it. Tiffany¡¯s maniacalughter could be heard from the fire. ¡°Hahaha! Bailey, pass on this message to Cooper¡ªask her daughter to go and perform a full-body checkup. There is something in her daughter¡¯s body that could threaten her life anytime, and the key is with me.¡± Chapter 1432 Chapter 1432 Bailey turned to look at her, but all he could hear was her tragic screams from the infernal fire as it engulfed her body. Soon, Tiffany no longer existed in the world. He then drove away. After he had left, the little suburban house burst into mes. Even though he had killed a person in the suburb of Bayside City, there were people who would settle the aftermath for him. In fact, Cooper actually contributed to Tiffany¡¯s death. It was already midnight after Bailey left the tiny suburban house and returned to the city center. He hid in the hotel¡¯s cupboard by himself and closed the door, allowing his tears to flow freely. The scenes where Tiffany was engulfed by the mes and his family disappearing in the fire reyed in his head over and over again. Ever since his parents and brothers died, he had lost all his happiness, as if his heaven had been utterly destroyed by someone in an instant. He had had countless sleepless nights, and he could only have a couple of hours of good rest by hiding in the cupboard. Five years had passed since then. His family had passed away for five years, and today, he had finally avenged them. Unfortunately, it did not give him any sense of pleasure¡ªit was not at all his intention to kill, as all he wanted was his family to be with him! He was more afraid that he would be the kind of person he loathed¡ªthe kind of person who would do anything, including abominable deeds, in order to achieve their goal. Subconsciously, he looked at the three apricot kernels on his wrist. They were gifts from Carmen, who was a kind and innocent girl. He had always carried it with him to remind himself that he was actually a person and not a devil. Even if circumstances had forced him to lift up the butcher knife, his consciousness had yet to diminish. He had also once done a good deed that saved a life and a family. His life was full of darkness cast by despair and sufferings, without even a single shred of light. He was immersed in this boundless darkness, but he was still trying to protect the little dash of light in him. The television, which was left on, suddenly yed the variety show that Carmen had participated in, and her sweet voice entered through the cupboard into his ears. Bailey¡¯s body was curled up into a ball ¡ªa posture that indicated that he was in extreme anxiety and fear¡ªbut he gradually rxed upon hearing Carmen¡¯s singing. ¡°The fresh flowers have once told me how you passed by; the ground knows every corner of your heart¡­¡± Hearing her melodious voice, his mind slowly calmed down, and a faint smile slowly appeared on his face as he leaned against the cupboard. She was just like an angel. The devil, which was hidden in the abyss, heard the singing of an angel from the heavens. The angel¡¯s sacred light shone into the bottomless sinful abyss, allowing the devil to capture a shred of light and keep it in his heart with just a stretch of his hand. Even if he had fallen into the bottomless hell of sin, he still remembered that he was once an angel, who had once sung in heaven.Property ? N?velDrama.Org. It waste when Cooper finally reached home. He had helped Anna and her son take over Ronney Group. After the situation had been stabilized, he headed home. As he had left home for over one month, he missed his family, especially Carmen and Sophia. ¡°Grandpa!¡± Carmen missed Cooper dearly since she had not seen him for many days. Upon seeing him back, she pounced at him, whereupon he picked her up and spinned her around. Sophia threw herself at him like a little kid too. ¡°Dad!¡± Cooper intended to pick her up and spin her around as well, but seeing that his son-inw was around, he gave up on the idea to avoid looking childish in front of him. Instead, he walked up to them with a straight face. ¡°Dad, is everything wrapped up at Ronney Group?¡± asked Michael. Cooper replied, ¡°Yes, everything has stabilized.¡± He had announced his rtionship with Anna, and the situation had been stabilized. Looking at his young-looking father-inw in high spirits, Michael, although jealous of him, felt happy for him. These past few years had not been easy for his young-looking father-inw. Thetter had lost his life partner when he was young, and as a middle-aged man, he had experienced twice of his children almost leaving him. The pitiful Cade was still frozen in Ronney Town, and nobody could tell whether he would survive this ordeal. After enjoying the moment for a while, Cooper returned to his solemn and stern expression. After all, his son was still kept frozen, which made him unable to be genuinely happy. Cooper had been wary of Jordan ever since the great change that had happened in the Yard Family; he had been constantly keeping an eye on all his movements. However, it seemed like Jordan had not taken any actionstely since he had some other things to deal with. Nevertheless, Jordan would definitely take revenge on them soon, so Cooper had to constantly stay on guard. Ever since Cooper and Anna¡¯s rtionship had been announced, everyone was astonished. Sophia¡¯s mother¡¯s identity had also been revealed¡ªit was actually Anna. The greatest winner of these series of incidents was, of course, Carmen. The little girl was literally pampered by everyone. Her grandfather was Fass, also known as Cooper; her three uncles were people with extraordinary backgrounds; her father was even more amazing¡ªhe was the only Cethos actor who had won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice; and her mother had her own career. Besides, for her rtives on her father¡¯s side, her grandmother was Elizabeth, while her grandfather had a more incredible identity. At the same time, her cousins, Nathan and Stanley, were both renowned bachelors. Rumors had it that she had a boyfriend, and her boyfriend was someone even more impressive. Stacks of invitation cards to reality shows were sent flying to their house like snowkes. All parent- child reality shows which she had participated in had be so popr to the point where her appearance in the shows itself had be the guarantee of the shows¡¯ viewing and rating. Cooper felt a headache as he looked at the stacks of invitation cards to different reality shows. However, Carmen seemed to look forward to them. She patiently waited for Cade to wake up and take her to participate in a reality show some day. Michael, who was at home today, was busy making milk. Since Justin had been busy with worktely, and the silly Celine kept going out to y all day, Michael had to help to take care of the two children whenever he was free. They had three babies at home now¡ªCarmen, their eldest baby, Bianca, the younger baby, andstly, the child of Tiffany and Jordan. After Tiffany died, the baby had been staying in Sophia¡¯s house, as Dana and Lucy told them that they woulde to pick him up after some time. They even gave the baby a rather nice name¡ªNigel Winston. Now, Michael would take care of the children whenever he was free, which he seemed to find enjoyable. It appeared that he had lost interest in work because he had been staying at home all day, taking care of his wife and children. All of a sudden, he got a call from the security guard, who told him that Bailey hade to visit. ¡°Why is the green-eyed guy with longshes here again?¡± Michael put down the milk powder in his hands and checked the security monitors. As expected, he saw Bailey¡¯s car parked at the entrance. Sophia warmly weed Bailey into their house. ¡°Bailey!¡± Carmen ran to him excitedly, with a simr enthusiasm as Sophia¡¯s. Bailey, on the other hand, just nced at them without giving them any replies. Instead, he walked up to Cooper and uttered in a solemn voice. ¡°Fass, I have something to talk to you about, but it¡¯s inconvenient to talk about it here.¡± Upon that, Cooper and Bailey entered the study to discuss something. However, a few minutester, Cooper suddenly exited the room and dragged Sophia, who was still in her pajamas, to the hospital without giving any exnation. ¡°Find out what the hell is in my daughter¡¯s body!¡± Michael, who tagged along with them to the hospital, heard Cooper¡¯s words, as well as the unprecedented tremble and fear in them. Chapter 1433 Chapter 1433 Bailey followed them to the hospital as well. Although Michael did not know what was happening, he felt a sense of panic surging through him. What¡¯s wrong with chica this time? Sophia was even more terrified. Cooper had dragged her all the way to the hospital, almost not allowing her feet to even touch the ground. She was still in her pajamas when she arrived at the hospital. Michael gave her a down jacket to keep herself warm, so shepleted all the check-ups in his clothes. It waste at night. The family sat in the lounge in the hospital to wait for the result, and Sophia, who was wearing Michael¡¯s clothes, was zoning out. What exactly is going on? She had no idea, and neither did Michael. Meanwhile, Bailey¡ªthe only person who knew exactly what was going on¡ªsat at one side without saying anything, while Cooper paced back and forth in fluster, as if there was fire burning under his feet. Quinton was sitting beside Bailey. He was not supposed to be on duty today, but upon hearing that something had happened to Sophia, he rushed over here. Linus, who was out on business, rushed over as soon as he learned about the news as well. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Sophia?¡± He immediately asked that question the moment he arrived, but nobody could provide an answer¡ª even Sophia herself had no idea what was wrong with her. She had an active lifestyle and would go for routine body check-ups as well as blood and urine tests, so what could be wrong with her body? At that moment, the result was finally out. The doctor informed the patient and her family to go to his office to discuss the matter. Cooper immediately went over, with Linus, Sophia, and Michael following behind him. In the doctor¡¯s office, the doctor, who had been forced toe back to work overtime, wore a stern expression as he handed Sophia¡¯s body check-up results to Cooper. ¡°Mr. Mitchell, your daughter¡¯s health indicators are all within normal range. In other words, she is in good health. However, we found an unknown object in her body.¡± An unknown object? Cooper immediately took the check-up report. He skipped the front part about her health indicators and flipped to the final part. Sure enough, her X-ray result showed that she had a small cube-like object near her ribs. The object, which could not be shown clearly on X-ray, was found in Sophia¡¯s body, right behind her ribs. It appeared that the object had been in her body for quite a long time, and it definitely would not have been something that she had naturally developed in her body, so it must be a mechanical part that had been surgically transnted into her. However, Sophia had not done any operation to transnt anything into her body over the years. Could it be that it is some kind of piercing? But it doesn¡¯t look like it. Cooper observed that thing but was unable to guess what it was. All he knew was that it had to be removed. Sophia and Michael were unfamiliar with the object as well. They really could not recall when that object was inserted into her body. It looked like a small cube. Sophia pressed on the spot where the object was in her body, but she was unable to feel the existence of the cube over her bones. It appeared that the cube was harmless to her body. What exactly is that thing? Nevertheless, when Linus and Quinton saw the object from one side, both of them inhaled sharply. Linus¡¯ face instantly paled; he would¡¯ve slumped to the ground if he had not held on to the wall. Both he and Quinton recognized that thing. As a matter of fact, Linus was the one who made it. He had made three of them and gave them to the Phantom Wolf. They were transnted into the body of two generations of Phantom Wolf. As Quinton¡¯s master had one in his body, his body exploded when he died,pletely destroying and wiping out all lives within a radius of several miles. Quinton had one in his body as well, which had been the reason why Michael dreaded him so much when the former was creating chaos everywhere in the world. Michael wanted to kill him, but he knew that killing him would mean that he would have to sacrifice himself as well. It was a bomb¡ªa small yet powerful bomb. It was a bomb developed by Linus to control the Phantom Wolf, but it had also be an amulet that protected their lives! Linus had only made three of them, and all three of them had been given to the Phantom Wolf. Two of the bombs had been transnted into their bodies, but thest one¡­ Linus suddenly blew up. He dashed up to Quinton and strangled his neck while roaring at him with his eyes red, ¡°You actually put that thing into my sister¡¯s body?¡± Quinton, on the other hand, was merely staring at that object, as if he had forgotten how to think. He did not put up a fight even though Linus almost suffocated him, for all he had in his eyes was that cube. Linus¡¯ bellow was still ringing in his ear. ¡°What the hell is going on? Why the hell is that thing in her?¡± Stunned, Quinton looked at Sophia and then turned to the cube-like object on the X-ray. His brain suddenly froze at that instant. Upon seeing Linus and Quinton¡¯s reaction, everyone could tell that this matter had something to do with them. Cooper abruptly pulled Linus away and grabbed Quinton by his cor instead. ¡°What the hell is going on?! Tell me!¡± Quinton was still too shocked to speak. Meanwhile, Linus suddenly got on his knees, and tears rolled down his face as he spoke. ¡°Dad, it¡¯s all my fault, it¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± Linus then told them everything. He had developed three bombs and had given all three of them to the Phantom Wolf, who used two of them on themselves, while the third one¡ªif he was not mistaken¡ªhad been given to Jordan by Quinton since the two of them used to be partners, and Quinton had helped Jordan get rid of quite a number of people. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. As the bomb was made by Linus himself, only he knew how powerful that thing was. And yet, the same bomb had been inserted into Sophia¡¯s body. After listening to his exnation, everyone gasped. There was a bomb in Sophia¡¯s body! It was a bomb that was connected to her life¡ªif she died, or the bomb was removed by force, the bomb would explode. Only a remote control could disable the bomb, but the same remote control could ignite it from far away! Michael looked at her and her t tummy. A person suddenly crossed his mind¡ªde. When Sophia was kidnapped by de, she went missing for over 12 hours. She was only found the day after she was taken away. At that time, de demanded for Cooper to use Celine to exchange for Sophia. As Michael refused to hand over his older sister, he dressed up as Celine and managed to trick de. In the end, not only did they manage to save Sophia, but they injured de as well. After that, de was taken down by Stanley and the others. It was a full 12 hours! Anything could have happened during that 12 hours¡ªfor instance, burying a bomb in her belly. The medical techniques back then could allow them to easily stitch up the wound in a short time. Sophia was found with only minor injuries on her body at that time, but in fact, there had been a bomb buried in her body since then! Cooper, who had learned about the whole incident, looked at Linus with a look of disbelief on his face. Linus felt so guilty that he knocked his head on the floor as tears of regret streamed down his cheeks. The three bombs were made by him, so he knew how powerful they were. At the same time, he knew that there was no other way to stop it except by using the remote control, which they figured must be with Jordan! Sophia had yet to return to her senses from the extreme shock when Cooper suddenly took two quick steps over to her and hugged her. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here with you. Everything will be fine.¡± Nevertheless, Sophia felt cold all over¡ªso cold that she felt numb¡ªand even Cooper¡¯s embrace failed to make her feel warm. On the other hand, Michael had been sent spiraling into a pit of despair. Jordan surely hates Cooper to the bones; he intends to make Linus implicitly responsible for Sophia¡¯s death, which would make Cooper live the rest of his life in misery and pain! Chapter 1434 Chapter 1434 Cooper had never thought that Jordan would actuallye out with such a ruthless and vicious move! He hugged his daughter desperately, as if even death could not separate them. He had once found her lying on the barren ground outside Michel Town like a lifeless body. He then saved her and watched as she stayed by him, looking active and adorable, which had given him an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness. However, never had he ever thought that right after he had sent a child to be frozen, he had to watch as another child died before his eyes! He held back his tears. No, I can¡¯t let Sophia die! At that moment, Sophia finally returned to her senses from this staggering news. The first person that crossed her mind was Tiffany. ording to Linus¡¯ exnation earlier, the bomb could only be removed after being disabled using the remote control. She suddenly recalled the weird-looking essory on Tiffany¡¯s wrist¡ªit actually looked like a remote control. That must be the bomb¡¯s remote control. Jordan gave Tiffany the remote control probably because he wanted her to use it to ¡®negotiate¡¯ with Cooper so that he could be with her, and at the same time, separate him and Anna. However, Tiffany did not y this card. Instead, she decided to wait until her rtionship with Cooper turned out well and they got married before telling them about the remote control. She had thought ahead. If she had taken out the remote control at that time to force Cooper to be with her, they would not be happy after their marriage; besides, Sophia¡¯s family would resent her and treat her with hostility. Instead, it would be better to get married with Cooper after they had a baby together before showing them the remote control. After she managed to save Sophia, Cooper and his family would be grateful to her, and through this, she would be wholeheartedly epted by Cooper and his family. Nevertheless, life was full of uncertainties. Betsy¡¯s death had messed up all her ns. Michael thought of the same thing as well and immediately asked Bailey, ¡°Where¡¯s Tiffany?¡± Bailey did not expect that Tiffany was actually talking about a bomb. He replied with regret, ¡°Everything was burnt to ashes. Nothing remained.¡± This was also part of Tiffany¡¯s n¡ªto tell them the truth at the last moment before she died as an act of revenge on Cooper. Michael refused to believe it and he immediately uttered to him, ¡°Lead the way. I want to go to the scene to check out myself.¡± Maybe the remote control is fireproof. Michael left in a hurry with Bailey to find Tiffany¡¯s remote control at the scene, just in case it was still there. Quinton followed along as well. Cooper first made arrangements on where to ce Sophia before heading over. Upon wiping away his tears, Linus went over as well. Although Cooper did not me Linus for the incident, thetter knew that he himself was guilty. If Sophia died because of this, he would not be able to live on as well. He would not be able to ept the tragic fact that he was the one who caused his sister¡¯s death. In fact, this was also Jordan¡¯s aim¡ªhe intended to use Sophia¡¯s death to give Cooper a blow and sever the father-and-son rtionship between them. Michael would also part ways with Cooper and Linus if Sophia died. By then, Cooper would be alone and helpless, doomed to live the rest of his life in guilt and misery, unable to stand back up. Losing his daughter would give him more despair and suffering than killing him alone. It was indeed a vicious plot. In fact, the bomb had its limitations. Though the use of remote control was required to activate the bomb, the remote control must be within 10 km from the bomb in order to take effect. Therefore, Cooper immediately sent Sophia to another ce in secret so that Jordan would not be able to find her. Nevertheless, she could not hide from him for her whole life, so they had to remove the bomb as soon as possible. As the bombs were made by Linus to pass time, the relevant documents had long been gone, unable to be found. Even Linus had no other way to disarm it, since he initially thought that all three bombs had been destroyed. Sophia was ced in a farmhouse located in a deserted area in the suburb. The farmhouse was in a secluded area, surrounded by a 10km radius ofnd with barely any people around. Meanwhile, the situation on Michael¡¯s side was not optimistic. He came out from the ruins covered in ck ashes, but empty-handed. The remote control had turned into ashes along with the Tiffany. No, ording to what I know about Jordan, it would be impossible that he would give the remote control to Tiffany so easily. Therefore, even if we were able to find it here, it may not be of much use. Michael hurried home before he got to clean the ashes all over him. However, upon arriving home, he did not see Sophia, so he instantly gave her a call out of fluster. ¡°Chica, where are you?¡± Sophia, who was at the other end of the line, kept quiet for a moment before answering, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine. Dad has arranged for me to stay in a very safe ce. There is an inte connection here, so I can still handle my work online.¡± Without bothering to clean the ashes on him, he left the house in a hurry again while asking, ¡°Where are you? I aming over now.¡± She hesitantly replied, ¡°I am fine here, and there is inte. I have brought Nichs and Shae over here, and I have enough food in the fridge. I can watch movies and chat online when I have free time.¡± ¡°Tell me your coordinates. I am going over to keep youpany.¡± It was rare for Michael to speak in a domineering tone that allowed no room for rejection. However, she still refused to give him a direct answer and changed the topic instead. ¡°Carmen¡¯s sses are almost over. If you are free, you should go and pick her up. There are still two babies at home, so you will have to take care of them.¡± Although they could only hear each other through the phone and Sophia was trying her best to hold herself back, Michael was still able to hear her fear in her tone. The bomb could explode at any time, so she had to find a ce and wait there alone. As long as the bomb was still inside her, she could not leave the ce. N?vel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive ? material. Sophia must be feeling extremely afraid at this moment, and she needed Michael now more than ever, so he must go and apany her. However, before he managed to say anything, Sophia decided to hang up the call in a fluster. ¡°I have a video conferenceter. I am hanging up now.¡± After hanging up the call, shey on the table, allowing tears to flow freely down her face. She was alone in the suburb. It was a quiet ce without any people around, surrounded by only farnd. The signal here was bad, and there was no heater. Although Cooper had sent people over to take care of her, she rejected all of them. She was a ticking time bomb. Currently, Jordan must be thinking of a way toe over to activate the bomb in her in order to give Cooper and Anna a blow. So, if she was destined to die, she should just die alone. Cooper had chosen a lot of good ingredients for her and managed to fill the double leaf fridge with food. With all essential food and a liquefied gas tank to rece the gas pipelines, she would have no problem surviving here on her own. Cooper felt heartache to leave her here on her own, but he had no other choice as he had to go to look for other ways to save her. Linus, on the other hand, had gone straight to hisboratory. He was determined to find a solution since the bomb was made by him. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll definitely save you. You must give me a call if you need anything.¡± Cooper kept turning back to look at her when he was leaving as he was afraid that this would be thest time he would see her. Sophia put up a strong front and smiled. ¡°Dad, just leave. I¡¯m not afraid.¡± As a matter of fact, she was terrified¡ªterrified that she had to stay hidden for the rest of her life, and terrified that she would die all of a sudden. She was afraid that she would lose her loved ones, but what she was even more afraid of was losing Michael. Chapter 1435 Chapter 1435 Cooper¡¯s car drove off, leaving Sophia alone in this tiny house in the suburb. Cold breeze brushed by, bringing along the bone-chilling coldness of the snow that had yet to melt. In this suburban house without a centralized heater, Sophia could only keep herself warm at the firece. Nichs and Shae stood next to her in an orderly manner, protecting and apanying her. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Looking at the fire in the firece, she zoned out as she sat on the couch. The book that she was holding in her hands had not been flipped for quite some time. She had no idea how long she had to stay here. Although she had been here for barely a few hours, she had already started to miss her home. She missed her home, father, brother, Carmen, Michael, her dogs and cats¡­ She looked outside the window in a daze. As the snow had not melted, everything that entered her sight was white. The car tyre marks on the ground, which were made when Cooper drove away, gradually vanished from sight. It was so quiet here that it felt like she was in a ce hidden away from the rest of the world. There was a small hill in the distance, stopping any visitors from the outside world from probing into where she was. The ce made her calm down and allowed her to start thinking. She soon realized that she had had an amazing life. She had once forgotten, had once lost, had once been lonely, and had once been miserable, but all those were things of the past, and now, she was happy. Unfortunately, she still had many regrets in her life¡ªCarmen had not grown up yet; she was unable to age together with Michael; and Cooper was going to watch another child die. Her death would be too cruel to them. All of a sudden, she saw something gradually moving toward her from a distance. She opened the door, and the chilling wind that blew at her made her wrap herself tighter in her clothes. However, the thinyer of clothing was no match to the coldness of early spring. When the thing came closer, she realized that it was a jeep. The vehicle was parked at the space in front of the house, leaving behind tyre marks from a sudden brake. The car door was then opened, and Michael, who was wearing winter clothes, alighted from the car with his simple luggage. He put down the luggage before taking two steps forward and took her into his embrace. ¡°I am here.¡± Sophia was stunned the moment he appeared. He is actually here? He is actually here! He is here! Her emotion transitioned from disbelief to tion, but her reasons made her push him away, and for the first time ever, she shouted at him in a stern voice, ¡°Why are you here? Leave! Go away! I don¡¯t want to see you now!¡± She used all her strength to push him away, but as soon as her forcended on him, tears escaped her eyes. Her push made him stagger two steps back, but he immediately paced forward to hug her tightly, burying his face into her hair. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving.¡± He held her tightly in her arms so that she could not push him away again. Being tightly held in his arms, she felt his hot breath on her neck underneath her hair. She wanted to push him away, but her strength had disappeared. ¡°Why did youe? Leave now! I don¡¯t want you to die!¡± He was aware of what he would face bying here¡ªif Jordan were to activate the bomb now, both of them would die. However, Michael refused to say anything; all he wanted to do now was to hug her tightly. Even if we were to die, we must die together! In this life, he was born 13 years earlier than she was¡ªhe had been living a lonely life for 13 years in a world without her. However, if they were able to die in the same year, same month, and same day, they might be able to be born in the same year, same month and same day in their next lives. Besides, he did not have a long life ahead of him anyway. He could feel what she felt, so he could understand the fear and terror she was experiencing right now. He had lost her once on the day when she was kidnapped by Phantom Wolf, which had caused her to give birth to their child in despair. This time, he definitely would not allow her to face this by herself. When Sophia refused to let hime to her, he went to look for Cooper. As Cooper and Linus were busy looking for a way to deactivate the bomb, they could not stay to apany Sophia, and Cooper was unwilling to let his daughter face the unknown horror all by herself. Nevertheless, Sophia rejected everyone¡¯spany¡ªeven any of her cats¡¯¡ªand brought only two robots with her to clean the ce. Cooper was a little hesitant when Michael took the initiative toe to apany her, but after getting Theo¡¯s agreement, he allowed Michael toe with the thought of letting them cherish theirst moments together. Knowing that he definitely would not leave since he hade here, she shouted and cried in his arms, pounding on his chest. He did not give her any response and just hugged her, allowing her to do as she wanted and cry her eyes out. He would never leave her again. She cried until the sky was cold, the ground was freezing, and her tears nearly froze; only then did she realize that his chest was wet from her tears. Cold breeze brushed by, causing the two of them to tremble in cold. She attempted to take him into the house, but she unexpectedly saw a pair of dog¡¯s paws frantically scratching at the window of the car that Michael had driven here. After wiping away his tears, he opened the car door. Judge jumped out from the car, raced toward her, and ran in circles around her legs. ¡°This silly dog insisted oning along and chased after the car for a few miles. So I had no choice but to bring him along.¡± She sniffled and patted the dogs¡¯ head before they went into the house together with the dog. Their most desperate moment had yet toe. As long as Jordan was unable to find her here, she would be safe. However, she would still feel scared and lonely, but Michael¡¯s arrival suddenly gave her a great deal of courage. No matter what she would face in the future, she would not feel scared and lonely anymore for she had him here with her! Michael took a look around the house after entering. This two-story suburban house, which was located in a deste area, was elegantly and warmly renovated. The rooms were on the first floor, while the living room was on the ground floor. There was a floor-to-ceiling window next to arge book rack, and a white, fluffy carpet was spread out on the floor; on top of it were two books with bookmarks in them. The warehouse was filled with coal, and the fridge was stuffed with food, while water could be obtained from a well nearby. They had sufficient life supplies here, but the inte connection here was rather awful. Nevertheless, living here for two to three weeks would not be an issue. Besides, even with Michael and Judge here, their food supply was definitely not a problem. Michael took in and unpacked his luggage. There was nothing much in there¡ªonly some clothes, toothbrush, some spices, and a stack of tes. Sophia made a call to ask someone to send over some dog food and snacks. The house was soon filled with a lot of things since they were prepared to stay here for some time. They would wildly make love to each other in the cold snowy night and sluggishly watch movies in front of the firece in each other¡¯s embrace in the afternoon. Without the Inte, they were spared from the endless meetings and business negotiations. The two of them put down their work and spend their days living simple lives. Michael, who had be a hardworking house husband, took care of their meals by diligently preparing three meals a day for Sophia. The two of them lived a happy life here. It was as if time had suddenly slowed down, and their presence became more and more profound and meaningful to each other. They were free from the fear and confusion of their unknown fate, for all they had in their eyes were each other. Chapter 1436 Chapter 1436 The Lantern Festival had yet to arrive, but the temperature was as low as ever. Sophia would often feel sluggish and unwilling to leave the house. However, every afternoon, when the temperature slightly rose, Judge would scratch the door, bugging her so that she would take him out for a walk. Though the sun was bright today, the weather was cold as usual. Since Sophia was more sensitive to cold, her limbs would often feel chilly. Despite wearing thick, warm clothes, her body temperature still dropped, and she still felt cold when she was outside. With their hands held together, the two of them took a stroll at the nearby snowfield. The snow, which had yet to melt, was fluffy, and their footprints appeared on the snow as they walked. The two of them sauntered in the snow. It had been a long time since they had taken such a leisure stroll. However, the dog was running around happily, which made the atmosphere suddenly be a little silly. Michael only wished to enjoy every minute and second he had with her. As they were walking, they talked about their past. They talked about every little moment they had had together¡ªthe first time they fell for each other, the first time they made love to each other, their past rtionships. They practically talked about everything. ¡°Why did you pick me back then?¡± Sophia curiously asked. Her question made him recall the past when he first saw her photo. He himself did not know why she was the only person he had selected out of the pile of photos of beautiful girls. At that time, her looks were not outstanding at all, but both he and Nathan selected her at first look. I don¡¯t know as well¡­ perhaps it was fate. He held her hands to keep them warm as he answered, ¡°I don¡¯t know the reason as well. Anyway, I just want you.¡± She shyly smiled. The two of them walked further and further into the snowfield. Gloomy clouds hung in the sky again later in the afternoon, and after a while, it started snowing. As they were not aware of the sudden change in weather, snownded on them and dyed their hair white. The two of them spent their days with only each other¡¯spany in this deste suburb. A husband and a wife, together with a dog. They cooked, walked the dog, and had walks together, living the best of their lives. Meanwhile, in Bayside City, everyone was working tirelessly. Linus was trying to figure out a way to deactivate the bomb in hisboratory, while Cooper was trying his best to deal with Jordan. It would be quite impossible for Jordan to ignite the bomb in Bayside City since he had to consider the consequences. Now, Jordan had merely lost his control over the Yard Family and had yet to be driven to a corner, so he probably would not set off the bomb yet. Nevertheless, Cooper had to keep him under control. After Tiffany died, the security at Bailey¡¯s side had loosened a little. Quinton, who would help out with Cooper whenever he was free, suddenly thought of something and suggested to Cooper, ¡°Maybe we can use Jordan and Tiffany¡¯s son to negotiate with Jordan.¡± Cooper looked at the child, who was being fed with milk while being held in Celine¡¯s arms. The young boy was preupied with drinking milk, totally ignorant about his parents¡¯ existences and identities. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Although Celine was mentally retarded, her natural motherly instinct had led her to carry the child in her arms as if he was her real child. Meanwhile, the child, who had a strong survival instinct, was gulping milk. Upon noticing their nces at the child in her arms, Celine took the milk bottle and left with the baby in her arms. Cooper resignedly shook his head. ¡°It won¡¯t work.¡± On one hand, he refused to use a child to achieve his objective. On the other hand, since Jordan had given his sperms to Tiffany so easily, it would only be natural that he would not mind the child¡¯s well-being. Therefore, it would not work to use the child against him. It would be impossible to get the remote control from Jordan as well. Hence, the safest way would be to have Sophia hide away somewhere while waiting for Linus toe up with a solution. Although Michael and Sophia had left the house, Cooper would check up on them every day via the security cameras there. The two of them seemed to be living happily, and Michael would cook for her every day. They were living a simple life, just like a pair of ordinary husband and wife. They would finish all the food they made every day, which suggested that it would not be a problem for them to gain eight or ten pounds if they continued with this diet. One thing to point out was that the way she dressed was a little improper. He had told her that he would check them out via the security cameras installed there, but she kept walking around the house wearing sexy sleepwear. She was not shy at all! They would make video calls to talk to Carmen every day at the same time. Carmen thought that her parents had gone abroad for business, but she was quite busy herself; she not only had to prepare for the new-semester examination in primary school, but also for the new product, which would be launched in the online stall soon. Besides, she had been busy grooming the cats and dogs at home since it was the time for them to shed their fur. Theo and Quinton would take turns to pick Carmen up from school. Today, Theo was waiting at the school entrance to pick her up. As usual, he was eye-catching when he stood among a bunch of middle-aged men and women, who were also waiting for their kids, looking outstanding as ever. The school ended at 5.00PM, but most parents got out of work at 6.00PM, so those who came to pick up the children were mostly nannies, drivers, or their grandparents. Therefore, Theo would always be the most eye-catching individual among this bunch of adults who were waiting for their children. Picking up a child from school was a ceremony, so it should be conducted ceremoniously¡ªother people wore sandals and pajamas to pick up their children, but Theo insisted on wearing a tuxedo to look handsome and stunning. Just like any other day, a person approached him and asked, ¡°Young man, are you here to pick up your child? How old is your child? Which grade is your child studying?¡± Theo stuck his chest out and proudly replied, ¡°I¡¯m here to pick up my granddaughter!¡± The person opposite him cast him a look of disbelief¡ªas usual¡ªand appraised him from top to bottom, as if he were an idiot. He probably thought that Theo had something wrong with his head. Soon, schooltime ended for Carmen¡¯s ss¡ªThird Grade Alpha ss. Alpha ss was a ss for elite students with the best academic results. When Carmen was admitted into the school, she managed to join the ss by getting a high rank for her interview and written test results. Carmen was still a first-grade studentst semester, but she was transferred to the third grade this semester. As a matter of fact, she was able to join the sixth-grade ss based on her results, but Michael thought that she should enjoy her years in primary school and experience interacting with her peers of simr ages, so he thought that she should join the third grade at most¡ªalthough she was already able to solve linear equation with two variables. After school had ended, Theo looked around for his granddaughter. Since everyone in the ss wore the same outfit, he looked for the shortest one. Carmen was in high spirits after attending ss for the first day as a third-grade student. Along the way, she chattered like a little sparrow about what happened in the school today. ¡°In this year¡¯s new semester trial examination, my English result was not as good as everyone else¡¯s, but my Mathematics and Spanish results were better than everyone else¡¯s. Everyone in the ss is so amazing, so I need to work harder! Hey, grandpa, I even received a red flower from the student who sat next to me.¡± When they arrived at the entrance, Theo held Carmen¡¯s hand on their way to the car before she entered the car. At the same time, a vehicle of Adams Group happened to pass by them. As it was currently a peak time to pick children up from school, there was high traffic at the nearby roads, and the cars had to travel at a much slower speed. Coincidentally, the person who was driving the car was Quinton. He drove over to them and parked the car by the road before rolling down the car window and greeted Carmen. ¡°Carmen!¡± Carmen, who was delighted to see Quinton, skipped over to him and shouted, ¡°Uncle Quinton!¡± Bailey happened to be sitting in the car as well. Upon hearing her crisp voice, Bailey, who was resting his eyes, opened his eyes before a shred of sorrow shed across his green orbs. Chapter 1437 Chapter 1437 Although Bailey was just an outsider, he had been paying close attention to the bomb inside Sophia. As he lowered the car window, he could see Carmen standing outside. She called him happily. ¡°Mr. Bailey!¡± She really does look like a cheerfulrk, but at the moment, her parents are on the brink of danger, and she may be an orphan soon. Upon seeing her, he felt as though he was looking straight at his past. I was once also a carefree and happy prince, but ever since the tragic turn that day, I¡¯d lost everything, and I had fallen from a little prince to an abandoned child. His heart was suddenly in pain. I wonder if this lively littlerk will be able to survive the harsh reality. Bailey nodded his head, replying to Carmen¡¯s greet. As he stared at her, the boy of few words suddenly uttered, ¡°You must be strong.¡± This is a wish from me as someone who has experienced all of this before. Carmen nodded and replied, ¡°I will. I¡¯m now a third grader in elementary school!¡± In the new year, she would be six years old, so she was working hard to be a strong six-year-old girl! At the same time, Bailey¡¯s 16th birthday was alsoing soon. Time flies really fast. But other than her parents, she still has her grandparents and uncles to love her. With her around, this family will never be separated, and she won¡¯t be forced to be an adult at a young age like I was. After their short conversation, the car drove away. In the car, Bailey kept his eyes closed as he rested his mind. In the meantime, Quinton remained silent while he focused on driving the car, but actually, he kept on ncing at Bailey in the back seat from time to time. From his eyes just now, Quinton could see the pity and sympathy he had for Carmen. He is probably thinking about his past. Everyone has their own stories¡­ Everyone is in pain, and every pain is tailored for a specific person, which makes them the only one that understands it. Just as Cooper is trying all he can to find a way, Bailey would also actively ask him about the situation from time to time. Maybe he is trying to help, even though I don¡¯t know the reason. I think that he probably doesn¡¯t want the lively and adoralerk to end its chirp just yet. Or maybe, he doesn¡¯t want Carmen to go down the path he did. Just as everyone was at loss, Justin suddenly came back from a meeting abroad and gathered everybody. ¡°I may have a n that we can try.¡± His securitypany was on the rise recently as he had been developing his career abroad. Only then did he return to inform Cooper and Linus. ¡°When I first found out the bomb inside Phantom Wolf¡¯s body back then, I kept on studying it.¡± Previously, when Quinton tried to capture Sophia and was shot in the crotch by Stanley, he exposed the existence of the bomb, and Justin was fearful of him ever since, so he started researching the matter. Back then, Justin was a soldier, but in order to avenge his beloved wife, he began learning how to defuse bombs himself, turning him into a bomb disposal technician. ¡°I have previously worked out a way to damage the insides of a bomb temporarily by using the interference of electromaic waves so that we can use the opportunity to defuse it. In theory, it may work.¡± However, it might not work in reality. Justin exined, ¡°Afterward, the bomb was shut down by Linus, so I wasn¡¯t able to do my research on it. If you can make a fourth bomb, we can try.¡± For a moment, Linus seemed to have had a realization. It¡¯s true when they say that it¡¯s harder to clear our minds when we are nervous. I was the one who invented the bomb, and my initial intention of inventing such a bomb was to make it undefusable other than using the detonator, so all principles of bomb disposal were pushed aside by my assumptions. That was why when studying how to defuse the bomb, he immediately denied all possibilities. However, Justin¡¯s idea gave him a new perspective. Therefore, the two of them entered a workshop and began to study the idea nonstop everyday. After days of continuous hard work, they finally came out with a n that was feasible in theory. Nevertheless, the n was only theoretically feasible. When dismantling the bomb in real life, there might be various unforeseen factors, and if they weren¡¯t careful¡­ the consequences would be devastating. Hence, it was a dangerous risk to take! At the moment, there were three paths for Sophia to choose from. Option one, she could risk it all and give their idea a try. Option two, she could hide away for the rest of her life from Jordan so that she would forever be at least 10 kilometers away from the detonator without ever removing the bomb from her body. The third choice was to ask Cooper to kneel down and kowtow to Jordan, begging him to give her a chance to live. These were the three choices presented for both Sophia and Cooper. However, would a person like Cooper be willing to give up his dignity for her daughter? If it were another person, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be willing to do so, but for his daughter, he would be willing to give up his own life. Even so, he knew that if he surrendered, Jordan would use this to threaten him for the rest of his life. In the end, he might not even get to save his own daughter. Therefore, would Sophia choose to hide away forever? No! The bomb was powered using the kic energy of the human body, so it couldst a lifetime without any power failure. Also, she definitely would not be willing to hide away forever because her personality would not allow her to do so. She did nothing wrong, so there was no reason for her to avoid everyone for the rest of her life. Or maybe, they could use the power of the Fletcher and Mitchell Families by asking the government to intervene, but it was too big of a risk because they couldn¡¯t trust them. Therefore, it was extremely difficult for Cooper to choose because in every choice, he had to gamble his own daughter¡¯s life. How can I bring myself to choose? In the end, the decision was in Sophia¡¯s hands because Cooper just couldn¡¯t make the choice for her. If she chose to gamble, they would gamble. If she chose to hide, they would let her hide. If she wanted Cooper to surrender to Jordan for her sake, he would be willing to do so. The choices were ced in front of her, and it was up to her to pick a path for herself. Sophia also knew the consequences to her choices. I may be blown to pieces, hide away forever, or let Cooper surrender to Jordan to fulfill his perverted needs. I need to make a choice between my freedom and life, Cooper, or the dignity of the Mitchell and Michel Families. On the other hand, Michael chose not to intervene with her choice. For him, as long as she made the choice herself, it would be the most correct and appropriate one. Only she can make the choice herself. No one else can make it for her. After a short period of consideration, Sophia gave her answer. ¡°I want to try Justin¡¯s idea¡­¡± For her, a life without freedom would be an iplete life. Michael will definitely choose to be by my side, so if I lose my freedom, so will he. She could have asked Cooper to sacrifice his dignity in exchange for her life, but it was obviously not what she wanted. From N?velDrama.Org. It¡¯s better to give it a go! Chapter 1438 Chapter 1438 Everyone respected Sophia¡¯s choice because it was currently the best one they had. Justin and Linus had already tested their idea of defusing the bomb, but there was still one uncertainty left, which was that the bomb was deeply nted inside Sophia¡¯s body, so they needed to remove the bomb first through surgical operation before damaging its internal structure. That way, the bomb wouldn¡¯t be activated, and they would be able to dismantle it. However, this was an extremely dangerous surgery that required a surgeon with high levels of technical skill. If anything went wrong¡­ the consequence would be devastating. In the end, Sophia still chose this path because she didn¡¯t want to be used by Jordan to threaten Cooper, and she also refused to hide away forever. It really feels ufortable to have a bomb in my body, as if I¡¯m going to explode in any second. I don¡¯t even dare to flip my body when I sleep or breathe too hard. We must carry out this surgery as fast as possible. Soon after, Justin and Linus prepared everything needed for the surgery, and the operation site was set in the cottage that they were living in. They also set a parameter with a radius of 10 kilometers around the house to ensure no one was near because they were afraid Jordan¡¯s men might infiltrate the house during the operation. Not only that, they didn¡¯t want to involve innocent civilians if any idents urred. The operation required at least two people, with one in charge of defusing the bomb while the other carried out the surgery. Not only that, both of them must be highly specialized in their skills; otherwise, it might cause an infection or a hemorrhage. In that case, even if the bomb did not kill Sophia, she might dieter on due to the failure of the surgery. Therefore, the person dismantling the bomb must have a detailed understanding of the bomb, while the person performing the operation must be proficient in surgery. Also, this was a risky procedure. If something went wrong, and the bomb was detonated, not only would Sophia die¡ªthe people performing the operation and dismantling the bomb would die along with her. Hence, only two people were allowed in the house to minimize the risk. Other than that, they were given the assistance of the two robots, Nichs and Shae. Justin volunteered himself to perform the dangerous task. ¡°Let me do it. Not only am I proficient in surgery and bomb disposal, I¡¯ve also studied this bomb for a long time, so I¡¯m most certain that I can handle this task. Along with the assistance of the robots, I can finish this operation alone.¡± The moment he volunteered himself, he had already considered all oues. I have already lived a fulfilling life¡ªmy son is all grown up, and Celine is now healthy, while my daughter has people who love her. Even if I¡¯m gone, the Mitchell and Fletcher Family will treat the three of them well. There will be no regrets if I die now. At the moment, Michael, who was standing aside, had no right to intervene. He wasn¡¯t proficient in either bomb disposal or surgical operation, so even if he was determined to do it himself, he would only cause more harm to her. Upon seeing Justin volunteering himself, Linus couldn¡¯t stand aside and watch. ¡°Let me dismantle the bomb. I invented it, so I¡¯m most familiar with it. It¡¯ll be much easier for us to seed if I¡¯m the one who diffuses it.¡± After that, he looked toward Cooper, as if he was seeking his approval. Naturally, Cooper knew the consequences of sending in Linus. I may lose both my son and daughter within a day. However, he saw the determination in Linus¡¯ eyes. He must go because he is the most suitable person to do it. If he doesn¡¯t, he will live the rest of his life in guilt. Once again, he almost killed his own sister. This dark past of his shall follow him forever, taking away all his happiness. Cooper¡¯s eyes flickered with light as he finally agreed in the end. Suddenly, the always silent Quinton spoke out. ¡°Let me perform the operation.¡± The moment he came out, he was immediately refuted by Justin, who never liked him. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you, so I won¡¯t hand Sophia¡¯s life over to you.¡± Quinton snorted, as if he was underestimating him. ¡°I have a doctoral degree in surgical operation. What do you have?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Justin was exposed by him for not having any academic qualifications, but he could only re at him viciously without having anything to back him up. Quinton took out the equipment that he had already prepared and put on a white coat. As he put on his gloves and mask, he refused to look at Justin again. At the moment, Justin was staring at him while gritting his teeth, but internally, his emotions were extremelyplicated. Everyone knew that this might lead to their death. Finally, Justin tacitly agreed for Quinton to take his ce as surgeon because he once had the same bomb in his body before, so he was more experienced and more specialized than the self-taught Justin. Not only that, this matter should indeed be left to him. He and Linus must be the ones to do it. It was them who had indirectly ced the bomb inside Sophia, so they should be the one to take it out. As for Quinton, his life had alreadye to an end, and every extra day he got to live was already a gift. He had killed too many people before, so he deserved to die due to his bloody past. On the other hand, Justin had a better life waiting for him. Not only did Celine need him, he also had two other children, who couldn¡¯t live without their father. That was why it must be Quinton to execute it. I feel that this is a chance given by God to redeem myself. I won¡¯t let Sophia die! Everyone gathered at the small wooden house where Sophia had been living in for a month. In the farnd outside, the snow had already meltedpletely, and the lush greens were starting to grow. Once more, thend was covered by vegetation as the whole world seemed to be alive again. While Linus and Quinton went through the main points of the operationter on, Cooper could not help but give his daughter a hug. This hug could be our farewell. That year, he hugged her the same way as now, and during that time, she was as light as a weightless kitten who might die at any second. Now, she was like that kitten who might still die at any time. ¡°Darling¡­ my darling. You¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯ll all be okay,¡± Cooper murmured as he had lost control of his tears. She is like a gift given to me by heaven, and I¡¯ve always taken care of this precious little gift, but there¡¯s always someoneing to snatch her away from me. He held her tightly in his arms, as if this was the only way he could keep her by his side forever. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m happy that I got to be your daughter in this lifetime.¡± Sophia couldn¡¯t hold back her tears as they rolled down her face. In this life, the two of them had spent a short time with each other. Ever since she was born, both of them had been separated, but 20 yearster, they finally came together. In my next life, I still want to be his daughter. Even if he¡¯d be just a normal father and not the genius or billionaire of the Mitchell Family, I¡¯d still feel proud to be his daughter. The father and daughter bode each other farewell in tears as there seemed to be endless words between them. Meanwhile, Michael watched them quietly from the side. Outside the cottage, another car came. After the door was opened, Anna and Callum got out. Upon seeing them, Sophia wiped her tears in shock as she walked toward them with Cooper. On the opposite side stood Anna and her son, who was facing Sophia, Cooper, and Linus. Ever since Cade was frozen out, their family had never been thispleted before. As Sophia gazed at Anna, her emotions became veryplicated while she asked strangely, ¡°M-Mom, why are you here?¡± While looking at her, Anna went over and smiled gently. ¡°I¡¯m your mom. Of course I shoulde and see you at this moment.¡± She stared at Sophia in front of her. This is my daughter¡­ my daughter who has gone through many hardships in her life. For a moment, a surge of pain went up from her heart, causing her to burst into tears. With tears rolling down her face, she grabbed Sophia¡¯s hands and hugged her. I might lose my only daughter soon. As she was holding her, she felt a sense of intimacy flowing through her blood, like an electric current that suddenly charged up her brain. Instantly, the fragmented images in her mind were starting to piece together quickly, forming aplete memory¡­ Chapter 1439 Chapter 1439 When Anna closed her eyes, she seemed to witness that strange scene all over again. ¡°Anna, you need to push harder! I can already see the head. You need to try harder for the child to come out!¡± Inside the simple delivery room, Anna, who was known as Annabel, was lying on the operation table while she used all of her strength to force a mass of warm flesh out of her body. The mass of warm flesh seemed to be tearing her body apart, causing her immense pain. As she took large gulps of air like a dying fish, she could not help but wish to die at every minute of the experience, but she had to live. My child isn¡¯t born yet. Even if I have to die, I must first deliver the child so that I can give it away to a better family. She had already met the Moore couple who were both working in a university. The two of them loved children, so she knew that they would definitely treat her child well. If the child is given to their family, he will live a better life and be able to attend university in the future! Anna was even willing to give them the hundreds of thousands that Woody gave her so that they would treat the child well in the future¡ªit was thest thing she could do for the couple. Amidst the cries, the child was born. As the nurse held the child to allow Anna to have a look, she eximed, ¡°Ah¡­ Oh my! I-It¡¯s a boy, but¡­ his eyes are blue!¡± Anna had used all her strength to nce at the child and realized that his eyes were indeed blue. However, she had no time to wonder why the child¡¯s eyes were blue. All she knew was that he was both her and Cooper¡¯s child. After a quick nce at her son, she retracted her eyes and tried to give birth to her other child. Ever since she felt the movement of the fetus, she came to the small clinic where she suffered for an entire day. Her family had already returned home to have a meal and rest, so she must quickly deliver her children before they sent them away. At that moment, the Moore couple were on their way and they would immigrate once they received the children. Anna knew what would happen to her babies if they remained with their biological family. The Johnson Family always thought that the children belonged to Joe, but that was not the case. There was another girl who came to the Edwards Family with Anna and the former always wanted to bed him to attain a higher status. However, he only had eyes on Anna and not the girl. Anna knew that Joe coveted her and she wanted to head home, but sadly, she could not do so. Not only would Jordan look for her if she returned home, her father and brothers would not allow her to do so because they hoped that she could make more money for them from outside. However, Anna did not want to be defiled by a fat man, so made an agreement with the vain girl. Everytime Joe entered her room, she would switch off the lights and when he came up to her, she would hold back her disgust and pretend to obey him. Then, Anna would quietly allow the girl hiding under the bed to crawl up while she herself hid under the bed. By doing so, the girl would seed in bearing his child while Anna was able to preserve herself. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. However, Anna could not sleep due to the fear she experienced day and night on a daily basis. In her dreams, she would always imagine that fat man above her, but sometimes, she would see the young man who could y the piano¡ªCooper, who left her forever after knowing the truth. My life is full of torture and tribtions. At one point, Anna even hallucinated and wondered if she had managed to escape to the bottom of the bed. She was even unsure whether she had been defiled by Joe because her sleepless nights and dreams left her questioning whether her life was real or fake. In the end, she suffered from a serious mental disease, which caused her to be extremely fearful of men. For a long time, she could not even bring herself to be in contact with any man. All she wanted was to return to that moment in the restaurant, where the two of them started a business together and it was picking up. Soon, she would be able to save enough money to even buy a house in Bayside City, which would mean that her life would bepletely different than before. However, she also understood the reason why she was at that ce. Jordan had asked her toe so that she could keep a close eye on Andrea¡¯s startup business. However, she was also smart enough to know that he wanted her to seduce Andrea. Yet, Anna found her own goal in life with the establishment of that restaurant. I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have listened to Jordan in the first ce, but I thought that he could give me a new life if I follow him. When Jordan took her out from Riverdale, he had promised a better life for her, so she worked hard for him, but unexpectedly¡­ he was merely a big liar all along! ¡°Anna, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already sent the child over to them, but there¡¯s still one more. So, you quickly need to push harder,¡± the nurse whispered to Anna¡¯s ear. In the end, she had used all of her strength to deliver her second child, who was a girl. After giving birth to both children, Anna¡¯s body felt empty inside, as if the delivery had drained her of her strength and life force. Then, she used her remaining strength to touch her daughter. This is my daughter. My Sophia¡ªSophia Edwards! As Anna grabbed her baby¡¯s tiny hand, she felt the joy of motherhood that she never felt before. Suddenly, everything turned ck and she did not know what happened afterward¡­ When she regained consciousness, she was at another hospital with Jordan¡¯s men guarding her. She did not know what had happened to her; all she knew was that she had lost her uterus. However, she was still thinking about her child, so she continued to ask, but sadly, no one would answer her. After that, Jordan took her abroad and she met a person called Leon. At the same time, she learned that she had another name¡ªAnna Yard. In the end, Leon promised to conduct a uterus transnt on her! At that moment, those series of messy images were finally connected to form aplete timeline. Now, all of her past was clear to her, as if everything had happened yesterday. As Anna hugged Sophia, she remembered that day when she strenuously stretched her hand to grab the newly born child¡¯s hand. After that, there was a 20 year separation. ¡°My daughter.¡± Tears rolled down Anna¡¯s face while she tightly held her daughter. ¡°My daughter¡­¡± Finally, she remembered everything, but she never expected it to happen in that scenario. Back then, when she suffered from a sudden amniotic fluid embolism, she was quickly transferred to a hospital, but her own daughter was not sessfully transferred to another family and was instead left to suffer in the Johnson Family. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± Anna repeated. ¡°My poor daughter, it¡¯s all my fault that I couldn¡¯t protect you. It¡¯s all my fault¡­¡± When Sophia was first born, Anna did not get a chance to see her because she passed out afterward. Upon seeing her daughter again with a tear-stained face, she felt even more resigned. ¡°Mom!!¡± Suddenly, Sophia finally yelled the word that she had been looking forward to saying for a long time without feeling shy. When she was a kid, she always always wished that she could have a mother, and even up to that point, she still wished to have one! As Anna hugged Sophia, she nced at Linus. He looks exactly the same as when I first saw him as a baby. My son is an adult now. It means that my choice at that time was right. The Moore couple had sessfully adopted Linus and moved abroad with him to live a happy life. However, in the end, he still met his father although he didn¡¯t know who thetter was. ¡°Son!¡± When he saw Anna, he also ran over in tears and hugged the two of them. Their family¡­ was almost reunited, save for Cade. Chapter 1440 Chapter 1440 Callum also joined their reunion; he hugged his own brother and sister. Even though he was born afterward in a test tube, he was still part of the family! After years of being apart, their family was finally reunited together. As Cooper looked at his wife and children, he could not help but cry. A few years ago, he was still an eligible bachelor who did not believe in marriage. A few yearster, he already had four children. My children are the most adorable kids in the world! After their reunion, they were forced to temporarily separat in the end as Linus stayed to perform Sophia¡¯s operation. Cooper patted his shoulder as a form of encouragement before entering his car while Anna reluctantly bid farewell to Sophia. Everyone entered the car, leaving only Sophia, Linus and Quinton. The three of them would only return after the operation was sessful. At the same time, Michael brought Judge into the car with him. It was something that they had previously agreed on¡ªMichael needing to leave as well. If anything happens to Sophia, Carmen would lose her mother, so as a father, I can¡¯t endanger myself either. Before they parted ways, Sophia stood on the steps of the cottage while he stood below, which allowed them to meet each other¡¯s gaze at eye level. After the spring rain, the ground was now covered with mud¡ªand together with his eyes, the air was moist. However, she still tried her best to reveal a smile. ¡°If we seed this time, we¡¯ll get married. I have already discussed it with my dad. He and Linus will help me out with the Michel Family. No matter what, this wedding shall not be dyed any longer.¡± Michael nodded and did not say anything else. ¡°Yes.¡± As the two of them smiled at each other, they turned in the opposite directions and left without speaking further. While wearing cotton sandals and a hospital gown, she turned toward the room. The moment Sophia did so, her eyes, which tried to dry itself, were suddenly drenched in tears again. I don¡¯t want to die. I have a mom now. I want to be a happy child with my parents. Also, I¡¯m about to remarry Michael. As soon as the door was closed, Michael stood outside and stared at the door panel. He refused to leave for a long time. Once everyone was evacuated to a safer area, the operation would immediately begin. Outside the cottage, there were a few guards on duty to prevent any idents from happening and all of them had already signed a death certificate. Inside the cottage, a sterile operation room had been set up with the equipment needed for the surgery. Now that she wore the hospital gown, Sophiay down on the operation table before she stared at the ceiling of the temporary sterile operation room. She had already been injected with anesthetic, so her body was now totally rxed as her mind drifted away. At that moment, Linus wore his mask to assist Quinton, who was making the final adjustment on the equipment. Suddenly, Linus seemed to have heard Sophia speaking, ¡°Linus, should we hold an outdoor or Church wedding¡­¡± As he prepared the equipment with his head down, his emotions were now extremelyplicated, so he suppressed the pain inside him and answered, ¡°Both sound good to me.¡± Sadly, before he could even receive a response from her, she seemed to have fallen asleep when he turned to look at her. Both of her eyes were now closed peacefully, but there were two lines of tears rolling down the corners of it. Immediately, Linus felt a pain in his heart as he burst out in tears, which then drenched his own mask. On the other hand, Quinton was ready for the operation, so he gently unbuttoned Sophia¡¯s clothes to reveal the area where the bomb had been nted. However, he seemed to realize something, so he instantly grabbed her hand and ced his fingers on her pulse before carefully probing . Then, he looked toward Linus with deep, emotionless eyes, before he solemnly uttered, ¡°She is two months pregnant.¡± Upon hearing that, Linus¡¯ hands seemed to tremble. A second child¡­ My sister is going to be a mother again! Quinton¡¯s fingers were still on Sophia¡¯s pulse as he continued, ¡°The child is healthy. He doesn¡¯t seem to be affected by whatever the father did.¡± What he meant was that the child would be healthy and lively. Linus took a deep breath while trying to focus, but his trembling voice still exposed how nervous he was. ¡°Let¡¯s start.¡± Quinton nodded and took out his surgical knife. Another spring rain came. Michael should have left; instead, he stood under the eaves outside the door. The rain had sshed some mud on his ck rain boots, but he remained motionless like a sculpture. Where can I go at this time? I¡¯ll just stay here and wait for her. Wherever she goes, I will follow her. No one but death will tear us apart. In the rain, Judge ran over to him and shook the water on his body off. The dog then quietlyy beside him with its ears on the floor since it probably knew what was happening. Without an umbre, Michael stood under the eaves while lifting his eyes to gaze afar at the horizon. Countless raindrops connected thend and the sky into one while the sound of raindrops rang in his ear. In the meantime, he was also thinking about the same question¡ªShould we have a Church wedding or an outdoor wedding? Two monthster, Michael eventually sold Vi No. 1, but he did so reluctantly. After they settled all of the formalities, Anna moved in with her son, Callum. As for the selling price of Vi No.1, Michael was extremely heartbroken about it. If the price is too expensive, Cooper won¡¯t be happy about it. If the price is too cheap, I won¡¯t be able to live with myself. In the end, he sold the house for an extremely low price. Of course, when it waspared to the estimated price that he had in mind, the amount was really low. While Cooper moved his luggage, pets and robots into Vi No.1, he furiously scolded Michael, who was full of regret and pain, ¡°My daughter married you for nothing! I didn¡¯t even ask for any betrothal gifts, so what else do you want?¡± Michael was frightened as he replied, ¡°N-Nothing.¡± I¡¯ve finally sent my godlike father-inw away. From now on, this ce would only belong to the two of us¡ªhow wonderful. However, he never expected that Cooper would still be the same person as before. Even though Cooper had moved out, he only used his new house as a ce to sleep before he was usually at his house instead. Not only that, but there were two more people with Cooper now¡ªAnna and Callum. Isn¡¯t this the same as before? As for the pregnant Sophia, she was always running between the two houses. Ever since Anna and Cooper moved into Vi No.1, Sophia always showed at both ces¡ªeven though the wound on her belly was almost fully healed and her three-month-old belly was muchrger than usual. The doctor exined by way of analogy that crowding and swelling were inevitable if there were two people sitting on the same car seat. Ever since Anna moved over, her Norwegian Forest cat, General, also came with her and it would fight with Chrysanthemum from time to time. Even though General looked like arge cat, it was short- tempered because up until now, it still remembered the p that Chrysanthemum gave all those years ago. It also held shares in the Ronney Group, which made it rich, youthful and strong too. On the other hand, Chrysanthemum was old and poor without much confidence, so it was not a match against General¡¯s mannerism and strength. However, Chrysanthemum was a local cat, so it had the power to join hands with the local natives living in the Imperial¡ªjust like that, a bunch of orange cats fought with a few of Anna¡¯s cats for the top position in the Imperial. A few days ago, Chrysanthemum even went to the Imperial Pce to seek help from the cats there to have the numbers to win. Unexpectedly, just as victory was upon them, they were all ambushed and captured by Carmen, who was nearby. She then shaved their fur to make pillows. As soon as the guards at the Imperial Pce knew about it, they immediately came over to teach Carmen a lesson. After all, those cats belonged to the Imperial Pce and the government, which meant they were all civil servants with certificates, so their fur belonged to the country¡¯s collective assets. That was the reason why she could not simply scalpe their fur. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. If it had happened decades ago, Carmen¡¯s crime for ¡®insulting a socialist cat¡¯s fur¡¯ would be punishable byw. Chapter 1441 Chapter 1441 In the end, Carmen wrote a letter of guarantee to promise that she would never shave the Imperial cats¡¯ fur again. A few of her pillows were confiscated as a fine, which finally concluded this case. As her online shop gradually expanded, the orders began to pour in at such a rate that she did not have enough raw materials to use. Otherwise, she would not have had the courage to scalpe the fur of those Imperial cats. Today, Sophia brought her to the pet shop and cat cafe that she opened in partnership with Sarah. After they signed a series of joint venture agreements, Carmen became the contractor to collect all the animal fur from the pet shop and cat cafe with immediate effect. She even summoned courage to personally contact a few pet shops on her own ord to sign a series of joint venture agreements with them. However, when it was time to discuss business, the meeting table was towering above her. Because she was not tall, she specially removed her shoes and stepped on the chair so that she could forcefully address her business partner at eye level. After the meeting was sessful, Carmen cheerfully returned home with heavy stacks of contracts in her bag. As soon as she jumped out of the car after arriving home, Sophia, who apanied her to the business meetings, cautiously alighted as her belly was swollen like a pair of fruits that would soon be ripened. Anna had already regained all of her memory, but Sophia still could not remember even the slightest bit of her past or the feeling when she gave birth to Carmem. Now, she could finally relive that experience again. Michael was at home today, so he quickly came out to wee his beloved wife. While holding her stomach and resting her hands on her back, Sophia returned home like a high- ranking official visiting the countryside as Michael carried her bag and shoes. Recently in Bayside City of Cethos, the JNS Fashion Group had officially merged with the Ronney Group with Sophia being in charge of the branch in Cethos. As expected, she was more interested in the fashion industry, so she simply followed in her mother¡¯s footsteps to start her career. Anna also provided her with the resources and manpower to kickstart her own career. Even if Sophia was now pregnant, she could not give her career up, which resulted in her being busy with her work on a daily basis. Then, Cooper and Bailey exited from Vi No.1. Bailey had arrived to discuss business with Anna while congratting her for moving to a new house. When he exited the house, he immediately saw Carmen with her family. Sophia is alive and she is now having her second child. The whole family seems to be as happy as ever. This is great¡­ Carmen enthusiastically invited, ¡°Mr. Bailey, pleasee and have dinner with us. Daddy said that we are having some delicious food tonight!¡± Sophia was also enthusiastic. ¡°Bailey, you shoulde. We can eat while having a chat! I have a project that I want you to participate in as well!¡± However, Michael was the only one who reverted to his cold expression after being subservient to her earlier. This old man will never eat a grain of rice from my house! Yet, Baileypletely ignored his junior¡¯s fierce eyes as he followed Cooper into Sophia¡¯s home. Today, Carmen had gone out alone to discuss business with other shops and she seeded in doing so. As news about it spread, everyone guessed that their family would definitely have a celebration, so they quickly came over to have a free meal. ¡°Great-uncle Michael, we¡¯re here again!¡± Maisie eagerly walked in with Stanely and Sean behind her. Recently, Sean started to wear women¡¯s clothing to work every day and he even wore a long ck wig on his head, which made him look like a delicatedy. Everyone was now trying hard to adjust themselves to Sean¡¯s new look¡ªexcept for Stanley, who felt nothing. Besides, no matter how he looks, he¡¯ll always be Sean in my eyes. Quinton also returned from work at Bayside University. After he sessfully dismantled the bomb, Michael had awarded him with a ¡®Birdie Inspiration Award¡¯ as an encouragement. Cooper had also awarded Quinton with a ¡®Humanity Hope Fund¡¯. In addition to the fact that he was promoted to the position of Bayside University¡¯s professor after resigning from Bailey¡¯spany, he finally had enough money to search for his next ¡®birdie¡¯. The adults gathered together to have a chat while the children also congregated to talk with each other. As Poppy nced at Bailey, she continuously gave him the cold shoulder. ¡°Take a look at that old man. He doesn¡¯t even pet the cat when it walks past him. My daddy said that those who don¡¯t touch an adorable cat when it passes them must be a cold-blooded person. If you divorce him in the future, he¡¯ll definitely sue you until there¡¯s nothing left for you!¡± Maisie was shocked. ¡°Poppy, why do you know so many things that little babies don¡¯t understand?¡± Meanwhile, Audrey spoke in an adorable way, ¡°I still think Nate is the best!¡± However, Carmen remained silent as she continued to observe Bailey in secret. During dinner, Cooper realized that his family was almost reunited, except for Cade. That poor child¡­ The moment he thought about Cade, his expression became gloomy, but luckily, there was a happy event around the corner to cheer him up. After they had all finished dinner, Sophia took out a big, red invitation card for Bailey. ¡°The third day of next month is a great day for me to remarry. You muste.¡± Remarry? On the sidelines, Callum reminded, ¡°Sophia, you are restoring your marriage!¡± She replied, ¡°It¡¯s the same meaning. Besides, I¡¯m scamming other people¡¯s money. Bailey, you must come.¡± Bailey epted the invitation and he realized that it was an invitation to Sophia and Michael¡¯s grand wedding that they were holding in Bayside City. ording to Sophia and Michael¡¯s requirements, they wanted the wedding to be grand, extravagant and earth-shattering, which would then dominate the headlines for several days. Not only had they nned to invite the noble families of Bayside City and Western Europe, but they also intended to invite celebrities, politicians, coborators from every industry! They wanted to inform the whole world that they were getting married with another child on its way! Even though it was a remarriage, they wanted it to be an extravagant one! Bailey then received the invitation and replied, ¡°I definitely will.¡± After dinner, he discussed business with them before leaving with the invitation card. Everyone else who came for the free meal also took the chance to grab an invitation card before they left. All of the names on the invitation cards were handwritten by both Louis and Michael themselves. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. This is worth a lot! When Louis received thepliment, he felt ted, so he continued working hard to finish writing all of the invitation cards in a matter of a few days. Afterpleting all of Sophia and Michael¡¯s invitation cards, Louis still could not rx because Cooper and Anna had also sent a design sample of theirs to him for an examination. Cooper and Anna were getting married too! After being apart for 20 to 30 years, they were now finally getting together. Now, they already had four children and three grandchildren, but they still did not have a legal certificate to prove it. Therefore, they chose a perfect day to head to the civil affairs bureau with Sophia and Michael to im their marriage certificate. At the same time, Sophia had converted her divorce certificate into a marriage certificate. Once Sophia and Michael¡¯s marriage was done, Cooper and Anna nned to follow up with another grand wedding to announce their union to the whole world. However, two weddings in a row would cause the family¡¯s nerves to be at an all-time high because they needed to continuously worry about two things at once. That would not be good for the pregnant Sophia. In the end, Cooper made a wise decision to hold both weddings concurrently! That was the reason why everyone came again to im their invites while having another free meal. Soon after, news about the grand wedding spread from Bayside City to Europe and America, which shocked the entire world. The Michel Family also received news about the wedding. As for the matter of changingst names, they needed to provide an exnation¡­ Chapter 1442 Chapter 1442 That day would have arrived sooner orter. Sophia had an ambitious career n because she was not content with merely being an Academy Award winner¡¯s wife. Instead, she wanted to be a dominant president and let Michael be the house husband, which was why she never gave up on her career. Even though she retained thest name of ¡®Edwards¡¯ and refused to change it, her name was officially listed on the genealogy record book for the Mitchell Family. That made her the first person who did not bear the name of ¡®Mitchell¡¯ to make the list. Not only did she refuse to surrender her side of the Mitchell Family, she also wished to be a part of the Michel Family. It made it look like she was a tad bit greedy. She figured, Since I¡¯m already a member of the Mitchell, Michel and Fletcher Families, why should I break away from my original family after getting married? Not only that; hubby has to change hisst name with me or they would sever my ties with the Michel Family. However, she wanted tobine the resources from the Michel and Mitchell Families to build her own fashion empire. The Yard Family excelled in fashion while the Mitchells excelled in advanced technology. As Sophia had worked for both families before, she knew a little of both industries. Therefore, she was now nning tounch a concept of high-tech fashion by perfectlybining advanced technology and fashion to create an unprecedented industry. However, the Michel Family had only allowed her to choose one family¡ªif she chose the them, she would need to change herst name along with Michael, Carmen, and the unborn baby inside her. If she refused to change, she would not have any further connections with the Michel Family whatsoever, which meant that she could not rely on their resources ormunicate with any member of the Michels. What kind of ame rule is this? Sophia felt that the rule was a little weird, but they had retained it for thousands of years. Alice said that Casper was now unable to openly acknowledge his own father because of that. Cooper had also made concessions due to that rule, which was the reason why Linus had not changed hisst name up until now. Cooper also refused to bring Sophia home to meet the Michels for the time being. They had been escaping the Michels for many years, but she and Michael had already sent their wedding invites out. Cooper and Anna were also getting married too, so it was time for them to give the Michels some exnations. The Michels had already arrived at Bayside City, so Cooper booked a hotel for them to stay in. The number of people from the Michel Family who arrived was more than before; it looked as if the entire family elder council tagged along. In a huge family like the Michels, the authority of the elder council was irreceable and even he needed to be respectful toward them. Now, they needed an exnation on whether Sophia, Anna, Callum and Cade wanted to change their last name. The emphasis was on Anna and Cooper because she also needed to change herst name after marrying him! It stirred up a huge response from the Yard Family. The ancestors of the Yard Family had ordered that once a member of the Yard Family married someone outside the n and disrupted the pure royal bloodline, the person would then automatically lose their rights to inherit the throne. Even though there was no longer any throne to inherit, they still needed someone to inherit the fortune of the Ronney Group! Yet, Anna chose to marry someone who was not from their n. Although Cooper was a mixed race and from a noble family in Bayside City, the Yard Family still could not ept her marriage to him. Therefore, members of the elder council of the Yard Family were also on their way to their wedding, so Anna had also arranged for them to stay in the same hotel. As for the Mitchells and the Fletchers, they did not oppose their marriage, so they were as quiet as a Church mouse. In the Fletcher Residence, the moment Mark knew about the wedding, he threw tantrums about heading to the scene so that he could watch his beloved son and grandson¡¯s marriage at the same time. This is double good news! However, Joel kindly reminded, ¡°Old Man, you¡¯ve been dead for almost 2 to 3 years now.¡± He¡¯s right¡­ I¡¯ve been dead for a few years now. My death was publicly released in the news and I was even given an obituary. I can¡¯t reveal that I¡¯ve been alive all along. That thought immediately made Mark sad. Everyone in the Fletcher Family did not object to the marriage¡ªeven though the ancestors of the Yard Family did some unspeakable things, which led to the Fletchers killing most of them in the past. Hundred of yearster, the Fletchers even led a rebellion against them, so the two families were sworn enemies. However, from Theo¡¯s generation onward, both families were already beginning to resolve the grudge between them. Back then, Theo had saved Louis¡¯ life. Anna herself was grateful enough for Theo¡¯s help that she took the initiative to end the hatred between the two families. Just like that, both families resolved their hundred years of grievance, so it was best for them to connect with each other through marriage. As for the Mitchell Family, all of them were fully subdued, but there were still some who had the courage to secretly criticize the marriage. After all, not long ago, she had publicly announced that Jordan was her husband. Now, not only was she getting married to Cooper, she even bore two sons with him. Although many members of the Mitchells were happy that he was now a father, nobody was certain as to who Callum and Cade¡¯s biological father was. The two of them don¡¯t look like Cooper at all. Instead, they look more like their mother¡ªunlike Sophia and Linus who bear features of both their mother and father. A marriage was a huge matter, so it definitely needed to be discussed by the families of the bridal couple first. Therefore, the Michel, Yard, Mitchell and Fletcher Families all gathered together. Cooper and Anna were themselves the newly-weds, but they were also the parents of the pair of bridal couples. With both identities behind them, their work was doubled, so they did not have the time to deal with each family one at a time. In the end, they simply gathered everyone together, so that they could handle everything at once. Upon seeing that the two families that came from afar were now staying in the same hotel, tension was brewing in the air. At that moment, Sophia suddenly reminded him, ¡°Since we are getting married, we can¡¯t forget our old home¡ªthe Johnsons!¡± Cooper immediately smacked his own head. Oh yeah, I¡¯m really getting old now. How can I forget something like this? They were so busy that they almost forgot to invite the most important person¡ªthe Johnson Family. Since they wanted to invite the Johnson Family, they needed to do it immediately. Therefore, Anna quickly asked Louis to rush the printing of an invitation card so that she could personally head to Riverdale. Ever since she regained her memories, she never returned to the Johnsons in Riverdale. I can take this opportunity to send the invitation and take a look at my childhood home. Back then, Louis was the one who left her in the Johnson Family Vige. Although she had many unhappy memories about the ce, it was still a ce that she missed overall. Even though both her brothers were inhumane and her foster father was not an intelligent man, she still had a mother and grandmother who loved her a lot. Not only that, everyone in the vige treated her well. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. After she left, Sophia also grew up in the vige under everyone¡¯s care. I must go on this trip. If Anna was nning to go there, Cooper, Sophia, Linus and Callum would naturally follow her. Her older son-inw also decided to follow them while he brought Carmen along. Just like that, the entire family packed up their luggage and departed for the ce. When they arrived at the small town of Riverdale, Anna excitedly exited the car and she walked along the streets. Due to her son-inw, Taylor¡¯s funding for the suburban town, the development of factories, resorts and a theme park for the past few years had helped with the local economy. Now, the delicate office buildings that were connected by subways had reced those small houses. Not only that, lively pedestrian streets and theaters were built, which waspletely different from her memories of the ce. She felt excited as the whole family ate street food. Then, they visited her and Sophia¡¯s old school before taking the bus at the school gate to the Johnson Family Vige. Due to the hard work of Anna¡¯s uncles, the vige had massively developed in recent years. Now, every house was a little vi that came with their own television and phone. There was even a subway station at the vige gate, but she still took the bus back home. On the other hand, Cooper was also thrilled. Like a young man who was following his wife to her childhood home for the first time, he was feeling excited and nervous. Chapter 1443 Chapter 1443 As she exited the car, she followed the route that she recalled from memory. After crossing the road and heading up the small slope, there used to be a muddy passage in the past, but it has now been developed into tworge highways. It happened to be a weekend when Anna arrived at the vige. Hence, there was quite a crowd in the vige and she bumped into many familiar faces. ¡°Frankie Johnson! Sammy Johnson! Leslie Johnson!¡± She yelled their names¡ªall three of them were her childhood friends and although they were much older now, she immediately recognized them. A few middle-aged figures, who were in theirte forties to early fifties, turned when they heard her voice. They stared at her in confusion while giving her a once-over. They did not recognize her, but they remembered Cooper and his family. The vigers were utterly disappointed with the fact that he was about to remarry. Despite Anna¡¯s death many years ago, he was still emotionally invested in the vige¡ªhe established a factory and repaired its subway, which showed how devoted he was. Upon learning about his wedding, the vige sent two representatives to deliver an expensive gift to him. The vigers would be attending the wedding since Sophia was getting married to Michael. They were growing suspicious since they had witnessed Cooper entering the vige with a strange woman who seemed to recognize the vigers. ¡°You are¡ª¡± They were giving Anna a once-over. Although she was modestly dressed, she had an extraordinary elegance and temperament. Hence, it was obvious that the vige was not her hometown. Anna eximed in delight, ¡°I am Anna¡ªAnnabel Johnson!¡± ¡°Anna!?¡± The crowd carefully regarded her again while they gazed at her in disbelief. After she announced her identity, everybody seemed to look at her with a set of fresh eyes. The vigers seemed to gradually connect the woman in front of them with the pretty and mischievous youngdy they remembered in their memories. ¡°It¡¯s Anna! Aren¡¯t you supposed to be dead?¡± Annabel did not die! She is back! The entire Johnson Family Vige was in shock. Anna¡¯s peers were able to recognize her, but the younger generation did not. However, those from the older generation remembered her well. Once upon a time, she used to be the prettiest and most mischievous young woman in the vige and its vicinity! Once the news of her dropping out of junior middle school was leaked out, many families came knocking on her door to ask for her hand in marriage. In fact, people from tens of miles outside the vige hired matchmakers to propose to her. Unfortunately, her father was muddleheaded. In fact, her entire family was muddled. Now that she had returned to the vige, everybody rushed out to have a look at her. They realized that it was indeed Anna when theyid their eyes on her. Despite leaving the vige for decades, she felt as though she had only left yesterday. Most of the names of her peers were still fresh in her mind. Upon entering the Johnson Family¡¯s ancestral hall, members of the older generation came forward to meet her. ¡°Grandpa? Are you still alive? Uncle, it¡¯s me, Anna!¡± Although Anna¡¯s adoptive parents had passed away, she still had other surviving rtives. Their family was destitute when she was young. Hence, she would search the vige for food when she did not have anything to eat at home. After she left, Sophia followed in her footsteps. Sophia would ask for food from other families when her aunt refused to feed her. Hence, she grew up on meals that were provided by the upants of the vige. The vigers would gossip about them once in a while, but whenever they prepared delicious food at home, they would still invite both mother and daughter to enjoy the feast together if those two were to show up. Therefore, both mother and daughter harbored profound sentiment for the vige. Everybody was both shocked and pleased to see that Anna was still alive. It was only then that they learned she was Anna, Cooper¡¯s bride-to-be. Mr. Cooper is still the same person as before! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. After putting the things down, Michael distributed wedding invitations and health supplements for the older vigers. Not only that; he even handed some presents and red packets for the young ones. There were a few cars filled with gifts. The vigers had never met such a generous man. After meeting the older generation in the vige, she happily returned to her previous home. Fortunately, the vigers maintained the house she used to live in, which was why it was well preserved. It seemed like it was waiting for her return. A cob wall surrounded the courtyard and the weeds had been removed and cleaned up. The persimmon tree stood tall in the courtyard, whereas the hearth where Anna used to sleep in her room, had also been tidied up. Nothing has changed! The whole family then took a group photo underneath the persimmon tree which withstood the test of time. However, the only difference this time was the addition of Callum and they did not need to Photoshop Anna¡¯s picture on it anymore. However, it was a shame that Cade was missing, so they could only duplicate Callum to pretend that he was his brother. Once Cooper thought about his son, who was in cryogenic sleep, there was a stab in his heart. The whole family was on the go for the whole day, but they enjoyed spending their weekend at the Johnson Family Vige. They also apanied Anna to search for her family¡¯s tomb. Since both Sophia and Anna were getting married at the same time, they needed members of the older generation to be present for such an important event. Hence, Anna invited a few elderlies from the Johnson Family Vige to the city to stay in the hotel as matters involving the wedding needed to be discussed. The hotel was in a state of chaos as a result. The Michel and Yard Families were both trying to have a say in Cooper¡¯s marriage, whereas the Fletchers and the Mitchells were adamant about the issue of changing family names. The arrival of the elderlies from the Johnson Family Vige drastically changed the atmosphere too. In the end, they selected an auspicious date to formally inform the elderlies about the wedding between Cooper and Anna as well as her daughter, Sophia, and Michael. Today, they booked thergest conference room in the hotel. Members from different families gathered together to get ready to have a proper showdown. The first to arrive onsite was the ferocious Michel Family, whose members were all d in ck uniforms as they strode ahead in a unified manner. Their family emblem was a dragon, resulting in its ferocious aura shrouding over the entire venue with their arrival. The Yards appeared in a forceful manner too and they were all dressed in ivory-colored uniforms. Their family crest was the same one from the Yard Dynasty and it also represented the Ronney Group¡¯s logo. They brought about gold and precious jades with their arrival and it seemed like there was an infinite sense of imperial graciousness. Furthermore, the atmosphere was solemn, as if they were heading to court. The Fletcher Family had also arrived, but they were all d in army-green casual clothes. They also had a powerful aura since they were from the army, after all. They sat while maintaining a straight back with Joel leading the group. He wore a somber expression while he remained seated. I heard those bl*ody Michels expect Michael to marry into the family as a live-in son-inw. Besides, they even expect him and Carmen to change theirst names. Otherwise, it seems that they would disapprove of his marriage to Sophia. As the family head and Michael¡¯s friend, I have to support Michael with all that I have. Furthermore, Michael¡¯s father, Theo, is here too. The Mitchell Family¡¯s council of elders were present too and it consisted of males and females, but they all held a grudge. Today, we have to fight for our rights! We do not have the courage to interfere with the marriage between Sophia and Michael or Anna and Cooper. Nevertheless, we have to fight for the naming rights of the twins in Sophia¡¯s womb! In fact, the Yards, the Mitchells, the Fletchers and the Michels all eyed the naming rights of the twins with hunger in their gaze. The Yards believed that the twins were legitimate royals; since the direct descendants of the Yards were few and scarce, they had to fight for the naming right of their next generation since Sophia and her brother did not adopt the family name. We have to make sure that the twins are Yards! On the other hand, the Mitchells figured that the children would be a part of the Mitchell Family. Since Sophia and Linus did not assume the Mitchell Family name either, her children must bear thest name of Mitchell. The Fletchers figured that ording to the Cethosian culture, it was only natural for children to take after their father¡¯s name. The twins have to be Fletchers! The Michel Family agreed that everyone¡ªbe it Gianna, the unborn twins, Sophia, Michael, or even Anna¡ªshould all assume thest name of Michel! The Yards, the Mitchells and the Fletchers all shared the same thought, Why are you guys so greedy? The Johnsons finally arrived and figured, We are honored to make your acquaintance, big bosses. Chapter 1444 Chapter 1444 Well, the Johnsons¡­ The group of elders, who only had a handful of chances of leaving the vige, was queuing up for fruits and snacks. They were watching the city people fighting in front of the queue. It was undeniable that they did not have the right to say anything at the gathering. Therefore, they did not have the courage to be involved inpeting for the naming right. After all, they were merely Anna and Sophia¡¯s adoptive family. The meeting, which resembled more like a conference for the fight ofst names, was about tomence. The families were already loudly arguing before the meeting could even start. They all had their reasons and excuses. Thanks to their family backgrounds, none of them were willing to take a step back, especially when it came to the naming rights. They seemed ready to fight to their deaths for that. Meanwhile, some were just there to watch the fun, such as Harry, Stanley and Quinton. They were busy watching the events unfold before their eyes. Anna, Callum, Cooper and Linus were also present while Sophia and Michael were busy running around to arrange everything. They were worried that the atmosphere could be intense to the point where the different families would start a brawl. On the other hand, Carmen led her partners to peddle sweets and essories below the stage. She also took the opportunity to hand out flyers for Sophia¡¯s Remote Mountains Health Club Project and Cryopreservation Project. Soon, the auspicious time had arrived. There was a stage in the conference room, so Sophia picked up the microphone. She then gently cleared her throat before announcing, ¡°¡®The Cethosian-Western European Last Name Culture Forum¡¯ is about tomence. Let¡¯s put our hands together for the renowned Metaphysics Grandmaster, Master Levine!¡± The crowd below were at a loss for words when they heard that. Wasn¡¯t this supposed to be a sh of power and strength? I thought that we might be risking our lives if a fight breaks out. Isn¡¯t that why those who are here to watch have to prepare their own bulletproof vest? Why is the atmosphere completely different from what we expected? Stanley loosened the bulletproof vest that he wore before removing his explosion-proof helmet from his head. He earnestly continued watching the progress. Daniel walked up onto the stage under the scrutiny of the crowd. I didn¡¯t want to show up! However, Michael imed that if I were to fail to handle this situation, he would send over Judge and both generations of its litter of puppies to my ce for a summer vacation! Once he walked up onto the stage, he saw Alice who was among the Michels and Casper seated beside her. I have to be here today. After calming down, Daniel passionately started his speech, ¡°Greetings, everybody. My name is Daniel Levine and it bears the meaning of soaring aspirations. It is my honor to host this forum on this fine day. Before the forum begins, let¡¯s start the ball rolling by watching a theatrical performance!¡± The audience¡¯s expression gradually turned cold and distant. The regr army from the Fletcher Family, the mercenary from the Yard Family, the hackers from the Mitchell Family and the nuclear bombs from the Michel Family were all ready for action, so who could possibly be interested in watching the theatrical performance? It is time for the theatrical performance! Carmen hastily tossed her merchandise basket aside before climbing up the stage. When the lights were switched on again, she was already striking a pose. The music started ying and she started her hip-hop dance routine. I must have a solo performance during such an event! After watching her dance, the elders¡¯ initially cold expressions slowly turned into a smile. She is such an angel! Hang on, we have to appear more warm and friendlyter. We must not scare the child away. After the theatrical performance, the atmosphere significantly lightened. Once Carmen walked down the stage, Daniel went up again to continue hosting the event. ¡°Be it Cethos or the Western Countries, we all have our own unique and long history of surname cultures. Today, the Michels from Europe together with the Yards as well as the Fletchers and Mitchells are gathered here. Everybody is here for the selection ofst names of Miss Sophia Edwards and her kid, Carmen Fletcher. Now, I¡¯d like to invite everyone to voice their opinions. Let¡¯s start by inviting the representative from the Michel Family who hase a long way!¡± Brilliant! After beating around the bush for the whole day, we have finally entered the main topic! The audience held their breath in anticipation. The atmosphere was somber when the elder from Michel Group, who was Linus¡¯ adoptive father and Alice¡¯s biological father, went up to the stage. He was there as a representative from the Michel Family today to voice his opinion. He was also the Grand Elder of the Michel Family, so he had an abundance ofworks within the group. Before Cooper¡¯s return, he was the recognized family head within the Michel Family and the candidate for the director position. Unfortunately, with Fass¡¯ sudden return all those years ago, the Michel Group was steered in apletely different direction by him. Fass did everything he could to turn the tides and he became the family head and group director, causing Linus¡¯ adoptive father to be pushed to second ce in the end. Later, he retired from the group while his biological daughter, Alice, and his adoptive son, Linus, continued to hold important positions within the group. Hence, his status within the Michel Family remained unaffected. A majority of the members within the Michels¡¯ Family Elders Council ovepped with thepany¡¯s board of directors¡ªthey were often more forceful, domineering and intense as well. After all, they possessed nuclear weapons. The elder took a forceful stance once he started speaking. In fact, he seemed adamant about his ims. ¡°The Michel Family has been standing tall in society for centuries, so we have a long history. It is only natural to adopt our family name if one were to join our family. Furthermore, members of the Michel Family are not allowed to marry outsiders. If one were to marry out of the family, it means that they¡¯ve abandoned our family name. Therefore, they will have to sever ties with the Michels. We are the glorious Michel Family! We cannot allow ourst name and bloodline to be stranded in destitution! This means that both Lucile and Gianna have to return to the family and they have to change their family names to Michel. As for Mr. Murray and Madam Anna, they have both sessfully joined the Michel Family via marriage. Hence, they have to change theirst names too.¡± The Michel Family had possessed such an intense aura that it made them look extremely aggressive. Nevertheless, the Yards were scornful whereas the Mitchells were staring daggers at them in return. The Fletcher Family was furious, but the Johnson family was oblivious to the events unfolding before them as they thought, What are the d*mn foreigners talking about? Daniel was shocked by the intensity that the Michel Family radiated and he thought, No wonder such a spirited person, such as Alice, didn¡¯t have the courage to fight for me. After that, he pushed himself to continue hosting the event. ¡°Next, let¡¯s invite the Yard Family¡¯s representative from North America.¡± The Yards¡¯ representative walked onto the stage to deliver his speech. He mentioned the glorious days from when the Yard Family possessed imperial power until the current business empire they have today. In the end, he emphasized, ¡°The Yard Family is an imperial family, so every family member shares the unlimited glory. This is also the reason why we can never allow a Yard to be left out alone. A descendant of the family has to bear thest name of Yard! We aren¡¯t forcing the generation of Sophia and Linus, but one of Sophia¡¯s unborn children has to bear the Yard Family name.¡± The Mitchells cried out, ¡°Sophia and Linus have already given up the Mitchell Family name. Therefore, the next generation has to carry the Mitchell family name!¡± The Fletchers yelled, ¡°Are you trying to get a member of our family to change hisst name? Talk to the hand!¡± At this moment, the Johnsons tried to make amends and soothe the growing tension. ¡°Please do not be angry. Everyone should try to calm down since peace is to be valued!¡± The atmosphere was finally moving forward in an expected direction¡ªeverything was intense and it felt that sparks would start to fly in all directions soon. Stanley hastily wore his explosion-proof helmet while tightening his bulletproof vest as well. A sheen of cold sweat formed across Daniel¡¯s forehead. He tried to brush it off by chuckling awkwardly. ¡°The world is such a huge ce; there is constantly a variety of extraordinary things happening. In fact, there are all sorts of different traditions and practices everywhere in the world. Hence, it is only natural to have conflicts at times. Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. Next, it¡¯s time for an advertisement. Let¡¯s invite Miss Sophia Edwards to share more about her new project! Let¡¯s give her a round of apuse!¡± The audience was dumbfounded. Why are they showing an advert as usual under extraordinary circumstances? This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. The sudden change of segments was especially obvious among the family members, who looked utterly bewildered. We are here to talk business! Why are they taking full advantage by advertising about an investment?! Chapter 1445 Chapter 1445 Sophia went onstage under the crowd¡¯s scrutiny. She cleared her throat before starting her speech. ¡°Everybody, please have a look. A copy of the conference materials have been ced on each seat at the table. Kindly request for a copy from the server if you do not have one. Now, let¡¯s turn to the first page¡ªthis illustrates the concept of high tech luxury goods.¡± It was one of the new projects that she had been involved in¡ªthe high tech luxury goods. She combined high technology and luxury goods to create apletely new series of products as she wanted to create an entirely new industry. In fact, Anna and Cooper supported her idea. From N?velDrama.Org. The Michels and Mitchells are in the technology industry whereas the Yard Family is involved in luxury goods. I need both these families to share their resources to work together for this startup. Today, these families have shown up, so I¡¯m taking the chance to talk about my project here. I already had this concept in mind for a very long time. High technology is able to provide a profound meaning to luxury goods whereas fashion can be mysterious with the addition of technology. These twoplement each other and both serve as a contrast for one another. Besides, I have the resources too. If I truly want to do it, I¡¯m sure that I¡¯d achieve great results. The crowd was obviously annoyed, but everybody wanted to give Sophia the benefit of the doubt. Hence, they tried their best to peruse the documents. The concept ofbining technology and fashion seems promising. To be fair, her proposal looks well written too. Besides, she has a detailed PowerPoint Presentation. However, how sure are we that she¡¯d be able to smoothly aplish this? After allowing the crowd to read her proposal, Sophia had a detailed discussion with them for some time. Without even realizing it, an hour had swiftly passed. She had always been working on her own businesses because she never inherited any family enterprises. Despite being in charge of the Cethos region of Ronney Group, she had been doing her thing. In fact, she was merely borrowing their brand. It was most probably her first time having a work- rted discussion with members of the different families. Her wit and eloquence seeded in attracting everybody¡¯s attention. Therefore, the crowd had high hopes for her project. True enough¡ªshe definitely resembles her father. It was especially true for the Michels and Yards because they did not know Sophia well. They were only aware that she was the main agent in Cethos for the Dragon Eye mobile phones and it had achieved great results. Nevertheless, Sophia was about to experiment with an entirely new field, so most of her thoughts were immature. Many seniors among the crowd provided her with timely advice and constructive suggestions. She earnestly recorded everything because she knew that those were valuable experiences. The atmosphere was intense because everybody was engrossed in a heated discussion regarding her new project. As the discussion progressed, they almost forgot about the main issue for the day. It was not until a content Sophia ced the microphone down and walked away with a notebook full of useful pointers that the audience recalled today¡¯s main agenda. The atmosphere instantly turned somber again. The Grand Elder of the Michel Family mmed the table while abruptly standing up this time. ¡°I don¡¯t care what everybody says today! We will never allow a member of the Michels to wander about in destitution!¡± The rest of the three families started to retort in response to his words. Currently, it almost seemed like the Fletchers, the Yards and the Mitchells had joined forces to rebel against the Michels. They clearlyck values! The three families are merelypeting for the naming rights of Sophia¡¯s unborn children whereas the Michels are forcing her entire family to change theirst names! They are greedy, domineering and shameless! Daniel felt as though he was losing control of the event he hosted. Hence, he turned to Alice, who had remained silent, while she was seated with the Michel Family. After that, he hissed through gritted teeth, ¡°Next is another theatrical performance.¡± The adorable Carmen came onstage and she performed a piece, which finally significantly lightened the atmosphere. She truly brought joy to the crowd. Carmen was delighted too because she enjoyed performing more than anything else. It was especially true since there were many people in attendance today. It was arge audience, and Sophia promised to pay her an appearance fee. Daniel took the chance to walk down from the stage to approach Cooper, Anna and the family. He comined with worry, ¡°I can¡¯t keep things under control much longer!¡± The Michel Family is too forceful. It feels like there¡¯s no room for discussion! Cooper kept quiet while he focused on Carmen¡¯s performance. However, in reality, he had been observing the reactions of all the families. There are no arguments about my marriage with Anna. After all, it¡¯s the union of two strong parties. The most intense argument is thest name of Sophia¡¯s twins¡ªthe families seem adamant on that issue. Next, it¡¯s the matter of the change of family names for Sophia, Michael and Anna. The Michels seem dead set about that too. In all honesty, the true issue stems from the Michel Family because they are more powerful after all. Therefore, they have been aggressive while insisting on having their way. I know that we have to give them an answer today. It is obvious that the Michel Family is set on getting their hands on Sophia and Carmen. On the other hand, Sophia was interacting with the members of the Michel Family while jotting down notes in her small notebook. They seemed to have slightly learned more about her, but they were in a hurry to include her into their genealogy record book. Carmen is extremely popr too. ¡°Coop.¡± Anna suddenly interrupted Cooper from his train of thoughts. Her lightly wrinkled hand softly held onto his paw, just like thirty years ago when they were still youths and everything had not changed. What changed instead was their identities. Thirty years ago, she was a daydreaming server whereas he was a protected, genius little master of the Mitchell Family. Nothing seemed possible between the two of them because their statuses were vastly different. However, at that moment in time, she was the director of Ronney Group while Cooper was a director of Mitchell Group. Hence, they both had the suitable background for each other and could finally be officially together. Later in life, despite losing my memories, I still harbored a subconscious idea because I knew that I had to move forward no matter what happened. I might have lost my memories, but the past had affected me the most. I couldn¡¯t be with the person I love due to my background. I am also well aware of the difference between Cooper and myself. Hence, I wanted to make up for it. I¡¯ve been working hard to achieve my goals despite my amnesia and finally achieved that today. I¡¯ve jumped through so many hoops and ovee challenges; so, this is just a small matter for me. Carmen¡¯s performance ended a short whileter. Nevertheless, she felt that she was not done with the performance, so she refused to leave. Instead, she insisted on singing for the audience. After her song, the crowd erupted into cheers and apuse. Finally, she walked down the stage while looking pleased with herself. The crowd seemed especially pleased and joyous while watching her performance. However, once the performance ended, they returned to their stoic expression. Linus walked onto the stage after her performance. He shared about a major project known as the Remote Mountains Health Cryopreservation, which he coborated with Sophia and Daniel. On top of that, he took the chance to advertise the project and even managed to attract lots of resources and investments. Carmen was unhappy about that; she insisted on talking about her future development ns for her online shop onstage. As a result, everybody was forced to give her twenty minutes to freely voice her thoughts. Cooper had already made a decision a long time ago for the forum today. He was now merely giving Sophia the tform to gain more connections. These families are huge, so they have many people, businesses and resources. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to gather everybody under one roof. Hence, now is the best time to integrate and share the resources. Soon, two to three hours had passed, which meant that it was dinnertime. It was time to get down to business after the advertisements. Chapter 1446 Chapter 1446 Under the earnest anticipation of the crowd, Cooper finally walked up to the stage. He took the microphone while observing the expressions of the audience below him. I am Sophia¡¯s father as well as the maternal grandfather of the unborn children. Naturally, I have the naming right of my grandchildren. As for the children¡¯s father, Michael¡­ Well, everybody has forgotten about him. After all, he does not possess any nuclear weapons. Cooper announced his decision, ¡°I want to thank everybody for traveling so far to attend the weddings of both myself and my daughter. As for the changing of family names, which everyone seemed to be invested in, I have already made up my mind.¡± The atmosphere suddenly felt tense as everybody automatically held their breath in anticipation. Cooper¡¯s decision might cause a huge chaos! Under the crowd¡¯s undivided attention, he finally announced, ¡°I will be getting married with my wife, Anna Yard. Since she will remain as the person in charge of the Yard Group, she will not change her last name. My daughter, Miss Sophia Edwards as well as my son-inw, Mr. Michael Fletcher and my granddaughter, Carmen Fletcher, will not change theirs as well.¡± There was an uproar among the crowd. You are going against the Michel Family head-on! The Michels were in disbelief, as though they were being challenged for the first time. Cooper continued to speak, ¡°I¡¯ve carefully thought about this. The Edwards raised my daughter and they gave her a chance at life. I respect her decision for not changing herst name. Even if my son-in- law, Mr. Michael Fletcher, were to marry into the family as a live-in son-inw, ording to the rules in Cethos, there is no rule that dictates the change of hisst name. As for my granddaughter, Carmen Fletcher¡ªher father, Michael Fletcher, has raised her since birth. Therefore, she will not change her family name temporarily. She is free to change it if she wishes to once she¡¯s 18 years old. On the other hand, in regards to thest name of my unborn grandchildren¡ªI fully respect my daughter and my son- inw¡¯s decision. One of them would be a Yard whereas the other would be a Mitchell. If I can¡¯t fulfill the rules and feelings invested in this matter and you demand that I choose between withdrawing from the Michel Family or forcing my children to change theirst names, I will choose to give up the status as a Michel.¡± With that, he left the stage after making the shocking announcement. The crowd erupted into chaos while the Michel family members swiftly stood up to surround him. We¡¯ve come all the way here, but we¡¯ve not achieved anything! How dare Cooper try to cut ties with our family! ¡°Fass! What is the meaning of this? Is this how you¡¯re ying it?¡± The Michel Family came forward with a ferocious intensity. They surrounded Cooper and his family, which caused Carmen to burst in tears out of fear. Upon hearing the child crying, the other families could not possibly leave the area. Therefore, they surrounded the crowd too. The other families were especially pleased with Cooper¡¯s decision. They are taking both families into consideration since Sophia is naming her twins with the surnames Mitchell and Yard respectively. Well, the Fletcher Family wouldn¡¯t mind because Carmen is more than enough. Besides, it doesn¡¯t matter to us what the family names the unborn children because it doesn¡¯t stop us from loving them. In any case, they are part of our family! However, the Michel Family simply could not stomach Cooper¡¯s decision! He was about to leave with his family, so he nced at the crowd of Michels in annoyance. ¡°I¡¯ve made myself clear. Linus already bears the Michel Family name. My daughter and her unborn sons will have their freedom to choose. As for my wife, Anna Yard¡ªthere is no tradition of changing family names. My granddaughter will not change herst name too. This is my decision and it¡¯s also my daughter, Sophia Edwards¡¯ wish. If you think that I¡¯ve gone overboard, please remove me from thepany as well as the family.¡± I¡¯ll take on the Yard Family name in the future. Anna was delighted. I love this side of him;pared to thirty years ago, Cooper¡¯s temperament hasn¡¯t changed at all. He is still pursuing greatness like a wildly arrogant youth who chases after his dreams. The only difference is that he is more considerate now. Once upon a time ago, he was still young and immature when we eloped, so he did not n meticulously. Right now, he is going against the Michel Family, but he¡¯s not doing this out of spite. On the contrary, he can afford to do that because he has the capability now. It doesn¡¯t matter whether the Michel Family wants him around. Even if Cooper leaves, Linus is still there to hold the fort down. In fact, Cooper¡¯s departure is a loss to the Michels. ¡°Fass!!¡± The Michel family members were fuming and they started to scold him. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another chance! It¡¯s not toote for you to retract your ridiculous statement.¡± Nevertheless, Cooper did not reply to them. Instead, he held hands with Anna and led Sophia to leave. They detoured past the Michels to leave the venue. Once upon a time, my mother rebelled to marry Woody by leaving the family for more than twenty years. In the end, she did not get the chance to see my father again even after her death. Somebody should be bold and adamant enough to turn the tides for such situations. Right now, I have the courage and capability to make these changes. Cooper left without a care in the world whereas Daniel announced through the microphone, ¡°Everybody has worked hard during the meeting, Dinner has been served in the adjacent banquet hall. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy.¡± His voice managed to drown the angry roarsing from the Michel Family. ¡°Fass! You are a traitor! You and your descendants will forever lose the right to the Michel Family name!¡± Unfortunately, the cheerful chatter before a feast swallowed their angry threats. The Michel Family was losing their minds. In the end, they left the venue in a hurry. However, Alice, who was among the Michels, stopped abruptly. She then turned to look at Daniel, who was standing amidst the crowd. He was also staring at her. The two of them locked eyes while the crowd moved briskly between them. They were focused on each other as the rest of the world melted away. It felt as if an invisible bond held them together where they just could not take their eyes off each other. Cooper and Sophia had made their choice earlier. They chose to go against the rule, which has been practiced for hundreds of years, whereas I am¡­ ¡°Alice, why aren¡¯t you leaving with us?¡± The Grand Elder, who had left in a hurry toward the entrance, barked at Alice after noticing that she had spaced out while standing rooted to the spot. He followed her gaze and was furious to notice that she was staring at a dark-haired young man. He immediately recognized Daniel because Casper took after him¡ªthey had simr facial features, which allowed people to identify them as father and son with a mere nce. ¡°Daddy.¡± Alice broke the silence out of the blue. ¡°Tonight, I won¡¯t be returning with you guys temporarily.¡± Then, she added while walking toward Daniel. ¡°Casper and I will be living in Cethos for a while. I¡¯ll be relying on you for thepany matters.¡± The Grand Elder almost fainted in anger when he heard that. Is Alice nning to follow in Fass and Lucile¡¯s footsteps? Is she leaving the Michel Family?! ¡°Alice, you¡ª¡° At that moment, she only had eyes for Daniel as she strode swiftly to him. In full view of the public, she impertinently reached out to hold him. Daniel could finally hold her in his arms in the open too. He even swung her in circles a couple of times in joy. At that moment, I have finally decided that I want to fight back! I need to take the initiative to strike back for the sake of my happiness. I feel as if I have limitless power with Daniel¡¯s support. Alice brought Daniel to her biological father, who seemed on the verge of fainting in anger, before announcing, ¡°Dad, this is my fianc¨¦, Daniel Levine. I¡¯m nning to get married to him. But¡ª¡± She then gave a solemn exnation. ¡°Daniel will not change his name for me and we want to decide for ourselves in regards to our children¡¯sst name. I will not leave the Michel Group. I hope that I have your blessings, Dad.¡± The Grand Elder¡¯s chest heaved heavily in anger. First, it is Fass and Lucile; now, it is my own daughter. They are doing this deliberately. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. He turned to leave, but he spat cruelly before leaving, ¡°The family rule has been practiced for more than a thousand years now. It will never change over an act of impulse! Alice, you are no longer my daughter!¡± With that, the Michels left without a backward nce. Their action was the definition of cruel and ruthless. Chapter 1447 Chapter 1447 Even though his own daughter had broken the rules, the Grand Elder was adamant on abiding the rules in a cold and cruel manner. He and the rest of the Michel Family were the only ones left because the crowd had left for dinner in the adjacent banquet hall. The crowd had already dispersed after the intriguing event and the staff members were left to tidy the ce up. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Alice did not expect to swiftly break ties with her father and family. She had gone through the potential scenarios in her mind countless times, but in reality, she was not mentally prepared at all. However, her body was much more grounded and honest because she did everything in a rush and recklessly. She stared at the Grand Elder as he left and she appeared to be sorry to see him leave. ¡°It¡¯s not toote to go back if you regret it,¡± Daniel¡¯s soft and breezy voice spoke from behind her. He sounded elegant and gentle at the same time. In any case, Alice would never regret her choice. Instead, she turned to hold onto his hand. She smiled at him while exining, ¡°The family will seize my personal assets soon. That means I¡¯ll be left with nothing at all. You¡¯ll have to look after me from now on.¡± Daniel had never smiled happily in his life before. Between Alice and me, one of us would always have to sacrifice everything for us to stay together. This time, it seems like Alice has abandoned the rest of the world for me. ¡°No, don¡¯t worry. I will never look after you,¡± he stated. ¡°You might have left the Michel Family, but you still have thework and resources readily avable for you. Besides, I¡¯m not in need of money. I believe that with time, you will rise again. Don¡¯t you ever dream of me looking after you.¡± The two of them then happily smiled at each other. This is the correct way for us tomunicate with each other. How could Alice possibly end up as a trophy wife? She is always a golden phoenix who is ready to soar into the heavens. Even if she has temporarily lost her shine and luster, she is still a golden phoenix. She has given up everything to be with me, so I can¡¯t trap her in a cage like a trophy wife. It is the Michel Family¡¯s loss to give up on her. ¡°Daddy, Mommy!¡± As Casper showed up out of nowhere, Daniel bent down to pick him up. Then, he brought his fianc¨¦e and son to join the rest of the crowd for a meal next door. It was extremely lively in the banquet hall next door where the senior family members of the Yards, the Mitchells, the Fletchers and the Johnsons were. While enjoying their meals, theyined about the Michel Family. Thanks to Cooper and Anna¡¯s marriage, both the Yard and Fletcher Families managed to resolve their differences. They set aside their grudge and even toasted each other. She solemnly introduced her rtives from the Johnson Family to the crowd. From my point of view, I am both Anna Yard and Annabel Johnson. The rtives from the Johnson Family are my family members too. Besides, my daughter bears the Edwardsst name and she will never change that because she will never forget their kindness. During the mealtime, Linus toasted Cooper while sincerely wishing him, ¡°Father, I wish you a happy marriage.¡± I am very lucky because I met Cooper when I was still young. I am fortunate enough to grow up with him around and I¡¯ve witnessed the challenges he¡¯s been through over the years. Now that he has finally found his own happiness, I¡¯m happy for him as his son. Cooper clinked sses with Linus. He then nced at his son with eyes that shone with pride. ¡°Son, I am not forcing you, but I hope that you will have your own family soon. Look, your younger sister is already pregnant for the second time.¡± It was the first time that Cooper had urged him to settle down. Nevertheless, Linus chuckled without directly answering him. I know about Linus¡¯ s*xual orientation, but from where I stand, it doesn¡¯t matter whether he prefers men or women. I am happy as long as he is happy¡­ However, it¡¯s best not to follow Sophia¡¯s footsteps by settling for an old man. Everything is fine as long as I do not get another older son-inw. Cooper thought of something and he added as an afterthought, ¡°You¡¯ll have to exercise more effort for the Michel Group.¡± Linus nodded in agreement. He had kept quiet when Cooper renounced the Michel Family name. On one hand, the Michels imed that they would remove Cooper¡¯s entire household register, but on the other hand, they conveniently excluded his son from their decision. Everybody understood that Cooper left Linus in the Michel Family. Cooper had a few descendants with differentst names, but Linus was the only one bearing the Michel Family name. Hence, although Cooper had left the Michels, Linus still remained in the family. The Michels also decided to let that matter slide as well. Everybody knew the truth because Alice, Fass and Lucile had simultaneously left. If Linus were to leave, the Michel Group would suffer a terrible loss. In fact, it would be a life-or-death impact for them. After all, Fass was the soul within both the Michel Group and the Michel Family. With Cooper¡¯s departure, the Michel Family¡¯s businesses were not impacted, but they had lost their soul. Since Linus did not take the initiative to leave the family, they would never chase him out. Since the horrible Michel Family had left out of anger and Cooper and Sophia being removed from that family, thergest victor in that situation was the Mitchell Family. Now, they had Cooper all to themselves and they even received the naming right of Sophia¡¯s twins. Hence, they had the best of both worlds. All the three families had settled their issues. With everybody¡¯s blessings and wishes, the wedding was soon around the corner. Alice had officially relocated to Cethos and she moved into The Imperial with Daniel. As she could not adapt to the cloudy and humid weather on top of the hill, she could not stay at the Daoist Temple for long periods of time. In the end, he moved down the hill with her and Casper. Daniel¡¯s forever-empty house finally became lively. He and Alice had been busy for thest couple of days as they visited the shop owned by the Winston Family to buy some furniture to decorate their new home. Everyone else also sent gifts to help them with their task of beautifying their home. Sarah and Harry sent a set of bedroom furniture whereas Stanley and Sean gave the couple a whole set of kitchen furniture. Furthermore, Sophia gave them four sets of bed, seven sets of kitchenware and some assorted things. On top of that, she even gave them a car and a pair of orange kittens. Michael thought that she was stingy after looking at the gifts. Hence, he added a pair of Samoyed, a pair of giant poodles and a husky puppy. Daniel eximed in frustration, ¡°You are just trying to clear your storage, aren¡¯t you?!¡± With everybody¡¯s generous contribution, his house eventually turned into a cheery home. Their wedding had been scheduled to be after Cooper¡¯s one because they were worried that there could be unforeseen changes. Hence, they were adamant on getting their marriage certificate on the same day. Alice had decided to be together with Daniel. Simultaneously, he reached out to make use of his network to help her prepare for her newpany. Everything seemed to be developing in the right direction whereas Sophia¡¯s belly was growingrger on a daily basis. Due to herrge belly, it seemed slightly forceful for her to fit into her wedding gown. In the end, she chose a Church wedding ceremony because the wedding attire would be able to amodate her current figure. Both mother and daughter went to Ido to choose their wedding attire and wedding gown with Michael and Cooper following suit. Ido, which was under Ronney Group, had started its operations again. Not only did they continue with their line of wedding gowns, but they now offered other wedding costumes too. As Sophia was unsatisfied after trying on several pieces, she continued to try more at a leisurely pace. Anna, who was next door, was also taking her time to choose her wedding gown. As the director of the Ronney Group, she wanted the best gown from the shop. Both father and son-inws, Michael and Cooper, could not take a break at that point even if they wanted to. They were walking around while holding onto their phones. ¡°The helicopter, which is used to scatter the flowers, has to be fast!¡± ¡°Casper and Carmen will be the flower children because Sour Face doesn¡¯t seem to be keen on it.¡± ¡°Use Michel Sportscar as the standardized wedding cars. Since we are wearing the traditional wedding costumes, we¡¯ll have to follow the customs! When we need to pay our respects to the elders within the family, let the elders from the Mitchell and Fletcher Families take their seats. Mom and Dad will be too busy to handle that part.¡± Anna took almost the entire day to try the wedding gowns. She was ted to the point where she lost track of the time since she was enjoying herself with the delicate process. At that moment, the phone she kept in her purse started to suddenly ring. She took out her phone to check who the caller was and she noticed that it was an unfamiliar number. ¡°Hello, may I know who is on the line?¡± The caller remained silent, but she could hear the heavy and steady breathing over the line. Anna could immediately tell who it was from the rhythmic breathing. It¡¯s him¡ªJordan Edwards. Chapter 1448 Chapter 1448 Even before the voice at the other end could say anything, Anna could tell who he was¡ªit was Jordan, the man who had both changed her entire life and caused her years of pain. Back then, after she dropped out of school, she entered the working society early in her life. She sold cigarettes, fruits, beverages at the train station and she had also worked in restaurants. At that time, she wanted to work in Bayside City, but her family did not allow her to do so. They wanted to marry her to another man after a few more years. In fact, after she dropped out of school, many people had already asked for her hand in marriage. Her life had already been arranged¡ªthere would be no surprise that she would marry an average man before staying at home to take care of her family after she worked odd jobs in town for a few more years. In the end, her life would pass just like that. She wanted to fight back, but because she was too young, she was powerless. However, Jordan¡¯s appearance had changed her entire life. He had spent some money to take Anna away from the Johnson Family before he brought her to the city to learn alongside him. It was at that time that her world expanded while her abilities were being trained. He even promised her to sponsor her studies abroad if she worked hard for him. Because Jordan saw her intelligence, he nned to train her to be apletely different person from inside out. Unexpectedly, not long after Anna¡¯s training began, she was tasked to spy on Sam to keep track of him. It was Anna¡¯s first task after all. In order to repay Jordan¡¯s kindness and for him to approve of her performance so that he would sponsor her studies while fulfilling her dream to study abroad, she infiltrated Sam¡¯s team and stayed by his side. She devoted all of her passion in the spying job and delivered many information to Jordan at any time he wanted. It was a rather tough job not to expose herself. Another girl went there with her as well. Just like Anna, she also came from a poor family. Jordan kept many girls like the both of them beside him. He took them under his wing and trained them to be his s*xual weapon to attack his enemies. Unexpectedly, while Anna was working alongside Sam, she found another life goal¡ªas one of the restaurant founders, her determination wavered after she saw the business that she built with him flourish. Apart from that, her pay was gradually increasing as well. She thought that instead of blindly waiting for Jordan¡¯s promise to let her study abroad, she would be better off working hard with Sam. In a short time, she could achieve her dreams through her hard work. However, Anna also understood why she was there as well. At that moment, the gentle young man who could y piano appeared. It was because of him that she decided to leave Jordan¡¯s control. After that, everything spiraled out of control¡­. In the blink of an eye, the past few decades passed just like that and she found herself reflecting on the past. Do I owe Jordan anything? No, I don¡¯t. Jordan breathed heavily. The first word he said did not seem to differ from the past. ¡°Annie.¡± Anna hummed in response before she continued, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m hanging up soon.¡± Upon hearing her cold words, he chucked sarcastically. ¡°Annie, for the past thirty years, I¡¯ve treated you well enough. Why did you still betray me?¡± Her betrayal was actually within his expectations, but up until the very end, he still could not ept it or understand her reasons. After all, I treated her so well. I brought her out from the Johnson Family Vige and kept her beside me while teaching her all the new knowledge that she had nevere across. Ipletely changed her life. Jordan did not even me Anna for her betrayal. In fact, he forgave her. Unfortunately, in the end, he received news of her passing from amniotic fluid embolism. It was at that moment when he realized how important she was to him. He had agonized over her death and even sent people to dig her grave. Unexpectedly, it was there that he met her elder brother, who was about to steal her corpse as well. On top of that, he identally discovered that she was actually not dead. Without holding any grudges for what had happened before, Jordan saved Anna and brought her abroad. At that time, she hadpletely gone insane¡ªshe had a serious psychiatric problem that made her feel disoriented most of the time. On top of that, she would often hallucinate and scream loudly. He apanied her while erasing her memories in an attempt to make her forget the young man who could y the piano. At the same time, he also expunged all the hardships that she endured in the past. She had returned to a nk state once more and he patiently trained her before providing her with an extraordinary sense of intelligence and courage. He hadpletely shaped her character. Over the years, he cared for her with his genuine feelings and personally promoted her until she became the leader of the Yard Group. He shielded her from everything and cleared all the obstacles for her, making her the most envied woman on earth. Why am I on the receiving end of her betrayal after all that I have done? Jordan could not figure it out. I have countless women in my life. Apart from my first wife who died, the only other woman I ever loved is Anna. I loved her with all my heart, but why did she betray me? Of course, it was only Jordan¡¯s thoughts from his perspective. To Anna, she felt that something was wrong with him and she did not even want to utter another word to him. She knew that he had really treated her well and pampered her a lot throughout those years. Not only did he make her the leader of Yard Group, but he also made her a fashion icon. However, she still betrayed him. Anna thought that she owed Jordan a final exnation as a form of gratitude for his help in the past. Think of it as a form of closure. Then, she exined about everything that happened over the years. ¡°Jordan, do you remember one of your mistresses¡ªSusan Yard, from the branch family of the Yards?¡± He waspletely quiet as he attentively listened to her. ¡°Back then, my son was caught by the Yard Family Branch, who wanted to kill him to take revenge on me. Even though I had saved him with your help in the end, what about the mastermind, Susan?¡± Jordan remembered that person. Back then, it was true that he found out Susan was the mastermind, but since her apology was sincere and she was an important person in his quest to control the Yard Family, he forgave her. After all, both of them were his women. He thought that the little tricks here and there were purely out of jealousy and she would not dare to kill his child. At that moment, Anna loudly gritted her teeth. ¡°My son almost fell to his death! Yet a few dayster, you were cuddling with the person who intended to kill him! I can¡¯t wait to kill the both of you at that point!¡± From N?velDrama.Org. He remained silent. It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve neglected her at that time. To me, both of them are my women and it was indeed the wrong way of dealing with that incident. Her voice was full of contempt and callousness. ¡°Jordan, you have countless women and I¡¯m only an ordinary person among them. For me and my kids, we have been at the receiving end of attacks since young. Many people want us dead! However, as a father, where were you? You always had many considerations and many thoughts about your profits and the value of the murderer whom you can exploit. My son and I are thest people on your mind. You don¡¯t deserve our loyalty at all!¡± Chapter 1449 Chapter 1449 ¡°However, it was different for Coop. He loves me and my children. Even though he did not know in the beginning that he¡¯s their biological father, he still treated them like his own. In fact, he cares about them even more than you, their supposedly biological father!¡± With the mention of Cooper¡¯s name, Anna¡¯s tone immediately softened. She sounded graceful and gentle when she talked about him. However, her tone suddenly took a harsher turn. ¡°You are worth nothingpared to him! Jordan, when Jordaine swapped your sperm to force me to deliver to Callum and Cade, you knew well that she was ying a trick on me. You also knew what would happen to them if they are not biologically your children. Stop ying dumb! Jordaine¡¯s ns back then was to make me and my sons suffer a tragic death. Now that the truth has been revealed, have you even punished her?¡± Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Jordan did not reply to her and remained silent. ¡°In that case, why do you still say that you love me? F*ck off!¡± With the few words that clearly represented her feelings, she hung up on the phone and heaved a sigh. She then continued to try the wedding dresses happily. She did not feel any guilt whatsoever toward him. Even though she understood well that everything she had today was provided by him, she was thick- skinned enough to ept it since it was already given to her. Jordan only gave Anna the opportunity and the resources. Over the years, it was her hard work that allowed her to slowly rise to power and arrive at her current position. She did not feel any guilt about her actions. I am heartless and ungrateful¡ªall these were taught by Jordan. Sure enough, he had taught all of her dark side¡ªbeing ungrateful, scheming, and callous. In order to expand her business, she could even kill those closest to her. On the other hand, Cooper taught her about kindness and gentleness. You are worth nothing at all, Jordan! After hanging up, Jordan turned to leave Ido¡ªthe ce where Anna and Sophia were trying their wedding dresses. ¡°Jordan¡­¡± Jordaine had been waiting at a corner for a long time. When she saw him, she quickly walked toward him after calling his name. He merely cast a conflicted look at her without saying another word. After knowing that he had been raising Cooper¡¯s sons for over two decades, he was indeed impulsive. He only had one n in mind, which was to kill both his ¡®fake¡¯ sons. Unexpectedly, he was too rash in making his decisions, which, in turn, gave Anna and Cooper opportunities that almost defeated him. After everything had calmed down, Jordan took some time to think about everything that had happened. Even though Jordaine said that she had made some mistakes at work, a smart person like him would have known that she intentionally did it. Based on his temperament back then, if he knew that they were not his sons, he would have strangled them to death himself. That was also her n all along. Once Jordan killed the pair of boys, it would send Anna into a state of great shock before she spiraled into depression. In just one move, Jordaine could eliminate herpetitor and two future threats. At that moment, he could not even bring himself to attack Jordaine even though she was now right beside him. After all, she was managing Marks Group on his behalf, so he had many reasons for not killing her. Huh! I¡¯m a fool indeed! Here I am, thinking of using my feelings to convince Anna to return? Impossible! I¡¯m the King here! If a King wants a woman, he doesn¡¯t have to show her his true feelings. He can also use violence and power! ¡°Execute the original n.¡± Upon saying that, Jordan decisively walked away while Jordaine quickly followed behind him. I can¡¯t watch Anna marry Cooper just like this. Even if I have to tie her up, I will have to bring her back! Meanwhile, both Cooper and Anna were clear that Jordan would not let the matter rest. They were already mentally prepared for his counterattack. If he wants to strike, just let him be! We will make sure that he will go beyond the point of no return! While the wedding was being meticulously nned, the Michel Family also returned to Europe and they publicly announced that they had severed all ties with Cooper and everyone rted to him, apart from Linus. They also fired Alice from her position in thepany. On top of that, they also canceled all of their contracts with Sophia and changed her position to being a mere retailer of Dragon Eye in Cethos. When she learned about it, she thought, They are being such a tyrant! If it weren¡¯t for me, the Dragon Eye phones wouldn¡¯t be so popr now. In Cethos, it has be a phone that everyone owns¡ªfrom the city to the countryside. Its sales can even match the well-known brand, Serpent. Well, now that I¡¯m focusing on my luxury brand, it¡¯s fine if they want to change to another person-in-charge too. Right before the wedding, Sean suddenly approached Cooper to apply for a few days of leave. They had a discussion in Cooper¡¯s study for almost two hours before Sean finally came out with a mixed expression on his face. He looked relieved and excited at the same time, as if he had received some encouragement from Cooper. ¡°What did you guys discuss?¡± Sophia quickly asked. Sean did not reply to her question and merely replied, ¡°I¡¯ve made a decision. I just came here to ask for Cooper¡¯s thoughts and he is very supportive of it.¡± I had already discussed my decision with my family, but I¡¯m not surprised that they chastised me. No one but Cooper supports me. After receiving Cooper¡¯s support, Sean excitedly looked forward to his future. The burden that had weighed on him for almost 20 years was finally lifted from his shoulders at once, leaving him feeling joyful and lightweight. Sean left after his discussion with Cooper, who had just walked out of his study. As soon as she saw her father, she immediately asked him about their discussion. Cooper merely shook his head and sighed. ¡°He wants to have a gender reassignment operation, but his family doesn¡¯t allow him to do so. I asked him to go ahead with the operation.¡± Sophia was stunned after hearing about that. In the end, Sean still decided to take this route. In fact, I had already expected that this might happen one day. He should have been a woman from the beginning. It¡¯s his male body that has been holding him back. Because the Mitchell family and the society have never allowed him to do so, he couldn¡¯t let himself be free like Dana. After hiding for 20 years, he finally has the courage to pursue his dreams. Quinton, who had been working hard at Carmen¡¯s ¡®illegal business¡¯ by making animal¡¯s fur into pillows, immediately stood up and ran outside. Now that Sean is going to change his gender, his male parts are going to be removed, aren¡¯t they? I remember seeing his member when we were in the loost time. Even though it¡¯s not as big as Dana¡¯s, it¡¯s actually bigger than average. Maybe, perhaps¡­ It¡¯s possible that I could take advantage of this. In no time, Sean already made preparations to leave the country. He had already made an appointment with a doctor abroad at a prestigious hospital, who was the best in that field. The operation this time was not only to remove his male s*x organs, but for him to undergo a uterus transnt as well. He wanted to be aplete woman to the point of bearing children. In other countries, there were several cases of men sessfully giving birth with their transnted uterus. A few of those cases had their operation done in that hospital as well. It was something that Sean had been thinking about for a long time and he even recently found a uterus donor. It was Cooper¡¯s encouragement that gave him courage to do so¡ªhe finally let go of everything and decided to remove the chains from himself. As Sean was about to travel abroad, Quinton went to his house to diligently pack for him. In fact, he even offered to be their bellboy and answered every request that Sean had. Quinton had also saved up enough money¡ªthe only item hecked was a ¡®second-hand deal¡¯ from others. Unfortunately, he could not seem to locate any volunteer in Cethos who was willing to donate their organs. It was almost entirely impossible to look for a ¡®second-hand deal¡¯ in that aspect. Hence, it was the perfect opportunity that Sean was getting rid of his member. Quinton could obtain it without breaking thew and it could be immediately used. Chapter 1450 Chapter 1450 Once he left, it would take him another one to two months before he could return. If everything was in ordance with his n, there was a possibility of him making it on time for Sophia and Michael¡¯s wedding. If the procedure did not go smoothly, he would be neither a man nor a woman. Before Sean left, he took the framed picture of him with Stanley and Maisie on the desk and wistfully looked at it. He was still a man in the picture, who bore the same haircut as Stanley and a simr checkered shirt as well. To be honest, I do not like short hair at all. Apart from that, I feel that the checkered shirt looks hideous. He liked to paint his fingernails, wear makeup, and to have long hair. He just liked to¡­ be a real woman and his dream was about toe true now. Maisie was still in her kindergarten and had not returned home, but she already knew that her daddy was going on a trip abroad. Suddenly, the door opened and Stanley barged into the house. Quinton was in the midst of packing the luggage when he saw Stanley. He assumed that Stanley could have arrived to stop Sean. He was waiting to take Sean¡¯s ¡®second-hand deal¡¯ to transnt it on himself, so he could not allow Stanley to mess things up for him. Hence, he stopped Stanley. ¡°Just leave. Sean has already made up his mind.¡± At that moment, Sean also walked out of his room with his packed luggage. When he saw Stanley, he directly said, ¡°Stan, I know there¡¯s a risk in the operation and I¡¯m already mentally prepared for it. You don¡¯t have to convince me otherwise. I¡¯ve thought it through.¡± After making his decision, he had never informed Stanley about it¡ªmainly because he did not know how to broach the topic. After all, it would take loads of courage for Stanley to watch someone whom he knew for almost three decades bing a woman. As Stanley took out a stack of documents from his briefcase, he was panting¡ªmost likely because he had run all the way. ¡°I¡¯ve already prepared my passport, visa, and air tickets. I¡¯ll apany you.¡± Sean looked at Stanley in surprise, as it waspletely unexpected that he would return for that reason. After calming his breath, Stanley exined, ¡°How can I let you go alone? It¡¯s such an important thing in your life! Professor rk, go away. Let me pack some clothes to follow Sean abroad.¡± Upon seeing that Stanley was not here to wreck havoc, Quinton cut him some ck. After that, Stanley went into his room and walked around to pack his clothes and a few other belongings. ¡°How can you not tell me about something huge like this? Do you still treat me as your good buddy? Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve already made all the arrangements at work. I¡¯ve also asked Sophia to take care of Maisie for a few days¡­¡± Sean remained silent as he watched Stanley¡¯s busy figure. Suddenly, he turned with a slightly trembling body. He tried his best to hold back his tears, but they streamed down his cheeks nevertheless. Stanley, why are you so good to me? In no time, both of them headed to the airport. Stanley also wore a Scottish skirt that day. ¡°See? I¡¯m also wearing a skirt.¡± He even proudly held his skirt up while ignoring the disgusted looks from Quinton and the others. After taking a look at the skirt, Sean responded, ¡°You look handsome. It suits you.¡± While they were walking into the airport, an emotional Stanley said, ¡°I know that it has been your dream to be a woman and I understand. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure everyone else will ept your choice.¡± They had known each other since they were very young. At that time, Sean had many ydates at the Fletcher Residence and he wore a skirt every time he visited. He used to have many beautiful skirts; even more than all the girlsbined in the Fletcher Family. On top of that, his skirts and dresses were prettier than theirs. However, after Sean turned 18, he had never worn a dress since. Even though he was forced to wear male attire and behave like a man, Stanley knew that he wanted to be a woman all the while. After all these years of watching Sean cutting his hair short and wearing male attire, Stanley had for once worn a dress for his sake. Meanwhile, Quinton merely became their bodyguard for free as he walked behind them while waiting to collect his ¡®second-hand deal¡¯. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. With that, the three of them boarded the ne that was headed abroad¡­ At the same time, the arrangements of Cooper and Anna¡¯s wedding were also being carried out. The couple was finally together after enduring many hardships and tribtions in their life. No one could separate them from now onward¡ªexcept death. However, many people still tried to stop the wedding, like the Michel Family. Thest time he had a discussion with the other families, he was being ridiculed by all three of them. On top of that, he did not even receive any benefits. Hence, he decided to estrange himself from the family before he publicly announced that his daughter and granddaughter were leaving the Michel Family as well. After that, Alice also made a public announcement that she was leaving the family to marry a man in Cethos. In fact, she also had ns to start her own business there. Of course, the Michel Family was furious upon hearing that. Their reputation and dignity for centuries had been challenged. As one of the oldest families in Europe, they could not tolerate Cooper and Alice¡¯s actions at all! Apart from firing him and everyone else, they even tried to take revenge on his business abroad. However, he did not seem to be affected by that and he continued to do everything as he saw fit, including getting married whenever he wanted to. Apart from that, the decision of Cooper and his family was the first throughout history¡ªit was the first time that the head of the Michel Family left publicly. After that, many people followed suit. Even though the historical family possessed the world¡¯s cutting edge technology, they also had the most old- fashioned family rules. As the new era had already arrived, the younger generation no longer epted the old rules. After being inspired by him, many people publicly dropped thest name of Michel. Linus was rather speechless at the Michel Family¡¯s childish attempts to take revenge. In Northern Europe, at the headquarters of the Michel Family, there was a sinister-looking castle located in the countryside. The Michel Family had lived there for centuries and the scale of what they had developed was rare in the world. A car drove into the ancient castle like an ant that was about to be swallowed up by the castle. In the car, Linus solemnly asked Daniel, ¡°How¡¯s everything? How much confidence do you have? If you can lie through this, you and Alice will be alright.¡± Linus currently had a Cethos ent and he even thought that it sounded quite elegant. Daniel, who was next to him, was the most nervous that he had been. Even his hands trembled. This time around, Linus acted as the middleman to provide a tform for the Grand Elder to speak with Daniel. The Grand Elder still could not ept that his daughter would leave him just like that. Since she had already made up her mind, they decided toy their fingers on Daniel and force him to leave her instead. Daniel finally arrived to face the entire Michel Family alone today. Of course, it was without a doubt that he was extremely nervous. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± After all, he was beyond the point of no return. For him, Alice had resigned from the Michel Family and severed ties with both her parents. She and Casper had been stripped off from theirst names. Hence, as a husband and a father, he felt that he should do something. The car gradually drove into the Michel Family ground. No one knew what Daniel had told the Michel Family when they were alone. Regardless of what he did, it was in a matter of a few days before they weed Cooper and Alice into the family again and amended the rules that had been there for centuries. From now onward, women were allowed to take their husbands¡¯st names and they were free to choose thest names of their children. Chapter 1451 Chapter 1451 Alice and Cooper regained their positions in the Michel Family, while Sophia and Carmen were also allowed to go back to Europe to visit their rtives. Meanwhile, Cooper¡¯s old son-inw, Michael, and Anna also tagged along. Even though the Michel Family seemed to be quite hostile to them, they could do nothing about it so they relented helplessly. ording to Michael¡¯s analysis, everything was able to seed because of Daniel¡¯s persuasion¡ªhe couldpletely thwart one¡¯s mindset and beliefs. Apart from that, the situation was also getting out of hand for the Michel Family. After the head of the family took the lead to leave, more people would follow suit. Once such an opportunity arised, no one could predict what might happen next. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Apart from that, Cooper¡¯s wife was also powerful¡ªshe was the head of the Yard Family. Even though the Michel Family did not like her, they also had to weigh the gains and losses. Sophia¡¯s new idea of a luxury brand was also something new and if they could work together, they would definitely have a new business lineing up. However, if the Michel Family continued with their nonsense, a coboration was out of the question. Both the Yard and Michel Family were kings in their fields so their news was constantly monitored by the media. Once Cooper announced that he was going to join the Yard Family, the stocks of the Yard Group shot up while the Michel Family¡¯s market value dropped drastically. However, if one were to think of it from another perspective and change their mindset, the Yard Group would be able to work with the Michel Family immediately. What was there to lose? Daniel borated on these few main points and spoke to the people from the Michel Family for the entire day. He chattered away, speaking from the glorious history of the Michel Family to the current sess that Yard Group was flourishing in. After taking a few ssic examples from the past and a few current sessful examples, he finally seeded in convincing them. On top of that, he even managed to persuade the elders to acknowledge him as the son-inw of the Michel Family. Through this incident, the Michel Family finally realized that the world was constantly changing and that they could not hold on to the old rules anymore. Even though such a huge family had been leading the times and umted a lot of wealth¡ªthey had even sparked a technological change¡ªdeep down they were very fearful of change. After all, no one knew what change would bring. However, it seemed like this small change had brought upon a positive effect. After Daniel had convinced them, he stayed back. When Alice came to know about the news, she happily returned to visit her family, as did Cooper and his family. Both Sophia and Carmen had made the Michel Family love and hate them at the same time. They loved their intelligence and perfect genes inherited from Cooper but they hated the fact that they did not take thest name ¡®Michel¡¯. Of course, Sophia had a deal with them. In the future, Carmen¡¯s French name would be Gianna Michel and she would use this name for all public events. Unfortunately, Cethos did not allow for double nationality. Otherwise, she would be able to sign up for a passport here. The huge family stayed in the Michel Familypound for a few days, feasting and enjoying themselves until they were satisfied before leaving. When Carmen left, she brought many ¡®local specialities¡¯ with her. A few dayster, dozens of sheep appeared in Michael¡¯s house¡ªthose were the so-called ¡®local specialities¡¯ Carmen mentioned; they had thick wool that could be sheared for a long time. ¡°Daddy, can I have them at the work studio?¡± Carmen asked excitedly. There¡¯s so many sheep! After their wool is sheared, I wonder how many pillows we can make! Hearing that, Michael¡¯s expression darkened. In the end, all of the sheep were taken to a farm. During the weekend, Sophia went to the farm to visit the sheep. She also took the opportunity to shear some wool as raw materials for Carmen. Since Anna had never been to Michael¡¯s farm, she came over with Callum. The entire family began to shear the sheep wool that belonged to the capitalistic Michel Family. Seeing the animals in the farm, Sophia suddenly remembered something and asked Callum, who was shearing wool next to her, ¡°By the way, what happened to the buffalo and the few sheep you stole the other day? Don¡¯t tell me that you turned them into a stew?¡± Sophia still vividly remembered the ¡®local specialities¡¯ she brought home from the reality TV show she attended with Carmen¡ªthey were stolen by Callum in the middle of the night using a helicopter. Callum had his gloves on as he was shearing the wool. When he heard Sophia suddenly bring this up, he was confused. ¡°Buffalo?¡± He remembered doing some sneaky things but he had never stooped so low to steal anyone¡¯s buffalo. Sophia asked, ¡°Carmen¡¯s buffalo and sheep. Weren¡¯t you the one who stole it?¡± Callum shook his head. ¡°It was not me!¡± Michael, who was listening to their conversation next to them, focused on shearing wool, not having the guts to utter a word. As summer holidays were here soon, Carmen had a series of summer ns¡ªshe was about to expand her online business store and set up an automated line in wool manufacturing. On top of that, she had already signed a contract with the farms at the Michel Family and they would be her long-term supplier. The Michel Family had many farms and pastures with a huge number of great quality sheep. On top of that, because they knew her, she could get them for a much cheaper price. Amidst his busy schedule, Michael took time to scour a new location for Carmen¡¯s new physical store. Meanwhile, Linus also invented a series of automated machines that would manufacture pillows. Hence, even if the scale of Carmen¡¯s business becamerger, she would still be able to handle all the orders. Carmen put in all her effort to attend to her ¡®illegal business¡¯ to earn money for her younger siblings. Sean, who went abroad before the wedding for a transgender surgery, had finally returned. There was not much difference in her looks but she had be more beautiful, alluring, mysterious, and elegant. After dyeing her hair blond, she looked passionate and elegant. Apart from that, she also had breast and hip imnts,pletely changing everything she had from the inside out. After changing her identity card and birth certificate, Sean had finally be a ¡®she¡¯, but her name still remained the same¡ªSean Mitchell. While nothing seemed to have changed within her, everything seemed to be different at the same time. An obvious change was that she looked happier. The sparkle in her eyes revealed the huge amount of happiness she felt, as if she had finally shed the chains that had been dragging her down for more than 20 years; finally, she was free. However, her family was deeply regretful after seeing this. He was a good, young man before this, yet he suddenly became a woman. How can we ept this? However, there was no turning back now, since even his parts were recycled. Fortunately, Sean¡¯s mother was very supportive. During their time abroad, it was her mother and Stanley who had been there, taking care of her and encouraging her. After Sean returned to Bayside City and settled her identity paperwork, she went to Sophia¡¯s house to pick her kid up and to give them some souvenirs as well. Sean looked impable¡ªshe wore a pair of high heels that were trending this summer and a simple dress. Apart from that, she wore a diamond ne that emphasized her fair skin. With her deep cleavage, every inch of her skin was perfect. ¡°Maisie, Papa and Daddy are here to pick you up!¡± Laden with bags, Stanley followed behind Sean. From Stanley¡¯s perspective, ever since Sean¡¯s operation was sessful, she had turned from a man to a powerless woman. Hence, Stanley had been doing all chores, such as carrying the bags. After Stanley entered the house, he ced the bags down as he spoke excitedly to Maisie, who ran toward them. ¡°Maisie, in the future you can¡¯t call Daddy ¡®Daddy¡¯ anymore. You have to call her ¡®Mommy¡¯!¡± Maisie epted it immediately. To her, she already regarded Sean as her mother. Hence, she chirped happily, ¡°Mommy!¡± Sean nodded blissfully. Following behind them, Quinton also happily entered the door with a few more bags in his hands¡ªthey were all presents for Carmen. During this trip abroad, Sean¡¯s operation was very sessful and Quinton also got his ¡®second-hand deal¡¯ that Sean did not want anymore. Quinton had also saved up enough money for the operation to stick it back to him on an auspicious day. For Sean, she had no further regrets in his life from now onward. Chapter 1452 Chapter 1452 If only the pay from Bayside University could return to the amount before¡­ That would be even better. After Sophia and Sarah heard the news and rushed over, they could not stop looking at Sean¡¯s bosom. It must be at least a size D¡­ She actually transnted such a huge pair of boobs! They look so natural that they even have a drooping shape! I wonder if it¡¯s made from prosthetics, silicon, salt water, or her own fat¡­ It¡¯s obvious that it will have a nice touch. Sophia¡¯s hands were faster than her brain¡ªshe subconsciously stretched out her hands to touch Sean¡¯s breasts, yet a huge hand suddenly pped the back of her hands until they became numb. Smack! After Stanley hit her hand, he cautiously put a jacket on Sean¡¯s bare shoulders, covering her breasts at the same time. Then, he warned Sophia harshly, ¡°It¡¯s only been transnted for a few days. You won¡¯t be able to bear the consequences if you spoil it!¡± He then turned around and spoke to Sean gently as he muttered, ¡°The air-conditioner temperature is so low; be careful not to freeze your boobs off. I¡¯d suggest you wrap yourself tighter in the jacket.¡± Sophia rolled her eyes. This idiot! He¡¯s like a husky protecting its food when he gets fierce. I really feel like hitting him with my shoes! Ever since Sean¡¯s sessful transgender surgery, she changed from a strong man to a gentle woman. Stanley¡¯s thoughts had undergone aplete change to adapt to this situation, and he immediately treated Sean as a woman. Before this, they each held their own bags when they went shopping; now, Stanley was the one holding all the bags. Before this, they would drink cold beverages and eat as much ice-cream as they liked; now, they only ordered warm beverages. Apart from putting Maisie¡¯s favorite jelly in the fridge, they now put Sean¡¯s favorite desserts and cakes in as well. Stanley stopped bringing Sean along for an all-nighter to y games and he also stopped bringing her to street stalls for snacks, because he heard that they were not good for a woman¡¯s skin. When he went out with Sean, apart from holding the bags, Stanley also subconsciously put in a makeup mirror, lipstick, and foundation. When it was summer, he even brought along an umbre and a shawl. Now, he even knew which brand of lipstick and foundation were famous! Stanley, who was a guy with no romance in him whatsoever, suddenly became a caring gentleman. After Sean went to visit Cooper, both Cooper and Anna gave her some presents to celebrate her rebirth ¡ªa set of 12 lipsticks from the Ronney Group, a series of cosmetic products, jewelry and essories, and even a few dresses from the current season and the autumn season that were not on the shelves yet. These were all personally chosen by Anna. Callum gave Sean a pair of diamond heels, while Harry and Sarah sent her a set of smart furniture designed for women. Apart from that, Justin sent a bottle of perfume, Michael gave her a car designed for women, and Sophia gifted another pair of orange kittens. Even Carmen gave Sean a pair of pillows that she drew. Stanley tried his best to learn how to take care of a woman. He studied the different colors of lipstick and during his free time, he even spoke to Sophia and Sarah, who gave him some pointers on how to take care of a woman. Stanley did not look like himself at all when he was serious. It turned out that he was not an unromantic person; it was just that he had not met the person he cared enough about. After they had dinner at Sophia¡¯s ce, she gave a few supplements that she had been taking to Sean. Those were helpful in increasing blood volume and maintaining her looks. Again, this was Stanley¡¯s first time seeing this, so he quickly took out his notebook to take notes. When the three of them came over, they had many bags with them yet when they returned, they still had the same amount of bags. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, let¡¯s go home!¡± Maisie looked joyful as she held her father and mother¡¯s hands. They will be very blissful in the future, everyone thought emotionally. Initially, they thought everyone would feel awkward after Sean became a woman. Unexpectedly, everyone epted her without any difficulty; it seemed like everyone had already thought of her as a woman since a long time ago. Meanwhile, Sophia was still stumped that she did not manage to feel Sean¡¯s D-cup breasts. Even though Sean¡¯s breasts had notpletely recovered, she rushed back because Sophia and Michael¡¯s wedding was about to begin. And so, the wedding that shocked everyone in Bayside City had finally begun. Even before it had started, everyone in Bayside City had been paying close attention. Nheless, the privacy was well-kept as none of the mediapanies had gotten any leaked news. Everyone only knew that the host was the best host in Cethos Central Television, the director was the greatest director in the country, the art director was also the art director of Ronney Group, and the performers were A-list stars from both local and abroad. The guest list included people from the political, military and business fields. The wedding dress and all the essories that the couple were wearing were limited edition that were specially designed by the Ronney Group; it was a unique style that was one of a kind in the entire world. All the celebrities and socialites who had gotten the invitation were immensely proud of themselves. Even before the wedding began, Bayside City and even the entire world were already shocked. The grandiosity of the wedding had even surpassed some internationalpetitions. During the days leading up to the wedding, even the upancy rate of the hotels in Bayside City had increased as many people came from abroad to witness the high-profile wedding. On the wedding day itself, it was even livelier than New Year¡¯s¡ªthe entire street was painted red. As the wedding car drove to the hotel, crowds of people gathered to watch them along the way. Sitting in the car, Sophia was over the moon. This is the wedding I want. I want the entire world to see how blissful we are! I¡¯m getting married! Michael and I are getting married! As the impact of the wedding was too huge, hotel prices had increased several folds for the past few days and the security was also under great pressure, so they treated this event as arge-scale international event; they even had to apply for a permit beforehand and only after it was passed could they organize the event. Apart from that, they were also given a special grant to hire the military to keep the event safe. Of course, this task was undertaken by the Fletcher Family. After all, this was also a huge event for them as Cooper was Mark¡¯s godson and Michael was his biological grandson. Hence, the Fletcher Family would definitely be involved in this. The couple were blissful while the audience was excited. Everyone took out their phones to take pictures and videos to post on social media tforms. However, the Fletcher Family was tense as they were responsible for the security; they were vignt and kept their guard up. If their prediction came true, someone would try to make a scene here. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. This was a wedding that shocked the entire world and it was broadcasted live by the most influential news channel. They had to show how safe Bayside City was, so they could not afford anyone sabotaging this event. At the pre-arranged time, the wedding car drove on the main road at a steady speed. Because of this wedding, parts of the street were even blocked. At this moment, huge crowds were waiting by the roadside just to get a glimpse of the bride. Sophia, who was sitting in the car with a red veil on her head and an apple in her hand as an auspicious sign, suddenly opened the car roof while it was driving. The fleet of wedding cars that stretched out a few kilometers were driving very slowly. With half of her body over the car, Sophia stood up and waved her red veil. ¡°I¡¯m getting married!¡± Chapter 1453 Chapter 1453 Everyone burst outughing, feeling happy for Sophia¡¯s joy. As Sophia was too excited, she threw her red veil to the crowd and someone managed to pick it up. The Ronney and Mitchell Group immediately announced that the lucky person who picked the red veil up would be the winner of the lucky draw on that day. Just like that, they would receive a huge hamper from the Ronney Group that included all thetest products from thepanies under the Ronney Group. The Michel Group would also send out a huge hamper that included a smart robot and some hi-tech products. Additionally, the Dragon Technology Corporation, Winston Furniture, Plum Technology, and Crimson House all had attractive hampers to be given out, each more generous than thest. If summed up, the total value of the gifts were more than tens of millions. The lucky winner would not have to work for the rest of their life after that. They would only need to open the parcels and enjoy life. Even if they brought their entire family to travel the world and finished the travel package they were given, it would take a few years. The lucky winner of the wedding shocked Bayside City and the entire world, as this was the first time a lucky draw was conducted in such a way. As there was a great marketing potential to this, many other businesses also followed suit. Both couples entered the wedding venue on time. It was a very unique wedding with two couples that hadpletely different wedding styles. One followed all the traditional customs, using red as the dominant color. On another hand, the other had a white wedding with a priest, diamond rings, and white gloves that looked elegant and ssy. Since one of the couples wanted a traditional wedding, they were going full-blown traditional. Michael paid a visit to a few experienced seniors of traditional music and invited them out of the mountains to form an orchestra and perform the wedding march during the wedding. The other couple, however, invited a famous band to perform the wedding march. The entire building was booked for both the weddings, with the traditional and western style weddings on different sides of the building. After guests finished participating in one, they would have to join the other. Before the wedding started, the orchestra that had been ying the festive music and the other band that performed the romantic wedding march seemed like they had it nned¡ªboth took turns in performing and the different music styles connected seamlessly. With Sean and Maisie beside him, Stanley chose a few seats at the center of the hall so that he would not neglect any side. Before this, there was a ceremony to pick up the bride. Sophia went to Riverdale in advance while Michael formed a team to pick her up. They had to go through many traditional customs like being blocked at the door, kicking the flower carriage, and so on. As one of the young men of the Fletcher Family, Stanley was required to take part in this. However, he was worried that the crowd might destroy Sean¡¯s transnted breasts, so he rejected it. And so, Stanley followed Sean around all day along to protect her breasts; after all, they cost hundreds of thousands. They were delicate and expensive, and they could not be touched at all as the operation had just beenpleted. As soon as Stanley sat down, he took out a jacket for Sean. ¡°The temperature is quite low here. Don¡¯t catch a cold.¡± Meanwhile, Daniel and Alice sat next to them with Casper, while Sam and Nicole also sat with their children on the other side. After Lucy greeted Sam, she also sat down at her seat. Because of his position, Dana did not appear. But Bailey did. After he arrived, he looked for the people he knew and sat next to Sam. Ever since everyone knew that he was Dana¡¯s equal, they looked at him with reverence. The sixteen-year-old had really made the rest of them look at him in a different light. Other males did not even dare to sit too closely to him because of the pressure. In no time, the group of people who came to pick up the bride and the groom had arrived. Everyone was there, including their inws and their maiden family. For the other couple who had a western-style wedding, the guests and the priest had also arrived. Daniel had already predicted the auspicious time for both the couples. Coincidentally, they could be married at different timings. After Cooper and Anna finished with the first wedding, they could go over to the other side so that the newly-weds there could bow to them. The Fletcher, Yard, Mitchell, and the Johnson Family had all arrived; even the Michel Family came with glum faces. It was arge-scale wedding indeed. The stage and the decoration were beautifully designed. It was unique yet dominant, extravagant yet elegant. Even though it looked opulent, it did not look cheap either. As the perfect timing had arrived, Daniel, who was the host, started to hype up the audience. First up was Cooper and Anna¡¯s wedding. With the elegant wedding march ying in the background, Louise appeared with the bride, her arm in his. Anna wore a pure white wedding gown with a white veil that looked mysterious and elegant, her dress dragging behind her for a few meters. Carmen, Maisie, Poppy and Hope followed behind her. The little kids were dressed as elves, adding some fun to the wedding. Carmen even held a flower basket in her hands that contained their wedding rings. Looking at Anna, whose face was barely visible under the white veil as she slowly walked to him, Cooper could not help but tear up. They had already waited for more than 30 years for this day. When they were young, they disregarded everything to be together. Even now, nothing had changed¡ª they also did everything they could to be together. After parting with each other for 30 years, they had experienced life and death; they were finally together right now. Fate had bound them together for the rest of their lives. Under everyone¡¯s amazement, Louise smiled as he handed Anna¡¯s hands to Cooper.Property ? N?velDrama.Org. My daughter has been living a tough life. As her father, I was not able to raise her when she was young and when she was at her lowest, I wasn¡¯t capable enough to help her. The road that she had taken was simply too tough; she could only depend on herself. As Louise thought about these, he felt that he was useless as her father. Hence, he was very satisfied and relieved to hand Anna over to Cooper. The wedding carried on smoothly. Under the witness of the priest and the guests, the couple said their wedding vows. As the wedding ended, Anna threw her flower bouquet and a singledy caught it. After that, there were a few performances from famous guests and once the performances were over, the other wedding was about to begin. Covered in a red veil, Sophia appeared with Michael in their wedding costumes. Anna, who was initially in her wedding dress, had changed and was seated in the middle of the hall. On the parental seats, Cooper, Anna, and one of Michael¡¯s uncles were there. To the public, Mark had been ¡®dead¡¯ for a few years so he could not be ¡®resurrected¡¯ to attend the wedding. At this moment, he was watching the broadcast at home sullenly. Even though Michael¡¯s father, Theo, was still alive, he looked too young. In order to avoid anyplications, he also could not appear. Hence, it was only Cooper, Anna, and Michael¡¯s uncle, who was the vice-chancellor of Bayside University. ¡°First bow is to the heavens! Second bow is to the parents! Next, bow to your significant other!¡± As the emcee of their wedding, Daniel¡¯s voice was loud and solemn. With that, Sophia and Michael finished their wedding. After the wedding ended, both pairs of couples had to toast every table before the wedding was finally completed. The centurial wedding that involved both couples and the union of many powerful forces had finally ended sessfully. Apart from that, they also created a lucky winner of the wedding, who was also being noticed by the entire world. Even though everyone seemed to be happy for them, the security were not having any fun at all. Jordan still did not appear. In other words, he was still plotting in the dark. They were not afraid of his attacks but they were worried about his ns. At this moment, sure enough, Jordan was thinking of them. Chapter 1454 Chapter 1454 After the wedding was over, Jordan still had not appeared, even after everyone had left the venue. In the end, the scene in everyone¡¯s imaginations where Jordan appeared and snatched Anna away did not happen. Both the Fletcher and the Winston Family were slightly disappointed since they had already made the relevant preparations. If Jordan appeared, they would work together to add a taste of blood to the wedding by bringing his head to Cooper as his wedding present. It was simply a shame that the main character did not appear after they had already made all the preparations to deal with him. However, this was also within everyone¡¯s expectations. Even though Jordan was insane, he was not an idiot. Right now, it was meaningless to take Anna away anymore. In fact, many had been misled because of movies and films. In the current era, it was meaningless to take the bride or bridegroom away before the wedding as they would already have signed the relevant documents before the wedding. The records were already sitting in the Civil Affairs Bureau, so it was pointless to take either of the couple away. Cooper and Anna had already signed the marriage papers. Even if Jordan decided to wreck their wedding, they would still be husband and wife on paper. Apart from that, the security was the tightest at the wedding. If Jordan came here, he was as good as entering a trap himself. Then again, for both the couples, this also meant that Jordan was a ticking time bomb that might erupt anytime. He had been monitoring them in the dark and might jump out anytime to give them a shock. This was the most difficult part of the defense. And so, they did not idle around as well. Cooper had already sent out men to find Jordan but he had hidden himself well and did not leave any traces. No one knew where he was hiding. However, Jordan¡¯s retaliation soon arrived. The Ronney Group and Michel Group were in a lot of trouble. One minute it would be an internal betrayer, while the next it was their cooperating partners who were the culprits; there were business arguments and fights everywhere. After Cooper married Anna, he immersed himself into the intense fight with Jordan. Both Linus and Callum helped him to stabilize their ground. On the other hand, Sophia¡¯s days were much easier. She walked around with her pregnant belly, busy with her business as well. During the wedding, she threw her veil away because she was too happy. Without that, she could not get married and she could not find any recements. Thinking that the wedding would not beplete without the veil, Anna and Cooper quickly issued a notice to inform the person who picked it up to im the prizes. Hence, they finally got the veil back and continued the wedding. Unexpectedly, everyone tagged along and gave a bunch of presents to the lucky person who was chosen, and many others followed suit. Because of this, they identally made a big deal out of it. Since it was Sophia¡¯s publicity, she too joined the crowd and released her ¡®high-tech luxury items¡¯ business concept, promising to give the lucky person the first batch of the samples. It was time to prepare for the new product lines again, so thepany was quite busy. Even though Sophia just got married, she immediately buried herself in work to make the necessary preparations nervously, without even going for a honeymoon. It was only until Michael brought a group of doctors to thepany to catch her that she finally stopped. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Sophia¡¯s health had not been the best, so it was already a miracle that she could get pregnant again. On top of that, she was expecting twins, so it was even more dangerous for her. If she maintained the intensity of work, it was impossible for her to keep the babies, so she could only go home to rest. Since there were many talents in herpany, and Anna and Linus also sent a few people to help out, Sophia did not need to exhaust herself this way. As the babies in her belly were considered quite weak, Sophia was admitted into a hospital and had to be on bed rest most of the time so that they could be born safely. ¡°Daddy, Mommy, prepare yourself! I¡¯m going to open the dictionary!¡± Carmen closed her eyes and prepared to open the dictionary. Meanwhile, Sophia was drinking tonic beside them while Michael wrote down a few words in a notebook. It was time to name the babies. Since there were two of them this time, they were taking the naming even more seriously. Eyes closed, Carmen flipped the dictionary open and stopped randomly at a page. Michael quickly wrote down the words that he liked as the name of his future children, even though thest names of the babies were already decided¡ªYard and Mitchell. As their father, Michael did not even get an opportunity to pass his name down. However, with his young-looking father-inw who had a nuclear weapon in his hands, Michael dared not utter a word about it. No matter what names they had, they would still be his children after all, so he was very enthusiastic in giving them names. For the names for the unborn children, he nned to have the samebination like Carmen. Perhaps he would use their names¡ª¡®Sophia¡¯ and ¡®Michael¡¯¡ªas their children¡¯s middle names. Quinton was also admitted into the hospital to fix Sean¡¯s ¡®second-hand deal¡¯ onto himself. After the operation, his wounds were not fully healed yet, so he would have to endure the pain and clench his muscles as he walked. Everyday, he would go over to Sophia¡¯s ward to visit them. She would have visitors almost everyday who would send her gifts. The tonics and supplements she received had already piled up into a small hill, yet it waspletely bare at Quinton¡¯s ward. Not even one person sent him any vitamins, even though some had visited him. They are all rather thick-skinned indeed. A few days ago, when Judge came over to visit Sophia, he also went over to see Quinton with an orange in its mouth, making Quinton extremely happy. On this day, Quinton also came over to Sophia¡¯s ward and took a bottle of her tonic. It should be alright to use Sophia¡¯s tonic to fix my ¡®second-hand deal¡¯. At least it¡¯s better than nothing at all. Apart from the tonics and supplements, there¡¯s nothing else with her. When he saw Michael, the poor father who had not gotten any benefits yet who was still thinking of names for his children, Quinton snorted out augh. Ha! What a coward! If those were my kids, even if I have to face a nuclear bomb, I will fight for the right to give them my family name. Cooper and Anna did not put in any effort to the kids at all and they don¡¯t have the rights to let the kids take after their family names. Of course, Quinton only dared to think about it deep down. After all, he was afraid of the nuclear weapon as well. ¡°Hi, Professor rk. How¡¯s your recovery going?¡± Linus, who should be abroad at this moment, suddenly appeared and tapped on Quinton¡¯s shoulders. Quinton turned around and saw him holding many bags in his hands, a smile on his face. ¡°I¡¯m alright,¡± Quinton replied as he shot a nce at Linus¡¯ bags. He brought so many things over, surely one of them is mine! After all, we have known each other for more than ten years. When Quinton was still an assassin, he helped Linus kill many of hispetitors and Linus was one of his biggest sources of ie. In fact, Linus was his annual VIP customer. For every task he was given, he hadpleted them perfectly and a third of his ie was sponsored by Linus. Quinton, too, witnessed Linus¡¯ growth from being a fearful adopted son to being the second-in- command at the Michel Family, from his young teenage years to his thirties, where he was a dominant chairman now. No matter what, based on our rtionship, half of those presents should be mine. Unfortunately, those were merely Quinton¡¯s wishful thinking. After Linus brought all the bags into Sophia¡¯s ward, none of it came out when he walked out. Our decade-long rtionship is all for nothing! Even the few dogs would also visit Quinton after they came to Sophia¡¯s ward. Linus, however, merely visited Sophia without even shooting a nce at Quinton. Sure enough¡­ You can¡¯t take a business rtionship seriously. On the other hand, Linus was here to tell them great news¡ªLucy had decided to take action. Chapter 1455 Chapter 1455 Recently Jordan had beenpletely cornered by Cooper. If he appeared in Cethos, Cooper would immediately take action. Hence, Jordan had been hiding in other countries. No one knew where he was and it was not easy to trick him out of hiding. However, there was a chance right now. Lucy was nning to get rid of all the people loyal to Jordan in the Edwards Group so that he could have a clean break with his former business. Apart from that, Lucy also had a series of big ns after that to publicly take charge of the Edwards Group entirely. When that happened, Jordan would definitely appear in Cethos to stop her. Otherwise, he would lose the entire Edwards Group. After Sophia had been admitted to the hospital, Michael also stayed in the hospital with her. Even though the couple seemed to be detached from the outside world as they were busy with their pregnancy, Sophia had actually been keeping close tabs on the situation outside. The next day after Linus visited them, there was a huge change within the Edwards Group. All the higher-ups resigned but Lucy still remained as the director and there were many changes in the board of directors; even Ian was promoted. Because the higher-ups were all changed to younger people, everyone in the Edwards Group was not happy about this. At this moment, Jordan, who was the life and soul of the Edwards Group appeared and publicly supported his daughter. Apart from that, he also announced that he was going to step down from all his duties rted to the business and transfer all his shares to Lucy, so that he could retire early. Meanwhile, there were also rumors of a huge emergency family meeting within the Edwards Family. In the meeting, Lucy would inherit the position of the family head from Jordan, who would also sign the agreement to transfer all his shares to her. Apart from that, he would publicly wee Sam¡ªwho had broken the ties with them¡ªback into the family. Sophia knew that Jordan was just a puppet and a recement; the real Jordan had already escaped. She wondered if the announcements from the fake Jordan would take legal effect but if the real Jordan did not appear, the fake one would undoubtedly rece him. If the real Jordan wanted to regain his control over Edwards Group, he must appear and stop everything. If not, everything would be toote! Sophia nced at the date. The internal family meeting would be held three days after the directors¡¯ meeting, as if they were deliberately leaving some extra time for Jordan to return from overseas and stop the proceedings. Even though Sophia was resting, she had been keeping a close eye on this incident as she counted down the days. Not surprisingly, there would be a huge group of fighters hiding around the meeting venue to wait for Jordan¡¯s appearance. His existence made everyone unable to have a good night¡¯s sleep. Only after they had eradicated him would they be relieved. As days passed, the Edwards Family meeting had finally arrived.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. On that day, all the representatives of the Edwards Family descendants around the world had arrived and they had booked a huge hotel to organize the session ceremony. As the first female family head of the Edwards Family was about to be appointed, everyone treated this event of the utmost importance. On the day of the ceremony, many people walked in and out of the hotel entrance. Countless representatives from the Edwards Family had appeared¡ªthey were no less than a thousand people, all of whom were the elites of the elites, while many more did not even earn the right to attend this ceremony. As one of the most powerful families in Bayside City, witnesses were needed for such a huge event. Hence, many people from other families also arrived just to witness the event. After this day, the results were about to be announced to the entire upper-ss society in Bayside City. Two elders from the Fletcher Family, Harry from the Winston Family, as well as Cooper and Anna had arrived. Such a powerful group had stunned many people indeed. Meanwhile, there were many more people hidden in the dark. It was a day that attracted everyone¡¯s attention. As the main character of the event, Lucy looked indifferent. She watched the representatives of the Edwards Family taking their seats as if this was a normal working day, not an ounce of emotion within her. Meanwhile, Sam and Nicole also showed up. They would be returning to the Edwards Family today, with Sam as the 9th Old Master Edwards and Nicole as his wife. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, Lucy. I will help you out,¡± Sam told Lucy gently. Lucy nodded at him and adjusted her family crest before taking huge strides into the hall. Ian pursed his lips and followed behind her with a solemn expression. Truth was, he knew about his true identity. To the outsiders, he was the son of the Grand Elder of the Edwards Family, but his biological father was actually Jordan. The Grand Elder also knew about this yet he did not dare to announce the truth. Hence, he could only grit his teeth and swallow this painful truth down. In reality, Ian and Lucy were step-siblings who shared the same father and today, they were fighting for their future! The meeting had started with the current head, ¡®Jordan¡¯, holding Lucy¡¯s hands as they entered the hall, marking the official beginning of the session ceremony. If the real Jordan did not appear, he would lose everything from the Edwards Group today. Lucy, the Winstons, and the Mitchell Family were all waiting for him to appear. Meanwhile at the hospital, Sophia and Michael were watching the live broadcast of the family nervously as they also waited for Jordan to appear. Taking advantage of their focus on the broadcast, Quinton slipped into Sophia¡¯s room and stole her tonic and snacks¡ªnot once, but twice. While Quinton was stealing the tonic and Sophia and Michael were watching the broadcast, no one realized the weird atmosphere around the hospital. This was a high-end private hospital in the suburb of the city that specialized in servicing the wealthy. The quality was top-notch and there were only a few patients. Apart from that, the surroundings were also very quiet. Ever since Sophia was admitted into this hospital to rest, they stopped attending to other patients, so there were even fewer people. Suddenly a few cars stopped silently at the entrance. In broad daylight, countless men in ck barged into the hospital and knocked out the security and medical staff. Bang! The door of the ward was kicked open and Sophia, who had been watching the broadcast, was shocked. As she let out a shrill scream, Michael turned around to look at the door. When he saw the man in ck approaching, he reacted quickly and took out a gun from his pockets. Unexpectedly, the man was even quicker than him; as soon as he entered, he immediately took out a gun and shot two tranquilizers at Michael and Sophia, who were not quick enough to react. In the blink of an eye, both of them had fainted. The man¡¯s actions were very precise and swift, without any hint of dy or hesitation. He immediately put the two fainted people into a ck bag and dragged them away easily. Quinton, who was next door, managed to resist their attacks. Unfortunately, since he had just finished a surgery, his physical and mental reactions were not as good as before. On top of that, he had taken some anti-inmmatory drugs that caused some drowsiness. In no time, he was defeated and dragged away with a jab of tranquilizer on his buttocks. And so, the three of them were brought away. After they left the hospital, a car was already waiting for them. Then, they immediately left. At the Edwards Family meeting, the fake Jordan was about to sign the documents, yet the real deal still had not arrived. If he did not appear at this moment, everything Jordan had in the Edwards Group would be taken away by Lucy. Unfortunately, the longer he did not appear, the more anxious everyone else became. On the other hand, a few cars had left the hospital even before the rms were activated. After a short drive, the cars stopped at a deserted warehouse and the three captives with ck masks over their heads were brought out of the car. Then, they stumbled to the warehouse and were thrown onto the ground. In front of them, a figure slowly walked out from the darkness¡ªsure enough, it was Jordan. Chapter 1456 Chapter 1456 Jordan knew that Lucy decided to attack this time because she had people supporting her, and the possible candidates for these supporters were none other than those few. If he headed over to them, he would be digging his own grave; of course he was not that stupid. Not only did he not go to the Edwards Family meeting, he even sent people tounch a surprise attack at the hospital. After capturing Sophia, he would have three trump cards in his hands. She was the only daughter of Anna and Cooper after all. If she died, three lives would be lost and this would be the greatest blow to Cooper and Anna. No; I won¡¯t let her die. I¡¯m going to use her to threaten Anna and Cooper! I want Anna to return to me and Cooper to live in pain forever! Jordan took out his phone and asked his men to take off the ck face masks from the three victims¡¯ heads. After the masks were removed, it was apparent that he had caught two men and one woman, all of whose movements were limited by rope on their limbs. As the tranquilizer effect had not faded, they were still unconscious. Jordan looked at Sophia, who was seated in the middle. This is Anna and Cooper¡¯s daughter! As he looked at Sophia, there was hatred and regret in his eyes. Jordan deeply regretted keeping the twins alive. In that case, perhaps the connection between Cooper and Anna would be less and she might belong to himpletely. However, it was still not toote now. Cooper¡¯s daughter is with me now. Jordan walked forward and lifted Sophia¡¯s hair to reveal her face, preparing to film a video to threaten Cooper and Anna with. Sure, he could go to the Edwards Family meeting to stop Lucy and take back the Edwards Group. However, he knew that both Cooper and Anna were there and they had arranged many people to ambush him. They ce all their attention at the family meeting as they predicted that I will stop them. Because of this, they forget to hide their daughter. On top of that, they even moved the bodyguards protecting their daughter to the meeting venue to catch me. This is a Godsent opportunity! Compared to catching Sophia, the Edwards Group is nothing! I can still take it back in the future but I only get one chance to catch Sophia! Jordan could not wait any longer. His men couldplete this mission themselves but he insisted on being involved personally. He wanted Cooper and Anna to see for themselves how Sophia would suffer because of him! He wanted to strangle Cooper¡¯s beloved daughter to death so that Cooper would suffer for the rest of his life. Jordan pulled Sophia¡¯s hair so that her face was revealed before his phone camera. She was still unconscious and her figure had gotten more plump because of the pregnancy. Jordan could almost see the features she inherited from Cooper and Anna, and the blood which he hated the most flowed in her veins. Quinton and Michael¡¯s face masks were also taken off and they were included in Jordan¡¯s video as well. He filmed them using his phone, intending to send it to Cooper. As the lighting in the warehouse was too dim, the video was not clear. Hence, Jordan turned the lights on so that everything would be clearer. However, Jordan immediately realized that something was wrong after this. Something¡¯s off! These are not Sophia and Michael at all! They look the same but they arepletely different people! However, everything was toote. When he inched closer to take a good look at their features, Quinton, who should have been unconscious after being injected by tranquilizer, suddenly opened his eyes and broke free of the strings. He stood up and looked at Jordan sinisterly. Fortunately, Jordan was standing quite far from Quinton and he had professionals protecting him. It was impossible for Quinton to get closer to him. In an instant, his bodyguards had already protected him in the middle. Looking at Quinton carefully, he eximed, ¡°You didn¡¯t faint!¡± It was at this moment that Jordan knew he had fallen into a trap. Looking around carefully, he had a feeling that this was part of Cooper¡¯s ns and someone else might being for him after this. Quinton raised his hand and pretended to surrender as heughed casually. ¡°It¡¯s so difficult to lure you out, Mr. Edwards¡­¡± Back then, they tried everything they had to lure him out but they failed. The Edwards Family meeting this time was just a backup n. Just like the wedding, they were not sure if Jordan would appear. If he did, he would definitely be caught and simr arrangements would be made elsewhere as well. To Cooper, no matter what happened, the most important thing was always his children. Hence, this time around, he also ced some traps in the hospital where Sophia had been resting. He found recements for Sophia and Michael, but Quinton was the real deal. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Realizing that he had been tricked, Jordan staggered backward with fury on his face. ¡°Kill him!¡± he ordered the people around him. Quinton was all alone and on his way here, they had already taken away all the weapons on him. No matter how capable he was, he was no match for them with his bare hands. After a series of triggers being activated crisply, numerous guns pointed at Quinton. He had nowhere to run now. However, Quinton did not look anxious at all. Instead, he opened his own shirt and revealed an obvious scar on his waist that had just been healed. Seeing that scar, Jordan¡¯s expression changed immediately as he quickly said, ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± If he guessed correctly, the scar was there because Quinton buried a bomb within him. He knew that the bomb in Sophia had already been detonated and removed. However, he did not expect that Quinton put it in his own body. If they shoot him, the few kilometers around them would be sted to smithereens. Quinton continued to lift his hands. His shirt was wide open, revealing the obvious scars. ¡°Go on! Kill me!¡± Quinton walked to them fearlessly in big strides, while Jordan and his men retreated. What an evil man! A lunatic! Quintonughed maniacally as he approached Jordan, while thetter could only think of escaping. It¡¯s highly probable that Quinton doesn¡¯t mind exploding and dragging us with him. His lift may be useless but mine is worth a lot! ¡°Protect the boss and make him leave safely!¡± The professionals around Jordan tried to ensure his safety as they retreated. Right now, they could only bet that Quinton loved his life too much to die. Jordan knew he had to quickly escape. Once again, he was toote. A series of steady footsteps came from outside and there was a screeching sound of carsing to a stop. From the sound of the heavy footsteps, it was clear that there were many people. As a gunshot rang, someone reported, ¡°It¡¯s the Winston and the Fletcher Family!¡± They are so fast! As Quinton saw Jordan¡¯s darkened expression, he said, ¡°Oh¡ªI forgot to let you know that this bomb has built-in GPS.¡± The warehouse had already been surrounded. In the warehouse, Quinton¡ªthe living bomb who could explode any time¡ªwas right in front of them. Jordan and his men were trapped but they did not even dare to open fire. Bam! With a loud thud, the door of the warehouse was opened. Then, a smoke bomb was thrown into the room, emitting smoke that choked everyone. They could not open their eyes and every breath they inhaled burned their throats. Dressed in ck suits, a group of men with face masks entered the room, a weapon in each of their hands. The powerful Winston family crest was sewn on their sleeves. Everyone wore a standard outfit¡ªa ck suit with white shirt underneath. As they stepped into the room full of poisonous mist, they looked like a troop from hell. The leader of the group had a sadistic look in his eyes but the mask obscured his cold smile. In that instant, chaos reigned in the warehouse and gunshots were even fired amidst the mess. However, someone immediately yelled, ¡°Don¡¯t fire!¡± If they fought with their bare hands, they might be able to escape. However, if they opened fire and identally shot the living bomb, everyone would die immediately. Everyone was stunted by the limitations without guns and with only axes, knives, and pipes awaiting them¡­ Chapter 1457 Chapter 1457 The group of people who came were fierce and callous¡ªthey attacked anyone they met with exactly the working style of those from the underworld. Amidst the chaos, shrill screams could be heard, followed by the sound of bones cracking under the attack from an axe. The sound resembled how a cook prepared the raw meat to cook some soup; it was a terrifying and shocking sound indeed. Jordan had never expected that he would suffer from such humiliation. Because of the poisonous mist, he coughed and choked. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he struggled to open his eyes. Since he could see nothing even after doing so, he fumbled around with his eyes closed. In the process, he identally touched a flying human thigh, a hand, and even half a skull that was slimy and warm. On top of that, he touched a puddle of unknown liquid. After all, Jordan was already in his fifties, so this came as a great shock to him. Finally, after the screams had subsided, the choking mist had cleared off slightly. However, the smell of blood slowly became stronger. After Jordan finally opened his eyes, he realized that the warehouse had be a ughterhouse¡ªbody parts were strewn everywhere and some were still moving even after being chopped off due to the nerve reflexes. It was hell on Earth. Jordan was someone who had been through his fair share of traumatic experiences after all, so he did not faint immediately. However, he realized that none of his men were left, and a few people from the Winston family were closing in on him, blood sttered all over them. The young man who was the leader had his hair dyed with vibrant colors. He took off his mask to reveal a delicate and exquisite face, looking like a cool woman and a girly man at the same time. The person lit a cigarette and rxed his tensed body that was covered with blood and some body parts that hadnded on him. His white shirt was dyed red and the knife he was holding was still dripping blood. Jordan wanted to stand up but he stepped on something and slipped,nding butt-first on the floor. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Jordan finally recognized this person. ¡°You are that freak from the Winston Family!¡± I thought he¡¯s dead! He is unexpectedly resilient! With a huge knife in one of his hands, Dana had a cigarette in the other. He huffed a mouthful of smoke arrogantly as he smiled. ¡°Indeed. Not only am I still alive, I¡¯ve been around your son, Moore, for a few months now. However, you didn¡¯t even notice me.¡± Jordan red at him angrily. I have so many sons until I barely recognize any of them. Why would I notice that my son¡¯s bodyguard had changed to another person? Jordan gritted his teeth. ¡°I¡¯m Lucy¡¯s father. If you touch me¡ª¡± Thud! Dana threw the knife in his hands into Jordan¡¯s head. Immediately, blood sttered everywhere as Jordan fell into a puddle of blood. Unconscious, he could not hear Dana¡¯s proud words. ¡°It¡¯s the tradition of the Winston Family to kill their father-inws!¡± Unfortunately, Jordan was not dead yet. He merely fainted from the blow. Finally, Quinton came out from the corner¡ªafter all, he also cherished his life a lot. When the Winston Family appeared, he quickly found a ce to hide himself. Dana stepped on his cigarette to extinguish it as he murmured, ¡°I¡¯ll hand this old man to you now.¡± Quinton shot him a mysterious smile. Meanwhile, the Edwards Family meeting was over. ¡®Jordan¡¯ officially announced that he was going to retire and he signed the papers to transfer all the shares to his daughter, Lucy. Even though she had be the winner in life, Lucy still did not look happy even after she received the legal documents stating that she now held all the shares. Suddenly, her phone beeped as it had received a message. After seeing the short message, Lucy¡¯s solemn expression finally cracked into a smile. For the past 30 years, she had never smiled so rxed and happily. She suddenly grabbed the microphone and told those who were about to leave, ¡°Please remain seated. I have one more important announcement to make!¡± Everyone was confused upon hearing that. Hasn¡¯t she already finished reporting everything? Lucy looked around the confused gazes that the audience gave her, a huge beam on her own face. She could not even hide the joy in her eyes. ¡°The next announcement is¡ª¡± She deliberately paused. Because of the excitement, her voice trembled slightly. ¡°I-I¡¯m getting married! The groom is the eldest son of the Great Elder of the Winston Family, Dana Winston!¡± Everyone was blown away by this piece of news. On the other hand, when Jordan finally woke up, he saw that he had been tied down to the operation table. Cooper, Anna, Quinton, Lucy, Dana, Sophia, and Michael stood beside him, as if they were witnessing something. Jordan was beyond furious. ¡°What are you guys up to?¡± His head still hurt a lot from Dana¡¯s attack and he was rtively muddled, while his arms and limbs were trapped on the operation table, unable to move an inch. ¡°What do you even ask? We¡¯ve arranged a uterus transnt for you. Enjoy!¡± Anna announced in an eerie voice. Jordan suddenly realized something¡ª20 years ago, he had promised Anna to provide a uterus transnt for her. However, she lost her memories afterward. Understanding dawned and he roared and thrashed around on the operation table, but it was futile¡­ Three dayster at a private airport in the suburbs of Bayside City, Jordain and Moore got out of the ne and stood at the waiting area. They were looking at Lucy¡¯s private car in anticipation. As Lucy got out of the car and walked toward them, Dana pushed a wheelchair beside her with Jordan sitting on it. Unfortunately, Jordan was much different from before. He smiled like an idiot with nted eyes and eyebrows, as if he was a retard. His previous ck hair had turned grey and there were wrinkles on his face. In just three days, he seemed to have aged a lot. Spotting them, Jordaine quickly went to wee them. Firstly, she hugged the retard Jordan and nted a huge red kiss on his forehead. It was obvious that she was really happy about this. She loved him to her core. While he also loved her back, his love had been split into different sizes, given to various people. Jordaine wanted to have him all to herself but he was too powerful, so she could not do that. He was an ambitious dragon who soared in the skies. Even though she loved him, her love was careful and self-conscious. She also knew very well that he could not possibly belong to her alone. After thinking about it, the only way out was to cut off all his sharp ws and strip off his wings, tying him to her. Apart from that, he would have to wait for her to feed him everyday. Otherwise, he would starve to death. In this case, he would never be able to fly and he would only belong to her. Jordaine was not a kind person¡ªshe had done many evil deeds and she hated Anna for getting all of Jordan¡¯s love. She was jealous of Anna and even detested her. Even so, Jordaine was not a foolish woman. She clearly knew the only obstacle between her and Jordan was the man himself. He was simply too powerful. However, she could easily have Jordan to herself now as he lost all his memories after being brainwashed. Hence, she had teamed up with Anna from the very beginning. Dana was specially arranged to meet her after the discussion with Anna. Anna wanted to live happily ever after with Cooper but Jordan was obstructing them. Meanwhile, Jordaine only wanted to be with Jordan. After a brief conversation, the two groups of people bade farewell. Jordan, who was sitting on the wheelchair, said goodbye to Dana unwillingly, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m off now!¡± Dana waved back with a cheery smile on his face. ¡°Go on! Enjoy the rest of your life with your wife! Remember, Daddy always loves you!¡± Jordan smiled retardedly. ¡°Sure thing. Goodbye, Daddy!¡± Dana replied, ¡°Goodbye, son. Remember to visit me often!¡± All three of them¡ªLucy, Jordaine, and Moore¡ªwere speechless when they saw this. Chapter 1458 Chapter 1458 Jordan seemed to be unwilling to be separated from this ¡®father¡¯ of his. He hugged Dana as he sobbed out loud like a kid. When Dana saw this, he felt sad and slightly regretful. If only I could keep this son with me and be his father; how amazing would that be? Even though we only spent time with each other for a few days, there¡¯s already a father-son bond between us! Upon seeing the deep bond between the ¡®father and son¡¯ who called each other affectionately and how they could not bear to be apart from each other, everyone else could not help but roll their eyes. I¡¯ve never seen a b*stard who would take advantage of something like this! In the end, Jordan was still brought away by Jordaine; they had already agreed on this beforehand. Jordaine would help them to deal with Jordan, but only on one condition¡ªfor them not to hurt him. She could give up on everything else except him. She simply loved him too much and they were sure that she would treat him well. Like Sophia and Anna, Jordan had lost his memories but his circumstances seemed to be different this time, because the brainwashing technique had improved a lot. Anna could still remember her past purely due to it being the side effects of the old technology. However, Jordan would be like Sophia, unable to recall everything that happened in the past. Jordan was already in his fifties. There were only about forty more years left for the rest of his life. He would have to start from the beginning and learn everything from scratch. Slowly but surely, he would build a new character. Will the old Jordane back? Probably not. Jordaine would not allow that as well. ¡°Unexpectedly, an old man like Jordan also has a woman who loves him so much.¡± After Sophia knew that Jordan was picked up by Jordaine, she could not understand the logic behind this. Truth was, she was not the only one; many other people also could not figure out why. Perhaps his d*ck is like Bailey, talented and unpredictable? It¡¯s actually pretty impressive that he has ¡®served¡¯ so many women! At this moment, Sophia was resting in the private hospital. Scrolling through her tablet, she made some snidements when she saw the news about Jordan¡¯s retirement. In reality, she had been resting in this private hospital all along and Michael had been apanying her. On that day of the attack, Cooper made some extra preparations just in case Jordan nned to look for her trouble, so he hid her and hired two recements. Unexpectedly, Jordan actually did arrive. Cooper was more careful than anyone else. Not only did he ce a huge group of bodyguards at the meeting venue, he also increased the number of the guards at the Imperial and Carmen¡¯s primary school¡ªbasically any ce that could be Jordan¡¯s target. Now that he had been caught, Sophia came back to the hospital to stabilize her condition. She took time to deal with some simple work but she was resting for most of the time. Usually she would watch a series, eat some snacks, sleep, and cuddle with Michael. Unfortunately, they could not carry out some vigorous activities now that she needed to stabilize the fetus. It was a silent torture for her to see her attractive husband walking around and posing every day, yet she could not touch him. After I give birth and recover, I¡¯m definitely going to do him until I¡¯m satisfied! After Jordan retired, Lucy took charge of the entire Edwards Family and the Edwards Group. She also became the youngest family head in history and the only female head; apart from that, she was also the director of the group. On the day she officially became the family head and the director, she announced her marriage. Hence, the media had been enthusiastically reporting about Dana. After all, he used to be a she¡ªhe was the daughter of the Great Elder of the Winston Family and his gender on his identity card was ¡®F¡¯. In the past, he was an intersex who even had flower tattoos on him. Apart from stunning both men and women, he had many mistresses and hunks with good figures, and he lived together with many of them. People from the Edwards Family had no idea why Lucy had her eye on him. However, the current Lucy waspletely different. She and her trusted employees had taken over the Edwards Group so no one dared to question her rtionship with Dana. Apart from that, Dana was completely a man now. Hence, people from the Edwards Group only dared to grumble among themselves, but the people from the Winston Corporation were celebrating in joy. ¡°That b*stard Dana has finally settled down!¡± they shouted. ¡°What happy news this is! We should definitely hold arge-scale celebration!¡± Harry was so happy that he almost cried tears of joy. It¡¯s like someone finally agreed to buy our old antique of 30 years that we could not throw away with a high price! However, the Edwards Family was not satisfied with this and made harsh demands on the wedding preparations and the dowry. ¡°The Winston Corporation must give a huge amount of dowry, not unlike what Cooper gave Anna, or like what Michael gave Sophia!¡± those from the Edwards Family demanded. Cooper had given half of Michel Group to Anna, while Michael had transferred a simr weightage of the Imperial shares to Sophia. Hence, the Winston Corporation had to match these standards at the very least. Apart from that, their future children must take Lucy¡¯s family name. The Winston Corporation was more agreeable than expected. They were willing to give however much dowry the Edwards Family demanded, and there was no problem with their children taking after Lucy¡¯s family name. In fact, they would have no problem if Dana wanted to change his family name to ¡®Edwards¡¯ as well. As their discussion dragged on, the dowry suddenly becamepensation for Dana to ¡®marry into¡¯ the Edwards Family. Content held by N?velDrama.Org. Dana immediately changed his identity card to remove the irritating ¡®F¡¯ on it. After it was changed to ¡®M¡¯, he immediately registered with Lucy to be husband and wife. They then viewed a few venues to hold their wedding and also looked at houses and rings. Right after that, they came over to pick their kid up and also wanted Sophia to send them her signature orange cat. With that, Dana¡¯s home with Lucy was finallyplete. In the hospital, Dana and Lucy came over to pick Nigel up, as Celine had sent him over to the hospital to apany Sophia for two days. After all, he had been staying at her ce for such a long time so they had developed a bond. Now that Lucy was about to take him away, everyone felt slightly wistful to see him go. Looking at this kid whom she picked up from the bins, various different emotions raged within Sophia. His biological father, Jordan, had children all over the world, so he didn¡¯t care about Nigel¡¯s existence. Meanwhile, his mother Tiffany only treated him as the product of a fertilized ovum and threw him into the trash cruelly. From birth, his existence was not weed. Because of this, Sophia hoped that Lucy and Dana would treat Nigel well. Celine had taken care of Nigel for a long time. Now that they were parting, she could not bear to see him go. With tears in her eyes, she held onto Nigel and did not want to let him go. Simrly, Carmen also wanted to hug him onest time. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No matter who Nigel¡¯s parents are, he¡¯s innocent after all. I¡¯ll treat him as my own,¡± Lucy promised Sophia. Meanwhile, Dana deliberately wore a pair of tights. Ever since he became a man, he would wear tights no matter what asion it was so that he could show off his extraordinary masculinity, as though he was worried that others could not tell he was a man. No matter where he went, the probability of him turning heads was a hundred percent. Sophia did not even hear Lucy¡¯s reply as she nced asionally at Dana¡¯s crotch. No wonder no one wants to go to the loo with Dana and there¡¯s an air of reverence whenever Quinton talks about him. Before Lucy and Dana left, Bailey appeared with awyer and a stack of documents for Lucy to sign. He had a dark expression and did not seem to be in a good mood. When he was signing the papers, he looked like a delinquent who had just gotten detention from the discipline teacher. ¡°After Tiffany¡¯s death, she left behind some assets,¡± Lucy exined. ¡°As she didn¡¯t specify any inheritance, ording to the rules of Adams Family, her assets could be taken away by the family or donated to some public causes and funds. I¡¯m here to fight for a third of my son¡¯s inheritance.¡± Chapter 1459 Chapter 1459 Seeing that the money was about to enter his own pocket, Bailey did not expect that Lucy would suddenly appear and take one third of it. No wonder Bailey is so cold today! This was actually Lucy¡¯s condition after she had taken a step back¡ªif she wanted to fight for it, she would get all of it. Bailey had fought hard for the one third portion, as Lucy initially wanted to halve it. After they signed the contract, Nigel would have no rtionship at all with the Adams Family from then onward. After Lucy took the money, she would also have nothing to do with them anymore. Sophia finally understood the twists and turns in this matter. Seeing that Bailey was about to leave with a dark expression after he finished signing the documents, Carmen quickly offered to walk him out. ¡°Bailey, I¡¯ll send you out!¡± After Lucy put the documents away and took Jordan and Tiffany¡¯s child, she realized that from now onward, he would be Dana and her child. The one third of the inheritance would be her first gift to Nigel as his mother. After everyone left, Quinton, who had been watching by the door for a long time,ined, ¡°You¡¯re a fool. They are doing an illegal transaction here. If I were you, I¡¯d ask them to give me a third of the money to keep my mouth shut.¡± Sophia pouted after hearing that. When she was about to continue reading her newspaper, she suddenly realized that Michael had not appeared for a long time. Ever since Lucy arrived, he was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Celie, where¡¯s Mikey?¡± she asked Celine, who was still upset about Sophia giving Nigel away. Pouting her lips, she replied sadly, ¡°He was just here¡­¡± When Sophia saw her sullen look, she advised, ¡°You already have two kids who need your care. If you have another one, you won¡¯t be able to take good care of it.¡± Apart from that, Justin would be under high pressure if they have another kid because he has to take care of four babies¡ªthe biggest of them being Celine herself! In the ward next to them, Justin, who was wearing a white robe, was injecting the medicine needed to sustain Michael¡¯s life. They used an extremely small needle again so that there would not be any scars. This way, Sophia would not realize it. However, his health condition could not be hidden for long. She would eventually realize this after he died. At this moment, the internal pressure within his body had reached a tipping point where everything could be thrown out of bnce. With just a slight change, his condition might deteriorate immediately¡ª a slight flu or a simple wound might break this bnce. Even though he looked healthy on the surface, when the symptoms started to resurface, everything would be toote. He would die instantly, as his internal organs were already rotting away. Even if Theo donated all his internal organs to Michael, it would not save him anymore. Michael knew that he really did not have much time to live. However, this was all his decision. After the injection, Justin pursed his lips with a serious look on his face. He met Micheal when he was very young. They worked together and became a family after that so without a doubt, he did not want to see Michael die. Unfortunately, Justin had already said everything he could but Michael had already made his decision. He would rather die and break everything off cleanly, allowing Sophia to be heartbroken for some time before she would walk out of the trauma and continue with her new life. After his death, he wanted her to meet another man whom she liked. By just remembering him during his death anniversary and some festive seasons, he would be content. The other option, however, was to let Sophia blindly wait for him. Since no one knew if he was going to wake up, she had to keep waiting. This was equivalent to asking her to grieve for her alive husband for an indefinite amount of time. She¡¯s still so young; she¡¯s only 30. I can¡¯t allow her to grieve at such an age. With another jab, Michael felt the effects of the medication entering his body¡ªhis wilting body was finally reborn again. However, this also showed that there was a huge problem¡ªthe dosage he required had increased. Apart from that, he felt weaker as time passed. Time was corroding his body every second he was alive. How long do I still have? Am I able to stay alive until the babies are born? If I can do that, I will have no regrets when I die. However, the hospital did not allow him to check the gender of his children. He did not even know if he was expecting a boy or a girl. I wish I could hug them. If not, just a look at them would suffice¡­ Now I can only hope that Sophia will show me the pictures of the kids when she visits me during my death anniversary¡­ When Michael returned to the ward, he pretended as though everything was normal even though he was mncholic deep down. His perfect acting skills had sessfully hidden everything and no one could tell any difference in him. Sophia thought that all the hardships were finally over and they could look forward to a better future. Unbeknownst to her, one day Michael might suddenly pass away without any reason. And that would be a quick process¡ªone minute, he could be joking with her and the very next minute, he could be a corpse. It would happen so fast that she would not even have the time to be shocked and sad about it. In the ward, Celine was still sobbing. When she saw Michael enter, she pounced on him with a loud wail immediately. While consoling her, Michael looked at Sophia, who was speaking from the bed. ¡°Dear, you have to advise Celie. She insists on adopting Nigel but he¡¯s Lucy¡¯s brother. It would be best if she adopts him and since she was the one who brought it up, how can I reject her?¡± Michael did not seem to hear Sophia anymore. He just wanted to look at her; he already felt happy enough to look at her just like this. How good would it be if I can look at her like this for the rest of my life! Meanwhile, Celine sobbed like a kid. Luckily she still has Justin. After a while, Justin also entered the room and took Celine aside to console her. And so, Celine kept away the items that Nigel had been using miserably. Before leaving, Justin shot a look at Sophia, who was speaking to Michael happily about Lucy and Dana as she looked forward to their bright future. While she was speaking, sheughed like a happy child. However, she did not know that the person in front of her was going to be gone soon. He would be leaving her and going somewhere that he would never return from. Thinking about this, tears welled up in Justin¡¯s eyes. Everyone is so cruel. All the people who know about this are keeping their mouths shut, including myself. Sophia has no idea at all what she would be facing. Michael could clearly take the risk. Perhaps he can be revived after 30 years, like Theo. However, everyone, including Michael, had given up on this opportunity; they had chosen to face death peacefully with dignity. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. Everyone is lying to Sophia under the pretense of wanting the best for her. However, who can bear the pain for her when she loses her beloved? Ten dayster, Sophia suddenly wanted to travel to Michel Town in Africa. As it was the summer holidays after all, she nned to bring the kids to see the lions and Judge¡¯s gold-ted ws would have to be polished as well. Of course, Michael apanied her with the kids and the dogs. Since Linus and Cooper had a meeting there, they also tagged along. Theo was also quite bored these days, so he nned to join them for a hunting trip there. In the end, the entire family was on board this trip. In the ne that flew to Africa, Justin and Celine also brought their children along. Chapter 1460 Chapter 1460 It has been a while since the entire family went for a trip so Sophia had gone back home to make the necessary preparations. The most dangerous and fragile period during her pregnancy was now over, so her life was pretty stable right now. As they were nning to live in Africa for a while, they had to make many preparations beforehand. Michael also helped in the preparation. It¡¯s good to go for a trip there. Since it¡¯s the Michel Family¡¯s turf, they have very good medical facilities there. If any emergencies happen, it could be quickly dealt with. It¡¯s just that the time is too short for me to make the preparations. Before they headed out, Michael asked all his friends and families over. Harry, Justin, and Sean, who had be a woman, had arrived. Michael had a hunch that he might not make it back from Africa this time. He felt that his body was already failing him. Hence, before he left, he had to bid farewell to all his friends. After all, this might be thest time they saw him. Joel was also here, but not Stanley, because he could not keep any secrets. He did not know about Michael¡¯s health. Otherwise, he might bber to the entire world about it. In his own house, Michael drank with them onest time. Everyone raised their sses but none felt the past joy when they came over, even though this was Michael¡¯s most generous asion¡ªhe brought out all the best-quality wine that he could not bear to drink from the cer. While holding the ss, Michael looked at the people around him¡ªthey had known each other for almost three decades. There was Joel whopeted with him from a young age, Quinton who changed his entire life, Justin who worked with him for many years, both Harry and Daniel, who had strived hard alongside him, and many others. Looking back at the past, everything is like a dream. It¡¯s so surreal. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s my honor to meet all of you in this lifetime. Cheers!¡± Everyone raised their sses but a heavy feeling and forced happiness loomed over all of them. He can actually¡­ What a pity! After they finished drinking, everyone left with a depressed feeling. Before they left, they saw Sophia burying something in the garden with Carmen digging in the ground happily next to her. They look so happy now. What a pity! I wonder how long this happiness canst. Harry and Daniel were thest to leave. Before they left, Michael told them heavily, ¡°After I¡¯m gone, the business andpany will be depending on you. I¡¯ve already transferred my shares¡ªchica, Nate, and Celine have parts of it. Oh, and my father also has some of my shares.¡± With that, he patted Harry¡¯s shoulders, who merely lowered his head and grunted in agreement. Under such circumstances, Harry had no idea what else he could say. Michael acted as though he was merely going for a trip, but Harry knew that he would not return after this. They were about to leave tomorrow and it was highly possible that this was their final reunion. After toasting to him, Harry drank the wine sullenly and left. However, when he reached the front door, he could not help but turn back once more. Michael was about to get up to watch him leave. The afternoon sun shot through the window, casting a long, dreamy shadow behind Michael, who looked as though he just walked out of a dream. In that instant, it was rather surreal, as though the person in front of him was an apparition who could disappear anytime. We¡¯ve worked together for more than 20 years now. He still looks the same as before¡ªdeep and profound. With just one look at him, I can remember his features immediately. It¡¯s not because of his handsome appearance, but it¡¯s his attractive eyes that have many stories hidden in them. In that instant, they seemed to travel back to two decades ago at the military training for first-years. Michael was the instructor while Harry was an arrogant delinquent. Michael had chased after him and hit him until he admitted defeat. What a pity¡­ With that, Harry and Daniel left. ¡°Hubby¡­¡± Sophia, who was at the door, suddenly called out to Michael. After putting down his wine ss, Michael saw Sophia and Celine digging under the tree with the kids, as though they were burying something. ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked. Celine replied happily, ¡°We are sending presents to our future selves!¡± Sophia opened a huge ceramic pot with some essories inside¡ªjewelry, nes, and a picture of the both of them. Carmen had also put her picture into it. ¡°This is a time capsule! After I bury it, I will wait for another 20 years before opening it again. It will be a present to my future self!¡± Sophia exined joyfully. While packing, she asked Michael, ¡°Your bottle is ced there. What would you like to give your future self?¡± Each of them had a bottle for themselves and there was an empty one that was for Michael. A time capsule? What a pity. I¡¯ll be gone soon. I wonder what I can send to myself. No one will collect it anyway. Since Michael knew that he was about to be gone, he wished to decrease the proof of his existence so that the people he loved would get used to the world without him much sooner. After thinking about it, he shook his head and murmured, ¡°You didn¡¯t inform me before this, so I didn¡¯t prepare anything. I won¡¯t put anything into it now.¡± Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen took Michael¡¯s bottle and put her belongings into it¡ªthe keychain that she made herself, her pictures, and her crayon drawings. Even Judge ran over to put a ball into it for his future grandson. ¡°Celie, what are you putting into it?¡± Michael crouched and looked at Celine¡¯s time capsule. ¡°Good food!¡± Celine replied happily, to which Sophia immediately muttered, ¡°I already told you many times that you shouldn¡¯t put food into it. After a few days, it will turn bad. A yearter, everything will already be rotten!¡± However, Celine insisted on putting food into the bottle. Apart from that, she also put a picture of her and Michael when they were kids into it. Their miniscule selves looked exactly the same as they took the picture, standing next to each other while holding hands. Looking at the picture, Michael smiled bitterly. There were four holes under the tree, each for burying Sophia, Michael, Carmen, and Celine¡¯s time capsules. After they buried it, Celine even nted a small tree on top. Since it was probably not a good idea to nt trees in the summer, she asked their servants to look after it everyday. As they were leaving the next day, both Sophia and Carmen had gone to bed early. When midnight came, Michael quietly walked out and dug up the spots where they buried the time capsules during the day. He opened Sophia¡¯s bottle that contained her favorite things and a picture of them taken a few days ago. There were only both of them in the picture that was taken at the hospital and they had blissful smiles on their faces. Everything seemed to have stopped the day before. Michael took a small box that he prepared¡ªit was a present for Sophia, Celine, and Carmen. He gave Carmen a lipstick. Even though it could not be used after it was dug out, he felt that as a father, he should give his daughter something symbolic. He also gave Celine some knick-knacks, but he left a letter for Sophia. Chapter 1461 Chapter 1461 He could not bear to leave without exining everything. He was also worried that Sophia might resent him for not bidding farewell, or that she might lose confidence in all men because of his lie. Hence, he wrote a letter to tell her that he loved her very much. Even when he passed, he was full of her love. Michael hoped that she would live a happy life when he was not around and he did not want her to waste her precious time on him. He also wanted to tell his children that he loved them a lot. No matter if it was Carmen, whom he brought back from Africa and raised, or it was the pair of twins whom he did not get a chance to name, he loved them equally. He did not hate anyone and conceded defeat to this fate of his. After he buried the time capsules again, Michael realized that he had been crying. He longed to stay in this world. He wanted to age together with Sophia, to see Carmen grow up, to watch the birth of the twins and be by their sides as they grew up¡­ Even though he had prepared himself mentally, he realized that there were still too many things holding him back when he was about to leave. How good would it be if we could go back in time¡­ I definitely won¡¯t leave so early. I will find Sophia earlier and bring her away from all the hardships so that she can grow up happily. Unfortunately, there are no what ifs. The next day, the entire family departed for Africa. Carrying many bags, Celine walked ahead of everyone. Meanwhile, Linus and Cooper were dressed in business suits as they talked about their business as they walked. Sophia walked next to Linus and tugged Carmen along, while Anna and Callum walked behind them. Theo, Quinton, and Justin¡¯s family also tagged along. Michael was leading Judge, who seemed to know it was going for a vacation as it trotted happily along. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, yet Michael was the only one with a heavy heart as he forced himself to smile like everyone else. After they boarded the ne, Judge scoured around to look for its favorite spot, while Maisie pestered Michael for a hug. When the ne was taking off, Michael found a quiet spot to rest since Sophia was having a conversation with Anna. Something seemed to have gotten into Judge on this day¡ªthe dog was quieter than usual. It was not yful anymore as it sat next to Michael obediently with its nose sniffing around, as if it had detected something. It wasmon knowledge that dogs had a strong sense of smell. Perhaps Judge had detected a different smell. Most likely it was the smell of death emanating from Michael. Woof! Judge suddenly moaned in a low tone and nudged Michael¡¯s hand, waiting for him to stroke its head. When Michael stroked Judge, he suddenly realized that Judge¡¯s head was prettyfortable¡ª something that he had never realized before. Hence, he continued stroking Judge, who looked back at him. Judge suddenly was not dumb anymore; its eyes looked humane and intelligent. Upon a closer look, one could see tears in its eyes. Judge seemed to have realized something. It had stayed with Michael for many years. In fact, the time that Judge spent with Michael was even more than Stanley, its ¡®biological father¡¯. Anxious and sad, it nudged Michael¡¯s knees, as though it was pleading Michael to stay. Michael gently patted its head. ¡°So you are not dumb at all. Just yful.¡± Judge wagged its tail anxiously. ¡°Hubby, it¡¯s time for lunch!¡± Sophia suddenly appeared. Seeing that Michael was stroking Judge¡¯s head, she was surprised. ¡°Oh¡ª did I interrupt you guys?¡± Michael smiled and got up to walk to the dining area, not forgetting to hold Sophia¡¯s hand. Meanwhile, Judge followed behind them, more clingy than usual. A scrumptious lunch was ced on the dining table. As it was a private ne, they did not save on the food at all. In fact, they brought their personal chef, who had stayed in Michael¡¯s house for many years, along. Nathan grew up eating the food he cooked. Worried that Sophia might not get used to the food in Africa, the chef insisted on tagging along to cook for her. ¡°Dear, this is your favorite eel! I also moved the eel from our house over there!¡± Sophia scooped the dish onto Michael¡¯s te while he also tried to return the favor, cherishing every moment they spent together. Around the dining table, Cooper, who usually pulled a long face, seemed more gentle on this day. ¡°Not to say that I¡¯m being selfish, but Sophia¡¯s babies also have the Mitchell¡¯s and the Yard¡¯s blood in them. They can¡¯t belong to the Fletchers entirely.¡± ¡°The two of them shall be thest. Sophia, don¡¯t try for another child anymore. Your health isn¡¯t very good, so don¡¯t force yourself.¡± It was very unlikely that Sophia could even get pregnant because of her health. It was already very difficult when she was pregnant with Carmen and it was a miracle for her to be pregnant again. Even though Cooper said that he wanted a second grandchild, when Sophia had indeed gotten pregnant, he felt incredibly sorry when he saw she had to constantly take tonics and injections to stabilize the fetus. Now, her arms were full of injection scars. Michael nodded and hummed in response. When he spoke, he could not help but look at Sophia. She¡¯s gone through too much for these two babies. Between managing her figure during pregnancy and a smooth delivery, she chose to deliver her babies smoothly hands down. Hence, her slender figure was now reced by a bloated body and her past figure of a young woman had disappeared. After lunch, Sophia prepared to take a nap with Michael. Since her belly was already protruding, she lay down with her belly facing upward. Carmen also climbed onto the bed and slept next to Michael, while Judge also decided to join the fun and slept beside her. The three of them and the dogy on the bed together. Carmen yawned and turned around, burying her chubby face in Michael¡¯s arms. In no time, she had fallen asleep. Michael enjoyed watching Carmen¡¯s cute chubby cheeks that were flushed red. Looking at Sophia, who was sleeping next to him, her cheeks were also chubby and pink. They are equally adorable! Michael looked at his wife and daughter seriously, thinking that every second of looking at them was a bonus. Meanwhile, Judge stared straight at him, as though it was bidding farewell to him. Suddenly, Sophia, who had already fallen asleep, opened her eyes and eximed, ¡°Oh!¡± As Michael was drifting off, he was shocked by her sudden exmation so he quickly asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Sophia had a look of stunned joy on her face. ¡°T-They are moving¡­¡± With trembling hands, she flung the nket away to reveal her belly; something really seemed to be moving within. What a strange feeling! Sophia was caught unguarded by this pleasant surprise. Equally happy, Michael stretched out his hands and caressed her belly. Through Sophia¡¯s skin, he felt the presence of his unborn children. Even though they were still very small, they were moving yfully. In that instant, tears welled up in his eyes but he tried hard to control his sobs. I¡¯m sorry babies, but Daddy can¡¯t be by your side as you grow up. From N?velDrama.Org. With one hand caressing his unborn children and the other hugging Sophia while Carmen slept beside them, Michael had never felt happier in his life. When the ne was preparing fornding, Sophia woke up to see that Michael was still sleeping. ¡°Wake up, dear. We are preparing fornding.¡± Unfortunately, Michael did not reply. He was still sleeping peacefully with a slight smile on his lips. Yet, a drop of tear still lingered near his eyes. Judge howled as it nudged Michael¡¯s hands with its mouth. However, Michael could not open his eyes and respond anymore. Chapter 1462 Chapter 1462 ¡°Dear?¡± Sophia nudged Michael a few times but there was no reply. He continued to sleep peacefully, as if he was dreaming happily; perhaps he was already together with Sophia in his dreams. His dream might be so beautiful that he could not bear to wake up. After making sure that he would not wake up for the time being, Sophia finally released the pain and despair she had been holding in for the past few days. Unable to hold back her tears anymore, they gushed out of her eyes. She tried to keep her sobs minimal so that she would not wake Carmen up. A few days ago, Justin told her about everything. It was only at that moment that Sophia realized Michael was dying. Everyone knew about it but they had hidden it from her. This was also Michael¡¯s wish¡ªhe wanted to leave peacefully and he did not want Sophia to wait for him, so he refused to enter cryogenic sleep. Theo supported his decision. After all, he experienced the indescribable helplessness and despair after he woke up from his cryogenic sleep, so he did not want his son to follow in his footsteps. Cooper too did not stop him, as he did not want his daughter to wait for a man who was half-dead for the rest of her life. Hence, it was Michael¡¯s final wish to leave peacefully and with dignity. However, Sophia did not want this. How can he be so selfish, leaving alone just like that? I will not let him die! Hence, she nned out the entire trip with Justin¡ªshe suggested the trip to Africa and when Michael boarded the ne, they would feed him sleeping pills for him to fall unconscious. After theynded, they would put him into cryogenic sleep right after they reached Michel Castle. I can¡¯t let him die! Sophia choked on her sobs. After wiping her tears off, she quickly asked Justin to enter the room. He had already dragged out the cryosleep chamber that was ced on the ne. They had made all the preparations and had put an adequate amount of sleeping pills in Michael¡¯s food so that he would have a good sleep. After he had fallen asleep, they would immediately initiate the cryogenic sleep. When he woke up, he would be reborn. Standing at one side, tears streamed down Sophia¡¯s face relentlessly as she watched Michael being ced into the chamber. It was as if she was standing on a cliff, watching her beloved standing on the opposite cliff. Cold air gushed from the abyss, taking all warmth from her. Because of the fog in the mountains, she could not even see his face clearly. Is this how everything ends? Quinton also entered the room to help them. When they lifted him up, even his hands were trembling. I¡¯m the one who pushed Michael down the abyss of death. It¡¯s all my fault!Property ? N?velDrama.Org. On the other hand, Carmen had already woken up. When she saw Justin and Quinton putting Michael into the cryosleep chamber, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and asked in confusion, ¡°Mommy, why is Daddy being ced in there?¡± Sophia wiped the tears from her cheeks. However, as soon as she did that, another stream of tears flowed down her cheeks as she forced a smile at Carmen. ¡°Daddy is going somewhere far, far away. Carmen, you have to be a good girl, okay?¡± Sophia¡¯s voice was like a small spark that could extinguish anytime amid the strong wind. Carmen seemed to realize that something was going on because a long time ago, Woody had gone through the same thing. After he fell asleep in a rectangr chamber, he was not seen since. ¡°No!¡± Carmen started sobbing loudly and heartbrokenly. Upon seeing this, their nanny quickly brought her out. Carmen¡¯s cries had alerted Theo and Cooper. Even though they were not aware of Sophia¡¯s ns, when they saw Michael in the cryosleep chamber as soon as they entered, they immediately understood what was going on. Cooper knew very well that if Sophia knew what had been going on, she would definitely make this decision. It was highly possible that she would be waiting for him for the rest of her life. ¡°Darling, why do you do this to yourself?¡± Theo also had a conflicted expression on his face. After all, he clearly knew what this meant. After Michael woke up, everything would be different. His father would be older and his son might even be older than himself, while many of his friends might already be dead. Such feelings were suffocating and lonely, as if he had been abandoned by the entire world. Theo did not wish his son to take the same decision as him. If Michael was only asleep for a decade, it was still alright. However, if he was asleep for decades, Sophia might not even be here after he woke up and all his friends and family would have left him. How much despair will he feel when that timees? Sophia, however, kneeled before them gently and raised her head to look at both Cooper and Theo with tears gushing down her cheeks. ¡°Dad, I can¡¯t let Mikey die just like that! Father, I beg you! I don¡¯t want Mikey to die¡­¡± Theo shook his head with apparent pain on his face. ¡°But this is too cruel to Mikey. What if you are not around when he wakes up? Have you ever thought about the pain he would experience?¡± Even though devastated, Sophia had a firm look in her eyes. She had already thought through all the possible consequences. I shall be the selfish one this time! She would rather stay lonely for half her life in exchange for Michael to be alive decadester. ¡°Father, if Elizabeth knows that you are still alive, she will still be very happy to hear that.¡± With that, Theo was at a loss for words. In that instant, tears welled up in his eyes as well. Yes¡­ If Elizabeth knows that I¡¯m still alive, even though we can¡¯t be together, she will surely be happy for me. After all, staying alive is better than everything else. To Theo, him being alive was a suffering. However, to the people who loved him, his revival was a pleasant surprise. A lump formed in Theo¡¯s throat and he did not utter another word, quietly agreeing to Sophia¡¯s actions. With tears streaming down Anna¡¯s face, she helped Sophia up, while Cooper also looked pained. Since Sophia had already made this decision, the rest of her life would be spent waiting for a person who might not even be alive. However, if he put himself in her shoes¡ªif Anna was the oneying in the cryosleep chamber¡ªhe would make the same decision as Sophia. If Michael was dead right now, all of Sophia¡¯s happiness would be gone. After all, there was nothing more painful than watching the person she loved die in front of her. This pain might even apany her forever. However, if she knew that there was a possibility for Michael to wake up in the future, at least she would still look forward to living; there was still a slight chance. Cooper wiped his tears and patted Sophia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Go ahead. I give you my support.¡± Sophia nodded and turned around to look at the cryosleep chamber. Quinton and Justin had already made the necessary arrangements and they used the medical apparatus to guide Michael into deep sleep. After they pushed him to Michel Castle, he could fall into cryogenic sleep immediately. Through the ss of the chamber, Sophia looked at Michael. He was still as attractive and dashing as he always was in her memories. At this moment, a gentle expression was etched onto his handsome face with a slight smile on his lips, as if he had sunk into a sweet dream that he could not wake up from. He had probably reunited with Sophia in his dreams and he might be living in this dream for decades. Perhaps he was living the life he had always wanted in his dreams, yet he thought that was the reality the entire time. On the other hand, Sophia, who was living in the current reality, might need to wait for him for decades. She might even have to wait until she grew old and died. Chapter 1463 Chapter 1463 In the end, Michael sessfully entered the cryogenic sleep that would sustain his life. The situation of his health would remain the same until they could find a way to cure him. Once they did so, he would be woken up from his sleep for him to start the treatment. However, the future held too many uncertainties¡ªthe technology for cryogenic sleep was still in its infancy stage. Even though the field had been researched by a few groups decades ago, the majority had failed. So far, only Theo and Albert were the sessful cases, though thetter only entered cryogenic sleep for a short period of time. Hence, strictly speaking, Theo was the only case of being sessfully cured after he slept for a long time. If the cryogenic sleep failed or there was a huge change in the future, no one knew what could happen. After all, one was simply unable to predict the future. Take Theo for example¡ªhe would never have thought that the entire world had changed after he woke up. Cethos had nuclear weapons and no one would attack the country¡¯s borders anymore. However, his beloved woman killed herself because she thought he was dead. Apart from that, his illegitimate son had hurt his twins. He had never even dreamed of such events. Simrly, Michael could also encounter some events that he did not even dare to daydream about. For those who experienced cryogenic sleep, it would be just a short and sweet dream. However, once they were awake, they would feel as though they had been detached from the entire world. They would reckon that they were transported to an unfamiliar yet cold and parallel world which was filled with pain and despair. No one knew how long Michael would sleep or what would await him when he regained consciousness. Theo moved to Michel Town to stay with his son at all times; he thought that it would help Michael if he saw a familiar face when he would wake up. He was just unsure whether he could wait until that day to arrive.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Taking the opportunity into their hands, the medical research professionals carried out aplete body check up on Michael and realized that his body was full of toxins that corroded his internal organs. His bodily functions were deteriorating and he would not have long to live. The current level of medicine was unable to cure him, but the professionals proposed a few backup ns¡ªone of them was organ transnt since both Quinton and Theo¡¯s organs werepatible with him. However, with a 0.01% probability for Cade, both Michael and Sophia had rejected it many times. They did not want to use a life in exchange for another one. There were still many treatment methods, but the avable technology was not advanced enough to enable it. An example would be self-healing organs or organ regeneration¡ªthose only existed in fiction and time was needed to conduct many clinical trials before the methods could even be tested. All in all, what they needed was time, but how long do they need? It was something no one could confirm. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Virs-18 were both being researched for at least five years, yet the cure for AIDS was not even avable at that point in time. To revive Michael, they could require a year or two, ten years, decades, or even the hard work of a few generations¡­ No one knew how long he had to sleep before he could be revived. However, Sophia would not throw in the towel. It was only untilte at night that she unwillingly left the cryogenic center. Michael had already been there for around half a month. As a result, she had left everything else to apany him for the same stretch of time as well. His cryosleep chamber was right next to Cade¡¯s. Both of them were waiting from some unknown chances of being revived. As Sophia stood outside the cryosleep chamber, she saw Michael, who was asleep, through the clear ss. He waspletely in the state of being in a cryogenic sleep¡ªall of his metabolism as well as his breathing and heartbeat ceased to function as blood ceased flow within him. He was hidden in the blind spot of time that simply did not apply to him anymore. To him, everything had stopped¡ªlike the pause button being pressed on a movie. However, to people outside the cryosleep chamber, every second was real and unbearably long. As Sophia looked at the pale Michael who was no longer breathing, she broke down in tears again. The tears that she thought were dry streamed down her face once more. We¡¯ve been through many hardships to have what we have today. Why does everything still have to end like this? Is it because we are not fated to have true love in our lives? He once waited for me for three years until all of his hair had turned grey¡ªand I finally returned. Now, I¡¯m the one who¡¯s endlessly waiting for him without a fixed ending date for this, but I will not give up. I will keep waiting for him, even until I grow old and die. After I¡¯m gone, my children will continue to do so. If there¡¯s a next life, I¡¯m willing to wait for him as well. One day, he will have to return. In the midst of her thoughts, another person came to stand next to her. In a white robe, Quinton had already stood beside her for a long time, but she did not notice him as she was only looking at Michael. Of course; how would she notice me? Even if Michael isn¡¯t here, she won¡¯t notice me as well. Even after I erased her memories and personally took care of her while making her think that she loves me, I could lie to myself and Sophia, but I can¡¯t run away from the truth. Quinton silently looked at her. Sophia was devastated. Her eyes were red with blood and tears, but she was still holding on for the sake of her children. For every drop of her tear, his sin ran deeper. However, she had already shown the greatest forgiveness. After all, everyone else knew that he was the culprit. Both of them stood next to Michael without any exchange of words. It waste at night when Shae asked Sophia to take a rest so that she would not affect the development of the babies inside her. It was only until then she obliged. As Quinton watched her leave, he thought that her weak body seemed to have hidden a huge amount of power and stubbornness. At the same time, she had already experienced a lot. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± The simple and gentle words instantly disappeared into the huge space of the cryogenic center. I wonder if Sophia heard that and whether she has truly forgiven me¡­ Quinton resigned from his teaching job at Bayside University even though he was promoted to a full- time employee. He then joined Michel Medical Group and devoted himself to a research project for organ regeneration. Sophia quickly delivered the boy-girl twins through C-section¡ªit was fraternal twins. However, there was a shadow of her and Michael in them. Unfortunately, he could not even take a look at them. Based on the previous agreement, one of them took thest name of ¡®Johnson¡¯ while the other carried the name ¡®Mitchell¡¯. That decision was not to fight for both families¡¯ family fortunes; it was just that even though Cooper and Anna had four children, one was in cryogenic sleep while the other two were bachelors. The remaining child, Sophia, was the most ¡®productive¡¯ one as she gave birth to three children in two pregnancies. It was enough to repay everything they had done by naming the children with theirst names. After giving birth, Sophia dived into her work. She continued working on her luxury brand business and she was also the person-in-charge of Cethos for Ronney Group. Meanwhile, she was also head of the Michel Medical Group in Cethos. Anna and Cooper moved to Vi No.1 in the Imperial, but Sophia still stayed at her own ce. The lights of Vi No. 8 were lit every night and Michael¡¯s daily items were changed every month, as if they were waiting for him to return home at any time. As years passed, there was still no breakthrough in the research. However, Sophia continued to wait. Even after Carmen had grown up, she firmly believed that even if she herself became old, Michael would still return one fine day. Chapter 1464 Chapter 1464 Throughout the period that Michael was ced in cryogenic sleep, Sophia threw herself into work to distract herself. She devoted all of her time to her career and her children; in fact, she did not allow herself to have any free time. I¡¯ll recall his name whenever I¡¯m free. Those two words make me feel suffocated. During the winter in the second year of his cryopreservation, she followed Daniel to inspect the Remote Mountains Health Club Vi that they coborated together. While they were in the area, they took the opportunity to visit Dragon Mountain. Once upon a time, I used to feel relieved whenever I¡¯m here. Now, I am just like amb, who has lost its way because I¡¯m back, seeking answers here. . The Dragon Mountain no longer looked as shabby as before. There were currently countless joss sticks burning at the temple with hundreds of devotees gathered around to pay their respects too. Unfortunately, the first monk master had passed away. She left the area without achieving what she had set out to achieve. In the end, she continued living like a lostmb. Soon, it was the fifth year of Michael¡¯s cryogenic sleep and time swiftly passed by. Sophia had celebrated her 35th birthday. Many things happened in the fifth year. For example, Carmen was preparing to pursue her studies abroad alone. She had always received the best education avable since she had elite private tutors. Therefore, she had the best options for her studies. She started junior middle school when she was 11 years old and now, she finally received the admission letter from Eton College. Cooper started to line up to apply for a spot in Eton College the year he found out about Carmen¡¯s existence. On top of that, he simultaneously fought for the rights of female students to be enrolled into the college. Due to thebined powerful influences of Cooper and Carmen¡¯s three families and thanks to the support from arge number of people eager for change, the administration of Eton College finally epted female students in secret after many years of tradition. She was part of the first batch and they only took one ss of female students with less than twenty girls. The enrollment quota of less than twenty female students had been selected through thousands of candidates. Upon learning that Eton College was epting female students, the local noble families tried sending their daughters into the college and even the aristocrats abroad tested the waters too. After enduring countless rounds of interviews, Carmen seeded to secure a seat. She had worked hard and tirelessly for the spot in the college apart from her family¡¯s support. Despite her petite figure, Carmen knew early on about the importance of self-importance. Throughout the years, she had continued to operate her store on Amazon while developing her talents and potential in different fields. Her store was now operating like a proper business. She stopped being involved in movies and reality shows, which was most probably due to her boredom. It was time for her to transform from a young idol to a straight-A goddess. The interview for Eton College was much more difficultpared to the kindergarten interview that she had in the past. Furthermore, the college would inspect the family situation and background beforehand. Fortunately, Sophia had already obtained a postgraduate degree from Bayside University, so she did not weigh her family down. Carmen simply packed her luggage and left the home which she lived in for the past eleven years to further her studies abroad¡­ In any case, Sophia started to pack her daughter¡¯s luggage while nagging her along the way. It was obvious her heart was breaking for her daughter. My dear baby is leaving for such a far ce for the first time to attend boarding school. She does not have any family there. I just can¡¯t help but feel worried despite sending somebody over to look after her daily needs. On the other hand, Carmen seemed annoyed as shemented, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m leaving to pursue my studies. It¡¯s not like I am going to war. I will not end up dead, so you do not have to worry about me. Here, have a look! I¡¯m already using sanitary pads. I am a big girl, which means I am no longer a baby.¡± Sophia felt even more dested when she heard that. My daughter is all grown up now; she¡¯s even using sanitary pads these days. Carmen left swiftly and from then on, she left her home for many years to make a living outside. Within the same year, Linus and Callum still remained single while Sophia¡¯s twins had a growth spurt too. By the end of the year, Cade regained consciousness. After five years, the drug for treating GvHD was finally developed. The moment he woke up from his cryogenic sleep, he found himselfing face-to-face after opening his eyes with Sophia and Anna, who had bloodshot eyes. ¡°Mom?¡± Cade, who had just woken up, was emaciated. After being in cryogenic sleep for such a long time, it was natural for the body to be especially frail. Hence, he needed a certain amount of time to recover before he could receive treatment. He looked at Anna and Sophia before asking, ¡°Mom, Sophia, hasn¡¯t the cryopreservation started?¡± From his point of view, he had merely lost consciousness temporarily, so he felt that he quickly woke up from his sleep. He did not realize that time was so cruel and elusive. It was not until he noticed the fine lines etched across Anna¡¯s face as well as Sophia¡¯s longer hair and matured expression that he finally realized five years had already passed. In the end, Cade was injected with thetest drug and his body made a swift recovery. He felt the vast changes of the world after he fully recovered. After he left Michel¡¯s Castle, he returned to Ronney City, where he met Callum, who was once ten minutes older than he was. However, Callum was now older than Cade by five years. I can¡¯t believe time has quickly passed by. With Cade¡¯s return, they brought him up to date with current affairs to ensure that he was informed about what he had missed throughout the five years. He returned to the Ronney Group to continue as one of the twin directors with Callum. Unfortunately, Michael still did not regain consciousness. Furthermore, there was not much breakthrough in the medical field technology. Hence, they needed more time. Sophia stood in the middle of the cryopreservation center while observing Michael, who was deep asleep. She seemed calmer and more grounded without having the initial heart-wrenching despair and suffering from the past. Nevertheless, under her calm fa?ade, she harbored a seed of hope¡ªdeep down in her heart. I will never give up. In the same year, the cryopreservation project caught the public¡¯s attention. Michel Medical Technology Company was the first tomercialize cryopreservation. Besides, there were many sessful examples within the enterprise, so their business continued expanding. They were racing against the God of Death, and thepany had repeatedly won. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. However, many people lost hope on cryopreservation because they chose to apany their family. They wanted to face death calmly and gracefully. The Academy Award Winner, Taylor, had disappeared from the public¡¯s eye for five years. It was simr to what happened many years ago¡ªthe news of his death spread like wildfire. In any case, his agency remained mum and they refused to release any information about him. The agency was convinced that once the fervor of the news had passed, his passionate fans would disperse as expected. However, five years had passed, but there were stillrge groups of fans checking on the return of their idol, Taylor, by visiting the social media tforms and his fan page. Unfortunately, they heard nothing about him. Sophia did not expect many people to continue waiting for him even though five years had passed. It¡¯s a shame that I have no idea what to say to his fans, which is why I choose to remain silent. Five years is a long time for different things to happen, but these are all insignificant to me. Sometimes, time seems to fly, but at times, it seems to crawl as slow as a snail. During the seventh year, Quinton suddenly lost his mind and he resigned from Michel Medical Technology Company. During his youth, he injectedrge amounts of stimnts to help with bodybuilding. Recently, the side effects were bing more apparent. Initially, they were just normal headaches, but gradually, he had short-term memory loss and periods of insanity. In fact, he started experiencing hallucination. After a proper course of treatment, his condition finally stabilized. However, he lost a portion of his memories¡ªand it was a rather huge chunk of it. Quinton was packing his luggage when Sophia dropped by to send him off. Upon noticing her, he smiled. ¡°I am leaving to work as a volunteer teacher. Sophia, please remember to visit me often.¡± He has forgotten his identity and everything that he did as the Phantom Wolf. However, after waking up, he still remembers that he¡¯s getting ready to work as a volunteer teacher in the mountains. It was then when she realized that volunteering as a teacher in the mountains had always been his dream. He had kept it a secret for many years without bringing it up. After losing his memories this time, he was only able to hold onto the deepest obsession in his heart. That was most probably why he demanded to leave once his body recovered. As of now, his body function had deteriorated and he was no longer the agile, skilled assassin he used to be. He was almost like an ordinary human being, so he was no longer a threat. Sophia found a primary school within a poverty-stricken mountainous area to send him there. Quinton left in excitement. After arriving in the area, he sent her photos on a daily basis. He seemed to have be the legendary Professor rk, who was well-loved by both teachers and students alike in Bayside University. It almost felt as if nothing had happened during those past few years. Unfortunately, bad news arrived in the ninth year of Michael¡¯s cryogenic sleep. There was an earthquake at the school where Quinton was working. He was still in ss during the disaster, so he sent all of the children to safety. Initially, he could have saved himself, but he returned to the school to save more of them. In the end, he was buried in the copsed roof. He was at the brink of death by the time they rescued him, but he used his body as a shield to protect two children. He used his life in exchange for their lives. Unfortunately, he did not survive the ident. When Sophia received the news of his death, it was apanied with a message of hisst words and a pair of his corneas. Chapter 1465 Chapter 1465 Those were Quinton¡¯s pair of corneas. Although he was suffering from amnesia, he learned about the past from others and that included the fact that Michael was still in cryogenic sleep. Hence, before his death, Quinton donated his corneas to Sophia because he owed her his sight. She lost her eyesight because of him and she had been using a pair of artificial corneas ever since. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Now, they no longer owed anything to each other. In reality, she had a pair of usable corneas for a long time. They belonged to Anne, but she had never used them. Two years ago, Anne was involved in an ident and rejected cryopreservation moments before her death in the hospital. On top of that, she specifically donated her corneas to Sophia. In that way, even in death, Anne would be able to use her eyes to look at Cooper every day. He did not even respond even after learning about her ident. While holding onto herst breath in the hospital, she finally passed away when she received news that he and Sophia had agreed to ept her corneas. Nevertheless, Sophia had never used the pair of corneas. Instead, she returned them to Anne¡¯s parents. However, Sophia epted Quinton¡¯s corneas this time. After recing her artificial corneas with the donated ones from him, she regarded her reflection in the mirror. She felt as though he was just beside her. I¡¯ve long forgiven Quinton, but Michael might not wake up forever¡­ Within the same year, Carmen returned from Eton College during her break to visit Mark at the Fletcher Residence. Medical technology has recently improved by a great length. He had an especially strong will to survive and he was physically active. Hence, he was full of vitality. Somehow, he was able to make a full recovery in the few times that he was critically ill. He seeded in surviving up until now. In fact, he vowed that he would not die if Michael did not live. Sophia followed her to the Fletcher Residence. Upon arriving there, she saw Quinton ying chess with Mark. Upon hearing their voices, he turned to look at them with her eliminated, hand-me-down artificial corneas. His eyesight was clear and with a sharp gaze. Previously, he lied to Sophia because he merely sustained a serious injury when he was admitted to the hospital. He survived the ordeal, but he imed to have passed away. The Fletcher Family proceeded to remove Quinton¡¯s existence to officially include him as Hope Fletcher in their genealogy record system. Since then, he moved into the Fletcher Residence. A living person is not allowed to donate their corneas and even if I were to donate mine, Sophia might not ept them. That is why I spread rumors that I¡¯ve passed away and I even donated my corneas before my death. Furthermore, since I didn¡¯t have a sry as a volunteer teacher, I had no savings in my pocket. Artificial corneas are pricey and a pair would have cost me hundreds of thousands. In fact, a pair of good quality ones would cost millions. In the end, I had no choice, but to use the hand-me-downs from her. In any case, I am grateful that I have my eyesight. Currently, the Fletcher Family has arranged a job for me and it¡¯s a steady nine-to-five job. Besides, I¡¯ve connected with the rk Family. The rks just assumed that I¡¯m lucky to have survived all those years ago, but my face has been destroyed. Later, my biological paternal family found me. To sum it up, I am just Hope Fletcher right now, whereas Quinton rk, the Phantom Wolf, haspletely vanished. The earthquake has put an end to theplicated and evil deed. Sophia¡¯s heart was still and tranquil in the tenth year that Michael was in cryopreservation. It seemed that she was mentally ready to spend the rest of her life alone. Even if I can¡¯t witness him waking up, my next generation will continue the fight. I¡¯m sure that he will wake up one day. I will be happy even after death as long as I know that he will wake up. Michael might me me for being cruel, but this is the only thing I can offer him. The project had some development that year¡ªthere was a breakthrough in the project for stem cells of the deciduous teeth and it had the clinical trial phase. Unfortunately, the results were not as promising since the effects were not good enough. Its application on medical treatments was still premature, so more time was needed. Carmen was also 16 years old and she hadpleted her studies in Eton College too. She enrolled in one of the top-five universities in the world and even started to study hard for her doctorate. Compared to an ordinary person, her speed was considered as fast. However, for such a high- achieving family, it was merely the norm. Furthermore, some could evenment that she was ate bloomer. In any case, her current progress was a result of Sophia¡¯s insistence for her to slow down. She is still a child, after all. Carmen needs to spend time with her peers to grow up in a healthy manner. She should date and experience puppy love, at the very least¡­ If she were to procure her degree and join the family business at such an early age, she would be surrounded by sleazy old men in their twenties and thirties. Well, that wouldn¡¯t be puppy love anymore because they will be taking advantage of her. Unfortunately, Carmen had high expectations, so she was not interested in her peers at all. The ones she was interested in were not within her age range. Hence, she set aside the issue of dating; instead, she focused on studying to obtain her degree and certificates to the point where she even abandoned her online shop. Sophia once had high hopes for Bailey and she even coborated on some projects with him throughout the years. Nevertheless, Carmen had been pursuing her studies abroad. Hence, Sophia did not have the chance to match-make the two of them, which was an annoying issue for her. It was also in that year when Sophia brought Carmen and Celine to dig the time capsule that they buried ten years ago. Sophia was already aware of Michael¡¯s illness when they buried the item, but she endured her pain to proceed to hide the time capsule. Initially, I wanted Michael to leave something for me as a token of remembrance. Unfortunately, he did not make an effort. Besides, it¡¯s been ten years and everybody has forgotten what they¡¯ve buried. I only remember that Celine has a huge stash of delicious snacks. ¡°Nate! Please open this because I¡¯m sure that it¡¯ll stink! All the food must have gone bad!¡± Sophia beckoned Nathan while instructing him to harrow out the time capsule. Ten years had passed by and Nathan, who was once a quiet and distant teenager, turned into a cold youth who spoke little. He quietly picked up the hoe to dig the spot that contained the buried time capsules. On the other side, Sophia¡¯s other two children were cheering him on. The 26-year-old Nathan had turned out different than before. He inherited a tanned, bronzeplexion from his ancestors, which made him look especially handsome. Among a sea of conventional, fair- skinned and good-looking young men, he stood out because he looked especially stunning. In addition to that, he did not join the army when he came of age and instead chose to be in the business world. After Michael had been ced into cryopreservation, Nathan joined Asco International to be involved in their administration. Currently, he was the director and hebined Justin¡¯s securitypany and Asco International. Nathan had been doing very well, indeed. Surprisingly, after opening the time capsule, Sophia noticed that they did not smell as bad as she expected. No food was in Celine¡¯s time capsule, but there were many small gifts inside. There was a small present in Carmen¡¯s time capsule too. However, Sophia also noticed that there was a letter in her time capsule. She stared at the yellowish envelope while looking at the words¡ª¡®Dear Wife, Sophia Edwards¡¯¡ªin a daze. Did Michael put this in? Carmen opened the present to see a broken lipstick inside and immediately burst into tears. Dad gave me this!When dad was ced under cryopreservation, I was only 6 years old and I¡¯m already 16 now. My childhood memories are getting blurry now and I can¡¯t even recall the feeling of having a father. I didn¡¯t expect to receive the lipstick that he gave me ten years ago. Sophia took the letter and left without saying a word. That night, she took a flight to leave Cethos and headed to the headquarters of Michel Medical Technology Company in Africa. Chapter 1466 Chapter 1466 Upon arriving at the cryopreservation chamber, she tore the letter that Michael wrote to her into pieces. She tossed the torn pieces of yellowish letter and envelope away and they scattered all over the floor like snowkes. She gazed at Michael, who was peacefully asleep, and wailed in despair, ¡°Michael, you b*stard! Why should I forgive you? How could I possibly ept it if you were to leave me without saying goodbye? Do you truly believe that I¡¯ll be able to let go of you easily to search for my next rtionship? That¡¯s impossible! It is impossible!¡± The letter Michael left me ten years ago begs for my forgiveness and he¡¯s even hoping that I¡¯d fall in love for the second time! From N?velDrama.Org. ¡°B*stard!¡± She bawled like a banshee. ¡°B*stard!¡± Apart from the robot, who approached her to continue to sweep the floor outside, nobody else dared to approach her. After crying for a long time, she leaned against the wall weakly before slumping onto the ground. She kept her head bowed as her tears dripped onto the ground to form a small stream. ¡°I will cure you. I have to cure you. I will be able to cure you¡­¡± Sophia constantly repeated as her heart shattered into pieces. I will never give up! It was the thirteenth year of Michael¡¯s cryogenic sleep. It was also the month of September¡ªthe month of her birthday. Today, everybody gathered to celebrate her birthday with her. Cooper, Anna, Linus, Callum, Cade, Sophia¡¯s three children, Nathan, Celine, Stanley, Sean and the gang were all present. There was a delicious feast at home and it was especially lively. Unfortunately, Sophia did not seem invested in the event at that point. It¡¯s always the same thing for my birthday each year and I¡¯m getting bored of it. I¡¯ve been counting the years as I age and I can¡¯t help but lament how time flies. It has been thirteen years! Thirteen years ago, when Michael was ced in cryogenic sleep, he was thirteen years older than I am. This year, we are finally of the same age. It¡¯s a shame that I can¡¯t express myself. Everybody seems so happy, so I have no choice but to feign a smile too. ¡°Mom, here! Make a wish!¡± Carmen pushed Sophia to the front of the cake while urging her to make a wish. Sophia appeared especially helpless. I have to make a wish every year, but none of them has ever come true. Well, in any case, I¡¯ll wish for progress in all my projects and I hope that Michael will wake up soon. After making her wish, they ate the birthday cake. Soon, it was time for presents. ¡°It is the same every year and I¡¯m getting bored of it! Here, Mom! Let¡¯s do something new this year to spice things up!¡± Carmen mischievously tied an eye mask around Sophia¡¯s eyes and it was instantly pitch-back for thetter. Carmen led Sophia to grope the presents that everybody had prepared for her. She could have been 40 years old, but everybody still treated her as the beloved princess. Hence, she would receive a huge pile of gifts every year. Well, I think this year¡¯s birthday isn¡¯t as boring as before, but I¡¯m sure that the presents are simr to the past. To begin with, the first thing is a puppy¡ªit must be from Sarah because she gives me cats and dogs every birthday. I bet her pet shop¡¯s sales haven¡¯t been doing well this year. Next, it¡¯s the entire line of a lipstick series¡ªStanley must have bought these. He gives me lipsticks every year. Since he isn¡¯t adept at picking the colors, he¡¯d end up buying the whole line for me. Sophia continued to run her fingers over the gifts and she could tell that there were purses, clothes and leather shoes. Suddenly, Linus whispered in excitement, ¡°Sophia, this is a gift from Dad and me. I hope that you¡¯ll like it. Here, feel it.¡± He grabbed her hand in a gesture for her to feel the present. For some reason, there wasplete silence around her and the rowdy crowd suddenly kept quiet. Sophia could tell that there was a sudden eerie change in the atmosphere. Is there some sort of earth- shattering good news this year? She reached out to blindly feel her way by touching right and left, but she just could not feel a thing. Suddenly, she felt something hot dripping onto the back of her hand. Then, there it was again¡ªthe second time and it rained down on her hands. The feeling sent chills down her spine. Simultaneously, a warm hand suddenly grabbed hold of her hands amidst the darkness. A familiar warmth shrouded over her before a melodic voice gently greeted, ¡°Happy birthday. I am back.¡± The whole world seemed to have arrived at a standstill at that moment. Sophia stood rooted to the spot and she was too shocked to react. It was not until somebody removed the eye mask that she was blinded by the sudden brightness when she could see again¡ªhe was standing against the light. Tears swam in his eyes as they streamed down his cheeks. Earlier, it was his tears that dripped onto the back of her hands. She looked up at him and her brimming tears blurred her vision. Michael¡¯s facial features became muddled, but her vision cleared again once her tears rolled down her cheeks. Is this a dream? I can¡¯t even move because I¡¯m afraid that my dream will end once I make the slightest move. Even after he pulled her into an embrace, she was still astounded and did not have the courage to move or speak. Michael still looked the same; his appearance did not change at all from thirteen years ago. He was shielded from the passage of time and he escaped from the grasp of the God of Death because he was protected from the rotting of time. ¡°I¡¯ve been asleep for thirteen years and it is wonderful that I can still see you upon waking up. This is wonderful¡­¡± At that moment, Sophia finally realized that it was not a dream and tightly held onto him. She looked like she was afraid that fate would snatch him from her again. You are finally back after being away for thirteen years and I am still around. I will always be around for you for the rest of my life¡­ In reality, Michael had regained consciousness a month ago. Currently, the technology has matured with many sessful cases in organ repair and regeneration. Hence, it was finally time for his treatment! In order to surprise her for her birthday, Linus and Cooper had kept him captive up until now. Michael¡¯s body had not fully recovered, so he was bed-ridden for quite a while after returning home. In fact, he had been abroad undergoing a series of surgeries. He did not have the time to meet his family at all, but he was finally home. Sophia started to introduce their family and friends by his bedside. ¡°These are our twinsÒ»Jude Yard and Layton Mitchell. Come here to greet your dad.¡± Sophia brought their children over. Hemented, ¡°Those are such random names.¡± On the other side, Cooper sharply barked, ¡°I came up with their names! Do you have something to say about that?!¡± Michael instantly kept quiet. ¡°This is Nigel from Dana¡¯s family and he¡¯s always hanging out here.¡± Sophia led a teenager over to him. ¡°I still remember you,¡± he stated. After that, Sophia carried a baby to him who bore a faint resemnce to her. The baby was still asleep and his eyes were closed. ¡°Drumroll! Allow the grand introduction of the little one. Can you guess who he is?¡± Michael was pleasantly surprised. Did Sophia use my DNA to conceive and give birth to a son when I wasn¡¯t around? That exins it!! However, the next thing he knew, she unexpectedly revealed, ¡°Aha! You wouldn¡¯t have guessed it! You are a grandfather now.¡± His smile froze across his face. Carmen, who was standing just beside them, exined while chuckling happily, ¡°Dad, he is my son. He¡¯s only 3-months-old! You are a grandfather now! Are you surprised? Are you shocked!?¡± The smile was frozen and stiff on Michael¡¯s face as he turned to stare at his 19-year-old daughter. Hang on, she was merely 6 years old! He was in a trance as he looked at his ¡®6-year-old¡¯ daughter before ncing at his 3-month-old grandson. A guest had arrived at that moment. I¡¯ll recognize the green-eyed goblin even if he were to turn to ash after ten years. He looks like he hase over right after a meeting. He¡¯s still wearing a business suit and holding a present. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; the traffic was heavy on the way here, which is why I¡¯mte.¡± Michael was astounded at that moment. He looked down at the baby in his arms because the baby was now wide awake. Hisrge green eyes were gazing back at Michael. After ncing at the ¡®6-year-old¡¯ Carmen and Bailey, whom she was clinging onto, and his grandson with green eyes in his arms, Michael¡¯s eyes rolled back and he fainted¡­ Theo¡¯s right; he said that it¡¯s best not to be put into cryogenic sleep because you wouldn¡¯t know what type of inconceivable things might happen when you¡¯re not around, let alone the shocking things you might witness when you wake up too. The end. Chapter 1467 Chapter 1467 Throughout the journey of every person¡¯s growth, there would always be a time when they¡¯d abandon rationality, fail to adhere to their values or even act in a strange manner. Some would even want to knock their heads against the wall upon recalling what they had experienced over the past ten years. During that period, the collective term used was ¡®Adolescent rebellious syndrome¡¯, also known as ¡®Teenage Period¡¯. During the Teenage Period, Michael was convinced that he would spend the rest of his life with Irene whereas Sophia assumed that Richard was the love of her life. Currently, Carmen felt that Flynn rk was an angel. It was nighttime in Bayside City. The best nightclub, ¡®Audistin¡¯, which was also known as the ¡®money- squandering den¡¯ by the rich and wealthy, was crowded with people from all walks of life. It represented a hedonistic lifestyle¡ªin the club, the lights were shimmering in all directions and one would easily be transported to a sense of overwhelming happiness. Two petite girls, who wore senior high school uniforms, were hidden in a corner as they down their drinks. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Glug, glug, glug¡ª After downing a ss of coke, Poppy Winston, who was wearing her school uniform, aggressively mmed the cup on the table in front of those two girls. She mmed the table before standing up abruptly while scolding Carmen, who sat across her, ¡°Carmen Fletcher! You are an id*ot! You have already received your doctorate. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re back here to attend senior high for a lousy man. Aren¡¯t you embarrassed of yourself? Don¡¯t you think that you¡¯re a fool?! Just look at the man that you¡¯re in love with! Everybody knows that he¡¯s cheating on you! You have be aughing stock! Please give up! We are born with a silver spoon and we are the next generation of the ultra-rich! People like us can¡¯t possibly find true love. Even if you were to hide your identity and pretend to be a security guard¡¯s daughter, you would never find true love! You should be a good girl and return toplete your second doctorate or join one of thepanies owned by either your dad, mom, brother, uncle, grandmother or grandfather. Be obedient and inherit your family business! Flynn, the poor man, isn¡¯t right for you¡ªjust look at his family! He is so poor that his yacht and private jets are second hand vehicles!¡± Poppy¡¯s face flushed red as she eximed indignantly. Apart from feeling frustrated, she looked as if she wanted nothing more than to charge at Carmen to strangle her. However, Carmen seemed unperturbed; she was instead busy using her phone. An underage person would not be able to purchase alcohol at a ce like that. If it were not for the fact that they owned Audistin¡¯s shares from birth, they would not have been able to enter the club. Carmen took a sip of the hot milk tea, but her mind was preupied with refreshing daydreams. It was just like her current mood¡ªshe was blinded by the phone disy in front of her, which had a boy on her phone screen. The boy had an exceptionally handsome face with prominent features. He was about her age and he looked like the school hunk of every girl¡¯s dream. It was her boyfriend, the school hunk from Bayside City¡¯s high school for aristocrats, South Bayside High School. His name was Flynn rk and he was from the high school senior year Alpha ss¡­ Somehow, his face had the alluring charm, which bewitched her, because she seemed to be intoxicated. She kept staring at her phone as though it was the most enjoyable thing for her. She recorded the video when they were previously having a video call. Upon ying the clip, she heard a warm and breezy voice speaking to her and it was rather intoxicating. She propped her cheek against her palm while listening to his voice. She seemed to have forgotten about the rowdy noise around her because she only had eyes for him. ¡°Carmen, promise me that you will never suspect me or leave me, no matter how hard the future is, alright? Kimberly Stafford and I have been betrothed to each other since birth, but our parents made that decision. In any case, please don¡¯t worry because I¡¯ll try to call off the engagement as soon as possible. We will be able to be together openly soon. I love you¡ªyou are my angel. It is my honor to have met you in my lifetime. If doomsday arrives and there¡¯s only a minute left in our lives, I must be with you to spend thest sixty seconds to love you.¡± From Carmen¡¯s point of view, it was as perfect as a teenage idol drama series. However, from Poppy¡¯s perspective¡­ ¡°Isn¡¯t he being deliberately ambiguous? Let me see! I¡¯d like to have a good look at the b*stard¡¯s face!¡± Carmen immediately kept her phone away. ¡°Poppy, you don¡¯t understand. This is love.¡± Poppy impatiently clucked her tongue. ¡°I¡¯ve dated more men than you have! Why are you dering your love so casually? Let me have a look!¡± ¡°No!¡± Carmen took her phone away and she picked up her bag. She left the private room with her dog in a hurry. Poppy chased after her from behind. She was one of the children whom Sophia fostered all those years ago. Harry eventually took her from Sophia and raised her as his own. There were three children in the Winston Family. The oldest son was Hope Winston, whereas the third son was Seek Winston. They were named as such to represent the hope of seeking for a younger sister. Hence, the daughter was named Poppy Winston, in the hopes for her to excel in life. Her nickname as a child was Poppy. The two young girls had their yful banter while walking across the boisterous hall of the nightclub. They made their way out whereas arge husky followed them from behind. The security guards in the nightclub did not seem surprised by that. They acted as if they had not witnessed two underage girls breaking the rules by entering the nightclub with a dog. Nevertheless, countless eyes stared at them pointedly the moment they entered the doors because they were the bosses¡¯ daughters, after all. They were no doubt super sessors, so nobody would be able to bear the responsibility if something were to happen to those two. The two girls left the nightclub, one after the other. They had just arrived at the main entrance and they were about to press the button for the elevator when the doors of the VIP elevator unexpectedly opened. Ding! There was a light chime when the elevator doors opened. The lights shone bright and golden and illuminated Carmen¡¯s face. Under the brilliant lights, she saw a couple walking out while holding hands. Simrly, they were underage. While Poppy and Carmen were wearing normal school uniforms, Poppy inherited the Winston Family¡¯s underground styles. It did not matter what season they were in because her uniform would always be unbuttoned to expose her inner top and she would deliberately wear a skull essory around her wrist. The hem of her pants would always be of different lengths to show off the tattoo on her ankle. On the other hand, Carmen would be dressed in a regr manner without any makeup on. She would wear a pair of canvas shoes and her school sportswear. She would usually have her hair tied into a neat bun while herrge spectacles framed her ssically beautiful face. However, the shadows underneath her eyes were especially obvious from her staying upte. They were a stark contrastpared to the couple opposite them. The man was wearing a suit¡ªhe was dressed as a typical aristocrat with a tailored suit. Each piece of clothing draped nicely across his figure and it made him look especially tall; the girl was wearing a long dress with a dipping neckline to expose her cleavage which had just begun to take shape. However, her thick and exquisite make-up made her look mature. As the best nightclub in Bayside City, the club had a membership system, so only members were allowed to enter the premises. A server immediately showed up to wee the guests once they entered the venue. The couple stepped out of the elevator entrance and they spotted Carmen and Poppy, who were standing nearby, straight away. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s the school entrance¡¯s security guard, Theo¡¯s daughter, Carmen¡ª¡± The girl with the dipping neckline gown immediately recognized Carmen. In fact, she knew who her father was. Last year, after receiving my doctorate from an elite university abroad at the age of 16, I adamantly returned home. I refused to attend sses at Bayside University; instead, I started studying junior year at South Bayside High School regardless of my family¡¯s opposition. After learning that I¡¯m back at Bayside City for my studies, Grandpa applied for the position as a security guard to pick me up after school every day. Unfortunately, he looks too young, so nobody believes that he¡¯s my grandfather. In the end, I introduced him as my father to outsiders. In any case, my biological dad is still under cryopreservation. Nevertheless, Carmen did not seem to hear the sarcasm in that girl¡¯s tone because she was focused on the man standing beside her. He was none other than her boyfriend, Flynn. He ims that he doesn¡¯t love his fianc¨¦, Kimberly, while he¡¯s passionately. pursuing me, but right now, he¡¯s holding her hand. She stared at them in silence and she seemed to have understood the truth. Tears started to brim in her eyes whereas Flynn, who was standing opposite her, did not look sorry at all. In fact, he discreetly looked away. Kimberly was tossing her maroon, wavy hair around. Her voice sounded cold and distant with an arrogant gaze. She was not even bothered to meet Carmen¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m telling you again today¡ªFlynn is my boyfriend and we will get married in the future. It doesn¡¯t change anything even if you pursue him until the whole school knows about it. I suggest you preserve some dignity for yourself!¡± Carmen remained silent; it seemed as if her beliefs and insistence all along had been quietly crushed into pieces at that moment. The eerie silencested for a few seconds. In the end, Poppy¡¯s cries of surprise broke the silence sharply. ¡°Oh, my God! Are you Flynn rk?¡± In the blink of an eye, Poppy charged toward Flynn with her fist raised, but she paused in an odd position just inches away from his face¡­ She stared at him and something instantly clicked in her mind. I think I know why Carmen fell for such a pretentious and poor man. He¡­ looks exactly like Michael Fletcher. Chapter 1468 Chapter 1468 Poppy had also attended school at South Bayside High School, but she was always ying truant and being involved in fights. She was preupied with her underworld business, so she did not pay much attention to things like the school hunk or love stories within the campus. About someone like Flynn, who was from a poor family, she did not have a clue about him, so it was her first time meeting him in person. I didn¡¯t expect him to look exactly like my godfather, Michael Fletcher, who is also Carmen¡¯s biological father. At a quick nce, he truly resembles him based on our memories. Eleven years ago, Michael was ced under cryopreservation and he has been in a state of deep sleep. Once the technology has matured, he will be resurrected again. Carmen was 6 years old at that time whereas I was the same age too. Talking about him causes pain in everybody. Furthermore, I am afraid that I¡¯ll age as I grow up and I might not be able to see Michael regain consciousness from the cryogenic sleep. Now that she saw the man who closely resembled Michael, she felt a lump forming in her throat, and a surge of emotions within her chest. Tears started to brim in her eyes and her body slumped weakly. She loosened her fist while she stared in a daze at his face. Although ten years had passed, Michael was still the national idol. His movies were still given awards and his work were ssics. There were many people imitating his style within the entertainment industry, but nobody could exceed his performance. The man in front of me looks exactly like the gentle and dignified man from my memory. While watching the two girls being stunned to the spot, Kimberly burst outughing as she jeered at Carmen, ¡°I know that you are irrevocably in love with Flynn, but you should reflect on your family and background. Flynn is the sessor of the rk Family, while you are¡­ Well, if your dad wasn¡¯t the security guard at school and the school had reduced your tuition fees, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t have ended up sitting beside Flynn. You should know your ce, so stop your daydreaming!¡± With that, Kimberly held Flynn¡¯s hand to march into Audistin. He remained silent throughout the ordeal and quietly left with her. The two young girls snapped back to reality after the couple left. Carmen let out a sob and she started to cry softly. Initially, Poppy was ready to punch him, but she held back as she thought, I can¡¯t possibly hit that face! Property ? N?velDrama.Org. At that moment, she had no choice, but to soothe Carmen, ¡°Alright now; stop crying. I will be honest with you¡ªthat b*stard has shown his true colors and you should give up on him! He has been lying to you all along. He ims that he¡¯s keeping the rtionship a secret for your sake, but he¡¯s been cheating on you in reality. That scumbag is not worth your tears!¡± Carmen did not reply to Poppy; instead, she tightly held onto the dog leash. Then, the two of them entered the elevator with the dog to leave the club. Although it was the start of spring, it was still chilly in Bayside City. The two of them were waiting for the bus at the roadside, but it was nowhere to be seen even though it was already around 8 to 9:00PM. Carmen was quiet, but Poppy was especially chatty. ¡°Just look at you. I told you that men are b*stards in general, but you refused to believe me. Look at you¡ªyou¡¯ve been fooled! Men are the same¡ªthey have a honey tongue and a heart of gall. In fact, they are mostly double-faced!¡± Despite her constant scolding, Poppy was already nning on different methods to break Flynn¡¯s leg after school the next day. Flynn might be the sessor of the rk Family, but the rks¡­ are nobodies! It is undeniable that the rks have been rather sessful in Bayside City after being involved with the Fletchers, but as the Young Miss of the Winston Family, I can beat him up as I please. If the rks were to investigate, I¡¯d beat up the entire registered household. I¡¯ll do it repeatedly until they stop investigating! The rk Family has no familial ties with the Fletcher Family. However, a year ago, the rk Family suddenly learned that their family member, Quinton rk, who has been long dead, has been living in the Fletcher Residence. In fact, they found out that Quinton has been reinstated in the genealogy record book as Hope Fletcher. Nevertheless, Hope was still in contact with the rks, so the rk Family has imed to be rted with Bayside City¡¯s militarymander-in-chief, the Fletchers. In any case, they are not truly rted; yes, they are barely rted. Anyway, that is the reason why the rk Family¡¯s value has increased drastically. Therefore, the distinguished and rich families, who previously couldn¡¯t be bothered with them, started reconnecting to discuss the betrothal of the younger generation. The two girls failed to catch the bus, so they stopped by a street stall to have some barbecue food, which was Poppy¡¯s treat. They chatted while enjoying the food. Carmen¡¯s mood lightened over time, but she was still holding onto her phone, as if she was still expecting a phone call. ¡°Here, Judge! Have a chicken drumstick.¡± Poppy fed the dog a drumstick. The husky was Judge¡¯s great grandson and it was bornst year. It lived in Carmen¡¯s house the moment it was born, so it was especially clingy to her. It would always follow her whenever she went to school. The two girls and the dog were hanging out at the street stall when Poppy suddenlymented, ¡°Sigh, it is honestly rare for ultra-rich sessors, such as ourselves, to have the freedom of dining in a street stall.¡± The other sessors would require a barrage of bodyguards each time they headed out because they could be assassinated or kidnapped at any time. However, those two girls assumed low profiles as the Winston, Mitchell and Fletcher Families took very good care of them. Therefore, their identities had never been exposed before, which was the reason why they could enjoy their freedom for now. Nevertheless, they would not have that freedom in the future once they had to socialize within the upper ss socialwork sooner orter. Carmen had been studying abroad all along and even if she had no idea about the upper ss society in Bayside City, she was still the daughter of Taylor Murray¡ªsomeone who was extremely popr once upon a time. She had always used her pet name ¡®Carmen¡¯ when she debuted in the film industry all those years ago. Therefore, her legal name had never been revealed. She left the filming and variety show industry at the age of seven to focus on her studies and to stay out of the public eye. As it stands, she was no longer popr and she had grown up. Hence, there were some changespared to the time when she was still a child. Therefore, nobody recognized her as Taylor¡¯s daughter even though she studied at South Bayside High School for half a year. I love my family, but I do not like my background. That is why I¡¯ve never revealed my family background to outsiders. The glory of my family feels suffocating. Outsiders are only able to see the brilliance and wonderfulness of a sessor, but they never see the pressure we endure and the struggle thates with it. My mother, Sophia Edwards, is the vice president of Ronney Group, and she is also the person in charge of the Cethosian and African regions. Besides, my grandmother, Anna Yard, is the president of Ronney Group. There is no introduction needed for my grandfather, Cooper Mitchell. In addition to that, my uncles¡¯ worth increases one after another. Furthermore, I have a few older brothers and they are either directors or CEO¡¯s. I am the poorest and most useless one in the entire family. Thanks to my remarkable family background, everybody tends to pay attention and scrutinize my every action. People tend topare me with my other family members. I have a grandfather with a double degree when he was 18 years old whereas an uncle was involved with business management at the tender age of 15. They have achieved great things and it weighs down on my shoulders. I was constantly tense and stressed during the time I was in Eaton College and university. Furthermore, since I¡¯m Carmen Fletcher, there¡¯d always be arge group of people discussing me, even though I just happened to decide to cross my legs. ¡°Look, the granddaughter of Fass Michel and Anna Yard is crossing her leg! Why would their granddaughter cross her legs?!¡± I¡¯ve had enough of that kind of life. That is why after I obtained my doctorate when I was 16 years old, I abandoned everything to leave the university to return to Cethos. I hid my true identity to blend in at South Bayside High School. To begin with, I want to experience a normal life like my peers; next, I want to embark on a journey of fearless love. In any case¡­ I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯ve experienced love. Do I love Flynn or do I love that face embedded in my childhood memories from years ago? In hindsight, if a dog were to have the same face, I might throw myself forward to pursue it too! I think I love that face which closely resembles my father. I wish to spend time together with the person with that face, even if it¡¯s just for a chat¡ªI¡¯d be beyond happy. Chapter 1469 Chapter 1469 Upon recalling his face, Carmen could not help but tear up again. I recall that when I was a child, no matter what nonsense I wanted, how na?ve I was, or the illogical thoughts I had, Mom and Dad would always support me. I even scheduled some horrible stage ys for them to watch. Each time, Dad would watch it solemnly before providing some constructive criticism to me. Whenever he needs to attend the Parent Association conferences, he would always wear my favorite costume to present himself as my favorite character. He has given me a perfect childhood and he is the best father in the world! Unfortunately¡­ Before I was 6 years old, I used to have a happy childhood because I had both Mom and Dad. I had a perfect andplete family. After turning 6years old, I still had a perfect family, but Dad is missing. Her phone suddenly vibrated and she answered the call happily. True enough, it was Flynn, but he had a cautious tone with an echo in the background. It sounded like a vast space and he was most probably phoning her in secret from the washroom. ¡°Carmen, you have to trust me. There¡¯s nothing going on between Kimberly and I. It¡¯s just wishful thinking from her side. The elderlies of the Stafford Family issued an invitation for a meal. They invited an important figure and our family needs me to meet with that important person. Carmen, I truly do not have a choice. I have to be with Kimberly in order to be acquainted with people of importance. The person has a significant status¡ªdo you know Adams Group, the king of international insurance? Recently, the director of Adams Group is in Bayside City. I only have this chance to meet him. If I miss this opportunity, I won¡¯t have a second chance to meet someone important like him for the rest of my life. This is why it is a rare opportunity for me! Carmen, you have to trust me that there¡¯s nothing going on between Kimberly and I! I only love you! Have you forgotten about our dreams and promises?¡± Somehow, Carmen was especially calm at that moment. In fact, she had to fight the urge to burst out in laughter. She could not even hear what he said because she was focused on the memory of him holding hands with Kimberly while they were fooling around earlier. I finally understand why Poppy hates men so much. It is true that men are all id*ots. Without looking through the rose-tinted sses that one calls love, I suddenly feel that Flynn is nothing like Dad. Flynn doesn¡¯t even look like him. It¡¯s an insult to Dad for someone like Flynn to even remotely resemble him! Flynn is a piece of trash and it can¡¯t even bepared to Dad¡¯s sh*t. ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Carmen hung up on the call without waiting for Flynn to finish his words. Then, she stood up abruptly while addressing Poppy. ¡°Take the dog home; I¡¯m headed to the cybercaf¨¦.¡± Poppy was shocked when she heard that. ¡°We are still underage, so we can¡¯t enter cybercaf¨¦s!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m going to Stan¡¯s cybercaf¨¦.¡± The two of them hurried to a nearby cybercaf¨¦. In one of Audistin¡¯s private rooms for the aristocrat, Flynn kept his phone in his pocket after making the phone call. He returned to his seat and sat next to Kimberly. He then assumed his role as her boyfriend while answering questions that were asked by the Elders from the Stafford Family. He looked calm as he waited for the important figure who had yet to reveal himself. At that moment, she suddenly and quietly questioned, ¡°What¡¯s going on with you and the security guard¡¯s daughter?¡± Flynn chuckled when he answered, ¡°What else is there? She¡¯s just daydreaming beyond her capabilities. She doesn¡¯t even know where she stands by pursuing me. Anyways, she kicked up such a fuss that the whole school knew about it; she even handed me a love letter in ss. Besides, she confessed her love for me through the broadcasting station. I find it all very amusing, but you are the only one in my heart. Have you forgotten about that?¡± Kimberly did not attend South Bayside High School; instead, she attended another international school because she was making preparations to pursue her studies abroad. Hence, she was not sure about the true situation, but she chose to believe Flynn. After all, with Flynn¡¯s status, he couldn¡¯t possibly fall for a security guard¡¯s daughter. Soon, the important figure arrived and both parties took their seats. Flynn was extremely excited to speak with the distinguished guest. However, before he could have a good look at the important figure after thetter entered the private room, somebody suddenly came barging through the door¡ªit was two young girls, who were wearing school uniforms, charging in. Carmen led the way by striding forward. She wore a cold and distant expression when she aggressively removed a bracelet from her wrist. Then, she threw it viciously at Flynn¡¯s face. She did not care where she was or the people present when she hissed, ¡°Flynn rk, I, Carmen Fletcher, officially announce that I am ending my five-month rtionship with you. From now on, you shall continue to rely on others to climb the socialdder, whereas I will assume my role as amoner. I am returning you the keepsake that you¡¯ve given me! Also, I might be insignificant, but I¡¯m not a fool. Did you think that I had no idea why you¡¯ve been stringing me along? I have just published the paper on luxury goods online, which you have been eyeing for the longest time, and it has been officially approved. I have already submitted it with my name. Dream on if you were nning on using my thesis to win a prize as a stepping stone for more marks in your college entrance exam!¡± There wasplete silence in the private room. Be it the Elders from the Staffords, the mysterious powerful figures, Kimberly or Flynn, they were all stunned into silence in shock.Property ? N?velDrama.Org. However, Kimberly was the first one to snap back to her senses, so she immediately stood up. ¡°How dare you! Do you know what the asion is here? How could someone of your status show up in these premises? Security! What is happening?!¡± Nevertheless, nobody showed up even after she yelled a few times. Carmen nced at Kimberly. In all honesty, I have no ill intentions toward her. In fact, I feel like I¡¯ve wronged her. Therefore, she sincerely apologized, ¡°I need to apologize to you, Miss Kimberly. I am sorry that I¡¯ve been dating your fianc¨¦ for the past five months. I was the one who pursued your fianc¨¦, so I would like to apologize to you. However, your fianc¨¦ did not inform me that he was already dating you. He informed me that he is single and that he doesn¡¯t love you. He imed he is merely acting around you. In fact, he vowed that he is only in love with me. He says that the reason why he has never publicly announced our rtionship is because he¡¯s the school hunk and he doesn¡¯t want to put any pressure on me.¡± Carmen clearly enunciated every word with a rhythmic flow. She spoke fast, but everybody heard her loud and clear. It took a few seconds before everyone snapped back to their senses. Flynn was the first to stand up. He exined himself to Kimberly and the Staffords in a panic, ¡°She is lying! She has always been the one pursuing me! Besides, she¡¯s just a security guard¡¯s daughter. With her family and her spending power, she can¡¯t possibly know any luxury brands. How could she possibly write a thesis about luxury goods?!¡± He hastily tried to prove his innocence to the Stafford Family. The Staffords may not be in the luxury goods industry, but they were involved in the business world. Hence, he showed a copy of the thesis to Kimberly¡¯s father when it was still a work-in-progress. ¡°Mr. Greg, you¡¯ve read my thesis and I have asked for your opinion too! How could amoner produce such a thesis?!¡± Kimberly¡¯s father nodded in agreement. I remember that thesis¡ªit explores the direction and future trend of luxury goods. The thesis is clearly organized and the points are clear with an advanced viewpoint. There were at least more than ten pages and it was packed with information. It truly didn¡¯t look like something written by an underage senior high school student. I didn¡¯t expect Flynn to have such an outlook and intelligence. That was my first time looking at my future son-inw in apletely new light. There is no limit to his future! That is why I¡¯ve agreed to bring him along to meet this important figure. Greg regarded the young girl, who was still wearing her school uniform, with suspicion. She just doesn¡¯t look like the type of person who could write that paper. His expression instantly darkened when he thundered, ¡°Security! Chase these random people out at this instant!¡± After that, he turned to respectfully apologize to the important figure, who sat across from him. ¡°I am so sorry; the young woman has a loose screw. We will handle this issue as soon as possible.¡± The man was an important figure indeed; he had witnessed all sorts of different situations, so he was not surprised by their predicament. On the contrary, he sat still at the side as he watched the events unfold before him. The lighting was dimmer on his side, but amidst the darkness, his eyes were shining in an unmistakable brilliant green. Chapter 1470 Chapter 1470 Unfortunately, the security guard did not show up. Instead, it was Carmen who adjusted herrge spectacles while she smirked in a domineering way. ¡°However, I¡¯ve just published thepleted thesis earlier. Furthermore, it is published under my name, so the thesis is mine. I¡¯m afraid your wish to enroll in Bayside University by increasing your marks through this thesis will be in vain! I might be amoner and I¡¯ve nevere across or used any luxurious brands and might even not know what a luxury brand means, but this thesis belongs to me¡ª alone. Flynn, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ve just stolen months of your hard work. Why don¡¯t you sue me if you have the capability to do so?¡± Flynn¡¯s expression instantly soured. If it weren¡¯t for her good grades or the fact that she¡¯s able to complete my assignments while being able to participate inpetitions on my behalf, I would never date a disgustingmoner! The thesis isn¡¯t important right now. However, it will be troublesome when this issue of mine offends the important figure, which then results in Kimberly¡¯s resentment. It looks like I have to take a forceful stand to prove that I am not guilty. ¡°Miss, the whole school knows that you¡¯ve been pursuing me aggressively and everybody knows that I¡¯ve rejected you countless times. Nevertheless, you have been relentlessly shameless in your pursuit. I¡¯ve never med you for that, but I did not expect you to spout nonsense here. Are you insane?!¡± Everybody nodded in agreement and they assumed that the young girl in front of them had a loose screw. She is a typical case of a daydreamer. She is too vain, so she starts hallucinating after not getting what she wants. In any case, Carmen was not bothered with whatever they said. I was too stupid previously. I can¡¯t believe Ipleted his assignment for him just because of his looks. I even participated in competitions on behalf of him. In the end, he was the one who received the prizes. I shouldn¡¯t have done all that; well, I was too young. Flynn, that pretentious man, does not deserve that face! She exhaled slowly while staring at Flynn and chuckled at his misfortune. ¡°It¡¯s my business as to whether I¡¯m insane or not, but in regards to the thesis¡­ Feel free to sue me!¡± I wrote 90% of the thesis, and Flynn merely contributed 10%. Right now, I¡¯ve officially taken over 10% of his work! He will not have the courage to sue me because I¡¯ve handed in and published thepleted version whereas he only has the unedited draft! Poppy nodded in agreement at the side. Awesome! This is the Carmen Fletcher I know, who has been crushing her peers in terms of education and intelligence! She¡¯s finally awoken from her stupor! Well, more often than not, women will only improve after being fooled by a b*stard. I learned this when I was in kindergarten. I stopped believing in men ever since an idiot squandered a few days¡¯ worth of my snacks and pocket money during kindergarten! At that moment, the security guard, whom the Staffords had been summoning for the longest time, finally arrived. Once Flynn saw the security guards arriving, he instructed in a hurry, ¡°Security! These two here are causing trouble. Kick them out!¡± I¡¯ll deal with the thesis in the future, but I can¡¯t embarrass the Staffords right now! The head of security wore a frosty expression, but it turned into one of constipation when he turned to nce at the two young girls in school uniforms. These two kiddos are on the go again! Carmen suddenly pointed at Flynn and Kimberly while eximing loudly, ¡°Mr. Security Guard, I want to report these two people. They are underage! Underage personnel aren¡¯t allowed in a nightclub!¡± Her finger was aimed in Kimberly and Flynn¡¯s direction. Audistin was a well-known nightclub, so ording to the rules, underage personnel were not allowed on their premises, but since Mr. Stafford was a member, the management of the nightclub turned a blind eye as Flynn and Kimberly were both invited by him. How could we not serve him despite the fact that he is a few months away from being 18 years old? ¡°Enough with the nonsense. Kick them out. Otherwise, they¡¯ll be disturbing an important figure!¡± Flynn urged the security guard in exasperation. He was afraid that Carmen would spew more truth to the crowd. However, she was unfazed by the so-called important figure. She suddenly took out her cell phone to video-record the situation while eximing loudly, ¡°Flynn, you are done for! Not only are you in a nightclub, but you even had alcohol! I can clearly see your sses of liquor on the table. You¡¯ve simultaneously broken two school rules. Just you wait¡ªI¡¯ll lodge a comint about you tomorrow for your merit points to be deducted!¡± Flynn burst outughing when he heard that. With my status and family background, nobody would bat an eysh even if I were to rape amon female student in school! Let alone drinking liquor outside school or visiting a nightclub. ¡°Security! What are you standing there for? Toss these two out!¡± The head of security had a cold, constipated look, but he suddenly charged forward. He did not grab the two girls; instead, he extended his hand in Flynn and Kimberly¡¯s direction. ¡°Let me see your ID cards.¡± Flynn and Kimberly were both stunned into silence. This isn¡¯t our first time in Audistin. Why would he want our ID cards? He chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Are you sure you need to check our ID cards?¡± The security guard repeated in a ruthless tone, ¡°Let me have a look at your ID card.¡± Kimberly and Flynn exchanged nces with each other, but they just would not take out their ID cards. Hence, Mr. Greg tugged at the security guard to exin in a hushed tone, ¡°Well, look. I have¡­ There¡¯s a VIP here. I brought the children to meet with him. Let¡¯s forget about the ID cards¡ª¡± Poppy immediately yelled, ¡°These two are underage! There¡¯s no escaping it! Mr. Security Guard, toss those two out!¡± Property ? N?velDrama.Org. The head of security felt his skin crawl. We can¡¯t afford to disobey the instructions from these two young Misses. Greg panicked when he saw the security guards about to make their move. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s happening today. Usually, they aren¡¯t bothered with such matters, but they¡¯re getting involved this time. Someone must be trying to get me into trouble. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible for these two girls to mobilize the security guards in Audistin. Lots of people are jealous of the Staffords having a meeting with the important figure here. After all, not everybody has the opportunity to meet with such an important person. He held his stand when he asked the security guard icily, ¡°I think you are making a mistake. If it¡¯s true that you do not serve underage personnel, what¡¯s up with these two young girls?¡± The security guard nced at Carmen and Poppy before exining with a stoic face, ¡°They are working part-time here by washing dishes in the kitchen. It is not illegal to hire students as part-time workers.¡± The moment an arm was being raised, the security guards entered the private room to chase Flynn and Kimberly out. Once they noticed that the security guards were about to kick them out, they voluntarily stood up to leave because they wanted to preserve their dignity. At the same time, he turned to the important figure who had remained silent. ¡°There seems to be a misunderstanding. So, we shall take our leave first.¡± ¡°Get lost! Just wait to receive your punishment tomorrow, you scumbag!¡± Poppy snarled. Flynn and Kimberly red at them moments before the security guards whisked them away. Greg was utterly humiliated in front of the important figure, so he was even more convinced that Audistin and hispetitor could have deliberately sent those two young girls to make a fool of himself. Therefore, he was fuming by that point. ¡°As students who are working as part-timers, you are terribly rude! Is this the Audistin¡¯s attitude in treating their clients?¡± The head of security answered, ¡°This is our mistake, indeed.¡± Then, he turned to Carmen and Poppy and barked coldly, ¡°Part-timers, you have been fired. Collect your sry from the finance department and leave!¡± Carmen and Poppy answered happily, ¡°Sure thing! We¡¯ll head over to collect our sry now!¡± The head of security waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Fine, please leave right now. Do note here again to disrupt our business!¡± Both girls had already picked up their bags to leave. Just before they left the room, Carmen seemed to hear a clear, husky chuckle. ¡°Huh¡ª¡± She nced into the private room, but it was extremely dim. As she had walked far away, she could not tell who wasughing. Chapter 1471 Chapter 1471 Greg was thunderous as he yelled, ¡°You¡¯re going to let them off the hook like that?¡± The security guard stepped aside and watched Carmen and Poppy leave before turning his attention to Greg with a raised brow. ¡°What would you have me do instead, sir? Kill them?¡± With that, he turned to leave and did not bother to stay for whatever retort that Greg would have. An outraged Greg threatened loudly, ¡°I¡¯m going to file aint against all of you!¡± ¡°Have a nice day,¡± the guard replied nonchntly before he exited, leaving Greg high and dry at the entrance. ¡°You¡ª¡± Greg wanted to rush after the guard to confront him, but he refrained from doing so when he remembered that there were more important matters at hand. With that in mind, he turned to address the mogul, who was still sitting in the private booth. After all, it was the mogul who deserved every bit of Greg¡¯s attention. He was about to sit down so that he could resume his conversation with the mogul when much to his surprise, thetter abruptly stood up and started toward the door. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Mr. Adams, where are you going?¡± Greg asked with widened eyes as he scrambled after him. However, the other man did not respond as he left the booth. Greg picked up his pace as he tried to catch up to the mogul. He lowered his stature and began to exin frantically, ¡°Mr. Adams, what happened just now was an ident! The thesis really was written by Flynn. If you don¡¯t believe me, we can go somewhere else and I¡¯ll have him discuss the contents of the thesis with you. M-Mr. Adams¡ª¡± The man said nothing despite Greg¡¯s efforts to convince him. He was powerful and untouchable and not even the likes of Greg, who was the head of Stafford Group, could ever measure up to his stature. At a young age, the mogul had managed to build a business empire that was powerful beyond imagination. His aplishments were legendary and the same had been circting for the past decade. There would undoubtedly be more stories of him in the next ten years, although he would have achieved countless other milestones by then. He was once known as the teenager with the highest worth in the world. Now, he was one of the youngest to have made it to the top of the millionaires list. He had lost his parents and his brothers at the tender age of ten; as a result, he was forced to take over the family business as the director of the conglomerate. The rest of the world thought that the Adams Group was on its way to its demise, seeing that it was desperate enough to push a child into taking over the business, but the same youngster proved to be far more capable than perceived. Time and time again, Adams Group had thrived miraculously under the boy¡¯s leadership and achieved sess that was far beyond anyone¡¯s expectations. Even though he was in his fifties, Greg could not even hope topete against a man as aplished as him. Greg never thought that he could ever meet a big shot like him¡ªnot by his own efforts, at least. In fact, they could never have crossed paths in the current lifetime if it had not been for the invitation from Adams Group. The only reason why the mogul had wanted to see Greg in the first ce was because Flynn¡¯s thesis on the future of insurance, which was featured in a journal publication, had caught his eye. Even the director of Adams Group¡ªotherwise known as the king of international insurance¡ªwas impressed with how the thesis provided a fresh perspective and a new insight into the topic. The thesis was well-structured and meted out cogent reasonings, thus alluding to the author¡¯s in-depth research on the insurance industry. Aside from the obvious fact that the author of the thesis had acquired first-hand information for the dissertation, he was also able to sinctly state his findings and draw a clear conclusion. The author was strong in his delivery and offered a refreshing outlook through his work. The mogul was further convinced of the author¡¯s talent after pursuing his few other theses. Furthermore, there was information to show that the author was an honors high school student whose remarkable academic performance was bolstered by the many awards he had won. Seeing as the mogul happened to be coborating with Stafford Group and upon discovering that they kept in touch with the rks, he had asked Greg to arrange a meeting with the author in person. Who could have thought that the meeting woulde with a plot twist instead? However, he could not say that he waspletely surprised by how things had turned out. It made sense that the theses were written by the girl; the possibility of it was neither far-fetched nor unexpected. In fact, if she was indeed the one who wrote the thesis, he would think she was rather behind on her development. After all, she came from a family of exceptional talent. Meanwhile, Carmen and Poppy were standing on the pavement outside Audistin while they waited for the bus to arrive. Carmen extended her arm and revealed the kids watch on her wrist. ¡°It¡¯s already ten. I think it¡¯s toote for us to catch a bus,¡± she said with a frown on her face. However, before Poppy could give an answer, an expensive car drove out from the garage and pulled up in front of them. The door opened and Flynn angrily alighted from the vehicle before he charged toward them like a rabid dog. He then growled, ¡°Do you realize what you¡¯ve done, Carmen? What you did back there cost me a huge opportunity¡ªdid you know that? Did you know that? Are you trying to ruin me because you can¡¯t have me?¡± Flynn was losing his mind. The reason why Greg brought him to Audistin in the first ce was because the mogul had taken an interest in his thesis and wanted to meet him in person. Flynn had been ecstatic because most people would kill for an opportunity like that, but Carmen showed up and ruined everything for him. His fists were clenched as he marched over to her. Upon seeing this, she instinctively backed away with what appeared to be panic in her eyes and asked, ¡°Are you going to hit me? I¡¯m warning you¡ªmy mom¡¯s a farmer and my dad used to be a construction worker. Strength runs in our family¡¯s blood. I won¡¯t hesitate to kick your *ss if you take one more step toward me!¡± However, Flynn was like a beast filled with rage and he paid no heed to her words. Kimberly, on the other hand, was watching the show from the sidelines as she stood with the men who worked for Stafford Group. This little wench has some nerve, she thought. If everything had gone as nned today, Flynn would have piqued the mogul¡¯s interest and it would not take long before he could start paving his way to sess, but any chance of that happening was non- existent now; the wretched peasant girl even had the audacity to take credit for his work. Flynn was a well-known honor student who won countless awards and all his dissertations had astounded the academic world. He had a bright future ahead of him that was paved with opportunities. The rk Family had almost crumbled away into nothing, but that was before they formed a union with the Fletchers, thereafter producing a genius like Flynn. It was only a matter of time before the rks reimed their ce in the social hierarchy. The opportunity for their gloriouseback had presented itself today, but Carmen came along and ruined everything. Kimberly fumed. This lowly b*tch doesn¡¯t even know how much trouble she¡¯s caused! As of now, Carmen was backing away from Flynn, but just as he swung his fist at her, she whipped out her ancestral Taser and swiftly ducked under his arm. She then shoved the Taser against his stomach. On the other hand, Poppy leapt into the air and jump-kicked Flynn with such force that it sent him flying. She had been waiting for that day for a year, one month and ten days. The *sshole had taken advantage of the fact that he looked like Taylor Murray¡ªwho was Poppy¡¯s godfather¡ªand posted videos of himself acting flirtatious online, thereafter bing an influencer. He even went to the extent of asking social media marketers to hype up his image as an honor roll student who not only looked like Taylor but was also a powerful heir to a huge family fortune. Poppy wanted to spit at him because he had neither money nor power. In fact, he was an heir to nothing more than a disgraced family name! Her godfather could have retired from the entertainment industry for over a decade, but he was still known all over the world. His movies still held the highest ratings and they were also the most-watched movies of all time. It was his work that still garnered the most discussion among fans and movie buffs alike. Anyone could easily gain their fifteen minutes of fame if they were so much as associated with Taylor, including Flynn. If it had not been for those flirtatious videos over the inte, Carmen would never have known about him. She certainly would not have given up on earning her second Bachelor¡¯s degree overseas to return and attend high school. Finally, after months of waiting, Poppy could finally beat Flynn into a pulp! After having been electrocuted with the Taser, he nowy spreadeagled on the ground. The two girls then lunged forward and wasted no time in beating him up. Carmen had moved on; all the theses she¡¯d written for him, thepetitions she¡¯d entered on his behalf and the prize money that was rightfully hers¡ªshe no longer cared about any of these. So, all that was left for her to do was to punch and kick him to her heart¡¯s content. Goodbye, first love. Meanwhile, a couple of luxury cars had driven out of the garage and were pulling up by the pavement. One of the cars had its windows rolled down and the person watched the scene from within the shadows while his green eyes glinted with amusement. Chapter 1472 Chapter 1472 Nobody would have expected that those two girls were courageous to attack Flynn in front of the Staffords. Just as the men from the Staffords moved to defend the fallen boy, the security team from Audistin rushed out onto the streets and effectively blocked their way. The head of security was looking extremely displeased with them. ¡°What are you doing? Are you trying to start a fight outside Audistin?¡± he barked. Audistin had a formidable reputation. The Winstons and Fletchers ran the ce and the Michels were rumored to have shares in the business as well. The clubhouse was backed up by crime organizations and the military; word had it that the security team was made up of soldiers who retired from the special forces, former secret agents, and bloodthirsty mercenaries. As such, one would naturally avoid causing a scene anywhere near the club. Panicking over the safety of her fianc¨¦, Kimberly pointed an usatory finger toward Carmen and Poppy¡ªboth of whom were still throwing punches at Flynn¡ªbefore shouting, ¡°They¡¯re the ones who started the fight!¡± Those were the same security personnel from the club earlier¡ªthey did not dare to leave their posts until Carmen and Poppy safely made it home. They had been watching from inside the club when the fight started, but they immediately rushed out when they saw that Staffords¡¯ men were about to attack the girls. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a big deal if it¡¯s between minors,¡± the head of security countered coldly, acting as if he could not see the nearby fight that was going on. Upon hearing that, Kimberly¡¯s eyes widened in shock. She was now certain that the security had been dispatched by none other than their opponents and it seemed as if they were intent on watching Flynn being beaten to death. As the security held them back, the men who worked for Stafford Group could only watch from the sidelines as he continued to brace himself against Carmen¡¯s abuse. However, just as she gained momentum in the fight, her eye caught a startling flicker of green from the car parked by the side of the road. A pair of green eyes stared in her direction from within the shadows. The green was so captivatingly familiar that it drew her gaze toward the car and distracted her from the fight. The pair of green eyes also looked at her and in that moment, Flynn¡¯s cries of pain as well as Poppy¡¯s string of profanities melted into the background. The longer the owner of the green eyes and Carmen stared at each other, the more she felt as though time and space no longer existed. There was an unspoken conversation that seemed to hang in the air between them, as if their souls tried to convey every single thought and emotion to one another. She recognized those piercing green eyes as well as that car¡ªthe vehicle was the brainchild of the first-ever coboration between Michel Group and Ronney Group. Michel Group¡¯s extensive experience in arms-manufacturing and advanced technologybined with Ronney Group¡¯s prowess in aesthetics culminated in the final design for the car. The model was essentially refined armor¡ª elegant on the outside and tough within. The concept of the car was a sensation after it made its debut, which piqued the interests of many of the world¡¯s richest men. The limited edition model was sold out before it could even hit the market, resulting in a huge triumph for the coborating parties; the way in which they hadbined both art with advanced defence technology was an iconic breakthrough for their respective industries. Sophia was the one to suggest the initial concept so that she could include it in one of the collections of her ¡®Premium High-Tech¡¯ project. Over the course of a decade, she and her brother, Linus, had worked together to realize all of her designs. Premium High-Tech was now renowned as a pioneer in the industry and paved a bright future for luxury goods and technology alike. At the current moment, the car that was idling by the side of the road was a premium collector¡¯s edition, which wasunched tomemorate Premium High-Tech¡¯s tenth anniversary. There were only twelve of those in the world and the cars were so exclusive that only those who knew a higher-up in the company could get their hands on them. In fact, the owners of those twelve cars had maintained extremely close rtions to the manufacturer. Carmen was more than familiar with the profiles of those twelve clients and there was only one person among them with green eyes¡ªBailey Adams. She did not think that she would see him outside the club. Now that she thought about it, they had not seen each other for a decade. In fact, thest time she saw him was before Michael¡¯s cryopreservation. After that, Carmen had left for her studies abroad and did not meet Bailey ever since. He mostly kept a low profile and not even the media could get any pictures of him; she wondered what he looked like after all those years. She was still staring in his direction when Flynn snarled, ¡°What the hell do you think you¡¯re doing, Carmen?¡± Snapping out of her reverie, Carmen remembered that she was supposed to be beating him up. She attacked him with a deadly kick to the face¡ªa move which was passed down through the generations in the Fletcher family¡ªand sent him flying while bringing a satisfying end to the battle. Greg came out at that moment and he was shocked by the scene before him. The security guards immediately confronted the men from Stafford Group, causing a ruckus as they shouted abuse at one another. Within minutes, both parties were on the verge of a brawl. Seizing upon the diversion, Carmen and Poppy fled the scene with the dog. With the dog in tow, the girls walked past the aforesaid luxury car. The curious dog then jumped up and stood on its hind legs before resting its paws against the edge of the car window. It looked as though it was getting ready to leap into the vehicle. The mysterious passenger reached out with a pale, slender hand, and his long fingers fell upon the dog¡¯s head to stroke its fur. As he did so, the bracelet he wore slid down his wrist, revealing the three apricot kernels that adorned it. ¡°Come on, you stupid dog!¡± Poppy grunted as she pulled on the leash, forcing the dog to abandon its efforts to mber into the car. As they left the scene, Carmen found herself turning to look at the car a couple more times until she finally lost sight of it, but the person in the car never made an appearance. The ground was wet after the spring shower and both girls were treading carefully as they made their way home. The dog walked alongside them on its leash. There was a faint scent of spring that lingered in the otherwise dank and shabby alleyway. She was silent throughout the journey home. All she could think about were those green eyes and its owner. It was such a pity that she did not manage to catch a glimpse of his face. Poppy, on the other hand, was reliving their triumph from earlier. ¡°That was more like it! You might have been cheated on, but good for you for standing up to him!¡± she said with fierce approval. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to beat that b*stard up for the longest time! He¡¯s nothing but a disgusting creep! He can¡¯t even begin topete with my godfather!¡± It waste at night by the time both girls returned to their respective homes. Carmen braced herself as she opened the front door. She then sighed in her heart upon seeing her family members waiting up for her in the brightly-lit living room. The robot whirred as it hurried over to pick up the dog and bring it for a bath. Meanwhile, she gripped onto the strap of her backpack as she entered the living room. ¡°Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle,¡± she greeted dutifully. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Her mother, Sophia, walked toward her in haste. ¡°Darling, where have you been? Your grandpa told me that you went out with Poppy after school.¡± Carmen¡¯s chest tightened. She did not respond while walking toward the staircase and she rolled her eyes in frustration when Sophia pestered her for an answer. Why bother asking if you already know? The reason why she wanted to head abroad in the first ce was because she could not stand being watched by her family 24/7. She finally found respite after staying abroad for a few years, but when she came home a year ago, it was as if her old life picked up right from where she¡¯d left it off. It was a never-ending story¡ªone that constantly imported the heavy use of spy drones and pinhole cameras. When it came to spying methods, the creative brains behind Michel Technology did not have an imagination that was as limited as Carmen¡¯s. The high-tech 360¡ã panoramic spy-cam was custom- made for her. It seemed as if her entire family would not be content until they knew her every move. She highly suspected that any waste matter she expelled into her toilet bowl would be subject to their scrutiny as well¡ªshe would not be surprised if they decided to runb tests on it. Carmen eyed her mom with a solemn look again and she announced defiantly, ¡°Mom, I¡¯m a grown-up. I use tampons now and I might even start using condoms in a couple of months¡¯ time. Can you please just give me some personal space?¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia froze in shock. In fact, everyone in the family was taken aback by Carmen¡¯s words. Carmen, on the other hand, was worn out after today¡¯s events. She went upstairs to her bedroom and made her way into the shower. She had only just exited the bathroom when she suddenly remembered the photo album. She rummaged through her things and pulled out the thick album that was filled with pictures of her. After that, she flipped through it and finally found the one she was looking for. The picture was taken when she was a little girl. In it, Sophia and Michael were going through their wedding rehearsal on the ind whereas she was the flower girl. Bailey was also there and it was Cooper who took the photo. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen wistfully stared at the photograph¡ªthey were two innocent kids on an ind and their smiles were as radiant as the flowers that were in full bloom behind them as they stood hand in hand with each other. She wondered what he looked like after all those years. Chapter 1473 Chapter 1473 The talk in the living room resumed shortly after Carmen retreated upstairs. The whole family could sense that it was a crucial time in her life since she was about to transition from a teenager to a young adult¡ªa process that was otherwise known as ¡®the transition¡¯. It was at the start of the family discussion when Sophia first made the announcement that a historical revolution was ted to happen at around the same time Carmen transitioned into young adulthood. ¡°Carmen is going to start using condoms soon,¡± Sophia dered slowly with a sigh. ¡°She¡¯s all grown up now. She¡¯s no longer the kid she used to be.¡± Upon hearing the news, Cooper and Anna felt their hearts sink. Linus, too, looked as if he was in despair. Carmen¡¯s words would leave the family heartbroken for an entire year. Her generation had evolved and using condoms at eighteen wasmonce. While the adults in the family were acutely aware that it was a rite of passage, they could not help but feel as though they were about to lose their little girl¡ªwhom they had raised for seventeen years¡ªto some filthy boar- headed boy. Sophia figured that Carmen would be done with her shower by the time the discussion was over, so she knocked on thetter¡¯s bedroom door before entering. She tried toe to terms with the fact that her daughter was growing up. Carmen no longer needed a nanny and she had been weaned off the bottle for years. Now, she was a teenager whose bedroom door was always locked and no one could enter without her permission. Carmen is a big girl who wears a bra now, Sophia reminded herself.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen was about to sleep when she heard the knock on the door. With a tired look on her face, she opened the door to reveal an enthusiastic Sophia. ¡°Darling, don¡¯t you have to get ready for finals now that it¡¯s a new school term? How about I look through the mock papers with you?¡± ¡°Mom, I graduated with a PhD,¡± Carmen pointed out as she looked at her mother through bleary eyes. ¡°High school exams are a piece of cake.¡± Sophia instantly switched topics and quipped, ¡°I heard that you broke up with your boyfriend today. Do you want me to beat his head into a pulp?¡± Carmen rolled her eyes in exhaustion before she sighed. ¡°Mom, you can¡¯t go around beating people¡¯s heads into a pulp¡ªit¡¯s illegal. I¡¯m old enough to handle my own dating life, okay?¡± ¡°Oh, well¡­ How about if we go through your thesis together?¡± When she heard that, she nced at the kid¡¯s watch on her wrist. ¡°Mom, it¡¯s eleven! We¡¯ll go through the thesis tomorrow. Can you please let me head to bed now? I have to self-study at seven in the morning!¡± Upon hearing that, Sophia began to back out of the room and responded, ¡°Okay,¡ªgo and get some rest. I won¡¯t keep you up any longer.¡± Carmenzily crossed her thumb over her index finger to form a heart. ¡°Here¡¯s a heart. Love you, Mom.¡± Sophia gave her a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Goodnight, darling.¡± After having sent Sophia on her way, Carmen crossed the room to her bed and sank onto it. She stared at the ceiling, which was simted to resemble a starry night sky. I¡¯m practically an adult. Can all of you please stop treating me like a child? The mattress came with aromatherapy and temperature-control features and it was made to perfectly conform to one¡¯s sleeping habits, thereby bringing out the best sleeping experience. For Carmen, who was already worn out, that meant she was close to falling asleep the moment she hit the bed. When she dreamed that night, it was as if she had traveled back to her own past. Out of the few of her childhood nightmares, one involved her being kidnapped by someone who wanted to kill her. She was frightened and scrambled to hide under a table, which was when she heard a voice that said, ¡°Come here. Close your eyes.¡± She closed her eyes and fell into someone¡¯s arms. She could still remember the feeling of being held that way¡ªit felt safe, reliable, and warm. She grabbed his shoulders and she was so terrified that she crumpled his shirt in the process. She kept her eyes closed all the way, afraid to open them, but the moment she did so, she saw her parents. The man ced her down in front of her parents and he slowly stepped back until he disappeared from view. She was so scared that she broke into ugly sobs. By the time she finally calmed down, the man was long gone. The next day, Carmen left the house at six in the morning while yawning as she perched on the back of Theo¡¯s bicycle. Theo was in his forties, but it seemed like he did not age a day ever since he started using the three- step age-defying skincare collection that was manufactured through a coboration between the Michel Medical Technology Group and Ronney Group. When Michel Group and Ronney Group started their coboration, the two giants in their respective industries hadpletely revolutionized the future for mankind. Not only did theyunch the Premium High-Tech concept, the cosmetics department in Ronney Group had also partnered with Michel Medical Technology Group to produce several skincare and cosmetic products that would stop aging in its tracks. As a result, Carmen and her pets were the only ones who saw any change in appearances over the years while everyone else in the family looked the same. Presently, Theo leisurely pedaled his bicycle with his granddaughter perched behind him as they headed down the familiar road that led to the school. His schedule was synchronized with Carmen¡¯s. He was the security guard stationed by the school entrance and every morning he would scrutinize every person who entered and left the school grounds, making sure that there was nobody suspicious among the crowd. By six-thirty, they arrived at the school and saw that the elite institution was brightly lit. It seemed as if everyone had arrived earlier than usual. When Carmen entered the ssroom, everyone contemptuously turned to look at her, but she was used to their sneers and paid no attention to them as she walked toward her seat. She ced her bag down and plugged in her earphones to listen to music while she read her books, ignoring the malicious whispering that went on around her. She had long been made the butt of the joke by her peers. To them, she was a shameless modern-day Cindere who pined for a prince, but even she had been the daughter of a duke. On the other hand, her father was just a lowly security guard who was stationed at the school entrance to check the student ID tags. Everyone in school hated Theo because he took his job seriously. He was tasked with checking everyone¡¯s student ID tags along with their essories and make-up. Any person who was caught with heavy eye make-up would be forced to wipe it off before he would let them pass through the school gates. The seat next to Carmen remained empty although it was where Flynn was supposed to sit. She had demanded that the teacher ce her next to him on ount of her excellent grades, but it frightened him instead. As a result, Flynn feareding to school and he would only attend sses once or twice a week for the sake of it. He was terrified of running into her. However, he had kept himself busy on the days when he was absent from school. He penned several insightful theses and every once in a while, the school wouldmend him for winning an award or two. Meanwhile, Carmen¡¯s existence only seemed more diminutive with every new achievement that he attained. However, she never bothered about any of those. She had always been the odd one out in the school. She never wore any make-up and never cared to dress up either. The school uniform came in several designs, but her staple was the ugly school- regtion tracksuit that made her look unttering. Her hair was constantly in a careless top-knot and she wore the same pair of canvas shoes every day. Carmen did not have any fashion essories or any designer items and she wore a kid¡¯s watch that had been fashionable over a decade ago. That watch was now a discontinued piece of junk¡ªnot even online shopping tforms would have it in stock. All in all, she was a in and unsophisticated nobody and she stuck out like a sore thumb in South Bayside High School. Nheless, everyone could sympathize with her. After all, she came from a poor family and she was the only person in ss who had enrolled into the school based on academic performance. ss had yet to begin and the students in the ssroom were gathered in groups of two or three as they chattered among themselves. Just then, Flynn walked in and a hush descended over the room. However, his normally handsome face was twisted into a grimace today. Instead of resembling Taylor Murray, he looked as though he had been bashed up¡ªhis features were swollen and distorted with bruises all over his face. He gritted his teeth and strode over to his seat before throwing his bag onto his desk. He viciously red at Carmen and waited for the lowly peasant girl to exin herself. I want to know who gave her the instructions to screw things up for me at the clubhouse! Chapter 1474 Chapter 1474 Carmen would normally have made enthusiastic small talk with him by now. Instead, she remained silent, as if she had not noticed him at all. Upon seeing that, Flynn threw himself down on the chair and opened his textbook to get ready for ss. If she would not speak to him, then he would not start a conversation with her either. Fine! Let¡¯s see which one of us sumbs to the pressure first! Everyone else seemed to have detected the scent of gossip in the air; they were now curiously peering at both Carmen and Flynn while waiting for drama to unfold. Usually, by that time, she would have been trying to get him to talk to her. He would then give her the cold shoulder and undoubtedly be extremely irritated with her. Their exchange usually served as a form of entertainment for the rest of the ss. However, there was nothing going on between them today. In fact, she was unusually quiet in the morning and barely uttered a word even as ss started. On the other hand, he turned to look at her more often than he normally did. Everyone was beginning to read the situation. It appeared that Carmen had upgraded her methods and she was now ying hard to get. Hope entered the ssroom just as the bell went off for self-study. Everyone scrambled back to their seats. Alpha ss was the best ss in their year and their form teacher was the toughest among the faculty; it was his words that held the most authority because he came from the notorious Fletcher Family in Bayside City. Everyone knew the four most elite families in Bayside City¡ªstarting with the Fletchers, who wielded power over the country¡¯s military. As long as Cethos remained a sovereign state, there was no way that their family would fall. Next was the Winstons, who ran the underworld that thrived against the forces of justice and thus was unlikely to perish anytime soon. Up next was the Edwards, whoy down roots all over the globe, andstly, the golden triangle that reigned over Bayside¡¯s elite circle¡ªthe Mitchells, the Michels and Ronney Group. Then, there was the Yard Family, who recently returned from abroad. They were formidable as well, but they had been stationed out of Bayside City for a number of years and did not receive official recognition as a top yer in the field. In other words, their forces and reputation were far more established abroad than in the local elite scene. Therefore, with Mr. Fletcher as their form teacher, the students in Alpha ss were naturally the most obedient ones in school. Furthermore, their form teacher was a handsome young man who boasted elegantly chiseled features. While he shared a striking resemnce with Theo¡ªthe security guard by the school entrance¡ªMr. Fletcher was of an entirely different league from thetter. He was the best- looking teacher in the school and everyone had a love-hate rtionship with him. However, there was a chill that followed the man in the morning. Everyone was taken aback when he threw his teaching materials onto the desk and there was a deafening silence that ensued. The students peered at him cautiously and did not dare to breathe a single word. He was usually gentle and rarely angered, but today, his face was like thunder. As his gaze swept the ss, everyone could tell he was extremely furious. They began to silently pray. Whoever he¡¯s angry with, please don¡¯t let it be me! Hope tapped the teaching aid against the table loudly as he gave everyone a pointed look. ¡°Next week, all of you will be sitting for your first practice test of the term. Your focus now should be on your studies! Nothing else matters! Your goal is to ace the June finals, whereupon all your hard work for the past three years will be reduced to a single, crucial moment. You simply cannot afford even the slightest distraction right now! And yet¡ª¡± He broke off in the middle of his lecture, leaving everyone on the edge of their seats, and when he spoke again, it was with a pained voice. ¡°I received a report this morning that a student was seen entering and leaving a nightclub after the self-study sessionst evening and he was caught drinking as well!¡± Upon hearing that, the whole ss went into an uproar. They began exchanging bewildered looks as they wondered who among them would visit a nightclub at a time like that. How unfortunate did this person have to be for Mr. Fletcher to catch wind of this incident? Just as everyone was growing flustered at the suspense, Hope rapped his knuckles against the table and a hush fell over the room once more. His chiseled face was grim as he snapped, ¡°Mr. Flynn, aren¡¯t you going to exin yourself? What in the world were you doing in a nightclub?¡± It was Flynn rk¡­ Everyone drew in an audible breath of shock. None of them could believe that Flynn was the one who had been caught going to a nightclub! Meanwhile, the moment he heard the word ¡®nightclub¡¯, he knew instantly that Carmen had been the tattletale. He could not believe that she would actually snitch on him, but he did not think that Mr. Fletcher would call him out in front of the entire ss! In fact, Hope Fletcher came from the distinguished Fletcher Family and he was also rted to the rks. It was through him that the rks were associated with such a powerful family. Without him, they could not so much as mber their way up the socialdder. Flynn knew better than to evade Mr. Fletcher¡¯s question and he spitefully red at Carmen. Her head was lowered and her eyes were fixed on the book before her, as if she had nothing to do with whatever was going on around her. He abruptly stood up and retorted in a haughty tone, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I know it was wrong of me to visit a nightclub while I¡¯m underage, but the adults in my family happened to have a business meeting with Mr. Bailey, the director of Adams Group. My presence there was solely a matter of expediency.¡± Bailey Adams¡­ Upon hearing that, the whole ss gasped. Bailey Adams is one of the most formidable figures in the business world! The name resounded throughout the ssroom like a loud thunderp. Everyone present was a child of the elite and they were all more than familiar with Bailey¡¯s reputation. He had taken over the family business at the age of ten. He was now twenty-seven years old and for the past seventeen years, he had built a business empire that was beyond the imagination of those who were the same age as him. His business was known as the King of Insurance and as the person who was behind such a behemoth, he was a legend among legends. To meet the legendary Bailey in person and get a word or two in with him would be a privilege of a lifetime! Flynn smirked arrogantly when he heard the collective sigh of envy from his peers. He was smug when he continued, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I¡¯m sure you understand that there are those who could spend their whole lives waiting but never being able to meet a man as legendary as Mr. Bailey. Wouldn¡¯t you think that it would be a shame if I missed out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?¡± Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Everyone nodded in agreement with him. Flynn had to be there, even if he faced the risk of expulsion. After all, there were plenty of other schools that he could enroll in¡ªshould he be expelled from South Bayside High School, but to miss out on a chance to meet Bailey would be akin to setting himself for a lifetime of regret. Eager to convince Mr. Fletcher, he added, ¡°Mr. Bailey read my thesis and saw my potential. If you don¡¯t believe me, sir, you could always ask my fianc¨¦e¡¯s father, Mr. Stafford. He was the one who arranged the meeting.¡± After hearing his words, everyone grew even more envious. It was one thing to be able to meet Bailey Adams, but to receive a personal invitation from him was a glorious achievement! However, it was not a surprise that an honor student as excellent as Flynn would receive such special treatment. In the current year alone, all his theses were featured in journal publications¡ªeven Bayside University had taken notice of his work and there were rumors that his name was already in their admissions list. At the rate that he was progressing, it was only a matter of time before he captured the attention of a business mogul like Bailey. As the rest of the ss gazed at Flynn in awe, he felt like he was floating on air. He reveled in the admiration of his peers and felt important. Surely there could not be more than a handful of people who had the chance to speak to Bailey Adams¡ªit could only happen by way of divine intervention! Hope looked skeptical as he stood at the lectern. ¡°Is that true?¡± he asked now, pushing his sses to the top of his nose bridge. Flynn nodded confidently. ¡°You could always ask Mr. Stafford, who is the head of Stafford International and father to Kimberly, my fianc¨¦e, to verify my words.¡± As he said that, he cast a deliberate sidelong nce toward Carmen, as if he hoped that she would be hurt by his announcement that Kimberly was his fianc¨¦e. However, she was impassive and she still had her nose buried within the pages of the textbook. After a pause, Hope felt for his phone as he said, ¡°Let me check.¡± He made a call and the line was picked up within seconds. Everyone thought he was on the phone with Kimberly¡¯s father, but he spoke with a crisp Bayside ent when he greeted the person on the other end. ¡°Bailey, my man, I didn¡¯t expect you to quickly pick up the call. Did you just get out of bed?¡± Everyone stared at him in shock. How is it possible that Mr. Fletcher knows Bailey Adams? The ss marveled at his powerful connections. If it were not for the fact that Mr. Fletcher was from the Fletcher Family, everyone would have thought he was bluffing. At this moment, Hope ced the phone on speaker and everyone heard the voice that came from the other line. ¡°I¡¯m on my way to work. Why did you call me, Mr. Fletcher?¡± The voice was bass-like¡ªit was deep and cold, but elusive and sultry at the same time. His Bayside ent was far more impable than a professional voice-over actor¡¯s and he sounded nothing like a foreigner when he spoke. Carmen¡¯s ears pricked up when she heard the voice as a chill ran down her spine. It¡¯s his voice¡­ Chapter 1475 Chapter 1475 Upon hearing Bailey¡¯s voice, Hope seemed to give a loving smile. This is expected from the old son-in- law. He has be more sessful over the years to the point where even Cooper is shocked. The more sessful the old son-inw became, the prouder Hope felt¡ªalthough there was still a long way for him to go. He uttered in a straightforward manner, ¡°This is what happened¡ªtoday, someone reported that one of the students from our ss went to a nightclubst night. The student said that he was supposed to meet you there, so he had no choice but to enter the nightclub. Well, I¡¯m sure that you are aware that students, who are minors, are not allowed to visit a nightclub. However, it would be another story if it was true that it was you who requested to meet the student there.¡± Bailey asked, ¡°What¡¯s the name of that student?¡± Hope replied, ¡°Oh, his name is Flynn rk. You must have an impression of him if you have met him before¡ªhe looks a lot like Taylor Murray.¡± At that moment, Flynn was brimming with pride. I am someone whom Bailey has requested to meet! Unexpectedly, the voice from the other end of the line instantly shattered his confidence. ¡°I¡¯ve never met him before.¡± The whole ss fell silent. Flynn¡¯s expression tremendously changed and his face nched. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. As Hope felt awkward by the turn of events, he immediately apologized to Bailey. The scene was so embarrassing that even words could not describe it. The students whispered among themselves and discussed Flynn in groups of two or three¡ªwords of disdain, suspicion, gloat and the like spread throughout the ss, but none of them were positive words. Flynn, who was humiliated in public, felt so embarrassed and felt that he was being burnt in fire. Every nce that the students cast at him resembled a handful of cumin and pepper of sin being sprinkled at him. No, there must be a misunderstanding. Bailey was the one who requested to meet me. He calmly thought about the events that happened and finally recalled it. After he entered the private room, before he could speak to Bailey, he was interrupted by Carmen, who rushed into the room. Then, he was driven away by the security guard. Bailey never noticed Flynn in the first ce, so it would only be natural for the former to reply that he had never seen him! Not only did he not manage to speak to Bailey, but he was humiliated in public today and he would even need to bear the consequences of being punished for going to a nightclub. All those were because of Carmen! Flynn suddenly pointed at Carmen, who was beside him, and loudly reported, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, I have something to report too¡ªCarmen went to the nightclubst night as well and she is also a minor!¡± The ss burst into an uproar and everyone looked at her in disbelief. Everyone¡¯s impression of her was a boring nerd who wore sses all day long and never wore makeup. A girl like her actually went to the nightclub as well? Besides, the kind of night club, which Flynn had gone to, would probably be high-end. Was she able to enter that sort of a ce with her family background? Before she could reply, a deep and adamant voice was heard from the other end of the line. ¡°I indeed met a high school student named Carmen Fletcher who was working part time in Audistinst night. She was washing tes in the kitchen.¡± The whole ss fell silent again. Bailey remembered her, but not Flynn. After receiving arge blow, Flynn¡¯s expression changed¡ªit transitioned from being ashen to dark. A chuckle broke out amidst the silence, which made everyone turn to the source ofughter in unison. It was Carmen and she was seenughing while blocking her face with a book. It never urred to her that Bailey would actually remember her as well as the excuse she used when she lied to the security guardst night. Although it was just a fleeting smile, which was quickly reced by a stern, nerd look, the blush on her face revealed her charm as a youngdy. The man with green eyes on the other side of the phone was resting his eyes in the car. Upon hearing her gentle chuckle through his bluetooth earphone, the corner of his lips curled up into a peculiar curve. He heard herughter, which simultaneously made him recall her angelic voice. ¡°Bailey, drink some water!¡± ¡°Bailey, eat some apples!¡± ¡°Bailey, goodbye.¡± Nothing about her had changed. When they were in Audistin, he recognized her the moment she appeared although they were far apart from each other. Her looks showed that she did not be uglier as she grew older. In the ssroom, Hope hung up on the call after some exchange of pleasantries. Then, his smile was instantly reced by gloom as he red at Flynn. How dare he lie in front of the old son-inw! ¡°Flynn, from today onward, move your desk next to my table!¡± Flynn, who was still immersed in his anger from Carmen¡¯sugh of ¡®mockery¡¯, suddenly heard those words. What? Next to his table? Everyone was shocked as all of them knew what that seat represented¡ªonly the naughtiest and most disobedient student with the worst academic result sat there! To an elite student like Flynn, sitting there would be a disgrace to him! He was puzzled. ¡°Sir!¡± However, Hope changed the subject in displeasure. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s start our self-study session. We will have to spell 50 Spanish words in 20 minutes.¡± Just like that, Flynn moved from the seat beside Carmen to the ¡®royal throne¡¯¡ªa seat which was forever filled with the smell of marker pen¡ªand became every subject teacher¡¯s ¡®favorite¡¯ student. Carmen kept quiet for the entire self-study session in the morning. She silently revised on her own and did the Spanish spelling with a calm and peaceful look. Although she was a beautiful youngdy, she seemed a little different than her peers. Perhaps it was because she had left her family and studied abroad when she was still young, which resulted in her independent character. The sses in the morning ended in an uncanny atmosphere. The school bell rang, which indicated that all sses in the morning had ended and the subject teacher left the ssroom. Before the students even rose from their seats, they suddenly heard a thunderous roar from Flynn, who had been sitting in the first row while enjoying the smell of marker pen writing on the white board for the whole morning. ¡°Carmen, stand right there!¡± Carmen, who was packing her stuff and preparing to leave, adjusted her sses and asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He tried his best to look calm. There were a lot of people looking at them in the ssroom, so he could not continue to embarrass himself. He uttered, ¡°I will wait for you in the little woods on the hill behind the school.¡± After saying that, he took his bag and left. Tsk, lunatic. She packed her things and left the ssroom. Everyone looked at them. All they saw in the past was how Carmen chased Flynn but was rejected by him. From the looks of it now, there could be some inside story which they did not know of. The bunch of students skipped their lunches and swarmed toward the little forest on the hill behind the school and hid somewhere. Unfortunately, she did not show up. Everyone usually had their lunch in the school cafeteria during lunch time. They seldom headed out of the school to eat since their time was limited in their senior year. In the security guards¡¯ office at the school entrance, on top of Theo¡¯s office table was a delicious lunch that had just been sent over from home. He was serving her some dishes. ¡°Come, darling, have some more.¡± Carmen, who disliked the food that was served in the cafeteria, always thought that the food served at home was the best. She served him some dishes as she ate. ¡°Grandpa, you should eat more too.¡± As he looked at her, he thought that she looked beautiful from all angles. She is still a dazzling little angel! As they were having lunch, Theo seemed to have something to say. After some hesitation, he asked, ¡°I heard from your mom that you are going to use a condom?¡± ¡°Pffft¡ª¡± Carmen spat out the food in shock. Chapter 1476 Chapter 1476 Carmen swore that she knew that she screwed up. She should not have used such a weird analogy yesterday to illustrate that she was now an adult. From yesterday until today, the news that she was going to use a condom seemed to have spread to everyone in her family and all her rtives had texted her to ask about it. Callum texted, ¡®Darling Carmen, men are roses with thorns. You must be a good girl and ensure that you always have a condom with you. Let me rmend you a durable brand. They are new and I¡¯ve sent them to your house. I¡¯ll ask your mother to receive it.¡¯ Cade texted, ¡®Carmen, be a good girl. I love you, but condoms are a thing that you shouldn¡¯t use too often. You are still growing, so be good and focus on eating while growing up. That would be a better option instead.¡± Linus texted, ¡®Dear Carmen, I¡¯m going to develop a condom with a built-in thermoregtion system. It will alert you when ites in contact with a virus and you can use it repeatedly. Be a good girl and wait for it.¡¯ Anna texted, ¡®Carmen, love is not the only thing in life, but one of the spices of life. Life can still continue without love, but it will be destined to be nd and boring. By the way, you must always have condoms.¡¯ Cooper texted, ¡®Who¡¯s that brat?¡¯ Lorelei texted, ¡®I heard that you have started using a condom. Not bad, you have started earlier than me.¡¯ Nathan texted, ¡®Who¡¯s that person?¡¯ Carmen was at a loss for words as it was just an exaggerated analogy! She suspected that they had secretly created a group without her knowledge so that they could bad mouth her behind her back. What should I do to make them ept the fact that I am already an adult? I¡¯ve grown up¡ªI have stopped acting for stupid dramas and I have stopped selling bolsters online. I¡¯m really not a child anymore! Unfortunately, she would forever be a child in the eyes of her family. She really wished that she could go abroad and stay far away from them; otherwise, they would annoy the hell out of her! Before she finished her lunch, the disciplinary notice against Flynn had been posted on the notice board at the school entrance. Not only was his discipline score deducted, but a disciplinary action was taken against him. With the dark record, he practically bade goodbye for his admission into Bayside University to be guaranteed. Not only did Flynn not meet Carmen at the little woods in the hill behind the school, but he was even made fun of by those who went to watch the show. When he came out from the hill to go and have lunch, he saw her washing dishes in the security room after having her lunch. Disgusting daughter of a peasant! She actually does disgusting jobs like washing dishes! After she had washed the dishes, cleared the cutlery, and wiped the table, she sat in the security room and yed with her phone while enjoying the heater. Theo had left to catch the students who disobeyed the rules. As it was a school for the nobles, it had aplete set of rules and regtions¡ª food or parcel delivery people were not allowed to enter the school, strangers must register to enter and exit the school, they were not allowed to dye their hair, wear makeup, and bring their pets. On top of that, students had to wear their student ID tags when they entered or exited the school and they had to wear their uniform in school. However, the school rules were not well enforced in the past. After all, the students were all from wealthy and influential backgrounds. Therefore, the security guards could not afford to mess with the students, so they used to turn a blind eye on their behaviors. However, ever since Theo arrived, he made sure that all the school rules were strictly enforced. He strictly kept an eye on all the students with his sharp eyes every day for the fear that the delinquents would blend with the students and be a bad influence to his darling. What was more terrifying was that he could recognize every single student in the whole school. He was able to match their student ID tags with their faces. In other words, outsiders would not be able to enter the school even if they wore a school uniform. On top of that, he was not afraid of any student¡¯s family background. He caught everyone who disobeyed the rules without any mercy, which had aroused some dissatisfaction among a number of students in the school. Rumors had it that some brats from wealthy families dered that they would take revenge on Theo, but nobody saw them taking any action. Poppy, who went outside the school to have lunch, was caught by Theo the moment she arrived at the school gate. ¡°Poppy, properly zip up your uniform! Roll down your pants leg.¡± The delinquent Poppy, who used to talk back to teachers in school, was as meek as a puppy before Theo. Obediently, she zipped up her uniform, rolled down her pants leg, and adjusted her student ID tag before she dared to walk into the school. She even took a secret nce at Carmen, who was enjoying the heater in the security room, before extending her hand into the room through the window to steal the hot chestnuts on thetter¡¯s table. Maisie, who was now in her sophomore year of high school, had left a bag of chestnuts in the security room when she passed by the school entrance earlier. Before Carmen could even eat two of them, Poppy actually stole almost all of them. When they were eating chestnuts, Theo, who was standing at the entrance, suddenly shouted in a stern voice. ¡°That student over there, pleasee over for a moment.¡± As it was a peak time for students who went out to have lunch to return, there was a line at the school entrance for student ID verification purposes. Upon hearing his stern voice, everyone surrounded them to watch themotion as it seemed like someone had been caught again. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Carmen was using the phone to check the share market and her stocks when she suddenly heard Theo¡¯s voice. Raising her head, she looked out of the window of the security room and saw Kimberly and Flynn holding each other¡¯s hand when they were stopped by Theo. Upon seeing him, Flynn¡¯s young face instantly wore an extremely vicious and cold expression. It¡¯s that old geezer again! He pointed at Kimberly¡¯s student ID tag and uttered, ¡°Security guard, look carefully, Kimberly has officially transferred to our school today. This is her student ID tag.¡± In the past, whenever Kimberly came to the school to look for Flynn, she was always stopped by Theo from entering the school in a stern manner. As she was not a student from Bayside High School, she would be caught by Theo whenever she tried to sneak into the school even if she wore the Bayside High School¡¯s school uniform. There are more than 2000 students in the school, yet Kimberly is always caught whenever shees, so he must be doing it on purpose! He must be intentionally picking on Kimberly because of his daughter! Don¡¯t they know where they stand? Aren¡¯t they aware of their backgrounds? As lowly commoners, how dare they dream ofying their hands on me as the rightful heir of the rk Family! This time, Kimberly has transferred over to Bayside Highschool. I wonder what he can do about this! The more Flynn thought about it, the angrier he became. He was punished today because of Carmen¡¯s comint and now her ignorant father came to find fault with him. He intentionally took Kimberly¡¯s student ID tag and rudely stuck it in Theo¡¯s face. ¡°Old geezer, see this? Kimberly is now a student of Bayside High School and she is my fianc¨¦e. Don¡¯t fantasize that I will fall in love with your daughter so that she can marry into a wealthy family and be rich. Your family background is no match to mine!¡± Theo still had a cold expression, but Carmen and Poppy rushed out from the security room. He sure has a death wish! How dare he speak so rudely to the old man! Nevertheless, he coldly stretched out one of his arms to stop them from rushing over while his other hand pushed away the student ID tag in front of his face as he coldly uttered, ¡°Kimberly has transferred to high school senior year Alpha ss. The school security system has been updated, so I am aware of it.¡± He then pointed at Kimberly¡¯s beautiful blond wavy hair. ¡°ording to the school rules, students are not allowed to dye their hair, perm their hair, and wear shy essories as well as thick makeup. Kimberly will have to rectify her looks before returning to school.¡± Everyone looked at Kimberly; she not only had blond, wavy hair, but a thick makeup as well as a pair of large hoop earrings of thetest trend¡ªit was a new product under the luxurious brand of the Ronney Group. What he said was indeed urate! Kimber¡¯s expression fell. It was how she usually dressed to school when she was previously a student of an international high school and the security guards had never stopped her! Only an arrogant and ignorant lowlymoner like Theo had such courage! Everyone gloated at her now that she was in an embarrassing situation. At the same time, they were curious about how Kimberly and Flynn would react and what Theo would do next. Theo was working in the school for a year, but he had offended countless students with wealthy backgrounds. Although the school was helping him to deal with all of the troubles he encountered, what about that time? If he continued to do things his way, sooner orter, he would surely be fired! The pair of father and daughter were indeed fearless! Chapter 1477 Chapter 1477 Needless to say, Flynn¡¯s expression was extremely dark. To him, Theo was practically seeking death by finding fault with him! The reason why he was doing that was none other than for his daughter¡¯s sake. ¡°Look, you are merely a security guard, so do you think that I will fall in love with your daughter? Wake up, Kimberly and I are the perfect match. No matter how much you pick on me, I won¡¯t ept your daughter!¡± Theo was still impassive and his voice was cold and irrefutable. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you are saying. Kimberly, please fix your looks in ordance with the school rules beforeing to school.¡± After he said that, he turned and faced the students, who were watching themotion outside the school gate. ¡°Please line up if you want toe in.¡± Leaving Flynn and Kimberly at one side, he continued to check the student ID tags with his sharp eyes. There were more than 2000 teachers and studentsbined, but he knew everyone¡ªincluding the janitors and the school¡¯s usual delivery men. He definitely would not allow any suspicious people into the school. Kimberly and Flynn were left at the school entrance just like that to endure the mockery andments from the people around them. Carmen initially wanted to ask Theo to cut ck some ck since she had severed all ties with him¡ªthey fought with each other and madeints about each other. They would be walking separate paths from now on and she would not take any initiative to seek trouble with him in the future. However, Theo¡¯s action made it seem like she had intentionally asked him to pick on Flynn. The truth was that it was his usual strict and rigorous way of doing things. After thinking for a moment, she gave up on the idea. She decided not to bother his work and continued to y with her phone. Kimberly and Flynn, who were deserted at the gate and became the topic ofments of the surrounding crowd, pulled a long face. To them, it was a case of a lowly security guard abusing the little power he had to have his way. Besides, the school took disciplinary actions against him because Carmen had reported about him. Under many pairs of watchful eyes, he had to teach the father and daughter a lesson. While looking at the guard house where Carmen was, a smile of mockery appeared on Flynn¡¯s face before he turned to the students, who were watching themotion around them. He said in a loud voice, ¡°Carmen, don¡¯t think that everything will go ording to your n if you remain hidden in there and refuse toe out! Do you think that I won¡¯t notice the dirty intentions that you and your father have? Stop wasting your time; Kimberly is the only one in my heart. We have matching family backgrounds, but yours are no match to mine! It is pointless to do all this; you will only end up harming your father. Do you know how difficult it is to work as a security guard in such a good school? If it wasn¡¯t for your father¡¯s good luck thatnded him a job as a security guard in Bayside High School, don¡¯t even dream that a girl like you will be able to study here! You and I belong to different worlds, so no matter how much you like me, it is just pointless.¡± Poppy, who was sucking on her lollipop at one side, agreed with his words and responded to Carmen, who was still ying with her phone with her head bowed, ¡°You and he belong to different worlds, so you shouldn¡¯t dream of getting together with him. Love is something from our parents¡¯ generation. The people at that time were much simpler, so only they would sacrifice themselves for love. But now, having matching family backgrounds is more important than love and you two are notpatible.¡± A poor guy like Flynn is really not a good match for you. Poppy totally agreed with what he said. A poor girl like Carmen is not a good match for me. ¡°Look, even your best friend is smarter than you. The most important condition in love is to havepatible family backgrounds! Don¡¯t let the love story from decades ago cloud your mind and think that a prince like me will fall in love with a Cindere like you.¡± Poppy poked on Carmen¡¯s shoulder and reminded, ¡°Don¡¯t let the love story from decades ago cloud your mind¡ªit is impossible for a princess to fall in love with a frog.¡± Carmen rolled her eyes. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Theo had checked the student ID tags of a few waves of students, but Flynn and Kimberly refused to leave and kept spewing nonsense while standing at the entrance. Carmen finally could no longer hold herself back and she exited the guard house. She walked up to Flynn and sincerely uttered, ¡°Flynn, I think that I have made myself very clearst night¡ªfrom now on, let¡¯s go separate ways. You climb thedder through marriage and I will continue to be a nobody. I still want to enter Bayside University, so I have no intention to seek trouble with you. As for today, my father is really only doing his job and everything is done ording to the school rules. He did not pick on you; he treats all students equally.¡± After saying that, she returned to the guard house. Flynn, who was standing at the entrance, was beyond pissed by the pair of shameless father and daughter. Theo came over and pushed him to the side. ¡°Don¡¯t stand at the entrance. You are blocking the way. Go to the side.¡± It was obvious that his attitude toward Flynn was not exactly friendly. Then again, his attitude toward Flynn had always been unfriendly. This guy is just like a low-rated version of my son, but my son is way more handsome than him. From the moment Theoy eyes on him, he thought that the kid was not a simple person. However, Carmen was chasing him at that time and he already knew that a day like that woulde, sooner or later. Fortunately, she was just like her mother¡ªshe was not a weak person. A furious Flynn roared, ¡°Carmen, you and your father should wait and see what I¡¯m capable of!¡± Kimberly, on the other hand, had returned to the car to wait for him to resolve the matter. She was always stopped from entering the school by Theo whenever she came, so it was time to teach him a lesson. Carmen, whose name had been called, saw Flynn making a call. After 30 minutes, many teachers and school management¡¯s executives as well as the principal showed up. She then saw him talking to them from a distance. He seemed worked up and his body movements were incredibly dramatic¡ªhe probably wanted them to fire Theo. Not only did Carmen ignore them, she even thought that it would not be a bad idea for her grandfather to be fired¡ªhe could head home and rest earlier since he was now in his seventies and it was time to retire. Keeping an eye on her in school every day was not going to bring any difference to her school life. The teachers came to persuade Theo to be less strict, but he insisted on stopping Kimberly from entering the school unless she fixed her looks ording to the school rules. The school did not dare to fire him as well because it was Hope who rmended him the job. The two of them shared thest name of Fletcher and they shared simr facial features. The kids in school probably never realized it, but the teachers were all well aware that Theo could be one of the Fletchers. The Fletcher Family was arge family, so some of the members from the branch families were like ordinary people. After all, he was still one of the Fletcher Family, so it would not be wise to offend him. Nevertheless, both the rk and Stafford Families were not folks whom one could easily mess with, so they had to be careful when they dealt with all of them. It was only when Hope arrived that the matter was resolved. Of course, he was on Theo¡¯s side. ¡°What? The new student colored and permed her hair? Ask her to fix it! Don¡¯te to our ss if she doesn¡¯t fix it!¡± Flynn fell silent. Hope was able to contact Bailey through his personal number without going through his assistant, which illustrated how strong the connection was. Flynn did not dare to be rude and arrogant before a person like Hope. The farce finally ended with Hope¡¯s words. In the end, the Stafford Family¡¯s car drove off with Flynn in it. The two of them were obviously upset as they cast Carmen a cold re before they left, as if everything was under hermand. The next day, the two of them showed up together. Kimberly¡¯s blond, wavy hair was reced by straight ck hair and her expression was as dark as her hair. Carmen was using the microwave oven to reheat her meal when they entered the school. Upon realizing a hostile gaze on her, she turned and saw that Flynn and Kimberly were already in school. It seems like it won¡¯t be peaceful after this. Chapter 1478 Chapter 1478 Sigh, this is all my fault. Everyone has their idiotic moments. I wish I could travel back in time to a year ago and strangle myself to death. Why did I give up on my peaceful life abroad and insist on returning to study high school again? Idiocy really is an illness that has to be treated. When she returned to the ssroom after having her meal in the guard house, she noticed the weird aura in the ssroom. Flynn used to sit next to her, but now that he had moved to the first row to enjoy the smell of marker pens, the seat next to her was empty. Now, there was a new desk next to hers. A bag, which was a new product from the Ronney Group, was ced on the desk as today was the day that Kimberly officially transferred to their ss. If Carmen was not mistaken, the person sitting next to her was the new student¡ªKimberly. In the school, students were arranged to sit in pairs and Kimberly¡¯s seat was next to Carmen¡¯s. So, Kimberly is the student who is going to sit next to me. Both Kimberly and Flynn were in the ssroom. Right after she joined the ss, she immediately formed her clique. Although she was previously not a student of Bayside High School, she was quite famous in the circle of youngdies and daughters of rich families in Bayside City. That was the reason why she had a lot of friends in the ss. As she was the campus belle and a famous student in her previous school, she was determined to obtain the same title in this school. Upon seeing Carmen entering the ss, everyone seemed to gloat at her. The moment she stepped into the ssroom, she was rendered speechless as she felt the hostile air around Kimberly. I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have believed Flynn¡¯s sweet words. I shouldn¡¯t havee all the way back for this f*cking love. I should have waited at home until Mom rmended a boyfriend withpatible family backgrounds to me before we would date for eight to ten years before getting married and having kids. Both Carmen and Kimberly were rather pitiful as they had been cheated by Flynn. However, Kimberly came to resent her since she had been forced to fix her hair by Theo and Flynn¡¯s opportunity to meet a big shot was screwed up. Flynn deliberately spoke to Kimberly in an affectionate manner, as if the closer they were with each other, the more damage they would inflict on Carmen. However, after they were done with their intimate conversation, he turned to her, only to notice that she was doing exercise on her workbook with her head bowed¡ªas if she was unfazed by their actions. The sight of the indifferent Carmen inexplicably annoyed Flynn. No, she must be sad, but she is just pretending to be unperturbed. The bell then rang, indicating that it was time for their ss to start. Kimberly returned to her seat, which was next to Carmen. The atmosphere around Kimberly seemed different the moment she sat down. Even the students around them felt uneasy with their hair standing on the end, which made them wonder how Carmen would feel as the person who was directly affected by Kimberly¡¯s aura. Cindere, who had no idea where she stood, had persistently pursued the prince. Now that the princess showed up, would Cindere feel inferior to the former and feel embarrassed of herself? Nevertheless, Cindere disyed stable emotions and continued to focus on doing her homework. The ss in the afternoon had begun. All the students in the senior year needed to do wasplete practice exercises and memorize contents. As they were not separated into art and science streams and the entire ss aimed to enroll in the Bayside University, they had to face immense pressure in their studies. As permanent residents of Bayside City with rich family backgrounds, the students had many channels to get extra credits, but academic results were still a necessity in order to enter the top 5 universities in the whole world. After the first period, Carmen rose to her full height and said to Kimberly, ¡°Excuse me, please give way. I want to head.¡± Kimberly, who pretended not to hear Carmen, continued to chat with female students behind her. She even leaned over to the back to block Carmen¡¯s way. Carmen rolled her eyes at her. As she really had no intention to have a conflict with her, she repeated, ¡°Kimberly, please give way.¡± Kimberly did not react, which made it obvious that her action was intentional. Carmen had no choice but to hold it in. She refused to find fault with Kimberly since she was the one who was in the wrong first, although she never knew that Flynn had always been Kimberly¡¯s partner and unknowingly became a ¡®mistress¡¯. After resisting for one period, Kimberly finally left her seat in the next period and Carmen took the opportunity to head to the washroom. When Carmen was not around, Kimberly and her few female friends badmouthed about her while pointing at her desk. ¡°Look at her book. It looks so new without any notes written on it. She surely is a weak student.¡± ¡°Her lip balm looks like the kind where you can get it at the school entrance with 10.¡± ¡°Her bag is the one that the school has issued to everyone at the beginning of the semester. I can¡¯t believe that there¡¯s actually someone who is willing to use such a tasteless bag.¡± The few girls then touched up on their makeup together while sharing it with each other. Kimberly took out her lipstick and applied it on her lips while looking in the mirror. The moment she did so, everyone instantly recognized it. ¡°The lipstick is Dusk¡¯stest release! The color is simply gorgeous!¡± Upon hearing her peers¡¯ praises, Kimberly calmly pursed her lips and exined in a slightly proud tone, ¡°It¡¯s a gift from Flynn. He gave me a full set with all 12 colors in it.¡± Dusk was a luxury brand under the Ronney Group. It was the first high-tech luxury brandunched by the Ronney Group after they had decided tounch high-tech luxury products. The brand consisted of women¡¯s luxury goods such as lipsticks and handbags, which were the perfectbinations of technology and fashion. For instance, the lipstick was made using high-technology and safe ingredients to ensure the color could remain bright andsting. Besides, the color would change ording to temperature. The tiny little lipstick contained built-in sterilization and thermoregtory functions. While it looked pretty on the outside, there were hidden functions on the inside. As a loyal fan of the Ronney Group, everything that Kimberly used had to be products from the Ronney Group, including her essories, purses, shoes, and even tiny mugs. Therefore, using Ronney products was her personal trademark and she was given the nickname of ¡®Ronney¡¯s Little Princess¡¯. After applying her lipsticks, she put down the mirror, closed the lipstick¡¯s cover, and suddenly saw Carmen¡¯s unzipped bag. Her gaze flicked to her lipstick and back to Carmen¡¯s bag before it returned to her lipstick¡­ Thest period in the afternoon was Hope¡¯s ss. After the bell rang, Hope entered the ssroom with a cold face and following behind him was an upset Kimberly.Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. With a dark expression, he tossed the stack of exam papers in his hands on the teacher¡¯s desk. ¡°Yesterday, someone went to the nightclub. Today, someone actually stole another student¡¯s belongings! Who is the one who stole Kimberly¡¯s lipstick? Stand up now!¡± Stole Kimberly¡¯s lipstick? Most students in the ss came from rich family backgrounds, so who in the right mind would steal her lipstick? For some unknown reason, everyone turned to the only student with an ordinary background in the ss in unison¡ªCarmen. It gave Carmen a sense of foreboding. Subconsciously, she reached into her bag and fumbled around before she found an unfamiliar tube that felt like a lipstick. F*ck! She seemed to realize what was going on. Kimberly was still sobbing as she felt sad for the lost lipstick. Hope urged the students, ¡°After school, the student who took the lipstick shoulde over to my ce and admit to your mistake. I won¡¯t look into your faults.¡± After saying that, he was going to start his lecture. However, Kimberly, who lost her lipstick, suddenly chimed in dissatisfaction, ¡°No, that lipstick is my 17th birthday¡¯s gift from my mother. It meant more than a lipstick to me. I have to find it! If we wait until after school, the person who stole my lipstick will surely be gone!¡± Flynn suddenly uttered in fury, ¡°That¡¯s such an expensive lipstick! We shouldn¡¯t let this slide! Mr. Fletcher, I hope that you can allow Kimberly to search everyone¡¯s bag. The lipstick must still be in school!¡± Search everyone¡¯s bag! This is going to be fun! Another student agreed. ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s search everyone¡¯s bag! Our ss, the Alpha ss, has always been the best ss in Bayside High School. We cannot allow such a thing to happen. We must locate the thief and confront this person! We must teach this person a lesson!¡± The students kicked up a fuss. Although their words did not make it clear that they were talking about a particr person, Carmen was able to feel their gaze on her. Tsk, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t afford to buy lipsticks! She merely thought that a student should dress modestly, so she had never worn any essories or makeup in school. She only had lip balm in her bag and applied some moisturizer before leaving her home. Does everyone think that I am an easy target? Amidst the boisterous noise, Kimberly, who was feigning sadness, secretly smiled. However, Carmen suddenly sprang up from her seat and she disagreed in a loud voice, ¡°I disagree. Searching the students¡¯ school bags is a vition of privacy. I disagree with this idea!¡± When a sensitive figure like her became the first student to stand up and disagree, one of the students immediately used in a surly manner, ¡°Why are you against this idea? I bet that you are the one who stole the lipstick!¡± Chapter 1479 Chapter 1479 ¡°Carmen, you are sitting next to Kimberly, so stealing her lipstick would be a piece of cake!¡± Carmen cast a cold nce at the people around her before looking at Kimberly and Flynn, who seemed upset but were actually secretly d. ¡°We will know who the real thief is by checking the surveince tape.¡± One of the students immediately refuted, ¡°Everyone knows that the school has removed all of the surveince tapes this semester!¡± There used to be security cameras in the ssrooms. Since the students were unhappy as they felt that their privacy had been invaded, the school had removed all the security cameras since the beginning of that particr semester. Since surveince tapes were being mentioned, Carmen found it even more amusing. ¡°Everyone may not know this¡ªall the students in this ss are children of influential families, so it would be impossible that your parents will allow you to live in a ce that they are unable to monitor. All visible cameras have been removed, but I know that there are at least 5 hidden cameras in this ssroom. Everyone¡¯s moves are actually under the watchful eyes of the Parent Association. The cameras monitor our ss day and night from 360 degrees without any blind spot¡ªwith high-quality lenses that are able to capture everything clearly, including the cheat sheets in your hands. So, do you still think that the security cameras are unable to capture the moment when the expensive lipstick was lost?¡± Her tone was filled with dissatisfaction as she spoke. The security cameras in the ssroom had indeed been removed. However, when she started studying in that school, five or six security cameras were already installed in the ssroom. Her gaze from her dark beady eyes made Hope a little awkward. He was not the homeroom teacher for Alpha ss at first, but he became one when Carmen joined the ss. The reason for that change was particrly clear to everyone. Upon hearing that, the expression of Kimberly, the new student, drastically changed, but Flynn seemed not to believe Carmen. ¡°You are lying. My father is the president of the Parent Association, but he has never told me about this.¡± Oh, I see. Carmen¡¯s merely lying. Kimberly felt relieved. Seeing that Flynn seemed not to believe her, Carmen stepped away from her seat and uttered, ¡°Since you think that I was the one who stole the lipstick, Mr. Fletcher, let¡¯s go and check the surveince tapes.¡± After saying that, she took the lead and stepped out of the ssroom. Hope, who thought that there was a need to take the matter seriously, said to Kimberly, ¡°Let¡¯s go. We are going to check the surveince tapes.¡± Flynn followed along as well. Only Hope was able to ess the security footage in the ssroom as they were directly transmitted to the Ronney Group, Mitchell Family, The Imperial, and the militarypound. A few minutester, they finished watching the security footage and the truth was revealed¡ªit was indeed Kimberly who ced the lipstick into Carmen¡¯s bag when thetter went to the washroom. The security cameras had clearly captured everything. In fact, there were more than 5 security cameras in the ssroom¡ªthere were 7 or 8 of them, ced in different ces to monitor the ssroom from different angles. The quality of the recordings was so top-notched that Kimberly¡¯s every single move was lucidly captured. After watching the recordings, Kimberly lowered her head with her face nched and Flynn, who was at one side, did not dare to say even a word. An infuriated Hope mmed the table. ¡°Kimberly, what was that?¡± Kimberly remained silent, but Carmen chimed in from the side, ¡°Mr. Fletcher, it¡¯s fine. This is a matter between me and Kimberly.¡± She gently ced the lipstick on Hope¡¯s table and uttered in a straightforward manner. ¡°This lipstick is very suitable for you, but I don¡¯t like it. Thank you for secretly giving it to me. By the way, in regards to the matter of me pursuing your boyfriend, I would like to express my apology. He lied to me that he was single before this. If you don¡¯t believe me, I have evidence to prove my words. That¡¯s all from my side. I hope the two of you will stop seeking trouble with me.¡± After saying that, Carmen ced her hand into her pocket and left, leaving behind Flynn and Kimberly to receive their punishment in the office. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Everyone almost could not believe their eyes when they saw Carmen returning unscathed. They attempted to listen to the inside story from her, but unfortunately, she refused to reveal even a single word. In the end, Kimberly and Flynn returned to the ssroom with cold expressions. It seemed like they had received their punishments. The plot to the incident became unpredictable, but those who were involved refused to disclose the truth. Therefore, the other students could only make wild guesses. However, she moved to another seat after ss. Kimberly and Flynn¡¯s expression remained cold throughout the period while Hope¡¯s expression was even colder. I can¡¯t believe that there are actually people who dares to use such a lowly mean to frame Carmen! Hope had already forgotten about the past and all he remembered was that he used to be a university lecturer. It was because he fell ill and lost his memory about many events of his life. After that, when he went into the mountainous area to teach the poor kids, he encountered an earthquake, so the Fletcher Family forbade him from teaching in remote ces and made arrangements for him to teach in Bayside High School instead. However, he still learned about his past from others¡ªhe used to be a killer. Now, he was merely an ordinary teacher who worked hard every day to increase the students¡¯ advancement rate to universities. Alpha ss was his first batch of students and all of them were potential candidates to enroll in Bayside University. Therefore, he was sweating blood for his bunch of kids. I hope that all the students are as intelligent as my niece. Carmen had long been on the list of guaranteed admission into Bayside University. She had already received a doctorate in management studies abroad, yet she returned to attend high school. The Bayside University was afraid that she would reject their offer, so they had gone to her house a couple of times to make sure that she would not change her mind. Just like that, the incident went by without any pain and everyone continued to focus on their studies. Life as a student in the senior year of high school was boring and monotonous; the students repeated the same routine every day, which was doing practice exercises. Their workbooks, test papers, and questions piled up high. Carmen¡¯s daily routine was to pile up all her books on the desk while she hid behind the books to y with her phone. She checked the stock market and future contracts, observed the management of variouspanies, and checked the current financial market condition. Suddenly, she received a notification from Messenger¡ªit was Sophia who sent her a text message. ¡®Dear Carmen, Bailey has recently visited Bayside City. You should have a chat with him when you are free. I¡¯ve asked him to add you as a friend.¡± She checked her Messenger and expectedly, she had received a friend request from an ount with three apricot kernels as its profile picture. It¡¯s him! Her heart started to race uncontrobly The profile picture reminded Carmen of the three apricot kernels that she gave him as a thank-you gift for saving her life back then, but they were three bad kernels. I never thought that he would still keep them after many years. For an unknown reason, she tapped on the ¡®agree¡¯ button and waited for Bailey to text her. However, he seemed to be busy as he did not message her. As she stared at the profile picture, she fell into a daze. I wonder what he is busy with. Meanwhile, the man with green eyes looked at the nk chat while countless opening statements shed across his mind, but none of them were turned into words and delivered across. After thinking for a while, he ended up keeping his phone away. ¡°Carmen, it¡¯s time to submit the mathematics exercise!¡± The subject representative suddenly appeared with arge pile of workbooks in his arms. Carmen kept her phone away and found her workbook before submitting it. After she had submitted it, the subject representative seemed to be dissatisfied and grumbled, ¡°You are thest one to submit every time.¡± Carmen felt helpless as well. It was all because I have to do the work for Flynn, that poor student! He was sozy that he was unwilling to even copy his own work and insisted on having me copy them for him. She nced at Flynn and saw him scratching his head at a few questions. In the end, he gave up and borrowedpleted workbooks from other students to copy. Tsk, loser. He used to have average results that at least spared him from being in thest few ces in ss. However, in the entire year, not only had he been copying Carmen¡¯s homework, but he had been copying her answers during tests as well, which caused him to be deeply immersed in the fake superiority of being a genius that he had gained as a copycat. Now that he severed all ties with her, she refused to allow him to copy her work, which made him realize that he did not understand a lot of questions. To him, the questions seemed to be written in a foreignnguage. Kimberly now sat in the first row. As she sat very close to Flynn, she used to have intimate interactions with thetter during sses. She also found the questions difficult. When the subject representative came to them to collect their homework, he saw her frowning at a few questions, so he uttered in an attempt to please her, ¡°Kimberly, let me give you the most well-done homework.¡± As he was speaking, he respectfully took a workbook and opened it. The handwriting on the book was neat and the solutions were brief yet detailed. The solutions provided for every single question were simply perfect. Kimberly and Flynn quickly copied the work. After they were done, they flipped to the cover page of the workbook and found the owner¡¯s name¡ªCarmen Fletcher. It¡¯s her again! Chapter 1480 Chapter 1480 As Kimberly looked at the workbook with neat handwriting and perfectly written answers on every page, she was so mad that she nearly tore the book apart. What the f*ck! She¡¯s merely a girl with an ordinary background! Does she think that she will be able to enter a university with good grades? No matter how well her results are, amoner¡¯s daughter will always be amoner¡¯s daughter! There are things that you will never be able to attain if you did not have it when you were born! In the afternoon, Carmen went to the guard house to have her lunch again. The weather today was nice since it was shining. The entire school felt warm and there were people ying ser in the field. Three men rode on their sports bicycle and stopped at the guard house. One of them got off the bicycle, removed his helmet, and entered the guard house while carrying a bag. The man was in his twenties. With a buzz cut and tannedplexion, he had a masculine beauty that made him seem different from any other ordinary man. His handsome features were outstanding and it made him stand out among the students. ¡°Nate, what are we having for lunch today?¡± She delightfully went up to greet him. She would have lunch in school every day¡ªshe would bring the meal from home sometimes while her family would send someone to bring it over to her at other times. Her dinner was also taken in school as they would deliver it to her. The person who delivered her food was Nathan today. He seldom came since he had apany to manage. Ever since Michael went into cryosleep, he started to mature at a fast pace and finally entered the Asco International to take over Michael¡¯s position at the management level. Although he seemed cool and cold on the surface, the corner of his lips would involuntarily reveal his brotherly love toward Carmen whenever he saw her. ¡°They are all your favorite.¡± Upon seeing Theo, he made sure that there was nobody around them before he greeted, ¡°Grandpa.¡± Theo asked, ¡°Hey, why are you here today?¡± Nathan answered, ¡°I¡¯m here for a game with friends.¡± Theo cast a nce at the three of them. Since Nathan had brought them along, they were probably close friends with each other. As a result, Theo secretly allowed them toe in. Carmen, who was eating in the guard house, seemed to have felt something. She looked out of the window and saw a man in ck sportswear while wearing a ck helmet riding a sport bicycle into the school. I think that I might have seen something earlier¡­ Or, perhaps I¡¯m wrong. After speedily finishing her lunch, she returned to the ssroom to continue observing the stock market as they had 1 hour 30 minutes of rest time in the afternoon. As soon as she entered the ssroom and sat on her seat, she heard the girl beside her discussing something in excitement, so she approached them to listen. ¡°There are a few super handsome men ying basketball in the basketball field!¡± ¡°Really? How handsome are they?¡± ¡°Look here¡ªsomeone posted their photos in our ss chat group.¡± ¡°Wow! They are handsome! Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± More than half of the girls in the ss left in a short while. Carmen clucked her tongue and took out her phone, but for some unknown reason, she tapped open her Messenger and looked at her recently epted friend¡¯s profile picture in a daze. Should I take the initiative to say hi? It¡¯s not nice to just leave him at one side, right? Soon, only a few students were left in the ssroom as most of them had probably headed out to see the handsome men. Of course, Kimberly and Flynn were still in the ssroom. The two of them were intimately talking to each other, as if they were trying to irritate Carmen on purpose, but she ignored them. For some reason, Flynn felt flustered. He found it disgusting when Carmen cared about him, but he felt empty in his heart when she ignored him. He even had a French kiss with Kimberly to secretly see Carmen¡¯s reaction. However, Carmen was still unfazed. Suddenly, someone clumsily barged into the ssroom and headed straight for Carmen¡ªit was Poppy, the delinquent student from Lamda ss. ¡°Carmen, why are you still here? There are handsome men ying basketball at the basketball court! Let¡¯s go and check it out! Maybe you will find your new love!¡± She tried to drag Carmen out of the ssroom, but thetter felt annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not going. You can go ahead to have a look.¡± Poppy, who refused to listen to her, dragged her away from her seat and headed outside. Carmen, who was being dragged away, had no choice but to follow her. When they passed by Kimberly, Poppy suddenly came to a halt and her warm expression instantly became cold and distant as she viciously muttered to Kimberly, ¡°Hey, Stafford, listen here. I heard that you are finding fault with my bestie? I¡¯m warning you¡ªthis school is under my watch, so if you dare to seek trouble with her again, I will see to it that you won¡¯t get away unscathed!¡± Kimberly coldly looked at Poppy without replying. It appeared that the well-informed Poppy had learned something, so she came to warn Kimberly. Then, both Carmen and Poppy left in a hurry. Once they were gone, Flynn finally felt that something was fishy. ¡°Are they even more handsome than me?¡± Therefore, he brought along a basketball and left to see who the guys were and Kimberly naturally followed along. There was a heated match at the basketball court. Groups after groups of girls came over to watch the match. Initially, only the students in junior and sophomore year came, but now even the senior year students were there. After squeezing through the human walls that were formed by the chatty girls, Carmen saw Maisie and Audrey. Maisie was the child adopted by Sean and Stanley, and Audrey, whosest name was Fletcher, was Hale¡¯s adopted daughter. Hale was actually from one of the Fletchers¡¯ branch families, but he had lost his parents at a young age. Therefore, he had been working for Michael for a long time and that name was only his nickname at work. ¡°What took you guys so long? Nate has been here for a long time,¡± Maisie uttered as she made space for them. Carmen looked toward the court and saw Nathan¡¯s active figure on it. He was ying with a group of younger boys. His handsome, dazzling looks had enchanted countless young girls and each time he scored a goal, the young girls would cheer for him. ¡°Go, Nate! You are the best!¡± ¡°Cas, go for it!¡± Upon hearing Maisie¡¯s cheers, Carmen curiously looked toward the court. ¡°Casper is back as well?¡± There was an eye-catching young boy with chiseled features and ck hair among the crowd. Maisie replied, ¡°Cas has returned for quite some time. Of course, a senior year student like you, who is always busy preparing for exams, would not know.¡± She stood on her toes, trying hard to see Casper. He managed to shoot a perfect 3-pointer with his agile movements. His newly-built muscles were tempting for the eyes while his focused eyes and athletic movements were a little simr to that of when he was young. His looks were so exquisite that it resembled a ck-haired fairy. As Casper had spent most of his time studying abroad, they seldom met each other even during festivals. It was unexpected to them that he actually grew into such a fine-looking man. ¡°Cas!¡± Upon seeing her childhood friend, Carmen vigorously waved her hand at him. Casper saw her and waved back at her. It¡¯s really Casper! The two of them had not met for many years. She jumped and waved at him; on top of that, she even cheered for him. While her attention was focused on Casper and Nathan, who were both ying basketball, she failed to notice that there was an intent gaze on her from amidst the crowd. Flynn had started looking for Carmen among the crowd the moment he had arrived. When he saw her passionately cheering for another guy, he was absolutely pissed. An incredibly handsome man? Is he more handsome than me? He pushed his hair backward in a self-proimed cool manner before barging into the game to immediately snatch the ball that Casper had just gotten. The most handsome student in our school has joined the game! There are too many handsome guys here today! The girls screamed¡ªnobody knew whether they screamed for Flynn, for the tanned Nathan, or for Casper. Flynn seemed to be targeting Casper. Whenever Casper had the ball, Flynn would snatch it from him. The girls nearly went insane when they saw the two handsome men in a fight. ¡°Go, Cas! Go!¡± Carmen continued to cheer for Casper. The man in green eyes, who was currently standing behind her, watched as she passionately cheered for another man. Deste then filled his eyes. Why didn¡¯t she notice me?This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 1481 Chapter 1481 Sadly, Casper was unable to see Carmen because he was being pushed away by the affectionate girls. On the other hand, Flynn felt furious because she was still cheering for the other boy, so he kept going against Casper. However, Casper was a mixed race, so he was already at a height of 1.9 meter at the tender age of 19. Not only that, Flynn¡¯s technical skills were not as good as his, so he was not a match to Casper at all. After realizing that he could not defeat him, he suddenly stomped on Casper¡¯s foot. ¡°Hey! What are you doing?¡± Carmen immediately saw that Flynn was cheating, so she rushed up in a state of anger toward him. As soon as Casper saw hering, he cleverly hugged and lifted her up like he usually did when she was a kid. After spinning her for a few times, he ced her down while his peach-like eyes were full of affection. ¡°Carmen, long time no see. Do you miss me?¡± The moment everyone saw their intimate interaction, the entire basketball court was in an uproar. What¡¯s happening? They actually know each other?! At that moment, Flynn felt that he was beingpletely cuckolded. I couldn¡¯t even hug her in such an intimate manner. I¡¯ve been dating her for five months, but she still won¡¯t allow me to hold her hand or kiss her. She has forbidden any intimacy with me, let alone spinning her in circles! For some reason, I¡¯m starting to feel like she is seeing me as her dad. ¡°Cas, don¡¯t stop me. This guy is deliberately hurting you!¡± Carmen was agitated that she only wanted to grab Flynn and avenge Casper¡¯s shoe. However, Casper did not seem to feel anything. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Let it go.¡± After being deliberately stepped on by someone, he was no longer in the mood to y basketball as he only had Carmen in his eyes. They had not seen each other for many years, so he wanted to talk to her. After that, Nathan and Casper chatted with her while the three of them left the court. ¡°Carmen!¡± Behind them, Flynn continued to howl. He was panicking for the first time. Back then, he thought that he had upied the more assertive role when dating Carmen, but earlier, he witnessed the intimate interaction between her and that strange boy. They seem to have known each other for a long time and their rtionship doesn¡¯t look ordinary. Also, that boy is much more handsome than me! Sadly, Carmen did not seem to hear his screams at all as she left under thepany of two handsome guys. After furiously smashing the basketball in his hands, Flynn also left the court. Since all the hunks had left, the students also gradually dispersed. Casper and Nathan were about to leave after having a chat with Carmen, so she watched as they went to the washroom to wash their hands before leaving. Consequently, she turned to return to her ssroom. In the evening, the campus was bathed in the golden sunlight while a burst of heat rose from the ground, filling the entire campus with a breath of spring. Meanwhile, she stepped on the damp ground as she walked to her ssroom without any hurry. Beside her was a little artificialke with clear water and dazzling waves. Under the water, the fishes swam in an agile manner while their tails broke the figure being reflected on the surface of theke. After the figure was shattered into thousands of pieces, it was slowly restored into aplete reflection. Upon seeing that reflection, Carmen lifted her eyes and saw a man walking on the opposite embankment of theke. The figure was far away for her to clearly see his face. Yet, she could roughly make out his profound facial features while his blond hair danced in the night wind. His shadow was stretched to the ground by the setting sun as he walked in a rxed manner. Although she could not see his face clearly, her eyes could not help but feel attracted to him. Since the figure walked unhurriedly, she maintained the same speed as him. In the spring evening, the heat of the day had not faded, but the cold of night was already rising. She brushed away the obstructive branches of the willow tree and stared at the figure on the other side with her eyes wide open. She tried to adjust her sight, but no matter what, she was just unable to clearly see the other person¡¯s face. That man really has a different kind of arrogance and coldness to him. Is he a student in the school? He isn¡¯t wearing a uniform and his blond hair will definitely cause him to be questioned by Theo if he enters the school. There¡¯s only a few blond-haired biracial students in the school and I recognize all of them. Carmen tried to adjust her sight again, but after passing by a cultural wall, the figure suddenly disappeared from the side of theke. Eh? She suddenly felt at loss, so she quickly walked a few steps ahead and took a short detour to the direction of the figure earlier. As she looked around, she noticed that there was no one and mumbled to herself, ¡°Where is he¡­¡± Surprisingly, she felt a weight on her shoulder as someone suddenly patted her. At the same time, she could hear the deep voice of a man. ¡°Are you looking for me?¡± She turned and saw a man who rode a sports bike standing behind her. With one foot on the ground and the other on the pedal, he wore a helmet thatpletely covered his face, but through the helmet, she could see a pair of green eyes. Property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Bailey?¡± Carmen eximed. The man standing opposite her slowly removed his helmet and revealed a young dashing face. It was an absolutely perfect face with handsome features that were created by the Gods. There was an unusual aura with two mysterious lights hidden in his deep green eyes, which were specifically used to attract other people¡¯s souls. After not seeing each other for a decade, the two of them grew a lot. The once adorable and innocent Carmen was now an emotional young woman. Compared to his appearance 10 years ago, Bailey¡¯s mannerism and looks did not seem to have changed. However when he first entered society a decade ago, he was always working with fear and trepidation, causing him to be unable to sleep at night or lose his appetite. While facing the unpredictable future and his painful past, he was full of worries and sorrows. Now, he had built himself a business empire and gained power on the way. For the past 10 years, he experienced many difficulties and obstacles that his peers could never imagine. He changed from a naive young president to an absolute leader with power and authority who was in charge of an empire. He matured faster than anyone else. After 10 years, he finally met her again and he felt nothing but happiness. However, he looked unfazed on the surface to the point where she could not even find the slightest joy on his face after reuniting with her. Instead, he slightly nodded his head and replied, ¡°Hello.¡± Bailey¡¯s tone was calm and indifferent. Since he was 10 years old, he had trained himself in the battlefield of adults and to protect himself with spikes to the point where he had quickly forgotten how to speak to a person gently. His current tone was probably his gentlest. ¡°Ah, Bailey. It really is you!¡± Carmen jumped to him like she did when she was a kid before lifting her head and cheered. ¡°Oh my God. Bailey, you arenky now!¡± Bailey¡¯s green eyes were profound, but they did not reveal themselves to anyone at all. After hearing her praise, he still nodded his head tly. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve grown up.¡± His voice was only a little more gentle and a little less formalpared to the voice he used for business meetings. Yet, Carmen seemed to be used to his tone as she asked enthusiastically, ¡°Why are you here?¡± He stoically answered, ¡°I just happened to ride past here.¡± But mainly, he was here to see someone. Chapter 1482 Chapter 1482 Of course, Bailey did not tell Carmen the truth because he was already used to concealing his feelings. He seemed to be taciturn like when he was a kid, but on the other hand, she was loquacious. As a result, the two of them continued to chat while they walked together. Bailey pushed his bike and Carmen followed beside him while talking about herself and asking him questions. ¡°When I was studying at Eton College, one of my ssmates was a rtive of yours! I wonder whether he greeted you for me. By the way, I¡¯ve been paying attention to your sess for the past few years. Bailey, you really are brilliant. You are as brilliant as my grandpa! What is your next step? You¡¯ve already brought the Adams Insurance to this level and I don¡¯t think there is any possibility of improving it any better. Are you interested in investing in artificial intelligence?¡± She kept on rambling. On the way to their destination, Carmen¡¯s mouth just could not stop moving. Bailey only answered her with a simple ¡®Yes¡¯, ¡®I see¡¯ and ¡®I¡¯ve seen that¡¯, as if he was trying his best to keep his words to a minimum. Then, she skipped in front of him while he continued to push his bike with firm steps behind her. As he gazed at her, the sunset helped to coat her tiny body with ayer of gold. At that moment, her whole body was shining. She is still the angel in my memories. Although he did not chat much with her and his attitude seemed alienating, he would gaze at her every time she averted her eyes. I feel that silently looking at her is a kind of happiness for me. The two of them talked in tandem while they walked past theke toward the educational building. When they arrived near the building, Carmen suddenly patted her head. ¡°Oh sh*t, I¡¯mte!¡± She actually forgot the time while chatting with Bailey. The moment she took a look at her children¡¯s wristwatch, she was shocked. ¡°I¡¯m doomed. The evening study started 15 minutes ago. Oh no!¡± ¡°Bailey, I need to leave now. I¡¯mte for my evening study!¡± After that, Carmen ran in a rush while Bailey watched her leave. As soon as he could no longer see her, he rode his bike and wore his helmet before leaving. While riding the bike, he thought, That children¡¯s watch was given to her by her father, right? Back then, after that incident with her parents, she kept on cherishing thest wristwatch that her father gave her as a gift. To her, that watch has a significant meaning. When he arrived at the school gate, he saw Nathan and Casper waiting for him in the guard house. ¡°Bailey, where have you been? We¡¯ve been waiting for you for so long!¡± Nathan asked as soon as he saw Bailey. However, Bailey did not stop as he replied in a monotonous tone, ¡°I was lost.¡± Nathan did not ask the second time. It was impossible for Bailey to be lost on his way over there, but that was his personality. If he did not want to talk about something, there was no point in asking him the second time. Nathan and Bailey had known each other for more than 10 years. At that time, Bailey would often visit Bayside University to y basketball, so they got together one day on the court; after all, they were of the same age. Also, Nathan was a modest person, so he would constantly ask Bailey for help in his academics. Even though he used to help Michael to defeat Bailey, it did not seem to affect their gay-like friendship afterward at all. Therefore, they would often hang out together to have a drink or y basketball. Lately, they would even ride sports bikes together. From N?velDrama.Org. While they got on their bike and prepared to leave, Casper was drinking a cup of warm goji berry that Theo gave him. When Casper saw that Nathan and Bailey were leaving, he responded in a hurry, ¡°Wait for me.¡± Casper quickly went back to put the cup down. When Theo saw that they were leaving, he said to Casper, ¡°Cas, you shoulde more often and y with Carmen. She has been heartbroken by love recently.¡± Among the kids that grew up with Carmen, Theo still liked Casper the most. Sour Face¡¯s personality is too cold and arrogant, which most girls can¡¯t stand. As for Ashton, he is careless and doesn¡¯t know how to take care of others. In the end, Casper is the best. Not only is he handsome, he is also polite and knows how to take care of others. He¡¯s much better than that fake Taylor Murray. Although Casper and Carmen are rtives from the Michel Family, their connection has been diluted after many generations, so it won¡¯t matter. Besides, the Michel Family also hopes that they can be together. If the two of them can be together, that¡¯ll be perfect. Naturally, Casper knew Theo¡¯s intention, so he grinned. ¡°Alright! I¡¯m now studying at Bayside University, so I¡¯lle to visit her more often in the future.¡± After Theo nodded his head in relief, he seemed to remember something a secondter and halted Casper and reminded, ¡°Um¡­ Do you know about that¡­ celebrity dance party? Carmen has already received an invitation, so her mother has been preparing her dress for the past few days!¡± Casper immediately understood, so he made an ¡®OK¡¯ gesture to Theo. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m the best at dancing. I¡¯ll return home and prepare my suit!¡± Sophia entered the fashion industry more than a decade ago. In order to unite the entire fashion industry in Bayside City to deal with the menacing Ronney Group, she founded the Bayside City Fashion Society. Starting from 10 years ago, the Bayside City Fashion Society would host aing-of-age party annually for the daughters of noble families who were stepping into society for the first time. The participants were all specifically chosen, so they needed to be the topdies in Bayside City who were transitioning to adulthood. For every young woman from noble families in Bayside City, receiving the invitation to the Fashion Society¡¯s dance party would be the perfecting-of-age present! Based on Carmen¡¯s background and personal requirements, it was no doubt that she would be chosen for the party; it also helped that her mother was the chairwoman of the Fashion Society. However, the dance party only provided the venue, so the participants needed to bring their own dresses and partners! Sophia would be preparing the dress for Carmen. As for the partner¡­ Theo was trying not to be obvious. After that, Casper happily rode away while feeling like a cheerful little bird. As soon as he caught up to Nathan and Bailey at the front, he asked cheerfully, ¡°Did you hear that? Carmen is attending the dance party. She¡¯ll definitely be the prettiestdy at the party!¡± Sadly, no one answered him. Nathan was feeling a little upset. I wonder if my beloved little sister will invite me to be her dance partner? I¡¯m sure that the answer will be no because I don¡¯t know how to dance! When he was a young child, Sophia would hold his tiny hand and practice dancing with him, but he was as stiff as a wooden puppet with strings. As for Bailey, he remained silent with his lips pressed. However, for some reason, Casper felt goosebumps all over his body, as if he was being secretly targeted by someone. When he remembered something, he asked Bailey, ¡°When we were ying basketball, why did you suddenly walk away alone?¡± They initially nned to y basketball in the school and visit Carmen. She was now in her senior year of high school and she was so busy that they could not even see her. However, before even getting on the court, Bailey left without a word. As expected, Casper did not receive any answers from him. He doesn¡¯t seem to wear his ears every time hees outside. He always has this same attitude whenever we hang out together. The three of them rode their bikes and left. On the way, Casper felt goosebumps all over him, as if a peerless monster was targeting him. Chapter 1483 Chapter 1483 On the other side, the mathematics teacher caught hold of Carmen when she entered the ss. ¡°Carmen, not only are youte, but you didn¡¯t even hand in your assignment. I want you to stand outside now!¡± She looked at her mathematics teacher with a confused expression. I admit that I¡¯mte, but when did I not submit my assignment? I remember that I already handed it in. Usually, the carefree Carmen would render the mathematics teacher speechless by refuting him. Since he was furious and she did not want to argue with him, she decided to stand outside as instructed. As she calmly stood outside, she was met with many gloating eyes from the ss. Then, the mathematics teacher continued to exin the questions, which the ss did during the day. While feeling proud, he suddenly announced halfway through his lecture, ¡°Today, I want to praise two students¡ªFlynn and Kimberly. Thesest two questions were taken from a college entrance exam a few years ago. Back then, only a few people could answer the question. I only changed the numbers in the questions, so it is still difficult, but I¡¯m surprised that they both were able to perfectly answer it! All their answers are absolutely correct! They are the only two students in the ss who solved the question! Give them a round of apuse!¡± The whole ss pped their hands while Kimberly and Flynn gave a proud smile without maintaining any modesty. After the loud apuse, Carmen, who was listening to ss outside the door, casually said, ¡°Oh, they are so brilliant. Why don¡¯t theye up and exin their answers to the ss?¡± The mathematics teacher quickly pped his hands. ¡°That¡¯s right. Come up! Kimberly, you can exin the first question, and Flynn, you can exin the second one! Everyone, give them another round of apuse!¡± Again, a loud apuse was heard from the ss, but this time, Kimberly and Flynn could not smile as arrogantly as before. Quickly, their smiles faded while they became extremely embarrassed. ¡°Teacher, m-my throat is feeling a little ufortable¡­¡± she stuttered as she tried to swindle her way out of the situation. ¡°I may not be able to speak¡­¡± ¡°I bet you copied the answers from somewhere!¡± Standing outside the door, Carmen spoke directly. ¡°How could two ckers like them answer such a difficult question? I really can¡¯t believe it.¡± Flynn immediately stood up and refuted, ¡°Carmen, don¡¯t you use us!¡± She sneered in return. ¡°Then, why don¡¯t you go up and exin? Flynn, didn¡¯t you just win the national mathematicspetition for senior year high schoolers? Come¡ªeveryone, please give a round of apuse to the champion as he goes up the stage to exin the question to everyone! I bet you have two ways to solve this question, so why don¡¯t you exin both?¡± Carmen led everyone to p their hands and stirred up the whole ss. The math teacher even stepped down from his position and said enthusiastically, ¡°Come and exin. You must have done something like this in thepetitionst time, so it must be easy for you. Come up. I¡¯ll let you stand at my position. Kimberly has a sore throat, so why don¡¯t you exin her question as well?¡± Flynn did not even dare to move. Only he knew how he won thepetition. It was she who used a pinhole robot to take pictures of the questions during thepetition, so she could answer them outside the venue before transmitting it inside to him by using high-techmunications. He even copied the answers for the two questions today, which meant he knew nothing. Amidst everyone¡¯s apuse, his face was visibly and rapidly getting darker. In the end, there were three people standing in ss for the whole evening study from 7.30PM to 9.30PM¡ªone was punished for beingte and not handing in her assignment while the other two were punished for giarizing other people¡¯s work. The three of them stood outside ss and enjoyed the gaze of the people walking past by. At first, Flynn was still waiting for Carmen to talk to him on her own ord, but she kept on standing in a daze¡ªas if she did not want to talk to him at all. Her behavior was beginning to make him feel anxious. For her whole life, Kimberly had never been embarrassed like that before, so she felt ashamed and angry as she gave Carmen a furious stare. Unexpectedly, Flynn suddenly asked Carmen, ¡°Who is that boy you met earlier?¡± However, she kept her eyes closed and she was not in the mood to answer. The veins on his forehead were starting to bulge and he suddenly went over to her and grabbed her head. While gritting his teeth, he asked again, ¡°Who is that boy you met earlier?¡± Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. Compared to the fact that she exposed him and Kimberly to the teacher for giarizing other people¡¯s assignments, he was more concerned about the identity of the boy that she was intimate with earlier. ¡°Flynn?¡± Kimberly watched in disbelief. He¡¯s actually grabbing her hand. However, Carmen immediately withdrew her hand and slowly opened her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s none of your f*cking business.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Flynn stared at her, but he was panicking in his heart. The power and advantage that he once thought he had was nowpletely gone for some reason because he finally realized that he never truly understood the girl. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve quickly found a new boyfriend. Carmen, you really are a surprise to me!¡± Even so, she still would not reply to him. However, the more she ignored him, the angrier he became, so he lowered his voice and threatened her fiercely. ¡°If you are doing this just to get my attention, I¡¯m telling you that it¡¯ll only anger me. I won¡¯t let him go that easily!¡± Carmen opened her eyes again and looked at him thoroughly without giving him an answer. Instead, a breath of rage came out of her nostrils and she seemed to smile before continuing to close her eyes. On the sidelines, Kimberly was so furious that her nose and eyes were filled with blood. Who do they think I am? Am I invisible to them? How dare he ¡®flirt¡¯ with her right in front of me! Today, Flynn was determined to know who that boy was, so he stretched out his hand again to grab her, but suddenly, he heard a voice. ¡°Eh? Carmen, why are you here? Shouldn¡¯t you be in ss right now?¡± The three of them concurrently looked at the source of the voice and saw Casper on the other end of the corridor. At that moment, he had already changed into casual clothes, which was the popr men¡¯s casual blue cotton shirt along with a id scarf, making his appearance look clean and cheerful. It¡¯s him! As Casper walked toward them, Flynn instinctively wanted to stand between him and Carmen. However, she had walked past him and headed toward Casper in surprise. ¡°Cas, why are you here?¡± Casper dangled the car keys in his hand and replied, ¡°Your grandpa said that he is getting too old to guard the gates in the cold night, so he returned home first and asked me to pick you up. My car is now parked in his spot.¡± Then, he asked again. ¡°Why are you standing outside? I thought your uncle, Hope, is your ss teacher. Is he willing to punish you?¡± She almost flew to him and covered his mouth because he had exposed all her secrets. ¡°What?¡± Flynn was the first to be shocked. ¡°Our ss teacher, Mr. Fletcher, is your uncle?!¡± He always knew about Hope¡¯s background, but it was the first time he heard that their teacher was actually Carmen¡¯s uncle. That means she is a member of the Fletcher Family, who is Bayside City¡¯s military force¡­ Does that mean Theo Fletcher, who is the security guard at the gate, is actually Hope¡¯s brother? Who is her grandpa? H-How is this possible? Coincidentally, the bell rang, which meant that school was over, so Carmen took the chance to flee the scene. ¡°Cas, wait for me here. I¡¯ll go and take my bag.¡± She rushed to her ss to grab her bag and wrap herself with her scarf before leaving with Casper in a hurry. Upon watching them leave, Flynn furiously followed them. Let¡¯s see who Cas actually is! Chapter 1484 Chapter 1484 Therefore, the two of them walked together in front while someone followed them from behind. However, they had already noticed Flynn following them, so Casper turned and nced at him. ¡°He is¡­¡± Carmen coldly answered, ¡°My ex-boyfriend.¡± Suddenly, he stopped and turned toward Flynn. Then, he removed his gloves to reveal his hands. ¡°You are Flynn, right? I know you¡ªyou are Carmen¡¯s ex-boyfriend. Hello. I¡¯m Casper, Carmen¡¯s current boyfriend and we grew up together. I just returned from Northern Europe.¡± Current boyfriend? Casper? So, Cas is actually his nickname. She also has a friend in Northern Europe whom she grew up with? Why don¡¯t I know all of this? ¡°Carmen Fletcher, what else have you not told me?¡± Flynn felt as though he had been lied to for a long while, so he was furious as he questioned her. She angrily answered, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of things I¡¯ve never told you! Cas, let¡¯s go!¡± Carmen was not in the mood to correct Casper¡¯s actions, so she held his hand before the two of them went toward the open-space carpark. It¡¯s better for Flynn to know that I now have an awesome boyfriend. Let¡¯s see if he dares to bully me from now on! Upon seeing them leaving while holding their hands, Flynn grew jealous as he followed them in anger. I want to see what kind of car Casper drives. It¡¯s so obvious that this poord can¡¯t afford a good car. I must mock him ruthlessly and tell him to get the hell out of here as soon as possible. After a few steps, they arrived at the open-space, but the lights were a bit dim, so they could not figure out which vehicle was Capser¡¯s car. Then, Casper took out his car keys and pressed the button, which activated the fingerprint lock. With a beep, the car drove out of the spot by itself. A strange light rose in the car park as a sports car emerged from the light. Silently, the gull-wing door car was activated. On the car logo, there was a ¡®dragon¡¯ symbol, which looked gorgeous and smooth since it was thebination of both the art and the military industries. The Dragon Sports Car was a sports car that was jointly engineered by Ronney Group and Michel Group. A genuine Dragon Sports Car had a gorgeous appearance that was produced by Ronney Group and a powerful engine that was made by the Michel Military Enterprise. Both its appearance and performance was top-notch, which was why many people were crazy for it. At that moment, Flynn was dumbfounded on the spot. This car¡­ can¡¯t be bought by an ordinary person. What was even stranger to him was that Carmen did not seem to be surprised by the sports car as she spoke casually, ¡°Why did you choose this car? The gull-wing doors aren¡¯t even practical at all.¡± While chatting, the two of them entered the car and the engine started as soon as the doors were shut. A few secondster, the car drove away and Flynn was no longer able to hear the rest of their conversation. ¡°When you are 18, your mom will definitely give you an even prettier car.¡± After Casper drove away in his car, Flynn was so furious that he kicked the air a few times before leaving unsatisfyingly. It¡¯s just a lousy car¡­ In the future, I¡¯ll definitely own a car like that. I can¡¯t believe Carmen is this sort of person. She is greedy and vain that she can just walk away with someone in his sports car. What makes her different from those girls who became a mistress at a young age? However, in the dark, the whole scene was captured by a camera. Carmen sat inside Casper¡¯s car and left the school. He was a very particr person, so the inside of the car was spotless. Not only was there an automatic vacuum cleaner, but he even sprayed the whole ce with a fragrant perfume. Just like his personality, the car was fresh and clean. There was always a ssical and mysterious smell lingering around him that was exactly the same as his dad¡¯s. Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°What is Mr. Psychic doingtely?¡± she suddenly asked him. I don¡¯t seem to recall seeing Daniel recently. He smiled and shook his head. ¡°What else can he be doing? There are 365 days in a year. For 100 days, he would remain in Reverie Mountain to deceive others. Then, he would spend another 100 days scamming everyone in Bayside City before traveling around the globe for another 100 days to con others. As for the remaining 56 days, he would stay with my mother in Northern Europe to continue conning members of her family.¡± The poor Casper was abandoned ever since he was a kid and he was left with a bunch of younger siblings to take care of. Not only was he required to y the role as a parent, he also needed to be a responsible big brother, so he became very independent and caring at a young age. Not long after leaving the school, Carmen saw a food stall beside the road that was selling roasted sweet potatoes. She told Casper to stop the car before going down to buy two sweet potatoes for them to eat. The sweet and fragrant sweet potato was the same as the ones grown in the farm. As she ate the delicious sweet potatoes with Casper in the car while enjoying the heater, she said to him, ¡°Cas, let me tell you something. Don¡¯t simply tell others that you¡¯re my boyfriend. If my mom knows about it, she¡¯ll think it¡¯s real. My grandpa may even chop you up to make minced meat eggnts. Are you not going to eat this half? Then, give it to me. I¡¯m ravished.¡± Casper only ate half a sweet potato as he gave the remainder to her. Then, he supported his chin with one arm while staring at her gleefully. ¡°I always wanted to be your boyfriend, though. When you were a kid, didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to marry me once we were adults?¡± Carmen resignedly replied, ¡°At that time, I wanted to marry a lot of people. I even wanted to marry Nichs!¡± He wiped his hands and revealed his clean fingers before rolling out his sandalwood bracelet to set up his formation. ¡°Come, let me predict your future to see if you¡¯ll marry me in this life. Just wait till I¡¯m done with my calction. And don¡¯t interrupt¡­¡± ¡°Cut it out¡­¡± Carmen opened his hands. ¡°Casper, I know all about your father¡¯s tricks. Back then, he even sold my mom to my dad for 80,000. It¡¯s all just a trick.¡± However, Casper intended on carrying out his calction. Carmen could not stop him, so she let him be while he pretended to be serious, as if he was calcting something with his fingers. Even without this, I already have an answer inside me. Just when the answer was about toe out earnestly from Casper¡¯s mouth, Carmen¡¯s phone rang. Her ringtone was still a song from a traditional opera, ¡®The Drunken Concubine¡¯, that her father sang. The call was from an unregistered number. ¡°Hello. Who is this?¡± On the other side, there was a sexy and mysterious voice of a man. ¡°Your mother asked me toe and pick you up.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She then lifted her head and confusedly looked at Casper. Didn¡¯t she already send Casper to come pick me up? Why did she send another person? I¡¯m not some precious endangered animal, so do I really need many people to pick me up? ¡°Who is this¡ª¡± Suddenly, someone knocked a few times on the window of Casper¡¯s luxurious car. Knock! Knock! Knock! The sound was crisp and firm. As soon as the two people inside the car turned toward the window at the same time, they realized that someone was already standing outside for a while. The person was riding Theo¡¯s old bike, which he usually used to ride to work, with one hand holding his phone while the other knocked on the car window. That same person was now wearing Theo¡¯s military coat with a ck scarf that covered his neck and half of his face. With the military coat and ushanka hat, Carmen initially thought he was Hope, but the voice was not the same. Also, the person had a pair of green eyes. His green eyes flickered like two searchlights shining on the people inside the car. As Carmen remembered the voice in the phone, she nced at the person¡¯s appearance and his green eyes once more. At first, she thought that she had mistaken him for someone. She knew someone with green eyes as well as someone with a military coat, but when she saw the person with green eyes in a military coat, she was a little confused. Chapter 1485 Chapter 1485 Bailey wore a cold face outside the car and his eyes were almost void of warmth. He reached out again to knock on the car window while speaking through the phone, ¡°Come down.¡± At the same time, his voice was transmitted through the phone. ¡°Come down.¡± Carmen was totally startled. It really is Bailey! This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. While she was dumbfounded, she opened the door and exited the car. She could see that he had ced his phone in the basket of the bicycle while wearing a military coat. Then, he had climbed on the old bicycle with his imposing stature before he faced the rear end of the bike toward her to show the cushion on the back of the seat. ¡°Come on up.¡± He was acting in a mysterious manner, so Carmen wanted to approach him and ask, Why is he here? Why is he wearing a military coat and an ushanka hat while riding an old bicycle? Why did hee to pick me up? As she was about to rock up to Bailey, she could hear Casper calling from behind, ¡°Carmen, where are you going? Bailey, why are you here?¡± Without answering Casper, Bailey repeated, ¡°Come on up. Let¡¯s go.¡± He sounded like he was giving an order as if he would not ept any refusal. Carmen responded to Casper in a hurry, ¡°Cas, I¡¯ll be going home with Bailey.¡± Immediately, Casper waved his hands and looked at the weather outside in disbelief. ¡°Are you sure? The temperature is below zero degrees out there! Are you two really going to ride a bike home?¡± However, she already sat on the back seat of Bailey¡¯s bicycle as she tightly held onto his military coat. Without saying a word, Bailey pedaled his bike away. Before leaving, he red at Casper and his sports car with his wolf-like green eyes. ¡°Hey, Bailey! What are you doing?¡± Sadly, Casper could not hear their reply as Bailey rode the bike away with a creaking sound. Bailey and Carmen soon disappeared in the dim street lights at the end of the street. After that, they entered an alley, which was a much faster route to return home. Every day, Theo would ride his bicycle through the alley to work and it only took him 10 to 20 minutes to arrive there. Casper followed resignedly in his car as he tried to catch up to them, but sadly, his sports car was unable to squeeze into the small alley, so he could only head home first and wait there. While sitting on Bailey¡¯s bike, Carmen could feel her heart racing. Why did Bailey show up here in grandpa¡¯s military coat? Why is he riding the bike through this alley? It was obvious that he could not recognize the road because he had his phone in front of him in the basket. The navigation was turned on as he rode carefully under the dim street lights. It was already 10PM and the temperature was extremely cold. Carmen used her scarf to cover her mouth and neck while hiding behind Bailey to block herself from the blowing wind. She had many questions to ask, but she seemed too embarrassed to give voice to it. Although it was not that difficult to bring her along for the ride, his body was still covered in a thinyer of sweat. From behind, she could see him panting while his white breath rose from his mouth. The night was so dark that they could only see themselves. She thought that the atmosphere was weird yet warm. ¡°Bailey, how did you know I¡¯m here? Did my mom ask you toe here?¡± He simply answered, ¡°Yes.¡± The children¡¯s wrist watch that she was reluctant to throw away had a built-in tracker, which allowed her mother to effortlessly locate her. It was no surprise that Bailey could find her beside a sweet potato stall with such ease. Carmen asked again, ¡°How did you meet my mom? Did you visit our house?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you return with Nate?¡± As usual, Bailey replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Carmen was rendered speechless. Can¡¯t you say something else? It was obvious that Bailey was an extremely taciturn person. In the middle of the night, the whole world fell into silence. The only thing left that could be heard was their breath and the creaking sound of the bicycle. Carmen touched the thick military coat that he was wearing before quietly cing her head against her back. Maybe he won¡¯t notice since the coat is thick. The bicycle shuttled through the alley in the silent night. asionally, one or two people and dogs would show up. The night was so dark that Carmen did not even realize that they were actually riding further away from home. At first, she thought that it was an illusion, but as the surroundings around her became more unfamiliar, she realized that they were heading in the wrong direction. Finally, she realized the situation. ¡°Bailey, stop. I think we are lost.¡± Bailey stopped and picked up his phone to check the navigation system. He had a look at the map and matched it with the direction that they were heading. I think we are really lost¡­ The alley extended to all directions and every route looked the same. They went in the opposite direction at the intersection earlier, which caused them to ride further away from home. Upon seeing that they were even further away from home, Carmen felt upset as she let out a sigh. ¡°We are so far away from home.¡± However, Bailey seemed to look guilty as he remained silent. She lifted her head and looked at him. ¡°Bailey, are you really bad at directions?¡± Without saying a word, he nodded. Carmen mumbled, ¡°Then, our only option is to go back the way that we came from. It¡¯s not that far. We¡¯ll be there in a minute.¡± Bailey nodded silently while the night covered the mysterious smile hanging from the corner of his lips. Afterward, he pushed the bike while the two of them walked home. On the way, she continued to talk to him. ¡°Bailey, how long will you be staying in Bayside City this time?¡± Finally, he had more to say. ¡°I predict that I¡¯ll be here for a while. I¡¯ll be focusing my work in Bayside City for a period of time.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± The two of them went silent for a moment before she asked again, ¡°Bailey, will you visit our house often in the future? Are you working together with my mom again?¡± The Ronney Group and Adams Group would often coborate with each other¡ªsince Sophia often bought insurance for herpany¡¯s luxurious products and it would usually be bulk orders. Bailey nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve bought a house near your home.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Carmen was so shocked that she stopped in her tracks. ¡°You¡¯ve bought a house near my home? Which one did you buy? Why would you buy a house in the old city area? Most of the houses here are old!¡± Bailey calmly answered, ¡°I bought the one beside your family¡¯s pigpen. I¡¯m now neighbors with your Uncle Callum.¡± The pigpen¡­ Back then, Sophia had bought her ex-boyfriend¡¯s house to raise the pigs that Carmen caught from the farm and she named it the pigpen. Afterward, Callum also bought a house next to the pigpen. I can¡¯t believe that Bailey knows all about this. Upon the pigpen and her pigs being mentioned, she could not help but remember her father, Michael. I really was reckless back then. When I wanted to raise pigs, he would actually bring some pigs back for me. When I wanted a camel, he would also let me keep one. One day, I said that I hoped that the most handsome prince woulde to pick me up after school. On that day itself, I immediately saw him dressed up as a prince toe and pick me up as soon as I came out of kindergarten. There was one time that I wanted Doctor Invincible to hold a parents meeting, so he brought his original costume from the crew and wore makeup to hold a parents meeting. All of my friends in kindergarten were jealous of me! I really have the world¡¯s best father. The moment she thought of Michael, the talkative Carmen seemed to have quietened down as she walked silently with her head down and nkly stared at her feet. Bailey probably noticed that he had said the wrong words, so he stopped delving deep into the earlier subject. He also did not ask why she stopped talking about it. Instead, he suddenly took something hot out of his hands while it was still steaming. She eximed, ¡°Ah! A roasted sweet potato! When did you buy it?¡± ¡°I bought it when I picked you up,¡± he answered while splitting the sweet potato into two halves. He gave the bigger half to her while he ate the smaller half. Chapter 1486 Chapter 1486 The two of them ate the roasted sweet potato as they slowly walked back home. By the time they looked at the time, it was already 10.30PM. Finally, Bailey found the way back home, so he rode the bike and quickly sent her back to the Imperial. Although it was already 10.30PM, her house was still brightly lit and her spacious living room was completely filled with people. In front of the French window, Casper was particrly anxious as he kept on looking at his phone while gazing outside the window from time to time. Finally, he saw a bicycleing out of the dark night toward his direction while making a creaking sound. Bailey had removed his thick ushanka hat and put it on Carmen¡¯s head. At the moment, the big hat was covering her tiny face while his blond hair danced in the night breeze. ¡°They are back!¡± However, Casper felt really upset. He calcted the time needed for them to return home and realized that it would only take them a maximum of 20 minutes to return, but they had been gone for almost an hour. Moreover, the navigation system showed that they took a long detour. Were they actually lost? Or did they take the long detour on purpose? I guess only Bailey knows. He went into society at the age of 10 and after all these years, he has be a man. An experienced old man! Carmen is no match against him. ¡°They are back?¡± Sophia cheerfully stood up. Upon hearing that Bailey and Carmen were back, everyone in the house had a different reaction. Today was a big day. When Daniel learned that Carmen was heartbroken, he counted his fingers and figured that her propitious star was in the move, which meant that her true love was about to show up. Sadly, he could not figure out who that person was. Since he could not decipher who her true love was, every family was tasked to choose one of their own. Harry¡¯s family nominated Hope, Hale¡¯s family chose Ashton, Daniel¡¯s family selected Casper, and Derek¡¯s family nominated Albert while Joel nominated Drew as the wildcard. They were five brilliant children whom everyone knew well. On top of that, they grew up alongside Carmen and formed a strong bond with her. Hope was an athlete student who attended a sports school and Ashton started acting at a young age. Now, at the age of 18, he was a small drama actor in the industry because he and Carmen had followed the master, Michael, since they were kids. He and the Academy Award winner, Drake, were even touted as Taylor Murray¡¯s sessors. Needless to say, Casper was a definite candidate. Although he was still studying, he was already starting to take over his parents¡¯ business. While managing the Michel Group¡¯s industry, he also took on a part time job as a fortune-teller. As for Albert, he escaped death at a young age, so for the past few years, he was under Derek¡¯s care and someone whom Cooper was focused on nurturing. Drew was an even obvious choice. As Joel¡¯s son, he was the warrior in that generation of the Fletcher Family. Not only was he brave and intelligent, he was also quite athletic. Today, the adults gathered the five children and asked them to pick Carmen up from school at the same time. Therefore, the person who she chose to return with could be her true love. However, if she chose Drew, it meant that she liked none of them. When Albert remembered the fear of getting bashed by Carmen when he was a kid, he immediately hid after stepping out of the door, so he was automatically eliminated. As for Ashton, he was no match against Hope, so he was knocked out too. However, Hope was not as clever as Casper, so after being deceived by thetter, he was unable to pick Carmen up in the end. Instead, he went to pick Poppy up. Initially, Drew was used as a wildcard, but to ensure his own victory, Casper also deceived him too. In the end, Casper eliminated all hispetitors and thought that victory was now in his hands because she could only choose him. However, Sophia suddenly sent out Bailey at thest minute. This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Therefore, he was intercepted by Bailey. Not only that, Carmen even happily left with Bailey, so Casper felt very upset about it. On his way back, he asked someone to call all of her rtives over to her house. That¡¯ll scare him! That was why the moment she returned home, she discovered that there were a bunch of people waiting for her. ¡°Huh? Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Linus, Uncle Callum, Uncle Cade! Goddaddy and Godmommy? Mr. Psychic and Alice? Stan and Sean? You are all here! Uncle Joel, Aunt Maddie, L and Drew! Why are you all here?¡± While changing her shoes, Carmen came through the door with Bailey behind her. He removed his military coat and carefully hung it, which revealed his ck sweater inside. Without saying a word, he entered with her while his deep green eyes scanned everyone who was present at the scene. Everyone also cast their gaze on him. There¡¯s something fishy. However, he chose not to leave and instead changed his shoes before entering the house. Sophia enthusiastically greeted, ¡°Bailey, you are here? Come in and have a seat! Carmen, go and quickly have a shower. You look really cold.¡± Then, Carmen turned to Bailey. ¡°Bailey, it¡¯ste. Why don¡¯t you return home first?¡± Cooper coldly replied on his behalf. ¡°It¡¯s not thatte. Everyone is still here. Bailey,e and have a seat here.¡± I can feel the bad intentions. Yet, Bailey still decided to sit next to Cooper. On his left, there was Cooper¡¯s gloomy face and on the right was Linus¡¯ somber expression. A few of Carmen¡¯s uncles and brothers tried their best to wear a solemn face as they circled around Bailey. Carmen had already gone up for a shower, but she pulled Sophia along with her and whispered, ¡°Mom, why did you ask Bailey to pick me up? He is a very busy man. He doesn¡¯t have the time to pick me up!¡± Sophia lied, ¡°I didn¡¯t. Bailey lives nearby, so when I brought the dogs out for a walk, I just happened to meet him. I told him that you weren¡¯t back yet and he told me that he was going to your school anyway, so I asked him to pick you up on the way!¡± Since she was obviously lying, Carmen did not believe her at all. ¡°Then, why was he wearing grandpa¡¯s clothes and riding his bicycle?¡± Sophia shamelessly answered, ¡°I told him that he looks good with his clothes and bicycle.¡± In reality¡­ She had actually said to Bailey, ¡°Bailey, I think you should ride a bike to her. It¡¯ll be more emotional. Good luck. You¡¯ll definitely pick her up.¡± Although his expression was cold, he was actually very passionate about it. As soon as she called him, he immediately arrived. To make himself more sentimental, he also took Theo¡¯s clothes. That was how Carmen ended up seeing Bailey in that attire. Instantly, she felt resigned while Sophia quickly pushed her into the bathroom, so she could have her shower. Then, she ran down to the living room in a hurry to prevent anyone from messing with her old son-inw. Bailey was already generally recognized as the second old son-inw by the whole family 10 years ago. However, the people in the family seemed to be very upset about it. After all, the two of them had an age gap of a decade, which was why the adults gathered a few ¡®true loves¡¯ today, but surprisingly, the young and dashing ¡®true loves¡¯ were no match against the charm of the old son-inw. As expected, she could not resist an old man, just like her mother. Although Bailey is just 27 years old and he isn¡¯t old at all, he is still a whole lot older than the young Carmen! Both Cooper and Linus wore a gloomy face, as if they could not bring themselves to ept the scenario. Immediately, there seemed to be a storm brewing among the three of them. The people around them could even feel their heads tingling as they quickly and tightly held their own sons. Oh my, this is scary. If our sons were to sit in that position today, we would have been frightened to death as parents, let alone our sons. That position has a high standard toward whoever sits on it! Not only does the person require courage, intelligence and remarkable abilities, he also needs to have a thick skin. Back then, it was Michael who sat on that seat. Now, it is Bailey Adams¡¯ turn! Chapter 1487 Chapter 1487 The unselected Hope, Ashton, Drew and Albert were shivering on the side while Bailey remained motionless with a natural expression on his face. After Sophia served him a cup of tea, he thanked her before casually drinking it as if nothing was happening. The water in the cup was extremely calm, just like his heart at the moment, even though the scene had been turbulent and tense. He was now bearing all the hostility from Carmen¡¯s male rtives as her uncles and brothers looked as though they really wanted to peel off his skin, but he remained calm as ever. However, Sophia was not worried for him at all. This old son-inw of mine is stronger than Michael. After all, he sells insurance. Look how cool and calm he is. What a talent! At the moment, Bailey was sitting on the ¡®old son-inw seat¡¯ that Michael used to sit on when he was facing Cooper. Even so, Bailey still maintained hisposure, as if it was made for him. Cooper stared furiously at him. I take you in as my little brother but now you are flirting with my granddaughter? Yet, Bailey seemed unfazed by Cooper¡¯s gaze as he kept on drinking his tea indifferently. If Cooper doesn¡¯t open his mouth, neither will I. I shall not make the first move until my enemy makes his. A storm was brewing in the house but Bailey was the only one with a smile as he was at ease, merging himself with his surroundings so that he wouldn¡¯t be disrupted by the outside world. Although everyone¡¯s eyes were full of hostility, they knew clearly what kind of a person Bailey was. He was someone that could even make Cooper flinch. Cooper had stated openly on more than one asion that Bailey was the only person he saw as someone with limitless potential. Ever since Bailey was in his teens, Cooper knew instantly that he would be a somebody after he grew up and his future would be boundless. Looking back, one could see that Cooper had a very high standard. Other than Bailey¡¯s various sesses, his appearance was also outstanding. Not only did he have handsome features, he also had a pair of rare green eyes. Whether he was in the West or East, he would perfectly fit into everyone¡¯s beauty standard. Also, the men who were present at the scene would never forget that New Year¡¯s Eve ten years ago which they celebrated with Bailey. At that time, they peed together and realized¡­ That fear had followed them for many years afterward. Although they only saw it ten years ago, there was still room for improvement. The only problem was that they didn¡¯t know how huge it had now be¡­ The strange atmosphere continued until Carmen came down after her bath; she had already changed into casual attire. When she realized that Bailey and everyone was still here, she took a nce at the time and realized that it was already eleven at night. Don¡¯t these people need to sleep? ¡°Bailey, don¡¯t you need to go to work tomorrow? Why aren¡¯t you going back home to rest?¡± Bailey poured himself a cup of tea while answering her, ¡°It¡¯s the weekend so I can afford to sleepte.¡± The reason he refused to leave was probably because he was waiting for an exnation. Didn¡¯t we decide to choose Carmen¡¯s true love today? Since I¡¯ve been chosen, they need to give me an exnation. If not, I won¡¯t leave. Naturally, Cooper knew what Bailey was thinking but he refused to give him an exnation, so he just continued to stare at him. Just like that, a bunch of people kept on staring at each other while Sophia served them tea enthusiastically. ¡°Bailey, you will be staying in Bayside City for a while, right? Remember toe to our house for dinner if you have the time. Recently, Carmen is busy with her senior year revision so she only takes a break on weekend afternoons. Therefore, every weekend afternoon, I¡¯ll make something delicious. Your house isn¡¯t that far away from us, so please visit us often.¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Bailey hummed in response. Beside him, Carmen eximed, ¡°Have you really moved into a house near us?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve bought it from Mrs. Fletcher for a long time now.¡± Back then, Sophia kept on buying many houses with the money she earned and she had sold Bailey his house long ago. In the entire house, there were only the three of them who kept on chatting. At midnight, Bailey finally stood up to leave, so Sophia asked Carmen to escort him out of themunity. As soon as Bailey left, everyone else silently left too because the atmosphere was too weird and frightening. Cooper also left angrily afterward. Bailey really is a wless old grandson-inw. However, Cooper was still unsatisfied deep down. My daughter was taken away by that old son-inw, Michael, when she was just 18. Am I really going to stand and watch while that old man, Bailey, tries to snatch my granddaughter away from me at the age of 17? Never! I¡¯m having none of this! The moment Cooper returned to his courtyard house, he felt even more unsatisfied so he made a call at midnight. ¡°Tell the Michel, Winston, Fletcher and Mitchell Family toe up with a list of talented young boys aged 18 to 22 this very instant. I want to choose one of them to be my granddaughter¡¯s partner at the dance party.¡± Meanwhile, Carmen had brought Bailey to themunity gates. The journey wasn¡¯t that long so the two of them didn¡¯t seem to converse much on the way. In the meantime, she was wondering why everyone was acting so weird today. As for Bailey, he was already standing by the gate while pointing to a single vi directly across the road from themunity. ¡°That is the house I bought long ago. It¡¯s now fully renovated, so feel free toe visit me.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Carmen was shocked. Is he actively inviting me to his house? Sadly, Bailey already walked out of themunity while reminding her. ¡°Go get some rest. You still have ss tomorrow.¡± She stood by themunity gate and watched as he casually took out the Imperial¡¯s ess card before crossing the road and returning to his home. While walking back home, she felt that today was a little too fantastical. The cold Bailey Adams isn¡¯t cold at all today. Truth was, he had always been a gentle person in Carmen¡¯s mind. That coldness is just his outer persona. Although the next day was a Saturday, it was still a day filled with sses for the senior year students. From seven to half past nine in the morning, they were buried in an endless wave of books and assignments. Today, as soon as Carmen arrived at school, she could feel that there was something wrong because everyone in ss was looking at her weirdly. The moment she stepped in the ss, she instantly saw the defeated Flynn sitting at his desk. Upon seeing her, he quickly rushed up to her. ¡°Carmen, how could you be so depraved? I can¡¯t believe you are willing to be someone¡¯s mistress. Do you know how shameless you are? If you need money, I can lend some to you!¡± He grabbed her shoulder and shook her vigorously to a point where she was in a daze. What happened? Amidst Flynn¡¯s cries, many students in ss started whispering about her being someone else¡¯s mistress. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± After that, she sat back on her seat and ignored the insane Flynn. Last night, someone posted a photo of Carmen in a sports car on the school¡¯s forum and student website, so everyone assumed that she had be someone else¡¯s mistress. Not only that, she was also the niece of the ss teacher, Hope Fletcher, so everyone used her of enrolling into the school not because of her academic results but because of her connections. They said that she wasn¡¯t able to get good grades, which was why Hope would transfer the answer to her during every examination by abusing his power. Moreover, they used Hope of taking away Flynn¡¯s name in the rmendation list and recing it with Carmen¡¯s. During the morning self-study period, Hope, who would usually peep in through the backdoor silently to watch everyone study, didn¡¯t show up today. In the afternoon, everyone suddenly received the news that he was fired. Not only was he fired, the security guard at the gate, Theo, was also released by the school. As for Carmen, she was also lodged in a jointint by the parents association for being someone¡¯s mistress. At the moment, members of the parent association were all gathered in the principal¡¯s office to cause a ruckus. In the end, the school couldn¡¯t handle the pressure so they fired the people mentioned in the comint. After all, they were a prestigious school and they couldn¡¯t afford any scandals happening. In the afternoon, Carmen began to pack up her stuff while Theo silently came to help her put away the things on her desk. As for Hope, he was also packing up his stuff in the office. And so, the three of them were expelled from the school. Chapter 1488 Chapter 1488 Naturally, Carmen knew who was the one who reported her. As expected, no matter how the times have changed, the schemes are still the same. These are the remnants leftover by the older generation. However, she wasn¡¯t in the mood to argue about it. The reason she came to the school was to be with Flynn but now that their rtionship had ended, it meant that she wasted a year being here. It was time for her to leave and her next step was to enroll into Bayside University to further her studies. The only reason she continued her studies in South Bayside High School was to have a closure for what she started but now that she was expelled, she had sort of finally received her closure. Also, she couldn¡¯t bear Theo following her here as a security guard in his 80s just to apany her during her studies. It¡¯s better for me to go back home so that he can have a few days of rest. Less than an hour after she was expelled, she received many calls from Bayside University, inviting her to enroll. However, Carmen nned to stay at home and have a rest for a few days before deciding to enroll. They also hoped that Hope could return there and immediately be one of their permanent professors. Moreover, they even invited Theo to be their security guard. The thought of a military general guarding the school gate sounds intimidating. Suddenly, Flynn rushed into the ss. ¡°Carmen, if you apologize to me now, I can let you back into school to continue your studies!¡± However, she remained silent. He grabbed her shoulder and shook her while shouting, ¡°You need to think straight. Everyone in the school knows that you always have good grades. If you apologize to me, I¡¯ll immediately ask my father to stop. My father is the president of the parents association so his words have authority.¡± However, Carmen wasn¡¯t in the mood to pay him any attention. Then, Theo picked Flynn up and threw him aside as he said coldly, ¡°Please show some respect to my granddaughter.¡± However, Flynn still ran up to her and roared, ¡°What are you doing? You are being expelled from the school, which means you will also be expelled from the college entrance exam! Have you not thought about the consequences? Don¡¯t you want to be enrolled in Bayside University? If you apologize to me and break up with that man immediately, I¡¯ll let you back into the school right away! Carmen, you can¡¯t just give up!¡± Upon seeing how lifeless and defeated she looked, Flynn felt frustrated. Isn¡¯t she usually very confident in herself? Why is she so scared all of a sudden? Sadly, Carmen ignored him. After packing up all her books and materials into a suitcase, she carried it and left. However, Flynn caught up to her angrily. ¡°Goddamn it! Say something! You can¡¯t just leave. I want you to stay and continue your studies here!¡± Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. He couldn¡¯t let her leave. He wanted her to stay so that he could hate her every day! Meanwhile inside Hope¡¯s office, he was packing up his work materials. I¡¯ve been teaching in this school for a while now and I¡¯m a bit reluctant to leave, but the parents association is really making a big deal out of this, especially Flynn¡¯s father. He always wanted the school to rmend Flynn to Bayside University, but I¡¯m certain that his grades are not qualified. This time, his father is actually trying to get him rmended by causing all this ruckus. If I don¡¯t rmend him, his father will make me lose my job. Besides, I¡¯m tired of it, so it¡¯s better for me to just leave. After receiving the news that he was leaving, all the female teachers and students in the school were heartbroken. Just as Hope was packing up his stuff, he suddenly heard a voice. ¡°Hello, Mr. Fletcher. Do you need my help?¡± At some point, Linus was already standing at his office door¡­ On the other hand, Flynn kept on chasing Carmen from the fourth floor to the first floor, acting much like a spoiled child. ¡°Carmen Fletcher, are you listening to me? I¡¯m telling you to stay. Can¡¯t you hear me? You can¡¯t leave without my permission. I want you to stop right now! Stop!¡± Flynn was starting to panic because he thought that this would make her surrender. Instead, she seemed alright with leaving, as if she had given up on her own future. While watching the drama unfold, Poppy said, ¡°Flynn, you should stop chasing after her. Her family has asked her to drop out of school so that she can get married and have kids. This is all because of you! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know that your fianc¨¦e is running around telling everyone that she has be someone else¡¯s mistress! Look at you. Not only did you cause her whole family to be fired, she can¡¯t even continue with her studies now. Her family has arranged for her to marry an old man as soon as she goes back home. Now, she is going to have children at the age of 18. Her whole life is ruined and it¡¯s all your fault!¡± It was a waste for Carmen toe to high school anyway. As soon as the whole family found out she was expelled, they all felt very happy about it and Cooper immediately arranged a series of blind dates for her, because he was afraid that she would fall into the hands of that old man Bailey. Upon hearing that, Flynn waspletely startled. He knew that it was Kimberly who told everyone the news and he also knew that his own father would use this matter to cause a ruckus, so he expected Carmen to be expelled due to the circumstances. However, he thought that everything was redeemable for her. As long as she surrenders to me, I cane up with a way to let her back into school. However, not only did she refuse to surrender to him, she was now being summoned back by her family to be married to someone else right away. At the moment, Flynn waspletely dumbfounded as he didn¡¯t expect the oue to be this dire for her. She is still so young. If she drops out of school and gets married, her whole life will be ruined. Carmen and Theo arrived at the school gates while Theo took away all the dishes, chopsticks and microwave in his office. A cool-looking sports car was already parked at the gate waiting for them as Casper helped Theo move his microwave. Today was the joyous day of their expulsion, so Theo asked Casper specifically toe over and help them. He still liked Casper more, but he knew that this person also had a w. He is a glib talker, just like his father. He always has a lot of obscene words to say. ¡°What do you think, Miss Carmen? Look at my strong biceps. Can you see it? If you like it, I can also show you my abs; it¡¯s perfect! You won¡¯t regret it if you marry me. I also know how to cook both western and eastern dishes! Not only that, I¡¯m also a good fortune teller!¡± As Linus helped Hope carry his books, he saw Casper chattering, so he could not help but poke his head. ¡°Stop it! Save that energy of yours to help us move their stuff quickly!¡± Linus also drove his car over to the school. Initially, he came here to pick Carmen up but Theo called Casper himself. In the end, he felt that he couldn¡¯t just snatch away other people¡¯s work, so he came to pick up Hope instead. Just when they were about to leave, Flynn suddenly rushed out of the school frantically and grabbed Carmen¡¯s shoulder. His emotions were still weirdly agitated so Carmen thought that he was about to shout at her but surprisingly, he looked at her and said something unexpected, ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± He lowered his head in guilt. ¡°I didn¡¯t know this would happen but I don¡¯t want you to marry some old man. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll find some way to get you into another school. You have such good grades so it won¡¯t be a problem for you to be enrolled into Bayside University. Don¡¯t give up on yourself.¡± Carmen didn¡¯t expect Flynn to utter those words but sadly, it was all toote. Just as she was about to shake off his hand, a Land Rover slowly pulled up outside the school gate and Bailey came down from the driver¡¯s seat¡­ Chapter 1489 Chapter 1489 Carmen didn¡¯t know where Flynn got the idea that she was marrying an old man after dropping out from school. As Theo was about to pick him up like a little chick, Bailey suddenly showed up. Finally, he wasn¡¯t wearing Theo¡¯s military coat when he got out of his car. Instead, he was wearing a ck fur coat, looking casual and young. After taking off his sunsses, he scanned through the group of people gathered by the school gate with his deep green eyes before walking toward them. Ignoring everyone, he immediately swept away Flynn¡¯s hands on Carmen¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Who are you?¡± Flynn stared at him rudely. Even though he didn¡¯t recognize the man in front of him, he could still tell that he was no ordinary person due to his strong aura and rare green eyes. As he nced at Bailey, Bailey also did the same with his infinitely deep green eyes. Bailey, on the other hand, knew who this person was. His face is indeed very simr to Taylor¡¯s face but there¡¯s still a huge difference. On the surface, he is a cheap copy but in terms of his bone structure, it is totally different from Taylor¡¯s. However, Flynn could immediately guess the identity of the person in front of him. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± At first, Carmen was shocked that Flynn was able to guess who Bailey was, but she didn¡¯t expect him to rush up to Bailey and grabbed him by his shirt cor. ¡°You are that old man that Carmen is going to marry, right?¡± he roared. ¡°You are the one forcing her to drop out of school so that she can marry you and have your kids, right? You will doom her for the rest of her life!¡± Old man? Bailey was extremely sensitive toward these two words. I¡¯m not old at all but why do I always hear these two words ever since I¡¯m a kid, especially from Carmen¡¯s family? This wasn¡¯t the first time he had heard these words. Just as Bailey wanted to refute him, Carmen suddenly rushed up with a flushed face and pushed Flynn aside. ¡°Are you done?¡± Hope also came to persuade Flynn to step back. After all, he was still the descendant of Hope¡¯s family. In reality, Flynn¡¯s previous grades were quite good and in Hope¡¯s eyes, he could still barely be counted as an achieving student. At that time, there was hope for him to be enrolled into Bayside University. However, Carmen, who was the epitome of a top student, came in afterward and carried his studies for a year to a point where he regressed because he was too reliant on her. Even so, Flynn was still ring at Bailey while gritting his teeth. As for Bailey, he didn¡¯t even want to spare Flynn a nce. To him, a little brat like Flynn posed no sort of threat at all, so he grabbed Carmen¡¯s bag straight away and murmured, ¡°Your mom asked me to come pick you up.¡± As expected, it was Sophia again. Today was another test. As soon as everyone found out that Carmen was expelled from school, the whole family felt happy for her and Cooper quickly contacted a bunch of people to indulge her but sadly, they were all taken care of in advance by the well-informed Casper, just likest night. However, he didn¡¯t expect Bailey to arrive and intercept him again. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you think you are being too unreasonable? I was obviously here first.¡± Casper snatched Carmen¡¯s bag from him unhappily and carried it on his back. ¡°We¡¯ve agreed that I¡¯ll be picking up Carmen today.¡± Without saying a word, Bailey snatched the bag again and carried it while moving Carmen¡¯s box¡ª which contained her books and materials¡ªinto the car bunker. Seeing that, Casper was furious and he rushed toward Bailey. ¡°Hey, old man. I seem to have warned youst night to stop this obsession of yours because Carmen will never like you. I¡¯ve already made my words clear in the call, so please stop with your delusions.¡± However, Bailey didn¡¯t bother giving him a reply as he said to Carmen, ¡°Get in the car first.¡± Carmen looked at Casper confusedly. ¡°Cas, what are you doing? When did you call Bailey? Why did you call him?¡± Casper didn¡¯t answer her. Instead, he continued to warn Bailey, ¡°Old man, don¡¯t think you have an advantage over me just because you are older and more experienced. Let me tell you this¡ªI won¡¯t give up!¡± Flynn, who was ignored by everyone, ran up to them and roared, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you all? Carmen, what is your rtionship with them? Who are they?¡± Who is this Cas? And who is this green-eyed freak? All in all, the three men disliked each other¡ªFlynn was simply an ignorant child who only knew how to moan andpared to him, Casper was more like a clever child who was intelligent. As for Bailey, he wasn¡¯t a child because he had already be a mature adult long ago. In Bailey¡¯s eyes, these two posed no threat to him at all, so he didn¡¯t need to argue with a bunch of children. After getting in his car, he turned on the engine and said to Carmen again, ¡°Come on in. Mrs. Fletcher is waiting for us at home.¡± Carmen nced at Casper, Bailey, and Theo before answering, ¡°Alright.¡± Then, she quickly got into Bailey¡¯s car while reminding Casper, ¡°Casper, I¡¯ll leave my Grandpa to you for now.¡± As soon as she got into the car, Bailey stepped on the elerator and the car sped away. ¡°Stop!¡± Flynn was furious as he chased after the car but he quickly lost them, so he kicked his feet into the air again. On the other hand, Casper also felt defeated. Every time he fought with Bailey, he felt very confident in himself. However, when it was down to the real battle, he would always have an illusion that he was facing the ocean because the opponent was too unpredictable, which gave him no chance of winning. He doesn¡¯t even see me as his opponent. Afterward, Theo patted his shoulder. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go home first.¡± Casper drove Theo away while Hope went into Linus¡¯ car. While getting in his car and putting on a pair of sunsses, Linus said, ¡°Young people nowadays are so energetic!¡± For the past few years, Linus also fell in love from time to time but it usually wouldn¡¯tst long. He was more of a ¡®queer¡¯, so he had boyfriends and girlfriends along the way ording to his mood. However, Cooper didn¡¯t care much about his personal life, so he kept on drifting around. After that, the two of them drove away. ¡°Mr. Fletcher, you really can¡¯t remember the past?¡± ¡°What? Oh¡ªI really can¡¯t remember. I only know that I was once a lecturer in Bayside University.¡± ¡°Looks like our friendship for the past 20 years have gone to waste. Can you even remember me?¡± ¡°Just let it go to waste¡­¡± After everyone was gone, Flynn was left behind at the school gate, kicking at the air again. As soon as Theo left, Poppy finally got to reveal her tattoo openly. After watching the drama unfold, she kept on munching on her sunflower seeds as she murmured, ¡°It¡¯s useless for you to kick the air now; she¡¯s gone! When you see her next time, she¡¯ll definitely be married already! You finally got what you wanted, Flynn. You left her no choice but to marry an old man¡­¡± Flynn¡¯s expression darkened as he left the scene. Inside Vi No.8 at the Imperial, Sophia weed Bailey to the hateful ¡®old son-inw seat¡¯ enthusiastically as soon as she saw him arriving. ¡°Come in! Bailey, do have a seat here. This is where Carmen¡¯s dad used to sit.¡± Naturally, Bailey sat down on the seat because it would be his soon in the future. Carmen also sat down but when she looked at the people around the dining table, she felt that the atmosphere today was strange. What are they trying to do? Could it be that they really think I¡¯m falling in love with Bailey so they are now unanimously pointing their fingers at him? Oh my goodness, I don¡¯t want to fall in love yet! Besides, the idea of me falling in love with him is so embarrassing¡­ Suddenly, Carmen¡¯s face started to flush.This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Chapter 1490 Chapter 1490 When the thought came to mind, Carmen nced at Bailey discreetly. He seems to be the same gentle brother I remembered. However, ten years have passed. Not only has he be more mature inside, his appearance also lost its youthfulness. Now, he haspletely be an adult, and a charming one at that. After peeking at him, Carmen lowered her head and peeked again a whileter. As for Bailey, he sat straight while receiving death stares from Cooper. Linus knew that a death stare was useless toward Bailey, so he acted naturally. The entire family was now back together again and Casper, who lived next door, insisted on joining even though he could have eaten at his own home. He purposely sat on the opposite side of Bailey while emitting the same death stare as Cooper. However, all of these seemed to be useless toward Bailey. The moment the dishes were served on the table, he casually picked up his utensils and started eating with Carmen¡¯s family. Ten years ago, he didn¡¯t quite know how to use chopsticks but ten yearster, he fell in love with eating preserved eggs and any kind of animal offal; his favorite was delicious chicken feet with pickled peppers. At the moment, he had perfectly adapted to their family¡¯s food and taste buds. Lately, he was even trying out Michael¡¯s favorite eel dish. After the dishes were served on the table, everyone started eating. When Anna noticed that Cooper was still staring at Bailey, she couldn¡¯t help herself and murmured, ¡°Alright, alright. Carmen¡¯s grandpa, let¡¯s eat first.¡±Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Cooper was sulking as he never felt this aggrieved in his life but Bailey was like the deep ocean. Therefore, all of Cooper¡¯s mental attacks were useless when it came to him. Suddenly, Cooper seemed to remember something so he said to Bailey, ¡°Bailey, please stay after dinner. I have something to tell you.¡± Meanwhile, he made a phone call to Stanley. ¡°Stupid dog,e over here. I¡¯m opening a good bottle of wine.¡± In almost a matter of seconds, Stanley suddenly appeared. ¡°Ha! Mr. Cooper, what are we having today?¡± Then, Cooper stared at Bailey furiously. ¡°Get him drunk!¡± Immediately, Stanley understood Cooper¡¯s intentions and he rubbed his hands with excitement. ¡°Alright. I got it!¡± Today, I must get Bailey drunk so that he¡¯ll show his true self afterward, Cooper thought to himself. If he embarrasses himself in front of Carmen, she¡¯ll definitely hate him. I don¡¯t want him to be my old grandson-inw! Casper also happily joined their scheme. Although he was just 19 years old and he only started to drink a few days ago, he just couldn¡¯t back down now! Cooper couldn¡¯t drink and his three sons weren¡¯t that good with alcohol, so he called in Stanley. On top of that, Stanley invited Joel and Justin, who were on leave, toe over. When Harry and Dana knew that they were drinking wine, they also came to join in the fun. At the moment, their ¡®alcoholic¡¯ n was starting to take shape as they set their trap everywhere, so Bailey was in trouble. Sean also arrived with her second son, who was the cultivated offspring of Stanley¡¯s genes after he married her. ¡°Stan, don¡¯t drink that much. Cut him some ck!¡± Sean reminded him. Stanley¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the wine but he nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Sarah also rushed over to remind Harry. ¡°Old Wolf, Bailey is just a kid so please don¡¯t be too harsh on him!¡± Yet, the light Harry¡¯s eyes were now flickering. Today, I must defeat Bailey. At the same time, Carmen was also very worried so she quietly tugged Bailey¡¯s sleeve. ¡°They want to get you drunk. I think you better leave.¡± However, Bailey was already holding a ss of wine as he said, ¡°A thousand sses of wine is nothing among friends. Let¡¯s stop talking and drink.¡± They couldn¡¯t persuade them to stop, so they could only let them drink. They drank quite a variety of alcohol from red and white wine to beers, and there were even peanuts on the table to go with it. Any party with Stanley would always be this lively because he was able to stir up the atmosphere in no time. Casper felt ambitious as he was determined to get Bailey drunk but after two sses of liquor, Casper¡¯s mind was beginning to drift. In the meantime, Carmen hung out in the living room and watched television while she chatted with Sophia, Alice, Sarah, Maddie and others. From time to time, she would run into the dining room to check on the ¡®battle¡¯. The first time she checked on them, the ambitious Casper was already lying on the floor while Bailey was still smiling at the situation. He raised his ss and drank whatever wine was given to him. However, Casper fought back and stood up abruptly as his eyes stared nkly. ¡°Wait for me. I¡¯ll go take a pee first.¡± Stanley and Justin also got up as they prepared to pee first before continuing their battle. This insurance guy is quite f*cking good. Suddenly, Bailey also put down his ss and stood up, so Stanley and Justin looked at each other before sitting back down silently¡­ They watched while the unknowing Casper entered the men¡¯s washroom with Bailey. When they came back, Casper seemed to have sustained some sort of defeat because his face was now gloomy. After two sses of wine, he waspletely drunk so Alice asked someone to carry him away. Casper was disqualified but the battle continued. However, Bailey didn¡¯t seem to be drunk at all and his face still looked normal. As Stanley was starting to panic, he secretly called Derek and asked him toe over. Everyone around the table, including Stanley, Joel, Cooper, Linus, Callum and Cade, Justin, Derek, Harry as well as Dana were all trying to get Bailey drunk. After Casper was defeated, Carmen soon realized that her three uncles and grandpa were all wiped out as they stumbled their way back to their rooms to sleep. Quickly, the whole Mitchell Family was defeated. Justin wasn¡¯t that good with alcohol and he was reced by Nathan who just rushed over. As for Derek, he was so drunk that he started rolling on the floor, so he was taken to the guest room to rest. At the moment, the Fletcher Family and the Winston Family were fighting side by side. These two groups of people were the strongest and they alsosted the longest. Everyone ate and drank as tes of peanuts were served again and again. The oldest among them, Joel, was the first to be wiped out, so he was carried away by Drew and Maddie. After Joel was defeated, the Fletcher Family fell one after another. Nathan waspletely drunk and Stanley kept on crying while hugging Judge. ¡°My son! Why did you leave me so soon? How could you allow a father to send away his own son!¡± Sean pulled him aside resignedly. ¡°Judge left after living for 17 years, which is equivalent to a hundred years for a human. You don¡¯t need to be sad. This is Judge Junior; he isn¡¯t the original Judge!¡± As the Fletchers fell one by one, the pressure grew on the Winston Family as Harry tried to keep himself awake. As her godfather, I can¡¯t back down in front of the old son-inw. But in the end, he couldn¡¯t hold on much longer since he wasn¡¯t young any more. After all, he was already 50 years old. Time is not forgiving¡­ When thest one standing¡ªHarry¡ªcopsed onto the table, Bailey silently put down his ss, as if he was a king among heroes. Looking at the drunk group of people and Stanley, who was sleeping on the floor while hugging a dog, Bailey sneered and stood up before walking out of the dining room as he put on his jacket, much like a warrior returning from a battlefield. At the moment, dinner was about to start but everyone was now in the living room watching Stanley rolling around while hugging a dog. Jude and Layton, who just entered middle school, had also returned home but when they saw the scene in the house, both of them revealed an identical disgusted expression. ¡°Stan is drunk again.¡± Suddenly, everyone could see Baileying out of the dining room alone. Carmen was shocked so she quickly went up to support him. ¡°Bailey, are you alright? I told you that you shouldn¡¯t drink that much¡­¡± Even though he wasn¡¯t drunk after drinking that much, his face was still flushed red. Whenever he spoke, the smell of alcohol that came out of his mouth would hit Carmen on the face, seemingly causing her to be drunk and her face to turn red again¡­ Chapter 1491 Chapter 1491 Why do I blush so easily these days? What¡¯s going on? Carmen patted her cheeks. Bailey hadn¡¯t drank this much in many years but he had no other choice. If I can¡¯t convince Cooper, it¡¯ll definitely be difficult for Carmen and I to be together. I¡¯m not like Michael and I won¡¯t back down. I must face Cooper directly! He smiled but he suddenly staggered. After all, he had drunk a lot. ¡°Oh my! Bailey, I¡¯ll send you back home,¡± Carmen murmured as she quickly supported him. Bailey couldn¡¯t seem to talk any more, so she was even more determined to bring him back. Besides, his house was only a road away so she would reach there in no time. There weren¡¯t many people in Bailey¡¯s house; there was only a butler, a cook and a maid who did the cleaning of the house. Since Bailey was still conscious, he could still walk. When Carmen arrived at the door, she could see the maiding out to help him in. With that, she had done her job so she was preparing to return home but surprisingly, the maid seemed to have already recognized her. ¡°Miss Carmen, you should come in and have a seat!¡± she said enthusiastically. ¡°You know me?¡± She was shocked. The maid looked like a local and she was really friendly. ¡°Of course I do. I¡¯ve been here for many years, so I definitely know you.¡± Carmen felt confused as she scratched her head, but she still entered as she was curious to see how Bailey¡¯s house looked. Bailey¡¯s house was a single vi with seven to eight guest rooms and three floors. The first floor was for the guests, the second floor for the guest rooms, and the third floor was his personal living area. The moment she came in, she could see a robot busy sweeping the floor. The decorations for the entire house were simple and cold, just like Bailey¡¯s personality. It was so monotonous that there was almost nothing matched with each other. Also, there were very few pieces of furniture, to a point where one could almost describe the ce as ¡®the lesser the better¡¯. It was designed so simply that no extra items were left. The decorations werepletely different from Carmen¡¯s house. As they had many pets and children in the house, it needed to be warm andforting. One could probably guess the family¡¯s atmosphere just by looking at the decorations. Her house was warm and lively. After Michael was put into cryogenic sleep, Sophia needed to be strong all the time by ying the roles of both father and mother so that the children would never feel lacking in life since losing their father. Therefore, the house was decorated to be warm because she considered every aspect for her children. As for Bailey¡¯s house, it was cold and simple. Meanwhile, Bailey hadpletely used up his willpower at Carmen¡¯s house. Although he was a good drinker, he still couldn¡¯t stand the challenge of so many people from her family but he refused to let them underestimate him. Now that he came back home, he waspletely drunk so he was starting to stagger. Luckily, the maid was there to support him. However, it was difficult for the maid to support him alone, so Carmen quickly went over to help. And so, the two of them supported him onto his private elevator and went up to the third floor before entering his bedroom. His bedroom fit perfectly with the decorations of the entire house; the ce was decorated with a cold color scheme of ck and white, resembling the minimalist yet luxurious style of Northern Europe. This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Bailey couldn¡¯t speak ever since he came home and the moment he entered his room, he immediately slept on his bed. After cing him on his bed, the maid murmured, ¡°I¡¯ll go make some broth. Can you please help me take care of Mr. Bailey for a while? I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± Carmen nodded as she watched the maid walk out the room hurriedly. Looking at Bailey on the bed, he seemed to be sleeping soundly and his long eyshes casted two tiny shadows on his cheeks. When he was asleep, hecked his usual aggressive aura. Instead, he looked more like a sleeping elf with soft facial features that had an indescribable beauty. Carmen¡¯s face was flushed red while she used all her strength to flip him over so that she could remove his jacket. It was only after covering him up with theforter that she saw the bracelet on his wrist. She stretched out her fingers and stroked the three pendants on the bracelet. As she looked closely, she realized that they were three apricot seeds. However, no one seemed to know where he got these three apricot seeds from. She remembered that when she was a kid, she was captured by bad guys and Bailey had saved her. To repay him, she grabbed a few apricots for him to eat. At that time, it was the only thing she could give him. It was a local speciality that she had gathered from the farm so that she could give them to her family when she returned home, but she saved a few specially for him. She didn¡¯t know whether Bailey ate the apricots or not and she was too embarrassed to ask. As she thought about it now, those apricots were rotten at the time so he wouldn¡¯t be able to eat it. I was so stupid back then. In herter memories, she also remembered that he would always wear this bracelet on his wrist. Looking at it closely today, she realized that the three apricot seeds were worn for so long that its corners had been polished down. Are these three apricot seeds rted to the apricots I gave him back then? I¡¯ve forgotten how many apricots I gave him in the past. Maybe it¡¯s not¡­ but what if it is? Once her assumption came to mind, she could feel her heart beating strangely. There was a box for jewelry on the bedside table which he probably used to store his bracelet. Therefore, Carmen gently lifted Bailey¡¯s hand and tried to remove the bracelet from his wrist but suddenly, he stretched out his hand and grabbed her whole hand. ¡°Bailey!¡± Carmen¡¯s face started to flush as she tried to withdraw her hand but when she pulled her hand back a little, Bailey would immediately tighten his hold around hers, grabbing her hand again. He seems to be sleeping soundly and his eyes are still closed. Carmen struggled for a moment but it was useless, so she let him be. His hand was broad and warm, and it seemed to have a faint fragrance of red wine. Bailey then held Carmen¡¯s hand on the edge of his pillow while sleeping soundly. His thin lips were only a few centimeters away from her tender hand and she could now feel his burning breath with the back of her hand. A slight movement would seemingly end in him kissing her hand. She didn¡¯t dare to move but his breath seemed to have some sort of strange force that was pulling at her heart strings, causing a tingling feel while her whole body was engulfed by some weird feeling. Carefully, she removed the bracelet from his wrist and put it inside the box. Carmen was careful not to wake him up but she could only move with one hand, which made her rather clumsy. When closing the box, she identally made a loud bang. Inside the silent room, the loud noise sounded like someone throwing a huge rock into ake, causing huge waves. Carmen¡¯s heart also trembled as she nced at Bailey instinctively, as if she was afraid that she woke him up. As soon as she turned her head, she could see that Bailey had opened his eyes silently. His deep green eyes were now staring at her motionlessly and there seemed to be a light burning within. Yet, he didn¡¯t let go of her hand; instead, his grip had be tighter. ¡°Bailey, you¡¯re awake!¡± Carmen murmured while trying to withdraw her hand but before she could do so, Bailey suddenly got up and carried her up from the side of the bed before cing her on the mattress. Then, he pressed his whole body against her and gave her a burning kiss, effectively silencing her surprised gasp. Chapter 1492 Chapter 1492 ¡°Bailey¡­¡± The sudden shock frightened Carmen and she gasped instinctively. However, her voice was immediately swallowed by Bailey¡¯s burning kiss. Not only was his kiss hot and domineering, it also felt powerful and aggressive, hardly giving her any breath to think. It expressed his love and possessiveness for her. Carmen went to study abroad at a young age and she grew up under the foreign tutge of freethought. It made her more open-minded so she didn¡¯t feel offended by it. However, she was still surprised¡­ Aren¡¯t things progressing a bit too fast? She knew that she had feelings for him but they didn¡¯t seem to have progressed to this point yet! At the moment, Carmen was startled and she didn¡¯t know how to react. Her mind waspletely nk and her lungs were burning for air, while her face was flushed and her heart was beating extremely fast. This was a strange feeling and it felt shocking, sweet and fantastical. So, this is how a first kiss feels like. Carmen didn¡¯t even notice the maid who came up with a bowl of broth. When the maid saw the affection in the room, she left with the bowl and was kind enough to close the door. The confused yet fascinated Carmen thought that this would usher in an important stage in her life. However, the moment that she anticipated never came. Immediately, Bailey retreated and stopped right after kissing her softly. Without advancing to the next step, he hugged her and buried his face into her neck. Then, he chose afortable position for him to lie on while he smelled the unique fragrance of her body. His mouth was still exhaling his hot breath, as if he was tired and wanted to have a rest. ¡°Carmen¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Carmen was a little disappointed but he was still pinning her down like a mountain, causing her to feel tense and nervous. Bailey seemed to be speaking in his dreams as he slept. ¡°I¡¯ve waited for so long¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Bailey didn¡¯t answer her as he started to speak in his dreams again. ¡°I¡¯ve waited for so long.¡± Why did she grow up so slowly? I¡¯ve always waited for her to grow up and it feels like I¡¯ve waited for centuries but looking at her now, she is still a kid. I love her; I¡¯ve loved her since a long, long time ago. I want to marry her not because of her family, but because of her. For the past few years, I¡¯ve actually been watching her secretly as she grew from a sprout to a blooming flower¡­ Although Bailey had a burning love for her, he still had his own principles¡ªhe wanted to wait until she reached adulthood. This time, he returned to Cethos mainly because of her and not the business. Sophia once warned him that Carmen was still a kid. She allowed him to pursue her but if he ever did something unspeakable to her, Sophia would turn against him. The feeling of holding back is so painful and ufortable, like a thousand ants feeding on my flesh. Over the years, he relied on his own determination to get everything he wanted, except for Carmen. It was always lonely to be at the top and in the end, he felt the loneliness, so he needed a soulmate to be with him¡ªshe was his soulmate. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. His life was full of sorrow and despair. With hisst breath, he fought his way out of that sorrowful pit but sadly, he had be one of the devils in the pit. As for her, she was still that singing angel in heaven. However, the devil wanted to be with the angel because he needed her warmth and love. In the end, Bailey¡¯s rationality overcame his desires, preventing him from taking thatst step. ¡°Bailey, what are you saying?¡± Carmen looked at him but he remained silent. His breathing was now stable as he seemed to be asleep. It looks like he¡¯s really asleep this time. At the moment, Carmen¡¯s heartbeat was elerating as she didn¡¯t know where to put her limbs. The moment she saw that it was dark outside, she realized that she had been away from home for a long time so she quickly withdrew, but when she got up, her whole body was in pain due to Bailey¡¯s pinch. Scoundrel! Carmen covered her face and ran out of his room. When she reached the living room, she could see the maid wiping the table. Seeing hering down, the maid asked in shock, ¡°Finished kissing so soon?¡± Instantly, Carmen¡¯s face became even more red as she ran off. When she got home, Sophia was still trying to catch Stanley, who was drunk and crawling around the floor. Carmen came back with a red face so she went back to her room and took a bath before lying on her bed. As soon as she remembered what just happened, she blushed again. Oh my goodness; what have I done today? Why didn¡¯t I resist just now? Ah! This is so embarrassing! A whileter, Sophia came and knocked on her door. ¡°Sweetie, it¡¯s time for dinner.¡± ¡°Mom, I don¡¯t want to eat. You guys can eat first. I¡¯m going to sleep!¡± Carmen covered her head with her nket. A whileter, Sophia murmured from outside, ¡°Did you and Bailey¡ª¡± ¡°No; we didn¡¯t! I only went to his house and sat for a while!¡± Carmen had a huge reaction while kicking the nket on her bed with an embarrassed expression. Sophia stood at the door and giggled secretly. ¡°Alright. I know you did nothing. I just came here to remind you that girls need to know how to protect themselves. You are still underage, so there¡¯s some things that you can¡¯t do yet!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t! I really didn¡¯t!¡± Truth was, Sophia knew what had happened in Bailey¡¯s house. This old son-inw is quite disciplined. Not bad¡­ I like him. Sophia stood outside the door for a while before leaving. At night, Carmen had a wet dream. Just as she was about to take the next step with Bailey, she was woken up by her rm clock at six in the morning. When she got up, she realized that she was expelled from school so she promptly went back to sleep. I¡¯ll rest for a few days before enrolling into Bayside University. Moments after she closed her eyes, Bailey was there again¡­ Crack! Something seemed to have hit the ss window and it woke Carmen up. When she got up to have a look, she realized that Casper was now throwing pebbles at her ss window. She looked at the time to find that it was only eight in the morning. ¡°Cas, are you crazy?¡± Carmen, who just got woken up from her wet dream, opened the window with sleepy eyes and red at Casper downstairs. ¡°Today is the weekend. The sun is out and the weather is nice. Come on; we¡¯ll bring you to the university to have some fun!¡± Behind him were Maisie and Audrey. They were in their junior year, so they didn¡¯t have ss on weekends. Immediately, Poppy ran into her room. ¡°Let¡¯s go! I¡¯ve already skipped ss just toe out and y!¡± Today, Cooper prepared another ¡®beauty contest¡¯ for Carmen, so there were a bunch of talented hunks waiting for her to choose from! Chapter 1493 Chapter 1493 A few of them finally dragged Carmen out of her house before Casper drove them to Bayside University to have some fun. Today was another sunny day and the ser field of the university was now upied by those bathing in the sun. Several of them brought snacks, so theyid down a mat and ate the snacks with their dogs. ¡°Cas, do you want some biscuits? Or some nuts? Do you prefer potato chips? What about some peanuts and melon seeds Eight-Treasure Congee?¡± Maisie was like a little mouse with lots of snacks inside her bag all the time. Today, she even brought a huge variety of snacks. Just like her father, she loved to eat; whenever they went past a herbal store, she couldn¡¯t help but buy a herbal drink before leaving. Carmen refused Maisie¡¯s peanuts and melon seeds Eight-Treasure Congee that she handed to her and chose to drink some juice as shey downfortably on the mat under the sun. Ever since she went to high school, she had never been this rxed before. A whileter, Casper took off his jacket and exposed his thin undershirt that he had put on deliberately, faintly revealing his tender body. ¡°Let¡¯s go and y some basketball.¡± After that, the girls kept on eating while the boys went on to y basketball. For some reason, everyone gathered here today at the same time, as if they agreed in advance to meet here. Ashton, Hope, Casper, Drew and Albert were all here. Nathan also rushed over and led a group of boys aside to y basketball. Then, a lot of fresh faces arrived one after another and all of them had a young body, of which they deliberately revealed right in front of Carmen. Yesterday, news about Bailey taking advantage of Carmen had reached Cooper¡¯s ears. Although Bailey didn¡¯t actually do anything in the end, Cooper was still furious about it. Early in the morning, he gathered arge group of young men here to open Carmen¡¯s eyes so that she wouldn¡¯t bepletely taken by Bailey. A bunch of young tender hunks were ying basketball at the court and Nathan hid among them. Truth was, he had been paying close attention to Carmen to see which one she would like but sadly, she seemed to be uninterested as she kept on ying with the dogs. The young hunks don¡¯t seem to be as attractive as dogs. However, this reaction of hers was considered normal for her. When she studied at Eton College, almost all the children from noble families in Europe and America were gathered there, but she didn¡¯t fall in love once because she had no interest in ordinary boys. Suddenly, Carmen, who was caressing the dogs, sat up straight with a flushed face as she looked toward a direction nkly. After a quick nce, she immediately withdrew her eyes as if she was a thief but a whileter, she secretly looked toward the direction again. At first, Nathan was curious which young man was able to draw her attention, so he quickly followed the direction of her eyes. Unexpectedly, it was a man with familiar blonde hair, green eyes and long slender legs. Bailey came toward them purposefully while wearing sportswear, a basketball in his hands. Upon seeing that, Nathan sighed deep down. Oh no! Bailey is here to mess up everything again¡ªno, wait. It¡¯s Sophia who is messing things up again. All of these were obviously arranged by Cooper and he deliberately excluded Bailey from his n, but here he was, so it must be Sophia who told him what was happening. She really loves this old son-in- law. Thinking back to a few years ago, Nathan and Michael were also here to teach Bailey a lesson. I can¡¯t believe that many yearster, I¡¯m still one of the people challenging him. I¡¯ve known him for many years; he is an extremely cold person, who almost has no other desires other than work. He isn¡¯t concerned about anything and he usually does nothing, except for working out. Even if he is on vacation, he does not indulge in any leisure activities. There really isn¡¯t anyone that can ask Bailey to come with just a call but recently, as long as he receives a call from Sophia, the ¡®king of the insurance industry¡¯ will be there immediately. I can¡¯t believe this! Nathan notified Casper, Hope and the others around him with a look as he whispered, ¡°Pay attention to my eyes. Once I give the signal, take him down!¡± Yesterday, not only did they fail to get Bailey drunk, they ended up embarrassing themselves and Nathan even threw up in front of everyone. Bailey was the only one who maintained his elegance until the end, and he even took advantage of Carmen while being drunk. Today, I must get my revenge! As soon as Bailey showed up, he instantly became the center of attention. The elf-like prince had charming and alluring facial features along with a pair of rare green eyes. Add that to the fact that he had a domineering height, he undoubtedly became the best among the crowd. He came alone, carrying a bag and a ball in his hands; his purpose seemed to be very clear as he walked toward Carmen. Due to what happenedst night, Carmen¡¯s ears were now burning hot. When she saw Bailey walking toward her, she immediately thought of the cannibalistic giant she witnessed yesterday, so she quietly hid behind the dogs and looked at him shyly. Unexpectedly, he was still walking toward her unwaveringly. Upon seeing that he was approaching her, Carmen¡¯s insides were restless and she had nowhere to hide, so she could only lower her head and pretend to look at the dog. Amidst everyone¡¯s shock and curious eyes, a pair ofrge men¡¯s sneakers stopped in front of Carmen. After putting down his bag, Bailey took off his jacket and bracelet before putting them in her hands as he caressed her head. ¡°Help me look after them,¡± he murmured. She nodded her head in a daze. Bailey ruffled her hair again and there seemed to be a gentle smile shing at the corners of his lips. Then, he turned around and walked toward the basketball court. Naturally, his smile was gone by then and it was reced by the sheer dominant presence of a king, as if he was charging toward a battlefield. Today, this was just another battlefield for him. Upon seeing him joining the group of young hunks to begin his battle, Carmen came back to her senses while hugging his bag and bracelet nkly, not knowing what to do. Afterward, a group of her friends gathered around her and questioned her while winking. ¡°When did you two confirm your rtionship status?¡± ¡°Good for you! You¡¯ve found your second love in just a few days!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t fond of this old man back then but the more I see him, the more I realize that he looks quite good.¡± Finally, Carmen responded to the situation a little. ording to Bailey¡¯s attitude just now, he seems to be treating me as his girlfriend. Last night, I didn¡¯t resist and even went with all his actions. Does that mean we¡¯ve confirmed our rtionship? Does Bailey think that way too? Is this how I get my second love? Carmen was still in a daze because everything was progressing so fast. I¡¯m not ready for this yet! Her mind wasn¡¯t that conservative at all and she never felt that she must be someone else¡¯s after just a kiss. What age are we living in now? No matter what happens with me and another person, I¡¯m still myself. So, does Bailey feel that I am now his after we¡¯ve just kissed a littlest night? Hmph! In his dreams! Carmen said proudly to her curious friends, ¡°What are you talking about? How can I confirm my rtionship with him if he has only been here for a few days? Do you really think I¡¯m that superficial? I¡¯m always serious when ites to love.¡± I will not be restrained by someone just like that! The battle began as Bailey charged into the group of young hunks, like a true warrior infiltrating the enemy¡¯s lines. He was ruthless wherever he went and the group of young hunks were no match against him at all. Although the young hunks that Cooper arranged were dashing and tender, they still weren¡¯t enough to go against Bailey. Whether in terms of physical strength or personal charisma, Bailey always came out on top. His toned body was still charming as ever even if he was in the mix of a bunch of young hunks. This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Carmen, who was determined not to treat him specially, couldn¡¯t move her eyes away from him. Oh my. He looks so good¡­ Chapter 1494 Chapter 1494 On the basketball court, Bailey darted from side to side, the basketball seemingly alive in his hands. With his 1.9-meter stature, it was a piece of cake for him to score baskets, and he was also exceptionally eye-catching among the young men. Meanwhile, the group of girls again gathered together to gossip. ¡°Carmen, look at that old man. Actually, he looks rather handsome after some time!¡± ¡°But he¡¯s still too old since Carmen is still so young.¡± ¡°I think Hope is pretty good.¡± ¡°Casper is rather good, too!¡± Everyonemented on the boys on the court, but Carmen¡¯s gaze seemed to have been entirely riveted by that person. He¡¯s truly the perfect man! She was twirling Bailey¡¯s bracelet in her hand, so when the rest of the girls spotted the bracelet, they all passed it around in much curiosity. ¡°Wow! What bracelet is this? It looks really unique. Are those apricot kernels on it?¡± ¡°It looks so pretty!¡± ¡°That style of bracelet is outdated. Only my father¡¯s generation wears it, and even my father disdains it for being old-fashioned.¡± Upon seeing that they were all passing it around and even condemning it, criticizing the old-fashioned style of the bracelet and the outdated craftsmanship, Carmen snatched it back impatiently and snarled, ¡°You all don¡¯t know anything.¡± Shelling sunflower seeds, Maisie retorted sourly, ¡°Ah, we don¡¯t understand. However, you know best since that¡¯s your mother¡¯s old son-inw, after all.¡± Her face flushing, Carmen muttered, ¡°What nonsense are you saying? We¡¯re just ordinary friends.¡± While muttering, she slipped the bracelet onto her hand and twirled it like old men were prone to do even as she kept her attention on the battle on the court. In no time, they finished ying one round, upon which Bailey trotted over to Carmen. At this, Carmen was again taken aback. Why is heing over? Don¡¯t tell me he¡¯sing over to give me a French kiss? I hope not. There are so many people here, so it doesn¡¯t seem appropriate¡­ Under everyone¡¯s curious gazes, Bailey came to a stop beside Carmen and blurted, ¡°Carmen, pour me some water, please. There¡¯s a cup in my bag.¡± Oh, he came over to have some water! He gave me a scare! Since Bailey couldn¡¯t open his bag thanks to his slightly dirty hands, Carmen opened the zip for him. To her surprise, she was greeted by snacks the moment she opened the zip. ¡°Hey! There are lots of snacks in your bag!¡± I never knew that he was a foodie! Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. As she took out his thermos sk, she unscrewed the lid and poured him a cup of hot water into a disposable cup. To her surprise, two wolfberries were floating in the water. Hmm? He¡¯s an old boy who maintains his health. Bailey slowly drank the water before crushing the disposable cup and putting it into the trash bag. Then, he said, ¡°Leave some for me.¡± After saying that, he whirled around. Wiping his sweat, he headed back to the basketball court. ¡°Huh?¡± Carmen was momentarily stunned. Leave some for him? What does that mean? At the side, Maisie seemed to have understood his meaning. Eximing, she dipped her agile hands into Bailey¡¯s bag and took out all the snacks in there. ¡°Oh wow! This is Jack Link¡¯s beef jerky! It¡¯s super delicious but exceedingly expensive, and they only sell a limited amount every day!¡± ¡°This sunflower seed must have been roasted with an iron pan. Take a whiff of it, and you can even smell a hint of the iron pan!¡± ¡°There¡¯s even dessert! Here, Carmen, try this.¡± Carmen was still wearing a lost expression on her face, but everyone had already started distributing Bailey¡¯s snacks. Upon seeing that all the snacks were about gone, she promptly snatched them back and warned them sternly, saying, ¡°No, eating someone¡¯s food is tantamount to owing him a favor, so you all can¡¯t simply eat someone else¡¯s food!¡± Eating a piece of mango, Poppymented, ¡°Come on, you¡¯re just reluctant to let us eat them.¡± Grudgingly grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds, Maisie muttered, ¡°Here, here. It¡¯s all for you.¡± Carmen hurriedly ced the snacks back and pretended as though she hadn¡¯t touched them. However, as she continued watching the basketball game, her petite hand unconsciously reached out for something to eat, so she¡¯d eaten most of the snacks when they came over after the game. Wiping his sweat, Casper took off his bandana and whistled at Carmen. When Carmen stared at him in bewilderment, he had no choice but to exin himself. ¡°Why are you in a daze? You¡¯re my girlfriend, so shouldn¡¯t you be giving this boyfriend of yours some water at this time?¡± he reminded. ¡°Hah! Who ever said I was your girlfriend?¡± As Carmen retorted, she naturally poured a cup of wolfberry water for Bailey and handed it to him. Taken aback, Casper outright demanded bluntly, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m your boyfriend! How could you give another man water right in front of me?¡± Snorting, Bailey drank his water silently. Carmen, on the other hand, had quite the reaction. ¡°Hey, who¡¯s your girlfriend? I¡¯m not your girlfriend!¡± Plopping down beside her, Casper took out his cell phone. ¡°Look, this is the video of you dating me when you were young. It¡¯s fortunate that I kept it, else you¡¯re going to deny it.¡± He then yed a video on his cell phone. In the beginning, Alice¡¯s voice drifted out. ¡°Carmen, why don¡¯t you date Cas when you grow up?¡± In the video, Carmen seemed to be about three or four years old, her face chubby with baby fat. Beside her was a plump alpaca. ¡°Sure, sure,¡± she answered innocently. At that time, Casper was only four or five years old. As they both held hands, they seemed like a match made in heaven. Alice¡¯s chuckle then rang out from the video, and she asked, ¡°What do you think about breaking up with your boyfriend now and dating Cas instead?¡± At this, Carmen hesitated. Gazing at the female alpaca named Chow standing beside her, she replied, ¡°But I¡¯ve just gone steady with Chow for a few days. I don¡¯t want to break up with Chow.¡± ¡°Cas has a lot of snacks, you know!¡± Alice said smilingly. Casper hurriedly took out some snacks from his bag and presented them to Carmen, upon which Carmen happily agreed to date him. As Carmen watched, she felt her scalp tingling and her body heating up. I remember that. After dating him for five hours, I cheated on him with a big orange cat that was pregnant because I wanted to know what it feels like to be a mother. Thus, pitiful Casper then became my ex-boyfriend. ¡°Look! Look! You¡¯ve always been my girlfriend!¡± Casper insisted as he pointed at their interlocked hands in the video. ¡°That was just kids being kids! I was just four years old at that time, so what did I know?¡± Carmen countered, her face bright red. Acting shamelessly, Casper contended, ¡°I don¡¯t care, I don¡¯t care! Anyway, you¡¯re my girlfriend, and I¡¯ve got the video to prove it!¡± He waved his cell phone around, crowing when a hand unexpectedly came down from above and snagged his cell phone away. Long and slender fingers then tapped on the delete option firmly before selecting confirm in acute precision. Livid, Casper snatched his cell phone back from Bailey, only to see that his video had been deleted. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you think you went too far, Bailey?¡± Ignoring him, Bailey opened his bag. There was anotherpartment in there, and as soon as he opened it, one could see that it was full of snacks, forming a huge bulge. There were sunflower seeds, peanuts, and mixed porridge. Taking out a bag of venison jerky, he handed it to Carmen. ¡°Would you like some snacks?¡± Carmen was at an utter loss. Why is Bailey sitting beside me and offering me snacks? I don¡¯t think our rtionship is at that stage yet. What is this old man trying to do? It seemed that Bailey was trying hard to break into her circle. Chapter 1495 Chapter 1495 Despite the resistance within Carmen, her body was very honest, for she blurted, ¡°Yes.¡± Bailey took out the snacks, upon which Maisie swiftly grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds which she¡¯d long since eyed. While shelling them, she stared at Bailey and Carmen with rounded eyes, but it seemed that there was no superfluous interaction between them other than eating snacks. Bailey ate as he peeled an orange, a banana, and the like for Carmen. It doesn¡¯t seem as though there¡¯s anything special. At the side, Nathan found it incredulous as he watched on. I thought Bailey doesn¡¯t eat snacks! And he never agreed when I asked him out for a meal! Thus, he could tell that Bailey was being very proactive and striving hard this time. Conversely, Casper was still feeling aggrieved about his video that had been deleted earlier. While the video can be restored, Bailey¡¯s attitude was just too overbearing and shameless! When he¡¯d retrieved the video from the backup folder, he saw Carmen and Bailey happily eating snacks. Everyone else was gathered there, chatting andughing. Although Bailey was rather taciturn in nature, he still answered all the questions directed at him, trying his best to mingle with the others. While Casper was waiting for an opportunity, he suddenly caught sight of Carmen¡¯s family dog, Judge. The husky was brushing up everywhere while saliva dripped from its muzzle, so he furtively led the dog to Bailey. The drooling dog seemed to be very fond of Bailey, nuzzling into him. Casper waited for Bailey to get ballistic. Carmen¡¯s entire family loves pets, but ording to my investigation and reasoning, Bailey probably doesn¡¯t like pets. After all, there isn¡¯t even a hamster at his house. Unexpectedly, Bailey merely took out a tissue and wiped off the dog drool on him before wiping the dog, even taking the opportunity to stroke its head. Judge seemed to have gotten acquainted with him as well, resting its head on hisp and dozing off. While this happened, Bailey even seized the opportunity to talk to Carmen. Casper saw red. He¡¯s such a hypocrite! He was just about to rack his brain for some other trick to reveal Bailey¡¯s true colors when Bailey abruptly stood up and dered, ¡°It¡¯s almost noon, so I¡¯ll treat you all to lunch.¡± Bailey is treating us to lunch? Cheering, everyone sprang to their feet. Nathan was again astonished. I¡¯ve known him for so many years, yet I¡¯ve never gotten to drink a sip of water from his house. And he¡¯s actually so generous today to treat everyone to lunch? This is too odd. Has he been bewitched? Bailey had indeed been bewitched today; he¡¯d been bewitched by love that he was truly treating everyone to lunch. Everyone was over the moon save Casper, who was upset, though honestly speaking, he knew that he was no match for Bailey. Bailey was his superior in all aspects and was even someoneparable to Cooper, not to mention his peers. Even the older generation fell far behind him since he not only made himself astounding wealth within the insurance industry, but he¡¯d also stepped foot into other industries with impressive achievements. But so what? If Carmen is sure to fall for him because he¡¯s got impressive achievements, doesn¡¯t that mean that every woman in the world will also fall in love with the richest men in the world? So what if he¡¯s a big shot? Not every woman loves big shots! I¡¯m going to eat him out of house and home today! Since it was Bailey¡¯s treat, he was naturally generous, so it was definitely Crimson House again. When they¡¯d arrived at the restaurant, Casper ordered the most expensive dishes, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t quite have the ability to eat Bailey out of house and home. After they¡¯d all eaten and drank to their heart¡¯s content, they all got ready to go home respectively. When they went down to the basement parking, Carmen saw three cars with the passenger door opened for her. ¡°Come on in,¡± Nathan called out. ¡°Come,e, get in. I¡¯ll bring you for a ride,¡± Casper offered. Bailey had also opened his passenger door, but he merely stood before the door without saying anything. Carmen contemted for a moment. Bailey suddenly treated everyone to a feast today, spending five to six figures for just this meal. Casper ate the most, and he even left a lot of food he ordered uneaten, putting them all to waste. No matter what, I¡¯ve got to thank Bailey. Thus, she climbed into Bailey¡¯s car. At this, defeat manifested on Casper¡¯s face, upon which Nathan patted him on the shoulder. Then, he left with Maisie and Audrey. Meanwhile, Hope and Drew squeezed into Casper¡¯s car, and they all left separately. In the car, Carmen arranged her thoughts. Seizing the opportunity when they were waiting for the red light, she said to Bailey, ¡°Thank you for the treat today, Bailey.¡± While focused on his driving, Bailey answered, ¡°No thanks needed. It¡¯s your treat next time.¡± Carmen was rendered dumbstruck. Subsequently, she did some calctions. The bill came up to six figures today, so how long do I have to treat him? Money isn¡¯t the problem. The problem is¡­ Wait a moment. Is this another trick? Although she couldn¡¯t quite figure out what exactly was going on, she just felt as though she¡¯d fallen into his trap. I¡¯ll have to pay him back for this meal, and a single meal isn¡¯t going to cut it. When I pay him back, doesn¡¯t that mean that I¡¯ll have to eat with him? And it¡¯s several times at that! Very quickly, they arrived at Carmen¡¯s house. Climbing out of the car, Carmen looked over her shoulder at Bailey and thanked him. ¡°This is my house, Bailey¡­ Would you like toe in for some tea?¡±This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. It was actually a perfunctory remark, but unexpectedly, Bailey immediately agreed. ¡°Sure.¡± He drove his car into the garage before unfastening his seatbelt and slipping on his jacket. Then, he followed Carmen into her house, not at all regarding himself as an outsider. All this had Carmen suspecting that the Bailey before her was actually a doppelganger. He¡¯s such an aloof person, so why is he so friendly all of a sudden? Meanwhile, Sophia, who¡¯d already heard about Bailey visiting, hurriedly ushered him in and offered him all sorts of beverages. When Cooper learned that Bailey was here again, he likewise rushed out and attempted to scare him away with his death stare. Unfortunately, Bailey wasn¡¯t Michael, so he¡¯d never been afraid of his death stare. On the contrary, Sophia was extremely enthusiastic. ¡°We¡¯re having a feast tonight, so you muste over for dinner, Bailey,¡± she urged. ¡°Sure,¡± Bailey answered. He then stayed at Carmen¡¯s house for a while before going home for a shower. At night, he truly went over despite Cooper¡¯s death stare the entire night. Those who sell insurance are indeed thick-skinned, Cooper groused. Bailey is truly shameless,ing over the moment Sophia invited him to get a free meal and drinks while even having designs on my daughter! Likewise, Casper had never seen such a brazen person. But honestly speaking, he¡¯s the only one who dares do this, for other boys have never dared to do so. While Cooper imed that he wanted to find Carmen a love interest and encouraged young men to visit her, those who truly took him at his word only had to stay for three minutes before immediately being the recipient of the chilly death stare of the arms leader. He indeed wanted boys to pursue Carmen, but whoever truly did so would invite his wrath at once. Furthermore, if anyone truly won Carmen over, he¡¯d definitely end up like Michael back then and experience the fear of being mauled by Chow and Eggnt. Chapter 1496 Chapter 1496 Even Casper himself wasn¡¯t exempt from being the recipient of Cooper¡¯s death stare after he¡¯d noticed him visiting a few times. Thereafter, he was intimidated and gradually dared not go to Carmen¡¯s house anymore since he had to avoid Cooper every single time. Bailey, however, was different. He ignored Cooper¡¯s death stare and went to Carmen¡¯s house as he liked whenever he had time, always going over to look for her tantly. Besides, he even dared ask Carmen out right in front of Cooper, which was something Casper didn¡¯t even dare contemte. After all, he was afraid of being mauled by Chow and Eggnt! Not just anyone could withstand Cooper¡¯s death stare; the few boys who used to visit Carmen¡¯s house often were also terror-stricken by Cooper¡¯s stare, and even Hope who lived next door didn¡¯t dare go over if there wasn¡¯t anything pressing. Hence, Casper couldn¡¯t do anything despite seeing Baileying over frequently to ask Carmen out. Bailey was also a very conscientious person. Every time he took Carmen out, he always drove her home on time without spending the night with her or even holding hands. He kept track of the time very well each time, giving Cooper no excuse to blow up that he could only shoot him the death stare. No, in his eyes, it was merely a helpless look. In the summer, Sophia nned to take the entire family for a vacation; Cooper, Anna, and the others would also be joining. When Sophia asked Bailey over for dinner, she casually noted, ¡°Bailey, we¡¯re all going for a vacation. Are you interested in joining us?¡± Carmen who was eating perked up her ears as well. She initially thought that Bailey wouldn¡¯t be interested, but to her surprise, he instantly agreed. ¡°Sure! It just so happens that I¡¯m thinking of going for a vacation as well.¡± Thus, Bailey packed a simple suitcase under Cooper¡¯s death re and overtly went for a vacation with the entire family as the invisible old son-inw. In the blink of an eye, spring was gone to be reced by summer. As per Casper¡¯s anticipation, Carmen officially entered Bayside University for her second doctorate. I can now bond with her as we go to school and back home together every day! Bailey can¡¯t possibly be anywhere there, can he? ¡°Don¡¯t overtax yourself studying every day. You¡¯re still young, after all, so don¡¯t give yourself so much pressure. sses are over now, so let¡¯s go and grab a bite. I know of a restaurant that has exceptionally delicious food,¡± Casper remarked as he followed beside her after having rushed over to her ss when his ss let out and sessfully met up with her. This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . Carmen had on Bayside University¡¯s uniform and safety sses with huge frames. Hugging her books to her chest, she walked toward the university gates. It feels great without bodyguards following me 24/7 and everyone turning their gazes on me everywhere I go! I¡¯m just an ordinary student who doesn¡¯t even garner a second nce now even as I stroll around campus. Even the air feels sweeter with a hint of freedom. I like this feeling! ¡°I don¡¯t feel like eating anything since I got braces,¡± she replied. ¡°You got braces? Let me have a look!¡± Reaching out, Casper pried her mouth open. Sure enough, he saw a set of metal braces over her once white teeth, the ugliest and most primitive metal brace at that, rendering her entire mouth significantly bigger. ¡°Wow! You actually got braces, and it¡¯s such an ugly one to boot! What were you thinking?¡± Casper couldn¡¯t understand her at all. This is simply too ugly! Even if she wanted to get braces, there are plenty of choices nowadays, so she totally didn¡¯t have to choose such an ugly one. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. This is quick and effective. Besides, the adjustment I need is minute, so I won¡¯t need to wear it for long. Most importantly, I can lose weight by getting braces!¡± Losing weight is the most important thing. Otherwise, I won¡¯t fit into the evening gown for mying-of-age party! ¡°You didn¡¯t need to get braces just to lose weight!¡± As Casper chased after her, the two of them headed to the university gates while messing around, the scene as harmonious and beautiful as when they were young. On the way, they soon bumped into the others. Albert, Hope, Ashton, and Poppy had also gained admittance into Bayside University, so they all gathered together to head to Carmen¡¯s house for dinner. Hope joined the School of Athletics, Poppy joined the School of Computer Science, Albert joined the School of Business Management, and Ashton naturally joined the School of Cinematography. Ashton, who rose to fame at a young age, wore a mask since he had a burden to maintain his image as a pop idol. As they walked toward the university gates exuberantly, they again encountered Hope Fletcher¡ªa lecturer at Bayside University¡ªbrushing past them on his bicycle. Every time he passed by the alumni corridor, he¡¯d go in for a look at the person known as ¡®Quinton rk¡¯ in there. When he saw him, it was as though he saw himself in his past life. When they reached the university gates, Theo would usually be guarding the gate conscientiously in the guard shack, dressed in his security uniform. Today, however, Carmen spotted him with a cold expression on his face as he bickered with a student the moment she arrived at the university gates. ¡°Where¡¯s your daughter? Don¡¯t tell me you truly married her off to a rich man for the betrothal gift? Well? Say something! Where¡¯s Carmen Fletcher? Why are you here? Where did Carmen go?¡± Sure enough, it was Flynn. He put in some hard work during thest few months and gained admittance into Bayside University, but never had he expected to see Theo guarding the gate again just after a few days here. Beside him, Kimberly was exceedingly chagrined. All jobs require academic qualifications here in Bayside City, and girls without academic qualifications can only get a job with physicalbor such as hotel staff, so a girl like Carmen Fletcher can only get married and have babies after getting expelled! I thought she¡¯d disappear from Flynn¡¯s life forever, but never had I thought that Flynn still remembers her and is even asking about her here at Bayside University! Carmen Fletcher, Carmen Fletcher, Carmen Fletcher! That¡¯s all he knows! Theo stared at him with a frigid expression on his face. He abhorred this low-quality version of his son, so he didn¡¯t bother answering him. Unexpectedly, Carmen suddenly rushed over and dragged the thundering Flynn away. ¡°Have you lost your mind, Flynn rk? Why are you harassing my father?¡± Her sudden appearance surprised Flynn and Kimberly greatly, especially when they noticed that she was wearing Bayside University¡¯s uniform. ¡°You¡­ Carmen Fletcher, you actually got into Bayside University as well?¡± Flynn eximed excitedly while clutching her shoulders, seemingly both surprised and delighted. At the side, Casper got irritated and pped his hands away. ¡°What are you doing? Remove your filthy hands from my girlfriend¡¯s shoulders. Let me tell you, if you harass my girlfriend again, I¡¯ll crush you!¡± he warned as he dragged Carmen away. As his granddaughter was there, Theo took out his bicycle and gave Carmen a ride home for dinner. The group of people then left. As Flynn watched them leave, his eyes shone with surprise and delight. It¡¯s simply marvelous that she got into Bayside University! He didn¡¯t know why he was so ecstatic, but it was simply a matter of fact. Kimberly, on the other hand, was aggrieved. Why did someone who doesn¡¯t belong here show up? Wasn¡¯t she expelled, whereupon she went home and married an old man? Why did she appear here? Besides, she was even wearing metal braces, looking awfully ugly! Kimberly had connections in this university. After all, her name contained royal connotations and meant ruler or chief, as evidenced by the great Lord Kimberly. Thus, she quickly found out that there was no one named Carmen Fletcher among the undergraduate students nor in the prep course. She couldn¡¯t get the records for the graduate school, but she was certain that Carmen couldn¡¯t possibly be with the graduate school. This means that she didn¡¯t get into Bayside University at all! Hah! She¡¯s probably here to bag a rich and handsome guy! Chapter 1497 Chapter 1497 Theo went home with his granddaughter on the bicycle. The moment he stepped in the door, he spotted Bailey, whom he hadn¡¯t seen in two months, having a staring match with Cooper. Upon seeing him, he snorted and went into the house. After all, he was also at his wits¡¯ end when it came to this thick-skinned old grandson-inw of his. When Sophia saw that they¡¯de home, she rushed out jubntly and said to Carmen, ¡°You¡¯re home, sweetie? Quick,e here and have a look! Bailey brought you back gifts from abroad!¡± At the sight of the green-eyed goblin sitting on the sofa in the living room, Casper instantly saw red. Didn¡¯t he go back to Europe? Why is he here again? ¡°You¡¯re back, Bailey!¡± Upon seeing Bailey, Carmen instantly hustled over in delight. On the other hand, Bailey merely nodded. Having not seen him for two months, he seemed to have grown even more handsome, exuding a novel and enticing aura! Carmen mused. ¡°Come here. I brought a gift back for you.¡± At Bailey¡¯s beckoning, Carmen eagerly hurried over. Meanwhile, Casper was enraged. How weak-willed! Unexpectedly, Bailey then added, ¡°I brought back gifts for all of you.¡± At the side of the sofa was a huge pile of gifts that were all exquisitely wrapped and adorned with ribbon flowers. When Carmen opened her gift, she was immediately stunned speechless. ¡°Wow! Is this what I think it is? Oh my God, this is an out-of-print CD! How did you get this?¡± ¡°I asked a friend to find it,¡± Bailey answered. Carmen was over the moon. Recently, she got obsessed with a rock band that was popr 20 years ago and had been collecting the CDs they released back then, but regretfully, there was one she searched for a long time but to no avail. Never had I thought that he would actually find it! ¡°Thank you, Bailey!¡± She was so gleeful that she almost jumped up and gave him a smacking kiss. At the side, Poppy interjected sourly, ¡°Ah, how nice it is to receive gifts!¡± To her surprise, Bailey looked at her and said, ¡°This is for you, Poppy.¡± Then, he took out a gift box and handed it to her. Poppy was stunned. ¡°For me?¡± Still unable to believe it, she looked around in puzzlement before Sophia exined smilingly, ¡°Everyone gets a gift!¡± The old son-inw was indeed zealous, for he brought back gifts for everyone, including Anna, Cooper, and Carmen¡¯s uncles. Despite Cooper¡¯s staring match with Bailey earlier, he hugged his gift to his chest, reluctant to put it down for even a second. Bailey¡¯s gift to him was a handwritten score from his favorite pianist back when he was young, so he truly loved it. Meanwhile, Poppy got a set of Western- European non-mainstream fashionable clothes, and she seemed besotted as well. Bailey even had gifts for Carmen¡¯s friends, including Casper, Nathan, and the others. He distributed the gifts one by one. At the end of it, he took out a tiny gift and waved a beckoning hand toward the back of the house. ¡°Judge!¡± Woof! A husky scampered out in a mad flurry. Then, Bailey unwrapped the gift to reveal an adorable ball. Gratified, Judge left with it in its mouth. ¡°Tangerine! Orange! Lemon! Gordon! Goldstein!¡± Upon hearing their names, the few orange cats padded over, meowing all the way. Bailey seemed to know each of them and was even familiar with their respective preferences, having a gift for every single one of them; some of them had gotten cors, while others got clothes. Everyone in the house, including the dogs and cats, received their gifts. Theo had also received a military coat from Bailey which he really loved despite not being able to wear it for the time being. It was ringly apparent that Bailey had put a lot of thought into it since everyone was beyond ted at his gifts. Simply put, the old son-inw¡¯s method of winning people over was iparable with the average person. After all the gifts had been distributed, everyone had dinner together. Bailey consciously parked his butt on the seat reserved for the ¡®old son-inw¡¯ that was previously upied by Michael and was right beside Cooper, which invited his death stare in turn. Everyone who came over for dinner dared not even breathe, save for Bailey who appeared unruffled and even took dishes for Carmen. The boys who came over for dinner made their escape one by one, and even Casper hightailed it in the end. He wanted to persevere until the very end, but he couldn¡¯t even breathe under Cooper¡¯s powerful aura. I really can¡¯t understand how he can stay calm and unruffled under Cooper¡¯s powerful aura. How thick-skinned is he? No, his fortitude extends far beyond anyone¡¯s imagination! Initially, Cooper thought that Bailey would be leaving after dinner, but unexpectedly, Carmen happily went out with him while leading the dog on a leash. ¡°Grandpa, Mom, I¡¯m going out for a stroll with Bailey and walking the dog as well.¡± Cooper was so infuriated that his eyes almost rolled back in his head, putting him in a dead faint. This won¡¯t do! This old grandson-inw is so capable that I¡¯m not his match at all. I¡¯m old, after all. Now, he fervently hoped that Michael would regain consciousness as soon as possible. Probably only a thick- skinned person like Michael is his match! The weather was very cool on the summer evening. As Bailey walked the dog with Carmen, the two of them were almost shoulder to shoulder, discussing studies as they walked. This time, Carmen was doing her graduate studies in jurisprudence. Bailey was very proficient in this area, so he could answer many of her questions. The two of them then went over to awn by the roadside and sat down to rest. Meanwhile, the dog yed with a ball nearby. The air in Bayside City had been managed well in recent years, so it was very much refreshing with less haze. As Carmen breathed in the cool evening air, a feeling offort engulfed her. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed this rare moment of warmth and tranquility before her. ¡°When did you get braces?¡± Bailey asked out of the blue beside her. ¡°Huh?¡± Carmen asked, her eyes springing open as she was startled. Looking at her mouth, Bailey repeated, ¡°When did you get braces?¡± Carmen licked her braces. ¡°It has been a few months,¡± she replied. Bailey seemed to be staring at her lips and the braces housed behind them seriously, making her feel somewhat baffled. I just can¡¯t figure him out. Nope¡­ No one can figure him out. This man who¡¯d been forced into society for survival¡¯s sake when he was only ten years old had shrewdness so extraordinary that he managed to survive to this day in the brutal world of the adults and establish his hegemony. However, Carmen could only see his kindness, pain, and struggles. All of a sudden, she blurted, ¡°Bailey, do you have a dream?¡± A dream? Have I ever had a dream? Retracting his gaze from her braces, Bailey cast his gaze far into the distance. ¡°Everyone has a dream,¡± he murmured. Belongs to N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved. ¡°What¡¯s yours? Tell me, please?¡± Carmen promptly asked. At this, Bailey chuckled without answering her, merely saying, ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡± My dream in the past was only to survive. Today, my first dream hase true, and I now want to live happily with the person I love¡­ Carmen stared at him with wide eyes. This man is truly the most difficult man to fathom in this world. I can¡¯t make out his thoughts, and that¡¯s precisely why he¡¯s so captivating. They both watched the sunset together. As thest ray of sunshine bathed them, their hands were already stacked together silently at some time¡­ Chapter 1498 Chapter 1498 Having studied Bailey, Cooper finally found his w and pointed it out before everyone. ¡°Bailey, your education level is too low, so you¡¯re not worthy of bing my grandson-inw,¡± he dered unceremoniously in front of Carmen and the rest of the family when Bailey was at their house for dinner one day. Indeed, Bailey¡¯s education level was low. He stepped out into society and took over his family business when he was ten years old, so he had no opportunity to return to school anymore thereafter. All he could do was to hire tutors to teach him at home, for it was already arduous for him to survive when he was hard-pressed from all sides. Thus, studying with his peers was practically impossible. While he¡¯d studied systematically and was very capable to the extent that many universities invited him over as a visiting professor, he just didn¡¯t have the academic qualifications. In fact, he didn¡¯t even have a high school diploma! The moment Cooper¡¯s words were heard, Carmen¡¯s reaction was the most intense. ¡°Grandpa, what do you mean by that? Why are you talking about him being worthy or otherwise? We¡¯re just friends!¡± Although we¡­ we kissed the other time, neither of us ever brought that day up again. Therefore, they were still at the beautiful stage where things were fuzzy. Hence, Cooper¡¯s promation burst the bubble, making the situation exceedingly awkward. Bailey, who was eating, stilled for a moment, but he said nothing. Upon seeing this, Cooper was in seventh heaven. Finally, I¡¯ve found his Achilles heel! Putting on his authoritative air as an elder, he loftily asserted, ¡°My granddaughter will never marry a man who doesn¡¯t even have a high school diploma.¡± All at once, the atmosphere turned awkward, and Carmen¡¯s face flushed bright red from mortification. At this time, Sophia hurriedly smoothed things over, eximing, ¡°What are you saying, Dad? What¡¯s this about marrying and all?¡± He should atst leave them some dignity! They¡¯re now at the beautiful stage where things are hazy, so isn¡¯t he just ruining everything by uttering such a remark? Unexpectedly, Bailey put down his cutlery and said to Cooper solemnly, ¡°I almost forgot to tell you that I¡¯ve already enrolled for Self-Taught Higher Education Examinations at Bayside University, so I am studying while working. I¡¯ve already passed two subjects so far, and will soon be receiving my bachelor¡¯s degree from Bayside University.¡± Then, he continued, ¡°When I¡¯ve gotten my bachelor¡¯s degree, I¡¯ll continue studying for a master¡¯s degree.¡± Cooper opened his mouth, but upon realizing that he had nothing to say, he muttered, ¡°Being self- taught isn¡¯t something that¡¯s so easy¡­¡± From then on, Bailey had a new reason to interact with Carmen¡ªhaving her teach him. Subsequently, Casper noticed that Bailey was often showing up in the university, so he made discreet inquiries. Only then did he know that Bailey had actually enrolled for Self-Taught Higher Education Examinations (STHEE) in Bayside University! For that reason, he often came to the university to attend lectures. He even applied for a bachelor¡¯s degree inw, which was precisely Carmen¡¯s course, so he seized the opportunity to sit in on her sses. Cooper had truly shot himself in the foot this time. After all, this was a trick Michael had used previously! Furthermore, Bailey got a bicycle from somewhere, so he even often used it tomute to and fro while giving Carmen rides. Thus, they went all around Bayside University like a couple. Casper was so infuriated that he saw red. Bailey is simply a prodigy, an expert in seizing any and all opportunities to advance his intentions! Someone else who was likewise disgruntled was Flynn. He searched for Carmen all over the campus the entire day as though having nothing better to do. On the other hand, Kimberly said that Carmen didn¡¯t get into Bayside University at all, but he didn¡¯t believe that. And sure enough, he often spotted her on campus. She even seemed to have gotten herself a new boyfriend¡ªa green-eyed international student who was taking STHEE. Since there were few green-eyed international students in the university, Bailey naturally became the most conspicuous as he was also the most handsome among them all. Finally, Flynn managed to ambush Bailey and Carmen who came out on a bicycle after having kept watch at the university gates multiple times. Seething, he stopped them on the spot. ¡°Get down from there, Carmen Fletcher!¡± Braking, Bailey stared at him coldly. Flynn, on the other hand, rushed over in a few strides to grab Carmen. ¡°This is your boyfriend? A self-taught examinee with no future to speak of?¡± hembasted. Carmen nudged her sses. ¡°What a lunatic! Let¡¯s go, Bailey.¡± This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. Right now, Bailey wasn¡¯t in the mood to contend with Flynn either, since he had to rush back to Carmen¡¯s house for dinner. Thus, he pedaled the bicycle to leave, but unexpectedly, Flynn held his bicycle still. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to leave!¡± he barked. I¡¯m just about to lose my mind! How could she find such a worthless boyfriend? As her ex-boyfriend, I really can¡¯t take it! ¡°You must dump him today! There¡¯s no future in getting together with this man!¡± he threatened. At this, Carmen got off the bicycle to reason with him amicably. To their surprise, a pale and slender yet harsh hand suddenly shot out from behind the arrogant Flynn and grabbed him by the cor effortlessly. In the next instance, a wintry female voice cut through the air like a sharp de, piercing right into Flynn¡¯s ear. ¡°Kid, if you continue harassing my sister, I¡¯ll make your life a living hell.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡± Flynn nced over his shoulder indignantly, only to see ady who was about his height standing behind him, looking all formidable in military uniform. It was the military training day for freshmen on the next day, so people from the military were already here. Military green buses were also parked in the campus since all freshmen would be going to military camp the next morning for military training. Therefore, it was no surprise to see people in military uniform within campus. The moment Flynn saw thedy, all the arrogance in his expression drained away because he glimpsed a pair of green eyes. The Fletcher Family had always been the director of Bayside University¡¯s military training. In the past, Joel had been the one in charge, but he retired the year before. Thus, he was reced by someone else who also had thest name Fletcher, and it was a woman at that. Rumor had it that the woman was extremely capable, having achieved extraordinary prestige in the military at a young age. She was the eldest daughter of Joel, who was the patriarch of the Fletcher Family, and she was no lesspetent than her father. It was her first time handling the military trainingst year, and the sophomores were still wearing terrified expressions when they spoke of her, for she was even more brutal than her father! That woman had a pair of unique green eyes, a rare mixed-blood military officer in the Cethosian military. Military officers dubbed her ¡®Steely Green-Eyed Military Beauty¡¯, and her name was Lorelei Fletcher. At this moment, Flynn noticed the pair of green eyes. As his eyes moved toward her military uniform, his heart jolted, and he froze from abject fright. It¡¯s Lorelei Fletcher! Lorelei, on the other hand, hadmitted his countenance to memory. Then, she ordered the deputy officer beside her, ¡°Deputy Washington, remember this face and take ¡®good care¡¯ of him in the following month.¡± Deputy Washington nced at Flynn. He¡¯s very easy to remember. His face seems to be carved from the same mold as Taylor Murray. Nodding, he solemnly replied, ¡°Understood, General.¡± This kid is done for. Flynn was so terrified that he almost went to his knees, and even his tongue was in knots. ¡°General, I¡­¡± Chapter 1499 Chapter 1499 Jumping with joy, Carmentched herself to Lorelei. ¡°L! When did you arrive?¡± Lorelei warmed up to Carmen upon seeing thetter. ¡°We¡¯ll be weing the freshers today. They seem to be a little disobedient! How dare a bunch of newbies be so arrogant?¡± The girls walked away while they chatted, but Lorelei didn¡¯t speak with Bailey when they saw each other, as they both considered it sufficient as a greeting when they exchanged looks earlier. Therefore, Bailey pushed his bike while walking beside the girls as they spoke, all the while mentally eximing on how Lorelei had bloomed into her true self by staying with the Fletchers; that was where she truly belonged. Lorelei was feared among the freshers. Furthermore, Flynn rk had his name called out directly by her earlier, so he almost burst into tears out of his intense fear for her. At that moment, Poppy appeared out of nowhere to scare him. ¡°Aha! You¡¯re done for! The general called for you! Flynn, you should be prepared! The following month will be hell for you!¡± Flynn was on the verge of tears. As if having realized something, he asked Poppy, ¡°Is Carmen the commanding general¡¯s sister?¡± However, his question went unanswered as Poppy left to tter Lorelei, or else it could easily be her turn to get singled out for theing month. Flynn stared at Carmen¡ªwho seemed to be close to Lorelei¡ªin confusion while she hugged Lorelei. She seemed to be totally different from who I thought she was! Lorelei hailed from the prestigious Fletcher Family, so does Carmen being her sister mean that she is also a Fletcher? No, that¡¯s impossible! How could a Fletcher possibly work as a mere security guard? Content is property ? N?velDrama.Org. Unfortunately, he would never get to know the truth, nor did he have time to brood on the subject any longer, as the military training would soon begin. Lasting for a period of a month, the training was an obstacle that one would be required to pass if one wished to enter Bayside University. Every year, there were a lot of students who would voluntarily drop out of the university as they couldn¡¯t handle the training. On the other hand, Lorelei already knew of Bailey and Carmen¡¯s rtionship. The Fletchers were also keeping a close eye on them. Cooper¡¯s nuclear bomb and the Fletchers¡¯ army were all targeting Bailey like thousands of knives that were pointing at him, so he had a lot of pressure on him. After all, being an old son-inw was never easy. However, Bailey chose to go down that road nheless. The sisters parted ways after briefly catching up with each other, since Lorelei had a job to do; she still had to train a bunch of youngsters. Poppy, Hope, Ashton and Albert, who were all among the same batch of freshers, were attending to Lorelei in hopes of getting on her good side, since they knew the military training would be taking a toll on them. Upon leaving the school, Bailey rode on his bike with Carmen sitting behind him. While on their way back, Carmen suggested out of the blue, ¡°Bailey, why don¡¯t we join the military training too?¡± She never knew what the military training was about, as she never was involved in it. Although the Fletchers would organize simr trainings for their children every summer, she missed out on all of them as she was studying away from home. Initially, she intended it as a joke, but unexpectedly, Bailey agreed to it without hesitation. ¡°Sure.¡± By the next day, the two of them got onto the bus that would take them to the military base. Seeing them on the bus devastated Poppy. ¡°Why are you two here? You can literally go do anything else if you have too much free time to spare!¡± However, Carmen didn¡¯t answer her. Instead, she took a nap while leaning against Bailey¡¯s shoulder. In turn, he held her shoulder too, which seemed to indicate that their rtionship was making rapid progress. Nevertheless, Bailey still held on to his principle, for he would never cross that final line before she was eighteen. The previous incident was merely an ident considering that he was drunk. On the other hand, Casper also applied to join the training after catching wind of their attendance, but he quickly realized that he had no business joining it in the first ce. Carmen had afortable nap while leaning against Bailey¡¯s shoulder before waking up at the military base. Bailey looked extraordinary in the military uniform. Not only was he tall and handsome, but his emerald eyes gave him an air of mystery. His blond hair was also noticeable within the crowd who all had ck hair. The military uniform he wore gave him an added advantage to attract the attention of young girls. As soon as they arrived at the base, Carmen noticed that a lot of girls were trying to strike a conversation with him as well as getting his contact. The sight of it irked Carmen, so she hurried over to hold his hand, dering her rtionship with him before dragging him away just like a kitten trying to protect its food from being taken away. Bailey shook his head with a smile on his face, all the while turning his palm around to hold her hand and allowing her to drag him away. From then on, they had a tacit agreement to hold hands whenever they met up. Their rtionship had seen major progress throughout the training program. Since they were the ones who took the initiative to join the training, Lorelei wasn¡¯t about to go easy on them, so she assigned them into the Superb Company. Almost all of the descendants from the Four Great Families and the Yard Family were assigned to thatpany due to their parents¡¯ request. Contrary to the other parents who were worried that their children might suffer during the training program, the Four Great Families all put in requests to increase the intensity of their children¡¯s training. Lorelei oversaw thepany¡¯s training personally, as she was adamant to go about things the right way. Therefore, they started off their first day of the training program with a so-called ¡®death match¡¯. Casper rubbed his palms together expectantly. With ten years of experience in mixed martial arts, he volunteered to join Bailey¡¯s group to get a chance to fight him. He even signaled to Hope and Ashton to join him in the opportunity to defeat Bailey. However, Hope shook his hands to indicate that he dared not join in the fray, nor did Ashton agree to it. Thetter needed to maintain an immacte outward appearance, as his career depended on it. Out of them all, Albert feared Bailey the most, as he didn¡¯t want Carmen to clobber him like when they were still kids if he everid a finger on Bailey. In the end, Casper stood in front of Bailey alone while saying savagely, ¡°Bailey, we¡¯ve known each other for a long time. I heard that you learned martial arts, so I¡¯d like to have a match with you! Come on! You don¡¯t have to hold back! Give me your best!¡± ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s fight.¡± With that, Casper got a good beating from Bailey in front of all the girls on the first day of the training, being repeatedly pummeled to the ground again and again, and again. Finally, Casper arrived before Carmen with bruises all over his face while he wept. ¡°Bailey hit me! He hit me! Look at what he had done to me!¡± However, Carmen didn¡¯t take pity on him. ¡°You got what you deserved! Bailey and L are from the same family, so you should¡¯ve known how strong he is just by seeing how strong L is!¡± Bailey wouldn¡¯t have survived if he were weak. With that, Casper left tearfully with Hope¡¯s support. In spite of his spectacr defeat, Casper still refused to admit it, so he continued topete with Bailey in every other way he could find, only to realize that he seemed to fall short in all regards when it came to Bailey. A monthter, the military training ended with Casper having bruises all over his face. On the other hand, both Carmen and Bailey had a tan when they returned. They had also gotten to the stage of holding hands all the time with each other. As usual, Cooper maintained his deathly re when he met Bailey. He had arranged a group of people to join the military training, hoping that they could teach Bailey a lesson, but all of them wound up being intimidated by him. Geez! That bunch of cowards! Chapter 1500 Chapter 1500 Even Cooper himself was beginning to acknowledge that he no longer stood a chance against Bailey by now, say less of anybody else. He was getting older, so it was time to hand things over to the next generation. Now, Bailey was the young, determined, and ambitious one, whereas Cooper had aged, so he was no longer the former¡¯s opponent. Therefore, he could only watch as Bailey dated his granddaughter. This content belongs to N?/velDra/ma.Org . After the military training, Carmen¡¯s eighteenth birthday was approaching fast, which would mark the beginning of her adulthood. Sophia was extremely busy with preparing the Bayside Citydies¡¯ ball, which was intentionally held during Carmen¡¯s birthday. The ball held this year was of an unprecedented scale, and the venue was far morevish than the previous ones. All costs were borne by the Michels, Yards and Mitchells, so it was within reason that Carmen should be the center of attention. It was a silent agreement among all the attendees that the otherdies would be required to take the backseat. Since the hosts were the ones to bear all the costs, nobodyined about the arrangement. Moreover, they were even hoping to get an invitation to the ball, as being invited as a guest was in itself a great honor. The event would mark theing-of-age of the nameless girl who was one of the most prestigious ladies in upper ss society, who was also Michael and Sophia¡¯s daughter, as well as Cooper and Anna¡¯s granddaughter. She would be officially showing herself in the upper ss society of Bayside City, so all eyes were on the event. Carmen already made her debut under another pseudonym when she was a kid. After shooting some films and reality shows, she retired to study abroad. There was no news of her since then, so the public seemed to have forgotten her altogether. On the other hand, the Fletchers and Mitchells were also extremely protective of her. Nobody was able to capture even a single photo of her ever since her retirement from stardom, so people could only make conjectures of her current appearance ording to movie stills that she was in when she was younger. Carmen treasured the days when she could hang out in Bayside University without restrictions, as well as without needing to conceal her appearance. Nobody would spare her a nce, as she was but a nerdy-looking girl with braces that could easily blend into a crowd. Not only could she enjoy food at hawker stalls, but she could also sit with her legs crossed, or even dig her nose and go out without washing her face. However, she couldn¡¯t hide forever. After she turned eighteen, she would be an adult. She had to start managing her family¡¯spany, so she could no longer hide from the public. Forever lost was her freedom, as growing up meant having various limitations being ced on her. Therefore, she asked Bailey on a date on the eve of her eighteenth birthday to have onest feast at the hawker stall outside her university. Targeting the university students, the street vendors on the street near the entrance of Bayside University sold a lot of cheap and tasty food. In a few gulps, Carmen chugged down some coke directly from a bottle. She set the bottle down on the table with a loud thud when she had enough, and then wiped her mouth before letting out a gross burp. Knowing that it was probably her final chance to do so, she treasured the moment. She wouldn¡¯t be able to do so from now on, as she would be required to act like an elegantdy befitting of her status. The hawker stall that they were at was indeed a stall in its simplest form, equipped with only a single table as well as two stools. Standing at a height of a hundred and ny centimeters, Bailey could only sit on the ground, using some newspapers as a cushion. They ordered a lot of grilled meat while enjoying it using disposable cutlery. The stall was only popr because of its cheap price and delicious food, while the rest of the dining experience was lousy at best. However, Bailey didn¡¯t seem to mind at all, as he finished all of the food that they ordered, including those that Carmen didn¡¯t manage to finish. After their meal, Carmen let out a burp while looking at Bailey. ¡°I¡¯ll be turning eighteen soon, so do you have a present that you would like to give me?¡± Instead of giving her an answer, Bailey scooped up the huge bottle that she was drinking from just now to chug down a mouthful of coke before setting it down again, letting out a burp in the process. Amused by his actions, Carmen chuckled merrily; she thought Bailey was a fun man to be with. While she was waiting for Bailey¡¯s reply, Flynn seemingly emerged out of nowhere once again. ¡°Carmen, why are you here?¡± Burping, Carmen turned to see Flynn and Kimberly. Both of them were wearing fine, branded clothing which were a mismatch to their environment. Upon hearing Carmen burp, Kimberly covered her nose while scrunching up her face in contempt. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Flynn. This ce is disgusting.¡± This is sickening. How could people eat in a ce full of germs like this? I suppose this is all poor people could afford. Meanwhile, Carmen retorted in irritation, ¡°Can¡¯t you see we¡¯re eating?¡± Flynn examined the food in bewilderment. ¡°How could you be so degenerate? These things are just¡ª¡± The food Carmen was eating looked repulsive to him, so Flynn couldn¡¯t even imagine eating them. On the other hand, Carmen didn¡¯t want to speak to Flynn, for she realized that Flynn and her were too different. In contrast, Bailey and her were birds of a flock. Not a lot of people were willing to enjoy street food with her. Even though Casper kept herpany twice, he always got an upset stomach after going home, so Bailey made for betterpany. He was trying his best to adapt to her family and lifestyle, as well as her habits and preferences. In the meantime, Flynn was still chiding Carmen. The longer he spent observing her, the more disgusted he was. He even felt anger and disappointment toward Carmen for willingly engaging in such depraved activities. It was, after all, a matter of upbringing and social status. Flynn never needed to work, nor was he ustomed to eating street food. Having gotten used to living a luxurious life, he didn¡¯t even know the prices of groceries. All of his friends hailed from rich families. They collected watches and cars, living a sheltered life that led them to be ignorant of the sufferings of others. His girlfriend, Kimberly, was of a simr disposition. She had rich girls as friends whom she would talk about makeup and essories with. Those were stuff that Carmen would never get her hands on. The amount they spent on a meal was enough to sustain Carmen for a whole year, and the price of any article of clothing they wore would be enough for her to buy clothes that wouldst for the rest of her life. Kimberly also received an invitation to attend thedies¡¯ ball, which was something that someone at the bottom of the social pyramid would never get to know and join in on; they practically lived in two different worlds. It wasn¡¯t until then that he knew how different they were. While Flynn would never eat street food with Carmen, her current boyfriend was willing to do so. Gritting his teeth, Flynn left without a word, as if having made a decision. This time, he was finally able to leave her behind; even if they met each other again in the future, he would treat her like a stranger. There was a time when he used to want to spend his life with Carmen, as he never met someone as intelligent and kind as her. Even if she was no better than other people, she was at least better than Kimberly in both regards. However, they could never get together. His family would never agree to the match due to the fact that Carmen couldn¡¯t help his family climb the socialdder like how Kimberly could. It wasn¡¯t until after losing her that he came to know that she already had a ce in his heart, but unfortunately, they could never get together. Meanwhile, Carmen paid them no heed. Instead, she focused on finishing her coke before letting out another burp. Hearing that nearly made Kimberly puke. She hoped that Flynn could see clearly now that Carmen wasn¡¯t on the same level as him, so he should stop pining after her. After filling up their bellies, Carmen paid for the meal before leaving. While on their way home, she walked hand-in-hand with Bailey. The setting sun cast its rays on them, while Carmen was calcting how many more meals she would need to buy in order to repay Bailey for the meal that he paid for. Seemingly having recalled something, she repeated the question she asked earlier. ¡°You have yet to tell me what you¡¯re nning to give me as a present.¡± Stopping in his tracks, Bailey held her hand. Then, he lowered his gaze to stare at her seriously. ¡°Would you like to know?¡± She nodded expectantly. ¡°Of course!¡± Falling into silence, Bailey held a gentle gaze in his emerald eyes before stepping forward all of a sudden to kiss her on the lips. Later that day, Carmen yelled as soon as she got home, ¡°Mom, do you have any hemostatic lozenges and anti-inmmatory mouthwash? Bailey cut his tongue on my braces, so he¡¯s bleeding heavily!¡± Chapter 1501 Chapter 1501 The entire household was stunned into silence, and Cooper nearly fainted from the news. Since then, Bailey would always get a cut on his tongue every other day, until Carmen took off her braces. During those days, Cooper was always on the ready to confront Bailey for his actions, while Linus urged his team to speed up the process of developing a thermostatic condom that could ensure painless sexual intercourse. In the meantime, Sophia just seemed happy about it. Soon enough, thedies¡¯ ball happened on schedule, garnering the attention of all thedies. It was an important day for the Fletchers, as it was Carmen¡¯sing-of-age party. Sophia was bawling her eyes out over the asion. ording to Michael, Sophia gave birth to Carmen in a town in Africa. She was not only scrawny, but also a sickly child, so she nearly lost her life due to poor medical conditions there. It took Michael a lot of effort to raise her. In a sh, she was already all grown up. She was only six when her father was put into cryogenic sleep. Twelve years passed in the blink of an eye, and she was now eighteen years old; that also meant that Michael had been away for twelve years. Carmen opened the present in the time capsule that Michael gave her, and the expired lipstick in it was the present he prepared for his daughter when she came of age. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t cry. Your father will be back sooner orter.¡± Anna put the lipstick away whileforting her gently. Meanwhile, Carmen wiped her tears away before forcing a smile. It was her big day, so she was determined to be the most gorgeousdy present for the asion. On Carmen¡¯s eighteenth birthday, Anna Yard was the one who personally helped with her makeup, while Sophia did her hair. Both of them were also in charge of picking out her outfit and essories. While Carmen was being prepped, Casper was pacing in the living room of their house in excitement. After all, he was her partner for the night. Due to the fact that Cooper picked him for the position, Bailey couldn¡¯t actuallyin about it. Meanwhile, Casper was rubbing his hands in anticipation, figuring that his training in ballroom dancing all those years was all worth it. Poppy, Audrey, and Maisie would be attending the ball as well, so they came early to Sophia¡¯s house to prepare themselves. On the other hand, Nathan, Hope, and Ashton were also present as their respective partners. The ball was held at a hotel owned by Audistin Group. It was the most luxurious hotel in all of Bayside City, so the ball would definitely be exceptional. As the ball¡¯s host, Ronney Group and Bayside Fashion Society showed off their exceptional tastes, which was evident in the fact that every single corner of the venue wasvishly and elegantly decorated. Most of the guests were already present before the ball even began, as nobody dared to bete for such an important asion. All of the guests were screened to determine their level of wealth, character and outward appearance; those who didn¡¯t meet the standards were not invited. Therefore, the female guests were all beautiful in their own way, and they were all paired up to form exquisite couples with the equally outstanding male guests. The ball had yet to begin, so the orchestra was ying some soft music as warm up while the people chatted in hushed voices in groups. ¡°Has Miss Fletcher arrived?¡± ¡°Of course not! Even Mrs. Fletcher and Mrs. Yard had yet to arrive!¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious about her appearance!¡± ¡°Rumor has it that Bailey Adams, the president of Adams Group, as well as Nathan Fletcher, the president of Asco International, will also be here! I¡¯m looking forward to their appearance!¡± Kimberly and a few richdies were talking in hushed voices, feeling rather ted that a lot of prominent figures would be present. On the other hand, Flynn remained quiet as he was still missing Carmen, who unfortunately had been reced as his girlfriend by Kimberly. By mobilizing her family¡¯s connections, Kimberly was able to get him to join the ball as her partner. There were a lot of prestigious people present for the asion, including male guests who were members of royal families. Bailey Adams, whom Flynn didn¡¯t manage to meet, would also be there, so he could seize the opportunity to connect to people of status. Carmen won¡¯t be able to provide me with such an opportunity. He took a sip out of his wine to forget the feelings of bitterness within him while he admitted his defeat. I don¡¯t belong to Carmen, nor is the opposite possible, as we belong to two different worlds. All of a sudden, there was amotion in the hall as the hosts from Ronney Group showed up. Anna Yard and Cooper Mitchell were the ones to show up first, whereas Sophia Edwards and Linus Michel followed behind. They¡¯re here! The crowd moved in their direction with anticipation in their minds. The main protagonist will be here soon! The girl who has a worth of hundreds of billions, as well as being the heir of prestigious families including the Mitchell Family, the Fletcher Family, the Yard Family and the Michel Family will soon show up! She is definitely on the top of the pyramid among all thedies in Bayside City! Rumors had it that she was among the first batch of female students of Eton College. She was also said to have obtained her doctoral degree when she was sixteen. Other than that, she was also rumored to have eidetic memory, as well as having umted arge amount of wealth despite her young age. She was the daughter of Academy Award winner Taylor Murray and thedy of Ronney Group, Sophia Edwards. Her paternal grandfather was a decorated officer, while her maternal grandfather was an arms dealer equipped with nuclear bombs. Also, her maternal grandmother was the president of Ronney Group, whose products were well received among women. The ball would be her first ever public appearance. In the meantime, Kimberly followed the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl¡¯s face as well. She had been fantasizing about talking to the Supreme Heir, which was a name the public referred to the girl as. Having even a word with someone like her would be something that Kimberly could brag about for years toe. After much anticipation, the main protagonist made her appearance. The lighting created an atmosphere of a wondend while the mist created by the dry ice hovered above ground. A moment later, a pair of high heels adorned with diamonds parted the floating mist. The hem of the girl¡¯s soft and ssy dress swayed ording to her light footsteps. It had a certain weight to it as it flowed in ordance to her movements, while its every curve exuded an air of elegance and mystery. Then, a girl in a light-coloured gown emerged as the music yed. The gown was adorned with wlessly positioned diamonds, while every single wrinkle was immactely folded into ce, with roses being sewn into them. The hem of her dress wasyered withce that swayed with elegance. The dress left arge part of her chest area exposed, revealing her exquisite corbones, which gave her a cute yet sexy look, while the light color of the dress further entuated her fair skin. She wasn¡¯t wearing any jewelry, and her raven hair reached down to the fair skin on her chest. The contrasting colors worked even better than any jewelry. Some among the crowd still had their gazes fixed upon the girl¡¯s raven ck hair, while the others had laid eyes on her face. She was a young girl with fair skin and immacte features that was adorned with a smile that lit up her entire face. Also, she hadrge eyes, red lips and rosy cheeks, while her pointed chin had an elegant curve to it. Her skin was adorned with light makeup that she wore like a thinyer of veil that covered her face. While Kimberly was among the crowd who eximed about the girl¡¯s beauty and her semnce to Taylor Murray, Flynn gasped, for he had already recognized her as Carmen Fletcher at first nce. However, nobody heard his low cry, as their words of praise soon drowned his voice out. This content is ? N?velDrama.Org. ¡°She really is Taylor Murray¡¯s daughter! She looks so beautiful, and my goodness, her elegance is out of this world!¡± ¡°Of course! She is Anna Yard¡¯s granddaughter and Sophia Edwards¡¯ daughter after all! And look at that dress! I heard that it has been tailor-made for her by Ronney Group since ages ago, just so that she would one daye of age and wear it!¡± ¡°Look at her partner beside him; the dark-haired one. If my guess is correct, he should be Casper. He is the young master of the Levine Family, and his mother is Alice Michel, who is the developer of the Michel Group¡¯s Dragon Eye mobile phones!¡± Meanwhile, Casper held Carmen while standing beside her, dressed in a ck suit himself, acting as herpanion for the night. They looked like a great match, which was a sight that left Flynn completely dumbstruck. Michael Fletcher, Sophia Edwards, Carmen Fletcher, Gianna Michel! She is the Supreme Heir that everybody was talking about! Chapter 1502 Chapter 1502 Unfortunately, the perfect girl, Gianna, no longer was Carmen Fletcher, the girl wearing spectacles, as well as the daughter of a security guard who would help him with his assignments. In fact, she didn¡¯t even notice him, as loads of male guests who were far more outstanding than him had already crowded in on her, blocking her from his view. All of a sudden, someone let out an astonished cry. ¡°Bailey Adams is here too!¡± Lifting his head, Flynn saw the man whose appearance was as striking as ever even among the crowd. Bailey looked like royalty while wearing an expensive tailor-made suit. He had an air of grandiose that made everybody seem diminished inparison. With a mysterious gaze in his emerald eyes, he looked like a prince that was depicted in ssical paintings. As soon as he arrived, he was surrounded by the male guests, so Flynn couldn¡¯t even get close to him. When he finally managed to catch a glimpse of Bailey¡¯s face from afar, he immediately recognized the latter as the international student who enrolled through the STHEE program, whom he saw eating at the hawker stall with Carmen. So he¡¯s Bailey Adams. Flynn¡¯s heart sank in dejection as soon as he saw Bailey. So Carmen and I are from different worlds after all, and it wasn¡¯t only because of our familial background. Flynn stood in a corner in abjection before suddenlyughing in a self-deprecating manner. He turned around to look for Kimberly, only to find her still actively trying to approach Carmen in an attempt to strike up a conversation with her. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the girl to be Carmen Fletcher, the daughter of a security guard whom she despised. After Bailey entered the venue, he didn¡¯t even spare a nce at the otherdies present for the asion, save for Carmen, the girl who was the center of attention. As the main protagonist who made her appearance after everybody else, the ball began after Carmen showed up. She led the first dance with Casper, who moved in a coquettish manner throughout the entire dance due to how ted he was. After the first dance, some of the guests left the floor to get some rest, while others continued dancing after switching partners. Casper was forced to let go of Carmen after that and wait for the next dance on the sidelines as he shouldn¡¯t be clinging to her throughout the asion. Although a lot of male guests intended to step forth, one man skidded in before anybody else could to invite Carmen to the next dance. Carmen was smiling, but unlike her usual boisterous demeanor, she was elegant and demure when she gently set her gloved palm down on his before stepping on the dance floor with him to dance along to the soothing music. While the first dance was slightly more intense, the music for the second dance was more rxing, so the dance steps got slower. With a smile on her face, Carmen had her hand on Bailey¡¯s shoulder. Having removed her braces, her teeth looked neat and delicate. ¡°Why are you smiling?¡± Bailey asked. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Carmen was still smiling as she replied. Her eyes twinkled as she did so, and reflected in it was Bailey¡¯s face. Simrly, he was dressed to the nines. While he had no qualms sitting by the street in a cheap down jacket, enjoying some grilled meat with Carmen, he could also be as elegant as a prince, dancing with her in a suit that was worth millions. In the meantime, Cooper was mulling in silence, irritated by the fact that none of the young men he sent undercover to intercept Bailey seeded in doing so. However, just when he turned his attention elsewhere, both Bailey and Carmen were gone from the dance floor in an instant. ¡°Bailey, where are you leading me to?¡± Carmen followed behind Bailey, who didn¡¯t stop until they reached the balcony on the second floor of the hotel. Along the way, her requests to have him exin the abrupt shift in his behavior fell on deaf ears. As soon as they arrived at the balcony, Bailey turned to m the door shut, making them both the sole upants in the space, which made Carmen nervous. She had officially turned eighteen, so they could legally enjoy certain activities that were limited to adults, such as¡­ Without further ado, Bailey retrieved an intricate box from his bag. The moment he popped it open, he got down on one knee to present to her a diamond ring. Earnestly, he proposed to her. ¡°I can wait no longer. I must ask for your hand in marriage the moment you turn eighteen.¡± Staring at the diamond ring, Carmen was dumbfounded by his proposal. I-Isn¡¯t this too soon? We only ever held hands and kissed, so shouldn¡¯t a proposal happen muchter? However, Bailey didn¡¯t feel that it was happening too soon, as he had been waiting for years. Time seemed to drag on when he was waiting, so when she finally grew into an adult, he could wait no longer. Therefore, he was determined to propose to her. He needed her to know his feelings. On the other hand, Carmen was startled by the unfolding of events. Since it was her first time ever being proposed to, she wasn¡¯t sure how she should handle the situation. Both of them had yet to experience a heart-wrenching parting, nor did they get to reconcile after a misunderstanding. They had yet to go on a trip on a hot air balloon, during which he would forcefully kiss her, nor did he confess his feelings to her when they reached the top of a Ferris wheel ride. Is this all there is before he proposes? Isn¡¯t this a little too simple and nd? Where are all the dramatic and unforgettable moments? Seemingly in a hurry, Bailey egged her on. ¡°We don¡¯t have time.¡± Sure enough, Cooper was already knocking on the door from outside as soon as he said so. Carmen was even more at a loss of what to do upon hearing the rapid knocks, so she made her decision on impulse. ¡°Okay, I will marry you!¡± Being relieved of a major burden, a smile bloomed on Bailey¡¯s face as he stood abruptly to hold her in his arms, spinning her around for a bit. His sessful proposal made that day the happiest day in his life ever since his parents passed away, while Carmen¡¯sing-of-age party also reached a perfect consummation. Meanwhile, it was already all toote for Cooper when he finally got the keys to open the door, as Bailey already seeded in proposing to Carmen. Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. ¡°Is that all? Is that the end of the story?¡± A yearter in the hospital, Michael, who was resuscitated after fainting from the shock of hearing the news of his supposedly six-year-old daughter¡¯s pregnancy and childbirth, was listening to the whole story from Sophia while holding his emerald-eyed grandchild. Is that all? Are you kidding me? He pressed for more details. ¡°What about the most important part of the story?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all! What else were you expecting? Do you want them to go through all those dramatic yet excruciatingly painful processes as seen in cliche romance novels? Isn¡¯t it great that they got together without a hitch?¡± Sophia questioned, but nheless had a look of admiration on her face. Michael was utterly baffled by the oue. The fact that his daughter had slept with Bailey at the tender age of eighteen was mind-boggling. ¡°What happened after the proposal? Did you not stop them? Did our fathers not stop them?¡± Michael wanted to wail due to the abject grief he felt. ¡°Of course they did, since we all agreed that Carmen shouldn¡¯t be getting married so soon. Besides, she only agreed to marry him; it doesn¡¯t mean that they nned to hold the wedding immediately,¡± Sophia answered.¡°Then how did they conceive their son?¡± Feeling all anxious, Michael wished he could travel back in time to stop them. ¡°Well, they slept together after that,¡± Sophia replied. Michael inhaled sharply. Just like that? Why does she sound so nonchnt about it? My daughter was only six years old when she slept with a twenty-year-old guy! As her mother, shouldn¡¯t she have stopped her? ¡°Times have changed. Besides, the kids are all grown up now, so isn¡¯t it normal to have desires? Don¡¯t you worry, as I gave her detailed guidance beforehand, as well as showed her educational videos to teach her more about sex,¡± Sophia exined. Michael¡¯s face nched, wanting to just faint once more. However, Sophia went on. ¡°Linus even developed a condom that helps relieve the pain, as well as increase the pleasure one experiences during sexual intercourse. It will also alert the users if it detects a virus. Besides, Bailey did a checkup beforehand to ensure that he was clean. I also told him to be careful so as to not hurt Carmen before I agreed to let them have sex.¡± There was a livid expression on Michael¡¯s already pale face. Has the world undergone so much transformation during the past ten years when I was asleep? Why would a mother allow her six-year- old daughter to sleep with someone else? Meanwhile, Sophia continued to exin, ¡°Carmen is already grown up, so her sexual desires can be unstoppable. You can¡¯t just stop them when they¡¯re so infatuated with each other, can you? Therefore, I figured I should make sure to instill in her the right values so that she was able to protect herself. Worry not, as I had checked on Carmen the day after. She wasn¡¯t bleeding anywhere, as Bailey had been careful not to hurt her. Not only was she not in pain, but the experience was very pleasant.¡± P-Pleasant? Michael stared at Sophia in disbelief, as if she was a stranger. After confirming that she did say those words, his eyes rolled over before he fainted once again. Chapter 1503 Chapter 1503 In fact, Michael would rather that he didn¡¯t wake up from his cryogenic sleep. This is madness¡­ He only remembered taking a nap with his daughter while on the ne, only to wake up to her being married to a twenty-year-old man and having a baby with that man. When Michael was once again resuscitated, he opened his eyes only to see Sophia exining herself with reddened eyes and an aggrieved look on her face. ¡°Carmen is all grown up, so I can¡¯t stop her from sleeping with someone else if she so wishes to. Besides, she could easily meet up with Bailey behind my back even if I separated them. So instead of allowing her to go rampant and be scarred by the experience, I figured I could lend her my wisdom so that she could avoid making certain mistakes, as well as enjoy the experience while she was at it.¡± In the meantime, Michael was lying t on bed as well as wearing an oxygen mask, but he still looked like he could faint at any moment. I shouldn¡¯t have gone into cryogenic sleep. One never knows what kind of world he will wake up to. No longer intent to know the specifics of Carmen and Bailey¡¯s night out, he wanted to know how the child was conceived. ¡°Fine. We¡¯ll skip that part. Tell me how the child was conceived.¡± He wheezed. After a few sobs, Sophia wiped her tears away before continuing, ¡°You¡¯ll have to me Linus for that. Although his team developed a thermostatic smart condom that regtes temperature, relieves pain, as well as warns the users of viruses, they didn¡¯t take into consideration the stiffness of the user¡¯s erection, so Bailey tore it. Thus, the preventative measure ended up failing.¡± It tore. Michael¡¯s eyes were wide as his mind repeated the words. No, I heard nothing! That can¡¯t be true! I must still be in cryogenic sleep! This is all fake! This is all but an illusion! Meanwhile, Sophiaforted her grandson while holding him in her arms. ¡°Although I gave Carmen some contraceptive pills after that, it¡¯s not foolproof, so she ended up getting pregnant after that first time. I apanied her on a checkup, and the results showed that she had twins! After some discussion, my family agreed that an abortion would hurt Carmen. Besides, the babies are absolutely adorable, so it¡¯d be a pity if we abort them! Carmen and Bailey also wanted kids, so in the end, we decided that she should give birth to the babies. Later on, we had them registered as a married couple, deciding to host the wedding ceremony once you regained consciousness.¡± Hearing that, Michael shot up from the bed in bewilderment. ¡°Twins? Where is the other one?¡± With that, Carmen brought in another child before him, all the while pouting, feeling aggrieved. ¡°I was scared that the news mighte as too much of a shock to you, so I decided I should only show you one of them in the beginning, and show you the second one once you ept the reality. By the way, the second one is also a boy!¡± As soon as Carmen said that, the second baby opened his emerald eyes to stare at Michael. The two of them¡ªwith their contrasting eye colors¡ªlocked eyes for a long while. In fact, Michael was sent back not long after he regained consciousness in order to give Sophia a surprise on her birthday. He was still recovering, but his vitals were all normal, so he would make a full recovery after spending some time recuperating. His organs were repaired and reconstructed using cutting-edge technology, so he didn¡¯t receive an organ transnt from a donor. Therefore, he was physically young and healthy. He hid himself in the gaps of spacetime to avoid death¡¯s embrace. In the end, he was reborn anew. After that, everybody except for Sophia left the ward. With his grandsons sleeping on both sides of him, his mind was all muddled up as he tried his best to ept the cold, harsh reality. Meanwhile, Sophia was lying beside him while drawing circles on his chest. ¡°Darling, you need to recover quickly. We missed you a lot.¡± Three monthster, the five generations of the huge family were gathered happily together in Vi No. 8 of The Imperial. Mark Fletcher, who was still alive and kicking, held in his arms junior Bailey with a broad smile on his face, while Louis was also all smiles as he held the other junior Bailey. Michael was staring at Bailey hostilely. ¡°Mr. Bailey, pardon me, but I¡¯ll make sure to cut you up into pieces if you get any closer to my daughter!¡± He held a chilly gaze while asserting his presence. All of a sudden, there was a fierceness about him. However, Bailey only gave him a smirk. ¡°Haha, I don¡¯t think you have any say in this, Mr. Fletcher.¡± On the contrary, Cooper seemed to side with Bailey, as he began chiding Michael. ¡°You should keep your mouth shut! The kids know what they¡¯re doing!¡± Although Michael seemed to have backed down, he was still ring at Bailey. Without warning, Louis, who was the eldest of the inws, put on a stern look on his face while lecturing Cooper, ¡°My grandson- inw had just woken up from a cryogenic sleep, so he¡¯s still recuperating! Can¡¯t you be nicer to him?¡± Cooper also seemed to have backed down, but was still in fact staring daggers at Michael. There was a momentary silence before Michael started bickering with Bailey again. ¡°My daughter was only eighteen years old, so how dare you! Just you wait! Someday, I¡¯ll make sure to cut you up into pieces!¡± Unexpectedly, Coopershed out at him as soon as he spoke. With a quirky tone, Cooper sneered, ¡°This is your karma for buying my eighteen-year-old daughter over at a price of eighty thousand!¡± With that, Michael deted. However, Cooper didn¡¯t get to enjoy his victory for long. He suddenly noticed Louis¡¯ menacing stare, which in turn deted him, as Anna was also pregnant with Sophia when she was eighteen. Since Bailey and Carmen were registered as a couple, Bailey decided to take Carmen with him to form their own family. In order to provide their children with a better living environment, he bought arge house in the western suburbs. He bought a mansion with a courtyard that was located near educational resources, all the while ensuring that it had a safe and clean environment. Michael¡¯s heart went with Carmen, so he would always go for a stroll at the western suburbs between breakfast and work. Since there would be heavy traffic on the way to the western suburbs, he went on the subway. Not only did he need to travel on the jam-packed subways,ing out of it all disheveled, but he even risked being harassed by old women due to his young appearance, all for the sake of checking on Carmen. Just like a searchlight, he arrived on time every day, as if fearing that Bailey would mistreat Carmen in any way. One day, no longer able to tolerate Michael¡¯s constant visits, Bailey spat in a foul mood, ¡°It won¡¯t do to have you travel across such a long distance every day. Why don¡¯t you move in with us?¡± Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org. Although it was intended as a sarcastic remark, Michael did as told. He moved in with his own family within a span of two hours, which annoyed Bailey. A simr urrence seemed to have reyed itself on a different asion. However, it was fortunate that Michael still had Sophia with him. With his life starting anew, there were a lot of things that he needed to aplish. He had a lot of dreams that he had yet to realize, such as shooting a movie to announce hiseback, as well as spending the rest of his life with Sophia in order to make up for the thirteen years he lost. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!